#rxckaby

[thecajungator]

"Rocky, dear, this is Nico. He'll be your new partner from now on." Said Mitzi, who gestured to the tall white and silver furred Cajun cat, who grinned at Rocky. He sported a green vest and red bandana around his neck in place of a tie, over a cream colored shirt and worn down grey pants. Strangely, Nico did not wear shoes.

"Howdy there. Say, you got a....unique way of presentin'." Nico said, eyeing the violinist turned rumrunner up and down. That certainly was a unique outfit.

"I'm happy t' be aboard. Excited t' work witcha." He said. Mitzi told Rocky and Nico they had a pick-up that night, so for the time being, she left them in the garage to themselves. Nico was eager to learn more about this handsome new coworker of his.

@rxckaby

[memcria]

~ @rxckaby liked for a starter!

"Oh, hello, honey. How did the last supply run go? Hopefully you didn't run into too much trouble..."

[pcrplevenom]

"In this soulless pit of atrocities we call life, to each of us must come agonizing torment.."

…Rocky’s lying on the ground with a tiny cut on his pointer finger from a butter knife.

@rxckaby dude was trying to make a sandwich :’(((((

"Rocky, you're being dramatic. It'ss not even that bad of a cut, ya'know. Get off the floor, and I'll help make you a sandwich. How doess that ssound?"

[heedingcalls]

“Mordecai!! It’s your birthday?! And nobody SAID anything?!

Rocky lifted a small box that, while hastily and messily wrapped, did look like it had taken some time to do. It probably had, knowing Rocky-

“Go on, open it up! It was, uhhh, all I could afford for now… but I hope y’like it!”

Inside was a a gun cleaning kit. Rocky had no clue if he needed another and sort of doubted he did, but he hadn’t been able to figure out anything else the gunman might want.

@rxckaby oh no. Mordecai

Mordecai indulges in a pragmatic pause before taking the offered gift. There is a moment, brief, but tangible, where he simply looks at the box, as if expecting some hidden clause, some unseen obligation tied to the offering. Gifts, in his experience, were rarely without purpose.

Then again, it is Rocky Rigby of all people. He somewhat doubted that Rocky meant any malice. So, he takes it.

. . .Carefully.

The paper is removed with far more neatness than it had been applied, folded once, twice, and set aside rather than discarded. Only then does he open the box.His thumb brushes over one of the tools, gaze narrowing ever so slightly as he inspects the contents with quiet scrutiny. Not low quality. Not thoughtless, either. Just a little unnecessary.

A faint exhale through his nose. ❛ I already possess the means to maintain my firearms, ❜ Mordecai mutters, turning the kit over with a methodical narrow of his eyes.

His eyes flick upward to Rocky, expression unreadable as ever, though there is something less cutting in it now, something a little tamer.

❛ However. . .❜ The lid closes with a soft click, his hand resting atop it a moment longer than needed. ❛ . . . it is not incorrect. Proper maintenance is not something one should neglect. ❜ He pauses once again; shorter, this time. He nods, as if affirming to himself.

❛ I will keep it. ❜

[memcria]

“Hey, Miss M!” a familiar, joyful voice called, holding a small yellow (sorta messily wrapped) box in his hands. Rocky grinned and stopped next to her. “I gotcha somethin’ for Christmas! I hope you like it!”

He handed it to her, grinning with sparkling blue eyes; when Mitzi were to unwrap the present, she’d find a shiny little hairpin! But not just any hairpin: it was a daisy, with those classic white petals and yellow center!

“I know it’s not an especially winter-themed flower… but I couldn’t find anymore more festive, hard as I tried.”

Most of Rocky’s teeth disappeared behind his lips, but, naturally, his fangs stuck out. His tail swished back and forth unconsciously in time with his accelerated, excited heartbeat.

@rxckaby 💙🎄

"Hello, honey." Mitzi smiled at Rockey, tilting her head to see what got him so excited this time--until she saw the box in hands. It didn't take much to connect the dots.

"Oh my, this for me~?" She chuckled softly, taking the gift from him and gingerly unwrapping it. He had...interesting gifts for her in the past, so she was more than prepared to politely accept the gift as usual.

However, once she laid eyes on the gift, a soft gasp escaped from her.

"Oh, honey..." Mitzi trailed off, holding up the hairpin close to her face. True, it wasn't festive, but it didn't matter. This...was actually very thoughtful of Rocky and she was pleasantly surprised!

Genuine warmth seeped into her smile, clutching the hairpin to her chest. "It's a lovely gift. Thank you, Rocky."

[afterlifedefied]

“…hey… are you crying?”

@rxckaby IF you want to answer this for the nightmare prompt! (Whatever context you want!)

If it was one thing that Mika never got used to- it was being inside of their own head for long periods of time. Mika always couldn't sleep without being drunk or relaxed with their drugs. To tire themselves out to a point where Mika COULD sleep. Insomnia was a real bitch in their opinion. Mika's memories always floated back to their life back on earth. What could've been. Should've been. Never what he COULD focus on in the moment.

Even smoking now with their cigarette between their hoove, their hoove shakily trembles. Leg bouncing up and down rapidly huddled into a ball with the scent of nicotine filling their nostrils. This is the only way he can cope if it wasn't with sex. Mika's eyes drift over to Rocky, their puffy eyes wet with fresh falling tears. Their shirt coated in silent stifles.

"Did-...did I wake you? Sorry if I did. I can't sleep fuckin' normally these days." Mika puffs a trail of smoke from their lips and leans their head against the bedpost and lets the small embers at the end of their cigarette cast a tender glow at their thigh. "I just- can't sleep anymore." Mika sniffles in addition and swigs another inhale of the ash. Blow. "I get like this when I'm stuck in my own fucking head. I'm supposed to be enjoying being here and seeing new things and the last thing I need is you worrying about me already, y'know?"

[afterlifedefied]

“Mikaaaaaaaaaa~!”

Rocky came dashing towards them and wrapped his arms around his woolly crush friend, purring and pressing his forehead against their cheek.

“I missed youuuuu.”

@rxckaby idk man Rocky’s unpredictable and sometimes very affectionate so. have this XDDDDD

"Ack! Shit!" Mika exclaimed out clearly caught off guard from the sudden appearance of Rocky. Mika never knows if he's having to either put their walls up and being mindful of their surroundings or that they can just lower their guard in knowledge that even if anything WERE to happen to Mika, he could just come back, right? They're still dead in technicality. A secret that Rocky didn't need to know just yet. How could he even tell him?

That "hey! I'm actually dead and I'm a ghost and I come from a world where it's a figment of my mind basically, enjoy that!" No. He could never tell a soul that until he truly trusted them. Which wasn't hard because Mika's trust in anyone is almost always going to be given instead of earned. Mika's afterlife was lonely. Being here? It was better.

"O-Oh! It's just you. Sorry, Rocky. Y'just spooked me is all." A shuddered exhale with the beat of their heart slamming against their chest. A feat that made Mika realize he's still living even if he himself knew he wasn't. If and when he goes back, he'd have no pulse. No beat of their heart to remind them of their morality. Mika's hooves would slide themselves into Rocky's paws. As if to reciprocate the nuzzle from Rocky's fuzzy face. "Missed you too, Rocky! Where'd y'come from? Didn't hear you coming from a mile away!"

[afterlifedefied]

“Oh!” Rocky exclaimed, blinking his bright blue eyes a few times. Had he face-planted today and just didn’t remember? Or… was he just sleep-deprived and hallucinating or something?

The tabby cat tilted his head, then smiled, fangs poking out from either side of his mouth.

“Hey there, uh… woolly… cat…?” he tried to greet Mika, tipping his blue hat. “You’ll have to forgive me- I’ve, ah, never laid eyes on someone like you! But I will also say that you seem a bit… confused, perhaps?”

He put his head back upon his head and chuckled. Oddly enough, he didn’t seem to care- like, at all- that Mika was clearly not a cat. He kind of thought he was dreaming.

“Well, might I offer you a place to sit and talk for a while?” he asked, before he paused. “Oh- my name is Rocky, by the way. Rocky Rickaby! It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

He extended a paw for Mika to shake if they pleased.

@rxckaby FIRST MEETIN TIME Y’ALL 💙✨

This place is fuckin' HUGE. Mika hasn't been in a city-like structure in AGES. Things have been particularly slow at the club and Mika was dying of boredom and loneliness. So why not go to a place that was lively and always on the move. Take some pictures to bring back to the club? Memories. Making new friends. People that could fill up their days. Mika would stuff their hooves into their pockets for a moment listening to the tabby speak.

Should he say he's not a cat? Everyone else here is. This is the only disguise that he liked to carry around. Although the disguise wasn't exactly their choice. The closest animal that could describe their soft-heartedness. Their passive nature. The way they were never confrontational. Peaceful at a fault.

"Oh! Yeah, I'm just a very fluffy cat. People call me pompous cause of how well-groomed I can be. I shed badly too." Playing the role of a facade. Like he was an actor. Though people calling them pompous was a complete lie. He never had an issue with people before aside from a couple instances when he went to Hell.

Even then, he tended to mend to themselves being mindful about how he presented themselves or acted. A facade... "Yeah, I guess I am confused, huh?" As if Rocky had to be the one to answer. "I just came here for sightseeing. Mika would clasp a hoove around Rocky's fingers and gives it a firm shake. "Glad to meet you, Rocky! I'm actually from Arizona. So being here from a desert state to a complete bustling city is a change of pace, I'm tellin' ya!" A light laugh of amusement.

"I'm gonna be honest, Rocky... I don't know where to go or what I'm doing. Just figured I'd come here and figure it out along the way." Mika shrugged with a slump of their shoulders. "You know any good breakfast spots? Dyin' of hunger here." As if he really had gone hungry before. More like of a figure of speech here.