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 Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2013 7:13 pm
It felt like forever before the cobra's arms finally found her and wrapped themselves around tight. A couple of his tears fell against her neck's exposed skin as he leaned his head in for comfort and support. They burned, but a burn she was willing to put up with. Carefully, as if afraid to jostle him too much, Cordelia unwrapped one of her arms to gingerly cradle his dark head against her own. All the while still holding him close with the other.
When he pulled away finally, his smile almost sheepish, and thanked her, Delia couldn't help smiling back, relief quickly washing over her that he had returned. But of course it was short lived as he continued. Her smile soon faltering and her face contorting into one of confusion. What did he mean by 'thank you for putting him to sleep?' Who was asleep? The basilisk's grey eyes began to widen as realization was just beginning to dawn on her. Who exactly was she speaking with now?!
Bored? HE WAS BORED?! Here she'd been absolutely horrified of what had happened and what might happen if she couldn't do something about it, and yet he was bored! Delia could feel the tiny twitches of anger starting at the corners of her eyes and lips. She could feel her hands instinctively balling into fists fueled by her building irritation. The snake was half a second away from punching this a*****e's face in when he stopped in mid-rambling.
Cordelia couldn't say nothing had happened, because something obviously had. When he looked at her then it was with a face so full of emotions, like they were all piling on top of one another, each one trying desperately to claim his entire face for its own. Instead it had finally settled on a strange mixture of embarrassed gratefulness. Whichever Basil this was, he was eternally glad she was there. By the time his hand gently touched her own, Delia's anger was nullified, replaced with a different kind of burn in her cheeks, giving them a small dusting of blush to them.
Her eyes met with his and felt locked in place. As much as she told herself to pull away, to look elsewhere, Cordelia couldn't. She couldn't believe the depth they held now compared to mere moments prior. His eyes were so kind, so gentle, so full of relief and trust that they just seemed to pull her in. In fact the moment he opened his mouth again she felt herself unable to pull away, instead Cordelia kissed him. It would be a minute or two before she realized what she was doing and came to her senses. But in those few moments before, everything felt right in the world.
The smoke girl would gasp and slap the boy, as if he'd been the one at fault for her deeds, before pulling away to the other side of the loft from him. She couldn't believe what she'd done. Why? Why had she kissed him liked that? And now of all times?! Shameful and embarrassed, Cordelia just planted her face in her hands and shook her head profusely.
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Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2013 11:41 pm
Although reunited with his senses, even The Other did not entirely trust them in the moments leading up to what happened next.
Cordelia had been beside him, here, in his bedroom of all places. Standing in the glow of his lamplight. He was suspicious of her at first, and skeptical of her good intentions, feeling for her what he might have felt for a bug that had flown in through an open window. An annoying intruder.
Some words were exchanged. She had pounced on him, almost hysterical with joy. He was startled by this and instantly uncomfortable. Were they such good friends all of the sudden? It didn't seem likely. She had wanted him back. She had said as much, and it all seemed like a crazy fantasy. A book with missing chapters and stuck together pages.
He should have known it was a mistake. That he was headed for a wall. The way she held his face like something precious. Holding him tightly. Scratching the surface when underneath was a relief so strong, so freeing, he felt light as air. Without realizing, he was touching her hand. In that moment, it was incredibly touchable. They were building a moment, and it was consuming him whole. Giving himself to it. Filling the void left by Basil's absence and grief. Tending the ache of four missing days.
How long had she been leaning closer, he wondered. How long had he been staring into those limpid gray eyes without a thought in his head? How could she be kissing him, when to the best of his knowledge, she hadn't moved at all?
It was spontaneous and sudden, her lips making contact with his. Fitting them together like puzzle pieces. He had been holding onto a breath, exhaling it gently through his nose. He was paralyzed. Confused. This was totally new territory. Did he want to push her away? Did he want it to stop? He was touching her shoulder. He dropped his eyelids, the moment feeling fragile and lightweight. She wasn't pulling away... His hand moved towards her neck, and for whatever reason, he remembered the way her hair looked when it was left down. The way it was at the garden party. Dark and brilliant and just a bit wavy. He had liked that.
He began to move away from her neck, his fingers searching for the elastic that tied it back. When he found it, he pinched his fingers on it, trying to work it out with gentle tugs. He had barely wiggled it out of place when it felt as though he had been struck by lightning.
--
For a split second his face went completely numb. Was he seeing stars? Was he bleeding? He touched a few fingers to his cheek, and it stung like nothing else. She had just hit him! His eyes were watering. What the hell was her problem? Cordelia was a blurry shape in his peripheral vision. She was running from him.
"Cordelia!"
She seemed to vanish into the towering piles of junk and debris. He had been prepared to chase her, but to both his relief and nervousness, it hadn't come to that. Her back was to him. She just needed some space. His mind raced.
"Cordelia..." He said again. The moment was tense. Every sound, every breath a potential invitation to trouble. He turned away, his eyes unfocusing.
He felt like he was going crazy. Like everything was spiraling out of control. Time had been so slow for him these last few days, and now it was speeding up all at once and he couldn't keep abreast of it. He began tracing shapes in the dust on a guitar case. The silence bred contemplation. After a while, there was a perceivable shift in the mood. A realization.
The Other lifted his eyes, brows knitting together. He turned.
"...I'm not him." He said hoarsely. "But I suppose you know that now."
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Dangerous Conversationalist
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Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2013 4:43 pm
She'd heard perfectly when he'd yelled her name and was followed by a loud thud. She'd been half tempted to turn around immediately to investigate whether or not the other snake was okay, but fear of what condition a reaction like that had put him in was what stopped her. Thoughts whirled through her mind like a tornado, all coming back to the same exact center point. He was mad. Why wouldn't he be? She'd just kissed him out of the blue and then slapped him for no reason other than she was embarrassed. Silence, their common enemy, once more engulfed the quarters of the loft with its heavy embrace.
When the cobra spoke finally he didn't really sound angry, just the opposite, he sounded hurt. Cordelia shifted her head to the side as a sign of listening, but also to contemplate what was said without directly looking at him. Yes, it was true, she did know it wasn't Basil. Yet that hadn't stopped her from kissing him. It was almost as if the fact that he wasn't Basil is what allowed her, propelled her to perform such an act. Delia could never imagine kissing Basil because Basil was like a little brother to her, but why could she kiss this other side then? Was he not the exact same boy, just some odd, separate other half? Maybe that was another reason for her slapping him. Because she'd caught sight of the face she was kissing and that made her feel horrible of what she was doing, like she was betraying Basil somehow.
She turned her head away again, but finally replied, soft, like a whisper. "I'm sorry I did that. All of it. I wasn't...thinking..." Unconsciously, Cordelia's body floated lower, a physical manifestation of her guilt. "I'll leave if you want now, but would you just answer one question for me before? What happened?"
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Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2013 6:19 am
Her voice was so small, but the message was not. His eyes winced and there was a strange contortion of his mouth as though he had something sour on his tongue. If he had felt any greater pain or disappointment, it did not manifest itself proportionately. He turned his head down and to the side. A sinking feeling.
It would have been different if he hadn't kissed her back... If he had turned away at any time. He had accused her once of being overly emotional, and this would have just proven him right. I wasn't thinking! She said. Of course not. He would smartly reply. I haven't seen much evidence otherwise! But he knew he had given too much away. He wasn't thinking either, and the kiss was a part of him now. In his skin, on his mouth, in his eyes. It was too deep to dig back out and explain away. He struggled with a manic, helpless kind of feeling.
He had pressed into her. Pulled her smoke into his lungs. He had touched her hair, taken liberties, wanted more. He had felt something, and she knew it. He couldn't take it back now that it was too heavy to move. She was sorry she had kissed him? She could go to hell.
With only silence between them, it was obvious that he had heard her apology, yet he could think of nothing to dignify it. There just weren't any words for this. He turned his back to her. She could show herself out. That was the best thing she could do.
He was waiting. Her heartbeat was in the room with him still and a question not too far behind. He couldn't believe it. There was more?
His head spun over his shoulder like a clockwork doll. "That sounds an awful lot like a favor." He spat, "You don't think you've done enough?" Something in her request had pulled every nerve to the surface now, and every bodily signal was telling her to leave. To get out of his loft, get out of his life, and stay out. She wanted to know what was happening? That was a laugh.
She was refusing to look at him, but he found a short-lived satisfaction in burning two holes in the back of her head. When she didn't seem to react, he felt a strong impulse to come up from behind and push her. Make her hiss at him. Make her see how angry he was. Make her deal with the humiliation so he didn't have to. He swallowed something hard in his throat.
He wouldn't talk even if she did look at him. If she looked at him that certain way...
He wouldn't talk even if she slapped him again. His eyes narrowed and his face colored at the thought. He shook his head.
This was insane. He had never hated a person more, but his resolve was actually crumbling. His reason was not a completely emotional one. Whether he liked it or not, she was a part of this. Something much bigger than some kind of screwy love triangle. He didn't care if she understood how. The kiss was a mistake, and it was immaterial to what was happening to them, to Basil. He couldn't just let her walk away from it now. She knew it too, otherwise she would have.
She seemed fragile at the moment. Small and sad in a very female sort of way, but he knew better. She could be very frigid when she wanted to be, and anyone else would have been long gone by now. She was compelled to stay and face him, probably against her better judgment. He could respect that. Honestly, there were some things he was still unclear about too. Maybe he needed to talk. Maybe there was something in this he had missed. Maybe he just wasn't able to throw her out that easy...
He shut his eyes resignedly, his jaw tightening up. "Fine." He said on the breath of a hunger pain.
He paused before going back to his bed, making it clear that his explanation would not be a short one. Before kneeling onto the floor, he added, "But keep your damn hands to yourself."
He slid a shoebox from underneath the bed and lifted off the top. It was full of CDs and just a few cassettes. He began thumbing through the titles, hunting for something filling, but easy on the ears, trying his best to ignore the awkwardness of her standing there while he searched. All the genres appeared to be well represented, but only instrumental would do. Haydn, Bach, Bennett, Sedaka, Abba... Wait.
...Abba?
He grimaced.
Basil.
("And the hits just keep on coming...")
He settled on Vivaldi. Dueling cellos and plucking violins. Dramatic and fast-paced. A hasty decision, but a safe one. He "sat" on the edge of his bed while the CD spun in the player. He wanted to come from a place of power, and as fragile as he was feeling, he wasn't comfortable laying down with her in the room. His face was dark and impassive. He refused to look her in the eye as though very angry, or scared to death. There was a strong pause. Was he waiting for the music to start? It did, and he inhaled slowly, rune glowing to life and dimming as he exhaled. Oh he had needed that.
He took a moment to savor it, and then, a flicker of something in his face. Nausea. Guilt. He clenched his hands.
"...Do you remember the maze?"
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Dangerous Conversationalist
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Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2013 6:06 pm
"That sounds an awful lot like a favor. You don't think you've done enough?"
There it was, the anger she was waiting on. No matter what, wherever there was pain, there was anger, she'd only had to wait for his to surface. Somehow it made her feel better that this one was angry with her, familiarity probably? Though it only diminished the weight that was pressing on these two at the moment, it didn't make it vanish unfortunately. That was her fault though. Delia had done something incredibly stupid and she couldn't even take it back now. Did she even want to really?
It was asking too much, of course she knew that, but she had to ask. What would the point be of getting him to wake up? She would asked Basil, but...it was obvious that wasn't going to happen any time soon. So it seemed her job was done already. She'd probably never hear what happened, but at least Genie would be happy her Raevan was responsive again. Cordelia still didn't know if the woman knew about this odd split personality thing, but she was sure the current driver would know how to handle things from here, without her.
The basilisk was just about to float back downstairs and say her goodbyes to Genie when the cobra suddenly decided to grant her wish. Happiness swelled in her chest and she whirled around to find him digging under his bed for something. Delia's joy deflated immediately though when he demanded she keep her distance. It sort of hurt, but it was necessary, for both of them. In fact she was glad he'd said something to that accord, otherwise she might have done something unconsciously again and then he'd really be mad. She was too open with her emotions. She knew that, but couldn't always control them like her guardians did.
Music filled the space of silence between them and it immediately took some more of the tension out of the room. Cordelia recognized it immediately as Vivaldi since she too played the violin and was practically raised on the classics. She wanted to comment on it, but immediately stopped herself when she saw he was enjoying himself, his rune glowing bright with an obvious long awaited feeding. She couldn't bother him now with her blather when he so desperately needed this.
It took Delia a moment to register that the boy had asked her something. Frowning, "The maze? Yeah I remember, though I'd rather not. It was stupid if you ask me. All that trouble for nothing." She really had hated that part of the party. The doctor was lucky she was somewhat resilient and didn't die immediately from the rain and cold.
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Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2013 6:22 pm
"All that trouble for nothing..."
That was putting it mildly. He glanced at his folded hands, clenching and unclenching them as if they were the most interesting things in the room. "Yes, well..." He replied, as if in an effort to agree without saying as much. "We were in it too." He began to curve in his middle finger, running it up the length of his stitches. The wound was raised and black, but healing. Genie had done a fairly good job of keeping it clean, and barring infection, it would recover with a two-inch scar at most. Obsidian was nice that way. It cut very clean.
He started out simply, his words hateful, and yet bordering on childish. He wanted it to be clear that he wasn't in any mood to spin a story for her, as if he were doing her an enormous kindness by doing so. He gave her only the most essential details, and in sequence of events. "I don't usually go in broad daylight," he said, "Or take part in stupid party games."
When he stopped to consider his motives, it only added to his contempt. It didn't help that he was playing Vivaldi's Four Seasons, and the Spring part was his least favorite. He fed from it anyway. It didn't benefit him to be picky. As he did, he began staring at her again with something that could only be called heat. He wanted to tell her it was her fault. That this was all her fault. He wanted to lash out at her, and devastate her, but fought the urge. He knew better. All his faculties had returned to him, not like when she had planted that kiss on him, still hazy and newly awake.
He knew that there was no way he could tell her what had prompted him to enter the maze, without it sounding so... wrong. The way she was fondling the tie of that stony nobody. No remorse, no regard for them. How he wanted something to lord over her. Something to show her that her disloyalty hadn't gone unnoticed. That they could throw her away, the way she threw them away.
He couldn't say any of it, because he knew she would take it the wrong way. She would make it sound as if he had been jealous, and that was most definitely not the case. He was too smart to be wrapped up in her games. Or at least, he used to think so...
He glanced away. He had a story to tell.
--
By the time he began talking about his encounter with the minotaur, something in him had become noticeably different. He spoke candidly about being choked and beaten. About the blood rushing to his head. About dying. About being dropped. About making a trade. How his wings broke apart... He described the wounds he inflicted in varying degrees of detail, with an eerie distance between the actions of his hand, and the will of his mind. "It had happened so quickly," he said in a hollow voice. Before he knew it, he was sprawled on the ground and the monster was mortally injured. He needed to get away. He ran, "...Until I couldn't take it anymore. I wanted to win, I had to. I was all in, and I couldn't just go back a failure. Basil came out. I didn't want him to. It just sort of happened. I was so tired..."
At the word "tired", he seemed to visibly deflate. He had meant to lean his back against the wall, but had misjudged the area, falling a greater distance than expected. He landed against the wall a bit more heavily than he meant to, and a tiny shard from his wing fell out of place. It had been so fragile, like a petal falling off an old bloom. It landed heavily on the covers, and he winced. It was necessary. Like pruning a tree or yanking out a baby tooth. The old shard needed to come off so that a new one could regenerate in its place. Still, he wasn't happy about it. He picked it up, working it between his fingers before closing it in his hand, which he rested at his side.
"I hate sleeping," He said hoarsely, "Even for a little while. It makes me crazy if I don't know what's happening." There was a pause long enough for them to come out of Summer and into Autumn. Then, he actually mustered part of a laugh. "Basil tells me that's my number one problem." A hint of a smile. "He says to me, 'You wouldn't be so crabby all the time if you just stopped to nap once in a while!'"
There was something bizarre about one personality mimicking the other. Something inherently unsettling, as if he had just gotten off the phone with Basil an hour ago. Reflecting on it seemed to give The Other genuine amusement. If just for a moment. He shrugged and shook his head, a sadness creeping into his expression. Something like affection. Longing. Did he miss his other half?
"I never heard anything so stupid in my life..."
Another pause. This one longer and deliberate, as if he were having a moment of silence for someone that had died. This was difficult for him, and he wasn't entirely sure why...
The music quieted as he fed a little more, then continued with new energy, "...The last thing I remember before I passed out, was that I wanted to give Basil something to protect us with. I couldn't let him screw everything up after I had gotten that far. I left a piece of glass behind, like this." He opened the hand with the tiny shard in it, "It was all we had. Basil's so clumsy, he doesn't know how to use his hands in a fight, and I knew I couldn't count on him to improvise something."
He stopped, his features twisting. "You know what he did with it?"
...
"He ditched it." In both demonstration and anger, he raised his arm, chucking the piece of glass across the room, sending it off the wall and into a cardboard box. It felt good to throw it, but it wasn't as satisfying as it would have been to hear something break. He bowed his head, teeth gnashing. This part still made him both furious and incredulous. He glared at her. "He found a toad, and he brought it along instead."
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Dangerous Conversationalist
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Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2013 9:04 pm
They'd been there too? It sounded so strange to Cordelia how the cobra referred to himself and Basil in the plural, as if they truly were two separate people instead of one. But it wasn't like you couldn't tell the difference between them at all honestly. Where Basil fumbled and bumbled around for words and actions, this other half was always so articulate and planned in most everything he did. He complemented Basil almost perfectly, his story only cementing the truth of it further.
She hadn't noticed that she was creeping closer, finally coming to a stop a few feet away from the boy's bed, floating in an attentive manner that almost resembled someone sitting Indian style had she legs. His story was horrific at best and Cordelia just couldn't believe Doctor Kyou would allow such brute violence to be present in the maze. Yet she had been placed in a tough spot herself, though not as trying as Basil's. Had others come across such hardships as well? Or had it only been the cobra? If so, then why? Where the boy's anger was fading into disinterest, hers was beginning to pick up a tad thinking about how they had to go through something so horrible like that alone. It made her both angry and sad.
Cordelia jumped when he suddenly threw something across the room. For a moment she'd feared he was throwing it at her. She sighed in relief that it wasn't so, but also because of hearing what Basil did. "Of course he did. That sounds just like something he would do." Perhaps it wasn't the best time to do so, but the basilisk couldn't help smiling at the idea of the boy ditching a perfectly good weapon for something completely useless. It was sooo Basil, the other had to at least admit that fact and thus find the humor in it, right?
Thinking the story was over and that this was the reason why Basil was so traumatized, I mean who could blame him, Delia replied, "He's not the brightest bulb around, but he means well. And I suppose he's quite lucky as well, since he has you around to protect him."
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Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2013 1:57 am
"He has you around to protect him."
Any arrogance left on The Other's face was suddenly gone, leaving something raw and difficult to look at. Overhead, a ventilation duct coughed to life, and the Other went quiet for what seemed a very long time. He opened his mouth a few times, but thought better of it with each attempt, trying to put whatever he was feeling into words with a very Basil-like expression of helplessness.
"I didn't protect him at all." He finally said, just barely above a whisper.
Autumn turned into Winter, and it seemed to stir something in him. He shut his eyes. The First Movement was their favorite track. He had listened to it with Basil in this very loft, though not often. It was a rare thing, reserved for the nights when Basil was feeling especially low, or The Other had too much on his mind. It was perhaps the first, and only thing they had ever found in common. Other than Cordelia.
"He didn't know where he was," He admitted. "I made him sleep for a few days before the party. So he would have plenty of energy if anything happened to me. I wanted to do the maze myself, and switch him out if there was trouble— If I had to! I was going to bring him out like some kind of backup battery... If it had been up to him, he would have stayed right there and waited for somebody to come and find him." He began shaking his head. "None of it was his idea."
The next breath that came out of him was shaky, and at that moment, he decided Cordelia was too close to him for his comfort. He needed space, and he needed it instantly, throwing her an impressively hostile expression before crawling towards the foot of the bed. Once there, he "jumped" between the posts, over the footboard, and onto the floor, made nimble by his increasing anxiety.
Once upright, he began to shiver, as if he were too hot and too cold all at once. He was pressing his fists against his forehead. Pacing. He went back and forth a few times, then floated away, taking refuge in a corner of the loft. He put his back to her.
"There was another monster... Not big and stupid like the bull. This one had the face of a woman." He quoted, in perfect imitation, "'I am the Sphinx. In order to continue through this maze, you must answer three of my riddles. For each one that is incorrectly answered, there will be punishment.'" He turned his head to the side, as if to make it clear that he was speaking to her, and not just outloud.
"...Have you seen Basil try to answer a simple question? I had to fight my way out. He had to pass a test, or die." There was silence, although it was obvious he was not expecting her to actually answer. He knew what she must have been thinking then, or at least, he had a very good idea.
His voice came out calmer, but harder. "He got two of them wrong right off. The first time, she killed the toad."
Quote: Basil's face screwed up. His mouth, his eyes all tightening into quivering lines. He grabbed two fistfuls of grass, then put his forehead to the ground. A heaviness in his heart. A heaviness felt by the both of them. The Other welcomed himself into this heaviness. He sat within it like a comfortable chair, his voice low and soothing.
("...You want to hurt her?")
His eyes overflowed. There was a high-pitched whine at the back of his throat, broken by a single sob. He nodded to the best of his ability, scraping the ground with his fingers.
He put his forehead to the wall. "The second time, she took him in the air."
Quote: Basil felt teeth clamping down on him. He flinched. The pain came to him suddenly, then splintered into pieces. She yanked his ribbon out from under him, sending him headlong onto the ground. The Sphinx needed a running start. She broke into a dead sprint, dragging him through the grass at a speed that bordered on unimaginable. He tasted grass and blood, weeds whipping at his face. The creature's wings lifted on an air current.
The Other made a choking sound, both hands joining his face on the wall. His voice was high and shivered in places, "She picked him up, and we went higher and higher. She went so high up we couldn't breathe. I was there the whole time. I saw her coming at us, and Basil just sitting there. The ground went out from under him, and he was so terrified. She went way up, and then she just... dropped him."
Quote: The wind was a steady pressure underneath him. Hair and skin blown away. Flailing. Nothing to grab onto. He didn't have a voice to scream with. He tried immediately to go inside, go somewhere safe, but that's where The Other was. He resisted Basil's efforts, forcing him to the surface.
It was not by choice. He would have spared him. Let him through. He wanted Basil to be with him. Somebody to cling to. Somebody to die with. There just wasn't any room. There just wasn't. Basil would have to stay outside. He would have to fall all the way down.
From the inside, The Other did not have the same sense of reality. Not the same as if he were the one falling. He was disconnected from mortal fear. Basil's however, was something raw. Animal gnawing. Pressing against him. He could think of only one thing to make it better. One kindness, for his brother.
He turned around, as if he meant to approach her. At first, his expression was wretched, but upon meeting her eyes, it shrank away. Receding into some wet, bleeding place inside of him.
The distance between them suddenly seemed very small as he started to cross it, "I covered his eyes. I didn't know what else to do. I thought maybe if he couldn't see, it wouldn't be so bad when we hit the ground. I was just trying to help..."
He stood in front of her, his face searching, but immobile. His eyes glinted with the first hint of tears, but he had refused to let them swell and fall. He wouldn't cry for her.
"We didn't die in the maze, of course. We had one riddle to go. She caught us at the last second, but even after we landed safely on the ground, Basil still couldn't see." He sighed loudly, as if exhausted. "He got the third riddle right completely by chance. We were free to go, but I could feel that something was different about us."
He gestured faintly with one hand, "It was like... a wall had gone up. Basil took over, and I just kind of drifted in and out for a while. I don't even remember coming back here." He dropped his eyes to the floor. The story was over, and he could only comment on the state of things as they were now.
"He shut me out." He said pitifully, like a child locked out of their treehouse. "I didn't even know he could do that. He's always let me have my own way, because he knows I'm smarter, and better at things." He said these things simply, and as fact, completely devoid of his usual self-importance. He paused for a moment, then raised his eyes to meet hers with a conviction so strong, it bordered on intimidating.
"That's about all there is to tell. I gave you what you wanted, now you tell me something." He leaned in just a bit, his voice to a whisper, "...Did you realize it was me before, or after?"
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Dangerous Conversationalist
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Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2013 4:14 pm
She had thought the story over, but apparently she was wrong, so very wrong. It was no wonder that Basil was acting as he had. First he had to watch as another living thing was killed right in front of his eyes and then to be dropped from such a height...Cordelia bit her bottom lip and then covered it with her hands, not wanting to allow any sound of horror or sorrow leave her. She could only imagine how terrifying that was for him. Sure they were Raevans and thus could float, but not all of their kind were meant to fly as was denoted by the kind of wings they had. Hers and Basil were nothing more than exterior decorations that doubled as weapons when need be, a weapon that the young cobra was obviously not aware of how to use properly anyway.
Tears were welling up in Delia's eyes as he continued on, fighting the urge to float over and wrap her arms around him in a hug. She couldn't allow her emotions to overwhelm her again, she promised to keep her hands to herself after all. But the other sounded so guilty and heartbroken, it was hard. There wasn't much he could do for Basil at that point in the maze but try to keep him from seeing what he thought was going to be their death. Maybe that's why Basil was blind now? Because of what the other had done? She knew she'd blamed him before of what was happening to the cobra, but she couldn't rightly do so now. Yes he'd covered his eyes, but it was in the best of intentions. What was suppose to help was now being used against them. He couldn't help Basil if he couldn't find him, if they couldn't share like they had before.
Cordelia was going to share her suspicions when the other was suddenly very close to her again. His eyes were very different this time, more guarded than they had been before, but that wasn't to say they were harsh or mean. He was only making sure he was well protected against whatever she said or did this time. She couldn't blame him, though the question made her blush. Before or after what? No no, she knew exactly what he was asking about, but she didn't really want to answer because she was embarrassed. Still he was kind enough to answer her when she'd asked him to tell her what was happening with Basil even after her little bout of emotions.
Matching his volume, "Yes..." Her own admittance made her blush harder then and she fidgeted under his intimidating gaze. Yet she tried to pull it off as some other emotion, like frustration. "No! I mean...I don't know! It's just...so confusing! There's Basil whose like my brother and then there's you whose...well you!"
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Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2013 6:55 pm
Given the topic, The Other's response was a devastatingly subtle one. A flicker of what might have been intrigue passed through his expression, but little else. He stared into her eyes, holding them with his own, which contained a focus that bordered on laser-like, even after she began to back-peddle. None of it mattered. She had said yes, and now had his full attention.
"Hm," he said finally with a nod, turning away from her. He put a hand to his forehead, dragging it down over his face before cupping his jaw and sighing. It might have been a sneaky effort to wipe the wetness away from his eyes.
Overall, he seemed more weary of the subject than interested, either because he had enough to deal with besides this elephant in the room, or because he knew it had been a long time in coming. When the CD finally ended, the absence of music left them in an incredibly sudden and uncomfortable silence.
"Your brother, huh?" He mumbled into his hand.
When he faced her again, his voice was just a hint louder, and with an interrogative tone. Like he was trying to bait her. "That's real cute and all, but I think you know it's not altogether true." He ran his tongue behind his lower lip, coming closer.
"You can be honest with me, you said it yourself. He's not the brightest bulb around, right? And who would know better than me?" As he approached, he seemed totally unfazed by the possibility of bodily contact. Like polar magnets, he was moving her away with only his energy and posture, which at this particular moment, seemed frighteningly unclear. Was he just trying to prove a point? Or was it something else entirely...
He narrowed his eyes, "...You always have to explain things to him, don't you. You have to talk reeeaaal slooow, and choose your words, and hold his hand, and make excuses for him. I bet it's embarrassing for you." The standing lamp passed by them, sending them out of the light, and into his shadow. Boxing her in...
"You can talk to people, and learn new things, and have friends, and walk to their houses without an escort. You're a marvel of supernatural science! But Basil just always seems to be... Basil. Doesn't he? And he never seems to get any better..."
He smirked. "But you see him anyway, don't you, because that's just the kind of person you are. You do the best you can. Try to keep his nose clean? Put him out of harm's way? Help him home when he's lost?"
The smirk vanished. He thrust his arms above her head, his palms flat against the wall with a thump, "Well I've got news for you. That's not a friend, Cordelia, that's a pet." He spat the word more than he said it. "Don't get me wrong, you can love a pet, and you can give it affection, and you can be attached to it, but at the end of the day, it still relies on you for everything it needs, and you just keep giving and giving. Look at Genie! She puts so much energy into trying to fix him, she doesn't have anything left for herself... Is that what you want?"
He leaned even closer, until the tip of his nose brushed hers, their eyes and mouths both level.
"...That's why this feels so different, isn't it. Why you did it." There was a change in the lighting, and she was no longer consumed by his shadow. He was touching her hair. "Tell me, was it because you think I'm such a swell guy?" He was going for the elastic again, "Or is it just nice to feel like a girl for once, and not a babysitter?"
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Dangerous Conversationalist
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Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2013 9:23 pm
Who knew how heavy, how cruel, how dangerous the simple sound of 'hm' could be? Cordelia knew especially given the source it was coming from then. It meant he was contemplating something seriously and for the short time she had known him, she knew it meant trouble, trouble for her. It was both appropriate and yet not so for the music to stop at that exact moment, the cobra making no move to remedy that damnable silence, instead making an ally of it for the time being. Cruel indeed.
As the other continued onto what one could only assume was a road leading to a very long, winded monologue, Cordelia's expression darkened. He was utilizing that condescending tone again, the one she hated most. It didn't fit Basil's face in her opinion, though she honestly hated the sound of it towards herself from anyone really. He was putting her down and worst of all he was putting Basil down. Yes she had said he wasn't the brightest, but she had also said he meant well. She didn't stay by the boy's side because she felt obligated, she really did think of him as a little brother that needed protecting. And despite the ugly words this one was spouting off now, Delia knew he thought along the same lines as well. Why go to such lengths to make sure Basil was okay everyday? Yes he benefited from it as well seeing as they shared the same body, yet there were a lot of things he didn't have to do, like keep Basil from seeing as they slammed into the ground. That was a certain kindness Cordelia knew one did not have to grant unless they wanted to.
He was purposely pushing her into a corner and that was something he should have known you don't do with any sort of snake. Once again the smoke Raevan slapped him square in the face and hissed, "Why are you so against him now when just a moment ago you were upset because you couldn't protect him?! You talk down to me about babying him, yet you do it more than any of us!" She made sure to show him she was not intimidated by the closeness he had created between them and stayed in his face. "Do you resent him because of that? Well guess what, no one said you had to do any of it! There's nothing wrong with letting him figure out how to take care of himself!"
Her expression changed suddenly then from one of hostile defense to that of enlightened curiosity. "Or maybe...maybe you're jealous? That's it isn't it? You may not want to be babied, but you do want to be acknowledged, taken care of, worried about..." He was acting like the little kid who was jealous of his new born baby brother. It all seemed so clear now, so simple that it just sort of blew Cordelia's mind a little. "That's why you can't let him have his way with you because he gets his way from everyone else and it's just not fair."
Cordelia sighed and backed off. He probably would be mad again, but she was fine with that now that she understood where he was coming from, whether he denied it or not. Besides, this was the second time she'd slapped him within an hour, it was totally fair for him to be angry.
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Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2013 7:50 pm
When she slapped him a second time, harder and more deliberately than before, there was no doubt that it had stunned him, but little evidence that it had caught him completely by surprise. She had hit him hard enough to turn his head, but other than a sudden intake of air to take the sting off, he hardly reacted at all. As though he had been bracing for it. He made the effort to seem indignant anyway, grimacing as she matched him accusation for accusation in their shared language.
There were subtle signals that he might have been considering her words. A thoughtful glance or cant of the head. Whether he seemed willing to relent to any of the points she had made, grew increasingly less likely. The more she yelled, and the harder she came at him, the more resilient and defiant he became, standing in a kind of cold, persevering silence. Taking everything she had to give him the way a stone wall resists a beating fist. He had always maintained that Cordelia loved hard, and hated hard, and it had never been more true than in this moment.
When she visibly relaxed, taking away from him all her passion and rage, it left an ache behind that was not easily ignored. He pursed his lips until they nearly disappeared. Something she had said had definitely struck a chord with him, but not for the reasons she might have intended or expected.
He raised his eyes. The urge to reply was chemical and instant, but before he could get a word out, he became suddenly alert. His eyes swiveled to the right, towards the stairs. He raised his left hand, palm out. As he closed the fingers into a fist, his rune became brighter, and brighter, then slowly dimmed. The purr of the heating vent vanished. So did the white noise from the stereo. He was eliminating background noise, and listening.
He waited a moment, then called loudly and directly, "Don't come up."
A scuffling sound. Activity in the kitchen. Footsteps.
He met Cordelia's gaze as he added, "Everything's fine..."
He needed to secure the loft, training his ears to be sure that Genie would go back from wherever she came. Probably the living-room. When he was satisfied, he lowered his head and mumbled a sentiment of relief. The silence thinned, and then, to anyone's surprise, he actually began to laugh. It was not an audible laugh, so much as a spasm in his breathing. Was he having a laugh at her? Or just the situation at large?
He then shut his eyes and raised his eyebrows, crunching the side of his mouth into a smile that was meant to seem humble. It was not an expression to be trusted. It was too stagey, too suddenly brought on.
He looked at her through dark, half-lidded eyes, "I'm impressed, Cordelia." He said quietly, and with no small amount of sarcasm. "Why, it must have taken you a whole five minutes to come up with such... interesting theories."
His smirk wilted, a spike of bitterness in his voice, "I only wish I had half your powers of observation..." He turned away from her, lowering the shattered remains of his wings. As he did, another piece wiggled out of place and dropped heavily onto the floor. He winced, making no effort to retrieve it. In the moment his eyes connected with the missing fragment of himself, he sighed in resignation, clearing away the smokescreen of his arrogance. He was falling apart. When he looked at her again, his eyes held the beginnings of something different, and his expression had hardened. He was through playing games.
"Look... I'm not trying to hurt your feelings," He said carefully, "I'm just making a point." He did not make a second attempt to crowd her, but he did lean slightly.
"You knew it was Basil the night he kissed you. I know because I delivered him to you... I was there." His voice lowered, both rough and soft, "But you also knew who I was when you kissed me, and that makes things a little more interesting, doesn't it."
He glanced away, more speculatively than before, "I'm not... trying to put words in your mouth, but you can't be oblivious to how that looks." He hesitated. How did it look, exactly? His heart jumped. He looked back at her with all the hatefulness characteristic of him.
"At first I thought maybe you were trying to pit us against each other. Some sick game you were playing. But now I have no doubt in my mind."
His voice steadily rose, "You don't know what you're doing, or who I am, or what we put up with every day. Just admit it, without me to compare him to, you would have gone on for the rest of your lives thinking of Basil as some charity case— but that's not enough anymore!"
At the final word, he grabbed her suddenly by the shoulder, pushing her sideways into a pile of cardboard boxes. The boxes tumbled as she landed, and he instantly froze. He looked contrite and confused, like he didn't know his own strength. He didn't set out to hurt her.
He glanced at the stairs again. That was an awful lot of noise. His breathing was loud and labored, his hands clenched. Listening. Waiting. Growing increasingly guilty and defensive. He pointed a finger at her, over-enunciating. Hissing and spitting with every s and t.
"...Well he doesn't need your damn pity anymore, and I don't need you, period. Everything you see in me, is just everything you never thought possible from him, and when Basil finds out—!"
Genie's head and shoulders appeared behind the bannister. "Hey! What's the problem up here? I heard a thump!"
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Dangerous Conversationalist
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Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2013 7:15 pm
During this whole roller coaster of emotions, Cordelia had completely forgotten about Genie. It had been quite a while since the snake girl had ascended into the loft and longer still while her and 'Basil' were having their discussion. When Delia had slipped into parseltongue there briefly, the human must have gotten pretty worried, after all there were only two people she was aware of that could speak and understand that language. To anyone else, it would just sound like a bout of hostile hissing. Delia was surprised though that Genie did exactly what the boy commanded her to. If it were her guardian, Ebby would have marched right on it there without another word said. It was really making her question, was Genie actually scared of Basil? It wouldn't be too far-fetched, he was a snake after all.
Cordelia got a little worried when she saw him shaking, thinking he might be having a spasm of pain, but of course that worrying was for nothing as he threw her the most sardonic smile he could muster. Her first reaction was to get upset at his mocking her, but reminded herself quickly that she wouldn't because she knew he probably would try denying all her accusations. No one liked their secrets found out, that's why they were secrets. And it had paid off not to get mad right away like she tended to because the egotistical armor he wrapped himself in was unraveling quicker than a spider's web in a thunderstorm.
She was a little shocked, but mostly confused after her tumbled into the boxes. He'd said for her to keep her hands to herself, yet for some reason she'd never thought that those words wouldn't apply to himself onto her. Cordelia stayed where she was and watched the look on his face turn into one of panic. He hadn't been meaning to hurt her, but his emotions had just gotten the better of him then. Something he accused her a lot of and was guilty of plenty, but now wasn't the time to throw something like that back in his face. Genie was coming and they didn't need her complicating things more now than they already were. Despite what he'd specifically told her earlier, she rushed to him and held him tight, back to the stairs to keep his guardian's view of them blocked for the most part.
In a gentle hiss, for some reason Delia didn't want Genie knowing what they were discussing, "You're absolutely right. I don't know what I'm doing. You weren't part of the equation. When I met Basil I just thought he was spontaneous and eccentric. I liked that he wouldn't do what people expected." Her voice held a tiny bit of a laugh, "It made things fun. But then I learned there's another side. A side that's just as spontaneous and eccentric, but with a bit more mystery. What's he like? Why's he here? Is he still Basil or...someone else entirely?" The smoke Raevan sighed. "So yes, I don't know how to go about this because I've never encountered this before. Besides it's not like I can just up and ask anyone. I wouldn't know how to say it right and then they'd probably up and take you away to be studied or something and...and I'd never see you, either of you again."
With those heavy words, tears began to roll down Delia's face once more. How could she make him understand? She loved them both dearly. How could anyone not? It was very hard to love one a lot and not the other. But she supposed that didn't explain why she'd kissed him this time. Maybe he was right. Maybe he was somehow superior to Basil in her mind because he could articulate things better, take care of himself better, remember things better. But he never forgot about her. So why? Why couldn't she love Basil the way Basil loved her? It seemed so utterly unfair of her to choose one over the other, especially since she knew Basil the longest. She was a horrible person and it only made her want to cry harder.
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Posted: Thu Jan 17, 2013 7:35 pm
As Genie entered into the loft, she was sensitive to the electric and suspenseful energy within. She could tell immediately that her presence was either unwanted, or unexpected. "Guys?" She offered.
At the sound of her voice, The Other stiffened like a statue, his heart threatening to leap out of his chest. He lowered the volume, but Cordelia had made herself just close enough to feel it racing through his skin. He raised his chin, staring at a point on the wall, almost as if he expected to disappear if he was still enough.
Genie advanced cautiously upon the pair, who at a single glance appeared to be... hugging? The room was silent as a tomb, and neither of them seemed willing to offer an explanation. She had thought she had heard hissing, but couldn't be sure. There was a lot of shouting...
She had left them alone when Basil urged her to, because it had sounded so important. If a major breakthrough was happening, she didn't want to interrupt. Basil was very sensitive at times, and Cordelia seemed confidant that she could handle things herself. Genie had believed her... Until she heard the thump, of course.
She approached him cautiously, "Basil... You're floating! How are you feeling?" A forbidding silence was her reply. He kept his back to her, freezing her out. She tried to look at Cordelia for answers but her face was blocked from view by a rigid shoulder. If she was crying, Genie wouldn't have known right away. He had covered that up as well. She tried reaching out for one, or both of them. "What happened? Are you okay?"
She should have known better than to try to touch them. Not suddenly. Not without warning. She reached for the cobra's shoulder, her fingertips barely brushing the staticy surface of his flannel shirt. He reacted, snatching her by the forearm, which had been scary enough, except that his rune flashed like a bug zapper. "Jumpin' Jehosephat!"
She reeled back, clutching the arm. He had passed a vibration through. It stung her like a joy buzzer. "What the hell!?" She cried, flexing her fingers. It surprised her more than it had hurt her. She felt instantly foolish and angry at herself.
"Basil" turned to look at her. His eyes were wide with some bizarre quality she couldn't describe. Something that made her stomach fill with icewater.
Genie rubbed at the arm, "You can see now? Basil, what's going on?!" He blinked with a new awareness. It was showtime. Grasping Cordelia by both shoulders, he cleared his throat, "I told you. Everything's fine."
There was something in his response left unsaid, but not unnoticed. Something inbetween the lines like the condescending frustration a parent might harbor towards a child. He had told her not to come up, and look what happened.
"But you can see?" She repeated hesitantly.
"Yes," he said with no small impatience.
She caught just a glimpse of Cordelia, her face tinted and her eyes shiny with tears. She glanced first at the cobra, then pointed, "What's wrong with her? Is she okay?"
He gripped the girl's shoulders a bit more tightly. He was handling it. She wouldn't have to say a thing. "Yes. We were just talking. Things got a little emotional, but we're fine." He added softly, "It's been a hard day for everyone..."
Genie didn't looked convinced. One of her greatest fears was that Basil might bring harm to another Raevan, and something about this situation— whether it was the droning, suggestive voice of her cobra, or the looming junk piles, or this bizarre, insincere hug they seemed entangled in— did not augur well. She knew what it was like to be worried. To be angry at a rotten predicament. She would never be able to face another guardian, especially Ebony, if her boy had done something he shouldn't have...
But if he had meant to, wouldn't he have done it by now? Wouldn't she have been walking in on a bludgeoning or a biting or some other unsophisticated and spontaneous act of violence? Genie was confidant that Basil didn't have the tools for this kind of higher deception. It wasn't necessarily that he was honest or morally righteous. He just lacked those kind of filters. What he thought and what he wanted were synonymous with what he said and did, but was she being willfully naive this time? Did she have blinders on when it came to Basil's mishaps, and could it affect Cordelia's welfare here and now? Something in her gut told her this wasn't all it seemed to be...
She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders, newly emboldened. "I don't think—"
"If you really want to do something useful, why don't you run a bath for me?" He said quickly and acidly. Genie flinched. She wasn't expecting that.
She had done her best to see that his wounds were kept clean and protected, but it had been just too much effort to drag a blind, comatose Basil out of bed, down the stairs, and into a bath-tub every day. It wasn't impossible, yet she still had not gone to the lengths she always claimed she would to make sure that he was cared for, and from the sounds of things, he had every intention of holding it against her now that he was himself...
Didn't she know how helpless he was? How much he had needed her?
"...Are you sure?" Another glance at Cordelia.
"Just go."
There was a long pause between them. He wasn't budging. Genie held his eyes for a moment. She wanted to give Cordelia the chance to speak up, but when she didn't, Genie backed down. As she descended the stairs, The Other waited before visibly relaxing. After his third pre-emptive glance, he sighed with relief, "I swear, she's too easy. Basil does a pretty good job of lowering her expectations when I'm not around..."
With Genie gone and their privacy again secured, he pushed her away from him. It wasn't a hard push. Just something to create some distance between them, although he continued to hold her shoulders. He wanted to have a look at her. The tears streaming down her cheeks. He winced. Not this again...
He shook his head, brushing her tears away with the edge of his thumb. The same as he had done before. "Stop." He said firmly, but with just a hint of appreciation. She didn't have anything to gain by keeping his secret just now. He had yelled at her, and pushed her down. Now would have been the perfect time to rat him out if she had wanted to. He hadn't overlooked that.
"You know," He began, "If I had never gotten involved, it's anybody's guess what Basil might have turned out to be." He acted as though the thought might bring her comfort. He looked away, adding in English. "Who knows. We might have been a lot alike..." He let that observation linger a moment between them. A moment which became increasingly heavier.
He glanced distractedly at the ceiling, then stood a bit straighter, "But I can tell you one thing for certain. Despite consequences to our reputation and personal hygiene, Basil isn't going anywhere. And neither am I."
Who was he trying to reassure? Cordelia, or himself?
He reluctantly let go of her shoulders and pulled away, "It won't be easy. This... lifestyle takes a lot of work. A lot of compromise. For as long as I can remember, I tried to get as much as possible without having to give anything up. It seemed to work fine for a while. Basil was happy in an... oblivious sort of way. And I was happy to have control over things. But... now it isn't working. And it nearly got us both killed." He touched his hand to his neck. The dull ache of his choke-bruise. The hand went farther, into his hair. He was clutching at his head the way Basil might have done. Did he have headaches too? Or was this the first?
It seemed to say, what am I going to do? How do I change this?
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Dangerous Conversationalist
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Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2013 8:26 pm
She had tried to keep her crying to a minimum, but it was hard to keep sniffling unnoticeable when your surroundings were pretty bare of background noise to muffle it. It was a time like this that the cobra's power over sound was most handy. He'd snuffed out the sounds of her blubbering along with the erratic beating of both their hearts. She couldn't hear it, but she could still feel the sporadic rhythm of it tremble through his body.
Cordelia watched on silently as the two conversed. It was then that she started to think, why were they going on like they shared a secret? Well okay, obviously they did have a secret, it was plain to see now that Genie was indeed not aware of any difference in Basil at all. Due to the glass Raevan's normal strangeness, Delia supposed the woman just chalked up this attitude as a mood swing and nothing more. It made her wonder if she was doing either this one or Basil right by keeping it secret.
The basilisk completely had her chance to spill the beans when Genie gave her a concerned, yet still highly suspicious look and asked her directly if everything was okay. The girl thought to, but then quickly took it back by nodding her head to reinforce what the cobra had already said. Yes, everything was fine. At least...she hoped it would be.
After the human finally left, things were quiet again, but not for long thankfully. He was placing distance between them again, yet he hadn't let her go. More so, he wiped away a couple of her tears and asked her to stop crying. It wasn't a command like you'd expect from him, he was actually begging her to stop. Apparently he couldn't stand it when she cried and it wasn't like she really wanted to cry in front of him like this, it was just how she was. Once it started it was hard to stop sometimes, like a broken faucet.
Listening as he spoke to her then, Cordelia realized she liked him best when he spoke to her like he was now, soft and more from the heart, like he could confine the most heinous of crimes to her and no one else. Maybe this is what she liked, being on equal footing with someone for once. Most of the time she felt she was running ahead or trailing behind, but here, right now, she felt they were side by side.
One last sniff before Delia brushed her hands along her cheeks to rid them of her tears. She sneaked in close again, she was hating this distance he was trying to create between them, the same one he created with everyone it seemed. The basilisk's hand ghosted after his and she frowned up at him, but not in anger this time, more so in sympathetic pain. "I'm so sorry you both got hurt. If only..." Cordelia was about to say 'if only I'd been there', but thought better. He already said she was too coddling, she didn't need to remind him of that fact or to think she thought they couldn't protect themselves.
Delia breathed a sigh and let her hand drop down to her side lifelessly. "Maybe it's time to change this lifestyle. Basil's not so oblivious as you put it, he's his own person as you are yours. Thus you two fighting for control all the time isn't going to work. You two are going to get sick of it soon enough, but it's not like either of you can give up persay. So a compromise of some sort must be made for both your sakes."
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