Hey Descendants,
We're excited to get a second chapter out today, and boy is it a big one.
Enjoy! :)
Six months since the well incident...
Metal clashes against metal before Jay lunges back out of T's strike range. "Not a knife!" He barks for the hundredth time. It had taken him a while, but he'd finally figured out the fatal flaw in T's stance. "You're holding a damn sword."
"Right." T huffs as takes a step back and readjusts his grip on the hilt. "My bad."
Mal snorts. "Great job T," Sarcasm dripping as she calls down into the empty pool they were gathered at. "The streets can rest safely tonight." She howls in amusement, her eyes not leaving the fight between her second and- Whatever the fuck T was as they danced around each other in the old abandoned pool.
Her eyes narrow as she focuses on the boy. T was still an enigma. She didn't really know what the fuck to do about him; he unnerved her. There was something about him that always set her on edge. If there was anything useful her mother had taught her, it was to never ignore her instincts; and that kid stunk of something…
"Assuming you're not wielding a sword." Evie bats her eyelashes from beside Mal.
T rolls his eyes. "Yeah, yeah…" He sighs as he turns his attention back to Jay.
Her frown deepens. She just couldn't put her finger on what that something happened to be. It had kind of developed into a pet peeve of hers. She could always tell what made people tick. But when it came to T, she had no fucking clue what got his gears going. Which was fucking annoying. Everyone had an objective. A motive. A fucking reason for doing what they do. So what the fuck was T's?
Not that they weren't still trying to figure him out. But it had been nearly two months since they started this game and they barely had anything of true interest. What the fuck else was she supposed to do besides keep an eye on the little freak? What better way than keeping him close?
"Ya gotta get use to the extra length man." Jay shakes his head, "Does the weight and balance not remind you?" He asks in exasperation.
"I just forget…" T shrugs as he gets back in position.
"You are getting better..." Carlos points out from his corner where he was hiding out with Hyades.
"Doesn't take much to be better than awful, though." Mal pops her gum.
"Someone woke up on the drafty side of the castle." Hyades teases, her eyes laughing over her book stand.
"I'm just trying to say he sucks." Mal shrugs. "His moves are completely predictable, and his swings are too slow." She points out with a critical eye. She hated how so much of her gang's time was spent teaching this noone how to fight. What was the purpose of teaching a potential enemy how to wield a blade?
"You should do the sword reversal thing more." Hyades points out to T. "You could have surprised Jay if you had just followed through with it."
"Do not do that!" Jay snaps with a roll of his eyes. "That move is totally impractical in an actual fight. Too easy to disarm. Save the showmanship for when you can actually fight."
"But it's so dramatic." Hyades pouts, "I thought it was cool."
"It's not gonna be cool when he loses a hand in a fight." Mal points out coolly. Though it would serve the twat right.
"Come on, ignore the commentary and try again." Jay presses.
T nods before he jumps back into it, paying more attention to the length of the blade. One might say, too much attention.
"Ooooh, that's a really open form." Evie comments with a giggle.
"Huh?" T looks over his shoulder in confusion.
Evie winces as Jay sweeps T off his feet and points his sword to his neck.
"Fuck." T curses as he stares back up at Jay. "I deserved that."
"Yeah." Carlos, Evie and Mal agree with varied degrees of amusement.
Jay rolls his eyes. "Focus, man, this-is-embarrassing." He sighs, "They're supposed to see what I've been teaching you." He shakes as his head as he steps back.
"Embarrassing for you?" T huffs, as he jumps back to his feet.
"Yeah!" Jay snaps. He glares at T's slackened form, shakes his head, and in a quick motion knocks T back to the ground. "Are you related to Sleepy?" He teases.
"Nah, I think he's related to Dopey." Mal counters.
"Shut it." T frowns as he pulls himself back up.
"Guys," Evie holds up one hand as she winks at Mal mischievously. "Just because T is a bit slow-"
T glowers, "Aren't you all just on you're A games today." he huffs.
"Thanks." Evie winks dramatically.
"Harry says it builds character." Hyades contributes with a giggle. "He's is always pointing out how easy it is for him to score points on you because you're shorter than he is." She purses her lips, "I really don't understand why that riles you up though, so what if he's one of the few people taller than you."
Mal snorts. "You sure he was talking about it during swordplay?"
"Thanks Hyades." T huffs as he blocks one of Jay's swings, blush sweeping over his face.
"What?" Hyades frowns in confusion, "What else would he have-"
With a wicked grin, Evie turns to T. "Well, I hear you're his boyfriend. Maybe height does factor in."
"OH! I didn't know that." Hyades smiles for a moment before she leans closer to Carlos, "But I still don't get it."
Carlos pats her sympathetically on the arm, unwilling to admit he also didn't get it.
"I didn't realize shit talk would throw you off this much." Jay comments with a frown.
"I fucking know." T growls as he picks himself back up.
"What exactly have you been teaching him Jay?" Mal asks scornfully. "How to take a hit?"
"That too." Jay grumbles, "Maybe it's too soon to have an audience."
"Since when did an audience bother let-me-jump-down-a-fucking-well?"
"To be fair, once we were at the bottom there was no audience." Hyades begrudgingly points out.
"Are you complaining?" T jumps back away from the blade, before launching an attack.
Hyades shakes her head.
"But a few people watching you spar throws you off?" Mal continues pressing with interest. The kid made Carlos look social. Which was good to know, but not very helpful in trying to figure out what T was trying to accomplish.
"Can we just get back to this?" Jay glares over his shoulder at Mal before quickly focusing on T once more. "Today would be nice."
"Yeah, it's hard to hold a conversation and sword fight at the same time." Carlos points out.
"Not that you'd know." Mal snips as she looks at him from the corner of her eye. She really loved watching his reactions.
Carlos's eyes immediately drop.
"Like you would?" T defends the younger boy, taking a blow to his shoulder. "He's probably been in more scraps than you."
"No!" Carlos instantly denies as his head shoots up, "Nonono… I- No way."
Mal can't help the burst of laughter, "I'd pay to see Carlos win a sword fight."
Carlos flushes as he inches his way tighter into the corner and hides behind his book.
"Why should he bother to waste his time?" T snaps back as he meets Jay swing for swing. "Or are you sayin' a member of your own gang can't defend themselves?"
"What I'm saying-" Mal's eyes flash with mischief. With a sly grin she starts walking towards Carlos, "What I'm saying is, maybe Jay's a little too advanced for you. And Carlos could use the practice." She chuckles when she sees Carlos attempt to melt into the floor.
"So could you." T shoots back. "It's been months-"
"Will you shut up?" Jay hisses at T, as he knocks him back to the deteriorating cement.
"Nah. I'm way too advanced for you." Mal bends and taps Carlos expectantly on the top of his head, "And I guess you don't know as much about me as you think."
"And you wish you knew half about me that I do you. What of it?" T counters.
With an unexpected, feral growl Jay tackles T to the ground, "Will you shut the fuck up!"
T blinks as he stares up at Jay. "What?"
"Figure out when to stop." Jay rolls his eyes before he kicks himself back to his feet. T doesn't speak another word as he follows suit.
"What do you say Carlos, care to show me that you can fight?"
"I'd rather not." Carlos shrinks further down.
"Well too fucking bad." Mal smiles, "Get your ass down there and show me what you can do."
Carlos groans as he pushes himself up. "I would really rather not."
"You know who else needs practice Mal?" Jay asks as he wipes sweat and dust from his face.
Mal rolls her eyes as she turns to look at Jay, "Who?"
"D."
"No." Hyades cautiously waves the idea off without even looking up from her book.
"I'm down." T shrugs.
"No." Hyades shakes her head. "I'm in the middle of a great chapter, thank you very much."
"Well, if no one else is willing too, I'll fight him." Evie offers sweetly. "I know I could use some practice."
Mal looks to Evie with a look of surprise. "What?" That was an odd request. Evie almost never wanted to fight, let alone volunteer. Let alone so enthusiastically. And what the fuck would the Evil Queen do to her if something happened to her face?
"Yeah, I think it would be a good idea for me to spar with some new blood."
"E, you're good, but... " Mal glances over to T and then back to Evie, "Come on, do you really trust that to not land a strike on you."
"Mal where's your confidence? I'm pretty sure I can more than handle T." Evie bats her eyes prettily as she stands and starts to stretch.
Mal glares down at Carlos and Hyades before she turns and walks back to her observation spot on the stairs. "Hey, it's your face."
"Even princesses need to keep up their cardio Mal." Evie smiles sweetly.
Jay holds his hands up in surrender as he backs away, "Sorry man." He purses his lips in a small frown before he walks over to hand his sword off to Evie.
T shrugs, looking up and past the pool for a moment before he shakes his head.
Evie smiles as she stands in front of T. "You want to attack first?"
T shrugs, "Ladies choice."
"You attack E." Jay suggests from where he was now resting against the wall with Mal. "He needs blocking practice."
"Okay." Evie calls back with an excited smirk.
T frowns, his eyes narrowing suspiciously as he repositions his grip on his blade. His eyes darker and more intent then they had been with Jay as he lowers into his stance.
Evie danced, literally danced, circles around him as she aggressively pressed her attacks. T had never even considered mixing the two, hadn't seen anyone else fight this way either. Most of the people he had taken to sparring or fighting with were pretty rigid in their stances, disciplined in their movements, and swift with both their feet and sword.
Evie's technique however only focused on one of those. Her movements were fluid, graceful even; T was mesmerized. Weaponized dance was something he could definitely get in line for. Evie knocks him down several times, and he lets her. He wanted to learn this unexpected style while still being very much aware of who he was fighting. He couldn't shake Jay's warning that flashy wasn't best. Sure, it absolutely stopped him in his tracks at first, but once he learned the steps it was easy to follow her dance. Now was the time to look for weaknesses.
Mal can't stop herself from watching the fight in fascination. Evie was skilled with a blade, she'd seen to it herself.
Evie's graceful sword play had both style and technique- But it was T response to the new style that confused her, and yet also, she begrudgingly had to admit, impressed. She'd never seen anyone fall into step with Evie, training or otherwise. It was weird. And it was definitely not what she had been expecting from the lanky freak that had become the bane of her existence over the last couple months.
Not to mention how careful he was to keep his blade away from Evie's priceless skin. He even seemed to be able to ignore her taunts. Her brows furrow. Was the kid really that focused on her safety?
"Huh." Evie smiles when she looks down at her blade resting against T's throat, and notices that he'd somehow also managed to slip past her guard to rest the tip of his blade near her heart. "That was pretty slick."
T smirks as he lowers his blade. "Thanks E."
It killed her to admit how genuine T seemed. Like he actually appreciated his ass mostly being handed to him until they ended in a draw. A snarl pulls at a corner of her lips. It was almost too much to endure. Fucking freak. She glares.
"I can't wait to see you bust those moves on Harry." Hyades chuckles, having obviously watched despite her insistence on reading.
Mal sneers, "So you really are training with those assholes?" She'd let the comment slip earlier thinking it was a joke, but that was the third strike.
T shrugs, "Are you saying I don't need all the help I can get?" He counters dryly.
Mal glares a T, "Sure, you need all the help you can get… I just didn't realize you were into scraping the bottom of the barrel."
"Mal," T lifts a brow, "I am the bottom of the barrel."
"Must be, if you're hanging out with that crew."
"Mal…" Hyades voices with a warning tone.
T shrugs, "So are we going to spar or what D?" He asks looking up at Hyades.
"Yeah," Jay nods, covering his smile with his hand as he turns to Hyades, "you're up fire nerd."
"What part of amazing chapter was so hard to understand?" Hyades questions without bothering to look up.
"The part where you kept reading." Jay nods. "You need to work on your sword play." He snaps his finger as he points at her. "So get in there." He points towards T.
"Nah, I'm good with my book. Thanks though." She waves one hand dismissively as she turns the page of her book with the other.
Carlos shifts to hide further behind Hyades.
"S'fair. Mal? Wanna go?" T offers instead.
Mal laughs, "You're hardly a fucking challenge."
"I'll use my daggers instead." T shrugs.
"No!" Jay quickly steps in.
Mal lifts an eyebrow, "Why not?" She asks as she stares down her first, curious.
"Because I'm teaching the sword to him," Jay glares, "he doesn't need help with daggers."
"Well I wanna know how good he is with a dagger." Mal crosses her arms.
"Scary good." Carlos and Hyades say in tandem before they grin at each other and go back to their books.
Mal scowls at the two nerds. "Doesn't mean much coming from you two."
"Mal," Evie frowns, "I think Jay is-"
"Didn't realize you needed so many people to defend you." Mal's eyes flash. When the fuck did her people get so defensive over such a joe fucking smoe.
"Funny, I could say the same about you." T shoots back.
"If you two want to kill each other so much, have fucking at it." Jay snaps before he tugs his sword out of Evie's hand and climbs out of the pool, "I'm just the fucking teacher here, so who cares what I think." He turns and looks over at Mal.
"If your so worried about your student you should have taught him manners." Mal sniffs indignantly.
"That ain't my fucking department." Jay shrugs.
"Well bout time the kid learned his place then, isn't it?" Mal adds unable to keep the disdain from her voice.
"Whatever you say Mal."
Mal shoots a hurt look at Jay before she growls and jumps down to the bottom of the pool. "You wanted a fight, well you have one now."
"Finally." T smiles as he puts the sword away to pull out his daggers.
"With the fucking sword!" Jay growls.
T sighs, "Fine." He pouts before he puts the daggers back, clearly looking disappointed.
Mal can't help her laughter. "This is gonna be quick."
"What she means to say is painful." Carlos mutters.
"Yeah, I don't think I actually want to see this… But I'm not sure I can look away either…" Evie frets as she sits on her hands to prevent chewing her nails.
"Well, I agree with the first part." Hyades says as she stands, "Sparring is fine, you two sound like you want to tear each other apart."
"Don't you dare." Jay shakes his head. "This will be good for you to watch."
Hyades glares at Jay as she snaps her book shut, "I'm sorry?"
"If she don't want to stay let her go. I don't blame her. I wouldn't want to see my hero get his ass kicked either." Mal retorts with a dismissive wave.
"Funny." Hyades snips humourlessly.
"D…" Evie looks to her in concern. "I doubt they are actually going to kill each other."
"He wishes he had the skill." Mal rolls her eyes.
"I do." T agrees instantly.
"Yeah, I'm out." Hyades shakes her head, letting her hair fall to cover the small smile T's sass put on her face. "Thanks for letting me read your book Carlos, we'll have to-"
"This was supposed to be a training session for the three that really need it." Jay snaps.
"Is that why you demanded I come?" Carlos lets out a hearty sigh. "Dammit."
Mal runs her tongue across her teeth as she watches Jay. She'd crossed a line apparently, "Whatever, get some skills then I'll take you on. I don't want to ruin Jay's class."
T rolls his eyes, "Deez get down here before they make Carlos spar me..." He calls in exasperation. "Please." He adds in frustration.
Hyades looks from T to Mal as she's climbing back to her spot, to Jay before she sighs.
"Come on D, I ain't leaving you alone until you do this." Jay points out as he walks over with a sword and stands in front of her, "At least try." He presses as he hands her the sword.
"Fine." Hyades rolls her eyes.
"Finally." T sighs.
"What is this, gang up on Hyades week?" Hyades grumbles as she walks towards the pool,.
"Nah I'm pretty sure that's reserved for next month." Evie teases.
"Good to know." Hyades grins as she walks past.
"And then you can read," Jay tempts her. "You're doing T a favor," He reminds her.
"Yeah, gods, I got it." Hyades shakes her head as she jumps into the pool.
"No worries Deez, this is gonna be fun." T grins at her, noting the flames already flaring to life on her arms.
"They're really not done yet," Hyades deadpans.
Jay chuckles, "She's right ya know, cause this fight ain't over until she disarms you."
Evie and Mal both snicker. They'd seen that coming when Jay had first walked over to her. And if Jay hadn't done it, Mal definitely would have. She was part of this group, and she needed her group to be strong in everything they possibly could be.
"What?!" Hyades shakes her head, "No way, you know I don't attack."
"Time to start." Mal finishes before Jay can.
"You heard me. You have to attack, and disarm him." Jay crosses his arms. "The quicker you do it, the quicker you get back to your book." He waves her book in front of her, holding it way out of her reach.
Hyades purses her lips. "This is dumb."
"Mhmm." Jay nods. "Humor me." He tilts his head towards T. "Now go, before Mal blows another fuse."
Hyades looks from Jay to Mal before she sighs in defeat, "Let's just get this over with."
Mal rolls her eyes as she watches the 'fight' begin. T had a good defensive stance, but it was obvious that Hyades wasn't going to attack. "Oh come on! Start!"
T tilts his head up to Mal before he sighs. "Come on Deez, you know I can take a hit."
Hyades holds her sword up firmly in a defensive stance and shakes her head.
"Fair enough." T shrugs before he lunges forward.
Hyades easily knocks the attack away. The second, third and fourth attacks too.
"D," Jay calls down in warning, "you know that's not what we're working on."
Mal narrows her eyes as she watches the two fight. T was moving more fluidly than he had previously, his footwork clearly copying Evie's style with an ease that impressed her. He'd only fought her once and he seemingly had it down. His stance and swings were becoming more confident and aggressive with every hit.
Hyades, on the other hand, seemed entirely unfazed. She met each attack with a block, but she refused to disarm him.
After a grueling thirty minutes, T's swings were starting to slow down. He jumps back mid fight as his eyes sweep Hyades thoughtfully.
Mal frowns as she crosses his arms. "What the fuck is that?" She demands.
Hyades small grin betrays her as she lunges forward, dropping her blade before she wraps one hand around T's wrist and pops the sword out of his hand with the other. "There, done." She chirps as she holds the stolen sword up. "Disarmed. I win. Ta-Da." She smiles as she bends slightly at the waist.
T sighs as he takes back the sword with a look of disapproval.
"No D. You have to use the sword to disarm him." Jay scolds, his brow furrowed in disappointment as he shakes his head.
"Why?" Hyades asks defiantly as she places Jays sword on the edge on the pool.
"Because I'm never going to get better if you don't take this seriously." T tells her clearly offended.
Mal's eyelids flutter with the strength of her eye roll . Fucking freak. Out of all the shit talk earlier, that's what upset him?
"I did take it seriously." Hyades answers evenly with a slight widening of her eyes, "I tired you out and disarmed you."
"And you think that tactic would work in the streets?" Mal lifts her brow.
"I don't know, that was actually pretty clever." Carlos points out. "And she did what you asked." He points out.
"I'm with Carlos guys." Evie bats her eyes prettily. "Deez can clearly defend herself properly."
"Thank you." Hyades beams.
"But she doesn't take the fight seriously…" T repeats again. "I don't think I'm a big enough threat."
"I really don't understand what you mean." Hyades frowns as she turns back to face T, "I did take it seriously."
T shrugs, "Yeah, I really don't think you did. I guess it's like your ol' man says, we're all just worms to you right?"
"What?" Hyades takes a step away from T as if he was the one with the ability to burn people, "Why would you- You know I hate-"
"I'm not that fragile." T frowns, "It's offensive you're not putting everything into this…"
"T, I can't walk into a building without holding back." Hyades snaps as she grinds her fists into her hips, "I am not going to throw it all into trying to prove which of us is better."
T frowns, "That's not the point Deez. You need to learn some discipline."
Hyades narrows her eyes, "Yeah, thanks, I fucking know that."
"Well this is the only way I know to help." T frowns.
"If putting yourself in danger to prove a point is the only help you have, then no thanks, I'm fine." Hyades tenses her jaw as her fists begin to shake, "I don't need to add more stupid injuries to my long, long fucking list."
"I wouldn't be in danger if you had discipline." T points out easily.
"Great." Hyades shrieks as she throws her hands in the air, "Wonderful. Everyone knows how to fucking fix me." She adds as a wave of heat blasts from her outburst.
The core four reflexively jump up, the playful atmosphere evaporating as tension fills the space between T and Hyades.
Mal's eyes widen as Hyades fire flickers to life, the heat making her take another step back as she continues to watch in fascination. Why the fuck was T just standing there like a fucking tard? Why was he instigating Hyades when she was already lit? Who the fuck did that? And why? Did the kid have a death wish? She'd never seen Hyades torch someone, but she'd heard rumors of it. Was she about to witness it first hand?
"You don't need to be fixed." T shrugs, "You need to learn control." He states drly.
"Control? Really?" Hyades rolls her eyes, "Fuck, never thought of that. How have I been so damn blind to the obvious answer?"
T rolls his eyes, "Not of your fire dip shit, of your life."
"My life? Oh, I need control over my life? Who are you trying to kid here? No one actually has any fucking control of their lives. I'm fighting to keep what little control I do have."
"Your the one living in fear," T responds drly. "Not me."
"So which is it T?" Hyades pulls her fingers through her hair and runs her hands down her face, "I need to learn to control my fire, or I need to learn to control my life?"
"I think the two are connected." T shrugs. "From what I've been able to observe anyways… I'm not a fucking expert on this shit though..."
"No one is! I have to fight every fucking day just to walk around. I'm never really able to be myself because I'm so scared of fucking something up. One wrong move and I could break shit, or worse, hurt someone. You all act like it's so easy. It's not!" Hyades shouts as she starts backing away, "I hate it!"
T slowly starts circling her, "Never said it was easy…"
"It's just never good enough!" Hyades snaps as she continues to back away. Her eyes dart around, looking at everyone staring dumbly back at her. "I'm working on it, and it's never good enough. I'm dangerous, and no matter how hard I try I'm never good enough. I'm so fucking over it."
T rolls his eyes, as he starts walking closer to her lazily; "It has nothing to do with being good enough… It has to do with you treating me like I can't handle it."
"No one can!"
"That's not really your choice to make."
"No," Hyades chuckles, "Just my fault. I'm different. I'm not responsible enough. I'm not bound like my father. I'm un-fucking-filtered."
"Wouldn't that be nice." T counters with a cross of his arms, "Maybe then you could have gotten this shit out without the pyrotechnics…"
Jay frowns as he notices the steam rising from Hyades cheeks. It takes him a minute to figure out that it was actually her tears. His frown deepens as she looks between T and Hyades in concern, hesitant to intervene. Everyone had seen Hyades lose her temper, but he'd never seen her lose her temper and cry. He didn't know what to do. Girl's were always way more unpredictable when tears were involved, and usually one hundred times more likely to strike.
Carlos instincts have him as far away from the dilapidated pool as he can get before he realizes it. He presses his back deeply into the corner, eyes glued to center of the pool with concern. He runs his hand through his hair as he tries to figure out what to do. What the fuck was T doing? He hadn't moved away from her at her at all if anything he'd ended up closer. He just knew this was going to end up with someone getting hurt.
Evie and Mal stand rooted to the ground where they'd been perched before. Without realizing it they'd grabbed each other's hands, squeezing tightly rather than reacting to the situation verbally.
T crosses his arms, firmly standing his ground, but stays silent.
"It's not like it matters," Hyades shakes her head as she brings her hands up to her face, wiping away at the flaming moisture in her eyes, "I'm the only one that has to live with it."
"Do you really feel that way?" T tilts his head to the side.
"How else am I supposed to feel? It's not anyone else's problem. It's mine."
"People wouldn't be all up over you if they didn't care," He pauses, turns to Mal with a slight grimace, before turning back to Hyades. "Sorry, obviously Mal doesn't care… But seriously, why would I go and find you if I didn't care? Do you have any idea how many times I coulda just left you in the woods waiting? That Carlos has loaned you a book? That Evie put your makeup on for you? That Gil brought you pounds of sand? Or that Jay cares enough about your protection to make sure you can protect yourself without relying on the power that you love to shit on..."
Hyades shakes her head, "Oh great," she rolls her eyes, "pile on the guilt now."
"I'm just pointing out flaws in your logic, D." T shakes his head.
"It's not the same." Hyades snaps, "You're asking me to attack you with my full strength!"
T rolls his eyes, "We can use sticks if that's your problem."
"I don't know how strong I am!" Hyades screams, "If I don't ever use it, how am I supposed to know? I just know to hold back. And even then I fuck up. When I'm not careful, people get hurt. How's that for fucking control?"
"You don't need powers to hurt someone Deez-"
"How can you possibly think I don't know that?" Hyades slowly shakes her head, "I get hurt by fucking looks, you think I don't know that others can get hurt by stupid shit too?" Her eyes flicker to everyone staring down at them before she looks away.
T blinks. "I know I don't give a fuck about what people outside my circle think, and even then it's pretty rare… And I'm a fuck ton happier than you for it."
"Oh shut up T, you're just as miserable as the rest of us, you just hide it better." Hyades harshly points out, "You cloak it in shadows and extra layers, witty remarks and sass, but you're hiding pain and fear just like the rest of us."
T freezes, blinking a few times before he shrugs. "Yeah no shit Sherkhan, it's still the isle." He retorts, "Sorry you weren't born under better circumstances but guess what, no one in this shit hole was."
"So what are you saying T? I need discipline? Control over my life? To be able to unleash myself? To say whatever the hell I want? Or is it that I feel like I'm better or worse than everyone? Or that I deserve better? I can't keep up with this anymore." Hyades shakes her head again, "Or is it that I don't feel like I belong?" She roughly pushes her hair out of her face and wipes the back of her hand over her eyes, "At this point, I really need you to tell me, because-" She takes the last few steps back, slamming her back into the side of the pool, "I'm just lost. I- I don't even know why I'm so angry, or why I'm yelling." The flames that had been steadily building flicker wildly before they slightly dim.
T studies her sadly. "I don't know… But if I had to guess it would be a little bit of all of it, to be honest… I'd say feeling like you don't belong would be the big one…"
"Lucky me." Hyades sighs, the sound so defeated it hurt everyone to hear it. She turns and easily pulls herself out of the pool.
"Huh." T frowns as he watches her back.
Hyades stands still for a long moment, her head bent as the wind pulled at her toga and hair.
"Hyades…" Evie breathes out softly, hand over her aching heart; the only one daring enough to speak after listening to such an intimate conversation.
"I'm sorry." Hyades whispers, her jaw tight as she slowly turns. She stops herself before she catches anyone's gaze, "I'm just sorry." She admits one last time before she runs off.
T rubs the back of his neck nervously, before he wipes the sweat on his pants. "Whelp… That could have gone better…" He mumbles to himself after her head disappears from sight.
Mal stares down at T in disbelief. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"
T blinks as he turns to look up at Mal, "Wanna be more specific?"
"Okay…" Mal pops her lips, "How about what the fuck were you trying to prove?"
"That she can control her fire with work and time…" T shrugs like it's the most obvious thing in the world.
"Oh yeah, sure. Poke at her and rake her over the fucking coals." Mal rolls her eyes.
"Oh, shut the fuck up." T snaps in irritation, "It's not like the sword lesson was getting anywhere." He points out, "So figured I might as well do something useful since we were surrounded by cement anyways..."
Jay runs a hand down his face, "So glad you noticed that."
"I'm not a complete asshole. I know C and E are still here and I circled her into the opposite corner of them."
"You know you're not the only one trying to help her." Mal admits through her clamped jaw.
T's brow quirks. "Are you mad I left you out or something?" He asks curiously.
Evie quickly takes a step forward, "No, that's not what we're trying to say." She pauses as she tilts her head to the side, "Though you did kind of involve us… Not in the best way, but not the point I suppose."
T lifts a brow as he studies the group. "Sorry?"
Mal rolls her eyes, "You should be, we all have to live with her embarrassing confession now."
"Oh shut the fuck up or I'll give you a reason to be embarrassed Goblin Queen. It was a conversation among allies. Get your panties out of the twist..."
"Allies don't need to know shit like that," Mal seethes, "Or did you forget pointing out that I don't care?"
T blinks, "Why don't you figure out what you want and then bitch me out?"
"Prick, I know exactly what I want."
"Well then what is it?"
Mal opens her mouth to respond but ends up closing it. "That's not the fucking point. You could have gotten my whole gang killed."
"Pot to kettle much?" T snorts, "Did you think about that when forcing her to pick sides? Or were you too worried about mommy?" He taunts back.
"Shut the fuck up." Mal snaps as she takes a step forward.
"T that isn't fair, you don't know what it's like having a parent breathing down your neck like that…" Carlos defends Mal.
T drops his eyes as he lets out a heavy sigh, "You're right." He shakes his head "I don't…" He takes a deep breath before turning to Mal. "Take it or leave it, but that was out of line… My bad..."
Mal takes a step back, but nods, "Sure. Whatever." She shakes her head, finding the whole confrontation uncomfortable. The pup defending her was new. And no one one the isle ever apologized, not unless it was full of sarcasm.
"Thank you…" T breathes out. "I'm still… On edge from my talk with Deez. That's not an excuse, but yeah, adrenaline and all that..." He shifts sheepishly. "But speaking of, I should probably go track her down…" He continues before he walks over to Jay and hands him a sword. "Maybe more warning when I'm going to be performing next time?" He asks unable to keep the bite from his tone.
"Yep." Jay nods solemnly.
"Appreciated." T nods before he steps back. "See ya'll later." He adds before shoving his hands in his pockets and walks away.
"Wait… We're not going to talk about this?" Carlos shakes his head. "Are we seriously not going to talk about what just happened?"
T turns back as he glances at Carlos. "What about?" He asks curiously.
Carlos shifts, his voice dropping several octaves. "Why push her like that?"
"Cause I was curious." T answers simply. "I've had the idea for a while, just didn't have the opportunity without setting the forest on fire…"
Jay shakes his head, "Look, you're right, I do want her to get better. I want her to be able to protect herself… She just, she has no idea how many openings she has, how many weaknesses. I know she's a demigod, and believe me I freaked out the first time I broke a sword on her," He clicks his tongue. "But I wasn't tryna push her that hard." He glares at T. "Which what the fuck was that, by the way? The well wasn't enough of a reminder about what flames can do?"
T shrugs, "Parently not."
"Alright, since no one else is going to bring this up I will…" Evie sighs, pressing one hand to her chest as if wounded, "What did she mean by she feels like she doesn't belong?"
"Seriously Princess?" T asks with a raised eyebrow. "Do you feel like you belong here?"
"On the isle? No." Evie scoffs, "Of course not."
"But I think she was talking about the gang." Carlos points out.
"Which doesn't make sense." Jay frowns.
"Really?" T lifts a brow. "She can't belong if the people training her shirk away every time she spits fire. It just reminds her that it doesn't matter if she's good in a fight, or great at x, y, or z... She thinks she's a freak. That's why she thinks she doesn't fit in." He offers.
Everyone falls silent.
T rolls his eyes, "Why else do you think she hides every time there is an accident?"
"She's scared of herself." Carlos offers quietly.
"Sure there's that," T nods, "but it's also the way everyone reacts…Like they're next or something."
Mal rolls her eyes, "No shit, she catches on fire she has no control over."
"Didn't I just fucking prove that she can though? She could have roasted me-"
"Oh, so you do remember you're flammable." Carlos exhales, "I was concerned."
T shoots a shit eating grin to Carlos, "I promise you it's not an experience I will ever forget."
"So, what was the end game with that conversation then?" Evie asks curiously.
"To see if you could talk her down." T shrugs. "Or if that was just a pipe dream."
"Great, so she can be talked down." Mal folds her arms over her chest, "Doesn't sound like it really fixes anything though."
T rolls his eyes, "As I said it's not about fixing it Mal."
"Isn't it though?" Jay looks between them all with a furrowed brow. "I mean, shouldn't we work with her on this before someone proves her wrong and really hurts her?"
"I'm more concerned about her mental state… She's more than capable of protecting herself- When she's cornered anyways..."
Mal arcs an eyebrow at T's certainty, "You sound like you're speaking from experience."
"I was on the receiving end of it." T responds shortly.
"Yeah, but you ended up helping to prove her wrong," Mal rolls her eyes, "when it comes to always being able to use her powers. You snuffed her light faster than anyone I've ever seen at least."
"I've spent a lot of time stalking her." T offers with a frown. "And unlike the four of you I don't have an OV breathing down my neck, which you know, gives me more freedom for troubleshooting rather than recruiting… And it also helps I don't give a fuck if I get burnt..."
The four stare at T like he just grew a second head.
"Okay there Mister hero." Mal scoffs.
T rolls his eyes bristling slightly, "Don't know how many times I gotta say it, not a fucking hero." He glares.
Evie and Carlos both drop their eyes as they slightly turned away from T. Evie even covers her mouth.
Obviously they disagreed. Mal runs a hand through her purple hair. Oh, he claimed to not be a hero… But he obviously cared, and had no problem admitting that he cared, about Hyades. And Carlos and Evie. And it bothered her. She also knew it shouldn't. He was doing her a solid by taking care of her makeshift family when she couldn't. But fuck, it bothered her so much it made her bones hurt.
He had her gangs' respect, or loyalty, or something, while she had their fear. It didn't matter that Carlos had defended her, she knew the boy still feared her. That Jay and Evie feared her. The only ones on the isle who didn't seem to piss in their boots when she was around were the other gang leaders, Hyades, and this lanky shit towering over her.
It bothered her more than she was willing to admit. How easy it would be for him to undermine her with all of his knowledge on her. It pissed her off. How the fuck had he managed to learn so much about her? About them? Why couldn't he have stalked Atilla or Cora instead?
Why did she have to share what belonged to her?
T had gotten Hyades to all but spill her guts in front of all of them. It shook her. It didn't take much to piss her off either, and the way T had stayed calm, leading her down that rabbit hole… Mal wanted nothing to do with that. It felt, invasive. Like they'd all seen Hyades truly vulnerable. She wasn't sure what was worse. Seeing that kind of vulnerability, or knowing they all had it.
She studies T, and his lazy demeanor skeptically. This noone had certainly turned himself into an interesting and possibly dangerous someone. He'd gotten close enough for Hyades to be comfortable being that vulnerable around him.
She clearly regretted it though. Regretted talking like that in front of them. And that hurt too. Hurt to know that Hyades would rather talk to this freak standing in front of her, that they knew little to nothing about by the way. Still, she'd rather than talk to him, not her, another half human hybrid, about not belonging. She didn't like how much it hurt her. When had she even come to care about who Hyades was willing to share with, anyways? She wanted to scream.
In that moment she loathed T, but in the same breath she understood.
She didn't know as much as she wanted to know, but what she'd learned today had her gut telling her that he could be trusted… To a point. The kid was still fucking retarded.
But, she clenches her jaw, he was a retard that could ruin her, and chose time and time again not too.
The realization made her stomach drop. Loyalty.
He'd earned her gangs' fucking loyalty right from under her and she hadn't even realized it til it was too fucking late. This was going to be a never ending cycle of torment. What was going to happen if he ever figured that the fuck out? Her mother would kill her for losing out to a fucking nobody.
"Okay," Mal swings her arm violently as if sweeping something away from her, "Putting aside the hero thing, and Hyades feeling like she doesn't belong and mother only knows what else, what's the plan?"
T shrugs lazily, "Figured more of the same…"
Mal closes her eyes for a moment, fighting the urge to punch T in the mouth, "No shit. I mean, I doubt she'd going to want to talk to us for a long time after that… Outburst."
"Eh, give it a week." T shrugs, "She'll be back. Just ya know, don't be a cunt about it."
Mal's eye twitches, "Out of the five of us, who was being the cunt this time?"
"The biggest me, quickly followed by you…"
"At least you are that self aware."
"Sometimes." T smiled mischievously.
"But another problem here." Mal bites her bottom lip, unsure if she wanted to actually share the information she had.
"Wasn't sure how that was going to go to be honest… I just got the idea and went with it so if you see a problem I'd love to hear it…"
"Look, if we're all insisting on helping," She exhales deeply, "D out like this, then we all need to be on the same page right?"
"Sure." T nods crossing his hand over his chest.
"So…" Mal shakes her head, "You're not wrong to be worried about someone proving her wrong. Someone already has."
Jay narrows his eyes, "What?! When?! Who? Who could have possible taken her down?"
"Right… So after everything that went down at the well, we're all aware of her-" Mal pauses.
"Dislike?" Evie offers politely.
"Aversion?" Carlos supplies helpfully.
"Fear." Mal continues, "That was fear. She's scared of water. I'm guessing it's water that goes over her head though. We've all seen her acting ridiculously happy when she's fucking singing in the rain."
"True." T nods.
"So why's she afraid of water?" Jay asks with a furrowed brow, seemingly impatient for Mal to get to the point.
Mal sighs, "Look, a couple years back… My mother got a report that Ursula drowned her. She couldn't fight back, because water obviously. And I'm not talking like scared her to death shit, she was apparently dead. God or not." She shakes her head.
Jay folds his arms over his chest, his face unreadable as he stares at Mal.
Carlos hangs his head, "I do remember when she stopped talking about her trips to the docks, I just had no idea it was something that bad."
"What?!" Evie asks horrified, her color several shades paler than normal. "How could she have died and I not know about it?"
"It gets worse though," Mal winces, unnerved with her gangs reactions, "Her father planned it with Ursula. I heard him bragging about it to my mother."
"Huh. Figures." T remarks with disgust coloring his tone, before dropping his eyes and shifting from foot to foot nervously. "I didn't know Senior and Ursula orchestrated it but I'm not surprised. Her old man is a real fucking prick." He continues tonelessly.
Mal watches T, her eyes drawn to how suddenly uncomfortable he seemed to be. Face a raging inferno? No problem, apparently… And he clearly didn't have issues with open discussions... So what the hell had him acting so jumpy suddenly.
"I don't understand." Evie frowns, "Hades Sr, I mean- I still remember him talking Maleficent out of-" Her eyes shift to Mal and back quickly before she shakes her head and continues, "Anyway… So, if he like dotes on her, why would he try to kill her?"
"My mother," Mal huffs again. "Says that Hades is forcing D to break the cuffs binding his shit. To get him off the island through the barrier."
T's head whips up as he looks at Mal in surprise, before schooling his features and looking away again.
Mal's eyes narrow slightly as she continues to watch T.
"What the fuck?" Carlos asks, "Can she even do that?" He wonders as his face goes pale.
"Oh gosh I hope not." Evie frowns, "That would be terrible."
"I've never seen her try, but apparently mother thinks she can, if all her abilities wake up."
"I have." T blurts out darkly, before he quickly covers his mouth and starts walking away. "Should not have fucking said that. Should not have fucking said that…"
"Oh?" Mal arcs one eyebrow. So that's what had him dancing around like spiders were in his fucking pants. "Well you did say it, so what the fuck happened?"
T groans as he turns back around, biting his thumb in contemplation. "Fuck it." He finally breathes before shoving his hands in his pockets. "There was an incident that involved me following her home and crashing at her crypt after getting lost in the catacombs." He shrugs, "When I woke up the next day it was to…" He pauses, dropping his eyes, "Deez' screams." He chews his lip as he backs away and starts pacing.
Mal opens her mouth to demand he march his jumpy ass back and continue, but one stern look and a slight shake of his head from Jay made her stop.
"I went to go figure out the fuck was happening to get her to scream like that and boom there she fucking is- Looking sick as fuck, on her knees, engulfed in flames as her hands glowed fucking bright ass white around her fathers fucking manacle, and all I could fucking focus on was the fact it was stripping her skin down to the mother fucking bone bro-" He exhales, "It was fucking nuts. Those screams are gonna haunt me for fucking the rest of my life. Not shitting you-"
Mal blanches at the thought of what it would take to peel skin from bone like that. Her mother told her stories of spells and ritual workings that could do that shit… But Hyades? She shivers, but forces herself to continue to listen.
"-I'm pretty sure if those two neurotic ass imps weren't there she'd be fucking dead by now with how far he pushes her- It was fucking hard as fuck to watch, I can't imagine how Deez felt being forced into doing it- But like fuck was it my place to say shit about someone's fucking homelife, the whole" He throws his hands out in exasperation, "isle is a clusterfuck of dysfunction so if she ain't complainin' why the fuck would I." He finally finishes with an exhale.
Carlos and Evie blink at T, unable to summon the strength to look away, unable to wipe the terror off their faces.
Jay takes a deep breath as he processes everything T had just dumped on them, used to how the kid usually revealed information. He'd learned a while ago that when it came to T, you either got nothing, or got it all at once. And for fuck sakes you never interrupted, or gave him the chance to realize he was talking or bye bye T.
Mal stares at T, her mouth partially agape. What the fuck? It felt like the kid filled a good thirty minutes with a massive amount of information. Or maybe the information just felt that heavy? She glances at her watch and sighs, less than a minute. Maybe it was the fact she'd never had to wait to ask her questions? She rolls her eyes at herself this so wasn't the point. "Does she know you know?"
T grimaces, "It's fucking Deez, she figured it out." He blanches. "Gotta go." He takes off.
Mal glares, opening her mouth once again to issue a demand, but again, Jay intercedes.
"Just let him go." He shakes his head. "He told us everything he knew, hell you even snuck in a question. He usually doesn't stick around long 'nough to answer those." He advises with a frown as he rubs the back of his neck.
"You would have that kind of experience with him." Mal rolls her eyes.
"Where do you think I learn things?" Jay shrugs, "Half the shit I give you bout Atilla and Cora originally comes from him. I mean, I used to fact check it but after a while..." He trails off, "It was just a waste of my time when I could be doing more important things for the gang."
Mal pops her lips as she tilts her head to the side and back before staring up at Jay, "Good to know." She sighs and turns back to the rest of her group, "Let's get one thing straight right here and now. No one ever tells D about this conversation."
"Right." Evie quickly agrees.
"No shit." Jay agrees.
"Wasn't planning on it." Carlos assures her.
"Great." Mal runs her fingers through her hair again, "Cause the last damn thing we need is her not trusting us-" She grinds her teeth, but forces herself to add, "or T."
All three of them look up in surprise at the last addition, before they all look away when they saw how much it hurt her to admit that. Evie does her best to hide her smile.
Heyo,
So what did you guys think? Any one surprised? Or concerned? Or equally as uncomfortable as the core four? Did the change of introspections delight or confuse? What do you think of T's version of help? Did you find it more hurtful? Did we make you gasp, or laugh? Did T's outburst and breaking his promise to Hyades bother any one? Or was it understandable? Did Deez' vulnerability make you squee? (Please don't feel obligated to answer all of these) Let us know! It'll only make our story that much better for you! We appreciate anything you lovely peoples are willing to send out way.
