A Fair Trade
By Rayla Heide
Ahri ventures into a local market in search of clues about her people, and meets a very interested fortune teller.
Tropes
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Hirin acts like a charming and insightful young fortune teller seeking to answer Ahri's questions about her momentos. Then it's revealed she's actually trying to drug Ahri and cut off one of her tails to use as a black market ingredient.
- Freudian Excuse: After Hirin establishes herself to be a backstabbing con, Ahri begins to feed on her memories and discovers Hirin has lived an incredibly difficult life; a former street orphan barely scraping by just for food and resorting to conning to get by. Ahri ultimately pities her too much to kill her, and simply removes the memory of their encounter....Hirin was a young girl hiding, hungry and afraid, beneath a market stall. Two men argued above, looking for her. She had nothing but empty coffers to show for her days' work...
...Hirin told the fortune of a witch doctor shrouded in veils, receiving a copper for her troubles. She used the coin to buy a piece of bread, which she devoured in seconds...
...In a seedy tavern, a raucous group played cards. A man with eyebrows resembling butterfly wings gambled a golden Ymelo stone while Hirin watched from the shadows...
...Hirin tracked Ahri as she walked through the market. One of her fox tails peeked from beneath her cloak. She drew the vastaya into her caravan—- - Laser-Guided Amnesia: After the shit Hirin puts her through, Ahri absorbs her memory of their encounter, feeling merciful enough to at least let her live.Hirin stood wide-eyed and dazed, still very much alive. It was she that would wake tomorrow, good as new - less a few memories that she would not miss.
- The Paralyzer: The tea Hirin serves Ahri is spiked with some kind of paralyzing agent that keeps the Vastaya in her seat.
