TRP: Goro and Larkin (Night Time Stories)

[Setting: Late night 407, the castle.]

Goro jumped awake, heart pounding, and scrambled up against the headboard.

Where the fuck was he? What was -- where --

Ah.

Right. Yeah.

He took stock of his surroundings. He was alone in the bedroom still, and the castle was pretty quiet. He didn't sense anything threatening or out of the ordinary, at least based on his extremely short experience of ordinary.

He wasn't sure how long he'd been sleeping, but it still seemed very much the middle of the night. Felt wide awake, though. And thirsty. There was that basin of water he'd cleaned up in, and the bottles of juice Hansel had brought earlier, but he kinda just wanted plain water.

He climbed out of bed and pulled on a clean robe from the wardrobe -- one that didn't smell like the harbor in the city.

He unlocked his door and headed out, crossing his arms tight and looking every which way as he slowly made his way downstairs to the kitchen.

Jen:

Larkin couldn't fucking sleep so she was awake, just lying around in the light of the embers in the fireplace, when she heard the steps come down the stairs. Too heavy and too careful to be either Theo or Bakir. Sounded familiar, though. Sounded like... Goro.

She sat up. Wondered whether she should leave him alone like she had that whole evening, but then decided it might be better to not startle him.

She sat up, rustling the blanket, then got up and patted over to put a couple more logs and sticks into the fireplace. Quiet, non-threatening noises to announce her presence.

Lina:

Goro froze, peering into the room. That was a person he hadn't met before, he was pretty sure. He stared.

Jen:

Larkin straightened up next to the fireplace and waved. "Hey, buddy. Uh. Goro."

Lina:

Goro kept staring for a moment, then waved back. Tentatively, he stepped into the room.

Jen:

This was weird. Fucking awkward. Larkin had no idea how to move or stand or what to say. She opted for clearing her throat, then saying, "I, uh. I'm your cousin. Larkin." She paused a beat. "You goin' somewhere? I ain't gonna keep you. Bet you met too many fuckin' people today already."

Lina:

"Larkin," he said, pleased. He'd been looking forward to meeting her. "The, uh. The sneaky one. The thief."

Jen:

She snorted. "Yeah. Uh-huh. That's me."

Lina:

"I was just, uh. Gonna go get some water." He made no move to leave.

Jen:

"'kay. Uhm." She waved vaguely. "Yeah, I ain't gonna bother you. I'll, uhm... be here, though."

Lina:

Goro waved back. He left the room and continued downstairs to the kitchen, where he got himself a cup of water and carried it back up with him.

He paused again on the landing and peered in at Larkin, sipping his water.

Jen:

She'd positioned herself back on the couch, blanket wrapped around herself. When Goro reappeared she shifted a bit to make room and lifted a corner of the blanket. "Can't sleep, huh."

Lina:

Goro wandered closer, but didn't get on the couch with her. He eyed the arm of it, trying to decide if that looked like a comfortable place to sit. He shrugged. "I slept for a while."

Jen:

Larkin lowered the blanket, wrapping herself in a bit tighter. Not coming much closer. Alright. Jumpy fucker, as expected. "Uh-huh.Well. Uhm." She squinted then looked aside. "Yeah, sorry, I don't... really know what to say. Usually we just... y'know hang out and talk about stuff."

Lina:

"Huh." Goro took a drink of water, eyeing her. He couldn't quite tell how old she was. But he guessed he didn't know how old he was, either. "So... did we grow up together, or something?"

Jen:

She shook her head. "Nah. We, uh... we kinda met before we knew we were related. You were orphaned. Uh." Larkin winced. Probably shouldn't've said it so bluntly.

Lina:

"Wait. What?" He blinked. "I... met my mom earlier. Didn't I?" Fuck, fuck, people were lying to him, or...

Jen:

"Amari? Yeah, you're not related. She raised you, though, Uhm. Pulled you off the street when you were eighteen or somethin'."

Lina:

Goro stared. "I... I was living on the street?"

Jen:

Larkin blinked. "Ah... sorry, I- uhm. Didn't wanna hit you over the fuckin' head with that, uh. You sure you don't wanna sit down?"

Lina:

Goro sat on the arm of the couch.

Jen:

"So you want the long or the short version?"

Lina:

"Um," he said, uncertain.

Jen:

"Err- Alright. Short version." Larkin pulled her feet up on the couch and shifted so she could face Goro. "So your... the woman who birthed you, she's a bitch. Like, I'm not even exaggerating, she's a real fucking asshole. And a nutjob. Anyway, she left you on the street when you were a kid 'cause she didn't wanna take care of you and thought it'd make you strong or some shit. You made it through, 'cause you're sharp as a knife, y'see," Larkin grinned. "One day though you got picked up by the paladins for pulling some shit, and that's when Amari got you. We only met when we both took a job with this merc guild, the Graverunners. Took us about a year to figure out we're related. That was... yeah, a couple months ago. I had no idea my aunt was even on this side of the ocean. None of our family did, or you wouldn't've been alone."

Lina:

Goro didn't say anything for a while. He wasn't sure how to feel about it all -- it sounded fucking bad, but since he couldn't remember it anyway, it didn't pack much of a punch.

"Didn't have a dad, or nothing?"

Jen:

"He, uh." Larkin fumbled with the blanket, not meeting his eyes. "He died when you were very young. He was sick. Loved you, though. There's letters."

Lina:

"Letters?"

Jen:

"Yeah. From your dad. They... well, actually I don't know where you keep them. Maybe Hansel does."

Lina:

"Oh." Goro took another drink of water. "I don't think I know how to read anymore."

Jen:

"Oh. Uhm." Larkin turned to look over her shoulder, towards the library. "I can show you if you want."

Lina:

"Uh. Okay." Goro stood up.

Jen:

"We got a lot of books." Larkin stood, too, blanket around her shoulders. "Dunno if you've seen them already."

Lina:

Goro shrugged. "Mishka gave me a tour."

Jen:

"Alright, so-" She led the way over, considering. She had no exact idea which books Goro liked to read but she knew he was into weird shit and there were some prime candidates he'd certainly leaved through before.

"This one's cool." Larkin stood on her toes to reach a thin booklet with a linen cover. "It's... mostly illustrations but there's notes. Uhm. Anatomy stuff. Cross-sections of organs and such." She opened a page with more text than pictures and handed it to Goro.

Lina:

Goro accepted it and began to scan over the text. It took him a moment for the realization to catch up with him.

He frowned at Larkin. "Wait. I can read this."

Jen:

"Oh?" She brightened up. "Do you remember how?"

Lina:

"I guess so." He read a few more sentences to make sure it wasn't a fluke. "Maybe... maybe I got it back from sleeping."

Jen:

"Fuck, yeah, that's amazing!"

Lina:

Goro closed the book and passed it back to her, not really much in the mood for reading at the moment, anyway.

Jen:

"Alright, nice, fucking- that's good. That's real fucking good." Larkin put the book on a table and went to hug Goro- then stopped, unsure if she should.

Lina:

Goro drew back a bit, then leaned forward again, opening his arms tentatively.

Jen:

"Sorry, I- uhm." She pulled him in and gave him a squeeze, brief but firm, then let go. "You like hugs, but... yeah. We're strangers I guess."

Lina:

"I do like hugs," he agreed. "It's okay. I mean..." He gestured vaguely. "You probably know me pretty well, I guess? Even if I don't know it."

Jen:

"Yeah." She grinned a little, then poked him in the chest. "I've seen your torso."

Lina:

"Uh?" He winced and pulled away.

Jen:

"Sorry, uh." Larkin took a step back. "That was a joke. You, uhm... sorry. Wasn't funny."

Lina:

"Sorry," he said quickly. Felt bad for not getting it.

Jen:

"Nah, it's alright. Shouldn't be... using fucking insiders. It's just so... " She grimaced and shrugged. "It's weird is all. You're my cousin, my friend, but I can't... can't really treat you like I'm used to."

Lina:

Goro started chewing his lip.

Jen:

Larkin stared for a moment, then said, "Sorry. Shit. Fuck. Uh, I should probably... stop fucking talking. Sorry."

Lina:

"Nah. Nah. It's okay, uh. Ain't your fault."

Jen:

"Ain't yours either."

Lina:

He shrugged.

Jen:

"We're gonna fix this," Larkin said sternly. "Somehow. We always find a way. Hell, did someone tell you 'bout that time we killed a fucking hydra? Inside a volcano? That was sick, man."

Lina:

Goro nodded. "Yeah. That's... that's what everyone keeps saying. That we... just deal with this kinda shit."

Jen:

"We do." She reached out, slowly, to give his arm a squeeze.

Lina:

He didn't pull away, but he looked at the ground, swallowing. He wasn't an idiot. He could tell how upset everyone was, and how worried. They all just hoped they could fix things. No one knew for sure.

Jen:

"I, uh... can tell you more stuff if you want. Tell you what a fucking badass you are." She tried for a grin.

Lina:

"Maybe," he said. "Oh. Yeah. Morgan said I can bring people back from the dead, but I didn't know if that was true. Is it true?"

Jen:

"Sure is. You've saved a lot of lives with that."

Lina:

"Really?" He squinted. "Goddamn. What else can I do?"

Jen:

"You can..." She gestured, not indicating anything in particular. "Touch people and they just start fucking tearing up wounds. It's sick. Fucking terrifying to watch."

Lina:

Goro's eyes widened briefly. "Cool. I ever kill anyone like that?"

Jen:

"Yeah. Killed a bunch of people you did. You're a mean motherfucker." She grinned again.

Lina:

"Huh." He looked her up and down. "Do I gotta protect you? You're pretty small."

Jen:

Larkin snorted. "Sure. Yeah, why not."

Lina:

"Small but tough," Goro guessed.

Jen:

She just smiled.

Lina:

"Real tough."

Jen:

"You 'n I, we're a real good team," Larkin said, still smiling. "You're a talker, y'know? No one bullshits better than you. And when the bullshit's not enough, that's where I come in."

Lina:

"Oh," Goro said, pleasantly surprised. "Fuckin' cool."

Jen:

"It is. Hm." She snapped her fingers. "So there was this thing I stole and I wanted to sell it, yeah? Only it was a set-up. My fence sold me out. But you happened to be nearby and you just-" She waved her hands, "magicked me the fuck out of trouble. That's how we became friends."

Lina:

"Huh. Why'd I do it? If we weren't already friends. Maybe I just liked the look of you?"

Jen:

"We were in this guild together. Graverunners. Mercenary and grave robbing shit. Only knew each other, like, a couple weeks but were fuckin' ready, man."

Lina:

"Huh. I guess I'm just like that. Morgan said I was all into saving her right away, too."

Jen:

"Yeah. It's kinda what you do. Got a real big heart for being such an asshole." She said it with a smile.

Lina:

"Psssh. Yeah, apparently I'm some kinda hero." He thought about it for a moment. "Guess I'd probably stab anyone who tried to hurt any of you guys in this castle. You've all been real nice to me."

Jen:

"See, that's the Goro I know. Ready to stab a bitch for his family."

Lina:

Goro scoffed and looked away, grinning and rubbing the back of his head. "Glad I ain't too different, I guess."

Jen:

"Yeah." Larkin waited a beat, then went for another hug, saying, "Would still love you if you were."

Lina:

"Ah, gosh, pfff, psssh," Goro said, hugging back.

Jen:

"Ah, yes. The embarrassed sputtering." Larkin squeezed him. "Another Goro classic."

Lina:

"What."

Jen:

She just snorted. "Nothin'. It's fine. It's fine."

Lina:

Goro stepped away and nibbled his thumbnail, looking around the library like it was real interesting to him.

Jen:

Larkin watched him, amused, then decided to break the awkward silence. "Hey, y'know we could stop standing around like fuckin' idiots and sit down."

Lina:

"'Kay." Goro took a step back toward the couch, then paused, making sure that was what Larkin meant.

Jen:

Larkin followed.

Lina:

Goro walked to the couch and sat -- on an actual cushion this time, instead of the arm. He pulled one foot up and went back to chewing his nail, then remembered the chewy bracelet. He wondered if Larkin knew about that. It was kinda weird. He tentatively started nibbling it, watching her for a reaction.

Jen:

"Do you want to hear more stories?" Larkin ask, not seeming to notice.

Lina:

"Uh." Goro thought about it honestly. "Maybe. Yeah. Nothing bad, though."

Not more about how his mother was apparently an unhinged bitch, though he didn't wanna say that part.

Jen:

"Hmm." Larkin had to think about that for a bit. They had a lot of bad things in their stories. "Oh, oh." She snickered. "Your wedding day. Did someone- wait." She frowned. "Maybe Hansel should tell you that one. It's easy to make fun of but also really cute. Uhm..."

Lina:

Goro cringed. "Easy to make fun of?"

Jen:

"Aw. No, I didn't..." Larkin grimaced. "Ah, shit. God, I'm a fucking asshole, sorry. We just got this..." she gestured between them, "Y'know when you're really good friends so you can drag each other over shit and it's not mean, it's, uhm... affectionate." She bit her lip. Should just shut the fuck up. "'Kay, sounds awful saying it like that. Sorry."

Lina:

"It's alright," Goro said. "I think I get what you mean, kinda. Sounds nice."

Jen:

She smiled, still a bit sheepish. "So, uhm. What do you wanna hear about? More Goro Voronin, hero who saves the day?"

Lina:

"Hmm, sure. Yeah." He shifted into a comfier position.

Jen:

"How about that time we saved your husband from the Glimmerton town's guard? That was badass. They thought they could fuck with us, but nah, fuck that. We showed 'em."

Lina:

"Whoa. We saved him?" Hansel didn't look like he needed saving from anyone. But maybe if a whole town guard was after him.

Jen:

"Yeah, for sure." She took a moment to recall the events. "We were out havin' some fun in town. Y'know, gambling, getting into fist fights 'n stuff. Mask, you were so damn in love back then you barely knew your cards." She grinned. Maybe she didn't exactly remember that but it sounded about right.
Lina:

"Psssh." Given how much Goro liked Hansel already, that didn't sound like a stretch.

Jen:

"So anyway, we get into this scuffle, yeah? Down at that bar. Been rippin' off some townsfolk, didn't like the taste of that. So we make short work of them but when we get out and looking for Hansel-" Larkin waved her hands. "Poof. Gone. You're drunk as fuck and you freak out but you got this spell, yeah? That lets you find people. So you use that and we get to some dingy fishing shack."

Lina:

"Aw." Goro winced. "What happened?"

Jen:

"Some asshole named Kash happened. He was town's guard and he really fucking had it out for us."

Lina:

"Why?"

Jen:

"Uhm." Larkin made a sheepish face. "Alright, so... maybe we've not been the, uh... politest town guests. Maybe Hansel also took a bite outta his face."

Lina:

Goro's eyes widened.

Jen:

She waved it off. "That's another story. Long one, not pretty. Anyway so we get to this shack and there's some asshole standing outside so what do ya do? You magic-drop him like a stone and just-" Larkin made a swiping motion. "Teleport through the fucking door. Problem is, now I'm alone outside with two more, and you're alone inside with Kash. And boy oh boy, he's pissed."

Lina:

"Where was Hansel?"

Jen:

"Inside. He was out."

Lina:

"Did I fuckin' murder Kash?"

Jen:

"Nah, you... uhm. He tried to murder you. Beat you up real good. But then Hansel woke up and he, y'know, he was tied to that chair and he ripped the ropes apart just like that. And he fixed you up and then you did that creepy magic wounds thing. He fucking booked it after that."

Lina:

"Wait." Goro mimed having his arms tied to his sides, and just fuckin' busting out of the ropes. "Just fuckin' busted out of the ropes?"

Jen:

"Yep. Was pretty badass."

Lina:

"Hot."

Jen:

"A frequent sentiment for you," she said smugly. Then she snorted, remembering the accidental dick joke Hansel had made, and how he'd looking like he'd been about to fucking die.

Lina:

"Huh. Well." Goro shrugged. "Wait. So Kash got away?"

Jen:

"Yeah, uh... yeah. Guess so. Hasn't shown his face around here again."

Lina:

"Goddamn." Goro glanced a window nervously, like Kash might be lurking outside it. On the second floor, in the middle of the night.

Jen:

Larkin shrugged. "If he comes back we'll make short work of him."

Lina:

"Fuckin' guess so. Killing hydras and shit."

Jen:

"Yup."

Lina:

Goro nibbled on his bracelet some more, looking around the room and just taking details in. "Think I might try sleeping again. Hey, do you not live here? How come you're sleeping on a couch?"

Jen:

"Hm? Oh." Larkin shrugged. "I spend most of my time in Skyport. Got a business there. I used to have a room here but I gave it to Bakir. Uhm. Your little brother."

Lina:

"What kinda business?"

Jen:

"Street business." She grinned, then laughed a little. "Right, sorry. Shouldn't be cagey with you. I run a gang together with my partner Finch. The Redbirds."

Lina:

"Oh. Neat." Goro scratched his head. "Well, watch out. There's a giant snake in that city."
"Yeah. I heard." Larkin was gonna mention how they'd killed said snake but then again, they hadn't really.

Lina:

Goro looked aimlessly around the room a little more, then slowly climbed off the couch. "I'm gonna try sleeping. If that's okay." He felt bad, just walking off. Seemed like him and Larkin were real tight, normally.

Jen:

"Sure." Larkin shifted so she could lie down as well. She waved. "Night, bud."

Lina:

Goro hesitated a moment, then waved back. "'Night. Thanks for talking."

[End]

Title: Night Time Stories
Summary: Goro and Larkin who both can't sleep run into each other in the castle. They talk a little and Larkin tells him stories about his life. He discovers that he can, in fact, still read.