* SLICK AS OIL

     She’s not a liar. OR, well — she is a liar, but only about things that benefit her. It’s a good system: honesty is the best policy when it comes to the important things. However: all throughout high school, it was yes, Mrs. Smith, you did collect my test already, and yes, mom, it is Juli’s turn to do the dishes. So when she’s approached by someone, she slips very easily back into dishonesty. But she has morals, STRONG ones, and standards, and … well, that ring did look nice. Even if it didn’t, she could sell it. Or maybe give it to her mom. That was a moral good, right ?   “  Oh my god, you are a lifesaver !  ”   

     Her smile goes uncharacteristically wide. Think, Kitty, think. What’s a good lie ? What’s a FUNNY lie ?   “   I keep meaning to get it resized. You’d think the man I’ve been dating for three years would ask my ring size before he proposed right ? All this worrying about it falling off not even for a diamond.  ”  In any other conversation, she would dive right into the archaic and patriarchal ownership of women, or you know — not pretend NOT to be a lesbian, but … well, when a ring falls into your hands … she sticks out her hands, prepared to take it. 

anton mirrored her smile, selling his relief that, yes, he found the owner of this little trinket. he is careful, though, not to stretch it too wide. just enough to reach his eyes, and he shrugged with undeserved humility. “ a lady like yourself shouldn’t be without your ring. ”

there’s a grunt that indicates he’s not exactly inclined to pick up meat out of the road and put it in his mouth, even if he does grill it first. “or not,” he counters. mike isn’t a picky eater. you can’t be when you spend the majority of your time at sea on a ship full of prepacked meals that’ll last through a nuclear war, but the thought of eating roadkill is a little less than appetizing. “i’m a firm believer that pretty much anything is edible with enough spices, but that doesn’t mean i wanna put something that’s been run over by a truck in my mouth.”

it’s technically his day off, but still he managed to go in extra earlier. work a few hours before his partner convinced him to go home, and be normal for once. not wanting to turn up back at his bare lonely apartment once again, the rest of his day open and free. he aimlessly wondered the town, trying to finally familiarize himself with it. “why, you looking to marry someone?” it’s a small joke, but the other has his attention now. brow raised he turned fully to the man, hadn’t expected the sudden the question. or how odd and misplaced the question seemed to be. yet he stayed there, waiting for the punchline. 

that response wasn’t one that he expected. it delayed ant’s response by a fraction of a second as he allowed a brief smile, humored. “ one look at you and i’m considering it. “ he laughed. “ just tryin’ to be a good samaritan, is all. no one would just leave somethin’ so expensive lyin’ around. ” uncurling his fist, he flashed the ring to the stranger. “ i take it you haven’t got down on one knee yet ? ”

headphones BLARING—zero boys’ vicious circle playing on a loop, fully living up to the album’s title—minoo near passes him by. she’d keep walking, had the circumstances been different. but a valuable mentioned, and she stops. it wasn’t hers. it wasn’t anybody whose she knew either. still…

❛     yeah, i do… my mom. she lost her engagement ring.      ❜

lying had always come easy to the youngest pearce :     a pretty mouth spewing untruths more often than not. given, most of the time, she had more preparation. winging it now, she goes on.  

❛     i was actually just looking for it, so.     ❜

not so fast. ant’s been in the game for a while, and he wasn’t as intuitive as he was impulsive, but the holes in her lies were so glaring that ant almost pitied her. amateur. he appeared cool, though, quietly sighing to hint at his relief that his “good intentions” didn’t go unpunished. after all, he had to sell the part. “ poor lady, losing her ring on a busy street like this. it just fell out in front of me and, you know. i had to do something. “ anton let his expression brighten as he peered over her head. “ is she nearby? i wanna see the her face light up when i hand it to her. ”

Theo’s eyes roll back like clockwork at the familiar sound of their older brother’s voice and any kind of embarrassment they may have felt quickly dissipated. “Never.” They gasp. “The only thing I’m willing to kick are people. Specifically people related to me and happen to be right in front of me.” The mess is already forgotten about as Theodora follows after Anton, just glad to have another living, breathing human being to talk to. It helped that said human being had a bigger knack for getting in trouble than Theo themself. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” They shrug, ignoring two more strays that they see from the corner of their eye. “I’ve never seen a single cat here once in my whole life. I think Maude is the one feeding them. You should talk to her about it. It could be a real problem.”

         it’s not everyday that walking home from work bears a conversation. that’s how he likes it. talking to people isn’t his thing. but it’s hard to ignore the pull of curiosity, and so instead of shooting a glare in his direction and continuing on his way, he pauses to consider the question. ❝ a ring? ❞ he asks, cocking a brow. ❝ i might. mind if i take a look? ❞ at the very least, maybe he can pawn it off, somewhere. morgue work doesn’t pay well.

“ not at all, my man. don’t look too hard now, ” Ant responded with a wink. he opened his fist, the heel of his palm pushing the ring to his fingers so that he could hold the little circlet between his thumb, middle, and index fingers. unlike his usual trick with crackerjack rings, this one was real. real enough. he picked it off of some poor soul’s finger while they were too distracted by another scheme Ant pulled. Honestly, he couldn’t keep track. “ look any familiar? i’d reckon it’s some zirconia, but people go through lotsa trouble to get hitched. ” 

☢      —     ( JEREMY POPE, CIS MAN, HE/HIM )     Trading in their SET OF LOCK PICKS for LEAD PIPE might not come easy for ANTON RILEY. This 28-year-old grifter brings determination, a silver tongue, and expertise of their location to the table … but their stealing everything their grimy hands land on and selfishness could drag the group down. And while their calculated nature might raise group morale, their disloyalty might give them a few enemies. That’s the last thing anyone needs right now. Hopefully, in the apocalypse movie that’s now their life, this SELF-MADE ORPHAN will make it to the end credits.     ( GARNET, 22, SHE/HER, KST )