Imprints in Stone [AU]

[Bethany]

Beth stiffens. "This brothel is more mine than yours," she retorts. "If trouble comes for any of us, we should all stand against it. That's the entire point of all this."

[GamesMaster]

"This isn't brothel trouble, Beth. This is cat trouble. We should close up."

[Bethany]

"And you're all part of the brothel! You're not just my friends, Ari, you're partners. We're in this together... aren't..." Bethany sighs. "...Fine. Any of you who want to leave until things calm down... we'll figure things out," she says tiredly.

[GamesMaster]

Ari reaches out to touch her arm. "You're a good friend, Beth. But this isn't your problem. If I could turn human and go hide in the rich part of town I would too."

[Bethany]

Bethany shrugs a little, though she doesn't pull away from Ari's touch. "Sure." She takes a deep breath. "Sure. It's fine. I mean, it's not but... it's... I get it. Let me know if I can help. I'll go see if we can scrap up enough whores to keep things running. Maybe do partial hours or something. You and yours keep safe, okay?"

[GamesMaster]

"Talk to Don first. He might have a different idea. I'm going to ask Father's opinion." Ari shrugs. "I'm not eager to become Keeper soon, that's for sure."

[Bethany]

That gets a wince. She's right. You need to talk to him eventually anyway. "Right, of course. I'll go find him."

[GamesMaster]

"Don't worry," she chirps. "Father's healthy enough."

That misunderstanding standing, she heads off, leaving Beth to find Don. Don's exchanging a quiet word with Brianne; when he sees Beth coming toward him, he breaks off, making his way toward her. 

"Beth. Go home. We're likely to be raided tonight."

[Bethany]

Beth's eye twitches. "Good evening to you as well," she says sweetly.

[GamesMaster]

"I'm trying to convince the girls to close, but only Brianne is worried about the raid. Can you help?" he asks, ignoring her chilly reception.

[Bethany]

"I was actually going to talk to the whores that aren't going to have to go into hiding and see if we can muster enough to keep open," Bethany replies. "Too many of them still can't afford to take days off without warning. Especially if it might be more than one night."

[GamesMaster]

Don stiffens, straightening his back and squaring his shoulders. "I see. I wish you well, then, Lady Tethras. I'm taking my men and leaving. You have enough Tethras Clan guards without them, and I have to see to my own." Without further word, he turns, walking back toward Brianne. 

[Bethany]

Bethany gapes a moment, brain trying to figure out- "Shit! Don, wait, I didn't- sorry, I was talking with Ari and we- I didn't mean to just blurt out the ending of the talk without explaining first."

[GamesMaster]

He looks over his shoulder, eyes narrowing. "Ari thinks the Cat should stay open?" 

[Bethany]

Bethany takes a slow breath. "I offered to try and help, but she said she- you, all of you- could handle things on your end. After that, I mentioned wanting to keep the place open until things are safe again. She seemed okay with it, but said to talk to you. I- I shouldn't have just... said it like it was a done deal. I was upset and being petty. I'm sorry. You telling me to go without- it put my back up and I was bitchy."