Not with a Gasp, but a Gurgle

TAVI

Your Excess is my Abundance.

‘I need someone, just a set of hands, down in the Alleys. Give my name and the place. Promise payment, nothing specific though.’

***

Water flowed from all directions. It streamed down walls of the alley, trailed along pipes that were rusted and dripped from over head platforms. The were unified within the alley ways as a lattice of canals that formed in the ongoing downpour of Drenak. A flooded city.

Darkness shrouded each street, as it always did, and the only light seen was artificial. Some of the lights stuttered and others remained on by some miracle, reflecting on the dark pools below, enticing but ominous, like the lamps of deep sea fish.

A figure splashed through a particular alley. He was heard more than seen as each stride pushed water away from him. He appeared under the gaze of a street light, knee deep in water, and his eyes turned to slits under the glare, glancing about as he noticed particles of dust and debris that floated and somersaulted about him. Sleeked back hair, wet and grimy from being kept from his eyes, Tavi wore his typical leather jacket creased from overuse and pants that were now darkened from being wet.

He drew out a watch from his inside jacket pocket and turned it to catch the light from above, peering through the crack in the face. It was time.

Pick yourself up, up off the floor
Wipe the tears from off your face, because the cops are knocking on the door

Cian had found the notice and snatched it up after reading it once, but had then actually spent a moment thinking it through. 'Was it legal work? Was it legal enough? Should he even care at this point? When he can get arrested for doing nothing, he might as well do anything.' The promise of payment had tugged hard at him. Always in desperate need of lasti, even with the much cheaper rent he had to pay now compared to the motel room up on the Plates. He still needs food and with the current weather, it seemed like he had to spend most of his money constantly getting his few pieces of clothes washed.

With the notice stuffed into a pocket of his jacket, he wades and splashes his way towards the location after having decided to accept the offer. He has a pair of working hands fit for helping, even if said hands were covered in those weird red patches that a lot of people seems to have at the moment. His guess is that it is because of the gritty water irritating the skin, and his headache and slightly stuffy nose coming from a common cold caused by the damp surroundings. Even if some had told him these symptoms are something new, it still didn't seem too odd to him that the Drench could give you these kinds issues.

Before he has the time to actually change his mind for once, splashing through the horrible water instead of being up on the somewhat dryer walkways higher up made him start to wonder if this is such a good idea after all. However, he reaches the mentioned place and spots someone that seems to be quite obviously waiting.

"Excuse me. You eh... You're the one putting up a notice about needing a pair of hands?" He asks as he slows down and comes to a halt on some distance, not wanting to get too close yet before he's sure it's the right person. The other man looks like someone he would not want to get into trouble with.

CIAN

TAVI

Your Excess is my Abundance.

The alley’s two ends extruded out into the distance. The walls were crumbling masonry with boarded windows, cables ran without logic and pipes clutched against the walls, browned in rust. The sound of flowing water came from all directions, arriving from their long journey from the Plates above. Overlaid was the sound of sloshing water in a steady rhythm. Tavi peered into the darkness, noticing a figure emerge into the light nearby.

Tavi looked him over and pursed his lips. He was young but it was hard to know if he hailed from the Drench or above. He definitely needed the money, so perhaps the former. In terms of whether he was right for the job, the fact he got through the flooded alleys was qualification enough. Tavi cocked his head as he noticed that his new candidate had stopped short. Smart too.

‘That’s me. Tavi.’ He introduced himself with a grin, raised his eyebrows for a name. ‘Yeah, a good set of hands to move some heavy shit. If you stick around a bit longer though, it may be more rewarding. Don’t have to decide now, but if you do go on, I can’t guarantee your safety.’ He emphasized the last point, his face turning serious. ‘We can talk on the way?’ He nodded his head up the alley.

Pick yourself up, up off the floor
Wipe the tears from off your face, because the cops are knocking on the door

He offers Tavi a nod on greeting and takes a few steps closer, working on keeping his balance as the water moves around his legs. "Name's Cian." He listen to what more Tavi has to say and the back of his neck starts to prickle. It reminds him too much of the top people in the gang he ran with as a teen. Do this thing, but it's even better if you do this too. Only then the second part had never been an option. An illusion of choice and the reward had often been that you got to stay and they perhaps liked you a fraction more.

Shaking the thoughts away, he continues walking closer bit by bit. "Moving things is usually what I do for a living." He doesn't specify that it both entails actually lifting and moving stuff, as well as swiping things belonging to one person to give to another. Though the last part he had stayed away from the last few years, so perhaps they don't count anymore. At least him doing the swiping. Him delivering stuff is still a thing and what got him stuck in the lockdown in the first place.

"My hands are as good as any I guess and I'm willing to lend them to the best of my abilities." His Garanenz accent coming through, if Tavi could pick it up as such. Either way, it is clear he is not a local.

He chooses to not give an answer to the second part. Taking the chance to think it over. He has to learn to think things over at one point in his life. So he just offers Tavi a nod and starts walking next to him through the alley. "So... What's this stuff you need moving?" He decides to ask carefully.

CIAN

TAVI

Your Excess is my Abundance.

Tavi received the name with nod, rolling it about in his mind. The name, for some reason, seemed at odds with the grit and stagnant waters of the Gasps. Yet, as Cian revealed he had moved many a thing in the past, Tavi gave a look of bemusement. Moving, huh. The accent (Garanenz perhaps - they’re useful), the demeanor, even the name said one thing, but here this Cian was, willing as he had done before, to get his hands dirty. Judge not, was the lesson.

Tavi turned and stuffed his hands into his pockets and trudged through the water, alongside Cian. Tavi noted Cian had decided not yet to take on his latter offer. It would have been silly to agree to something without knowing the details.

Answering Cian’s question, Tavi shrugged his shoulders. ‘A busted bin to start, weighs a tonne. But for both of us, we can make it work.’ He lowered his voice to a whisper, just loud enough over the sloshing of water. ‘That gets us into the building. Everyone will be out by now because soon it’ll be filled up with water. It’s a flood zone. But we’ll be quick, so don’t worry, done it loads. That OK with you?’ Tavi turned to give Cian a look of assurance and hoped he had caught on what they were up to.

‘You can head off from there or kick on. I’ll move on and clean up what’s been left there - it’s abandoned anyway.’ Tavi remarked, winking.

‘So, what’s your story, you don’t sounds like you’re from Unk’Kotoll? You spend much time down these parts?’ Tavi asked with curiosity, filling the time until they got to the spot.

Pick yourself up, up off the floor
Wipe the tears from off your face, because the cops are knocking on the door

Cian might not look very intimidating or tough at all. If Tavi has the sharp looks of a hawk, Cian is more like a scruffy labrador in comparison. Kind eyes, often seeming just a bit lost and on the edge of concerned about something, but still quick to smile. It really felt like it didn't matter if he was on the Plates or in the Drench; he was very out of place no matter what.

He splashes along and listens. Moving a bin didn't seem too bad, until he is told it is to get into a building. An abandoned one. Is it illegal to break into an abandoned building? Again, does he care at this point? "Yeah, that sounds alright with me." He replies before his mind gets a chance to think it over further. Here we go again...

Tavi tells him he is free to go on with his day once the bin is moved, however, and that Cian at least thinks twice about without just agreeing to stay or not. So he just nods as to show he has acknowledged the instructions, then the question about his story comes and his lips twitch in a small smile.

"No, I'm from Garanenz. Got here just before the lockdown happened. My train home had to take a detour to this city and then everything shut down." The false story about why he is in the city comes out so easily at this point that there is no hint of hesitation before he tells it. "I spent Tanul up on the Plates, but the motel room started getting too expensive with no steady income anymore, so just after Kivan started I had to relocate to the Drench."

At least that was partially true. The room had gotten too expensive. The whole arrest incident is nothing Tavi needs to be told about.

CIAN

TAVI

Your Excess is my Abundance.

They turned into a different alley but it was no different than the other. There were few people in these parts now, just shadowy figures making their way past with items slung over their backs to make safe from the floods. Tavi and Cian began to decend down steps and ramps into pockets which were liable for flash flood during storms.

Tavi was glad to hear that Cian was up for it. He hoped Cian would continue on - goodness knows what he might need help with once inside. There was also the goods themselves, what if it were too large for him to carry easily himself? But he preferred it to be done this way, he hadn’t had much luck explaining everything upfront.

He thought he heard the Garanenz manner of speech. The scavenger community valued these people, particularly with their skill and understanding of any kind of electronics for they could repair or assemble parts found into more valuable mechanisms. Their reputation as scientists and mages was undisputed. ‘Garanenz, you say. You guys are useful people, this I know. Any skill or abilities that I should know about?’

Tavi listened to the hardship as a result of the lockdown, a similar tale throughout the city. For Cian, he had just arrived! But the snare of Unk’Kotoll could turn any visitor penniless. Drencher or Plater, neither were truly safe. This is what dividing society by an arbitrary line does. Cruelty. Tavi shook his head, but it was masked in the darkness. ‘Ah the lockdown has been bad for many. How hard it is to be forced to live somewhere else and away from your home. Maybe today you get some luck?’

They were getting close now.

Pick yourself up, up off the floor
Wipe the tears from off your face, because the cops are knocking on the door

He casts wary glances at the people they walk by, as well as to the darker shadows of smaller side streets they pass, glad for the lack of proper light masking his uneasy expression. It is not that he's afraid of the dark, but the people in it. Or creatures. He had heard some stories of what animals could be lurking around in the Drench and he tries hard to not start imagining something coming in the water to bite his ankles off.

"If you need a basic fail search or some bolts tightened on a train, I can do that for you. Or if you need a radio or something like that put together. Could probably hotwire a car for you too, but don't see many of those around here." He says with a shrug. "Just don't ask me to actually go car stealing too." He adds with a quiet chuckle, as if it was meant as a joke, but somewhere far back in his mind he is sure he could still agree to something like that if the pay was right.

Happy to talk about the lockdown instead, he hums in agreement to the comment about luck. "Luck's always nice to have and I think we all could use some right now. I assume you live here? Or are you a stuck visitor as well?" He turns his head a bit to the side to study Tavi out of the corner of his eye. The other man seems to know the area and is probably a local, but the lockdown is coming close to having lasted a year soon and it would not be too strange if stuck visitors started to know their way around properly as well.

CIAN

TAVI

Your Excess is my Abundance.

Tavi felt giddy as Cian rattled off a few things he could repair, it was the same feeling the scavenger got when he found something valuable. He had one or two people that were good on the tools but none of those were from Garanenz. Gotta keep this one alive, he thought with resolve. He then cracked into a grin at the prospect of snagging a car, if only. He suppressed most of his excitement saying, ‘I got some stuff for you to look at sometime, if you’re interested?’

When Cian spoke of the  lockdown, Tavi sighed, ‘That’s the truth. Me? I grew up right here. I get up top a lot now, you probably figured out I scavenge shit and sell it. But, it’s not easy down here, ‘specially for the outsiders. You’ll get used to it though.’ He added, injecting hope. It was the only thing Drencher’s had, after all.

They rounded another corner and Tavi slowed his movements. It was also because the water was now up to their waist, a combination of rising water and their gradual decent. The alley here turned to a dead end, buildings looming on all sides. These were built of steel columns, to withstand the floodwaters and support what was above. It was lit by a lamp jutting from a wall, that illuminated surfaces streaked with rust and grime. Between the columns were a patchwork of panels that enclosed the buildings in a secure way but did little to keep the water out.

Old steel boxes and debris littered the end of the alley. Rubbish bobbed in the water and it was thankful that the poor light hid most of it. Tavi gestured to the large bin which did not float as it was likely full of water itself. It was sitting up against a perforated steel gate.

‘Fuck,’ Tavi muttered under his breath as he noticed the hefty padlock on it, a big task for the small crowbar he had drawn out from his inner jacket pocket.

Pick yourself up, up off the floor
Wipe the tears from off your face, because the cops are knocking on the door

"I can always have a look, at least." Is his reply to the offer, without actually promise anything. Perhaps he is slowly learning bit by bit to be more cautious with accepting offers. Right now, it seems to jump between saying Yes without thinking as usual, to at least think a little bit.

He is of course interested, but right now it feels like the offers are just building up more and more and he doesn't want to get dragged into too much before he knows more.

The water rises more the further they go and with it rises Cian's concern about it. He had seen earlier how nasty the water is and more or less swimming in it is nothing he wants to do at all. He can feel the sandy particles getting into his clothes and the grime sticking to his skin, and he is starting to get more than a few second thoughts about this. Still, he presses on and walks with Tavi up to the bin in question and the gate it sits against.

He hears Tavi curse and move closer to see the padlock, as well as the crowbar the other man pulls out. "Hold on, let me check first." He might have a more silent way of dealing with it and he is at least willing to give it a try. It might be a big risk and revealing too many secrets, but since they are already more or less breaking in anyway it can hardly do that much harm to his image.

He takes small toolkit he has sitting on his belt and uses the lid of the bin as a table, rolling the kit out to reveal a set of small screwdrivers and pincher. Having his back to Tavi to block a proper view of it, he suddenly got what looks like lockpicking tools in his hands, even though none had been obviously visible amongst the regular tools. He moves over to the gate and starts carefully working on the lock.

CIAN