After her first taste of 'real' alcohol, Faye found herself feeling out of sorts. She was no longer as tipsy as before, but her body still had this strange feeling. Almost like...it was both heavier and lighter all at once.
Faye tried to rid herself of the feeling with a nap. After that only worked so much, she figured drinking something else might help to 'sober' her up. She really didn't feel drunk anymore....just a bit tired.
Finally, she felt well enough that she was fairly confident in her ability to handle the job tonight. She waited for Ryder to come back by the Inn. He arrived a little after midnight. The Inn's patrons were still goin strong for the most part. Some had partied a little too hard early on and were now slumped over and sleeping, but many were still just as loud as they were when they started the night.
Ryder sauntered in with that same smile on his face. He greeted a few regulars that he was familiar with before making his way toward Faye. She wasn't easy to spot, but they'd already agreed to meet at a designated table earlier in the day. She hadn't ordered a drink, not wanting to mess with her ability to complete the job given to her. She wasn't really a stealthy individual as it was. Trying to sneak anywhere was just not what she did.
As Ryder sat next to her, he waved his hand toward the barkeep and she brought over a drink. It seemed Ryder himself was well known to the barkeeps, allowing them to get him his regular order without him needing to actually approach the bar and order it.
After she left his drink on the table, Ryder took a sip and turned to address Faye. The Inn was loud, making it difficult to hear them as they spoke to each other. For this reason, Ryder didn't seem to bother with trying to keep his voice down.
"The house isn't far from here. I'll lead you there. Once we get there, I'll be the lookout, I want you to sneak in and try to get anything of worth. It probably wont be much, but try to find his coin purse."
Faye furrowed her brows as Ryder went over the plan with her. "This....sounds like we're stealing something..."
Ryder nodded in agreement. "That's because we are. He's not going to give up his debt easily. There have been a number of people that contacted him and....Just, know that we're doing the best possible plan considering the previous attempts at reasoning with him."
Faye nodded, but still had her doubts. She wasn't ever the type to steal, not since she'd been picked up by the orphanage, that is. Sure, when she was on her own she had to do what she had to do to take care of herself....But, this felt more...real? More...sinister?
She shook off her apprehension and chose to follow Ryder's lead. She needed the money, and from the way Ryder spoke, it seemed this guy wasn't that good of a guy anyways. He refused to pay his debts, so that definitely wasn't good.
Ryder took another sip of his drink, then stood up. He led Faye out of the Inn without another word. He waved goodbye to a few people as they left. It was pretty impressive the amount of people Ryder both knew and seemed to be on good terms with. Hell, even she was on good terms with the guy and she barely knew him. Charismatic people sure were different.
The two made their way silently onto the street. The street the Inn was on was relatively awake. It seemed that the other businesses on the same street as the Gooseberry Inn decided to join it rather than fight it. There were a couple restaurants open and a couple houses were still alight with candlelight despite the late hour.
Ryder led Faye away from the lit street. They walked silently, heading further and further from the raucous laughter and shouting. Finally, the silence that the night usually kept itself surrounded in pervaded the air. The occasional shifting of an urban animal stalking in the night, some crickets and even a distant owl were the only sounds that remained. Then, even those seemed to disappear, leaving only their foot falls to break the thick silence.
Faye wasn't the type to be spooked easily, but even she found herself looking over her shoulder, wondering if they were being followed or watched from the shadows.
Finally, after walking a short distance, but it felt much longer to Faye, Ryder held up his hand, signaling for her to stop.
She stopped, unconsciously crouching and glancing around. Ryder sshhed her and motioned for her to follow him down and alley.
There, he went back over the plan with her, one more time.
"I'm going to keep an eye out. If it seems like someone is interested in the house or tries to approach, I think I'll be better equipped to talk them away."
Faye nodded, but voiced her concern. "I'm not that stealthy."
Ryder waved his hand, shooing away her worries. "Honestly, neither am I. I'm actually the opposite of stealthy, I like to make myself known...."
Faye shook her head, confusion clear on her face. "Then why did you take on this job???"
"I didn't....look let's just get on with this." He sighed, backing up to the entrance of the alley and pointing to a building across the way. "See that? He sleeps there. His bedroom is on the top floor, but be careful getting there. He's been targeted a lot because of this debt he owes, he might have put things in place to wake him if someone breaks in and tries to steal his money back."
Faye shook her head. "I don't know if I'm the best one to do this...."
Ryder waved off her concerns once again. "It's fine. You know how to fight, so I think even if he catches you, you should be able to get out without to much issue...."
Faye's expression was one of unease as she listened to Ryder recount the plan with her one last time. She began to wonder why she agreed to the job in the first place.....