Fighting [IRIS/OPEN]

[jasonwright]

 It's been a rough week, to say the least. After coming back from his weekend job on a fishing vessel catching crab, he returned to scour the town for the two missing homeless men, Wulfric and Eddie, aka Edbyrd. He first noticed their absence last Friday before he got onto the boat, usually chatting with both before he left shore for the day. Neither appeared at their usual breakfast spot, but Jason had shrugged it off, thinking the men simply moved on past the little daily routine they had settled in. But they were still missing when he returned on Sunday. He spent his entire day looking around town for them, asking a few of the other homeless people, but nothing. No one had seen anything. No one knew where the two men were.

A lot of the men and women can't work like he can, doing manual labor for less than minimum wages. So anytime he gets an extra penny, he's started looking out for their little community in Siren Cove. Today's no different as Jason heads into Quill, spending twenty bucks on two boxes of day old muffins and bagels. The person behind the register even throws in a few extra treats. He thanks them then heads over a few blocks, down two alleys, and into a small clearing just on the edge of town behind an old building. Here a few of Siren Cove's homeless have set up residence, blankets and makeshift shelters all over the clearing.

When he arrives though, there's someone yelling at a man Jason knows, Anthony. The man is shoving a finger in Anthony's chest, calling him all sorts of terrible names, and swearing at him left and right. Jason hands the boxes to a woman he knows as Candy, wandering up to the commotion. He interrupts politely, asking if he can help the other man with anything. 

"This bastard stole forty bucks from me!" the man yells, turning his anger onto Jason now. His face is beet red and Jason holds up his hands to show he doesn't mean to threaten the other man in any way.

"Are you sure, sir? I know Anthony and he's not that kind of guy." 

And that's when the man wheels around, gesturing at all the people in the clearing. He calls them scums who need to get jobs, turning back to Anthony to call him a name Jason just has an automatic response to. He reels back and punches the man in the face.

It's stupid. And he'll be the first to admit that he's on edge this week, worried and now overprotective of this little community since two of its own have gone missing. He shakes his fist, wincing, and starts to apologize when the other man gets up and takes at swing at Jason. Before he knows it, they're in a full on brawl. The guy can punch hard, but Jason's faster. He's rusty, but his old reflexes kick in. It's almost like he never left the ring. He's about to hit the guy again after he uses the same word as before when someone hauls him up by the back of his shirt, an impressive feat considering Jason's size.

"What the hell is going on here, Jesus Christ?" a voice growls from behind him. Jason quickly looks over his shoulder and curses himself. He sees a police uniform and the badge on the man's chest says Middleton. The other man tries to explain, growing angrier with every breath and Jason really, really wants to hit him again, but he's being held back by the officer. But the dumbass screws up and doesn't clean up his language. Office Middleton's scowl goes slack, his tension on Jason's arm loosening. 

"Aren't you going to press chargers?" the man yells at the officer. Middleton shrugs, letting go of Jason altogether. 

"Know what? I am." The officer steps around Jason, grabbing hold of the other man. "Disrupting the peace and being a real asshole," he says dryly, moving the man's arms behind his back. Jason's shocked as the officer pulls the man away from the clearing, shoving him very unceremoniously into the back of his cop car. And suddenly his body feels weak and exhausted. He's bleeding, his ribs are bruised, and his knuckles are busted. He doesn't look pretty, but neither does the other guy. Jason checks on Anthony, making sure the man is okay before he excuses himself, slowly making his way back to the cabin at the community garden where he's left Alfredo. He kneels down onto the steps of the cabin, nursing his right hand. What a great week.

Comments

[littleredsiren]

Iris is carrying an armful of groceries to restock the cabin for the next time she cooks for the volunteers when she spots a bloody and battered Jason on the steps. She just barely manages to keep from yelping and dropping the groceries before she quickly scurries over, laying them on the porch and crouching in front of him.

"Jason! What happened? Are you okay?" she says, starting to feel the urge to panic babble as she tries to figure out the best way to help. "Is anything broken?!"

[jasonwright]

Iris surprises him. Either she's very quiet or his senses are off, or maybe both. He shakes his head, looking at her, and feels bad she's seeing him like this. At least she manages to set the groceries down without dropping them or he'd feel bad about that to.

"I'm okay, really. Just got into a fight," he shrugs.

[littleredsiren]

She frowns in concern. He doesn't seem like the type to easily get into fights so something big must have happened. "Stay here for a second, okay?" she instructs, before heading into the cabin and coming out with a damp washcloth and a first aid kid.

"Is it okay if I clean you up a bit? How did you get into a fight?"

[jasonwright]

He nods as she leaves, sucking in a harsh breath when he accidentally clenches his fist. It'll probably swell up a bit, but ice on it while he sleeps should have him ready for work in the morning.

"Sure." He gives Iris permission, not because he necessarily needs to clean up or doesn't know how--hell, all those years of fighting, he's stitched himself up before--but he wants her to feel comfortable. Iris is a helper and if helping him right now makes her feel better, he's all for it. "There was a jerk picking on the homeless community on the edge of town," he explains, tilting his head in the direction of the clearing. "I don't have patience for bullying."

[littleredsiren]

Carefully arranging her skirt around her legs, she kneels down next to him and, gently as possible, starts dabbing at the cuts on his face, focusing on the ones that look like they might have dirt in them. Just the action of taking care of someone starts to calm her down and she can feel her muscles untense.

"Mmm... Well, I can't really get mad at you for that," she murmurs, gently working a piece of dirt out of a little cut. "That person sounds like a real... bully. I don't like fights but I'd rather you fight someone than let them get away with being rude to people because they somehow think they're better than them. Ugh."

[jasonwright]

"You'd get mad at me?" he asks, smiling at the thought and turning to look at her. The idea of Iris mad at anyone is mind-blowing.

"He was accusing my friend of stealing from him. It was a mistake for me to hit him, but he said some bad things. I've just been on edge this week," he admits. He purses his lips when she hits a sore spot, but stays put. Wriggling can make these things worse.

[littleredsiren]

She scrunches up her nose at him. "Maybe more disappointed than mad... Fighting isn't good. Unless you're protecting people."

She tilts her head, trying to be more gentle at that part. "How awful. Just because he's homeless doesn't mean he's a criminal," she huffs, clearly upset at the thought. She holds up the washcloth, "Any other cuts not on your face? Why have you been on edge?"

[jasonwright]

"Exactly," he agrees. "The best people I've met have been on their worst luck, and the worst people their best. I just don't like prejudice." He furrows his brows at her question, scratching his head. "Uh. Yeah, I can get those??"

"Two of the guys are missing. Just vanished. I'm worried and towns don't usually notice or care when a homeless man goes missing."

[littleredsiren]

"I don't understand why people can't just treat everyone like they're people too," she mumbles, slightly irritable sounding as she wipes a smudge off of his cheek. "You sure? I don't mind. It's calming."

Iris sucks in a tiny gasp. "Do the police know?" she asks, worry dripping from her voice. "I met a really nice police officer at the beach the other morning. Maybe he can help..."

[tarnishedbadge]

Levi hated to be the bearer of bad news. Nobody liked the guy that brought bad news, even if they didn't blame him for it. In this instance, Levi very well might be blamed for it and he wouldn't even hold it against the guy if he did. Levi isn't entirely sure he isn't to blame.

The community garden wasn't a place he had really been to before. Levi knew of it but until now he didn't have any reason to be there.

"Mr. Wright?" he called out. "Mr. Wright, if you're here it's Detective Astor."

[jasonwright]

Jason hears a voice and stands up to look over the fence of the garden. He's not sure if he's actually in trouble for the fight or if this is about his missing person report. He opens the gate, letting the detective in.

"Hey, uh, sorry about the fight. The other cop let me go."

[tarnishedbadge]

"I'm not here about a fight," Levi said, slightly surprised by Jason's appearance. The guy was a little rough, no doubt, but this was a little rougher than he had been expecting. Still, if another officer let him go he wasn't going to worry about it.

"I'm here about Edbyrd. I'm sorry, but his body washed up on shore early this morning. We don't know anything for sure yet but it looks like he was murdered."

[jasonwright]

His heart sinks in his chest. Guys he's met have gone missing, took a harder turn in life than they already had, but Edbyrd had his life together, so to speak. The guy liked his life. It was a rough one, but it made him happy. And Jason can't imagine why anyone would want to hurt him. The man was harmless.

"You're sure?" he asks, looking at the ground. "Jesus, Ed. What happens now?"

[tarnishedbadge]

"We're sure," Levi said with a nod. He almost wished that he wasn't sure, although that would mean another missing or dead body and the cold, practical side of him is grateful that the dead body is one of the missing ones.

"We keep looking for Wulfric and his officially becomes a homocide investigation. We're looking for next of kin to see about funeral arrangements. In the meantime, if you hear anything... the homeless community doesn't always trust the police but if they'll talk to you... Anything anyone might have seen or heard would be helpful."

[jasonwright]

It's not what he wanted to hear, but at least Edbyrd was found. Now he's worried about Wulfric.

"Okay," he says, rubbing his face. "I don't know much about his family, if he even has any, but I know he has friends. I'll ask around, see if anyone's noticed anything. Thanks for looking for him." It's a genuine thank you. It's true that most of the homeless community doesn't trust cops and vice versa. At least this detective is being respectful and treating Edbyrd like any other case. "I'll let you know if I hear anything."

[tarnishedbadge]

"Thank you," Levi said, genuinely relieved that Jason was willing to help. To be honest Levi had very few leads at this point, regardless of the fact that it was early int he case still, and could use all the help he could get. Even just rumors would be better than what they had right now.

"And when you talk to people... it's still early but this doesn't seem like a mugging gone wrong. I don't know what it is but... please tell them to be careful."

[jasonwright]

Jason nods, feeling the same way. Two missing guys, one dead, doesn't exactly add up to a mugging. At least his gut is telling him that. "I will. I'm heading back over there tonight, I'll let everyone know about Edbyrd. And to be safe."

[bonniemcg]

Bonnie had finally made good on her bet from a while back. Several boxes of fudge brownies tucked into her bag as she stepped onto the community lot. In the last few weeks she was showing a lot more, and a scan the previous day had stated that everything appeared to be going well. As it was she had decided to check in her favourite brother from another mother. As soon as she saw Jason though she stopped, frowning deeply. She was concerned, but she didn’t know how common a thing this may actually be, since she didn’t know Jason as well as she could. “What on Earth did you do to your beautiful face,” she asked, scowling at him.

[jasonwright]

Jason smiles when he sees Bonnie waddle up to the garden. She's getting bigger and cuter every day. He dabs a cloth on his forhead, wincing a bit when he puts pressure on the cut. "I thought I'd try out a new look. No good?"

[bonniemcg]

“No, it’s terrible, never try to style yourself without good advice again,” she answered, her words light-hearted, but she pushed on his shoulders to try and get a better look at his face. Bonnie had minimal experience with treating injuries, (other than cleaning grazes, putting a Barbie plaster on it and kissing it better for her little sisters). Looking at his face a moment longer she asked, more seriously, “Do you need help or are you ok?”

[jasonwright]

"Dang, Bonnie. Not pulling back the punches, are you?" He tilts his head a bit so she can look him over. He gives her a reassuring smile which probably isn't so reassuring with cut on his swollen cheek. "I'm okay. Nothing ice won't fix."

[bonniemcg]

“Honesty is the best policy – you’d be upset if I lied and then someone said something mean,” she explained. Taking in his face, her first assumption of fight would ultimately turn out to be correct. Despite all his faults, Drew hadn’t been one for fighting, but the one time he had, his face was a slightly worse version of what Jason’s currently appeared to be. “Ok, good.” Bonnie held up the bag in her hand, “This’ll hopefully make it better, I brought brownies.”

[jasonwright]

"You're a saint, Bonnie. I don't know what my life was like before you," he grins. His face lights up when she holds up the bag and mentions brownies. What a great way to end a fight, with brownies! "Okay, you really are a saint."

[bonniemcg]

“Definitely lacking a highland charm, if I do say so myself,” replied Bonnie with a grin. She couldn’t help a small laugh at his reaction to the brownies – hopefully he wouldn’t be disappointed after such enthusiasm toward them. “Well, now I just need the Pope to recognise it and I’ll be legendary forever. Saint Bonnie of Scotland, provider of brownies to the injured of face.”

[jasonwright]

"I didn't know I needed that in my life until this moment." He takes the container of brownies, smiling when he opens the lid and they smell fantastic. He shoves one into his mouth and it's...different is a word to describe it. He's still beaming though, eating the brownie even if it tastes like there may be too much flour in it, but what does he know about cooking? He can make beer bread and that's it. "Saint Bonnie of Scotland--got a nice ring to it."