fearcutsdeeperthanswords | ❈ | 020 | Text

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A girl remembers she was here before. She remembers people called her Cat, and knew she sold cockles and clams in Braavos. But that girl is gone. She belongs on canals in the Ragman's Harbor, not here. A girl doesn't belong here either. She wants to leave. She won't answer to Cat any longer.

[She doesn't mention Arya Stark; why talk about some dead girl?]

Her warden calls her Jeyne now. Jesse calls her Shadowcat. But she has no true name, and she never will. Even when she's older.

[And that, ladies and gents, is how Arya deals with having been an adult for a few days. Apparently.]

[Private to Jesse]

A girl will punch you again.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

No name is still a name. A statement, at least. Megamind. A man got tired of being defined by his color.</big<

Yes. A statement. That is what it is. There are not others a man's color, where he's from?

The man is unique. Last of his kind.

[ ...he surprises himself, just a little, with how easy it was to writ that, when he has a hard time saying it. ]

A girl understands.

[She'd been the last Stark, hadn't she? Bran and baby Rickon flayed, Robb and her father beheaded, Sansa a Lannister and Catelyn bloated in the river; she'd been the very last, and she'd abandoned her name. There were no more Starks.]

She is sorry.

Can't mourn what you never knew.

[ and this conversation has officially gotten too deep for Megamind, who paddles desperately for the shallow end of the emotional pool. ]

Girl needs a codename. To cover up the statement! If not Cat, something better? Fierce? Sharper. Girl likes sword. Blade is taken, too silly. Maybe Shiv? Megamind will call the girl Shiv. Shank doesn't sound right. Does the girl know what a Shiv is?

No. [But damn, with that train of thought she thinks she'll like it.]

Will a man explain?

Of course! Man may even demonstrate, given tools, time and the inclination. Man has made them in the past. Shiv is a hold out dagger. Short, made from whatever is available, when wardens strip men of the ability to defend themselves. Not graceful. Not pretty. Does the job, though. Shiv is what prisoners use to avenge wrongs and defend themselves, when wardens can't, or more often, won't do what should be done.

[He said avenge. She's sold.]

What tools would a man need?

Metal is best, holds up strongest. Plastic still a possibility. Something to scrape with. Also, a promise from the girl.

A promise?

A promise. But not over the machine. Come to Cabin 8-6.

[She might have said no, or pick someplace else - but she has Nymeria, so she just leaves her room, and heads for Megamind's. She knocks on the door, Nymeria at her side, knife at her belt.]

[ The heavy prison door opens-- and Megamind peeks out; blue, dressed in black, eyes wild green. But he startles when he sees the direwolf, eyes bugging. ]

The girl has a much bigger dog than the man does.

...she's not going to eat Angus, right?

The dog? [She was a little proccupied with his head - it's even stranger in person - but the question makes her look at Nymeria.

What do dogs do to wolves, she-bitch?

He should have asked what wolves do to dogs. But she shakes her head when she looks back at Megamind.]

She ate last night.

Yes. My dog. [ .... okay the girl talks to wolves that is intensely creepy. ]

[ He opens the door the rest of the way, though, and lets her in. He is a small man, barely over five-foot-five, and a few inches of that is tall cranium. ]

First-- you're, ah, a young lady, Shiv and a lady hurt Angus. We have to have him learn that not all ladies will hurt him. So can you give him a treat and tell him he is a good dog?

[ He's even got a bag of treats, and the puppy is thankfully secured in his crate already. ]

The, a promise.

[She makes a face at his request, because it doesn't make sense to her; he's just a dog, what should he be afraid of? But she shrugs one shoulder; if he wants her to tell his stupid dog that he's a good stupid dog in exchange for another weapon, well - it's not a bad bargain.]

A girl supposes, [she says slowly, and walks into his room, looking around and trying to hide her curiosity.]

Is that the promise? Telling him he's a good dog?

No, that's just a side benefit to you being a girl. [ He hands her treats all the same. ] The promise is simple - but probably harder to keep.

I'm a bad guy, Shiv. I'm a very bad guy! [ And he's oh-so earnest about that. ] But there's no point to being bad if nobody lives to be afraid of you. If nobody's there to gasp and whisper about you, what good is being terrifying?

So I'll make you your hold out, but only if you use it to defend yourself. [ In his heart of hearts, he knows she's a kid. One or two prisoners always kept their eyes on him growing up, and by God, someone needs to do the same for her. ] You don't go looking for people to test it out on -- it's to make sure nobody messes with you. You're dangerous and you can't be trifled with, but they don't need to know it until it's too late and they're under-estimated you! Don't go for pre-emptive action. You let them make the first move... and then you make the last one.

Got it? Never show your hand-- not unless you can win the round. Otherwise, everybody gets the idea you're going around stabbing people for kicks-- and a lot of people come looking for you. You can't stab 'em all. You get me? Pick your fights. Shiv comes out only for the ones you can win-- and learn if you lose. Learn why you lost. Here, you'll come back from it. At home, you probably won't.

The benefit to losing is learning from your mistakes. Here you can make some doozies and still get to learn. But don't abuse it, okay?

[Her chin lifts a little as he talks; these are things she knows, things she's lived. She thinks of Needle buried and hidden under loose rocks beneath her bed, in her cabin; she thinks of how i t was taken from her - and how she got it back. Her hands had been soaked in red, but she'd learned good lessons, and stopped her nightmares.

She understands him; don't fight when you can't win, don't be proud. It's always been her biggest difficulty.]

A girl understands. She knows how to win, and survive. She'll be smart with her weapon.

[And she shoves Nymeria away from the treats, pushing the large wolf back toward the door when she crouches in front of the dog's crate. What was his name? Dumb dog, she thinks, but she holds out a treat in her hand, reaching into the cage.]

Here, Angus, [she mumbles,] Here, good boy.

spam - and encapulsating an info dump so I don't have to talk about shivs for ten more tags.

megamind - 2012-11-04 05:55 (UTC) - Expand

spam - lol excellent c:

fearcutsdeeperthanswords - 2012-11-04 06:21 (UTC) - Expand

spam - SHIVS, EVERYWHERE!

megamind - 2012-11-04 06:28 (UTC) - Expand

spam - ONE FOR EVERYONE

fearcutsdeeperthanswords - 2012-11-05 03:59 (UTC) - Expand

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overprotective threadjack

i see your threadjack, and megamind moves this to private.

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