Talon smiled back, though he was very tempted to scratch at the bandages now. He settled for rubbing them instead. Watching Ace for now, he was unsure of what else to do.
His gaze had slid downward, but he perked up again when the other man spoke. With a huff, he replied, “I think the only way I’m gonna be able to leave anyway is if you gotta spare crutch or something lying around, yeah? Wait,” his brow knotted up. “What do you mean? You didn’t do anything. I came here unannounced, I should be the one apologizing. It was your creature that dragged me here, not you.”
He only needed a moment’s consideration. Ignoring his first few words, he swung his legs over the couch and stood, keeping a hand on the small coffee table for balance. Making sure to keep his weight off of his swollen ankle, he took a few steps toward the kitchen.
“In fact, as thanks for taking me in, I wanna make myself useful. You need any help?” He gave Ace a crooked grin, putting a hand on the wall and pushing himself back and forth against it as he spoke.
"Come along now, run away from the hum-drum." || OxO || Closed
“Ah-“ Ace froze for a moment. He had never been a good liar really, always finding some way to contradict himself and his original story. He pulled himself together fairly quickly, though he wouldn’t be surprised if Talon suspected something. God, he would probably assume the worst if he did. It wasn’t even that bad, just… unusual. Unusual and vaguely confusing. “…Well, y’know. I should’ve been able to keep him in line.” That made sense. Yeah, that worked.
“Unfortunately, I do not. I could probably cobble something together from scraps lying around but I doubt it’d hold much weight and it probably wouldn’t be too durable either.” He finished up with the sweeping, neatly dusting all the dirt out the front door before turning his attention back to Talon as he hobbled towards the kitchen. “That’s really not necessary. Besides, there aren’t many things that need to be done. It’s just me here, and I tend to clean up after myself quite well. Ah- and the creature. Of course.”
Talon blinked with renewed focus. He had zoned out for a second and only caught half of what Ace said. “Uh, sure,” he muttered, figuring out the rest but also still processing it. “Um well, you weren’t there to do anything, so… there’s no need to blame yourself, right? You’re cool, bro. Besides, I think my legs would be much worse than they are now if it hadn’t brought me here, so yeah. It’s cool.”
Smiling with understanding, he nodded, rubbing his neck. “Guess I can’t leave, then.” Then he frowned. “Aww c’mon man, there’s gotta be some way I can repay your kindness and hospitality, right?”
(im so sorry that i disappeared again oh my god. some shit kinda Went Down on my end of things. i should be back in action now, though. hopefully. :’))
Ace blinked a few times, cracking a small, genuine smile after a moment. That was… unexpectedly sweet for a total stranger. “Uh.” He glanced around the room hurriedly after a moment as if his living room would suddenly provide something for Talon to do. Most of the chores were either involved with being up and walking around or a bit too personal to let him do. “I… I don’t know, I suppose you could just shadow me and do very small things, but I don’t think that would be very entertaining for you. I don’t mind doing it on my own, really.” It was true- Ace’s daily chores consisted of maybe four or five easy tasks, and he’d always done them on his own. He was rather quick to tidy up after himself, anyways; he had to be living out here under these conditions.
(Aw man! It’s okay, and if you feel comfortable I’m here if you want to talk about it. Glad to hear from you ^^)
(aaaaah, thanks so much, that’s so sweet 😭😭 glad to be back, definitely missed this one)
(Ahh ofc! And yeah, me too :)
(Talon be like: well guess all we have to do is,,, develop our relationship ;p)
(i- 😭🤚)
(Lollll hahahaha it just popped into my brain-)
(im so sorry that i disappeared again oh my god. some shit kinda Went Down on my end of things. i should be back in action now, though. hopefully. :’))
Ace blinked a few times, cracking a small, genuine smile after a moment. That was… unexpectedly sweet for a total stranger. “Uh.” He glanced around the room hurriedly after a moment as if his living room would suddenly provide something for Talon to do. Most of the chores were either involved with being up and walking around or a bit too personal to let him do. “I… I don’t know, I suppose you could just shadow me and do very small things, but I don’t think that would be very entertaining for you. I don’t mind doing it on my own, really.” It was true- Ace’s daily chores consisted of maybe four or five easy tasks, and he’d always done them on his own. He was rather quick to tidy up after himself, anyways; he had to be living out here under these conditions.
Talon’s eyes widened at the other’s smile. What did he do? He didn’t think his words would make Ace that happy. He couldn’t help but smile back.
Even so, his shoulders slumped a little. “Aw man, alright then. If you really— ooh, wait,” he straightened and snapped his fingers. “Maybe I could help you take care of your creature pet. He doesn’t look like a small chore to take care of, and he already seems to like me enough already. Is that cool?”
Ace nervously scratched at the back of his neck, clearing his throat. “I don’t know if that’s necessary, he’s uh. He’s pretty self-managing, and he’s not usually out during the day, anyway.” It wasn’t technically a lie, but he still felt somewhat bad that he wasn’t telling the complete truth, Talon seemed to trust him already. He wasn’t the kind of person that lied whenever it was convenient for him, back when he still lived in town he hardly ever lied, didn’t feel the need to.
Talon’s shoulders slumped. “Aw, dammit. I’ll feel really useless just lying around…” he tapped his fingers against the wall, his mind then wandering for a moment before he looked back up at Ace. “Let me take care of myself, then. I’ll make my own meals, take care of my own space. I don’t want to live off of you or anything.”
The moment those words left his mouth, he remembered that he had a history of being really bad at taking care of himself and his space. And he’d forgotten his ADHD meds back home. He winced internally.
"No no no, don't worry about it," Ace reassured immediately. While he didn't often make dinner for himself- preferring to feast on whatever he found out in the woods each night- he could cook. He wasn't sure how good it would be- ah, there was something for Talon. "You should focus on healing up, getting your rest. If you'd like something to do, though, I'd always appreciate some help with meals. I'm not the best cook," he said with a chuckle. "I could find a stool somewhere so you don't have to stand on your ankle- that'd be… good." He was sure that there was a better word for how he was feeling, but he couldn't find one at the moment. He supposed 'happy' was the closest thing, perhaps even the completely correct word- but it embarrassed him to express that.
He perked up a bit. “Oh, I wouldn’t mind helping out with that. I wouldn’t say I’m the best either, but I can try my best.”
Perhaps it wouldn’t be so different from the times Talon helped out his mama with meals. It was familiar work, which at least lowered the possibility of him making a fool out of himself.
“I’m not standing on it,” he said, tilting his head and lifting his leg up a little. “I’m leaning on the wall and not putting any weight on it, don’t worry.”
Ace chuckled softly. “While I appreciate your determinedness, safety comes first. Trust me, I’ve forgone safety measures all too many times only to end up with something broken. We wouldn’t want that.” He vaguely remembered that he had a stool in the bathroom, holding a potted plant. He could temporarily relocate the plant, and that’d do- he made a mental note of that. “We can cross that bridge when we get there, however. I, ah… I’m afraid that I don’t have much to do around here. I might have some old board games tucked away somewhere…” He laughed, almost embarrassed. “I don’t host visitors very often.”
“I can tell,” he said automatically. His eyes widened. “Oh sorry, that was rude. Um, I mean, I brought some stuff with me. My keyboard ‘n stuff. I’m bad at board games anyway.” He laughed. “But y’know, I don’t mind. I’m good with just talking too.”
Talon shrugged, indicating that he was in a very ‘I don’t care’ mood. Responsibilities and everything that came with young adulthood had been abandoned in the town, and he was suddenly care free. It was a nice feeling, but also came with the sense that it wouldn’t last long.
"Oh- no, don't worry," He chuckled, dismissing Talon's wide-eyed look with a small wave of his hand. He wasn't sure he'd be the best conversational companion, but then again it'd been a while, so maybe he wasn't too terrible? "Mm, all right then. I'm sure I can dig up something if you tire of me, though." Ace chuckled softly, mentally ticking through his usual schedule. Glancing out the window, he made a low sort of hum noise. "Looks nice out, care to join me in the garden? Of course no pressure if you'd prefer to rest."
“I don’t think I’ll get tired of you,” Talon replied without thinking, absentmindedly picking at his nails now. They were filthy from the previous night.
Then he laughed. “I’m not the type who likes to be bedridden, so resting was not something on my mind. Garden sounds good.”
He hadn’t seen a garden when he arrived at Ace’s house, so it was probably out back. Looking around, he tried a find a door that led outside but also expecting Ace to just lead him there.
Ace blinked a few times, some mild mix of confused and entertained. It'd been years since he spoke to anyone, much less someone who spoke their mind so openly. It was refreshing, he supposed.
"All right. If anything, the fresh air will be nice." He took the few steps to the front door, swinging it open before pausing. Sure Talon insisted that he was okay on his own, but… maybe it was some deep-rooted protective instinct for his new-found companion, or just a concern for a polite stranger, but he didn't want to leave the man stumbling on his own. Hesitantly at first, he offered his arm out to Talon.
Oh, so he was going out the front door. So was there not a back door? Well, there was that back entrance the creature came through to get into the house, maybe that was all. Why have two back doors anyway? Maybe if the house was super big, then you would need multiple entrances, but this was a cabin, not a mansion. Then again, Talon had never seen a mansion before, so who knows? He’d only seen pictures, and they’d never shown the back of the house.
His thoughts ran wild as he watched the other man open the door, and there was a pause before he realized Ace was offering him his hand.
“Oh, uh… thanks, dude.” Talon accepted the outstretched arm and made his way beside the other man. He figured there was a solid chance he’d be stupid and trip on his own foot and end up spraining his ankle even more if he attempted to walk by himself.