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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 - Isla - 05-07-2023
Isla likes to think of herself as a strong woman, but the sudden burst of speed is surprising enough that yes, she absolutely does flinch, and in the couple of seconds before Remi speaks she's absolutely convinced that this is it - today is finally the day when she does get her throat ripped out. So when she hears his whispered voice, the breath she lets go is almost a shudder, the doctor gazing up at him with a mix of sad resignation and indignant fury; not at him, but at the situation.
[say]"I know,"[/say] she whispers back. [say]"But I don't know how I'm supposed to fight it, Remi. Your behaviour over the past few weeks- and I know why, and I know it isn't fair and I wish I could do anything to change it - but it's made me look like I have no control. And then Grimm comes in with these shackles and like it or not, they worked."[/say] Her hands reach out to squeeze his shoulders, an apology as much as anything else.
[say]"If I had anything I could give you, it would be yours,"[/say] she whispers. [say]"But it's just me."[/say] No alarms, no calls to action, no cameras in the room.
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Remi - 05-07-2023
If there was a question of how much humanity was left in the monster, let this serve as an indication. As Isla's hands come to rest on Remi's shoulders and her eyes meet his, the wendigo freezes. Able to really appreciate just how stunningly beautiful the doctor was, whether in spite of or because of her sad fury, Remi finds himself all but shell-shocked. Memories of just how much she'd done for him, how kind and tactful she'd been during all of his worst moments -- and to still be here, on top of it all (disappearance aside) -- would have been too much.
But the tangible nearness of her just now? The pebble-blue of her eyes beneath long and full lashes?
it's just me.
Stutter stepping back and wrapping his arms around his torso, Remi gives his head a little shake as his eyes fall to the floor. Beauty might have killed the beast, but monsters weren't usually worried about things like how far out of their league said beauties were.
God, but the wendigo hadn't felt so lonely in a long, long time, and somehow the lack of alarms made that even worse.
[say]'Ronin can come if he wants.'[/say] Remi murmurs lamely, turning partially away from Isla to look around his new room.
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Isla - 05-07-2023
Unsure what to expect and preparing for anything apart, perhaps, from what actually occurs, Isla is left blinking in the silence and space that opens between them. Swallowing hard, she straightens up and gives him a gentle nod. [say]"I will let him know. I imagine he will want to come and see you as soon as possible."[/say]
And then she supposes it's time to leave, only the doctor uncharacteristically dithers by the door, having wanted to say and explain and do much more than what she's been able to achieve here today. [say]"There will be a meeting about all of this in a day or so, now you are awake,"[/say] she says eventually. [say]"I will do everything I can to keep Grimm away from you."[/say]
For now, though, she doesn't need to tell him things he's heard from her a hundred times.Try and sleep, don't pull out your IV, no I can't lower the volume on the machines sorry. So instead she merely settles on, [say]"I'll check on you later,"[/say] and finally slips out of the room.
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Remi - 05-07-2023
Exhaling heavily despite not needing to -- a trait he's probably picked up from Ronin -- Remi bobs his head in acknowledgement. [say]"I'll behave if it keeps Grimm away and you--"[/say] close? No. God, not that. [say]"-on my case. Or I can not behave if that helps stall things."[/say] Beaurocracy was not something the wendigo would ever understand, but he'd happily take Isla's lead on it for now.
It's only after the door clicks shut that Remi's shoulders relax and he allows himself to glance over his shoulder. Noting the locking mechanism on the inside, he considers latching it, but if anyone wanted in they'd no doubt have their ways, so he doesn't bother. Instead, he scrubs his fingers through his hair, and though there are no physical signs of it, he's uncomfortably aroused in a way that makes him want to shove his entire fist through one of the walls.
Instead, he paces the room, running his hands over places he thinks cameras might be (to smear their lenses, you understand), before sitting down heavily on the bed and inspecting the messy but efficient way his skin has healed over the various places it had been cracked open.
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Ronin - 05-07-2023
Ronin arrives without fanfare just over an hour later. He is one of only a handful of people to have been given a passcode to Remi's recovery room - something Isla would have been able to tell the wendigo had their conversation gone differently, alas - and when the door clicks and hisses open, the hunter inches inside with his hands surprisingly full.
It's not pastries and iced coffees, sorry. (Not that Remi could have appreciated either). No, the hunter is holding a somewhat battered shoebox under one arm, and has something else folded over the other, though he puts both down just as soon as the door shuts again. [say]"Hey,"[/say] he says lamely, raking his fingers back through his hair.
Part of him wants to rush over to the bed and shake Remi by the shoulders; another part wants to tightly embrace the wendigo and tell him he's happy he's alive; another still wants to throw a shoe at him. Ronin instead opts to stand at the foot of the bed, swallowing hard and fidgeting with the sleeve of his shirt. [say]"You're awake."[/say]
Thank you, captain obvious.
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Remi - 05-07-2023
Remi, who had been laying in bed listlessly counting ceiling tiles and wondering how long until the next thing was going to happen, jumps at the pneumatic hiss of the door. Fully expecting to see Isla emerge (in lingerie if he's honest), it's with a strange and displaced feeling of expectation that he looks at...Ronin.
Sitting up, his white hospital gown slightly askew and his legs covered by a thin blanket, Remi blinks a few times in surprise before raising his hand and waving it a single time. [say]"Hey."[/say] He replies, just as lamely.
[say]'And you're still not the hooker I ordered.'[/say] The wendigo says with a nervous laugh. Was he..supposed to get out of bed? Should he make room for Ronin, or..were they supposed to awkwardly talk like this? It wasn't as though Isla had brought in a table or chairs, so...
[say]"What's in the box?"[/say] He asks instead, wondering if it would end up being a head, like in that movie about the deadly sins.
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Ronin - 05-07-2023
[say]"How do you know? I could have a second job in my downtime,"[/say] Ronin quips back, and it's entirely automatic and he is very, very grateful for it. With a small smile in Remi's direction, he collects both the shoebox and the item he'd brought folded over his arm and approaches the bed. [say]"This first,"[/say] he says of the latter item, setting the shoebox down on the end of the bed for afterwards.
[say]"It isn't the same as the one you used to have, but I checked the undertown markets and this is as close as I could get."[/say] What it is becomes obvious as Ronin holds it up; it's a new trench coat, so if nothing else the wendigo can have something when he next finds himself naked. And it's easy to shrug out of before shifting, as he'd well know. [say]"So you don't need to steal mine any more,"[/say] Ronin adds with a smirk, though it quickly falls away with the implications.
So you can't rifle through my pockets
And try to kill yourself again
Why did you do it
We had won
It could have been okay
Clearing his throat, the hunter lowers the coat and sets it down on the end of the bed too, before taking up the shoebox. [say]"There are a few things in here,"[/say] he clarifies, offering it out to Remi. [say]"Hunters aren't great at doing one big gift, you know?"[/say]
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Remi - 05-07-2023
[say]"Well, for one thing, I specifically requested someone who wasn't Irish."[/say] Remi says with a grin he can't quite help.
Having already sat up, now Remi shuffles to the top of the bed, scrunching back on his pillows to sit crosslegged. Whether it was to move a safe distance away from the hunter or to give him room on the bed was up for interpretation. Based on how their last few interactions had gone and had Remi's day had been so far, even the wendigo couldn't have really said for sure.
Wanting to find some fault with the garment if only say that he'd have something to say and thus so he could ignore the rising feeling of guilty assholery that was forming in his belly, Remi gnaws at the inside of one cheek as he smoothes down a bit of blanket covering his knee.[say]"I never stole it. You always offered, or I asked."[/say] He argues in a low voice, cheeks flushing before his eyebrows knit together.
[say]"..at...what?"[/say]
Remi had fully expected the entire ordeal above ground to have been blamed on him. Every death was both because of the nucklevee as much as him, or so all the reports would say. Running his fingers over the top of the box, Remi looks through a snaggle of blonde hair at his partner. [say]"I know given everything I shouldn't even ask, but..this..isn't going to..explode in my face, is it?"[/say]
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Ronin - 05-07-2023
[say]"Ah, well. Times are tough, so you'll have to fucking deal with it I guess,"[/say] Ronin laments with a shrug, and like a good Irish hooker that Remi ordered, he does sink down on the edge of the bed now that there's no shoebox getting in the way. His remarks about the coat are annoyingly true, but Ronin is worried that if he speaks it will come out as a sad accusation, so he merely gives a hum of agreement instead.
He can, at least, speak about the shoebox, and his laughter rushes out unexpectedly at the wendigo's comment. [say]"I promise it isn't, I checked through it myself,"[/say] he assures his partner, nodding encouragingly for him to open it.
Within, Remi will find a modest selection of items that the hunters in the complex might find useful - sage for smudging, a point of white quartz, a couple of runes and a small ring of what look like they should be keys, but instead are a selection of brass bells.
But there are also a few thought you'd like this things - a chunk of green aventurine for luck; a coin with two heads; a new pair of sunglasses. Oh, and there's a stupid handmade card featuring a doodle of a wendigo riding on the back of a nuckelavee. It's been signed by no less than half a dozen hunters.
[say]"After you passed out, Heimerdinger tried to have you hauled away. But these hunters saw what happened with the front line - they stopped anyone getting close until Isla and her team arrived,"[/say] Ronin says sheepishly. [say]"This is them saying thanks."[/say]
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Remi - 05-07-2023
[say]'Fine, but I'm not paying full price."[/say] Nothing like some homosexuality between work friends to cut the tension of a recent suicide, hah hah.
Narrowing his eyes as he peers into Ronin's face, Remi seems to be trying to determine the truth of this for himself. Deciding that no, his partner's mug didn't look any worse than it normally did, the wendigo slides the lid off the box with no small amount of trepidation.
[say]"You all just literally emptied your pockets into a box, didn't you."[/say] He hums under his breath in an effort to hide his utter appreciation at, if not the usefulness of these items, the thoughtfulness of them. Remi's eyes flicker up to Ronin's before diving back into the box followed swiftly by gentle probing fingers. Touching each item reverently before moving on to the next, the wendigo's inspection cumulates with the reading of the card.
What Remi wanted to say, was guess there would have been more signatures if we'd gotten there sooner. You know, because of all the death. But not even he had the brass to be that much of an asshole when faced with...well, with a box of gifts from his most ruthless critics. [say]"I don't...if...I mean.."[/say] Pressing his tongue against the top of his mouth and clicking his teeth together, the wendigo tries the sentence again.
[say]"I don't know when I'll be out of here, so thank them for me, will you?"[/say]
Touching the aventurine with his index finger, the wendigo leans back against the pillows looking guiltily down into his lap. [say]"I would have said goodbye, if...well, if I thought there was a way to do it without you stopping me."[/say] He says suddenly, eyes unfocused and hovering somewhere around Ronin's knee.
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Ronin - 05-08-2023
You mean to say you can pay me? is what Ronin might have quipped back, but the conversation about imaginary prostitutes takes a backseat to the presents that have been painstakingly gathered by the hunters on the nuckelavee defence line. [say]"What lives in our pockets is more valuable than anything else we could give you,"[/say] he points out with a lopsided smile. Sometimes the items are literally life-saving, so to part with any of them is a mark of respect as much as gratitude.
But Remi already knows that.
[say]"I will,"[/say] Ronin says with all the reverence of a promise, shifting on the bed and resisting the urge to pull at a stray thread on Remi's blankets. [say]"A couple of them wanted to come and visit, but the idea was... discouraged."[/say] Can't have too many people seeing the conditions Remi is forced to operate in, can we?
[say]"But,"[/say] he adds, [say]"they are attending the meeting in a few days, to give an account of what they saw."[/say] The deciding Remi's future meeting, he means. [say]"I'll be there too. I am your character witness, you know."[/say]
And what a good time to delve into the subject of his suicide attempt, no? Clearing his throat, Ronin's fingers flinch for a moment as if he wants to reach out for Remi, but he stops them at the last moment. [say]"Next time - if there's a next time - I'd appreciate it if you could try."[/say] To say goodbye, he means. [say]"I didn't... I'm sorry. I didn't realise how bad things were. I should have done more."[/say]
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Remi - 05-08-2023
[say]"That's probably for the best."[/say] The wendigo agrees, his eyes shifting toward the door as if expecting a band of hunters to shove their way through holding balloons. He finds the idea horrifying, though not just merely for antisocial reasons. When Remi's circle had unexpectedly expanded to include Isla and Ronin...it...well, it hurt. It hurt to realize that none of his relationships could ever be normal. Not when everyone would always have the upper hand on him, whether they wanted it or not.
[say]"Oh."[/say] He mumbles of the meeting. [say]"Oh."[/say] He adds, of Ronin being his character witness. Shifting in the bed again, wanting to stretch his legs out but aware of how close he was to the hunter already (the feeling of being physically satiated would only last so long, he assumed), Remi opts to itch at the stubble on one hollow cheek before letting his hand fall into his lap.
[say]"But that's the thing. You shouldn't have to do more. It shouldn't be your problem."[/say] The wendigo says in a low voice. [say]"And it isn't like I don't understand the idea of wanting to adopt the abused test animal, I do, it's just.."[/say] Well, no one ever asks the abused dog if it wouldn't just prefer to go free. What one person considers saving, is just another sort of servitude.
[say]"..there's no future that isn't this for me."[/say] Remi says in the end, finally tugging his gaze up from the blankets and offering the hunter a weary shrug.
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Ronin - 05-08-2023
Oh, indeed. Swallowing and letting his hands rest awkwardly in his lap now, Ronin feels suddenly like being on the bed is too close - have they ever been casually sitting like this? He doesn't think so. And the logical shouldn'ts of their situation are all well and good as Remi lists them out, but honestly, just because that's the case, doesn't mean it makes a difference to the hunter.
[say]"Do you remember the first time we got paired together?"[/say] he says. [say]"With the vampires in downtown?"[/say] It had been a shit show, put simply, because (surprise surprise) neither man had wanted to be partnered with anyone and neither wanted to play nice. [say]"After that, I requested straight away that I didn't want to continue with whatever trial they were trying out with you."[/say]
And yet, as was very obvious by their present situation, Ronin hadn't been listened to. [say]"They said it was either this or desk duty for me. And I don't know how long I've got anymore, before whatever Fae bullshit is churning around out there comes back for me. So what I guess I'm trying to say is that neither of us has a promising future here. But while it lasts, sorry, but it is my problem. Not because you're an abused test animal, but because you're my hunting partner."[/say]
Shrugging, Ronin leans back on one hand on the bed. [say]"Besides, you don't know that your future can't change. Didn't Isla tell you about Alaska?"[/say]
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Remi - 05-08-2023
Remi's eyes flicker up in response. What he remembered was dicing up Ronin six ways from Sunday in his mind as well as realizing just how annoyingly good the hunter was with his length of silver chain. But no, the wendigo hadn't been aware that Ronin had any thoughts about Remi's trial. Whatever goodwill the story might otherwise have inspired, the wendigo finds himself back right where he always was, no matter what good intentions others might have. He was a thing to be used, like it or not. Ronin had had a choice: a shitty one to be sure, but a choice just the same. Remi did not.
Pressing his fingertips against his eyes and not needing to sigh but doing it anyways, the wendigo tries to remember that old Bo Burnham adage of if you can't beat 'em, join 'em and finds it lacking in motivational power.
Glancing up at the hunter as he leans back, Remi frowns and stiffens. Partially at the mention of Isla's name, but partially because... [say]"..no?"[/say] Unconsciously wanting to fill the space Ronin had put between them, Remi instead just elbows one of his pillows. [say]"What's in Alaska?"[/say]