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 Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 3:24 pm
For a moment the room was silent as Roch hung up the phone. He looked over at Vegas, who was watching him expectantly, then snorted and started flipping through his contact list again. There was someone he needed to talk to... and he figured now was as good a time as any.
The boil found a certain name, one of the newer ones on his list, and pressed "call" waiting patiently for Hel to answer.
Hel was seated in the den next to her mother, watching with rapt fascination as the older valkyrie worked on embroidering new tunics for her. Ever since that odd growth spurt she hit since she returned home, she was in sore need of new clothing. The ghoul startled though as her phone went off, and immediately dug it out of her pocket excitedly. Someone was calling her!?
Oh, it was Roch! Hel waved a hand to her mother to let her know she’d be back later, and stood, starting to wander out of the house as she flipped her phone open. “Roch!” She greeted happily and excitedly. “How are you, friend?”
"A little bit irritated," he admitted. "But we'll get to that. How's it goin? You go home too, or are you still at school?" He crossed his legs on the bed, ignoring the way his granddad snorted. So what if he was calling another girl? It wasn't as if he was dating any of them!
Hel made a face as she waltzed out of the front door of her family’s wood and stone cottage, meandering down the path until she reached the stone fence, where she promptly seated herself. “Ah…I’m sorry to hear that friend!” She paused, “I am home as well! Hey, did you happen to hit a growth spurt while you were away from the Academy?”
“You know... I haven't checked," he admitted. "But hell, even if I do grow, I'm still a freakin' midget compared to those guys," he complained. "You get taller, huh? I wanna see that."
His granddad choked on a laugh, and Roch elbowed him. "Shuddup, you huge jackin' reaper," he muttered, barely covering the phone with his hand. "I kinda got sidetracked on my vacation plans, though," he said to Hel.
“Those guys?” Hel echoed. “Oh…not really taller! Maybe like an inch or so…but all my tunics don’t fit anymore! They’re really tight in certain areas.” Hel made a face, despite the fact Roch couldn’t see it. “It was very odd, to grow like that, but my mother is making new clothes for me!” The ghoul paused as she heard some sounds coming from Roch’s end.
“…Oh? How so?”
"Certain... areas?" Roch asked blankly. "You get fat, or something?" he added curiously. "But--" He stopped as Vegas started laughing out right.
"It ain't funny," he told Vegas. "Shuddup. And yeah, I was kidnapped by my dad and granddad, we've been traveling around on bikes for the week. Right now we're in Mot's town. I'm gonna call him tomorrow, it's kinda late and I'm kinda tired to do anything tonight."
“Fat?” Hel echoed, and looked down at herself, her brow furrowing. “…No…I don’t believe so! My bust grew though!” The reaper informed oh so happily, pausing once more as someone laughed loudly on Roch’s end.
“Oh! I see!” Hel replied once Roch revealed what had happened to him. “Are you having a good time, friend?” She did make a bit of a dismayed face though at his next bit of information. “You’re in Mot’s town?” She sounded a bit envious. “I will admit I wish I was in your position now! Ah, you know he doesn’t sleep well at night anyways, if you did want to call him.”
"Nah, I'll do it tomorrow," Roch said, his neck turning a bit red at her honesty over the size of her... bust. That meant breasts, right? So she suddenly got bigger boobs? He... really hadn't needed to know that. "A good time? Well... Muertes was awesome, I'll admit that. I got you a chocolate skull! I got a lot of them, actually. And... uh... why AREN'T you here?" he asked more quietly.
There was a slight strain in his voice, as if he was restraining himself all of a sudden. "Cuz Hel, we got a jackin' problem, whether you want to admit it or not."
Yes Roch, you needed to know. All her friends needed to know that her bust got bigger. All of them. “Muertes? Chocolate skull?” Hel grinned. “Ah, that was very kind of you friend, thank you! I look forward to it upon our return!” She paused. “Uh…why aren’t I there? Because that’s not where my home is?” Roch’s suddenly quiet tone, and then the strain, had the reaper sitting on the edge of the stone fence as her brows furrowed.
“What’s wrong, Roch?”
"I got here and ran into Lizzy," he said flatly. "Right in the middle of a jackin' reaper town. She came to spend the entire day with Mot yesterday. What the JACK is up with that? We aren't anywhere near the school! And she's got a jackin' boilfriend, but here she is, comin' out here to--" He growled, showing his frustration with the entire thing. "And she didn't even seem to realize what she was doin' was wrong."
Hel had suddenly been expecting a life threatening, emergency situation, but when the ‘problem’ was finally disclosed, it didn’t lessen that punch to the gut feeling Hel suddenly got. The reaper was quiet for a long moment as she leaned over, resting her arm on her knees as she stared blankly at some blades of grass. This was probably stung more than it should be, and Hel was mad was this stung. “Oh.” She replied lamely.
Mot wanted to hang out with Lizzy over break and not her? Hel shook her head and sighed. “…I…I honestly don’t think she realizes…you know…how Mot feels.” She muttered.
He snorted. "Demons," he said quietly, "I'm starting to think they're all... dense." He sighed, running a hand over his face. "And I want to make her out to be the bad guy, but that ain't fair. I know that. But jackdammit--" He sighed, relaxing. "What do I do, Hel?"
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Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 3:31 pm
Hel sat there quietly for a long moment, rolling her shoulders before speaking up again. “…Heh…I want to be…mad too but…she…hopelessly adores her boilfriend…” Which made the fact that she didn’t see that Mot liked her…even worse. Why was it that Lizzy had two swell boils so attentive to her? “…You know…I will admit.” Hel chuckled. “Lizzy asked me to train her and…well…I’m probably liking the idea more than I should be…if you know what I mean.” Which she was sure he did.
The reaper sighed again, feeling downtrodden. Honestly, she didn’t know what to tell Roch to fix this problem. “…Just…keep being there for him, I suppose. You are his friend, after all.”
He snorted. "Kick her a** for me," he said. "Please, please, PLEASE, kick her a** for me. That's the place you do it, after all. Maybe you can knock some sense into her." He was being mean, and he knew it.
"Can I ask just who the hell you're askin' to kick the little pink haired ghoul's a**?" Vegas asked in a dangerous rumble.
"Uh... this isn't--" Roch stopped as the older reaper glowered at him. "A valkyrie?" he said reluctantly.
Hel choked on laughter and surprise as Roch chanted for her to kick Lizzy’s a**. “Ack, you know I couldn’t do that, Roch! Mot would be so upset with me…” Hel sighed again, her shoulders slumping. “Mac might be too.” Just what she needed, more people to be irked with her. “Just…a few tussles though…maybe…”
The ghoul paused as she heard another voice clearly on the other line, blinking. “Uh…everything alright, friend?”
"You're tellin' a VALKYRIE to kick a little demon ghoul's a**?" Vegas roared. "No matter who you think she's cheatin' on, you little idiot, it still ain't a reason to get her killed! Don't you realize what Valkyries are trained for?"
Roch muttered something dark. "Yeah, yeah, she told me no, anyways."
"At least one of you gots sense," Vegas growled.
Roch gave him a dirty look before sighing. "My granddad says no, too," he said. "Maybe I should ask you to fight with ME instead of her."
Hel blinked as someone seemed to roar right into the phone, and gave a short laugh. She was kind of flattered by whoever was yelling at Roch right now. Someone recognized her battle prowess, obviously.
The reaper perked up a bit though. “You want to battle, friend? Gladly! We can arrange a match when we return to the Academy!” Hel was always excited to battle against one of her friends.
"My first wife was a valkyrie," Vegas muttered. "Meanest damn lady you ever seen."
"My grandmother was a valkyrie?" Roch said, completely distracted. "Dude, that's pretty awesome. But I wouldn't be askin' if you weren't one," he told Hel. "I don't like fightin' ghouls. Hell, I didn't even like fightin' boils. I still feel guilty about Charlie."
Hel pressed the phone closer to her ear to hear the conversation between Roch and his grand-dad. His grand-dad was married to a valkyrie? Oooh…Hel made a disappointed sound. “Aww, come on, Roch!” The reaper groaned. “Don’t be like Mot, too! He doesn’t like fighting ghouls either! If it helps, don’t think of me as one! Wait…” Hel paused.
“You fought Charlie?”
"Yeah, I fought Charlie," Roch said with a sigh. "If it makes you feel any better, he got some seriously killer headbutts in. And we traded pins, too. I... jackdammit, Hel, I needed to make sure he could fight," he muttered, earning a curious look from Vegas.
"I'll give you the blow by blow on our fake date when we get back to school, that work?"
Hel was grinning a bit now, easily letting herself get immersed in the topic about battling. “He did?” She echoed with a bit of excitement. “Maybe I’ll have to go challenge him too!” She could understand the desire to make sure friends could fight, definitely.
Wait…wait. “Really!?” Hel echoed excitedly when Roch made the offer.
"Sure, why not? It was an interesting fight," Roch said with a shrug.
"So you're... fake dating a valkyrie? One that's got a big bust?" Vegas asked curiously. "Jack, boil, give up on the pink ghoul and pick the valkyrie!"
"I AM giving up on Xiu, but don't go tryin' to tell me who I date," Roch growled. "Sorry, Hel, if you heard that.
“Excellent.” Hel cheered, pumping a fist into the air. She was caught up in her excitement over this battle that she only partly heard the argument going on between Roch and his Grand-dad. Focusing on battling made it easier to deal with that sting she was dealt earlier. The reaper pressed the phone back against her ear again.
“Huh? Oh, it’s alright, friend, heh.” The valkyrie dismissed his apology, and hummed thoughtfully for a moment. “…You’re giving up, huh?”
"Yeah, I'm givin' up. I--" He made a face. "Best for everyone, y'know?" he said simply. "Maybe I'll find a ghoul that likes tattoos and guitars."
Hel was quiet again for a moment as the gravity of Roch’s words settled. Giving up. Those words left a bad taste in Hel’s mouth. She hated them with a passion, but Roch’s actions had swiftly planted a thought in her head. “…I…I hope you will one day, friend.” Hel murmured, mulling over how she wanted to word a question to him. “Oi…Roch…your sacrifice has me wondering…should I…” She didn’t want to say give up…but maybe it wasn’t giving up when she didn’t really have a chance in the first place?
“…Sometimes the wisest choice in a battle is to raise the white flag, eh? Sometimes…doing that saves more than winning a battle…”
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Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 4:39 pm
"Not in your case!" he said quickly. "Hell NO am I going to let him date that idiot, boilfriend or no. If she doesn't recognize his feelings and still claims to be that close, she jackin' well doesn't deserve him."
Hel startled. Hel choked. Hel was surprised. Hel fell backwards off of the stone fence.
The next sounds Roch would hear were the thump of a body as it hit the ground, followed by some scuffling gravel, and then what sounded like a curse in Norwegian. The reaper used her arms to drag herself back over to the phone, picking it up as she cradled it back to her ear. “…I appreciate your confidence and honesty, friend.” Was the only thing she could manage after hearing those words from him.
"You alright?" he asked. "Cuz it sounded like someone fell."
“Y..yes…that was just me.” Hel pushed herself back to her feet, and resumed sitting on the stone wall again, carefully this time. “I’m fine.” She was quiet for a moment.
“Roch, I am uncertain of what course of action to take. A large part of me says…to just leave it be, to keep things to myself.”
He was silent. "I don't think so," he said finally. "At least not entirely. He's settin' himself up to be hurt, we both agree that, right? Well he needs to know there's someone there that's got his back. I ain't sayin' to tell him you... y'know, or anything, but don't give up. Treat him kind. Kindness... it's some jackin' powerful stuff."
“Ah…yes. We can agree to that.” Hel murmured.
She listened to the grim reaper, shifting until she was laying along the stone fence, balancing to keep herself from rolling off as she stared up at the moon overhead. Hel gave a short laugh. “I don’t know if I am even doing kindness right, friend…heh…but I agree…it is very powerful.”
"You're plenty kind," Roch said. "You gave me jerky! That puts you squarely in my 'kind people' list!"
"Because the kid thinks with his stomach ninety percent of the time," Vegas drawled.
Hel wasn’t sure what to make of that. “…If Mot could be easily swayed with his stomach, I think I’d be set, huh?” The valkyrie half heartedly joked. Hel felt down again after that. She sighed as she idly swung one of her feet back and forth.
“…H..hey…if you see him tomorrow…make sure he’s eating, alright? For me? I…I think I should have packed him some stew to go…” The reaper muttered this last part to herself…though Roch could probably hear, since she was cradling the phone rather close to herself.
"Yeah, I'll try," Roch said. "But you know me, Hel, I suck as a babysitter. But hey, maybe we'll pig out on concert food!" He grinned at the idea, clearly liking it. "I also have a ton of snacks that I got along the way."
“It’s the best I can ask for, friend, thank you.” Hel replied, swinging her foot a bit more. “Bah…not a baby sitter…as his friend, you know…” She trailed off for a moment. “…You’re a good friend, Roch.”
"I'm a pain in the a** as a friend, be honest," Roch said bluntly. "I'm also more likely to get someone in trouble than out of it. Mot would probably be better off without me, but the poor jacker's stuck."
Hel scowled. “No, you’re not a pain in the a**!”
“I don’t think Mot would be better off without you, and if that’s how you feel about it, I think he’d be better off without me too.” Stubborn Hel was stubborn and...trying to make a point? Don’t question the logic here.
"He's stuck with you, too," Roch pointed out evilly. "But sure I'm a pain in the a**. I don't see any of my pals tryin' to hook me up with a ghoul other than the one I'm crushin on--hell, they're not even tryin' to hook me up with her. Which is good, it'd piss me off."
Hel snorted, and then sighed. She rubbed a dark hand over her face.
“…You know, it feels like things have suddenly become complicated…I think I am reminiscent about the days when I was blissfully unaware of these…feelings.”
He snorted. "Yeah, I know exactly what you mean." The shower turned off and he glanced up, watching as his dad came into the room. "I should let you go, though," he said. "Because it is too jackin' disturbing to see your old man shirtless and--holy s**t, that tattoo--Jackdammit, have they done EVERYTHING before I did?"
“…Ah…alright.” Hel murmured, sitting up from the stone fence, blinking as Roch started to talk to someone else. “…Heh. It was good to hear from you, friend. Take care. I’ll see you back at Amity?”
"Yeah, you know it," Roch said. "And hey, Hel? You and me, I still say we should spend more time hanging out together. Mot or no Mot."
The reaper blinked, and then smiled a bit.
“Of course, Roch. You’re my friend. You can count on it. I hope you enjoy the rest of your break. Have a good evening.” Even though those were her parting words, she waited for the punk reaper to hang up first, just in case.
"Yeah, you too," he said quietly before hanging up. Vegas, shockingly, didn't say a word.
Once the other end went silent, Hel snapped her phone shut, and tossed it up and down in her hand for a moment before slipping it back into her apron pocket. It was…nice to hear from him! The conversation had a smile on Hel’s face, even if it had brought some not so great news. It was nice to know someone cared to call and talk to her.
It was that thought she hung onto as she went back into her house and resumed watching her mother embroider.
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