Fuzzy and Sasha - August 12th - Sunday afternoon - Ares Macrotechnology Arcology, Artemis Hunting Supplies

"Two-hundred nuyen down is too much," said Fuzzy, angrily, "You and I both know that the Pilum is good, but Cougar will give me a better price."

Fuzzy was bickering with a new salesman today. She wasn't able to find that blandly handsome young man who'd done the demonstration from before. Instead today there was a creepily simiarly blandly handsome elf in similar clothes. It seemed that the men hired here had a "look".

"I'm sorry, miss. The price is the price," he said, "I'm not authorized to negotiate. We can get you on an accelerated payment plan that will cost you less than the longer plan though."

Fuzzy broke down on her way out the door late Sunday evening. She wanted the spear knife. She wanted it bad. A spear that she could conceal at her hip was a very useful spear/knife indeed. She was already wondering what would happen if she struck a target and made the magic spear grow from a knife into a spear. Would it unbalance them? Would it cut deeper? Would it pop out of the wound? She had so many questions. She would learn its secrets.

Fuzzy ground her teeth. She'd went in alone and had been arguing with this man for twenty minutes. Haggling was a skill that Fuzzy had learned out of necessity. After all, the more she got for her kills, the better off she was.

She decided to take a different approach. If the price was the price then she would try to get freebies. However she couldn't get the skinning upgrade for free. She couldn't get a new quiver of arrows. No new bow strings. The price was the price said the salesman. The former SINless barrens girl strode away from him and began to swear loudly as she stalked about the fake gladiatorial ludus that was the demonstration area. It was like he didn't even want to make the sale. How stupid was he she asked herself. No, he was crafty. He had the leverage. All of it. He had the Pilum and she did not. But she wanted the Pilum. The spear that was a knife.

Fuzzy stalked back to him, a cold fury in her eyes at failing to negotiate.

"How much for the skinning upgrade?" she asked, her tone furious.

"For just another twenty-five nuyen I can..."

She turned again and began doing something she did only when she was furious. She began swearing loudly in Rat Man's native tongue. So Fuzzy began to swear loudly in Spanish. The salesman wondered if he had to call corporate security when she finally rounded on him. This didn't keep him from making notations on her new corporate profile. "Knows Spanish, easily angered and tries to bargain,” he wrote.

"Two-thousand and twenty-five nuyen then," she growled.

Since she didn't have enough it seemed like she was going to have to pay in installments, which meant paying more. It was madness, but she wanted it bad.

"Fine," she spat, "But it better be the best damn skinning knife I've ever had. The one you showed off was silver. I don't want silver. Can I get it in black or do you need some of my blood, too?"

"Blood won't be..." he began.

"I'll pay!" she snapped.

Twelve months of payments, two-hundred and twenty-five nuyen down, she made her X and met up with Sasha. She tried to speak to Fuzzy but took a step back and got out of Fuzzy's way once she saw just how rip shit mad she was. Her teeth were bared and gritted so hard Sasha was surprised she didn't crack a tooth. Her eyes were intense with barely restrained tears of rage.

"What kind of merchant doesn't bargain? The price is the price? The price is the price?!" she growled, and wildly gesticulated with her hands, "Is he sure he didn't want to suck out my blood too? If he wants my blood he can take it from me!"

The spear that was a knife was at her hip though. However it was locked in its harmless sheathed mode until Fuzzy left the arcology. It was black, Fuzzy had gotten that much. Sasha wisely let Fuzzy cool down before speaking having never seen her temper before.

Fuzzy, Kenji, Sasha and Marco - August 13th - Monday Morning - Outdoor amphitheater - Blake Island

The next day, all of the students on the island sat at the benches in the outdoor amphitheater while Sammy the salmon the augmented reality educational aid tap danced with his flippers across the stage. Apparently he wasn't designed for this stage and clipped through at the bottom. He spun a cane and hat with his flippers in a vaudeville cane dance that was old when their grandparents' grandparents were old. No one knew what was happening save that it was lame.

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"Remember to be safe with your spells and don't forget to try out the newest, hottest social media sensation, Salmon Run!" Sammy said in a high, cheery voice as he shook his hat.

"I've died. I've died and this is hell," groaned Kenji, "I'm in hell right now, aren't I?"

“Give it time,” said Marco, irritably.

"Shhhh..." shushed Mother Bear.

It was then that the students were released from their torments and were allowed to mill about. Everyone was here, even Julie. Some sort of social witchcraft had been pulled to keep her at school despite being outed as having killed her father. Not just by Kenji, but Kenji had been part of making it happen. Though this did not make her any less of a pariah.

Fuzzy got a number of looks as well. Hard, haughty looks, but she also got some congratulations as well. With Fuzzy's blessing and at Kenji's prompting the video of their hunt was released minus the kiss at the end. However this had an unintended consequence.

"I'm going through a remedial spell safety night course with Mother Bear," groaned Sasha, "She saw that video and saw that I overcast. I got yelled at."

"It was reckless," said Marco, "You could have hurt yourself."

"Me too," said Julie, "Having to...Yeah."

"What? Why?" asked Sasha.

Julie looked around and lowered her head before she began to whisper.

"She said most people don't come in with the power I have and that I need to get a better grip on it," whispered Julie, "She thinks it'll be at least another two weeks, but she said it could take as long as six. She says I have some discipline but I need more of it and that I'm too powerful for my own good. They’re going to be night classes."

Everyone winced. Six weeks of night classes on top of regular classes was no joke.

"She said that if I work at it I could initiate before the end of the year though," she added, "Only with her approval. I think me being considered some sort of prodigy is the only thing that's keeping me here after...You know."

"Whoa," said Marco.

"Holy shit," said Kenji.

"I'm so jealous," sighed Sasha.

"What?" asked Fuzzy.

"Big magic. Really big,” said Marco, “Most people don't initiate until college, if ever. Julie, you're going to be strong.”

Julie looked away from him.

"I don't feel strong," said Julie, "I feel stupid."

"Well I'll be stupid right along with you," sighed Sasha.

Sasha began to panic at her loose tongue but Julie only chuckled.

"I'll have good company then," said Julie.

"Murderer," hissed someone as they passed.

Julie stiffened and her good mood was ruined just like that. There were too many students milling about to find the source, though a few people were laughing particularly hard not far from them.

"Well, time for you to sign up for your spell classes. Don't want to keep you," said Julie, woodenly.

She muscled out of the tight knot of her friends and acquaintances.

"So I've been thinking," said Kenji, "About how to help."

"Help?" scoffed Marco, "You call what you've done so far helping?"

"I got results."

"It was hardly just you," said Marco.

"Yeah. In my experience, there’s no such thing as rock bottom. The ACHE taught me that. Things can always get worse," said Kenji, seriously, "And for Julie, they're definitely going to get worse unless we do something about it."

"You think you're clever?" asked Marco, irritably.

"Sometimes. Sometimes not,” answered Kenji, “Today I think so. The secret is out. I'm okay. Fuzzy is doing okay...Ish. Julie isn't. I say we send Julie up to the shame pole.”

"You're not funny," said Marco, testily.

'That's mean," said Fuzzy, "Do you want her to cry again?"

Kenji nodded.

"Yeah, I want her to cry again," said Kenji, "I want her to tell her story if she's brave enough. People just got the police report. You and I heard her story, Marco. If she'd just done away with dear old dad with a kitchen knife you wouldn't be defending her right now. She acted in self defense and caved under her own guilt. Besides, who wouldn't want to hear her story? We've got a lot of people with morbid sense of curiosity and despite not being a minority here, elves are out in the world and they make up half of this place. The racism narrative will play up strongly with them."

"No," said Marco, firmly, "It’s horrible to make her live through that.”

"She’s already living through it,” Kenji responded, “I think it would be best to get it over all at once. Let people hear what she has to say. Work the sympathy angle."

"I don't like you playing with the lives of others, little man," rumbled Marco.

"I play to win, big guy," joked Kenji, "I made a promise to get her through this. Debt and obligation are important to me. If she doesn't like my ideas I can try another one."

"Do you think her story would go over well?" asked Sasha.

Kenji nodded.

"Oh yeah, tons of sympathy. Her dad tried to choke her to death while she was goblinizing in a hospital," said Kenji, his tone just as conversational as talking about the weather.

"I don't like how you talk about that so callously," growled Marco.

"I'm an ACHE kid. I feel for Julie, I really do,” said Kenji, neutrally, “But that story is about a three or four out of ten on my meter of fucked up things I've seen. It rates, but not as high as you think. I’ve seen people come back from way worse."

"Excuse me?" asked Marco, coolly, "What could you possibly know about what happened to Julie?"

Someone tugged on Marco's sleeve from below. This really could've been anyone since he was nine feet tall, though that person turned out to be fuzzy.

"You see bad things out in the barrens, Marco," said Fuzzy, gently, "Please don't judge him too much for that. I haven't seen much worse, but that's only because I don't stay long enough to witness things like that. Not often at least."

Marco ground his teeth but sighed. Sasha looked at Fuzzy and a pained expression streaked across her face.

"Fine. We'll put it to a vote to tell Julie about this. All in favor?" asked Kenji.

Kenji put his hand up. And after a moment, with a huge sigh, Sasha reluctantly put her own hand up.

"Julie gets the last vote," said Sasha, testily, "And if she says no, we don't pressure her."

"Cool, cool," said Kenji.

He looked to Fuzzy and Marco for them to cast their votes.