heyfreemagic | [OPEN] Some house apes don't domesticate well

[Casey just wanted everything to be...no big deal again.

He'd been cooped up in the apartment too long, with himself and an overflow of energy and a lot of bad thoughts. Greg had come back from the dead and everything was good. Wash had come back from his home (or...wherever) and everything was cool, right? They were basically playing on God Mode now. Yeah, it freaked his friends out at first, but it ought to make them all feel invincible now.

Why didn't it?

Why couldn't he even figure out if it made himself feel invincible?

The question had left him completely restless. He hadn't slept well the night Greg came back, and there was only one cure for it: patrol.

Well, OK, more like looking for a fight. It's just how he unwinds when he's stressed.

He'd mastered the art of climbing out the window in the middle of the night, though he hasn't absolutely nailed down yet if the people he's living with hear him every single time he does. Maybe after he does it five nights in a row...

The thick air, the sounds heightened by silence, the heavy black of the night promising action and danger and the excitement he lived for. He could spend it skating from roof to roof, hunting Nox, seeking out his fellow night owls for whatever adventure they find after all decent people have gone to bed.

He's got his padding and his mask and a head full of steam. Let's see what's goin' down...]

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[It's New York, it's the center of the whole entire universe.]

What!? No way, dude! That's what the bad guys do, ya'know?

[He pulls a face at the "rats" bit.]

Uh, yeeeah, lots of furry little freaks sounds pretty bad to me.

[Maybe in your time, Casey. Maybe in your time.]

You don't know how good you are in a fight until it's lethal. You're not a big person -- people'd underestimate you. Blunt weapons are harder for such, but you just need the leverage.

And the rats are fine. They're very intelligent. Occasionally tasty.

I'm not killing anyone! That's just...wrong!

[They're right about the underestimating him part, his sticks are just...criminal deterrents. Does Alexis just not know the difference between right and wrong or something?]

Urgh...

[The ol' rat phobia is creeping back up his spine and...yeah, he might be sick.]

Let's...change the subject.

And why not? They'd kill you. There's no use holding back in a fight, y'know; it only makes things worse.

Stops hurting so much inside after the first few, I s'pose, but that was a long time ago. Then again, seeing as I don't have a soul anymore, I can't be bothered to hurt inside at all.

[Alexis' voice is surprisingly calm and pleasant for the topic, although that might just be their default tone of voice. Their face certainly gives nothing away.]

[Oh great, another Irma. Another person who thinks they have it all figured out and are just too happy to tell Casey that what's what. Yeah, that's definitely an eyeroll from him.]

Nah, you know what makes things worse? Doin' bad guy things to beat bad guys. Ya can't make it OK just by having bad things happen to you.

[Casey is starting to sense that maybe he should be ready to fight. This jackass is starting to talk like...the Shredder or something.]

[Alexis' brow furrows in slight irritation.]

Never said losin' m'soul was a bad thing. I sold it. It burdened me.

All I'm saying is that things aren't good guys and bad guys all the time. Realistically, they're all awful.

Sure ya did. Ya didn't just abandon your sense of right and wrong 'cause it was easier or anythin'.

[Pushing buttons when he really shouldn't be, as usual.]

Funny thing...yer just sayin' stuff I only hear from bad guys who don't wanna believe they're the bad guys...

[A slight twitch of their hand, closer to the knife.]

It burdened me. Don't think it's any of your business if it came with me here or not. Damn thing's better off at the bottom of the ocean.

[Alexis takes a step closer to Casey. Their face is blank.]

I'm not a good person. I don't delude myself with thinking that way.

Funny, last "soul" to tangle with me got tossed into the ocean too!

[OK, it was a ghost, but that's probably close enough. And he didn't actually throw it but WHATEVER, it's a cool line anyway.]

Whatever you say. Just don't come cryin' to me when you end up on the wrong end of the smack down!

[He stands his ground, pulling his other hockey stick out of it's holder. He won't be able to use his fire here without it getting put out, but he can totally take on a knife.]

The sea does not forgive. But I have nothing to fear from it. Go home, kid; you trying to fight won't solve anythin'.

[Alexis looks at him, unimpressed, and doesn't move.]

Aw, save it for your poetry journal!

[The mask goes back down, a signal that he's not going to back down. His stance is offensive, and he's going to move quick when he does. He's itching for a fight and he's just waiting for his moment to charge in...]

[Alexis sweeps their hand down, covering the rooftop with a thin layer of water, trying to slip him up -- and moves into a more defensive position, arms raised, legs ready to leap and knife in their hand. He has blunt weapons, and that's good; hits only as hard as he can put into it.]

All your talk about good n' evil sounds more like poetry to me.

[Oh if only the water was frozen. And he had his ice skates. But it shouldn't be too much of a problem as long as he stays on foot.

Casey has a lot more power in his strikes than anyone would expect, that's not the issue. The issue has always been that Casey telegraphs his strikes, which is counter-balanced by the fact that he's unpredictable as hell-]

Well, I get inspired by the ocean!

[-Like now, where he slaps the stick in the water, looking to splash the water in his opponents eyes.]

Really? It's more prone to devouring people whole.

[Alexis can't ice-skate; perhaps thankfully, mostly because doing that'd be much too much effort to keep solid. The water does catch them in one eye, which squinches closed --]

Playing dirty? I like it. But water won't work on me.

[And they pull their eyepatch up, revealing what isn't an empty lid or a scarred-blind sphere; instead, it's a swiveling eye, all-the-way colored in deep black-blue like the ocean. It seems to focus in on Casey, although with no distinguishable pupil and iris, it's difficult to tell.

Alexis is still standing defensively.]

What's not inspiring about-Woah!

[Casey's eyes go wide under his mask. He starts backwards a little, before tilting his head in curiosity and nodding approvingly.]

Gotta admit...that's actually pretty rad.

[They may be an asshole, but Casey can appreciate an awesome glass eye, or whatever it is.]

Eat a zee-monster raw, you could get one too. Doubt you're strong enough for it.

[Alexis shifts from foot to foot, still defensive, still not making a move -- they don't know how he fights yet. There's no need in being risky about it.]

Zee-monster?

[Casey seems slightly more interested in that than a fight. For the moment. Whatever it is, he's pretty sure he can handle it.]

Didn't you say somethin' about underestimating me?

Zee-monster. Big things. Mean as anything.

I assume most people do. You're cocky, not stupid. Trying it almost killed me twice; it's quite embarrassing to wash up on the shore twice half-ripped to shreds.

Dude, that's freakin' metal.

[Casey can respect a fellow badass, even Alexis. That's Casey's logic: it didn't kill them, ergo it's awesome.]

Lets see how it helps you in a fight!

[It's apparent they aren't going to make the first move, so Casey's going to have to start this party. He does with a side sweep of his hockey stick. The name of the game will be keeping the distance between them so they can't get the knife in his ribs.]

[OPEN] Some house apes don't domesticate well

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alexis is probably going to attack him if he doesn't leave, so how deadly you feelin?

He can't be maimed or killed right now. Saved by narrative flow.

alrighty~

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