nysalogs | Locked to house #58

Entry tags:

Locked to house #58

Who: Edward Cullen (

speeds), Giovanni Rammsteiner (

ofobedience), Damon Salvatore (

blooded) & Simon Lewis (

bitesexual)
What: Meeting housemates and settling in
When: After arrival in Olympia
Where: House 58
Warning(s): ~~damon~~ None, hopefully

[ It's later in the day that he makes it to the allocated housing, but it's been hard enough trying to avoid people when there's little shade in the town. Sunlight follows everywhere, and while the ring will help people not be aware he is what he is (or rather, they'll think that being is someone else), he finds more relief in pulling the ring off once he's inside the apartment.

He has lived in conditions worse than this. Back when he was human, back in 1918 and before he hadn't been rich and his living conditions had been back enough to bring illness anyway. Being with Carlisle, mind you, he's started to get used to the luxury.

At least they'll have shelter, that's better than nothing.

He's looking around the place when he hears the door open, name tag on display to offer his name when he turns to the newcomer. ]

It seems as though we'll be stuck together for a while. I'm Edward.

[ note: ofc you guys can do your own prompts as well uwu ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

For Edward

[Perhaps the accommodations they've been provided with are less than perfect, but Giovanni enters his assigned housing with an outward appearance of perfect indifference-- he has no preconceived expectations, has little idea of what ordinary dwellings are supposed to look like, and that twisting bleak warren of a city from which he hails has never been anything but a den of iniquity, all crumbling ruins and squalid shacks and places far from perfection. For himself, he's only ever existed within the sterile depths of the Below, of that macabre facility where monsters are made, where the blinding white corridors and flickering electric lights can never quite conceal the rot that lies underneath.

His 'own room', if it could be called that, had been little more than a white cell, equipped with a low-slung bed and very little else. Personal space and luxuries-- these aren't things that he knows anything about. As such, despite his impassive exterior, there's the faintest buzz and thrum of uncertainty beneath the surface, a vague feeling of trepidation at having to strike out on his own when he's always been part of a pack. Always been provided for, no matter how shabbily.

Still, when Edward appears moments after he's stepped inside, there's only the cocky upwards tilt of his chin, sharp teeth bared in a smile.]

You, again. What bad luck-- you'll just have to endure the smell.

For anyone else!

[And for his other new roommates...perhaps you'll find him whilst he's looking around what is to be their new home, at least on a temporary basis. He gives off an air of aloof detachment, only vaguely interested at best, although when he hears your approach he'll turn, smile crookedly. All teeth.]

Roommates. What fun.

[His tone, despite the smile, is a sardonic drawl.]

[ Is it even ironic, at this point? Their meetings have been filled with too much infortmation too quickly, but then again it might be a good thing to be housed with someone who is already aware that he isn't human -- it's one way of looking at this in a positive light. The scent, while unpleasant, isn't as bad as he makes it sound either. Giovanni isn't as strongly scented as the shapeshifters nor werewolves from his world, though there are so few of the latter it's a wonder he even remembers what they smell of at all.

He even laughs in response to the comment, not really minding even if Giovanni's thoughts are difficult to deal with. ]

I'm sure I'll live. I'm glad to see you made it through as well, don't take what I say as offensive anyway. My kind have problems with anyone who has at least part of that... inclination.

[ "My kind" rather than giving a name to it - but at least he's offering a little more information now. ]

That inclination.

[His smile only sharpens, widens, though there's no indication from him - either in his expression or the shape of his thoughts - that he's particularly offended. He knows what he is, accepts it down to the core of himself, and if that's discernible even in the scent of him, it's only to be expected.]

Not dog people then, your lot. Hahah.

[And though there's the vaguest hint of curiosity in him over the specifics of what 'his lot' might encompass, it's a distant thing, made small by his general indifference.]

[ His own smile twists a little in response. ]

We aren't cat people either, if you were wondering.

[ Animals have become a food source, more than anything to love and look after. They'd also break too easily under their hands. ]

At least we know each other a little already.

Well, that's something.

[His tone is slippery smooth and wry, smile still edging at the corners of his lips. And he shrugs then, looks past Edward and into the depths of what passes for their new - if temporary - abode.]

And I suppose that's an improvement on total strangers, yes.

[In as much as he doesn't find this person entirely objectionable. He seems tolerable enough, Giovanni thinks, despite the little insult regarding his scent.]

Better than nothing.

[ His own response is lighter, because the irony is that they go after much more ferocious animals. ]

It doesn't look like we'll be placed here for too long anyway. I'm sure we can get along for that time. I promise I don't bite.

[ That was supposed to be funny given what he is... but the bad humour will be lost here. ]

Then at least you won't have to endure the assault on your senses for too long.

[Because apparently he isn't quite prepared to let that drop? He's all easy smiles, mostly teasing, but evidently he isn't about to forget it, either.]

And while I'm not sure I can make the same promise, I'll endeavour to keep my animal instincts under control. Hahah.

[Bad humour abounds.]

At least there's that.

[ At least he takes it like a pinch of salt as well, letting it stay mostly teasing rather than turning it into anything defensive. ]

I'm sure I can handle myself should it come to it anyway. [ He turns his head towards the rooms that break off behind them. ] It looks like there are two rooms. Four beds in total.

[ Which is ironic given that he doesn't even need a bed. ]

[Well. Sometimes it's nice to lie down and think, even if you're the kind of creature that doesn't require sleep? It's not as though he needs all that much of it himself, and when it does come, there are the nightmares to contend with. Snatched fragments of whiteredblack that fill up his head and stick behind his eyes and have him waking to the sound of his own screams, his ragged breath, body slick with sweat.

Better perhaps, not to share a room with him.]

Then there will likely be more of us.

[he smiles, and the expression isn't exactly what one could describe as pleased.]

What fun.

[ Sometimes it is, but it gets boring after 60 or so years of the same thing. It's best to keep moving, to not stick in one place for too long. ]

Not a people person, are you?

[ His own is a little amused though. ]

Hopefully they won't be too inquisitive and you'll be able to have your own personal space.

I suppose not.

[The sharp angles of his smile remain, and smoothly, he shrugs his shoulders. People. It's not as though he's accustomed to dealing with them for any length of time, and the others he'd existed beside in the Below hardly fall into that category. Things, all of them. Monsters. Mother's creations. And, for the most part, there'd been enough space down there to give each other a wide enough berth, when needed.

Outside of the twins, it's not like any of them had much time for him.]

And with any luck, that'll be exactly the case.

[He says it even as the idea of personal space sends something rattling through him, the ugly notion of having space for himself, of needing to survive out here on his own. Perhaps having others around him isn't such a bad thing, after all.]

At any rate, it's temporary, isn't it? For the moment, it'll do. Beggars can hardly be choosers, now.

[ His thoughts, calling them things, monsters and creations are all things that makes his own expression solemn slightly. There's something in all that which makes him feel as though they'll get along better than Giovanni realises. There's something that twists his thoughts enough that Edward can understand all too well. ]

It's temporary, but there are probably worse people to be stuck with I imagine. We may find we have more in common than we realise as well. It's a little hard to say.

[The comment comes, and for the moment Giovanni is quietly skeptical. Doesn't see how anyone could have much in common with something like him. Then again, he knows so little about Edward that he supposes there's a possibility there-- he's seen what he's capable of, knows he's not human. Has no idea how he came to be what he is - whether he's something like him, made and not born, a twisted thing that should never have been, or whether he's always been this way, a species apart - and so for the moment he holds back on reaching any such conclusion.

Just smiles his uneven smile.]

Time will tell, I suppose.

[ So the living arrangements here leave a little something to be desired when you're used to the comparatively luxury-class suites of Hyperion middle management, where hot water and a soft bed and more than one cup are provided for your living enjoyment.

Or well. When you were used to that, technically. Rhys lost all of that when he'd tried to buy a Vault Key that turned out to be fake and got blacklisted from Hyperion, and then really really lost it all again when he crashed the whole space station into the surface of a planet and had to live in the remains of an abandoned Atlas facility while bleeding out everywhere and rebuilding his lost cybernetic limbs.

...

The point is these places could stand to be improved, especially when you happen to have super intolerant roommates who don't understand that it takes work to look as good as he does. So after that whole...mess, Rhys is looking to spend some time away from it all. And where better than with that guy who spoke to like, once before?? Hope everyone else don't mind that he's come knocking-- ]

Helloooo? Anyone home? Edward?

[Someone's home, all right. But that someone isn't Edward. Or more accurately, perhaps Edward is slinking around the place somewhere, but so is someone else.

At the sound of the familiar voice, Giovanni's head jerks up, lip slightly curled in an expression of vague displeasure. Really. This guy again. If this is the kind of riffraff Edward is going to invite over, then the two of them may have to have words.

Whatever the case, Giovanni stalks with preternatural grace towards the door, opens it. Looks up into the (much) taller man's face with one thin blonde brow slightly raised. Flashes a smile.]

Well, look who it is. Whatever you're selling, we don't want it.

Edited 2017-08-01 13:38 (UTC)

[ Aaand Rhys's almost immediately wanes, grin dying on his face as it turns into a frown of distaste and annoyance. ]

Wait, what? What are you doing here??

--And I'm not selling anything. I'm here to visit someone else. Obviously.

I live here. I'd have thought that much was obvious.

[You know, considering he answered the door and all that.]

And yes, I heard you calling for Edward. Did he ask you to come here?

[The question is asked mildly enough, lips still curled in a smile. But the implication beneath the words is clear enough-- that he doesn't quite understand why anyone would have done such a thing.]

[ He could always be an unwelcome visitor...or a squatter. Okay. These are also valid options Rhys most definitely considered. ]

I, w--no, not exactly but... Like I know the guy okay? I don't need to tell you why I'm here.

[ DON'T THINK HE MISSES THAT LOOK MISTER. Rhys just refuses to acknowledge it. ]

Perhaps not. But if we're going to play that game, I don't need to let you in.

[All that product you have in your hair hurts his sensitive doggy nose, and you have to be the most annoying person he's encountered here, besides. Still--]

So why don't you tell me anyway, and then I'll consider granting you access.

[His smile stretches wider, all teeth. Do you really want to be in here alone with him whilst you wait for Edward...]

[ He doesn't...really... Sure Giovanni saved him from his pod and put up with him while he was drunk or something? (He's not clear on that night's details anymore, honestly). But this is also the guy that broke his finger and Rhys may not exactly hold the same grudge about it as before but it's something to consider. ]

Oh my god, are we--you really want to do this??

Fine. I'm here to see Edward because unlike you, I happen to get along with people! Happy?

You could have fooled me.

[His voice is that slippery sardonic drawl Rhys may be coming to know by now, filled with aspersions and doubt-- really, he can't imagine you have many friends. Never mind that Giovanni himself has none to speak of at all, hasn't now for the longest, longest time.

But then, who needs them. They only stab you in the back and leave you for dead, in the end.

He sighs though, opens the door wider, stands back just enough to let Rhys pass should he choose to, though not enough to prevent the other man from having to come into very close proximity to him if he wants to come inside.]

But if you're sure Edward would want to see you, I suppose you can come in.

You are such a....dick. You know that, right?

[ Rhys kind of draws it out and holds his breath a little before the word 'dick', trying to decide a) which word he should use and b) if he should really use it since he has to walk past Giovanni...right before it just comes out anyway.

Giovanni probably won't break him for that. But Rhys also probably shouldn't needlessly be a dick to him either. He'll still choose to scooch his way awkwardly past the man, shrugging his shoulders and turning to avoid bumping him.]

[The insult doesn't really phase him, matters little at all coming from someone he barely knows when he's accustomed to words that cut down to the heart of him from people who actually matter. Still, he waits until the other man begins to shuffle past him before he responds, that response coming in the form of a swift-darting hand that wraps around Rhys' non-robotic arm before he can pass, fingers closing around it just a little too tight.

He leans in closer then, closest, rises up onto the tips of his toes until his lips are near-brushing the man's ear, voice quiet but dagger-sharp.]

Careful, now. You wouldn't want to cut yourself.

Hnnhnnnn--

[ That was perhaps not the manliest nasally whimper a grown man has ever let out, and maybe the sharp closing of his eyes and turning away from Giovanni wasn't the bravest either, but at least he doesn't flinch any further back or retreat?

And it;s only like, 60% because he can't. ]

R...right. Got it. Cool. Please back up now.

[What a pathetic sound. If nothing else, it's vaguely satisfying, and Giovanni leans back then, creates just a little more space between them, the tight grip on Rhys' arm lingering only a moment longer before he releases him entirely to the sound of his own sly laughter. a soft, dry sound, like the rustle of dead leaves in Autumn.]

Your bravery knows no bounds.

[He settles back against the doorframe then, looks up at the other man with a smile full of glittering razorblade teeth.]

In you go, then.

[And he'll allow you to finish shuffling past him.]

Edited 2017-08-11 18:00 (UTC)

[ Rhys has never awkwardly shuffled into a building so fast. He still shudders a little and shoots Giovanni a look for all that, but he doesn't really relax or stop hunching until he's inside and can run a hand through his hair as if it'll wipe away his goosebumps and discomfort.

It does help restore some composure, but so does not being directly next to Giovanni or being grabbed by him. ]

What are you even doing here? You live here too?

[Giovanni walks straight past him then, brushing by like nothing ever happened, leading the way into what passes for a living space in this cramped little apartment. Never mind that, to him, it's more space than he's ever had to his name in the whole of his short life, even if it is only a temporary residence.

He doesn't look back at the man as he answers, doesn't check to see whether he's following him deeper inside. Doesn't much care what Rhys decides to do.]

That's what I said, isn't it? Is it really so difficult to comprehend? Where did you think I'd live, I wonder.

Not here? [ Like god, obviously anywhere but here? Not outside and homeless considering how well Giovanni tends to dress sure, but him shacking it up with someone Rhys actually knows wasn't high on his list of "things he expected."

It would be just his luck though. ]

Is Edward even home right now? I kind of came here to speak to him. [ "And not you." ]

Even dogs have to live somewhere.

[The words are a quiet and wry kind of drawl, only partially intended for Rhys' ears and so it's possible they'll be missed, but never mind that. The door has already been closed behind them, Rhys already inside, and it's only now that Giovanni glances back over his shoulder, teeth bared in a smile that could be construed as friendly. Or it could be something else.]

No. He's out right now. There's only you and I.

[Worried, yet?]

[ Maybe just a little bit. Or...you know, a lot. He's not terrified or anything but he does know that long-term, being stuck with Giovanni probably isn't the safest thing. Another thing to add to his list of "stuff that could probably get me killed." His very, very long list. ]

Oh.

[ That starts off lame. ]

Any idea when he'll be back, or...?

Who knows?

[He shrugs, indifferent and uninterested, bares his teeth in another of those strange expressions that ought to be a smile, and yet somehow gives the impression of something else. Something entirely less friendly.]

He could be hours.

[ Something that makes him feel like given the chance, Giovanni would probably (literally) bite his head off. He tries not to look too discomforted by that. ]

What, is he running and errand or working or something?

Again, how should I know? What he gets up to in his spare time is no concern of mine.

[There's an infinitesimal pause then, before he adds--]

Perhaps he's dead.

[Which is funnier than he knows, given that he's undead. Ha ha.]

Your sense of humour needs a bit of work.

[ Since Rhys doesn't actually know Edward is dead Giovanni's inside joke falls a bit flat, and thus Rhys's tone remains wry as he crosses his arms over his chest. ]

You live here with him, he didn't say anything to you before he went out?

[ Like come on man, where's your buddy system? ]

Or you're just a little too stiff to enjoy it.

[But he pauses now that they're inside the main living area of the small apartment, turns to face the taller man. And there's something playing around the edges of his expression, something that hints at the beginnings of irritation.]

I'm his housemate, not his minder. Why don't you try calling ahead next time, rather than just turning up on the doorstep under the presumption that someone might want you around. Or perhaps you did, and he went out specifically to avoid you. In which case, I'll have to have words with him later.

[Because it meant he's had to deal with you, instead :T]

Look it's not like I expect you to know everything okay? I was just asking if he said anything to you before he went out. You don't need to be a dick about it.

[ Rhys responds to that irritation with his own in turn, gaze narrowing as he sizes up the other man. Not to take him in a fight or anything, more like...sizing him up stylistically and presentation-wise since that's just an easier way fr Rhys to pick him apart on that petty, middle-management level. ]

If I knew you were going to be here I would have called just to save myself the headache.

[And Giovanni sees that gaze, the sizing up, misinterprets it the only way he knows how because the corporate world is lost on him, something far outside of his experience. Instead, where he's from, such a look can only really mean one thing, and quietly something fits and starts in him, turns over like a sleeping wolf prodded with a stick.

He smiles a little bigger, a little brighter, and slowly he closes the small distance between them, stops only when he's uncomfortably close. He doesn't try to puff himself up and seem bigger, doesn't need to in order to convey danger, convey threat. It's there in the sharpness of his teeth, his sudden proximity, the hard lines and angles of his body that seem - quite abruptly - to radiate concealed strength rather than lazy ease.]

And yet here you are, regardless. Edward's out, and I'm here...and from where I'm standing it seems as though you're asking to entertain me for a bit. I know a game we could play.

[ ...Well fuck.

Rhys may be taller than Giovanni but that does absolutely nothing for him in this situation. Nothing about his physical stature does. Even with the blonde a full head shorter than him Rhys starts to lean back uncomfortably as the other man invades his space, that...glint in his eyes that can only ever mean bad bad bad all too present.

This may be the time to "exit stage left" as it were. Rhys is pretty darn sure that whatever entertainment Giovanni is looking for it will definitely be at his own expense.

Rhys cringes visibly and looks to the side. ]

....Noooo, I'm. I'm good--thanks. I'll just...get out of your hair...h-heh.

[Really, what a pathetic display. The cringing, the turning aside, the obvious quailing in the face of oncoming predatory danger-- it's laughable, from Giovanni's perspective, particularly when he can still only understand that former weighing up as a kind of challenge, a physical threat.

And so he does laugh, a sharp-edged sound, takes another step closer. Makes no attempt to let up on that invasion of personal space.]

Perhaps you should. It does look as though I'd end up having more fun than you would. You run along, now.

[And this is your cue to scarper quickly if you want to get out whilst the going's good, Rhys.]

[ YEP, NOPE HE'S GOOD. Rhys is outie like yesterday 8'| ]

[Then he can exist stage left to the sound of Giovanni's gleeful laughter. Bye-bye, now.]

[ He's used to a lot more luxury as well. The Cullen home had been away from the public eye, and he was able to be a lot more free about his abilities or... "restrictions" so to speak. Here, he has to be wary of people taking note he isn't eating human food or drinking human drinks. He has to be careful with his speed, remember to blink and to breathe like a human so he doesn't stand out so much.

He's lucky he's not new to this, really. Simon is, but he'll adapt easily enough over time. ]

Hello. [ His own greeting is short and simple, before he opens the door for him. ] You're lucky you came at this time, not all of my housemates are so friendly.

[ Giovanni is... something. Damon would... well it's hard to say really. He's hard to read. Simon, at least, is nice enough. ]

[ Oh, if Edward only knew.

Still. This is a much better greeting than he received already and Rhys lifts a brow with a wry, cocky smirk--but also a nod of thanks. ]

Oh my god tell me about it. I ran into one earlier--the guy with the bowl cut? Dresses alright but his personality is just...the worst. How are you even living with that guy?

[ Rhys says, having already had his finger broken IN VR, being rescued by Giovanni and later spending an entire drunken evening hanging out with him. ]>

Guy's a little bit of a headcase. If you haven't noticed.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Locked to house #58

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

OTA

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

uwu

no subject