The state of the city [Ira]

The sharp tones of an ever-so-slightly mocking voice reached Jack's waiting ears, and he turned, raising a single eyebrow to accentuate a cool regard. You had to keep calm around girls. Especially this kind of girl, one with brains, looks, and a tongue sharp as a rapier.

Still, he'd met her before. Ira was sane, and though maybe she couldn't be trusted, he figured he could at least count on her not to try and get him killed.

"Heck yeah I called," he replied, a small grin momentarily flashing over his features, "but reception around here is shit, 'case you hadn't noticed. Good thing you were in the area." Then his face fell, and he scratched at his hair with one hand as he continued, embarrassed. "Yeahhhh... I'm kind of, um, completely lost here. In every sense of the word. You know anywhere a little safer, maybe?  Relatively speaking, I mean... 'cause right now, everywhere I look there's people beating each other down." He looked straight at her, a hint of hopefulness showing in his eyes. "You've been inside these walls a lot longer than me, if I'm guessing right.   So anything you know about how to survive in here... that's worth something.  A favor or two, let's say."

(Tag Ira Defaire)

She looked at him for a while, and he looked back with far softer eyes, pure and earnest and mildly impatient. It was flattering, he supposed, that she was giving him this much consideration, actually taking him seriously, but part of him wanted her to just get on with it, and either leave or start spilling those sweet, sweet nuggets of information he so desperately needed.

Instead, she started taking off her clothes.

Jack's eyebrows went up a little. Well, he knew he was attractive, but... that wasn't a normal response, no matter how good-looking you were. She was trying to show him something, he decided. Sure enough, as the curtains of cloth were removed and soft skin exposed, a mark revealed itself, a small grey sign that Jack took in with a swift glance. He looked back up at those wicked eyes of hers, puzzlement showing in his expression. "Snake? Huh... seems kind of fitting, but I don't think I get your gist, here." His tone was growing sharper, now, rising the match the challenge of her stare. Why couldn't people around here ever do things the easy way? Was she playing games with him? He kept his face calm, however, careful not to show any sign that she was getting to him.

When she finally spoke, it was a question, rather than an answer. Damn, she really was testing him. On the other hand, now was the time to sell himself, to convince her that he was worth the time to aid.

"Right now? Probably not much, 'less you need chores done. But you can think of it as an investment, maybe. There are plenty of gangs around here looking for fresh blood, and sooner or later, I reckon I'll end up rolling with one, and you got a contact. On top of that, once I get the right gear I'll be able to wreck some serious face in a fight, and sooner or later there'll come a time every body on your side is gonna count. And lastly," he continued, face growing serious, "I don't go back on my word. If I owe you, I owe you, no matter how long you want to sit on that for."

Then he smiled, and rolled his shoulders, stretching a little. "So, just in case you weren't going to help me out of the goodness of your heart... there's plenty I can do, if you know when to call on me. All yours, for the price of a few answers I can probably find on my own anyways." He had a feeling he'd regret this, but his words were out now, and the ball of decision far away on Ira's side of the court.

(Tag Ira Defaire)

Ira moved, and Jack followed, stepping neatly into place beside her as though he'd always belonged there. The sheer closeness required to so much as hear her was strange, but hardly a source of discomfort for him- though he made sure to keep his eyes on her, partly to show he was listening and partly to watch for any sudden movements on her part.

He remained mute as she briefly described the various clans and leaders of the District. Each one sounded more powerful and terrifying than the last, and Jack took it all in grimly, nodding occasionally to signal that he was keeping up. It was bad news, mostly. If even half of what she said was true, it was going to be a long, hard road to becoming the strongest here.

Their arrival at Starbucks distracted him a little, and he almost laughed in surprise. So, even when the outside world abandoned this place, the coffee chain was still in business... it was possible that people were just taking refuge here, but the bustling line proved otherwise. Some things never changed.

He winced visibly when she got to the part about Alexei and the former first pillar. Ouch. Better be careful around the Apostles, then. On the plus side, however, he did have a rough idea of what was going on, now, and could already guess at which sides he might want to join. When she finished, he flashed her a quick smile, accompanied by a whispered "Thanks."

A barista was asking for her order, and she chose that precise moment to turn to him again. They were still right next to each other, too, so he took the lead. "Strawberry banana smoothie, please." And he looked to Ira. "Anything for you?" She'd decided to trust him at least a little, in telling him all that, so the least he could do would be to buy her a coffee.

After giving her a moment to make an order (if she did), he'd continue in a lower voice. "Some. Maybe you won't want to tell me this, but... where do you fit into the food chain? Whose side do you fight for?"

(Ira Defaire)

Jack paid the barista in full for both drinks, and left a healthy tip as well. He wasn't running low on money just yet, and this was proving to be quite a good day for him, so why not spend a little? At last, he knew what the hell people were fighting over, even if he couldn't quite guess at all their motivations. For that, he supposed, he'd need to meet the so-called lions himself.

Ira explained her position rather elaborately, going into a full-on extended metaphor as she described how she fit in to the wilderness that was District 552. Jack nodded at it, trying to avoid clapping his hands with joy. At last! He'd found someone else who used overly long dramatic monologues to introduce themselves. He'd always been a bit embarrassed about that trait of his, but now he finally found someone to share it with...

The moment she asked him for his name, he posed dramatically, one hand flung out with fingers splayed. "I'll say it once, and I won't say it again, because I won't need to. This is the name you'll be hearing the people whisper as they gaze at the stars in the hope of a better future, the name you'll hear the Apostles cry out in dread when they see me coming, the name of the one who will conquer this place, and drag the darkness kicking and screaming into the sun, until the blood that drowns this place evaporates away before the light. Jack. Motherfucking. Griffin. You heard it here first, but soon you'll see it shake the world."

He paused for a moment before laughing quietly. "You know what, just call me Jack."

(Ira Defaire)

"J- Jimmy?" The young man, his name apparently not even worth remembering, sputtered helplessly as all his epic posturing was casually tossed aside by an unimpressed Ira, who was now attempting to drag him along like a disobedient dog.  Jack failed to put up much resistance. He was still embarrassed that his dramatic monologue had failed so badly (he really needed to learn to stop doing those), and though the girl wasn't pulling that hard, he was curious to see where she was trying to lead him. Thus, he followed resignedly along, muttering quietly to himself. "Shake the world... fuck, I need to choose a better ending line..."

He'd been kind of a big name, back in his old school, and it felt strange to be treated this way. Maybe he knew a little about the factions of this District, thanks to Ira's handy explanation, but he still didn't know much about his current place in it. His little speech back then certainly made it clear where he wanted to be, but right now he was fairly certain that the name 'Jack' lay fairly low on the vast pyramid of strength and influence.

Belatedly, he realized that Ira was talking to him.  "Oh... shit!" he replied, his voice suddenly frantic with false panic, "You're right, I didn't even think of that!  What if you are just trying to trick me, what do I do?"  He made no attempt to move away from her, and it was obvious that he was just joking around.

In reality?  He'd considered the possibility, to be sure.  But even though she might not be an ally, he doubted that Ira really wanted to screw him over.  Helping him could mean an ally or a pawn for her, whereas hurting him would give her nothing... unless she was some kind of sadist, which was pretty unlikely.  Beyond that, however, there was a deeper reason.  Since coming here, Jack had been forced to watch for enemies all around, lost and alone in a world that was breaking down around him.  Maybe Ira was lying... but she was still a person, around his age, holding an actual conversation with him for the first time in a while.  For him, it brought back good memories.   While they talked, he could pretend that he was still an ordinary kid, maybe a bit messed up but still going to school, chatting with friends, all those mundane things that he couldn't help but wish for.  He'd have listened to her bullshit him all day, if it meant getting to live that life for just a few moments more.

But he didn't tell her that.  Better to make lame jokes and monologues, enough to irk her slightly without pissing her off, while she led him wherever the heck she was going.  She was smart, he knew, and telling her too much would only alert her to weaknesses she could exploit.  Jack trusted Ira's information, but Ira herself was still an unknown and possibly dangerous quantity.

(Ira Defaire)