"And will she last a day after her mother's dead or useless? On the level, will she?" I don't fuggin' like it either. "I don't think Gigg has it in him to hurt her, or let her be hurt. Sounds like he has half an idea where to.." I trail off, letting…
I sigh. She's right, I should treat her like a student, and accept the risk of knowledge. "There's a bunch of minor gang reshufflin' goin' on right now, as I'm sure you know. I have dismal feelin's about it. Last of the Amazons wants to get at Foste…
I laugh at Roth's joke, let her trot ahead and get Missed on the line to us.
Watchin' these people doin' calisthenics practically makes me tired. I take Missed's cigarette gratefully and light it up. Woman after my own heart. "Glad to hear it. I be…
I shake my head a little over the doll before I'm interrupted by a hand on my tie. Kissing someone in public..I love the thought that I'm rubbing someone's nose in my happiness, but I also love my privacy.
She says she wants to mesh with me again, …
I rub Roth's scalp playfully, then tuck Nash away inside my jacket. "I'll put him right over the door, I'm sure."
Thinkin' about it, though..we'll probably need security once we're up and runnin'. I used to sort of run that all myself with multiple…
By way of further apology, and balance..and this stuff has brought just the right amount of trouble and no more is needed..I gift that card seller with the last of the gutburner.
This seems like a compulsive behavior..relief, just after a stressor.…
"I like that." Easy to do, but intimate.
I smile as Rothschild needles me with questions. If she didn't give me scorch like this sometimes, and people weren't altogether like 'Oh June you silly, she's gon' rob you and go', my whole hobby right now …
My hand beckons for the alcohol. "I meshed with you in our sleep. It happens when I have extended skin contact with someone, my.. Rothschild, I'll call you whatever you want, and everything in your mind is worth something." If she gives me the liquo…
"Esco? Hell, he's poisoning us." I crack about it, but I take a smaller drink before putting it away. I glance once, back at Isle, so she knows I see her watchin', but no more.
"Claire's your given name, that's why." I pause in the quiet street. "Y…
Isle gets a quiet nod back from me, the kind that starts from the chin and tilts its way up. I don't wanna talk, just want to finish this cig and stay neutral. I still don't fully have my breath back.
That sandganger..don't think I ever got their n…
"No, just two feet." I joke reflexively.
My brow furrows a little, where did he learn that math reference? This whole terrible, amazin' place. Just when you think your shell is fully shocked..
I nod through Gigg's explanation, willing myself to continue to look and see, to empathize and think. "Sure..right."
It's shakin' off, I think, even though this heat is poundin' down around us. Some of this sweat on my forehead has nothin' to do wi…
Of course I suspected some sort of facial injury, but I thought it would..well..still be in the same damnable nation as my own. This is a whole other continent of suffering, mortal confrontation and affect. Except for the bump into the wall of the …
I burn about a third of my little death-stick down in one slow but determined draw. He's describing what could be severe schizophrenia, or a serious but somewhat boutique dissociative disorder. He doesn't think it's me, and of course it isn't me. Co…
Sometimes the ego is the only part of us that defends itself. But it doesn't nourish us, does it?
I work hard to stay still as he leans in towards me, keep air from pushin' out from or pullin' in through the cig so there's less smoke.
'You're done…
"Might be too soon for that action. I'll find another angle." Surely Rothschild will be grateful, and I'm not gonna play it grumpy with this fella when I still got somethin' I wanted for free.
I puff on my cig and listen to Gigg's story as he lays …
I'm not the biggest fan of this place, myself. I look over to Rothschild to see if she sees me goin'..see how she's doin', too.
"You know, I must have missed it," I play into his joke gamely. "Maybe another time."
The movement of the people in the…
Well, Last has clearly made her choice. I'll have to find my own road into spyin' on Saint Anger. I look at that stick..
Readin' Gigg; (Rolled: 2d6+2. Rolls: 1, 4. Total: 7)
Marking XP; (3)
The Amazon's clearly don't want Gigg here. Not in one piece. Last, though - cool like water. Huh.
Tough to read someone in a mask. Still, 'something that might interest me'...might interest me. "Sure, I'll hear you out." I glance at Last in case sh…
"I'd like to break my foot off in his ass, but it would be a waste of a perfectly good foot." I take Ace's hand and give it a clasp and a custom handshake while I answer Last.
"I was worried you might feel a little deprived by that turn, Ace, but s…
Scorchin' hell. Sheetfire, of course he sees me, seein' him, and if I just skate my eyes past his like I didn't see him, he'll get it in his head that I needed to. I hold his eyes just long enough that he knows I've seen him, give him a short nod, t…
"I'm a scalpel," I say with confidence, holding her gaze. "Claire."
Quietly, gently, I get us back to walking. I can't just roll back into conversation after that. Feels like what we've said needs space. I'm leadin' us to Missed's post, though at t…
"Messin' with him is..not quite on my agenda. But, Roth, he's not goin' away just because we ignore him. Gnarly told me he's found water. I want levers to pull. Just in case." I pull one of her hands up to my face, kiss it. "Now, Parcher..he's a UF …
I clasp a hand over my heart and double over theatrically. "Rothschild..avenge me!"
I 'recover' and chuckle, "Well, if you think it's extremely sexy when I'm uppity, then I admire your restraint because I'm more or less dedicated to bein' uppity al…
"Put that thing away, you know I don't like violence." I tease at Rothschild.
"Tum Tum, the ant eats and the grasshopper starves. The listener learns and the speaker gets confused. The tortoise outraces the hare." I tap on my cane in time with some…
I play coy and make Tum Tum wait for as long as conversationally possible, breathing in and out slowly, making a cloud of troubled-looking smoke. With this information I could find Parcher myself, and if Tum is offering just a location and not a han…
I lean towards the zippo, pull in air through the cig while the end is in the flame and bring the cherry to life. Thought I'd hear that name.
"I see. Does he operate here in Depot?" Fix me. Parcher would royally cook me up. But if he travels to wor…
I thought I was going to be angry, but what a relief. Tum Tum thinks I'm an idiot, and after all this balancin' it looks like he's just bankin' hard on some memory enhancements and knowin' people.
I pull a cigarette out of my jacket's inner pocket …
Like a velvet glove cast in iron, my dry and patient voice hangs in the air. "Tum Tum I have known a lifelong satisfaction with the size of my breasts and otherwise I have no idea what you're talking about."
I stare down my nose at him, still like …