[PQ] out of the frying pan

i am baby

Someone has to make a god damn fool of themselves right? Might as well be him. It's always him. Not that he minds much, especially when it gets cute girl giggles. It lightens up the mood a bit too and he's thankful for it. Everyone is so fucking sour and Locke is tempted to shove them all in a cell for the fun of it but he's promptly distracted by new tasks.

Lifting heavy things is entirely up his alley so he's enjoying it. Plus his hands are occupied so he can't be gross like everyone else. Not that he wants to be. He's down with being an idiot but like, fuck. Anyway, he's got shit to lift and it's not like it's that hard to pick up, right? And then once they're all in, they just have to put the sheets on and he's very good at that. One of his favorite brothel boy activities.


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Locke helps with the beds and puts sheets on them if they go in alright?

LOCKE

Aurelia

Maeve and Locke do okay with the mattresses. A couple of them get snagged on... things and by the time the two are done, there are some beds that have hay sticking out of ripped seams. As for sheets, Locke manages and you know what? They cover up the holes well enough. Outta sight, outta mind.

Aurelia takes the shackles that Sunjata hands over to her and works on her own pair while he and Nate go to the other cells. Out of the three of them, Sunjata has the most difficulty. Like... he's doing really bad with it. Hopefully no one's looking when he accidentally strikes his own thumb with the hammer. With Nate and/or Aurelia's help, though, the job gets done and things are starting to look real... secure.

Using a rag to wipe the sweat off her brow and neck, Aurelia regroups with the team and begins on the next tasks. "Alright. The only thing left to do is renovate the office. I got a few things so I can work from here a bit more.. comfortably."

At that, she lists out the tasks and will allow everyone to pick whichever they feel like doing most. They'll find all the materials they'll need are already prepped for assembly. A lot of the materials that are here have been procured from professionals willing to lend their help in exchange for the promise of favors, work, and so on. While everything is sturdy and functional, it still has to be put together.

Once again, she'll take what's left.

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Round 4!
2 people to assemble the new desk
1 person to assemble filing cabinets
1 person to assemble a weapon's rack (goes behind the desk)
1 person to assemble the bookshelf

No post order!

Sorry for the delay on my end. This is the final round and I'll finish the thread off with a conclusion once everyone's posted. Thank you guys <3

What is clear is what is gold
You're only human after all

// i'll sing it one last time for you, then we really have to go, you've been the only thing that's right
in all i've done. and i can barely look at you, but every single time i do //

First off, the pose does strike a hint of amusement from the Attuned – but it’s nothing compared to the way Nate’s side of the bond is filled with laughter that breaks Sunjata’s composure a bit, a crooked smile crossing his face – tension relieved a fraction in his shoulders as he hands Aurelia a set of shackles and one to his husband. There’s a raise of a brow at the blown kiss and a wink, turning to walk into the cell he’s working at with a parting is that a promise? that’s sent Nate’s way.

It doesn’t quite go as according to plan, though, somehow Sunjata manages to fuck up his thumb a bit – a moment of a sharpness of pain that’s shot down the bond before he’s stifling it up with a huff of a “fuck,” that’s actually voiced, even if it’s hushed.

They regroup once he’s had some help with the task – blaming the wall and the stone, of course, and not his inability to get the nails anchored in. But that’s neither here nor there, and Sunjata’s quietly inspecting his red thumb by the time they go to regroup.

“We’ve got the desk.” He murmurs, already reaching for Nate to head to the material for the desk, working together to build it. Hopefully this goes better than the shackles did.

---

Sunjata pulls Nate with him to build the desk!

i know we'll make it anywhere away from here

SUNJATA

I would fall from grace just to touch your face

It's hard to carry mattresses and not bump into anything when Locke keeps purposefully mixing up her left and right as she walks backwards just to get a laugh out of her. He does get a laugh and it's the lightest she's felt since they got here. Thankfully the sheets cover up any of their mishaps and once it's all together it looks pretty okay. Not the best place to sleep, but it's a jail so that's kind of par for the course.

The next set of tasks are ones that Maeve is slightly less confident with. She's not a builder by trade by any stretch of the imagination and decides to go with the one that seems the easiest to her. The Madame chooses to work on the bookshelf, but sticks close enough to Aurelia and Locke so they can help her should she need it. With a quick look over the plans, Maeve feels as okay with it as she can before she gets the necessary materials together to attempt construction. She doesn't pay anyone else too much mind, working hard on her task given that this doesn't come as easily to her as it does to others.

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Maeve starts on the bookcase!

Maeve

you’ve been the only thing right in all I’ve done

Always is. Nate let’s himself be warmed by the smile crossing Sunjata’s face. Ease didn’t come easily for them recently, the world seeming to conspire against them, but sometimes, there were smiles. They last until the sharp shock of pain radiates thiugh the bond, Nate frowning when he fees it and dropping his tools to take his husbands hand in his own a press a kiss against his skin. So the coolness of his lips could help with the pain, obviously. And he sticks around to help with the last few shackles, anything to make the task easier.

They love onto the next task quickly, Nate more than happy to go along with Sunjata’s suggestion. It’s made easy by the fact that they’re just putting the thing together, all the pieces already there. They’re not stupid, Nate is sure between the two of them they’ll get it done without a hitch.

---

Nate helps get the desk built

NATE

LOCKE

Okay that wasn't on purpose. Nothing a little sewing can't fix but they'll have to deal with it another time. Aurelia seems content with the job they did so he is too. It's her jail after all. Kind of an odd thought really but it's fine. Nothing wrong with having an in with like the three most influential people in Torchline, right? But there's new tasks to deal with. Like building a weapon's rack!

Sorry Aurelia but Locke isn't doing your filing for you. He can barely read let alone be trusted to organize something. He's not even sure if he has to organize anything but still, he doesn't want to try. He sits himself down on the floor and starts fitting parts together. He has to scoot himself against the wall to stay out of Nate and Sunjata's way but hey, at least he's got a nice view from down here.

---
Locke puts the weapon's rack together! (And looks at everyone's butts because he can.)

It's like a bit of light
and a touch of dark

Aurelia

It's a lot of hard work they've accomplished here, and not in such a small amount of time either. By the time the group are finished with each of their tasks, the sun has sank well below the horizon. But the jail is salvaged from its state of disrepair and the cells will be prepared for any holdings they'll need to have in the future.

As for the office? Things go smoothly for it. The desk is large and roomy, almost like a table, and as such it'll be perfect for spending long hours writing or.. questioning. The bookshelf belongs to one side of the room, and though it's empty now, eventually it will be filled with messes of books and papers. The same goes for the filing cabinets, which Aurelia has assembled alongside the bookshelves. Perhaps some amount of organization will be plausible with these.

The weapons rack behind the desk brings an overall edge to the room that takes it from office to.. jailor's office. As Aurelia looks over the way Locke's put it together, running her fingers along the edge of the wood, she feels suddenly very confident in all of this.

With the jobs complete and the jail in working order, with ample room for Aurelia to work from here, she addresses the group one last time. "Thank you all for the help," and she means it, too. Sunjata and Nate, she'd learned to expect. But as for Locke and Maeve? They had no obligation except for ones they felt personally, and so Aurelia is glad to see that Torchline at least... supports her to some degree. "If you want, I've spoken to a few of the vendors in town. Just mention my name and you can get somethin', it's on me. And uh, I'm happy to repay the favor. If the time ever comes, well..." she shrugs with a weak smile, "you know where to find me now."

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Thanks for participating!! The PQ is complete and IC, your characters can use this to ask Aurelia for a favor in the future

FIN.

What is clear is what is gold
You're only human after all