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+---- Thread: cut our teeth and make our bones right here (/showthread.php?tid=7764)
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Ronin - 12-09-2022
[say]"I already went into the water,"[/say] Ronin snarls at last as he angles himself to glare at Remi, blood dripping from the fingertips of his left hand and pain vibrating through every last nerve in his body. Like it or not, though, he does hunch his way over to the water's edge, taking his sweet time about it. And if the dock workers show up, well Remi will just have to eat them too, won't he? Ronin bets he'll feel real regretful for it.
The water is somehow colder than before, dragging a shuddering moan from the Hunter's throat, and he ducks beneath the waves to try and feel around with his good hand. It seems to take an eternity (maybe he just passed out and drowned down there?) but eventually he scrabbles up to the surface, the chain clutched in his fingers, lips blue with the cold.
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Remi - 12-09-2022
Frowning in response to Ronin's glare, still entirely ignorant as to the source of the Hunter's upset, the wendigo simply watches his partner dip into the water before turning his attention back toward the alley. Biting at the inside of his lip, Remi does actually try to think of what the right thing to do is. If he lets Ronin take his time that will mean killing the oncoming guards. This isn't necessarily a problem, except in hunts past when he's done the same, word came down from on-high about not killing anyone above their pay grade while on the surface.
But..
Glancing over his shoulder where Ronin was heaving himself out of the water just as slow as could be, Remi barks out a sound that's half wendigo-growl and half italian-frustration. Darting toward his pile of clothing, Remi dances himself into as best he can, leaving his pants undone, shoes untied and coat flapping open. His sweater he saves for Ronin, that he might try and negotiate his friend into it before they have to flee for their lives.
[say]'Quickly.'[/say] Standing nearby, teeth clenched together against the scent of blood and death that's as sweet to his tongue as the siren's song had been, Remi locks his gaze on the sky overhead, waiting to be shackled.
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Ronin - 12-09-2022
Alright, Remi, but it's really difficult to pull yourself out of water and shackle a fucking wendigo when you only have one working arm. And you're bleeding everywhere. And it's sub-zero temperatures. Especially when it could have all been avoided if someone had acted as a team rather than on his own opinion of what was best. and right.
Grunting a mix of pain and I'm trying, he finally manages to loop the silver around the wendigo in a passable version of a shackle, but of course by then Ronin can barely see. And so instead he lets himself loll against one of the storage units, his face upturned to the falling snow. There's a terrible numbness spreading up his legs and through his fingertips, but hey, maybe being this cold would slow the blood flow?"
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Remi - 12-09-2022
[say]'You are going to be alright.'[/say] Remi murmurs as soon as the silver forms a link around his waist. [say]"Wear it or stop the bleeding, your call."[/say] He adds, pressing his sweater against Ronin's chest. Without asking, he scoops the hunter into his arms in a feat of strength that would make movie watchers cry BULLSHIT. There are lights pulsing through the overcast gloom overhead signalling that the guards have had reason to call for backup, and it's at about this point that Remi thinks he really should have tied his shoes.
Shuffling behind one of the crates, his arms clutching Ronin against him like a baby, the wendigo peers into the darkness, counting 5...7..10 men. [say]"Fuck."[/say] He hums helpfully, glancing down at Ronin. [say]"I do not know what to do here."[/say] Said not so much as an admission, but a plea for help like this was just a locked-room challenge and Remi wanted to use one of his cheats, he kneels as low as he can while maintaining both his balance and his hold on Ronin.
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Ronin - 12-09-2022
If Remi thinks Ronin is going to be able to pull a sweater over his head with a broken shoulder then he's got even more of a sense of humour than the Hunter has ever realised. The sweater remains stuffed against his chest, Ronin's eyes rolling back in his head as he's scooped up into the wendigo's arms like a baby. And then they're off! Except they aren't, because why not have more trouble after getting out of trouble.
[say]"Jus' go,"[/say] he slurs. [say]"Put me down 'n' go. I'm dead anyways. They might arrest me, but they'll kill you. An' if they change their minds and kill me too, least it'll be quick."[/say] Quicker than this. Quicker than a siren's call, too, and that almost feels like a blessing by now.
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Remi - 12-09-2022
[say]"Ronin."[/say] It's at that point that Remi gives the Hunter a little shake, as if he might snap him out of it. The wendigo can smell blood and death yes, but he wasn't a fucking doctor. Besides, Ronin was too stupid to die, and it was near Christmas, and so...you know, he was going to be fine.
[say]'I will bite you with lots and lots of teeth if you do not snap out of it."[/say] Remi warns as if he was simply trying to get his partner out of bed. The bark of a dog filters toward them through the snowfall, and the sound has the wendigo hissing in a predatory breath. Retreating back to another crate, Remi's jaw feathers again and again as he waits for inspiration to strike. [say]"Seriously. I was a mechanic before this. I do not know what to do here, Ronin."[/say]
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Ronin - 12-09-2022
As he's shaken, Ronin does let out a rather loud curse that is - luckily - covered by the sound of a dog barking. [say]"Maybe should've thought of that before you tried to get me killed,"[/say] he groans, not realising there are tears on his face until the stinging sensation tells him they've frozen on his cheeks. And now, what? He's supposed to save the fucking day?
[say]"Amount of times we've been out and you got no ideas?"[/say] he gasps. [say]"Glad to know you been payin' attention."[/say] In the meantime, his good hand is floundering in the pocket that hasn't been shredded to shit, hoping that what he's looking for is in there.
Luckily, when he fumbles the item out of said pocket, it's still intact, and he barely glances at it before launching it at the ground. With a small, soft tinkle in the air, mist spills from the vial, blinding everyone in the vicinity. [say]"Use your nose,"[/say] Ronin mutters.
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Remi - 12-09-2022
[say]"I did no such thing."[/say] Remi remarks candidly, and if the smell of Ronin's blood wasn't making his mouth water and if their doom wasn't closing in all around them, he might have made a joke about finding Ronin suddenly in his arms.
[say]"Be sassy later."[/say] The wendigo grumbles, still taking this all in stride. Assuming Ronin is going to pull out some sort of healing potion or a pokemon-style escape rope, when his eyes start to burn and gas blots out his vision, he instinctively finds himself beginning to shift. [say]use your fucking nose[/say] He thinks harshly and nonsensically, shaking himself out of it before the seams of his jacket and pants split entirely.
Not needing to be told twice, Remi turns on his heel and moves silently back toward the tunnel they'd come up from. He could easily smell the humans and dogs nearby, though the inorganic objects that littered the dark proved much harder to navigate. So it was that he banged his knees and arms into various crates and storage units before he'd distanced himself far enough to be able to see.
[say]"Is your shoulder entirely fucked?"[/say] Remi whispers, lingering in a puddle of darkness as he waits for a patrol to pass by ahead. [say]"Getting us both down the ladder is going to be a hell of a thing if it is."[/say]
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Ronin - 12-09-2022
[say]"Looks like it,"[/say] Ronin says hoarsely, clearly not of the same opinion as the wendigo - he isn't even sure why Remi has allowed himself to be shackled or has decided to bridal carry him home, given how he could be long gone by now and Ronin wouldn't be any the wiser. The trip back towards the entrance into Undertown is little more than a painful blur, and he has no idea how much blood he's lost by the time Remi speaks up again.
[say]"It's broken, the siren bit two chunks outta it and shredded my wrist too, I think,"[/say] he mutters, sounding eerily calm now. Perhaps it's the recognition of imminent death. [say]"Got one good arm though. Jus' go first in case I fall."[/say]
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Remi - 12-09-2022
Remi only grunts in response, exhaling as he does so with enough force to flutter his lips. [say]'Okay well, so much for wearing you like a backpack.'[/say] He murmurs. Having not bothered to shove the grate aside, the hole down provides quite the tripping hazard. It would, anyway, if there wasn't the putrid stink wafting up from the undercity lighting it up just as clearly as a neon sign.
[say]'Nah.'[/say] Remi chuckles, of putting Ronin down. [say]"This is the most human contact I've had in months."[/say] He'd pretend to feel the hunter up to emphasize his point, if only he knew where the man's injuries actually were. Since he didn't, he merely adjusts him like a sack of potatoes that he might be able to free up one hand. [say]"Things are gonna get a little cramped."[/say] The wendigo whispers apologetically, having to hold Ronin quite close against him. The shaft was built for single-file use, and though Remi was scrawny, it still wasn't an easy fit. He'd have to leave the grate uncovered which was a problem, but without using his body to press Ronin against the ladder, he was out of hands.
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Ronin - 12-09-2022
[say]"A'right, but I'd really prefer--"[/say] Ronin begins, but oops they're already needlessly squeezing down a manhole and he's being pressed against a ladder by a wendigo who thinks letting a dangerous siren with multiple kills under her belt get her hooks into him is a good plan. (And not one Ronin agreed to, for the record).
Still, given that he's practically drowned once tonight already, either this level of suffocation is nothing by comparison, or he's lost too much blood for panic and claustrophobia to set in. [say]"Why'd you leave it so long?"[/say] he slurs into the darkness when it feels like they've been squeezing into the sewers for an eternity.
[say]"I didn't torture you, y'know. I tried to help. Could've gotten her without... this."[/say] The siren, he means.
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Remi - 12-09-2022
[say]'Nnnn?'[/say] Having to descend the ladder with just one hand to grip the rungs, Remi's breath comes in sharp exhalations as he finds a rhythm that works for them both (ayyo). [say]"Well, I thought we would only get one shot at her. If we didn't take her down tonight, she would know what to expect from us."[/say] The wendigo explains. [say]"She and I...we are not so different in some ways. My attention can be distracted when I am merely hunting. When I am playing with my prey. When she was singing to you, that is all it was."[/say]
Remi, who had been far enough away that the siren wouldn't have noticed him but that he could still see her, had known precisely what it was she was doing. [say]"If I would have come when you called, she would have had us both, or would have run, so I had to wait until you were the only thing she could think of. It is why I asked how long you could hold your breath."[/say] Shrugging, Remi chuckles softly. [say]"I did not expect you to detonate down there, though. I thought I got to be the hero, mm?"[/say]
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Ronin - 12-09-2022
[say]"Wish we'd cleared that up 'fore I decided to be bait,"[/say] Ronin mumbles, his head lolling unintentionally against the wendigo's shoulder. [say]"I'd have had some opinions 'bout it. Or I'd have prepared more."[/say] Or any number of other things that might have ensured he got out of the water without losing half his gear and the use of his left arm, as well as using his lightning in a bottle. Speaking of which--
[say]"Figured you were gone when you didn't respond,"[/say] he slurs, and he'd shrug if he was able to. [say]"Unchained on the first trip out - didn't think I'd hear from you after you didn't touch base. So I wanted to die on my terms."[/say] Electrocution is still preferable to drowning in his honest opinion.
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Remi - 12-09-2022
[say]"Well, you seemed very keen on your role."[/say] Remi replies. Up above, voices begin to rise in pitch: the open grate has been found.
I was only a few seconds late he begins to say, before nodding uncomfortably. [say]"I suppose I cannot blame you for that. I did think about leaving."[/say] It's an admission that shouldn't surprise anyone to hear, and yet the wendigo feels an annoying sense of guilt about it just the same. [say]"I thought she would hear if I responded to you, or that she would know something was up if you felt no fear."[/say]
The voices above begin to mash together as a spotlight is aimed down into the shaft. Luckily they've descended far enough that from above without any heightened senses or tools, Remi and Ronin are just a dark smudge. [say]"I am going to get you to the hospital and you are going to be fine, si?"[/say] Climbing faster, they reach the bottom with a bit of a thud as Remi finds his footing. His pants have helpfully fallen down around his ankles and his shoes still aren't tied.