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 Posted: Tue Dec 27, 2016 2:24 pm
Her surprised laugh was a loud bark, quickly silenced. "You make them sound like this ex I had when I was in France," she informed him, cheeks red with suppressed humor. Or embarrassment, to be determined. "Only competent, and sometimes better-looking." she felt her lips purse, considering. There had, indeed, been some gross negligence there, but she couldn't remember most of the time period she'd been dating him anyways. It was probably for the best she couldn't. She knew little of knights, but she let Scholomance keep his assumptions; ignorance was a flaw, but he wasn't the one she should be asking questions of. Even before he had spoken of having friends on the side of Chaos, and being attacked by order, their last meeting had set a tone that niggled at the back of her mind even as she tried to pretend otherwise. She couldn't trust a desperate man, even one who was as frank about his sins as Scholomance himself was. It made it even more difficult when he spoke about alliances with entire courts... and the white moon was apparently still pushing itself into fragments. She hadn't met enough of them since her return to rightfully know. "Imagine, your allies- on either side- not liking you collaborating with the enemy." Scylla kept her voice light as he accepted the cigarette. "And you're still wrong." she stepped closer, tilting her head back to look up at him, an amused smile playing at the corners of her mouth. The smile didn't reach her eyes, though; her mind still at work, considering. Assessing. Feeling for something to go wrong. It was, still, possible he was still tied to their apron-strings and he was going to throw her to the wolves after all. "I don't have many friends either, but that could be because I fled the war." She tilted her head, looking up at him out of the corner of her eye, mouth pursing. "One last guess," she told him, before turning her attention to the buckles and buttons of his coat. "If you get it right this time, I'll let you pick a prize." she pressed her hands to the front of his coat, before pausing for a moment. "You won't power down will you? Or... something. I know senshi uniforms can be a bit persnickety about being taken off." she dragged her pointer finger over the front of the coat, considering the various obstacles to actually helping him get it off. Bones everywhere. Whatever Scholomance was, exactly, it was certainly morbid. But she was cold, and he was accommodating.
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Posted: Tue Dec 27, 2016 3:09 pm
So Scylla had been to France. She spoke not with a french accent, but with an american one - leading him to believe that she vacationed there for some time. How long? Long enough to carry a relationship, apparently. A flash in the pan, a slow burn, he couldn't say - it wasn't in his purview to know so much of someone by gasps and snatches of conversation. Was this ex a boy? A girl? Did she prefer one side of the gender equation to the other?
"If I were more clever, they wouldn't have reason to suspect it. If I knew that what Caedus set for us was a deathtrap meant to collapse both parties, then I would not have ended up this way. I could've carried on. But the old adage is right: curiosity mutilated the knight." Seldom did he pass a day without the lurking reprimands reminding him of his failures. His friend Pendleton loosened them from their hollows rather than chased them away. A pity, that - he would've traded a dozen bottles of whiskey for true freedom from that hypercriticism. His hollow religion cited no reprieves, only endless meditations on endless prayer beads on endless grains of rice until he filled a thousand bowls with the same mantra that he cycled through his head.
And it meant nothing.
"A coward and a traitor. Fantastic team." A flounderer. Unfit to serve, but damned to it. He considered, for a moment, speaking of Scholomance and its consumptive personality. His experiences with Blaine taught him that treachery may be in the lineage of that knighthood. Two examples seldom formed a trend, however, and he found no reason to further curtail his chances with her.
Chances, unfortunately, meant little more than air. A paltry weight on the tongue, a wait for a smile. A blink, a passing glance.
Scholomance waited as she touched his coat, and he felt very little of the pressure through the heavy lining with dress shirt and undershirt. "I don't know." He never spent much time as earthbound Scholomance in the summer, and the Saturn wonder featured a reversed season cycle to DC. "If I do drop my power, what would it matter?" He looked about, and spotted one of their cameras. "What's there to lose?" He asked, more to himself than his company.
"Now, for my last guess…" Age identifying early adults was incredibly difficult based on his own experiences. His ex-fiancee nearly landed him in jail. "Twenty-th… mmm, four. I'll go with twenty-four."
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Posted: Tue Dec 27, 2016 5:11 pm
There wasn't anything she could really say to his comment on cleverness; after all, she couldn't exactly say one way another where his choices may have led him. She was no clever saint herself, wrapped up in so many mistakes and self-recriminations that if they decided to unroll their crimes they might just be here all night. Things she had done while she wasn't here, in this town... people she had known, things they had asked her if she wanted to try. The rabbit hole was potentially endless, if she even remembered it all. "And what was the second part of that?" she inquired, already knowing it. "Satisfaction brought him back." The soft sigh she gave couldn't be held back. A coward and a traitor. Fantastic team. Well, he wasn't wrong. She was a coward. She was everything that she hadn't been, last time she lived. Soft and inconsistent where she had once been firm and certain. Even her body was as different as they came. All that she had been was gone, except for the magic that hummed under her skin, a salty, shivering song. "You're not a traitor if you haven't picked a side. And- let's be honest for a moment. Betrayal is the only truth that sticks." idly, she wondered for a moment if Scholomance would recognize the quote, or if she would just get to sound wise. Hah. "It would matter," she told him with a frown, brow furrowing, following his gaze to the camera."We can find somewhere else if you'd rather, or at least move out of view of the cameras. I'm not going to risk your identity being revealed to someone who might be a threat just so I can wear a coat." The thought of it chilled her. They already had Scholomance's balls in a vise with his ring. If they knew who he was, or suspected, how long would it be until they changed their mind and decided to bring him fully 'into the fold' as it were? Something that, while possibly inevitable, she didn't want to hasten for anyone. Not even someone who dubbed themselves a traitor. Twenty-four, he said, and Scylla laughed. "Ding!" she told him, tapping a french-tipped fingernail against a bright gold coat-button with a clack. "I knew you'd get it eventually." pushing back a lock of hair that had fallen over her shoulder, she considered the knight. "One prize. Choose wisely."
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Posted: Tue Dec 27, 2016 9:34 pm
"Satisfaction didn't bring my arm back. That's the difference between a story and an experience," Scholomance replied solemnly.
"I didn't betray myself, but someone else thought I betrayed them. That truth is bound to stick for a long, long time." Long past the fragile state of his body, the ceaseless assignments, the forced compliance. He expected current betrayals may even roll into the next lifetime if the Negaverse decided to seize his starseed. "I know I've heard that quote before. Where did it come from?" If nothing else, the bid for answers gave more information on his conversation partner - book, movie or simple spoken quote gave some insight into her interests.
He hesitated but a moment for her answer. "Alright. I know what I want." In his hand formed the macabre visage of a spinebone whip, perfectly coiled with its dura mater protruding far beyond the vertebral column. the weapon ended in a coccyx, a perfect popper to the anatomical whip, and he allowed the piece to uncoil to the floor. "And since privacy's an issue, you might want to cover your ears for this." A quick scan double-checked his prior number of noted cameras, and again, he only spotted the one. The whip felt cumbersome and uneasy in his off-hand, and his first throws failed to produce the telltale thundercrack. Only on the third swing did he manage the proper angle with his wrist, and the flimsy housing for the mounted camera toppled to the floor. Only severed wires hung where it once perched.
"I'm not left-handed," he admitted over his shoulder. Perhaps that added further salt to his story.
The weapon dissipated with a thought. "So, now that that's taken care of, you can take my coat off and then we'll ******** on that folding table over there. It's sturdy, stainless steel, has four legs. Should be fun. Bonus points if we crack the window. But, if you're feeling shy, I can settle for a b*****b." He flashed her a wry smile. As he waited for her response, he leaned against one of the unused dryers.
They wouldn't be the first to have a little fun at a laundromat, he knew; the last attendant was fired for similar circumstances.
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Posted: Tue Dec 27, 2016 10:34 pm
Well, it was impossible to argue that one; she conceded his point about curiosity and satisfaction with a solemn nod of the head. One point to Scholomance. Someone had thought he betrayed them- not an uncommon issue, if he made friends with the Dark Moon and the Negaverse. He was, for any alliance, still an enemy; or perhaps it had to do with who he was under the Scholomance mask. " Maybe all one can do is hope to end up with the right regrets," she said lightly, teasing him with another clue to the author without actually giving an answer. "Or, perhaps- Let you look sometimes for the goodness in me, and judge me not." the cigarette was still there, in-between his lips, and she plucked it out, considering. It would make a viable hostage for all of half a minute. The arrival of his weapon made her stiffen, and then fascinated her. A... spine whip? Instead of pulling away, she tucked in closer to him, taking advantage of the small circle of protection that would form where he used his weapon- on the security cameras. This. This was why senshi were considered terrorists. Scholomance destroying public property. Or private property frequently used by the public; whatever the wording, the result was the same. Then with others doing the same thing... Covering her ears, Scylla watched him flail for a moment with his whip, fascinated by the way it moved. "I'm not left-handed either," she told him with a wry grin, trying to take some of the sting out of his confession.It was hard to miss why he might have specified such a thing, but... Her eyes went wide, and she dropped her tea, which she'd carefully been handling about, without drinking it, choking on thin air, eyes wide and startled. Really, she shouldn't have been surprised by it, with all his other jokes, but the proposition... wasn't one she was used to. Certainly not in a laundromat. "Don't you know that nice girls don't put out until at least the third date?" she asked him, trying desperately to recover. "I told you to pick a wise prize, Scholomance." Did he even know her name??? Settle for a blow- Jada knew her cheeks were bright red, and lifted her chin instead of ducking it down- he was too tall (and too blunt) to appreciate a demure head dip. And that s**t-eating wry smile he offered her. This one was trouble. And she'd dealt with trouble before. Her eyes narrowed, and she licked her lips, looking him up and down, appraising. It was just a question of how to start with it. She supposed, however, a good place to start would be with taking his coat off. She slid the cigarette onto the table he'd suggested and moved across the floor towards him, settling both hands on his chest. "What if I have another suggestion?"
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Posted: Tue Dec 27, 2016 10:53 pm
"Oh, you're a nice girl?" He scoffed. "Here I thought you were someone fun for all your c**k- I mean, quote-teasing. Nice girls…" He muttered again, rubbing his face. Nice girls only know three positions: missionary, doggy-style, and reverse cowgirl. Nice girls only know what they show in the movies - the R-rated ones, of course. Nice girls don't know the fun of flavored lube or ********.
Nice girls are boring.
"Fine. Since I have trouble discerning a difference between a nice girl and a hole in my mattress, I'm all ears. Besides, I suppose this would be our first date if we go by breeder convention. I did buy you that tea. And those cigarettes aren't free, by the way - they're actually rather expensive," he added with the c**k of a brow. Relatively speaking on the expensive side. Scholomance started to wonder if Miss I-Visited-France and This-Tea-is-Dishwater wasn't one of the richer, snobbier types - the ones he daydreamed of devouring in every carnal way when he was younger. If nothing else, she made a very expensive, very warm hole in the mattress.
"I wonder…" He narrowed his gaze at her in equal trade. "It's because I'm an amputee, isn't it? That's not sexy. If free tea is worht complaints then why settle for sleeping with someone who doesn't have any teeth and lacks two arms to hold you against the table? Clearly that's not a viable use of your time." He spoke the words with more vitriol than he intended, as his sore ego filtered its wounded regrets into the conversation. What started as jest soon turned to valid suspicion, and Scholomance knew no means to back out of the middle of a sentence.
So she might slap him. What did that matter? She already denied him his definitive response to her nebulous prize.
"I'd like my cigarette back now. Please." Again, he reminded himself. Tone down the acidity.
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Posted: Tue Dec 27, 2016 11:20 pm
Cockteasing?! Her head jerked back, eyes narrowing. "Oh, I'm sorry, did your poor widdle ego get bruised because I am a little bit taken aback by being propositioned in a laundromat? Or because I'm unaware of the magical man rule that says maybe a little flirting clearly means I can d**k her on a metal table in a public locale. Or maybe you're actually one of those guys, who thinks that because I show a little cleavage I go around looking for every Tom, d**k, and Harriet I can find?" Yep, he definitely hadn't been paying enough attention to know her name. And probably not much else about her, either. "Since you're all ears, Scholomance, I'm going to tell you once that I am a lot more than a hole in a mattress. And if you wanted to wet your d**k down, you just went the wrong way about it." a shame, too. He hadn't been completely out, yet. Breeder convention. Bloody hell. "As for your arm, no; that's not the reason. Nor was it your teeth, or the bones all over your uniform, or the fact that you're quite possibly still an enemy, or the fact that smoking is a filthy habit, and no," she hissed at him, "You're not getting your cigarette back." There was only one thing he was getting from her. She stomped up to him, glaring belligerently up into his face, fury lighting her cheeks, her neck, probably her chest, and if her hair could catch fire, it likely would be. "I decide what is a viable use of my time, not your shockingly tender ego and wounded pride. I'd already decided you were worth my time, Scholomance, or I wouldn't be here at all, much less trying to get along with you."
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Posted: Tue Dec 27, 2016 11:56 pm
"No, my poor widdle ego got bruised because —" He cut himself off by biting his own tongue. One of the tongue barbels caught between teeth with a muffled crunch. He closed his eyes slowly, felt the rage that trembled his fingers and breathed. "Nevermind." It's not important.
And it's not just a 'little' cleavage, either, sweetheart.
He opened his eyes and he watched her. He watched her because his anger burned too cold and froze his throat and mouth from working out an explanation. She named three new strikes - his outfit (which he frankly agreed with), his questionable status in regards to the war, and one of his cleaner addictions. As she progressed, the chill of desolation crept from his stomach onwards; it reminded him, insidiously, that any response he chose to take now was a futile action. Why respond at all? He lost the game, she withdrew her favor, and he was little more than a cripple in a laundromat trying to proposition someone over a folding table.
Shockingly tender ego and wounded pride. She has a point. I spend a minimum of two days out of every week lying in bed and drinking until the sun goes down. The healing hasn't started beyond the physical level. I have to get my s**t together.
Like that's going to happen tomorrow.
Scholomance drew in a breath. "Alright. You're right. I apologize." He kept his thoughts carefully near on any prospective explanations or wistful ramblings. She proved fiery, much like Gwen at times, and perhaps just as normal. Violet eyes (they were violet, he noticed that now) burned into him with similar intensity as Hy-Brasil, and they most certainly lacked any naked care that the former possessed. But what were comparisons worth? He imagined it shared a similar weight with an apology - each just a turn of phrase carefully separated from any real meaning.
"You were saying?" He looked to her with a carefully-constructed countenance that belied neutrality at best. His years of customer interaction offered him at least that much
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Posted: Wed Dec 28, 2016 9:32 am
Even in her fury, Scylla could hear the crunch of metal in his mouth and visibly winced, the fury in her eyes twisting into genuine concern. She was supposed to be angry, but that sounded painful- and her hasty anger had done no good here except to tell a new friend to shove off. Or maybe it had been a ******** from the beginning; that was common too. She'd never been propositioned as Scylla- it was all new territory here. It had to work, of course; she'd heard tale about too many Senshi-Negaverse star-crossed ******** for it not to. He drew in a breath, and Scylla was surprised to find her hands shaking as she placed them carefully but firmly on his chest. "It's not whatever imagined flaws you have." she told him firmly. Jada was superficial, but flaws could be worked with, dressed up, used to an advantage. Scholomance had already proven to her he was somewhat more intelligent than the arm he'd lost, which was infinitely more important than anything else- excepting the fact he could hold to his self-given title at any moment. Traitor. Red lips quirked in a sheepish sideways grin. "And look, we've had our first fight. Yet another thing we can check off of the 'breeder' bucket list." she quirked a brow at him. " Don't be seduced into thinking that that which does not make a profit is without value." he still hadn't guessed the author of the quotes she had thrown at him. They had been a bit distracted. Lifting one hand from his chest, she carefully reached for her cellphone. "I was saying, trust me, and I'll give you something much better than a cheap ******** in this shithole," she told him pleasantly, and leaned up onto her tiptoes to press a kiss to his mouth- and then, still holding onto him, she pushed the button for home.
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