[PP-F6] Hanging Around

[Teion 0]

Teion brought the cup's edge to her lips, finally taking a drink of the sweet amber liquid. She normally would have enjoyed the comforting heat that it brought, but she struggled to find such solace. There was another unsettling silence between them, and the violette still couldn't bring herself to look directly at Ryo. Her jaw clenched again, mind burning to know what the man was thinking. She wanted to apologize for everything. She was pathetic, right? She was crumbling so easily in this death game, and despite how many times she told herself that she had to continue fighting on her own she found herself falling for and relying on a near-stranger. Meanwhile, she pushed away the only other person who had shown any concern for her under the excuse that she couldn't allow herself to let anyone else into her heart. She was such a damn hypocrite.

More words were about to work their way up through her pained chest when they were disrupted yet again. The waiter held a more urgent tone in his accented voice, simply handing Ryo a slip of paper before hurrying away again. The action allowed Teion's eyes to finally land on the man, brows narrowed with an impatient curiosity and a lingering expression of distaste with her previous thoughts. The panic that took over Ryo caused her a hint of concern, and he then addressed her while passing the note along. She set her cup down beside her before leaning forward into her knees to accept it. Her eyes scanned the handwritten words, and by the time she had finished her features had shifted into unamused disbelief. "The hell is this?" She scoffed, turning the paper over as if she might find something else written on the back.

"No. What is this, some stupid pr--" Before she could question the note's purpose again, the woman's voice caught in her throat as she winced in discomfort. She felt a sharp twinge of discomfort in her chest that nearly took the air from her lungs. Confused and with patience wearing thin, Teion's eyes darted to the top corner of her vision where she saw her own health displayed. The green bar had drained a bit, and underneath she spotted a small icon she had never seen before. It didn't seem to be a standard poison she had encountered before, but there was definitely something going on here. Without thinking, Teion growled and her fingers curled tightly around the note. Her heels slid from the edge of her chair and she was quick to push herself up to her feet, turning and moving to hunt down the troublesome French waiter so that she might demand an explanation from him.

With no sign of any waitstaff on the floor of the tavern, the woman didn't hesitate to push open a swinging door labeled 'Staff Only'. "Hey, what--" Her shout was cut short, but this time it wasn't due to the unexpected damage of some unknown 'poison'. Instead, her voice faltered with the sight of a handful of NPCs sitting immobilized, hands and feet bound with rope. She stood stunned for a moment, but running her eyes over each of the figures revealed that their French waiter was nowhere to be found.

Thread Complete!

• Teion: +1 SP, +200 col
• Ryo: +1 SP, +200 col