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 Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2011 11:41 pm
Chaonis was far from happy. With himself, with the world.
He was supposed to be stronger now, better, more capable and definitely more kick a**. He had always had a cockiness problem, and had no trouble believing he was as awesome as he thought he should be. He was strong, reckless, dangerous, and good at his job.
He was a good guy. He saved lives. And he beat youma for fun.
Entering a fight he wasn't sure he could win was common, but these days he had such a low opinion of youma that he considered them beneath him. The easiest fights out there: walking punching bags. The harder fights were with actual people. So why, then, did he get injured by, and have so much trouble with, that stupid plant thing?
His pride hurt. It burned.
He found himself near the library, which only put him in a worse mood. His dad was probably still at work, despite the hour, as he spent more and more time away from home. Like he was avoiding his own son or something.
That was a very different frustration.
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Posted: Thu Mar 24, 2011 1:52 pm
Tony had been spending more time at the library, yes -- and so had Ever, finding it a relatively safe place to hide out, both from responsibilities and a well-meaning mother who kept thrusting her daughter in his general direction. Shudder. Add to that the appeal of time spent with an attractive and well-read older man...
He was leaving late again, hair tucked into his hat, just a little bruised and tired-looking but at least he was sober, and that was something. Standing outside the door, he took a moment to fumble for his cigarettes and get one out of the pack, thrust between his lips, before he started walking. Twenty feet from the door he'd light up, hissing smoke as he headed absently in Chaonis's general direction.
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Posted: Thu Mar 24, 2011 11:05 pm
Chaonis stalked down the street, his hand clamped over his bleeding arm, his eyes scanning for another chance, another fight, but he found the opposite. Some stupid human out for a stroll. He glared and almost made to climb up a building and get out of sight, but he recognized the civilian walking toward him.
That kid who had bummed a cigarette. And who had told Tony that Nate punched him in the face, which resulted in Tony scolding his son for something he hadn't, for perhaps the first time, actually done.
Chaonis was also aware that Tony had all but adopted Ever at the library, giving him free money and letting the guy take advantage of him. At least, that was the version of the story Nate decided to believe, even if it wasn't the one Tony told.
It made his blood boil. Tony had patience and understanding and caring to spare for all these useless people, people he wasn't actually related to, and he was nothing but annoying to his real son. And he didn't even want to think about all the times Tony carried on about the senshi he thought so highly of. And Nate was wasting his time, being useless, not helping anyone.
Suddenly, Chaonis seemed to blame Ever for every problem he had, and without thought or prompting, barreled toward the older boy with his fist, reddened with the blood from his arm, drawn back, swinging a sudden punch once he was close enough to the other guy's face.
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Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2011 2:47 pm
Still bruised and frustrated from several adventures into the wild world of the Negaverse, these days Ever wasn't sleeping enough -- nor was he having fun enough, nor did he think he was relaxing enough, and he was definitely not drinking enough. Mostly he walked with his head down, spent too much time thinking, exuberant grins faded down to more serious, quiet consideration.
It was like being an adult, and he rather hated it. Job. Steady living position. Nighttime adventures turned toward energy gathering to show Zac that he could damned well make himself useful, or recon to see how his new magic worked. He genuinely missed making a drunken a** of himself at some club, flirting and following home...
All this compiled meant that he was quiet and oblivious, eyes distracted, still fumbling with his lighter, when Chaonis came up on him. The bruise across his face, left by Gianfar's magic and his own stupidity, had mostly faded. The senshi's fist hit in nearly the same place, hard enough to snap his attention up and leave him sprawling, breath knocked out of him and a mess of blood dribbling out of his nose.
He dropped his cigarette and was left dazed and baffled, half on top of his bags, dark eyes turned on Chaonis. Too shocked to even offer some kind of witty comment. Blindsided.
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Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2011 6:40 pm
Chaonis felt a few emotions and sensations rush over him in one burst as soon as his fist connected with the civilian's jaw, a small spark shooting up his knuckle, a sharp note to awaken everything else inside him.
He had just hit someone for no good reason, and he was feeling conflicting emotions about that.
First off, an overwhelming sense of relief flooded his pent up, stressed, aching body. As it always did when he found a fight he really needed, physical violence some how soothed the beast inside him. Like music to some, or reading a book to others, finding solace in food or in company: Chaonis' chosen method of catharsis was hitting people or things.
Second, mixed in with the first, he felt guilt. It was an unfamiliar air, as he rarely felt bad about anything he did. He was always right, and justified his actions in his own mind. But this was impulse. And now there was a bleeding civilian on the ground.
Third, he felt a strange impulse to run.
Instead, he stood there, seething, glaring at the young man like Ever should know why there was a furious senshi standing over him. Like he was waiting for an apology. Or for him to fight back.
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Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2011 12:13 pm
There was very little chance that Nate would have gotten some kind of apology from Ever; Chaonis had none at all. From an outsider point of view, this looked like a random act of violence -- or, perhaps, like Ever had been found out, his uniform unmasked, his civilian identity revealed. Chaonis waited, and Ever stared up at him in a shocked way that fled to fear that melted to a rising sort of anger.
He fumbled, hissing and wincing, already scraped up and now with a bruise blossoming across his cheek. Another black eye. He was doomed always to injuries.
Ever got his feet under him and paused just a moment, shooting a dizzy look down to his bag, back toward the library, weighed his options for just a moment and then chose the absolute worst of them.
He threw himself at Chaonis, his own frustration and fury bubbling up. Long limbs and flailing elbows, he was graceless and angry as he went for the face by any means necessary.
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Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2011 1:28 pm
Chaonis knew that the civilian was going to be carrying a badge from the fight, at the very least. A punch like that didn't go without a lasting bruise, and he could already see where the mark was going to be. He half hoped it would be dark and ugly. Something for everyone to see, even if no one ever knew what it was tied to. Even if Chaonis himself didn't know for sure.
The other half of him wanted to take it back. Maybe not half. Maybe two fifths. One third. Something in there.
Eh. Fractions.
He thought Ever was going to take off running back toward the library. Let him. Surely Tony would be in there, ready to care about him and fix him up, since he had all the time and attention to spare for everyone that wasn't his own son. But what did Nate even care? It didn't matter to him. He didn't want or need anything from Tony.
His thoughts were cut off, though, as Ever instead came barreling at him. He wanted to fight? Chaonis grappled with him, mostly deflecting his flailing before he lashed out with a fist aimed at the civilian's gut after getting clipped in the face by Ever's elbow.
Okay, that one he had earned.
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Posted: Tue Mar 29, 2011 8:35 am
Zink had probably mentioned that while Ever was in civilian form, he'd be completely normal: he'd probably also warned him not to pick fights with senshi out of uniform. As Chaonis hit him again, Ever would finally remember that. For a fleeting moment, he considered changing. A duck around the corner, come back out and he'd be stronger, more able to deal with this...
...and also completely out of the closet. Even the dumbest of senshi could certainly add two and two together.
He swallowed, choked, and finally stopped his flailing. This was really just embarrassing; even the clip to Chaonis's face was probably glancing against senshi strength, the clutch of Ever's fingers as he struggled to keep himself upright was weak, his arms flecked with blood. Forget clever comments. At this point, he mostly just wanted to catch his breath.
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Posted: Tue Mar 29, 2011 12:45 pm
Super Chaonis should have felt worse about fighting a civilian than he actually did. Sure, he was not only powered up, but feeling twice as strong as he had been before. Of course, most of that was pride and confidence, but the truth remained that he was stronger than first stage senshi, and much more so than a civilian.
He had no idea he had found a nega powered down, though it would only have justified him fighting. Give him a reason why he was doing the right thing, rather than attacking someone who didn't exactly deserve it out of no where.
Rubbing his jaw, he watched as Ever stumbled. He growled and shoved the other combatant hard on the upper chest with the palm of his hands, aiming to send him sprawling backwards and away from him.
He should probably get out of there before Tony heard the trouble and came out to save the day. The first and last thing he wanted to do was hit his dad, but it would be a step too far when the night was already so complicated and crazy.
Fists still clenched, he resisted the urge to stomp on the already fallen opponent. This was street fighting, after all: that would have been more than fair in the no rules, no holds barred brawl. But he resisted, only lifting his foot and catching the attack before he let it fall.
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Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2011 8:31 am
Ever made a noise and fell, yes, somewhat limply, wincing as his head hit the concrete hard enough to leave him seeing stars. For a moment, he closed his eyes -- tried to catch his breath -- and then opened them again, realizing the crazy-a** senshi was still there and could step in at any moment.
His eyes locked on the threatening foot and he tried to move, scrabbling and spitting blood but at least not protesting, to get back out of reach. There was a wash of fear: he could die right here, right now, and Ever was very much aware of that. But he'd been in this position before, and on top of his jittery retreat, he shot a look up onto Chaonis's face, remembering the color of his eyes and the shape of white armor and the criss-crossed caution tape.
If he'd had a little more sense, he would have asked for the senshi's name. As it was, he'd remember him and come looking for him later.
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Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2011 11:04 am
Chaonis felt fairly triumphant when Ever looked like he wasn't going to get up any time soon. But then he noticed the defiance on the others face. It just made him want to hit the civilian again, regardless of all those thoughts and subtle hints of guilt in the back of his mind. Of course, maybe he was making that determination up, to justify himself once again, because from all outward signs it seemed Ever wanted to get the hell out of there.
His attention was shifted though, when he saw the doors to the library jostle. He spotted the form of the librarian in the glass, looking toward them, and knew he was going to come out and mess things up. With a growl, he gave Ever one more parting kick before he hurried off. He should probably tend to his arm, anyway, which he had all but forgotten about.
At least that was a good thing: the whole point of finding a new fight was to take his mind off the youma. So hey, that worked out for him. To the detriment of Ever.
Tony had been inside the library, finishing up some work and, as always, minding his own business. That seemed to be the general rule around the library: if something bad was happening nearby, it was because someone had been minding their own business and thus easy to target. But what was the counter to a rule like that? Minding everyone elses business at all times?
Sometimes Tony's mind wandered when he was in the middle of the ordinary, very routine process of library work.
He looked up, though, when he heard the sounds of a fight outside. At least, he thought he had heard them. Grunts and angry voices, not right outside but nearby. It always got his proverbial fur up to hear sounds like that, thinking there were youma or negaverse fighters about. His instincts told him to go investigate, to help if he could, so he grabbed his cane and made to hurry over to the door as quickly as he could. At least he wasn't hurting today, and had no new injuries to speak of.
Though, just by thinking that he was sure he had jinxed something
Dogby looked up at him, thinking they were going on a walk, but he told her to stay at the desk and she sat down with a disappointed look on her muzzle and dippy, long ears.
Hurrying outside, he moved down the street toward the form on the ground. He only caught a glance of the senshi running away, and thought it had to be one of the negaverse. By the time he reached Ever, though, Chaonis was gone. Or at least, gone from sight. He was up on a nearby roof, watching them for a moment before rolling his eyes and walking off.
"Ever! What happened?!" He saw blood and could easily see that the boy was in pain. He knelt beside him, not wanting to help him get up yet, in case something serious was hurt or broken and they needed an ambulance. He moved to get his phone out of his pocket, as that thought occurred to him, to call nine one one.
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Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2011 11:32 am
"s**t..." First thing Ever said, and it came with a wince, his eyes flicking up onto Tony. Dual meaning: it was addressed to the bruises on his chest and face, the scabs starting to form along the backs of his arms and his palms, the blood pressed against a split lip, but it was also addressed to the fact that Tony had walked out on this.
Not only was it embarrassing, but now he'd been seen like this, which meant he couldn't damned well heal himself up in a rush. His mind was already flitting to the energy he had gathered with the intent to offer up to Zink, of the healing properties the general had mentioned [and warned about] in passing, an almost rabid curiosity as to what it would feel like once he tried one. But if he took one now, Tony would notice. He'd wonder.
Ever bit down the urge to curse again as he blinked at the phone, fumbling up onto one arm and stretching his shoulder out, his mind still a whir. Couldn't heal. Wasn't sure of motive. Still wasn't certain he was compromised, but if he had been, certainly the senshi would have finished him off...? Or gloated. Bad guys gloated.
"Ah, no, Tony..." No hospitals. He was bruised and battered but not broken, and he knew very well he couldn't afford that sort of thing. So he made a dizzy effort to find his feet, wincing at the gaping tear in the knee of his pants and swaying drunkenly. "I'm okay." Like hell.
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Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2011 5:28 pm
Tony looked absolutely baffled. No hospitals? He was bleeding in the street! Surely that would require a trip to the doctor, at the very least, if not a trip in an ambulance. He held on to his phone, though, and didn't call.
"You're not okay," Tony argued, moving to him. He tried to help him up now, seeing him move. Since Ever was already sitting up, after all, moving him wouldn't hurt him any more than what was done. Right? He just wanted to get him off the street and away from any further possibilities of being attacked.
"What happened," he asked, as he helped him to his feet, letting Ever lean on him as heavily as he needed to. "I saw someone running away but they were too fast..."
He walked slowly, paying careful attention to Ever, for any sign that walking was impossible. "We'll get you inside and cleaned up a bit. I still think you should go to the hospital... your nose is bleeding a lot, it might be broken? The bones in your face are more fragile than you might think... your cheek looks like it was hit pretty hard, too."
Ever the worrier, he turned into a mostly-learned-from-TV field doctor when he, at least, wasn't the one hurt. Not in a treatment sense, but at least he could try to help in any way he could.
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Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2011 6:20 pm
"Nose has been broken before." He spat blood again, licking his lips and leaning in drunkenly against Tony. Not bad, that, actually, it was something that Ever could maybe get used to. He wiped his mouth and dropped convincingly, letting Tony just steer him back toward the library.
"...s**t he hit hard, though." It was a little strangled, a hand lifted to prod delicately at his cheek, wobbling on his foot. "Aspirin and alcohol wouldn't go amiss."
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Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2011 6:40 pm
Tony hobbled his way back to the library, unable to really use his cane, but managing to get them inside without dropping either of them to the floor. Rather the accomplishment, he might think, if he weren't so concerned for Ever's safety.
He was unconvinced, but he didn't argue. Much.
"Even if it has been broken before," he said, helping him to sit down in the back room. It was becoming a medical clinic, in its own way, considering how many times people had to be patched up there. Tony made sure to keep the medical kit well supplied. "But that doesn't mean it's safe to just let it be. You'd need to set it."
He got some aspirin pills and cup of water, lacking on the alcohol and not inclined to give it at the moment anyway, offering them to Ever before getting a pack of ice and a watered towel for general cleaning and care. "Now, what happened? Who attacked you? Are you sure you don't want me to take you to the doctor?"
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