Wanted Man

[GnawingOnIce]

Human!AU ft. Tanglefur and Tansysong

He shivered.
Tanglefur pulled his legs in closer to himself and hugged his knees to his chest. The gravel crunched and shifted under his black boots. He was keeping shelter in the back of an alley temporarily. His right cheek was swollen and bruised. He was bloodied and bruised all over just about.

He was lucky he got out of there when he did. Could’ve gotten himself killed. He stood while his muscles, cuts, and bruises protested. Tanglefur sighed, crossing his arms and glancing at his bloody knuckles before staring at the street-light lit road that was never busy at this time of night.

His purple bruises and bloody knuckles stood out against his olive skin. His ginger hair that was pulled back, for the most part, in a low ponytail that was messy and stood out in several places. He had amber eyes that were dull and devoid of any joy that might reside in him. His clothes, a white t-shirt with a leather jacket over it and ripped dark red jeans, were disheveled. He had to stop getting in these fights otherwise he might not have a place to stay soon. He never liked to think about how he got in this situation in the first place.

Footsteps sounded from outside the alley. Tanglefur tensed and instinctively reached for the pocket knife that was nestled in his back pocket. He wasn’t ready to be beaten up again so quickly- who could it be?

Tags;; M'Lady
Notes;; get psyched

[M'Lady]

(omg i didn't even think of people names, should we do people names?? is that a thing??)


No one ever really, noticed, Tansysong. She was a petite girl, with delicate features and curved inwards on herself. Her dark hair fell forward where it wasn't pulled back by an elastic into a short fluffy ponytail. She was merely walking home from school, her bag swinging by her side while high boots crunched the gravel beneath her. It seemed insane that such a small girl was walking through the alleys by herself on the way home, but anyone that dared to cross her would have another thing coming. Many knew to stay out of her way, though whether it was because the girl herself was able to take care of it, or if she just had connections in high places, no one really knew.

So when she heard quick shallow breaths and shuffling in the dirt, she paused with no fear in her stance, but only curiosity in pale fern green eyes. She continued to move forward, peering around the corner to see a man looking back at her from the shadows of the alley, his figure tensed and his eyes wild. She looked up at him for a moment, silent as her eyes flickered over his form, taking in the cuts and bruises that laced his being.

"Are y'okay?" Her voice was soft, an accent flickering in and out of her words, though it's origin was unclear. "There's got t'be somethin' that can help wi' that." She reached into her bag, ruffling around for something and then frowned she found nothing that could help. If only...
She paused again, and then looked up at the wary stranger and reached out a delicate hand.
"Would y'want ta come wi'me? I can patch y'up at home."

[GnawingOnIce]

Tanglefur was both surprised and relieved that it was only a girl; walking home it seemed. His muscles only relaxed subtly. He didn’t speak a word and kept his hand hovering over the knife.

“Are y’okay?” She asked. What did she say? Are you okay? Truthfully, he was not okay. He had many cuts and bruises and needed help. But he wouldn’t admit it, ever. "There's got t'be somethin' that can help wi' that." He kept a close eye on her hand as she looked through her bag but her search didn’t turn up with anything.

“Would y'want ta come wi'me? I can patch y'up at home." He furrowed his eyebrows, the spaces around them wrinkling, when she reached out a hand. Why did she want to help him? She had only just laid eyes on this man, taken a quick glance over him, and decided to help him! He was shocked.

He stood there, tight lipped. He didn’t want to go anywhere. “Uh- It’s okay. It happens from time to time.” He tried to make an excuse for himself. A scar on the corner of his mouth was evidence that this wasn’t the first time this sort of thing had happened. The hand that had been hovering over the knife finally fell to his side and he straightened his posture. “Who are you, anyway?”

Tags;; M'Lady
Notes;; I never thought about human names! It doesn’t matter to me

[M'Lady]

She frowned slightly as he spoke, tilting her delicate head to the side. From time to time? Poor fellow. Though, she wondered what he did, if anything. Though, she never liked watching others bleed. Tansysong was never the one that did the dirty work, what messy business that all was. Ignoring his words, she reached into the pocket of her blazer, pulling out a clean white handkerchief. Her hands were fast, and they darted out to pull his own towards her, the one with bloodied knuckles, to tie it quickly and cleanly around the wounds.

"S'not much, but it'll do." She hummed, glancing up at him with pale green eyes at his bewildered features, and then giving a soft scoff. "You'll do well ta 'member m'name around these parts," She grumbled, eyes narrowing slightly. "Tansy s'what people call me." She rather liked her name. It was derived from ancient Greek, actually. Αθανατος. Immortality. It had quite a nice ring to it, she thought.

"What in th'hell happened ta ya?"

[GnawingOnIce]

Tangle lifted an eyebrow at the girl as she didn’t answer his question at first. Instead, she pulled a white handkerchief from a pocket and grabbed his hands. He tensed up and started to jerk away but allowed her to tie it around one of his hands. It felt nice, actually.

"S'not much, but it'll do." She had said. He took his hand away from her and rubbed the handkerchief with his thumb. Her scoff caught his attention. "You'll do well ta 'member m'name around these parts," And why is that? He wondered silently. What good could this girl do for him other than patch up his wounds? He realized he would be thankful for more help than just patching up than just his hand. "Tansy s'what people call me.” Tansy? Wasn’t that a kind of plant? Oh, well. Guess they were going by ‘not their real names’.

After a few moments he realized he hadn’t said anything back. “Oh! I’m Tangle.” He introduced himself, going by an alias that others called him sometimes. It was because of his hair, it was always messy and tangled.

“What in th'hell happened ta ya?" Tansy asked. His mood downed a little. He didn’t like talking about what happened to him. “Just a fight. I guess some people don’t like me that much? But I fight back. Then I get in these situations and that ends me up where I am now: here.” He explained. Tangle’s voice wasn’t really deep but rather rough and worn. “Uhm, how about that offer on helping me out? I realize I could use it.” His words were greatly forced. He knew he needed help and he still didn’t want to go anywhere but oh well.

Tags;; M'Lady
Notes;; n/a

[M'Lady]

Tangle. Her green gaze flicked up to his tattered locks as he said that, and let out a soft scoff. Well, no mystery there. Going very literal with the nicknames, here in this alleyway. She was quiet as he spoke, looking rather sympathetic to his sorrows. A boy who wouldn't submit, no wonder people decided to beat him down. Sometimes people really were just, assholes. He sounded tired too. She wondered if he even had a safe place to sleep... Did he sleep? She heard his plea in his voice, despite how much he clearly despised it, and nodded her head in a quick, sharp bird like motion.

"Sure." She was itching to disinfect his wounds anyway, he'd get a nasty infection if she didn't. Clutching the strap of her bag with a hand, she gestured for him to follow, and then began the trek back home. She wondered if anyone would be there, though she sincerely doubted it. Her brother went to boarding school, and her parents were often working. Well, it would be better if they weren't there anyways, she didn't want to explain why she brought a stranger home just because he looked like shit.

[GnawingOnIce]

Relief flooded Tangle as she tersely nodded her head and started off toward her home. He softly smiled, a rare occurrence, and followed her. Upon taking a couple steps forward, he realized he was very, very tired. When was the last time he had had a comfortable place to sleep? A tiny creature in the back of his head pecked at his brain. Why should you trust her? Well, what she told him she could do if he came with her sounded promising. And he was desperate. So desperate it was sad. Honestly, Tangle should practically worship Tansy when he’s been healed.

Sweeping his thoughts from his mind, he went back looking at Tansy’s dark hair and the harsh streetlights. “Uh, how long will it take to get there?” He asked her, trying to make small talk. Tangle occasionally glanced over his shoulder and into the dark corners of the buildings, goosebumps popping up on the back of his neck. He wasn’t used to being out in the open after hiding for so long.

Tags;; M'Lady
Notes;; n/a