Freedom; Washed Away (Orion)

[Rina Vade]

*laughs* Fallout is awesome. I'll reply when I have time. I'm at the library and I'm getting picked up after my...er, housemother (I live in a group home. Sue me >.>) is done shopping.

[Rina Vade]

Quiet shadows slowly slinking…

Despite her usual instinct to do exactly the opposite of what Orion said, Rina remained in the background, azure gaze focused in a mix of curiosity and something else. She had never seen him like this before. And when he said he had no care for human life, he meant it. She'd bet she would only get in the way if she jumped in.

Besides, three of the men were trying to escape.

Rina didn't really feel like dealing with the repercussions of them finding someone to cry to. They were bound to be more trouble if she let them leave. Glancing at Orion one last time, she leaped up into the rafters and swung forward to land in front of the three men. They stopped, clearly surprised, but then the first guy snorted. "It's only a girl," he said. "We can take her." At this, Rina narrowed her eyes. Only a girl? He'd regret saying that. When it was obvious that his buddies weren't so sure, he rushed at her.

Bad move...she thought with a smirk. Coming at me alone. In the next instant, the man was on the ground with his legs broken, his neck twisted at an angle. The last two men tried to race by her in terror, but Rina had her daggers out and had slit their throats before they could blink, crimson blood staining the ground beneath her feet. With the three of them now dead, Rina could hear the man Orion had felled shrieking his head off. How annoying. It was getting on her nerves. "Oui, he screams like a little girl." she complained, returning her daggers to her belt.

Without another word, she went and stood beside Orion, waiting for him to finish the man off.

A hypnotic darkness in the mind

Notes;
Words: 370
Muse: Better^^
Other: Hmm...nope!

[Orion]

His halberd swung, the scream suddenly cut off as a spurt of blood rised into the air in front of Orion, a dull thump signifying his head landing. He briefly considered the body, before turning to survey the room.

The three that had rushed Rina were killed by her. That wasn't a battle... it was a senseless slaughter. He spun his weapon, the blood flecking off in front of him, none of it hitting Rina, before placing across his neck, one arm hanging over each side. His eyes slowly began to return from dull blood red to bright golden, though the dull red was still there in splotches. He turned his head to her.

"Invigorating. It's a damn good thing I don't feel bloodlust anymore, or I may have attacked you next for the hell of it. No guarantee you would've survived that either."

He began walking forward, pausing only to kick a disembodied out of his way.

"Well, now that that's done... I vote we leave here. The Experiments have a bad enough reputation... I shouldn't've gone killer like that... Damn it!"

He sighed, before turning back to Rina.

"Hey, do you anywhere nearby where we can go rest? I feel a bit... drained, right now. All I want to do is go and sit and rest and not be judged by others. You live nearby or something?"

Yes, he was completely inviting himself over to her house. Oh well.

[Rina Vade]

Quiet shadows slowly slinking…

When Orion spoke, Rina tilted her head at his words and replied, "I honestly don't believe you'd hurt me, Orion. I trust you." she surveyed the room as he had and then sighed. He was right. They shouldn't stick around too long here.

"Hey, do you anywhere nearby where we can go rest? I feel a bit... drained, right now. All I want to do is go and sit and rest and not be judged by others. You live nearby or something?"

Rina glanced at him sharply. Was he really doing what she thought he was doing? "Actually, I do. I chose this area because it's near the water." she decided that it wouldn't hurt to let Orion rest up at her place.

Unless Senji was home.

Dear Lord.

"C'mon, I'll show you the way." she said, leading him out and about five or ten blocks to a row of apartments. On the outside, they seemed small and run down, but once Rina led Orion in the door, it was clear that the inside was much different. The front room was large and spacious, the walls painted a light mahogany. Warm colors decorated both the hallways and the living room.

"Rin, is that you?" someone called.

With a groan, she replied, "Yeah." But it seemed her roommate's cousin was on the way out. He came walking down the hall, his guitar slung over his shoulder. "Where are you going?" she wondered.

"To a show. You should come with...hey, who's this?" he looked are Orion curiously.

"Senji, my friend Orion. Orion, this is Senji, my roommate's annoying cousin."

Senji appeared to ignore that last comment and gave a sly grin. "Oh, a friend, huh?" he asked and Rina smacked him upside the head. He ducked and raced for the door laughing. "See you guys later!" he called, the door snapping shut behind him.

"Sorry about that." Rina sighed. "He's an idiot." she headed into the kitchen, asking Orion if he wanted a beer.

A hypnotic darkness in the mind

Notes;
Words: 432
Muse: Whoop!
Other: Sorry I took so long. I was, er...grounded hehe. *laughs sheepishly*

[Orion]

Orion followed her to her home, and chuckled at the antics between her and her friend. Nice to know Rina was that short-tempered with everyone. As the guy left, laughing, Orion considered throwing a nearby butter knife after him, or his weapon. He would hit the door, of course, but it would still scare the guy. He decided against it though. Rina then headed into the kitchen, asking if Orion wanted a beer.

"That... sounds really good right about now, please. How the hell did you get beer though? Aren't you younger then I am?"

She sure as hell acted like it, in any case. Orion wandered over to a nearby couch and, after carefully leaning his weapon against the wall, sat in it. Then he would slump in it, his shoulders falling down as he put his elbows on his knees, face in his hands. He would look up when Rina would come back into the room.

"I'm so tired... and I shouldn't be. I wonder what's wrong with me now... considering there's already a massive fucking list!"

Orion would chuckle. His body was FUBARed indeed. And it kinda sucked that he had done it willingly. He gestured around the place.

"Nice home."

[Rina Vade]

Quiet shadows slowly slinking…

As Senji darted out the door, Rina glanced at Orion. With his mischievous ways, she was sure he was thinking of something he could do to startle her roommate's cousin. When he didn't, though, she turned away before he could see that she had been watching him.

His reply to the offer of beer was expected.

"That... sounds really good right about now, please. How the hell did you get beer though? Aren't you younger then I am?"

Coming back out with a bottle of beer in one hand and a glass of homemade tea for herself in the other, she told him, "I have my ways. Besides, two more years and I'll be legal to buy without hassle." she set the drinks on the oak coffee table between the couch and the large, comfy-looking chairs across from it so that she could pick up a stack of scattered magazines and place them on the bookshelf behind Orion.

At his next words, Rina wasn't sure how to reply, but it made her realize that she was tired, too. Only because it'd been a while since she had been out to fight with Orion, plus she had stayed up late last night. When Orion commented on the apartment, she shrugged and dropped down onto the couch with him. It was long enough that she could stretch her legs out and cross them at the ankles without touching him, and so she did. "Thanks. It was my roommate, Mila, who came up with the color scheme. I voted for wood furniture, so anything not wood is Senji's or hers." she took a drink of her tea and gave a small sigh. Was it only her who felt a little awkward, despite her casual act? Which, she'd gotten very good at, by the way. Masking her emotions had become a habit, though, so sometimes she didn't realize when she did it.

With no idea what to say next, she fell silent, listening to the ticking of the clock on the wall.

A hypnotic darkness in the mind

Notes;
Words: 406
Muse: ......
Other: A little tired.

[Orion]

"Two more...? Shit, your older than I am, Rina."

Orion gladly accepted the beer, and, popping off the cap, took a swig. He listened to Rina explain about her house. So, she had two roommates? Interesting. As she stopped, silence prevailed. Orion leaned back, closing his eyes. He took another swig, considering what to say next. Awkwardness was awkward.

"Hey Rina... tell me, how have you coped with the end of the world? You know... I kinda miss school. Sure, I stood out more then, but at least it was a place of life. This place... it's a tomb, it's dead."

[Rina Vade]

Quiet shadows slowly slinking…

So she was older than Orion?

"Oh," she blinked, surprised. Then she grinned. "Does that make me the influencer?" she asked, motioning to the beer in their hands before taking another drink of hertea . Okay, awkward was still awkward, no matter how much she tried to joke around. At Orion's question, all jokig matters where pushed aside.

"Yeah," she agreed. "It is like a tomb. My roommates are gone all day, searching for a reason to live.. Senji is into music and Mila...well, she's not the goody-two shoes she was anymore. As for me," she shrugged, not really sure herself what she was doing. She'd met many people fighting to rise above Barker's influence. She'd even helped sometimes.

But the only things that really kept her going were her roommates and the little experiment girl, Nill.

She didn't look up at first as she voiced this. "I don't know if I'm coping, Orion. I can't say that Senji and Mila are doing any better. There's this little girl...eight, I believe. She's mute. And she is one of the expirements." she could see Nill now in her minds eye. So carefree, despite all that had happened. "When I get up in the morning and I think of her, how I'm someone she depends on...and I think of Mila and Senji; I have something to fight for. To live for."

After a moment, she glanced up with a half-smirk. "And then of course there's you." she said as she tried to lighten the mood.

A hypnotic darkness in the mind

Notes;
Words: 350
Muse: Good
Other: Witness the post of exhaustion. Lol, I'm legal now! Woot!

[Orion]

Orion listened to her, and at the end, said nothing, taking an easy swig of his drink.

"And then of course there's you."
"*sputter cough cough* WHAT?"

Cue epic drink spray. Everywhere.

After Orion recovered from his choking fit and apologized profusely to Rina for messing up her abode, he leaned back in the couch. Took a deep breath.

"Sorry. Been a while since anyone admitted they cared for me as a friend, as an actual... well, semi-human being, as screwed up as my biology is at this point. So, I am a bit... surprised. Most of my time has been spent with either destruction of bars, diplomatic duties, or plans for various... things. So, I rarely ever get to relax with people. Right now, with you? It's strange, but welcome. Very welcome. I've needed a break, a time to unwind."

Orion leaned back forward.

"I have no one I depend on, and no one depends upon me. The Experiments like me, sure, but they don't depend on me. So, I have very little to keep me going, except that I just want to prove that I can keep going, even without a reason, just to piss off Barker that I still exist, just to piss off Hiru that I still keep going with a relatively normal, despite what he has done to me."

Orion turned his head towards Rina.

"So... Surprising."

OOC: More somber mood caused by light-hearted question?

[Rina Vade]

Quiet shadows slowly slinking…

At her words, Orion was so startled that he had a coughing fit. After he took a drink from his bottle of beer. She blinked for a moment, then laughed. "It's fine." she said. Orion was always amusing. That's one of the many things she liked about him. "What do you mean semi-human?" she asked. "Sure, you're a little crazy and you glow," she grinned, poking him on the arm. "But you're as human as they come. I don't think you'd be sitting here otherwise, hm?"

A hypnotic darkness in the mind

Notes;
Words: 157
Muse: Dead x.x
Other: Sorry. Crappy post. Busy week.

[Orion]

Orion raised an eyebrow at her.

"Rina... you don't exactly understand the extent of what happened to me, do you?"

Orion set his bottle down on the table, contemplative. He then held up one hand.

"First, a history lesson. Back in New York, at Public High School 552, we had just had quite the issue. The headmaster, Vaughan, had instituted a correctional facility, and a bunch of his "Enforcers" to run it and watch over the school. However, the Captain went rogue, and unleashed them and a few psychos upon the school. And I mean strong psychos; not counting Leon, any single Dragon would have issues fighting these bastards.

"I, along with two pillars of the school and, surprisingly, Kiyoshi, chased one of these bastards down to the depths of the facility, as he had kidnapped two people. Upon arrival, even though three of the strongest, not me, the other three, were fighting him, with my dirty fighting added in, we were still getting our asses handed to us. We won because Shugo, one of the Pillars, activated his QI at full power because one of the hostages was his then-girlfriend, now wife.

"So, there's some backstory. Afterwards, our school, it's people near despair, the building itself broken, you can guess we had a few issues. A friend... of sorts, offered me a chance to get stronger. After being near useless in that fight... well, I wasn't exactly ok, so I took it up."

Orion paused, then took out his wallet and began to rifle through it, allowing Rina to comment. He found what he was looking for, and tossed it to her.

"That's what I used to look like." (You see my avatar? That's it.)

He let her look it over, then would take it back, pocketing it and the wallet.

"Before you is how I changed. I glow, I have natural blue hair, golden eyes, now stained a blood-red from another piece of my past, different story, not going there. I cannot feel pain, heat, or cold. I am immune to narcotics and alcohol. I am a broadcasting empath, as you've been on the receiving end of. And I heal much faster then a human. I don't mean like instant healing; I used too, but that was before... this. Now, though, when I'm not fighting, any injuries I may have had are... gone. They heal rapidly. If I still breathe and live, I can back after practically a day and resume the fight, no worse for the wear."

He looked at her.

"Your powers... you were born with. I was changed into this. Willingly. I take life without care now, and while features are human, my biochemical make-up at this point is not. So tell me... am I still really a human?"

[Rina Vade]

Quiet shadows slowly slinking…

As Orion spoke, Rina listened quietly. He didn't think of himself as human anymore. That bothered her."Orion..." she sighed when he paused to toss her a photo. It was what he looked like before now. She looked down at it and inwardly grinned at his hair. It looked like it was dyed, but it could be natural. You never know.

He took it back from her and continued. "So tell me..." he finished. "Am I still really human?"

Well she had a thing or two to say about that.

"Orion, do you worry about things?" she began in question. It was a rhetorical question. She knew that he did. "You laugh, you connect with people - like me for instance -, and don't you try to deny it, either. You feel. Even though you usually don't care for the lives of those you fight, you still feel. And that's what makes you human to me, Orion."

She wasn't going to let Orion think he was out of place at all. He was a good guy, no matter how much he said otherwise. Reaching out, she placed the flat of her hand against his chest, right where his heart was.

"You're still human. Right here." she tilted her head to the side and looked him in the eye, daring him to argue with her.

A hypnotic darkness in the mind

Notes;
Words: 297
Muse: Better^^
Other: Rina's so sappy XD

[Orion]

"You laugh, you connect with people - like me for instance -, and don't you try to deny it, either. You feel. Even though you usually don't care for the lives of those you fight, you still feel. And that's what makes you human to me, Orion."

As she laid her hand on her chest, she continued, Orion not interrupting her.

"You're still human. Right here."

She had the look in her eye, saying that arguing was a bad idea. He completely ignored that, of course.

"Heh. To you... but what about everyone else? Regardless..."

Orion brought his hand up and grabbed hers from his chest.

"It's nice to hear you say such things."

Pausing for a moment, suddenly realizing how badly that could be taken, he released her and drank deeply from his bottle, as there was half left. Two seconds ago there was, anyway. He drew the bottle away and held it upside down, chuckling. Not even a drop fell.

"That, right there? That's what you call skill."

Joke to break the mood! Yayz!

"At this point, I would challenge you to a drinking contest normally. Buuutt... that would be terribly impolite, as I'd win, and you know it. So.... now what?"

[Rina Vade]

Quiet shadows slowly slinking…

Damn, she sounded so sappy! Inwardly, she yelled at herself. Since when did she act like this around anyone?

"It's nice to hear you say such things."

Huh? Rina blinked as he quickly released her hand after saying that, taking a long drink from his bottle of beer, emptying it. Was he...embarrassed?

No, she thought. Not Orion. No way.

When he said he had skill and that she couldn't beat him in a drinking contest - "And you know it, too." he said, and she chuckled.

"And you won't let me forget it." she replied with a shake of her head. She leaned back, crossing her legs. "What now? Well, I dunno. Feel better yet?" she asked him.

A hypnotic darkness in the mind

Notes;
Words: 184
Muse: *plays funeral music*
Other: ....