perfectible | duplicity ic inbox

[ she orders a beer and settles in her seat, smiling softly at his question.]

I'm... [ she pauses for a moment...] Well, to be honest, I got attacked in the Down a few days ago. [ she doesn't want to be too heavy but she figures that eventually he might be able to see the bruise on her jaw despite her makeup and the turtleneck she's using to hide hand-shaped bruises there.] I'm okay but just... [ she shrugs since she's just trying to be honest.]

What about you?

You were attacked? By who? Or...what?

( because that's a possibility here, isn't it? that the thing that could have attacked her was a what and not a who. he leans forward to peer at the bruises before he grimaces and shakes his head. )

I — well, I've been better than that. Just trying to get used to living where I am.

( he's lived hard before, he can do it again. )

Just trying to adjust to what's going on around me.

I don't know who he was. [ she sighs softly before turning to thank the bartender as he puts a beer in front of her.] I think he thought since I was dropping off supplies in the Down, I would have money on me. [ except for the fact that he never asked for money or anything, he simply attacked her.] It's not the first time that's happened.

[ his words have her brow furrowing as she takes a sip of her drink.] Are you contracted yet?

Good to hear that things like mugging people for their money is still a thing that happens here.

( there's a heavy dose of sarcasm in his voice and he shakes his head, taking another slow sip of his drink before he gives his head another shake in answer to her question. )

Haven't really even thought about it. I know I have to but...

( he shrugs. )

I guess one of the few normal things about this place. [ the crime. but even then, it's not actually normal considering murder isn't permanent and there's barely any jail time for people. the punishments are different.]

I've never been a submissive but I think it gets easier once you have a contract. This place isn't ever really fair. [ at least from what she'd seen but it all could depend on the type of contract you make and with whom.] Until you find someone you want to contract with... if you need anything, I'm happy to help. [ it's not exactly allowed but she doesn't care.] And there are others who are too.

That's nice of you, thank you. I don't know if I'm going to find someone that I want to hold my leash, though.

( it feels too much like giving up control and he doesn't like doing that in situations such as this. even if the person's the nice as they can be and willing to work with him, it feels like giving too much up.

he slides a thumb along his lip and sighs, glancing over. )

I'd offer you the same thing, help if you need it, but I don't know how I could do that.

[ she doesn't want to point out that he doesn't have much of a choice. he'll have to choose someone eventually but she does say:] I tried to fight signing a new contract a long time after my boyfriend got sent back home. [ she lets out a breath.] They lock you up when you wait too long.

[ she's facing that again, if reggie doesn't decide on signing with her soon.]

But I get it. [ at his offer, she offers him a smile.] The offer is still welcome though, thank you.

( he huffs, giving his head a shake. wouldn't be the first time that happened and honestly, it might be worth it. he taps a finger against the glass. )

Yeah, we'll see what happens. Jail might not be so bad.

( or maybe it would be considering what he's seen. )

Wish I could do more but — ( he can't and he hates that. instead, he's just going to finish the drink and order another one. )

It's not exactly... jail. [ she doesn't want to be the one to break his confidence, however, she does want to make sure he understands how this place works.]

Being a friend is a good start-- [ she says with a more gentle smile before she takes a long swig.] So where are you from... before you came here? Maybe I've heard of it.

I was born in Colombia.

( which he doesn't really think qualifies as where he's from considering he'd been punted out of his home quickly and then he'd had to scrape by and do some terrible things to survive.

but he'd done them. )

But before this, I was in DC. ( he shrugs. ) Before that, Atlanta. I didn't really stay in one place very long.

So you're well-traveled, [ she puts a positive spin on it, at least.] I grew up in a small town and this is the first time I've lived anywhere else, if you can even count this.

I'd count it. Even if it wasn't really your choice.

( unless her arrival was something different than his. if that was the case then he'd want to know why she chose to come here. but, he doesn't think so.

he twists his glass on the counter, thoughtful. )

How long you been here now?

It really wasn't. [ her choice, either time she'd been brought here, she still doesn't understand how. that's what makes this place and the people who run it so scary. ]

On and off for over a year. I got sent home for a while, so... it's kind of hard to know the exact time.

Yeah, I've only been here for a little while and I've gotten that feeling. It doesn't feel like that long's passed but I know it's been at least a month. Maybe longer.

( he shakes his head, laughing a little. )

Has it been hard? Being here? Adjusting to all the...crap this place thinks is okay to make you do and say and whatever else?

It's weird, right? Clear time passes, there's hours and days, the sun rises and sets but sometimes it feels hard to keep track.

[ she grins around the rim of her beer before she nods gently at his question.]

Yes. I won't sugarcoat it and say it's been easy. It takes time to find a rhythm and to learn to be... okay--[ she makes a face like that's not the right word for it.] to accept the situation and do what you can to live with it.

Yeah.

( he guesses that this place drugging you is one very roundabout way of getting you used to this place and getting you comfortable with sex. he's already had that happen a few times, getting himself drugged and being unable to resist.

she'd been present for one of those things. his cheeks heat up at the thought and he huffs a laugh before he takes another drink. )

You learn to survive, you mean. Deal with it enough that you don't fall apart or lose your mind.

Exactly but if you fall apart... no one's going to blame you. [ she's had her moments, granted this place has done as much as it can to run her down, to drive her mad.]

And then there's bars to get distracted in, I guess.

( he hasn't had his fall apart moment yet and he hopes that he can keep putting it off for as long as possible. he needs to stay focused and alert especially considering recent events. )

Yeah, the bars are a nice distraction.

( he knows better than to lean on them too heavily lest he pick up another bad habit. but, it's good to be able to unwind a bit. )

Maybe I'll take up knitting. ( he's kidding. ) Or something else to keep my hands and mind busy.

There's lots of things here to get distracted in. [ she says before she takes a long sip of her beer. granted her distraction lately has been camgirl-ing.]

And people-- [ she says with a laugh, laughing again at his knitting comment.] Will you make me a scarf?

( her request makes him laugh and he nods even though that's never going to happen. )

Sure. I can make you a scarf. Maybe a pair of mittens to match.

( don't let him do that. )

Might take me about five years to finish but I'll get 'em to you.

And then a hat in ten years? [ she has no expectations of getting any knit goods but it's fun to consider him knitting even if she doesn't know him all that well.

she waves at the bartender to get another drink.] I'm pretty crafty I guess... I kind of had to be one of those all-around pretty good at everything girls back home. Here... I'm just a bartender and sometimes I perform. [ a pause.] I sing sometimes at the Magic Bell, between dancers. Bellamy won't let me dance.

What kind of dancing are you wanting to do?

( he'd ask for forgiveness for his obliviousness but he hasn't really been into very many businesses since he'd gotten here. he'd explored but mostly just to get a lay of the land. )

And why wouldn't he let you especially if you're an adult and it's something you wanna do?

[ she has to bite back a laugh at his perfectly valid questions because yeah, he hasn't been here long enough to realize that the majority of the businesses here are sex-based in one way or another.]

The kind of dancing I did the night you met me. [ she gives him a long, coy look before she turns to take the beer the bartender gives her in exchange for her empty bottle.]

He's like my big brother here so... he doesn't exactly want to see me stripping on stage which is fine. I make good money at the bar.

Ah.

( well, he doesn't blush, at least. he laughs a bit and looks down at his glass, tapping it with a finger before he looks back at her. )

But it's something you want to do? The...dancing like that?

( the stripping. he can say it, he just...doesn't say it. )

[ she, however, does blush a little despite herself. there's nothing to be embarrassed about. and honestly, she'd felt more empowered on that night than she'd ever felt in this place.]

I don't think so. [ she takes a sip of her beer again.] Making it my job would, I think, take the fun out of it. [ she holds the beer to her lips.]

It's not something I've ever really done before either. [ other than the time in the white wyrm back home but that was a completely different thing.] That night was my first time.

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