Hellsent

[Luci]

Enjoy this weird M-Rated exposition post. Although sometimes it's subtle, Luci is addressing several different storylines with other pcs, including Harlan Higgs, Dr Doom, Yuki, Renji, and Jacket.

***

Luci opens her kaleidoscopic eyes and takes in the starkly unfamiliar surroundings of her small bedroom. Although she had gone to sleep in this very bed just one night ago, she had spent an unquantifiable amount of relative time in the Astral Realm, getting lost deep within the dream layers of herself and her companions. The journey has changed her; Luci breathes in, and the world seemed to breath with her. She observes that her already tenuous grip on reality is now hanging by a thread as the Astral Realm juxtaposes itself ever stronger into Luci's perception of Corruscant.

The stained and peeling wallpaper is lit dimly by her multi-colored bio-luminescence, projecting a softly shifting light show on her otherwise bleak living space. Luci sits up and reaches a hand out shakily for a cigarette stubbed out in the ashtray next to her bed and lights it. The smoke she exhales is a vibrant electric blue, and she watches it envelope her body. She runs a hand through her long hair, causing a small cascade of glitter to fall, and she stretches. She remembers that Yuki had spent the night with her, so long ago it seems, and she sees that he is not there, and she knows where he is.

Luci seems to stare off into the distance as she searches mentally for a concentrated ball of her power; a car bomb. She realizes it has been discharged, and sighs. She reaches into a drawer next to her bed and pulls out a sharp arrowhead, then cuts deep into her palm, causing metallic rainbow blood to pool in her hand. She then solemnly dips her three fingers into the blood and wipes three lines of glowing warpaint on her face under each eye.

The President of the Westside Knife Ear Warriors gets out of bed and picks out a cute blue spaghetti strap to throw on. The Astral Realm starts to grow louder in her ears, and she realizes she is hearing the thoughts of Weasel as she comes up the stairs to Luci's room. The President of the Westside Hufflepunks has a strange kind of emotion boiling up inside her; apprehension. Luci opens the door a second before Weasel knocks.

Weasel's pierced face registers surprise only for a moment, and the she takes in the lines of warpaint the mark Luci as the President of the Westside Knife Ear Warriors.

"Well," says Weasel neutrally. "I guess you've heard the news, President Perky Tits."

***

It seemed that assassination is not a dealbreaker for Weasel, inasmuch as Moss Illidian, the former President of the Westside Knife Ear Warrirors, was a fucking pain her ass. Luci is spiking Weasle's bright red mohawk, a cigarette hanging from her lip, as the punk rawk witch briefs her on the latest gang politics. Technically, Weasel and the Hufflepunks are a relatively ungoverned drug cartel that allies with the Westside against the Orc Mafia for matters of convenience. Unofficially, Weasel has become Luci's second in command, as Luci continues to make power plays to gain influence over the Westside council. Weasel follows the advice and sometimes the orders of Luci, and keeps an ear out for her on the street.

"So," Weasel continues as Luci straightens the mohawk. "We found the gang that wiped out the Metalheads. A new outfit, the Gentlemen Jacks. They're strong, they have a serious street presence, and they know how to work with the neighborhood, and they got good product. That Amaranth, it's not hard stuff, but it's fucking popular. So I sent Tweedle Dumb and Tweedle Dipshit to go check out the show, and the Jacks had an Ace in the Hole."

Stupid wordplay aside, Luci knows enough Corruscant street slang to pick up the reference.

"A Prime?" Luci asks curiously. Weasel nods, fucking up Luci's attempt to keep the mohawk standing, as usual.

"Yeah, a big one." the witch says. "Harlan Higgs. He's something else, his gang has a lock on Little New York, but he's not on good terms with the tusk fuckers. The twins weren't the only ones who decided to take a look at the Cody Chode show. A pack of Ork Warryorz came by too, looks like Gorgosh's gang, but we can't be sure, the corpses were pretty fucked. They tried shooting up the place, but the Jacks shut the down hard. After that, we managed to open up an avenue for negotiations. Part of that is taking care of that thing though."

Luci nods, thinking, as she hands the ciggarrette to Weasel. Weasel instead reaches up and passes a ticket into Luci's hand. Luci sees the Astral realm layer itself over reality, and a spiral pattern and glowing purple cross appear to pulse on the ticket.

"That's for you." Weasel adds. "He says you'd know how to get in contact with him."

Luci nods, then steps away from Weasel.

She shakes her trusty magic spraycan and then paints a cartoony icon of a rabbit in white on her wall. The rabbit's eyes blink.

Luci holds the ticket up to the painting, and the rabbit's nose twitches as it smells the ticket. Luci then leans in to whisper into the rabbit's ear. The rabbit nods, and moments later is bounding out the window, still two dimensional, a living painting scurrying to deliver a message. Weasel does not seem phased.

"And that's just the tip of the cock," Weasel says. "You won't believe what Chirpa got his hands on."

Luci sighs. "Is this what being President is like?" she asks.

Weasel grins and turns to face Luci, her eyes mischievous.

"There are perks."

***

The sex was good, Luci reflects as she watches the Hufflepunk shimmy into her jeans. The punk rock gangster was rough, but very eager, and very experienced despite her young age.

"But yeah," says the Hufflepunk casually, her face nearly as red as her hair, breathing heavily. "Chirpa scrounged up some new tech, some badass droid. He says he thinks he can make more, reverse engineer them you know? He wants to use them for that job in T6, but he says it will cost some money. He'll need at least-"

"Give it to him," Luci says without hesitation.

Weasel nods, her mohawk wobbling.

***

"So," says Weasel casually to Luci as the women walk down the winding staircase of the Hufflepunk Hideout. "Are you going to tell me why to have a dataverse device duct-taped to your hand?"

Luci just shrugs. "I'm expecting a visitor."

Weasel grins. "You got along with the last one pretty well, right? And now I see why..."

***

"What the fuck is this?" Luci asks reasonably. Five scantily clad women are passed out in a pile of drug paraphernalia in the living room. Two of them Luci recognize as Danny and Dungbomb, a pair of reasonably competent Hufflepunks. The other three are Twi'leks that Luci has never seen before.

"Some blow ins," says Weasel. "My goons gotta have fun too."

Luci claps her hands loudly, startling the women into groggy, head-achey wakefulness. Danny and Dungbomb leap up when they see Weasel and Luci's stern faces, and the Twi'lek take their cue and stand sheepishly next to them. All the girls are trying not to giggle. Luci eyes them suspiciously, particularly a green Twi'lek with Asain features and big scared eyes.

"Hmm," Luci says as she sizes them up. "I got some work for you girls."

***