Hobbes had gotten Daxton a birthday present, beautifully wrapped and somehow sitting on his desk in the enforcer base. There wasn't even plaid on it; the wrapping paper was a classy black, and somehow she'd managed to find turquoise ribbon with tiny bullets printed on it, tied into a really pretty bow. Beside it, on his desk, was a cake. A gun shaped cake, with turquoise roses made out of frosting decorating it.
-Walking into his office with a handful of paperwork...daxton cocked an eyebrow at the sight. Then glancing at his calender...oh...it was his wriggling day. He half wondered why someone would have bothered to have thought of celebrating it. Such practices weren't exactly common after all....still it was a kind gesture. So taking a seat (and performing the usual bomb checks on the present) he carefully and meticulously unwrapped his gift-
No bombs, just a genuine gift. The only really telling clue as to who it was from was the tag, which simply had a 
< on it. Mysteries abound on who it was from.
Inside there were several things. Some cartridges of ammunition for the guns he tended to use most, a really nice, soft sweater that was plain charcoal grey, and an envelope.
< on it. Mysteries abound on who it was from.Inside there were several things. Some cartridges of ammunition for the guns he tended to use most, a really nice, soft sweater that was plain charcoal grey, and an envelope.
-Daxton smiled very slightly and captuloged the ammunition, and then set the sweater aside. This was a kind gesture...if he had any other troll for a kismesis he'd be suspecting a prank or a trap...but honestly, at the moment he found himself oddly really appreciating the gift and thought. Finally, turning he opened the envelope-
There was a card inside, with a business card inside.
"I know you'd been talking about expanding your base, and as much as I hate the Enforcers generally speaking... it is your wriggling day. So, I called in a favor from an old client who'll discuss with you what exactly you want done, and draw up the plans for you. And, later tonight, I thought we could get dinner and then go to the hot springs if you don't have any other plans. Happy Wriggling day!"
"I know you'd been talking about expanding your base, and as much as I hate the Enforcers generally speaking... it is your wriggling day. So, I called in a favor from an old client who'll discuss with you what exactly you want done, and draw up the plans for you. And, later tonight, I thought we could get dinner and then go to the hot springs if you don't have any other plans. Happy Wriggling day!"
-Daxton cocked an eyebrow, this was very unexpected indeed. He'd never known anyone to go this far out of their way for him...well ever. Still incase it was somebody trying to impersonate hobbes to lure him into a trap with various things that would appeal to him...he ran all of it through a fingerprint scanner, voided his own prints, and cross referenced them through the enforcer database-
Most of the prints that the scanner picked up didn't match anyone in the system, but a set on the business card matched the name that was on the card.
So unless someone had gone really, really far out of their way; far enough to perfect Hobbes' handwriting, and then learn that his relationship with him was a far less than traditional pitch, and gone through the trouble of sneaking on to the enforcer base, it was highly unlikely that this was a trap. And besides, the jig would be up far too early anyway when he called Hobbes to let him know if they were going to do dinner or not.
No, it was highly unlikely that this was any sort of trap. Hobbes just wanted to make sure he had a good wriggling day.
So unless someone had gone really, really far out of their way; far enough to perfect Hobbes' handwriting, and then learn that his relationship with him was a far less than traditional pitch, and gone through the trouble of sneaking on to the enforcer base, it was highly unlikely that this was a trap. And besides, the jig would be up far too early anyway when he called Hobbes to let him know if they were going to do dinner or not.
No, it was highly unlikely that this was any sort of trap. Hobbes just wanted to make sure he had a good wriggling day.
It was about a month and a half later that Hobbes found himself outside of Daxton's ship, staring down a rather large lizard. He had a rather enormous tree on one of his shoulders, and a couple of boxes of decorations waiting in the car. And here this lizard was, blocking the path.
"C'mon, Sassy," Hobbes sighed. "It's 12th perigree. Just let me in."
Sassy sat down right in the way, which caused Hobbes to give a little shrug. "Alright, if that's the way you want to be..." The troll whistled, and dogmom poked her head out of the snow.
The lusus was almost invisible against it, rolling around and jumping into snow piles. It looked like a lot of fun to Sassy... but it was also cold not in the ship. Which she had to guard, against Hobbes, who was trying to bring a tree inside. Of course, Sassy knew why. 12th perigree was always a big deal at the tree hive. But this was Hobbes, and Hobbes was only allowed in when Daxton said so. And Daxton wasn't here, so it was Sassy's job to protect the ship.
Well, until dogmom came bounding over. She made some noises to Sassy, and Sassy made some noises back, and then she looked at Hobbes, and swished her tail in the snow. And while Hobbes didn't know what this meant, dogmom did, and she made a disappointed whining noise at the lizard. Which had the lizard moving out of the way, even if she didn't look especially happy about it. Daxton didn't even seem to celebrate 12th perigree, and what was there to celebrate about the cold anyway.
In any case, Hobbes got the tree inside, and then the boxes, while Sassy supervised. She gekkered at Hobbes until the tree was in the right place, and then went to investigate the boxes while Hobbes lit a fire in the fireplace, the nosy lizard knocking it over to investigate. Ornaments rolled across the floor, which had dogmom's attention. They were lusus safe, made of materials that would not break into hard shards luckily, and the glitter wouldn't make a lusus sick if ingested, which was for the best as Sassy laid down to chew on one. And maybe melt it a little. Yeah, it was much better now.
Hobbes snickered when dogmom brought retrieved an ornament for her, getting it all slobbery in the process. She'd just sat down to untangle some lights, and decided to entertain her lusus by throwing it down the hall for her, laughing as dogmom's paws scrabbled to find purchase on the metal floor. And, of course, if dogmom was after something, Sassy had to go investigate, so pretty soon the ornament she had been chewing on was abandoned and she was scrabbling down the hall after her. The two playfully fought over the shiny orb while Hobbes focused on getting these lights in order, eventually bringing it back so Hobbes could throw it again.
This went on for a while, long enough for Hobbes to finish getting the lights untangled and start wrapping them around the tree. By this time, the ornament they'd been playing with was more or less destroyed, and shortly abandoned when Sassy came to investigate the lights Hobbes had just plugged in. She wiggled her butt. She was gonna jump in it and light herself on fire and it was going to be awesome-
Well, she was going to, until dogmom bapped her nose with her paw.
It was going to be a long couple of hours setting up. Well, for Hobbes anyway. Sassy decided that she was going to have fun with this, and stole ornaments, got tangled up in garland, and make her own tree, which would be clearly superior. While she gathered the sticks from outside, Hobbes decorated Daxton's ship from top to bottom. There were lights and garland and holly, mistletoe and paper snowflakes, fresh baked gingerbread, presents, candy canes. Not even the outside had been spared, with even more lights and a wreath.
By the time Daxton got home to see it, Sassy had wiggled under Hobbes' sweater for warmth, curled up on top of that warm belly with just her tail sticking out. And dogmom was sitting in front of the fire, laying on the rug.
"C'mon, Sassy," Hobbes sighed. "It's 12th perigree. Just let me in."
Sassy sat down right in the way, which caused Hobbes to give a little shrug. "Alright, if that's the way you want to be..." The troll whistled, and dogmom poked her head out of the snow.
The lusus was almost invisible against it, rolling around and jumping into snow piles. It looked like a lot of fun to Sassy... but it was also cold not in the ship. Which she had to guard, against Hobbes, who was trying to bring a tree inside. Of course, Sassy knew why. 12th perigree was always a big deal at the tree hive. But this was Hobbes, and Hobbes was only allowed in when Daxton said so. And Daxton wasn't here, so it was Sassy's job to protect the ship.
Well, until dogmom came bounding over. She made some noises to Sassy, and Sassy made some noises back, and then she looked at Hobbes, and swished her tail in the snow. And while Hobbes didn't know what this meant, dogmom did, and she made a disappointed whining noise at the lizard. Which had the lizard moving out of the way, even if she didn't look especially happy about it. Daxton didn't even seem to celebrate 12th perigree, and what was there to celebrate about the cold anyway.
In any case, Hobbes got the tree inside, and then the boxes, while Sassy supervised. She gekkered at Hobbes until the tree was in the right place, and then went to investigate the boxes while Hobbes lit a fire in the fireplace, the nosy lizard knocking it over to investigate. Ornaments rolled across the floor, which had dogmom's attention. They were lusus safe, made of materials that would not break into hard shards luckily, and the glitter wouldn't make a lusus sick if ingested, which was for the best as Sassy laid down to chew on one. And maybe melt it a little. Yeah, it was much better now.
Hobbes snickered when dogmom brought retrieved an ornament for her, getting it all slobbery in the process. She'd just sat down to untangle some lights, and decided to entertain her lusus by throwing it down the hall for her, laughing as dogmom's paws scrabbled to find purchase on the metal floor. And, of course, if dogmom was after something, Sassy had to go investigate, so pretty soon the ornament she had been chewing on was abandoned and she was scrabbling down the hall after her. The two playfully fought over the shiny orb while Hobbes focused on getting these lights in order, eventually bringing it back so Hobbes could throw it again.
This went on for a while, long enough for Hobbes to finish getting the lights untangled and start wrapping them around the tree. By this time, the ornament they'd been playing with was more or less destroyed, and shortly abandoned when Sassy came to investigate the lights Hobbes had just plugged in. She wiggled her butt. She was gonna jump in it and light herself on fire and it was going to be awesome-
Well, she was going to, until dogmom bapped her nose with her paw.
It was going to be a long couple of hours setting up. Well, for Hobbes anyway. Sassy decided that she was going to have fun with this, and stole ornaments, got tangled up in garland, and make her own tree, which would be clearly superior. While she gathered the sticks from outside, Hobbes decorated Daxton's ship from top to bottom. There were lights and garland and holly, mistletoe and paper snowflakes, fresh baked gingerbread, presents, candy canes. Not even the outside had been spared, with even more lights and a wreath.
By the time Daxton got home to see it, Sassy had wiggled under Hobbes' sweater for warmth, curled up on top of that warm belly with just her tail sticking out. And dogmom was sitting in front of the fire, laying on the rug.
-Daxton just...kinda stood outside his ship for awhile...speechless...with a stack of paperwork under his arm. The first thoughts that occurred to him was...."well all thats going to burn off next time I take off and leave atmosphere...hope the inside isn't as bad..." and "this better not be a prank by some of the new recruits...or else latrine duty would be doubled"-
Dogmom perked her ears, sensing his approach. She got up and ran to go greet him, jumping up on the enforcer to lick his face excitedly.
Sassy dug her claws into Hobbes' skin when the troll went to get up, not ready to leave this warm spot yet. Which caused Hobbes to roll her eyes when she got up anyway, putting her arm around Sassy to keep her from falling as she walked to the entrance of the ship.
Sassy dug her claws into Hobbes' skin when the troll went to get up, not ready to leave this warm spot yet. Which caused Hobbes to roll her eyes when she got up anyway, putting her arm around Sassy to keep her from falling as she walked to the entrance of the ship.
-As soon as you saw dog-mom and hobbes....suddenly things seemed to make alot more sense. So putting on your best smile you try to act as happy as you can at this defacement of your precious ship. As hobbes had most likely done it with the best intentions and most likely meant it as a nice gesture...even if you were slightly screaming inside-
Dogmom ran up to greet him, jumping up on Daxton to lick his face. And, from inside Hobbes' sweater, Sassy poked her head out. On one hand, she wanted to show off her clearly superior tree. Look at these beautiful handcrafted, fire roasted ornaments, and dry sticks that would be perfect for setting on fire later. Way better than the one Hobbes had dragged in.
On the other, Hobbes had a very warm belly and she was still a cold lizard.
Hobbes themself snickered at seeing Daxton's expression. It really had been an attempt to do something nice for him, but it was so obvious to them how much he disliked it. "Sassy wanted to celebrate her first 12th pedigree with you properly."
On the other, Hobbes had a very warm belly and she was still a cold lizard.
Hobbes themself snickered at seeing Daxton's expression. It really had been an attempt to do something nice for him, but it was so obvious to them how much he disliked it. "Sassy wanted to celebrate her first 12th pedigree with you properly."
-Not being that dumb himself, daxton caught on a bit to what was happening but played along with it, petting dog-mom's head in greetings-
"Oh? So she asked the local expert on the subject of help then? Well thank you then sassy, this all looks quite lovely and was very considerate of you to consider. I'm not much for festivities myself....but I am due for a small break, so I might as well take in the....cultural significance of them for myself while the two have you have already gone to all this trouble setting the scene"
-Straightening his shades he seemed to consider it all for a moment-
"very well, how do we do this?"
"Oh? So she asked the local expert on the subject of help then? Well thank you then sassy, this all looks quite lovely and was very considerate of you to consider. I'm not much for festivities myself....but I am due for a small break, so I might as well take in the....cultural significance of them for myself while the two have you have already gone to all this trouble setting the scene"
-Straightening his shades he seemed to consider it all for a moment-
"very well, how do we do this?"
Sassy glowed hotly at the praise, and scurried out from Hobbes' sweater to sit on top of the stick pile, swishing her tail a little bit for Daxton's attention. Look at this beautiful tree she had built. Stolen pieces of garland and half melted ornaments and all.
"Well I think first Sassy wants to show you all the hard work she did..." Hobbes smiled at him, glad that he was willing to give this a chance. "And then I was going to give you your gift, and after that I was thinking a snowball fight might be fun."
"Well I think first Sassy wants to show you all the hard work she did..." Hobbes smiled at him, glad that he was willing to give this a chance. "And then I was going to give you your gift, and after that I was thinking a snowball fight might be fun."
"You think engaging in practice combat with projectiles of any sort with me is a wise decision, my lovely yuletide kismesis?" <
-Daxton replies with a very feint smile, as he walks over to check out sassy's hard work. Picking up one of the ornaments carefully and admiring it in his hand as one would a precious jewel-
"this one here looks extra special, I think it has to be my favorite, and thus has to be hung in a place of honor"
-So taking the burnt ornament, daxton attaches it to the ships metal wall magnetically in a spot of pride above sassy's favorite spot in the fireplace-
<-Daxton replies with a very feint smile, as he walks over to check out sassy's hard work. Picking up one of the ornaments carefully and admiring it in his hand as one would a precious jewel-
"this one here looks extra special, I think it has to be my favorite, and thus has to be hung in a place of honor"
-So taking the burnt ornament, daxton attaches it to the ships metal wall magnetically in a spot of pride above sassy's favorite spot in the fireplace-
Sassy stared at the ornament, and then at him. How'd he do that??? How was it staying??? She climbed up his clothes to examine his hands, flickering her tongue out to lick the one he had used to stick to the fireplace.
Hobbes snickered at the silly lizard. "What, you think I can't handle it?"
[Daxton]
-Daxton pat sassy's head, amused by this in her- "surviving it is a better goal than handling it"
[Hobbes]
"Such confidence from someone who's never done this before."
Sassy blinked at him one eye and then the other. Was he infusing her with this magic ability to stick to metal now?
She climbed down to test this.
[Daxton]
-Daxton's only response was a sly smile as he watched the playful lizard to make sure she didn't hurt herself
[Hobbes]
Of course she fell right off the mantle.
[Daxton]
-Daxton picked her up, and checked her over. Knowing she was strurdy enough it was unlikely she was damaged, but still knowing she might like the attention-
"apparently sassy's weakness is the mystery of magnets"
[Hobbes]
Sassy was fine, but definitely was not going to complain at the attention. She wiggled happily in his hands.
"Sassy has many weaknesses," Hobbes told him. "Look, I'll show you another one."
She rubbed the exposed lizard belly, causing the silly lusus to relax completely in his hands.
[Daxton]
"you will have to teach me your secrets hobbes"
-Daxton replied laying sassy back down near dog-mom-
[Hobbes]
"Funny you should say that, because for your twelth perigree present I was going to tell you five of them."
Sassy climbed on top of dogmom's face. Clearly, this was where she belonged. The dog lusus just kind of accepted this.
[Daxton]
"Hmm and what five are those, or is it my choice?"
[Hobbes]
"Your choice."
[Daxton]
"That's a dangerous thing to give me, you know that right?"
[Hobbes]
"I figure at this point, you've earned it."
[Daxton]
"As you wish, I'll have to think that over then. Coffee while I do?" Daxton replied, leaving the lusi to play as he straightened his suit and turned towards the kitchen
[Hobbes]
"Yeah, that sounds great," Hobbes said, getting an ornament to toss down the hall for the lusii. She snickered when the two of them skittered down the hall to fetch it.
[Daxton]
-Daxton flipped open a cuppboard and took out a special coffee blend he had been saving for awhile. An espresso he had picked up durring a misson on a particular colony who's main export was coffee. Then prepping it, he waited for the coffee machine to brew-
"so it can be any secrets?"
[Hobbes]
"Nothing's off limits, and I won't be evasive about anything, either. Just keep in mind, I will be honest, and there are some questions you might not want to know the answers to."
[Daxton]
"That seems fair....very well, what was your original name?"
[Hobbes]
"Khiali Hobren."
She threw the ornament again when it was brought back to her.
"I thought you'd known that already, though, from the enforcer database." She looked over at him curiously.
[Daxton]
"someone with influence must like you, because only a mock file under your alias was found...even if it did contain some detail of the event that brought you here...it was sparse"
[Hobbes]
Hobbes nodded. "That makes sense." She was a little curious about what it did say, and what he already knew, but at the same time she wasn't the one asking the questions here.
[Daxton]
-As the coffee finished brewing, daxton set out a cup for each of them. Grabbing a candy cane each off of the tree, and setting it inside the cup to help flavor the coffee-
"Thats it then, anything else...if you wish to tell me, you may tell me it of your own accord. Thats why I tend not to ask things often. I belive it best to let the other person decide when they are ready to speak of things than to force it...thats how I always lead our quadrent by"
[Hobbes]
Hobbes took a sip from one of the cups before speaking. "Oh. I'd always figured you just didn't want to know... That's why I've never said certain things." She paused again. "Like the circumstances surrounding how I came to 214 in the first place. How much do you know about that?"
[Daxton]
"Not alot, you went into hiding with the aid of allies, reasons were not given and your original name was redacted, only your new name was on the report"
[Hobbes]
Knowing that now, Hobbes filled in the gaps. She told him about what being a lawyer on Alternia had been like, with the impossible cases and working for a firm that was focused on highbloods anyway, since that's where the money was. That her then kismesis, Azurit, was also a lawyer working for the same firm, and everything had been hard, but manageable, until she won a case defending a lowblood.
Hobbes told him about coming home, and finding his head in a box on her doorstep. And then the complete and total depression that set in, which resulted in the drinking. After that, she didn't remember things herself, until she'd woken up on a ship headed for 214. There had been a note one of her friends had sent had sent with her, explaining what had happened. About how she'd drank an entire liquor store and started fights with cops and things with Azurit... things with Azurit had turned horrible.
They'd found Azurit killing her, which was where the scars on her sides came from. And Finnna and Dhioni rescued Hobbes, killed Azurit, and then sent Hobbes away and cut off all contact. Finnna had faked her death and fudged records enough for Hobbes to start a new life, and now, here she was.
"... I should have died, then. I was stupid, and naive, and let all of it happen. Put dogmom in danger, and my friends in a tough position. And Azurit... I can't really blame her for trying to kill me. Her association with me was holding her back, and I can only imagine how pathetic I was being at the time..." She sighed. "It was a mess."
[Daxton]
-Taking off his shades, daxton took her by the shoulders and looked her dead in the eyes. His eyes showing far more emotion than was typical of any other part of his body....probably why he was so serious about hiding them usually...but right now his eyes just seemed to speak of concern...anger...and the shadows of something else not yet recognizable in the turquoise blood-
"No"
-Was all he said as he seemed to gaze deeper into her, as if by looking into her he might see her very soul and the answers and mysteries that might be locked away within-
"I never want to hear you say you should have died...that incident was not your fault. You did your job, and you did a damn fine job of it. For all the playful crap I give you about being a lawyer...I know your amazing at it...you help trolls though it in a way sometimes I only dream I could. That madness...that was on Azurit, they crossed lines they never should have crossed in a kismesitude, at least as far as I've come to understand it...they got everything that was coming to them and then still got off easy"
-His grip on her shoulders seemed to tighten slightly as his teeth grit in anger at the idea of the pain this Azurit must have put hobbes through...and then they finally relaxed as his tone seemed to drop slightly-
"I never want to hear you say you should have died....because then I never would have met you. You are one of the most important trolls in my life...if not the most important....and I owe so much to you I can never usually express...because I can't find the words. I never want to imagine what it would have been like if I never met you...pain...laughter....joy....sorrow.... I'd never trade any of it....so never fucking say that!"
[Hobbes]
Hobbes flinched when he raised his voice, despite what he was saying. "I'm sorry. I don't... I didn't mean to say that I'm not glad to have met you too."
"I'm glad that things worked out the way they did... but that doesn't erase the guilt that I feel for things having played out the way they did," she added softly.
[Daxton]
-Unflinching daxton stared her over and then quietly spoke-
"punch me"
[Hobbes]
"What?"
[Daxton]
"Right now, punch me. Punch me dammit!"
[Hobbes]
"I'm not going to do that," Hobbes said, looking increasingly upset. "You know I'm not going to do that."
[Daxton]
"exactly....I knew you wouldn't.... because thats not the kind of troll you are. Even when pushed. You did nothing wrong, I know you...and I know even then whatever happened with Azurit....you wouldn't have done whatever you did if they didn't truely deserve it. Drunk or not, I know your better than that... it's one of the reasons I trust you. Hobbes...for once I'm going to speak as your quadmate... you need to let go. Holding this in as you have has only been poisoning you. Guilt is reasonable, but it's been sweeps and the facts are muddled due to lack of evidence..." -Kneeling down slightly to match her height, he gently put an arm around her. Trying to show her a little more of his true self for once instead of the mask- "I care for you here in the present, the ghosts of the past have no power here in my arms"
[Hobbes]
Hobbes set her coffee down to hug him tightly. Saying nothing... but what was there left to say? The depth of her appreciation for him, for his asking her to let it go, was not easily put into words.
[Daxton]
-thinking for a moment, daxton took his shades and placed it on her face- "take these as a 12th perigree present...they are one of my personal set, linked to a special monitor within my body...as long as I am alive those shades will display so. That way you never have to worry even when I'm away"
[Hobbes]
"Are you sure?" Hobbes asked him. "I know how much these mean to you..."
[Daxton]
"I can get another pair made for me and "glitch" the system so that both are active at the same time....I know the enforcer network inside and out. That's how I've kept the info on you and kentlr so....sparse"
[Hobbes]
Hobbes nodded and adjusted the sunglasses. "Thank you. I really do appreciate this. And... that reminds me. There's something else I should tell you. It's not, uh, as intense, but you should still probably know; I was the one that killed Sevrin." Hobbes looked like she felt far, far less guilty about this.
[Daxton]
"huh, so I got my base for free....neat"
-sitting back down daxton sipped at his coffee, relaxing a bit again...a bit of a stranger and easier to read sight without his shades-
[Hobbes]
"More or less I suppose."
"Are you sure there's nothing else you want to ask me about? That's all I can think of to tell."
[Daxton]
"Did you have anything to do with sassy "finding" her way into my ship?"
[Hobbes]
"I might have noticed her following you and not said anything," she smirked.
[Daxton]
"sounds like you....alright, I'll save my other 3 questions for another day when I think they may be important...what of you though? since we are sharing...I'll allow you a couple questions if your curious about anything"
[Hobbes]
"Ok." Hobbes stirred her coffee for a minute, thinking, before she opened her mouth again. "Where are you at with Vitani, right now?"
[Daxton]
"Her and I....are on a break, at the moment we are just friends. I told her I wanted some time to figure some.... Other things out"
[Hobbes]
"I think our moirailship really is done," Hobbes replied, offering her side of things with Vitani. "I was... well, you remember how hard that was. On both of us. And the way she reacted when she got back..." Hobbes shook her head. "But I don't feel like just leaving is the right thing to do... Vitani did a lot for me, especially when I first got to 214... Honestly, I was determined to just be a hermit as much as possible, but then she dragged me out of the ship and I met you and Damien... I don't think I'm ready to stop being her friend yet."
[Daxton]
-Daxton seemed to nod in understanding- "both of us wanted her back for so long...but now that she really is...I don't know..I feel like I should be happy, but that happiness is guarded"
[Hobbes]
"Yeah... it's pretty clear that things can't just go right back to the way they were," Hobbes agreed. "It'll take time, to build the relationship back up."
[Daxton]
"and even then...who knows what form it will take. Maybe she'll be my pail and your new black for all we know"
[Hobbes]
Hobbes looked amused. "Wouldn't that be something."
[Daxton]
"I really cant picture her black flirting"
[Hobbes]
"Well she was dating that one troll, for a while. I met him once. He was weird, and creepy, and I really wish she would have let me punch him in the face a couple of times."
[Daxton]
"Don't think I've heard of that one"
[Hobbes]
"It might have been while she was still in a red quadrant with Damien... it was a long time ago," Hobbes shrugged. "But it seemed like things were actually going really well for a while. She got all cute about it and growly and stuff." Hobbes snickered. "It was fucking adorable."
Hobbes snickered at the silly lizard. "What, you think I can't handle it?"
[Daxton]
-Daxton pat sassy's head, amused by this in her- "surviving it is a better goal than handling it"
[Hobbes]
"Such confidence from someone who's never done this before."
Sassy blinked at him one eye and then the other. Was he infusing her with this magic ability to stick to metal now?
She climbed down to test this.
[Daxton]
-Daxton's only response was a sly smile as he watched the playful lizard to make sure she didn't hurt herself
[Hobbes]
Of course she fell right off the mantle.
[Daxton]
-Daxton picked her up, and checked her over. Knowing she was strurdy enough it was unlikely she was damaged, but still knowing she might like the attention-
"apparently sassy's weakness is the mystery of magnets"
[Hobbes]
Sassy was fine, but definitely was not going to complain at the attention. She wiggled happily in his hands.
"Sassy has many weaknesses," Hobbes told him. "Look, I'll show you another one."
She rubbed the exposed lizard belly, causing the silly lusus to relax completely in his hands.
[Daxton]
"you will have to teach me your secrets hobbes"
-Daxton replied laying sassy back down near dog-mom-
[Hobbes]
"Funny you should say that, because for your twelth perigree present I was going to tell you five of them."
Sassy climbed on top of dogmom's face. Clearly, this was where she belonged. The dog lusus just kind of accepted this.
[Daxton]
"Hmm and what five are those, or is it my choice?"
[Hobbes]
"Your choice."
[Daxton]
"That's a dangerous thing to give me, you know that right?"
[Hobbes]
"I figure at this point, you've earned it."
[Daxton]
"As you wish, I'll have to think that over then. Coffee while I do?" Daxton replied, leaving the lusi to play as he straightened his suit and turned towards the kitchen
[Hobbes]
"Yeah, that sounds great," Hobbes said, getting an ornament to toss down the hall for the lusii. She snickered when the two of them skittered down the hall to fetch it.
[Daxton]
-Daxton flipped open a cuppboard and took out a special coffee blend he had been saving for awhile. An espresso he had picked up durring a misson on a particular colony who's main export was coffee. Then prepping it, he waited for the coffee machine to brew-
"so it can be any secrets?"
[Hobbes]
"Nothing's off limits, and I won't be evasive about anything, either. Just keep in mind, I will be honest, and there are some questions you might not want to know the answers to."
[Daxton]
"That seems fair....very well, what was your original name?"
[Hobbes]
"Khiali Hobren."
She threw the ornament again when it was brought back to her.
"I thought you'd known that already, though, from the enforcer database." She looked over at him curiously.
[Daxton]
"someone with influence must like you, because only a mock file under your alias was found...even if it did contain some detail of the event that brought you here...it was sparse"
[Hobbes]
Hobbes nodded. "That makes sense." She was a little curious about what it did say, and what he already knew, but at the same time she wasn't the one asking the questions here.
[Daxton]
-As the coffee finished brewing, daxton set out a cup for each of them. Grabbing a candy cane each off of the tree, and setting it inside the cup to help flavor the coffee-
"Thats it then, anything else...if you wish to tell me, you may tell me it of your own accord. Thats why I tend not to ask things often. I belive it best to let the other person decide when they are ready to speak of things than to force it...thats how I always lead our quadrent by"
[Hobbes]
Hobbes took a sip from one of the cups before speaking. "Oh. I'd always figured you just didn't want to know... That's why I've never said certain things." She paused again. "Like the circumstances surrounding how I came to 214 in the first place. How much do you know about that?"
[Daxton]
"Not alot, you went into hiding with the aid of allies, reasons were not given and your original name was redacted, only your new name was on the report"
[Hobbes]
Knowing that now, Hobbes filled in the gaps. She told him about what being a lawyer on Alternia had been like, with the impossible cases and working for a firm that was focused on highbloods anyway, since that's where the money was. That her then kismesis, Azurit, was also a lawyer working for the same firm, and everything had been hard, but manageable, until she won a case defending a lowblood.
Hobbes told him about coming home, and finding his head in a box on her doorstep. And then the complete and total depression that set in, which resulted in the drinking. After that, she didn't remember things herself, until she'd woken up on a ship headed for 214. There had been a note one of her friends had sent had sent with her, explaining what had happened. About how she'd drank an entire liquor store and started fights with cops and things with Azurit... things with Azurit had turned horrible.
They'd found Azurit killing her, which was where the scars on her sides came from. And Finnna and Dhioni rescued Hobbes, killed Azurit, and then sent Hobbes away and cut off all contact. Finnna had faked her death and fudged records enough for Hobbes to start a new life, and now, here she was.
"... I should have died, then. I was stupid, and naive, and let all of it happen. Put dogmom in danger, and my friends in a tough position. And Azurit... I can't really blame her for trying to kill me. Her association with me was holding her back, and I can only imagine how pathetic I was being at the time..." She sighed. "It was a mess."
[Daxton]
-Taking off his shades, daxton took her by the shoulders and looked her dead in the eyes. His eyes showing far more emotion than was typical of any other part of his body....probably why he was so serious about hiding them usually...but right now his eyes just seemed to speak of concern...anger...and the shadows of something else not yet recognizable in the turquoise blood-
"No"
-Was all he said as he seemed to gaze deeper into her, as if by looking into her he might see her very soul and the answers and mysteries that might be locked away within-
"I never want to hear you say you should have died...that incident was not your fault. You did your job, and you did a damn fine job of it. For all the playful crap I give you about being a lawyer...I know your amazing at it...you help trolls though it in a way sometimes I only dream I could. That madness...that was on Azurit, they crossed lines they never should have crossed in a kismesitude, at least as far as I've come to understand it...they got everything that was coming to them and then still got off easy"
-His grip on her shoulders seemed to tighten slightly as his teeth grit in anger at the idea of the pain this Azurit must have put hobbes through...and then they finally relaxed as his tone seemed to drop slightly-
"I never want to hear you say you should have died....because then I never would have met you. You are one of the most important trolls in my life...if not the most important....and I owe so much to you I can never usually express...because I can't find the words. I never want to imagine what it would have been like if I never met you...pain...laughter....joy....sorrow.... I'd never trade any of it....so never fucking say that!"
[Hobbes]
Hobbes flinched when he raised his voice, despite what he was saying. "I'm sorry. I don't... I didn't mean to say that I'm not glad to have met you too."
"I'm glad that things worked out the way they did... but that doesn't erase the guilt that I feel for things having played out the way they did," she added softly.
[Daxton]
-Unflinching daxton stared her over and then quietly spoke-
"punch me"
[Hobbes]
"What?"
[Daxton]
"Right now, punch me. Punch me dammit!"
[Hobbes]
"I'm not going to do that," Hobbes said, looking increasingly upset. "You know I'm not going to do that."
[Daxton]
"exactly....I knew you wouldn't.... because thats not the kind of troll you are. Even when pushed. You did nothing wrong, I know you...and I know even then whatever happened with Azurit....you wouldn't have done whatever you did if they didn't truely deserve it. Drunk or not, I know your better than that... it's one of the reasons I trust you. Hobbes...for once I'm going to speak as your quadmate... you need to let go. Holding this in as you have has only been poisoning you. Guilt is reasonable, but it's been sweeps and the facts are muddled due to lack of evidence..." -Kneeling down slightly to match her height, he gently put an arm around her. Trying to show her a little more of his true self for once instead of the mask- "I care for you here in the present, the ghosts of the past have no power here in my arms"
[Hobbes]
Hobbes set her coffee down to hug him tightly. Saying nothing... but what was there left to say? The depth of her appreciation for him, for his asking her to let it go, was not easily put into words.
[Daxton]
-thinking for a moment, daxton took his shades and placed it on her face- "take these as a 12th perigree present...they are one of my personal set, linked to a special monitor within my body...as long as I am alive those shades will display so. That way you never have to worry even when I'm away"
[Hobbes]
"Are you sure?" Hobbes asked him. "I know how much these mean to you..."
[Daxton]
"I can get another pair made for me and "glitch" the system so that both are active at the same time....I know the enforcer network inside and out. That's how I've kept the info on you and kentlr so....sparse"
[Hobbes]
Hobbes nodded and adjusted the sunglasses. "Thank you. I really do appreciate this. And... that reminds me. There's something else I should tell you. It's not, uh, as intense, but you should still probably know; I was the one that killed Sevrin." Hobbes looked like she felt far, far less guilty about this.
[Daxton]
"huh, so I got my base for free....neat"
-sitting back down daxton sipped at his coffee, relaxing a bit again...a bit of a stranger and easier to read sight without his shades-
[Hobbes]
"More or less I suppose."
"Are you sure there's nothing else you want to ask me about? That's all I can think of to tell."
[Daxton]
"Did you have anything to do with sassy "finding" her way into my ship?"
[Hobbes]
"I might have noticed her following you and not said anything," she smirked.
[Daxton]
"sounds like you....alright, I'll save my other 3 questions for another day when I think they may be important...what of you though? since we are sharing...I'll allow you a couple questions if your curious about anything"
[Hobbes]
"Ok." Hobbes stirred her coffee for a minute, thinking, before she opened her mouth again. "Where are you at with Vitani, right now?"
[Daxton]
"Her and I....are on a break, at the moment we are just friends. I told her I wanted some time to figure some.... Other things out"
[Hobbes]
"I think our moirailship really is done," Hobbes replied, offering her side of things with Vitani. "I was... well, you remember how hard that was. On both of us. And the way she reacted when she got back..." Hobbes shook her head. "But I don't feel like just leaving is the right thing to do... Vitani did a lot for me, especially when I first got to 214... Honestly, I was determined to just be a hermit as much as possible, but then she dragged me out of the ship and I met you and Damien... I don't think I'm ready to stop being her friend yet."
[Daxton]
-Daxton seemed to nod in understanding- "both of us wanted her back for so long...but now that she really is...I don't know..I feel like I should be happy, but that happiness is guarded"
[Hobbes]
"Yeah... it's pretty clear that things can't just go right back to the way they were," Hobbes agreed. "It'll take time, to build the relationship back up."
[Daxton]
"and even then...who knows what form it will take. Maybe she'll be my pail and your new black for all we know"
[Hobbes]
Hobbes looked amused. "Wouldn't that be something."
[Daxton]
"I really cant picture her black flirting"
[Hobbes]
"Well she was dating that one troll, for a while. I met him once. He was weird, and creepy, and I really wish she would have let me punch him in the face a couple of times."
[Daxton]
"Don't think I've heard of that one"
[Hobbes]
"It might have been while she was still in a red quadrant with Damien... it was a long time ago," Hobbes shrugged. "But it seemed like things were actually going really well for a while. She got all cute about it and growly and stuff." Hobbes snickered. "It was fucking adorable."
-Daxton actually seemed to smile slightly at that one-
"ok her growling I can picture, that would be pretty damn cute. Any other questions?"
"ok her growling I can picture, that would be pretty damn cute. Any other questions?"
"Did you know that you are super cute when you smile like that?"
-You roll your currently visible turquoise eyes with another slight smile and a smirk-
"surprised you can tell half the time through all that hair"
"surprised you can tell half the time through all that hair"
"Oh, you'd be amazed," you smirk back. "I could tell you lots of things. For instance, I am totally going to kick your ass in a snowball fight."
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