control

He had never really thought of his apartment as safe before, but that was the only word that could describe how Tel felt as he locked the door and faced his cramped living room. It was a sudden sanctuary, a haven away from... something. Whatever creeping, insidious fog of paranoia he'd awakened in the stupid passport office. It had burbled in his gut the whole way home, growing more insistent with every step until he was stumbling under its weight. He never stumbled. He didn't cower, especially from things he couldn't see. This was utter bullshit.

Tel's lip twitched in a soundless snarl. Whatever was happening, it was going to have to be fixed. Tonight. He just needed to backtrack, like he was looking for his car keys. When had it all began? He checked the front door again, then crossed to the fridge, grabbed a cider, and continued on to his couch, sinking into its worn cushions with a sigh. All right. First things first.

"Got up," he muttered, taking a sip. "Morning stuff." He idly wondered if he should get a dog or a fish for times like these. Then he could talk to himself all he liked and his neighbors would be forced to find it endearing. "Got Muld's boxes, had some eggs, dropped the boxes off." Tel looked up at the ceiling, searching for some shift in how he felt, some indication that something was wrong. There was nothing. He sipped.

"I handed in my renewal s**t. Saw West." He smirked. That'd been fun. Thoroughly unexpected, but fun. At least it had been until this mysterious feeling had shown up and crapped all over his good mood. Tel sipped again, still at a loss. He thought. He thought a lot. He thought so much that he nodded off.

The demon awoke some time later to the foamy slosh of cider splashing against his thigh and a loud knock at his front door. A grumble escaped him as he rubbed at the patch of liquid soaking into his pants and another, louder knock sounded on the heels of the first. Whoever was gracing him with a visit was certainly an impatient ******** style="color: #e72a41">"You dead?"

Tel shook his head when he recognized his nephew's muffled voice. Okay. Maybe not a literal ******** because... well... that would be gross. He pushed himself to his feet, leaving his half full cider can on the kitchen counter as he passed. He hadn't even been cool enough to pass out. He'd just fallen asleep like some geriatric sack of crap. Tel ran his fingers back through his hair as he opened the door, his hand remaining curled around a horn instead of falling back to his side.

"When you look at me, what do you see? Like, what do you think of me?"

"Well, Dr. d**k Dickerson, Senior. I think yer an a*****e. An' I see..." West looked him up and down. "a*****e." He pushed inside, a second, unmarked copy of the human world paperwork in his hand, and flopped onto the couch in the spot Tel had vacated. "C'mere an' sign this s**t proper an' I'll leave you to yer drunken... sitting."

"I'm not... whatever." It wasn't worth denying, not with the whole cider-on-jeans thing thrown into the mix. Let West think he was drunk. It would give anything he said a level of plausible deniability he'd never get otherwise. Tel let the door slam petulantly and joined West on the sofa.

"Coulda avoided me comin' over here at all if y'hadn't done it in the first place."

"Hm." Probably. Tel had thought his phony signature funny at the time, but now it just seemed like a sad cry for help, especially since now that his nephew was here, Tel didn't want him to go. He rummaged under a couple of piles of magazines and catalogs, successfully turning up a pen all while avoiding West's glare. "I'll keep that in mind, Duran." Judging by the flare of secondhand anger that bloomed in Tel's chest as soon as the retort was out of his mouth, that was not the best way to encourage the kid to stay either.

"Don't say s**t like that. Ever. Not even as a joke."

Tel didn't think he had actually ever seen anyone's eyes blaze before, but that was the only way to describe what West's were doing now. It was impressive, the boil's level of hatred toward his father. It surpassed even Tel's own.

"Yeah. Okay." He looked abashed, but only slightly and only for a second. Tel leaned toward the coffee table, holding his pen poised over the form as the moment passed. He stared blearily at the blank spot where sponsors were meant to sign. This was far more responsibility than he had planned on taking on when he had gotten up this morning, though he had already half committed by signing Levi's form properly. Even so. Just before he reluctantly filled in his name, Tel lowered his hand, a little voice whispering that signing right away wouldn't keep the kid around either. Tel sat back, his spine straightening against the sofa cushion in a leisurely roll.

"So..."

"Really?" West sighed through his nose, eyes narrowed. "Pickin' fights, askin' stupid questions, not signin' my damned form..." He tapped at the paper with a surprisingly well manicured fingernail. "If I didn't know better, I mighta thought your were tryin' t'keep me here. So... I'm here."

"If you want to go..."

"Nah, it's fine. Jus' don't make this whole love fest even lamer by sittin' there. What're we talkin' about while we sit? Duran? Mom?"

"Levi seems happy."

"Yeah. She is." The younger demon leaned back, taking off his jacket as he settled in. "An' she doesn't want nothin' from me 'cept fightin' and... well. She's got my back an' I've got hers." He smirked and shook his head as if he'd already said too much. "Y'got some problem with us goin' to th'human world? Wit' me goin'? 'Cause y'signed her form no problem. Y'need me t'be as happy as her?" He forced a sarcastic smile, all teeth.

"No. ********' Jack," Tel muttered. "Don't ever make that face again." He twirled his pen between his fingers, thinking back for what felt like the millionth time. He should have been close to figuring this all out, given the amount of brainpower he'd used obsessing over it, but he wasn't, not at all. At least he was certain now that none of this had anything to do with West. The discomfort had started just before he had agreed to sign, when he had first considered informing his employers about his little vacation. He felt nothing now that they were talking about signing again, nothing except an unsettling anticipatory expectation that he'd experience that dread again.

Tel sat up, forestalling West's next comment with a raised finger. Much to his surprise, the boil stayed quiet. Silence stretched between them until Tel inhaled deeply and began to speak.

"Ezzi. Anik. Kade. Phaoria. Glin."

"What?"

"Abarin. Crei. Nendan. Deor. Fara—"

Though he tried his hardest to hide it, the sensation that prickled through him made Tel grit his teeth and shiver sharply, as if he had just gotten a chill. It was both stronger and more tolerable than it had been in the passport office, an itch rather than a searing pain. It was Fara who had done this to him. He just needed to figure out how to undo it.

"What the ********, Tel?"

"It's nothing. Honest."



"Maybe later."

West paused, mouth open in preparation to retort. He seemed to decide not to at the last second, snorting softly instead. "Fine. Keep up yer chantin' and weird-a** constipated faces. So long as..." The boil sat back in his seat, sighing in unison with the cushions beneath him. "Nah, ferget it."

"What?"

"It's nothin'. Honest."

"I don't sound like that."

West shook his head, hair falling forward to obscure everything but his smirk. "You do. I was just gonna say that you can tell me s**t, okay? You don't hafta be some big, bad grown up all th'time. 'Specially since I can kick yer a** now."

"I'd like to see you try to kick my a**."

"When? Name a place an' a time an' I'll be there."

"When I'm good I'll send you a printed invitation and everything."

The boil was quiet after that, but when Tel finally looked up he saw what he could only classify as concern in his nephew's eyes. When he was good. Implying he wasn't good now. Tel cleared his throat. Suddenly this little get together felt stifling. Anxious for West to leave, he leaned in and signed the passport form with a flourish.

"There. Done. Sorry I didn't do it right the first time."

"Hm. Yeah. That's fine. An' as long as you show up at the portal when they say, things'll stay fine."

Tel nodded. "I'll be there." He thought of Fara again, of leaving Halloween and traveling to the human world without being told to go. This time when the discomfort hit he forced it down to something he could manage without wincing. Better. "See you then."

West grabbed his coat and squinted at the form at least seven times more before he made for the door. Tel stayed seated as West left, not even getting up to lock it once the boil was gone.

"Bye," he muttered to the empty room.