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[myriadeclipse]

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Home of Mockingbird and the voice in his head

Mockingbird

Please forgive me for missing your message. I'll be right with you.

The Other Me

He isn't that sorry.

Mockingbird

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[myriadeclipse]

[ Something told him that taking Lycaon up on the offer to go to The Vogue. He didn't think Zulius was going to be as welcoming to him as he might be to others. Hugo was more than aware that the way he and Lycaon behaved in public always brought on a certain thought and if someone was in One corner, they may have ideas about the other. ]

I see...

[ The mentioning of gun turrets in prothetic legs of all things made his brows furrow, but that was Lycaon's curse to bear. Turning to the counter, Hugo finally took the seat on the stool that he was offered long ago, seating himself before Lycaon so he could lean forward on his arms and peer up at him. ]

Well then. I'm prepared to hear your answers. The ones you've been sitting on all of this time. Tell me any way you'd like.

[paraselenic]

[Ah. He'd been mentally preparing himself for this over the past two weeks, and although he is in a much better position to explain than he was over the World's Most Socially Awkward Korean Barbecue, the thought still made his stomach leap up to his throat.]

Very well.

[The food was put aside. He'd go back to it, to not waste Hugo's effort, but he has a feeling that it'd be picked over at best.]

I should preface this with an apology. I did leave you with quite the drop of information, and I'm sure you've got quite a bit to say to me about it.

Also, you should not let my perspective shift yours, though I don't suppose you'd ever let that happen.

[myriadeclipse]

I will reserve my comments for after you are finished. It’s better to let you speak and get everything out first, given the way things ended last time.

[ It was funny to him that Lycaon always seemed to get the last word that left Hugo flabbergasted. Whether it be to leave him forever, or say something that almost sounded soft and affectionate, Lycaon was the only one to bring him to silence. ]

And for what it’s worth, apology accepted.

[ With that said, he falls to silence, giving Lycaon his full attention. ]

[paraselenic]

[All too fair, Lycaon thinks. There's no way he can run from it now, not that he was planning to. His elbows rest on the counter, fingers laced together as his eye turns to face him. Even now, Hugo held such a presence that he could only try to match. Maybe he said what he said as a way to give Hugo something instead of taking something away.

Maybe that's too presumptuous. He had no idea what this man's feelings towards him were at all.]

In the interest of keeping things simple, we'll use the same metaphor I used back at the restaurant. The moon vs. the surface. Dating the way humans perceive it is more like the lunar surface. You can certainly learn a lot about the moon from looking at its craters, landscape, what you will. Gifts, flirting, gestures like holding hands, these are all equivalents. Granted, humans fall in love like any other living creature, but they don't have the perception often to see things like we do.

When it comes to the moon itself, this includes the surface, of course. But we are talking about the moon as a whole. Its surface, its bedrock, its core, why it revolves around the Earth, its phases, the influence on the tide. Wolves perceive on this level, and they will find one person to be that moon. The one they don't want to just look at the surface of. It's easy to translate this as 'love', but it would be...ah. Underselling it.

[A pause.]

Granted, if a wolf were to find love in a partner that was not a wolf, it's possible that their chosen person does not love them back. It is natural, and we accept that part of ourselves. The youth today might also think this is old-fashioned, and might not be shared by people who simply turn into a wolf versus what I am.

[He grew up in the Franco-German countryside. Who knows how things evolved since then.]

...You also asked what things I do to court others. You'll have to excuse me for finding my way out of that question, as they would implicate me immediately.

[His hand extends out, letting his fingers count them off.] Providing them food, soft touches with our tails, memorizing scents, to name a few.

You can understand the situation that put me in.

[myriadeclipse]

[ The concept was simple enough to understand. The difference between courting and making a choice for life, in a sense. What caught his attention was how this might have been the first serious talk they ever had about what they were. Childhood never presented the correct opportunities. Questions would be lobbed back and forth, but never something like this.

Thievery was romantic, but this was something deeper.

Hugo listened to everything, keeping his eyes on him even as he counted. Lycaon was right, the list did immediately implicate him, although Hugo would not call being smacked by his tail over and over 'soft'. Taking it for what he was saying, Hugo's brows lowered, the dip at the corner of his lips deepening. ]

I can see that would have been awkward for you to address at that time. The way you talk about your moon and your one person is also very touching. Now that I understand those particulars, addressing the mounting evidence against you seems like it should be next, right?

Your actions and your proclamation of how you would not call the lunar surface 'high maintenance'. The way you said you had found your moon already.

[ It was against his nature to have such a talk lingering around a kitchen island as if they were having a meeting about it. It was too late for ambiance. He was locked in to this conversation. ]

[paraselenic]

[Learning this had been a process for Lycaon, too. It's not like he learned from parents. Jack was human, so it left him to rely on instincts and word of mouth. Research. Slow realization as he grew older.

But Hugo was right. Terminology and explanations were out of the way. It was time to discuss what was really the meat of this conversation: His actions.]

Correct. [To both.]

[Lycaon's tail swishes in thought, eyes looking away for the right words to string together. All the practice he'd done amounted to his thoughts still being one big jumble of feelings.]

You already know what I meant by it, so I won't waste our time by being redundant. From how your expression reads, I can assume you want the 'when' and the reason why I have not acted in a way that suggests this.

[myriadeclipse]

[ Hugo scoffs, tilting his head back. ]

It may be redundant, but I am giving you your moment. If this choice is supposed to be as final and all encompassing as you make it seem, you should make it as grand and embarrassingly charming as your furry little heart desires.

Without falling.

[ When his head picks up again and his gaze was on Lycaon, he nods. It was more or less true. The 'when' and the 'why' were important. It was better to hear him out and decide after he has all the facts. ]

... Regardless. Yes, those answers would also be lovely. Do continue.

[paraselenic]

[There's something a bit freeing about Hugo's words. Unbinding, in a way? Maybe he was onto something with that--he'd always been reserved in his words, and when emotion did take hold, it tended to be more annoyance than romanticism. Maybe that's why he couldn't master those speeches the same way Hugo could.]

Very well.

[With an exhale, his lips curl into a smile as he looks up at the kitchen ceiling a moment. Prepping his words. Oddly enough, this seemed easier than the skirting around he was doing earlier. His hands raise up to the muzzle like brace that holds his eyepatch, fingers expertly unclasping the buckle on it and pulling it off. His fingers fold it up gently, setting it just to the side of him for later.

Once that's settled, he finally turns back to Hugo, the eyepatch no longer hiding a grayed out right eye adorned with a scar, and a red one on his left. Funny how fate decided they should match even like this.]

My 'high-maintenance' moon has been you, Hugo.

[myriadeclipse]

[ He did tell him to be as grand and embarrassingly charming as he felt like. What Hugo forgot was the little issue with his transformation, currently. Seeing Lycaon's grayed eye brought back a flood of guilt. It was something that he had been contending with since seeing Lycaon stumble, but it came back in full force when he saw his face once again. It choked him, remembering everything his failure brought on.

And then Lycaon says it.

Hugo, the elegant vampire he is, gives the declaration his full attention, his arms having fallen into his lap by then. After a single blink, Hugo's body erupted into shadows, him and the stool obfuscated by darkness that rose like smoke from fire.

When it clears, an albino fruit bat is curled up on the stool, pushing its face into the cushion with a scream. HE WAS TRYING TO BE COOL! WHY NOW?! ]

Don't. Say. Anything.

Just continue.

[paraselenic]

[There was a bit of weight off his shoulders the moment those words left his mouth, as if coming to terms with his own feelings. His eye, exposing himself like this to Hugo, he'd intended it to show just how vulnerable this made him to the vampire.

At least, that's how it was originally supposed to go.

Unfortunately, Hugo exploded.

Lycaon's eyes fluttered at the way his body suddenly enveloped into darkness, a puff of smoke erupting from the singularity and leaving...a bat? A very small one at that. Ears are pretty big too...and he's kind of fluffy.]

Hugo...? [What does he do. Does he pick him up? Instinctively, he pinches the little fur collar of the bat and moves him to the counter, his dog like curiosity now piqued.]

Ah. As I was saying, you're my... should we really be having this conversation while you're...[WHAT DO YOU EVEN CALL THIS?] petite?

[myriadeclipse]

[ Under no circumstances can he tell Lycaon what caused this, even as he picked up and moved to the counter where his shame can be put on better display. But does he have a choice? Does he really have a choice? He could try to avoid commenting on what's happening to him, but now Lycaon was worried. This might as well happen. ]

You will have to ignore it. It will not end... until my heart stops racing.

[ There were more elegant and avoidant ways of telling Lycaon what happened, but in his flustered state he could do nothing but just say it like it was. This was how this conversation was going to go while he did his best to calm down. This was the worst conversation to have while this ridiculous curse was affecting him.]

When? When did this come about? Why am I only hearing about this now?

[paraselenic]

[Lycaon's brow furrowed at Hugo's explanation, his words only raising more mysteries. Is this just something that...happens to vampires under stressful situations? He feels like he would've seen this in their younger years, but maybe it WAS best to ignore it for now.

No matter how awkward the idea of laying your feelings bare to a bat is.]

If you insist.

[He'll just do his best to answer the questions as they come to him, Hugo's fluffy situation aside.]

'When' is a bit of a difficult thing to narrow down. I suppose before our departure from each other. Although when I realized exactly what it all meant...that came after.

[As for why he's hearing about it now...]

I'd thought the Hugo I knew was lost to some revenge-seeking vigilante.

[myriadeclipse]

[ These were the harder answers to hear. Hugo spent the time since Lycaon's first comment thinking heavily about everything. It made sense for the events to have come about that way. That day truly destroyed everything for him, didn't it? Even now he can be found stumbling, so many years later.

The pale bat pushed up as much as he could, folding his wings in so he can attempt to look like more than a flying rat.

He had his own piece to say on the matter. No matter how he chooses to answer, what has been finally said to him, there were things Lycaon deserved to hear after bearing himself to Hugo like this. He wouldn't be unfair after asking him so many things already. Deliberation over how to put his feelings kept him quiet for a time.]

I have thought about that day endlessly since it happened. Part of me will always be stuck in that moment. I failed to kill my father, and thus in turn assuring the rest of my family died. I lost my freedom to the will of the gods. Most of all, I lost you to the very people who assured that destruction. That was the worst of all my losses that day.

I hated you, but I hated my weak self who couldn't do anything to change that fate more.

[paraselenic]

[This was always going to be a contentious topic, and it probably always will. That day is something not one perspective can tell accurately, and unfortunately, when blended together does not provide any assuring answers. They were two young men who made terrible decisions and were now forced to live with them ten years later. There was no getting around that. Even Lycaon, who had the very image of 'put together', wasn't clear of being unable to let go of the past.

At least they could get through this without a shouting match, for once.

Watching Hugo struggle to sit upright makes him move one of the food containers over, to allow those little bat hands to perch on if he needs.]

That...[Wow, he is a bit glad he doesn't have his own little curse going on right now. Hugo's words leave him speechless. Even hearing Hugo's raw admission of his hatred for him somehow brings relief.] Mm. You were the biggest loss of my life. [His parents abandoning him were pennies compared to the pain this caused. His limbs and eye were proof his life persisted, but he couldn't bring back Hugo.]

I truly should have believed you. Our weakness was exploited that day.

[It's infuriating to think of how those ten years could've been spent differently. A hand runs through his hair idly, fingers tracing along his grayed out eye and down his scar.]

My injuries required Zodiac's expertise in prosthetics, so I had to go to America quite soon after the incident. [In the end, he couldn't even take that job, ironically.] From there, I worked as a bartender and took whatever high-end jobs I could get a hold of.

After all, that's where Mockingbird would show up.

[myriadeclipse]

[ Taking the chance provided to him, The hook of his winged hands reaches out to hold onto the container, using the leverage to pull his other wing up to continue to work himself upward. It was much easier to look up at him while he was clinging into the corner of a container, loathed as he was to admit it helped.

From his new position, he huffed. It almost felt worse that Lycaon waited, wanting to see him all of this time. ]

I did not want it. Mockingbird. Not for a very long time.

[ His voice was low, even while he was a bat, and most of his language was already pitching all over the place. Hugo truly wasn't used to having such extensive conversations in this form. ]

I didn't want to look at the name, nor wear it. The deep importance and meaning of it all was like a scar I couldn't cover up. It was only recently that I decided to pick it back up. Part of me wondered if you'd come back and take it from me. It always felt like it was meant for you instead and the ... chaotic seed of evil.

It grew harder to outrun the questions or the dark place I left myself in to rot. So I stopped. I picked it back up, dusted it off, and got back to work under the moniker once again.

[paraselenic]

[Lycaon watched Hugo readjust himself, hand reaching out to provide a little fallback security should he flop over. With him settled, he cast his eye around the island. Surely there was something he...ah. His gaze landed on a small mandarin orange in his fruit bowl. Reaching over to grab it, his claw sunk into the rind to peel it.

It gave him time to think about it all. So there was a time when Mockingbird for all intents and purposes was dead. He supposed that was to be expected. A part of him hoped it was merely just his location change, but Hugo clearly had his own demons that day. Starting with-]

So you heard that. [The warning Jack gave him. In hindsight, his mentor should have known better than to whisper secrets when Hugo had elf in him.] I didn't understand why he was giving me precaution about one of his own men. We'd all agreed to trust each other...maybe he knew I'd listen by how much I idolized him. Maybe that was my own seed of doubt that was planted, sown and reaped on the day of your family's death.

[That orange is peeled, and Lycaon dangles a little slice of the mandarin in front of him.]

I disagree, however. You were always the sun of Mockingbird, and I was just the pale light of imitation hoping to keep up. A moon can only reflect the sun's light. It can't match its radiance.

...

I may not deserve to have such feelings, but I am proud of the Mockingbird of today.

[myriadeclipse]

[ It was funny when people thought they could hide things from the senses of an elf. They were a proud race and some of the most arrogant beings Hugo's ever known, only to be topped by the audacity of The Fae. He heard a great deal more than people think he does. That still held true now that his statue was more diminutive.

Watching Lycaon so casually start peeling and feeding him orange slices sent his little brain buffering. Was he really feeding him? Now? He was taken in by this absurd fluffy cuteness that easily? How ...ridiculous. And maybe touching, but mostly embarrassing. Shouldn't a wolf be more predatory or something? .

There was a small pause of consideration before he lifted himself and set to biting the orange slice and chewing it in his mouth while Lycaon continued to speak.

He was well through swallowing when Lycaon expressed his pride, Hugo letting one wing lift and point the tip of it at Lycaon while he hung from the other.]

I was your sun. There was no one else who thought of me like that but you, Lycaon. There are plenty who can't stand the destructive nature of the sun, but there are few who don't appreciate the beauty of the moon. The moon... makes the sun palatable. It softens it.

When they are together is when they bring the world to a standstill; watching their hearts align.

[paraselenic]

[You underestimate a wolf's need to take in smaller, fluffy animals, Hugo. Trust him, he'll be predatory when he needs to be.]

Ah.

[This is exactly what he was talking about. Hugo just had such a way with words that he couldn't match, no matter how much he practiced and honed his skills as a gentleman. What was years of hard work was as natural as breathing to this man.

He placed another slice next to Hugo as he ate one himself, looking more like a peanut in comparison to what was an entire dish to the bat.]

I'm fond of that thought. The moon is but a rock without the sun to shine its light on it, and the moon is the only one who can look directly at the sun's light.

[His dog-like curiosity gets the better of him, and he starts to poke at those ears a little.]

Poetic even in this form...

[myriadeclipse]

Are you... mad? Do you want to be bitten again?

[ Hugo's bite could hardly do anything lasting to any part of this massive predator, but my the gods he would do what was bat-ly possible if Lycaon kept provoking him. ]

I've been reduced in size because of your unfortunate level of charm; I haven't lost my mind, You Mutt.

[ It felt correct to both compliment how charming Lycaon could be and then insult him in the same breath. ]

I was ready to tell you...

[ Hugo scoffs, unhooking himself from where he was and taking to the air. He didn't go far, circling in the air and disappearing into another puff of shadows. A light thud heralded his return, standing to his original height once more. His hands settled on his hips as he leveled a look on Lycaon, stepping forward to pick up that orange slide he was offered just earlier. That was still his. ]

I was going to say. I'm willing to work on this. We will both benefit from getting use to this [ He makes a motion between them with his fingers. ] again.

[paraselenic]

[A small chuckle escapes Lycaon's lips as he watched Hugo struggle against his curious fingers. A bite wouldn't be the worst for this little teasing, after all.

Even Hugo's backhanded compliment seemed more like a return to their status quo. He functioned better like this, their jabs masking the real affection underneath, reserving those moments for when they were important.

His eye tracks Hugo's flight, following that uneven flittering around until the puff of smoke appears again, bringing the man's true form back. His tail puffed out a little at the transformation--that's not something he'll get used to quickly.

Making some room at the island for Hugo to grab his spoils, a hand goes to his chin as he looks up at the ceiling again.]

So I'm to understand that you accept my feelings. [He probably should've said confession, but they're both still trekking through this with their emotionally damaged hearts. It doesn't stop his tail from wagging a little, tip of it brushing against Hugo's shins.]

Then I too would like to work on this. Though...we have to discuss what exactly 'this' is.

[myriadeclipse]

[ He's going to eat the mandarin slice before he does anything else. Yes, he's accepted the feelings. Thanks to the time passed and the influence of the board game, some sentiments may have been tested faster than Hugo anticipated. Feeling the way soft fur brushes against his legs, he didn't regret the place it brought him. ]

I'm not truly sure. I don't think we're comfortably able to use the terms humans usually do yet.

What do you suggest?

[ This sort of thing was out of his usual range of expertise. It was Lycaon's feelings that kicked this off, he might as well let Lycaon figure out this part. He was going to seat himself down once more as if the whole bat intermission never happened. ]

And until your leg has been seen, I'll be here daily to make sure you haven't tripped and died. [ It was more hinged than saying he was just going to stay. He had hinges. ]

[paraselenic]

[Lycaon certainly didn't go into his reunion with Hugo with the intent to confess, that's for sure. The pent up time away must have really made him afraid of that visit being the last. And with the boardgame fiasco...well. That did speed things up.

Hugo was right, though. While they were on the same page with each other...it's not your standard relationship.]

Miss Belle and the others seem to be under the impression that we are..ah. What's the term. 'Bitter exes.' I heard her making noises of distress when you decided to make your presence known on the app. It's possible she remembers us from our previous life, and it seems to be a common assumption by many who don't.

[His eye glints a little.] ...Shall we see how long it takes them to notice?

[Lycaon's playful, toying-with-prey side is coming out a little. He loves Belle, and the others. But if they're all so eager to rule them as eternally bickering...he would like to see how long before they can piece it together. But since this involves both of them, he will leave that final say up to Hugo.

He does snort indignantly at that last comment, though.]

You think of me like an injured horse. If I fell I could get back up. [He won't remark on how Hugo had snuck in the fact that he was going to stay. He'll let this bat have that victory. And speaking of victory, he'll go grab that wine Hugo brought. This WAS a victory in its own way.]

...And if I may offer a suggestion. I would invest in turtlenecks. [He won't elaborate.]

[myriadeclipse]

[ The way his face lights up at the notion of not telling them should be illegal. That was a fun idea. Everyone could continue to have their own ideas of what was occurring between them. Hugo himself hadn't done a lot of elaboration on their relationship past what it used to be. Did people usually believe him? No, but he really hadn't done anything to confirm or deny.

The dark laugh followed the look. He was clearly on board for not telling anyone.

His delight didn't last, his eyebrows climbing as he listened to the suggestion. All the answer as to why that he could think of were... well, he didn't want to assume.]

Turtlenecks? Why something so covering? What are you going to do, Lycaon? [ Hugo would prefer he did elaborate. ]

And Wha-What if you fell somewhere you couldn't just get back up from? You're plenty capable on your own, and I'm aware of that. I won't be here all the time. Unless you would prefer that I did stay a few days to nag you.

[paraselenic]

[He had a feeling Hugo would enjoy that. It saves them from having to explain that they were, actually, adults who could talk things out. And...well, maybe a part of him enjoys the idea of acting the part everyone thought they were playing on the app.

The Mockingbird wasn't completely out of this wolf yet.]

Future investment. Nothing more. [But Hugo seems to need a little help in seeing just what exactly he means, so when he limps back around to the island to set the wine down, he brushes a hand to pull back Hugo's bangs. Something he'd only really done in the back of his mind, in daydreams he wouldn't even give his consciousness the light of day. He moves closer, dipping his head down and pressing his teeth to his neckline. Their presence just enough to get the message across before he pulls back, a sly smile now adorning his wolfish lips.

He'll play nice for now--you have a little...flying rat situation that could re-trigger after all.]

Of course I want you to stay.

[myriadeclipse]

[ If Hugo had it his way, the world wouldn't be without those part of him that are Mockingbird at all.

Hs gaze remained on Lycaon as he approached. It had been a long time since they stood this closely, and touches like this were new. Maybe in the depths of those shameful dreams was the only time Lycaon had touched him so gently. He could feel it now, watching him with a softened gaze. A slow breath was taken when he could feel the brush against his neck, his eyes looking toward the ceiling.

Horrible. Horrible dog. The flying rat situation didn't resurface, thankfully. Although his pale skin did have a bit more color than usual, he remained relatively calm. Hugo could even raise a hand to rest against Lycaon's chest to help him, and he leaned up to turn his head and press a touch of his own along Lycaon's snout before they were drawn out once more. ]

Then I will stay for a few days. And. Ahem. I'll also look into higher collars. You're fortunate to be covered in fur. I doubt any damage I could do would really show up.