Most individuals, when left with a problem and only their own ingenuity with which to solve it, will typically implement some form of the tried and true scientific method, even if it is only as basic as trial and error. This is because, for the most part, people are cognizant enough to recognize the need for a different approach when a certain course of action fails them, this thought process is an example of what many learned minds would term 'logic' and generally plays a rather central role in most people's thoughts and decisions.

Ms. Duskmoor however was apparently not most people.

Barely a minute after her initial attempts had failed to lift her from the alley floor the beaten bonemancer was again endeavoring to pick herself up despite still clearly lacking the strength to do so. It was both depressing and amusing to be honest and reminded Zephyr of the rather asinine animated characters of his youth who would remain stubbornly entrenched in a certain pattern of behavior whilst apparently ignorant of the damage it was causing them, anvils were typically involved if he recalled correctly.

In any case the point was that the girl was not demonstrating much in the way of intelligence, generally this would be considered something of a fault, fortuitously however the task the elemental had in mind for the brazen brunette did not require much in the way of ratiocination, only the ability to listen and follow orders. Considering what he knew of the gamine though Zephyr was doubtful the girl was even capable of that, still her presence could prove useful, if only for her reputation if nothing else.

The trick would simply be getting her to cooperate, especially given the less than ideal circumstances under which they'd met, a sufficient amount of money would likely go a long way towards procuring her services, however given what he knew of her reckless nature a few gestures of goodwill would not be entirely amiss either, he did not need the girl harboring undue residual resentment, such feelings would likely only cause her to do something foolish.

There is an axiom which states 'no time like the present' and though the hazel haired mercenary at times questioned the technical accuracy of such a statement he understood its general crux of the premise. Thus when Isabel once again began to falter after shifting herself to her hands and knees the elemental offered her some assistance; crafting a noticeable current of air which streamed upwards from the beneath the soubrettes prone position, generating a gentle but insistent force against the girl's upper torso which quickly put her into a simple kneeling position.

It also gave the hessian yet another image of the gamines figure which, now that he was no longer seeking weapons, proved to be rather... enlightening, or put another way, that her attire was rather adept at concealing her surprisingly voluptuous curves. 'Perhaps her [url= poster image wasn't unduly altered after all.'

Sadly though such idle musings would have be saved for another time; the bonemancer would likely react quite poorly if he tried to raise the subject and her cooperation was still more desirable than not, perhaps though he would have the opportunity to question her after the assignment had been concluded. Before that happy time could arrive however he needed to allay the gamines suspicions in order to have her fall in line. A diplomatic answer would be best, he doubted she would take well to blunt truth.

"I will admit there is a certain degree of risk associated with the job, for someone with your unique talents however they are negligible at best. I simply have an offer to extend to a large number of armed individuals and I believe your presence and reputation would go a long way towards gaining their compliance.

"Is that acceptable?"

"Oh!" Those breezes really did tickle when they managed to press against more sensitive areas of Isabel's body, but despite that fact at least the latest one was actually helpful. She let out a small sigh of relief as she was assisted into a kneeling position. It was infinitely better than her previous position had been, though the young man wouldn't be hearing any form of thanks from her. It was his fault she'd been on the ground int he first place, after all. The jerk.

Dusting off her outfit with as much dignity as her aching muscles and short breath would allow, she pretended to pay little attention to what the young man said concerning how she'd earn the money he'd offered to her. It certainly sounded interesting enough, although it was rather vague.

Still, it seemed like it had the potential to be more entertaining than anything she'd had planned for the night. Although her aim to avoid making a mess and attracting the authorities could go out the window if the armed group that had been mentioned decided not to cooperate. Oh well. That seemed like a very real risk anytime she stepped out into the public anyhow. "Sounds like it could be fun."

Zephyr kept his expression politely nuetral as he waited for the bonemancers response, he'd caught the girl's quiet gasp of surprise, and noticed the fall in her posture which told of the relief she had felt when he'd assisted her into a kneeling position, and though he hadn't expected much in the way of gratitude her feigned display of inattention was practically puerile; they were in back alley after all, what else was there to hold her focus? Granted he still had little experience with the gamine but what he'd seen thus far suggested a rather stubborn, almost juvenile disposition with overtones of pointless violence.

If the girl had any hidden depth she'd done an admirable job concealing it.

Eventually though Isabel gave her consent, and though her tone may not have been entirely sincere nor had it been overly patronizing. In short it would suffice and so Zephyr allowed a cordial smile to grace his features, "Capital." The elemental then cautiously swung his legs back onto the earth and winced somewhat as the dull ache in his legs quickly became far more pronounced, however he swiftly hid his discomfort behind a diplomatic facade. He'd be able to walk but his progress would be somewhat slower than usual until his latest dose of medication took hold which, ideally, would be any time in the next ten minutes or so.

Until then however he'd simply have to make do and endeavor to avoid limping as much as possible, though on second it could go at least a small ways towards easing Isabel's ego if she believed as though she'd dealt him a noteworthy strike. If nothing else it would cause her to underestimate him should she attempt any kind of double cross or other equally impulsive and inappropriate action, speaking of which, if the girl was to be able to do anything she'd need to be able to breathe properly.

Making a slight show of dusting himself off Zephyr relaxed the last of his grip on the bonemancers air, in general this wasn't entirely advisable as a sudden influx of oxygen could disorient people just as much as an efflux, however as he'd already restored a portion of the gamines air the overall effect should be somewhat muted, at least, in theory. In practice the brunettes eyes glazed over and her head reeled backwards and almost connected with the alley wall until a stiff gust righted her again and condensed lightly around her shoulders to keep her in place.

"Breathe slowly if you can, your body will need a few moments to adjust but after that you should be able to stand without difficulty. We're in no particular rush so take your time."

It took a moment before Isabel's focus and muscle control returned, thankful again that she hadn't once more ended up completely on the ground. It was an incident that was occurring much too frequently within the past handful of minutes for her to be at all comfortable with. It was another moment before she realized she was being spoken to yet again as she was instructed on how to deal with the sudden return of her air supply.

It felt so nice to be able to breath normally, and even a bit slower than normally as she readjusted to the level of oxygen that was returned to her. Her chest had been burning with the effort to bring in more oxygen than she'd previously been allowed to partake in. A dull ache had settled into her ribs and lungs and her throat was beginning to get sore, the prior gasping having somewhat dried it out. That was a game she wasn't very fond of.

And even though ti was tempting to do as she was told and rest for a minute before getting up, she never really had been one to follow orders too closely, especially from someone she'd only just met. And thus, disobediently, she moved to get to her feet as soon as she felt up to it. Almost immediately her hand shot out to make contact with the wall, her arm extended to its full length and her elbow locked to keep herself from crashing shoulder first into the bricks.

A small groan escaped her as her vision briefly failed and nothing but a black fuzziness danced in front of her vision. Her stomach seemed to protest as well as a wave of nausea passed only to be replaced with an ache in her head. Maybe it would have been a better idea to listen to young man just this once. Though suffocation tends to eat away at any sense of credibility one might put in someone.

As soon as they alleyway faded back into view and her head stopped swimming, she fully straightened her posture and let her supporting hand fall back to her side. She wasn't feeling very well at the moment, but with any luck it would pass quickly enough and she'd be back to normal.

Cautiously she closed some of the distance between herself and the young man, more to test her footing than out of weariness of the stranger. "Well, we won't get anything done just standing around. Lead the way."

"Well, we won't get anything done just standing around. Lead the way."[/color]

Zephyr raised a skeptical brow at this statement, judging by what he could make out from the girl's posture she was less than ready to begin even a mild constitutional, let alone a short jaunt down to the docks. However he'd learned by now that the brunette rarely heeded advice, no if he wanted the girl to do what he wanted then he'd have to try a different approach, something slightly more subtle was called for here.

"As you wish" With a noncommittal shrug of his shoulders the elemental pivoted on his feet and idly strolled to the end of the alley whereupon he paused and glanced both up and down the street before turning back to his impromptu partner with a benign yet bored expression which was reflected in his tone as he asked "Hmm, how would you get to the 49th street dock from here? If you don't mind me asking that is."

One of the oldest and most effective stalling methods in history is simple conversation, a adroit raconteur can easily keep a discussion going for hours if necessary, and while Zephyr himself was not quite so skilled a five minute conversation could be carried by a child. The question he had put to the bonemancer had also not been chosen at random, her answer would tell him what she knew of the city and how familiar she was with the docks, after all knowing the lay of the land was always helpful.

As predicted the conversation did not last long, by the end of it however Isabel's posture was much improved and her movements were far more certain than they had been initially. Her answer as well had been mostly satisfactory and roughly what the hessian had expected and so he offered no criticism of her response, instead merely nodding in acquiescence with her directions before then setting off at a slow pace on the gamines prescribed route.

The journey itself was terribly engaging, for although New York was a city which many say never sleeps, the majority of those who choose to conduct their business at night are primarily formed from a demographic who prefer to attract little in the way of attention. Still though the odd innocent individual could be discerned here and there, mostly by the ways in which they reacted to spotting MS. Duskmoor; and while some of these displays were mildly entertaining there was an inevitable downside to being so easily recognizable.

There is a subtle hum which precedes the far more salient sound of a police siren and for a trained ear this can provide valuable additional seconds to depart an area. In the dead of night however, when the city is rather more reticent, the sirens carry far further and so the two mutants had ample warning of the impending interruption. Fortuitously though even in the industrial section of a metropolis there will be the occasional consumer establishment, in this case it happened to be a brightly lit 7/11.

"I think it would be best if we made a brief stop."

Without giving his temporary partner a chance to response he grasped the girl by the arm and swiftly turned her to face the well illuminated double glass doors of the chain store. With that then accomplished he purposefully did not attempt to pull her along, such an endeavor would have been largely pointless as the girl likely not only weighed more than he did but his legs would also not have dealt well with the strain. Instead the elemental rapidly conjured a forceful gust which sent both of them towards the shop just in time for the automatic doors to open.

Once inside the hessian fought back a sigh as he shot the panicked cashier a spuriously cheerful look while he ushered Isabel into the aisles of products before saying. "We'll be out of your way in a few minutes, until then try to act casual, we've got a game of hide and seek going and my friend here would be most unhappy if you ruined it."

After this the mercenary leaned towards Isabel spoke somewhat more quietly, "I know I hired you for your reputation but do you always have to make your presence quite so obvious?"

Isabel hardly paid any mind to the various looks and reactions that came with her occasional outings. People were always skirting around her, whispering to their companions should they have any, ducking into doorways or side streets, and other such things. Not everyone was so outwardly panicked by the site of her.

Some people didn't seem to care at all. It could be theorized that those people were mutants or crooks an the like that appreciated someone getting rid of cops left and right, though it could be just as credible that some people simply lived under a rock and didn't have much of an idea about who she was. In any case, it was nice not to have to worry about dodging around people to avoid getting bumped into.

She heard the sirens, but again didn't pay much mind to them. Sirens were constantly going off in the city, usually in response to some kind of shooting, or stabbing, or other street crime. She hadn't done anything thus far, so why would she need to be worried about it? It was just another mild annoyance on an otherwise quiet night.

Her partner, however, was apparently more worried about the noise than she was. "Hey!" She wobbled a bit as she was brought to an abrupt stop in front of a 7/11, shooting a small glare at the young man. And then there was that damn gust of air, shoving her toward and through the door.

"Stop doing that, damn it!" she protested as she was ushered down the nearest isle. Indignantly she brushed down her outfit, straightening out any damage the air might have caused once she was allowed to sit still for a moment. "What are you talking about? I didn't do anything," she said in response to the accusation that she'd drawn some kind of attention to them. "You're the one shoving me around, and playing with the air, and scaring cashiers and stuff! Do you know how often sirens go off in New York? A whole damn lot. It's not always my fault. I'm behaving!"

For the most part when Zephyr undertook a task or action he did so for a reason and, generally, they were logical ones. He'd learned quite early in life that being able to provide rational explanations tended to allow one to escape more overt punishments or the repetition of annoying questions, at least, when dealing with adults, and thus he had carried this behavior forward with him as he learned and matured, finding that, largely such a frame of mind served him just as well now as it did then.

Therefore when Zephyr all but dragged Ms. Duskmoor into the poorly maintained chain store, he did so for a rather simple reason, namely that, although he'd known the girl less than an hour, the elemental felt he had already achieved an intrinsic understanding of her behavior and overall attitude towards him and, in short, it was not that of a willing and helpful assistant. Instead it was something more akin to a sulking child reluctantly following a parent and taking every opportunity to ignore instructions.

Because of this behaviour, the hessian had chosen to completely bypass the instruction stage and instead proceed right to dragging the girl along, a move which had doubtlessly saved him a number of minutes but likely done nothing for the sense of good will he had been trying to garner. Still, now that they had a measure of shelter he could attempt to redeem the situation somewhat and address the bonemancer's rather faulty argument. Leaning gently against one of the aisles shelves to relieve a measure of pressure from his legs and began talking, ticking off each new point with his fingers as he did so.

"Correction, you were behaving today and while such behaviour is laudable it does nothing to ameliorate your violent history. Secondly, although sirens are a common feature of the city you still hold a leading place on the NYPD's most wanted list and I'd rather not chance them interrupting our engagement later this evening. Thirdly, I 'shoved' you in here because thus far you have ignored my instructions and advice and I saw no reason why you would have listened to me outside."

Pausing to take a breath Zephyr scanned Isabel's face to see if she was taking in anything he was saying, noting only that she was looking increasingly displeased and so he sighed and took a moment to reword his final statement in a more positive light.

"Finally, you are correct in saying that you were not actively doing anything to draw attention, however I'm afraid your reputation has become so compelling that you are now something of a trademark for the city and a large part of that is your rather... unique, state of dress. It makes you far too recognizable and now that everyone these days has a cell phone I'm sure the police can find you mere minutes after you step outside."

Again the elemental paused and allowed his words time to sink as a police cruiser raced by the street outside providing rather apt punctuation for his argument. When the shrill sound had once again faded into the distance he began once more, though somewhat more hesitantly. "Though I'll admit it's a little late at this point, I think you should consider investing in a different outfit, for when you do not wish to garner such attention, assuming of course you have not done so already."

"Not my fault the cops don't appreciate the work I'm doing," she protested, irritably crossing his arms as the young man ticked off her number of apparent offenses. "I've gotten out of going to jail before, I could do it again. The police don't scare me." What a worry wart. It wasn't like the police were out patrolling the streets for the sole purpose of finding her or anything. At least, that's what she assumed. In any case, she was more likely to get away than not, should a cruiser attempt to stop her. A pair of patrolling officers wouldn't be much of a match for her.

Isabel couldn't help the small grin that was tugging at her lips at the mention of her reputation. It was rather impressive, if one were to review her list of offenses. There probably wasn't a single law enforcer in the city that didn't know her somehow. And yes, she was a bit of a trademark, wasn't she? And a downright adorable, if not twisted, one at that. People tended to travel to New York to make a name for themselves and become rich and famous in some way. She had achieved such goals, despite the fact that she'd done so by rather unconventional means.

"There's nothing wrong with my outfit," she huffed, whatever traces of a grin there may have been quickly fading as her gaze shifted away from her partner and down to her clothing, her hands absentmindedly smoothing down the fabric once more. It was a little eccentric, but she liked it. There was nothing wrong with a little creativity.

"Hmph." Putting on an air of boredom she moved to idly pick at the various pieces of merchandise stocked in the shelves. She'd change her outfit if and when she felt like it. Not because some guy offering her a job recommended it. On another note, "How long do we have to stay in here? As fun as playing cops and robber is, I think meeting with your little friends would be much more interesting. Who are those people anyways? What are you trying to offer them, and why do they need to be armed? Can't effectively win them over by choking them to death or something?"

Zephyr had arrived at a conclusion, namely that, while Ms. Duskmoor had developed a rather pleasing figure for someone in their late teens or early twenties her mental maturity had never progressed beyond that of a ten year old. Admittedly this was not a particularly surprising or difficult conclusion given the circumstances but it did allow the elemental to shift a measure of his annoyance at the girls behaviour into mild amusement.

It really was amazing that the girl seemed to possess no form of guile or skill at dissembling, instead she was direct and stubborn, or to put it another way, blunt, somewhat ironic really when one considered her fighting style. Still though there were few things worse than a stubborn child, especially one capable of rending limbs, logic rarely had any effect and flattery or bribery were only temporary solutions, as this was only a temporary situation however such measures suited the elemental just fine.

"There's nothing wrong with my outfit,"[/color]

"Not as a Halloween costume no." The words escaped him before he had a chance to think and the hessian sighed before bringing a hand to the bridge of his nose. The action was done more out of habit than any true sensation of pain, his medication had begun to take affect a few moments ago and provided he avoided any overly stressful uses of his abilities it was unlikely he'd feel much beyond the typical dull ache within his skull.

A thought occurred to the elemental and he paused for a split second, considering it briefly before giving mental shrug and deciding to run with it; granted now wasn't really the time to be doing this but he was curious and so he caught her eye with a somewhat resigned gaze before he continued speaking. "Are you aware that you have a second reputation? One that can perhaps can be best summarized with the nickname 'school girl'? It was a rather popular name for you." 'Up until the introduction of the bone bikini poster.'

Playing on pride was not a tactic that worked often on sensible adults, usually because it required a certain amount of vanity or ego, and generally when one manages to achieve a kill count reaching into four figures they also gain enough self confidence not to care what others think. With children however such approaches were almost always successful providing you had at least a scruple of credibility and so Zephyr felt no small amount of satisfaction when the bonemancers immediate response was to sulk sulked before then swiftly attempting to shift the topic of discussion with little to no tact.

While the gamine may have been less than subtle in her intentions however she did manage to ask pertinent questions and so Zephyr allowed himself to be distracted. "My ah, friends, are two organizations of like minded individuals who hold interest in the same real estate. Neither side however is willing to share or back down and so they intend to fight. Their employers though see this as a rather useless waste of resources; the dead are not very productive after all, thus we are going to act as mediators in the hopes of arriving at a peaceful conclusion."

"As for when we can leave... I have one purchase I'd like to make first." Glancing around the surrounding shelves for a moment the elementals eyes fixed on a somewhat simple box of lighters and he idly withdrew a handful of the sable coloured items before leaving the adequate tender with the cashier and making his way back onto the streets where after a moment he turned and spoke to Isabel again.

"I'd like to stress that deaths are to be avoided tonight if at all possible, I'm hoping that your presence will be enough to discourage any stupidity but if not try to limit yourself to simply disarming any trigger happy idiots unless I say otherwise. Is that acceptable?"

One of the key tactics in dealing with obtuse individuals is to avoid giving them direct orders, always give them an appearance of choice while ensuring that the only desirable option is the one you want. It is a strategy often used not only by skilled negotiators but also managers, teachers and parents to a degree.

Another huff escaped her as the young man picked at her outfit again. She was not wearing a Halloween costume. There was nothing wrong with her outfit. He just didn't appreciate her particular sense of style. Plus, wearing what she was there'd likely be no mistaking for the group of people they'd be meeting up with when it came to recognizing her. Her outfit would in the end aid them in that way, she was sure. Then he'd appreciate it.

She tried ignoring the little comment about a second reputation. The short plaid skirt she wore was bound to get some kind of attention she wasn't looking for, though for the most part she attempted to pay no mind to it. "I don't care," she stated matter-of-factly. She figured her reputation as a mass murderer would likely drown out most other rumors or the like anyhow. Except maybe for the most recent leak of images. She couldn't wait to find Hull and ring his scrawny little neck.

Isabel simply sighed as her momentary employer explained some of the details of their little mission. Stopping a fight generally wasn't something she did. It was much more fun to let the opposing parties tear each other apart for whatever reasons the had, but if the guy was willing to pay her for standing around and looking pretty, she could behave. And who knew, maybe a fight would happen regardless, and she could have some fun.

And then finally she was allowed to leave the little store, after a brief purchase on his part. She didn't like being told where she could and couldn't go, and she was beginning to get restless just standing around and waiting for the cops to cruise by. She liked it more when she was allowed to play with them. Spoil sport.

And there went her hopes for an entertaining fight. Avoid deaths and only harm to disarm. Lame. Though, he never did say anything about maiming. If someone were crippled, they couldn't join in a fight, could they? And as long as they were still alive when she left, she'd be playing by the rules. If they bled out later it wasn't her concern. Maybe it would still be a little exciting. "I guess so," she replied. "When exactly are we going to meet these people and stop wandering through alleyways convenience stores?"

Calmly tucking all but one of his newly acquired lighters into the confines of his jacket Zephyr granted the nervous cashier a short, insincere, smile before turning on his heel and gesturing for the hazel eyed soubrette to follow him out into the cimmerian streets once more as he toyed with the remaining onyx lighter within his grasp; idly altering both the height and width of the flame until he found a means of locking and unlocking the crude mechanism inside and then returning the device to his pocket.

Returning his attention to the streets before him the hessian's azure eyes flickered briefly towards a nearby street sign even as his thoughts focused momentarily upon his ever present spatial awareness and noted the close proximity of waterfront property thereby allowing him to swiftly gain his bearing and discern his location. They weren't far now, perhaps another twenty minutes at most if they continued as they were and...

"When exactly are we going to meet these people and stop wandering through alleyways convenience stores?"[/color]

Zephyr granted his temporary companion a mildly amused glance, it took very little imagination on the hessians part to reduce the bonemancers query to a jejune 'Are we there yet?' remark. Honestly the elemental wouldn't have been surprised if the girl had used those exact words; immaturity was apparently her strong suit after all. It was a trait he might have enjoyed exploiting in other circumstances, sadly though now was not the time for such frivolities, such a pity really.

"I suppose that depends," he answered genially as he paused at the entrance to an abandoned cross street. "We can continue on foot for another twenty minutes, alternatively we could take advantage of the smaller buildings here and traverse rooftops to cut the time in half. Either way however we would still have a short time to wait before everyone else arrives, so which would you prefer?"

The amused look that was shot at her was not returned. Isabel was getting bored. Her initial errand had been put on hold for the time being for a momentarily enjoyable little scuffle which had quickly turned into an uneventful stroll through the city. She could have enjoyed her own company if they weren't going to do much more than wander around the streets for an as of yet undetermined amount of time.

And then finally a semi-straight answer, once he'd done fiddling with one of the seemingly unnecessary amount of lighters he'd grabbed from the convenience store. What on earth would someone need so many of those things for?

A twenty minute walk, or a ten minute rooftop stroll. Was there really any question as to which one she'd opt for? The short wait they'd have to endure at their destination would be tolerable, especially with a little extra exertion and exercise in scaling building walls.

"Rooftops are always fun. I've used them more than a couple of times in the past," she remarked, absentmindedly scanning the nearest buildings to find where the easiest point to begin climbing might be. "You sure you can keep up?"

In the past decade or so the roof tops of New York had gained something of an éclat as aberrant walkways for the more eclectically minded. The truth of the matter however, was that the sprawl of concrete canopies represented a rather impractical means of travel for the vast majority of humanity. Although the city way outlaid in a rather logical grid there was no form of rhyme or reason relating to the heights of buildings or the structure of their roofs; while some might consider an abrupt 40ft drop onto slanted tiles an enjoyable challenge others are not quite so open minded.

"Rooftops are always fun. I've used them more than a couple of times in the past,"[/color]

For those who happen to be a step beyond humanity though the nexus of elevated platforms potentially provided a... discrete, means of progressing from one point to another which, for a certain kind of character could be highly desirable. In light of this then the hessian felt no great amount of surprise when his impromptu partner expressed an agreeable familiarity with the city’s numerous plafonds. He was however somewhat curious as to how the shapely soubrette would manage to navigate the more inconvenient transitions between buildings. Granted the girl certainly appeared fit, but she did not appear capable of leaping the distance between roads.

"You sure you can keep up?"[/color]

Zephyr’s lips tugged upwards as he watched the hazel haired soubrette absently scan the nearby structures. Syllogism was clearly not the girls strong point; he hardly would have suggested the roofs if he were incapable of traversing them. Still there little point in admonishing her, however he could possibly make the gamine somewhat more circumspect with her words. “Your concern is touching Ms. Duskmoor, tell me though, what would you do if I said no?”

Isabel adopted an expression of feigned thoughtfulness at the proposed scenario. She was pretty sure it wasn't a real question. If the guy could knock her around like he had with nothing but the air around him, she was sure he could at least lift himself long enough to make it over the gaps between buildings on the way to their destination.

"Well guess you'd be out a helper for the evening," she offered as a reply, giving a shrug to go with it. "If you can't even keep up with me for that, I don't know how much help you could be later on. I think I'd have to find entertainment elsewhere."

A little smirk and she was back to surveying the brick walls on either side of her. Scaling a wall could be done, but a fire escape would be a nice leg up to get her started. Or even a dumpster or something. Hm, the shallow windowsills on a nearby building would do nicely.

Internally four of her ribs twisted out of place and exited through the skin of her upper and lower back, two twisting up through the collar of her shirt and the other pair past the hem that had become untucked in the earlier scuffle.

"Come on then, let's see what you've got," she said, strolling over to the nearest stoop and hoisting herself up onto the stone railing. From there she hopped over to the closest sill and started to scramble up the side of the building, using other sills and window boxes as footholds and points to step up with the four spindly legs.

Things would be a little easier once she got to the rooftop where she'd simply have to make the jump from one building to the next. If her partner didn't drag his feet, she'd slow down long enough to allow him to take the lead.

Maintaining his insouciant mien Zephyr rested his shoulder against a worn doorway jutting out from the alley wall. One of the recently acquired lighters twirled lazily between the mercenary's deft fingers as he regarded his unequivocal associate with a raised brow as the girl offered her seemingly blithe response whilst examining the patchwork of brick and mortar before as she sought a means to gain access to the rooftops.

In truth her reply had not been within the elementals expectations; his relatively short exposure to the brunette thus far had possessed the hessian of the notion that the ingénue was almost completely without any form of guile and was, in a word, gullible. Given the slight but noticeable smirk which crossed her lips and the less than subtle supercilious cadence which coated her words though it seemed as though the sobriquet was not quite as oblivious as she first appeared.

Admittedly though that wasn't saying much; the gamines remark was all but inviting an epigrammatic retort and Zephyr was more than willing to accommodate his interim companion. "My apologies, I wasn't aware you required assistance to deal with mere thugs," His words were offered in a mildly mocking tone before he gave the girl a faux expression of consideration. "I do hope I didn't hurt you earlier If that is the case however perhaps I should revise my payment hmm?"

The bonemancer gave no immediate reply, instead opting for a tangible rebuttal as two pairs of quasi arachnid limbs emerged from both the collar and hem of the gamines shirt at a speed which, while not excessively swift, was still a step above what one might have expected. The odd limbs clicked against the brickwork in an almost impatient manner before the brunette deigned to glance back at the elemental and issue her somewhat jejune challenge.

In response Zephyr's features merely adopted a cordial affectation, as he waved the hazel eyed soubriquet on ahead him merely stating "Ladies first" as he waited for the gamine to begin her climb; watching, with idle interest, the manner in which osseous limbs manipulated themselves to propel the young woman upwards whilst at the same time noting how much the view might have been improved had the girl not chosen to wear trousers beneath her billowing skirt/apron ensemble.

Ah well.

Isabel's ascent took less than a minute; her additional appendages allowing her to make use of a variety of handholds which would have been beyond the reach of more quotidian individuals. Once the girl successfully leveraged herself up onto the roof Zephyr took a brief moment assess his surroundings before gathering his element, flexing his legs with only a minor twinge of discomfort, and performing a somewhat mediocre jump which nonetheless carried him upwards and allowed the elemental to alight upon the roofs edge on the balls of his feet.

The dissolute pair made relatively swift progress across the nexus of concrete canopies, with Isabel darting forwards on her spider like limbs with surprising speed, traversing the spaces between rooftops with almost facilely motions. Zephyr meanwhile kept an even pace with his impromptu companion; leaping lightly from rooftop to rooftop with his hands resting almost listlessly within the confines of his jacket whilst giving occasional directions.

In little time the two mutants found themselves overlooking one of the numerous desolate dockyards which decorated the city's riverside. What little light was available from mounted lamps showed scores of shipping crates of various colours stacked in neat grids of disparate heights occupying a fair amount of the space available between the river and road which ran along the docks edge. Overlooking the collection of crates were the silhouettes of two somewhat worn, but apparently serviceable cranes, each resting on tracks which presumable allowed them to move up and down the dockyard with their loads.

Coming to a rest atop one of the higher stacks of crates which rested at the boundary of the dockyard Zephyr gave a brief signal for the bonemancer to wait before taking a slow breath and closing his eyes as he shifted his attention more fully to his spatial awareness. There was only a minor hint of displeasure as his thought pattern adapted to accommodate the increase in his perception and the elemental found it a relatively simple matter to gauged the new surroundings; searching for any adult sized displacements in the air or the tell tale pattern of breathing to alert him to the presence of any individuals who might have been lurking in shadows.

The entire process only took a minute or two and after he had assured himself that the area was in fact desolate the azure eyed hessian reopened his eyes and gave Isabel a brief nod and even shorter account of his findings before moving closer to the center of the shipyard.

It was difficult to determine where exactly the approaching conflict was likely to take place; though a fence ran around the border it would prove no obstacle to anyone with a measure of resolution and thus people could theoretically enter anywhere. After some consideration though Zephyr determined that the most likely for combat to begin was the mouth of the pier as it marked the middle of the yard, provided equal amounts of shelter while allowing a certain amount of open space ideal for posturing and insults which would allow the supposed 'negotiations' to swiftly deteriorate into the blood bath both sides likely wanted.

Conveniently, one of the two cranes was positioned to give a rather agreeable bird's eye view of the assumed staging area and so, after inquiring as to whether his soubrette associate would be able to manage a descent from the cranes height the hessian invited the gamine to make up way to the top of the crane with assurances that he would follow her shortly.

There were a few perpetrations which needed to be made.