The Park, Friday Afternoon

[furnaceface]

Jonothon had awoken from a nightmare this morning. That much... that was nothing new. Of course he'd awoken from a nightmare. He rarely slept for the nightmares. That had been a constant for nearly as far back as he could remember, several lifetimes over. It was just... that particular nightmare had seemed all too real, the faces of people that he'

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[tigerundercover]

The grumbling would have reached Jono first, the likely familiar sound of an angry crowd just over the horizon, approaching faster than an angry mob had any right to move.

Then came the girl. Or sometimes boy. Raven sobbed as she ran, her shape fluctuating between her natural blue and any number of disguises she was too freaked out to hold onto. Behind her, the leaders of the mob, carrying flashlights and lamps and even actual torches along with their improvised weapons, approached like horror movie villains, appearing to walk but never losing ground as they chased her.

"You can't fool us anymore, demon!" the man at the front shouted. "We know your tricks!"

[tigerundercover]

"Thank you," Raven said again. "I'm sorry you got pitchforked."

Though it didn't seem to have done much.

[furnaceface]

Jono gave his shoulder a bit of a shrug at that.

//I can't even say that was the first time,// he admitted. //I'll have Hannibal sew it up so that I'm not lighting up the room behind me whenever I've got my shirt off and it'll be more or less as good as new before too long.//

It helped that there wasn't much there to pitchfork.

[tigerundercover]

"Can I --" Raven started, and wasn't sure how to finish. "Do you need help with your -- bandages?"

She felt like she should try to do something in return, at least.

[furnaceface]

That was actually a lovely offer, though Jono gave his head a little shake all the same, looking down at the leather strips that were hanging loose around him. Wrapping himself up had always been a sort of personal thing. Between the fear he'd had back in his own teenage years about hurting somebody accidentally with his flame and his body issues, it was something he would much prefer to keep that way.

//Thank you, though. Probably best I take care of this one on my own. There's a certain way to bind them so I can pull them off easily in case I need to, and this... seems like the sort of situation where I might need to.//

"Funny to hear you say that, mate," came a voice from not far away, "you've always been the sort to leap at the chance to hide yourself away in the past, haven't you

[tigerundercover]

Raven frowned, looking around to see who'd spoken. "Do you know him?"

It wasn't like she'd instantly recognize Jono with an actual face.

[furnaceface]

The owner of the rest of that face gave a sharp grin, leaning back against the park bench with little concern for the still-smouldering ground at his feet.

"Oh, he and I go back quite far, don't we, Jon?"

//We've got some history.// Jono didn't sound terribly thrilled about this development. Not in the least. //I'd much rather we didn't.//

[tigerundercover]

Raven stepped up next to Jono. She wasn't sure who this guy was, but it was pretty obvious Jono didn't like him. Now that she looked though, there was something around the eyes. . . .

"Are you guys brothers?"

[furnaceface]

//No,// Jono replied, and now he was busying himself with shrugging off his jacket, slinging it over the back of the park bench, and starting to fidget with his wrappings. //A brother would be much easier to be rid of.//

"Oh, don't be that way, Jon," the other man said, still grinning. He had a fantastic mouth and one hell of a lower jaw, and so help him, he was going to use it. "You've come so close with all of those best efforts you put in! Someday you might even manage to make it through an hour or two without me."

//Just pretend he isn't there, Raven. Maybe he'll go away.//

"Do I ever?"

[tigerundercover]

"The mob didn't," Raven said. "That pitchfork was real enough." She stepped between Jono and the other man and lifted her hand, shifting it into a sharp spike. "I can't burn him, but I could try to return the favor."

[furnaceface]

Jono closed his eyes, reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose and just wishing that he could take in a deep, calming breath right about then.

//It's no good,// he replied. //Won't do any more damage to him than the pitchfork did to me. Not in any way that counts, at least.//

The other man reached a hand up and tapped a finger to the center of his chest. It made a hollow, metallic plinking sound under his fingertips.

"Fanciest chest The Program has to offer. You'd just hurt yourself, sunbeam. Or irritate me. You wouldn't want to irritate me."

[tigerundercover]

Okay, but now Raven was calming down and kind of wanted to stab something. Use all that excess adrenaline.

"Are you sure?" she asked Jono. "I could aim for his head! Or is that metal, too?"

[furnaceface]

"No, it isn't metal," the other man snorted, raising an eyebrow and then turning to look at Jono, sick amusement practically radiating from him. "You aren't going to tell her, Jon? I'm hurt. Wounded."

Jono was quiet for a few moments more, just steadfastly winding his wrappings before talking.

//I spent several months functioning just fine without a head once. You'd mess up that pretty face of his, and it would probably hurt. But he'd walk it off.//

"And I wouldn't be terribly pleased about it, either. Honestly, kid. That's just bloody rude."

[tigerundercover]

"And you're not?" Raven said, tilting her head, shifting her hand into talons, this time. She'd take scratching up that face over stabbing it, that was fine. "He just got rid of an angry mob for me. You're just standing around being an asshole. Can't say I'd mind pissing you off."

[furnaceface]

"Oh, I haven't even begun being an asshole, yet. Have I, Jon? You'd know all about being horrible, wouldn't you?"

//He's not somebody you want to piss off, Raven,// Jono said, maybe a touch too sharply, stepping to put himself between Raven and the other man. //He hasn't hesitated to hurt people for less. Good people.//

"Women and children." The other man sounded bored. "Grown men begging for mercy for hours and hours while I take what I need from them. All in a day's work. Though I suppose it'd be cute to see you try to get close enough."

//Don't.//

Jono's voice was sharp, and directed toward the both of them, his eyes sparking white-orange.

//Raven, don't. He's not worth it. My dignity isn't worth facing what he's capable of when he feels like causing trouble.//

[tigerundercover]

"Then you do something," Raven said. "You don't have to stand there and take that."