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 Posted: Fri Oct 27, 2017 12:37 pm
Quote: Being bitten by a giant spider is uncomfortable enough, but worse than the sharp pain you feel on impact are the linger effects of the bite. Being bitten can cause nausea, dizziness, fatigue and hallucinations. These symptoms can begin immediately after being bitten or can manifest up to a few hours after the toxins are introduced to the bloodstream. These symptoms may only last for a few hours—or up to 72 hours. You, or someone you know, has the misfortune of being bitten; no medicine seems to help this ailment, so you’re stuck weathering this one out on your own.
Elex escaped with nary a cut on his shoulder and some mild burns, but thought of rabies lingered. Thought of tetanus, of venom complications, of infection. Its spit entered his wound. He spent the next twenty-four hour cycle fretting over potential brain death by rabies, or other unkown infections. He dreamed up symptoms that presented themselves in marvelous timing with his worries. And when he at last gained the glamour to visit the doctor, the few tests they could ron confirmed nothing at all. No tetanus. No rabies. No obvious signs of infection. They urged a lumbar puncture for safety, but his glamour wouldn't last the night — he declined, and with a half hour remaining on his second skin, breathed a margin of relief. The spiders possessed no known pathogens.
But the unkown still pestered him. Days had passed, and he renewed his glamour once again with more troublesome thoughts. He felt no worse for the encounter, but what of Rowan? What of Trey? What of Jack, who he left so forthrightly? The news reported no casualties to the incident. The police released a statement of belligerents costumed as spiders who attacked the event. Symptoms were passed off as food poisoning. Were they still suffering, long after the excuse offered by the media?
Curiosity urged him to call the number in hand. Rowan handed off his business card under the pretense of new shirt and shoes, but Elex pursued different reasons. Selfish reasons. Frowning, he tapped out the ten digits into his phone screen. He started to pace. The sidewalk held a slight uphill slant with few people to obstruct his restlessness. Pressing call, he held the phone to ear.
He waited. Two rings passed.
Immediately he hung up, his jaw tight and his chest tighter. Was he prepared for the worst case scenario? Or was the best case what bothered him? Again, he dialed. Pressed call. A pedestrian shot him a second look for his wandering. Elex held the phone to ear, counted the seconds, heard the click.
"Rowan? This is Elex." The words came quick and automatic. He had a reason to be thankful for his upbringing now.
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Posted: Fri Oct 27, 2017 5:58 pm
The days after the Garden event had been anything but pleasant. Medical assistance had been sought out for the bite that had been sustained. Everything was cleaned out, checked for anything that may have been stuck in the wounds before being bandaged up with gauze and tape. No one had warned about the possible effects of the bites. Perhaps it was done on purpose to keep a flood of people from the hospital for what doctors would only say needed to be rode out, or perhaps the medical professionals really had no clue. After all, who heard of giant spiders let alone knew what sort of ailments would be inflicted upon their prey?
No one. Plain and simple. In truth, matters could have been far worse than what those bitten dealt with. Death, certainly, would have been a much crueler fate, but there were moments during the next two or three days that death seemed like the kindest of options.
A fever that wouldn’t break had been the first sign of a problem. It was soon followed suit with nausea which led to many trips to the bathroom to rid his stomach of any contents left in it. For a few hours it had persisted, but at night, when the fever spiked was when things had grown ugly.
Fever induced dreams dominated Rowan’s sleep. The scenes would jump from places he’d actually been like the maze, the theatre, and his mother’s shop to places his mind would make up or assume the appearance of including a university, friend’s houses, or other random shops around Destiny City that didn’t actually exist. All of it was jumbled messes with people from his life acting strangely and out of place. But, what had probably been the worst of the side effects of the bite, were the hallucinations.
A voice, no several voices, all different timbre’s spoke to him. ’That’s right, sit there. Do nothing.’, ‘Hot. So hot.’, ‘No one cares. No one has bothered to check on you.’, ‘You’re a waste of space. Just sit there and wallow in your misery.’, ‘Oh, God, I am going to be sick. No. No. No.’, ‘A shower. A cold shower would be best.’, ‘Go see Trey.’, ‘He’s watching you. He’s coming for you.’, ‘Is Elex alright?’, ‘Damn everyone!’, ‘Sleeping is best. Sleep is safe.’, ‘He doesn’t like you. No one ever would.’ It went on and on like a never ending record. The voices sometimes overlapping like a large crowd of people trying to catch his attention at once. Other times it was dead silent and eerie from the lack of chatter.
A tall black figure with no strong definable shape stalked the corners of his bedroom. Trails of smoke appeared to billow from behind it, and Rowan kept getting the feeling that he’d seen this being before, at some point, but could not put a finger on it. It never spoke to him. Just hoovered there as if observing him. Calculating. After a while, Rowan had taken to saying things to it. Telling it to leave him alone, to tell him what it wanted, but not once did he get a response. Eventually the teen had just taken to ignoring the figure as it loomed.
All of this went on for what felt like weeks, but was just a passing of days. Rowan had sequestered himself in his bedroom during the illness which was a good thing considering his state of physical being. Sweat constantly covered his body and his hair had turned into a great rat's nest from all of his tossing and turning. If anyone had seen him, it was certain that they’d think he was in dire need of medical help.
Finally though, when the worst of it had passed, Rowan was able to face the world. Well, at least the world just outside of his room. A shower did him good and fresh clothes and bedroom linens made him feel more human than sickly creature.
He was just buttoning up his shirt, hair still wet when his cell phone rang. One ring. Two rings. He turned to grab it but it stopped. Brows furrowed as he looked at the device sitting next to him. Maybe the hallucinations aren’t done yet. But, a few seconds later it started again and the dancer picked it up in haste if nothing more than to try and prove to himself he was getting better and he hadn’t just made up the sounds of his phone ringing.
The voice on the other end of the line was not what he had expected. “Elex?” He said carefully, his mind playing catch up from his self doubt. “Did you just call a few seconds ago?” The words were out of his mouth as he questioned himself to the teen on the other end of the line. I just need to make sure I didn’t imagine the phone ringing. That’s all. Sure he could have pulled the phone from his ear to check, but that thought hadn’t occurred to him. It was as if he needed an auditory confirmation.
“Sorry. I’ve been a bit out of it the past few days.” He said as he dropped down onto the edge of his bed, a hand reaching up to rub his forehead. “How have you been?” Hopefully the younger boy had fared better. Had he been bitten? Brow furrowed as Rowan tried to think back. ’No. Of course not. He’s better than you.’
Right. Elex had fared well at the maze.
Wait...had that been...?
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Posted: Sat Oct 28, 2017 10:21 am
The voice answered, neutered and flattened by cell phone reception. He heard it well enough. He heard it beyond the backdrop of noise and violence that laced the city loathsome tight. "Yes," he answered, his voice crisp. "My phone dropped the call."
Pacing legs delivered him down the lengtth of the block before curving around and walking the perpendicular down an alleyway. Men yelled to each other in unloading a truck, their voices capping an engine's heady roar. He smelled the acrid smoke — an unwanted reminder. "Why are you apologizing?" I just called you now. You picked up the phone. Where are these concessions coming from?
Did you think that first call was a figment?
"I wondered. After the spider bite, I had my concerns. They foamed at the mouth like rabid dogs, but the blood tests said no lyssavirus. That doesn't account for venom." He wondered, then, if the spider size to poison ratio held true here — if so, Rowan had no fear of death. Or he'd have died by now.
But what do I say? 'I'm glad you're okay'? How paltry.
Pity for you, Rowan Cameron. You got bitten by a giant arachnid. I'm glad you're okay.
How ridiculous.
But his chest shored up on his lungs, a feverish clamp on his breath. Without the pipes, his respirations often felt tight — but anticipation betrayed him now. Apprehension urged the squeeze on his lungs. Elex closed eyes and waited against the alley wall, slick with muck and grime and years of chance encounters. It didn't fade.
So he marched again despite his inhibitions. What do you say, Elex?
"I've been fine." He balled his fist and struck the wall with the heel of his hand.
"I've been perplexed," he corrected. "The newspapers are passing off the garden mishap as a case of anonymous hooligans. Teens dressed in giant spider suits that ambushed the place. They mentioned mace and steak knives…" He sighed into the phone. "The whole city wants to gaslight us."
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Posted: Sat Oct 28, 2017 4:49 pm
Why am I apologizing? Because I am not sure I can trust what I am hearing or seeing yet, that’s why. A short laugh and a shake of the head. Wet hair flicked across Rowan’s face at the motion as he sat hunched over on the bed, leaning on his free arm. “It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.” The words were flat, but Rowan meant it. The last thing he needed, or wanted, was Elex worrying about him.
At the mention of venom Rowan shot up from his seat to begin pacing around his room. From one wall to another he moved, his eyes focused on the floor as he walked barefoot from carpet to hardwood and back again. “Well I can attest that there had to be something more than just saliva in those damnable creatures. The past few days have been anything but enjoyable, but that’s besides the point now.” He said with a wave of a hand as if he were talking to the other boy in person.
“I’ve not had a chance to catch up on the news from the past few days.” He confessed as he altered his pacing to take him to his window where he paused to look out at the bright day. “Why do I get the feelings that stories are often changed to try and keep down hysteria?” When did I step into the crazy part of Destiny City? Just mere weeks ago he would have accepted the news story as truth, rolled his eyes at people who had the time to stage such an attack, then move on with his life. Now…
“I am glad you’re alright. I was worried when I turned to double check on you and you were gone.” After finding Trey, Rowan had, in fact, looked back for the Yorke boy but could not find him anywhere. An odd, sinking feeling had settled in his stomach at the time, but Trey had ushered him off in search of medical attention.
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Posted: Sat Oct 28, 2017 9:18 pm
Elex listened for a time. Against the rush of wind, the senseless voices, the passing cars, he heard Rowan's steady cadence drawl out his words. His phrases sounded mulled, trawled over seldom-used vocal cords. A voice certainly deeper than his, thrumming with life while crushed by cell phone data constrictions. Elex was grateful for the distance from his scent.
I was right before. You play theatrics outside of your role. Does it bring you joy to talk hyperbole?
"Jack pulled me away before I could talk to you about it. Said you needed medical attention .Then the police showed, and…" And what? Elex struggled for a followup. Perhaps one didn't matter. Perhaps Rowan was the type to wind himself into his own affairs with so little time paid to others. As a danseur, he expected as much — a self-centric view of the world at large, with expectation of attentions paid and gifts aplenty. Born with a silver spoon in his mouth, much of that became standard.
Elex's pacing continued, harried with his increased restlessness. He rounded the block in full now and his legs ached lightly for the exercise. "It's because stories are always changed to downplay hysteria here. Think — what would happen if a newspaper printed the real story? They'd be run out of business in a second. The jaded majority would curse the name and tear them down. And the few who know the truth? They'd be further infringed on. This city's prosperity is built on blood and deception — that's where it hangs now. Think of the mass exodus if the public knew the truth. They'll never breathe a word of the real stor —" Elex cut himself off in a gasp, and a horn honked precariously close to the phone. A smattering of pedestrians objected.
A brief, if annoyed, sigh. "I'm sure you follow."
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Posted: Sat Oct 28, 2017 9:55 pm
“Elex?” Concern laced rowan’s voice at the too loud honking of a horn. All movement on his end stopped completely as eyes widened and he waited for the boy to respond. That horn had been far too close. Much too close sounding compared to everything that had laced the background of their conversation thus far.
“Yea I follow, did you just walk into traffic?” Rowan was equally relieved to hear Elex’s voice at the same time angry that the boy had been so caught up in their conversation that he’d possibly put his life at risk. “Where are you?” He questioned then as he pushed away from the window sill. He padded back across the bedroom to his connected bathroom and flicked the light on.
Something moved in the corner of the bathroom just as the light flared on. “s**t.” He said under his breath as he took a step back involuntarily. There was, of course, nothing there, but Rowan looked around just to be certain. He heaved a sigh and ran a hand down his face before turning to glance at his reflection in the mirror. “Look, um...if you aren’t too far away, how about you come over and we can talk? I don’t fancy hearing you nearly be killed by traffic again, or worse.”
’Silly boy. Silly. Silly. Silly. , ‘Won’t come. No. Won’t.’’ Two voices of different timbres and cadences spoke at near identical times to Rowan.
Rowan closed his eyes and looked down at the sink willing the voices gone. I thought this was done with. While it certainly wasn’t near as bad as it had been, it seemed he wasn’t quite out of the woods yet, and he’d just gone and invited Elex over.
Then again, maybe having company would help him refocus and stop seeing and hearing things.
“If you have time, of course. I would hate to take you away from anything you have planned.” Golden eyes looked back up at his reflection and Rowan couldn’t help the small grimace that crossed his face at the him looking back. Perhaps Elex wouldn’t note the tired bags and drawn look? Rowan didn’t fancy looking unpresentable to anyone of interest.
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Posted: Sat Oct 28, 2017 10:35 pm
Elex covered the phone with his palm while he huffed, exasperated. I can't believe I just did that. He glanced behind, to equally irritated passersby, then continued his steady jaunt through the block. "I didn't —" He sighed. "… Yes." His sharp reply was unhindered by Rowan's concern. He ducked into a cobblestone alley where he started to sit against the wall, found it wanting, stood and leaned against the wall, found it troublesome (and surprisingly foreign), then continued on his way.
"Why are you asking?" Was Rowan intending to chastise him for picking a busy street to pace? Doubtful. Elex frowned; he changed the phone from ear to ear in an eternal fidget. Shoulder cupped the smart phone close while he popped his knuckles and wound fruitless circles into the cobblestone.
The truth came with an unexpected turn. Elex froze momentarily, considering. Was it worthwhile to pay Rowan a visit? Knowing that Barbary stalked the shadows somewhere… Would the youma follow them through the streets unbidden? Black eyes glanced skyward for signs of insidious youma. The flattened creature made no appearance of itself. He hadn't long to dawdle; Rowan was wise to gaps in conversation as a performer. "I'm on…" He peered toward the nearest intersection. "Eighth and Acorn." A rash of gooseflesh accosted him, suddenly cold. He swallowed down his reservations.
What do you think is worse than being killed by traffic, Rowan? Would you know anything of becoming youma?
"I'll wait outside the alleyway between Horizon Wireless and Frankie's Pomme Frites. I can't stay long," he finished as he checked his pocket watch. Two hours and forty minutes amounted to a liberal stay. He looked to the lurid alley, bright in drenched sunlight with every crack in the wall showing against the sharpened day. He wondered — would Rowan be able to peer through a glamour in full sun? He looked to his hand and found no signs of the rotten flesh beneath, but his own eyes were tainted with youma. "But I have a couple hours."
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Posted: Sat Oct 28, 2017 11:13 pm
“Eighth and Acorn…” He said to himself as he looked at the wet strands of his hair. Normally he’d prefer to air dry them, but if Elex was coming over, the teen mentally wondered if he had time to tame the tresses? No sooner had that thought crossed his mind did Elex shoot that idea down with his response of not staying too long. That instantly made up Rowan’s mind and he grabbed a comb to run through the purple strands as he moved to depart from the bathroom. With a flick of a switch he turned the light off again, hopefully leaving the shadow person behind.
“That’s not too far.” He said as he worked to tame his wet hair. “I can be there in about 5 or 10 minutes, depending on traffic. See you soon!” With a smile, the teen pulled the phone from his ear and hit the call end icon. He immediately began moving again to grab a pair of shoes. Since he wasn’t intending on doing anything more than picking Elex up, he opted for a pair of slip ons that worked well enough with the casual slacks he’d put on in an effort to feel more like himself and less like the wraith he’d been. Once ready to go he wasted no time in hurrying from his room, down the stair, grabbing his keys at the door and heading to the garage when his precious car awaited him.
As expected it too Rowan better than 5 minutes to reach the destination that Elex had described. The cell phone store and the restaurant in question were easy enough to find, and Rowan turned down the narrow alleyway designed for a single vehicle, most likely delivery trucks, to utilize. Elex wasn’t hard to find in the relatively vacant alley. “Hop in.” Rowan said through the open window on the passengers side.
Once Elex was safely within the vehicle, Rowan put the car in reverse and backed out and safely into the traffic that only minutes earlier Elex had possibly walked into.
“Convenient you have some time to kill.” He remarked with a smile as he glanced at Elex. He noted the younger boy looked well enough as was expected. Elex came across as the competent sort who could take care of themselves no matter the situation. “I was going to stop and grab us food, but I figured we could just pilfer the fridge if we get hungry.” Really, Rowan hadn’t quite gotten his appetite back, and grazing on things from what was stocked at home was likely a better scenario for his untested stomach.
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Posted: Sun Oct 29, 2017 11:42 am
When the still-unfamiliar car loomed into view, Elex stood at once and tucked his jacket about himself. He recognized Rowan's face through the sunlight-stricken glass, acute and aware and expectant. When he slipped inside, he felt the heat coming off the dash vents and held his thin hands close. Chill still caught him off-guard; seldom did he suffer so in the cold weather when Faustite.
Elex glanced to the other boy, his too-long hair obscuring part of his vision. He scraped his bangs away with a few nails. He only smirked. As the change of traffic lights danced on the glass, he looked ahead toward the distant streets — toward malls andshops and service booths. Even civilization started to feel foreign. All these lurid colors and masses of people overstimulated after time spent in Negaspace's long stretches of stagnant darkness. But Rowan wasn't interested in trawling him through shopping excursions, nor did Elex think he could withstand such a binge right now. With Rowan's home a welcome five minutes away, Elex reclined into the seat. Quietude approached.
Lavender and lemon greeted him in due time. Elex thought, then, that he would sooner recognize Rowan by his scent than by his looks, and by his voice unfailingly last. His gaze glazed over passing street lights, as yet unlit in the midday. He wondered how they'd reflect off Rowan's face.
"That's fine." Elex closed his eyes momentarily; he seldom ate beyond Schörl's punishing schedule, which often meant meals at breakfast and midday. Dinner still proved infrequent. Fingers laced together over his lap as he opened eyes again and looked at Rowan in the rear-view. "Are you still feeling sick?
"What happened after you were bitten?" He never got as much out of Rowan over the phone; a vehicle often promised more privacy for such affairs. What happened with him after the EMTs, after the venom settled into his bones? What about his brother? How did his mother take it? Elex imagined that Rowan's influence spread wide in his family, if he could use his own for a gauge.
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Posted: Sun Oct 29, 2017 12:37 pm
The quiet between them was...well, heavy on his end. Rowan felt mildly uncomfortable, but for reasons he couldn’t quite place. Was it the fact that he still wasn’t feeling 100% and worried about Elex’s reaction to his illness? Which, in truth, would be silly considering the younger teen had stepped in to hold Rowan’s hair when he was ill the very first night they had met since childhood interaction. Surely that wasn’t it? Was it just his presence? The boy certainly had a certain air about him that was...well...interesting in a way that was hard to pinpoint. Or was it just the silence between them? Was his need to fill silence the thing that bothered him so?
Elex’s question thankfully broke the quiet. “I am better.” He responded on instinct before grimacing slightly and sighing. “Yes. I am still not feeling well.” A hand dislodged itself from its spot on the steering wheel and Rowan ran a hand through still damp locks to move them out of his peripheral line of sight. Still, he turned to flash Elex a quick smile. “It’s been better today than recent ones though.
“Trey and I got checked out. The medics had cleaned us both up and gave the bite wounds a good cleaning, took blood because Trey and I insisted to check for any sort of diseases, but those came back normal when we called the next day. Everything, well...it seemed normal.” He shrugged a single shoulder as he forced himself to relax in his seat a bit more. The leather seat squeaked and pulled at his shirt some. “I ended up getting...very ill.”
He paused in his story as he shifted lanes to a turning one. The turning signal indicator dinged softly as they awaited the red light to change. “The worst of it was the fever and hallucinations.” He remarked almost too casually. His hands gripped the wheel a little too tightly turning his knuckles a pale tone. Revealing himself at such a vulnerable time was not easy. Rowan didn’t like to appear weak or incapable but his time of illness had done just that to him. He had been barely able to function. Even during that time he’d shut himself away and locked the door to his bedroom to keep anyone from bothering him, even Trey.
The red light turned to a green arrow and Rowan hastily moved the vehicle into motion. “The house is just up ahead.” He remarked as sidewalks eventually gave way to well-manicured hedges and a gated driveway that opened upon Rowan’s car approaching it. He drove straight up to the garage which kept most of the house out of view but it was certainly a well-built property and quite large in appearance. The garage alone, which Rowan had pulled into could house many a vehicle. For the moment, the only thing there was his own car and a motorcycle covered up and parked in a corner.
Turning off the ignition, Rowan looked over at Elex and offered a smile. “Welp, home sweet home. Both Trey and Mother are busy with business today so the house is a bit on the quiet side for me.”
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Posted: Tue Oct 31, 2017 4:14 pm
"Everything seemed normal," Elex repeated, skeptical. "But everything wasn't normal." Rowan recounted symptoms unusual to 'normal' bloodwork — fever, hallucination. Maybe it was an infection, mmaybe a case from the venom. The symptoms sounded too vague to be reliably identified as a spider bite. Likely no one would believe him if he spoke about the incident with someone else. Rowan was now becoming entrenched in Destiny City's sordid tales, where kaded disbelief cast him into a bitter light. Rowan performed in many ways now: as a danseur, as a rich boy with a reputation, and as a victim of supernatural circumstance looking to hide his ill tidings.
Elex understood that much of Rowan Cameron. Elex knew those roles himself — Faustite the Negaverse captain, Elex Yorke the upper-class child, Elex the family refugee. Few of his roles were chosen by himself. Fewer still interested him. Yet the precarious balance of thrice-named selves braided together into a difficult script, an ebb and flow like clockwork that required its performer on his toes. And while their worlds seldom intersected, Elex cherished the small fragments that intertwined. This Rowan felt true to life. Damaged, perhaps, but better for it.
Rowan Cameron. Sufferer of fever and hallucinations. Did you dream of my other face? He cast his attention to the window, where blots of people flickered by like raindrops over a screen.
The ride was short, and Elex came no closer to recognizing more notes from Rowan's unsubtle cologne. With seatbelt unbuckled, he left the car as bidden and rounded the front to follow Rowan into the premises. The house itself was grand, certainly — as expected for any family looking to demonstrate its status symbols. He had no great view of its exterior, however; Rowan's parking in the garage limited his view to empty space and epoxied floors. The motorcycle could've been anyone's.
"How fortunate," Elex remarked of their solitude. He looked to Rowan's back, where shoulders squared in proper posture and his shirt clung tightly to a toned body. He considered etiquette — protocol to ask for a house show, for tea, for discussions about inanity. He considered his time with a clever look to his pocket watch. No — he couldn't chance it.
"Will you show me the spider bite?" He asked, as he followed the youth inside.
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Posted: Tue Oct 31, 2017 5:37 pm
Rowan popped open the door that led from the garage to a mudroom. Once upon a time the room had been outfitted for two small boys who very much enjoyed doing as children do. Rowan could still see their child-sized hooks on the wall with coats and boots strewn about in a child’s reference to ‘close vicinity’ to their partners. Toys could be found on shelves and in boxes, and often enough tracks leading from the door into the house was not at all uncommon. Now, looking at the pristine tiled floor, grey painted walls, perfectly stored outerwear and multitude of coat hangers on the wall, all at adult height, one would never think children had ever lived in the house. Even remnants of old toy shelves couldn’t be found. Everything had been re-furnished once the boys had hit adolescent.
Holding the door open for Elex, Rowan’s brows furrowed slightly. “You want to see it?” He hesitated. It seemed like an odd request. Why was Elex so interested in the wound? Perhaps he of the medical mind. Wanting to pursue medicine? As the thought crossed his mind, Rowan realized he knew very little about Elex himself and just what he could remember of the Yorke family; even that was very little.
Closing the door behind the boy as he entered the mud room, Rowan immediately walked across the room that, when opened, led t a kitchen. It was a practical set-up for those who had small children. Now it was more convenience than anything to have the garage so close to the kitchen. “I...suppose so. Though I don’t really know what you hope to see.” By this point the wound had, thankfully stopped seeping, but, since his shower, Rowan hadn’t checked to make sure the scabs hadn’t softened too much to be pulled away from the gauze bandage that had been taped over the them. For all he knew, he’d re-opened the bites. The constant dull ache made it hard to be certain.
“I’ll have to rebandage it back up. That stuff is up in my room…” Again he hesitated. The thought of taking Elex to his bedroom seemed so...intimate.
“I can go get it if you don’t mind waiting a moment?” He paused and glanced around the almost too pristine white kitchen. Why his mother wanted all white was beyond him. Even the granite, which Rowan himself would have preferred to be a darker tone was white. Only a faint trace of color from decorations strategically placed around the kitchen could be seen.
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Posted: Wed Nov 01, 2017 7:56 pm
"A spider the size of a car bit you," Elex tossed back dully. "Of course I want to see it." He wondered whether his vested interest in the supernatural bought him any leeway into Rowan's injuries. As he followed the older teen into the kitchen, doubt spread over his chances. Reticence in Rowan's voice showed plain, and Elex chose to divert his attention elsewhere with a tight-lipped, placid countenance. Knuckles rapped on granite counters as they passed. Booted feet touched tile with a certain irreverence. He stopped short of walking onto carpet, however, and faced his companion with interest.
Strange that you keep bandages in your room. I wonder why you're hiding it. Your mother would know by now that something happened. Her dear little boy suffered through all the signs of infection, didn't he? And what was there to show for it?
Why would you hide it? The consideration lingered, pleading for its chance to air on his sharp tongue. He swallowed it; Rowan needed no additional antagonization compared to what he endured already. Elex softened his expression with considerable effort, and sought the scents of lemon and lavender that followed the older teen everywhere. Elex decided against toying with what Rowan chose to hide. Perhaps, in the near future, Elex himself would become something to hide.
Don't play dense, Rowan. You know what I hope to see. He motioned silently toward the stairs to comply with Rowan's request. "Bashfulness doesn't suit you." A smirk touched his features before he looked away wholesale.
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Posted: Wed Nov 01, 2017 8:59 pm
A hesitation. Rowan didn’t turn to look back at Elex at the comment. Bottom teeth met with his upper lip as he thought for a split second about changing his mind. Instead, he pushed onward towards the stairs.
Normally one to take the steps in swift succession, Rowan was forced to a slower tempo as his hip ached with every other step. Thankfully the ascent wasn’t steep nor terribly long and seen the teen was on the second level and hanging a left. Passing one, two, three, four, five doors he turned to one that looked identical to the others and turned the handle, entering his own bedroom suite. It was dark with his drapes still pulled over the window. The light from the hallway spilled into the room giving enough light for Rowan to not bother with a light to find his way to the bathroom where his bandages were stored.
Turning on the light in the smaller attached room, Rowan opened his medicine cabinet and easily grabbed the gauze and tape sitting front and center. With gauze in hand he closed the cabinet and stared at his reflection. Why am I acting like this? He sighed and rubbed at his face. I feel like I am tip toeing around him and I don’t know why. It was an odd and foreign feeling and certainly not something Rowan was used to dealing with.
With a huff he turned away from the sink and mirror and reached out to turn off the light as he stepped through the threshold…
And almost ran smack into his shadowy figure. Rowan back pedaled hard. “Go away.” He said through gritted teeth as the figure just...stood there. Like a monster form nightmares, Rowan couldn’t see anything in detail, but somehow, somehow Rowan knew it was staring him down. Tendrils of mist rose up from its back like a smog in a never ending pattern. “Go. AWAY!” He said louder as he attempted to stand his ground.
It stepped toward him. Rowan swallowed hard as he has to physically keep himself from stepping backwards in fear. “No. I am done. This is...ridiculous.” Taking a deep breath, and closing his eyes, Rowan barrelled through the figure and into his room. The sounds of footsteps following him prompted him to turn quickly, tripping his over his own two feet in a rather ungraceful maneuver and hitting the floor butt first.
The steps stopped.
Rowan opened his eyes to find nothing there.
’Silly. Silly boy.’ ‘Too afraid. Always, afraid’ The voices echoed in Rowan’s head.
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Posted: Wed Nov 01, 2017 10:52 pm
Elex watched the lopsided lope up the stairs with interest. Rowan's wardrobe oft left little to the imagination, he gathered. It suited him; a danseur chose his role for an audience, did he not? Rowan's performed on stage, off stage, and in the interstices of Destiny City's paranormal charades. Elex favored the lattermost role.
Elbows braced on the granite and Elex formed a bed of knuckles for his chin. He waited there, idle in the stillness of the kitchen. Unmoving. Introspective. His gaze glazed over the whole of the place with all thought focused knife-sharp on his present predicament. Excitement welled where it shouldn't; Elex swallowed it down with liberal strength. Still, he far preferred the days when he knew no great wound, no deep slight, no sordid jabs. When Elex Yorke meant a lifetime of homespun stories. All manner of interaction simply broke on the rocks. And now? Now he was the furious ocean, ever battering itself on shifting, sinuous, formless sand.
Pity for me, he thought with a wry smile.
Rowan's voice broke thought and his gaze switched to the stair. No sign of him. He straightened bolt tight at the second call, one of urgency, and started for its origins. Ascending two at a time, he rounded the corner only at persisted movement and jogged down the hall. Is it youma? A senshi? The Mirror?
Sinope — He nursed a bitter scowl before he found the open door.
With no hesitance, he pressed the door past its lazy slant and heard Rowan's body strike the floor. Blood scent caught his nose as he searched left and right, eyes desperate quick in looking for lurching shapes or lurid costumes. Nothing — he found nothing. Even as he paced into the room, now a margin of a wreck, he found nothing. No one. Not a soul remained inside but the pair. He looked to Rowan, then, as he tried to mask his scorn. "What happened?" He looked about a last time. Still nothing.
"Was someone here?" He leaned over and offered a thin hand to the older teen. Will you curb your dignity enough for that?
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