we all have our reasons.

kieran fox. 25. ex soldier.

[kieranfox]

                          Something’s off — Fox just cannot pinpoint exactly what it is. His greetings had only barely been answered, and if he hadn’t known any better, he would have guessed it an absolutely reasonable consequence of their failed canvassing prior to it. They’d already been over that, however, and Angel had not at all been as bothered as he’d initially feared ( which had only caused Fox’s desire to succeed next time grow even stronger ).

But if the proverbial thunderclouds chasing after their boss are not a result of that, something worse must be troubling him. After a while of studying the man in silence; trying to piece the puzzle together, Fox finally surrenders to his curiosity — and his need to make up for previous mistakes. “ If it’s anything I can be of assistance with, you know you need only say the words, and I’ll gladly take care of it. ” 

@nconangel​

[kieranfox]

jupitermerc​:

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐇𝐈𝐓𝐒 𝐇𝐈𝐌 𝐈𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐌𝐄𝐋𝐋,  pungent old peanuts and the sickly sweet scent of spilled liquor. jace’s nose scrunches up the second they step foot into the place: for all the world, he’s smelt immensely worse things in his life, growing up beneath the slums and then again in the corps ––– but nothing quite compared to a bar after the summer solstice. the crunch of shells under his boots serve as a reminder.

still, they’ve got work to do, and a hand reaches out to lightly rest at fox’s elbow to slow him as his own eyes sweep the establishment, catching on the only man upright besides the staff quickly enough. his gaze hardens, and he speaks low.    ❛ how’re we doing this ? ❜    he asks, finally tearing his eyes away from their target to catch fox’s own, tilt of his chin slightly raised to address the other.    ❛ the last time i let you talk, you were nearly dragon food. ❜

                       After getting into two consecutive fights within less than a day ( granted, neither were his fault — entirely ), being paired with Jace feels like an absolute blessing. A possible way of restoring his reputation and proving his worth to ROBIN CO. One would expect the SOLDIER to be a nervous wreck by now, but the truth could not be any further from it. Contrary to his partner, there’s a spark in discoloured eyes; lips curved into a hint of a grin. Without the prying gazes of certain individuals at the company, it is as if part of his freedom has been returned to him. He does not share the same concerns that Jace throws at him, convinced that a mission carried out by the two of them cannot lead to anything but success. 

“ Yeah, yeah. You really did save my life there, and I am positive you’ll do it again should I need you to, ” Fox speaks, teasing his friend with a playful nudge. “ Come on, now. This should be a piece of cake. Trust me. ” It is his turn to place his hand over Jace’s arm, dragging him along towards their target — only to realise that he indeed does not have a plan. Except improvising. “ Another round of whatever this guy is having, please, ” Fox calls to the bartender. He pays the bill directly, thanks the lady with a charming smile, and then turns to the stranger to pass him his drink. “ Cheers to surviving The Stygian, buddy — and to being the last man standing in this disaster area. You must be one hell of a fighter. ”

[kieranfox]

jupitersummon​:

         In his long life, Belladonna has been called many things by SOLDIERs. Lizard is among the more tepid of insults. He has heard them all. Lizard, reptile, beast, monster, worm. Fifty two years ago, he was in possession of a commanding officer that liked to call him snake. He has heard worse. So much worse. So it’s not that word that makes him react; it’s the other word that does it. Pet.

His sunglasses have barely finished shattering underneath Fox’s boot when Belladonna moves, his palm jamming up against the soft, vulnerable underside of Fox’s jaw, fingers clenched tight around the human’s cheeks. He tilts Fox’s neck back until it strains, and leans in close, a barely restrained snarl baring sharp teeth.

“For what you just called me, I would extract an apology from you,” he hisses. “Willingly or by force, it matters not.” He exhales, the sound like a far-off earthquake, too-cold breath hitting Fox’s cheek. “Now say you’re sorry.”

                   Had Belladonna meant to scare him, his attempts are proven fruitless by the steadiness of Fox’s heartbeat. It does not fasten its pace; does not skip a beat — it does not change any more than the rest of his composure does. In human form, Belladonna hardly seems like much of a threat to the soldier. Common sense would argue that he’d be wise not to underestimate the summon, but arrogance beats the little voice of reason inside of his head. Fox is certain that  the same pride is evident in his eyes, unblinking. Even from the uncomfortable angle he is coerced into.

That is not to say that he isn’t bothered by the fingers currently digging into his skin. Not fear; annoyance — yet despite it all, he cannot help but to scoff at the ridiculous command that his cold breath carries. “ So you do have a sense of humor, after all. ” 

Whatever hint of amusement had sparked inside of him fades as fast as it had come. Belladonna’s wrists are jerked away by force, and within that same movement, Fox presses his hands against the male’s chest and shoves him out of the way. He’s got half the heart to simply exit, and another half filled with anger he’s got yet to release. Instead of leaving, his eyes narrow at the man in front of him; fingers curling and uncurling into a fist. “ Stay out of my way. I mean it. ” 

[jupitermerc]

SOLDIER operatives are easily recognizable by the “glow” their eyes take on after being enhanced by evo: the concentrated substance produced by the planet from which monsters spring. The evo infusion process SOLDIER candidates undergo greatly reduces their lifespan due to accelerating cellular degradation — it being their leading cause of death. Though such information is classified, all SOLDIERs know the truth. ↳ THE EYES OF ONE WHO HAS BATHED IN EVO

[kieranfox]

jupitersummon​:

The ex-SOLDIER doesn’t expand on exactly why he’s troubled; Belladonna expected as much. The man is hardly going to have a heart to heart with him, or spill his secrets. All he does is meet his stare with those awful, magic-touched eyes, unnatural green threading through the iris. A SOLDIER’s eyes, eyes he’s seen in every shade and shape.

Belladonna’s expression tightens. Imperceptibly, he hopes.

“An interesting idea,” he says slowly, lip lifted in a hint of a sneer, “to send one of your kind out to engage with the general populace. One wonders what they will think when someone like you turns up at their door to ask questions. After all, public perception of SOLDIERs has grown suspicious. Paranoid. Rightfully so.”

Oh so casually, he reaches inside his jacket, and pulls out a pair of sunglasses, carefully held in a clawed hand, offered out to Fox. “Perhaps you should use these, Kieran Fox.”

                          “ My kind? What, human? ” The words are spoken before Belladonna is allowed to finish his sentence, voice carried loud enough to purposely drown out the last of the degrading comments. A facade; and not a very good one from the way his jaw tightens. He’s losing patience fast, but in spite of it, knows not to break eye contact. 

Of course, Fox is well aware of the true meaning behind “ his kind ”. Soldiers, not humans. There was no doubt on his mind that the man in front of him did not consider soldiers to be human — he’d made clear as much from the very first day they met. However, that didn’t mean Fox had to agree with him. “ So who do you suggest we send out to the people, then? Not our resident pet lizard, I hope? ” 

Laced thick with resentment, Fox does not even try to hide the anger in his voice anymore — he’d been patient long enough. Instead, he snatches the shades from the elder, and carelessly drops them to the floor. Not a second passes before the glass cracks underneath his soles. “ Move. ”

[kieranfox]

jupitersummon​:

         Like a brick wall built in place, Belladonna doesn’t move when Fox gets in his face; he tips his chin up even though he has the advantage of height, looking down on Fox in more ways than one with an unblinking stare.

         “You have the look of a man bothered by something far greater than random murder,” he says silkily. Belladonna has spent decades intimately familiar with the look that a SOLDIER wears when faced with murder, either by their own hand or someone else’s, and he knows the careful blankness of a soldier trained out of shock and dismay, trained to feel nothing in the wake of violence and murder and the taking of innocent lives. Fox looks troubled, though it is subtle.

         And if Belladonna takes a certain amount of callous satisfaction in getting in his face about it, well. He feels he’s justified. This one, even more than the other… unnerves him. So, yes. The silence bothers him.

         “I have no current plans to move.” It comes out dark, self-satisfied. The smugness of a well-fed lizard sunning itself on a warm rock. “Why? Is there somewhere you need to be?

                         Irritating, though as far as Fox has learned to know Belladonna, not at all out of character. He grants the male half a smile; one that hardly reaches his eyes, and betrays his annoyance all too easily. 

“ As expected, a great observation on your behalf, ” Fox speaks satirically, his gaze unwavering. It is impossible not to notice the sheer satisfaction that radiates from the summon, clear that he’s playing this game precisely the way Belladonna had intended to. What’s worse is that he is aware of it, yet can’t help but to take the bait regardless, only barely suppressing the urge to personally shove him out of the way. 

There is something very unsettling about the way Belladonna looks at him — and for a moment, he wonders if a summon is capable of reading one’s mind. He certainly doesn’t hope so. 

“ Sai should be waiting for me by now, ” Fox finally tells the man, only partially speaking truths. Sai should be, but he had not been in a hurry to meet up with him until moments ago. “ So, unless you don’t want us to solve this case, I really suggest you move out of the way. ”

[kieranfox]

ncrv​:

              ❛   Hey,    soldier boy,   ❜    Nerv glances up from her monitor,    ❛   before you go talk to a bunch of drunks,    mind taking a look at this ?   ❜    @kieranfox​.

                   Once, soldier boy would have been a compliment of the highest order — he knows that it currently is far from that. Meant to insult rather than flatter; but Fox still fails to see it as such, especially when the words are spoken by Nerv. There’s no malice to be found in her voice, thus he doesn’t need to hesitate to take the seat next to hers, pretending to understand whatever it is he is currently asked to analyse. 

Ten seconds, and then he opts to take the easy way out.

 “ ...What exactly am I looking at? Did you find anything suspicious? ”

[kieranfox]

jupitersummon​:

         In Belladonna’s opinion, it is extremely suspicious that Fox has not yet joined in on the conversation in the group chat. Still, he holds his tongue, because baseless accusations never result in anything useful, even if the target of the potential accusation is a SOLDIER.

         He only barely tolerates the presence of two of them in Robin Co. There have been many times that he’s considered asking Eriksa to work anywhere else, and has only declined to follow through out of reluctance to appear weak. It galls him to have to see them on a daily basis, to know that they are aware of what he is, though he’s maintained a frosty, distant politeness thus far. Only for Eriksa’s sake. He does not want to jeopardize her job.

         Still. When he encounters Fox trying to leave the office, Belladonna stands in the doorway and doesn’t move, hands clasped behind his back, with all the air of an insouciant house cat who won’t be shifted from a favourite perch. “Going somewhere?” Belladonna asks, slow and deliberate. “You have been silent thus far.”

                   Caught off guard by the sudden intrusion, the shock that colors Fox’s features is not to be missed. Despite not having been up to anything bad, the summon’s presence is enough to have him on edge. Not the first time; certainly wasn’t going to be the last. He finds himself unable to decide whether the guilt that creeps upon him is justified or a mere result of the Belladonna’s disdainful stance. At this point, he figures it’s the latter — but he is not in the mood for this. Not now.

The lifeless body — its image remains clear in the back of his head, bruised and battered. It is nothing new to the ex-soldier, but the circumstances have changed and he wonders if perhaps he’s missed something. Anything. If maybe this is some sort of trap; if maybe it is a test, or punishment for deserting the soldiers.

And he can’t figure that out with this man breathing down his neck, eager to find and expose any sort of misstep. 

“ Does my silence bother you? ” There’s a quirk of his brow; touching on taunting. His face mirrors the distrust shown on Belladonna’s features, impatience growing when his exit is blocked. He steps closer then, halting only inches away from the other. “ Don’t know. Do you plan on moving, so I can go somewhere? ”

[maloretsevdaily]

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