// @malafxde (starter call moment)
"There's something off about her," says Gō Koga, Jin's right hand man and fellow creature of the night, seated across from them on this auspicious nighttime voyage that was currently taking them down the coast of Japan. "If I can feel it, then I know damn well that you can, too, and it makes me wonder why she's here with us."
Jin, letting out an unbothered chuckle, looks out a nearby window, watching the dark waves and the moonlit clouds far above them, and the plethora of stars even further beyond both.
"Everyone on this ship has something 'off' about them, Gō," Jin replies offhand, "please try and lighten up."
Gō sighs deeply and then points a finger at Jin. "That's not what I mean and you know it. Her ꜱᴏᴜʟ, Jin, her ᴇʏᴇꜱ, the ꜱᴛʀᴀɴɢᴇ ꜱᴘɪʀɪᴛᴜᴀʟ ᴘʀᴇꜱꜱᴜʀᴇ that follows her, something's more than ᴡʀᴏɴɢ with her, she's--"
Jin turns away from the window nearest him and looks toward Gō Koga, smirking as he interrupts, "she's a ᴡɪᴛᴄʜ, and not one of those 𝘱𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 running around the Soul Society's Western Branch either, she's the 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝖺𝗋𝗍𝗂𝖼𝗅𝖾 through and through; what else would you expect from her?"
The look on Gō's face becomes a mix of worry and anger, and it's reflected in their voice when they loudly say, "she's a what?" Gō is nearly fuming. "You're consorting with a Witch? An actual damned Witch? Jin you can't be serious, you know as well as me that's a fools errand. If you're so keen on meeting death and throwing away lifetimes worth of planning, you-- "
There was a brief, dark shadow in Jin's face, in his eyes, and for a moment it was in his voice, too, when he firmly interrupts Gō again, "don't be so negative and small minded, it's unbecoming of you."
Jin slowly stands, rising with an almost stately grace as he adds, "after all, it's rude to talk about someone who's listening."
Jin then gestures toward and looks in the direction of his cabin's lower entrance where Gabriella stood, where she had stood for the last few minutes, insofar as Jin had been aware, unbeknownst only to Gō Koga (who was now silent in shock as they, too, turned to look).
"Last night's meal has given you a certain glow, Gabriella, it's marvelous," Jin started off, his tone lightening somewhat, and his strong crimson eyes gazing eagerly in Gabriella's direction, "you're practically ɢʟᴇᴀᴍɪɴɢ," like the blade of sharp, yet finely decorated knife catching the light, Jin thought.
"If only my kindred could see you a fraction of the way I do."
Jin then steps away from Gō Koga, moving closer to Gabriella though not quite, only enough to position himself between the two here in this room.
"Outside of the odd word here and there, like our poorly spoken Gō, I trust none of them have been giving you any trouble?"
Gō Koga scoffs at that last remark, and they stare fiercely at Gabriella, as a bear might stare down a pack of wolves, but they.... say nothing, at least for now.








