#ghezenblessed

[roseburied]

" Do you always begin conversations this way? " @ghezenblessed asks.

What business seems to have overwritten her vocabulary and swallowed her former civilized pleasantries. Ketterdam and Kaz are rubbing off on her, though Inej finds that she prefers it to the forced flirtation and small talk of the Menagerie. Kaz would probably tell her that it's because business doesn't lie, people do.

" I didn't used to, " Inej replies and finds her voice a little regretful. It's almost as though she's stumbled into missing the Suli caravans, her mother's handmade skillet bread, and the beauty of speaking her mother tongue.

Wylan must have missed his own home, or at least the habits, to have questioned her use of what business so early in the conversation. Only merchers have enough money to wine and dine their clients, gilding their work like they do their mansions. To survive the Barrel, he'll have to remember that honeyed words and kind smiles create a target, not friendships.

Still, this city isn't allowed to take her heart, so rather than issue a warning, Inej offers him a small smile. " I'm sorry, I've let the Dregs teach me bad habits. I believe we've only met briefly, I'm Inej. It's nice to meet you. " She pauses and offers her hand. " Kaz sent me on business, but he can wait. Is there a place we can sit? "

[pistolslinger]

roast me!!! (ghezenblessed)

/ he’s no inferni, but. ( not accepting! ) | @ghezenblessed​

     “ i mean . . . ”

    “ ——— who’s mark? ”

[pistolslinger]

♥ ♠ ♦ ♣ @ghezenblessed​  / / sc.

    “ i have a surprise for you.  hands out, eyes closed — no peeking, merchling. ”

[pistolslinger]

/ little heartaches.

@ghezenblessed said:  “ don’t you understand? i love you. and nothing you’ve done, no matter how much of a monster you think you are, is gonna change that. ”

   looking at marya makes him feel the oddest sensation of shame, sometimes.  she is kind, and gentle, and so soft spoken that jesper worries a gust of wind might blow her away.  perhaps it was just the presence of a mother whose son never gave up the parts of her that he inherited — he can’t help but look at her, and wonder what it would be like if aditi were there in her place, instead.  would there be affection in her gaze, or repulsion?

   he brings these fears to wylan, on occasion.  when the sting of would - be’s aren’t soothed by any distractions, he has learned to share what hurts him with the person he loves best.  would she be ashamed?  he asks wylan.  marya is lucky to have you; you never gambled your home away.  never lied to the one person who would give up the world for you.  you found your talent and your passion, and it’s still something that helps people.

   then, the dreaded thought: are you ever ashamed of me?  

   he doesn’t want the answer — he doesn’t want to know if he’ll hear a lie in wylan’s voice, or some kind of damning truth.  when the answer comes, it makes his breath catch.  he has no adequate response, because relief like this did not come with any expressions of gratitude that felt enough.  all jesper can do in that moment, is pull wylan in slowly and kiss his forehead.

[pistolslinger]

/ action & fight.

@ghezenblessed​ said:  " evacuate the civilians, i'll buy you some time! " 

        sometimes, he’s very sharply reminded of the things wylan cares about.  in that same vein, he is reminded that he, too, should care about these things.  like — the lives of random strangers, even in the midst of trying to protect himself.  before he can feel bad about that, jesper’s mind kicks into overdrive, and punches through one idea after another.

     looking around the now - scattering market place, jesper has to guess that there’s at least fifty people running amok, street children and old people included.  and, if the panicked glances he’d been shooting behind them were correct, that was the sound of a gunfight approaching.  how,  he yells internally, how am i meant to get them out?  he barely knows how to get HIMSELF out — he’s even barely begun to figure out a way to get wylan out of the market.  every plan he comes up with is full of things that could go wrong, and jesper is unused to not acting on the first life - saving impulse that strikes him.  now he’s responsible for others, and he could scream.

     what would inej do?  he thinks.  what would nina do?  find a suitable exit, calmly lead everyone towards it?  deciding that he doesn’t quite have the time for it, jesper pulls a single pistol from its holster, and shoots in the opposite direction he wants the crowd to run.  nobody sees him fire the gun from his side, nobody suspects.  the crowd, predictably, scatters as far from it as possible — each finding its own exit, or following the speedier runners to safety.  everyone seems to be out of dodge, save for one particularly defiant and unbothered cat.  jesper pauses to grab it, and while running, he yells over his shoulder at wylan:

     “ DO WHAT YOU WERE GONNA DO, N’ DO IT FAST, MERCHLING!  AND IF YOU DON’T, I’M FUCKIN’ CARRYING YOU OUTTA HERE MYSELF, Y’HEAR? ”

[anthcs]

"Katie!! My sister says you can help me with these herbs?" He enthusiatically hands her a long list. (ghezenblessed! 🥰)

@ghezenblessed

Once the list is in her hands, Katie is impressed by the long list. It's clearly Annabeth's handwriting, some of the plants listed by scientific names, some by common name, and some by both, which Katie guesses that either Annabeth is already familiar or has listened to Katie's enthusiastic rambles. Some of the herbs were easy enough to find, but some were only grown in very specific parts of the world. The only way to attain some was to visit that specific location and hope that the local people were not going to be protective (at best) or stingy (at worst) of the natural flora.

Or, at least, normally would be, if you didn't have a daughter of Demeter on your side.

Although she hasn't known Wylan long, there's an eagerness and proficiency for explosions that reminds her a little bit of Hephaestus' children, from what she's seen.

"Some of these are local, luckily, so it's pretty easy to find or grow."

Even more so with her abilities, but she doesn't want to come across as a bragging know-it-all, so that part is left unsaid for now.

"---a few of these, though, might be a little more tricky."

Katie pauses a moment, then, as if trying to look for signs of mischief or mayhem in Wylan's expression (an after-effect of one too many pranks from the Stoll brothers, she imagines).

"Are you trying to make your own herbal tea? Or...something else?" She points to a few written closely together. "Because these could make a good herbal tea, if you wanted. No offense, but you don't seem the type to brew anything poisonous."

[pistolslinger]

/ what do stars do best?

@ghezenblessed​ asked:  “ you  dare  steal  truth  from  my  lips  by  feeding  me  limbus  grass ?! ”

“ tone it down a notch, merchling, you’re being way too articulate for never have i ever, ”  at first blush, jesper assumes wylan is a little drunk.  usually that HELPS when playing these games — a little liquid courage made most people more honest, after all.  “ steal truth from my lips, ”  he repeats, laughing.  “ no, i am not stealing anything from your lips, ”  except maybe a kiss, later, much later.  “ — i said never have i ever wanted to punch my father, by the way.  you SHOULD drink, otherwise you’re a lying liar. ”

[roseburied]

@ghezenblessed liked for a starter

“ I do have a favorite, “ Inej answers and pulls out the corresponding blade. She’d named it Sankta Alina, after the same girl who’d given it to her. ( If she was being honest, another blade tied for her favor, the one that Kaz had given her. Her first knife. Though that remained a secret. ) “ I named it Sankta Alina. It’s Ravkan, unlike the others. “ Her smile is quiet as she traces the metal. “ Do you have a favorite explosive or compound? “