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[Her hair was always an undertaking, and it was a task that she had taken on more and more as she had gotten older and he had fallen into being busier. Aldrip did seem to be a quieter place in general, and while he might not recognize it, a by-product of him being forced out of his routine to be with someone else was that he was generally more aware of his physically withdrawn nature.]

Do you wish to check it while I unbind your hair? I'm only one braid in.

[He was almost finished with that one of course, soon to move on to the second. It could probably used a brushing, but that would likely wait until after she had washed it. Still, once finished, he ran his fingers through her loose hair then moved to pick up the second braid.]

[ she shakes her head at that, and continues to bathe in this blissful little minute between the two of them. ]

Nu-huh...

[ her voice purrs off in a daydreaming note, her skin prickling into tiny goosebumps with each light twitch of her strands and his fingers twisting into one. ]

I'll check when I'm eating. This is tooooo nice. And I think I'm gonna go with a ponytail today. Let my hair suck up the air for a change.

[He made a soft amused sound to her indulgence. Honestly, he didn't know how she managed this much hair; he had a shaggy month when she wasn't talking to him, and it was not something he wished to repeat. He was too old for long hair.]

The heat should dry it well, though the humidity may cause it to puff up as you know it can.

[He worked off the metal around her second plait to also set those aside for her to reapply when she deemed it worthwhile. His fingers worked to unwind the second braid as they stood there together. She certainly sounded more awake.]

Well, if that happens, then I'll just chop it all off and wear a wig!

[ she is obviously fibbing, and jinx turns her head up to her father to grant him a playful wink and a stick of her tongue to show it.

it'll be an extremely cold day in hell for her to ever do something that drastic. although, she had a few close calls of her snipping her hair when she dissociated. jinx is the type one should keep a watchful eye on whenever her mental days go astray. ]

You will do no such thing, least for that particular reasoning.

[He knew she was playing for a jest, but he liked her blue hair long. He gave her hair a playful tug and narrowed his blue eye to at least engage mildly with her game. After all, her long hair was a testament of their relationship in a sense. She had stopped cutting it when she had come to his care; he had learned to braid hair for her and no other reason.

His fingers worked up the second plait methodically, freeing up all of her hair after a few minutes. Like the first, he carded his fingers through the long locks to check for obvious tangles.]

Finish your coffee then bathe.

[ she giggles at his protest, and then laughs louder when he yanks jokingly on her hair. jinx enjoys poking at her father like this, and sometimes she wishes more people saw this side of him like she does. if people did, maybe they wouldn't be on edge about him or constantly believe he is up to something devious. ]

Okaaaayy, okaaaaay, bottoms up!

[ and with that, she tilts the mug upward to consume every last drop until there is no more left. somehow, guzzling down her drink that fast makes her hiccup a little then burp, but at least it's empty and she feeling more like the living than the dead. ]

Done!

[ she announces, lifting her arm straight up above her head with the cup in hand for her father to pry off her grip. ]

[Silco had no such intentions as to show there was any other side of him than business or the monster those of their world thought him to be. It did not benefit him to be soft with everyone, and the Council certainly hadn't yet forced him to be friendly. Even if they did, no one but Jinx would know he was being genuine so it wasn't worth the effort on his part.]

You don't have to chug it, you know.

[He remarked that dryly, but she was going to do that anyway so his protest on that front was moot. He looked up at her holding the mug directly above her head, and yes, he was taller than she was. He was not going to reach up to pluck the mug from her grip, and he instead held his hand out for her to provide it to him.

It was that or she could take it to the bathroom with her.]

I'll put together a snack for you.

[ she pouts when he doesn't take the bait and then places the glass in his hand, disappointed. but in any case, silco said he would put together refreshments for her, so her little sulky mood doesn't stick to her for very long. ]

Alright. Can you set my oil crayons on the table for me? I gotta take notes after I'm out, too. I'll need red, blue, and green.

[He did not relent to her pout, and he took the mug in hand when it was provided. Look, there was only so much fun he was willing to have and chasing a mug was not on his list of favoured activities. At least she didn't throw it.]

Of course. They are in their usual place?

[He stepped away to allow her to head unimpeded to the bathroom while he returned to the kitchen to set the mug in the sink for future washing.]

Yyyyyep! The drawer in the living room, to the riiiiight...! Says Jinx as she boogies to the shower.

[ of course, she doesn't actually dance to the bathroom, but there is still pep in her step as she strolls inside — shutting the door behind. given her hair and all, this bath time will take approximately forty to forty-five minutes. and if silco listens closely, he may hear her humming to herself while she cleans and washes. ]

The usual spot then, yes.

[He came out of the kitchen to retrieve the requested colours of oil pencils, and he had enough time to watch her enter the bathroom. She was not dancing, though he wouldn't mind if she was. It was good to see Jinx in a positive mood, which meant she had needed the sleep. Her paranoia became nearly unbearable when she was sleep deprived.

He moved over to the cabinet in the living room, opening the right drawer and picking out the red, blue and green oil crayon along with some paper in the next drawer. He set them on the table and walked back to the kitchen to prepare an easy snack for her to eat.]

[ after time passes, jinx exits out of the bathroom while smooshing a towel against her face to dry. her long silk and damped hair trail behind her as she steps out, entirely bare as she makes her way to a dresser with some of her clothing. her better looking attires are stored upstairs in her room, but the soothing bath left her lazy, and the thought of climbing stairs feel more of a chore than anything.

so off to the dresser his daughter goes, rummaging around to find something to wear for the time being while her hair dries. jinx settles with a purple crop top, pink panties and shorts before shutting the drawer close again. the towel she swings around her shoulder, and on her way to the kitchen, she swipes her phone to carry along. ]

[Silco was putting together a layered seafood dip with some crackers and chips for Jinx. He noted when she stepped out of the shower and noted her state of undress, able to guess where she was going to collect clothing,

As she found her clothing, he set the table with a bowl of the dip and a plate with crackers and chips for her to dive into when she was ready. He returned to the kitchen to retrieve some side plates for them to use, though he wasn't particularly hungry. Of course, he was still putting on the weight that he had lost the previous month.]

Would you like something more to drink?

[ when she enters fully in the kitchen, her eyes immediately dart to the refreshments before her, and her face glow with excitement. the smile on her spreads from ear to ear as she scurries over quickly like she is about to have a big family dinner on one of their runeterra holidays. ]

Wooooah, this looks great! I can't wait to dig in...!

[ normally, she would wait for her father to pull the chair for her, but this time, jinx helps herself. her stomach is getting pretty antsy too with thr way it growls, and she sets her phone down next to her paper and crayons while nodding to silco. ]

Yeah! Juice, please.

It's all yours if you want it. That should tide you over until dinner tonight.

[He moved to the fridge to pull out juice at her request. He returned with a glass and set it on the table where Jinx was settling in. He pulled out his own chair and eased himself into it, crossing one leg over the other at the knee.]

Perhaps eat before you check your messages.

[It had been three days since she had eaten and drank, and neither one of them had much body fat to lose as it usually was with fissure folk.]

[ practically swaying in her seat, she stretches across to the jug to pour the juice in the glass — almost overflowing the liquid pass the rim. but although she overshot it, that doesn't stop jinx from leaning forward to slurp some of the drink from its edges. his daughter licks her lips to relish over the taste, then bend back to her chair again. ]

I can do both at the same time.

[ she says, already using her index to zig-zag across the screen to beam the phone to life. the lock and home screens have not changed in their wallpapers. the lock has her and silco together (the same photo she used for his okcindr profile), and as for her home screen, it's her and vi together with grinning faces with vi making bunny ears behind jinx's head.

his daughter reaches over again to grab a chip to use as a spoon to scoop the seafood dip, then pops in her mouth to chew. after that, she grabs a blue pen to write in big bold letters, " THINGS TO DO TODAY :)". okay, good. she is now ready to check those messages. the teenager dials to the automatic voice mail and then presses the speaker button so she could keep doing what she needs to do hand free. ]

Please enter your password, then press pound.

[ doop, doop, doop, she does so. ]

[Silco leaned back in his chair, pulling out his own device as Jinx went about pouring juice and drinking noisily. He began to check the the network for updated posts before switching over to his business messages so that he could set the rest of the day. It seemed that Jinx would be busy with her own tasks, and he could step into one of his many offices.

While he wasn't going to actively eavesdrop, he also had nothing to hide from her and expected vice versa. He needed to continue to cultivate his relationship with her, to make certain she could trust him. There were threats ever present and growing in this place.]

You have two new voice messages.

[ she blinks over to her device, a little surprised. she expected maybe one, but two? that's interesting. as the auto recording goes through the options on what to do with these messages, jinx uses that brief moment to snag another cracker to scoop with dip to munch on.

with her other hand, she selects the number then picks up the pen again to prep herself to write. for the first message, there's some dead air for a few seconds until a raspy voice greets her: ]

"Hey." [ it starts, and then another pause before it then adds: ] "We need to talk." — End of message. To delete this message, press seven --

[ jinx squints at her device in confusion, as she can't quite put her finger on whom that voice belongs to. so she presses the number to repeat the message, but this time, hunching over closer so she can hear. ]

... Silco, does that... sound like Ragna to you?

Edited 2024-07-29 04:23 (UTC)

[Silco paused when the voice sounded from her voice mail, his eyebrow drawing down as he listened to the message. That voice didn't sound right, hoarse and cracked. That was the sound of someone who had either been ill or had been vomiting a considerable amount.

Yet, he didn't answer right away, mentally playing over the message before he met Jinx's gaze with his own. It would not be beneficial for Ragna to be compromised. Now that he thought of it, he had not seen the grumpy man nor had he seen Levi around much. There had been significant casualties though.]

It does. He doesn't sound well.

[ jinx hangs up the auto recording to prevent it from going to the next message (for now). she switches colors to red and scribbles down while muttering along to what she writes. ]

Talk to Ragna... urgent. [ then scrapes lines underneath the word "urgent". his daughter glimpses back to her father, looking a bit concerned, and for good reason. ] — I'll go check on him later. I know he works for us and all, so I'll let know you what's up.

... You think it has something to do what that infection junk?

[This had to be a result of the event then. He didn't believe that Ragna would be killed; he had seen that one in action a bit too often to think he could succumb to injuries. What were the chances that Ragna had been infected? Well, the whole place was still standing, but the brute also used a sword more often than not.

He nodded his head, and he made a mental note to check on Levi. He hoped his little bodyguard was just laying low, but he should be certain.]

Potentially. We won't know until you make contact. And if you go in person, be careful.

R-Right. Right, yeah, of course.

[ she nods back to him, taking a second to breathe out her small worry and think a little more on the rational side of things. ]

I don't think he'll hurt me and I don't want to hurt him, but... I'll bring a smoke bomb along. If he does strike, I'll use it to book it.

[ best case scenario, he's just sick, but given what happened recently... that seems unlikely. jinx reaches over again to take another chip and dip for another bite. before facing her partner in crime (and not knowing what to expect), she needs to gather her strength more than ever now. ]

[There was no one other than Levi that he would trust with Jinx going to encounter Ragna. The brute had proven very loyal to Jinx, but if this was less of an illness and more or something residual of the infection, he was concerned for her safety.]

He may not have a choice, Jinx. Be careful. It would be preferable if you contacted him by the network first to assess the situation.

[He would prefer that contact to be in front of him, but they had private discussions that he was not privy to. He had to respect her privacy and judgment regardless of his concerns.]

[ could it be possible he didn't get healed? vi was the one who brought her back to her sense (which quite frankly, she... enjoyed being in that blood wrath mindset), but what of the people who didn't get that treatment? jinx chews on her bottom lip, and nods to silco again. ]

... Okay, I'll do that first. I'll call him later, see if he wants to talk that way or meet up.

[ her fingers dance over her device again, the black screen now twisting back to that lock and home screen displays. ]

[He trusted her to handle the situation with the brute, but his concerned remained. He was considering if there was anyone that he could call on to act as escort should this become a face-to-face meeting between the two.]

Do that. Contact me if you suspect it might not be safe to go to him. I will either come with you or arrange escort.

[He wasn't going to lose his daughter. He had been protecting her as much as he could since she was small while also allowing her the freedom to defend herself. The brute was not someone he thought they could take in a combat situation.]

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cw: brief nudity

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