❛ ONE OF THOSE NIGHTS ❜ / / DOUBLE JOINING

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    / please wait for HENNESSY - !


    Bluebadge is perpetually stuck in the moments of missing a step on a staircase in the dark. His heart lurching in his chest and his mind preparing him for dizzying weightlessness and then pain. L'appel du vide, the call to self-destruction; the urge to jump and fall. He indulges in it every now and then, when he is certain of his own ability to land perfectly. It requires an awareness of self and surroundings that he hasn't fully mastered, but on some level it's sheer instinct. He blames his own blood for it. Of the many distasteful things Lirim had given him, this was one of the worst just because he couldn't escape it. He could control his eyes, his powers, his rage; he couldn't control instinct. Naturally, Bluebadge tries anyway. More often than not, he fails.


    Today he has allowed himself to indulge in a particularly dangerous leap, approaching a rough-smelling canine that's only a bit taller than him but considerably larger. Stronger, he assumes, which had made the situation more of a gamble. Blue happens to like those these days. With a mixture of persistence, charm, and unsubtle bribery (the name had to be for something, right?), it paid off. The younger canine spends a good portion of the trot to Wind Haven's borders facing backwards, tossing warm, crooked grins and sharp-tongued comments on varying subjects (tell me you've taken a bath this century; I've never seen someone seem so grumpy about my company before; you looked like you needed a friend! I can be a friend) at Hennessy.


    It was mostly just to keep him walking and to check that he was still there. "You know, you're not the worst company I've ever had on a walk," he offers conversationally, assuming he'll get nothing decent as a response. "Maybe you'll actually make some friends here. I still think you need them."

    It had already been a year. A whole year of this hell dimension fucking around with Earth and swallowing all the mortal inhabitants that just wanted to live their lives in humble peace. Fucking hell, what selfish pricks. Time passed so quickly in an altered mind state aided by crude liquor and not entirely giving shit what time of day you woke up at. It wasn't as if Hennessy had any duties to fulfill anymore. Which at one point would have been the dream. Retiring, settling down, maybe Henny would have gotten a nicer place with a view and huge safe expanse that his little boy could have played around in. No scum to bring to justice, no need to get up before the sun. Now that Hennessy had gotten the latter half of his dream, he'd give anything to have it all back. Turns out, Henny hated not having anything to occupy his time other than wallowing in his own self-pity. It got old after the first month or so, and every subsequent month Hennessy had spent drinking himself into a comatose state had just sort of really driven that point home. Life was just so old now. Hennessy was so old now.


    In his turbulent year or so in Agrelos, Hennessy had done basically fuck all with his time. Wandered around, fought a little, got the blood pumping and the adrenaline running through his veins again just to remind himself that he was actually alive and not trapped in the everlasting nothingness. Yeah he talked with people, that was unfortunately unavoidable. Some were okay. Some were annoying little shits Henny just wanted to crush, toss aside and forget about. Bluebadge was an oddity; Hennessy hadn't beaten the man to a pulp yet, but that wasn't to say that Henny didn't want to, he just hadn't at the present moment. Hennessy liked to think he was developing a little 'tolerance'. Tolerance which Henny was hanging to by a thread every single time the other canine opened his fat gob. But despite his reservations about the other mutt's outspoken personality, here he was: following an almost complete stranger to a foreign group. If Hennessy was going to end up kidnapped and killed, well at least his misadventures in Agrelos would be all over. Win-win really.


    "You really need to learn when to shut up." A man full of unshakable temper, Hennessy's snappy tone quipped back to the younger Blue quickly after the other man had finished speaking. A small huff accentuating the Saint Bernard's words. "I don't care what you think, I know that I am perfectly fine without friends. Case in point: I'm not dead." Yet. It was a sobering thought to imagine himself as one of the last remaining Aequitas members alive, but at least it had to mean something in this frivolous existence that Henny was still breathing. What that something was, the man hadn't yet figured out. Perhaps it was just a coincidence; perhaps his days were just slowly dwindling as the man wasted what little time he had left. Shit. At least having a group and a bunch of idiots to occupy his time would keep his thoughts far from the missing and dead Hennessy had left behind. "What'd you say these guys were called again?" The massive canine's head swung around the pair's vicinity with at least some idle curiosity. It was a nice place that Blue had chosen, Henny wondered how the younger man had figured that the mountain range was an acceptable place of residence for the two. Perhaps he had family here? Lucky bastard.


    tags

    ✦ ✧ ✦ One of these days, Eri's boldness was sure to get her in trouble. The kitten happened to be exploring, as dangerous as that was for a kitten of her size, wanting to explore the territory of her home. Practically nothing was interesting to her, there wasn't something cool going on at the border or anywhere within the Haven territory. It was just boring. She wanted action! She wanted to do something!

    And then, the little horned cat came upon two standing at the border. Her icy gaze fell on them, and a grin came across her face. Finally, something to do. She bounces over to them, standing tall and broadening her chest despite her small size as her nubs of horns glimmer.

    "We are called the Wind Haven." She states, hearing Hennessy's comment. She raises her head to them, looking at them with boastful pride. "And I am Eridanus. What is your name and business on Haven territory?" She says confidently, waiting patiently for a response.

    He tries not to let the very agony of his existence get to him. Earth was a lifetime ago, it seemed — he'd been two years old or so when it fell apart, and he'd spent the weeks after it wandering Agrelos with smoke billowing from a blackened pelt, vision hazy and disturbed as eyes fluttered open and shut across his body. A monster. His body seemed to think that he could better survive with this layer of protection. Not many others had the privilege (or misfortune, as Blue himself considers it to be), and he doesn't think that Hennessy is one of them. The Breaks seem to have a particular draw to one another, an inescapable magnetism. No matter how far away he ran, they would pull him back as if with a tether.


    So does he have family here? Yes, probably. Does he want to? Absolutely not. Bluebadge does whatever he can to deny the existence of his many blood relatives, going so far as being reluctant to share his (plethora) of last names. They're remnants of Earth anyway. They shouldn't matter here; nothing should. But they all carry their weights and their memories. Maybe, just maybe, Hennessy would eventually learn to share his own. It's clear that he has some, snapping acerbic comments back every time he tries to hold a conversation. The dog tips his head minutely, innocently yet almost mechanically curious and injured. Instead of trying to repair this very intentionally broken bridge, Blue offers only an amicable, "You sure act like you are," and moves on.


    To the child in front of him, specifically. A little thing with horns and bright eyes. It's strangely amusing, that she approaches them with such confidence and pride. Slowly, Blue sinks to his stomach to be closer to eye level, his head resting gently on his paws and his ears tall and perked. His tail wags a little, thumping to the dirt, which — well it's a first for a very long time, that's all. "I'm Bluebadge. Big guy's Hennessy. He's pissy, ignore him. We're here to stay, if you'll have us."

    ✦ ✧ ✦ Eri can feel her grin widen as Bluebadge lowers down to her height and she keeps her chin up and head tall to the sky. She listens to him attentively, though nods her head slowly and purses her lips. "Nice to meet you both. Even though I'm a really good warrior, I'm too young to really accept you, but I don't think it will be a problem. You seem nice enough." She says, giggling softly. Her tail sways from side to side as she glances, turning her head over her shoulder. She expected someone older to come soon. She turns her head back to the two and tilts it to the left. "Where are you guys from?"

    Cassiopeia hardly listened to that call; the want to jump off a cliff or run into something terribly stupid screamed in her ears when she was a loner. And, during that while, she did listen. She bumped heads, clashed bodies, everything under the sun to rid herself of her mortal restraints and simply leave everything. But every day, did she wake up, stretch her legs, and start over. The call was fainter now, though still very obviously there and even furthermore ignored by the mother of twelve (fucking hell.) She had far more to live for now, be it kids, her Clan, or her ever present mother, whom she had dedicated almost two and a half years of her life for.


    Never for herself, always for others. Perhaps Cassiopeia's one good trait was selflessness. Or, perhaps, selfishness was the drive for it all.


    Whatever the case, sensing another Break nearby was never easy for her. She was surrounded by her own little gremlins after all, and the tug was hardly anything to cough at. The monoeye stepped up and over her brave daughter, housing the child between her legs. Two large creatures that could easily gobble Eri up, and yet the kid still spoke to them as if she was invincible. Trouble; reminded her of herself when she was a brat, "We could always use more bodies," she mused, her tail lashing back and forth as it usually did, "Do you need a tour, or are you both the kind to learn everything on your own?"

    As a way to keep his mind off the thought of having to meet so many new people at once, Hennessy's eyes and conscious wanders off with the rolling hills. Only a small part of the stoic man remaining in reality to listen idly to the next comment Bluebadge has for him. Henny wasn't entirely sure what the other man meant by his words, but also couldn't find it within himself to put up anymore of a fight against the younger Blue. Only giving the canine an noncommittal grunt that perfectly expressed his exasperation with Blue's words without ever explicitly voicing them. No doubt the mutt would try again later to coax Hennessy into bonding with the inhabitants here, Henny just prayed that his ever thinning restraint would hold.


    The first was such a young soul, it made the large Saint Bernard freeze in his tracks as his muscles seized up in a shock that was very unbecoming of the gruff warrior. It was amusing sight to see the typically proud canine stopped in his tracks by a girl about the size of one of his legs. Though Hennessy wouldn't think so. "He's also perfectly capable of speech, and he'd like to introduce himself from now on. Fu-" Growling his words out from within his down-turned maw, Henny had enough wits about him to stop himself before he swore in front of the young Eridanus. Probably best to keep his mouth tame around the youth for now at least. "We're not from here." At least that much was obvious. Hopefully the young kit wouldn't try and pester Henny too much, or Blue would have a better response than the larger mutt. How was he supposed to explain the concept of being homeless to a girl who had never even existed in the world that the pair came from?


    Wind Haven.


    Sounds... Quaint? Hennessy wasn't entirely sure on the type of character Blue was, but assumed that the place he chose was probably pro in nature given it wasn't called something like 'Death Valley' or whatever menacing titles the anticlans of today insisted on using as some sort of means of instilling fear. Wind Haven was probably more of a self-explanatory name than most. Had cute kids at least, the sight of them hopefully would only make Henny less somber as time goes on. But the canine was already doubting how long he would reside here before he just fucks off again to do nothing and blow the rest of his existence on alcohol. Maybe he wouldn't be here long enough to reach that state of acceptance. Ouch.


    Watching a youthful woman approach, Hennessy had half a mind to come to the conclusion that she was probably the leader of said Haven given her air of authority. She seemed magisterial enough, Henny could respect that. "No I'm um, just happy to be told where to drop all my stuff actually. You guys are... Proclan? Or just uh, you know. Neutral I guess?" Jesus. Was Hennessy really going to join some proclan and turn his back on everything he fought so hard to realise all because he wasn't capable of getting his shit together and starting anew? Fuck it. It was either this unfortunate compromise or back to the hell that Henny placed himself in when he was just existing in a drunken stupor without meaning. Having an actual house would be nice too. "Think you could get us each a place to stay, preferably on opposite sides of camp?" Turning over his shoulder to glance back towards the younger mutt, Hennessy supposed he was just teasing the lad now. It would likely be easier to get around Haven with a familiar face to turn to, but Henny wasn't sure how much longer he could stand the incessant chatter.


    tags

    "If you mean to ask whether we make a routine spectacle of public evisceration, the answer is no." Both adults, one older than the other, both canines. They did not have an abundance of dogs or adults, and he supposed Cassiopeia might be grateful for newcomers who would not get caught underfoot as frequently, though Nines himself hardly fit that description. His twin as well, and for a few moments the kitten stared at Bluebadge, noting characteristics similar to his brother's. Persevering warmth in the face of its opposition, for one thing, as his unwilling companion seemed surly and disgruntled.


    Glacial eyes remained on the larger of the two unblinkingly. "We will have to see what remains available," he answered finally. "You may have to share, but if that is an issue we will find a solution."