Office #2 at the school, Thursday mid-morning.

[biotic_psychotic]

[CW/TW: Jono's thread goes some dark places. Torture/etc.]

Jack had decided on office hours so once she hit the coffee shop for the largest to-go cup they had she went and camped out in her spartan school office. After about twenty minutes she became bored and out of coffee. Examining the lock on her door, she pulled a multi-tool from her pocket and began disassembling it. Once it was off the door she took pictures of the whole rig and reassembled it. It was tossed carelessly into the bottom desk drawer.

The door was propped open with the wastecan. From another pocket came a tennis ball. Leaning back in her desk chair, she began doing a slow bounce with it from floor to wall and back to her hand.

The teacher is in.

[Open office hours!]

Comments

[furnaceface]

//Siginificantly more lost, on occasion, than most people,// Jono confirmed.

Entirely without shame. It wasn't always his fault or even his choice, after all.

[biotic_psychotic]

"I'm not really the kind of person you want coming after you," Jack warned him with that same half-teasing tone. "I get worried, I get angry. I landed on Kaidan like a neutron bomb when I got here the first time."

She was the perfect kind person to go find him. Probably one of the few who wouldn't be afraid of whatever was hiding him and up to the task of slapping it back out of his head.

[furnaceface]

God knew Jono often only really answered to a few good, solid smacks to the head.

//I can take a little punishment,// he replied. //Hell, most of the time I probably need it, anyway. I don't respond well to coddling.//

[biotic_psychotic]

"Wouldn't be a little punishment," Jack shrugged with one shoulder, "I don't know how coddling works but I know mocking baby talk real well." It drove Liara crazy.

[furnaceface]

//Mocking baby talk just gets my attention. Almost as good as a swift kick,// Jono replied. And then he shrugged. //I can take a lot of punishment, too. Sort of need to be able, when you run around with most of your insides missing like it didn't so much as tickle.//

[biotic_psychotic]

Her chin tilted a little. "Does it still hurt? You said dead nerves, they're not just all exposed like that are they?"

That would be much more than non-tickle.

[furnaceface]

//Hurt like a sonofabitch when it happened,// Jono explained with a shrug. //Every time it's happened again.//

He hated that 'again' was a non-zero quantity. And would likely continue to grow.

//But it doesn't hurt now, no. Either I've blocked it out -amazing what a telepath can place a wall around when they've got a mind to - or anything that could feel this has burned away. This has been my life so long now, I don't much care which it actually is, anymore. I suspect it's th'former, though. Still sure as hell felt it when some bastard ran me clean through with a spear.//

[biotic_psychotic]

"I don't imagine getting unzipped explosively would ever be a real fuckin' hoot, Jon," Jack drawled at him, "Much less you survived the goddamn experience."

She caught the 'every time', yes.

"We need to go to China," she announced.

[furnaceface]

//Eh, survived worse.//

A lot.

//... Why China?//

[biotic_psychotic]

"Somewhere on some fucking mountain is the little old guy who wished you to have a goddamn exciting life," Jack pointed out, "Kinda want to find that fucker and throw him into a motherfucking crevasse."

[furnaceface]

//If we ever meet that man, I have dibs,// Jono replied immediately. //Knowing my luck, he took off first time he saw my face in the tabloids and he's gone into hiding somewhere in Madripoor, though.//

[biotic_psychotic]

"Where's that at?" Jack asked blankly.

[furnaceface]

//Just south of Singapore,// Jono offered. //Been there all of once. Once was enough. Vaguely remember throwing down with a bloke who was part dragon...//

He shook his head.

//My particular Earth is bloody bizarre,// he added, just in case she was wondering.

[biotic_psychotic]

"I'm not from Earth. I kind of have an idea where Singapore is. Mostly cuz isn't all of fucking Asia in one place?"

No, Jack.

"My Earth's mostly just an overpopulated shithole filled with humans," she noted. "Dragons sound cool."

Dragons were not cool.

[furnaceface]

//Ah... we'll find it on a map later,// he offered her, diplomatically. //And dragons can be cool. So long as they're small and purple and not large and horrible.//

Lockheed could stay.

[biotic_psychotic]

"Do they still breathe fire and melt people when they're little and purple?" Jack asked suspiciously.

[furnaceface]

//What kind of dragon would they be if they couldn't?//

Honestly, now.

[biotic_psychotic]

"The stupid kind," Jack retorted.

[furnaceface]

//Well, near as I can remember, Lockheed isn't that.//

Look, Jono didn't get that invested in what his former coworkers could and couldn't do.