Foxy Ladies [TAG Jami]
Interlacing her fingers above her head and stretching out lithe muscles, she tried to determine her plan of attack. Stark grey walls stared back at her. They were nothing like her own battered little warhorse of a ship. Multi-hued fauna crawled its way over her bulkheads, layers and layers of paint giving form to the ever changing vines and foliage. They needed to be painted. The newest member of Anita’s crew cast one last sceptical look and moved to the door.
Holstered against her good thigh, her gun barely shifted as she moved. In the years that had passed since she had first donned her heavy and lopsided belt with a free-spirit’s distaste, Jami had grown used to it. Without it and its companions - the blade in her boot, the slumbering snake of a garrote encased in her bracelet, the studded strip of leather woven into her braid - she felt more vulnerable than if she were naked.
The door opened. At the sight of the redhead, adrenaline spiked - a nasty effect of her dominant human DNA. Her mind cleared. Years of experience pushed away unneeded thoughts. Shifting her centre of gravity, her long fingers flexed towards her left thigh.
She checked the motion before it barely began. The odds weren’t great that Anita would pay her if she put a few holes in one of her crewmen. Bracing a forearm against the doorway, she let an exaggerated relaxation curve her body. “Hey.”
Lily could smell the other woman before she had even opened the door, though her actually exiting the room was a bit of a surprise. Still, she didn’t jump, only regarded her with a small welcoming smile. “Hello.” She said, her voice soft and rough on the English words. Her own language was far more guttural than what she found human languages to be.
“You are new to the ship.” It wasn’t a question, they both knew it, Lily hadn’t come across her or her scent before, so it felt unnecessary to ask. “I am Lily.”
It was hard to keep herself from cataloging the collection of weapons on the other woman, but she managed. If she was aboard the ship, Anita had vetted her, and therefore, she wasn’t a danger.
“Guilty as charged,” Jami agreed. She allowed herself a smirk and a teasing flick of eyebrows. True, she was the only one in on the joke, but she enjoyed it nonetheless. Her humour was twisted, she knew.
With a ship this small, Lily’s quick appraisal as her status as a newcomer didn’t surprise her. It was, perhaps, a little unsettling though. Somehow that gaze had seen through a few too many layers of shadows and myths that she had spent her entire life cultivating. At least, her entire life as a spy and as a traitor to Marequa. Giving the door frame an idle pat, she pushed herself off and let it close behind her. This was to be her life aboard Anita’s ship. For however long that would be.
“I’m Jami,” she added. It wasn’t exactly her name, but there was no point in giving a creature that struggled with English her real name. Even Marequians grappled with it. Lilting vowels and harsh constants ran a little too rampant for easy pronunciation. Her head tilted as she scratched at the bridge of her nose. Sharp yellow eyes took in the woman before her. Lily hadn’t flinched when Jami had, and that instantly earned her some militaristic approval.
Had Jami’s kind been telepathic, Lily’s last thought would have made her snort. Approval or disapproval had never determined just how dangerous she could be. As it was, she only shifted her gaze down the hall towards the launch-bay and then back to Lily. “Care to walk with me?”
Frowning, the redhead tilted her head to the side in slight confusion. There was a joke she wasn’t getting. Again. Humans relied far too much on their media for humor, it was all a big inside joke that she wasn’t involved in. Of course, if she knew the real joke, it wouldn’t have amused her either.
“It’s nice to meet you.” Giving a small smile, she extended her hand to offer a handshake.
It wasn’t violence or death that scared Lily these days, though often times she still found herself uncomfortable once she had time to think again. People made her twitchy, but it easy to shove past that now. No, Jami wasn’t a danger to her anymore than any other person on the ship was, despite the blonde’s threat level. She was here for a reason, be it monetary or otherwise. Jami had reason to keep her weapons to herself.
“Of course. It would be my pleasure.” She gestured toward the launch bay, for Jami to lead the way. “Are you here long?” There was no reason to ask why she was here. Lily wouldn’t want anyone digging around in her past, or her present. At least not anyone new.