to get a word from the wise—

[slushfund]

CHARACTERS: jesper, kaz, and hiruma
DATE: november 22nd
WARNINGS: all of them none, will update as required
SUMMARY: jesper and hiruma's grand adventure... in jail, after their night of thievery and getting their asses kicked by sheriff holladay; kaz intervenes and suppresses colossal urge to roll eyes

(hiruma's always been able to get out of jail time. he has never, in fact, worried once about what his actions on the streets of japan (and wherever he wreaks his havoc, which is decidedly all over the globe) could spell out for him in the future. and that is due to the sheer amount of blackmail at his disposal, his networking, the endless list of contacts to call, and that clever, silver-tongued way he has.

well, he was never really given any time to slink around q-65 or get to know much of perdition's rest. no way to catch people doing illicit things they shouldn't be, or making merry with people they shouldn't be. maybe that's why he now finds himself sitting on a low cot across from jesper, the half cocked and fully loaded sharpshooter, elbows on his knees, fingers laced in front of his mouth. he focuses on removing the smirk from his face... because it's fun, honestly, even after getting caught. it shows in the amused hitch of his shoulders.)

So... What're you in for, Dreg?

(quirking a brow at his cellmate with the sly question, finally letting his hands drop.

all jokingly, like they hadn't just broke into an armoury in the dead of night and cleaned it of its weapons, its wares, its ammunition, its gunpowder... god, they were good at the first part, but hiruma guesses the sheriff had an idea that something like this would go down, with all of the danger lurking and the threats posed against her people. some of that's his own fault and, really, he could've been smarter about it — no one likes a shit-disturber and lying low for his first tour might've been beneficial but...

that's not how you make brand new comrades, now, is it? jesper's an interesting guy and the lifestyle he leads isn't useless for a team like audentes. if working for ALASTAIR is a matter of witticism and skill, in this upside-down, space-faring dimension hiruma'd rather surround himself with talent. and good humour.)

I wonder if they have gallows in this faux 19th century...

Comments

[endeudado]

[ Jesper laughs. After being in the Ice Court, every jail feels like a five-star hotel room in comparison. The fact that this one is just iron bars and concrete walls is almost laughable. Maybe if he was a Fabrikator worth a damn, Jesper could bend the bars and break them out. But what was the point? It was just a night. The jail is archaic, even by Zemeni standards, and it's the kind of setup a man like Kaz Brekker could have broken out of when he was five.

But then Kaz Brekker isn't here, and that's probably the answer to why their plan failed spectacularly in the first place. It had sounded alright at first-- grab guns, help people in trouble (by giving them guns.) Or maybe it had seemed like a gamble. It was certainly a risk, breaking into a place so heavily armed. Maybe that was it. He'd traded gambling for danger and dumb plans. It had been so long since he'd heard the spin of the Makker's Wheel, or played a hand of Three-Man Bramble, he'd say yes to anything if the stakes were high enough. ]

I dunno, some guy told me he had a dangerous job that was 'suited to my skills.' And I said 'I'm listening' and now here we are.

[ Jesper smirks, sarcastic but venomless in his tone. Hey, he may be sitting in a jail cell but he had to admit it was fun. And the company is good he thinks, smirking at Hiruma and giving him another long look. He's a little skinny but he's a fun guy. In the morning, they'd be let out and Kaz would never have to know about the night Jesper spent in the clink. ]

At least the digs are nicer than a Ketterdam jail.

[ You know, considering they really only have one deputy watching over them and there hadn't been any talk of indentured servitude or hard labor in exchange for the offense. Mostly, he just misses his guns. ]

Nah, this kind of place would probably give you a shooting squad for your public execution. Building a gallows means hiring an executioner as well as an undertaker... too much money, I bet.

[slushfund]

I see... And you believed him, huh? (the huffed reply of a smart-ass, a rather smug look aimed across the cell,) I guess we're the suckers tonight, but we could've had those supplies if that loudmouthed Qorral kid hadn't spotted us. Not my first rodeo, where "borrowing" is concerned.

(but jesper has a point about the state of things.

it's not so bad, despite the presence of the piss bucket in the corner, far from desperate enough to use that ever. hiruma may be adaptable, may know how to "rough it", but he's still a posh bitch to the core and these handcuffs are really chafing his nice wrists. it smells pretty bad, likely from the bandit in a far cell who keeps making his cot creak with his obvious tossing and turning. by the small window, he can tell it's still the middle of the night, stars outside of the bars entirely unfamiliar to him.)

Ah, a shooting squad. Behind the local chemical shed. To cut costs, I'll assume it's a mass grave where all of the nasty thieves wind up. (now very amused, leaning back on sharp elbows, sharper eyes creasing.) Maybe they'll do us a favour and sprinkle the quicklime on liberally so we don't cause any undue plagues.

(all joking aside, though, hiruma has to appreciate the moment with jesper. they're in here enjoying each other's company while people scrabble around outside like chickens with their heads lobbed off — there are worse things in this world (especially in this world).

so he offers a tilt of his head, curious.) Knowing Audentes, this won't win us any popularity contests; I won't tell if you don't.

[endeudado]

[ Jesper chuckles. He wouldn't have followed Hiruma if he didn't seem like he knew what he was doing, but they moth made the dumb rookie mistake of not chcking their surroundings. This is why Kaz runs the plans and not Jesper. He never thinks about "what ifs" he just does. ]

Kids, you know? [ Says the seventeen-year-old criminal. ] Always gotta ruin everything.

[ It doesn't help that, yeah, they have some kind of a reputation to keep up in a team full of pigeons and bleeding hearts. If people got wind of Jesper shooting some kid for snitching or holding up a munitions store, he could probably kiss his chance at "teamwork" goodbye. ]

Yeah, no bodies, no funerals. That's the Ketterdam way. [ Yeah, plague and burning bodies is actually a normal day where Jesper's from... but who knows, maybe having a night to slow down could be a good thing. It takes a special kind of person to consider a night in jail a "slow night" but that's Jesper. He's been spending every night at Kaz's side anyway. Kinda nice just to mess up and hang out with someone who wasn't gonna tell him how much of a fuckup he was. ]

Just don't tell my buddy, Kaz. He finds out about this and I'm dead.

[slushfund]

(honestly, hiruma expected more from this. his idea of this particular jail was a hilariously gritty one, with cat-calling and senseless brawls between cellmates. guess everything really is more boring than you expect, especially given the relatively passive nature of the qorral. that sheriff, though. nice.

this isn't the first time jesper's mentioned kaz, something that makes his lean forward deepen, long fingers lacing.)

"Brekker", right? (deliberating doesn't take long.) I'm not a snitch unless you get in my way. As far as I can tell, that's not very applicable... Considering the fact that we can't get in anybody's way, in here. I'd try to bust out, but they didn't say this sentence was gonna be long.

(that brings him back to how little fun he's having.)

Don't have a deck or cards or anything on you, I imagine.

[endeudado]

[ Please get lucky with the sheriff, Hiruma, Jesper would be completely behind this awful plan. Jesper's not huge on sitting in a cell doing nothing, even the short time they spent at the Ice Court he was a mess of nerves and excitement.

But hey, he can always talk about Kaz. His loose lips are absolutely his #1 weakness. ]

That's right, Kaz Brekker. He showed up here a little after I did. [ He shrugs, casting his gaze upward. ] Can't tell if I'm lucky or not, he's actually my boss.

[ Which means when he finds out about this, he is going to burn Jesper. And probably leave him to rot. Hence why he must never find out. ]

Could do worse than spending a night in questionable company. [ Jesper looks back at Hiruma and smirks. He knows better than to cross people, that's just not good business. ]

Not a thing besides my magitek. [ He rolls up his sleeve to reveal the bracelet. It's flashy, but not too ornate. Can they be plaid? Because his would be plaid. ] Sucks that I had to give my guns up to the sheriff, but as long as I get them back in the morning, I'm good.

[ Actually, back to the magitek. ]

Once saw a girl draw a penis on one of these, think we can figure that out?

[ That. That really happened, too. ]

[slushfund]

Ah, well, no harm no foul. You ending up in prison is the least of his worries. (hiruma actually thinks this, but poor kaz' nerves are going to be totally shot by the end of their tour with team audentes...) I, on the other hand, am a very useful guy to know.

(not to toot his own horn, but— no, he's totally tooting his own horn.

there's a sharp snort, though, at the idea of using magitek in that kind of immature way. drawing penises on the holo-screens, really? while there's nothing better to do with their time, they should be finding something productive to do, like doing push-ups or leaning against the bars to wolf whistle at new meat.

not. bring on the penis drawings.)

Oh, do I. This'll be a fucking cinch.

(hiruma's up and at 'em, heading over to jesper's cot with a bouncing drop down beside him, activating the magitek earring he was given with just the thought.)

I wonder if there's a specific app for this. Once the masterpiece is complete, do you figure Holladay'll wanna check out our work?

[endeudado]

[ Jesper laughs. Kaz wouldn't be so much worried as angry over the fact that Jesper... just can't stay out of trouble. It'd be another way to disappoint him. Which, you know, for all that Jesper can say he's trying, he needs to get with the doing or else Kaz really is going to stop talking to him forever.

And that would suck. Kaz is too pretty to give him the cold shoulder. ]

You tell yourself that, man. You don't wanna mess with Kaz. [ Please hate each other desperately, Jesper kind of wants to see this. ] You two going at it-- now that'd be fun to see.

[ Kaz would probably break you, Hiruma, but it would still be fun to see! And who says there's anything wrong with being immature when you're seventeen? Hell, if they've got time to kill and no schemes to plot, bring on the dumbness. ]

Think she said you had to picture it with symbols. [ Jesper scoots in a bit to try and get a better look at Hiruma's earring. That's cool, he hadn't thought of that. Turning back to his wrist, Jesper thinks at his bracelet, but all he gets is the projected image from his inbox. He's got new messages, too. Better check those... later. He grins. ]

I bet the Sheriff'll love it. She probably had no idea she was incarcerating such talented artists, you know?

[slushfund]

(they can already sense that they will... less on hiruma's end, everyone hates him and he's too used to that fact. interesting though, that he should consider it a good match-up where "going at it" is concerned. underestimation is foolish, but the willingness to push incessantly is what hiruma's known for.)

"Going at it", ah. We'll see. (he has a feeling they'll meet before long.

a sidelong look to jesper leaning to gauge the, well, gauge — and there's a happy little smugness that comes along with it, a hologram fluttering up with his thoughts. picture it with symbols, huh? hm. the ones he's mentally processing aren't unlike the eggplant emoji and other phallic objects that aren't exactly on the straight and narrow. until, finally, with a snort of a laugh that gets his shoulders shaking, there it is:

the foggy image of a big floppy dick cropping up. he's wasting no time, apparently.)

Fuck, she's gonna want these framed on her wall, but... (a moment of silence before the jokes come,) This is harder than I thought.

[endeudado]

I bet we will.

[ Can you blame him? Kaz might be truly terrifying, but Hiruma's a fun kind of scary. If Jesper was any better at telling the difference, he probably wouldn't be friends with Kaz. ]

Not that hard though, am I right? [ Awful, awful, awful. That's an awful joke but Jesper is grinning anyway. His own attempts aren't exactly going super well, but he can still enjoy the fuirts of their hard work. Hehe, hard. ]

There's like, a thing to draw on these, right?

[ Jesper starts messing with his magitek to try and find the right "app" unfortunately he opens his inbox instead. There's a message from Kaz. His face goes cold instantly. ]

Oh, I am so fucked.

[slushfund]

(it's all fun and games until kaz brekker sticks his nose in. hiruma stares at the message icon and leans back a little.)

"Fucked"? What, for getting put in here for a night? It's better than the tents and you've got great company. (comes the very, very nonchalant statement from hiruma, raising an eyebrow as he leans back on jesper's cot.

bracing his head with a bent arm, flipping his other hand eccentrically in the air.)

It was my idea anyway. (casually taking the fall.) Weren't you just forced to come along?

[endeudado]

[ Aw, Hiruma, you're a true pal........... Jesper shakes his head though. If only that were enough to assuage Kaz Brekker. ]

That's not why Kaz is mad. Saints, it's not even about this.

[ Jesper gestures around them-- it's true these digs are nicer than a tent, but... ]

He's mostly pissed because I didn't tell him. He would've robbed that place in his sleep. [ Jesper sighs. ] If word gets out that I got caught this quick, it'll screw with his reputation.

[slushfund]

(a roll of his eyes, god if he had a nickel... hiruma gets it, in a far more shallow way. reputation and what it means for some people.)

Notoriety means nothing billions of lightyears from the closest sign of your world. (flipping a hand,) If he's a good leader, he's a good liar. And to do what you two do and be shit at lyin'? Well, I'd pity the rest of your entourage.

[endeudado]

[ Jesper shrugs. Reputation is everything to a Barrel boss, and a man like Kaz only gets as far as he has thanks to everyone fearing him. Jesper can see where he's coming from, even if one night in jail isn't even really that big of a deal! Really! ]

His reputation with the team is what I figure he's pissed about. [ That and the fact that Jesper continually lets him down, but let's not even go there. The fact that Hiruma even insinuates he might be a bad liar makes Jesper quirk a smile. ]

Honestly, I'm pretty sure about 90% of what Kaz says is bullshit. But that 10% chance usually ends with him shanking someone, so it's best not to risk it.

[ Because Kaz being violent apparently makes Jesper smile? Yikes. ]