westwhere | I burned it all but I'm doing fine

Entry tags:

I burned it all but I'm doing fine

WHO: Five, Jon Snow, Hijikata, Souji, and Jens
WHEN: during the Ke-Waicai plot
WHERE: the forge of Beom-Soo
WHAT: a very simple task to steal a key
WARNINGS: probably violence, language, (??) will update as needed

This plan was overly complicated from the start. The trek to get to Ke-Waicai was an ordeal in itself, and once they reached their destination, Five had little choice but to agree to hunt down one of the keys that would get them the rest of the way in. Little choice, but still some. The much easier path would have been to teleport directly into the House of Ravens, but he's had enough magic inflicted on him to take a risk by being impatient before he at least tries it their way.

At least once he split from the group, he has some space to think. In retrospect, the forge isn't the easiest option of the three. For one thing, there are more workers than he expected, and even in the spotty light, he can see that he's a fraction of the size of the men toiling away in the heat. Blending in is an impossibility, so he needs to stay out of sight while he searches. Or decides he doesn't have the time, and tells them some halfway plausible backstory to get them to do his work for him.

All options are still on the table if they fail. He needs to succeed, in something, to get rid of his curse and get his shit back together before he snaps and burns the village to the ground. This will work. Then he can focus on his family and getting them the hell out of here.

ooc: starters below! Feel free to make your own, if you'd like to do anything pre or post-running in with the murder child, or if you'd like another starter just hit me up. Also if you'd rather action tag, totally open to switching for you, it's fine. (Also if you haven't been following, Five is currently in the last stages of his greed curse, but he's cool so it's nbd.)

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Once he blinks inside, he finds that it would be an ideal place to grab some freshly forged weapons. His tightly wrapped hands itch to grab anything and everything he comes across. More than once he stops himself after picking up some tool he doesn't need, and he still ends up with several smaller items stashed in his pockets as he searches through various crates and boxes for a key.

He's partway through examining a wall for any hidden openings when a shadow crosses over his shoulder. He spins around like he expects an attack, and it's only after a split second of recognition that he lowers his hands and scowls. Jon.

"What are you doing here?" He only half-whispers as he scowls up at him. He'd been so focused, he didn't even notice he was being followed. That's concerning, but in his defense, there was a fair amount of banging and men shouting in the distance. He squints and reluctantly gives him the benefit of the doubt that he isn't just being nosy. "What did you find?"

“You,” he says, frowning. “If anyone sees you here, what will they say?”

Every other person here, himself included, looks like someone who might reasonably be at a forge. Five looks like he should be in some maester’s library, learning to do his sums.

Five fixes him with a tired glare. It's one thing to follow him because he wanted to help search, but it's another to think he can't handle it. He was already making progress before he got interrupted.

"I don't know, what will they say?" He knows what he's getting at, but he dares him to spell it out. Jon obviously has a better idea.

“They’ll say you don’t belong here.”

But Jon himself doesn’t say it like he’s making a point or an argument, only telling Five something that he is resigned to, and implying that they should share in that resignation.

“So let’s make it look like you belong here. You could be my brother, but — “ A shrug and a skeptical expression. “Son might be better. Though I am only four-and… might be five-and-twenty by now.”

Five works his jaw, any number of biting comments springing to mind over his blunt assessment. Never mind that he once tried to pull off the same ploy with his actual brother posing as his father, but that was different. That was his plan. Then Jon spells out his age like he's deciding on the feasibility of the math and he finally snaps.

"How old do you think I am?" Five hisses, clearly affronted by his skills of observation. He's been here a while, in this body for over a year, it'd be great if he could have that growth spurt. Any day now.

Whatever. He lifts his chin and challenges him to continue.

"Is that your whole story? You didn't want to leave your son home alone?"

“Older than you look… but they don’t know that.”

Jon shrugs. It doesn’t matter if the scheme is an affront to Five’s dignity somehow; it matters if they get what they need here.

“You’ve got a better story? I wanted to teach you the ways of the forge?” That’s the sort of lie he might have to commit to in a way that won’t help them much. “With children disappearing, any wise father might want to keep a ready eye on his son.”

It doesn't matter, and he should be so used to it by now that he's able to control his outbursts, but it still chafes at him. In no small part because of how childishly he reacted. He's barely subdued when Jon acknowledges that he doesn't really think he's even younger than his twerp of a body actually is.

He's still fuming as he listens, but he grudgingly allows that they're probably stupid enough to buy Jon as an overprotective parent. But if any of them call Five out for getting separated from his father while they're searching, he's not going to be able to hold the same restraint he's showing now.

"...Fine. If it comes up, I'll send them all your way and you can tell them whatever you want." He gestures with a bandaged hand to the wall he'd been in the middle of examining, like he has any clue where the key might be hidden.

"Now that's settled, can we get back to work?"

A secret hidden key buried in the middle of an active forge doesn't stand out quite the way Five would have hoped. It's also unbearably hot, crowded and large, and he begrudgingly admits that having a second person to search for the key isn't such a bad idea. After speaking with Lan Wangji, he'd find some satisfaction if he found his first, but the longer they look, the more he wonders if it's here at all. Their source of information is someone they considered an enemy not long ago, so it seems just as likely to be a big waste of time.

They're also aware of them now. For a while the cover story they hastily came up with holds, but once they've had more time to think it over, he notices the sideways glances and picks up on more murmurs of the other men who clearly object to him being there. Asking how a child belongs in there, why his hands are bandaged, and what they should do about it.

They continue working, but he knows it's a matter of time before one of them corner him and ask what they're really doing here. He really has no choice but to beat them to it. He waits until the banging of metal ceases and one of the men breaks from the group. After hastily pocketing what he was examining, Five follows in his shadow, then blinks around the nearest corner to step in front of him and greets him with a tight smile.

"It must be a slow day if you're already checking out." He resists the urge to act out in violence, but when the man towering over him gruffly tells him to 'run on home' he nearly forgets himself. They aren't getting far on their own, so they might as well try another approach. "I'm not going anywhere until you show me what I'm looking for. How about that?"

Edited (I had sleep, so made some tweaks!) 2022-05-08 17:24 (UTC)

Wangji isn't the most forthcoming man at the best of times, and things for him couldn't really be described as the best of times for... a while now. So it shouldn't be surprising that he failed to mention to any of the backup he sent to Five that they were in fact backing up Five.

Toshi has seen the temperamental pre-teen around their group and is at least able to pick him out as one of them, but he has no idea as of yet that Five is not in fact a pre-teen and merely looks like one. He's made no other assumptions about the apparent child considering his and Souji's, ah, particular conditions, the giant winged reptile running about, whatever the pointy-eared woman has going on, and the general mismatched chaos of the people he is forced to call allies. So the child might be a demon, or the human incarnation of a rain bucket, or several rats stacked on top of each other. He wasn't going to presume.

Still, a child was a child, however demonic.

"Souji," he sighed, gesturing to the altercation about to unfold. "Do something about that. ⁠—And try not to kill anyone before we have the damn key."

Souji heaved a deep sigh, hands resting behind his head as he turned his head this way and that, observing with a supposedly uninterested air. The men were generally big and strong-looking, the kind you'd expect to see working the forge and all like this. He's not surprised, but they don't look like they'd provide much of a challenge anyhow. His blade could end them as easily as anyone else.

How boring.

The child that's been in their midst seems to be getting rather restless and antsy, and Souji thinks he can't really blame him. He's also getting restless and antsy, though Souji assumes it's not for the same desire of violence. or maybe it is. Like recognizes like, after all, and Souji finds himself watch Five out of the corner of his eye more and more often. There's something generally not right about Five and it both intrigues and delights Souji.

So Hijikata's order makes him hum, straightening up from the wall and meandering in the direction Five went. "Yeah, yeah." There's a lot that's still odd between them. Souji doesn't quite know where he still stands, but Hijikata doesn't seem to recall speaking with Souji just moments before they'd arrived here, so Souji is just...ignoring it. Because it's easier that way, better that way. He doesn't need to know and he doesn't need to care.

"Now, now," Souji drawls as he rounds the corner, one hand on his hip, the other draped lazing over the hilt of his sword at his opposite hip. "Don't go bothering the nice man. Kids, huh?" He smiles, but it's not a particularly nice smile. It's too sharp, too sarcastic. "He's just curious. I gotta admit, I'm pretty curious too. But I doubt you'd know what we need anyway. We'd probably need to talk to someone who really knows the forge, huh?"

He tilts his head at Five, clearly dismissing the man, which seems to leave him floundering a bit, the man's desire to get away from these weirdos warring with his pride.

Five was absolutely not expecting more people in their group to show up, though after Jon he probably should have. It takes him a moment after whipping around at the sound of another voice to place him as someone who was traveling with them. When he last saw them, they were splitting up to tackle the other two keys. He didn't ask anyone for help at the forge, so he assumed they knew he was capable of completing a simple task on his own. It hasn't been so long that they needed to send a search party.

Just longer than he would have liked. His patience is getting shorter by the minute after it's been tested by every single person in the forge treating him like a kid. He really didn't need anyone to step in and belittle him in the middle of a threat.

The sword at the man's hip gets a passing glance, as does the way he's smiling. Christ, is he here to defend him from this nobody?

"And who would that be?" Never mind that he has a point, and Five could have been more selective with who he confronted. Once he catches on to what they're after, he'll have to deal with that, but he's surprised any of them believed his backstory as it is. The bigger threat might be on his own side, but for now he nods back to the man still standing there with a stupid look on his face.

"He obviously wants to help." His smile fades when he recognizes what it is he sees. Jon was reassuring to the other workers, but the man who joined them has more of an unpredictable edge about him. If the pair of them think he's a child in danger from the other, he really might have to consider murdering everyone here.

Souji tilts his head one way and then the other as if trying to figure it out himself, and ultimately he shrugs.

If there's one thing Souji knows, it's how people react to a threat. "Just looking for a key," he says simply, but his eyes are watching, waiting for a flicker in the other man's expression to tell him exactly where it is. People's expressions could give so much away, after all, even in fleeting moment.

"I figure we can do this the easy way or the hard way, but I'd rather my brother not get involved." He nods at Five, somehow managing to keep a straight face about it. Obviously they're related, despite looking absolutely nothing alike, okay?

Besides, Souji was getting tired and bored and itching to pull his sword free. "So I'd rather we do it the easy way and get out of here. Then we both win." They get their key, and they get to leave these guys to work and get out of their hair. No one loses!

Now this is different and familiar all at the same time. Five would be insulted that he didn't think he could intimidate someone on his own, but it might go a little faster if he just watches this play out with the man with the sword. He's been used as a prop before, and at least someone decided to call him his brother and not his son for once. So whatever, he can switch gears.

"He has a point," Five says to the confused blacksmith in front of them. He just knows he's about to play ignorant and ask what key he's talking about. They all do, just to drag out what they probably know is coming. There is a chance that they'll need to make sure he doesn't cause them any trouble after they question him, but his new companion seems eager for this to go badly anyway.

"Should I give you two a moment to talk it out?" He smiles, because why not? If he's able to move this along, he'll allow it. "You can give me a shout when you're done."

Souji's thumb rubs against the hilt of his sword, his smile sharp and his eyes a little wide in anticipation. Oh please make his day.

"Oh I'm sure there'll be a lot of shouting. I'm pretty good at getting people to talk."

Well, sort of. He's far more likely to kill someone (accidentally or "accidentally") and doesn't have the more delicate touch to torture someone for info like others (Hijikata) might. But hey! His way should still work!

He thumbs open the sword, the distinct hiss of metal slightly unsheathing sounding quite loud in the space between them. The blacksmith blanches, clearly rethinking his loyalties. It's a key, after all. Even if its an important key, is it really worth risking his life??

"I'll get it for you," he mutters, anxious as he begins to back away. Souji doesn't seem like he's about to stop him, re-sheathing the sword with a soft hiss. He's smiling.

It's not a pleasant smile.

But he glances to Five, head tilting slightly in a 'is that alright?' way.

Five stands back, his face an impartial mask when the sword is unsheathed. It's hard to tell how much of that is for show when he knows nothing about the man, but he has to hand it to him for being effective. Time is not on their side, and if they can get their blacksmith here to cooperate without a fuss, he isn't going to start to criticize.

And it isn't like Five hasn't worked with people who are on the unhinged side. The Commission was full of them, even if they didn't always make the best agents. It takes a certain type of person to be an assassin. The vibe he gets off of him tells him that he might have experience with that type of work.

So he's surprised when he seems to be asking for approval.

Slowly, Five nods and looks to the retreating man. There's no real telling if he's going to get the key or if he just said that so he could run away, but that would have probably been the case anyway.

"We'll see." Shrugging, like he's heard that hundreds of times before. Then he turns back to Souji, considering him. It's still not entirely clear why he decided to insert himself into the situation. "You must really want that key."

Souji continues to watch the man back away, his gaze no wavering even after the man is out of sight. It isn't until Five speaks again that he drags his gaze over with a soft, 'hm?' like he's barely been paying attention.

He shrugs at the not-quite-question. "Oh, don't get me wrong. I couldn't care less about the key." He nods towards Hijikata's direction. "But he gave me the order, and unfortunately he's still my boss. But this might give me a chance to do what I'm best at, so I guess it's as good a use for me as anything."

His fingers drum against the hilt of his sword and he looks Five up and down curiously. Five looks young, but that doesn't really mean anything to Souji. After all, he was killing by the time he was like, 8, what the fuck did he know about 'proper ages' for things like this.

"I'm not entirely sure what the keys are for anyhow," he confesses with a little shrug, indifferent. "But how good are you with torture? I don't quite have the delicate touch for it as much, I'm better at executions."

Normal things to discuss with seemingly 13-15 year old boys.

Now that's a question Five absolutely doesn't want to answer. The truth is that the Commission has an entire subsection of their handbook on torture, and for a time Five was their best agent, so he's naturally familiar. He preferred assassinations that were quick and efficient, and those were generally the assignments he was given. However.

It only strikes him as odd after a minute. How could he know that he has that experience just by looking at him? A minute ago he would have guessed that he was stepping in because he assumed he was a helpless child. Usually it takes a lot more convincing to get someone to take him seriously at all, and now he's asking for help torturing someone.

Five glances to where his 'boss' is presumably still watching and scowls back at him. From this little interaction he believes that he'd kill anyone in the forge with almost no incentive. Did someone send them after him specifically, or do they actually care about what's at the end of this?

"What orders did he give you, exactly?"

All that mess aside, Hijikata has the air of a new father taking his toddler to the local park for the first time as he leads Jens into the forge, squinting around at threats both perceived and material, hand on his sword and gaze withering to any who dare to meet it. He is the physical embodiment of incentive to stay in one's lane, and once they're within the forge proper, he turns to look at the boy.

Souji's off to mitigate the issue of an unattended child, which⁠—if Hijikata is honest with himself⁠—is just causing a new issue of there now being two unattended children in the forge but he's working with what he's got, and what he's got is Okita Souji.

Anyway.

"What do you wanna look at? We shouldn't stay too long, but I don't know my head from my ass in here so if you're interested in something just go for it and I'll watch your back."

Hijikata worries too much, Jens is fairly sure, but he's not about to criticize the man for being concerned. Yeah, he was never the first one to the front lines with Erador, but he's put in his share of battlefield mayhem. He's got this, he's -

- he cannot stop looking, once they enter, and he hardly notices whatever Okita gets sent off to tend to. He hasn't been in a forge of this size since he left Aesfrost, and cultural differences being what they are, everything is recognizable for what it is but just off enough from an Aesfrosti version to hold his attention for longer than they might otherwise.

That, and it's just...nice, despite the circumstances, to be back in a facility of such capacity. Since he took on a few of Travis's old crew as assistants, he's been able to start expanding his space a little bit, but his forge in the Wolffort demesne is still very recognizable as a one-man operation.

...Hijikata's talking. Er.

"Oh, uh - sorry, I..." ...missed half of that, but he got the important part, so he's already surveying the place, making the effort to keep his gaze moving and not get too fixated on any one thing while he decides what to investigate.

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I burned it all but I'm doing fine

i. a great plan ( closed to Jon )

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ii. who called the army ( closed to the group )

oozes in

tiptoes in behind

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for local forge enthusiast son

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