Fighting in the Shadows[Addie, Za'azuu, and Scarlette]

Za'azuu leaned gently against the wall of the room adjacent to the den. Carefully, he pressed his ear against the wood, listening carefully to anything that could be heard. Fortunately, these walls were thin. So far, nothing of interest was brought up. Scarlette was merely suffering from a strong bout of withdrawal. Poor girl... he wished people didn't think they had to get by through drug abuse. In actuality, the torture of addiction made things worse.

Addie stared at the poor, shivering animal of a child before her. While Scarlette was a great deal taller, easily swamping her, she looked so small and helpless. This was one of the saddest cases she had ever seen. Few ever got so addicted to xanderphin as this girl had. It was almost as though it was a huge part of her diet, one she could not cut out or curb her appetite for.
Adsila sighed. There was no hope or help for this creature. She walked over to the table and picked up a single stick of z-fin and handed it to Scarlette. "Here, child," she whispered, cupping a hand underneath the girl's chin. "And remember, do not bite lest your appetite be forever satiated."
She brought her hand away from the girls face and turned to store away the remaining sticks.

The Overlord's "eternal bitch", huh? It looks like Addie had a higher connection than he thought. Someone directly related to Alexandria could provide loads of important information. Even information about the Overlord's mundane every day activities could prove to be useful. That's what spies are supposed to do, after all: find something out of what simply appears to be nothing. Also, if she hated the position she was in, this could prove to be an opening of sorts allowing Za'azuu to provide the tacticians with his most useful information yet. The key was in the timing... if he could warm his way into her presence.

Addie stared thoughtfully at Scarlette. This would be far easier if she could only just convince the girl not to be afraid of a glowing, black behemoth. If only there was some way she could ease him into this situation. Perhaps she could convince Scarlette that he was a fellow addict, or a new dealer or god knows what, just anything so that he might pry without her growing suspicious. Then, suddenly, it hit her.
"Scarlette, are you hallucinating?"

Za'azuu grinned to himself. This was his cue. If Addie was a member of the rebellion force, she'd make a great team member. He quietly slipped back into the main room, crossing his arms at the sight. This felt... kind of wrong but he supposed it had to be done.

"What makes you say you're the Overlord's 'eternal bitch'?" He asked in the most soothing voice he could muster. It had actually been a while since he last interacted with someone tripping so hard on Z-phin. It was usually something he tried to avoid.

Za'azuu cocked a brow. A slave? The overlord had plenty of those but not many went outside the church. This was a unique case it seemed. "What does she normally have you do?" Perhaps Scarlette was one of Alexandria's personal slaves. The way she complained meant that she probably had to deal with Alexandria more often. Anyone would want to turn to Xanderphin considering those circumstances he supposed.

Well that was certainly awkward. He glanced towards Addie before kneeling to pick Scarlette up off the floor and gently place her back in her seat. After a moment he sighed. The answers he had gotten so far would suffice, at least while she was in this state. She probably wouldn't be able to speak much more on the matter on account of her tripping major balls.

"That's enough for now..." He stated quietly in Addie's direction.

Addie nodded. Her feathers were a bit ruffled at how that little girl had acted but she knew Scarlette wasn't exactly acting like herself, being in such an obviously drug addled state. She stared at the girl for a moment and turned her attention to Za'azuu.
"She's going to be rather incapable of getting back to the Puissant district for a while..." she stated, pointing out the obvious. "Besides, it's getting rather late. Wasn't there a ... meeting of the minds this evening? Do you still plan on attending?"

Za'azuu nodded vacantly. There was a lot to keep track of, especially with everything that had been going on lately. The war only seemed to get worse with each passing day. He actually hadn't been thinking of the meeting. In fact, it had slipped his mind entirely.

"I should actually leave soon... if I want to make it in time." He gave Addie an apologetic smile. He hadn't stayed for long but the time he did have was enjoyable.

Addie thought for a moment. On the one hand, she didn't particularly want to be involved in the war, but on the other... she was growing tired of worrying over Za'azuu and his whereabouts. She was sick of never seeing him, never knowing if he injured and dying or if he was still alive. She knew that if she were to join the force, she would at least have some idea of whether or not her was fine or what he was doing, even if she was unable to join him on his missions.
Glancing over at a slowly sobering Scarlette and then back at Za'azuu, she made her choice not that it was necessarily a hard one to make. She could stay with the dope fiend or follow her love into the great beyond.

"No need to apologize. I'm coming with you."

Za'azuu's expression brightened considerably upon hearing this. Though her sudden change of heart was unexpected it was far from unwanted. He took Addie's hand, unsure that he had heard her right. "Really??" If was really coming, it meant she would leave the drug making behind, at least some of it, and that was better than nothing.

"I don't mean to rush things, but we should probably get going soon." His excitement over the matter was painfully apparent. Clearly, this was one thing that he couldn't hide well.

"Well, I've got to do something with this girl before I can do anything," she remarked, turning her gaze from the jovial Za'azuu to the stoned Scarlette. "Have you got any ideas? Perhaps we could tie her down and toss her into my room?" Addie laughed a little at the absurdity of that mental image. A large, dark-skinned, glowing man tying up a petite blonde and taking her into a secluded room. It was like something out of an urban legend and was honestly hilarious. Addie sighed. As funny as that was, it didn't change the fact that something had to be done with her. The girl could barely stand, much less walk all the way back to E-city.

Za'azuu sighed somewhat, unsure of what to do with the situation. It didn't seem like a good idea to tie her up, nor was it a good idea to leave her be. Having her here alone period was a bad idea. "Is there somewhere else we can take her?" He asked worriedly. They had to at least cover all the bases before they decided to just leave her here.

"No one near enough to here. Aside from Babushka next door, there's no one. I would take her there, but I'm treating her for a whooping cough and the girl might catch it."
Addie approached Scarlette and stooped slightly so that they were at eye-level.
"Scarlette, do you have anyone around here with whom you can stay till you can make it home?"

Dazed, Scarlette looked up at Aiyana. Slowly but surely, she was finding it more and more easy to comprehend what was going on around her and the hallucinations were becoming milder. Blinking her eyes repeatedly, Scarlette sat up straighter and cleared her throat.
"If you ... if you can get me to lower Evalin... I have ... people who can take me to ... my home."
Using the smaller woman to steady herself, she stood.
"You...got somewhere to.. b-be? I under-understand," she slurred, nodding. "Shall we... be going?"

Za'azuu nodded quietly as he reached out to help hold Scarlette up. She was small compare to him (like practically everyone else), making it an easy task to keep her steady with just one arm; then again, Addie was assisting as well. He waited for Addie to lead the way, considering the danger of this task. "We'll be safe, correct?" He asked more so to Addie than Scarlette. With Scarlette having close ties to the church, the possibility of her "friends" being Dactinists was very high. Then again, she had just admitted that she hated the Overlord. It was a touchy situation either way.

"Lets hope so," she muttered, taking Scarlette's other arm. Turning her attention to the girl, Addie began questioning her about where they were headed, receiving little in the way of directions other than a single repeated answer.
"Get me to lower Evalin."
And so, the lovers and the dope fiend set off. The trio walked quickly, stopping every so often due to Scarlette tripping or dragging her feet and even, on one occasion, vomiting. Before they had even reached Evalin's limits, Scarlette stopped them and pointed to a hut, maybe twenty feet from where they were standing and slurred something about how that was the place. Addie glanced up at Za'azuu, then back down at Scarlette. Shrugging, she pulled them on, reaching the hut in barely a minute.

Scarlette pulled away from the duo, reaching for the door. She slumped over, resting her head against the cool, wooden door. She took a deep breath, to steady herself and pushed herself off the door. She knocked and after a few moments, a rustling noise alerted the group that someone was on the way. Moments later, the door swung open, revealing an aging man.

"Scarlette? Izzat ye, gurl? I cannae but hardlee see, tis so dark. Who's this ye've brought with ye?" he questioned her, speaking with a rough Irish accent.
"Yes... it's.. me. Can I... rest here for a few... hours?"
Ach, yes me childe, he spoke, his voice soft and caring. Turning his attention to the barely visible Addie and Za'azuu, he thanked them and shut the door, leaving the pair in the night.

"Alright, you ready?" Za'azuu asked after a moment of what seemed like awkward silence. Even after all the extra trouble with taking Scarlette someplace else, he was still excited about Addie coming to the upcoming rebellion meeting. This gave them the perfect excuse to be able to spend time together as well as understanding each other better.

Addie nodded, stepping away from the door. She didn't like E-city, at all. It was so dead, so lifeless. Everything was grey, nothing was green. There was no grass, no still living trees. It was like nothing at all could survive the Church, especially in there. She placed her tiny hand on her seed satchel and took a deep breath. As much as she hated it, she would still follow Za'azuu anywhere, even into that hellhole. She moved her hand from her satchel to his bearpaw of a mitt.
"Shall we?"

He grinned and nodded, leading the way through the desolate city. One day, he would help return the life to this dead city. Lights would keep the streets bright at all hours of the night; people would finally feel safe outside of the confines of their homes; and everyone could live side by side as equals without worries of prejudice and resentment. This meeting along with Addie's decision to join was one step towards that goal. It wouldn't take long to arrive at the gathering, and Addie's presence was sure to keep him in high spirits despite their depressing surroundings.