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Painted Moose (Discord)

Langdon Aberswith was a miserable excuse for a man let alone a father.

What few times he’d bothered to stop by the family home he was usually so drunk he could barely stand or worse; unbearably sober. Eudora had developed a system for when they heard that familiar, crooning voice on the other side of the door. Eliazer was to go to his room and be as quiet as possible until Langdon either fell asleep or got what he wanted. More often than not it was to take what meager earnings his mother had managed to scrounge up that week - or at least, the earnings he could find. She had a stash, as one usually did in these situations, but sometimes Langdon would smarten up. He’d get loud, get physical and on those days Eliazer couldn’t stay hidden. As soon as he’d heard the man’s unbearably sweet voice turn into a growl he’d come out of his room and that’s when he’d struck.
By the time Aleksi had shown up they were already in the midst of a row. The presence of another body quelled Langdon enough so that he tried to pass it off as normal. It may have worked if not for the way that Eudora’s hands shook, the broken furniture and worse yet, Eliazer’s split lip. A large bruise was forming on his jaw by the time he opened the door and from there things seemed to escalate. He hadn’t been expecting the fire, but it had caused Langdon to flee into the streets and his mother found safety with their neighbors. As long as she was with the older lightning couple he knew she was safe and vice versa. He’d seen the way her eyes sparked with surprise, even fear, when the fire had just sprang to life but she’d never question Aleksi.

Eliazer leaned back against the cool brick and sighed, wincing as the action caused his jaw to ache. He was mad; of course he was. Half of the broken furniture had been because of him, after all, and there were scraps on his knuckles to prove it. Still, Eliazer was more concerned with Aleksi at the moment. Pushing away from the brick, Eliazer walked a bit down the alley and came back with a bucket filled with rain water. He sat it down atop a nearby crate. {“Put your hands in; it will help.”}

Painted Moose

Eliazer made a sound somewhere between a snort and a huff. {“Wasn’t much left before you showed up anyway.”} Worst case scenario they may need to replace their clothes and bedding because of the smoke. It all depended on how much of it spread throughout the apartment, but everything else was temporary at best. Eudora kept a tidy home, but it was filled to the brim with things she’d scavenged from those who no longer wanted them. They’d learned long ago that there was little point in sinking money into objects that would only be broken.

{“I hate him.”} His hands shook, but not out of fear. There was a rage inside of Eliazer that ate at him like a venomous snake. Shame at his family's greatest folly being seen caused his eyes to water, but he didn’t cry. He never did. {“It’s hard to explain. Part of me wanted him to burn, but as soon as I think it I don’t it to happen.”} Eli shook his head. {“It sounds stupid, doesn’t it?”}

Painted Moose

I’m not better than he is. The truth was Eliazer’s anger was his birthright. He came by it as naturally as the blood in his veins. There was something dark in Langdon that passed down to his son and in truth he was worried that one day he would lash out harder than he ever had. In that regard he could completely sympathize with Alek. While he hadn’t had any sort of magical inclination the fear of something random erupting and hurting someone...it was very real.

{“At least now you know why I never invite you over.”} Stepping forward, he lifted his friends hands by the wrist and tilted them so he could get a better look. When he was satisfied there would be no lasting damage he let them go. It would hurt for a while, that much was evident, but if he spun it the right way he might get out of a few assignments which might take the sting off. {“We need to figure out a story so you don’t get in trouble.”}

Painted Moose

{“Will she believe that though? Your parents are going to ask questions.”} Eliazer furrowed his brow. {“Especially if mom mentions anything about a fire.”} While his mother wasn’t exactly a gossiper, she was friendly enough with her employer that it might very well come up. She wouldn’t look to get Alek in trouble in the least, but… {“I’ll ask her to keep it quiet.”} If she could hold his father’s secrets then she could keep this one under wraps too.

{“Even if we could afford to move he would find his way back. He always does.”} The apartment building they lived in was far from their first anyway. It wasn’t as if they hopped around to escape Langdon, but rather they chased the cheapest rates. The building was old, clearly in need of repairs that would never happen, but it was home.

Painted Moose

Eliazer sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Alek likely wouldn’t drop it, no matter how much he wished he just would, so he needed to figure this out. {“Help us find somewhere to stay temporarily and we’ll call it even. Maybe let me borrow one of your uniforms for a few weeks.”} He couldn’t afford to miss school more than he already had because of Langdon. The amount of times Eli had already been talked to by the headmaster was getting too high and eventually it would fall onto his ‘patron’ to deal with. He didn’t want to drag Alek’s father into this anymore than the man already was.

The whole thing was just so stupid! If he’d just leave already instead of sleeping with anything that walked and drinking all of their money then they might be okay! Eliazer’s thinly veiled calmness slipped away bit by bit until he eventually took a sharp inhale, quickly lifted the bucket and threw it at the damn wall. {“What gives him the right to just come in like he belongs there?! Why do I have to cover for his stupid a** every single time.”}

Painted Moose

Instead of signing, since it was too frustrating to do at the moment, Eliazer simply raised his hands as if to say I know, right?!. He nodded his head fervently before reaching out with his leg and kicking the nearest crate. The sturdy wood barely buckled under his effort, which caused him to trip a little but even that just made him even more agitated. Eliazer kicked the crate again and this time it burst open. It didn’t matter how much his mother worked, or how hard Eliazer studied Langdon would never be happy. He would take and take and take until they were bled dry and then he would probably sell their hair to some creepy wizard!

How many long nights would he have to pull just to cover him? Eliazer couldn’t count the times he’d come home from class and juggled homework, housework and cleaning for the neighbors just to earn a little extra coin while his mother worked her double jobs. And what was he doing? JACK. {“A woman came up to me in the market yesterday. She recognized my markings and asked if I knew Langdon. She had a kid with her, a little girl and she looked exactly like me. How many more are out there?!”}

Painted Moose

{“I know what I saw.”} Eliazer was so sure that the little geian girl who’d been holding her mother’s hand, smiling like there wasn’t a thought in that little head of hers, was his sister that he would have bet his last coin on it. The woman herself hadn’t seemed desperate to find Langdon, but there had been a worry there, almost as if she’d been searching for a while and it just made him sick.

{“We’ve known for a while that he isn’t loyal, but I never thought I’d see proof of it.”} He was a teenager so of course Eliazer knew how children came about, but he’d always hoped that his father might keep his indiscretions at least in another city. If for no other reason than the pain it would bring Eudora, but it seemed like he just didn’t care anymore. He was about to sign something else when a noise at the end of the alley made him turn, just in time for a Security Sector patrolman to stick her face around the corner.

“Hey! What are you kids doing down there?”