Southern Sass [Vanyel, Violet]

Paying for anything wasn't something he was gonna talk about right now -- especially since he didn't know how much she was making. Besides, he wasn't there as a bodyguard, he was just there to teach her martial arts. But, there were a few things that he noted from what she was saying that made him take pause.

"Whoa, hold on, what do you mean 'sort of'? And, I wasn't thinking I was moving in with you, just...coming by to teach you."

This situation was something that they'd probably need to work out a bit more. Given his job, as well as his current wariness of staying away from his boss for long periods of time, he wasn't too keen on just moving in with someone else, even if it was ultimately temporary.

“Well, my job isn’t good… My first one was, but then I had to quit after some… Well, I had to quit, and to pay my bills, I had to find a new one real fast, but the people are mean and treat me like a slave.” Violet rolled her eyes, sighing. She hated her new job and had no intention of staying in the fast foot industry for long, but right now, she had no choice. She refused to rely on Solomon for that stuff...

“Aw, come on! It’d be real cool to have a roommate…” Violet said, pouting for a moment by puffing out her cheeks like a child, but then it was like the whole subject flew out of her head. “So, when do we begin?” Violet pulled out her cellphone, "Hold still for moment, kay?" Violet smiled and took a picture of Vanyel. A moment later, she was sending this picture to someone on her phone. Solmon notified.

Yeah, that much he kinda figured. Judging from what she mentioned about not being able to afford a bodyguard's salary, he didn't think it was the best in the world. He took a moment to think, looking to the ground as a hand rose to his chin, inadvertently toning out the whole roommate bit. But, then, he suddenly got pulled back to reality as Violet lifted her phone.

Wait, she took a picture of him? What for? Puzzled, Vanyel went to try and look at what she was doing, before seeing that she had sent the picture to someone. He didn't recognize the name, and he also had no idea what she was intending with that. But, he figured whatever would occur with that, they'd get there eventually.

"Uh, anyways...you said your job isn't the best, right? If you're interested, I could talk with my boss and see if you could get a job with Gracen Arms. I'm just a bodyguard for her, but, she has a pretty widespread set of assets. Consumer stuff, hygiene, pharmaceuticals, just to name a few. You'd definitely get a better pay, really good healthcare, as well as good housing and travel ability. Obviously, you don't need to answer now, but, somethin' to chew on, yeah?"

When he tried looking over her shoulder, Violet quickly ended her text to “Solomon” and turned the phone off. She gave him a playful glare, though there was a bit of “the hell you doin” type suspicion in it. Being a busy body is not very nice, though she did just take a snap shot and send it out. It’s why she wouldn’t really get mad.

“I send my friend a picture of the new people I meet so if I disappear, he knows the last person that I was with. So, he has your name and face.” Violet said a little too much “in my experience” in her tone, especially for the subject at hand. It was almost like the word "again" was missing from Violet's sentence.

Violet took in his offer. This city is so fucking weird... why do the guys here...Ugh. So confusing. The look on Violet's face warped, like she didn't know whether to smile or ask him if he was okay. It was pure confusion and awkwardness in one. "Well, thank you... I could use the help. I don't know... A better job sounds nice."

Sending a picture and his name in case she went missing? Well, that was one way of ensuring that people knew where you were, but, that just brought everything back to the original question: What the hell kind of trouble was she getting into that she needed to do that? Plus, she sounded way too comfortable and familiar with this kind of thing for it to be anything remotely normal.

"...Seriously, what kind of trouble have you gotten yourself into that you need a lifeline like that? I mean, don't get me wrong, it sure as shit is effective, but you...sounded way too casual about that."

He was, however, happy to hear that she was at least considering the offer. Even if Rita had a lot of people under her wing, it never hurt to give people opportunity for a better life, especially if she was getting into trouble as much as she seemed to be. Maybe she could use the pay to buy better defense equipment, like a stun gun or mace -- or, hell, get a bodyguard herself. But, then again, she also wanted to learn martial arts from him, so maybe she wouldn't need those, at least in due time.

"Again, don't gotta decide now. But, say the word, and I'll make the call."

Violet stared expressionlessly at Vanyel for the duration of her deep… deeep thinking process. She lowered her head and sighed, and Vanyel could likely sense a bit of destabilization in her energy. “Well… I had an incident a couple of months back…” Violet said, unable to look up at Vanyel. “I was on a business trip and… well, I guess I got lost in Mexico. I couldn’t find my way back and these guys…”

Violet froze. If Vanyel leaned down to look, he could see her eyes shaking as she relived the whole thing. "They grabbed me and took me somewhere...I don't know where." Violet stopped talking. She stayed like that, stuck and trembling, unable to pull herself out of whatever horrifying memory she had found herself in.

As Violet lowered her head, Vanyel canted his to the side, a look of concern coming to his face. Then, she mentioned a business trip to Mexico, and some mysterious third party. As she trailed off, Vanyel leaned down, seeing her eyes. His expression went from concern to irritation -- it didn't take much from there to put two and two together. In all likelihood, she either got involved with some general shady people, or worse, was seen as an easy target for the cartel.

"Bàilèi rénzhā..."

Despite the gruff, low-toned grumbling in his mother tongue, laced with venom, Violet would certainly be able to hear it. He sighed, gently taking her chin and making her look up at him, lightly shaking her by the shoulder to try and help her snap out of it.

"Oi, look at me. You're safe. All the more reason to learn a martial art, yeah?"

It was like tunnel vision. Violet’s head tilted upward to face Vanyel, but she did not see him immediately. She shook more under his touch as well. The memory of that time slowly faded and Vanyel came back into her sights upon hearing the words ‘you’re safe.’ She almost didn’t catch the last bit, but after a few seconds, where she wiped tears from her eyes and took a deep breath, she realized his words.

“Yes. Please, teach me,” Violet said, forcing up a shaky smile.