anothercontinuity | (no subject)

Well, unless you plan on giving me the grand tour, I'm gonna need a map. [ brow furrowed, tony works the rag in the tiny space behind the gear best he can, around the shaft. ]

Easy enough. You've been learning the city by the streets below. There's an overlay that should help.

[ Other, secret routes too, but Tony doesn't need to know about those. At least not yet. ]

[ tony squints and leans closer to the gear. ] Square deal. [ with a pursed mouth, he straightens, grabs the gear in both hands, and tries yanking it off the post, wobbling on the one foot. ]

Easy, easy--

[ The sharp tug might well throw him off balance, and Lucanis grunts before stabilizing, shifting his feet. ]

Careful with that.

[ the gear slides off with a final wiggle and yank, a final wobble. tony steadies himself against the post one-handed and raises an eyebrow at lucanis. ] You worried about me or the zipline more?

The zipline, we can replace.

[ the gear flipped and held in the crook of his arm, tony scrubs harder at the offending rust with the rag. ] But one less problem, [ he argues distractedly, ] you could have.

Are you trying to convince me?

[ There's a quiet snort of amusement. ]

No, but I am still trying to figure out your angle in all this. [ despite just accusing lucanis of ulterior motives, tony focuses on scratching the rag around the rim of the gear's bore. ]

You could just ask. I'd tell you.

Okay.

[ tony stops and looks down, the corner of his mouth pinched. ]

Spill it.

You are a stranger to this world. There could be more like you. There could also be consequences for your arrival here. You do not seem to know any more than I do.

But that is not something you simply walk away from, hoping it sorts itself out.

[ after a long moment of silent assessment, tony casts his eyes aside. by the time he returns to scrubbing, his shoulders are a little tighter, a little more drawn in. ] Well...thanks, anyway.

This is not altruism, if that was your fear.

[ His lips quirk faintly. ]

Assassins are not known for such things, after all.

Yup.

[ nothing else, just tony wetting the rag with more solution and then scrubbing and wiping off the remaining rust. any attempt at further conversation gets only short, noncommittal answers. after he's done with the gear, he rubs the rag around the shaft and cleans it before he jimmies and pushes the gear back into its place. ]

Not the answer you were hoping for.

[ That much seems obvious, as Tony finishes slotting the gear back into place. Just in time. He's starting to feel a faint twinge in his lower back from holding him aloft like this. ]

[ tony pounds his fist on the gear twice, hard, to secure the fit. ] It's the answer I expected. [ finally, he bends his knee to set the aloft foot on the ground, following closely with the one lucanis releases, and turns to him head-on, his face unreadable. guarded. ] You can give me the map layover. I'll do the rest on my own.

I'll have to retrieve it from the estate. But you should be able to follow the 'road' from here.

[ Without hesitation he points across the rooftop to the next one over. This time, the gap is narrow enough to leap over.

With some effort. ]

[ after a glance that way and an unbothered nod back, tony turns to the storage box to return the supplies. ] I'll be back tonight, [ he says in a tone akin to a dismissal. ] Before dawn, at least.