IC Voicemail

[evowhisperer]

 *There's nothing but a long silence after the ringing stops. If the caller's been looking at their screen, there are plain black-and-white letters on display:*

Please leave a message after the beep.

*Beep.*

Comments

[evowhisperer]

*The laughter rings in his head like klaxons from a nightmare. It's not what he expected, and Cesar flinches when a shadow falls over him, bracing for impact. There is none. what...? He's able to push himself up and not be knocked down, and when Ryuzaki touches his face--wiping, not hurting--there's another cringe, smaller and more confused. All Ryuzaki does is suck his own finger. What is he...doing? Is that Cesar's blood? Why isn't he--*

*Drunk-sluggish thoughts don't finish processing the warning before stars explode in his vision, and the next thing he knows is what the floor looks like with his cheek pressed against it. There's grit, and filth, and it smells foul. This was what he expected. This is why he'd hoped to knock Ryuzaki out in a single hit.*

*Cesar rolls over and pushes himself to all fours, scrambling blindly. The world pitches and heaves around him, and he won't get far, but if he can get himself to a curtain or to the bench then maybe he can do--something.*

[callmeryuzaki]

[Ryuzaki is, like Lazarus, both faster and stronger than he looks. The difference is the extent to which this is true. Still laughing, he dances aside when Cesar staggers to his fours, then starts circling around him, bringing a hand to his head, which is bleeding slightly from where the shot glass hit it. It'll hurt tomorrow, but tonight, the pain sings right along with pleasure in euphoric chorus.]

Cesar! Are you having fun yet? We're just getting started! Come on, get to your feet, unless you want to stay on all fours. We can do it like that. We can do it any way you like.

[He takes a seat on the bench, making a show of looking unconcerned and amused.]

[evowhisperer]

*He's being circled, and laughter fills the tent-like enclosure. Blood sings a silent warcry in his veins and harmonizes with Ryuzaki's voice, and when Cesar levers himself back to his feet he feels more ready to move, more ready to act than he has in months.*

*Ryuzaki dances just out of reach, smiling a trickster's grin. Cesar gives him a glare that promises pain and frustration, and it's obvious escape isn't anywhere in his mind: He wants to punch Ryuzaki's face in, and he wants to avoid hurt. Anything besides those two can wait until he's sober.*

*He's not that much farther away, and it only takes him two steps before he's driving another fist forward, this hit more direct than the one before. He's expecting it to connect, and though he wasn't going fast enough to need to catch himself on the bench, he stops against it anyway, trying to follow Ryuzaki with another hit.*

[callmeryuzaki]

[He still looks blissfully unconcerned when Cesar comes at him, even when his punch lands squarely and accurately. The second one lands, too, and even though his nose is gushing blood and his eyes can't seem to focus as clearly and sharply, he is still laughing like a broken doll whose voicebox no longer suits his condition or appearance.]

Are you going to kill me, Cesar?

[He takes advantage of the closeness, even with a hostile body, attempting to press his against Cesar.]

Do you know how intimate murder is? It's arguably the most intimate thing you can do to another person. I regret sometimes that I won't leave a body behind when I die... you can't have sex with feathers one last time.

[He wipes his bleeding nose, smearing it across Cesar's cheek with vicious glee.]

[evowhisperer]

*The hand darts between them, and Cesar rears his head back as though he'd been slapped. The fact that he's thoroughly drunk off his ass and has no coordination left is immediately obvious: he tears himself out of Ryuzaki's grip, and it's just long enough to stumble back, overbalance, and fall flat on his ass. His eyes are as big as saucers: blood comes away when he touches his cheek, and his mind is still jangling with a looping track of Ryuzaki's laughter; every time he starts a mental sentence it cuts off and starts over, and he's temporarily beyond words.*

*The moment breaks as he drags his arm across his face, taking away more blood, then wipes the arm on his shirt. His back is hunched, and he looks like a cat that's been badly frightened.*

*At no time does he notice the curtain pulling back.*