☆ Dream Seekers ☆

     “Hey, don’t be groupin’ people like that!” He was not like all men. Hell, none of the Sohma men were like like ‘all men’. They were half beast, if one could even consider that, and try as he might to appear as human as possible, there was always a worry that something would go terribly wrong and he’d be exposed to everyone in his true form. Lest he forget what happened to all children that saw Yuki transform as a young kid. He just about apologized for his crude behavior when she helped him to his feet, but the – what felt like – SHATTERED ankle gave way and immediately tumbled against her, Kyo’s opposite arm coming around to try and anchor himself to her for safety. Big mistake.

                                                                              POOF. 

      “Ah, SHIT.”

     Nadia is prepared to hear him argue once again. She is ready to hear his mouth run, providing excuse after excuse as to why she was of no use for his escape. And truthfully, a piece of her was preparing to merely knock the male out until the most unlikely of twists occurred in a split second. Prior weight of his form suddenly becomes nearly nonexistent. Pale flesh that had grown cold from sweat of his struggle now replaced by ... fur? Arm lifts with head slightly turning in confusion. No longer was the human ... ah, not necessarily ‘human’ if this is what became of him. And ... he certainly didn’t carry the scent of a typical shape-shifter. 

  “Y’don’t know what’s eating at me, so be quiet!”

( open starter ); 

  “This ticks me off — !”

  It was hard to pin the blame on Satine for the situation’s aftermath. For the bloodshed. For the unspoken amount of lives that’d been lost to her hand. And in all actuality, Nolan didn’t hold her entirely accountable. How could he, when he hadn’t spoken up for those who were considered to be family? “I wouldn’t joke about it. Not about something like this.” Perhaps if he’d been truthful, perhaps if he had brought his past to light sooner… then maybe some of the artificials would still be alive. Maybe he would have spared the afterlife of lives that’d been taken far before their time. “…I should have told you. But, maybe I was… too fearful towards the thought of your reaction. The truth is, Satine… I’m not like you. I can’t pretend to be something that I’m not. I can’t pretend to be human… when I’m a mockery of one.” He speaks as he presents the branding inked to skin. The letter V followed by four numbers staining the pale, ashen color of his inner arm. 

  “…There isn’t a lot I remember. About the past, about what most would consider to be their childhood. I didn’t have anything like that. Or, if I did… I don’t remember it. At one point in time, I had a family. A father, a mother… But, they weren’t my birth parents. I didn’t have anything like that. I was created in a laboratory. Adopted out, and… to this day, I’m still unsure why. Because most people like me don’t get those sorts of endings. Most of us either die at the hands of the scientists, or… eventually succumb to faulty coding.”

     “Fearful?” His reasoning made no sense. And part of her felt that it had no merit behind it. No valid excuse as to why he neglected the truth ... but all the same, he has never been one to open up about himself. And like a fool, she never thought to question him either. The signs were all there -- the evidence screaming at her but she never thought to consider prying out of the very same fear of his own reaction. She didn’t want him to leave ... “You’ve left me,” Tone threatens to break as every thought that crosses escapes her. “more than once.” How could he be afraid of her response after everything else? “... And still, I waited for you. I’ve seen things from you ... and still, I stayed.”

     “You know better than anyone else that I couldn’t care less that you’re not like me.” Human. That damn word. Truthfully, how could it even be used to explain what they were given their sins? Orbs take in the details of the ink on his arm; a sense of frustration filling her at knowing full well that she has spied it once or twice but never thought to question. How little did she know of him? How could she claim to love him when the most basic of things are unknown to her? “Will you ... die by faulty coding or the scientists?”

The glare remains strong on his features. Although, Kainan soon gives pause to his thoughts and the tension in his face begins to ease. Leaving behind a devilish grin in it’s wake. If that’s how she wanted to play, then he’d gladly be the one to put her in her place.

   “Heh. You’re just as stubborn as Alan is. Fine, if you won’t go down without a fight, I’ve got no qualms about hitting a girl…”

     “Alan?” The name feels foreign on her tongue. Unknown to her vocals but given the context, she can only assume there is a connection. Whatever it is, she hardly seemed to have the time to consider. This was turning into quite the eventful night after all. They must be desperate if measures were willing to be taken this far but alas, it wasn’t her issue. As far as she is concerned, this kid was planning on interfering in her life with the demon … and like hell she would allow it. Not a single damn soul in this world would take what she desired most.

     “It’s not that simple,” Kyo growled, actually hoping that she would leave him behind for the sake of keeping the family secret. Not that he cared about the stupid family anyways ; it was full of shitty people that couldn’t care less about the feelings of others. And immediately shunned him out as a cat, an animal that was to never be a part of the zodiac. For someone like her to find out, what would that do to everyone else? “Fuck, it hurts,” Kyo muttered, hand on his broken rib cage as he tried to rise once again. “I can do it. I can get up.. without your help.”

   “Listen, you dumb bitch. We need him. I don’t care about your attachment or, whatever you think you have towards him. He was with us first. And he owes all of us. Big time. So step aside and I’ll try to make the punishment as painless as possible.”

  “Nothing. You know, except for the fact that we want him back and you’re in the way.”