Cursing, L thought he might as well go with it. “There are 9 other lumberjacks, friend, and not a single one of them called out for me. Are you saying none of them are true lumberjacks? No, they’re fine lumberjacks who fell giant trees for a living, and who put their lives on the line. They’re just not kind,” L said, shrugging.
Jroll grumbled something in between bites. He had a basket with a couple pieces of bread in them. He did not offer him a piece, and instead ate in silence. After the longest while, Jroll spoke. “No, don’t give them slack on that. A lumberjack has no excuses.”
L did not say anything for a while, not for dramatic reasons, but rather because nothing came to his mind to say. Only after a while did L open his mouth. “It was my mistake. I zoned out with the ax, and that’s something you should never do,” he said, guessing.
“It is,” Jroll said, nodding, “ but everyone gets into the rhythm of it. It’s no fault of your own.” The birds chirping above them filled in for the pauses in between each exchange. “What made you decide to take this? I hear you’re hammering under Kullburd.”
This time, words came to L freely. “I just wanted to.”
Jroll chuckled lightly, his voice laughter deep and heavy. “I guess so,” he said, handing L a piece of bread.
That’s it? That’s all I had to do to win his trust? Seriously? L’s complaints were lessened by the sound of his teeth grinding against the stale bread. “Thank you,” he said, in between bites.
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“Weren’t you an immortal? Why do you look more like a beggar than a person with power?” Jroll asked, glancing at him from the side.
“Most immortals are sadly like this, Jroll, we’re all beggars until we can get a footing."
“All y'all are immortals. You don't die. How do you not make a living?”
“We die and bleed like any other being, Jroll, we just come back from death, but we come back weaker. We’re not superhumans--most of us at least.”
“Why don’t you kill beasts? Their bodies sell, and the city rewards” Jroll said, raising an eyebrow. "Like you did with Thrawl."
“Sure, I would love to do that, except that without Thrawl, I would have been outnumbered against the beasts. He died, too. Know of any that I can find, and actually kill without dying? Also, the prices are raised when I buy,” L said, waving his hands around, ”And lowered when I sell."
Jroll frowned. “Why don’t you team up with other immortals, if beasts are so dangerous? Make them sell instead?”
“Because, Jroll,” L said dejectedly, “Immortals are dangerous, too.”
“That’s your fault,” he said unsympathetically, “That you can not work well alongside others.”
L swallowed his bite with difficulty. “I guess it is.” Neither said anything for a while, the sound of their mouths chewing against the hard bread. Why did he ever decide to take this race? He’d done his research, and he knew how frustrating it was to live in Null without a contact list to fall back on. But didn’t L have a contact list? Surely his comrades could make use of his skills, so why did he not--
“But this life isn’t so bad, is it?” L said, interrupting himself. He placed a hand on Jroll shoulder and stood up, patting his trousers for any crumbs.
“Not unless you learn to be normal and get along the others,” Jroll said, also standing up. “That means no running around yelling random noises at poor folk who don’t know any better.”
“Oh,” L said, widening his eyes, “People heard of that?”
Jroll laughed, attracting a few disapproving glances from the men around. “The smarter of us laughed. The others begged the Luke to hire a priest to purify them.”
L did not bother to stifle his chuckles. “Back to work, I guess,” he said, as the head lumberjack called everyone back to work.