The Wasting

Chapter 10: Bimisi

The door banged open loudly, and a robust, smiling Denigan entered the room. It spooked Bimisi from her sleep, and she sat up with a gasp. On another bed, Ahanu rolled over, rubbed his eyes, and fell back with a deep breath. Ahanu must have come in quietly while she'd slept, much more polite than their companion.

"What in the gods' names, Denigan!" she shrieked at him.

"Oh." He quirked his head to the side, seeming in no way concerned with his entrance or her anger. "Didn't realize you were sleepin'. It's the middle of the day, ya know."

Narrowing her eyes at him, she slipped from the bed and stretched. "Yeah? You've kept us locked up like some beasts in a cage. Sorry if I get bored." She pinched her face and bared her teeth. "And nippy."

Denigan held up his hands, a bag in one of them, and carefully stepped around her. "Woah, woah. Before you get all bite-y and such, I got some good news." He pulled out what looked like a bunch of fabric from his bag. "Got you both some new clothes, and we've got a way in the Tower."

Now Ahanu sat up, leaning on one elbow. Bimisi and he shared some raised eyebrows. "Oh?" he piped up.

"Here," Denigan said, risking getting closer now. He pushed the clothes in their direction. "Put these on, then I'll explain once I see if it all fits. Custom made, got your sizes from the last time, so..."

Bimisi snatched the clothing and wrinkled her nose at it. "Looks...better than a dress." Laying the pieces out on the bed, the outfit came together. "Turn around," she said to Denigan.

He grinned and eyed Ahanu with waggling eyebrows. When Ahanu grumbled, Denigan finally turned his back to them.

"We got lucky, ya know. Big city, this place. Could've taken a lot longer to find a way in," Denigan said as he faced the door.

"Yeah." Ahanu huffed as he pulled his shirt off.

Bimisi decided to hear Denigan out before ripping his plan apart if she thought it was stupid. Or dangerous. Or both. She shuffled the uncomfortable top around her torso, trying to keep the soft leather from clinging to her ribs. "You said this was a custom fit. It's too tight."

She watched Denigan glance over his shoulder and rake his eyes up and down her form. "It fits fine. Hugs your form real well, dontcha think?"

A pillow from the bed flew across the room and hit Denigan in the head. Bimisi smiled smugly at Denigan's gasp. "Don't talk about me with that flirty tone."

Denigan shrugged. "Ahanu likes when I do it to him."

"What?" Ahanu squawked. He pulled his head through a dark green shirt, long hair staticky and suddenly askew. His eyes were wide again, a look he often gave Denigan. "No, I don't!"

Both Bimisi and Denigan laughed at the indignant look. "So," Bimisi interjected. "What's the plan from here?"

As though some mechanism were flipped, Denigan's face hardened to seriousness. "We need to meet with Lady Castely. She's one of the Knight Councilors. So long as we can charm her, she'll be our way into a larger audience."

Bimisi blinked at him. "Your plan is to flirt?"

At the same time, Ahanu asked, "Councilor?"

"Don't be so unbelieving. I've pulled off some've my biggest jobs through flirting alone." Denigan then looked at Ahanu. "The Knights are a large order, and their most decorated officers make up the Council who oversee the Twelve Families, politicians who run the Empire."

She sighed her disgust and finished getting her things together. When complete, Bimisi was dressed mostly in white with accents of browns and pinks, a cloak about her shoulders, and brand-new leather boots on her feet. Tucked beneath the cloak was her bow and strapped to her thigh was the fletch of arrows. She wouldn't go anywhere without them.