dogtooth

@nashalbrecht location: Lupercalia notes: your other starter is post the gauntlet so this one can be pre

People from his past were easy to not come by at any point in time. Anyone that knew him from before he had become a lycan were now six feet under. And they had been for quite some time now. Maybe Nash should've known it'd come back to bite him in the ass some day. Giles was supposed to be his brother-in-law. They had gotten along well enough to where he had known, back then, that he wouldn't have any problems with the family he was marrying into. The draegloth never dared to say the woman's name he was to marry, not in his own head or even out loud. It was his fault she was no longer here, why Giles even stood before him now as a demon. He looked the other up and down. "I could ask you the same question."

@nashalbrecht location: where the baddies hang out (the trailer park) notes: post Alpha Gauntlet

The two of them were neighbors and honestly, that was all Nash needed. Valamir didn't bother him. He didn't bother Valamir. It was for the best considering the unfortunate sounds he heard from the other's trailer more often than not. However, that didn't mean that one friend wouldn't be good to have for what he had planned. Even if said person was a part of the pack he planned to disband. It was no matter though. Valamir could be a part of his new regime. The Lupo would be no more and he would be able to do what needed to be done in its place. They would all learn sooner rather than later. Nash was picking something out of his teeth when the lycan spoke. "Oh, Valamir, you know I won't make you that promise. I'll just make sure to make it quick. Out of the kindness of my heart."

"I see...." Enzo nodded. "I don't get it." His metaphor had gotten lost in the sauce, and now the lycan had to be even more confused than he was at the start. Where were all these uncles coming from, and why was everyone so hairy all the time? "Do you need some new clothes? You're wearing the same clothes I saw you in last time." Enzo asked instead as he pointed at the other's grimy little shirt; Bash wasn't really handsome, but that didn't mean he couldn't put some effort in. "And, like, a friend?" Lorenzo thought about the last year and all the fear that surrounded the nights of the full moon, the moments leading up to it, the people he'd hurt, and how that'd made him feel. Maybe he'd hurt people, but he still didn't really know. Nate had helped to make sure, but that didn't make this any easier; four nights every month and Lorenzo was left in agonizing pain as every bone in his body broke, all his muscles shredded so they could heal into something stronger. Reprieve came when the pain was so much that it made him black out, he fought it every time, tried to keep himself together and human but his weirdo uncle always won. "Because I have Tony Hawk upstairs and like... I think um-" Enzo's throat felt dry, his voice shook, "I think uh- I think I need to talk to someone about.... Him."

"Yeah, I figured." Nash didn't think Enzo was the brightest bulb in the batch. Honestly, the kid was far too innocent for him to even really be around. It was why he had told the other to stay away from him. The draegloth was not the kind of person that people should have been around. He actually preferred it when people thought he was off-putting. It helped to not always have to growl and fight people constantly. Not that he minded doing that at all. It would've been pretty exciting. Still, that wasn't the point of this conversation. The point was for him to somewhat say that he knew what Enzo was going through to a degree and that he was the reason the other was even going through it in the first place. "I don't need new clothes or new friends, you rude little goblin." He held his hands up. "I would say you need a fucking filter, but I don't have one so that would be awfully hypocritical of me." Again, not that he cared. "Anyway, I don't know what you want me to tell you about your weird uncle, but I'll play this Tony Hawk and I'm sure you'll just ask a bunch of questions like you normally do."

It would be the same song and dance, the thought that Circe were some divine creature that would be tainted by his touch. That he would mar some saintly quality about her. Oh, how she hated it. How she despised this very idea of her. As if she were not capable of destruction, devastation. Her gaze focused upon him as the words settled in, eyes narrowed despite his confession. Nashoba loved her, he had for the many years that they had known each other. And he had risked everything for her. Yet, here he stood, with the want for her to go. To leave him behind for some idea of something better just beyond.

More distance was placed between them and it made it easier for him to accept the words that had just left his mouth. It didn't help with the words that had left her own, but it would have to. Because he wasn't going to keep doing this over and over again. Nash could get over her killing him. She had done what she thought was necessary. He wouldn't have been able to do the same, but he wouldn't have ever had to think about such a thing. Circe was better than him and he was just someone scraped off of the bottom of the barrel. Maybe he'd be more than that one day. He already was given this gift he had been given. Then again, he was sure that he was the only person that would see something like having a fiend inside of them as a gift.

Lorenzo gasped and leaned in, still whispering. "Is that why you smell so bad?" Oh no, he didn't smell like that, did he? Enzo absentmindedly lifted his arm and took a light whiff of his pit, it just smelled like his usual handsome self but what if other people didn't like it. Did Epimetheus think he smelled? No way, they'd gotten so close so many times, plus Enzo showered like, twice a day. This guy, Bash, didn't look like he had showered ever. Maybe never. Like, not at all, like they'd let him out of prison and he'd rolled around in the dirt like he was a... Dog! Right! "Okay, okay," he looked over his shoulder as he changed his mind again, stepped outside, and closed the door behind him. "Does he..." Enzo looked slightly pained as he folded his arms before his chest, "Hurt?"

He immediately leaned away from the lycan, a look that could only be on the face of someone that had been completely disrespected. Damn, maybe Enzo was just the right person to have bitten. The kid had absolutely no filter so that meant something to him. Nash much preferred people that spoke their mind. Well, not as an insult, but he was positive that the little lycan really didn't even mean it as one. He just spoke without thinking. Not a single thought behind those eyes anyway. "I don't fucking smell. What kind of question is that?" There was no way he smelled that horrible. He'd showered today. He lifted his shirt to smell himself. Maybe it had been his clothes. He'd have to remember to steal some new items somewhere. In the midst of thinking that, Enzo was stepping outside and closing the door behind him. Kid really could not make up his mind. "Well...how do I put this?" He paused and put a hand on the other's shoulder. "You could say I'm your weird uncle. And then I also had a weird uncle, but then my weird uncle turned into an even weirder uncle so it's a little different."

"Well, the thing about that is my mom always says that when people show you who they really are, you should believe them." Lorenzo recalled thoughtfully as he kind of looked up and scratched his head. "And you said you're kind of dangerous, then you put your cigarette out on my door, and like, man, I rent, our landlord is going to be so pissed. We're already on strike eleven, and he said if we get to twelve, he's going to give us the hose again." Old man Jenkins and his damn hose. "Also, you told me I should listen to my mom so... I don't know, I don't think I want to talk about my weird uncle with you." Lorenzo whispered towards the end because he definitely didn't want to talk about that while his roommates were home. How was he supposed to tell them about it? All of that. Nate had at least made sure that Enzo wasn't hurting anyone; the sedatives didn't do anything to numb the pain. That definitely sucked; every month, it just kind of felt like the same bone-breaking experience again and again. He'd been going through this for over a year, and maybe his guardian angel understood, but Enzo was still suffering. "But um, yeah, he's kind of putting me through it and I can't talk about that right now. So, I think maybe you should just go."

So he changed his mind and also talked a lot. Actually, it was more like rambling. It would've been endearing if...no, no it really wasn't. Nash was not used to actual socialization still to this day. He'd been out of his cell for over a year now and it still felt like he was in there when he spoke to people. His manners hadn't been a thing for quite some time now. He could understand why Enzo wouldn't really want to bother with him considering that fact. Then there was also the point Nash had made in that he literally told the kid to steer clear of him. Maybe he should've listened to his own words. He'd give that one thing to Enzo though. He sure as hell listened. Otherwise, he was sure the little lycan was not all that bright. A brow rose at the other's last few words. "Your...weird uncle? Your weird uncle is putting you through it? I'm fucking confused. What does your weird..." He stopped himself because, well, he'd just asked about full moons and that was clearly a sign that the other was using code words or something to answer the question. "Right. Well, I can help you with your weird uncle. You could say I have a weird uncle myself. It's why I'm so dangerous."

The line in the dirt had been drawn, for as she stepped forward, he had stepped back. A distance had grown between them, and it had become more profound than the mere foot that separated them. Nashoba had sworn himself to the Asphodel, and she to the elves that she had been exiled from. Many may never understand her choice, the willingness to risk her life for them, but Circe did not need them to. She did not care for the opinions of others --- except for Nashoba. Except for Ismael. They were of great importance to her, and she had betrayed the both of them. She had made her choices, no matter how they twisted the organ within her chest, and now she needed to make amends with that.

Nash had become really good at lying. Not many people knew him down to his core so it was easy for him to get away with it. Well, with everyone but Circe of course. Maybe, once upon a time, things would've been different. Maybe if he wasn't the person that he was, he could've allowed himself some semblance of happiness. However, he wasn't a good person. He wasn't someone to look at and think forever was worth it. And he wouldn't do that to Circe. He'd told her before and he would tell her many times that she had much better options. What he'd done, he'd done for her, but maybe some people weren't meant to last forever. Maybe. Honestly, the ball had never been in his court. He'd lost love before and he could do it again. So he would lie. He'd lie and lie and lie until he was blue in the face, but it would be worth it for her happiness. They were on different sides of this after all. What more did they have for each other?

Ever since that angel had started helping Enzo with his special moon time, he hadn't had to worry about hurting anyone during the full moon. It was still interfering with practice though but lucky for Enzo he was playing like, really really good now. Even better than before. He made a face though when the other man put his cigarette out on the door frame, that was really rude, this was Enzo's home. "Um, no, that's okay, you're probably right. Maybe you should just say whatever it is that you came here to say." What was this guy's name again? It had been so long since Enzo had last seen him that he was kind of scratching his head on this one. Bash- Ash- no, that wasn't it. Either way he was probably right, inviting someone who called themself dangerous into his home was probably not smart.

Nash knew how off-putting he probably was. It wasn't like he intended to ever befriend people in the first place so he really didn't care much. Still, he had come here for a reason. Whether he was going to still go through with that remained up in the air depending on the little lycan's reaction. And, from what he could gather right now, Enzo very much did not like him. Rightfully so. The draegloth had indeed told the other to stay away from him because he was dangerous. Maybe that wasn't the right way to start off conversations. Especially for people that he thought he turned while on a lycan heart eating rampage. "You change your mind a lot, kid." He'd said it as if it was Enzo's fault, but really he'd just put out a cigarette on the lycan's door so...yeah. "Anyway, the point of me being here was to ask you about...full moons." That was one hell of a way to bring it up, but he was really so bad at this.

Upon a wild island of one, Circe had promised so many things. To herself, to the Gods that had turned their backs upon her; to any such creature that may have found themselves within her orbit. Again and again and again, those promises fell from her tongue. To the stars, to the plants that thrived under her touch, to the men that she turned to pigs when their intentions became true. Promises shaped the entirety of her being, pushed the power into her hands and propelled her forward when all else looked bleak. For if a promise was made, then eventually, something would need to test that. To see the strength of her conviction. Eventually, her time on the island would come to an end, and she would be free once more.

Nash had never hoped to see her upset. The thought of it infuriated him more than anything else could. But they were in this situation and there was no going back on what had happened. The draegloth could mention how it was his fault, how he had forced her hand and had to deal with the consequences. He could have done that, but he didn't. Instead, he simply stood there hoping that those unshed tears never fell from her eyes. Normally, he would've burned down the entirety of Rome just to find the person that had upset her. But how could he do that if he was the one responsible? How could he atone for mistakes he didn't know how to atone for? Did he even want to? There was a lot going through his mind and not enough time to process any of it. He'd never had time to process anything though. Why would he have been able to now?

Hmmm, no Enzo was pretty sure he wasn't going to do that. What was this guy's name again? Had he given it to him, Enzo couldn't really remember but he looked hella familiar. Like, familiar in the way like they'd met even before Enzo had randomly wandered into that dump where Nash was living. Nash, right, that was his name. Nash like Ash the Pokemon Master. "Well, I don't know, it's kind of cold outside, and I don't really know you that well." Lorenzo was dumb but he was smart enough not to get jumped by some desperate looking guy asking him to follow him out of his house. "We can talk here though if that's cool, you were kinda rude the last time I talked to you and you just kept saying how dangerous you were and stuff, so, you know; but hey, did you wanna come in?"

"The cold shouldn't bother you, kid." Then again, Nash was sure that Enzo was actually completely clueless to what he was. It wasn't like he was going to just blurt out that the other was a lycan, but he certainly had half a mind to. It felt like he should've. Yet here they stood, the other absolutely not willing to go outside. At least Enzo had good instincts. That was more than he could say about a lot of people. Nash had indeed told him he was dangerous so taking a walk with him probably didn't sound appealing. At least it wouldn't if he was in Enzo's shoes. Still, he let out a short laugh that didn't reach his face as he did. "I'm rude most of the time." He blew smoke out of his mouth. "You won't go for a walk with me, but you'll invite me into your home? Maybe your instincts aren't as good as I thought." He stubbed the cigarette out on the door frame and placed the rest of it behind his ear. "Sure, I'll come in."

Nashoba had done this for her, in a way. He had been a lycan, whose lifeline only extended with the hearts that he consumed. Gifted with only so many years of that which the other lycan had left, in order for him to remain at her side, he would have never been able to stop. He had done this so that they could remain together, to not be torn apart like they had been before. Circe had wished to believe that, to take it for what it was. But she knew the treachery of power, what such a taste could do to others. She herself had power, and she had used it upon her cousin, to turn her into an unspeakable monster. She had been blinded by the concept of love, had allowed it to consume her. And when that had been stolen from her, she had reacted in poor taste.

Nash had known why she was here. He hadn't needed to be the smartest person in the room to put the pieces together. Circe had always spoken of saving him, of never giving up on him. She had said as much when they came upon each other in the middle of a battlefield that he had taken a part in escalating. Killing people was something that he did not care about doing. If he needed to get rid of a few obstacles for his own interests, then he was going to do exactly that. The only person that truly knew that was Circe and she had...reluctantly accepted that about him. She had not truly cared until he had turned his attention towards those she deemed family.