Date: 2021-02-06 09:48 pm (UTC)
ketterdamn: (what)
From: [personal profile] ketterdamn
[ He's anticipated her answer, because where Dirtyhands goes, the Wraith is usually not TLJ far behind. It's why she had those snide remarks slung her way: Brekker's little Wraith. In some ways, he liked it. Because it meant they were seen as dangerous together, even moreso than they were apart.

But it also made it sound like she was his. And he's always understood she was her own person, not beholden to anyone. Neither of them stopped the comments—it was a losing battle. Saying anything about it would just draw suspicion. The silence in this case made it so they didn't fan the flames more than they'd already been sparked.

So he's ready, when she says she's going to come. He peels his gloves off and turns the tap on, waiting for the water to steam up. ]


They'll be looking for any sign of weakness. [ Cupping his hands, he splashes some water on his face, dragging damp fingers through his hair. It's not as good as completely rinsing off, but it makes him feel a little more alert. He dries his face with the towel hanging nearby, cutting a stern gaze over to Inej. ] For anything that says I can't handle myself. I need you to stay here.

Date: 2021-02-06 10:47 pm (UTC)
ketterdamn: (leather)
From: [personal profile] ketterdamn
No.

[ She can be as stubborn as she wants and try to cajole him on this, but he isn't budging. The Dregs loyal to Haskell will be a tough fight but they can't know he's gone there with anyone else. It'll be as good as dumping blood in the water with ravenous sharks. ]

I've got a plan to handle them, I just won't be able to go by the streets. [ Like he said. He can't be seen wandering about the Barrel, there will be too many of them out there looking for him. The rooftops, though—no one ever seems to want to look up. Nor would they consider he'd go that route, considering his leg.

It's always been a weakness of thought, for them. Constantly underestimating what he's capable of, despite not having two fully functional legs. ]


So, you can either tell me the best route or I'll find it myself.

Date: 2021-02-07 03:08 am (UTC)
ketterdamn: (huddle)
From: [personal profile] ketterdamn
[ When she meets his gaze, he can't exactly tell what's on her mind. Her expression is impassive, that wall going up that he so rarely sees. Though while he's having a hard time reading her, he has an idea of what could potentially be going through her head– she's disappointed. Or annoyed.

Upset, probably. That's in the mix.

They've had their share of disagreements but it's so rare for them to be at so at odds. She's only dressed him down thoroughly when they'd been on the Ferolind, after she'd been stabbed by Oomen. This isn't quite the same but the silence is frosty enough.

Pressing his mouth into a thin line, he pulls a tourist map out of his coat pocket and unfolding it on the other side of the sink counter. He leans over it, peering at the roadways and small printed buildings. ]


I have to do this, Inej. Otherwise I'm going to have a wolf at my back and on my front door.

Date: 2021-02-07 04:51 pm (UTC)
ketterdamn: (huddle)
From: [personal profile] ketterdamn
[ It's a gamble, on whether the sincerity of his words is enough to get her to budge. He has in his mind a way there but it's a last resort, since it goes partially by street and he wants to avoid that altogether. There's too many gang members roving about in the Barrel and all of them would be looking for him at this point. Even if the Black Tips or Razorgulls didn't know what was going on, he wouldn't doubt them trying to get in good with Rollins over this. Brokering some kind of deal.

Though it's possible they'll steer clear, wanting none of the trouble. It's a unique situation that he's unfortunately the center of and he doesn't have enough intel on how the other gangs are reacting to know what they're thinking.

So, alternate route.

Inej does get up after a few beats, abandoning her bandages on the vanity. It doesn't take her long to trace out a path with her finger on the map, one he follows after to confirm. He traces it a few more times, committing it to memory, before folding the map back up and putting it back into his coat.

His hand isn't empty when he turns back towards her, holding a paper with the pale green seal of the Gemensbank on it. He holds it out to her, feeling both glad and anxious. ]


That's yours.

Date: 2021-02-07 09:48 pm (UTC)
ketterdamn: (lain)
From: [personal profile] ketterdamn
[ Confusion crosses her expression, her eyebrows drawing down and creasing her forehead. Doubtless she recognizes the seal, she'd be hard pressed not to know where it's from. Not only because of the bank's near omnipresence in the city but also because it's where her contract's been housed.

He sets the paper down where the map had just been, turned so the words face her. ]


Something that shouldn't have existed. [ She never deserved to be tied down to this place, not knowing where her family was or how to get back to them. ]

It's paid off in full.

Date: 2021-02-07 11:39 pm (UTC)
ketterdamn: (Default)
From: [personal profile] ketterdamn
Take it.

[ Just in case. That's what hovers in the air between them. And it's the thing she doesn't like, why she'd been so frosty to him earlier. He hates the idea of leaving her alone permanently, should anything happen, but no matter how this goes down—he's buying her time. If it goes how he wants, it'll be one less problem they'll have to worry about.

And if it goes sideways, well, she'll have her freedom. Something she should have never had taken away from her. ]


There's a discolored brick in the wall behind the club with twenty thousand kruge. It's enough to bribe the stadwatch, at least. [ A final resort. He's nothing if not a planner and he's had to think of every angle. Including the worst case scenario. ]

I want you to get everyone out of the city, if I'm not back by six bells. [ It's why he needs her to stay. She's level enough to keep her head if everything goes rotten. And more importantly: he might be the schemer but she's the glue that holds all of them together. They'd all felt her absence and been poorer for it, when Van Eck had stolen her away. ]

Date: 2021-02-08 12:02 am (UTC)
ketterdamn: (think about it)
From: [personal profile] ketterdamn
[ He can tell she's going to argue. Could tell from her initial response, really, but it's the set of her jaw that warns him what's coming.

The most frustrating thing is he wants a different ending. Wishes he could guarantee that he was going to get out of this fully intact. But there are no guarantees in life, certainly not in the Barrel. And definitely not in this instance where they have everything stacked against them. He knows she fears the loss as much as he does—it isn't as though he takes pleasure in knowing he could leave her alone. ]


If I had an alternative do you think I'd be doing this? I put us in this corner, Inej, and I'm not going to let everyone swing because of it.

[ They don't deserve it. He's the one that convinced them it was good. ] I need you to stay here to get them out. All of them will listen to you.

[ Nina might be able to wrangle them but she's still worried about those grisha in the Ravkan quarter. ]

Date: 2021-02-08 01:55 am (UTC)
ketterdamn: (leather)
From: [personal profile] ketterdamn
[ Something she isn't capable of doing—part of him disagrees, just on the basis that he thinks she's capable of just about anything. She's more than proven herself to do things other people wouldn't even attempt. And she's done it with grace and smarts, many times leaving no trace at all.

This, though, he can understand, even if it frustrates him. If their positions were reversed, he wouldn't be able to sit idly by either. Ever since they'd cleared the air on the Ferolind, he had the sharp paranoia that he was going to look down and the words on his wrist would blur, smudged like a hand over fresh ink.

It's still possible, considering the circumstances, but he is trying his best to get them out of this corner. ]


Give me until six bells at least. [ She's good at remaining hidden but he doesn't want her trying to intervene if things get ugly while he's at the Slat. But if he doesn't make it back, it's not like he can control what she'll do. ]

Tell me about this Dunyasha.

Date: 2021-02-09 02:15 am (UTC)
ketterdamn: (leather)
From: [personal profile] ketterdamn
[ She describes more about Dunyasha, mentioning that she's having difficulty hitting her. And that this fighter seems to be able to see a move coming before Inej can go in for the attack.

Formidable, for sure. She must be good, if Inej is struggling to get in a cut. If she weren't so intent on trying to kill her, he'd consider seeing if he could sway her loyalties. Though ultimately, it might not worth it. Especially if she's one of those radicals or is too unpredictable. ]


Look for a tell. Everyone has one, even if it doesn't seem it.

Date: 2021-02-09 04:51 pm (UTC)
ketterdamn: (leather)
From: [personal profile] ketterdamn
Fighters have tells. Keeping their balance on a certain foot or depending more on one side from an old injury. A shoulder tensing before they strike.

[ Small things he's had to watch out for. Not only from growing up in the Barrel and being relatively small but because of his leg, later. He needed to be able to try and predict how someone would move or what they'd do so he could have the advantage.

As he's gotten older, he's used information against people in the same way. Usually to stave off a fight—better to conserve energy where he could. And so he didn't have to show all his cards at once. ]

Date: 2021-02-09 06:45 pm (UTC)
ketterdamn: (rare)
From: [personal profile] ketterdamn
[ She asks what hers is and he studies her for a moment, thinking of how best to describe it. And as much as he doesn't want her to have one, she does. Though only better fighters would be able to pick it out.

Someone like Dunyasha, for example. ]


You square your shoulders like you're about to perform. As though waiting for the audience to notice.

[ No doubt carried over from her younger days of actually performing. But isn't a fight just another type of performance in some regard? It's not that out of place for her to do. Anyone else looking at her would probably have no idea where that little motion came from. ]

Date: 2021-02-10 01:37 am (UTC)
ketterdamn: (think about it)
From: [personal profile] ketterdamn
[ Her brows go up and the near pout she gives after her protest is amusing. So is the protest itself, because she clearly knows he's being honest about it. Not like he'd want to lead her astray, not at this point. They're in too deep and she needs every weapon—physical or otherwise—to defeat this Dunyasha.

That doesn't stop her from returning fire, so to speak. A banter he's grown both used to and grudgingly fond of. ]


Inej, I'm crippled. [ He says in mock exasperation, as if she wasn't aware. As if she hasn't been anticipating how his leg is going to feel from day to day for the last couple years.

More seriously though, he looks at her and holds her gaze. ]


They never look for anything else.

[ Which is to say: her. ]

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