First Meeting

careful planner (Jason) and apathetic risk-taker (Jasper). Jasper doesn't want to form connections and develop roots/stay in one place because those just become things that you'll lose eventually. Jason has a strong will and sense of people? Knows it's possible to get Jasper to change. Can't stand the idea of knowing he could have done something to help. Jasper has a pretty weak will, so it's easier to convince him. But he's very determined about one thing, and that's not forming roots. He's still a kid though, so he can't help but give in to what he wants sometimes...

Jason is a bit touchy-feely? Likes close contact, though if you tell him no he would stop.

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Jason lurked in the dark shadows of an alleyway, watching the store owner as the man carried racks of food and other items from the truck to the shop. It took the middle-aged man 10 seconds to lift a rack, open the door, and place items somewhere inside. 12 to 15 seconds, if he struggled with the door. Then around 10 seconds more inside the store before he came back out for another rack. The alleyway Jason was in would be around 5 seconds away, 7 if he tried running quietly. If he wanted to steal something from the truck, he had only 10 seconds to do it when the man was inside the store, because otherwise the shop keeper could just drop the rack and grab his arm. Jason knew he was faster, but he didn't want to take that risk. Thieves, or more specifically the Numberless, were very much hated and discriminated against. The Empire didn't care for the Numberless, so the Numbered could just do anything they wanted to them. Nothing remotely good ever happened to those that were caught.

Jason crouched slightly, ready to make the dash. The gent had just entered the store, so the timing is wrong and he would wait for the next one. He needed all the seconds he could get. But as he waited, someone rushed past him, and he watched, wide-eyed, as another kid like him ran to the truck, flinging one arm out to sweep as many things as he could into a sack. He couldn't even comprehend it; that was too risky! The shop owner obviously spotted the boy as he was on the way out of the store, and chased, shouting curses. Jason watched the pair, still shocked at the amount of recklessness the other kid displayed, before he realised...they were running his way!

Jason jumped up, running away as well, and wove through the narrow streets with the ease of someone who lives here. Because he did. The man gave up the chase quickly, as Jason had expected, because a truck left unattended was ripe for other thieves. But what he did not expect was someone jumping in and stealing his target. The other boy was following him, so he spun around, the fear of being caught replaced with anger.

"That was mine! I was waiting for a chance and you ruined it!" His fists were balled, ready for a fight. This was over food after all, and all Numberless people were prepared to die for it.

The kid stepped back, though his expression showed he was the furthest from surprised, and replied with a nonchalant "soz." Jason could feel his anger riling up, before it was suddenly broken as he instinctively caught the bread thrown at him. "Here's thanks for escaping well. You really know these alleyways."

"I-" Jason spluttered, still upset. "You- I had a plan! This whole escape route was a plan! And--"

"And I bet you were just going to grab one thing and run away. But," and here the stranger raised his bag, tilting his head towards it, "you should be thankful I snagged three whole loaves."

Jason gritted his teeth. He couldn't argue that yes, it was great that they got more, but, "that was such a risk! You didn't even wait the few seconds for the guy to turn his back! Do you want to be caught?!"

A careless shrug. "High risk high reward. In my zero seconds of planning, I got three loaves. I dunno how long you were just watching, but I sure did get more out of it than you."

"Yeah but again, do you want to be caught? Planning may be 'low risk' but at least it's safer, and I still get to eat."

Another shrug. For some reason, his lack of care over how dangerous that was irked Jason. "You either die from a beating or die from starvation. The end's the same, so who cares." Jason opened his mouth, though he didn't even know what he wanted to say to someone so apathetic. His mind was still reeling from the fact that his careful plan was shattered, and the fact that the person who ruined it doesn't feel his pain. But the stranger turned away at that moment, waving a hand. "Anyway, cya."

Oh, there was no way he was letting this guy go. He jumped forward, grabbing the other person's shoulder and spinning him back around. "I'm not done talking, and I at least deserve another loaf for that. You might not care for death, but I sure am afraid of it. And you put us both in danger." His determined, angry eyes met the kid's empty ones, and after a few quiet seconds, the kid sighed.

"You get one and a half. That's half more than what you would originally get, thanks to me stealing three." He reached into the sack and pulled out another loaf, breaking it roughly in half before handing it over. "You're welcome." He added sarcastically.

That last comment grated on Jason's nerves, and he grabbed the boy's arm before walking intently towards his 'home'. He was thirsty, he wanted to put the bread away, and he also wanted to sit down and yell at a certain someone for a bit because that kind of risky behaviour didn't sit well with him. Sure, he was unhappy that they were both put in so much danger, but more importantly, he didn't like that apathetic tone that ran through the kid's every word and action. Their live sucks, yeah, but that doesn't... you could still be positive, y'know?

Well, the one good thing about his careless personality was that he was following along, looking through half-closed eyes at nothing in particular. The guy's not even curious about where another strange kid is dragging him to... "I'm Jason. What's your name?" Jason asked brightly, letting go of his arm to walk next to the kid.

A suspicious look was thrown Jason's way before he replied. "Jasper. If you're being nice to get that other half I'm not budging."

"A half-half split is fair. Though I'm still not happy with what you did, so you better brace yourself for a very logical argument as to why risk-taking is dumb, and my way of planning is far superior."

"Sure, I can sleep with my eyes open."

"Wh-" It was Jason's turn to give a suspicious glare, to be met with a small chuckle from Jasper. Jason wasn't sure why he assumed the other guy couldn't laugh, but it was good to hear that brief sound. If he could make jokes, then he could be positive, right? "Dude I'm serious. By the end of my epic speech you're going to become an excellent partner in crime. We're going to break into that shop and steal whatever we want, and then we're going to break into Court and take down this entire system of Numbers."

"You'll become excellent at waking me up first. And what, you want to take over the world with your weak planning skills while you're at it? You couldn't even steal a bread loaf."

"I was in the middle of a plan, Jasper, before someone ruined it, and--"

"Yeah, in the middle of a dumb plan to steal one single thing before chickening out, Jason."

"Can you- I'm going to lecture you about interrupting me as well, be--"

"You even interrupt yourself, why don't you fix that first?"

"You- I- I'm going to- You're going to die first before beatings and starvation can get to you dude."

"You can't even steal bread, how're you going to plan a murder?"

"I'm- You suck." Jason huffed in annoyance. There was a slight smile on Jasper's face, the first he's seen so far. They turned a corner, arriving at a dead end that was cluttered with boxes and various items. "Well, welcome to my home! It's more of a rough shelter but it's still home." Jason continued walking in, accustomed to the space, but turned when he realised Jasper had stopped at the 'entrance'. His heart dropped when he saw that the small smile was gone from Jasper's face, returning back to that impassive expression he had when they met earlier. "...is that a problem? I wanted to put the bread away, get some water, and... you know, talk more to another kid my age."

"I won't be staying." His voice was cold too. Jason felt like he lost a lot of progress, even though he had a feeling it would take a while for Jasper to not be so negative, and the 'lot of progress' was just a few minutes of talk. But still, he felt sad.

"How about you just stay for a night?" He tried, keeping his voice upbeat. "It's going to rain so sleeping outside would suck, and besides I have plenty of bottles to collect the rain in. You can take some in the morning."

"I'll be fine without."

Jason pursed his lips, deciding to try another approach. "Well, why don't you want to stay?"

A pause. "I don't want to form roots."

"...why?"

"It's easier to leave a place if I don't have connections." Jasper turned to leave, and Jason jumped forward, flashing back to when this moment occured a few minutes earlier. But this time Jasper dodged his hand, spinning back to look at Jason with a smirk.

"What? You're going to stop me from leaving? I'm quite fast."

"You haven't seen me run yet, and I'm bigger than you." Jason straightened, trying to back up his words.

"You're going to fight me?" Jasper asked, incredulous.

Jason stared at him, unwavering. "Yes. Since you don't have things to care about, I bet you don't fight that often. But I do. So I can beat you."

"I've been in fights too, and won." The staring match continued, before Jason softened his gaze and relaxed his stance.

"Come on. Just one night."

"You say that, but you're going to ask me to stay longer."

"Yep." Jason admitted, unfazed. "But for now, just a night. Dude I'll follow you around and drag you back if you don't."

"...well, I'll ask you the same type of question. Why do you want me to stay so badly?"

Jason looked carefully at the other kid, before replying honestly. "I don't like the way you think. And your risk taking. It's like you don't care about living, and that doesn't sit well with me, so I want to talk to you and be friends with you so you can stop thinking like that." Jasper looked taken aback, and Jason decided to press on. "So just stay a night or two. You can take whatever you want from my place. It's not like you're forming roots, right? You're staying because there's a benefit."

Jason felt like the next stretch of silence was the longest moment of his life, as he waited anxiously to see how Jasper responds. What would he do if the kid still refused? He was taller and a bit bigger, but that didn't mean dragging another person would be any easier. Especially since he imagined Jasper would put up a fight.

"...fine. One night only." Jason felt his heart literally leap with joy. A bright smile spread over his face, and he grabbed his new friend's arm, pulling him back to his home.

"Awesome! I have two mattresses, so we can split that." A thought struck Jason. "And you better not leave at night or early in the morning."

"You said stay the night, not the entire night and tomorrow."

"If you're going to be like that, fine. I'll stay up all night to chat."