It was dark out now. The sun had left the sky leaving only a black sheet in its place. There was no moon tonight, just an empty darkness. The street lights helped only when you were walking on the sidewalk, anything past there’s, shadows hid, ready to pounce. Normally he’d stay on the path, away from any lurking shadows. But tonight he was going to walk into their grips.
Pyre had gotten his first real tip in awhile about the Baurai family. He had spent all of last night routinely hunting down street thugs. One of them had let slip that some women had come into town and they could possibly have some darker connections than Pyre himself would have.

The bar where Pyre was headed was apparently known as Hades’ Crib. A place notorious for having shadier customers in the bars on main street. Pyre would have expected the rune knights, or fairy tail to bring the bar to justice. But it turned out the place was known for being barely legal and so there was no real action the rune knights could take. And fairy tail likely didn’t want to get in trouble with the law—again.
The bar sat in the back of an alley way, it had one door that had a small sign on it that read, “Hades’ crib.” Pyre pulled up His cloak and stepped inside. Gaining a look from a few customers. But the rest were all to drink to notice him. He quickly chose a cushy seat in a corner and settled down. He didn’t see any young women here yet. But he’d stay and wait. He could just be oblivious and not have noticed them yet or they could be on their way. He had left no note of wanting to speak to them, his plan was to find them and approach them. Hopefully they were willing to give him something. He was dying for a lead.

Magnolia, home to the infamous Fairy Tail guild, a light guild, who's good deeds were often overshadowed by their recklessness. Within this town was Hade's Crib, one of the few bars that welcomed members of the opposite side of the spectrum. Dark mages. Of course, not everyone was a mage, among these crooks, were thugs, brutes, and general bad guys. As Ashe entered the building it reeked of alcohol and cigar smoke. The scene was reminiscent of the stereotypical villain hideout. The bar was crowded and packed, mostly with large beefy men who with one quick glance you could tell was trouble, there were very few girls and the girls that found themselves at the bar were far from beautiful and most of them took drastic lengths to look like men as if that was intimidating. Ashe did not believe that men were any more intimidating than women and in fact, pushed through the crowd just the same.

Her rude nature and sudden shoves gained many angry threats and glares but most were followed by a loud whistle, a catcall. Ashe ignored this, making her way to the only part of the bar that seemed to be less rambunctious and the only area with seats still remaining. Not asking or caring, Ashe sat at the table with a boy who appeared to be around her age. Ashe could tell almost instantly that he did not belong here and her first guess was that he was a rune knight or a light mage trying to gather information from the bar, as many often try. She searched his body with her eyes, attempting to find a guild mark. With no mark in sight, Ashe proceeded with caution.

"Well well, what do we have here?" Ashe said with a malicious smile sweeping across her face.

It was at this time that some shady business was ongoing in the backroom of Hades' Crib. It so happened that Brunhilde was the hostess this evening. It wasn't often she visited Magnolia, but when she did she had business to attend to aside from the usual jobs she did with her sisters. There were very few things she did alone but dealing with mobsters, creeps, and crooks were one thing she did alone. Conducting illicit business was a hobby of hers, it was how she afforded her extensive and expensive wardrobe. If you have a taste for the extravagant, then you'd better have deep pockets. And though her pockets weren't very deep at the moment, they would be before the night was over. Unlike her, these crooks had more than enough money, with all the illegal business they conducted.

It wasn't long after that Brunhilde was done and she would be joining back with her sister, Ashe, wherever she was. She'd pocketed a good wadd of walking around money, so she was set until her next visit to Magnolia. Normally, she was Claude in her civvies; a black pleated skirt, a white silk button-down blouse, and a magenta blazer. Accessorized with a black tie and knee-high black socks. This wasn't the case though, she was in a bar for criminals and she needed to look the part. So she donned a strapless velveteen mini dress that hugged her body, tightly. A cutout was in the stomach of the dress, showing off her Phantom Lord guild insignia over her bellybutton. It was true, she had the body of a young boy and had no need to wear such things. In fact, it was inappropriate but it made her feel confident. Her hair was down and flowed behind her in a silvery cascade.

She scoured the bar from the back, glancing over each and everyone, including the oh so typical bar fights. Brunhilde's short stature didn't really help, but the black 5'' heels she was wearing gave her an edge in peering over people until she finally found where Ashe was sitting. It was typical of people to push and shove past you due to how close everyone was but this wasn't a problem for Brunhilde, she might be dainty, but she could pack a punch. She ran her fingers across the sleek finish of the bar, sliding them down to the end, where she then took up a seat beside Ashe. It didn't take Brunhilde long to notice the boy sitting across from them and assess the situation. With a smirk, she lifted her crimson eyes to the boy, "Whatcha doin', mister?" a mischievous undertone took root in her words.

Pyre watched the door for awhile. Mostly men came in. The occasional dark wizard blessed the bar with his entrance but quickly left after finishing whatever business he had come to do. The most noticeable thing was the lack of women. There were a few, but they either were doing business or keeping their heads down. Until one woman walked into the bar. She held an air of confidence. She pushed her way through the crowd and ignored a catcall. Pyre held his breath when that happened, he was eighty percent sure she would have tried to slit the man’s throat. But she had kept walking until she saw Pyre. She watched him carefully, he stood out, but still sat down near him. Was it possible she was the one who knew things. The woman posed a question, clearly trying to bait pyre for something. But, he’d dealt with these kind of people before. ”Consider me a person willing to help you, in exchange for something I want that is.” Pyre said. He’d dealt with many shady people as a scout for the Aurelle family and this was no different to any other situation.
Pyre gave a polite smile, ”what do you say? I help you, you help me. It seems pretty fair.” He said.
The only person paying attention to their conversation was the bartender. An elderly man with a long black snake tattoo coiling around his neck. He turned his attention back to the girl. He wanted to see if she would help him in anyway.

Ashe snapped and the bartender rushed to her side, bringing her a non-alcoholic beverage. It was clear she had quite a reputation at places like these. Unlike most of the crowd, Ashe was not too fond of alcohol due to what it did to the mind and despite the feeling of ecstasy some believed it would bring, Ashe had never felt pleasure from it, only vulnerability. Now hearing the man across from her bark orders as if he had any leverage in the situation was laughable and laugh she did. It was the same wicked and a rather obnoxious laugh that rang through the ears of all who heard it.

After the laugh, Ashe took her glass in her hands and spun it in a circular motion, she glared at the boy "Who do you think you are? You don't have that right. To demand help from me and my sister and then offer yours in return, as if that exchange is even fair. You have nothing we desire and surely nothing we need. Your pathetic attempts to persuade us are futile and until proven otherwise, you are useless and in no position to wager." Ashe's words were harsh, as always. She never held back and that included now.

Ashe was offended by the man's audacity. He needed to learn his place and that was far below her. Ashe's hopes of the man having something of value were slim to none but still, a thought lingered in her mind, what did he want?

The Bartender treated Brunhilde and Ashe like goddesses among man. As did everyone who was smart enough to know to fear the maidens that were Ashe and her sisters. Like Ashe, Brunhilde didn't drink alcohol, but not because it clouded the mind, but because of what it did to the body. Liver failure, Heart issues, and what Brunhilde feared over all else; weight gain. It was no secret that she struggled with her body image, but it was also no secret that she struggled with her weight. So, Brunhilde just settled for a cold refreshing glass of water. You could never go wrong with water!

Across the table, the man was demanding information from them. A mistake on his part. Though, his first mistake was coming in here thinking they would give up information to him in exchange for information. It was true, the sisters had leads on almost everyone that walked through that door, but they never gave it up in return for something so meager. Whatever he had probably paled in comparison to what they had, and with that, as if on queue, Brunhilde was on a tangent too. "You are completely out of line and in no position to bark orders at us. Seeing as you came to us for help." she said with disgust behind her words. Pathetic. That is the only reading Brunhilde got from the man. He reeked of it and it was sickening. Whatever information he needed, he didn't deserve.

Outraged. Completely and utterly outraged. People came in day and night, left and right looking for them, specifically. They held the answers to their questions, and only if you were worthy would you get those answers. They were, in theory, the three fates that controlled the mother thread of life, but instead of life, they controlled the secrets and information in Hades' Crib.

Both girls, clearly held power in the bar. The bartender waited on them hand and foot, Pyre took note of the fact that neither ordered an alcoholic drink, Pyre ordered nothing. He was fine.

Pyre clenched his jaw when the girls treated him with little respect. They were knowledgeable, as the maidens had been around for quite awhile, if his history lessons served him well. But the Aurelle and the Baurai has been around for quite a long time as well. So Pyre, treating the women with respect and dignity, the only way to get somewhere in a barter if you’re the one asking, tried again. ”I apologize if my earlier way of entering the conversation was rude. But I think I can offer something of interest. Our—groups are both from times of old, so please don’t consider what I can offer as worthless.”
Pyre didn’t feel like he was asking for much, Hell, he hadn’t even asked them what he wanted to yet. These maidens were quite hard dealers.

In an attempt to increase his ability to succeed in this barter he tried to gauge what they would count as substantial help, ”IF, you were to accept my barter. What would you like to have in return. I’m sure I could be of some help.” He said.

He traced quiet circles on the table with his finger, it was just something he did. He always kept eye contact but he would trace out maps and such into the table. Tonight his invisible map was really Hades’ Crib. He had examined the place as soon as he wandered in. He was sure that he had plenty of exits. He didn’t know the maidens speed or strength. He might be able to dash to the door if things turned sour, but he knew he couldn’t take the two maidens on if things did go sour. So his best bet was to try and get this barter going smoothly so bothe people could walk away equally satisfied. He had no idea if the maidens were old enough to know about the Aurelle or Baurai. He assumed they were. But, had they seen the fact that the families had survived past their supposed fall. He knew that both families worked hard to conceal their existence so he doubted they knew his actual birthright. But it was best to keep it secret for the time being.

Ashe in all honesty just enjoyed playing with her victims and the truth was although they were feared in the bar for their many nefarious acts, most of their credit had to be given to Phantom Lord. The guild had quite a reputation as one of the more prominent dark guilds in Fiore and simply having that tattoo would strike fear into the hearts of unsuspecting low-life criminals everywhere. Besides, without magic or a guild what are you? Nothing. That is what these mobsters, creeps, and crooks are her were, nobodies. And in this vile crowd, she and her sister were undoubtedly the scariest villainess's and there was nothing they could do about it. This was a fact that caused many hateful glares of anger and envy. They would never be as successful as them.

But of course Ashe's attention was not on that of the men around her, well it was, but more specifically on the man in front of her. It was when he said 'our groups' that Ashe's mind sparked an interest. Did he mean Phantom Lord? Or perhaps the maidens. The fact that someone possibly knew the tale excited her. "What specifically do you mean by, our groups?" Ashe said with a hint of curiosity in her voice, this was added to the sexiness and subtle rasp that always seemed to escape her mouth when she spoke.

Pyre sighed. These girls were insufferable. He knew he had to remain cool, the Aurelle family needed this information, so if he must treat them kindly he would. ”Obce again, I assure you I mean no harm. My benefactor onl-“Pyre was cutoff by a man in a black cape slamming his hand down on the table. ”hey Lad, don’t bother wit’ these wizards! I think I can help ya. What do ya want to know?” the man asked. His accent was thick. Most of his o’s ended in the “a” sound instead. Pyre glanced at the maidens, then back to the man. ”I’m looking for a man who showed up here a few days ago. Received money from a drug dealer then disappeared.” Pyre said. The man thought for a moment then an eerie grin climbed onto his face. ”I think I know who you’re talking about. A real shady guy?” He asked. Pyre nodded. ”the man you’re looking for walked into the woods one day and killed one of my informant. If you find him kill em for me, would ya?” the man said. Pyre smiled, ”thank you sir, and thank you ladies for giving me some of your precious time. Adieu to you all.” Pyre said. He plopped a little sac in the middle of the table. It was filled with jewels and whoever nabbed it first would get it. But he was out of here, he had business to run.

-exit-