aftermath | for thomas accounts
Feb. 16th, 2013 06:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
butfortheirvirtue[It had all happened in a rush, so fast that in his exhausted state he had barely registered what was happening until it was over. One minute Thomas was leaning over him, guarding him, and the next the door was being thrown open and their father was in the room, pulling Thomas away, throwing him to the ground so he could rush Chris out of the room and bolt the door behind them.
(He remembers vaguely wondering, in past weeks, why there had been a lock installed on the outside of Thomas' door.)
He slept for two days, only ever waking to use the bathroom and to eat (and even for meals he didn't leave his bed). It's dangerous, evidently, to feed an incubus during the days after his first meal from a conscious human. He's lucky (according to the internet, at least) that he was only out for two days.
He'd have preferred to sleep longer, honestly. Because being awake for the third day meant he heard everything that happened in the room next to his. He heard the scratching at the walls, the body thrown against the door, the constant chorus of please Chris please let me out feed me Chris please I can't stand it please Chris I'm going to die.
(it was hard, not to let him, when he heard that)
(even if he knew what would happen if he did)
Today is the fourth day, and the noises have stopped. It's safe, Chris has read (and Byron has confirmed), to open the door.
So he unlatches the door now, bearing a lunch tray (he figures that Thomas will appreciate food that isn't pushed under the door), and steps inside.]
(He remembers vaguely wondering, in past weeks, why there had been a lock installed on the outside of Thomas' door.)
He slept for two days, only ever waking to use the bathroom and to eat (and even for meals he didn't leave his bed). It's dangerous, evidently, to feed an incubus during the days after his first meal from a conscious human. He's lucky (according to the internet, at least) that he was only out for two days.
He'd have preferred to sleep longer, honestly. Because being awake for the third day meant he heard everything that happened in the room next to his. He heard the scratching at the walls, the body thrown against the door, the constant chorus of please Chris please let me out feed me Chris please I can't stand it please Chris I'm going to die.
(it was hard, not to let him, when he heard that)
(even if he knew what would happen if he did)
Today is the fourth day, and the noises have stopped. It's safe, Chris has read (and Byron has confirmed), to open the door.
So he unlatches the door now, bearing a lunch tray (he figures that Thomas will appreciate food that isn't pushed under the door), and steps inside.]
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Date: 2013-02-16 11:53 pm (UTC)(there's more besides, enough to make the room look like it's been housing a caged lion rather than Chris's brother)
And in the center of it is Thomas. A lump under the torn and stained and bloodied sheets, with his tail jutting out of them and the tip twitching wildly as he watches Chris's entry. And he is watching - the glint of eyes from a gap in the sheets is evidence enough of that, the pupils dilating rapidly from slits to something more like they were before.
He doesn't move, though.
(he's himself enough to know, now, that he needs to hang back, that something was wrong)
(but he's not himself enough to understand yet)
(he doesn't know what happened; why Chris was taken from him, why Byron threw him down and hurt him like that)
(why he was locked in here all alone and why it hurt so much)
He doesn't understand and so he only watches from under the sheets, eyes narrowed.
(suspicious)
(he's hungry - in both ways - but he doesn't want to move from here)
(like a frightened animal once hurt, not wanting to emerge from the safety of its lair for fear of further pain) ]
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Date: 2013-02-17 12:04 am (UTC)(what happened in this room, exactly?)
He...wants to take a step back, but he resists, walks forward a little into the center of the room and stops.]
I...brought food.
Should I leave it...?
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Date: 2013-02-17 12:33 am (UTC)(not that he can really smell anything beyond his own sweat and fear and blood)
But then Chris talks about leaving and he jerks up from out of the sheets (no no Chris can't leave he doesn't want to be left alone again why was he left alone) to get closer, wings flaring out behind him.
(he's almost as much of a mess as the room, with sweat dried on his skin and the liquid from the bulge staining his thighs even though it's retracted now)
(there's blood on his claws too)
(blood on his claws and healing cuts across his upper arms and his hips and his stomach, where he'd clawed at himself when the hunger had been at its worst)
Once the sheets are gone though he hesitates, pulling in on himself a little and drawing his tail around himself. ]
Don't--
[ His voice rasps in his throat, and he coughs. ]
Don't leave. Please. Not again.
no subject
Date: 2013-02-17 01:11 am (UTC)Oh no.
He rushes over, drops the tray on the nightstand so he can sit down next to Thomas on the bed and take his arm in two hands to inspect the cuts, catalogue the damage.]
Thomas...
Thomas, I'm so sorry.
[His hands shake a little.]
I need to get bandages, and...
[He trails off.
(he can't leave Thomas alone)]
...can you stand up?
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Date: 2013-02-17 01:21 am (UTC)(he's hungry)
(there's food and there's Chris and Thomas's stomach growls abruptly, making him shift against Chris)
He presses in close, eyes shifting to the lunch tray. ]
I--
It's okay. It can wait. I'm hungry.
[ There's a brief moment where Thomas glances up at Chris and then he's looking back at the tray, tail twitching. ]
...please?
[ He looks up once more, and this time there's a sort of... charm.
(despite the lank hair and the sweat and the tear-tracks down his face)
(because those aren't important, right?)
(he doesn't know what he's doing)
(doesn't know he can do this, especially in these first few hours after the change where it's not a constant, automatic thing like it'll get to be) ]
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Date: 2013-02-17 03:21 am (UTC)Chris looks away abruptly, face flushing.
(Thomas...doesn't need bandages quite yet, right? He knows how to take care of his own...)
(battle scars)
(that's what they are, all of a sudden, in Chris' mind)
(battle scars, and Thomas has been fighting with himself for days)
(he needs care, he needs)
(comfort)]
Oh.
I...
Which first?
[It was that simple. That easy.]
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Date: 2013-02-17 03:54 am (UTC)(glad, but surprised)
His ears twitch a little, where they're pointing out more than before, and Thomas considers Chris's question for a few moments. ]
...food. Human food.
[ He curls in closer to Chris, eyes slipping shut to hide the slitted pupils.
(Chris is warm and he smells right and)
(Thomas has needed this)
(he needed this all through those three days and he doesn't know why Chris wasn't there, why he was all alone) ]
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Date: 2013-02-17 01:48 pm (UTC)[He...waits for a moment, though. He strokes Thomas' hair (especially around the bases of the horns that seem somehow larger than before) and rubs his fingertips over the new points of the ears. Just...just to tide him over.
(it's...nice, to have him curled in close)
After a minute of that, he reaches for the tray to set it carefully in his lap. There's chicken soup and fruit and bread and...chocolate cake, probably courtesy of Michael.
...there's something on his mind, though, as he uncovers the dishes.]
...when you...feed this time...will you take as much?
[Not that Chris should really expect Thomas to know what Chris is talking about, at this point.]
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Date: 2013-02-17 04:58 pm (UTC)He opens his eyes when Chris picks up the tray though, staring down at it and reaching out to nudge the fruit and the cake further away on the tray. And then he's got both hands closer to Chris's chest again, basking in his warmth.
(he doesn't
understand, though)
(doesn't understand what Chris means)
(how much did he...?) ]
...ehh?
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Date: 2013-02-17 05:16 pm (UTC)(the closeness, the warmth, that's good)
Then, though, he has to explain.
(he's not really...looking forward to this)]
I...slept two days, after last time. And...
If you had done it again, I've been told that...
[He hesitates. He really has to tell Thomas, for both of their safety, but it's not news he wants to bear.]
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Date: 2013-02-17 05:20 pm (UTC)He's just swallowing when Chris speaks again, and all of Thomas's attention flicks to him.
(he slept two days?)
(...how long was Thomas in here, for that matter?) ]
...you've been told that...?
no subject
Date: 2013-02-17 05:24 pm (UTC)He sighs softly.]
I might have gone comatose, at best.
Died, at worst.
[The hand on Thomas' back pulls him in a little, even after that.]
no subject
Date: 2013-02-17 05:30 pm (UTC)(at best)
(died--)
Thomas goes rigid against Chris, even his tail falling totally limp.
(no)
(he wouldn't hurt Chris like that, he wouldn't he wouldn't he wouldn't
but
he did, didn't he?)
(if Chris slept for two days)
(and he would have fed again, he remembers it; he was going to keep Chris there and look after him and guard him but then he was going to feed again, wasn't he, and he hasn't known until now why Byron threw him down and hurt him like that, why Byron took Chris away when Chris was his but--)
(it makes sense now)
(he deserved it)
(he deserved more than that because he would have--) ]
I--
[ He trembles against Chris.
(he--
he's only half-incubi, right?)
(he can survive without it)
(it's not nice and it aches but--)
(he can get used to it, can't he) ]
You-- you can leave the tray here.
I won't... I won't feed from you again.
no subject
Date: 2013-02-17 05:38 pm (UTC)(even if it's true, that he would have...would have hurt him)
(he didn't know what he was doing)
(and Chris refuses to abandon his brother for that)
He pulls him in closer.]
...no.
You couldn't control it, then.
And you can't live without it now. After the change. I've been reading.
no subject
Date: 2013-02-17 05:50 pm (UTC)(no)
(that's not fair)
(he doesn't want this he--) ]
There--
There are... there are things set up. I know I can't go to one of the... proper places, not without being registered but-- but there are other places too, that are more discreet, that I could go to and--
I won't feed from you. I won't.
[ He shakes his head sharply to punctuate it, insistent.
(he won't feed from Chris again)
(even with the part of him that insists, still, that Chris is his)
(Chris is his and he claimed Chris and Chris woke him up and he's supposed to keep Chris with him because Chris is important and his it's important that he keep Chris at his side and keep his claim fresh so that nobody will take Chris away again but--)
(he can't)
(Chris is supposed to be his... his...
is there a word for it?)
(
incubi aren't supposed to mate, are they, but that's the only thing he can think of)(Chris is supposed to be that but Thomas can't do that again he can't) ]
no subject
Date: 2013-02-17 06:05 pm (UTC)I'm not letting you go to a place like that.
If it's not official, it's not going to be safe. You could catch something, or...
[He pulls Thomas in closer, as close as he can with the tray still in his lap.]
No. You can't do that.
You can learn to control it.
[(maybe it's not just about Thomas' health, either)
(maybe Chris doesn't want him to feed from someone else)
(maybe Chris wants that again, even if he was hurt, the second time)]
no subject
Date: 2013-02-17 06:11 pm (UTC)(no)
(Chris doesn't--
he doesn't understand) ]
I-- Chris, I--
I'll be careful.
But I-- I can't. Maybe I could learn but I might hurt you again in the meantime and-- and I won't.
[ He's practically balling himself up against Chris, small and trembling.
(he needs Chris)
(Chris is important and he needs him and the thought of not letting himself feed from Chris hurts)
(but he can't)
(Chris is important and he needs him and that's why he can't risk hurting him again) ]
no subject
Date: 2013-02-17 06:29 pm (UTC)(he seems so small right now, so fragile)
(he needs protection)]
...is this really what you want?
[He shifts so his hair falls on either side of Thomas, forms a curtain between him and the scratched-up room.]
Because I don't...
[A deep breath.]
I can't think about you feeding from other people.
no subject
Date: 2013-02-17 06:35 pm (UTC)But he leans in, instead.
Leans in and clings on tighter, wings folding in tight so that he can get in closer.
(he doesn't want this)
(but he wants to hurt Chris less)
He curls his tail in close, too. ]
I--
I won't hurt you. I won't.
I have to... I have to keep you safe, you're special, I can't let anything hurt you...
no subject
Date: 2013-02-17 08:29 pm (UTC)(he can't let him go)
(can't let him leave and take from someone else)]
I...
Even if you did. Hurt me by accident.
I'd...
[He struggles with words.]
...it would be better than trusting someone else with you.
no subject
Date: 2013-02-17 08:44 pm (UTC)(it's hard)
(Chris is holding him)
(and he doesn't want to let go)
(he's not supposed to let go, it hurts it hurts it hurts he's not supposed to try to leave Chris when Chris is what he needs) ]
No. No, I... I can't hurt you.
I won't.
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Date: 2013-02-17 09:12 pm (UTC)(he can't explain how important it is to him, that Thomas stay with him)
(how important it is that he doesn't just feed from strangers)
After a moment, though, something occurs to him.]
...it never hurt me before, Thomas.
Not even the first time I was awake.
no subject
Date: 2013-02-17 09:19 pm (UTC)[ He pulls away completely.
(it hurts)
(his legs are shaking and it hurts and he's still hungry - both ways, when he's only had that one piece of bread to eat - but he pulls away completely and stands up from the bed) ]
I--
I can't.
I'm going to shower and then I... I need to go out.
no subject
Date: 2013-02-17 09:33 pm (UTC)(he shouldn't have told him)
(he should have kept it from him)
(he doesn't know what to do)]