middaeg | (open) i paced around for hours on empty, i jumped at the slightest of sounds

Entry tags:

(open) i paced around for hours on empty, i jumped at the slightest of sounds

Who: Stiles Stilinski and YOU
When: Night of Aereuer 8 (full moon)
Where: Various spots in Aefenglom
What: Semi-feral Arachne party games on a very special 18th birthday
Warnings: Language, animal death

[ After escaping from Sheva in the Wildes and absconding to Aefenglom, Stiles begins his hunt. Honestly, he’s not quite sure what he’s exactly on the hunt for – only that there’s a voracious hunger rising within him, an appetite that won’t be whetted by just any meal. And so, humming the happy birthday tune to himself loudly and offkey, he prowls from district to district from the city skyline. Those eight spider legs carry him vertically up edifices with no apparent effort, even make impressive leaps across significant distances between buildings. The sense of fear that usually holds Stiles back is gone; uninhibited, he experiments with his superhuman abilities in boyish delight, that joy tempered only by the unkind, savage grin stretching his mouth too wide. ]

It’s my party and I can cry if I want to, [ comes one such inspired ballad, interrupted by his sniggering as he swings upside down from where he’s currently perched. ] Cry if I want to, cry if I want to!

[ That’s if you’re lucky. Sometimes it’s – ]

It’s yo birthday, so I know you wanna ri-i-i-ide out. [ There’s a dog howling somewhere nearby in sympathy. ] Even if we only go to my-y-y-y house.

[ During the night, Stiles will make a nuisance of himself. Expect to find him cavorting through the streets doing eight-legged cartwheels, singing obnoxiously despite the hour, spinning webs in inconvenient locations, dropping by homes to pay friends unexpected house calls, etc. ]

( ooc | Full Moon Shift appearance details, CR & plotting comment, and info & permissions page. Stiles will not be hurting anyone. If threatened with violence, his Arachne instincts will force him to flee the scene. If you want to figure out a specific prompt for your character, hit me up! )

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Claws gouge into the archway, plaster raining to the floor, as he propels himself into the dining room and onto the table in a cacophony of clattering silverware. The spider limbs have always acted as an extension of his unconscious mind. It’s no different now; they dominate the limited space by curving around both young men, not yet touching but looming like vipers biding time. Stiles meanwhile crouches on the table, making an attempt at eyeing the plated vegetables even as his gaze is drawn again and again to Jonas. ]

Hey, it’s good you’re here, [ he remarks to Sasuke, staring at the Witch. ] Saves me from having to track you down later. Sit down, buddy.

[ The Vampire isn’t given the opportunity to comply before a paw settles on his shoulder, shoving him back down into his chair. It lingers, patting that shoulder gently as if in apology for the rough treatment, and settles there in an implicit warning. Another paw deftly removes Jonas' plate of whole-food dinner, dumping it elsewhere carelessly, so that Stiles can seat himself at that edge of the table, bare feet resting on either side of Jonas’ thighs. Though he’s smiling, warm and fond, there’s an unmistakable edge of danger present in the stillness of the spider limbs. ]

Sorry I went AWOL. [ One again Jonas’ abused chair is scraping across the floor as two paws drag it closer. ] I kinda had a feeling this full moon was going to go off with a bang, you know? Didn’t think I should be around you when it happened.

[ A pause as he turns his head around as if surveying the setting, eyes still locked on Jonas. ]

Whoops!

(when stiles climbs into the room, jonas falls quiet in the wake of cracked plaster and scattering cutlery.

even his rapid, shallow breaths in are exhaled noiselessly, understanding immediately what kind of situation they're in. this was supposed to be a safer place than the chaos they'd see in town, so what is there to say towers over them even from his low, preying stance in the centre of the table. sasuke being forced down to sit is so bizarre to see—considering everything he knows of him and his capabilities in a fight—that he doesn't even jerk away from the clawed tarsi landing on the edges of his seat.

the slide forward, being reeled in as a helpless fly, is what rattles him into an intimidated stammer.) N-No, it's okay. It's okay, Stiles, buddy, we'll– we're gonna' figure this out now. So– so just let go of Sasuke, okay? And we'll all sit here... we'll sit right here and talk. (jonas can feel his hands shake, so he slowly redirects them to grip at the chair's arms, eyes flicking to sasuke where he sits in a similar position.

sasuke's still hungry, he can sense the gnawing feeling, so would that mean stiles is in a similar state? one that can be reasoned with, but ultimately driven by animal instinct? he vies for his attention.)

Right?

[ Fear comes through their Bond, and in return Sasuke trades back the first sparks of his anger. The emotion's grit between his teeth not due to the force with which he's initially shoved back down, or even wholly the patronizing pats that follow in their misguided attempt to soothe, but the fact that he goes for Jonas. The fact that this, all of this, could've been so fucking preventable and now here they are.

He doesn't make the same comparison that Jonas does; whatever hunger he himself is feeling is mitigated by their Bond. Whatever Stiles is feeling... it's completely untethered, connected only to the twin moons hung high in the sky and the fever pitch of his own blood. ]

Stiles... What the hell are you doing? Whatever you want, say it plainly.

[ Anything to keep him from feeling a need to use the kunai his hand discreetly wraps around, stashed as it always is at his side. ]

Saaasuke, [ he croons in mock disappointment, head lolling on shoulders as he finally spares the Vampire an amused look. ] Remember our first training session? Yeah. That whole, “I can feel your intent” shtick? Mm. Well.

[ Lighting fast, an unoccupied spider limb strikes. Sasuke’s hand is pinned to the seat of his chair. ]

I’ll let you hold onto it if it makes you feel safer. I’m feeling pretty gracious tonight, after all. [ A breathy laugh. ] You must really enjoy poking me with holes, huh?

[ The level of affection in those words is highly incongruous with the question itself. But Stiles loses interest in Sasuke, his attention swiveling back to Jonas. ]

Dude, chill! Do you seriously think I’m going to hurt you? [ Pupils dilating, he slips off the table and into the Witch’s space, expression open with a soft kind of wonder. ] I can sense how hard your heart is beating, you know. [ As one hand alights on Jonas’ chest, needing to feel the desperation of that organ under his palm, and another settles over his own – willing them to sync. ] Am I really so scary? Ha, stupid question. I must be, like this.

[ There’s a flash of something darker, something wretchedly lonely, and then his face is smoothed over as if nothing happened. ]

Do me a favor. Forget what I look like, please? I just want to celebrate my birthday with my two best friends.

(just a spark of sasuke's rage is like acid in his gut, wholly unused to the feeling. it burns all the willpower he has not to let it influence the way he looks at stiles now, unaddressed by his bonded but still reassured—in a small, significant way—experiencing his protectiveness of him. he knows he's indescribably weak, the full moon sapping him of strength he thought he'd been hoarding, and there's a sudden, pervasive sense of helplessness that comes with the realization.

it brutalizes his self-confidence. instead of feeding into it, however, he bows his head a moment to recollect himself with eyes still trained on stiles through dark eyelashes. listening, waiting, in the way he told him to. there's a downside to such a watchful gaze, of course, easily catching the pain in stiles' expression. jonas has to chew the inside of his cheek to prevent himself from shouting his worry.)

I know you won't hurt me, but– (sucks a sharp gasp in between his teeth, trying not to flinch away from the human hand settling against his chest, knee jerking up like a reactionary wall. all it is is a sock foot pressing against the edge of the table, kicking it back in an attempt to dislodge him. to no avail, hearing only the clatter of more glassware as it's shaken out of its setting.) Stiles, Jesus, I'm– I'm sorry, I didn't know. I'm so sorry, man.

(he wonders what he's thinking. wonders if these thoughts are lucid, or if they're choked by the desire to pin anything lesser to their seats. wonders if stiles is the one speaking, or if the feral monster his professors warned him about has taken the reins and commandeered his body. to have it happen again to him, possessed by anything other than his own wants and needs, upsets jonas enough that his hand slaps over his best friend's fingers and squeezes them tightly. they remain pinned to his heart despite its rapid thrum.

stiles can't go through this again. not on his birthday, not in this vulnerable time between them.)

This doesn't scare me. (shifts their hands, drawing them left a few degrees to where the beat's the strongest through the thin material of his shirt.) Okay? It's you and me, that's never gonna' change.

Edited 2020-04-08 03:47 (UTC)

[ You must really enjoy poking me with holes, huh?

The words would be enough to weigh down his limbs if the claws caging in his wrist with enough pressure to keep him rooted in place weren't cutting it, ire only mounting more and more with each word in spite of the brief spike of guilt. It pairs sickeningly well with the worry that radiates from Jonas, but his friend's sympathetic heart and readily offered trust aren't enough to sway him through their Bond. This may be a side of Stiles, but that doesn't mean it's wholly the teenager that they know.

Sasuke'd shown limited sides of himself to both of them that night in the ruins, after all. ]

This isn't the way to do it.

Back away from him, let me go, and we can celebrate then. [ His respect for the moment isn't insignificant. But his respect for the strength in those appendages and his desire to keep Jonas safe from even possible, accidental outburst is even more so. ]

[ Something cold and ancient – the bitter dregs left over from the Nogitsune’s possession – darkens his expression into a cruel mien when Jonas reacts fearfully to his touch. It may come on slowly like a premature frost in early autumn, but there’s no mistaking the distant, disappointed look that he pins Jonas with. Liar, hisses a hateful inner voice. You are afraid of me. He begins to pull away from the Witch, both physically and emotionally, only to pause as Jonas shifts their overlapping hands directly over his heart. The effect is instantaneous; mouth parting on a sharp, surprised inhale, the monster recedes and Stiles claws his way to the surface with a hurt noise. ]

Jonas.

[ How funny, the way his presence almost seems to shrink in the wake of those words, the Arachne influence nothing compared to the sum of their parts – his and Jonas’. Stiles collapses boneless onto his friend’s lap, chair straddled backwards, and throws human arms around Jonas’ neck in an imitation of their reunion the night of the meteor shower. The spider limbs all go limp at once, two sliding off of Sasuke in absent distraction. ]

You’ve got me, [ he whispers, voice husky with suppressed emotion. His fingers shake where they’re fisted in Jonas’ shirt. ] Jonas… I feel…weird.

(seizing up with the sudden weight deposited over his thighs, jonas' next swallow is audible in the otherwise silent dining room. it isn't him. it isn't him, it isn't him, it isn't him. it's happening again and they're all powerless to stop it, the witch's mind spiralling into a far darker place as it remembers what it was like to lose himself to something otherworldly. instead of by another spirit, stiles is possessed by the foul, cloying magic in this place and forced around by eight, gnarled, black legs that sag from him in pairs down the length of his back. realizing this, the inhale he's been holding is scared out of him in soft prayer. "oh, god."

hands—displaced by the suddenness of stiles' frantic hug, rattling them onto two chair legs—hesitate for a moment near a naked waist, where one settles and smooth higher to knead into wet, tacky skin below his shoulder blade. blood?)

Shhh, it's okay, it's okay– (breathed unevenly over his shoulder in heavy pants, wide, watery eyes staring sightlessly forward until they search down his bond's tether for desperate assistance.) I've got you, just– just stay with me now and talk to me; nothing bad's gonna' happen.

(sasuke's been forgotten, left alone by the limbs that've collapsed around him and stiles like a sparse skirt, which means he's free to move and mobilize if the situation gets dire. jonas knows this is temporary, if his experiences two months prior are any metric to go by, stiles momentarily shocked enough to withdraw from his arachne instincts and murmur hoarsely near his ear. with the night still young, there's no way this'll last. his strained sidelong stare at his bonded conveys as much.

but how do they manipulate the situation into one that won't damage stiles' trust? to attempt to pin him now would be foolish and it'd cost them.)

[ It's a blessing that sees Stiles collapsing against Jonas before his limbs relax their hold, chair legs scraping against the floor when Sasuke predictably finds his feet again but without that weapon poised. Stiles's body language was absent killing intent before and now it's even less tense, convincing Sasuke to at least not escalate the situation or act against one friend for the sake of another. Not unless he knows he needs to. ]

It's okay, [ he echoes, voice a quiet complement to the comfort offered to Stiles, but his eyes are fixed entirely on Jonas's. He can feel that strain making his throat tight, see unshed tears that prick at his eyes not due to sadness but due to fear... and not even all of it for himself. Wrestling with his anger is no small feat but that isn't what Jonas needs, and when he signed up for this he knew what he was shouldering and that his effect on Jonas would be a non-insignificant part of that. What he needs is calm, and Sasuke can offer that even if it's tinged with his own concern and wariness. ]

If you need anything, you can tell us. Stiles, are you alright?

I knew it was going to be bad this month. [ The confession spills from his lips in a rush, frantic and harried, like he’s racing against an imperceptible clock to explain. ] Sheva set me up in this spot she has in the Wildes, just beyond the Wall. Restrained me and everything. We tried to prepare. But I still –

[ His head spins. Alien instinct conflicts with the last, threadbare sliver of humanity. Stiles understands that he shouldn’t be here, recognizes the danger he poses to both Jonas and Sasuke in his current state. Yet the idea of extricating himself from home, from the only two people in this city he trusts, seems impossible. He lacks the willpower to follow through. This house is his. Jonas and Sasuke are his. This is where he belongs.

The spider limbs twitch. ]

I’ve been roaming the city for hours. [ Already the timbre of his voice shifts, becoming lower and more silky. ] Looking for something. Didn’t know what. Or maybe I did.

[ A saccharine smile, Stiles pulling away from the embrace to look from one young man to the next. His gaze pauses on the kunai, readied or not, before moving on dismissively. ]

Maybe I thought I could avoid the inevitable. I guess that’s my tragic flaw. [ As if just noticing for the first time the paralyzed fear in the body beneath his, he tuts softly. ] Shh, it’s alright. Don’t cry. I’m here now. We’re safe. I can protect us. All three of us. For once, I can do that for you.

[ Though the eight limbs remain inert, it’s clear who – or what – has won the battle for control. Stiles searches Jonas’ eyes earnestly, that enigmatic smile dimpling his cheeks, and runs his hands up and down the Witch’s arms in an attempt to comfort. ]

I’ve got you.

(discomfited by the pretty words and the arachne hanging around surprisingly light in his lap, jonas still manages a shaky breath in. the flat, imperturbable water of sasuke's new calm is mentally downloaded and adopted like open source software. "meditative awareness."

every point of contact between them is reluctantly accepted. he is here in this moment. he is not floating adrift in some timeless blackness, he is universes away from edwards island in a chair in a cottage in a city in a mirror. he can smell blood and magic. he is not alone. sasuke and stiles are experiencing it too, alongside him; these sensations aren't something dredged up from memory or happening in a lucid nightmare. jonas wakes from his distressed fugue and will handle this as best he can, shake himself from the shock at seeing this important figure in his life transformed.

stiles needs his help.)

... Stiles, I don't need protecting. Not from you, or anything else in this city right now. Okay? (it's a feeble attempt, but jonas doesn't know what else he can do to remove and restrain him. maybe he'll submit by his own will.) Look at you... look at your shoulder– everything. You're not well right now. Y-You–

(between them, hands raise as close to his chest as he can manage. he reaches for his face to wipe loose tears away with the tips of his fingers, forgetting the blood that smears high up a cheekbone and mixes with a veneer of sweat.) You need to rest. I-I might be able to hold you in a barrier by... reversing it. Do you think it'd work, or– or anything else you can think of? Sasuke?

(communication's key. if they make wanton moves to force him, who knows what might happen?)

Edited 2020-04-12 15:43 (UTC)

[ He didn't know about this, about the extent to which Stiles suspected his own lapse in control. Why seek out Sheva, why entrust himself and potentially the fates of those closest to him here to someone that isn't the two of them? But even as Sasuke thinks the question, he's already closed in on the answer. Stiles fears himself and he fears any Bond that might tether a battered mind and body to anyone else, exposed to judgment and measure.

Would he then want to turn to the two people who'd used this same lapse of control he's experiencing as an argument to force him into it early? Of course not. Still, it's no time to face grim dissatisfaction at being right or to judge himself for how he's handled the situation. Just as Jonas comes into full awareness of the situation, so does Sasuke. This is their present problem. Protecting Stiles. ]

We should sit and we should talk. Inside a barrier... perhaps, but all three of us. I'm the same as Stiles is, after all. [ A monster. What he doesn't want to do is isolate the other teen with the title, not when his need to isolate himself is what fed this even more. ]

That would be a better way to spend a birthday than this. I can prepare something else, something more for you to eat. There's a place here for you. [ Dark eyes still stay fixed on Jonas, feeling a need to aid him that's almost overpowering but the instinct to protect his Bonded from a perceived threat is one he has to fight. This is Stiles. ]

[ With a longsuffering sigh, his impromptu throne astride Jonas’ thighs is abandoned as he fluidly stands. Patting his friend’s cheek condescendingly, he drifts away from the table to tour the dining room as if just seeing it for the first time. The spider limbs drag passively behind him, not unlike a grotesque bridal train, tarsus claws occasionally picking at loose threads in the rug. Fresh blood trickles from a crack in his shoulder’s scar tissue, the dead weight of the relative limb reopening it. He ignores it, pausing in front of the windows to stare wordless at his reflection. ]

Look at my…“everything.” [ A hand presses against the window, only so he can take satisfaction in smudging the glass. ] Jonas, buddy. You’re gonna need to get used to it. Think of it as a wake-up call. Couple more months, and my everything will probably look like this fulltime.

[ Stiles twists at the waist, gazing at the young men across the room. ]

Here’s the thing. I feel fine. Better than fine, really. I don’t need rest – or a barrier. [ The last is uttered with a derisive scoff. ] But you two…

[ A paw creeps up onto the table, patting blindly at the surface as if Stiles wasn't capable of seeing the spread with his own eyes. Utensils are tossed aside unceremoniously in its quest to find what it’s looking for. Eventually, it knocks into a bowl of carrots by chance. After taking a moment to spear some onto its claws, it retreats. Stiles accepts a carrot when offered. ]

One of you is weakened by the full moon, [ he carries on, pausing to snap the carrot in half. ] And one of you is dying. But…you supposedly don’t need protecting. Hmm.

[ Popping half of that carrot in his mouth, he shifts a lazy, half-lidded gaze from Jonas to Sasuke. ]

Anyway, who’s being transparent this time? [ Stiles teases, achingly fond. ] Stop worrying. I’m fine. I just needed to make sure that you two…that home was safe.

(hands drop down onto the arms of the chair the moment stiles stands, slowly, slowly rising to his feet when attention turns to sasuke. the last place he wants to be is pinned with an unpredictable roommate straddling him, patting at his face, patronizing him, making embarrassed colour inadvertently rise to his cheeks. his path is clear: he means to drift nearer to his bonded.

the connection is unlike anything he's felt, sasuke's will to protect him bleeding into his urge to help. it gives him perspective, how bad of a situation it'd be for both of them if he got himself into unnecessary trouble. he can help him by staying safe, so he reaches the corner of the room and follows the mouldings over.)

You think I'm worried about your appearance? A bit, yeah, I can't lie to you and say this isn't... perturbing. (gestures, trying to avoid kicking utensils with his sock feet. he can't bleed or it could set sasuke off, too. it's a bad situation for him any way it's sliced, and there's no one else he trusts enough to call. who would come quickly to his aid? could he ever put someone else in danger to save himself?) But how you're dealing with this is way, way more important right now. Because you're not fine; you feel "weird."

Right? You just told me that. You feel weird, you're bleeding–

Stiles, man, c'mon. It's exactly like Sasuke says. Tonight... tonight's your night, and the three of us should spend it together. Okay? We're safe, here, with you. Can you stay in with us?

[ Oiled words wash over him, freed of any of Stiles's normal lack of confidence or trepidation, and a few in particular stick in his mind unavoidably. To make sure that home was safe. Whether the conning words of a monster or – more believably – a slick manifestation of a clever but normally unsure teenager's id, he knows he isn't going to be able to forget them soon. Especially not with Jonas moving closer to him, solidifying one more tie in his mind.

He's still nervous, he can feel that, but it isn't the panic that had been set off in him earlier. It's a new unease, more an uncertainty than anything else. Sasuke knows because he shares it, with the feeling being simultaneously encouraged and mitigated by the spearing of those carrots: ridiculous enough to remind him of Stiles, but showcasing those spider legs acting independently in a way that's far harder to trust. ]

Stay in without adding to the mess and undermining my efforts, [ Sasuke adds, a distracted commentary on the state of the dinner he'd prepared, all to hide how his eyes had lingered on that bloody wound. Jonas calling attention to it redirected his own focus and now it's hard for him to see anything else. Hunger transfers through their Bond, unbidden and powerful, as Sasuke exhales. ]

... I know how the full moon is making you feel. [ He doesn't, not in its entirety, not at all. What he does know is how powerful it feels for him, and how much he's fighting it even with a Bond. ] But you don't need to be out there.

[ Unblinking eyes track Jonas’ progress with keen interest as the Witch sidles closer to Sasuke. Those slow, careful movements excite the latent predator of his Arachne psyche, drawing Stiles away from the windows as if in a trance in order to stalk nearer himself. Unfortunately, Sasuke remains a physical barrier that prevents him from reaching his target; uttering another sigh, this one far more wistful, Stiles tears his gaze away from Jonas to regard the Vampire. ]

No you doooon’t, [ comes the supercilious sing-song retort, amused rather than bitter. ] You’re Bonded.

[ The spider limbs reanimate from where they dozed on the floor, rising into the air to clasp paws with each other in demonstration of that partnership. ]

I’m glad it worked out for you guys. For me, though… I really am fine, I promise! Buuuut…

[ Suddenly he tips forward, head pillowed on crossed arms as if he intends to rest them against Sasuke’s chest – only for Stiles to pause a scant half inch away, spider limbs propping him up so he can maintain the ridiculous ninety-degree leaning angle. Grinning up at Sasuke, he addresses Jonas. ]

I do feel weird, yeah. Like I’m hungry, except not for food. [ A paw makes a dismissive gesture at the dining table and its spread. ] A bunch of people already treated the birthday boy to some freebies anyway. I even had a smoothie. [ Said as if this is the greatest thing to have happened to him all day. ] Being here…I’m less hungry. This is where I need to be.

Home, [ he continues, voice hushed in a soft, possessive wonder. ] You’re both here. You’re both safe. I can protect that. If you just let me.

(sasuke, too. jonas keeps forgetting, despite the ever-present feeling that something's wrong, the full moon affecting both of them. it's apparent through the bond that he's hungry, a gnawing craving that's held back by sheer force of will. something has to give here, or stiles' wounded shoulder will begin to look far more appetizing than the carrot arachne limbs snapped in half.

stiles creeps forward and jonas reaches out to just barely brush sasuke on the back. the intent isn't to touch him or disturb him from his concentration, but nerves force his hand. he remembers alex, how they'd gather close and bump one another, and—perhaps strangely in this moment—misses her. she was always calmer than him, the way his bonded is now.)

Home. (reiterated, liking the thought. it makes his eyebrows raise out of their skeptical look over sasuke's shoulder, soften when stiles murmurs his awe.) Yeah, it is. Stiles, this is your home, so– that's what I want. I want us—all of us—to just stay. Help one another here. I'll rely on you to do that, if you really want.

(maybe he doesn't know what he's saying, but if it isn't messy or undermining sasuke then apparently that's the feeling they all share. that they should literally share, jonas holding his tongue on another bond recommendation that burns at his throat.)

I'll do whatever. Don't make me, like, beg or something.

[ His knees don't lock, far too much battle experience forbidding an inflexible pose that will lengthen his response time, but his tension returns full force when Stiles gets close. Not because he's facing down a threat. Because he wants to keep himself restrained and in check, and that isn't easy when he's being presented with a top tier meal after weeks of scrounging for rats.

But even now, staring down into Stiles's eyes that show another uncontrolled side to his friend, he sees trust. And he feels it in the hand that grazes his back, stopping him from giving into the urge to step back. He swallows thickly, casting about for distractions that'll smother the feelings he knows will pass unhelpfully through that Bond. ]

Then we're all agreed. [ Relying on someone else to protect him? It's been years since he has, but agreeing to keep the peace in this situation isn't beyond him. ] If companionship is what you're hungry for then you have it. We'll stay here tonight, so let me clear these things out of the way. [ Let me find something else to eat, now. ]

[ Their combined acquiescence is as heady to Stiles as the full moon’s palpable spell on him. Expression brightening in genuine delight, he allows the spider legs to go limp all at once beneath him, causing his weight to pitch him forward into Sasuke’s chest. Meanwhile, his human arms come around the Vampire to seize Jonas’ outstretched hand, dragging the Witch bodily into Sasuke’s back. This has now become a compulsory group hug, with eight chitinous limbs binding them together using uncompromising force. Don’t mind the bloodied shoulder directly beneath your face, Sasuke. ]

I wish my dad was here, [ he says suddenly, tone no less warm for the melancholy confession, ] I don’t want to celebrate without him. But this is okay too. No, this is good. We’ll have fun.

[ With one last parting squeeze, Stiles is darting away at an alarming speed, already halfway across the cottage after vaulting the entire length of the dinning table. ]

Dude, I have a great idea. Go move the living room furniture together! We can build a fort!

[ Enthusiasm for this plan has him forgoing the stairs completely as he instead scales the wall that the fireplace is built into, climbing into the open mezzanine leading to the second-floor hall. ]

I’m going to grab blankets and pillows! Be back in a minute!

[ And he’s gone. ]

(his wish makes jonas glance down for the time it takes stiles to cross the dining room and head through the archway, his reaction time kicking in only when he speaks from afar.)

–uh, huh? A fort? Wait, Stiles! (calls after him to no avail, yet sucking in a gasp of apprehension the moment the arachne disappears from their line of sight.) Jesus, I-I'm– I-I've– he sounds possessed. Oh, god. Did you see the way he held onto me? Fuck.

(allowing himself a moment of weakness to lean back against the wall for a few hard breaths before running a hand back through his hair. a deep frown persists, eyes settling on sasuke to ascertain the kind of state he's in. he knows he's rattled by the hunger, deciding in that moment to slip away from him with a meaningful walk to the opposite end of the table to maybe make it easier for him moving forward.)

You... you should eat something, Sasuke. Before he comes back. And we'll– I don't know. (if his friend wants a fort, if that'll calm him down and elevate his mood, then he'll move heaven and fucking earth to make one for him.) Are you okay? He won't hurt me if you need to leave.

(jonas tries to sound as confident in that as he can. tries.)

[ The body that slumps against his with arms stretching around him in an eager reach for Jonas steals the breath from him, holding it into dying lungs as if that'll make the bloody shoulder just beneath his face less appetizing. It doesn't. He's salivating even as he goes rigid, tongue tracing sharpening fangs beneath a strained mouth that's drawn tight. What would it taste like? How would it feel to let loose, give into the urge to sink teeth into an already marred body? To turn himself on Jonas when he's finished?

Stiles is speaking and the words are washing right over him, having to stir himself from his moon fever to just listen. His father. Something about having fun here, together.

The second he lets go and puts distance between them is the second he exhales, watching with a half-lidded gaze as Stiles skitters up the wall and vanishes out of sight. He swallows as Jonas speaks now, nodding first as he calms down. ] You're right, I'll find something. But I won't be leaving you here alone to do it. [ No, he made his promises and he intends to keep them.

The dishes and food he'd intended to clean up are left by the wayside as he instead moves towards the kitchen and the bag he'd left there, well aware that one more rat is confined within its depths. He expected to need more food tonight, but not to this extent. It's fished free with a quiet squeak and Sasuke foregoes any pretense of human-like behavior, bringing it to his mouth before he's sinking teeth directly into its body. ]

... yeah, (winded, blinking hard against the sting in his eyes,) yeah, okay. I guess that was a pretty idiotic suggestion. Sorry.

(sasuke wouldn't leave him now, just as he wouldn't leave his bonded. not unless he ordered him to, of course, and even then it'd take some convincing. he's stronger than he was, he can help now, but in an emotional situation like this it's perhaps best to simply defer to someone who can hide their thoughts more effectively.

watches him for a moment, then at the squeak turns his face away to tense bodily against the insatiable feeling it stirs in his stomach. impressions of sasuke's state of mind have never left ghost-like pangs before; their first full moon.)

Do we just... go along with this, or should we do something? What... I don't know, but keeping him preoccupied till sun-up...

(yeah, that confidence did not stick around.)

[ Blood fills his mouth like saltwater offered to a parched man. For a relieved half-second it helps, wetting his throat and settling in his stomach like a need satisfied. And then his body processes what it's been offered, expecting so much more, and the vicious pang of hunger that follows threatens to actually double him over. He breathes through it when the body of that poor animal is abruptly dropped, carcass hitting the floor with a sickening smack as his palm flattens itself against the nearest wall.

Let it pass, focus on Jonas's feelings. Jonas...

Fear, dread, discomfort, skepticism. ]

It'll be alright, [ he mutters first, a baseless attempt to soothe in spite of his own distracted mind. His Bonded still takes precedence through the haze. ] I don't want to hurt him. You can try your binding magic, but he'll feel betrayed by that... and we'll deal with the consequences for longer than a night.

[ Finally he looks back at him, pushing away from that wall to return to the dining room with mindless pauses to pick up discarded dishes and place them back on the table. ] Do you believe he'll keep to his word?

[ An odd shuffling sound from the second floor announces that their one-on-one time has been cut short. Stiles, arms full of blankets and quilts and pillows, appears at the mezzanine overlooking the living room. The heap of bedding is unloaded from there, knocking several knickknacks off the fireplace mantle in its descent to the first floor. Beaming, Stiles disappears briefly as he properly takes the stairs. ]

You didn’t move the furniture. [ He pauses at the threshold to the dining room, attention caught by the sent of blood from the kitchen. ] What’s wrong?

[ Neither Jonas nor Sasuke appear to be injured. Satisfied that they seem to be safe for the moment, Stiles wonders if he’s smelling a rat. Unfortunately, his sense of smell isn’t much stronger than it normally is as a human. ]

Diiiiiid you guys want to do something else? [ he wonders out loud, glancing from one friend to the other with the guileless innocence of a child. ] We should have a pack of playing cards around here somewhere. Remember where we left it, Jonas?

I don't know. If it's two separate personalities, or if he's... taken over by something, then– (the rest is stifled when the bedding drops and scattered items onto the floor, startling him into placing a hand on his chest.

good lord, that wasn't enough time to get a plan in order. which makes jonas' anxiety stew while he forces a calmer smile.)

Sorry, buddy, I-I was helping Sasuke get something to eat. You know what that blood on your shoulder's doing to him, man. (a spur of the moment decision as sasuke keeps to the dinner plates and clearing the table, easing himself back around and past his bonded to get closer to the kitchen. it also gives him some time to think on his feet, not that he's ever been good at that. right here, right now, it's the best idea he's got.)

I thought I'd wait and get you cleaned up first, just wipe the... um, wound. Before the fort-building, where we'll all be in close quarters with one another. Cool?

(open) i paced around for hours on empty, i jumped at the slightest of sounds

get dunked

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

lord forgive me my baby tag

never