[he initially interprets sett's reaching for his wrist as the (oddly slow) lead-in to a blow, so he first tries to lean into it, then flinches and squeezes his eyes shut as he realizes his face is now defenseless.
but he grows still and opens one eye, then the other as sett speaks, and then he just stares, baffled. (his face is defenseless, all right!)
...he generally saves the apples for a cooldown snack, but there's a residual hint of the flavor nonetheless. thank god he hasn't been eating onions!
...even sett's lips are strong... he wasn't supposed to dodge this, was he?]
( anything is better than the taste of blood. so even onion, as pungent as it might be, would be pleasant. still--- that's not what he's getting, so he's even more blessed by the feeling of soft lips on his own coarse ones.
breaking it, the vastayan smirks and then gives epel a gentle nudge with his fist against the other's shoulder. )
More than happy to teach you how to be strong, but only if you promise you'll only use it as a last resort. Don't wanna go down the wrong path and end up like a brute like me.
( someone who uses poisons and has soft features like epel's... probably will live longer than sett. )
[it's over far too soon; his lips remain motionless, slightly parted, and his eyelids rise slowly as sett pulls back. he wasn't thinking about anything else during the kiss, so it takes a moment for his thoughts to catch back up to the present.]
Huh?? But...
[he struggles to make sense of it. last resort? wrong path?? the pleasant warmth in his face turns hot, and he can feel his eyes threatening to sting with the familiar frustrated tears. (there's no way he's going to let them spill out, though. not here...)]
Why... why can't I use it? No one else is saving it for a last resort, so why just me? ...Besides, what's wrong with how you are?
[ughh... what was that kiss, then? was he just making fun of him? "you look like a girl, so I'm going to treat you like one," was that it? someone like sett, actually taking him seriously... he should've known it was too good to be true!]
Is this just because of how I look? Or... with that one punch, did you already decide that it's hopeless?
Ah... dammit...!!
[the tears... came out. but he looks straight down really quickly, so maybe sett won't be able to see.]
( he sighs to himself. yeah, it's kind of hard exposing yourself (no pun intended) in front of a stranger. but epel isn't from here and isn't likely to use this knowledge to hurt sett--- especially when he could easily just beat the boy down right here and make sure he couldn't. not that he wants to; epel isn't one of those lowlifes or those scumbags looking for a quick buck only to lose all their teeth and maybe a limb in the process... )
Listen. voice soft, ( a little strained from having to be so patient. ) I lost my pops in a ring like this. My mama? She doesn't know I run this entire thing myself. What I'm sayin' is that if you're gonna resort to beatin' every man from here to wherever you live, you might run into someone bigger and badder than you are.
( not that anyone could rival sett. he's the boss for a reason! )
And no. I didn't give up on you. If you wanna get stronger, I can't just let you go that easily. It's gonna have to come in time, and even slower if you're dedicated to other things.
( another flex, that space between his pecs tightening as he leans back in. sett took a lot of beatings as 'the beast-boy bastard'. )
You gotta prove to me that your heart will be in this one hundred percent. Means you'll need to spend a lot of time here, and I'm not gonna expose you to the dumbasses that come in here and get killed. Okay?
[he listens while keeping his eyes on the ground, but his fists only clench tighter and his shoulders rise. finally he wipes his eyes messily and looks back up.]
I get that this place isn't fun and games. I'm not aiming for a life just like yours. But even so... if you'd never gotten strong, if you'd never used your strength... are ye really saying ye'd be better off? That you regret it?
[he shakes his head as if to shake off the agitation; impulsively, he reaches out to grab one of sett's hands in both his own.]
I'm not asking you to make anything happen overnight. And I don't know what you mean about not exposing me to people... But whatever it takes, I'll do it. I just... canna stand getting pushed around for the rest of my life! So if you won't teach me unless I promise I'll never use any of it, then I guess you just won't be teaching me, because I won't make a promise I can't keep!
( ah. it makes sense to him now. sett nods slowly, a little surprised by the conviction in epel's grip of his hand. epel's definitely young, but those feelings of being pushed around... well, it's not like sett didn't have to go through something similar. just in a different form all together. )
Fine. As long as you can handle it, I'll give you all that I can. Might be rough on ya at times. Can't promise you'll get as big as me either. Perks of bein' a half-beast.
( and then he huffs. )
I want you to hit me again, and make sure you don't aim for the face. Don't let your anger and frustration out all at once. Okay?
[and with that, epel's heartbeat swaps back over from "quick due to agitation" to "quick due to excitement," and his face breaks into a big smile. he gives sett's hand one last squeeze (from gratitude!) before letting go and straightening up.]
Aye!!
Well, I'm not expecting a miracle or anything... but there's still time for me to have a really amazing growth spurt, so who knows?
[but he puts aside his daydreams of shooting up fifty centimeters and sprouting a beard to throw another punch. wrist straight, channeling enthusiasm instead of anger... this time he aims (with the flat of his knuckles) for sett's solar plexus.]
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but he grows still and opens one eye, then the other as sett speaks, and then he just stares, baffled. (his face is defenseless, all right!)
...he generally saves the apples for a cooldown snack, but there's a residual hint of the flavor nonetheless. thank god he hasn't been eating onions!
...even sett's lips are strong...
he wasn't supposed to dodge this, was he?]
no subject
breaking it, the vastayan smirks and then gives epel a gentle nudge with his fist against the other's shoulder. )
More than happy to teach you how to be strong, but only if you promise you'll only use it as a last resort. Don't wanna go down the wrong path and end up like a brute like me.
( someone who uses poisons and has soft features like epel's... probably will live longer than sett. )
no subject
Huh?? But...
[he struggles to make sense of it. last resort? wrong path?? the pleasant warmth in his face turns hot, and he can feel his eyes threatening to sting with the familiar frustrated tears. (there's no way he's going to let them spill out, though. not here...)]
Why... why can't I use it? No one else is saving it for a last resort, so why just me? ...Besides, what's wrong with how you are?
[ughh... what was that kiss, then? was he just making fun of him? "you look like a girl, so I'm going to treat you like one," was that it? someone like sett, actually taking him seriously... he should've known it was too good to be true!]
Is this just because of how I look? Or... with that one punch, did you already decide that it's hopeless?
Ah... dammit...!!
[the tears... came out. but he looks straight down really quickly, so maybe sett won't be able to see.]
no subject
Listen. voice soft, ( a little strained from having to be so patient. ) I lost my pops in a ring like this. My mama? She doesn't know I run this entire thing myself. What I'm sayin' is that if you're gonna resort to beatin' every man from here to wherever you live, you might run into someone bigger and badder than you are.
( not that anyone could rival sett. he's the boss for a reason! )
And no. I didn't give up on you. If you wanna get stronger, I can't just let you go that easily. It's gonna have to come in time, and even slower if you're dedicated to other things.
( another flex, that space between his pecs tightening as he leans back in. sett took a lot of beatings as 'the beast-boy bastard'. )
You gotta prove to me that your heart will be in this one hundred percent. Means you'll need to spend a lot of time here, and I'm not gonna expose you to the dumbasses that come in here and get killed. Okay?
no subject
I get that this place isn't fun and games. I'm not aiming for a life just like yours. But even so... if you'd never gotten strong, if you'd never used your strength... are ye really saying ye'd be better off? That you regret it?
[he shakes his head as if to shake off the agitation; impulsively, he reaches out to grab one of sett's hands in both his own.]
I'm not asking you to make anything happen overnight. And I don't know what you mean about not exposing me to people... But whatever it takes, I'll do it. I just... canna stand getting pushed around for the rest of my life! So if you won't teach me unless I promise I'll never use any of it, then I guess you just won't be teaching me, because I won't make a promise I can't keep!
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Fine. As long as you can handle it, I'll give you all that I can. Might be rough on ya at times. Can't promise you'll get as big as me either. Perks of bein' a half-beast.
( and then he huffs. )
I want you to hit me again, and make sure you don't aim for the face. Don't let your anger and frustration out all at once. Okay?
no subject
Aye!!
Well, I'm not expecting a miracle or anything... but there's still time for me to have a really amazing growth spurt, so who knows?
[but he puts aside his daydreams of shooting up fifty centimeters and sprouting a beard to throw another punch. wrist straight, channeling enthusiasm instead of anger... this time he aims (with the flat of his knuckles) for sett's solar plexus.]