Bathtub and neon tetra | Vinzent + Viper + Jack | Desert Island Car

Vinzent Mayer

Roadie 🪶Jack “Oh, y’know, extract of Himalayan cave goat liver, little fennel for flavor. Extremely poisonous. Want some?”

“Absolutely not!” He said, cheerfully. And Viper asked a very pertinent question.

“Why do you need a jar of poison anyway? Since when do you even have it?!”

While the fight has thankfully been over (for now?), Jack continues to worry Vinzent. Is it really poison or is it just so people will keep their hands off it? Knowing Jack? Hard to tell, but it’s not impossible that it’s really poisonous content.

It should be taken away from Jack, Vinzent agrees.

Roadie 🪶Jack

Vinzent Mayer “Absolutely not!”

Jack snorted. Run with the bit till it breaks, worked for him.

Viper “Grrrr….NO!”

Oh, she’s riled.

“Oh, got it! Pat on the back for bad sportsmanship.”

Viper “Why the f-ck are you carrying around a jar of poison anyway?

Vinzent Mayer “Why do you need a jar of poison anyway? Since when do you even have it?!”

“Oh, just ’cause it’s expensive, yeah? You ever fought a Himalayan sea goat? Just gettin’ there’s bad enough, but…” He shook his head. Clearly not a thing to be trifled with.

Viper Like, someone should take that. There’s like, no way we’re all gonna let you just, like, have that?”

His free hand bore a knife so swiftly you couldn’t tell where it came from. And it was decidedly a dagger, rather than any knife with legitimate purposes. He ensured he was far enough back to point it right at Viper’s throat without posing immediate danger of injury. Unless she just walked straight into it, which would be her problem, not his.

“It’s mine.”

…He seemed a bit less lighthearted about this than the tape, huh.

Viper

“Whoa-!” Viper is… more than surprised by the sudden introduction of the knife into the equation, but her defiant stare told him that she still wasn’t going to be scared of him. Yeah, perhaps she was a bit too stubborn sometimes.

“Why are you so mad about your stupid jar?! Himalayan sea goats aren’t even real! I don’t get it? Do you just like being a freak?” …Clearly so! Viper glared down at the knife, and back up at him as if daring him to actually do it. “Jeez, you’re like, such a tryhard. You think you’re such a badass.”

…He was a bit of a badass sometimes, but try getting her to admit that out loud!

She makes no step either direction, and just stares him down, gaze narrowed and challenging. …Oh, Viper, when will you learn?

Roadie 🪶Jack

Viper Himalayan sea goats aren’t even real!

“Well, not anymore! Went extinct ‘bout… eight and a half years ago? So you can see why ‘s so valuable now.”

Vinzent Mayer Are you just making up sh*t on the spot?”

“Duh?”

Viper “Jeez, you’re like, such a tryhard. You think you’re such a badass.”

Jack sulked very slightly but didn’t let his guard or dagger down.

“You tryin’ to get stabbed?” It was really starting to feel like that, at least.

“Don’t gotta threaten to rob me, y’know. You coulda just asked nicely. I can be a good sport.”

Vinzent Mayer

“H-Himalayan sea goat? What. Are you just making up sh*t on the spot?”

But considering how long Jack claimed he has been stuck in the train? It… Was possible, but unlikely. Who knows. Still, Vinzent kept his distance, while watching out for Viper’s well being.

At the sight of Jack’s knife, or well dagger in actuality, Vinzent froze. Ah, man. This is messed up. Please don’t. The threat clearly made him uneasy, especially since it was real.

Viper had a point, and that was Jack was indeed a freak. There was no other proven explanation for that.

… That said, he’s whispering, in Viper’s direction, regardless of whenever she hears it or not.

“… Please stop. You’re hurt already.”

Especially since Jack looked really serious.

Viper

Vinzent Mayer “… Please stop. You’re hurt already.”

Whether Viper hears Vinzent’s plea or not is moot, because it easily falls on her very selective hearing. She was too cocky, too stubborn, too… stupid, for her own good, because she’s still eyeing that jar. It needs to be taken out of his possession, especially if he’s not BS’ing about it being at least kinda poisonous.

“I ain’t just threatnin’.” She mutters, “You wouldn’t’a given it to me even if I begged on my hands an’ knees, ya know that as well as I do!” Viper huffed, her eyes following the stupid jar.

…She knows she should give up. She should consider her own safety. Let someone else deal with Jack. But oh, it’s so tempting when he’s holding it in what she hopes is a swipe-able position.

She realises way too late, when she’s already lunged for it, that it wasn’t at all achievable. F-ck.

Roadie 🪶Jack

Viper “I ain’t just threatnin’.” She mutters, “You wouldn’t’a given it to me even if I begged on my hands an’ knees, ya know that as well as I do!”

“I meant askin’ nicely to get stabbed.” Because that was a completely normal thing to want, apparently.

But she still wasn’t over the sludge, huh? Even if it wasn’t real goat juice. He turned the jar in his hand, tracking her gaze. Definitely wasn’t over it.

“What good’d it do ya, anyway? Don’t even know what—“

Viper lunged. Jack turned with her, snatching the jar back to his chest and driving his blade into her inner forearm. A little something to make snatching-slash-gripping harder without risking too many major vascular anythings.

In theory.

He cast a wary glance back at Vinzent, in case this was gonna be a tag team effort, but Viper still had most of his attention.

“You done now?”

Vinzent Mayer

Oh Vinzent did not like that much more. But if he butts in, it’ll just be a problem for everyone, himself included.

He did feel like Jack is clearly inviting Viper for another fight, and honestly, the artist was so tired of this bullsh-t. Should he walk away…? But… Was it going to be a good idea? Intervening isn’t any better, after all. But if Jack sees him leaving, what would he say? And Vinzent wouldn’t be able to try to assist Viper in taking care of injuries eventually… But it didn’t seem like she was receptive to that yet.

As Vinzent watched this unfold once more, a tired sigh escaped. He wondered to himself what did he do to deserve to be thrown in this situation with these two at all. Vinzent would rather do anything but spectate this circus.

Viper

Pain shot through her forearm like a bolt of lightning and Viper whimpered pathetically, breaths falling from her mouth in more of… open-mouthed pants as her brain caught up with the fact she’d just been stabbed.

Looking Jack in the eye defiantly, she was clearly considering her options for a moment- before she visibly sagged, blood pooling around her arm.

“…I concede. You win.” Her opposite hand shakes as she reaches to cover the wound as she pulls her arm downwards and from the blade, pressing her hand against the now gushing blood as hard as she could.

“…Didn’t think you’d actually do it.” She muttered. “…Tch. I’ll get you back.” …A lukewarm threat at best, by the sound of it.

Roadie 🪶Jack

Viper “…I concede. You win.”

Ah. Well, that was… kind of boring. Correct, in context, but still. He thought Viper could have managed something more exciting than an additional two seconds of staring.

Viper “…Didn’t think you’d actually do it.” She muttered. “…Tch. I’ll get you back.”

“What part of you thought…” He shook his head, not bothering to finish.

“Look, I’m good to screw around over whatever…”

“…but if I say it’s mine, it’s mine. You got that?”

He flicked some of her blood onto the sand. Then took another look back at Vinzent, who… sure didn’t look like he was gunning to take anything, still.

“…Same goes for you.”

While now he had to get a rag out to clean off his blade first, he could finally do whatever he’d been planning with the jar. If he wasn’t stopped, he’d just walk off and leave the others to it. Fun time over.

Vinzent Mayer

[bullying reminiscing cw]

The blade going deep in Viper’s forearm sure drained blood from Vinzent’s face.

That specific move that Jack just did didn’t necessarily happen to Vinzent, fortunately enough, but… The times Vinzent lunged at Paul back then when he was pissed off enough by the latter’s provocations only to get bruises or blood splattering on his face, or just anywhere… It has no relation to now. So, why? Why was Vinzent remembering this now? He wished he’d forget that. But no… The added smell of iron only worsened the memories he’d rather have buried.

God damn it. This is not the time to revive his trauma all over again, he should do something for Viper instead of freezing in place.

… But was he good at first aid care? Especially when the only things he knew to wipe his own blood off were simply hand soap, water, some paper and calling it a day?

… He knew it’d take more than this. But… He didn’t know how to handle this. Still, only a strangled noise escaped his throat. He wished it didn’t get out. He didn’t want to get more vulnerable. However… It’s probably too late to pretend it didn’t happen. What to do… What to do…?

Vinzent still didn’t know.

Viper

Roadie 🪶Jack “…but if I say it’s mine, it’s mine. You got that?”

“Loud and clear.” Viper hisses through her grit teeth. She drops her backpack onto the ground as Jack leaves, reaching inside with her good arm and finding some of her last fabric scraps. Quickly, she almost… packs the wound with them, hoping her coat will at least keep the pressure on her arm enough that she didn’t need to immediately seek a solution.

She was covered in blood, but she still moved toward Vinzent as he stood there looking a bit gobsmacked and re-traumatised. Despite the fact she was clearly in a hell of a lot of pain, she reached out to pat his shoulder with her least-bloodied hand.

“Hey. Vinze…don’t worry…about me. I’ll be alright. I’ll go… find Haruka or Abel…or someone. I got this.” Did Vinzent particularly care about her wellbeing like that? Who knew. Maybe it’d make him feel better to pretend he did.

Vinzent Mayer

Blood. Again. And technically a threat from Jack. Wonder how’s Vinzent’s doing? You’ll find out soon enough!

Vinzent was still half-listening in the conversation, mainly because he wanted to get more context, but it was pretty hard when there were other senses disturbing his focus. The iron smell was…

And Viper going towards him, oh sh*t. What should he do? He did his best to focus on Viper’s words as she spoke to him.

… Right, there’s other more suitable people who can and will help Viper. Vinzent really was not feeling well, and who knows if he’d be able to help her in his current state. He wasn’t sure what to say to her.

“… O… Okay.”

Honestly? The smell made him queasy again. And he was worried for Viper. But the two persons she mentionned? Yeah, he does trust them both. They can and will help her, he’s sure. But… Now as for himself. Vinzent had to get away from the sight, the smell of blood. If he was more sound of mind, he would stress to Viper to take care of herself more. Regardless, he was legitmately worried for her. Reckless as Viper may be, it was not fun to see her getting hurt that many times today especially.

… Okay, okay, he’ll step away from the scene. Seriously. This was too much. It’s over at least.

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