Out With The Light// Closed

 The leaf was still in his hand when he made the decision. Bruised, wilted beyond repair and far more damaged that he’d have expected. Then again, he had lost himself there for a moment. He could still see the split of the skin over her cheek, feel the delay of her muscles giving beneath his fists. He could hear it, christ he could HEAR it. His knuckles practically stung with the contact. He couldn’t stop shaking from the brief reassurance that he hadn’t actually touched her. That his hands were, at least the fingers unstained by the pulpy remains of the leaf he’d demolished, clean. Somewhere between imagining her defeated beneath him and her climbing down from the tree it all clicked together.. Despite his mostly fractured attempts to stay focused on her, on conversation, that violent new part of him reared again and everything around him was painted in flames. Through the intensity of the image he smiled in that characteristic manner of his; the left side of his mouth kipping up in an expression that was far too childlike for the idea that had planted itself firmly into his mind.

It was freezing out. Cold in a way that was entirely abnormal for this time of year but there was little he could do to fight that. At least not yet. He doubted he’d be cold once everything caught. The bag settled against his back was heavy with glass and liquor and his belly twisted in anticipation. He doubted he’d be cold after this. He doubted he’d be warm again either. Something in him had snapped in going home leaving him black inside, cold. He was digging his grave. So what if he’d been sent here for a crime he was more than sure he hadn’t committed. He’d been sent here a victim. There was no way in hell he was leaving as one as well. The dorm rose vacant before him. He vaguely remembered exploring once with Kiara. Picking open the side door expertly to impress her if only to hold her attention. He couldn’t find it within himself to regret it now. That he hadn’t won that one. She’d landed herself someone else. He hadn’t cared enough from the onset, still trying to fit himself into the routine here. Trying to stake his claim on territory he had yet to understand. He’d picked up the game easily enough though. Taking names as he went. Telling some to live while restricting the livelihood of others. Living himself through the affectation of the game. He doubted he knew who he was anymore. Jack knew. Li knew. Li knew far more than he’d care to admit. He’d let that one get away from him. Let it spiral into something far more than a game. That one had extended into life. He’d been on a good path. So close to owning the underground, to having picked his way into the minds of so many with as little effort as it had taken him to open that damn door. Going home had ruined that. Now he was left with the scattered remains of an empire he’d abandoned. He hoped someone picked up the charred remains he’d leave. That someone would relight the path he’d burned through hearts and minds. As for himself, he’d go out with the blaze.

Picking the lock was simple. He’d already done it once leaving the internal mechanism of the lock itself utterly destroyed. He wondered, briefly, how that paralleled with his touch on humanity. Questioning whether or not he had the same effect on everyone he seduced into his grasp. If they had that effect on him. He cracked open the side door with a sharp turn to the handle trusting the broken catch to give under pressure. It did. And the door sighed more than it creaked or screamed open, the sound altogether far too intimate in its familiarity. He was back poking through corridors, finding a key and exploring upper levels of an abandoned building before dying batteries and a lack of dedication had pushed them back out into the better populated places on campus. He toyed with the idea of picking the key back up where they’d left it and revisiting their search for a lock that would reveal something secret and forgotten and his own. No one here had secrets anymore. Not when he was through with them.

He pushed his way through the scattered furniture to one of the upper floors staking his place out in one of the rooms that faced the rest of campus. He was careful to avoid the window itself wary of giving away his position too soon. Everyone would know soon enough. He cleared a place near the wall facing the windows sliding his back down the neglected wood until he was seated lazily. He’d slung his bag off to one shoulder with the motion and set it now across his lap cracking the seal on one of the bottles and taking a swig straight. The liquor was warm and burned its way down his throat turning a stomach already twisted tight with nerves. He ignored the sensation drinking deeply a second time before shrugging the bag off to the side lazily and resting the bottle against the top of his thigh. During its fall one of the canisters of lighter fluid worked its way free of the meager fabric. K- had the decency to be irritated by that fact before chuckling at the insight that it didn’t matter; it would all be gone by the end of the night anyway.

By the time he’d made it halfway through the bottle he’d built up enough mettle to work his way back up the wall. Muscling his shoulders back to brace himself enough to rise. He grabbed two of the multiple plastic canisters fitting one under his arm and bringing the other up to his teeth effectively breaking the seal on the cap and lifting the spill tab. His eyes bright with a focus only intoxication can bring he walked steadily down the hall to the end room. He started there, working his way from one side of the hall to the other, room to room, leaving an incendiary trail in his wake. He doused lines in the drapes of some, up the walls of others until he worked his was down one side to the steps. He paused then traipsing back to the original centered room where his bag lay. He zipped it loosely before slinging it over hie shoulder and picking back up where he’d left. He emptied the first bottle and tossed it uncapping the next and moving down step by step until he was on the next floor.. He picked up the same pattern there. And on the next. At ground level he splashed the doors with fluid not caring that the doors wouldn’t keep the liquid from seeping under the seal and out to the steps. He hoped the fire followed it. Retracing his steps he followed a path up the opposing side of each floor careful to avoid the crisscrossing lines of his previous excursions. The fumes were making it hard to breath by the time he was back in the room at the center of the third floor. He tossed the canister against the wall, under the window that took place at the center of the buildings exterior. Deliberately he’d left a gap in the trail of flammable liquid. Directly in the corner to the left of the window. It was there that he deposited the bag and its one remaining bottle of lighter fluid.

His fingers shook as he picked up the bottle again, bringing it to his lips. He coughed, choking against the liquor swallowing forcefully and repeatedly to fight down the bile that tried to force the alcohol back up. He scraped the back of his hand across his mouth roughly scoring away the trace of liquor and strengthening his resolve if only slightly through the abrasion. It was hitting him much harder with the lack of oxygen. His hands shook as he pulled the lighter from his pocket, tapping it gingerly against his leg. He wasn’t ready yet. Not yet. He took another drink harshly clamping his lower lip between gritted teeth and hissing in a breath. He wanted a smoke but he wasn’t daft enough to light one now, not with the concentration of incendiaries he’d just placed himself in. Something dark in him laughed at that, not like you’re going to make it out of here anyway.

He rose to something close to panic. His chest heaving as he choked on his own breath. He’d fucked up. He turned calculating the path the flames would take once started from the bag in the corner. There wouldn’t be time. There wouldn’t be time. Not in any scenario. Not with how he’d so damn efficiently spread the lighter fluid. He couldn’t light it anywhere else. Not hoping to achieve anything like the effect he wanted. This was the best place, the ideal place; centered with floors above to take out in a structure failure and enough of a delay between start and take that the damage would be beyond repair. But there wouldn’t be time. Not for him to work his way out while still allowing enough time for the flames to work their way into the wood itself instead of merely burning away on the surface. It was then that he laughed, really laughed the sound a stark contrast to the nervous and broken versions he found he’d been offering up for weeks. This was it. This was the missing piece. He wasn’t meant to make it out of here. He never had been. It wasn’t until he shifted roughly changing his stance so quickly he could hear the ligaments in his back and shoulder pop in outraged protest snapping his arm back and forward swiftly to shatter the bottle in the corner that he realized somewhere along the way the laughter had degenerated into something far less dignifying. For the first time he was scared. Regardless he ran the lighter down across his leg sharply bringing it up to inspect the flame briefly, coldly. He tossed it into the midst of the fabric of his bag and the shattered remains of the liquor and settled easily onto the floor in the center of the room smirking lazily as the fire caught and spread along the lines he’d so carefully painted from floor to floor.

He wasn’t sure how long he stayed there. How long the fire had had to to work its way into the very fibers of the building. The smoke was unbearably thick. His mind was just barely with him. It was no surprise then when he began to hear his name being called. He ignored it. No matter when he had better things to do. Things like dying. Like giving up. He grit his teeth, fuck that, this isn’t giving up. He pulled his knees up to his chest resting his head against the tops of his knees and coughing harshly into the hallow it formed against his belly. His mind swam, more flew from room to room trying to imagine how much damage was being done. He was hot. So damn hot where he sat. His skin prickling uncomfortably against the heat in the room. The curtains were gone, the paper adorning the walls crackling and peeling as the ceiling darkened and warped. Paint was bubbling and the floor was blackening and warping already. He imagined the heat from underneath wasn’t doing it much better. He wondered briefly how long it would take for the floor to buckle under the conjoined stress. Kovu heard his name again and considered it strange that he could hear it at all over the dry roar of the flames. He pulled up his hood and cursed his luck. Just when he’d thought he’d accepted his death he had to go and ruin his chances at passing in some relative form of peace by projecting the sound of Lilo calling for him. He pressed his forehead more forcefully into his knees when he heard it again. He started violently realizing if his subconscious was projecting something to drive him out it wouldn’t have done so with a cough. He fought his way to his feet his skin tight and unnatural feeling in its dehydrated state. The fire had worked it’s way a lot closer to him than he’d thought and he wondered briefly how long he’d been going in and out of conscious thought. Whether he’d been here long enough to warrant any worry among the rest of the student body. Whether anyone had noticed the blaze yet. The window opposite him buckled against the heat the glass shattering loudly as flames licked through to dance against the exterior. He found himself transfixed on that point. The added oxygen was driving the fire insane as it greedily absorbed the fuel and burned hotter against the boards. If they didn’t know they’ll know soon. Through the window he could just catch a glimpse of the night. The sky was beautiful despite the smoke that generally obscured his line of sight. Through a brief clearing he caught sight of the stars and he balked. He was on his back under a tree asking a strange girl named Lilo who he had just met and barely understood what she thought of death, wondering if one day he’d end up among the flames in a hell he justly deserved or taking a place somewhere else. Somewhere among the stars. He sucked in a greedy breath finally clearing his head enough to take in his surroundings and through a tunnel-like focus he realized it was on pure miracle that the room he was in still held. The floor now sloped easily warping down at the corners where it was being burned from beneath simultaneously, the corner where the whole thing had started was already eaten through and he could see the gaping maw where there had once been wood. He backed up slowly trying to keep his weight even. He could still hear his name being called, no, screamed from somewhere below him. His steps were unsteady and he began to realize just how close to passing out he was. He cursed himself heartily for letting himself get this way. For not working to keep himself focused, aware. He coughed finally realizing that breathing wasn’t exactly the easiest of tasks anymore in combination with the heat and the smoke. His skin ached where it was exposed starved of moisture that the heat had evaporated out of the cells. Once more he heard that strangled call and he turned making his way through into the hallway where crossing lines of heat patterned the floor and ate away at the walls. He whimpered in something akin to pain as he stumbled shoulder first into the wall though he could barely focus on that when he was having to expend so much energy on focusing on the floor and where he could put his feet on solid ground. Those places were hard to come by and far between. But somehow he made it to the first set of stairs where a wall of smoke met him choked into the well as it attempted to rise. The flames themselves were thicker here as well and he steeled himself. He was deaf over the sound here and it occurred to him, not for the first time, that he should have stayed where he was, let it end, because logically he wouldn’t have been able to hear anyone above this. The calling had been from outside. He pulled the sleeves of his hoodie down fisting his hands around the cuffs and leaped through the first wall of flame his feet somehow finding the steps beneath as he tripped his way down with teeth gritted against the discomfort. Aside form his shoulder he could generally tell that he hadn’t sustained anything more than that; nothing more than discomfort.

Reaching the base of the stairs was an entirely different story. He could feel that something was off at about halfway down and by the time he reached the floor the pain rippling across his back had reached a point far above general discomfort. He tore the zip on the hoodie down twisting his way from the fabric and tossing it without bothering to survey the damage done. It had caught at some point, aside from that fact there wasn’t much use in extending his tenuous concentration toward something he couldn’t save. He just barely had hopes for himself. The floor on this level was gone; completely obscured by flames and pockmarked with the damage from beams that had already began to snap and collapse. He picked his way forward trying to move quickly in light of the rubber of the soles of his shoes melting and trying to hold him to each place he set his feet. He pulled the collar of his tee up in a futile attempt to avoid the brunt of the smoke that burned his lungs. He berated himself again for being so thorough. Here he’d crossed the hallway with lines of lighter fluid instead of merely tracing the walls and as he pressed on he could feel the growing instability beneath his feet in a gruesome mirror of the plaintive groans the boards overhead gave. More than once he was forced to dodge boards as they gave from above yelping in shock as one splintered and rained him with the sweltering embers. He pushed through speed making him clumsy while the smoke made him delirious. He forgot multiple times which way he needed to be going while still rushing to find the right turn, the right door that would lead him down one more level and whatever god there was willing outside. That brief glimpse of the stars had reignited something in him that wanted to live. Even if he couldn’t make it out. With a momentary surge of panic he spun trying to remember which curve of the hall would take him to the steps. His thoughts welling over and corrupting what was left of his logic.

He stopped. Breathe, breathe. Think. He scoped around quickly bringing a hand to the side of his head. The sight of his fingers had him panicking again. He couldn’t recall anything that would have covered his hands in blood. He guessed he’d touched something during his flight by the way his palm looked blistered, assumed it was a fallen beam judging by the charred outlines of a rushed tear that made its way down his arm. STOP. Refocus. Stairs. He looked around watching the smoke. Smoke rose. It would be coming up from somewhere. He clenched his hands ruthlessly trying to use the pain to clear his head. Smoke, smoke smoke smoke. THERE. He lunged forward toward the spot that billowed out where it was thickest as the black clouds from below joined those on this level. He made it a few steps, within arms length of the stairs themselves when the mantle over the opening collapsed. The impact brought with it something far deeper than calm. Something much more terrifying when he knew his body should be screaming at him. He’d jumped back on reflex his head snapping to the side as the splintered end of the section caught him. His hands came up on reflex, defensively brushing over his face with a resolute stillness that surprised him. Aside from the damp up sweat and the small fragments of the boards that he brushed off easily. He scraped the material from his eyes and dropped his hands looking up to asses the damage to the path he’d been taking. The mantle lay wedged against one side of the way. The segment sagging against its own weight. Only half the entrance was obscured. It was doable. He could still make this. He ran his hand across his brow again, trying to clear the moisture that was clouding his vision. He brought his hand away bathed in red. His feet left him and his knees ached from the heat as they hit the ground. The calm that enveloped him tightened around his shoulders. He was cold though around him the fire raged on. Another portion of the ceiling collapsed across the other half of the opening to the stairwell and he had to turn his head to focus in on it. He closed his eye tight, opening it again with a manic chuckle. He couldn’t see out of his left eye. A section of flooring to his right gave way and he shifted scrabbling to keep purchase where he was as the floor sagged and listed wildly. The chuckle bubbled over into something that might have been a laugh if it hadn’t sounded to wrecked and he was still laughing when the stairs themselves gave out taking the floor beneath him with it at a heart stopping tilt. The section hit side first on the floor below throwing him unceremoniously onto the blistering heat of the marble lobby. His vision swam desperately. For a moment he imagined he saw stars. 

The Hanging Tree // Closed

Lilo jumped up and caught a branch under her hands. The wood cut into her palms, but she ignored the pain as she pulled her body up on the branch, swing her leg over so she was straddling the branch. She was not high off the ground but she still would not want to fall from this height. Leaning forward, she crossed her arms under her chin and brought her legs onto the branch and watched the grass below her, or more like stared.

Letting her mind go and empty, Lilo took a breath. Shallow at first till she was breathing in rhythm to what she believed to be the world. Everything seemed to be on the same pattern in her mind. The only thing in her world that seemed to remain unchanged to matter where she went or who she was with.

Opening her eyes, Lilo saw someone under her branch and smiled. She reached up a branch and plucked a leaf off, twirled the stem with her fingers for a moment, before letting it drop on the person below her.

Kovu reached up and caught it carefully. Delicately. The smile that touched him lips contrasted so sharply with the venom that had been building in his veins for days. He could barely concentrate for it. Going to classes had become all but a joke to him. Leaving his room even less of a possibility. For the first time in a long time he was worried. About himself. About this place. About the dark that was coursing through his soul or at least what he perceived his soul to be. As much as he wanted games he doubted anyone would come out a victor in the games he craved now.

“Been awhile, love.” He murmured. He knew the sound would carry. He barely bothered to project the words knowing it would carry to her. He took a half step forward to slump lazily against the trunk of the tree defeat pulling his shoulders down even while he neck held the unnatural arc. An image altogether submissive and defiant as he looked up to her the smile falling a fraction as he hit the bark before flickering up again, barely masking the fire behind his eyes. “How’s tricks, Li?”

Lilo was shocked to finally get a look at the person who caught her leaf. She had not seem him for weeks. Even then she knew he was off. Part of her ached to be close to him again. Everything was always safe when he was around. Nothing bad had ever happened. She sat up and let her legs dangle below her as she watched him move. Everything was still off. 

“Well some people have been locking themselves away” she said, trying to hide the annoyance in her voice. She hated it. It was not just him, but it seemed like the whole school had been on a Lilo strike. She barely talked to people and when she did, it was just a quick hello then they ran off. “Boring” she sighed. “Absolutely boring. And alone. But none of that is new, is it Vu?”

He toyed with the leaf. Curling and winding it between his fingers watching closely as the skin bruised and discolored beneath his touch. Her words hit him like a blow. He cringed before remembering he was supposed to be the strong one. The one that caused pain. It seemed like the role of game maker was falling apart around him. He wanted to bring hurt to manipulate and tormnt, but only so long as the result was all his. Her veiled accusation made his stomach twist angrily. A sick part of him reared briefly, brought thoughts of reaching out and knocking her from her secure place on the branch. Thoughts of shattering her trust in him utterly with violent blows to her golden skin. She was a fighter, as much as he was loathe to believe it, he doubted she’d fold easily and a bit of him wanted to see how far he could push her before she broke.

He shuddered, swallowing nauseously against the bile that rose in his throat at the thought of hurting her. Who the fuck am I? He looked up to her quickly praying against all hope that the demented sick ways he’d just seen her bones protruding from her skin weren’t written across his skin. He cringed at her expression, she was disappointed in him. And it was his fault. He had been locking himself away. Christ why couldn’t she understand it was for her? That it was for everyone. He looked in the mirror and saw a demon where he’d once seen a predator. One he accepted as himself. The other possessed him as surely as the devil himself. It was with honesty that cut him to the heart that he choked out, “I’m sorry, Li.” He reached up disjointedly wrapping is fingers loosely around her ankle. “I’m sorry I’ve been gone. I’m not trying to be so horrible a body guard… so fucked a friend.” He smirked loosely, “Thought I have to admit I know the feeling. Being alone fuckin’ sucks.”

Lilo felt bad the moment the words left her mouth. She half wondered if she filtered her words anymore or just let whatever she thought flow out just because it was easier. Then again, it was easier. She could just say and not think and let the dice fall where they may. It was not his fault though. She could have easily gone to his room to bother him, but she had not. She had picked the route that was the least resistance which involved not bothering anyone.

She took her ankle back and swung it over the branch and let herself hang there for a moment before dropping to the ground. Her ankles protested as the shock rode threw them. She was out of shape and she could tell. Years of dancing starting to be undo in a matter of a lazy month. Stretching out her back for a moment, Lilo bounded towards him and gave VuVu a hug, feeling his warmth warm her. “Mmm no one noticed since no one was here” she smiled. “Well, you’re not alone now, so I think we got that covered. And if I start to be more assertive in finding you’re lazy self when I’m bored, we will be set won’t we?”

The change in her face was almost visible. Almost. Something just under the surface that he doubted he could have picked up if he hadn’t been watching her so damn hard. The smirk he’d attempted fell pretty quickly though he let her pull free of his hand. He put out a hand to steady her his fingers shaking minutely around the irrational desire he had to clench his hand around her hip, raise bruises, elicit one of those delicious sounds of unsure pain. He almost turned and left then. Having just outed himself as the worst friend on the planet he felt more than a little obligated to stay. Kneading his hand into the side of her shirt loosely he doubted he’d be able to anyway.

He choked down the part of him that still wanted to push and tried to tune in. To focus. The leaf he’d been toying with was smashed to a pulp now, unrecognizable. He flicked the remnants away from himself suddenly disgusted with how easily the microscopic cells had given up their form so easily. He kept his eyes on the ground while she spoke overly cautious as to how he’d react if he looked at her again. “I guess we do,” he started. “Promise not to disappear anymore if you promise to find me on the off chance I forget to keep my promise.” He finally looked up catching her eye and realizing that he’d subconsciously worked their positions around so that he had the tree to her back. He’d trapped her. Regardless of whether he wanted to. The predator hummed in his chest. He dropped his eyes again, unable to pull himself away as much as he was incapable of driving her back against the bark, “Li,” he began noting the drop in his voice. The unintentional purr behind the words. “Promise me something?”

Her mind began to race with her options. She knew something was off. Well, more off than normal than anything she had done with VuVu. His movements, his voice, him not looking at her, just the way everything seemed more strained than normal. Compared to when she had been trying to be mean to him; with how she placed her body against his the way she moved, every action on his end was amplified from what she knew with him.

She could shy away. Lilo knew she could pull away. But now she had to contend a tree behind her, blocking any free path she once had. Her body screamed for her to run for potential danger that she was starting to register. Danger? She started to question her. Why am I afraid of him?She could not come up with a reason though. He was the one person that made her feel safe and now she was afraid of him. She wanted to laugh at herself. Call herself silly for even letting those thoughts cross her mind. As much as she knew something was off, she pushed it aside, letting it fall with any remaining worry or doubt she had felt. It was her Vu. He would never be the one that she would ever have to worry about hurting her.

She let out a laugh as she nodded her head. “Okay. I’ll come and find you. As long as you are not a complete grouch when I find you” she smirked. “Grouchy VuVu doesn’t sound like fun to be honest. But I promise to that” Lilo said finally. She wrinkled her nose and barely shook her head. “I won’t promise until I know what I’m promising to” she stately flatly. Past experience made her wary of anything to do with making preemptive promises.  “So what is it that you want me to promise to?” she asked, tiling her head to the side slightly.

He let his fingers stay together a bit longer, helping the moisture to evaporate a little quicker by rubbing them together and spreading the dampness across a greater surface area. The places where it had touched felt tacky, not giving quite fast enough when he pulled his fingers apart, “Grouchy Vuvu isn’t a fun one to be around,” he mused quietly. Losing focus for a moment as he let his head lift, rolling back on his shoulders loosely. “At least not on the receiving side.” He smiled wrongly wetting his bottom lip in a careless fashion before pulling it into his mouth agitatedly with his teeth. He worried it briefly before finally taking a step forward hooking his thumb into the loop of his jeans.

He conciously drove her straight back, slowly, but steadily as he spoke. He didn’t bother hiding the seductive side anymore. Letting his hips tilt and his eyes darken finally. He could feel the heat, the excitement. He was chasing her. He didn’t pause to think what the repercussions would be. He reached out a hand tentatively, nervous despite his resolution. He traced the line of her jaw taking the last steps to have her against the bark, “You know how I am, Li,” he angled himself in front of her standing square to her and reaching out his other hand to cup the side of her face while turning the first to join. He held her head steady between his hands to prevent her from looking away, “As much as you want to deny or ignore it you know.” He brought himself into her space his hips pressed to just above hers though he let himself arch back, keeping his shoulders squared and taut at an easy length from her. His thumbs traced lines back from her cheeks as he twined his fingers into her hair tilting her head up just slightly, “I’m filthy, Li. Bad.” His belly twisted sickeningly and he cursed himself viciously. “I want you to help me do something, love. I want you to help me show this fucked up place that I’m still to be reckoned with. That it’s still my game, Li.” He leaned forward only slightly restraining the urge to touch teeth to skin. His breaths ghosted across her exposed throat and he hummed. “I want you to promise you’ll help me get one more win.”

Cartoons often depict a mouse being chased by a cat. Everything the cat traps the mouse, it’s back pressed against the wall, praying the wall will somehow swallow its body whole, so it does not have to face it’s death. Heart pounding as the cat stalks over with a grin on its face, zero intention of killing its trapped pay quite yet. The cat always touches the mouse’s face and tells it that everything is going to be alright. The mouse knows that the cat is lying, but it wants to believe it has a shot of surviving this terrifying ordeal. So it nods its head slowly, agreeing to play these games the cat wishes. The cat gives a smirk as it explains the rules for survival.

The simple thought crossed her mind as the uneven bark cut into her skin through her shirt. In this game of cat and mouse, she was the mouse while Kovu was the cat. The person before her was no longer her VuVu but rather the creature that everyone at this school knew, but her. This…thing frightened her. She had only heard stories about him and always pushed it off, thinking it would never happen to her, yet here she was; cornered against the tree with the cat running is paw across her cheek.

There had to be some sick pleasure he found in knowing her so well. Knowing that she would turn away only to meet another hand, ready to force her to look at him as he pressed his body closer to her own. She wanted him away from her. No more touching, no more of this game where she was bound to fail. Though she knew she would only get one.

“You are what you make yourself to be. Around me you were never…this thing” she said flatly, gesturing with her hand the space that was still between them. “You were never Kovu. You were my VuVu.” The face in her mind contrasted so different with the one that was in front of her, the one she was forced to look at. “If you want to be this way around me, then fine” she said coolly.

The rules.

Her neck gave no protest as his hands moved through her hair, forcing her to look higher and exposing her bare throat to him. She already knew protest was useless. If she tried to stop him or resist, she could picture him forcing her to do what he wanted. Right now it was just easier to go with it. Keep the panic hidden. Though the person in front of her was not her VuVu, she still trusted him, where ever he was. The breath that raced across her skin caught her off guard as she tried to keep breathing, expecting teeth to sink into her flesh.

She knew she could not have her voice shake as she gave him his reply. She could not let him know just how scared she was of him. “Okay” she finally said content that the control over her voice was mastered. “I promise help you Kovu.” She closed her eyes as she rested her head against the bark, feeling as though she had signed off on her own death. “Now will you please get off me?” Her eyes opening, to look straight at him, the person she just signed her life off to.

That part of him that remained untouched by the demon that had polluted his mind broke. It took his heart with it and he began to realize exactly how much of a risk he was taking in asking her of all people to help him. She was strong, yes. But he could only wonder how well she would be able to perform. He’d heard of her past, had seen how she moved here, easily left behind, easily forgotten. At least by everyone but him. Hadn’t she told him more than once that he was hers? It almost killed him that he was forcing her into this. He almost prayed that she would turn away and leave him here under this damn tree to re-think his plan. I promise to help you Kovu. It tore through him almost physically. It was more than enough to cause him to hiss in a rough breath and step back sizing her up meticulously as his skin crawled in distaste. He was shocked by how much that hurt. Regardless he kept his stance imposing, giving her just enough room to breathe though his heads rested against the bark to either side of her.

“I need a distraction, love.” He purred his eyes dark in the chase. “I need someone to draw attention away from the abandoned sections of campus so that I can… liven them up a bit.” A bitter growl built in his throat and his eyes unfocused briefly as he choked out a rough chuckle. He looked back down to where she continued to stare in that gross loathing that made his heart ache. “They need a bit more color don’t you think?” he managed to push between his teeth before running his hands down her arms from shoulder to wrist. He caught them there lifting her hands level with his face. She was tense. She had every right to be. But he was falling apart and while he could feel himself crumbling he pressed his lips to the insides of each wrist. He was starting to shake and he couldn’t place why. But he knew if he didn’t leave soon he wouldn’t leave at all. He heard a vague frustrated sound leave his throat before he could speak again. “When the sun is just setting. Right when it moves from evening to night,” he spoke into her fingers. He lifted his eyes carefully making sure he could hold onto at least a fraction of the control he’d had in the situation. “I need time, Li.” His fingers clenched spasmodically and he grit his teeth against the ebbing mettle, “Be careful,” he whispered and stepped back abruptly. He smirked, the expression lackluster in light of the fear that was working its way into his gaze just beneath the near absolute surety. He saluted cockily as he went, “Make it good.”

It occurred to him then that he would likely never see her again.
The expression she’d worn was burned into his mind and a part of him died then to be left behind in the ashes with her.

The Hanging Tree

or-forgotten:

Cartoons often depict a mouse being chased by a cat. Everything the cat traps the mouse, it’s back pressed against the wall, praying the wall will somehow swallow its body whole, so it does not have to face it’s death. Heart pounding as the cat stalks over with a grin on its face, zero intention of killing its trapped pay quite yet. The cat always touches the mouse’s face and tells it that everything is going to be alright. The mouse knows that the cat is lying, but it wants to believe it has a shot of surviving this terrifying ordeal. So it nods its head slowly, agreeing to play these games the cat wishes. The cat gives a smirk as it explains the rules for survival.

The simple thought crossed her mind as the uneven bark cut into her skin through her shirt. In this game of cat and mouse, she was the mouse while Kovu was the cat. The person before her was no longer her VuVu but rather the creature that everyone at this school knew, but her. This…thing frightened her. She had only heard stories about him and always pushed it off, thinking it would never happen to her, yet here she was; cornered against the tree with the cat running is paw across her cheek.

There had to be some sick pleasure he found in knowing her so well. Knowing that she would turn away only to meet another hand, ready to force her to look at him as he pressed his body closer to her own. She wanted him away from her. No more touching, no more of this game where she was bound to fail. Though she knew she would only get one.

“You are what you make yourself to be. Around me you were never…this thing” she said flatly, gesturing with her hand the space that was still between them. “You were never Kovu. You were my VuVu.” The face in her mind contrasted so different with the one that was in front of her, the one she was forced to look at. “If you want to be this way around me, then fine” she said coolly.

The rules.

Her neck gave no protest as his hands moved through her hair, forcing her to look higher and exposing her bare throat to him. She already knew protest was useless. If she tried to stop him or resist, she could picture him forcing her to do what he wanted. Right now it was just easier to go with it. Keep the panic hidden. Though the person in front of her was not her VuVu, she still trusted him, where ever he was. The breath that raced across her skin caught her off guard as she tried to keep breathing, expecting teeth to sink into her flesh.

She knew she could not have her voice shake as she gave him his reply. She could not let him know just how scared she was of him. “Okay” she finally said content that the control over her voice was mastered. “I promise help you Kovu.” She closed her eyes as she rested her head against the bark, feeling as though she had signed off on her own death. “Now will you please get off me?” Her eyes opening, to look straight at him, the person she just signed her life off to.

That part of him that remained untouched by the demon that had polluted his mind broke. It took his heart with it and he began to realize exactly how much of a risk he was taking in asking her of all people to help him. She was strong, yes. But he could only wonder how well she would be able to perform. He’d heard of her past, had seen how she moved here, easily left behind, easily forgotten. At least by everyone but him. Hadn’t she told him more than once that he was hers? It almost killed him that he was forcing her into this. He almost prayed that she would turn away and leave him here under this damn tree to re-think his plan. I promise to help you Kovu. It tore through him almost physically. It was more than enough to cause him to hiss in a rough breath and step back sizing her up meticulously as his skin crawled in distaste. He was shocked by how much that hurt. Regardless he kept his stance imposing, giving her just enough room to breathe though his hands rested against the bark to either side of her.

“I need a distraction, love.” He purred his eyes dark in the chase. “I need someone to draw attention away from the abandoned sections of campus so that I can… liven them up a bit.” A bitter growl built in his throat and his eyes unfocused briefly as he choked out a rough chuckle. He looked back down to where she continued to stare in that gross loathing that made his heart ache. “They need a bit more color don’t you think?” he managed to push between his teeth before running his hands down her arms from shoulder to wrist. He caught them there lifting her hands level with his face. She was tense. She had every right to be. But he was falling apart and while he could feel himself crumbling he pressed his lips to the insides of each wrist. He was starting to shake and he couldn’t place why. But he knew if he didn’t leave soon he wouldn’t leave at all. He heard a vague frustrated sound leave his throat before he could speak again. “When the sun is just setting. Right when it moves from evening to night,” he spoke into her fingers. He lifted his eyes carefully making sure he could hold onto at least a fraction of the control he’d had in the situation. “I need time, Li.” His fingers clenched spasmodically and he grit his teeth against the ebbing mettle, “Be careful,” he whispered and stepped back abruptly. He smirked, the expression lackluster in light of the fear that was working its way into his gaze just beneath the near absolute surety. He saluted cockily as he went, “Make it good.”

It occurred to him then that he would likely never see her again.
The expression she’d worn was burned into his mind and a part of him died then to be left behind in the ashes with her.