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Post by magnus on Jan 14, 2012 16:23:14 GMT -5
In the jungle, the mighty jungle, The lion sleeps tonight It was a shitty motel on the outskirts of a shitty town in the worst part of the shitty slums. Didn’t Epispect have more of a budget to at least lodge their bounty hunters in a halfway decent place, where the carpet wasn’t made of mould and the broken television wasn’t perched precariously on a slanted shelf? The girl at the front desk looked like a donkey-human hybrid, the whole place smelled of stale bread, cigarettes and skirts that were too short and to say the very, very least, Magnus was extremely displeased. It wasn’t as if he wasn’t used to staying in places like this, because he sure as hell remembered those first years being away from home and on the run. It was the fact that a multi-million dollar company like Epispect couldn’t put them anywhere better. It frustrated him to no end every time, putting him in an already fowl mood as he threw his bag onto his bed upon entering the cramped room. Thankfully, there were two beds; at least they hadn’t messed that one up again. Without hesitation, he was immediately set to work. It was pretty late in the evening already; the sky was dark blue and the one dim light in the room seemed rather little. Magnus plugged in the company-issue laptop and flipped it open. A few keystrokes later, and they were connected to the system, waiting on orders they were told would come sooner or later. Hopefully sooner, but knowing Epispect, probably later. Another illegal Gijinka was on the loose somewhere in the area, but then again, the jungle was infested with those. Magnus and Ludwig, at this point, were told to simply sit back and wait for instructions and information that wouldn’t catch them by surprise. This would also mean, of course, babysitting his partner until that information came along. Hush my darling, don’t fear, my darling The lion sleeps tonight
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Post by ress1 on Jan 14, 2012 16:40:26 GMT -5
[atrb=width,162px][atrb=height,489px][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellpadding,5px,true][atrb=cellspacing,0px,true][atrb=background,http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx298/rainytango/reiner2-1.jpg,true] | 'Babysitting' was an entirely correct choice of words when talking about the relationship between himself and Magnus. Being partnered with Ludwig was an exercise in frustration. He was lazy, slow, and annoying at the best of times. While others worked, he was quick to flop down on anything he could, be it a bed, a couch, or right against a wall. In this case, it was the bed, as decrepit as it was. He flopped right down, face first, sprawling on the bed while Magnus went off to do work. Probably something with the laptop, which Ludwig never touched, and cared nothing for.
Sprawled on the bed, Ludwig was entirely happy that, of all possible things that his pokemon DNA could have given him, it was his ears and not his nose that got enhanced. As it was, he got to hear all the terrible crap that was going on around them (there was definitely some hanky panky two or three rooms over, and he was fairly sure someone had just screamed a block away), but it was still better then what he might have smelled. It was the kind of hotel room where people died, after all, and human decay was not one of his favorite smells.
Rolling over on the bed, he faced the (disgustingly stained) ceiling, and let out a rather loud groan. "So, what's next? Because, I swear, if we have to work out how to get DNA out of a freaking Muk again, I'm going to cry myself to sleep tonight." Some pokemon were amazing, and their Gijinka impressive. Sometimes, however, the pokemon were less then impressive. Ludwig had almost laughed himself unconscious the first time they'd been sent after a Cherrim, who had turned out to be a male Gijinka.
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Post by magnus on Jan 14, 2012 17:09:53 GMT -5
In the jungle, the mighty jungle, The lion sleeps tonight Unlike almost every other scenario he was ever thrown into, and no matter how gross the motel room was, Magnus let his shoulders relax. There was no danger here outside of Ludwig tackling him from behind, in which case he’d earn a good bite with his fangs. Unfortunately, poisoning wasn’t an option, with his immunity and all. Though he didn’t wish his partner entirely dead, a bit of suffering would do him some good. It would certainly help him to shut up when he had to nurse his own injuries. And of course, Ludwig was back to his old moaning and groaning about this and that. Magnus rolled his eyes, hanging an arm over the back of the chair as he turned slightly. He was always the one to lie around while Magnus filed both their reports for them, much like a secretary… only one that also ran around in the field with a gun and set rogue Gijinka on fire. ”Can you stop being such a baby about dirty work?” The blond huffed slightly, tapping the space bar on the keyboard in idleness. He wanted something to do, something productive, but that wasn’t about to happen anytime soon. ”And if I remember correctly, I was the one elbow-deep in that shit while you sat aside and complained about how much it smelled.” And he’d never let him live it down, nor would he forget it. And that Muk didn’t go down without a fight. Hush my darling, don’t fear, my darling The lion sleeps tonight
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Post by ress1 on Jan 14, 2012 17:45:04 GMT -5
[atrb=width,162px][atrb=height,489px][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellpadding,5px,true][atrb=cellspacing,0px,true][atrb=background,http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx298/rainytango/reiner2-1.jpg,true] | Honestly, sometimes Magnus just drove him up the wall... but most of the time, like right now, he enjoyed doing the one doing the driving. Getting on Magnus's nerves was like an art form, one he was a master at. Easy enough to bother him, to make him rage and freak out. All the better. He loved it. "Pardon me? The dirty work? The dirty work was killing the damn thing. You just had to do the filthy work of trying to get DNA from a thing that doesn't have a properly solid body. I was the one who froze the damn thing with an ice beam." Alright, so, maybe Magnus had been the one to land the finishing blow, but it was definitely his ice beam that caught the damn thing. "Because if that bastard had gotten to the sewers, I would not be following him. No way. It's disgusting down there. Hell, it's bad enough here, and I am not hitting up a sewer."
It wasn't that Ludwig had anything particularly against filth, but sewers... urgh, the sounds. No way. "At least my pokemon DNA included a damn nose." Sometimes he wondered if the DNA had killed Magnus's sense of smell. Or, more likely, Ludwig himself was probably just over sensitive to such things.
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Post by magnus on Jan 14, 2012 18:12:13 GMT -5
In the jungle, the mighty jungle, The lion sleeps tonight Many a time had Magnus questioned himself on whether he was below strangling his partner to death. But they’d been on the hunt as a team for about a year, and as far as he was concerned, Ludwig was very much alive and still whining about everything. Perhaps it was the work ethic Magnus was raised with, and that everything worth having was worth working for. Pasha would’ve no doubt had zero qualms with giving him a mild concussion if he spoke to him the same way Ludwig did. ”At least my Pokemon DNA included a damned brain.” Not to mention no set of unsightly ears, but he wasn’t going to bring that one up quite yet. No matter how many threats his partner uttered, no matter how many things he clawed up or disemboweled with his nails, his ears still made him fuzzy and adorable. Magnus had been graced with things he could hide, such as an unhingeable jaw, a bendable spine and fangs that could pump venom. None of those traits showed outwardly very much, much to his relief. ”You really better start actually working. I’m not gonna be around to cover your ass forever.” Which may or may not be true, depending on how things pan out. Magnus turned back to the glowing screen again, throwing himself back into his work. It was better than dealing with Ludwig’s infuriating whining about everything. Hush my darling, don’t fear, my darling The lion sleeps tonight
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Post by ress1 on Jan 14, 2012 18:23:07 GMT -5
[atrb=width,162px][atrb=height,489px][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellpadding,5px,true][atrb=cellspacing,0px,true][atrb=background,http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx298/rainytango/reiner2-1.jpg,true] | "Yeah, and I'm happy mine didn't. That way I get a nice human brain, rather then trying to freaking unhinge my jaw and swallow food whole. That's just gross." It was. He ate like a normal person. He didn't have a damn jaw that randomly unhinged. Ludwig actually paused, waiting for the insult that didn't come. It always came down to his ears, and even if Magnus said it, he knew the damn snake well enough to know that he was thinking it. He always was, after all. Everyone they met thought it, even if most were smart enough to not mention it.
Ludwig may or may not have disemboweled a person or two for doing so.
The warning, again, fell on deaf ears, and Ludwig simply shrugged, stretching out on the bed. "Yeah, yeah. You keep saying that. So did my last partner, and the one before that, and I've outlasted every single one of them." Most of his old partners had transferred. One he'd seriously injured after a particularly mean comment about Ludwig's ears. One had died, although that was no fault of his own. "When you're gone, there will be someone new, and they'll manage the paperwork like you do."
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Post by magnus on Jan 14, 2012 18:35:18 GMT -5
In the jungle, the mighty jungle, The lion sleeps tonight Oh, and now he was trying to insult his damned jaw? Magnus very near rolled his eyes but decided against him, throwing himself back to work. His jaw wasn’t something he was too shy about; it scared people when it looked like he pulled his face in half, so what? As far as the blond was concerned, his partner thought of everything as gross, while Magnus hesitated very little to go and much about. Heck, he could only guess that if Ludwig every saw him bend his spine to it’s full potential, he’d squeal like a startled teenage girl. He might just show him one day. Magnus wasn’t even looking back at his partner anymore, mad enough as it was and cooling down by simply working. The information wasn’t getting passed along yet, so he might as well file reports while he was at it… And perhaps not file Ludwig’s half. He considered it for the time being. ”Then why the hell did you follow me when I asked to transfer locations?” Magnus had always thought that a strange thing, though it was entirely possible that he just did so he could continue and piss him off on a daily basis. He was willing to put his bets on it. ”Could’ve just stayed where you were and gotten this new partner that would worship the ground you walked on.” It would’ve been of little loss to either of them at the time, but no, Ludwig had followed him along. Hush my darling, don’t fear, my darling The lion sleeps tonight
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Post by ress1 on Jan 14, 2012 18:50:23 GMT -5
[atrb=width,162px][atrb=height,489px][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellpadding,5px,true][atrb=cellspacing,0px,true][atrb=background,http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx298/rainytango/reiner2-1.jpg,true] | Was that what Magnus thought? He thought that Ludwig had chosen to follow him? Oh dear, he was in for quite a surprise then. "Pfffffft, in your dreams, Blitz." Because names were not for this sort of partnership. Nicknames only. "When I signed up, I said I didn't give a crap where they posted me. That means they're free to move me around as they want. So when you put in for a transfer, it's easier to move me with you, then you try and find someone else who's not going to freak out when you first bite an illegal's throat out." Ludwig was excessively proud of the fact that he hadn't freaked out the first time that had happened.
"I still want to know why the hell you put in for a transfer. I liked working in places where the hotels don't have bodies underneath the mattress, thank you very much." The places they'd been at lately were so damn dingy. "Because if you were trying to escape me, that's too damn bad."
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Post by magnus on Jan 14, 2012 19:00:35 GMT -5
In the jungle, the mighty jungle, The lion sleeps tonight Magnus felt his eye twitch, his fingers hovering over the keys as his partner called him Blitz, of all things. Hadn’t they already established that nicknames would cause him to be set on fire the next time he slept? Probably not, as he was still doing it and probably wouldn’t ever stop. Then again, Ludwig was as stubborn as a donkey and if Magnus suggested anything, he’d probably do the exact opposite just to piss him off. Nicknames, as Ludwig’s ears were, was a no-touch zone that could easily have warranted the other party being beaten with a blunt object. Still seated straight in his chair, Magnus bent over backwards. His spine pressed up against the back, but he continued to bend and bend until anybody else walking in would’ve thought he’d have broken his spine over the back of the chair. He had nearly doubled himself over backwards, just to send a glare at his partner. Ludwig was a bit more squeamish about these things than he thought he was, or would’ve liked to admit. ”Haven’t I told you already? No damned nicknames.” Wasn’t it so hard to just call him Magnus? It was six damned letters. ”And if you hadn’t followed me, you wouldn’t have needed to stay in places like this.” But as for the matter of the transfer… ”It doesn’t concern you.” Because really, it didn’t. Johan and Konrad were his business and his business only; nobody else’s. Which reminded him that he hadn’t checked up on them recently, and so he’d need to do so again sometime. Hush my darling, don’t fear, my darling The lion sleeps tonight
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Post by ress1 on Jan 14, 2012 19:24:47 GMT -5
[atrb=width,162px][atrb=height,489px][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellpadding,5px,true][atrb=cellspacing,0px,true][atrb=background,http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx298/rainytango/reiner2-1.jpg,true] | Absolutely anything that Magnus might have said after his little stunt fell on deaf ears. Ludwig had watched him tear people's throats out, had watched him extend his jaw like a snake, had watched Magnus wander in covered in blood. None of that had prepared him for this. What in the thirty nine flying fucks was he doing? He stared in complete horror, watching as Magnus proceeded to keep on talking, despite the fact that spines do not work that way.
"What the FUCK!" He half-shrieked, now up on his ass as he scurried backwards. "Don't do that! Give me some kind of freaking warning! Like... advanced notice that you're going to snap your spine or whatever the hell you just did!" If he'd taken the time to think, he'd have realized what was going on, but as it was, he was thoroughly distracted. "Fine, no nicknames, just put your freaking spine back where it's supposed to go!" He said, completely missing Magnus's refusal to answer his question. He'd get back to that later.
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Post by magnus on Jan 14, 2012 19:38:40 GMT -5
In the jungle, the mighty jungle, The lion sleeps tonight Magnus was precariously close to toppling the chair, he was laughing so hard at Ludwig’s reaction to his little acrobatics. This was only halfway how far it could even go, and already the other man was squirming in his seat over it. He would just bide his time and wait until the opportunity arose, and then he’d bend himself backwards in a complete loop and watch him flip out like never before. It was something to look forward to, at the very least. With a small nod, Magnus extended his hands to brace himself on the floor, sliding off the back of the chair until he looked like he was doing a half-handstand, then flopping over so he crouched on the ground. He absolutely loved the extreme dexterity and flexibility he got with the new DNA, and used it every chance he got. He stood up, dusted himself off as if it were no thing, and turned to face his partner, now sitting on the far end of the bed and looking thoroughly horrified with him. ”Oh hush, you’ve seen worse.” And he had, only blood and gore didn’t seem to scare him as much as a guy who could bend himself backwards. Magnus casually strolled over to the other side of the bed so he could easily flop down on his own… only he didn’t; not quite yet. Magnus reached over, grabbed one of Ludwig’s ears and tugged on it. ”But my mutations are hideable, yeah?” He absolutely knew that this was the one thing to get the other man riled, and he was ready for it. Hush my darling, don’t fear, my darling The lion sleeps tonight
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Post by ress1 on Jan 14, 2012 21:34:51 GMT -5
[atrb=width,162px][atrb=height,489px][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellpadding,5px,true][atrb=cellspacing,0px,true][atrb=background,http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx298/rainytango/reiner2-1.jpg,true] | Seriously, ew. That was all Ludwig could think as he watched Magnus do his absurd handstand, flipping towards the bed and causing Ludwig to inch even closer to the headboard. That was so freaking creepy - and that was coming from a guy who scaled walls with his freaking fingernails. He could take gore and blood and splatter, but there was no way he was ever going to be able to get over that sort of freaky thing.
Then, of course, Magnus had to go right ahead and mention his ears - going far enough as to actually touch them. Ludwig would have smacked him away had he not been so distracted by that freaky spine, and as it was, Magnus only got a quick tug in before Ludwig reacted, face going bright red as he kicked out at Magnus. "Go die in a freaking pit!" He snapped, angry as hell.
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Post by magnus on Jan 14, 2012 22:10:26 GMT -5
In the jungle, the mighty jungle, The lion sleeps tonight Magnus had always prided himself with being the bigger person; the mature one of the duo, the one Epispect could actually depend on. However, there were times when he needed to drop it and just have a little fun. Unfortunately for Ludwig, this was one of those times. He had better hope the hotel maid had some guts, or else she’d probably puke as soon as she saw the state of the hotel room after they were done. When the blond got mean, he got mean. He nearly laughed out loud again when Ludwig did a half kick half flail in his general direction; Magnus quickly let go and dodged aside, sliding over the bed to the other side and grabbing his other ear. ”Nu-uh.” He clicked his tongue in the most condescending manner he could muster. ”You should’ve heard me coming a mile a way, with those ears of yours.” Low blow, but then again, Ludwig did shit like this all the time. He had to repay him in kind, after all. Another firm tug on the ear, this time as if pulling his head down to the bed instead of just playful. This little game would, of course, leave him with a few scars, but those would quickly be gone thanks to his shed skin ability. Hush my darling, don’t fear, my darling The lion sleeps tonight
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Post by ress1 on Jan 14, 2012 22:22:58 GMT -5
[atrb=width,162px][atrb=height,489px][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellpadding,5px,true][atrb=cellspacing,0px,true][atrb=background,http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx298/rainytango/reiner2-1.jpg,true] | The idea of having heard Magnus... well, he was going to be hearing something all right, and if he had any say, it was going to be Magnus's screams. Not that he won all that often, to be fair, but it was about an even tie. Half the time he won, half the time Mangus won, and he wouldn't have it any other way. "Do NOT touch the ears!" He snapped, lashing out hard and fast with his nails. So what if he might have accidentally removed Magnus's hand if it was a direct blow? The damn snake deserved it. Plus, direct blows were rare. No one ever got a direct blow on the other. If they did, they'd both probably be dead.
It didn't help that his ears were so damn sensitive. They had too many nerve endings, were far too sensitive. "All I can hear is your freaking bones cracking." He snapped, shifting up so he wasn't simply sitting on his ass as he moved onto his hands and lower legs, ready to jump Magnus if needed.
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Post by magnus on Jan 14, 2012 22:35:48 GMT -5
In the jungle, the mighty jungle, The lion sleeps tonight He had learned very early on that Ludwig’s ears were a sensitive subject, as well as being susceptible to touch. While others may have avoided having anything to do with them, Magnus went and sought them out. Why? Because sometimes, even a gentleman could be a complete and utter jerk. But of course, he’d never do this to other people. It was reserved just for his partner in crime, because he was special and because he got riled up so easily. Magnus saw the strike coming and quickly let go, but a Zangoose didn’t have speed for nothing. His nails caught along his forearm, gauging four long, bloody lines down the length. Thankfully, he had reacted well enough to twist his arm, making sure the scratches themselves weren’t too deep. However, the pain was enough to sting, and it was enough to begin to get his heart pumping and his adrenaline shots going. His thought process was switching over from just playing to getting into a fight. The blond hissed, feeling his gums itch as his fangs nearly pushed forward out of instinct. But no, he’d hold it back for now. ”Little bastard, you made me bleed.” And he said it as if it were some great insult, dripping red all over the mouldy carpet. He was wary, body tense and ready as Ludwig got into a position to spring at him. Hush my darling, don’t fear, my darling The lion sleeps tonight
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