cut our teeth and make our bones right here

Ronin

welcome to the playground, follow me
tell me your nightmares and fantasies

Ronin will apologise for this on his next visit, of course, by renting a tuxedo (the finest you can get in Undertown) to wear. And maybe he'll shoot Remi as well - you know, for realism. For now, though, there are only the horrors of the past 24 hours, because Ronin hasn't been given any vitamins or sponge baths and even though he knows the wendigo is being ironic, jealous much?

"I'll have you know that I have been honing my looking-like-an-asshole aesthetic for years now. Some novice bondage gear isn't going to cut it." He manages a smile this time at least, though whether it doesn't reach his eyes because of the situation or the shiner isn't all that clear.

Waiting until the guards click the doors shut until his shoulders relax, Ronin snorts and ruffles his hand back through his dark hair. "Better than me," he admits fully. "I am suspended for a week. Like the monsters are going to go easy because I got detention."

sink into the wasteland underneath
stay for the night, I'll sell you a dream

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Remi

Welcome to the wild, no heroes and villains
Welcome to the war, we've only begun

"Novice?" Remi scoffs as he tilts his chin up. "You're going to need a hell of a lot more than a safe word to get out of this get up, let me tell you." You'll need said hot blonde, but nevermind. The jackassery continues until the pair are alone—or alone as Remi ever gets to be down here.

"Suspended? What is this, grade school?" Sighing through his nose hard enough to have his mask fogging up, Remi shakes his head. "All because your fist ended up against someone's face?" If the wendigo sounds incredulous, it's because he is. The Hunters are a rowdy lot at the best of times, and Remi has seen them act far worse during bar brawls than anything he could imagine having happened with Ronin. 'Well, great. Maybe a few of the idiots will get themselves killed off up there." He says carelessly with no thought for any loyalty Ronin might have to his comrades. They were all assholes in the wendigo's opinion. Ronin too of course, but just to a much lesser degree.

'They let you come say hi to me, so that's something. Unless this is you breaking up with me on account of how dangerous I am..?"

Higher and higher you chase it
It's deep in your blood, go and take it

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Ronin

welcome to the playground, follow me
tell me your nightmares and fantasies

"And here I thought you were going for Bond villain, but all along you're just a bad Houdini impression," Ronin says with an exaggerated sigh. (Isla in this situation is, of course, the beautiful assistant).

But then they are alone, and Ronin scoffs out a laugh. "Well, that and... you know... assisting in the near-escape of a feral, failed experiment." He raises his eyebrows as if Remi might have forgotten that part. "But yes, perhaps I did then also start and finish a fight with a few of the mouthier assholes from that crowd." He won. He doesn't think Remi cares, but it still matters.

"Oh, they would fully deserve it," Ronin agrees, making it quite clear that, at least for the individuals he'd put his fist through, there is no love lost, and zero loyalty left. Rolling his shoulders, he lets his gaze drop towards the ground after that, gently shaking his head. "Not exactly," he mutters, "given that you're the reason I look like shit today. They should never have paired a green Hunter up with you."

sink into the wasteland underneath
stay for the night, I'll sell you a dream

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Remi

Welcome to the wild, no heroes and villains
Welcome to the war, we've only begun

"Oy." Remi huffs. "Houdini had a key under his tongue." He argues good-naturedly, wondering where Isla might keep her taser in the skin-tight and sparkly dress she'd wear as his assistant.

"Who was escaping?" Remi wonders with a smile, shaking his head like this was all some misunderstanding. "And I will have you know I am a very good experiment. I have several stickers that say so. Some even smell like grape if you scratch them."

It doesn't escape Remi's notice that when Ronin rolls his shoulders it's very cool, and tough and broody looking, where by comparison Remi just looks like some uncomfortable junky. Smiling faintly, Remi's gaze drops to somewhere around the hunter's knee. "No need to fight on my account." He says a touch lamely. "You are never going to convince anyone of anything, and it is not worth risking your pretty face for."

As for the greenness of the hunter? Remi shrugs. "Honestly, you wouldn't have faired better than he did against a siren. Not without hearing protection. His mistake was thinking he could just shake my chain like some fucking pokemon that would suddenly fight the fight for him." Running his tongue against the back of his teeth, the wendigo sighs again. "It was too late by then. She already had her hooks in him."

Higher and higher you chase it
It's deep in your blood, go and take it

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Ronin

welcome to the playground, follow me
tell me your nightmares and fantasies

"Are you saying that you don't have a key under your tongue? And here I thought you were luring me into some grand escape attempt," Ronin retorts. Unlike Remi, he is not thinking about Isla in a tight sequinned dress; he's thinking about the tunnels and how the butt of Susan's gun felt cracking against the side of his head. Different vibes, you understand, as proven by Remi reiterating the lack of escape attempts. "The worst part about the stickers is I'm not entirely sure you're joking," he says dryly.

As for his pretty face? Raising his eyebrows, Ronin slouches back in his seat at last. "I wasn't aware we were exchanging compliments now. You're not bad yourself, though the mask isn't doing anything for your complexion if you don't mind my saying." All that is to hide the whole but I'll still punch people in the face because they fucked with you part of the equation.

Conversation soon moves to the siren and the Hunter and the whole sorry mess that got them here, and he rubs a hand across his forehead, careful of the shiner. "You'd think they'd have given him some fucking training at least," he mutters. "What the fuck did they expect?"

For him to die and for this to happen, a soft, sinister whisper suggests to him from the back of his mind.

sink into the wasteland underneath
stay for the night, I'll sell you a dream

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Remi

Welcome to the wild, no heroes and villains
Welcome to the war, we've only begun

"I am saying that if you want the answer to that question, you will have just have to come and see for yourself." Remi replies, waggling his eyebrows and flaring grinning behind his mask. Snorting, the wendigo's grin can only grow. "It is a very sophisticated program here Ronin, come on." He replies, intentionally making no attempt at all to clear things up. Though actually, were anyone up there listening, he really would like a fucking sticker, thank you very much.

"Yeah I thought we'd try something new." Remi agrees. "As for my complexion, I am sure there are monsters in more tropical places you know if it is really that bad. I think we could both use the sun."

Shifting ever so slightly (if only because, you know, he was in a straight jacket and slight movements were all he could really afford), Remi shakes his head. "I doubt if they knew what was up there to be honest, not that it would have made a difference. And now she gets a full run of the place since we are both grounded." What a funny old world this was.

Higher and higher you chase it
It's deep in your blood, go and take it

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Ronin

welcome to the playground, follow me
tell me your nightmares and fantasies

"Well, you're right on that much, at least. This place just screams sophistication." You know, as far as bumfuck subterranean pocket cities go anyway. And, you know, it's nice to think of going to hunt monsters in more tropical climes, because Remi is right - Ronin could use both the sun and the vacation, if he's honest. (This doesn't count of course, because it's suspension, not a vacation).

"I'll bring another hip flask for you, but this one will have a little cocktail umbrella in it," he says by way of agreement, smirking at the mere thought of some CSI Miami version of what they do going on out there. Still horrific, of course, but now sunglasses.

Ronin does wish he could be more righteously happy about the siren being able to run riot on the surface without them, but fuck if he didn't get into this game for a reason, and it isn't the fucking money, put it that way. "They'll call us in," he says, sounding quietly certain about it, "eventually. Once there are enough deaths."

sink into the wasteland underneath
stay for the night, I'll sell you a dream

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Remi

Welcome to the wild, no heroes and villains
Welcome to the war, we've only begun

"It certainly screams something." Remi agrees, glancing at the awful shade of pink bleeding from the walls and frowning.

Sliding his eyes back, the wendigo grins wickedly behind his mask. "Can't wait." Not only would there be sunglasses, but there would also be slow-motion montages of them walking on the beaches in their hawaiian shirts, taking off said sunglasses in uniform movements. "You should talk to Isla about that though. She made me some new cocktail last night." Remi says this as if the doctor had genuinely been mixing him a drink instead of manufacturing new chemicals to inject him with. Sophistication, you see.

"Now that I can wait for." Remi grumbles with a huff. "I bet we'll be allowed up again once new security measures have been put in place. I wonder if I will get some sort of chip in my head that explodes at the push of a button." He means it as if this were some monster movie, though as soon as the words are out he flinches into silence as his eyes dart up to where the cameras are.

Higher and higher you chase it
It's deep in your blood, go and take it

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Ronin

welcome to the playground, follow me
tell me your nightmares and fantasies

The only thing missing from their slow-mo Hawaiian shirt sunglasses montage is, of course, explosions. Which they don't look at, obviously, because cool guys don't. Ahem - anyway. "I'll put us down for a temporary transfer as soon as I get the chance," Ronin says in conclusion with a decisive nod. Oh, for it to be that easy. He's not even sure much of the tropics are still above water any more.

"Oh? Are these the vitamins you were telling me about?" He raises his eyebrows. "What did she give you? Tequila pumped directly into your veins? Because I'd take some of that if there's any going spare." It sounds like the opposite of getting a saline drip which, after the last 24 hours, seems fucking lovely.

It isn't dawning horror on Ronin's face at Remi's suggestion so much as a sinister double take; a ha ha that checks back in on itself to swiftly become an oh... yeah. "At this rate, the next people I start punching will be the security department," he remarks, and he's only half joking. "So was this beautiful outfit just for me, or is it mandatory now?"

sink into the wasteland underneath
stay for the night, I'll sell you a dream

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Remi

Welcome to the wild, no heroes and villains
Welcome to the war, we've only begun

If Remi could have, he'd have raised a hand over his heart and bowed his head in deep appreciation for Ronin's efforts. Alas, all he can do is shrug slightly and let his head loll to the side as far as his restraints would allow. "Just make sure you check the dates with Isla first to make sure my schedule is free."

Grinning and waggling his eyebrows again, Remi nods and straightens slightly. "Mmhm. You know how when you were a kid people used to say that spreading your fingers out over your knee was 1/10th of an orgasm or whatever it was? Well, this was at least 2/10ths." Remi poorly explains with a smirk, not bothering at all to amend his explanation.

"I keep hearing about this new thing called behaving ? But honestly, it sounds suspicious." Fully regretting the straightjacket and mask now, Remi tries not to fidget and instead focuses on taking measured breaths. "A little from column A, a little from column B. The funny thing about all of this is just how close people have to get to me to do up all those straps. Really, it's an utter hazard when you think about it."

Higher and higher you chase it
It's deep in your blood, go and take it

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Ronin

welcome to the playground, follow me
tell me your nightmares and fantasies

"A good point - I'll make sure I have her check your calendar," Ronin agrees with the sort of tone that would likely have Isla slapping them each separately for their misogyny. Trying and failing to hide a smile, he does wonder how much waggling Remi's eyebrows can actually do before his face gets tired, though the whole orgasmic thing is as good a reason for it as any.

"I'm sorry - just to be clear - are you saying that Isla made you wendigo viagra and you want me to serve it to you with a little cocktail umbrella? I'd like to know we're on the same page here, that's all." Is he grinning? Is it an especially shit eating grin? Perhaps, yes.

Behaving is suspicious, and Ronin can tell Remi that for absolutely nothing. Still, he barks out a laugh to imagine a bunch of nervous interns and scientists trying so hard to get him into the jacket, the Hunter shaking his head. "It would make me want to take a snap at them even more, personally," he agrees, "but you didn't hear that idea from me. Still, I feel almost robbed of your..." There isn't really a way to describe it, and so Ronin simply mimics a quintessential Italian gesture. "You know?"

sink into the wasteland underneath
stay for the night, I'll sell you a dream

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Remi

Welcome to the wild, no heroes and villains
Welcome to the war, we've only begun

What? It's because she's a doctor and has everything carefully regimented...and, you know, just a bit of misogyny, but mostly the other stuff. As for the eyebrow waggles? It's one of the few bits of exercise he can manage while he's all tied up, thank you very much Ronin.

"No, no. This was after my sponge bath." Remi corrects with a sigh that suggests Ronin is being slow. "This was more like...a mini orgasm for good behaviour type thing. And yes, that is exactly what I would like served to be with a cocktail umbrella, preferably somewhere tropical." God, was it really too much to ask for?

Gazing towards the cameras with a much more mischievous tilt to his head, Remi lets his stare linger for a moment before returning to Ronin.

Remi's smile is slow, beginning first in his eyes, then the laugh lines around his mouth, and finally to the spread of his lips. "Better men than you have tried to pin me down." He says on a laugh that has his cheeks flushing slightly. "So I will not blame you for finding the words. " The hand gesture though? That he very much approved of. "That said.." Growing slightly more serious, though Remi is unable to lean forward properly, he does manage to hunch a bit.

"Whatever you have to do, do not go after the siren without me." One might be tempted to think it was concern in Remi's pale golden-green stare, but of course we know better. He's just a monster who wants a kill and not the type of man capable of real friendship anymore.

Right?

Higher and higher you chase it
It's deep in your blood, go and take it

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Ronin

welcome to the playground, follow me
tell me your nightmares and fantasies

Ronin is glad that Remi can find the humour and mischief in a situation that is, for all intents and purposes, quite fucking dire. Even if it's all an act, it's one he can bounce off quite easily, and he gives an exaggerated nod to show his final, dawning understanding. "A mini orgasm, huh? That's better than wendigo viagra," he remarks, because even with a raging hard on, it's not as though there's anyone to fuck, right? Right Isla? Right?

The smile is a little creepy in a way that absolutely doesn't match up with the flush to Remi's cheeks, and Ronin surprises himself by finding it... perfectly Remi, actually. "Better men than me, huh? I wasn't aware that a wendigo had such a connection with saints and other do-gooders," he says dryly, tilting his head at his (former? suspended?) partner.

That said...

Ronin had no idea until now that two words could so completely change a mood, the Hunter swallowing hard and bowing his head in a nod, locking eyes with the wendigo. "Of course I won't. It's personal now, besides. When you and I take it down, I'll expect compensation for you for all of this." This being the hellish past 24 hours, naturally.

sink into the wasteland underneath
stay for the night, I'll sell you a dream

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Remi

Welcome to the wild, no heroes and villains
Welcome to the war, we've only begun

Grudges might last, but protocol rarely does.

No matter how spitefully members of the staff wanted to keep Remi locked up, it only took a handful of hunters returned back to the compound slung over shoulders in varying levels of dead, for him to be put back into rotation. To the surprise of no one at all, not even the most boisterous of hunters who claimed they could absolutely keep him in line ever showed up to sign him out. So it was that when the light above Remi's door flickered on to indicate that he was going to be pulled out for duty, he had no doubts about who he'd find at the front door.

"And a merry chrysler to you." The wendigo sings with obnoxious cheer to the guard who tugs at his leash. Though Remi can withstand the cold, he must have been an awfully good boy this year to have received a sweater to wear under his jacket. No gloves, but he'd likely end up shredding those anyways.

Higher and higher you chase it
It's deep in your blood, go and take it

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!