2020-10-07: Jailbirds
- Log: Jailbirds
- Cast: Josephine Lovelace, Ines Colina
- Where: Bevelle - Via Purifico
- Date: October 07, 2020
- Summary: In jail, Ines and Josie do a bit of commiserating.
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
Ines' cellmate has predated her, if only ever-so-slightly. Whatever ill fortune had landed Josephine Lovelace, as she had introduced herself, into Yevon jail, it appeared to be distinct from the wedding distruption that had taken place not long before this perhaps fateful meeting.
"...And they took my screwdriver," grouses the archaeologist, perhaps only all too happy to have someone to talk to. "What did they think I was gonna do with a screwdriver, yeah? There's no screws in here," she says, jabbing at the places where the bars join the bottom of the cage.
Leave it to Yevon to stick them in a bunch of weird hanging bird cages, with no obvious way to get out until they feel like letting them loose, probably.
Josie already tried looking for weak points.
"On the other hand, at least they didn't take these, eh?" she says, producing a single cigarette. Holding it in one hand, she snaps her fingers with the other and...
and...
...nothing happens. Frowning, Josie snaps her fingers again.
"Fengalon's balls," she finally snarls, her mouth twisting displeasure. "This is taking prison security to a new low. A girl can't even have a smoke...!"
<Pose Tracker> Ines Colina has posed.
"I dunno, who knows what you 'strange otherworlder technology' could do." Ines says, with a smirk, if a weary one. Right now, she's leaning against a wall of the cell. She had tried her hands at the bars earlier, but if you build a cage to contain Ronso, it's going to contain a slightly smaller beastwoman. "For all they know, it could twist these bars into nothingness." She lets out a little sigh. "...Idiots."
Ines looks out into the mess of cells, and a grimace passes her face. "Not my first time in a cell, but the first time I'm in something this grim." She stands up, and walks around a little, if only to stretch her legs. "And to think I liked this place when I first got here. Spira, I mean. Not the prison."
Ines blinks at Josie's failure to light a cigarette. "...Well that's just uncalled for," the beastwoman agrees, "The hell do they think you're gonna do with a little bit of fire?" She pats around her pockets, but sighs. "Took my matches, too."
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
Josie had tried kicking it earlier. Her foot still hurts. And that's not even taking into account the drop, so perhaps it's for the best that it didn't work out, but it's still the principle of the thing.
"It's a screwdriver," Josie huffs, shaking her head. "Don't tell me these dingbats don't even have screwdrivers or none? ...Ngh, guess not," she admits, leaning back against the bars.
"Oh yeah? Same, sure enough. Where'd you do time? Don't tell me..." and here Josie closes her eyes overdramatically, as if she were trying to read minds. "...Nortune? Am I close?"
Josie's one thoughts on Spira -- the Al Bhed aside -- have been a never-ending string of unkind sentiments.
Which may only be amplified when she attempts to light her cigarette and it fails.
"A little spark, more like," Josie says, glum. "Would it kill them any to calm down? ...Even if I did have my lighter I bet those sorry fools'd taken it. Don't this beat all. ...Guess we'll just have to sit around and wait for them to hand out that sentence. What d'you think? Execution? Parole? ...Community service?" She manages a cheeky grin even in spite of their predicament.
<Pose Tracker> Ines Colina has posed.
"I mean, if they had screwdrivers, things'd be constructed pretty differently." It's not exactly a big realisation. "'course, maybe they keep 'em for themselves and those 'machina' they keep sending out." Anger seeps into her voice somewhat. "A bunch of worthless hypocrites the lot of them."
Ines laughs at that, not derisively, more as though some tension has been lifted. "Do you think I'd be here if I'd been to Nortune? Nothing so grand." Ines responds, casually. "There are cities I've got the good sense to miss. I'm no battler, either." She shakes her head. "Just a string of little towns across the country where I've had the bad luck to be a beastwoman, a geohound, or both. Whole lot of Sheriff's out there who'll take any chance to show off their power. Or just hate people like me." She shakes her head. "Usually they can't keep you more than a few nights, or I'd just make my own way out. Less messy than putting up too much of a fight. Fewer bounties as well." Ines let's out a grin, her sharklike teeth on display. "Still, sometimes it's worth the fight."
"Honestly, for all I know they get off on not letting us have the basics. I don't think they'd be feeding us, if they thought they could get away with it." She pauses. "Honestly they probably could." Ines chuckles, as Josie lays out the options. "See, I was thinking they'd just let us out on good behaviour."
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
"Would be one thing if they practiced what they preached, eh?" Josie says, her lips splitting in a mirthless smile. "But that's the way it always goes -- those at the top step on them at the bottom," she continues, gesturing widely with her one good hand. "Ain't a stretch to see Spira's sick."
If it's sick, what's the cure?
In spite of their situation -- or perhaps because of who she is -- Josie laughs. "See! I knew I liked you. Me, I've done some time here 'n there, but nothing fancy or notable like. Some places just ain't that kindly towards strangers. And others, well..." She shrugs. "I ain't admitting it one way or another."
By comparison, some of the hot water Josie's landed in it seems may be just that much more 'earned'.
"Oh yeah? Small town'sre the worst. Tell you, you walk in with an ARM, or maybe someone finds your kit, or what, and then you're out before the sun's even down. ...Or after, if you're really unlucky." Her eyes narrow as she regards Ines, though. "...And some of 'em ain't even worth a donkey's spit, yeah?"
At that, Josie shakes her head. "See, that's my problem, yeah? They won't even tell me what I'm in for! The rest of you... some kinda disturbance, seems like? I ain't got the whole story in, and them out there ain't all that talkative." But she grins. "But I tell you, no raving reviews of this cell we're in. Even if they apologize and give me back my screwdriver."
<Pose Tracker> Ines Colina has posed.
"Yeah. Really seems that way." It's not a point Ines can argue. For all the environment is pleasant, it seems fundamentally screwed up. "Just in a different way to Filgaia." There's a sigh. "Nice to know everywhere's screwed up some way."
"And I'm not gonna pry." Ines responds, as someone with their own legally dubious escapades to not talk about. "Still, it'd be nice to have an idea of a way out. Something tells me 'grab the next person who comes by, take their keys, leave' isn't gonna cut it down here." Ines attempts to again budge one of the thick bars that cages them in. It doesn't even pretend to move. "I guess you're right, waiting it is."
"Don't I know it," Ines agrees. "It's not like drifters are a new concept. Get used to it already." Ines pauses at that. "...Some of them sure aren't." She responds, after a few moments. "But sometimes you get somewhere okay. It makes a nice change." She looks down. "'sides, it's not worth keeping them in your memory behind 'don't go back'. Not unless they do something especially awful."
She's not sure whether she passed that test.
"Disturbance sounds right, but I missed the pointy end of that." Ines returns to leaning against the wall. "I've got some details, but probably not much more than you. Main thing I know is there was a wedding that needed crashing and someone who needed rescuing." Another pause. "Great job we did of that." She smirks again. "Maybe if they give your screwdriver back we can carve that in the wall. Crap food, bad beds, no smokes."
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
"Not sure I'd enjoy having some sort of horrible whale thing show up and crush things every so often, neither," Josie remarks. "Frankly, I can see why them on the Moon've stayed clear."
Josie shakes her head and flashes a lopsided grin. "Sure enough. The old tricks ain't working here. Makes me wonder if they had some right wicked jailbreaks at some point, or if they're just the ornery sort. ...Anyway, I don't know that I like the odds, considering that I ain't even sure what I'd land on if I fell out of here," Josie sighs, gesturing to the darkness below. "Do you think there's spikes? They seem mean enough to put down spikes."
She regards Ines for a few moments more before she says, "Fair enough. Ain't much reason being tied to what was."
Even if she's always been pretty poor at living up to that maxim. Perhaps just being a particularly wayward archaeologist has something to do with that part of the problem.
"...A wedding, eh? I'm guessing the bride or groom to be wasn't entirely willing?" She shrugs, and smiles grimly. "Well, there's worse reasons to do some hard time, yeah?"
Such as, specifically, the reason Josie's even here. You attempt to kidnap one Summoner, once, then get caught by Yevon in Al Bhed territory while loaded to the gills with ARMs and--
For some reason, they just weren't in a very pleasant mood.
If she ever sees those particular pair of Guado again she's going to have to shoot them. It's the only proper course of action.
"See? They're missing out on some quality prison graffiti!"
At least if nothing else, she's succeeded in an overall improvement to her mood.