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 Posted: Mon Jan 29, 2007 9:44 am
__Part 10-5
"Weezo gaw nyth s'inee," Uziri said, rolling it again. "Uthiri gaw a b'anket an a t'ingy Ithy caw OhgawdSeedawntoushtha'. I's fuffy an' ih' skeeks."
Isaiah listened intently, expression fighting between uncertainty and happiness. The latter was winning out bit by bit.
"I like you too," he said after hesitating, voice small.
"Weezo wan fuffy skeek!" Irizu called out, again excessively loudly, "Eetha shawe fuffy-skeek uff Weezoo shawe thiny?"
Frankly, she was curious to see this fluffy, squeaking thing.
Opec's smile spread and he once more closed his eyes, resting against Isaiah. One arm went up to wrap around his chest and squeeze. The other travelled mysteriously downward, stopping only when Opec's thumb hooked onto a rogue belt loop.
It was an innocent gesture, as far as he was concerned.
Uziri nodded hard, looking delighted once again.
"Uthiwi fyn' Weezo a fuffy," she said importantly. "Uthiwi's fuffy haw lossa fren's ah' Ithy-house. Zey in tha' walls, Uthiwi kin' hear 'em ah' nigh'."
It took all of his willpower not to jump at the sudden unexpected movement, but Isaiah did it. He was being hugged, dammit, and he didn't want to move. And seeing as he was completely broke, he doubted (somewhat gratefully) it wouldn't go further.
Oliver, still watching, for the sake of some foreign sliver of politeness, didn't snort with derision.
Irizu gasped.
"Yah!" she cheered, "Weezo wuv eetha." The ball rolled past her and got itself stuck beneath her crib. The freckled girl watched it for a moment.
"Oop..."
Opec sighed, and then grimaced.
"I guess you should probably ge--" he began, sitting up straighter and opening his eyes, "Yanno what? Wanna just stay here tonight? I mean, if you get hungry or something, I'm here."
Uziri burbled, looking pleased.
"Uthiwi luff thitha," she said, nodding. She frowned as she followed the ball's progress and sudden stop. "Awww.....ooh. Ooh ooh!"
With her usual half-crawl, half-roll, Uziri crept up to the crib as though she was a cat hunting a bird, the tendrils of her shadow-aura waving and snapping behind her.
"Uthiwi ge' ih..."
Wedging herself under the crib but unable to go very far, Uziri directed a tendril or two towards the ball, straining as she felt as though she was pulling muscles that didn't even exist.
"Ah'mos...ah'mos..." she sputtered as the tip of a tendril brushed the side of the ball. If only she could get a grip...she was so close! Darn it!
Isaiah instantly brightened.
"Sure!" he said, exceedingly eager. He glanced over to Oliver, who'd quickly diverted his attention back to the candle. "D'you wanna?"
Oliver gave a shrug.
"Hey. Whatever."
Irizu dragged her back legs as she moved to watch Sister-thing. The purple glowies could do that?! She rolled onto her side and pressed her back against the bottom of the crib. She closed her eyes, focusing on moving her theoretical tendril-muscles.
She momentarily felt nothing and then...AHA! Round thing.
"Weezoo nah ge' ih," she sighed, and then added as an afterthought: "Fnuck."
"Okay!" Opec grinned and pulled back from Isaiah. He stood and took a good look around, chewing on his lower lip.
"Yeah, sure, we've got room." He smiled. At Oliver's response, however, he placed his hands on his hips.
"Don't 'whatever' me. You never know when you're ruining your chances to get lucky."
Uziri sighed. She'd really liked that ball, too...
"Fnuck," she said, nodding in agreement.
Oliver turned, unconsciously rubbing the burns on his hand as they healed and slowly faded. It was a good trick, when one remembered how to do it properly - he winced as the burn on his palm itched and stung as it healed, and he sauntered back over nonchalantly.
"I apologize," he said, grinning slightly and inclining his head. "Thanks for the invitation."
It was Isaiah's turn to give a derisive snort, and he did so with ease.
"Oh-tay," Irizu nodded, "Weezoo know how det baw."
"That's more like it," Opec giggled and winked. He wasn't all that certain that Oliver was going to get lucky, but then again, when could you ever be certain?
"HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEWP!"
Opec arched a brow. There was absolutely noting in this house that a child could get harmed in...
"One moment please," he said before going up the stairs and peering at the two infants on the floor. He laughed again.
"What are you two doing?"
Irizu giggled.
As Opec went upstairs, Oliver gave Isaiah a long look before casually whacking him upside the head.
"OW! Hey, what was that for?" Iz said, flailing back. Oliver grinned, an expression so devoid of malice or innuendo or ice-cold nastiness that it rather scared Isaiah.
"You," Oliver said, "are lucky. And an idiot."
"And a little scared of you, what on earth's wrong?"
Oliver just snorted, the grin gone as fast as it had come and replaced with the usual apathetic look.
"Nothin'."
Uziri looked up at Opec and pointed towards the crib.
"Wan' si'nee!" she demanded.
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Posted: Mon Jan 29, 2007 9:51 am
__Part 10-6
Irizu gave Sister-thing a scolding look.
"Peez!"
Opec ruffled his daughter's hair and then bent down, peering under the crib. Damnable thing had gone pretty far back...
He sat down between the infants, his back to the crib, and then bent in half to peer beneath it.
He whapped the ball with his tail once...twice...three times...and then reached under and easily grabbed it. He handed the toy to Uziri.
"Here," he smiled, and then stood again to rejoin Isaiah and Oliver in the lobby.
"Nothin'?" he asked, still smiling, "What's nothin'?"
Ignoring the look Irizu had given her, Uziri greedily clung to the ball, gurgling and chattering to herself with pleasure at the toy's retrieval. It took a moment for her to remember this was Sister-thing's ball, and rolled it back to her.
Oliver glanced up, giving a half-shrug.
"Nothin'," he said with aggravating ease. Isaiah stepped on his foot.
"Don't mind him. He likes to pretend he's mysterious and deep," Iz said, ducking as Oliver's fit swung out and grazed the side of his head.
Irizu blinked, not saying anything but desperately wanting her ball back. When it rolled in her direction, she smiled, and then pushed it back.
Opec smiled and rolled his eyes.
"He doesn't do very well," he said, "All I've gotten so far is perverted and tall." He sauntered over to the Vampires and placed his hands on his hips.
"I have no idea how I'm going to hide you two."
Uziri picked the ball up with difficulty, and with an unsteady grip threw it to the floor. The thing bounced weakly before slowly rolling back to Irizu, but Uziri gave a triumphant screech at her ability to show off.
Oliver feigned a wounded expression that immediately turned wry at the mention of 'hiding'.
"I doubt I'll be around so often I'll have an actual spot 'round here," he said. "A couch'll do fine."
He gave Isaiah a once-over.
"I bet you could hide 'im in a closet. He's a stick-boy."
Irizu laughed and clapped, picking up the ball and attempting to copy Sister-thing's trick. The ball bounced patheticaly back.
"Naooo..." she cooed sadly.
"I figured you'd say that," Opec smiled, "and Isaiah...you can take my room." He nodded, giving Iz a once-over.
"Without me in it, I'm afraid. I'll take the gallery. If Master sees me with either of you...yeah. Not a good thing. Oliver on the couch is a...slight offense." He grinned and suddenly clung to Isaiah.
Uziri clucked her tongue, poking the ball and scowling at it. How dare it make Sister-thing unhappy by not bouncing! The nerve of it!
"BAH BAW," she said, bringing a tiny fist down on top of the toy. Her hand rebounded and nearly hit her face, and Uziri clucked again. So, it wanted to fight, did it? Uziri struck the ball again, with enough force to make the rebound knock her over again.
Alright. Maybe it had won this round, but the war was far from over.
Forcing himself to keep still and not emit any kind of yelping noises as Opec hugged him again, Isaiah regained something like composure and nodded.
"Okay," he said. Oliver gave a noncommittal nod that meant nothing at all, looking bored already.
Irizu gasped, shrieked, and began to kangaroo-kick the ball. It bounced wildly for a moment before flying up and bopping her on the head.
She was stunned for a moment.
...and then she giggled quietly.
Opec let go of Isaiah, recognizing how uncomfortable he felt. He brushed himself off and arched an eyebrow.
"T'night?" he asked Oliver ambiguously.
Not bothering to sit up again, Uziri watched the ball roll innocently past her head and blew a defiant spit bubble. Accursed thing!
"Uthiwi geh' you whe' you naw loothin'," she said warningly to the toy. "Uthiwi gon' gethoo."
The boredom wearing off a bit, Oliver gave a casual nod.
"Sure," he said with equal ambiguity, shrugging again as he spared Isaiah a glance. The kid was too busy hiding his face behind his hair to disguise a blush a notice anything, as usual.
Irizu giggled harder.
"Hmph," Opec voiced and crossed his arms, "Fine, then. I was gonna make you pay, and I just offered to not...and all I get is a 'sure'?" His tail swished slowly back and forth. He was, of course, only feigning offense.
A 'sure' was six thousand times better than what he usually recieved.
"You're too vague. I don't have the brain power to interpret oblique hinting," Oliver said offhandedly, looking pleased nonetheless.
Uziri, glowering at her defeat from the ball, burbled.
"Hmph," Opec voiced, but smiled. He then perched atop the chair Isaiah had been sitting in, pulling his feel together in front of him in a horrible mockery of Indian-style.
"What do we do until then?"
He wasn't used to company.
Irizu approached Sister-thing and patted her comfortingly. The ball was at fault here, clearly. There was nothing to be ashamed of!
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Posted: Mon Jan 29, 2007 10:00 am
__Part 10-7
Oliver and Isaiah shrugged in unison. Socialization was never their strong point.
"....small talk?" Isaiah offered eventually. Oliver grimaced.
"But that requires caring about conversation."
Isaiah elbowed him obstinately.
"Stop being a jackass. If you try to hard people'll think you're compensating for something."
Disgraced by her loss, Uziri gave an overdramatic burble. The shame!
Opec's smile grew to a wicked grin.
"I could think of something."
Irizu sniffled and patted Sister-thing some more. Patting made things better, didn't it?
Oliver smiled, and Isaiah looked quickly down at the floor.
"Do tell?" Oliver said, resting an arm on Isaiah's ducked head.
Uziri looked up, and with a sudden upswing of mood tackled Irizu.
"Bvah!" she said, her depression effectively evaporated.
" 'fraid it shouldn't be spoken 'bout 'round Iz," Opec said, and then dropped his voice to a whisper, "He might get jealous." He was being completely honest, too.
There was no way in Hell he was going to include poor virginal Isaiah.
Irizu simply lay, shell-shocked, and then gave a racous giggle. She smooshed her hands against the side of Uziri's face, pushing her cheeks together so she looked like a fishy.
Isaiah gave no indication of hearing anything, too bust looking down at the floor and trying to busy himself counting floor tiles. Oliver gave him a look half-pitying, nodding in agreement with Opec.
"Mm, yeah. Poor kid. His brain'd likely to leak out his ears," he said unconcernedly.
"Blff!"
Uziri giggled wildly in response, unable to get loose but not trying to hard anyway.
Opec nodded.
"Someone should watch the twins anyway," he said, for the first time voicing their obvious relation, "Up for it, Iz?"
Irizu giggled again and removed her hands from Uziri's face, now smooshing her own lips to be a fishy. She attempted to giggle, but it came out full of vibrating air.
She shrieked and giggled.
"Absolutely," Isaiah said, jumping to attention and fleeing up the stairs before either Oliver could mock him for the new blush or Opec could question it. "I'll watch the kids."
Bursting into Irizu's room and closing the door sharply behind him, Isaiah gave a relieved sigh and slid down the wall to sit on the floor, yanking his hood over his head and obscuring his face.
Uziri laughed and snorted, though at Isaiah's sudden appearance her mood turned instantly serious. She crawled over to the teen and tugged at his arm, then reached up and tugged at his hood.
"Iss?" she said.
Opec's brow furrowed. He touched his lips to his own palm and then blew on it, effectively blowing Isaiah a kiss through the door.
Not that Iz'd ever know he'd done it.
The Viishani then turned to Oliver, one ear twitching.
"Well..."
Irizu also grew suddenly concerned and crawl-wobbled over to Isaiah, crawling onto his leg and yanking at his hood.
"Ee-day-buh?"
Watching Isaiah flee and resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Oliver allowed the ghost of a smile to appear at Opec's response to it.
"He'll grow out of the running away thing," he said. "Trip him once or twice, that'll help him get out of the habit."
The tiny smile vanished, replaced by the as-always slightly out of place grin.
"So."
"Ithy. Ithy! Ithyyyy!" Uziri said, tugging harder at Isaiah's hood. Why wasn't he paying attention, darn it!
Isaiah looked up at last, drawing the hood back a bit and beeping Uziri's nose.
"Worried about me, huh?" he said, glancing over at Irizu. "Don't worry. Just proving how irrevocably juvenile I am, nothing to worry over."
He tousled Uziri's hair, making her burble in response.
"We'll just...be staying up here for a bit."
(some time later)
Opec smiled, still pinned beneath Oliver.
"I like you too," he said carefully, positive that Isaiah, who he'd just recently professed his love to, wouldn't like him saying that.
Upstairs, Irizu lifted her arms to the hiding Isaiah, one hand clutching her spherical giraffe and the other flexing in and out of a fist.
She wanted to be carried, not walk herself. Going down stairs was hard.
"Beh."
"Alright, alright, I gotcha..."
With an infant under each arm - he wasn't clear how to hold a baby properly, but at least he wouldn't drop them - Isaiah nudged the door open with his foot.
"You better be decent," he called, directly addressing Oliver.
Oliver, decidedly uncaring about Isaiah's feelings but sure the infants could do without emotional or mental scarring, murmured a bored-sounding 'yeah yeah' before getting up.
"Little brat," he said, smirking slightly.
Opec slid to the floor easily, examined his physical condition, shrugged, and began refolding his robe around himself. An odd blush remained, one he couldn't quite explain.
"We're decent!" he called up.
Irizu wriggled and kicked a little.
"FUDDY MAIH!"
"Speak for yourself," Oliver yawned, dragging his shirt back over his head and irreperably mussing his hair. Isaiah ventured down the stairs with children in hand, looking as though any sudden movement would send him running back up the stairs to hide.
Tired by this point and growing grumpy because of it, Uziri let a rope of drool slide out from between her lips, and sucked it back in with a loud, crude slurp.
"Fine," Opec giggled slightly, speaking quieter now, "I'm decent." He smiled and snatched Irizu from Isaiah's arm, twirling her around at an arm's length and hugging her gently.
Irizu laughed and reached for Fuzzy Man's ears.
Opec turned to Isaiah once more, his smile changing slightly.
"You okay? You look...anxious."
"Nn," Oliver said vaguely, at first indifferent but looking back to give a vague smile.
Uziri burbled and shifted, tugging at Isaiah's sleeve and successfullygrabbing hold of a drawstring, which she promptly put into her mouth.
"Grrgh."
Anxious? Who, Isaiah? Anxious?
Hmm. Right on the mark, really.
"I'm fine," Iz said, rather convincingly.
Opec yawned and stretched, thrusting Irizu into the air.
The infant burbled happily.
"You're lying," the Viishani replied after giving his head a clearing shake, "but that's okay. I forgive you."
Irizu yawned and flopped a bit.
"Nap time?"
She nodded.
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Posted: Sun Feb 04, 2007 4:18 pm
__Part 11
Opec had no set plans for the night. Work had ended hours before and he was simply wandering now, Irizu sleeping in a little sling beneath one arm. An ear twitched. His tail swayed.
He decided he was going to visit Isaiah.
Rounding a corner, though, he spotted a familiar shape across the street. Carefully, he snuck up.
Sitting on the sidewalk curb and counting out the bills he'd liberated from his last meal's wallet, Oliver picked his teeth with a toothpick and spat onto the sidewalk. He loathed the athletic types, they always tasted like steroids or ******** disgusting," he complained to no one, spitting again. Vile iron tang would stay for days...
Opec giggled slightly, but muffled the sound with his hand. Soon enough he was on his knees beside Oliver, hugging him tightly from one side.
"Hiiiii~" he cooed, feeling that now-familiar fluttering in his chest and cursing it for all it was worth.
Nearly swallowing the toothpick and muffling a sharply angry and surprised growl, Oliver bared his teeth and turned his head sharply enough to give himself a crick in his neck.
"Why you little-waitasecondit'syou."
His threat turning into something run together and trailing off into sheepish silence, Oliver graced Opec with a completely surprised gawking expression.
"Um. Hey Opec," he said, looking vaguely unnerved.
Opec reached up and dragged a hand down the side of Oliver's face.
"Hi," Opec repeated, smiling slightly, his cheeks a deep pinkish colour. He paused for a moment, considering his next move.
"Are you well-fed enough to talk?" His smile stretched out, wrinkling his cheeks.
Noting the blush but making no comment - he'd needled Isaiah enough about such things to get tired of the joke - Oliver nodded, then cleared his throat, cringing inwardly at the thick unpleasant iron taste.
"Yeah," he said offhandedly, stowing the stolen money in his pocket. "What're you doing here? I woulda thought you had work're something."
Opec shook his head.
"I'm usually finished around now," he said, wondering how to go about all this. He really wasn't all that skilled when it came to expressing emotions.
"I'm going to visit Isaiah...but I saw you here and figured I should tell you something." He reached up then and kissed Oliver quickly on the neck.
There. Now he'd done it to them both. He'd marked and claimed them, in his own mind. What they did now was up to them.
"I think love you too."
"Oh, ok-um."
Momentarily at a loss for words, Oliver took hold of Opec's shoulders and pushed him back a bit.
"Wait, what?" he said, looking speculative and letting Opec go.
Opec's eyes grew wide and worried. He hadn't been expecting any kind of physical reaction...especially not one with such ambiguous motives.
A slap in the face he could have taken.
"You heard me," he said quietly, head bowed slightly like a guilty puppy, "I love you too."
Realizing his grip had gone tight to the point where it might be painful, Oliver let Opec go and let his arms falls to his sides.
"I did hear you," he said. "I'm just thinking."
This was very unexpected, to say the least. Oliver being loved was about as probable as Isaiah being outgoing and well-spoken.
Oooh. Isaiah. What would he think of all this?
"Does Iz know?"
Opec's eyes widened even further.
"Ooooh, no," he said, voice grave and frightened, "I don't think...I don't know...please don't tell him. I'd like to tell him myself if he has to know." The Viishani hugged himself protectively.
Irizu's eyes opened for a moment but, seeing two familiar faces, soon closed as the infant resumed her thumb-sucking sleep.
"Even I'm not that mean," Oliver said thoughtfully. "Coming from me he'd take it as mortal insult. From you....there might be hope of a better reaction."
He chomped on his toothpick and made it splinter. Spitting out the bit of wood, he petted Opec's head reassuringly.
"It might not be so bad," he said.
Opec's ears folded back at the gesture. It seemed almost...patronizing?
"That's all well and good," he said after a moment, "but you haven't told me how you feel."
The splintered toothpick wasn't all that great of an indicator.
Oliver didn't notice the effect of the gesture. He'd done it half-attentively anyway; he was too distracted by his own thoughts to pay much attention to anything.
"I..."
What did he feel? This had been thrown at him so fast he was still trying to understand. Besides, this was him. He barely felt anything anymore. But poor Opec didn't know that...
"...I like you," he said finally. "More than you realize. I just...it's too early to know if I love you, Opec. Way too early."
He felt rather bad for saying it, but it was the truth.
Opec's smile re-spawned, growing slowly and steadily once more.
"That's all I had to hear," he nodded, keeping his head bowed a moment to long in what could quite possibly have been a display of submission. He stood then, cradling Irizu's sling carefully with one arm as he did so. He felt the baby wriggle in protest, and then go still again.
"I'll...I'll be seeing you, I guess." He waved and with that he was off, hips swinging and tail swaying in the general direction of Isaiah's apartment building.
"Okay," Oliver said. He watched Opec go, intent on counting the money again and going back to the motel room that was currently home - and found he couldn't. Opec had gone a good distance, and he got up and walked after. He needed to see how this ended...
Opec clearly didn't notice Oliver following him, and so simply continued on his way. Once reaching Isaiah's door, he peeked through a rather large hole in the wood.
Only then did he think to knock.
"Hello?"
"Bwaaaaaaaah..."
Uziri, playing on the floor with her mouse, heard the knock before Isaiah.
"Ithy."
"Nn?"
"Ithy dooooooowah."
"Dooowah? What?"
"DOWAH DOWAH DOWAH!"
"Dowah....uh...oh! Door!"
Isaiah slid off the couch and picked his way through the tiny living room, jumping over an overturned chair to get to the front door.
"C'mon in, if you can," he said, forcing the door open. "Can I he....oh....heya, Opec!"
Opec inched into the room, looking rather sullen.
Irizu opened her eyes again.
"Buaaah? Eetha...?"
"Isaiah...I need to tell you something," Opec sighed, "I don't think you're gonna like it."
The smile that had sprung up on Isaiah's face disappeared instantly.
Uh oh.
"Um...okay..." he said, hoisting himself up onto the decrepit kitchen island. "What's...what's wrong?"
Uziri's head snapped up and she pressed a finger to her lips, pointing at the mouse with the other hand.
"Skeeky," she said conspiratorially. "Uthiwi finin' skeeky fo' Weezoo."
Oliver, finally having caught up to Opec, waited out in the hall and out of sight as he heard Isaiah speak. This absolutely wasn't going to end well, he figured.
Opec gently placed the sling that had been holding Irizu on the ground.
Irizu smiled sleepily and crawled clumsily over to Sister-thing.
"Coot skeeky."
Opec turned back to Isaiah, and heaved a sigh.
"Let me start off by saying I didn't lie," he began, "It's said that Viishnu are only meant to love a certain person, and they know when they do. They feel it here." He pressed a hand to his chest.
"I wasn't lying. I do love you."
He paused.
"And someone else too."
Isaiah blinked once.
"So. You're saying...you love me," he began, voice slowly tightening. "But...also someone else. Because....what...wait. Opec, I....okay. Wait."
Sliding off the kitchen island and beginning a tight pace - there wasn't much room to breathe in Isaiah's house, let alone pace- Iz wrung his hands and mouthed Opec's words over and over. He looked up at Opec, expression growing slowly more and more unreadable.
"So...let me...understand...this... this is a 'I love you, but yeah, maybe you're lacking a bit so I have a fallback plan' type of thing, right?"
There was bewildered hurt on his face now as an idea dawned.
"You love him, don't you," he said finally, leaning against the counter again. He doubted he had to mention the name.
"Uthiwi call 'im Muffin," Uziri said seriously. "He cah fly."
Of course, Uziri had assisted the flight more than once with a good toss, but Irizu didn't need to know that.
Still hiding out in the hallway, Oliver listened and cringed slightly.
"Nonono," Opec said, waving his hands, "It's not a fallback plan. No fallbacks. Just...emotions. I figured I should tell you, because...I do --"
He stopped.
"Him..." Opec parrted and dropped his head, voice barely audible, "Yes."
Irizu grinned and scooped the mouse up, staring at it.
"Ooooh," she cooed, "Muffin."
She paused.
"Muffin fwy?"
A long, withering sigh escaped Isaiah.
"Of course," he said, a bitter laugh in his voice. "Why'd I even ask."
Head dropping down, Isaiah leaned back and pushed the hair out of his face, looking up slowly ceiling-ward with an ugly expression.
"How'd I guess..." he said. A beat later he added, "Please leave."
Uziri nodded.
"Muffin fly," she said eagerly. "Noh far, buh he cah fly. Sometimes."
"Oooh s**t," Oliver said, leaning against the doorframe and in startling fierce internal debate on whether to go in or not. Most of his being was leaning towards 'turn and run'.
"No!" Opec yelped, sniffling. It was not so much a refusal as a 'please, god, no'. He hadn't been expecting to be told to leave. A punch to the face, maybe, but not a complete abandonment.
His face was suddenly wet with tears.
"Please don't make me go," he said, giving a convulsive sob and running to Isaiah, dropping to his knees and clinging to the vampire's leg, "Please don't."
Irizu blinked.
"How onwy sometime?"
Disgusted with himself for making Opec cry, but too angry and hurt and confused to try to apologize, Isaiah yanked himself out of Opec's grasp and made for the door.
"Fine. I'll leave," he said tonelessly. He was halfway out the door when an arm caught him in the chest. "UNGHK! Ahh...ow...who..."
Oliver leaned in the doorway, looking from Opec to Isaiah with a desperately neutral expression.
"Iz..."
Isaiah twitched.
"Hello," he said.
And his arm swung back, and Isaiah punched Oliver full-on in the face.
"G'avity," Uziri said simply. Iz often yelled something involving 'gravity', 'bone fractures' and 'infant suicide' whenever she tried to climb up something, so she supposed it must apply to the mouse as well. Every time she threw him he did come down eventually.
"Noooo..." Opec groaned, sobbing into his hands and only looking up when he heard Oliver's voice. Oh, s**t...
He gave a startled shriek and clapped his hands over his mouth when the punch was thrown.
On an impulse, Irizu tossed the mouse into the air. She watched it struggle to grip...nothing, and then caught it gently.
"...MUFFIN FWY!"
"Hnngh!"
It wasn't so much a cry of pain as of complete astonishment. Isaiah had never attempted to actually hurt him before...
"Isaiah," Oliver began again, ducking out of range as Iz swung again. "Iz, ******** you!" Isaiah snarled. "You take everything. Everything! What else can you possibly ******** want!"
Oliver froze, looking lost for words. Isaiah took advantage of the moment and struck Oliver in the jaw. There was an audible crack as one of Isaiah's fingers snapped from the force of impact, and he watched it heal with grotesque anger on his face.
"I hate you," he spat. Oliver's expression twinged, and he backed up a ******** OFF!"
Oliver, holding his jaw and staring at Isaiah, gave a regretful sigh and kicked Isaiah's legs out from under him. Isaiah fell hard, cracking his head against the chair laying on the floor. Oliver kicked him again, rolling him onto his back.
"Will you please just LISTEN-" he began, before being effectively silenced as Isaiah kicked upwards and caught him in the stomach.
Uziri sighed.
"Muffin b'oken," she offered. "Mebbe no fly no mo'."
At the sound of scuffling, screaming and cursing, she looked over to the gather adults in puzzlement. Jeez, they were noisy...
Opec shrieked again and tried to stand, stumbled, finally caught his footing and ran to the brawling pair.
"NO! PLEASE!"
Irizu looked to the adults. Oh well. As long as Fuzzy Man wasn't being hurt...
"Oh. Otay. Muffin bwo-ten. Weezoo still wyke Muffin."
Snarling like an animal and blazing hatred on his face, Isaiah made as though to charge full-on at Oliver and collided into Opec. He pushed himself away and feinted left, making Oliver duck to the right before being bowled into hard enough to send him sprawling.
"Isaiah, STOP! You ******** idiot, you're gonna -UNGHK- hurt ********, feels like you loosened a tooth...Iz, Isaiah....ISAIAH WAYLAND, QUIT IT!"
Iz stopped, but only because Oliver had grabbed him by the throat and was currently choking the life out of him. Iz hissed at him, and Oliver sighed again.
"Will you please just calm down for a second?"
"Nn...hhhh...nnnhhooo."
"Then I'm not gonna let you go."
Iz hissed again.
Rolling her eyes at the silliness of grown-ups, Uziri turned her attentions back to more important matters.
"Issa goo' Muffin," she said sagely.
Opec suddenly appeared behind Isaiah, a trio of white bone-claws to his throat. There were three gaping, dripping wounds running from below his wrist to where the claws extended from, displaying the sockets.
He sniffled, sobbed, and twitched slightly.
"Calm," he gasped, having to catch his breath before speaking again, "Down."
Irizu nodded.
"Gooh Muffin," she pet the terrified creature, "...eet muffins?"
Isaiah managed a small, strangled sound, anger doubling. What the ******** was Opec doing putting claws to his throat! Thoughts brooding on favoritism and pity-sympathy and a million other things that just raised his ire raced through his head.
Taking a series of deep breaths, he went slack in Oliver's grip, eyes fixed on the floor. Oliver let Isaiah go in relief, rubbing his still-sore jaw.
"Iz..."
Coughing, Isaiah didn't bother to look up.
"Get out. Both of you. Get out."
Uziri nodded.
"Uthiwi foun' Muffin inna box wih' doo-nuts an' muffin an a chih'en leg," she said. "Uthiwi can' call Muffin Chih'en Leg, so Uthiwi call Muffin...uh...Muffin."
In retrospect, maybe Chicken Leg would have been a neater name. Oh well. She reached out and petted the mouse, and it gave a irate squeak. There had better be cookie bits at the end of this, it seemed to say, ears flat to its head and whiskers twitching.
Opec retracted his claws and gave a convulsive sob.
"What will us going achieve?" he asked, "If you're going to blame anyone, blame me. If you're going to hate anyone, hate me. God forbid I fall in love with two people. It's not like I meant to. it's not like I wanted to." Having given up, Opec went to Irizu and pluched her from the ground.
Irizu shrieked bloody murder, dropping Muffin to the ground and subsequently finding herself smeared with red stuff and being taken away from Sister-thing.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Isaiah said nothing, expression torn between self-righteous bitterness and utter panic. Oliver waited, tense, unsure if he should wait for Iz to say something or if he'd have to do it.
"Well?" he said to Isaiah. "Aren't you gonna...aren't you going to say anything?"
Isaiah looked up at him in distaste.
"What good will it do?" he spat. "I just proved I'm as much of a miserable ******** as you are."
Oliver looked from Iz to Opec again, and got up. He doubled over briefly and clutched his side, wincing, then straightened.
"Opec, wait."
Uziri gave a furious shriek and threw herself at Opec, latching onto his tail.
"Rar!" she said, tugging at it and her face crumpling as she stared up at him.
Opec shrieked in pain at the tug on his tail, closing his eyes and setting his jaw against the pain and anger.
"What," he snapped, gagging spasmodically.
Irizu screamed in response to Sister-thing and Fuzzy Man and all of the confusion...and then started crying.
"I'm sorry," Oliver blurted.
Isaiah's jaw dropped.
"Did you just...how did you not just erupt into a pillar of fire?"
"I'm expecting it soon enough."
"Hhnf."
Oliver nudged him with his foot, gesturing irritably.
"What?"
"Get UP, you idiot."
"...fine."
Standing - and keeping a good amount of distance between himself and Oliver - Isaiah looked down at the floor, leaning against the doorframe.
"Are you going somewhere with this?" he asked Oliver bluntly.
"Momentarily, once the rib removes itself from my lung."
"Pansy."
Uziri, confused beyond reason now, burst into sympathetic tears.
Opec, knowing there was nothing he could do, simply dropped to the ground, continued crying, and held the two bawling infants close to him.
Momentarily roused from their bickering, Isaiah and Oliver slowly looked over to the sad scene before them.
"Oh..." Iz said.
"...s**t," Oliver offered.
Sighing, Isaiah tore at his hair in frustration and kicked Oliver in the shin.
"I'm so pissed at you I wish I could just spit acid blood at you and melt your face off," he wanted to say. Instead, Isaiah awkwardly gripped Oliver's shoulder in apology and turned his attention to Opec.
"I'm....I'm sorry I reacted that way," he said feebly. "I was just...he surprised me and I kind of...snapped. I didn't mean to get you so upset."
Opec simply buried his face in Irizu's hair and continued sobbing, now paling considerably due to the amount of blood leaking from his arm. He had no idea what to do or say. Hell, this was the first time he'd ever felt this thing they called 'love', and also the first time he'd ever seen Isaiah have a mental breakdown.
Ah...idea.
He placed the infants back on the ground and stood, brushing himself off regally.
Irizu sniffled and looked down at her arms where Opec's blood had smeared, finding the blood gone and instead a dark brown spot on her skin.
She shrieked and started crying again.
"You know," Opec began, voice oddly cold and deep, "There are rules to being a slave. Seeing people only signed off on by the master is one. That will get you beaten." He let this sink in for a moment, then lifted his wet eyes to the vampires, flickering between them for a moment.
"And, of course, you're not allowed to let your lips touch any part of any other body, aside from Master. That goes for both client, and slave."
Without saying anything more, he leaped toward Isaiah, tangled his fingers in the vampire's hair, and kissed him deeply. After quite some time, he pulled away.
"...because then a master is allowed to kill you."
Both of them listening intently, Oliver and Isaiah cringed at the word 'beaten' as they always did, exchanging looks. They hadn't realized how much trouble they were...
"Opec, I-" Iz started as Opec sprang at him, immediately searching for quick words of apology before he was presumably slashed to death, but couldn't get the words out fast enough before he found himself pinned.
Uziri, sniffling, looked up with a screech that suddenly turned into a distinct "Bleh". Kissing. Icky.
Pulling away from Opec in alarm, Isaiah clamped a hand to his mouth and stared. Oliver gaped.
"...kill you," he said finally when Iz said nothing. "Kill you."
Isaiah removed his hand from his mouth, eyes wide.
"I just...what the hell....why would you...kill you?" he said, bewildered. He glanced over at Oliver. "Why did you just..."
Oliver shoved Isaiah's arm hard.
"Will you just shut up and accept the fact he likes you?"
"Not helping, Oliver."
Irizu continued crying, watching as the odd marks on her skin slowly began to dwindle in size.
Opec simply smiled slowly, another tear falling from his eye.
"Kill me," he nodded and then took a step forward to Oliver, kissing him briefly on the lips.
"And now you'd both be equally responsible."
He sighed and dropped to his knees again. Would he tell Master? No, of course not...
...and lying could get you killed too.
Both Isaiah and Oliver said nothing for a very long time. Isaiah had pressed a hand to his mouth again, looking anxiety-stricken. Oliver was looking at the floor, where a mouse was obstinately staring back up.
Uziri belched.
"I'd rip his arms off if he tried to hit you," Iz said warily, hand falling away from his mouth as he looked up at Opec. "You're not gonna get hurt because of me."
Oliver nodded vaguely, glancing up at Opec as well.
"We'll keep you safe," he said, feeling like an idiot for such sap to be spilling out of his mouth.
Opec looked up at them and smiled.
"Thank you," he nodded, "and I'm sorry." He knew full well neither of them would be able to keep Master from him, but it was comforting to know that they would try. As for the apology...well, wasn't it obvious?
Irizu burbled and clung to Uziri's arm, only sniffling now.
He stood, found himself weak, and clung to Isaiah's shirt to keep himself up.
"...so tired..."
"Yeah..."
"No problem..."
Muttering until their voices intertwined and trailed off into awkward silence, Oliver and Iz exchanged looks again. This was so completely unlike their normal selves it was starting to get creepy. Isaiah jerked in surprise and clung to Opec as he seemed to stumble.
"Oh! Um, jeez...bloodloss?" he said, ushering Opec over to the couch. Oliver looked on, frowning, then glanced down at the children.
"Fnuck?"
"Yeah, I'd say that about covers it."
Opec took a deep breath and fell onto the couch, curling into a half fetal position. He'd only ever used his claws once before. He wasn't used to losing so much blood.
He then looked to the vampires and raised his bloodied hand.
"If you don't take it," he said slowly, breathing slowed, "It'll just be wasted on the floor."
"Fnuck," Irizu agreed, crawling over to Fuzzy Man and sitting beside the couch at his feet.
Iz tutted, running to go find bandages or something that at least resembled them. Oliver shook his head, looking around for something that might appear useful.
"I'm...not hungry," Iz said, coming back with bandaids and a dampened rag to wash the blood off. "Oliver?"
Looking distinctly uncomfortable at the thought of eating, Oliver shook his head again.
"I'm good."
Uziri sighed. Grown-ups were so stupid sometimes, it was amazing.
"Muffin," she called, looking around for the mouse. The little creature gave a spiteful squeak from his hiding place under a footstool and curled up under the crumpled newspaper currently shielding him from view. No attention to the baby thing, he decided, until cookies were made available.
Opec sighed and sat up slowly, looking extremely exhausted or stoned, and eyed the bandaids.
He laughed and took the rag.
"Muffin?" Irizu questioned, having completely forgotten her skin's flaring, "Skeeky? WHERE SKEEKY?!"
Opec simply held the cloth beneath his hand and hummed quietly to himself, slowing his own heartbeat and breathing by simply thinking about something else. Once the blood ceased its pulsing, what wasn't caught permanently in the threads climbed lethargically back into his claw sockets, riding the bone in little trails for a moment or two before hiding beneath.
He folded the rag carefully and yawned.
Oliver graced Iz with a half-vindictive look.
"Bandaids."
Iz bristled.
"At least I brought something, Mister Turn-Around-In-A-Full-Circle-Like-an-Idiot."
"Your words wound me."
Uziri pointed at the newspaper, expression set.
"That, Muffin!" she said, crawling towards it and ready to catch the little creature.
Opec yawned again and giggled slightly.
"Do you have any sugar?"
"MOOOOOFEEEEEEEEEEEEN!" Irizu yelled and began after Sister-thing.
"Hmm? Oh, yeah...lemme see if there's anything left..."
Picking his way over to the kitchen area, Isaiah wrenched open the fridge and scrounged through the meager contents. All of it was either pureed baby food or puddings and sweets the infant most definitely should not have been eating, but Isaiah didn't know any better.
"Ah, here we go."
Taking out a slice of what appeared to be birthday cake and a highly sugary juice box, Isaiah tripped, slipped, and fell over back to the couch.
"Enjoy."
Spotting the cake, Uziri jumped up and took a bit off right from the plate and flung it at the newspaper. Muffin peeked out, then ventured further to get the cake-scrap before being trapped by Uziri's hand.
"Gothoo," she said in triumph.
Opec stared in wonderment at the cake. He poked it carefully, retrieving a dab of frosting.
He licked his finger.
Okay, so it was sugar...good. He broke a piece off and chewed slowly, feeling awkward and so averting his eyes.
"Muffin!" Irizu called happily, and then noticed what Fuzzy Man was holding, "DAAAAAH!" She called, butt-hopping over to him with her mouth up and open like a baby bird.
Opec smiled, stabbed the juice box open with the straw, and squirted a bit of juice into the infants mouth.
Irizu, satisfied, returned to Sister-thing.
"Weezoo howd?"
Opec swallowed and nodded, still not looking at either vampire.
"Thank you."
Vaguely curious about the awkwardness springing from eating a well-aged piece of birthday cake, Oliver sat on the arm of the couch and unconsciously rubbed his jaw where Isaiah had struck him the first time. Iz noticed this, and rubbed his throat wearily.
Okay. It had been a bit of a bad night.
"You're welcome," Iz said belatedly, taking a perch on the opposite couch arm.
Uziri, busy trying to keep hold of Muffin and finally grabbing on to him with an aura-tendril, made a "eh?" sound and poked Irizu's head to cover the fact she hadn't been listening.
Opec heaved a sigh and flopped over, resting his head on Isaiah's lap and continuing to pick away at the cake. He was beginning to feel better as his blood chowed down on the sugar entering his system.
He swallowed.
"Do you forgive me?"
Irizu thrust a hand out.
"Weezoo howd skeeky?"
"Forgive you?"
Isaiah look down at Opec, uncertain. After all, it had been Isaiah himself that had acted like an insufferable child.
"...I do," he said, unsure what else to say.
"Yuh," Uziri said, dropping the mouse into Irizu's lap.
Opec looked for a place to put the cake, saw nothing but a collapsing cardboard box, and put it there. He then returned to his previous position.
Irizu smiled at Muffin, and then the cake. She pulled a hunk from the latter and plopped it in her lap beside the mouse.
"Fooh time!"
"But what now?" he asked, wrapping his arms around Isaiah's waist, "I still would like you to move in with me. Him too." Again, there was no need for names or indication.
"But I know neither is all that likely now..." He sniffled.
"Well," Iz said, resting an arm 'round Opec's shoulders, "I promise not to go...uh, well...completely crazy again and attempt to kill him...I'd still like to move in."
Oliver offered no comment other than a shrug. As long as it wasn't a sewer he didn't care where he lived. He glanced down at the children in sudden boredom, an eyebrow raising as he saw them playing with either a very large mouse or a runt of a rat.
The mouse and tried to leap for the cake, landing head-deep into it.
Tearing off a piece of cake for herself, Uziri gnawed at it and made inexplicable slurping noises, clearly enjoying herself and nearly taking her fingers off as she stuffed the cake into her mouth.
Opec's smile grew again. He suddenly disengaged himself from Isaiah and pulled a little leather notebook from a fold of fabric. He began scribbling in notes at random times and dates.
"Good," he replied simply once he was finished and wriggled over to Oliver, clinging to him for a turn.
Irizu giggled gleefully, clapping her hands together as she felt the mouse wriggle against her thigh.
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Posted: Mon Feb 05, 2007 6:38 am
__Part 12
"You really hate me, don't you."
Isaiah looked up, dragging his headphones off his ears.
"Huh?"
Oliver, reclining on the couch and counting the cracks in the ceiling, spared him a quick look.
"What you said earlier. About hating me. You really do, don't you."
Isaiah shrugged, trying to return his attention to his book.
"Sometimes I do. Sometimes I don't. It's mixed."
"That's cold."
"It's the truth. You never care if the truth's nasty or blunt, why should I where you're concerned?"
Oliver winced slightly.
"You're still mad, aren't you."
Isaiah gave a sigh and snapped his book shut.
"Oliver," he said, sitting up and dragging his headphones down around his neck, "-what do you even care? You never gave a ******** if I was angry with you or upset or moody or anything else. The hell do you care now for?"
Oliver shrugged.
"Because this time I didn't actually mean to make you upset?" he offered. Isaiah sighed, and a long uncomfortable silence fell between the two. Uziri, asleep in the other room, gave a sleepy squall that notified Isaiah it was time for a bottle. He abandoned Oliver, leaving the other man to lay on the couch and stare at the ceiling again.
"Iz," he called eventually.
"What?" came the reply from Uziri's room.
"I'm sorry," Oliver said.
Isaiah didn't reply. Oliver hadn't expected him to anyway.
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Posted: Sat Feb 10, 2007 3:35 pm
__Part 13
"Tell me you're kidding."
Isaiah shrugged, looking away.
"I didn't invite you. You don't want to participate, go b***h about it to someone who cares."
Oliver snorted, choosing to ignoring the acidic note in Iz's tone.
"No need to be defensive, I'm just saying. Valentines don't usually fall under the...um...goldfish department."
Isaiah looked at the fishbowl in his hands, bristling.
"It's unique."
"It's stupid."
"Yeah? What'd you get him?"
"My charming personality is gift enough."
"Yeah, that and a load of shi-"
"Uthiwi wanna feesee!"
"-Um. I'll get you one later, Zee."
"FEESEE!"
"Muh."
"Nnphh...please, Rizu. I have to go back to work in..." Opec glanced sleepily out the window, "...four hoooours..."
"Nnmah," Irizu replied, sucking indignantly on her third bottle.
Opec huffed, pushed a bit of hair up and behind an ear, and slumped.
Oliver, currently burdened with Uziri's carrying box, kicked the door once. Isaiah, currently burdened with a fish, shot him an angry look.
"Be civil. For once in your life, just be a civil, normal person," he said. Oliver gave him a dirty look.
"You're acting like a PMS-ing woman," he said spitefully.
"Yeah, like you have experience with that," Isaiah said tartly. If Oliver took the half-hearted insult as a challenge, he didn't bother to show it - though this time he did knock on the door rather politely.
"Feeseee..."
Opec, startled, pulled Irizu to his chest, sending her bottle careening to the floor.
"Baabaaaa!" the infant squealed, reaching for her bottle.
As Opec calmed, his ears folded back. Who in the worl would be knocking on his door? Master didn't need to knock.
Frea?
Oh, Gods, Tiss?
"Coming!" he called, voice much weaker than usual, and scampered down the stairs to turn the key in the lock and throw the door open.
"What do you nee--HI~"
"Hey."
"Hi!"
"Feesee!"
Prompted by Uziri's recurrent observation, Isaiah blushed slightly and held the fishbowl out to Opec. The goldfish inside was a bit runty, but still cute as fish went.
"I got this for you," Iz said. He paused, and Oliver nudged him slightly in reminder. "Um. Happy. Er. Happy Valentines Day."
Oliver pressed a fist to his mouth, actually trying to be slightly civil and not laugh directly in Isaiah's face.
Opec looked first to the fish, and then to Oliver, clearly confused.
"Happy what?"
Isaiah looked crestfallen, but caught himself and looked away, bowl still extended. Oliver gave the pair a pitying look, shifting th box in his grip.
"Valentines day," he said patiently. "Day where people tell each other how they much they care by giving gifts or candy or chaining each other to the-"
"OLIVER! CHILDREN!"
"Cripes. Fine. Don't bust a blood vessel, I'm just explaining in layman's terms."
"Remember the talk we just had about civility?"
"Vaguely."
Opec blinked. The last part he kind of understood. But presents? Why?
"Um...okay," Opec nodded and looked down to Irizu. He placed her gently on the floor and then retrieved the fishbowl, bringing it to eye-level.
A smile slowly spread.
"Feethee?"
Opec looked down to his daughter once more before giving Isaiah a quick kiss on the cheek and scampering to a fish tank in the back of the room.
These fish were all black and white.
Orange would be a anice addition.
He took a moment to balance the bowl in the water, allowing it to float and acclimate, and then ran back.
"I'm sorry I didn't get you anything, but I...I've never heard of...valentine day?"
Blinking in surprise and touching his cheek, Isaiah looked up at Oliver brightly.
"He liked it," he said. Oliver patted him on the shoulder.
"Congratulations."
When Opec came back, Isaiah shook his head slightly.
"I just wanted to give you something," he said quickly. "I didn't expect anything in return."
Oliver snorted, but the looming threat of a sharp elbowing to the stomach kept him from voicing any theories he had.
"Can we come in?" he asked instead.
Opec nodded and took a step backward, arm sweeping outward to welcome his guests.
"I'm afraid there's only a few hours left until I start...ah...my shift," he said, head tilted slightly, "but I'm happy to have you."
Never missing a chance to tease anyone, he suddenly placed his hands on his hips.
"And Oliver...do you not celebrate this day...or are you just a cheap player?"
Oliver shrugged, grinning half-indifferently.
"I don't believe in holidays. I'm like a Jehovah's Witness," he said. Isaiah snorted loudly.
"You're just cheap and bitter," he countered. "And ******** you, I'm creative."
"Ha!"
Isaiah found himself grinning at Oliver in spite of his better judgment, which Oliver returned somewhat surprisingly.
"Brat," he said, pushing Iz aside so he could go in. Isaiah said nothing, but followed with shoulders hunched and a slight smile on his face.
Opec gave an annoyed 'hmph' and flicked his hair rather effeminately.
"Fine. You say that. See how much of me you see." He moved to the couch, tail swishing, and threw himself onto it.
"Is there anything else I should know about this particular holiday?"
Oliver noted the tone and the flick, unaffected. Not even for Opec could he ever give a flying ******** about something as trivial as Valentines Day.
"Sorry," he offered after a moment, setting Uziri's box down unconcernedly.
Isaiah, perching on the arm of the couch, took on a speculative expression.
"Um...hmm. Named aftera saint who got decapitated, I think," he said. "Turned into a capitalized market for chocolate and roses, too. Other than that...oh! And, um, hmm. No, that's all I can think of."
"Uthiwi wanna feesee fo' Va'tines Day."
"You already have a mouse, Zee."
There was a heavy silence hanging around the box.
"...Muffin wanna feesee."
"I'll be he does."
Irizu blinked, crawling to the box and pulling herself up to the lip.
"Eetha haff Muffin. Weezoo haff feethee. We thawe."
Opec smiled fondly down to the child and then turned back to Isaiah, crossing his arms and laying them atop the vampire's leg, soon followed by his head.
"Huh. Interesting," he said after a moment, "I've never heard of...saints. Or decapitation? Unless that's the...yeah. That's it." He shrugged nonchalantly.
Part of him wanted to beckon Oliver over. The rest of him knew it wouldn't work.
Uziri, bundled up in Isaiah's hoodie, peeked out from under the hood and nodded seriously.
"Yus," she said. "Uthiwi goh Muffin, see?"
And from under her shirt, she pulled a ruffled and deeply displeased mouse. It squeaked at Irizu dismissively.
"They're church stuff," Isaiah said, hesitating at first but then resting a hand on Opec's shoulder. "The saint thing, I mean. Though I guess the cutting off of heads must've been popular as well..."
Irizu gasped happily.
"MUFFIN!" She reached out to pet the mouse, stopping a mere centimetre above its head.
"Wah we name feethee?"
Opec stiffened for a moment, but forcibly relaxed. There was nothing to be afraid of now.
It was just Isaiah.
He nuzzled the vampire's leg and blushed slightly.
His eyes only wandered momentarily to Oliver. God damn him and his difficulty to stay pleased! The Viishani soon returned his attentions to Isaiah, though.
And then his extra set of vocal cords started working. An odd gurgling purr barbled up from Opec's throat and, while it was certainly a bit odd of a sound, it was nonetheless a happy one.
His blush only deepened when he realized what he was doing.
Uziri shrugged lopsidedly, maintaining her hold on Muffin.
"Puppy," she said eventually. Hey, why not?
Isaiah jerked in surprise at the unexpected sound, nearly falling off the couch arm.
"Um," he said, looking down at Opec uncertainly. "You okay?"
"Puppy duh feethee. Kay," Irizu nodded. She'd never been able to name the others as they all looked quite the same, but Puppy looked rather different.
Opec looked up to Isaiah, eyes wide and innocent and embarrassed as all get-out.
"Yes," he responded and smiled slightly, his purr only stopping for a moment when he spoke, "I dunno...how to make it stop." He averted his eyes.
Preening with pride that her wisdom was acknowledged - Puppy was the best fish name ever - Uziri watched the fish in the tank with her head tilted to one side. If only Muffin was a fish...
Isaiah laughed slightly, though not even he could have said why.
"It's cute," he said.
Irizu followed Sister-thing's gaze and began to crawl clumsily for the fish tank.
Opec giggled nervously and looked away for a moment, clearing his throat quickly. The rumble went away.
"Thanks."
Uziri shifted, rolled and turned until she was comfortably on her back, and watched the fish tank upside down. The mouse still in her grasp gave a tremendously aggrieved squeak, but could do little else.
Secretly pleased that he'd been the cause of someone else's nervousness for once, Isaiah slid off the couch arm and settled next to Opec.
Irizu watched Puppy, like an obnoxious orange spot in a black and white film, floating aimlessly among the other fish as his fishbowl had tipped over and sank to the bottom.
Opec changed position, clinging to Isaiah's chest now.
"I can hear your heartbeat," he stated simply, closing his eyes to listen.
Still watching upside down, Uziri reached out towards the fish tank. She would like to be a fish herself, she thought idly. It'd be fun. And she could breathe through slashes on either side of her neck, that'd be neat.
"Can you?" Isaiah said, just to say something as he rested his head back and slung an arm around Opec.
Oliver, returning to his now-favored window spot, observed the moment silently before looking outside again.
Irizu yanked herself to her feet, wobbled, and peered into the tank. Fish scurried unhappily away from the glass.
"Feeetheeeeee~"
Opec nodded slightly. He knew quite well that Isaiah was just saying things to say things, but he replied nonetheless.
"I like it."
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Posted: Sun Feb 18, 2007 1:30 pm
Reserved - massive zoo RP!
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Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2007 5:24 am
__Part 15
Attention. Blood, gore, and adult themes.
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Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2007 5:26 am
__Part 16
Opec awakened to an unfamiliar noise. He stared at the ceiling, brow furrowed.
It was like scratching...or tapping. It sounded like a sandstorm, but the windows hadn't blown out yet, so he assumed it wasn't. His next guess was a second coming of Littulo.
Suddenly nervous, he crept to the window and pulled back the curtain. The Viishani gave a short cry of surprise and simply stared at the strange things happening outside, eyes as big as saucers. Then, stricken by a sudden sense of terror, he leaped back into bed and shook Isaiah lightly.
"Hey. Wake up. Wake up!"
"Dnnnh...."
Isaiah woke slowly, yawning, and rolled over.
"Whuh....whass wrong," he said, voice slurred as he struggled to shake off lingering grogginess. "Is the house burning down?"
"No! No, come look!" Opec urged and grabbed Iz's arm, tugging him out of bed. He gave up after a moment and rushed back to the window, pulling the curtains open and pointing up.
"There's water coming out of the sky," he murmured.
Isaiah leaned against the window pane, looking outside.
"Huh. Yeah, looks like it's coming down pretty hard," he said. "Just a rainstorm, though. I doubt it'll thunder or anythin'."
Opec blinked. Had Isaiah seen this before?
"It's a what?!" he asked excitedly, "Thunder? Whassat?"
In the next room, Irizu had her nose pressed up against the window pane. What was this marvel?!
"Hmm? Oh, y'know...thunder. The big boom that comes after lightning strikes..."
Isaiah trailed off, glancing at Opec.
"It's just raining," he said, grinning slightly. "You've seen it before, haven't you?"
"Noooo..." Opec shook his head slowly and then struggled to shove the window open. He thrust his hand out into the air, waving his fingers about. He giggled and pulled his hand back in.
"It's cold," he informed Isaiah, grinning as if this were the most wonderful thing in the world.
Isaiah leaned against the pane again, looking outside, and stretched a hand out. Icy droplets of water soaked his skin within seconds.
"Heh, yeah, it is," he said, drawing his hand back and wiping it off on his shirt. "You've never seen it? Huh...so I guess that counts out snow and hail, too."
Opec's eyes widened further and his jaw hung slack.
"Whassat?"
Isaiah glanced over.
"What's what? Oh, duh. Heh...snow's...hmm. Frozen rain, kinda. It's white'n fluffy'n stuff. Kinda like cotton. Hail's just ice."
Putting his hand to his mouth and sucking off a clinging raindrop, he looked outside again.
"I used to pray for snow during the winter when I was a kid," he said. "We'd get the worst blizzards and there'd be no school for days. I'd get to go sledding."
"School? Sledding?" Opec asked, sticking his hands out into the rain again, "I want snow."
Isaiah grinned slightly.
"Yeah! There's this gigantic hill behind my house, um, my old house, where I grew up. I'd use this old metal garbage can lid, and when the snow settled I'd slide down it. That's sledding."
He chewed on his lip, remembering.
"I'd skip out on school to go sledding," he said, smiling slightly. "I didn't want to learn about science and math and all that. The hill was too tempting."
Opec smiled.
"Sounds like fun," he nodded, and then turned to Isaiah again, "Let's go outside." He bit his lower lip excitedly. If Iz didn't want to, he was going himself.
"It was," Iz said, a note of longing in his voice as he thought about it. After a second in he blinked, coming back to the here and now. "Huh? Oh. Okay."
Opec grinned, laughed, and grabbed Isaiah by the arm. He dragged him forcefully through the halls, down the stairs, and out the front door. Once outside he released the poor Vampire and threw his arms out at his sides, closing his eyes and putting his face up to the rain.
Isaiah half-stumbled after, finally skidding to a halt ankle-deep in a puddle. He grinned, kicking at the water in good humor.
"Jeez, it's a friggin' typhoon..."
He held his hands up, cupping them and letting the pooling water trickle through his fingers.
Opec decided to not ask what a typhoon was. He didn't want to bother Isaiah any more than was absolutely necessary. He waved up at the little girl in the window, and she waved back.
He then turned to Isaiah and clung to his chest. He was standing shirtless and shoeless in the rain, with only a pair of sheep pajama bottoms to protect him from pneumonia. He didn't care, either.
Letting the rest of the water cupped in his hands splatter to the ground, Isaiah, grinned again and threw an arm 'round Opec. He looked upward, watching the rain.
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Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2007 5:36 am
__Part 17 ((logging))
Attention. Adult themes.
Isaiah had figured that living in a new house, a definite step up from his old basement apartment, would encourage curiosity. Maybe even the urge to explore a bit.
As he lay sprawled on the couch, reading an aged Multiversal Geographic, he thought on this.
"Hmm."
Opec came down the stairs, having just put the twins down for a nap. He smiled to Isaiah and scampered down the stairs, sitting on the arm of the couch.
He'd ditched his robes for more Gaian clothing now, and felt oddly comfortable in something that didn't weigh ten pounds.
"Whatcha readin'?"
"A three year old article about sentient mold. Curiously enough, not as interesting as it sounds," Iz said, laying the magazine down on his chest and smiling up at Opec. "You look cute."
Opec smiled, blushing slightly. "Thank you."
He peered at the magazine, picked it up, read a few lines, and then tossed it to the nearby table. He leaned down and stroked Isaiah's hair.
"I made a promise to you when we first met. Do you remember what it was?"
"See? Told ya. Not even half as inter...um."
Trailing off, Isaiah looked up at Opec again, expression turning slowly into one reminiscent of a deer caught in the headlights.
"Um...'fraid I don't..."
Opec laughed slightly and shook his head.
"Yes you do~" he cooed, "Come on. Think. Oliver offered to buy you and hour aaaand..."
The deer-caught-in-the-headlights look intensified, and Isaiah shrank against the couch cushions.
"Oh," he said, rather feebly. "That. Heh. Um. Now I remember."
"Oh, calm down, you," Opec giggled and smiled down at Isaiah, "You told me you loved me, and said you were telling the truth. I'm ready now...if you are, of course." He slid to the floor and crossed his arms, resting his chin on then on the edge of the couch.
Cornered, Iz gulped and sat up.
"I do," he said, half-protesting. "I just. It's. Um."
He threaded his fingers together, pressing his hands to his lips and taking a breath before continuing.
"Are you sure?" he asked, infinitely grateful his voice didn't crack as he spoke.
"It's what?" Opec asked, still smiling sweetly up at Isaiah, "And, yes, I'm sure. Why wouldn't I be?"
"Um."
Wondering why he wasn't blushing yet, Isaiah waved a hand in a futile attempt at acting casual.
"I just...I dunno. Babbling incoherently," he said, looking in the opposite direction. "Well, I was...just making sure. I mean. I'm me. Iz. The spaz."
Opec cocked his head to one side.
"I don't understand. Why would who you are have any effect?"
"Because Oliver's better at this kind of thing," Iz said quickly, feeling the delayed blush spread over his face, burning hot.
Opec laughed slightly and kissed Isaiah on the cheek.
"Well, we all have to start somewhere. You never know. You might be a natural-born master." He giggled at the implications.
"So do you want to?"
At such a broadly-open statement, Iz ducked his head down, a small "hneeeh" sound escaping. He took a couple deep breaths, willing the burning blush in his face to fade, and thought hard for a second. Well....no better time to learn to get over himself than the present, right?
"Yes," he said, finally.
"Okay," Opec smiled and kissed Isaiah briefly, "but you're gonna hafta disappear for a while. I want this to be special." He stroked the side of the Vampire's face, and then reached for a nearby pad of paper. He peered about for a pen, found none, and got up to retrieve one from the book case. He returned to Isaiah.
"I only need you to go for a few hours. Two and a half, maybe? Go where you like. I can give you money if you need it." He paused and held out the pad and pen.
"Do some research, if you can. Find out what you might like, and write it down. I know you won't be able to say it." His smile spread.
Wondering what on earth 'research' could connote to, and deciding not to think to hard about it, Isaiah nodded obediently and slid off the couch, taking the pad of paper.
"Okay," he said, nodding meekly. "I'll um...yeah. I'll get goin'. I have money, though. I'll...see you later, then?"
Resisting the urge to pull up his hood and never dare come out from under it again, he gave Opec a quick kiss and made for the door.
"HNNFH! WAIT!" Opec laughed and wrapped his arms around Isaiah's waist to keep him from bolting.
"You need the key," he said, handing out an old-fashioned skeleton key, "If you open this door and find yourself in the wrong place, just try again." He smiled and cocked his head to one side, ear swiveling.
"...and can you eat normal food?"
"Oh yeah. I forgot about that," Iz said, blushing again. He took the key and stowed it in a back pocket, nodding slightly at the question. "Yup. Don't have to, but I like to."
"Good," Opec smiled, "Now go...go! I'm sure you can find somewhere in Gaia to do your homework." He laughed slightly and shoved Isaiah back toward the door. He then bolted deeper into his house, trying to find Oliver.
Isaiah left quickly, clutching the pad of paper with white-knuckled hands and head ducked down again.
Oliver had taken up on the urge to explore that Iz had mysteriously been lacking, and was currently sitting on the banister at the top of the spiral staircase, debating whether it was worth his dignity to try and slide down it.
Opec giggled and stared up at Oliver.
"Do it. It's absurdly fun." He smiled and crossed his arms, waiting for the Vampire to join him at the bottom.
Oliver cracked a rare half-smile.
"If you insist," he said, pushing off from his perch and holding on tightly. It was fast, insanely fast, and he nearly fell off at one point, but ********, it was still rather entertaining. When he reached the bottom, looking rather windswept, he grinned.
"Alright. I admit. That was fun," he said.
Opec laughed.
"I'm glad, because you are now stuck with the twins," he nodded, "Iz, he...nyeh. Doesn't matter. Take the babies and the mouse adn go hide out somewhere. They'll amuse themselves for hours. I can give you some money, if you need."
Oliver raised a brow but decided not to bother asking.
"Okay," he said, hands in pockets. "Can I have forty or something? I'll buy them lunch. Or muzzles."
"Suuuure..." Opec murmured and bit his lip. He decided to go for the nearby pillow-stash, pulling some gold coins from the seams of a mysteriously lumpy pillow.
"Thanks, Oliver. Four hours, okay? I'll call you if you can come home earlier." He handed over one of the little speaker-phones and kissed him on the cheek.
"They're napping right now. They shouldn't be too hard to smuggle."
"Thanks," Oliver said, pocketing the money and phone and wondering what the hell he was supposed to to with two infants and a rodent for four hours. "See ya."
He started off, then turned back to Opec, giving him a slightly awkward kiss on the cheek before strolling off again. Disappearing upstairs, one could hear Uziri's scandalized screech and something that sounded like muffled cursing.
Oh yes. Oliver was wonderful with children.
Opec's eyes widened at the kiss, but he laughed to hismelf and smacked a palm to his forehead at the baby's shrieks, forgetting about the uncharacteristically affectionate gesture for the time being.
After all, he had to get to work.
It took all of the two and a half hours to stock up, cook, shower, and dry off. In fact, he was half-afraid he'd walk out and find Isaiah already there. Thankfully, this was not the case.
Isaiah hadn't done much research. It wasn't that he hadn't tried, but he just didn't know what to look for. Though, he had visited a record store a few blocks from his old house first and blown all his money on music. After that, it had been a trip to the library, feeling like a hormone-controlled high schooler as he looked for books that would help with specific subjects.
"At least I got a couple titles," he said to himself, glancing down at the notepad. It was consolation, at least. He looked up, finding himself home already, and checked his watch. He was on time, he supposed.
Opec sat in a chair in the main room of his home, hands folded primly in his lap. The house itself was rather different, only illuminated by the numerous newly-bought candles burning on their little dishes. A rather pleasant food-smell wafted from the kitchen door.
He heaved a sigh. Maybe Iz had given up on him.
Fumbling for the key and dragging his headphones off his ears, Isaiah took a deep breath.
"Don't be nervous," he said to himself. "And for the love of god don't be stupid."
He turned the key, and pushed the door open.
"Opec? I'm home...."
Walking in, Isaiah looked around with jaw dropping slightly. Wow.
He did this all for me? he thought to himself, in nothing short of total amazement.
"Cool," he said. Then he called, louder, "Opec?"
Opec smiled and stood, going to Isaiah and taking first his hand, and then the notepad.
"Welcome back," he nodded and led Isaiah slowly to the dining room, indicating the table, "Stay right here." He disappeared into the kitchen himself.
Isaiah smiled shyly, sitting down and twisting in his seat, looking 'round with the sense of astonishment still growing. After a beat, he took off his headphones from around his neck, and with some hesitation shed his hoodie as well.
Opec returned numerous times with numerous different plates of food. Each was different and uniquely exotic and all were old recipies Opec had memorized for Master's dinner parties.
One could assume the food was good.
The Viishani pulled a chair up next to Isaiah after a while and indicated the table.
"Eat."
Looking at the food, jaw still hanging open, Isaiah looked to Opec.
"Thank you," he said, voice tiny. It was clear he was utterly unused to such treatment. He smiled then, taking a bit of everything and eating eagerly. "This is really good."
"Don't eat too much," Opec nodded and popped a piece of sweet bread into his mouth, "Bloating is not the answer." He smiled slightly and continued to read the notepad beneath the table as discreetly as possible. He'd learned from experience that reading notes in front client often made them more nervous.
Granted, these weren't the best notes he'd ever seen.
He smiled slightly to himself and tossed the pad beneath the table, chewing on a bit of what had been a cactus at some point.
"Okay," Iz said, swallowing hastily. He ate a little slower, remembering to use his napkin from time to time. He heard a rustling of paper and realized Opec was glancing at his notes, and cringed slightly. He hoped he'd been able to save the pad before the coffee he'd spilled on it ruined the thing - though the ink did look rather runny down the page.
Opec smiled and folded his hands on the table, watching Isaiah eat in as inobtrusive a way as possible. He was incredibly patient when it came to things such as these.
Picking at something that smelled vaguely like jasmine but tasted very much like chicken, Isaiah glanced up after a bit. He had the distinct feeling he was being watched, and dared a small glance in Opec's direction.
"Hi," he said, randomly. He could feel himself turning skittish again, and tried to ignore it.
Opec laughed slightly and placed a hand on Isaiah's leg, eating again for the Vampire's sake. He idly wondered when was the last time Iz had eaten real food.
He had a feeling Oliver wasn't the best cook.
Smiling a bit at the touch, Isaiah ducked his head down and finished off the jasmine-chicken-what-ever-it-was. He hadn't had a meal like this in a couple years, he was fairly certain. Not since he'd moved out on his own, anyway.
After all, the slop Oliver had once labored over all day, presented and called lasagna had frightened him away from attempting to cook for himself.
Opec stood from the table suddenly.
"Pardon me," he said, bowing slightly, "I'll be in the bedroom when you're ready." He gave Isaiah a final reassuring smile and went up the stairs, beginning to melt what had originally looked to be a candle but was, in fact, just solidified oil in a deep gold dish.
Isaiah forcefully held back a cough as he swallowed wrong, nodding. When Opec disappeared, he choked, taking a deep drink of water from a conveniently placed glass.
"Oh jeez. Oh man, oh jeez," he said, trying not to hyperventilate. Okay. Okay. He could do this. No big deal.
"Oh jeeeeez."
Swigging down the rest of the water, he sat trying to collect himself for a minute, then stood, and made for the stairs.
Opec lit the oil lamps on the walls of the bedroom, nearly completely unused before this moment, and tied the canopy back to the bedposts. This had to be absolutely perfect...
When he heard movement downstairs, he placed the dish of oil on a side table and sat up on the bed, smiling to himself.
Heart pounding exceptionally fast, Isaiah ascended the stairs wringing his hands. Well. This was it.
"Just go," he told himself. "No big deal."
Taking one last deep breath, he climbed to the top of the stairs and went into Opec's room.
Opec beckoned Isaiah closer and motioned for him to sit on the bed.
Iz approached and sat down gingerly, as though expecting sudden movements to either spook Opec off or cause the bed to explode.
Opec smiled and situated himself behind Isaiah, tugging the Vampire's shirt up over his head and tossing it lightly aside. He leaned over to dip his fingers into the vaguely flowery oil, smear his hands with it, and begin to massage Isaiah's shoulders.
"Awwwh..." Opec clicked his tongue, "You're so tense..."
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Posted: Tue Mar 06, 2007 7:30 pm
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Posted: Tue Mar 06, 2007 7:30 pm
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Posted: Tue Mar 06, 2007 8:43 pm
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Posted: Sun Mar 11, 2007 7:02 pm
__Part 21 ((logging))
Opec sat cross-legged on the living room floor, tearing at the damnable band of metal molded around his ankle. He had only recently remembered that it was there, and it certainly had to go. It was the anklet given to him upon his purchase, still decorated with the numerous coins Master had spent on him.
He groaned and tugged again, one of his fingernails torn and bleeding.
It was the faint scent of blood that drew Oliver's attention, and he followed it in curiosity until he stumbled upon the scene.
"Huh. Whatcha doing, Opec?"
Opec looked up to Oliver and smiled faintly.
"I can't get my slave band off," he said simply, staring at his ankle as if it had done him some great injustice, "Can you help me?"
Oliver wrinkled his nose.
"Ycch. Definitely," he said, settling into a kneel next to Opec and tapping the thing with a fingernail before trying to pry it loose. They peeled in protest, and he stuck two fingers in his mouth absently.
"Hmm. Tricky little b*****d, isn't it."
"Yes, well, they weren't made to come off," Opec huffed and heaved a sigh. After a moment, he came upon a brilliant deduction.
"I don't think we'll be able to pull it off."
"Hmm," Oliver said, looking at the thing, trying to find a hinge or catch. "No lock to pick open, I s'pose."
He absently thought of the suggestion of cutting the foot off and slipping it free of the detached ankle, but he doubted fully the limb would reattach afterwards. Maybe that could be the back-up plan...
"Could always pummel it," he said eventually. "Though anything I hit it with'd probably crush your ankle, too. Hmm."
Opec sat, arms crossed.
"I wonder if it conducts heat..." he murmured.
"It might," Oliver said, tapping at it again. It didn't look very impressive, really. Just annoying. "I could go'n find a blowtorch or something. Uziri's probably got one stashed away by now."
Opec gave a short laugh.
"First we'll...test it, hm?" he requested and stood, retrieving a matchbox from the nearby book case and striking it. He held it against his foot until it burned out.
"Hm...I dunno if i--ow." He grimaced and dropped back to the ground.
"Blow torch is out."
Oliver gave a short sigh. He liked blowtorches.
"Alright....a crowbar, maybe?" he said. "Or...hmph. Tricky b*****d."
Chewing on his fingernails, he glanced up at Opec.
"How'd the damn thing get on you in the first place? Cuffed on?"
Opec shook his head.
"They get this big ring of metal and hold it around your ankle, and then they dip it in cold water and it shrinks to fit," he explained and jingled the anklet, "They're crafty like that."
"Damn the thing," Oliver said, frowning at the ankle like it had personally insulted him. Even after Oliver'd taught the man a lesson and bitten half his face off, Opec's dearly departed master still found ways to be annoying.
"Hnnf. Maybe Iz could think of a way to get it off. He's good with this kind of s**t. Hey, IZ!"
The call echoed for a bit down the hall before Isaiah answered.
"What?"
"C'MERE."
"Why?"
"Shut up. C'mere."
"....coming."
Opec had resigned himself to playing with the little gold coins dangling from the band.
"Alright, alright, jeez..."
Iz arrived looking distinctly annoyed, and took no notice in Opec at first. He had a rolled up magazine in one hand that he promptly hit Oliver upside the head with.
"I nearly had Zee down for a nap," he said accusingly. "I was this. Close. Now she's all hyper again."
There came a long, high-pitched and joyful shriek from the direction of the staircase, and the distinct sound of breaking glass. Isaiah sighed.
"See what you do?" he said to Oliver. Oliver grabbed him by the ear and dragged him unceremoniously to Opec.
"See that?"
"NNGHK! Oww....hnngh? The...anklet -OW- thing?"
"Yes. Get it off."
Opec looked up to Isaiah, smiled sweetly, and waved. His face heated quite a bit.
"Any ideas?"
Isaiah managed a crooked grin, swatting Oliver's hand away with effort and cupping a hand over his injured ear. He squatted down, examining the anklet with scrutiny.
"It wasn't locked on or anything," Oliver said.
"Yeah...seamless, no catches, no hinge...hmm..."
Iz looked at it thoughtfully, trying to lift it away from the flesh to get a look at the condition beneath it.
"With a small enough wedge underneath, we could apply pressure at an angle from the top and snap it," he said, more to himself than to the others.
"Snap my ankle, maybe!" Opec shied away in fear, pulling his ankle to him. The flesh beneath was nearly white, having not seen the sun for over ninety-three years.
"There's always that," Iz agreed, too deep in thought to notice Opec's skittish response. Oliver watched with arms crossed, chewing his lip in vague annoyance.
"Why not a saw or something?"
"Too much risk of it skidding on the metal and hitting flesh instead. Or the anklet could splinter and send shards everywhere. Metal splinters hurt like hell, we'd want to avoid that."
"Hmm. C'mon. You're the kid raised in the machinist's paradise. Where are your good ideas?"
"Give me a minute..."
Opec was growing frustrated now. He didn't want this damnable thing on him any more! In an act of desperation, he extended his forearm-claws and attempted to saw away at the band, blood pooling from the wound on his hand and the few forming scratches on his ankle.
"Hey! Whoa, whoa, hold on there," Iz said, grabbing at Opec's hands. "Don't...we'll get it off. Don't hurt yourself."
He stared hard at the thing, grimacing. How, though? It seemed stubbornly ******** it. We'll twist the thing off," he said. Oliver raised an eyebrow.
"Hmm?"
"Pliers. Maintain a solid grip, grab at a point where there's a flaw in the metal, like a bump...and twist."
"That could take hours."
"But it could work."
"What if there's no flaws?"
"Then we cut into the metal and make one."
Opec had, in fact, dented the metal a great deal. He thrust his ankle out at Isaiah and licked at his hand wounds like a cat, clearing the blood away.
Iz ran a hand over the thing, checking the surface. After a moment he brightened, fingertips resting on a sizable bit of surface damage.
"Go get my toolkit."
Oliver obliged, and left. Iz looked up at Opec, grinning in triumph.
"This'll be cake," he said confidently. A moment later Oliver was back, tossing a battered metal case onto the floor next to Iz. The catch caught on the floor and the lid flew back, showing an array of strangely ordered and well-cared for tools.
"Lessee...wire cutters...soldering iron..."
"Why d'you have a soldering iron?"
"Because. Ah! Pliers. Alright, let's get to it..."
Opec watched on, looking for all the world like a helpless little puppy dog. His eyes were wide and sparkly and he had a few of his fingers shoved into his mouth.
He had a feeling this might hurt.
"You're gonna have to help," Iz said to Oliver, glancing over his shoulder. Oliver shrugged, kneeling down and watching as Iz set the heavy-jawed pliers against the anklet.
"Grab onto the handles right there...yeah, like that. Ready. One, two, three...set!"
The pliers clamped down, and Iz began twisting to the left. The metal made an unpleasant, strange kind of sound as the jaws of the pliers scraped against it - vaguely like aluminum foil tearing.
"Ungh," Iz said, in irritation. "Bastards didn't want this little ******** to come off..."
"Amazing deduction, Captain Obvious," Oliver said tartly, visibly straining as he maintained his grip and twisted, watching the small tear forming in the metal.
"You're gonna have to help," Iz said to Oliver, glancing over his shoulder. Oliver shrugged, kneeling down and watching as Iz set the heavy-jawed pliers against the anklet.
"Grab onto the handles right there...yeah, like that. Ready. One, two, three...set!"
The pliers clamped down, and Iz began twisting to the left. The metal made an unpleasant, strange kind of sound as the jaws of the pliers scraped against it - vaguely like aluminum foil tearing.
"Ungh," Iz said, in irritation. "Bastards didn't want this little ******** to come off..."
"Amazing deduction, Captain Obvious," Oliver said tartly, visibly straining as he maintained his grip and twisted, watching the small tear forming in the metal.
It was a long, irritating ordeal. The metal made unpleasant ripping and crackling sounds, and Iz murmured an unending river of curses for a good amount of time.
"How's progress?" Oliver asked after a bit. His nails were digging deep into his palms, and the bleeding that resulted was making his grip slippery and his temper short.
"We're getting there," Iz replied, voice strained as he threw all of his weight into his work as he leaned, forcing the pliers into the direction he wanted. "Opec, how're you holding up?"
Opec shrugged, still watching.
"I can't feel my foot," he said simply, as if this made no difference in anything. The unlucky appendage was, in fact, turning slightly blue.
"s**t," Iz said blankly, looking down. "Cutting off circulation...goddammit. Alright, give it a rest for a second."
Ignoring the burning cramping in his hands and choosing not to look at how they remained clawed from the over-working, Iz stared resentfully at the anklet. A decent enough section had been peeled back, though the rest was now at an angle and cutting into Opec's ********. Alright, we'll take it from the other side and meet the break in the middle."
Tugging the pliers loose, he reset his grip and beckoned Oliver over.
"Alright, on three. One, two....three, set!"
The metal gave an unpleasant crunch, and began to peel back.
Then came the pins-and-needles and the sudden realization of pain. Opec cried out an clapped his hands over his mouth, paling slightly.
From somewhere else in the house, Irizu gave a happy shriek.
"M'sorry," Iz said anxiously through clenched teeth, putting all his weight into the effort again as the metal pulled apart. "Just a bit more."
Oliver glanced up in the general direction of the shrieking.
"Hnnph."
"Daddy, loo--" Irizu began as she toddled into the room, then staring wide-eyed at the bloody mess and twisted metal, "What Ee-zayuh doin'?!"
"It's okay, honey. C'mere."
The little girl walked carefully over and sat down beside Fuzzy Man, watching the proceedings with morbid interest.
Uziri trotted in shortly after, an inexplicable stalk of celery sticking out of her mouth like a cigar.
"Da," she said clearly, pointing. "Don' chop off feet. Not nice."
"Shouldn't you be down for a nap?"
"Yes."
Iz sighed, giving the anklet another good wrench. The metal squealed.
"Alright then. Just clearing that up."
"Rizu n' Zee dun' need naps," Irizu said simply, looking up at her father and pressing a hand to his cheek, "We not sleepy."
"You say that now, but you'll be passed out in five minutes."
"Nuh-uh."
"NNGH. You almost done down there, Iz?"
Uninterested in the goings on with the pliers - hey, wasn't her issue if Da felt the need to torture people - Zee looked at Oliver pointedly.
"Read to us," she said.
"No."
"Why?"
"No."
"But. No is not a answer to why."
"Tough."
Iz sighed, rolling his eyes.
"Oliver, c'mon....just a bit more, Opec. One- good-tug- ah HA! Gotcha, ya little ******** splinter of metal holding the anklet together split and the thing fell gracelessly to the floor, rolling an inch or two away before settling. Iz tossed his pliers back into the toolkit, looking pleased with himself.
Opec laughed, grabbed the anklet, and gracefully chucked it against the furthest wall.
"Ah," he said, falling into Oliver, "Be my new Master." He giggled and sighed, happy to be rid of that damnable band of metal. He peered down at his ankle, noted the white ring, and huffed.
"Read to us."
Oliver glanced down at Opec, and shrugged obligingly.
"Okay."
Iz, packing away his tools, said nothing, though he did give Oliver a venomous look sidelong. Oliver noted it, and politely trod on his fingers.
Uziri, growing impatient, took a screwdriver from the toolkit and poked Oliver with it sharply.
"I wanna hear Cinderella," she said.
"Ow."
Imperceptibly, Iz grinned.
"MMPH!" Opec cried and grabbed the screwdriver, "That's not nice." He gently peeled her fingers from it and palced it back in the box it had come from.
"If you want someone to read to you, ask nicely. Don't stab."
Irizu took this moment to give Oliver a swift kick to the hip.
"C'mon, Oliver. You're bein' a poopy-head."
"Where did you learn that?"
"Television."
"Yeah, Zee, c'mon. Don't ruin my best screwdriver."
"Sorry, Da."
Oliver, wounded more in dignity than body, sighed and grabbed the children, tucking one under each arm.
"If it'll stop you trying to maim me," he said dryly. "Fine. C'mon, little worms."
"I'm a centipede."
"Okay. Fine. Worm and centipede."
"Rizu is a cat-a-pill-ah."
Oliver sighed again, and offered no comment. Iz snorted and waved them off.
"That was almost cute," he said, watching Oliver leave, children still tucked under his arms. "Rather unnatural, really."
"Nuh-uh. I an aggu-gigger. Ar-ar."
"Mm," Opec nodded, back to scrutinizing his ankle, "Mmph. It's so ugly." He ran his finger around the white marring. He knew well by now that all he had going for him was his physical appearance. A nasty white ring ruined that.
"Aggugigger? Um...yeah. Good luck with that."
"I am a aggu-gigger too."
"But you just said-"
"I am both."
"....whatever."
Iz, polishing the handle of a file with his shirttail, made a tutting sound.
"It really isn't," he said. "It just looks like a band of white, it'll fade in time. Looks kinda like a tattoo, actually."
Opec sniffled, tears pressing at the backs of his eyes. Something clearly bothered him deeply about this mark, although even he wasn't entirely sure why.
"It is," he said.
Iz looked over, concerned.
"Opec....hon, it isn't so bad," he said, wondering if his words of comfort were just making things horribly worse. "Some time in the sun and it'll be gone."
Opec's lower lip trembled and he looked away, not wanting Isaiah to see him cry. He pulled his knees up and wrapped his hands aroud his ankle, silently sobbing.
Isaiah balked. Oh, he'd really gone and done it now.
"Opec! I didn't...aw, s**t. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get you upset," he said hastily, cringing. "I just....I didn't mean...you can't even notice it!"
People only said things like that when it was really bad. Opec gave a convulsive sob and bolted upright, lunging onto the nearest couch and curling into the fetal position.
"Hey! Oh, oh no, aw hell-"
Iz stumbled after, catching his foot on the toolbox as he went and biting back a particularly colorful curse. He half-hopped over to the couch, leaning over on the arm in distress.
"Whatever I said, I didn't mean it!" he said, bordering on frantic.
Opec couldn't seem to stop crying, his breaths wet and raspy as his chest heaved out-of-beat. He was emotionally destroyed at the moment.
All because of an unfortunate tan line.
Biting at a knuckle, mind racing in anxiety, Iz slid onto the couch next to Opec and hugged him tentatively.
"Sorry," he repeated.
Opec gave up on being quiet and began making a strange mewling sound, clinging to Isaiah and burying his head in the Vampire's chest. He blubbered something incoherently, and then the tears continued.
Inwardly berating himself, trying to figure out what the hell he'd said to trigger such a reaction, Iz hugged Opec awkwardly.
"Oh jeez," he said. "It's alright, really..."
Opec shook his head, snuffling and looking up to Isaiah with watery, red-rimmed eyes.
"You're just being nice," he said matter-of-factly and gritted his teeth against a convulsive sob, "You won't love me any more." He buried his head again and tightened his deathgrip.
Iz pulled back, eyebrows raised. Wait, what?
"Huh?" he said, a world of confusion in his tone. "Wait...huh?"
Opec sniffled again, taking the pulling away as some deranged sign of burning repulsion. His brow furrowed and his lips trembled.
"I'm not pretty any more."
Utterly certain he was missing something important, Iz leaned back against the arm of the couch.
"Um," he said, perfectly confused. "What're you talking about."
Opec gave a pained shriek and tugged at his hair. Certainly Isaiah was distancing himself as greatly as possible.
"You don't love me any more!" he shrieked and suddenly leaped to his feet, running upstairs to his bedroom and slamming the door behind him before collapsing onto the bed in the fetal position.
"What? That's not- oh. OH s**t."
Iz stumbled off the couch and bounded after, winding as the door slammed. He ran up the stairs, skipping three at a time, and nearly pitched into the door as he skidded to the top of the flight.
"Opec! Wait, what the hell! That's not true, what...why would you...what, because of the. Um. s**t. Ah, crap."
Realization that Opec might've been a bit more sensitive to the tan-line thing than Iz had first thought began to sink in. He sat at the top of the stairs, feeling stupid.
"I'll have you know that's totally not true," he said to the door, biting at his lip in anxiety. "I didn't mean to make you think that, if I did..."
Ah hell. Iz had no idea what was going on. Per usual.
Opec sat up on the bed, biting into his lower lip so desperately hard a rivulet of blood ran down his chin. He blinked a few times and his face twisted into a tortured visage.
"You're lying!"
"I am NOT!" Iz said hotly, standing up and opening the door forcefully. "C'mon!"
This was just a little much. He walked over to the bed, arms crossed and expression rattled.
"Why the hell would you say that?" he said, sounding a bit hurt.
Opec shrank back from the flying door and gave a convulsive sob, crossing his arms protectively over himself.
"I'm messed up now," he said quietly, "I'm no good! I'm not worth anything." He snivelled and lost control again, sobbing into his hands.
"That's enough! Quit it!"
Iz's voice was brusquer than he intended, but he let it go.
"First off," he said, "You're not gonna talk about yourself like that. That's s**t, okay? Second, you're gonna have to explain why the hell you're feeling like this, because the only reason I can think of is because of a mark that's gonna fade off anyway. I'm starting to think I'm missing something here."
Opec, frightened by the tone of Isaiah's voice and certain he was going to recieve a beating, pulled his knees up to his chest and buried his face in them.
"Noooo..." Opec moaned, as if his ears were slowly being twisted from his face, "It's not gonna go away." He convulsed suddenly. He pulled his hands up then and placed them over his ears, not wanting to hear any more yelling.
Iz cringed at Opec's response. He'd yelled at the poor guy, like the insensitive idiot that he was.
"Opec, I didn't mean it," he said, looking mortified with himself. He sat at the edge of the bed, looking lost. "You have to understand. I don't care about that. It's nothing at all."
Opec sniffled and looked up in surprise at Isaiah's sudden change in tone.
"You're lying," he repeated, "I'm not worth anything any more. Why would you still want me?"
"Well," Iz said patiently, "Because you're Opec. Seems like a good enough reason for me."
Picking at his hoodie's drawstrings absently, he looked from Opec to the floor.
"Because I love you," he said, color rising in his face.
Opec nodded slightly, sniffling.
"I still don't understand," he shrugged and clung to Isaiah, staring at the floor.
"Things are so different with you."
Circling an arm 'round Opec's shoulders, Iz scuffed at the floor with a sneaker.
"Well, that could be seen as a good thing," he said eventually. "I won't ever hit you, or yell at you, or insult you. Oliver might insult you, but that's just because he's an idiot. But then I'd hit him. It evens out."
Opec closed his eyes and began rocking slightly, an old trick he and his fellow slaves had learned to calm themselves when things got frightening.
"You yelled at me before."
Iz sighed, looking ashamed.
"That's because I'm an idiot too," he said. "And if I every raise my voice to you again, feel free to tell me to go to hell. I'm sorry."
"I wouldn't do that," Opec said and snuggled under Isaiah's arm, eyes still closed, "but if you said you wouldn't yell and you did, maybe you'll be an idiot again and hit me. Don't feel bad about it, though. Sometimes I deserve it."
Looking perfectly ashamed now, Iz shook his head hard.
"No. Never," he said, firmly. "Nothing you could ever do would make me hit you."
Opec disagreed, but only shrugged and ducked out from beneath Isaiah's arm, kissing him on the cheek.
"I love you. Lots."
"Love you too," Iz said, drowning in guilt and inwardly berating himself by now as he hugged Opec.
Opec noted Isaiah's emotional state and heaved a sigh, swinging a leg over the young man's lap, straddling his thighs.
"Don't feel bad."
"But I do," Iz said, shrinking back. "I suck."
Opec's brow furrowed and he frowned.
"You don't suck," he replied matter-of-factly and wriggled closer, clinging to Isaiah so he couldn't skitter away, "and you shouldn't feel bad. You scared me by accident, that's all."
"I shouldn't have scared you to begin with," Iz mumbled, looking away. "You've had to deal with that s**t too long as it is."
Opec wriggled even closer so he was pressed up against Isaiah and nestled his face between the Vampire's shoulder and neck.
"It's different with you," he said and shrugged, "Stop being sad. You're making me sad."
"Alright," Iz said, forcing the doubt out of his voice, and forcing the look of guilt off his face. "Alright, I'm okay now."
He hugged Opec again, forcing the guilt away. He'd brood and berate himself more later.
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