[From here.]With both his hands full Sync had been expecting Anise to light their way, keeping his steps slow and cautious as he walked
( Read more... )
The kitchen was completely empty when Junior entered. It was kinda creepy, really, but now wasn't the time to let that sort of feeling get the better of him. Nigredo needed to take care of that wound, and then they had somewhere to be and something to look for. Next thing we know, there'll be some super-ancient reptiles showing up out of nowhere and attacking or something, he thought as he glanced around at the dark room. It was half a joke, and made him feel a bit better about the place, but his grip reflexively tightened on the sword.
Junior felt along the wall with his free hand, hoping to come across a sink or to feel some sort of cloth under his fingers. It took a minute, but his hand did finally run across ceramic that dipped down into a basin. His brain automatically thought Something's gonna bite me, I bet as he felt around in there, though he found terrycloth first. "Got it!" he announced, grabbing it and turning back toward the door, holding it out for Nigredo to take. Then, "What about you, Albedo? You're not hurt, are you?"
Albedo's attention slid fluidly between his siblings, synapses firing in different directions. His twin had picked up a mouth here, that was certain. And Nigredo. The liar. Albedo gave him his best disapproving glare to counter the youngest's blank expression, then just shook his head. Rubedo was walking off again, and so Albedo repaid the action from earlier--grabbing under Nigredo's good arm to brace him as he got up. The middle Variant's lips were thinned into a line, watching the darkness where his other heart had disappeared into. And wasn't that just...
Albedo sighed. He couldn't even find the effort in this.
By the time they had followed, Rubedo was almost sucessful, a 'got it' following close after their entering steps. Albedo took a step away when Rubedo approached, turning away and making it seem as if the white-haired boy was scanning the kitchen. He was fine with this, ignoring life around him, until....
The softer emotions, joy and even pain, had settled deep into a place unreachable for now. The question asked hadn't provoked either. Likewise, anger was stored deep down. If he wanted to effect his twin, why not do it by maintaining the upper hand? As if he wanted to. Albedo was fine playing the silent game until Rubedo spoke and ruined it. By bringing up a subject just touched on far too soon. By asking something Rubedo already knew. Back to his brothers, Albedo's expression went flat. That settled it then. Caring was not one of Rubedo's virtues. No. Not at all.
Albedo looked back over his shoulder, eying Nigredo with a tired expression as he did a poor version of first-aid, before staring at Rubedo in distaste. "Of course, I'm not hurt," came his condescending reply, laced with sarcasm. "I'm glad you understand so much, Rubedo. It'd be difficult if you forgot such obvious things. Perhaps your choice of companions is rubbing off on you. I didn't think mental retardation was catching, but you're proving that theory wrong."
The boy shook his head and turned his head away from them again, annoyed beyond measure and upset beyond caring. He was moving through the motions at this point, and just wanted to keep going and get this night over. Deeper mental processes were encumbered at this point, and he still didn't understand the purpose to this little excursion. There was something catching in the half-light, and Albedo was careful to stay far away from that realization.
The disapproval from either sibling came as no surprise (aside from Rubedo's questionable choice of words). The hand, in contrast, took the boy completely aback. A glimmer of the emotion flashed across his face, only for Nigredo to reason the act away a second later and bring himself to a stand. Rubedo had already gone into the other room.
The place they reached next looked to be a kitchen, though most of the equipment there registered as foreign to the youngest. And clean. Even in the dark, he could tell there was virtually nothing mismatched and out of place. Or better yet, not on fire, as was the association he held with the setting.
Rubedo cried out and held up the desired item, forcing him back to attention. No time was wasted in taking the cloth. "Thanks," he muttered, pressing it down against what was the most applicable pressure point. A rather lazy method, he had to admit, but the boy didn't want to waste time on a tourniquet.
It was at this point that Nigredo and his ears perked. One twin had asked one thing, prompting the other to answer accordingly. There was a minute of blissful disbelief, before context and meaning came crashing down on his well-established logic. Logic that soon begged release in the form of a nearby frying pan, slamming into the backside of both Rubedo and Albedo's heads.
Instead, Nigredo turned away. He wasn't going to butt in this time if he could help it.
Just when he thought he'd try to be nice, try to at least start making amends in the smallest ways possible, Albedo had to go and say that. It would've been fine if it was only the redhead that he'd been insulting, but his twin had gone beyond that. Irritation flared up again, but this time Junior bit back a bitter response, clenching his jaw and forcing himself not to yell at his twin again. Yeah, you're more than okay. Fine. See if he tried to break that silence again, since Albedo seemed to prefer it. He couldn't contain at least an eyeroll that came of its own accord as he turned back to examining the room.
An entrance to the basement through the freezer. Finding something like that would be more than enough distraction...except it looked like the door they needed was already open, but it didn't matter. It was like it was waiting for them, or else someone else had already come through here. The redhead approached it, still trying to squash the urge to hit his twin instead. "Guess this is what we're looking for."
No response. It felt like a victory. (It felt like loss.) With Rubedo's footsteps, Albedo tensed, waiting for the strike. It didn't come, and something trickled away. Something like relief, like a pain in itself.
For a moment, all three remaining URTV were faced in opposite directions, a disheveled, ununited front. Things lay between them; far too intricate and entwined to be whisked away by good intentions. Each held to things that perhaps they shouldn't--and that perhaps they should hold tighter to. A cold chill lacing his body, Albedo made to move past Rubedo into the strange unknown. He paused between them, speaking clearly, and for once, expecting no answer.
"Did you really think, that this would turn out well?"
The kitchen was completely empty when Junior entered. It was kinda creepy, really, but now wasn't the time to let that sort of feeling get the better of him. Nigredo needed to take care of that wound, and then they had somewhere to be and something to look for. Next thing we know, there'll be some super-ancient reptiles showing up out of nowhere and attacking or something, he thought as he glanced around at the dark room. It was half a joke, and made him feel a bit better about the place, but his grip reflexively tightened on the sword.
Junior felt along the wall with his free hand, hoping to come across a sink or to feel some sort of cloth under his fingers. It took a minute, but his hand did finally run across ceramic that dipped down into a basin. His brain automatically thought Something's gonna bite me, I bet as he felt around in there, though he found terrycloth first. "Got it!" he announced, grabbing it and turning back toward the door, holding it out for Nigredo to take. Then, "What about you, Albedo? You're not hurt, are you?"
Reply
Albedo sighed. He couldn't even find the effort in this.
By the time they had followed, Rubedo was almost sucessful, a 'got it' following close after their entering steps. Albedo took a step away when Rubedo approached, turning away and making it seem as if the white-haired boy was scanning the kitchen. He was fine with this, ignoring life around him, until....
The softer emotions, joy and even pain, had settled deep into a place unreachable for now. The question asked hadn't provoked either. Likewise, anger was stored deep down. If he wanted to effect his twin, why not do it by maintaining the upper hand? As if he wanted to. Albedo was fine playing the silent game until Rubedo spoke and ruined it. By bringing up a subject just touched on far too soon. By asking something Rubedo already knew. Back to his brothers, Albedo's expression went flat. That settled it then. Caring was not one of Rubedo's virtues. No. Not at all.
Albedo looked back over his shoulder, eying Nigredo with a tired expression as he did a poor version of first-aid, before staring at Rubedo in distaste. "Of course, I'm not hurt," came his condescending reply, laced with sarcasm. "I'm glad you understand so much, Rubedo. It'd be difficult if you forgot such obvious things. Perhaps your choice of companions is rubbing off on you. I didn't think mental retardation was catching, but you're proving that theory wrong."
The boy shook his head and turned his head away from them again, annoyed beyond measure and upset beyond caring. He was moving through the motions at this point, and just wanted to keep going and get this night over. Deeper mental processes were encumbered at this point, and he still didn't understand the purpose to this little excursion. There was something catching in the half-light, and Albedo was careful to stay far away from that realization.
Reply
The place they reached next looked to be a kitchen, though most of the equipment there registered as foreign to the youngest. And clean. Even in the dark, he could tell there was virtually nothing mismatched and out of place. Or better yet, not on fire, as was the association he held with the setting.
Rubedo cried out and held up the desired item, forcing him back to attention. No time was wasted in taking the cloth. "Thanks," he muttered, pressing it down against what was the most applicable pressure point. A rather lazy method, he had to admit, but the boy didn't want to waste time on a tourniquet.
It was at this point that Nigredo and his ears perked. One twin had asked one thing, prompting the other to answer accordingly. There was a minute of blissful disbelief, before context and meaning came crashing down on his well-established logic. Logic that soon begged release in the form of a nearby frying pan, slamming into the backside of both Rubedo and Albedo's heads.
Instead, Nigredo turned away. He wasn't going to butt in this time if he could help it.
Reply
An entrance to the basement through the freezer. Finding something like that would be more than enough distraction...except it looked like the door they needed was already open, but it didn't matter. It was like it was waiting for them, or else someone else had already come through here. The redhead approached it, still trying to squash the urge to hit his twin instead. "Guess this is what we're looking for."
Reply
For a moment, all three remaining URTV were faced in opposite directions, a disheveled, ununited front. Things lay between them; far too intricate and entwined to be whisked away by good intentions. Each held to things that perhaps they shouldn't--and that perhaps they should hold tighter to. A cold chill lacing his body, Albedo made to move past Rubedo into the strange unknown. He paused between them, speaking clearly, and for once, expecting no answer.
"Did you really think, that this would turn out well?"
[to here]
Reply
Leave a comment