zafira nkosi

"How is that possible? How does it maintain? Stays going. On and on.”

[fenriksblade]

Fenrik hadn't really been paying attention when he decided to go down the narrow alley. He mostly thought-- or rather hoped-- it might be an easy way to cut through to the other side. However, it turned out it wasn't. His first clue was the screaming woman. His second, was simply the fact that it seemed to dead end and so, it turned out he would have to go around.

His windows rolled down, his eyes drifted over to the faded sign. "You expect people to read that before they end up already trapped in the alley and I have to squint to read it from here. Not exactly blind."

He looked back at the drunk making its way back. "Yeah, better than whoever is driving that fucking truck," he muttered more to himself, though he could likely still be heard. He leaned out the side, to look back and gauge the room he had. "You should tell the driver if they stop for a second, I can get out of their way, unless they plan on running me over just to get to their spot."

[zafirankosi]

Zafira’s eyes wandered to the same sign her fingers had pointed to only a moment ago, and admittedly it could use some touching up. Relocating, even. He had a point, not that it mattered now. “Yeah, fair enough. I’ll put that on the to do list.” Every day it grew longer, which usually wasn’t daunting but recently had become a little overwhelming even for her. 

Fast as her legs could carry her, Zafira raced to the delivery truck with the driver’s message. Faster even than that, she was back at Fenrick’s car resting a hand on its roof as she leaned down to talk through the window. “You want the good news or the bad news?” She tapped out an anxious beat against the metal.

[zafirankosi]

August 26, 2023 The Soup Shack, Port Grave @fenriksblade "Hey!" Zafira screamed from the porch, hands cupped around her mouth. The wooden stairs leading up to the soup shack were wide but rickety, with more than a few boot shaped holes in them. Expertly, she dodged the danger zones as she flew down the steps, jumping the last one directly into the sand.

"Oi!" she shouted again. "Yeah, you. Can't you read?" She pointed at a sun-faded sign beside the building. "Deliveries only. You can't park there." By the time she reached the offending party, her arms were crossed snugly over her chest like she meant business, which she did. "Unless you want a metric ton of clams dumped in through the windows."

But it was already too late, and the delivery truck had begun its routine backup down the narrow alley. "Dammit," she sighed. Now it was going to take a lot more skillful maneuvering. "I hope you're a good driver."

[risingada]

"Hey, Zaf!" Dawn had an idea.

[zafirankosi]

Drenched in sweat, Zafira jogged to Dawn. 

[risingada]

"Get it! Get -- ahh!"

[zafirankosi]

Their opponents scored again. “FUCK!”

[risingada]

Dawn kicked.

[zafirankosi]

“Are you blind!?”

[zafirankosi]

when: August 12, 2023 where: Obsidian City Soccer Field who: @risingada "OPEN!"

[zafirankosi]

📍Port Grave

@zafirankosi don't let Coach see 🤐⚽️

[zafirankosi]

walledupward​:

“Yes, well, m’yacht sinking expertise is nearly nonexistent considering ‘ve never done this before,” he said. He stopped short of rolling his eyes. He was, however, taking her words to mean that she knew what she was doing one way or another. That’s really what mattered in the end. 

“‘M not a siren. Nor am I immortal like vampires or fae,” he said. “I can swim, though. I do alright. Hurricane hits and ‘m in the water then I might not make it, but ‘ll be alright otherwise. Know the basics about staying afloat if I drift out to sea and everything.”

.

“Good to know,” she said, almost analytically. Nodding up and down. “I have a feeling we might get wet.” The train squealed along its tracks until at last they reached their stop near the Marina. Zafira hiked her bag high up on her shoulder and bounded off the train with purpose. “There’s no way the pair of us are sneaking by without notice, so I say our best bet is going in without trying to hide. In plain sight, you know what I mean? Scope out the options.” 

[zafirankosi]

yseultcai​:

risingada​:

“God, I wish. The closest I can do to mimicking is mocking my brother when he’s nerding out,” Dawn replied fondly. That was the thing with being mixed – whilst you didn’t have to deal with things such as having to take ethereum so you didn’t have a tail like her mum, and the violent streak of many redcaps, she also didn’t get the fun parts, like mimicry or, well, having a mermaid tail. Gaze flickered between Yseult and Zafira, leaning forward as if she had a secret, “You should hear her sing.”

“You’d think I would have been more of a menace, but for most of my life I was a complete rule follower. Turns out, all I needed to do was join a gang and it’s been downhill ever since.” She skipped over a few key parts, but Yseult was good at that. Clipping at her life, creating a collage of easy-to-digest photos. Everything was a scrapbook, and she was the middle aged mother trying to cling onto things for dear life. Yseult shrugged, playing it off nonchalantly until Dawn just had to say something. 

She let out a groan. “Is this where I tell you that I’m semi-famous on Youtube for popular song covers, and that might be the most embarrassing sentence I’ve ever had to say out loud? Feel free to never talk to me again. Trust me, I totally get it.”

​

.

The rule following she might have guessed, the gang involvement surprised her but in a way that made her feel she could let some of her guard down around them. Even if she’d never set sail, she’d still lived a pirate’s life on shore. Not everyone could relate to that, or look past it. 

It surprised her more than the talent for singing, but she didn’t let on and gave all the appropriate signs of shock. Slack jaw, impressed. “No way, YouTube is a noble enough profession. Now, if you’d said Soundcloud...” Zafira trailed off laughing. 

“Anything live?” Zafira elbowed Dawn. “I’d go with you to a show.”

@risingada​

[zafirankosi]

walledupward​:

“S’ppose,” said Tristan with a shrug. If he was being honest, he could barely keep up with the news, let alone news that involved whatever problems the rich were having. However, he could see the point she was trying to make. “Point taken.” After all, people with money would do just about anything they could to hold onto their wealth and power. 

“So, next point of business, do we have to actually collect any sort of materials or ingredients or do you happen to carry around a bunch of shit with you so that you can sink a yacht on a whim?” he asked.

.

Zafira checked the time by her wristwatch and grinned. "I don't carry around a bunch of shit for sinking yachts," she confirmed. "But you don't really need a bunch of shit. You just have to know where to apply the right pressure with a little shit."

A question occurred to her she probably should have asked when they were still on the train platform. "How strong of a swimmer are you? Be honest." Knowing the weaknesses of your team was a strength, she felt.

[zafirankosi]

yseultcai:

risingada:

Dawn’s nose crinkled up, the laugh taking over every feature despite it only being small. “Jocking out sounds like some awful disease,” she replied, even though at her core it was what she was. In high school she’d balanced parties and training like it was eating and sleeping. She fit every stereotype, except she housed it all in the body of a 5′ woman who loved getting her hair done just as much as she loved the gym. If jocking out was the equivalent to nerding out, then Dawn did it in spades.  

Letting the glass down on the bar top, Dawn waved away Moby’s signal for another. She wanted to keep some control of senses. That’s what was different between the Dawn Demerci of now and the Dawn Cai of her teenage years. She was wary. But she wouldn’t dwell, nor unload on Zafira. They were here to have fun. “Let’s just say this isn’t my first time,” she laughed. Because sure, she’d been through shit, but she’d lived too. Nowadays though, Dawn herself was more a wine girl. A good bottle always went down a treat, and it was one of the things she would always splurge on, even before she could afford it. But she doubted Moby had her favourite rosè.

Yseult did not blush when she felt Zafira’s hand on her back. That would have been absurd and silly, and any expression on her face could be blamed entirely on the alcohol she had just consumed in an embarrassing fashion. She could play off anything, just so long as she was cool and suave about the whole endeavor. Totally chill. Like nothing in the world could bother her. Like she was the bravest person in the world.

“Or jerking off. Jocking out. Jerking off. Yeah?” Yseult added rather uselessly, finding that any attempt at being cool or suave was ruined by her inability to keep quiet. Not when she was still feeling nerves surrounding her like a forcefield. It meant that now she was doing her best to play off the comment and move the conversation back to a place where she thought she could offer something funny.

Immediately, after overhearing Moby Dick himself hold a few more conversations, her voice transformed. “Aye, I made it myself in my own bath tub. Never underestimate the power of a good brew. It’ll put hair on that chest of yours.” While her words may not have matched the man, his exact voice was displayed with such precision that her mimicry was now in full force.

.

Zafira gawked. Blinked a few times. Frown lines formed between her eyes. She looked at Moby and his zipped lips, looked at Yseult. Then finally burst out laughing, slapping a hand against her leg. Of course, everyone knew a Redcap could mimic with shocking proficiency, but Zafira had never heard it done before. Not that she knew of, anyway. 

“Oh my god.” She pointed between Yseult and Dawn, back and forth. “How many times did you prank call one another growing up? That’s uncanny, man. You could get yourself into so much good trouble with that.”

@risingada​ 

[zafirankosi]

walledupward​:

It hadn’t even occurred to him how one zillionaire might view the misfortune of another kajillionaire. She was right, though. There was a good chance that they would simply laugh at the bad luck of one of their fellows. “That s’true. Feels like that s’all they do, isn’t it? May as well get them to laugh and make fun of each other.” He gave that line of thought a moment to sit. “You think there s’ever a world where they’d turn on each other that they might cannibalize themselves?”

.

She couldn’t help herself from smiling wide, toothy. With infinite fondness she thought of her late father, and the vibrant tales of cannibal crews he spun for a sleepy young Zafira while she was curled in his lap. Wide, comfortable, warm. She didn’t think that was what this man meant, but it brought it to mind all the same. 

“I think they already do it every day,” Zafira answered with a shrug. “For every scandal there’s a scapegoat. And there’s a hell of a lot of scandal, am I right?” She was right. “They’re rats and snitches, man,” she continued, and didn’t bother to keep her voice down because they wouldn’t be caught dead on public transport to overhear. “And the hungriest fed sonsofbitches you’ve ever seen.” 

[zafirankosi]

walledupward​:

Tristan followed her onto the train, opting to simply grab one of the railings above to help keep his balance. The train jerked into motion and he barely stumbled as it did so, looking towards the girl. 

“Well, might not be that many billionaires, but I reckon they each got more than one yacht,” he pointed out. After all, most people, even ones who might be considered rich just not disgustingly wealthy, couldn’t afford yachts and yet the yacht industry continued to thrive. “Better to destroy all the yachts one billionaire owns than destroying one of from each person, right?” he said, more thinking out loud. “Feels like it’d send a stronger message.”

.

The more he said, the bigger the grin on Zafira’s face grew. Only when he concluded did she point a finger his way, shaking it a time or two. “I like your style. Because, if you think about it,” and now she was, “not only are you right that they probably have more than one and could replace it even if they didn’t, but it overlooks the most important weakness they have, which is a powerful tool in opposing them. No loyalty. Hit them all at once and they’ll band together, hit one...” Zafira raised her palms to shrug. “They others will watch and laugh.”

[zafirankosi]

walledupward​:

Tristan shrugged. “Just the way you’re trying to speak about your cause. Seems like you’re still in the recruiting stage.” Maybe she had already done plenty of damage on her own and was ready to go bigger. He’d give her that. “Besides, usually to make a point, helps to have more people involved. Cause a bigger mess and all.” He waved a hand to demonstrate just how big of a mess. 

Tristan glanced back at the train he had just exited– well, not that specific train, of course, that train was long gone. He looked down at his dirty covered hands, before he wiped him off on his pants. He could use a distraction from everything else and he had no prior plans, anyway. Besides, what was Tristan if not the definition of impulsive?

“Yeah, alright,” he said as he then rolled his shoulders, standing up straighter (it was a force of habit that he hunched over if only because almost everyone was shorter than him). “Let s’go.” He went ahead and started to make his way to the open doors, catching them just before they could close and they lost this train as well, waiting for Zafira to board before he let them go.

.

Pleasantly surprised, she hopped on board and sought a free pole to brace herself against when the train started forward. Her arms were crossed over her chest and her stance was wide. She looked more like a goalie than the midfielder she was in actuality. 

“Head count, I’d say there are six of us who are really committed to it,” she went on to explain once the screeching of metal as they pulled away became less deafening. “Another ten with one foot in and the other out. I’m not raising any army,” she laughed. It could barely be considered a gang or a crew, even a club. “But hey, that’s six yachts, right? There aren’t that many billionaires." And even fewer mining moguls. It was true they’d go out and buy another, but it was also true her cause would gain more support from the publicity. Long game. 

[zafirankosi]

yseultcai​:

risingada​:

“If you two are going to keep nerding out, I’m going to need to find someone else to talk to,” Dawn teased. Who knows, maybe the man who would get her out of her comfort zone was at this very bonfire. But as soon as she said it, the idea of wandering off into the dark at a party full of strangers left her wanting to run straight into the ocean. She hated being so damn jumpy.

What she could do though, was flirt with Moby. Not that either her nor Zafira couldn’t afford the drinks, but if it meant he poured them a little stronger, than she would bat her eyelashes at the weird bartender all night long.

As Dawn took her glass, her gaze moved back and forth between the team mate. Maybe she was simply over thinking, or over wishing since that day with Yseult at training, or was that a look? Well, only one way to find out, she lifted her glass and declared, “To new friendships,” and knocked back the tequila, barely even batting an eyelid.

“I think I’d probably end up liking him, then. Less talking I would have to do, which means less of a mess I could make of things.” Was that too honest? Yseult tended to overshare more than she might’ve liked, and already her nerves were getting the best of her. The only thing she really had on her side here was the fact that it was dark out, and therefore, any blushes she might’ve had could be concealed perfectly in the shadows. Well, Dawn, too. That was the ultimate crutch.

Yseult held up her shot, always being horrible with taking them despite how often it happened. Everyone in her life seemed to handle liquor like it was water, and she was just doing her best not to drown in a cough. “To new friendships,” she echoed, wondering why it felt so hollow in her mouth. Like even the word friend was enough to make her horribly melancholic. The perfect philosopher.  But any philosophizing would have to wait as, like always, Yseult let out a long cough as though she were choking.

“I’m fine, I’m fine. Tequila just hates me. We’ve never agreed on anything, and if I ever met someone named tequila, I’d be forced to consider them my mortal enemy.”

​

.

“I like to keep a healthy balance between nerding out and...wait, what’s the jock equivalent? I will not be jocking out, that I can tell you for free.” Zafira wagged a finger no back and forth.

Then along with the other girls she raised her shot glass. Echoing, “To new friendships,” without thinking much of it. She tapped the bottom of the glass against the bar for good measure and then knocked it back.

“WHEW!” Back and forth she shook her head, but she was smiling as she returned the shot glass to the table. “That bites.” She reached a hand out and clapped Yseult on the back, rubbed a firm but somewhat comforting circle, and then looked to see how Dawn was fairing. “Man, you’re a trooper. You’ve been through some shit, huh?” She was only joking. Both Dawn and Yseult were still a mystery to her.

Zafira wiped a tear from her eye. “Oh shit, that one got me. That’s strong as hell.” A little louder she asked, “Did he make that shit himself in a bathtub? Calypso’s Tits.” This encouraged a middle finger from the man behind the bar. She was hamming it up a little bit, in solidarity. 

[zafirankosi]

walledupward​:

“So, you’re a burn the world sort of problem solver,” said Tristan with a nod. He could respect that. He knew all too well that many times it was the only way for people to take notice of what you were trying to say. It didn’t do to remain quiet when you were actually trying to be seen. 

“Reckon I do believe in stealing from the rich to give to the poor and all that,” he went on. Especially on this island where the rich certainly had far too much of the wealth. “Question s’will you actually ever put those plans into action? Could always start with the yachts that are docked. Probacly easier to get to than the private pools.”

.

“Not the world that I think needs burning,” she corrected him with a knowing look. 

The time for nightly commutes was dying down, and Zafira began to pack away her papers. You had to focus on the fish nibbling at your hook, and ignore the false lure of all the rest if you wanted to catch anything for real. Or so she’d been told. For obvious reasons, she wasn’t so big on the sport herself, but it was the livelihood of many on the part of the island where she grew up. 

“Who’s to say I already havent?” She answered with a deliberate air of aloofness, not because she was ashamed of her actions but because she knew better than to confess to them outright. Then again, he didn’t seem like an undercover.

“Train’s right there,” she pointed out. “We’re only a few stops from the marina.” Her brows jumped in a playful challenge. “Come on, Robin Hood. We can see what we’re made of.” She didn’t believe he’d actually agree to it, but fear of failure had never once stopped Zafira from trying. 

[zafirankosi]

walledupward​:

Tristan listened as she simply took the thread he had offered her and ran with it. It seemed some people had a gift for that, for being able to take the most minimal crumbs and bring it back around in a way that seemed impossible. He had to give that to her and it was almost impressive. 

He nodded to her point. “And yet, even when people know all that, still feels like we’re fighting a losing battle. Money s’everything.” It wasn’t that Tristan didn’t believe or understand her cause either. He could be sympathetic, but Tristan also prioritized what he was willing to devote his energy to, and this just didn’t fall high up on his list. 

“What s’your solution to all this, then?” he asked, in part because he was curious and in other part to humor her.

.

When Zafira was much younger, she’d heard stories of pirates who would put a rat in a bucket and then strap that bucket to a person’s gut and set a fire to the end of the bucket. The rat would claw its way out through the flesh. It was a means of torture, getting men to talk, but all Zafira had heard at the time was that there was always a way out. No matter what shit you had to claw through to get to the other side. It did seem like a losing battle, he was right. But with a few rats and the right fire lit beneath them...

“Burn their yachts, for a start.” She smiled at him. It probably wasn’t the answer he’d expected her to give. There were a lot of passive solutions to aggressive problems; Zafira didn’t believe in those. She believed in taking up arms for her cause. She believed in piracy. “Dumping that same toxic waste into their private pools. Then we fuck with their money.”