Difference between revisions of "Logs:Play Nice"

The place is crowded. Now with the big hatching there and gone, it's back to the usual swing of things amongst the Weyr's dragonriders. The place is stocked with Glacier riders crowding the dartboard, their loud and raucous calls always seeming a step louder than the din of voices. Jo - wrapped in her black leather riding gear and her hair its usual frizz - claims a bar stool near the her Glacier wingriders at the counter. It's obvious she's part of them, but she's not openly engaging with them as she works on downing a shot.

Jayzin is without any knot denoting his status when he does wander into Snowasis for the evening. Without it, it's easy for him to slip in amongst the dragon rider's with his own dark leather jacket and make his way towards the bar. "Two fingers of whiskey," he orders as soon as he has squeezed himself into a free spot and gotten the bartender's attention, turning to hitch his back and elbows against the wooden bar to scan the crowd as he waits for his drink.

Perhaps it's the jacket that gets Jo's attention away from her shot glass. Her dark eyes slide over towards it as he orders, flicking up towards his face only long enough for him not to notice it. It's with casual ease that she's suddenly straightening up off the stool and fishing on her jacket to toss a mark piece down on the counter, tossing back her hair as one of the Glacier brownriders call out to her, "Hey Jo! Bring that tight ass over here and play a round with us!" There's an answering snort from her as she takes a step from the counter - a swaying step, even - the look she sends the man's way either interpreted as pure trouble or pure seduction. A full glass of amber sets on the counter at her fingers right then and she picks it up with a nod to the bar tender heading Jayzin's way first before finally answering back, "If I do that, ya'll lose all the clothes on yer back to me-" And, well. It seems as if while turning she stumbles right into Jayzin, the side of her falling right into him as she tries in vain to save her precious drink from spilling.

The exchange certainly draws the attention of the young man at the bar, his gaze flicking between the dart player and Jo before lingering on the latter for a moment. But then his own drink is being slid across the bar and he starts to straighten as well to retrieve it, right before Jo's stumble. He murmurs a simple, "Woah, hello, there." He is a gentleman enough to try to help her gain her balance, fingers catching at her arms. But, then, he is also Vijay enough that one hand lingers in its grip as the other checks his pockets.

Yeah, Jayzin might do well to check his pockets. Maybe he doesn't notice the slight shift of Jo's wiry frame against his jacket as she makes a show of trying to right herself. Some of her drink spill to the floor, but she seems to not notice. "Woah, yerself," is her greeting, her gaze flicking quickly from head to toe before straightening. She brushes something off her black jacket idly before trying to step back from him, and when she notices the heckler still staring in their direction, the look she sends seems to be enough to have him looking way. Back to Jayzin, "Sorry 'bout that, darlin'," she says, keeping her drink aloft as she starts taking slow steps back from him. Like she has someplace else in the bar to be. "So crowded up in here, all thanks to that hatchin'."

"Are you in a rush to be somewhere? Stay, I'll buy you a drink," Jayzin offers, for all that the dragonrider already has a full, fresh drink. His grip doesn't tighten when she starts to step away, but nor does he release it himself. He didn't have much on himself before the bump, and when he reaches to check his marks and finds himself coming up empty--. Well, is it actually amusement that dances in warm, chocolate eyes as they watch Jo? "Or maybe not. I seem to be broke, at the moment."

When Jayzin doesn't release her, it gives Jo the opportunity to really look at him. "Why ya wanna buy me a drink?" comes quick on the heels of his offer, and then her eyes narrow a fraction. "Wait--yer one of those candidates, right?" As if she's trying to recall his face. "Well, not anymore, obviously. Actually I was headin' to grab one of those tables back there before someone else does-" but then he notices that he's lighter on marks and not a single tick or expression flickers across her face as she asks, after a beat, "Shit, really? Ain' surprised, with this crowd. Can' trust no one after a hatchin', darlin'." Her tone seems to say, Tough Luck. Blame it on the strangers milling about, right?

"I'm sticking around for Iesaryth's eventual clutch," Jayzin confirms and explains all at once, though his lips only start growing into a wider, crooked smile at Jo's response to his sudden predicament. He rocks forward on the balls of his toes, moving closer to the woman with his hand still caught on her arm. Close enough to lean in and murmur lowly, "Didn't anyone ever teach you not to steal from a Vijay?" A pause, as he steps backwards, before he adds, "I suppose you'll just have to buy me the drink."

Yeah, while Jo seems very aware that Jayzin still has a hold on her, she doesn't seem to be moving it just yet. Not when he's saying interesting things like he just did. She eyes that smile of his with a bare one of her own that close to being dangerous, drawling back, "Lookin' hard at becomin' one of us, is that it?" and she nods right towards the loud Glacier riders playing darts. And then, he name-drops. She does go silent, some of that poker face cracking with a brief flare of eyes that stares right into his own as if she could find the truth of his words there. Chin lifts as the mask falls back into place and the brazen look of defiance steals into her frame as she says, "Related to Shani. Should've known with that smile." She snorts, neither confirming nor denying the theft but she does lean her frame more against him and lowers her voice as she murmurs, "We've got mutual friends, Vijay. I don' steal from friends of friends. Tell ya what, though. Gimme that knife ya got in yer pocket and I'll buy yer that drink. Friend." The curve of her lips spell many things: amusement, and challenge, definitely.

Well, now. Jayzin certainly isn't going to protest to Jo leaning against him, and that free hand even curves to rest lightly at the small of her back, just under the protection of that black jacket. "There are certain people that are interested in having me Impress," is all he answers to her first question, dismissive even as that smile lingers. "Go ahead and keep it. I have plenty more where it came from." He doesn't move his hands away to get it for her, though, as he meets that challenge with easy interest.

"Really," Jo challenges that first statement. Jayzin is evasive and Jo is leaning a bit more casually than deliberately. She shifts a glance behind him, then to the side before she asks, "And whatcha got for these people to be interested in, hmm?" That dark, piercing gaze travels his body openly, and she's not shy about it. "Other than detectin' a pickpocket, that is." Keeping her gaze on him, she turns her head towards her drink and downs half of it before leaning pass him to set it down. "Why not the knife?" now she asks. "Means a lot to ya?"

"That, I have no idea," Jayzin answers on the topic of what he has, the curve of his lips taking on more of a smirk than a smile as Jo looks him over. "I do also make a very good pancake." His fingers slide from her arm at the question about the knife, reaching into his pocket before he produces it with a flourish, holding it between them with the tips of his fingers. "Not this one. There are others that have some sentimental value, but as you said, I wouldn't trust anyone in this crowd." He offers it casually towards the dragonrider, adding, "You can have it. Though, should I ask why you want it?"

"Ya gotta have somethin' they want," Jo counters, seeming to not believe Jayzin's answer. "Someone wants ya on a dragon, it's cuz yer useful." She talks like she should know, the look less suggestive and more meaningful before it goes. A brow lifts on the pancake comment, even, before she gives up a throaty laugh and a, "A Vijay that has some humor. Now I've seen it all. Didn' know more y'all were seepin' into the Weyr," and she pauses to reach over and drain her glass. "Who else is takin' their chances on a clutch?" she's asking far too casually. "Any of ya comin' from Greenfields?" Because, if he can namedrop, then she can too. She turns her gaze on the knife he produces and smirks a bit when he uses her words on her. Long fingers reach out to take it as she says, "Why give it to a thief?" Beat. "Maybe I collect knives," is her response then to his question.

Jayzin murmurs with a slight drawl, assuring, "I have jokes. I have a lot of jokes. But, I am dead serious about the pancakes. I'll have to cook for you one day." The question about Greenfields receives the slight lift of his brows, but the Vijay gives little away besides that. He only answers, "Not that I know of. There's been talk about Searching more for Iesaryth's clutch, but so far--." Well, he gestures to himself as an end to that statement, before he reaches for his own glass of whiskey. To the last, he adds, "I like thieves."

"My, my, aren' we becomin' familiar already?" Jo openly teases him, eyeing him like a predator. "Ya don' even know my name'n here ya are, offerin' to cook for me. If I steal the coat off yer back, will ya offer to wash my dragon next?" There's a sort of heady swagger in her tone, and his answer on Greenfields seems to be expected since she says, "Pity. Suppose it is still early on." The smile lingers even more at his last, the banter seeming to come easy to her as she studies him. Perhaps she lets the pause linger longer than it should before she says, straightening a bit off of him, "Didn' Shani ever teach ya not to mix with types like me? The types that steal even from a Vijay? We only play nice in the Weyr." A warning, maybe. It's a subtle one, laced with innuendo as she makes a show of pocketing his knife into an inner jacket pocket. She leans away from him to turn towards the bar before adding, "But I'll be nice on ya, Vijay. I'll buy ya that drink after all."

"I don't have any special skills in dragon washing, so I am going to say no to that one," Jayzin counters easily, and he shifts back to leaning against the bar as Jo straightens, lifting his whiskey to drain the glass and set it down purposefully against the bar. "Shani knows that I can take care of myself, even with types like you. I can handle a little danger." His own words hold a curiosity to them, but they are light in mimicking that innuendo, even where the warmth of his gaze slides along the curves wrapped in dark leather.

"Pity, again," Jo quips on dragon washing, the humor there in her tone. "Suppose that might be somethin' to pick up in hangin' around this place, darlin'. Two shots, whiskey," she calls the last out to the passing bartender, setting down a mark that appears in her hand on the counter. There's a flicker of a brow at his answer on Aishani, her curiosity barely hidden behind the mask of arrogance she dons far too easily. "The last one that said that ended up runnin' to the infirmary," she counters deadpan to him on handling danger. "Whose Shani to ya? Brother? Nephew? Cousin? Ya look close to her age, doncha?" She looks him over briefly. And if she's notice his gaze on her, well, Jo seems to bask in that kind of attention just fine.

Jayzin nods to the bartender at the order, a simple, friendly gesture before he turns his attention back to Jo with a quick smile. "Do I look like the type to run away?" he questions wryly, meeting arrogance with humor and warmth. "Cousin. Jyani's my sister, actually, if you've met her." The last question has his brow quirking upwards, but he adds easily, "We're close enough in age. Used to play together when we were young."

Jo continues to study him, so when that question comes up, "Thrillseekin' will land ya in a lot of places, young'in," she notes smoothly to him. "I would know. Shani's cousin, huh? Yeah, seen Jyani around her." Her back against his fingers curve, seeming to test what's left of his hold on her as she shifts her weight to lean more on the counter next to him. After a moment, "Shani's good people with me," she states a bit more soberly, regarding his gaze with her direct own. "We've got history. She might not like her blood playin' with this fire, darlin'." That doesn't seem to be stopping her from moving away from him, however. This must be a pot-calling-the-kettle moment she's having. She even goes on to hold out her hand to him and say, "Name's Jo, blue Tacuseth's. Well met."

Fingers draw an idle caress against the small of Jo's spine even as she curves jestingly, but as she moves away, Jayzin does slip his hand away from her. "Jayzin," the younger man offers back, moving to take her hand. Those same fingertips are warm, speaking to at least good circulation. "I don't plan on seeking out Aishani's permission, unless you...?" The words trail off in challenge, though his smile lingers crooked. (Even where she calls him young; he doesn't seem to mind.)

The smile curls to that idle caress, and Jo inclines her head when Jayzin gives his name and takes her hand. Her own grip is a firm one, telling of heavily veiled aggression beneath black leather before she releases him. "Jayzin," she echoes with a nod. "I don' need permission, Jayzin," she states on the heels of his next with a sharp look going his way. "I ain' no teenage slip sneakin' around passed curfew, neither. This is assumin' that I'm interested." She flashes that 3-second grin. Their drinks come right then and she turns to hold one shot out to him as she raises the other one in a sort of silent toast.

"That is what I am assuming," Jayzin counters with warm humor and his own smirk. "It serves me better than assuming the opposite." That is certainly good enough to toast on, because he takes his with a brush of fingers and lifts it in a return salute before throwing it back.

"Such arrogance," Jo tsks like an aunt as his fingers brush her own. Nevermind that her whole being thrums with it herself. "I remember bein' just so at yer age. Ya seem like the sort that hardly lacks in ass, the way yer familiar with me." She downs her shot right then and sets it down, barely a wince to go through her body as she says after it, "Got stronger."

The bright flash of teeth that Jayzin shows might be a smile, or it might simply be a brace against alcohol as he swallows the shot down. Neatly and precisely, he sets the shot glass upside down on the bar, before replying, "Thank Faranth I didn't Impress, really. Could you imagine the lack that I would have had to go through then?" A pause, before he adds, "And I suppose that makes this limited danger, in any case. Either I Impress with Iesaryth's clutch and that's that, or I'll likely be heading back."

"I wouldn' be rushin' towards that dragon," Jo notes with a slight roll of her shoulders. "It's a new fuckin' game with someone in yer head," and she lifts two fingers to tap at her temple a couple of times. "But, ya get through the lack. There's other ways to get off. 'M sure ya'll be creative." Her bold words seems to come easy, not looking the least bit apologetic as she straightens her coat. Something he says towards the end has her regarding him steadily before she says, "Or, stick around either way. The Weyr has a need for folks like us." There's even a slight emphasis on the last word. "Seek out Dov in the caverns if yer lookin' for friends 'round here," she offers evenly now. "Tell'em Jo sent ya and ya'll be covered. Like I said," and she gives a nod, "the Vijays are welcome with us. Stick around and I'll try not to steal from ya the next time."

"Believe me, I'm not rushing towards anything," Jayzin assures with a quiet murmur, his hands splaying in a show of something as he watches Jo straighten. "Dov in the caverns." That he repeats, but not without a hint of question to the words and the crook of his brow. What kind of friends? He doesn't voice it aloud. Instead, he gives a casual salute, fingers lifted and waved casually. "I might object, next time you try. Or I won't. I don't have much worth stealing."

"Ya seem to be rushin' towards somethin' tonight," Jo is quick to murmur to that first, eyes lingering on Jayzin. She then nods when he repeats the given, and it's as if she can almost hear the unasked question. With a slight shrug, "They don' like yer family around here," she says idly, her head tipping slightly to the side to indicate those milling about them. "Folks that came with me? Yer family? Let's just say that we know a thing or two 'bout bad reputations. Doesn' hurt to have someone 'round that gets that." She grins at the salute before shoving her hands into her pockets and starts turning towards the exit at his last. All she says to that? "Sounds like a challenge, Mr. Sentimental Knives."

A warm, quiet laugh follows Jo from the bar, at least before the noise of the rest of Snowasis drowns out the sound, giving her the last words. Jayzin's gaze follows her as well, lingering for a while before he finally turns back to order another round.