[CLOSED] try not to lose your grip

[demonass]

Who: Nero & Others
When: Second half of August Aguril
Where: Around Aefenglom
What: Dragon transformation is going well. And by well we mean it kinda sucks sometimes
Warnings: Body horror of the lizard-man variety, but it's kinda gruesome.



[ Individual threads below! ]

Comments

NICO

[demonass]

[ For as much as he bitches about Nico's projects taking over the kitchen, he's really not helping the matter much. Cooking one-handed is a bit of a trial in and of itself, so meals are regulated to what is the easiest to throw together with a limited amount of ingredients, which in turn leaves plenty of space for...well, everything else. Which would be nice of her to share as he fiddles with the Red Queen.

The sword is balanced on his right leg, ankle resting on his left knee to create a makeshift work bench. She tilts a little as he shifts to grab one of her small screwdrivers, and he pouts. (Not that he would call it that.) Nero narrows his gaze and shifts it over to his partner. ]

You got an extra ten centimeters up there for me?

KARIN

[demonass]

[ So the past few days have been...shitty, to say the least. For a guy that's been stabbed and maimed by demons on a regular basis for years, one would think he would be able to bite the proverbial bullet and deal, but the pain in his right arm had been some of the worst he'd experienced. After finally getting over his man-flu, he was looking forward to being more productive.

Hell, he's still gonna try now that it's ebbed enough thanks to Nico's efforts and newfound witchly knowledge. The fact that he doesn't feel like chucking up breakfast is the best he can hope for, but for the last hour it's been mostly a dull ache at his right. He's pretty much totaled the Devil Breakers he brought with him, and with the recent...developments going on, Nero decided to bandage off his arm at the elbow and tie the end of a long shirt around it. Luckily it isn't the first time he's gotten around with one hand. If he can traverse a demon tree and fight off the hordes, then he can make a quick trip to the Shopping District.

Right? Absolutely.

Look at him being a functioning adult.

It's just basic shit--simple groceries, whatever will take the least amount of effort and skill for the rest of the week. Nico can take care of the baking but he knows that just stuffing their faces with muffins and rye isn't going to help anything either. So, there--some greens in his bag as the market stall worker wraps up a bundle and places it in for him. Nero absently rubs his right shoulder, soothing a new flare of pain that threatens to seep through, but he does a double-take at a now-familiar head of red hair. ]

Karin?

[trulygifted]

( Nico just snorts. )

Just ten centimetres? I always figured a guy like you could handle a bit more than that.

( She teases, tossing him a playful little smirk before reaching for the screwdriver. Afternoons spent like this are just ... nice, honestly, if only because for a few hours it's almost like they're back home again. Nero is an excellent workmate: he doesn't distract her too much, they have the same taste in music, and he's intelligent enough to keep up with her projects, which means they can swap ideas back and forth without either one of them getting frustrated.

All in all it's a good system. A smile curves Nico's lips as she slaps the thing into his hand: )

She comin' along nicely?

[demonass]

[ He definitely shouldn't have said that--left himself wide open. Nico will get a glare for the effort. ]

Ha ha.

[ But he knows that since she isn't objecting, he can shove himself a bit of space on the table, just enough that he can balance the Red Queen more easily. One-handed? It's kind of necessary.

He takes the offered screwdriver as he simultaneously looks back to his sword. ]

Yeah, as nice as it can, I guess. Her engine's been acting up. I'm wondering if it's the fact we can't really make the same type of fuel here or what.

[ He's got to loosen that chamber up and drain it out before he can take a proper look. ]

This place really makes you miss modern conveniences, doesn't it?

[sonnestark]

[It's been a challenging month for her as well, in its own way. The full moon had left her feeling anxious and uneasy, and though the transformation she'd undergone at the time had largely reversed itself, she still looks markedly different from the last time he saw her— not enough to be anywhere near unrecognizable, but her ears have become distinctly pointed in recent weeks, and there are now brilliant red feathers intermingled with that eye-catching red hair of hers. Their growth has begun to make its way down her back, but regardless of the anxiety and discomfort the ongoing changes have caused her, she's determined to act as normally as possible to off-set it— and there are few things more normal than a trip to the market.

When Nero's voice catches her attention, she can only assume that he's doing much the same, running errands and focusing on the day-to-day necessities rather than dwelling on whatever changes might be troubling him, as well, but even as she smiles and turns in his direction to offer a wave, she catches herself midway, startled. His arm is—?]

Nero! What happened to you?

[It might not be polite to stare, but hey, she's doing it anyway. At least he doesn't look as badly off as he had when he'd come down with that man flu of his?]

[trulygifted]

Too true — but I ain't gonna lie, the trade-off bein' gettin' to learn actual magic ain't so bad.

( Even if it did get a few grumbles at first! Still, Nico's less interested in talking about modern conveniences than she is the revelation that Red Queen's engine has been giving him grief, not least because he's probably right about the cause. She already knows the reason the Devil Breakers have been malfunctioning is because of the energy source; it'd make sense that Nero would experience the same with his own weapon. )

Don't mess with it too much for now, 'kay? We might need to open her up properly, help get her more suited to what they got here.

( Which isn't to say, don't have a tinker at it while we're here, but he'll need more space and tools for proper open-engine surgery. )

Say, you tried Blue Rose with bullets from this place?