forum Halp- boredom sucks- (Open OxO)

Started April 13, 2023 by @lord-of-the-carnival group

tune

Dustin laughs, “Sorry, sweetheart, no can do.” He leans back, finishing his food, “I have no inclination to lie to you.”

Renata mutters "Ugh. Insufferable, that's what you are. . ."

She finishes her food, grumbling - jokingly - about Dustin's apparent lack of empathy and compassion for women who don't know how to cook.

Dustin smiles, ducking his head, “Am not, otherwise, you would have kicked me out by now.”

Renata groans and attempts to flick Dustin's forehead and fails, since he'd ducked his head.

"You are. But I can still want to have you here, even as insufferable as you are." she replies.

He rolls his eyes, “Keep telling yourself that, sweetheart.” He stands, stretching.

Renata mumbles something about Dustin being a jackass and a small bit of the stone beneath Dustin tilts him, causing him to fall backwards. She smirks and then grabs all of the empty bowls(plates?) and brings them to the kitchen to be washed.

(Bowls)

Dustin yelps, stumbling back a step and catching his balance before he fell, “Stop doing shit like that, Renata!” He scolds, shifting his feet for balance. He crosses his arms following her, leaning against the wall, a scowl on his face.

(alright lol-)

"If you're allowed to tease me, then why can I not do shit like that?" Renata laughs, starting to scrub the bowls and utensils.

“Because I don’t feel like bleeding. Find something else. Tease me back, I don’t care. Just don’t risk me getting hurt.” He watches her.

"You know you're safe. I know what I'm doing, Dust. You're not going to bleed, or die, or anything, because I'm not going to allow it." Renata says softly.

“Yeah. . . I know, but it scares me Ren. I can’t help it.” He shifts slightly, uncomfortable.

Renata sighs. One of the bowls starts to rise into the air, then another, as well as a bunch of steel wool. The dishes start to look like their cleaning theirselves as she turns and looks at Dust.

"Is there any chance that it might eventually not scare you? You know. . . if it were me, at least." she asks.

He watches her for a moment, “Probably. I got used to my dad doing stuff like that.”

"I don't want it to be like that. I want it to be trust, not just 'I'm used to it.'" Renata says.

Dustin looks at her, “I trust you Ren, I just have to get used to it.” He mutters, “Just because I trust you, does not mean I’m used to it.”

Renata watches Dustin for a bit, looking confused and just a tiny bit relieved.

"Alright." she says quietly, turning back to the dishes and finishing the cleaning of them before moving on to what was used to cook it all.

Dustin sighs, “I have to go. I’ll see you later.”

Renata nods, silent for a moment. She didn't know what to say, so for now she doesn't say anything at all, only continues to clean the dishes.

Dustin smiles, and then turns, starting to walk away.

Renata takes a deep breath and turns to go after Dustin.

She turns him around gently and looks at him. "Stay safe, alright? You better not get into any trouble. And wait a couple weeks before coming back. They'll get suspicious if you come here too often."

She opens her mouth to say something else, then closes it, deciding against it.

"Shoo. Get out." she smiles.

He looks at her and nods, “Okay. . . I’ll see you then. . .” He turns back around walking away.

Renata sighs, turning back to the kitchen.

The lift carries Dustin back up to the surface.

This was going to be a long couple weeks.

//Fast forward about 2 and a half weeks. Renata is out dealing with the encroachment upon the park reserve, building up the jagged walls and making it impossible to build on or get through. She looks like she'd been there a while. Dustin has been dispatched and is on his way to see what exactly is happening in the area. There might be a fight, or Dustin's betrayal might be weeded out by one of the older heros. TBD on that front.//

Renata creates yet another jagged spike of granite and bedrock, twisting it into yet another wickedly spiraled and treacherously sharp monolith. This was the 25 of these she'd made, each one a city's block wide at the bast and rising 2 times as tall as Renata herself.

She finishes this one and moves on to the next.

And then that one's done, and there's a hero only a handful of feet away from her.

Dustin.

She looks concerned.

"Why- why are you here?" she asks quietly.

“They sent me here.” He crosses his arms, keeping his face blank.

"Why you?" Renata repeats. "Why not Ezra or Tristan or Yrena, even? Why you?"

She didn't need to ask really. She knew why. This man knew her best. Which was surprising, since they'd known each other less time than she'd known the others.

"Nevermind. Dustin, please, leave." she says quietly.

Dustin shakes his head, “I can’t. Either we fight, or everyone finds out.” He spreads his arms slightly, “What’s it going to be Ren?”