Askier

"You're talking to the man who thought three square bottles of whiskey a day was a good meal plan. I'll take the soup." The Garlean rose to his feet to change, the blanket draped over his shoulders like a cloak, swaying as he walked towards a chest. The miqo'te heard Alexei reach the top of the stairs and Askier gave a sigh. "Come the hells or insanity, Alexei," A skier muttered. "I'm making sure you get through this. I swear it."

*Askier drags a table infront of main entrance to Red wing HQ and then upends a bag of bombs and grenades onto table before pulling up chair, taking a seat, and starts polishing a gun blade* "No non-approved boy friend shall pass."

"Hells know my sister is." Askier raised his glass in return and then took a sip of the tea. Askier disguised his shudder of disapproval as best he could and then placed his glass down. "Well, so long as my past stops showing up to haunt me, I'll have no problem with that. And right now, I'm focused on making sure you get through this impending breakdown of yours. I'm not looking forward to it, but the fact that you making toasts and talking in sentences consisting of more than three words at long last, makes me excited for -after- your melt down. I'm wondering what the Alexei underneath all your walls."

"I'm sorry you can't see your sister Alexei." Askier replied tenderly, his eyes soft as he listened to the man's story. "That would be hard on me, can only imagine what it is for you. But at least she is well. And whomever exiled you and let you live, well they have my deepest appreciation. Without them, I probably would be dead. You've saved my life and patched up my body how many times now?" The Garlean miqo'te wasn't interested in the exact number. He was just grateful his friend had ended up in Ul'dah, even if there first meeting had been an attempt on Askier's life. Askier noted Alexei's cocked head and nodded at the hyurs question, rolling his shoulders in a shrug. "Aye, that I did, long time ago. She's the daughter of the runt's first master. Thought she was something she wasn't. Basically, when I deserted after the Calamity and went back for Saravena, I told my ex to come with us, live together. She chose her father's wealth and political power." There was a sour expression on Askier's face and the sting of rejection glinted in his golden eyes.

A skier looked at his left arm and made the mechanical limb form a dismissive wave at Alexei's words before he rested the metal limb in his lap alongside his tail. "Please, I'm your friend. Your problems will always be of concern to me. How friendship works, agreeing to worry about other people's shite as well as your own. Little thing my ex-fiancee never really figured out." Askier paused to sip his tea and placed it back down. "I'll pass the letter along to your apprentice. I'll try not to scare him to badly when he comes around." The Garlen's golden eyes fixed on the hyur as Alexei started rubbing his head and Askier licked his lips apprehensively. " So is you sister still in your homeland?" A skier asked casually, trying to distract his friend.

Where does he get all those wonderful quotes...? Well, don't just stand there. COME AND ASK ME! I am not entertained.

"Yes, Alexei," Askier flashed a toothy grin as the hyur sat back down. "It was a joke. Least you can recognize them now." The Garlean then went quiet and listened, his golden eyes studying the hyur intently, noticing the shifting facial reactions, the almost normal expressions. The bleed through of emotions was obviously accelerating and Askier made a mental note to himself to not leave Ul'dah in the immediate future. Askier watched as Alexei sipped the tea and used Alexei's slight pause to reply. "If you little sister is anything like Saravena, she's causing more trouble than you'll know. Guess it's just the big brother desire to keep them safe. But if your little sister is smart as you, I'm sure she's doing just fine Alexei. It's not always a bad thing to be related to someone, and I'm sure your sister understands anything you did, you did cause you love here. I mean, look at me." The miqo'te waved his hand dramatically before placing it back on the table. "I nearly blew up Ul'dah for my sister to get her back. Saravena is the only blood family I have left, unless my mother is not as dead as my drunk father and my runt sibling." The bomb maker was silent for a moment as Alexei got up and left the room. Askier had not thought about his mother in a long time. She had never been around to even leave him have one memory of her. But now that he had learned Jin'li and himself were half-brothers through her, he wished to know more. Alexei returned and Askier listened as he took a sip of his tea, the warm fluid making him smack his lips as he forced himself to swallow the drink. "Momodi. . . Momo- right the Quicksand lady. Hells, I rarly go in there, even back when I was an alcoholic, I drank elsewhere. But sure, Alexei, I'll take it there."

Askier nodded at Alexei's words. They made him feel better. He still couldn't, entirely, shake the undesired feeling his learned connection with the white haired runt produced in him, but Alexei's words were reassuring none-the-less. Askier was silent a moment but he then chuckled as an amused grin passed over his mouth as Alexei confessed being unsure how long to hold the hug. The Garlean patted Alexei's arm with his hand. "I think that's been long enough. Any longer and people going to start wondering." Askier thought for a moment. "Am I going to have to teach you proper hugging etiquette ?"

A skier was unable to hide his surprise as the hyur wrapped his arms around him and gave what Askier assumed to be a reassuring hug. The Garlean miqo'te was so surprised by the display of affection that he nearly missed Alexei's comment and the impact of those words were lessened by the action as Askier's mind processed it. "I...uh...well,"Askier stammered, trying to figure out the best words to say in this particular situation. He slipped his right hand out from underneath his blanket and gently patted Alexei's arm. "Thank you, Alexei." Askier said calmly. "You feeling okay?" The miqo'te was aware of the reason why Alexei might be displaying such emotion and it made him slightly nervous.

Askier said nothing until the cup of tea was in front of him. He sniffed it and made a disapproving face. The recovering alcoholic had been consuming a rather large amount of tea as of late and wasn't particularly fond of the various aromas teas produced. His opinion of the varying tastes was even less positive. The miqo'te leaned in and, after gazing at his reflection in the tea, lapped the liquid with his tongue several times. He smacked his lips as he lifted his head and sighed. "I'll never get used to this dirt water." The Garlean leaned back in his chair once more, the blanket wrapped around him tightly as the index finger of his right hand slowly circled the lip of the cup, thunder shaking the building as he stared absent mindly at the glass. "There are two personal matters on my mind, plus Kahn'a just disappearing like he did, Alexei. One's an old weight but the other," Askier paused, mulling over Kanaria's words in his mind, both grateful and resentful she had told him. "Jin'li was my half-brother apparently. I know that shouldn't bother me, since I'm still me and I still hate his guts for what he did to Saravena, but it does bother me. Makes me feel dirty inside, like I'm somehow tainted by him."

Askier snatched the towel from Alexei and proceeded to run the towel through his long hair and over his neck and chest vigeriously. He was finishing his drying his back when Alexei returned and drapped the blanket over him. The miqo'te blinked slightly in surprise and nodded in appreciation as he looked at his left arm and made it move, dropping the wet shirt on the table that sat in the middle of the room. The miqo'te then seated himself with a sigh and leaned back into the chair. "I'm alright. Still coming to terms with everything that happened with the runt and the rather unpleasent facts I got to learn from Kanaria." Askier's face was pressed in a scowl as he looked at the hyur. "You don't know yet, do you?"

Askier had seated himself on the floor and was using both hands to remove his boots, rainwater gushing out of them as he tipped them over. The miqo'te flexed his soaked feet and wiggled his toes as he tipped his head to the left and bumped the right side of his head with his right palm, water falling out of the pointed ear. As the water ran from inside Askier's ear, his hearing sharpened and he heard Alexei's reply. The miqo'te grinned to himself as he rose to his feet, feeling the cool wood under his feet as he walked towards the stairs and headed into the basement, leaving his boots and coat in a pile beside the door. As Askier descended, he went about removing his drenched shirt and held it in a ball in his left hand. The light Alexei had been working by cast a bright light over the Garlean's bare torso, highlighting the tapestry of scars and wounds the miqo'te had collected over his thirty-one years of life. Dancing with the scars across the flesh was an elaborate and extensive series of tribal style tattoos, inked into the epidermis in dark black. The tattoos were the newest addition and had not been pleasant or wanted. They were the final gift the Roe known as the Itar had given Askier aboard the boat where A skier had been broken and tortured. One, final reminder for Askier of the suffering he had endured at Itar's hands. Askier's golden eyes fixed themselves on Alexei and then at the towel the hyur held. Askier smiled. "That for me?" The bomb-maker asked as he pointed with his right hand, his left, mechanical arm limp at his side, the bolts that grafted the metal into his bone shimmering in the light as water ran down the arm.

"Stupid weather." Askier muttered to himself as the thunderstorm raged around him, massive roars of thunder echoing off the stone streets of the Goblet as sheets of rain feel from the oppressive cloud mass overhead. The Garlean hurried, his new coat, his dead brother's coat, danced around him as he made his way through the puddle strewn streets, the cobblestones slick underneath his boots. The miqo'te's tail was tucked inside the coat and his right hand was constantly brushing his drenched hair out of his face. At long last, Askier rounded a turn and saw the Red Wing HQ, its windows aglow with the faint light inside. He sighed in relief as he reached the door to the building and stepped inside, a gust of wind splattering the fine rug within with rain as the Garlean slipped inside and shut the door behind him. Askier shook himself as he removed his coat, sending water droplets cascading down around him as he called out to the still building. "Anyone alive in here?"

My normal preference is using rolz.org. Normally I prefer a simple 1d6 system I can up with for my events. Basically, attacker rolls attack first them defender rolls their defense. The higher wins, defender wins on ties. If attacker is higher, defender loses 1 HP. Defender wins, no damage. Then the rolls switch and this exchange goes until.someone loses three ho at which point they lose and rp out result. I find this to feel more organic and makes sure the fight is fair to both sides.

The Doctor sat on the edge of the dock, the sun sparkling as it rose over the ocean. Crescent Cove was peaceful early in the day and the Doctor enjoyed the lapping water. After the Doctor had been dragged over the edge of the cliff by the lalafell, he had been picked up by fishers and been slowly recovering, nursing his broken arm. The Doctor lifted a vial in his right, unbroken hand and examined the vial of Blue Blood Strand 2, the sun light dancing off the liquid. The Doctor was planning to recover and then move on to the next person who would buy his talents and his posion. The Doctor smiled behind his mask as he put the vial away in his coat and sighed. But first, he was going to enjoy this well deserved vacation.

Only if I'm Batman and you're th'Robbin. . . . Only if Jin'li can be Alfred.

Wooot!Tiergan's turn. Quick Osric, to the Bat cave! The live stream must be watched on the bat-o-vision 5000!

The above picture is a "Flawless Victory"

"You're doing a piss poor job if you didn't want to cause emotional distress!' A skier groweled as the hyur started collecting his things. The miqo'te male rose to his feet and walked over to Alexei and hugged him tightly with his right arm. He held the man there for a moment and then let Alexei go, spinning on his heel as he released him. Askier walked away, pausing at the base if the stairs to fix his golden eyes at Alexei on last time. "You are always welcome here you dummy. I better hear from you soon." With that, Askier ascended the straits and left the building after reaching the top.

"Alexei...I'm Askier Mergrey...I get hurt weekly. Who is going to fix me up if you die?" Askier growled angrily, disappointed in his friend's defeated tone. "You have orders to protect me. You cannot protect me if you are dead! I'm ordering you, no matter what happens with this conditioning, you are not to die or go mad. I will be by your side through it all, damn it! You fight this mentally! I did after Itar carved me up. Sure I have nightmares and have to sleep with a stuffed animal, but I'm mostly functional! Even if you aren't at optimal capacity, you are going to live, even if I have chain you in a cell until you manage to get through this. Got it? I am here for you."

"Why are you so afraid of letting it collapse, letting the emotions out?" Askier inquired urgently, his golden eyes staring into his friend's face, desperately looking for the answer there. "What happens when it falls, Alexei, please, tell me so I can help you. You're my friend, dammit,and hells take me if I don't help you through this as best I am able."

Thank you so much Kohl! They are awesome.

"Alexei, it's alright!." Askier exclaimed, trying to keep his friend staring into his golden eyes. "No one is making you go back anywhere." Askier was stern, though his mind was running a thousand different ways, trying to figure out how best to calm this fit the hyur was experiencing. When Alexei fell over onto his side, Askier leaned in, his head over the shuddering hyur as his golden optics darted around. His right hand went on Alexei's shoulder and he gripped it reassuringly as his left arm hung still. "Alexei, no one here is making you hurt anyone!" Askier said frantically, his teeth chewing on his lower lips every time he stopped speaking. "You haven't hurt anyone in awhile! Hells you keep fixing me up! Patching my wounds and all, just like Osric ordered you to do. I'd be dead at least once so far if you hadn't been around, Alexei. It's alright, it really is! You're with friends now."

(I'm sorry. . .but I had to. Bored at work. ) Askier: "And this room here, Mr. Politician, is home to Kahn'a, whom is always hard at work doing-" *opens door, sees Oscare and Kahn'a and quickly slams door shut* Askier: "And if you will follow me now Mr. Politician, I'll show you our basement." Mr Politician: "But we've already seen the basement." Askier: "So has Oscare." Mr. Politician: "What?" Askier: "Nothing! Follow me please."

Askier felt his lips pull back into a big, stupid smile, his sharp teeth dull in the dim room. His ashen cheeks were tinged a slight red in embarrassment at Alexei's words but he was delighted. The hyur had wanted him happy. His friend was exhibiting emotions. Askier's sense of jubilation died as swiftly as it had begun as the hyur suddenly looked at him and Askier felt a sense of dread wash over him as he saw the look of confusion on Alexei's face. The miqo'te's smile disappeared and hepushed himself off the table as the hyur grabbed his own head and knelt. "Nononono." Askier said flatly as he rushed to his friends aid and knelt before him. Askier let his left arm hang limp and useless as his right hand went to the side of Alexeis head and tried to tilt the man's head to look at him. "Alexei its all right. Look at me, Alexei. Look at me." Askier's voice was flat but his eyes were darting, revealing his unease. The last time he had seen Alexei like this the hyur had shoved a scalpel into his own hand to reinforce his 'conditioning', to bury his past and his emotions. "Come on Alexei, it's alright mate, its alright."