sixthiterationlogs | Maraas Shokra

Entry tags:

Maraas Shokra

WHO: The Iron Bull
WHERE:Mostly the villages + some patrols
WHEN: Feb 17-25
OPEN TO: OTA
WARNINGS: No specific ones, mentions of booze, sex and fighting are standard Bull stuff.

Des and Bull had taken some time to find the right spot for their new brewery, but Des had been right, The inn in the North Village proved to be the best place for it. It was big enough that they could really get things going and provide an actual tavern atmosphere to the place. Now they were getting things set up there. A stockroom starting to be filled with the supplies Bull had already gotten, the kitchen filled with their equipment and one of the rooms commandeered for a fermenting room., keeping the temperature in there a little warmer than the rest of the place.

[For Des]
After they had gotten the stuff up there and squered away Bull stands in the middle of the kitchen and looks around. "Not a bad choice at all. I think we can make this into a really good place, a proper tavern. We just need to get brewing on a big scale for that." He grins at Des "You're down for helping me grow hops and barley in the summer? I don't want to rely on the gifts"

[For Thor (or Loki if he wants to be the one answering the door)]
After Bull's gotten settled and seen how the whole place functions he figures it might not be a bad idea to consolidate the brewing that is going on in the village. So he heads to Thor's house, knocking on the door. "You in there, Thor?"

[Patrols, OTA]
Not even a brand new brewery is going to stop Bull from preforming his duty as one of the guys leading patrol, so he shows up every day, bright and early. He even puts a note up in the South inn that people who want to join can meet up and get paired with someone else who does the patrol as well. There are a few routes he likes to take. Around each of the villages, checking on the fountain and the road between, and then also making sure they have plans for defense of the villages. You can pretty much always approach him with that.

[Inn, Lunchtime. Off Color, Feb 21-22 ]
When Bull wakes up the morning of the 21st he feels good, though slightly different. And like he is in the mood for something different. Maybe he should experiment some with the beer today. They had recently gotten new supplies. What if he changed up some of the ratios.

It wasn't until around lunch time, after the beer had been started that he realizes what has caused it. His band had changed color to violet. Damn. Once he sits down at the lunch table at the inn he looks around, trying to spot people with the same band color, once he spots them, he shows them his. "Got a surprise this morning."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

This was probably a thing he was going to have to face sooner or later, wasn't it? Still, when he'd come in to check on the duty board, mostly to see if his normal early morning slot is open. He can't just throw all of himself at this anymore, after all, he's got the dojo to consider. It's led to him shifting his attention to later in the night, or early morning rounds, and frankly it's worked for him, including in avoiding something.

Someone.

Someone who is signed up for this morning with an open slot with them and really, what's the point in avoiding them? Should he keep doing it because he doesn't know how to deal with some of what he learned the last time they spoke? Probably not, but he's so good at avoiding things. Still... Grumbling to himself Nida jots his name down in chalk next to Bull's and heads out, twirling one of his newly finished tanbo between his fingers, the other tucked into his belt in such a way that it didn't knock against the bo staff at his back.

Find Bull, do patrol, pretend that his brain isn't nagging him about the idea that there was more going on there than he'd ever realized. Fuck, maybe he should just go use his new intangibility to break into Malik and Altair's place again and poke around to see if Malik really is sharing a bed with Altair.

But look, he does show up, see? There he is, approaching Bull, his free hand raised in a brief greeting even though he doesn't look completely up to meet the big guy's eyes.

Bull smiles wide when he sees who it is who has signed up to come with him. "Nida. Good to see you." He has figured Nida's new boy has been keeping him busy. He feels a little guilty for the talk with Billy but he can't take it back now. He waves back and then nods in the direction of the patrol.

"Been busy training people?"

More busy than Bull can even know, with the boy. Nida's just about been floating instead of walking these last few days, because it had all happened so quickly. But he does smile at the out that Bull gives him there. Yeah, the dojo. That's why he's been avoiding this. No other reason.

"There's a lot more to getting a place like that managed than I realized," he says as he starts walking the line of the patrol. He's used to doing so with Bull, he knows the favored route. "I've got some help on a slightly administrative level. I've gotten in touch with the two people who had also agreed with Danny to help with various sorts of training specializations. Been working on my wood-working to make practice weapons out of wood, but you know how effective that is when there isn't really proper weight behind them. It's all... It's time consuming."

And there's nothing to say that the time he's been taking out to talk to Billy more, including just sending him warm and affectionate messages throughout the day ~~barely together, like, three days and he's already mastered the art of cute texts for your SO to make them feel special~~, well, he's been busy.

Edited 2019-02-19 16:53 (UTC)

Bull nods. "I know. I've never done something like that but I have run the chargers. A lot easier when Krem came on board to help. The guy really knows how to run shit." He smiles warmly. He notices the change in how Nida walks and it is enough to make him smile.

"And how are things with Billy?"

And there's a name he really wishes he hadn't said around Bull. Bad enough that Rinoa and Seifer had known who he was invested in, had 'helped' him in ways that weren't always the most helpful, even if they helped him realize his feelings and provided excuses to see Billy more often. He hadn't even told Desmond who he was invested in, and the guy was more helpful in some ways than the others had been.

"They're good," Nida answers, and he's resisting looking at his device to see if he had a new message. He's beyond smitten. "Things sort of... moved on a very different time table than I had expected when I saw you."

"Oh yeah? That mean it is all official now?" Bull smiles warmly. "That is good. I am happy for you." And he truly is, yeah it means he won't see him as much but for a friends happiness that is not so important.

"Yeah," Nida answers, and he's smiling. It's so warm, so happy. Like when he was talking about Billy before, but more radiant.

And the fingers of his free hand come up briefly to brush his lips. All those remembered kisses. His heart has never felt so full as it is now. Clearly he's more smitten than he'd seemed even before.

"I ended up swinging by his place after... well, after our talk. And it just... He wasn't the only one a bit out of normal sorts. It was nice."

Bull grins and then moves to give Nida a big happy hug. "Good, he seems like a good kid." At least from the conversation Bull had had with him. Which it probably would be best if Nida didn't know about.

"Yeah, he's..."

Wait. What?

Nida comes to a stop, the tanbo in his off-hand halting its spin abruptly and with the smallest jerk of his hand it's slid into a good grip position for attack just in case. He had told Bull to stay away. Had the man not obeyed?

"Boss, that is a very interesting word choice."

Bull's eyes flick to the tanbo and his stance stiffens. He knows Nida is good with that thing. And he knows he is fast enough that Bull won't get his axe out in time. Besides he doesn't want to fight him. So he raises his hand slightly.

"I talked to him. I want to know the people important to you. To know that you're safe."

At least Nida only has one of the tanbo out, the short stick gripped carefully. But he definitely looks annoyed.

"You haven't gone out of your way to talk to Rinoa or Seifer so far as I know. Seifer, who is actually capable of causing me physical harm, who I regularly spar with to a point where, if I didn't have green powers, we're probably be useless for work for a while. And it's Billy that it's so important you talk to?"

"I don't worry about you being hurt physically. I know you can handle that. But getting your heart broken... Nida I've been there. I don't want you to go through that." He eyes the stick, moving ever so slightly out of reach.

Wait, what? Nida's stance relaxes. Well, no, it changes. Less a ready stance, prepared to move to strike in his annoyance, and more actual confusion messing up his balance. His confusion is written plainly on his face.

Sure, he gets that heartbreak is a thing. He's gotten to see Billy's first hand. He's had Desmond mention a bit that he was concerned a bit too given possibilities of rebound relationships but...

"You're... I don't know what to do with that, Bull."

"I know you don't need my protection, Nida, but like it or not, you're my friend and I want to protect you. I've done more for people I've known less." He takes a breath. "I just wanted to be sure that if he was playing with you... Well, from what I hear it hurts less in the beginning."

He shakes his head. "For what it is worth, as far as I can tell he is not playing with you."

Friend. Nida looks a touch bashful at the word. And definitely a bit ashamed of his reaction. Someone who just wants to protect him. He's not... even now he's not used to those.

"Of course he isn't, Bull. I could have told you that. He was violet for a few days. I... I felt how he feels for me, I could see myself through his eyes. It was... I never doubted how he felt. Just whether or not he'd be able to move from his past and be willing to give me a chance."

If he had asked Nida could have told him it wasn't needed. Still, he looks away from Bull, still clearly embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, for how I reacted. I just... we're both trained to look for vulnerabilities in other people. And he's clearly mine."

"I .... You what? How does that work..." Bull blinks, then frowns, that isn't important right now. "Don't worry about it. I've seen people get their panties in a twist over far smaller things." he shakes his head and smiles at Nida. "But you are right, he is clearly one of yours. But that is not always a bad thing. Hopefully nobody here is ever going to use that against you. And if they do, I'll have a ... chat with them"

"Don't quite know," Nida says, but he's still smiling to himself to think about it. Knowing those feeling on that level was amazing. Almost as amazing as it had been to fall asleep in Billy's bed, the younger man wrapped up in his arms.

Doesn't think he's slept that well without a hell of a lot of sex since he arrived here.

"If anyone lays an unkind hand on him, they'll have plenty of trouble well before either you or I get there," he grins up at Bull before tilting his head to imply they should get back on patrol. "I'm teaching him how to fight, and then there's his brother, and that Frank guy. After that line up I think Seifer might break the face of anyone who hurt him on my behalf. And you'd still have to beat me there because frankly, you might have a 'chat' with them, but I don't think I'd be anywhere near that 'polite.'"

Yes, he gets what Bull means by a chat. But Bull might leave the person that hurt Billy alive. And Nida... As much as he knows it might lose him the guy, he'd take them apart, piece by piece. Then maybe go to the bunker, get some firepower, and cremate what was left.

Bull grins slightly and takes Nida's hint pretty easily. A small army of people raining pain down on people is a good thing to have. "Aw, you haven't even seen me at my best behaviour yet." He chuckles. Then he shrugs and settles back into the watch, satisfied with the answers he has gotten for now.

"I... had other things to ask," he says, voice a bit soft. Nervous. More nervous than he got over Billy. "Are we okay?"

Because he knows he's messed up somehow. He knows he's messed up somehow, he's trying to figure out how to make it better. This whole friend thing is complicated.

Bull stops and turns and looks back at him. "Of course we are Nida, why shouldn't we be?" He smiles warmly. "You think I am angry with you? No, I am happy."

"I didn't have friends before coming here. I don't know how to do this right. And clearly I made some mistakes with you and what we were doing, Boss," Nida admits, frowning. Shut up, he feels awkward about it no matter what you say.

It's hard enough adjusting to the people who actively call him friend to really get the ones he hadn't realized were one.

"No, you didn't make any mistakes, Nida. If anything I did. We should have talked more about what we expected out of it. When I say friends with benefits I do mean the friends part, but... I shouldn't have assumed you knew that. I am sorry."

"No, it's pretty safe to assume that, probably," Nida dismisses. Maybe he's picking up his pace a bit to work off some nervous energy. Clearly in the state he's in he's nowhere near as efficient and thoughtful about this as he had been the first time they'd gone out. Or any other time. Orange does not suit him.

"Most people actually, you know, manage to people well."

Bull shakes his head. But he lets Nida get a few steps ahead before he continues after. He needs to clear his head a little but then Nida says the next thing. "Most people weren't trained like we were."

Well that gets a laugh. No, most people weren’t, were they?

“Seems like you got more get-along classes than I did,” he throw back, not even breaking stride. He isn’t even bitter about it. Except for how it kept affecting people.

Patrols of Course - 18th

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