[Fin] Backup

[TawnyAngel]

"But it has hot water, and electricity, and windows that are not repaired with tape and so on," Zevran pointed out with a smirk and an amiable shrug. "A little mess is not so bad." He remembered Abel's apartment seeming comfortable, though small to house two people and so many pokemon. It wasn't as though size mattered though - in this particular case - he just needed to get cleaned up and then sleep, maybe he would be allowed to sleep here on the floor? That sounded better than heading back to the warehouse.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Heh, that's true," he agreed with a wry smile. If his building's maintenance crew started repairing things with tape and the like, then he'd... well he wouldn't be able to move anywhere else with Alyssa on his back, but... Actually never mind; he didn't want to continue that depressing thought. Pushing it aside for now, he unlocked the door and pushed it open so they could enter. "Anyway like I said, I--"

"There you are!" An all-too-familiar voice exclaimed, and the smile vanished from Abel's face as he turned a baffled expression to Alyssa, who stood near the kitchen with her hands on her hips. Despite the impatient posture, she was beaming brightly at the both of them.

"Whaaat are you doing here?" The blond asked, though his gaze darted to Taavi in a silent question of why is she in here.

"Because I need to talk to you, silly! Taavi's been keeping me company though, so don't worry," she added in a voice that suggested she knew quite well he wouldn't have even deigned to worry about her at all.  

[TawnyAngel]

So he'd made coffee for Alyssa, because what else could he do other than stand around and hate her? No he didn't know where Abel was, he had expected Abel to be home when he got home from work and he'd texted him and he hadn't answered and he'd started worrying and then she had turned up and-!

"Um." Taavi looked from Abel, to Zevran with his bag, and then back again. He forced a smile. "Err, we weren't expecting you Zevran! Hi...." He did not look well. "I... texted you Abel but you didn't.... Um.... What happened?" Taavi put his cup of black coffee down and moved across the living space to... well to hover vaguely near the pair of blonds rather than anything useful but he was there if he was needed.

____________________

...Humm.

What was this then? Taavi awkward was not so strange but he caught the way Abel's gaze darted to the ranger as he asked why the woman was here. And the woman....

Zevran smiled brightly and laughed. "Well this is quite a party! I'm sorry to crash it but I have had a rather... rather interesting day." Zevran turned his smile onto Alyssa but he held back from giving his usual greeting, something was not right here and until he had a better idea of what was going on he intended to be cautious. "Zev, pleased to meet you, Abel has just rescued me from a mountain and a knife bird."  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Abel frowned, pocketed his keys, and pulled his phone out of his pocket. After tapping through a menu or two, his brows furrowed a bit. "So you did," he said, his tones level despite the fact he wanted nothing more than to groan at Alyssa's presence. "Sorry," the blond went on as he pocketed the device again and stepped fully into the apartment so he could shut the door behind him, "I was driving so I didn't even notice. Sonia, can you bring me the first aid kit please? But yeah, it's just as he said. Knife bird, Taavi; what kind of pokemon would fit that description d'you think?" As he talked, Abel maneuvered around Taavi to grab a chair from his table and set it down in the kitchen, then gestured for Zevran to sit in it.

Sonia arrived promptly with the first aid kit held firmly in her claws - the only one of Abel's many pokemon that was visible inside the apartment at the moment, too - and she gave Alyssa a wide berth as she headed into the kitchen toward her trainer.

The Zoroark may as well have been invisible for all the attention Alyssa paid her. Instead, the redhead beamed at Zevran. "It was a terribly dull party anyway, it needed crashing - and that sounds just like him, he's always bringing back homeless or injured things. Alyssa, Abel's girlfriend," she said as she stepped forward to offer her hand to the other blond, watching him closely as she did so, "pleasure to meet you too - Zevran, is it?"  

[TawnyAngel]

Oh, well, yep, that would be why he didn't look good then. "A knife bird?" Taavi repeated. "That sounds like a Skarmory to me. They're territorial and, well, they like meat and they're covered in metal plating and they have really sharp claws... and toothed beaks, and wings. Basically not something you want to mess with!"

And Alyssa was here. s**t. She wasn't going to... to take an interest in Zevran was she? Taavi tried not to be somebody who judged by appearances but, well, the guy had tattoos on his face and people who just lived their life and stayed in their lane didn't usually get tattoos on their face. Or perhaps he was just being a judgemental a**? He really hoped Alyssa didn't take an interest.

"Um, do you need any help there Abel?" he didn't know how much his friend knew about first aid, if he wasn't confident then he was happy - well, prepared and able - to step in. It couldn't be that bad if they were here rather than in an emergency room.

Zevran chuckled as unzipped his jacket and hung it on the back of the chair; his torso was wrapped with stringy webbing, stained red at the back. "You don't say!" he replied sounding somewhat amused as he sat down on the chair, sideways so that Abel would be able to look at his back.

"I suppose blood does liven things up," Zevran continued with a smirk up to Alyssa, shaking her proffered hand firmly but not so hard as to squeeze painfully. "And I for one am quite glad that he has such habits, if he didn't I would be trying not to bleed too much on public transportation right now. Yes though; Zevran or Zev, whichever you find rolls off the tongue more pleasingly." As he spoke Zevran started to pull the webbing off himself; it clung to his hands and to the wounds on his back as it came away but the pain was tolerable, especially if he kept himself distracted. Had Abel mentioned a girlfriend? He was pretty sure that he hadn't, and he certainly didn't seem excited to see her, not even a smile for her and you'd expect that even from somebody preoccupied with somebody bleeding in their apartment. Sonia had given her a very wide berth too and there were no other pokemon visible... Interesting.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Sounds like they make for fun times," Abel noted dryly as he grabbed the kitchen garbage bin and set it beside Zevran so they could discard any bloodied bandages or towels into it when they were done. "D'you have any tips for training something like that? And yeah, it'll be easier with two people." Though he dared not voice them, Abel's thoughts ran almost parallel alongside Taavi's.

Alyssa squeezed his hand and held it a good second or two longer than was necessary, her sharp gaze focusing on him as if to etch his features into her mind. "Zevran, hm?" Just for a moment or two, though, before she pulled away with her cheshire grin. That grin faltered and she retreated another step, her lip curling up and aiming a thoroughly disgusted look at the bloody wrappings Zevran so casually peeled off his back. "Ugh, that's disgusting."

"Oh please, don't act like you've never seen blood before," Abel said with a light sigh as he moved to help pull the webbing off, his fingers working as gently and carefully as possible while trying not to be too slow.

"Just because I have doesn't mean it's not gross," Alyssa countered, and shifted her weight to one hip while she studied the nails on one manicured hand.  

[TawnyAngel]

"Um, right." Taavi nodded and moved over to the sink to wash his hands thoroughly before returning to help with the webbing, choosing to ignore Alyssa's exclamation. Yeah, lots of blood was not nice, but it was more not nice for the person bleeding! b***h. "Good thinking with the string shot there," Taavi said for the sake of something to say. "I mean, not super clean probably but pretty effective in a pinch!"

Once the last of the webbing was removed and disposed of Taavi inspected the wounds underneath uncertainly; there were four cuts, two running vertically down each side of Zevran's back from the middle his his shoulders down to near the bottom of his rib cage. The wounds were deepest near the top, where they still bled lazily. If it were him he would definitely have gone to the emergency room for something like this but.... Well the bleeding wasn't fast? "Um, this will hurt a bit, sorry," Taavi said as he reached forward and tried to gently pinch the edges of one of the cuts together at its deepest point. "Well... the skin comes back together, that's good," Taavi said, trying to swallow down a queasy feeling. Having been trained to do stuff like this wasn't the same as actually doing it at all but he wasn't going to wimp out when he was actually able to help a bit.

"And err, training?" Taavi gave a slightly strained laugh. "Make sure it's not hungry! At first. And it learns to associate you with good things. From there you can start to build a relationship."

Zevran returned Alyssa's sharp gaze and broad grin with a charming smile and a cheeky wink. "That's right!" Now just why was she studying him so carefully? Once she was gone perhaps he would give Abel a gentle probing as it were. Ha!

Ah, and she didn't like the blood. Well that was just too bad wasn't it? Zevran gave Alyssa a faux hurt look. "You know that's not the reaction I usually get when I take my shirt off! Though I suppose this isn't really a shirt no? And perhaps blood is not the accent of the season either."

As Taavi poked at his back Zevran turned his head to look at the pair of men behind him and grinned. "Though two handsome men behind me when I take my shirt off isn't so bad. Ah, a great pity neither of you are single."  

[BlackFireKitsune]

With the webbing removed, Abel moved to mimic Taavi and thoroughly wash his hands before he even thought about touching any wounds. Once finished, he dried them off and grabbed a couple paper towels, scrunched them up and gently pressed them to the wounds that were still bleeding - once Taavi's hands were out of the way, of course - while his gaze drifted over each. The ones up top definitely looked worse than the bottom ones... He probably should've gotten stitches on some of these, but the blond had a sneaking suspicion that wouldn't happen - not in a hospital, at any rate. "The lower ones will probably heal over just fine on their own, but the deeper ones look like they could use stitches honestly," he said aloud, figuring it'd be best to voice the opinion rather than keep it to himself, "so I'm not sure how they'll do without them."

Training one of those apparently vicious knife-birds wasn't something he had any interest in so Abel instead focused on Zevran's wounds. Sonia stepped closer at her trainer's beckoning and took over holding the towel to the wounds that were still bleeding, while Abel grabbed a few more paper towels and ran them under water from the sink to wet them, as well as use a tiny bit of soap. "Alright, we're gonna clean these off now so they don't get infected," he warned the other blond as he shook off the excess water and folded the towels up into a more manageable size, "so sorry in advance because it'll probably hurt." Hell if he knew how much though. With that done, he squatted down on the floor to start wiping off the lowest ones first, since those looked the best comparatively, and since the higher ones were still bleeding.

Alyssa aimed a wide smirk at Zevran as she shifted her weight to her other hip, no longer disgusted by blood - for now. "Not really, no, and no, it isn't." At the reminder that he was still bleeding - not that she could even see it from where she stood - the redhead scrunched up her nose and repeated, "Gross." Zevran's comment earned an amused snort.

Oh, there were so many things he could think to say in response, but he had no desire to start with the playful banter with someone else in front of Alyssa, so Abel simply stayed quiet and kept cleaning.  

[TawnyAngel]

"Y-eeeeah," Taavi agreed with Abel slowly, choosing to ignore the attractive men comment because he really had no idea what do to with it. The flattery was nice? But. Um. Yeah. "I would... yeah, it would probably be a good idea to get stitches there," he added and as he spoke Taavi looked over at Abel; was that a thing that was going to happen? Well there was no harm in at least getting them clean right?

When Alyssa felt the need to repeat the word gross Taavi's lips pressed together in a thin line but he avoided looking at the woman, he wouldn't be able to keep the hate out of his expression if their gazes met. Anyway, even if he hadn't been avoiding looking at her he had more important things to do; wincing in pre-emptive sympathy he started to wipe the blood away from around the deeper wounds further up Zevran's back.

"Ah? Really? Humm. I don't suppose either of you are good with a needle and thread then? Or do you happen to know any tailors with a strong stomach?" Zevran asked jovially without much hope of the answer being yes. Damn. What was he going to do then? Just hope for the best? Perhaps he would have to.

"And don't worry about it," Zevran continued with a grin and another glance back at Abel. "What is the phrase, no pain no gain yes? I appreciate the assistance, truly, I won't squirm."

When Abel started cleaning the cuts Zevran was as good as his word; he tensed a little but otherwise his demeanour didn't change as he shot another charming smile over at Alyssa. "So what about those pokemon contests, eh? Do you follow them at all?" His sympathy for her finding his bleeding gross was absolutely nil but it amused him a little to try to engage her in idle chat under these circumstances, the incongruence was quite delightful.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

When Taavi looked at him for the stitches comment, Abel opted not to react. He might've if Alyssa wasn't there, but she was, so he didn't. Whether or not Zevran would go to the hospital to get stitches wasn't any of her business - or rather, whether he could afford to or not wasn't any of her business. ...sew up a wound himself? No thanks. Nope, not about to happen. "I'm afraid not--"

"Gross."

"--I can't sew myself, and I don't think--"

"Ew."

"--I know anyone who would--"

"That's gross," Alyssa interjected delightedly. "Why would--"

"Are you done?" Abel interrupted this time, halting his cleaning of Zevran's wounds to look up at his supposed girlfriend. The subdued, almost frosty look he received hinted that she wasn't too pleased to be asked that question, although Abel continued undeterred. "I know you want to talk, but now's not really the best time. We can talk later, yeah?"

Alyssa's frosty demeanor cooled substantially as the pair settled into a staring contest, a contest that filled the room with not an insignificant amount of tension.  

[TawnyAngel]

The undercurrent of tension in the room became a lot less 'under' Taavi and tensed along with it. He hoped Alyssa didn't get angry, he didn't want to think of what she'd do if she got angry; to Abel, him, maybe just to anyone who crossed her path. s**t. How had he got into this mess? He didn't want this to be an argument, he really didn't want this to be an argument, they were bad enough - awful - at any time but one involving Alyssa? No. Just no. All he could think of to do was to keep his eyes down and keep working quietly so that was what he did.


Humm. Well this was interesting wasn't it? Interesting like a car crash. Zevran's brows lifted slightly as Alyssa repeatedly interrupted Abel until he finally cut her off and as Taavi's fingers stilled on his back. With an atmosphere like this he would have his hand hovering near the holster of one of his weapons if he were in the company he was used to back home; that reminded him, he really ought to get himself a gun.

"Well, no matter, cleaning and bandaging will do fine I am sure" Zevran said casually into the silence. He then turned his head a bit to grin at Abel and add; "I will just be careful not to exert myself until the wounds are decently healed no matter how tempting it might be to do so with a handsome or beautiful person I might happen across, behind me or otherwise." With the mood as it was he didn't expect Abel to share in the joke but he wanted to look at his face to see if anything might be read in his expression.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Time seemed to slow down, to drag on forever, and Abel wished nothing more than for Alyssa to just leave. Preferably for good, to never hear from her again, but he knew that wouldn't happen. No, he had too much to pay for - like this, for instance. He'd definitely pay for this later. For now though, he tried to deal with it much the same as how he dealt with difficult pokemon on the ranch: Maintain eye contact, remain calm and collected, try to talk them down, and make no sudden movements. The only difference here was he actually liked the pokemon on the ranch.

...Zevran was talking, he knew he was, and he felt bad for essentially ignoring him. He would much rather talk and joke with the other blond than get into arguments with Alyssa, but unfortunately he couldn't at the moment.

As time continued to stretch on forever, another difference between Alyssa and the ranch pokemon occurred to him: The pokemon on the ranch eventually calmed down or backed off. Alyssa showed no signs of either, not with that cool, calculating expression on her face. Stubborn as she was, he knew she wouldn't give in first. No way in hell. "We can talk tomorrow," he suggested again before adding, "over dinner?"

Even though he broke the silence to ask, she let it hang there for a few more long moments, watching him critically, expression and frosty demeanor unchanging. Finally she said, "I'm picking the restaurant."

Abel relaxed just a fraction - a tiny fraction - and said, "Sure."

In the blink of an eye, Alyssa's icy behavior melted completely, and her usual Cheshire grin returned to aim at both Taavi and Zevran - as if the whole awkward, tense situation had never even happened. "Well that was fun, hm? See you boys around. It was nice meeting you Zevran," she added a little too cheerfully and, in a flurry of movement, she grabbed her tiny purse and left, slamming the door shut behind her.  

[TawnyAngel]

Bad, bad, bad, bad!...

And then she was gone. Although he relaxed a bit the look Taavi shot Abel was worried, Alyssa hadn't liked that and when she didn't like things.... He just hoped she didn't do anything more awful than usual and silently promised himself he'd keep track of where Abel went if he could, just in case she decided to have him beaten up again.

After the door slammed shut silence hung heavily in the air. Rather than breaking it Zevran tried to puzzle out what exactly was going on, this was clearly a lot more than a little trouble in paradise! And then there was Alyssa herself, that bright grin and cheerful tones which were turned on and off like a light.

Eventually Zevran turned his head forward again so that he wasn't looking at Abel or Taavi. "That was... interesting," he said wryly. "There is some problem? If you tell me it's not my business I will of course keep my pretty nose out but," he shrugged, the motion made the deeper wounds on his back deform slightly in a rather unpleasant manner, "I do owe you a favour Abel, if one might be needed." What sort of favour might be helpful in this situation - whatever it was - he was unsure but he did owe a debt and wouldn't mind paying it against Alyssa. He didn't like her smile, it was unpleasantly familiar.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Abel didn't meet Taavi's gaze. He knew his friend was looking at him - how could he not with what just happened? - but instead he exhaled slowly and focused on finishing cleaning up Zevran's wounds. Priorities; someone bleeding in his apartment took priority over worrying about what Alyssa would do to him later. It took him a moment or two of thought to puzzle out how to reply to the other blond, because he had to say something. The way Zevran phrased his offer, though, gave him pause. He wasn't particularly sure if he liked it, but for the time being he dismissed his feelings of misgiving. "Nah, don't worry about it," he finally said in response - though he didn't clarify which comment he referred to - and moved to press clean towels against any wounds that still bled.

Setting the previous several minutes aside, Abel changed the subject and said, "Once these stop bleeding we can bandage them, though you really should get them looked at if you can." Maybe he could give Dith a call... But would that be a good idea? It wasn't as if they were close friends or anything, he probably wouldn't appreciate a casual acquaintance calling him up to ask 'heeeyyyy I know we don't really hang out ever but would you mind checking over a friend of mine and maybe giving him stitches? You probably don't know him but you won't mind, right?' No, that probably wasn't a good thing to do.  

[TawnyAngel]

Though the atmosphere was lifting a little bit Taavi remained on edge, his skin was prickling and he half expected Alyssa to suddenly burst back in and drop a bomb on them. It wasn't likely that she would, at least he didn't think so, but that didn't make him feel any better.

"Yeah, you probably should," Taavi said a little hesitantly after a brief pause. "They're not ragged or anything but... well, yeah, if you can you should." No insurance? He guessed that was the problem, he hadn't caught what Zev did for a living - maybe not anything that gave benefits like that?

"Um... but if you want some help with training the Skarmory sometime I'd be happy to help," Taavi added as he worked; the bleeding had more or less stopped now, probably time for bandages.

Abel hadn't exactly told him to drop the matter but he hadn't invited further comment either and so Zevran decided it best to drop the issue, the offer was made and he assume that Abel would tell him if he ever did want to take it up.

"Alright," Zevran nodded slightly, "I will see if I can find somebody qualified to take a closer look; perhaps not today however, I am quite tired after all that excitement. Mmh, and I may take you up on that Taavi." Once the cuts were bandaged he would return to the warehouse unless Abel offered him somewhere to sleep here. Before Abel's stand of with Alyssa he would have asked if he could stay - the idea of getting all the way to his residence made him feel even more exhausted than he already did - but not now, the two roommates might have things they wished to discuss in private.