'better off dead.'

[break][break] her words ring in the back of his mind, even long after they enter the establishment and get a table for their drinks. he isn't sure why her words get too him as much as they do — in fact, he's seen much more brutal displays of power more than several times over. it's not like he particularly cares about the man. in fact, he isn't sure he even remembers his name.

[break][break] but death? was that really a better option?

[break][break] death is a privilege, father had once said to him. he thinks of the way that Chu-e Choi had once asked him to kill himself, for no reason at all. just because he - a superior - had asked.

[break][break] "huh?" jayden blinks — it's unlike him to be distracted. "fine." when the waitress returns with the drinks, jayden holds the drink in his hand rather than take a sip. "i've just returned from kanto — not sure if you heard."

[break][break] after all, rumor traveled fast through the rocket sub.

[attr="class","notes"] parker jones

[attr="class","wizzcredit"]☉

how ya been? the question goes unanswered for a few uncomfortable seconds. parker raises a brow, but he doesn't even see that. so she takes another swig and waits for him to come back from wherever the hell he is. it's interesting, really. 'cause now that the job's done, she's willing to forget. but is he thinking about it? about breaking bax's fingers? about the shit they do to get by?

"heard some things, yeah. can't believe ya left without saying goodbye." she snorts. she's not actually hurt. they've known each other a while, but have they ever been close? 

does jayden know how to get close to someone? does she?

she takes another swig and belches into her hand. "you miss all the boogie monsters here? bet kanto's like a fuckin' paradise compared to this shit."

jayden cross

☉

without saying goodbye?

he blinks once again, reminded of mint frost .

[break][break] "i didn't know you'd miss me."

[break][break] it sounds like a depressing statement coming from anyone else, but from jayden, it simply bleeds honesty. after all, a goodbye would indicate him not intending to return. after rocket's initial fall from the death of their leader, jayden had no intention of losing sight of his family ever again.

[break][break] taking a sip out of his own drink — which he does so with a delicacy that nearly seems ironic to the loud belch of his comrade — jayden turns to her.

[break][break] he doesn't arch his brow, but one can almost feel his judgement from the way he looks at her. assessing her, as if contemplating whta to say.

[break][break] "have you ever been to kanto?"

[break][break] this time, it's curious.

[attr="class","notes"] parker jones

[attr="class","wizzcredit"]☉

that a joke? she's a street rat, been fighting for her pitiful fucking life since her mom popped out the two little kids she called her regrets in some rundown hospital west of slateport. from street rat to urchin to pocket pincher to bruiser. what a career path, that. 

but she's not stupid. she knows about rocket's history with kanto. knows it's probably not some fantasy world where everyone sings kumbaya and goes to sleep with both eyes closed. 

she gives him a funny look. "no," she says. "it still as fucked as it was when ya left it?"

jayden cross

☉

without saying goodbye?

he frowns. "it's not fucked."

[break][break] to someone else, they wouldn't have noticed any changes in his expression. but to someone like parker jones, it was easy to see the slight defensiveness to his tone.

[break][break] after all — in a lot of ways, kanto could be considered his home.

[break][break] "but it is about the same, yes." he pauses, taking a sip of the drink in front of him, watching the ice clink against the glass surface. "the demons there are just as bad as the ones here. maybe even worse."

[break][break] his brow arches. "though — i hear hoenn's been a having a rough time of it."

[break][break]

[attr="class","notes"] parker jones

[attr="class","wizzcredit"]☉

well, consider her understanding of kanto severely lacking. not that it bothers her. parker's world has been real small since the damn day she was born. barely explored all of hoenn, nevermind set a toe out of the region. everything she knows is from propaganda/whatever shit she sees online.

at that, she takes another swig, gaze glancing down, not missing the way he's nursing his. 

"feels like we're in some fantasy book or some shit. giant trees growing outta the ground, damn meteor comin' to wipe us out..." she harks a laugh. "and here i am shaking down low-lives for the last o' their pennies. gotta keep the machine goin', right?" 

jayden cross

☉

a fantasy book... the thought briefly reminds him of the likes of luka chêne or Eris Halla. either seemed more like the type to entertain such novelties.

[break][break] for his own part, he couldn't remember a time that his mother ever read him a bedtime story.

[break][break] perhaps if she had, it would feel quite like this.

[break][break] murder, death, and destruction. all things cäcilia cross would never stray from, at least not after dmitri had sunk his fangs into her.

[break][break] "rocket will find a solution," he says, with the kind of finality of someone who knows nothing else. many would be concerned or unsure of their future — jayden had no such doubts. he trusted in rocket, the same way he trusted in his body's ability to breathe for him. with a nod, he agrees. "even the smallest actions can make the difference. my father always said — even a pawn can corner a king."

[break][break] he sets his glass down.

[break][break] "how have you been? it's been a while."

[attr="class","notes"] parker jones

[attr="class","wizzcredit"]☉

rocket will find a solution. of that, she has no doubt. humans are tenacious little things and there's too much money to be made to let something as ridiculous as a meteor stop rocket from taking its fill. she snubs her nose and takes another swig, polishing off another can. 

millie comes back then, no doubt watching to be there with a fresh can as soon as she sees parker's fingers dimpling her current one. the bruiser hands her the discard and rattles off a complicated burger order, then pushes the menu at jayden, whom she's sure hasn't even given it a glance yet. 

"well, don't keep the nice lady waiting."

after he orders and after she's gone, she smacks her chest and belches. "been good. same ol', same ol'. worked a job with a fuckin' higher-up recently, go figure. job's gotten harder though. gotta admit. with trade shut down, it's been a bitch shakin' down money that ain't there."

jayden cross

☉

"ah."

[break][break] under the gaze of the bar's patron, jayden feels something prickle under his skin. nearly like pressure.

[break][break] it was a bit ironic — the way that he could so easily break a man's thumb without a sense of remorse or fear, yet felt suddenly under fire when a stranger expected something from him.

[break][break] he pushes the menu away.

[break][break] "number three will be fine, and a whisky if you would."

[break][break] as they return to their conversation at hand, jayden nods. "it must be even more difficult with the barrier up." he was sure that with no external influence, certain individuals find themselves more pressed for cash.

[break][break] "you will do well," he remarks, with the same kind of absolutism that he has with rocket. the same kind of loyalty. because no matter how close he and parker jones are, he has no doubts about her skill.

[attr="class","notes"] parker jones

[attr="class","wizzcredit"]☉

millie saunters away to fulfill their order, leaving parker nodding approvingly at jayden's choice of drink. it's a dingy place - they're not gonna have more than rotgut shit, but she holds her tongue. with their orders in, millie comes back quickly with another round of drinks for them. 

parker pops the top of her pbr and leans forward, forearms on the bar. 

"yeah, always make it work," she says with all the enthusiasm in the world. she rubs her thumbs, one over the other. "we know what it is yet? or why it's put us in a damn bubble?"

jayden cross

☉

he wishes he had an answer for her, but unfortunately he doesn't. just like everyone else, it seemed much about the barrier was shrouded in mystery.

[break][break] "Lulu Flint and Raphael Pryde are looking into it."

[break][break] he was sure many others had as well, including himself. he thinks back to his excursion with the others who had part of the map, and wonders if their setup had been all in vein.

[break][break] "have you gone to visit the barrier? i have." he sighs, tossing a drink back. "we even used a z-move at it. but it didn't seem to have any type of effect." or at least not one that he could see. perhaps someone intelligent like illeana reyes or more versed in the environment, like annalise henderson, might know better.

[break][break] he glances towards his companion.

[break][break] "is there anything you wanted to do outside the barrier?"

[attr="class","notes"] parker jones

[attr="class","wizzcredit"]☉