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

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?

Are you seriously askin' me that?

[He had braced for the punch, even would have willingly taken it. It'd have him feel better and then they might have gone on and patched things up.

Diarmuid is asking for a free access pass into Reno's brain... something he feels incredibly uncomfortable with, especially after that day in the ballroom, and... his own private thoughts about others.

Private thoughts are meant to be kept private.

For a second, the idea flashes through his head that Diarmuid is being cruel on purpose. Bad enough he said all those things to the man... being denied a just punishment only pushes the guilt higher.]

Diarmuid... please don't... I got my moments, like everybody.

Yes, I am.

[He answers quickly, but then pauses and finally turns to Reno as the man continues, worried by the almost begging tone in Reno's voice.]

Fine, I will leave the decision to you, but I will say this. If I do not know what I need to change, how can I change? I have taken a lot of steps toward better understanding myself over the last few weeks, but there are still things I don't know and that I don't understand. On top of that, my nature is much different from so many of you. My actions unintentionally seem to hurt or upset people around me and I don't know why.

[Diarmuid shuts his eyes, shaking his head.]

I don't understand it. I don't and I hate accidentally hurting those I care about.

[Anger. This is all about still finding himself?

Reno's so sick of that whole thing.]

Fine, ya want to know how to help? Stop acting like everything's all right. It's not. I said some shit I regret and any normal man would be hurt and pissed as hell. And y'know, I could understand that, but you just being forgiving and accepting... [His voice raised a little near the end, only for him to trail off and sag, his voice lowering into an guilty monotone.] ...just makes it worse.

I remember the look in your eyes when I finished. You grabbed me by the neck and tossed me into the damn water, you were that upset. An' I just told you the things I said...

[Taking a deep breath in, he closes his eyes to focus. He has a lot of apologizing to do... and a lot of making up for the way he's behaved to his friends and family.]

We've gone over this before. Did you learn anything after that whole debacle?

Do you really want me to be angry with you? Why?

[Confusion fills both his words and his expression.]

They are only words. Words I have heard before. Yes, I was hurt hearing them come from you, but....

[Diarmuid sighs in frustration, running a hand through his hair.]

You could be sent home tomorrow. You could be sent home tonight. I don't want to be angry with you over words like that...

I grabbed you, not because I was angry, but because I didn't want you to run. You are developing a habit and it's not a good one, Reno. Trust me. If you are going to say something, say it and stand your ground. Don't say it and run away!

[His voice raises slightly as he finishes his sentence. Perhaps Diarmuid is a little angrier than he thought, but not for the reason Reno probably wants him to be.]

I am standing my ground, goddammit! [Reno's about ready to pull his hair out, tugging at it in frustration.] YES! Be angry! Stand up for yourself! That's your problem, y'know? You never stand up for yourself!

[The change is like a ripple passing over Diarmuid. Fire burns in his eyes for a moment before they become sharp and cold. It's an intense expression that few have seen in him. The most familiar with it?

Sephiroth.

Diarmuid closes the space between them in a flash. His servant speed is not fully back yet, but he is still very quick. What is fully back? His servant strength, which is why the punch lands not on Reno's jaw, but on the wall very near the Reno's head instead. Had the wall not been a Tower wall and resistant to damage from their powers, it would be sporting a very large hole right now.

Reno doesn't escape that easily, though. Diarmuid very carefully pulls back on his own power and the next punch, connects squarely with Reno's jaw.

It's certainly not the joking tap from before by any stretch.]

Don't confuse kindness, compassion, and understanding for weakness.

[His voice is a low hiss.]

Just because I suffer things others would not doesn't mean I don't know how to protect my own. They are more important to me than I will ever be to myself. Learn to accept that because it will never change. I am a knight. I protect. Plain and simple.

[Reeling from the punch, Reno is rocked back into the wall, and it's a good thing, for if he hadn't the rail wouldn't have been there to grab, and he would have fallen.

Working his jaw back and forth, he slowly straightens up, feeling quite, quite dizzy... and is there something crawling in his hair?]

I didn't... say you were weak, Diarmuid. [There's some blood on his teeth from where they cut into his lip.]

I said you have a problem standing up for yourself.

[Touching his lip, seeing the blood, it drains Reno of all the guilt he's been feeling since touching his heart. This is what he needed, in a way.]

But... seems like you've found yourself, again.

You are insane!

[Anger blazes through the ice in Diarmuid's eyes for a moment before it flickers down and is replaced with concern and tiredness instead.]

Let me take you to the infirmary. You're lucky if you don't have a concussion from the force of that. You're talking anyway. At least that means your jaw isn't broken...

I don't.

[Really, after all the battles and the many, many times it's happened before, Reno can tell.]

Just stunned.

[Slowly, he starts giving the angry knight a small, tired smile.]

Yeah, I know. Elena tells me that, too.

What that you are insane?

[Diarmuid shakes his head.]

I don't know if it is a compliment or an insult. Take it as you will.

Are you sure you will be okay?