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[second-chance-stray]

Me n the mutuals

[second-chance-stray]

💿 - A random song from my playlist, and an explanation of how my it could relate to my muse 

❣️ - A song my muse would dedicate to their loved ones

🎃 - A holiday-themed song that suits my muse

In order!

That's my best friend, she a real bad bitch If she ride for me, she don't need a key If you sideways, she'll straighten you as needed be

Random means completely random! This isn't at all the country/folk style I usually choose for Lin. But it kinda just fits Aislinn and Cravendy's (@second-chance-stray ) friendship in that it's all hyping each other, unexpected and unapologetically ride or die. And that pretty much sums them up. Also, the idea of them out at one of Eorzea's clubs vibing to this makes me cackle. (God, I love them so much!)

I believe we were meant to be If I'm to believe anything

It's where I go when I'm afraid Where I lay my doubts to rest Where I know I want to stay

Friends and loved ones have all left their mark on Lin. They've all had a part in making her a better person. She's terrible at saying so but she'd want them to know that.

If I could only have you near To breathe a sigh or two I would be happy just to hold the hands I love On this winter night with you

The nature of their lives often has Locke and Lin separated for stretches of time, between ship voyages and mercenary duties. A holiday song about absence and longing seems to fit just right.

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be a friend to the wind, and she will be a friend to you. when she whistles, you must sing along. when she dances, you must step in time. earn her trust, her love, and when you cry, she will wrap you in winds and let you howl. she will help you weather the storm– and if you need, she will sweep you away to somewhere sweeter, where the air is cleaner and the clouds have all been blown away. 

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in the end you'll reach the sea and the waves will swallow you.

Federico García Lorca, Centres of Cataclysm: Celebrating Fifty Years of Modern Poetry in Translation; from ‘Romance de la Pena Negra’, tr. Julith Jedamus

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Pierrot le fou (1965) // dir. Jean-Luc Godard

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“There must be something strangely sacred in salt. It is in our tears and in the sea.”

— Khalil Gibran

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Checking In

Cravendy has remained absent from Heartwood for the longest stretch of time yet, and that doesn’t look to be changing anytime soon. Because of this, Cravs has gotten a room in one of the many seedy establishments in Limsa Lominsa, and she’s given Lin a time and place to be.

The building itself is saltworn and outdated and everything about it screams ‘OLD.’ If there’s wallpaper, it’s peeling. If there’s somewhere to sit, the chair’s creaky. Cravs waits in the lobby for now with her tailbone leaned against one of the planters, face half covered by her ridiculously large straw hat.

To say Lin was concerned about her friend would have been an understatement. Cravendy had been gone for a long while with nary a word and while Lin understood why, it wasn’t to say it set well with her. She arrives at the very place Cravendy asked her to be at the very time and as she gaze around at the salt worn floors and the chipped wallpapering, it could be said the place had seen better days but it certainly wasn’t the worst place Lin had ever been asked to meet someone. 

Spying Cravendy, she makes her way over to the Seawolf, kicking at a bit of crusted…something on the floor. “I’d ask ‘Alright, Cravendy’ but hells, looking at this place, I might have my answer.” She says by way of greeting as she tips her head up to her friend.

Cravendy‘s face lights up when she sees Lin. Despite all that’s different (the unfamiliar surroundings, that only one of two are Officers, and the matters that keep them busy and apart), some things never change. Her wolfish smile callbacks to less turbulent times. “Aye, it’s a fixer upper alright, but the people are alright. The bad’s mostly on the outside…mostly,” Cravs comments. If you count up all the years of Crav’s life, she’s spent the majority in conditions like this. Heartwood, with its civilized finery, is the real oddity.

You’d be able to catch minute differences in her body language as Crav’s pirate past is dredged up by her surroundings, and it creates a murky combination that speaks of the changes she’s been through. The hat, her outfit, her hora and her pistol - Cravs seems to be coming to terms with what’s happened, and it reflects in multiple ways.

“Ye wanna check out my room? Ain’t much more than a box to nap in, but it can get drafty in the lobby.”

They’d something in common, there. And though Lin was no stranger to down and out places and the people who made them home, she had no sense of nostalgia for any of it. “All that matters. Long as the bones are good.” She casts her gaze around the space taking in the seating options before Cravendy offers up her room. “Aye, sounds good to me.” There’s been a shift in the Seawolf since she left Heartwood’s grounds. Like past and present colliding and reforming into a new patchwork. Lin doesn’t mention it though she does tuck the observation away.

Cravendy‘s smile widens before she turns to lead Lin to her room. On the way over, another resident struggling with an ice dispensing contraption glances quickly at Cravs, and then sheepishly away, trying to keep a low profile. Although the Admiral has done much to bring order to Limsa Lominsa, it still shows its roots as a pirate society, and hierarchy tends to be established through reputation or force.

Cravendy is a player in this again. Something must’ve happened between her and this stranger.

Keep reading

[second-chance-stray]

Veterans by now

Lin rested. Like she told Nyscera she would. A whole evening in which she didn’t do hardly any work at all and fell asleep at a reasonable bell. The next day, she makes her way to the clinic to do the rounds she put off and pokes her head into Cravendy’s partition to see if she’s awake. She does this by very medical, very professional means. “You awake?” Sometimes it doesn’t need to be complicated.

Cravendy is awake! And she has, in fact, already bullied the medical staff to let her out occasionally to presumably get drunk. Cravs does a good job of looking like she’s okay so, even though her bones are mending together like shattered porcelain, strength of personality combined with her officer authority is enough to sneak by.

It’s a different story if Lin is doing her rounds though…but thankfully, Cravs is resting up at the moment. She’d answer back in response. “Aye! Come pull up a chair. Just sittin’ ‘ere doin’ nothin’ for the ‘undredth time, burnin’ the seconds away.”

Aislinn enters the room, her eyes falling on the wide brimmed straw hat Cravendy wore. Given the setting, it’s out of place to say the least but something about it has Aislinn giving a wistful, passing smile. “Resting up is like that. Honestly, you’re lucky after a hit like that a few broken ribs is all you took.” She says with her blend of frank honesty as she takes a seat on the edge of the bed. “I’d ask how you’re feeling but it sounds like you’re just itching to get out of here. Probably a good sign.”

Cravendy snorts lightly with a smile. “I agree. Personally don’t enjoy fistfightin’ above my weight class with a steel giant, but…” She lets out a breath. “Yeah, it’s pretty dumb. Will make a good story, though!”

Cravendy rests a hand over her chest and tugs slightly on her dangling earring. “Crazy as it might be, we’ve ‘ealed through worse. I’m determined to get better fast though, since there’s dark tidings just beyond the ‘orizon. The towers ain’t just ‘ere after all, and there’s one in La Noscea.”

“Stories are something we do have in spades. A bit of a silver lining, I guess.” Aislinn deadpans as she watches Cravendy fidget with her earring. “I’ve heard. Desert’s got a few too. We supposed to go visit them all?”

“All of ‘em are bein’ dealt with one way or another by the Alliance, but whichever ones Heartwood ends up visitin’, I’m not sure,” Cravs responds while twisting the red fabric of the earring around her index. “…Hah. I may’ve made ye mad already by checkin’ myself into the clinic so late, but I also snuck out to visit Kazushige too. Before ye rail on me, let me pass on what I learned.”

“First off, the guy’s bein’ taken care of by Alliance medics. I don’t like ‘ow ‘e’s bein’ treated with ‘em, which is a problem in and of itself, but that’s another issue.” Cravs releases the earring and returns her hand to her lap, feeling listless and fidgety. “Anyway, next up is La Noscea, and after that there could be more. I ‘ave no idea if we’re doin’ somethin’ similar to this time.”

Cravendy looks forward in a daze, focusing on something far away but approaching. “Supposed to be some kind of lunar Leviathan tormentin’ the lands. So.” She blinks, refocusing her gaze on Lin. “I plan on bein’ there, specifically.”

Aislinn listens in the quiet way of hers with those eyes doing their fair share. It’s often what isn’t said that’s just as important. Aislinn has several questions but she starts with the easiest. “Why’s Kazushige being treated by the medics? What’s happened to him and what do you mean how’s he treated?” She asks, feeling a protective surge in her small frame. It wasn’t like she didn’t have her issues with Kazushige, because she did. But he was one of them at the end of the day. If something was amiss, she wanted to know.

Keep reading

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The crew comes to an agreement

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maybe there is no best version of myself. just me, right now, vulnerable and tired and hopeful, willing to show up regardless of what it looks like.

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RP Log: Rising takes Cravs out of the clinic to reflect on the Rising holiday in Thanalan.

Rising Lotus stepped out of the camp with Cravendy in tow, frequently looking back to make sure she was walking alright. Probably over worried. She did shake off a brutal hit and then got wasted, but still! She was taking her out of the clinic for some reason. "Thanks for comin' out here with me, though I'm sure you're happy to be sprung."

Cravendy Hound gives Rising a thankful look. Donning her usual armor, the only hint that she’s still recovering is the wince she makes while moving too fast and the stiff movement that comes as a result. Rising is right - despite her injuries, Cravs has been busy and whether her friend took her out or not, she’d have still found opportunities to slip out. Rising being here, however, shields this particular outing from well-intentioned nagging.

Cravendy Hound: “Aye! Thanks for takin’ me out. If I don’t get walked daily like a dog, I’m liable to chew on my tail, ahah!” she jokes. “But anyway, where to?”

Rising Lotus: "Jus' up the road a ways," she answered quickly before starting off at a modest pace. "You healin' up alright?" she sort of blurted the question out as if to move forward. "Between the tower an' the shite the Maelstrom is puttin' ya through, was pretty worried 'bout ya for a bit."

Cravendy Hound nods as she picks up the pace. “Don’t worry. Heartwood clinics set me good...hah. Since our doctors ‘ave ‘ad a wealth of experience,” she notes while looking over landscapes of dry shrub, sage, and wild aldgoats. “The Maelstrom ‘as been understandin’ all things considered.”

Cravendy Hound: “I asked ‘em to put the pirate ‘untin’ on ‘old for a bit so I could ‘elp out with the towers in La Noscea instead. They were supportive, so that’s good,” Cravs says as she faces forward at Rising’s back, unintentionally brushing over the details of this deal.

Rising Lotus: "Wish the same could be said on how they're treatin' Kazu..an' that situation..." she spat onto the dusty path. "Willin' to jus' let them captives die...doesn't sound like no Adders I've ever heard of." she kicked a rock into the brush. "But I 'spose Limsa is made from pirates, so maybe they're more laid back in such things? Anyway, here's hopin' we’ll help out more tempered out there." she let out a sigh afterwards, doubt poking through her optimism.

Cravendy Hound tips her nose up an ilm at the mention of Kazu and her expression tightens. “...They ain’t treatin’ ‘im right, and I personally think someone’s ‘oldin’ a grudge against ‘im. It’s not like the Alliance sees all who’ve worked with the Empire like they’re irredeemable. If that were the case, then what about Doma and Ala Mhigo?” She releases her breath, tired but trudging along regardless.

Cravendy Hound: “Limsa’s another story...but it was born from the bloodiest seadogs known to man. All this rule followin’ is what’s unusual, not the other way around. So aye. Ye can say it’s more laid back.” There's a slight tinge of sourness in her voice - of bitterness and longing. The age of unrestricted piracy is over, and she still mourns aspects of that.

Rising Lotus: "Aye, somethin' feels off, but I don't think he's gonna give us answers any more than they would. Hard enough to find the guy." As the bridge came into view, Rising started to go off the path, crunching on the dried grass as she led Cravs forward. "Jus' gonna have to try an' keep an' eye on him more than usual, see if we can spot anythin' out of the ordinary either when he's alone, or talkin' to them folks orderin' him around."

Rising Lotus: "Oh, watch out for snakes out here by the way, usually there ain't any up this way but they can be hard to spot in all this brush. Last thing any of us need is to get poisoned." she paid a bit more attention to her footing as they neared their destination.

Cravendy Hound smiles when she hears Rising shares her opinion on the matter and that she’ll also be keeping an eye out for shady business. “That’s good. We all gotta watch each other’s backs.” Cravs goes quiet for a time as she locks eyes with Rising’s ankles pushing through yellow grass. Left, right. Left, right. The steady march forward happens in Crav’s mind as well. “...Maybe more than just watchin’. If we think somethin’ bad is already ‘appenin’, we oughta strike instead of wait.”

Cravendy Hound: “Snakes? They’ll rattle to let us know afore we step on ‘em, r-right?” Cravs is more jumpy now though. Every branch is seen instead as a viper, and she swears more than once as she follows in Rising’s footsteps.

Rising Lotus: "..Aye...though we don't wanna do somethin' that'll put us an' Kazu in worse graces...probably." It still felt weird to her to not just, jump into action as she had before, perhaps being around two others like that had forced her to grow restraint. "Some will, but we're almost there."

Rising Lotus || Clearing through the last bit of brush, they reached a part of the cliff that jutted out. Rising went to speak, then stopped, clearing her throat to steel her resolve. "Y-You can jus' sit by the tree, for a moment. It won't be too long." She paused again, staring at the corrected aether coiling out of the mountain ahead.

Cravendy Hound laughs lightly. “Hah, ye and me both! I feel blind as a bat navigatin’ this shite, fightin’ with words instead of my gun...So I’m ‘opin’ I don’t end up causin' fuss. Heartwood can’t really afford another.”

Cravendy Hound raises a brow, curious about why Rising has chosen this location in particular. She does as asked and leans back, carefully bracing herself against the tree so that she looks relaxed. It’s half true - once she’s in the position, she feels better, but the transitionary stuff in between has Cravs masking the soreness she’s still recovering from.

Rising Lotus slowly steps forward until she's past the crunchy ground and onto the solid rock face of the cliff. She stops around three fulms from the edge, just looking out to the otherside of the canyon silently. After a little while she pulled something out of her satchel, it looked like some manner of twisted spike? It would be hard to tell from where Cravs would be standing. She merely held it tightly in her gauntleted hand while her bare one moved to her eyes as it seemed she was losing her composure.

Cravendy Hound can see the spike, held in Rising’s hand as she stands tall on a stony cliff, but she can’t see the details. How tightly her friend is holding it, or the minute shifts in her breathing, her cracking composure; Cravs lifts from the tree and takes a single step towards Rising, uncertain but sensing something off. “Risin’? What are ye tryin’ to do?”

Rising Lotus sniffles a bit as she continues to cry, slowly turning to Cravs. "S-Sorry...It..well, I guess it looks...off with it broken." Returning from the outcrop, she offers the item over to Cravs, the twisted piece of metal red and looking to have been snapped, or blown off as the case was, from the whole. " From my old spear...only part I got of it..."

Rising Lotus broke her sobs up with a bit of chuckling when she realized how stupid it must of looked. "I'm not..mournin' my spear..." she sniffled a bit. " 'Round this time I always visit here, since I used to come with with me ma, an'..she died 'round this time.." she took a few moments to collect herself. "...bought that piece of junk with the money I got for sellin' our old shack..so it's...hard havin' less of it left."

(Rising Lotus) Wow that rain was sudden)) (Cravendy Hound) ahahah it's appropriate! ))

Cravendy Hound - One step turns to many as she walks to Rising’s side. There’s a sand tossed silence that extends while Cravs stares hard at the spear fragment, gaze prickly and tense as always. The voice that comes out eventually, however, doesn’t match her gruff act. It is softer, unguarded, and flicked with echoes of something silver. Her captain saw it in Cravs as well - the gemstone in the rough.

Cravendy Hound: “Risin’,” she starts. Cravs moves her hand over the one that Rising is using to clench the spear. “Do ye miss ‘er?”

Rising Lotus nodded quickly, hand clenching the spear prong tightly as Crav's hand covered hers, sobbing a bit harder. "Aye..'specialy 'round this time..." she scoffed a bit. " I mean most folks..have trouble with...this time an' all.." there was a bit of frustration in her voice, a big mix of emotions from letting a little out. "But..It ain't so hard..or...it don't need to be...Riylli came with me last year...so I jus' needed someone again.."

Cravendy Hound: “Ain’t no trouble,” Cravs reaffirms. Her fingers settle over Rising’s gauntleted knuckles, calloused skin pressed against metal. “Thank ye for bringin’ me ‘ere.”

Cravendy Hound gaze steadily moves from their hands to Rising’s upper arm. She’s unable to meet Rising’s eyes head on right now, but she’ll work her way up to that in time. “It’s exactly what it needs to be. Just cause it’s ‘ard don’t mean it’s supposed to be easier. In fact, ‘ow ye feel...it’s evidence of yer love. That’s what loss is, too.”

Cravendy Hound: “Ye loved something so much that when it left, it left a ‘ole. There ain’t no movin’ past or around it, just...livin’ with it.” She lets out a tight sigh. “It stays with ye, and it should.”

Rising Lotus was silent aside from the huffing and sniffling from her sobbing as she listened to Cravendy speak, eyes still looking at their hands. She let the words sink in for a few moments before swallowing and opening her mouth to speak, finding her resolved to do it after one or two attempts. "It's harder this time..'cause the spear...but.." she lets out a soft sigh. "...thank you for comin'...it makes it easier, than it used to be." she was silent for a few more moments as tears still rolled down her cheeks. "...I got other...'holes'..yet..I think you an' Riylli know...I jus' ignore them." she turned her head away, glancing down the cliff. "..so..thanks for, helpin' me with 'em...an' uh.." she just rolled her shoulders in a lazy shrug as she rubbed the tears out of her eyes once more.

Cravendy Hound has finally made it up to Rising’s eyes. It’s hard for her to hold the stare as well - Cravs keeps looking away, or faltering - but she makes a serious effort despite her own shaking foundations. “Sometimes, that’s the only thing ye can do. Pretend they don’t exist. But I found, even if yer terrified of what might happen, addressin’ yer demons is...needed. I learned that the ‘ard way.”

Cravendy Hound: “I’d offer ye my bandana, but it’s pourin,” Cravs jokes, hoping to lift Rising with a bit of levity.

Cravendy Hound: “Ye know, some people make fun of gettin’ overly attached to objects, but that’s hogwash. Shit’s important. Why don’t we take that scar--” she points at the spear fragment. “--and transform it into somethin’ meaningful? To turn it from somethin’ broken into a part of a whole again, itself but ‘onored.”

Rising Lotus was able to meet Crav's gaze for a moment as well, she still looked a bit uncomfortable, scared, and yet thankful, and the quip did lighten her mood a quick tad too, chuckling as they both were soaked. "I-I...I'll...try to deal with 'em..." ((tho as we know from a certain event that takes place in the future >:])) as she thinks on it more, her eyes drift to the spear fragment.

Rising Lotus: "...Y-yeah...don't rightly know what you could do with it...but I think, that..that would be good." she gripped it tighter for a few moments.

Cravendy Hound laughs with Rising as she reaches up to lift a curl of dripping green hair. “Shower’s taken care of, though!”

Cravendy Hound: “Anyway, take it at yer own pace. Sometimes, the world will shake ye and force ye to face stuff afore yer ready, but otherwise, that’s what I would do. Comb over stuff slowly and one at a time,” she answers plainly, non-judgemental of putting stuff off. Twelve knows she did for so long and, to an extent, still does. But who in their right mind could set out to face everything at once and hope to get anything done?

Cravendy Hound removes her hand from Rising’s and scratches her chin in thought. “Hmm, well. No rush ‘ere too, but to toss some ideas yer way....Ye could turn a piece of it into a necklace, like a good luck charm? Or maybe sharpen it again and attach it to yer new spear?”

Rising Lotus was snuffling herself down as she soaked in what Cravs was telling her, she had heard similar advice before as well. She just still needed a push to try and follow it. "T-Thank you..for that...an' comin' here with me..." she gave Cravs a few short and quick nods as she ran her arm over her eyes another time, mostly moving water around at this point. Bringing the twisted prong closer, she inspect the metal spike. "..I don't know yet...I think I'll have to think more 'bout it.."

Rising Lotus: safely tucked it back away, turnin' back towards the canyon. "...when we'd come here I used to throw rocks over the edge, my ma would get so sore at me, said I could hit somethin'." she smiled weakly. "...I 'spose we should get back, don't need to catch another cold."

Cravendy Hound mouth quirks into a doggish grin. She pats Rising on the back a little too hard. It’s enough to knock the air out of her. “Yer thinkin’ about it! That’s the first step.”

Cravendy Hound looks over the cliff and snorts. “What’re ye gonna ‘it? The ground? Better ye toss rocks down a cliff than at a person.” Her grin falls slightly as she finds herself a little envious of Rising’s upbringing. At least you had a mom. It’s a petty thought that she quickly pushes out by force.

Cravendy Hound: “I’m used to bein’ soaked and worked till sea salt sank into my bones, so I’ll be fine. Ye, on the other ‘and, look paler than a sod who retched up their lunch. We oughta get back to the clinic fast. Can’t ‘ave ye goin’ under,” Cravs says with a chuckle, purposefully poking fun at her own situation by reversing it to an extreme. Rising looks positively fine right now, and she’s the one who isn't physically. “Let’s go, then.”

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Blackrise: Malicious Compliance

Getting information about Kazushige’s current whereabout from the Maelstrom was like pulling teeth. Aislinn would not be disuaded, however, and though calm and methodical as her inquiries were, it soon became clear she wasn’t going to be shaken off. Eventually, she had been directed here, to Camp Bronze Lake. She supposed that was a good sign. Bronze Lake was a spot of respite. Maybe Cravendy’s concerns hadn’t been as bad as she first thought. 

After asking around the hot springs, she finds him  up here, staring out over a cliffside ledge. The gravel crunched under her boots as she made her approach. But she remained behind the low fence. The memory of plunging from a cliffside is still a little too fresh in her mind, thank you very much

“Kazushige.” She says, more than certain he had tracked her approach and was aware of her presence.

She’s not wrong; he’s aware of her approach as soon as he can be, but not as soon as he should be. It’s her first clue that something is off, because he only turns to watch her approach once she’s around the corner of the building–and he looks a little startled to see her there. He smooths that out of his expression with a blink. “Aislinn,” he starts, low and pleasant enough, but there’s a hesitant lilt as the sound tapers off. An unspoken question. Why are you here?

Kazushige no longer has a bandage wrapped snug around his head, but there’s a small shaved section at the back of his head, a lumpy, healing gash against his scalp. His eyes are dark, he holds himself straight-backed but it’s not as effortless as it usually is.

The startled look in his eye sends a disconcerted ripple through her. She’d very nearly surprised him. She shouldn’t have been able to. “I came to see how you’re doing.” She replied to the unspoken question as her sharp gaze sweeps over him, taking in the tell-tale signs that all is certainly not well. He’s making an effort, she’d give him that. “People back at Heartwood have been saying they’re concerned.

Kazushige smiles faintly, but it’s placating. “I appreciate the concern, but I am well.” It’s such a well-practiced dismissal that it almost sounds genuine. He gestures slightly to their surroundings. “My injuries have been tended, and I expect to return to the field shortly.” He steps away from the cliffside, back behind the barrier–perhaps so the conversation is a little less awkward for the distance, perhaps so he can start making a hasty retreat (though he doesn’t, yet).

Aislinn tilts her head as she listens to the practiced tone. She would have believed him. But she believed Cravendy more. “I understand they have you paying off this debt. But they don’t have a right to run you into the ground, you know.” She can see him trying to discreetly edge his way around her and pins him with her gaze. “I made myself a nuisance with the Maelstrom to find you here. I can make myself a nuisance to you too.” She says but there’s a spark of stark, bone dry humor in her eye that makes it unclear as to whether she’d actually follow through.

Keep reading

[second-chance-stray]

Cravs art, and also, a Barnable!

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Moonshine

The stench of battle, of panic and blood and gunpowder, clings to Cravs as she stumbles into the woods. Through sheer willpower, she remains conscious despite her broken ribs (that’s what Lin said. Sure feels that way) and battered body. What Cravs needs is to check herself into the hospital, but what Cravs wants is a stiff drink. 

She’s drunk. She could be even more so.

Her destination is a cave that’s guarded by an absurd number of squirrels, and the rodents line the mossy entrance like tiny soldiers in formation, beady eyes glazed and unintelligent. More squirrels rush out of the cave once its owner, a filthy Hrothgar who looks more bear than man, steps out to meet her.

“‘ey Jim,” Cravs mutters.

“It’s Jim on the weekdays.” He lowers his gaze, silently taking in her ragged appearance. “Go by Yella’ Joe on the weekends.”

She smirks and lets out a tight breath.

“And it’s a weekday,” she continues, as if following a script. 

A hint of mirth flickers in Jim’s eyes as well.

“It is,” he replies with a wink. 

Cravs gets her cue and struggles forward, but every ilm is a battle. She fights through sharp sensations of fracturing, bleeding, and squeezing that pops like embers whenever she breathes. Jim watches her as she settles painfully onto a nearby log.

“That...” Her eyes feel heavy. She stares at a squirrel. “That one’s new?”

Jim shakes his head no. He picks up the squirrel and cups it in his hands, surprisingly gentle despite his gruff appearance. “No, that’s old Bonnie. You don’t recognize Bonnie?”

“Sorry,” Cravs manages.

“It’s fine,” Jim grumbles while petting the squirrel until she’s melted into a relaxed pancake on his palm. “Where’s yours?”

The absurdity of the conversation hits her and Cravs barks out a laugh which -- ow, ow, ow. She clenches it back and eventually mirrors the head shake Jim gave her earlier. “No, I don’t know where Kazushige is.”

“Mm.”

“I ‘ope ‘e’s alive. I...I think.” Her voice starts and stops with uncertainty. “I think ‘e’s alive.”

“Mmhm.”

“......”

There’s more Cravs wants to admit. The powerlessness that came from seeing Heartwood members kill those who, in another time and place, could’ve easily been her. The frustration when she was even worse and unable to protect herself, her own, or others. Cravs has always felt like a pretender because her outside is tough but her insides are not, but she’d prefer this wasn’t so literal right now. She slumps into herself with a wry smile.

“Ye know what I’m ‘ere for,” she says.

“You’re here early,” Jim flatly replies.

“Ran out early,” Cravs growls back.

Jim stands there for a few seconds without saying anything. Then, he takes a seat across from her, sets two glasses between them, and fills each to the brim. With the same gentleness that he pet his squirrel with, Jim helps Cravs wrap her fingers around the glass and raises it in a silent toast. Nothing is said when they gulp down the moonshine. He refills, they drink, he refills again. Life becomes unfocused and its woes, distant.

Sometimes you have to put things off, even (especially) when you’re bleeding out. Between the Maelstrom and this, Cravs has had enough shit for a week.

[second-chance-stray]

Okinawa, Japan  August 2018 𝙿𝚑. 𝙰𝚕𝚎𝚔𝚜𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚛𝚊 𝙸𝚗𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚐𝚛𝚊𝚖: 𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚣𝚍𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚖𝚎𝚛