TRP is a post-Great War AU RWBY RP set in Mistral City and Haven Academy with no canons, no rank claims, no maidens, and no god interference. We offer a progression system and site-wide events that change the setting based on player actions.
Post by Reynard Marshall on Jul 7, 2019 21:39:09 GMT -5
Reynard sighed as he fumbled with they keys to his dorm room. It had been a long day of lectures and he definitely needed a break from the work. With a quiet click the lock unfastened and Reynard smirked and turned the doorknob before giving the door a soft kick swinging it open quickly. He walked leaving it wide open as he rooted around among his belongings before producing a small wooden battery powered amp and some cables. Reynard hefted the box under his arm and looked toward his window where his guitar sat propped next to it. He walked over and grabbed it quickly swinging the strap over his shoulder and walked toward the exit to his room. He grabbed the door swinging it half shut to grab at the lock on the knob and prelock the door before walking out and pulling it shut behind him.
With the first step of his quest complete, Reynard made his way down the hallway of the dormitory toward the exit nodding and waving to other students in polite greeting as he passed them by. He made his way to the exit and walked out into the afternoon sun squinting a bit as his eyes readjusted to the outside world. It was certainly a hot day out but not so much so that enjoying the outdoors was out of the question. Reynard smiled to himself and walked along the path toward the center of the quad. He stopped in front of an empty bench by the fountain and crouched setting down his amp. Reynard quickly went to work turning on the amp and plugging in the audio cable and connecting it to his guitar which made a loud pop as the powered audio cable slid into the connection. With that done Reynard unceremoniously flopped down onto the bench and reached into his breast pocket pulling out his flask. He unscrewed the cap and downed a bit of its contents a bitter brew made with apples and hops that he distilled with a jury rigged still he hid in his room. So far no one found it or cared and so far he hadn't done it wrong and blinded himself, life was good. He screwed the cap back onto his flask and returned it to its home in his jacket.
With that out of the way Reynard turned his attention to his instrument, carefully picking it up from where he'd propped it against the bench and giving a few experimental strums. He frowned and started adjusting the tuning strumming between each adjustment until he was satisfied with the results. "There we go all set!" Reynard mused to himself before propping his feet on his amp like a foot rest and leaning back in the bench. He started plucking away playing a song with a cheery beat and a rock n roll vibe nodding his head to the song as he played. He had not come up with any words to go with the tune yet but he was sure once he pieced it out a bit more something would come to him.
Post by Aegle Verdant on Jul 7, 2019 22:49:09 GMT -5
Her first week at Haven was drawing to a close. Aegle wondered how she felt about that, as she trudged across the quad. She sunk into a routine her first night at the academy, and hadn't deviated much from it in the days since. Morning, she'd wake up and head to the gym or the workshop, depending on what needed doing. Then there was classes and lunch, the former of which served to show her just how little she knew, the latter who few people knew her. After class, with nothing else to do, she would wander until, invariably, the guilt of the frustration drove her to the gym again. Some nights she'd have dinner, some nights she'd forget, but, inevitably, she would make her way back to her dorm room at some late hour, sleep as little as possible, and do it all over again. Aegle knew it was what needed doing, that she had to try hard if she was going to make any of this work. 'Feels kinda flat though, don't it,' She thought, stooped beneath the heavy duffel slung across her back, "Feels like I ought've done somethin' more important.'
Music reached her, plucking its silvery way through the heavy timbre of her mood. Aegle stopped, lifting her head to follow the sound, and soon found its source. Set up by the fountain, there sat a boy, crimson haired and with a guitar in his lap. He was playing tunelessly to the passers by with his feet propped up, not a care in the world. Aegle watched the scene for a few moments, head tilted ever so slightly on her stick-thin neck, and listened to the stranger play. It took a few moments for her to realize what she found so odd about the tableau. Nobody was stopping to listen. 'It's as though he isn't there.' Aegle thought, watching as students passed by the guitar player, one by one or handfuls at a time, with few enough so much as glancing in his direction. She wondered about that. The idea that this musician had set up and started playing tickled her, and she tried to understand why those passing him by weren't similarly tickled. Then she came up with an answer. 'It's not new to them.' None of them seemed all that surprised to see him, guitar in hand, playing away without an audience. They'd seen it before, and often enough that it was no longer special. 'but not me." Aegle though, 'It's new to me. And that makes it fascinating.' She quirked a little grin at the thought. Late comer that she was, there were doubtless plenty of things in Haven that everyone else took for granted which she would hail for how different and unexpected they were.
Aegle shuffled a bit closer, her gait half-limp beneath the weight of her gym bag, till her interest could not be mistake. He was handsome, the guitar player. His face was pale beneath his riot of red lockes, clean shaven and well made. He bobbed his head to the beat of his playing, and his hands moved surely along his instrument without his even needing to look at them; Aegle's own hands, stuffed deep into the pockets of her ratty old hoodie, pressed a little deeper as she watched. 'He must be a huntsman in training too,' She thought inanely, then wondered where that thought had come from. Of course he was a huntsman in training, so was everyone else in the quad, unless they were one of the academy's professors. In the last few days, she'd learned not all huntsman looked like her brothers or Brawn; That not all of them acted with the dutiful diligence expected of an atlesian citizen. 'Some of them just play for strangers in the middle of the quad.' She was suddenly very conscious of how she was the only person who'd stopped to listen. Some others, seeing her, had slowed their strides to absorb more of the bouncy composition, but they all inevitably carried on past towards their ultimate destinations. She realized she ought to do the same, that she had exercises to do and forms to practice, but it was not simply obligation that tried to usher her on. 'I feel out of place, doin' the thing no one else is doin'.'
She could see it from their point of view; There was nothing special about the guy playing his guitar, nothing out of place, but the girl who'd stopped to listen to him? The bald girl, with a face as pale as milk and gaunt as a skull. A girl who did not stand up straight, and who most of them would not know. She felt like an outsider, standing there, when all she wanted was to listen to the guitarist play. 'Bein' weird.' she told herself, not that reminding herself that she was acting weird ever kept her from acting weird. "S'it got a name?" Aegle had not meant to speak, but the words came spilling out on their own, unbidden and unexpected. She found herself staring intently at the guitar guy's eyes, and wondered if he'd even heard her over his song. 'He's got golden eyes.' She noticed, inanely. "The song, I mean. What's it called?"
Post by Reynard Marshall on Jul 8, 2019 10:25:58 GMT -5
Reynard noticed the newcomer as she walked toward where he sat. He didn't make any move to show it right away. He was used to people walking by and occasionally watching before going about their way as quickly as they came. Which is why when Aegle stuck around it caught Reynard slightly off guard. People were used to his impromptu performances and public practice sessions so this person was new or wanted something from him. His eyes slowly turned up to look at his audience. Reynard raised a single eyebrow in quiet contemplation, this person was not someone he had met so clearly new or previously unseen. She was small in stature and clearly not as well built as other students Reynard had seen so far in his studies at Signal and Haven but certainly seemed to have some sort of air of determination about them and Reynard had long since learned to leave his assumptions at the door about what people were capable of.
When the girl spoke a slow foxlike smile crept across his face. Curiosity about his music was a welcome change to being ignored. He opened his mouth to speak but found his throat a bit dry. He raised a hand from his guitar strings holding up one finger as if to say one moment. Reynard then reached back into his coat and produced the flask unscrewing it and taking a couple good swigs before closing it and replacing it in his pocket. The grin returned to his face after a moment of vanishing from the burn of the homemade liquor in his drink. "Sorry bout that little pause there." Reynard remarked his eyes dropping to the pocket at his chest were the flask was before returning to match the gaze of Aegle. "The song doesn't quite have a name yet, haven't even decided if it has words yet to be honest. Just a tune I've been working at for a couple days now." Reynard fished around in his waist pocket and pulled out a simple two inch tube of metal from it and slid it over his index finger on the hand he kept at the neck of his guitar and started playing again used the tube as a slide to change the way the notes were played. He started in at the same song now with the sliding notes adding a more fluid sound to the melody. He nodded quickly and chuckled. "Man that sounds much better."
Reynard paused a moment and looked back to Aegle and then the the vacant end of the bench he sat at. "May as well take a load off instead of standin there holding that heavy bag. My name is Reynard Marshall by the way. Pleasure to meet ya." Reynard finished never stopping his song just deftly turning the volume knob down on his amp a bit with his shoe.
Post by Aegle Verdant on Jul 8, 2019 12:25:37 GMT -5
The musician had heard her, it seemed. His face creased into a vulpine smile, his golden eyes narrowing with what might have been pleasure or amusement. With a dissonant hitch, one that tugged at her heart, his playing stopped and he held out his hand, beseeching forbearance it appeared. From his coat, he took a small hip flask, quaffing it liberally. Then he answered. "Sorry bout that little pause there; The song doesn't quite have a name yet," His voice was fair and crisp, and not unpleasant upon the ears; He'd be a good singer too, Aegle judge. "Haven't even decided if it has words yet to be honest. Just a tune I've been working at for a couple days now." Aegle nodded, but soon found she had nothing to say to that. Having not even planned on speaking to the guitar player, she had no course which she might follow. So she watched in silence as he collected a small tube from out of one pocket, and continued on in silence as he starting playing once again. Aegle knew about as much about music as she knew about most things, which was to say not very much at all. Music required time and coordination, neither one of which she could spare. Nor did her brothers play anything. So, when the song sounded different, she could see no reason why. It was definitely the same tune, but it seemed to come together more fluidly, with the different sounds flowing into one another. Aegle watched his hand, and saw how he pressed down the strings with the little tube, and wondered how that had made a difference. She might even have asked, had he not spoken first. "Man that sounds much better." "Mmm..." Aegle agreed, seeing it was true. She didn't know precisely why it sounded better, only that the the tube and the flowing notes somehow made the song 'easier' to listen to. The guitarist paused, looking at her with his fox's eyes, then glanced aside. He seemed so comfortable, so confident, utterly in control of his surroundings. "May as well take a load off instead of standin there holding that heavy bag." He told her, and only then did she follow his glance to the empty bench beside him. Aegle hesitated, took a half step towards the bench, then stopped. What was she doing? She had exercises to do, and forms to practice; She didn't have time to take a load off. Aegle tightened her hands into fists, and made her step towards the bench. "My name is Reynard Marshall by the way," Said the guitarist, as she shrugged off her bag and, with a loud mechanical wheeze, slumped down on the bench, "Pleasure to meet ya." "M'Aegle," She replied, "Aegle Verdant. S'a pleasure t'meetcha too." Her smile started small; He was tall she saw, now that she was seated beside him. Even reclined as he was, he was a whole head higher. His smile made her want to smile back, and sitting so close to him only impressed that fact upon her. 'Is there anyone in this academy who isn't pretty?' she wondered, bleakly amused; It seemed it must be a requirement for every Huntsman in training, as much a requirement as a healthy body and knowing one's way around a fight.
Aware she'd begun to stare, Aegle searched for something else to look at, and found the amp at his feet. He'd had not actually stopped playing, but he was playing more softly now. 'Does he expect me to speak to him?' Aegle had nothing to say, nothing worth saying anyway, 'Nothing he'd care to hear.' She was being weird again, and she knew it. She almost introduced herself second time; Aegle had to grin, and wonder what it was about being near handsome, sure-bodied people that made her brain shut off.
Maybe it was just the comparison such proximity invited. Reynard's square shoulders, well-built frame, and vulpine features could not have been more stark beside Aegle's own, less enviable attributes. She tried to sit up, but even a conscious effort didn't bring her out of her habitual slouch, and no amount of effort could straighten her shoulders, nor make her face look any less like a death mask. "S'pretty," She said after a little bit, just for want of something to say, "Prettier 'n it was without that tube thing; I like it." It seemed a pretty inane opinion, but Aegle was not so informed on the subject as to provide anything better. "How long've y'been playin'?"
Post by Reynard Marshall on Jul 8, 2019 21:43:39 GMT -5
"Aegle eh? Thats certainly a unique name." Reynard remarked with a nod. He hadn't met anyone with the name before so it certainly left an impression. He plucked a few more strings advancing a little further in his tune than before. He paused a moment then played it back changing one note before nodding to himself. Reynard raised an eyebrow at the girl's compliment he thought a moment then before replying. "Thanks, glad to have some input on my work. Most of the time I get C'mon dude its three AM I'm trying to sleep!" He chuckled at his own quip and leaned back in his seat looking up at the clouds passing by.
The next question got Reynard thinking. He honestly couldn't recall off the top of his head. He made a show of pretending to count off his fingers before finally responding. "Hmmmm I wanna say tis been around ten years give or take a couple months. Music is my jam man. It art made from sound and tells all sorts of stories and conveys any emotion you can think of. It's just plain awesome!" He declared leaning forward in his seat again so he was no longer staring up at the sky and was instead back to his previous slouch.
Reynard turned his gaze toward Aegle and spoke. "What about you, got any hobbies or the like to keep you busy?" Reynard slid his hand through his hair a moment scratching the back of his head before reaching back to his pocket and grabbing his now half empty flask. He took another drink and replaced it. His words by now held a very slight slur. Whatever was in that silver vessel wasn't weak by any means and held a strong scent of alcohol and some sort of sweet smell not unlike mixed berries.
Post by Aegle Verdant on Jul 8, 2019 22:35:03 GMT -5
""Hmmmm," Releasing his guitar, Reynard counted the years off on his fingers; He had to use all of them. "I wanna say tis been around ten years give or take a couple months; Music is my jam man. It art made from sound and tells all sorts of stories and conveys any emotion you can think of. It's just plain awesome!" Aegle couldn't even imagine that level of dedication, but she had to take him at his word; He was certainly good enough for ten years of practice. She wondered if she could have played half so well, given as much time to learn how. Her fingers flexed in her pockets, like they wanted to try, but Aegle knew better. Even if she'd had ten years, there was no hope of her replicating such quick and delicate movements. Not that she was even sure she would have wanted to. It was a fine enough thing, listening to Reynard play, and his passion for song was obvious, but it wasn't a passion they shared.
While not adverse to music, Aegle had never really made it a part of her life either; None of her brothers played instruments, nor did any of them have especially strong musical tastes and, like much else, Aegle had been prevented from developing a taste of her own. It had been the spectacle, the strangeness, of Reynard's public playing which had attracted her interest, not the music itself. Towards the music itself, she was ambivalent at best. 'But it's nice t'hear him be passionate about it,' She thought, watching the vulpine boy's golden eyes, 'He makes me wish I actually cared.' Reynard glanced at her, and Aegle realized she had been staring again, but the musician didn't seem to mind. "What about you," He asked, surprising her with his interest, "Got any hobbies or the like to keep you busy?" For a moment, Aegle hadn't a clue how to respond. There was nothing in her life which she'd spent ten years practicing, nor was there much space in her life for doing anything more than what was necessary. She had interests, but not skills. She read comic books, watched cheesy movies, or had done those things before coming to Haven, but that wasn't the same as playing a guitar. That wasn't a talent she was honing, but a life she was wasting. She tried to think of one thing, anything, which she did as much for the joy of it as for getting better.
Aegle's grin quirked, and her emerald eyes slid off of Reynard's, following his hand as it made another trip into his jacket pocket. "I, uh," She hesitated, then bulled ahead, "I punch things." It felt stupid, saying it like that, and she giggled shrilly as the color started to rise in her cheeks, "I mean I box. Like, y'know, bags n'fists n'that sorta thing." He took another swig from his flask, still evidently listening, and returned the silver vessel back to his pocket. Aegle caught a whiff of something as he did so, a faint and familiar odor, and not one she might have expected. On the top, it was fragrant, sweet and fruity, but beneath that was a sharp tang, a sterility, that made her think of gleaming linoleum floors and scratchy bed linens. "I've only been boxin' for a year though. M'brother taught me how; Showed me the forms. Before I came t'Haven, he'd let me punch his hands and tell me where I was goin' wrong." Was it alcohol? She thought it must be, but not the disinfectant sort the nurses used. She glanced up at Reynard's face, wondering what age he was, and whether he was even allowed to drink. Surely he must be, otherwise he would not have done so openly, right? "Mostly have t'teach myself nowadays though. S'what I was headin' off t'do when I saw ya, yeah?" Aegle nodded at her heavy duffel bag. She was trying not to stare, but she looked him full in the face now. "So, y'gonna tell me what's in the flask?"
Post by Reynard Marshall on Jul 10, 2019 20:49:02 GMT -5
Reynard scratched his chin for a moment and nodded at Aegle's response. He certainly hadn't expected boxing to be the answer but hey people can often surprise you with what they are capable of. He set his guitar next to himself for a moment and sat up straighter stretching his arms above his head and stretched a bit before flopping back into his seat. "Boxing eh? That't not at all what I would have expected but also super cool. Always loved the movies where the hero beats insurmountable odds and gets back up to win the fight. I know things aren't like the movies but hey still cool either way." Reynard replied with an earnest tone still smiling as always.
He chuckles a bit at Aegle's next comment and shook his head. He threw up his arms in a faux defeat and winked. "Looks like ya got me. It's booze buuut it's also something I made myself. See my second great love is brewing and distilling and it just so happens there's no law that says I cant but all the individual ingredients to make alcohol. What I do with them is my own business." He finished putting a finger over his lips in a joking hush. He patted his breastpocket his ring giving a dull clink against the fabric covered flask.
He gave a bit of a nervous chuckle and picked his guitar back up giving a few strums before breaking back into a tune. Reynard was honest to a fault at times and didn't bother keeping his drinking a big secret even if it could get him in trouble. He was on his way to an adult and everyone had their issues so he kinda hoped people would get that and be chill. He didn't think telling the truth in this situation would be harmful but hey maybe sharing everything to complete strangers could get ya into a bit of a bind.
Post by Aegle Verdant on Jul 11, 2019 10:46:08 GMT -5
"Boxing eh?" Reynard sounded surprised, not that Aegle could blame him, "That's not at all what I would have expected but also super cool." He meant it kindly, Aegle was sure, and so she kept her grin full and broad even as her eyes slipped off his face once more. The truth was, she seldom felt super cool, just because she boxed. A lot of the time, she felt like a child, pretending she had any clue what it was that she was doing. "Always loved the movies where the hero beats insurmountable odds and gets back up to win the fight." The musician confided, smiling; He'd meant that kindly too, she didn't doubt. 'Is that what I am,' Aegle wondered, 'Some hero, fighting insurmountable odds?' It certainly didn't feel heroic, it felt foolish. She loved the sweet science, and wanted to be better at it, but there was little parallel between her story and the stories which had put her on this path. In the movies, there was always at least a chance of the hero winning. Seeming to sense her thoughts, Reynard amended, "I know things aren't like the movies but, hey, still cool either way." "Yeah, s'pose so."
Reynard chuckled, a pleasant sounds; He had a pleasant voice. Turning his attention down to his flask, he mimed defeat. "Looks like ya got me." He told her with a wink, making Aegle's grin twitch, and winkling out a quiet giggle in the bargain, "It's booze buuut it's also something I made myself. See my second great love is brewing and distilling and it just so happens there's no law that says I cant but all the individual ingredients to make alcohol. What I do with them is my own business." Aegle was pretty sure only half of that was true. In Atlas, permits were needed for just about everything, and there was definitely one for the brewing of alcohol. It might not have been the same in Mistral, but she was also pretty sure that underage drinking was illegal everywhere on remnant, no matter where one got the alcohol from. She considered saying as much, but hesitated, wondering why she even cared. The truth was that she didn't care at all, except that she wanted to correctly understand the situation. That didn't seem an especially good reason to ruin a perfectly pleasant conversation. Aegle didn't see how him drinking something he'd brewed could hurt anyone but Reynard, and it didn't appear to be hurting him at all. In fact, he seemed rather pleased with himself.
Aegle looked at the guitarist more closely, as he took up his instrument once more, and wondered why there was a required age at all. It wasn't doing Reynard any apparent harm, to be drinking his own brew, and what difference would a couple of years have made? Did alcohol work differently on people below a certain age? That didn't seem likely, so who had decided what age people must be in the first place? It wasn't even consistent across Remnant; Some Kingdoms required different ages entirely. It all seemed sort of arbitrary, now that she actually considered it. 'Meaningless.' She sat, puzzling it out, and listening to the few opening bars of Reynard's next song, and found she couldn't make much sense of it at all. She almost said as much, and almost asked Reynard to explain it to her in the bargain. Instead, Aegle worked one hand out of her pocket and, with a soft whir, held it out to the musician. "Give it here, yeah?" She said, "I wanna try some." Her hand was swathed in linen wrappings, so that only the tips of fingers and thumb were visible; The tightness of the wrappings lent some stiffness to her fingers, but even then they shook. Each beat of her heart sent a tremor through them, such that they were always softly twitching, seeming to vibrate, even at rest.
Post by Reynard Marshall on Jul 14, 2019 18:57:42 GMT -5
Reynard Scratched his chin and looked at Aegle's outstretched hand. She had asked him to give her some of his flask, a thing no one had previously done and could get him into some deep water if the wrong person saw or something happened as a result. The man weighed his options for a moment before signing. He was the one who went and drank it out in the open for people to see and a small sip couldn't hurt so why not. Reynard reached into his pocket again and pulled out the flask. He looked down on it his eyes tracing his family crest carved into the metal. A fox encircling a jewel, likely the result of a previous family member who bore the very name he did, it was commonly given among his family. He looked from his flask to Aegle and placed the pure silver container in her hand.
"Here ya go, one flask. Just be careful not to down too much of the stuff at once. Alcohol can be a little harsh tasting to people who aren't used to it." He said as his usual smile returned to his face masking the serious look he had a moment before. "Hell I remember the first time I tried the stuff. Went and threw up like the lightweight I was. Vowed I'd never drink again right then and there buuuuut life has a way of... tak-er changing things." He finished with a chuckle at his own expense. Had he really almost said taking things? A slip of the tongue but one that certainly might cue someone in on him not having the best experiences in the past. He leaned his head back looking to the sky and that moment replayed in his mind again. If he had only been faster.
Reynard turned his head toward where Aegle sat and watched expectantly for a reaction to his drink. He hoped it might taste good but he wouldn't hold his breath. After all to a new drinker it likely just tasted bitter and burned all at once. The fruity flavors were there but the sugar had long since been fermented to alcohol and thinned even further when he distilled it into a spirit.
Post by Aegle Verdant on Jul 15, 2019 10:33:23 GMT -5
Reynard regarded her uncertainly, studying first her outstretched hand and then her face as he considered the request. She did not think he was going to give it to her, but Aegle held her hand out anyway. Finally, after seemingly much internal debate, Reynard fished out the flask, studied it a moment, then slapped it into Aegle's hand. It was warm to the touch, hot with the heat of Reynards body. Turning the flask over in her hand, she found a small design scored into the metal. 'A personal sigil,' Aegle wondered, running her thumb, 'Or some sort of family emblem?' Glancing up at Reynard, at his vulpine eyes and foxy face, she thought it could be either. 'What jewel is it you're tryin' to protect, or are you only hoardin' it?' "Just be careful not to down too much of the stuff at once," Reynard warned, "Alcohol can be a little harsh tasting to people who aren't used to it." "S'that obvious, huh?" Aegle asked with a quirk of a grin, before fumbling with the flask and its stopper. She supposed she could hardly pass for someone old enough to drink, but then she was pretty sure Reynard wasn't old enough either; It must not have been all that uncommon then, since the guitarist hadn't made a huge fuss over it. "Hell I remember the first time I tried the stuff," Sighed the musician as Aegle was raising the flask to her lips, "Went and threw up like the lightweight I was." That made her pause, and she took another look at the thing in her hand, and the little circle of darkness that was its spout in particular. She could smell the stuff inside much better than the whiff she'd caught before, and it was almost eye watering in its harshness; It didn't smell like it would taste very good...
Before her doubts could get the better of her, Aegle brought the flask up and tipped her head back, quaffing a whole mouthful of its contents. The flavor was chemical, industrial, metallic. It washed over her tongue and worked its way into every corner of her mouth, till that was all she could taste. Aegle jerked the flask away from her mouth, eyes watering, and fought the immediate and powerful urge to spit. Instead, with a body-wide shudder, the small girl made herself swallow. It tasted even worse going down, and it burned from the tip of her tongue all the way to the pit of her stomach, just as though she'd swallowed fire. "Gods..." She sputtered, hoarse and holding the flask out, desperate that Reynard should take it back. Aegle coughed and gagged and shuddered. Her face felt hot, her eyes stung, and her nose was running like she'd just got punched. Tendrils of warmth were working their way through her, rooted in her churning stomach like a tree made of fire. "S'ghastly stuff..." She finally managed as she smeared at her nose and eyes with the heel of her free hand, all while doing her best to swallow the hideous after taste which still filled her mouth.
Aegle felt light headed as she straightened back up, like someone had tied balloons to her ears. She shook her head, coughed again, and shuddered, eyes staring straight ahead as she contended with the many disparate sensations that one swallow had produced. "S'like swallowin' a cup of burnin' coal." The warmth had filled her by then, having wormed its way into the tips of her fingers and the soles of her feet. Her face was red with warmth, and her ears could have fried eggs. It wasn't unpleasant though, that warmth, though Aegle was not sure it was worth the foul taste. Blinking, Aegle turned an incredulous look on Reynard, emerald eyes still watering. He had barely even shuddered when he'd drank from the flask. Admittedly, he might have taken a smaller sip than the gulp she'd taken, but still... 'S'his tongue made of leather?' "Take this," She insisted, waving his flask at him, still open, "and never give it me again, yeah?" Whatever people saw in alcohol, it was clearly not for her. She sucked at her teeth, trying to clean the taste from her mouth.
Post by Reynard Marshall on Jul 19, 2019 21:14:33 GMT -5
Reynard watched Aegle take a mouthfull of booze in one go. The express thing he warned against doing for your first go at drinking. His smirk slowly widened as he watched the stages of disgust and dread grow on the girl's face as she swallowed down the strong drink. Reynard exhaled sharply trying not to laugh as Aegle held Reynard's flask out for him to take back. He gingerly reached out and tucked it back into his pocket.
Reynard shifted a bit in his seat making himself more comfortable and looked out to the sky still trying to hold back laughter. It was a losing battle though and rather suddenly Reynard broke out in laughter! He couldn't help it. Aegle's reaction was priceless it reminded Reynard of his first drink but hey, at least she kept it down so she did better than he did. "Burning coal eh? That's quite the description right there. Couldn't be more accurate!" He agreed and reached over to another jacket pocket. He grabbed an unopened plastic water bottle and held it out for Aegle. "Want it? Might be good to get rid of the burn." He asked with a slight tilt of his head and a questioning tone.
Post by Aegle Verdant on Jul 20, 2019 13:49:42 GMT -5
Aegle snatched hold of the water bottle almost before Reynard had finished holding it out to her. She fumbled with it for a moment, just as she had with the flask, before finally getting the lid off and filling her mouth with its contents. It barely helped. Even after sloshing and swallowing, she could still taste the burning liquor, like it had given her tongue a chemical burn. Shuddering, Aegle took another mouthful, sloshed it about, and spat it into the grass beside the bench. Though scarcely improved, she decided that was the best she could hope for without finishing the whole bottle, and so she inelegantly returned its lid and handed it back to the guitarist. "How can y'drink that?" She asked, genuine in her abject bafflement, "Why would y'drink it?" Made to smear at one of her watering eyes, Aegle shuddered again, and this time she let the tremor slide through her whole body, from her shoulders and hips all the way to her fingers and toes. She shook out the last of the shudder, and grimaced dramatically, sticking out her tongue. "Uggh," Complained the small girl, eyes screwing up, "I can still taste it."
Slumping forward, Aegle ran a hand over her bald pate, then yanked back her hood. She felt too hot to keep the hood up. She might have pulled up her sleeves too, or pulled the hoodie off entirely, but for the guitarist's vulpine eyes. She contented herself with the hood, and leaned her head from side to side, catching the gentle breeze that blew through the quad with her hairless neck and scalp. Her whole head was flush, glossy pink where it wasn't waxy pale, which was more color than she'd had in a long while. Her eyes were watery, red rimmed in the dark hollows of their sockets.
She blinked, flexed her fingers, and her scrunched up expression turned to one of mild surprise. She flexed her fingers again, then rolled her shoulders too, brace wheezing beneath her hoodie; She felt kind of strange. Aegle blinked, then blinked again, hard the second time, and slouched back on the bench, like a warm weight was pressing her back. After a moment, she let her head hang back and closed her eyes, and drew a slow breath, strangely conscious of how it felt to fill and empty her lungs. "I feel kinda strange." She confessed, opening her eyes once more as she allowed her head to roll in Reynard's approximate direction. It was not an unpleasant sort of strange though. She flexed her fingers again, and it felt like she was squeezing marshmallows in her palms. The tight swathing around fingers and wrists felt soft, and it felt strangely satisfying to draw them tight when she flexed her hands. She drew another deep and deliberate breath, and sagged back a bit further. Her hands didn't go back into her pockets this time. Instead, she draped her arms across the back of the bench and let her linen wrapped fingers dangle, twitching softly in time with her heartbeat. "M'too hot." Aegle complained, but not with much rancor.
Post by Reynard Marshall on Jul 22, 2019 19:47:46 GMT -5
Reynard watched on as Aegle took the bottle and downed the water with an amused smirk. He scratched his chin a moment at her question. How did he stomach that stuff? The man supposed it may just be that he was used to it. He had read somewhere that you eventually build a tolerance for the stuff and it becomes easier to drink or something. Reynard finally shrugged. "Beats me. Guess I'm just used to it. You eventually don't really taste the alcohol anymore and the other aspects of the flavor shine through. It's kind of an acquired taste even then though because it isn't sweet." He relayed to Aegle with a tone a hobbyist might use if describing their craft to someone from outside the hobby.
Reynard leaned back so his head hung over the back of the bench and watched the clouds slowly drift by and reached for his flask. He felt its weight and gave it a quick shake listening the the small amount of liquid left in the bottom slosh inside. Three quarters gone, he thought to himself and shrugged. He opened the bottle and tipped it back drinking the rest in a few gulps. Reynard visibly shuddered a bit as the fumes from the drink permeated in his sinuses for a moment. He exhaled sharply and returned the flask to its home. Looks like he was out of booze for the evening. Though that was perfectly fine, he already had quite a buzz and felt it was sufficient for the afternoon.
Reynard lazily flopped his head over to the side and glanced at Aegle as she remarked about the heat and the effects of the drink. He nodded with a bit of a 'Ya dont say?' facial expression and chuckled. "Alcohol will definitely do that to ya. Though it is kinda hot today." He permitted with a nod. It was the middle of July after all so heat was a common occurrence.
Post by Aegle Verdant on Jul 23, 2019 16:20:56 GMT -5
"Alcohol will definitely do that to ya," Reynard told her, "Though it is kinda hot today." Aegle murmured her assent. The warm, muzzy feeling had spread throughout most of her body by that point, making her arms feel heavy and hot, like they were swaddled in layers of cotton, instead of just the ratty old hoodie she was wearing. Her feet were as weights on the ends of her legs, and her head felt near thrice as heavy. She rolled her head from one side to t'other, in an effort to relieve the strain on her neck, and it took the world a full second and half to stop rolling after her head came to a halt.
Aegle blinked, head loose on her shoulders, and a hint of concern passed over her face. "S'not good..." She said, pulling herself up. She hunched forward, braced on her knees, and the quad swam around her. Her limbs seemed loose in their joints, trembling and unresponsive, and the whole world seemed to have taken on a slight tilt. She pulled up the cuff of one sleeve, eyeing her watch with mounting concern. But it only read the time, and bore no warnings about heart rate or blood pressure. "Huh." Aegle puzzled over that for a few moments, stretching her neck this way and that, feeling the muscles moving beneath their new muzzy cloak. "Feels like a heart attack," She said finally, "but in slow motion." She turned a grin on Reynard, one quizzical and more than a little befuddled. "S'it s'posed t'feel like this? I'm dizzy and thinkin'..." It was hard to hang onto a thought. Not impossible, not even so hard that she couldn't hold onto most of them, but harder than it ought have been. Just as though her mind were all swaddled up, the same as her weighed down arms and legs.
It was not unpleasant, Aegle decided, but it was strange. Unusual, unnatural, to feel so out of sorts, so out of control of her own body. Aegle glanced down at her hand and flexed her fingers, watching her hand open and close, and was not sure why. 'Why do anythin'?' Some voice asked, sounding as groggy as she felt. "Why, yeah. What a question." Aegle mumble out loud, inexplicably. Then, to Reynard, she asked, "How long's this last for? I don't think I can do my exercises, feelin' this way..." She could try, but she'd just as soon trip herself on her own feet as get through even one of her forms. Vaguely, she realized that she didn't hurt as much as usual. The pain was still there, in all the expected places, but it was as muted and muddy as the rest of her senses. That made her smile, already broad, turn broader and stupid. Sighing, she fell back against the bench once again, and all but sprawled across the backrest, clanking loudly in the process.
She felt the sun on her face, on her scalp, her neck. It felt good, warm, hot. Aegle closed her eyes and pulled in as deep a breath as she could. She actually felt kinda nice, after all.
Post by Reynard Marshall on Jul 23, 2019 20:13:56 GMT -5
Reynard watched as Aegle went from sober to drunk in minutes. She must be a real light weight for it to hit that hard that quickly. Something Reynard had not counted on. His warning not only went unheeded but now the consequences of that decision were becoming evident. He had to force a neutral face but in reality he was more than a little worried his sharing could get him in trouble. Aegle seemed fine but her description of a heart attack in slow motion was certainly a little off putting.
The man let out a little sigh of relief when Aegle sat back down though the metal clank did catch his curiosity. He shrugged at the girl's question and chuckled. "Might be a little while. You kinda sniped half my flask. It holds eight ounces ya know? That's two shots of liquor ya just shotgunned." Reynard answered honestly. He hoped Aegle wouldn't take that news too badly but hey she didn't listen to his warning. "I'd maybe skip the gym tonight. Just take the evening off and relax cuz ya will be stumbling over yourself if ya went now. That is something I can guarantee."
He wasn't initially gonna ask but the buzz was getting to him and he couldn't help but probe a bit at what he had heard. He shifted some in his seat to face toward Aegle. "So what was that metal sound I heard? Ya wearing armor or something under the outfit?" He remarked with a genuine expression of curiosity and maybe a bit of glazed over intoxication. He hoped his probing didn't come off as rude but figured may as well try and learn more about his new acquaintance.