Chapter Text
Jinx has not exactly had the easiest life. It’s like she was fucked from the start, being born in Zaun.
At least she was born into a loving family. All those years ago, little Powder and her big sister Violet. Inseparable since Powder was born, basically.
Then at the ripe age of six years old, she managed to lose both her parents. Her dad, she doesn’t remember much. She has a picture of him and her mom, but her mom is the one who seems the most familiar. A pretty woman with deep blue-purple hair. But she thinks the most she remembers from her mom is her smell.
After discovering that little tidbit way back when, she was immediately taken in by a big warm man named Vander. He was a bartender at this place called the Last Drop — Jinx tries to avoid that place, now. She was still Powder, back then. Then she grew up to make little gadgets and toys.
Well, then she kind of caused his death, at twelve. Vander was in some sort of trouble because — back in another life; the life had before he was a walking talking foster home — he had stuck himself in the crime underworld of Zaun. People came for him, Powder acted like a crybaby, if you ask Jinx. Jinx doesn't ever think about that day on purpose.
And then she was an orphan again for about all of thirty minutes. And then she wasn’t, because she was then taken in by Silco, a man from Vander’s past. That’s when she was made into Jinx, simultaneously dipping her toes into the crime world of Zaun right along with her various parents before her. It got her in an awful lot of trouble.
Jinx dropped out of high school at sixteen because she’d developed a couple of issues. Just a small handful. Like schizophrenia, but she doesn’t really want to talk about that.
Oh, but apparently Jinx is doomed by the narrative. She managed to get him killed when she was eighteen.
Months later, she managed to get addicted to drugs. Not, like, several drugs. She wasn’t that desperate for a feeling; it was only shimmer. That’s when Sevika — Silco’s right hand woman (ironic term if you ask Jinx, considering a right hand is the only one she’s got) — decided to take a couple steps farther into Jinx’s life. She’s kind of like a big sister. Or maybe that’s the part of Jinx talking that was dying for one. Dying for a big sister, because Vi had abandoned her all those years ago. Back when Vander died.
Anyway, Jinx had to get sober sometime after she turned nineteen because she was blowing her money on shimmer and she needed to figure out how to live. Not really her money — it was what Silco had left her. He always lingers somewhere. Mostly when she’s not on her meds, but he usually just lingers in the back of her mind.
She had an apartment, albeit a shitty one with expensive rent for where it was at. But it was close to work — her current main job at the corner store. It gets harder and harder to get hired by people when all your history tells them is ‘dropout street rat that’s had too many jobs to be good at this one.’ Truth is, she was good at all her previous jobs. But on several occasions, people had pissed her off and she couldn’t help herself when it came to snapping back at bitchy people. That’s why Jinx kind of illegally does welding gigs on the sides so she at least has something to fall back on.
So, yeah. Her financial situation is a little fucked. But she’s working on straightening it out.
Sevika offers money, but Jinx doesn’t want it. She doesn’t ever have enough of her own to pay Sevika back. So Jinx doesn’t ever take Sevika’s money, and Sevika stopped offering. Jinx feels like death itself every time she has to ask for it despite insisting she doesn’t need it.
But she’s doing good, right now. She’s eating and paying rent while also managing to have money for various little knick knacks if she so pleases.
Jinx scoops up her bag, putting it over her shoulder and humming along to the music blaring in her ears from her headphones. She’s trying to check the weather, but her phone wants to be a dick, so it won’t load. Sevika’s got stuff to do, so she can’t drop by and give Jinx a ride home willy nilly.
Whatever. It’s not raining, so Jinx couldn’t care less about the weather. She just forgot her umbrella and didn't feel like getting drenched without a warning on the way home.
Jinx is hardly even six feet away from the doors before she hears it. Feet hitting a puddle. Not her own, because the ground she walks on is dry. It comes from behind her, and a little to the right. Like the alleyway.
Living in Zaun, Jinx usually tries to stay away from the alleyways. She has people who want her dead because she killed one of the biggest crime bosses in the city. That’s not even the only reason. There’s just freaks in the alleyways, all the time.
Jinx glances over her shoulder, and instead of a burly man with a chloroform rag, she just spots a little kid. Oh. Well, that’s not all that bad.
A hundred feet later, and there’s still little feet pattering behind her. Jinx had paused her music because if a kid following her doesn’t scream lost child, it definitely screams human trafficking. Which is why she stops on the corner to dig in her bag, pulling out chapstick. And simultaneously, a pocket knife.
And then she crosses the street, and the kid is still following. Running across the street like the kid knows Jinx. When Jinx gets to a darker street, that’s when she turns around.
…
”…Why are you following me?” Jinx speaks up, her hand discreetly flicking open the pocket knife, hidden by her long jacket sleeve.
The kid says nothing. Oh, great. Jinx glances around, finding nobody. No set up. Jinx flicks it back closed, hiding the pocket knife as she shoves it into her pocket. If this really is just a lost kid, then it’s probably not a good idea to whip out a weapon.
Jinx steps closer with a sigh, keeping her hand on the knife and her nail in the divot of the blade that opens it. Just to be safe.
“Are you lost?” she asks when she crouches down, her free arm laying itself over her knees.
Radio silence. Wow. Riveting conversation, kid.
Jinx knows if her first two questions didn’t get answered, then it’s likely that any other ones won’t, either. But Jinx can’t go home until she gets this straightened out, because she’s not letting someone follow her home, no matter the age. “Okay. What about parents? You got parents, kid?”
The kid shakes her head, tiny little hands fidgeting in front of herself. Jinx sighs.
“Why are you out here?” Jinx questions with a shrug. This kid has to be mute, or something. Not deaf, because Jinx already got one response. So she’s got a mute child on her hands, and no way of communication other than a nod or shake of the head.
“…Do you have anywhere to go?” she asks instead, because it seems like she’ll get farther with this question. The kid shakes her head. Jinx sighs.
Well, shit. What does she even do, here? She could grab the kid and take her around in circles a couple times just to check if she’ll get kidnapped or killed. She’ll either have a kid on her hands, or she’ll be a victim of several possible crimes.
Jinx tilts her head. A bug skitters across the concrete between them, and the kid takes a little jump back. This can’t go that bad, can it?
Jinx sighs, exaggeratedly so. “Alright. C’mere,” she says, standing up and feigning annoyance, purposefully horribly. Her hand pats the kid’s back to encourage her along, and the kid is more than happy to.
*
Jinx has a list of things to do once she gets home.
1: Make food.
This one is a little hard, because Jinx forgot she was supposed to go grocery shopping. She manages to dig out some off-brand cheese out of the fridge and a box of crackers she was planning to eat with her dinner. Okay. Well, she’ll just get something delivered, later.
1.5: Call Sevika.
This, Jinx does while sorting through the fridge. She’s not sure if Sevika will even pick up right now, but she calls anyway. She keeps the phone pressed to her ear with her shoulder as it rings, hands digging through the pantry that she is well aware she needs to clean.
Sevika picks up, and Jinx quickly moves to hold the phone with her hand. “Why are you calling?”
”Good to see you, too,” Jinx replies, tossing an empty box over her shoulder towards the trash can.
”You don’t call for important reasons. What do you need?” Sevika’s words make Jinx roll her eyes.
”I have…” Jinx grabs the box she was looking for. She bought these last week, but they aren’t expired and they aren’t stale, so they’re fine to eat, “a situation.”
Jinx hears Sevika mumble an ‘oh lord.’ Then she hears a soft thud from the living room, and she turns around to investigate. Then she trots over to pick up the fallen throw pillow off the couch.
”What have you gotten yourself into, now?” Sevika asks when Jinx hits the pillow on the sides to fluff it back up.
Jinx makes a stretched out ehhh sound. “Maybe it’s just better if you just see for yourself,” she mutters, sentence turned up at the end like she’s questioning her own words. She ruffles the kid’s hair as she speaks, just so the kid doesn’t feel bad about knocking the pillow off the couch. It’s not like she broke something.
”I don’t like the way you said that.”
Jinx huffs. “Okay, if it makes you feel any better, it’s not that big of a deal.” She can practically hear the way Sevika narrows her eyes through the phone, like she doesn’t believe her.
Sevika sighs. She’s not really sure what to expect from Jinx this time. She’s seen just about everything. “…Fine. Give me… thirty minutes.”