ragamuffin;

The flinch broke her heart. It was stupid to expect anything other than a flinch from someone who’d clearly just been hit more than once, but it still hurt to have Cash flinch away from her. Katrina dropped her hand and her eyes, letting Cash retreat. “You really don’t have to thank me.” She cleared her throat, turning her attention to unlocking the car and slipping inside. 

“Oh, no…I wasn’t doing anything but sleeping,” she said as she started the car. Reaching into the back seat, she pulled out the first aid kit Skylar insisted she keep in the vehicle. Katrina tended to be a bit accident prone and Sky was overprotective. Part of her had always wondered if that would have eased if she’d been able to truly join their gang, but her body had refused to comply with the change so she’d never find out. Foxes healed fast, but there might be something that would help Cash while she waited for that healing to kick in. She handed the first aid kit to the other girl but didn’t make a big deal out of it. 

Kat shook her head in answer to Cash’s question. Since her parents had died in their car wreck she’d been an intensely careful driver. “Harp’s raced it a few times but I don’t… I prefer to go the speed limit. Not really much of a dare devil.” 

Sleeping. Why hadn’t she thought of that? For some reason, Cash had thought that Katrina would still be awake at the late hour but then she recalled Revel telling her that Kat had quit the Outlaw. Was it because of what happened with the frat boy that one fateful evening? Cash could still hear the snap of bone. If any guilt over the incident ever existed, it was immediately vanquished by the memory of his behavior toward Kat. Unfortunately, with that memory came the recollection of Kat’s look of fear. The way she had hunched over and teared up. A sudden lump in her throat, she merely nodded in reply.

Cash accepted the first-aid kit, rummaging through the small box. Again, Cash felt the urge to kick herself for not using her fucking brain. The King sisters had lost their parents in a car wreck - why would Katrina risk it? Her tongue pressed harshly to the roof of her mouth in punishment, staring down into the bandages and ointment. The ‘fox had no clue to why she kept putting her foot in her mouth that evening. 

“Makes sense.” She muttered, finding herself to be at a loss of words. She, instead, flipped open the mirror and bared her teeth at her reflection, carefully inspecting and prodding each of her teeth. Relieved to discover that none were lose, she went to work poking at her split lip. Cash seemed to go into a daze, treating each of her injuries with the precise knowledge of someone who had done this before. It didn’t take her more than ten minutes before she was shutting the mirror again and sitting back. 

“How’s Harper?”

The call had woken Kat when it came, but she didn’t hesitate to get up. Cash had rescued her once from a drunken frat boy, returning the favor seemed like the least she could do. Katrina didn’t work at the outlaw anymore, when the opening had come at Archive, it had felt like a better fit. Serving coffee to sober people felt more her speed. She tugged on a pair of shorts and threw her hair into a ponytail, pausing only long enough to leave Harper a note in case she woke up before grabbing her keys and wallet and slipping out of the apartment. 

She let her phone’s GPS guide her to the jail, an interesting experience she wasn’t eager to repeat. Part of her felt guilty for just being there, like the clerks accepting the bail money were judging her for helping her friend. Kat did her best to remain professional and respectful, despite the fact that she knew she looked like a fish out of water. Dressed in an oversized Coca Cola shirt and without a stitch of makeup on her face, she probably appeared far younger than she actually was. 

The process felt like it took forever, but in all honesty it was rather quick. She tucked the receipt and instructions for Cash to have to return and speak to the judge or something and tucked them into her back pocket. The clerk told her it would take a few minutes to get everything squared away and when he gave her the option to wait at her car, she took it gratefully. Cash finally came out to find Katrina leaning against her little green beetle, phone in hand. She’d texted Skylar that she was with Cash, but hadn’t given her any details. It wasn’t her story to tell and she didn’t even know the story yet. 

“Of course,” Kat replied, straightening up and eyeing Cash carefully. “You okay?” Slim fingers reached up, almost touching Cash’s face but hesitating. She didn’t care about the money or about what Cash told her sister right now, she was more concerned with the bruises forming on the fox’s face and knuckles. Cash could handle herself, Katrina knew that first hand, but that didn’t mean she should have to. “C’mon, I’ll take you home.” 

It was so easy to forget that they were the same age. Kat had always looked far younger than Cash but whatever troubles the young woman had experienced, they didn’t show on her face. Meanwhile, Cash carried her grief with every step - a walking, leaking wound. Even now, she stood there, tired eyes tracking the human’s movements. As Kat reached up, Cash couldn’t help but visibly flinch away from her hand. She inwardly cursed herself for the display of weakness, expression hardening as a result. 

Honey would have been disappointed in her. That thought stung more than any of the bruises starting to pepper her body. God punished me with you, Charlotte! Her mother’s shrill voice was almost deafening but Cash managed to nod tightly at Kat. 

“Yeah, I’m good.” She shrugged, not quite reaching the level of nonchalance she wanted. “Thanks again.” She moved away from Kat, expelling a silent breath only after she had a put a few feet between the two of them. 

“I hope I didn’t take you away from anythin’ important.” Momentarily waiting for Kat to unlock the car, Cash slid into the passenger seat of the beetle. Glancing around the interior, she was comforted by the flash of amusement of just how much the car fit Kat. It was completely unlike her own 1970 Plymouth Barracuda but it still brought the image of Kat racing the tiny car around one of the dirt racetracks. 

“You ever get any speed with this thing?”

“Jones, you’re free to go. Made bail.”

Cash used the sleeve of her jacket to wipe some of the blood from the corner of her mouth as she stood up from the hard, metal bench. Ignoring the sneers of her temporary cellmates, she strode out of cell. As she followed the officer through the line of cells, toward the front of the station. As the pair passed the window Cash turned her face away from her reflection, not needing to see her face to know that she looked a mess. Already a black eye was forming and her lip was split but her ribs weren’t broken and she hadn’t lost any teeth. The ‘fox considered that a win despite the otherwise shitty night. 

Getting into it with a cop hadn’t been on Cash’s agenda but things rarely seemed to go her way lately. One thing was for sure though, she wasn’t going to bother Honey with another phone call from jail. Her older sister rarely had the opportunity to spend time with Revel as it was. Not to mention that Cash was pretty sure that Revel was going to clobber the new recruit, Lucky if Honey didn’t help her relax. Cash knew Honey had worried about her lately, sensing the tempest in her younger sister’s chest. She had considered calling Dixie but instead she had called a number that she didn’t even know she remembered. 

After stopping to gather her belongings back up from the officers, Cash stepped into the warm Georgia night. She could hear crickets, the hoot of an owl sounding in the distance. The parking lot was almost empty but Cash had been arrested in a small town half an hour from Fairburn. And true to her nature, she had run her mouth to some of her cellmates. A few feet away, Cash could see her white knight leaning against her car.

“....Thanks.” She stopped, flicking her eyes up to Katrina’s face. “I’ll pay you back all the money, I just didn’t...” Cash trailed off, the message going unspoken.

I didn’t want to call Honey.

REBLOG TO PLAY:GEMSTONE ASKS

When you reblog, be sure your anon /ask is on. For every ask you get, send one out. Answers are considered on the Internet/public; strikeouts are still readable. If you want, though, you can answer below that with a 'private' section to share headcanons your character wouldn't!

✘✘

amethyst: do you think age is needed for maturity?

aquamarine: do you believe the future is predetermined?

bloodstone: what words are most comforting to you?

diamond: how important is money to you?

emerald: is there anything you want to last forever?

garnet: list three of your passions

jasper: if you could revive a spirit, who would it be?

moonstone: what family do you want in the future?

opal: do you keep secrets forever?

pearl: are you stereotypically feminine?

peridot: how old do you want to live to?

ruby: what kind of love do you value the most?

sapphire: if you could control one element, what would it be?

topaz: are your current relationships with others healthy?

tourmaline: do you like the idea of having a guardian angel?

The steady beat of the EDM music matched the beat of Cash’s heart as she wove through the nightclub, her hair almost glowing in the darkened room. Wisps of smoke cast a dreamlike, hazy fog around the crowd, making it almost impossible to focus on anything or anyone. Pinpricks of starlight rained from the swirling strobe, illuminating everything inside the darkened nightclub in slow, sweeping circles. As the music picked up, the pulse becoming more and more erratic, so did her heartbeat. Raves were a delightful thing to Cash, the anonymity and hedonism speaking to her soul on such a level that she couldn’t help but feel the tension ease. Her perceptive gaze flickered throughout the crowd, taking in the sell of the drugs, the grinding of bodies, the pure chaos of youth. A open supporter of the chaos, part of Cash had to fight her intrinsic compulsion to shout “Fire” instead and watch as the weaker humans raced away in a panic, screaming hysterically while the rest just laughed and continued on, ecstasy flowing through their veins. Let the good times roll. Unable to help herself from chuckling at the thought, she continued on her path until she reached the bar, ordering a shot before casting another bright-eyed glance at the crowd.

Revel: I think someone tol' me once, if I ignore it long enough, it'll jus' go away...

Revel: That don't make you Bonnie.

Revel: That's for certain.

Revel: I'm gon come across the hall and slap you upside the head.

Cash: Got 'em.

Cash: Don't play stupid, Rev. It doesn't fit ya. We both know that in the books, your Bonnie is Honey. Always has been.

Cash: Don't wanna get him more involved that we have to. Wanna see him get through this Moore thing unscathed.