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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 - 07-18-2023
[say]"Yes, yes, pasta pizza leaning towers,"[/say] Ronin agrees with a sage nod, hoping it irks Remi as much as the musical nonsense tickles the inside of the hunter's eardrums in a way he can't really verbalise. [say]"And it's no fun to stamp on your feet when you know it's coming. If I do decide to, I hope you don't hold it against me that I keep it a surprise."[/say]
Grinning, he turns to converse with his 134 locks on the door, trying not to admit that he's committing the sound of Remi's laughter to memory, just in case the worst does end up happening one day. And as the hunters draw up close and pass them by, it might surprise the wendigo that they even smile and wave to the two of them, Ronin offering a light nod before opening the door to let them inside.
[say]"I know this might come as a surprise, but quite a few of the hunters who had your back down in the medical wing also live on this floor,"[/say] Ronin murmurs. [say]"No need to make things more difficult than they might already be, right?"[/say]
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Remi - 07-18-2023
Groaning and rolling his eyes, Remi considers saying something slanderous about leprechauns or lucky charms, before remembering who and what Ronin actually was and deciding against it. It wasn't as funny when it was almost true. Laughing warmly, the wendigo fans his fingers. [say]"Be my guest. The day you can sneak up on me is the day I deserve to have my feet stamped on."[/say]
Expecting the cold shoulder or even a muffled insult as the other hunters pass, Remi stares blankly after them before hurrying inside after Ronin. Itching at the back of his neck as he neatly removes his shoes and places them by the door, the wendigo straightens looking rather bewildered that Ronin hadn't been lying about how his fellow hunters felt. Or if not lying, then at least sugar-coating things. [say]"Huh."[/say] The wendigo hums wonderingly, before running his finger along the cuff of Ronin's sweater.
[say]"There's blood on this."[/say] Remi murmurs apologetically, fanning out the material with his fingers. [say]"And..some on you, still."[/say] He adds in an almost guilty tone as he glances around the apartment.
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Ronin - 07-18-2023
[say]"I know a challenge when I hear one,"[/say] Ronin trills as he heads into the apartment, and if Remi finds the hunter trying to become increasingly sneaky in the coming days, well, he knows exactly why. And what's more; he's brought it on himself. (As if it will make even a minor bit of difference given the other man's supernatural senses, but hey, if anyone can manage it, it's a changeling, right?)
[say]"Mmhm,"[/say] he hums back, as if the wendigo's huh tells him everything he needs to hear. Ronin spends a few moments locking up again, as well as replacing the silver chain in front of the door threshold, before he straights up and turns to face Remi. [say]"You didn't put it there,"[/say] he reminds him gently, as if that might have escaped his friend's notice. [say]"Some asshole punching another asshole did. You were nothing to do with it."[/say]
Shrugging out of his jacket and kicking off his shoes as well, Ronin steps further into the room, looking for a moment as if he might reach out to do something silly like hug the other man, before thinking better of it. [say]"I'm sorry,"[/say] he adds in a quieter voice. [say]"I should have been thinking more clearly when we went out. I shouldn't have ever made it so you were put into that situation. It was unfair, and I'll make sure it doesn't happen again."[/say]
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Remi - 07-18-2023
Not only will Remi know why, but he'll welcome it; and if Ronin finds himself sneaking up on the wendigo only to find Remi shouting BOO in his face just moments before he pounced, so be it.
Eyeing the silver both warily and appreciatively, Remi smoothes a finger over the bloodstained fabric without making an attempt to take it off. Call it pure positive reinforcement, but the smell of sandalwood permeating from the fibres of the blue sweater had a calming effect on the wendigo's nerves. Even if it was a placebo, given that the pair were down 50% of their tranqs, Remi would take what he could get at this point.
Also, it was comfortable.
Watching Ronin out of the corner of his eye purely out of habit, the wendigo only moved once the other man did, before turning toward him. [say]"Yeah, you should have."[/say] Remi replied with feigned seriousness before one side of his mouth turned up in a grin. [say]"It was naive of me to think it would be like it was last time. A few jostling bodies is one thing, tits everywhere another, but..."[/say] Pulling in a breath over his teeth, Remi shakes his head. [say]"..of course there was going to be a fight. Just look at where we are. Not like there's much else to do."[/say] Fight, watch the Office, or sleep. Those seemed to be the three options.
[say]"Sorry about your drink though."[/say]
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Ronin - 07-19-2023
Remi can keep the sweater if he likes it all that much; knowing nothing about how it's acting as a sort of comfort blanket for the wendigo, Ronin figures that his friend is just used to being speckled with blood, and so decides not to make a big deal of it. Besides, he's too busy trying to force in a breath after it stutters in his throat to hear the other man's ever-so-serious agreement, and only Remi's sudden grin pulls him out of it.
[say]"Fuck, I was writing you a formal apology in my head,"[/say] he says, his laughter rushing out on a sigh. [say]"And it's true. I guess next time we should pick a quieter haunt, or check it out beforehand to make sure there aren't any ruffians besides the two of us."[/say] Setting down the wendigo-kit on the counter so he remembers it needs restocking, the hunter shrugs off his ruined drink.
[say]"It's alright. I keep some here anyway, for special occasions."[/say] And the fact that the bottle, when he lifts it from a cupboard, is still mostly full, tells Remi everything he needs to know about that. [say]"Should have got some O-Neg in for you. Drinking alone feels like a downward spiral."[/say] He laughs.
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Remi - 07-19-2023
[say]'Oh, well don't stop on my account.'[/say] The wendigo chuckles, finding himself relaxing more and more as their laughter played off of the other's. Remi's eyes narrow as he thinks about making some comment about Ronin being a ruffian, before he opts simply to shake his head with a laugh. It was becoming easier and easier not to feel the need to fill the silence with barbs or quips at Ronin's expense.
Indeed the full bottle is telling, though Remi doesn't make much of it. However their lives compared to one another doesn't mean the hunter has an easy go of things. [say]"What's your blood type again?"[/say] He wonders with a smirk, before waving his fingers to suggest that downward spiral or not, Ronin should pour himself a glass anyway.
[say]"How much of this do you think we can avoid telling Isla?"[/say] The wendigo wonders, leaning against Ronin's counter and resting his eyes against the heels of his hands.
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Ronin - 07-19-2023
[say]"Well, if you insist. I'll get an apology card and post it under your door when it's ready,"[/say] Ronin decides with a sly smile; he can't deny that he's also feeling the silences between them growing more comfortable, but it admittedly helps that he's got something to do with his hands. (Eyooo). [say]"My blood type? Why, do you have a preference for a particular vintage?"[/say] He grins, opening the bottle and fetching a tumbler.
While Remi has a private mini-breakdown against the darkness behind his hands, Ronin fills the tumbler with ice and whiskey and shoots it straight back, relishing the icy bite and burn of the alcohol. [say]"As much as we can get away with,"[/say] he says after hissing in a breath through his teeth. [say]"I doubt we even have to tell her anything, as long as we're happy being two tranqs down. Or maybe I could say I used them on myself to get high. Or we sold them so you could make friends with some other hunters."[/say]
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Remi - 07-19-2023
[say]"I'll keep my eyes peeled."[/say] Remi murmurs, before exhaling an unnecessary breath that has his lips making a purring sound. [say]"Now that I think about it, I don't think I do. I'm an equal opportunity monster I suppose. As long as you don't have Aids, but given you don't seem the type to share needles and you've mentioned a girlfriend in the past.."[/say] The wendigo shrugs with a crooked grimace. [say]"But given your point about how your blood doesn't seem to rile me up the other people's do, you probably aren't my type."[/say] You know, blood type.
As for Isla? Groaning and pressing forward until stars danced behind his eyes, Remi listens to the sound of Ronin's inhalation around the whiskey, followed by the rattling of the ice in the now-empty glass. [say]"Or we broke them."[/say] He suggests, tilting his head enough to eye Ronin out of the corner of one eye. [say]"I think she'd believe we were clumsy more than she'd believe anyone would barter to be my friend, or that you'd turned into a junky."[/say]
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Ronin - 07-19-2023
[say]"An equal opportunity monster - we're truly living in the new age,"[/say] Ronin says, doing his best to sound awed at their pRoGrEsS and pouring himself another glass of whiskey to sip at, putting the bottle away to make sure it stays at those couple of glasses and nothing more. [say]"Mm, I guess not,"[/say] he agrees about not being Remi's type, though in all honesty, Ronin isn't going to complain about being able to safely get the wendigo out of situations without being in quite as much danger.
Or we broke them slips from the wendigo's lips like the answer to all their prayers, and Ronin's laughter is far too cheerful a thing. [say]"Thank gods we've got precedent for making a mess, huh?"[/say] he says, lifting his glass in a cheers towards Remi. [say]"It's settled. I'll tell Isla I accidentally flung the kit down the stairs as we were making our way up here. Done and done."[/say]
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Remi - 07-19-2023
[say]"I'll be sure to put that on a keychain for you, for your second birthday."[/say] Remi says dryly, watching the amber bottle disappear into the cupboard and wondering briefly if Ronin's two-drink maximum was on his account, before realizing that it very obviously was. For all their camaraderie, Remi was still a monster, new age or not.
Just as Remi was about to wallow, Ronin's laughter sends a bolt of light through his darkening thoughts. It has him grinning before he even knows why, and laughing in response before he can think better of it. Straightening, he nods dutifully in response to the cheers. [say]"We can say we were singing show tunes on the way up, and I kick-ball-changed when I should have just ball-changed, causing you to drop it."[/say] Honestly, it was just as outrageous as Remi didn't kill anyone when a bar fight broke out, but gods if something about it didn't make him want to burst out laughing.
[say]"Do...you want to watch another episode of the Office while you finish that, or have you had enough excitement for one evening?"[/say]
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Ronin - 07-19-2023
[say]"Well aren't you a peach,"[/say] Ronin says, smiling over the rim of his glass at the other man. And Remi isn't wrong, exactly; the two-drink-maximum is because of the wendigo, but it's more because Ronin feels awkward drinking while his friend isn't able to participate. The results of those drinks (and the reason behind Remi's train of thought) probably wouldn't have hit home until it was too late.
[say]"Show tunes? She'll absolutely believe it,"[/say] he says with a chuckle, taking a sip of whiskey and savouring it this time, setting the tumbler down so the ice can chill the liquor further. [say]"Either way, I'm sure she won't mind topping us up. And luckily you heal very quickly, so she won't even be able to see where I pricked you with the needles."[/say]
Cheerfully said, clearly Ronin has concluded that they're home free when it comes to their out-of-work antics, and he nods companionably at watching another episode of sitcom shenanigans. [say]"I could be persuaded. Maybe the humour will make sense to you this episode."[/say]
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Remi - 07-19-2023
Snorting, Remi lets his gaze drift up toward Ronin's ceiling as he tries to imagine the look on Isla's face should the pair blame show tunes as the reason they needed more tranquillizers. Would she press them for the truth? Would she let it all go if only because no one looked injured? [say]"Fuck sake."[/say] Remi chuckles under his breath, before lowering his eyes and rubbing absently at his neck. [say]"Nope, all gone."[/say] He says of the mark on his neck, before eyeing Ronin's jaw. [say]"Maybe she'd believe someone got a bit handsy with you, although..."[/say] Glancing down and splaying open one hand, the wendigo grimaces mischievously. [say]"..big hands for a girl."[/say]
Doubtful that it would, Remi, who isn't planning on doing much sleeping (if any), is content to have Ronin's company for at least a little while longer. Sitting down a bit more comfortably on the chair this time, Remi looks less like a robot and more like someone nervously waiting in a doctor's office. Progress. [say]"Why do they work for this man when he is clearly an idiot?"[/say] The wendigo wonders, peering at Michael Scott as he holds up his World's Best Boss mug. [say]"And why would anyone want to sell paper?"[/say]
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Ronin - 07-19-2023
[say]"Mm?"[/say] Touching a hand to his cheek and wincing a little as he realises quite suddenly how tender it is, Ronin still manages to shrug it off - though he does press the chilly glass against his jaw as he settles back on the couch. [say]"I'll just tell her I had to persuade some of the hunters that you definitely belonged on this side of the complex. I doubt anyone will ask any questions after that."[/say] Honestly, while he's pleased Remi got to experience polite friendliness from the others living on his floor, he's actually surprised there hasn't been more trouble.
Sipping at his whiskey and sagging into the couch cushions, Ronin can't help his easy laughter at the wendigo's questions. [say]"Just keep watching,"[/say] he urges. [say]"And why not sell paper? Can you imagine if the world was still boring enough to have paper companies?"[/say] It wouldn't last, but for at least a couple of weeks, Ronin would relish such a boring job.
RE: cut our teeth and make our bones right here - Remi - 07-19-2023
Feeling a new wave of guilt slosh over him, Remi itches a hand over one ear to block out the way his mind is fixating suddenly on the sound of cold glass pressing against the stubble on Ronin's cheek and instead tries to focus on the tv. [say]"Honestly, I can't."[/say] The wendigo murmurs, giving his head a doubtful shake. [say]"I mean, I get that there has to be someone selling paper because it's something we all used to need...but.."[/say] Gesturing at the screen, whereupon Phyllis was currently knitting at her desk and Stanley was taking a nap with his sodoku resting on his lap, the wendigo mutters an inarticulate but distinctly Italian sound of contempt.
[say]"They don't even need all these people to sell paper."[/say] He decides, folding his arms over his chest and staring fixedly at the screen as if willing the tv to suddenly give itself a shake and make the show more reasonable.