Trash Panda

Messengers of Heaven and Hell

Why thank you xD
I'll get started on my reply in a bit!

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

They really are similar! I addressed that in my post, since that's a detail Crow would have picked up on instantly.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow listened in silence as Penelope told her story. He hung on the detail about her mother being a peasant. Strange how similar their backgrounds were, except for how she ended up with her nobleman father, and he ended up with his peasant mother. He wondered what his life would look like now if things had been different. Would he be a knight too? Would he serve the king with his whole being? Would he be blind to the struggles of the outer villages? Of his own mother, had she been still alive? He shuddered at the thought. As harsh as his life had been, he was glad he endured it, if only for the sake of understanding the truth about the kingdom.

He lowered his gaze to the floor of the wagon, wincing slightly when she explained how she didn’t even know her mother’s name. While he didn’t want anything to do with his own father, he at least knew that much: Albin Mannering. He swallowed, forcing down rage when he thought of the name. The man had abandoned them. It was the reason why he had taken his mother’s last name: Lockton. He had been terrible and faithless… but Crow still knew who he was. To not know a parent, to not have that knowledge, especially when one desired to know it, seemed cruel.

On the subject of names…

Crow glanced up at Penelope. They had gotten quite a bit closer over the course of their journey, but she still didn’t know who he was. She just knew his nickname, his title as a thief. He fidgeted uncomfortably. Could he really tell her his true name? No one who was still alive knew it; his name had become a part of him so deep and so secretive that he didn’t know if he could even voice it anymore. He couldn’t even remember what it sounded like spoken aloud by another person.

Not yet, he thought. I’m not ready to tell anyone yet. He could almost feel the memory being locked up in his heart. But it was better this way. No one knew who he was, and his real name would be lost to time. He was Crow, and it was better this way. That’s what he would continue to tell himself.

The thief realized Penelope had stopped talking. He had been so caught up in his own mind that he had forgotten to respond. “I’m truly sorry to hear that about your mother,” he said honestly. “I’m sure she’s up there, looking down on you right now.” His somber expression was broken with a smile. “She’s probably right proud of you, too. I don’t know many women who choose to take on the adventurous life of a knight. And, I know I’m biased, but I think you’re the best knight in the kingdom, darling.”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow met Penelope’s gaze with interest as she spoke of the sky being dull if there were only constellations. It was comforting to hear her talk about how every star important. He already believed it, himself, but still, he liked hearing it come from someone else’s mouth. He looked up at the glittering black of night once more and watched as a shooting star streaked from right to left, lighting up the sky as it passed. He sighed. The peasants of the outer village had a belief about those, too, but he didn’t feel like sharing it with the knight. He didn’t want to depress her when they were having such a good conversation.

However, it that seemed Penelope’s demeanor was already turning melancholic. Crow eyed her curiously as her expression became somber and she spoke in a hushed voice, “I wonder if she watches me…” The thief wondered who she was talking about. One of the star guardians, perhaps? He was just about to ask when the knight snapped out of her trance: “Ah, sorry… I got a bit lost in thought there…” She seemed embarrassed, but that only piqued his interest even more.

Crow turned away from the open side of the cart, leaning against the ledge to better face Penelope. “Who’s watching you?” he asked slowly. He knew he might be treading dangerous ground. After all, they had only recently become friendly with each other, and she might not want to share such personal information just yet. He was holding onto some deep dark secrets that he wasn’t about to share with a woman he just met within the last week. He could only guess the knight was doing the same.

“You don’t have to share if you don’t want to,” he added. “I understand secrets better than anybody. It’s yours to keep if you wish.”

Summer's GFX Shop [Free commissions; Fast responses]

Well, well, fancy seeing you here, @TacoNinja ! xD
I can definitely make an av and sig combo for you.
I might take until Sunday to get it done, depending on how much free time I've got this morning/night

Thanks for stopping by!

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Me too! I think they're my favorite pair, haha
Also, yay for the fact that they've finally started warming up to each other xD
It only took two hundred posts

Slow-forming relationships are the best though. So dynamic and complicated. I love it

I'll try to get my post done tomorrow, but I'm pretty busy, so I have no idea what kind of free time I'll have
Maybe I'll write it when I'm doing my laundry

Messengers of Heaven and Hell

It's a little late, but I got my post done! I figured I'd throw in a little bit of Roman's sarcastic side

Messengers of Heaven and Hell

The best part about riding a motorcycle in NYC was the way the vehicle fit so smoothly between the stopped cars in all the streets. Traffic in the Big Apple was always hell on earth, but for Roman, all he had to do was ride between the honking cars and dodge the jaywalking pedestrians in order to make each green light. It was a bit of an adrenaline rush, especially during the morning, when all the businessmen and women who were too lazy to walk hopped into taxi cabs and ubers, jamming up the roads like bad cholesterol. The excess of vehicles made it tricky to bob and weave, but he had lived here for years; and as such, he had figured out a working system. However, this morning’s casual drive turned out to be a little bit different.

As he was making his way down towards an intersection on 4th Street—it was a red light at the time—Roman caught a brief flash of movement in the corner of his eye. Sure, New York was always bustling with activity, but for some reason, this particular motion drew his full attention. Once his motorcycle had been brought to a stop, he turned to see what was going on. He pinpointed the source of the commotion and quirked his brow with intrigue. It was Abby the waitress… being mugged by two armed scumbags. Now, normally he wouldn’t have gotten involved—he should he risk his own neck for a stranger?—but here, he saw an opportunity for redemption. If he saved her from those criminals, he could show Abigail that he wasn’t just some jackass who hit on other guys’ girlfriends. Maybe she would give him her number. After all, what girl wasn’t crazy for a knight in a leather jacket?

Having made up his mind, Roman cut sharply across the traffic, ignoring the honks and rude exclamations along the way. He drove the motorcycle onto the sidewalk, bracing himself as his bike bounced up over the curb, and shouted at the two robbers, “Hey, Tweedle dee and Tweedle dum! What kind of idiots need two men to take on one girl?” The thugs turned to look at him, surprised to see a man riding a bike directly at them. The one holding onto Abby let go of her suddenly, scrambling to get out of his way.

“What the—” he stammered, holding up his knife in defense. “Who the hell are you?”

Roman slowed his motorcycle to a stop and stepped down from it. He popped open the kickstand and walked towards the robbers, tilting his chin up cockily. “Who, me? I’m just your friendly, neighborhood, Spider Man.” In a flash, he swung at the man with the knife, clocking him right in the jaw before he had a chance to react. The thug staggered, holding his face in his free hand. He glared up at Roman, trying to seem fierce, but his eyes exposed his fear. He obviously didn’t want to fight. The two were likely just looking for an easy target, and now that Roman had showed up in Abby’s defense, any ease they would have had was gone.

“Tch,” the man spat blood on the ground. “You’re not worth it. C’mon!” He gestured to his partner and the two fled down the street.

“Yeah, that’s right,” Roman taunted loudly. “You better run from Spider Man!” He smirked, proud of his victory, and turned to the waitress. His voice was soft with uncharacteristic sympathy, “Are you okay? Those two thugs didn’t hurt you did they?”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow traced his fingers lightly over his body, feeling for the sting of burn wounds. As he came across them, he applied the ointment. The cool relief it brought him was quite welcome after the exhausting escape from the rebels’ camp. He yawned wearily and leaned back into the blanket pile when he finished the procedure. Now for a good, long nap. He deserved it for saving the knights, after all. The rebels weren’t very well trained, but he liked to think it had been his efforts that lead them all to get away.

“Crow, do you know any constellations?” Penelope’s soft voice interrupted the thief’s thoughts. He lazily opened one eye to look at the female knight and saw her staring deeply at the night sky. She met his gaze briefly before going on: “I only know a few… I think that one right there is Orion’s belt…” He watched as a smile formed on her lips. “Stars are quite amazing. My aunt once told me that they were the silent guardians of the earth. We can’t always see them but they’re always watching over us.”

“Constellations, eh?” Crow echoed with a yawn. He raised his arms over his head in a long stretch, groaning sleepily as he did so. The thief sat up and moved over to where Penelope was reclining by the open side of the wagon. He looked out at the stars overhead. “I don’t think I know any of your constellations. Just the ones we learned about in the outer villages.” He paused, meeting the knight’s dreamy gaze. He had already opened up to her a bit, so he might as well share some of his beliefs with her.

“I think my religion is a bit different than yours, love,” Crow said. He propped his arms up on the ledge of the wagon and rested his chin on them, staring up at the glittering, black sky. “You see; I believe stars are visible manifestations of those who’ve passed away. They don’t necessarily ‘watch over us’ in the sense that they can interact with our world—they have better things to do in the heavens—but they can still see what’s going on.

“I believe only the gods can come to the Earth. They use sacred land—such as the Looking-Glass Pond, that place we went near the beginning of our journey—to see what’s going on here. They can also travel through sacred land, kind of like a bridge, if they feel the need to. Generally speaking, they seem to watch us more than they interact with us though. I don’t know many people who claim to have seen gods, and I certainly never have, myself. But it would be pretty amazing to be blessed like that. Honestly, I still kind of hope I will be so fortunate at least once in my lifetime.

“Anyway, I’m getting off topic. I believe that constellations are groupings of select individuals who belong to a hierarchy of elites. They’re the men and women who become famous for great deeds in their lives, or who are chosen by the gods for their humility, selflessness, generosity, blah, blah, blah… Point is: a thief like myself will never be part of a constellation when I die. I’ll just join the countless number of other, unimportant people.” He shrugged, looking back at Penelope. “I don’t really care though. All stars are pretty, and I don’t have to be part of something big to be happy. I’m just fine with who I am.”

Messengers of Heaven and Hell

I'm glad I didn't leave you hanging then!
I've got more plans today at the place with no wifi, so I probably won't get around to replying until tomorrow morning.

I can't wait to get the ball rolling in this RP though!