CHARACTER CHAT!!!!

Finn blew his hair off his forehead, thinking. "A'right..." He whistled something to himself. "Well. There used t' be five of us. Long story short, two died and one left..."

Kim
I wait for more, leaning towards him. "You just leave me more curious..." I say, giving him an expecting look.

Finn looked at her through the corners of his eyes. She wasn't letting up. Well...alright. He stared back up at the ceiling again. "We didn't live 'ere th' whole time, either. Back then, we were down near th' border of th' Lowlands and th' Mainlands, though we moved around a lot...wasn't much room for us. I was th' last t' be taken in...but from what I 'eard, Crooks sort of adopted Cricket off th' streets. Or Cricket adopted 'im, I could never get that straight. Then there was Ruby, who shouldn't 'ave been there at all...'e was a kid Mainlander, funny red'ead that snuck down t' see us most every night. 'E brought us things; matches, trinkets, things t' pawn off. And Tickety...well, she was something. I never really questioned where she came from. Seemed she'd always just been there and always would..." He paused a moment. "Any'ow, th' first thing I remember is that I woke up with a bad 'eadache, and then this raven-'aired lad found me." He realised he'd started to ramble, and shut himself up. "Sorry. Memories."

Kim
I give an amused smile. "No, it's fine. Good tale; i like it. More exciting than mine, definitely."

"Exciting?" Finn whistled something. "If that's th' case, I don't like excitement much. Sure, there were ups as well as downs, but..." He trailed off.

Kim
"But people died. Yeah, that's an experience i know very well." For a second, my face cracks and finally shows all the stress and sadness from all of this. Only a second, and i get my defenses back up again. "It's not fun," i sum up easily.

Finn noticed the crack. "But goddamn...all these people start t' grow on you after a few years, and when it they all start crumbling away its like th' world's falling beneath you..." He sighed. "Suppose you've felt that b'fore.

Kim
"A few years..." I give a weak smile, trying to play it off. "Try an older brother. And I didn't even know until Sarah told me. From Ami's memories. After...all of this..." I gesture to myself in annoyance

Finn smiled sympathetically, and then stared back up at the ceiling. "...I sometimes wonder if I 'ad an older brother...blood-related, nothing like Crick, y'know." He trailed off. "What was 'e like?"

Kim
I close my eyes. "Back when he was /him/...he was very sarcastic. Always poking jokes, but he had a very nonchalant way of doing everything. He was very smart too. He's basically the reason I got a scholarship for school. After he lost it all. Lost connections. Lost emotions. He fought for them with everything he had with Ami but that wasn't...wasn't him anymore," i say softly, the images that Sarah had shown me flashing behind my eyelids.

There was a silence for a moment, Finn just staring up at the ceiling. "...isn't that th' way with people. They change...oftentimes whether they know or want it."

Kim
I feel myself harden, my usual unreadable face as i study my nails, pulling my knees to me and wrapping my arms around them. "Yeah. I guess."

Finn studied her. "A'right...not that that isn't good acting, but after spending so many years doing so myself I've come t' know a cover-up nonchalant expression as opposed to a genuine one. So if you want t' talk...I'm 'ere. If you don't, it's fine too."

Kim
I glance over, for a second amusement tinging my eyes. "Hey, I'm fine. Been dealing with this long enough, it's not like i'm going to be blowing a gasket randomly." I rest my head on my knees. "And you're not getting out of story time. What else?"

Finn blinked. "Damnit." He shifted to reclining on his elbows. "Thought I steered away from that one. Um." He tapped his fingers on the stage. "Not much t' tell, really...we moved around. Stuck t'gether, ran from th' gun. Got along just fine for a while...but y'know when you start getting older, things start t' change? You notice things, and for th' first time, they bug you. Ruby suddenly remembered 'e was a Mainlander, too good for us. Crooks and Crick were close, real close, but they were th' type of friends that are so alike they start 'ating each other for it. Suddenly people remembered that Tickety was a girl. I think she 'ad every one of us wrapped around 'er finger just a little bit...I was...well, just trying t' keep everyone together, I suppose. And that went on. Until Ruby finally came t' see us one day, as usual, except this time t' give us one last pack of matches and say goodbye...said 'is parents found out about 'im wandering t' th' Lowlands. Never saw 'im again. There was a big fire that night...found out th' next day 'e'd died in it..." he trailed off.

Kim
"Huh," i simply say. And that's the reason Crooks had come to kill Cricket before? Seems...silly... But then I've done worse for far stupider reasons. "I believe that's called puberty. Friends turn backstabbing and girls learn to swing their hips a bit more. It'sabitch," I joke lightly, laying back down on the stage and eying him.

Finn smiled weakly. "Well, that's th' start of it," he said. "After that was th' worst two years of my life...well, that I know of."

Kim
I give a small chuckle. "Come on, pal. You're life's not over yet. Can't judge the worst moments right now."

"Aye, I know, but so far." Finn figured he'd started it; may as well finish it. "A'right. This part might be rambly. But I may as well finish. After that, well...Ruby's death was a bit of a...what do people call it? Wake up call, or something. After staying alive in Luna for so long, it's like th' best thing in th' world, like...you're immortal, or something. Then Ruby died, and it's like getting whacked over th' 'ead, 'Ey! Idiots! You can die! That, and that's around th' time gangs started getting worse than ever...or maybe it was just us noticing. Either way, we were getting into a lot of trouble, deeper than we used to.

"On top of that, Crooks and Crick...well, they were just about ready t' kill each other. Crick was drifting away, it seemed, spending more time with Uncle. But when 'e wasn't with Uncle, 'e was...well, different than 'e is now. Exhausted, angry...Crooks was drifting off, too. 'e 'ad a big brother, spent more and more time with 'im. I never could get it out of Crick exactly what 'appened that night...something about a bad experience with Uncle...did I tell you about Uncle? Don't think I did. Old family friend of Crick's apparently, taught 'im most 'e knows thievery-wise. Any'ow, that night something 'appened. Crooks lost a couple fingers and 'is brother ended up dead. And I think 'e just snapped. 'E's just different now...like 'e's got someone else's mind." He paused.

"Well, Crooks left. And Crick...started getting really sick. Couldn't keep moving around, so 'e got this crazy idea t'...take over th' Bell Tower. And things were pretty quiet for a while..." He paused to get his thoughts together. "Too quiet, like a grave. Ticket and I stayed with Crick 'ere...and she'd changed, too. Quieter, sort of...sadder. After a couple months Cricket was only worse...it was...unspoken among us that 'e was probably going to die. And I think that's why Ticket...well...she jumped off th' Bell Tower. I almost--" He stopped, wondering if he should tell her this next part. "Well. I stayed with Crick."

Kim
I roll over to my stomach and study him closely, a small frown on my face. "You loved her," i say quietly. A simple fact, no need to question him about it. It was natural, sort of. Marnie and Mike natural, Crick and Leah... I rest my cheek on my hand carefully. "You over it yet?"

Finn relaxed against the stage again, staring up. "I...well..." And there he was that sinking feeling he'd been having a lot lately. C'mon. Bright side. Who taught Crick that? He should have been good at it. He sighed. "She was something."

Kim
I give a small nod. "Tough." I give a small smile. "'Ey. Need to talk someone's here to listen," i say back to him, raising an eyebrow.

Finn was now tired of talking. He glanced at her. "But until then."

Kim
"Ah, pushing me out. Alright, I understand." I stand and brush myself off, holding my hands up in innocence. "Touchy touchy subjects aren't for boys then," i tease, jumping down from the stage, giving a small wave, and putting my hands in my jeans pockets as i start walking out. "I can sense when I'm unwanted." I fake pout but smile at him a second later.

Finn cocked an eyebrow at her, then jumped off the stage. "A'right." He flashed a small smile and caught up to her. "Your turn, then."