Flip of a Dime (Mirage Interview)

The clouds were dark, rumbling and grumbling as each foot brought her closer to the inn. It was difficult to tell time with the constant stream of clouds, so it was not exactly easy to know if she was late or not. She made haste as if she were late though, not desiring to make a bad impression. She had no idea how any of this worked to be quite honest, she had spent her entire life living the outlaw style. Any 'interviews' she ever participated in were interrogations, whether she was delivering or receiving. She wore a hooded cloak to protect herself from the light drizzle as well as any wandering eyes, her weary legs only slowed once she spotted the massive inn.

The lights were on, they were open. Once she made it to the inn's doorstep she made sure to hang up her cloak on a rack and wipe her feet. The thick protective cloth being allowed to dry after being coated in water. It had been a three day travel from Shadowhue to here, it certainly was not easy to simply leave the forest she had thought of has home for so long in hopes of not having to return. It was not exactly the most welcoming place in the world, but hey it got her through some tough times.

Her eyes shifted across the Inn to every individual that enjoyed their time. Nobody seemed to take notice of her, that was good for now. Her scarred figure made her way to one of the bar stools, where was the owner? She did not speak to any of the customers or employees, she would do this herself. She knew that the owner was a poochyena, but she saw no sign of one. For the first time in a long time, she felt a turning in her stomach. Sick, she almost wanted to leave right that moment, but she forced herself to suppress the growing anxiety. That wasn't her, she would not let herself be ruled by anything other than herself again.

She looked to the bartender, before speaking, "Is Iva here?"

Iva had been behind the bar, hidden away from view, checking over all the extra stock and making sure they had enough booze for opening day. They were certainly going to be busy enough once the doors swung open to the public. They would need as big a supply as they could get. She was leaving nothing to chance. One must be ready to face whatever challenge lie ahead. That was the mark of true strength!

She popped her head up from under the bar. Her pupils flashed in the light as she peered at the Zoroark. She remembered the application. She had been waiting for this one. She smirked.

"She's right here, lady. You found who you were looking for." She trotted out from around the long bar and gestured for the Zoroark to follow her. She led them up the stairs and took a right. They passed room after room until they reached the final door on the left. Iva pushed the door open and let the Zoroark in.

It was not a plush room like the others. It was simple. A simple bed. A simple little kitchen for herself. A workspace piled high with paperwork, reports, inventories, and other sheets filled with numbers and words. The more mind-numbing parts of doing business. Tedious, but necessary.

Iva clambered up into a chair at a small kitchen table. "It's Mirage, right? That's a name I can remember. Very distinctive. Catches in your head. You know what I mean?" She let the question hang in the air for a moment. "Go ahead, take a seat. Tell me about yourself. You think you can be a bouncer with the legendary Team Steamrise? Please, convince me." She smiled, her lips curling viciously.

Her eyes shifted towards the source of the voice that explained to her that she had found exactly who she was looking for. The zoroark focused on the significantly smaller pokemon that nodded her head for her to follow. The vixen followed behind the poocheyna on two legs, four legs was saved for running. The bipedal pokemon entered the room with a small nod to the poochyena. She took a quick glance around the room, surveying her surroundings. A window, bingo. If things went horribly wrong out she went. It was entirely possible that the pooch was a backstabber that decided to cash in on her bounty with a clever ruse, but Mirage was pretty sure a two story drop wouldn't kill her...considering she's survived longer. She could grab onto the various other windows as well and just climb down. Couldn't be too careful when you're a wanted woman.

The pup spoke up once more, hopping onto a chair that was more like a stool for the zoroark than a proper table. She nodded when the pooch asked whether or not she was Mirage, who wouldn't remember that name? She took a seat when instructed, still cautious and on guard as the pup continued before she requested that Mirage tell her more about herself. The black and red Mock Rosary swung and shifted from around her neck with her movements. Should she lie? No, the truth is best. Not like she could do anything to her with it anyways. This was going to be a long story.

"Well," Mirage spoke, wondering where to begin before continuing, "I grew up in a very close minded village that believed that all dark types were evil and all pokemon types acted a certain way according to their type no matter what and those that disobeyed would die. My parents did not follow this belief, but they could not find work because of it. I grew up hungry, and resorted to stealing and adopting their beliefs in order to fit in as much as I could and eat properly. They scolded me of course, but I grew sick of them and ran away. I continued down that path until I met..." she hesitated for a moment, "an explorer." She wasn't going to rat out on Sova, not a way in hell. "One that didn't just outright attack me or judge me, he actually wanted to know why I was an outlaw and some things happened...a lot of things actually. He taught me that I did not have to do that kind of stuff. So, here I am...after I kind of tried to kill a legendary as you can see..." she explained her plenty of scarring with a quick sentence, summarizing her life up until this point.

She would keep Sova anonymous, it would destroy his career if the public were to find out that he had been hanging around a infamous outlaw and NOT trying to turn her in.

Iva raised an eyebrow. The rest had been around in rumors and whispers. She wasn't stupid. She knew who she was talking to. The part about the legendary, however, she wasn't expecting. Nor was she sure if she could believe it. It didn't sound likely, or even possible.

Then again, who was she to talk? She, who was always talking about doing the impossible. Still, it seemed a dubious claim. Most likely Mirage was just fronting to give herself a tougher image. Not that she needed to. She was already known as one of the toughest pokemon around.

Still...

"Look. It isn't all about being tough. It's not about what you can put out, dish out, and spit out. It's about what's in you. What you've got in your heart. What you burn for! I need to be able to trust you to do business with you. I'm all for second chances. All for them. The thing is though, right now I've got no reason to trust you. So why should I? I want to, but why should I?"

Mirage was a bit confused when the pooch began to yap about being tough. What was she going on about? Iva had asked Mirage to tell her about herself and she did. The canine then began to ramble on about trust, and asked her why she should be trusted. The zoroark was a bit stuck there. There was literally no reason whatsoever for the pooch to trust her, what the hell was she supposed to say?

"Well," Mirage spoke up, "You'd kinda have to trust me at least a little bit to bring a wanted outlaw into a room alone with nobody else around. There really isn't any reason I can give you that is true to trust me other than my word." What the hell did the pooch expect? Mirage was not exactly an expert in the interviewing process, considering a massive amount of her life had been spent swindling, stealing, and more stealing.

"I mean..." a slight pause, "You can take the rosary or something if you want so I wont suddenly leave?" the zoroark was a bit confused, a clawed hand lifting up the glistening beads with the strange symbol on it as the Mock Rosary as if to offer it without taking it off of her neck yet. Blackmail was something she knew, would she work with blackmail? The Mock Rosary had to be the most valuable thing she had, but she did not quite value it that much. She did not really have any particular objects she valued though ever since her earrings were crushed in the abyss.

Iva frowned. She supposed that she had a point. She really would just have to trust her. Frankly, she was okay with that. Iva had planned some sort of test, but now that she was here, she thought that it seemed pointless. No, sometimes you just...

"Sometimes you just have to trust people, I guess. I have a good feeling about you anyway. In my gut. I always go with my gut." She smiled and got up.

"Come on. I'll show you around." She led Mirage out of the room and showed her the hall.

"This floor is for the employees. You'll be staying here, if you wish. I don't force people to stay on site if they don't want to. Still, you can take the room next to mine. It has an opening. You'll be sharing a room with a Purrlion. She's our resident entertainment. She's... Pleasant. You two might get along.

"The rooms are a little nicer than mine though."

Iva opened the door and inside there were plush beds with curtains, pleasant plants on the window sill. A small cabinet with a mirror and a closet. There was even a private bathroom.

"There's a hot water shower. Same source as the Bathhouse. We're the only place in the entire region that can give you that."

She leaned in close.

"They're absolutely fantastic..."

An eyebrow raised as she was suddenly...hired? The zoroark stared at the poochyena with a rather confused expression as the pooch seemed to change her mind about the whole trust issue. That's how easy it was? Was that SERIOUSLY how easy it was to get a job. Just show up to the interview and you're good? Something did not quite sit right with Mirage, but she decided to roll with it at least for now and just keep a watchful eye out for anything unusual. Well, the entire situation was unusual to be fair.

She followed the poochyena to the room she would be staying in, to discover that she would be sharing. Mirage preferred her privacy, but she was not about to complain about anything any time soon. The poochyena mentioned showers, something she had heard of but definitely never used. She was always using streams and rivers, considering there was no shower out in the middle of a forest. She was still unsure about all of this, it would definitely take her time to adjust.

Everything was easier when she just gave zero sh*ts about anything and felt guiltless of everything she did. The zoroark looked down at her rosary before speaking up, "You sure you don't at least wanna take this or do something or something?" she asked the poochyena.