Teo's heart just stopped beating, I hope you know.

Matteo had been on quite the adventure.

He'd left that morning in hopes of finding something to help make his bed more comfortable. Since Gemma had moved in, he'd been back to his make-shift nest on the floor. His back was complaining more now, so he'd decided it time to make that nest into a true Anathema style bed. Sadly, his search had been mostly in vain.

Instead, he'd caught the scent of something... fat. And yummy. Whatever it was, he'd never seen or smelled one before, but it still smelled like food. Having been in his lupus form already, the boy set off to track and hunt the unknown and unsuspecting prey. The thing had more fur than he and Giuseppe combined, he'd learned when he caught it, and it had teeth. Sharp teeth.

It was as he was nursing a badly bitten nose that he heard the squeaking nearby. Deciding to check it out, he stood, took one last lick of blood off of his face, and headed in the direction of the sound. He was surprised to find it was a bit higher up than his lupus form could reach, so he took to his optime form and started climbing the tree it came from. In a hole in the trunk, nearer the middle-top of it, he found a little gray and black lump of fur. It was alone, getting cold, and it smelled suspiciously like the thing he'd just killed.

As the realization hit him, so did the guilt; he'd made this poor, defenseless creature into an orphan! It wasn't very big, but it obviously wasn't a new-born either. The little thing had a black mask covering her face and rings of the same black on her tail, much like her mother had. She was tiny, but the smell of milk was weak on her; she was about the age to be weaned. He could still save her.

Mind made up, he grabbed up the little bundle, shushing her as she complained and squirmed. Climbing down wasn't as easy, but he managed. Once on the ground, he tucked the complaining kit under his arm and reached down to grab the dead mother, making sure to hide the corpse from view of the kit. He nested her between two above-ground roots of the tree she'd called him, whispered a prayer, apologized and then with the little kit in his arms, he ran for home.

It wasn't until he reached the caves that he realized a huge flaw in his plan; even with Gemma living with them, Giuseppe would never, ever agree to letting Matteo keep the little orphaned... whatever it was. He'd sooner kill the little beast than let Teo nurse it to adulthood. What now!?

It was for this reason that Matteo, now dressed in some of his stashed clothing (it was hidden away in the storage area of the caves in case he ruined his unpacked ones), was headed for Alaki's room. His steps became slower as he came nearer his destination. Teo had never, ever visited Alaki in his own room before. He'd seen it passing through the halls and he'd remembered which one it was, but he'd never actually been inside. He hoped today was a good day to visit.

Stepping up to the curtained doorway, he decided to wait a moment. The kit had fallen asleep (he'd learned from someone passing by that she was a raccoon) and was now tiredly nestled into his chest, both of his arms supporting her gently, carefully, as not to let her awaken or fall. Making sure she was still sound alseep, he took a deep, silent breath and faced his impending doom; the Knight's Chambers.

I can't really say anything... it would wake up the little kit. There's no door, so I can't really knock... not that he ever would anyway. Maybe.. I could just.. walk in? Chewing on his lip a moment, he weighed the pros and cons. Deciding he'd seen his fair share of butts and nude wolves since arriving in Anathema, he carefully made his way past the curtain and into the room, softly calling out to Alaki. "Hey Alaki, are you..." He trailed off at the sight before him.

He was used to that pose. Giuseppe often lounged in almost the same way, except the coydog was usually much less... relaxed and inviting. It wasn't the pose that had Matteo blushing and fighting to turn away. It was the fact that, and he was certain of this, Alaki was most assuredly not wearing anything under that blanket. The way his hair spread out beneath him, the toning along his chest and stomach...

He opened his mouth to try speaking again but no sound came out. He tried to turn away, but he couldn't really will himself to look away. The candle-lit room made for the perfect movie scene, and despite his best nature, Matteo felt as if holding the kit was making him just a bit too warm for comfort. If one paid close enough attention, they'd notice that Teo might've also forgotten to, aheh, breath.

And once again, Teo's way too oblivious to notice just how incredibly enticing Key's being. xD

Matteo blinked away his stupor when Alaki sat up and waved him into the room. Trying desperately to hide the fact that he'd been staring like that, he shuffled into the room and came to stand near the bed, still holding the sleepy raccoon kit in his arms. The little thing was starting to stir. That meant it was okay to talk again.

"Afternoon. The sun is high." Matteo was looking anywhere but at Alaki, so he settled his gaze on Beyaz. Ah, so there were Alaki's pants. Fancy that, maybe Bey really was a pest at times. "...Beyaz is eating your jeans." The comment wasn't meant to coax a response. It was simply a comment based on the fact that Matteo's mind wasn't working right yet.

Finally, he willed himself to address the issue at hand. "I uh..." Pulling his gaze back to Alaki, he shrugged to indicate to the ball of fluff in his arms. "I need some help, actually. I made a mistake hunting today." Teo sniffed slightly, irritating the bite on his nose yet again. The bleeding had stopped, but it was still obviously sore and fresh. "I uh... I didn't mean to, but I might have maybe killed this little one's mother." He grimaced, the guilt of the kill coming back yet again to haunt him.

"I didn't smell any milk on her. I had no idea she had a kit at the time. Now this little one's an orphan and I owe it to her to take care of her... but... Giuseppe..." He looked down at the now drowsy but awake 'coon kit in his arms. She was looking around with bleary brown eyes, probably wondering how the hell she'd ended up in some sort of cave. "...he'd never let me keep her without a good reason. He would not care that I killed her mother. He'd sooner scold me for not bringing back the body for dinner."

Matteo used Charm!

Matteo chewed on his lip as Alaki guessed at what he'd been getting at. He guessed spot-on. As if on cue, the little bundle in his arms suddenly realized she was awake and decided she wanted to explore. Teo was sort of forced to let her go, as she wiggled and squirmed and eventually got down on the floor, luckily ignoring the crow. Teo watched her go for a moment before noticing Alaki's groan and obvious dislike for the situation. Oh no, please don't say no... Instantly, Teo decided to... convince him.

As soon as Teo thought Key might say no, the boy came over to sit on the bed, pulling his legs up and sort of crawling over to Alaki on his hands and knees across the bed, getting right up and resting his head on Key's arm. Once he was sure he had Key's full attention (this sometimes worked with Giuseppe), he looked up at Key with the very best eyes he could muster.

The look could break even Viking's mighty warrior heart into shards. "I promise I won't ask anything of you ever, ever again. Just this one tiny little favor, and that's it. No more." He paused for effect, but didn't let Alaki get a word in edge-wise. "Just think; I'll owe you big time for this. If you can convince Giuseppe to let me keep her, I promise I'll do anything you want."

Sadly, as soon as those words left his mouth, Matteo instantly regretted them. They were the words he used with Giuseppe once before, and it had worked. A little too well. Now that he was using this deal with none-other than Alaki, Teo was left to wonder just what kind of horrors were in store for him this time around. ...I'll... never learn... will I?" Still, might as well go along with it.

The finishing move came next, without warning. "Pleeeasse Alakiii?" Then came the most adorable puppy-dog face in the world, all pouty and sad and completely adorable. "Aaannyything you want. Promise." And, as a curtain call on this little preformance, his wiggled slightly getting as close as possible without making it seem completely and totally inappropriate. (Which it most certainly was.)

I can has hideout plz?

Matteo adjusted his weight slightly, a mix between a scowl and a pout slapping itself onto his face at Alaki's laughter. He didn't see what was so funny. At least, he didn't until Alaki calmed down and teased him about it. Pouting, he moved to lean on Key again, doing his best to look scowly and failing. As he noted that he had a few ideas in mind, Teo's tail flicked a few times.

"Doooes that mean that I don't have to be your one-task slave?" He grinned innocently then, tail swinging behind him and ears actually perking up the slightest bit from their usual laid-back position. "Cause I don't mind not repaying you. I can be selfish sometimes too. Doesn't bother me in the least." Noticing a patch of fur sticking up from his nap, Teo moved to flatten some of it down on his ribs. "I could, y'know, wait here and stuff... where it's safe... and away from my tempermental big brother..."

Maybe, if he was lucky, Alaki would give him permission to stick around his room for a bit. Maybe tidy up that mess over there. "This place could use some tidying up..." Looking around the room innocently, Teo made it very clear what he was hinting at. He paused and looked up at Alaki, silently pleading to be allowed to stick around even after the larger male left. He suddenly liked this room. A lot.

And Alaki's privacy becomes Matteo's knowledge. Mwaha. End thread. ♥

Matteo silently cheered over both the fact that he was let off his stupidity, and that Alaki was letting him lay low in his room. He knew his knight in shining armor would come out victorious one way or another. All he needed to do now was wait, and bask in the glory that came with being spoiled rotten. Ironically, Giuseppe's plan to beat the spoiled-rotten out of him had backfired when Alaki came into the picture. It was Italy all over again, but with better looking men to come to his rescue instead of his mother and father.
When Alaki stood up, Matteo was graciously (and morbidly) reminded of the taller male's lack of clothing. Yet again, he found himself watching every movement with a red face, noting each and every line the other's muscles left in his pelt. When the perverted regret of the crow not having demolished those pants came to his head, he finally turned away and focused on a fold in the blanket instead.

"I'll make sure the children behave." Teo's joking tone was only slightly softer than usual, due to his shyness. He managed to look up in time to see Alaki strapping up with his katana and heading out the door. He called a 'laters' and Teo called back with a 'Good Luck'. Once he was sure Alaki was out of earshot....

"Alright, kids. Let's clean up this mess. We want it spotless for when your father gets home, got it?" Teo's voice hummed with amusement at his joke as he addressed the two animals. Neither paid him any mind, but he continued his little act. "Good. Let's get started." He slipped off the bed and began his 'chores'. By the time Alaki would return, the place would be completely and utterly spotless. In the meantime, Matteo was happily enjoying the chance to snoop around the room and 'learn more' about his daring prince charming.