> @BROKEBACKSTAB | @ALL

[handsomefoil]

Hygiene issues aside, is anyone actually enjoying anything about Paris?

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[i_swear]

Drinking? ['Or stealing' is the half of his question left unsaid as he tips the bottle back, easing into the heat of it without hesitation. It's bitter as hell, sure, and it's strong as a kick to the chest, but there's a vibrancy to it he's been long, long without.

Living in the slums and the wilds, they don't do you many favors.]

[handsomefoil]

I get the feeling you drink often enough to down this swill like you are.

[ Yeah he means stealing. Pausing long enough to show that it's definitely not about the drinking, he continues: ]

It's a good skill to have, anyway.

[i_swear]

Trust me. This ain't swill.

[It's better than anything he's had in ages; a point he proves when he pulls another long sip down for good measure.]

And yeah, I do. [This time his stare's direct: he's clearly fallen back on the topic of stealing, and he's not exactly dodging the subject. To some people, it might even read hard enough to be intimidating.] Been a long time since money was a thing where I'm from.

[handsomefoil]

[ Henry pulls the briefest of faces, but tries not to look so ungrateful for having any booze at all. Especially at the expense of other poor people. Then takes another mouthful of the absinthe, thinking he should keep the drinking light. He's got another drinking session after this...

Fortunately, he is rarely intimidated and just meets Joel's gaze with a cool one of his own. The phrase could mean a lot of things but something about the phrasing leads him to think that Joel's home world(?) probably suffered something massive to have money lose its worth. ]

Mmn, sounds like a dystopian nightmare. Every man for themselves?

[i_swear]

Somethin' like that.

[Maybe it's the fact that he is taking the edge off via drinking, or how willing Henry was to go along with a whole lot of stealing— no questions asked— but Joel's not about to shy up when it comes to the world he left behind. Why would he? It wasn't precious to him. Wasn't good or tolerable in any sense of the word. Ellie was the last decent thing left in it after Tess died off, and that doesn't make up for a shit life for everybody else.]

People got real sick, lost their minds. Whole thing turned into an epidemic overnight. [He leans back across his bed, boots up on the covers, ankles crossed, bottle resting in his lap. It keeps the sting of his memories shut down and locked off. Reminds him where he is now.]

[handsomefoil]

[ Ah, so his dystopian nightmare theory pulled through...with a dash of some version of a zombie apocalypse thrown in there too. At least Joel is starting to talk to him now, so that's a start. During the hunt, it had been just grunts and hand signals at best so, it's progress.

You never know when you'll need a guy like Joel alongside ya in a weird mission to correct history. Maybe they won't be friends (Joel doesn't strike him as a man who makes friends) but at least someone who would be willing to work with him.

He stares off into the distance, swirling the drink around lazily. ]

On the fly training it was, eh. How long has it been that way?

[i_swear]

Twenty years almost.

[A long, long time. Not that he was alone for all of it. The thought's a dismal cloud on his current mood— souring his expression involuntarily— which means it's probably a good thing he's not bothering to look directly at Henry.

Weathered hands still hooked tight around the neck of the bottle he's holding, drinking because it feels like something worth doing in the moment. Better than sitting. Better than dwelling.]

Worked in construction before that. Was a contractor down in Dallas. [Thieving wasn't in his blood, that's for damn sure.]

[handsomefoil]

[ Wow, 20... that's. That's certainly some time. While it's not hard to imagine Joel as a construction sorta guy, seeing as Henry has known him for all about a few hours give or take a couple, he's also very good at thieving. ]

Guess twenty years can do that.

[ While pressing on the state of his weird zombie-AU of Texas was really tempting, he manages to reel back that curiosity by taking another pull of his drink. Its burn distracts him long enough to quell that urge, but for how long he's not sure. Liquid courage might make him say something reckless. ]

Quite an eclectic resume you've got there.