devoutish: (Beeswax‚ Not Yours‚ Inc.)
Alfie Solomons ([personal profile] devoutish) wrote in [community profile] snowblindrpg2016-05-24 04:18 pm

[log] two assholes walk into an abandoned building and... [closed]

Characters: Alfie Solomons, Royce Melborn
Location building 102
Date: evening of 121 through morning of 122
Summary: Alfie and Royce run into each other by chance, and decide to travel together for a few days
Warnings: n/a; will edit if anything comes up

During his week in Norfinbury, Alfie has settled into a tentative schedule. He wakes early, searches the building he'd spent the previous night in, and gets an early start walking. He searches most or all of the buildings he comes across, only finding a place to stay shortly before lockdown begins. By then he's usually too tired to do much physical activity, so he takes care of various other things until he's ready to sleep through to the morning, when it's time to search the building. Rinse, repeat.

On the day of his arrival, he'd told someone - he can't remember who now - that he couldn't imagine having to fight boredom here. Now, seven days in, he's forced to eat his words. His days are monotonous and solitary, and worst of all, they feel pointless. Everything is based around day-to-day survival, and despite the theories and plans flying around, he doesn't feel like anybody is close to escape. He has questions to ask and potential clues to share, but with everybody else worrying about the Joker's bombs, he's holding off.

At least his hearing is back to normal. He's incredibly relieved about that.

When he arrives at his house for the night, he begins his now-familiar routine. His outer clothes (a big coat, and the trash bag that he wears under it) come off immediately, and are set out to dry. The boots are next, as is everything inside of them (socks, plastic sandwich bags, bits of fuzz and insulation). He dries any wet skin off with a piece of dirty paper towel, which is then set out to dry next to the shoes. Now that he has two bath towels, the one that he's been wearing around his shoulders all day (always under his coat and trash bag, but above his vest) gets switched out for the other. Finally, he sinks down into the living room armchair, stretching his legs out and shoving his bare feet under one of the couch cushions. His fingers are worrying him a bit - he's managed to avoid frostbite, but only barely. He's still keeping a close eye on them, tracking their state using his tablet's camera and hoping that the gloves he'd found the day before will help keep them from getting any worse. And that's where he'll be until lockdown - sitting alone, tablet in hand, taking multiple close-up shots of his hands to compare to the previous days' pictures.
bywolves: (sass.)

[personal profile] bywolves 2016-05-28 03:53 am (UTC)(link)
Royce grins at that, but doesn't move. Doesn't bother with an attack, either; it wouldn't be worth it for either of them. Alfie could be a threat if he wanted to be, and Royce knows how dangerous the other man could potentially be. He'd prefer to be on the same side, for as much as Royce can be on the same side as anybody.

"Seems like we do." Royce taps his fingers along the edge of the letter opener. "Neither of us are lacking in defense. Seems clear who this should go to."
bywolves: (say what.)

[personal profile] bywolves 2016-05-28 04:17 am (UTC)(link)
"The person who found it first," Royce says, watching Alfie closely. He's tense, coiled and ready to defend. "Fair's fair, isn't it?"

Not that Royce believes in fair, but hey.
bywolves: (sass.)

[personal profile] bywolves 2016-05-28 04:30 am (UTC)(link)
Honestly, Royce expects nothing less. He's grinning again, which looks and... sort of really feels wrong for the situation. Alfie's allowing him to have it, he gets it - finds he maybe missed this sort of talk more than he's really willing to admit.

"What a generous man," Royce says idly, hiding the letter opener away. He gestures at the door with a more subdued sort of smirk. "Shall we? Mind your head near the walls."
bywolves: (sass.)

[personal profile] bywolves 2016-05-28 04:46 am (UTC)(link)
Royce just gives Alfie a look. There's a pause where it looks like he isn't going to say anything, and then: "Hands pushed out of the wall. Nearly gave Solomons a heart attack."
bywolves: (say what.)

[personal profile] bywolves 2016-05-28 05:00 am (UTC)(link)
"Sure. Move right up close to the wall and see if they grab you." He sounds amused, now. But - he is curious.

Royce glances at Alfie, as if he's saying come along. He gathers up his broom - it's been resting against the wall since he got in last night, and cautiously reaches out with the broom side at the wall. The hands lurch out like they did before, grabbing and grasping - but the broom goes right through them.

Royce pulls the broom away, and lifts his eyebrows at Alfie. There's nothing really there.
bywolves: (that's what you're wearing...)

[personal profile] bywolves 2016-05-28 05:20 am (UTC)(link)
"I'm not that stupid." So no, he won't be touching the gross, protruding hands. He swears they touched his hood, but maybe he was just imagining things. "Could still be able to grab us. Broken neck isn't in my plans today."
bywolves: (distant stare.)

[personal profile] bywolves 2016-05-28 03:38 pm (UTC)(link)
Japanese doesn't even exist where Royce comes from, so he has no idea how to begin pronouncing or correcting the names Alfie reads off.

"Day twelve," Royce repeats, tilting his head back to watch the hands pushing at the wall. "And it's what, day 121?"

He rests his chin in his palm. "Elric has been here from the start."
bywolves: (you're going to regret that.)

[personal profile] bywolves 2016-05-28 04:13 pm (UTC)(link)
Royce doesn't see much point in knowing what the date is (then again, he never really has) but he is glad for the correction on the day. That's important. It's hard to tell, sometimes, with the way the sun sets and rises - he's trying to let his internal clock adjust.

"Greed. Is that someone's name?" Hope you like all this commentary, Alfie.
bywolves: (Default)

[personal profile] bywolves 2016-05-28 05:45 pm (UTC)(link)
Royce tilts his head back to glance at Alfie.

"I agree. I'm running low." Royce finally pulls himself up to stand, and almost like an afterthought, he jabs the broom at the wall again. The hands reach for it, trying to grasp, but they go right through it. With a huff, Royce pulls the broom back, and stares down at it.

A beat, and then he places a foot on the part where the head of the broom and the stick meet. Using all of his weight, he jumps down on it - and the broom snaps the head right off with a satisfying crack. That's better.

Royce looks up at Alfie again, with a flat: "Ready when you are."
bywolves: (distant stare.)

[personal profile] bywolves 2016-05-28 08:51 pm (UTC)(link)
"No," Royce answers, sliding over to pack up his stuff. He's got his blanket, pillow and assortment of sharp pointy things in the middle of his bag or hidden on his person, and now he's got his broom handle, holding it like a staff.

"Spring, summer, fall, winter. I suppose there's someone out there keeping track of what day it is. Monks. I don't."
bywolves: (Default)

[personal profile] bywolves 2016-05-28 09:19 pm (UTC)(link)
Huh. That's inventive. Royce watches Alfie pull on his outfit with some interest, leaning slightly on his broom. Might take a page out of Alfie's book if he runs across any of this stuff in the houses.

"Your people?" Royce asks, looking at Alfie's boots rather than the man himself.
bywolves: (say what.)

[personal profile] bywolves 2016-05-28 09:44 pm (UTC)(link)
Royce walks through the door that Alfie has open for him, and - Alfie's going to notice Royce totally keeping his back slightly turned away from Alfie as Royce slinks his way outside. Habit.

And, as always, guess who has absolutely no tact?

"I don't know what that is. Jewish." Royce squints at the cold, pulling on the mittens over his gloves. He keeps his tablet close as well - and his expression sharpens when he remembers the obituaries from earlier.

He thinks he did a decent job of hiding how pissed he was, but Royce doesn't doubt Alfie is more observant than most people.

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