TITUS RAM TEST DRIVE

[emperorofthieves]

PROMPTS

1) A thief in the night. You're sleeping peacefully, when suddenly you're awoken by the faint sound of rustling. It's quiet, so it could just be the wind, or perhaps you've a pet that's making the rounds? Surely that's it. Yes, you had better go back to sleep and ignore the shadow that moves across your bedroom, searching for wherever you keep your valuables.

2) Backed into a corner. One wrong turn, and you found yourself down a dark alleyway with three--no, four men pointing daggers at you, one of them gesturing for you to open your coin purse. You're contemplating what to do when a hooded figure comes swinging down into the alley and lands hard on one of the muggers, followed by two daggers thrown at the shoulder and thigh of the other two nearby. Just as you're wondering what happened, more dark figures with knives come rushing into the alleyway. Looks like it's just you and the hooded man against these assailants now.

3) Wildcard. Make up your own scenario!


Note which scenario you're starting with in your comment header! You can message me on plurk at dolphinsdontmoo or on discord @ haeralis#8694.

Comments

[emperorofthieves]

[the hooded cloak he was wearing almost falls free in the process, it's now hanging off his arm holding her, so she can get a better look at him. he makes a "hup!" sound as they reach the roof and flips up onto it, letting her go and catching his breath]

Okay. Phew. That was the easy part. Are you ready for the hard part?

[fujimaru]

[ oh no he's hot

I mean ]

...Wait, what's the hard part?!

[emperorofthieves]

[oh no. he gives her a biiiig grin]

We're gonna go jump over there.

[he points to the building nearby with a lower roof than the one they're on now, so ostensibly they could make it but a straight jump between the two would be precarious, to say the least]

[fujimaru]

Oh no. Oh, no, no, no, noooooooooo--

[ Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo, the sad dog whines, even as she's bracing herself for this. ]

[emperorofthieves]

If we go it together, we might not make it. So we're going to have to do it one by one. Hey.

[he puts a hand on her shoulder]

What's your name?

[fujimaru]

Ritsuka...!

[ She's going to fall and die and that will be incredibly difficult to explain later, but she is still a good girl who can (belatedly) introduce herself. ]

Hi.

[emperorofthieves]

Ritsuka. I'm Titus. You're going to be fine, just watch.

[he takes the grappling hook and attached rope and flings it across to the other side of the building, and hands her the end of the rope]

You can use this to swing across. You just have to hold on tight.

[fujimaru]

I'm gonna go splat, and then I'll have to explain it to everyone...

[ But like before, even as she complains, she takes the rope, looking at the building and swallowing hard. Okay. Okay! You can do this, Ritsuka! Don't look down, Ritsuka! ]

Next time, just pick me up and throw me as a projectile, okay?

[emperorofthieves]

You're not gonna go splat, I promise. I'll protect you.

[squeezes her shoulder before letting go...........and literally just, freestyle flinging himself across the gap between the buildings. WHO NEEDS SAFETY PRECAUTIONS]

[fujimaru]

Worry about yourself, too!!

[ Is all she can yelp before he goes. And then she has to take a couple more deep breaths before she grips the rope, as tightly as she can, and takes the leap.

It's kind of tempting to close her eyes, but she doesn't, because otherwise she's pretty sure she actually would go splat. ]

[emperorofthieves]

[there's a few heart-pounding moments while she's in midair that it feels like she isn't going to make it, and titus scrambles to hold the rope while she swings--and she starts to descend too quickly, titus panicking and reaching his arms out towards her so she can grab onto him, grab onto anything]

Shit--!

[fujimaru]

[ At least, for all of her hesitation before, Ritsuka does have some self-preservations instincts that kick in at a time like this. This isn't the first time where it's been uncomfortably close, and as soon as he's in arm's reach, she grabs for him, her expression set in determination, rather than panic. No dying for her, today. ]

[emperorofthieves]

[as soon as their hands clasp he's hauling her onto the roof and letting out a peal of laughter]

You made it!

[fujimaru]

[ She takes a couple of automatic, wobbly steps, then sways, grabbing for his arm again to stay upright. But a beat later, she's laughing too. ]

Yeah, somehow...!

[emperorofthieves]

See? What did I tell ya!

[he catches her and holds her upright until she can stand without wobbling]

[fujimaru]

Yeah, yeah, you were right.

[ She takes a few deep breaths, like she's shaking out the unease, then grins. Now that it's over, she can relax. Ish. ]

You were really cool back there, Titus!

[emperorofthieves]

Heh... I know.

[he winks at her, which... doesn't work, when he only has one eye, but the point is, he tried]

[fujimaru]

[ It's okay, she got it. ]

Next time, though, I'd prefer not having to do wild jumps like that. It's bad for my heart.

[emperorofthieves]

You did good, though.

[he leads her into the building from the rooftop, which turns out to be a secret hideout spot that isn't accessible from anywhere but the roof! convenient, that]

We can lay low here for a bit until the area gets cleared out.

[fujimaru]

I'm pretty flexible when I need to be.

[ Even if it means crying a little along the way. She follows him at a trot, though she does glance around briefly as they duck inside. ]

Eventually, probably, people are going to be looking for me... I'm probably gonna get it from them.

[emperorofthieves]

[the interior looks like an old dusty warehouse at first, but there is a corner with some boxes for sitting on. there's a lantern on one of the boxes that does have some oil in it, though]

So, you think you know why you were being targeted?

[fujimaru]

I've got a pretty good guess, yeah.

[ IT'S THE SAME REASON AS IT ALWAYS IS. Or at least, she's pretty sure of that. She perches on one of the boxes, pressing her fingertips together. ]

It tends to happen a lot, wherever I go.

[emperorofthieves]

You wanna talk about it?

[he takes a seat on a box opposite her]

[fujimaru]

It's going to sound completely fake, I'm warning you in advance.

[ That's not a no. ]

[emperorofthieves]

Try me.

[he just grins]