Chapter Text
The first thing Jinx tasted was salt.
The next flavour was the slightly sweetened coppery taste of her own shimmer-infused blood. The final thing she noticed was the sound of crashing water accompanied by the grainy, itchy texture of sand on her back.
Jinx opened her eyes, and she was met with a star-encrusted sky. The temperature was warm and humid, and the stars themselves seemed bright and lively, not choked by the fumes of a coal-coughing city and all of its toxic green lights. The sand she lay on was dark and rough, damn near blending into the night sky, seemingly mirroring the stars with shells that lay nestled into the beach.
The waves were all but black, a deep green shade that obscured even the shadows.
This definitely wasn’t Zaun.
Shakily, she stood up. Immediately regretting that decision, Jinx felt the punctures and broken ribs at her side. She could see and hear in her mind's eye Vander’s wolven features and her sister’s tortured screams that perforated the chamber. She could practically feel his claws let her go, even though adrenaline had already dulled her ability to feel the carving sting and then an explosion of pinks and blues that eliminated the rest of her senses.
And then, her mind went blank.
So here she was, on some tropical island with nowhere to go, no coin and not even any weapons. She rubbed her eyes and allowed her vision to focus; large palm trees and rocky outcrops broke up the silhouette of whatever beach she had washed ashore on. However, as she looked over her new location, she could see a warm yellow glow burning in the distance. A city, a town perhaps? She could really use a meal.
Shrugging her shoulders and ignoring the pain in her side, Jinx limped onward. She muttered and ranted to herself rather than fictional dead people, she supposed that was an improvement.
The city was enormous.
Gigantic dark wooden structures rose from the water and out of cliffs, all interwoven by a spider's web of large rope bridges that hang hundreds of feet into the air. Warm golden lights illuminated most of the windows and doorways as packs of sailors and seafarers traversed in and out of every area. Colossal boats patrolled along the city's edge, resembling shifting buildings more than water vessels. Along the edge, a titanic white fishing boat hauled a monstrous squid the size of a building behind it. A rather portly man with a thick moustache bumped into Jinx and offered her an insult in an accent far too thick for her to understand.
“Asshole.” She muttered under her breath. The blue-haired woman was far too exhausted and hurt for a confrontation, even though she knew she would win.
Jinx’s stomach gave another growl. She needed food soon, and water if her hoarse voice and throat were anything to go by. After a failed attempt to snag some salted fish and a flagon of water, Jinx pushed aside whatever remaining dignity she had and would find herself rummaging in the trash for any morsel of food. It took a few attempts before she found somewhere that had the peelings of some form of root vegetable and the overripe skins of a fruit.
Whether it was exhaustion or the crunching of oxidised peels, Jinx did not hear a person walk up behind her until they had already tapped her on the shoulder.
“Look, guy, it’s been a pretty shitty week for me, so please move alo—“ Jinx cut herself off mid-sentence as she turned around.
Standing behind her was not a man at all. The first thing she noticed was the dark green crocodile’s face that looked down at her, golden eyes that cut right through her and glowed like a lit fuse. His jaws were enormous with ivory cone-shaped teeth. He must have been at least as tall as Vander yet noticeably wider. Strangely, he wore a black buttoned-up shirt with a slightly yellowed towel at his waist, tucked into a thick brown belt. The bagginess of his clothing did little to hide his robust build.
Jinx thought the creature in front of her seemed somewhat familiar, like he was from some story that Vander had read to her and Vi well over a decade past. Jinx supposed she ought to move on; she wasn’t in the mood for fighting crocodiles today.
“I’ll get out of your way,” she bowed in a small act of defiance as she prepared to slip past him.
The Crocodile Man did not move, instead raising a reptilian brow at her. His voice broke through the cheerful chattering of the crowds around her like shattering stone, “You are hungry, follow me.”
He turned and walked across the thick, sturdy planks that made up the floor, his thick tail dragging on the ground behind him. Jinx followed, intrigued and hungry all at once.
After a while of manoeuvring across rope bridges and criss-crossing through a market where traders had their wares on full display; Jewels and gold, decorations and trinkets, weapons and food, Jinx was tempted to snag what looked like a crispy breaded fish from one seller, had she not accidentally bumped into her new travelling companion, who had stopped to allow someone to walk across him.
Minutes later, she found herself in front of what would have been an ordinary-looking building had it not been for the enormous, yellowed shark’s jaws that adorned the restaurant’s entrance. An entrance sign was attached to the top jaw, flanked by lanterns on either side.
“Cracktooth Tavern, huh?” Jinx said, reading the sign. It was very fitting considering the beast that just entered. She felt a slight hint of nervousness; for all she knew, she could end up on a grill by the end of the night. She felt the sudden urge to run; she didn’t even have payment. But, after a moment, the woman who was once Powder chose to step into the establishment.
The buildings inside was deceptively large, with four oak wood tables and a few booths on the far walls, which were the primary places to sit. Dangling ropes held up odd artefacts, which ranged from the skeletons of some kinds of human-sized sea beasts to golden trinkets from a faraway land. No other customers were present, though Jinx supposed she didn’t quite count as a customer, considering she planned to dash instead of paying.
The final set of seats were opposite the booths and looked into a small bar-kitchen hybrid area where the crocodile man was now stirring a large pot and turning something on skewers. Jinx all but sprinted into a seat in front of the monstrous creature. Her mouth began to salivate as the aromas of sweet grilled vegetables and savoury meats wafted towards her. Before long, a bowl of light beige broth with noodles and seafood was placed in front of her, followed by rice and a plate of skewers that pierced some glistening meat in a dark sticky sauce.
Jinx began tucking into the meal spread before her vigorously. The mixtures of spice and sweetness on the skewers, of the starchy rice and the savoury broth, all exploded on her tongue. She could not remember the last time she had enjoyed a meal this much.
All too soon, she had finished eating, and another plate was placed in front of her. Golden noodles with what must have been beef gazed up at her. Just as she was about to say something, his cavernous voice beat her to it.
“Eat. We'll talk when you are finished.” It seemed he took a moment to think before adding, “I know you do not have payment, I am not asking for it.”
Jinx’s suspicions were raised; in her experience, people did not just offer help without expecting something in return. Once again, she finished the meal and chugged the water; it was cool and refreshing, free of any chemicals or contaminants, unlike the water in Zaun.
Jinx mentally steeled herself and broke the silence, “So what do you want from me?” She asked, “I’m not gonna go round robbing people or selling whatever stuff you guys deal with in these parts.” She would not be drawn into another war where lives could be ruined further; she just wanted to be left alone.
The crocodile man actually had the nerve to huff out a laugh, “No, I would not ask you to endanger yourself for my sake.” He stalled, almost like he was prepared to be shouted at, “I would like you to work with me, here.” He punctuated his statement with a tap of his enormous claw on the countertop.
That was it?! That was all this freak wanted? An employee. Jinx was dumbfounded.
He continued, “You’ll get a fair wage for your efforts, along with lodgings and free meals.” He swallowed, “You can stay in my home, so long as you are not put off,” he said, gesturing to his crocodilian visage.
Briefly weighing up her options, Jinx knew she was not about to spend the rest of her days shivering herself to sleep at night, for the mercy of whatever pirate came across her, and this odd croc-thing hadn’t attacked her yet.
“You're not as scary as you think,” she attempted to tease, but in her exhaustion, it probably sounded more like an insult. “Thanks, I’m Jinx,” She pointed a thumb at herself when she said her name before she held her hand out towards him.
“Renekton,” he replied as his enormous hand encircled hers, and he shook her hand firmly. He presented her a drink. It was wine, akin to what Silco used to drink; except it was spiced and sweet. Renekton turned and began cleaning his work surfaces and pots.
An hour later, he had cleaned down his space and dimmed the lights of the building. Jinx was all but asleep at his bar by the time she felt a tap on her shoulder, and Renekton gestured for her to follow. She limped with great difficulty towards the door.
No sooner had she cleared the doorway than she felt the world spin and turn upside down. Then she was plummeting to the earth and into the arms of unconsciousness.
She never hit the ground.