Baltimore, Sunday Night

[spin_kick_snap]

It had been another bad day. The worst part was, there had been nothing that had made it a bad day. It wasn't like there was rhyme or reason for it, but for some reason as the sun went down and the lights came on over the water, Kathy been struck anew by grief, her breath thick in her throat, her eyes burning with tears. Maybe the lights had reminded her of LA. Or maybe they'd reminded her of happier, easier times, when everything was good. More than good. Perfect. She'd known what she was doing and why--everything had made sense. She'd had a plan and every step she'd taken had moved her closer to her goals.

Now she had no plan, no goals other than 'make it through the day.' Some days, she felt good, like she was making progress, uncovering bits and pieces of herself that she'd thought she'd lost, trying to fit them into the person she was now like shards of a broken mirror. Other days, like today, she felt like she was drowning and every breath was a struggle around the thick weight of grief and regret and pain that sat on her chest like a creature out of myth. Most days were somewhere in-between, an odd muted gray as she fumbled her way, uncertain whether she was moving forward or backwards or even off to the side.

Like she did so many nights, she made her way to Baltimore. This time, she found herself on a rooftop somewhere, staring down at the city. She didn't think she'd even stood on this particular building as Banzai before, but still the vantage point and the angles were so familiar that the ache she felt sharpened to the point of true pain. But the tears stayed where they were, locked away, and instead she just sat, staring at the city, at the life, she'd once called hers and waited for it to pass.

It would pass, right?



[For one and up early for SP]

Comments

[rebelseekspizza]

"Nah, the girls know I'll always love them best," Dante said, allowing the scythe to evaporate so he could pat them. "Oh, there's also this."

Lava rock curled around his lower arms, covering his hands.

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"Jesus!" Kathy leaned over his hands to examine them closely. She brought up a hand to touch, though she looked up at Dante for the okay before she made contact. "Can I...? Is that really...?"

[rebelseekspizza]

"Just give me a second," Dante said, holding his arms up.

The red fumes that'd started coming off of them faded. "There."

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"What's it made of?" Kathy asked, delicately tracing her fingers over the ripples in the...rock? It definitely felt like rock "How does it feel to have over your hands?"

[rebelseekspizza]

"It feels like it's my hands, just stronger," Dante said.

Heavier, too.

"I can punch a hole in a concrete wall in one go with this."

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"So you can feel my fingers?" Kathy asked, fascinated. "For those days when you just wanna punch every demon in your path, huh?"

[rebelseekspizza]

"Lot of days like that," Dante said simply. "But yeah, I can feel you just fine."

[spin_kick_snap]

That earned him an amused snort, though she didn't make the joke aloud. "So, rock hands, giant axe, a scythe, and then Rebellion and the girls. You're not fucking around, are you?"

[rebelseekspizza]

"Honestly?" Dante said, as the rock receded from his hands. "I have no idea where this is going."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Probably not to the Nobel Peace prize you always wanted," Kathy teased. "But seriously, are they useful? I mean, are there times it's better for you to rock-punch a demon rather than scythe them rather than just stab them with Rebellion a bunch of times?"

[rebelseekspizza]

"Osiris's good when I'm dealing with a bunch of guys at once, or I wanna keep someone out of the fight," Dante mused. "The rock hands... better at punching bad guys real hard. And I can throw energy with the axe, so it's good for more damage at longer range."

He was never gonna win a Nobel prize. But tactical analysis came naturally.

[spin_kick_snap]

The hands were gone now and Kathy regretted not getting him to say These looked like such big strong hands and It's clobberin' time! before they were gone.

Next time, maybe.

"Osiris is the scythe then?" Kathy asked. "And...you called the axe Arbiter? The rocks don't have a name, do they?" She thought about what she'd seen of the two weapons. "Osiris looks more like a speed and finesse weapon," she said. "Arbiter's heavier, got more power in its swings, unless I miss my guess. Right?"

[rebelseekspizza]

"The rocks are called Eryx, but it feels weird to call 'em that."

And no, Dante didn't have a fucking clue how he knew any of their names.

"But yeah, that's about right."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Yeah, it's more like boxing gloves than proper weapons," Kathy nodded. "Which explains why they're called Eryx, I guess. Not sure why Osiris and Arbiter are named that, though."

[rebelseekspizza]

"I don't know what Eryx is either," Dante said. He tilted his head. "You do?"

[spin_kick_snap]

"Greek mythology," Kathy said. "Nerd, you know that. But yeah, an ancient Greek king or something who stole one of Hercules' cows and challenged him to a boxing match before he would give it back. Hercules agreed and beat Eryx so badly he died."

Not entirely correct in all the details, Kathy, but close enough.

[rebelseekspizza]

Dante snorted, letting the rock run up his arm for a second again. "Not gonna be a lot of losing with this Eryx."

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"It's clobberin' time?" Kathy smirked.

Look, she couldn't resist!

[rebelseekspizza]

"That's more like it," Dante said, snickering. "Maybe we shoulda called 'em The Whatsit."

[spin_kick_snap]

"They're yours," she pointed out. "You can name them whatever you want. Who's going to tell you you're wrong?"

She glanced over the roof down to the bar. "Ready for food and or drinks?"

[rebelseekspizza]

"Drinks," Dante decided, padding to the edge of the roof. "Definitely drinks."

[spin_kick_snap]

"If I jump, am I going to miss another cool thing you can do?" Kathy asked. "Because I'm enjoying Show and Tell."

[rebelseekspizza]

"Nah, I think you're all caught up," Dante said. He threw her a casual smirk, then stepped off the roof.

[spin_kick_snap]

"Show off!" Kathy called. Before back-flipping off the roof, as you do. She landed after Dante, because she couldn't just leap and let gravity take hold. She had to bounce, bleeding off momentum a bit at a time. "First round on me?"

[rebelseekspizza]

"You're the one who runs a business now, right?" Dante said, striding casually towards the bar.