metalogs | [Closed] Judged By the Company He Keeps

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[Closed] Judged By the Company He Keeps

Who: Huvrye

effiomsfavorite and those close to him
What: Guess who's finally getting shot!
When: April 14-15
Where: Jason's safehouse, Huvrye's apartment
Content Warnings: Violence, gore, probably some PTSD, further CWs marked in threads as needed

Birds of a Feather (Narrative)

For all that Huvrye has been warning people against associating with the Red Hood, citing just how dangerous the gang leader can be, the consequences of his actions sure do blindside him.

Because he's been associating with the Red Hood - three times over a span of months, but two of them very visible and the third well known in crime circles - and people have noticed. Specifically the D'Amico family, who are only on Huvrye's radar under 'organized crime; do not interact.'

Which is why he's not prepared to find half a dozen of them waiting for him as he lands in an alley just outside of neutral territory, demanding he come with them and brandishing guns when he refuses.

Great. Wonderful.

The fight, such as it is, is mercifully short. There are no metas among the people the D'Amicos sent - they'd probably thought he couldn't do much more than fly, and weren't prepared to face down everything a Lasardhin homunculus is capable of bringing to combat. Two of them are down from broken spines or broken skulls, brick walls cracked and broken from where they'd died on impact. Three are torn apart, missing limbs or chunks of chest or half a head as a result of Huvrye bringing his alchemy to bear. The last has been shot with his own gun.

Huvrye stands, leaning heavily against a wall, covered in blood both his and not, with a pair of gunshot wounds in his gut for his trouble. Great. This is exactly what he needs tonight. With that much gunfire, someone's going to investigate sooner or later, which means he needs to get out of here soon. Neutral territory is close, and with it the Descendant. He can hole up in the safehouse overnight and heal for a bit. He shrugs his jacket off, wraps it tightly around his waist, around the wounds, and ties it off as best he can, and activates the magical disguise hidden under his sleeve. Wings hidden, hair and eyes and ears different, and a full foot shorter in appearance, he heads out of the alley looking like a normal human, walking quickly, pushing through the pain until he makes it to the safehouse (carefully, carefully, making sure he hadn't been followed) and slips inside.

1. Jumpscare (Closed to Dylan)

Thankfully, there'd been no one in the safehouse when Huvrye had arrived, and he'd set about taking care of himself - laying out towels in the corner, cleaning out his wounds as best he can, and applying pressure. He'll heal - it'll take a bit, but he's got enough energy that it'll happen sooner rather than later - but he's not going anywhere else tonight. After a couple of hours, the bleeding stops, and he passes out on top of the towels, fully intending to sleep the wounds off.

He's still very much asleep in the morning...lying on the floor, on bloodied towels, in bloodied clothes. Not the best impression to give anyone heading into the safehouse without context.

2. Just a Flesh Wound (Closed to Huvrye's friends)

He spends the morning recovering in the safehouse (charging his phone, apologizing yet again to Dylan, doing his best to make sure the D'Amicos don't know where he's gone to ground) before he heads home in the early afternoon. He leaves in disguise, drops it to fly back to his neighborhood, and activates another disguise to get in the front door of his apartment building. He sighs heavily when he walks in the door. He needs to clean up. He needs to get something to eat. He needs to rest - the bleeding may have stopped, but it'll still be a bit before his wounds are fully healed. And he needs to talk to quite a few people - he hadn't realized so many people had noticed he'd gone missing.

(It'd only been a day. They cared that much?)

He closes the door behind him and heads towards his room.

[I'm open to Huvrye's friends having heard from other friends about his situation/injury - if we haven't already talked about it and you think yours would know/care, let me know and we'll do a thing!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

It's not okay. You were shot.

[He knows what that feels like, remembers the burning pain and feeling his life draining away.]

[Maybe Huvrye can heal but it's still a miserable experience and the thought of Huvrye going through it is making it so he can hear his blood pumping in his ears, his blood pressure spiking.]

[He doesn't bite when Huvrye pats the cushion. He doesn't simmer down and relax. Instead he rearranges Huvrye's pillows so they'll be more comfortable if he needs to lay or lean against them. Then grabs the blanket and unfolds it over his lap.]

Do you have tea? I can make you some tea.

It wasn't the first time. I know how to handle it.

[It probably won't be the last either, but he's not about to say that. Not to someone who'd nearly died from their gunshot wound.]

[Hunter doesn't sit, keeps working, and something about it doesn't sit right with Huvrye. He's never been cared for like this - he's gotten medical attention, sure, but he's never had someone doing things for him that he's perfectly capable of taking care of himself. It's weird, and it's weird that it's Hunter doing it, and the whole thing just rubs him wrong.]

[When Hunter finishes unfolding the blanket, Huvrye reaches out and takes Hunter's shoulders in his hands, firmly but with more than enough wiggle room for Hunter to escape if he needs to. He wants Hunter's attention; he doesn't want to hurt or scare him.]

I don't want tea. I want you to sit and talk with me.

[Hunter wants to fuss more because there has to be something else that he wants or doesn't even know he wants yet. Soup. Tea. More books.]

[He still doesn't sit yet.]

I just...I just want to make sure you're taken care of. Are you sure there isn't anything else you need first?

[He thinks about the state Huvrye might have been in when he got home.]

Did you get any blood in your apartment? I can clean it up.

[Huvrye's got to be in too much pain to scrub any floors and he knows Leo lives here and Huvrye might not want him to be disturbed by it. Hunter's seen enough blood in his lifetime, due to many, many injuries long before his gun shot to still be unphased by it.]

I can't use any Potion Coven cleaning potions here but I bet humans have some kind of equivalent.

[It just really doesn't matter that he was laying in a pool of blood himself only a few months ago. This is how it works when someone you care about needs attending to.]

[Especially when it's someone so like him. Especially when Huvrye has decided he loves him. Especially when so far that love has had no sharp edges. It's just starting to feel like what family is supposed to be. He never dreamed he'd find something like a Grimwalker brother. Not when they all were dead before Hunter even dragged himself out of the earth. But here he is.]

[And even if his fake family member lied and used him, it doesn't change that this is how you're supposed to take care of people you care about. Now he can just direct it at people who are worth it.]

[This has gone from rubbing him the wrong way to feeling well and truly wrong. There's something about Hunter's desperation to help, his unwillingness to stop, that's setting off alarm bells in Huvrye's head, even if he can't quite put the why of it all into words. Something about this is wrong, and it needs to stop.]

Hunter.

[His grip on Hunter's shoulders tightens for just a moment - not enough to hurt or stop him from escaping, but enough to add emphasis - before it loosens again. Hopefully it's enough to get - and keep - his attention.]

Sit down. Please.

[Huvrye obviously really wants him to sit down, so without anything else to fuss over, Hunter finally takes a seat next to him.]

[He doesn't really get comfortable. It's almost like he's waiting to be called on.]

Okay. I can keep you company for a while.

Thank you.

[He's seated but not settled, and that feeling of wrongness does not go away. At least Hunter is willing to listen to him, if only this far.]

[He's silent for a moment, trying to figure out the best way to go about asking what he wants to know before deciding that the direct route is probably the best choice.]

How did you find out about this?

[Because he sure hadn't been planning on telling Hunter, and if the information is out there and easily accessible, he needs to know.]

[He looks a little surprised Huvrye didn't immediately guess.]

Dylan told me.

[Teens talk on their phones, old man.]

[He sighs in relief, then winces at the movement.]

Okay. Good. Is he doing okay?

[Checking in is the least Huvrye can do after scaring him half to death.]

Shaken up, I think. Especially after...

[His hand goes to his arm, the one with his healed-up injury.]

But okay.

[He seems relieved so what was he worried about?]

Why? Were you worried about something?

Good.

[Shaken up isn't great, but it's better than the panic Dylan had displayed earlier that morning, so Huvrye will take it.]

I just don't want the whole world knowing about this.

[He's not discounting the D'Amico family making another play, and the likelihood of that goes up if they know he's injured.]

Why?

[Hunter narrows his eyes slightly. What is he worried about?]

Is whoever did this still after you?

[...this conversation was going to happen sooner or later, wasn't it. He can't lie to Hunter about this any more than he could've lied to Leo, and like Leo, Hunter will probably jump at the chance to help him. He's going to need to handle that when it happens.]

I don't know. A group came after me because they thought I was involved with the Red Hood and that kidnapping me would flush him out. The people I ran into last night are dead, but I don't know if that's going to be enough of a deterrent to keep the larger group from trying again.

I don't want them knowing where I live or that I'm injured right now. I don't want them thinking it's a good opportunity to try again.

[It's minimal information, but enough to get the point across. Now to deal with however Hunter reacts. Given how he'd been acting not two minutes earlier, Huvrye is already worried.]

[Okay, his first takeaway from that at least his attackers are dead. Hunter doesn't have a strong edge of acting out violence but he also isn't about to judge him for killing in self defense and his would-be murders themselves being gone is a relief.]

[And fortunately he's not the type to go running head first at an enemy. He understands the value of caution and also getting the heck out of dodge. Running from Belos meant he'd lived to fight another day.]

Who's the Red Hood?

[Hunter hasn't met him yet, not as the Red Hood.]

[(You didn't exactly tell him about that life-changing field trip you two had, Huvrye.)]

[That...is a better reaction than Huvrye had been hoping for. There may still be trouble on the horizon, but for now, Huvrye will take this.]

He's a gang leader in the city, and he wears a red mask. The part of the city near the Descendant is all gang territories, and he's the in charge of one of them. Don't get near him - he's dangerous, and I don't want you involved in this.

[(Hunter doesn't need to know about said murder party. It had gone well for exactly one person, and that's the person Huvrye is trying to convince everyone he cares about to avoid.)]

[He doesn't plan on seeking him out unless he has to. But...something about that sticks out in his mind. The gangs being centered around the Descendant. He'd brought it up to Eda when talking about going with her.]

[It was part of why he had opted out of staying with Jason, even though he might have taken him in.]

[The safehouse at the Descendant. Where it didn't seem like Jason actually lived. Something about it had rubbed him the wrong way.]

[It isn't that he's made a connection between Jason and Red Hood, though.]

[More... Jason and gangs. Is he more than just a bar owner? Is he a superhero or vigilante with a base in a gang-heavy area? Is that why the first aid kits?]

[One thing he doesn't consider is that he's Red Hood. He wouldn't be a criminal gang leader. But he's just letting it stew for a while.]

Do you have someone else to help you if you have to figure out a way to fight them?

No. I don't want anyone else involved in this. I can handle it.

[It's firm. Nobody needs to get hurt because of him.]

[Hunter rolls his eyes at him.]

Right, because it's so easy to take down an entire gang by yourself.

[He used to pretty much be a cop, Huvrye. That doesn't mean he should help, but it does mean he's not easy to bullshit into thinking one person can stop an entire gang.]

Even if you don't want me helping, you should still find someone that can. Maybe an adult hero in the Alliance? Especially if you can find someone familiar with the criminal organizations in the city.

[Look, after the fight he'd had with Leo this morning, he's just happy Hunter isn't insisting on joining him. He'll take the sass over round two.]

I'm not planning on taking them down. I want them to either forget I exist or decide I'm not worth it.

[Given the half a dozen corpses he'd left in an alleyway last night, he's probably closer to the latter.]

[Though Hunter does have a point. He sighs, then winces. The bullet holes cannot heal soon enough.]

The Alliance is probably my best bet, as long as I can keep it from getting back to Fantastic.

[He seriously doubts Fantastic will take an interest, but you never know with someone like that.]

You might not be lucky enough for them to forget you exist, so you have to be ready to deal with that.

[He wants him to be ready to commit to getting help if he gets targeted again.]

[He notices the wince. He doesn't like the wince.]

Are you sure you don't need anything? [He starts to stand up again.] Like maybe some ice?

Believe me, I know. I'm going to be a lot more careful about where I land from here on in.

[Contacting the Alliance is an option...and come to think of it, so is contacting the Hood and giving him a heads up (and leaning on him to try to fix this, if he can). If the number he has doesn't work, he can always call Jason and ask how he hired the Hood in the first place.]

[Hunter moves, and Huvrye puts a hand on his shoulder - firm enough to indicate that Hunter should stay, but not enough pressure to actually keep him there if he wants to go.]

I'm sure.

[He looks almost frustrated at being held there, mostly because it's sort of his job to find a way to help isn't it? That's what you do with a family member who's hurt.]

[He sits down again, still looking as unsettled as earlier. So he keeps trying to problem solve.]

You should arrange a check in with someone. Just... so they know to get help if they don't hear from you.

[Knowing Huvrye, he won't want to burden his kids with it but there are other adults.]

I've actually already got one with Leo - we check in with each other pretty frequently. He knew something was wrong when I missed one, and he got help.

[Not that Leo or Mark had been able to find him, but that wasn't the point; the point had been for Leo to have someone to take care of him if something happened to Huvrye. As far as Huvrye is concerned, it had worked as intended.]

[Not that Hunter needs to know that.]

Did you want one too? I wouldn't mind hearing from you a little more often, if you're up for it.

[Said with a small smile; that much, at least, is entirely true.]

[Hunter nods.]

I'd feel a lot better knowing that I'll notice if something is wrong.

I think Eda would be willing to help look for you.

I know you don't want me involved so I'll try to stay out of it. [A pause.] Although I can't promise to stay back if you're in trouble and I'm the only one around.

Okay, I'll get one started. Though you should probably let Eda know before you volunteer her.

[He doesn't think she'd object, but she should still definitely know.]

[And then Hunter continues on, and he sighs again. Hunter and Leo both care enough to put themselves in danger over him, and he can't let them do that.]

When it comes to this, I need you to. If they're willing to target me to get to the Hood, they'd probably be willing to target you to get to me, and I'm not letting that happen.

[Hunter frowns.]

I understand the risks.

It would be different if I wasn't old enough to. Or if I hadn't lived the kind of life that lets me understand how dangerous people like that can be.

I know you can't stand the idea of me getting hurt but that goes both ways.

Besides, I can always improvise a disguise. And I've been talking to Eda about finding an amulet that creates illusion magic. We think we can find something up for trade in Sunset Falls.

Edited 2023-04-16 22:00 (UTC)

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