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Entry tags:
memory - meeting
[ You're running through the capital city of this kingdom you just arrived in with a line of cops chasing after you. Yeah, okay, maybe you could have tried to cross the border the legal way, but you're pretty sure you would have just gotten sent right back to where you came from before you even got a chance to argue your case (and it's not like yours is a special one anyway).
So, here you are! Fortunately you're in better shape than these guys are, and you don't have any trouble keeping your lead... but even you can't keep up this cartoon chase scene crap forever, and when you come across a bar with a shadowed entry, you duck inside and press yourself up against the wall as the cops pass you by. You sigh with relief, wiping the sweat from your brow.
There's a man seated at the bar who looks about your age — early twenties — watching you with an amused but good-natured smile on his face, and once he's caught your eye, he offers up his glass. ]
Looks like you need this more than I do.
[ Well, you're not gonna argue with that. You laugh — louder than you should, when you've still got the cops after you — and accept it, immediately taking a swig. ]
Thanks, man.
[ He looks you over, at the military fatigues you're still wearing — different from the uniforms worn by the police and the Royal Guard here in Khura'in. ]
Not from around here, huh?
[ The answer to that is pretty clear, but actually getting the question directly leaves you looking at him like a deer in headlights.
He holds up his hands. ]
Don't worry, I have no intention of turning you in. In fact, I might be able to help you... if you need it.
[ There's a which it sure looks like you do implied. ]
I'm an attorney — Dhurke Sadhmahdi.
[ He retrieves a business card from the inner pocket of the cloak that'd draped over the back of his seat and hands it to you. Sahdmahdi Law Offices. A defense attorney, huh? ]
...Huh! Yeah, that's, uh... [ You rub the back of your neck. ] I might need to take ya up on that!
[ Dhurke gestures to the open seat at the bar beside him, and once you're seated, he picks up his cloak and throws it over your shoulders. ]
Camouflage.
[ He explains in a stage whisper with a wink, getting another laugh out of you. ]
Guess this ain't your first experience with a criminal on the run, huh?
Not by a longshot.
[ He gets another drink for himself from the bartender and takes a sip. ]
So, what are you running from?
The cops!
[ You answer without missing a beat, followed by a big laugh — and you get a pretty hearty one from him at that too.
Once the laughter tapers off, though, you find yourself looking down into your glass with a frown. ]
Nah, I'm just... your standard issue military deserter turned border-hopper, I guess.
[ He can probably guess what you were running away from; that civil war next door's been going on for a long time, and it's escalated pretty badly in the past few years. ]
Don't got a lot left for me there at this point. I don't mind the idea of layin' down my life for a cause I believe in, but... just didn't wanna do it for nothing. Y'know?
[ He nods. ]
I think I get that.
I always heard good stuff about this place — how peaceful it is and everything. Y'all don't even have a military, do you?
No, our kingdom has some... diplomatic advantages that have made it rather fortunate in that regard.
[ You don't actually know what that means, but you nod. ]
Yeah. So I decided I was done with that life, and I ran away, and just kinda... kept running... until I got to the border here, and was like, hey! That's a place I wouldn't mind livin' in!
[ He looks at you thoughtfully for a moment, then puts a hand on your shoulder. ]
Well. I can offer my representation if you want it. I'm pretty sure I can make a case for asylum, under the circumstances... though you will have to turn yourself in.
Yeah?
[ You look him straight in the eye over the top of your glass as you take another long sip, evaluating. This guy's really got a special kind of charisma; you imagine he's got to be a force to be reckoned in with a courtroom.
Finally, you grin and put your glass down on the table. ]
...All right. I'll trust ya.
So, here you are! Fortunately you're in better shape than these guys are, and you don't have any trouble keeping your lead... but even you can't keep up this cartoon chase scene crap forever, and when you come across a bar with a shadowed entry, you duck inside and press yourself up against the wall as the cops pass you by. You sigh with relief, wiping the sweat from your brow.
There's a man seated at the bar who looks about your age — early twenties — watching you with an amused but good-natured smile on his face, and once he's caught your eye, he offers up his glass. ]
Looks like you need this more than I do.
[ Well, you're not gonna argue with that. You laugh — louder than you should, when you've still got the cops after you — and accept it, immediately taking a swig. ]
Thanks, man.
[ He looks you over, at the military fatigues you're still wearing — different from the uniforms worn by the police and the Royal Guard here in Khura'in. ]
Not from around here, huh?
[ The answer to that is pretty clear, but actually getting the question directly leaves you looking at him like a deer in headlights.
He holds up his hands. ]
Don't worry, I have no intention of turning you in. In fact, I might be able to help you... if you need it.
[ There's a which it sure looks like you do implied. ]
I'm an attorney — Dhurke Sadhmahdi.
[ He retrieves a business card from the inner pocket of the cloak that'd draped over the back of his seat and hands it to you. Sahdmahdi Law Offices. A defense attorney, huh? ]
...Huh! Yeah, that's, uh... [ You rub the back of your neck. ] I might need to take ya up on that!
[ Dhurke gestures to the open seat at the bar beside him, and once you're seated, he picks up his cloak and throws it over your shoulders. ]
Camouflage.
[ He explains in a stage whisper with a wink, getting another laugh out of you. ]
Guess this ain't your first experience with a criminal on the run, huh?
Not by a longshot.
[ He gets another drink for himself from the bartender and takes a sip. ]
So, what are you running from?
The cops!
[ You answer without missing a beat, followed by a big laugh — and you get a pretty hearty one from him at that too.
Once the laughter tapers off, though, you find yourself looking down into your glass with a frown. ]
Nah, I'm just... your standard issue military deserter turned border-hopper, I guess.
[ He can probably guess what you were running away from; that civil war next door's been going on for a long time, and it's escalated pretty badly in the past few years. ]
Don't got a lot left for me there at this point. I don't mind the idea of layin' down my life for a cause I believe in, but... just didn't wanna do it for nothing. Y'know?
[ He nods. ]
I think I get that.
I always heard good stuff about this place — how peaceful it is and everything. Y'all don't even have a military, do you?
No, our kingdom has some... diplomatic advantages that have made it rather fortunate in that regard.
[ You don't actually know what that means, but you nod. ]
Yeah. So I decided I was done with that life, and I ran away, and just kinda... kept running... until I got to the border here, and was like, hey! That's a place I wouldn't mind livin' in!
[ He looks at you thoughtfully for a moment, then puts a hand on your shoulder. ]
Well. I can offer my representation if you want it. I'm pretty sure I can make a case for asylum, under the circumstances... though you will have to turn yourself in.
Yeah?
[ You look him straight in the eye over the top of your glass as you take another long sip, evaluating. This guy's really got a special kind of charisma; you imagine he's got to be a force to be reckoned in with a courtroom.
Finally, you grin and put your glass down on the table. ]
...All right. I'll trust ya.