Chapter 1- Rhia
Chapter 1: Rhia
The tavern inside the filthy inn reeked of beer and the stink of unwashed bodies packed like sardines inside its small walls; the stench alone served as enough warning to turn most wary travelers away. If that didn't do the trick, the noise and dizzying bustle of laughter, brawls, some underhand buisness in a dark corner,and general sordid behavior expected within the tavern would convince you of its worthlessness. But here in the Midgar slums, such a filthy atmosphere was familiar and comfortable. None complained, be it simple peer pressure of some of the tavern's less savvy denizens, or perhaps too hard a life scraping and pinching for every last gil had worn down their aversions.
The group tonight was primarily men, their hands lined with dirt from working over the barren ground in a city without sun, or from selling the goods they themselves had received at, well, a 'five- finger discount.' In any case, people of all types, backgrounds, and pasts mingled here, in the warm golden glow set off by the Mako lamps. Perhaps it was dangerous. If you made it here, here, however, no matter who you were, you were generally too tired to cause too much trouble. Thieves, with their shifty eyes, barted quitely with the crow-eyed otlaws and the hard, stone faces of an ex-soldier who had fought one too many battles. To Rhia, standing off behind the cracked boards that served as a stage, it was often nauseating. She quickly became used to, and indifferent towards, the aura of poverty. After all, it was the only home she, and the dancers who shared and worked this inn, had ever known .
She peeked through the tattered gray curtain that separated the back room from the stage at the front of the tavern, pursing her lips to help spread the bright red rouge smeared on them. Tousling her short cut, bright blond hair, she turned back to the others, Kitty, Ruby, Desde and Orchid, her bright green eyes flashing and darting around the crowd.
"Rhia, calm down." Kitty said in her slow southern drawl. "We'll be fine. It's just like every other dance before this."
Rhia looked back at the unofficial leader of the group of dancers, an older woman with dark hair spilling over equally dark eyes and a face painted with makeup. Kitty, like the rest of them, was wearing next to nothing. Such was the nature of their job.
Rhia sighed. "Yes, well, every time before this, and when I applied, as a matter of fact, it was for a standing up job!"
"Rhia, don't be selfish!" Kitty snapped, set off by the anger Rhia's voice. "We are hurting for cash, alright? We've got to get everything we can, and this puts in money. Do you want to eat and have a roof over your head?!"
Desde whistled, peering through the curtain. Rhia turned away from Kitty's contemptous stare and straightened at Desde's words. "Hey ladies. We got a new crowd in. I'll be dammed, looks like Shinra SOLDIERS!"
"What?" Kitty said, rising from her appointed chair (an overturned box) and glancing out. A moment later, she wheeled around to face the rest of us, her hand reaching out to grasp Desde's elbow excitedly, her face a mask of startled surprise.
"Holy shit, ladies, we got SOLDIERS in here. What're they doin' in the slums?"
"Yeah, they can certainly afford better."
Rhia's mouth dropped in disbelief, and she crowded around the curtain like the others. She had heard stories about SOLDIER, the Mako injected warriors of Shinra. Her bright green eyes picked them out instantly. Guarded by two normal troopers in blue uniforms, sat four heavily muscled men that looked a far shot better than the rest of the crowd, earning them a wide berth and a relatively clean table. Each carried a different weapon and glanced around the small tavern in apparent disgust. One of them stood out very much so from the rest, but as soon as Rhia trained her eyes on him Kitty threw herself across Rhia's vision. Rhia snorted, hanging her head.
"Are you happy now?" Kitty asked, adressing each of them but pointedly looking at Rhia. "SOLDIER. Ladies, dance hard tonight. Chances are one of them will pick us tonight. That'll mean more money in, which means better livin' for us…" she turned to glance at Rhia.
"And for those of us holding on to dignities we can't afford, try to remember that we won't do better than SOLDIER." She clapped her hands and ushered them onto the stage like a mother hen with her chicks as the gaudy music struck up.
"Showtime, ladies!"
AN: Well? Well? Review! Next chapter- Rhia mets the SOLDIERS who've payed her a visit. *hehehe*
The tavern inside the filthy inn reeked of beer and the stink of unwashed bodies packed like sardines inside its small walls; the stench alone served as enough warning to turn most wary travelers away. If that didn't do the trick, the noise and dizzying bustle of laughter, brawls, some underhand buisness in a dark corner,and general sordid behavior expected within the tavern would convince you of its worthlessness. But here in the Midgar slums, such a filthy atmosphere was familiar and comfortable. None complained, be it simple peer pressure of some of the tavern's less savvy denizens, or perhaps too hard a life scraping and pinching for every last gil had worn down their aversions.
The group tonight was primarily men, their hands lined with dirt from working over the barren ground in a city without sun, or from selling the goods they themselves had received at, well, a 'five- finger discount.' In any case, people of all types, backgrounds, and pasts mingled here, in the warm golden glow set off by the Mako lamps. Perhaps it was dangerous. If you made it here, here, however, no matter who you were, you were generally too tired to cause too much trouble. Thieves, with their shifty eyes, barted quitely with the crow-eyed otlaws and the hard, stone faces of an ex-soldier who had fought one too many battles. To Rhia, standing off behind the cracked boards that served as a stage, it was often nauseating. She quickly became used to, and indifferent towards, the aura of poverty. After all, it was the only home she, and the dancers who shared and worked this inn, had ever known .
She peeked through the tattered gray curtain that separated the back room from the stage at the front of the tavern, pursing her lips to help spread the bright red rouge smeared on them. Tousling her short cut, bright blond hair, she turned back to the others, Kitty, Ruby, Desde and Orchid, her bright green eyes flashing and darting around the crowd.
"Rhia, calm down." Kitty said in her slow southern drawl. "We'll be fine. It's just like every other dance before this."
Rhia looked back at the unofficial leader of the group of dancers, an older woman with dark hair spilling over equally dark eyes and a face painted with makeup. Kitty, like the rest of them, was wearing next to nothing. Such was the nature of their job.
Rhia sighed. "Yes, well, every time before this, and when I applied, as a matter of fact, it was for a standing up job!"
"Rhia, don't be selfish!" Kitty snapped, set off by the anger Rhia's voice. "We are hurting for cash, alright? We've got to get everything we can, and this puts in money. Do you want to eat and have a roof over your head?!"
Desde whistled, peering through the curtain. Rhia turned away from Kitty's contemptous stare and straightened at Desde's words. "Hey ladies. We got a new crowd in. I'll be dammed, looks like Shinra SOLDIERS!"
"What?" Kitty said, rising from her appointed chair (an overturned box) and glancing out. A moment later, she wheeled around to face the rest of us, her hand reaching out to grasp Desde's elbow excitedly, her face a mask of startled surprise.
"Holy shit, ladies, we got SOLDIERS in here. What're they doin' in the slums?"
"Yeah, they can certainly afford better."
Rhia's mouth dropped in disbelief, and she crowded around the curtain like the others. She had heard stories about SOLDIER, the Mako injected warriors of Shinra. Her bright green eyes picked them out instantly. Guarded by two normal troopers in blue uniforms, sat four heavily muscled men that looked a far shot better than the rest of the crowd, earning them a wide berth and a relatively clean table. Each carried a different weapon and glanced around the small tavern in apparent disgust. One of them stood out very much so from the rest, but as soon as Rhia trained her eyes on him Kitty threw herself across Rhia's vision. Rhia snorted, hanging her head.
"Are you happy now?" Kitty asked, adressing each of them but pointedly looking at Rhia. "SOLDIER. Ladies, dance hard tonight. Chances are one of them will pick us tonight. That'll mean more money in, which means better livin' for us…" she turned to glance at Rhia.
"And for those of us holding on to dignities we can't afford, try to remember that we won't do better than SOLDIER." She clapped her hands and ushered them onto the stage like a mother hen with her chicks as the gaudy music struck up.
"Showtime, ladies!"
AN: Well? Well? Review! Next chapter- Rhia mets the SOLDIERS who've payed her a visit. *hehehe*