#remzi kurtoglu

[lailarenaud]

for: @remzikurtoglu​

The bathroom stank of product and Laila peered into the tiny mirror above the sink, carefully brushing more bleach onto dark roots. Balian had joined her early in the process, sitting on the edge of the tub to yowl away about her divided attention, but eventually she had chased him out, worried about the fumes killing anymore of his braincells. Still, she had been tempted to give him zebra stripes with whatever remained of the dye— as the idea of Remzi folding his arms and scolding her for it didn’t feel quite like a deterrent. She was used to the process in cramped spaces, often done hurriedly and with patches that would have to be touched up later, but this time she fussed with the brush, pulling sections apart. It felt like something that reflected where she was in life now, she was able to do these things properly, with purpose. However, as she reached the back, the werewolf twisted in the mirror, desperately trying to find sections that she hadn’t been able to get. A heavy sigh drew curious feet towards the bathroom door, and Laila tugged it open, revealing Remzi on the other side. “Can you help me?”

[estellealanis]

for: @remzikurtoglu​

Night had fallen over Corinth, but she wasn’t quite ready for sleep. Estelle walked an aimless loop through familiar streets after closing up, pausing only when she saw a sign she had nearly forgotten about. The gym. It was something that she had expected to have closed down and changed hands; the other werewolf who had owned had been so flighty that there was no expectation that he would last out the two years that he had before her family had moved away. Curious, she walked towards the door, pulling at a handle that was locked. About to give up and turn back around, sharp eyes caught a figure of someone moving within and she lifted a hand, knocking twice before they passed under a light and she recognized it to be Remzi. “Hey,” she called from outside, knowing all too well that he would hear her. “Hi stranger.”

[milos-othonos]

for: @remzikurtoglu​ location: the gym with a name i can’t spell, seven am.

“Brother!” The greeting was boisterous, obnoxious in the way that was typical of the kobalos, especially now when he was meeting his soon-to-be brother in law. Everything that he had heard of the werewolf seemed to indicate that the other man would not be someone he enjoyed spending time with, and launching his full personality upon him early in the morning in the heart of his business felt as though it would set up an excellent example of how their relationship to be would play out. Milos’ wore a wide grin, and some of the patrons looked his way, earning themselves the illusion of someone much taller and blonder, the American tourist version of himself. “Now this is a great little place that you’ve got here,” he finally found Remzi at the back of the gym, slumped against the mirrored wall as he clutched a coffee the colour of ink. His hand slapped down on the other man’s shoulder just a bit too hard in greeting, “It’s good to keep busy, these projects are a bit of fun. Keeps you out of trouble, right?” He winked, before peering into the mug that the werewolf gripped. “That looks terrible, you know. Maybe we’ll have to get you onto matcha, big guy.”

[lailarenaud]

for: @remzikurtoglu​

Above them hung a blue moon. Laila found her way, panting in the woods as the evening began to make way for the early hours of morning, picking through barefoot as she tried to hunt down a stash of clothing that had been left behind by one of the members of the pack. Despite having lived in Corinth for a while, the forests that surrounded it still served as a labyrinthian puzzle and she found a backpack tucked under the root of a fallen tree after no small amount of searching, and slung a plaid shirt over her shoulders. She had gotten only a handful of buttons done when a branch broke behind her, making the blonde wheel around. The shift had left her tired, wrung out in the same way she did after a good fight or a long run, but whatever tightness had existed in her bones, in the tug of something animal under her skin, it had disappeared and was sated. The scent was familiar— like her home, and sharp eyes found a familiar, sheepish expression walking towards her. “Are you lost too?” Laila did the last button near the top, enough to keep herself covered, before she wrestled a pair of sweatpants out of the bag, tossing it in his direction. “It’s not a bad spot to watch the sunrise, you know.”

[lailarenaud]

for: @remzikurtoglu​ location: remzi & laila’s apartment

It was knocking at the door that drew her from where she had sat on the couch, tucked into blankets with the cats and Haleh on the ground. Deep into an episode of Hell’s Kitchen she was content to ignore whoever was there until the banging grew more incessant, and she sighed and tossed the covers back, seeking out who was there. She opened the door to see Orion first, whose expression was sheepish as he held up a drunken Remzi. He stank of whiskey, and his hair was disheveled, the only two things she noticed before he was all but thrust in her direction by the reaper who murmured an excuse about having a job to do. He then all but vanished, leaving Laila to stagger back into the apartment, leading Remzi with her. “Hey,” she murmured by his ear, laughing when she kicked the door closed. It took a lot for werewolves to get drunk, she wondered which bar he had drained dry to get to this point— and it was all amusing when paired with Gordon Ramsey’s hollering in the background. “Looks like you had a good night, hey?”

[lailarenaud]

for: @remzikurtoglu​ location: remzi & laila’s apartment

She’s seething, and the irritation that ribboned through her the night before didn’t dissipate as she slept— the slammed door to her bedroom had been a barrier to questions from her bewildered roommate and now, as she rose in the new day, Laila was back in the kitchen, pouring herself a coffee from a pot that was still warm. The kittens twined around her feet, as if attracted to the storm cloud of her energy, or aware of what day it was. Her birthday, she’d scrawled it onto the calendar in the gym to be cheeky, circling it twice with two colours of marker. Frustration and anger sat in either palm as she set the mug onto the counter. She could hear his footsteps behind her, tentative and cautious, in the same way that one approaches a creature ready to bite. Laila tapped at the pot, inky liquid still inside. “There’s enough for you to have another cup.”

[lailarenaud]

for: @remzikurtoglu​ location: balcony on the upstairs apartment from the gym

The city fell back into its usual discontent as vampires and cubi and all other manner of demons began their prowl through the streets once again, but Laila, who felt content with a beast in her belly, simply leaned over the rail of the balcony- watching as the sun began to sink below the Aegean, painting the sky in shades of orange and pink, muddying them together into something beautiful. It was both a beginning and an end, and it was fitting that evening would dawn in a way that was beautiful. Between her fingers, a cigarette smouldered and ash drifted down into the street below as she tapped it idly with her index finger. Laila supposed that she was to be happy, and in most ways she was: a restoration of balance was something worth celebrating, as was the world piecing itself back together again, but still- her jaw stayed tight and her shoulders tense. What had been done would not easily be undone, it lingered in memories like a dark stain, like blood on white cloth: nothing would ever scrub it quite clean again. Her solitude was interrupted by the click of nails against the surface of the balcony, followed by the pad of shoes behind the dog. Enhanced senses had returned, identifying Remzi in scents; the warmth of coffee, of earth, and sandalwood. “Hey,” she said, elbows still hitched over the rail, head not turning. “Weird how nothing feels any different after the end of the world, huh?”