a pair of aces and eights (DESERT DUO)

bluff

bluff - a bet made with a hand that is mathematically unlikely to be the best hand.

-

He'd like to say he got used to being 'fired'.

The firing being officially part of a mission made his break much more bearable - it no longer feels like he's wasting time doing nothing. There is a type of calm from not going to work that he just hasn't thought about before. Mornings are suddenly much more quiet, evenings stretch long into the dark of the night with no need to wake up early. He finds himself walking down to the grocery store with no sense of urgency, reminding himself of an old man who's slowly shuffling along the street, watching his surroundings like he was really trying to take it all in.

Grian knows the layout of the city like he knows the back of his hand - or at least the most prominent parts of it - chasing someone who has settled down in this city for a decade does cement the need to always keep the upper hand, always looking for the little ways to slip out, to hide. But it's not like he knows every nook and cranny of every store that's lined across the street from his apartment to his workplace. To be honest, he only really knows the grocery store and a discount store that has basically anything he'd ever need. Besides that, maybe a café that Mumbo has forced him to go to. A restaurant that his superior gave him a coupon to. A pizza place that he goes to when he's feeling fancy during a lunch break, and a fast food place that he needs to avoid since it ramps his cooking laziness up tenfold.

And that's... about it. He's been living here for the majority of his life... Now he feels somewhat stumped. He should be a local by now, but if someone asked him for directions to the closest... art supply store? Pet shop? Any of the niche stuff? He wouldn't know where to point them to.

His phone lights up with a notification and, rolling his eyes, he forces it deeper within his pocket. Either it's one of his annoying apps that he doesn't even use, or it's Mumbo texting him. If it was his superior, any of the Watchers, then they'd use the communicator to get ahold of him.

Martyn already did, a bit panicked - or rather, very panicked - asking Grian why he stormed out past him again, if the rumors are true. Surprisingly, Grian felt some guilt in his heart as he responded:

This user's communication device is no longer in service. For further information, please contact your team leader.

He blinks with the realization that a small group of people travelling together in front of him have stopped walking, staring at him as he pushes past them. Sort of rude - standing in the middle of people's way and staring at them when they want to pass. When he twists his head to take a quick peek back, they're still watching him, but trying to make it less obvious.

He walks a bit faster.

Mumbo heard about the firing through the grapevine, just a few days after it happened. He was met with a similar spiel he heard from Martyn - a sort of panicked, but mostly confused storm of messages. The worst part about them was probably one in between, just a quick, was that my fault?

And, very gracefully, Grian responded:

44 ERROR: This phone is no longer in working service.

Mumbo, of course, isn't dumb, so he told Grian something about that trick only working once, and he can't believe this is the third time that he's tried to avoid talking to Mumbo like this. Grian answered, 44 ERROR: LEAVE ME ALONE NOWWWW and then left it at that. Mumbo also kind of accepted it, which is always how it goes. No grudges and no communication - Mumbo's bread and butter.

When he turns the corner, he almost runs into someone. They take a step back, ready to apologize, before stopping mid-breath to look at Grian with raised eyebrows, mouth open like they forgot to close it. Grian utters a short apology and speeds on. He just wants to get to the store really quick and he's been wasting so much time just walking around and pondering. Usually, he'd already be home by now.