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A place for the stories that take place within Rhy'Din
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Jackson Gray
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Post by Jackson Gray »

July 17th, 5:05 PM

Sorriano Shipping & Receiving was crammed between a run down pub and an old gyro shop run by a lone man that spoke a total of a dozen words of Common. The middle building’s owner, Michael “Lucky” Sorriano, had a two-fold business set up within and as such, his office consisted of two separate but equal sections. The lower level served as a legitimate shipping business specializing in imported seafood from near and far, further legitimized by the honest and hardworking tenants on either side. The upper level wasn’t so straightforward. Though his apartment was tucked away in the back half of the second floor, the front half served as a reception area slash office for what was a rather lucrative “talent” agency. So Monday through Friday, Lucky was an honest man working for an honest living in the little front room that led the way to the freezers in back, holding space for shipments yet to be picked up or sent out. At night and on the weekends though, that’s when the fun was had.

It was on Friday, shortly after the level below had closed, that Jackson Gray came to visit. Entering through the back, the young man took the rickety stairs two at a time in hopes of reaching the top as quickly as possible. How some of the bigger talent made it up them safely, nobody could be sure. The squeaky door at the top announced his entrance in a way a doorbell never could and Jackson came to find Lucky’s secretary and/or girlfriend, Missy, sitting behind a desk within. She had one flip-flop clad foot kicked up on the corner of the desk, showing off a fluorescent pink pedicure in all of its blinding glory. Her maw opened with each wide chomp on a wad of similarly colored bubble gum, pausing only to blow it into a bubble the size of her face. Jackson caught her just as it popped, a string of pink caught on the tip of her button nose. She was maybe twenty, at most twenty two, and by far too young for Lucky Sorriano. To Jackson she looked like the sort of girl that physically peaked in high school, still pretty but definitely on the downhill slide from there. Once she pulled the sticky gum from her nose, she split a toothy grin for the newcomer.

“Jaxie, heya darlin’. What brings ya in? Dontcha got a fight soon?” Missy pulled her foot off the desk and sat up, sucking a glob of pink off of her thumb before she went back to chomping away. Her shirt was obscenely low cut and Jax struggled to keep his eyes up without turning red in the face. Now was not the time for a case of the jiggle-giggles.

“Here in a couple’a hours, yeah. Is Lucky around? I was hoping to talk to him about it.” He shrugged a shoulder to adjust the oversized pack on his back. It gave him a shot at taking a look around the dingy office rather than run the risk of peering down the woman’s shirt. The reception area was separated from the office by a flimsy door and cheap drywall that had been hung long after the original building was built. It had been painted over in a shade of bronze that appeared to have flecks of gold in it. Jackson’s grandmother would have used the word “gaudy” to describe it.

“Yeah, sure. HEY LUCKY! JACKSON GRAY’S HERE TO SEE YA!” She hollered over her shoulder, making Jax wince. The girl had a set of lungs on her, that was for sure. Beyond the door there was a shuffling and a grumbling before a man emerged. Lucky Sorriano had claimed to be a prize fighter long ago. Judging by Jax’s estimates, at least twenty-five years ago. He had a solid build, broad through the shoulders and hips though he had rounded out in the midsection to the point his vest stretched over his gut to the point Jackson spied a peek of pale flesh just beneath the fabric. He was quickly reminded to keep his eyes up and on Lucky’s weathered face.instead.

“OI! Jackie boy!” Lucky’s arms went wide to sweep Jackson into a bear hug that smelled of chewing tobacco and cheap cologne. It almost reminded him of his father before the man had been thrown into Riverbend twenty years ago. The strangling hug was hard to pull away from but he managed it finally and cut a grin for Lucky, the man returning it instantly. Jackson was a bright spot against a rather drab and dreary talent pool, willing to take on the best of the best with a smile on his face. He had a resilience that Lucky hadn’t seen in a regular human in some time. Of course, he chalked it up to the sort of naivety that Outworlders often had when they first showed up, but hey, he would take it. “What brings ya in?”

“Just wanted to hit you up before the fight tonight. Are the lines in?” Jackson knew that the bigger the fight, the bigger the pot. It was part of why he had gone for such a big name with the grant he had somehow managed to get. Lucky grinned and clapped his hands together, rubbing them like the greedy little rat that he was.

“Yes. And boy is it a big one. So long as everything goes, the third’ll make or break it. I’ve talked you up enough that they’ve put underdog odds on you and they’re throwing money at your name left and right. Then once the third comes around, they’ll never know what hit ‘em!” Lucky laughed but Jax didn’t laugh with him. Instead he sheepishly looked down at his feet, over at Missy then back at Lucky. The man was half a foot shorter than him so it’s not as though he was trying to look down upon him. It just sort of happened.

“Actually...I was thinking…what if I went for it and tried to win? If I lose, that’s fine. But what if I don’t take the fall?” For such a large man, Jackson could be surprisingly quiet when he wanted to be. He wasn’t wearing his contacts today so out of habit he poked at the middle of his glasses to push them up further onto the bridge of his nose. Lucky stared at Jackson like he had grown a third eyeball or something.

“Jackie boy, you gotta keep this on the down low. I don’t know if I can get the lines switched in time. Why didn’t ya come to me with this earlier in the week?” Lucky set a hand to Jackson’s shoulder to usher him through the door, leaving the eavesdropping Missy behind. The back hallway reeked of smoke and bacon grease, making Jax’s nose twitch. Once the door was shut behind them, he finally answered Lucky.

“I was thinking about it…and I know I’m new, but I’ve heard about the payouts that can come with the sanctioned fighting titles and what if…what if this leads to a more long term payout. You’re always talking about risk versus reward and I know the risk here is high…” Jax trailed off, shrugging. Lucky didn’t seem sold on the idea, his scowl setting a deep furrow in his forehead.

“Damn right the risk is high. Have you seen that woman? She’s a viper waiting to strike. One of the most vicious in the rings and she wouldn’t hesitate ta cripple ya if she thought it’d serve her cause.” Lucky’s voice dropped until it was a low and gruff growl, not meant to carry beyond the thin walls. Quite the feat if you asked Jackson.

“I’ve seen her. She’s mentoring a...friend...of mine. But when else am I going to get a shot like this, Luck? Think about it. Just think about it, okay? I gotta go get ready for the fight. You’ll be watching, right?” Jax looked back at the door, wondering if Missy was trying to listen in further. Lucky clapped a fat hand on Jackson’s shoulder and sighed.

“Course I’ll be there, Gray. You’re my star right now. Get on outta here, have a drink on me before the fight. I’ve got another meetin’ comin’ up real quick.” Ushering him out the door and into the reception area, Missy was back behind the desk with her feet up on the table and a magazine propped up on her legs. She had traded out the bubble gum for a cigarette that definitely didn’t smell like tobacco. He cut a glance to the woman, smiled, and hurried for the exit. On the way out, he nearly slammed into a wall.

“Watch it.” The bass-pitched growl even rumbled in Jax’s own chest as he looked up to realize he’d not run into a wall but rather an incredibly ugly man. The more Jackson learned about Rhydin, the less he thought this man might actually be human. In the underground fights held across the city, he had run into orcs, trolls, elves, and everything in between. Jackson squished himself up against the wall of the narrow hall to let the behemoth pass without incident.

“Ah, Zevrij, there’s my star!” Lucky’s voice was just enough to catch Jackson’s ear on the way down.
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Jackson Gray
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Post by Jackson Gray »

July 18th, 3:00 PM

He was waltzing with his grandmother, the box step taking them in a tight square in the middle of the living room. Their pace was too slow for the beat of the music but she had the patience of a saint. She was so small, nearly a foot shorter than him, but she led the best of them. Suddenly he realized he wasn’t actually learning how to dance in his grandparents’ Henderson home but rather his phone was ringing on his bedside table.

“Oh Gosh…” Jackson groaned as he tried to sit up. He hurt everywhere. His arms, his legs, his core. He would have sworn his toenails even hurt. Even his bruises had bruises, but the phone needed to be answered and a few errant smacks at the table finally produced the crappy little flip phone. Back home they would have called it a RAZR. Here it was called “cheap”. Stifling another grimace, he flicked it open and set it against his face.

“Lo, Jax Gray speakin’,” he mumbled into the mouthpiece. This soon after waking up the drawl was thick, his words rolling slow like molasses off of his tongue. There was a bit of shuffling on the other end, a slight bit of static and then finally an answer.

“Jackie? Speak up, Jackie! Do I have the right numba?” As screechy as it was, his grandmother’s voice was a warm bit of familiarity that he welcomed rather quickly. Worn with time and rough with fifty plus years of cigarettes. Jackson sat up finally and held the phone in place with his shoulder.

“Hi Nana. Ya got the right number,” he chuckled and swung his legs over the side of the bed. Yep, everything still hurt. But he kept the pain in his voice to a minimum. Another crackle then a few taps gave Jackson the impression that his grandma was turning her hearing aid up. That suspicion was confirmed with the wild squeal of feedback that nearly made him drop the phone.

“Blasted thing. Jackie, ya still with me darlin’?” She asked in time for Jackson to put the phone to his ear again.

“Yes ma’am. Can ya hear me awright?” Speaking so loud made his throat hurt but he resisted the urge to fall back on the bed and bury his head under the pillow.

“Sure can. Ya didn’t call this mornin’ so we thought we’d ring ya and give ya the what for,” Nana laughed into the phone and Jackson could hear his grandfather chuckling in the background.

“Sorry Nana. Wait what time’s it there?” He pulled the phone away to check the time. The low resolution of the screen had him squinting but the boy was as blind as a bat and not wearing his contacts so he fumbled for his glasses until he grabbed them up and pushed them onto his face. Just after three in the afternoon. He had slept most of the day away.

“Jus’ after lunch. How’s yer new job treatin’ ya? Ya likin’...wherever it is yer at?” Jackson had been intentionally vague when talking to his grandparents about the recent move. Her question had him squirming. He got to his feet to pace the little loft bedroom. It took exactly four and a half steps to go from wall to wall.

“S’not bad. Pays the bills. Gives me time at night to get my matches in…,” he had quieted as his words progressed, knowing she wouldn’t like what she heard. She would either yell at him to speak up or yell at him over fighting again. He waited.

“Jackson Beau Gray, you best be talkin’ bout that kung fu karate yer always on about. Yer not fightin’ fightin’ are ya?” Where Jackson’s had progressively softened, his grandmother’s voice had countered by going up with each syllable. It was times like these that he was grateful he was a world away. His silence didn’t help his cause any but it did allow him to hear the garbled voice of his grandfather in the background.

“Maybe that’s why those guys came by, Gin. Is he in trouble again?” Again. The word stung. But there was something before that. People coming by his grandparents’ place to ask about him?

“Nana, did Gramps just say someone was lookin’ for me? I’m not in any trouble I swear,” he said quickly, his pacing having halted in the middle of the little room. With his bed to his immediate left and a table littered with empty takeout cartons and soda bottles to his right, he felt claustrophobia setting in.

“Oh, two boys. Little guy and big guy, little one was bout yea high and real nicely dressed. Big guy not so much. Real unfortunate lookin’ fella, bless his heart, had a nasty scar under his eye. Didn’t say what they wanted, jus’ that they needed to speak with ya,” she explained. Jackson didn’t have to see her hand gesture to know how big the little guy was. He knew instantly who they were and what they wanted. Not that he would tell them that.

“Ah, yeah. Couple of old friends. You can go ‘head and let ‘em know that I’ve moved but that I’ll be in touch down the line. If they come back ‘round that is,” he chuckled, trying to put them at ease. Of all the skeletons in his closet, he really didn’t need the Ivanov Brothers rattling around and stirring up trouble. The opposing phone was shuffled a bit, the mouthpiece covered until it had changed hands.

“We shouldn’t be expectin’ any trouble, right Jack?” Gramps was gruff but in many ways softer than Nana. Compulsively, Jackson straightened a stack of pizza boxes that were long past the point of needing to be taken out.

“No sir,” Jackson said. Additional explanation was seldom needed for his grandfather so long as his word was his bond.

“Good. Doin’ alright?” Just as Jax thought, no explanation needed.

“Yes sir. Won m’self a big fight, title and everything,” he said just loud enough that if he was on speakerphone his grandmother would have a hard time hearing him.

“That so? Mm, good to hear, Jack. Glad the new job is goin’ well and you’re keepin’ your nose clean. Proud of ya, son,” Gramps lifted his voice for Nana’s benefit. Jackson held on to his breath of relief while the phone was shuffled around again.

“Jackie? We gotta go, we’re gonna visit Charlie before we go to Bingo. But I just wanted to let ya know that Betty Pettit’s daughter is newly single. Please try to visit soon so ya can tell us all bout your new place. We’ll have the Pettits over for dinner too. Love ya, Jackson,” his name was smothered as his grandmother kissed the phone’s mouthpiece. Hopefully it had been enough to cover his groan.

“Love you too, Nana. Gramps also. Give Charlie m’love and good luck at Bingo.” Unlike Nana, Jax didn’t kiss the phone. He waited for her to hang up before snapping the RAZR shut and stuffing it into the pocket of his sweats. Ruffling his hair worse than it already was, he figured he may as well go check out this New Haven place now that it was his.
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