reiremington

[reiremington]

Rei and Elijah: Reunion @reiremington

HC outcome: Rei knows that Eli is sorry but doesn't completely forgive him, Elijah has realized that he made a lot more mistakes than he thought.

He'd felt it through the wards that someone in the family had come into the tower. It couldn't be Eiji, Rei was back in town but seemed to be avoiding him - or at least hadn't responded to any of Elijah's attempts to reach out - so was it Kyoko again? Whoever it was, he didn't try to see who it was and instead waited for them to come up, keeping to the practice of letting his family come to him in their own time. Still, he did get up to wait anxiously by the door until he heard a knock and opened the door only to freeze.

"Rei." The last time they'd seen each other a decade ago, Rei had still been a kid, and now here he was, fully grown. Fully grown with green hair, he couldn't help but notice. Just like with Kyoko before, Elijah wanted to reach out to hug him but wasn't sure how that would be received so he was stuck wanting to move but not being able to. "You're here." He said it quietly like anything more than that would make Rei disappear again.

Rei

The building was familiar, as if it hadn't changed at all in the last decade. Rei made his way up, suspecting his father would know someone was approaching. He barely knocked before the door swung open.

His father looked much the same, if not slightly older. That was the thing about witches. They didn't follow the rules of time and aging. Rei could see the way he almost flinched, holding himself back from moving any closer.

"I was told you wanted to talk to me."

Eli

Wanted to talk to him, wanted to see him, wanted to make sure that his child really was alive and well and it wasn't some strange dream again. But he couldn't just throw all of his emotions onto Rei at once. "Yes, I- come in, please." This wasn't really a conversation he wanted to have with the two of them awkwardly standing in the doorway.

"Are you doing ok in general? Do you need help with anything?" He wished he could have helped Rei settle when he moved into town, but also understood why Rei had avoided him. Still, that didn't stop him from worrying.

Rei

He watched his father closely, seeing the way his thoughts rushed across his face. Rei stepped into the familiar home, wondering how it would make him feel to be back here, but there was no nostalgia in his familiarity.

"I'm fine," he answered, knowing full well he wouldn't have gone to his father for help if he needed anything. "In case it isn't obvious, I didn't come back for you."

Eli

"Yes, I gathered that." Elijah gave him a tight, humorless smile. "What brought you back then? I assume Caleb's told you everything regarding Eiji. Kyoko was here a while ago before she left again, but I can contact her this time if you'd like." Though given Eiji's imprisonment and her absence, he was curious what kept Rei in the city.

Rei

"I heard about Eiji and I came back. I suppose I'm not surprised that he's still being mistreated." Whether it was by his father or the city at large, his older brother was an easy target. "I'm sure mom is happier where she is, she doesn't need to come back for my sake." Though he did miss her, he kept in contact from time to time. If she decided to come back, he wanted that to be of her own volition. "Have you seen Eiji recently? He's a shell of himself, locked up in that basement."

Eli

Elijah sighed. He'd never seen himself as mistreating Eiji before, but with everything that had happened he now saw more clearly the times when he had. "I visited him last thursday. I've been trying to go every other week." It had started as twice a week, then once, and now it had stayed at every other week for a while. From the start though they'd had very little to say to each other. Eiji didn't want to talk to him and wasn't interested in anything Elijah had to say. The visits had eventually turned into him saying hello then sitting in near silence  for ten minutes while Eiji ignored him. "If you'd like to argue for his release, I'll join, though I haven't had any success yet."

Rei

At least he wasn't letting the man's absence become an excuse to ignore him again. "How long has it been since they locked him up? A year? Do they plan on just holding him for an indeterminant amount of time? Sure sounds like the council has everything under control." Considering the resurgence of attacks, Rei was among those wondering if they were doing anything at all.

Eli

"A little over a year. I was the one who wanted the wolves to keep custody of him because I thought Zamok would be too dangerous. Then things escalated with the attacks and kidnappings, and every time I try to bring something new up for him it's pushed aside for later." He'd been growing frustrated with it. If he couldn't find someone who could sway Eiji back to their side it was hard to  see a solution that didn't involve wiping or modifying his memory.

Rei

"So they're just gonna keep him locked in a basement until he dies of old age? Even a killer would receive more grace than him and actually get a sentence. At least in prison, he'd have people to interact with on a daily basis." He especially didn't like the idea of wolves with their own agendas holding onto his brother, even though he trusted Caleb. All it took was a shift in power and Eiji could be in danger.

Eli

He couldn't help grimacing. "You're right. I want him to have more freedom, but I haven't argued for it enough or thought of ways to give it to him." He took a few steps back into the living room, inviting Rei to sit. Having this same argument over and over with himself and other people seemed to have given him less stamina for it. "We can bring this up to the council again, after halloween I think. I'll bring you in to one of the meetings."

Rei

He hadn't been there to see the council meetings or their reasonings for what they were doing, but it did not seem fair to him, not even in the slightest. "You might regret it when I start insulting everyone for their lack of giving a fuck."

Eli

Elijah let out a surprised laugh at Rei's response. "Well someone has to tell them, maybe hearing from a new voice will get it through their heads." Though he had a feeling that he was included in the people Rei thought didn't care enough.

After a moment of silence, he sighed. "Rei, can we talk about the two of us, why you left?" The conversation hadn't been easy with Kyoko, and he had a feeling this one could hurt more, but not having it would just leave the wound to fester more.

Rei

For a brief moment, Rei almost smiled but that feeling left as quickly as it had come. "Do you really not understand why I left?" he questioned, his disappointment clear in his tone. He had thought it was obvious when he refused to join the clan and left at the same time.

Eli

"I have an idea of why, but with recent events, like with Eiji, I've realized that I don't understand our family as well as I thought I did. So I want to know what you actually think." He answered slowly, choosing his words carefully so it wouldn't all come out in a jumbled mess. "I think you left because I pushed my expectations on you that you would take over my role, and at the same time was neglecting the three of you."

Rei

In all honesty, it did surprise him how much his father did seem to understand of the situation. It would have been nice if it didn't take drastic things happening with Eiji, but perhaps that was too much to ask. "I also watched you go from expecting Eiji to take over to pushing him aside. All you cared about was the coven. I don't think we ever actually spent genuine time together when I was a kid." It didn't matter now. Nothing could change the past.

Eli

Elijah nodded slowly. He had somewhat prioritized Eiji for the first part of his life, trying to get him more involved with the coven and magic while leaving Rei mostly to Kyoko. When it became clear that Eiji was human, Elijah had still tried to pay attention to him, but his hopes had landed on Rei. Even if it hadn't been his intention, that plus his obsession with the coven had meant he only had attention for one of them.

As much as he loved his family he was coming to terms with the distance he had created between them. "I am making progress to be more open with my affection towards the people I care about. But I know that doesn't erase what I've done wrong, and I'm sorry. When Eiji didn't manifest magic, I never blamed him for it. I was mad at... fate or something along those lines." He spread his hands in an abstract gesture, because he still didn't have a good way to phrase it. "But looking back, that was one of many things that was clear in my head, but I didn't communicate well enough to you all."

[reiremington]

He'd known before he made the offer that she was going to continue to say she didn't need the help, he didn't need to offer it, but they had become decent friends in the time since they'd first met and the fact that she was here was a clear enough sign that she knew, deep down, that she couldn't do everything on her own. It was better to have someone on her side, especially when she looked as drained as she did.

"I have zero doubts you could kick any intruders ass, but you need to actually get some sleep to do it," he replied, joining in on the façade of humor. Rei didn't question her explanation of a break in even though he suspected more was happening than she was saying, but pushing her wouldn't make it better for either of them so he decided to leave it be until she decided to open up.

He gave her a few moments to take it in, taking the moment to grab her a drink before joining her on the couch. "We're basically siblings now after Halloween, of course I would help," he teased lightly. He didn't consider a lot of people in the city his friend, but Beck was certainly one that he didn't feel any suspicions of in the back of his mind. Everyone else he knew from some part of his past, they knew his family and were connected like most people were. "You hungry? We could grab some pizza?"

"You really don't have to do this, you know." Beck mumbles sheepishly, as she trails behind Rei into his home, a backpack slung over one of her shoulders. She'd had little in the way of sleep in recent days, marked by the notable bags under her eyes - having spent several nights flitting between hotels, avoiding her own apartment, her paranoia regarding potential watching Artemis eyes sending her into a frenzy. The threat of her exposure hung over her like a dead weight.

She must have looked like a zombie when she'd bumped into Rei - but, trying to explain the anxiety of an anti-supernatural organisation threatening to expose her unplanned public wolf transformation and almost hunting of several unsuspecting human bystanders had seemed a little... crazy. And, honestly, some part of her didn't want to scare him off - even if the idea of friendship was still foreign to her. So, she'd opted for a brief rambling lie about an attempted robbery of her home instead, although she wasn't proud of the dishonesty. She hadn't expected his offer to help her out, a place to stay for a few nights - or his insistence on it.

"I'm being stupid, it was just a break in. I really just need to get over it. Besides, I'm tough enough to take on anyone that might try to sneak into my apartment anyway. I do work out, you know." She makes an attempt at a joke with a small smile, even if the humour doesn't fully meet her eyes, her laugh hollow.

Taking a seat on the couch, she takes a brief second to look around the space - both out of curiosity regarding something so personal to Rei, and also to briefly note any potential entries and exits. After a second, she blinks, realising she's obviously distracted, and quickly turns her attention back to Rei. Her usual stoic expression softens, just slightly, as she meets his eye. "But... thank you. It's very kind to even think about helping me out like this."

@reiremington

[reiremington]

If I’m more connected to the Red than anybody else, why is it that I only turn into green animals? Your favorite color is green, no? TITANS – Dude, Where’s My Gar? (S04E09) ››› Ryan Potter as Garfield Logan / Beast Boy

[reiremington]

Rei certainly agreed, though she said it far nicer than he was thinking it. The whole point of dying his hair had been to further disconnect himself from his family, primarily his father, and the coven. "I'm happy with it, and it has no impact on my work, so I don't plan on changing it back any time soon." The other firefighters had questioned him about it, but eventually dropped the subject. "Maybe you'll be dying your hair next."

Daphne grimaced, attempting to figure out the best way to phrase it. She liked to remain politely optimistic. As much as she wished to say that Elijah would ultimately accept it as part of Rei, she couldn't flat out lie to him. "He probably would say that it doesn't look very professional." Which was sweeter than just saying that he didn't like the way it looked. "But it is hair. It's not all that important. What is important is that you like it."

[reiremington]

He should have expected he would have to explain his decision when he actively avoided anyone who knew his family and the history before he left the city previously. "Green hair was the least disruptive to my life," he replied, though he definitely agreed with her. His father deserved far worse, and Rei was sure karma would come around soon enough.

He was glad that she agreed instead of shutting him out. Their interaction seemed like more than enough of an indicator that they could both use a friend. "I'll make sure to keep you in the loop. I might also ask for assistance redying it when it starts to fade."

[reiremington]

They had gotten split up at some point along the way, but they'd find their way back to each other eventually. He'd made it all the way to the marketplace without crossing paths and no one seemed to recognise who he was asking about, so he turned back down the yellow brick road, determined to find his companion.

As a blade came shooting out of the brush, instinct took him a step back, enough to prevent the blade from connecting with his head and instead into the tree behind him. "Your aim is a little off," he replied as he moved into clear view. Even without her voice, Rei would have known who it was. "Have you been hiding in the bushes this whole time? There's a market up ahead, you know."

Hidden in the shadows of a covering of trees, Beck waits, eyes trained outward. She's not truly sure what's going on, but there's this new, undeniable instinct in her - to hunt. There's these odd memories, of a childhood being tormented by a witch - seemingly so vivid, but also just not seeimg... right. Her attention quickly flickers at the sound of movement ahead in the clearing, and without thinking she acts on an impulse of years of training - throwing a dagger directly towards the individual crossing her path. The blade misses them narrowly, swooping past the side of their head and slamming into the trunk of a tree behind.

Beck stares down at her hand, realising what the hell she's just done - the normal part of her mind panicking that she could have just killed someone, while the enchanted part assesses for friend or foe ahead. With widened eyes, she takes a small step out of her hiding, still partially covered by the foliage. "Who goes there?" Her hand reaches down to her belt, for her next weapon if needed, especially if a witch stands ahead.

[reiremington]

Rei's costume for Nightspire Vale → Hansel (witch hunter edition)

[reiremington]

He should have expected he would have to explain his decision when he actively avoided anyone who knew his family and the history before he left the city previously. "Green hair was the least disruptive to my life," he replied, though he definitely agreed with her. His father deserved far worse, and Rei was sure karma would come around soon enough.

He was glad that she agreed instead of shutting him out. Their interaction seemed like more than enough of an indicator that they could both use a friend. "I'll make sure to keep you in the loop. I might also ask for assistance redying it when it starts to fade."

[reiremington]

He should have expected he would have to explain his decision when he actively avoided anyone who knew his family and the history before he left the city previously. "Green hair was the least disruptive to my life," he replied, though he definitely agreed with her. His father deserved far worse, and Rei was sure karma would come around soon enough.

He was glad that she agreed instead of shutting him out. Their interaction seemed like more than enough of an indicator that they could both use a friend. "I'll make sure to keep you in the loop. I might also ask for assistance redying it when it starts to fade."

Beck notes the change in his expression, looking away a little awkwardly. "Sorry... it's really none of my business. I shouldn't have even asked." She sighs, biting her lip. "My opinion doesn't count for anything at all, but..." A subtle hint of a smirk appears, as she finally meets his eye again, "...Sounds like many people would say he deserves worse than some green hair."

She blinks as he asks for her number, an expression of outright confusion on her usually stoic face. She can't remember the last time someone wanted to socialise with her. She wasn't exactly known for being friendly, or having friends. Outside of work, or all of this werewolf business - interaction with anyone these days was... minimal. Perhaps it's only that thought that stops her from quickly declining, as she would usually do - instead she busies her hands with setting their items at the checkout, turning away from him. "Alright. But only because I'm invested in this hair drama now."

[reiremington]

Rei just rolled his eyes. If this guy was looking for a reaction, he was going to refrain from giving him any, especially in regards to his father. "Seems like you know more than enough about my family," he responded, managing to keep his tone flat and uninterested. "Again, what is it you want?"

"I doubt it'd stop your dad from hoping," Ayumu grinned as they watched Rei's reaction.

"Then why return? Is it because of your brother? The one they've kept locked away in a dungeon for his crimes against us?"

[reiremington]

"I know," he murmured in response. Even if he knew the concept, he didn't fully believe it or think that he could. "Where did you go, when you left?" Rei still didn't know exactly where he wanted to go or how he would do it, he just knew he wanted to leave. He had to leave.

"You know. You might be right about that," Ayumu laughed. They had been trying to encourage all the younger residents of Phantom Creak to think about leaving and they were going to do the same with the Remington boy. "You don't need his approval to leave, you know? I left my family to see the world when I was much younger than you..."

[reiremington]

There was something that isolating about sitting on a cold and quiet roof alone, during the night or the day. The view itself was always nice, something like a bird's eye view of the city and the surrounding area. Though it was in the middle of Vievecor City, it also felt like the middle of nowhere, disconnected from the traffic and the people. Up here was simply better.

Or at least it would be if he didn't hear a thud and a curse from somewhere off to his left. He didn't think anyone else came up here normally and had expected to have some peace for once, but it would be just his luck for that to cease being the case. With a sigh, Rei shoved his hands back into his pocket, letting his feet carry him in the direction of the source.

He was surprised to find someone hanging off the side of the building. "I'm sure an axe murderer would use the stairs," he murmured in response, watching as the other got himself safely on top of the building. "Did you jump?" Rei glanced across at the building next door. "That's... parkour, right?" He'd heard of it when he was younger but never really did it himself.

for: open! (@vievecorcitystarters)

location: ... a roof your character is on! (open to interpretation)

✞ – "Never do parkour when you’re not feeling it, dummy. That’s when you make stupid mistakes.”

Davis could hear his brother’s smug remark clear as a cloudless night under a new moon. It was one of the places that Marcus might be, now, among the stars. Back into whatever dust human beings were created from, molded by deep umbral hands. Or, he was just rotting somewhere, food for strays and worms. All of the truths that could exist, ugly or beautiful, didn't really matter.

What mattered was, he wasn't here, and the echoes of Marcus Healy didn't get a say, no matter how much Davis' ears tried to play their tricks. Any more pissing around and he'd get rusty, so, it was time to go again.

The first few jumps were sloppy, fumbling things. Paint smeared converse old enough to drive skidded like the hooves of a newborn faun, clumsy and prone to twisting wrong. But, after failing upwards for a while, he started to get into the flow. After that, he decided to gain some altitude and get up on the roofs where it mattered. One, two, three, four, five. He was getting across buildings just fine, but he forgot just how much of a jump the last dive on his route was. 

Gravity's jaws snapped at his ankles like a great beast, scraped its jagged teeth along his skin. But it didn't eat today. Good, stay fucking hungry. 

"Shit!" Davis barked, then hissed as he hung over an alley, off the side of... some sort of building. Honestly he wasn't sure. He'd just always known it as The worst jump. All he knew is when he looked up, he was staring someone down. If it weren't for the pain shooting up his leg from where his knee collided with a wall, he'd have the mind to maybe be... embarrassed or something. 

"Uh, hi. Fuck," he said, breathless but starting to scramble up anyway. His lungs had fucking words. His mouth took a bit to catch up. 

"Please. Don't call- the cops. M'not an axe murderer-! Just an idiot."

[reiremington]

From the way this man was acting, he wasn't surprised that his father didn't like him. That didn't mean Rei had to dislike him, though he would still reserve his judgement for later. "Alright. I'll keep you in mind, I guess." Not that he was sure when he would need to call on Leon, but it didn't hurt to have an ally.

[reiremington]

He knew he couldn't exactly stand up to a vampire, but was would die sooner than back down and let someone walk all over him. They were in a crowd, someone would hopefully step in before it got too far. Just his luck, someone seemed to want to put an end to the scene Rei was making sure this turned in to. There was a spark of recognition, but not from Vievecor. No, it was from that strange dream world he'd been dragged in to. He had been hanging about Gabe a lot, hadn't he?

"I hope that isn't a shining example of how you all act," the young witch grumbled as the offending party stalked off. The faint familiarity, despite being from outside reality, was enough for Rei to offer him some grace, letting out one last huff before relaxing his tense muscles. "Sorry for causing a scene. I didn't really have much other choice, though."

Returning to work had been an easy transition. You could tell the blood shortage was over just by taking a look around. The size of the crowd, the noise, the boldness of some of their patrons when faced with the opportunity to sink their teeth into unsuspecting humans. Too bold, for Teddy's taste.

Walking out of his booth, the vampire turned his attention towards some disruption happening not too far from there. A young man in his twenties, by his judgement, who'd turned down one of those advances. Byrne knew better than to intervene, aware of how out of hand these things could get, but something compelled him to.

Giving his men a signal to stay out of it, Teddy came up behind the vampire and pulled him back by the back of his shirt. "That's enough, Benny." Fucking hell. "I told you to behave and this is how you do me? Get the fuck out, unless you want someone to show you the door. I doubt Vicente will be happy to hear about this."

[reiremington]

"Exactly," he agreed. "Besides, can't be any worse than my dye job. I couldn't see what I was doing half the time." It was a miracle his neck and forehead weren't stained green, or at least they weren't anymore. His expression dropped slightly, though it wasn't directed at her, just at the thoughts the question brought up. "Tried to force me to follow in his footsteps after being a deadbeat my entire childhood."

"Deal, but on one condition. You give me your number." There was something about Beck that made her feel like a kindred spirit, and as much as he argued about it, and she likely did too, they both needed someone on their side.

The smirk on her face almost threatens to reach a grin - almost. Still, it was nice to talk to someone about something so... normal. "I'm not sure you want me helping you out. As you can tell from this whole apple situation, dexterity is not my strongest feature at the moment - I worry I'd dye more of your ear lobes than your hair. But, I suppose that may add to the desired effect." She tilts her head slightly. "What did your dad do to earn such rebellion?"

She cringes slightly at the invasiveness of her question, quickly turning her attention back to their groceries and taking a nearing step towards the tills, to change the subject. "I should probably pay for my stuff. I'll get yours, too - to make up for almost crushing you with a cereal display."

[reiremington]

As much as he may have wanted to be annoyed, she was being far too sweet. He would have felt guilty raining on her parade. He could keep the rain to himself, for now. "Well, I'm glad somebody thinks so." Rei had been treading uncharted waters for years now, coming back to Vievecor City wasn't exactly unexplored. "Any idea what my dad might think of it?" he asked, wagering she was one of the few who might have a good idea how the older Remington might respond.

"Rebel with a cause is cool." At least that was her belief. Rei might not embrace his powers for family, but he did use his gifts for the good of others. She didn't want to dig into what must be a painful issue given that she hadn't even heard Eli speaking of Rei being back. She did wonder if he knew. "Besides it shows individuality. Shows you are ready to tread in uncharted waters."

[reiremington]

Location: The Shard

With: @teddy-byrne

Normally, he wouldn't have gone to a place like the Shard, but he found himself experiencing some curiosity. He was an adult now, he could find out how people acted in the city instead of hearing about it. The place was filled with people, most he suspected to be vampires. Those were the ones he was curious about.

One such vampire approached him, and perhaps it was Rei's fault for not feeling like prey when he was one here, but he turned down the vampire's advances immediately, not interested in whatever they wanted. They didn't take no for an answer, though, and he soon escalated, yelling at them to fuck off. What a scene he was causing. Luckily for him, the head of security wasn't too far away.