justicereigns | Appointment Post / Voicemail / All That Jazz

--wasn't injured, just tired. This mission...is described as being solely about infiltration and sabotage. No combat. It's in one of their facilities, and we'd be disguised like their own. It's very. Simple. Work.

...I left my meds back at the house, is the thing. They do help, but I can't do this job right if I skip doses. Which, normally, I don't.

Well, you definitely have to get back there even if you are intending to leave again. And if you meant to have me fetch it, that I'll refuse. They're still your friends, even if you're fighting. You'll have to face them sooner or later. It's not like this village is big enough to avoid them indefinitely.

...I know.

[He did. Truly. If his earth wasn't large enough for Goemon to hide in, then there was no way that he could stay isolated from 46 for forever.

Besides. He wanted his Walther ad his Bryar.]

Do you have any suggestions? I feel like there's a huge cultural difference here, once we take away the harsh words.

[Because he felt validated in his first decision, but was willing to admit that he was looking for a weapon with the second.]

[Gives him a blank stare.]

I'm not exactly great at talking to people, thief. [You know. Yelling at them to shut the fuck up, eat shit, and stop telling him what to do? SURE that he's great at. But he doesn't exactly try to make amends afterward. Either his friends put up with him, or don't. He doesn't change either way.] I'd stick to pointing out that you aren't really that much safer in Luceti than on a mission. You could still wind up facing droids here or getting kidnapped. Not so much while on the mission.

If they're so worried you're going to do something rash, then they should either go alongside to help or let it be. [Shrugs and rolls his shoulders.] Tch. Keep in mind, the only person here I'd even listen to if they tried to reign me in is Ikki, and it would take some pretty extreme circumstances. If they're your friends, they have to remember you're not a child. You'll do what you want one way or another, just as your friends from home understand.

[He smiled--a bitter, twisted little thing--at Smoker's commentary.]

You know? That's what I was kind of hoping they would be like in the first place. I don't know if they can understand this level of scoundreling, because it might be too much...

[He narrowed his eyes thoughtfully and blew a ring of smoke out into the spacious room, thinking about everything he had experienced over the better part of the last year. Had it really been almost a year?]

...I just want to come to a reasonable compromise. The Malnosso have shoved us together through Shifts, and I want to think that all of this wasn't just a reaction to their lies. It would be a shame if it was...

[A sigh. Another plume of smoke.]

Good god, I feel like a regular, domestic person asking all of these questions! What next, am I going to go to the same bar with the same crowd of people every friday night for the next twenty years?

[Mildly amused.] There's something to be said for that kind of lifestyle.

If you think you're in the right Lupin, then they should come around. And if they don't...

[Another shrug. Sorry man, it's not comforting, but Smoker's REALLY not a comforting man. Seriously, he's not. ~~Unless yelling at you to get stronger is your thing? He's good at that.~~]

Don't worry about it too much. If you can't find what you're looking for, maybe just shift where you're looking.

You sure, Smoker? It sounds like a boring existence to me. [But his lips quirked upward into a reluctant smile--mostly glad that he still had a reliable friend in the Marine. ] I'll rework my plans then, just in case. They're tied up in my plan to steal the fountain, and they're most likely not going to want in.

[He would do it himself if he had to. The project was that important.]

...In the meanwhile, I'd like to get back to training. Doing something--anything--helps. The barracks have always been a good place to hang out too.

There's something to be said for boring too. [If all his justice was done with, he wouldn't mind a quiet life. But pirates were never all gone so he'd keep fighting. Moot point thoughts.]

[His ears flick again about stealing the fountain. Even knowing "stealing" is in a loose sense of the term and Lupin claims he'll return it, it still unnerves his cop instincts, but he lets it slide with a wave of the hand.]

Are you stable enough for it? It'd be hypocritical to tell the doctor to take it easy and then not do the same right back.

...I need something. I've been taking it easy for two months, and that is far too long for me. I need projects. I need work...or else I know I'm just going to do something crazy. It always happens.

[He sighed and drew again on his cigarette.]

I have worked on a little something, but it hasn't helped keep me calm. It just took the edge off.

Oh? What was it?

[Removes the jacket and loosens the straps on his jitte so he can give Lupin some basic warm ups to get slowly started. He's hardly specialized in P.T. though so as far as recovery, he'd rather a doctor was still overseeing it, but so far as Smoker's concerned, Lupin's an adult, he has to learn to take care of himself, one way or another.]

[Lupin likewise removed his jacket and took another puff on his cigarette before snuffing it out, but smirked playfully at Smoker. It didn't take near as long to clear his mind and focus on the currents this time. The barracks was an ever-familiar location; he knew how the air flowed.

For a brief second he felt the air still as he exhaled in a wreath of smoke--

A simple motion of his hand sent a bare puff of air to agitate the cloud. It wasn't much, but it was something.]

[Smoker's eyes narrow in focus, taking a little while to adjust and spot the exact movements. Yay for haki.]

Wind spirits? I'm surprised. It doesn't seem your style. Did Valvalis teach you? [That would also be surprising as she doesn't like men.]

[Lupin laughed, pleased.]

No--but Fujiko mentioned her. I wanted to try something different. It only took a month of meditation, random conversations on magical theory, and a week of bunking with Law for me to figure out how to do anything with Kipinn.

...besides, I heard that he can help enforce silence. Do you know how awesome that can be for sneaking around to gather information?

[Small stare. :| Trafalgar Law. Why. No, he won't ask. He just... doesn't want to know.]

[Still the silence and sneaking around -_-']

Far be it from me to complain about anyone being quieter in this place.

[He's well aware that Smoker and Law are by no means on the same side and that they even hold a degree of dislike for each other, but that kind of conflict was never a detriment for Lupin. Both men were included in his emergency contacts solely because of their stolid natures. Both men were also among those whom Lupin considered to be the sanest people in the village.

Lupin respected them both, and liked to think of them as friends.]

I just wanted something to even the odds, really. Say what you want, I'm tired of having to rely on anyone's help. If people here use magic and I can learn it? Sure, if it helps level the playing field a little. Brawls and fights aren't my forte, but having more tools never hurt.

...besides, I promised Keimi that I would learn from the water spirit with her. This is practice, but I like the benefits.

Edited 2012-09-17 22:21 (UTC)

[He perks up a bit at the last part.] Good. She does better when she's got someone learning along with her. She could do it all on her own, but... [A shrug. Mermaids and daughters man. Women.]

...but it's more fun with company.

[Lupin finished the sentence and began his stretches to warm up. There was something comfortable about getting back into these movements, like they were an almost forgotten pattern from his time hanging around the université--never mind that he only hung around the campus to pick up girls.]

I didn't have anyone to learn from the wind spirit with, so learning with Keimi will be a very nice change. She's sweet--oh, and I placed an order with her. Her professionalism is remarkable!

[A quiet snort.] I'll take your word on it.

[He's not a "company" kind of guy. Even for this, it's more that Lupin's there rather than a preference to have Lupin there. Hard to explain.]

She worked with a very famous clothing design in our world. [Nods.] Hina's a fan of the line. [A shrug.] I don't know clothes well, just that it's famous. It's nice to know that she'll have good reasons to stay busy though. [And maybe someone can encourage her into believing in herself more.]

[Lupn snorted in bitter amusement.]

Anything that helps to keep busy is a good thing in this place. This constricted little paradise of a cage...

[That restlessness that he had been so good about managing even 4 months before was there lingering below the surface. He could ignore it, and had been, but he needed a change.]

...Too dark. I need to get back to training, clearly. You know, even the little that we have done did help me last month.

I kicked that god.

God-- the one that hurt your arm?

That's right. I also tripped him up.

...Everyone but Law lectured me about that. I knew the risks, and I still got lectured for making what was one of the better choices.

[Shrugs.]

Some friends are like that. Hina wouldn't be Hina if she didn't lecture me on every damn little thing I do.

Even when there's no other good choice? Even when you're clearly the one with the most experience in that field and should be the one to make the call?

[STARES AT.]

I thought you supposedly knew women well.

Thief, I didn't get the reputation as White Hunter by tripping over myself. But I also had her bailing me out at the academy for talking back all the time. I always follow my own justice, no matter what. Even my enemies know it. She knows it, just sees fit to lecture me anyway. [Shrug.] Fuck if I know why, it doesn't get her anywhere and it certainly doesn't make her feel better, she just does.

[Yeah because you know, nearly getting court martialed or stealing her private ship for his own business had nothing to do with it. Nope.]

[Justice. That was always what it came down to with Smoker. Justice, though it could be interpreted as following one's own path. Though they worked on opposing sides, they were alike in that respect. Justice. Honor. They amounted to the same thing.]

...that helps, actually. [They were both mavericks in their own way.] But you don't have Hina here, and I don't have Jigen. Instead you have Ikki and Grell, and I have you...and god knows who. The people I call 'partner', I'd hoped.

[That was present tense, though he didn't notice it.]

I'll just get back to working and keep doing my own thing. Coming off of these pills...I'm not sure how long It'll be before it starts to get rough. If the kickboxing becomes too tricky for now, would you help me with the wind spirits?

[Given how Smoker spoke, he was assuming that the Marine had some manner of experience.]

[voice] September 15, evening

[voice] September 15, evening

[voice] September 15, evening

[voice] September 15, evening

[voice] September 15, evening

[voice] September 15, evening

[voice] September 15, evening

[voice] September 15, evening

[voice] September 15, evening

[voice] September 15, evening

[voice] September 15, evening

[voice] September 15, evening

[voice] September 15, evening

[voice] September 15, evening

[voice] September 15, evening

[voice] September 15, evening

[voice] September 15, evening

[voice] September 15, evening

[voice] September 15, evening

[voice] September 15, evening

[voice] September 15, evening

[voice] September 15, evening

[voice] September 15, evening

[voice] September 15, evening

[voice] September 15, evening