TRP: Abel, Azriel, and Jasper (Stream)

Coyote: at 9:11 PM

[SCENE START: Jasper and Abel agree to corner Azriel and
interrogate him about his broken horn. Takes place after the party returns to
the Sanctuary after getting rid of the "bad luck" Tear.]

Jasper waited until Ba'ob was distracted, gnawing on animal
bones from the stew and playing with his wolf. She chuckled and patted him on
the head as she passed. What a good Wolf Kid. Gwydion was gone from the
campsite, who knew where.

Azriel was off by the stream, deeper into the woods. Jasper
kept one eye on his through the trees. He seemed fine. Probably too far away to
hear them, though.

She sauntered over to Abel. "Hey Abe. Able. Abe. What's
up with Az's fuckin' horn? How'd it break?"

Lina: at 9:14 PM

Abel glanced up from his whetstone and the dagger he was
sharpening on it. "I don't know. I meant to ask you the same
question."

Coyote: at 9:15 PM

Jasper glanced at Az, then Abe, then Az.

"Plan A?" she said.

Plan A was Jasper holding someone down while Abel
interrogated him. Jasper liked that plan.

Lina: at 9:20 PM

Abel considered it. Or, they could act like civilized
adults, and approach Azriel in a calm manner to ask about it, and...

"Plan A," he agreed, and tucked away his dagger
and whetstone. He scanned the campsite until he spotted Azriel off by the
stream. Possibly gathering water, but who the fuck knew. He gestured with his
fingers for Jasper to follow, and they made their way toward their brother.

Coyote: at 9:24 PM

Jasper moved quietly automatically, and so did Abel, but
that was normal. If Azriel heard them, he didn't react. Just his loving
siblings coming to check on him or talk to him after their crazy past few days.

Jasper cuffed him by the back of his shirt and lifted him up
one-handed. She turned him around and set him down again a boulder. The threat
of holding him down was implied, she felt, and it wasn't necessary to escalate
that far yet. "Hey nerd. What happened to your horn? Is there somebody we
need to violently murder? I mean. Uh. Take on vacation. Not, um. Murder."

Izzy: at 9:28 PM

Azriel yipped as Jasper suddenly picked him. He'd noticed
her and Abel coming closer, but foolishly assumed they weren't going to cause
him any trouble. Clearly he was out of practice at dealing with them. Or just
Jasper, maybe.

He glanced between them, eyes narrowed. His charming
bullshit didn't usually work on his siblings. "It's none of your
business."

Lina: at 9:34 PM

Abel raised his eyebrows, then glanced at Jasper, a can you
believe this bullshit? kind of look. Well, maybe Jasper did; that was always a
risk when using her as an interrogation partner. But it was appearances that
counted. He looked back to Azriel. "On the contrary, dearest brother.
That's quite an injury. It makes me wince, just looking at you. Someone out
there in the world has done you grievous harm, and that automatically makes it,
as you know, family business."

Izzy: at 9:36 PM

Azriel scowled. "Yes, absolutely, dearest brother. So
I'm not sure what it has to do with you, exactly. Why did you leave home,
again?"

Lina: at 9:37 PM

"Jasper," Abel said, in his usual rough-'em-up
tone, though hopefully Jasper would use moderation in this special case.

Coyote: at 9:43 PM

Aw man. She hadn't thought this far ahead. She couldn't
actually hurt Azriel. Even if Abel or Gabriel told her to. It would be like
stepping on a kitten.

She picked him up and held him against the boulder.
"Look, I can't, like, fuckin' rough you up, but I can make you deeply
uncomfortable for like the next few hours until eventually you get bored and
talk."

Was Azriel ticklish? She couldn't remember.

Izzy: at 9:46 PM

He grabbed her wrist instinctively, even though there was no
chance of him being able to pry her off. "Jasper, look around. We're in
the woods. I'm already deeply uncomfortable. It's actually a great comfort to
me to have you nearby." Purposefully looking at her, not Abel, he casually
added, "Anyway, has he told you why he abandoned us?"

Coyote: at 9:46 PM

"Hey yeah," Jasper said without letting go.
"What the fuck, Abe?"

Lina: at 9:47 PM

"Listen, Azriel, I'm willing to compromise with you.
After we've dealt with the question at hand--as in, after you tell us what
happened to your horn--Jasper can hold me down, and then you can ask your
questions. But let's not go out of turn, alright? You know I always hated line
cutters."

Izzy: at 9:49 PM

He shrugged. "I guess if you wanted to be privy to the
family business, you should have stayed with the family."

Lina: at 9:51 PM

Abel shrugged back. "Alright. Tell Jasper, then. And
I'll wait right over here." He started backing away slowly, taking big,
exaggerated steps.

Izzy: at 9:52 PM

In Infernal, Azriel said, "Yes, Abel, because I'm
fucking stupid."

Lina: at 9:53 PM

"Oh, it's not nice to speak Infernal when Jasper's here
listening. Be polite, Azriel. Jasper, Azriel thinks it would be foolish if he
told you what happened to his horn. What do you say to that?"

Coyote: at 9:55 PM

Jasper's eyes shifted back and forth. "I mean. Azriel's
usually right about that. So."

Lina: at 9:56 PM

Abel lowered his head and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Jasper. This is supposed to be an interrogation."

Coyote: at 9:58 PM

"Okay, but, like-- Azriel has a good point. They
usually don't have good points. Why did you leave home? What the hell,
man?" She dropped Azriel and turned. "What the fuck was so important
you had to leave your twelve-year-old sister, huh?"

And then, because that seemed really aggressive, she said,
"I mean I'm not gonna hit you but it's been like a year, and what the
fuck."

Lina: at 10:02 PM

Abel glanced between the two of them, at Azriel's smug face
and Jasper's indignation. "I'll cut a deal with you, Azriel? Fair enough,
I've been the big mystery for longer, so I'll answer first. But then you'll
fucking tell us about your horn. What do you say?"

Izzy: at 10:03 PM

"I'll tell you what happened to my horn right now.
Someone broke it." He waved impatiently. "Now you go."

Lina: at 10:06 PM

Abel marched back to the two of them and weaved around
Jasper. He grabbed Azriel in a headlock, made his free hand into a fist, and
ground it into Azriel's scalp. "A real fucking answer, you hear me?"

Izzy: at 10:07 PM

Azriel immediately reverted to being ten years old and
flailed ineffectually at his big brother. "Hey, fuck off! Jasper, help! I'm
injured."

Coyote: at 10:10 PM

"Nah," Jasper said. "Talk, you little shit. I
wanna know if there's somebody I gotta beat up. And also Abel won't say
anything until you do. So."

Azriel wasn't actually hurt, right? Oh man. What if that was
hurting his horn, though. That cracked looked nasty. Were tiefling horns
sensitive? Jasper frowned.

Izzy: at 10:15 PM

He pushed at Abel and still completely failed to get away. He
could always just lie to them once Abel let him go. "Fuck you. Fine.
Mask."

Lina: at 10:16 PM

Abel froze and lifted his fist a few inches off, waiting.

Izzy: at 10:16 PM

"I'm not talking while you have me in a headlock, you
animal."

Lina: at 10:17 PM

"Alright. Here, Jasper, you put him in a
headlock."

Coyote: at 10:18 PM

Jasper apologetically put Azriel in a headlock.

Izzy: at 10:18 PM

"Jasper. You have to know this isn't what I meant. Let
me go, please."

Coyote: at 10:20 PM

"Guys, this is really hard. I can't tell who to listen
to."

Aw shit. Azriel really was wincing a little bit, and now
that she was closer, it almost seemed like there was something a bit different
about one eye. She set him down gently.

Izzy: at 10:23 PM

Azriel dusted himself off and dragged his fingers through
his hair to straighten it out. "Thank you. This is fine. We can be
civil." He glared at Abel. "Look, it's nothing to worry about.
Everyone is fine -- Amethyst is fine, not that you asked."

Lina: at 10:25 PM

"I'm sure she is fine. Because I left home when I
did." Abel feigned shock and shielded his hand over his open mouth.
"Oh, no. Look at that. I've given you a hint. Your turn."

Izzy: at 10:29 PM

"Oh, terribly convenient it worked out that way for us
all," Azriel said scathingly, then hesitated. Gabriel leaving home -- that
would have made Amethyst safer, probably. Abel? Didn't make sense. "Fine.
I just got in a little bit of trouble. It was my own fault. I made a bad
decision and there was no one around to watch my back, so ..." He waved to
the right side of his face.

Lina: at 10:31 PM

"Anyone need killing, still?"

Izzy: at 10:32 PM

Azriel paused. "No one's left. Now what's your damn
deal?"

Lina: at 10:36 PM

Abel sighed and stared up at the tree canopy. There was no
reason not to tell them, particularly now that they were out of Moorland. It
was just a sorry thing to admit. "I made a bad decision of my own. But in
my case, the affected parties didn't take their anger out on me. They said if I
didn't leave town, they'd take it out on my family. There. Are you happy?"
He gave each of them pointed looks. "You should be." And he turned to
head back to camp.

Izzy: at 10:37 PM

"No, I'm not happy," Azriel called after him.
"Fuck you, Abel, I missed you."

Coyote: at 10:41 PM

"Yeah," Jasper said. "Fuck, man. Io's balls.
Are you joking? We love you, jackass. I barely fucking remember you, though. I
almost didn't recognize you when I saw you a year ago. We could've handled
it--"

Wow. Was she angry at Abel? She'd never felt... angry at one
of her brothers, before. Except maybe-- nah, she wasn't thinking about that.

"We could've handled it," she said. And she
flipped him off with both hands and headed in the opposite direction.

Lina: at 10:44 PM

Abel stopped and spun back around. "You could have
handled it? You were 12 and 16! I missed you little shits too but I liked
knowing you were at least alive for me to miss!"

Izzy: at 10:45 PM

"You could've written a fucking letter!"

Coyote: at 10:46 PM

"Yeah!" Jasper said, still walking backwards,
still flipping him off with both hands. "You could've written a fuckin'
letter, Abel! Also, don't argue with logic, that's fuckin' unfair! The fuck am
I supposed to do with that!"

Lina: at 10:46 PM

"Jasper, watch where you're fucking going!"

Coyote: at 10:49 PM

Oh FUCK.

Her foot caught on a fallen log, and she pitched backwards.
She fell down a small embarkment, maybe two or three up, that stood over one of
the deeper parts of the stream.

She had a split second to think, Oh, man, Abel's gonna be so
pissed at me before her back hit the water, her head cracked on a rock, and
everything went black and cold, and she felt nothing.

Izzy: at 10:53 PM

Azriel bolted after Jasper. That idiot. She wasn't allowed
to trip and hit her head and die when he'd just found her again. He slipped
down the embankment and splashed in after her without thinking twice, grabbing
the front of her armor with both hands to heave her far enough out of the water
that she wouldn't drown, but wasn't able to do much else -- she was too heavy,
and he was too small. He looked back up to see if Abel was going to help them.

Lina: at 11:06 PM

Abel slid down the embankment after Azriel, hoisted his
sister up in both arms and leaned forward to lay her carefully on the dry
ground. Then, without really thinking, he picked Azriel up too, and set him on
the bank before climbing out himself.

Izzy: at 11:13 PM

Oh, thank Mask. Azriel started to say something nasty about
how at least Abel hadn't abandoned them this time, but -- he wasn't sure if he
wanted to needle him any more. He settled for shooting him a slightly annoyed
look before kneeling down to support Jasper's head, and pulling his viol around
to quickly play a slightly more upbeat version of their childhood lullaby,
healing the crack her admittedly very thick skull had taken.

Lina: at 11:19 PM

Abel stared at Jasper's face, waiting for her eyes to open.
When they didn't, he tapped her on the cheek. "Jasper. Fuckin'. Wake
up." No response, so he slid his fingers down to check for a pulse, which
she had. He let out a long, shaky breath. He glanced up at Azriel. "Why
isn't she waking up? Can you play more?"

Izzy: at 11:21 PM

He checked her head. Still a little bloody, but all healed.
"She's fine. She's just out." The he sighed and switched to Infernal.
"Or she's just doing this to mess with us. Is she that crafty? She wasn't
when she left home, but I don't know anymore."

Lina: at 11:24 PM

Abel scrutinized her. "Jasper is the worst
sister," he said in Common. "Amethyst is so much better at
everything." Nothing. He shrugged. "There's no way she'd lie there
and take that if she could hear us. Maybe she needs to sleep it off."

Izzy: at 11:29 PM

"She did hit her head pretty badly. Maybe when she
wakes up she'll forget we ever had that conversation and we can have it again,
with fewer headlocks and vague threats."

Lina: at 11:32 PM

"They accomplished what I needed them to
accomplish." He stared Azriel down, bracing himself for more incisive
comments in response to the question he was about to ask. "How's the rest
of the family, then?"

Izzy: at 11:35 PM

"Go home and fucking ask them -- no, look." Azriel
cut himself off and sighed again, rolling his eyes. "I'm sorry. They're
fine. Would it really have killed you to write a single letter, though?"

Lina: at 11:36 PM

"Yes. Or it might've killed you, anyway." They'd
been very clear on that front. Do not return. Send no letters.

Izzy: at 11:38 PM

"Do you have to be so ominous all of the time."
Azriel didn't look at him, brushing a damp strand of hair out of Jasper's face
instead. "I'm supposed to be the dramatic one, you know."

Lina: at 11:40 PM

"I'm not being dramatic. I'm speaking blunt truths.
What else do you think would've made me leave the whole family, idiot?"

Izzy: at 11:43 PM

"I don't fucking know, dying? Because that's what we
all assumed had happened, so forgive me if I'm slightly frustrated by finding
out that you've just been alive the entire time." He considered how that
sounded and whether he should rephrase or clarify.

Nah. He'd leave it.

Lina: at 11:45 PM

"Hm. Well. Wasn't that better? Thinking I'd died. Then
you didn't have to take it personally."

Izzy: at 11:45 PM

Azriel fixed him with a stare. "Yes. It was definitely
better for me to think that my favorite brother was dead. You're right. Silly
me."

Lina: at 11:49 PM

"Ooh, favorite brother? There was some tough
competition there, I know." Even as he said it, he felt guilty. Leaving
them all alone with Gabriel was the worst part of the whole thing. "That
fucker dead yet?"

Izzy: at 11:52 PM

"Be nice. He's not so bad." Kind of. Well.
"And no. You know, even he would have tried to help if you'd just fucking
talked to us instead of leaving. Not to harp on it."

Lina: at 11:57 PM

"I think I'm done with this conversation," Abel
said quietly. He rose to his feet and brushed dirt and fallen needles off his
knees. "I trust you to keep an eye on her." Ooh, saying that stung.
He could already hear the pointed remark Azriel would make in response.
"Or I'll carry her back to the fire, if you think she's going to be out
for a while."

November 4, 2018

Izzy: at 12:00 AM

"Yes, carry her back to the fire, and I'll follow you
because that's where I'm going as well, and we can awkwardly not talk the
entire time because we live together now and have to spend time with each other
again. Terrible, I know."

Lina: at 12:06 AM

Abel didn't move. He stood there for a long time, staring
down at Azriel. "I'm sorry. I know it's very little, but it's all I've got
for you." Not that sorry, though. He had saved their lives, even if they
didn't accept it. He'd never felt like he was very good at the big brother
thing, but keeping them alive always seemed like the least he could do.

Izzy: at 12:10 AM

Azriel squinted at him. Ah. He hadn't gotten it. "I was
being sarcastic, you idiot. I'm happy you're alive and the three of us are
together again, all right." He gestured to Jasper. "But yes, really
do get her back to the fire, please, she'll get cold. And I am coming with you,
because I love you and I want to spend time with you, so fuck you."

Lina: at 12:24 AM

Hell. It had been ten years, and he couldn't properly detect
sarcasm from his brother anymore. Damn, Azriel had grown up so fucking much,
and Abel had missed all of it. He'd have to make a point of not missing any
more, if he could help it.

He squatted down and gathered Jasper into his arms, hoisting
her over his shoulder as he rose back up. "I love you too, you little
shithead. Can you still kick my ass at Three Dragon Ante, you think?"

Izzy: at 12:26 AM

"Please. I can kick your ass at Three Dragon Ante even
without cheating."

Lina: at 12:27 AM

"Little do you know, I've spent the last decade
learning from the masters. Prepare to be blown the fuck away."

Izzy: at 12:28 AM

"So glad you spent the time doing something useful with
your life."

[END]