[html] The Sugarwoods.
The sun had peaked in the day sky, beaming down across the lands with a wave of heat. Jasper, who wasn't quite fond of such hot days, was in a rush to get back home where he could take shelter from the sun. To do so, he had taken the route of the Sugarwoods, attempting to utilize the shade of the trees to keep himself cooler than it would have been had he chosen a different route. Weaving in and out of trees, moving this way and that to avoid fallen logs and other objects, Jasper soon found himself at the top of a hill. He didn't move from there though, the lack of ability to use his nose and a sound that came from close by causing him to freeze.
Two-toned eyes rushed across his surroundings in a panicked sort of fashion, one hand carefully lifting to brush his hair from in front of his face. Suddenly, just at the bottom of the hill, Jasper spotted him. At the sight of the other something in his head clicked, memories and faces, and some strange sort of sixth sense nagged at his brain. It couldn't be though, they were all gone and likely weren't coming back. Except, when the stranger moved and Jasper caught a glimpse of his face, there was no doubt in his mind. "Draco!" He sputtered, practically screamimg as he rushed for the hill, stumbling once or twice on his way down.
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I've got to remember this is just a game
For nearly five months, no one had called him that name. It was enough that the young man stopped dead in his tracks, eyes going dead and then fever bright. From his body language, one might think he had been startled by a fast moving car, a thunderclap. The red-head (whose hair was much darker at the roots) turned, and spotted a familiar figure. Jasper—he hadn’t expected him here, and he hadn’t seen him since that day, but all too suddenly he felt a rush of emotions. The first was excitement, to finally see one of his siblings, but the second was rage and that rage was always the stronger of the two.
His eyes narrowed and darkened, turning cold.
“That’s not my name,” he stated flatly.
“Who are you? What do you want?” The accent, that muddled mix of Irish/English, that could have given him away—except for the fact the rest of the clan had never gone with their uncle, having vanished into the European wilderness like shadows and ghosts.
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[html] Jasper, it seemed, would have gladly risked breaking his neck if it meant getting to his sibling faster. Luckily for him though, he made it to the bottom of the hill in one piece, tail flailing and legs just bouncing. That was, until he saw the look on his brother's face. Oh yes, it was his brother, and he didn't seem to happy. Immediately his ears were flat, sunk back against his skull, and Jasper gave a bit of a whine. Was he still angry about their mother? Did he still blame Jasper for making her go away like Jasper blamed himself for it? "Dra--" He was cut off just as the name was about to leave him.
After the words were spoken the blonde male shrunk back, arms lifting close to his chest while each hand scratched at the other. "But Draco.." Had something happened? Did he lose his memory? "It's me.." He could only get that much out before his lips were quivering, eyes quickly pooling with the threat of tears. "It's Jasper, Draco.." Certainly he remembered his own brother.
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The top of his muzzle crinkled, a disapproving frown on his face. To say he was unhappy to see his brother was an understatement—he had expected the boy to have died by now. He expected them all to be dead. They had crept out like thieves in the night, no goodbye, no reason, just gone. All of them. He hated them. The dominant hand, his left one, curled into a fist. Draco remained remarkably still, right up until his brother started crying. “What the fuck,” he spat, giving the other boy a push on the shoulder. “I know who you are, Jasper. Stop crying.” Rolling his eyes, the red-head shifted his weight and stared down his brother coldly.
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[html] The tears were quick to leave their domain, slithering from his eyes to run down into his fur in short streams. It was then that Draco spoke again, causing the smaller male to shrink back just a little more, pouting. Were it not for the push that he was given, which caused him to stumble back some and one arm to come up and hold the spot where he had been pushed, Jasper might have been happy to hear the admittance from his brother. "Why are you mad at me?" He blurted suddenly, more loud and whiny that he had meant, which only meant that the tears remained, increased even. Everyone always seemed so angry all the time.
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The tone of the words bore into his brain. All too suddenly a vicious snarl broke from Draco’s throat and he advanced, getting so close to his brother’s face that he could almost touch it. His eyes had caught fire, burning blue, and his voice was full of age-old fury. “Are you stupid or something? You forget about what you did?” The anger was pulsing now, and both of his fists were shaking. “You ruined everything! You made her leave and then he left, and then everyone fucking left! You all left!” He was screaming, hair in his face, nails digging into his palm so deeply it was bleeding. If he let go, he was afraid he would strike his brother down then and there. “It’s your entire fault!”
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[html] Draco advanced suddenly, vicious and angry, and Jasper could have melted to the ground right then and there. The sad fact was, Jasper knew it was his fault. He didn't need them to tell him that, he didn't need to hear it from them because he knew. Was Draco to blind to see what was going on though? Jasper had tried to find them, tried to bring them all back, it was just to the point that they didn't want to come back, or so he thought. He didn't blame them either. It had been so long though. Wouldn't they have realized by now that he hadn't made them all go away on purpose? "Shut up!" He growled suddenly, shaking his head back and forth. Before he even realized it his hands were up between himself and his brother and he gave a sudden shove, just wanting Draco out of his face.
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Jasper was upset, this was clear. It did not change the fact that Draco was upset too, and needed his brother to know why. It would not have changed the way he felt, and in truth, it did not. He just needed to let the person he found responsible for all of this know why. What happened next surprised him; Jasper pushed him. His brother had never been rough and tumble, and he would not have expected the move from the boy. Then again, he didn’t expect his response. The red-head swung his left fist up, all too suddenly back in England, back in the pubs; not thinking, just moving.
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[html] The click of his own teeth and the instinctive curling back of his tongue were the only things that registered in his head in that moment. His head jerked up suddenly, stumbling back only to land on the slope of the hill, hands coming up to cover his mouth instead of out to try and break his fall. The pain came then, spreading across his face like fire, and Jasper couldn't hold back the tears that came to his eyes once more, both out of pain and sadness. He opened his mouth, or began to, in an attempt to speak, but the pain made it an unbearable task. Instead he simply sat there, tongue working at the coppery liquid that filled his mouth, hands over his muzzle, and sad eyes locked on his brother.
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Draco froze, just as he had when his name had been called. He looked like he had startled himself. There had never been a point when he had actually thought he might strike one of his family members and mean it. They had always been playing, never anything like this. His fist was still clenched, and his palm was bloody. The rage in his eyes was gone. He just stood there, unable to move, to speak, to do anything.
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[html] The shock that had set in to his face was gone in a matter of moments, features contorting into a pained expression. When he was sure that Draco, who looked a little shocked also, wasn't going to advance and finish the job, Jasper began to get himself to his feet. Finally, once standing again, he removed his hands from his mouth, which trickled blood out the very edges. Leaning to the side just a bit, he spit a mixture of blood and saliva to the ground, clearing his mouth for the time, and returned to his previous position. Obviously hurt, in more ways than one, he continued to stare, tears creeping down his face.
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“I…” Draco started to speak, but his voice didn’t sound like his own. He didn’t know what had happened, but he knew why. He knew exactly why he had struck his brother. What scared him was that for all he blamed Jasper for, he blamed his father for more—and if Jasper was here, then Ahren was here. If he found Ahren, this would happen again. And he would be out for blood before he knew it. Frustrated with his own inability to control himself, Draco dropped his head and growled deeply, shutting his eyes.
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[html] Just the single sound of a word and Jasper was shaking his head in a sad sort of fashion. Instead of sticking around to hear what was going to be said, whether or not his brother was going to finish, Jasper turned slightly away from him, passing by him without even a single glance. Instead, eyes were locked on the ground, feet moving as fast as they could possibly take him without being a full run. Jasper would always be the first to say it was his fault that they were all gone. First to say that they all hated him but, somewhere deep down, he had always hoped that he was wrong and that it wasn't true. Now though, Jasper knew that he had been right all along.
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