[ OPEN ] split tomorrow from today

[godshattering]

Who: Claude and various
When: November + December
Where: Nocwich, Cadens, TBA
What: Catch all for both months
Warnings: None currently, will add/mark as needed


( Open and closed starters in the comments! Also good with prose or brackets and please feel free to wildcard into the open prompts with something else. If you'd prefer plotting first, you can find me at indech, arboria#1862, or by PM at any time! )

Comments

[itookashot]

"No, they don't know anything about us. That's a lie from the start." Jesper sounds completely confident of that, and he is. Pure logic, same as what Claude said. If they knew what everyone could do, if they knew who they were before, this entire thing would look very different. If they could control who they brought, they'd be picking the right soldiers. Jesper is convinced it's a completely randomized spell of some kind and they don't know a thing about them, except perhaps their name. The arcana is magically assigned to them.

"They're watching us but they haven't used us yet, it's baffling. We literally have people who can lift a bloody tank, and no one's come around forcibly conscripting. It makes no sense." And if they use Jesper to get into that, it's a concern, but in general he has been paranoid about this for a long time. They could try much more to get them to work for them, but they don't. He's used to powerful groups having a clear nefarious intention.

That honestly adds to all this fear because it means there is no clear answer. What they want, what they'll do. No one knows because they have yet to flex any muscle whatsoever. It is going to make him crazy until something finally makes sense, even if it's villainous, especially if it is.

"I'm the same way, but not good at accepting it, as I'm sure you've figured out." Jesper likes being the loyal one but he squirms at being the one that needs the protecting. It's not his role in the gang. He's the gun Kaz points and pulls the trigger. "I'll talk to the boss, we'll make a plan." He pauses. "Kaz, I mean. He's quiet so not a lot of people know he's around." Always scheming though. And Jesper's around him a lot, until recently.

[godshattering]

"No, none of it makes sense." That much he can agree with, considering Claude remains convinced the powers that be do know something about them through conversations he's had with others who've been here far longer than he has. Some of that also includes what Jesper's said in their own various talks, and all of it has been fitting together into the puzzle in his mind of what's happening. Or what he thinks is happening, at least, and it's not something he feels particularly inclined to argue with anyone. In the end, they're all being kept in the dark for reasons they likely don't want to actually know.

Far easier to latch onto one tangent after another to get further away - somewhat - from the Free Cities' plans for them. There's another smile that crosses Claude's face though he somewhat hides it behind casually scratching his chin like he's in thought. "Well, that makes something else we have in common when it comes to not being good at accepting it. I meant it about it taking me a while to let people in."

That part's still a work in progress and one he'd rather not continue talking about since if he and Jesper really share that, Claude's guessing neither one of them want to hash it out in detail. There's the mention of a name following a boss and that gets his attention, though neither are things he can place about Jesper right then while thinking it over so there's a slight shake of his head. "I'm sure I've seen him around though I'm not sure if we've talked. Or if we have then it was only in passing, though that's been true for many people lately. He's someone you're close to from home, then?"

[itookashot]

"I've been here eleven months just waiting for them to show their cards. I thought when the war began they would." It is extremely annoying to be sitting here all this time, paranoid and suspicious, with them technically doing nothing to make his fear justified. At least if they did, they all would finally know what the deal is. This unknown quantity is frustrating. Jesper likes knowing the motives of his enemies, and he does still see them as that.

"Oh. Yes. My closest friends didn't know I was a Grisha. Only Kaz." Jesper kept that very close to the vest with the people he loves, he can be very cagey about it. He started to be more open about his abilities here, and look at where that's probably led him. Besides, he has a reason he likes to be seen as the fun and cheerful guy who never seems worried. It's a good front that doesn't encourage deeper questions.

The fact he said only Kaz knew probably says a lot about where his trust lay from the start. Although he never really told him, he already knew, and he had Jesper do some things for him. "He's the leader of the gang Inej and I are in. The three of us are a unit." There are more Dregs, and Wylan and Nina exist, but it really is the three of them at the core. Kaz and his two hands, the dagger and the gun.

"He's ... I'm not going to say shy, but he has a hard time connecting with people. It's put him at a disadvantage here, and made starting over difficult." Jesper and Inej have a much easier time making friends and allies, which has always been true. But Kaz was always the leader, so in Ketterdam, he was in control. He hasn't been adapting the way he wants to. "He is one of the most loyal people you'll ever meet, but he is also cold and difficult." And Jesper is madly in love with him, naturally.

[godshattering]

"You and me both," Claude says in regards to things being pushed into motion when the attacks started, though this is mostly muttered under his breath. Probably no need to outright state something they've agreed upon several times over, and while he doesn't (and can't) share Jesper's specific kind of anxiety of what it could mean for the other personally, there's still plenty Claude wouldn't wish to put at a stake between all of them here. The lack of anything from the Free Cities is unnerving.

That's less interesting to him for time being than hearing more about Kaz, and there's a slight eyebrow raise from Claude at the man in question being the only one who knew Jesper was a Grisha. Such a statement puts into clear focus how much trust Jesper puts into Kaz based on what Claude now knows, and he nods slightly at the mention of being a unit. Also an easy sentiment to understand, and the loss of such a thing he's been feeling since arriving and finding no familiar faces. Even now though the Singularity saw fit to bring others from Fodlan here, there's still specific ones he's missing.

"I can certainly relate to that, from the perspective of starting over after being away from those you've come to trust. Maybe a little less the cold part, though." With a grin for good measure, mostly because Claude's one to joke before things stretch on for far too serious for too long, and this conversation's certainly qualified as much. But he's also not trying to insult 1) someone he doesn't know and 2) someone important to Jesper, and there's something else to add in there.

"I remember Inej telling me a bit about him, now that I think about it, but she only called him her boss. I'd mentioned at the time if he was looking for something to do with the merchants I'd be happy to see what I could do there. It doesn't exactly take away any growing pains of the starting over part, but that offer still stands if you'd like to extend it to him as well."

Maybe wrap on yours!

[itookashot]

Wouldn't it just be wild if they live there for years and no one ever says anything to them? It's definitely improbable, but some Summoned have been in this world for a year and a half. Some things have happened to them in that time, but nothing major since coming to the other factions. Jesper wishes he was someone who could simply shrug and go about his life not waiting for the hangman's noose, but he isn't.

"Cold is not a word I would use for you, no." He is friendly the way Jesper is friendly, much of the time. But he can see the wheels in his head turning too, the way that Kaz has. In that they may have some things very much in common, with a major difference being how to put themselves out into the world. "Where we're from, playing nice isn't an option if you want to live with power." Even Jesper with all his warmth and playfulness can be downright cold when he has to be. It would surprise people how cold he can be. "Kaz created a carefully curated persona back home."

As a gang leader, especially a young one, he had to make himself different and powerful and unique. Being cold as ice was one way to do that. Everyone feared him, and if they didn't, they learned to. He had to be that way, for a lot of reasons. "He's working on trying something new here." Or rather, letting go of Dirtyhands. It's impossible to duplicate what they had in Ketterdam.

"I would recommend, if you see him, approaching him yourself. He likes to deal with people directly." Also someone as friendly as Claude may actually get him to say more than a few sentences. It's possible. "I'm going to head back. Thank you, Claude. For covering and letting me know." If he'd been blindsided, he would be absolutely fucked.

it's a wrap!

[godshattering]

A carefully curated persona rings all too true in Claude's ears and in a way that makes him feel slightly Perceived. Even if it's Kaz Jesper's talking about and not him specifically, and even if Claude's persona is still him within it from start to finish. It just comes with several layers of deliberately crafted walls and veneers layered over top to keep some distance and to make it easier to pivot when needed.

That doesn't match up with what he's inferring from Jesper's descriptions of his friend in the end; it's far more likely they were operating on different levels of cutthroat though he's familiar with that too. Whether and how exactly it's something that also differs remains to be seen, but based on what Jesper tells him? He's certainly going to have to keep a better eye out for Kaz to see about chatting sometime. Consider him intrigued enough for directness himself or rather, his own brand of it which may or may not be successful in the end.

Still, he pushes himself off the wall where he's been leaning with a nod. Best to not linger for too long where they are lest guards walk by and raise their own questions. "Of course, Jesper. And I meant what I said: you can always count on me for that in the future."

One last easy smile, and then it's off to finish that courier route.