Episode: 3.5

--- Rai ---

He tapped his foot and grit his teeth.

Nadya and Desmond had both run off to try and get as many people to go to his party as possible, unfortunately this also meant he had no back-up for the problem in front of him.

One Jasper Carmichael, a blonde, six foot, two hundred and thirty pound, bully and captain of… (Okay, I never bother to actually remember, but is he captain of the basketball, the track, or the football team… if it’s the football team, then he is both a cliché and a stereotype.)

Regardless of his status as a bully cliché, Jasper was still actively bullying a rather scrawny freshman in glasses, meaning someone who was probably too weak to actually stand up to someone twice their size.

(Luckily, as someone that isn’t really human that isn’t so much of a problem for me…)

“Really Jasper, a freshman? In glasses? I feel like your status as a bully is your only defining characteristic.” He laughed, leaning against a locker.

Jasper turned towards him and glared, “Morales.”

“Yep,” he cackled, “that’s me.”

“I would’ve thought you learned your lesson after your last beating.” Jasper sneered, walking towards him.

“Well, I didn’t learn it last time, the time before that, nor the time before that.” He reminded the bully, not bothering to actually point out how he’d willingly challenged Jasper whenever he was trying to bully someone. Even if keeping his secret meant he couldn’t fight back.

After all, if the bully hadn’t figured any of that out yet then he wasn’t going to anytime soon. “For a school, I’m not really learning anything, wonder if that’s my teacher’s fault?”

“Big words Morales.” Jasper snarled through grit teeth.

He rolled his eyes.

(Real creative…)

“Maybe to a little brain.” He quipped back, before being lifted up by his shirt collar as Jasper tried to make the difference in their height more noticeable.

(I wonder if he realizes with my spine stretched out, I’m actually taller, than he is, compared to my default height.)

“You never know when to shut up, do you?” Jasper said through grit teeth, pulling their faces inches apart.

“No, I do, I’m just choosing not to.” He smirked, despite knowing what would come next, as Jasper released his collar and slammed a fist into his stomach, before a second blow knocked his head to the side.

Barely registering that he’d been hit, He glanced at the kid Jasper had been bullying beforehand, or at least where the kid had been before running off.

(A thank you would’ve been nice.) he chuckled to himself.

Leaning against the lockers he forced himself to stand up, before giving a bored look to the bully, his face defaulting to the apathetic face he never let (his) human friends and family see, “Please tell me that isn’t the best you’ve got, because if it is you’re just wasting my time.”

That earned him a blow to the head harder than the previous ones.

He let his jaw go loose already expecting another blow, after all it was easier to unhinge his jaw than it was take a blow that would make most lose a tooth.

(Then again Jasper can’t throw a real punch to save his life…)

He smirked at the thought, before realizing the second blow was taking too long to hit.

A quick glance forward was more than enough to leave him holding back a growl.

(Great, this again…)

He mentally sighed, feeling his heartbeat as he realized the world was once again moving in slow motion.

(Seriously… I can’t wait until this perception/reflex thing dilutes out of my system. Would make this whole martyr thing a whole lot less painful.)

Forcing himself to stay painfully (oh so painfully) slow and take the blow to his jaw hoping it would shut his ‘Rhythmic Reflexes’ down, only for the problem to get worse.

(Ah, come on! 10X speed I can’t even move that fast at this Concentrate!)

He ground his teeth together, or as close as he could manage with his (fucked up) perception of time, as let his jaw slowly and painfully reset, the pain coming more from how long it took rather than forcing his bones to reconnect.

(Well, since this is going to take forever…)

He focused his attention on Jasper’s enraged face.

(Let’s play a game and count how many ways I could break you, if I quit playing Mr. Nice guy…)

He glanced at Jasper’s leg.

(With a stance that weak you’re just asking for someone to throw you off your feet.)

He pictured dropping to the ground, before gripping the floor with his hands and sweeping his legs across the floor, thus knocking Jasper flat on his ass.

His eyes jumped to Jasper’s shoulder.

(If I avoid your fist, it wouldn’t be too hard to spin and dislocate your arm…)

He considered it for not even a moment.

(Side-step outside the blow, while grabbing Jasper’s fist so I can pull it behind his back, and then just a little further until… I can just hear the joint ‘pop’ out of socket.)

His gaze trailed to Jasper’s elbow.

(Actually, thinking about it, breaking your arm would be the easier option…) he realized,

(Twist his wrist and straighten out his arm, follow it up by slamming my elbow down on his stiffened joint with just enough force to make so many very satisfying sounds…)

His teeth itched, and his fingertips began to burn as his eyes locked onto Jasper’s throat.

(Then again, easiest option is to… just go for the throat!)

(Step into the punch and open my mouth wide and then wider still, before tearing through the Flesh and BLOOD as, I RIP OUT HIS-)

[Stop]

He froze in his thoughts hearing that one-word echo through his mind as he finally noticed Chess standing behind Jasper, watching him, just waiting for him to go too far.

He swallowed down whatever was running through his head, before noticing how fast his heart was beating, how ragged his breathing had gotten, and how the world was once again moving at its normal speed. After noticing all of that, he realized he still hadn’t been hit.

His eyes jumped to Jasper’s, where a face that was equal parts scared and confused stared back at him.

(Shit.)

--- Cheshire ---

“Alright, I get it, today’s your cheat day. But…” she turned to him with a calming smile that she knew didn’t quite match her twitching eyes.

“What the fuck was that?!” she yelled, before old instincts kicked in, causing her to pause and tilt her head to the side, her ears twitching every few seconds as they searched for anyone who may have overheard her little outburst.

“I- I don’t know…” Rai admitted, staring at his reflection in one of the mirrors that covered the wall of the bathroom she’d dragged him into. Neither of them really caring which of them wasn’t supposed to be in the given room.

“I can tell you exactly what it was, you were about to give into the hunger.” She growled feeling her eyes flash as she kicked in one of the bathroom stall doors. “You’re lucky you didn’t go feral then and there!”

She didn’t bother turning around as she heard one of the faucets behind her turn on, not wanting to face him until her other-half was under control.

“I know…” Rai admitted splashing his face with water.

She couldn’t help but run a hand through her hair, part of her wanting to hug him due to the sheer dejection in his tone.

(Damn it…)

“When was the last time this happened?” she asked, finally turning back to him, their silver eyes meeting in the mirror.

“Beyond the usual impulses?” He asked checking his teeth to make sure none of them were pointier than human. “A couple of years ago, some guy hit Nadya, if she wasn’t watching… I would’ve put him in the morgue, let alone the hospital.”

(Should’ve done it the moment she wasn’t looking.)

She shook her head, pushing away the possessive flare.

“Yeah, I remember that… that was when Des joined up with you guys, right?” she asked already knowing the answer as she took a seat on the bathroom counter before rubbing her temples willing the stress away.

“Mm-hmm,” he nodded rubbing his eyes, “Some guys were messing with him, so she stepped in, thinking they’d back down if someone stood up to them. They didn’t so, I stepped in, and beat them down instead.”

She rolled her eyes, as she searched her pocket for the cure to their mutual ails, “And they believe this garbage about you being bullied?”

“They believe that I’m a pacifist.” He cackled.

She laughed, before pulling out their flask, or rather the flask they stole off some guy a few years back. “How’d you tell that lie?”

“Didn’t tell it, just didn’t fight it, either.” He confessed with a sad smile as he sat next to her, unwilling to take the flask as she offered it to him.

“Maybe that’s your problem…” she told him, running a hand through her hair once more, “when was the last time you got in a real fight, or… hunted something?”

He gave her a look, one that made her roll her eyes.

“For fun I mean.”

He sighed, his speed freak mind already figuring out where she was going with this, “That camping trip last summer. Remember, in the middle of the night we managed to sneak off and pick a fight with that wolf pack.”

“Right, ten versus the two of us, heh. Surprised they ran before we had to off one of them.” She chuckled shaking her head.

(Been a while since we’ve had wolf.)

“Well we’re built to be the superior predators.” He reminded her with a shrug, “They probably realized it once you started to shift.”

“Yeah, I think we set off like a primal instinct when we do that. I mean have you ever notice how much animals don’t like us? They always run away when I get too close.”

(Kind of surprised about that honestly…)

“They don’t run from me.” Rai admitted, finally accepting the flask.

“Cowering in fear is just as bad little brother.” She smiled as she gave him an elbow to the side, trying to distract him from the red sludge in the flask.

Given the look on his face, it only half-way worked.

She paused for a moment letting him work up the nerve for what he had to do, before going back to their problem, “I know you don’t want to really run wild, especially with the way Sanctuary ‘s been… but these cheat days aren’t cutting it, and at the rate you’re going, if you don’t work this, out of your system…” she shook her head, “eventually your instincts are going to lash out at whatever ticks you off, outside your family, and that’ll bite both of us.”

“Our family.” He told her taking her hand, before downing the too delicious substance.

She ignored the way his claws shot out of his fingertips and into her hand, at least until he was able to pull the flask from his lips.

She sighed, giving him a soft smile, “We both know that ain’t true lil’ bro.” she leaned her head on his shoulder, “But thanks anyway…”

“Anytime… and thanks for…” He started gesturing with the flask, trying to find words about this little pow-wow, and the thing with that (dead man) from earlier.

“Mentally bitch slapping you?” she teased with a smirk, taking the flask back with her tail.

“Heh, yeah… that.” He laughed leaning his head against hers, a ping of gratitude flow through their pack connection as he thought about everything else, she did for him.

[Affection]

(Anytime little brother.)