[PRP] Special Request [Deimos + Nahori]

[nepsah]

A special request, if you will......
[takes place at the ASSJACKED 2 booth]

 

[nepsah]

Deimos was fully intending to keep the damn chinchilla plush since the spider had been so unwilling to put up even a hint of a fight. What was the point of that trial, anyway? He'd been getting his a** partially or mostly handed to him all week and then the final night's challenge was nothing? He was probably being unreasonably grumpy due to the lack of sleep, but even with recognizing it, he couldn't just turn off whatever gremlin in his brain was mashing the frustration button.

He stalked up to the booth and set the plush down, staring hard at Nahori. He'd never quite grasped what she was doing at this sort of booth when it seemed pretty clear to him that she didn't fit the theme. Unless she was actually making an effort at not sucking. "You get to turn in points for customizing, right?" He didn't even bother with a hello. Pleasantries were for people who cared. "What are the limitations?"

saedusk

hi nahori

 

[saedusk]

The rush was beginning to die down and Nahori took the opportunity to organize what stock they had left between helping the occasional participant still looking to spend their hard-earned points on prizes. To her credit, she managed to keep up the tiny, awkward smile she'd been wearing behind the counter all week despite how absolutely ready she was to get away from the hustle and bustle of Bloodfest for another sweep. Soon, that's what she told herself. They'd done a good job and soon they'd get a break.

Not soon enough, unfortunately.

"Oh...?" Nahori faintly gasped, standing up from the box she'd been packing. When she saw who it was, her bloodpusher sank. "Oh." The smile was gone as she stepped to the counter, obviously trying to be professional and nothing else. Maybe he'd just leave without fuss after she answered his question. She didn't have the authority to pelt him with snowballs anymore to make herself feel better, so that was the next best thing.

"It just... has to be within reason," she muttered, "A small accessory... like a hat or a pin or... a bow... something like that."

nepsah

 

[nepsah]

He pushed the plush forward, not breaking eye contact as he did so. Though, whether he was actually looking at her and not something just slightly to the side and about 3 feet behind her was another question. The point was, he was staring in her general face direction in such a way that might be described as piercing. Finally, he blinked. "What kind of pins?" He squinted a little.

"Why are you even at this booth? This doesn't seem up your alley based on last time I saw you." In fact she still looked incredibly uncomfortable, even before he'd approached. "Are you tryin' to not be a wimp or did you just get roped into it." He didn't really care either way, but he was admittedly a bit curious.

saedusk

hi nahori

 

[saedusk]

"Well... something like, I don't know... something like a little symbol... pinned on the jacket." Nahori didn't understand why Deimos was eyeing her so intensely while asking about something as simple as what sort of pins he could get for his plush, but she also didn't have much time to dwell on it. From what was relatively innocuous to questions that prodded blatantly at her insecurities, she didn't understand what caused him to make such a leap.

In fact, she looked somewhat unwilling to answer, but she also didn't want to give him the satisfaction of assuming his doubts about her were correct. They weren't, after all.

"The Lieutenant asked me to help... but she... she wouldn't have forced me if I didn't want to. I want to... help her if I can. And... and... it wasn't so bad. It was sort of... fun... sometimes." Especially the part where she got to throw snowballs at Deimos.

nepsah

 

[nepsah]

Right... He glanced over to Sarcel, then back to Nahori. "A star, then." He pushed the plush forward, then folded his arms across his chest. The cold didn't agree with him very well- his hands were freezing despite the gloves he was wearing. "I didn't think you got much of a choice in your line a work." He quirked a brow, "or is it just 'cause this ain't really a military thing that you woulda been okay to decline?"

He wasn't really sure what set him off about Nahori but for whatever reason, he just couldn't help but poke and prod. "Just what was fun, anyway?"

saedusk

 

[saedusk]

As if using it as a security blanket, Nahori took the plush and held it close. When trolls left custom orders, she was supposed to write them down immediately, but she didn't even bother to reach for the clipboard. "A star," she said, just so he would know she heard him. Did he really deserve the courtesy, though? "Alright."

Shifting from one foot to the other, she admitted while glancing back at the innards of the booth, "It's not really a... military thing. I guess you could say it... wasn't as important, but... I'm... sure the Lieutenant knows I'll do whatever I can to help her."

As she looked back at Deimos as he poked and prodded, Nahori had a choice. She could let that little nagging part of her buried deep inside that wanted to be sassy out or she could let nurture hold her back and keep her subservient like it often did. She seemed to debate it. Her expression wobbled. After a short pause she said, "Throwing snowballs was... kinda fun." Hopefully she wouldn't regret it.

nepsah

 

[nepsah]

"Right..." He didn't miss the way she was holding the plush. It dampened some of his urge to prod but not by very much. Just what was it, anyway? He squinted a little as he tilted his head, as if staring at her harder would answer the question concerning why he wanted to prod at her so hard. It wasn't like he particularly cared about her, after all. They'd only met twice before.

"Oh, I'm sure they were." His expression soured just slightly. "In fact I'm pretty sure that it wasn't just 'kinda fun', considerin' how many times you nailed me in the head. Don't think I didn't notice." He rolled his eyes, taking a half step back from the booth. He'd ended up with so much snow in his coat after that exercise. "Not that it wasn't earned snowballin' but did anyone else get it quite so aimed or was it just a special present for me?" He knew he'd gone against the instructions by poking his head up above the trenches, and he did accept that, but he just had to know if previous encounters had influenced the intensity of it at all.

saedusk

 

[saedusk]

The multitude of snowballs reserved for Deimos had been largely subconscious, but Nahori couldn't deny it felt satisfying in the moment. She really had just been doing her job, though, exactly as she'd told him after the roman candle incident. Still, the fact he hadn't snapped at her despite his forward accusations made it a little bit easier to admit to more than than that. She wasn't regretting this. Yet.

"Didn't you... tell me I should try to be more... assertive next time we met?" she asked, her expression betraying that she wasn't totally sure about having this kind of—what was it, brazen, playful?—conversation with him. Maybe for other trolls this would be minor, but for Nahori it was very far beyond how she usually behaved. "I was just... practicing for our, um, our rematch..."

"Sorry, I guess that wasn't fair, though... The last fight was fair..." She glanced to the side awkwardly. Joking around sure was weird. How did other trolls do it so easily?

nepsah

 

[nepsah]

He snorted in amusement. Okay, she was trying to make an effort, he could admit that. "So you're definitely plannin' on there bein' a rematch then, huh?" He quirked a brow, shifting his weight from one side to the other. "Didn't take you for a cheater but hey, if that's what it takes to win for you then it's only fair to make anythin' go for both sides." He wasn't being serious- Deimos was not a cheater. He just wanted to see what her reaction was going to be to the possibility that he might play dirty.

"If you're aimin' for a rematch though you should put a date behind those words, or are you just plannin' on tryna catch me unawares?" He grinned, eyes glinting despite how tired he looked. This was too much fun.

saedusk

 

[saedusk]

Nahori's reaction was almost immediate and if she weren't still holding onto Lieutenant Chilla, she'd be waving her hands in front of her trying to dismiss his claims. "N-No...! No, I'm not... I'm not a cheater." Fighting dirty sounded impossibly hard outside the context of something like Bloodfest. She'd feel far too guilty. Honorable or a coward, it was one of the two.

"It was a... joke... mostly." Admitting that sounded just as awkward as the joke itself had, so she shook her head. Nahori wasn't looking at Deimos anymore, but she continued to speak.

"You know I... um... I would actually... like a rematch. For real. I didn't even know if... if I'd see you again, but since you're here... We should, um, set something up." Nahori wanted to think she'd grown since then, even if just a little.

nepsah

 

[nepsah]

He actually laughed a bit, shaking his head. "I wasn't bein' serious, I don't think you could cheat even if you tried." It wasn't a challenge, but hey, if she took it that way then so be it. He hadn't really counted on seeing her again either, but the world had a funny way of being too small for him to not run into people multiple times, it seemed. He shrugged, "sure, I could go for a rematch. 'Nother fistfight 'til someone cries lusus don't sound like a bad time." He didn't really think it'd go any differently. She seemed to be making an effort to be more... Firm? Not quite assertive, but not exactly a pushover either-- but either way, it was one thing to be trying to be different and another to actually be different.

"Seems t'me you're the one with a more tight schedule. I got the freedom to move s**t around - what're you thinkin' for this grand rematch?"

saedusk

 

[saedusk]

It didn't sound like Deimos was laughing at her in a mocking way and Nahori actually managed to stop herself from overthinking it. Her response was a small but genuine smile as some of the tension eased out of her shoulders.

"Yes... yes, okay." It finally seemed Nahori was ready to let go of her security blanket, too. She set the plush in a box off to the side before making a note on a clipboard near by. There were only a few other plushies in that box and a note taped to the top read custom orders.

"Have you, um... ever heard of the Fleetfeet gym?" Nahori asked after she'd finished her notetaking, this time grabbing a blank piece of paper to write the name down for him. Next to it, she wrote an address and a date. "It's in New Hemisect. We could... have the rematch there... If that's okay." She held it out for Deimos.

nepsah

 

[nepsah]

He shook his head, he hadn't heard of it but then again he didn't really go to gyms, so that was to be expected. "Nah, but I don't really go to Hemisect. Sounds like a good place to do it though." He waited for her to finish writing, then reached over to take the paper and examine it. Seemed simple enough, and he already knew he wasn't going to be doing anything that day.

"That works for me. I'll see you then, I guess." He pocketed the paper, and took a step back from the booth. "How 'bout I get that plush back from you then too? I gotta get out of this cold." His leg where his prosthetic attached to the skin was really starting to ache. He nodded a stiff 'bye,' then turned on a heel to go trudge through the crowd for somewhere warmer.

saedusk

aaaaaaaaaand that's a wrap