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Cadel had to admit, in totality, that he was.. something akin to bored. Though, it wasn’t far off from an attempt at distraction— just belatedly not the main reason for his perhaps bizarre try for entertainment.
Prosper had his head tilted in his direction. He never did keep his eyes off Cadel anymore and Cadel himself was rather pleased to note that it was probably because of his perfectly-executed plan with the poptarts, a broken beyond repair toaster, and fire.
Better yet, Cadel had managed to clear up any bit of evidence against him. So, really, in an odd way, he was feeling fine. Great, even, between his pretty successful plan and getting back at Prosper.
Well, not entirely. The whole situation was still pretty chilling and the potential harm to Sonja was something that had Cadel in a state of constant vigilance.
Even if Prosper got what he wanted, who was to say he wouldn’t just shoot Sonja? She’d hold no more use for him..
But Sonja would be fine. There was no use for Cadel to keep stressing about it, he decided.
He’s done everything he could to keep her comfortable since then. He’d talked to her about that new Mathematics theory she had told him about before.. everything. But was his everything enough to keep her safe?
In any case, it was that feeling of calm he got from watching Sonja slumber peacefully against the coach they shared, Cadel decided, that led him to the decision he made.
“Prosper?”
The man in question gave him a lazy regard, blinking half-liddedly in that feline way of his. He kept his shoes and torso angled towards Alias— whom he was playing poker with— but Cadel knew him better than that to know Prosper was alert.
“You’ll do well to keeping your mouth shut, dear boy.” Prosper assessed Cadel’s position against the coach alongside Sonja’s sprawled form. “I’d been under the assumption that eating those poptarts had shut you up."
Cadel grimaced. For as much as he didn’t get lead poisoning, he also wasn’t a huge fan of oversweetened, dry foods practically shoved down his throat as punishment.
He rolled his eyes idly. “English? Should I call you English instead?”
Prosper, this time, fully turned himself to Cadel’s direction. His eyebrow was raised in an otherwise unamused way if not for that slight narrowing of his eyes. “What is it? Plotting another distraction? Another hare-brained scheme to seek freedom with that deadweight?”
The jab at Sonja had Cadel’s hackles raising. “Don’t call her that. Her name’s Sonja.”
Oddly enough, Prosper actually didn’t seem all too intent to fighting him about that point. For all he hated Sonja, he seemed rather alarmed at Cadel’s attempt at conversation in the first place. Enough that his dissatisfaction was merely shown but not verbalized.
Prosper’s eyes flicked to Sonja’s still slumbering form. She looked at peace. It wasn’t anything like that drug-induced sleep they’d forced her into.
“What are you up to?” Prosper got out of his seat, leaving his game with Alias behind without hesitation. “I propound that you understand the concept of ceasing any form of escape so soon. But alas, prove me wrong whenever.”
That was the fun thing about Prosper, Cadel decided.
Prosper was so used to their once shared scheming and Cadel’s mind that, with a bit of circumstance, would simply be unable to consider that Cadel was ever to do anything without reason.
“I think Saul..” The word felt odd against his tongue but Cadel continued, “.. mogs you.”
Despite having been silent all the while, Alias coughed violently from the side. His fist thumped against his chest repeatedly to get himself under control. His eyes were widened, and it was a look of pure incredulity that no disguise would’ve been able to conceal it.
“Mog.” As expected, Prosper had no clue what that sentence meant but it didn’t mean context clues were beyond him. “Do you think your police friend really has anything above me?”
Cadel felt a brief thrill as he swept the recesses of his mind for anymore slang Hamish had dared bestow upon him. He had found them stupid at the time but they have proven themselves useful in the endeavor of messing with Prosper.
”In fact, I think your.. aurafarming is not half as glazeworthy as his.”
Alias nearly fell out his chair. It was more obvious now that coughs and startled laughter intermingled.
Prosper didn’t mind the byplay, though. He narrowed his eyes at Cadel, body language growing dangerous. “What does that mean?”
Quite literally staring death in the face, Cadel glowered back. It was the glare that had people hesitating at his innocent features; the one people had warned him of showing. “Just be a good person. Brutal.”
And if, perhaps, Cadel found himself at gunpoint when Vadi got back with the groceries.. it was definitely, entirely, his fault.
