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Post by mugenginga on Jul 2, 2010 11:02:37 GMT -5
(OOC: The title is in character, but my apologies. XD)
After the Fall, the room arrangements had gotten sorted out. Cain had suggested it was a result of the hotel's naturally odd space in combination with where Tartarus had manifested. Abel was still by himself in his room as a result of Seth's decision. The youngest brother seemed to be spending a lot of introspective time. The little bit of time he was spending with others, it was mostly Cain.
It was likely sending the wrong impression to Abel. It wasn't that Seth was avoiding Abel, it was that he was inside his own head even more than usual lately. The events with Enjin had hit home something that the fights in the Demon Realm hadn't quite managed to. Something Cain had known from the beginning and Seth had no idea if Abel was aware of. He couldn't hold onto his humanity. Even if it cost them their lives, Abel would self destruct if he didn't find a better balance.
Kaido had been spending most of his time away from the rooms. It had been how the group first learned about the chaos at the ITS having been solved. The man hadn't seemed pleased at the way it had apparently happened. The staff ahd woken up one morning and things had begun to work again. For how well things were going for the other group, the current one still had a war hanging over their heads. There had been some level of relaxation, actually, but things had gotten... awkward about three days ago.
Cain seemed amused with himself, in general. It had gotten more so when Abel had started avoiding the group more than Seth was. He didn't say anything about it aside from the usual brotherly harassing of the older twin. He seemed fine with Seth's recent attitude.
In any case, it was about ten in the morning and Seth hadn't even gotten out of bed. Cain had come in and out a few times. The blue haired teenager was awake, but staying in bed. It was a bit comical if you could strip away the clear depression. The silver haired man was aware of what the date was. After going back into the bedroom a third time, he stopped and crossed his arms. He smirked as he spoke to the teenager.
"If you're bad, Santa Claus will give you coal."
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Jul 2, 2010 11:58:12 GMT -5
As it was lately, things appeared to be going south for Abel. At least, that's how things were to him. Even with the Fall passed, and travel back to their world once again possible, it wasn't enough to offset the fact that Seth was once again avoiding him. At one time, the two brothers had been close enough they couldn't be separated (though that had more to do with Seth than anything else), and now they couldn't be near each other for more than a few minutes.
Even so, Abel had continued training on his own. After the incident with Enjin, he'd taken Xiu's advice and started training to suppress his power without a limiter. The problems had started when Abel woke up three days ago and spotted some strange markings on his chest. They had been very faint, and he'd passed them off as a trick of the mind at the time. He hadn't really freaked out about them until after he'd taken a shower that morning... and they'd still been there.
They hadn't gotten any darker since then, but the knowledge that they were there was worrying enough to Abel. He didn't know what to do; he'd never had anything like this happen to him in the three months since he'd taken the throne. But one thing was for sure; he didn't need to worry Seth with this. If this was proof his body was becoming even more demonic, then it would just worry the others more than he already was. At this point, he was pretty sure Seth was the only one who didn't know he wasn't dreaming, and he intended to keep things that way.
After the weather had gotten colder, Abel had gone out and bought some heavier clothing. Even with their agreement with the hotel, things would get awkward if they threw their power around too much here. After the markings appeared, he was glad he'd decided to wear heavier clothing. There was less of a chance someone might see them this way.
Abel sat back down on his bed and looked out the window. It was Christmas... Maybe he should go out and get the others cakes or something. He'd make one himself, but the hotel room didn't come with what would exactly be called an optimal kitchen.
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Post by mugenginga on Jul 2, 2010 12:51:40 GMT -5
"Cain, go away."
It wasn't a growl, but it spoke volumes for how much Seth's lingering naivete was fading. Cain smirked at the reaction. At times the two were more twins than they realized. The silver haired man didn't move from the spot he was standing in. After a few moments of heavy silence, Seth sat up and looked towards Cain.
"I said go away. I don't want to deal with anything today."
"Abel is worried about you," Cain stated, no apparent change in attitude present, "You can't exactly be a growth for three months and expect him to forget about you."
"No one asked you!"
"I overestimate your intelligence sometimes," Cain stated. He sounded more bored than irritated.
"If you're just going to harass me, go away!"
Cain smiled again. He said nothing as he turned around and opened the door back up. Seth was glaring after him. The teenager was a bit confused that Cain was just dropping it. He chose not to argue it, and fell back into a laying position. He was continuing his empty glare at the ceiling when he heard Cain say one more thing before the door closed.
"After all, it isn't our concern if our brother is ill."
And the door shut. Outside of it, Cain looked rather pleased with himself.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Jul 2, 2010 13:13:45 GMT -5
Abel was putting on his shoes to head out as he heard a door open nearby. Sounded like someone was heading out. He sighed and tied his shoe before heading out his own door. He pulled the door shut behind him, and turned to see Cain standing in the hallway with a rather smug expression on his face.
"...Alright, what did you do?" Abel groaned.
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Post by mugenginga on Jul 2, 2010 13:40:37 GMT -5
Seth sat up in bed as soon as the door clicked shut. Abel was sick? He hadn't seen any signs of that. If it was just a cold or something, would Cain have said something like that? Seth's mind was telling him that his oldest brother would. Still, he was concerned. Abel's body didn't qualify as human any more, not at the speeds he could move and the power he could express. He hadn't been sick in over three months, not in the human sense. Seth got around to pulling on his shoes. He could talk to Abel, apologize for making him think he'd been avoiding him.
He just hoped he didn't do anything unnecessary. Seth didn't want to remember it was Christmas.
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Cain's expression didn't change as he saw Abel. Now was about the right time for the teenager to be coming out of his room. Probably off to do something for Christmas, blind to how painful the holiday cleary was to Seth. After all, of all of them he'd been the only one who had been Christian among them. Catholic, to be precise, not that it was important. Cain shook his head in response to the question.
"I merely encouraged Seth that he didn't need to worry about you," Cain stated, aware of and accenting how many different directions that phrase could be taken.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Jul 2, 2010 14:22:27 GMT -5
Abel gave Cain a rather strong glare. There were a lot of ways that answer could be taken, and Abel knew Cain knew about his... problem. Abel didn't know how Cain knew, but the man had always been good at figuring things like that out just from context and memories. Fact was, Cain knew him better than any of the others in the group, even Seth, did.
"You better not have told him anything he doesn't need to know..." Abel growled. He doubted Cain had, but then again, this was Cain he was talking about.
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Post by mugenginga on Jul 2, 2010 17:19:08 GMT -5
Cain widened his smirk in response to the glare. It wasn't the world's smartest reply, but the truth was he was aware roughly how long it would be until Seth came out of the bedroom. The only weak link was his ability to read Abel had suffered sense he became the King of Bel. It was possible he was going to get into massive trouble for staying silent and smirking... especially given the markings Abel had begun to develop. Cain knew exactly what they were, and was a bit surprised they had taken so long.
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Seth stamped his foot down to make sure the boot was on right. He hadn't put the dagger back in it. He got up and quickly walked to the door, setting his hand on the handle...
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Jul 2, 2010 17:37:50 GMT -5
Abel didn't react well to the smirk widening. He took a step forward, still keeping his eyes on Cain, and clenched his hands into fists. Seth wouldn't need to come out of the room to hear his yell. Anyone five doors down would have heard it.
"What the hell did you tell him!?" Abel yelled. It wouldn't be visible due to the heavy clothing he was wearing, but his markings were glowing lightly in response to his anger.
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Post by mugenginga on Jul 2, 2010 17:43:38 GMT -5
...And hearing Abel yell even before he could turn it. His eyes widened and he threw the door open. Cain only dodged because he had been moving to the side already in expectance of Seth coming out. He had slightly miscalculated how long the teenager would take with his shoes, so it was a very close call. Seth ran out of the bedroom, ignoring Cain's presence.
"Abel, are you okay!?"
Cain was observing and offering nothing to the situation. If Abel chose to flip on him, it wasn't as if he could dodge anyhow. No need to use useless energy. He was more interested in seeing if Abel revealed things without him having to say another word.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Jul 2, 2010 18:12:53 GMT -5
Abel took a step back as Seth came running out of the door. How much of that had he heard?!
"I-I'm fine, calm down!" Abel said. Now he was convinced Cain had said something incriminating about him, and glared at the man. What luck, too, that Seth would come out just as Abel had been about to flip on his Cain for his lack of answer.
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Post by mugenginga on Jul 2, 2010 18:15:32 GMT -5
Seth winced a bit as Abel told him to calm down. It hadn't been an order, though. No, Abel seemed panicked. And now Seth's apparent worry increased. He only looked over at Cain as Abel glared at him. He didn't know what was going on there, but things were often tense between his siblings. He looked back at Abel.
"Are you okay? If you're sick you shouldn't push yourself!"
The smirk increased, but at least he didn't chuckle. Cain looked back at Abel. In a way it was almost like he was observing a tennis match.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Jul 2, 2010 18:31:36 GMT -5
Abel looked confused and still just as panicked as Seth said he shouldn't exert himself too much because he was sick. Was this what this was? Some kind of sickness? He found himself doubting that at Cain's even wider smirk. The man looked positively ecstatic at the scene.
"I'm perfectly fine... I don't know what the hell Cain told you, but it's not true," Abel said. His voice was shaking a little bit as he spoke, removing any chance of anyone actually believing him. He glared at Cain again before turning around and storming down the stairs.
After a moment, Atsuro stuck his head out of his room. "What was that about?"
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Abel stopped at the bottom of the stairs and sat down on one. He had a hand on his head. Shit, he hadn't felt like this since... not since he'd defeated Belphegor. Back then it had been due to his human and demonic sides clashing, but now? He didn't have a clue.
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Post by mugenginga on Jul 2, 2010 18:38:38 GMT -5
Seth opened his mouth to object to what Abel was saying. Wasn't true? The reaction made that a blatent lie, but Abel was gone before Seth could insist he elaborate. Cain let out a sigh and glanced towards Atsuro's door just as it opened and he stuck his head out. Seth glared at Cain for a moment before running over to Atsuro.
"Atsuro, has Abel told you anything? Is he sick? What's wrong with him."
"I never said 'sick'," Cain stated.
And he hadn't. He'd said it wasn't their problem if Abel was ill. Ill meant a lot of things, not limited to sickness. Even sick was a rather loaded word. Cain remained standing there.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Jul 2, 2010 19:15:29 GMT -5
Atsuro looked as confused as Seth did as he ran over to him. He pulled the door all the way open as Seth made it over to him, and frowned at the question.
"No, he hasn't told me anything lately... Not since he told me he wasn't dreaming anymo--" Atsuro froze. "Dammit, I wasn't supposed to talk about that!"
He sighed. There was a rather guilty expression on his face as he spoke again. "Don't tell Abel I told you that... he told me to keep it a secret." And it was likely if Abel found out he had told Seth, he'd get the shit beaten out of him at least.
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Post by mugenginga on Jul 2, 2010 19:37:16 GMT -5
Seth sort of completely paused as Atsuro said Abel wasn't dreaming. Cain showed no sign of being unaware of it. It was quite possible Abel was functioning because of his demonic side. There was a pathos release that dreams provided, and humans who couldn't do so tended to go insane very quickly. Everyone dreamed, just many had no recollection of it. Cain didn't tend to remember his, although he never put any effort in doing so.
"Abel isn't dreaming...? Cain...?" Seth turned his head.
"That's old news," Cain stated, "And relates very little to what is happening at the moment."
"I'm still not over wanting to kill you," Seth growled, glaring and taking a step towards Cain, "What the hell is happening to my big brother that would make you say he's sick!?"
That was unusual. At most, Seth tended to call Abel as Keiichi. Atsuro wasn't aware of the events that lead Abel to request to not be called Keiichi-oniisan. In fact, it was more than unusual. Seth had never used the simple word "older brother" to refer to Abel... At least, not in this life, and Atsuro wouldn't know about the first.
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