Are You Not Entertained [Mathias]

[Deleted]

well do you, don't you want me to make you

T

here was but one thing that deemed Ivan an outcast from most of the other humans - those that are for the government like he is himself, anyway - and that was his opinion on the fighting matches. Ever a strong point that he liked to make as a mutant owner, it never mattered to him whether or not the mutant he obtains excels in fighting. Memories of having been forced to participate in fights himself, despite not being a mutant, incited within Ivan the little sympathy that he was capable of feeling. He wouldn't allow for any of his mutants to have to go through the same thing that he did, and so skills in battle were off the list of priorities. Even if they were a tremendous part of the auctioning process, so it seemed.

The arena was one thing often discussed among guards down in the Underground, no matter where their posts were. Ivan did not often linger around the arena long enough to witness the end of matches, though still its happenings seemed to follow him in all corners of the facility. Gossip was aplenty and it sounded to him that some mutants were very well known among other guards for that skill - battling and thrashing - in particular. Winner and loser were terms that were carelessly thrown around, used as if they were the only thing worth mentioning the mutants by.

Still, there was nothing he could do to prevent this from taking place. He didn't like to meddle with government business when it came to handling the mutants, because he didn't wish to come off as someone who was trying to protest the Underground or show he is against its customs. By leaving it be, he still had his ways of finding entertainment and solace with the mutants who participated. He couldn't help but find interest in those who received their titles - if anything, the losers interested Ivan more than the winners did.

Noises emanated from the arena in the afternoon: voices drifting from mutants in the waiting room and the people that spectated them, gruffer voices and grunts coming from whichever chosen two were fighting one another.

The Russian caught glimpses of the action from where he was standing, clutching the tails of his scarf with his hands. That gesture as well as the lost, shadowy expression on his face was enough indication that something was vexing his nerves. The sight of fighting was troubling for its tendency to bring unwanted images back to his memory - it made him feel chilled and nervous that he might be forcibly thrown in there next, as ridiculous as that would be now - but it also intrigued him a little. The only thing that made him unable to look away was the sight of the mutants themselves. Beaten and likely bleeding from places. Their faces were perhaps his favorite to look at, because their expressions always ranged in emotions; some of them might look confident and determined with their lead in the fight, others afraid and looking lost and sorry.

He had been distracted by this long enough that he didn't realize he was standing in the way of someone. His head shook when their voice disrupted his chain of thought, moving himself out of the way so that they could pass by. The outlying noises that he had drowned out came back to him at once.

Rather than continuing to watch, Ivan moved on to enter the waiting room that was nearby. More often than not, this was the section of the arena that he preferred to visit. It provided better opportunity for interaction with mutants and shamelessly marveling over how they felt before an impending match - or after one had just taken place. Ivan did always like smaller and weaker mutants, but that didn't stop him from running into all of the others as well.

There was a smile forced onto his face as he made his way through, standing out among most by how tall he towered over them. He did hope he might find someone new to pester in here today, maybe even someone he could help console and calm from the anxiety or adrenaline they were feeling; things he could also vaguely recall having felt before.

Word Count: 711
Tags: Mathias Østegård
Notes:

by worldie for jen

[Deleted]

527

Tags: Ivan

Notes:well, here you go

Sitting in the waiting room rubbing at his knuckles, the sand and blood from the previous fight caked to his now shirtless form, from sweat and what ever else there was. The fights were fun for sure at least to the Dane. penned up energy and rage could be expelled in an instant and the crowds entertained and his own powers used, practiced with out any danger from guards over reacting. It’s just due to the last showers, combined with the filth in the cells and the freezing cold of the winter had made a rather nasty flu spread like wildfire, leaving quite a large portion unable to fight. To please the crowds and draw in cash, the ones that were healthy simply had to make up for their comrades by fighting in more than one battle, if they won of course. Which is why Mathias was still here, the poor soul he was up against as he remembered had to be dragged out like a sack, sure the guards in charge could have easily gotten a stretcher but why waste such valuable equipment on an animal? Though in away, the poor soul was lucky, they could rest now and recover for weeks, sure they would be starved but they wouldn’t have to fight. Unlike the Dane as usual most did not want to be in here, for 1 round let alone 2 or 3 of them, though the advantage was that as he found out was, the more rounds won meant an increase in the rations later, if he survived them till the end.

Now though, while the match outside the iron door raged on Mathias was at the most regaining as much energy as possible, no one could judge how long the matches would last just by the sounds outside, sometimes they dragged on for almost an hour and other times it ended in seconds and the crowds sound no different for either. Boos for the loosing and loud cheers for the winning, chanting if it got heated. So recovery had to be quick and from the feeling of his bones, everything was a bit sore and the sweat and the blood was starting to stink. The waiting rooms rather badly ventilated and often humid and stuffy after many persons having been. It was about as festering as outside in the pits.

His blood, the ones inside still boiled. adrenaline pumping and the rush from it fresh as ever. He was enjoying it but at the sometime hoped it would die down, otherwise in his next match he would ignore the bell and dive straight into it. Angering the crowd and the guards, for ruining their show, he wanted to fight not get beaten.

As he sat there he almost failed to notice someone else had come in, standing up incase they were a guard or something he glanced them once over and quickly deemed them not possible to be the next opponent, or even anyone of the guards. They were too well dressed. “you must be lost” He said, taking his seat again but not doing much else, wanting to not show any weakness.

made by MISSO for use only by NYX

[Deleted]

i'm coming down fast but don't let me break you

"Y

ou look lost," said an unfamiliar voice, which startled him. Ivan had to look over to check that he was the one being addressed, since it usually was he who did the talking and questioning first.

He met those blue eyes just before the mutant decided to sit back down. The Russian did not yet move from where he was standing, nor did he respond to the man's question right away -- the other's appearance was far too distracting for him to think of anything else just yet. The spots of red were what Ivan's eyes caught first, trickling down over the other's bare skin which was dirtied by what looked to be dirt from the arena grounds. That blood could have been belonging to him or mixed in with the spilled blood of whoever his opponent had been -- either way, it triggered that macabre fascination within Ivan that was both painful and overly interesting for him. It seemed he had found luck running into someone who had just come from one fight, and now looked ready for the next match to be thrown at him.

But he didn't want to make it seem as if he was staring at the mutant's chest, so he willed himself to look away from that. With a clear of his throat to pass the thought off, he approached forward and closer to the mutant, remembering to properly answer him this time.

"I am not lost," he began, clasping his hands together and standing with a straight posture to assert himself, "I haff been here several times before, do not worry." Seeing that his own appearance was so opposite of the mutant's, it actually occurred to him how different he must have looked to onlookers -- not only because he was a human but that he was probably someone who should have no interest coming to the arena waiting room of all places. He always walked as if he were a guard on patrol, regarding mutants as if they were on exhibit even before going to participate in their matches.

He could hear the distant roaring and chanting from outside of these walls, but he made sure not to let that distract him. Examining this mutant it was clear to see that he held a sort of confidence to him; an inclination not to be perceived as weak despite whatever he had just gone through. At least this did seem to be a much different person than what Ivan was expecting, but he did not mind that. He hadn't any idea what information he could get out of this man, but that didn't mean he wouldn't attempt to bond with him over whatever amount of time they now had.

Ivan was calm and perhaps vaguely amused as well, all in contrast to the energy and adrenaline that seemed to radiate from the other man. He sat himself down next to the bloodied figure, now unaware that he still might be taken the wrong way. Even so, he couldn't quite hold back his curiosity at this point. "You look... determinet, da? A little angry too. I am assumink you won the fight you jost recently hat. If you look like this now, I can only wonder what your opponent must haff lookt like at the ent off it." He could imagine that too if he so pleased, but part of him held back. "Your name~?"

Word Count: 568
Tags: Mathias Østegård
Notes:

by worldie for jen

[Deleted]

629

Tags: Ivan

Notes: 

"Not lost?" He showed a little curiosity there now, as in the idea that some random human finding his way down here on purpose.The Dane could clearly tell the stranger wasn't a guard, as they weren't in uniform. The guards always seemed to be in uniform if they were anywhere near the mutants. So he was really wondering what sort of thing this one human wanted from a room like they were in, just before a fight where mutants either anticipated or cowered while waiting to finally be let out of the door and into the ring to get it over with. "Then what did you come to find?" The question simple if anything but in the end it was as good as any other. "The loser dosen't sit in here though, if you want to talk to both of us." There was a light chuckle there before the Dane continued on "He's in no shape to do anything like that actually" The grin on his face a bit too pleased about his answer. He finally cracked the knuckles in his fists as if to show off a little, at how quickly he recovered.

It was easy to notice how the stranger was looking at him, a familiar curiosity that Mathias rather enjoyed from people. How the gazes ended up lasting too long. It riled something in him that wasn't suppose to be riled up at the moment so he simply pretended not to notice, instead keeping a softer looks and keeping his own eyes on the stranger's face, noticing how calm and stern they were even with all the energy and rage coming off everything with in the rooms.

Mathias glanced at the steel doors in front of him everytime he heard the crowds get louder, curious as to how it was turning out. Wanting to find out which poor soul was being boo'd at and which ones made the crowd wild. He was most likely to face the winner eventually so that bit of curiosity as to who he'd face was a bit normal. Sadly though it just continued to make him antsy. While he was keeping an eye on the sounds outside he almost didn't notice when the stranger took the seat beside him.

His attention snapped to this new happening. He obviously didn't mind it. The attempt to get closer and on his level was welcomed though it was still a bit strange considering he still didn't know who they were and he doubted they knew who he was either. Another mutant in the underground was not exactly something special. Hell one covered in blood after a fight wasn't so special either considering how barbaric and simple the fights where. When one goes down and doesn't stand back up the other wins. Or if the judge feels as if the loser had suffered enough the match is stopped and technically it's still a win.

There was a heavy yet amused chuckle now. The remark at how the other guy looked, a shake of his head was more of an obvious answer before actually beginning to speak "The other guy moves a bit less now actually, I think I broke few things on him nothing fatal of course, It's not that kind of a fight." There was a pause as he rubbed at another area on himself, red and obvious that there was once a wound. "got me good a couple times though so it was a good one." Looking up and down at the other wondering if in fact he should give his name he grinned, a cheeky smile rather odd fitting on his current form. "I'm Mathias, you are?" He of course figured it couldn't hurt making a new friend. Even in this situation.

made by MISSO for use only by NYX

[Deleted]

tell me tell me tell me the answer

T

he sound of joints cracking was not easy to miss, rising through the mix of curiosity and pride with which the crowned mutant's voice spoke. Ivan raised an eyebrow, his eyes shifting downward to look at the hands that had just shown off for him. As much as it delighted the Russian to hear odd little sounds like that, he did not seem overly impressed that the mutant was so pleased with his win. If anything, his expression was remaining professionally neutral and a touch amused.

It seemed he had forgotten that those mutants who lost in the arena didn't spend their time here. Even so, he had found this particular man interesting enough that that did not disappoint him now - he had already drawn himself in to talk to the Danish man and he hadn't any intention to leave him behind.

"Ah, it seems I haff jost come to see those who are preparink for the fight aheat, then. I do that once in a while, because it is easy to pick out who is ready ant who is not. The littler mutants are usually the ones who look very nervous. I think it is adorable." The Russian's smile pulled slightly wider, further amused by his own choice of wording. He didn't seem to mind pointing that out to a complete stranger. "I avoit callink them 'loser', though. It is not their fault if they are too weak or do not haff as goot off a power as their opponent, da?"

After having made that point, his eyes trained briefly upon the grin on Mathias's face. Even in its presence, the Dane had already succeeded in getting Ivan to think of his less fortunate opponent. He couldn't have any idea who it was or what exactly they looked like, but Mathias seemed like the kind of person who could live up to his bragging - he was likely able to do a reasonable amount of damage. That, however, wouldn't make Ivan feel intimidated either. Mathias seemed riled and probably ready for a second fight if another opponent were thrown at him, but Ivan was calm and remained in place at his side.

"You broke him?" he repeated, unable to help imaging a thicker sound of joints - bones, in this case - snapping this time. The fact that it was 'not that type' of fight helped his imagination before it could wander any further. He blinked, realizing suddenly that he had never thought about fights going quite that far. The thought was worse than what he thought of arena fights already, and he couldn't help but pose what question had come to mind. "Does.. that type off fight ever happen? Killink someone?"

Ivan's eyes were less mindful as they wandered down this time, taking note of the wound Mathias's hand seemed to direct itself to. He could be grateful now more than ever that he never got queasy to see such things. Wounds were still fascinating to him if they ever caught his eye, even if they had been an outcome of a less favorable situation. They only worried him if they were found on someone he knew well already.

The wave of roaring and cheering from nearby was beginning to distract him again. He realized it was too late to take back the question he had just asked, but he figured he would begin making an effort to change the subject. If he were to make friends here, which was usually his intention whenever he came into the waiting room, he would prefer that they bonded over further subjects than just the fighting.

"We can jost be glat that no one diet this time," he spoke smoothly, glancing back up toward Mathias's face. "I am Ivan. I come down here to inspect mutants a lot - mostly in the holdink cells, though."

Word Count: 640
Tags: @lalala145
Notes:

by worldie for jen

[Deleted]

540

Tags:Ivan

Notes:He probably looks so bummed at the end there

”I wouldn’t call the small nervous ones cute, not in this situation at least” The Dane just shook his head at the stranger. If these smaller ones what he thought the other was talking about then well. Mathias thought the baits should be left out of this. These fights, in the arena should only be for the strong ones. It was pitiful to go up against someone that couldn’t possibly have a chance, that shook in the corner before they were beaten to a pulp. He figured since the crowds wanted a show, only fair fights, only mutants that could hold their own and fight back. That way no one felt bad, that way it was about skill and talents, that pride was fed. Like the last guy he himself fought. Sure very few others had the skills and the strength to beat him but the last guy tried his best. “Loser is what they call someone that lost the fight though, They tried to win and couldn’t make it, thats how these games work.”

He was antsy, waiting for this second fight but Mathias was starting to also enjoy this new thing. This talking, socializing with this near stranger. He was almost starting to like them a little. How they could stay calm how ever was a little bit of a mystery. Nothing about this room was exactly calming, it stank of sweat, tears and blood. The concrete walls scared, cracked, scorched, stained in a gore coloured pink. The room obvious of what it meant, obvious that sometimes the fights never made it into the crowds, pride, anxiety, fear, the desire to get it over with, competition, desperation, what ever the reason there was always some that chose to start and sometimes finish the fight in here. To make matters even less calming, or welcoming, outside the doors, the actual arena, the crowds howling and cheering. It’d make most men either crumble and riled up. That the pour of the fights, the strong rush to it and weak fall beneath it. That was simply life with in these walls.

“yeah, they broke, snapped even, literally” he started off as if it wasn’t anything new. “bones can shatter like clay and snap like a twig if you hit it right you know.” Of course a mutant that made his name with bones would know how to break them, although he just punched and kicked a bludgeoned, he had a good idea of what the skeleton could take as a bonus. Well there came that question, whether anyone was killed, if he’d killed anyone in these fights. Bloody as they were, as close as they were to it he shook his head. “Never killed anyone, not that I know of anyways, we fight till knock out or till the big guys think it’s too much, never killed outright, but there are probably some that just don’t make it through the next night.” There was another pause, cause that thought was a bit dreadful. “we fight with everything we got, cause if we don’t win we don’t get fed…” There was a slight smirk there “I hardly ever lose though, so it’s not problem really”

The Dane made a face, of course the human didn’t just come down here to well talk, socialize. Nope as usual they had to be inspected. “I see, what exactly were you trying to inspect for?” It would be really nice to have a visitor that saw him as a person. Not just some prized pet at the pound.

made by MISSO for use only by NYX

[Deleted]

you may be a lover but you ain't no dancer

I

wouldn't call the small nervous ones cute, not in this situation at least. That retort and the added shake of Mathias's head, of course, did little to change his mind on the subject. Ivan's smile only remained unwavering in the face of an opposing opinion. "Whether they are in here or not, that is how they are to me. Bait is the correct name you use, right?" There was his advantage to eavesdropping on nearly everyone down in the Underground. It probably helped to try and understand whatever the mutants discussed amongst each other, especially when it contained business Ivan didn't need to pry into but did anyway.

"Loser usually sounts like a more hurtful meanink than that, is all. I can tell you are so moch different from the little weaklinks, bot I do not dislike you so far." Picking favorites didn't mean that he wouldn't care for any other mutant, really - and it never mattered how long he knew them for. Mutants were always his excuse to force a friendship or a bond of any sort.

Seemingly enough, Ivan was similarly relaxed by the conversation they were engaged in. Although inconsistent due to the background noise and setting, he was pleased that nothing had come up to separate them so far. It wasn't easy for him to tell whether that was the same on Mathias's end, but the man didn't seem to be too evasive or bitter in response to his presence. If anything, that was encouragement for the Russian to keep trying.

"Yes, I know that. They are noisy when they do, are they not?" Ivan bantered with equal forwardness. That and his unchanged calm demeanor went to express that he didn't mind talking about these things either. Death, on the other hand, was a different and heavier matter. Although his expression still didn't seem to change, he paused when Mathias did. "...Even if you strike the bone the wronk way, somthink can happen. Bot at least that can heal, ant then you haff more chances left!" 

A surge of enthusiasm always provided better thoughts. Though as he was staring at the Danish competitor, he couldn't help feeling an odd sensation of relief that he admitted to never having killed anyone. It was further strange to imagine that, if Mathias weren't so confident and were ever put up against someone even stronger, this could be the first and final time that Ivan is to see him. That could happen with any mutant he meets, though he didn't usually like to think about that. "Killink them off is not fortunate. Though I suppose, if you haff no other choice, gettink somthink to eat is a goot reason to do your best." His relief was also rather selfish, since he was glad he didn't have to go through any of that here. Just imagining knowing that his opponent didn't make it...

“I see, what exactly were you trying to inspect for?”

"Jost to see what they are like," he said, addressing the inspection he had just mentioned. "I do not mean appearance, because that does not matter~ Jost whether they are behafet or lonely or look like they neet someone to make them happier ant warm."

Though he did notice the look of disappointment on Mathias's face. "You look like someone who coult be very nice, though. If you are in neet off a frient, I woult be happy to think off you that way." Even if those words were said quickly to cheer the man up, they were truthful. "Is there anythink you woult like to tell me about yourself?"

Word Count: 603 
Tags: @lalala145
Notes:

by worldie for jen