originaljackass | Ch. 4 - People spend their whole lives wishing they were Jack of Fables

[Great thing about New Feather cycles? Lots of pretty new faces, all of them in skimpy sundresses, many of them in need of a strapping hero to get them settled in. Jack has been kind enough to oblige a fair number of them. Not as many as he'd like, as he's been beaten to the punch several times. ~~Hiatuses, go figure.~~]

[Written]

To all the hotties out there, New Feathers or not, I'm Jack of the Tales. I'm in the market for helping out with some odd tasks. A man's got to keep himself busy, right? So lay something on me. As long as it ain't scrubbing toilets, I'm up for it. But just know that my usual line of work is hero business. It's part of why I'm so legendary.

[Some pen taps go here before:] In fact, if anyone's got any suggestions for a more permanent line of work, I'll hear it. [True, Jack is a conman and likes to skirt by doing nothing, but he's been doing that for a month now and it's going to drive him crazy.]

[Answers to his question or not, Jack is going to take a walk around town, with an absentminded dog-sized blue ox following him around. Jack could care less about the company. Aside from stopping in on the stores, he'll be having dinner at Seventh Heaven and later having a beer at Good Spirits. Also, he might be hanging around outside C4 for any new renters that have moved in. Of the female persuasion, of course, but he'll talk to guys too. He just won't care as much.]

((ooc: I suck at hiatus okay, shut up. Tags will come in spurts here and there.))

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[Ugh, she can practically feel that gaze on her.]

Oh, and ya know me so well - what are ya, some kind of mind-reader?

[She pauses in her walk away to give him an unamused look.] How about readin' it now?

[Hint: The thoughts are unflattering and end with 'get lost.']

You're a pretty little southern belle. You like the fact I'm saying that, but like hell you're going to admit that. You've got issues, lots of issues. Parents are a real bitch, aren't they? I could tell you stories, trust me. But you won't ask me to, because you like to keep those problems to yourself. Besides, even if it was just me doing the talking, you wouldn't want to listen. That would mean getting close and like hell you want to do that. Life is all about look, but don't touch.

[Nope, not moving to go after her. He just kneels down to give Babe a scratch under the chin.]

But you like the looking. You've got it and you know it.

[What, did she wake up this morning and put on a sign along with her gloves? She's halfway tempted to turn around and check her back.

Her voice is tinged with resentment and reluctant admiration.]

Lucky guess.

[She reassess him as well, and one side of her lips turns up in a smirk. She's got a few guesses herself.]

I tend to get lucky like that pretty often. [And when he doesn't, he just evens the score. But clearly he was on the money with her and has got her attention.]

I'll just bet. [The smirk turns the slightest bit sour.] Practice for 'gettin' by?'

[Conmen. She does not like them.]

[He leaves Babe alone and stands back up.]

Maybe I'm hoping to make a career of being a detective. That's how Holmes does it, right?

[Detectives. Even worse. The smirk fades into a line and her drawl thickens a touch.]

I wouldn't know.

[What had she been out here doing again? Her gaze flickers from him to the surrounding area.]

[He waits a tick to see if she works it out.]

Regular or decaf?

[Blink. That just - takes her completely by surprise.]

What?

[Is he asking her out for coffee?]

[A nod over to the aisle with the coffee.]

It's what you came to pick up, right?

Oh! [Yes, someone is clearly without their dose this morning. She turns from him to scan the aisle for her preferred brand.]

Regular. Ain't much point in anythin' else.

[That is not a smile on her face, but her tone did make the migration from 'hard as steal' to 'this is neutral conversation with strangers.']

[Neutral is good. Jack is something of a coffee drinker himself. Sure, almost everyone is, but it's a start.]

Coffee is an American tradition. [And there's not many of us here.] It's practically criminal to go decaf.

Edited 2011-03-14 02:25 (UTC)

[He'd pinned her as a 'belle' before, but this 'American' thing was almost too much to ignore. There was a part of her that knew what he was doing - knew that he was creating a commonality between them in order to better play on her emotions. But then, if she knows his game...

...it's just talking.

And she wonders if he's even from her Earth.]

An' whereabouts are you from?

New York, mostly. But I go all over the place. I've been all over the country and others besides. A man like me, I don't exactly have a place I call home.

[Not on Earth anyway.]

Uh-huh. [A likely story. But he's right about one thing - she's not one to ask too many questions. If he is from her Earth, he doesn't recognize her, and that's not something she's in a hurry to correct. Now where is that coffee?]

What about you? The South, definitely. Mississippi maybe?

[She gives him a startled look.]

Born an' raised. That's quite the ear you have.

Lucky guess.

[Jack's accent is American, but it's not very distinctive. He's too well traveled to have a regional one.]

You're just full of those today. [Maybe she should be worried about telepathy. But then, Rogue's mental defenses have gotten a lot better since the mess with Apocalypse's Monkey-faced Flunky.

[Oh - and there it is. The worst thing about a place that automatically restocks is that it does not automatically restock in the same place. This new place requires Rogue to bend and stretch to retrieve it.]

[If only Jack WAS really a telepath. Alas, it is not the case.

... as for her fetching coffee, well, no harm in watching. No harm at all. At least he has the decency to not make it obvious.]

Shame there's no lottery here to see how far I can take it.

[She straightens up. And he doesn't need to make it obvious. She knows men. And she knows his type.

Her smile is a little sly.]

S'alright. Keep pushin' it. I'm sure you'll win something - eventually.

[And with that, she turns to go.]

I always do. [One way or another. But he makes no move to pursue her. She didn't shut him down or ignore him, so no need to push now.]

I didn't get your name.

[Heh.]

I did say eventually.

[And she just keeps walking.]

[Hard to get, huh?

... sounds fun.]

I can wait.

Ch. 4 - People spend their whole lives wishing they were Jack of Fables

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