It Was a Dark and Stormy Alley

[Vittorio Mattaes]

"So what do you think?" Vittorio asked Atretes. He spread his arms wide, grandly, and swiveled to indicate the entire expanse of the broken-down warehouse. He glanced at his twin, shrugged, and added "It's not much, but it's home." It was the understatement of the century, and he and his brother knew it. Atretes had tried to warn him off purchasing the building in the decrepit outskirts of Bleak Street, but Vittorio would not be persuaded. He had little savings to account for, living mostly hand-to-mouth in one country or another, but Atretes had pitched in from his own little cookie jar and helped him get the property of his dreams. It was just as horrible as he wanted it to be. Vittorio wanted a project, something to dig his hands into and drag it out of the mud to begin his empire. Truth to be told, it wasn't just him who was tired of skipping from motel to motel, dodging aurors and occasionally getting zapped by an unruly object. It was part of the business: racketeering, that is. The twins peddled illicit substances (mostly dark artifacts) from one country to another, one wizard to another. However they were happy to add in extra services, for a fee, which included extortion, loansharking, bribery and other obstructions of justice for the purpose of making galleons.

It had been fifteen years since the brothers had started down that path, and finally it had taken them both to New Zealand. Vittorio planned to amass a nice little cash cow, starting with headquarters, but he had yet to convince Atretes to join him. He had no idea why his brother was suddenly so reluctant to join him. Maybe it was the having-not-been-laid-since-that-beautiful-witch-in-Madrid thing. Vittorio shrugged to himself. That would come with the business. Atretes had been talking about a 'home' and a 'job'. What Merlin-forsaken use were those when you had an 'office' and a 'vocation'?
"This is it, brother," announced Vittorio, clapping a hand onto the shoulder of the identical body next to him. "I'm going big - and I want you to come with me, Treaty." Vittorio gave his twin a purposeful, good-natured jab by calling him his hated childhood nickname. The racketeer made to continue, but there was a sudden rustle and a creak of rusty iron that made him spin around.
"Shh," he hissed, dragging his twin behind a crate. The rain outside was thundering and it was a wonder he'd heard anything at all, but there it was. The corrugated door swung open with a crash, and there came the vision that would change the twin's life forever. Vittorio whistled low in his throat, still hidden with his brother.
"Now look what the cat dragged in ..."​

Out of Character:

It's up! Hurrah! Okay so in case you missed any subtleties, Vittorio and Atretes are at his new warehouse on a Friday evening. It's pouring rain and Aeryn's the one who's taking shelter. Cool. Onwards!

 

[Atretes Mattaes]

Atretes was numb in the mind at the very moment. The very numbness helped removed the primary confusion as to why he even assisted his only twin to purchase this spacious lot. The warehouse, right before his eyes, looked like it had been run down by a minor hurricane. The mess was everywhere but that was when Atretes knew that magic would easily come in to solve the dilemma. A simple reparo charm here and there and maybe more complex cleaning spells would do the trick. Boxes or crates rather, scraps of cardboard and there was a corner that had vandalism on the wall - those were the inhabitants of the warehouse. Dust particles were playing along the flat surfaces of anything that could be found in the place. Atretes removed himself from his spot which was just next to Vittorio and approached a crate. He predicted that it had not been cleansed for the past two years if ever. Just like the rest of the objects, its top side was cloaked in subtle dust. Atretes ran his index finger experimentally on it, stopping halfway through the top. "Your home," murmured Atretes apathetically. He did not like the sound having a "home" especially when it was coming from Vittorio, knowing that his twin was planning something massive. Deciding that he was done knowing that there was enough dust on the crate to make him sneeze, he rubbed his thumb and index finger together to expel the dust at least a little bit. Once satisfied with its gradual disappearance Atretes walked back to his original spot with Vittorio.

The roar of the thunder repeated itself yet no fear entered the body of the young man. He looked around the grand space that his brother was so determined to buy ever since... he just could not recall. The big plans that Vittorio had was obvious and Atretes just felt so forced to come with him. All his life, he had been accompanied by Vittorio which pleased Atretes as much. They had embarked adventures together and it was only Vittorio that Atretes knew he could trust fully somewhat. However, a realization dawned him for the past few months. His sudden aversion towards the outlook of his life just confused him as much. The young man desired to have a stable life. It would be exciting to explore the many opportunities that legality possessed within it. But that did not mean that his personality would change oh so immediately. Atretes was certainly aware that it would be difficult and perhaps he would still smuggle things from here and there but that would just be a minor detail in his life. Vittorio wanted that exact occupation to be his present and future. His brother was so focused on the "project" that Atretes thought his twin was obsessed with the job that they used to handle were handling. Landing in New Zealand to turn over a new leaf seemed to be a good deal for Atretes - in which case he was quite sure that he would follow that path he had in mind. It was not as similar as Vittorio's plans, Atretes thought.

An expression of an irritated man precisely grasped the features of Atretes as he heard his ridiculous childhood nickname. A jab came in next which was supposed to be just as playful as a puppy waiting for its master. Brothers they were and yet Atretes never understood why Vittorio had to use that horrible name to capture his full and undivided attention. After numerous years had passed ever since he was a teenager, Atretes still despised the name irrationally. "And I bet this proj--" Interrupted by his twin, Atretes whipped his head towards the direction Vittorio had laid his eyes upon. He felt the skin of Vittorio touching his own as he was tugged behind a crate. Flashing with alarm, Atretes followed behind. It was not all the time that a sound - most possibly made by a human - crashed highly. Atretes stayed low for a few seconds, letting his twin do the seeing. Forgetting what he was about to say prior to the crashing incident, he joined Vittorio to take a look. There he saw a woman as his ears picked up the whistle of his brother. "Ah, the fun arrives." As low as he can, the man chuckled. By fun, he meant something else more... However Atretes wasn't going to fool around just yet.
​

 

[Aeryn Lucas]

There was decidedly far more rain falling from the sky now, then when Aeryn Lucas first stepped out of the hotel she was staying at. It didn't matter though how wet it was, she refused to return to her room until she found that last potion ingredient she needed to finish off her creation. If she got this right, it would be a breakthrough in modern potion-making. Surely then her father would be proud of her. She didn't much care for Remmy or her step-monster. But her father was who she be doing this for. He had always said that she would be one to create a new and improved healing potion and so she was out to try, but as of yet she had been down on her luck in finding the optimal last ingredient. She had been in New Zealand for a little over two weeks and her father had urged her many times in the span to return home to Cardiff. But she was unfulfilled in her quest and so she did not feel her time her was complete. However, she was most certain that if she did not manage to find what she was looking for in the next week, she would have no choice but to return home. She could hardly miss her fathers birthday. Long distance apparation was such a pain after all, and she was going to have to make some stops along the way. The day she went and got herself a portkey would be a day of celebration, she was sure. She did hate those things however and she had yet to find one suitable since apparition was just as easy. Why change what she was used to? It would be like a Muggle switching a car for a horse. Atleast in theory anyway. In practice she really knew very little of the Muggle society, apart from that which she had learned at school.

Aeryn shook her head, water splashing against the closest walls. Even the best anti-water charms could not hold back such a barrage of rain as this. She realised that she had been rather foolish in thinking that she would even find what she was looking for out here. The closest stores were either closed, being the end of the current week, or filled with waterlogged patrons. This caused her to have wandered down to Bleak street, which, unsurprisingly, made her feel like a drowned rat. There were even less places to take shelter here then there were in the main streets. She sighed and walked along the street, huddling her head under her coat, trying to keep as dry as possible, and failing rather badly, which was not all that surprising. At this rate, even her coat, black as it was, would become see through, all the colour will have drained from it. Why had she been so presumptuous to think that it would be her that would find this ingredient. She was sure some other potion master would have found it by now. She was likely not even in the right place! Maybe England would have been a far more likely a candidate to hold such goods. She was now determined that England would be her next stop. If not to atleast have an excuse to spend one more day away from her horrid step mother. Admittedly though, Aeryn had no reason to dislike her other then she was very forward in trying to replace her mother. Atleast to a seven year old who had recently just started to understand what death meant, that is what it seemed like. Remmy she disliked for the simple fact that she was an untrained tart who just happened to be able to hold a tune. Such is the way her mother treats her. In Aeryn's not so expert opinion, she could barely sing R'n'B let alone Pop or anything else. She also could not play a guitar to save her life, much to her own annoyance.

Aeryn was feeling very cold, very wet and very alone by the time she came upon what she was hoping would be an empty warehouse she could stay in until the worst of the rain was over. She was too exhausted to even risk trying to apparate at this point and she quickly proceeded to attempt to push open the doors. It took almost all of her strength to finally manage to feat and she was more then glad to have the doors not be locked. Casting one last drying spell, Aeryn ventured further into the warehouse and looked around. It looked the same as many warehouses she had seen, though she had not seen many, but this one seemed to have been occupied recently. There was not as much dust as she would normally have expected of a warehouse of this nature, all the way out in the Dark Part of Bleak street. Atleast that was what the locals called this place. Admittedly, this did give her pause to wonder if such a place was really all that safe for her to be lurking in, but she was fairly confident in her dueling ability. Provided she didn't run into any dark wizards or witches or creatures or anything overly dangerous. It would likely not go so well for her at all. As she looked around, she noticed a nice looking crate she could sit on whilst waiting for the rain to finish, it had a good view of the door and it looked the most comfortable of all the crates in the room. Walking briskly over to it, she sat upon it and brought her knees up to her chest to hug them, after all, it was still cold and she was alone in the warehouse. Atleast, she thought she was. It did not take her long to sense that there was someone else inside and she quickly hopped up from her place at the crates. She pulled out her wand and pulled her coat closed, trapping in as much warmth as possible."Is some-one there?" She asked, looking behind crates and barrels. "Please come out. Stop hiding." She called, her voice shaky as she wondered rather worriedly, who was dwelling in the shadows.​

Out of Character:

Oh God, I am incredibly sorry at this sucky thing. Please forgive.

 

[Vittorio Mattaes]

Vittorio shared a glance with his twin before sauntering out behind the crates that provided their cover. The young woman looked like a drowned rat and he grinned to himself as he approached her.
"Who's hiding?" said Vittorio, spreading his arms in welcome. "It is my warehouse, after all." He made a note not to call it 'their' warehouse. Atretes was still unresponsive to his pestering and seemed to dislike his sharing of the title so freely.
"Now why don't you put that away and come sit over here, hey?" he invited Aeryn. Vittorio removed his own wand and added "Do you mind at all?" before casting an evaresco towards her to dry her clothes. "You haven't exactly walked into the optimal environment for comfort, but we'll see what we can do ... won't we, Atretes?" said the racketeer, turning and beckon his twin out from behind the crates. "We didn't mean to startle you."

They may have been rascals but they weren't the kind of men to pester women (that much), so Areyn was relatively safe with them. The warehouse, however, was a different matter, and could be as treacherous as it wanted in the spring storm. Almost as if to prove a point, the roof creaked ominously and a gust of wind blew the makeshift door open with a clatter. Vittorio winced and flicked his wand at it so that it slammed with a shut, then pocketed the wand.
"It's a shame you had to come upon my little nest egg in such disrepair, love." said Vittorio, giving Aeryn one, long appraising look. "But not a shame that you've come. I wonder, though, how you managed to find yourself in such an ... " he glanced out of a broken window with a pause, " ... unsavoury back alley such as this one. I won't deny that you've caught us unawares." Indeed she had. The woman was just as beautiful wet as she probably was dry, and it was no skin off Vittorio's back if she'd dropped in on them, dilapidated warehouse or not.​

 

[Atretes Mattaes]

The talking had commenced and Atretes let his twin go first before him. Atretes was still confused and a little pissed however he would not let his mood ruin the young lady who was under his twin's covers of a warehouse. Atretes readied his wand with a flick and out came some red sparks; an indication that he had no idea what it was about. Perhaps it reflected his mood? No, red just did not symbolize his mixed emotions currently. Atretes stood up to his full height and felt the joints of his knees crack. The feeling was bliss for a small moment afterwards it quickly faded to its usual feel. Atretes took in her sight without any shame. She was drenched to the core with the coldness enveloping her. Atretes watched quietly as Vittorio did the first charm. Atretes felt that he too should make a move but his mind just would not cooperate with him. It was silent and his charm was not kicking its gear. Atretes just did not know whether he had the muse to even act so charming and playful. Questions first, he thought, and the fun shall be later if ever.

An empty response resonated from the young man. There was no other choice but to welcome the lady in his twin's warehouse. She needed the shelter for the time being and he had the feeling that his brother would just not let her go yet. With all the favors that Vittorio was giving her, Atretes could not help but smirk at his brother mentally. He knew that familiar charm and wondered if ever he should unleash his as well. His was on a peaceful slumber but Atretes wanted to at least converse with her. The past events of the day drove his thoughts into a chaotic mess. The young lady in front of him did not seem to be as a mental mess to him that had the plan to drive him crazy. "Very unaware at that," he added to his twin's statement. She was perhaps in a desperate search for some shelter minutes ago and Vittorio's warehouse did the trick. Treaty looked up at the ceiling to see if it needed any more repair but so far Vittorio's wand work fixed it still. The winds outside were getting noisier and the air was cruelly cold even if they were inside. Atretes wondered if ever he spent his galleons wrongly but still, his twin persisted to buy this. Knowing Vittorio, this distasteful place will turn grand sometime.

Atretes cocked his head to the side to analyze the woman. Her appearance made her look professional which Atretes liked, much to his pleasure. It was not everyday that a thunderstorm occurred and a woman as pleasantly looking as the lady walked in. The man hoped that he was not acting too mysterious but he had this feeling that his twin brother still felt the mood he was harboring earlier. But then, there was a young lady to entertain. Atretes snapped his eyes briefly away from hers and reconnected again. "And why, if I may I ask, were you out in the rain this evening?" Oddly, concern took the dominant hand in his mind for a short-lived whilst. Did he really want to know what the woman was doing or was he doing this to just mess around? Perhaps the former was his secret of a choice since she really did look bad. Atretes walked over to a crate and leaned his hip there. As for his arms, he crossed them casually. The wand was still hanging limply in his grasp and Treaty had no desire to tuck it in very soon.
​

 

[Aeryn Lucas]

Aeryn nearly jumped about two feet in the air when a an walked out from behind a bunch of crates. As it turned out, he owned this rather "charming" little warehouse. She bit her lip, she was trespassing on his property. She felt very uncomfortable at present, but kept her wand in her hand. She didn't know anything about this man, she didn't know who he was, or why he was hiding behind his crates. Because she knew that was what he was doing and no matter what he said to her she was always going to believe that. She looked at him awkwardly. "This is your Warehouse? Then I truly apologise for trespassing here." She told him, looking around. She couldn't imagine what on earth he might need a Warehouse for, though she wasn't entirely sure that she wanted to know either. Just the whole atmosphere of the situation ensured that she kept her guard up. She was all on her own, drenched in rain, in an unfamiliar Warehouse with a man she didn't know. What would her father say? She had to keep thinking about her father to stop from shivering. Why she wasn't casting a drying spell on herself was beyond her right now, but she had always felt more at home with Potions over anything else. Charms had been abit of a sore spot for her in school. Something her Father was usually upset about. Sending her to Salem had however been a good move on his part. She had excelled in the Potion classes over there, but felt weird being the only British girl in any of the classes. Considering Salem is in America, she never did lose her Welsh accent. Not even for the seven years she was there.

Soon the man beckoned for her to sit by him and she simply shook her head. She felt safer at a distance then she would being any closer then was necessary. It was unfortunate that she was feeling very out of her element at the moment. He was quite attractive afterall. Even in the dim lighting that seemed to be highlighting his features rather nicely. Aeryn smiled slightly, "If it's all the same to you, I think I would rather stay over here." The fact that he had pulled out his wand and dried her made her feel alittle better, but still she decided it was in her best interest to just, stay in wand range but not too close. He would undoubtedly be much stronger than herself, even if she was quite good at Defensive spells. She inclined her head after the spell. "Thank you, but it was unnecessary." She rolled her eyes at herself. Maybe if she kept saying that, she would start to believe it herself. She felt alot better for it, and she was grateful to him, but she didn't want to tell him that, though it was so visible on her face, a blind person would see it. She was about to ask him a question when she noticed that he had said we, atleast twice. So there was another in here. She looked past him as he beckoned to "Atretes", and was shocked when she saw that he looked similar to the other one. Okay, so they were brothers, unless there was some untoward Poly juicing going on, not that she could smell any around here. "I'm terribly sorry, I didn't realise that there were two of you in here." She felt stupid. Had they wanted to attack her they could have done so quite easily. She hadn't even bothered to check that there had only been one noise. She had just assumed. Hadn't her Father always told her that Assuming was bad?

By this point, Aeryn gave up, she stuffed her wand, back into her pocket and shrugged. She walked over to the twins, only one of whose name she knew and sat next to the first one. She figured that she deserved what ever she got for not being observant. Besides, if they were going to hurt her she was sure they would have done it by now. That and she had never heard of a tag team of serial killer twins, or serial anything twins. Aeryn just listened quietly as the first twin spoke. She was going to have to ask his name, instead of calling him, "the first twin" in her head all the time. But for the time being, she was pretty much content. When he asked her a question, she was about to answer, until Atretes also asked a question and seeing as she could answer them both as one question she decided to tell them about what she had been doing. She sighed and bit her lip, hoping she wouldn't sound as dumb as she felt. "Well, you see, for the last two weeks or so, I have been here in New Zealand searching for my last potion ingredient. The problem is, I don't know what it will be, but I know that if I find it, I will know that it is the one. So this morning I was supposed to leave to return home, but I promised myself, and my company, that I wouldn't leave until I found it. I have been walking around in all the shops just looking. I have tried all the shops in Obsidian and other places, but this was the only place I haven't checked." She started, about to come to the part with why she was in the Warehouse. "I had been out for a few hours when it started raining and instead of just apparating back to my room I kept walking, because I'm not entirely sure where I am and I was worried I wouldn't find this place again tomorrow when I continued my search. So when I saw this Warehouse, I thought it might be a good place to take shelter. And considering I'm really not that good at Charms, I really needed somewhere to dry off." She thought she might have said to much, but what the hell, her Father was going to kill her anyway. And if her Father didn't, her Step-Mother would.

"I know your name," She said pointing to Atretes, "But I'm afraid I don't know yours. I'm Aeryn." She told them, finishing off her narrative.​

Out of Character:

Sorry I hope this is okay.

 

[Vittorio Mattaes]

Vittorio waved off the young woman's apology with a hand and smiled gently.
"It's barely trespassing when we've spent the last couple of hours chasing off squatters. I'd much rather someone use this hunk of junk for a legitimate reason before the organi- ... the business gets up and running." he explained. He simply shrugged as she declined to sit by him, as well as her thanks for the charm.
"I wouldn't be much of a business owner if I couldn't offer that much, now could I?" said Vittorio. He couldn't help but share a smirk with his twin at her surprise when Atretes appeared. Many twins existed in the world and plenty of identical ones, besides, but even they would do a double-take at the brother's similarities. They were literally cut from the same mold, and often appeared to have exactly the same temperament (an illusion that they liked to cultivate). He was pleased to see that she had relaxed enough to return her wand to her pocket. Vittorio was very familiar with what nervous women could do when a wand went unchecked, and the last thing he wanted was to see his warehouse go up in flames in the middle of a rainstorm. Just to emphasize his fears, a piece of corrugated iron suddenly detached itself from the roof and let in a torrent of rain onto his well-combed hair.
"poop," swore Vittorio, knowing his brother would be laughing at him. He shook his head apologetically at Aeryn and chucked the broken roof piece into the corner. The hole in the roof ceased to flood and reduced itself to an irritating torrent into the dry patch of concrete.
"You've come far for one ingredient, madam." said Vittorio to distract himself from his annoyance. His ears began to prick up at the prospect of a business opportunity, and he figured there was no harm in letting her in on their (his, he reminded himself) little scheme.
"Of all the places to have been stranded, Miss Aeryn, this the most fortunate for you. My name is Vittorio Mattaes, and Atretes is my brother, of course," he responded to her question, "And you have managed to stumble upon a supplier of troubling goods." Vittorio grinned charmingly. "We've been freelance for most of our lives, but this warehouse is to one day be our center of operations for a much larger business." During this introduction, he gave one look to Atretes which conveyed everything he needed to say. I know we're not in this together, brother, but don't mess this up. Just play along.
"Our hope is to locate, supply and produce a large manner of hard-to come by goods for the people of Obsidian and Bleak Street in one set location. If you'd like," he said, leaning in to give Aeryn an encouraging smile, "You could be our first customer. Just what is it that you're after there, Miss Aeryn? Have no fear about privacy. We can be very ... discreet."​

 

[Atretes Mattaes]

Again, Treaty was not in for this whole pretense just for the sake of civil introductions. Vittorio managed to be his charming and cool self in front of the young lady sitting by. It was not a massive surprise when he did most of the talking. Atretes was perhaps not the only human being here who was confused. It was possible that the woman who introduced herself as Aeryn shared the same emotion as well, because of the ingredient that did not want to go into her sights for her potion. Atretes leaned his hip on a tall crate that contained something heavy whilst watching his brother converse easily. If only it would be that easy to just go along with this game of his. His life back then only hung on the same string with his brother. His life back then gave him opportunities to explore his dark and mischievous self. Their trips together regarding business made him into the person he was today but for a reason, he wanted some details to be altered. Altered in a manner that he would change again, for the better this time. Atretes couldn't help but subconsciously think about his views on Vittorio's upcoming "big business" as Vittorio regarded the woman with a hint of curiosity and ease. May his life tonight lift up his spirits, at least a wee bit.

For one, Atretes felt amusement stir in his chest as a part of Vittorio's warehouse roof just broke down. Rain fell in, its spatters that irritated Vittorio made Treaty look at him with a small snicker that lasted for a second or two. He liked it subtle, especially in front of a lady. An attractive one, note that. The whole place was not ideal for such introductions like this but hell, how lucky were they to have a visitor that needed help and some charming assistance. The latter was done by Vittorio all alone. All Treaty had done so far that day was too scowl as he thought of different stuff that was surely legal. There were a few moments of weak smirks when he tried to ease the mood. Speaking of the mood, it shifted into something more business-like when Vittorio spoke. Atretes tensed but soon concealed it by letting out a puff of a sigh. "Careful brother," Atretes thought and felt his palms begin to chill. The woman seemed too innocent to join in this thing. She might even find the idea preposterous if she found out what those troubling goods really were. He kept quiet and listened to the whole speech of his twin which he found too eager. If only Atretes could match the eagerness his twin subtly exposed.

But well, of course not.

Treaty narrowed his eyes suspiciously, even if he noted the glance of Vittorio. Not like he wanted his brother to be rejected oh-so perfectly, but the whole prospect of it was totally wrong. "Discreet my ass," Atretes mumbled so softly that he was sure that the two people in the place did not have a chance to catch his words. Maybe witnessed his lips moving rapidly but his words? Slim chance. Atretes was not done yet. However, he let go of narrowing his eyes. Instead he looked at Vittorio with a face that expressed casualness and professionalism. The look in his eyes gave away the discouragement he wanted to freely state. "Vittorio." It was a warning. A signal not to even try to do it. He did hope it sounded like the total opposite; that he was excited and all for this thing and blah. Yet his tone was laced with a hidden meaning not to do it. Atretes was equally confused why he did not want to resume his former occupation and here he was, trying to redeem himself... Somewhat.
​

Out of Character:

omfg, so late.

 

[Aeryn Lucas]

Out of Character:

I'm even later then you Arty

Aeryn nodded as the man explained that he didn't mind her 'trespassing' so to speak on his property. She was indeed glad for that, but she could not shake the feeling that she was probably very out of her element. However, in saying that, the thought that she might be in danger excited her, if only a little. She then jumped slightly when part of the roof collapsed and let in rain, wetting her yet again. She pouted slightly and used the spell he had just used to dry her off. She tilted her head up to look at the roof and had to wonder why on Earth anyone would want to use this shabby place for any sort of buisness at all. What exactly were these guys into anyway. It was strange to say the least, but she decided against voicing her thoughts. If they wanted to use this place for their buisness that was for them to decided, it really had nothing to do with her, although she was going to be stuck here atleast until the rain stopped. She had to wonder exactly when the rain was going to stop, it would be nice to know when she was going to be free to leave, not that she was scared or anything. Afterall, she trusted them enough to have put her wand away, as much as she knew that her father would kill her if he ever found out where he was right now, so she had to admitt that she hoped he never would, because likely, she would never be able to leave the house again. That would be rather depressing indeed. However, Aeryn soon found herself listening curiously when the man whom now identified himself as Vittorio mentioned troublesome goods. Smugglers? Well she supposed that did make alot of sense come to think of it. She had never come across any smugglers or anything herself, but she had heard stories from her father about how she should stay away from their sort. If only he could see her now.

Aeryn flipped her hair over her shoulder and looked between the rather handsome brothers. She may not have known much about the darker side to the magical world, but she knew enough. She smiled slightly and shrugged. "Yes, I have come quite a way and troublesome goods are often very common in my line of work." She told him, biting her lip. Their first customer huh? If her father knew that she was dealing with these guys, he would probably never talk to her again, he really liked to run a clean buisness, but if he wanted her to finish this potion, she was going to have to take them up on their offer. Surely they would know better then she, what needed to be done. Maybe they could find what she was after, she wouldn't have to tell her fathe rirght? "I really do appreciate the offer boys, but... I have no idea what this is that I am after. It's kind of like Potioneers intuition, you know?" She asked, crossing her legs and hugging herself. She wanted them to be able to help, she really did, but, how would they? She didn't even know what she was looking for so how would thay?​

Out of Character:

So sorry bout this guys.

 

[Vittorio Mattaes]

Vittorio caught Atretes' meaning with the use of his full name and simply chuckled in response. He never heeded his brother's warnings, even (or especially) during dire circumstances. Together they operated as if one person, so if Atretes knew of a potential threat, Tory was already aware of it. He leaned in close to his brother's ear to whisper "Don't be such a grandma, Treat," before changing direction mid-lean to casually sit back against the crate behind him.
"Well, that does explain why you're all the way down here," Tory directed to the sweet and flustered looking Aeryn. "A lot of people who don't know what they're looking for end up around these ways. Myself, included," he added softly. Vittorio's subtle manipulation must have been glaring to his twin, who had seen and participated in most every trick they conjured to entice clients, but to Aeryn the dark haired man's face had softened with commiseration.
"I know it doesn't look like much, yet," said Tory as if letting her in on a private pain of his, "But I'm really hoping I can get the ball rolling before the entire building falls apart." Vittorio seemed to brighten and his sharp features softened with with his expression. "If I can find what you're looking for, maybe that might just be the kick we need." He currently wanted to kick Atretes for his non-participation. They'd always done their jobs together, and just because Treat was reluctant to start on Tory's latest venture, didn't mean that he had to be such a wet blanket. Potioneers often pay a pretty sum for the hard-to-come by ingredients, too, especially if there's a bit of danger involved in getting it. Get it together, Atretes! thought Vittorio irritably but poker-faced to Aeryn.
Tory shrugged to the young woman and smiled encouragingly. "Well, there's no place better than to start here then, is there?". The hammering rain had reduced to a patter in the meantime. Vittorio started at a drip that fell onto his nose, then covered it with a cough.
"So what are you making? Are you a contractor, a researcher, a teacher, a murderer?" he teased. "Anything that can't be found in Borgin and Burkes is certainly a special ask. I'm not much of a potions-maker, per say, but I've dealt with enough of the substances to get an idea of what to try."​