Once the dinner is cleaned up, those that work the kitchens vanish faster than the food they serve on a good day. It's the perfect time for an erstwhile stablehand to go stealing into the kitchen, collecting up scraps of meatrolls leftover and the like, here and there. With the last drudge leaving the area with a wry glance in her direction, Jolie settles herself on top of a table rather than in one of the chairs, chewing on one of her acquisitions while there's a sheet of hide on her lap getting most of her attention.
Yes...the perfect time for a stablehand to collect scraps of food left over. If someone didn't beat them to it. Sho comes in just as Jolie settles herself down. The youth rolls his eyes and moves silently up behind the other stablehand, trying to peer over her shoulder to see what she's staring so intently at. He leans forward and in his attempt bumps against the table, causing it to shake a little.
Jolie's eyes stay on the hide, but a shoulder twitches just a little to indicate that the arrival was not missed. When Sho moves behind her and bumps against the table, the woman snaps up and springs into action. One hand snatches up the sheet while the other dumps the meatroll to the floor in favor of the knife she has attached to her side - twisting to face the fellow stablehand with an icy glare. Not unsheathing the knife but keeping it in hand, "Putting yerself in a tight position, aren'cha?" she notes flatly, eyes narrowing onto Sho's face to gauge his expression. "Or maybe ya lookin' for something other than a brush thrown yer way, nosy?"
Sho looks a little surprised, but only a little. He's not the stealthiest of people, after all. But a smile springs to his face and he responds easily, "No, I was just trying ta see wha'cha were doing, nothing else. I didn't have anything else I could do, since ya already scrounged up the leftovers." He looks down at the meatroll on the ground and actually looks a little sad, then shrugs as he leans back a bit. "Little jumpy though, don't ya think?"
Jolie blinks at the explanation, and it's enough to have her relaxing her shoulders visibly. She regards Sho for a moment in silence, her unreadable expression betraying nothing, then she releases her hold of her knife to reach into a trouser pocket and pull out a few meatrolls. Reaching them out towards him to take, "Might be a few more left if ya look," she notes, nodding with her chin towards where the counters were." Beat. "And I'm doing nothing for yer eyes to notice," she adds now, the hide getting slipped into her coat pocket deftly. Once it's out of sight, she leans back a little to peer at all of him, his question getting a blithe "Where I come from, one doesn't look over another's shoulder lest that sight be the last thing they wants to see," she answers him speculatively, her voice particularly calm despite the words. "Little nosy yerself, don't ya think?" Eyes dropping over him, "What ya got /I/ can look through, eh?" she pointedly asks, leaning forward now as if she were about to put action to those words.
Sho isn't one to turn down some meatrolls, and so when offered he takes them and takes a rather large bite out of the first one, chewing as he looks Jolie over and listens to what she has to say. Finally he just shrugs, "Didn't know you were gonna be so jumpy or I wouldn't've tried. Dunno what the big deal is." At the perceived threat Sho takes a step back involuntarily. "I ain't got nothing fer ya ta look at." He states bluntly, then takes another bite of the meatroll. "Besides, I didn't even get a look at what you were looking at." His amber eyes /do/ shift down to where she put the hide as he says that, however.
Once the meatrolls are taken, "Keep alert," Jolie answers finally on her being jumpy, a finger lifting to tap at her forehead. "Ya shouldn't be trying, anyway. Might get yerself hurt." It's Jolie being all preachy - at least, her way of it. Since Sho takes a step back though, the stablehand woman just cannot help but to slide forward more at the same time. She's eyeing his pockets, checking to see if that statement of his has any truth to it. "Yeah, sure," she answers him on that finally, her eyes meeting his. "Maybe ya got something hidden in the stables? I /do/ happen to frequent there at night once all the 'hands retire. Maybe I should do some snooping of my own?" Brows lift and fall mechanically at that, letting a bit of tease enter her tone. She does catch that look to her pocket, however, and at his statement there's a rather sardonic, "Good. If ya did, then I'd have to kill ya." A smile brightens at her statement, taking all the edge out of it. Baring teeth, "What ya doing sneaking about for meatrolls anyway?" she asks, nevermind the fact that she's doing it herself. "Don't like the caverns, either?" She gestures with her chin towards the nearby living caverns, where a hum of conversations could still be heard from the kitchen.
Sho snarks at Jolie and rolls his eyes, though he does shift slightly so the pouch on his side is a little more out of sight. He shoves what's left of the meatroll in his trap and chews it up, swallowing it quickly. "I don't have nothin' ta hide from you." He says finally, crossing his hands over his chest now. "And I won't get hurt by sneaking around. See, I just was and I didn't get hurt." Yet. His eyes glance towards the living caverns and he shrugs, dropping his arms. "Well, no, not always. It's nice ta get some quiet food every now and then, ya know?"
Eyes catching that pouch as it goes out of her sight, "Then what's in /that/ there?" Jolie is bold enough to note his very movement, letting her gaze linger exactly where she saw that pouch disappear out of her sight. "If ya got nothing to hide." She merely smirks a little at his comments on not getting hurt for sneaking around, the woman settling back comfortably on the table as she folds her own arms across her chest. "Ever heard about the story about that curious feline?" she notes, not expecting an answer since she moves on from the topic. "Not enamored with the caverns, either," she answers with a glance towards the living caverns as well. "Too many people. Hard to get used to that after being on yer on for so long. Prefer just dealing with the drudges here, sneak a pie or two, then scrounge around the nighthearth later." Eyes narrowing slightly on him now, "Never see yer uncle around," she says suddenly, looking the young man over. "What's he do? He like letting ya free, causing trouble and sneaking up on folks?"
Sho manages to keep his blushing down to a minimum as she notes his reluctance to let her see into his pouch, but he hides the rest by turning to scrounge some leftover pitchers for juice. "Nothing ya need ta worry about." He replies with his back turned. He doesn't respond to the query since she does move on, but listens to what else she says as he finds some remaining juice and pours two glasses, turning back and offering one to Jolie. "He's a rider, so he's always busy. I just stay outta his way." He says, sipping at his juice before adding with a sign of satisfaction...at the drink of course. "Figure you'd be scroungin' 'round."
Ahhh, the blushing. It only makes Jolie all the more curious. Brows lift and the woman's sliding her backside off the table, stepping slowly towards the other stablehand while his back is turned. "Oh, I think I /do/ need to worry about it," she openly teases, stalking up to Sho with her hands calmly at her sides. Any closer to him and she'll be within range to make a swipe at that pouch, but for now she's merely letting her presence be felt. Since he /does/ offer one of the glasses of juice back to her, she stops her stalking and takes it up with a lopsided grin and a raise in his direction before taking a drink. "Ya must keep to yerself a lot," she notes on his uncle, musing quietly on this as she regards the other mildly. "Pretty lonely, eh, for a kid? That why yer such a brat?" This last is likely in response to his own latter comment of her scrounging around, though the grin lingers in suggestion of her amusement with him.
When Sho turns around and she's right there he jumps a little, then narrows his eyes at her suspiciously. He shuffles a little sideways to get away from the other stablehand and turns again to try and find some more meatrolls leftover, stooping down to check the cooker. "I do, usually in the stables or runnin'. I don't really see too many people. Of course most of them tend ta want ta beat me up anyways." And of course it's there fault, not his. The last bit causes him to look back at her for a moment, then shrug and turn back to continue looking. Oh, left over pastry. "I guess it might be, but I don't mind. Always been this way since I was little. Doing big group things and such...wasn't really stuff I got in to." Pause. "Not really good with crowds." He stands then, having thus far retrieves a slightly darkened pastry and another meatroll, which he munches on.
"Yeah, I wonder why...?" Jolie notes dryly on those wanting to beat the fellow stablehand up, throwing a smirk his way at his being startled by her proximity. He and his pouch weren't out of the woods yet. Eyes drop over to his pouch, her curiosity evident as she watches Sho scrounge for more food. "I'm a loner, too. Had to be after bailing from Keogh," she reveals, pulling free a meatroll from her pockets to munch on. "Don't mind it either, but I can stand a few gather crowds, here and there. Got to if ya wanna -work- the crowd. Know what I mean?" Because maybe Sho does, but either way, the young woman's breaking a piece of meatroll off and popping it into her mouth to chew on. "If ya find some more of these, toss'em my way?" she adds belatedly, chin lifting when she finds that Sho succeeds in finding more to eat in regards to meatrolls.
Sho glances back again, shaking his head before tossing the meatroll behind him towards Jolie and standing to go through the covered serving trays, finding a few more hidden treats. "Bailing from Keogh?" Sho asks curiously without looking back at Jolie, still a little to intent on finding more food. Growing boy and all. He pauses at Jolie's words on crowds and half turns to look back at her, taking a bite of a fruit pastry and chewing it before asking, "Work the crowd?" No, apparently he doesn't know what she means. He waits for the answer as he shoves the rest of the pastry in his mouth and turns to start gathering the other found scraps onto a plate.
Deftly catching the tossed meatroll, "Couldn't stay after difficult things went down," Jolie, vague as ever, merely shrugs at her own explanation. Another piece of the roll gets popped into her mouth, and she settles to lean against the table and watch the young stablehand at work. "Been wondering how my brothers are gettin' on these days though. Ya kinda remind me of one of them. Lio was a brat, too," she adds, looking Sho up and down before snorting. "He liked to play pranks up until he started guard training. Then all of that went out of his mind." It's probably the most she's ever revealed about her past, the words spilling forth with indifference despite some guardedness still firmly in place. Seems like family is a safe enough topic for her. As to the other question with working the crowd, there's a brief flash of teeth in her quick smile that Sho probably doesn't see, then a rather flippant "Work the crowd. Pickpocket. Got anymore ya wanna share over there?" Might as well let /him/ scrounge about for her, right?
Sho comes out with a rather hefty plate of meats and greens, actually looking like he'd filled it from the buffet. He grins as he turns back around and sets the plate down on the table. He gives Jolie a sly look and a smirk. "I dunno. Maybe if ya keep talking you can have some." He says. "What happened that made ya have ta leave?" He asks, semi-guarding the plate as he takes a bit of meatroll and pops it in his mouth. The mention of pickpocketting gets a raised eyebrow, but he doesn't say anything else on it. Just yet.
Jolie does know a fishing technique when she hears one, and the chuckle that accompanies his remark gets a dry, "I keep talking and ya'll what? Run and tell all my secrets? Sorry, kid." She leans forward and makes a weak attempt at swiping the hefty plate full of food with one hand. "Just had to," is her short response to why she had to leave Keogh, the look Sho gets being sly one in return. "Just like ya had to leave the south."
The boy moves the plate just out of reach. He may not be the smartest but he can tell what she's going for. "I won't tell nobody nothin' if ya don't want." Sho says as he plops another bit of meatroll into his mouth, followed by a bit of tuber. "Yeah, but I dun think our reasons were the same. And I wanna know what yours is." Yes, he's playing her for information. But she's the one who is trying to get at his scrounged food. "And I'm not a kid either." He adds with a sneer.
"Ya shouldn't tell if ya know what's good for ya," Jolie levels at Sho, a brow lifting in askance at him once that plate is predictably out of reach. "'Sides, what would I know about trustin' ya?" She seems to be feeling him out, or perhaps she's playing with him. Either way, his cheekiness and sneer at her title seems to rile up some kind of amusing interest in the stablehand woman. Arms now folding across her chest, "Oh yeah? Ain't a kid?" she taunts, seeming to size him up from where she stands. "Sure look like one to me. How old are ya, anyway? Ya don't seem that much older than the other 'hands running about, and they look a whole lot younger too." As to his cheeky response previous, she goes back to that with an even question: "Why's that?" Perhaps her answer isn't worth the scrounge food, for the guardedness is turning up just a notch now with the studying gaze she sends his way.
Amber eyes roll at the guardedness that Jolie comes back with and he slides the plate towards her after picking some veggies off of it to keep himself. "Nevermind, sheesh. I was just curious." He says, nibbling on the veggies. "Ain't gotta get all uppity about it. Not everyone's here ta get ya in trouble." In fact, he's likely the last one. His previous stunt in the stables should prove that. "And I'm 15 and a half. Old enough. I'm not a kid." This is said with a little more force and his eyes show that he's actually serious about this one. Apparently the kid title doesn't sit to well with him.
Jolie eyes that plate now with just the slightest suspicions, then she unfolds her arms and reaches forward to take the remaining food. "Yer all kinds of curious today," she notes at his response, regarding him closely still as she idly picks through what's remaining on the plate. "I ain't uppity, neither. Just...." she pauses, eyes dipping down at the plate before she picks out one of the veggies and pops that into her mouth in the pause. Chewing through it, "Got a story I ain't sure about sharin' just yet, if ever," she finishes, talking about her past and her life beyond the Hold. Nodding his way, "Ain't for trustin' 15 turn olds, anyway," she adds, seeming all the more amused by his anger on her title for him. Which means, she's bound to use it again. "Too young enough to be turncoats for a petty mark."
Twitch. Sho manages to not get mad at Jolie as he takes a bite of a veggie and chews it for a while, swallowing. "You can say whatever ya want, but I don't go tellin' on people or about people. I ain't gonna take no one's money to do it either." If anything he seems only a little angry that she thinks he might. He watches Jolie then, falling silent and just staring as she eats off the plate, almost as if studying her for some odd reason.
An angry Sho gets Jolie's attention far more, for the dark-haired young woman is fitting a look of interest onto his face as if reading him. A corner of her mouth lifts at his words, not saying anything right away and choosing to return to picking at choice pieces from the plate. Lips twist briefly on a piece of veggie, "Ain't a good girl, k-" she pauses, the 'kid' almost coming out with a quick look in his direction. Perhaps deliberate? "Perhaps that's all ya need to know for now, eh?" She seems to have had her fill, for the plate finally gets put down on the table beside her. Her gaze returning to him with an unreadable expression in place, "If ya can be trusted, I'll see that in time," she finally decides to say, returning his study with ease. "I value someone I trust. Perhaps there's even a friendship, there." It's not said lightly either, her own tone taking on a serious bent now to emphasize the gravity of her words.
Deep breath. Sho manages to not try and knock Jolie senseless as she barely manages to stop from calling him a kid. That certainly is a hot button for him apparently. Sho pops the last of the veggie into his mouth then and rubs his hands together as if to dust them off. "Well if ya want someone ta talk to, you know where to find me." He says, grabbing his juice and downing it. "I don't want ta keep ya from your reading, and I have ta get back to the stables. Guess I'll see ya 'round."
Jolie knows exactly what she's doing, and she looks well aware by the pleased look on her face that buttons have been pushed. She even voices it: "So you /can/ be pushed. Good to know," she drawls that out, weight shifting to the other foot now as she settles a smirk in Sho's direction. She hears his other words, but for now she's lifting fingers in a playing wave, which just might push the young man further. "See ya in the stables, baby," she gives in a too-friendly farewell, her butt staying firmly against the table to suggest that she wasn't going anywhere anytime soon - even though she seems satisfied enough in the hunger department.
The first part Sho can ignore. The second part, however, causes him to stop stock still in his tracks, his hands subconsciously turning into fists. "I'm not a baby." He says, some menace in his voice. "Yer just a child fer trying ta make me mad." He only knows this because, well, it's what people have been telling him for months now. And of course, it's working very well.
"It's called a term of endearment," Jolie quips dryly now, her eyes dropping to those fists without even moving an inch of her body. "Like 'darlin'? Sugar? Sweetcheeks?" Finally giving into laughter, "Be careful now," she warns, openly teasing -or mocking - Sho now with a glint in her eyes. "Yer age is startin' to show." She ignores his barb for her for now, teeth baring in her smile as if she's daring the other stablehand to do something.
Sho's hands flex and unflex a few times before he finally turns to face Jolie, amber eyes narrowed and filled with anger at her teasing. Yet he's still not doing anything to her. Not yet. He's really trying hard. "Why are ya trying ta make me mad?" It's a simple question, and it's the only thing he says. Other then that he just stares at Jolie, and stares hard.
Jolie's chin lifts firmly at the pointed question. "Tryin' to see what stuff yer made of, darlin'," she answers that just as pointedly, arms coming to fold slowly to her sides now in case the other starts swinging. With a little swagger to her posture as she shifts from one foot to the other, hands spread out wide as if openly challenging the young man now. "Ya shouldn't be getting so mad, though. I'm only teasin'," she adds with a little smile full of trouble. Hands dropping back down, "Ya wanna scuffle, though, I'm down with that too. Might get hit with pans by passing drudges though, if we do it here." She's still teasing, right? With her gambler's mask on, one could never really tell.
A deep breath and Sho manages to relax his fists, though his eyes still have some anger in them. "I'm not gonna fight ya." And not because he doesn't know how. Because he really doesn't. But because he told someone he wouldn't fight anymore and he's trying his darndest. "Ya don't have ta try and start stuff. If you wanna see if I can fight then just ask. Don't try'n make me fight you angrily." He seems to be calming down a bit more now, almost as if by talking it out it's soothing him some.
"Ain't what this is about," Jolie notes with a finger lifting up to the ceiling as she shakes her head slowly. Watching those fists deflate, her own posture seems to relax somewhat as she takes to leaning against the table again. "Like I said, trying to see what yer made of. Yer let yer emotions rule ya too much. Act this way with the wrong folks, and ya'll be fightin' whether ya intended to or not." Jolie's being preachy, but it sure seems like she's given this type of advice before with the comfortable and calm way she speaks to him. Her head tilting slightly now as she continues to regard him, "S'what we learn in guard training," she adds that small piece of her puzzle, nodding once. "Watch that temper of yers, Sho." She seems to deliberately use his name now, and the tone used suggests a dismissal since she finally turns slightly from him to reach for the backpack on the floor.
The boy watches Jolie and listens carefully to what she says, relaxing more and more every few moments. Finally he understands and he nods, totally relaxed again. He half turns to leave but pauses, seeming hesitant a moment before he says. "Thanks Jolie." And with that he leaves the kitchen to head back to the stables.
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