tushanshu | 05 ❄ ( voice )

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05 ❄ ( voice )

[ Jack has come back to the city after his fight with Kyle and his talk with Bucky at the shell's edge. He isn't quite ready for video replies yet, knows that despite the usual cheerful timbre he's forcing into his voice it won't cover the fact that his eyes are sad and hollow. ]

Has anyone seen Periwinkle? I went to her suite to give her fresh snow but she's not there and it looks...

[ he fumbles for the right description ]

Unused.

[ private to Finnick ]
Sorry I haven't figured out those other lures yet, I... something-- kind of came up. I take it you saw the announcement?

[ private to Damian ]
I... wanted to apologize, for what I said to you on the sled hill. When you brought up-- I, I just shouldn't have snapped back at you like that. I don't have any right to say who trusts you and who doesn't. I'm sorry.

[ private to Kyle ]
... please don't tell everyone about the snow. I get it, okay? It was wrong and fake and cheating and a horrible thing. But just let them have a good memory of it and-- and I won't spread any more snow like that around. Please. I'll... I'll do whatever you want.

[ He doesn't think he could take it if all the people who thanked him for the snow day suddenly turned on him for it. The ones who'd had their hearts lightened enough to even be able to see him for the first time. ]

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Don't worry about it. Everything okay? [A pause and a sigh.] Yeah. Not surprising about the rations, but I wonder how everyone is going to deal with it.

[ Everything is by no conceivable stretch okay lately, but Jack quashes every ounce of bad feelings out of his voice before he replies. Finnick was one of the ones who'd thanked him for the snow, seen him because of it and Jack's terrified to lose that. ]

Yeah, it's all good.

I'll do what I can to help so that you don't lose too much of it. I don't really need my shares of anything.

[ He should be able to help out like that without screwing up. He should. ]

I could come by later, if you want? I have a few lures done at least.

[He's quiet for a second, not really wanting to push. He knows when people aren't really ready to talk about things, so if Jack says he's okay, then Finnick will accept that for now.] Well, I'm here to listen if you need someone to talk to.

I'm a survivor, so I'm not too worried about myself. [Also he's been hoarding food away, just in case.] But between you and me, I have a few people I need to look out for. [Because he knows that Johanna, Katniss, and Peeta would protest if he said that to them out loud.]

That sounds good. I'll actually be home today.

I appreciate that Finnick... really, I do.

I understand. There's a lot of people I'll be worried about too.

[ Wonderful news, he needs the distraction. ]

Great. I'll come by soon, okay? But... hey, one more thing?

That's what friends do. [Like a little brother, really.]

What is it?

[ It really is. ]

Look, I don't know if... you know, seeing me that day, in the snow. I don't know if that'll carry but if it doesn't, it's nothing you've done or not done, all right?

[There's a long pause.] Don't worry, Jack. I'll see you.

Okay.

[ Jack certainly hoped so, but given Finnick's difficulty in having seen him up until that point, and the fact that he'd referenced more than once a concern that he was not mentally stable, Jack had felt it necessary to offer the reassurance.

The winter teen gathers the lures he made carefully in cloth to keep them from rubbing together, tucks it securely inside his hoodie's pocket and takes to the air, arching high into the clouds out of habit before angling down towards the Water Sector to where he knew Finnick's address was, landed and rapped lightly on the door with his staff, holding his breath and listening for sounds from inside. ]

[Finnick has a moment of doubt after he steps away from the console, to be honest. Would he really just stop seeing Jack like that? But the boy was real, a person. That Finnick is definitely certain about, so when there's the knock at his door, he knows he'll see the kid on the other side. You don't just stop suddenly seeing people.

He's not that crazy.

He opens the door and contemplates for about two seconds pretending like he actually can't see Jack. But then he smiles.] See, no problems.

[ Jack's expression relaxes from a subtle tension into tangible relief as he gives Finnick a grin. ]

Never happier to be wrong, let me tell you.

[He steps back to allow Jack entrance into his suite.] I can't tell you how many times I've heard that in reference to me.

Oh really now?

[ Jack follows Finnick inside and the chill of air follows Jack inside, but he leans his staff against the wall and wipes his feet on the rug like a good guest. He pulls the cloth-wrapped package for a pocket, setting it down on the table and opens it up so that Finnick can see the trio of crystalline lures inside.

After their success using the lure made of ice during that one fishing trip, they'd realized that with Finnick's extensive fishing experience and Jack's talent for magically sculpting things with exceptionally fine detail, they could make lures different from any the kedan had and sell them. The ice creations Jack had brought were prototypes based on Finnick's suggestions and for his approval. Then they could be tested -- hence his attempts at making them less soluble in salt water, as they had to last long enough to be tested -- and if they got a good number of bites they could be remade in metal by some of the local trade-smiths for a small commission. ]

I like the long-nosed one on the end, myself.

Too many.

[Finnick bends over the table to take a look at the lures Jack's brought him today. He picks them up, ignoring the chill from them as he turns them over. They're nice, well-crafted. Honestly, he'd never thought he could get away with the life of a fisherman, but he has to admit that it's nice. This is normal, not that he really knows what normal is.

After seeing the way the fish went for the one lure Jack had made, he's sure that these will just as well. Of course they'd need to be tested, but that was fun, at least.

At the boy's words, he picks up the long-nosed one, a grin breaking out of his face.] You've got real talent, you know that? I like this one too. They're all good, though.

[ Jack glowed with pride under the simple praise, felt it was for him rather than merely his connection with the seasonal element. ]

Thanks Finnick, I'm just glad I can help with them. I can't wait to see them made for real too.

[Well, Jack is the one making them. It's his skill regardless of connection, Finnick thinks. So it's definitely praise for Jack himself.]

I'm glad you could, too. It's a good job we've found ourselves. Or a good partnership, I should say. We work well together.

Yeah, we sure do. And when you think about it, who else is going to bring the "old school" to Keeliai?

[ Jack gives him a playful nudge with his shoulder. There would come a time when they'd be able to look back on Finnick's inability to see him and laugh about it, he thought. They weren't quite there yet, it was too new, but they were on the right path and that made Jack feel as good as anything. ]

So because of the rationing... do you think we should just stick to these few for now? I've been asking around the Fire Sector for someone who can do the work for us. You know who I think we might have the best luck with? Those jewelry makers in the market. I mean, if anyone's used to working with small detail, it'd be them right?

Nobody I'd trust, honestly. [Even if the old school way is still the normal school way for Finnick.

He grins, nudging the boy back. It's so strange, seeing him now, touching him. Funny how strong the idea of belief could really be. They didn't have anything to believe in back home. Nothing but the Hunger Games and death and President Snow.]

I think sticking with only for a few for now would be best. With rations, getting them made by anyone is probably going to be more expensive than it would have been before, and finding buyers for them that would pay more than enough to get our money back... [He might not be a businessman, but he knows a little bit about how it all works.] We can go and ask them their prices.

[ O-Oh, that means Finnick trusts him? Jack can honestly say he hasn't had too many people tell him that and beams quietly to himself.

He nods in agreement with the assessment and how the rationing will affect it; it's not something he's ever dealt with himself in the strictest sense, but he's watched people living through hard times where poverty was rampant and knew well how even simple things could seem out of reach when resources were so limited. ]

Yeah, that sounds good. We'll get some numbers and figure out what's the best way to work it out.

If nothing else [Finnick says as he places the lure back down] we can keep the figures and ideas in mind for when Tu Vishan isn't sick anymore. If they still want to keep those prices, we'll go with it. [A grin.] I'm sure I can probably negotiate for a lower price, either way, if it's too high for us.

[ a mischievous grin ]

Between you and me, I'm sure we can get what we want!

[He nods with an air of complete confidence.] We'll be an unbeatable team.

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05 ❄ ( voice )

voice; private

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Re: action; okay I just totally winged this whole thing, lmk if I need to edit anything

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