hangman is coming down from the gallows [closed]

[personalwar]

Who: Soldier: 76 (personalwar) & others
What: Catch-all log for October event! 76 is a fugitive, but that isn't going to stop him from digging for information. Part 2, escape and Wyver exploration!
When: October
Where: All around the dark shady parts of town, primarily in the Red Light District. Part 2, all over Wyver territory!
Warning(s): People may be trying to bring him in, so expect possible violence, language, etc!

[ This is a closed catch-all for me to put starters for any plotted threads. My plotting comment is here if you would like to do something! ]

Comments

[nanamari]

Alan. [ Ana shrugs. She could have asked Reinhardt, but he's been preoccupied trying to feed entire city with what he can catch of local fish and game. He already worries too much.

Not that she has room to talk. ]

How are you holding up, Jack?

[personalwar]

[ That's more or less who Jack had figured on, and he nods. He isn't going to question where Ana puts her trust, and Alan's been reliable so far. Besides, it's already done. So long as he gets his phone back, he can't really complain.

Ana asks after him and he shrugs, as if he hasn't had a price on his head for the past month. ]

Better now that I'm not in a cage.

[nanamari]

Are you going to tell me the story of your daring escape?

[ She says it lightly, like she isn't worried about what could have happened in the time after she was freed. ]

[personalwar]

[ Jack shrugs just as lightly. He doesn't have any sweeping tale to tell her about his clever escape. ]

Right after we got here, the guards were busy unloading supplies and getting settled. Me and one of the others who got locked up took our chance to break free.

[ Another instance in which his enhanced strength had come in handy. ]

[nanamari]

[ Straight to the point. She doesn't expect anything less from Jack. ]

Any injuries?

[personalwar]

[ As far as Jack is concerned, he may as well be briefing Ana post-mission. The circumstances might be different, but he doesn't think either of them want to dwell on the way that they'd been used as scapegoats. ]

Nothing serious. [ He'll be fine. Like always. ] How about you? Did they treat you all right once you said you'd cooperate?

[nanamari]

Aside from collaring me like a dog, I suppose so.

[ She's referring to the tracker, though her tone is dry and resigned. ] And speaking of that... We should probably get going.

[personalwar]

[ Ana may not be happy with the tracker situation, but she'd decided to put up with it, and Jack isn't going to question her on it. Just as she hasn't questioned his choice to put his foot down about the whole thing. ]

Right. [ The meeting is frustratingly brief, but at least they have a plan for how to meet up, going forward. He lifts up the piece of paper she gave him earlier. ] I'll go pick this up. Thanks again.

[nanamari]

[ It's better this way, in the long run. Being a fugitive is all well and good when it's just the two of them, but she needs to be able to move without constantly putting the people she cares for at risk. She needs to push herself to stop keeping the world at a distance.

It's her choice, but that doesn't mean she has to like it.

Ana nods. A quick goodbye is better for both of them, but she doesn't quite manage to turn away just like that. ]

Will you do me a favor?

[personalwar]

[ It doesn't entirely surprise Jack that Ana lingers for another moment. Neither of them are particularly happy about this setup, but they can put up with it for a month. It's not often that Ana asks anything of him, at least not like this, so he raises his eyebrows at her. ]

What is it?

[ It's hard to imagine what he could do for her, with little more than the clothes on his back, but whatever it is, he'll do it. ]

[nanamari]

[ Ana takes a small, familiar disk from the front pocket of her jacket. Jack will have seen it many times by now. It's the holo of Fareeha that she keeps near her bedside. ]

Hold on to this for me. You can return it when we're back together.​

[ It's not the act itself that she's really asking for as a favor. It's the indulgence of sentimentality for an old superstition. Give something valuable to someone you care for, so that they have no choice but to return from the war.

This is hardly a situation where she particularly fears for his life, but Jack - well, Jack carries a war with him wherever he goes. Ana worries when she's not there to see him home. ]

[personalwar]

[ Jack recognizes the disc instantly, and he also knows why Ana is giving it to him. It's her way of saying that she can't watch over him for the next month, so she expects him to stay in one piece, and to come back to her with this precious item intact.

He takes it from her with a nod, carefully tucking it away into an inside pocket of his jacket. Somewhere safe. He doesn't have anything to give her in return, but she's a little bit better at staying out of danger than him. ]

Will do. Take care, Ana.

[ With that, he disappears back down the alley, so that they can go their separate ways. ]