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.

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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.

[ He watches her for a moment, satisfied that she takes him seriously; he takes pride in that, and when he smiles -- he smiles, he doesn't smirk, grin or leer. It's a genuine expression, a real pleasure that's on his face. ]

[ Angus is happy too; there's a pass of his wet pink tongue, and the treat vanishes into his mouth, before he sits and watches. He is a good dog. He will be a good dog. Megamind loves him and he loves Megamind, and this is a woman who will not hard him, so all is well in the world of the dog. ]

Shiv, then. Alright, the way to a shiv is strength of arms and lifted material. Certain things are always watched-- but other things can be broken down, hidden...

[ And over time he can show her-- how to brace an item between furniture and wall, how it will be worked and carved, long fingers curling as if grasping a tool. He does break down a toothbrush in demonstration to show her how it's done, because it's the easiest thing he can do. Explains it's going to be shoddy, a throwaway-- nothing she should count on for anything other than distraction. But if she could a utensil from the mess, or a brush from the art supplies those could be more dangerous tools, longer lasting, harder to break. Metal is best, plastic is surprisingly strong, wood will do but may break -- glass is fragile and not to be trusted in not harming the weilder as much as the victim without proper care -- that's a weapon of desperation only. ]

Edited 2012-11-04 05:55 (UTC)

[She listens, and absorbs; it's easy to learn like this, when there's no point of contention, no pride getting in the way. She nods along, asks questions when she needs to, and even, eventually, sticks her fingers back in Angus's cage for him to lick. As long as he knows he's not the leader between them, she doesn't mind it so much. He reminds her of when Nymeria was just a pup, when Robb and Jon and Theon and Bran brought them all back to Winterfell.

She doesn't linger on those thoughts much, though. They're dangerous, memories she isn't supposed to have anymore. I am no one.]

How many shivs have you made?

[ Eventually this ends with Megamind sitting on the floor, with his whittled down toothbrush between gloved fingers. Plastic's all around in a pile from where it's been scraped. Angus, being a good dog, noses and sniffs the newly-dubbed Shiv's fingers, and is content. ]

A lot. More than I count-- figuratively, anyway. I was always being taught or told to make something and they were easy and they didn't require tools. Just two reasonably hard objects and some persistence. If your cabin's wall is stone or concrete, you can use that to scrape. Just be wary that the noise may alert your neighbor to what you do.

[ And who knows if they're a warden or a snitch. ]

I was younger than you when I made my first, I imagine. How old are you? Ten, maybe? Can't be too much more. [ But he doesn't talk to her like a child; she's a kid in prison - she gave up the right to childhood a long time ago, much like he did. ]

spam - ONE FOR EVERYONE

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

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

spam - lol excellent c:

spam - SHIVS, EVERYWHERE!

overprotective threadjack

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

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