001 | voice

[hardedged]

[ the network post begins with a disgruntled exhale. great way to start, jones. nice first impression. clearly, this mysterious new arrival is glad to be here. ]

I'll make this quick and painless. The name's Jessica Jones, and I'm looking for answers.

They brand us like cattle. Expect us to play house. Assign crapass jobs.

And of all the places to wage the Cold War 2.0, they pick fucking Florida. [ she scoffs, as if that's somehow the worst offense of all. ] How do we leave this shithole?

[ there's a pointed beat of silence, as she presses her lips together in contemplation. almost as an afterthought, she adds: ]

And where can I get a drink around here? The cheaper, the better.

Comments

[hardedged]

[ OKAY... that reaction is... suspicious. a bit too much shock and enthusiasm to be meaningless, though she doesn't comment on that yet. instead, she offers a curt and dry reply. ]

Yep.

[notsheepish]

[No, no, that was totally cool. She is the chillest right now. Absolutely. Conceal, don't feel, etc.]

Right! Well. Welcome then.

If you're looking for a way to leave Florida, there's about a million of them. If you're looking for a way to leave for a different Florida, that's going to be a little harder.

But there are plenty of places to drink while that sinks in, if it helps.

[hardedged]

Barely. [ she scoffs, then sighs. ] I'm way too sober for this shit.

[notsheepish]

[She pauses...]

There's a place called Cuephoria. It's a pool hall more than a bar, but if Silvia's working, she mixes the drinks strong enough to knock out a horse. Just don't tell her it's your birthday or she'll insist on pulling out the paddle. Or do, if you're in the mood.

I'll text you the address.

And, well, if you're looking for somebody to drink with, maybe ask some questions... I can meet you there if you want?

[hardedged]

[ there's a pause of her own — a long one. while she's not about to accept that offer, there's no point avoiding the elephant in the room. ]

You know me. How?

[notsheepish]

[Sigh...]

You asked about how to leave here? Well, there's only one way that I know of, and that's for the thing that randomly decided to bring you here to randomly decide to send you back. It happens to everybody eventually, and when it does, you forget you were ever here to begin with.

And then sometimes it brings you here a second time, still without the memories.

We were friends here, not too long ago. Or at least neighbors close enough to it that you made sure I got home without dying once, after some pretty girl kept buying me drinks and I ended up absolutely wasted?

[hardedged]

I don't have friends.

[ it's a flippant response, more automatic than anything else. between her and lapis, jess can't keep denying the truth. but damn, she doesn't recall any of that even though the story sounds plausible. not good. ]

When was this?

[notsheepish]

[Ruby breezes past the reflex antisocial behavior with little more than a wry look that Jessica can't see anyway. She's gotten pretty good at that by now.]

Four or five months ago? Something like that.

[hardedged]

[ hush. she's got her hardcore misanthrope rep to maintain. ]

Just my goddamn luck.

[notsheepish]

Yep. You won the lottery. Twice.

Congrats.

[hardedged]

And yet I'm still broke. Sounds about right.

[notsheepish]

I'm Ruby, by the way. I'm strong and fast and pretty good at tracking, and I'm staying in Maurtia Falls right now, but I don't know for how much longer, really.

And now we're a little more even, maybe?

[hardedged]

Nowhere near it.

[ it sounds like she knows a hell of a lot more about jess than the other way around. far from fair. ]

[notsheepish]

Look, I'm trying, okay?

[hardedged]

[ she's tempted to fire off another retort, but instead there's a beat of silence. something about this stranger reminds her of trish. ]

Yeah. I know.

[notsheepish]

Good.

You don't have to trust me, and we don't have to be bffs or anything, but if you have any questions or just wanna vent about how ridiculous this place is or whatever... I'm around.

[hardedged]

Don't bother. I'll be fine.

[notsheepish]

Maybe. But I'm told I'm pretty good at that sort of thing. I used to tend bar.

So the offer still stands.

[hardedged]

[ there's no response, which doesn't mean that jess is ungrateful for the offer. she does appreciate it, in her own way. however, her arrival's left her feeling disoriented, and she's never enjoyed heart-to-heart chats. it's too much to deal with right now. ]