The start of a beautiful ... well, something. (peerface x eldarface)

"Clean water would be nice, let me tell you. I know I'm a beggar, but even I have a sense of smell. I never wanted to smell bad. I really did try to clean myself and keep clean. It's why I never pissed in my own alleyway, that's for sure. I hear of things like 'springs' and 'streams' and things like that that other towns are set on. If we can find one of those, I'd be pleased as punch to clean up." He frowned, seemed to think of something, and tried to wipe his face with his hand, but it really didn't make it any cleaner. "I guess lying face down on the path for the better part of a day really didn't do me any good. All mixed in with my own leaky-face-juice and dirt." He scrunched his face up with disgust.

He grinned a bit. "I got the 'raw material'?" He asked. "What, does that mean I'm not a bad looker by regular standards, or just yours?" He laughed at that. "I won't believe it 'til people start willingly making eye-contact with me, but I think you're giving my face too much credit. I promise you it's no good. But good clothes will help anyhow."

"Hmmm... ideas." He crossed an ankle over one knee, and bobbed his foot a bit as he thought. "Plenty of ideas. None have ever panned out though. Let's see - I've tried everything from mucking stables to running errands for people to being a messenger... I tried running one of those guessing-game booths with pebbles and shells but nobody wanted to frequent it. I've cleaned shops, been a barber, tried a couple of juggling acts (but never got any donations, but again, might have just been a problem with the location). As far as dishonest jobs, I really couldn't tell ya in any other town but my own. I thought about stealing before, but only from stashes where I knew where they were. I don't know anything about any other towns. But, I can look for a job in the next town while you scope it out if you want, and give you the payment. I've applied to enough jobs to know what to do, and I promise I won't get too disheartened by rejection. I bet even if I have to stoop to begging here, I'll get more here than I did there. Doubt it'll come to that. I'd like to think I'm pretty persistant."

When Del'ure stated he didn't work with beggars, Jack nodded gravely, and gave him a salute. "Understood. Yeah, I wouldn't want to either, and I KNOW there are plenty of opportunities. If never have to be reminded of that feeling again, I'd be happier for it. But all right. I'll do everything I can to get some coin for us."

He supposed it made sense that he needed to learn how to handle a few coins, and he looked forward to it, but his concerns were the same; that he'd just spend it frivilously right away. It was partially why he wanted all the coins to go to Del'ure. He really didn't trust himself with them right now. He pondered a bit.

"Rest... now?" He looked back at Del'ure, and actually looked a bit concerned. He wasn't sure why, but he had this gut feeling that if he closed his eyes for too long, he'd wake up and either Del'ure would be gone, or the whole thing would have been a dream and he'd wake up back in the town that he just came out of (or back on the road with broken fingers). It wasn't that he didn't trust Del'ure, but he was just a desperate person and he really wanted Del'ure to stay.

"it's okay, I don't need rest. I've lived on little sleep. I'd rather wait 'til we get to the next town. Let me keep watch," he requested. "I'm pretty alert, it'd be a shame to have that wasted by sleeping through something profound. Besides, I have a lot to think about."

Jack was alert - it did seem like had dozed off, maybe, but he took zero time to recuperate. He rolled to his feet and was on the horse with a very cooperative quickness. He nodded in agreement as plans were brought up. Of course, if he was supposed to act like he wasn't starving, he should also try his best to not look too excited at the mention of a real bed too. "It's fine," he assured. "I'll keep cool. Like I said, I'm patient. I've seen other people act civil, I think I can pull it off too." He straightened and ran a hand through his greasy hair, trying to look presentable. He wound up just looking greasy and smarmy. But at least he managed to keep his demeanor cool and collected.

"All right, so what exactly is going to go down?" Jack asked. "We get in there... I'll pick up a job... where should we meet? What'll you be doing? Should we pretend to be together or separate? Are we just going to be in there for honest work, or something else too? If somebody asks about me, should I come up with a story?" He grinned. "I got a couple if you need, since I've spent so much of my life thinking of ways to rewrite how I got to where I am. It might work if I were a little cleaner.... would it make me seem less repulsive if I said I was just getting over a vow of poverty?" he asked. "Like going on a spiritual journey for a year.... what about that? That just makes me seem like an all-around good person, right?"

"Before we get to town... What should I call you? I mean, I know your name, but ... What are we, exactly? Partners?" He beamed. "Can I call you Boss, or is that too much?"

Otherwise, though, Jack rode on for the hours and did much less asking questions that made him stand out as a poor person, and going on about the things he'd never done. From then on, he was experienced, well-to-do-but-otherwise-grubby Jack.

Jack almost giggled at the idea, but he held back. It made him giddy to think that they were going to be working together, and the idea that Del'ure could *ever* be construed as malicious was just silly. Jack Saluted. "You got it, boss, it all sounds well and good. I'll go ahead and play it up then."

He pondered a bit about how exactly TO play it up, but he decided that he should just keep doing what he was doing, save for the questions. He was meek enough as a person anyhow (or at least he had been), so a slouched posture came naturally to him. He kept his eyes fixed on the ground, and tightened his lips. It would do him no good to ask questions now, in or out of character. He shrugged his excitement off, and went to pretending to be a servant then.

He scanned the town once they had entered it, eager to do everything he could to get into the role. In this case, he was looking to stay a step ahead of the game instead of awaiting orders, to try to look like he was practiced at this and to give the impression that he did truly fear Del'ure. Once they entered, without asking permission or giving any indication that he had been about to, Jack dismounted with a scramble, and sprinted to the town's stables, situated by the inn, leaving Del'ure proudly atop his horse alone. If he was too weak from hunger to really sprint (which he was), he absolutely let it show with a buckle of his ankle every now and then.

"Beg - Beg pardon" he stammered to the stable-master. "My boss - he needs to stay in town a few days. I was hoping I might be able to secure a spot for his horse for those days. Please, sir, his ... his business is very important." He avoided eye-contact, staring at the ground, his hands locked together with nervousness. The Stable-master looked fairly concerned at Jack, then looked at Del'ure.

"Yeah... we have some room," he said, sounding a little dubious. "Go ahead and bring him in."

"Oh, thank you, thanks so much." Jack turned and sprinted back the same way he had come, greeting Del'ure with a bowed head. "Sir - Sir, I was able to secure some stables for you. I hope they're suitable for you, they're right next to the inn." Of course it was close enough for Del'ure to have seen where the stables were and and probably even see the conversation. "Or did you want me to look for different stables? I can look for better stables, if you aren't pleased," he said quickly. He took the horse's reins, to lead Del'ure there. He wasn't really sure how to direct a horse, but he'd seen people do this in the other town.

Jack did nothing but scurry, nodding and humbly bowing in agreement to his Master's whims. He of course pulled out a chair for Del'ure as he seemed to find a table to suit him, and seemed to pace for a moment, debating on asking... looking almost afraid to as the question sat on his tongue.

"S-Sir... May.. May I please sit?" He squeeked. "I'm sorry that I found such sub-par stables... I .. I will of course find stables that are more worthy of your steed, I meant no insult, I thought they would be the best because of their closeness to the inn," he defended. "But I'll most assuredly seek better stables while I'm here, I promise I won't disappoint you again, I'm so sorry for being such a screw-up, I promise you I'll do better." He hung his head in such shame, and awaited his master's permission to sit.

The meal for Del'ure came Fairly quick, delivered by the inn's wife herself. As Del'ure requested, there was a plate of very delicious-looking meat, and a mug of ale. Along with that, there was delivered a bowl of cheap soup on the side. The woman gave a pointed look at Jack, who just looked away. The woman left, and Jack glanced at the soup longingly for just a moment, before hanging his head, subtly covering his stomach with his hand. He knew not to expect any food- or at least, played up to that. He didn't dare ask.

"... Is there anything you'd like me to do for you while you eat, Sir?" He asked with a more defeated tone.

Jack nodded, and per instructions, said nothing and slid into the seat opposing Del'ure. He listened carefully as he was berated, and at the threat, he nodded hastily in clear understanding. No screw ups. Period. Everything had to be perfect.

As he was directed to eat, Jack did try is very hardest not to smile. Even so, the act seemed to be working, so he couldn't screw it up now. Calling it an 'act' though made him feel like he was scamming these nice people... but he DID need soup that they were offering. He decided to call it something else in his head to make himself not feel bad about it, but he wasn't sure what yet.

But the important part was the soup. He nodded graciously (not saying Thanks at his instructions to be silent) and pulled the soup over to himself. It really did smell so, so good.

In spite of all his desires, though, he managed to keep a cool head about the delicious-smelling soup. Instead of eating with Gusto, he picked things out of his soup one at a time with his spoon and ate the components individually. He wanted to eat faster, but as long as he focused on the little pieces, it forced him to slow down. And oh, how delicious it was. He could definitely eat slowly if not just to just enjoy the deliciousness of the soup. What a medley of flavors! He closed his eyes and savored each bite, letting the juices melt on his tongue slowly. It was perfect. The last time he at soup, he had just saved up enough copper from begging, it was the last time that circus had been in town, and it had been the first and last time he had tried it. That was three years ago. And yet here he was, getting soup because he had met Del'ure and they had come up with a smashing idea... if not for that, he wouldn't be eating soup right now, and he'd still be dying off to the side of the road...

Apparently the soup was making Jack emotional, because his eyes got a bit puffy and watery, and a tear managed to escape. Even Jack seemed surprised, since he had been lost in thought and diligently eating slowly. His first impulse was to apologize to Del'ure sincerely, because he didn't want to look like a wuss for literally crying into his soup (even though, in this case, they were pretty much tears of joy). He coughed to stop his half-started apology, wiped his eyes on his arm, shook his head, and chose not to focus on his last bowl of soup, and how delicious this bowl was. But he sped his eating to a normal pace, though, if nothing else, since he anticipated that he might be disallowed from eating more soup, even in-character, since he had the audacity to start crying, and he wanted a few more bites in.

Jack burst into a grin right back at Del'ure, and looked around at the beds. "Beds...." He squeeked. He laughed at Del'ure's comment. about his acting. "I'm not much of an actor... all I had to do was think of the people in that town, and I was right back there, and then that came naturally to me." He grimaced a bit. "Sorry about the tears... You have NO IDEA how delicious that soup was. Oh man, good sir, it was moving."

He pondered as he thought about his stomach, and then shook his head. "Not sick" he confirmed with half a smile. "It's a little heavy, though...." But his expression spread into a grin again. "I don't know, like I"m full or something. This must be what feeling full feels like."

When it was mentioned he would be cleaning up, he was pretty enthusiastic about it - until he realized he'd have to get out of his clothes. Right in front of Del'ure. Changing in front of anybody would have made him uncomfortable. That one time when his clothes were stolen back in the day, he'd been mocked and humiliated by the entire town, and it was just bad times. And he wanted to use the bath-water for himself, first, before he muddied the water up with his clothes.

While this was going on in his head, he was just standing there, kind of staring at the lukewarm bath with a tipped head. Maybe for about twenty seconds before he decided that he wasn't going to get clean WITHOUT the water, and he was most likely not going to be mocked by Del'ure - Del'ure already knew his situation, after all. Well, oh well.

He went around to the other side of the bathing barrel and crouched down with shyness, stripped the best he could without showing off anything, then did a little awkward half-somersault into the bath, to do his best not to reveal anything. No question about why, though, he was repulsively skinny. His ribs and spine stuck out of his body grossly. He resembled more a skeleton than a person. He sank down into the tub so just his neck and knobby knees were sticking out of it. He grabbed the cheap soap and pulled it in after him, and started vigorously scrubbing himself down. He was uncharacteristically quiet throughout this whole process.

Then, to try to change the subject off of the fact that he was bathing and being very awkward about it, he started talking about tomorrow. "All right" he said. ""I need to set a goal to know how much to charge. Ten copper? More? Less? I only know what buys food... I don't have a particularly good concept of what work is worth, or competitive prices, even though I know they exist."

Jack dunked his head underwater, getting his hair all wet, coming up, and started to soap up his hair, too. Probably wasn't the best thing to do, but his hair was so greasy that there was zero chance it would emerge worse off than it was before. Once the conversation started going again, Jack felt a little less awkward. Del'ure wasn't gaping at him or laughing at him in any case, and that was the important part. He smiled a bit. "I like the inn-keeper's wife," he decided. "She's pretty nice. Maybe - Oh - I bet if you make these demands downstairs tomorrow, I'll bet she'll hire me for ten copper a day to do menial chores." He tipped his head, again getting the "maybe this isn't the right thing to do" feeling, but he dismissed it when he remembered that he WAS a hard worker, even for his lack of strength. "It's not like we'll be cheating her if I do a good job," Jack mused aloud. "I'll be hired, and I'll work for my wages. Ten copper a day isn't bad, right? I can clean well enough I think, I've done it before."

He was done washing himself pretty soon, but he decided it would still be a little weird getting out and washing his clothes while he sat, naked, dripping wet, so he just pulled his clothes in with him, and started scrubbing them up with the soap, too. He was just about done and started to get out, when he seemed to realize something. He swore and started to laugh.

"My clothes need to dry," he realized. "I can't sleep with them wet. Well, I mean, I can, but it'd probably be bad for both me and my clothes. Well!" he snickered to himself. "Brilliant, Jack."

Well, whatever. He had already been awkward enough, and he wasn't going to spend any more time making Del'ure uncomfortable because of his own discomfort. He climbed out of the bath with his back facing Del'ure and used the dry washcloth to dry as much as himself as he could, and shook the water out of his hair. Still very bony - standing emphasized it. No physical scars, though, but there were a couple of good bruises here and there. He took the time to hang his clothes on the corners of furniture so they could drip dry. With that all done, he practically leaped into the cot and spare blanket, and cocooned himself up into it in a hurry, with the happiest smile ever.

"They gave me a bed!" He looked very excited at this fact.

Well, Jack had much more confidence that things wouldn't magically disappear tomorrow. His only regret was that he, too, was not wearing anything. If he had a spare set of clothes, he would have taken the extra time to jump on the bed. He'd wanted to do that all his life. That just would have been awkward naked, though. He vowed he would do it tomorrow when his clothes were all clean once again, and dry, and on him. But even so, he was IN a bed, and that was good enough for him. He smiled at the idea of getting used to it. A bed being commonplace... that was wonderful.

He glanced at Del'ure once or twice while he was bathing, mostly to pick up on ques on how to act in the future, since he'd never shared a room with anybody, and really had no idea how to act socially in the situation he had just been in. Upon seeind Del'ure just do his thing though without caring about whether Jack was watching or not, Jack relaxed and turned his back on Del'ure to give him some privacy. After that, he was out like a light.

Anyhow, he slept very well without any worries. He woke up very early out of habit, hopefully before Del'ure was up so he could sneak out and put his clothes on without having to do the awkward-naked-dance around another person. His tatters were still mildly damp after hanging up in the room for the night, but they'd most likely finish drying in an hour. Jack went ahead and put them on anyway. He even tried to groom himself a bit, slowly trying to take the knots of his gnarled hair by using his fingers as a comb. His hair needed a lot of work, though, probably with a proper brush, so he gave up and just straightened it the best he could. Maybe he'd just take some scissors to his mop-top and wait for it to all grow back out.

Meanwhile, he tried to work out the details of WHY he was here with Del'ure, in character. After some hemming and hawing, he decided he would look truly guiltless and like a victim if his "father" had had a gamblign problem, and he had accrued so much debt AND decided to try to gamble his first-born - that would give Jack a good enough reason to be pretty much a servant AND try to get money at the same time; both because he didn't have a choice of being owned AND to try to settle his father's gambling debt with Del'ure. He was proud of his imagination for the time being.

Whenever Del'ure got around to waking up, Jack gave him a chipper little wave. "Morning!" He greeting quietly.

Jack glanced at the scars and bit his lip as he thought about asking, but then he thought better of it. He decided a better time to ask would be when he knew Del'ure a bit better.

"Man, I slept SO well," He said, enthused. "I never felt so good in my life. Really full of energy... like I could dance!" He glanced at a wall and looked like he was thinking about something. "When the circus was in town, they did a lot of really cool performing things... I tried to teach myself some stuff, but I could never ... never quite do it. I never felt like I could, either. Maybe, though, maybe I can try it again soon and see how it works, because boy I feel like I could just to a flip. Do you ever feel that way?" He asked. Probably more of a rhetorical question, Jack was just in a rambly, good mood, and it showed. He was glowing much more than he should have been for a beat-up servant.

Jack snickered as his clothes were complimented. "Well, thank you," He said, and mockingly twirled to model his slightly-more-clean outfit. "I'm sure this'll be the new style for well-to-do ladies in no time." Of course he was oblivious to whatever intentions Del'ure might have been thinking of, but a big part of that was because he didn't think it was he himself who was receiving the compliment, but just his clothes. Jack didn't think much of his own physical appearance. It made sense, though. He just grew up in a mean environment. It's really no surprise that he should have a low self-esteem. If he were more keen to annoy Del'ure, he'd probably be telling Del'ure what a terrible person he was right now.

He brightened as Del'ure asked about food, and his first impluse was to agree to it, but when he really thought about it, or when he actually thought about eating, his stomach protested. He frowned and looked down. "Actually... I don't know. I know I should eat... and I know I'm hungry ... but I don't feel hungry. It still feels really heavy, like a weight. Maybe just a little bread, though, to try to train my body to get used to it again, but not ... not a full loaf or even a full roll. Just a bite or two. Otherwise yeah, that plan sounds solid," He agreed. At least he was on the same page as Del'ure when it came to weening himself back onto real food.

Jack peered around the market-place for about five seconds, before his eyes rested on an individual and pointed to a middle-aged man. "Him," he said. "He's the richest here. He's trying not to show it, though. It seems like there are two kinds of rich people... the kind who are comfortably within their means, and the kind who try to show it off so they spend almost every penny they have on flounce. This one is the former, though. He's dressed simply enough, but the quality of his clothes are very good," Jack observed. "His tunic is thick, clean, pressed, and richly colored, so he's either wealthy enough that he can have it re-dyed when he desires, or wealthy enough that it's brand new. He's not browsing - he's here for a single purpose, and he knows what it is. He's shrewd. And, he doesn't have a woman with him. That means that he doesn't let the woman be the decision maker about money, or he's simply smart enough to stay a bachelor. And, the people around him - a lot of people are greeting him, and he ignores most of them, save for an off-hand nod. He has their respect. I bet he'd even know a jeweler personally, or have a personal jeweler he could recommend. Rich folk have personal tailors and jewelers, you know. I mean, I'm pretty sure at least."

"But that guy," Jack nodded to a merchant who was leaning back casually behind a stand. He was selling fruits, but he was mostly being very social. "That man - I bet he buys and sells information. All the thieves are avoiding his stand, and he's not particularly trying to sell his wares, and he's not shooing loiterers away. Most merchants don't really want the talkers. He wants the gossip, though. Either that, or he has something slightly less legal and his shop is just a front for his real business. Those types tend to go hand and hand, though, I think. He probably also knows a jeweler, and he seems like the type who probably knows how to get deals, but wants a lot in return for them."

He looked up at Del'ure. "Do you want me to approach them, or you?"

Hmm... Jack certainly knew people's behaviors and could point them out, but walking the walk and talking the talk was an entirely different skill-set, one that he wasn't sure he had. Even so, he was eager not to disappoint. "I'll be fair, though, If I am introduced to a jeweler, I won't be able to tell you if their goods are genuine. He probably will want to deal with you for that specifically anyway. But, he wants business as much as any guy, just not the business that he's advertising." Once he reassured himself with that (and that therefore it should be easy to make business with him), he gave a salute and meandered towards the seller unobtrusively.

Before long, he and the 'merchant' were chatting very casually, Jack sharing some information of his own, explaining that he was here with his master and that they were travelling between towns, and that they would likely never return here. When asked about Del'ure's professional living, Jack (not knowing what it was anyway and having not come up with a story for him), simply said that it would be best if the merchant discussed it with his master rather than with him. It might have seemed a bit fishy, but the Merchant didn't let on anything suspicious. Jack eventually brought up that his Master had purchased a gem for his lover, but his lover had spurned him before he could present the present, so he was looking to re-sell the gem, or else find a different lovely woman to give it to. After that, the conversation seemed to go particularly well as the merchant talked about various jewelers - nothing overt though, enough that if Jack wanted to be able to find them, he'd need to pay for their names and locations. And, Jack even started being so bold as to barter him down, seeing as certain jewelers probably paid the man to talk about their business, so ultimately, he'd probably only send him to the jeweler that paid him the most anyway, right? Either way, it was going very well, and Jack started to look through the crowd to beckon Del'ure over if he could get his attention.