TRP: Gavi and Jonn (Fishmonger)

**ABBY**

[Setting: Day 223. Glimmerton fish market.]

Of all the places Gavi'd been, the fish market had a smell
that she'd never forget. Smelled like death and seafood. It was great. Lots of
people yelling, hawking their wares, lots of people thronging around-- it was
chaos and Gavi loved it.

She'd just got done 'haggling' a particularly cowardly
merchant down to pennies just about, and was about to head out back to camp
when she thought she saw a familiar face. Course when she turned to get a
better look, it wasn't the Luci girl that she'd seen at the wedding. Favored
her a lot though. And hey, Gavi didn't need much an excuse to go chat with
someone.

So she swaggered on over, coming up just over the kid's
shoulder. He was haggling with a merchant too, and so Gavi figured she'd give
him a hand. "Hey," she said to the merchant, letting her lips twist
into a wide, malicious grin. "I'd suggest you'd cut your price down by
half. At least."

**IZZY**

Jonn had been wheedling and sweet-talking his way through
the market, because he'd already spent most of his money on Hansel's wedding
gift, and he still needed some food. It was going pretty well, but this guy
just wouldn't fucking fall for the big-eyed innocent waif act, and when Jonn
had tried to hit on him, that hadn't worked either. He just needed some fucking
seaweed paper for that food with rice that Hansel liked -- it wasn't even that
expensive, this merchant was just a dick.

Then a tall half-orc woman came up and grinned at the guy
and bargained with him in a way all five foot four inches of Jonn wasn't able
to, and he opened and closed his mouth a couple times and looked between them.
Jonn dropped his attempts to look sweet and grinned too.

He wasn't super good at telling half-orc ages, but she
looked a little younger than Hansel, maybe? So he leaned against her arm,
keeping the toothy grin in place, and brightly said, "My sister knows all
about seafood. You oughta listen to her."

The merchant probably didn't buy the sister thing, but he
didn't have to. He got the point, and shoved the packet of seaweed across the
counter of his stall over at Jonn, who snatched it like someone else might,
first.

"Just fucking take it," he muttered, looking at
the woman and then down. She had a huge axe on her back. "I don't want any
trouble."

"Thanks!" Jonn bounced on his toes, then turned
his grin on her. "Didn't you want somethin' too, sis?"

**ABBY**

Sis now? That was adorable. Gavi shot the little guy a grin
before glancing back at the fish stall. "Hmm," Gavi eyed the
merchant's wares considering. She had finished her shopping, but hey, who ever
turned down free stuff? "I'll take one of those, going rate, yeah?"
she said, letting her grin turn menacing again. "I'm not lookin' for any
trouble either."

**IZZY**

The fishmonger scowled and shoved her selection across the
counter at her, saying, "All right, all right, clear off already,"
through his teeth.

Jonn beamed at him and ducked away, not committed enough to
the grift to try to pull the woman with him or anything. He went in the general
direction of the castle.

**ABBY**

Gavi grabbed her spoils, thanked the guy, and then turned
and followed after her so-called 'brother'. "Hey kid," she called,
falling into step beside him. "Good deal huh?" she said, grinning.
"Y'mind if I tag along here? Name's Gavi."

**IZZY**

Jonn grinned back. Neat. "Yeah, I don't mind. Thanks
for the help. I'm Jonn." He should shake her hand, or something, but he
didn't really want to. He curled his hands around the strap of his bag instead.

"D'you live around here or you just passing through? I
feel like I would've noticed you earlier." Not a ton of half-orcs in
Glimmerton. Wasn't as bad as Shepherd Hills, though. That place fucking skeeved
him out. She looked like an adventurer, though, with the axe and all.

**ABBY**

"Yep, pretty new though," Gavi said. "Month,
two months, I dunno, something in that range," she waved her hand
dismissively. Who really cared how long it'd been anyway? "You local then?
Y'don't look much like a fisherman."

**IZZY**

"Nah, I live in Skyport."

He adjusted his bag a bit, weighing his options. She
probably knew about the Runners, if she'd been here a couple months. If she'd
threaten a merchant, she might be dangerous to him, too -- bandit sort of deal
-- and if he dropped that he knew them, it might protect him. Or, she might be
more of a town guard type, and he'd heard that Hansel fucked one of them up for
messing with Goro. Half-orc, too. She might not like the Runners and
associating himself with them could be a bad idea.

Eh, he could run really fast. "I'm just visiting my
dad. He lives up in the castle."

**ABBY**

"Oh shit that castle?" Gavi jerked her chin in the
direction of it. "My nephew lives up there. Griffin. Good kid." These
castle folk were just about everywhere. Neat. Good kid to stick up for then.
"Hey you gonna stab me if I ruffle your hair?" she said, half joking
and already reaching for it.

**IZZY**

That castle? Jonn was puzzled for a moment. Were there a lot
of castles around here? He didn't know. Maybe. The idea distracted him and he
forgot to respond to the first thing -- right, right, he kind of knew Griffin,
or at least knew he existed, that was weird -- and flinched away from her hand
instinctively, narrowing his eyes at her. "Maybe."

**ABBY**

Oh. Well, that was unexpected. Gavi faltered, and then
pulled her hand back to scratch the back of her neck, looking around awkwardly.
"Okay. So. No hair ruffling then. Got it."

**IZZY**

Hmm. That was tricky, 'cause he knew he wasn't supposed to
stab people, in general, but he also wasn't supposed to lie, but he also wasn't
supposed to let people just touch him. Not without paying, anyway.

Jonn wasn't sure where to go from here. "I mean,"
he mumbled. "Just being honest."

**ABBY**

"Hey, s'all right," Gavi said, dropping her hand
back down by her side. "I mean, threw me off for a second there but t'be
fair you wouldn't be the first to stab me over his personal space."

**IZZY**

"Yeah, I've almost gotten stabbed over that, too,"
Jonn admitted.

**ABBY**

Gavi chuckled lightly. "But hey, we learned,
right?" she said, spreading her hands and grinning, careful not to bump
into Jonn. He seemed all right with her being closer at least, just not
touching. Gavi could work with that. "Being all-- smart and shit.
S'annoying though sometimes."

**IZZY**

He perked up a bit. Gavi was cool. She got it. "Fuck,
yeah, it is. Gotta figure shit out and all." (Maybe she was like him.
Probably not. Maybe, though.) "Like, all the time. People are weird,
right?" He wasn't exempt from that, though. He liked touching people, he
just didn't like them touching him. Mixed signals, or whatever.

**ABBY**

"Yeah. Was easier when I could just tell 'em to shut up
and listen and they had to," Gavi complained. Now people argued back-- and
that was fun too, but only to a degree. Then it got annoying. "Now I gotta
give 'em a reason to listen to me. Bein' big and intimidating is a pretty good
standby," she said, gesturing back at the market and grinning.

**IZZY**

Jonn tilted his head, giving her an intrigued look. That
could mean a lot of things. "Why'd they have to?"

**ABBY**

"Because I'm Gavriella the Spineripper, from the
Sarachet tribe," Gavi said, her grin taking a vicious edge.
"Lieutenant to Bloodgrut the Smartest, favored by Gruumsh." Her
shoulders dropped and she sighed. "Course that don't mean squat out
here."

**IZZY**

"Huh." That all sounded impressive, but Jonn had
no idea what any of it meant. He blinked. "Gruumsh is trying to kill my
dad."

**ABBY**

"Oh yeah?" Hm. Gavi might have to step in there
then. "What'd your dad do?"

**IZZY**

"Nothin'." Jonn scowled, but he guessed that was
usually how that happened, god wanting to kill people and stuff. It'd been
happening to Hansel since he was a kid, though. He couldn't've done anything.
"I mean, I guess Gruumsh isn't trying to kill him, just keeps, like,
taking control of him and shit, and it's gonna kill him." His grip on the
strap of his bag tightened. It'd happened again, too. "Fuckin'
Gruumsh," he said in a low, sullen voice. "Maybe you could ask him to
stop, if he likes you so much?"

**ABBY**

Okay- first off wasn't Hansel the one getting possessed?
Some human guy shouldn't have lasted but one go. And second-- "S'not how
it works, kid," Gavi said. "I follow his will, I don't ask him to
change it. Gruumsh needs a vessel y'know? So he can come back and fight for
us."

**IZZY**

Jonn scoffed. That was dumb. Eldath was a way better god --
she actually listened to people like Luci. What was the point of'em if they
didn't help the people who followed them? Gruumsh just thought he could take
whoever he wanted, even if they didn't follow him, do whatever he wanted.

Well, he thought about saying, I'm gonna kill Gruumsh, me
and my sister and brother are, so you're just out of fucking luck. Guess you
gotta find a new deity.

She was a lot bigger than him, though, and that'd probably
annoy her, so he shrugged. "Well, he's not fighting for you now, 'cause
every time he tries my dad's friends kick his ass." Shit, sounding all
pleased about that might annoy her, too. Oh well. It was out now. "Maybe
he should pick someone else."

**ABBY**

"Hey I gotta question. What's a human guy doin' surviving
Gruumsh takin' over like that anyway?" Non-orcs burned out from the power
that was coursing through them. And, y'know, kid was looking too excited about
the whole 'Gavi's god's ass getting kicked', but Gavi just glared a little for
now. First, she wanted to clear up this confusion.

**IZZY**

"Oh." Right, right. "I'm adopted. My dad's a
half-orc." He gave her glare an innocent look, acting like he didn't know
why he'd earned it.

**ABBY**

"Oh huh." That would explain it. Hey wait a
second. "You Hansel's kid then?" Gavi grinned, that was neat! (And
considering how Hansel was-- and Gavi too for that matter-- maybe better stop
talking about Gruumsh so much.) "The fuck," she said, delighted.

**IZZY**

Jonn snorted out a laugh. "Uh-huh. You guys, like,
friends?" She hadn't been around for the whole hydra killing thing, but
neither had her nephew, or Ripley. Holding down the fort, or whatever, he
guessed.

(Maybe they could get Gruumsh to target her instead of Dad.
Was that wrong? Hansel probably wouldn't like it, if they were pals, but if she
was such a big fucking fan of Gruumsh, then ... Maybe he'd talk to Luci and
Goro about it. They'd know.)

**ABBY**

"Oh yeah we're buddies now," Gavi said. "He's
great. Hot too."

**IZZY**

"Hey." Jonn looked at her sharply, but then caught
up to his defensiveness and smirked. "Too bad you think so, 'cause I don't
think he's gonna fuck a devout of Gruumsh any time soon."

He bet they weren't actually friends, either. God, Hansel
could be really dumb, though, about people -- maybe he did like her anyway. Someone
had to fucking look out for him.

**ABBY**

"Hey, s'all right," Gavi drawled, grinning
sharply. "I like a challenge."

**IZZY**

He drew his shoulders up and ground his teeth, and focused
on how Hansel had told him to not stab people, so that he wouldn't think about
that half-elf who'd thought Hansel would be a fun challenge, and how Jonn had
seen Hansel go outside with him and then found Hansel alone in the alley,
folded in on himself and sobbing.

Yeah. He wasn't thinking about that.

Instead, he glared at the ground and quietly said,
"Friends don't talk about each other like that."

**ABBY**

Huh. Kid was getting all upset. Shit. Gavi scratched the
back of her neck again. "Uh. Aright? Look-- kid. Don't worry about it. Let
the grownups handle it, it'll be fine."

**IZZY**

Jonn gave her a long look.

He wanted to say: I'm twenty-three. I raised my sister since
she was a baby. I lived on the streets in Skyport with an infant for two years.
I started fucking people for money and favors when I was fifteen.

He wanted to say: Don't fucking talk to me like that. I'm
not stupid. I know how this works. I know how people your size work. I know
what Hansel's like. Someone has to protect him.

What he eventually said, flatly, was, "My dad told me I
shouldn't stab people except in defense, so you should stay the fuck away from
him," and then picked up his pace towards the castle, leaving her behind.

**ABBY**

"Oh hey, hey wait up." Gavi jogged after him.
Fuck. There went another one. "Hey, look, kid-- Jonn. Look uh, I'm tryin'
to get better about giving people reasons to stab me. So if we could just- talk
a bit more?" Was this even gonna work now? Gavi had no idea. Why was
talking to these people so difficult?

**IZZY**

Jonn glanced at her disdainfully. "Whatever. Just don't
fucking touch me."

**ABBY**

Gavi held her hands up. "Aright. No touching. I
gotcha." Shit. How was she supposed to make this better. "Look. Uh. I
don't really know what I did here," Gavi admitted. "And I really am
trying to give people less reasons to stab me. So, if y'could, maybe help me
understand what's wrong here?"

**IZZY**

Jonn hesitated, then squinted at her for a moment. She
really seemed like she didn't know. And that didn't make her less of a threat
-- to Hansel or to him -- that was for sure -- but if she was trying, then ...
Hansel said that trying mattered. And that it was important to help people.

"'Kay," he said slowly. His anger had been
instinctive. He took a second to dissect it and put it into words. "I told
you that ... Hansel wouldn't wanna fuck you, 'cause of the Gruumsh thing, and
-- you took it as a challenge, to like -- make him." He gripped the strap
of his bag, itching to have a knife in his hand instead. "And you said you
were friends, and maybe he thinks you're friends, but you think he's -- a fuckin'
mark." He glared at the ground. "And I'm not a fucking child. I know
that people that're big like you think you can just take what you want."

Didn't even have to be big. She was smaller than Hansel, but
that half-elf had been, too -- Mishka was, and he'd still hurt Hansel.

"You threatened my family," he said. Made herself
a threat to him, too, but he cared about that less. "That's what you
fucking did wrong."

**ABBY**

Gavi scowled and crossed her arms. She wasn't a threat she
was-- getting defensive and prickly about the answer to the question she'd
asked. Good going, Gavriella.

"Look, ah, Jonn, I didn't.... I didn't mean to threaten
your family," Gavi said slowly. "Didn't think about it from that
angle." She huffed, running her hand through her hair. She might have to
change her approach to more than just Jonn to make it up. "Aright look. I
wanna fuck your dad. I ain't gonna lie about that," she spread her hands
and shrugged. "But, I see what you mean, bout the threating thing. So, how
about I say I'll back off a bit huh? If he isn't interested, I won't push it.
But if he is, well, hey I ain't saying no."

**IZZY**

"Back off a bit," Jonn echoed in an undertone. He
didn't know if he believed her. Jonn promised to do things because Hansel or
Luci or someone else he trusted asked him to. There wasn't any reason for Gavi
to listen to him.

When he got to the castle, he'd go find Goro. Goro would
keep people from hurting Hansel. And -- he'd tell Mishka, maybe, as long as
someone else was in the room.

"Whatever," he said again, still a bit sullen.
Predators didn't stop being predators just because they stopped hunting for a
while. His fingers itched, nails digging into the strap. "I dunno if you
know what no sounds like."

**ABBY**

"Honestly kid? I'm not sure either," Gavi said wryly.
"But I'm starting to figure that I need to learn."

**IZZY**

Jonn made a noncommittal sound. Maybe he could, like ...
help with that, though.

He shifted away from her a little because he was getting
uncomfortable and antsy. "Well, y'know. I mean. Saying shit like 'no' and
'stop' is usually a good fucking sign. And threats. And like, pushing you off
or moving away. Or grabbing someone else, to sort of hide." He did that.
He'd done all of that. But he also did shit like -- "But locking up, too, and
not saying or doing anything. And ... sometimes laughing, or ... joking and
trying to be distracting ..."

He trailed off, looking down again. He wished Hansel were
here, to explain this shit. He was good at it. And then Jonn wouldn't have to
say things, and he could just hide. Or if Finch were here, Jonn could hide and
feel better about saying things. Finch'd probably have shit to say, too. They'd
talked about this.

**ABBY**

Huh. Gavi had... ignored all those signs at various points.
Shit. No wonder she kept pissing people off. "Well. Y'know I'm starting to
get why I've just got the one friend now," she commented, scratching the
back of her head. Hey wait a second. "You were doing the moving away
thing," she said slowly.

**IZZY**

He scoffed lowly. He'd ... learned pretty quickly, from
experience, what kinds of things made people not want to be friends with him,
but he still just managed to put people off sometimes without knowing what he'd
done. He kinda got it. Sometimes he was sure that the only person who cared
about him was Hansel, anyway, and sometimes he didn't think even Hansel did.

"Yeah, well," he muttered. "You're half a
fuckin' foot taller than me, you intimidate people into doing shit, and you
don't know how to take a 'no'. I could stab you, but you could still hurt me if
you wanted to."

**ABBY**

"Huh." Yeah. He was right about that. Specially
since she had that healing magic. "Yeah. Hey if it makes you feel better,
your dad's already knocked me out like- twice. Pretty sure he'll skewer me if I
hurt you."

**IZZY**

"Oh. Huh." Yeah, he was even more fucking sure she
was lying about them being buddies, now. That kind of did make him feel better,
though. Still meant Hansel would have to fucking -- fight back, but -- if he'd
already done it twice before and won, that might be all right.

"Okay," he said slowly. "Okay. Yeah. That
helps, yeah. See." He tried to be helpful. "See, that's good. Trying
to make me feel better, and shit."

**ABBY**

"Yeah?" Gavi half grinned. Fucking shitty way of
making someone feel better. Gruumsh help her. "Hey lookit that, I learned
a thing," she said.

**IZZY**

"Yeah." Jonn eyed her, still kind of wary. She
seemed like she ... meant well? Like she really was trying. Just not doing a
great job. Maybe she needed a list, like Hansel had given him.

He didn't want to be someone's Hansel, though, like that.
It'd make Hansel so proud, but -- he just didn't think he could. And ... he
used to get upset with Hansel and scream at him and shove him -- Dad said he
was lashing out -- but when he did that Hansel just picked him up and squeezed
him and shushed him until he calmed down. If Gavi lashed out at him, he'd just
be fucked.

And he thought about the old veteran who lived out in the
woods around the Sanctuary, who'd taught him what his body was worth. Gavi was
tall and broad and scarred like her, had a voice like hers. Took what she
wanted.

"Uh," he said. "I'm gonna go see my dad. I
don't want you to follow me."

Sometimes, if he just bluntly said what he wanted, people
would do it. It was a good test.

**ABBY**

Yeah, fair. Jonn had already been trying to leave and she'd
stopped him. Gavi nodded and stepped back. "Yeah all right. See ya
around-- or, not. I dunno." If the kid decided he didn't want to speak to
Gavi any more, then she better learn to back off.

**IZZY**

[END]

Title: Fishmonger. Summary: Gavi and Jonn bond over stealing
food, then have a weird, unpleasant, but hopefully productive conversation
about boundaries.