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WARNING: This thread contains material exceeding the general board rating of PG-13. It may contain very strong language, drug usage, graphic violence, or graphic sexual content. Reader discretion is advised. |
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Fair warning to whoever takes this thread; Teo's in an unstable mood. x: He might bite.
The last few days had been quiet, calm... settled. In a contrast to this, Matteo had become unsettled and restless. Everything he'd learned to love and cherish was starting to fade away. His home was seeming less and less inviting, his precious Gemma starting to look more and more like the whore Anathema saw her as, his peace becoming shattered peice by peice.
What frustrated him the most was his lack of reasoning as to why. Why?
Why did Gemma seem so... vile now? He loved her, but that love felt dim, far away. Had he changed? Had she? Was he losing his peace to nothing? Questions without answers. Lost. He felt lost.
Ahiyuhi, in concern for her breaking student, sat in the far corner of the bedroom he shared with Gemma, watching the albino pace aimlessly from end to end of the room. He'd been pacing for some time now, and with no one home she figured he'd continue this endless path into madness if not interrupted somehow.
But he was ignoring her. Every time she tried to get a word in edgewise, he'd pay her no mind as if she weren't there at all. She'd since given up trying to reason with the troubled boy, thoroughly confused with his suddenly troubled behaviour. The bruise still hadn't healed, not fully, and the pain remained... maybe this was the reason?
The spirit guide watched her poor pupil pace with growing anxiety for his welfare. What was troubling him so?
On the inside, Teo was losing it. His mind was racing with thoughts foreign to him. Dark thoughts. Troubling thoughts. Gemma. Giuseppe. Alaki. Demi. Mother. Father. Camilla. Ebony. Ivory. Jaden. Light. Tedros. Ayasha. Naniko. Names, all names, starting to become faceless as they repeated in his head, tormenting him.
Gemma the whore. Gemma, the woman he loved. But he didn't love women. He loved her, but why? How? Gemma the whore, the slut, the tramp. No, Gemma the lost little girl...
Who was he kidding? She was as loyal to him as he was to AniWaya. There was no loyalty there. No commitment. He shared her with god knows how many other men and there was nothing he could do about it. She'd always stray. She'd never be his alone. But how did he know? Her behaviour. Rumors? No, there were none. But how? A gut feeling, maybe. Faint scents that didn't belong. Something.
Giuseppe the tyrant, the tormentor, the abuser. Giuseppe, the abused, the neglected brother, his twin. A dark evil. A first love? He didn't know anymore. Once, he thought, maybe...
Alaki the wolf, the batshit one, the cave dweller, the violent ex. Alaki, the first true love, the still beloved, the protector, the lost child. His Alaki. No, not anymore. A memory. A nightmare. A mistake. But what was the mistake? Loving him? Leaving him? Betrayal. Disloyal. Scum. Who? Alaki? No... someone else...
Demi, the lost friend. His pacing paused at the thought of her. She'd been so accepting of Matteo, the first one he'd told his secret to, someone who understood. His mentor. His friend. Dead. Gone. Forever.
Mother. Carissa Trovato. A coyote woman. His mother. His savior. But she betrayed him. Abandoned him when he needed her the most. Ignored his pleas, his cries for help, his pain. The only parent that showed him true affection, the only parent who's betrayal had actually hurt. Mother... Dead. Gone.
Father. Draco Trovato. A dog. A tyrant king. His father. His curse. He barely knew him, but the hatred was there. He'd ruined Giuseppe. Ruined their childhood with lies and abuse, beatings and stupid words of praise that were as empty as the man's soul. Disgusting. Good riddance. He started pacing again.
Camilla, his little sister. His ward. Once dependant on him, no longer did she need her brother's guidance. She was older now, an adult, ready to face the world... gone. Right next door but a fading memory of what she'd been as a child. She didn't need him now. I love you, little sister. I'm proud of you. A smile...
...and then it faded again. Ebony. Ivory. His children with Gemma. Dead, because of those caves. Jaden. His nephew... or maybe his son? That whore. All dead. He'd worked to save Jaden but for nothing. Dead. Ebony. Ivory. Jaden.
Light. A crush, but why had his scent been in the house one day? He had't been near the older man. Gemma brought it home on her pelt. Gemma. Whore. Did she...? She wouldn't, would she? Not his Light. Not...
Tedros. A quick encounter. We'll ride together as often as we can, he'd said. Liar. Filth. And now where was he? Somewhere in Inferni, probably.
Ayasha. ...she's gone, now. She went to join Anathema. He knew. She'd said so. She'd left. Gone. Betrayal? No, she'd followed her heart... but to Anathema? The caves? The dead place? Why there? She'll hate me. Maybe she won't, but she'll be forced to reject me. I'm the enemy now. Bitter, he continued his pacing.
Naniko. Devil woman. She'd allowed Giuseppe's abuse to continue, given Alaki his rank, taken his wolf from him. She'd been the one to let Gemma fall victim to Giuseppe. It was her fault. No it's not. It's mine. Damn her. ...shit.
Memories. Thoughts. Names.
A tapping at the window caught his attention, the flutter of wings, larger than a songbird. He whirled around and stood facing the enemy in feathered form. A crow. Vile creature. Don't you dare. He glared across at it, hating it, wishing it dead, willing it to be silent.
...it crowed. In a blurr of white and black, then red, Teo lept at it in blind fury, misplaced anger. The shattering of glass and the wicked snarl, the thud of two bodies, one large, one small, hitting the ground below hard, the choked cry of a startled victim, the gurgling of a bloody death. Silence followed.
He crouched there in his secui form, not sure when he'd shifted, not sure how he'd landed down there in the glass and snow. His did know one thing for certain. The crow, the vile offending creature, was dead in his jaws, hanging lifeless by its broken neck, clutched between long teeth. Dead. Silenced.
His anger faded quickly after that and soon enough, he was able to move again. The burning sensation in his legs told him he'd landed wrong, but at least nothing was broken. He shifted away from the glass and into the treeline silently, hiding away behind snow-covered foliage of evergreen needles, the bird still between his teeth.
Once certain he'd hidden himself well enough to allow an easy escape in case a tribemate came to check the commotion, the boy dropped his kill. He stared at the ruffled black feathers in disgust. Crows. He hated these babbling vermin. The anger was gone, though. The thoughts were fading away and he felt that numb sense of nothing returning.
"...I hate crows." He licked the blood from his maw and turned to look up at the broken window, for the first time feeling the sting of cuts on his shoulders and hips. No glass in his skin, though. He didn't even need stitches or bandaging. "...She's gonna kill me when she gets home."
And so, he decided he wouldn't be home for her to get angry at him. He stood, leaving the bird where it lay, dead and mangled. His destination? Anywhere. His pace was slow, not at all silent, uncaring. He felt drained, wanting to curl up in a warm bed and fall asleep, but he had no one to curl up to anymore. He didn't want Gemma. She brought out a side of him he didn't like. She was temptation. Temptation was evil. She was evil? Not on purpose, maybe. He loved her, but lately he felt he needed to get away from her. Something was off about his girl and he couldn't understand what...
"...whore." He mumbled under his breath as his paws carried him away from the village. Teo didn't even know why he'd said it. He didn't even realize he'd said anything at all, but the accusation was worded and that would be the start of everything to come for him... there were dark times ahead... dark, dire times.