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They pulled up to a stand with various automation animals. Bird twittered in cages. Emerald amphibians skittered on the table. Most importantly, several cats of various sizes crawled around the table making small metallic purring noises at the passerbys. “Is this what you were thinking of.” She bent down to pet a black kittens with opalescent eyes.
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"Yes, definitely." Calix said then pet the quiet automated cats, they were interesting and built to seemingly last.
Adri stared at all of them for a moment. "They're really cute." She lifted a small chickadee automaton off the table, turning it over in awe at the workmanship.
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The barkeep pulled up her sleeve revealing her many watches. “We should get going soon. Purchase your new pets, quickly please.”
Adri nodded, handing the vendor a few coins and accepting the little bird in return. She tucked it into a pocket of her tunic, as she straightened and turned to the barkeep.
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"You almost ready Calix?" The barkeeper handed Adri a small silver birdcage for her new chickadee.
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"Yeah." Calix said holding the cat he bought in a carrier. "I'm good."
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“Kay.” The barkeep snapper and the dome formed back around them. Their clothes flickered and returned to how they were before. Calix and Adri look down at their cloaks. “I had them dry cleaned by the way.” She snapped again and they were back in the tavern.
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The barkeeper, Brie, and Eris appeared in the pearly dome.
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"Ok, this is a pretty simple mission." She looked Brie and Eris up and down. Their clothes flickered. Brie was suddenly wearing an emerald fit-and-flare dress with silver jewelry and strap heels. Eris wore a pinstripe suit, brown dress shoes, and a jaxon hat. "Do you think you can keep in humanoid form for a while Eris?"
"With so many people with legs around? Sure, I can." he said flatly. "Aww, you're just gonna miss the tail." Brie said sympathetically.
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“Well if you can manage then that’s fine.” The barkeeper swiped on some lipstick and the dome dissolved around them. They stood in a dark alley with what appeared to be a service door to the right of them. “I’ll go over the plan once we’re inside.” She then walked up to the door and performed a complicated set of knocks. The door swung open and the three of them stepped in.
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Brie and Eris marveled at the cabaret style club. Layers of velvet booths covered three sides of the room with a bright stage inhibiting the fourth. The air was thick with cigar smoke and a young woman stood on the stage singing a show tune. “The most beautiful and exclusive cabaret show in the U.S. After all, it pays to have friends in high places.” She winked at them and strutted into the club. “Brie, how good are you at flirting?”
"Absolutely fucking horrible. I'm too forward, in the hey-if-I-wasn't-ace-I'd-fuck-you way. Ask Eris, he's a master of seduction." she said.
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She shrugged. "That'll work. Eris, do normal human bullets kill you because you might be in range to get hit by accident."
"I'll be fine." he said, deliberately avoiding answering. It would freak them out too much, even if it did reassure that there would be minimal injury.
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"Okay, so Brie and I are going to head backstage. Get up to the catwalk and take a shot…" She pointed to a stage door next to a well-stocked bar. "And Eris I need you to distract that man preferably by flirting." She pointed to a man sitting by himself in the third tier. He was rather large with a thick cigar between his teeth. "He owed me something and never paid up, so I take it for myself."
"On it. Wait, is he straight? Just wondering how entertaining this will be." Eris said. "Oh god, you aren't gonna… no, Eris, not the venom. That never goes well." Brie said.
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"No idea. Doesn't really matter, does it? You would be just as distracted if you weren't attracted to them and they were flirting with you as if you were. Same difference." Eris shrugged and started to make his way towards the man. Brie and the barkeeper ducked into the dressing room.
"Well hello there. Strange to see someone so good looking all by themself," Eris said, settling in a position that broadcast some kind of greasy wanton sexuality throughout the whole room, making you feel uncomfortably hot uncomfortably quickly. "Oh god, he's using the venom." Brie groaned.
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"He has freaking seduction venom?" The barkeeper smiled. "Kinky. C'mon, we only have about ten minutes to do this." She and Brie had walked into a drab dressing room with only a few tables with mirrors, and a single bulb lighting the room. Despite the accommodations, the performers, both men and women, seemed to be rather merry, flirting and drinking amongst themselves. "Heeeeyy B." One of the performers drunkenly swagged up to them. He had a messy stubble and shiny shoes to really push that 'creepy guy' vibe. "Hello Earl. I'm afraid we don't have time to chat." She tried to pull Brie along but Earl yelled after them,"You too are just neat, you know that?" The barkeeper chose to ignore this and took Brie to a rickety set of spiral, metal steps. "Head on up there, I'll be right behind you."
"Its seven deadly sins venom, he just likes to dial up the lust when he can." Brie muttered. She did as told to and hurried on ahead.
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The barkeeper ran to a closet and pulled something out that was covered in cloth. She follow Brie up the stairs to the catwalk. “Be careful, these thing aren’t up to modern safety standards.” They walked slowly across the metal grates until they were facing the audience. She took off the cloth revealing a tommy gun. “Aim, for the guy Eris is flirting with. I’m going to do damage control.” She ran off leaving Brie and the tommy gun.
"Wait, what? I can't use a gun!!" she squeaked. This was more Eris's forte, she just existed for moral support, really. "And where are you going?"
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“Aim and fire.” The barkeeper said. “And as I said, damage control.”
"How do you do that?? Oh, sod this." Brie shot the gun in the general direction of the target, hoping to hit him, but instead making a bullet rip through Eris's shoulder. Her second shot was more accurate, right through the head, but now she had to deal with the embarrassment of having shot Eris. She'd never live that down.
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The barkeep ran down the spiral stairs. She heard two shots go off above her. She could only hope that one of them had hit the target. She hurried back to the closet she had pulled the gun out of and grabbed a few grey orbs. The crowd was yelling in panic as she rushed into the main room and dropped the orbs. Instantly the room filled with thick white fog. “Meet me back in the alley guys!” She yelled through the commotion. There was one more thing to grab before heading out.
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She pushed and shoved through the panicked crowd making her way to the man’s dead body. There was no sign of Eris so he must have been on his way out. She pulled out a vial and held it to the corpse’s mouth. A glow-y gold substance leaked out and collected in the vial. She corked it and then made it back to the alley to meet Brie and Eris.
However, neither were there. Brie got caught up in all the commotion, and Eris had been dragged out by some terrified and violent bystanders who had seen him shift back to snake the moment the bullet ripped through him. "Eris! Where are you?!" Brie screamed, but no answer.
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"Son of a bitch." The barkeeper looked around for Brie and Eris. "Complications, complications." She took out a pen and scribbled something on her arms. Covering the scribbles with one hand she murmured something. Her eyes flashed gold and Brie and Eris appeared in the alleyway. She coughed and her knees buckled.
