#12pirit

❝ NO, dad ~ ! ❞

s l e e p y . . . . . he could be falling asleep by now if it weren't for the coffee he was currently pouring into his mouth. the attempt on his life that lack of sleep had on him -- he had things to do & therefore there was no time for sleep ! no time --- he rests his head on the other's shoulder who was near by, the cup that was pressed his palm began to slip out of the grasp of his fingers. if he weren't careful, he'd drop the coffee all over himself & anyone else in close vicinity. ❝ must stay . . . . focused. ❞ the paper that was needed for his next class was due in a few hours. he had everything that was needed already in his head, but now he just needed to make it home to put it down in a document so he could turn it in digitally & on time. all meanwhile , needing to stay focused & alerted incase another identity needed to be recovered --- the city being rescued from danger from the only one that seemed to be capable of doing the job; even though he wasn't the only one.

❝ holy shit, those cat ears look so REALISTIC !! ❞

roblox ? fortnite ?? ( what the heck were either of those ... ? )

' uh , i --- don't really have the time ... ' games and electronics had never really been his thing , either . ' but --- is that really what everyone's doing ? ' forget being involved as a phantom thief ; a grade-a loser outside of the majority of social circles would always end up sounding like he lived under a rock when it came to whatever was hip and popular . still , the niwa liked to think he was mostly normal .

what is uncommon, though, is the electro wielder coming to a stop in its attacks— the once-snarling expression suddenly seeming... flustered? with a red face, it removes itself from atop wriothesley and clears its throat.

"i don't even care enough about this to fight about it, so consider yourself safe for now."

what a sudden attitude shift!!

Another day, another struggle with the ever-present headache that is Aviv.

There's a part of him that actually enjoys these scraps - Aviv provides a challenge he so rarely gets down in the Fortress. Not that he'd ever admit that, of course. That would just make things unbearable. Although... given its nature, if it knew he liked the fighting, it'd probably stop antagonising him out of spite.

No. No, that's never going to happen. Antagonising him is Aviv's favourite pastime-

Brows lift in surprise as it suddenly retreats and - no, he isn't mistaken. Aviv is... blushing? He straightens himself out, eyeing the other with a mixture of suspicion and curiosity. That's certainly never happened before. How... interesting.

@12pirit &&. said... why are you such a pessimist ? (hi hello!! 👋)

he  scoffs  at  that  —  as  if  the  notion  that  he  might  be  a  pessimist  is  meant  to  be  an  ABSURD  THING.  in  ren's  mind,  it  most  certainly  is.  ❝  i'm  not.  ❞   the  wanderer  is  quick  to  insist.  ❝  i'm  just  being  REALISTIC.  ❞  but  of  course,  no  one  ever  wants  to  look  the  inherent  unfairness  of  life  in  the  face  —  it's  too  ugly,  too  unpleasant  to  confront  directly.  the  idea  that  the  world  they  live  in  is  not  obligated  to  show  its  prisoners  kindness,  that  there  is  no  guarantee  things  may  ever  get  better  (  and  in  fact  are  just  as  likely  to  get  WORSE  )  is  more  than  most  people  can  bear.  instead,  they  drown  themselves  in  optimism  —  mumbling  hollow  platitudes  with  a  saccharine  smile,  as  if  trying  to  ease  their  own  pain  as  much  as  they  are  that  of  those  around  them.  he  tried  to  follow  that  line  of  thinking,  once.  in  some  ways,  the  wanderer  is  even  GLAD  that  he  did  —  if  only  for  the  way  that  it  taught  him  how  empty  the  happy  thoughts  truly  are  with  nothing  left  to  back  them.

❝  if  you  were  smart,  you  would  feel  the  same.  ❞  he's  perched  himself  on  a  thick  tree  branch.  the  bark  is  rough  beneath  his  hands,  though  not  in  a  way  the  wanderer  dislikes.  his  legs  sway  a  bit,  suspended  from  the  ground  as  they  are  —  it's  such  a  childish  gesture  that  it  feels  JARRING  contrasted  with  what  abysmal  words  spill  from  that  acerbic  mouth.  ❝  setting  your  expectations  too  high  is  a  recipe  for  disappointment.  it's  smarter  to  brace  yourself  for  the  worst  life  has  to  throw  at  you.  ❞  he  exhales  a  soft  huff  —  something  that  tries  to  resemble  A  LAUGH,  yet  doesn't  quite  make  the  cut.  ❝  at  least  then,  you  can  be  pleasantly  surprised  whenever  things  actually  do  go  your  way.  ❞  and  numb  oneself  to  the  pain  whenever  it  doesn't.   ❝  call  it  pessimism  if  you  want.  that  isn't  how  i  see  it  at  all.  ❞

it's  UGLY,  but  so  are  most  of  the  things  out  of  his  mouth  —  or  so  he's  been  told.  he  doesn't  actually  speak  with  the  intent  to  offend,  but  the  wanderer  also  doesn't  particularly  care  if  his  words  come  with  that  as  a  CONSEQUENCE.  although,  these  days  he's  at  least  trying  to  be  a  touch  less  domineering  with  his  opinions  —  inviting  debate,  even  if  he  still  feels  quite  confident  in  what  he  thinks.  (  call  it  the  akademiya  rubbing  off  on  him.  or  perhaps  just  an  intrinsic  love  of  arguing.  )  to  that  end,  ren  glances  down  and  tilts  his  head.  kasa  chimes  softly  from  the  movement;  it  almost  sounds  a  bit  inquisitive.  ❝  why  are  you  so  confident  that  i'm  WRONG?  ❞ call it a question for a question.

MORBID CURIOSITY

"and your loyalty to me is to be generously rewarded in turn, darling." long nails scratch it's head, gently ruffling it's hair. viktoriya ignores the odd feeling in the pit of her stomach when aviv confirms her sneaking suspicions- but with that irritation comes a brief moment of relief: aviv's loyalty is hers, and not his.

but what to do next? truly the question of the evening.

"we should act first on this information. there's no use in sitting around, twiddling our thumbs like fools." that wannabe hero must already be planning around her adjustments of her plan of actions. she was going to send one of the others to grab what she needed- but once more, she's going to have get her her hands dirty. "we simply must get that item first. clear your schedule and accompany me."