towerofanimus | (no subject)

Entry tags:

(no subject)

Characters: Reno, open!
Setting: Check prompts!
Format: Either
Summary: February catchall
Warnings: TBA or check subtitles

Floor Sixty - Any Day

Since starting the project of having an alternate place to eat, run entirely by the residents, Reno's made sure to pop in from time to time to see how it's fairing. Usually, he has some sort of small game with him, sometimes bull fairies, sometimes something from Floor Six. Either way, he tries not to go in empty handed.

He can be found here helping out with butchering, or using the smoker to cure some leather. (He's since taken the actual tanning to the workshop in favor of not making anyone sick with that.)

Hunting - Floor Six or Thirty-Two

Usually early in the morning, Reno can be found out on either forest floor stalking through the forest. He's happy to take along some of the kitchen volunteers, and he usually has extra weapons these days, just in case. And after the incident with the boar, he's even got a very short steel javelin.

Feb 14th

All day he's been feeling irritable and touchy, snapping at the people he knows and are on good terms with to downright yelling and calling people cowards. He's marked with a heart on his forehead in a color that matches his hair. It blends in with the bangs that fall into his face sometimes, but just in case someone misses that, the note pinned to his back is harder to miss. Anyone who crosses him this day are bound to bear the brunt of his ire, whether it's in the workshop, the dorms, or one of his usual working places.

By the late afternoon, he's relocated to the Gym, trying to work off some of the agitation.

Floor 81 - Feb 28 - Closed

After Diarmuid's letters over the last couple of days, Reno did not want to talk to anybody, especially not Diarmuid. That's why he was down here on Eighty-one, organizing the room for that stupid party he's beginning to really think is a mistake, but hey, Cu was looking forward to it.

Rubbing his eyes, Reno took a step back and looked over the arrangement so far. Not too bad, but couple of the tables needed adjusted so nobody would be bumping into chairs...

The events of the last month really wore on the redhead, but this time he wasn't going to tell anyone off about it. They'd figure out just how badly things were going to get, sooner or later, and it set off a malicious jab of satisfaction at the idea.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[At first, Diarmuid thinks to resist the dunk, but doing so might hurt himself and might also hurt Reno. That is why he lets the man do it, though he pops back up very quickly afterward, shaking his head and spraying water everywhere.]

Yep. Even when it's apparently your time of the month, you're still family.

W-what?!

[That shocks Reno enough he steps back in surprise, but he quickly recovers.]

I ain't the one spreading my legs to Waver and begging for it just because he's the first guy you came across that didn't toss ya on your ass and expect you to stand on your own feet. That's all you want him for, you know that? And then whenever he calls you, you come up looking like an lost little puppy? It's demeaning of a fighter, y'know? It's disgusting, you got the nerve to call me family. All you're doing is covering up how fake you really are underneath. And you said your father wasn't worthy of his title.

[He frowns slightly, hands on his hips.]

And don't think I didn't notice how ya slipped off with Elena to talk at Xion's birthday party. How many times have you done that by now with that curse of yours? Sure, you say you don't want it, but isn't it just a big convenient excuse to have your way with women?

[Turning to leave, Reno starts wading toward the steps out of the pool, but he can't help but throw back over his shoulder...]

That fairy called ya an Oathbreaker, and you wanted me to break all of mine the other day; how the hell can I trust a guy like that?

[It shouldn't hurt as much as it does. Diarmuid knows better, but even with all the progress he has made over the last few weeks, some things he is just not ready to hear and some...

...some will just always hurt no matter what.

With a blank face and burning eyes, Diarmuid uses all the speed that has been returned to him so far to reach up, grab Reno by the back of the neck and practically throw him back into the pool. As the man sputters his way back to the surface, Diarmuid crosses his arms over his chest and glares at him.]

You talk a lot, I have noticed, when you are insecure. You also like to run. Worry less about my problems and more about your own. You have people who depend on you.

[He could say more, but he doesn't. After all, when this is all said and done, Reno can blame all he says on Ruana's game. Diarmuid, cannot.]

[Being grabbed by the neck in this kind of manner could always be reliable to trigger a reaction in Reno. That reaction is fear.

Sailing through the air, time seems to stop, to freeze, and he could hear his heart pound. He could count the number of times he heard it before he crashed into the water and went under.

Being grabbed by the neck and then smothered could always trigger a reaction in Reno...

Unable to help himself, he takes a deep breath of water in, flailing around until he got his feet underneath him.

Standing up, he choked and wheezed, unable to even speak. Coughing starts, and water comes up. He can't even focus enough to listen to what Diarmuid says when he gasps for breath.]

D... D...

[Clinging to the side, he tries to choke out more water; to say something.]

D...

[While Diarmuid had been looking for a reaction, and had been angry, this is not the reaction he was going for. His anger melts away into concern and he cannot help but take a few steps toward Reno, hand cautiously outstretched, but not touching the other man.]

Reno...what just happened? What did I do?

[Was it the grabbing? The throwing? The water? Something had caused a very extreme reaction from the red head, and Diarmuid is sure it wasn't his words. He's also sure it isn't anything to do with Ruana's game. At least, he doesn't think so. Is this some fear the other man has hidden all this time?

Why did he have to find it now of all times?]

Damn you!

[Gaining his breath again, Reno launches himself at the other man, enraged and fingers splayed not unlike a cat about to claw something to death.

He seeks to bite and claw, pushed beyond any endurance, and without weapon and in water... vicious fighting seems to be the best course of action. Of course, Reno isn't thinking, it should be far too easy to subdue him.]

[Reno may not be thinking, but Diarmuid is and what he's thinking is the best way to restrain his friend before he hurts himself, but without hurting him in the process. It's not something that is going to be easy considering how hard the red head is fighting. Diarmuid gets several jagged, painful bites and scratches before he manages to get a hold of Reno's wrists and twists the man's arms behind him.]

Calm down before you get hurt!

[He's not so worried about himself. Scratches heal, but as slick as it is in here, the last thing he wants Reno to do is end up slipping and breaking that neck he seems so touchy about. However, when the man keeps fighting him, Diarmuid realizes he has to do something else and manages to fight them both to the edge of the pool so that he can pin Reno between the edge and himself.]

Stop! You are going to hurt yourself, you idiot!

Edited (Oops! I'm being repetitive...) 2014-02-16 06:50 (UTC)

Get offa me!

[Subdued for the moment, it doesn't lessen Reno's rage at all.]

Are those the best insults you can come up with?!

[The position Diarmuid has him in hurts, arms twisted and pushed forward so the edge dug into his gut. It's not where he wants to be at all, but there isn't a lot he could do about it. Diarmuid gets stronger every day, and soon he'll outmatch anything Reno could do.

That just pisses him off more, still wheezing a little to get the remaining water out of his lungs.]

Edited 2014-02-16 06:54 (UTC)

I'm not insulting you, but I won't hold it against you for not realizing that right now.

[Diarmuid is glad to see some measure of sense returning to Reno, but it's obvious the man is still enraged and that is why he doesn't let go of him, though he does loosen his hold slightly.]

Calm down. I will leave now and return to my search. I promise you, I will find your heart and return you to normal. Just...don't do something stupid in get yourself killed first.

[His shoulder is still screaming, especially after that little fight, but Diarmuid doesn't care at this point. Too many people he cares about need his help. Perhaps he will regret it later, but he's not going to let his own limits stop him from helping them any longer.]

Fine, just as long as ya leave me alone.

[He's calm, he's calm, really. Nothing to see here. Except the twinges in his arms from time to time. The rage does seem to ebb slightly and it turns into quiet fuming rather than the need to attack.]

I may be leaving you here, but I am hardly leaving you alone. Family is never alone.

[Diarmuid feels those twinges in Reno's arms, but in the end, decides to let the man go. He can't go looking for his heart or the hearts of the rest of his friends if he just stands here. Hopefully, the man will be true to his word.

Once he has let Reno go, he makes his way to the edge of the pool and steps out. For a moment, he pauses as if he is going to say something, then shakes his head and disappears out of the room to dry off, dress and return to his search.]

[Reno eyes him warily, making sure he did in fact leave and wasn't just saying that. He relaxes the farther Diarmuid goes, until finally he sits down in the pool, eyes still wary.]

[Diarmuid would have liked to immediately return to where he stopped searching, but with his injury hurting him even more now than when he stopped, he knows he can't do that. Too many floors on the upper levels are dangerous or require a lot of effort to search. Not good when he is in so much pain.

However, maybe if he checks out a few of the less dangerous floors of the Tower first, his muscles might get the chance to relax in a way they didn't in the sauna. He can start on floor one and just work his way up instead of working his way down as before.

It is as he searches the cabinets of the cafeteria that a thought strikes him.

Reno's wedding had been in the meadow, hadn't it? Diarmuid, still new to the Tower and worried about his own bad luck with weddings hadn't gone even though he had thought about volunteering to be a guard, but his brother had. Could Reno's heart be there?

He quickly finishes searching the cafeteria just in case one of his other friends' bears are there and then makes his way as quickly as he can to the meadow. It takes a while...there is a lot of grass and flowers to look through, and then he finds the bear...laying in the sun as if it is sunning itself lazily.

Somehow it's fitting...

It's almost two hours later when Diarmuid returns to the sauna, the slightly twitching form of the bear with Reno's heart in his hands. It's not the bear itself that is moving, but something inside. Since he's not exactly sure what he has to do to fix Reno, he hasn't tried to free what is inside, though he has a feeling he will need to at some point. However, that will come later once he is sure the man is still in the sauna to begin with.]

[Already dressed and items in hand, Reno almost bumps into Diarmuid when he reaches the sauna floor. It seems he had stayed to indulge himself a while longer and reluctantly got out to return to duty. Such as it was.

The instant Reno sees him, he scowls again.]

Back for more? You really are an idiot.

[Diarmuid is glad to see Reno is still there. So glad, he ignores the insult and tone of Reno's voice. Instead, he holds up the bear by one paw.]

This is yours. Help me figure out how to fix you, all right? Once we are done, if you still want to insult me, you can do it all you want.

[He eyes the bear with disdain, waving a hand.]

Got no idea what to do with it. You're kinda getting desperate now.

[But he does rub hair out of his face, the heart shape more apparent now with the matching red strands out of the way.]

So it's a twitchy bear. I don't remember owning any bears.

I don't think it's the bear. I think it's what is inside the bear...

[Diarmuid gives the bear a disgusted look and then pulls his shorter sword from its sheath.]

I have a feeling I'm going to regret this...

[He lays the bear down on a nearby table and then cuts it open with his knife, paling when he sees what is inside. His eyes close and he tries to tell himself it's not real, it's just a symbol or representation or...

It's not helping. Nor is the fact that it is still beating. At least that explains the twitching.]

Come...take this will you...

[Not even batting an eye, since he's been seeing a lot of animal guts the past several months, Reno grabs it, fully intent on throwing it to the ground and stomping off because Diarmuid is really getting on his last nerve...

And it vanishes, as does the heart on his forehead.

Frozen to the ground, Reno takes a moment to process just what happened, and then goes suddenly, very, very pale.]

A-ah...

[Diarmuid is used to seeing blood and guts as well, but usually the organs are not still moving when he sees them. Not moving and attached to things. This had been attached to nothing. He's about to comment that Reno just might have a stronger stomach than he, when he sees just how pale the man is. At that point, he doesn't even really need to see that the mark is gone to know Reno is back to normal.]

Do you need to sit down?

[His voice is soft as he reaches out to lightly touch the man's arm.]

No...

[Turning terrified, guilty eyes on Diarmuid, he hesitates only for a moment before he turns and dashes down the staircase.]

[Diarmuid is startled at Reno's reaction, but quickly snaps out of it, dashing after the red head and cutting him off before he can go too far.]

Don't....don't run. I'm not angry. I don't know what you might have said to anyone else today, but I am not angry with you. I swear.

[Halting almost too fast, Reno grabs on to the rail to steady himself.]

Yeah? After all I said? You should be.

[Diarmuid shakes his head, eyes slightly sad, but also calm.]

I don't blame you for those words. You were not yourself. Besides, you may have thought yourself clever, but most of those insults are things I have heard many times before.

[Did they hurt? Yes, but not as much as they might have were he hearing them for the first time.]

However, if there is any doubt in your mind, let me appease it. I have no interest in your wife. She is a brave, strong woman...and not my type. You are welcome to her and all of the danger belonging to such a woman carries with it.

[There is a lightness in his voice. Diarmuid is trying to joke to lighten the mood, but he has a feeling it is going to fall flat.]

[Reno just stares at him for a moment, one corner of his mouth quirking.]

Out of everything... that's what you're pointing out?

[He knew better than to believe either one of them would even think about something like that, curse or no curse. When he had been like that, it was only meant to hurt, knowing something of Diarmuid's past...]

Diarmuid, you know that Ruana's games aren't just, just... fakes, it uses- [He can't even go on, keeping his head down and refusing to meet Diarmuid's gaze.]

...I thought about some of it before. So that's why you should be angry with me.

[Sigh.]

Just punch me out already.

[Once Reno falls silent, Diarmuid looks at him for a moment and then raises a fist...tapping him lightly on the jaw before letting his hand drop again.]

There? Feel better? And if you still think that you need punishment of some kind, you can be the one to explain to Waver why my arms and chest are covered with scratches and bite marks.

[He laughs softly and then takes a few steps away from Reno. Once he stops, he speaks in a soft voice, without bothering to look back at the red head.]

Which things have you thought before?

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This... isn't nice. CW: er crude mentions of sex?

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I still feel bad

Well...now Diarmuid feels bad. X.x

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