almightythirst | Deerington Inbox

[ He rings her back, the video quality severely degraded by the change in the Fluid tech, all black and white and grainy. But it's clearly him, albeit dressed in suspenders and a cap he wouldn't have otherwise ever worn.

Also, he looks confused. He tilts his head to the side, taking stock of her. ]

You think you might've rung up the wrong number there miss?

[ He looks good in suspenders, at least.

She pauses for a moment and swallows. There were others on the boat who seemed to be out of touch with reality. She'd never thought he would be one of them. A mixture of emotions moves over her face. ]

Jesse...This really isn't funny and it's no time for games.

[ The mildly curious look on his face drops, and the call is immediately switched over to a more secure mode of conversation. ]

How the hell d'you know that name?

[ She's American too, clearly. Chances are the gangs back home sent her in and not the London werewolf pack. Or hell, maybe she's working with someone else with a bone to pick with him. There're plenty after all. ]

[ She wasn't expecting that, but it only takes a moment for her to figure out that he's not so different from the Jesse she knows and clearly whatever name he's going by isn't Jesse.

It takes her a moment to figure out what angle she wants to play this from and she watches him in a calculating way that isn't unlike how she'd view a poker hand. But from one liar to another, she wonders if he can still read her. ]

Well, if you can't recall, I guess it ain't any of your business anymore.

[ He's pretty good at spotting others of his kind, and the way she's considering him makes him feel like he's looking at someone not unlike himself. Someone full of secrets and savvy with deception. He frowns at her through the feed. Is she saying they've met? He's sure he'd remember a face like this one. Even being a threat to him, she's stunning. ]

Wrong answer there doll. You know me, then it's very much my business. How about you save me the trouble of walkin' this ship lookin' for you and just tell me now?

[ Well now, this is a change. During their separation, she was always the one trying to get the information out of him. Much as she's come to love him these past few months, she's not above dragging enjoyment out of this.

Her eyes widen, going to the 'damsel in distress act'. ]

Oh no! What are you goin' to do if you find me?

[ Jesse lets out a huff and rolls his eyes. Couldn't say exactly why--maybe that way she'd just been looking at him--but he doesn't buy that for a second. ]

Well that depends. How much longer you gonna drag this out for?

[ He knew her better than he thought.

She gives a passive shrug. ]

I bet you like bein' the one whose in the know, must be real frustratin' to feel like someone has information you can't recall.

[ Deep down, Jese hasn’t really forgotten anything. But his memories are distant enough that they can do little more than inform his actions in a subconscious way. He couldn’t say why or how he knows how sharp she is. He just does.

He’d even like it, maybe, under different circumstances. ]

Sure as hell not a fan. Look— [ He fixes her with a hard glare. ] You want me dead? You’re not gettin’ the job done on this ship. Not without gettin’ yourself locked in a closet until we reach land, and then prison after that. So you really want to throw your life away for whoever set you up to this? Whatever they’re payin’ you worth that?

[ She listens to his little rant, before it settles in he thinks she's here to kill him. So she can guess he's not led a wholesome life in his mind either. She looks at him with a little confusion. She hadn't even threatened to kill him in months. She can suddenly see this could turn in some bad ways if she's not careful. ]

What? I don't want you dead and I wasn't put on this ship to kill you. So just take your finger off the trigger there cowboy.

[ She's going to have to give him something, because she can guess informing him they are lovers who go way back to childhood might not help whatever is happening with his brain. But knowing Jesse she has no doubt that he'd make her regret it. He's terrible when cornered. ]

You did work for my Daddy awhile back. The Ashe family, though I'm sure one job blends into another, right? [ She at least wanted to keep the upper hand by making sure he knew she had his number. ]

[ Jesse frowns, eyes narrowing with suspicion. Ashe family… Ashe… the harder he tries to recall the name, the weirder he feels. Like his thoughts are getting sort of scrambled. He makes a soft sound and closes his eyes, reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose. ]

Yeah, I… I might remember that.

[ He looks up with a little shake of his head. ]

Would’ve been… a while back. A long while. Is that right?

[ The way he struggles is the exact reason she hadn't wanted to force things with Chloe. She's doing him a kindness really, hoping that he can work something up in his head if she keeps the memory neutral and vague. ]

Yeah, long time ago. We were just kids back then.

Don't expect you to remember my name, but it's Elizabeth... Caledonia Ashe. Guess you ain't goin' by Jesse anymore.

Well shit. Your memory is a whole lot better than mine then.

[ It’s starting to all fit back into place. One of his first jobs probably, back out in New Mexico. He wouldn’t recognize her because of how long it’d been. ]

And you’re right. I’m Joel Morricone on his ship. Far as anyone knows, I’ve never been anybody different. Suppose I should say it’s a pleasure to make your re-acquaintance, Ms. Ashe.

[ He tips his cap to her in a familiar gesture, with a familiar grin. ]

Or should I call you Elizabeth, if we're such old friends?

[ Where the hell did he come up with that name. She doesn't like it, but she sighs. ]

Joel then.

[ As for what to call her, she isn't sure. She doesn't like this. It's him, but also not him. In the middle of everything that was happening and missing B.O.B. and their little family back home, she just wants to be held, and to reassure herself she isn't alone in this mess. Didn't look like that would be happening.

Her response comes out a bit shorter than she'd planned, but she's back to being a wealthy socialite so maybe he'll just assume it's that snobbery. ]

I don't care. It's a damn name. Call me what you want.

Elizabeth Caldonia Ashe, huh…

[ He doesn’t seem put off by her attitude. It’s actually kind of encouraging. They’d been on unfamiliar ground before, but he feels like he knows how to handle irate socialites. Well. One way of handling them, which some people would call ‘heckling’ but he’s not one for semantics. ]

Caldonia’s too formal, and Ashe makes it sound like we’re workin’ in the same lumberyard. Elizabeth? Liz? Lizzie? [ He tries them out all out with a thoughtful air, seeing which one rolls off the tongue best. ]

[ She sighs. Her last name had always made her feel like she was just one of the guys, another gang member with a nickname, and she'd gotten used to it. However, she can understand it doesn't work much here. Besides, she had never minded him using her first name, or at least before they'd had their falling out. Hearing him call her by her first name or one of her nicknames feels familiar. ]

Like I said, I don't care what you call me. So long as it's not Caledonia, never could stand that.

Good, because it doesn't suit you. Lizzie then.

[ He has decided. It's cutesy, and it sounds a little lowbrow. Approachable. More like they can meet one another on the same level. Why that matters... well, he isn't sure, other than that he is incredibly intrigued by this woman. IF they talk again--and he hopes they will--he wants to have the right name to say at least. ]

[ She'd been expecting him to pick 'Liz', so she's a little surprised he chooses the more cutesy of her nicknames. She really should tell him to just call her Ashe, but she can't bring herself to ask for that. It isn't supposed to matter anyway. If it were anyone other than McCree she would have made them regret calling her that, but he'd always been able to get away with it. Anyone else in their gang back then had learned to stick with Ashe, really quick. Jesse had been the only one allowed that freedom with her name. ]

Neither does 'Lizzie' but whatever. [ It's starting to hurt not being remembered and she's torn between saying goodbye and finding something else to talk about. She'd learned over the last few months they were better together than apart, but now it looked like Deerington was making it harder for them again. ]

I guess I should tell you to not doin' anythin' stupid while you're on this boat.

Sure it does. I wouldn’t say it if it didn’t.

[ At the warning, he simultaneously smirks and rolls his eyes. ] Naw, see I was just gonna go hold the captain at gunpoint and demand he steer this ship somewhere warm and sunny, while givin’ me all of his valuables. Someplace nice and public too, so you all can see.

[ He settles his gaze back on her again and leans back a bit, expression nothing if not completely sure of itself. ]

Don’t know how much you remember about meetin’ me back when we were kids, but I’m not some amateur. And I’m lookin’ forward to bein’ a free man again when we're on dry land again, so anythin’ I get up to, I’ll keep quiet.

[ She smiles softly, thinking about it, but again nods.

The other part though catches her attention. That was just like the Jesse that had been a part of Deadlock. She could have sworn she remembered holding a driver at gunpoint and demanding a ride over state lines at some point. Wild, young, and free. And crazy. Would he have grown up to be like this if he hadn't been taken. ]

I remember enough to know you've at least done somethin' similar. Glad to hear you have a little more common sense these days. If you know the right people, it don't matter if you are a criminal, you'll walk free every time.

[ Some of Joel’s antics might feel familiar to Ashe like that. If they’re not something he’d done at some point, they are things he would have feasibly done as a member of Deadlock. ]

You been keepin’ up with me in the papers or somethin’? I’m mighty flattered. Never knew I had a fan.

Never been good about knowin’ the right people, but I am pretty good at makin’ a getaway. Not good enough to escape off a ship in the middle of the ocean though. So I’ll be good.

[ He tilts his head a little, regarding Ashe with a curious-yet-calculating sort of look. Trying to read her. ]

There a reason you’re so worried I’ll get into trouble?

[ She picks up on that look, it's one she's well familiar with when the leaders of the gangs get together and she discusses business with them. So she does what she does during those meetings, keeps her face completely neutral. Try and read that face Mr. Morricone.]

It ain't like that, so drop the paranoia. I'm no more a fan than an enemy.

I just...I got bad feelin' on this ship and I'm offerin' a friendly suggest to be careful.

[ Jesse hums, considering her words even as he continues to watch her. She’s got a good poker face. Means she’s used to people sizing her up, more so than any heiress he’s met before.

Interesting. ]

Paranoia is what keeps me alive. Not about to drop the habit now, but… I’ll keep that mind anyway.

A sentiment I appreciate. [ And now she really has to go deal with the discomfort of him losing his memories on top of B.O.B. being gone. It's gonna be a long month. ]

One way or another good luck.

You too, Lizzie.

[ A wink, and then he's gone, the feed cut. ]

Deerington Inbox

oh boy here we go

this will go so well...

SO WELL [ switched into private mode ]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject