Dressed to Impress

[Lexy Fletcher]

Bleak street was becoming home to Lexy Martinez when she was in New Zealand. It was often that if she was here trading she'd find herself in the company of less than desirables in the deepest, darkest part of the alley. Lexy didn't mind though, she was able to defend herself if needed - all of her training in school came in handy for something after all, considering she was too bored by regulations to work for the ministry. No, she was doing something quite the opposite on this particular evening. After meeting one Arlo a few nights ago she had been hard at work researching what the best wand sample to bring to this meeting would be. Though she kept everything fairly secretive to Zero, her friend was happy to make a wand if it would bring in as many galleons as what Lexy said it would. So in her bag tucked away was a Curly 18 Inch Unyielding Elder Wand with Chimera Scale Fragment Core, it was beautifully crafted. Zero really went out of her way to make sure she'd earn her money's worth. This would surely buy Yiwen and Zero something nice for the house, or for school. Lexy smiled at that thought, leaned firmly against the wall. She didn't bother to wear heels, being underestimated was part of her stick. After all they never defended against someone who didn't look like they could do much. Where was Arvo and his friend? Lexy was worried maybe they'd try and ambush her, it was why she was back to the wall as she waited for the two of them to show up, her senses heightened. If they tried anything she'd apparate away - and wouldn't care about if they knew who she was. Zero would be safe and this wand would sell to someone.

 

[Arlo Carson]

So far he'd managed to avoid Kasper for nearly two months, if you didn't include the incident at the bar. Arlo hadn't forgotten his promise to the woman he'd met a few days prior, and as he was making his way to Bleak Street for what he assumed was going to be a very awkward first meeting, he hoped he wasn't about to drop Yevheniy into a scam. Considering how defensive both parties had been, he was hopeful this meeting would be smooth one that he wouldn't come away feeling remorseful for. Maybe his gut feeling was right, and this would turn out to be a business deal that could bring advantages for them, and as he spotted the familiar frame of Lexy leaning against the wall, he sighed quietly to himself as he realised there was no turning back. Closing the gap between them, his eyes watched her through his thick black hair that hung over his face "Hey" he said quietly when he finally close enough. She looked very care free for someone who was about to meet one of the Scitorari leaders. He was going to task a risk and assumed she knew what she was doing, and so didn't bother asking her if she was ready. "Let's go" He added. He wasn't going to waste any more time for this than he needed to. If it fell through then so be it, this wasn't the only thing he had to do today.

 

[Lexy Fletcher]

The young adult was not sure how far she'd be walking into Bleak street. If there was a safe haven, if there was something she had missed. She wondered briefly if perhaps they were leading her for funny business. There was nothing she hated more than being crossed, so she had her own wand at the ready just in case. "This leader of yours, he has money right? It won't be something where he tries to take it for me and I kill him. Because I'm not willing to take his spot if that's the case." There was a mild amount of humor in her pixie-like voice, but for the most part she was forewarning what might happen if they cross her at all. The brunette was prepared for anything at this point in time though.

 

[Yevheniy Kharchenko]

It had been odd to receive a message from one of his members about wands. He was sure having more than one wand would be practical for them, but making these links himself was a rather odd thing. He was curious, tentatively curious but curious nonetheless about what this might bring. He had settled his nerves about it with a few drinks, well, really, how he started most days. He didn't need it, but he liked it. The man stopped as he overheard voices in the alleyway. The pixie-like voice of a woman, and the silence of the person accompanying her, but he was sure this was the right person. She presumed to be able to kill him if he tried to wrong her, but he very much doubted that. He stepped out of where he'd been mostly hidden from them and glanced at the girl, god, so pathetic. He went out of his way in trying to be interested in woman when really most of them filled him with an intense hatred. Arlo however, the member of his little group was someone he was far more interested in, even if nothing was ever to happen.

Yevheniy cleared his throat loudly to draw their attention to him, "I know we're in Bleak street, but please try to not draw more attention to yourself than needs be," he told them both, looking primarily towards the guy he knew as if to tell him that he should've kept better control. "With your size, and your voice, you wouldn't want to attract a hag," he added finally looking towards the woman. He crossed his arms as he glanced between them, "So?" he motioned a little he didn't have all day, well, he did, but he wasn't going to let them know that. He just needed to have this meeting be over with. He felt ready to leave this if it turned out to be horrible, or that she was useless, so certainly while he hoped this would go well, he wasn't holding out for it, "I don't have all day,"
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[Arlo Carson]

Arlo blanked the woman as she continued to question him. She would have to wait and see whether Yevheniy was actually interested in the proposition before he was going to give away any details. He'd not been a member of the Scitorari for any lengthy amount of time, and he was in two minds as to how this would go down. He glanced down to the woman now, wondering what people would think if they saw them together. He'd felt sorry for her more than anything that they they'd met, and he hoped she'd be on her way once this was completed.

Arlo turned hesitantly when Yev introduced himself behind him, but made no movement in his face regarding his comment. He didn't have a habit of attracting anything if he could help it, but with Yev's presence looming over the situation he knew better than to retort. His eyes scanned him up and down, for the first time meeting him properly. It wasn't the first time that Arlo was experiencing anxiety that the woman might be trying to scam them, but he wanted to prove that he was useful in this group, and she was a ticket into that. Looking between the pair, he said "See for yourself. I'm sure she hasn't arrived empty handed, and you can hardly deny the usefulness of a personal trader", motioning with his hand towards the petite woman that she should show Yev what she had brought with her. His bonds with others weren't particularly strong, and he had nothing to lose in this attempt for an associate.

 

[Lexy Fletcher]

Lexy laid eyes on the leader. Tall but a welp of a man, with hardly any muscle. Her doe eyes narrowed to slits as she glanced over him, assessing the situation. She wasn't an idiot, and she wasn't just going to throw the wand at him without any form of protection. She had her own wand in her hand, and looked to Arlo who spoke in her defense. "First I have a demand." She looked between the two. "I want Arlo to hold your actual wand." Though she hadn't known Arlo long she had more trust for him than this so-called leader of theirs. After all Arlo would have just killed her when he took her into the back alley drunk wouldn't he have? She was intoxicated and let him try out the wands without a second thought. Lexy had vowed not to drink on the job again after that. If Zero had found out she surely would have chewed her out. Never let her live down the fact that she'd done it - Lexy wasn't going to play that game. "I brought you the best wand I could from my maker. This is a Curly 18 Inch Unyielding Elder Wand with Chimera Scale Fragment Core," She revealed the wand and held it up. First she tested it and she cast easily a protection charm around their area, so that the hags this man seemed so worried about wouldn't get them. The wand was stubborn at first, but it was not her wand, of course it was. "As you can tell there will be draw backs to using any wand that isn't yours. This charm I've cast will not last as long or be as potent. However as a throwaway wand made by an unknown source, it would be hard to track. Even if you used the Imperius curse, you could simply break the wand and toss it to the side afterwards." She now faced the man who towered over her as most people did, unafraid to make eye contact. "Once you relinquish your want to Arlo you can try it for yourself."

 

[Yevheniy Kharchenko]

Yevheniy wasn’t sure what to make of Arlo, and his little buddy. He was tentative to trust anyone, and this girl had been the last thing he had been expecting. Some silly little woman, who didn’t know poop about everything that they had or what they did. He didn’t like the idea of just trusting some other person with this, but he needed to try. At her request he laughed, he didn’t care, ”Yeah, I’m not doing that,” the man said just staring right at her, ”You need this business with me, I don’t need you,” Yevheniy was looking for someone, and this was a difficult connection to make, but he had connections, his friends in the Zhefavorich clan would certainly have someone else they could point him in the direction of. He frowned at the wand, ”Isn’t that a little too fancy? We don’t need wands that are fancy with expensive cores, we need simple wands, blend under the radar wands,” he glanced up at Arlo, he didn’t know how much the man had told this girl about what they did but certainly she would understand that they didn’t need flashy wands, they needed wands that wouldn’t be a complete waste to then throw away. He knew this was a mistake, trusting this woman of all people. Someone selling wands to people like him would know this, perhaps it was just some test, but regardless, he didn’t need this.
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[Arlo Carson]

Arlo gave his best attempt at suppressing the small smile that threatened to appear on his face. She was certainly weary of them running of with her own stock, and wasn't going to risk anything if she could help it. "Don't you think that if something was to happen, it would've already?" He questioned her. Not only could they have taken the wand from her hand right here and now if they wanted, she must have realised her safety wasn't compromised given that Arlo had given her dinner and a place to stay that night a few weeks ago. All she had to worry about was convincing Yevheniy that this was a good idea. He glanced across to gauge his reaction to the wand. Of course he thought it was too fancy, and Arlo could see why, but perhaps that was in their best interest. "Surely it would draw more suspicion if we were to appear with the most useless form of equipment" He raised his eyebrow to the leader of his group. It wasn't that he didn't trust his opinion, but he liked to believe he had a point. If they used wands too basic it would never perform as well as one of better quality, and no one would expect a member of the Scitorari to come to a confrontation with the simplest of wood fit for a first year.

 

[Lexy Fletcher]

Lexy didn't trust this man but Arlo was quite reassuring to Lexy. She frankly didn't particularly trust either of them if she were honest, but what other choice did she have but to listen? Lexy shrugged her shoulders. "That wasn't my choice." She remarked. "My supplier likes to impress. She wanted to show that even complicated cores could be worked with by her. She's made things as simple as oak and doxy, but she feels it's best to put her best work out there." Zero was flourishy, artsy, she was a little ridiculous but Lexy loved her. "I didn't bring any others but after my wand burst into flames - long story - she made mine as well." Lexy removed hers, Curly 10 Inch Flexible Acacia Wand with Doxy Wing Core, it was a simple and well made wand. She'd had it since she was eighteen and it proved useful to her thus far. She hoped that it was a little more on the plain side. "My supplier charges for how long it takes to make them, she grows some of her own ingredients so she isn't bothered by the price of them. Others such as Chimera however would be a little harder to come by and may incur more of a price. I'd still state she's competitive as long as she's unaware who I'm providing to." Lexy was open and honest that zero didn't agree with the scit. But Zero was not the seller - she was. "I don't request tips for wand deliveries, pay her what she's owed i take my percentage from that. i also ask for protected drops now. Meaning if i am to give to you i would like only to communicate with you or Arlo. There is too much danger in being recognizable." the Scottish girl shifted her weight from one side to the other. "If you aren't satisfied with the quality and can bring the wand in tact with proof that no illegal curses or spells have been cast from it we offer a money back guarantee. Remember not to expect great feats though from a wand that didn't choose you."

 

[Yevheniy Kharchenko]

Yevheniy glared at his comrade and frowned, "The wand will always be weaker because it isn't our true wand, but a fancy wand with expensive materials that we'll use occasionally isn't economical," The leader of the anarcho's might spend most of his time in dingy bars drinks and fighting with just about anyone, but he felt like he knew what he was doing. His gaze shifted back to the little girl in front of him, nodding along as she spoke, wanted to impress sure, but since she didn't even know who she was impressing then it was worthless. Not all were impressed by shiny objects. The man looked at her wand and again nodded. She was making a lot of terms and he hadn't even agreed to it yet. "Listen, girl, I'll make my terms simple, I want usable, non-flashy wands, wands that do a job and blend in. You will deal with Arlo or myself, but let's just make it mostly Arlo because I don't care for you," Yevheniy continued, "We'll pay you what we owe and you ask nothing, you say nothing and in return you tell us nothing about these wands or their maker. If any of the wands prove to be a trap or to simply not work, I will hold you personally accountable. If you tell anyone" Yevheniy looked between them his voice and expression stern, he wasn't going to mess around or back down upon it. His terms were pretty close to what the girl had asked making sure that his threat to her was real, "Agreed?"
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[Arlo Carson]

It was exciting, the prospect that soon they would have in their possession wands that could be used freely and without consequence, although the man did nothing to express his opinions from the outside in this regard. Both of them seemed to know what they were doing, although it was apparent Arlo would be acting messenger for the pair. It made logical sense, after all they couldn't risk either of them being spotted together. "I'm in the area every eight weeks. Give or take." He didn't intend to elaborate any further as to why that was the case, but it was a starting point. "If that's enough time to create them, I'll pick them up in batches." Obviously the timing and places of any visits would be scattered, but given that Arlo moved about frequently he would be able to transport anything required between them. Nobody else needed to know, and it would create the perfect production line. He knew anything created for them wouldn't be as strong as their own wands, but the possibilities would be widened for them and he had a feeling that she needed their custom as much as they'd benefit from hers.

 

[Lexy Fletcher]

Lexy wanted to punch this wizard straight in hsi weak jawline and watching him twitch in pain - his smart mouth was irritating and if she could she would take him out. However the brunette knew better, this was good money for she and her companion. "First of all if I'm going to be working with you you're not going to call me girl. My name is Lexy." She started off. "As far as the wands not working we won't have that issue, because they're good quality. Further more if you think I'm afraid of dealing with you, you're wrong." She turned to Arlo, obviously irritated. "I will see you in eight weeks with your first batch." With that Lexy turned on her heels. She was steamed and had elsewhere to be. There was someone shorting her money at the moment - and all debts needed to be paid.