cut our teeth and make our bones right here

Ronin

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

While Remi makes a show of not being subtle (be real, even the bloodiest of Marys stands out when it's in a wendigo's hand), Ronin takes a sip of his beer and sits back in his seat to let out a sigh. The drink isn't a necessity so much as a ritual, unlocking the tension from his neck and shoulders and giving him permission not to be on any more.

The result is a tired man in his early thirties with a mop of dark hair made darker by a recent shower, too-blue eyes that turn their surroundings dull by comparison, and a lot of tattoos. A lot of tattoos. Not dissimilar to his partner's necklace of runes, but much more acceptable to any watching Hunters, the inky markings run in concentric circles along his forearms, before spidering out into scripts and symbols long ago lost to the island's memory.

One inked passage warps and stretches as he lifts his hand to clink his glass against Remi's. "Mostly is good enough for me," he concludes, as he always does, taking another long drink and glancing over at the pool table. "There've been a lot of water hags around the docks lately," he adds after a couple of moments' consideration. "Wonder what's drawing them all there."

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

Drinking slowly out of necessity more than to savour it (this isn't even the good stuff. it's regular old universal donor blood, but nevermind), Remi wraps his spindly fingers around his glass to hide its contents. "There is good eating on the surface." He replies rather matter-of-factly. "When the topsiders get too content, they get fat, and slow." Ronin won't need to see the predatory darkening of Remi's eyes to know that is what's happening behind his dark lenses.

Raising his eyebrows thoughtfully and shrugging, the wendigo takes another sip. The blood tastes like fire and razorblades as it trickles down his throat. It makes him want to guzzle it down before shattering the glass against the nearest skull he can reach that he might refill it with something fresh. That he does not is the only reason he's permitted these luxuries of course, but still, his fingers flinch up the sides of his glass every now and then as his body tests the limits of his self-control.

"It is the same with anything. What lives down here has grown sour and muted because of the lack of light." He grins. "But that is just one monster's opinion. Perhaps there was a party I was not invited to."

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

"I knew you would find some way to bring it back to food," Ronin remarks, absently drawing lines in the condensation on the outside of his glass. "And I can't think of any reason why they'd miss you out on the invite list. Surely you'd be a VIP by now?" Raising his brows, he hides his smile behind a sip of beer and sits back up in his seat. Call him sour and muted from the lack of light, but work is one of the only things they can have conversations about, even outside of work.

"I can see your reasoning, but out at the docks?" He shakes his head. "Wouldn't say that's a hub for people." Weird storage containers and dark water aplenty, but the raves seem to keep to the inner cities. "Might take leave to go and check it out tomorrow. I'll see if I can get you out too."

And that seems to remind him of something, actually, Ronin putting down his glass with a sudden frown. "They'll tell you this at some point in the next few days, but they want to start trialling you with other Hunters as well."

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

Remi can only frown innocently in response. "Not everyone has the luxury of strolling into a pub for their next meal. Or rather.." It clearly occurs to him then that a good deal of his fellow monsters could do precisely that. "...not if they wanted it to be anything other than their last meal."

Snorting, Remi presses two fingers beneath his sunglasses to rub at one eye. "Despite my charm, being collared by your lot and used as a weapon against my own kind has had the effect of more than a few invitations being lost in the mail." Returning his hand to his glass, he shrugs. "Good thing I have you to keep me company."

Ronin wasn't wrong about the docks being a strange place, but beggars and choosers and all that. "Y'said it yourself. Waterhags. At the docks. Easy pickings for them in those sorts of areas." Tilting his head to the side to display his utter gratitude that he might get to tag along, whatever mirth was briefly on his lips falls away as he straightens out a snarl.

"Is that so." Remi wonders in a steely tone. A claw makes a brief appearance on one of his fingernails before it disappears entirely as the wendigo raises his glass to his lips, downing it in its entirety. "Can't wait."

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

"If you consider what they serve here to be a meal then I really do worry about your diet," Ronin quips back, as if a little back-and-forth between potentially rancid meat and actual cannibalism is just regular midweek banter. The worst part? It is. "And are you sure that's why? Maybe it's because you're more like us than your own kind that the invites are thinning out."

Ronin catches himself and wrinkles his nose, raising his beer in an apology. "Strike One for me on sounding like one of the therapists," he murmurs, before swiftly moving on. It's easy enough, but also probably redundant, given that the next subject will likely be the focus of a therapy session in Remi's future as well.

"I pitched a fit about it as well if it makes any difference," he grumbles. It's almost entirely for selfish reasons, but Ronin is also concerned that it's a good way to get a rookie Hunter dead for being the wrong kind of sassy with a monster. And maybe he thinks it's a little bit unfair on Remi as well.

Like, a tiny bit.

"Want to play pool?" he asks, well aware that the evening might be a write-off by 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

"Maybe, and yet I still have to strip down naked just to have a fist shoved up my ass every time you bring me back. Unless...gasp." Remi grins. "Is this your way of telling me that all you Hunters are really just a bunch of homosexuals?" Pretending that his delicate sensibilities had been well and truly offended, Remi shakes his head.

"How noble of you." He snaps, pressing his tongue against his teeth. Though his mind was frantically whirling, on the surface he looked calm and cool. #MonsterPerks, or maybe Remi was just a psychopath in his other life. Who knew?

"Nah, I will just end up breaking a strict and getting us kicked out. Besides," He nods towards his empty glass. "I'm out."

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

"Only a fist? They're starting to go easy on you," Ronin drawls, though his nose wrinkles a little nonetheless. "Perhaps not all the Hunters - but almost certainly your favourite scientists, with that kind of track record."

Not regretting telling his partner the truth but equally feeling shitty for souring the evening for good, Ronin hums his agreement and drains the rest of his beer, setting down the empty glass and rising to his feet. "Alright, then. We'll take the long way back." He doesn't say home, because that's just asking for trouble.

Ronin waves at the bartender and heads out, instinctively peering up at the top levels of the Undercity where the tunnels are, as if expecting to see topside guards poking their heads in. He spares Remi the effort of conversation, leading them through skinny alleyways and up rickety ladders, past streetside vendors and shady boutiques, whore houses and pubs and whatever other sin you might fancy on a night.

But eventually here they are again, coming up to the Hunters' complex, and Ronin slows his footsteps. "You know the drill," he murmurs, drawing a long length of silver chain from around his waist and nodding for the wendigo to hold out his hands.

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

As much fun as it was bickering about the levels of indignity he had to endure for the privilege of serving as Ronin's pet, just now all Remi can muster up in response is a hollow laugh.

Knowing the long way was for his benefit but not having it in him to express his appreciation, Remi swallows hard and stands. Making sure the collar of his coat was still up, he tracks silently behind Ronin. Even with his sense of sight severely limited thanks to the glasses, Ronin is a walking beacon of smells and sounds that Remi can follow with hardly more than a thought.

"Do I ever." Remi agrees; at least here he can remove his sunglasses. They all know who—excuse me, what—he is. As Ronin approaches the first guard's station that's normally just manned by a trainee, instead of a slack-jawed youth flipping through a playboy, one of the lead scientists is there to greet them instead. "Do you have any idea what time it is? This will throw his entire evening of medications off schedule!" Heimerdinger The man is yelling. "And where are his shoes?"

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

They both know it, though luckily (and unlike the wendigo's new partners-in-training, no doubt), Ronin has done this so many times it's almost laughable, and the complex series of loops and knots of chain around Remi's wrists look tight but really aren't. The length of silver he's left holding is similarly slack as they walk towards the guardpost, which is when oop they fucked up, he supposes.

"My fault," he says by way of an interruption of the tirade. "Cut it too close with a few guards, took a wrong turn in the sewers and had to navigate back." As for the state of his partner, Ronin looks Remi up and down and tilts his head. "I didn't sign him out with shoes," he says mildly, handing the chain to the scientist and stepping away.

"I'll need him tomorrow for an investigation, too," he adds. "If that's a problem, send the meds with me." And if that's all, he'll start rummaging at the guard's station for the entry sheet. Later sign-ins and his report (and a lot of other bureaucratic hoops besides) can wait until they're within the complex.

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

Remi, looking just as docile as a fawn, nods in agreement. "It was that new doc's idea. Professor Up His Own Ass? Wanted to see if my feet were as tough as the rest of me." Lifting one foot off the ground to show nary a scab or a bruise, Remi grins. "So I guess that answers that."

Blubbering, his authority ignored, Professor Smimerdinger openly gapes as he fumbles with the clipboard, looking for any reason at all to have Ronin detained or sanctioned. But, as this was far from their first rodeo, everything was in order and quickly Ronin was gone.

Glowing down at the professor, Remi tucks his sunglasses into his pocket before slowly cracking each knuckle on each hand. "Come on then." The wendigo barks, reaching for the chain around his waist and giving it a sharp enough tug to have Smimerdingo stutter-stepping in his wake. "Let's get this hanky panky out of the way so I can go to bed."

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

"Sleep well," Ronin calls over his shoulder as he heads into the complex to exchange his Very Cool Monster Hunter hat for his lesser known Administrative Bitch hat. They've all got a part to play in the tower of cards that is whatever the fuck they're doing here, he supposes. And as Remi and Slimerdoodle head off to the right - the sCiEnCe wing, of course - Ronin disappears through some double doors straight ahead.

But don't worry Remi, you won't be alone for long. "You wish it was hanky panky," comes a dry voice from just in front of some very, very sturdy looking doors which hiss open at the wendigo's approach. With her fair hair lifted up into a loose bun, a pair of glasses on her nose and a white coat, Isla is the sort of scientist one of those rookie guards might find in his Playboy, but fuck if she cares.

She doesn't glance up from her clipboard as she gestures for Remi to walk through the doors - to be hosed down and decontaminated of course.

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

Scientists like Swankerdonker and Suuuuuuuuuusan he can handle. 99% of the white-coats in this part of the wing are terrified of him so much so that he can genuinely hear the metal chains in their hands rattle if he ever stops too suddenly or smiles just a bit too widely.

But there's always the 1%, and down here, that was Isla.

For all of their tests and measures of his humanity, she was the only thing that made him feel anything—and no, it's not what you're thinking (though there were many tests surrounding his reproductive health). Isla made him feel the things that really made a person human: despair, shame, and depression.

Biting at the inside of his lip and swallowing hard, Remi enters the room and waits for Swankerdongle to unchain him so that he might carefully hang up his trench coat (conveniently, the only item of clothing he was wearing). Red-cheeked and scowling, Remi stands on the colourful yellow feet and mirrors the position of the monster on the oh-so-helpful poster just above his eyeliner: Feet spread, arms outstretched. "Can't wait for the day one these machines breaks and you have to come do this by han—" Which is off course when a jet of icy water silences 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

Thanking Swingerdandy and advising that she would be able to handle things from here (he might be lead scientist but this is her project and she'll be damned if he gets his anxiety all over it tonight), Isla accepts the sign-in sheet from him and examines it briefly, before tucking it under her clipboard. "The water would have been warm if you had been on time," she remarks mildly, pebble blues flicking up to the monster behind the glass only briefly before returning to her notes.

Once the decontamination is finished (jet washing, disinfectant, a fan so violent it probably makes Remi's cock helicopter all by itself), the doors on the other side of the little chamber hiss open to reveal Isla standing by with a grey boiler suit folded over her arm (hello, Hannibal). It is, of course, lined with silver and many a rune and sigil; no chains needed in here.

"Debrief," she orders, not waiting for him to put it on before heading down to the examination room that he will know very well by 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

Tightening every muscle in his body does little to ward off the degradation he always feels during this portion of his evening. None of it hurts him, despite the red marks that the water blasts leave across his skin, but even cannibals have feelings.

Staring down at his feet as the last few droplets of water pitter-patter from his hair, Remi presses his teeth together as he sweeps a hand through his curls. "You should really add some conditioner. It is not good to wash your hair so often, but mine is starting to get quite dry." He says, mostly to Isla's back, given that she's already walking away from him.

Slipping his feet in first before shrugging his arms in the sleeves and heaving it over his shoulders, it's one of the few times that Remi might be said to look bulky outside of his Wendigo form. "Oh the usual. Avoided the helicopters, stayed out of the light, killed a waterhag." He murmurs, kicking the door shut with a foot and trudging towards the examination table which he dutifully hopped onto. "She'd bound up a body for later, which I also took care of." Remi adds with a smirk.

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

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!