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Post by naoxiet on Jan 4, 2009 12:58:21 GMT -5
It had been a while since he had left the last town he'd actually stayed at- weeks, maybe- and he startled slightly as he realized that they had skipped the most basic social nicety- the exchanging of names. "Zachariah," he offered, and felt no guilt at the lie- he'd long since gotten over the idea that the truth was always best. Following Logan through the door, he looked around interestedly, mostly checking for a clock- he'd have to eat, sleep, and wake up in time to get the hell out before the change happened, and he'd probably already eaten up an hour in his human form.
The place looked incredibly homey from Avery's point of view. Then again, almost any place was bound to, compared to the places he was used to staying. Distracted, he almost dropped the clothes that the other boy shoved at him, and almost glared at the not-so-subtle hint that he smelled bad. Not really anything he could help, and he would rather have eaten first, but... Hell, he was a guest, might as well do what his 'host' suggested.
So while Logan was preparing food, Avery suffered through a shower, cringing under the spray of water that he didn't bother to let heat. Cold didn't bother him as much as the fact that he was getting wet did. He had never liked showers- if he had to be in the water, he'd rather be in a pool of it, not under a harsh spray, but he didn't have many options at this point, so he cleaned himself as quickly as he could before hopping back out.
By the time he had donned Logan's clothes- which were, indeed, too big on his too-thin form- and folded his own, leaving them on the bathroom counter, he could smell the food, and he barely took the time to tie his damp hair back before following the scents back to the kitchen. He took a seat uninvited on one of the stools, tapping his fingers against his cheek and noticing that he should start dulling his claws, since his human nails adopted the length and sharpness.
"Clean enough for you?"
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Post by Rena DeVito on Jan 4, 2009 14:02:53 GMT -5
Logan smirked a bit, remembering how Zachariah had glared at him for saying he stank. Shoot, Logan smelled too! The sewer stench had a way of clinging to your clothes and skin. Logan turned as Avery walked out, in the fresh clothes and smelling like his shampoo. Without an invite Avery sat down in one of the stools. Logan turned to pull the vegetables out of the microwave and placed the clear. plastic container in front of Zach. He also moved the mashed potatoes and gravy closer to the boy too.
"Yes, you be sparklin'."
Logan muttered. He walked over to the bedroom and pulled out a clean set of clothes. He ran his fingers through his greasy hair.
"Now it be my turn!"
He walked into the bathroom and closed the door. After going through with his shower, he walked out and sat on the other stool. He served himself what was left of the meal, and gave Avery a once over. He studied the scratch as it seemed to be slightly puffy. 'Maybe it be infected?' he thought.
"Is that cut hurtin' ye at all? Ye might want to fix it up a bit. I got me disinfectant spray, if ye wantin' some."
Logan stuffed his face and winced a bit. The potatoes were lumpy, the gravy wasn't great, and the vegetables were soft. He sighed. Too bad he wasn't the best cook in the world, but at least he didn't starve. He glanced at Zachariah and wondered what he thought of his meal. His eye caught sight of Zachariah's nails, and he said nothing.
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Post by naoxiet on Jan 4, 2009 14:31:22 GMT -5
The second the food was set in front of him, Avery forgot that he was in another person's home, or even that anyone else existed. As Logan left to shower, Avery dug into the food, marveling that mushy vegetables and lumpy mashed potatoes could taste so damned good. He was almost finished with his first place when his stomach decided that it couldn't handle anymore, and he set his silverware down, content to just sit and let the feeling of being full settle.
But, of course, Logan came back out eventually. He did live there, after all. Opening his eyes, Avery shrugged, rubbing at the scratch. "I'd forgotten about it until you mentioned it. It'll heal on its own- they always do. Disinfecting it isn't worth it- that shit stings like hell."
Pausing, he tapped his nails against the surface. "And thanks. For the food and letting me stay here, I mean." With that said, he propped his elbow on the counter and rested his chin on curled fingers, going stiller than any human normally would; he forgot, sometimes, that what was natural for him to do was unnatural for humans, and didn't even think of what it would look like to Logan.
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Post by Rena DeVito on Jan 4, 2009 15:12:50 GMT -5
Logan took note of how still Zachariah seemed to grow. Usually only animals could master such a still poise. Logan nodded in response to Avery's statement.
"If ye be sure."
He again decided to take a chance, but he was fairly certain he was right. He causually continued munching, and between bites, he said,
"Ye be one o' those Shifter people, Right? An' if I ain't be mistaken, cat? Not a house cat, but a larger cat...Maybe Bobcat?"
Logan didn't even bother looking up. He continued eating as if nothing happened.
"Ach! I forgot to offer you a drink. I have water, milk, and orange juice. Take your pick. Ye'll have to forgive me manners, Zachariah. It's been quite some time since I've had a visitor."
He pulled out two glasses and poured water for himself, and whatever drink Avery asked for(If he did ask for one ^^). He set the glasses in front of each setting and settled back down on his stool.
"Go ahead and tell me about y'self, Zachariah. What brings ye to the fair city of Shelpey?"
Logan leaned against the wall that separated his apartment from the neighbors. He ran his hand through his ebony hair again, causing his tee-shirt to lift and reveal a nice scar on his abs.
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Post by naoxiet on Jan 4, 2009 15:28:06 GMT -5
Well... that had been unexpected. Even his prior stillness had nothing on the way he suddenly froze, breath caught in his chest and eyes narrowed in Logan's direction. But he didn't seem like he was going to freak out about it, and degree by degree, Avery relaxed, resisting the urge to make a break for the door- he hadn't wanted to run so much since... well, since he had left home.
"Bobcat." Scoffing, he ran his hand back through his hair, ripping out the tie. "Hell no, those bitches are temperamental as hell." He paused, then, watching Logan carefully, shook his head. "Wildcat. Of the African strain." He accepted the offer of a drink- water, of course, avoiding the cliché of cats loving milk, which he really didn't, and sipped at it once it was placed in front of him.
"I don't talk about myself," he said rather abruptly after Logan had asked. "I'm here because it was in my path, and I needed to stop and hunt." And, of course, he couldn't stop his eyes from following the way his skin appeared from beneath the hem of that shirt, but he looked away immediately, not ready to deal with those thoughts.
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Post by Rena DeVito on Jan 8, 2009 9:35:17 GMT -5
The muscular boy tipped back in is stool, raising two of the four legs off the ground. His back rested firmly against the wall. At Avery's reaction, Logan let out a short sigh, that sounded like he was trying not to laugh. Though he acted like he found it humorous, no laughter colored his eyes. The cornered look in Zachariah made Logan feel a little bad, but he reasoned it had to come out eventually. Logan raised his water glass to his lips and took a small sip.
"Bobcat." Zach scoffed. Logan's lips twitched into a slight smile.
"It twas only a guess. Ye 'ave to admit, it was a pretty good one at that."
Logan's hazel eyes carefully probed Avery's for the truth, before he quietly said,
"I s'ppose somethings are better left in the past."
Logan grew gravely serious, wondering if Avery would assume he was a shifter. Logan had a perfectly logical answer all thought up, he was just waiting for the perfect chance to serve. His face grew pensive, and lines carved their way onto his face. His eyes stared at his waterglass, and his slender fingers traced the top. Logan concentrated on his childhood, pulling honest to goodness feelings to the surface.
You see, Logan was the master of only showing whatever emotion he wants to show. He has learned to carefully mask his face from his childhood. It takes a very insightful person, quite like Logan, to be able to see through it. But that is extremely rare.
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Post by naoxiet on Jan 10, 2009 9:46:19 GMT -5
Avery watched Logan quietly for a few minutes, not missing the way his expression changed, and curled his hands around his glass of water, wishing he had just said no and stayed in the sewer. This was a lot more melodrama than he had signed on for... but he was halfway through, might as well go the rest of the way. So he shrugged, and threw caution to the wind.
"It was a decent guess, I'll give you that. But you cheated anyways- you wouldn't have known I was a cat if you weren't a canine."
He paused, mimicking Logan's earlier casual manner.
"You don't have to bother trying to hide it, either. You smell too strongly of dog to be fully human- not even living with dogs accounts for that, which obviously you don't."
He knew that his gaze was intense, as it always was when he was actually interested in something, and turned it to his water. No point in freaking the other guy out... if it was even possible.
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Post by Rena DeVito on Jan 10, 2009 16:20:20 GMT -5
Logan glanced up at Avery. He carefully channeled past anger to fuel the anger he needed to fake now. Narrowing his eyes, he jumped to his feet.
"Is that what you think I am? Some sort of dog?"
He bit his lower lip from saying anything else. Pulling in deep ragged breaths, he turned and walked to his window. Lifting a shaking hand he pulled back the drapes and stared out onto the darkening streets. Resting his hands onto the windowsill, he quietly murmured,
"No. I'm not a shifter. But you are right about m' smell. I know I smell too much like dog. But I can help it! You'd understand if your sister-"
Logan's voice cracked, and he turned slightly, letting the drapes fall back closed. Broken eyes searched out Zach's. The pain in them was real, genuine. It was the deepest sort of pain. The kind that you could only understand if you felt it yourself. Taking a deep breath, Logan continued,
"You'd understand if your younger sister was turned into a 'orrid beast."
Glancing down at his trembling hands, Logan took a deep breath. He shouldn't go too far with the whole sister thing. Turning towards the couch, he pulled it out into a bed. Grabbing a blanket from the nearby closet, he threw it over the bed. It already had sheets on it, so all Zachariah needed was a pillow.
Still taking deep breaths, he concentrated on pushing his past back behind him, where it belonged. Logan went to his own bed and pulled one of his two pillows off. He pulled off the old pillow case, and slipped on a new one. One that didn't smell like dog. Logan turned back towards Zach, his face now calm.
"Ye can sleep 'ere if ye want.
It's clean."
He added as if an afterthought. Returning to his stool, Logan finished his meal. He picked up the plates and began to wash the dishes. The water sputtered out of the sink, in a comfortable sounding way. Logan kept his eyes on his work, knowing that his eyes would betray the conflicting emotions that filled him to bursting.
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Post by naoxiet on Jan 12, 2009 9:00:49 GMT -5
If Avery were a nicer person, he would have apologized at the blatant pain in Logan's eyes. If he were just a little bit more human, he might have felt guilty for bringing it up. He might have rethought his assumptions, explained to Logan that he really couldn't control his mouth sometimes and that he'd try to tone it down next time.
Avery wasn't a nicer person. He was more cat than human. And cats never had to rethink something, because anything that was decided was a known fact. The food is good, the bed is soft, that man smells like he should be sprouting fur any second.
"Whatever."
His tone was suddenly disinterested, and he didn't bother watching Logan fumble inadequately with his pain. Avery didn't do well with pain, and he wanted nothing to do with it, whether it was his own or someone else's. "I'm sure I would, if she had, but since my sister's dead, there's not much chance of that happening. Unless you care to explain that statement instead of being suspiciously vague, I'll stick with my logical assumptions, thank you."
And the second his sister was mentioned, his eyes were dead; not brimming with agony, no regret or sorrow or despair, just cold and clinical. Just another fact, made all the easier by his retreat into the safe, instinctual mind of the cat. The sun is warm. My sister is dead. No big deal.
He looked at the pillow, knowing he'd smell dog through it anyways if it had been in this place long enough, and shrugged. "Clean or not, better than anyplace I've slept lately. Thanks. Do you mind if I...?" He made an aborted gesture with one hand. "You know, change? I'd rather not run my time in this form to its limit and be left unable to shift should I need to. I won't shed... probably."
[//OOC;;]] Social skills... Zero. Nada. Zilch.
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Post by Rena DeVito on Jan 12, 2009 17:25:20 GMT -5
Logan glanced at Avery out of the corner of his eye. The personality of this Zachariah boy was starting to really rub him the wrong way. He supposed it was the cat verses dog thing. "Whatever." Logan bit his lip, and furiously counted to ten. He took the comment rather personally, especially since the pain he had been feeling rather real.
"I'm sure I would, if she had, but since my sister's dead, there's not much chance of that happening. Unless you care to explain that statement instead of being suspiciously vague, I'll stick with my logical assumptions, thank you."
Logan sighed, and then turned and sat on the bed.
"I suppose ye deserve an explaination. Ye see, me sister was recently capture'd by some craz'd scientist...'E did something weird to 'er, and she turned part dog. The experiment failed, and she's feral. Gone wild, she 'as. That would be why I smell so much like dog, and why everything else 'ere does too."
While he delivered his little speech with the appropriet emotions, he studied Zachariah. Logan wondered what exactly had happened to his sister. So asorbed in his assement of Zachariah, he started slightly at Zach's question.
"Sure, I mean, I dun't mind. Just let me know if ye need anything else."
Logan paused, and then walked into his bedroom and shut the door. In his room he changed into his warmest PJs, and then crawled beneath the sheets. It was going to be a cold night, but he couldn't risk shifting with Avery in the next room.
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