In spite of her fear, Taji couldn't help but chuckle at the story. It was one that she had heard before, but with different characters, and a sadder ending. The woman sat back in her seat, her arms crossed as she shook her head. "Heh, I think your dad and my mom should've gotten together for drinks."
Wolfe tilted his head to one side and Taji sighed, realizing that she had opened her mouth, and now she had to insert foot- or pony up on details. There was a brief second before she decided to finish the thought. James' expression was a combination of confused and concerned. However, she would need a relaxer first. Without blinking, she reached into her armor's pocket and produced a silver case. Form inside, she pulled a long, slender stick and a lighter. Without stopping to consider, she lit it and inhaled the toxins in a satisfied draw- thankfully, these cigarettes were made to produce almost no actual smoke. Without missing a beat, she began her story.
"Make no mistake, my Mom loved me and my brother to death, but she just... she wasn't a very strong woman. After my dad died, there weren't too many days she was lucid... I can't remember everything she was even on, to be honest with you. When he realized that Mom was a lost cause, my brother joined the military- the actual military, like what we're in now- and he took care of me. But then he got shipped out somewhere... He popped in and out and always made sure I had clothes and stuff, but he was never able to stay... I haven't seen him in years. He always sent money. He said it was supposed to be for school after I graduated the public system. But Mom got hold of it... So by the time I graduated, there was nothing left. But I had started taking care of myself by then, and I was making pretty good money. I had another family... And even though they helped me take care of Mom, they promised never to cross me like she had..."
There was an angry note in Taji's voice when she made this last point, and it was a particularly difficult one to make. What she didn't intone was the hard, cold reality of their betrayal, but that went without saying. James could see just in her expression that it had been a backstabbing of the worst kind, and when she spoke again, he noted that her voice shook with rage as she recounted the events. "I should have known that they wouldn't keep their word either though, no one ever did. But after clawing my way up, I never thought they would... I wound up six feet under."
A bitter chuckled escaped the Shifter at James' expression, and she explained in more detail. There was the initial time, when she had been picked up by a rival family, when she was just starting off as a package girl. They caught her carrying in their territory, and didn't take to it kindly when she opened fire on them in defense. Despite the daring rescue of their own favorite little tomboy- she was only 12 at the time- years later, the Da would remember it when he wanted her out of his hair.
There was another pause as she took another draw from the cancer-stick in her hand. "I did everything for that f***er and I screw up once, and he tries to bury me. Pretty sure I did everyone a favor when I did my own hit on him."
"You... 'hit' the Da of the Syndicate?"
"Damn straight I did," Taji chuckled, her countenance lightening a little. "I shifted to look like a Ceas- they're these gargoyle-looking things on my world- and I waited on the ledge of the nearest building... And then I scooped his head clean off with the biggest caliber rifle I had. Seriously, his head rolled across the floor. Not my best kill, but not the worst either. He thought I was just another Ceas, hanging out on the roof. As far as he knew, I was dead in a box under the desert somewhere. He didn't know that I had clawed my way out. Course, after that, the Syndicate- my "family"- really picked up the pace on hunting me down, so when the cops picked me up, I had little choice but to take the job they were offering. Or face massive jail-time. Starting to wonder if I made the right choice..." She added with a wry scoff. "In retrospect, though, it was worth it... A**hole tried to bury me alive!"
And for the moment, it seemed James' idea had worked. The Shifter was quite preoccupied with the conversation, despite the morbid topic.
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