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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 - Remi - 07-25-2023
[say]"You know this seems to be a trend with you, have you noticed?"[/say] The wendigo wonders, smirking. [say]"First I cannot see your lovely demigoddess because I am not sexually proficient, and only now can I appreciate your mightiness?"[/say] He tsks playfully under his breath; as in other universes, Remi is somehow naturally able to bring levity in the moments Ronin is at his lowest.
Looking at the collar, Remi flinches for a moment - his eyelashes fluttering in a needless way as his chin lifts - before he submits readily enough. It wasn't Ronin's fault, and he knew it. Besides, if any of this was going to continue to work the way it needed to, the collar was important for both of them.
[say]"Hey, I told you that in confidence."[/say] The wendigo sasses with a roll of his eyes, as if being quick was in reference to his performance in the bathroom earlier with Isla. [say]"Well, at least I will know the coffee is good this time."[/say] He adds, before subtly picking up the pace that they might reach Ronin's apartment that much sooner.
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Ronin - 07-25-2023
[say]"Is it a trend, or am I merely trusting you enough to let you in on the things you weren't aware of before?"[/say] Ronin asks with an exaggerated tilt of his head, all Chris Hemsworth's is it tho? until he catches the way the wendigo flinches at the sight of the silver choker. [say]"You'd think they could have given you a bracelet or a ring or something instead,"[/say] he remarks quietly; now it's the hunter's turn to try for a little bit of levity in the face of his partner's trauma.
Either way, he joins Remi in picking up the pace back through the tunnels, because he wants some good coffee now as well (he'd tried to make it the way Remi did when he was at the apartment, and succeeded only in making a mess smelling like burnt, over-brewed coffee). And it's surprisingly easy to get back to his apartment - whether because no one has expected Ronin to actually invite Remi back voluntarily, or they think the experiment is still ongoing, no one stops or questions them.
And it feels far too familiar for him to unlock his door and skirt the silver chain aside, letting the wendigo into the apartment. It's much the same as when he left - even the room Remi had been staying in remains however he'd arranged it, apart from the little piggybank. That now sits in plain view on a shelf just beside the television set, so Ronin can remember to put his spare change into it.
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Remi - 07-25-2023
Pretending to consider for a moment, it's with a decisive shake of his head that he decides no. [say]"Definitely a trend."[/say] He confirms sagely, before smirking. [say]"I think Grimm likes all the monstery connotations that come with wearing a collar."[/say] Remi guesses with a shrug; even were his restraints more subtle, the wendigo would still hate them.
Trying not to focus on just how easily done this all was and how familiar and right it felt to be slipping back into the hunter's apartment, it was without any apprehension at all that the wendigo slipped through the door. Feeling instantly better once inside, as if this was some checkpoint that now reached, meant the pair were safe, Remi ruffled a hand through his hair before sniffing audibly at the air. Able to smell both Ronin's burnt coffee as well as his breakfast, the wendigo spun on his heel to fix his partner with a disparaging stare.
[say]"How could you burn coffee?"[/say] He wants to know, though whether he means how are you so stupid to have done that, or how absolutely dare you, isn't clear. In fact, it's both.
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Ronin - 07-25-2023
[say]"The monastery connotations,"[/say] Ronin repeats, pulling a face that, had he had a regular Irish upbringing, would likely be loaded with Catholic guilt. As it stands, he's clearly just a little grossed out. [say]"She'll have you wearing a cassock or a crucifix before long,"[/say] he warns, happily locking out the rest of the world and, like Remi, feeling suddenly as though he's able to breathe again.
There's a reason, after all, that his apartment is everything-proof, and now that the wendigo has met Morgan and all the things she's capable of making Ronin do, hopefully he understands why. As for the coffee, the hunter winces under the weight of Remi's gaze and shrugs his shoulders. [say]"I mean, I could show you, but I feel as though you wouldn't like it. What if you just... you can do it, and I'll sit and watch very closely?"[/say]
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Remi - 07-25-2023
Why not both, Remi's expression seems to say, and indeed there was nothing like a silver collar to inspire fear and dread of the supernatural. [say]"A c-ass-ock?"[/say] The wendigo repeats, somehow making it sound both like cock and ass despite having no idea what the word meant. [say]"A crucifix might be fine for a while. It would help stretch out my shoulders if nothing else."[/say]
Whether it was because of all The Office they'd been watching or whether Remi was really looking at something else hardly matters; turning his head the wendigo stares like an Unimpressed Jim at an invisible camera, before waving Ronin over into his own kitchen. [say]"Come on, we can do it together. You seem like a hands-on learner, anyway."[/say] He sasses chipperly.
[say]"Step one, do you know how to boil water?"[/say] Remi asks with a voice so patient and fake one would suspect that there was a ventriloquist in the room with them.
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Ronin - 07-25-2023
[say]"I wonder how they'd get it into your room,"[/say] Ronin murmurs with a grin, only for it to fade into a scrunched nose and a quick shake of his head - no thank you, he absolutely doesn't want to be thinking about it in too much detail. Luckily there's a deadpan wendigo to distract him, and though he hasn't expected it, the hunter does shuffle up beside Remi in his own kitchen. To make coffee. You know, something that should absolutely be straightforward.
[say]"You have to boil the water?"[/say] He claps his hand to his forehead as if Remi has unlocked his little mind. [say]"See, that was where I was going wrong - I was just setting the coffee grounds on fire."[/say] Rolling his eyes and resisting the urge to jostle a shoulder against the other man's, Ronin does indeed know how to boil water, and he fills the kettle and sets it onto the stove to do just that.
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Remi - 07-25-2023
[say]"Oh, I'm sure they'd just have me build it in my room."[/say] Remi says offhandedly, before grimacing as if just saying the words would be enough to have the idea forming in Grimm's mind.
[say]"I know, you would never suspect it, mm?"[/say] The wendigo replies, all Italian sass and rolling syllables. Folding his arms across his chest and watching Ronin reach for, fill, and then heat his kettle as if something very important rested on his ability to do it perfectly (and, it did: coffee), the wendigo gives a curt nod before reaching into the cupboard where he'd last left the scale.
[say]"Now, the ratio is really what makes it."[/say] Remi explains, glancing at Ronin as if to make sure that the hunter was listening. [say]"Always 2/3 water, and 1/3 coffee and always by weight. Never by volume."[/say] Nodding at the scale, the wendigo somehow made all of it sound like it was some science experiment rather than just brewing coffee. [say]"Now if you want it a little stronger, you only add a little more of the coffee. A common mistake is just dumping more in, but no."[/say] Tutting under his breath for emphasis, with hands that were impossibly still, Remi began to measure out the two components needed for the perfect cup of coffee.
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Ronin - 07-25-2023
Don't worry, Remi - Ronin isn't just listening, he's writing it the fuck down too. With a notebook having appeared from within one of the kitchen drawers and a pencil that looks as though it's been sharpened with a knife, whatever other glyphs and runes and weird spellwork and rituals are in said notebook (there's also a recipe for a fritatta) disappear as he turns to a new page. [say]"By weight, not by volume,"[/say] he repeats as he jots it down in shorthand.
Listen, Remi isn't always going to be there (and no, he's not going to think about that too closely thank you) and after blessing Ronin with Italian coffee making skills, the hunter never wants to go back. After ensuring his notes are accurate he glances up to watch the wendigo at work, finding himself smiling despite everything else that has happened that night.
[say]"I still think the barista idea is better than the crucifix and collar,"[/say] he mutters, raising his eyebrows at the other man.
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Remi - 07-25-2023
Glancing at the notebook in the hunter's hand, the wendigo seems to be actively debating whether to mock his partner, though ultimately he decides against it; making a good cup of coffee was vital, in Remi's opinion, and no doubt there would be opportunities later to act surprised that Ronin was actually able to write all on his own.
Chuckling under his breath, the wendigo shrugs almost bashfully. Given that he wasn't even allowed to be in Ronin's apartment just now, it seemed unnecessary to point out all the reasons why being a barista wouldn't be in his future. Besides, having not had the chance to play house-barista in years, he felt all warm and fuzzy as he went about the motions, pretending just for a moment that things were normal.
[say]"Crucifix and Collars could be an interesting name for a cafe, though. It sounds very edgy. Maybe a BDSM room in the back and a statue of the Virgin Mary in the front."[/say]
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Ronin - 07-25-2023
Snapping the notebook shut - and he's very grateful not to be sassed at for taking steps not to be sassed at for burning his coffee, thank you Remi - Ronin reaches out to take the kettle off the stove as it starts to sing at them. He doesn't instantly hand it to the wendigo, having realised from watching the other man that he didn't always pour the water straight over the coffee, but he does leave it within reach.
[say]"A BDSM coffee house? Damn, that's a missed opportunity,"[/say] he murmurs with a crooked smile, shaking his head. [say]"You know, I bet there are people out there who are into being cut up by monsters and bitten and all that. It was a kink before the monsters were real to everyone, after all."[/say] And he doesn't know how to feel about that, especially because the imagery is completed by a visual of Remi covered in blood and dressed as a priest.
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Remi - 07-25-2023
[say]"Not too long, but you do wait a moment or so."[/say] Remi says, speaking halfway through a thought or perhaps answering the question he thought Ronin was thinking about when to pour the water over the grounds. Nodding after a few seconds to indicate that Ronin could pour the water when he was ready, the wendigo turned to lean comfortably against the counter.
[say]"Oh I remember. Twilight came to Italy, unfortunately."[/say] He said with a frown, crossing his arms before snorting under his breath. [say]"But then, I think only certain kinds of monsters make it into the fetish category. Given that I am the wrong kind of bony as a wendigo, I doubt if I would make anyone's shortlist."[/say] Though maybe his kind just needed better PR.
[say]"So, if I were to run a BDSM coffee house, what is it you would be doing in this other life?"[/say]
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Ronin - 07-25-2023
Nodding and following Remi's instructions, Ronin pours the water until the weight on the scale says he can stop, before setting the kettle back down and letting out a breath he doesn't realise he's been holding. (Listen, who knew coffee making with an expert who also happens to be a wendigo could be so fucking stressful?)
[say]"Oh, don't be so hard on yourself,"[/say] he says with a wave of his hand and a grin. [say]"If a fae witch is into you, it isn't hard to imagine other people would be. Pretty face like that - you'd be on plenty of shortlists. Though maybe we'd have to give you a haircut."[/say] He is starting to look like he actually belongs in the Canadian wilderness.
Grinning and feeling the words balanced on the edge of his tongue for a moment - I'd be visiting the coffee house, of course - Ronin clears his throat and shrugs his shoulders. [say]"I really... haven't ever given it a thought, doing something other than this,"[/say] he admits. [say]"I've been hunting monsters since I came back through the veil. I don't know if I'd be any good at anything non life-threatening."[/say]
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Remi - 07-25-2023
Tsch Remi cries suddenly, reaching out for Ronin's wrist to slow the speed of water. [say]"Slowly!"[/say] He corrects as if the hunter was a moron for not knowing. [say]"And in a circle, like this."[/say] So saying Remi begins to guide Ronin's wrist so that the water poured evenly, slowly, and in a circle overtop of the grounds. [say]"It is no good to pour it all in and have the water pool. It must constantly be moving to get the best flavour."[/say] He explains, before releasing the hunter and settling back against the counter.
[say]"Into me?"[/say] The wendigo repeats as one side of his face crinkles in dismay and confusion. [say]"Oh yes, pretty face indeed. I have heard that the coke-look is coming back."[/say] Which was just to say that Remi's tone-less physique and horror-filled eyes might belong in some weird editorial spread if nowhere else. [say]"No? I thought it looked good."[/say] Running a hand through his blonde hair which was starting to curl slightly, he shrugs - a gesture that involved both his hands and shoulders - before smirking.
[say]"Okay, but in a world with only regular monsters, like pedophiles and the very rich. Would that make you...a cop?"[/say]
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Ronin - 07-25-2023
Jumping a little - proving that yes, Remi, he is a still a bit on edge after his meeting with his godmother - Ronin finds his hand and wrist unceremoniously seized and guided into pouring water over the coffee. [say]"Of course, of course. That was absolutely obvious in a way that I should have definitely always been aware of."[/say] This is said deadpan, naturally, while maintaining eye contact with the wendigo now that he doesn't have to be aware of the trajectory of the hot water.
Setting the kettle down properly once he's done (and eyeing the coffee as if it might hiss at him for being bad at this), the hunter soon turns his attention back to Remi. [say]"Well, given that most people are struggling to eat properly nowadays, you might fine the coke-look is just accentuating your natural beauty?"[/say] he tries, failing to hide his smirk. As for his hair, Ronin tilts his head and shrugs. [say]"How about this - you ask Isla whether it looks good, and whatever she says is the right answer."[/say]
His amusement quickly fades when the spotlight swings back onto his (lack of a) career path, and as Remi walks him logically down the garden path to cop, the hunter is somewhat horrified. [say]"Oh gods, it would make me a cop, wouldn't it?"[/say] He doesn't know if he likes that at all. [say]"A cop that hangs out at a BDSM coffee house, huh?"[/say] Hello, next AU.