|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Fri Jul 13, 2012 1:14 pm
Jace & Logan   xxxxxxxxxxIn which...xxxxxxxxxxLogan makes late-night cupcakes xxxxxxxxxxand wonders if Jace might stop by xxxxxxxxxxso he can show him something.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jul 13, 2012 1:19 pm
Every so often, Logan glanced over towards the study, where his father usually worked late into the night. Briar was away on business, and Logan had been using the study to work. It turned out with the even surface and improved lighting, as well as the extra tools and fine paper, Logan's skills with drawing had improved quite a bit. In fact, he'd designed his first prototype: a rabbit with a clover where his eye might be. The drawing was a little primitive at the moment, but it showed promise. As soon as his tiny hand would steady... He'd already become quite good at it, though. He wasn't worried at all.
As soon as Logan was old enough, he would move out-- nearby, so he could keep helping his father, but he'd move into his own place with the money he'd saved working for his father. Not strenuous labour, but he often got tipped very generously, as he was a kid and they didn't know any better. For some reason people thought he was cute.
Anyway, on this particular night, Logan was actually doing some baking. He'd run out of lavender cookies, which Briar'd had made for him, and he had no idea how to make cookies. However, a while back Briar had received a package from the bakery: some cupcake mix. He was told that all that needed to be added was some milk and eggs. Logan was fairly confident he could do that. Milk, eggs, and the lavender essence that Briar kept around to make sure the boy slept regularly and soundly.
He needed it if he intended to sleep in the house alone for another night. It wasn't so much that it was scary, as... well, no, it really kinda did scare the boy. He'd never admit it, but he usually huddled under his blankets with a solar-powered lantern well into the night. When he wasn't busy glancing into the study and thinking of his work, he was looking out the window, hoping... For someone, right? Someone in particular.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jul 15, 2012 11:05 pm
It wasn't very often that Jace ventured out of Spades, not only because Edgar often didn't let him, but also because he rarely had time. In fact, even as he walked, he felt the ache in his muscles and grimaced a little, shaking his head; he'd had to do an extra set of weights and a mile of running in order to gain permission to visit... His friend. He had barely taken time to wash up before he'd headed off towards Clubs, confident and fairly certain he wouldn't be bothered considering how cantankerous he looked.
It was strange, really, having a friend outside of Spades, let alone one that he'd want to visit for reasons other than the occasional spar. Brows furrowing, he wondered how the Growlithe had managed to wiggle under his skin with seemingly so much ease. It wasn't that he minded the sudden acquisition of someone to spend his time with... But it left him feeling a little wary; friends could be weaknesses too. Shaking his head, he instead started climbing, moving up onto a familiar windowsill before beginning the simple process of opening said window.
That done Jace dropped down inside and dusted himself off, peering about his friend's home before calling out to him. "Logan? You'd better be here..."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2012 12:33 pm
Logan was putting the tray of cupcakes into the oven, trying not to burn himself while he wrestled with it clumsily, tail flicking back and forth. He heard a familiar voice, and his little heart quickened; half because he was startled, half because the sound made him happy? He wasn't really sure what to do about that feeling except to lock it away as he shut the oven door and took the adorable ovenmitts off, tossing them onto the kitchen table and walking towards the sound of Jace's voice. "What's up?" Logan asked, his mouth curled up into a hint of a smile, ears flicking. He held up one tiny fist in greeting, offering it forward for the second half of the gesture.
"Want a drink? You look... kinda like the dead," Logan asked, unable to keep himself from qualifying the question like that. After all, he did look tired, but Logan knew that Jace had to work pretty hard. As much time as Logan poured into his drawings and mastering the different tools of the trade, studying designs endlessly and tracing them with his slowly-steadying hand, Jace put all of that into the pain of training.
Which was, perhaps, one of the reasons he liked the infant so much. They were both very focused on their futures, probably because the past didn't hold a whole lot for either of them. Not that it had been particularly terrible, given they were still quite young, but Logan had always been weirdly focused on the illumination and text work his father did. But in a new way. He knew that he wanted to work with ink and skin, now, and it was only a matter of time before he was able to train and develop those skills. He'd been scouting out a place to learn.
Logan wandered back into the kitchen, to set the kettle on for himself, regardless of what Jace wanted or if he even wanted something.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2012 1:19 pm
Jace tilted his head a little when he didn't immediately hear his friend's voice, immediately becoming wary despite his fatigue. However, when the other boy finally appeared he relaxed immediately, his lips quirking a little as he reached out and knocked their fists together. He felt a little better just seeing his friend, despite the fact that he was incredibly sore and felt like he'd collapse at any time; maybe it wasn't a good idea to visit in his tired state.
"I don't--!" he began before he sighed and slumped. "Okay... I feel kinda dead."
He muttered, ruffling his own hair in irritation and frustration before shrugging a little, kicking at the floor. It was true that his guardian had worked him harder than normal, but he hadn't expected to have so much difficulty hiding it. Then again he supposed that Logan had little trouble seeing through his little facades; he was still practicing.
"A drink would be nice." he finally answered, wandering after his friend and immediately climbing up onto the counter, despite the protest of his muscles. "How's your back, anyways? Did you get some nice scars? I mean, I cleaned em good but there's only so much that my crappy medical skills can do."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2012 9:53 pm
Logan hadn't been able to say anything at first because he couldn't quite keep the excitement out of his voice if he'd spoken just then, and he didn't really want to squeal with happiness or let on just how much he'd hoped Jace would come by. Either way, Logan's face betrayed how happy he was, even if he was pretending to be calm. "If you feel dead, I could put a fire on, we could sit? Unless you want an ice bath or something," Logan joked, grinning. His ear flicked as he contemplated the thought of an ice bath and decided against it.
"What do you want to drink? Something cold, or tea?" Logan yawned and took the kettle off the stove, pouring water into a teapot with his favourite dark tea. Just a breakfast tea, which he'd add cream to. Logan loved tea with cream. In fact, his tail was flicking back and forth in excitement. His eyes shifted in Jace's direction as he thought of the scars on his back. They kind of looked like a shark had raked its teeth down his back, and it would leave silver lines like lightning for the rest of his life, probably.
Logan, having set the tea to steep, wandered over to his friend who sat on the counter and lifted up the back of his own shirt to show Jace the scars. "I don't know, they look pretty awesome. It makes me look like I did something dangerous," Logan joked. "Thanks to you I didn't bleed out, so... I don't know how crappy your skills are. Help me come up with a story instead of 'I got caught in some barbed wire and Jace had to cut me loose.'"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jul 17, 2012 12:22 am
Jace arched a brow at the mention of a Ice bath before smiling a little and shaking his head, more amused than anything. Really something warm to drink and a place to just sit and relax sounded much better than a fire or... An ice bath. Definitely better than an ice bath, that was for certain. While Jace had a higher tolerance for physical misery than some people did, that didn't mean he enjoyed putting himself in discomfort. Quite the contrary, in fact, it meant that he tended to like the finer things in life a lot more than he probably should have.
"I like the tea you make." Jace answered softly, watching the other boy intently as he moved around the kitchen. "I never seem to make it right. Not that Edgar really likes tea enough for me to have a reason to make it..."
His attention suddenly focused on his friend's back, peering intently at the scars that littered it before whistling softly. It was just as Logan said; the marks would probably scar, but they'd definitely be interesting and unique. Ignoring the compliment he immediately set to thinking about what kind of stories they could tell about Logan's scars.
"You could say you got into a fight with a bear!" Jace offered, his eyes gleaming as he finally gave in to the urge to smile; only around Logan.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jul 17, 2012 6:00 pm
Honestly, since Logan avoided most physical exertion except for running (and, secretly, dancing) he wasn't entirely certain what to give his friend for his pain, except that he did love making tea, and that could be arranged. Logan, given how little he had been given attention in his childhood and how much of it he'd spent working, had set aside quite a sum for an infant by now, and planned to outfit his new place with very, very nice bedsheets. And, though he took a sort of minimalist approach in terms of quantity of furniture, he would certainly not skimp on the quality of his mattress or the aesthetics of his own room. However small it might be, if the location he'd chosen was any indication.
"Good," Logan replied equally softly, a flick of his tail indicating he was considered it kind of precious words of encouragement. "Maybe that's the difference, then; I have to make it for Briar all the time," he said, with a wry smile.
Logan held very, very still while Jace examined the wounds, though his little heart was pounding again. It felt weird to expose his back to the boy. He only did it because.. well, it was Jace. If, when he was older, Jace was the one to kill him, he would probably be surprised but it would be an okay death. Hopefully he'd keep the deaths to a minimum, though; Logan was kind of pain's little b***h, and he did not want to go there often. "A fight with a bear?! Hah! I would have been eaten, Jace, unless you swooped in and took its legs out from under it with your ninja moves," he laughed, and let his shirt drop back down.
Logan stood in the kitchen, and smiled at his friend, rubbing the back of his neck. Jace was the only person Logan really trusted enough to let his guard down. Everyone else... Logan barely smiled, he was cranky all the time. It was as if he was a very fluffy battery: being around others drained his energy and left him irritable. Being around Jace recharged what everyone else took away. It was easy.
Logan didn't let himself stand idly for long, even if he was happy. He took the teapot and poured some for Jace, offering him the cup.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jul 21, 2012 12:36 pm
"Maybe. I mean... I can cook basic things, but Edgar doesn't teach me things he doesn't think I'll use so..." Jace trailed off, shifting a little on the counter and glancing aside, tail swishing back and forth behind him.
He would never admit it but sometimes Jace envied Logan for having Briar. There were times that he wondered what it would be like to be raised in a more normal situation, as opposed to the military boot camp that Edgar put him through. However he supposed that then he wouldn't be the same person and, maybe, they wouldn't have become friends at all and... Jace didn't like that thought very much.
"You asked for a story, you didn't say it had to be a good story." Jace countered, his smirk returning as he kicked his feet a little. "I'm not the creative type. That's all you."
Jace's ears perked when he was offered the cup of tea, his hands reaching out to take it with a small, rare smile. He took a sip and sighed, eyes slipping shut and shoulders relaxing a little; the warmth was nice. After relishing it for a moment he opened his eyes, arching a brow at the other boy.
"Draw anything cool lately?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2012 7:46 pm
"How are you going to eat if he won't teach you that?" Logan asked, wrinkling his nose, "Unless you become a cannibal." Logan paused, his tail swishing back and forth as well, mimicking Jace's tail. "... if that's the case, I'm too bony for food, don't bother with me."
It wasn't exactly as though Briar was the most normal of fathers either. In fact, the man frequently forgot he HAD a son, and worked incessantly. Still, Logan's home environment did suit him more than Jace's would have suited the growlithe. Logan was not much of a fighter, and would surely have cracked under the pressure of Jace's training routine. Besides, Logan also shared the notion that without their respective lifestyles he might never have met Jace, which would... not be an option. Not in the least.
"I'm not creative when it comes to maulings, my worst enemy is the kitchen drawer," Logan grimaced. He had, on more than one occasion, hit himself in the forehead with the sticky drawer. Being short sucked.
Logan's entire posture relaxed when Jace smiled. Not infinitely, but enough that it showed; the boy was at ease when Jace smiled. No matter how brief. Logan watched him over his own cup of tea briefly, as sneakily as possible. And then, at the prospect of showing Jace the new design, his face lit up and he set the tea aside immediately to go fetch his design. "Nothing amazing, but I'm thinking... a tattoo design in the works." Yes, tattoos...! Finally the plan was manifesting. Anyway, Logan calmly set the tea aside and tried to, as casually as possible, go into the next room, fetch the sketches, and return: here was the latest, the Lucky Rabbit tattoo complete with a clover eye and a ball and chain.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2012 10:33 pm
"Yup, you totally are." Jace agreed, taking another sip of his tea. "I'm sure I can live off food stalls, right? That should work. Or the military kitches maybe?"
With a careless shrug he went back to his tea, humming softly in delight, immediately feeling a bit more like himself as the warmth spread through him. At Logan comment, however he laughed, smirking at the other boy, looking highly amused by the simple idea that anyone could get brained by a drawer. He sobered, however, when he thought that losing Logan to a drawer would be rather upsetting and more than a bit annoying; how did one take revenge on a drawer.
"No death by drawer. Your death needs to be cooler." he mused before finishing his tea and setting the cup safely aside. "Like... Death by fighting a bear."
Bear fighting was apparently a trend with him, but he didn't pay that much mind as he hopped down from the counter, joining his friend once more. His ears perked when the other boy dashed off, frowning a little as he let out a soft, off-key whistle and shuffled after him, peering around the side of the door. Without asking he stepped into the room and peered over his friend's shoulder, letting out another whistle, this one impressed.
"That's pretty cool." Jace mused. "Is that yours? Are you gonna put it on you somewhere?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2012 10:45 am
"I bet I taste delicious, though," Logan countered, as if trying to rectify the fact he'd just said he was unfit for consumption and Jace had agreed with him. "Military food? That sounds worse than what I make," Logan winced. "Don't tell me I actually have to learn how to cook so that you don't die of malnutrition-- I hate the smell of fast food."
At least while he was an infant, Logan could never seriously harm himself. Especially when he'd be back again, anyway, as a teen. And an adult. At least, he thought that he could keep returning... Briar said that after his husband had died, once, he'd just never come back. Not to say that he hadn't been reborn, but wherever he'd been reborn Briar'd never known. Logan did not want that to happen.
"Again with the bears? Is there an ursaring I should know about?" Logan teased, his tail flicking back and forth before he thought to fetch his design. When Jace whistled at his design, Logan felt his heart pound; it was typically a feeling reserved for being cornered by someone and having to book it, but in this case, it appeared to be a happy feeling. Satisfaction. Even if he was unsatisfied with the design itself as it was. It was the best version he'd done of it so far.
"Yeah, when it's a bit... better, I'm going to put it somewhere. Not sure where, yet," Logan thought to himself, trailing his fingers along the plastic covering it. "When I get good at this, I'll do something just for you," Logan promised. "I'm going to be covered in art," he also vowed, grinning.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2012 8:06 pm
"Eh it's not that bad when you're used to it." Jace responded, shrugging his shoulders before grinning about the comment about the bears. "Nah, no Ursarigs that I know about."
Depsite the fact that his skills and talents were in a different area, Jace couldn't help but feel like a talentless oaf compared to the things that Logan could do. He had been trained to be lethal, to have a body that was in peak condition, to lie with his body language, his eyes, his mouth. Logan's was just... Art. It was something that was pure, honest, and caused joy in others. All that Jace would be remembered for was blood and pain and, to a degree, he was jealous of the other boy when it came to that.
I... Would really like that." Jace murmured, his lips quirking a little at the thought of having Logan's art on his body. "Though I doubt Edgar would approve. He tried to grill the 'no distinguishing marks' rule into my head but I didn't listen."
Part of it was that he didn't agree with the fact that having no reputation was a good thing. In fact he thought that the more he was feared, the more he would get hired, the more people would fear him. There was always the flip side, in which people would come after him simply due to his reputation, but he figured if they were stupid enough to do that then they deserved what they got in the end. Never mind that he figured that if absolutely necessary he could hide his tattoos fairly easily.
"I bet when you grow up you'll be even better." he mused, tilting his head; a compliment from Jace was a rare thing.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
