ic A Joker (IC)

[Spacefurry]

Leon gave Neko’s hand a squeeze as Bernadette reached out and spun the bottle. The sound of the glass against the dirty floor echoing lightly. As the bottle slowed, the narrow neck drifted around to settle in Leon’s direction. The young man gave a grin and glanced around at the others. Neko and Carmen were the only ones that hadn’t been given the choice yet, but he didn’t feel it was right to call on his girlfriend just yet. He wanted to give her a minute.

“Alrighty. Hey Carmen, truth or dare?”
 

Truth

Spoiler

Leon chuckled.

“So, does catnip do anything for you?”

 

Dare

Spoiler

Leon grinned and held up his phone.

“I hit random, and you gotta sing along to whatever plays?”

 

[MoonSimply]

Carmen was in the middle of a long drag when she learned that she was the next one to be selected for consideration for the game, near choking as she dropped her cigarette on the ground, having walked away for a short period to do so while the others continued. If she was going be picking what sort of challenge that someone was going to be playing, she might as well accept that fact that she would have a taste of her own medicine. All she could do was at least thank God that it wasn't Neko that was the one deciding what she'd be doing for this, dousing the flames with an empty plastic cup, taking the oxygen away from the small flame.

 

"Fine fine, I'll sing for you all. Someone has to be at least daring tonight," she says, muttering something in Spanish afterwards under her breath.

[Spacefurry]

Leon continued to grin as Carmen resigned herself to a spot of spontaneous karaoke.

“That’s the spirit.”

In a flash, he had a top 10 streaming radio locked and loaded on his phone.

“Showtime.”

He hit the play button and the app’s algorithm plucked a song from its data base. Music sprang from the wireless speaker he had set up when they first arrived. Whistling accompanied the opening beats as Onerepublic’s I Ain’t Worried started playing.

[MoonSimply]

Carmen was waiting in utter dismay as she soon realized that she was going to singing, actually singing, something that she was not amused in the slightest to be doing it at all. The young catwoman wasn't really in the know with American music, although some music crept into the sphere of Puerto Rican culture based on the proximity and is connections as a territory of the United States. To her, Bad Bunny was what you heard across the island. As she prepared to sing, there was only a face of constrained anger as her singing was rather... okay. One could say that with practice and teaching it could be better, but it became clear easily that she didn't know the lyrics at all.

 

"I don't what you've been told
But time is running out, no need to take it slow
I'm stepping to you toe-to-toe
I should be scared, honey, maybe so..."

[Avenger Assembled]

Neko hesitated just a moment, then said loudly, "Very good! Very good singing." She was holding the empty sake bottle in one hand and peeling off the label with the other, taking advantage of her thick, pointy nails to do it. "I can do - singing too," she added, "hear." And so she did, standing up a little awkwardly before she burst into song. 

 

None of them knew the words, of course, since they didn't speak Japanese. But with Neko singing it, a dozen voices seemed to follow her, rising and falling from nowhere as invisible musical instruments played around her, echoing through the empty building. "That is - that is mountain song," she added, leaning her head against Leon's shoulder. Suddenly she started to cry. 

[Spacefurry]

Leon nodded along with the beat as Carmen sang. She looked uncomfortable despite not sounding all that bad and for a moment he thought of cutting it off after the first verse. But he thought he knew her well enough to know she might get mad at him for ‘taking it easy on her’, so he let it play out the two and a half minutes.

He clapped and gave a whistle when Carmen finished. Grinning, he saluted her with his half empty bottle and agreed with Neko.

“Okay, not bad, you won that round.”

He took a swig from the bottle before his girlfriend stood up a bit awkwardly. He crooked a smile up at her. As Neko sang he swayed with the ghostly choir. She was so good with her illusion. He couldn’t follow what she was actually saying but it was haunting in its own way. He smiled in that silly way a young man does when watching a pretty young girl.

When the instruments faded and she sagged against him he smiled down at her. Her sudden crying though blindsided him. His arms slipped around her even as he frowned.

“Shh, shh, shh… my hime.”

He tried to comfort Neko. Lowering his head, he gently pressed his lips to the top of her head as he stroked her hair.

[Nerdzul]

That's was why...  Luke mentally facepalmed for not having figured that out in time when Neko pretty much outed Owain in front of the whole team. "Yeah definitely count us in to be around for him." He smiled. "I guess it might be even harder for someone born in the actual middle ages..." Not that they lived in a perfect world now, quite the opposite perhaps, but then again, better than the age of witch burning and inquisitions was not exactly thought to beat.

 

The young man laughed and played along as his friends kept going with their dares. Encouraging clapping and grinning from ear to ear during Carmen's performance. He gave a puzzled look to Neko when she started to sing as well, but still he did not interrupt, preferring to listen while scratching the hair on the back of his neck. Uh ok... 

 

When the bottle spun again it was his turn to pick up an 'unlucky' target and his choice fell to Bernadette. 

 

"Ahh sweet revenge." He grinned, looking thoughtful for a moment. So what is it truth or dare? 

 

Truth:

Spoiler

"Tell us the most hilarious fumble that you had while super-heroing around?

 

Dare:

Spoiler

"Pick one of us and pretend to flirt with them for at least three minutes."

 

 

[Avenger Assembled]

"It is okay," Neko reassured Leon almost immediately. "I am fine, kawaii otokonoko." Indeed, there were no signs of tears on her pretty face or in her huge yellow eyes at all. "I have to, uh, you know," she said suddenly, standing up and disappearing around the corner of one of the trains. "You play!" she added with a nervous laugh that she didn't feel at all. 

 

A moment later, Neko sat on the roof of one of the nearby railcars, having silently scampered over there rather than embarrass herself by continuing to weep drunkenly in front of her friends. She closed her eyes, her ears twitching, and remembered the mountains, so high that the village had seemed like the only real place in the world, and the songs that had seemed to reach up to touch the stars themselves. With her illusion lifted, she knew her eyes were red and face streaked with tears as she looked up at the pitiless Moon above. 

[MoonSimply]

Carmen sang, ending on a mixed note as of course she really wasn't that trained at all to sing, less so in English with lyrics that she didn't know. When she finished, she'd actually smile for a few moments before Neko came in from out of nowhere with her own music, likely drunk. It was just like her to try and upstage her, even if she had never tried to do so before or probably meant it, but to Carmen, who was already not on the best terms with Neko.

 

The young catwoman sneered, flicking the bottlecap off a beer with her strength and sharp claw before beginning to drink it, again taking in the taste in a more familiar way. Without much effort, she'd get up onto a somewhat cleaner looking crate that was unoccupied, continuing to drink undaunted with the lingering taste of the cigarette.

[Spacefurry]

Leon’s eyes searched his girlfriend’s face as she reassured him. Her eyes were clear and her cheeks were dry as she did so. Neko excused herself and stood. He watched as she disappeared among the rail cars, his eye glanced down at his shoulder then back up at the night outside.

The glass bottle rattled against the concrete again as Leon stood. He patted Luke’s shoulder as he passed him, the excited boy choosing his victim. They’d have to do this again he thought absently, just needed a few more bodies next time.

City-silence weighed outside and Leon’s eyes adjusted as best they could to the pale night. He couldn’t see or hear Neko, she was too good for that. But he had other ways.

 

With her head start Neko was already lost in thought as Leon found the car she was sitting on. He wasn’t as quiet or graceful as his girlfriend, but he easily climbed up on to it.

He paused to watch her in the moonlight, then smiled. He quietly moved to join her and without a word he sat beside her. He let the silence linger as he looked up at the moon with her, hoping his being there was the show of support he intended. After a moment he moved to put an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close if she lets him and leaning his head against hers.

[Avenger Assembled]

Wordlessly, Neko butted her forehead against the side of Leon's head, silently watching the stars above. Everyone is gone except me. Nobody sings the mountain song anymore because no one remembers it. But I am alive and so I remember it. Gradually, she relaxed, leaning against him with the warmth that was closer to a cat's than a normal girl's. As long as I am here, someone remembers those days. And I have a pretty boy. She considered a moment, then took Leon's hand and put it behind her large ears, encouraging him to scratch there. Her voice a soft purr, she said, "We should go back." 

 

When she and Leon rejoined the group, she didn't have much to say, instead curling up to watch Bernadette and the others with those huge yellow eyes, tail lashing behind her. 

 

[Spacefurry]

Leon knew how to take a hint. He happily scritched Neko behind her ears. That purr of her voice could be a dangerous weapon when she wanted it to be, but it could also be the most soothing sound in the world.

He nuzzled back and smiled.

“If you’re ready.”

 

When the two rejoined the others he settled in next to Neko.

“Hope we didn’t miss anything fun.”

He flashed a grin.