Dark Waters, Still and Deep - Zac and Alexis

[endejester]

His apartment seemed strange in small ways. Things were in the wrong places, doors were inches off where he expected them. He’d banged his shoulders as he wandered through the place with the lights dim, and also when he was simply distracted. Stubbed toes had been almost as numerous.

His wardrobe had changed as well, there was a distinct Asian theme that had cropped up, and he wondered if it was thoughts of Mika that had brought it out; especially with the butterfly theme that had appeared amid ascetic predominance of stars, and keys.

Hell, the wall behind his bed had been done over with paper butterflies, and pixie lights.

He’d gone to sleep, a sort of deep exhaustion, and woke now to the sound of someone in the kitchen. It had not sounded like Autumn. The step different, the weight of it and the measure of the pace not part of the more familiar step and weight of his room mate.

“… Alexis?” He blinked, and tipped his head slightly. He put a hand to the doorframe to ground himself, picking at a splinter that had been glued into place ages ago by paint.

da3kie

 

[Daekie]

"In the flesh." Alexis looks better than they did last time, with Sunny's dissolution into the sunlight and the blood and the sigil - but there is a bonedeep weariness and bitterness set into their face, now, that's hard to place. It's not the same lack of control they displayed crying on his shoulder, after all.

Maybe that's not a good thing. There's a certain restraint to their movement -- elegant, if jagged - that they've rarely displayed in all the time he's known them. It's uncomfortable. (Predatory. And that feel, that anxiety their presence brings, precedes their steps.) "Hey, Zac, fun fact -- did you know I have a ******** curfew?" It's the tone someone takes when they're channeling their fury into clear, precise spikes. "Check it out. Pings the police department if I'm not home at dusk or if I try t'leave the city." They gesture to their ankle, where the monitor sits between the cuff of their leggings and the start of their socks; it unbalances their symmetry, unbalances them, from the way they shift foot to foot.

"...We really ******** up, didn't we?" They have one hand still in the fridge, absentmindedly pawing at the food.

endejester

 

[endejester]

Zac’s gaze drifted over Alexis, downward, and downward till they rested on the anklet, it lingered there for a long moment. Stars seeming to glitter there for a moment as he seemed apt to want to cry.

“No, I didn’t know you had a curfew.” He said still staring at it. “That’s, that’s a police anklet. Oh god, I’m so sorry.” He whispered, finally tearing his gaze back to the familiar face, guarded though it was.

“I’m so sorry, I sort of knew we would, we don’t have the best track record. I… I’ll ask my father if there is anything we can do. There must be something.” He said almost tripping over the words.

Daekie

 

[Daekie]

"No, Zac, 's --" their hand flashes out, quickly, and lands on his shoulder and squeezes it, trying to ground him. "This would have happened eventually even in the old world, yeah?" Alexis forces a shrug. "'s not a big deal. I just need to stop being a ******** moron, and maybe they'll take it off. Far as I could tell, anyways, it's -- 'm part of a program for people who cause trouble with their magic, so." Their laugh is humorless -- the sink is on, and they gesture to it, pulling a bullet of water from it so fast it almost crashes into their arm; instead, it wraps around it, rolling downwards to form a temporary bracelet.

"He can't see you, yeah? Hey, come on, don't cry -- it's not like I'm goin' to jail." The joke, if it is one, falls flat. "...I've been meaning to talk to him anyways. Even since before the void n' everythin'. Not about the anklet, specifically, but -" Alexis clicks their tongue. "Stuff. Things. Y'know. You wanna drop by the station later with me? They'll probably pay more attention to me asking to talk with him if you're there."

endejester

 

[endejester]

“Maybe, I mean, you could tell him what I’m saying but what if that makes too many people uneasy. What if they think it was you who made him not be able to see me?”

There was a rush of stammered anxiety, which stopped for a moment as some thought occurred to him, a flash of some emotion that was quickly brushed aside, hands curling into fists and pressing nails into his palms.

He rubs at his arms and shakes his head.

“… I… I think we killed sunny. It means we killed them all, and I couldn’t even.” He squeezed his eyes shut and let out a breath. “I just, I need to find at least one of the people who became part of it instead. Since it didn’t want me… I have to tell them something, just in case.”

Daekie

 

[Daekie]

"My magic doesn't do stealthy or hidin'." There's that uncomfortable laugh again - too sharp, too thin to be quite real. "Every new manifestation I get is just more and more about survival. I don't need to carry a knife anymore -- I want somethin' sharp, there's always somethin' around. It's --" Alexis shakes their head. "Ugh. s**t. Never mind. I didn't come here to infodump. Maybe I can ask him to a nice lunch or something; if I'm lucky, he'll go."

They keep their hand on Zac's shoulder, a solid, grounding presence. "It didn't want me either, Zac. I would've...I woulda killed for it." The tightness in their voice could cut steel. "But I guess it didn't want that, huh? If you find out who it took instead, tell me, 'cause I need them to know if they ******** up I'll kill them."

"Hey. Look at me, though." Alexis tips their head up to get a slightly better angle on his eyes. "You wanna cry or somethin'? I'm here, I'm shitty at comfort but I'm here." Their eyes soften, ever so slightly. "You didn't kill Sunny. It wasn't your fault, alright? You couldn't have done anythin' to stop it, so don't blame yourself."

endejester

 

[endejester]

He swallowed whatever tears might have fallen and shook his head, there were dark rings under his eyes despite looking like he’d just woken up.
“No. you came here, are you okay?” He offered. “It’s ok if you, if you want a hug or something. I’m not so very good at comfort either.”

“I wish Jerimiah could see me. I wish I could just talk to him. It’s not the same to have to type everything.”

Daekie

 

[Daekie]

"I just wanted to see you," Alexis admits. "I -- everything's weird, n' -- I wanted to make sure it didn't ******** you up too." They know that look on his face, they know it well - they used to wear it all the time. "If it's okay, uh. Could we watch a tv show or something and sit on the couch? I need somethin' so I can turn my brain off for a bit."

There's a pause.

"...I know. 'm sorry. It was his choice, right? It's not your fault. I'll do whatever you want me to, with him, with anythin'." It looks, almost, like they were about to say something and then had second thoughts.

endejester

 

[endejester]

“Yeah, TV is fine, I just um…. I think we can even rent some of the new movies too.” He said and nodded to add that as another affirmative.
“Do you want me to order delivery? I checked the fridge, we have a few things in there I don’t even remember. But… something fresh could be good. Or I can go do pick up and come back while you rest. Some places don’t do delivery as well.

His expression is distracted for a moment, then focused again, brows furrowed as he tips his head to one side, blinking a few times before he speaks again.

“… you were going to say something.” He says quietly. “is it ok to ask what?”

Daekie

 

[Daekie]

"Just get something with meat, 's about all I can really eat comfortably," Alexis shrugs. "But - uh - " They're clearly struggling with the words -- it's uncomfortable enough to think about, never mind say. "...just...don't hurt yourself, alright? I know what 's like. You've seen my arms. But - I don't think I could live with myself if anythin' happened to you." They stay frozen in that position for a moment, barely breathing, barely moving.

"Uh. Yeah, delivery's good -- I don't really watch a lot of movies, so you can pick." Just like that, the moment is broken, and they pull away; offhandedly gesturing their 'bracelet' back to the sink where it belongs. "Just try not to touch the bracelet, alright? Don't want your dad to come runnin' while we're getting all cozy."

endejester

 

[endejester]

Zac glances away for a moment and then back. “I’m not going to, cut myself up I promise.” He offers a small smile and pats Alexis on the arm, reassuring.

He scratches at his arm, distracted digging of the fingernails.

“Besides, Autumn would um, well she’d kill you if you did something dangerous to yourself.” He grinned.

“Pizza or Chinese? Or um…Subs, I think I could get subs. I can get as much meat as I can on anything you want.” He offered. “I…I think I could get the ‘Chicken fingers’ if you wanted Chinese, I know its not ‘real’ Chinese but they can taste pretty good.

Daekie

 

[Daekie]

"Just in case," Alexis sighs, swatting him on the hand so he stops scratching himself, "besides Autumn -- that blonde chick from the void, she's a healer, right? What's her contact info? I like havin' that kind of s**t on hand." They rub a finger across their lips, digging into the corner of their mouth -- they can't bite down anymore, so it's a good enough substitute.

"I'm down with shitty Chinese food, sure, they usually have a lot of good meat on those menus..."

endejester

 

[endejester]

“I’ll get it to you, that was Temperance, I like Temperance.” He shrugged. “grab a seat, I’ll order.” He promised. And he did, wontons, dumplings with pork filling and plum sauce, chicken fingers, little strips of pork cooked in some sweet red sauce till they were an unusual color of red, but delicious when mixed into the pork fried rice that Zac ordered as well.

He had rather a soft spot for the rice and pork-strip mixture even if it wasn’t, strictly speaking a well-balanced meal.

A moments thought and he doubled up the order of ‘chicken fingers’ because he remembered liking the way this shop in particular had used to bread the chicken.
He added on an order of beef teriyaki too because it was meat on a stick, he hoped that wouldn’t be too hard to eat, and hoped none of what would get eaten was ‘stick’.


It took about 20 minutes for the order to arrive but it was hot when it did because they were that close to the apartment. He tipped well and brought it back to the couch with forks and chopsticks.

“Also… Temperance is a nurse.” He said with a firm look. “And Autumn, well she hurts herself when she heals people. It always worries me.”


Mogget appeared, sniffing the air his tail held high.

"...be careful, he likes the plum sauce." Zac advised.

Daekie

 

[Daekie]

"Please remember," Alexis mutters snarkily, "I don't have a phone, and unless you're paying for my data plan I ain't getting one." They sit patiently - well, sit might be the wrong word, more splayed over an entire couch like it's a fainting couch - and absentmindedly kick their legs back and forth, fiddling with their hair, braiding small braids into their bangs.

"Smells real good." They patted Mogget's head absentmindedly. "You claimin' any of it or does it all go to feed me? I'll warn you -- I'm hungry as hell today."

endejester

 

[endejester]

“Let me get a bowl, I’ll scoop some out and you can have the rest, alright?” he offered.

He fetched a heavy bowl from the kitchen and used a fork to mix together pork strips and fried rice, stuffing 4 chicken fingers on a plate with some salt (yep just salt) and pushed the containers towards Alexis.

“There.” He said with a small nod. “Soda? Juice? Water, tea?”

Daekie