Cobalt [you're stuck with me] Arkady

[Deon]

Despite whatever Cobalt felt for Arkady and the situation that he had got himself into with this thing, everything would be worth it for the look on his new roommate's face when he saw his living quarters.

"You're really in for a treat," Cobalt called back with a chuckle. He reached the door with a long stride that ended up in a heavy leap and, laughing to himself, slammed the pass key in the lock. It pinged as the card registered in its system, and the pinprick of red light switched to green. He reached out and grabbed the door handle, pulling it down before it was automatically locked once more. But Cobalt hesitated to open the door, and beckoned for Arkady to come closer with his free hand.

"Come on, come on. I don't have all day!" he ordered impatiently, but excitedly. His foot tapped on the ground with restless energy, hyped up by competition.

At last he stepped back, threw open the door with a huge grin, and watched Arkady's face for any emotion as he absorbed the scene.

Three pairs of tiny yellow eyes reflected the light from the open door and angrily flashed through the darkness. Sensing the opened door, the fluorescent bulbs flicked on automatically and flooded the room with their harsh, artificial light. The eyes belonged to spindly, spider-like metal robots that recoiled at the sudden glare and let out a cry like nails scraping against a chalkboard. The shredded papers that one was ripping apart with its sharp, needle-like teeth dropped from its mouth as it froze, while another scurried under the bed. The last sprung into the air with a violent hiss and spread apart its limbs from which thin, long, needle-like syringes now ejected. Its teeth were bared as it attempted to jump and attach onto the face of what it saw as an intruder, to shred his skin and inject lead into his bloodstream. Cobalt silently stepped aside, anticipating the attack.

Salvador's side of the room looked like it came out from one of Dali's twisted dreams. Twisted bedposts of metal curled above his bed and met in a dome from which a collection of license plates that he had taken from various unfortunate vehicles hung, welded together. A mermaid with disproportionately large breasts jutted out from one of the bedposts like it was some kind of pirate ship and winked at the two in the doorway; Salvador had gone through an artistic phase with his powers at that time. Bright clothes were scattered everywhere--not just on the floor, but hanging from the lamps, the license plates, the mermaid's elbow, all over the bed, and even from a metal line embedded into the walls with clothespins. The bed itself was stripped of sheets and comforters down to a bare, discolored mattress. Springs jutted out here and there, and it creaked dangerously whenever one attempted to lie on it. Metal train rails swerved through a course Salvador designed that hung form the ceiling at varying altitudes. A miniature train with a Barbie Doll glued to the top ran through obstacles like a guillotine that automatically fell at certain intervals, over a glass bowl filled with tiny machines he had made to act like piranhas that constantly snapped at the wheels, and over a makeshift volcano that spewed hot steam every few minutes. The train itself constantly let out a long, high-pitched whistle that drove Cobalt crazy. In addition to the noise, a motion-detecting sombrero spewed crazy music in Spanish whenever a person happened to be spotted by the sensors hidden in its red tassels.

"Welcome home, honey."

[Delerium]

(OOC: This should be fun ;D)

Arkady's long-legged strides allowed him to easily keep up with Cobalt, but the young man purposely held back, sensing the Beast's impatience to unveil whatever impending doom he had concocted for his new roomate. Arkady just wanted to get it over with and start cleaning up whatever awaited him, but there was something to be said for aggravating the younger man in such a subtle way.
It was in this that Arkady saw what a huge advantage he had over Cobalt: Arkady had all the patience and restraint of a hunting tiger; Cobalt, on the other hand, had the patience of a 6 month old puppy with a raw steak dangling in front of its nose.

Well whatever he'd been expecting, it hadn't been THIS.

Arkady couldn't help a gasp of shock as he got his first glance at his new 'home'. Stunned beyond belief, it was only his reflexes that saved him from whatever that ungodly spider-like contraption had been programmed to inject into his bloodstream. Ducking into a crouching position, Arkady's body reacted without thought and the young man sprang onto one hand, a well-aimed kick that looked like a cross between a front flip and a cartwheel sent the clockwork creation skittering across the floor with a metallic twang.
For a moment, Arkady remained in a cat-like crouch, his sapphire gaze glaring intently at the contraption, ready to smash it good if the accursed thing rose. Fortunately, it didn't.
Arkady then stood with his eyes flashing at Cobalt, a mixture of annoyance and astonishment in their icy depths. Hey, Arkady was man enough to concede defeat. You win this round, his expression said; But the war is FAR from over...

Thinking quickly as he glanced over the nightmare accomodations, Arkady's gaze softened and the light of challenge appeared once more. "Well, you don't like this as much as me, so how 'bout we call a temporary truce and help me clear all this shit out of here?" It was worth a shot.

[Deon]

Cobalt threw back his head and laughed.

"Help you? Are you kidding? This stuff is your problem now. I've got to tell Damn Donia that he no longer lives here." He placed his hands behind his back and walked into the room with confidence, stepping over the junk on the floor easily and automatically. He pointed to a long line of red tape that split the room in half, and kicked aside a small piece of machinery that dared cross. It let out a pitiful squeak as it sailed across the room and smashed into the wall above Salvador's bed.

"See this? This is our property division. Everything to the left," he gestured with a sweeping motion, "is all mine. And to the right is now yours." The difference was startlingly dramatic. Though he didn't seem like too neat of a person, Cobalt's side of the room was, quite simply, impeccable. The bed was neatly made, all his clothes were contained in a chest of drawers at the foot of the bed, and a small nightstand held a simple lamp and a few books standing perfectly straight on its shelf. "Rule Number One: Nothing of yours will ever touch my side of the room. Got it?" Oh, even though Arkady wouldn't be the ideal roommate, he at least looked like he wouldn't keep his place a pigsty like Damn Donia did. If there was one thing Cobalt could not stand, it was slobs.

Cobalt glanced around the room with the eye of an appraiser as the sombrero burst into song. His eyes snapped to the offending electric hat with a strange calamity. "However," he started as he walked over to the source of the noise, "I will help relieve you of this... obstruction of peace. I want to be able to finally throw it into his face after all this time." Cobalt placed his hands on the screeching plastic hat and pulled as hard as he could, forcefully ripping it out of the wall. Four large holes were left where the nails had once been; Salvador had bent the nails into the wall after hammering them in to make it harder for Cobalt to pull it out. But oh, nothing mattered, for Cobalt was so glad to be finally rid of this thing, and it showed on his glowing face. It had become a personal battle. Cobalt had done everything one could possibly do to break something. He had smashed it with a hammer, dropped it from their third-story window, dunked it in a tub full of hot water, and even subjected it to one of his nuclear explosions. But it just. Would. Not. Die. Finally, after six months of doing whatever he could, he gave up. It had been nearly two whole years that those catchy Latino songs had been in his head, and he didn't even know what they meant! Two whole years of his life! And now it was finally over! He was so preoccupied with his fantasies of no longer having the stupid sombrero in the room, that he barely even noticed the multiple pairs of women's panties that fell out from behind the hat. Salvador had been collecting. What an ass! Not only a Peeping Tom, but he took souvenirs, too? Pathetic. He must really be desperate. Cobalt thought about picking up the underwear for Arkady, but decided against it. That would make him a help. Then he noticed something.

“Dear god… This one is Dementia’s! He’s been doing this for forever!” he murmured in disbelief as he picked up the panties with a shake of his head. He put them in one of the pockets of his cargo pants and tucked the sombrero under his arm. It was still spouting wild music. “I’m going to go kick Damn Donia out and… return these,” he explained to Arkady as he stepped over the clutter on Salvador’s side of the room. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.” He paused at the door.

“Oh, and Arkady? You might want to get started.” Arkady wasn’t able to see the smile that crept across his face as Cobalt’s imagination took over when he thought about his new roommate trying to clear out Salvador’s stuff. “Everything is nailed down. Damn Donia had a fear of his things being stolen.”

[Delerium]

Arkady wasn't surprised by Cobalt's response, but hey, that just made it easier on the older man not to show any mercy when he finally put the Beast in his place. And oh yes, if Arkady did everything just right, Cobalt would be begging him for mercy.

Arkady said nothing as Cobalt ripped the irritatingly-loud singing sombrero out of the wall, not wanting to dissuade Cobalt from this shred of aid for the sake of a retort - as unlikely as it seemed that Cobalt would suddenly desist from his hell-bent ambition. One of Arkady's flaxen brows did raise, however, when all the female undergarments tumbled out of the caterwauling contraption; this... was disturbing. If Arkady ever met this 'Damn Donia', his first reaction would be to punch him squarely in the nose.

“I’ll be back in a few minutes. Oh, and Arkady? You might want to get started.”

Arkady said nothing, but his sapphire gaze was colder than ice on Cobalt's back as the Beast strode out the door. Yes, I suppose I'd better he thought grimly. One thing was for sure, after all this he was gonna need one hell of a shower - and probably a quarter tonne of Bactine...
A mischievous smile suddenly crept across his features; he'd be damned if he was gonna let Cobalt sit and smirk while Arkady spent the better part of the day cleaning this pigsty up. Closing the door, Arkady took one of the chairs -clearing it of debris first- then wedged it under the doorhandle. Even if Cobalt could get through a jimmied door, the act would send a clear message to the younger man.

[Deon]

Only about ten minutes passed before an intense pounding on the door began. That sure didn't take long. But when the shrill yelling began, it didn't come from Cobalt's throat.

"Open up the damn door, Xavier! I know you're in there! I saw you go sniveling back in this direction, and if you don't let me in then I won't dull the point of my kneecap next time I kick you in the balls!" she screamed as slammed her fists against the door over and over again, as if the harder she hit the wood, the more likely he was to cave and let her in. She ceased pounding for a second to wipe at the mascara that had streaked down her face while she was at the library, but only succeeded in smudging it further.

"I swear, Xavier, if you don't open up this damn door right this second, I'll bust it down myself!" Her tone had switched to a threatening growl as she tried jiggling the handle one more time. She began counting down.

"THREE!"

A long bump that rose across the length of her arm slowly began to break apart in a streak of red as as her ulna slid through her skin, sharpened like a razor.

"TWO!"

The cells on her bone began to multiply themselves as Dementia exercised her grotesque art. Her ivory canvas changed its shape, flattening out at the end like a hammer while the the rest began to curl around her entire arm like a shield.

"ONE!"

[Delerium]

Xavier...?
A long, slow smile crept across Arkady's features; no wonder he calls himself Cobalt.

The young man had been behind the grotesque mockery of a bed and kicking crap out from under it when the girl began her countdown. Taking it that she was serious about busting down the door, Arkady vaulted neatly over the mangled thing and landed squarely in front of the door.
He pulled away the chair and opened the door just as the girl shouted "ONE!"

Unsure of what to expect, Arkady had had the foresight to step aside with the door as he'd opened it.

[Deon]

Dementia's eyes widened as she realized the door was opened, but too late. Her fist slammed into the empty air, bringing her body down along with it. She slammed onto the floor hard, landing with her cheek on a plastic action figure. It left a mark on her pale skin in its shape. Dementia was stunned, but still able to get up from off the ground and resume her frantic search. She looked at Arkady with confused eyes that refused to show the tears that were welling up inside.

"Who... who the hell are you?" she asked, her voice breaking, but she shook her head violently to show that she didn't want an answer. "N-never mind." She attempted to put the familiar harshness back in her voice. "Now tell me where the asshole is! I know he doesn't want to see me, but..." She hadn't really thought it out this far. In truth, she didn't really know the reason she even came here. At least, she didn't acknowledge the ugly thing that suggested itself in the shadow of her mind.

"Please."

[Delerium]

"Uhh..." was all Arkady could muster as some girl suddenly charged inside the room and ended up doing a face plant onto one of Donia's ridiculous toys. A teen on the cusp of manhood collecting toys... It was less than pathetic; it was downright pitiful.

She looked up at him with an expression that bewildered him. The girl seemed to be fighting some emotion within her and struggling to put on a mask. Arkady said nothing and merely stared at her.
"Now tell me where the asshole is! I know he doesn't want to see me, but... Please."

That stirred Arkady from his stupor. "Uh, the dumbass just left." He bent over and held out a hand to her. "Hey uh, you want some help there?"

(OOC: Curse my short posts! )

[Deon]

Dementia stared at his hand, bewildered, and took a shaky breath. Her eyes widened as she shook her head quickly and stood up on her own, rubbing the cheek that had been smashed on the action figure. "I--I don't need help," she stammered. Her voice caught in her throat as she shook her head in disbelief.

He looked just like... Oh, god. It was like someone from her past had been reincarnated just to torture her, just to bring her back to those horrible dark days of her childhood. He was dead, dammit! He was dead! Yet here he was again, standing right in front of her. Dementia forgot entirely what she was coming into here for, until he told her that Cobalt wasn't here.

Oh, yes. Xavier. She took a quick glance around the room to ascertain that it was empty, and finally was satisfied with her search.

"Oh, well. What was I going to tell him, anyway? Stop following me, Xavier, or I'll finish the job?" she chuckled to herself as she shook her head. She shut her eyes and rubbed her temples slightly.

"Pardon my intrusion," she quickly muttered under her breath. "I should be going." Dear god, what was she doing? It was almost like she was given another chance here, and she was just going to leave. But there was Seaheart... He had been so compassionate to her, so... ugh. He only made it harder. He even knew about the past that tormented her so.

She hadn't moved an inch since she announced her intentions to go, still staring at the insides of her eyelids. Finally the undeniable urge bubbled up, and against her will the words burst out:

"What's your name?"

[Delerium]

"Oh, well. What was I going to tell him, anyway? Stop following me, Xavier, or I'll finish the job?" she mumbled to herself; loud and clear to one of Arkady's level of hearing.

Arkady tilted his head to one side at this, resting a sinewy hand on his hip, mindful of the smear of blood he left on his shirt by doing so. Dammit. I knew I was gonna cut myself cleaning up all this crap... And it's a good one. Ah well. At least he'd been semi-expecting it, so it wasn't as bad.
But this woman... something about her teased the Variable, but didn't trigger it. This intrigued him. There was no grey area when it came to the Variable, usually; you either deserved to die, or you didn't. And yet, he could feel it. The Variable was hesitating.
He was still pondering over this and staring at her staring at him when he finally realized she'd asked him his name.
"Uh, it's Arkady; Arkady Belmont," he replied a bit haltingly, coming out of his stupor as he'd said it. "What about you?"
The Variable waited. Waited on the input of his other senses.
That never happened.

[Deon]

Dementia opened her eyes as Arkady introduced herself. She repeated his name softly, almost involuntarily, as if she was tasting the sound on her tongue, feeling the way the muscle twisted to pronounce the three simple syllables. Her Polish accent showed through as she spoke his name the way it was supposed to be pronounced. What was it short for? Arkadiusz? She wondered idly, until Arkady asked her for her name. Of course. It was only to be expected for her to return the favor. She didn't want to. She didn't want to feel any more connection to this man, she didn't want him to have anything to link to her.

Dementia didn't know what made her want to do it. No. She knew. It wasn't hard to figure out. But what she didn't know was why she couldn't suppress the urge, why she let it get this far. Her name?

"I'm Soph--" she cut off her words, surprised at what was coming out of her mouth. No. She shouldn't be surprised, either. Her body had seemed to be acting on its own. This was yet another example of its betrayal. After a brief pause, she recovered, continuing her introduction.

"Dementia Kemik."

[Delerium]

Arkady watched with mild interest as the girl, Dementia, balanced his name on her tongue. He liked that. Not many bothered to try and pronounce his name correctly - he certainly didn't, and it was his name. He just said Arr-kay-dee like the rest of the majority; it was supposed to be pronounced Ahr-kah-dei. Russian. He didn't consider himself fluent, but Arkady knew more than enough Russian to get by if he ever decided to visit his mother's homeland.

"I'm Soph - Dementia Kemik."
Arkady had caught the cut off bit of her reply, but chose not to insinuate upon it. She must have her reasons. What could it be though, he wondered. Sophie? Sophia? Sophitia? Some foreign name he'd never even heard before?
Well, whatever. It wasn't any of his business; she'd given him the name she prefered to be called by.
But why was she staring at him like that?
Well, he wasn't about to ask.

Clearing his throat, Arkady decided to say, "Well, Dementia, next time Cobalt pops in, I'll let him know you were here. Do you... want me to give him a message?"

[Deon]

"A message?" Dementia shook her head, and immediately became dizzy from the simple action. "No, no... It's nothing. Nothing at all. If I need to I will speak with him later." Arkady's face swam in front of her eyes, the overwhelming image burning into her head. She was feeling lightheaded, overwhelmed with the mixture of emotions that were churning inside her stomach. She groped the empty air until she found the wall for balance, her hand shaking slightly. She didn't think she could make it past him, she didn't think she could bring herself to leave. Dammit, Dementia! What the hell are you doing? You need to pull yourself together!

"Can I, uh, use your W.C. really quickly?" she asked awkwardly, already making her way towards the door. She averted Arkady's sapphire eyes and stumbled into the bathroom without waiting for his approval, shutting the door. She didn't bother flicking the light on, and let her hands search for the sink, fumbling over the tiled countertops until she found the faucet. She turned the water on and cupped her hands into the cold flow. She tried to shock the emotion, the dizziness out of herself with the feeling of the icy water splashing onto her face. Thank god she was wearing waterproof mascara.

Dementia stood over the basin, her hands clutching the countertops until her knuckles turned even whiter than they were. Water dripped from her face as she stared at her reflection in the mirror of the dark room. There were black pits where her eyes should be, and a gaping hole that was her open mouth. She forced herself to breathe evenly. The emotion had taken its toll on her body, so strong and pure and foreign that it forced her to devote her entire attention to it, to lose all her rationality and reason to it, to devote all of her energy to feeling it to its fullest. And she didn't even want to experience it. She didn't know if it would ever be welcome, for the immense guilt that weighed heavy on her heart as she saw what should have been Dariusz's face, had she not killed him because he made her happy. God. She must really hate herself. It didn't matter, though. She didn't deserve a second chance. She didn't deserve Arkady's presence. She was so exhausted, so unsure, so ridden with guilt that she couldn't even function properly. She just needed the strength to get out of this room, and then she would be done with him. She would be done. Maybe her giving this chance up could possibly make up in part for what she did. Yeah. Right. Who was she kidding? Definitely not herself.

---

"Dear, GOD!" Cobalt roared as he finally reached the door to his room. He stumbled in in pain, still doubled over and clutching his crotch from where Dementia had kicked him. His face was red and scrunched up in agony. He shot a glare at Arkady, realizing his presence in the room. "If you damn say anything I swear I will kill you," he threatened. "Let's just say that things didn't exactly go as planned. Man, I need a shower." He didn't give Arkady any chance to say anything between his constant stream of words. Cobalt was removing his pants before he even reached the bathroom door. He flung it open, flicked on the lights, and was greeted by Dementia's shocked stare. Her face still dripping wet, her hands still clutching the counter, water still running. Cobalt took a sideways glance at Arkady, then back to Dementia, and Arkady again.

"You sly dog!"

[Delerium]

(OOC: Oh man, that's funny on so many different levels!)

Still she stared. But why? Hey, Arkady knew he was no slouch in the looks department, he didn't exactly flaunt it, but he knew what he had going for him.
But it was... more than that. He could sense it. Even if it was ephemeral, Dementia was saeeing past him somehow. It was something about him, not just his physical appeal.
He had been about to bring it up -as delicately as possible- when she suddenly seemed to have a dizzy spell and feinted towards the bathroom.
WC? Now THERE was something he hadn't heard in a dog's age. It intrigued him and told him much more about her background. Only someone with a distinct Eastern European lineage would call a washroom the WC. Kemik... Yes. It could be Russian, but from Arkady's limited command of the language it seemed to be from further west. Slovak? Turkish? Czeck?
No, Kemik... That sounded more... Polish. Yes! That would explain how she had pronounced his name so distinctly! Well, whether or not he had hit the nail on the head, it most probably wasn't a good idea to ask her right at this moment in time.

"Dear, GOD!"
Arkady automatically winced in instinctive sympathy as Cobalt waddled in clutching his groin. He deserved it, Arkady held no false illusions about that, but any man will always feel for another man who gets hoofed in the wedding tackle. It was in the blood.
Ignoring Cobalt's petty attempt at salvaging his pride as he stumbled towards the bathroom, Arkady half-heartedly called, "Uh, there's someone... in there..."

"You sly dog!"

Oy.
With a sigh, Arkady could only place a hand over his face and shake his head. This... was gonna get hectic. He actually felt another twinge of sympathy for Cobalt.

[Deon]

Dementia frantically grabbed the towel from the rack and immediately began wiping off her face, then quickly twisted the faucet to shut off the water.

"I know what you're thinking, and it's not that!" she cried exasperatedly as she threw the towel back onto the counter. She attempted to push past Cobalt, who was hastily pulling his jeans back up, but he grabbed her wrist and yanked her back.

"Really? Because it sure looks like it. You're in my dorm room with Arkady for who knows why, and I found you in the bathroom, washing off your face, unable to catch your breath! Hmmm!" He put one arm around her lower back, pulled her into his body, and pressed his head on her chest. She tried to push him away, her eyes full of a different kind of fright than a normal person would experience. Her eyes seemed to plea wordlessly with Arkady for something, anything, any kind of help. He stayed stock-still, his ear on her heart. She stopped trying to push him away, letting her arms fall limply, hopelessly, resignedly at her sides.

"Man, listen to that heart thumping! You're making this too easy for me, D! But may I ask what the hell you were doing with him? I just want a little loyalty here!"

"God damn it, Cobalt, let go of me!" she demanded, her teeth gritted in determination. She was trying to hide the frantic helplessness that her eyes gave away. She felt drained of all power, whether it was from the sudden emotion that Arkady brought on or simply that her body didn't want to work to get away from him. Why? This was what she deserved. She didn't deserve anything better than a womanizer who occasionally decided that he wanted her in his bed that night. She didn't deserve to derive any pleasure from what was supposed to be an expression of love. She didn't deserve anything other than empty sex and empty eyes from a man whom she would shoot if given the chance. Humans were the worst of all animals. They weren't born with the right to anything that made them happy--it had to be earned. She definitely hadn't earned that right in her lifetime. Cobalt was shaking her now, trying to get her to answer him, and her head simply lolled limply with the motion. Her lips remained determined to stay shut, and her eyes were still fixed on Arkady.