Running Late

[Elaine Anncroft]

Elaine nodded respectfully to Edel in understanding. She grinned at Jasper's little change in character before turning to Max. She opened her mouth to reply to the girl but racket on the stairs made her turn. Zona looked like she'd been hit with a car. "What the...?" She murmured to herself. "You got it over there?" She asked arching an eyebrow. How often did this girl get herself beat up? Well...then again, you had to remember who it was. Turning back to Max she finished what she had almost got to say. "You should stop by the shop sometime. I miss not seeing you around." Elaine had no idea how Max would handle such a statement being the secluded girl she was but whatever happened Elaine meant what she said.

[Max]

Max glanced at Elaine and then back to her work before answering, surprised that she didn’t run over to Zona. “Never been to your place.” She knew where it was, but she had never walked in. Reading wasn’t exactly her strong point, so she never felt inclined to walk into a bookstore.

[Edelweiss Fjäril]

"I don't find this much necessary, but it doesn't bother me." She pondered, looking at Jasper while she spoke. That was... a different light to see herself as, but if that's what he wanted, then so be it. It didn't seem like he was doing that to mock her, so that was alright. "So if that's what you feel comfortable with, continue. Just skip the kneeling please."

She then turned to look as there was a 'thump' noise of something heavy falling, and spotted Zona cursing at her own legs. She could understand that some of the assassins actually needed the reward money from their tasks to buy their everyday bread and necessities, but injured like that Zona would have luck if she managed to kill a hamster - even more a person. "Shouldn't you be resting, Diva?"

[Zona K. Noakes]

"drat it..."  Zona said as she felt her side, something popped that shouldn't have. "Ya, ya ya. I'm fine."  Zona lied to the girl as she pushed herself up and stood against the wall, catching her breath some. Looking up some she now noticed Epikuro talking to her, well, Zona was happy it was her rather than Stephen. "I suppose I should be."  Zona said as she pushed off against the wall and walked over to the board, noticing Max putting up jobs "Hmm..." She though before turning to look at the leader of the guild, "I haven't done a job in a while and just don't want to hear it from a certain noble."  Zona said as she turned back to the board to look for an easy job.

[Jasper "Anders" Pickett]

    Jasper waited patiently for Edel's response but the sound of a body tumbling down the stairwell - one that he hoped wasn't going to become as commonplace as it was beginning to seem - pulled his attention away. The noise overcame the blue-haired man's newfound maturity causing him to flinch quite notably. He flinched again when he realized Zona was the one who fell.
    "You okay?" He called over to the prone figure before returning his attention to his leader standing in front of him. "If you would just excuse me a minute." He said with another short bow and then walked quickly over to the girl's side, watching carefully to make sure she wouldn't topple over again.

[Max]

Max sighed, sincerely wishing she hadn’t run late with her duties today. There was old job on the board, one that was so easy that no one had wanted to pick it up for several days now (which also gave Max enough time to read it at her leisure). She pulled it off the board and walked over to Zona, handing it to the girl with a bored expression. “If you insist on working, take this one. I’m tired of seeing it.”

The paper held the details; the target was an old man who had a habit of gambling, and cheating at it. So much so that he had angered almost everyone in the city who worked with money. He was so old though that killing him would be child’s play, and most people assumed that he’d die on his own anyway. But the paper had ended up at CAEsAL, so the job needed to be taken. Max turned around and went back to the board then, pinning up the last of the papers.

[Elaine Anncroft]

Elaine raised an eyebrow at Z. Was the noble's opinion so important to her? The idea made her snort as she tried not to laugh. Composing herself she put on a look of amused concern. "Zona go home and rest! You'll break something just trying to get to the target!" She exclaimed watching as Max handed the girl a paper. "Please don't encourage her..." The green eyed assassin muttered putting a hand on her forehead but all good naturedly. Wandering over to the blue haired girl she stood nearby in case she needed support. Zona was stubborn and Elaine was slowly learning to stop offering her help. Zona would either ask or just get to a point where assistance was necessary to keep her on her feet. Which seemed to be her current situation. If she didn't take help from Lullaby the girl would keep a close eye on her.

[Zona K. Noakes]

"I"m fine."  Zona said as she looked over at the boy, "My legs were just bein' stupid, that's all."  Zona said as she turned back to the board, only to find Max handing her a job. "Thanks..."  Zona said as she looked at it a moment before turning back around to hear Elaine nag her, "What ya don't think I could do this? I'm fit as-a-fettle."  Zona joked as she looked at the girl, "Besides I can sooo take this... ummm..."  Zona quickly looked down at the paper again, realizing which one it was, "I could so take this old man. Piece of cake."  Zona said as she tried to cross her arms cringing in the process, realized that was a bad idea since the one was still broken and everything else was still covered in bullet holes. "drat it..."  She cursed under her breath as she just ended up folding the paper up and shoving it in her pocket. "And what's with the two of ya loomin' over me? It's not like I'm gonna drop dead."  Zona said not caring for how close the two were but understanding why they were.

[Edelweiss Fjäril]

"Diva." The redhead called calmly. She had intended to just let it be after hearing the reasons why Zona was seeking a new mission before recovering from her previous one, but watching Zona cringe in obvious pain and swearing at her own limbs made her change her mind. "Triune doesn't know the reason you took a break was for getting injured on a mission to help Eryn, does he? I guess not."

She reached out a hand. "Unless you can guarantee me you can come back from this new mission without any more new wounds before the ones you sustained heal, give me back that paper. And rest, no matter if I have to pay you for it." And if she does, it'll come from Stephen's unused guild funds since he was the reason Zona was there instead of lying on a bed. "I'll have a talk with Triune about it. If he still mocks you for it after being informed, I'll kick his jewels. Deal?"

[Zona K. Noakes]

"Whoa..."  Zona said as she listened to what the red head was saying, "You would seriously do that?"  Zona asked with a small smirk and a raised eyebrow, very interested to see that happen. "Hey I can't promise anythin', hell somethin' could happen on the way there."  Zona said as she closed her eyes and shrugged her shoulders lightly, trying no to move them too much. "But I think ya got yerself a deal."  Zona smirked as she handed the paper over to the girl. "Don't think I'm doin' this cuz I'm in a weaker state... I just want to see Triune get his arse kicked."  Zona smiled. The conversation that was just said was one of the happiest ones she had ever heard. "Just make sure I'm there when it happens."

[Max]

Watching the conversation from her spot at the notice board, Max sighed lightly, mostly relieved that conflict had been resolved. She turned to head towards the stairs then, not seeing any other reason for her to stay. But as she walked, one of her practice knives fell out from the pocket in her cloak. It clattered to the ground, drawing everyone’s attention as she rushed to pick it up. Any assassin would clearly see that it wasn’t a real knife, and to further that point, Max even picked it up by the dulled blade.

Evidently she wasn’t about to sneak off in silence.

[Edelweiss Fjäril]

"If he still complained after being informed, yes I would." Edelweiss replied with a half-grin on her face. She isn't going to try and kick Stephen otherwise, only if he truly deserved it, and her second-in-command was reasonably agreeable at least when the one talking to him was her. But Zona seemed quite amused by the prospect and did give the paper back, so Edelweiss simply stuck it into one of her own pockets and made no further comments on that. "Good." They had a deal now; Zona better not forget it.
Besides having a talk to him about Zona's assistance to Eryn and her need to recovery time, it seemed the redhead would have to talk to him about how to appease the other assassins better too - including the ones he had a hard time getting along with, lest he would never manage to make them listen to him.

She then turned her attention back to Max, as the blond girl was practically blending in with the room while finishing placing the remaining papers on the board and turning to leave. Seeing that made her think it was almost a shame she retired from her assassin post.... until her fake knife fell down and made that reverberating noise. Alright retirement might have been for the best. "And how are the above stage tasks going? Found anything of your liking already?"

[Max]

Mentally swearing, the retired assassin turned her attention to Edelweiss, debating whether she wanted to answer the question or not. She glanced sideways at Lullaby, he being the only one she didn’t particularly like in the group, but then decided on answering. She’d deal with reactions, and they shouldn’t be too bad.

“I’ve been practicing with knifes a lot and it’s going well, but I’d like to do something else too. Find another kind of performance to go with it.”

[Elaine Anncroft]

Elaine snorted in disbelief and fixed Z with a skeptical stare. "You did drop down the stairs rather uncalled for, so who knows, you could drop dead any minute." The girl retorted. But Edel spoke up next and Elaine's eyes widened in shock and disbelief at what she said. The assassin turned her head and looked down at the floor fighting the obvious grin on her face to no avail. She liked her guild leader all the more now, she was fearless.

Elaine turned to look as something fell and produced a loud noise. It was a knife from Max's cloak and it wasn't a real one oddly enough. The girl gave the woman a quizzical glance before turning to face Z and starting a staring contest with her. Elaine would probably follow her home just in case and be the over protective friend once more. But she overheard the blonde ones answer and listened in quietly.

[Jasper "Anders" Pickett]

    Jasper had been silent for most of the conversations around him, considering it would be rude if he just butt in, but then again... "Hey, those aren't juggler's knives by any chance are they?"

    The Ander couldn't help it; he felt a strange tug at the back of his mind, which he separated into two possibilities. As a juggler, he was willing to share knowledge, but as a guild member, he wanted to help her as much as he could. If the girl in front of him wanted to learn how to juggle then maybe he could help, and besides, it seemed like it would be a good way for him to get closer to her, maybe even befriend her - though part of him knew there was definitely no chance of that happening, but it was a nice thought.