Posts by agara

Levi watched Wesley's face as he spoke, checking for any signs that would indicate Wesley's refusal to kill. Sure enough, those signs came, but more from Wesley's own mouth than anything.

A frown tugged at the corners of his lips as Wesley spoke. He understood how hard it could be to go through with killing someone; after all, he had to kill two of his own family members, even if only to put them out of their misery. He didn't enjoy it then, and he didn't think he ever would. Asking someone else to murder wasn't a request that he asked lightly.

"Wesley, I know it can be hard to kill someone. Trust me, I have more than enough experience with that." He briefly recalled telling Wesley the story about his father and brother only hours prior. "I wouldn't ask you to do that if I didn't think that that was the only way for us to get out of this situation."

Were Levi's and Wesley's positions swapped, Levi would probably feel the exact same way. He could imagine himself in Wesley's shoes and struggling to make that decision. Even in a world without laws, with no repercussions for a crime except for being killed by the person infringed upon, any being with decent morals would find the decision to kill to be one of the most difficult.

Hearing Wesley's suggestion that they go to sleep quelled any further attempts that Levi may have made to convince him to go through with the deed. "Yeah, that's a good idea." He glanced around his immediate surroundings and spotted a tablecloth a few feet away. He reached out to grab it so that he could use it as a makeshift pillow like Wesley had done and found it to be just within his reach. He laid it on the floor where his head would lie and then proceeded to lie down on the floor.

He didn't even have time to close his eyes before the man asked a question. "As good as I'll get. Leg still hurts, but there's nothing we can do about that. How's your head?"

August had to admit — the girl was pretty if anything. Her gown was gorgeous, and the embroidery only made it that much more extravagant. Her makeup was nice too. The brilliant red painted on her lips was stunning, and contrasted nicely against both her blond locks and the white of her dress. Her look was bound to make a good first impression on the carpet. That was assuming that she hadn't already done that. The paparazzi tended to eat it up whenever there happened to be a new arrival.

The girl's words didn't come as much of a shock to August. His fanbase was massive, and he knew that several of the people here liked his music. At one time, thinking about how there were people that liked his music came as a massive surprise to the man. He still struggled to wrap his head around it sometimes, but slowly he had come to accept that there are, in fact, people who consider themselves fans of his work.

"Just August is fine," he responded. "And thank you. It's a pleasure to meet you as well! I'm very excited to hear your performance later. I'm sure you'll do great." He gave another warm smile. "Do you know what you're gonna be singing?"

Just as he finished making his inquiry to the girl, an usher came rushing up to them both. "The show is about to begin. Please head inside."

"Thank you," August returned, and the usher went on their way, talking to whomever their path crossed and presumably conveying the same message. He watched the usher go for a few seconds before turning his green gaze back on the girl before him. "We might as well head inside then. Care to join me?"

// Thank you!

It was true that Levi's tale wasn't an easy one to tell, much less live through. Until now, Levi had pushed away all those he'd come into contact with; blaming himself for the deaths of his family members, he decided that his influence would lead those around him to their untimely demise. Were it not for the circumstances, he probably would have left Wesley by now as well. But something compelled him to stick around, though he couldn't necessarily place what that was.

Besides, it had been a long time since he had decided to travel with anyone. One and a half, maybe two years? Levi couldn't exactly remember. Negative interactions with a number of passersby had dissuaded him from sticking around with anyone for too long, much less letting anyone in. So far Wesley was the only person that he'd been around long enough to tell his story to, and they'd only decided to stick together a few hours ago. He hoped that he wouldn't come to regret that decision later on.

The more he thought about it though, the harder he considered Wesley's story to be. He couldn't imagine being separated from his mother at the outset of the apocalypse. Until her death, Levi had considered his mom to be his rock. Her death wasn't easy in the slightest. Even now, four years later, he still found it hard to think about. But at least the man could cling onto the hope that maybe, just maybe, his grandparents were still alive. The blond envied Wesley in that way, as now the only light in the darkness for him was reaching St. Augustine.

Levi couldn't help but chuckle at Wesley's remark. "It hurts, definitely, but it's nothing that a bit of sleep won't help. I'm sure of that. Speaking of sleep, we probably need to get some. Goodnight." With that, Levi closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

His eyes snapped open to the sound of banging on the door. He bolted upright as Red unclicked the lock and barged in to the closet. "Get up! Both of you. Now! We're leaving." Levi struggled to his feet, using the wall as support, and limped towards the other man. He nudged Wesley with his foot to rouse him just in case Red hadn't somehow woken him up as well. To the best of his ability, he leaned down and nudged him once more on the shoulder with his hand. "Come on. We don't want to make him angry." A nasty feeling formed in his stomach as he thought about how he'd put Wesley up to killing him later on. On some level, he regretted asking, but he didn't see any other way out of their predicament. Killing ghouls was so easy for him, but no matter how many times he put a bullet in a living being, it never got easier. For someone like Wesley, whom Levi assumed had never killed anyone, it would be hard. Very hard. But he'd have to do it, otherwise there would be no escape.

So far, Kit was proving to be much calmer than what usually came out of his fans. August had dealt with his fair share of fanatical fans; crazy, obsessed people that genuinely thought that they were in a relationship with August, stalkers (a few of whom tried to break into his home. Not fun nights at all), banshee fans that screamed and chased him whenever they happened to spot him — you name it, August has probably dealt with it. He even discovered one day that some circles sexualized him, and that was a whole rabbithole that he wasn't interested in delving deeper into. He supposed that that was just one of the drawbacks to stardom, but it still didn't excuse their actions.

Kit, though, she was different; the girl had yet to show any signs of being a fanatic. He was grateful for that, too, because for once it was nice to chat with someone who wasn't trying to suck on his face. At times he felt bad for disliking those types of fans so much, because at the end of the day they were still his supporters and they were the people that were responsible for his wealth and fame. And he knew that not all of his devotees were like that, too, which was comforting on some level. For the most part, they tended to be supportive of all he did, even when his music changed drastically from album to album or when he made a questionable decision.

The girl also reminded him of what he was like back when he was first starting out. Being invited to an awards ceremony made him beyond anxious, and that was before he'd even been asked to perform. He remembered stepping onto the red carpet for the first time and being momentarily blinded by the paparazzi's cameras. Those pictures did not turn out well at all. It was not a good first impression, but eventually the people behind the cameras managed to snap a few good photos. Even now those first few pictures haunted him, and his fanbase used them oh-so-lovingly to taunt him.

Being asked to perform, though, was what really got to August. He had never performed in front of an audience of his peers before, so it was to be expected that he would be incredibly anxious. He ended up choosing a song called "Runaway". It was a ballad about a romance cut short by circumstance, and back then it was by far his most popular song. The performance ended up being a complete success, and afterwards it seemed that his followers were multiplying by the second. The bliss he felt that night had previously been unmatched.

But now, as he began walking alongside Kit, she began to make small talk. "Yeah, it is a lot of people. Just wait 'til you get inside, though." He knew from experience that there were almost always more people on the inside. Thank God for reserved seating for celebrities, cause otherwise there would basically be no way for August to get a seat.

Hearing the girl ask for tips on performance made him recall briefly his own first performance. A smile formed on his face as he reminisced on his own first performance at a ceremony. It was only then that his mind registered that the girl had called him a master. He laughed a bit, before saying, "I don't know if I would call myself a master, per se." He racked his brain for any advice that he could give to the girl on how to get over her nerves, but wasn't able to come up with much. "I mean, I could tell you to just imagine the audience in their underwear, but for me that was never helpful. Personally, it helped to just close my eyes and go for it. I pretended as if no one was there and sang my heart out. And it was great. Maybe that will work for you, too."

I'd also love to do a thread with you! I have an idea in mind that I really like, if you're willing to hear it. It's an idea that I wanted to do with someone else, but it never got off the ground and I would love to try it with you! c:

Basically, the whole idea was centered around the concept of werewolves and the first actual werewolf (I like to think that maybe back then they existed in stories, but no one knew if they actually existed in real life). Set in medieval times (albeit without the stigma against gay people that was oh-so-prevalent back then), it would focus around my character, a blacksmith in a relatively large trading town at the base of a mountain range, and your character, a prince who just so happens to be passing through on a journey back to his land. Your character is accompanied by a bodyguard whom has heard rumors of a wolf that stands on their hind legs and has prepared themselves to fend off a potential werewolf attack with their arsenal of silver weapons (but of course, silver isn't completely necessary. It's just what the stories say). As a result, the bodyguard is highly suspicious of basically everyone besides the prince. Anyways, when our characters bump into each other in the town, they instantly hit it off. The bodyguard suspects that my character is a werewolf, though (the prince can also see something off in my character's eyes, if you want). After a while, our characters between closer, and eventually the bodyguard pressures the prince, under the threat of death, into luring my character into the woods while simultaneously disguising the whole thing as a date. The bodyguard attempts to assassinate my character, but after only managing to injure him, my character turns savage and kills the bodyguard. For some added drama, my character could also bite yours and turn him into a werewolf as well, if you want.

Somehow though, despite knowing that my character is a werewolf and has now killed their retainer, the prince cannot find it within them to hate my character. The prince is secretly relieved that the man is dead because his constant presence was off-putting to strangers and made interactions difficult.

However, the prince still has to return back to their land, and without a bodyguard perhaps they recruit my character to come along? And through all of this they somehow develop a relationship.

Idk, this was just an idea. If you don't like it then that's fine!

Sounds great! I'll get started on the thread right away. I'll tag you in it when I'm finished!

It had only been an hour since Dietrich had departed from his home and smithy in favor of the town. He'd had a particularly rough experience working his shop that day and he figured that a brief reprieve from his work would do to quell the rage that had begun to build within the man. He was afraid of what could happen were he to become too enraged. Not necessarily for his own sake, though; he knew that he was capable of turning into a beast who had more than enough potential to slaughter whoever crossed his path. No, he could not subject himself nor the people of this town to that.

Earlier that day, while working the forge, he accidentally hit himself with the hammer he used to temper steel. A string of curses foul enough to make a nun faint escaped from his lips due to the pain, but this would not be the cause of his anger. The pain was simply a consequence of the job. Instead, his anger would stem from a particularly impertinent patron whose pickaxe had broken from overuse, but of course the fool couldn't realize that. The man blamed Dietrich for his "shoddy workmanship" and when he calmly suggested that the patron should probably handle their tools with a bit more care, the man threw a tantrum. Dietrich swiftly removed the patron from his shop, bit not without a few of his works being sent clattering onto the floor.

The patron had nearly caused Dietrich to go into a frenzy of his own. Upon seeing the things he had worked so hard to create lying on the floor, he became immediately incensed and could feel himself beginning to turn. Fortunately though he was able to calm himself down and headed into the town for some fresh mountain air. Silently, though, he hoped that misfortune would come for the man who nearly wrecked his storefront.

The anger he felt an hour ago came as an unusual emotion to Dietrich. He and many others generally regard him as a kind and benevolent soul. Some even describe him as charismatic and charming despite being somewhat of a loner as far as intimacy and love goes.

Before leaving, he retrieved his coin purse from the other half of his smithy which functioned as his home. It was relatively weighty, which he was certainly thankful for. The merchants that passed through the town every season tended to pay generously for the things he made and he was grateful for that. Because of their generous payments, being able to afford the things he needed never came as an issue even in the harsh winters of the mountains.

Dietrich ventured out from his shop and into the town and after several moments of walking he came upon a produce selling fruit. The apples on display were large, round, and a deep shade of crimson. He could almost taste them and he hadn't even bit into one. With no hesitation, he bought a basket of the fruits. A few moments later he was offering a few to an old woman who needed them more than he. She offered him a handful of silver, but he turned her down with a swift but genuine "no thank you."

He waltzed through the people milling about in the streets of the town, easily making his way to the central plaza. Vendors manned the many stalls lining the square, all of which sported varying hues in both the wares as well as the tents. People moved from stall to stall, and many of them were quick to drop a a few silvers into the hands of a seller before taking the goods they had paid for and moving on to the next stall. It was almost dance-like in form.

Truthfully, Dietrich loved the plaza. It served not only as a place for him to purchase whatever he may need, but also as the defining feature of the town. For the many merchants that passed through, it served much the same purpose. All roads led to it; whoever happened to wander into the town always ended up there somehow. Like moths drawn to a flame, really.

A glance around revealed that to be true; there were several unfamiliar faces drifting aimlessly through the crowds, although none of them really caught his eye. Watching some of them for a moment didn't reveal anything particularly special, but as more people made their way in and out of the square. And that was when he spotted him (your character).

There was something — for lack of a better word — ethereal about the man. Perhaps it was the regal way in which he dressed, or perhaps it was his confident gait that caught his attention. The other man trailing behind him wasn't particularly remarkable, but something about the first man was irresistible to Dietrich.

He strode over with confidence, drawing an apple from the basket hanging loosely in his other hand. He held it out to the other man as he drew closer and closer to the unfamiliar duo. "Care for an apple?" came his deep voice. He offered a smile as he peered directly into the man's eyes.

Levi was grateful for Wesley's continued assistance in keeping him from toppling to the ground as they exited the supply closet and worked slowly towards the table that Red led them to. Were it not for his help, Levi was unsure if he would have been able to make it to the room. If he did, it certainly would not be in a timely manner.

Feeling helpless was not something that Levi enjoyed. And yet, with his leg completely fucked, that was just the state of things. It was a feeling he had before when he'd broken a bone, but back then there wasn't any real danger. But now, with hostile humans and ghouls around every turn, having a broken leg was basically a death sentence. He respected Wesley's concern and commitment to helping him, but he regretted it for the man. He was sure that having to continually support Wesley's weight and his own was no easy task, and for that he was thankful.

The blond muttered his thanks as Wesley helped him ease into a chair. He tried his best to settle in, but with a splint taking up most of his leg getting comfortable didn't seem possible.

A moment later, Red presented them both with glasses of water. He looked up to meet Wesley's gaze, the reluctance apparent in their eyes. He looked back down at the glass, whose contents he was disinclined to drink because he had no way of knowing if it was perhaps drugged. But after seeing Wesley drink it himself, Levi took a few sips before downing the glass in a few seconds. Its cool touch on the back of his throat was delightfully refreshing, and he found himself wishing that there was more to go around.

Wesley's inquiry came just as soon as Levi set his own grimy glass back down. Red's gaze, which had previously been trained on Levi, drifted to Wesley. He cocked his head to the side in an intimidating manner, almost as if saying, "that's for me to know, and you to find out." His smile was intimidating to say the least, but at least it was less off-putting than the maniacal and toothy version that they'd seen only a day prior.

"You see, in the next town over there's a storage facility. It's pretty damn big. And it's full of gas," Red responded easily. "I don't know if you've noticed, but there's quite a few generators here. It takes a lot of gas to run them," he continued, stopping for a moment to examine their facial expressions before speaking once more. "And you" — he jabbed a finger at Wesley — "are going to go in there and get it for us. That way, if a fire somehow starts, we won't be the ones to suffer for it." The toothy, devilish grin had returned by now.

Red stopped once more to study Wesley's facial expression. "Now, before you ask why you're going to do this, consider your boyfriend here," the man taunted, gesturing towards Levi. "If you run away, he's going to be hurt a lot worse, and that's if I'm feeling generous." He moved towards Wesley now and leaned in so far that Wesley could almost definitely feel Red's hot breath on his skin. "I will not hesitate to kill him."

The man with the bandana returned to his normal height, still staring down at Wesley. "Got it?"

Levi listened to the man's words with a morbid interest. His gaze turned to Wesley with the fear apparent in his eyes. If he could communicate telepathically, he would be screaming into Wesley's head: Please don't let them kill me.

machi. Wow I'm dumb lmfao. I actually forgot to tag you in this

As with most venues, the place was magnificent. The stage was overly large, seemingly built just for shows like this. Off to the left was the largest part simply because that was the place where sets were placed whenever an artist happened to need one for their performance. Center and right stage were much slimmer than the other portion, but instead of a rotating wall they were adorned with large screens set up behind them. August had seen a number of people perform on this stage — some better than others — and he'd even performed on it a few times himself. He had high hopes for Katherine, and anxiously anticipated her performance. He wanted the girl to do well for her own sake.

Of course, performing in front of such a large crowd was never easy. With a capacity of over twenty thousand people, the selected venue was certainly one to marvel at. Plus, every seat had been filled, whether that be by a celebrity or a regular person who managed to secure a ticket to such a prestigious event. Performing here was not going to be a breeze, especially for Katherine who had yet to do so in front of a crowd like this one.

August took a moment to process the girl's words as she spoke once more. "It's no problem, really," he responded simply with a shrug of his shoulders. He opened his mouth to speak again, but before he could, the stage manager rushed over to them both with the intent of whisking Kit away. Before she walked away, the girl said that it was a dream come true to meet him. Not one to easily take such a compliment, he simply chose to speak again. "Go out there and do your thing. We can talk some more later. At the after party." He then proceeded to watch as the girl was hurried away, and as she turned back to look at him he waved to her reassuringly.

After the blonde girl disappeared backstage, August proceeded to his seat. Like with all the attending starlets, his name and face had been plastered on a piece of paper along with "reserved" written in big, bold letters. After a moment of searching, he found his place in the front row directly in front of center stage. He was appreciative of the placement because this was definitely one of the best seats in the whole venue. He settled into the chair easily

A few more minutes passed before the lights dimmed and a person stepped out on stage with a microphone in hand. The man recognized the figure as a woman who went by the name Cardinal — but August knew her better as Wendy Kim. She was a gorgeous Korean-American singer who happened to be popular worldwide like August was, despite the bulk of her fans being located in America and South Korea. Despite that, she was still massively popular, and her being chosen to host the awards show was something that August should have seen coming.

Wendy, wearing a flowing red dress, moved to center stage where she raised the microphone to her painted lips. "Hello and welcome to the thirtieth annual Trident Music Awards!" came her beautiful voice. "I've never been one for formalities, so I think tonight we'll just jump right into it," the woman continued, her deep brown gaze sweeping across the crowd. "As you all know, Trident likes to choose talented up-and-coming singers to perform as the opening act as a way of showcasing their undeniable talent. Tonight, I am excited to welcome Kit T, a woman whose musical career has so far been quite impressive." The woman paused for a moment as cheers and applause erupted throughout the arena. "And now, I present to you, Kit T!" Wendy made a sweeping gesture behind her, as if welcoming Katherine to the stage, before making her own way backstage.

August could only sit patiently as he waited for the girl to come out onto stage. A piano had been rolled out, presumably for her, cluing the man into what kind of song she might be singing. A piano usually a melodic, soulful piece, but the opening acts of any awards show usually opted for a bright and jumpy song in order to kick things off with a bang. But the piano's presence suggested that maybe that wasn't going to be the case tonight. His curiosity only continued to build as he waited for the show to begin.

For a moment he also wondered what they could possibly be doing backstage. He recalled the unpleasant experience of being rushed into a brightly-lit room full of mirrors before his own first performance. A small team of women fussed over his appearance for the span of a commercial break, and those memories became something that August has jokingly called traumatic ever since. One of the women smeared a light brown powder all over his face that he later found out was intended to keep him looking like a ghost on stage due to his pale complexion, while two more fought over the way his hair should be fixed. Another woman took the time to tighten his tie and spiff up his suit.

He didn't have time to completely immerse himself in his thoughts though. Wendy Kim had announced Kit's name, signaling that she was about to come out on stage. August was a bit giddy to hear the girl's singing, so much so that he felt quite like a child. Despite the feeling, he was content to clasp his hands in his lap and lean back. It wouldn't show on his face, but internally he was eager to hear the girl perform; after all, this would be the first time that he would actually hear her music.

It wasn't long before the blonde was walking out onto stage and heading for the piano. A smile formed on his face as the woman took her place on the bench and placed her hands onto the piano. August's attention was stolen away from whatever was happening around him as soon as the music began. He grew increasingly mesmerized as her fingers cascaded across the keys gracefully, and that feeling seemed to increase tenfold when she actually began to sing.

Something about the song reminded him of his own first performance. Perhaps it was the piano's sweet melody, or maybe it was the way the lyrics had her reaching into both her upper limits as well the depths of her range. His attention was completely and thoroughly captivated, and as she continued to sing something blossomed within him. He couldn't quite pinpoint what it was, but he knew it was a feeling that he'd only experienced once before.

He hardly even noticed as the song drew to a close. Suddenly he was being snapped out of his trance as applause and cheering exploded around him, and he swiftly joined in. The lights that had previously blinded her were now dimmed, and if she looked hard enough she could probably see August, front and center, clapping and cheering for her.

The rest of the ceremony went by in a blur. Unsurprisingly, they both won the awards that they had been nominated for, but that wasn't what really mattered to August. It probably did to Kit, though. All August wanted was to get to the after party as soon as he possibly could.

The audience quickly began to file out of the venue, leaving the celebrities in the massive room behind. They had been instructed previously to stay behind in order to make the transition to the after party smoother. As soon as the entire crowd had left, the starlets were told to make their way back outside. Once there, they were greeted with a sight that was familiar to some. The red carpet area had been converted into a place to hold the party during the show, with tables piled with food and drinks pushed up against one side. August swiftly made his way over to the tables, where one of the caterer's employees poured him two glasses of an expensive wine.

Looking around once more, the man spotted her. She was exiting the venue, and without even a note of hesitation August rushed over to her. "That was absolutely amazing. You effing killed it," he spoke, a beaming smile plastered on his face. The man censored himself purely because of a deal that he had made with himself that involved not cussing in public. He held out the second glass of wine to her. "Care for a glass?"

Fuck, thought Levi upon finally realizing just what Red meant. Their whole plan was ruined. What were they going to do now? They had placed all of their hope into one plan only for it to come out fruitless. Now what? Were they just going to be relegated to being Red's workhorses? Perhaps they would be used as ghoul bait, or maybe they would just simply be shot and killed once their job was done. All Levi knew was that now they were basically screwed unless Wesley could figure out something on the fly.

Now all Levi could do was watch as Wesley rose from his seat and inched his way towards the door. With every step that Wesley took, the blond man's hopes diminished even further. All he could do now was hope and pray that nothing bad would happen to his companion. He barely caught Welsey's over-the-shoulder message, and nodded slowly when he finally registered the man's words. He only realized a moment later that the message had a double meaning. His eyes flicked to Red, searching for any signs of distrust or doubt on the man's face, but was a bit satisfied to find that neither of those things showed on his face. Perhaps, then, Red had no idea what they were planning. That was good.

Wesley's disappearance into the outside world was promptly marked with time slowing to a crawl. The seconds felt like hours, while minutes felt like days. The only reason he could tell that time was still moving was due to the presence of an electronic analog clock suspended high up on the wall, and even that seemed to be moving at a sluggish pace. He was excruciatingly bored, although Red didn't appear to be the same. The man's eyes remained trained on Levi, examining his face for some reason that remained unknown to the blond. There was something off about his stare, but Levi couldn't exactly pinpoint what that was. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat under the man's continued gaze.

After what felt (and probably was) a few hours, Red slammed his hand on the table. "Where the fuck is he?" yelled the man, storming towards the door. Levi jumped what he felt was probably two feet into the air from surprise. He hadn't expected for the silence to be broken so suddenly, so for the man to just slice through the silence like that was beyond unexpected. After shooting a "don't move" at Levi, Red quickly disappeared through the door as well, presumably to chase down Wesley.

Red's march to the next town over didn't take long due to his fast pace as well as the fact that the towns were relatively close together. The storage facility was the first and most noticeable thing that he came upon, mostly because the facility itself was gigantic. It likely wouldn't come as a surprise to anyone to discover that four years ago, it probably hosted hundreds, if not thousands, of employees working almost every day of the week.

The man's machete was drawn by the time that he had even reached the gigantic building. The side door had been left ajar, cluing Red into the fact that Wesley had probably gone in through that entrance. If that was the case, then why had Wesley taken so long to find what they needed? Either way, his lack of timeliness was going to be punished somehow.

Barging through the entryway and into the building, Red had to stop for a moment to take it all in. Like the outside suggested, it was huge on the inside. Towering shelves filled the massive room, all of which were stacked from top to bottom with boxes full of varying goods. Because of this, it also provided ample hiding spots that someone or something could ambush him from. There also happened to be a lack of light due to the fact that there was no electricity flowing through the building anymore. Red would need to be careful. Despite knowing that, he called out to Wesley anyway. "Where are you hiding?" came his rough voice, echoing off of the metal walls.

I have a lot of muse for all of those except for bxg and apocalypse at the moment, unless that apocalypse is something really interesting. Unfortunately I’m a bit fresh outta ideas though, haha

Something with angst and or darker/mature themes, honestly. I haven’t done with either of those in a while.

That sounds good to me! Maybe without the drug use though? I'm thinking that maybe one of them accidentally killed someone or one of them is being framed for murder, so now they're on the run or something. Maybe they want to get across the border to another country or something as well.

Yeah! So like one of them does something to piss off the boss, and so one of them is framed for murder somehow?

Sounds good! Do you want to start the thread or should I? Fair warning though, I've got quite a bit of homework tonight so I'm not sure if I'll have time to make the thread tonight.

I'll try. If I finish early enough tonight I'll try to make it.

Red hadn't gotten the time to put a stop to his attacker's actions, much less retaliate. The most he could do was get a nick in on the man's shoulder. All he could do was look down at the knife plunged in his chest as he collapsed. His nerves screamed with pain, although it was quickly beginning to ebb away as his heartbeat began to slow. Blood, just as red as his bandana, began to ooze from the wound. His heartbeat was beginning to grow sluggish, and his breathing became shallow, shaky, and labored. "I should've..." he wheezed out. "I should've killed you both when I had the chance," came his his voice, now breathy and somewhat inaudible. A few more pained breaths were all it took for his heart to stop. He was dead.

Meanwhile, back at the restaurant, Levi sat in silence. The only thing alerting him to the continual passage of time was the ticking of the clock suspended on the wall. He wondered mindlessly what was happening with Wesley now. Would he be able to go through with it? Would he return? Several scenarios unfolded in his mind. Many of them ended in Wesley's own demise, but a few resulted in Red's death.

He rapped his knuckles on the table aimlessly as his eyes examined the room around him. In the corner he spotted Wesley's ammo bag, carelessly tossed down by the Japanese man who had taken it from his friend. He made no moves to retrieve it though, and continued to look around the restaurant. He could imagine that, at one point, probably drew a sizable crowd each night. He envisioned dim lights overhead, set to the tune of the low chatter from its patrons, all coming together to create a warm, peaceful environment. But now the room was filled with overturned tables with tablecloths that were pristine and white at one time, but now have been yellowed and dirtied by time. He slammed his own hand on the table this time around. Why did the world have to go to shit? Why? he thought.

Thankfully, he was not granted the time to keep thinking because he heard footsteps approaching from outside. Now all he could do was hope that whoever was approaching was Wesley. And, thankfully, it was.

As the man approached, though, it was clear to see that he was not the same. There was a certain aura of distance radiating from the man, and that swiftly put a frown on Levi's face. The bloodied knife and the machete clutched in his hands proved that the man had done the deed and gotten away, too. There was a laceration on his shoulder, proving that the whole ordeal wasn't without at least a little struggle.

Unable to find any words to comfort the man, he could only watched as his friend approached and tossed down the knives onto the table. Still looking over the knives, he responded to Wesley's suggestion that they should leave. "Yeah. We should." He rose from the chair with marginally less effort than normal and headed to the corner while using the tables around him as support. Once there, he leaned down and grabbed the bag, then moved back over to Wesley. "We need to get back to that bar. Our stuff is there, and I think you deserve some rest."

// WOW I am really sorry about the wait!! The past two days, I've just been completely swamped with work. Monday I had an AP exam and a bunch of homework, and last night I had to stay at school for a symposium until 8. By the time I got home and showered, it was already 9 and I still had homework to do. My activity should be returning to normal now, though.