Say What? (attn: Bao)
Ran had expected Bao to call on him at some point. Maybe it was because they had never entirely seen eye to eye. Maybe it was because Ran was a ptential rival for Amir's attention.
Maybe it was because Bao had seen Ran leaving a half-dressed Pakpao with a smoky kiss in the lobby of Liefde a couple nights ago.
Yeah, it might be that last one.
Ran had almost missed Bao; he had spent the night with Pak, making her dinner like he'd promised. It wasn't his first daytime stay at her pretty apartment in Liefde Towers, and it certainly wasn't their first shag at this point. He liked Pak's company. She was intelligent, smart, and, oh right, hot Asian chick. When they'd kissed goodbye Ran had turned toward the doors of the Towers to see someone very familiar turning away.
Bao had walked off - or, maybe he'd stalked off. Ran knew Bao had seen him turning around, and they'd shared half a look before his older sibling left. Ran assumed Bao had been passing by; he didn't think Bao would visit Pak at Liefde. At any rate, what he and Pak did was their business. If it pissed Bao off, well, all the better really. Bao could use a little excitement in his life.
And excitement apparently was what he had planned, since he'd asked Ran to meet him here tonight. 'Here' was the training area out behind Heolfor Manor. Ran was not unfamiliar with it. Amir had been kicking his ass several times weekly, claiming Ran was soft. Ran did not feel soft, particularly when Amir bounced him against the walls and floor repeatedly, but hey, it was not for the student to advise the master - or something.
"Honey, I'm home," Ran said loudly as he entered the dojo area. He had no idea what to expect. Hopefully, not a sword in his eyeball or something.
Before he could respond his heart plummeted as Amir entered the room. He took in the scene quietly then approached Ran and jammed his nose back together. Ran gritted his teeth but really, the sensation was only unpleasant for a moment. It was far, far better to feel it knitting up, which it hastened to do.
Amir asked and Bao answered, leaving Ran to quietly huff a dry laugh. "Yeah sure. It's all better. I'm through here."
He went to move past Amir, but he didn't get very far.
He ignored Ran's wince as his hand tightened around something that was probably bruised. Ran wasn't made of glass though. He'd mend.
"No, no you aren't," he said, his voice still softly tempered. "This place is a mess. I think you should both clean it up. Thoroughly."
He looked at Bao. "Get over it, and pull your balls out from wherever they're hiding." Turning to Ran he added, "And you, stop bleeding everywhere or this is going to take forever to clean. Now get to to it, both of you."
He didn't leave, though. Oh no. He found a corner of the room and folded himself into a perfectly comfortable lotus. Then he rested his fingertips lightly upon his knees and closed his eyes. Breathing deeply for a few moments he listened for noise.
"You're not moving fast enough. Get."
He would talk to them each in turn, figure out what the problem was. His vampires always worked well together, really, save these particular two and until now he hadn't really had any issues with them. They kept their mutual dislike pretty quiet. Something had clearly happened to set one or the other of them off. Now wasn't the time for questions though. Bao had looked to be in a foul mood and Ran was clearly upset. Granted, Bao was often in a foul-appearing mood but Amir knew him well enough to know he was troubled and angry. Ran, too, was almost never upset like this.
He would sort it out, if it could be sorted out. After they cleaned the training room and took some time to themselves to cool off.
Fortunately he had the good sense not to say anything as Amir caught Ran by the arm and kept him from fleeing.
With a task set in front of them Bao surveyed the damage. It didn't look too bad, some blood, the broken bo, fortunately Ran hadn't gone through the dry wall when Bao tossed him into the wall, although he had left a mark at least it wouldn't need spackle.
When Amir said clean though, he meant -clean- not tidy. Feeling rather unnecessarily chastened Bao set his jaw and set to work, finding cleaning supplies and starting with the blood on the walls. He wasn't moving too quickly, some parts of him were still quite bruised and regeneration took time. He really didn't think that last attack from Ran had been necessary or sporting, but now wasn't the time to argue it.
As if to spite him, his nose did choose about that time to stop dripping onto his shirt, making it much easier to get to the task of cleaning up their mess. It wasn't a kind punishment; both of them were angry, sore, frustrated, and very much in need of blood. Ran couldn't speak for Bao but he felt a knot of bitterness in his stomach that threatened to spill over in the form in very un-manly and un-vampire-ly tears.
Of all the feelings he tried to avoid in this world it was the one he got when Amir or someone else he liked was angry with and disappointed in him. Under his cheerful exterior Ran was fairly insecure about his place in their family and his feelings were just as bruised as the rest of him right now. He hadn't even gotten to explain himself, or why he'd felt he was justified.
On top of that he'd come off worse in the actual fight because he hadn't really thrown everything he had in it. On a better day, in a more dire situation, his blending and shifting abilities paired with his other skill would have been far more heavily utilized and he thought he could have given a much better showing.
Wiping the now sticky and drying blood away from his rapidly healing nose Ran silently took his share of cleaning supplies and got on his knees to scrub at the mats, channeling his humiliation and anger into the action. At least, he thought, Bao could stew on the fact that now he was pretty much forced to go spend some time with Mina (although today was her day anyway) because he needed her blood. And he was going to enjoy every last delicious, dishonorable drop from the roots of his hair to the tips of his toes and everywhere in between. And so was she. And then tomorrow he'd go see Pak.
So there.
Ran, Amir would have to treat a little more gently. They weren't as close as Bao and Amir were, in spite of the fact that they teased each other frequently. Ran had spent more time away from Amir and had a taste for humans and their lives that neither Amir nor Bao shared. Amir didn't think any less of him for that, but he didn't empathize and it put a distance between them that they couldn't really bridge.
Amir knew Ran would fear he'd take Bao's side in the argument simply because they were closer. That wouldn't be the case unless it turned out Ran was entirely at fault here, but Amir suspected it had taken two to tango today.
When the training room was cleaned to his satisfaction Amir stood in front of both of them and sighed softly. Turning first to Ran he said, not unkindly, "Go get cleaned up. I'll see you back here the night after tomorrow. Just after dusk. Clearly we need to amp up your training regimen. You should have done better. Go."
Ran nodded and left the room, his eyes downcast, without another word. Amir addressed Bao next. "I'll see you tomorrow night. Meet me in the observatory at midnight. Bring your telescope."
Bao nodded and followed Ran out. Amir made sure everything was back in order, something he would normally have left to the humans who tended the Manor and its grounds, but in this case the two were his responsibility. It wasn't that blood in the training room was uncommon; far from it. It happened. They were vampires. They fought hard. What had been reported to him though wasn't training; it had sounded more like a grudge match.
Either way, it would get figured out in short order.
((ooc: All out))