rise.

      coco snorts a laugh before she can stop it. goodbye, precious and carefully practiced cool girl facade; hello, nerd with a flashy white smile. it’s a show of nix’s talent that he pries it out of her, and seemingly without any effort at all. ‘ okay, that’s so cheesy, ’ she informs him, and the smile lingers long after the giggles have faded out, ‘ do you have a line like that for everyone, or am i just special? ’

        a bounty. right. that kills the joy a little bit; remembering why she’s here. it also reminds her, albeit against her will, that now is not the time for flirtatiousness (when has that ever stopped her). 

     ‘ i’m not in it for the money, ’ coco says, protesting like a child at the insinuation. ironic, coming from someone who might as well sleep in a bed of benjamins, and easy for someone like her to say—she doesn’t have bills to pay. still, she resents the implication that she does this for anything other than the fun of it (and maybe sating her moral compass). coco eyes nix up, wondering what his personal reasons are. at least he recognizes the danger that comes with standing next to coco labelle. that earns him plenty of points, on top of the ones he’s already gotten for good looks and charm. though she doesn’t realize it just yet, she’s in biiiiig trouble with this one.

                ‘ i could ask you the same thing. don’t tell me we’re competing. ’ though it pretty much looks that way. she glances across the street at the marked house, hears shouting from inside and knows that this was no mixup. ‘ ‘cause if it’s a competition, well. we all know who’s gonna win here. ’ the smile flicks back on again, alight with the thrill of a promised edge to things. ‘ buuuuut. whatcha say we sweeten the pot a little? at your own peril, of course. i take no responsibility for any damages or broken hearts. ’

honestly, he can’t choke back the laughter, either. tries to block it behind a hand balling into a fist in front of his mouth, still doesn’t work out too well. “hey, it worked, didn’t it? that’s all that matters.” is all he can manage after mostly stifling his laughter.

huh. yeah, the bounty did kinda bring the mood down. for a moment, it’s almost like they were teens, again. but, things change, and so do the times. he was still trying to get used to the lifestyle, get used to naoko and afton sending him on missions to show his stuff. running into coco, though. well, if this life of danger came with a side order of some hot coco, he could deal.

“yare yare. i know, i know! almost seems like all is lost to ya already, huh?” knows that’s far from the truth, he has is work cut out for him. but when his gaze follows hers to the building, and then back to her bag, he realizes that the close quarters might work out better in his favor, assuming she gives a damn about collateral damage (and how presumptive that was...)

@volarent / unpr.

did nix have better ideas? of course he did - did that mean he’d stop at the first sign of injustice? of course not. that’s not how he operates, and nothing would change that. prejudice… it was one of the many things that could get his blood to boil. it wasn’t necessarily difficult, mainly a few drunk adults who didn’t even need to be hit - knock them off balance, much easier now, let them fumble around each other.

that’s not to say the numbers were even, though. he took a few blows, sure, maybe a trauma to the head via a garbage can lid. but they were gone, and the victim scurried off. as long as they were safe. but a loud clang catches his attention, cardinal’s gaze turning on a dime to watch just as felid barely manages to catch her landing. he manages a grin, before wiping blood from his lip.

            “oh, i just can’t look! it’s killing me!”

@exxcinere​ // lyrics. 

“i heard hotties.

fists clench at his sides. xavier told him not to do anything - fine. whatever. he won’t, but he’ll remember the other’s face. he watches the victim walk away, metaphorical tail between their legs, though it was their ears flattened against their head that told him they were hurting. feathers ruffle underneath his jacket, eyes narrowing into slits.

        ‘ what can i say. ’ the words roll off her pretty tongue easily (sass was always her first, most fluent language). ‘ i guess i just missed your company. ’ she pops her hip, rests her hand on it and very openly studies him, without a hint of shame. it hasn’t dawned on her what their meeting means yet—she’ll be hit with the oh, shit feeling when it’s least convenient, because that’s coco labelle’s luck … or lack thereof.

                 she scrolls through her mental catalog of notable figures and pulls out his file—nix something, not bad looking and not bad at fighting. certainly not to be underestimated. she remembers seeing him during drills and being glad it wasn’t her faced up against him. it puts him on her level, at least for the fact that the guy’s whole body is a weapon (who needs guns?).

     she slides up beside him, digs in her bag for her menthols. when she finds it, she pulls it out and offers him one, lighter in hand. best to get the important stuff in early. she won’t have the energy to smoke after (next to each other, individual vices in hand, they almost match). ‘ and you’re … ’ she pretends to think, batting her eyelashes. if it’s an inappropriate to flirt in, then you can bet coco’s flirting. ‘ nox? flix? something cute like that, right? ’ 

oh, so that’s the game she wants to play, is it? there were only so many jobs someone of their talents could take while out in this part of the world, so her coy remarks gave him enough answer. “phoenix akairo. or, nix. call me nix, call me yours, call me in the middle of the night when you realize the job is done and you’re out of a bounty.” quick to throw wit right back, hidden behind a charming smile and eyes that smile with him.

hand waves when a menthol is offered, a little surprised at the sight, but not judging. hell, afton smoked and sometimes, the smell was damn close to homey. crimson eyes give her a quick up-and-down, before hands come to rest on his hips as his smile turns a little more mockingly saccharine.

            she was foraging for edible mushrooms in the dark of night. glancing up from the bush she was digging through , she saw the quilted night sky. a flicker out of the corner of her emerald greens. frown , vocals tinged in disappoint , ❛      ———  oh , i think i missed it.     ❜

how long’s it been since he’d seen her? of course he knew who she was. her name went around so much to where even he had heard it, with his head so involved in training. coco, the fearless, stubborn, and terrifying girl from sonnenlicht. and he was phoenix, from gekkousora. their paths had crossed before - he’d met with that firey wit of hers, the terrifying ferocity, and the snark. god, the snark. he kinda missed it. reminded him of home.

coffee cup held idly in his hands, he observes her quietly, crimson eyes scanning up and down before finally taking a sip. “huh... coco... labelle? interesting seein’ you here.” another sip. yes, so interesting to see her here, on the same job site as him. coco labelle, a terrifying combatant, in a less-than-safe part of town?

“that was better, lil red, but if that were a person’s jaw, you’d have broken your knuckles.” he laughs a bit, grabbing her fist and moving her thumb around. “outside of your fist. you’ll break your thumb, otherwise.”

        It’s been too long. She doesn’t remember when she saw him last. She never thought she’d see him again—yet here he is. When the recognition hits, her eyes grow almost impossibly round. Her mouth is just as round, lips and tongue poised to give him an earful for his reckless behavior. But this wasn’t a common discourteous stranger. His presence held far more power.

       She catalogs everything about him as fast she can, gaze darting to and fro. He’s blushing. She doesn’t understand it. Despite herself, she blushes too. Though her head is raised, her shoulder sag, purse falling down to her hand; she nearly drops it. “Phoenix?” Her voice sounds small and distant even in her own ears. “You’re…here.” The last time they met—well, it was awkward, uncomfortable to think about. “How…you’re doing okay?”

he resists the urge to throw his arms out and around her, pull her in a tight bear hug. he won’t, but he wants to. he clears his throat, and rubs at the back of his neck. he smiles, though, when he sees her face glow up in surprise. there was the recognition.