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[Ashen Snow] Childish Questions [W 6.6]
You've made it out of the hold and are in between the Element and ShantyTown when this takes place...
Fitteen licks her lips and says, "Your name's Winter, right?" She's nervous, you're bigger than her and she's obviously seen better days, but she's making herself stay focused, this is important to her.Winter's on her way out, and doesn't even notice Fitteen at first. She stops a moment after she's cleared the courtyard to consider where to go next, and that's when she spots the rather unlucky young lady following her. She raises an eyebrow, uncertain of what Fitteen wants, so she looks at her expectantly and asks,"What's on your mind?"
Comments
"I heard ya came in with Thatch, right? Fuse said Thatch drove in last night an I saw y'all dancin last night together. Yer a real nice dancer." You don't think that was a come on, but it was a pretty blatant compliment.
"It's kind of complicated. Frankly if Grekkor's worried that I'm a threat to him, then tell him he's got two options: he can not piss off rich people, or he can just hire me as an 'olive branch' to the rich people he pisses off." She actually makes the two-fingered air-quotes on that last bit. "I tend to stay pretty conflict-neutral otherwise, and Grekkor's name is enough to give even me pause about taking a job."
Ahead and past a few interconnected shacks, you see Zip Zip, he looks up from a table where he was standing over an older lady while she as writing and gives you a nod.
Winter shifts into a more relaxed pose when Fitteen expresses interest in her trade. Frankly, if Grekkor is currious about Winter's job, then she's got no problem obliging sadly, she suspects there's something deeper at play. "Well," she starts, "I've always had a thing for richer men, and my Mom always told me all the tricks about how she got my Dad to do stuff for her. When my parents died, the only thing I could do to keep up my lifestyle was to whore myself out to the richest men in the cities. It kept me fed until Domino offered me a boatload of jingle to fuck this big Operator that had the hardholder of Nokes in his pocket, and convince him to stop dealing dope to the hardholder." The lie of omission is that she was asked to kill him, rather than convince him to stop. "I made so much jingle it just made sense to add that to my list of services, among other things."
She keeps walking and talking, though her pace has slowed noticeably. "I'm really good at my job I can fuck the wallet out of the stingiest man in the cities, and I've come to appreciate the lifestyle that comes from that. The sex varies, but I've since learned how to take care of myself... Enjoying yourself is a prerequisite for the job, so I take steps to do just that. What I don't like is this weird state of transition going on here at Evan's there are some new players here that are high on some fucked up kind of power, and they're talking about things that are way over my head... Some magic, or shit like that... I dunno." She stops just far enough from Zip Zip to give him a bashful wave, "This weird shit that Amiette and Harridan do is beyond me, and the people that trust in them are equally hard to understand... They have their own motivations, you know? How do you draw the line between what they say and what is real?"
Winter gives Zip Zip a warm smile and approaches him. "Easton in his hut?" She asks in a warm, inviting voice.
Then you walk up to Zip Zip and she follows. You ask about Easton and he nods, then opens the door for you. You enter and Easton is there with Jackabacka, they're talking with a couple ShantyTowners. Its obvious there's some kind of dispute between the two ShantyTowners and Jackabacka and Easton are trying to work something out. When Jackabacka sees you, he waves them off, "Let's take a break, fellas, pretty, uhm, well pretty ladies are here. I was gonna say pretty lady, but you got a lil friend, Winter. C'mere you!" Jackabacka holds out his arms to you, beckoning you to come up and hug him. Is he being real here? Are you two friendly? Or is this some show for Easton that you two put on?
Winter finally comes back to reality when Zip Zip acknowledges that Easton was in. It gives her no small measure of relief to know she was welcome in his presence: so much so that her mood actually picks up noticeably. She smiles genuinely, and gently brushes Zip Zip's cheek. "Thank you, Sweetie!" Zip Zip sure is a quiet fellow... She secretly wonders how he got his name as she passes by him. Was he a quick birth? Or was he perhaps plagued by an "abundance of passion" (as Winter had taken to calling it). Her thoughts on the matter are rushed to the back of her head when she spots Easton and Jackabacka looking all authoritative with the locals. She can't help but crack a smile and sheepishly accept his embrace when Jackabacka holds out his arms and invites her into a hug.
Jackabacka and Winter almost have a father/daughter in-law relationship. They were always friendly (being close to Easton growing up), but it evolved into a more familial relationship as she and Easton matured into adults, and Winter's parents passed. Jackabacka was the reason Domino had come to use Winter's services, and he'd always been very supportive of her aspirations. The only point they ever really disagreed on was Easton's role in it all, but Jackabacka won that dispute if only because Winter knew Easton wanted to please his dad more than anything. "It's good to see you, Jack!" She says as he gives her a big ol' bear hug, "You're lookin' good!" She spots Easton over Jackabacka's shoulder, and offers him a silent smile just before Jackabacka lets her go. "I'm not interrupting something important, am I? Cause I can wait. I could use a chat with the barons of ShantyTown."
I assume you don't mind waiting. There's Easton's bed, his weight bench, a couple chairs over near the place where he stores food. The fruit Shazza mentioned, it is some kind of plantain, a long green-skinned fruit. Fitteen greedily takes one and bites right into it, chewing hard on the skin, then pulling it out of her mouth comically after making a face at the bitterness. She ends up watching you peel the fruit and then mimics your actions slowly.
Jackabacka and Easton end up working with both men through their issue, which seems to be about whether to sell at the Market at the Element or set up their own shop. Jackabacka gets both of them to agree with setting up at the hold's Market to get some regulars, then they can talk about setting up a separate market to avoid the jingle they would have to pay the hold.
Fitteen spends her time watching you eat, then she busies herself with a small butterfly knife that she carries. The click clack of it is annoying. She doesn't seem to get that the others are bothered by it, she's just flipping it around.
Winter obliges as Jackabacka gets back to business, but she notices Easton's gaze from across the room. She smiles as she turns to pick up one of the plantains, and she was about to give Easton a little show, but she's mortified by the look of complete disgust Fitteen just leveled on her as she attempted to eat the plantain whole. She can't help but chuckle to herself she often forgets that not everyone can afford real fruit, and how the luxury of knowing how to eat them is sometimes lost on the uninitiated. She shows Fitteen how to peel and eat the damn thing, and finds a place to sit while Jack and Easton go about their business.
Winter's first weapon was a switchblade. She liked the portability and versatility of it more than anything else it was one of those tools that were good for both business and show. To a certain extent, she was tickled by Fitteen pulling out her butterfly knife and flicking it about, practicing her draw but about four flips in, it started to get annoying. Even the other people in the room have starting looking over out of the corner of their eyes this wouldn't do. The mighty Winter, now reduced to a babysitter, she thinks to herself as she reaches down and places her hand gently on Fitteen's forearm. "Rule #1 of polite company with important people: never show them what you're packing." The tone of her voice is instructive, but the look on her face read more like, "do you need to do that here?"
Jack and Easton are wrapping up the conversation with the two locals, but with Fitteen still here Winter can't help but feel like their conversation would be limited. She turns to her, "I have some important, private business to talk about with these people. I know Grekkor wants you to follow me, but is there any chance we could call it quits here? Or at least pause, and pick up later if you didn't get the info you need?"
Let's see you Manipulate her into leaving you alone (the promise of a meet up later would be what she'd want).
Roll+Cool*: Manipulate Fitteen to let the grownups talk in private. +1 XP
#DiceRoller( 2d6+2 )
The ShantyTown folk filter out shortly after Fitteen and then its you, Jackabacka and Easton. Easton moves over near you, like he's drawn in. He doesn't exactly touch you, though, which is a bit odd, right? Jackabacka grabs a warm bottle of beer and opens it with his teeth, taking a drink, "Alright, Winter. What did you want to talk about?"
She waits for Jackabacka to crack open his beer, and address her before even considering what it is she needs to say here. What could she say? That every major player in the hold suspected her of nefarious doings? That she just witnessed who she suspects is the new head of the security at Evans drop a death sentence on a whim? That the biggest bad of the nine cities wants to fuck her, and possibly turn her into a fuck puppet? Where the hell do you start here? She takes a deep breath to calm herself, but her fear betrays her. She shivers noticeably when she breathes out. "I'm in way over my head," she says, her voice cracking right out of the gate, "I don't know what the fuck is going on in Evan's Element, but there is some freaky fucking shit going down." She stops a moment to take another breath.
"Look this Harridan guy is the biggest bad the nine cities has seen in forever, and I thought he was all talk. I set up a meeting with him, and now he wants to fuck me. Now normally I wouldn't give that creeper a second thought, but that weird girl that knows things? Amiette? I don't know how, but she wised up to my last job and bursts in on me and Bones while she's fixing this chick I was getting fucked up with, and starts accusing me of murder." She's a little worked up recounting the tale, and she catches her heart racing. She stops a moment to take a breath and calm herself down. "Now Bones was blabbing about how she was getting the Hold ready for war with Harridan, and to pay for her services I offered my usual package but then Ami demands to "know" I'm not working for Harridan, and ... And..." Winter's eyes dart vacantly around the room, looking for the words to describe what happened to her, "Fuck, I dunno... Whatever the fuck Ami does to people. She touched me and found something Harridan put in my head these things that could make me his slave. What's worse, this bitch G-String comes crashing into the courtyard, waiving her guns around, shoots Bones, and fuckin' bolts!"
Winter laughs at that last bit, almost as if she didn't believe it really happened. "Ami did this weird thing that fixed Bones, and Fitteen, and I grabbed G-String thinkin' the locals would lock her down a bit, maybe smack her around a bit to teach her a lesson about shootin' people but then Ami goes up and touches her, and she goes limp like fuckin' dead limp, an empty husk. Then people show up, Ami tells them what happened, and this big-shot with a superiority complex just announces, "she's being executed," like it's no big deal. Says, "she'd been warned," and ignores an input from anyone else. Fuckin Ami took shit out of my head that could have made me a prisoner in my own body, and then it occurs to me: Fuckin' Harridan could do that to me! I could be this fuck puppet Harridan leaves on a shelf, or Ami could do the same damn thing and turn me over to the new hold security! What the fuck good am I here?"
She shakes her head in refusal, "I don't want no part in this bullshit. There's a world of fuckin' hurt about to come here, and I don't know who's going to survive it; but I care about you guys you're pretty much the only family I have I wanna pack up and run the fuck away from this crap. Go somewhere else. Never look back..." She's lost in a dream world, and it's a conversation she's had with both Easton and Jackabacka before (though not at the same time). There's a pregnant pause in the air as Winter gradually comes back to reality, "I know you guys are setting up shop here, and I know you won't come with me... So... Can I come along for the ride with you?"
Jackaback says, "East, go get Zips and a couple others. We need to go NOW, this can't lie." Then he looks to you and says firmly, "Winter, stay here. You're under our protection now, nobody in ShantyTown will fuck with you, I promise. Who, uh, who's the big shot? The one who pronounced her death sentence?"
Easton says with pitiful, barely controlled words,"Winnie... I think she's carrying my kid."
Easton and G-String? She goes as pale as a sheet. A baby? There's that nausea again...
Her shoulders slump and she stares down at her feet, lost in thought. How could she have been so fucking stupid as to think she could come back here and think Easton would be the same people she left to find her fortune.
A baby?
Winter's face goes sour, and she tries to stand up, but she loses her balance and collapses back into her chair. "Oh," she says, barely holding back tears, "uh... OK." She looks over to Easton, there's a legitimate pain in her eyes. Not betrayal, but as though she's just lost her best friend. She needs to know what he's thinking.
Roll+Sharp: Read a Person.
#DiceRoller( 2d6 )
Easton walks over to pick up his bat while his father talks to him, he's avoiding your gaze, too. He turns on Jackabacka, "A good thing?!? What. The. Fuck!" He takes his bat and wails on a metal weight machine a couple times, it falls apart under his hammer blows, the metal rings out like fucking John Henry and Easton turns red. He drops his voice low, barely suppressing the desire to scream, "You told me my mom was a fucking snow slave. If she'd died before she had me and you weren't shackled to ME, would that be a good thing?"
What do you do?
OOC: This was a hard choice, but I think this is as good as I can get right now.
What does Easton wish Winter would do?
Jackabacka bellows, "Fucking stow that shit right now, Easton! You said yourself you didn't even know if it was yours! That G bitch was trash, a little skanky whore. You know she was fucking Turk, even Spurlock before the dumb fuck found out he was her half-brother. Then she came onto him AGAIN after! Yeah, you two partied, she was a pretty piece of snatch, no lie. But the bitch was effed in the head, it prolly wasn't even yours, and even if it was, it might have been just as fucked up as she was. You want THAT in this world?"
Easton's eyes grow a bit wild again and he steps past you, Winter. He drops his bat low and stalks towards Jackabacka. His father is sure this is bravado, but you think you know better.
Right now, Easton wants you to help him kill Jackabacka and then Alonzo.
What do you do?
Winter casually circumnavigates the conflict, passing through Easton's peripheral, and stopping beside Jack as if she was backing him up; but there's a dead look in her eyes a look Easton would see and recognize this is the look of a desperate woman. She wasn't sure why, but something deep inside her wanted to please Easton. She needed him to be happy, and if this is what he really wanted, then she would do anything for him...
"East, baby we don't need to start a war over this. Spurlock's carrying out the sentence. He's probably dragging her out of the city as we speak to do the job. We don't need to kill Alonzo, we just need to make his words not worth shit. Come with me, and we can lay this shit to rest..."
When you come to the courtyard, there's nobody there, really. Chibi is probably in the infirmary, but the door is closed. Nobody in the yard.
What do you do?
Winter darts out of Easton's place and doesn't stop running until she arrives in the courtyard with Easton and Zip Zip. She frantically looks around for anyone left over who might have seen something. That dispersed quickly for a crime scene, she thinks to herself. She knows that in a high-traffic area such as this, sniffing out Spurlock's trail would be a feat of pure luck. They're going to have to canvas the area for anyone that might have seen where Spurlock and G-String were heading, and that could take forever... With Spurlock's head start, even if they bolted at full speed it was unlikely they'd catch up to them in time for anything more meaningful than another rage-dump. Barring some sort of unexpected miracle, G-String and Easton's potential child would be dead and rotting by the time they picked up the trail. Winter wasn't even sure finding her alive was the right thing to do. It wasn't what she had in mind when she suggested they "lay this shit to rest".
Winter spends her life under pressure to perform, and so she is calm and collected under the circumstances. This kind of problem is much more her forte something grounded in politics and emotion that she could exploit. It was quickly becoming obvious that G-String was a lost cause; but unless Winter could convince him otherwise, Easton would probably blame her (even if only indirectly) for failing to deliver his child to him. This worried her. Easton was her ticket to a safe new life with influence and stature in the cities, and this obsession with that crazy bitch bearing a child that might be his had to stop. Unfortunately Jackabacka had been particularly cruel to Easton, and so she wouldn't have a lot of recourse if she started suggesting Easton listen to his father. There was only one option... She needed to convince him to be with her more than that, she needed him to believe everything she did was for him. She needed to take the wheel.
"Zip, can you ask Chibi if she heard anything else about which way Spurlock headed off? I'm going to help Easton canvas the area..." It was an excuse to get Easton alone a moment. She had no idea when she messed around with Easton earlier today she'd be so deeply intertwined in this mess she'd fucked her way into a business arrangement before, but this was bordering her personal space entirely too closely. Presuming Zip obliges, Winter summons Easton away from the shack, and into a secluded corner of the courtyard. She knows he doesn't want to talk right now but he needs to listen.
"East, you can't know how sorry I am that I didn't know about G-String... Had I known earlier, I'd have said something and it could be we wouldn't be in this mess right now..." She pauses a moment and examines Easton's face she's got a very sincere, but troubled look on her face. Before Easton can reply she moves in, "Jack was unreasonably cruel to you. It hurt me to hear him insult you like that, like you didn't understand what you were saying. East, I understand." she stabs indignantly at her chest as she speaks, "I know exactly what you're going through. You're the biggest thing to walk into ShantyTown since the damn world fell apart, and you're kind, and smart, and fucking hot to boot..." She moves in a little closer, "G may be carrying your kid, but she damn well didn't understand what it was you could give her. She didn't respect you. The bitch walked in here with a death wish, waiving her gun around at the damn doctor of Evan's Element she killed your kid, East, not anyone else in this whole place. She did. You'd make a great Dad one day, but you know as well as I do that she'd make a horrible fuckin' mom. Even if she lived, she'd be nothing but a burden on you, and dangerous to that kid..."
Winter bites her lips, and takes Easton's hands, rubbing his fingers and looking up at him with a sad, but seductive look. "East, I must have been crazy to leave you. I'd do anything for you. You've got to believe me when I say that G and Alonzo are small fish in a pond that won't matter very soon and fuck, even I can give you a kid if you want."
She moves in close to him, pressing her breasts against his body and kissing his hands gently, "Fuck these guys East come build a legacy with me."
#DiceRoller( 2d6+2 )
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