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

[mensrea]

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! )

Comments

[eyeforaneye]

No, you already told me how it is that animals react to your presence. Do you think I'll be gentler when you reach for me?

[ Silence follows as respect for Stiles's quietly voiced question and longing, gaze lingering on the side of his face when he exhales heavily. What a demanding man... His attention reluctantly focuses back on the scythed insect peering back at them with huge keen eyes, his own taking on a far softer quality as he exudes that same hypnotic magic he'd utilized on the deer almost without any conscious effort. A possible victim? An instinctive response. ]

Does that bother you? Foregoing touch between the two of us... [ The word "touch" is brought to life as his hand lifts just to duck down lower into that cage, the mantis not even reacting to the threatening hand when it would force her to look away from a piercing set of eyes. Fingers wrap around her with another exhale, satisfied with the lack of fight when he raises her up out of the enclosure and face to face with Stiles. His chin is nearly resting on the other teen's shoulder now, waiting expectantly. ]

[mensrea]

I just told you you’re not an animal to me. [ He shifts his weight onto the other foot. ] Of course I’d expect you to be gentler.

[ Ah, there it is again. Teasing the periphery of his awareness, a sensation feather-soft and enticing, whispering gently to him in dulcet tones to let down his guard, to give himself over. Goosebumps pebble up along his naked arms. Far more interested in watching the effect that Sasuke’s thrall has on the mantis in real time, he clinically ignores the physical reaction of his own body. Stiles is no less curious for the potential danger that their current proximity to each other might earn him; he trusts Sasuke, foolish as it likely is when they’re both so moon-high. But if this is what a fledgling Vampire is capable of before death… Stiles shivers. ]

I’m not used to it, [ he answers, appreciative of his friend’s power as the mantis is retrieved without issue, ] not being able to touch a friend freely. Maybe it’s the ADHD, I don’t know, but I’m a tactile person – I like being able to connect with people through my hands.

[ An Arachne limb stirs from its dormant state, reaching forward to effortlessly clip the mantis’ head from its neck; compound eyes finally slide away from Sasuke’s hypnotic gaze as the creature thrashes in its headless death throes. As for Stiles – his fangs glisten again, this time with purpose. ]

If you want a bite, you need to go first. I’ll ruin it.

[eyeforaneye]

[ He sees trust and fascination in equal measure in that set of inhuman eyes, fixated so intently that they remain only on him even when danger looms close in the form of that dexterous spider limb. For a moment, that head is weightless, slowly turning with those eyes still fixed.

Then all at once the gossamer sheen that the scene had adopted is shattered, reality spinning back into place once the thrall is broken and that magical creature experiences its consequences. Sasuke feels nothing beyond a slight satisfaction, sated by his own abilities and equally pleased that he's so ready and able to repay his debt to Stiles. Well, at least in some small measure... ]

Then ruin it and I'll watch. That's where my interest lies. [ Here he steps forward, turning on his heel with a lean against that cage to better watch him. ]

You know I'm also a tactile person... [ He trails off, eyes lowering to that writhing, beheaded body. ] But always for another reason. My instincts will always perceive a fight first if you reach for me.

[mensrea]

[ With a mental shrug, he takes the insect’s body from Sasuke with a human hand, offering the other boy a wry, unapologetic grin when their fingers brush. As the Vampire speaks, Stiles silently holds the mantis up to the dim light for inspection, pupils dilating. While he could eat it in the manner of a carnivore, arachnid instinct instead urges him to bring the mantis to his mouth, where a special kind of acid now beads at his fangs. Weak convulsions of the headless corpse have it struggling feebly in his grasp, vibrations in the air that only serve to excite him. ]

Reach for me first, [ he suggests easily, briefly glancing up at Sasuke. ] You can, you know. I’m not going to freak out like that time in the café.

[ That said, he descends upon his meal. Fangs glide effortlessly through the chitinous shell, pumping the mantis full of a dissolving acid necessary to liquidize his prey’s insides. Green hemolymph drips down his fingers, mixed with his own saliva; it’s messy, but Stiles unselfconsciously continues until satisfied, finally pulling away while licking his lips to wait. ]

[eyeforaneye]

[ The brush of fingertips has an unreadable but intense expression passing over Sasuke's features, eyes lifting to lock on his until that prey steals the other teen's attention away from him. For a second, brief and unpleasant, he feels a swell of unexpected anger. Why? Possessiveness? There's no need to give it thought when it's assuaged by Stiles addressing him again, slowly exhaling. ]

It was in my mind not to touch you but I'd almost forgotten why. You prefer something gentler. [ He reaches out then, telegraphing his movements generously when he reaches for Stiles's arm... just to smear what insect blood has stained his hand onto the other boy's skin instead, no thoughts given to the trichobothria. ]

You make more of a mess now when you eat than I do.

[mensrea]

[ At last, the decapitated mantis succumbs to death. Stiles hums softly in approval, studying the fang-gouged abdomen and the progress of the acid. While he waits for its insides to liquify, he snaps a raptorial leg in half simply to listen to the crack, eyes half-lidded with a cruel kind of pleasure. The sensation of a callous-roughened palm smearing green blood over his arm has him rolling his head back, a husky groan hissing out between his fangs. ]

Ssssstooop. [ This time, Stiles draws away, jeans too tight as heat suffuses him like a bolt of lightning coursing through his body. ] Not too gentle. It’s too much for my arms and hands these days. Gonna give me a serious problem like the first time we trained.

[ Once the full moon no longer affects him, there will be time to sincerely regret confessing that tidbit of information. Stiles shows no signs of embarrassment now, however; a sharp, challenging grin is leveled at Sasuke as if daring him to put the pieces together. ]

Anyway, I don’t need gentle from you anymore. I know you. I can take it. It’s okay.

[eyeforaneye]

[ Before his mind had been clouded by an indescribable pleasure the likes of which he can safely say he hasn't previously experienced, but this time? This time he has his wits about him to fully gauge the effect that his touch has on Stiles, a touch the other teen had requested. His gaze mercifully doesn't travel south but it doesn't really need to, not when he can hear his sounds and see the shifts in his expression that fully communicate his arousal... sexual or otherwise. ]

The first time we trained? [ Memories filter back in around clouds of misremembrance and current distraction, quietly taken in by the sadism he sees in normally cautious but warm brown eyes. "What a good look", he thinks. ]

When you returned my shuriken, you mean. Oh, I remember... I don't think you can take "it", Stiles; you're underestimating my nature.

[mensrea]

[ As his friend takes a moment to recall the memory in question, he feeds at last. The mantis is consumed from the inside out meticulously, Stiles catching the trickle of blood with a swipe of a tarsus – then brought to his mouth on some unconscious instinct. He licks the claw clean, pink tongue stained green, before returning to the insect itself. No part is wasted; even the broken raptorial leg is picked apart for meat and blood. ]

Mmhm. [ The distracted noise is the only confirmation that Sasuke has remembered the correct point in time. ] Am I?

[ His eyes slide over to the Vampire, expression lit up with a cocky kind of mirth. ]

Maybe you’re the one underestimating me. But that’s alright. Guess you’ll just have to prove me wrong.