( Honestly, Peter doesn't doubt that at all. After all, this girl just jumped down and helped saved him from a gaping sinkhole... she's clearly able to take care of herself.

Still, he doesn't feel right about leaving her in the middle of the street when more of those holes could open up. As nervous as this whole situation makes him, he's glad she's down to stick together for a little longer. Plus, he needs to.... ask her. About that night.

So Peter stuffs his hands into the front pockets of his coat and nods, manages a little smile. ) I uh, actually live pretty close to here. And I've got plenty of smokes there. Stronger stuff too, if you want it.

( Kill two birds with one stone: it'd get him home and he can share some of his stash with the girl who just saved his life. )

( Peter lifts a brow as he walks, looking over. ) Oh— yeah, probably was. It's got a pretty strong smell. Lotta people don't like it, but.... I think it's nice. Comfortable. Kinda skunky.

( People are generally divided between enjoying the potent smell of pot or hating it. ....Kind of like the taste of cilantro. But it sounds like Jinx has never had weed before, so Peter's taking a moment to add— )

It's uh, safe. Weed, pot. Especially the kind I've got. No one's put anything weird in it.

( He's drawing nearer to the townhouse he lives in with Luna, awkwardly kind of hesitating as he nears the pale blue door. )

I can bring the stuff out to you if you want, or... do you wanna come in? I can show you how to do it, if you want.

( The pot, he means. But he also gets this girl doesn't know him at all and he's cool just lugging out some beers (she needs double digits, he'll remember that) and some joints for her to take home if she'd rather not step inside. )

( Peter startles all over again at that, unable to conceal just how on-edge he actually still is. There's an awkward bark of a laugh that maybe sounds more like a cough, and then he's obediently moving to the door to fiddle with the lock. )

No— yeah— I mean I get I'm a stranger— ( ...Peter, she is obviously not worried about you being a threat. And she has... a weapon on her person... Okay, he's actually pretty nervous about inviting this girl into his house, but it's happening and so he's just going to keep rolling with it. It takes him a second to get the door open but then finally... he's opening it for her, awkwardly taking a step back to let her in. )

It's just me and one other person here — my girlfriend. Well, and a bunch of weird animals.. Oh uh, beer's in the kitchen. ( He gestures that way, where Luna's witchy kitchen can be seen, homey and cosy and comfortable-cluttered. Still, despite his anxiety, Peter's trying to make conversation as he toes out of his Converse sneakers and pads into the kitchen. )

So what do you do around here? Do you go to the school and stuff?

( Oh — she's strolling on in! This is fine! Peter awkwardly trails along after Jinx into the kitchen, eyeing her weapon a little nervously as he moves to the fridge to tug out a couple of beers.

He sets them out on the counter with a clink and can't help a lopsided little grin at the reaction. Okay, mood. )

Honestly, the school here's a total waste of time. ( Peter's... hardly an ideal student.... He just kind of goes because he doesn't know what else to do, but he barely even shows up anymore. Or just sleeps through it. ) Like, I skip all the time and no one even cares. And the stuff they teach there is totally weird.

( He pauses before reaching for the beers again to tuck them in his arms and gesture towards the nearby living room. It's a cosy space, with a sofa and armchairs, and a big rug spread out in front of a warm fireplace. )

We can chill in there, it's warmer.

( Peter can't help giving a little laugh as he moves to the living room, sets down the beers on a little coffee table. )

Y'all live together, right? You and Sansa? ( Or.... kind of. Jinx's treehouse is on the property, right? (Again, that's an awkward subject that he's going to have to round back to eventually..... You can't stall forever, Peter.) )

Oh— yeah, this is all her. She's good at making stuff look comfy, right? ( Peter casts a glance around at the decor, all the books on the shelves and cosy blankets, and a few plants draped around. It's definitely cutey-witchycore. ) A lot better than me, my room's a mess. Oh, wait, speaking of—

( Peter gives an awkward shuffle to the side, leg bumping the couch as he moves. ) The weed's up in my room. Can't forget that! I'll uh, be right back.

( Is he slightly nervous about leaving Jinx and her machine gun alone down in the living room? Yes, but, the pot's what they came here for! So just excuse Peter as he shuffles up the nearby staircase and returns after a few minutes with a little tin. He'll sit back down and flip it open to reveal some pre-rolled joints all in a nice little row. )

You want one now, or after some beer? Or both at the same time.

( Oh he can just imagine how well Sansa must have taken to being pranked by Jinx...... rip Sansa..... Jinx doesn't seem like someone who would hold back with tricks and pranks.

(He also has no idea about the swiped belongings and probably won't realise until Luna points out that something's missing.... rip to them, too.....)

There's a lopsided little smile when she says both, and he nods, not at all going to suggest otherwise (look at Peter, already being so obedient to her...) )

Sure, both's cool. And mostly, but it's just a little different. Here, I'll uh, demonstrate. ( He picks out a joint and fishes a lighter out of his pocket, holding it up to light the end. Then, pinching the thing inbetween two fingers, he places the other end inbetween his lips and draws in a slow, calm breath. He holds it, then slowly lets it out with a puff of fog. It's all just a little more intentional that regular cigarettes, working the smoke around how you need it. )

You wanna kind of... hold it in for a little bit. Not tight, just really relaxed. Let it roll around in your lungs and then come back out. You should definitely feel it.

( It might take a little bit to feel the high itself, but the smoke? You'll know if it's going in and out right. Thick and hazy and a little raw against your throat. Peter holds up the lighter and tin for her to pick one out too, giving a dumb grin. )

And before you know it? You're just chillin.

( Funnily enough, Peter and Jinx may be at opposite ends of a spectrum; if she's all about living in the fast lane, he's definitely about taking things slow as possible. But sometimes even two people from very different perspectives can maybe come together, with the power of drugs and alcohol!

He looks up with a lift of his own eyebrows as the girl conjures her own means of lighting up the joint, looking impressed. Oh damn, that's handy... ) Nice.

( Before he leans back to take a couple more long drags of his own, watching Jinx to see how she reacts to it. Pot's nothing too crazy, some people do cough, but it looks like all's gone well and Peter grins again. )

Right? It's real mellow. I like having one when I need to just... chill out. At the end of the day or something.

( The beers are within easy reach, so he'll lean forward to take a sip of one of those, too. Before he tips it at her, curiously. )

Coldblood? Or maybe Darkblood? That one's mine.

( The power she'd displayed. Course, it could be something she came here with, but he's seen both those blood types do similar stuff. )

( The more Peter smokes, the less visibly anxious he becomes — that nervous edge to him settling into something relaxed. He drapes back against the sofa cushions, looking much more comfortable. )

Oh Paleblood, that's Luna's. My girlfriend. She's pretty nice, yeah.

( Which is an understatement, and he gives a little smile, half-lidded eyes warming in a way he doesn't have much control over whenever Luna's name makes an appearance. )

Palebloods are really... attuned to stuff. Like on a higher level; she gets visions and stuff. Darkblood's supposed to be warping reality, or something like that. Weird.

They have stuff like that where you're from? Magic?

( continues sipping on his own beer and taking relaxed drags of his joint, listening with an interest that's genuine. The topic of magic still scares him, even after all this time, but he's started gently trying to learn more about things like that. )

Scientists making magic... that's pretty dope. ( Not the kind of thing that'd be expected, he thinks. Science and magic seem like they're usually existing at opposite ends of a spectrum. )

I was thinking Vi must be from a world that had stuff like that. She never seemed too phased by this place.

( Not even after my demon fucking broke her arm, comes the intrusive thought, and Peter internally winces against it. Takes a longer, deeper swallow of beer, and realises he's already through with one, sets the empty thing aside. )

( The stuff he's got is pure, no weird shit in it to heighten effects — but it's good stuff, and it's strong. Paired with alcohol, he's definitely already feeling the familiar detached pleasantness, thoughts a little slower, mind gently stuffed with a couple of clouds. He likes feeling like this. It's not as numb as he usually gets — that'd take some more time — but it's a start.

He takes the joint back when Jinx offers it to him, snuffs it out and sets it back in the tin. Oh yeah, he'll definitely recycle this... Meanwhile Peter keeps taking hits of his own, slow but steady as he listens, eyes half-lulled and languidly looking over at her. Trenchies, huh. He has to wonder where that came from. Anything considered a "trench" is usually not a great place to be, and he's picked up on some snippets from Vi here and there about what it maybe was like. Didn't sound good. )

Is it... better here? Or was back home better?

( He's aware it's kind of a loaded question, but it's the sort of thing that's relevant here in this place. When you meet people.

While he's listening, he's slouching back into the cushions like a piece of melted cheese, one arm draped lazily over his stomach while the other keeps his joint pressed to his mouth. For as much as chatting with a stranger is intimidating (especially one who carries a powerful weapon around), Jinx is actually pretty easy to talk to. )

Beasts like.... monsters? Or like people?

( Because he knows the word can mean both, and there's an uneasy tug in the center of his chest for some reason (he knows the reason). )

( Peter listens in silence, a sobering frown tugging at the corner of his mouth, a soft nod. It's not surprising to hear, because he definitely gets it. People can be monsters, worse than any actual beast.

But Jinx's question has him freezing, something visibly wounded pinching his expression for a moment. It hurts, like a thumb pressed too hard against a bruise.

'kept your head down and did what you were told'

—He did, but it wasn't because his world was cushy and boring, no, his world was a fucking nightmare and every day he wanted to be somebody else. He had to keep his head down, in order to survive in that house. And it's because of that, because he did nothing, that his little sister's dead. He killed her.

Peter feels his stomach coiling in on itself like a snake, Jinx's words fueling the guilt that lives inside him. He feels the ghost of Charlie, small and soft and in so much pain. He pushes through a response. )

It was.... really different from this place. No literal monsters or anything like that. Just people ones. ( There's more to that, though. He could pretend there's not. But he keeps going. )

...Well, I always thought there weren't literal monsters. Turns out there were, they were just... hidden. Growing up, I didn't know they were there. ( Witches and demons and a group of people surrounded by flickering candlelight who wanted to break him open and fill him up with something else. She saw it, this girl. The dark thing inside of him. Does she recognise him? It's there, he needs to ask her, and he feels sick suddenly, lowers his joint with a shaking hand. )

Do you remember.... what happened? Do you remember me?