Ch. 2 - Legends are made when you're Jack of Fables

[originaljackass]

[Right now he's got his feet kicked up on a stack of all the various books he could find where he was in them. Collections of fairy tales, fables, and more colorful adaptions - all of them. The other day he raided the library and took all of them home. If people want to go off and read about him, they'll have to talk to the real thing first. After

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[noprevaricating]

[Kennedy, like any good bachelor, is getting both dinner and the equipment to make it with at the same time. Tonight it's apparently steak. In a frying pan. And there are some oranges. While picking out the frying pan, he catches one Jack Horner out of the corner of his eye. It slips out before he can even think.]

Oh hell.

[originaljackass]

Kennedy! [He's spotted you. Unlike the last time you saw him, he's dressed sharply and clean shaven. Quite a change from last time.]

Haven't seen you around. You been avoiding me?

[noprevaricating]

Like a leper. [He's not apologetic about this.] Keeping up your image, I see.

[originaljackass]

No reason not to. [He suspected as much that Archie had taken to avoiding him, after their previous encounter.] I take it you've decided to pass.

[noprevaricating]

I've not decided anything, Jack. I've been quite thorough in avoiding you. [In other words, he's been trying not to think about it.] Am I running out of time?

[originaljackass]

Seeing as I've not found a way out? No. But keep pussyfooting around it and I'll probably lose interest.

[Not in escaping, Archie. In you.]

[noprevaricating]

[He got that. He's not impressed with the posturing.] You do understand I could ruin your reputation quick as fire, don't you?

[originaljackass]

Ruin my reputation by purporting a bunch of stuff you only think is true. There's nothing I told you that I'm worried about getting out there, sailor.

[noprevaricating]

You approached me and asked me to tell everyone you're some damned hero. Perhaps you think everyone around you loves to be manipulated. I think it'll put a few people on guard.

[originaljackass]

I asked you to tell everyone what was already fact. And who doesn't love a hero worship?

[noprevaricating]

Fine, Jack. If you can prove to me that you're the hero everyone wants, I'll help you. If instead you prove to be no better than an insufferable and ineffectual arse, which is the more convincing, you'll allow me to avoid you as I please.

[He grabs a skillet, biting back a lecture on hero worship, seeing as how "no one but my best friend (and possibly the commodore) is worthy of it" isn't a valid argument.]

[originaljackass]

That's where I've run into trouble. Helping New Feathers out, carrying books for people and all that stuff isn't my typical hero stuff. Doesn't seem to be a whole lot of hero work to be done around here.

[Seriously, a town like this is just begging for monsters and giants to be coming out of the woodwork.]

[noprevaricating]

That's your trouble, Jack. You have to think about what you could do for people to like you. You don't actually look at anyone.

[originaljackass]

What exactly is that supposed to mean?

[noprevaricating]

It means making a laundry list of heroic deeds and waiting around for someone to give you an opportunity to do them is pathetic. Things don't happen that way.

[originaljackass]

Before this place, I couldn't avoid them happening.