"Are you paying attention Lacerta?" Dorado asked as he made his way down the street. Unlike his brother, he was taking this a bit more seriously.
"Not really, no," Lacerta said, yawning. "I'm pretty sure I tuned out right after you said 'listen up' so maybe try again from there."
Dorado frowned. "Lacerta, for stump's sake. We're going to be there soon, and I don't want you to embarrass us. This is the most prominent monster family on Earth. Even if we're not going to be seeing them regularly, I'd rather we make a good impression and get off on the right foot. So none of your usual antics."
Lars sighed. "Fuck, leave it to you to turn a delivery mission into a fucking diploatic meeting. We're just saying hi to Uncle Junji and dropping a message off. Don't try to turn this into some big thing."
"We're also going to be meeting the next heads of their house, so-"
"I don't give two shits about weak ass kids."
"You're impossible," Dorado said shaking his head. "We're here. Will you at least try and act like you know how to behave."
"We both know that's not very likely," Lars said chuckling.
The place before them was rather large compared to the other buildings they passed, which made sense since considering they came from money. Dorado knocked on the door and took a step back. They waited for a bit, but then Lacerta hummed. "Do you feel that?" he asked, smirking.
Dorado sighed. "Yes, I do. But please don't-" Before he could finish, he brother spread his wings and took off into the air. "Lacerta!"
The redheaded Titan flew up above the house, and then smirked as he spotted three figures in the backyard. He chuckled and zipped down towards them.
Nenet and JJ stood and watched as their brother kicked his soccer ball up and down. "I'm telling you, he can't keep this up for ten minutes," JJ said.
"And I'm telling you he can. How much money do you want to put on it?" Nenet asked.
Nico frowned. "Hey, trying to concentrate here. Can you guys keep it down," he said as he bounced it off of his head. Before his siblings could respond, a figure swooped down and snatched the ball from the air. "What the-?!"
Lacerta chuckled as he crushed the soccer ball in his hand. "Man, here I was thinking this was going to be a boring ass trip. Gramps said all the Titans on earth pretty much died out years ago, but I'm getting a two for one special," he said cracking his neck.
"Who the heck are you?" Nico asked, confused.
"Nobody that concerns you, small fry. I'm only here for the Titans," he said as he made his way towards JJ. "I'm bored out of my mind here, so do me a solid and show me how the Titans in this backwater dimension throw down, will you?"
JJ held his hands up. "Dude, what are you talking about? I don't even know who you are. You expect me to just start fighting you out of nowhere?" Was he some kind of dragon? He looked like he was only half transformed. but... there was definitely something about him. He could just feel it.
Lacerta scoffed. "Are you kidding me? You're a Titan, ain't you? You shouldn't need a reason to fight," he said shaking his head.
"Who the fuck are you?" Nenet said glaring.
He kept his glare towards Junji. "The name is Lacerta, the strongest Titan you've ever seen, and the next king of monsters," he said. "Now quit asking questions and whining and let's do this already."
Nenet began stepping towards him. "Hey, if you wanna throw down with somebody, try me," she said, bawling her fist up.
"Wait your turn. I'll deal with you after I finish with him. If you're even worth it."
Nenet grit her teeth, but Nico stepped towards him. "Hey, before you do anything crazy why don't we just take a step back and-" Lacerta's tail whipped out and knocked him off of his feet.
"Sit down small fry," Lacerta said, not even sparing him a glance.
JJ glared. "Hey!" He reached forward to grab Lacerta, but the other Titan caught his wrist. He tightened his grip, and JJ winced.
"That's the spirit! There's some fight in you after all," Lacerta said bringing his fist back and preparing to swing.
Nenet had seen enough. "Hey! Back off my fucking brothers!"
Lars rolled his eyes. "Or else what? I told you to wait your turn, so just pipe down before while I-'' Before he could finish, Nenet's fist crashed into the side of his face, sending him flying. He crashed into the side of the house, and both Nico and JJ looked shocked.
"I don't give a fuck who you are! King of monsters or whatever! Nobody messes with my fucking family!" she shouted angrily.
Lacerta blinked as he stared up at the ceiling. That had definitely been unexpected. He quickly jumped back up to his feet and then crouched down, getting ready to charge. "Alright, now we're talking! Finally someone down with the program!"
Nenet braced herself as Lacerta prepared to rush her, but suddenly another figure appeared and slammed Lacerta's head to the ground. Dorado, eyes now black a night, glared at his brother. "I told you not to make a scene, and you blew up part of their house!" he shouted.
Lacerta glared right back. "Back off! I was finally starting to have a little fun! Just give me a couple of minutes to-" Dorado's horns glowed for a moment, and then a portal opened up behind them. He shoved his brother through before turning towards Nenet and the others. "Sorry about that. Please tell Uncle Junjj that we'll pay for all of the damages," he said before quickly making his way through the portal himself.
It finished as soon as he went through, and the siblings all looked on confused. "That was so weird…" JJ said, shaking his head.
"Definitely. Like even by our standards," Nico agreed.
Nenet huffed as she kept staring towards the whole in the wall. She didn't know who that Lacerta guy was, but he was definitely troubled… She kind of liked trouble.
Nenet whistled as she made her way towards her house. She had just got back from a roller derby game and was ready to hit the shower and call it a night. Before she reached the door however, she felt a chill shoot up her spine, and then glared upwards.
Lars sat up above the door, smirking down at the other Titan. "You again?" she asked. It had been a week since their little scuffle, and since she found out who the guy really was. From the way her mom always talked about King Astro, she thought his kids would be a lot more stuck up. This guy was the total opposite. "What are you doing here?"
"Looking for you," he said standing up. "I came to finish what we started before my brother got in the way, but looks like somebody already roughed you up."
She scoffed. He was probably talking about the blood all over her gear. "It's not mine dummy. It's the other team's," she explained. "But I'm beat, so if you're looking for a fight wait until tomorrow."
Lars scowled. "Man, I'm not gonna be able to get out tomorrow. I barely made it out today." His father had grounded him for… forever probably. But he'd managed to sneak out while he was away. He knew they probably found out by now, and his father would make sure he wouldn't slip out again anytime soon.
"Let me guess, you got grounded?" she asked, smirking.
"Whatever." He flew down and landed in front of her. "I have to admit, you throw a pretty decent punch. I was almost disappointed. Thought the Titans here would be made of weak stuff. But at least you got some fire in you."
She smirked at him. "You haven't seen anything yet bigshot. If we ever really throw down I'll show you a real punch," she said cracking her knuckles.
"That a challenge? Because I'm looking forward to it," he said smiling wickedly.
"Hey, if you're gonna hang around before you come home and end up under lock and key, ya wanna come inside or something? Something tells me letting you lurk on your own around here will get ya into even more trouble."
Lars grunted. "I don't care about getting in trouble. But I am hungry. You got anything to eat in there?" he asked.
"We always keep a full fridge. You like fish?"
"I like everything."
Nenet clicked her tongue. "Cool. Help yourself. I gotta hit the shower."
"Need me to join you?" he asked, smirking.
Nenet stopped, and then turned around towards him. She looked up and down, and then hummed. "Sure, I could use some relief after a match," she said.
Lars looked a bit surprised, but then smirked. Not the answer he was expecting, but he sure as hell wasn't going to turn it down. "Well alright then…"
He followed her inside, looking at Nenet with intrigue. She was pretty strong, fierce, and not bad on the eyes. He wasn't looking for a girlfriend. He didn't want to be tied down like his old man or grandfather. But if he was going to be a king of monsters someday, he was gonna need a mate.
Astro made his way down the halls of the castle with a scowl on his face. He had no idea how Lacerta had managed to sneak out again, but he was going to make sure that he stayed put this time. He would seal him in his room if he had to.
As he approached his son's room however, a figure walked right by him. He kept walking at first, but then did a double take when he saw Nenet walking by. "What the-?!" She was wearing a shirt that was clearly too big for her, and one he was pretty sure he saw Lacerta wear before. "Nenet!"
She turned towards him. "Oh, hey Uncle Astro," she said waving at him.
"What are you doing here?!"
"Sleeping over," she said before knocking on Lacerta's door. "Was just grabbing a snack first thought."
Lacerta opened on the door, and then smirked down at her. "Hey Pussycat. Grab some snacks?"
She nodded. "Yeah. Whipped cream, popcorn… you guys really like fucking corn here."
"Sure do." He leaned down and kissed her forehead, then smacked her on the butt as she walked inside. Astro narrowed his eyes as his son smirked at him. "What's up old man?" he asked.
Astro pointed towards him. "You better enjoy the hell out of tonight, because tomorrow I swear I'm going to make your life a living hell," he warned.
"Looking forward to it."