Hellwasp Daisy Chain

[quick_clean_pure]

Graverobber's chilling at the bar top enjoying a cold beer, doing his thing. It's been a busy summer of wheeling and dealing and stealing, so he's glad for a moment to just sit and have a little alcoholic wheat juice to relax with.

At least until he feels a sharp stinging in his neck that knocks him out of his relaxed state, making him shout "MotherFUCKER" in a much louder voice than was probably necessary. He tries to smack at the bug but it's already flown away, leaving no evidence of its existence apart from the sting mark on Graverobber's skin.

Weirdly, as he sits down, his first thought isn't about the bug, but about his cursing. Did he just shout foul language in a public place? What a rude thing to do. Hm.

Comments

[deadeye_shot]

Hawkeye is sitting at the bar, sipping a coffee and working on paperwork. Her bearing screams military, from the straight-backed posture to the uncompromising gaze to the impeccable navy blue uniform with grey trim. She glances up at the man's shout. "Are you all right?"

[quick_clean_pure]

He glances over at Hawkeye and nods. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry 'bout that."

Graverobber waves vaguely in the direction that the bug flew off in. "I just got startled. I think a bee stung me or something."

[deadeye_shot]

"Oh, I'm sorry," Hawkeye says, signing another requisition form. "I'm First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye."

She offers a hand.

[quick_clean_pure]

"No worries, it looks like it's vanished for now," he says. He takes her hand with a friendly smile and shakes. "Good to meet ya. I go by Graverobber."

[deadeye_shot]

"Pleasure to meet you, Graverobber," Hawkeye says, withdrawing her hand. "What do you do for a living?"

[quick_clean_pure]

"Um...basically, exactly what the name implies," he says, sound sheepish, embarrassed even. For a second, he's a little disgusted with himself. Jesus, he's involved in such a filthy business. "I rob graves. It ain't the nicest thing I've ever done."

[deadeye_shot]

Hawkeye's pen stills as he speaks. "Oh," she says, blinking at him. "Have you not been caught yet? What's the punishment for that sort of thing in your world?"

[quick_clean_pure]

"Not yet. Or, well, not permanently," he says, still sounding almost sheepish as he says it. In his mind, he remembers how casually he's discussed this in the past, and he feels annoyed at himself -- why is he so comfortable bragging about his own lawlessness? "The punishment if you get caught's usually execution. I've been lucky."

[deadeye_shot]

"Your world sounds harsh," Hawkeye notes, her hair falling over her right eye as she inclines her head very slightly.

[quick_clean_pure]

"It really is," he says with a sort of what-can-you-do laugh. "Ridiculously so. It's kind of a mess right now, been a mess for a while."

[deadeye_shot]

"What sort of mess?" Hawkeye asks, and then glances up at him. "if you're comfortable talking about it, that is."

[quick_clean_pure]

"I don't mind," he answers. "I mean, it's a bit of a long story, but basically there was a plague a while back, and it killed a lot of people. A company made a cure that was able to save people, but they've kind of taken over the world ever since and are even more greedy and messed-up than lots of companies in charge would be."

[deadeye_shot]

"That sounds like an efficient way to dominate the world," Hawkeye says, frowning slightly. "So, why do you rob graves? Valuables?"

[irish_vagabond]

"Dude!"

Cassidy's cheerful greeting is accompanied by a hearty clap on the back.

"What's up, mate? Got any Zydrate to spare? Really lookin' for a hit right about now."

Yes, he is asking for drugs aloud! In the open! Without shame!

[quick_clean_pure]

Oh no. Oh noooooo.

"Hey there," Graverobber says, rubbing his neck where he got stung. For a second, he starts to answer, saying, "I got-"

And then there's this wash of shame, or regret. Why the fuck had he brought this stuff to the bar? Sure, Cassidy probably wouldn't die from it, but it was still fucking addictive shit. He had vials jangling around in his coat, but for the first time in possibly ever, he doesn't flick them out to sell.

"I mean...you sure you want any? This shit's the most fucking addictive stuff I've ever seen. Don't know if I told you that when I first sold you on it. I probably should've."

[irish_vagabond]

ok what



"...Yyyyeeah, I know that. Prrrreetty sure I still want some. Why? What's the problem?"

Graverobber is doing Cassidy a concern.

[quick_clean_pure]

And Graverobber is concerned in turn! He was selling this stuff to people! Addictable people!

"I mean, it's just that this shit is like the most potent crap, and I don't know I ever emphasized that enough when I brought it here," he says, seeming a little uneasy. "Lots of people are hooked back home. Stupid amounts of people, it's crazy."

[irish_vagabond]

Hm. Something's going on here.

"Alright, look, mate," Cassidy says, leaning in a little and lowering his voice, "if someone's been tellin' you to stop selling out in public, that's fine, mate, just say so. We can take it to the men's loo or something, somewhere more private. I don't mind."

Because this is obviously the problem, right?

[quick_clean_pure]

"No, no, it's not like that-" he says, shaking his head. "I mean, yeah, people have said that but that's not what's going on." Shit, he hadn't even stopped after that Guppy guy gave him that lecture. He'd really been shameless about all of it, hadn't he?

"I'm just, I don't know, feeling differently about things." Which is odd, come to think of it.

[irish_vagabond]

Cassidy nods, frowning deeply.

"Mm. Right. I see. Well, how 'bout this: we pop into the loo, you give me a hit of the stuff, I pay for it with a full meal as usual, an' then I can help you with your feelings. That okay?"

[quick_clean_pure]

Graverobber thinks about protesting, opens his mouth to say something, then sighs. "Fine, fine, sure," he says, because getting into an argument in the middle of the bar just seems tacky at that moment, for some reason.

"Just, you know, you don't have to, okay?"

[irish_vagabond]

"Don't have to what?" he asks, with some more confused blinking.

[quick_clean_pure]

"Use drugs. Buy from me. Use drugs you buy from me. All of that shit," he says, waving his hand vaguely at his own coat.

[irish_vagabond]

...!?!

Has Graverobber been replaced by a pod person??

"Okay, well, but y'see, I want to," he explains slowly and plainly. He doesn't know how to make it any clearer than that. "It's what I do, mate, I take drugs, I take a lot of drugs. What you've got, is only one more drug in a whole plethora of narcotics that have already gone through my system. It's not a big deal. Honest. Just-- let me buy some drugs from you. I like supporting my friends' businesses when I can."

[quick_clean_pure]

"Okay, yeah, but you don't gotta support mine," he says, and he realizes what he's saying is kind of strange. He knows, on some level, that this is the opposite of what he'd normally say. "Or anybody's, really. Or, I don't know, you could get clean and not worry about this shit."