Lions and Tigers and... Fangs?

[turks-reno.livejournal.com]

Characters: Reno, Rude, Cissnei, and Rufus
Progress: On-going
Summary: In which Rufus gets his biiiiig fluffy puppy with bad teeth... at the Inn
Location: Lindblum
Date: Shortly after the Hunt
Warnings: Reno's mouth, which should be a given at this point.

"Damnit... fuc... OW!"   The red-headed Turk flinched as the Fang he'd fetched for Rufus clamped down on his hand for the fourth time during the haul back to the inn.  And the fourth time he smacked the creature with the business end of his EMR.  At least Rufus would be happy to know that his wolfie was strong, with a high stamina.  It kept munching Reno's hand like it was jerky!

And of course, to avoid problems with the innkeeper about bringing a very much wild Fang into the inn, Reno shoved the beastie through the window to their room, claws flailing and all, and followed suit - hand firmly on the leash - and for the fifth time, in the Fang's mouth.  For the fifth time he cursed, and this time he smacked the dog's muzzle with his open palm.  "BAD dog!" he hissed, then glanced around.  He didn't want to muzzle the creature, and goodness knew that it was probably hungry.  ...

He grabbed the backpack he was going to use for their trip into the swamp, rummaging around until his hands closed on some dried meat.  It wasn't the real thing, but hopefully it'd do the trick of focusing the Fang's attention on easier-to-catch meat than chomping on Reno's hand and getting a smack to the muzzle for it.  He tossed a few scraps of the dehydrated food on the ground near the Fang, and grinned a little when the critter gave it a cursory sniff... then gobbled the meat up.  "See?  Be nice to Reno, and Reno will be nice to you, pup."   Another toss of food, another sniff-and-gulp.  Only this time, those violet eyes of the beast looked to Reno afterward with a nervous expectancy. 

"Oh, you want more, huh?  No more chomping my fingers, and we'll see."  This time, he held a rather long strip out to the creature, and smiled a little when those teeth closed on one end of the meat - leaving his fingers in-tact.  "There we go.  Good doggie.  Reno isn't lunch, right?"  And with that he dropped on the nearest bed, wearily, hand wrapped around the leather end of the leash, and the other offering the last of the dried meat to his canine companion.  "Just wait.  Rufus, my boss, will have you spoiled rotten in no-time.  Just like..."  He trailed off, shaking his head.  He didn't want to think of the loyal creature that had always been by Rufus Shinra's side - Dark Nation.  The animal didn't like him, it was true - but she always obeyed Rufus.  And defended him tooth-and-claw.

Perhaps this creature would, too? 

"Well, you'll see when he gets here, won't you?"

Comments

[turks-reno.livejournal.com]

Reno arched a brow at Rufus as the President entered, calm and collected as he was used to. And of course, Mr. Snarls was eying the blond from the moment he entered. New people. And he watched as Rufus ShinRa worked his persuasive magic on the dog. There was something about him that commanded respect, and the fluffy thing seemed to hone in on that.

Of course, that meat was another lure, and that focus the dog gave Rufus intensified, haunches doing that little 'I'm gonna get food!' dance that he'd seen many tame dogs do. It was a little odd to see a wild animal do it... but this was Rufus.

And then his arm was nearly yanked out of its socket as the meat went flying - and doggy went up to catch it. He actually grunted, a sort of hurking sound leaving his throat as muscles clenched to keep that arm IN its socket, and his free arm lifted to rub at the joint the moment the dog was back on the ground. "Sir? A little warning next time, thanks?"

He knew the dog would require a bit more training - he'd need to learn quickly what was expected of him, and what were no-no's, just like any other employee. But the dog would learn quickly. Reno had gotten lucky in that regard - the hound was intelligent. And hungry, too - all the better as it eyed Rufus for more meat.

"I gave him some jerky before you got here, because otherwise he'd have gnawed off my hand... but I gotta say, Sir... Impressive." He grinned then. It was just them. Just the Turks and the President. They could be a bit more relaxed than their personae in public, and Reno knew he wasn't speaking out of turn for this. If he was lucky again? He'd get the slightest of smiles out of Rufus. If not, that face would remain stoic. Either way, he knew Rufus would keep his attention on the hound, just as the hound was watching with eager anticipation every move that Rufus Shinra made.

"At least this one likes me." Nevermind that this one liked to -munch- him.

[shurikenfemale.livejournal.com]

She gave Reno a disapproving look. "I don't know of any place much better than this," Cissnei addressed the President in regards to their current living situation. She crawled off the bed and stood as far as she could get from the Fang, arms crossed as usual. Indeed, it was impressive that he even had sway over foreign animals. Now imagine foreign people. "Lindblum is too much of a wreck right now."

Speaking of wrecks, she began to wonder how the Theatre District wound up after their little stint against the monster. Cissnei wanted to see the place for herself, but surely they wouldn't let her go to just see if it was okay. "I think I'll go and see if we need more supplies or a new food stash." She walked around the Turks and the Fang swiftly, slipping out without saying anymore.

[cyke.livejournal.com]

Rude watched in silence as Cissnei slipped past. While he could understand her position to some degree, at the same time he was from much farther along in her future. A lot had changed since Tseng had taken over the Turks and Rufus Shinra had come to power. It wasn't easy to stand by someone who was constantly suspicious of your loyalties, especially when that someone was a fellow Turk. As much as he could understand where she was coming from, he also couldn't seem to fathom it exactly. If nothing else, he and Reno had no reason to lie to her.

Turning back toward the scene in front of him, he just continued observing Rufus' interaction with the wild fiend. There was no reason to speak up about anything at the moment. He was certain that both Reno and Rufus could pick up on Cissnei's hesitation just as easily as he was able.

[turks-reno.livejournal.com]

He watched with an odd expression on his face as Cissnei disappeared without much fanfare, and (as per This Link (http://community.livejournal.com/mooglenet/431090.html))then Rufus right after her. Eyes flicked to Rude a moment later, even as his hand absently fell into the fur of the Fang he held the leash of, earning him a growl - but nothing more, thank goodness.

"Well. To be a fly on the wall for that conversation..." he commented in a low drawl, lips pulled into a frown. "Wonder if she'll be as easy to win over as Mr. Snarls here." And that hand carefully rubbed where it rested, the Fang's growl growing louder - but still it did not snap. Huh. Maybe Rufus had performed some miracle. Maybe having meat in its belly had made the Fang more complacent. Whatever the reason, Reno was glad. Eventually, the creature would grow used to the pleasant touch of human hands, even if it didn't happen all that often. The Fang, after all, was going to be a guardian for Rufus more than likely.

He patted the bed beside him, giving the space a little nod. "Come on, Rude. Take a load off for now. Fangy here won't bite ya now that he's got a full stomach. Can't tell me you don't wanna relax a little bit after that Hunt, can you? We got till Rufus convinces Ciss that he's not about to abandon us, at least. Probably'll have to give this fluffball a walk after that..." Or Reno would. He couldn't imagine Rufus doing it, and it wasn't Rude's idea to bring him here. And Cissnei'd be gone.

[cyke.livejournal.com]

Rude had to agree. A small part of him was interested to know what was being said out in the hallway, though he knew better than to try and eavesdrop where he wasn't wanted. Hopefully whatever issue that Cissnei had with the boss could be worked out, at least enough so that there wasn't a noticeable tension between them every time the two of them were within a certain proximity of one another. At the end of the day, though, it wasn't his problem.

When Reno invited him to go and take a load off, Rude just stood his ground. One dark eyebrow lifted above the rim of his shades as he regarded the growling beast, who looked as though he were debating whether he should wash all of that meat down with the rest of Reno's hand or not. Somehow his partner's guarantee that the fiend wouldn't bite did little to ease Rude's concern.

"Probably," Rude agreed when Reno caught on to the fact that they would likely be assigned to deal with the less pleasant aspects of owning a pet now that Rufus had decided to keep the wild Fang. It took him a moment, but eventually he decided to chance it and he moved closer to sit at the spot that Reno had indicated on the bed. He wouldn't hesitate to punch the creature in the head and pass it off as early nap time if Rufus happened to come back in and see his new pet out cold. Plus, it seemed a lot more interested in Reno for whatever reason--which was just fine by Rude.

"She said anything to you?" Rude asked, referring back to the Cissnei situation. She seemed a lot more comfortable with Reno since she'd arrived. It was understandable, as Rude was pretty much used to the fact that people often considered him intimidating or hard to relate to. In fact, he preferred it that way.

[turks-reno.livejournal.com]

That was better. More comfortable, despite the growling Fang. He shifted, lifting the hand that wasn't attached to the leash-wielding one up to the opposite shoulder, rubbing where the muscle had strained to keep his arm in its socket - the Fang ceasing his growl as soon as it happened. "Nah. Not about him, at least. Then again, we didn't have much time to talk about Rufus at all. But... last she likely remembers, Rufus had been accused of turning traitor, and we were all keeping him hostage while Shinra and Avalanche faced off - with each other AND us. So ... there's that against him."

The Fang entertained himself, sniffing around for the remaining scraps of meat - small crumbs of jerky that had broken off. "Plus, Cissnei didn't go through what we did. With Sephiroth, Meteor, Geostigma, and the Trio. She was never part of that solid team the Turks turned into after Tseng was named our leader. We're family as much as we're co-workers. We've fought together. Drank together. Bled together. You can't just snap your fingers and make a bond like that appear." He shook his head, then turned to arch a brow in the direction of his long-time partner.

"On the other hand... I thought she trusted us enough to put aside her suspicions of Rufus. At least enough to give him a chance. I told her he was a good leader. That he was a good fit for us now - and he is. I just hope she'll see that. That Rufus will prove it to her, somehow." The frown didn't fade, the look in his eyes visibly hurt. To have a friend and coworker not trust him was not something he was used to any longer. The Turks, the ones he knew and worked with for years, trusted each other without hesitation. They had to. Mistrust was a wrench in the cogs of a well-oiled machine.

[cyke.livejournal.com]

Even so, Rude couldn't really blame her for being so hesitant even when they went out of their way to assure her otherwise. For one, she was a lot younger than they were and, as Reno had pointed out, that bond that they shared didn't really begin to strengthen into what it was until after Tseng had taken leadership of their group. Cissnei would come around eventually--of that much Rude was certain. He just hoped that anything bordering on insubordination on her part would be overlooked by Rufus until she had been given the chance to fully embrace the idea that not everything was what they once believed it to be.

"You should take more care," Rude pointed out, watching as Reno tried to awkwardly knead the sore muscle of his own shoulder. Reaching over, he opted to offer a helping hand--quite literally, and save Reno the effort by rubbing at the offending shoulder himself.

"How am I supposed to trust you to watch my back when you can't even swing your arm?"

[turks-reno.livejournal.com]

To be honest, Reno didn't really blame Cissnei either. It just stung not to be trusted as much as he was used to. He had gotten all too used to their odd little family, and this was simply a reminder of how it hadn't -always- been like that. Which was a mental sore-spot for Reno, not quite so easily remedied.

He cast a devil-may-care grin to his partner at the reprimand, which faltered into a little hmm of bliss when the other man's hands pushed at the abused limb.

"How was I supposed to know Rufus was going to make Fluffy jump like that? Never did it with Dark Nation, 'least as far as I ever saw..." he responded, melting just a little as the ache faded. Damn, Rude was a pro at this. He was going to fall in love with those hands.

"I think if ya ever retire, you could get a job doing this. Damn, you're good," he insisted in a voice that rumbled slightly with contentment.

And said Fluffy? The creature flopped down on the floor with a little, bored huff. Quiet - for now.

"But... you're right," he reluctantly admitted. "I promise I'll be more careful. Now I know Rufus likes to make the fluffy thing jump. So while the President is training his new pet, I'll just make sure there's more slack in the leash. Problem solved."