TRP: Asya, Jonn, and Roddy (Maid)

**Muse:**

 [Setting: The bar Jonn and Finch usually hang out at, I
don't know the name. Just after Fratricide scene.]

Time to go see his brother! Roddy entered the bar and
scanned the area- and there was Jonn! Oh and Finch and the horned masked person
too. Asya? Asaya? That one. Roddy grinned and waved and made his way over.
"Jonn! Hey! And Finch! And- you too, I know we didn't talk much but any
friend of Jonn's a friend of mine!"

**Izzy:**

 Jonn perked up from where he'd been slouched next to Asya.
She'd made him sit on the inside of the booth, and had her boot braced against
the edge of the table like he might try to slip away. Instead, when he saw
Roddy, he ducked under the table to come up beside Finch and get past him,
because that motherfucker wouldn't have any interest in grabbing him and
keeping him there. Too busy sulking with his arms crossed anyway.

Asya clicked her tongue at him in disapproval, but he didn't
go far -- just met Roddy a little ways away from the table and hopped up on his
toes to grab his neck in a hug, bouncing in place slightly. This was good. This
was great. Seeing Roddy was always great -- even if he had kind of broken the
rules, sending a crow for the captain. Jonn had forgotten to tell him the
rules. It wasn't his fault.

**Muse:**

 Roddy hugged back, grinning. It was good to see Jonn- the
real Jonn, this time. (Ugh, Amren.) "Hey! Hey! Guess what Jonn!" he
said, pulling back so he could plant his hands on Jonn's shoulders and look him
in the face. "I joined your guild!"

**Izzy:**

 Jonn's face fell. "What? Why?"

**Muse:**

 Uh oh. No that wasn't supposed to be the reaction. ...And
Roddy wasn't supposed to tell him either. "Well you know- Wyn seems to
have things under control and all. Figured- it'd be, well, safer to join up
sooner instead of later." He hated lying to Jonn. More reasons to get him
out- if he wasn't working for Wyn Roddy wouldn't have to worry about Jonn
saying the wrong thing.

**Izzy:**

 He bared his teeth slightly in an uncomfortable grimace.
That was ... smart. He didn't like it, but it made sense. "Yeah, I
guess," he said quietly.

Asya whistled for him to come back to the table, but he
ignored her for the moment.

"What about the rest of the Graverunners?" he
asked. "Are you all joining?"

**Muse:**

 Roddy glanced up at Asya briefly but then back down at Jonn.
"Not yet? They uh. They want to see how it goes with me. First."

**Izzy:**

 All right. Jonn nodded. All right, that could work, maybe.
"Okay." He tugged Roddy over to the table and narrowed his eyes at
the other two until Finch groaned and stood up to shuffled over and swat Asya's
shoulder. She stared up at him for a second, then got up to make him sit on the
inside -- which he did, grumbling -- and Jonn slipped into the now-empty side
of the booth so he and Roddy could sit together.

He waved to Asya. "This is Asya, by the way. I don't
remember if I introduced her before. She's my friend."

Finch made a psh sound, which Asya ignored. She raised a
hand at Roddy.

**Muse:**

 "Aw c'mon, I only get hugs from Jonn?" Roddy
teased, grinning and spreading his hands as Finch shuffled around.

**Izzy:**

 Finch gave Roddy a silent snarl and sat down.

**Muse:**

 Roddy snickered and slid in next to Jonn, slinging an arm over
his shoulders. "Hey Asya," he said, giving her a little wave. (Asya-
okay. Remember that.) "It's good to meet you, again. When we're not,
y'know, killing people and stuff."

**Izzy:**

 She gave him a thumbs up, smiling slightly.

"He joined the guild," Jonn blurted.

Finch scowled. "The fuck did he do that for?"

**Muse:**

 "Cause it seemed like a good idea at the time,"
Roddy said back, crossing his arms and scowling. Really it wasn't even a lie-
but Roddy was beginning to wonder. Nobody was happy about this- not even the
fellow guild members.

**Izzy:**

 Finch snorted. Jonn kicked him under the table, but like ...
gently.

Asya signed something to him. He shrugged.

Then to Roddy, he said, "Ignore Finch. He's just fuckin'
salty 'cause the boss is making him move. She says where we're living now isn't
secure enough." He frowned. No one had ever found them there. It didn't
make sense to him.

"Perfectly goddamn secure," Finch muttered.

**Muse:**

 Roddy huffed a little but sat back up. Not like he hadn't
gotten all irritable at times too. "Where are you moving to?" he
asked. "Maybe I could drop by some time when I'm in town!"

**Izzy:**

 Jonn shrugged. "Don't know yet."

"Doesn't fuckin' tell us shit," Finch growled.

More brightly, Jonn said, "You can come to the bunker,
though!" He glanced at Finch. "Right? Since we're not gonna be there
much longer anyway, I mean, there's no danger. Plus he's part of the guild now,
so ..." That was a bright side to this, at least.

Finch studied Roddy silently. He glanced at Asya, like he
wanted her opinion on something, but she was impassive. He shifted.
"Fuckin' ... I guess. Whatever."

**Muse:**

 "I'm gonna still live over in Glimmerton- but I could
stay the night," Roddy said, nodding. Didn't have anything pressing to go
back to the castle for. Although he should probably tell Hansel where he'd
be... He worried. "I missed you," he said, looping his arm around
Jonn's shoulders again. "Maybe we'll get to see each other more with me
being in the guild now." That'd be one of the few bright spots to this
whole mess.

**Izzy:**

 Jonn made himself grin. "Yeah."

He remembered that he'd wanted Roddy to join the guild, when
Helena had run it. It'd been fun, then. Wyn was fucking different. It wasn't
fun anymore -- it felt a lot more fucking dangerous and serious, and he wanted
Roddy far away from it. He guessed this was better than the Runners deciding to
fight the Sanguines, though, and ending up on different sides from Roddy.

"I guess we might work together," he said
thoughtfully. "Sometimes Wyn puts together teams of different types
people, but y'know, I'm a thief, and ..." He gave Roddy a quizzical look.
"I guess she'll have you doing ... bard stuff?"

**Muse:**

 "I think I'm gonna be spying some?" Roddy shrugged
a little. "She mentioned sending me to fancy parties and stuff. I guess
I'll find out when I get my missions." That did remind him though. There'd
been... Something else Wyn had said. About Jonn- or Amren? You know under the
circumstances, Roddy was a little confused. He hesitated, tapping his fingers
on the table. Should he even bring it up?

**Izzy:**

 "Ooh, spying." That seemed pretty safe. Jonn
brightened. "That's cool."

**Muse:**

 Wyn's voice echoed in Roddy's mind briefly. "Maybe drop
poison in a glass or two." "Yeah. Cool," he muttered. "Hey
Jonn can- we talk alone for a second?" he asked, glancing over at Finch
and Asya. "I mean not that I don't- like you guys I just. It's
private."

**Izzy:**

 Jonn straightened immediately, then looked to Asya. She was
still for a second, then waved him off. He grinned at Roddy and poked him to
get out of the booth.

**Muse:**

 Roddy slid out, looking around for a quiet corner of the
bar. Or, quiet-ish at least. Jonn's group had already picked one of the best
spots, but Roddy found a corner that would service. He led them over and
shifted a little, trying to figure out how to broach the subject. "Hey. So
uh, while I was- getting tested out. For the guild. Wyn, she uh, she said
something about you. Except she might have been lying or talking about someone
else? I'm not sure. So um. I just- I kinda wanted to know how- true it
was."

**Izzy:**

 Jonn gave him a blank look. "'Kay." Wyn wasn't
really a liar, he didn't think. But there was a lot about him that Roddy didn't
know. He'd kind of been ... fine with Roddy not knowing. Fuckin Wyn. What'd she
said? Why had she said anything? He picked at his sleeve.

**Muse:**

 "She um. She said that you... killed people for the
guild. Tortured them, really." That he was good at it. Although maybe
she'd been talking about Amren. (Was that even any better?)

**Izzy:**

 "Oh. I mean." He could lie. He was good at lying.
Lying to Roddy was probably bad, though -- like lying to Hansel, or Luci.
Besides, Roddy would probably find out anyway? There didn't seem like there was
any point. And the Runners killed people, too.

"Yeah. Like I said, I'm a thief, but I have to kill
people sometimes." The torturing thing, though. He didn't do that anymore.
Kept saying it. Hansel said don't. Helena said no more serial killer shit,
kitten. Wyn -- he shrugged. "Like, at that thing on New Year's. Me and
Gwydion had to kill that knight so she wouldn't get you."

**Muse:**

 "Oh," Roddy was relieved. Yeah Wyn had been lying
or something. Maybe talking about Amren but you know- Roddy wasn't gonna think
too hard on that one. "I mean I helped out with the other knight, I'm not
exactly innocent either," he said. He gave an uneasy little smile- that
had been a lot of blood. "Stuff happens."

**Izzy:**

 Yeah. He got it. Jonn grinned. Roddy was smart, and
practical and shit.

He wondered why Wyn had said that, though.

He brushed it off. "Um, hey." Kept picking at his
sleeve. "While we're not being eavesdropped on and shit, how's Dad?"

**Muse:**

 Well. That was a loaded question. "Welllll... first of
all- how much did you know about how he gets possessed occasionally?"

**Izzy:**

 He grimaced. "Fuck, did it happen again? I mean, yeah,
Luci told me about it. Gruumsh and stuff." He paused, in case Luci had
told him things she hadn't told Roddy.

**Muse:**

 Roddy nodded. Right, Jonn knew that then. "Well- yeah
he did. Y'know the day Amren got me all framed for murder? Well Dad got
possessed and we had to fight him when we got back. Had thunder and lightning
and magic too, that wasn't- pleasant." Roddy'd only got hit once but that
had stung. "He's okay now though," Roddy added hastily. "It's-
only when there's a storm. He's himself right now, and we're trying to figure
out how to kill a god. And in the meantime- I think he's just really worried
about both of us."

**Izzy:**

 So not since he'd talked to Luci. That was a relief, at
least. She'd said that if it kept happening, Hansel might not survive it, and
Jonn didn't know how to fucking kill a god while he was still stuck in Skyport
working for Morgan Wyn. He realized he was chewing his thumbnail and stopped.

He wanted to see Hansel. He really did. "Well," he
tried, "at least we're together, now. We can look out for each
other."(edited)

**Muse:**

 "Yeah." And I can work on getting you out of the
guild. (Roddy shouldn't say that, that might get him and Jonn in trouble.)
"Y'know maybe it'll be fun too! Joint missions and all. I can go distract
everybody while you rob 'em blind." Hey. Roddy had an idea. "We could
do that tonight," he said, grabbing Jonn's shoulders and looking excited.

**Izzy:**

 Jonn brightened again. Yes. That was a good idea. He glanced
towards the other thieves. "I really want to, but Asya'll probably come
with us," he whispered. "I can't ditch her. She's too fuckin' good.
That okay?"

**Muse:**

 "Sure, she can come. Finch too. We can make it a
party!"

**Izzy:**

 God, that sounded fun. Maybe they could track down Gwydion
-- then almost everyone Jonn liked -- and who wasn't trying to kill him --
would be together. That fucker was about as stealthy as an ox, though. Finch
wasn't that much better, either. "Nah, he'll probably be a fuckin' killjoy
and go home to his precious bunker while he still has it. We could try,
though."

**Muse:**

 "Well what's the harm in that then?" Roddy asked,
grinning. He grabbed Jonn's arm and pulled him back over to the table and
slammed his hands down to get Asya and Finch's attention. "Who wants to do
crime?" he asked, excited. Still keeping his voice low enough they weren't
likely to be overheard.

**Izzy:**

 Asya snorted on her drink and had to cover her mouth. Finch
just stared Roddy down.

"We're gonna go scam people, d'you wanna come?"
Jonn explained. "Fiiinch," he wheedled.

Finch sunk down in his seat and muttered, "Fuck
off," as expected.

Asya gave a thumbs up, still coughing.

**Muse:**

 "Aw c'mon, it'll be fun and we'll get money,"
Roddy said, picking up Jonn's same wheedling tone. "Asya's in, see!"

**Izzy:**

 "Yeah, Finch, money," Jonn tried to entice. Finch
liked booze and money. That was pretty much it. "Maybe we could go fuck
with Larkin." That was a third thing Finch liked.

Asya drew a hand in front of her throat, though, signaling
that wasn't on the table. Jonn scoffed.

Finch slouched further, anyway. "I'm not fuckin'
wandering around the streets looking for random trouble to get into. You idiots
are gonna get fuckin' killed."

Jonn shrugged and looked at Asya, and she set her beer down
and stood up, head turning between the two of them to indicate she was sizing
them up. She signed something.

"She asked what you're good at," Jonn translated,
and filled in, "He's a bard."

**Muse:**

 Roddy shifted uneasily when Jonn mentioned Larkin. But Finch
was quick to shoot it down- and Roddy didn't have to say anything about how
things were tense between them right now.

He glanced curiously between Jonn and Asya as she did some
hand signals- thieves cant? "Yep. I do a little bit of everything, don't
have a specialty really," Roddy said. "I recently learned this
teleporting spell! Can only do it once a day though. But it's fun!"

**Izzy:**

 "Oooh." Jonn bounced on his toes a little.
"You've got that now? That's cool. Asya does that all the time." He
thought of something important and momentarily tamped down his excitement to be
serious. "Hey, hey. If we get in trouble or anything, use that to get
away, okay? Don't worry about me. Asya'll get me."

**Muse:**

 Roddy glanced at Asya to see her reaction to that statement.

**Izzy:**

 She raised a thumb.

**Muse:**

 Roddy looked back to Jonn. "Well I can take someone
with me. But just one person- and they have to want to come along. But unless
I'm a lot handier, I'll leave it to Asya."

**Izzy:**

 Jonn shrugged, and opened his mouth to say okay, I'll want
to come along, and then for the first time considered that Roddy might take him
somewhere he didn't want to go. That teleporting spell -- Mishka could have
taught him that. Mishka could have --

He grabbed at Asya's arm suddenly and signed to her. She
tilted her head, then shook it. He relaxed, and looked back to Roddy and tried
to pretend like that hadn't just happened, blithely saying, "So should we
pickpocket or break-and-enter? What're you up for?"

**Muse:**

 Roddy gave Jonn a quizzical look, what had that been about?
But apparently he didn't want to share, and Roddy felt like he'd done enough
prying for one night. Instead he threw his arm over Jonn's shoulders, pulling
him close and grinning broadly. "Listen Jonn, o' brother of mine, who ever
said we can't do both?"(edited)

**Izzy:**

 Jonn beamed, letting Roddy squeeze him. "Fuck, I like
the way you think."

Roddy was surprisingly stealthy for a six-foot-high turtle.
Not as stealthy as Jonn, and Asya, and just the size of his hands made
pickpocketing a little awkward -- but he was fucking excellent at distracting
people and giving Jonn an opening. This was the kind of stuff they could've
done when the Skyport Thieves were still the Skyport Thieves, if Roddy had
joined back when Jonn had first mentioned it to him -- and if Wyn had never
come along.

It was fun. He used to get in trouble with Luci, a little,
and that had been the most fun, but she was a little too good. Went on a couple
missions for the Graverunners with Hansel, too, and that'd been great. But this
was the best. Running around Skyport with his brother, doing whatever they
wanted, being really fucking good at it.

Asya was silent and expressionless, but he thought even she
was having a good enough time. She seemed pleased when they stopped to spend
some of their ill-earned gold at another bar. Jonn forgot he was supposed to be
drinking less, and she didn't remind him in time -- miming drinking with one
hand and then motioning cut it out only after he was leaning heavily on Roddy's
side.

He scowled at her. "I'm having a good time. This is
really fun, Roddy. This was a good idea. You're really smart." He tugged
on Roddy's arm. "Let's break into some houses."

Asya grimaced.

**Muse:**

 Roddy laughed, brandishing his half-empty glass and slopping
beer out and over himself and the floor. "This is fun! And yes lets!"
he agreed. He chugged the remainder off his beer and slamming it back on the
counter. Reached over and threw his other arm around Asya, pulling her in for a
brief hug. "We are the best," he declared before releasing them.

"Hey I know just the place too. I was out walking one
time and overheard this jerk yelling at the maid. We should go steal his stuff.
It'll be great."

**Izzy:**

 Jonn slammed his fist on the bar. "Yeah. Fuck that
guy." He looked at Asya. She shrugged. "Fuck'im. We should stab
him." Asya made the cut it out motion again. "We shouldn't stab
him," he tried again.

**Muse:**

 "Yesh. No stabbing. Just- stealing! Lots of stealing!
Hey and I got this- this really neat new pack!" he said, pulling it around
and showing it to Jonn. "I could fit a person in there," he said in a
stage-whisper. "It's magic."

**Izzy:**

 "Fuckin' nice." Jonn stared at it and jostled
Asya. "I want one. Can I get one?"

She made a noncommittal sound. He immediately forgot about
his own question.

"Roddy. Hey. Listen. Roddy.Y'know what," he said,
looking up at him and grinning. "What we should do, is we should, like --
not even steal any of this guy's valuable stuff. 'Cause, 'cause then he might
think it was the maid, right? And she might get in trouble? We should steal,
like ... fucking innocuous stuff. And we should figure out what has sentimental
value and shit, and steal that. Really fuck with him. Right?"

This was a good idea. Roddy would agree with him.

**Muse:**

 "But then we can't sell it and get rich," Roddy
whined. "I wanna get rich, Jonn."

**Izzy:**

 "Pssshhh, listen." Jonn waved it off.
"Listen. I fuckin' ... hate Morgan Wyn, but she pays real well. Don't even
think about it. You're gonna be so rich. You won't even believe how rich you're
gonna be."

**Muse:**

 "Really?" Roddy perked up. "Oh I can't wait
for that." (Wait- Jonn hated Wyn. Remember this: meant less trouble
getting Jonn away from the guild.) "But still. I like money. But maybe we
can take the sentimental stuffs too."

**Izzy:**

 "We could just take ... like, literally everything,
with that bag," Jonn said, starry-eyed.

Asya put her face in her hand.

**Muse:**

 "Uh. I dunno if it'd hold that much?" Roddy stared
at his magic sack doubtfully. Maybe he should have brought the Gunnysack too-
it was dumb but it did carry a lot for being so small. "We can try
though!" he said with a grin. "C'mon less- less go. I know exactly where
to go! I think."

**Izzy:**

 "Lissen." Jonn pushed himself up and stumbled in
place a little. Asya caught him without looking. He jabbed a finger at Roddy.
"Fuckin' ... Eldath as my witness, Roddy, you find me any fuckin' house
and I'm gonna break into it and steal all their shit. Lead the way,
za'iri."

**Muse:**

 "I'm leading!" Roddy called, turning to march out
of the tavern. Now. Which way to the house... Roddy lead them around a
circuitous path, with several backtracks and turnarounds. Roddy blamed it on
the alcohol, several times. Eventually they hit a neighborhood where they
started to be treated with suspicion. Instead of being ignored, they got side
looks, and then hostile glares.

Right, staggering around semi-drunk was not the best way to
keep a low profile. Or, in Jonn's case, strait up drunk. Well, no help for
that. He picked up the pace a little bit, the sooner they got there the less
time they'd have to get stared at.

It was a fairly nice house. Definitely the house of a
wealthy person, though there was some wear and tear that showed the owner may
be falling on hard times. He'd be having a lot harder time once Roddy and Jonn
(and Asya) were done with him. Roddy stepped back and gave it one last
look-over. Yep, this was the place- they had a really weird birdbath hanging
out in the front yard. Looked like it was supposed to be some artistic
rendering of a woman's head, with her hair feathering up to form the bird's
'nest'. Might have worked out better if the woman's face looked less horrified.
Like someone had just decapitated her. (Or maybe that was the point? Rich
people were weird.)

"This is the place!" Roddy declared in a hushed
whisper. "Jonn. Do your thing!"

**Izzy:**

 Jonn broke away from Asya to saunter up to the door. He
pulled out his lockpicks and fumbled with them for a second, and had a moment
of wobbling and thinking oh no, am I too drunk for robbery? but the lock
clicked open fairly easily. Right. 'Cause he was a pro. That was right. He
pushed the door open and bowed Roddy and Asya in, almost losing his balance as
he tilting. Asya caught him with a sigh and scanned the dark room before waving
them both in.

**Muse:**

 Roddy pulled up his goggles as he brushed past Asya, turning
around to point at them and whisper, "Magic!" before turning back to
scan the room. "Hey I think the dining room's this way," he said,
pointing. "We can grab the silverware and we'll have a little warning if
he comes back or something, not just hanging around the front room."

**Izzy:**

 Jonn gave a thumbs up. He wish Roddy knew thieves' cant.
That'd be better than whispering. Maybe he could teach him, now -- or maybe Wyn
would get someone to teach him. Not all of the Sanguines knew it.

He got worried, again, suddenly, about Roddy working for
Wyn, chewed his thumbnail. Asya pulled his hand away, not looking at him,
riffling through a drawer. She passed some spoons to Roddy, and Jonn focus, or
-- tried to. Man. He was real fuckin' drunk. He stumbled over to another drawer
and found some very pretty knives with intricately-painted porcelain grips, and
slipped one down into his boot before going over to Roddy with the rest.

Asya's head perked up first. He caught it, then heard it too
-- creaking. Shit. The guy was back. He signed hurriedly to Asya, cant because
it was more efficient for things like this than what she spoke, and she held up
a finger, but he was already moving. Slipped to the other side of the door, and
in a beat, when the shape came through the doorway, put his hand over her --
wait, her? -- face and pulled up drove his knife through her (her?) throat.
Severed the windpipe so she couldn't scream. Just gurgled a bit, and bled quite
a lot.

He dropped swiftly down to a kneel with her (losing his
balancing, wobbling, putting his knee down in blood) so she wouldn't hit the
floor with a thud, but the candle she'd been holding did clatter to the floor,
and he saw her properly. Her. Aw. Shit.

Jonn looked up, wincing a little. "Whoops. That's the
maid, huh."

Next to Roddy, still, Asya rubbed at her face in annoyance.

**Muse:**

 Oh no. Oh no no no this was not supposed to end in a murder.
"Is she dead?" Roddy asked, already fumbling for his lute.
"S'okay I got this I got this," he mumbled, strumming out a hasty
little tune. Poured the magic into her, just enough to stabilize her and keep
her from dying.

**Izzy:**

 "Roddy," Jonn hissed. He wavered and had to drop
onto both knees for stability. "No." He didn't get how this stuff
worked. That was okay. Jonn'd show him.

The girl's throat started to close up, and he put his hand
across her face again, dug the blade in deeper this time, severed enough in a
quick practiced motion that there would be no healing from it. Problem solved.
It was a good thing he'd been right next to her, or Roddy might have been able
to heal her enough for her to scream.

"She was a witness," he explained patiently. Asya
crossed the room to help him up. "You can't leave witnesses."

**Muse:**

 Roddy's fingers on the lute slackened. He only barely
managed to keep a loose enough grasp to keep it from clattering to the floor.
He kept staring, at the maid. At the blood puddle gurgling and spreading around
her.

Was Roddy going to get some on him? He took two steps back,
staying far away from the- mess. "Jonn-" he started to say, hushed
and desperate. But what was he trying to say? He backed away further, shaking
his head. "Shouldn't have done that," he muttered. Just a maid, wasn't
dangerous- wasn't worth this. "We gotta- Jonn we gotta go."

**Izzy:**

 Jonn looked down at her. Asya was holding his arm to keep
him steady. "No, we don't." He nudged her with his boot. "She's
real dead, za'iri. We can keep stealing stuff."

**Muse:**

 "Your getting blood on you- we're gonna get
caught," Roddy said. Stepped a little closer, eyed the blood and backed
off. "Jonn we can't get caught," he said, his voice high and
panicked. "We're gonna get caught and they're gonna arrest us and nobody's
gonna come get us out and- and- and we can't get caught."

**Izzy:**

 "Nah?" Jonn said, nonplussed. "There's no one
to snitch. She's dead. And you can teleport, and Asya can teleport, and like
... if paladins did show up I'd just kill them too." He frowned. "I
promised I'd protect you. We're not gonna get caught."

**Muse:**

 "There's a body and there's blood," Roddy hissed.
"Nobody needs to be alive to tell the tale if you're covered in the
evidence!"

**Izzy:**

 Jonn looked down at himself. "This could be anybody's
blood," he objected.

Asya sighed through her teeth and dragged him over before he
could say anything else so that she could grab both of them at once. There was
a silence, and a lurch, and a flicker; another silence, another lurch, and they
were in the port -- he could tell by the strong scent of salt, and bilge water,
but they were in a secluded back alley. He wobbled on his feet a little. He
hated it when she did that without giving him any warning.

She signed to him. He whined, "No I'm not," out
loud, without thinking about it, and she flipped him off, signed quickly, and
vanished again.

Jonn huffed and sat down heavily on a crate. "She's
gonna go get Finch," he remembered to mutter, and sulked. They'd been
having such a good time. Fucking maid.

**Muse:**

 Roddy hugged himself, nodding jerkily. Right. They were out-
Roddy didn't have any blood on him, he'd been careful- Jonn did though- they
were in a back alley- but still someone could come see- it was dark might not
be able to make Jonn out- but Roddy was very recognizable-

He grabbed his lute and picked at a few strings, feeling
himself re-shape into the humanoid form from the New Year's party. Not
recognizable now. It'd- it'd be fine. He took a deep breath, nodding a little.
Yeah. This'd work.

**Izzy:**

 Jonn watched him, elbow propped on a knee, face in his hand.
He laughed. "Neat."

**Muse:**

 Roddy shot him a look. "Well considering the last time
I left a murder scene looking like myself I got kicked out of my home, I happen
to feel a bit better like this!" he snapped.

**Izzy:**

 "Oh, right. I forgot about that." He assumed a
more somber expression. He just thought magic was cool. Finch didn't have cool
shit like that. "Sorry."

He kicked a heel against the crate. Shit, he was drunk.

**Muse:**

 Roddy ran a hand through his hair- that was kinda nice,
having hair- and let out a noisy, annoyed sigh. "Y'know you didn't have to
kill her either," he snapped. Panic had turned to irritation. "I
didn't heal her enough to do anything to us- I'm not a cleric or anything.
There was no need to just- slit her throat like that! Again!"

**Izzy:**

 He scowled. "She fuckin' saw us. I mean, you're a
fucking tortle, and Asya looks like, like half a fuckin' tiefling. We're pretty
fuckin' distinctive, Roddy." Well, he wasn't, but they were. "I was
protecting you," he insisted. No one ever got that.(edited)

January 21, 2019

**Muse:**

 "Well- okay but we'd just stolen some silverware at
that point. We could have- I don't know- she didn't have to die." It made
Roddy's skin crawl a little. It was one thing to think someone was sneaking up
on you and kill them before they could hurt you. It was another to cut
someone's throat when they were already down, and not dangerous.

**Izzy:**

 "Pfft." Jonn rolled his eyes. "Roddy. Za'iri.
Lissen. I've been doing this kinda shit since I was like ... nine. If you think
you know how t'do crime better than me, then --." He waved a finger at him
vaguely. "You can go do crime by yourself." Then he paused, and
mumbled, "I don't mean that. I'll still help you. I promised."

**Muse:**

 "I was five," Roddy countered. Which maybe was a
stretch but Roddy was proving a point. "And I've got a spell! For
modifying memories! I could have made her forget us!" Roddy thunked his
head against the wall- which hurt more than usual, maybe tortles had hard heads
too- and groaned. "I just- I don't like it when there's a murder,
Jonn."

**Izzy:**

 Jonn squinted at him. He tried to do math and figure out
which one of them'd been at this longer, then, but nah. Nah. Then he opened his
mouth to get competitive, but Roddy had just said he didn't like murder, so now
probably wasn't the time for oh yeah, oh yeah, well, I killed my parents when I
was nine.

"'Kay," he said instead, a little sullen. "No
more murder." He kicked his heel against the crate again. "I didn't
know you had that spell."(edited)

**Muse:**

 "I haven't ever used it," Roddy said lowly, still
leaning against the wall. "I kinda forgot I had it." He let out a
long, slow sigh. Turned his head to look at his brother. They were both
criminals- had been from a young age. Just different kinds. Roddy'd been more
of a scam artist, a thief- the distraction. Jonn- hadn't. Roddy'd done his
crimes in the spotlight, Jonn from the shadows. But the thing about the
shadows, is there was always more in them than what the eye could see.

"M'sorry too," he said. "Just- upset is all.
I mean- at least it was just a maid right? Nobody's gonna be too upset about
her death. Not like we killed the Prince or anything."

**Izzy:**

 "Yeah." Jonn rolled his head back to look up at
the stars. It was a little too cloudy to see that well. "Yeah, no one
cares when people like us die." He sighed loudly and slumped back over
onto his knee. "I wish Dad was here to carry us home."

**Muse:**

 "Hey- I got this other spell. I could contact
him," Roddy said, suddenly brightening.

**Izzy:**

 Jonn jerked upright. "No."

**Muse:**

 "Aw but why," Roddy wheedled. And then several
things occurred to him. "Oh- it's a long trip between here and Glimmerton.
Or expensive if he gets Mishka to teleport him. And Asya and Finch will
probably be back first. So I'd just worry him. Yeah- probably better to not
then."

**Izzy:**

 Jonn stared at him for a second, then slouched again and
closed his eyes. That worked. "Yeah. Yeah, those're all really good
reasons. You're smart like that."

Still, though. Even though there were more reasons than
that, and better ones, maybe, he really wished Hansel were there. He felt like
he might pass out, and Hansel wouldn't let him do it in an alley, even if he
were stumbling drunk too. Dad'd carry him home.

He sighed.

Then he lifted his head again, hearing familiar steps, and
looked up blearily in time to see Asya and Finch round the corner. Finch jumped
back, dropping a hand to his belt, and Jonn tensed, realizing he was looking at
Roddy (but Roddy didn't look like Roddy and Finch was a paranoid motherfucker,
ah shit) -- but Asya quickly put her hand over his to stop him. She started to
sign, then cut herself off and gestured to Jonn.

"S'just Roddy," he said. "Magic and
stuff."

Finch relaxed, as much as he ever did.

**Muse:**

 Roddy looked up and waved a bit. "Oh hey- yeah it's me.
Uh," he wracked his brain for something he could say to prove it.
"You don't like hugs and I owe you a voice favor," he said to Finch.
Reminded him of what Finch promised in return- but he wasn't gonna ask about
that right now. Made his stomach twist up in knots.

**Izzy:**

 Jonn went, "Psshhh, anyone can look at Finch and know
he doesn't like hugs," then started to slip off the crate and barely
caught himself. Finch scoffed, glancing at Roddy uneasily again, and came over
to hoist him up, dragging one of Jonn's arms around his shoulders.

"Yeah, all right. You're fuckin' done. Let's go,"
he muttered.

Jonn started to go with him, then dug his heels in, and
whined in Orcish, "No, Roddy's coming with us." Asya signed to Roddy,
then scowled and waved at Jonn to translate. He accidentally started in Orcish
again, then corrected himself and tried again in Common. "Asya wants to
know where she should take you. You're gonna stay with me and Finch, right?"(edited)

**Muse:**

 "Sure," Roddy said, nodding. "The bunker
right?" It'd be good to get off the street. Roddy could drop the magic and
take a minute to relax. Jonn could get cleaned up and they'd be in the clear.
They'd have gotten away with murder- and some silverware.

**Izzy:**

 "Yesss." Jonn let Finch keep pulling him along and
leaned on him heavily enough to make him stumble. "It's not far."

Asya stayed next to Roddy. As they walked, she waved to get
his attention, then pointed to herself, mimed a tear rolling down her cheek,
and tentatively patted his back while grimacing slightly.

**Muse:**

 Roddy stared for a second, trying to work out what she was
trying to say. "You're sad?" he guessed. "What for? We didn't
get caught."

**Izzy:**

 She shook her head and pointed to him.

**Muse:**

 "Oh I'm sad?" Roddy cocked his head, thinking a
bit. "Well- a bit I guess. The maid didn't really deserve that. But it's
done now, can't really do anything about it."

**Izzy:**

 She tilted her head for a moment, then shrugged.

Finch led them down an alley that appeared to be a dead end,
but passed straight through some stacked barrels, and it made the illusion
ripple away and reveal the stairs leading downwards to a door before the actual
dead end. He unlooped Jonn's arm from around his neck to start unlocking the
door, which took some time, and Jonn leaned his back against the wall as he
did, sighing and closing his eyes.

Asya came up as if to inspect him for a moment and signed
something, and he nodded and grabbed her in a hug. She tolerated it, patting
his back and letting him be the one to pull away instead of shoving him off.
Jonn knew she didn't particularly enjoy him hugging her, but she always did
that. He liked it.

Then she patted Finch on the shoulder in passing, and he
grunted and raised a hand, finishing with the locks and opening the door, and
she started off, patting Roddy's shoulder too, as she went.

**Muse:**

 "See ya," Roddy said, quietly. She seemed pretty
nice, Roddy decided he liked her. But then maybe that was dangerous- she was
working for the enemy and all. He'd just be careful, for now.

He looked around curiously as they went in the bunker,
poking at a few things to double check what was illusions and what wasn't.
"Did you do all that?" he asked Finch, gesturing out the door.
"It's good work."

**Izzy:**

 "Fuck, no," Finch grumbled, supporting Jonn
inside. "Guild illusionists did it. Had to goddamn pay out of pocket,
too."

He stopped inside the door and looked around. Some of his
shit had already been moved to the new place -- they were down to the bed
against the far wall (messy, unmade), the desk against the left wall (tidy for
once because his work was gone, not much more than a couple half bottles of
booze left on the shelves above it), and the couch against the right wall
(ragged, leaking stuffing).

He sighed. "You can sleep on the couch, I fuckin'
guess." He went to dump Jonn on the bed and turned back to look at Roddy.
"Why's this dumbass got blood on him? Is he hurt?"

Jonn made a psshh sound but didn't answer for himself.

**Muse:**

 "Nah he murdered the maid," Roddy said, already
starting to stick his nose into things. "Hey you got booze!" he said,
grabbing at one of the bottles.

**Izzy:**

 "Hey!" Finch came over and snatched it away from
it, blue electricity hopping between his fingers. "I didn't say you could
touch my shit." He grabbed the other bottle off the shelf and cradled them
both protectively.

"Be nice," Jonn groaned from the bed.

Finch looked around for something to throw at him and didn't
find anything, so he just scowled and went back to sit the bottles next to the
bed.

"Fuckin' murdered the maid," he grumbled. "Of
course you did."

**Muse:**

 Roddy flinched a little at the electricity sparking too-near
him. "Don't have to nearly zap me over it," he grumbled, tucking his
hands in his armpits. The door was shut and locked, and illusioned, no need to
keep the humanoid form up. He let it fade, going back to his normal, tortle
self.

"She snuck up on us," Roddy said, feeling the need
to defend his brother. "Guess it was instinct." Although the second
time Jonn had slit the maid's throat had been a lot more cold-blooded. That
wasn't conductive to Roddy's point so he would refrain from mentioning it.

**Izzy:**

 "Yeah, scary dangerous maid, I bet." Finch kicked
the corner of the bed. "This is what happens when you do shit without a
plan, idiot."

Jonn flipped him off without otherwise moving.

Finch dragged one of the blankets off the bed, out from
under him, and went to hand it to Roddy. It was already cold in the bunker -- a
bit warmer than outside, but the oil lamp burning on the desk didn't throw off
that much heat.

**Muse:**

 "Thanks," Roddy said, wrapping it around himself.
The extra warmth was nice, Roddy did not like being cold. "Hey we did get
some stuff though," he said, pulling his back out and starting to dig out
the silverware. "Not much but it's something!"

**Izzy:**

 "Ooh, silverware," Finch said sarcastically. He
turned towards the bed and flinched as Jonn clumsily lobbed a knife in his
direction -- it clattered against the floor a good few feet away from him.

"I said be fuckin' nice," Jonn complained.

Finch scowled and picked the knife up and gestured with it
at Roddy. "Hey, you have a fucking choice," he said. "Why the
hell do you want to hang out with this motherfucker?"

**Muse:**

 "Cause he's my brother," Roddy said, settling down
to divide the limited spoils into three piles. "And I like him."

**Izzy:**

 Finch offered a non-committal grunt and tossed the knife
onto his desk.

"I'm a good brother," Jonn mumbled, pleased, then
finally pushed himself back up, rubbing at his eyes. He tugged his cloak off
and tossed it on the floor, and watched what Roddy was doing for a second.
"If one of those's for Asya, she's not gonna want it."

**Muse:**

 "Huh," Roddy said, studying the piles a moment.
Then he shrugged and started turning it into two piles. "Yeah you are a
good brother," he said, looking up and smiling. "Lots better than
Amren."

**Izzy:**

 "Pssshh." Jonn scowled. "Low fucking bar.
Hate that guy."

**Muse:**

 "Me too," Roddy said. Paused a second and looked
up, pointing a spoon at Jonn. "But don't kill him! Unless you have to I
guess. But don't just go- stab him as a favor to me or anything. I hate him but
I don't think I want him dead."

**Izzy:**

 Jonn rolled his eyes. "Fine."

**Muse:**

 "Thank you," Roddy said. Thought about it a moment
and then got up to go give Jonn a hug. "You're my favorite cause you
listen to me," he said.

**Izzy:**

 Jonn hugged back tightly, because he always liked it when
people hugged him. Especially people like Roddy and Hansel. He felt like he was
supposed to say Roddy was his favorite, too, but Luci was his favorite and he
wasn't supposed to lie to them, so he bent it a little and said, "You're
my favorite brother, too."

**Muse:**

 "I think I'm your only brother," Roddy teased,
letting go and tugging lightly at Jonn's hair. It still gave him a warm feeling
in his chest, Jonn saying that. He was grinning.

**Izzy:**

 "Lissen." Jonn raised a finger, but he didn't have
any defense for that. "I mean, yeah."

**Muse:**

 Roddy laughed and pulled him back into a hug. "It's
fine. Love you," he said. The night had its rocky point, but this was
nice. Hanging out with Jonn, with Finch off in a corner sulking, and a little
bit richer too. But just a little. But speaking of Finch- "Hey,
Finch!" Roddy called, waving at him. "Group hug!"

**Izzy:**

 Finch narrowed his eyes and flipped them both off. Jonn
snickered at him, then hugged Roddy back. "Love you too, za'iri."

[END]

Title: Maid. Summary: Roddy goes to visit Jonn, and the two
of them and Asya go on a crime spree that ends in Jonn slitting an innocent
maid's throat. Roddy isn't that bothered by it. They crash at Finch's bunker.