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Post by Xanthia on Dec 23, 2016 18:02:40 GMT -6
"Summer, have you put your shoes on? Autumn, where's your backpack? Come on girls we have to go! Daddy's waiting and Mommy has to go to work!"
That was a normal Monday morning dialogue. The girls had left all their things just lying everywhere, as children of that age oft do and it was up to Mommy to know exactly what her little ones would miss if ever they forgot it at her place. Even though daddy had the key to the small house and even though it was only three blocs away from daddy's house, it would cause an uproar of titanic proportions. It was the same little routine every Monday morning and even though she would sigh and groan and keep telling herself that 6 am on a Monday was a myth or some kind of disaster that only happened to other people, Xanthia wouldn't exchange this little challenge for anything else. "I wanna ride on mommy's shoulders!" would say Summer, the youngest and the materfamilias would oblige. "That's unfair! I want to do it too!" would chant Autumn, the firstborn female spawn, in a jealously reproachful voice and the matriarch would propose a compromise where the eldest would ride piggyback. Smiles would be worn and laughter would echo until they reached the little café that had become their usual meeting place over the years.
Xanthia unloaded her living burden who ran to their creator and induce in an three way embrace. She was then greeted by a good cup o'joe and a nice big loving kiss that surprised her more than anything. She would've blushed if she was the type of woman to blush and hugged her ex before pecking him one on the cheek. She had an appointment today. she left. She ran back and handed the little pinkish plushie she had carried in her pocket on the way and ran back towards the helipads. One passage to Vytal and up we went.
She landed, realized she was early and took the scenic route to the mission bureau. She stopped for a bit on the way to watch a second year class during aura training, recognized the teacher and dropped in to say hello. He presented her to the class and Xanthia approached a mopping teenage girl who was complaining she'd never get the hang of auras. The woman told the student how she was now a registered Huntress and still hadn't got the hang of auras and not to let an obstacle like this stop her in her path. Girl power.
Oh my would you look at the time! She ran to the mission office to get an assignment briefing and was surprised to learn the was going to be paired up with another hunter on this one. He hadn't checked in yet but shouldn't be too long. Xanthia told the mission officer that after his briefing, he could join with her on the training field. She had skipped her morning exercise and wanted to limber up before she set out.
And there we are! Training field! her stuff dropped haphazardly on the ground, a heavy-bag in front of her, Xanthia was taping her knuckles. She stretched her neck, jumped up and down thrice, shadowboxed a few times and hit the bag with a brutal left hook. She started, chaining jabs and hooks, mimicked dodging, hitting the face then the body, quick three punch burst, jump on the left to deliver a good right hook to the ribs and hit the bag with a hard high kick. The impact echoed and even made a couple of students stop to look while Xanthia kept the pose.
Sweaty and panting, she grabbed her towel, wiped her face a took a sip of water. Time for some running. She went to her bag to get her ankle weights and upon getting up, met with a familiar face she hadn't seen in some time.
"Oh... Hey you!"
Lucianno Morricone
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Post by Lucianno Morricone on Dec 24, 2016 14:57:52 GMT -6
As the airship landed safely at Vytal, steam rising from its propulsion engines as they cooled, its hatch opened to let passengers out. But before both the airship and the hatch could touch the ground, a man on a horse jumped through the small gap with a thunderous heiny and a “yaa!”, before gracefully landing and trotting energetically. As they circled around, the lean, blonde rider wearing a stetson and a western shirt with an icy blue thousand yard stare gave a smirk and pointed towards the airship’s window - where one of the flight attendants swooned and almost fell unconscious from a case of the vapors, her friend catching her before she’d hit the floor.
“It’s a shame, my dear girl,” the rider said through his cocky smirk, his voice suave and charming, “that we have to leave each other so soon. But it's my burden as a self-respecting hunter! True love like this, however, knows no bounds, and I hope to see you again! I will come back to you, err…” his smirk turned into a squint and he zoomed in on the attendant’s name badge, “…Anastasia!
-Oh please,” Anastasia’s friend said with an exasperated look on her face, “you’ve just met her, how can you call this true lov-
-A GIFT TO YOU, MY DARLING,” Morri continued, producing a rose from his horse’s saddle, and throwing it on the hatch, before both him and his mount took a gracious bow, “AND NOW, I MUST GO!”
And then Lucianno Morricone, professional hunter, turned around and forced his horse into a run, before they could find out that his wonderful animal, as wonderful as he was, had relieved himself in one of the Airship’s corridors.
----
“A partner?
-Yes, mr. Morricone,” the clerk said over her desk, her glasses just as thick as her southern accent, “as much as we know you enjoy working solo, we’re afraid your next hunting job is going to be too hard for one man alone - we’re talking about a particularly vicious pack of wolfish Grimm having taken hold of a small village up north in Legion, and we’ve already lost contact with the last huntsman we sent. As such, we decided to send at least a two-man team. Thankfully, we managed to find a member of your old team to pair you up with.
-Oh! No no, I don’t mind working with someone else, especially not with someone from team EXPL,” Morri said, accepting the tea cup he’d been offered and taking a sip. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen the girls. And that one scrawny tomboy. Who am I working with, then?
-She’s waiting for you at the training field, sir,” the clerk said mysteriously, with a small smile on her face. “She told me to send you there after we were done.
-Well that’s just lovely. I’ll be on my way, then.”
----
The Training Fields were really just a glorified exterior gym, but it was perhaps one of the greatest places in the whole school. Remembering his classes from more than seven years back, Morricone couldn’t help but feel a bit nostalgic: he had good memories from this place, and would have enjoyed simply strolling around… But the man was on a mission. Pretty Young Thing trotted around the track field and looked just as curious as Morri, who scanned the Fields to find his colleague for the job.
He saw her just as soon as she’d seen him. Xanthia, the scrawny darling of the group. The army chick, the tougher-than-nails damsel. Battle Mom, too, now - though it had been a while since Morri’d actually gotten to talk to Xanthia and her ex and kids.
“...Huh, weird,” Morri said, looking around and doing his best to ignore punchgirl’s presence, though his grin broke the illusion, “I was told to expect a woman.” Morri quickly descended from PYT’s back and walked casually towards his partner, hands in his pockets. He really couldn’t help it - it had been too long since they’d seen each other - and he offered her a hand to shake as he closed the distance. “Damn, my Sassafras, it’s good to see you again, and even better to know we’ll be working together. How long has it been? Two, three years?”
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Post by Xanthia on Dec 26, 2016 20:46:32 GMT -6
A grin on her face, Xanthia dropped her bag and proceeded to unfasten the bandages she had wrapped on her knuckles. She wiped the sweat off her hands with the towel swung around her shoulders and approached the gunslinger as he was coming towards her.
"Well, well, well. Lucianno Morricone , as I live and breathe! And I was told my teammate was going to be a man, not some faggot playing cowboy!"
She looked at the outstretched hand and grabbed it firmly before pulling the man towards her to initiate what would be an embrace if Xanthia wouldn't have a grip capable of anything more affectionate than a brohug with anyone but her daughters and her ex. Man, was she glad to be paired up with someone she could trust with her life and not a total stranger. They had faced oblivion together before and she'd follow him to hell and back... and she'd make sure he'd do the same.
"The last time we met... I had just moved to Rift so yeah... Three years. Where does the time go... Maybe after our little escapade you'd like to fly by my pad for a beer? The girls really like you, you know?"
She started to gear up, attaching her harness, checking her grenades and holstering up the flashlight. She fished up Smile, her weapon, from the side of her backpack and started to examine it to make sure everything was in perfect condition. A couple of spins, a couple hits to the heavy bag and a couple of careful passes with the whip to make sure the links were all okay, it extended without problem and retracted correctly. She pulled the bolt, expelling a used up Dust slug from the last time and inspected the chamber to the light for unusual wear and tear. When Xanthia deemed the weapon was in as excellent a condition as always, she spun it in her hands a couple of times, smiling, before holstering in on her belt.
"I'm going to make an ass out of you and me and guess that you already had the briefing so just tell me when you're ready to take off."
She looked at her partner. He hadn't changed at all since they graduated. That same smile, that same haircut, the same shiny golden hair. If she thought about it, except her hips that got a little wider after two births, she hadn't changed much either. A tide of recollection and memories, both good and bad washed over her subconscious and she thought that the best course of action in response to this was to belt him a good one on the shoulder. She grinned a huge, closed-eyed smile while she fished out one of her self-made mint roll-ups from her pocket and brought it to her lips.
"It's good to see you again, Lucce."
She lit up the green leafs, dropped the lighter in her bag and shouldered it before approaching PYT. She started stroking the horse's nose gently. This was going to be a good couple of days, whatever was going to happen. |
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Post by Lucianno Morricone on Jan 10, 2017 17:36:10 GMT -6
Morricone didn’t waste time turning the friendly hug into a mix of high fives and daps, one that they’d memorized in the week of their friendship. Thinking about this also made him think of the simple fact that he’d shared a room with three girls for four years, and that they’d turned into a band of broth- well, sisters, really. And then he remembered that it had made him blush, back then, when they’d first started getting along.
Man, how much of a shy, horned up teenaged was he back then?
“Darling, now, come on,” Morricone said with a mock sensual grin, his eyes set in a debonair look, scoffing with his shoulders and cocking his hip, “We all know I rock the look. Besides, with your around, the team needed someone with a feminine touch. Your tomboy would have bled all over our team’s style if I hadn’t been there to equalize the flavor.”
Morricone looked Xanthia over: she’d always been his little sister, really, but it would have been a lie to say she hadn’t grown a little. Her hips, for one - somebody as small as her couldn’t have kids without gaining a bit more humph in that area, but Luccy was pretty sure all this meant was that her center of gravity had strengthened. Note to self: no wrestling. Her eyes were also a bit more controlled, a bit nicer, and she’d lost some of her sass on the way here, replacing it with something he recognized easily: maternal love.
At the mention of Summer and Autumn, Lucy scratched the back of his head somewhat sheepishly. It HAD been a while since he’d seen the kids. “Aw shucks, man, I’ve been so busy I didn’t even take the time to send any calls your way for a while, haven’t I? This is embarrassing: I just came back from work down south, back near the ol’ homestead,” he added, readjusting his shirt and gloves slightly, “I went scouting for six months without contact, studying Grimm activity down there. The ecosystem is amazing: they don’t eat, right? But there’s still a pecking order between the older, tougher Grimm, and the young'uns. It’s fascinating, even if they’re terrible things.”
Just as Xanthia checked her gear, he checked his: a leather hip rig he carried around all the time, with his large, massive, but surprisingly simple weapon holstered hanging off of it. Morricone pulled out his Petite Fleur, which, other than its name, was nothing but small, and he spun the barrel, listening to its pristine “clickclickclickclickclick-” sound, checking to see that the chambers were indeed unloaded. No use carrying a live, viciously dangerous gun if you could avoid doing so. It’s not like he was lacking in ammunitions, though, as his belt was covered in them - large, thumb-sized lead. And then PYT had a pouch full of the damn things.
Speaking of his horse, Pretty Young Thing had changed from his usual grumpy, egocentric, stallion self, and Morricone knew it was the animal recognizing an old friend. It clopped excitedly and did a little trot around Xanthia, shaking its mane and tail and sneezing in contentment. “You know,” Morricone started, spinning his revolver around easily before holstering it again, “I’m always surprised whenever I see PYT happy like that. Usually it’s because he gets a day off and runs around like crazy, but whenever I talk to the old team members like you or Etsuko, he gets super excited. It’s good, really. He’s usually a good, but self-centered trusty steed. You know he beat me at tic-tac-toe once, and then pranced around like a clod?”
PYT snorted and closed his eyes in a very dignified manner, looking away and up into the sky. “Now don’t you take that tone on me, buster!” The horse huffed, and Morricone frowned, pointing menacingly at his steed. “You keep talking to me like that, and you’re glue, do you understand?” At that, PYT’s eyes took on a scared and sad look, its face drooping down and looking up to his owner. “Oh, come on, you big oaf,” Morri added, patting him on the head, “did you seriously believe what I was saying? I couldn’t do that to you, even if your legs were broken.”
And then they hugged and it was super cutesy and stuff.
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Post by Xanthia on Jan 15, 2017 22:41:13 GMT -6
Xanthia giggled at the duo's antics. Pretty Young Thing had always been an overly intelligent animal and although she didn't much care for horses in general, PYT was family. She sidled up to the horse again to pet him on the head.
"And don't worry P, before he does anything to you, he'll have to go through me and you know that won't ever happen!"
She winked conspiratorially at the steed and grabbed the reins before settings off towards the airport. This was a stroll down memory lane. Morricone was more like a brother to Xanthia than her own brothers... and she loved her brothers! The couple of years she spent with Lucy an the girls were her best memories. Etsuko was always so levelheaded... kind of like a mature older sister. Prima was always so goddamn graceful and Xanthia would never admit it but she'd been jealous as hell of her poise, style and the fact that she could move and kick ass in dresses... and she was the little shit younger sister that was always out looking for trouble. Boy had Lucianno bailed her out of some messy situations, more often than not involving some dickheaded jocks from other teams that she'd set out to beat up. Those were some good times.
"You saw to the girls recently? Boy, if they were in town and didn't come to say hi, I'm gonna beat their sexy little asses... Haven't talked to Koko or Duckling since we went our separate ways. Prima sends me postcards from time to time but I haven't had any news from Etsuko. I'm not concerned for her though, nothing can take down that girl..."
People had said the team was going to be a flop but they had showed them! They just took the four kids that didn't fit anywhere else and told them they were a team now and it ended up being a great one. She remember actually being scared of that stuck up cold witch Etsuko and just hating that attention craving swan Prima... and then there was Morri, the boy. Three girls and a boy, at the peak of their puberty, sharing a room... now this is has some creepy anime potential, even maybe a few adult comics with a similar track online somewhere... For the first months she actually slept with an eye open because she didn't trust him. It was so hilariously funny now. They wouldn't take a bullet for another, no, they'd make sure everyone got home unscathed instead.
"By the way Lucy, I've been wondering for years now and, if it offends you, I may have some tampons in my backpack. When we got teamed up 10 years ago and started sharing the room, have you ever tried a move on us girls at night?"
She had a huge shit-eating grin on her face because she already had multiple made-up replies based on yes or no answers... although Lucy had a tendency to be sassier than her and she hated his guts for it... Might as well initiate a nasty little subject that she'll be able to throw back in his face for the rest of the mission to lighten the mood. |
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