Feeling the warmth from someone's hand on his shoulder, Toby nearly jumping out of his skin as he snaps his head towards Brian, a 'Don't move-' leaving the older man's mouth as Toby's eyebrows knit together, Tim coming into the room with a wad of toilet paper and Toby wasn't even sure when the other even left the room honestly. ' There we go-' Tim starts, a hand under Toby's chin moving his face towards him before placing the wad of toilet paper against his nose. ' are you alright ?' Tim adds and all Toby could do was shrug, he was prone to nosebleeds since he turned 16. Something he was familiar with, especially with his mom or Lyra pulling him off to the side to help with it. He felt fully, head feeling numb and static slowly creeping its way into his brain as he closed his eyes fluttering close. He's been to the ranch several times, even would camp out here during the summer months when he helped Brian's family out with the animals yet he felt strange, weird even. His eyes flutter open as Brian pats his shoulder, getting Toby's attention back as he raises an eyebrow at the other. ' you've been really quiet tonight, are you alright?' He begins his voice lower than normal as Tim slowly moves the wad of toilet paper away from Toby's nose. ' yeah just tired honestly,' he was half telling the truth, slowly licking over his chapped lips before swallowing hard. He couldn't exactly tell them what was going on, in fact Toby really didn't know how to even explain it honestly. He couldn't sit here and say his head was full of static, a slight whispering sound that confused Toby on what it was exactly saying.
He watches the two look at each other before both getting up, Tim leaving the room before coming back with a damp washcloth. ' Well if you need to you can go ahead and head to the loft, I have everything up there already for you and Jack,' he starts back up, breaking the silence that lingers between them. Toby nods softly as Tim hands him the cloth, placing it back to his nose before cleaning around the area. ' There we go- ' Toby begins, handing the washcloth back to Tim, ' I might — I might go ahead and lay down,' he repeats softly, nodding at the two before leaving the bedroom and towards the big living room. Heather peaks up first, a soft grin plastered on her face as she adjusts the covers that are laid at her hip and now onto her shoulders. She looked sleepy and Toby knew everyone would be heading to bed soon anyways, it's not like he was going to miss anything. He slowly circles around the large couch before stopping in front of Heather first, giving her a small kiss before making his way to Jack and doing the same. He grins at both, softly bringing a hand up before rubbing the back of his own neck. ' I'm heading to bed, jack do you want to join or are you staying up?' He adds softly watching the male get off the couch before wrapping his arms around his stomach. His chin resting on top of his head as Toby grins wider. ' I'll take that as a yes-' he teases softly, gently leading both him and Jack towards the door before putting on shoes.
Brian comes into the room, slowly making his way towards both boys before ruffling their hair gently, giving them a quick peck to the forehead before moving away. He wasn't one for affection really though he showed affection in his own way, doing small things. He opens the door for the two of them and Toby gently grabs the male's hand before leading him outside and towards the big red barn. He holds Jack's hands softly running his thumb along the others knuckles softly as he gently pushes the barn door open more for them to squeeze in. Toby slowly makes it about half way towards the middle of the room before letting go of Jack's hand, helping him up on the small wooden ladder before following him up to the loft. Brian did a good job with making sure the boys were going to be alright, plenty of covers as well as the big air mattress that he kept in the attic. He watches Jack climb towards the bed, kicking off his boots before climbing into the bed. Toby soon climbs up before taking off his old converses, slowly climbing in bed before shuffling under the covers. Jack reaches up before pulling at the string to the lightbulb that hangs above them, lights going out as they are engulfed in darkness though at the same time with being far from the city the stars seemed brighter than back home.
Toby lays on his side looking out the large door that stayed open to haul up hay when they needed to store some for the colder months. Jack scooted behind him, arms wrapping around his stomach before pulling Toby closer to him. He grins and gently leans against the male, eyes fluttering close as you both drift off to sleep.
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It was around 2 am when Toby woke up in a cold sweat, sitting up straight as he looked around the room frantically. It takes him a few moments to calm himself down and steady his breathing before he brings his hands up and rubs at his eyes and face. It wasn't until the male moved his hands down and looked down at his hands when he noticed that his nose was bleeding once again, he could have gotten down from the loft and gone back into the house. Brian made sure to keep the back door open for emergencies like that or if the boys needed to use the bathroom or even grab more covers if they needed. Instead Toby takes off his shirt before bunching it up and pressing that to his nose, a shaky huff leaving him as he closes his eyes. He just wanted to rest, wake up feeling ok instead of feeling the way that he was. Toby slowly kicks off the covers making sure to not disturb Jack as he slowly gets off the air mattress before sitting between the two big doors on the side of the barn. The night air felt cool against his skin as he looked out into the wooded area of the ranch, the familiar feeling from before began to bubble up like before. The nosebleed to the weird feeling of not feeling real the male knew it wouldn't be long till the familiar static begins to take shelter in his mind. It starts as a fuzzy feeling before he begins to hear the whispering of something in the static, the male's eyebrows knitting together as he closes his eyes.
It wasn't long till the air changed and everything went still, the hair on Toby's neck stood up as his eyes shot open. He quickly goes to scoot more into the barn before fully freezing up, mouth opening to a 'o' shape as he continues to look out into the woods. Coming just out of the woods was a tall figure, too tall to be human really and too skinny, having a black long body and a white face. He couldn't exactly make out any of the features the thing might have on its face or body but soon he sees these long thick tentacle-like appendices wiggling it's way from behind the things back moving in each and every way. Toby couldn't speak nor form any words or even scream at this point too shocked from seeing the thing. The creature or whatever it might be didnt move though the tentacles seemed to have a mind of their own as they continued to wiggle and move.
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Toby didn't even realize that the sun was coming up and the shuffling of covers behind him meant that Jack was awake. Feeling the warm hands of the other seemed to snap Toby back, nearly jumping out of his skin the male goes to let out a small scream. Jack had a worried look on his face as he studied Toby, Toby of course had no idea what happened, brown eyes looking over green ones before Toby turned his body towards the door opening once again. He didn't see the thing from last night, nor any traces of it that he could see from the barn, maybe having to go near the area to really have a look. Though the idea of being that close to where the thing was made him nauseated and nervous, not knowing if the thing was dangerous or even could hurt their little family that they had going on. The male knew he needed to talk to Brian about it, to keep everyone safe as well as the animals that Brian had, thought would he sound crazy? Would they actually believe him or push it off to Toby having an episode ?
' Toby, Toby, hey love —' Jack starts once again grabbing the male's shoulder causing him to jump like before. ' huh— I'm not sure—' he starts, voice small as he avoids the male's eyes. ' I'm not — I might have to go home.' He adds anxiously, gently moving more towards Jack before leaning on him. ' I'll call Lyra, come on let's go into the house alright,' Jack starts softly, rubbing the males back in small circles as he feels Toby gently grab onto his shirt. Jack slowly pulls away from the other, slowly grabbing one of the covers off the bed before draping it over Toby's back and shoulders who gently wraps it around his chest and stomach. Toby slowly follows Jack towards the old wooden ladder before climbing down it, Jack holding his hand out for Toby to grab as they make their way towards the house. Toby at times couldn't help but to pause and look behind him, eyes searching for the spot that it stood in till the barn got in the way as they grew closer to the house. Jack opens the door and allows Toby to step in first, a gentle hand pressing to the small of his back as he enters right after Toby did before closing the door behind him. He gently leads toward halfway across the kitchen before pausing once seeing Brian walk in, pausing, the male makes his way over towards them before looking at Toby then at jack. ' What's up with you two?' He starts causally, crossing his arms over his chest before shifting lightly. ' I need — I need to call Lyra—' Toby mutters softly, Jack going to open his mouth before closing it as he tries to find the right words to say. Brian's eyebrows knit together before he makes his way across the kitchen and into the living room, hearing now two sets of footsteps and low whispering soon he comes back with Heather who gently wrap her arms around Toby, trembling he could only lean against her softly as Brian nods at the tree before going back into the living room. Toby was tired and out of it, head still full of static as he closed his eyes and attempted to steady his breathing though he could feel himself trembling in the female's grasp to which both Jack and Heather began to rub at his back and hair once again.
' She just woke up, it might be a moment,' Brian's voice breaks through the silence of the kitchen and all Toby could do was look up at him. ' But she's on the way-' he adds, making his way across the kitchen before standing in front of the three before gently reaching out to grab the male's shoulders. ' while we wait how about I make breakfast, maybe that could take your mind off of it?' He begins softly, slowly taking a few steps back before leading Toby to the kitchen table, he allows Jack to gently set the male down before getting into the booth next to him. Heather slowly makes her way behind Brian before taking a set on the other side of Toby. Brian nods and begins to pull out pans before heading to the fridge, slowly taking out various things before putting them on the kitchen island. He grabs a few mixing bowls and some spoons before going to work on measuring various ingredients before adding them together in a white bowl, soon mixing everything together to create a thick paste. As Brian cooks Toby gently goes to lean his head down against the table, eyes fluttering close as Heather gently rubs small circles on his back. Jack slowly adjusted the blanket wrapped around the male, covering him up a bit more before gently placing a soft kiss to his cheek.
It takes a bit but soon Brian comes back with a stack of pancakes and a few paper plates for everyone, soon moving back to the kitchen island he grabs the butter and the syrup before coming back to the table and sitting next to Heather as he places the items down. ' You can rest on the couch if you need to honey,' the female behinds slowly moving her hand away before gently cupping Brian's face and kissing him, a grin tugs at both of their lips before Brian lets out a soft laugh. ' Thank you love, I'll help you clean up once everyone is finished,' she adds, going to grab one before slowly eating it, she leans on Brian who gently wraps an arm around her midsection as he grabs a pancake and takes a bite out of it. Jack soon grabs a pancake, placing it on the paper plate before cutting it into smaller chunks for him and Toby, who slowly lifts his head up once Brian sits down. Brown eyes studied them both before turning his attention to Jack as he gently held a piece up to Toby's mouth, Toby of course taking a small bite of it before chewing and swallowing it. He takes small bites since he really didn't have an appetite really, feeling rather drained and just overall weird but he slowly goes to sit up right before swallowing hard. ' do you — see things in the woods sometimes,' an odd question yet something that needed to be said regardless, like he thought it did make everyone pause and stare at him, his cheeks heating up in embarrassment as he looks down at his lap.
' What do you mean—' Brian starts slowly, almost like he was hiding something though it could be due to the male waking up a bit ago or at least that's what Toby tells himself. Brian wouldn't hide anything weird towards them right ? They all have been to the ranch before for parties and just taking a break from their college classes like now. If anything was to happen Brian would let them know, right? ' I mean — I'm not sure how to even explain it honestly,' he starts almost wanting to change the subject as he licks over chapped lips. ' it's this figure —' he adds slowly, ' I'm not really sure what I was looking at if I'm going to be honest, hell I'm not even sure where to begin but it's this dark tall figure, it has these, things coming out of its back and they were moving while it just stood there,' he trails off once noticing how Brian and Heather looked at one another, heather gently going to place her hand on his thigh before squeezing it, a warning and Brian knew that as he swallows thickly. Jack pauses and raises an eyebrow at them, crossing his arms over his chest before lowering them onto the table. ' do you — you know what I'm talking about?' He questions and Brian could feel Heather's fingers slowly tracing the brand she left on his thigh as Toby spoke, it was a warning and Brian knew that, knowing to choose over his words carefully. That and /it/ wouldn't exactly be happy with its new proxy knowing a bit too much then what he needed to at the moment. It made it easier to just explain everything when the time was right and Toby finally joined the others in the creatures bidding.
' I'm not too sure what you're talking about bud, but are you sure that's what you saw? Maybe it was the trees swaying ?' Brian begins earning a soft squeeze to his thigh from the female, she so casually uses her free hand to grab another pancake before taking small bites of it. ' but it —' he pauses eyebrows knitting together before he lets out a annoyed sigh, ' I don't think trees move that way— I /know/ what I saw—' he says in a low voice as he looks back down at his lap, Brian slowly looks at Heather before sighing out softly, Heather glaring at him then turning to look at toby. ' Maybe it's due to lack of sleep, hunny. Maybe you should go lay down on the couch, I'm sure Jack will join you ?' She adds as she glances at Jack who's eyebrows stayed knitted together. Something was off, they knew something that both him and Toby didn't know about, though at the same time they could be right about it all — but why did Heather glare at Brian like that. Jack nods softly as he moves out of the booth as Toby follows him, grabbing his hand as the two go across the kitchen before leaving the room. Toby climbs on the couch and Jack follows, as he gets comfortable Toby soon lays his head down on the male's lap before curling up into a tight ball. Jack gently strokes his hair and side as he leans back against the soft couch. Of course Jack was worried, confused even about what the two had going on back in the kitchen. Did they know what Toby was talking about? Why brush it off if it bugged Toby so badly? Jack shakes his head slightly before sighing out, feeling Toby slip a hand between the others legs before shifting ever so slightly. Jack of course tensed up before ruffling the males hair softly earning a small huff from the other on his lap. Jack soon settles back down on the couch, allowing his eyes to flutter close before soon dozing off along with the other.
Brian waits till the living room to get quiet again, the small sounds of shifting is heard as he turns his attention towards the arch dividing the living room from the kitchen before turning his back to Heather. ' it's starting,' he begins softly, voice barely above a whisper as he places his hand on hers, don't get him wrong he /had/ to do this. This was his job after all and they both knew that, they knew the process was going to be hard to watch especially with it being one of your /loved/ one's going through it. They knew that when they added both Toby and jack to their relationship, he'll Brian having to watch Tim go through the same thing was heartbreaking and they met in middle school. ' I'm guessing it's going to take a bit of course but the boss noticed our next member and started the process. It's going to be a waiting game now—' he adds gently, going to squeeze her hand before frowning. Brian usually wasn't out when it comes to stuff like this, they both knew that, it was hoodys job after all to take care of whatever the boss might need done. He was his right hand man, the guard dog if you really thought about it. Both him and Tim were the oldest and went through hell and back to become proxies, so did Heather who lost everyone close to her including her own ex husband and child before becoming a proxy. It was normal, or as normal as you can make it despite it being extremely fucked up. Brian sighs out again and turns his body towards the opening of the booth before climbing out of it, gently moving his hand away from heathers before making his way towards the island, gathering all the stuff that he dirtied up for breakfast before taking them to the sink and dumping them inside. Turning on hot water now the male lets the sink fill up, adding dish soap to the tuning water before shaking his hand into the water to create tons of suds.
' it's going to be alright-' he starts, mostly needing to hear it for himself as Heather climbs out of the booth, slowly going to join the male at the sink before grabbing a rag and dunking it into the sink water. She does it a few times before washing the counters next to Brian, a hand on the small of his back as she passes him from behind to get to the other counter to the right of him. Her touch was comforting, Brian having to stop himself from leaning into her touch as he began to wash the dishes, humming low to himself mostly. Heather soon reaches over him, Brian slowly taking a step back as she dunks her rag back into the soapy water, soon going to wring it out before holding it under the faucet this time. Letting the rag get soaked before re-wiping the counters once again, this time going to the island before cleaning as Brian moves back to his original spot. As Brian finishes up he rinses off everything before putting the dishes into the dish rack, soon going to stick his hand into the now gross water and pull the plug. ' There we go, ' watching Heather finish up before re-rinsing her rag and putting it up Brian turns his attention to the dior once hearing a few loud knocks on it. ' hold on—' his voice was louder this time as heather follows him to the door, pushing the curtains to the side before spotting the familiar blonde that was Toby's sister.