Fox's Run (for KsshqKla)

[guesswho]

A nice summer day, everything is fine with the world. Well, not exactly, but Jesper feels good and is making progress with today's work. Even without much swearing, which is a rare treat. There are some kids outside, playing or doing drugs or whatever - not that he cares. He always claimed that in Fox's Run, there are no rules, no gods and no masters. While it isn't entirely true, since the founding some twenty years ago, he did his best to keep the little commune as anarchic as possible. Things that would never work for cities or countries work here, mostly because people want to stay and if they do stupid shit, they get kicked out. By now, the headcount is about a hundred. Various misfits come to hide or get some rest.

If someone fits in the general society, that person could never fit in here. Vice versa doesn't always work either. What used to be a bunch of tents in the woods back when he was seventeen, grew and became a village, of sorts. By now, most of the founders either left or died...there's just a few of them left, but there's more life Fox's Run than ever before. Some of the kids were even born here.

It would be nice to say they change things, but he's not that idealistic anymore. Cities grow, needing ever more space and resources, and some of the people even go there daily for work. Sometimes legit, sometimes...on town leader's orders. Jesper is no saint and did a bit of everything in his life, at least of everything illegal. Now he usually limits his illegal activities to fencing stolen stuff and making sure crime stays well organized. Everyone has to eat and government pays them very little attention, as long as they don't do too much damage. Anyway, they amount they steal or cheat gets lost in the big city crime.

Boy of about seven knocks on the door and charges in immediately, making the knock next to useless. Jesper sighs, but that's kids for you. And this particular boy is a messenger.

"Yes, Corey? What can I do for you?" He turns away from his work. The boy hands over a handwritten note and stays, waiting expectantly. Jesper spends a minute or two deciphering the handwriting, before crumpling the note and throwing it in the unlit fireplace. "Thank you. Now go, I'm sure there's something else for you to do."

The...other...activities go as planned as well. If anyone ever finds out, he's dead, along with everyone in this village. Good thing authorities are so bad at finding things out.

Once the boy is out, he can get back to his work, which is very unthreatening, peaceful and some could even say boring. As far as authorities are concerned, Jesper earns his daily bread by fixing electronics. It's a good way to keep up the appearances, since he enjoys doing it anyway, and it doesn't really require much brainpower, once he finds out what needs doing. While his hands work, his brain can scheme.

[KsshqKla]

Zora had been on the run for a bit now, bit it seems like she had lost her pursuers, it may be best to stay away from her home town for a while... she was developing a bit of a name for herself, people were starting to recognize her rose, and...that was more herself than she felt her soul was sometimes. The girl named Zora had vanished long ago, she had taken to calling herself by her last name on the streets. She could just point to the rose and not have to waste her breath saying anything.

She stops seeing a town in the distance, maybe she could grab a few things and pawn them for some money... damn cops had found where she was hiding. All she had was her muddy clothes what had been a white tee-shirt and jeans, now covered in mud and hiding deeper stains of blood.... She had grown a lot, the tee-shirt now fit her properly instead of as a nightie.

She quietly enters the town her eyes darting about, when she notices the electronics repair shop, she sneaks around the back and peeks through the window, in a moment of dirty blonde hair, deep green eyes and a faded false rose. As she quickly peeked to see if anyone was about. Seeing a man working she sneaks around and tries to quietly push the door open and let herself in.

[guesswho]

Time goes by and Jesper gets hungry, as even people like him tend to do. Still, continues working and wants to finish the job before going to get something to eat. Not because of some passion for finished work, merely because he doesn't feel like cooking yet. He notices some movement in the window, but by the time he really looks, whoever was there is gone. Most likely some kids trying to spy on him as a form of a game. Or as a form of espionage. Jesper has enemies, and he knows that. Some of them even live in Fox's Run and meet with him daily to discuss recent events and do what passes for government in these parts. Fortunately, that's not a great deal and usually can over with in about half an hour, so everyone can get back to doing something useful, or at least enjoyable.

Still...something's weird. Jesper rakes his fingers through his beard and picks up a sharp screwdriver from the table. A razor sharp one. As he always says, he doesn't like having weapons in his house, but one can stretch the definition a little bit. This particular screwdriver has never been used to drive screws, although it has been used quite a few times to make holes in people.

There is something. Not so much a sound as change in the air. Over the years, he grew accustomed to listening for sounds people try not make. Someone tries to kill him at least two or three times a year, and this looks like another attempt. He's fairly sure it's going to fail.

Spinning the screwdriver in his fingers, he walks out of the room to look for an invader.

[KsshqKla]

Zora creeps into the building, though she had gotten a lot of practice over the last three years she was still far from perfect, she was unaware she had been detected by the much more experienced man. She looks around for something she could steal and turn around for cash, if she really wanted to make any distance she would need money.

Finding a nice looking dvd player, she kneels down and takes off her faded pink backpack as she begins to unhook the device. As she pulls out the cables she hears footsteps, she gasps sharply and starts to get up. Only to see a bearded man with a screwdriver in his hand looking down at her.

"shit" She quickly pulls a 3 inch folded knife from her back pocket, flicking the blade out and holding it up threateningly. She had to scare this man off, however she didn't want to actually hurt him... it was a bluff, the knife was used to cut her hair, never people. She couldn't stand the sight of blood, it brought back too many memories.

To a person with experience the girl's bluff would be all too obvious. She was visibly shaking, her eyes were darting around looking for an escape route... These were the eyes of a scared girl holding a knife, not a killer.

[guesswho]

To his surprise, instead of an assassin, he just finds a teen girl, apparently in process of stealing his DVD player. Old tech, but in good shape, could bring quite a prize from the right buyer. Still spinning the screwdriver in his fingers, he watches as she pulls out the knife. Looks harmless enough, but that doesn't mean it's not a scam. Teenager does not mean 'not an assassin.' Jesper quickly calculates the best way to deal with this situation. If she doesn't lie and is as scared as looks, most likely the best thing would be to let her run. Scared people do stupid things, and she could even accidentally stick him. Jesper is fairly confident he could deal with an assassin, but an amateur with a knife is always a cause for concern. One never knows where the knife is going to end up.

If she just acts scared, for one, acting has lost a great talent, but more importantly, he can't underestimate her.

"So, what are you up to? Drop that knife, let's have a talk. You wanna kill me, or just want the player? Cos I ain't gonna do a knife fight over that shit." Tech is cheaper than blood. He's not going to kill or get killed over something so unimportant. "You're not leaving until I have an answer, whatever that's going to be." Oh how many people started in Fox's Run looking like this girl. Himself, for instance. Everyone is welcome, if they can live and let live, and possibly even improve their lives a little bit.

Jesper throws up the screwdriver and it spins in the air, before landing back in his hand, handle first. And he throws it up again.

[KsshqKla]

Zora eyes the man wearily, adults always gave her the most trouble. She does however lower her knife a bit, still in her hand, still open, but no longer pointing at him.

She shakes her head, speaking as little as possible "...no kill..." She didn't really want to hurt anyone, she just wanted to live how she wanted... but adults never cared for that idea. She stands up, grabbing her faded backpack, empty as it was. She eyes the driver nervously, She points with the knife at the man's feet then over to the side "MOVE." She lowers the knife to her side again, but stays armed with it. She had to get by the man to leave, this attempt was a bust.

[guesswho]

Not exactly talkative, unlike him. Her way of communication makes him curious. And he has seen hundreds like her, hungry, desperate and never trusting anyone. Both kids and adults, and it's always a sad sight. The screwdriver lands in his hand again, and he sticks it in the wooden doorframe he's blocking. As good a place to put it as any other.

"I've got an idea. Stick the knife next to mine, and let's have something to eat. I'll make toasts. You in? Anyway, if you're so low you need to steal from houses while someone's in, you might as well accept an invitation to a bit of food, right? Don't worry, I won't poison you. Sorry, wasn't really ready for guests, I'd get some top quality arsenic otherwise." Jesper grins, hoping to lighten to mood. It's seriously in need of lightening.

"This here place is Fox's Run. Ever heard of us? Safe haven for every misfit." A dream come true for most people who live here, who just want to be accepted for all their weirdness, faults and past. And for a casual anarchist as well.

"I'm Jesper. I've founded this place. So stick the knife in the frame so hard nobody can pull it out, and come eat. Or run away. I'll be in the kitchen. Choice is yours. Second door to the left." With that, Jesper turns around and walks out, leaving the screwdriver sticking out of the wood. It's a huge risk, if she wants to kill him, but seeing her lift the pathetically empty backpack, he doubts that is the case.

[KsshqKla]

Zora couldn't deny she was hungry having not eaten a few days now... She doubted he would actually poison her, why would he? if he wanted to kill her he could have taken her easily. Even if she had a knife she was only a kid, the grown man could overpower her easily if he tried... Having lived on the streets for three years hadn't been the most nutritious option for her body. She could probably barely tike someone her age, let alone someone older. She stays straight faced though, smiling was something she used to do...she didn't do crap like that anymore. She was Rose now, a rose that would spit on the world and bloom in her own way.

She shakes her head, she had never heard of such a place....she could use a safe haven, after losing her old one. An abandoned aircraft hangar, but the cops finally found her out. She had lost all of her stash... the cops raiding your safe house was the absolutly shitiest thing to come back to after a failed day....

She points to her rose on her head when he introduces himself, before he just....walked away?... She walks to the doorway... looking at the screwdriver and her knife...."AHH!" She drives the knife into the door frame with both hands.... His gesture had touched her, it was a risk for him....now it was a risk for her too. But she wanted to learn more about this place....this safe haven. She walks down the hall and stands in the second door from the left, cautiously looking around.

[guesswho]

From the kitchen, while already frying toasts on fat, he hears a grunt and the satisfying sound of knife getting stuck in the doorframe. Doesn't take much longer before she turns up in the kitchen. Quite well equipped, with all the latest cookery tech. Still, sometimes he cooks by himself, just for the hell of it.

"Oh, hello. Good to see you again. So..." Jesper looks her over, thinking about her gesture, when she touched the rose on her head after he said his name. "Rose." He smiles. He still can't decide whether she can't talk properly or if she just chooses not to for whatever reason, but he isn't going to force her.

"Come on in, no need to be afraid. Take a seat, food will be ready soon." Jesper pulls a couple toasts out of the frying fat and puts them between a bunch of napkins, in order for them not to be disgustingly oily. While they wait, he brings out some ham and cheese for her to nibble on. The girl seriously looks like she needs some food. And a shower. A change of clothes wouldn't be bad for her either.

"You don't talk much, do you? Oh well, let me do the talking then. Just stop me, when I start to annoy you. I daresay I know a tiny little bit about you...kicked out or ran away from home. Lived on the streets for some time, but they tend to get hot, when you decide not to take things lying down. Time to fuck off, find some other place and hope it doesn't get hot too soon. Some thievery, maybe a bit of a gang experience...anyway, it sucks. I know. Been there, done that. Got the scars. Fox's Run is a place for the likes of you. I started this place, and I'm kinda sorta...wouldn't exactly call it a leader, but people tend to listen to me, though I do ramble." Jesper brings the fried bread to the table and grabs a bunch of sliced cheese.

"There's like twenty or thirty people who ended up here after running away from home. Some are your age or younger, some have their own kids by now. There's a bed and food for you, until you can start pulling your own weight. No cops, no street gangs. No stealing from others either." He adds, as a warning. Anarchists though they are, nobody likes to lose stuff to some greedy bastard with sticky fingers.

Helping others aside, the girl looks resourceful and with a bit of training could become an asset. Smart, even, he'd say, at least smart enough to accept help, when it's being offered. Jesper needs people like this, especially these days, when the village is growing steadily, shacks and caravans turn into small houses.

[KsshqKla]

Zora takes in the kitchen...damn maybe she should have started here. But her priorities were different right now, food was definitely first and she was interested in this place.

She nods her head when he calls her Rose, before nodding again as she sits down. She doesn't exactly nibble on the food as much as devour it. She needed the food.

She shakes her head, she refused to talk much. Miranda rights and all that. She ...pauses just listening to the rest. Devouring the food placed in front of her.

Knowing just gestures wouldn't work here, she speaks "Not kicked out, not runaway...betrayed...." She looks at her hands for a moment "Only steal... never hurt, never blood." She pauses, and actually talks to him for but a moment "I...I would like to stay, the cops are onto me back...where I came from... I only steal cause I have to."