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[immoralkuja.livejournal.com]

Who: Kuja and Maria
What: So a villain and an archer walk into a bar...
Where: Treno
When: During the airship auction.
Rating: PG

Treno was a city of lights and noise and unrelenting life. Its days were short, its nights were long, and because of this peculiar solar cycle it never truly seemed to sleep. Its residents kept no particular schedule and neither did the shops and restaurants that served them; if something was closed at three in the afternoon it was simply too bad, although most of the larger establishments simply hired more workers to keep themselves open all the time. The commoners' district had rotted away in poverty, the nobles' brimmed over with lavish excess, and a middle class was hardly present at all.

Kuja adored the nobles' district. He'd made Treno his home away from home for one reason and one reason only: its overindulgence, its vibrant, shameless, immutable glut, sang to him like the sweetest of violins. Here a man could spend his life's savings and have absolutely nothing to show for it when he awoke in a gutter somewhere several days later. It was the perfect place, then, to bring someone who loved throwing away money almost as much as he did.

But first there was Neo Bahamut to deal with. It couldn't enter the city without causing mass panic, couldn't even land too close, and as he dismounted and prepared to walk the rest of the way he sighed gustily, blowing a few loose hairs from his eyes. "This is why I've found myself in the market for an airship recently," he said, offering his hand to Maria to help her off if she wished. "She's worse than a pink elephant. I can't take her anywhere."

Only Kuja would complain about having to fly here and there on his very own dragon.

After Maria was down in one way or another, he gave the massive beast a jab with his cane. "Get, you horrible thing," he ordered, not without affection, and while the look it gave him suggested that it was tempted to bite his prodding arm off it turned and slunk away.

Comments

[immoralkuja.livejournal.com]

There was no guilt on Kuja's face or in his voice, only the remaining traces of a smile. His lies were entwined closely with the truth, but even beyond that he could have had a marvelous career as an actor if he'd wished. Or a politician. He saw no need to tell Maria anything about why he'd called himself a weapons dealer for a while; she'd likely take issue with it and it would be a shame for the evening to end on a sour note. There was a time and a place for everything, and Kuja, Destroyer of Worlds and Kicker of Puppies had no place to be at the moment. Other villains were antisocial, brooding in their lairs and despising humanity. He was the opposite, especially when he had no current agenda other than enjoying himself.

"Did you? There must be an interesting story behind the acquisition of your own wealth." He looked away to peer into his glass and was startled to find it mostly empty again. Hmm. He really was terrible with moderation.

[soul-of-artemis.livejournal.com]

"Heh, not hardly." she laughed a little. She quickly ordered a refill of her daiquiri and took a much delighted sip. "Due to circumstances beyond my control, I just had to grow up faster than I wanted to."

She paused for a moment to consider her next words. The need to tell someone else the story of her and her friends' quest to stop Emperor Mateus wasn't very strong. She herself didn't even like reflecting on those days she spent fighting monsters, agents of the emperor, and even the dark lunatic himself. No need to drag out that story to someone who probably wasn't interested.

"Things were just too quiet for me after all was said and done. So I figured I could put my new worldliness to use by tracking down criminals who evaded the law." she laughed suddenly. "Though none of the big ones. While the gil attached to them would make someone very happy, only fools run after the tough targets. It's best to just nab the small time crooks by the hundreds and make a killing off their collective worth."

[immoralkuja.livejournal.com]

"Ah. You're a bounty hunter, then? Plenty of work for those here. Well, in every city, I suppose." Kuja pushed his glass away, wordlessly signaling for another refill, and although the bartender gave him a look that had oh, great written all over it he didn't argue. Kuja stared thoughtfully at the counter in the meantime, tracing little whorls into it with a finger. What would Maria think if she knew who she was really sitting next to?

He glanced up when the bartender set his third drink in front of him, smiling again. "I'd like to propose a toast," he said abruptly, lifting the glass. "To having outrageous amounts of money, and nothing better to spend it on."

"I'll drink to that!" some man slurred from further down along the bar, and was hushed by one of his friends.

[soul-of-artemis.livejournal.com]

"That I am. Been at it for several years now, perhaps three or four I believe." she smiled widely. Even if she knew who he was, she wasn't stupid. Sure, she had defeated a man of equal or greater power than he, but that had only been with her friends. By her lonesome, she most likely would have died or become part of Emperor Mateus' personal harem for all she knew. Probably would have been the former. No, small time criminals were more her style. The stronger marks were best left to stronger fellows.

"I hear that," she laughed at the drunken man and also raised her own glass. "To having outrageous amounts of money, and not a single worthwhile thing to buy with it. Also, here's to having that money burn holes in our wallets."

[immoralkuja.livejournal.com]

Kuja's smile returned, small and satisfied, when Maria echoed his toast. "To many years of decadence to come," he added, "and to the enjoyment of every one." What a perfectly hedonistic thing to drink to. So very Treno, really.

He clinked their glasses together and drank. Then, as something else occurred to him, he waved the poor bartender over again. "Would you like something to eat?"

He didn't do well with moderation and apparently he didn't do well with time management either. It may have had something to do with the fact that he'd spent so long in a city with no regard at all for any sort of organization.

[soul-of-artemis.livejournal.com]

Maria swallowed the last of her insanely pink cocktail and let out a happy sigh. What a wonderful day it had been. It made her so happy she felt like going out and finding the next bounty she had scheduled.

"No, I'm not very hungry," she said, shaking her head a little, "In fact, I probably should be getting back about now."

[immoralkuja.livejournal.com]

Kuja stared regretfully at his own drink, but didn't push it away. "That might be a good idea," he allowed. "I, on the other hand, am starving. Are you able to get back on your own? I may stay for a bite to eat and follow along shortly."

Or, more probably, he'd have another drink, lose track of time, wake up gods only knew how many hours later at his apartment, and end up having to bum someone's phone off of them to call in a last-minute bid instead.

If the system worked...

[soul-of-artemis.livejournal.com]

"Yes, don't worry. I've got a nice set of wings to lift me on out of here." she said with a smile. The auction was all but forgotten in her mind, but then she had never really been too serious about it in the first place. Just a thing to pass the time, after all.

Maria slid off the bar stool and gave a slight bow. "Milord, may we meet again someday soon and share drinks together. Until then, take care of yourself."

She rose up from the bow with the smile still on her face. With nothing else left to say, she turned and left the bar. Thankfully, the thieves that littered the streets seemed to recognize her from the incident what took place earlier and left her well enough alone.

Once she was safely outside Treno's outskirts, the archer summoned Valefor. The sight of the small dragon creature pushed the thought of robbing her from the minds of the few thieves who had trailed after her. Without giving thought to them, the huntress climbed onto Valefor's back and the beast soared into the sky.

[immoralkuja.livejournal.com]

"Excellent." As Maria stood Kuja briefly lifted his drink again in valediction, returning her bow. "I look forward to it. Farewell, my lady."

The bartender was relieved to see Maria go, or more accurately, to see her bow and arrows go--she'd been polite, but just having a weapon in the building made him nervous. He breathed a sigh of relief and then remembered that he still had one more to go when Kuja slid into a seat closer to him, bringing his drink along. "So!" he said brightly. "I think I'm in the mood for steak. Do you have a menu?"

It was going to be a long night.

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