Across the Tracks, Right?

[Sero]

onexone


Shall we then?


Let's end this war tragically, my dear.


Let's be cool, like ice


Quin was unsure about how he felt about leading his family. Being the eldest son was hard work and times, and annoying. Though he secretly admitted to himself that he liked being in charge at times. However there were some other things he didn't want to deal with, one of which was the constant chatter and gossip about the other side of the tracks. Ironically, he was vaguely curious because of these rumors, however he was more interested in confirming his own bias. Today he sat at the edge again, just on one side of the tracks staring at the wall they had put up. Two walls, side by side, one metal and the other magic.


Well, quite honestly he could only hope for something enchanting to happen, however he would settle with having a brawl with some friends. Maybe mess around with magic a bit. Couldn't hurt. As long as his family didn't find out.

 

[tamaracorine]

(The notification didn't come through! I'm so sorry! Will reply when I get home.)

 

[Sero]

(No problem dear :3)

 

[tamaracorine]

Jamie had a simple job. She had to take a package from Jonathan Sawyer, the leader of the non-magical part of the city, to the other side of the tracks where she would then deliver it to a contact they had on that side, and a message would get passed along. It was a simple task that she had done many times before without problems. She was one of the few messengers trusted with such a task.


As she arrived at the fence, she climbed the metal fence and stood on the train tracks in between, quickly heading along them to find a spot that had no magic on it. There was supposed to be a brick wall behind it, but one small gap in the bricks had let them get a way through. She pushed herself through the small hole they had created and wriggled out the other side, checking that her messenger bag was still there.


"Easy as." she grinned, walking around the corner. Someone was sitting near the fences - someone she knew she recognised. "Crap." she mumbled, realising it was the leader's son. She froze in place.

 

[Sero]

Hearing a few unexpected steps, Quin glanced up, looking carefully over before smiling slightly. He had just gotten up to leave but he had found something precious. A few things in fact. He thought about how fast he could run to her, then thought even harder about how long it would take to grab her hand, then debated how east she could run. Was it too much trouble? He didn't think so. However he decided to play a different game for a bit.


Teasingly, he casually looked away, pretending to only glance at her for a few seconds, waiting for her to get a move on. He was more curious as to where this little mouse was heading. In actuality Quin was wracking his mind for any bitty memories that he could find, she looked familiar. SO familiar in fact that he was trying to sketch out her name. However it never clicked like he wanted it to.


He tried not to look. Only sneaking quick glances and holding down any mischievous ideas that were leaking through his brain matter. He knew he had some more responsibility and he'd have to report the open gap. Or at least report her sneaking around on the wrong side of the wall. He'd do it, he knew better. However he also knew he could tease her a bit.

 

[tamaracorine]

Jamie knew he was playing with her. She knew from the smirk on his lips that she was in trouble. She just couldn't work out how much, or what his next move would be. Was he a good son, or was he rebellious? She hoped for rebellion as she recovered from her shock. There was a gun holstered at her side and her hand rested on it as it sat concealed under her shirt.


The gun, she knew, wouldn't be effective. Or at least she assumed as much. She didn't know a lot about this side of the fence - except how to get to one particular address. Her route there was blocked by the boy, though. She decided to take a risk and sprinted, attempting to make her way into a back alley she had hidden in once before.


It was a long shot, but she tried anyway.

 

[Sero]

Oh. She was trying to go this way. Cute. Quin leaned back slightly, debating his move before deciding to trip her. Using a little bit of earth magic to protrude a root out of the ground. Hoping to make her fall when simultaneously moving up to chase after her if she didn't trip. It would be funny if she did. That was what he was hoping for. Since it would be amusing and to him, well, if he had to turn her in he might as well have some fun.


He wasn't really a rebellious person to his family, how would he put it, Quin considered himself a responsible adult. That was right, a responsible, eldest member protecting his family from the other side of the wall. What if they managed to make a raid on his poor side of the town. Now that wouldn't do. The only thing that possibly put most people off was probably his teasing and lax nature.


Oh no, he was serious most the time though. Serious about getting his job done, and having fun.

 

[tamaracorine]

Jamie managed to avoid the earth he moved, but tripped over a discarded can a second later, collapsing to the ground with a frustrated grunt, her arms scraping painfully against the gravel beneath her. She groaned, closing her eyes for a second before pushing herself back to her feet and sprinting again, but she wasn't fast enough. She knew she wasn't.


She stopped and put her hands up, some blood trailing down her forearms as she stood still. She knew that surrendering was cowardly. Her older brother would have fought his way out, but she knew one result of that fight could be death, and she didn't like that thought. She had heard how brutal this side of the city could be towards humans, how they treated her kind like they were as dumb as animals.


She had to admit, though, that she felt a whole lot like a trapped animal.

 

[Sero]

Quin frowned slightly, sighing as she missed the branch. Well it wasn't that bad, he was just disappointed. However he blinked in slight awe as she managed to trip over something completely else. He had to hold his breath to prevent himself from laughing out loud, sine that would mean he wasn't 'respecting' his prey.


He ran after her and almost caught her hand, more surprised when she suddenly stopped and gave up. Oh, this had been made a lot easier than he thought I'd be. He took this time to walk around her and touch her hair before moving back out. Looking at her a good moment before skidding slightly on his feet and turning away to cover his mouth. He had imagined her tripping again and he couldn't help but laugh. That had been pretty pathetic. Poor thing.


"Ehem." He cleared his throat and forced his laughter to stop. "Sup, I guess you know what happens when you lose."

 

[tamaracorine]

Jamie lowered her hands to her side, flinching as he touched her hair. She wasn't precious about many things in life. Scrapes and bruises she could deal with, but her hair was something she was actually invested in. She could hear the laughter in his voice and see that he was working hard to contain it, and all she wanted to do was reach for her gun and show him...


Her hand wrapped around the gun briefly, but she let go of it a second later, pulling her hand away and sighing. "I'm not used to losing, so actually, I've got no idea." she told him simply. Her voice had a husky tone to it that had made it impossible for her to ever fit in with dainty females. She didn't mind. She liked her existence. "What happens when I lose?" she asked. "You give me a warning and I go home? 'Cause I'd go for that."

 

[Sero]

((Whoops sorry for the minor spelling errors xD ))


He swallowed before shaking his head. "Ah, well, that would be nice if we could be lax with every little thing. You'll have to come with me. This is like a war, so it'd be more like a war prisoner thing." He was serious, but he wasn't sure whether he was smiling or not. He hoped he wasn't. Since that might give her the wrong idea. "I have a responsibility you know."


Quin couldn't make an exception, he knew that . He rolled his eyes to himself before holding out his hand. "Come on, let's go. As long as you don't have anything too bad...they might let you go. That's not up to me though. That's up to my father. If you're lucky, maybe you can work on this side. I doubt they'll let you go back to the other side now."


Quin motioned or her hand. "Either you take my hand or I cuff you." With magic, and that sucked. For him at least. Magic was effort. HE wasn't bad at it, just didn't think he'd need it.

 

[tamaracorine]

The smile on his face was infuriating. She didn't want to shoot him. She wanted to punch him. She wanted to punch him until that smile disappeared from his lips. It was one thing to be caught; it was an entirely different thing to be caught by someone who seemed to enjoy what he was doing as much as he did.


Jamie shook her head as he held his hand out. The last guy's hand she held had been the guy she dated in her last year of high school, and his hand had been clammy and sweaty all the time. She also noticed a slight grimace as he mentioned cuffing her - as if a part of him didn't want to. To make up for their lack of magic, her side of the fence were often very good at understanding how others worked - their body language, their tone, the slight motions in their face.


"You can't expect me to hold your hand when you haven't even offered to buy me a drink. Cuffs it is." she told him, a slight smirk on her lips as she looked at him, one eyebrow raised.

 

[Sero]

Quin wasn't sure what exactly she meant by that. "I'll get you a drink before I turn you in?" Really, really wanted to be lazy and not use magic. Really and truly. He squeezed her hand even tighten than intentioned before frowning slightly. She really was familiar. However he wouldn't go around being all touchy feely with her hand.


"Cuffs will also bring you a lot more attention, do you want that? I can arrange that." Why would someone want to be cuffed, if made him feel confused and slightly flustered. What was with this hard headedness. Weren't girls supposed to be sugar spice and everything sweet? ...or something. He wasn't sure where he had hears that.


"Just don't be making every little thing complicated."

 

[tamaracorine]

"Ah, because the ever fearsome leader's son walking through the city holding a strange woman's hand wouldn't draw attention?" Jamie asked, pulling her hand away from his abruptly. "I know who you are. I've seen the way you act." she put both her hands in her pockets, her bleeding forearm resting against the cool metal of the gun under her shirt.


"If you don't want it to be complicated, then let me go." she told him curtly. "I'm not here to harm anyone. I just want to go home." she sounds like she's on the verge of panicking, her hand automatically reaching towards her gun again. "So either make it simple and let me go, or use the damn handcuffs and make your victory decisive. Don't pretend you're being kind to me."

 

[Sero]

Quin almost laughed at that. "I usually hold hands with people I find. I'm not as popular as you may be in a few minutes." He was slightly disappointed, at her defiance, and wanted to just have her relax. However it wasn't working out quite like he though it would. "Look, you're bleeding all over my side of the city too." He stated, motioning to her wound.


"I'm not trying to be nice though, I'm just lazy. However, fine, since I can't let you free. Like I said, I have responsibility." Quin looked slightly dismayed as he grabbed her hands again, a vine curling around her wrist and growing solid. "Give me the other hand, little miss details." Quin grumbled, motioning for her to hurry it up. She wasn't making this as fun as he wanted it to be. Well then, he'd have to make her a bit more dismayed, wouldn't he?


He'd have to put in a word.

 

[tamaracorine]

Jamie had a mix of panic and amazement in her expression as the vine wrapped around her wrist. She reluctantly pulled her other hand from her pocket, hesitating slightly as it neared her gun, but quickly moving to meet his. "Yeah, sorry. I wasn't planning on bleeding today." she told him, twisting her hand beneath the vine, testing how powerful it was.


Her heart was beating fast. In spite of her attitude, she was definitely scared. She didn't know where he was taking her, or what would happen when she got there. No one had ever returned to her side of the wall once they were captured and she was certain that she wasn't going back there. "My name's Jamie." she told him quietly.

 

[Sero]

"Hm, yeah I should get that fixed. I have like, honey from lunch today. Let's use that." Quin stated, mildly uninterested in what she had to say. Since he was still bummed about having to cuff her. He sat down before frowning again and glancing up to her. "Oh yeah. I forgot to finish the cuffs." He mumbled, snapping his fingers as the vines tightened slightly and hardened into place. "Tell me if you can't eel your fingers after a bit."


He stood up with the honey, and smiled slightly. He could heal her with magic, but he already wasted energy on cuffs. "Here, water." Quin smiled snakily before pulling out a water bottle. "Oh yeah, you're handcuffed I'll have to do it for you.." He teased. It was her choice. He tipped the water bottle and poured water on the wound for the blood and wiped it off, before smearing the honey on the wind to close it. He's get that later.


"I'm Quin. Just a heads up I guess."

 

[tamaracorine]

Jamie flinched and made a small noise as the honey hit her wound. "Damnit." she grunted as she tugged at the vines, her panic bubbling to the surface now as she tried to grasp one vine with the other hand and pull at it. She could feel eyes on her. She could feel her cheeks flushing red from embarrassment.


Like a trapped animal with no other option, she turned to flee, running for the wall again.

 

[Sero]

Quin huffed and darted quickly after her and grabbing her hand. "No running I said, lord I wish you would listen." She had every reason not to however so Quin kind of got it. He sighed quietly before grabbing the link between the cuffs and pulling her close, smiling softly. "You could have mad ethos so much easier for yourself. However if that's the way you want to go I won't stop."


"The honey actually helps you know, i didn't realize you'd panic though. Oooops." Quin couldn't help but banter with her. However she was possibly not befitting from him being around her. He had a job to finish and he was just playing around. Letting out a disgruntled noise, he told himself to get a move on. "I already shut the barrier too." That was a lie, but she wouldn't know. He was good at lying.

 

[tamaracorine]

Jamie's cheeks flushed red as he pulled her close to him. She was embarrassed at her behaviour. She'd always thought that if she should be captured on this side of the fence, she'd be stoic and stern to her captor. But she was anything but that, and it was making her worry even more. She pulled her gaze away from his, looking down at the ground. "Right." she mumbled. "No running."


Her posture changed slightly, looking more resigned to what was happening and the fact that she wasn't going to get away with ease. "As much as I enjoy feeling like your personal plaything, can we please go.. where ever it is that you're taking me?" she shifted her eyes to look up at him again.

 

[Sero]

"No running then." He echoed, slightly enjoying himself again before linking arms with her knowing it most likely made her upset. He was slightly upset that she had tried to run, so he going to make the best of getting back at her for a bit. Discretely. Well, maybe a bit, he was probably seeming the same to her as before.


He wasn't sure what had happened to her feistiness, and personally he thought it was a bit boring. However it was as good as an excuse to get moving. I wasn't long before he was knocking on his own door, feeling like a little boy with a trophy.

 

[tamaracorine]

Jamie tried to tug her arms away from his as he walked with her, but the cuffs prevented it. She was clearly frustrated by her weak position. She looked at the ground as they arrived at his house, thankful that it wasn't a prison she had been led to, but equally concerned about where she was. "You look like a pet cat that came home with a dead bird for its owners." she told him quietly. "And yes, I'm comparing myself to a dead bird."


A servant opened the door, smiling at Quin. "Ah, you're home! And... oh." the woman's face turned serious. She had once lived on the non-magical side of the fence, but had been captured and now was a maid in this house. She stepped to the side to allow Quin to enter. "Your father is upstairs in his study."


"She's... she's one of my kind..." Jamie mumbled as she was led inside. "You make them servants?"

 

[Sero]

Quin frowned slightly, debating a few little things before shrugging. "It's better than killing people. I've heard you take in those of us with weak magic and make them work." He stated matter-of-factly. He didn't really get some why she seemed a bit weirded out. "I mean, they have a choice most the times, unless they do soothing really bad. My kind might be magical, but it doesn't mean we have a strength bonus.


Actually it was more convenient to catch people from their side and have them work on the more technical things here. He didn't really know al the details yet, and so far it didn't bother him. He smiled slightly and straightened up, hoping to be presentable enough before holding a more serious face. Yeah, he had to agree with her earlier statement. He kind of felt like a cat. "You aren't dead yet." He said without thinking...

 

[tamaracorine]

"Choice isn't really choice when you're only options are bad ones." Jamie mumbled, "And it's comforting to hear that I'm not dead yet. Has anyone ever told you that you're good at soothing people's panic? Because right now, I really needed to be reminded that I'm not dead yet." she looked up at him, and there was a hint of a smile on her lips. She didn't exactly like him, but she felt like she could at least turn him into some sort of ally. Maybe.


His father was sitting on a chair in his study, reading a document and scribbling annotations on the side. He looked up at Quin entered the room, about to snap at him for interrupting work until he saw Jamie. "Ah, Quin. What have we got here?" he asked, looking at Jamie curiously. He saw non-magicals as an interior kind, and thought their place was serving those with magic. Jamie opened her mouth to speak, but he raised his hand to hush her. "No, prisoners don't speak in my household. Quin, what have we got?"

 

[Sero]

Quin smiled slightly at her comment. "Don't I?" However he moved back to a no-nonsense stance and answered his father accordingly....after he shushed Jamie before she got a word in. Well, that was for the best. He was used to this, and if his father acted any other way, he'd be confused. Parents were supposed to stay constant, or at least, his father stayed fairly firm on his opinions.


He nodded as his father asked who he brought in, and thought of a good way to phrase it. "I happened to be around when she snuck into our side from a crack in the wall. SO I caught he before she got far and decided to bring her here, like all the others." This was perhaps the third person he had caught in the family. The first he caught alone. Which made Quin feel useful to his father, which was important to him. Being the eldest me ants taking on his father's responsibilities.