[IC] AcaciaMalikov + Guess Who [1x1]

[Guess Who]

Seeing Acacia's reaction to how slowly he had first applied the alcohol, made Ryan realize that taking it slow and steady probably wasn't the best way to do it. Probably better to do it quick. Like ripping off a band-aid. Okay, here we go. His next "dab" on the injury wasn't really much of a dab, it was more of a rub. As quickly as he could, he pressed the vodka-soaked facecloth to Acacia's leg and pressed most of the alcohol into the injury. Afterwards, he quickly grabbed another facecloth that he had grabbed and tried to dry her leg and soak up any left over vodka that hadn't been absorbed into cleaning the wound.

"Alright, you should be good now. Just take it easy. If you have any bandages, maybe wrap them around your leg as well," he told her as he got up. After all that, Ryan would be lying if he said he didn't feel like having a drink, even if he hadn't had alcohol before. Holding his hand out to Acacia's, which was still clutching the bottle of vodka, he asked, "Mind if I have some?"

[AcaciaMalikov]

Acacia 'Ace' Malikova

As Ryan, without warning, suddenly pressed the cloth to her leg again she'd tense up and without much of her own permission a painful cry mixed groan emerged her partially spread pale lips. The swelling of tears within her eyes visible as she clenched her teeth and looked up at the roof again pressing the crown of her skull against the wall behind her. Holy fuck, this hurts way too much, is it over yet? her mind would run rampant, feeling the rubbing of the cloth into the wound as the open flesh began absorbing the liquid, the skin around it visibly reddened from irritation though, that was to be expected she figured.

Suddenly the pressure from the cloth was released, though it wasn't long before a second cloth, this time a dry one, was pressed against and within the wound to absorb the stray vodka that wouldn't sink in. The balls of developed salty water dropped from their positions and slid down the translucent skin of her cheeks leaving light marks as she huffed a heavy breath.

When Ryan eventually stopped the torturous act she'd barely shift to look at him as she listened to him speaking, "Don't have any bandages," she'd offer lightly, her voice shaky as her ankle still sent sharp shocks of pain up her limb. "I guess, sure..." she'd say as he'd ask for the drink she was holding, though before passing it over though she'd take a larger swig of its contents before passing it over and leaning against the wall again. Bright baby blue hues staring at the roof as she left her perfectly fine leg dangling off the bench and held her injured one where it had been already, she didn't look like she wanted to move just yet... and she looked like she would probably hurt him if he tried anything else.

[Guess Who]

"Thank you," Ryan said as he took the bottle into his hand. Been one strange day today, hasn't it? "Well, bottoms up," he said as he lifted the bottle to his mouth. Almost as soon as the clear liquid touched his tongue, he spit out however much of the beverage had gotten in his mouth and almost spilled what was left in the bottle. Ryan then began spitting and sputtering as he could still taste it on his tongue. His whole over-dramatic reaction could be easily seen as very comical. "Y'know, maybe vodka isn't for me. Sorry about the mess," the young man said as he handed the bottle back to Acacia.

Since his generous host had gone to take the bench as her chosen furniture to relax on, Ryan decided to move back to the couch and sprawled out across it. Looking over to Acacia, he asked, "So, uh, what do you do for a living?" He didn't really know what else to ask and he didn't feel like sitting in silence.

[AcaciaMalikov]

Acacia 'Ace' Malikova

Couldn't help but emit a light chuckle in humor alongside a disgusted face at the mess made, as she watched the young red-heads reaction to the liquor he attempted to drink. "It's not for everyone, no," she'd comment lightly as she'd wipe away the slowly drying liquid that had descended her cheeks from the recently ended 'procedure'. Glancing down towards the spilled vodka, both that spat and that straight from the bottle, as Ryan began wandering off, she'd huff, "I do hope you plan on cleaning that up also."

Light hues trailed after the mans actions as he headed for the couch and sprawled out upon it, and as he asked the question she'd just shrug, "I don't really do anything. I live out here alone, and I usually find ways to get money for the supplies I need... Though what I buy normally lasts a decent length of time," she'd begin saying, though now her curiosity piqued and she would gradually shuffle to the edge of the counter.

Both legs now dangling off its edge as hands propped her form upwards while she leaned forward slightly to see past the fridge, "What about you, what do you do?" she'd ask, the Russian accent clinging to each word as she watched him.

[Guess Who]

"What I do?" Ryan repeated Acacia's question. You should have seen this coming, dude. If you asked her, why wouldn't she ask you? He made a nervous gulp that might remind someone of whenever a cartoon would do that. Last time I told someone what I did for a living I got to find out what being tasered and maced feels like... at the same time. I refuse to ruin my relationship with this beautiful girl, simply because she thinks I'm crazy. Now think of something to tell her. "Um, uh, uhhh... You know what, I'm sorry, I should have cleaned that up immediately. Here, let me do that now," he responded, trying to dodge the question.

As he grabbed the facecloth he had earlier used to dry Acacia's leg, Ryan said, "Wow. We seem to be going through these things like crazy, don't we?" He began to soak up the spit-out vodka while thinking of something to say instead of just coming out with the truth of his occupation. When Ryan finally did figure out what to say instead, he was stupefied at how long it took him to think of it. "I'm a hunter actually. I sell pelts and stuff from my kills. Or I would if I found something. I only just started recently and I haven't found anything."

[AcaciaMalikov]

Acacia 'Ace' Malikova

Watched him fumble about the question and dodge it by returning to clean up his mess instead, "You're a funny one, Ryan," she'd offer with a light chuckle as he tried once more to dodge the question she'd asked. Though she didn't care if he offered an answer or not, she wouldn't have pressured him into answering. As she continued to watch him she'd slide a bottle of spray disinfectant towards him, obviously gesturing for him to make sure it was properly cleaned.

Eventually the fumbling mess found his words to fit her question, though her eyes seemed to widen a partial amount at the mention of hunter, muscles tensing as she settled those now harsh looking baby blue eyes on him, 'I sell pelts and stuff from my kills. Or I would if I found something. I only just started recently and I haven't found anything.' Upon hearing the last bit of his words she'd sit up straight, "There's no hunting in these parts, I don't permit it and I don't condone the killing of helpless animals," she'd huff heavily, the Russian accent of her origins thickly coating her words making them sound a bit more threatening than planned.

"You saw Truth, yes?" she'd ask him and without waiting for a response continued on, "That there is purebred wolf, yet she didn't harm you in the slightest, did she? But, she, like every other wolf, defends what they call family, that's where all the growling and threatening comes in. Hunters go into their territory, get close to their pups and kill the adults without thinking. 'I just wanted its pelt, it was nothing but a filthy rabid animal anyway, didn't deserve to live'. I've heard plenty say it. Those animals that hunters aim those filthy weapons at, none of them done anything but defend themselves and the others that relied on them. Yet, they die in the end, because they are just another pelt to be collected and sold."

If it wasn't apparent by now, Acacia had a very, very strong thing against hunters, and she made that perfectly clear, like crystal clear. She wasn't sure what Ryan's reaction would be, but she certainly didn't look all that impressed as she slid off the counter to stand up fully. It was then she realized she was actually smaller than the man. She was a mere 5'5 and her slender figure made threats useless, although the harshness of those baby blue hues and the stern ring of her Russian history upon each word she spoke made it seem like she wasn't all that harmless.

[Guess Who]

Hearing Acacia suddenly start chewing him out on why she disliked hunters so much suddenly made Ryan become incredibly nervous. Here he was hitting it off with this girl pretty well just a couple minutes ago, or at least that's what he believed, and now he had released the beast inside of her. Little did he know that she had a much more physical beast that still laid dormant, but that's beside the point. He had now done the absolute last thing he wanted to do and that was upset Acacia. I should have just said I was unemployed.

When he had finished cleaning up the vodka with the rag and spray bottle, Ryan sat both on the nearby counter and stood up. He might have towered over Acacia by about seven inches, but that didn't make her any less scary in his eyes. Taking the holsters for his Berettas off his belt and unslinging the Remington on his back, he placed them down on the counter with the cleaning supplies and turned back to Acacia. "I'm not going to shoot anything, I promise. If you don't trust me, than here you go. Hide them if you want to. Truth be told, I don't even know if I could pull the trigger on another living being. I've only ever shot paper targets."

[AcaciaMalikov]

Acacia 'Ace' Malikova

Had begun moving towards the couch after her rant about hunters, she could still hear him cleaning the counter though it didn't last long as he placed the rag and bottle on the bench before the sound of straps hit her ears. Glancing over her shoulder at him whilst standing in front of the couch she'd witness him place all his weaponry upon the counter.

He began to make a promise, a promise that he would shoot anything nor that he thought he possibly could, "You'd be surprised, a great many men say they couldn't, and then they do it and they keep doing it." Eventually she'd sink down onto the couch taking up one half of it.

"How do you think I ended up with Truth?" she'd as him lightly, "I didn't kill her pack, but I saw the people who did. She was only about sixteen weeks old when I found her," Acacia would continue on, she'd stare at the small unlit fire-place as she rested and arm on the couches armrest and then placed her chin upon it, "Those she cared about were ripped away from her, no one to look after her, how do you think that would feel? I've lived here about three years, and I found her only a short week after moving here, she's never met another wolf."

Acacia had to be careful with the last section of her words, she wouldn't allow herself to tell the human what she was, and that was the truth about it. He had weapons, sure he'd taken them off, but if she mentioned a single thing about what she truly was, it could all end easily. For now, she remained where she was, staring quietly into the fireplace as she thought back to how she left her mother and sister those few years back, they needed her, but she still left, and it was visible on her face that she was being drug back to her own past, though whatever reason it was would be unknown.

[Guess Who]

Ryan politely listened to Acacia's story of how she found Truth, a bit surprised at the discovery that the animal was actually a wolf and not a dog, though looking back Ace did tell him that it wasn't a dog. As she finished, he couldn't help but feel that Acacia might found Truth's situation similar to her own, and that was why she took the animal in as a pet. Of course, Ryan couldn't help but feel pity for the wolf as well when he really thought about what it must have felt like to be in her shoes. Then he imagined what Truth would look like wearing shoes and had to use every bit of self control to keep himself from smiling at the ridiculousness of the image in his head.

"Well, from the sounds of it, she couldn't have found a better person to take care of her," he said, before letting out a loud yawn. "Huh, seems to be getting a bit late."

[AcaciaMalikov]

Acacia 'Ace' Malikova
&
Truth

Would snap out of her flash back as she heard Ryan speaking, when he mentioned it seemed to be getting late she'd glance towards the nearest window and noticed the dulling world surrounding the small cabin. Nodding slightly she'd realized how much time had truly past and it was actually somewhere between 5 and 7 pm already.

Slowly arising from her seat she'd move back towards the kitchen, her ankle still causing discomfort as she'd walk with a visible limp, Damnit, why is this taking so long to heal, I mean it's good, I don't need him to see it vanish, but it shouldn't take so long. As she moved around Ryan she'd open the fridge to look at it's contents, no eggs, whatever milk was left was probably bad, no meat, she'd huff lightly under her breath before moving to rummage through her cabinets and once more found nothing that would sustain both of them and satisfy any form of hunger.

Just as she turned to face Ryan to mention they may go without a meal tonight she'd hear scraping paws along the wooden paneling of the floor. The large wolf slowly emerged through the still open front door with her maw parted and a ball of ivory fur dangled lifelessly between the yellowed daggers. Tail still low as she slowly walked towards Acacia, eyes glaring at the human as she dropped the dead rabbit at the woman's feet.

"Oh... Well it looks like we may not go hungry after all..." she'd state, voice softening from her rant earlier as she'd slowly lower to grab the dead animal, the smell of its blood filling her nostrils as she'd move towards the bench to prepare skinning it... What a girl huh? Lives alone with a wolf for a pet, skins and eats whatever her wolf brings home and seems really nice yet for some reason she still put off a feeling of insecurity.

[Guess Who]

Ryan watched as Acacia moved to search the kitchen for food. It began to feel like there were weights on his eye lids as he struggled to keep them open. Acacia started at the fridge, then seemed to just teleport to the cabinets. No, I had just fallen asleep for a few seconds. Must have just missed her as she moved to look for more food. Wait, wasn't she just on the other side of the kitchen? Dammit, I did it again. Come on! STAY AWAKE! STAY AWake. STAY awake. STay awake. Stay- Exhaustion finally got the better of the young man as he fell into a deep slumber. The last thing he saw was Truth bring a freshly killed rabbit inside and handing it over to Acacia. He hadn't even been awake long enough to see her begin skinning and cooking the small mammal.

[AcaciaMalikov]

Acacia 'Ace' Malikova
&
Truth

Acacia had skinned and cooked the rabbit long before she'd notice Ryan had passed out upon the living room sofa. She had felt the urge for silence and didn't open her mouth until she went to speak to him over her shoulder, "Dinner is read..." she'd cut herself off as those pale hues caught a glimpse of the slumbering human upon the furniture. The corners of her lips slightly drew up in a smile as she'd look down at the begging wolf and tossed her half of the rabbit carcass she hadn't yet cooked.

"Guess I'll leave this in the fridge for tomorrow," she'd comment to Truth before sliding the two meals of cooked meat into the fridge. Nodding lightly at the wolf laying upon her fabric pile gnawing on the meat and bones she'd decide to head to the nearest small closet and grab a blanket, it was a stained white doona that she quickly lifted and placed over Ryan so he didn't get a chill over night, which quickly reminded her to close the front door before heading back up the ladder to the loft.

Deciding what she was wearing was comfy enough she'd crawl onto the small double bed and curl up on its surface drawing a thin sky blue blanket over herself as she'd eventually drift off to sleep.

---

Time Skip to

The Next Morning

---

[Guess Who]

Oh God! It's gonna get me! IT'S GONNA GET ME! Someone help! Monster! Monster! Monster! "Gah!" Ryan awoke with a start. What a horrible nightmare. I wonder what caused it. He got up from the couch, wrapping the blanket that Acacia had given him last night around his shoulders. He walked into the bathroom and took care of some... business, before walking back into the living room and sitting down onto the couch. Ryan let out a bored sigh as he sat in silence. Not much to around here is there? I wish this frickin' TV worked.

After several more minutes of boring silence went by, Ryan finally decided to do something about it. Standing up again, this time leaving the blanket behind, he made his way to the ladder that led up to the attic that had become Acacia's makeshift bedroom. He peeked over the floor, making sure he wasn't about to walk in on her changing or something, before finally stepping onto the attic floor. Looking around the room, he noticed several articles of clothing still scattered on the floor. Shit! I never cleaned that up. I'll do that right now. As quickly and quietly as possible as he could, Ryan gathered all of Acacia's clothes and put them back in the most appropriate looking drawers, as neat as possible. Okay, now that that's done with, I'm just going to check on Ace. Approaching the bed, Ryan looked at Acacia's face to see if she had woken up yet. When he saw that she hadn't, Ryan began to reach forward to wake her before stopping himself. Should I wake her? I know I'm bored, but wouldn't it be impolite to to wake her?

[AcaciaMalikov]

Acacia 'Ace' Malikova
&
Truth

Acacia didn't stir in the early morning's light. Still sprawled out upon the bed in the make-shift room upon the attic platform, she'd breath lightly into the pillow her face was pressed again. Ruffled blankets barely covering her as she had tossed and turned throughout the darkened night, belly down she had made herself quite comfortable in the center of the decently sized bed.

When Ryan had awoken in a startled nature, the only attention he gained was a half-dead looking glare from the lounging figure of Truth propped upon torn sheets in the corner of the same room. When he made his way through the household to use the loo and then wandered back only to flop once more, she'd blink lightly. Tanned jowls parted as she bore those large yellow k-9's in a partially whined yawn before placing her cranium back upon extended forelimbs leaving the human to do as he pleased.

When he ascended the ladder back up to Acacia's room while she slumbered the feminine figure only shifted slightly. A calm moan emerging as legs stretched out and shoulders rolled, though visibly still asleep as the bright haired human fumbled about to clean up the mess he'd made the day before in which Acacia had not yet gotten to cleaning. Usually awake so early in the morning she'd seemingly spent all her energy yesterday and as the young man approached further in contemplation of awaking her she'd shift once more, rolling to one side as her face tilted to look at the roof, though eyes still shut and lips parted lightly she'd remain within that tranquil sleep.

[Guess Who]

Ryan finally decided on what course of action to take and lowered his hand to his side. Waking her up would be selfish. Ruining her sleep just to satisfy my boredom. What was I even thinking? Quietly, he walked back down the ladder leading to the ground floor. At least, that was the plan. Missing just a single rung on the ladder and Ryan was sent tumbling down, making more noise then a 150 pound, 19-year-old male should probably make. Time seemed to slow down as his brain processed what was going on, making the moment of weightlessness seem more intense. "Owww," he said once the dust had settled, metaphorically speaking. Oh man. That would've woken her up for sure. And the do- I mean wolf, too. I'm probably going to start hearing barking any second now. Wait, do wolves bark? Looks like I'm about to find out.

[AcaciaMalikov]

Acacia 'Ace' Malikova
&
Truth

Acacia would lightly slumber, unbothered by the sound of the light footsteps pattering down the ladder, probably because she hadn't really heard them. Eyes shifting as she dreamed under the light curtains of her eyelids the curl on the ends of her lips signifying something pleasant before her top half would suddenly fly up, the sound of something harsh colliding on the floor startling her awake as she breath heavily.

"Chto! Chto , chert voz'mi , chto ?" she'd speak lightly, the thick Russian accent more predominant over the foreign words she spoke.

Her footsteps slowly pattering over the attic floor as she had emerged from the warmth of her bed, a partial limp in each step as she huffed having forgotten about the previous days events and as she peeked over the railing down at the human sitting upon his rump on the floor still she'd groan, "Der'mo ."

Her process of readying to ask if he was okay had been quickly interrupted by the scraping of claws upon the wooden flooring, Truth had made little noise until that point barely phased in her still sleepy mind-set by the thud of human meeting the hard floor.

[Guess Who]

As Acacia entered his field of view, Ryan looked back at her with puppy dog-like eyes. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to wake you," he apologized. "If you want, you can just go back to sleep." He looked down at the floor in shame. Stop messing it up with this pretty girl. You're going to blow it if you keep this up. Finally deciding to get off the floor and stop wallowing in his fear of failure, he got back on his feet to see Truth now standing before him. It might have just been his imagination or that he had not yet forgotten how he had first met the pet wolf, but it seemed like Truth was just about ready to take a bite out of Ryan. "Nice wolfie. No need to get all hyped up. The nonthreatening human is now going to go walk back to the couch and you, the big bad scary wolf, can just go back to sleep in your nice pile of comfy sheets."

[AcaciaMalikov]

Acacia 'Ace' Malikova
&
Truth

Acacia rolled her eyes slightly at the red-head trying to apologize for waking her, the mess of auburn topping her head visibly messy as she reached up with a hand to rub her eyes before glancing back down as Ryan decided to head back towards the couch, his words towards the visibly still asleep yet partially awake canine made her smile lightly, He's not the brightest is he? she'd think to herself.

After a short moment she'd slowly decide to descend the ladder slowly, great care being given to the still feelable pain in her ankle. "Did you find the food I left in the fridge?" she'd ask lightly as she headed for the kitchen to pull out both meals if he'd not yet eaten his, after all she was hungry too and she hadn't exactly eaten it last night either. Though about half-way to the kitchen she'd realize she had to go to the bathroom and quickly altered her course to a b-line to the bathroom only to vanish within and closing the door behind herself.

Once finished she'd wash her hands and pat them dry on a small towel hooked on the wall, glancing around she'd then redirect herself to the kitchen to fish out the food, stomach rumbling lightly as she huffed.

"I'll share with you too, Truth," she'd say as she pulled out both meals and headed for the couch, not really interested in sitting on the hard wooden chairs at this point.

[Guess Who]

As Acacia came down the ladder from the basement, Ryan moved out of the way for her while still keeping an eye on Truth. At the mere mention of food though, he immediately lost all focus on the wolf. "Food? Uh, no, I never checked the fridge," he replied as he followed Acacia to the kitchen. He stopped in his tracks when she changed her path to the bathroom, confused until he realized where she was going. He decided that he'd wait for her on the couch as Acacia finished her business. As she exited from the bathroom, he turned to her and asked, "So what are we having to eat. Just out of curiosity." He scooted over to the other side of the upholstery to make room for her as she brought over the rabbit.

[AcaciaMalikov]

Acacia 'Ace' Malikova
&
Truth

Truth had already begun her trailing of Acacia, a mere short pace behind her as her velveteen nasal raced an collected all the scents floating from the two servings of food. Acacia ignored Truth for that short moment, carefully holding out one plate of just cooked rabbit meat towards Ryan. "I'm sorry I can't offer you anything more, we're running a little short on supplies," she'd apologize to the guest before sitting on the opposite end of the couch to him, "But, I'll restock when I take you to town."

Placing the cold ceramic plate upon her jean clad lap, she'd glance at Ryan and then towards Truth before beginning to cut into the cold meal. She could have heated it up, but that would have taken more work than she was willing to put in. After cutting the meat into multiple small pieces she'd toss a piece onto the floor across the room allowing Truth to eat it before eating one herself. "When are you wanting to go to town? Or do you want to go to your car to get anything?" she'd ask after swallowing her mouthful, though quickly placed another within her mouth as she awaited a response.