( guns ) and roses | xenos/toni | Hunger Games: The RPG

Stare
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and i will hold you tight / like the moon in the arms of the sky

( guns ) and roses | xenos/toni Feb 17, 2017 0:33:36 GMT -5

Post by Stare on Feb 17, 2017 0:33:36 GMT -5

[googlefont="Sanchez:400"]

how do i learn my dreams to mold
to lay them bare in the morning cold?
if they're still out there then the chasm grows
for all you know, for all you've known

Toni had always been a wanderer, but being at the Roost always made her feel entirely uprooted.

It wasn't her home, and she'd accepted long ago that it never could be. Fate had carved out her place seventeen years ago in a rickety old house with four con men that she loved more than she thought she could ever love real parents. Her height at each year was marked next to the light switch, her childhood toys were hidden with the spiders under the loose floorboard next to her bed, there was still a dent in the wall at the base of the stairs from when she'd tumbled into it. There was a room for her in the Roost, for the nights when she came back too late or too smokey or too bloody to go home, but it was bare and void of the memories that made a place home.

But somehow, in a way she couldn't explain, the Roost felt too familiar to only be a place she went. She knew the seams in the wood on the front door, had memorized the number of steps to each floor, had chosen her favorite window to slip through out onto the roof. She couldn't call it a home, though. Calling it a home blurred the lines. Work became her life, the Crows became her family, and Gunnar became... someone other than her boss. Someone she often had to remind herself he wasn't.

Maybe it was that uprooted, confused feeling that had made her argue with him today. Maybe that was the reason his offhand, sarcastic drawl grated her more than usual. Maybe that was why she'd stormed out in a huff, by far the most dramatic exit she'd made in a long while. And maybe that was why she was where she was now, bracing herself against the cold to practice tossing knives into the targets she'd painted months ago on the back of the building.

Stupid Gunnar. Stupid Roost.

But as she flicked another blade just left of the bullseye, she found that, as usual, the person she was most angry with was herself.

let me down easy, let me down slow
if all good things ever come and go
let me back down in a place i know
hold that nail for the hammer stroke

Last Edit: Feb 20, 2017 12:22:48 GMT -5 by Stare

Tom
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last seen Nov 19, 2024 9:23:58 GMT -5

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( guns ) and roses | xenos/toni Feb 19, 2017 2:03:24 GMT -5

Post by Tom on Feb 19, 2017 2:03:24 GMT -5

Xenos Holmström

Xenos had lost again.

It was the normal expectation that came with his addiction. He'd gain so much profits, only to lose it all the next turn. Greed laid thick upon his bones as he'd bet it all for the fluke of his opponent. Their smile becoming only truthful as they show their hand. His empty and pathetic compared to his opponent's hand. Just another debt to add to his pile of growing losses. The father that waited at home for him one day of the week would have screamed if he had known what the gambler was doing. Good thing he was good at covering up his tracks.

The Roost had become a home for him. A place to hide away from all the grievances that he caused to his father for years and years. The Crows were his family and he'd protect them even if it meant dying for them. After all, his own father didn't treat him like family. Memories of the words that fell from his father's lips adding to the scars upon his mind. Eyes catching a silent spot in the corner as he pulls out the pistol that he hides away from eye sight. The only safe place to view it in private without too much of a hassle. Eyes scanning the white and silver as it gleams in the window. Loaded with bullets that could blow a hole in the skull without a second of warning.

A hand runs over the smooth surface as he's stuck in thought for a second. The only weapon that truly felt right for him, unlike the knives and bows that the trainers forced him to use long ago. Their ignorance still within his brain. Jostling ideas of a murderer inside his brain. They weren't wrong. He could kill if he needed to, but he wasn't going to. Eyes drop as he sets the gun away from sight once more as he can see Toni who clearly was upset by the way she rushed outside. A smile pulls at his lips, ready to be the obnoxious man that he was.

Targets painted onto the back of the building. Whites and reds mixing into a solid point where they could train with anything that their hearts desired. Targets that reminded him of the things that they did. The emotionless scenes that come forth in his mind that don't haunt him at night when they should. The knife is clearly thrown as it misses the bullseye, heading to the left. A chuckle escapes his throat, letting her know he's there. The smile upon his face genuine and friendly with every word that he says.

"You missed the bullseye, hun."

Creeping out of the shadows of the corner of the building into the open back yard, he feels joyful. A tease already begging to come forward off of his tongue. Toni was interesting in her own way to him. No attraction at all towards her, but he would be damned if he didn't think she was a pretty girl. A deadly pretty girl who probably could fight him evenly with everything she had, which was respectable and quite hot if he was honest. A smile pulls up at his lips as he comes closer to the target. Fingers grazing the knife that stuck in the target. Words form before he can stop them.

"I bet that you could do better, your gorgeousness. Maybe you could use a little guidance from me, of course."

He lost again that day, but he'd be damned if he couldn't have a different type of fun that involved throwing knives at a target. After all, his trainers sed to tell him.

"Practice makes perfection."

Made by umber vivuus 12b 🥀 [dars]

Stare
Retired Staff

3,105 POSTS

Pronouns: she/her
last seen Nov 5, 2024 11:29:31 GMT -5

and i will hold you tight / like the moon in the arms of the sky

( guns ) and roses | xenos/toni Mar 12, 2017 23:58:03 GMT -5

Post by Stare on Mar 12, 2017 23:58:03 GMT -5

[googlefont="Sanchez:400"]

how do i learn my dreams to mold
to lay them bare in the morning cold?
if they're still out there then the chasm grows
for all you know, for all you've known

There was something about Xenos that always made a smile tug at the corner of Toni's lips. It was something about his fidgeting energy, his easy walk, the teasing glint that always seemed present in his gaze. There was nothing about any of the Crows that wasn't complicated, but Xenos gave off the illusion of simplicity, and though Toni liked to think that she occasionally poked at the facade just to see what would happen, most of the time she ate it up just like everyone else.

And today was one of those days, because it was easier to ignore the frustrating ache in her chest than to face it and figure out what it meant.

When she'd first met Xenos she'd been younger and her face would heat up at even the smallest compliment or wink. Now she just rolled her eyes, shifting her weight to one foot and raising an eyebrow. "Don't push it, Sharpshoot. I'm already in a bad mood."

As if to demonstrate her point she brought up another knife, steadying it in her hand. It had been Anthony who had taught her to throw who knew how many years ago, after she'd come home crying that an ugly old man had tried to shove her against an alley wall and the only reason she'd gotten away was because she'd gotten in a lucky punch that quite probably broke his nose. Her lip had been bleeding. None of her con men had stood up in an outrage, but she hadn't been expecting them to. The next day, though, Anthony had gifted her with her first knife - a beautiful thing, swiped from some Career - and got her practicing.

She'd never stopped.

The practice knife she'd been holding just moments ago lodged itself into the target just a few inches from Xenos' head, and Toni smiled at him sweetly. "Then again, maybe you're right. Seems I just can't hit any of my targets today."

Gunnar wouldn't like them goofing off, but that was part of the fun, wasn't it? Gunnar didn't own her, as much as he liked to act like he did, and he certainly didn't own Xenos. They were two sides of the same coin, it seemed. The only difference was that Toni had born into this world. Xenos had been dragged into it, tempted by it. She couldn't quite decide which she thought was worse.

Shoving her hands in her pockets, she sauntered over to the taller boy and grinned. "Maybe you could balance an apple on your head and I could use that for practice. Is that what you had in mind?"

Falling into Xenos' games was always a bad idea, but Toni was in the mood for trouble, and he was the one person she trusted to always deliver.

let me down easy, let me down slow
if all good things ever come and go
let me back down in a place i know
hold that nail for the hammer stroke

Tom
Moderator

5,218 POSTS
Pronouns: He/Him
last seen Nov 19, 2024 9:23:58 GMT -5

OowoO

( guns ) and roses | xenos/toni May 22, 2017 20:11:08 GMT -5

Post by Tom on May 22, 2017 20:11:08 GMT -5

Xenos Holmström

Everything comes down to chance. The flip of a coin, the roll of dice, or the draw of a card could mean winning or losing. Everything came down to luck. Unfortunately, he's never been the lucky type, except when it comes to his skills. Luck wasn't needed when it came down to a shot or a throw. It's his retribution for the lack of luck he has. There's no reason to kill, unless he had to. It was his way of avoiding becoming the person that his father wanted. A murderer to jump into some silly games that he could win anyways. That's what he decided when he gave up on training. The money was more useful to his addiction, the temptation to get richer. The temptation to continue the fun of gambling and feel his spirits raised when he wins.

Even the pitfall feeling of losing felt amazing to him. There was never a loss that he didn't feel he had to beat. It set a fire in his heart to do better next time. He always wanted to do better, but right now, Toni was more important. Upset in her body language and eyes, he ignores it as the smirk that had pulled up on his face stays. Her words come out as a small warning. She's leaning onto one side with an eyebrow raised at his antics. He's scanning her from afar like it's second nature. Standing in front of the targets that were painted upon the building that shouted to be hit.

"Don't push it, Sharpshoot. I'm already in a bad mood."

Times of before flash in his mind. They were younger when they first met. Blush strewn across her face as he let the flirty nature of himself out of lips. There's so much that had changed from those times. A roll of the eyes was all he needed to know that something was up, but pushing it with Toni was not the way to deal with the situation, besides she could kick his ass for asking. A fight was not what he wanted with her. The smirk upon his face stays there as he speaks for a moment. Hands up in a joking defense.

"Sorry hun, didn't mean to push. Maybe-"

The knife flies and he instinctively moves a little to the right, cutting off his sentence. The knife lodges itself inches away from his head. Life seems to flash before his eyes for a moment, until he laughs. Toni wasn't trying to hit him. Instincts would tell him that she knew he would dodge like he always did. The laugh seems to echo for a moment, a genuine laugh that he hasn't let out in a while. Stress from his father made everything complicated in feeling happy. There's a voice directed at him and the sweet smile on her face was worth playing a game of chicken.

"Then again, maybe you're right. Seems I just can't hit any of my targets today."

A chuckle comes from his throat as he replaces the smirk with an actual smile. Her hands disappear into her pockets as she comes over to him, shorter in height, but he was still sure that she could measure up to him easily. He may be a sharpshooter, but Toni was so much more than him. Words fall from her lips again as he smirks. She's gorgeous in every way, no wonder Gunnar had some sort of obsession with her. That's what he would call it at least. Either way, Toni was born into their world of cons and he was tempted by chance, they were both so different and yet oddly the same. A flip of the coin would decide who is better. A flip of the coin would decide who Gunnar needed more, but even then, Xenos' luck was horrible. No matter what he did, Toni was better than him. He was alright with this truth. She was better than him in many ways.

"Maybe you could balance an apple on your head and I could use that for practice. Is that what you had in mind?"

The idea makes him chuckle. The smirk on his face grows. There's an idea that he has. When everything comes to it, he preferred games of chance over anything. The glint in his eyes makes him smile as he studies her face for a moment. There's a chance that she might be up for a little game. Games were his way of puffing out the frustration in the soul. All he did was smirk at her as he let the words fumble out. A teasing glint in his eyes and the subtle arm that raises to his pocket.

"How about a game of chance? I have a perfect one in mind for us, gorgeous."

The glint of amusement fills his eyes with joy as he already heads into the Roost for a moment, bypassing everyone that was inside. Avoiding conversations because he was on a mission. There's the cloth he needs and the extra knives that he uses for practice. A quick trip back out and he's smiling with two pieces of cloth in his hand and a set of throwing knives for each of them. He's moving on the balls of his feet with excitement as he speaks up.

"Blindfolded target practice? The one with the closest to the center wins, and the loser owes the other person one favor of any choice?"

The glint in his eyes are amusement as he's excited to test his luck once again. THere's no way he could lose at something like this. THere's no way he could lose to Toni at a sharpshooter kind of game. The luck comes in from the blindfolds. As he stares at he with a smirk on his face, he can feel his heartbeat. The excitement pumping through his veins. All he can do is speak to her.

"Please? For me, hun?"

Made by umber vivuus 12b 🥀 [dars]

Stare
Retired Staff

3,105 POSTS

Pronouns: she/her
last seen Nov 5, 2024 11:29:31 GMT -5

and i will hold you tight / like the moon in the arms of the sky

( guns ) and roses | xenos/toni May 28, 2017 23:38:37 GMT -5

Post by Stare on May 28, 2017 23:38:37 GMT -5

[googlefont="Sanchez:400"]

how do i learn my dreams to mold
to lay them bare in the morning cold?
if they're still out there then the chasm grows
for all you know, for all you've known

"Well," she huffed dramatically, unable to hide an amused smirk, "I suppose if we must." She paused, smirk spreading into a wide grin as she bumped her shoulder against him teasingly. "Anything for you, Sharpshoot."

When she'd been younger, still timid and embarrassingly callow, Xenos had been able to make her face flush with even his more innocent comments. His compliments used to make her shrink away as if he'd insulted her, his nicknames causing her to avert her eyes and fidget uncertainly. Friendly was an understatement when describing the taller boy, but as time passed Toni slowly began to learn that his pretty words were well intended but empty of any intention of pursuit.

Now she was able to match his playful remarks almost as well as Mae, much to Gunnar's dismay. Whenever they exchanged a joke the leader of the Crows often muttered that Xenos was a bad influence on her, making her lose her focus. She'd decided a long time ago, though, that she didn't want a heart of stone and enjoyed the sharpshooter's company. He was one of the few Crows who could make her laugh even when she was in a sour mood. That made him one of her favorites.

He was always getting into some kind of trouble. Gunnar called it a nuisance, Mae called it bad luck, but Toni couldn't help but find it to be a breath of fresh air from the dozens of schemes the Crows concocted that had to be executed to complete perfection. There was a kind of excitement looped into the brand of chaos Xenos kept company with, and judging by the way Waylan was always glancing at the taller boy when he thought no one was looking, she wasn't the only one who felt it.

Taking one of the blindfolds from his hands, she carefully tied it at the back of her head. Almost instantly she began to fumble. Anthony had trained her to throw a knife so it landed true every time, but to do it she was completely reliant on visualizing the target. Her hand bumped into the fence, Xenos' face, and finally the table that held her practice knives. She carefully felt around for the handle before turning and grinning, hoping she was at least close to looking in the correct direction of her fellow Crow.

"Better turn me so I'm at least facing the target. Gunnar will never let me live it down if I kill his best shooter."

Strong hands landed on her shoulders and nudged her into a better angle. Between giggles she managed to deliver some kind of halfhearted threat about what she would do if he was cheating. The hilt of the knife was the only thing that felt familiar as she spread her feet into a steady stance, trying to get her bearings. It had been so long since she'd done something simply for the fun of it that she felt especially ridiculous. No wonder Xenos was always getting into all kinds of trouble.

The minute the knife left her grip she knew she was going to miss. Still, she lifted her blindfold almost hopefully, then burst out laughing when she saw the weapon lodged to the far side of the Roost far away from any of her painted targets.

"Looks like luck isn't on my side today. But it's never on your side, either, is it?" She shot him a wicked grin. "Maybe I can get that new blonde Gunnar hired out here. Would that sharpen your focus?"

let me down easy, let me down slow
if all good things ever come and go
let me back down in a place i know
hold that nail for the hammer stroke