“Violence without reason isn’t my style. Putting an end to a walking piece of shit in a suit that’s trying to start World War 3? I’m simply just doing my civic duty as a citizen of this country. Hell, they might even give me a medal.”
“Justify it all you want but violence seldom gets you anything but more of the same,” she all but sang, her grin taking up most of her face by this point. “Some would say you deserve a metal, others would say you ought to be drawn and quartered.”
Jayne didn’t expect it to happen that fast, but the warning about disorientation suddenly made a whole lot of sense as his brain and stomach tried to process the sudden and unnatural shift in location, causing him to dry retch a little, but thankfully not enough to actually vomit.
Once the feeling had subsided enough for him to steady himself again, he looked puzzled at what Xander was telling him, the same skeptical looking crossing his features that he’d worn when told they could travel by the shadows.
“Okay? Uh, thanks for… everything, I guess.” he mumbled, breathing through the last of the sickness.
He smiled, not at all bothered by the look. It was hardly the first time a human had made that face at him and, if he was honest, he was hoping it wouldn’t be the last.
“Don’t worry over thanks. No one crosses path without there being a reason,” he answered calmly, still having full faith in the Fates. “Until we cross paths again,” he said, tipping his head slightly before taking a couple steps back and melting into the shadows, leaving Jayne alone.
Jayne returned the affection, half-crouching and giving Tal a good scratch behind the ears and around the chops with both hands, catching himself feeling a little sad because they didn’t have any dogs as friendly as her back home, and having one like her would definitely take the edge off the nights he felt a little lonelier than usual.
Straightening up and taking the bag from Lux, he gave a small nod, both in thanks for the food and shelter, and as acknowledgement that he was about as ready as he was ever going to be.
Xander placed his hand on Jayne’s shoulder just as Lux hit the lights. It was quick and painless, but he did make sure to have a good grasp on the boy when they “landed” so to speak.
“Here,” he said, digging out a couple feathers from what looked like his back pocket. “If you need anything for any reason, burn one. It will summon me.” It was, after all, the best he could offer with the current state of the world.
Jayne still felt a little uneasy about the whole ‘non-human’ thing, but in all honesty, he just wanted to get home, put everything out of his mind and forget how fucked up and weird the night had been.
He didn’t notice anything unusual about the sounds Tal made when she stretched, the logic centre of his brain saying it was just her joints popping the way humans did sometimes when they’d been sitting in certain positions for too long, so he barely registered it, even when he heard Lux mutter something to the animal.
“Say goodbye, pup,” Xander told Tal, nudging her forward. He knew well enough that she would be terribly distraught if she didn’t get at least that and the wolf didn’t need to be told twice. She nuzzled and licked at his hand, tail wagging as she whined at him.
Lux handed him the bag she had prepared, shrugging a little. “You’re gonna wanna eat once the dizziness subsides.”
“Are you ready?”
Got the Grinch on in the back ground and all I can think is “omg bb Sapphira” and Saph keeps giving me dirty looks and I’m WEAK AF as this cute little fallen keeps telling me to go fuck myself
Jayne got up and sifted through the maps Xander had brought out to find whichever would be easiest to explain.
“Here, this one.” he said, pointing to one that had been produced only a short time before the war and reflected proposed developments for extensions to the subway lines.
“See here where 10th Ave and 57th converge? They were building new tunnels there to serve the Hudson Yards before everything went to shit. The lines are flooded now, but the subway station was completed enough that there’s maintenance access under this building here. I don’t know if anyone will be down there right now, but it’s probably the best shot at getting in and out undetected. Otherwise I’d say drop me straight at my place, which is nearer the waterfront, but I’m not the only one who lives in that building.”
He nodded and focused on the area Jayne pointed out, locking it in his mind. It wasn’t the best mental image, but it would suffice well enough. “Then lets get you home,” he said, tone friendly enough.
Of course, Tal stood and stretched, a couple bones popping before Lux put a hand on her back. “I wouldn’t advise it, pup,” she told her, knowing the boy had freaked over her wings. The last thing he needed was to add cuddling a werewolf to his traumas.
“Might be tricky to try to explain, but I can show you where if you’ve got a map. We don’t exactly have street names and stuff anymore, and building layouts have changed.”
Jayne wasn’t exactly great at describing the layout of the place at the best of times, since unless someone was already familiar with the way the place was set out, they wouldn’t know where exactly to set down without either being out in the storm or in a populated area.
Pausing, he stood and went towards the back of the shelter and dug out a few maps, not entirely sure which one would be the most accurate. Lux was mumbling to herself as she put together a pack of food with good shelf life.
“Not sure which one is the most useful.”
Jayne had never really gotten motion sickness before, even as a kid, but he figured it wouldn’t be that bad, even if it made him puke as a result.
“It’s not like anyone can really miss the place. It damn near covers most of Hell’s Kitchen from the Lincoln Tunnel to Central Park.” Jayne shrugged, knowing that whether or not Xander’s claim was true, the settlement held its own well enough either way, both in terms of security and ability to generate supplies to support its population.
Talyse wiggled herself more onto his lap and gave Lux and Xander puppy eyes, something both of them had long since learned to ignore. She got attached too easily and everything going to shit hadn’t helped that at all.
“Just give me an exact location that shouldn’t have a lot of people around and I can pop you in rather easily,” he promised before nodding at Lux and glancing at the food storage. The least they could do was give him a few extra rations to make up for the ordeal.
ofviolentdeath 