more_than_tools | Comes a creeper creeping

Entry tags:

glass,
jack

Comes a creeper creeping

Who: Glass and Jack?
When: Some time past a midnight!
What: It's best not to go out alone!

She slipped around the edge of the curtains Khemrys had hung to give them all their spaces and knelt by the cot. Tsk. He'd kicked his blankets off again, chilly little weirdo that he was. She could never get that, blankets were amazing, but then again she was something of an addict when it came to soft things.

Regardless she was going to poke his shoulder, yes, with a finger freshly out of a cast even! "Lazybones," she whispered, "come on or I'm leaving without you. This was your idea!" Or rather he asked where she snuck off to at nights because he was a snoop like that and it was probably easier to just show him than tell him!

And hell, she had some money to make tonight. Khemrys had done well at the local co-op vegetable stand but food money never lasted, that was something she knew all to well. She'd feel better if she could get a nice cushion into the elder kid's hands, and the sooner the better. Some of the kids were looking peaky, which meant they needed better meals, right?

Right.

She was just glad she didn't have to worry about what those better meals were and all that. That many details would probably drive her nuts. "Count of three." And that was three taps, not spoken three, she was pushing it with whispers she'd already given him!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Exactly, four hands were better, and faster, than two some times. Especially when she got a bunch of coats at a time that still had their main wallets in them! Weird how rich, skeevy people had a 'gambling' wallet and a 'normal' wallet. Normals stayed in the coats, with pictures of their kids, business cards, normal life stuff.

The gambling wallets were full of creeper stuff. She'd flipped through one once.

They'd have a hell of a haul this time around! Awesome! "Anyway, how are you doing on the essay Khem assigned us?"

She could feel free to not enlighten Jack as to the existence of creeper wallets, thanks.

It took him a second to realize he was being talked to, but Glass would hardly ask the coat check girl about essays, so he just blinked up at her before shaking his head, expression growing sheepish. "Essay?"

Playing dumb? Maybe. Then again, he did have almost as short an attention span as Sette some days. Who knew if he actually remembered or not.

Yeah, she knew there were limits. She'd be creeped out over in her little corner alone, yes.

"Ohhh, that'll be fun. You remember what she promised Sette, right?" The whole 'if everyone gets their essays done, and well, then they'd take a weekend trip up to Oregon and they'd be allowed to wander loose for a whole weekend at a Ren fair? "I'll make sure the kid writes something nice on your tombstone!"

What, worried? Naw, he wasn't worried. Of course he wasn't worried. "She only says stuff like that to make Sette do things. I'm sure it'll be fine, and anyway, I'll figure something out."

Famous last words, Jack.

"...wow. Did you just suggest Khemrys was lying?" She asked, just to be sure because...wow. "Not that I don't get why you wouldn't want to go, busking there means learning different songs and stuff than your norm and that's hard work but...." wicked teasing? Oh yeah.

"No." The speed of that replied undermined the careful lack of concern in his tone. "I just mean, she's not the kind to punish everyone cause one person messes up, you know?" Not like a lot of people. "Promising Sette stuff is the only way to get her to do anything, so Khem's not gonna not do it if Sette played along or she'd never do anything."

"Yeah, but she's the type to leave the ones who didn't live up to expectations at home..." she pointed out easily. "Also because Sette would say it wasn't fair, and she'd be right you know!"

Ah well, there were worse things than Jack having the warehouse to himself for a bit, right? "Besides, Sette got to pick her topic as long as it was history, so she's writing a report on lockpicking as a trade through history!" she laughed. "So what now smart guy?"

Exactly. If he was the only one that got left behind, then he didn't have to feel bad for forgetting, and if he snuck out after they left anyway, who would know?

It did take him a second to process that, though. Khemrys had really let Sette do a report on lockpicking? "Probably half of it is just her bragging how she'd do better than whoever she's writing about. You know that. But fine, what'd you do?"

"Weren't you listening at all?" Glass sighed. Boys. "Khemrys said a report has to be about other people, so Sette had to take autobiographical stuff out of her rough draft. I think she'll do it because Ren Faires are just...a lot of fun. And Sette could get in so much trouble there." So of COURSE Sette would want to go!

"Me? Why? Stuck on your own?" she snorted. "I'd like you at the fair but that doesn't mean you get to copy you know."

"Already said I didn't do it, didn't I? More or less. Hard to be stuck on something you never started." He pocketed another bill before going up to grab more coats. He didn't like school stuff at the best of times. Khem knew that, right? And he was getting old enough that he shouldn't have to do it anyway. Yeah. He shouldn't have to do stuff like school, cause when was he ever gonna use it?

Of course, that argument would work really well right up until he actually tried to say that to Khemrys, but he'd probably chicken out before he ever managed to get that far. "So I wasn't paying attention. That's not new. Maybe I don't want to go, anyway. I don't know. Drop it, okay?"

Mostly he just felt stupid, but being upset about getting badgered was a lot easier than being upset over being stupid.

"You got time if you don't sleep for a few days," she pointed out with a shrug as she took a lint roller to one coat in dire need of it. "But sure. I'll bring you a souvenir." Or something.

"So where did you and Kernan pop off to the other day? Saw you guys step out but you weren't supply running..."

Now that was an infinitely better topic. He didn't answer immediately, hanging up a couple more coats first before shoving them aside to grin at her from across the rack. "That... is a secret."

And a very good secret, too, his tone said. His expression, on the other hand, said it wasn't exactly a secret he planned to keep to himself for long. Just as long as it was still amusing to do so.

That actually made her burst out a laugh, a sound loud enough to earn a hissing shush from the front. "I see, you guys got a boys only club." She'd just assume they needed guy time then. Why not after all?

"Cool boys only, thank you very much." And pun very much intended. "No Raistlins allowed. Can you even imagine him trying to have fun?"

Jonas could maybe come if he wanted to, but Jack couldn't exactly see him wanting to.

"I think it'd be good for him to try!" she laughed honestly. "He's got the 'I could be a serial killer if I wanted to be' vibe going so some normal stuff might be good for him!" But who was she to know? She wasn't a shrink or anything!

"Okay, fine, you've got a cool boys club where, lemme guess, you skip off to avoid homework?"

"Easy for you to say. He doesn't look at you like you might end up on the other end of that serial killering." He grinned, dramatically drawing his thumb across his throat in illustration.

"Like Kernan would let me avoid homework entirely. Khem's got him wrapped around her little finger, you know? But yeah, he lets me put it off a little."

"Sure he does, but I ignore it!" she laughed easily. "Someone comes at me like that ever and I'll stick them in an invisible box!" And it would last a good long while if she was that scared!

"And yeah, that's true, but a little while is still okay I guess. Still, bring me a souvenir next time?"

"That's a trick." And he could think of so many ways to use it if he could just get her to play along.

"Better than nothing, right? He brings the whole pack, too." Which was more fun than Jack would have expected since they were usually coming and going all the time. "I'd try to bring you something, but it'd probably melt, then you'd be all 'ugh, Jack, why'd you bring me stupid water?'" Yes, that was the girliest voice he could manage. No, it sounded nothing like Glass. Yes, he still thought it was funny.

"And a trap," she agreed easily. "And useful, stuck a whole gang in a box once when I was with my dad. They were mad he won at pool." And that was how they got money for food and beds most days!

Anyway. "Wow, you practice that one? You almost sound like a dying chihuahua!" That was his intent, right?

So many ways.

"Here I was trying to sound like you. Dying chihuahua's a step up. Thanks!" He was a little disappointed that they'd gotten away from him having a great secret, but getting to tease Glass was almost as good. They'd get back to it eventually.

"Might want to get your hearing checked if you think any girl sounds like that," she mused, poking his shoulder cheerfully. "Or better use it on Kernan and watch him stare at you blankly as he tries to decide which of us you're failing at!"

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Comes a creeper creeping

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject