It is quite the opposite of a dark and stormy night. The moon is nearly full, the air is still, and the temperature is warm for the hour and time of year. It is, in fact, a rather pleasant night. Perhaps that is what has caused the strange creature Cornelius Rex to drop in on Selina Navarra and insist she comes with him. A need to escape, for nothing is as terrifying as a false sense of security. He took her to Thousand Corners Trail--answering no questions that ask where they are going or why--and brought her to a rock and an old tree. The tree's boughs hang down low; serving as a landmark of a special kind. With a rap of knuckles on the side and a beckoning wave, Cornelius leads her through the Hedge Gate and along the trod that passes through a maze-like area of crevasses.
They have not traveled far along the Looptrod when he heads into a dead end, looks back at Selina, and gauges with her eyes in a rather innocent manner for the often flirtatious man. "You any good at rock climbing, toots?" He looks up some thirty feet of sharp incline that is more of a slope than a cliff. "Think you could make it up to that ledge, or am I gonna need to figure out a way to get us both up there?"
Her dark hair left down, wearing a pair of close-fitting jeans and a tanktop with a black and red plaid shirt. There was curiosity, of course, but the coyote girl seems just fine with following along, getting dragged to who knows where with Cornelius. He had, after all, shown her an exciting time so far. She's unfamiliar with the place, still. And so she's paying attention to the way that he brings her, to the tree and the Gate that they g o through.
When they reach a dead end in the Looptrod, there's an arch of her brows and an amused gleam in those celestial eyes. "Baby, you know that I'm more suited to the digital world. But I can give it a go. If you don't mind giving me a little bit of help."
"Digital- Oh. You mean like the Internet?" Cornelius shakes his head. "Played a video game once." He continues to speak as he starts to make his way up the rock without so much as a rope. "This kid handed me the controller and asked me to run around in circles and fight stuff or him. I asked him why. I was like, 'What's my motivation, director?' He looks me dead in the eye and says, 'I gotta level up.'" The man has made it up ten feet to a smaller outcropping, and lays down while holding onto a bump of quartz with his other hand. "I'm like, 'Why?' He's like, 'Gotta improve my skills.' I'm like, 'Why not run around and fight stuff in real life and get more skills?' He looked at me like I was off my rocker." Reaching down for Selina, he extends a hand. "Graphics were cool, though."
"Yes, like the internet. It's what I do, babe. I was pro at those things, back before. And during, I guess." Selina gives a little shrug of her shoulder. "It's all about leveling up. Getting the next thing. Beating the next Boss." There's a trill of excitement there, and it reflects in her eyes. Something missed, clearly. But when he starts up the rocks, she follows along. Only getting up a bit, before she's reaching for that offered hand. Taking it to help her get up. "They've gotten fucking crazy, since I got out. Almost too real, you know?"
"Yeah. I mean, there's probably a whole slew of places in Arcadia where poor bastards are running around trying to get a Longsword +3 so they don't actually die." Cornelius makes pulling her skinny ass up to the ledge look easy. "Look. I don't got a damn thing against anyone that wants to spend twelve hours a day raiding the castle with a bunch of their homies online. Yolo and shit. But, you know. Yolo. Gotta get the fuck off the couch or out of the chair and go, you know, climb a cliff sometimes." He shakes his head and holds his hands down cupped. "Gimme your foot. I'll boost you up to that boulder. Should be easy from there."
"Man, you have no idea what I'd do for a Longsword +3 for realizies. And the ability to just throw a skill slot into killin' bitches with swords. But don't worry, babes. I don't spend all my time behind the screen. I'm here now, aren't I?" Selina's grin is all in her eyes, as she slinks in close to him before taking that offer of a boost up. Leaning in, to lick his cheek. "Maybe you can be my new exercise program. Teach me how to be leet." A laugh, and she waits for him to boost her on up, reaching for the boulder.
The lick causes one of Cornelius's eyes to close as it catches him off guard. "Oh gods. Sometimes I forget you're a canine." His stubble-turned-beard probably felt more than a little scratchy on her tongue. "Just don't sniff my ass when I'm putting away groceries, alright?" He shoves her foot up to his chest so she does not need to expend much effort to get to the top of the boulder, and then starts to climb up himself. Not like Wolverine, unfortunately, as his sharp claws are not sharper than rock, but he gets up without that quickly enough. As he joins her on the broad boulder he asks, "So what does 'leet' mean and how am I gonna teach you to be it?" He puts a hand on the small of her back and gently coaxes her to walk up towards the goal first so he can catch her if she slips.
"You'll like it if I do it right, Rexxy," Selina teases, as she gets up on that boulder. Rising back up to her feet, and out of his way, so that there's plenty of room for him to climb on up after her. Watching him, as she can, because she's a creeper that way. Or because she just likes to watch him. "Leet means...Elite. The best, you know? I was a lot more badass there. What I can remember. But you know how it goes, yeah?" She shrugs her shoulder, and when he coaxes her, she goes with him, gladly. Trying to be careful with her footing, but slipping a little here and there. At least she's not landing on her face.
"Oh! Elite. You wanna be elite? I will make you leet as fuck, as the kids might say." He shakes his head "I can do better than that. Uh." He claps his hands together and points at her as he says in a strange Germanesque accent, "We are gonna leet you up!" Pressing his lips together thoughtfully as he follows, and shakes his head again. "No, no. How about... Operation Leet is a go! Fuck. That's terrible. I'm just not in my groove." As the ground levels out he stops, fishes around in his robe and pulls out two items. The first is his flask--that he gets a swig from immediately before tossing it to Selina. The second looks like a Celtic cross made of small agates, seeds, and tiny pieces of broken, colored glass. This, he is much more careful with as he steps around Selina so that she is between him and the precarious pseudocliff.
There's a peal of laughter at the Germanesque accent, a shake of her head. "Jesus, Rex," she says with that laughter still in her voice. Who said Winters always had to be cold? "We'll work on the code name some other time. I think I used up a good portion of my muchness hosting tonight, you know? That was some shit. But it was good. People reached out." She snags that flask as it comes towards her, taking a long swig from it. Holding onto it, as she watches what else he has to pull out of his robe, eyeing the celtic cross curiously. Keeping her eyes on him, all the while. "What's that for, handsome?"
The flask is filled with a very sweet wine. It would like go quite excellently with lobster. "Well," Cornelius says as he looks from Selina to the cross and back. "I'm going to touch you with this. If nothing happens, I'm going to put it away and pretend like nothing ever happened. If it burns you, I'm going to either throw you down into that crack we just climbed and never talk to you again, or--if it burns you real bad?--I'm going to tie you down to that ledge and rip pieces off of you until you tell me... all sorts of things." He shrugs and begins to walk towards her. "Hold out your hand, toots. This'll be quick."
A second drink is taken from the flask, as Selina watches him. Those stars swirl in her eyes, as she looks from cross to his face, and arches up oboth of her brows at it. "Excuse me, what? I'm not a fucking vampire, Rexxy, if that's what you're angling at. I mean, I've got those sharp teeth, babe, but I don't vant to suck yer blud." She backs up a step, before she realizes the position that he's put her in. "Sonofabitch," she growls under her breath. "Can we talk about this, babe? Like what the fuck this all is?" Still? Her left hand is held towards his, palm up. "I swear to fucking Slaanesh if you're fucking with me..."
"Like those fangs could cause me alarm," Cornelius teases out of habit. The jest does not quite reach his eyes as he steps close enough to reach her, and his serious expression is only shifted to confusion for the moment at the mention of one of the gods of Chaos. Looking from Selina's eyes to her hand and back, he sucks in one last concerned breath deeply before steeling himself to do what he must. Cross cupped in his palm like he is going to perform some sleight of hand, he grabs her hand in his own with a sudden motion that presses the cross between them. Nothing happens. A full second passes before relief washes over him and he, instead of releasing her, pulls her into an embrace. "Jesus Christ, I hate that part," are the words that are rushed out into her hair.
There's a bit of worry showing on Selina's face, along with that confusion. She still doesn't have a fucking clue what he's doing, and the way that he's looking at her isn't exactly making her calm. She stiffens as he comes close enough, grabs her hand and presses that cross between their hands. Warmth and ice, all in one. Skin and cross, pressing together, as she fails to burst into flames or anything of the like. Pulled in, she doesn't prevent him from it, but she's still tense, nearly rigid. "What the fuck was that about, Rexxy?," asked, as her nose presses in against his throat.
"I had to make sure." It is not an answer that makes a lot of sense of things. He sucks in a breath--calming rather than steeling this time--and releases a quick sigh of relief. He takes a step back and releases her hand so that he can show her the implement he threatened her with. "Those that are slipping away from the path that keeps us able to be the misfits we are. To walk between the worlds and know the difference between the Dream and... everything else." He shows her that strange object one last time before making it disappear with a roll of his fingers like some street magician. "You passed the test."
Selina's brows furrow as she listens to him, a frown felt against his neck before he pulls back. She looks to him with narrowed eyes, and glances down to the cross that he holds. "Ah," is all that she says, soft and simple. Like she understands his concern. Now that she's not under so much scrutiny, she moves away from him a bit, to look around further.
"Last time I, uh, took a little chick under my wing to teach my rooster ways, well." He kicks a rock half-heartedly and sends it skipping down that treacherous incline. "I didn't think there was a need to test anyone. I felt this little gift from the knighthood was more of a badge of office than a useful tool." He sits down on the edge to look out over the view.
"One day she saw it lying on a table after I had emptied my pockets to prove to someone I wasn't carrying." He shakes his head. "Little tart asked what it was and picked it up. I'll never forget that scream of surprise." He looks over at Selina. "So now I check before I invest time in teaching someone else. Probably kills some trust knowing I don't trust enough not to, but that's the price of certainty. Ignorance might be bliss, but a knife in your back sure the fuck ain't."
Even as she walks about a little, Selina is certainly listening to him. "Which Knighthood?," she asks, between his words. Not sitting, but also not looming right behind him. Respecting his own caution, perhaps. A lift of her shoulder. "I won't lie, on one hand, it does kill some trust. If I was a less paranoid woman myself, I'd probably have some hurt feelings. Second guess inviting you over for more pizza and beer, some other night. But it is what it is, and we are who we are, in the end."
"Knighthood of the Dragonslayer," Cornelius answers as he shifts to get more comfortable; brushing a poking rock away. "A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down, and a handful of distrust helps the heart stay beating. For what it's worth? I probably wouldn't have knocked you down the cliff. Then again, I can't imagine you climbing down there too easily by yourself." He looks over at her once more, and this time he gives her a little upwards nod. "Still wanna get leet?"
"Hm. As long as you would have been a little disappointed, in the end, if you had to." Her smirk can be heard, even if it can't be seen. She brushes her hair back, away from her face, and scratches her cheek. "But no, I don't think I would've had too good of a time getting down there solo. Probably would have ended up accidentally throwing myself over the cliff, in the end." She moves over, closer to his side, reaching out to touch his hair briefly. But that small measure of distrust is there, enough to keep her away from the edge. "Yeah, I still want to get leet. That doesn't change."
"I could probably use a shave and a haircut," he comments as she touches his hair. "It's been a minute." He looks over--eye dropping down to where her mouth should be for a moment before working back up to the stars. "Do you wanna learn how to fight, or do you wanna learn how to avoid a fight?" The simple question is filled with layers of possibilities that could branch off from it. He watches her eyes--within them, rather--as he waits her response.
"I don't know, Rex. I like you a bit scruffy. It fits you. I can't imagine you all clean shaven with a high and tight." Selina's eyes, the stars in them, are calm for once around him. More thoughtful, than that usual mania that he's drawn out. "Fight. Avoiding one is handy, but if I'm going to be working with you, handsome? I don't think I'll have all that much time for avoidance." She stretches fingers out, rolls her shoulders a bit. Loosening herself back up - or at least trying to.
A bobbing, thoughtful nod is his response to that. After several seconds he rolls back over his shoulder to come to his feet and begins a characteristically boneless shuffle backwards to bring him away from the dangerous drop. "Get over here, toots."
Selina's eyes stay on him the whole time, as he moves and she takes a half-step backwards. Wary, yes. But who can blame her? Eyes flick back up to his, but when he tells her to get over there, she does after a heartbeat of consideration. Giving him back a sliver of that trust. Watching, waiting. Not exactly loose and easy.
"Oh for fuck's sake," Cornelius waves a hand to summon her closer. "If I wanted to kill you, I could probably do it before you noticed." His voice has a growling quality as he scoops up a fist-sized rock from the ground, throws it high overhead and slashes it a couple times with his claws as it falls towards the ground. "Violence is my last resort, but that doesn't mean I'm not any good at it." He extends his clawed hands towards her in a weird wave of fingers. "You gonna lose a nail if you rip someone's face off?"
"Clever and paranoid have gotten me this far, bucko," Selina points out. Still, she steps a bit closer to him, within easy grabbing distance. Lingering in it, for the first time since the display with the cross. Narrowing eyes a little, but. One step closer. And as he extends his hand, she reaches out to draw her claws against the back of his hand. Showing a bit of sharpness. "Hopefully not before I do the face-ripping."
"Careful, Mouth!" There is a touch of a scowl on Cornelius's face, but nothing serious. "These gloves are going for a record. Another month and they'll have outlasted any pair I've had to date. Including the ones I had for three years as a kid." He finishes his cursory examination of his already mostly ruined gloves and holds out both his hands with palms towards the sky. "Ever played this game?"
Ther's no lasting damage done to the gloves. Barely even a plucked thread. But she chuckles at what he says, a shake of her head going. "Far be it from me to ruin your gloves, precious treasures that they are," she says with a teasing roll of her eyes. Brows lift, and she snorts at his question. "Yeah. I mean, pretty shit childhood if one hadn't, right?" She slides her hands towards his, palms down, fingers flat. Watching his eyes, rather than his body.
Cornelius fakes a sniffle. "I learned this game a year ago." He sucks in a breath and releases it with the fake shuddering of incoming tears. Then all the theatrics are gone and he adds, "I did learn how to pick pockets, though." He slaps her hand one one hand--while conversation distracts--and then turns to the side and flips her wallet open. "How do you look good in your DMV photo? That's not even-" He looks from the ID to her and back and holds the plastic up next to her head. "Hmm...."
"Hey, I'm just sayin' that...OW fucker!" Selina winces as he slaps her hand, and her brows lower with the frown that can't be seen. One that grows, when he holds up her wallet, and her license. It's still from Illinois. But she does look good in it, and with it being a picture, shows the sweet curve of her lips that he's only ever felt. "It's all about timing, baby. All about timing."
"Damn. Your Mask is hot. I mean," Cornelius keeps looking between the picture and reality. "I like your real eyes better, but the brown-eyed doe look suits you. ...I gotta put this away before I need a cold shower and a colder glass of wine." He puts her license back in upside down and tosses the wallet back over to her. Both hands behind his back as he clasps his wrist, he begins to pace a circle. "Ter me, grasshoppa. How did I srap your hand so easiry?" The accent is over the top, as his old man hobble worthy of Yoda on a bad hip day.
"Yeah, I mean, I'm pretty fucking hot both ways, but the Mask does have the benefit of having, you know. A mouth still. Tends to up the attractive factor." She gives a little self-depreciating snort, catching her wallet and sliding it back into the pocket that it calls home. Those cosmic eyes follow him as he walks around her, letting him have her back but not really stopping looking at him. "Because you're faster than me, and I wasn't expecting it," she murmurs, watching that faux hobble. "And you had me distracted."
"Why am I fasta dan you?" He hobbles his way around to the front of Selina and pokes her chest, then lifts his finger to give her a harmless bop across the tip of the nose. "Because ob-u many years-u ob-u practice-u." He drops the old man act and starts to bounce on his feet with his hands up. "It's not about a certain stance." The bouncing stops and the hands drop. "It's not about a special technique. It's not about being genetically more gifted... kinda." He shrugs that easily-argued point off. "It's about practice. A boxer throws thousands of thousands of punches a year. A wrestler spends as much time wrestling as he does sitting in a van with a heater on and the windows up while wearing a hoodie and a trash bag. That's a lot of time. My point that I'm getting to more laborously than a cop walking back a donut shop without going in is that if you think you're gonna get good instantly, you're wrong. Shit takes tiiime. Do you have tiiime for me?"
Selina's nose wrinkles immediately as it's bopped, and he can hear the little snap of her teeth, as if she'd bite him. Even if he's putting on the old man Yoda act. "Yes, I know," she says with a sigh. "It doesn't happen overnight, like fucking grinding out on a game to keep getting the sweet ex-pees. I know how the real world works." She lets out a little huff of a breath, before she's moving away, doing a little bit of pacing. "I've got all the time in the world, baby. At least for this. At least until time runs out."
"Alright, toots. You've got a masta to your grasshoppa." He extends his hand as if they are meeting for the first time. No tricks from the look of it. "I'll drop by randomly and teach you some things. I'll leave you with stuff to practice. Every now and then I might ask for a hand with something or a place to shower. Which isn't too bad if you consider that most dojos charge an arm and a leg and, well, they have no fucking clue how to fight with fingernails big enough to lift one of Scarface's nose candy mountains." The offer to shake is in place. "We gots a deal, Twinkle?"
A look down to his hand, before she slides her own into it. "My shower's open to you, whenever you need it. Won't be at the hotel much longer, with luck, but when I move on I'll make sure that you know where I'm staying." Selina looks over him. "Especially if it involves more." She gives a little shift from foot to foot, but she does shake his hand. "We've got a deal, sensei. Teach me your mysterious ninja ways."
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