She Plays Both Sides

Audriana had no qualms about spending time in Knockturn Alley. She did so rather frequently, after all. In fact, she would guess that probably ninety percent of her contacts worked in and around there, anyways. She had been traipsing up and down Knockturn Alley just as much as Diagon Alley in the past several years. Her skipping University only added to that. If her contact was around, she would find them.

As always, Aud found herself wearing her nearly-signature cloak, with the hood covering her rather ridiculously wild hair. She had a feeling she would probably have fit in perfectly when cloaks like hers were in style. Hugging the fabric around her, she pushed her way through the people walking in front of her, leveling everyone with a steady gaze. She had learned that if she just stared ahead of her, people would move out of her way.

That plan was going quite well until someone stepped into her path instead of out of it. Taken aback, Audriana stopped short, staring at the man in front of her. Frowning at him, she moved to step around him before he moved to block her again.

"Seriously?" She asked finally, setting her hands on her hips and raising an eyebrow at the man. His eyes were sort of glassy, and she immediately assumed he was drunk. "Why don't you just go home, alright?"

The man appeared to look her over before grinning. Aud had a feeling she knew where this was going, and grimaced when he spoke, confirming her worries. "Why don't you come with me?" His words were running together and he was a bit of a mess. Reaching under her cloak, she gripped her wand, not afraid to Stupefy him or whatever she needed to do.

It was a bit odd, how comfortable Rivah was in Knockturn Alley. She hadn't always been so comfortable, there'd been a time when the woman was downright terrified of the place. That had been years ago, however. That her fear of the alley had diminished about the same time as she'd gained a Dark Mark, was also no coincidence. It was quite difficult to be a Death Eater whilst afraid of the place where most of their connections lurked, something that the witch had learnt the hard way.

Walking across the cobblestone with a sense of purpose, Rivah couldn't help but smile at the way people moved out of her way. It was all about the walk, the woman knew. If you walk like you belong, and talk like you belong, no-one ever questions you on the subject. The dark brown hooded cloak she was wearing probably helped matters, the blonde admitted to herself. After all, her blonde hair and pristine looks might have caused her to stick out a tad bit too much.

Rivah was about to duck around a corner when a conversation on the other side of the street caught her eye. Quickly identifying the drunk male that seemed to be harassing a cloaked woman, the Ministry worker quickly stepped towards the pair.

Allowing herself a quick glance at the unfamiliar face beneath the dark hood, Rivah turned to the Death Eater. Laying a hand on his arm, she met glazed eyes with disapproval clear on her features. "Well hello there Richard, drinking on the job again, are we?" the blonde asked rhetorically. "Perhaps it'd be best if you just floo yourself home," Rivah continued pushing the large man towards the door of a darkened shop. Far too drunk to argue, the dull wizard unblinkingly lumbered in the direction he'd been pushed towards.

"Sorry about that," she stated, turning back toward the other female, "he's always been rather crude, and dumber than a doxy even on the best of days."

Audriana was surprised, to say the least, when someone came to help her. Watching the man - Richard, apparently - stalk away, she let her grip on the wand beneath her cloak relax. Watching the new arrival carefully, Audriana had this odd feeling that she should know the woman, but couldn't place her. Maybe she worked in the Ministry. Or knew one of her clients. As one usually good at remembering names and faces, the whole thing felt rather odd.

"I figured as much." Aud responded lightly, glancing once more in the direction Richard had left. "Um, thanks." She added. While Aud didn't doubt that she could have handled the situation, it wasn't often that anyone tried to help her or take care of her. Granted, it was probably because Audriana refused to ask for help. But that was beside the point.

Returning her wand fully to the pocket from which it had come, she smiled belatedly at the girl in front of her. "I don't mean to sound strange, but I feel like I know you from somewhere. Or I've seen you around." Audriana couldn't place exactly why she was asking, but it was in her nature to be curious and gather information. It was her job.

Rivah let out a soft chuckle, it wasn't rare for people she'd never truly met before to know her name or face, it quite literally came with the job description. Then again, this woman appeared to be vaguely familiar to her as well, so perhaps it was from something else. This witch defiantly wasn't a Death Eater, she knew that much, and anyone whom worked within the Ministry would have recognized her on sight.

"Rivah Trenton, nice to meet you," the blonde said with a small smile and an outstretched hand, "and I think I know what you mean, but I can't come up with a name for the life of me."

Eyes quickly scanning her surroundings, the witch turned back to her dark-haired companion before she could get a word in edgewise. "We should probably move, this isn't exactly the best place to loiter," Rivah stated, hyperaware of the many pairs of eyes resting upon the two of them.

Not looking back to see of the other woman would follow, the blonde set off at a brisk pace down the ally. Two left turns later, the blonde stopped outside of a small café/bar, and looking over her shoulder, searched for the hooded witch she had yet to get the name of.