Yunlan doesn't blink at the rickety-looking cabin; his own's usually a mess without external intervention, so he's not about to complain about anyone else's. He gives Arthur a civil nod, stepping in and settling into the chair.
"Sure, I'll take you up on that. This is Tess's, by the way--"
If she's supposed to have it, which he isn't going to question aloud; if Arthur isn't surprised that'll be enough of an answer. He pulls the confiscated gun out of his pocket, checking the safety by habit before he leans forward to set it down on the desk.
He's halfway through getting out a bottle of whisky when he sees the gun on the table, and he looks slowly out at Yunlan.
"Did she shoot someone?"
She definitely has permission to have that gun - you have an outlaw from 1899 to thank for that - but he doesn't like the idea that she did something with it that wasn't self-defense.
Yunlan waves a hand in negation. "She did not, which I appreciate, considering it would've likely been me. I didn't feel like giving it back right off and tempting fate.
"What she was out there doing was collecting psychoactive blood from one of our resident vampires. Has anyone explained the vampire blood thing to you yet?"
That seems like an appropriate response. He puts the gun in a holster of his own and sits down, just handing Yunlan the bottle. The occasion calls for it.
Yunlan lifts the bottle in a salute, eyebrows quirking, and takes a sip.
"So. One of the kinds of vampire here has blood that can get you high. Side effects apparently include getting addicted the first time you try the shit, plus a psychic bond so the vampire whose blood you taste gets to know how you're feeling for the rest of your life.
"I ran across Tess helping a vampire friend of mine clean blood off his face after a little mishap... and she insisted on keeping the handkerchief with the blood on it. I had to frisk her to get the fucking thing, which is incidentally why I decided to hang onto her gun until I could drop it off with you."
He doesn't even start with a drink. He just rubs his hands over his face as he takes that in, wondering how he'd missed that, shocked that she's doing this.
"Fuck. I gave her that gun, but if she's gonna do shit like that - maybe I can't trust her with it. Addictive blood?"
"Addictive blood." He tugs the stained handkerchief out of his other pocket, displaying it briefly on an open palm before he tucks it away again. "I don't know what she was planning to do with it, but I have to admit I'm not thrilled about anyone stashing away any shit that's that addictive."
Alcohol and cigarettes, he can live with, they're all grown-ups. Heroin and vampire blood he'd rather keep under stricter control.
"I didn't. She might not have let me have it easily, but she also didn't hurt anybody -- so I don't see any point in throwing her in Zero over it.
"I'd appreciate you talking to her." He nods, sets the bottle on the desk, and glances at Arthur with a quirk of amusement at the corner of his mouth. "Tell her she can bootleg the less hard stuff all she wants, but let's not get anyone hooked on body fluids."
He grunts in annoyance - not at Yunlan, but at Tess getting up to things she's clearly too smart to be getting involved in.
He takes the bottle, and takes a swig before replying. The comment about the bootleg makes him feel a little unsettled - does he really know, or is he just guessing?
"Don't want her bootlegging the less hard stuff either," he settles on. "That's the kinda shit she got up to back home, no need for it here."
"I'll leave that up to you!" Yunlan shrugs. "I don't have any evidence of this, but I'd be very surprised if she didn't stock up on contraband in London. We ran into each other in a back alley, and she clearly wasn't enthused to have a Warden around cramping her style."
He leans back in the chair, smiling easily. "I don't envy you your job. She's sharp."
"And I, apparently, have lost my edge," he complains. Not because he didn't know about the bootlegging - but he found out around the same time Yunlan did. In London. And he had no idea about this.
"I like her. I know she's gonna make it outta here. But she keeps goin' back to what she knows."
"It's hard to break an old habit," Yunlan shrugs. "I think you're right -- I think she'll make it out of here, but she's got to figure out how to dial it back first."
He raps his fingertips against the desk. "Well! That's about all I needed to tell you -- unless you've got any questions I can answer?"
"I appreciate the offer, but I've got a few I'm working through in my cabin yet." He nods to Arthur, getting to his feet, and holds out a hand to shake. "Thanks for the help."
She's there shortly, rounding that last corner in the hallway already steeled for a disagreement. Her chat with Bill hadn't taken much of the edge off the encounter with Yunlan, anyway.
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momijizukamori
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"Sure, I'll take you up on that. This is Tess's, by the way--"
If she's supposed to have it, which he isn't going to question aloud; if Arthur isn't surprised that'll be enough of an answer. He pulls the confiscated gun out of his pocket, checking the safety by habit before he leans forward to set it down on the desk.
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He's halfway through getting out a bottle of whisky when he sees the gun on the table, and he looks slowly out at Yunlan.
"Did she shoot someone?"
She definitely has permission to have that gun - you have an outlaw from 1899 to thank for that - but he doesn't like the idea that she did something with it that wasn't self-defense.
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"What she was out there doing was collecting psychoactive blood from one of our resident vampires. Has anyone explained the vampire blood thing to you yet?"
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"What? No- what the fuck?"
That seems like an appropriate response. He puts the gun in a holster of his own and sits down, just handing Yunlan the bottle. The occasion calls for it.
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"So. One of the kinds of vampire here has blood that can get you high. Side effects apparently include getting addicted the first time you try the shit, plus a psychic bond so the vampire whose blood you taste gets to know how you're feeling for the rest of your life.
"I ran across Tess helping a vampire friend of mine clean blood off his face after a little mishap... and she insisted on keeping the handkerchief with the blood on it. I had to frisk her to get the fucking thing, which is incidentally why I decided to hang onto her gun until I could drop it off with you."
Tess not being notably fond of frisking.
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He doesn't even start with a drink. He just rubs his hands over his face as he takes that in, wondering how he'd missed that, shocked that she's doing this.
"Fuck. I gave her that gun, but if she's gonna do shit like that - maybe I can't trust her with it. Addictive blood?"
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Alcohol and cigarettes, he can live with, they're all grown-ups. Heroin and vampire blood he'd rather keep under stricter control.
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He looks at it and wrinkles his nose before shaking his head again. What else can he say?
He's out of his depth here, he feels. "Thank you for comin' to me. I'll talk to her. You didn't put her in Zero or somethin', did you?"
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"I'd appreciate you talking to her." He nods, sets the bottle on the desk, and glances at Arthur with a quirk of amusement at the corner of his mouth. "Tell her she can bootleg the less hard stuff all she wants, but let's not get anyone hooked on body fluids."
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He grunts in annoyance - not at Yunlan, but at Tess getting up to things she's clearly too smart to be getting involved in.
He takes the bottle, and takes a swig before replying. The comment about the bootleg makes him feel a little unsettled - does he really know, or is he just guessing?
"Don't want her bootlegging the less hard stuff either," he settles on. "That's the kinda shit she got up to back home, no need for it here."
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He leans back in the chair, smiling easily. "I don't envy you your job. She's sharp."
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"And I, apparently, have lost my edge," he complains. Not because he didn't know about the bootlegging - but he found out around the same time Yunlan did. In London. And he had no idea about this.
"I like her. I know she's gonna make it outta here. But she keeps goin' back to what she knows."
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He raps his fingertips against the desk. "Well! That's about all I needed to tell you -- unless you've got any questions I can answer?"
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"The other guy - he's alright?"
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Arthur nods, satisfied as he can be with all of this going on.
"Thanks for takin' it up with me directly. Feel free to take that bottle."
As Arthur had felt free to take it from the Lounge.
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He shakes Yunlan's hand, sees him out - and then calls Tess.
He almost never calls.
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Crisply: "Hey."
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His frustration builds in those thirty seconds, so his voice is clipped when she picks up. "Where are you?"
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"How about we talk about that face to face, Tess?"
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"Sure," she replies anyway, businesslike, as she lets herself out of the Brew. "Where to?"
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"Your cabin should be fine."
He's not going to murder you behind closed doors. He just doesn't want to do this out in the open.
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She's there shortly, rounding that last corner in the hallway already steeled for a disagreement. Her chat with Bill hadn't taken much of the edge off the encounter with Yunlan, anyway.
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