SLEEPLESS NIGHTS.

Walter's touch is gentle and warm. A soft, pleased sigh escapes their lips as Walter winds his arms around their waist. Head tilts to rest against Walter's as he embraces them from behind. Gently swaying along with him, a low, thoughtful hum escapes their lips as Walter shares his thoughts. Although are some are quick to brand Walter as impulsive and foolhardy, the man is anything but.

"You are very sentimental, it is not hard to do," they tease with him a poorly suppressed chuckle. There's no use lingering on 'what ifs,' but they truly do wonder what their life would have been like if they hat met sooner, especially if the two of them had met before they met Boone. Boone was a liar. A handsome, sweet talking one but a liar all the same. Walter has his faults but Bloodhound has never wondered or worried about Walter lying to them.

walter gave a hearty laugh at bloodhound's compliment about his former (and current) physique, his one eye briefly closing as they pressed a kiss to his temple. "handsome, aye, but a damn fool. i woulda mucked this right up if i'd known ya back then." a reality where he screwed things up between himself and bloodhound was a terrifying one, and one that he could never imagine living. so, he's deliberately careful with them, taking things one day at a time so he could love them right.

"aw, i reckon you woulda given me a real run for my money!" walter was good back then. still is good at what he does, but he was far more agile in his youth. now, if he twists the wrong way he's bound to pull a muscle in his back. he'd still survive on salvo to this day, but he was far easier to break these days. "i would've loved to see how li'l houndy fought. you're a right beast when i'm forced to go against you in the games now; i can't even imagine how bloody good you still were back in the day."

walter's lips found the shell of bloodhound's ear, then the junction where their earlobe met their neck, and he left two kisses behind. he gingerly laid three more cascading down their neck, then left one final kiss on the top of their shoulder. it wasn't suggestive, but instead his kisses were cementing his love into their flesh, almost worshipping his partner. he knew he would need to part from them eventually, but he was savoring every second that passed where he could hold them in his arms.

❛  i don't believe you anymore.  ❜ ❛  i don't have anything left to give you.  ❜ ❛  i don't know how to forgive you.  ❜ ❛  i don't know how to stop loving you.  ❜ ❛  i don't know if i hate you or miss you.  ❜ ❛  i don't know how to act around you anymore.  ❜ ❛  i don't love you anymore.  ❜ ❛  i don't need your pity.  ❜ ❛  i don't need you to save me.  ❜ ❛  i don't recognize you anymore.  ❜ ❛  i don't think we can fix this.  ❜ ❛  i don't think i can survive losing you again.  ❜ ❛  i don't want to see you again.  ❜ ❛  i don't want your apology.  ❜ ❛  i don't want to be your second choice.  ❜ ❛  don't ask me to stay.  ❜ ❛  don't ask me to be okay with this.  ❜ ❛  don't come back to me just because you're lonely.  ❜ ❛  don't leave me here alone.  ❜ ❛  don't lie to me again.  ❜ ❛  don't love me only when it's convenient.  ❜ ❛  don't make me choose between you and myself.  ❜ ❛  don't make me hate you just so i can let you go.  ❜ ❛  don't pretend you're the only one who suffered.  ❜ ❛  don't say you love me unless you mean it.  ❜ ❛  don't tell me what to do.  ❜ ❛  don't tell me this was all for nothing.  ❜ ❛  don't touch me.  ❜ ❛  don't turn this around on me.  ❜ ❛  don't you dare hold my past against me.  ❜ ❛  you don't deserve me.  ❜ ❛  you don't get to decide when i'm done hurting.  ❜ ❛  you don't get to hurt me and call it love.  ❜ ❛  you don't get to mourn me after killing every part of me that loved you.  ❜ ❛  you don't get to rewrite what happened just because you regret it now.  ❜ ❛  you don't have to pretend you missed me.  ❜ ❛  you don't know how many times i waited for you.  ❜ ❛  you don't know what i gave up for you.  ❜ ❛  you don't understand what you did to me.  ❜ ❛  you don't understand how tired i am of being strong because of you.  ❜

Pale glow seemed to ADMIRE the branches' claws when Bloodhound raised them for emphasis. "I shoulda learned how to make these things sooner," the sim responded. Set up scary snowfolk surrounding their village on Talos IN THE NIGHT.

But if he'd been intent on scaring their people, he was much scarier than any snowman.

While Bloodhound looked over the snow blanketing the yard, now marked in the trails left by their snowballs, Revenant turned his gaze westward, further up the mountain. "It gets rocky, up past-" But it seemed the hunter had already decided on a different solution, disappearing inside and returning with a small shovel of COALS.

Revenant stepped closer to watch the steam rise off the hot coals from where they'd been dumped into the snow.

At the other Legend's offer, a crimson claw drew closer, hovering over their palm while the simulacrum's gaze searched the little pile in their hand. Finally picking out a suitable size and shape for an EYE. Carefully, he held the snowfolk's head steady with his palm while he fit the eye into place where Bloodhound had drawn it.

bloodhound stared at him, their expression unreadable with the mask and goggles fitted to their face — but behind them both was an amused expression. they should have seen this coming; it was very like him. "if you insist," they conceded, their tone wavering slightly with barely-restrained laughter. "you did góður."

they stepped closer to the snowman with the coals still in their glove-clad palm, examining each one to determine a suitable order for the coals to lay in a smile. bloodhound picked one up, gingerly pressing it into the snowball that made up the snowman's head. they were careful not to knock the snowball over, working the piece of coal into the snow until it stuck. they repeated this action several times until they had run out of coals and the smile was to their liking.

when they were finished, they brushed off their coal-stained glove and took three decent steps back to admire their handiwork. it was coming together nicely, and it looked like it could be finished, but... it felt like it was missing something. right? bloodhound's head tipped marginally to one side, silently wracking their mind for any other details they might've been missing.

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Wise felt like a touch of excessive flattery for what only seemed the practical choice. And even then assuming he gave a damn about the stability of this thing... Which he did, apparently. He watched the hunter follow suit with added snow around their segment.

Stepped back when they did. Glancing between them and the snowfolk, measuring with his gaze whether it had ended up at the height he'd wanted. Decidedly CLOSE ENOUGH.

And it looked enough like a snowman, too. Though... bare of some things. He was reflecting on what to do about the face when Bloodhound gave their next instruction, at which the simulacrum initially paused. ARMS? His mind went to weapons before Bloodhound said sticks and he realized they meant limbs. Right.

Though, now a snowman with a gun sounded pretty funny.

Revenant moved off into the woods, his lean, pale frame surprisingly camouflaged amongst the snow and dense trees while he searched out suitable branches.

HE TOOK AWHILE.

When he finally returned, it was with two dark branches, one with a more arm-like bend than the other - and both with long, gnarled twigs toward the ends which seemed to approximate CLAWS. Not friendly-looking arms at all. Each was handed off to Bloodhound while the sim observed the drawn-on face, which he hadn't even been able to see until stepping closer.

bloodhound took the two branches from revenant when he handed them over, observing his selection. they couldn't help but to give an amused smile that he wouldn't see, shaking their head. the sticks did resemble arms, but they were two of the scariest-looking arms he could've possibly chosen. fitting.

"you are hepp that i do not have children. that we are far from mitt village otherwise." amusement was laced into their playful scolding, and they raised the branches up for emphasis. "our snowfolk would scare the children." still, bloodhound took another step closer to their snowman and started to secure the arms into place, one on either side of its midsection. though it now looked like an unfriendly snowman with an unsettling smile, the arms adorning claws vaguely reminded them of revenant's own.

when he inquired about the face, they gave a firm nod. "já. i cannot remember, but i think the face is made of... stones." they looked around their snow-covered yard. there was snow as far as the eye could see, extending out into the forest. they exhaled, and a puff of fog slipped through the vents of their respirator. "it will taka hunting." to find small rocks, that is.

they cast their gaze down toward their bare hands, then to the insulated gloves on the ground. bloodhound collected the gloves and brushed off any newly-fallen snow, then slid them back onto their hands. warmth encapsulated their hands within a matter of moments, which they flexed once or twice. their hands were warmer and would not easily freeze in the snow again — but, bloodhound wasn't sure where to begin searching for small stones on their property. they were an impeccable tracker for moving targets and wild animals, but finding rocks beneath the snow was like searching a haystack for a needle. the coals in their fireplace would've been another good option, if only they weren't actively burning within their home. but bloodhound owned a shovel, and the walk from their fireplace to the snow outside was short...

"one moment."

bloodhound made their way back into their cabin, but they left the door open this time. they were inside for only a few minutes, and soon they emerged with a small iron shovel of red-hot coals. it was only a small fireplace shovel used for tending to hot coals, but it was capable of scooping up enough for their snowman's face. bloodhound dumped the coals out into the snow. the pieces of coal sizzled in the snow but were quick to cool down to a more manageable temperature.

"I am well aware of your missing appendages, Walter," they tease him with a fond smile and less than subtle roll of brown eyes. Walter's presence, although distracting, is a welcome one. He is warm like the sands of Salvo, his warmth both a literal feeling and a metaphorical one. He has an outgoing personality that compliments their more cool and calm one well. They balance each other out in that sense. Knife slides across cutting board as they chop fresh meat into cubes. They make a point to tuck the knife into the sink and wash their hands before reciprocating Walter' touch.

"I would much prefer you to keep your fingers," they remind him, cheek coming to press into his shoulder as they lean into him. A hand comes to rest atop the one wound around their waist. With a soft hum, they confess, "you are my favorite kind of distraction, that is true." Their face soon tilts upwards, like a flower turning toward the sun as Walter kisses their cheek once more. "Once I get the stew simmering you may distract me more."

the moment bloodhound grew sentimental on him, his expression softened. bloodhound's words, though candy-sweet, made walter's heart ache. he wound both arms around their waist, dropping his chin down onto their shoulder as he hung onto every word they spoke. he swayed gingerly with them in his grasp, making minimal side-to-side movements.

"aw, houndy... you're gonna have me all misty-eyed," he teasingly complained, though the playfulness waned from his voice towards the end. though he wished he had met bloodhound sooner in life, he couldn't entirely say the same. walter had never loved somebody the way he loved bloodhound. in his youth, he was immature, rash, and chased the call of bonecage fights. he had found pleasure in others, but he never yearned to love another, or to be loved, because he was too busy fighting for fame and glory. 'settling down' wasn't exactly his style.