(no subject)
Nion was getting very, very annoyed. "So, basically, you fucked the entire thing up and came out of it with nothing but another street brat to show for our efforts."
Benjamin growled as he smiled, taking the cigarette out of his mouth. The gesture was familiar. "Basically."
Nion threw his expressive Human hands into the air in frustration. "Damnit, Benjamin, you know we can't afford this--"
"Sure we can," Benjamin said smugly, grinning wider and leaning back against the wall.
Nion looked at him with scorn, then with interest. "What?" he inquired. "What've you got that you haven't shown me?"
Benjamin took a heavy drag of his cigarette and said nothing.
Nion was too close to his blood brother not to know that the smartest thing to do to get an answer out of him was to wait. So he did.
Several minutes later, Benjamin reached down and fished around in his pockets for a moment. His hand closed around something as he leaned forward across the counter, taking his cigarette between two fingers and beckoning to Nion to look close. He pulled out a long, flat keyecard that had nine holes punched in its long side, with a ring looped through every other one.
Nion stared at it, not comprehending. "Okay?" he said, getting cynical. "What's the big deal?"
Benjamin chuckled throatily, pausing to smoke some more. "What's it look like?"
"A standard shipkeye, why--?"
"Come on, you bastard, look at it. How many shipkeyes you seen like that?"
The "keye" looked as if it were made of some kind of metal, but it was semi-transparent and was an odd cobalt color. Strange symbols were scrawled across its edge--old Zentharian, he guessed, since it looked somewhat familiar but he still couldn't read it.
Then it dawned on him.
Benjamin saw Nion's eyes widen. He grinned, then laughed as Nion's mouth dropped open.
"Are you serious?" Nion murmured.
Before Nion could swipe it from him, Benjamin slid it discreetly back into his pocket. The hands of a thief.
"Where'd you get it?" Nion asked, trotting after the mammoth Zentharian as he headed down to the bottom deck of the ship.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Benjamin huffed. He started humming some old pirate songs to drown out Nion's persistent questions.
His boots clanked metallically when he bounded down the staircase, his tail clattering recklessly against the handrails.
"You see, Nion...wait, what's the phrase you always say?"
Nion barely refrained from rolling his eyes. Benjamin was purposefully irking him--he damn well knew the saying. "One man's trash is another man's treasure."
"Dunnit, yeah?" Benjamin chortled. "Listen, ay, what you call street brat, I call pickpocket. The best I ever laid eyes on."
"Right." Nion was unmoved.
"I ain't feeding you lies, Nion, see for yourself."
Nion wasn't sure what he was supposed to be "seeing for himself"; the room was all but empty--just a vast, dark, unused storage deck.
Then he froze as he heard the click of his pistol being cocked right against the back of his neck.
The kid pressed it harder to reinforce his statement, then obnoxiously kicked him behind the knee, making him stumble. Two shots snapped off on either side of him.
"Bang, bang," the kid said, a cynical streak underlying the tones of his voice. There was no immature childish sound in those tones; in fact, his voice held a chilling maturity of a child who's grown up far too fast and seen far too much.
Nion grimaced, turning to the young Zentharian. He was expecting to look down, but found the boy's face at his eye level.
Nion backed up several steps, muttering profanities under his breath. "I thought you said he was seven--"
"He is," Benjamin said, lighting up a new cigarette.
Xirtrian activated the safety on the gun and handed it back to Nion, who snatched it out of his hand indignantly. Xirtrian smirked at his temper.
"Fuck off," Nion snarled, holstering the weapon. "You think you're hot shit, don't you--"
"Dunnit, yeah?" Benjamin interrupted, cackling like a hyena. "Cool off, Nion, live a little--"
"You too, you dumb fuck," Nion said, glaring at Axis. "You proved your point, now shove it."
Benjamin couldn't stop laughing.
Nion was fuming at this point. Benjamin had never seen him this angry, and to him, that made it all the more hilarious.
"Fuck you both," Nion finally growled, abruptly walking out of the room.
Benjamin growled as he smiled, taking the cigarette out of his mouth. The gesture was familiar. "Basically."
Nion threw his expressive Human hands into the air in frustration. "Damnit, Benjamin, you know we can't afford this--"
"Sure we can," Benjamin said smugly, grinning wider and leaning back against the wall.
Nion looked at him with scorn, then with interest. "What?" he inquired. "What've you got that you haven't shown me?"
Benjamin took a heavy drag of his cigarette and said nothing.
Nion was too close to his blood brother not to know that the smartest thing to do to get an answer out of him was to wait. So he did.
Several minutes later, Benjamin reached down and fished around in his pockets for a moment. His hand closed around something as he leaned forward across the counter, taking his cigarette between two fingers and beckoning to Nion to look close. He pulled out a long, flat keyecard that had nine holes punched in its long side, with a ring looped through every other one.
Nion stared at it, not comprehending. "Okay?" he said, getting cynical. "What's the big deal?"
Benjamin chuckled throatily, pausing to smoke some more. "What's it look like?"
"A standard shipkeye, why--?"
"Come on, you bastard, look at it. How many shipkeyes you seen like that?"
The "keye" looked as if it were made of some kind of metal, but it was semi-transparent and was an odd cobalt color. Strange symbols were scrawled across its edge--old Zentharian, he guessed, since it looked somewhat familiar but he still couldn't read it.
Then it dawned on him.
Benjamin saw Nion's eyes widen. He grinned, then laughed as Nion's mouth dropped open.
"Are you serious?" Nion murmured.
Before Nion could swipe it from him, Benjamin slid it discreetly back into his pocket. The hands of a thief.
"Where'd you get it?" Nion asked, trotting after the mammoth Zentharian as he headed down to the bottom deck of the ship.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Benjamin huffed. He started humming some old pirate songs to drown out Nion's persistent questions.
His boots clanked metallically when he bounded down the staircase, his tail clattering recklessly against the handrails.
"You see, Nion...wait, what's the phrase you always say?"
Nion barely refrained from rolling his eyes. Benjamin was purposefully irking him--he damn well knew the saying. "One man's trash is another man's treasure."
"Dunnit, yeah?" Benjamin chortled. "Listen, ay, what you call street brat, I call pickpocket. The best I ever laid eyes on."
"Right." Nion was unmoved.
"I ain't feeding you lies, Nion, see for yourself."
Nion wasn't sure what he was supposed to be "seeing for himself"; the room was all but empty--just a vast, dark, unused storage deck.
Then he froze as he heard the click of his pistol being cocked right against the back of his neck.
The kid pressed it harder to reinforce his statement, then obnoxiously kicked him behind the knee, making him stumble. Two shots snapped off on either side of him.
"Bang, bang," the kid said, a cynical streak underlying the tones of his voice. There was no immature childish sound in those tones; in fact, his voice held a chilling maturity of a child who's grown up far too fast and seen far too much.
Nion grimaced, turning to the young Zentharian. He was expecting to look down, but found the boy's face at his eye level.
Nion backed up several steps, muttering profanities under his breath. "I thought you said he was seven--"
"He is," Benjamin said, lighting up a new cigarette.
Xirtrian activated the safety on the gun and handed it back to Nion, who snatched it out of his hand indignantly. Xirtrian smirked at his temper.
"Fuck off," Nion snarled, holstering the weapon. "You think you're hot shit, don't you--"
"Dunnit, yeah?" Benjamin interrupted, cackling like a hyena. "Cool off, Nion, live a little--"
"You too, you dumb fuck," Nion said, glaring at Axis. "You proved your point, now shove it."
Benjamin couldn't stop laughing.
Nion was fuming at this point. Benjamin had never seen him this angry, and to him, that made it all the more hilarious.
"Fuck you both," Nion finally growled, abruptly walking out of the room.