TRP: Goro and Larkin (Truth or Dare)

Jen:

[SETTING: The Sugar Glider, Drunk Night]

Larkin took the steps down to the main deck two at a time,
almost tripping at the last one in her excitement. Goro hadn't seen her yet, so
she decided the best way to fuck with her friend would be the stealthy route.
She just hope he wouldn't stab her. Eh, he could heal people. It'd be fine.
Larkin stifled a snigger.

She circled around the main mast in a wide arc, staying in
the shadowy parts not illuminated by the lamps.
Once she was in Goro's back, she took off her shoes and began sneaking
up step by careful step, crouched low and walking on the outsides of her feet
as if on a house breaking job. Ten feet left. Seven. Four. She held her breath
for the last step and then, with a loud "Heeeey, buddy!" sprang on
Goro, wrapping one arm around his neck and shoulder and grasping for the bottle
in his hand with the other.

Lina:

Goro stood with his elbows resting on the ship's railing,
staring into the darkness and counting out six seconds over and over again in
his head.

It was good to know how much could happen in six seconds. He
wanted a lot of examples. He eavesdropped on any conversations he could
overhear, getting a feel for how many words you could say in six seconds. He
tried pulling out his various knives and pretending to stab at someone.
(Discreetly. He didn't need anyone coming over and asking him questions.)

He was right in the middle of imagining how many seconds it
would take to shove a larva in someone's mouth when someone shouted and tackled
him. He yelped and twisted free, raised the bottle up with both hands, and
brought it down square on the assailant's head.

Jen:

Whoops. Larkin missed her grip on the bottle and a second
later, it vanished from her view and re-appeared as a jolt of pain on the top
of her head. "Augh! Shit!" She dropped to the ground, toppling over
to lie on her back and pressed her hands to the throbbing spot, equal amounts
of laughter and curses spilling out of her.

Lina:

"Oh, fuck. Fuck!" He dropped the bottle and fell
to his knees next to her, moving her hands aside to check the damage. Couldn't
be that bad; she was laughing. A decent-sized lump already, and rapidly
swelling. A small laceration, bleeding heavily like scalp wounds always did.
She cursed him loudly as he prodded the area, and he smiled, because that could
only be a good sign.

He reached inside his jacket for his foxtail wand. When he
was finished there was no trace of the injury except for the blood in her hair,
which wasn't something he was planning to help with. "The hell did you do
that for?" he asked as he tucked the wand away. "Just how fucking
drunk are you?"(edited)

Jen:

She tried not to wince and shift as he prodded the spot and
managed to supress the laughing fit. Man, she'd have known something like that
would happen. Totally worth it, though. She giggled at how Goro had yelped and
when he was done, felt around her head for the wound. She was sure it had been
one since she felt the trickle of blood running down her face but her fingers
found nothing. Amazing. Larkin made a grab for Goro's collar and poked a finger
at his face. "You, that bottle and me. We gonna play a game. C'mon, help
me up!"

Lina:

He flinched away from her prodding finger. "What? What
game? What are you talking about?" He helped her to her feet, easing her
hand away from his collar as he did so. He glanced around the deck, mentally
checking off everyone else he knew was on the boat. He scrutinized the sides of
her face, checking for any signs of, perhaps, a self-altering mask.

Jen:

"What I'm talkin' about, " Larkin said, rubbing
the top of her head and grinning, "is that you, my friend, are way too
stuck up. But don't worry, you're not a lost cause yet."

Lina:

"Huh?" He squinted. No, it definitely seemed to be
Larkin. Still had her mannerisms, her unique smile. Just the alcohol, then.
"You're not making any damn sense, you know."

Jen:

Larkin rolled her eyes and bent to pick up the bottle. It
had toppled over and a good portion of the contents had already soaked into the
planks. She held is up against the light to see how much was left in it.
"We're gonna need another one of these. Hm." She shrugged and gave
Goro another lopsided smile. "A'right buddy, lemme put it like this. I
want you to get drunk on this-" she squinted at the bottle but it got no
label. "Whatever thid is. For real, not for show. And I know you're a
sucker for secrets so here's my deal for you: thruth or dare." Larkin
grinned even wider, showing her pointed canines.

Lina:

While she was talking, Goro could only think not on your
damn life, but... hmm. Truth or dare. He could get a straight answer about
tiefling tails. And, right, other things. Larkin secrets. Sounded interesting.

"So, what? If you ask a question I don't want to
answer, or name a dare I won't do, I have to drink instead?" He considered
that. Seemed like he could still avoid getting drunk, so long as he was willing
to play the game. "Fine."

Jen:

"Great." Larkin turned apruptly and headed for
the  main mast. She kicked around some of
the sand sacks so she could sit on them and use a crate as a table. She placed
the bottle in the middle of it and leaned in to rest her elbows on the edge.

Lina:

He sat on a sack across from her. It'd be better if he
wasn't the one to start spilling truths, so he cut in first. "Alright,
truth or dare?"

Jen:

"Hmm." She thought about making him wait a bit
until he got to actually hear some new but she'd just got settled and. Also,
throwing him a truth as a bait might be a good idea. "Truth."

Lina:

He blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
"How's it feel to have your tail touched? That--" He reached behind
him and mimed something he hoped vaguely resembled a tail. "That one.
Not..." He could feel his face getting hot already, and it wasn't even his
turn to be grilled. Yeesh. "You know what I mean."(edited)

Jen:

Oh god, not that again. She squinted at him, shaking her
head in disbelief. What the hell was it with this guy. "Goro.. just how
many tails do you think I have?"

Lina:

Immediately, Goro realized his mistake, which was that
Larkin was already drunk. And probably happy to get drunker. She could refuse
to answer every one of his questions and still come out a winner. Fuck.
"You gonna answer the question, or not?"

Jen:

"Fuck, man, it's just a tail. What you think it feels
like? It's-" She reached over to snatch for his hand but he yanked it
away.

"Hmpf. Feels like any limb. Hey, for someone who
doesn't like being touched you ask a hell lot of question 'bout that."

Lina:

"Yeah, because I don't want to--" He snapped his
mouth shut. If she wanted to know the details, she could make that one of her
questions. "Look, I have my reasons. Your turn."

Jen:

"Alright. Truth or dare?"(edited)

Lina:

"Truth."

Jen:

"Alright. When're you gonna tell Sugar you love
her?"

Lina:

"I object. Leading question. Makes too many
assumptions."

Jen:

Larkin snorted a laugh. "No, asshole, this ain't how
this game is played. Answer the question or take the consequences." She
lifted up the bottle and waved it in his direction

Lina:

He narrowed his eyes. "And what if I don't know the
answer?"

Jen:

"Goro," Larkin groaned and threw her head back in
mock exasperation. "Is it some time before never and the nine hells
freezing over?"(edited)

Lina:

Goro grabbed the bottle from her and took a swig. Then
grinned like an asshole. "Truth or dare?"

Jen:

She smirked at him. There. She'd be getting this dude drunk
yet. "Truth. If it's not about the tail again."

Lina:

"Nah. Let's see." He thought about it. There was a
hell of a lot he didn't know about Larkin. It was hard to decide where to
start. "Your uncle. Kind of an asshole. Why do you still work for
him?"

Jen:

Larkin shrugged. "He's my uncle. Family. Boss. Why
wouldn't I?"

Lina:

"Well, the asshole part, for one. Call me crazy, but I
didn't sense a lot of familial warmth between the two of you. You can't tell me
you're loyal to him just because you're related by blood?"

Jen:

"Well," Larkin reached for the bottle to buy
herself some time to think. She realized this must look odd from an outside
perspective and struggled to find the words to explain. "He's- hm. Well,
he's got to be an asshole to live that long doing what does, you know. Don't
get far in that business by cuddling with people." Without her uncle,
she'd been just another homeless street rat. He'd given her chances.
"Look, it's what I was born into, alright? It's all I know how to do. And
I'm doing well, so. Why would I not?" Goro would understand if he had
grown up like she had. He would... huh. How exactly had Goro grown up? She
marked it down as her next truth-question.

Lina:

He watched her intently as she explained. She was expressing
more than she maybe even knew, between the lines. He tilted his head to the
side. "Not true. You've got skills that are useful to all sorts of people.
Ripley, for a start. You're good at that. Could make an easy living and never
bother with your uncle again. There's something more holding you to him, I
think." He smiled. "But that's a question for another round."

Jen:

"Stop smiling like you know something, jerk." She
scowled at him "One doesn't just stop working for Renar Basha." And
belatedly, she added, "even if I wanted to."

Lina:

"Mm." Very, very interesting. Especially that last
part. He filed that bit away to think about later.

"Alright, your turn again, yeah? I pick truth."

Jen:

What to ask here? She thought about trying to press about
Sugar again. It'd surely make him take another drink. But there were so many
other things she had no clue about and they all wanted to be priority. Really,
she realized, she knew next to nothing about the person she trusted most.
Remembering the scars she'd seen on his body the night he got frisked by
Renar's bodyguards, she asked, "Tell me 'bout your childhood. How'd you
become like..." she made a vague gesture at him and added a smile, hoping
it wouldn't insult him. "This."(edited)

Lina:

He burst out laughing. "Yeah. Yeah. This." He
gestured at himself, then shrugged. "No parents, for most of it. Sometimes
older kids looked out for me, sometimes I was on my own. Stealing, scrounging
for food. Fighting my way from one day to the next. I don't..." He
remembered, only an hour or so ago, how he'd sobbed into fucking Hansel's
shirt. He was pretty sure he'd got it out of his system. "I don't think I
would have made it much longer. If Amari hadn't got me when she did, I mean.
Someone tried to stab me in my sleep, two days before I was arrested. It was
that kind of life."

Jen:

Larkin nodded along with his answer. She'd heard that same
story a dozen times before. Most of her childhood friends had been street kid,
gangsters or children of parents too poor to even get them a pair of shoes.
Some had no parents at all, some had been dumped on the streets just to have
one less mouth to feed. "Yeah. It's like that down in the shantytowns. Or
what ever part of this damned city you grew up, I guess. If it had been the
docks," she shrugged. "you might have ended up with Renar."

Lina:

"Huh. Dodged that arrow." He raised an eyebrow and
waited to see if she'd eviscerate him for it.

Jen:

"I guess there's more than one big bad asshole to go
around Skyport. Plenty opportunities to catch some arrows." Somehow,
Larkin was already sobering up again. Not a good state to talk about miserable
childhoods. She shifted her seat on the sacks a bit to lean against the mast
and sit at an angle to Goro.

Lina:

"Yeah. That's... yeah. Truth or dare?"

Jen:

"Dare." It was time to get the mood up again. She
hoped he'd come up with something good.

Lina:

"Ooh. Alright. Let me think." He scanned the other
occupants of the deck, trying to come up with an idea that would be suitably
embarrassing. Something to really get her back for that time she told Sugar he
wanted to take her on a date. His eyes settled on Hansel and Mishka, cuddling
again. He pointed his chin at them. "Go tell Mikhail Haeth you think he's
gorgeous and you're looking for beauty tips."

Jen:

"What?!" Larkin burst out laughing. "Nah,
seriously." She looked at Goro who had donned a gambler's face. One smug
eyebrow raised like a little shit. "That's- how am I-"

Lina:

"Do it or drink," he said, pointing to the bottle.

Jen:

She tried staring him down but couldn't keep a straight
face. Fine. These were the rules she was fine with getting wasted instead.
"Ugh, fuck." She snatched the bottle a bit too forcefully and took
three swallows out of it.

Lina:

Goro snapped his fingers. "Damn. I really wanted to see
that. Alright, dare."

Jen:

"Hell, man, I'm entirely not drunk enough for that. Try
again later." She leaned back against the mast, thinking. What could she
dare him to do? Oh, yes.

She was dead certain this one would backfire horribly but it
was too good not to try. She drained the rest of the bottle, then waved the
empty thing at him. "We need more of this. Sugar has some wine. You go
tell her you want to trade a bottle for a kiss."

Lina:

For a moment, he didn't move. Just raised his eyebrows at
her. Then he got up and walked over to the captain's quarters. He returned a
minute later, wine bottle in hand, and set it on the crate between them.
"Alright. Truth or dare?"

Jen:

Larkin smirked at him and shook her head a little. "You
didn't really do it. If you had, someone'd have to use that Leech on you
now."

Lina:

"Is that so?" He popped the cork out with his
knife, and wouldn't look her in the eye. "Gosh, it's a miracle I'm still
alive at this point, then."

Jen:

Oh? Oh? "Waaaait, wait wait wait." Larkin perked
up at that and leaned over the crate to look him straight into the eyes.
"What's that s'posed to mean?"

Lina:

"Nothing. Well, you know, like I was saying before, I
lived a rough life when I was younger."

Jen:

"You..." she stared at him, studying his face and
that twitch of the corner of his mouth as he tried to keep a straight face.
That motherfucker. "You already did!?" She reached over to put both
her hands on his shoulders and shook him. "God dammit, can't you say a
thing? You- oh, you asshole, when'd that happen? You called me a fuckin' traitor
over that thing at the sanctuary just a few hours ago! Fuckin' jerk you
are." She let go of him and sat back onto her sand sacks, arms crossed and
grinning. "So, how'd it happen? She ask you out or what?"

Lina:

"Shh. Shhh." Goro looked around to make sure no
one was in earshot. He crossed his arms and grinned right back at her.
"Nothing happened. She and I agreed. Nothing to tell." His face hurt
from smiling. He tried to literally wipe the grin off, pressing a hand over his
mouth and forcing it into a more neutral expression. He was only moderately
successful.

"Hey," he said. "I'm still not drunk. Guess
that means I'm winning. Truth or dare?"

October 26, 2018

Jen:  at 6:04 AM

"Alright, alright, I get it." She waved him off. Goro
looked so genuinely happy for once, she wasn't going to ruin it with more
prodding. He was welcome to this one secret. "Well, you started out sober
and me drunk so, more like even. Truth."

Lina:  at 6:00 PM

"You got a mother?"

Jen:  at 6:00 PM

"Nope."

Lina:  at 6:01 PM

"Sprang out of a hole in the ground, did you?"

Jen:  at 6:04 PM

"Yeah, straight up from hell." Larkin's smile
wavered a bit. "She died when I was born. Pretty shitty trade some would
say." She shrugged and reached for the bottle. "Truth or
dare?"(edited)

Lina:  at 6:30 PM

He felt like he should argue, or something. Wasn't often
Larkin said things like that. But he wasn't sure what to say, and then it
seemed she was trying to move things along. Well, the least he could do was
give her a decent trade. "Truth."

Jen:  at 6:40 PM

"Alright. So no parents for you either, huh? How
come?"

Lina:  at 6:54 PM

He spreads his hands, at a loss. "Wish I knew. Never
knew my father, my mom never talked about him. I could wager a real good guess
that he was an elf, and that's it. And as for her..." He paused. For a
long time. The bitch that left you, Hansel had called her. Maybe that was
unfair. Maybe she'd died. That was pretty likely, actually. Never heard a thing
about her after she walked out the door that night. "She... I don't... uh,
she gave birth to me. That was nice of her, I guess. Hah. I don't know what
happened to her. She smelled like flowers." He didn't know where that last
part came from, but now that he'd said it, it felt weird to leave it alone. "When
I hugged her, I mean."

Jen:  at 7:13 PM

That was... kind of sad. Damn. What should she say here?
She'd slipped there, for a moment, with her answer and now it seemed they were
off to another round of poking into old wounds. Nothing one should be doing
while trying to get drunk. Larkin tried thinking of a way to cheer Goro up
again (and possibly make him drunk already) but came up short. Maybe it was
just where he wanted to go?

"Hmm," she hummed a bit to break the sudden
silence between them and took a swig out of the bottle. "You wanna... uhm,
talk about it?"

Lina:  at 7:18 PM

He waited until she'd set the bottle back on the crate, then
took a swig himself. "Nope." Another swig. "Truth or dare?"

Jen:  at 7:26 PM

Oh, thank god. It wasn't like Larkin didn't want to provide
emotional support for a friend, she just didn't know how the hell that kind of
thing worked and in her current condition, it would be just trial and error. A
lot of error, probably. "Eh, honestly," she said, trying to give her
voice a lighter tone to brighten the mood a little, "I don't care. Take
your pick."

Lina:  at 7:47 PM

Is that what she thought cheerful people sounded like? Aw,
well, she was trying. "Truth, then. Tell me, ah... psh, I don't know.
About your hopes and dreams for life. Why not. What's your future gonna look
like? After we kill the eldritch abomination, I mean."

Jen:  at 7:54 PM

Larkin groaned. "Shit, you're not even tipsy yet and
already getting all... profound? Ugh." She really should stop drinking
when it wasn't her turn. She was rapidly losing this game.

"Don't know. Same as usual, I guess?" Larkin
shrugged. "I mean, the guild's dead for now and after all, this Renar's
gonna have a lot of work to do and it sounded like... well, he'll probably give
some of it to me. So that. I'll work for Renar again and when I'm not doing
that," another shrug, "I'll keep doing my own heists, I think. Like I
did before with Finch." She cut off then, realizing this, too, was a thing
she'd never told him. Damn the wine, making her blab like this.(edited)

Lina:  at 7:58 PM

He fought the urge to reach for the wine again. "The
guild's dead, huh?"

Jen:  at 8:00 PM

Shit. Had she hit a nerve there? "You think after we
kill Diva the church will just let Ripley do her thing again? With the new law
and all? That everything's gonna get set back to zero? "

Lina:  at 8:03 PM

Slowly, he grinned. "It'll be set back to zero after I
take care of old Freddy. Don't you want to help?"

Jen:  at 8:05 PM

"Old Freddy?" Larkin narrowed her eyes and turned
to face him again. "Like, Fredrick the Bishop?"

Lina:  at 8:05 PM

Goro raised his eyebrows innocently. "Oh, is it your
turn again? What if I wanted a dare?"

Jen:  at 8:08 PM

She grinned at him. "Dare me, then. But if you want my
help, you're gonna have to tell me more anyway."

Lina:  at 8:09 PM

"Alright, I dare you to help me kill Archbishop
Frederick. Someday, I mean. We're a bit preoccupied at the moment, you could
say."

Jen:  at 8:11 PM

"Can't say no to that charming smile of yours. Hey, why
don't you use it to cut Freddy's throat?"

Lina:  at 8:16 PM

"Oh, I would love to." He closed his eyes and
licked his teeth. "What details do you need, exactly? I don't have a plan
yet. Waiting until the time is right."

Jen:  at 8:19 PM

"Hm." Larkin leaned forward on the crate and
thought for a moment. "That'd depend on how you want to do it, I guess.
Clean and quiet or public and messy. I'm a thief, no assassin but I know a few
people I could ask for advice"

Lina:  at 8:25 PM

"Oh. Oh! What a question." He rolled his head
back, smiling. "God, what would be better? There's also messy and quiet.
Can't leave that one out. The main thing is, I want him to see it coming. I
want him to see me coming. I'm going to wipe out the empire he's built for
himself, one paladin motherfucker at a time. I want to leave him standing in a
house with no foundation, looking around in horror at the wreckage I've left
for him. And then I want him to look me in the eye before I kill him."
Goro straightened up, blinking. "Oh my, did I get a little carried away
there? It's the wine, I think. Truth or dare?"

Jen:  at 8:37 PM

"Oh. Oh no, you've had enough picks in a row I
think," she said in a quiet tone.

Larkin had watched him very closely the whole time. For a
second there, she had to admid, the hairs on her arms had pricked up and it
hadn't been because of the cool night wind. The man burned for this and whether
the wine had something to do with it or not, Larkin wanted to help him set this
house on fire.

She leaned in a bit further. "Quiet and messy. Look you
in the eye. Yeah, I like the sound of that. Yeah." She let out a throaty
laugh. "Tell me Goro, what's got a street rat to do with the Arch Bishop
of the church? What'd he do to deserve that attention?"

October 27, 2018

Lina:  at 12:50 AM

"You need me to spell it out for you? He's the reason
people like you and me could be arrested and tortured for... well, you know
what. He and his lackeys have this city in shackles. Why wouldn't I want him
dead? Skyport is in need of bold action, new ideas. You know, not like what
Diva was thinking, but something different, still. It's time we throw off the chains.
And who better than me, devoted cleric of Helm myself, to lead the way?"
He smiled serenely. "Also, he branded Amari a heretic and threw her out on
the street, so I'm going to gut him."

Jen:  at 11:48 AM

"Hm, there we go, " Larkin said when Goro spilled
that last part. "Figured it must be something personal." She sat back
again, settling against the mast once more and shewed on her lip a bit,
thinking it over. "That's some grand plans you got there. I mean... might
take years, y'know. And once you showed dear Freddy his own liver and razed the
temple, you still got the Prince and the rest of the Council to deal with.
Gutting the Arch Bishop won't be enough to change anything in this shit hole of
a city. Any ideas 'bout that yet?"

Lina:  at 11:55 AM

"Oh, I heartily beg to differ. The prince is only a
child. Freddy's attempting to mold her in his own image, but if we can take
care of him while she's still young and impressionable, I see no reason why she
has to be removed from the picture. I hear her older brother, the Warmaster,
he's not such a bad guy at all. And the Spymaster's position is vacant, so as
long as we can get a sympathetic ally installed there... no, Larkin, I
guarantee you, getting rid of Fred will change everything for the better."
Then Goro appeared to reconsider. "Your uncle, though, hm. Well." He
shook his head and crossed his arms.

Jen:  at 12:01 PM

"What about Renar?" It came out a bit sharper than
intended but Larkin suddenly had this very bad gut feeling.

Lina:  at 12:02 PM

"Oh, nothing. I'm just playing this little game called
'How Many Suggestive Comments Can I Make About Larkin's Uncle Before She Stabs
Me.' I feel like I'm getting close." He raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah?"

Jen:  at 12:06 PM

"Asshole." Larkin snatched a pouch off her belt
and threw it at him.

Lina:  at 12:13 PM

The pouch hit him in the face and bounced onto his lap.
"Fuckin' ow," he said, but he laughed as he rubbed the spot it had
hit. "Hey, thanks. Wait, this isn't money." He tossed the pouch back
to her. "No offense, my love, it's just that I'm starting to get
concerned. You, and your uncle. Me, and Ripley. Your uncle, and Ripley. You see
what I'm getting at?"

Jen:  at 2:14 PM

"My love your ass, Goro. What d'you want me to
say?" Larkin scowled at him, unhappy. "Lissen, I'll help you get
Ripley back and I'll gladly help you put a knife into Fredrick. But... you
can't expect me to work against Renar. This is... Man... " she faltered, shook
her head and looked away. Crossed her arms, only to turn back and reach for the
bottle. She was aware of the problem, tentatively; but up until now, the both
being 'partners' was a thing of working for the guild and looking our for each
other. When that changed... Larkin hadn't really expected Goro and her would be
the kind of partners she and Finch had been. But she had hoped he wouldn't make
her chose sides.

Lina:  at 2:22 PM

"Hey now, take it easy. I wasn't going to ask you
to." Watching her, it was easy to see how much she was struggling with the
idea. "Here's the thing, Larkin. I have no problem telling Ripley to fuck
off if she gives me an order I don't like. She wants to start something up with
the Basha, and asks me to get involved, I just wouldn't. I'd advise her against
it, even." He paused. "I'm not sure if you have that same kind of
relationship with Renar."

Jen: at 8:21 PM

Well, that at least was a relief.

"I can... say no to a job. Sure. And he'll listen to advice-
but I need a good reason to say no, y' see? Wouldn't like Renar to think I'm
more loyal to Ripley than to him. But I don't think..." She paused,
thinking over what she know about Renar's stance on Ripley. "Hm, wouldn't
know he has it out for her. And even if, he wouldn't need me to do any of it. I
just can't- well, I just can't stop him. If he really wants to do
something." She paused again, giving Goro a side glance. "That good
enough for you?"

October 28, 2018

Lina:  at 9:00 AM

"Yeah. It is." He continued to study her,
wondering if she felt the same. It was fucking unfortunate, is what it was.
Twice as much danger for her, being in this situation. Goro chose who he was
loyal to, without exception, but it seemed Larkin hadn't gotten much of a
choice when it came to Renar. Born into it, imagine that. Goro chafed at the
thought of some asshole expecting things from him because of a blood relation.
Earn it, you asshole.

But he sensed he'd already prodded her enough on this subject,
for tonight.

"Truth or dare?" he tried.

Jen: at 9:17 AM

"A'right. Good." Larkin kept chewing on her lip a
bit longer but eventually forced herself to relax. Goro seemed satisfied.
They'd probably have to come back to this later but for now, she'd rather get
back to the having-fun-part of drinking. Let this be a worry for another day.

"Hey, how many turns in a row did y' take already, huh?
You running a fuckin' interrogation here or what?" She gave him a lopsided
smile. "From now on, you wanna know something, you drink first."

Lina:  at 9:32 AM

"Changing the rules halfway through the game?
Despicable." But he lifted the bottle anyway and took a drink.
"Alright, tell me about Finch."

Jen: at 9:52 AM

Rats, so much for fun. Well, that topic was bound to come up
sooner or later, Larkin guessed, and it was just as well that he asked now
because she didn't know when else she would have planned on telling her new
partner how she ditched the old one. Or rather, how he had ditched her.

"Well, Finch is... was my old partner. You've seen him-
the asshole at the graveyard, remember? We used to do break-ins together
until... we messed up a job. Badly. And split." She shrugged. "It's a
long story and not pretty."

Lina:  at 10:07 AM

"And now he's working with Jonn?" He mulled that
over, and didn't see how it could possibly end well. "Is he gonna be a
problem, Larkin?"

Jen: at 10:10 AM

"Honestly? I got now fucking idea. But I-" she
broke off and looked around for Hansel before leaning in and saying in a
lowered voice: "I got someone on Jonn's tracks. He's not getting away with
this, that's a promise."

Lina:  at 2:10 PM

"Ooh. Someone you trust, I hope?"

Jen: at 2:50 PM

"Yeah. Someone who owes me a favor. Old
acquaintance."

Lina:  at 3:03 PM

He took another swig from the bottle. "Tell me the long
story."

Jen: at 3:25 PM

She sighed and took the bottle back from him. At least now
he was nearing her state of drunkeness. "Alright, fine. So, Finch and I
used to do heists together. We were good. Pretty fuckin' good, actually.
Finche, he... he's got a talent. Fucking genius at making plans. He'd walk
through a building one and remember every detail about it. And then he'd make
these elaborate schemes. Only problem was, fucker's got an ego bigger than the
damned temple of Helm. Plans had to be perfect and fallbacks were for amateurs,
y'know. So on one job, 'bout a year before I got into the guild, we had
something really fuckin' delicate going. And he fucked it up. Got the wrong
floor plans. We had no exit and no fallback to speak of. So we came up with
something on the spot but... " Larkin shrugged and shook her head at the
memory. "didn't go well. House guards alerted, crossbow bolt in Finch's
side and my shoulder sliced open. Were fucking bleeding like pigs. We made it
to the coal cellar and tried climbing out through the chute. Finch-"

she stopped again, grimacing. "They dragged him back
down. Beat him up. I- I didn't go back in. I couldn't- I didn't know what to
do. Thought they'd killed him- and if not, they'd just kill the both of us.
"

She took another swig from the wine. "Welp, turns out
he wasn't dead. They'd beat him up good and tortured him for information on his
employer and accomplices but he was still alive. When I told Renar he....well,
he basically said it was Finch's fault and that I should leave him. But if  I wanted to get him out, I could've money to
do that. But I'd have to pay him back. I...."

She sighed again and rubbed a hand over her face. "Got
him out eventually. But he was too pissed I left him.  And ditched me. So," She spread her
arms, looking at Goro again. "Here I am. That's the story."

Lina:  at 3:34 PM

He took the bottle from her and drank. "How much? To
get him out."

Jen: at 3:38 PM

"Twenty-five grand. Plus the damage from the botched
job. Seventy-three grand total."

Lina:  at 3:47 PM

For a moment there, Goro thought he might know exactly how
other people felt when he told them about his Diva deal. He took another swig
and couldn't even swallow it right, coughed half of it back up.
"Larkin," he said, and coughed a bit more. "Do you... owe Renar
Basha... seventy-three grand in gold?"

Jen: at 3:49 PM

"Sure do."

Lina:  at 3:51 PM

"With interest?"

Jen: at 3:56 PM

"On the bail money, yeah. But he dropped that. So, it's
stable as long as I keep paying."

Lina:  at 3:56 PM

"And how much have you paid so far?"

Jen: at 4:01 PM

"Twelve and a bit." The most distressing thing
about the Diva situation, apart from the whole 'city under siege by an evil
eldritch hivemind'-thing, was that Larkin hadn't been able to make any good
money in weeks. And she didn't hold high hopes of getting back into grave
robbing with the guild.. She'd have to go back to doing break-ins herself or
find a new, better option. Maybe she should ask Raef for tips on
assassinations.

Lina:  at 4:06 PM

"Shit." He shook his head a few times. Passed the
bottle back to her. "Shit." So, roughly sixty grand to go. At least
there was no interest to worry about. How magnanimous of Renar. "Well,
we'll figure something out. I have my ways."

Jen: at 4:11 PM

"We?" She raised and eyebrow at him but couldn't
keep the smile away. "Goro, that... shit, I didn't tell you so you'd jump
in. It's my problem, you don't have to... you don't have to worry 'bout it.
"

Lina:  at 4:18 PM

Goro yawned while she was talking. "Yeah, I know you're
not the type to ask for help. I don't give a shit. I look after my people,
Larkin. Hey, maybe we can extort some cash out of Finch. Sounds like he's the
only one who really benefitted from it."

Jen: at 4:27 PM

Larkin tried her best but the grin wasn't to be stopped.
Fucking Goro. When she'd met him the first time, he had struck her as just
another shady wretch with his own best interest in mind. Somehow, he'd turned
out to be one of the most loyal people she'd ever known. And he was on her side
now.

Damn the wine, Larkin felt like hugging the grinning fucker
again. He'd not appreciate it, though, so she resorted to smiling down at the
bottle. "Yeah. Was actually thinking about it. He's got something coming
for him as well, some time."

Lina:  at 4:36 PM

"Hmm." He studied his fingernails for a while,
picking some dirt out of them. Glanced up at her a couple times. "So you
left him behind. I get you now. Why you were beating yourself up over not having
my back, or however you put it." He shook his head. "Be smart,
Larkin. Be smart above all else. Don't ever pull a dumb move for my sake, or
anyone else's. Sounds to me like you made the right call."

Jen: at 4:41 PM

Larkin let a moment pass in silence, then said: "Says
the man with the fucking suicide wand."

Lina:  at 4:57 PM

He paused, letting that sink in, then snorted. "What,
this little guy right here?" He pulled the Leech out of his jacket and
held it up to examine. "You know, I never was planning to use that
particular feature. It was a free way to cast Cure Wounds a few times a day. No
catch unless I use the broken parts. But things change." He tucked it away
again. "And suddenly, saving the lives of the two people I screwed over
became the most important thing. Can you really blame me?"

October 29, 2018

Jen: at 10:49 AM

"Nah, not blaming you. Just pointing out the fact,
y'know." She gave him a lopsided smile. "Hey, dunno if someone but your
mom ever told you that- but you're a damn good person, Goro.... uhm, whatever
your last name is. Flatflower? Flatflower-Ripley?"

October 30, 2018

Lina: at 12:00 AM

He rolled his eyes skyward. "I don't have a last name.
Amari's delusional, either that or she's been telling me a lie for fourteen
years hoping one day I'll believe it enough to make it come true. Good people
don't trigger the fucking apocalypse, now do they?" He rubbed at all that
remained of the black line Diva had left on his palm, now a tenth the size it
had been. "Now, if I succeed in stopping the apocalypse--well, that might
put me on my way to becoming a good man. But a better one wouldn't have made my
mistakes in the first place."

Jen: at 2:55 AM

"Ugh." Larkin groaned and put her head back
against the mast with a tock.

"Man, you listen to yourself some times? The mistake
you're making, Goro No-last-name, is you think beeing a good person, you have
to be better than everyone else. Good people do shitty things all the time,
too, y'know. Difference is, they own up to it." She squinted at him.
"Didn't I write you a whole damn letter 'bout that? God." She shook
her head. "Look at me, Goro. I'm not a good person. I wouldn't go to all
the lengths you do and I sure as fucking hell wouldn't have risked my life for
some fire-ball flinging elf asshole. Wouldn't even have done it for any of the
runners if I'm honest. In your place, I'd probably just've taken Amari and
gotten the hell outta Skyport."

Lina: at 8:52 AM

He shook his head over and over. "Nah. You're wrong.
Nah." He smiled. "That just means you're a worse person than I am.
Doesn't make me good."

Jen: at 9:05 AM

"Fine. Whatever, have it your way then. Be a bad
person, I don't fucking care." Larkin spread her arms in surrender, then
dropped her hands into her lap. "Man, I wonder where all that's comin'
from. I know people who beat up street kids for fun, but they don't got those
problems you have. Must be really lovin' it, huh? What the hell d' you do
before Amari got you?"

Lina: at 9:11 AM

Goro thought for a long time. Came up with a dozen flippant
things to say, and ended up tossing them all out. This wasn't a joke. He had a
damn good guess what was wrong with him. "Was there someone who loved you,
when you were growing up?"

Jen: at 9:21 AM

Somehow, that question stung. Not because he'd offended her,
but because she could guess where it was leading. Also, it struck a bit too
close to home. "My dad loved me, even though he wasn't there much."

Lina: at 9:43 AM

He regretted asking now. It was one of those things he never
let himself think about, a question with no satisfying answer. What would I be
like if I'd grown up with Amari? It didn't matter, because he hadn't, and it
sounded like a recipe for self-pity to dwell on it.

Once, she'd been after him about something--tromping on some
of her flowers, or something like that--and she let slip, "This isn't how
I raised you," and he yelled, "You didn't raise me at all,
lady." God, the look on her face. She'd tried to hide it quick. She didn't
try to explain herself, or anything. "You're right," she'd said, and
carried on like nothing had happened. That was the first time he ever thought
to wonder if she liked to pretend she had in fact raised him. It wasn't like
her, though. He called her delusional now and then but the truth was, Amari
wasn't the type to live in a fantasy world. No, she was someone who had that
bizarre talent to look at the ugliest things life threw at her, accept them as
they were, and declare them beautiful.

Crazy lady.

Could she have imparted that trait to him, if she'd got him
early enough? God, he hated questions like that. Fucking waste of time.

He considered telling Larkin no one had loved him while he
was growing up. But it was probably just as well left unsaid. He cleared his
throat. "I'm glad you had him," he told her, and he meant it.

Jen: at 10:14 AM

God, fuck. Whatever it was Goro was thinking about now, he
looked a whole lot like losing it.

She didn't really expect him to tell. Could guess what it
was well enough from the bits and pieces he'd told her about his childhood
already. Street kids seldom had someone to love them. Most grew up to be
selfish, elusive and mean; maimed in more than one way.

Larkin herself, she guessed, was no exception even if she'd
had a roof over her head growing up. Most of the time. She was just better at
pretending it wasn't so.

"Uh-huh." She nodded, picking at a loose splinter
in the crate. "Y'know, " she began after another moment of silence,
"there are people who love you. You just gotta," she shrugged and
waved a hand, " let 'em do it."

Lina: at 9:18 PM

Well, sure that was true now. Hardly made a difference for
what came before.

Or did it? He guessed he'd never really stopped to wonder.
Whether being loved made him somehow... worthwhile, no matter what a wretch
he'd been when he was younger.

Nah. Sounded like wine logic.

"Psh," he said.

Jen: at 9:25 PM

Larkin stopped worrying at the splinter and glanced up at
Goro. Scowled, then sat up straight and raised both hands in silent surrender.

Lina: at 9:42 PM

There was really nothing more to say after that. But hell,
it was a rare friend you could sit in silence with for longer than a few
seconds. Elsewhere on the deck, the noise of other drunken conversations
carried on. Now and then, Larkin took a swig from the bottle.

"So, uh." Goro cleared his throat. "Tell me
straight. Is there anything else I should know about horns and tails?"

Jen: at 10:00 PM

Ah, you gotta be kidding me. She choked on a gulp of wine
and spent a minute coughing.

"That's really got you worried, huh?" she said
after she'd gotten her breath back. "Eh, alright. Lemme tell you something
about tails." She fixed him with a look and raised a finger. "It's a
tail. Okay? Not a dick. Don't make it into a dick. Don't make it - y'know
-" she rolled her eyes and twirled the finger in the air. "-sexual.
Don't make it sexual because it isn't. Just pretend to be a normal fucking
humand being around her and act like it's any other body part, alright? Oh, and
don't tug it. Same goes for the horns."

Lina: at 10:07 PM

"Ah, fuck, I wasn't... god." He shielded his eyes,
too embarrassed to look directly at her. "Don't tug it. Okay. Good to
know. Wait, no tugging on the horns, either? Huh, alright. I... yeah." He
thought a minute longer. "What about-- you know what, never fucking
mind." His face was getting hot already. Better save that one for another
day.

Jen: at 10:12 PM

"What about what? C'mon, I'm willing to talk this over
with you now. Ask what you want." She grinned and surpressed a laugh.

Lina: at 10:49 PM

"What I want? What I want is for you to fuck off and
pretend this conversation never happened." He glanced meaningfully over at
te captain's quarters, then back at Larkin, and did it a couple more times to
make sure his point was coming across. He reached over and wrenched the bottle
from her hands for one last swig. After that, he was never going to touch wine,
ever again.

[END]