Vincent was the first thing Talon saw the second time he awoke that afternoon. He stared at the handsome man curiously. He must have been the one who gave him this bed. "Ah…" Talon's whimsical voice was barely audible as he tried to speak.
The plate of food that was being set before him reminded him of bloody flesh. The thought made him feel queasy. He shook his head at the steak with a grim expression painted on his face.
"Please, eat."
Talon looked up at the sound of Vincent's velvet smooth voice. Although he still couldn't understand human speech the pleading look in Vincent's eyes spoke for themselves. The synthetic warrior stared at the man only a moment more before looking to the food again.
He poked at the meat playfully and sniffed it in an analytical manner. Then, he stuck out his tongue in an effort to taste it. The succulent flavors of the steak appealed to Talon's taste buds, making his mouth water but the feeling only lasted for a few seconds. Moments later, he was hissing in disgust.
Vincent merely stared. Talon's behavior seemed to amuse him in a way. Without thinking, he reached out to touch Talon's face.
Out of fear, Talon immediately recoiled. He was like frightened cat. With one quick, clumsy movement, Talon reeled back towards the edge of the bed and slipped onto the floor. He gave a small squeal as gravity pulled him, and the sheets, down onto the dusty floor. Vincent was left stunned by Talon's quick movement.
As Talon's fingers clawed into the floorboards, Vincent reached around to help give assistance. With his left hand, he grabbed Talon's arm and – despite further protest – pulled the naïve man to his feet. There was a sudden tension in the air. With only the sheets bundled sloppily around his waist, Talon felt very vulnerable.
Vincent sensed Talon's fear almost immediately. "No need for that here." He said quietly in a reassuring voice. "They're not going to find you here." The words slipped into Talon's ear slowly, making him understand. The older man stood still and awaited the warrior's response with steady patience. However, when Talon laid his head on Vincent's shoulder, it was his turn to get tense.
"Here… Stay here." Talon mumbled into the red cloak. His narrow eyes trailed to the open window. Outside, the sky was a dreary yet pleasant grey that was speckled with natural sunlight. Clouds tumbled over each other in a graceful manner, captivating the younger man.
Vincent, feeling quite uncomfortable, tried to pull the warrior away. Talon wrapped his scrawny little arm around his captor's waist in an effort to hold on. The sheet fell to the floor in a crumpled heap. This made things even more uncomfortable. "Talon, let go. Now."
Talon shook his head.
"I said, 'let go.'" Vincent gave a large shove but the warrior would not budge.
Talon shook his head again and whimpered quietly. He was determined to hold hid ground.
A growl threatened to rise up Vincent's tight throat. He felt like he reprimanding a small child but truly, that's all Talon was. With little regret, the older man grabbed Talon by the hair and tugged hard on the thin black strands, rewarding him with another loud whimper. Slowly, the warrior peeled himself off Vincent who put him back into bed without any further protest.
"Stay, Talon." Vincent said forcefully as he grabbed the plate of unfinished food and left the room. After Talon's little stunt in his bedroom, he was too moody to even think. As soon as he was in the large, expanding hallway, the plate was flung into the wall with a simple flick of the wrist. One of the creatures would come get it later.
Talon stayed in the room for three days straight. He refused to eat any of the meat Vincent repeatedly brought home for him. Apparently, he was angered by the host of the mansion but there was nothing he could do. On the fourth day however, his hunger grew to be too much.
Sluggish in his movements the warrior slinked out of the now destroyed bed and walked about the room. He sniffed the air in search of Vincent's scent but he only caught a faint whiff. It was coming from the closet. Curious, he walked over to it and went to open it. The door flew open as a swarm of bats came from inside. They circled Talon in violent vortex of flapping wings and beady red eyes. Their lust for blood was a strong but… Talon himself had none. Finding nothing of interest, the bats roosted up onto Vincent's bed.
The closet, now bat free, was quite sparse. Only a few white button ups and a crisp black suit wrapped in plastic. Sensing the suit's importance, Talon reached for one of the white shirts and struggled at the buttons with his teeth. A few of the bats flew from the bedroom ceiling and back into the closet, watching Talon with something close to amusement. When he was finally successful, he found that the shirt barely scraped his thin upper thighs. However, he strutted shamelessly into the hallway with a few of the bats clinging to his shoulders.
The marble floor felt cool beneath Talon's warm feet. He hadn't noticed the lingering blisters until he finally stepped out the room. One of the smaller bats chattered restlessly in his ear like an excited child but the vicious growl from Talon's stomach shut it up. He sniffed the air and allowed himself to take in the entire atmosphere before setting off on his journey to the kitchen.
All around, the creatures in the mansion lurked behind the corners, Talon's scent enticing their strong senses. They knew he must have been one of them. That animalistic musk clinging to the man's skin certainly wasn't human. Heavy velvet curtains rustled as if the wind was being dragged from under it as life began to creep from its hidden slumber.
"Vincent, you can't keep coming in here just to talk. I'm not a therapist." Cloud said hastily before Vincent could continue to ramble on. Once again, he had arrived at 7th Heaven to get something to eat for his house guest. However, every time Cloud entered Vincent made him sit and talk. He sounded like a father worrying over his teenage child. Frankly, it was straight up scary.
"Then who am I supposed to talk to?" Vincent asked, staring at the plate of steamed vegetables in front of him.
"What about Tifa?" Cloud suggested with subtle indifference. Both men turned to look at her. She waved at them kindly.
"But I don't want to talk to Tifa." Vincent replied, catching the woman's disappointed expression just as he turned away. The two of them then fell silent. The tension inside the bar was growing into a mold of nostalgia to retreat. The clock upstairs chimed twice. It was already two o'clock.
"You should go check on him before that food gets cold." Cloud said. He slid from atop his barstool and began to head for the stairs. Vincent followed suit, heading for the door.
After close to 30 minutes of searching after Vincent got home, he finally found Talon. He was curled up on his dark kitchen island with an empty box of stale cookies. Every cabinet door was either hanging off its hinges or lay askew on the floor. Then… there were the bats.
Instinctively, Vincent pulled out his beloved gun and aimed for the kill. Talon, hearing the click of the gun, awoke just as Vincent tried to shoot down his little friends. The man sat up quickly and flailed his arms in a way that was meant to capture attention. Caught off guard, the pale finger pulled the trigger at an off angle.
The bats scattered. Talon watched with trepidation in his eyes as one of the bats fell limply from one of open cabinets. Vincent had clipped its left wing. Talon let out a squeal of remorse and leapt from the island. He scooped up the poor creature into his palms and examined it carefully. The gloomy gaze pasted on Talon's face sent a pang of guilt to Vincent's cold heart. The man looked as though he was going to cry.
"Talon?" Vincent raised his voice cautiously.
The soft, pained expression on Talon's face itself distorted into one of anger and rage. His head swiveled violently. His gaze was fixed into a death glare and he was staring straight at Vincent. The dull glow of neon green turned bright red. Something inside the warrior had been awoken and whatever it was wasn't pleasant.
Everything became still. Nothing seemed to move. Even Vincent was still. He couldn't move as he stared. Talon was ready to attack but, as he reached for his gun, his hands were shaking. He couldn't do it. Why couldn't he do it? His heart began to pound at an alarming pace. Why?
Then, Talon attacked. Vincent just couldn't react…. But Chaos could. Before the younger man could even lay a finger Vincent, Chaos had taken control and caught him by the neck. Talon gagged as he was roughly taken by the neck. His arms went limp and all the rage within him turned to fear. Flailing hopelessly in Chaos's grip he could do nothing.
A grimace arose on those pale grey lips. "Wonder where he picked you up." Slowly, he turned Talon's face to the face, examining him closely. "Should've killed you on the spot you scrawny mutt…" Chaos got closer and took in the exotic scent. It sounded as if his breath had been taken away. "But I can use you for something else."
Talon was let go. He fell to the floor with a harsh thud. Coughing violently, he tried to crawl away. Chaos grabbed a hold of one of his ankles and dragged him back. "Don't be stubborn." He whispered as he got onto his knees. With one fluid motion, Talon was laid out on the cold tile floor. He flinched at the feeling of the barrel of the gun trail down his back then stop at his exposed bottom. "Instead of killing 'Talon', I think I'll just fuck you."