It was an odd hour of the night which was more accurately early morning when Enzo, for some odd reason was struck with the inspiration to do some cleaning on his ship. He stood in the hangar of the Crimson Kestrel with what essentially amounted to a squeegee on a stick. With a repetetive squee-squee sound, the conman stood boredly watching the blued water run down the surface of his small freighter. His obligatory cigarette bobbed lightly in one corner of his mouth.
The first high pitched noise had been forgiven. By the fifth she was upset. Squirming out from where she had wedged herself amongst boxes, tools, and parts that belonged to the Hoplite she had bluntly negotiated from the crew of the ISC Phoenix, the small blue Nekovalkyrja gazed across the cargo bay of the Crimson Kestrel and narrowed her eyes at the strangely productive conman that also called the crate filled locale his home.
Picking her way with practiced quiet steps across the field of repair paraphenalia, Tamamo was soon skipping along the cool metal flooring. Light, quiet motions ate up the distance until she paused just outside of the ten foot mark from the out of place Nepleslian and inquired, "Why?"
Enzo turned around, his arms still moving the squeegee across the hull of the Lady of The Night. "Had some 'phetamines." He explained, "Didn't wear off when I was done wit' 'em. Fought I might get some woik done. She looks dirty, don't she?"
Glancing to the ship Tamamo quickly returned her attention to the man stating flatly, "I suppose I can not argue that. I must admit that your circumstances all make sense. Which is unfortunate." In spite of the dissapointment that her words carried the small Neko looked mildly surprised, though she always looked mildly surprised.
"How's it unfortunate?" Asked the conman, oblivious to anything that didn't directly benefit him.
"It is unfortunate in that I don't have a legitimate reason to complain about your activities at... 04:12." She paused considering the conman, pulling up everything that she had learned about him from his humble beginnings in an escape pod, to his later exploits supporting the crew. "I suppose if you're awake, and unlikely to stop soon, I may as well get something out of this. Would you be willing to teach me?"
"Teach yous?" Enzo set the squeegee down, letting it lean easily across the side of the little cargo vessel. Turning, he took in Tamamo with an appraising eye, puffing away at his cigarette. "Teach yous what, exactly? An' what's in it fer me?"
"Yes, teach me. You teach me to lie, cheat, steal, and not stick out." She paused a moment to let him think before continuing, "In return, at the very least you get whatever loot I come across while on missions."
Enzo crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. "Kin I touch yous tits?"
"Sure." The reply was quick, little consideration had gone into it, after all it wasn't like he could really threaten her. "Right now?"
"Jus' in generals an' such." Enzo explained, then jutted a thumb to his ship, "Come on in, I got lesson one all outlined in my heads and shit."
Nodding Tamamo complied silently, moving with barely audible footfalls as she made her way toward the portal into the Lady of the Night, ready to get started on whatever 'lesson one' would be.
Inside the spacious (though pitiful in comparison to the Crimson Kestrel's) cargo bay of Enzo's Mule, the conman shuffled out of his baggy coat and rolled up a whiteboard covered in naked women which were suprisingly well-drawn. He had no intention of using this whiteboard, just brought it out because things were being taught and he'd just had it nearby. A prop, so to speak.
"Alright, lesson one." Enzo began. "Negotiating like a scumbag. First thing's first. You figures out what you got, and yous figures out what the other guy's got. Then, yous figure out what of his you wants to got. So, for example: like, I thinks yous is a Neko so yous gots to have pretty nice tits, see?"
Enzo opened his hands to Tamamo, gesturing for her to agree.
Having settled to listen Tamamo was taken a little off guard as she was prompted, nodding slowly, a hesitance born from uncertainty before asking, "So how do you go about negotiating for these 'pretty nice tits?'"
"Well, I thinks about everything I gots," Came the response, Enzo nodding approvingly that Tamamo was moving things along more promptly. "An I says to myself, 'What does I think dis catgirl wants?' Now, the scumbag part of it is that I don't neccesarily got to have what I thinks yous wants, see? I just gotta have somethin' which might indicate to you I got somethin' you want. Or maybe, I can lie and says I got somethin' to you but it's got to be credible, see? So I says to myself, 'Nekos love listening to that Koga Akemi bitch what sings in KOgama, I'll says I gots the newest album in my room.' Now, if you were a big KOgama fan, you might be thinkin' 'I might just let this asshole looks at my titties'. So far so good, right?"
She paused for a moment in consideration, her head listing to the left a little before she replied, "So it is a bluff based on whichever option is most probable based on what you know of who you are negotiating with."
"So long as you're dealin' with a chump." Enzo explained. "Anybody who's f'real is gonna ask for payment before goods and soiveces are exchanged, or at least ask to see the goods. Now, in that case, you switch from Lie and Cheat, to Steal. But that's lesson tree. We're over here on lesson one. So, you're dealin' with a chump, yous gotta figure out everything you can about 'em without making it obvious you're casin' the bastard."
"That means you have to be able to figure out what details mean? Extrapolate on the small things to learn about big things, like keys mean a car or a house?"
"Well, it's actually more simple than yous might think." Replied the conman, who suddenly held up a finger, "But foist, since I ain't a chump, and I ain't taught yous how to steal yet... Before we continue, get the top off an' let me squeeze on some flesh for just a sec'."
"Huh, almost thought you'd forgotten." As she commented she wasted little time peeling off the oversized white tshirt she wore exposing the bare blue flesh beneath. Looking at the conman she arched an eyebrow silently asking if he was going to do it, or hesitate. There was no hesitation. Enzo chuckled a filthy chuckle. If anyone other than Tamamo had been around, they would've probably stopped her. Some people in certain circles believed that her body would be ruined forever by this simple act. Enzo approached and ran one hand down her back, the other cupping firmly beneath an exposed breast.
While he molded the flesh, he went on, "Y'see, the thing is most people loves talkin' about themselves. Just says yous did somethin', yeah? They did it, too, or they didn't do it but they're about to tells you why. Anythin' in the stars. You just tells 'em, 'I was listenin' to this music or watchin' that holo' and then, suddenly these fuckin' morons are tellin' their life story to yous." As an afterthought, he added, "Lemme know if I start botherin' yous 'r something." Not that he was likely to stop if he did bother her, but it was one of those things that was nice to know.
She considered his words for a moment apparently oblivious to the action of his hands before inquiring, "So the best way to get to know them, is to pretend to befriend them. Talk, trade stories, find something that they want to talk about."
"What!? Trade stories!? Fair exchange!? Are you kiddin'!?" Enzo stopped working the breast and moved around to get behind her, leaning his head down like he was about to send her out into the ring for a boxing match.
"I never said they had to be true." She pointed out casually.
"Good thinkin', then, but really you don't even gots to go that far." Enzo's hands reappeared from behind. Despite having not paid for this, he was really getting his money's worth. "Like I said, you want to take 'em for everything they got and information is somethin' they just give away at the drop of a dime. Yous is just better off givin' out the bare minimum to keep shit moving along and let them go blah-blah-blah until you figure out what kind of person they are. Only times you should be talkin' is if they stops talkin'."
"I can see the wisdom in that." She hummed thoughtfully, more for his sake than any true desire to do so before asking, "Are there any other core concepts to this? Or does this about cover it?"
Enzo sighed and stopped working the flesh with his hands, taking a seat beside the blue Neko with a contemplative look. "I think, as far as core concepts go, that's basically it. But there's lots more involved. Intricacies, what? Y'know, like, once you practice for a while on some peoples, yous get a list of categories in yous head. It's all intuitive, but I promise you picks it right up. You start to see that, shore, everyone's special, but there's really only like twenny kinds of people, see?"
Nodding Tamamo considered his words carefully, making sure to make the most of them and record them for later review, but for the moment she wanted the information to keep flowing, "I think I understand. I'll do my best, and hopefully I'll make you proud."
"Alright, so let's try one out. I'll pretend to be a chump that has somethin' you want. And you gets it from me without losing anything of value." Enzo hopped up from the seat and moved back towards the whiteboard, stealing a quick glance at Tamamo's chest with hungry eyes before looking back up to her with an encouraging, "Just think of something yous might want."
She blinked slowly her head still canted to the left as she considered her goal before cheerily inquiring, "Have you seen the new Origin hoverbikes?"
Enzo seemed to get into character pretty quick, too. He cleared his throat and switched accents with haste, sounding like someone from the exact opposite shore of Funky City from his childhood home. "Sure, sure, I seen them. Real nice, I guess." He replied, looking slightly interested in Tamamo, "But then, I've always been a Vervaardiging man, myself. Better aerodynamics and stuff, really."
"Oh? Which model do you prefer? Classics or the new products?"
"Well, I've got a YE 26 Skyranger ex-tee, but I've been looking at getting ahold of Cloudmaster Thundermurderer from the new fall line," Explained whatever character Enzo was playing at the moment, "It's got those heavy compensators on it for some nice high-speed shifts. I think that'll turn some heads and get the ladies payin' attention, if you know what I mean."
She listened intently and then when he came to a pause she tried her best for a winning smile and commented, "I'm sure you get plenty of attention on your Skyranger XT already, though a shiny new bike is always better."
Enzo leaned on his whiteboard a little and smiled back at the blue catgirl. No more hungry glances towards her exposed chest or approaching to cup a breast, it seemed that in his imagined version of this situation, the two were both fully clothed and as if they still were, he went on, adding, "If I can afford it, of course. I gots my eyes on it, sure, but I'm about twelve-hundred DA short."
Quickly deciding that her theoretical mark's financial woes were not of interest, as she was aiming to acquire somthing, not donate to charity Tamamo spoke warmly, "I'm certain you won't have any trouble getting the cash, especially not you." A bit of a coy smile, something that she had seen work for others before, "Do you think that maybe we could go for a ride together some time? I'd love to see how you handle the Skyranger..." She trailed off trying for hopeful but expecting to be let down.
Enzo made his features soften at the coy smile. Internally, he made a note to ask her to make that face again for him when they weren't busy playing pretend con-artists. Externally, he approached and placed a solid hand on Tamamo's shoulder, saying, "Sure, why not, kid? Maybe you can learn a thing or two. What're you riding? Somethin' from Origin, right? I bet you got that one that looks like a rabbit."
She brightened at the acceptance and subtly leaned into the hand on her shoulder while replying a little sheepishly, "I actually have one of the Origin Type Thirty-Twos, it was a birthday present after begging for it for a year. I don't know too much about it, but I love it lots. I always try to buy the expensive stuff when looking after it."
The responding laugh was a tad derisive, as if the person laughing were a 'true biker' and Tamamo was little more than a child. "Well, well," Enzo said, smiling self-importantly with arrogance even the narcissistic conman wouldn't normally muster, "I guess we'll put it through the paces then, won't we? After that, what say you an' me hit the bar on the corner and snatch a couple of drinks?"
"That would be great!" She began with an attempt at naive excitement, "I'm sure I'll learn a ton from you!" She paused as if made aware of her enthusiasm before adding a little shyly, "Some celebratory drinks afterward would be nice too..."
"Maybe a little more than that?" Enzo suggested, lowering the shoulder-mounted hand to Tamamo's waist. It was unclear whether he'd decided the catgirl was playing the part of a cute boy or a cute girl, but whatever she was, the character Enzo acted as was clearly feeling like he could probably get lucky with this one.
Biting her lip a little nervously she inquired, "Would you be willing to teach me that too? I mean you're already being so kind going riding with me..."
"Teach you that?" Enzo asked with interested eyes, that same hand now wandering around to Tamamo's back. "I could teach you some of 'that' right now."
Realizing she had made a mistake Tamamo scrambled to come up with a deflection eventually stammering, "A-and spoil the anticipation?" She paused a moment taking a breath before murmuring, "I was hoping it could be something special..."
Whether he was punishing her for getting too far into it, or just seeing what he could get away with under the guise of being 'in-character', Enzo put his other hand around her waist and pulled Tamamo close to him with a, "Well, maybe we don't go all the way. Maybe we just get a taste for it so we can have more to anticipate..."
Oddly Tamamo was content with the turn of events and knew exactly what she wanted to do, "P-please don't take advantage of me... I really like you... I wanted our time together to be nice. This is just making me nervous."
"You don't think this is nice?" Came the response, a slight twinge of hurt creeping into the voice of the man who embraced the Neko.
"It's scary. I don't want to be afraid." She whined struggling slightly hoping that the guilt would be enough.
"I'll be gentle." Protested the biker, lifting a hand to stroke at Tamamo's hair with an earnest look.
This Tamamo decided was the part where the man would get kneed and the girl being a self respecting Nepleslian would pull a gun on him. As she had no gun on her at the moment she made do with letting Enzo know what her character would have done, a gentle touch of her knee that in other circumstances might have cracked the man's pelvis.
Enzo finally broke character. It was evident by the cackling that escaped his lips. It was not the cackling of a self-assured Nepleslian biker, but that of a weasely conman. Still, cackling, he backed up a bit and put a hand on Tamamo's shoulder while miming the removal of a tear in his eye with the other. Eventually, hunched over in laughter he managed, "I guess you fucked that up, didn' yous?"
She rolled her shoulders casually not showing the relief of having her space back before commenting, "It wasn't a complete loss. I know he has what I want. I could always tail him in the crowd to find out where he lives, wait until the place is empty and then loot his residence."
"Shure, shure," Enzo admitted, gathering himself and trying to calm down, "But that's just brute. Yous got enough information to lie to him so he just gives you whatcha want and then you just disappears."
"I don't quite understand, elaborate?" She tilted her head to the left while watching the conman wondering what it was that she had missed.
"Well, here's what I'd go after:" Enzo explained, resuming his shameless glances at Tamamo's body as he explained, "He's twelve hundred DA short of a new bike he wants. He's also stuck-up like a fuckin' idiot, so I'd say somethin' like, 'Oh yeah, I knows a guy at the dealership. I can get you a good deal, just lemme borrow your...' or maybe, since he's comin' onna yous, I would say, 'If'n yous lets me ride the Skyranger, I'll does it naked for yous, let's just go back to your place and...', y'know..." Enzo spun his hand in the air, like he was going down a more sizable list of things, and cackled again, "I mean, moiderin' the guy would be my last option, but it's always there."
She nodded thougtfully as she thought over the options before admitting, "I was planning on getting him drunk and making him think he forgot his bike at the bar. Y'know unattended vehicles go missing all the time."
"Well, look at it this way." Said the conman, breaking off to pick up something on a nearby crate in the tiny cargo bay where they'd set up class. He held up a wristwatch, a tacky-looking thing. "Say you wants this from me, an' I want to fuck yous. Now," Enzo threw the watch on his wrist and shoved his hands into his pockets. "Me, personally, I ain't got no best friend complex like you does, so I'd let the guy stick it my ass and then when he was in the shower or maybe I sends him to go get somethin' to drink for me, I toss the thing out the window or just pinch the shit. But you, you gotta be all prude or whatever, so I figures yous is best off pretendin' you want him, but maybe you like the watch. Maybe you wanna wear it for a minute, see? Then you just 'forget' you got it and later on somethin' serious comes up an' you gotta bolt real quick. It's all about makin' it look like an honest exchange, innit?"
"Makes sense," There was a thoughtful pause, "Though when you can't lie or cheat someone out of the thing you want, how do you go about it?"
Enzo shrugged. He couldn't think of anything too substantial he'd ever failed to get through lying, cheating, or outright theft. "I guess..." He conceded, "If it's too much trouble, you can always just find a quiet place to dust the fucker."
She frowned a little he had jumped past what she had meant so she backtracked, "I mean if you can't talk the guy into giving the thing you want, how do you take it? For example. I wouldn't give you my wallet, no matter what you said to me, but let's say you think it has some cute nude pictures of me in it. How do you get it?"
"Oh, you're talking about pickin' shit!" Enzo said, slamnig his fist against his palm with sudden clarity. Then, he leveled his features and asked, coyly, "Does it maybe have some cute nude pictures of yous in it?"
"You won't know until you look will you?" She smiled sweetly at the conman knowing that it was a flat ploy but she was curious.
"Well, maybe I'd just do something like this..." Enzo said as he approached Tamamo again. The conman walked almost right up to her and started talking at length with an arm thrown over her shoulder. "You see," He explained, waving his other hand over the expanse of the cargo hold, "Part of it is havin' nimble fingers which is all about practice. The other part is about being as distracting as possible. Get the other guy off-guard, get really handsy. So handsy it's annoying. Just pat him on the shoulder, on the belly, anywheres, really. Jus' get your hands all over the bastard and gets him used to gettin' touched no matter how much he can't fuckin' stand it."
Enzo led Tamamo further back into the Lady's cargo hold, pulling her close as they wove in between shelves. This required their two bodies to get very close. They were very much all over one another as Enzo gestured here and there before dismounting from her to turn back to her. It was during the dismount that, although it was a tiny thing, she felt it. An almost impercievable pressure right above Tamamo's rump. Not the forceful sort of pressure she felt when she dug the wallet out for herself, but more of a shifting, as if whatever had been in her pocket had only moved a little. Nonetheless, by the time Enzo was standing apart from her up against the side of one shelf, he had Tamamo's wallet pried open and was looking with some interest at the contents. Not that there was much to see, but it was more for show than anything.
She had been a little confused as to where he was leading her but it quickly became apparent that the journey rather than the destination was the lesson. As the journey reached its end a minor thing caught her attention, something she might not have noticed has she not been focused on the subject leaving the small girl to watch as the conman poked through an empty wallet save for around fifty DA.
Blinking at him Tamamo commented, "You have a good technique... I like it." A brief pause and then, "Honestly the wallet was the least of what I noticed... Should be interesting to apply. Especially since other weaknesses can be exploited." She focused on the conman considering him carefully as she waited for his reply.
"I knew you'd get it quick." Enzo replied, slipping the money back into its pouch. "You Nekos is smart." He smiled at her now, again taking a moment to bask in the prescribed nudity he'd gotten out of her and held the wallet up, asking mischeviously, "Now, what'll you let me see to get this back? Seemed like you had kinda a fat ass while I was rootin' around back there before."
A moment passed in which she didn't quite understand what he meant, and once she did she didn't quite feel that a response was necessary. Closing the gap quickly she slipped forward and a hand found his chest, a gentle caressing motion over a pectoral, tracing the nerve clusers beneath familiar with the pleasure it would cause. Then it moved up, touching here and there along his neck and chin. Her other hand guided his walletless hand around behind her and down to the point of interest before fingers glided up along its length meeting his shoulder before slipping down his side tracing a seemingly whimsical path that worked to ignite more sensation than the casual motion would suggest.
Eventually there was a gentle touch along his thigh starting low and rising slowly, tantilizingly, veering away at the last moment before brushing along her stomach circling the navel before plunging down again once again with promise as her delicate fingers caught the edge of his belt. There was a pause and she looked up into his eyes with a hooded gaze of dark jade her expression full of promises.
"My real wallet is in my boot." He whispered quietly down to her, squeezing firmly with his hand against the curvature of her rear. Despite whatever implication it made that he was wise to whatever she might be up to, something was stirring just beneath Tamamo's hand and the belt. If he'd been the kind of person to kiss, he would've probably gone ahead and taken a kiss from her right now, but Enzo never had been a kisser. Maybe for Melissa. Maybe someday.
"Or are you thinkin' a measly fifty DA is somehow worth any of this?" He asked, still whispering as he leaned in to slide her wallet back into her pocket and move his other hand lower to grip harder.
Her wallet returned Tamamo hummed thougtfully having expected to need to take it back, instead she moved with the uncanny quickness of her kind and gently poked the inner side of Enzo's elbows disengaging his arms as she stepped back. "To be honest I was just getting in close to get the wallet back. You think I'm pretty, so making you think that this pretty thing wants some of you was a good way to get in and maybe get it back." Patting her wallet in her pocket she smiled and added, "Seems it worked."
"Nah, I know you ain't hot for me." Said Enzo, waving a dismissive hand, "But you always gotta try an' see what you can get, right?"
"Right." She smiled warmly her head once again listing to the left. "I suppose I can't distract you, though I doubt many others would be wise to my advances."
"And I'll admit." He admitted, "Even though I know it ain't real..." Enzo smiled kind of wistfully and reached down to massage whatever had awakened from its slumber below, "It was pretty fuckin' hot. The kind of service I would pay for. If I ever got anythin' worth spreadin' over to you-- just lemme know, see?"
She laughed, at the moment an uncanny sound caught somewhere between genuine joy and the sort of mirthless laugh that they perfect for movie villains, still as she watched Enzo she couldn't hide the glitter of amusement from her eyes.
"So you've taught me to lie, cheat, and steal... All that is left is to teach me how to not stick out like a glow in the dark haired blue Nekovalkyrja in a crowd." She paused for a moment before reiterating, "More simply disguise."
"Well, you got the basics for the cheat and steal part," Enzo commented, putting his free hand to his jaw contemplatively, "But you definitely need to practice a bit more. As for disguise..." Enzo put his hands on his hips and waggled his eyebrows, "It wouldn't be worth spreadin' over, by any chance, would it?"
She gave Enzo a flat look, she supposed she shouldn't be surprised that he kept trying and thought it was wasting time it wasn't exactly causing her any problems. As such her reply was more mild than what she could have said, "I'm not going to do it. If you keep pushing you may upgrade to the luxury suite of never instead of just unlikely."
Enzo laughed again, more baudily than usual. "Just the fact that I've managed to board the 'unlikely' bus puts me in a rare mood of generosity." He said fiendishly. "I always assumed you only liked goils, so forgives me for wantin' what the body wants. But, hey, maybe since you already lets me touch up on yous..." Enzo held out a warning hand in the 'stop' motion to let her know that she wasn't to get angry over this, "If I promise to keeps my hands off yous twat, maybe you could just, take off the bottoms, too? An' besides, if we's gotta change y' skin color, you gotta get naked anyways. Might's'well make it fun an' let me jiggle y' ass a little."
She watched him for a moment devoid of emotion before shrugging and working to take her pants off, "Were I anyone else, this would never happen. Luckily for you I am well aware that I can tear your limbs off." Standing nude before the conman she looked up into his eyes steady and unblinking. "Now then, shall we start with the lesson?"
"Yeah, yeah, just lemme go grab my make-up kit and some skin-spray." Enzo replied, taking it all in with a victorious smirk. He didn't move to go get anything immediately, instead just kind of sidling in place while he glanced ferociously. This was, by far, one of his greatest scores. Forget the yellow airbike moored in the corner of the cargo bay. Forget the crate filled with now-expired drugs. Forget the five-thousand DA business suit. Forget all of the material gains. For all of his sexual encounters, Enzo had never seen someone of such exotic beauty completely naked. Finally, he started to move past her in the tight confines he'd led her to earlier between the shelves and took a moment to rub past Tamamo a little too closely as he worked his way towards the elevator to the crew-deck where he kept his disguises and disguise accessories. Mounting the doorway, before he left, he turned back on her curiously, and asked, "Just outta curiousity..."
There was look on his face not unlike the look one would get when testing a dangerous beehive. He didn't want to get the upgrade to that premium 'never' suite, but the curiosity dug at him almost painfully and Enzo was nothing if not interested in why people did the things they did, "Why is it a big deal to you to hop in the sack with someone? I gotta know, 'cuz it seems to me like most yarn-swatters just give it away. An' y'know, I gots my heart set on somebody else so it's not like I'm gonna start buyin' you flowers an' shit-- but I still gotta wonder why it ain't just like shakin' hands to yous?"
She hadn't cared while he stared at her, and when Enzo brushed past her the small blue Neko hadn't batted an eye. When he mentioned curiosity however her attention was hooked causing her to pivot to watch the conman carefuly while he worked up the courage to ask.
By the time he finished his question Tamamo smiled and replied in a tone that may as well have been in response to what her favourite colour was, "Well I would assume it is something like how you would help Mel out or give her money and stuff. But you wouldn't go up to some random chump on the street and offer them the contents of your wallet. If I'm going to do something as nice as have sex with someone, I want them to be someone who I actually like. After all you don't just give away nice things to any old chump right?"
Enzo frowned. "Yeah, but if I gives a guy my wallet, I don't still got my wallet when it's over. But if I gives a guy my asshole, I still got my asshole. In fact, it's basically just free shit to use to get people to do what you want!" He argued, still being too much of a shyster to ever see the true value of an intimate experience.
"It is an investment of time." She returned, "I don't want to waste my time on someone who I don't think deserves it." She paused for a second digging up a bit of information in her mind, "I believe 'time is money' is still relevant?" She looked at Enzo curiously wondering if it would make sense to him.
In a way, it did. In other ways, it was still a foreign concept. Sex was, after all, super-fun. He'd probably paid way more than it was worth more than once, and had gotten more than it was worth in return on numerous occasions. He'd also had plenty of free sex over the years, so he assumed some people must've enjoyed it. Right? Still, Tamamo was there waiting to get turned pale-skinned and Enzo had to figure out what to do with those ears of hers. Finally, he sighed and admitted, "I don't know. I guess, for me, it's just the easiest thing to give up an' it's fun to give it up most of the time. I'll-- I'mma just go grab some stuff. You stay here, lookin' beautiful. I'll be back."
Tamamo nodded, both to his opinion on the subject and the declaration that he was going to go get the stuff needed for whatever miracle of disguise the conman was going to attempt. This gave her time to look around the cargo bay of the Lady of the Night and pick out the little details that often told so much of a person's life. There was the broken guitar with aging strings, settled to one side on a workbench next to an intact counterpart; numerous piles of effects with seemingly little value. Accessories of former crimes, at least a few murder weapons and fake peices of jewelry, littered upon various surfaces. An ill-maintained houseplant sat browning against a partition between two segments of the hold. Within the other segment was a series of larger plastic crates which held all manner of things untoled. Crumpled up papers scattered over a forlorn desk where art had never come to quite the level Enzo had been satisfied with, and further over from there was the obligatory ashtray which overflowed with butts from every brand in the galaxy.
Oddly Tamamo was given the impression that Enzo's living space was rather forlorn. Sure the conman made a show of living the life and enjoying himself, but given a chance to look around she found that someone in her perspective would have felt bad.
Crouching down to gather up her clothes, Tamamo idly set about folding them up while ordering her thoughts. Creating new branches of data both inspired by what she had been taught, and the myriad of new things to add to what she knew about Enzo now that she had a firm first hand interaction to suppliment all that her research had told. All in all Tamamo was fairly content, the room was warm enough, prying eyes didn't bother her, and all things considered the conman had confirmed that he was rather trustworthy, so long as you remembered who and what he was.
Eventually glancing back toward the portal through which Enzo had vanished, Tamamo wondered how much time she had to burn and debated venturing into the digital plane to pass the time.
Before she could, however, there was the sound of bootsteps on tile again and Enzo reappeared, as if summoned by the very potential for a pause in narrative. He smiled at her again, holding a mechanic's toolbox in one hand and lifting a bottle of vodka with the other.
"Grabbed drinks." He offered, before pausing to take a hearty swig from his bottle. "Got my toolbox here, gots everythin' I needs to toin you a different person, Blue."
Without waiting for approval, Enzo trotted up to his desk and set the toolbox down. He lit a cigarette before prying it open and pulling out what appeared to be cans of spray-paint. After arranging the cans on the table, he started to retrieve a wig but stopped himself short and turned to Tamamo to offer her the open pack of cigarettes, in case she wanted to take one.
Nodding at the declaration of drinks she once again found herself studying Enzo looking over what he had gathered while considering what he had said. Twitching her ear as he lit a cigarrette Tamamo decided that she'd have to deal with the smell, it was always overpowering, killing all of the subtle scents nearby and irritating her.
Startlingly she was offered one, which caused her to glare momentarily her ears folding back in irritation before she switched onto a parallel set of tracks in her mind. Despite the disgust at the prospect she accepted one of them commenting quietly, "I suppose if I want to make a believable Nepleslian I'll have to learn to smoke..." The distate in her voice was obvious however the small blue Neko proved flexible enough to mimic the habbits of practiced smokers in motioning for Enzo to give her a light.
"Well, if it's your first one..." He supposed, dropping his electronic lighter in favor of a book of matches, "You might's'well have it right."
Enzo pressed a matchead between his thumb and forefinger, striking it against the callouses of his hand. When it was lit, he held the tiny dancing flame in front of Tamamo's cigarette-- adding a strong and sweet wooden taste to the earthy and heavy flavor of tobacco. "Just tell yous body to simulate the effects of the chemical yous ingestin'," He suggested, "An' savor the taste. Burnin' tobacco tastes pretty good. It's the smoke that's awful."
She nodded slowly, a short inhalation giving her the taste and a chance to adapt before she sighed and took a longer drag filling her lungs and causing the ember to glow brightly. She didn't look any more thrilled with the prospect as when she started but she migrated the cigarette to the corner of her mouth before exhaling the plume and saying, "I don't think I'll ever like this. Can't smell anything else, its like being blinded. Anyway, shall we get started with the main event?"
"Yeah, yeah." Enzo grumbled at her lack of appreciation and picked up one of the spraycans. He normally used something to darken his skin-tone, but considering Tamamo, he decided it might be better to grab the oft-unused can of 'white'. The chemical inside was a wet powder, chalky and sticky. But it would dry smooth and stay in place until someone took the time to scrub at it with warm water and soap. Which was, admittedly, not a combination usually encountered when playing pretend. "Stand up, legs spread shoulder width, and put your hand over yer twat."
Tamamo did as she was instructed, holding still so as to make the job of spraying her down easier. As she did so she used her free hand to momentarily adjust the cigarette for a new round supposing that she may as well try to find something to like about it.
As the cool mist covered her body, Enzo pulled a pair of goggles over his face. He had to admit, it was much easier to spray it one someone else than to spray it on himself. Even, easy movements covered every inch from the base of Tamamo's neck to the tops of her feet. He even had an easy time angling the can to get behind her arm and over the ridge of her thighs. Finally, he knelt down with a small paintbrush in his mouth and tested the skin on Tamamo's hip. The stuff dried quick, so Enzo sprayed the end of his brush with a couple quick jets of it and gingerly removed Tamamo's hand from her ladyhood. With none of the hungry glancing he'd had before, the conman pressed the goggles up onto his forehead and took on a look of concentration as he delicately painted around the edges of that which he was unlikely to ever be inside of.
"Actors use this stuff." He explained, "An' for me, It's important to get every inch, cuz' sometimes yous sneakin' into a high-security area. Can't be brown all over with a bright white dick, yeah? You never know what'll happen."
It seemed Enzo was all business now, perhaps even a bit of an artist with professional distance from his work. He didn't make a single comment about Tamamo's 'c*** flaps' or 'twat lips' or whatever foul things he was expected to say, instead just worked hard to gently coat her to all but the most dedicated inspector. In fact, he was quickly satisfied with his work and grasping her hand again to get some of the fake skin between her fingers. "Now, I can get you a few cans of this stuff for free, I knows a guy, but yous' gonna have to buy your own after that."
"First sample is free to get them hooked right? Give them the good stuff then shift them to the stuff that keeps them coming back." She teased playfully, trying to amuse while carefully studying the impressive display of profesisonalism that earned a bit more respect for the conman.
"That's basically how he operates wif me, anyhow." Enzo replied nonchalantly, standing and plucking the cigarette out of Tamamo's mouth, "But he knows I ain't an actor, so maybe he's just givin' me the run-around. Close yer eyes."
Without hesitation she did so waiting patently for the process to begin only slightly annoyed that she couldn't watch the stuff being applied to her own face. It was just one or two sprays of it really, and a thin layer at that right in the center of her face. Enzo didn't tell her she could open her eyes again, though, and soon she felt the brush working around her sockets to fill a few gaps.
"Now," he explained, "You'll get the hang of this in a mirror when you're doing it on yourself. I figure... Right now, you just gotta see the results and kinda get a feel for it. You can feel how much of this stuff I'm sprayin' on yous. Ain't much, is it? I'm just getting a nice even coat."
Tamamo soon felt a pressure on her lips as well, and the taste of cherry-flavoring leaked into her mouth as Enzo applied a colored gloss to her lips so they wouldn't be the same exact color as the rest of the skin on her face. She felt a similar sensation upon her nipples, though perhaps not as wetly as the gloss. Standing back, Enzo propped her cigarette back between her lips and examined his work while sticking a hand back into the toolbox to feel for a proper wig. "Almost poifect." He congratulated himself before asking, "You feelin' blonde today, or maybe like a readhead?"
Patiently waiting while Enzo did his work Tamamo was careful to take note of each and every motion for later reference though she was certain that she'd have to improvise a good deal to match the results. A practiced art rather than a metric.
As the question came Tamamo considered it carefully before responding, "I want to say blonde, but I am curious that if I go red... Will I get to see myself with freckles?" Sure she could probably satisfy the curiosity with a volumetric overlay, but seeing Enzo's handywork would be more interesting.
"You want freckles? I got freckles." Enzo replied proudly, tossing the auburn wig to his catgirl partner in potential future crime. "It'll look cute with yous eyes, won't even have to break out the contacts. Just stuff all your hair under this and pull it tight over your head."
Catching the wig Tamamo nodded and worked to tuck her short hair and ears under the hairline before carefully working around the edge to make sure that she didn't have any stray strands. Content with her effort to contain her hair she worked her fingers through the hair of the red wig adjusting it and trying to get it to sit in a manner that felt more natural.
"There you go, you got it." Came her congratulatory encouragement. The conman approached her naturally and pressed a smaller paint brush to her cheeks, speckling them not unlike a brown-on-white starry sky. Again, he seemed to be lost in his work, eyes focused on what he was doing. Truly, he was enjoying the chance to ply his art on something other than himself. Eventually, he liked the freckles and backed up again to root around for something else. "Gotta do something about those ears of yours," He explained, tossing aside wigs and hair dye and the occasional tube of gel. A thick sexual novelty flopped out and rolled off the edge of the desk. A pair of grooved scissors slid away from a toss. Finally, Enzo produced a red peice of fabric. It was square, canvas, like the napkins they have at fancy restaurants. He smiled again and bisected it, folding up a triangle and approaching Tamamo once again.
"I'll look around on InterNEP and see if I can find yous some prosthetic ears. In the meantime, you gotta tuck those kitty ears underneath this banana." He urged her, reaching up to tie the bandanna at a low angle around the ears and the wig above them.
The application of the freckles was oddly pleasant, the gentle contact with the brush surprisingly stimulating through the layer of spray on skin. Resisting the urge to poke and prod at herself while Enzo hunted for something or other Tamamo gazed down at an unfamiliar body taking the time to admire the artistry.
Looking up in time to have the bandana tied around her head Tamamo waited patiently for him to finish affixing the accessory before replying, "That would be most appreciated, though the bandana is comfortable." Refraining from trying to wiggle her ears she instead settled for moving her head about feeling the way the weight of the wig, and the bandana sat on her head.
"Well, y'know I'm gonna ask fer somethin' for it, if I does get yous anythin'." Came the chuckling response. Enzo looked her up and down, nodding along the curvature of the pale-skinned red-head before him as he considered clothing ideas. He had a few things in a trunk nearby that would fit her, but they had been set aside for some time. They were gifts he'd bought for the last Neko in his life, Naoko. While he'd never lusted after her like he might've over Tamamo, the other Neko had held a strange and special sister-like place in his heart. The bond they'd shared, gleefully murdering all of Luca's enemies and bathing with seeming innocence in blood-- it was special. Enzo sighed to consider it and sat down at the desk with a distant, forlorn look, but resumed the lesson.
"So, now you looks like somebody else, see? But what you're gonna wear is probably more important than anything else. Who're you tryin' to fool? You wanna look rich? Poor? You wanna look dumb? Hell, you can even look angry just by dressin' a certain way."
With a bit of amusement she nodded in acceptance of Enzo's terms, however a mood seemed to creep over the conman, one she couldn't place until he spoke. Keeping her understanding to herself Tamamo instead replied, "I suppose most importantly is that I am to look like someone who is a part of the crew. Someone likely to tag along with the ISC Phoenix. Anything else would be situational."
"Right." Enzo nodded slowly, turning in his chair to look at the footlocker across from him. He sucked in his lower lip and thought long and hard over whether it was finally time to crack it open and give up on pretending Naoko would somehow still be alive someday. The problem with it was that he'd gone on pretending for so long that he wasn't sure if it was best to open the crate and risk putting on a maudlin display in front of Tamamo, who already thought poorly of him, he was sure. If she thought he was a crybaby, too?
"Well, the bitches around here like to dress butch." Enzo submitted, standing and taking a mighty draft from his vodka before approaching the footlocker with a sense of sorrowful determination. "So, I'm thinkin' jeans, boots, somethin' light up top but not skanky. Maybe get a little bit of cleavage out to get people lookin', see? Then, a coat. Always need a coat. That's..." There was a momentary lapse of energy as Enzo stopped in front of the footlocker and settled his thumbs over the latches. He inhaled sharply and pulled them and the footlocker open while finishing with a quieter, "That's part of the whole lie, cheat, steal business. A coat is storage for yous small loot."
"So, a bit of function, a bit of bait, and the bit that lets you carry away the prize." She nodded appreciatively making a point of avoiding the obvious pain, and the reasoning behind it. She didn't need the conman any more upset so it was best to play dumb to his latest actions. "It all fits together nicely, I'm glad I asked for your help."
"Well, it passes the time, and you looks pretty good with your clothes off." Enzo admitted, tugging at the reccommended clothing choices. He held up a green top for moment before tossing it to the side and going for something grey. Finally, he was satisfied with his selection and gathered an armful of clothes to give to the redhead he'd just created. There was a powerful sigh of relief to get into it. They weren't really Naoko's clothes, after all. They were his clothes, clothes he'd bought to give to her when she grew to a full-sized person. And really, she'd never gotten a chance to receive them so at the end of the day it wasn't like Enzo was dressing somebody up in her clothes.
"Just one rule." He finally said, with a sort of soft smile as he pressed the articles to Tamamo, "Don't..." Enzo's tongue darted out to nervously wet his lips. "I mean, this might sound dumb, but don't-- Like, don't fuck anybody in these, alright? Be reverent and shit, because these don't belong to me." In the end, he couldn't really let it completely go.
A little surprised when she was finally handed the armful of clothing Tamamo accepted them carefully before holding them gently in her arms. When Enzo went on to elaborate on the one rule Tamamo listened carefully while struggling to suppress the urge to wiggle the ears that she wasn't supposed to have before answering as if he hadn't said anything special, "I understand."
There was a bit that went unspoken, a bit that she would likely never truly be able to admit after all how could someone in her position tell someone that they knew exactly why they were acting as they were? It would only cause problems, as such she never said the second part.
I understand more than you know.
"Do you?" Enzo's eyes were curious, a finger rising to trace the length of a scar on his cheek. Whether he was just asking to for her to repeat herself, or somehow skeptically responding to the words left unspoken, Enzo nodded before she got the chance and said, "Good. Well, I guess you should get dressed an' checks y'self out in the mirror before goin' out and trying yous new face on folks."
About to respond Tamamo was cut short by Enzo's seeming acceptance of her response despite questioning it. Deciding there was no reason to poke at his train of though she instead merely nodded before industriously setting about taking away Enzo's eye candy.
Underwear, socks, jeans, a grey shirt with a low neckline, boots and finally the important coat. Looking down her body she nodded once before sauntering over to the aformentioned mirror, carefully examining the stranger before her, familiarizing herself with her reflection as she spoke mainly to herself, "I look- I look -I look- I look..." She continued on for a minute or so each repetition shifting her voice slightly, until she settled on something high and clear with a bit of a rough edge that she had heard from chronic smokers.
Turning to Enzo she tried out her new voice while attempting to adjust to a new person in mimicry of Enzo's earlier act, "I look great, don't cha think? Much better than some pint sized cat." She paused blinking slowly, a familiar mannerism of the small blue Neko before speaking once again her voice retruning to its soft tones, "Thank you, truly."
"So, you like it, then?" Asked Enzo, stowing away the thumbs-up he'd given her quick new voice. "Think you can do it on your own, or at least with only a little help?"
"If not now, soon." She smiled a little, "I learn quick. It is my gift." She turned to look at herself in the mirror again knowing that she'd have to be familiar with her own appearance as intimately as she was with what she wore beneath the disguise.
"Well, when you're ready to change back, just hop in the shower and scrub a lil' harder then normal with some soap, and you's good to go." Advised the conman, standing to approach her from behind. He propped his head on one of her shoulders like a demonic cherub and eyed the new Tamamo up and down with approval. He took a little bit of pride in his work and smiled. Besides, Naoko's clothes were being put to some use and Enzo was fairly certain that Tamamo had taken his ealier request not just at what he expected of her, which was to do whatever she wanted in the clothes and just not tell him about it, but also would likely observe the rule. She seemed to be one of those people, he imagined, who suffered under the weight of scruples or something like that. "In the meantime, looks like you're absolutely somebody else. Do you, eh..." Enzo backed up a little and looked her up and down from behind to make sure no blue patches escaped anywhere, "You, uh, want anything else at the moment, or should we conclude our lessons fer the day?"
"For the moment I think it is best I go out and get some experience as this me... Let me see... I can call her, Cayllyn Westwood. Never ate her vegitables or drank her milk as a kid and never grew up big and tall..." She murmured to herself a bit before retrieving her wallet from her folded clothes and offered Enzo ten DA, "For some cigarettes?"
"Ah, I don't need any money." Enzo replied, waving her money away. "It's the thing I got in abundance. How about..." Enzo shoved a hand into his volumous jacket and retrieved a mostly-unused pack of cigarettes and held it up. "How about you touch me again like you did earlier, when you was gettin' that wallet? Just for a sec? Then you can just takes these like you was gonna takes the wallet?"
She sighed and rolled her eyes an expressive new mannerism as she sauntered over to the conman pale fingers extending where blue had previously. Instead of a repeat preformance however she plotted a new course testing different response to different touches, some around the shoulder, a few up the back, still leading back to where she knew Enzo craved the attention in the end.
This time instead of pausing for him to stew in the anticipation of a thing that would never come her arm snapped out too quick for the Nepleslian she was supposed to be as she tried to take the cigarettes from Enzo. Just quick enough for the Nepleslian he'd trained himself to be, Enzo lifted his arm slightly to keep the pack of cigarettes out of Tamamo's reach for just a second longer, the second he needed to grab what she'd rested his hands on before and pull her close again. There was no way to get the cigarettes completely out of her reach while accomplishing this feat, though, and it was all Enzo could to just press himself against her and feel their bodies together again for a moment before he had to surrender the cigarettes once more. Again, he whispered, "Thanks, Blue. Or should I say, Red? Pleasure doin' business wit' yous."
She huffed and rolled her eyes again adjusting to swipe the taunting pack out of the conman's hand waiting an indulgent moment before pushing them apart. With a smile she replied a hint of teasing in the adopted voice, "Red obviously, you wouldn't want me to break character would you?" Turning quickly fanning out the borrowed red hair, 'Cayllyn' set about gathering up the folded clothing that she had worn while entering the Lady of the Night and held them under an arm as she glanced back at the conman turned teacher uncertain if she should simply walk out.
She felt Enzo's eyes upon her even as she turned, and when she looked back the gaze she met wasn't near as disgusting or lustful as it should've been. He smiled earnestly (probably the first earnest smile he'd given out in a long time) at the outfit and at how she even seemed to change the way she moved. Cayllyn Westwood was a pretty cool chick, it seemed. Still, there was security footage waiting for him on the bridge, and Enzo had to hurry off and discover if Tamamo had perhaps bent over at any point while he was gone. Furthermore, he'd paid seventeen cigarettes and a stolen wallet to get revved up twice, so there was fun to be had. Without saying farewell, Enzo just tossed Cayllyn an easy wave and disappeared into the depths of his ship once more, leaving her with the empty cargo bay and the even larger empty cargo bay outside and the even larger still galaxy full of fresh chumps ripe for the conning outside of that.
The first high pitched noise had been forgiven. By the fifth she was upset. Squirming out from where she had wedged herself amongst boxes, tools, and parts that belonged to the Hoplite she had bluntly negotiated from the crew of the ISC Phoenix, the small blue Nekovalkyrja gazed across the cargo bay of the Crimson Kestrel and narrowed her eyes at the strangely productive conman that also called the crate filled locale his home.
Picking her way with practiced quiet steps across the field of repair paraphenalia, Tamamo was soon skipping along the cool metal flooring. Light, quiet motions ate up the distance until she paused just outside of the ten foot mark from the out of place Nepleslian and inquired, "Why?"
Enzo turned around, his arms still moving the squeegee across the hull of the Lady of The Night. "Had some 'phetamines." He explained, "Didn't wear off when I was done wit' 'em. Fought I might get some woik done. She looks dirty, don't she?"
Glancing to the ship Tamamo quickly returned her attention to the man stating flatly, "I suppose I can not argue that. I must admit that your circumstances all make sense. Which is unfortunate." In spite of the dissapointment that her words carried the small Neko looked mildly surprised, though she always looked mildly surprised.
"How's it unfortunate?" Asked the conman, oblivious to anything that didn't directly benefit him.
"It is unfortunate in that I don't have a legitimate reason to complain about your activities at... 04:12." She paused considering the conman, pulling up everything that she had learned about him from his humble beginnings in an escape pod, to his later exploits supporting the crew. "I suppose if you're awake, and unlikely to stop soon, I may as well get something out of this. Would you be willing to teach me?"
"Teach yous?" Enzo set the squeegee down, letting it lean easily across the side of the little cargo vessel. Turning, he took in Tamamo with an appraising eye, puffing away at his cigarette. "Teach yous what, exactly? An' what's in it fer me?"
"Yes, teach me. You teach me to lie, cheat, steal, and not stick out." She paused a moment to let him think before continuing, "In return, at the very least you get whatever loot I come across while on missions."
Enzo crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. "Kin I touch yous tits?"
"Sure." The reply was quick, little consideration had gone into it, after all it wasn't like he could really threaten her. "Right now?"
"Jus' in generals an' such." Enzo explained, then jutted a thumb to his ship, "Come on in, I got lesson one all outlined in my heads and shit."
Nodding Tamamo complied silently, moving with barely audible footfalls as she made her way toward the portal into the Lady of the Night, ready to get started on whatever 'lesson one' would be.
Inside the spacious (though pitiful in comparison to the Crimson Kestrel's) cargo bay of Enzo's Mule, the conman shuffled out of his baggy coat and rolled up a whiteboard covered in naked women which were suprisingly well-drawn. He had no intention of using this whiteboard, just brought it out because things were being taught and he'd just had it nearby. A prop, so to speak.
"Alright, lesson one." Enzo began. "Negotiating like a scumbag. First thing's first. You figures out what you got, and yous figures out what the other guy's got. Then, yous figure out what of his you wants to got. So, for example: like, I thinks yous is a Neko so yous gots to have pretty nice tits, see?"
Enzo opened his hands to Tamamo, gesturing for her to agree.
Having settled to listen Tamamo was taken a little off guard as she was prompted, nodding slowly, a hesitance born from uncertainty before asking, "So how do you go about negotiating for these 'pretty nice tits?'"
"Well, I thinks about everything I gots," Came the response, Enzo nodding approvingly that Tamamo was moving things along more promptly. "An I says to myself, 'What does I think dis catgirl wants?' Now, the scumbag part of it is that I don't neccesarily got to have what I thinks yous wants, see? I just gotta have somethin' which might indicate to you I got somethin' you want. Or maybe, I can lie and says I got somethin' to you but it's got to be credible, see? So I says to myself, 'Nekos love listening to that Koga Akemi bitch what sings in KOgama, I'll says I gots the newest album in my room.' Now, if you were a big KOgama fan, you might be thinkin' 'I might just let this asshole looks at my titties'. So far so good, right?"
She paused for a moment in consideration, her head listing to the left a little before she replied, "So it is a bluff based on whichever option is most probable based on what you know of who you are negotiating with."
"So long as you're dealin' with a chump." Enzo explained. "Anybody who's f'real is gonna ask for payment before goods and soiveces are exchanged, or at least ask to see the goods. Now, in that case, you switch from Lie and Cheat, to Steal. But that's lesson tree. We're over here on lesson one. So, you're dealin' with a chump, yous gotta figure out everything you can about 'em without making it obvious you're casin' the bastard."
"That means you have to be able to figure out what details mean? Extrapolate on the small things to learn about big things, like keys mean a car or a house?"
"Well, it's actually more simple than yous might think." Replied the conman, who suddenly held up a finger, "But foist, since I ain't a chump, and I ain't taught yous how to steal yet... Before we continue, get the top off an' let me squeeze on some flesh for just a sec'."
"Huh, almost thought you'd forgotten." As she commented she wasted little time peeling off the oversized white tshirt she wore exposing the bare blue flesh beneath. Looking at the conman she arched an eyebrow silently asking if he was going to do it, or hesitate. There was no hesitation. Enzo chuckled a filthy chuckle. If anyone other than Tamamo had been around, they would've probably stopped her. Some people in certain circles believed that her body would be ruined forever by this simple act. Enzo approached and ran one hand down her back, the other cupping firmly beneath an exposed breast.
While he molded the flesh, he went on, "Y'see, the thing is most people loves talkin' about themselves. Just says yous did somethin', yeah? They did it, too, or they didn't do it but they're about to tells you why. Anythin' in the stars. You just tells 'em, 'I was listenin' to this music or watchin' that holo' and then, suddenly these fuckin' morons are tellin' their life story to yous." As an afterthought, he added, "Lemme know if I start botherin' yous 'r something." Not that he was likely to stop if he did bother her, but it was one of those things that was nice to know.
She considered his words for a moment apparently oblivious to the action of his hands before inquiring, "So the best way to get to know them, is to pretend to befriend them. Talk, trade stories, find something that they want to talk about."
"What!? Trade stories!? Fair exchange!? Are you kiddin'!?" Enzo stopped working the breast and moved around to get behind her, leaning his head down like he was about to send her out into the ring for a boxing match.
"I never said they had to be true." She pointed out casually.
"Good thinkin', then, but really you don't even gots to go that far." Enzo's hands reappeared from behind. Despite having not paid for this, he was really getting his money's worth. "Like I said, you want to take 'em for everything they got and information is somethin' they just give away at the drop of a dime. Yous is just better off givin' out the bare minimum to keep shit moving along and let them go blah-blah-blah until you figure out what kind of person they are. Only times you should be talkin' is if they stops talkin'."
"I can see the wisdom in that." She hummed thoughtfully, more for his sake than any true desire to do so before asking, "Are there any other core concepts to this? Or does this about cover it?"
Enzo sighed and stopped working the flesh with his hands, taking a seat beside the blue Neko with a contemplative look. "I think, as far as core concepts go, that's basically it. But there's lots more involved. Intricacies, what? Y'know, like, once you practice for a while on some peoples, yous get a list of categories in yous head. It's all intuitive, but I promise you picks it right up. You start to see that, shore, everyone's special, but there's really only like twenny kinds of people, see?"
Nodding Tamamo considered his words carefully, making sure to make the most of them and record them for later review, but for the moment she wanted the information to keep flowing, "I think I understand. I'll do my best, and hopefully I'll make you proud."
"Alright, so let's try one out. I'll pretend to be a chump that has somethin' you want. And you gets it from me without losing anything of value." Enzo hopped up from the seat and moved back towards the whiteboard, stealing a quick glance at Tamamo's chest with hungry eyes before looking back up to her with an encouraging, "Just think of something yous might want."
She blinked slowly her head still canted to the left as she considered her goal before cheerily inquiring, "Have you seen the new Origin hoverbikes?"
Enzo seemed to get into character pretty quick, too. He cleared his throat and switched accents with haste, sounding like someone from the exact opposite shore of Funky City from his childhood home. "Sure, sure, I seen them. Real nice, I guess." He replied, looking slightly interested in Tamamo, "But then, I've always been a Vervaardiging man, myself. Better aerodynamics and stuff, really."
"Oh? Which model do you prefer? Classics or the new products?"
"Well, I've got a YE 26 Skyranger ex-tee, but I've been looking at getting ahold of Cloudmaster Thundermurderer from the new fall line," Explained whatever character Enzo was playing at the moment, "It's got those heavy compensators on it for some nice high-speed shifts. I think that'll turn some heads and get the ladies payin' attention, if you know what I mean."
She listened intently and then when he came to a pause she tried her best for a winning smile and commented, "I'm sure you get plenty of attention on your Skyranger XT already, though a shiny new bike is always better."
Enzo leaned on his whiteboard a little and smiled back at the blue catgirl. No more hungry glances towards her exposed chest or approaching to cup a breast, it seemed that in his imagined version of this situation, the two were both fully clothed and as if they still were, he went on, adding, "If I can afford it, of course. I gots my eyes on it, sure, but I'm about twelve-hundred DA short."
Quickly deciding that her theoretical mark's financial woes were not of interest, as she was aiming to acquire somthing, not donate to charity Tamamo spoke warmly, "I'm certain you won't have any trouble getting the cash, especially not you." A bit of a coy smile, something that she had seen work for others before, "Do you think that maybe we could go for a ride together some time? I'd love to see how you handle the Skyranger..." She trailed off trying for hopeful but expecting to be let down.
Enzo made his features soften at the coy smile. Internally, he made a note to ask her to make that face again for him when they weren't busy playing pretend con-artists. Externally, he approached and placed a solid hand on Tamamo's shoulder, saying, "Sure, why not, kid? Maybe you can learn a thing or two. What're you riding? Somethin' from Origin, right? I bet you got that one that looks like a rabbit."
She brightened at the acceptance and subtly leaned into the hand on her shoulder while replying a little sheepishly, "I actually have one of the Origin Type Thirty-Twos, it was a birthday present after begging for it for a year. I don't know too much about it, but I love it lots. I always try to buy the expensive stuff when looking after it."
The responding laugh was a tad derisive, as if the person laughing were a 'true biker' and Tamamo was little more than a child. "Well, well," Enzo said, smiling self-importantly with arrogance even the narcissistic conman wouldn't normally muster, "I guess we'll put it through the paces then, won't we? After that, what say you an' me hit the bar on the corner and snatch a couple of drinks?"
"That would be great!" She began with an attempt at naive excitement, "I'm sure I'll learn a ton from you!" She paused as if made aware of her enthusiasm before adding a little shyly, "Some celebratory drinks afterward would be nice too..."
"Maybe a little more than that?" Enzo suggested, lowering the shoulder-mounted hand to Tamamo's waist. It was unclear whether he'd decided the catgirl was playing the part of a cute boy or a cute girl, but whatever she was, the character Enzo acted as was clearly feeling like he could probably get lucky with this one.
Biting her lip a little nervously she inquired, "Would you be willing to teach me that too? I mean you're already being so kind going riding with me..."
"Teach you that?" Enzo asked with interested eyes, that same hand now wandering around to Tamamo's back. "I could teach you some of 'that' right now."
Realizing she had made a mistake Tamamo scrambled to come up with a deflection eventually stammering, "A-and spoil the anticipation?" She paused a moment taking a breath before murmuring, "I was hoping it could be something special..."
Whether he was punishing her for getting too far into it, or just seeing what he could get away with under the guise of being 'in-character', Enzo put his other hand around her waist and pulled Tamamo close to him with a, "Well, maybe we don't go all the way. Maybe we just get a taste for it so we can have more to anticipate..."
Oddly Tamamo was content with the turn of events and knew exactly what she wanted to do, "P-please don't take advantage of me... I really like you... I wanted our time together to be nice. This is just making me nervous."
"You don't think this is nice?" Came the response, a slight twinge of hurt creeping into the voice of the man who embraced the Neko.
"It's scary. I don't want to be afraid." She whined struggling slightly hoping that the guilt would be enough.
"I'll be gentle." Protested the biker, lifting a hand to stroke at Tamamo's hair with an earnest look.
This Tamamo decided was the part where the man would get kneed and the girl being a self respecting Nepleslian would pull a gun on him. As she had no gun on her at the moment she made do with letting Enzo know what her character would have done, a gentle touch of her knee that in other circumstances might have cracked the man's pelvis.
Enzo finally broke character. It was evident by the cackling that escaped his lips. It was not the cackling of a self-assured Nepleslian biker, but that of a weasely conman. Still, cackling, he backed up a bit and put a hand on Tamamo's shoulder while miming the removal of a tear in his eye with the other. Eventually, hunched over in laughter he managed, "I guess you fucked that up, didn' yous?"
She rolled her shoulders casually not showing the relief of having her space back before commenting, "It wasn't a complete loss. I know he has what I want. I could always tail him in the crowd to find out where he lives, wait until the place is empty and then loot his residence."
"Shure, shure," Enzo admitted, gathering himself and trying to calm down, "But that's just brute. Yous got enough information to lie to him so he just gives you whatcha want and then you just disappears."
"I don't quite understand, elaborate?" She tilted her head to the left while watching the conman wondering what it was that she had missed.
"Well, here's what I'd go after:" Enzo explained, resuming his shameless glances at Tamamo's body as he explained, "He's twelve hundred DA short of a new bike he wants. He's also stuck-up like a fuckin' idiot, so I'd say somethin' like, 'Oh yeah, I knows a guy at the dealership. I can get you a good deal, just lemme borrow your...' or maybe, since he's comin' onna yous, I would say, 'If'n yous lets me ride the Skyranger, I'll does it naked for yous, let's just go back to your place and...', y'know..." Enzo spun his hand in the air, like he was going down a more sizable list of things, and cackled again, "I mean, moiderin' the guy would be my last option, but it's always there."
She nodded thougtfully as she thought over the options before admitting, "I was planning on getting him drunk and making him think he forgot his bike at the bar. Y'know unattended vehicles go missing all the time."
"Well, look at it this way." Said the conman, breaking off to pick up something on a nearby crate in the tiny cargo bay where they'd set up class. He held up a wristwatch, a tacky-looking thing. "Say you wants this from me, an' I want to fuck yous. Now," Enzo threw the watch on his wrist and shoved his hands into his pockets. "Me, personally, I ain't got no best friend complex like you does, so I'd let the guy stick it my ass and then when he was in the shower or maybe I sends him to go get somethin' to drink for me, I toss the thing out the window or just pinch the shit. But you, you gotta be all prude or whatever, so I figures yous is best off pretendin' you want him, but maybe you like the watch. Maybe you wanna wear it for a minute, see? Then you just 'forget' you got it and later on somethin' serious comes up an' you gotta bolt real quick. It's all about makin' it look like an honest exchange, innit?"
"Makes sense," There was a thoughtful pause, "Though when you can't lie or cheat someone out of the thing you want, how do you go about it?"
Enzo shrugged. He couldn't think of anything too substantial he'd ever failed to get through lying, cheating, or outright theft. "I guess..." He conceded, "If it's too much trouble, you can always just find a quiet place to dust the fucker."
She frowned a little he had jumped past what she had meant so she backtracked, "I mean if you can't talk the guy into giving the thing you want, how do you take it? For example. I wouldn't give you my wallet, no matter what you said to me, but let's say you think it has some cute nude pictures of me in it. How do you get it?"
"Oh, you're talking about pickin' shit!" Enzo said, slamnig his fist against his palm with sudden clarity. Then, he leveled his features and asked, coyly, "Does it maybe have some cute nude pictures of yous in it?"
"You won't know until you look will you?" She smiled sweetly at the conman knowing that it was a flat ploy but she was curious.
"Well, maybe I'd just do something like this..." Enzo said as he approached Tamamo again. The conman walked almost right up to her and started talking at length with an arm thrown over her shoulder. "You see," He explained, waving his other hand over the expanse of the cargo hold, "Part of it is havin' nimble fingers which is all about practice. The other part is about being as distracting as possible. Get the other guy off-guard, get really handsy. So handsy it's annoying. Just pat him on the shoulder, on the belly, anywheres, really. Jus' get your hands all over the bastard and gets him used to gettin' touched no matter how much he can't fuckin' stand it."
Enzo led Tamamo further back into the Lady's cargo hold, pulling her close as they wove in between shelves. This required their two bodies to get very close. They were very much all over one another as Enzo gestured here and there before dismounting from her to turn back to her. It was during the dismount that, although it was a tiny thing, she felt it. An almost impercievable pressure right above Tamamo's rump. Not the forceful sort of pressure she felt when she dug the wallet out for herself, but more of a shifting, as if whatever had been in her pocket had only moved a little. Nonetheless, by the time Enzo was standing apart from her up against the side of one shelf, he had Tamamo's wallet pried open and was looking with some interest at the contents. Not that there was much to see, but it was more for show than anything.
She had been a little confused as to where he was leading her but it quickly became apparent that the journey rather than the destination was the lesson. As the journey reached its end a minor thing caught her attention, something she might not have noticed has she not been focused on the subject leaving the small girl to watch as the conman poked through an empty wallet save for around fifty DA.
Blinking at him Tamamo commented, "You have a good technique... I like it." A brief pause and then, "Honestly the wallet was the least of what I noticed... Should be interesting to apply. Especially since other weaknesses can be exploited." She focused on the conman considering him carefully as she waited for his reply.
"I knew you'd get it quick." Enzo replied, slipping the money back into its pouch. "You Nekos is smart." He smiled at her now, again taking a moment to bask in the prescribed nudity he'd gotten out of her and held the wallet up, asking mischeviously, "Now, what'll you let me see to get this back? Seemed like you had kinda a fat ass while I was rootin' around back there before."
A moment passed in which she didn't quite understand what he meant, and once she did she didn't quite feel that a response was necessary. Closing the gap quickly she slipped forward and a hand found his chest, a gentle caressing motion over a pectoral, tracing the nerve clusers beneath familiar with the pleasure it would cause. Then it moved up, touching here and there along his neck and chin. Her other hand guided his walletless hand around behind her and down to the point of interest before fingers glided up along its length meeting his shoulder before slipping down his side tracing a seemingly whimsical path that worked to ignite more sensation than the casual motion would suggest.
Eventually there was a gentle touch along his thigh starting low and rising slowly, tantilizingly, veering away at the last moment before brushing along her stomach circling the navel before plunging down again once again with promise as her delicate fingers caught the edge of his belt. There was a pause and she looked up into his eyes with a hooded gaze of dark jade her expression full of promises.
"My real wallet is in my boot." He whispered quietly down to her, squeezing firmly with his hand against the curvature of her rear. Despite whatever implication it made that he was wise to whatever she might be up to, something was stirring just beneath Tamamo's hand and the belt. If he'd been the kind of person to kiss, he would've probably gone ahead and taken a kiss from her right now, but Enzo never had been a kisser. Maybe for Melissa. Maybe someday.
"Or are you thinkin' a measly fifty DA is somehow worth any of this?" He asked, still whispering as he leaned in to slide her wallet back into her pocket and move his other hand lower to grip harder.
Her wallet returned Tamamo hummed thougtfully having expected to need to take it back, instead she moved with the uncanny quickness of her kind and gently poked the inner side of Enzo's elbows disengaging his arms as she stepped back. "To be honest I was just getting in close to get the wallet back. You think I'm pretty, so making you think that this pretty thing wants some of you was a good way to get in and maybe get it back." Patting her wallet in her pocket she smiled and added, "Seems it worked."
"Nah, I know you ain't hot for me." Said Enzo, waving a dismissive hand, "But you always gotta try an' see what you can get, right?"
"Right." She smiled warmly her head once again listing to the left. "I suppose I can't distract you, though I doubt many others would be wise to my advances."
"And I'll admit." He admitted, "Even though I know it ain't real..." Enzo smiled kind of wistfully and reached down to massage whatever had awakened from its slumber below, "It was pretty fuckin' hot. The kind of service I would pay for. If I ever got anythin' worth spreadin' over to you-- just lemme know, see?"
She laughed, at the moment an uncanny sound caught somewhere between genuine joy and the sort of mirthless laugh that they perfect for movie villains, still as she watched Enzo she couldn't hide the glitter of amusement from her eyes.
"So you've taught me to lie, cheat, and steal... All that is left is to teach me how to not stick out like a glow in the dark haired blue Nekovalkyrja in a crowd." She paused for a moment before reiterating, "More simply disguise."
"Well, you got the basics for the cheat and steal part," Enzo commented, putting his free hand to his jaw contemplatively, "But you definitely need to practice a bit more. As for disguise..." Enzo put his hands on his hips and waggled his eyebrows, "It wouldn't be worth spreadin' over, by any chance, would it?"
She gave Enzo a flat look, she supposed she shouldn't be surprised that he kept trying and thought it was wasting time it wasn't exactly causing her any problems. As such her reply was more mild than what she could have said, "I'm not going to do it. If you keep pushing you may upgrade to the luxury suite of never instead of just unlikely."
Enzo laughed again, more baudily than usual. "Just the fact that I've managed to board the 'unlikely' bus puts me in a rare mood of generosity." He said fiendishly. "I always assumed you only liked goils, so forgives me for wantin' what the body wants. But, hey, maybe since you already lets me touch up on yous..." Enzo held out a warning hand in the 'stop' motion to let her know that she wasn't to get angry over this, "If I promise to keeps my hands off yous twat, maybe you could just, take off the bottoms, too? An' besides, if we's gotta change y' skin color, you gotta get naked anyways. Might's'well make it fun an' let me jiggle y' ass a little."
She watched him for a moment devoid of emotion before shrugging and working to take her pants off, "Were I anyone else, this would never happen. Luckily for you I am well aware that I can tear your limbs off." Standing nude before the conman she looked up into his eyes steady and unblinking. "Now then, shall we start with the lesson?"
"Yeah, yeah, just lemme go grab my make-up kit and some skin-spray." Enzo replied, taking it all in with a victorious smirk. He didn't move to go get anything immediately, instead just kind of sidling in place while he glanced ferociously. This was, by far, one of his greatest scores. Forget the yellow airbike moored in the corner of the cargo bay. Forget the crate filled with now-expired drugs. Forget the five-thousand DA business suit. Forget all of the material gains. For all of his sexual encounters, Enzo had never seen someone of such exotic beauty completely naked. Finally, he started to move past her in the tight confines he'd led her to earlier between the shelves and took a moment to rub past Tamamo a little too closely as he worked his way towards the elevator to the crew-deck where he kept his disguises and disguise accessories. Mounting the doorway, before he left, he turned back on her curiously, and asked, "Just outta curiousity..."
There was look on his face not unlike the look one would get when testing a dangerous beehive. He didn't want to get the upgrade to that premium 'never' suite, but the curiosity dug at him almost painfully and Enzo was nothing if not interested in why people did the things they did, "Why is it a big deal to you to hop in the sack with someone? I gotta know, 'cuz it seems to me like most yarn-swatters just give it away. An' y'know, I gots my heart set on somebody else so it's not like I'm gonna start buyin' you flowers an' shit-- but I still gotta wonder why it ain't just like shakin' hands to yous?"
She hadn't cared while he stared at her, and when Enzo brushed past her the small blue Neko hadn't batted an eye. When he mentioned curiosity however her attention was hooked causing her to pivot to watch the conman carefuly while he worked up the courage to ask.
By the time he finished his question Tamamo smiled and replied in a tone that may as well have been in response to what her favourite colour was, "Well I would assume it is something like how you would help Mel out or give her money and stuff. But you wouldn't go up to some random chump on the street and offer them the contents of your wallet. If I'm going to do something as nice as have sex with someone, I want them to be someone who I actually like. After all you don't just give away nice things to any old chump right?"
Enzo frowned. "Yeah, but if I gives a guy my wallet, I don't still got my wallet when it's over. But if I gives a guy my asshole, I still got my asshole. In fact, it's basically just free shit to use to get people to do what you want!" He argued, still being too much of a shyster to ever see the true value of an intimate experience.
"It is an investment of time." She returned, "I don't want to waste my time on someone who I don't think deserves it." She paused for a second digging up a bit of information in her mind, "I believe 'time is money' is still relevant?" She looked at Enzo curiously wondering if it would make sense to him.
In a way, it did. In other ways, it was still a foreign concept. Sex was, after all, super-fun. He'd probably paid way more than it was worth more than once, and had gotten more than it was worth in return on numerous occasions. He'd also had plenty of free sex over the years, so he assumed some people must've enjoyed it. Right? Still, Tamamo was there waiting to get turned pale-skinned and Enzo had to figure out what to do with those ears of hers. Finally, he sighed and admitted, "I don't know. I guess, for me, it's just the easiest thing to give up an' it's fun to give it up most of the time. I'll-- I'mma just go grab some stuff. You stay here, lookin' beautiful. I'll be back."
Tamamo nodded, both to his opinion on the subject and the declaration that he was going to go get the stuff needed for whatever miracle of disguise the conman was going to attempt. This gave her time to look around the cargo bay of the Lady of the Night and pick out the little details that often told so much of a person's life. There was the broken guitar with aging strings, settled to one side on a workbench next to an intact counterpart; numerous piles of effects with seemingly little value. Accessories of former crimes, at least a few murder weapons and fake peices of jewelry, littered upon various surfaces. An ill-maintained houseplant sat browning against a partition between two segments of the hold. Within the other segment was a series of larger plastic crates which held all manner of things untoled. Crumpled up papers scattered over a forlorn desk where art had never come to quite the level Enzo had been satisfied with, and further over from there was the obligatory ashtray which overflowed with butts from every brand in the galaxy.
Oddly Tamamo was given the impression that Enzo's living space was rather forlorn. Sure the conman made a show of living the life and enjoying himself, but given a chance to look around she found that someone in her perspective would have felt bad.
Crouching down to gather up her clothes, Tamamo idly set about folding them up while ordering her thoughts. Creating new branches of data both inspired by what she had been taught, and the myriad of new things to add to what she knew about Enzo now that she had a firm first hand interaction to suppliment all that her research had told. All in all Tamamo was fairly content, the room was warm enough, prying eyes didn't bother her, and all things considered the conman had confirmed that he was rather trustworthy, so long as you remembered who and what he was.
Eventually glancing back toward the portal through which Enzo had vanished, Tamamo wondered how much time she had to burn and debated venturing into the digital plane to pass the time.
Before she could, however, there was the sound of bootsteps on tile again and Enzo reappeared, as if summoned by the very potential for a pause in narrative. He smiled at her again, holding a mechanic's toolbox in one hand and lifting a bottle of vodka with the other.
"Grabbed drinks." He offered, before pausing to take a hearty swig from his bottle. "Got my toolbox here, gots everythin' I needs to toin you a different person, Blue."
Without waiting for approval, Enzo trotted up to his desk and set the toolbox down. He lit a cigarette before prying it open and pulling out what appeared to be cans of spray-paint. After arranging the cans on the table, he started to retrieve a wig but stopped himself short and turned to Tamamo to offer her the open pack of cigarettes, in case she wanted to take one.
Nodding at the declaration of drinks she once again found herself studying Enzo looking over what he had gathered while considering what he had said. Twitching her ear as he lit a cigarrette Tamamo decided that she'd have to deal with the smell, it was always overpowering, killing all of the subtle scents nearby and irritating her.
Startlingly she was offered one, which caused her to glare momentarily her ears folding back in irritation before she switched onto a parallel set of tracks in her mind. Despite the disgust at the prospect she accepted one of them commenting quietly, "I suppose if I want to make a believable Nepleslian I'll have to learn to smoke..." The distate in her voice was obvious however the small blue Neko proved flexible enough to mimic the habbits of practiced smokers in motioning for Enzo to give her a light.
"Well, if it's your first one..." He supposed, dropping his electronic lighter in favor of a book of matches, "You might's'well have it right."
Enzo pressed a matchead between his thumb and forefinger, striking it against the callouses of his hand. When it was lit, he held the tiny dancing flame in front of Tamamo's cigarette-- adding a strong and sweet wooden taste to the earthy and heavy flavor of tobacco. "Just tell yous body to simulate the effects of the chemical yous ingestin'," He suggested, "An' savor the taste. Burnin' tobacco tastes pretty good. It's the smoke that's awful."
She nodded slowly, a short inhalation giving her the taste and a chance to adapt before she sighed and took a longer drag filling her lungs and causing the ember to glow brightly. She didn't look any more thrilled with the prospect as when she started but she migrated the cigarette to the corner of her mouth before exhaling the plume and saying, "I don't think I'll ever like this. Can't smell anything else, its like being blinded. Anyway, shall we get started with the main event?"
"Yeah, yeah." Enzo grumbled at her lack of appreciation and picked up one of the spraycans. He normally used something to darken his skin-tone, but considering Tamamo, he decided it might be better to grab the oft-unused can of 'white'. The chemical inside was a wet powder, chalky and sticky. But it would dry smooth and stay in place until someone took the time to scrub at it with warm water and soap. Which was, admittedly, not a combination usually encountered when playing pretend. "Stand up, legs spread shoulder width, and put your hand over yer twat."
Tamamo did as she was instructed, holding still so as to make the job of spraying her down easier. As she did so she used her free hand to momentarily adjust the cigarette for a new round supposing that she may as well try to find something to like about it.
As the cool mist covered her body, Enzo pulled a pair of goggles over his face. He had to admit, it was much easier to spray it one someone else than to spray it on himself. Even, easy movements covered every inch from the base of Tamamo's neck to the tops of her feet. He even had an easy time angling the can to get behind her arm and over the ridge of her thighs. Finally, he knelt down with a small paintbrush in his mouth and tested the skin on Tamamo's hip. The stuff dried quick, so Enzo sprayed the end of his brush with a couple quick jets of it and gingerly removed Tamamo's hand from her ladyhood. With none of the hungry glancing he'd had before, the conman pressed the goggles up onto his forehead and took on a look of concentration as he delicately painted around the edges of that which he was unlikely to ever be inside of.
"Actors use this stuff." He explained, "An' for me, It's important to get every inch, cuz' sometimes yous sneakin' into a high-security area. Can't be brown all over with a bright white dick, yeah? You never know what'll happen."
It seemed Enzo was all business now, perhaps even a bit of an artist with professional distance from his work. He didn't make a single comment about Tamamo's 'c*** flaps' or 'twat lips' or whatever foul things he was expected to say, instead just worked hard to gently coat her to all but the most dedicated inspector. In fact, he was quickly satisfied with his work and grasping her hand again to get some of the fake skin between her fingers. "Now, I can get you a few cans of this stuff for free, I knows a guy, but yous' gonna have to buy your own after that."
"First sample is free to get them hooked right? Give them the good stuff then shift them to the stuff that keeps them coming back." She teased playfully, trying to amuse while carefully studying the impressive display of profesisonalism that earned a bit more respect for the conman.
"That's basically how he operates wif me, anyhow." Enzo replied nonchalantly, standing and plucking the cigarette out of Tamamo's mouth, "But he knows I ain't an actor, so maybe he's just givin' me the run-around. Close yer eyes."
Without hesitation she did so waiting patently for the process to begin only slightly annoyed that she couldn't watch the stuff being applied to her own face. It was just one or two sprays of it really, and a thin layer at that right in the center of her face. Enzo didn't tell her she could open her eyes again, though, and soon she felt the brush working around her sockets to fill a few gaps.
"Now," he explained, "You'll get the hang of this in a mirror when you're doing it on yourself. I figure... Right now, you just gotta see the results and kinda get a feel for it. You can feel how much of this stuff I'm sprayin' on yous. Ain't much, is it? I'm just getting a nice even coat."
Tamamo soon felt a pressure on her lips as well, and the taste of cherry-flavoring leaked into her mouth as Enzo applied a colored gloss to her lips so they wouldn't be the same exact color as the rest of the skin on her face. She felt a similar sensation upon her nipples, though perhaps not as wetly as the gloss. Standing back, Enzo propped her cigarette back between her lips and examined his work while sticking a hand back into the toolbox to feel for a proper wig. "Almost poifect." He congratulated himself before asking, "You feelin' blonde today, or maybe like a readhead?"
Patiently waiting while Enzo did his work Tamamo was careful to take note of each and every motion for later reference though she was certain that she'd have to improvise a good deal to match the results. A practiced art rather than a metric.
As the question came Tamamo considered it carefully before responding, "I want to say blonde, but I am curious that if I go red... Will I get to see myself with freckles?" Sure she could probably satisfy the curiosity with a volumetric overlay, but seeing Enzo's handywork would be more interesting.
"You want freckles? I got freckles." Enzo replied proudly, tossing the auburn wig to his catgirl partner in potential future crime. "It'll look cute with yous eyes, won't even have to break out the contacts. Just stuff all your hair under this and pull it tight over your head."
Catching the wig Tamamo nodded and worked to tuck her short hair and ears under the hairline before carefully working around the edge to make sure that she didn't have any stray strands. Content with her effort to contain her hair she worked her fingers through the hair of the red wig adjusting it and trying to get it to sit in a manner that felt more natural.
"There you go, you got it." Came her congratulatory encouragement. The conman approached her naturally and pressed a smaller paint brush to her cheeks, speckling them not unlike a brown-on-white starry sky. Again, he seemed to be lost in his work, eyes focused on what he was doing. Truly, he was enjoying the chance to ply his art on something other than himself. Eventually, he liked the freckles and backed up again to root around for something else. "Gotta do something about those ears of yours," He explained, tossing aside wigs and hair dye and the occasional tube of gel. A thick sexual novelty flopped out and rolled off the edge of the desk. A pair of grooved scissors slid away from a toss. Finally, Enzo produced a red peice of fabric. It was square, canvas, like the napkins they have at fancy restaurants. He smiled again and bisected it, folding up a triangle and approaching Tamamo once again.
"I'll look around on InterNEP and see if I can find yous some prosthetic ears. In the meantime, you gotta tuck those kitty ears underneath this banana." He urged her, reaching up to tie the bandanna at a low angle around the ears and the wig above them.
The application of the freckles was oddly pleasant, the gentle contact with the brush surprisingly stimulating through the layer of spray on skin. Resisting the urge to poke and prod at herself while Enzo hunted for something or other Tamamo gazed down at an unfamiliar body taking the time to admire the artistry.
Looking up in time to have the bandana tied around her head Tamamo waited patiently for him to finish affixing the accessory before replying, "That would be most appreciated, though the bandana is comfortable." Refraining from trying to wiggle her ears she instead settled for moving her head about feeling the way the weight of the wig, and the bandana sat on her head.
"Well, y'know I'm gonna ask fer somethin' for it, if I does get yous anythin'." Came the chuckling response. Enzo looked her up and down, nodding along the curvature of the pale-skinned red-head before him as he considered clothing ideas. He had a few things in a trunk nearby that would fit her, but they had been set aside for some time. They were gifts he'd bought for the last Neko in his life, Naoko. While he'd never lusted after her like he might've over Tamamo, the other Neko had held a strange and special sister-like place in his heart. The bond they'd shared, gleefully murdering all of Luca's enemies and bathing with seeming innocence in blood-- it was special. Enzo sighed to consider it and sat down at the desk with a distant, forlorn look, but resumed the lesson.
"So, now you looks like somebody else, see? But what you're gonna wear is probably more important than anything else. Who're you tryin' to fool? You wanna look rich? Poor? You wanna look dumb? Hell, you can even look angry just by dressin' a certain way."
With a bit of amusement she nodded in acceptance of Enzo's terms, however a mood seemed to creep over the conman, one she couldn't place until he spoke. Keeping her understanding to herself Tamamo instead replied, "I suppose most importantly is that I am to look like someone who is a part of the crew. Someone likely to tag along with the ISC Phoenix. Anything else would be situational."
"Right." Enzo nodded slowly, turning in his chair to look at the footlocker across from him. He sucked in his lower lip and thought long and hard over whether it was finally time to crack it open and give up on pretending Naoko would somehow still be alive someday. The problem with it was that he'd gone on pretending for so long that he wasn't sure if it was best to open the crate and risk putting on a maudlin display in front of Tamamo, who already thought poorly of him, he was sure. If she thought he was a crybaby, too?
"Well, the bitches around here like to dress butch." Enzo submitted, standing and taking a mighty draft from his vodka before approaching the footlocker with a sense of sorrowful determination. "So, I'm thinkin' jeans, boots, somethin' light up top but not skanky. Maybe get a little bit of cleavage out to get people lookin', see? Then, a coat. Always need a coat. That's..." There was a momentary lapse of energy as Enzo stopped in front of the footlocker and settled his thumbs over the latches. He inhaled sharply and pulled them and the footlocker open while finishing with a quieter, "That's part of the whole lie, cheat, steal business. A coat is storage for yous small loot."
"So, a bit of function, a bit of bait, and the bit that lets you carry away the prize." She nodded appreciatively making a point of avoiding the obvious pain, and the reasoning behind it. She didn't need the conman any more upset so it was best to play dumb to his latest actions. "It all fits together nicely, I'm glad I asked for your help."
"Well, it passes the time, and you looks pretty good with your clothes off." Enzo admitted, tugging at the reccommended clothing choices. He held up a green top for moment before tossing it to the side and going for something grey. Finally, he was satisfied with his selection and gathered an armful of clothes to give to the redhead he'd just created. There was a powerful sigh of relief to get into it. They weren't really Naoko's clothes, after all. They were his clothes, clothes he'd bought to give to her when she grew to a full-sized person. And really, she'd never gotten a chance to receive them so at the end of the day it wasn't like Enzo was dressing somebody up in her clothes.
"Just one rule." He finally said, with a sort of soft smile as he pressed the articles to Tamamo, "Don't..." Enzo's tongue darted out to nervously wet his lips. "I mean, this might sound dumb, but don't-- Like, don't fuck anybody in these, alright? Be reverent and shit, because these don't belong to me." In the end, he couldn't really let it completely go.
A little surprised when she was finally handed the armful of clothing Tamamo accepted them carefully before holding them gently in her arms. When Enzo went on to elaborate on the one rule Tamamo listened carefully while struggling to suppress the urge to wiggle the ears that she wasn't supposed to have before answering as if he hadn't said anything special, "I understand."
There was a bit that went unspoken, a bit that she would likely never truly be able to admit after all how could someone in her position tell someone that they knew exactly why they were acting as they were? It would only cause problems, as such she never said the second part.
I understand more than you know.
"Do you?" Enzo's eyes were curious, a finger rising to trace the length of a scar on his cheek. Whether he was just asking to for her to repeat herself, or somehow skeptically responding to the words left unspoken, Enzo nodded before she got the chance and said, "Good. Well, I guess you should get dressed an' checks y'self out in the mirror before goin' out and trying yous new face on folks."
About to respond Tamamo was cut short by Enzo's seeming acceptance of her response despite questioning it. Deciding there was no reason to poke at his train of though she instead merely nodded before industriously setting about taking away Enzo's eye candy.
Underwear, socks, jeans, a grey shirt with a low neckline, boots and finally the important coat. Looking down her body she nodded once before sauntering over to the aformentioned mirror, carefully examining the stranger before her, familiarizing herself with her reflection as she spoke mainly to herself, "I look- I look -I look- I look..." She continued on for a minute or so each repetition shifting her voice slightly, until she settled on something high and clear with a bit of a rough edge that she had heard from chronic smokers.
Turning to Enzo she tried out her new voice while attempting to adjust to a new person in mimicry of Enzo's earlier act, "I look great, don't cha think? Much better than some pint sized cat." She paused blinking slowly, a familiar mannerism of the small blue Neko before speaking once again her voice retruning to its soft tones, "Thank you, truly."
"So, you like it, then?" Asked Enzo, stowing away the thumbs-up he'd given her quick new voice. "Think you can do it on your own, or at least with only a little help?"
"If not now, soon." She smiled a little, "I learn quick. It is my gift." She turned to look at herself in the mirror again knowing that she'd have to be familiar with her own appearance as intimately as she was with what she wore beneath the disguise.
"Well, when you're ready to change back, just hop in the shower and scrub a lil' harder then normal with some soap, and you's good to go." Advised the conman, standing to approach her from behind. He propped his head on one of her shoulders like a demonic cherub and eyed the new Tamamo up and down with approval. He took a little bit of pride in his work and smiled. Besides, Naoko's clothes were being put to some use and Enzo was fairly certain that Tamamo had taken his ealier request not just at what he expected of her, which was to do whatever she wanted in the clothes and just not tell him about it, but also would likely observe the rule. She seemed to be one of those people, he imagined, who suffered under the weight of scruples or something like that. "In the meantime, looks like you're absolutely somebody else. Do you, eh..." Enzo backed up a little and looked her up and down from behind to make sure no blue patches escaped anywhere, "You, uh, want anything else at the moment, or should we conclude our lessons fer the day?"
"For the moment I think it is best I go out and get some experience as this me... Let me see... I can call her, Cayllyn Westwood. Never ate her vegitables or drank her milk as a kid and never grew up big and tall..." She murmured to herself a bit before retrieving her wallet from her folded clothes and offered Enzo ten DA, "For some cigarettes?"
"Ah, I don't need any money." Enzo replied, waving her money away. "It's the thing I got in abundance. How about..." Enzo shoved a hand into his volumous jacket and retrieved a mostly-unused pack of cigarettes and held it up. "How about you touch me again like you did earlier, when you was gettin' that wallet? Just for a sec? Then you can just takes these like you was gonna takes the wallet?"
She sighed and rolled her eyes an expressive new mannerism as she sauntered over to the conman pale fingers extending where blue had previously. Instead of a repeat preformance however she plotted a new course testing different response to different touches, some around the shoulder, a few up the back, still leading back to where she knew Enzo craved the attention in the end.
This time instead of pausing for him to stew in the anticipation of a thing that would never come her arm snapped out too quick for the Nepleslian she was supposed to be as she tried to take the cigarettes from Enzo. Just quick enough for the Nepleslian he'd trained himself to be, Enzo lifted his arm slightly to keep the pack of cigarettes out of Tamamo's reach for just a second longer, the second he needed to grab what she'd rested his hands on before and pull her close again. There was no way to get the cigarettes completely out of her reach while accomplishing this feat, though, and it was all Enzo could to just press himself against her and feel their bodies together again for a moment before he had to surrender the cigarettes once more. Again, he whispered, "Thanks, Blue. Or should I say, Red? Pleasure doin' business wit' yous."
She huffed and rolled her eyes again adjusting to swipe the taunting pack out of the conman's hand waiting an indulgent moment before pushing them apart. With a smile she replied a hint of teasing in the adopted voice, "Red obviously, you wouldn't want me to break character would you?" Turning quickly fanning out the borrowed red hair, 'Cayllyn' set about gathering up the folded clothing that she had worn while entering the Lady of the Night and held them under an arm as she glanced back at the conman turned teacher uncertain if she should simply walk out.
She felt Enzo's eyes upon her even as she turned, and when she looked back the gaze she met wasn't near as disgusting or lustful as it should've been. He smiled earnestly (probably the first earnest smile he'd given out in a long time) at the outfit and at how she even seemed to change the way she moved. Cayllyn Westwood was a pretty cool chick, it seemed. Still, there was security footage waiting for him on the bridge, and Enzo had to hurry off and discover if Tamamo had perhaps bent over at any point while he was gone. Furthermore, he'd paid seventeen cigarettes and a stolen wallet to get revved up twice, so there was fun to be had. Without saying farewell, Enzo just tossed Cayllyn an easy wave and disappeared into the depths of his ship once more, leaving her with the empty cargo bay and the even larger empty cargo bay outside and the even larger still galaxy full of fresh chumps ripe for the conning outside of that.
