Who: Renji & Rogue What: Cow Tipping, Attempt #2 Where: a farmer friends' field When: the other day Rating: no bigs, except for some language :)
Renji had gotten off work that night, and stopped off at home to shower and change clothes. Then he was out the door and in the car, driving to the cow field where he had met Rogue, before. Cow tipping, part two? It was ON.
He parked by the field and got out, zapped himself on the electric fence again, and was standing there like a too-tall Japanese dude, waiting for Rogue to show up.
But, hey, at least he hadn’t zapped himself when she was there! GO HIM!
Rogue took the bike up to the farm and got there shortly after he did. She was a little frazzled looking. Her long hair windswept and tangled from the ride up. She was dressed in daisy dukes, cowboy boots and a long sleeved plaid button up.
She sauntered over, easily ducking under the fence. He got a quiet smile. "Ready to fail again? " She asked with a smile.
"Pfffffffft. I've got this," says Mr. (Over) Confidence. He waved it off and then took a closer look at her. Not only because hello? Those're short shorts. But because she looked like she hadn't gotten a lot of sleep and stuff was really bothering her. That got her a good, long staring at, while his brows knit together out of concern.
"You look like hell," he said, bluntly. "That dream stuff's really bothering you. Isn't it."
She smiled softly. "Ain't just the dreams sugah. Ahve got problems coming with them. " She said quietly. She made no move to get too close. She'd touched someone earlier and found them stuck in her head for a few minutes. She had no idea what was going on.
"Yeah ah know ah look like hell. Stupid dreams. " She said softly. "How's work? "
"Eh. It's work." He rolled his eyes and shrugged sharply, before focusing his attention back on Rogue again. "Had some asshole spit through the window at me and I just about busted my ass trying to go through it to headbutt him. Manager had to yell at me to stop and he took off without getting his food. More for me to eat. Hell with that, though? Now I'm worried about my cow tipping guru. C'mon. Cheer up."
Renji wasn't budging. In fact, he brought a hand out to thwap it against her shoulder in one of those 'feel better ok?' gestures that people often gave to one another. He wasn't exactly the most gentle of creatures, and he had no idea she was trying to keep her distance.
Rogue winced a bit as he touched her then relaxed when nothing happened. "Ahm sorry people are so rude. It's a shame really people forget their manners. " She offered him s faint smile.
"Shall we then? "She asked trying to avoid taking about her dream and power bullshit for a Little while longer.
"Don't be sorry. Shit happens and people are assholes. It’s not like you tried to spit at me, anyway."
He was giving her a staring at like he wasn't sure they should go play with cows right now, but he shrugged it off. He's get blunt with her sooner or later. Maybe she needed a distraction for a few minutes, so things felt normal again.
"Sure. Let's go see if I can flip Bessie over." He started walking over to one of the cows, talking the whole way, and less wary of farmers wielding pitchforks. "I'm gonna hit the gym soon, and I drew some stuff on napkins earlier. I bet if I hit it at the right angle...."
Because, yes, that's what's going to make the huge difference.
"...I can knock this grass chewing, moo cow bitch over." He finalized that sentiment by grinning like a madman and popping his knuckles.
“Eh people are assholes. Ah can be sorry about it. Ah try not to be but ah know ah can be sometimes.” she said lightly, a tiny smile on her lips as she shook her head lightly. Then she looked at him and offered him an attempt at a real smile. It was a ghost of one but it was there. Kinda. She expected to get the talking to after this.
“Ah can’t wait to see you try again.” she giggled softly as she followed him towards one of the cows. She was glad she had an in with the farmer, he was a kind old man anyways. Plus he found it humorous that they were even bothering to try.
“Did you now?” she asked curiously as she stood, hip shot, staring at the cow. “Grass chewing, cow bitch huh?” she about died right there, laughing pretty good.
Got her to laugh? Check. Even if it was at his expense and his jaw was set, teeth gnashed for a moment, as he growled under his breath. It was quickly brushed off because she seemed like she needed that laugh. Who was he to ruin that?
"That's what I said. Not let me get..." He grasped the cow under it's ribs and tried to lift with his knees, not his back. The cow didn't budge. He turned around, hooked his hands under it's side, and tried to lift. It sounded like he was on the verge of a hernia. "...I got this. I GOT THIS."
The cow stood there, slowly chewing on some grass, looking half-awake.
Rogue smiled softly at him. He was on the receiving end of some of her nicest smiles. He was the breathe of fresh air she needed right now. “You are too funny. Poor cow.” she watched him try to lift the cow from the underside. “Did ah mention last time they’re almost 1000lbs?” she laughed softly. “You got it huh?” she smirked, lips curling upwards playfully. “Please don’t give yourself a broken spine trying.” she looked to the cow then back to Renji, and plucked up a clover to chew on as she watched. “Mm. You are tenacious, huh?”
"...not gonna give up, until I prove...it's more...than a urban legend," he said, gnashing his teeth and turning red in the face. ‘I got this.”
To his credit, he got the cow to shift off to the side, but that was mostly due to the cow wanting this dude to stop. He was giving it indigestion. Silly human.
Though he looked ready to keel over, he pointed at the cow and announced loudly, "HA! GOT YOU TO MOVE! Triumph. I'm getting closer to being able to knock a cow over."
He stood there, smiling like >:D with his arms folded over his chest, reveling in stage one of his epic plan to flip a cow.
It's turned into cow flipping, in Renji's brain. Sad.
Rogue smiled softly. “Of course, then.” she ran her nails through her hair. “You’re spine. Please just don’t hurt yourself.” she felt bad for the poor cow. That poor thing just wanted to eat and not be shoved around like some lawn ornament.
“One small step, one giant leap for urban legend debunking!” she said with a tilt of her head. “You’re persistent, ah’ll give you that. “
"Last thing I'd want to be known for, is some lame ass who quits trying, because everyone else says or thinks something can't be done."
Maybe she was right, so taking a breather couldn't hurt. Last thing he wanted to do was go to work or exercise with a bum back. He gave the cow a pat on the back, to let it know that it was going to get a break too. How kind of him. The cow looked unimpressed.
"What the hell's eating at you, anyway," Renji asked, deciding on his usual blunt approach toward the subject. "Less sass, more sad today. Those stupid dreams really got ya busted up, huh. Spill it and I’ll listen. Get mad and yell about it, and maybe you'll feel better."
She smiled at him. “You’re doing better than most people would, ah’ll admit that one.” she grinned at him.
She laughed at the cow’s reaction to the pat. It was ready to go back to eating and ignore the pair, and that’s exactly what she did. All Renji got was a mournful moo for a second which oddly sounded more tired than anything. Perhaps the cow was just tired of them trying. Who knew.
“It’s not just the dreams, Renji.” she said quietly. “They seem to have come with some strings attached. Ah’ve… it’s weird and ah doubt anyone really will get it.” little did she know, of course. “ah touch people now and… every now and then Ah get them in my head afterwards. Like ah stole part of them. Ah don’t even know. It’s fucked up and ah don’t like it none.” she said chewing on a piece of clover, staring out into the field.
SHUT UP MOO COW. SOMEDAY YOU'RE GETTING FLIPPED BY RENJI ABARAI. AWW YEA.
Renji forgot all about the cow as he listened, and had to ask, "Like what? You know what they're thinking? Is that it? There's gotta be a explaination for that crap, though. You aren't going crazy, because you seem like YOU right now...so maybe it's your imagination and this shit will stop happening."
Because he was slowly thinking that there might not be any explanations for some things anymore, but he didn't want to admit it.
"I touched your shoulder. You didn't flap your arms or tell me to fuck off or anything. What gives?" He reached out and did it again, including giving her a pat pat pat, to get the point across. "Am I in your head now? If I'm not, then stop being bummed out about that part. What's the big deal with your dreams anyway?"
Oh boy. Talk about loaded questions.
Silly Cow. “No. Ah touch them and ah steal part of them. Like a copy of who they are at that moment stays in mah head. Although ah’ve not had too many people be affected yet. So ah don’t know if that’s how it works.” she looked at him with a sad smile. “Ah don’t think it’s all in my head.”
No explanations. She shivered softly and hugged herself. It was terrifying to know something wasn’t right about herself. She twitched when he patted her again. “Yer not. No. You’d know, Ah think. The girl looked more tired after she touched me. like ah stole her energy.” she chewed on her lip before looking up at him.
“Ah’m not a nice person in them. Ah let my misery and loneliness get the best of me and ah willingly joined a group that were glorified terrorists. And ah was used by my kind of adopted mother. It is… messy feeling.” she looked up at him.
"...so this isn't something you can control," Renji guessed, watching her closely in response, and not looking away for even a moment. "Maybe...and I'm not saying this dream crap is real or anything...but maybe you'll find a way to make it stop. But you're not hurting me and I'm not tired at all. I just can't flip over a freakin' cow right this moment, but I'll get there, eventually."
Renji was, if anything, over-confident and determined, and he was sympathetic to her plight, but if someone wanted something done, he lived by the motto that they needed to work hard and do it, themselves.
"You're gonna figure it out, if you want to figure it out. You gotta believe that," he flat-out told her. "I'm not afraid of you, even if you're feeling messy. Even if you weren't a nice person when you're asleep, you seem nice here and now. And this' where it matters the most, ya know?"
She looked up at him with a whole world of a different smile on her face, it was thoughtful and sweet and she nodded softly. “No, ah don’t think it is.” she replied after a moment. “In my dreams ah can’t control it, so who knows here?” she nodded lightly. “Good ta know ah ain’t hurting you, cause ah’d feel awful. Ah felt awful about the barista.” she chewed on her lip.
The feelings associated with her power. Her dreams. Left her wary of human contact and paranoid something was going to happen. She sighed softly and nodded . “Aint the same as in my dreams, oui. Ah’m not an angel here, by no means. Ah’m pretty anti-angel, but thank you.” she smiled at him again and leaned forward to press a friendly kiss to his cheek. “you are a dear.” she rubbed the back of her neck with her hand and sighed.
“Sorry it’s really gotten under mah skin, but ah’ll get there, ah don’t like not understanding, ya know?”
His mind boggled when her lips met the side of his face, enough that his eyeballs looked ready to pop out for a few seconds. It wasn't because he was scared or wary of her, but because, hello? Cute girl kissing his cheek. It was kind of nice.
"Hell, who wouldn't be thinking the same things you would, if they had that crap happen," Renji told her, after a moment of silence. "If I can tell ya anything, it's that it'll be ok. Shit will work out, the barista will be all right, and life goes on. Probably with a few roadblocks and detours on the way, but whatever? It'll still work out."
He grinned like a doof and gave her a gentle nudging with one elbow, before he said, "You just have to work on not being an anti-angel, even if you're not gonna be an angel-angel, either. Just be you, I guess. Heh. I'm bad at this pep talk crap."
He shrugged sharply and looked straight ahead, off into the distance.
Rogue laughed softly. “Do ah need ta pop yer eyes back in yer skull?” she teased with a soft laugh. Her smile was genuine and sweet as she watched him look like a bazillion cartoon characters with that bug eyed look. It was adorable.
“Ah don’t know.” she replied to the first part before nodding. “Life works out. Even if we can’t figure out how it’s gonna, oui?” she said with a shrug. “Yer fine, don’t be so hard on yer self for it, ah’m just me. Good. Bad. Doesn’t matter. Jes me here. nothing can change that, not really anything.” she nudged him back and smiled.
She let him stare off while she wandered to her bike and dug out a small picnic basket from her bike’s saddlebags and carried it back over. “Hungry?” she asked.
"Look at us, now we're both worrying about stupid things we can't do anything about. Figures," he scoffed, but he wasn't angry or irritated, more like it was something to just accept and go on with his life about. "Ya seem fine, so there's nothing that needs changing. Those stupid ass dreams can take a flyin' leap off a tall cliff into shallow water, for all I freakin' care."
He had been talking while she was wandering off, not really noticing. At least he didn't notice, until she came back with a picnic basket. Renji was about to protest that he didn't need to eat (what was this, a date?! O_O) and that it wasn't necessary, but then his stomach growled like a grizzly bear and he looked instantly deflated. He had been eating like a horse lately and not gaining any weight at all, which had him puzzled, but he wasn't going to complain, either.
"Yeah," he finally said in an unenthused tone of voice, when the growl stopped nearly twenty seconds later, "I'm hungry."
Renji's stomach. The great betrayer of everything. He got over it and looked interested in what was in the basket.
"Did you cook or something?" If she did, she has a BFF for LIFE with Renji, and he will probably raid her fridge, FOREVARZ. Truth.
Truth. Rogue always cooked. She liked cooking. "Ah know ah was just being friendly. Figured you'd be hungry after trying so hard. " She shrugged lightly.
"Ah made southern fried chicken with cornbread and apple pie. Ain't much but" She shrugged a bit. "Your stomach is giving you away. You're hungry. " She smiled and say in the grass in a clean spot.
"Dig in enjoy. " She sprawled out in the grass and chewed idly on a stalk of long grass.
The heck if he was going to turn down food, especially from someone who was being friendly. That, and his stupid gut really had given it away too.
He sat down next to her and started digging through the basket, like someone who hadn't eaten in days, instead of only the last hour. He was about to take the first bite out of a piece of fried chicken when he stopped and asked, "Aren't ya gonna eat anything too? Ya can't just chew on grass like the cows out here. Dig in too, dammit. Or else you're gonna get sick with all the worrying you're doing."
Renji was sensible, even if he was loud and blunt about it.
Rogue sat up and grabbed a chicken leg. "Ah'm eating don't you worry. Just enjoy yeah? " She nibbled on it, enjoying the crisp skin first. She loved fried chicken. It was delicious.
"Also sorry to have been a bit moody. " She looked up at him and smiled. "Ah just let it all get to me. Ah know better. "
"Hey, don't worry about it. Everyone feels like they're in the dumps sometimes, even me. Especially when life kicks you in the...well you don't have nuts, but you get what I'm getting at, anyway." He ate one piece of chicken like he inhaled it and left only the bones, which were tossed over his shoulder before he went for a big slab of cornbread. Half of that went into his mouth and he chewed on it with gusto, blowing out a few crumbs as he said, "This' goob foob."
*facedesks*
"Yeah ah guess. " watching him eat was kindof terrifying. She just kind of stared unable to help herself. Fingers raked through her hairas she shook her head. "Ah guess you were really hungry. " She teased with a smile. "Glad you like it though. "
Om nom nom went Renji, digging into another piece of chicken and then some pie. It really was terrifying because he was a tall, lean but muscular machine. Where does it all GO?!
He started to slow down because he didn't want to make himself look like a total hog, and leave her with not enough to eat.
"Yeah, it's good. I'll bring some stuff next time, after I have whore-hey make it." He meant Jorge, of course, which is also not the cook's name, along with Pedro, Juan, Jose, Miguel, or Jesus. No matter if Renji swore it was one of those things, at any given moment. "Unless you just want to talk to the farmer and let him know I'll be back until I knock one of his cows over. It's better if someone's there to see it happen."
And because she seemed nice enough and put up with him being a idiot.
She smiled at him again as she took a fried chicken breast from the basket and nibbled on it. “Cool. You don’t have ta. Ah was just trying ta be nice and stuff.” she shrugged a bit at him and smiled a bit.
“Ah’ll make sure he knows. Ah bet he’s laughing, though, he’s been at this farmin thing a long time.” she smiled good naturedly. “As long as we’re havin’ fun, it’s all good, right?” she asked. Him being an idiot was at least entertaining. Mostly anyways. He reminded her of some people back home and that made her miss them, but at least there were fun people here.
"You are pretty nice," admitted Renji, reaching around into the picnic basket for something to drink. "That's why you having dreams where you're a bad person doesn't make any sense. I can't imagine you doing any bad shit. Not on purpose. You know, we should make this a regular thing, for fun. It'll keep you from getting in a funk, and gimme a chance to kick some cow ass. If the farmer doesn't mind. I don't want to get pitchforked."
Because that would be bad, mmmkay? And because Renji had some cartoon image of him drinking water afterward and it shooting out of his abdomen all over the place like a human water sprinkler.
She smiled. “Thanks, Renji. That’s nice of you to say that. Ah don’t think ah’m a bad person. We’ll see. But yes, let’s! Ah really enjoy the break from life. Maybe one day you’ll flip that cow,.” she quirked a smile at him before flumping back in the grass to stare at the sky while he finished eating. Friends, it was getting nicer by the day to have them.