|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2009 5:16 pm
He glared at the front door. Paced. Glared more. The cement was well-worn beneath his feet at this point, and his fists reflexively tightened and relaxed anxiously. He never figured he'd be standing before Quinn's home like this.
For all intents and purposes, he had wanted to avoid the other godling for the rest of his life. But again, fate wouldn't allow that. Stumbling upon him and Ciro had been a harsh reminder of the fact that as long as they played the Game, this was going to happen.
He took the initiative this time. He was so bored, and the cloudy skies reflected his mood. Tezcatlipoca must've done something to him again; he'd never been this restless, never felt this mind-numbing dissatisfaction before. He wanted a fight. To fight Quinn again. Knew it in his bones, and the voice of his instincts wouldn't shut up, growling and nagging him about it until he thought himself half-insane. What he wouldn't give to get that voice to be quiet for just a little while, to not feel the urge to kill as strongly and as often as he did. It was like he was holding onto a crumbling ledge, fingers slipping and digging into the rock so that he wouldn't fall off the cliff completely.
There was a new feeling in his mind today, one that came from his god. Tezcatlipoca had been silent, which wasn't all that unexpected either. But in his silence there was a sort of buzzing, an angry hum that said the god was busy elsewhere and wasn't liking it one bit. He was probably arguing with another god. Shamash, maybe.
Taking a deep breath to cool his nerves, he scowled at the door, steeling himself, and slowly took to the steps. By the time he reached the top he wanted to turn right back around, but pride and confusion and anger and stupid recklessness had his fist knocking upon the wood, even as the humming grew louder.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2009 6:14 pm
Quinn had been agitated all morning. He had gone out and fetched groceries, come back, drew plans for later artwork, gone out and fetched chocolate, come back, drew on the wall of the kitchen, ate the chocolate, gone out and walked on his hands down the street and back, then went inside and jogged in place for a few minutes.
The whole situation with Ciro was stupid.
Stupid stupid stupid.
How was he supposed to know Vale freaking lived there? How was he supposed to know that him and Ciro were, like, married or something like it? He was bored. Ciro was hot. What else was he supposed to do? He was perfectly justified! Right? Right?
He wanted something to do. Something fulfilling. Something to make him feel like less of a loser.
Fish hates me.
Vale hates me.
Ciro hates me.
Who the hell doesn't hate me?
He waited.
You aren't answering me, Quetzalcoatl. Don't ignore me. I need comfort right now.
He waited some more. Then he gave up. Today was not a good day. Today was, in fact, a bad day. A very bad day. A day full of badness. Bad was what this day was.
Saying it a different way didn't make it any better.
He heard a knock on his door, and he almost ran down the stairs, grateful for the excuse of something to do, even if it was someone asking for directions, or trying to sell him something.
He opened the door. "Hello! Can I...help...No." He shook his head. "No. Sorry. I don't want any." He closed the door. Then stood there for a second, staring at the door. Then he opened it back up. "Actually, it depends. What do you want, Vale?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2009 6:33 pm
He'd closed the door on him.
He'd closed the door.
He was left staring, dumbfounded, at the closed door. One minute there was Quinn, the next there was door. Door, Quinn, door.
Then there was Quinn again, and Vale realized he'd forgotten what he wanted in the first place. To ask Quinn to fight with him? To ask him why he and Ciro had done that?
Yes. Yes, those. Those exactly. He shook off his distraction, latching onto that anger.
He frowned at Quinn. Oh, how he frowned. His tail lashed back and forth by his feet, and he crossed his arms in affront.
"Do you go around kissing every man you meet?" He growled, dark eyes set in a glare and standing solidly in the doorway. He really shouldn't have been that upset in the first place. He should be relieved - and he was! Oh so relieved.
It didn't mean anything. That was good. It was just another of Quinn's ridiculous ploys.
But, for some reason, it still got him angry. So angry that it hurt. Or maybe it was the other way around. He couldn't figure it out that well right now - the buzzing was starting up a migraine, and he wondered what could be making his god so angry. Shamash and he got along pretty well, didn't they?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2009 6:46 pm
Quinn blinked.
And then he blinked again.
And then he started crying.
It happened incredibly suddenly, and even he wasn't really ready for it. one second, he had on a perfectly normal, though slightly surprised, face. The next, tears were streaming down his face. He didn't even move for the first few seconds of crying, and just stood there staring at Vale. Then he started making noise. It started as a low whine, and then evolved into words.
"MaybeIdon'tknowohgodI'msorrydon'thatemeyouhatemeveryonehatesmeI'llgoawayandleaveyoualone," the godling babbled. He fell down to the ground, then laid backwards. "I don't want to talk to people who hate me today! Which is, like, everyone. So I don't want to talk to people today! I'm going to talk to this bug right here. This is my bug. I'm going to talk to it. His name is Clickity clackle click. By the way. In case you were wondering. He's my best friend in the world." Quinn paused. "I lied. Clickity Clackle click only loves me for the shape of my fingers."
The ability to talk to animals could be terribly disillusioning.
He continued to cry.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2009 7:00 pm
He stared down at the crying boy, stunned.
This was not how this was supposed to go. They were supposed to argue, and then fight. No tears.
Vale did not deal well with tears. He couldn't recall a time when he'd actually cried before. Men didn't cry without good reason. He shifted in discomfort in the doorway now, feeling irrationally and horribly guilty without his god there to berate him. This was just like when Sydni cried, only worse. Because Quinn was not a two-year-old.
Maybe.
He might be, for all Vale knew.
He frowned, crouching down next to the prone boy, arms casually wrapping around his knees and easily balancing on his toes, giving Quinn a steady glare.
"I don't hate you." He rethought that statement. "V'ell. Maybe I do. I don't know. You make me angry, and I v'ant to kill you, so I guess that counts as hatred."
But even Vale didn't know how much of that hatred came from himself, and how much came from what he was. He felt like killing everybody. It was possible he didn't actually hate Quinn.
"But either v'ay, stop crying," he commanded in the tone his mother always used. The tone that brooked no arguments. "Men do not cry v'hen others hate them. So...so stop." He scowled, shifting his glare away and ear twitching in something akin to embarrassment. "Please."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2009 7:30 pm
Quinn laid there pitifully for a moment, watching the bug wriggle up and down his fingers.
Maybe he really doesn't hate me.
All he got was a low buzzing in his head in return.
Your ignoring me is getting incredibly annoying.
The buzzing got slightly louder. Quinn sniffed, and the stream of tears on his face began lightening up. Eventually they were completely nonexistant, and he stared up at the cieling.
"You, sir," Quinn pushed himself up to a sitting position, pulling his knees to his chest, "Are the worst comfort-giver ever." The godling laughed. "Thanks, though. Sort of. I guess."
Quinn was used to crying. He was used to crying at innoportune moments, and in front of people he didn't need to cry in front of. He cried a lot, sometimes without any reason at all. In this particular situation, however, he didn't want to be crying. Something in him wanted to be hurting. Hurting the other boy.
Which was new, even for him. Quinn didn't feel malicious towards other people, as a general rule; he was nice. Manipulative, but nice. He didn't ever intentionally want to hurt another person for no reason.
Except he really wanted to. He wanted to see Vale HURT. And he didn't know why. It was just as upsetting as everyone hating him. He didn't like feeling like he deserved the hate.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2009 7:41 pm
He snorted, shrugging.
"I do the best I can v'ith v'hat I have." Sydni certainly never complained about his comfort-giving. Then again, it didn't matter what he said, so long as he spoke to her, he supposed.
People relied too much on verbal communication as they got older. Thought too much over the meaning of words. Vale, on the other hand, was a firm believer in thinking that actions spoke louder than words.
His head was really hurting now, jolts of pain boring through his skull. Tezcatlipoca was angry, and for a moment he wondered if the god could make his head explode if he got angry enough. It certainly felt like it.
Moving to straighten back to his feet, he was hit. Out of nowhere. The culmination of Tezcatlipoca's growing anger lashed out, ripping through him on its way towards one of the other gods. The migraine was nothing compared to this, the buzzing a mere annoyance - he didn't even have the time to comprehend the pain that ran through him, to even say "ouch!" before his mind had shut down, sending his body hitting the floor mid-movement.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2009 7:50 pm
Quinn jumped as Vale hit the ground.
"Vale? Valeriu?" He crawled over to Vale's body, and poked him in the side. "You alright?"
He hoped his mother didn't decide to actually become moderately sentient at this moment, with a boy passed out on their floor. He didn't have much time to ponder this, however, until he was grabbing his head, and the buzzing got stronger. "Ow!" A bolt of his own lightning, spurred by the sudden pain, jumped from him to Vale.
All of a sudden, he felt a powerful lash of energy across his mind, and he immediately fell prone next to Vale, arcs of lightning jumping between them, small ones growing into large one. One huge bolt jumped from Quinn's chest to Vale's, then the lightning stopped.
Quinn remained unconscious.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2009 8:09 pm
For a minute, he thought he was back in the jungle again, sleeping on the ground underneath the stars. Consciousness came slowly, grudgingly, and his body felt heavy and unresponsive. It was dark, too - darker than the City could ever be.
Wait.
He had his eyes closed.
It took an effort to wrench them open, and when he did, he regretted doing so - the light was painful, and reminded him that his head was pounding as if thousands of angry dwarves were hammering away against the inside of his skull. Groaning under his breath, he rolled his sluggish body to its side, despite its protests. He could feel the steady warmth of another body close to his, but couldn't muster up the strength to twist his head that far to see who it was.
Normally, his instincts would be screaming at him to wake up all the way, to get to his feet and be on the defense for whatever had knocked him out.
There was nothing. His nerves were gratefully empty of that feeling, quiet and relaxed and normal in ways he'd forgotten what it was like to feel. It was refreshing, and different, and liberating, and he'd never felt more relaxed and free and human again.
He noticed the difference instantly - and that just alarmed him more.
Had Tezcatlipoca taken his powers away? Pushing himself into an upright position, he tried to shake off the lethargic feeling, forcing his eyes open all the way and looking around in dazed worry.
What had happened? What had his god done? Had something attacked him? What about -
Quinn.
It was then that he remembered the body at his side, eyes automatically snapping to it, before his brain stalled again in disbelief, silent and uncomprehending.
No. No, no, no. He was not seeing this. This wasn't possible.
It was him.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Mar 14, 2009 12:59 pm
Quinn woke up in an unusual rush. Usually, it took him a moment. He bolted upright and jumped into a crouch, quickly scanning the room. The first thing he noticed was the fact that he, uh, bolted upright and jumped into a crouch, quickly scanning the room.
Since when do I do that?
His hands shot up and felt at his teeth- sharp. Sharper than his were, anyway. His eyes, widened, alarmed.
I knew it! I've been turned into a vampire! What am I going to do?
The godling paused a second.
No, that's stupid, I'm not a vampire. What's going on?
His head hurt, some, but it didn't bother him much-- it was more of an annoyance than anything. His body felt tense, and ready to jump at any second. It was a strange feeling. He looked down at his hands, and frowned. They were dark-- tanner than Quinn had ever been in his life. He remembered Vale had collapsed just before he had, and looked next to him.
And saw himself. Looking at him. For a second, he thought he must be looking in a mirror, as the alarmed expression was about how he felt. But there was no glass, and why would there be a mirror in the middle of the hall? There was just him.
He knew where there was a mirror, though. The bathroom! He leapt up and quickly made his way to the bathroom, flipping on the light and wondering what he would see.
His tail flicked in irritation. His ears twitched, and he scratched at them. He lifted up his shirt, and looked at the rainbow scar there.
"What the hell."
Sorry about that, Quinn, we had a bit of an...altercation. You are alright, though, correct? Quetzalcoatl's voice didn't go to Quinn, however. It went to the mind in the body it was looking for-- where Vale was at this moment.
Quinn walked back to the door, where he had fallen, and glared at his body, where he assumed Vale was.
"What did you do."
He wasn't really asking a question.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Mar 14, 2009 3:10 pm
His body moved, sending him reeling back as it rolled to its feet. He was wide-eyed, staring and gaping at the fact that his body was moving on its own.
Moving. Without him in it.
He knew the supernatural was inevitable when it came to gods. They were gods, they were the supernatural. He'd run through a street full of ghosts. He'd been turned into something unnatural himself.
But he never imagined this might happen. His body had disappeared now, into another one of the rooms, and he was left to silently inspect himself. He flexed white hands, fiddled with long and blonde-colorful hair. This was Quinn's body, without a doubt.
He felt weak. Incredibly weak. This body was fragile compared to his own, lacking the lean and trained musculature he'd been forced to build up when living a feral life. He didn't doubt that, without godly powers, this body, Quinn's body, could get beat down by a pack of girlscouts.
But it was so light. His thoughts, although his mind was still whirling in shock, were wonderfully clear and unmuddled. Instincts didn't cloud his emotions, Tezcatlipoca's corruption had loosed its hold on his soul. He felt human again, and it was new and exhilarating to feel. He'd forgotten what it was like, being this way.
He was sharply reminded, however, of the fact that gods were still present, when he heard the voice in his head. It wasn't Tezcatlipoca's; the man would never ask if he was alright. Plus, it thought he was Quinn.
Quetzalcoatl. He realized. Tezcatlipoca's rival. Quinn's god.
I think something has gone wrong, he tentatively thought back. Very wrong. I am not Quinn.
No, Quinn was right now in his body, glaring at him. It felt strange to be on the receiving end of the fierce looks his eyes could give, and he restrained the urge to scoot back. If he felt this free, then Quinn would be feeling the opposite.
And it had taken him a long time and a lot of patience to lock down the urge to kill people on sight. A single movement used to set him off - all he could think was 'prey.'
"More like v'hat did our gods do?" he replied just as flatly, gingerly getting to his feet. There it was, the old clumsiness was back - no catlike grace to prevent him from falling on his face. It was only worse, being in a body that was not his.
Tezcatlipoca had prowled back into his godling's body at this point, radiating disdain and ruffled agitation as he critically sunk his claws into the mind that had taken Valeriu's place.
I did nothing. It was all that damned snake's fault. There was a pause on the god's end, before he dug his claws in further. You are not my godling, little serpent. What are you doing in his body? Get out before you taint this place with your light, he drawled with a hiss.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Mar 14, 2009 6:11 pm
No, you aren't Quinn. Vale, is it? Hm. We'll have to see how we can undo this. For now, are you feeling alright?
Quetzalcoatl was too much like a father for his own good- everyone's father. He knew Vale was his enemy, but it would do no good to argue with him while he was in Quinn's body. They just needed to fix it.
Quinn was not faring well. His usually sunny, happy, carefree disposition was being severly harshed by the constraints of Tezcatlipoca on his mind. He felt like a prisoner-- everything was being analyzed. Too many instincts, too many automatic thought processes being run in his head. He didn't like this much information.
"More like what your god did." He glared at Vale, then swooped down and grabbed his body by the collar, shoving it up against the wall. "Fix it. Now." He growled, then blinked, and dropped the boy again. His personality hadn't changed. He was still him, but all of the weights made him more agitated, more angry. "Sorry." He still didn't look happy, though, and he punched the wall.
Yah, I bet you didn't. In case you were wondering, that was sarcasm. I bet you did. Fix it. I know I'm not your godling. Redundant, much? And I'll get out when I feel like it, thank you.
He paused, and thought about what he had seen in the mirror.
And I might not leave until I'm sure Vale has a hair cut. He has terrible split ends. And this side's uneven! No mortal enemy of mine--
He was cut off by the sound of footsteps coming down the hall.
"Oh, crap. Mother. Get out get out get out get out get out!" He opened the door and shoved Vale out, closing it on him for the second time that day.
Then he opened it again. "You're me! I'm not me! Get in get in get in!" He pulled Vale in, then wondered what to do about himself.
He went with what he figured his mom would see as most natural, and reached out and grabbed the hand of his body, making it look like Vale was just another date he brought home. His mom walked in. She was old, and did not look healthy at all. She didn't talk much, but had heard the banging and had come to check it out.
"Quinn? Who's your...friend?" She seemed to have trouble coming up with words to say.
Quinn kicked Vale to respond.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Mar 14, 2009 6:40 pm
He was left dumbfounded again. Someone asking if he was alright?
Bizarre. Very bizarre. It was disconcerting, too. He hadn't heard those words directed towards himself for a long, long time.
Ah, yes, I am fine, thank you, he answered more hesitantly. This was weird. Quetzalcoatl wasn't acting like Tezcatlipoca had always seemed to rant about. V'hat happened? All I know ee's that my god got very angry.
And ended up hurting him so that he blacked out, but that wasn't necessary information. He was more curious as to what the gods had been doing at the time, why he and Quinn were like this.
He didn't have much more time to wonder until he was slammed against the wall, breath leaving him in a grunt, and realized how uncomfortable that was as well. Funny, that they were in the opposite situation now.
"I do not know how to fix ee't," he growled right back, trying to keep to his feet after being dropped. "And ee'f anything, both of our gods screwed up."
Tezcatlipoca had decided that, by Hell or high water, he was going to be rid of Quinn the moment the boy started prattling on about hair cuts.
Shut up, you annoying brat! He growled, sending a chill out from the mirror in warning. Or I can very easily make you. He now knew why he chose Valeriu: the boy knew when to be quiet.
Valeriu, as it was, didn't know to speak, now. He found himself shoved outside, dragged back inside, and left bewildered and disheveled, staring at what was, apparently, Quinn's mother.
What was he supposed to say?!
Nervously, he cleared his throat, glancing between Quinn and his mother.
"Ah, this ee-is my friend, Valeriu." His tongue stumbled over speaking, carefully pronouncing his words to rid them of his normal accent, while his brain scrambled to come up with something that was not a lie. He couldn't lie. Not to a mom. "From across the, uh, street. Yes. A good friend." He squeezed Quinn's hand back, although it was more of a painful 'crush your hand' hold in revenge for the kick.
I should've taught that kid to lie better.
"V-We are going to go get some ice cream! In...in my room." He tugged insistently at Quinn's hand, more than a little desperate. "Right Valeriu? Let us go to my room! And eat ice cream and chocolate!"
He hadn't talked to a parent in months. Especially not one so old and frail looking. He had to bite his tongue to keep the concern from leaking into his voice - even if it was Quinn's mother, it was a mother. And she certainly didn't look like she should be walking about.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Mar 14, 2009 6:59 pm
Me and your god got into a little tussle, nothing you need to worry about. I got under his skin, he got to be...well, him, you know, and next thing you know he was throwing one of his tantrums. You know how he is.
Quetzalcoatl sounded like a mother.
Quinn gasped and grabbed at his chest where the mirror was, swallowing hard.
I don't shut up EVER. So there!
Quinn stared at Vale's attempt to be him.
Wow. He is the worst actor I have ever seen in my life. Don't worry, I'll teach him to lie. If only because no one deserves to fail that much at it.
Watching Vale fail miserably at coming up with any sort of plan, Quinn cleared his throat and let his con-artist talents spill forth. If there was one thing he did, it was make people like him. He didn't mimic the other boy's accent by any means, but he managed to make it sound...mostly believable.
"Ah, yes, Mrs. Moreau! So nice to see you! V'ell, thank you for welcoming me ee'n, but I don't v'ish to trouble you. Quinn v'as just showing me your beautiful home." Quinn smiled warmly, but his tail flicked nervously.
How do you make this tail thing shut up? I was not built for an extra appendage!
"Ah, yes, don't you generally keep ice cream in the fridge, though, Quinn?" He smiled encouragingly and squeezed the boy's hand in a 'Go-Along-With-It-Or-I-Will-Kill-You' way. This statement was backed up by his new body's muscles, which he rather enjoyed. "V'hich is usually kept ee'n the, you know, kitchen?" He led Vale to the kitchen quietly. "Goodbye, Mrs. Moreau!"
Quinn grabbed ice cream from the fridge and shoved it in Vale's hands. "Just ee'n-- in case she sees." It took him a minute to get out of con-artist mode, and his over-paranoid cat senses seemed to make magnify everything.
I don't ******** CARE if that bug on the wall over that made a chittering noise while i'm over HERE doing things. HOW DO YOU MAKE THIS SHUT UP?
Quinn then dragged Vale to his room and shut the door, collapsing on the bed in relief. "We can leave in about five minutes, once she settles back in front of the television." He glanced down at his body from his laying position, and lifted up his shirt some, exposing all of the muscles underneath.
"Wow...You're really muscular, Vale." He poked his abs. Then he paused. "I wonder..."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Mar 14, 2009 7:28 pm
Valeriu definitely knew what his god was like.
Oh yes. I know, he thought wryly. Free to actually think wryly. Hell, he realized, he could actually rant and rail and complain about Tezcatlipoca as much as he wanted without repercussion right now.
Amazing.
Tezcatlipoca, on the other hand, was not so appreciative of losing his chosen godling temporarily.
I can rip your mind apart so badly you won't be able to mentally string together two words, let alone a whole sentence, he growled. Wouldn't that be perfect? Returning Quetzalcoatl's godling in such a state.
But he couldn't. His own godling was hostage. As much as he would've liked to.
And you will teach him nothing. He is not even supposed to be seeing you. He was more ruffled over that - he left Valeriu alone for five minutes to fight with his archrival, and the kid managed to find his way to this brat's house?
Thankfully, Quinn was quite the good con-artist. Even if the ears and tail were always doomed to give himself away.
Valeriu did not appreciate the pain in his hand as much as he did Quinn's skills at lying. Weak body! Ice cream in hand, he stood awkwardly in Quinn's room, though thoroughly relieved he didn't have to talk to a parent anymore.
"V'here could v'e leave to?" He wondered allowed, sitting heavily down on the bed, worriedly. Was this something their gods couldn't fix on their own? He was distracted, however, at the sight of Quinn messing with his body.
"Don't do that!" he hissed, bundling the ice cream under one arm and other hand firmly pulling the shirt back down. "That ee's not for show!"
He didn't want to know what Quinn was wondering, either.
"So, v'hat do v'e do now?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
