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

[jasonwright]

Welp, he makes a note to take Iris seriously. Not that he ever wouldn't, but she can be insistent when she wants to be. "I'm sure it's only the best." He raises an eyebrow as she doctors him up, glancing at her. "Are there even people who don't like french toast?"

"Alright, definitely got a reason to be a bit anxious," he admits. "But you're enjoying it, right? Living on your own? How you doing with the whole siren thing?"

[littleredsiren]

She purses her lips slightly at a deeper cut, digging a box of butterfly bandages out of the first aid kit and carefully smoothing one over it to hold it shut as it heals. "You'd be surprised. Some people think it's gross. I think they're crazy, but that's just me," she giggles.

"It's a lot better than living with my aunt and uncle. I mean, even if they weren't overly controlling and kind of awful people, I'm twenty three. I need to get out on my own at some point, right?" she asks, half to him, half to herself. "Actually, I'd just figured out how to change completely the morning I met Levi. It's... interesting. Lara and, um... Nevermind. Lara says I'm a very pretty siren but I dunno. I still think I look kind of scary, honestly." She shifts uncomfortably at the memory of Bach's reaction to her that morning but brushes it off. He's lonely and she's not going to deprive him of company any time soon, even if it's not the kind he really wants right now.

[jasonwright]

She's very good at cleaning someone up, Jason has to give her that. He's patient as she bandages him, not wanting to break her concentration because it's keeping her busy. "I agree with you, they're crazy."

"Exactly," he nods just slightly as she works on his cuts. All the years he's basically lived on the sea, Jason's never seen a siren before he landed here. He heard the tales, but really had no opinion on their appearance. The scales of Iris' he saw at the ball were definitely beautiful though. "I take it you are transform a bit differently? It's a part of you Iris, so I'm sure you look beautiful."

[littleredsiren]

She ducks her head, busying herself with a gauze pad and tape to hide her blush and smile. "I'm a little more... um, feral looking, I guess you'd say. Monster-y. But thank you. You're sweet," she chuckles, carefully smoothing the bandage over the scrapes on his stomach. "I'll have to show you when I take you up on that offer of using the docks to practice, I guess."

[jasonwright]

Jason smiles. "You're talking to a guy who's lived on the streets for over a decade. Feral's stunning too. Raw and natural." He thinks of the animals in Alaska. There's something beautiful about typically scary creatures in the world. "Really?" He's surprised she'd even let him see her transformation. "I'd like that.

[littleredsiren]

She glances up, grinning. "You've got a point. No blaming me if you see me and run off screaming though," she teases before patting the bandage. "That's all good now. Anything else before we head back?"

"Of course! You're my friend. Why wouldn't you be able to see it?"

[jasonwright]

"Deal. I may make a shocked face though, just because I've never seen someone...change into...something...else...but give me a few minutes to process it, alright?" He looks down at himself, checking that he's properly bandaged and didn't forget to tell her about a spot. Satisfied, he shakes his head. "Nope, think you got everything."

He smiles because well, friendship in the past was usually "Hey man, I like you, I won't mug you tonight, sleep tight buddy" not "I'll show you how my entire body transforms from a human to a siren." But then this town is different, so his perceptions of friendship will probably change. "People are weird?" he offers as an explanation.

[littleredsiren]

Iris giggles, getting to her feet and holding out a hand to help him up. "That's fine with me. As long as you don't go screaming into the sunset, I think I can handle a little shock. Plus, you don't have to watch the entire time. I can't imagine it's pleasant to see someone's body changing so rapidly."

"Tch. You don't know the half of it," she agrees, giving him a crooked smile. "I've seen just how weird people can get so many times since moving here. It's a little overwhelming."

[jasonwright]

He takes her hand and pulls himself up, groaning a little now that he's moving again, stretching out his sore muscles. "I haven't gone screaming into the sunset yet in my life, so I doubt you'll make me do that. You might get Alfredo all in a tizzy though."

He shakes his head with a grin. "We don't want to play the "I've met weird people" stories, Iris. I think I'll win."

[littleredsiren]

Iris bites her lip slightly, aware once more that he's so very not wearing a shirt. "Hopefully he'll be able to smell that I'm still me and won't freak out too badly," she smiles, a tiny awkward giggle slipping out. "Anyway, I'm not too far from here. If you wanna get anything you'll need, we can walk over now?"

"You'll have to tell me those stories then," she smiles. "Though I don't know how you'll top the characters in this town."

[jasonwright]

"He probably will," he agrees as he pulls on his shirt. He shrugs at Iris. "Just what I got on me. You lead the way."

"It'll be a challenge. Some of them might take the cake though," he grins as he follows her out of the garden, making sure to close the gate behind them.

[littleredsiren]

She leads him a few blocks down the road to her apartment building, holding the door to let him and Alfredo in. "It's not much, but it's cozy," she says, almost apologetically. "Make yourself at home, okay? Are you hungry at all?"

"I'll look forward to hearing about them then."

[jasonwright]

When she opens the door, his eyes widen. It's so very Iris. "This is...wow." Alfredo immediately trudges in, not even hesitating at making himself at home. He lays down in a corner of the living room by the windows and pants happily. Jason stays in the doorway, edging his way in slowly.

"It's very cozy," he agrees. "Um, yeah, if you have a snack or something, that'd be great."

[littleredsiren]

She frowns, seeing him hesitate. "Are you okay?" she asks, clearly concerned. She opens up a little container she keeps by the door, pulling out a dog biscuit for Alfredo. She'd been keeping them in there since she met him, intending on putting a few in her purse every time she went out, just in case.

"Have you had dinner yet? I haven't eaten yet and I don't mind whipping something up real quick."

[jasonwright]

"It's just really nice in here. I don't want to mess up anything," he grins a bit sheepishly. Alfredo takes the treat happily, butting his head against Iris' hand before he settles himself down to gnaw on the snack.

"No, I haven't. I was taking food to the homeless camp when the fight happened. Haven't had time to eat."

[littleredsiren]

Iris giggles, scratching at Alfredo's ears. "Don't worry about it. Nothing you can do can compare to the mess I make when I'm in a baking frenzy."

She lets out a tiny tutting noise, shaking her head. "Find yourself somewhere to sit then. Any favourite foods?"

[jasonwright]

"Alright, alright. It's just really well put together. You did a good job making it feel like a home."

He scratches his head as she tsks at him, plopping down on the couch as Alfredo settles at his feet. "All food is my favourite food. Is that a cop-out?"

[littleredsiren]

"Really?" she smiles. "I just kind of threw together the little bit of stuff I had and some stuff I found at thrift stores so it didn't look bare."

Iris shakes her head, digging through her fridge. "A little bit, maybe. But I guess I can understand. How about... Chicken souvlaki with rice?"

[jasonwright]

Jason chuckles. "You throw things together very well then."

"I have no idea what that is, but I want that." Alfredo barks, following Iris into the kitchen and keeping close to her. "Let me know if he gets in your way. He obeys commands pretty well."

[littleredsiren]

"Well thank you," she laughs, giving him a little mock curtsy.

"It's Greek. It's basically just chicken on skewers, but it's amazing. Especially with tzatziki," she explains, pulling out chicken and preparing it. "I'm sure he'll be fine, won't you, boy? There's not much he can do other than get underfoot a little and I've had young cousins do worse than that anyway."

[jasonwright]

"So you're Greek?"

"Only if you're sure about him. I think he'll enjoy helping you out." He settles on the couch, finally leaning back and relaxing a bit. It's a damn comfortable couch and he knows he'll get a good night's rest on it.

[littleredsiren]

"Yep. From Greek and everything," she says, tossing a little piece of chicken to Alfredo before putting the skewers in the oven and turning on the rice. "So Greek dishes are kind of my speciality. You haven't lived until you've tried my baklava."

Iris peeks out of the kitchen to make sure he's comfortable before bringing him out a glass of juice. "I hope you like juice... I wasn't really allowed to drink when I lived with my relatives so I don't have anything stronger right now."

[jasonwright]

"Really?" he asks, raising an eyebrow. "Were you born in Greece or here?"

He smiles, taking the glass. "Juice is great. I drink a lot of it on the boat, actually. And no worries, I don't really drink much anyway."

[littleredsiren]

"Greece! I was raised there until I was six. Then my parents died and I got shipped off to my aunt and uncle who lived in Seattle," she explains, taking a seat while she waits for the food to finish.

"Oh good. I'm going to get some beer and wine for when guests are over, I think, but it's not a priority for me so it maaay be awhile. Pomegranate and orange juice work just fine for me, personally."

[jasonwright]

He's grinning now. "Wow, between you and Bonnie, you're the only people I know that were born out of the states. I'm sorry to hear about your parents, though."

He waves a hand at her. "Fine with me. It's a good idea, but no rush on my account." He sips his juice and smiles. "See? I love juice."