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 Posted: Wed Feb 12, 2014 12:25 pm
The muffler of the bus kicked and spat out one last grimy puff of smoke before it took off into the night, leaving two figures alone on the corner bus stop closest to their apartment. A fluffy cat made a simple yowling noise before it skittered away, leaping up a fire escape that it knew better than the streets below.
Kamboja watched the smaller figure slip away into the darkness of the rooftops then reached down to grab the over-sized army bag he'd kept with him since highschool. With his penchant for disappearing on long trips, it was the best backpacking resource he'd ever found. He slung it over one shoulder, grimacing a little as his freshly healed ribs complained, but said nothing about it. They both knew what had transpired and they didn't need to talk about how much she had saved his a** anymore. At least he didn't anyway. Nemesis had a way of making sure he knew it.
"Home first?" He'd managed to pay for their apartment the entire time they were gone, sending lumps of money earned from his inheritance any time they stopped close enough to a post office. Penny had agreed to keep an eye on the apartment and last he'd heard, through a swiftly scribbled Knight's note, was that it was fine and to stop asking about it. She did have a way with charm.
He pulled out his house keys and jingled them at her. "Then maybe a bar?"
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Posted: Wed Feb 12, 2014 6:48 pm
Two years on the road had brought on a change in Delphine, though it probably wasn't all that skin deep. The once pale young woman had a gained a dark tan from too many hours in the sun. The braided pigtails were long ago discarded, and her blue hair dipped down past her shoulders, tiny braids tied here and there. She was unusually grimy, especially considering how much she had loved to appear nice and proper. Her clothes were still designer, but they were dirty and worn. Her jeans definitely didn't have holes in them on purpose. She was looking forward to a hot shower, prettying herself up, and then resuming her usual routine of lording over Kamboja.
She still had no idea how Kamboja had convinced her to go on this crazy trip, but it had been good for her. She wasn't nearly as stuck up now as she had been in the past, and the months they spent travelling had even made her a little more down to earth. She was still a rightful pain in the a** when she wanted to be (and she usually wanted to be). But, to her credit, she started less pointless fights, though that could because she had grown tired of holding the same arguments with Kamboja.
Delphine wasn't as well adapted to being on the road as her friend, and all she carried with her was a backpack crammed to the brim with clothing. She did manage to sneak some things into Kamboja's pack. Going on this trip hadn't exactly been a planned adventure for her. "Yeah, I'm in dire need of a shower. You did tell Penny to make sure the water was turned back on?" She rolled her gaze over to Kamboja, a critical line forming over her brow.
"Definitely a bar," the young woman agreed. It would be nice to be back home, once she got readjusted to the chill, and got over that hurdle of seeing her family again. But, hell, that could wait a couple of days. Right now, she was going to finally enjoy some luxury.
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Posted: Thu Feb 13, 2014 7:10 pm
If by luxury Delphine meant upgrading from hobo to lower-middle class American, then she was about to experience some serious luxury.
"Yeah, she said she took care of all of that days ago." Which probably meant that she was taking care of it all AS Kam texted her about it. He knew that, but it wasn't necessarily something he was about to divulge to Nemesis. He kept one hand on the strap of his pack and let the other dangle at his side, trying to ignore the way his freshly healed ribs pulsed with every step. He might have been on a 'fast recovery' according to the emergency room doctors, but he still felt every little twinge.
By the time the pair made the short walk to their house, Kam had already started thinking about a thousand things he shouldn't have been - clear by the way his eyebrows were drawn down and the inside of his cheek clenched by worrying teeth. He rummaged through his pack as they turned into the apartment complex that had, seemingly so long ago, been home. The ring of clinging keys was produced at the last moment, a victory 'aha' passed quietly from his lips as he reached the first step up to the door. He rummaged around until he had the right one and then swung the door open after one deft click of the key.
"It smells like old people," he said after a moment, scrunching his nose and crossing the threshold for the first time in over a year, "and feet." But the heat was thrumming a soft 'buzz' steadily through the apartment, pushing back most of the winter chill. He stepped inside and let his pack fall unceremoniously onto the couch, turning to look at Delphine as she closed the door behind her. <******** weird, right?"
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Posted: Thu Feb 13, 2014 7:27 pm
"Uh huh," Delphine grunted in response, clearly unconvinced that anything in the apartment would be turned on. She'd go to her parents' for a guaranteed hot shower, but she didn't want to deal with that trainwreck just yet. The young woman would get around to seeing her family in a couple of weeks. She'd been gone a while, it wasn't like a couple of more days would hurt them any more. Delphine certainly hadn't disappeared with their blessing, and she knew they didn't think highly of Kamboja. They never thought highly of any of the people she hung around with (likely for good reason, but Delphine still felt jaded over it).
She trudged up to the apartment after Kam, feeling sore and weary, though she doubted she felt nearly as terrible as her friend did. Their quest had ended on a harsh note, and Delphine was actually scared of the idea of what could have happened if she hadn't shown up in time to scare Alkaid off. It was something they could talk about, but Delphine wasn't going to broach the subject. She had no idea how sensitive Kam would be over it. She couldn't walk up to him and say, 'Hey, at least we tried to find him'. That wasn't good enough.
The only thing they could do now is hope that Khaldun showed up out of the blue one day, but Delphine was beginning to doubt that it would happen. She'd been doubting such a thing for a while.
"Yeah," she replied, a little distracted as she followed Kam into the apartment. It did smell like old people, she reflected. But, at least the heat was on, and it was home. "You're telling me. I was getting used to not having a home. It's kind of weird to even be back..." She frowned then, wondering what state Destiny City really was on. It wasn't blown to pieces, so she assumed the battle was still being fought. Oddly enough, she didn't feel any guilt over leaving. She'd been trying to help a friend, and god, she needed to step away from this city. She needed the reminder that she was Delphine, not Nemesis.
"I didn't even tell anyone I was coming back," Delphine admitted with a small smile, dropping her pack at the door and kicking off her worn shoes. At least she had a closet full of less used clothes, if no one had swiped it while she was gone. But, the apartment didn't look as if anyone had even stepped foot in it. There was dust piling on the countertops, and she'd nag Kam about that now if she didn't think they both needed to relax and enjoy themselves.
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Posted: Thu Feb 13, 2014 8:13 pm
"I didn't either," he said quietly, though the heavy undertone meant more that he hadn't told Vanessa he was coming home - there was no one else to care, not really, with Khal gone. (Penny obviously didn't count)
He shrugged off the grimy shirt he'd been wearing since he left the hospital, ignoring the twinge in his ribs beneath the layers of bandages. He tossed it deftly onto the back of the couch, a previous favorite storage place for laundry-he-was-almost-gonna-wash-soon. "See? Already feels more like home."
He flopped down on the couch and shifted uncomfortably a few times, just until he found what seemed to be the 'perfect' spot. Once slumped in the appropriate position he just reached out with his right arm, found his remote at the perfect angle, and curled his hand around it. It was seconds before his TV came to life. Things were just how he'd left them but something was.. off. He stared at the screen for a few more seconds, empty interest in something that had held his attention so easily before the most wasted two years of his life.
"Go shower before I beat you to it," he muttered finally, glancing up at Delphine with the remote still clenched in his hand. "I can't pick up any ladies smelling like this."
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Posted: Thu Feb 13, 2014 8:33 pm
"Really?" Delphine almost sounded surprised by that. Of course, she figured Kam had drifted away from most of the people he knew - it made wandering off like they had easier. Still, she had expected him to keep some closer ties with a few people.
The young woman tried, and failed, to keep a look of disgust off of her face as Kam casually tossed his shirt over the back of the couch. ********. Delphine actually enjoyed having things clean, though she had her days where she pulled the same exact move. Since the apartment was already fairly dusty and somewhat dirty looking, Delphine let the action slide. She'd harp on him about it later, because right now there were more pressing concerns. One of them getting clean, and hopefully using all the hot water that they had. Perhaps she'd leave some for Kam, but that really depended on how long it would take her to feel clean again.
Delphine didn't need to be told twice to get her shower in first, and she disappeared for a good half hour, coming back into the living room with clothes that were relatively clean, and relatively just thrown on before she got cold. Normally she would have been more careful about picking an outfit out for going to the bar, but she was starting to care a little less about clothes after spending so much time only having a few. It was nice to have a change, however! Toweling her hair dry, she peered down at Kamboja with a small frown, picking up right where they had left off. "Can you even do anything with chicks if you manage to pick any up? Let's be serious for a second, I am pretty sure your ribs were nearly all caved in. So, let's take it easy on the womanizing." Not that she cared if he did, but seriously, he could hardly walk without feeling pain and discomfort. He was not on his game for picking up chicks of any sorts.
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Posted: Thu Feb 13, 2014 8:47 pm
"Of course I can still do things with chicks," he retorted quickly, snapping his eyes away from the television and settling the hardest, most annoyed stare on her that he could manage. At some point he'd found a beer in the fridge, probably Penny's unspoken homecoming present (or just a really old beer that he'd left in the first place) and took a long sip of it for emphasis. His ribs were already feeling better.
Judging by the way he awkwardly rose to his feet in an attempt to keep himself from clenching any of his abdominal muscles, the reality might have been different from his story. Regardless, he set his beer down, dusted off an imaginary hair resting on his stomach, and started for the bathroom (while silently praying Delphing hadn't been enough of a b***h to steal all the hot water from an injured man). "I'll take it easy when I feel like it."
The bathroom door clicked shut behind his childish retort but, unlike Delphine, he spent a bare ten minutes in there. Whether it was due to a lack of hot water or just because he was a guy that cared a lot less about his hygiene in general was unclear. When he emerged from his room he had on pretty typical t-shirt and tattered jeans combo, though it looks significantly more comfortable than anything he'd been sporting on their round-the-world roadtrip in the last two years.
"Anything that isn't fighting insane nightmare senshi is taking it easy, in my damn opinion." He sought out the now room-temperature beer and took a swig, only grimacing slightly at the awkward taste. He set it back down with that same grimace and glanced up at Delphine.
"Where do you want to go then, nurse Delphine?"
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Posted: Thu Feb 13, 2014 9:01 pm
"If you crack a rib don't come bitching to me!" she called out to him as he meandered his way over to the bathroom. Delphine doubted he'd pick up any chick tonight, not because he was physically impaired, but seriously sometimes she wondered how anyone found him attractive. Especially since his showers only lasted ten minutes at best. No, the most likely thing they were going to do was get drunk off their asses and need a taxi ride home. At least, that was how Delphine intended to spend her evening. It wasn't like she hadn't gotten drunk during their trip (she had, a lot). But, it'd be nice to welcome herself back home with a drink.
"Call me 'nurse' again and I won't buy you drinks tonight," which meant she was offering to buy drinks if Kam decided to behave himself. She watched her friend reach for the lukewarm beer, which was probably a decade old, and grimaced in sympathy as he took a swig from it. God, she needed to get him out of here before he decided to try and find another old beer with the stupid hope that it would somehow be better than the last.
"I was thinking the pub a couple of blocks away. The one that always had excellent food. I think it is nicely devoid of evil past life exes doubling as insane nightmare senshi. At least the last time I checked it was." Clearly Kam was supposed to know exactly what she was talking about. "Unless you're really determined to pick up chicks and we can go to the club." What a bro she was, helping Kam finding girls to sleep with despite him being completely bent out of shape. She didn't think he was up for it, but man, if Kam wanted to keep on troopin', she wouldn't stop him.
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Posted: Thu Feb 13, 2014 9:18 pm
"Dude, if that girl just needs a good rumble in the sack would you just give it to her already?" Kam sighed at what he thought was a pretty simple explanation, meanwhile wandering through the room to grab the various bits and pieces of his things that he'd left in random places - keys on the TV stand, cellphone on the back of the chair, shoes half shoved under the couch and his wallet nearly eaten by the couch cushions already. The only thing that he hadn't tossed somewhere was the Mars ring, stuck indefinitely to the middle finger of his right hand.
"Course, she seems pretty nutters already, probably not the best idea to sleep with her and make it worse." He was consoling himself with the idea that he was actually giving Nemesis valid (albeit trolly) advice on how to deal with an insane ex-girlfriend. If only things were that simple. He wasn't even bringing up the fact that she seemed to have some strange obsession or, at the very least, connection with his brother.
The comment about his eyes would haunt him for the rest of forever, every time he looked in a mirror, every time he -
"The pub is good," he said suddenly, biting down the stabbing pain that rose every time he thought about Khetal being gone for the rest of his life. "Anything with beer. And food." He shoved his keys down into his pocket and for a moment flipped open his phone as if he was going to make a call, maybe even send a text. At the last second he thought better of it and simply shoved it in the same pocket as his keys.
"If we run into a youma on the way though, that's all you, Got it?" He was already heading for the door, not even waiting for the coming rebuttal.
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Posted: Thu Feb 13, 2014 9:56 pm
Delphine leveled a flat look at Kam, "Would you sleep with her?" She already knew the answer before he gave it, her point already proven. There was no way she was getting anywhere intimately close to craziest chaos senshi of the year. "Besides, I'm not into girls this lifetime." Which surely was a bummer for Kam, though it wasn't like Delphine would put on a show with any girl just for Kam's pleasure. Sorry, but that just wasn't how Delphine rolled. Fantasies aside, Delphine wasn't getting anywhere near Alkaid unless she had to defend someone. She didn't have the mental fortitude to face Alkaid in combat outside of complete necessity.
They just went around in circles, and Delphine was sure she'd never be able to break free of that cycle. Maybe one day she could end Alkaid, but it was not a day that would come soon, if at all.
"Right, beer, lots of beer." Delphine didn't want to dwell on Alkaid, and by the look of Kam, he desperately needed to get drunk off of his a**. Maybe she'd bite the bullet and remain the more sober of the two, just so Kam could dull his pain away with booze and not get himself into trouble while he was at it. She'd consider it restitution for stealing all of the hot water from his shower.
She patted her front pocket, making sure that her wallet was tucked safely away, but readily at her use. "That's what you say every ******** time we go out! I can't continue being the ultimate badass of this team. One day you gotta step up to the ******** plate." Delphine grumbled and followed him out into the cold night air. Of course, she kind of liked being stronger than him when she was powered up, but that didn't mean he could keep on slacking and letting her take care of every threat that came their way.
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Posted: Fri Feb 14, 2014 9:23 am
"I'm pretty sure I almost did," he retorted quickly, but there was a little humor behind it that wasn't there before. He was well aware the pale dreadhead had only been drawn to him because of his likeness to Khetal, but what that meant for Khal was something he didn't want to think about. "It's alright, I think she's more into dreads than girls this lifetime anyway." There was a smirk on his lips that had been lost for a while. Maybe just being home was making him feel more like himself.
He turned to lock the door behind him when she followed him out, then shoved his keys into the pocket of his pants. He really needed to buy a motorcyle or something so he could stop looking like such a miserable bum, but considering he usually only left the house to drink beer it was almost a moot point.
"Come on, that's not fair, I always help when I don't have a broken bone or six." He cast an offended glance her way, then turned onto the sidewalk that was a straight shot down to the pub (they may or may not have picked their apartment based on its location to beer). Truth was, he knew Delphine was stronger than him and her senshi attack took a lot less effort than Gehenna needed to pummel something into submission. Or death.
Down the street he could already hear the ruckus outside of the pub - if he had to guess, given the time of year, it was probably some kind of sports game wrapping up. They'd get there just in time for it to finish, which meant people would leave and he would have more room to stretch out and less people to talk to. It sounded perfect.
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Posted: Fri Feb 14, 2014 10:12 am
Delphine let the subject of Alkaid drop for now, mostly because she had never been entirely comfortable with talking about the corrupted senshi. She didn't quite think that Kamboja understood how much it had an impact on her, how much she felt like that piece of her past life was crippling her now. God, Kamboja had nearly been killed, and if Nemesis could just man up and do the job she knew had to be done, it wouldn't have happened at all. Maybe they'd still be on their adventure, or maybe Khal would have never disappeared in the first place. Delphine wasn't the type of person to take the blame for something, even if she was the culprit, but she sometimes felt downright guilty over the way things had gone. In a way, she could fault herself for all of it, or maybe she wanted to, maybe feeling guilty would be the one thing that would push her to finally do something about Alkaid.
The walk to the bar was a relatively short one. Delphine had a motorcycle, but she had left it in her brother's care before she left. Since she didn't quite want to tackle all the emotions of seeing her family again, the motorcycle would be left in Damon's care for a little while longer. At least they had picked a prime apartment, where there were enough bars nearby that they really had no reason to drive anyways.
"Really, is your idea of helping different than mine? I swear you have me do most of the work on the days you're feeling ambitious in the aid area," Delphine griped before she walked into the bar. As an afterthought, she held the door open for Kam, because her parents had taught her some manners. The bar, unsurprisingly, was packed at the moment. Looking up to the few televisions hooked to the wall, the end of some big football game was drawing close. Even as she walked right up to the bar, people were starting to file out and head back home. It was terribly late, but the bar would be open for a couple of more hours, which suited her just fine.
Delphine ordered herself a mixed drink, because while she liked and drank beer just fine, beer was usually reserved for when she was at home. She almost always ordered something fancier when they went out, her tastes a little more expansive than Kamboja's. It was only after she had received her drink and taken a few sips from it that she spoke up again. "Y'know, I could try to pursue her, if you wanted. Have her tell us what she knows." She idly drummed her fingers against the bar, looking down at her drink. Delphine was greatly outmatched against Alkaid, even as Nemesis. But, if Kam didn't want to give up on Khal just yet, she would try. She may be the weaker of the two, and definitely out of practice, but she had more determination in her tiny frame than anyone else. If Kam wanted her to, she would, and that was the end of that.
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Posted: Fri Feb 14, 2014 8:19 pm
Kam immediately booed at her in response to any questioning of his aid or ability. He didn't doubt that maybe she was sometimes right, but Kam code said he just wasn't allowed to admit that. "You're the veteran," he tossed at her back as she walked in the door - and only just remembered to hold it open. He reached out and pulled it open wider, shaking his dreaded mane at her as he did.
He walked in and sat down at the bar beside her without question, though simply waved a hand at the bartender. After he mixed up Nemesis' fruity little girl drink (he gave it a sour look the second she took a sip) the bartender simply grabbed a bottle and popped the top for Kam. He accepted it and took a sip immediately, listening to Delphine in the process. In fact, her words shocked him so bad he nearly choked on his beer.
He swallowed roughly and immediately set into frowning, drawing his brows to close together he almost had a unibrow. "Look, I.. I don't know if I'm suppose to keep going after the kid. What if that makes something worse?" He had run every scenario over and over again in his head. The hunt was so much worse now that he knew the Negaverse existed. The first time he'd been wonderfully ignorant.
He tapped his fingers lightly on the bar around his beer as he seemed to contemplate it a little more. At last, a half-hearted smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Not that I don't owe her a few damn punches."
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Posted: Fri Feb 14, 2014 8:33 pm
Delphine wasn't the type of person to make herself 'sit out' because something was too dangerous, or even risked the very person she was trying to 'rescue'. How did they know things weren't already worse for Khal? They had no idea what kind of state Kamboja's brother was in, hell, they had no idea about Khal at all now. God, to think they had spent so much time trying to find him, only to realize that he simply wasn't going to be discovered by normal means. But, this is where she came in. She was a senshi, she had abnormal means to get what she wanted. If Kam told her to, she'd do her damnedest to find Alkaid and wring the truth out of her.
She sipped at her drink, musing over Kam's response. Delphine couldn't tell if he had given up, or if he just didn't want to antagonize the situation any more than he already had. Delphine had no idea what all transpired between him and Alkaid, she figured out the gist of it, but she wouldn't intrude on Kam's privacy to find out more. There were some things someone just didn't mess with, not when it came to her friends.
They had gone back home because of what Alkaid had done to Kam, and because there was no real way the could continue to pursue Khal. The best method was to take on a psycho senshi, and even Delphine was a little hesitant over her offer to do just that. Alkaid could kill her, something that Delphine wasn't sure she could do in return. "It's up to you, in the end. If you ever want to pick it back up, I can figure it out. You know me, I will." Delphine was too damned stubborn to fail otherwise. What held her back was Kam - this was his quest, his journey, and mostly his burden to deal with. All Delphine wanted was to help the only way she thought she could, by becoming some magical girl in a layered skirt with wings sprouting out of her a**.
"God, I owe her way more than just a few punches. How about we take turns, then? I dibs first hit," Delphine followed the floor of conversation, letting herself be steered back towards the more playful, casual attitude that their friendship usually was (when she wasn't yelling at him).
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Posted: Fri Feb 14, 2014 8:50 pm
"I know," he said quietly, just before he tipped back his beer and downed most of the bottle. He swallowed it and shrugged the conversation off, not really wanting to talk about it anymore. Kam didn't do feelings and he had way too many of them in that moment.
"Deal. I think I might break her if I punch her, that'd suck." At some point he'd realized that he'd done a little chunk of damage to her simply as Kam - what would Gehenna be able to accomplish? He swallowed and bit the intrigue down. He didn't know what he wanted to do about this. He was troubled.
"You hungry?" He changed the subject abruptly, drinking down the last of his beer and throwing his hand up for another one. He was rummaging through a stack of slightly greasy menus when the bartender came up with his next beer and Kam read swiftly over the menu he'd claimed. "I want.. a cheesesteak, an order of cheesy tots, fried mushrooms aannd.." he paused, giving the back one last glance over, "mac n cheese." He glanced over at her and offered the menu.
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