[gradivus]

[spoiler]Perception Test
Shadowrun: 9d6t5 3[/spoiler]

[inca1980]

As soon as you make it south of the market stretch of the Valley the crowd disappears and the only Jungle denizens hanging around are mostly chip-heads passed out on various levels of scaffolding.  Despite all the trash lying around, the scent of lilacs wafts through the air and thick clusters of purple flowers cover many of the buildings. 

@Xem&Rat:
Aside from the chip-heads you notice the stray dogs around here all have black bandannas tied around their necks.  K9H must be close by.  They're not big enough to be a gang, but they're definitely the most formidable posse around these parts, mostly cuz of their vicious little pets.  Glancing around, you finally spot Donovan, their 15 year-old current leader and 6 other boys sitting on a second floor landing petting two barghests.  Donovan's a moody motherfucker with a sadistic streak, but so far you haven't ever had a dog sic'ed on you.  They haven't seen you four yet and the two of you wonder whether you should keep on going and potentially exchange a few words with them or turn off the Valley and take another route to Serafin's. 

[HydroRaven]

*Aww drek!* thought Rat as he noticed the K9Hers. "Hounds on over watch, make yourself small" whispered the ork to his companions, subtly pointing towards Donovan with his eyes and chin. The last thing he wanted was to deal with THAT psycho, so he tried his best to be as invisible as possible in the crowd.

[spoiler]Sneaking - Agility 6 + Stealth 3: 9d6t5 3 no glitches.[/spoiler]

[Poindexter]

As the group of kids make their way through the dreary crowd in the slight drizzle, Xem makes no attempt to shield himself from it. He keeps Chaims heels in front of him and just sort of follows where they go, lost in thought of how to proceed after the crew was finished talking to Serafin. One thing he knows for sure is that whatever actions they take, for whatever gains promised, will also benefit Sarafin. There's no reason not to gain favor or reward from him as well in so doing. He speaks quietly to his friends as they move through the throng.

"When we speak to the man, play it like we just heard about the mugging through the grapevine and want to know how we can help. See if we can gain something from the victim as well as from the unveiling of his attackers, yes?"

Staying silent and thinking of all the people he knows who may be of service here, beyond the ones with him anyway, the strange waifish elf boy weaves his way through the streets. Hamm? No. If he's involved or calls those who are, friend, he won't receive the inquiry well. I can't lose my hookup. Mario doesn't concern himself with petty childrens muggings like this, but if worse comes to worse, I could visit him for general advice on the matter. Fuck Pharley. That piece of crap will be of no help today. Crunk is a longshot, but worth a try. He's one of those people who might know something about anything. Sydney... Now that old crow might know something, or at least be able to point me toward someone who does. I'd hate to owe that viper a favor though, and owe her I would, as i have nothing else to pay her with. Hmmmm... Schemes run through his head, leaving him giving even less of a shit about some kids with nasty dogs than he normally would, despite how clean they kept their bandanas. Secure in the knowledge that he and the crew he travels with have utterly nothing of value, he pays no heed to the potential danger. Rat seems to be paying heed though.

"Hounds on over watch, make yourself small"

With a grim face of determination, Xem speaks without looking Rat in the face. "I shall do no such thing."

[gradivus]

Werner sneaks a peek at where Rat indicated and finally noticed Donovan and his crew.
Damn, how'd I miss that but Rat didn't?

"I admire your courage Xem- but there's more of them then us and that ain't counting the mutts. If we cut across the other street we lose what? 2 minutes-tops."

[inca1980]

Rat and Werner try to coax Xem into exercising more caution with the K9Her's but he looks pretty determined to keep going forward down the Valley.  Suddenly the growl of Barghet's alerts Donovan and brings him to his feet.  The 2 awakened demonic beasts lean up against the balcony veranda and start barking and Donovan leans over to take a look, making eye contact with the four of you.  Those two critters have never taken a liking to you and you have a gut feeling it's because the four of you are "different" and even if no-one knows it yet, these two awakened canines seem to smell it. 

Donoven grabs them both by the chain an pushes them back down into a sitting position and they immediately obey.  Turning back to you, the small-time posse leader hails you.

"What'chu doin' in these parts so early chummers?  Your squat's up north."

[Poindexter]

Xem continues walking, neither looking at, nor speaking to the man up on the balcony.

[gradivus]

"W're just heading through, Donovan- looking for some food. We're hungry is all. No disrespect intended."

[inca1980]

Donovan looks down from the balcony and follows Xem with his gaze as he walks past without even acknowledging him. 

"No offense taken from you Wern, but what's up with your other chummer?  I hear a few people are looking for some boys this morning and word is Sarafin doesn't really care which ones....as long as four boys get the shaft real good.  Some Cutters offered me a good price for any 4 kids I could provide.  You and the others can go, but since Xem here is feeling so tough this morning, maybe he could make me some money if I hand him over?...."

The whole time he speaks at Werner his eyes are on Xem.  The 5 other K9's start chuckling and the Barghests start getting feistier.

[HydroRaven]

Rat knew better than to come in between Wern and Donovan while they were talking. He did, however, wonder why Xem was acting so proud. *What the drek got into him today?*

Still, his instincts told the ork that they would be better off with the stubborn elf than without. "He's been sleeping out in the rain again Donovan, he's been acting stranger than a chiphead in need of a fix. Don't mind him, we'll just get him something to eat and he'll be back to normal, knowing where he stands" said Rat, turning to Xem and putting emphasis on the last part of his sentence.

[spoiler] Defaulting on negotiations: Negotiation: Cha 2 - Defaulting 1: 1d6t5 1 lucky day for Rat I guess![/spoiler]

[Poindexter]

"You and the others can go, but since Xem here is feeling so tough this morning, maybe he could make me some money if I hand him over?...."

With a manic grin that leaves him biting his own lower lip a bit, Xem stops walking and turns his head to face Donovan. He speaks slowly and happily, almost sing songey. The tone is rather unsettling.
"Maybe I could. But then I'm all used up, aren't I? And unable to make you any more money in the future. Just one tiny little sum and the skull goes SPLAT and then no more jing from little Xem. Such a shame." Xem has the strong suspicion that Hamm has been getting his supply of Jazz through Donovans people and that killing Xem would indeed cost him more money in the long game. However, his suspicion is equally strong that Donovan is not playing the long game. He leans his head to the side a bit, and blinks a few times waiting for a response. He knows full well the response may be a swift ass-kicking/biting/mauling/etc, but he knows it will not be the last on the path he walks. If black, blue, and red are to be my colors, I suppose I ought learn to wear them well.

[gradivus]

Werner thinks to himself, Can Xem F-en count? There's Donovan plus 5, 2 huge (as in really huge) mastiffs, and who knows how many mutts down here. That's some serious can of whoop-ass. What's gotten into that boy. He's stranger than normal. Maybe I should speak to Rat later and find out if Xem has been using chips or drugs or something. Where he'd get the money for that drek, who knows.

"Look Donovan, you know we ain't gonna give you Xem- even if he is acting like a chip-head. In the end, you could kick our butts but me and Chaim are bigger than any one of you guys and you'll know you've been in a fight if it comes to that. Do you really want to go that route? Just go nab 4 kids from another neighborhood."

[rednblack]

What kind of a jam is Xem trying to get our hoops in here?  Always knew he was the craziest of us, but does he have to go and prove it all time on top of that creepy sitting in the corner thing he's always doing?  Slot!  Chaim cracks a smile, and tries to slow his heart.  It's not working well.  Regardless, he picks up his pace to try to catch up with Xem.

"Hoi, Donovan.  You know this kid.  He gets in his moods.  No cause for bloodshed here.  I'll sic my mom on 'im, wiz?  Be just as cruel and a hellaofalot slower than anything you got planned, knowhatamsayin?  We got nothing but respect for you.  Nietzsche talks about just this thing.  Fraggin' ressentimentis what we're looking at here.  Ol' Xem here thinks he's acting the ubermensch, but if we really break it down on the Apollonian and Dionysian dichotomy, it's fraggin' obvious he's trying to be old Apollo, and the jungle here, this place is all wine and orgies, ya know?  It's fucking will to power, and the kid may have the will, but he sure as drek don't have the power.  Deep down, he knows that shit, Donavan.  We know it too.  I ain't askin' you to give him a pass, just, you know, let us take care of it the northside way, alright?"

Chaim isn't really sure what the hell he's talking about, but usually getting all philosophical on the street gangs gets them so fed up with hearing Chaim flap his gums that they give him a pass.  He eyes Donavan with a smile and a shrug, hoping it'll take this time too.

[spoiler]Negotiation V. Donovan: 8d6t5 0
Well, that doesn't look good.[/spoiler]

[inca1980]

Donovan looks to be weighing a few different aspects of the situation and remains silent for good 5 seconds.  He looks at Chaim and knocks himself on the head as if to shake off some confusion.

"Wait...so what you're saying is that he's built a value system around himself designed to justify his own weaknesses by identifying the source of his frustration as objectively inferior?!  Fuck.  Poor guy.  I really don't give a devil-rat's ass.  That's what Jazz is for so make sure to dose him up real good, real soon."

Turning to Werner,

"Listen, I agree with ya buddy.  I hate to do that to some poor kid who's just trying to get his feet off the ground in this fucked-up place.  That's why I thought to myself, hey, we got plenty of addicts and chip-heads who are just taking up space here, maybe we kill two bird with one stone.  Sarafin gets his payback while we help clean-up the Jungle."  

It's almost amusing how Donovan talks.  He's definitely latched on to some of the mannerisms he's seen real gangers or maybe even a couple of Yaks he runs errands for use and he juices them for everything he can while he speaks.

"So I gave Hamm a ping earlier this morning, seeing if he knew any addict kid-meat I could throw at the Cutters.  From what I remember Xem, your name definitely came up."

He pauses and stares Xem down once more. 

"Some friend your buddy Hamm is....but seeing as you really do have some people here that would actually miss you, I'll figure something else out."

Looking back at the rest of the group.

"Be careful out there this morning.  Looks like you're not the only ones out there who are hungry."

He sits back down and starts petting one of his Barghests.  You are free to proceed.

[Poindexter]

After another half a block, Xem finally speaks up again in a level, almost bored tone.

"While I have nothing but appreciation for your loyalty, I can speak for myself. None of your words dissuaded the man back there, only made him more likely to seek vengeance for the slight in private. It will be unfortunate if I'm forced to kill him over something as minor as walking down his street without sucking his cock in thanks for the privilege."

A few more steps and he adds, "And the Xem you see before you today is not an aberration. It is the true soul of the man, indeed. Fools like Donovan and the rest of his ilk will kneel before me in time."

The wheels in his head start slowly and silently turning again. Hmmmmmm... How can Hamm be made to pay for his disloyalty?