Oy Vey

[Riddle]

Her eyebrows flew up as she quickly accepted the money and added it to her satchel. Hard enough to steal, but soft enough to share. Interesting. Of course, she would have found the girl a hell of a lot more interesting if she wasn't on the run from a goddamn double murder charge. And if her only option for a home weren't the home of her badly betrayed ex-boyfriend, the accessory to said murders, who had explicitly warned her never to come near him again.

"I...I, uh...probably shouldn't stay there," she said, a tremor entering her voice. "He...he might think to look for me there. Maybe there's another place nearby? A cheap inn, or a room over a pub or something? This'll tide me over till I get a job." She patted the satchel.

((Bedtime for me! 'Night!! <3))

[Zippy]

Zippy blinked. "Who?" There was someone looking for HER at the lodging house? At Zippy's safe, secure, friendly lodging house?!

Well if stepping into her own doom wasn't bad enough, now she was living in another's. Great. Zippy might just crack. Suffocate. Give up.

Let everyone else, but her, win.

[Riddle]

Riddle swallowed. She'd betrayed Goblin Pearson, gotten him nearly killed and literally scarred for life, and he had actually never done a goddamn thing to her. In fact, he'd put freedom and vengeance in her hands--again, quite literally. In a twisted sort of way, she was more in love with him than ever. She wasn't going to get him in trouble for the damage some Refuge guard had done to her.

"I really shouldn't say. Don't wanna start nothing. But I'm sure I'll find some other place to live." She flashed the girl a quick, fake smile, then glanced around nervously. "We should head out."

[Zippy]

"Yeah, we better," Zippy agreed, reaching for one last box of cookies to take before heading towards the pantry door.

But it wouldn't open.

Zippy tried again, pulling harder this time. "What the..." She set the candle down and jiggled the knob.

[Riddle]

Riddle's heart raced. She was not about to get caught and thrown in jail for life, or worse, because a pantry door wouldn't open. She joined the other girl and twisted the knob, pulling with all her might. No luck.

Karma, that was the only answer. Divine fucking karma. She actually started laughing.

[Zippy]

Zippy's eyes widened.

No. This....this couldn't be happening. The pantry door couldn't be locked, so it must have been stuck.

"goddamn stingy Jews. The door gets stuck a lot, I kept telling Benny it needed to be fixed..." She muttered outloud, mostly for herself. She threw all her weight against it.

Panicking, she glanced over at the girl. "Staying here is not an option. What do you got?"

[Riddle]

In answer, she threw herself against the door with all her might, bounced off, and landed on the floor. She looked up at the girl, her laughter finally trailing off. "That's it. That's all I've got. Looks like God's watching after all." She wrapped her arms around her knees and scanned the shelves, searching for anything resembling booze.

[Zippy]

Zippy was way ahead of her and grabbed a bottle of wine from one of the bottom shelves. "Shabbos wine, maybe it'll bring us some luck," She popped the cork and took a sip, then handed it to the other girl.

"You don't happen to have a knife or another form of a weapon on you, do you?"

[Riddle]

Riddle took a long swig of the wine, closing her eyes in rapture in spite of everything. She hadn't tasted alcohol in...well, it had to be over a year now. She handed the bottle back to Zippy with a wary look. "Why? 'Cause I look like someone who'd have a weapon?"

[Zippy]

"No, because if you don't, I'm dead," Zippy responded, sliding to the ground and digging her face in her hands. Why didn't she pick something up before she came here? She knew why- because she couldn't use it even if she had. Her only skill was being quiet like an alley cat. So much for that.

[Riddle]

Riddle raised an eyebrow at her. "What were you gonna do, stab the rabbi when he finds us in the morning?" She was sure this girl didn't have the guts for that. "What's your story, anyway? Can't hurt to tell me, if you're dead and all."

[Zippy]

"Not the rabbi," Zippy said to her seriously. "The rabbi's son." And Riddle was wrong. She'd stab the shit outta Joseph if it meant she could get away without any of his "colleagues" eventually finding her and killing her.

[Riddle]

"Which son?" Riddle blurted out. A moment later, she was so astonished by her own stupidity that she could have stabbed herself. Then again, if she was going to be trapped in here all night, she'd be caught no matter what.

[Zippy]

Zippy blinked at the girl, suddenly hesitating. Shit, she had told the girl too much.

Who was she, anyway?

However, Zippy had the same thought. If they were stuck here, she was good as dead anyway. "Joseph. The eldest."

[Riddle]

Of course it's Joseph, Riddle thought grimly. Mark could be sullen and reserved, and Simon attracted trouble without even meaning to, but it was Joseph who had the mean streak. He was the reason Riddle grew used to analyzing moods and motives, and the reason she first learned to stand up for herself. "What'd he do to you?" she asked casually, snagging the wine bottle for another swig.