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FamishedPantsLes Misérables
Featuring: Wolf,Meredith, Vera and...
@KillamriX88
What was reality. What was a dream. Meredith counted the seconds in her brain, as chains of pain took hold of all her limbs. These past weeks had started badly enough, and it had only gotten worse. She felt useless. Unnoticed. She wanted to be helpful, and a better person. That’s why she had taken the sword like her father. Like her brother. The tournament was a big thing for her school, and she dedicated herself dutifully. At first slower, but soon it gained a breakneck pace as lesson after lesson and blow after blow, her father was trying his best to put her into shape.
But it was never fast enough. She was still sluggish. Naive. Weak. And then, her mother intervened. It had started because Victor Blackgate had gone to do some errands, and Nyxdaemona had found her eldest daughter practicing swordsmanship. She felt a chill down her spine when she heard her amused chuckle, and then words she would dread.
“Let me help you.”
She had been unforgiving, relentless. With just enough care to not kill her, making her stagger and gasp for air, for breathe, as wound after wound accumulated in her body, her demonic nature being the only thing that she felt at times, was holding her together.
“See, you’re my daughter. I love you.” She said. “As an extension of myself. A pathetic one.” She added, her words full of bile and poison. “And, if you’re going to enter that tournament, I shall do everything on my hand to help you. Whether you like it or not. However, a lot of work has to be done. You’re weak, soft, indulgent… you won’t last three seconds out there.”
She added, as she finished her spiel, the dark magics that had held Meredith midair extinguishing and her maimed body crashing into the floor. That’s how it had been.
“Patch yourself up. Tomorrow we will do more.” The succubus had added, before taking her leave. Meredith did her best, as she crawled towards the door upstairs, exiting the basement-slash-dungeon of the house. She took care to change her clothes and use her magic. Nobody liked someone bleeding all over the place.
She wondered if the others were back… when a heated exchange took place. She forced herself to compose her face in a placid smile. No matter what happened, she would be Meredith. Specially to an old friend. She stumbled a step, cursing, but managed to open the door as she eyed the couple.
“Oh hi. Do you want to come in?” She offered. They were at it again. It never ended. It pained her to see Wolf like that. He had been a brave boy once. Brave enough to befriend her… a half-demon with tainted blood.
Wolf looked up from where he sat as Vera just stormed past Meredith. It took him a moment to get his head straight enough to speak.
“Not… really. Sorry,” Wolf finally said. Even actually being welcomed in, as he knew he would have been, couldn’t change his feelings. It didn’t feel right being near Vera at the moment. “I’d offer you a seat, but all I have is this pavement…” he added, looking down at the ground he sat upon.
Meredith eyed Wolf, as she slid outside silently. His gait said much more than his words. Once again, he was the sad, battered knight. And he was reluctant to go inside. Her gaze trailed inside. Vera Goh was likely the cause. But Meredith had to do something, somehow. She walked towards Wolf, as she squatted in front of him, smiling.
“Are you hurt, Wolfie?” She asked. A flaring, scorching pain rupture on her left side. Probably one of the wounds had reopened. “Do you want to be healed?” She questioned further, her eyes staring directly into her best friend.
“N-no, I’m fine,” Wolf lied. He was pretty sure nothing was broken at least. Probably. Hopefully. “Sorry I dumped all this on you. I know you and Vera don’t get along…” And he hadn’t even really been around to check in much. He’d really just been compounding failures lately. “I’ve… been pretty scarce lately. Umm, how are you doing?” It felt like such a lame thing to say, but it was all he had at the moment.
Meredith stood firm on her ground,even though something ugly and bitter stirred inside. “It’s what friends are for, isn’t it?” She said, trying to dismiss it as no big deal. Answering his white lie with another. “I am doing fine, Wolf. Don’t worry about me.” She added, without even the slightest trace of hesitation. Even though one of her sides of her shirt was beginning to be soaked red. “I know you mean well.” She said.
Just like me. And that’s why we are punished for it. She added to herself, as her legs finally gave in, falling butt first in the ground in front of Wolf. “Just a little tired. Don’t worry.” She quickly tried to excuse herself. “I am training these days.”
“No winning for either of us. Both our parents are pretty rough with their training, huh?” Wolf threw on a half-forced smile. After all, Victor had been trained by Guntram, and thus had inherited all of his brutal habits. “Well I guess it’s the end result that matters...”
“I suppose.” Meredith said bitterly, as she stared into Wolf once more. Results. That was always what mattered. One could be right for the wrong reasons. And that’s why Wolf and herself struggled so much. They had scruples. Finally her mother’s words made sense, amidst the exhaustion and sadness.
“Weak, soft… indulgent.” She droned, as she dabbed one hand under her shirt, and began to paint the tired’s knight’s cheek with a healing rune. “No more.” She gritted through her teeth, as she worked herself to stand upright. “You need to rest, Wolfie.” She added as a matter of fact, as she began to walk towards the house.
Something...had changed, even if her smiling face was as always. She would not shy away this time. She had something to say to the one who had invited herself under her roof.
As much as he appreciated being healed anyway, he had a sudden cause for concern. Normally Meredith had to make herself bleed for that, but this time…
“Wait, you’re bleeding?” Wolf knew Victor was tough, but he had never pictured him as someone who went to those extremes. Meredith could take a hit better than most, but still. Wolf got up, much more easily now, and followed after her. “What kind of training are you doing!?”
“Mother loves me.” Meredith just added, her sweet words finally breaking apart to reveal something...darker. “And dad is away on an errand.” She refused to elaborate further as she advanced towards Vera, her visage composing again in record time. A little too well. She did not address her directly, just stared at her, beaming her best smile, ignoring that she was being tailed by Wolf.
“Uhh…” Wolf knew Victor had Mona under control, and while Mona might help them, it didn’t mean her methods were good or pleasant. He’d heard a thing or two. But he’d unwittingly followed her right toward Vera, causing his throat to practically seal shut. The venomous look in Vera’s eyes as they momentarily met his nearly stopped his heart out of dread.
“Can… I help you?” Vera asked. She was too tired for this shit. Wolf was there. Oh geez, was Meredith trying to play peacekeeper or something pathetic like that? She wasn’t sure her opinion of Wolf would survive that.
“Yes, actually, you can.” Meredith added, “Get the fuck out of my house.” She said without breaking a heartbeat. “I need to have a little chat with your boyfriend, and I am too tired to even try to be the gracious host.” She added.
“Excuse me?” Vera glowered. “Today? Really? Go to another fucking room then. Maybe I’m too tired to leave. Whatever shit you’re dealing with is nothing compared to what I’ve already dealt with today.”
Meredith inched closer, her forehead actually touching Vera’s, without breaking her smile nor poise, and then she started pushing her head against the talkative woman, exerting a non small amount of force while doing so, as she brought one of her still bloodstained fingers to vera’s face, soiling her cheek. “Mother decided to be motherly today, and I find my best friend no different than a talking corpse. You are welcome to bring it, but before remember whose house is this.” She added.
“Fine.” Vera said shortly and began gathering up her things. “Fine. Not like I almost died a few hours ago. Not like I was doing his job for him when it happened.”
“What?” Wolf hadn’t heard that part.
“No, no. Don’t worry. You had rabid mutants to handle, it’s fine. It’s just fucking fine!” Vera ranted and roughly shouldered past the two on her way out. “Maybe I’ll just go get kidnapped this time!”
“B-but-” Wolf swallowed hard.
“So yeah, fuck you too!” She spun to walk backwards, flipping them off with both hands before she walked out of sight. Wolf could only hang his head in defeat. The hits just kept coming.
“I’ll send Zack to shadow her. But she can’t treat you like this, Wolfie.” Meredith added. “Results are what matters. I am too tired to be polite today.” She finished, as she offered Wolf a seat.
“So tell me, what really happened?”
Wolf took the seat, “What if I deserve it? I wasn’t here… and you heard her. I’m supposed to be protecting Andras.”
“Well, that much is true, but you’re my friend too. No one kicks my friend when he’s down. No. One.” She emphasized, as she leant on Wolf from behind, giving him one of her famous (-or perhaps infamous) hugs. “Everyone makes mistakes, learn from them.” She added in a warm inflection, so different from what had happened. It seemed that while still downtrodden...she could muster some warmth still.
He let out a long sigh. He was lucky he even had a chance to learn from this. If things had gone a little different… But they hadn’t, so learn he would have to.
“. . . when they got attacked, I guess they ran to my house because it was closer, or something,” he said finally. “And whoever was after them broke in to chase them. While they were there they defaced my mother’s portrait… for some reason. I dunno… when I saw everything just sort of went blank for a bit…” he explained. He’d run off to check on Vera before he’d had a chance to really process that one. Thinking about it again, it felt like a crushing weight descended upon him.
He’d grown accustomed to walking past it every day without feeling the sharp pain of loss every time. In a way, it had been comforting to have around, to know she was still respected after her passing.
But now… it just hurt.
“Repeat that, please.” Meredith’s whole hug and warmth froze all of a sudden. She was in denial, in a similar mood to before when she confronted Vera. Wolf would probably recognize it, after knowing her for so long. Meredith was livid.
“They drew a moustache and beard on it…” Wolf told her. Despite the strange stupor seeing it had knocked him into, the image of what had been done was burned crystal clear into his mind.
Meredith let Wolf go of her embrace, just in time. She would probably had choked Wolf afterwards. Dabbing into the blood of her shirt once more, she drew a circle, of which a creature came fort. Small, squeaky but definitely demonic. An imp. But for some reason it was wearing a Saint Laurel’s uniform.
“Bring Vera back.” She commanded, and sent the summoned creature forth.
“Wait, what?” Wolf was confused. Did Meredith feel bad after hearing the full story, or…?
A minute later the imp rejoined them… by flying across the room like a punted football and bouncing off the far wall. Vera strode back into the room, arms crossed and foot tapping angrily.
“Change of heart? Because I’m perfectly fine with leaving at this point if it means I don’t have to look at you…” Vera growled at Meredith.
Meredith rubbed her imp in reassurance, and dismissed the creature of its services, vanishing in a puff as it had come. “In a manner of speaking.” Meredith, added. “A name, and then you will have your shelter back.” Meredith spoke in a somber tone, maintaining her gaze, unlike normally.
“Captain Joe Swallow,” Vera said deadpan and then paused a moment. “Gonna need to be more specific than that.”
“The one who wrote on my mother’s portrait,” Wolf told her.
“I dunno. One of those stupid dolls did it. We’re like 90 percent sure they belong to that Galbrek prick, right?” Vera rolled her eyes. Eyes that shot wide a second later. “Actually… I was kinda freaking out, but back in the woods I think I heard one actually say his name, so now I’m like 99 percent sure.”
“Uh, woods?” Wolf was confused. What woods?
“The woods behind your house,” Vera said and his face grew pale. “Yeah, I know you said not to but I was out of options! I mean, I almost got eaten but I kinda worked.”
Wolf had to take a second to slow his heart back down. This was all too much.
“Thank you.” Meredith answered, before drawing blood once more… and writing a sleep rune on Wolf’s face. “Now take a rest.” She said, activating the rune. “Ravenovich. Kin. I don’t like him.” Her gait was slow and deliberate, as she eyed one of her father’s swords, a huge chunk of metal that a grown man would need to use both hands. Meredith just yanked it like if it were a feather-duster, demonic vigor strengthening her arm. Like father, like Daughter.
“I need to go for a walk.” She lied through her teeth.
WHUMP!
Wolf’s body collapsed to the floor as Meredith marched out of the house.
Vera crouched down next to him, “Hey…” She slapped his cheek lightly. “Wake up.” She shook his shoulder. Nope, he was out. “. . . neat.” And now she had to deal with this shit.
