001 [video]

[benumbing]

[Jack's parked himself, where else, in Delight's bar, and even though he's halfway through the bottle in front of him, he's still composed. It's equal parts troubling and impressive...his reputation for being a party prince back home was well-earned.]

At least one of the gods here has good taste in alcohol. That's more than I can say for the god of my father. I think he prefers sweet wine and the blood of lambs or bulls...

[He waves his hand dismissively before taking another drink. He doesn't want to talk about sacrifice, or even think about it. But he's not shying away from the subject of blood.]

I'm here to ask where I can find training with the weapons in the armory. I served in the military of my world, but we were somewhat more...advanced with our weapons - which really just means we grew impatient with the time it took us to kill a great number of people, so we came up with tanks and guns. But since there are actual monsters here and I can't burst into flames or shoot ice daggers from my eyes, I'd like to master something as quickly as possible.

[And he doesn't find the up-close and personal aspect of if to be as distasteful as he might've thought. Maybe because he'll be killing monsters and not someone's son, though there are instances where he thinks the two can overlap.]

I'll be in your debt. [And the sobering way that he says those words show just how seriously Jack takes them. But it's followed by his lips curving into a smirk.] And in exchange, I'll also bring the tastiest monsters right to your doorstep. The ugly ones taste just like chicken.

[But they don't stay down as easily, not unless you're the youngest Stark girl.]

Comments

video

[whichend]

[ Arya nods. ]

A wise choice. Meet me on the side of the bridge where the city is little more than ruins, in one hour.

action?

[benumbing]

[Jack gives the video a little salute, and then he switches to a glass of water. He's not drunk, but he's not entirely sober either. Jack downs it, and then leaves the bar behind to meet her.

His days are about to get more difficult, and probably more dangerous too. But now's the time to figure out what kind of a man he is now that he's not a prince anymore.]

action!

[whichend]

[ Arya waits at the meeting place, perched atop one of the crumbling buildings. It's not the safest of spots, but it conceals her well. Besides, she feels powerful up here. That's worth something.

When Jack arrives, she shoots an arrow so it lands at the base of his feet. ]

First rule. You must always be looking, and you must always be seeing.

action!

[benumbing]

[Jack stops abruptly, looking down at the arrow between his feet. He looks up and around until he spots the archer.]

In my defense, I could be looking and you still might be hard to see. [Jack, don't make short jokes about your teacher. Especially not when she has a weapon in her hands. He pulls the arrow from the dirt before continuing forward.] Eyes wide open. Understood.

perma-action

[whichend]

[ Arya's just going to pretend that's a compliment to her sneakiness and not a short joke. It's safer for Jack that way. She hops down from her roost and snorts. ]

Then you're not very good at looking, are you? We'll work on that too.

[ Arya starts sizing him up, then presses a bow in his chest, one that should be about the right size. ]

Have you ever used one of these before?

[benumbing]

Why do I feel like we'll be working on a lot of things?

[Arya seems like a strict teacher, maybe the strictest he's ever had. He takes the bow, pulling the string out to test how taut it is before he lifts and takes aim with an imaginary arrow.]

No. I don't know a single person who has. [Before coming here, he means. He closes one eye, opens it again.] I think some people still do it as a hobby, but people do a lot of things as a hobby.