[ maybe one day the entity will pull the biggest april fools' prank and do a little switcheroo. maybe it'll be four armed survivors chasing down one unarmed, vulnerable killer.
highly unlikely, though. ]
She doesn't have anything I want, except for booze. Have you seen her wine collection? Her bed?
[ she wolf-whistles and shoots him a shit-eating grin. she doesn't have to tell him that imai is really good at keeping her mouth shut, doesn't take yui's bait even when she's insulting her. just shuts her right up with a kill so swift that it's just so... boring. ]
But no. She's not nearly as fun to piss off as you.
[ he knows she's got a lot - at least, from a minimalist perspective. the wine cabinet is about her only positive feature to him. more than a few survivors have made trades with him stealing from her collection. not that he's a wine guy. it's just that anything alcoholic is generally a good trade.
but it annoys him - infuriates him, actually - that he's "more fun" to piss off. he turns to look at yui, the glare mostly hidden behind the mask. ]
How long you want this deal to go on?
[ he's already thinking about setting more traps around the cars, just for her. and that should be a bad thing. not about the traps, but that he's devolving to that level of petty payback. he should just kill her, like he used to. trespassers weren't allowed. one wrong move and they were lucky to die fast.
things have changed, and he knows that. it just irritates him that he's the one who's changed with it. ]
[ it's amazing he's asking her at all. actually, it's even more of a wonder that he's bothered to entertain her her questions and engage in a civil conversation with her to begin with. is this ✨character development✨ or has the trapper gone soft?
she'd like to test her theory on the latter and feigns contemplation for all of ten, twenty seconds before cocking her head to the side: ]
Why does it matter I want?
[ yui gives him a once-over and crosses her arms, her wrench tucked into the crook of her elbow. haha she's not on guard or anything!!!! ]
You can call it off whenever you want and I'll just go back to taking parts from your traps. [ even if she steps in them first... ]
[ he doesn't move, just watches her carefully. waiting for that wrench to be a problem - or try, anyway. ]
If there's a way to stop you fucking with them, I'll take it.
[ he's been sick of that for ages, but the simple fact is that killing them over and over again hasn't changed anything. they just get worse. so if there's another way to handle it ... ]
But I don't have to keep takin' shit from you while I let you be.
[ not ... that he has a real solution to that, either. walking away is soft. killing her voids the deal, and won't change anything. should he just shove her in the trunk of the car? it's an option. ]
Thought you wanted to try and get that running, anyway.
[ the wrench comes up, except it doesn't fly out of her hand like he might expect it to(?). she just points it in his direction. ]
You started it. I was just answering your question.
[ her tone tiptoes the line between accusatory and teasing, especially now that she's no longer waving her potential weapon around, although she doesn't let go of it either. ]
Anyway, I think you know just as well as I do that no matter how good I fix her up, she's not going to run without any fuel, unless you have some of that just lying around.
[ but god, does it feel good to touch and tinker with something that isn't a generator, or even his stupid traps for that matter. ]
Like I said, I just wanted something to keep my hands busy with. [ she points at the one that she did step in earlier with a nod. ] But if you don't want me on your property, Macmillan, and if you wanna keep it that way... Do you have any booze?
[ isn't that what they all want. a distraction. a way to pretend this isn't their life now. a way to make his life miserable. not that he's the only one, but.
he watches yui in silence for a long few seconds, debating how he should answer that question, or if he should answer it at all. ]
No.
[ half true. he does have some, but it's so little he's not about to share it - or give away that it's there. ]
When I do, I get it from your side. Peace offerings to get across my land in one piece.
[ and for other reasons. mostly that, though. and he accepts it, because encouraging less insane and destructive behavior is usually worth it, at least far as his traps are concerned. ]
[ she squints at him, because there's no way in hell the entity's little elves don't have booze in their possession in some sort of capacity... but she doesn't press him for the actual answer. mostly because she believes the peace offering bit, for most part. she bargained for way more than just safe passage, though — she wanted a visitor's pass to access his land freely. ]
As it stands, this [ yui gestures to the red corvette. ] is the only thing stopping me from taking your shit apart.
[ she doesn't care if he's going to rip her arm off and beat her with it because of how smug she looks right now. ]
You're not getting sick of me already, are you? Shame. We were just starting to get to know each other.
[ the temptation to just kill her is strong. before there were so many people here, he wouldn't have the control to stop himself. hell, he wouldn't have made a deal like this in the first place. but when every hour that isn't an hour drags on forever, and killing becomes repetitive even if it's still enjoyable, things like self-control start creeping back in.
he can't keep them all off his land. better to take opportunities where he can. even if they're insufferable. ]
Was sick of you before you ever got here.
[ he turns his back to her and gets back to his own work. the tower's not going to stop itself from collapsing into a pile of rubble. ]
Be less of a little shit and I might be able to find somethin' to get that thing working.
[ the only reason that isn't an outright lie is because of the word 'might'. he might be able to do it. in the same way he might be able to get them all out of this place. ]
[ yui snorts at that. it's a real pain in the ass that macmillan can be funny. luckily, she's going to be taking that admission to herself to the grave. anyway, she's pretty sure he's just saying that to shut her up. ]
Easier said than done, but I'll give it a go.
[ regardless, it works if only because there is something to be said about how he's just leaving her alone, and in yui's case, it is not a damn thing. she keeps her mouth shut.
she takes apart the engine in silence, glancing every so often at his back to find him exactly doing what he was doing minutes or hours ago: trowel in hand, smoothing over cracks in the tower.
she does not speak unless spoken to, and when she leaves, she does not say goodbye. it'll be as if she was never there, the parts messily tucked back under the hood for next time... except she does leave her toolbox on top of the car. ]
[ she's not wrong. he's not even sure he can do it. but it shuts her up, which was the whole point, and in fairness he doesn't actually have to live up to his words. after all, he only said he might.
in silence, he works, almost able to forget she's there except for the sounds from her disassembling the engine and the knowledge of the closed trap she stepped into, so close at hand. evan manages to ignore both long enough for her to leave. when he turns around after a while, she's gone. the trap is still there and the car's slightly more busted than it was before. and the toolbox is there. her mark on his territory.
at this point, he'll keep to his word if other people do. she plays nice, and he'll be something resembling tolerant. but the toolbox grates on his nerves.
he leaves it be when he makes his way back to the mine, fairly certain that someone is going to run off with it. he makes sure to reset the trap before he goes, too. maybe she'll step in it again, and maybe she'll catch a thief. or he will. time will tell. ]
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no subject
highly unlikely, though. ]
She doesn't have anything I want, except for booze. Have you seen her wine collection? Her bed?
[ she wolf-whistles and shoots him a shit-eating grin. she doesn't have to tell him that imai is really good at keeping her mouth shut, doesn't take yui's bait even when she's insulting her. just shuts her right up with a kill so swift that it's just so... boring. ]
But no. She's not nearly as fun to piss off as you.
no subject
but it annoys him - infuriates him, actually - that he's "more fun" to piss off. he turns to look at yui, the glare mostly hidden behind the mask. ]
How long you want this deal to go on?
[ he's already thinking about setting more traps around the cars, just for her. and that should be a bad thing. not about the traps, but that he's devolving to that level of petty payback. he should just kill her, like he used to. trespassers weren't allowed. one wrong move and they were lucky to die fast.
things have changed, and he knows that. it just irritates him that he's the one who's changed with it. ]
no subject
she'd like to test her theory on the latter and feigns contemplation for all of ten, twenty seconds before cocking her head to the side: ]
Why does it matter I want?
[ yui gives him a once-over and crosses her arms, her wrench tucked into the crook of her elbow. haha she's not on guard or anything!!!! ]
You can call it off whenever you want and I'll just go back to taking parts from your traps. [ even if she steps in them first... ]
no subject
If there's a way to stop you fucking with them, I'll take it.
[ he's been sick of that for ages, but the simple fact is that killing them over and over again hasn't changed anything. they just get worse. so if there's another way to handle it ... ]
But I don't have to keep takin' shit from you while I let you be.
[ not ... that he has a real solution to that, either. walking away is soft. killing her voids the deal, and won't change anything. should he just shove her in the trunk of the car? it's an option. ]
Thought you wanted to try and get that running, anyway.
no subject
You started it. I was just answering your question.
[ her tone tiptoes the line between accusatory and teasing, especially now that she's no longer waving her potential weapon around, although she doesn't let go of it either. ]
Anyway, I think you know just as well as I do that no matter how good I fix her up, she's not going to run without any fuel, unless you have some of that just lying around.
[ but god, does it feel good to touch and tinker with something that isn't a generator, or even his stupid traps for that matter. ]
Like I said, I just wanted something to keep my hands busy with. [ she points at the one that she did step in earlier with a nod. ] But if you don't want me on your property, Macmillan, and if you wanna keep it that way... Do you have any booze?
no subject
he watches yui in silence for a long few seconds, debating how he should answer that question, or if he should answer it at all. ]
No.
[ half true. he does have some, but it's so little he's not about to share it - or give away that it's there. ]
When I do, I get it from your side. Peace offerings to get across my land in one piece.
[ and for other reasons. mostly that, though. and he accepts it, because encouraging less insane and destructive behavior is usually worth it, at least far as his traps are concerned. ]
no subject
[ she squints at him, because there's no way in hell the entity's little elves don't have booze in their possession in some sort of capacity... but she doesn't press him for the actual answer. mostly because she believes the peace offering bit, for most part. she bargained for way more than just safe passage, though — she wanted a visitor's pass to access his land freely. ]
As it stands, this [ yui gestures to the red corvette. ] is the only thing stopping me from taking your shit apart.
[ she doesn't care if he's going to rip her arm off and beat her with it because of how smug she looks right now. ]
You're not getting sick of me already, are you? Shame. We were just starting to get to know each other.
no subject
he can't keep them all off his land. better to take opportunities where he can. even if they're insufferable. ]
Was sick of you before you ever got here.
[ he turns his back to her and gets back to his own work. the tower's not going to stop itself from collapsing into a pile of rubble. ]
Be less of a little shit and I might be able to find somethin' to get that thing working.
[ the only reason that isn't an outright lie is because of the word 'might'. he might be able to do it. in the same way he might be able to get them all out of this place. ]
sorry 4 slow... rl kicked my ass but 🎀? 👀
Easier said than done, but I'll give it a go.
[ regardless, it works if only because there is something to be said about how he's just leaving her alone, and in yui's case, it is not a damn thing. she keeps her mouth shut.
she takes apart the engine in silence, glancing every so often at his back to find him exactly doing what he was doing minutes or hours ago: trowel in hand, smoothing over cracks in the tower.
she does not speak unless spoken to, and when she leaves, she does not say goodbye. it'll be as if she was never there, the parts messily tucked back under the hood for next time... except she does leave her toolbox on top of the car. ]
👍 make him suffer yui he deserves it
in silence, he works, almost able to forget she's there except for the sounds from her disassembling the engine and the knowledge of the closed trap she stepped into, so close at hand. evan manages to ignore both long enough for her to leave. when he turns around after a while, she's gone. the trap is still there and the car's slightly more busted than it was before. and the toolbox is there. her mark on his territory.
at this point, he'll keep to his word if other people do. she plays nice, and he'll be something resembling tolerant. but the toolbox grates on his nerves.
he leaves it be when he makes his way back to the mine, fairly certain that someone is going to run off with it. he makes sure to reset the trap before he goes, too. maybe she'll step in it again, and maybe she'll catch a thief. or he will. time will tell. ]