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 Posted: Fri Feb 21, 2014 5:30 pm
Wolframite had been taking it easy after recovering at home. His patrols were light, less frequent, and there for orb quota mainly. It was a nice surprise that, when out and about, he got a text from Titanvanite and they got to talking. After hearing from Valhalla, Wolframite was worried about Obby and the negative image he was spreading to others about the Negaverse. He also worried about Obby's status and hoped to work towards pulling him back above water. After a few text messages and a phone call, they set a plan.
Operation: Get-Obby-back-to-the real-world-and-out-of-the-Rift was underway.
After filling up a backpack, Ladon had breakfast, gathered this things, and took the bus before making it to the address of what was or was soon to be Obby's apartment. Adjusting the strap to the heavy backpack, Ladon checked himself real quick to make sure the bus trip hadn't made him look a mess. He wasn't vain, but worried more that anyone seeing him out of uniform might be a let down. He was short, even more without the high heels on, in sneakers, jeans, and a t-shirt. He wore a zipped up hoodie with pointed ears, and a pawprint was on the one of the hoodie pockets. It was thick and one of the big reasons he liked it (and he liked the ears). He also didn't have a eyepatch and instead had a fake eye that looked close to his real one aside from the face that, if you looked really close, you noticed it reflected a bit too much an didn't really point around as well as the other.
Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door.
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Posted: Fri Feb 21, 2014 6:19 pm
The red tape involving anything about civilian lives was motsly waiting and patience, but it had certainly helped having General Wolframite in the same court and on the same side of the fence of getting Obsidian put back together. They were 'fighting' for something...someone.. worthwhile. Björn had arrived early as a matter of his own personal scheduling- he got up most days at 4 to get into routine. Today was an exception for what the routine was, but not for the hour he'd gotten up. It had given him the time to pick up the boxes of furnishing that would be needed to make the prospective place livable - mostly from Ikea. All assembly required. He'd just worn jeans and white, stock-guys tshirt, nothing fancy and all serviceable for a day of work. With cleaning, straightening, stocking they would have a day ahead of them, he and the small general. They'd have to do it civilian as well, which meant no miraculous speed. But four hands can do much out of love. We will do fine, and whatever was worth doing that wasn't difficult to do?
The Door!Björn got up from box-cutting, wiping dust from his hand on his thigh and opened the apartment door with a smile, looking down, "Ah! Welcome..." It was the general wasn't it? There wasn't the massive power making the small frame feel bigger than it was, but the slightness and delicacy were the same. Was this Wolframite? "You are here to ...help set up the place for Andrew Colins, ja? Come in, come in-" "I'm Björn."
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Posted: Fri Feb 21, 2014 6:46 pm
The door opened with a jerk and Ladon looked up the massive, built frame of the man he only had known at Titanvanite. He was pretty much the same, with a tight shirt (light and not dark) that showed a tone body, pants, and bright, blonde hair that seemed far too long on a guy. Seeing anyone in civilian clothes made Ladon always feel as if he was intruding upon them when they were relaxing, like seeing someone in a robe or pajamas, and the lack of a energy signature only made Ladon feel suddenly smaller and very weak. He touched his arm and noted how he barely toned in the past months and tried to guesstimate how many of his arms could make one of Titanvanite's. He guessed 3. Possibly 4.
First meetings were always a dance of making sure you weren't dropping sensitive information to the wrong person. "Yeah, I'm here to help our friend get back on his feet and away from that ....uh....dark basement." He decided to phrase, not wanting to say the Rift when not in the apartment yet.
Following Bjorn inside, looking around at the dusty room and smelling the first whiff of stale air. "Oh, it's nice to meet you this way, Bjorn. I'm Ladon. Ladon Shepard." He set it bag down, looking around and set the backpack down as he looked around. With a glance at the door to make sure it was shut and to note that the windows weren't directly open to the street, he looked back at the other man. "How has Obs- Uh...Mr. Colins taken to moving? Is he willing to leave?" He asked, unzipping his hoodie to show the plan blue t-shirt underneath. Not build for doing bench presses, he had just a bit of tone from years of training, but was more for speed and had much of his power in his legs and arms. He had always preferred cardio.
Putting his hoodie down on a relatively clean box, he looked around. "What do you want me to get started on first?"
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Posted: Fri Feb 21, 2014 10:12 pm
Björn closed the door after the small one passed, locking it behind him and listening a second before turning his attention full on the small guy's words. No one else, good.While the big guy wasn't the smartest of cookies, there wasn't anyone else who would really know their business there, would know Obsidian was Drew, would know that the ex-teacher was living in anything that could be referred to even in secret as a 'basement'. "It is good to meet you...Ladon." He paused, forcing himself to use the civilian name. It felt as foreign to the image in his head of Wolframite as the name Drew did to Obsidian. I wonder if they think Titan or Björn fit better?The query about Obsidian shadowed his smile, though. "He takes anything variably. One moment he will be reasonable...the next...not. He's grown so thin. I'm worried. He used to be ...incredible. " The last word was said full of everything that was dreams and fears in one. "Now...he is so thin. Except for the magic, it is impossible to imagine him wielding his sword. I think it weighs more than he does." The last question was unexpected, though and could the big guy off guard. "Me-want...? But.." You are the superior officer. I can't give you orders. "I...You're...." What do I doooooo
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Posted: Fri Feb 21, 2014 10:50 pm
Ladon frowned as he heard the assessment. He hadn't really gotten to see Obsidian up close and didn't know the extent of the damage caused from staying in the Rift. To hear the news, he felt his heart sink. "I'm sorry to hear that. Obsidian was the strongest, most powerful Generals around. When I was recruited, he was the best of the best. I think Charonite probably considered him his go-to guy maybe. I know he knew Nealite well. I looked up to him a lot. He was the A team for the Negaverse. To hear he has let himself go that far is beyond sad. Not only for the Negaverse, but for Obsidian for who he was." Even though they were using civilian names, Ladon never really spoke to Obsidian personally. He had been a no-nothing rookie and felt far away from the power inner circle that Nealite and Charonite were involved in. To say Obsidian's name felt weird to him.
Looking at Bjorn fluster, Ladon grew confused. "I can do anything. I'm really good at cleaning, and the sooner that gets set, the sooner we can maybe get something cooked and put in his fridge to start getting him fed. Don't worry. I can still lift things and clean without a uniform." He hoped....that he didn't think he was weak now.
He guessed so. Frowning, he knelt down to a nearby box. "I'm not that weak looking." He mumbled, and peeled a bit of tape free.
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Posted: Fri Feb 21, 2014 11:09 pm
He had offended the small lord, somehow. It was a deep travesty and Björn resorted to the only expression he could to try to diffuse the trouble. He shift to in front of the small one and knelt down to one knee, "No, no I believe you can do anything. You are a Lord in your own right....I'm nothing. That's all...I ...I cannot command you. " "I don't doubt you, or your strength. It is you, in uniform or not, as it is with Mr. Colins. " "A hammer doesn't command the hand. I...can give suggestions of where I was if you like. I hadn't touched the kitchen yet- it looks like it could use cleaning. There are boxes in there that will need unloaded to stock the cupboards once they are clean. I've just been getting things done here in the living room, bedroom and closets. " He looked up at the little face, even as much as knelt it was looking up, hopeful and apologetic all at once.
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Posted: Fri Feb 21, 2014 11:17 pm
He had been flustered when Titanvanite had first knelt when he met the officer, but he hadn't expected the act to continue when he was a civilian. It seemed that the man didn't turn off or even change personalities when he powered down, and Ladon found himself even more flustered by it. When they were in uniform, in military garb among the ruins of the old castles, it wasn't as bad. In someone's living room, alone together, in this day and age and in the middle of the day was a completely different story.
Rising up quickly, Ladon waved his hands for him to stop and looked around as if there were any onlookers. Luckily, they were alone. "No. No! You don't have to kneel I'm not actually a lord - my uniform just looks that way - the floor is dirty so don't get your pants dirty." He managed in one rushed runon.
Turning pink, he took a breath and looked around, uncomfortable with looking at the grown man kneeling down before him. "You're not nothing. You're a guy just like me working to make the world better." He twisted his hands together and then looked to the salvation of the kitchen. "Hammers are important."
He looked back down at him. "I'm..I'm going to work on the kitchen." He picked up his back and quickly headed out.
After a few moments, he headed back, looking down and held out a apron and a head cloth. "Here. So you don't get your clothes that dirty." He just wanted to drop it off before he worked on the kitchen. He still wasn't directly looking at Bjorn's face.
He had to guess his size and hoped it fit.
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Posted: Sat Feb 22, 2014 12:05 am
The big guy was uncertain if he'd made things better or worse. The tiny, flustered retreat didn't clear it up either. He stayed were he was, looking after and blinking owlishly for a few moments, and was only just getting up as Ladon returned to thrust the articles at him. But Björn took them solemnly, "I wear them gratefully." Whether they were the right size or not. They were given him by a general, so they would be worn. He tied the apron carefully, asking while he did, "You do not use jeans as work clothes? Do you like fashion?" "I think we may both be dirty with or without aprons when we are done. " "It is a pleasing fit?" He modeled his donned apron and scarf, hoping Ladon would look up again and be less embarrassed...he felt rather sill in an apron, but maybe that could be part of the amusement of it. He'd looked funny for lesser things than earning smiles.
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Posted: Sat Feb 22, 2014 12:36 am
He looked up when Bjorn donned on the apron and head scarf, and slowly stepped to the right and then to the left to make sure it actually fit. He had to guess how long to make it and to make sure there was enough length to go over Bjorn's head. Luckily it was just a apron and he didn't have to make a full shirt, but it worked well. "It's not too tight, is it?"
At the question, he looked up and stopped inspecting. "Uh, no." He was in no way fashionable, but he did like certain looks, fabrics, and clothes. That way he could try making them on the stuffed animals he owned. "I just don't have a lot of clothes ever since I moved into my own place rather suddenly a while ago. I try to keep my clothes in good condition for as long as I can." He didn't like stealing money from the punks he took energy from too often as he'd rather reserve that money for food and emergency costs. Him and Billy barely scraped by as it was that he didn't need to go ruining his pants in the process. "I just didn't want you going home all covered in dust."
He looked him over again. "It looks like it fits okay." He said, looking Bjorn slowly up and down before being aware that that might come off as checking him out. He quickly looked away, flushed again. "I'll work on the kitchen now." He said, and stiffly walked back to the kitchen.
In the kitchen, he put on his own apron, which was perfectly tailored for his size and shape, along with full ruffles (but he could always lie that it was the only one in stock and that he in no way made it that way). Tying on the head scarf, he filled up a bucket with soapy water and started to clean out the counter and cabniets. The apartment wasn't so big that he could still hear Bjorn in the other room. "Uh..." He said, peeking over the counter where he decided he'd start washing. "..je-just shout if you want or need anything!" He called out. "Um..Or like talk." He should have brought a radio.
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Posted: Tue Feb 25, 2014 10:18 pm
Björn smiled, "Tight enough for a saddle, but I don't mind. I spend most days in Underarmor compression gear. " "Oh,....keeping things in good order is good practice. But that's why I buy clothes that contractors buy. If it can't stand up to general contracting, it probably won't last more than a year. But that also means that it is meant to stand up to kneeling in a little dust." The big guy winked at Ladon, smiling. It was gentle teasing, he hoped. "Cleaning is dirty work." Björn watched the smaller youth retreat and set himself back to the task of unpacking and assembling the furniture items. It was fairly brainless work- mostly completed with seeing what matched the picture and which piece of hardware the provided Allen wrenches fit into. He let a little time pass so that Ladon could get into a rhythm with his work before calling in, "Do you cook often? Do you like it?"
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Posted: Wed Feb 26, 2014 6:14 am
Bjorn had planted the image of a muscular blonde on his knees in the dust, dirty and hot from hard labor. Ladon hated him for this, and the wink had not helped at all.
It was a good thing that he retreated for a breather when he did, and was allowed time to debate if Billy would like a pair of long johns for a surprise present.
In the kitchen, he set to work opening the cabinets and drawers and was wiping them all out in order to set down fresh shelving paper. Then he could work on unloading all the dishware. The cabinets on the bottom were easy to clean and he soon was crawling on top of a counter to start work on the upper cabinets.
Called out to, he turned his head. "Yeah. I cooked a lot for my mom when I was growing up. I cook now for.." He paused. He never really knew what to call Billy that wasn't downright embarrassing. Partner? He wasn't in some rodeo. Boyfriend? He didn't feel like Billy was just some highschool fling. He seemed more than that. Lover? Now that just sounded like he was having some side affair he only met on weekends.
Not saying it sounded deceitful, but he just wasn't sure what to call Billy. He wanted to say husband, but that wasn't official. Neither was fiance as Ladon hadn't proposed yet. Post-Fiance? That just sounded like he hadn't committed and was never going to. UGH! Why was this hard?!
"..another officer." He ended. "I cook for myself now too - when I can. I tend to patrol too much." Or so he was starting to notice. It was why he was working hard to get a job.
"Do you cook?"
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Posted: Wed Feb 26, 2014 10:05 pm
There was at least an end table built- which meant a place to put tools and baggies of extra hardware between pieces of furniture. "You live with another officer? That must be good for working together. " "Like stories of Sparta. Their warriors were paired. Just the two of you?" Björn didn't suspect at all that such round about phrasing meant that Ladon and this mysterious other officer were at all lovers of any degree. It was a point that was true enough with Sparta as well, but at a depth of study equally beyond his exposure during Mediterranean history. "I cook, and I don't mind it. I'm not good at it. I do because I have to, really." He considered the handful of different things he'd had a year of practice at, and which were edible and which were any good. "Mostly stir fry. Everything else just comes out as something to eat. All vegetarian, too. "
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Posted: Wed Feb 26, 2014 10:15 pm
"Uh...yeah. Just the two of us and his pet. It is..really nice. I don't think I'd sleep much if I lived in a empty apartment." He smiled to himself, looking distantly at the shelf. It was nice to live with someone and he didn't know what he would have done without Billy there to keep him from going off the edge a number of times. "We keep each other in check too to make sure we're doing okay. It probably would be too rough on me to do patrolling and finding a job that would let me have my own apartment." He would have been too exhausted. Between the two of them, they both managed to make end's meet.
"I don't know much about Sparta. I've been reading up on knights recently though." Seeing as he was trying to talk to as many as he could find. He also had a personal interest in knights as he felt that the Negaverse was the more modern reincarnation of the knights of old.
"I wouldn't think you were a vegetarian. You seem like you work out a lot and would be on a protein diet." Considering how buff the man was, he could see him drinking cups of raw eggs each morning. "I could...show you how to make a few things if you want." He slid off the counter to see if he could maybe find a chair, and walked into the room. "Is there a chair here?" He was too short to get up to the higher cabinets.
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Posted: Sat Mar 01, 2014 7:08 pm
The big guy pause, considering. Ladon didn't seem like the kind, considering how flustered he got, to violently disapprove of his lifestyle. "I wasn't, and I'm not really a vegetarian...my boyfriend was. It didn't feel right, taking him out when we managed, to be eating a lot of meat in his face. So I changed." "He went away to London for dance. Its been a year or maybe a little more. But I kept up with it- tofu, a lot of soy, and nuts for protein. There's vegetables that have some. I guess I hope all along we would pick up again. " "Do you have someone, Ladon? I worry about it.....duties and having someone. Well....someone other than my lord's pleasure."
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Posted: Sat Mar 01, 2014 7:42 pm
Ladon hadn't been sure if Bjorn had been more incline to men than women. Considering the man's rather archaic views in bowing and treating him like a lord, he questioned any signals in lieu of his strange (though flattering) behavior. Part of him also wondered if he had a tiny bit of wishful thinking on that part as well despite being in a committed relationship.
When he confirmed it, he felt a bit sad. Only because the guy seemed to be leading Bjorn on or maybe it was still fresh. The fact he was a dancer just made Ladon think of Paris and his own hints of leaving Destiny City with Chris. It hurt to loose one of his only real friends.
As Bjorn continued, Ladon started to get another image of the blonde. Alone. Wanting company. His lord's pleasure?!
And he was asking if he was dating?
Ladon just stared and then turned bright pink. "Uh! No! I'm sorry. I'm not - I mean I am. Just not with you. Not that you're bad or anything. You're very hands - I mean I am with someone!" He said this last part as if confirming in his head and reminding himself. "The person I told you. That person I'm living with." He was drawing a blank on the name. "My partner. With me. Together." That sounded sexual!! "Uh! I mean living together. But together together too." Boy, it sure was hot in here!
"So we don't have a chair here?" He squeaked.
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