The Blacksmith and the Apothecary

[Sweet_Wyvern]

It took the man a minute, but then he caught the hint and quickly followed Bruce downstairs. He had nearly forgotten about the mess until now, and mentally Tony cursed himself for not remembering to clean up. He kept a straight face though, glancing about the disorder before shrugging indifferently. "Looks like this every time I try to cook," he deadpanned, heading past the man and towards the door.

[lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms]

Tony had always been able to make Bruce smile in the past, but for once his features remained void of any hint of humor or amusement. He just stood there for a moment, taking it all in, before he took a deep breath to loosen the tightness in his chest, and followed Tony outside, blinking harshly at the light. It wasn't painful, per say, merely uncomfortable and slightly irritating. He would just have to get over it, he supposed. "We can take the horses with us. We will pass the house on our way out of town."

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Tony merely nodded without turning around, ambling towards a small barn that was situated to the right of his house. A small path led from the dirt road to it, so passerby did not come close and didn't have to deal with the smell and sounds. The blacksmith opened up the shed and led the way inside, where a black and white mare and brown spotted sire were tied up in separate pens. "Take the mare, she's less rowdy," he said as he approached the sire.

[lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms]

Bruce nodded, approaching the mare hesitantly, a hand held to its nose where he attempted to soothe her a bit, acquaint himself before he mounted her, but he didn't quite get the chance to as she began to throw a fit. She looked spooked, but for the life of him he couldn't understand why she would be. "What did I do?" he asked, voice strained with irritation.

[Sweet_Wyvern]

(Teach me to tumblrrrrrr)

 

Tony was halfway through saddling his horse when Bruce's began to panic. He frowned in confusion and looked over, examining the horse before gazing at his friend. He'd only seen a horse act that way with predators nearby. Oh. "Er.. She probably smells the wolf on you," he let out hesitantly. "Try holding still and let her come to you?" He suggested sheepishly.

[lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms]

At Tony's words, Bruce dropped his hand, curling it into a fist, his lips pressing into a hard line. He blinked and exhaled slowly, just trying to calm himself down, because dammit, he was a predator now, wasn't he? He was a danger to everything here, and apparently even these animals were able to understand that better than Tony was. Taking a shuddering breath, he took a step back and lifted his hands, palms exposed, to about chest height, trying to appear nonthreatening, all the while trying not to crumble in on himself.

 

((get on Skype tomorrow and I'll try to teach you))

Edited January 7, 2014 by lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms

[Sweet_Wyvern]

( >.< I posted wtf is thiisss

Anyway I'll be on all day tomorrow)

 

Tony hopped over the wall that divided the two stalls, untying the lead that held it in the stall. He could tell that this new development was really eating at Bruce, so he hoped letting her see the man and really smell him would calm the horse down. "I'm sure it was just a first instinct. She'll see that you're obviously a human and calm down," Tony swore, forcing the horse to come close.

[lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms]

(I have school today, but I should be home at about 3:30 and I don't have anything else, so we can start then)

 

Bruce held his breath as the horse drew nearer, the mare herself being fairly calm by the presence of her owner, and allowed the animal to inspect him properly. His stomach was in knots, and he felt nauseous, knowing that this would probably be a regular occurrence for him for the rest of his life. Finally after a few tense moments, the mare reluctantly bowed her head and allowed Bruce to mount her, for which the apothecary was relieved.

[Sweet_Wyvern]

(Got a foot of snow, this is my second snow day)

 

Tony smiled as the made finally relented and held her steady while Bruce mounted up. "There, see? Not so bad. Things will turn out," he promised, patting the man's leg before climbing back into the other stall and mounting his own horse. "You lead, I have no idea where you live," he requested.

[lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms]

"Right," Bruce muttered, doing his best to believe the blacksmith's words. He urged the mare forward with a gentle kick of his heel and headed off at a steady trot toward a small cottage at the very edge of town. "S'not much, but it's enough, I suppose," he told him as they approached. Bruce figured that it looked shabby compared to the standards Tony was used to, being of noble blood and living in such a nice estate himself.

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Tony nudged his horse with his heel as well, following in Bruce's wake but just to one side so that dust didn't get flung at him. "It looks homey," Tony remarked as he caught up, slowing his horse to a trot at the mare's side. Truthfully he liked the small home, wandering in a big place by himself was lonely.

[lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms]

Bruce shrugged as he dismounted and led the mare over to a fence where he could tie the reigns. He would just be gone for a few minutes, but just to be safe. "You're welcome to come inside, if you like," he told him, glancing to Tony over his shoulder as he walked inside. Shelves were lined with books and cluttered with jars of various ingredients and herbs, and what furniture there was was coated in a considerable layer of dust, but other than that, it was fairly tidy. It reeked of spoiled food, however, and Bruce sighed, running a hand through his hair. He should clean out his cabinets before he attracted rats. But they should probably get going...

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Tony nodded and dismounted as well, tying up his horse beside the mare and heading inside. The apothecary's home intrigued him- full of books and knowledge. He couldn't keep himself from examining things, opening books and prying into jars to see what they held. "You have a curious collection," he remarked, brushing dust off his sleeves. "You are clearly an intelligent man."

[lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms]

Bruce's lips twitched up a bit at Tony's words. "I would like to think so," he admitted, gathering up a few rolls of bandages and some dried herbs. He glanced over as he heard Tony rummaging around, and his eyes widened as he saw what it was that the blacksmith was doing. Jumping over a table, he stole the a jar from the man's hands. "Sorry, do not open this. It is still fermenting. If the liquid is exposed to air, it will ruin," he explained, trying not to appear rude. Ironically enough, the thought of appearing peculiar or strange never even occurred to him. This was just how he was.

Edited January 8, 2014 by lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms

[Sweet_Wyvern]

(Just real quick, how do I add a gif to tumblr? Does it have to be saved to my device or..?)

 

Tony gaped slightly as the jar was taken from his hand, staring at Bruce in surprise. Then he laughed, clapping the man on the back several times. "You just hurdled a table, my friend. I will not touch your jars any longer," he said with a grin, amused.

[lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms]

(http://lordofthenerdsandfandoms.tumblr.com/post/52155781606/thanks-do-you-know-how-to-make-gifs-can-you-just-save)

 

Bruce chuckled breathily, slightly embarrassed, but smiled nonetheless and placed the jar back up on the shelf. "Yes, it appears I did," he muttered. Clearing his throat, he went back to packing things into his leather satchel, eyeing Tony to make sure he didn't try to mess with anything else of importance.

[Sweet_Wyvern]

(That sorta made sense.. I need to try it)

 

Tony still seemed fairly amused, watching his companion return the jar where it belonged. When he caught Bruce staring as well, he lifted his hands innocently and stepped away from the shelf. "Are you nearly ready?" He asked, not rushing, just curious. They did need to get going though.

[lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms]

(It's really not that difficult once you know how to do it, especially if it's just a text post)

 

Bruce quickly finished packing everything he needed and nodded. "Yes, I believe so," he confirmed, shrugging the bag onto his shoulder. They needed to get going, so he led the way outside, his gaze drifting to the garden near the entry way. "Damn, they're ruined," he cursed, frowning at the herbs that had wilted and shriveled to nearly nothing without his care. He sighed and shook his head.

[Sweet_Wyvern]

(I did it \o/ )

 

Tony followed him out, expression becoming a grimace as he saw the plants. It wasn't his fault of course but he felt guilty nonetheless, as though this was caused by Bruce's stay at Tony's house. Coming forward, he put a hand on Bruce's shoulder. "It's okay," he said gently, "all of this will get resolved."

[lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms]

(Whoo!)

 

Bruce waved his hand dismissively. "No matter; they can be replanted, I suppose," he sighed, closing his eyes for a moment to collect himself. If everything played out the way he thought he would, it wasn't like he would be around to care for a garden anyway. His life truly had ended that night in the forest; he just hadn't realized it until now.

Without sparing the garden a second glance, he walked over to the mare, allowed her to inspect him again, untied the reins from around his fence, and mounted her. There was no point in delaying this any further.

Edited January 8, 2014 by lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Tony sighed, stuck in one spot for a moment as he watched Bruce walk on ahead of him. He felt horrible, he really did, but there was nothing more that he could do that he wasn't already doing. Hopefully Strange would have something for them, otherwise.. well, otherwise bad things would happen. Trailing after his companion, the blacksmith hoisted himself up onto his own horse. "I've been to his house a few times, I know where he lives," he said, giving the reins a flick to spur his horse into motion.

 

(Here you go http://archiveofourown.org/works/1126571 First chapter is up of our RP )

Edited January 8, 2014 by Sweet_Wyvern

[lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms]

Bruce nodded and gave his horse a gentle kick and a flick of the reins to get her going, trailing beside the blacksmith as they rode. He remained quiet, not really having anything to say.

[Sweet_Wyvern]

The trip wasn't as long as it could've been. Two hours on horseback led them briefly through the woods and along the outskirts of the city. He hated the way Bruce was acting now, the way he seemed to loathe himself. Hopefully Strange could fix it. They were approaching his house now, a cottage shadowed by willow trees just beyond the second town. It looked sort of creepy, which was to be expected.

[lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms]

Bruce tugged the reins to bring the mare to a stop as they reached the house, his eyes scanning the cottage warily. Tony said it was okay, but just the mere sight of it caused the hairs on the back of his neck to bristle uneasily. "You are sure of this?" he questioned, gaze still locked onto the house.

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Tony glanced over at his companion, noting the anxiety his gaze held. He wouldn't force it if the times weren't dire. "I'm not sure about anything anymore. But I know we are safe here," he answered, spurring his horse onward until he actually reached the house. The wood, spruce, was dark and gave the appearance of rotting, all of the windows covered by curtains. "He certainly throws out the welcome wagon," he said cheekily as he climbed off his horse. He had to tie it to a tree branch, seeing as there was no where else.