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WHO: LEVI and OPEN
WHERE: Around Heropa + imPort Training Building
WHEN: 08/25 - 08/30
WHAT: Levi rolls with the punches while throwing some of his own and after all summer finally wears shorts.
WARNINGS: Violence and language near animals
NOTES: Contact mun if interested in a starter!

II. MONDAY OPEN - imPort Training Building.

[ Shorts in summer were great and Levi lacked the capacity for self-conscious ideations to care what he wore as long as it was practical and didn't make him look like a slob. Only thing was his stretch fabric athletic shorts were small in every sense of the word. Sports store clerk assured him there were versatile for whatever he wanted to get down while out at the gym but after only an hour or so they bunched in places nothing should ever bunch. More than once Levi caught himself snapping the elastic waistband to adjust to fit in the middle of his reps and he supposed he only tolerated them because the dark grey color didn't show how soaked with sweat he was after the third or forth hour.

By then he started to hover around the cordoned off raised boxing ring as he flitted between the stand-up punching bag and heading back to the bench he dropped his things to throw a zip up hoodie over his naked chest or polish off what was left of his 'crocade' sports drink. Shit went down like melted sugar but it was a dollar at the vending machine and kept him going. Eventually he ended up in conversation with on of the civilian trainers there and their discussion bled between English and Spanish.

Spanish was something Levi really learned through exposure and not so much to night classes he had been taking at the community center. Not that he never put in the effort but he had always been someone who learned out in the wild instead of the traditional classroom environment. Languages were as numerous as they were diverse here and compared to the one he had spoken behind the Walls it afforded Levi the opportunity to pick up something he saw as being useful. No one else in the Corps was bilingual for obvious reasons and to him Spanish was the most practical choice out here in Florida. Levi spoke a slower, very much second language Spanish with snatches of Puerto Rican dialect he picked up from living here to basic and stilted textbook phrasings.

And apparently he picked up a small dictionary of vulgarities when after civilly being waved off for the offer he made to the guy to go in the ring if just to let him throw a few hits with the focus pads he said his stilted thanks then swore as the man walked off. Not that he had to, but Levi had been training solo since he had gotten here and he knew his form would suffer for it sooner now than later. A quick almost longing glance through that stone hard exterior came through as he looked back at the ring as he headed back towards the speed bags. ]

II. FRIDAY CLOSED - Joel and Levi meet at the stables outside Heropa. Situation deteriorates.

[ Bruma was insensible to command or reprimanded for obstinate behavior that entire day and for a gelding that was worrisome behavior. The skewbald Appaloosa had never been especially fond of Levi always having been more receptive to Ellie even if there was no reason for it than a horse suddenly deciding to play favorites. Vaulting today had been an exercise in disappointment and frustration with Levi calling it quits after the horse nearly gave him rope burn with how hard he yanked on the longe line.

Both of them irritable and sweating, Levi finally conceded he would be going nowhere fast learning Western saddle on his own with this particular horse, or at least without Ellie. Rope halter thrown back on Bruma's head he led the gelding out by his lead to the paddock to let him run off whatever stick that horse worked up its ass. ]

Off you go, fuckhead. [ Levi unlatched the lead and corralled Bruma through the paddock gates with a gentle pat to its haunches. Leaning over the fence he started to run the numbers for what it would cost to officially throw this horse on Ellie, leave her with boarding fees and purchase a decent warmblooded thing like a Quarter horse for himself. That owning a horse in the twenty-first century was such a pain in the ass had given him second thoughts about the whole thing. All the while he paid little mind to whoever was approaching the paddock from the stables. ]

III. ANY DAY OPEN - Any location in Heropa.

[ Open prompt night. PM for starter or throw in your own. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[In the room Armin made his own for the two months since his first arrival, Armin is listening to Sonata Arctica on his boom box and an acceptable volume and sorting through piles of clothes. It's hard to miss just how obviously they're separated: the softer colors, the floral prints and lace is one pile, everything else in another. There are a few items, sky blue, that seem to be in a less-formed pile in the center, undecided.

He pulls a pink sweatshirt out of the closet, the price tag still on. This was a gift from Reiner when they met up at the mall in June, it feels like an entire lifetime ago to Armin. He'd liked the picture of the kitten on the front (Skye said he "looks like a wet kitten from a distance", and Armin said, "but kittens bite and scratch and carried diseases") and the softness of the fabric. Pink is a nice color for his skin and eyes, too.

He strokes his cheek with the sleeve. It's not like he'd ever have an occasion to wear this in Florida anyway, and it's weird to hold onto a gift from someone who's made your life as much hell as Reiner has.

But he doesn't want to let go of it just yet.]

[ At day's end with his work shift with his boots stomped clean of filth in the mudroom and jacket over his arm coming in the house to drop his phone on the kitchen table did Levi only register sound coming from upstairs as dull thrum. One that could be felt in the hardwood floorboards where he moved towards the landing up the stairs.

Levi being the misshapen peg in the round hole that he was here or behind the Walls let the small things fall by the wayside often. Had the band meant anything to him at some point it deadened to white noise with everything going on presently being what it was, Levi had tunnel vision and any attachment or memory that surrounded the snatches of verses he caught from down the hall was gone. Hell, the radio stood on the office bookcase as an expensive paper weight. Levi worked; he came home every night and thought about how coffee grounds were always going to look like the chewed up findings of the lower intestines crushed between giant teeth and then still made a pot anyway.

He was beginning to forget Armin had even inhabited this room until Levi rapped his knuckles loud against the door frame. Brow stretched close to the hairline with confusion tinged by irritability. ]

Am I interrupting something?

[Armin quickly throws the kitten-printed monstrosity on top of the blue and green pile of 'maybes'. If anything, he's too casual about returning to the closet to look over the next item hanging there, a pair of black leggings with a light gray pattern printed on them.]

I didn't mean to make a mess, I'm just sorting through it, since I'm donating a lot of it. I can clear it out and finish the rest later when you're at work, though. [Armin sounds as if he's rehearsed the lilt of each word over and over to make it sound as nonchalant as possible. It's clear something's making him nervous, and while he doesn't look as bad as he did when he first returned, it couldn't be said he looks in peak condition, either.]

But while I'm at it, are you interested in any of this? [Armin indicates the shelf of toiletries Levi once invaded without permission, the one that carries small bottles of nail polish and a few other embarrassing things.]

[ Levi looked around the room and was only distantly aware of how it was being stripped down to the bare bones from a space that was once active and lived-in to something cavernous. No fault was placed on Armin for leaving, and really Levi had none to give when he only controlled the rest of them at a distance as they navigated their own lives here. Lives he stopped having much interest in once the 3DMG straps came off with the only thing hinting to their service the purple lashing of bruises that never went away. ]

No. [ He answered flatly, eyes flickering over the shelf only briefly. Gaze anchored back on Armin, Levi looked at him coolly neutral if a tinged confused by his actions. They weren't friends and unless something transpired here either with the shifters or whatever kicked the States' hornets nest they were hardly even colleagues anymore. Levi knew that should bother him. Should. ]

Still at Kirstein's?

He insisted on sleeping on the couch or the floor, so I went back to my assigned room in government housing. [Armin's distantly aware of the possibility of that being strange, like it sounded like he might want more than something like that, and he feels a little sick to his stomach. Of course he hadn't been thinking anything like that, just more used to having people around than not after a few months back in their world. He hadn't wanted to be alone in the dark with his thoughts, but in the end, Armin enabled that scenario anyway.

He doesn't even take a second look at the leggings before he tosses them on the 'discard' pile.]

What a gentleman. [ Levi assumed the implication under that was there was a lot of awkward bull sessions muttered over who would occupy what side of the bed under some insisted they take the couch. He assumed but said nothing because there was enough to deal with than invite that host of interpersonal drama he wanted no part of.

Teenagers were as teenagers and they were constantly shifting toilet bowl of hormones and instability he found noxious. Living with four of them might have colored his opinions and especially offensive shade of bias, but now that wasn't a problem anymore was it? ]

He was really nice to me while I was there, though. I didn't want to impose on him too long. [Armin felt like defending Jean, not that Jean ever asked him for that. He can't blame Jean for not wanting to be that close to him. He can't think of any reason why anyone would want to be anywhere near him. (He misses Eren and Mikasa so much it's like a sharp pain in his gut. They would love him no matter what he became. He could really use something familiar.)

This room used to be familiar.

But when he returned it was like everything else: the colors were no longer bright, all sense of security stripped away. The things he once liked cause waves of unpleasant emotions: guilt, anxiety, even hopelessness at points.

He picks up another one of his floral printed shirts. He remember how it felt to wear it, that he thought it brought out his eyes, that it made him happy. It seems particularly stupid, and if Levi weren't there, gazing at him in that unimpressed manner that he can feel even when he can't see it, Armin would definitely throw it on the floor. He might even bright the whole closet down. Uncertain of his own grip, he leaves the item hanging for the moment.]

I guess none of this is really your style, but if you see anything you like, please take it. I'm giving most of it away.

You wouldn't be imposing on him- not when his life is indebted to yours. [ Levi returned, sharply as he crossed the invisible and awkward barrier and over the threshold into a room that belonged to no one. An inconvenience at five foot three that opened its mouth dropping salt into freshly sewn wounds, Levi had yet to allow either Armin or Jean forget the circumstances that lead them here. ]

Whatever Jean thinks of you and throwing away your clothes because you don't get to ask for absolution from that woman you killed is trying to put out a fire with horseshit. [ Floral printed shirts lined the floors and Levi stepped over one without stopping because no, they were absolutely not his 'style' and neither was being a spectator to one of his digging himself deeper and having the audacity to ask Levi to throw him a bigger shovel. ]

[Armin turns around. There are tears gleaming in his eyes - of course there are. His face is flushed, and in a lot of ways he's showing more life than he did mere moments ago. Distantly, he's aware that might be Levi's goal.]

It's not like it's that simple!

[Armin takes a breath. It's like he hears an echo of his own voice, shrill and childish, and he realizes his own mistake before Levi can call him on it.]

Maybe I'm the one - I'm the one who doesn't want to be around him. [Jean, after all, only knows Armin's summary of the situation. It's Armin having nightmares. It's Armin purposefully withdrawing from his friends in isolation. Because when he sees Jean, he knows what he did was right, coming in conflict with the deeply-sown seeds of guilt and self-loathing this incident has caused to grow with frightening fervor. They'd set roots long ago, in his early childhood, but even though the incident in Trost, and all the trust and respect he's been shown since then haven't relieved his doubts completely. Like weeds, these feelings grew back from the roots even when the flowering plants seemed removed completely.

He speaks quietly, his brief outburst quelled:]

I don't want him to spend time with me just because he owes me.

[Armin sniffs, but remains composed.]

As for the clothes, I honestly don't know what you're talking about. You think I'm getting rid of them because I killed that woman?

[ Unmoved when faced with Armin coming at him with red-rimmed eyes and anger reverberating through every inch of his body as if Levi threw the stone breaking the calm surface of the water sending disruptive ripples through its glassy blue surface. ]

Things are always simple when personal bias is removed. Jean fucked up and you're the one who paid for, but the result was his continued existence. If you think that is too steep a cost then I wonder what that says about Jean. [ Levi intoned, and only tilts his head a small measure upwards to look him in the eye. ]

I don't care about your clothes or what you plan to do with them, but I think you're looking for catharsis in how you throw out everything that you owned before this happened. [ An observed by nature, Levi was not as insensible to what happened around him. Fear and disquiet in others he could smell off a person as a noxious odor that was sharp like that coppery bite coursing through the air right before lightning struck. ]

[There's a moment where Armin is definitely thinking "I'm going to start yelling at him. And I won't be able to stop." But at the end of Levis little tirade, he takes a deep breath and speaks calmly and quietly.] That's a strange thing to say, that I'd think it was too steep a cost. Like hating the fact that I'm a murderer somehow means I don't think I should have done it? Did I say that at any point? Of course Jean is worth it. [Everyone in their squad is, really, but Jean might be the only one who'd hesitate in that situation. And Armin really had been scared Jean would die.] But it would be weirder to hang around him like I expected something. If he has his life, he should just go ahead and live it, after all.

[On tear slips down Armin's cheek, and he actually laughs about it, breaking eye contact to wipe his eyes on his sleeve and sniffle.]

You're wrong about the clothes. It's pettier than that. But even if I did want catharsis, I'd think you'd encourage me. That would mean I was just getting everything out of my system in order to move on, after all.

[True to form, Erwin had simply decided against following the orders to take it easy after surgery. He had indulged in a couple of days but that was all it took before he was ready to get out of the house at any cost. This weekend he had decided it was time to get back into the saddle- literally.

He wore his uniform pants, boots and white shirt though had left off the straps for the 3DMG today. The last time he had put on his uniform was that day he had been grabbed off his horse, during the expedition to get Eren back. It seemed so far removed from his life here, entirely foreign. Once he was back in the saddle, however, that all changed.

Even if he was pushing himself, there was no hesitation, no change in his expression as the horse galloped along muddy paths winding through the trees. There was no telling how far he had gone and so by the time he arrived at the house, the sun had already slipped below the horizon.]

Levi, I'm home. [Erwin called out, despite how shaky he was starting to fee he still managed to make it to the couch where he started pulling off his muddy boots.]

[ Sunday evening with his work phone on silent and shifts already covered left Levi with little more to do than ruminate every imperfection in the house after everything that could be mopped, swept, and even bleached had been and then twice over if just to kill time.

Hange or Mike could have been bothered as quickly as Levi could hit speed dial but with everything hitting a lull in the wake of events that impacted their numbers personally if smacked of just prodding at exposed nerves. ]

You look like shit left to bake in the sun. [ Levi intoned and eyed both Erwin and his muddied boots he was pulling off in the living room with cold contempt.

Hands being rubbed over a tea towel and smelling vaguely of lemon-scented disinfectant on his skin and his innumerable cup of black tea on his breath he took the seat catty-cornered to the couch. Odd as it was too see him in even part of the uniform that had been left to gather gust in the back of the closet, Levi only assumed it was his falling back on habits hammered in after years of service and made no mention of his sudden choice of outfit. ]

Edited 2014-08-29 05:12 (UTC)

That bad? [Erwin asked, though he couldn't say he was surprised. Since coming here he had mostly remained indoors, this was the first real chance to actually get out and spend all day outside.

He paused as he noticed the cold look before carefully pulling off his second boot in order to avoid getting more mud over the carpet. Already he could feel some of the soreness setting in, something he hadn't felt since learning to ride during his trainee days. He leaned back to look at Levi once his boots were off, setting them aside to be cleaned off properly after he got a chance to rest a bit.]

I'll clean it up in a bit. It was nice to get out once more. [He said thoughtfully, just taking in a moment to breath in the scent of lemon disinfectant and black tea.]

You've seen worse. [ Levi returned flatly, knowing a days worth of being covered head to toe in dirt mingled with stale sweat was heaven compared to limping back. Better alive than in pieces although that was an overly dramatic way of looking at Erwin getting out the house of a few months of whatever fugue state he had been thrown in since before the prosthesis. ]

If you're this eager to get back into some kind of return similar to before you lost your arm then you'll need to clean your old gear. [ Hands bone white from being dipped in hot water over the sink and in mop buckets all day they stuck out against his dark jeans where they curled loose in his lap. Leaning over with his elbows propped up against his knees this exchanged was not so far removed from when Levi came into the recovery room after Erwin had brought Eren back from behind the Walls. A week spent unconscious only to hear enough bad news that would have made anyone else to go down for another two if not the rest of their lives. Levi felt bad for Erwin but shrugged it off to keep going rather that sit on his hands with worn out platitudes. ] While you were in surgery and before that during the fallout with the titan shifters coming out into the open I've made a few decisions about where to distribute our equipment and gave your upgraded maneuver gear to Sasha to keep the edge we have within the special operations squad for the time being.

[Erwin hadn't so much as touched his old gear since he had arrived missing an arm, cleaning it one handed was nearly impossible so it had been put in the back of a closet. He had glimpsed it from time to time while grabbing clothes for work, there was a light layer of dust which had gathered on it.

He frowned slightly at Levi's words but he knew the decision was the right one, the special operations squad would be the ones to deal with the titan shifters if at all necessary and he knew it was only a matter of time. Perhaps others here were willing to trust them but Erwin didn't share their optimism.]

Good. I'm looking into having the rest of the gear upgraded as soon as possible. I'm meeting with someone this next week to get that started. [Erwin said as he leaned back a little, his eyes never leaving Levi's. He wasn't any hurry to get to cleaning just yet as he took a moment to rest.]

My sympathies do not go so far that I would encourage you to start using your gear- any gear. It's not for me to say, but you know if the situation were reversed you wouldn't allow for a liability. [ Even with Erwin, Levi could not feign affection or ofer any false hope for what even an advanced prosthesis spelled for a possible return to active duty. If they could call sitting on their hands waiting for any of those three to act out an active operation. Erwin could fight. That was always clear with him or anyone that came back from outside the Walls, but they needed whatever went on his head not what he could do with a blade. ]

Who? [ That caught Levi's attention as he was still eager to see the 3DMG completely re-engineered. ]

Edited (WOW.) 2014-09-03 20:08 (UTC)

I've made my peace with not returning the field, Levi. [Erwin said though there was a heaviness to his tone. It hadn't been easy, he had wanted to be angry but realistically, he knew the reality of his situation even with a prosthetic arm. If the three should step out of line, he knew he could trust Levi and the special operations squad. It was his job to make sure they had what they needed though.]

Two potential names actually. One was a recommendation by Val, Tony Stark. The other has a rather interesting talent with metals, he has expressed an interest in helping us create new blades. They won't be the same as what Val created but still far more advanced than what we have now.

Edited (derp) 2014-09-03 21:04 (UTC)

It goes without saying my word isn't the last nail in the coffin. [ Levi came back with some small encouragement. While he could have lied and said it would just be a matter of time, Levi was not so starstruck by the advancements in technology that he could believe Erwin regaining the full use of both arms as anything less than an uphill battle. ]

Whatever works. I think our biggest hurdle now is replacing the gas canisters. [ Now that he had seen alternatives, it seemed the power source they had always relied on could now only generously be called a death trap. ]

[Erwin only smiled slightly at that, he would never ask for lies but the small encouragement was appreciated nonetheless. But he said nothing more on that subject as he looked at Levi thoughtfully.]

That's what I was thinking. Most of us seem to have flight powers of some kind but I prefer not to put my trust into that, especially considering that it seems there is technology to nullify these abilities. And flaws of the canisters aside, we cannot allow ourselves to also depend on being able to find gas to refill the tanks even here.

Maybe shit glasses could offer better insight about how to alter our equipment keyed into the individual needs and weakness of our people. [ Hange might not have been an inventor or especially gifted in new technology, but she thought outside the box better than he or Erwin could and it would not be a waste to ask what she thought of this. Especially now with the title of fourteenth commander hung heavy around her shoulders like a yoke. ]

I'm sure Commander Hange could have some very valuable insights. You and her know what is needed most of all so I will consult you both on any proposed changes. [Erwin corrected firmly, even if he had stepped out of retirement that didn't negate Hange being the 14th commander suddenly. They had to get used to that fact.]

What's that? [ Levi sat up with his back taut into a severe, straight angel that it looked uncomfortable. The look he gave Erwin was tenuous but withering. ]

You know me better than to think my habitual nicknaming is a show of disrespect. Don't conflate the two. [ There was a moment where his objection petered off into an irresolute silence as if he meant to continue but reined himself in at the last moment. Instead he just watched Erwin with an odd quirk to his brow like he was staring at a fun-house mirror where a familiar image had been distorted; vaguely recognizable and somehow not. ]

I know that, Levi. [Erwin said as he hauled himself to his feet. He hadn't felt as achy as he had since he was a trainee, it was a reminder of what he had given up and how much he had lost. He could feel the frustration rising in his throat like bile, the longer he sat around the more stiff he would start to feel.]

I've passed the specifications of our equipment on to someone who will be giving me some recommendations this next week. He came highly recommended by Val so I will let you know what those recommendations are. [He said as he went to grab his boots where he had dropped them in a muddy pile.]

[ Jaw tight his cheeks sucked in as he went tense as Erwin deflected and redirected back onto their original point. Fine, it was alright by him as long as Erwin didn't start fraying at the seams like something threadbare and past the age of use. Watching Erwin get out of his chair with eyes on him like an animal trying to pick the weak one out of the herd, Levi was unmoved by what he saw. Retirement fit Erwin like a cheap suit.

Maybe that was a good thing. ]

I'll call Hange later to come here when her schedule allows. [ Levi exhaled and fell back into his seat. ] This place could use the noise.

[Erwin headed out to the back porch with a scrub brush, leaving the door open so they could talk still as he took a seat. He at least was mindful enough not to clean his muddy boots on clean carpet. He was aware of Levi's gaze upon him but he didn't look up to meet it.]

This weekend would be fine if she can make it, I'm going to have late meetings all this next week until Thursday. [Erwin said, his gaze on his work.] I agree, while the quiet has been a nice change of pace, it seems strange nonetheless.

[ Ellie had come home not only a lot later than usual but a lot sweatier, dirtier and tireder than usual. After the panic and worry of wondering where the hell Ellie was had subsided and after grilling her about where she'd been, Joel learned two new things: Ellie was doing part-time work in a stable, and she was being worked to the bone as a means to earn the rights to a horse she'd been promised.

Yeah, well, Joel isn't the kind of guy to just sit back and allow that kind of thing to go over his head. He isn't the kind of guy to just accept what other people tell him, and he sure as hell ain't the kind of guy to let his kid keep working for some guy who, for all Joel knows, could be exploiting her.

And so, once he got the details out of Ellie about where this stable is and who runs it, he was in the car in a flash to go and pay this guy a visit.

That's Joel now, approaching the short, skinny guy in the paddock. Joel has got a terse, menacing look on his face, the kind of look he would employ back in the zone when he and Tess were out paying visits to people who'd screwed them over or who owed them favours they'd failed to fulfil. Like always, he's got his pistol on him, tucked into the waistband of his jeans.

He comes to a stop just near the guy. Or kid, really. That Levi kid. ]

Wanna have a word with you.

[ Whoever was loitering around the stables that made their way down to the paddock had pulled Levi's attention away from watching that horse move further down the field when he heard a gruff rumble of a voice.

Almost immediately, Levi felt a tense sensation course up his spine that sent his shoulders wide and taut with his back pulled, up straight as a board. Even before he was staring down the noxious maws of titans he had his own troubles dodging and coming to blows with the worst the Underground slums had to offer. That look in Joel's eyes was all it took to remind him of that, and to put him on the defensive.

Whoever pissed in Joel's coffee this morning was not the first thought that came to mind, only that the impression Levi had gotten any time they spoke was this man did not need much to be roused to anger. Not that he had any idea what about him was making this man see red. ]

More than a word. [ Levi said flatly, eyeing the way one side of Joel's plaid shirt was unevenly tucked in the back. Fucking thug move, he thought, tucking a weapon in their pants. Levi let his gaze fall back on Joel like a torrential downpour of cold indignation. ]

Mind telling me why you're on a warpath?

[ Warpath? Who said anyone was on a warpath? Joel isn't on a warpath just yet.

He's close, though. Very close.

Shifting on the spot, he casts a quick look around at the paddock and back at the stables, before setting his attention back on the kid. ]

How 'bout you start by tellin' me what the hell you think you're doin'.

[ Nostrils flared with a short snort and the hint of crows' feet around his eyes tightened in irritation. One could know the man for about two seconds and know glaring at Joel was not going to do anything, but Levi was having his infamously short patience spread thinner by the second with this run around. ]

Thought I was walking a horse out to the paddock, not staring down a bull coming out here acting fucked in the head. [ At the moment, Levi could only think that maybe Joel wanted to buy the skewbald gelding only for Levi to snipe it under his nose. That was a reason he would come out here to act like an ass, right? ]

[ The insult itself would have rolled off Joel's back in most other circumstances. He's used to people being assholes. But that insult combined with the situation concerning Ellie just riles Joel up that bit more.

His jaw tightens. ]

I'm talkin' about Ellie.

[ Levi watched that jaw set and began to regard Joel as having a temperament comparable to a tripwire. One misstep and someone was going home in pieces.

Thing was, Levi did not plan on making that himself. ]

Ellie? [ Then it clicked. Right- same world. Guess their having some connection made sense; he looked about the right age to be her father or some other relative. Fumed like an incensed family member, too. Not that there was something to be getting all under the collar for anyway. Levi bought a horse for a steal that he didn't need so he was letting Ellie take over boarding it here once she got him used to riding Western. Saved them both time and money, but apparently didn't spare Levi any grief from whatever Joel was so worked up about. ]

If you're here to pitch a fit that I've got her working for the rights to that, [ Levi jabbed his thumb in the direction of the skewbald out in the paddock ] then kindly take that shit up with her. I've got work to do and it's not like I'm collecting on back-pay for babysitting.

[ Lip curled into a sneer, Levi bent his knees and started to moved up the path around Joel. He didn't have time for this. ]

[ Not so fast, kid. No way in hell Joel is going to let this simply slide. While he's annoyed Ellie never told him about this arrangement, he's much more annoyed at the fact that this little shit here seems to be exploiting her for his own gain. That's how it comes across to Joel, anyway. He doesn't really know what the arrangements are beyond the fact that, apparently, this kid has Ellie working her butt off for a horse that Ellie is in no way equipped to deal with.

Sure, Joel has the money to set up a horse or several in a stable with a steady food supply. Sure, he could teach Ellie himself how to take care of a horse. But that ain't the point.

As the kid starts moving around him, Joel dashes a hand out and makes a grab for his shirt, to shove him back towards the paddock fence. ]

[ Levi felt the dry August air around him suddenly crack and rush around his ears as he was spun sideways and bodily hurled against the paddock fence. Wood beams reinforced with steel bars slammed into his back as he hit the fence hard with a grunt of pain tinged with shock. While it was all par for the course that being off active duty without the threat of extinction hanging over his head would dull the edges of his situational awareness, he never would have thought a ham-handed attempt to knock him on his ass would actually catch him unawares.

Immediately, Levi retaliated. Regrouping his scuffed up pride, Levi gripped Joel by his offending wrists and pulled him in with one knee raised, kicking against him with all the force coiled up in that compact frame. ]

[ That-- That, Joel didn't expect, especially from such a small, wiry kid. The way the kid yanks him in is with surprising strength, and the impact of his bony knee slamming into Joel's lower stomach causes a deep, guttural grunt to escape the back of Joel's throat, winded and pained.

His hand is still balled into the kid's shirt, though. As he takes a staggered step to the side, he twists his hand in Levi's shirt and hauls the kid towards him before slamming him back against the paddock post again, harder this time, ripping his other hand free from Levi's grasp to take a swing right at his face.

Behind Levi, in the paddock, the horse startles at the sudden commotion and goes trotting off in an alarmed canter. ]

[Joel was strong; he had no right to be as strong as he was, that kind of strong. And also he was so unpredictable that his reaction threw Levi for a loop and left him so poleaxed he could not have anticipated being punched. It him square, fair, and about as hard as a goddamned head on collision between himself and mack truck.

Hot white lights burned the edges of his vision when that thick fist connected with the side of his face; he caught it just below the and over the cheek bone. Levi knew from his file that just because he had super human durability that prevented at a sucker punch like that from pulverizing his jawbone did not necessary mean it was not going to hurt like hellfire poking through his skin and flowering out in a angry, agonizing shock of pain. ]

Shit- ! [ Levi stumbled against the fence which sent the gelding whale-eyed, rolling on his hooves and whinnying in a panic which Levi soundly ignored as he spit out his blood from a torn cheek into the dirt as he rode out the deafening white noise of his ears being shaken from the blow. Immediately, he righted himself and flung himself at Joel with his face drawn up into a tight, frightening neutrality.

Blood was in the air and it had been a while since Levi found himself pitted against another person but he was far from out of practice as he kicked off the ground and came at Joel with a drawn back punch aimed at his jaw as he leaned forward to strike the top of his head into Joel's sternum. ]

[ Bradbury'd been making more of a conscious effort to get back in shape over the last month or so. Besides, between concerns raised during the imPort meeting still weighing on his mind and other sources of stress like Ace being brought in for questioning and then actually being arrested and then losing his job, a quick burst of endorphins seemed like the most reliable way of getting things off his mind.

Although it was a bit of a surprise when he comes into the training center and nearly bumped into Levi, who was wearing a pair of shorts that mostly served to confirm Bradbury's vague suspicions about his orientation than anything else. Bradbury, of course, was in respectable knee-length drawstring shorts and a plain black shirt, though it's a little tight over the chest and shoulders. ]

Hey. [ He lifts his hand in a half-assed greeting. ] You just finishing up?

[ In the midst of getting over the mid-training hump where his energy plateaued, Levi was a little slow on the uptake and only barely turned on his heel in time to dodge Bradbury. Crocade whose flavor Levi had only been able to describe as 'yellow' and the melting ice sloshed in his water bottle as he righted himself and avoiding knocking them both on their asses. ]

Bradbury. [ Levi said, somewhere in the neighborhood on the corner of surprised and deadpan. Then he realized he was being asked a question. ] No, just hitting the bags has started to lose its charm.

[ Eying Bradbury, it could be construed the man wanted the physical edges of his boot camp days to be a little less...opaque. Levi would have asked if he needed a spotter if he didn't get the impression it would just drag his own regimen down to screeching halt. ] Why?

[ The question hadn't really been something meant to have an ulterior motive; it was just a standard sort of social nicety, an automatic friendly greeting to give someone who was obviously otherwise occupied. Bradbury wasn't actually expecting a non-rhetorical answer, and he blinked, when Levi spoke. ]

Just wondering. Don't think I've ever seen you around here before. [ Bradbury's been keeping up a regular routine, but it's dependent on when his job hours allow, and he is forty -- fat just doesn't shed itself the way it used to. ]

You come here a lot? [ Hanging out with a talking dog, a non-communicative teenager, and a horde of raccoons was really killing his ability to maintain small talk, he reflected. ]

No. [ Levi knew that awns er came out less of a reply and more of a irritated and shot bark. That was entirely knee jerk and from the slight twitch to his upper lip it was a reaction he had second guessed immediately after the fact. ] The facilities only just opened- no one can really call themselves a regular.

Do you want a spotter? [ That having been an offer Levi had initially wanted to avoid, having now felt like he shit on the bed on what was simple human interaction he felt some compulsory need to right himself. ]

[ It had been a rhetorical question, of course, but Bradbury liked his kidneys where they were and didn't fancy them being relocated. Levi looked like he had sharp elbows and wicked aim.

Then again, the unexpected offer made him pause and rethink that statement, squinting at Levi with mild bewilderment like he was just waiting for the catch in the offer. Maybe that was supposed to be a rhetorical question, too. ]

Sure. [ Was what he eventually managed, blinking slowly, followed almost automatically by: ] You're not just using that as an excuse to check out my ass, right?

[ It was a joke, of course, except he remembers, too late after the words have long left his mouth, that Levi and jokes aren't a particularly fortuitous combination. ]

Edited 2014-09-30 23:44 (UTC)

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Tuesday, government housing

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-> 24th, Heropa, Residence 28

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Monday;

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