I'm on the brink of disaster [OTA]

[lupusxylem]

Who: Nicholas D. Wolfwood and YOU
What: Catchall log for the aftermath of Saint Nick
When: December 26th onward
Where: Various
Warnings: Reckless behavior/irresponsible drinking



A) Staring down the consequences | OTA

[It's been a couple days, and Wolfwood is still...well, he sure is. And now it seems that the Grove all gets to have a say in the life and times of No Man's Land, so that's pretty Cool. While he does make sure to keep up with Vash's post and all of the responses out of a sense of schadenfreude, it doesn't exactly make him feel any better. Eventually, he has to put it away and go back outside for a while. Not into the Forest thankfully, but out into the snow just outside the Inn, dressed up in his coat from Heimr with a cigarette clutched tight in his teeth.

He's out here because he kindof has to be. He has a puppy on a leash, who has been waddling around in the snow for the last fifteen minutes, biting at the snowflakes and rolling around on the ground.

He watches, deadeyed, as she stuffs her face into a pile of snow all the way up to her neck.]

...please. Please, god.

[He's begging you

He is begging you to do your business he's so fucking tired]

B) To break hard would be better | Locked to Mizuki

[At some point when the puppy has been taken care of and is curled up asleep on his pillow, Wolfwood leaves again. He heads for the therapy building with full intent of going to the rage room and breaking more shit in the hopes it will help him feel less listless and dumb in the head.

Except...he gets there, and he sort of lingers in the middle of the lobby. Like he's lost, or he's forgotten where the room even is. Perhaps that's what it is, or maybe it's that he knows that breaking things isn't really the solution this time.

Maybe he should just leave.]

C) Tonight I'll do what it takes to fail | OTA

[...so anyway when that didn't work, Wolfwood decided to just grab the last of that whiskey bottle from his room and head back out to go wandering again. There's actually a lot of this town he hasn't visited for one reason or another, and the rec center is a place he flat out didn't know existed. Blessedly empty as it is, it's a siren song calling for him. He drags himself through the snow and inside.

...he's not expecting to find a giant like. Waterpark, or something, in here. Who the fuck built this?

He wanders as he periodically drinks straight from the bottle, wondering if the water is cold. It probably is since it's like two degrees outside. His footsteps echo loudly in the empty space, with pools scattered throughout. His feet are cold. Maybe it'd feel nice if he took his shoes off and just sat at the edge, assuming the pools are heated or something. Would somebody build this whole thing and NOT go to the trouble of doing that?

Fuck, he doesn't know. Nobody has this kind of money back home, and certainly not the resources to be wasting this much water. He sits down on the tile like a toddler and awkwardly kicks off his sockless, very wet (very sad, they're in BAD shape yall) shoes before scooting towards the water's edge.

If you show up right around now you'll just see Wolfwood sitting at the edge with his feet in the water. If you show up like, ten minutes later, it will be to the tune of somebody falling in.]

Comments

B

[mooninthewater]

[ Mizuki is actually in the midst of making the office a little more comfortable, what with the cool weather, and making sure that the sensory deprivation tanks are still staying at body temperature despite the cold. Somehow, they are! The insane amount of salt inside of them is probably helping.

It's coming in and out of the office to bring things inside to warm up or make it more cozy that he happens upon Wolfwood coming in, mid scooping up some of the blankets he'd brought to go lay them on the couch inside. ]

…Did you come here looking for someone to talk with? [ He heard from Vash they had an argument. Maybe he just needed someone to vent his woes to, too? ]

[lupusxylem]

[Wolfwood blinks slowly, Mizuki's small voice seeming to startle him as if he wasn't expecting someone else to be here. Right. Someone has to run this place, don't they? And now he just looks like he kindof barged in uninvited, which may not be super far off from the truth.]

Uh...sorry. I was looking for that room. With the breakable stuff.

[mooninthewater]

No need to apologize! That's what this place is here for. But, if you don't mind me asking, is there a particular reason why?

[lupusxylem]

[There's a reason alright. Just not a reason he particularly wants to say, exactly...but at this point, he imagines Mizuki knows to some degree, even if he doesn't realize just how much it involves You Know Who.

He sighs, looking away.]

I need to get some anger out, is all. That's what it's for, right?

[mooninthewater]

It is, of course. S'why it's called a "rage room". I'm not about to stop you, but… would you like someone to talk to as well? I don't see why you can't break shit and also talk to someone about what's frustrating you.

…

It doesn't have to be me, but… um, if it's about Mister Vash, he has… brought up that you guys got in an argument to me…

[lupusxylem]

[Of course. Of course he did.]

What else hasn't he told everyone...

[He mutters to himself, leaning his weight back on his heels so he can look up at the ceiling.]

Yeah. It's about him. But I don't think there's anything to talk about at this point. Like, I don't know what he said to you about me, but...

[mooninthewater]

Not much. He only mentioned that you both argued, that's all. He didn't want to talk about it more than that…

[ Mizuki scuttles over to the rage room, regardless, after setting down the blankets, and he pushes the door open. ]

Come on. You don't have to talk about anything, but I can hang out with you while you get your frustrations out at least. [ Aaaaaand if he just so happens to feel like talking, then he'll be there! Win-win… ]

C and i'm sorry

[simplicitas]

[Wolfwood will probably come in right around the time that Elsword is in the distance utilizing those waterslides as god intended. And they'll probably look at each other as he's leaving that side of the pool and Elsword will understand that Wolfwood needs a moment alone, mopey as he is, so he'll head off for a bit to get snacks or something and come back. He totally thinks Wolfwood needs snacks, too.

And that is how Elsword ends up coming back right as Wolfwood starts fucking drowning, I guess. Nevermind snacks, those are getting tossed aside as Elsword launches himself at the side of the pool and reaches to drag Wolfwood out. Hi hello. Don't drown pls.]

DONT BE SORRY

[lupusxylem]

[So, good news. Wolfwood isn't unconscious or anything like that, he's just really wobbly and lost his footing at the water's edge. ...turns out he also can't swim even a little bit, so it's a good thing that Elsword came back for him. He wasn't even expecting Elsword to return at all when he left, so...small blessings today, for Wolfwood.

Anyway, when Elsword manages to get his head above water, Wolfwood immediately starts choking and hacking up water, which is a good sign that he's breathing at least. He doesn't fight Elsword on getting rescued either, gripping onto his shoulder to keep from bobbing back beneath the surface as he drags him up and out over the edge.

Hi, sorry, he's a sloshed disaster and his whiskey bottle is floating in the water. Mercifully empty at least since he finished it off before he came in.]

Okay merry not christmas i'm back-

[simplicitas]

[Elsword voice: oh my god he's fucking drunk.

Elsword pulls Wolfwood out of the pool some several feet away from the edge so he doesn't go dunking himself into it again. Holy shit.]

Mr. Wolfwood... please don't die...

[ :( ]

merry crimesmes have a drowned priest

[lupusxylem]

[Now that Elsword has managed to drag Wolfwood out of the danger zone that is the pool, he sort of sits there half-upright on the tile in a soggy heap, blessedly not freezing, but not exactly in good shape either. If he tries to leave this wet he may just freeze to the ground, honestly.

He blinks blearily (his sunglasses are also missing, having joined the empty bottle in the pool) up at the ceiling, patting the floor for a bottle that isn't there.]

...s'rainin'. Fuckin' deep puddles.

[simplicitas]

No, it's... it's a swimming pool with water slides. It's not raining. Well— there's a thing that makes it "rain" on the ceiling over there, but it's not real rain, it's kind of like a water fountain...

[He trails off. Wolfwood is drunk as hell, he's not sure why he's trying to explain. They don't really have this stuff on Elrios either...

Elsword gets up for a moment to fish out the sunglasses and the bottle from the pool, then sets them down next to Wolfwood.]

I'm gonna get you a towel... [...] Stay there, the towels aren't that far.

[Do Not Fall Back In. Elsword will be gone for approximately a minute and a half grabbing a towel... multiple towels, he decides midway through, and then he's going to wrap one around Wolfwood and use the other to towel dry his hair for him.

Sigh.]

[lupusxylem]

[To his credit, Wolfwood doesn't try to get up. he just keeps sitting there dripping and looking like a sad, drowned rat, because that is kindof what he is currently. Mizuki had a really good talk with him, but even though he gave him really good advice, he left that conversation feeling like he doesn't have what it takes to really be able to follow up on any of it.

And so: booze. It wasn't a good idea either, as it turns out.

...and as Elsword starts to dry Wolfwood off, he will grab for the whiskey bottle- now full of pool water- and start drinking from it.]

[simplicitas]

Wolfwood.

[Disappointed Elsword.mp3

Elsword reaches out and takes the bottle from him.]

That's full of pool water, you know. I don't know how often they clean the pools, but it's full of chemicals and stuff you don't want to drink. At least, that's how Toge explained it to me after he built it... Why don't you have some real water?

[All of this is said as he's still crouching behind Wolfwood and drying his hair off, by the way.]

The Special D Option For Me

[oleaeuropaea]

[Whenever Wolfwood stumbles back to his room — drunk and sopping as he may be — he'll find Vash waiting for him. Again. He's changed his clothes for some reason, the tattered coat splayed out around his vantage point on the floor. His head is propped back against the door, and while his eyes are obscured by his glasses, judging by the way his chest rises and falls, and the slight part of his lips, he's, uh.

Well. He's just asleep right there, isn't he? Someone's been waiting a fairly long while, oops.

Good news is that he's not going to notice if Wolfwood wants to get the drop on him? The bruise from their previous squabble is pretty vibrant on Vash's jaw now, especially in the light of the hallway. Thankfully he doesn't seem too bothered by it. But that could be because of the sleeping thing.

... anyway -]

[lupusxylem]

[Wolfwood is lucky that Elsword was out in the rec center when he was, otherwise there's a very real chance Wolfwood could have just drowned. Instead, he's soaked through and now Freezing Cold because even the shortish trek from that building back to the Inn had been a miserable walk with wet clothing that pretty much began to freeze on contact with the air. Elsword had taken the time to dry his hair for him, and left him with a clean towel around his neck and shoulders, but getting him dry clothes is kindof harder to do...understandably. Plus, right now Wolfwood is so wobbly from drinking the rest of that whiskey by himself that the only thing he could really think to do was go back to his room, strip down completely, and just sleep until morning. By then, he'd be sobered up and no longer Wet.

Now, Wolfwood obviously isn't expecting anyone to be there in the hallway when he heads painstakingly upstairs to his room. He's shaking violently even now that he's back in the warmth of indoors, his clothes kind of crunching as he stumbles, only to come around the corner to find someone sitting with their back to his door, and.

Honest to god? Wolfwood is so out of it that upon initial glance, it very much looks to him like he's looking at Vash's corpse there, sprawled against the wall, a shock of bloody red fanned out in a ragged pool all around him. He startles and staggers back a step, managing to catch himself with a hand to the wall as, for just a moment, his heart lodges itself in his throat. Thankfully, he takes enough of a moment to realize that Vash is indeed breathing, and...well. Unfortunately for Vash, that little scare (coupled with the jumpscare of VASH being there for no reason) causes his blood to start to boil. He grits his teeth and crosses the gap, his heart still racing as he kicks Vash in the shin.

It's actually not that hard since he's drunk, he nearly missed, but it should wake him up.]

Th'fuck you think you're doin' here?

[oleaeuropaea]

[Hard or not, the abrupt contact startles Vash awake with a sharp breath. He looks around, disoriented, and finds his hand traveling to his thigh. It's only once he processes through the murk of sleep and spots Wolfwood there that he puts the pieces together. Guilt hits him a bit like a Sand Steamer — he can only imagine what a sight he must have been. His brain doesn't go straight to Wolfwood assuming he was dead, merely that the man would be irritated by his presence without an immediate explanation.

Which Vash immediately jumps up to do. Sort of. He has his hands out, and his mouth opens but the sight of this very wet, sad priest sort of stops him short. And before he can really stop himself, something else tumbles out:]

Why are you wet?

[Almost immediately, his jaw snaps shut. He raises a hand to pinch his brow, shaking his head this way and that almost violently.]

No, no. That's not what I meant. Just - [A deep inhale. His hand lowers, fussing with a sleeve and adjusting it around his cybernetic. The jacket is nice, feels right, but it isn't quite the same weight and feel as the one he loves so much.]

I'm sorry. For being here right now. You can send me away if you want and I'll get it. I just wanted to say I'm sorry. For real this time. [He forces himself to meet Wolfwood's eyes.] You've been vulnerable with me. Opened yourself up when I'm sure it's damn hard and I pushed you out anyway. I can explain why, if you want, but it don't really matter when I know it hurt you.

[With his piece said, Vash pulls his coat a little tighter around himself. He isn't walking away yet, because the least he can do is give Wolfwood a chance to speak. To choose. But it's clear tht he's more than willing to walk if that's the choice that's made.]

[lupusxylem]

[Well. Wolfwood is not sober enough to process Vash's first statement as being rhetorical, so he ends up answering it just as bluntly.]

Fell in the pool.

[Just. With no further explanation. He's wet, and he's cold, and he's not having a good time. And if he weren't being essentially body-blocked from his bedroom by Vash being right in front of the door, he would have likely shouldered past to go inside without another word to him. The reason why will become clear shortly, but for the time being...

Vash...starts to say he's sorry. Again. And Wolfwood is very much prepared to not hear it because it seems like it's going to be the same thing again. Hollow apologies with no real weight behind them, with Vash saying sorry for the sake of saying sorry and taking the guilt off his conscience when he doesn't actually know what he's apologizing for. But then there's...albeit briefly, a nugget of something that wasn't there before. It gives Wolfwood pause, at least until he doesn't elaborate and instead tells him he'll explain...if he wants.

If he wants.

Vash isn't walking away yet, no, but Wolfwood can tell he already has one foot out the door. Like he's being expected to be kicked out, or- at the very least- isn't assuming he'll be allowed to stay.

When Wolfwood finally talks, his voice is...heavily slurred.]

Lissin'. I don't...wanna do this with you right now. [...] Not...not while I'm drunk. Not again.

[And, boy, is he feeling it.]

Need't sober up...

[He continues, shaking his head a little. If Vash looks at him closely, he'll actually be able to see where those little crystals of ice have formed on his extremely damp clothing.]

[oleaeuropaea]

[The ice is noticed, and it takes everything in Vash's power to not throw himself into helping. There is a brief instant where his hand extends, as if he wants to be the one to care for him in this moment. It stops short of the middle-distance between the two of them however, fingers clenching inward briefly before it stops entirely.]

I understand. [This isn't his place. Whatever vulnerability Wolfwood had been willing to show before isn't something Vash has the right to anymore. Even if he wants to help more than anything, it'll take far more time to build back up to it.

Instead, he glances over his shoulder, toward Livio's room.]

I can go grab Liv, if you want. [Even if he isn't allowed into this moment, he doesn't want Wolfwood to be alone. Not when he's half-frozen and drunk out of his mind. He's worried, even if he knows better than to say as much.] He can help you get cleaned up and into bed.

[He knows that the chance of this conversation happening tonight is effectively zero. It smarts, but he swallows it down. The ball is in Wolfwood's court now, and Vash has only one choice — accept that.]

When you're ready, my place is across the river. We can talk... whenever you're ready.

[Even if all he wants to do is take care of Wolfwood, he has half of a mind to walk away at that. The last thing he wants is for the Undertaker to think that Vash feels entitlted to care for him. Or that he's waiting for Nick to stop him. He wants to prove that he's accepted the consequences of hsi actions.

But again, he doesn't want to take the choice away. He won't leave until he knows it's what Wolfwood wants. Not because he isn't capable of making the choice himself, but because he's tired of taking it away from his friend.]

[lupusxylem]

I don't need...m'fine.

[Is he? Because this is the same man who 1) fell in a swimming pool not thirty minutes ago and 2) drank poolwater. Survey says he's not fine at all. In fact, even as Vash is suggesting he go grab Livio to help, Wolfwood is instead obstinately reaching for the door to his bedroom, unlocking it and pulling it open without a second thought.

Sober Wolfwood would have known before doing this that this was a mistake.

Within the span of perhaps a millisecond, something black and furry comes bolting into the hallway like a bullet, literally vibrating as she bounces across the floor, slides into the far wall, and then starts dancing around Wolfwood's feet. Then, she notices Vash...and beelines it for him, yipping excitedly and jumping up on her hind paws to try and balance herself on Vash's leg.

That barking he'd questioned when he got himself punched has made herself known. It is a very small, very fluffy husky puppy that Wolfwood just accidentally released from his room.]

Augh, sonofa- Angelina.

[Nope, Angelina is not listening, her little tail is a blur as she tries desperately to reach Vash to lick him, but she's just licking furiously at the air since his face is like 5 feet away from her.]

[oleaeuropaea]

[Look, since arriving, Vash and Wolfwood have been attacked by strange things. Thus, the Independent should probably be forgiven for jumping approximately three feet in the air and yelping at about the same pitch as Angelina's little yips. He holds himself like a scandalized Victorian Woman, before finally seeming to realize that this is a puppy, and that said puppy doesn't mean any harm.

Right. Okay.]

Hey there, li'l miss. Don't think you're supposed to be out of your room, you know.

[He kneels down, solely because her current hyperfixation will surely keep her from running away and out into the snow. At least if he's getting the shit licked out of him, she'll stay in one place. So Vash lays himself into the crossfire, lowering his face to be absolutely obliterated by one very enthusiastic puppy.

Once she's thoroughly distracted by him, he makes his move. He reaches his arms out to snatch her up and -

instead pitches forward, face first onto the ground. Distracted by puppy as he is, he has only his nose to break his fall. Ouch.]

C) Tonight I'll do what it takes to fail | OTA

[amhran]

[ I HAD NO IDEA THE REC CENTER HAD A WOLE ASS POOL!! Anyway Caoimhe did not either until now I Guess, she has been siting there across the pool rather mesmerized by the pool. She has so many questions, why is there a pool of water inside a building? Do you drink it? She was told not to drink it. What is it for? Is it warm? Do you bathe in it? She thinks you bathe in it, another public bath? She is just playing with it at the moment, a hand-drawn into the water. As she dances her fingers across it. Then splashes a hand in it, like shes a kid.

The water is nasty apparently. Because the water elemental keeps saying it is.

Also yeah there is a water elemental, it's just a bubble. It's going in and out of the water in a circle because its entertaining. Sometimes it makes weird gurgling noises, if you understand Primordial it keeps saying: EWWW THE WATER IS NASTY!!!
Sinks back into it. No sound. Then it comes back out: EW THE WATER IS NASTY!!!! Sinks back into it. No sound.... ]

[lupusxylem]

[ITS OKAY NEITHER DID I WE HAVE A WATERPARK CONGRATS-

And yes, maybe don't drink the pool water, you'll be in for a bad time and Elsword will be mad at you. It's probably not the cleanest in the world given it IS a public pool, but there's so few of them here that reasonably use it that often that it's probably okay. Cleaner than a pool you'd find anywhere else, that's for sure.

Meanwhile, Wolfwood is like. Watching all of this from a distance. Pretty sure he's tripping balls, he really must have drank too much.]

...th'fuck...?

[amhran]

[ Caoimhe's head snaps forward, and she looks over towards Wolfwood. Realizing that someone was there this whole time. ]

Oh hello!

[ The water bubble continues to enter and exit the water, seemingly unfettered by the new person here. ]

Have you come.... To use this water? I would... Be careful, I am told that it is toxic and extremely bad.

[lupusxylem]

Uh...no. Not really. I'm just...here.

[Whatever "here" means, anyway. He's got his feet in the water, so there's that.]

...wha's that thing?

[He asks, gesturing towards the bubble with a nod of his head.]