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 Posted: Sun Jul 31, 2011 12:58 pm
Ren had not planned on coming back to his old house. In fact, out of everything, it was the very, very first thing on his Things I Never Want To Do list (followed closely by 2. Go on another school field trip).
Except here he was. At his house. Sitting on his old bed.
It was ludicrous. Ridiculous.
But not nearly as ridiculous as the news Medieval had decided to dump on him practically the moment he had walked in that door.
Mother is pregnant.
He still hadn't been able to wrap his mind around it. In fact, Ren was trying to think of all of the things that his sister might have said that could have been mistaken. Or rather, he was thinking of all of the things Medieval could have misunderstood and thought that their mother was pregnant.
Nothing came to mind. Nothing except the obvious, and Ren did not want to admit the obvious.
His parents had not yet realized their son was home, and Ren was not about to give them notice to him just yet. He had not even unpacked the large bag he had dragged to the house with him, strangely heavier than usual. However, Ren had not thought twice about this; in fact, if anything he figured it was just heavy because he had decided to throw in a few extra books than usual to keep occupied while he stowed away in his old room and avoided the penetrating glares from the two people who called themselves his parents. They were, at the very least, out for the afternoon attending a function, according to Medieval.
With a sigh, Ren sat up and reached towards the duffle, dragging it across the floor towards him. Then he hauled it up, staggering a bit, and tossed it onto the bed with a thump, fingers gripping the zipper as he pulled it down. He pushed the bag open.
"HOLY FRIGGIN CANDLEJACK - !"
With a startled yelp, Ren leapt backwards, his heart hammering. There was something in his bag; something that wasn't supposed to be there.
Maybe I'm hallucinating. The news has made me delirious.
He stepped cautiously towards the bag again.
Nope. No mistaking it. That's -
"JOVE!" Ren screeched. "WHAT IN JACK'S NAME ARE YOU DOING IN MY DUFFLE BAG?!"
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Posted: Sun Jul 31, 2011 1:53 pm
Despite the rough journey, all the bumping and jostling, Jove had quickly fallen asleep in the warm, dark confines of Ren's bag. The gryphon hadn't spent too much time on campus, he had been off visiting friends and going from place to place on his own. Jove had been missing him terribly, especially after his own week away from the academy. But when Ren told him he was leaving again, the pup had sensed something was not right with his brother.
So he did what any best ever little brother would do. Curl up in Ren's bag so he could keep him company.
It had been dull at first, and hard for Jove to read the books Ren had so thoughtfully tossed in. Little paws were not so good at turning pages as fingers, and it was a little cramped... So he soon gave up on the books and curled up amongst the clothes for a good snooze. And he had stayed that way right up until his little eyelids were bombarded with light, and his ears were assaulted by the sound of Ren shouting at the top of his lungs.
The pup was on his feet inside the bag before he even knew what it was troubling his big brother, bristling and growling at the enemy he had yet to spot. The toughest sleepy little thing ever! But the growl petered out when he realized there wasn't anything in the unfamiliar room other than Ren, and he settled back down into a sleepy pile of fluff to peer at Ren like "I don't understand, why did you wake me up?"
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Posted: Sun Jul 31, 2011 4:08 pm
There was a person in his bag.
There was a PERSON in his BAG.
Well. A very familiar, puppy shaped person with fluffy pointed ears, a bushy tail, and enormous teal eyes that at the moment were looking up at him with a mildly confused expression.
"Jove," said Ren again, wondering how on earth his little brother had managed to even get into his bag without him noticing. After all, he hadn't really explained to Jove where he was going - in fact, after the first time he'd been back to his house this summer, he'd come back only briefly to transfer some of his things, and then he had told Jove he would be back soon. He had meant to come back and try and figure things out with Medieval, but apparently the little stowaway in his bag was making him do otherwise.
"What are you doing here?" Ren asked him with exasperation, reaching down and picking up the puppy, pressing his nose to Jove's smaller black one. He held Jove up in two hands, giving him a pointed look. "You're not one of my books..."
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Posted: Sun Jul 31, 2011 4:15 pm
Jove's lips pressed into a frown, and his ears flopped backwards, as if to say "What do you mean what am I doing here?" He was clearly there to take care of his big brother! When someone he cared about just packed up to leave with that sort of emotional aura, what else was the pup supposed to do but go along for protection!
Regardless, he was happy to be with his brother, and his little curled tail gave a short wag while he was picked up under the arms and held up. A little pink tongue flicked out, too late to catch Ren's nose, but not too late to make him look even more like an endearing pet. As long as they were together, Ren wouldn't have to radiate such unhappy, troubled emotions. And they would be together for now, thanks to the pup's brilliant plan to take a nap in Ren's stuff.
He took a minute to preen his own ego, and then began to wiggle. He did quite enjoy the view from up there, but he was getting uncomfortable with his feet so far above the ground.
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Posted: Sun Jul 31, 2011 4:30 pm
Despite the fact that the last place on earth Ren wanted to see Jove was his old house where his parents were, there was actually a part of him that was...reassured...that Jove was here; that someone was here, other than his dysfunctional family members, to keep him company and remind him that yes, life could in fact, be good. So even though Ren had half a mind to tell Jove off for sneaking into his bag, the irritation sort of dissipated at the puppy's playful lick, wriggling between Ren's hands.
He sighed, resigned. "You are such a troublemaker, you know that?" he told him, but the words lacked any sort of real conviction and instead held a mild note of amusement to them. Ren plopped back down on the bed and held the squirming puppy in his lap, absently stroking the soft, fluffy fur.
"This is my house, by the way," Ren said to him, glancing around the room, which was untouched since he'd last left it. It was large, at least twice as large as his dorm room back at Amityville, with vivid scarlet walls and white trim. The vaulted ceiling stretched high above their heads, ending in a point where the beams came together. There were simple decorations; none of the ridiculous frills and fanfare the rest of his family showed off; a few pictures here and there, a glossy mahogany desk with a stack of dusty books and parchment lying across them. A tidy stack of of pillows sat at one end of the king-sized bed, several blankets folded neatly at the base.
"See?" Ren said, with a lame gesture. "This is...where I grew up."
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Posted: Sun Jul 31, 2011 4:40 pm
Sensing from Ren where he was wanted, Jove settled down and let his brother pet his head and back. He even tucked his paws under him, catlike, as Ren began to talk to him.
Only then did he take note of the room he was in. Looking around, the first thing that caught his attention was how clean and prim everything was. No pillows on the floor to flop in, they were all tidy on the bed... Why was everything so contained, when there was so much room for his brother to spread out like at school?
The pup glanced back up at Ren with a curious face. Jove didn't know anything about growing up. But if it was anything like his time spent with his caretaker, it would have been a pleasant experiences with gentle lessons and encouragement. He had been given toys and affection as he learned to be a boy, and the only punishment he faced was stern disapproval when he did something bad. But this growing-up place felt strangely sterile and forced. And Ren didn't seem happy here.
Jove leaped out of Ren's lap, and matter-of-factly trotted towards the bedroom door. There was a reason Ren had willingly come to this place he didn't like, and Jove intended to find it so they could go back 'home' to Amityville.
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Posted: Sun Jul 31, 2011 4:52 pm
Ren had spent a lot of time in this room growing up, but for the most part he felt extremely disconnected to it. It was his bedroom, yes, and it held a good portion of his childhood, but other than that it was just a room. A room with four walls, a floor, and lots of bad memories that he would prefer to just let disappear, rather than hold onto them.
He saw the curious glance that Jove sent his way and gave him a slightly weak smile. "It's pretty bland, huh?" he said, looking about the room with a tired expression. "Let's just say growing up here wasn't exactly the best place, nor was it particularly nice or...homey."
Amityville was his home now, despite the ridiculousness, the outlandish ways, the weird teachers, the crazy classes, the strange people. However, Ren loved the school more than he'd ever liked the house he grew up in, so Amityville was a place of respite for him despite it's...oddities.
Lost in thought, Ren hadn't noticed Jove jump down from his lap and trot promptly towards the door until the puppy had almost reached it, and then Ren nearly lost an eye in his attempt at getting to it before Jove.
"Woah, woah, woah, where do you think you're going?" Ren said, scrambling to scoop the puppy up in his arms, his back against the door. "You can't go out there, nope. Not here. I gotta take you back home, before anyone sees you and before you see anyone, okay?"
Then he tried to cart Jove back to the bag.
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Posted: Sun Jul 31, 2011 5:07 pm
The moment he was scooped up, that adorable little puppy face began to scowl. He was clearly on his way to go figure out what was wrong, so why was Ren getting in his way like that? Besides, it wasn't nice to take advantage of one's smaller stature, and just... scoop them up!
He frowned and waited for Ren to explain, but all he got was a flat out refusal. How was he supposed to make things better if he didn't go anywhere, see anyone, or do anything but wait back at school? He did not find this new development amusing in the slightest.
Half way back to the room he began to wiggle again, this time bracing his body against his brother's chest and using his back legs to push against Ren's arms, creating just enough room for him to drop downwards to freedom. The ghostling landed square on his fluffy bottom and bounced, surprisingly enough, before scrambling to his feet and making a mad dash for the door. It was barely open a crack, perhaps a little too much of a challenge for the average foxfire, but Jove just gave it one little bat with his paw and was zooming out in search of his solution!
Until he tripped over a foot and was sent sprawling head over tail onto the floor.
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Posted: Sun Jul 31, 2011 7:11 pm
Ren most definitely noticed the unhappy look on Jove's fluffy snout, but he also definitely ignored it. This house was toxic; for Jove - his precious little brother - to be inside of it? It would contaminate him. He had only brought LW here that one time because a) LW had, in fact, refused to let go of him when he had tried to leave, and b) LW was the type of person for whom people like Ren's family were no big deal. She was very capable, despite her short stature, that feisty mischievousness easily dragged out when the situation warranted it. But Jove...he was too young, too little. Perhaps he was underestimating him, and Ren knew Jove would not be happy about it, bu the was not about to let Jove run loose in his house.
Except apparently he had no say in the matter, because Jove began wriggling furiously in his hands, pushing pokey little paws against Ren's chest and shoving backwards. Ren, surprised by the sudden movement, accidentally let go, and Jove made a run for it, darting towards the door.
"Jove - !"
Ren leapt towards him, fingers grappling against the bare carpet of his floor where the puppy had been a second earlier. Jove had already scooted out the door, and Ren flung it open, hurriedly scrambling after his runaway little brother.
His hand hit a high heeled shoe. He stopped abruptly.
"What are you doing?"
Medieval's voice, calm and confused, echoed above his head. She was looking down at the pale teal puppy with an unreadable expression, lips pressed together in a thin line, and Ren took advantage of her silence to jump forward, scooping Jove up into his arms.
"Nothing," he said. "Just trying to catch my new pet."
In his arms, Jove felt suddenly colder than usual. Ren swallowed back the desire to slam the door in his sister's face.
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Posted: Sun Jul 31, 2011 7:30 pm
In his moment of weakness, Jove found himself once again snatched up into his brother's warm, irritating embrace. What on earth had he tripped over...? Looking up he realized exactly what it was about this place that made his brother so uncomfortable. In front of them stood someone who looked incredibly like his brother. Same nose, same jawline, same colour hair... Even the same build, although the imposter was clearly built female. There were little differences, the closed off expression, the elegant aroma compared to Ren's comfortable scent, the lack of freckles... And something else.
In the context of the situation, Jove could only define it as 'evil.' No wonder Ren was upset, here in front of them was his evil clone. Was this why Ren didn't want him to leave the room? The clone was lurking?
His ears flattened back as he stared at the ghoul, picking up on his brother's displeasure.
But the little ghostling didn't feed off the gryphon's emotions for long before he had his own reason to be angry. "Hey!" He barked, turning to fix his brother with that piercing, accusatory stare. What did he mean, a new pet? He was nobody's pet!
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Posted: Sun Jul 31, 2011 7:42 pm
It was not as if Ren disliked Medieval. Out of all of the members of his completely screwed up family, Medieval was the least of his issues. She had once been good, whereas their parents had probably been born evil. Despite that, however, Ren did have his fair share of problems with her, especially after the way she had chosen to simply abandon him after a certain point, following in their parents footsteps. No, he didn't hate his sister, but he did feel an overwhelming sense of disappointment, frustration, and resentment towards her. The ghoul who had once brushed his hair back away from his face after another beating, or snuck him food under the door when he had been locked in his room without supper was gone, replaced by a cold, unfeeling young woman who just resembled him in looks.
"Your pet?" Medieval said, sounding as if the word tasted bad. She gave a disapproving and somewhat irritated glance towards Jove, as if she expected him to pee on her shoe right at that moment. Jove, on the other hand, was apparently not as happy to be called a pet, and let out a "Hey!" that mixed with a bark. Medieval stared. Ren clapped his hand over Jove's muzzle.
"Shush," he told him quickly, hoping his sister had taken it as a muffled bark rather than actual words. "Good dog. Med, what do you want?"
She was still looking at Jove suspiciously, but after a moment she shook her head, golden eyes moving towards her brothers. "Mum and Dad are going to be home in about twenty minutes," she said. "I was thinking we could talk to them."
Ren leaned against the doorframe, his hand still resting over Jove, but his grip had loosened a bit. "There's nothing to talk about. You told me to come back because you needed help, but there's nothing to do. And I'm not going to just sit around here and be useless. I'm going back to school."
He turned, intending fully to go back into his old room, pack up, and get the hell out, Jove included.
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Posted: Sun Jul 31, 2011 7:53 pm
Jove did not like the expression on the evil clone's face, and the tone of her voice, but he was even less pleased when Ren clamped his hand over his muzzle. Clearly his brother didn't want him interacting with the ghoul, and that just made Jove all the more irritated. He sat still, ears folded back, and he eyed both Ren and the clone as they discussed.
It wasn't until Ren turned around that he started wiggling once more. "STOP!" He barked out again, refusing to be a 'good dog' while Ren was ignoring him and not explaining anything. What did the clone want him to talk to his parents about? And why was Ren so much more upset at the thought of talking to them?
He pulled free and stood up in Ren's arms, peering over his brother's shoulder suspiciously to make sure the evil clone wasn't doing anything funny.
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Posted: Sun Jul 31, 2011 8:05 pm
Apparently Ren was not about to get his way. This time it was made blatantly clear by the very loud, and very obvious word that erupted from Jove's mouth.
"STOP."
And Ren did; in fact, he was frozen stupid in the middle of his room, holding a talking dog.
Medieval was staring again. "What...the Jack is that?" she asked, with deadly calm, and Ren sighed, pivoting around to face her.
"This," he said, and held up Jove. " - is Jove."
A pause. Then -
"My little brother."
There was a completely dead silence. Medieval's eyes were cold as they lifted from the pale blue puppy to meet Ren's. "Your...little brother?" she repeated, with a voice like ice. "Renaissance, let me remind you - you don't have a little brother." She paused again. "At least, not yet. Though you might soon, if Mum has a boil. What you have is a talking dog. Funny, though, trying to convince me that you've moved on."
Ren's fingers clenched subconsciously on the hem of his shirt. "Believe what you want," he said. "But Jove is more family to me than anyone in this house has ever been."
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Posted: Sun Jul 31, 2011 8:23 pm
Jove puffed up, offended by the ghoul's words, and even more offended by the way she was talking to his big brother. For one so sensitive to tone and posture, this was clearly a tactic intended on making Ren feel like an idiot, and Jove was going to have none of it.
A growl rose in his throat, and before he could fully think things through he had changed to his human form. His tail curled around his front out of sheer habit, but he made no move to find real clothes, and instead stood protectively in front of Ren with feral eyes, his sharp teeth bared, and a low growl rumbling through his little body. For once he was so angry off he didn't even feel self-conscious about the dark bruises that stood out against his pale skin. It just didn't seem to matter at that moment.
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Posted: Sun Jul 31, 2011 8:39 pm
"Look, Medieval," Ren started to say, but he didn't get very far.
He hadn't exactly expected Jove to shift while he was still holding him, after all.
A small growl was the only sign, and Ren automatically let go as Jove's tiny puppy body glowed slightly, then elongated and stretched out until in its place stood a spindly thin, pale-skinned boil with a dashing of dark teal freckles across the bridge of his nose and wide, luminous eyes that glowed in the dark. Eyes, that at this moment, were narrowed in anger at the ghoul standing across from him. A thick, fluffy tail was curved around his lower body, partially obscuring the heavy dark bruises that stood out starkly bright against his side.
Ren stared at him, stunned into silence; and he wasn't the only one. Medieval was looking at Jove with a wide-eyed expression, the words dying in her throat as she gaped at the boil.
"What..." she said slowly, and took a step backwards. "The Jack - "
Ren moved forward, sliding an arm around Jove's shoulders and squeezing lightly; a gesture of warning for him to calm down, since he could feel the rumbling of an angry growl thrumming throughout the boil's back. "I told you," Ren said, looking steadily at his sister. "This is Jove...my little brother."
Medieval's mouth was hanging open. She snapped it shut, pressing them together in a line so thin her lips were barely visible. "And I told you - you don't have a little brother - "
There was a slamming sound from the first floor, and Ren felt his heart seize in his chest. Medieval was looking over his shoulder.
"Our parents are home."
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