[log] it's a small world after all [closed]

[bloodbiter]

Characters: Royce, Cassel and Adelina
Location: 31
Date: 198 night
Summary: Two teenagers and a half elf wander into a house.
Warnings: Probably not, will update if so!

[Crawling through a dog house isn't the most pleasant entrance she's ever had, but the building they've found themselves in isn't the worst she's seen here. Still, as she enters, the sight of all the upended furniture throws her for a moment.]

How strange. I wonder who...

[But then, in scanning the area, she notice that the two of them aren't alone. Upon seeing who the other occupant of this house is, she pauses in her tracks. Honestly, part of her wants to laugh at the incredible coincidence, but instead she glances back towards Cassel to make sure he isn't going to do anything before looking back towards Royce.]

...Hello.

Comments

[theurgy]

[Cassel has been moody and sullen since talking to Lila, even more snippy with Adelina than he is usually. He crawls in after Adelina, and when he spots their housemate for the night, his first, paranoid thought is that it's one of those things again, ready to pin them to the wall. But then he registers the cut of the cloak and the figure of the man wearing it, and it clicks.]

God damn it.

[Sorry, Adelina.]

What are you doing here?

[bywolves]

[ Nope. Royce has no intentions of being in the same room as these two. He catches one look at them and darts up the stairs to attempt to go lock himself in a room BYE. ]

[theurgy]

[Cassel doesn't want Royce out of his sight. So, he's just going to say one thing. One thing that's terrible for Royce.]

Stop!

[bloodbiter]

[Meanwhile, Adelina doesn't seem to have much of a reaction to him trying to leave - if they have to stay in the same place, she thinks, maybe it's better if they aren't in the same part of the house.

When Cassel speaks again, she doesn't say anything, but she glances towards him, a warning in her expression. She doesn't want him to make this worse than it has to be.]

[bywolves]

[ Royce freezes. And his heart thuds in his chest, like crazy, sets off - he can't move. That was an order. He can't hide, and Cassel is going to know. ]

[theurgy]

[Cassel is so shocked that Royce actually stopped that for a moment, he just stares in utter disbelief. And then he remembers Royce's conversation with Adelina, his own stupid "do you get off on orders or something?" comment, and it clicks. There's no way. Right?]

Raise your left hand.

[bloodbiter]

[Her eyes narrow slightly as Royce stops in his tracks, uncertain why he's listened. She only looks away from him when she hears Cassel speak. She's confused for a moment as to why he would say that, before it falls into place for her as well.

Despite her opinion of him so far, her face shifts in sympathy. If she's correct, it seems awful to her.]

Cassel, don't.

[bywolves]

[ Royce's back is still to them, halfway up the stairs, and his shoulders hunch up around his ears when Cassel speaks next. His breath catches, and Royce slowly raises his left hand, not even able to hesitate. ]

[theurgy]

[Cassel glances at Adelina, just for a second.]

Are you fucking with us? [There's just the briefest hesitation before he says:] Turn around.

[bloodbiter]

[Her glance towards him hardens, and her tone grows a bit more serious. She wants to think he wouldn't do anything more extreme than telling Royce to raise his hand or turn around, but...]

Cassel.

[Another warning.]

[bywolves]

[ Royce turns around when Cassel asks - he has enough time to steel his expression into something sharp, something cold. But he's frightened, too, under all that; it's visible in his body language, in the way he holds himself. He doesn't say anything yet.

He also hasn't moved, or put his hand down. He hasn't been given the order to do it. ]

[theurgy]

[There's a part of Cassel, a very big part, that feels a rush of satisfaction at Royce's clear fear. But then Adelina says his name, scolding and all business, and he scowls.]

Do I have to order you to relax, too? [He gestures dismissively, and then, utterly sarcastic:] At ease.

[bloodbiter]

[She gives Cassel one last disappointed glance before she looks towards Royce, expression softening. This is a situation she's never had to navigate before, and she's not certain it's an apology he'll want to hear, but it's one she thinks she should give regardless.]

I'm sorry. If I had known what was going on this morning, I would have at the very least waited to ask you about the labyrinth.

[bywolves]

[ Cassel is dismissive, sarcastic, and Royce feels a little bit of fury rise up in his throat. He's different, now, he's - he's supposed to be better. More forgiving. But being here, in a place where he's quickly reminded that the rules don't matter, in a place where he's being controlled against his will - it raises his hackles.

Adelina apologizes, which makes Royce actually feel vaguely bad, but - he won't let Cassel get away with this. ]

Don't act too smug. You're on as much of a leash as I am. [ Royce drawls at Cassel. He looks at Adelina. ] Go on. Call him off the rest of the way.

[theurgy]

[That's enough to piss Cassel off, almost enough to get him to make Royce to something else, but maybe it's true. Maybe Adelina is a little bit of a leash, like Sam and Daneca were. Cassel's voice goes low and dangerous, almost needling—he's desperate for an excuse to keep going.]

You're begging me to test the limits of this compulsion thing, aren't you? Maybe it does turn you on.

[bloodbiter]

[She frowns, opening her mouth to address Royce - but Cassel speaks first, and it demands a higher level of attention. This time when she speaks, it's past a warning; there's little room for argument in the tone of her voice.]

Don't you dare.

[She realizes it's probably exactly what Royce wanted to hear her say, but her priority is stopping this from turning into a disaster. Without skipping a beat, and without taking her eyes off Cassel, she addresses Royce.]

I don't control him, so for your sake I would suggest not provoking him.

[bywolves]

[ It makes him feel good. Better. He knows he shouldn't - he knows how angry Gwen might have been, but Gwen's not here. Gwen's gone. It hasn't been long enough for the twist to not hurt, and Royce thinks - Royce thinks, at least, if he can't hurt Cassel for playing with him like this, at the very least, he can try to twist them against each other.

I don't control him, she says, and that should be Royce's cue to stop. ]

I'm not provoking anything. [ Royce says - he's relaxed against his will, but his heart won't stop pounding. ] You told me to tell you this truth, this morning. I'm just pointing it out.

[ Royce looks at Cassel. ] You won't. You don't want to make her angry.

[theurgy]

[It's true. Cassel doesn't want to make Adelina mad, especially now that she's earned a little bit of his trust. That's rare, and it's even more rare for genuinely good people like Adelina to stick around once they actually know anything beyond the bullshit he usually spouts to stay in everyone's good graces.

The problem is, Cassel is already pissed off about Lila, and pissed off that this guy is not only psychoanalyzing him, but getting it dead on.]

Thanks for the feedback, Freud. Why should I back off after you almost got me killed?

[He is very pointedly not looking at Adelina.]

[bloodbiter]

[If he isn't going to acknowledge her, she isn't going to give him a choice. She's been standing near him before this, but now she steps in front of him, staring up at him with an uncompromising expression.

Royce certainly isn't making the situation better, but she understands that he's relatively powerless at the moment. It's Cassel who she needs to be worried about.]

Have you already forgotten what we talked about mere days ago? What you're thinking of doing is wrong.

[She trusts he'll know what she means.]

[bywolves]

I don't know. Why should you?

[ Royce asks quietly, voice icy, flexing his fingers by his sides. Adelina reminds him of Tifa. He can feel the guilt starting to settle - it's a new sensation. ]

[theurgy]

[Adelina steps in front of him, and Cassel feels the guilt settle over him, too. The difference is, it's not a new sensation for him at all. For a split second, something like hurt flashes across his face, and then he tries to pull it back, to smooth out his expression, but he's not Royce or Philip or Zacharov, and he does a poor job of it.]

Just... forget it. Leave us alone.

[That's to Royce. It's an intentional order, one last jab he thinks he can get away with.

[bloodbiter]

[She doesn't turn away from Cassel when she sees the hurt flash across his face, but she does once he issues his last command. She hesitates for a moment before looking towards Royce, sighing.]

Do whatever you want, as long as it isn't harmful.

[She thinks it's the only proper thing to tell him to do.]

[bywolves]

[ Leave us alone - do whatever you want, as long as it isn't harmful. Orders, they're still orders, and Royce makes an angry, angry sound as he turns and moves back to run down the hallway not stairs and to the furthest room he can find, away from them, closing the door and sitting against it. Guess who isn't sleeping tonight? ]

[theurgy]

[So Royce leaves, and Cassel just watches him go, not saying anything. He knows he fucked up.]

[bloodbiter]

[She takes a breath in as she watches Royce disappear into another room, and then she turns her attention back to Cassel, her expression chilled.]

What, if I may ask, were you hoping to accomplish there?

[theurgy]

[Here's the problem—Cassel doesn't know how to navigate this. Every relationship he's ever had, minus Sam and Daneca, has been some sort of power struggle, usually with him on the losing end. He doesn't talk things out with people. He doesn't know how to apologize properly, mostly because in this situation he doesn't think he should have to.]

He's an asshole.

[Poor Adelina.]

[bloodbiter]

[For once, she doesn't focus on the swearing; there's more important things to talk about.]

And your solution to that is to pull yourself down closer to his level?

[Just closer to it, not down to it. She doesn't think what he did was as harsh as what Royce did, but all the same.]

[theurgy]

[She is really, really good at saying just the right things to make him squirm. He frowns down at her, quiet for a long moment.]

He didn't exactly treat you great, either.

[bloodbiter]

A fact that I'm more than capable of dealing with. I fail to see how that's relevant.

[A sigh.]

You haven't answered my question.

[theurgy]

[He doesn't want to answer it, because nothing he can say that's honest will make her feel better.]

What do you want me to say, Adelina?

[bloodbiter]

The truth.

[The way she says it is a bit incredulous, because to her, it seems simple. Of course that's what she wants.]

[theurgy]

[God, he hates this. She has a way of making him feel all turned inside out. It's a little like Daneca, but she calls him out more effectively. He's not quite looking at her anymore.]

He deserved it. I wanted to get him back.

[bloodbiter]

[It's what she expected to hear, and she's already been planning how to move forward from it.]

And would it have changed what he did then, or make it less likely for him to endanger anyone else in the future?

[theurgy]

No.

[That's not the point, but he can't say it. It was just vindictive.]

I'll leave him alone.

[bloodbiter]

I hope you know better, in the future.

[She wants to say that she knows he won't do anything to Royce, because she's here and she won't allow it, but she lets that go.]

[theurgy]

[Something about the way she says it makes him bristle, maybe because he knows he's just going to end up letting her down like he has everyone else.]

Drop it. It's over.

[bloodbiter]

[Judging from the slow way her mouth pulls into a thin line, that answer does nothing to make her less frustrated.]

I will drop it when you give me some indication this behavior won't continue if someone else acts similarly towards you.

[theurgy]

Okay, okay, I'll try.

[That's... something?]