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[ukan]

This is Lark Tennant, leave a message.

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[crab_rangoon]

"No," he answers honestly, taking a drink. "I told Norton I was done defending him. Quill and I ignore each other for the most part. The other people who hate me are wardens and won't touch me, so-" He shrugs. "Here we are."

[ukan]

A nod. "Okay. I'll get the restrictions off tonight." He inches a hand towards the cup and pauses. "I'm glad you're done defending Norton. I always felt he was, at best, willing to just take advantage of you. You deserve better than that."

[crab_rangoon]

Pagan thinks a moment, then shakes his head. "You know, I thought that might have been the case, but after talking to him? I don't think it was. Or, at least, it was with a good reason. I would have done the same, I think. He felt his death was insignificant. That she felt his death was insignificant. And that was somehow intolerable to him. Can't say I blame him for it."

[ukan]

"Oh I don't blame him for that. I wouldn't blame you, either. And I don't have a problem with what you did. I just doubt he appreciated it as much as he should have. You suffered trying to show he matters." A careful look. "Has he suffered for you?"

[crab_rangoon]

"He took a hand to the throat for Rawne."

He looks into his tea, annoyed at this line of questioning. "And he never asked me to suffer for him. That was a fucking choice I had to make for myself. I wouldn't ask it of him because I know he wouldn't do it."

[ukan]

"You shouldn't have to," he says quietly. "I'm your warden. But if we were unpaired I'd still go fight for you. Wouldn't matter if I got hurt." He shrugs. "I'm a selfish person, maybe more than people realize. But I take care of the people who matter. So do you. No one should take that lightly."

[crab_rangoon]

"Well, that's because there are only a few people who matter," he tells him. "Some people have dozens of people they would fight for. I have- three. Perhaps four, given the day and how much Yunlan's pissed me off."

He smirks.

[ukan]

A short groan. "Dozens, how does anyone do that?" He never will.

"But again: how many of those would give back the same effort you give them?"

[crab_rangoon]

"Out of the four? You would. Yunlan would. Tess might. Kiryu would." He laughs off Kiryu, though. "But only because he doesn't know any fucking better. The rest of you, well, you know what you're getting into."

[ukan]

"Kiryu is Yakuza, he doesn't scare easily." A wry smile, which fades into his tea and is gone when he sets his cup down.

"I've got your back. You're right. And I don't tell you what to do, but... Don't give your back to people who will only run when you need them to cover you."

[crab_rangoon]

"Don't lecture me about Yakuza," he snorts. "But you think I don't know that? Lark, please. I'm a goddamn King. I know that."

[ukan]

He chuckles. "Okay, so give the man a little credit."

[crab_rangoon]

"Fine, fine. Now, can we switch subjects." Because he really doesn't want to talk about Kiryu and that breach. He knows he needs to reach out to talk to him, to reassure him, but he's just not sure how that's going to go.

"How did your breach go?"

[ukan]

"I was a lawyer. A small town lawyer who did land contracts, and he has a thing for Anita but wouldn't make a move. I hated it but it beats most breaches."

[crab_rangoon]

"That's not terrible," he groans. "You could have had worse. I'm sure Anita will appreciate that you didn't make a move." He hesitates. "I do hope she's alright. That would have been her first breach."

[ukan]

"I'll check up with her. I can't think of anyone who had it rough there, the place was a fucking candy land," he scoffs.

[crab_rangoon]

"Candy land?" He shakes his head. "Don't answer that. I can fucking figure it out. But I'm sure we'll have a whole bunch of nonsense after this. People acting out just because they can. Actually, that's not a bad plan. I think I might go shoot something in the Enclosure. Get drunk. Find Misty in the hallway and flip her off."

[ukan]

He grins, laughs even. "Well if you end up shooting Misty give me a heads up. Last thing we need is William scratching at your door with a butcher knife."

[crab_rangoon]

"That fucking weird guy? Yeah. I'd rather not get stabbed. And I won't shoot Misty. God, my stock is already low enough. You think I want it in a free-fall?"

He finishes his tea and sets it aside. "Give me more credit than that."

[ukan]

He raises an eyebrow. "You passed a pop quiz."

Not really, of course. He said he'd change the gun and he will; he's been thinking about those 'training wheels' and when to take them off since a little before Pagan met Kiryu. He sips his tea, circles back to an earlier topic.

"Were you really worried the breach was trying to tell you something?"

[crab_rangoon]

"No," he assures him. "I don't assign meaning to them. I don't like the fucking feeling afterward, but it's not something I can fight. It's just something I have to wait on."

He laughs. "Like a really fucking terrible hangover."

[ukan]

"That's what I used to call it," Lark grimaces. "Only I would have taken the worst hangover I had when I was a drinker over this. I get that there are lessons you can take from them--for me, I've learned to be grateful I was never a simpering small town lawyer. But I don't think the lessons are useful."

[crab_rangoon]

"No, the lessons aren't useful. And I don't intend on taking a goddamn one of them. Unless there's something you see that I don't."

He leans forward. "Which I highly doubt."

[ukan]

"Not in this breach, no. Just like feel-good movies don't come with deep meanings." But there have certainly been others where he'd discovered something new. "Who were you in it? A visitor?"

[crab_rangoon]

"A visitor," he adds unhelpfully. "Well, I had been born in the town, moved to the city and was corrupted by power and money, and then came home and was transformed by love."

He rolls his eyes. "I jumped in the water. In a Givenchy."