anothercontinuity | Red vs Blue pt 2

"I've been living in mine so long-" He shakes his head, finally sitting back. Okay. More...more level, now. He doesn't, however, slip out of Locus' lap for...he's not thinking about it too hard. "Keeping it on when not hunting is probably something I can do, but I'll need to get some actual civvies."

Eventually. For now he tips his head back, thinking.

"...D's better. Annoyed with you for 'vague and unhelpful instructions and delayed information' but. Better."

"I wasn't aware I would need to relay information to him. He did not speak to me until you were already changing."

Still. He let out a small breath, obviously more to express his mood than actual need to breathe.

"Tell him that I apologize. Had I known, I would have been more articulate regarding the process."

"He was preoccupied with trying to figure out what the hell was going on." York shrugs. "And- uh. You talk to me? You talk to him. He's riding shotgun."

It's simple enough to reach up and tap the chip set into the base of his skull. "...Also weird: I can feel the neural lace in my brain now. It's all...tingly."

"Ah. I wondered about that." He doesn't have one of his own, he wouldn't have known how it would react, if it would try to heal it out as it did the bullets or accept it as part of York's body. Question answered.

"I admit some curiosity as to how your newfound state will affect your work with your AI."

"We think faster, now. I can keep up with Delta mentally which is a fucking trip. Well- maybe he's a little faster than I am but nowhere near the extent he used to be." The world is no longer at a standstill. Their reaction times are sharper, clearer. He could test on some kind of puzzle but-

None on him at the moment.

"We're probably twice as badass as before, at least."

"You should be quite formidable then. I look forward to seeing you work." He's seen what he can do normally, and York is no slouch.

Ah. But his shoulders are starting to loosen, or at least lose some of the tension that had built around them. "I think a rest would be in order, first. We will be safe enough here tonight, while we heal. Tomorrow, I can show you how to hunt."

"Sounds like fun." He'll need time to get good at the whole...being alluring thing. It'll come to him, he's sure. For now he slips off of Locus' lap and stretches, peeling the gloves and thin socks of the undersuit off for the sake of having more of his skin exposed to the air.

"Now that you mention it- I'm dead tired." Get it?

Did he really just.

Locus just stares at him long and hard, and the disappointment he feels is damn near tangible, rolling off of him in waves. Finally, he just shakes his head, moving to remove his own armor.

"By tomorrow evening we should be in fit state to move. Most of what is here is easily replaced, nothing traceable."

Anyone stumbling upon the bunker after they leave might just see traces of use from passing homeless, rather than the lair of a vampire. It had been chosen for just such a reason, among others.

"Our next stop should be somewhere more comfortable."

He did. Look if he can't laugh at himself who can he laugh at? No one. So self mocking humor it is, boss. He simply continues a bright smile at Locus as though that will make up for the pun as he settles on the bed properly. "Really? This is pretty okay to me."

Not complaining but- it's got a bed with a real mattress. AFter five years of hiding in abandoned warehouses and hidey holes it's kind of luxurious to him already.

The hell is 'more comfortable' going to be?

"We won't be staying in palaces. But the accommodations will be better than what you've accustomed yourself to." They will still need to keep a low profile, but there's no reason not to secure themselves in reasonable comfort. He has the means, and will continue to do so.

"You've got a real mattress and a place to stow your armor that isn't a corner of the room. This is a palace." Especially if he's got running water but- shit he's had to get used to because of keeping on the down low.

Shit he's gonna have to adjust to, and isn't it kind of a nice change that he's gonna learn to get used to soft beds and vaguely comfortable living?

"I'm glad you're so easily pleased."

The last of the armor came to rest on top of the chest in the corner, before he moved towards the bed. There was a small jut of his chin, the international sign for 'nudge over', before he allowed himself to settle down. Now? The mark on his arm was visibly sealed, though still in the process of healing. He'd cut deep and hadn't replenished any of it, just yet.

"I am a simple man with simple needs." He shifts to make room without comment, tucking up on one side facing Locus because- well. Even if he's been saved. Even if he's not human and vulnerable anymore-

Taking out Delta's chip is stupid easy and habit is a hard thing to break.

It's not something that concerns him, particularly. He settles onto his back, hands clasped atop his chest, staring half-lidded at the ceiling for a moment or two.

"...I suspect that one day you may feel differently about the events that transpired today."

"...what, that I might grow some existential angst and resent you for swooping in to save my life? I've already been a teenager once, man. As long as I don't get a bout of vampire acne I think I can handle coming to terms with this new life. You saved me. You gave me Delta back. You don't want anything from me that I'm not willing to give, so." He shrugs, shifting enough to not fall off the bed and ending up with his head on Locus' shoulder.

Because cuddly bastard.

"Maybe I will, maybe I won't, but the odds are in favor of us being cool."

He makes a noise that may or may not be agreement before grudgingly admitting "...I've read the novels. It seemed a possibility."

Which is perhaps York's first insight that maybe, tall dark and stoic has some layers to him beyond stone-cold badass vampire with pretty green eyes.

Huh. Well that's-

Unexpected, but nice to know.

"You're gonna have to specify. The Classics, The Gothics, or the incredibly homoerotic ones?" Either way that was a common narrative theme, resenting the master. "I only got enough in me to resent one asshole and that slot's already taken up by The Director."

Locus turns his head, surveying him for a moment. He's not sure that'll always be the case. It's easy to feel one way after just having survived certain death. When the years start to creep on, things may change.

But it's comforting to know that he intends to embrace this. "Hn. Good to know." His brow furrows slightly. "You have them categorized?"

"I had a phase when I was a moody teenager and scifi didn't seem as interesting to me. Kind read all the vampire books I could find." There are lists and lists of them, even in the advent of alien invasion and war and all that jazz.

"Is it everything you thought it would be?"

It contains seeds of truth about the condition, these fictions that sell on paperback shelves in airports. That had been the first trial, finding out what was and wasn't true, what was ridiculous superstition and what could in fact be counted on. The focus had understandably been on what could kill him, but the idea of vampire society?

He admitted some curiosity. He'd only ever known the one who turned him (not maker, not sire, nor any other title), and now? Now he had Taylor.

"Heightened senses, not dying, cold and pretty and hungry? Kinda. Also feels like Tuesday to me." He shrugs, nestling closer. "Kinda glad the whole coven thing is bs. Way too much politics and backstabbing in those for my tastes."

"No. It is just us, and the one who made me. So far as I know."

It's a wide, wide galaxy. Easy enough for them to slip between the cracks and avoid one another, it appeared.

Locus glances down briefly before allowing his eyes to shut. "Get some rest. We start hunting tomorrow at sunset."

"Maybe there's more on hub stations?" Easiest way to avoid the sun is to be where there isn't any. But, thoughts for tomorrow.

For now he burrows close, tucking himself against Locus' side as he drops off to a dreamless slumber.

Red vs Blue pt 2

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