Enslaved To A Flame
Drabble
Cats-cradle
William was as perplexing as they came.
Victoria was used to his reactions, his shift of expressions, the way his eyes seemed to drink in and devour light depending on his mood, and in rare cases, how they seemed to explode it all out, brighter than a flashlight in the night. But those instances were few and fleeting.
So it was no surprise to her when she came back from her History class to find him balanced precariously between their two desk chairs, his shoulder on the back of hers and his heels on the arm rest of his.
He didn't look up as she entered, his gaze enraptured by a pair of glowing strings between his fingers. She crept to the edge of the doorframe, leaning against it as she watched him.
He shifted his hands, choosing to manipulate the wires by finger instead of mind. She cocked an eyebrow, recognizing the design he was making.
"Cat's cradle?" She asked.
William jolted, his wires snapping tight in his hands, jerking his hands together as he lost his balance. His reaction sent her chair out from under his shoulders and his chair skidding out from under his heels.
He hit the ground with a hard thump and a soft snarl, lying there with his eyebrows furrowed in a strangely adorable way. As if he was wondering why the ground had to be so hard and the chairs had betrayed him. He blinked slowly, then let out a soft sigh, closing his eyes.
She shut the door, easing across the room to crouch by his head.
One of his eyes flicked open as she bent over him, a luscious sea-green orb. He relaxed his fingers, then his wires, teasing the cat's cradle back into shape.
"You must have been focused. I rarely catch you off-guard." Victoria mentioned as his eyes turned back towards his weave.
"Mmm." He agreed, silent for another moment before he answered her silent question. "It helps me think." He nodded towards his desk. "Grimmology is terrible for me."
She smiled, always glad to remember that her reckless, battle-hardened leader was not in fact perfect. She got up, fetching his book and notebook, bringing it back to him. She sat down beside his head, crosslegged on the floor, book in her lap and notebook on William's chest.
"What's giving you trouble?" She asked. She meant to look at his face, but he kept twisting the cradle, making something new with his wires.
"Crags." He twisted his hands, nimble fingers plucking strings and twisting them back and forth. With a start Victoria realized he'd shifted from a cradle to Jacob's ladder in a matter of seconds.
"Question 4?" She furthered.
He nodded, choosing this time to reform his string instead of untangling it. He looped it through his fingers, then started weaving again, expanding the thread as he needed, adding little knots and twists to keep the thread in place.
"Well it's just analyzing their background, terrain they migrate to." She shrugged. "What's got you hung up?"
"Part b. Attack patterns."
Victoria cocked an eyebrow. "There's an entire section on it."
"Sections are stupid." William retorted. "They give two, maybe three options of attack, and all of them require set up. It's totally impractical for a hunter on the fly."
"So make your own." Victoria shot back, glancing down at his fingers. Cup and Saucer. Huh.
What else can those fingers do?
William grunted, seeming unsatisfied with the answer, even if that's exactly what the Professor wanted. An interpretation of the tactics based on the person or teams' own choice. Victoria's answer had been somewhere between using Leo as the heavy to bait and she speared it from behind. The problem was that William had difficulties come up with anything less than speedy, extremely skilled approaches that he could do solo.
"When did you start…" She trailed off, gesturing to his hands. "That?"
"Better habit than smoking." He replied.
It was. But she wondered why he had switched. He clearly didn't seem upset about it the other day.
"Didn't answer when." Victoria reminded him. He gave her a sharp look, then shrugged, unwilling to give her the answer she already suspected.
"What changed then?" She shifted target slightly, dog-earing the page and dropping it on his chest. He huffed, quirking his lip as it took him by surprise.
He didn't answer, focusing on his new weaving. Finally she understood the shape. He was somehow making a spiderweb. A classical design for one at least. He was having some difficulty with starting the second ring on it.
"Was it me?"
Again he jerked, his finger's twitching. One of the lines popped free and he scowled. He fixed it instantly, but Victoria had a feeling it wasn't his weaving that irritated him. She's guessed right.
"Perhaps." He admitted. "I don't think you'd appreciate your partner smelling of smoke and bad decisions all the time. I'm under a fair amount of stress and smoking helps."
"Apparently so does keeping your hands busy." Victoria nodded, getting up. She picked his books up off his chest, leaving him to his weaving as she righted her chair and took a seat. "I don't mind if you smoke." She added, pulling out her own notebook. She didn't truly have much homework, but she could get started on tomorrow's while she had time.
She also wanted to work out later, maybe with Sandra. She was a good running partner.
Behind her, she could hear William shift and get to his feet. His chair clattered back onto four legs, but instead of hearing him sit down in it she heard him drag it across the floor towards her.
She glanced behind her, watching him grab the back of her chair and kick his feet up on the back of his chair. Muscles strained in his arms, flushing slightly. She realized she was staring, but didn't care.
He leaned back,his feet shaking slightly as he balanced. When he finally reclined to the point his neck touched the back of her chair he let go with his hands. The weight shifted, but she didn't mind. It was just annoying he was choosing her chair to steal head room from.
"Can I help you?" She asked, looking down at him.
He smiled, giving her a casual wink. "Just laying around."
She glanced across his body. His weaving was gone. His feet strained, shifting and flexing to keep balance. His stomach was tight, shirt raised to reveal his taunt stomach and the hint of his delicious abs. His arms hung free, nearly scrapping the ground, his knuckles just out of reach of the carpet.
"Cute. Why my chair?" She pressed, narrowing her eyes.
"Better anchor." William replied, bringing his hands up again. A loop of wire appeared, tracing his knuckles as he started weaving again. He looked up at her, his wire suddenly uncoiling, looping around the hem of his shirt and pulling it higher. "Why? Don't you appreciate my company?" He cocked an eyebrow as he pulled his shirt up, revealing more of his taunt, tight stomach.
Victoria risked a glance at them. His abs were flexed, whether to show off or because he was using the muscle she wasn't sure.
He shifted, meeting her gaze. She'd been caught. She turned sharply, hoping the heat on her cheeks hadn't been a blush starting to shine through.
"Knew you liked that." He teased, casual as ever. She scowled. He liked pushing her buttons. Teasing. Seeing who could tease more before their mask cracked and they faltered. Not a truly personal game unless the teasing started to get pointed.
"I guess I'll just have to up the ante then." She checked the clock. As much as she knew it would fluster him, it was too early to be freeing herself from the confines of her bra. But there were other ways to fluster William.
She reached back, letting her fingers trace light circles through his hair. She scratched his head, tangling her fingers briefly in the hair. She had just enough time to admire the texture, a thick heavy feel, not soft, but not coarse either, before he jerked his head forward.
His hands shot out, locking tight on her chair. Something creaked.
"Not cool. Not cool." William hissed, his voice tense, but not anger. She smiled, humming innocently just before she got up, letting her weight leave the chair.
It toppled over, dumping William to the ground again. He swore, scrambling, a dozen wires leaping from his hand, though none managed to catch him before he hit the ground a second time.
She bent over him again, giving him a smug look. "So. William." She cocked an eyebrow at him. "Does the big bad wolf not like getting petted?"
William scowled, the barest hint of a blush appeared on his cheeks. Not even a true dusting of pink, just a shift of his eyes and a flinch in his shoulders. But she knew William well enough now to understand the equivalent.
She straightened up, leaving him on the floor as she picked up her chair, smoothing out her skirt and sitting down in it. She'd won that round. She smiled, humming softly to herself as she heard William getting up.
She'd take her victories where she could.
Just a short little…drabble that I had in mind. William taking up string challenges instead of smoking. Or trying to.
I'm not sure yet if these little drabble are truly chronological yet, due to them being… fragments of thought. But they are cannon. Anything that happens in these happens between the characters and influences the story.
Sorry for the fake out by the way. I enjoy dropping little drabbles though, and I may add more between chapters. I'm teasing out the next chapter, but since I'm using and involving Solemn, who's another writers OC, I'm conversing with her to make sure that I get Solemn's personality and everything else right. Just a paranoia thing.
Solemn's presence is also cannon, and important in William's story. So she can't be replaced or substituted. I hope you all like her, as well as William.
My next drabble will hopefully be Leo and Sandra. Or maybe a girls night… I'll have to see.