Tiyun studied the young woman in silence for a few seconds, his eyes carefully watching every little movement she made, trying to get a read on her. *I don't feel any mana or chi from her... but there's something there,* he thought, unable to shake the feeling that there was more to her than she was letting on.
"Yeah, we're who you think we are," Zamin answered first, looking up at her from beneath the brim of his straw hat. "But who are you? And I'm not just talking about your name. Who actually are you? And what do you want from us?"
Annie's smile remained unchanged as she gave a small shrug.
"I want information. That's all." She tilted her head slightly. "As for who I am in terms of what I do... well, you can think of me as a... vigilante of sorts."
The explanation answered almost nothing.
Tiyun turned fully on his stool to face her. "What kind of information do you want?"
"Also," Zamin added, folding his arms across his chest, "we don't work for free. If you need something from us, you need coin."
Annie nodded as though that was the most reasonable thing in the world.
"Yes, that makes sense. That makes sense, but..." Her hand drifted down to the small leather pouch hanging from the belt around her hips, patting it lightly. "While I do have coin, I'm not exactly swimming in it, so I can't easily just give it away."
"Then we don't have a deal." Zamin shrugged without a second thought. "I won't tell you anything without pay."
He turned back toward the bar.
Tiyun let out a quiet sigh and did the same, lifting his glass once more.
"I might have still offered some help before," he admitted, "but with the current situation..." He took another sip of his drink before setting the glass back down. "We need to get coin however we can. Sorry, but you will have to get the information you are after some other way."
"Ah, ah, ah." Annie gently raised a finger, stopping them before either could fully dismiss her. "Let me finish my words before turning away, boys."
The light, almost playful tone was enough to make both men glance back at her.
She slipped the pouch free from her belt and held it up between her fingers.
"I'll give you this entire pouch... if you win a bet with me." She gave it a small shake, the faint clink of coins coming from inside. "If I win the bet, however, you give me the information for free. Deal?" She smiled pleasantly. "That way, whoever wins gets more than they would've if I'd simply paid you part of what I have instead of all of it."
For a moment, neither Tiyun nor Zamin said a word.
The proposal caught both of them completely off guard.
Around them, several nearby patrons who had been pretending not to listen turned their heads outright now, the conversation having drawn more attention than anyone cared to admit. Confusion and curiosity spread across the room as more than a few people waited to see how the two hunters would respond.
"Are you serious, lady?" Zamin asked, staring at her as though he was waiting for her to laugh and admit it was a joke.
Annie simply hummed.
"Mmm, I am very serious."
Tiyun continued studying her face, searching for even the slightest hint that she was bluffing.
He found nothing.
"I don't think you understand." He slowly set his glass down on the counter. "You know who we are, right? You searched for us, so you had to have known."
"I did."
Her answer came without hesitation.
"Then you have to know what we can do, right?" Tiyun asked again, watching her carefully.
Annie nodded once more.
"Yup. I'm fully knowledgeable on what you can do."
Silence lingered between the three of them.
Tiyun and Zamin exchanged a long look.
Neither of them could understand why someone who knew exactly who they were would willingly challenge them to a fight over something as simple as information.
"I mean..." Zamin finally said, rubbing the back of his neck. "If you're confident enough and willing to do this... I don't see a reason to say no."
"I suppose not," Tiyun agreed with a small nod.
The two men rose from their stools.
"Great!" Annie clasped her hands together behind her back again, her smile never wavering. "Then let us go outside and fight." She tilted her head ever so slightly. "This will also help answer another question of mine."
Without another word, she turned and began walking toward the exit.
Tiyun and Zamin exchanged one last uncertain glance before following after her, neither of them knowing what exactly they were about to fight.