It's a bloody job, but someone has to do it
Jan 23, 2019 22:56:30 GMT -5
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Post by Krähe on Jan 23, 2019 22:56:30 GMT -5
Off Camera
Location: Sweden after Blitz 8
A muffled chuckle morphs into a childlike giggle that cuts through the silence like a knife. The effect would be unsettling to most, but Krähe is overly familiar with it.
His sigh of relief and resignation was drowned out by her laughter. Her occasional grunt of pain causing him to grit his teeth, while is meticulous hands never stopped their macabre task. Scarred hands were already painted red with blood that stained the white fur of the rabbit head, and everything in him wanted to reach out and break something...or puke.
Typically he had an iron clad stomach for such things, but this was Munin. Though he wouldn't admit it outloud, the sight of her blood turned his stomach. It was too close to the memory of another person's blood from once upon a time.
In a way he was grateful for her being blind to him at the moment. Munin tended to read far more between his lines than he liked, but he knew there were only so many stitches left. Soon he would have to face the devil whether he was was ready for her or not.
So here he was stuck between just wanting the bloody task to be over with, and dreading the end. Of course Munin would be at the heart of the upheaval taking place within him.
It seemed like forever since he'd had such a cesspool of emotion swirling inside of him. Honestly he hadn't been so tempted to jump in his car and not look back since...No, tonight was bad enough without digging up old graves.
He forced to pause his work, as Munin broke out into another fit of giggles. Aggravation would be the most logical emotion to feel at her antics, but he found himself more relieved than anything. If she could sit here and giggle as he unstitched a rabbit head from her skull she would be just fine.
There would be holy hell to pay though, and the implications of that had his stomach twisting in a whole new way. He was starting to understand the phrase “sick with emotion” on a new level. He was starting to feel see sick, and Munin's childish wiggling wasn't helping shit.
“Would you stop, so I can get this shit off you?” His words were delivered in a carefully casual tone, meant to give the impression that he was bored.
To his surprise she obeyed immediately sitting completely still beneath his hands. It should have helped ease out his nerves, but instead it put him more on edge. Her soft chuckle assured him that while he was many things being paranoid was not one of them.
“Feeling a little on edge Z? What part did it for you tonight?”
Her voice was deceptively sweet and innocent, but he knew the hammer wasn't far behind. He didn't have to wait for it either, as her voice took on a sharper edge.
“Was it losing the belt to that pissant Cross Recoba, or having to watch little Brodie...give me head?” She lost herself to giggles after dropping that last part, but her laughter was quickly cut short with a gasp of pain.
“Did that hurt, so sorry. Maybe you should sit still.” A slight edge bleeds into Krähe’s uncharacteristically stern voice. His next words making it even more obvious that she had finally touched the right “What kind of stupid question is that anyways?”
“What kind indeed?” Was her cryptically sly reply.
He didn't even bother to pay attention to her question, as with a final grunt of satisfaction he pulled out the final stitch. Despite his obvious annoyance his hands were shockingly gentle while removing the rabbit head.
Her face was paler than usual when revealed. The crimson lipstick that painted her lips seemed more macabre than sophisticated, considering the blood in her hair. She was beautiful even while wincing from both the pain and sudden light.
“Zach, you simply aren't the same till you've had a snickers. Maybe you should have had one before the match.” She smiled weakly, while making the sharp jab, all while accepting the antiseptic and towels from him with a polite thank you.
It was then he decided that she was quite possibly the most infuriating creature in the world.
“Since when do you care about me winning? I thought you said it-” His suddenly sharp words were cut off when Munin reached out without looking to smack him in the head.
“The fuck!” The words were nearly roared to the room, but Munin was pointedly undisturbed by the outburst.
“You started to say something stupid, and I had a knee jerk reaction in my arm.” She pause while the antiseptic kissed her fresh wounds for the first time. Exotic brown eyes were slits of fury for a moment, but the look quickly smoothed away.
“This was so uncivilized, but ingenious…a rabbit head.” She chuckled gesturing to the blood stained white rabbit head, while the other dabbed her head with a towel.
“Truly the girl makes me proud, but we both know this changes things…” She trails off with a sigh, there was no more putting off this conversation. In fact it was long past due.
“That's besides the point right now, isn't it?” The now bloody towel drops to the side, as she finally levels him with the full weight of her attention.
“It's not about you losing Zachariah...It's about how you lost. Do I honestly need to spell it out for you?”
Krähe shrugged his shoulders his hand reaching into his pocket to find his roll papers. He couldn't smoke in here, the action was merely a telling twitch.
“Obviously, as I seem to be missing something.” He continued to control his voice, as if somehow that would help him win the struggle over his emotions, but that hope is lost when Munin's snort has him glowering in her general direction.
“It's not about the fact that you lost, but how you lost. When you faced off against Zack something happened. I saw a genuine spark in you that I hadn't seen in years, and miracle beyond miracles you embraced it.”
All pretense seemed to suddenly fall away to reveal just how tired and frustrated she really was.
“Fanned the fucking spark into flames and blazed, but then what happened after Zach? You realized everything that flame meant, and it scared you shitless so you snuffed it out. You bitched out, so you can bet your ass that I'm irritated with your bullshit.”
Each word that falls from her full lips becomes more heated, her movements more agitated.
She pauses pick up a glass and container from the side table. More out of the need to regain some modicum of control, than out of true thirst.
Krähe took this silence as his chance for defense, but as soon as his lips parted she was cutting him off.
“No, don't try to defend yourself or shrugs it off. I am not one of the pieces on this cheese board, and you best remember that before anything leaves your mouth. I know you Zachariah, sometimes better than you do...you idiot.”
The last bit was said almost as an afterthought, while she poured her drink. The words uttered with less bite than they should have. It was as if her anger was once more ebbing away into weariness.
“Think about why you lit that fire in the first place...It was never for the company, and it wasn't even for you.”
She toasted him with her double shot of whiskey in mock salute.
“Trust me I have been trying to get you to do this for yourself for what feels like ages. You did it for your misfit toys, and it was them you let down. Not because you lost, but because you snuffed out that flame.”
Her words were slightly muffled by the rim of her glass near the end, as she took a healthy sip.
They sat in silence as moments turned into seconds, and seconds turned into minutes. All objections seeming to have abandoned Krähe to sit adrift in the silence of the room.
The next words to leave his lips were soft and hollow, as if reluctant to break the silence despite his need to do so.
“Why did you bring me into this Munin? The root of it, the main reason...I know you have one.”
His grey eyes were finally fixed on her without the shield of apathy. He simply couldn't fight anymore tonight: emotionally, mentally, and physically he was drained.
“Zachariah…”
Brown eyes closed as the words began to flow softly into the silence of the room, like silent tears gently caressing and burning a path down one's cheeks.
“When I dragged you out of Boston you were in pieces, and it was natural that you would be. We drove until we managed to put you back together, but Zach you were never fully put back together. Something has been missing, and we both know that.”
She willed her eyes open once more, knowing that she owed it to him to look him in the eyes while delivering her words.
“You've spent the past few years living in a vacuum, taking one job after another, never staying in one place longer than it took to finish a job...For God's sake Zachariah I am basically your P.O. Box, and how long were you planning on doing it Zach?”
Exasperation bled into her words once more, as she set her glass down with and audible click.
“How long are you going to fucking punish yourself? Do you know your mom talks to me every week Zach? Every week...this penance you've been trying to serve is serving no one, and it's time that it came to an end.”
It was obvious that he was having to struggle to stay seated for this. His hands were actually white knuckled clutching his knees, and seeing this Munin gracefully shifted closer to his side. Her small elegant hand covering his in a show of support.
This time her words were a gentle and soothing caress. A balm seeking to soothe some of his raw edges.
“I brought you to Valor, and made it a job. A job that forced you to deal with the same people every cycle. A place where your connections would take root. I wanted to relight that fire, but I should have known you would never do it for yourself at least not at first.”
Beneath her hand she could feel his pulse racing, but she knew that as much as she wanted to avoid this it was exactly what he needed to hear.
“Watching you this past show I have never been so tempted to end you. Brodie's antics don't even come close to the annoyance that you have caused, but Zachariah I am not giving up on you.”
Krähe took a deep breath as she gently ripped open his old wounds without mercy. He was lost, and in that moment he couldn't bare to meet her gaze.
Her words were the ugly mirror that he didn't want to look at, but in this case hearing was seeing. Nothing Munin had said was a lie, and he felt that to his soul.
“Ninny, I don't know what to do…”
One soft hand gently cupped his beard roughened cheek, drawing his gaze back her's once more.
“You do know though, you have always done an amazing job of cleaning up your own messes.”
Leaning forward in a rare show of affection she plants a gentle kiss to his forehead.
“Time to rejoin the world hun, tomorrow is a new day.”
Her words ran through him like a soothing rain, washing away the emotional tension from his body. Truly he wanted to leave the conversation at that, but there was one more question nagging at him.
“And what about Brodie?”
Munin's hand dropped away from his cheek, her soft smile evolving into a twisted cheshire grin.
“Oh it's better if you not put too much thought into that for now. The rules have changed, and now it's my turn to play.”
Her words did everything, but put his mind at ease. This would have to be a conversation for another time, because currently he had nothing else to give. He could only tilt his head back against the couch with a heavy exhale.
“Yeah Munin, that right there is exactly what worries me.”
Location: Sweden after Blitz 8
A muffled chuckle morphs into a childlike giggle that cuts through the silence like a knife. The effect would be unsettling to most, but Krähe is overly familiar with it.
His sigh of relief and resignation was drowned out by her laughter. Her occasional grunt of pain causing him to grit his teeth, while is meticulous hands never stopped their macabre task. Scarred hands were already painted red with blood that stained the white fur of the rabbit head, and everything in him wanted to reach out and break something...or puke.
Typically he had an iron clad stomach for such things, but this was Munin. Though he wouldn't admit it outloud, the sight of her blood turned his stomach. It was too close to the memory of another person's blood from once upon a time.
In a way he was grateful for her being blind to him at the moment. Munin tended to read far more between his lines than he liked, but he knew there were only so many stitches left. Soon he would have to face the devil whether he was was ready for her or not.
So here he was stuck between just wanting the bloody task to be over with, and dreading the end. Of course Munin would be at the heart of the upheaval taking place within him.
It seemed like forever since he'd had such a cesspool of emotion swirling inside of him. Honestly he hadn't been so tempted to jump in his car and not look back since...No, tonight was bad enough without digging up old graves.
He forced to pause his work, as Munin broke out into another fit of giggles. Aggravation would be the most logical emotion to feel at her antics, but he found himself more relieved than anything. If she could sit here and giggle as he unstitched a rabbit head from her skull she would be just fine.
There would be holy hell to pay though, and the implications of that had his stomach twisting in a whole new way. He was starting to understand the phrase “sick with emotion” on a new level. He was starting to feel see sick, and Munin's childish wiggling wasn't helping shit.
“Would you stop, so I can get this shit off you?” His words were delivered in a carefully casual tone, meant to give the impression that he was bored.
To his surprise she obeyed immediately sitting completely still beneath his hands. It should have helped ease out his nerves, but instead it put him more on edge. Her soft chuckle assured him that while he was many things being paranoid was not one of them.
“Feeling a little on edge Z? What part did it for you tonight?”
Her voice was deceptively sweet and innocent, but he knew the hammer wasn't far behind. He didn't have to wait for it either, as her voice took on a sharper edge.
“Was it losing the belt to that pissant Cross Recoba, or having to watch little Brodie...give me head?” She lost herself to giggles after dropping that last part, but her laughter was quickly cut short with a gasp of pain.
“Did that hurt, so sorry. Maybe you should sit still.” A slight edge bleeds into Krähe’s uncharacteristically stern voice. His next words making it even more obvious that she had finally touched the right “What kind of stupid question is that anyways?”
“What kind indeed?” Was her cryptically sly reply.
He didn't even bother to pay attention to her question, as with a final grunt of satisfaction he pulled out the final stitch. Despite his obvious annoyance his hands were shockingly gentle while removing the rabbit head.
Her face was paler than usual when revealed. The crimson lipstick that painted her lips seemed more macabre than sophisticated, considering the blood in her hair. She was beautiful even while wincing from both the pain and sudden light.
“Zach, you simply aren't the same till you've had a snickers. Maybe you should have had one before the match.” She smiled weakly, while making the sharp jab, all while accepting the antiseptic and towels from him with a polite thank you.
It was then he decided that she was quite possibly the most infuriating creature in the world.
“Since when do you care about me winning? I thought you said it-” His suddenly sharp words were cut off when Munin reached out without looking to smack him in the head.
“The fuck!” The words were nearly roared to the room, but Munin was pointedly undisturbed by the outburst.
“You started to say something stupid, and I had a knee jerk reaction in my arm.” She pause while the antiseptic kissed her fresh wounds for the first time. Exotic brown eyes were slits of fury for a moment, but the look quickly smoothed away.
“This was so uncivilized, but ingenious…a rabbit head.” She chuckled gesturing to the blood stained white rabbit head, while the other dabbed her head with a towel.
“Truly the girl makes me proud, but we both know this changes things…” She trails off with a sigh, there was no more putting off this conversation. In fact it was long past due.
“That's besides the point right now, isn't it?” The now bloody towel drops to the side, as she finally levels him with the full weight of her attention.
“It's not about you losing Zachariah...It's about how you lost. Do I honestly need to spell it out for you?”
Krähe shrugged his shoulders his hand reaching into his pocket to find his roll papers. He couldn't smoke in here, the action was merely a telling twitch.
“Obviously, as I seem to be missing something.” He continued to control his voice, as if somehow that would help him win the struggle over his emotions, but that hope is lost when Munin's snort has him glowering in her general direction.
“It's not about the fact that you lost, but how you lost. When you faced off against Zack something happened. I saw a genuine spark in you that I hadn't seen in years, and miracle beyond miracles you embraced it.”
All pretense seemed to suddenly fall away to reveal just how tired and frustrated she really was.
“Fanned the fucking spark into flames and blazed, but then what happened after Zach? You realized everything that flame meant, and it scared you shitless so you snuffed it out. You bitched out, so you can bet your ass that I'm irritated with your bullshit.”
Each word that falls from her full lips becomes more heated, her movements more agitated.
She pauses pick up a glass and container from the side table. More out of the need to regain some modicum of control, than out of true thirst.
Krähe took this silence as his chance for defense, but as soon as his lips parted she was cutting him off.
“No, don't try to defend yourself or shrugs it off. I am not one of the pieces on this cheese board, and you best remember that before anything leaves your mouth. I know you Zachariah, sometimes better than you do...you idiot.”
The last bit was said almost as an afterthought, while she poured her drink. The words uttered with less bite than they should have. It was as if her anger was once more ebbing away into weariness.
“Think about why you lit that fire in the first place...It was never for the company, and it wasn't even for you.”
She toasted him with her double shot of whiskey in mock salute.
“Trust me I have been trying to get you to do this for yourself for what feels like ages. You did it for your misfit toys, and it was them you let down. Not because you lost, but because you snuffed out that flame.”
Her words were slightly muffled by the rim of her glass near the end, as she took a healthy sip.
They sat in silence as moments turned into seconds, and seconds turned into minutes. All objections seeming to have abandoned Krähe to sit adrift in the silence of the room.
The next words to leave his lips were soft and hollow, as if reluctant to break the silence despite his need to do so.
“Why did you bring me into this Munin? The root of it, the main reason...I know you have one.”
His grey eyes were finally fixed on her without the shield of apathy. He simply couldn't fight anymore tonight: emotionally, mentally, and physically he was drained.
“Zachariah…”
Brown eyes closed as the words began to flow softly into the silence of the room, like silent tears gently caressing and burning a path down one's cheeks.
“When I dragged you out of Boston you were in pieces, and it was natural that you would be. We drove until we managed to put you back together, but Zach you were never fully put back together. Something has been missing, and we both know that.”
She willed her eyes open once more, knowing that she owed it to him to look him in the eyes while delivering her words.
“You've spent the past few years living in a vacuum, taking one job after another, never staying in one place longer than it took to finish a job...For God's sake Zachariah I am basically your P.O. Box, and how long were you planning on doing it Zach?”
Exasperation bled into her words once more, as she set her glass down with and audible click.
“How long are you going to fucking punish yourself? Do you know your mom talks to me every week Zach? Every week...this penance you've been trying to serve is serving no one, and it's time that it came to an end.”
It was obvious that he was having to struggle to stay seated for this. His hands were actually white knuckled clutching his knees, and seeing this Munin gracefully shifted closer to his side. Her small elegant hand covering his in a show of support.
This time her words were a gentle and soothing caress. A balm seeking to soothe some of his raw edges.
“I brought you to Valor, and made it a job. A job that forced you to deal with the same people every cycle. A place where your connections would take root. I wanted to relight that fire, but I should have known you would never do it for yourself at least not at first.”
Beneath her hand she could feel his pulse racing, but she knew that as much as she wanted to avoid this it was exactly what he needed to hear.
“Watching you this past show I have never been so tempted to end you. Brodie's antics don't even come close to the annoyance that you have caused, but Zachariah I am not giving up on you.”
Krähe took a deep breath as she gently ripped open his old wounds without mercy. He was lost, and in that moment he couldn't bare to meet her gaze.
Her words were the ugly mirror that he didn't want to look at, but in this case hearing was seeing. Nothing Munin had said was a lie, and he felt that to his soul.
“Ninny, I don't know what to do…”
One soft hand gently cupped his beard roughened cheek, drawing his gaze back her's once more.
“You do know though, you have always done an amazing job of cleaning up your own messes.”
Leaning forward in a rare show of affection she plants a gentle kiss to his forehead.
“Time to rejoin the world hun, tomorrow is a new day.”
Her words ran through him like a soothing rain, washing away the emotional tension from his body. Truly he wanted to leave the conversation at that, but there was one more question nagging at him.
“And what about Brodie?”
Munin's hand dropped away from his cheek, her soft smile evolving into a twisted cheshire grin.
“Oh it's better if you not put too much thought into that for now. The rules have changed, and now it's my turn to play.”
Her words did everything, but put his mind at ease. This would have to be a conversation for another time, because currently he had nothing else to give. He could only tilt his head back against the couch with a heavy exhale.
“Yeah Munin, that right there is exactly what worries me.”