AN: Another week to-
Teal: Maaaaark! Your Backstory is more interesting than mine! Scale it back! Nobody wants to read my Chapters!
Mark: You're the one intruding on my Origin Story. Not my fault you're boring.
Teal: (T_T)
RISES IN THE EAST
[Mark]
"Morning, roomy~"
For the first few seconds after discovering Teal_Larkspur was sleeping in a bed beside his, Mark just gawked at her, looking like his brain jammed. Most of that time was spent connecting the dots and realizing that his dream of getting kidnapped by cultists and brought to an island to compete in Teal's Survival Games wasn't a dream at all. After that, his brain reminded him that that same woman was in his home, still beside him, calling him 'roomy'. That's when his body reacted.
"Oh my God!" He shouted, rolling out of bed and dropping to the floor awkwardly before shooting up and backing away. "What are you doing here!? Get out of my apartment!"
Mark's initial reaction was fueled by surprise and anger, but not fear. Never fear. He knew Teal was a cultist and knew how brutal she could be. He knew she could beat him to death with a smile, but he had no reason to be afraid of that. No person who sought death feared the grim reaper. He was, however, confused why she broke into the comfort of his home, put down a bed, and slept next to him. That and why he was still alive if everything that happened truly happened.
Still in bed, Teal bent her knees and rested her arms on them, her chin resting over them, as she grinned at Mark. "Is that any way to talk to your new roommate?"
"My new...? Are you crazy!? No, don't answer that. I have a better question." Mark stuck a finger at the woman. "Why am I still alive? You were supposed to kill me!"
Teal's legs slid out of bed as she stood up. She gathered her long, free hair in both hands and willed her pink band back on to tie it into her signature ponytail.
"I changed my mind." She shrugged before taking in the apartment with a critical eye. "You know, I thought this when I first carried you here, but your apartment is kinda small. This is worth two incomes?"
"Excuse me, you carried me here?"
"Yeah. Gave you your stuff back too. You've been in and out for two days." Teal revealed. "Not your fault. I had to keep choking you out while you were in our super-secret base. Very hush hush, you know. Can't have you seeing things you shouldn't. Anyway, during that time I had my guys look into you. Took a lot of research to find out your address, your jobs - plural, what a nightmare - your friends, or lack thereof-"
"Yes, I'm a nobody. I know." Mark said brusquely.
"Well, after I learned all that, I carried you here and tucked you into bed before turning in myself." Teal's stomach chose that moment to growl. "I could go for some breakfast. So could you, now I think of it - you haven't eaten in days. What kind of food do you got here?" She opened up the chest in the kitchen and peered inside.
"Don't make yourself at home in my home!" Mark snapped, walking over and grabbing the girl by the shoulders. Her eyes gleamed dangerously, but he didn't care. What could she do, kill him? He then started pushing her towards the door. "If you aren't going to kill me, you can just leave."
"There you go again." Teal twirled out of his grasp and took his back, holding his shoulders with her superior strength. Mark couldn't budge. "With all that downer 'kill yourself' talk. Life is fun and exciting. What makes someone want to end their own life?" She peered over his shoulder to squint at him. "I want to know. And until I find out, I'm going to follow you around and get a glimpse into the life of MarkAble." She released him with a smile. "So consider me your new roomy, roomy~"
Mark couldn't believe what he was hearing from this woman. He took a step back as he tried to put everything into perspective. The crazy, backwards perspective that only his fucked-up life could breed.
"So let me see if I've got this right." He brought his hands together as if praying. "An Endward Cultist, who should be all about killing Crafters - and has demonstrated her willingness to do so - suddenly has a change of heart and decides NOT to kill the one guy who's okay with getting killed. Instead, she calls off her whole Survival Games, brings the guy back to his home, and then one-sidedly decides to bunk with him as some sort of social experiment!?"
Teal's eyes went to the ceiling as she considered his words. "Right about everything except for calling off the Survival Games. I didn't call it off. I hunted them all down the same day it began. Here, heads up." She tossed something to him which he caught before dropping in disgust.
It was a Head. Specifically belonging to one of the captives he remembered seeing in the Games.
"That guy was the last one I found. He was hiding underground." Teal shook her head. "Kinda anticlimactic, but hey, that means you're the grand winner of the 58th Annual Survival Games~!" She congratulated in a sing-song voice. "You got off the island, alive. First time that's ever happened. Like, ever. Good job! Your prize is me as your roommate~! Aren't you so lucky~?"
"...You're just jerking me around, aren't you?"
"Hm?"
"You." Mark spat. "You're just messing with me. Toying with me. Denying me the one thing I want. Even when what I want should match what you and your cultists want!" Frustration boiled inside Mark. "Don't you peddle that whole 'Next Life' bullshit? Well, I'm trying to get to the next life by ending this one. You should honor that!"
Teal wrinkled her nose. "Just because I'm a cultist doesn't mean I believe in that garbage. I just like working with them because it gives me an excuse to hunt Crafters. It's a game - the Survival Games largescale. I feel most alive when I'm taking lives."
"Then take mine!" Mark begged.
Teal stuck her nose in the air and folded her arms. "Don't wanna."
"You're screwing with me!" Mark shouted, nearly tearing his hair out. "You take pleasure busting my chops like this. Well, I can bust chops too! See if I can't ruin your day!"
"Oh~?" She asked with a raised brow.
"I can report you to the guards." Mark threatened. "A high-ranking cultist responsible for the recent disappearances? They'd love to nail you to the wall. Same with those fifteen cultists who were there at the Games. The island where it's all going down. And then your secret base!" Teal's eyes widened in shock. "That's right. Didn't think I was cognizant enough for that? Well, I was. I saw everything. I'll blow the whole thing open."
"No way..." Teal whispered breathlessly. "You were awake to see our base under the Border?"
"That's right!"
A smug smile spread across Teal's face. "You don't know anything~"
"How's that?"
"Because our base isn't under the Border~" She teased, pulling his cheek.
Mark cursed for falling for such an easy word trap. "Fine. I didn't see it. But I know you and those cultists! That's enough to get you arrested. Maybe even executed. I'm going to report you right now."
"Oh, yeah? Hmhmm~" She sat back on the bed and crossed her legs. "Awfully nice of you to forewarn me."
"I'll do it." Mark swore, taking another step to the door. Teal made no motion to stop him. "You're about to become the most wanted person in Oak Docks."
"Are you trying to get me to silence you?" Teal correctly guessed. "Because nothing is gonna make me kill you. Not until I find out what makes your life so unbearable to live with."
Mark narrowed his eyes. "Not even if I call you a bitch?"
Teal's eyes narrowed.
"You're a bitch, Teal_Larkspur." Mark spoke the words with relish. "A murderous, psycho bitch who takes pleasure in busting chops. Bitch, bitch, bitch." Mark cocked his head challenging. "You don't let anyone get away with calling you a bitch, do you? Isn't that what you said before?"
Teal's tongue poked the inside of her cheek as she flashed Mark a dangerous smile. "You shouldn't say such things to your new roomy. We're going to be spending a lot of time together, and there's no telling what I might do to pay back such compliments. I'm gonna make you regret those words, not by killing you, but in a way that'll really stick."
Mark glared at her for a long moment before turning to the door. "I'm reporting you. Last chance to kill me."
"Get me some breakfast while you're downstairs." Teal waved carelessly before lounging back on her bed. "Something filling and meaty."
Mark opened his mouth, closed it, and then exited the apartment, slamming the door behind him as he left.
Going down the stairs to the restaurant Rosalio's, Mark was ready to locate the first guard he could find before his stomach gave a great rumble. Right. Food. He hadn't eaten in three days.
He took out his feeble supply of emeralds and ordered a meal of steak, baked potatoes, and apples. As soon as it came out, hot and steaming, he devoured it. The other restaurant patrons mistook him for a blender with how ravenously he shredded through his meal. He scarfed down every morsel until his Hunger Meter was back to full. After that, he exited the restaurant to look for a guard, pausing only to glance up at his apartment window. Teal was there, waving cheekily at him and pulling exaggerated faces. He bit down his frustration, forced his eyes forward, and ran off to find a guard.
He didn't have to go far. Two guards in cyan-dyed leather caps were stationed at an intersection of the docks. Mark saw them and was about to approach before he considered what he'd say.
As much as he would have loved to get Teal arrested and out of his apartment - a fine payback for refusing to kill him - he acknowledged that he didn't really have any proof she was a cultist besides his word. The guards wouldn't accept that, and that was probably why Teal was so relaxed about it.
Or maybe, she was relaxed because she was planning to hide somewhere else, so that when Mark brought the guards, he would be bringing them to an empty apartment. The guards would think it was a prank or a waste of time and Mark would lose credibility. Then Teal would pop back in, having won one over on the alchemist. He could just envision that smug, bitch face of hers.
So what was he to do? He had to get the guards to help, but he had to explain it in a way that ensured he wouldn't lose their trust, and that would cover anything Teal would try.
Settling on something, he stepped forward and beckoned the guards to listen.
"What can we do for you, citizen?" The first one, a skinny male, demanded.
"Hello, officers. I came to report someone breaking and entering into my apartment." Mark started.
"Very well." The other guard, a portly male, took out a book and quill. "When did this occur?"
"Well, it's sort of happening as we speak." Mark pointed to his apartment over Rosario's. "There when I woke up, and I don't know them. I came straight here, hoping you could help."
"Well, you did the right thing coming to the guards, sir." The skinny guard nodded. "We'll help remove the guy immediately."
"Oh, it's not a guy." Mark corrected. "It's a woman."
"A woman?" The chunky guard asked.
"Yeah, I woke up and she was sleeping next to me. She broke into my apartment, and she won't leave."
"Oh," the thin guard scratched his chin, "bu-but she's ugly, right?"
"Well, no, not really. But that's not the point! I want her removed from my home."
"You're saying she's not ugly." The fat guard asked. "What are we talking here on the looks scale? A seven, an eight, a nine?"
"I don't know! I just-"
"Is she hot?"
"What's the difference!?"
"So some hot woman broke into your house to sleep with you?" The lardass guard summarized.
"Yes."
"...Nice." The guard nodded, impressed.
"Nice." The skinny guard echoed.
"What? No, you don't understand-"
"Hey, Caisey! Rupert! Get over here!" The thick guard called two other guards over. "This guy says a woman broke into his place and slept with him. And get this, she's not ugly."
"Really?" The guard named Rupert asked. "Nice."
"Nice." Caisey echoed.
"Nice." The thin guard did the same.
"Does she look exotic?" Caisey asked.
"I mean, her hair is blue, but we should really-"
"Blue-haired chick? Nice." Caisey nodded appreciatively.
"Nice."
"Niccccccce."
"Can you please just help me?" Mark snapped. "She's causing a disturbance!"
"Is she wearing anything kinky?"
"PLEASE!"
"Sorry, sorry. You're right. We should deal with this in person... and see her kinky wear for ourselves."
"We'll come too." Rupert and Caisey volunteered while Mark just groaned. "Lead on."
Okay, so things didn't go quite as planned, but Mark led the four guards back to his building, through Rosario's, and up the steps to his meager apartment. He peered through the door to verify that Teal was still in the room before he opened it.
"There she is, officers." Mark pointed, Teal straightening up out of bed and flashing a grin.
"Hello, boys~" She greeted with a flirty lilt.
"...Niccccccce."
"Fishnet Stockings. Nice."
"Ni-"
"Stop that!" Mark snapped. "Please remove her from the premises."
"Aw, has my roomy been telling stories about me~?" Teal challenged.
"My landlord will tell you I have no roommate." Mark had his answer ready. "I'm not allowed them as per our signed rent agreement. She's breaking and entering."
"Right, right. Miss, I'm afraid we're going to have to ask you to leave." The thin guard warned. Teal arched a brow.
"Just breaking and entering? That's chicken feed. I'm an influential cultist." She admitted to Mark's and the guards' astonishment. "If you're going to charge me, get it right. I'm behind the disappearances too."
The guards armed themselves. "Miss, if that's a true confession, you're to put your hands up and surrender now."
"How about I put up my fists and show you something flashier~"
That was all the warning Teal gave before she darted in with fists flying. The guards raised their swords, but Teal strafed to the side, her foot coming up to lash out at one guard's throat, silencing him. While he choked to regain breath, Teal fastened her hands around the throats of two other guards and squeezed to crush their larynxes before slamming their heads into the floor. Finally, her eyes zeroed in on the last guard who could shout. He took in a great lungful of air to cry out a warning to the patrons below, but Teal silenced him with a devastating right hook that shattered his lower jaw and muffled his yell.
With everyone effectively silenced, Teal went around punching and kicking the guards to break arms, legs, noses, ribs, skulls, and other bones. The guards were quickly disarmed, and the swords skittered to Mark's feet as he backed away in horror at what he was witnessing. It was one thing to see her beat up a civilian, but these were trained guards. Four of them. Yet she was handling them with ease. Grinning happily.
Two of them were lucky and were knocked out not long after the 'fight' began, but the fat guard and Rupert were beaten to a pulp while conscious, piteous whines sounding from battered throats. Voices that would never be heard over the hustle and bustle of Rosario's breakfast rush.
Finally, Teal stomped the four guards out of existence, their gear spilling all over Mark's floor. The alchemist was sat against the wall, his eyes wide at how one-sided the fight had been. Just how strong was this woman?
Teal prodded at the Heads with one foot, laughing amusedly to herself before she sashayed over to Mark. She stooped down to eye level and gave him a bright smile.
"That was easy~" Teal remarked. "No witnesses either! Thanks, Mark~! Couldn't have done it without you~"
"It's... Mark..." He said dazedly.
"Hm? Isn't that what I said?"
Mark paused, realizing it had been what she said. She got his name right. She didn't mistake him for Matt like so many others.
"You-"
There was a sharp knocking at the door that had Mark and Teal's heads jerking. They took one look at the apartment filled with the gear of fallen Crafters and made decisions.
"Coming~! Teal sing-songed, her knuckles cracking dangerously. She had the bloodlust. Fresh from her first four kills, she was going to kill again.
Mark shot up faster and raced to the door, Teal right after him. He got there first, however, and cracked it open while blocking his room from sight.
"Mr. Mayhew!" Mark greeted overexuberantly. It was very out of character for him, as the landlord no doubt noticed. The rotund man narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
"Matt. I came here because I heard you brought a lot of guards stomping through my restaurant. And was that a woman I heard in there with you?" He tried to look inside over Mark's shoulder but for Mark lifting himself to block his sight. "You're not doing anything to violate our contract, are you? You know you can't have a woman staying over."
"No, no! Nothing's going on here!" Mark hastily denied, even while Teal was leaning on his back.
"Then you wouldn't mind if I performed an inspection?" Mr. Mayhew suggested. "Put my mind at ease."
Mark absolutely would have minded, considering that as soon as Mr. Mayhew saw the gear and Heads, he'd flip out and Teal would kill him the same as the guards. Mark didn't particularly like the guy who constantly hassled him for rent, but he didn't deserve to die. Not like Mark wanted to.
As Mark struggled for an excuse, Teal took it upon herself to lean her face next to Mark's and greet Mr. Mayhew with a beaming smile. "Good morning, Mr. Mayhew. You must be the landlord I've heard so much about~"
Mr. Mayhew blinked in blank surprise before he suddenly grew angry! "MATT! THIS IS A VIOLATION OF OUR CONTRACT! WOMEN CAN'T STAY OVER!"
"She's... she's not staying over!" Mark pleaded. "I'm not doing anything untoward with her either! We're... we're just... friends...?" The word came out awkward and unsure, but it surprised Teal who whimsically decided to play along rather than add another Head to the pile.
"That's right, we're friends. Good friends." She reached an arm around Mark and squeezed him against her. Now it was both of their bodies blocking Mr. Mayhew from seeing the inside. "My good pal Mark here was trying to help me get a place of my own. Was wondering if you'd find it in your heart to let us both rent the place jointly."
Mark looked at Teal in mute horror while Teal's eyes sparkled mischievously.
"Absolutely not!" Mr. Mayhew refused, much to Mark's relief. "Last time I had a man and woman stay together, they made certain banging noises on the bed that upset the patrons downstairs. I had the 'No Woman' clause included for a reason."
"We promise we're not like that." Teal assured, speaking for both of them while Mark was left speechless. "You won't hear a peep out of me~ I'll also match my friend's rent."
"Match it?" When Mark saw Mr. Mayhew's eyes light up, he knew he was doomed. "Well, it's unusual, but I suppose I can allow it... but I'll need a deposit. And this month's rent from you in advance. And if I hear even one complaint-"
"You won't Mr. Mayhew." Teal promised, reaching into her backpack and withdrawing a sum of emeralds that had the landlord salivating. "This ought to cover it. Will there be anything else?"
"N-No, no. This is all I need." Mr. Mayhew laughed to himself. "Please enjoy your stay, Miss Larkspur. Matt." He nodded and started walking down the hall.
"Hey!"
Mr. Mayhew stopped and turned around, his arms still cradling the pile of emeralds like a newborn. "Yes?"
Teal pointed to the name above Mark's head. "His name's Mark, not Matt."
"Ah, right right. My mistake." Mr. Mayhew apologized and turned to leave, only for Teal to stop him again.
"Say his name right."
"Pardon?"
Teal stepped out into the hall and fully faced the rotund man. "You can say his name, can't you? So say it right."
Mr. Mayhew, sensing hostility, cleared his throat. "Mr. MarkAble. Sorry for mistaking your name."
"Good." Teal relaxed and bid the landlord goodbye. "Have a nice day~!"
The landlord descended the stairs and Teal returned to the room despite Mark shutting her out. He was looking at the Heads and gear, wondering what to do with it.
"So far, I'm getting the impression on why your life sucks." Teal began. "That greedy fatso can't read? Your name's right over your head. How lazy can you get?"
Mark was quiet as he took in her words. It had been something he'd always said about Mr. Mayhew. He just wished he wasn't hearing it from a crazy person.
"Should've let me kill him. Why'd you save his life?" Teal asked.
"He doesn't deserve to die." Mark said as if it were obvious.
"Yet you think you deserve to die?" Teal shot back. "Why? Why do you get to and he doesn't?"
"...You got those emeralds off these guards, didn't you?" He asked, ignoring her question.
"Guilty as charged~!" Teal grinned, holding up the extra money she still had. "So I guess we're official roomies now, huh~? Unless you want to bring more guards in. Not gonna lie, this'd be a great way to fill our Head quotas."
Head quotas? Mark questioned internally before rising to his feet. He already knew calling more guards would result in more deaths. It was a miracle Mr. Mayhew hadn't asked anything more about the four guards. They'd likely be tallied amongst the missing persons reports. Teal was a powerful cultist that could only be deadlier with a proper weapon in her hand. Mark didn't want to get anyone else killed because of him.
But Teal wasn't staying in his apartment.
"Get out. Now." Mark demanded, pointing to the door.
Teal raised a brow. "Or what?"
"Or I'll make you."
She placed her hands on her hips, a cocky smile on her face. "How you gonna do that?"
Mark took a step forward before pausing and wondering what he could do. If she had the landlord's blessing and was paying rent, there was really nobody else who could remove her without getting killed. Except for him.
He'd have to remove her himself. Maybe she would even kill him in the struggle.
With his mind made up, Mark stepped forward to seize Teal and guide her to the door. However, Teal suddenly somersaulted over his head and landed on the beds behind him.
"You'll have to catch me first~!" She teased.
Mark spun and rushed her with the intent of grabbing her by the collar, but Teal danced out of reach with a light giggle, leaping across the small apartment and landing on the kitchenette furnace. Mark darted and tried to corner her, but Teal cartwheeled onto the table before hopping back onto the floor. She moved so effortlessly and with such a light gait, like a bird in flight. Mark could never pin her down, nor could he extinguish her boundless exuberance.
The chase ended when Mark tried to tackle her only for her to pike jump over his body. He slid across the floor and into the bathroom while Teal just lounged on the bed with an easy smile. She looked as fresh as a daisy while Mark was panting for breath.
"Wanna try again~? Come on, you almost had me that time~!"
She really was just screwing with him.
Loathe as he was to admit it, there was nothing he could do to get rid of her. Maybe he already died, and Teal was just his eternal punishment for wronging someone in a past life.
Having worn himself out, Mark picked himself off the floor and slumped down at the kitchenette table. Teal sat across from him and prodded his cheek for a reaction. He glared at her for it, making her smile.
"Shouldn't have called me a bitch~"
AN: Mark's side is turning into the Odd Couple sitcom.
