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[devoutish]

Yeah?

[That's it, that's all you get.]

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[devoutish]

[Days later, Batman's post goes up, and one can easily imagine how that goes down for people like Alfie and Royce. They're both aware of each other's having seen it - they're in close quarters, and they're both responding; it would be hard not to be aware. It's a few hours before Alfie nudges Royce about it in person, though.

He doesn't need to ask what he thinks.]

He might be worse than the first one. The one who was here months ago.

[bywolves]

Yeah. I think he is. [ Royce says, staring up at the ceiling. He's got his tablet on his chest and he's laying out on his back, eyes closed. ]

If he tries anything with me I'm killing him. I don't care what the consequences are. Don't have time for this.

[devoutish]

If he tries anything with you, I'll stand by your side.

[But Alfie's pretty sure it's more likely that he himself will be target. Royce's name had barely been mentioned, but he'd been specifically been warned about Alfie.]

[bywolves]

[ They're practically extensions of each other at this point - Royce thinks it goes without saying that if Bruce tries anything with Alfie, it means he's fucking with Royce. ]

I'm actually angry. [ Royce says, a bit amazed. ]

[devoutish]

Good.

[Alfie can't help but smile at that.]

Anger, that's better than nothing, isn't it.

[bywolves]

Yeah. [ He runs a hand over his tablet, absently. ] Feels strange.

How many more times do you think the superheroes are going to try to make themselves the law?

[devoutish]

Oh, every time a new one comes, I should think.

[He hesitates.]

If anything, it's the supplies he's gonna come after. That's my guess there. He finds out we have a lot of things, he decides that many of them must have been stolen, and he comes to take them.

[bywolves]

We actually haven't stolen anything in a while. [ Royce says, glancing at Alfie. ] I'm not kidding, Alfie. I'm just going to kill him. I don't have time for reasoning with some idiot who thinks he's the sheriff of snowhell.

[devoutish]

Anything you do, anything you need, I'll help. You know I will. But he may come with weapons of his own, if he does come.

[bywolves]

If he comes after us with weapons, we're justified in defending ourselves. [ Sniff. ] Between the two of us we can take him down.

[devoutish]

[Alfie is not at all confident that his minimal physical abilities would be much help here, but.]

And if he doesn't pull out the weapons first? At what point are you gonna decide to go for the kill?

[bywolves]

The second he starts trying to bully us out of supplies we collected. Or try to punish me for killing House, months ago. I'm not going to kill him unprompted.

[devoutish]

House didn't mention you at all. Did you notice that? You may be safe from that.

[bywolves]

He didn't, but it's not exactly a secret. Other people know. Might have told Bruce in private.

[devoutish]

Mm. Suppose he could have. But you - House doesn't seem to mind you, so much.

[bywolves]

No. He doesn't. I don't scare him. It isn't House I care about.

[devoutish]

But what I'm saying, right, is that I don't think he'd share information about everyone in public, and then mention you privately.

[bywolves]

House doesn't matter. It's the people he's told. Ecks. Brown. Brown knows, and she's friends with Bruce.

[ Scowl. ] Ecks won't... won't intentionally try to spread it. But I don't trust Brown. This is a man who has decided he's going to profile everybody just in case their old crimes may match a future, not yet done crime so that he can arrest that person based on his shoddy evidence.

I don't trust him to not make more stupid decisions based on things Brown has told him.

[devoutish]

Yeah. Yeah, all right; that I can believe more. She made it clear she was going to give him information, but then her messages stopped. I'm sure she went private with them, but she wanted it known what she was doing.

If he comes, he may come for two reasons, then - to restrain you and take you somewhere for detention, and to take the supplies - all of them, most of them, just the ones he knows are stolen, I dunno. Ecks will mention the stolen harmonica; I can guarantee that.

[Pause.]

I'm not going through all this just for a lark, understand. We need a contingency plan, right, just in case.

[bywolves]

Yeah. I know.

[ Royce rubs at his face. ] I'm sure we could outrun him, honestly. He has no idea where we are. The only person who knows is Gabriel.

[devoutish]

I'd like to know if he's using the tunnels. There aren't many of those, and if he is, we may very well run into him. And if we do meet in person, I don't think we can plan on running.

[Royce might have a chance, if he were alone - but even then, he's malnourished, and Bruce hasn't been around long enough to lose too much of his muscle mass. But Alfie? Alfie's ill and in pain, and he's pretty sure that if it came down to a chase or a hand-to-hand fight, Bruce would have no trouble besting him.]

Long-range weapons. If he does come upon us and he's insistent on making trouble, things I can throw will be the key. This would be a good time for you to teach me more about your knives. I can stab with 'em, fine, yeah, but from a distance--

[bywolves]

[ Royce scowls. Like hell is he leaving Alfie behind, either, so. They'll fight together. ]

I can teach you. When I have the ability to. [ He knows he won't be able to muster up the energy, sometimes. ] I'll protect you from him.

[devoutish]

I know you will.

[And because he's not entirely sure that the possibility won't come up, he adds:]

I won't be giving him anything as a conciliatory gesture. Nothing that I've gathered, and nothing that I've stolen.

[bywolves]

Good. He doesn't deserve anything.

[devoutish]

[He's just glad they're on the same page.]

Thank you.

[He puts his hand on Royce's, squeezing.]

For protecting me.