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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 - 05-04-2023
[say]"Makes a change from my blood,"[/say] Ronin points out, [say]"if you can even call what came out of you blood."[/say] Jamming his free hand in his pocket, at least with gloves and layers the hunter isn't feeling the bite of the cold either, and if nothing else he can cheer himself up by watching Remi stalk around looking silly in his coat. It doesn't work as well as he hopes, alas.
At first when the other man asks his question, Ronin can't give much more than a snort and a [say]"You wouldn't believe it anyway,"[/say] but of course there's too much rattling around in his mind to keep it at bay for long. Pinching at the bridge of his nose, he eventually shrugs in a way that feels resigned.
[say]"Changelings don't just stop being what they are because they grow up,"[/say] he says. [say]"Doesn't matter what we might want to do or be. We're bound to whatever took us. Only maybe I ran away, and threw my lot in with a literal faerie godmother instead."[/say] Except now he's been found, and well, it was good while it lasted? Maybe?
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Remi - 05-04-2023
[say]"Hey,"[/say] Remi scoffs as if offended, before realizing that no, Ronin was probably right to point out that he didn't exactly bleed what ordinarily passed for blood. [say]'Well, don't you get frostbite trying to play the hero, mm?"[/say]
Drifting between his partner's reluctant explanation and the smell of flighty hoofed things ahead (the herd from before, so Remi swings them in a different direction), he considers briefly before shrugging. [say]"So we kill them."[/say] He suggests indifferently, if only because as Ronin had pointed out earlier, no, Remi doesn't really believe in this stuff (despite having just seen a shapechanger). [say]'Or you get yourself a bag of those magic nuts."[/say]
Boyishly, this has Remi snorting laughter under his breath just before he draws to a sudden stop and his amusement becomes more pronounced. [say]"About fucking time."[/say] He chuckles, waiting for Ronin to catch up and nodding ahead in the distance, where, wonder of wonders, someone has mounted a stag's skull onto a tree as some sort of decoration.
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Ronin - 05-05-2023
[say]"I should be alright - I didn't give you my shoes, at least,"[/say] Ronin remarks, glancing fleetingly down at the boots on his feet protecting his toes from the weather. Those, combined with his gloves, scarf and other layers, and he should be doing fine providing they don't decide to go for a little swim in the aforementioned river. It doesn't look that way, given how Remi steers them in a different direction, and the hunter follows at his partner's heels without paying too much mind to where they're going.
Unable to help himself, he snorts a laugh in response to the wendigo's simplistic solution. [say]"Right, of course. Why didn't I consider that?"[/say] He rolls his eyes. As if it would be that easy. [say]"And unfortunately, sunlight in a nutshell isn't a cure-all for Fae bullshit."[/say] It's helpful, don't get him wrong, but that sort of magic doesn't exactly grow on trees. (Oh, the irony).
Unsure what Remi finds so amusing, it's a few more steps before Ronin can draw up beside the wendigo, and when his blue eyes land on the decorative stag's head, his blood all but freezes in his veins. Familiar patterns and runes have been carved into the bone, and he swallows hard and shakes his head. [say]"We don't want that one,"[/say] he assures Remi. [say]"We'll leave it for tonight. Come on."[/say]
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Remi - 05-05-2023
[SAY]"Ah right. Because that's the only place you'd get frostbite."[/say] The Wendigo snarks back, and it's only because he doesn't know how to tell Ronin that he cares more about the hunter's wellbeing than his own at this point, that he continues to argue the point.
[say]"Because you're the beauty and I'm the brains."[/say] Remi replies with a jovial shrug. That a bunch of walnuts aren't going to be the solution to all of Ronin's problems is par for the course, but it still has Remi huffing out a note of disappointment. [say]'So we just kill them, then.'[/say] He concludes. [say]"We'll do it like that did in that greek battle."[/say] Was it greek? Fuck if Remi knew, it wasn't like he'd paid much attention in school. [say]"Where they funnelled their enemy through that narrow opening. I can take them if it isn't all at once."[/say]
Having already started to reach out for the bones, Remi pauses and turns accusingly toward his partner. [say]"You aren't just stringing me along, are you? Making up some bullshit quest or whatever just to take me out on walks?"[/say] Straightening slightly, it's with the memory of Ronin's hand in his and the hunter saying it wasn't out of pity that had the Wendigo narrowing his eyes. Maybe the touch hadn't been out of pity, but was this?
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Ronin - 05-05-2023
[say]"Stop thinking about all the other places I might get frostbite,"[/say] Ronin says in a wry parody of what would usually be their regular humour, and were he not so preoccupied with everything that has just happened, he might have pulled further at that thread of conversation (though whether to embarrass Remi or just because is anyone's guess).
[say]"The brains, right,"[/say] he murmurs, and this time maybe he does smile behind his scarf, because they both know beast is probably what others would call Remi. But he's a very intelligent beast, so either one could be arguably appropriate. [say]"300, wasn't it? With the Spartans?"[/say] Not that Ronin has seen a movie in years, it feels like.
Greek battles vanish from his mind, naturally, at the sight of the engraved deer skull, and while Ronin is already backing the fuck away from it, he can't help the glare he levels back at Remi. [say]"Stringing you along? What, you think I hired a shapeshifter to stab you in the fucking belly just to give you something to do?"[/say] He shakes his head incredulously and gestures towards the skull.
[say]"That thing is a sign of Cernunnos, AKA the Fae that's looking for me. It's a fucking message, not a gift."[/say]
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Remi - 05-05-2023
Make me sits primed and ready to go on the Wendigo's tongue, but even he's able to notice that his partner's normal shitfuckery has been toned down somewhat, and so he resists.
[say]"Yeah, I think that's the one. I think I could take 300 of them, don't you? Give or take?"[/say] Just how much of a belligerent cocksure asshole Remi had been in his former life was anyone's guess, but certainly becoming incredibly hard to kill hadn't made him any less reserved when it came to facing danger.
With gears switched in both of their minds, Remi regards Ronin blankly in an effort to keep the predatory snarl off of his lips. [say]"No, I belive all that was out of your control. But I mean this..this whole hunt today. All your berries and bones and whatever."[/say] From his point of view, there was a perfectly good set of antlers right here, but oh look, Ronin had a reason why these wouldn't do.
[say]'Okay well...message or not, isn't it still the thing you need?"[/say] The wendigo wants to know, folding his arms across the chest of Ronin's jacket and looking all the more stupid for his bare legs and blown-out shoes.
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Ronin - 05-05-2023
[say]"As long as you had that funnel tactic, sure,"[/say] Ronin says, and he means it despite sounding somewhat far away - and a little hassled, as their conversation continues. As for his berries and bones and whatever, now it's the hunter's turn to stare blankly at his partner.
[say]"Funnily enough, not everything I do is for your benefit,"[/say] he snarks back. [say]"If you remember, everything I use when we go out on a hunt was ruined and destroyed when I was drowning. And whether you believe it or not, I need this shit to replace a lot of it."[/say] And fine, yes, he had invited Remi along precisely for his benefit. But Ronin could have done it alone, is the point he's making.
[say]"It's antlers, sure, but I've got no idea what else I'll be bringing back with me if I take them,"[/say] he mutters. [say]"I'll come back out another time if I have to, but that thing isn't coming down to the complex."[/say]
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Remi - 05-05-2023
Running his tongue along his teeth behind his tightly locked lips, Remi huffs a sarcastic puff of laughter as he sneers up into the treetops. [say]"No, of course it isn't."[/say] He agrees in a low voice, shaking his head. [say]"Because unlike me, you can actually make decisions about what you want to do, when, and with whom."[/say] Was it with whom, or who? Fuck it, he wasn't backtracking now and he thought whom had more bite, anyway.
Letting his gaze snap back to the hunter's, a smile plastered onto his face now in such a way that it was starting to hurt his cheeks, Remi felt a wall rising between them that previously green paint and talk of plastic plants had broken down. Maybe it wasn't pity that had made Ronin sign Remi out, but it surely was necessity. That's how it felt anyway. [say]"Ahh right, so it isn't a field trip, it's just penance for all the shit that got ruined because of me."[/say] Said with enough accusation to imply that Remi still very much did not feel that apologetic about what and how things had happened that even deaf Ronin should have been able to hear it.
[say]'You lead the way then and I'll just shut the fuck up and be the muscle, right? That's the deal?"[/say]
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Ronin - 05-05-2023
[say]"Oh sure I can,"[/say] Ronin scoffs, [say]"right up until those dozens of pairs of eyes in the trees come back for me and haul me off into the dark. I suppose you'll be happy then though, because finally you'll be left completely alone."[/say] It's fear of the inevitable that sharpens his words now, because where Remi merely sees a deer skull with engravings along the antlers, Ronin sees his entire youth and the deep scars that go with it.
So as Remi decides a great deal about the hunter and lets him in on very little of it, Ronin is far too wrapped up in amorphous shapes, silver knives bound in rawhide and the lord of the wild things to take the bait. So instead, little more than a quiet [say]"Fuck you,"[/say] escapes his lips, and he turns to stalk away into the dark treeline, pulling his scarf up over his nose and mouth.
Turns out he is pretty cold without his coat. Funny, that.
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Remi - 05-05-2023
The feelings those words inspire are precisely the reason it's easier to be an asshole monster than just a misunderstood one. The second someone tries to understand, tries to get close, suddenly they can do just as much damage as any old monster might.
[say]"Yeah, fuck me."[/say] Remi agrees flatly, realizing with biting clarity that no amount of paint cans or smuggled-in drinks or Merry Christmases would ever make the pair friends. Not so long as Ronin could just check Remi out any time he needed help and Remi would be forced to comply.
Serendipitously for one and bitterly for the other, Ronin would feel his coat tossed at the back of his head followed by the bone-crunching sound of Remi shifting. Since he was here to protect Ronin and apparently nothing more, there was no need of a mouth to speak with, now was there?
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Ronin - 05-05-2023
Serendipitously and bitterly, the rest of the trip passes without incident. They don't get the stag antlers and Ronin doesn't try to look for them, and by the time they return to the complex and he has to chain up his partner again, a heavy snow has started to fall. Ronin signs Remi back in with little more than a muttered goodnight, and since he's never had any idea that the wendigo is strategically planning his own suicide, that is pretty much that.
Days pass, and the hunter doesn't come to visit. Indeed, if Remi asks about Ronin (debatable, we know) he'll be told that he's out of town, whatever that might mean. Given how few places there are to go beyond undertown and the heavily patrolled surface, it's a mystery as to where he could have gone.
Eventually, though, on a night of a lunar eclipse, a siren whines through the complex. Groaning, pitched low and high at the same time, it echoes as an ominous trill calling every available unit of hunters to the surface. Something big is out there, and it necessitates a very rare group response. And Ronin is there at last, signing the paperwork to collect his partner.
Besides looking as though he's not slept very much (and when he has, it's probably under an open sky), the hunter is in one piece, and he hovers impatiently nearby as he waits, itching at the heavy stubble on his cheeks.
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Remi - 05-05-2023
Sadly, some are wise to the signs of suicide such that Remi's attempts to get himself locked into his little padded closet where he most easily might lash out at a guard and perhaps receive a killing blow, have been obfuscated at every turn. That doesn't mean the Wendigo's bad behaviour has gone unpunished of course, it just means that Suuususususususan has decided to oversee it personally.
So it is when Remi is brought out for Ronin's inspection, the hunter will find his partner fitted with an entirely new set of shackles. Don't worry, there's things for you too Ronin: before handing over the leash, Ronin is given a small pamphlet that outlines what and how to use Remi's new safety measures. On his wrists and ankles are devices that administer shavings of silver right into the wendigo's bloodstream. It isn't enough to kill him, even when it passes through his heart, but it is enough to drop him to his knees.
[say]"Fucker'll heal, but y'can just keep pressin' it, y'know?"[/say] The guard explains with a satisfied smirk before handing a device over to Ronin which presumably controlled this very feature. Of course there was no mention or consideration given to whether or not the shackles hurt Remi simply in virtue of being on, but chances were that they did. Looking heavily medicated, whatever else Susan had done to the wendigo was hidden in virtue of his rapid healing.
[say]"All y'rs."[/say] As the leash trades hands, Remi keeps his eyes placidly on the floor.
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Ronin - 05-05-2023
[say]"Sorry, what?"[/say] Ronin blinks a few times down at the pamphlet without really seeing it, the silver chain he carries specifically for let's pretend we're taking Remi out for a walk feeling heavy and useless in his hands as he's passed a brand new leash with a brand new wendigo attached to it. [say]"Wh--"[/say] And now there's a device in his hands too, Ronin instinctively wanting to crush it under his foot but knowing that doing so might actually do more harm than good.
[say]"Fuck me,"[/say] he mutters wearily, his grip on the leash white knuckled at best, but the groan of the siren and the impending let's all go fight the bad thing! vibe he's getting from the complex prevents him from calling the guard back. [say]"How did this get through Isla?"[/say] he asks as he leads them out of the building, following the stream of other hunters towards their route to the surface. [say]"I'm sorry, I had... I needed to take care of some business."[/say]
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Remi - 05-05-2023
Heeling like a perfectly well-trained monster, the immediacy with which Remi answers Ronin's question might suggest that as of late there has been a good deal of punishment for jackassery or time-waisting. [say]"Isla hasn't been around."[/say] He mutters. Maybe she was on vacation too. Hell, Remi had thought she and Ronin had been together given both of their sudden lack of presence in his life, were it not for the hunter's apparent ignorance. Pregnant then, or maybe Susan had just finally put her (enormous) foot down.
It didn't matter. All that mattered was getting the remote Ronin had into the hands of some jumpy and inexperienced hunter. Susan had said it wouldn't, but the wendigo was almost positive that if all of the silver was injected all at once, it'd kill him. No way his heart could take it, whatever his healing speed.
Feigning deafness over the wail of the siren despite being able to hear Ronin perfectly well, the wendigo just shakes his head as if he hadn't caught the hunter's apology.