Each Morning New, Each Day Shot Through || Aderyn & Landon
landonbradford:
“So, you’re a mutant.” Landon froze, an answer in itself. No denial there, not in that hint of panic that coursed through his limbs, sped up his heart. But… well. That was odd, to say the least. Aderyn wasn’t running out like the house was on fire. Just calmly finishing her cup of coffee, watching sugar dissolve into darkness. So was she- The next sentence confirmed it, that us instead of you. A quiet sigh of something that might have been relief if the tall man had been someone else.
This whole conversation, with the exception of a few sentences, felt awkward for the tall man. As though the words were a box larger than he was, and he was trying to wrap his arms around it to carry it around and couldn’t quite manage. Unwieldy, unfamiliar. they’d somehow moved into flat conversation, and he couldn’t figure out how to find his footing on this new ground, how to balance and regain his standing and let the sarcasm throw itself past his teeth in its normal fashion.
It was just this woman. He hoped. Even, stable conversations had never been his thing, preferring something that jumped or turned heated, if nothing else. Banter was his specialty, not encouraging people to stick around. “And you know how to drink it.” He shrugged, nodding towards the coffee in Aderyn’s hand. “So if you’re looking for more of the same, I might be extending that kinda offer.” A smirk quirked one corner of his mouth up. “And maybe for more than coffee, yeah? There’s even food sometimes, believe it or not.”
The unease that hung in the air for moments was almost tangible, and Aderyn wondered if she’d struck a nerve. But it vanished soon after, replaced by sarcastic comments about coffee and food, and she had to wonder if this was how things were supposed to be for other people. A shrug, more to herself than him, and she turned, blue eyes trailing over his features, trying to commit them to memory.
“I love coffee. And food. Haven’t gotten a lot of it, running around all this time.” She sipped the warmth and let it slide down into her tummy. “So maybe. We’ll see. But for now,” she sat her coffee down and lifted herself so that she was sitting on the counter top. “What can you tell me about the zombies in the house? Should I find a rifle so I can start picking them off one by one?” A laugh. “Isn’t that how it goes in the movies?”
She mulled over it for a minute, and then decided it was a fair enough question. “Well, If you’re a mutant, and I’m a mutant, are they too?” A house full of a dying breed. What the fuck was this, Animal Planet? National Geographic? “And what about you, uhm….. Landon, that’s right. What can you do?”
Aderyn drained the cup and reached to make another, all from her perch on the counter. The rising sun that drifted in the window and warmed her arms was enough of a comfort to suggest that maybe, just maybe, she could stay for a little while. Just a few days. Maybe a week. Not too long, but just long enough to regain her full strength and rest her legs. She’d been moving an awful lot lately.
Her eyes found his face again, and she studied the planes in silence.
Army of Me || Caleb & Aderyn
psionic-immortal:
He was careful with her hand, his grip strength fare exceeded his strength when lifting. Add to the fact that he had over fed that night so the energy that was not used to maintain his body was being stored and packed into his cells to use and burn in any way they could. She gave a squeeze , light against his skin, still sensitive to things. He led the way in silence for a minute, taking time to seep in the cold and the silence for a moment. Silence broken up by the click of their shoes as he led her through back alleys to a darkened bus stop, where they would wait for the bus. “It isn’t really my house to offer you a place at but Tony won’t mind. He is very generous like that.” he said taking a seat on the bench motioning for her to do the same. This was new for him, this kind of interaction. He was bringing a killer home with him. He was sure everyone would love that.
“He wasn’t all that heavy really you know. I mean a bit paunchy, but not horribly over weight.” he said with a shrug inspecting his finger nails. “And really, I guess you have guessed I happen to be am mutant since my physique is far from overtly muscular. In fact I would go so far to say that I am a bit gaunt.” he looked at her trying to gauge what she was feeling. “and I would be a bit more reserved with that information if I didn’t know you had just killed a man.” he gave her a little smile. “Quite brutally killed him. How awful of you.” he said mulling it over. he did like the taste of murder and blood lust. Though he wasn’t sure she had killed him for the fun of it. She might have had to.
“But you can tell me how you did it now. I would like to know, I have never seen anyone killed like that before.” he looked at her up and down, she was petite really, very pretty. He rater liked that, the duality of it. How she was beautiful and did things so ugly. Like life the world and everyone and most people never saw that. He saw that. all the darkest parts of people. Nuns who felt things nobody should and children consumed with so much rage they would be better put down than allowed to continue on. But that wasn’t his job, his concern. He just took it all in. Filtered it really into something better. “You can demonstrate on me if you wish. I won’t mind.” he said offhandedly, looking up and down the street for the bus. Probably another couple of minutes before it got there anyway.
His back was clear in her vision, despite the night air around them. She followed closely, matching him step for step and click for click as their heels met the pavement. He was quiet until they got to a bus stop, where he sat and motioned for her to do the same. While he didn’t seem the least bit hostile, Aderyn felt on edge— something was making her skin tingle and burn with warning. She wondered if there was a monster just beneath the surface, waiting to spring to life if she stepped just the wrong way. She sat. “I’m sure he has to be some kind of nice, considering he’s letting you bring home strange people at this hour of the night.” Her legs folded one over the other, and she tapped her ankle against the foot of the bench.
“I suppose since you showed me yours I have to show you mine, then.” An inhale, deep and steadying, to calm her nerves. She didn’t like relaying this information to anyone outside of her immediate circle. It was unnerving. “I’m also a mutant.” A pause, to gauge his reaction. He was playing with her, she was sure of it. “I suppose I am awful. But he put a gun to my belly, so really, in the grand scheme of things, how much is one filthy drunkard human worth?” Her fingernails began tapping rhythmically against the wood of the bench and she looked to the sky for a moment, before looking back at her companion. “I can manipulate organic tissue. Skin, organs, things like that. And it’s not something I’m afraid of.”
Just then a light punctured the darkness, and as it drew nearer she saw that it was not one but two— headlights. But it passed, not quite being the bus they were waiting on. “What about you then? Super strength?” The question was casual as ever, but just under the surface her gears were grinding together in a sickening way. She was tired, uneasy, and just wanted to sleep for a while. Maybe that’s where she’d end up, just a quiet place to stay.
She hoped so.
(Source: aderyn-alastor)
ooc: I’ve been the worst…
Please don’t kick me out. They sprung a Psych100 and two ArtHist212 essays at me on top of the two papers I had to write for Eng105. I will for sure be able to reply tomorrow. :[ I’m really sorry.
Each Morning New, Each Day Shot Through || Aderyn & Landon
landonbradford:
“Yeah.” Sweet? Landon couldn’t help the way his eyebrows shot up, giving him an expression that was almost a mockery of surprise. Either Aderyn was judging the place based on Anthony’s decor or she hadn’t met the part of the welcoming committee comprised of himself and Caleb, who were hardly the sweetest of people. “It does get kinda infested, sometimes.” He offered the agreement with a careless shrug, and if his tone didn’t imply that he barely agreed with her, the gesture did.
The tall man got smoothly to his feet and padded across the kitchen, accepting the proffered coffee cup with a small nod of thanks. “But there’s a lot of us spent the last two years alone, and some of us’d rather slit our wrists than go back to that.” The words slid out more matter-of-fact than anything else, without the hint of hurt or fear he might have allowed to slide in when talking with someone he knew better. Another shrug, equally as careless, and he settled one hip against the counter, raising the mug in a near-toast and making no move to sit again.
There was a difference between being on one’s own and being alone, and in the time since M-Day, he’d found that more mutants were the latter rather than the former. It wasn’t something he wanted to return to, and the boardinghouse, while nearly stifling at first, considering the sudden influx of people around him where they’d been no one, had seemed to be able to easily fit all those who knocked on its door, and he’d found it roomy enough, after some time. “Takes a bit of getting used to, sure, but it works, for some.” He reached up and rapped on one of the cabinets with a knuckle. “Sugar’s here, creamer or whatever else you might want’s in the fridge.”
It took him a second longer to realize the blunder he might have just made. Two years. M-Day. He’d gotten too comfortable, too used to discussing the particularly dark time casually, without watching his words. Sure, humans might have been unsettled in the aftermath and the chaos, but mutants, mutants would have borne the brunt of that, would have been the ones uprooted and scattered. Shit. Maybe… maybe she wouldn’t have caught it. Landon shifted uncomfortably, burying his tongue under coffee and dropping into silence. “Got a better place to be, then?” he asked a minute later, tone faintly more subdued. Hell, it didn’t matter if she did or not, so long as she was leaving and wasn’t going to drop their address on the answering machine of any anti-mutant tip line.
She saw his eyebrows get eaten by his hairline and suppressed a chuckle. Was sweet not the right word? Her experiences drove her impressions, and that was something she couldn’t explain.
He rambled for a minute, and she caught what he said. Two years. That meant M-Day. And that was only significant to mutants. “So, you’re a mutant.” She added after he finished pointing out where all of the coffee supplies were. She reached up and opened the cabinet, drew out the sugar, and spooned in four spoons before stirring the black liquid. The motion reminded her of a drain going down, the water being let out of a tub.
“Was a hard day for all of us.” She never really tried to hide what she was. And maybe being alone was hurting her more than helping her. Aderyn was comfortable in her skin, however mutated society deemed it. That wasn’t going to change. And mutants were so thin nowadays… maybe it would be in her benefit to stick around a larger grouping of them? She didn’t know quite yet, deciding instead to sip her coffee and enjoy the smell as it wafted into her nose.
“I haven’t got anywhere to be. But I figured I better not overstay my welcome. The guy that brought me here was less than charming.” She remembered the man and his comments on the mess she’d left in the street. It didn’t matter to her either way. “Are you inviting me to stay longer? Because if you are, I might be inclined to accept.” She trained her eyes on his face and gave a small nod.
“At least you know how to make a good cup of coffee.”
Army of Me || Caleb & Aderyn
psionic-immortal:
Caleb laughed a little, “Well it would have been fun anyway.” he said with a sigh, he didn’t have enhanced senses, couldn’t smell from a mile away. Couldn’t see a fly on the wall in the town over, but he had an excellent palette, an acute sense of taste for what he ate. He ran his tongue along his bottom lip, as if to test the air. She was confident, and a bit wary of life he supposed, certainly not him. He was unassuming at best. “Depends. I mean, I do live somewhere, and you would be welcome to sleep there. Maybe.” he said with a shrug. Something else, it tasted of something else, someones fear but not hers. But it clung to her. And there was anger, and some rage. “How delightful.” he said making himself taller by using his tip toes. He walked toward her, but then past her. Back to where she came from. Opposite direction of his home but he had to cut back through the city for that. And boulder was huge.
The road was dark but not so dark as to not spot a body. And a peculiar one at that. He nudged it with his foot, what was coming out of his mouth? Another soft nudge. “How messy.” he said with a laugh. “Someone needs to learn to clean up after herself.” he said with a sigh. With a click of his tongue he lifted the body with ease. One hand was enough to sling the man and the spray of his entrails over into a ditch on the side of the road. Not just laying on the pavement. Caleb understood the need to kill sometimes, it was necessary at times. But clean up after yourself. That was something he had learned form his parents. Ends justified the means but make sure you never get caught using those ends. He sighed wiping the blood he had gotten on his hand off on the grass.
Darkness was the friend to deeds like this. It bred them and concealed them, and in the bright of day they are exposed. Hopefully the animals would come and take this deed to hell. Blend it in and make it one with the earth. He had placed it far down in the embankment but in a couple days time it would be found. Such is life. He looked back for the woman, the one who was so keen to sleep somewhere “Are you coming or not? You can show me how you did it. Made his intestines come out like that. You don’t have any weapons.” he said with a smile, false and a bit wicked, extending a hand as a gesture of treatise to her.
He laughed. Sounded disappointed that she hadn’t attacked him. Was he stupid or fearless? Maybe both? She couldn’t tell yet. His tongue darted out to touch his bottom lip and run along it slowly, like he was tasting the leftovers of a fine wine that lingered there. He murmured something— she caught the word delightful— and began to wonder if she should be worried. He could be a serial killer, after all. Hadn’t he accused her of the same?
He turned, and he heart jumped into her throat. He was going back to the body.
Aderyn followed the man closely. He could be one of two things, and if he was human, she’d have to get rid of him. If he was mutant… well, she’d cross that bridge when they came to it. He nudged the entrails, much like she had before grinding his face into the pavement, and then lifted him up and tossed him down the embankment to the left. He bent down and wiped his hands in the grass. The man had been a heavy son of a bitch, so she decided he was mutant.
When his eyes fell on her again, she met his gaze steadily. “If you’d be inclined to give me a place to stay for the evening, I’d be pressed to tell you how I did it. But I have a few questions of my own.” Aderyn paced close, close enough to see his breath make small clouds in the air. “Like how you managed to toss that heavy fuck as if he was a bag of groceries.” She eyed his hand before inhaling slowly and offering a cool smile. “I suppose this is truce for the evening?”
Her hand wrapped around his and she gave a tight squeeze of agreement.
(Source: aderyn-alastor)
Each Morning New, Each Day Shot Through || Aderyn & Landon
landonbradford:
A woman. A new resident? Jesus Christ, how many of them were there? A twist of Landon’s fingers and the shadow-creature vanished, sinking into the darkness cast on the floor by own of his own shoulders. “Landon.” His voice was more a grumble than a reply, normally a sound deep in his chest and made a touch lower now by volume (or lack thereof) and tone (utterly, decidedly, unimpressed). “Pleasure, I’m sure.” A touch of customary sarcasm wrapped around his words, ivy on a church wall; he knew it was so rarely a pleasure to meet him, and practically went out of his way to make sure of that.
He stretched silently, long limbs long limbs popping at the shoulders like wet firecrackers, before lounging back in his seat and cocking an eyebrow as he gave the woman - Adara? Adrienne? Aderyn, that was it. - the once-over, making no move to hide or disguise the shifting of his stare for anything other than what it was. Dark hair, bright eyes, no sign of a physical mutation like Corn’s, but that didn’t mean a thing and he only had to glance at nearly anyone in the boardinghouse for proof of that. Better to assume she was human than mutant. Safer that way, and allowed for a bit more… fun on the tall man’s part.
“Live in a place like this for long enough,” he tossed back across the table, “and you either learn to make damn good coffee or you risk being eaten by a resident zombie in the mornings.” Less sarcasm than there could have been, should have been, but it was early and he had the vaguest decency to tease the new kid on the playground until there was coffee. After that, everything was, more or less, fair game. Landon’s gaze slipped to the backpack, fingers curled possessively around its straps. “Not sticking ‘round then?” he asked, abruptly changing the topic of conversation with a note in his voice that was half curiosity and half sharpness.
Sarcastic was the first word that popped into her mind when he spoke. She didn’t quite hear exactly what he said; her eyes were trained on the dark spot of the kitchen where it looked like something had moved. She could have sworn…. but, no matter. He was talking again, and the conversation needed her attention more than some ghost of a figure in the shadows. It obviously wasn’t a person, so she’d let it lay for now.
“Zombies? Damn, I thought I’d gotten rid of them all on my way here.” Sarcasm to match sarcasm. Fire to fire. That was the way to fight, even with words. Everything was a fight these days, and anyone who told he otherwise was ready for a quick foot to the face. His eyes landed on her bag and she nodded. “Not my kind of place. Too sickeningly sweet. Not fit for this.” She made her way to the counter, watching the last little bit of coffee fall into the pot. Aderyn loved coffee black with four sugars. It would always be how she drank it.
“Unless someone gives me a reason to stay. Like, a landslide happening overnight and blocking every way out of here.” Her fingers touched the cabinet knobs and she began her search for coffee cups, unknowingly letting her foot fall into the shadowed part of the kitchen. (But why would she worry about that?) “What about you, Mr. Sarcasm? You live here or something?”
Her head thrummed, but she found a cup and drew it out of the cabinet, followed by another for him. He had made it, after all. She poured the dark liquid into the mugs and offered him one. “Can’t see how anyone would want to. Feels crowded.”