Nickels and Nails

[Zapp]

Some time later, the buzzer on Nickels' room went off. It was late, and the lights were out, so he called out for the unknown visitor to wait a minute. Shrugging into his pants, he hopped over to the door and light switch. Activating the lights, he opened the door to be faced with Shan. Unusually big eyes were looking at him.

"Can I--" she began. Before she could finish, he responded the affirmative and moved out of the way to let her in. As the door closed, she began rather calmly, and curtly.

"We haven't heard from you for awhile."

"Things got... hectic. Besides, there wasn't much left to report."

She walked over to him, and traced a line around his left bicep. There was a tattoo there, wrapped around his arm. A dragon, and by the level of skill apparent in it, the artist who created it must be very proud. In Kusari, unlike Liberty, tattoos are considered art.

"Watch out for yourself. You two are in trouble." She brushed his lips with a kiss and left. Shaking his head, he got back to bed and, hopefully, some sleep. It was a long way coming.

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