patheticvillain | twenty-five ➢ private + spam

twenty-five ➢ private + spam

private } chris

Hey.

private } vesper

sorry i scared you

spam } open. eeeeesh.

[Cassel spends the weekend and the first couple of days after Elena's outed pretty much just hiding in his room. He'll open the door to some people right away, some after a little persuasion, and completely ignore others.]

[After that, he starts picking up his shifts in the gym again, although he tends not to do much looking people in the eye. He can also be found scuttling away from social interaction in the dining hall.]

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[ His eyes fix on the coin, and narrow, slightly; no, he saw this. He caught a glimpse, as he was walking into CES to find another way to cope with the news that Cassel was (apparently) being pulled beyond his reach. But he hadn't thought about it. It hadn't registered. He reaches out and rests his fingertips on the warped metal, as though to confirm that it's real. ]

Maybe he does.

He's still a dick.

[But Cassel's looking at the coin and Zane's hand and the talisman, and he can't bring himself to be that mad about it.]

[He looks at Zane intently.]

I wouldn't have graduated without you. You do know that, right?

[ He pulls his hand away from the coin and, instead, reaches up to briefly tousle Cassel's hair. That's what brothers do, isn't it? ]

You were a mess when I found you.

[ So was Zane, of course. Even worse. They pulled each other up. ]

[He half-smothers a grin and doesn't try very hard at all to act like he dislikes the attention.]

I'm still a mess. Just a different mess.

[Squirming happily, he flops back on the bed and sits tightly coiled, with his legs folded under him. The tom slinks out from under the bed and fixes Cassel with a judgmental look.]

Anyway, I found you.

[ He settles next to Cassel. He's gotten him to smile, at least. He's broken Cassel out of the worst of it - maybe temporarily, but. ]

Semantics.

It's not semantics.

[He leans his head on Zane's shoulder and fixes the cat with a wide-eyed stare, until he looks away like he has something much more interesting to do.]

You're a pretty good brother, you know.

[ That means a lot to him. It means almost too much. So he steals a tactic from Chris: ]

Pretty good?

[He grins again. Recognizes the tactic, yes. It's his favorite. Tucks his legs up under him and curls up close.]

Middling to high levels of good.

[ Raise an eyebrow.

Yeah, right. ]

Leaning towards high.

[ Still silent.

U best wither under his withering gaze. ]

[Nope, no withering. Only snuggling. His face is the literal equivalent of :3]

[The cat scoots a couple of suspicious steps closer, eyeing Zane irritably.]

[ Fine. He's going to turn his withering gaze on the cat instead. Fear, kitty. ]

[And the kitty does not fear. The kitty scowls.]

Are you having a staring contest with him?

Is he feral?

Yeah. Mostly, still.

He's better than he was.

Does he have a name?

Ilia. Unless he decides it's not.

[The scowling continues. Then the cat stands, arches his back, and walks to sit possessively beside the bed. And scowls more.]

He thinks the bed's his.

Or that you're his.

[Experimentally, Cassel holds his hand out. Ilia knocks his head against it, less out of desire for attention and more to mark him. Cassel nods as though that's decided it.]

I guess it's me. That's really good, actually.

Means he hasn't rejected you.

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