|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2010 2:09 pm
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2010 3:33 pm
Paradise couldn't believe what he was doing. He laughed at himself in the mirror, having tried to make himself look car crash victim-ish, but he'd failed at that miserably. It was no surprise that he couldn't get the stupid fake wounds on without them somehow interrupting one of the scaled patches on his skin, and that was a little irritating. But he didn't honestly expect there to be any Halloween costumes for his own species; things were kind of biased like that. For the time being, his brother hovered near the door, watching the son that they'd been blessed with no more than a few days earlier, a sweet little thing, as confusing as he was.
The all-around darker of the two males appeared at the door to the bathroom, looking over Paradise in a way that seemed critical, though it was mainly because he was taking longer than their son to get ready. Shaking his head, he took a few steps closer and wove his arms around Paradise's waist, leaning against his shoulder as his darkblue-tipped wings fluttered slightly before settling against his back. Peony was dressing as an Eilian lawyer for Halloween. Translation: He wasn't really dressing up at all, just wearing his work clothes.
"Are you about finished primping?" Peony asked, sounding rather impatient, making it seem as though he was the one who wanted to go out, instead of Echo. Paradise laughed softly and turned in his brother's arms, kissing him softly.
"Well, just about, just let me fix one little-" the tan male couldn't continue his statement with the look that his brother gave him after that, and started laughing in amusement, the little white wings on his back fluttering happily. He waved off his last comment and grinned at his twin brother. "Calm down, calm down, of course I'm ready. Where's Echo?" he said with a smile. That was when he realized that their little bright-eyed boy hadn't followed behind Peony as he usually did. And they entered the living room with a sense of dread overwhelming them both when they found that the front door was open.
And their son wasn't in sight.
"TICKY TEET!!" squealed a little voice as a ghost-dressed child pulled himself with his arms up the front steps of someone's house, wiggling in-between the children already standing there and holding out his hands underneath the sheet over the top of his head, stepping back and forth on his short legs. The elderly woman at the door laughed happily at the child's antics while the other kids yelled out a few 'thank you's and ran off, back to their parents. However, once they left, there were no other parental figures in the area, it seemed, but Echo was nonplussed, simply standing there and holding his hands out, smiling brightly, excited for treats.
The old woman, however, sensed something was wrong and peered out to look for the baby's parents. After all, the little one could barely walk and talk, let alone fend for itself! Echo's teal eyes saddened with how he was being ignored and he tugged gently at her dress, looking up sadly. "Ticky teet fo' nums...?" he asked pitifully, arms lowering back to his sides. The old woman shook her head and took a step back.
"Come on in, little one. You can have all the candy you want inside," she said sweetly, already preparing what exactly she was going to say to the parents of this child when she saw them. Echo grinned wildly from underneath his costume, darting into the nice house and jumping around just a bit, taking everything in as best as he could with his minimal toddling. He hadn't a single idea the turmoil that his parents were suffering at the moment, but the only thing on his one-track mind right now was the candy; he had at least recognized that word.
"Echo!!"
"Echo!!"
The calls ricocheted through the air as Paradise and Peony tried to find their missing son, the latter of whom's eyes were already welling up with tears. How could they have lost their son? Were they really that bad at parenting? I mean, it was only their first shot, right? Things like this happened all the time with first-time parents... right?
Echo was happy being coddled by the elderly woman for a while, but it was beginning to vex the boy, especially when she practically forced him into a large, once-white shirt after discovering there was nothing underneath his costume. The nix sucked on a green apple lollipop as he sat at the window, looking for the familiar faces who actually let him run around the house without clothes on; in this house he couldn't even sit around without clothes on. A frown had etched itself on his face until he heard his name being shouted when the door was opened.
The woman tried to stop him from running, but he was too quick and too small, squirming through the children on her stoop and running out into the street, where he practically tackled Paradise's leg, snuggling against it and squealing happily. Paradise sighed gratefully and heaved the small child into his arms, hugging him close and refusing to let go, barely able to bite back the worried tears and simply coddling him for now. "I was so worried about you, Echo. You can't go doing that again, okay? You have to stay with us, alright?" he asked, looking the boy in those bright teal eyes once again before hugging him tightly. "Thank God..."
It was about Peony's turn to speak up, to interrogate the boy to find out what he'd been thinking when he ran off -which was little more than 'nums'- and to just know where he'd gone off to. However, that was when an infuriated looking elderly woman stomped up to the both of them, glaring between the two of them. Paradise frowned in confusion while Peony did what he did best - glared right back with even more intensity.
"Ugh, I should have known that it was your kind taking care of that poor child. Perverts. Parading him around in his underpants for the world to see! And then you lose him!! Probably too caught up in doing- doing INDECENT things in the very streets!! You 'people' disgust me. Your sort should never be allowed to touch a child, let alone care for one!!" the woman screamed. The steam rolling off Peony's back was practically visible, and it was obvious that most of him just wanted to deck the woman in the face. "Go now, hand him over. I'm calling the authorities."
The snarl that came from Peony's mouth was more protective that anything, but it was in that moment that Paradise covered both of Echo's gently pointed ears. There were a few choice words that Paradise would rather he not know for at least a few more years. When the confrontation had finally ended, all the other children were at home and Echo was dozing in the redhead's arms. Said Eilian was crying softly to himself by now and walking home behind his brother. It took the little toddler a while to notice the tears, but when he did, his eyes welled up, too, and he did what he thought was best. He pulled out a lollipop that had been strapped onto his hip by the waistband of his underwear and offered it up to Paradise. "Nums?"
Paradise laughed happily and took the lollipop, snuggling his baby close. Even with the scare, even with everything, he could never in a million years ask for a better son.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2010 3:34 pm
July 18, 2167
Geez, don't I feel like a total selfish a**?
I found the police report from yesterday shortly after waking up; turns out Peony had accidentally left it at home. It makes complete sense, why he didn't want to leave the office. I can only hope that nothing too bad's going to come of my demands. After all, they still have a decent amount of other case workers who could be helping with it, even if very few of them are as good as my brother...
At the same time that I regret what I did, I'm... pleased with the results. I'm really grateful to whatever God blessed me with the ability to comfort Peony properly, and pull from him a secret that he wouldn't have told even ME in a million years. I'm proud of him for that, as odd as it may sound. Maybe he'll start opening up to me more, like he did when we were little, when we were still... mostly innocent, at least.
I'm leaving only six days from now. God, I'm terrified... But I can't let Peony know that. If he knew that I had even a single second thought to go along with his tons of them, he would probably lock me in a closet until the war was over. Not that that's very likely. The war's been going on since around 2002, nearly two-hundred-years-ago, despite how it may have died down and come back up in between times where it was no longer considered a world war and even, at times, not a war at all. Everyone knows that that was never the case.
Peony's taking the day before I leave off from work. I'm leaving early the next morning, so we're planning on spending the day together. In a way that means that he's going to tell Matthew to take care of Echo for the day, which also means I finally get to meet my lover's partner more properly.
...that was phrased very awkwardly.
Either way, I'm... afraid of leaving.
I know that there are huge possibilities that I won't Live through this, but I can't help it. If I'm lucky, I'll just die- y'know, my brain will remain intact and I won't Die, I'll simply get rebuilt from the inside-out and lead a human life until... well, until I did end up Dying at some point.
But it's scary, terrifying in fact, to think that I don't have a choice about which of those occurs...
-Paradise White Marlox
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Feb 02, 2010 5:30 pm
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2010 9:38 pm
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2010 9:46 pm
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2010 9:49 pm
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2010 10:16 pm
Teal eyes were what led Echo out of his room. It was surprisingly normal for Peony to leave him with Matthew, and it was nothing that offended the toddler in his Carebear boxers. However, it was rare that Peony left completely instead of just sitting alone in a room and letting Matthew play house. Considering he actually had done that this time, Matthew was busy working and worrying, having forgotten completely about Echo's bedtime story.
Softly, pale little feet padded down the hallway, makeshift hat falling over one of his eyes. But that wasn't important right now, as both of his long-fingered hands were occupied, holding onto his chosen book for the evening. Silently, he pushed open the door to Matthew's room and snuck in, scrambling up into the man's lap and plopping his book on a nearby flat surface before hugging him tightly around the waist.
"Hi Mommy!!" he chirped in his melodic voice, smiling sweet as sugar before offering the man his book. "You almost forgetted about my book!!"
Matthew had indeed been engrossed in his work tonight, half out of necessity and half to try and stave off the gnawing worry about his partner. Nothing good ever happened to Peony when he ventured off alone; he was the biggest danger to himself. Still, to suspect would have offended the Eilian (not to mention ran the risk of drawing Echo's attention), so the man merely tried to shove himself into the continuous puzzles and guessing games of his occupation, hoping that they would distract him enough tonight.
However, it seemed like they had distracted too much, as Matthew didn't even hear the toddler come into the room until he was in his lap. He jumped with a small shout, but then smiled warmly (if not a little wearily) and ruffled the boy's hair. He didn't have the heart to tell Echo that he wasn't his mother, especially considering how much the detective wished it to be true. Tan arms wrapped around the little nyx and hugged him close. "Oh my goodness, you're right. Thank you for reminding me, Echo."
"Now," he continued, picking up the book and shoving his work carelessly to the side to make room on his lap for the little body, "what exactly are we reading tonight? Is it an old story, or a brand-new one?"
- - -
"Thanks", was the only word that Peony mumbled to the thug who'd given him the needle, and he didn't respond when he was grunted at in return. The tentacles of depression clung deeply to his heart, and the only thing that he felt could bring him back was the heroin in his hand. Working quickly, he tied off his arm in an eerily-professional way, looking every inch like just another deadbeat and not the most famous Eilian lawyer in New York. The small spritz of sanitizer on the needle was one of the few habits that kept him Peony. He poked and prodded with both fingers and eyes before finding a vein, and without hesitation he drove the needle into his body. A relieved sigh passed through chapped lips as he felt the substance violate his bloodstream. Five, four, three, two... Ahhh...
Dizzily, the Eilian stood. A grand smile spread across his face, stretching unused muscles to the point of pain. The world was beautiful again. He was no longer miserable Peony, depressed by hate crimes at work that he couldn't solve on his own time and by the oppressive distance that always seemed to be between he and his lover. No, now he was joyous, and why shouldn't he be? He had a lovely house, a partner that was always good for a laugh, a beautiful son... Peony chuckled weakly as he remembered Echo. Echo was at home; why wasn't he? He certainly wasn't a very good daddy. With an immense effort, he forced his heavy legs to move, his tail almost dragging behind him as he shuffled in the general direction of home. If only he wasn't so itchy...
- - -
Echo happily nuzzled into Matthew's chest at the warm hug as the man's strong arms wrapped around his chubby little body. Once the man's attention shifted to the book, he turned himself around and shuffled back as far as he could, tucking himself up against his mother's chest comfortably. Smiling in his cute, innocent little way, he looked up at Matthew, well-knowing that their house always had some kind of candy, even if most of it had been replaced with low-fat, low-suar, and low-calorie hard candies. Honestly, Echo didn't mind in the least, and on top of that, it still got the job done. As hard candy, it kept Echo quiet and tended toward even putting him to sleep at night; as long as it was sweet, he was happy. However, he also knew that Matthew liked the non-reduced candies more, and usually had his own. So, the little boy stretched out his hand with that cute little smile, "Nums, Mattoo?"
When the book was again brought to his attention, he looked toward that instead, gasping and hugging onto Matthew's arm happily. "It's a new one! Daddy goddit for me yesterday, but he didn't get ta read it! But now you can an' yay," he said sweetly, wiggling a bit in Matthew's lap. "Daddy says it's about monsters!!"
Matthew smiled warmly at the adorable toddler and nodded, fishing around in his pocket with an exaggerated look of concentration on his face. "Hmm, now where did I put that? Not here, not here... Hmm, did I leave them at home?" As he mused theatrically, he caught Echo's eye and winked, drawing out a full pack of Starbursts that had been bought just from this occasion. Yes, he knew that Peony was trying to make sure that Echo's addiction to sugar didn't make him a fat kid, and he agreed that it was a good thing, but he couldn't help spoiling the little nix, especially when he was playing babysitter. "Oh-ho! Here we are, nums for Echo!" he said jovially, unwrapping a few and plopping them into the outstretched hand.
"Oh, a new one? Wonderful!" Matthew said with a smile, looking at the book's cover. His expression grew wistful as he looked upon the familiar artwork of the classic. "Ah, 'Where the Wild Things Are.' This one's a good one, Echo. I read it when I was little like you." He snuggled the boy closer to his chest and began to read quietly.
- - -
Peony was lost. He blinked around deliriously as he tried to find a landmark, any landmark, that would point him in the direction of home. He had no sense of courtesy for the people passing him on the street, and constantly hit a passerby with a tail or a wing as he searched dizzily. Usually those stricken would merely mutter and keep on their way, knowing a junkie when they saw one, but one of these instances had Peony hitting a very violent, very angry man. With a growl, he grabbed Peony's collar and swung him into the wall of the nearby building, spit flicking from his lips as he muttered aggressively. "You got a problem, a*****e?"
Peony shook and muttered his nonsense apology, eyes darting around in panic. His whole body vibrated with fear and exhilaration and God-knows-what-else, and any control he might have had before was utterly lost. In a seemingly-impulse decision, he hissed fiercely in the man's face, puffing his wings up like an owl's and striking his wrist sharply with his tail. The surprise was enough that the man let him go, rubbing his wrist and muttering spitefully under his breath. It was only as Peony was staggering away that a small seed of recognition wormed its way into the man's brain, something about a lawyer with black skin and white wings... "Hey! Aren't you that lawyer? The one who has his panties in a bunch about Eilians?"
But he got no response, or if he did, it was only a shudder. Peony certainly didn't feel like the powerful, passionate, angry person he was described as. Right now he was just tired and trembly and lonely. In this state he wasn't a person of any importance, wasn't a person capable of any significant acts whatsoever. He was just a father who wanted to get home.
- - -
Echo's grey-flecked face grew concerned when Matthew didn't know where the candy was. Distressed, he bounced in the man's lap, pouting a bit but being sure not to whine; after all, Matthew's real candy was a sneaky luxury and, if he whined, the man might not want to bring him any anymore. When the wink caught his eye, he smiled, sheepish now that he knew that the man had been pulling his leg. Meanie!
The little boy squealed excitedly when the candy was located, holding his widespread hands up as high as he could stretch them. When the Starbursts were dropped into said hands, he continued to squeak happily, hugging the candy close and tearing at the first one he took hold of. Popping it in his mouth, the boy was content to lean, heavy-lidded against his mother's chest.
"You were liddle ash me onshe?" Echo slurred around his vice, looking up with wide, teal eyes. Matthew, THAT little?!
---
Matthew chuckled warmly at Echo's question and ruffled his soft hair. "Oh yeah. I was real little, maybe even smaller than you," he added with a grin, poking teasingly at Echo's belly. To take the sting away from the insult, he held the adorable boy close as he read. "Everybody's been a little person, Echo. Even your daddy was little once, if you can believe it." He smiled with a touch of grim humor as he thought about his partner, already understanding any surprise Echo might show at that information. If there was anyone that was an adult... At least on the outside, he thought with a happy sigh, recalling times that he'd seen Peony lose his temper over nothing, sulk in his office for days over a slight oversight, and play with Echo with all the joy in the world...
But he couldn't risk getting lost in the fantasy that would follow such thoughts, so Matthew shook his head and turned his focus onto the book. "Let the royal rumpus st-" He stopped suddenly, cocking his head to the side and straining his ears. Was that a tap on the door he'd heard? Peony hadn't said that he would be back yet, but... He shook his head once again. Peony had a key to his own house (right?!); he would be fine. Better to settle down and focus on the boy sitting in his lap.
- - -
"Ma-Ma-Matthew... ********, open the d-d-oorr.." Peony mumbled sickly to himself as he scraped at his door, frustratingly locked. His wings flapped awkwardly and his tail pushed against the wooden frame, but exhaustion was starting to get the better of him and Peony began to collapse. He winced as his face met the scratchy annoyance of the doormat, but did nothing to make himself more comfortable. His limbs were spent; there was nothing he could do. Teary and furious, he cast his dizzy eyes around for something, anything that would allow him a way in. He just wanted to be home, was that such a crime?! Why couldn't he be with his boy...
Then, by chance, Peony sighted a rock laying within arm's reach. He then cast his gaze on the glass pane on his door, and then made an uniquely stupid decision.
CRASH.
- - -
CRASH.
Matthew jumped about a foot in the air at the sound, immediately on the defensive. In a heartbeat he was up off the bed, Echo nestled where he had been sitting a moment before, gun in hand. He flashed a reassuring smile in the baby's direction, gesturing for him to stay there. "Shh. It's okay. Let me just see what's going on, okay? Don't move now, Echo, no matter what." Instructions given, he walked stealthily down the hall, checking every single room methodically before he took his few hesitant steps down the stairs. A breath to soothe the nerves, and then he was down the stairs and pointing his gun down the throat of-
"Peony?! Wh-What... What the hell? Boss, seriously, what the ********? What are you doing here?"
Echo looked on in awe as it was explained that even his own DADDY had been as small as he was. The poke to his belly made the small child giggle and wriggle around, wrapping his chubby arms around his middle. Small as he was, and naive as he was, he wasn't at all insulted by the prodding; being chubby was just a part of who he was, like his hair or his eyes. He nuzzled against his Mama happily, chewing on his candy joyfully.
That was until the crash sounded from downstairs. The little nix screamed in terror, clinging to Matthew even as he moved forward fluidly. The boy whimpered pathetically and grabbed out after the man, quivering in fear when his teal eyes fell on the heavy black metallic instrument that was drawn forth, an instrument that Echo never wanted to play.
The child curled up in the chair he'd been left in, quaking silently as his wide eyes stared after the brunette. But fears continued to run through his black silk adorned head, fears about whether or not the person was good, bad. What about if he tried to come upstairs? ...what if he already was?
Peony couldn't understand Matthew's fury, and would have told him himself if he hadn't collapsed upon the couch. The comfort of the cushions, not the mention the satisfaction of finally achieving his goal, made a watery smile appear on the Eilian's face. Momentarily, Matthew's complete existence was forgotten. He was finally home...
Of course, this only made Matthew more irate, particularly at his boss' euphoria. So that's what he'd been doing. Goddamnit... The man scowled as he resheathed his gun, running an anxious hand through his hair before he glared at the Eilian. "********, Peony... Okay, I don't know what you were thinking, and I'm sure you don't either, but get this straight, boss." He leaned forward and grabbed Peony's collar, voice ringing with well-intentioned fury. "I will not ******** sit for you so you can go and get high. That is the most retarded thing I've ever heard, and I will have no part of it." Part of Matthew desired to hit Peony at this point, but at the same time there was a part that wanted to kiss him, so Matthew made the smart choice to let the Eilian go, panting slightly before turning to go back up the stairs. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go and comfort your son, who I'm sure you scared half to ******** death with your idiocy."
Most of that speech had gone in Peony's ear and out the other, but at the mention of Echo, a spark of intelligence leaped back into those rosebud eyes. He struggled to sit up, limbs trembling as he called out after Matthew in a cracking voice. "H-Hey... M-M-Matt-Matthew... Help me, w-wan'na see Echo too.."
But his partner wheeled on him, steel glinting in his ear as he pointed to the couch with an uncompromising finger. "No. You will sit your a** on that couch until you get whatever part of your brain you have left. He may be your son, Boss, but there is no ******** way that I'm going to let Echo see his daddy like this. He's too damn young."
Now Peony was pissed. He'd gone through hell and back to get to his house to see his boy, and now his stupid junior partner was telling him what to do? No way. Snarling, he forced himself to stand, hisses infecting his speech as he spoke from anger. "******** offf... He'sss my sssson, b-b***h, not yourssss... 'N I'm n-not your 'ssssponssibilty..."
Echo knew that the best plan of action would be to stay upstairs. However, it didn't take a moron -or a grown-up- to differentiate between a gunshot and a shouting match. Echo was neither of those things, and it was the way that Matthew's voice carried that alerted him to the fact that his father was home. Aloof to the circumstances, the little nix grinned and slid himself off of the chair, making hs way down the hall. Tackling the stairs was a difficult matter for the short, chubby boy, but he managed well enough.
When he finally arrived downstairs, he was a little out of breath, but not terribly so. The conversation thus far had evaded him, though he did notice the tension and angerthat hung in the air around the three of them. Looking as confused as he felt, the small boy toddled over to Matthew, taking hold of his pantleg in a small fist, teal eyes wide as he looked between the adults. "Mommy, why're you so mad at Daddy?"
Peony hadn't noticed Echo clamber down the stairs; Matthew's infuriating insubordination had a firm monopoly on his attention. He had even taken a step forward and raised his fist to strike (Matthew mirroring him) when Echo spoke. The two males froze at the same time, the guilty expression of the caught rebounding between their faces. But then the entirety of what the nix had asked hit Peony, and the spell was broken. A twisted and rageful expression appeared, glowing with open spite as he addressed his son.
"What? Baby, that's the silliest thing I've heard, no offense my child. Your mommy's off in a war, fighting bad guys. Matthew's just... Matthew," he said with a scoff that ricocheted through Matthew's heart, destroying all the tissue it encountered. "A babysitter, likely. But your mommy, Echo, oh, he's beautiful and smart and sweet and..." Peony's voice began to crack here, eyes pooling with tears as memories of his far-off lover came rushing back. "A-And he loves you very much, baby, even-even though he's- he's far away..." At that point, Peony succumbed to grief, weeping brokenly into his hands.
Once, Matthew would have felt pity for the Eilian at this point, but no. Not now. Maybe not even ever again. He had stood there silently throughout the monologue, for to have spoken would have been to invite tears and a sobbing confesssion, and Matthew refused to show that weakness now. But once the tirade ceased, he took that as his cue to go. His voice was as dull as he could make it. "Well, then I suppose I'm not of use to you now, am I? Please excuse me for thinking that our relationship was based on more than that. I'll get out of your way now." He turned and flashed a wobbly smile at Echo as he whispered a promise. "We'll finish the story soon, buddy. I promise." And with that, he left, ears deaf and heart cold to Peony's noises of surprise and broken, pointless apologies.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Nov 02, 2010 4:51 pm
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Nov 02, 2010 5:03 pm
As is typical, it got late that night. Late, dark, and more than a little spooky.
After Peony had driven Matthew from their home, Echo had been quite lonely. His friend Ellery was unable to come over as a result of his rampant disheveled appearance, something that put off his Obsessive-Compulsive father, and he hadn't the slightest idea how to contact his other friends.
So, quietly, the little nix sat in his room alone, slowly moving through a bag of Skittles. Much to his displeasure, his father had taken away his bag of candy, giving him only a certain amount of it each day so as to not have to deal with sugar highs or the weight that Echo would surely gain otherwise. Echo believed, as did Matthew, that it was Halloween. Kids should have their time to learn what was bad about eating an entire bag of candy, should have the opportunity to do so, and should have to deal with the consequences if they did so. Of course, Peony was far too overprotective for all that.
Such is what had Echo so surprised when he had returned to his room to find a bag of Skittles -only a 'fun'-sized bag, mind you- sitting on the sill of his window. Without hesitation, he broke into it, eating the small, colourful candies as he looked through Where The Wild Things Are with intrigue, excited for Matthew to read the rest of it to him; that way, he would actually be able to understand how it really ended.
Once he had finished his current small bag of candy, the boy's teal eyes lifted slowly back to the window sill. Lo and behold, there was another candy sitting on the sill. Eyes a-glitter, Echo gasped and lunged for the small bag of peanut M&M's, tearing the edge and going back to eating them happily. This time, the little boy hopped out of bed, traveling to the small boom box in the corner of his room, where he fumbled to put a Beethoven tape into the player, closing it and pressing the play button down. As the beautiful melody of the man's Sixth Symphony drifted through his room, the little boy waltzed back into bed.
But not before his eyes fell on another candy, this one making them widen immensely. Dropping the bag of candy that he already had and leaving a few of the M's to roll onto the floor, he scrambled over his head and grasped the king-sized Milky Way in two hands, grinning from ear-to-ear before he sunk his teeth into it. Immediately, something felt... strange. Off, in a way that he didn't quite know how to explain. Too young to understand what was happening, he chewed the caramel concoction slowly as his vision blurred, wavered, and he finally fell unconscious.
- - -
"It was in the night that Echo Marlox was spirited away by an unknown captor." A man was on the television, speaking calmly, particularly in comparison to the figure that then took his place for no longer than a moment, blubbering awkwardly qand speaking frantically to the police, gestures mad and erratic.
"Da-ee!!"
"Echo is the son of the well-known Eilian lawyer, Peony Marlox, most commonly known for his work in the battles against prejudice against the Eilian species. Please, if you have seen this boy-" A picture, one of Echo, flashed across the screen before lingering in the top corner, beside the newscaster. "-or have any knowledge of his whereabouts, call the number shown on the screen. That number is--"
Whimpering, Echo wriggled where he was, his short arms bound by duct tape behind his back. Awkwardly, he tried to fight against his restraints, the cloth that was filling up his mouth only making his struggles more useless, that portion of his restraints even more impossible to break free of. The television that he had been sat to face was off now, though the soft whining noise that it offered to the air was still audible for a few moments following. Why he was so aware, the little nix wasn't sure.
"You're awake, I see..."
The words were quiet. As to where they had come from, Echo wasn't completely sure. Regardless, it was somewhere that he couldn't see, even as he attempted to turn his head this way and that.
"It's not use trying to struggle, you know. I have no qualms over killing you. I won't miss a moment of sleep about it, even if I, myself, am dead by the end of the night."
Echo froze in the small folding chair, bright eyes going wide and filling to the brim with sudden and unwelcome tears. Those words, however long and complex, he had understood completely. After all, who wouldn't, with a father in the same line of work as Peony was? Gently, his small body began to quiver, quiet sobs falling from his throat that were quickly suffocated by the piece of cloth that prevented his speech.
"But don't worry. If your father doesn't try anything too flashy, you'll be perfectly fine, aside from a few little scratches here and there, just so that he doesn't forget about this..."
Finally, it became apparent that the man was standing behind him, and that was also where the voice was coming from, as a blindfold was suddenly yanked over Echo's eyes and tied behind his head, causing him to squeak in protest, squealing as his hair was yanked unintentionally into the knot of cloth. As soon as it was released, his head dropped, eyes squeezed shut as he tried to imagine himself somewhere else, anywhere other that here. That fantasy was soon proven to be an impossibility as his hands were taken in a firm grip, the cold steel of a knife slicing through the duct tape that held his arms together. Yet no pain came to him yet.
Without any kind of removal of the duct tape, Echo felt his arms be wrapped slowly in what felt like some kind of wire, tying his arms onto the backing of the chair, ensuring that they would remain useless. Experimentally, as though there was any possibility of escape, Echo yanked at one of the bonds a moment before it was tied off. Immediately, it tightened, and the toddler shrieked against the cloth that was in his mouth, thumbnail-sized barbs of metal biting into his tender flesh.
Never in his life had the young nix experienced pain as excruciating as that was, not that he had ever truly experienced much pain in his life. Yet, horribly, something in the back of his mind nagged that he had better prepare himself for even worse than that, tears soaking the blindfold that was wrapped around his head.
Softly, he clenched and unclenched his fists, as though that would help assuage the pain that zipped up and down his arms and spine, making him feel sick to his stomach. He didn't realize that it was making no difference until he was able to feel the blood dripping from each and every wound that crisscrossed the flesh of his small arms, and he stopped the small protesting movements.
Having little sense of time, the boy didn't know what amount of it had passed that he sat there, quietly, trying not to move, or breathe, or even cry. The latter was impossible for him. Slowly, over that time, despite his hopes that someone was coming for him, or that his father would be there at any moment, Echo realized there wasn't much use in hoping. He was scared. More scared than he had ever been in his life. So scared that, honestly, he didn't even know if he was that scared anymore.
"s**t. That's the fourth time that squad car's been around the block. He called the ******** police, no doubt about it," the voice hissed from one corner of the room, the slam of a chair hitting the floor making it possible to assume that he'd been rocking back in one only moments before. Footsteps, muffled by sub-par carpeting, signaled the man's approach. There was the sound of a deep inhalation, a pause, and then a rush of smoke was blown into the pale boy's face.
Gasping in surprise first, Echo soon started coughing and choking on the cigarette smell horrendously, his young lungs not quite grown enough to be able to stand the scent without immediately and heavily rejecting it to the best of their abilities.
"That car out there? It's looking for you. It's been around the block three times so far. I say we'll start making marks for each cop car I see, whether it's a new one or the same one. And, well, your skin's about as white as a school board, isn't it?" the demon hissed into Echo's face, grinning beyond the young boy's sense of sight, before driving the still-burning cigarette into his stomach.
- - -
So many things had happened...
So many things that Echo didn't want to recount.
Didn't want to relive.
Didn't want to have happened.
Didn't want.
Everything, it seemed, that could possibly happen to him.
He was bleeding.
Not just in a few select places, no.
Each and every cigarette wound -twenty-one, in the end- had been sealed when they'd been created. None of them bled.
His small arms, too weak to move any longer, were coated in his own blood, from the top to the bottom; even the slightest movement caused another wave of the dark red liquid to course down his one-pallor skin.
His eyes were too dry to cry any longer, still sealed behind the blindfold, but only barely. It would fall with the slightest movement, and yet Echo no longer had the strength to even attempt such a feat. Occasionally, a sob would break from his throat, cause him to choke again on the cloth that had been stuffed in his mouth, now soaked through with saliva.
He bled from places he'd rather not mention, from doing things that he would never want to remember, never want to accept had happened, even years into the future.
His inner thighs were soaked, both by a substance that will remain nameless, and one that was inevitable, coming in parallel to being tied to a chair for hours on end. Blood soaked that area as well, a result of cuts across his thighs that stopped just short of anything crucial.
His face was a mess as well. Half of it was swollen and welted, deep, slicing cuts causing the blood that dribbled from it, all of it the result of a whip, one made of leather and tipped in glass. These wounds covered the boy's entire frontal body, save his arms, crotch, and the lower portion of his stomach.
The man had obviously planned this, and obviously knew what he was doing.
There was a swollen, tiny spot between two of his toes. An injection site. The site where he had been injected with the sedative that resulted in his current, unconscious state.
At his feet lay his torturer, the mastermind behind the ordeal. His skull was in pieces, strewn carelessly as a result of the sniper's gunshot that had killed him. In his hand, he still clutched the second syringe, filled with a lethal injection that would have instantly killed the boy sitting so miserably in that chair, likely inches from death regardless, the blood loss and sedatives creating a cocktail that would be unable to kill a grown man, yet stood many a chance against the weak body of such a young boy.
- - -
The door was kicked down soon after by one of the officers who had been outside, and the area was swarmed with various members of governmental offices. Police officers, journalists, crime scene investigators. More importantly, doctors, EMTs, people who worked with the hospital, immediately cutting Echo loose from the bonds that held him, every person there working so save the innocent young boy.
Most importantly, there was Peony. Peony Marlox, watching as his son was carted off in an ambulance. And, finally beside him once again, stood Matthew Jove, the two of them united by the bond of love for the small boy, hovering shakily between the lines of life and death.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Nov 02, 2010 7:26 pm
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jan 27, 2011 7:08 pm
Echo giggled happily, waving one of his arms as widely as he possibly could as Ellery left, doing the same thing from over his father's shoulder. As usual, his friend had thrown a fit when he had to leave and, to avoid the Marlox house being flattened, Joseph had picked the boy up off the ground and carried him away, despite the bruises that would result from his thrashing legs.
"Echo! Come talk to your mom!!"
That was the main reason that his Daddy had wanted Ellery to leave (aside from the boy's dirtiness). Echo's mother was apparently on the phone - the 'real' one, not Matthew. Of course, Echo didn't think that the man on the phone was really his Mommy. After all, a Mommy read you stories and snuggled you when you couldn't get to sleep. But he couldn't get out of it, so he could deal with it if he had to.
"Hi mom," he said, still happy despite the fact that he barely knew the person on the other line.
"Hi, baby boy!!" The voice on the other line, however, made him doubt his guesses. It was full of love and longing and adoration. Maybe this person wasn't his mother, but he sounded like he thought that he was, and it would be mean for Echo to act like he didn't believe it.
"I'm sorry that Daddy made your friend live. I would have been fine with him staying, you know." His voice dropped to a whisper on the other line. "Between you and me, I think your Daddy was looking for an excuse to get him out, but shh!"
That set Echo to giggling even as he cuddled in his Daddy's lap, sticking his tongue out at Peony, who simply looked a bit confused.
"I bet so, too!"
"So, Echo-cho, tell me about this friend of your's," Paradise asked curiously, pressing his cell phone to his ear from his awkwardly hunched place.
"Lellery? Oh, he's so great 'n' stuff!! His Daddy's an artist and gets money sittin' on the corner and playin' music and sellin' paintings. But Lellery's the best. He's real nice and we snuggle and play the new video games that Daddy got me and I love him lots!!" Echo squealed out happily, practically hugging the phone as he thought about his friend. Peony pet his hair and chuckled a bit awkwardly.
"Oh do you? Well I'm sure that he's pretty great then, huh?"
"MmHmm, he rully, rully is!! I can't wait for him to come over again, even if he was just over. Is a lotta fun. An', um, he was the onlyonly one -well, 'cept for Daddy and Mo-- Mattoo- who was there everyevery day when I was in the hospital. 'N even though he's only gots a little bit'a monies, he even brought me candy everytime!!" he rambled, happy to tell his apparent-mother all about his best friend. "'Cept he's gotsa hat. D'you got'ta hat, Mom?"
Immediately, Peony's eyes widened and he pulled the phone away from Echo, leading to the boy whining and grabbing his hands at it unhappily. With a roll of his eyes, Peony replied, "No, Echo, Mommy doesn't have a hat. Now go up and get ready for bed, I'll be up to read you a bedtime story in just a few minutes."
"Uh hum... should I ask?"
Peony sighed softly, a faint smile coming to his face. "Well, you see..."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
