A Double-Edged Life

"Move, dumbshit." S-D commanded, shoving past Meka rudely w he he was standing at the counter attempting to pour himself a glass of milk. The raccoon flinched, wincing as the jug jostled and milk spilled over the countertop to soak his pants. Laying his ears back, Meka angrily set the milk aside and grabbed for a paper towel.

"What the fuck is your problem?" he demanded to know, glaring at Snape-Doll's retreating back as he sauntered across the kitchen to the fridge.

"You." he answered simply as he pulled open the door and bent slightly to examine the contents, spying someone's half-eaten sandwich they had abandoned on the bottom shelf. Oh well, it was his now, he thought as he grabbed it up and sank his teeth into it, turning back to watch Meka clean himself with bemused interest.

"Then why don't you leave me alone?" Meka demanded, wadding the paper towel between his hands and throwing it at the trash can, missing by a few inches. S-D shrugged, his eyes narrow but a smile ghosting at the corners of his mouth. Ever since the household had awoken for the day, Snape had made it his personal mission to make Meka's life a misery. This hadn't been the first time he'd shown up to throw a wrench in the works and it went without saying Mekakushi had caught on that the intrusions were more than coincidence by then.

The raccoon finished pouring his milk after cleaning himself as best as he was able and, as he raised the rim of the glass to his mouth, S-D moved again. Before Meka could react, the smaller boy had swatted the bottom of the glass as he passed by, showering Meka's face, ears, and shoulders in freezing milk.

"God DAMN IT!!" he choked, sputtering and shivering as he rounded on his tormentor. S-D looked passively over his shoulder, regarding Meka with mock-sympathy.

"Christ, you can't even -drink- right, can you?" he smirked, taking another bite out of his sandwich. "You're a mess, man. Am I going to have to take that away from you?" Meka set his jaw angrily, every nerve in his body twanging with the ferocity of a plucked guitar string. He stood perfectly still for a moment as milk drizzled off of him and pattered to the floor in small riverlets before turning and marching toward the stairwell without another word.

"What now, Meka? Time to go have a cry?" S-D called after him, remaining where he was as the raccoon disappeared upstairs. What a fucking pussy, Snape-Doll thought with utter disgust as he leaned up against the counter where Meka had stood a moment ago, chewing his sandwich thoughtfully. Even -Evil- had a breaking point if you pushed him hard enough and here he'd been going out of his way to piss off Meka since he'd gotten out of bed and rather than exploding at him, the raccoon had retreated off to another part of the house to hide from him every time.

Well, fine then. If he wasn't even going to hold his ground, that was all the more reason to crawl up his ass at every opportunity. He was used to this sort of reaction from people like Zizzi who were too small to fight back, but Meka was bigger than him and probably about as strong...so why the hell was he hiding? Hmm...that seemed to be a question best-asked to the source itself, S-D reasoned as he headed in the direction Meka had gone.

"What are you doing?" Starluck demanded to know, stepping into his path. Snape-Doll blinked, startled by her sudden appearance, and took a step back.

"Nothing." he muttered, looking to the side.

"Is that Karma's sandwich you're eating?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I didn't see her name on it."

"Look," the liontaur sighed, reaching out and seizing the sandwich from him, holding it out of his reach as he immediately flailed his arms in an attempt to get it back. "I've had to listen to you and Meka bitch at each other since this morning. Its getting old."

"Nobody's forcing you to eavesdrop." he scowled, making another grab for the stolen food.

"Who's eavesdropping? We've been able to hear you from all the way in the rec room. Now leave him be."

"Feh. Make me." he challenged, narrowing his eyes. In response, Starluck did the same.

"Don't even -try- that with me, S-D, because you know I can. I know you're on the verge of a turn, but that's no excuse to act like a bastard."

"He deserves it. The fucker won't even fight back!" he said, as though it was the most obvious explanation in the world for his antagonistic behavior.

"Just like Zizzi didn't fight back when you gave him that scar he has on his forehead now." she pointed out acidly, making his eyes flicker briefly as she stepped out of his way to cut the bitten edges off of Karma's sandwich and return it to the fridge. He stood for a moment more, seeming to mull Star's accusation over in his head, and then trudged upstairs anyway, heading straight for the bathroom where he could hear water running.

Meka had just finished rinsing milk out of his hair and off of his face as the door was kicked open and he turned to see S-D standing in the threshold, regarding him with the same look of detached indifference he had for most of the day. "What the hell do you want -now-??" the raccoon demanded to know, grabbing a hand towel off of the rack to dry himself.

"Well, I -was- going to apologize," S-D began, snatching the other towel and twisting it into a rope between his hands. "But if you're going to be an ass, forget it." With a flick of his wrist, the towel licked outward and popped Meka smartly on the backside. The raccoon cried out both in anger and surprised pain as the smaller boy grinned smugly at him, light dancing in his eyes that seemed to make his face an upturned target. One Meka badly wanted to plant his fist in.

"What...? Wanna hit me?" S-D asked, his voice barely above a whisper as he struck out with the towel again, catching Meka's upper thigh. "Sure you do. I can tell just by the way you're looking at me you want to hand me my ass. C'mon. You gonna let some little shit push you around?" He rewound the towel and struck out again, snapping Meka's belly. In the same instant, Meka's hand grabbed the end and hauled his aggressor toward him in an attempt to pull him off-balance. Snape-Doll had been anticipating him doing exactly that and planted his feet muleishly against the hall carpet before giving the handtowel a hard yank.

Meka attempted to catch himself but failed as he stumbled forward, right into S-D's reach. An instant later, the raccoon found himself in a headlock as S-D dug the knuckles of his free hand into Meka's scalp relentlessly. "You waste...!" the black-haired boy laughed, tightening his grip as Meka attempted to pull back. "You fucking candy-assed waste! Lookit you! You can't even defend yourself! You damned pus--"

The air suddenly left S-D's lungs with a sharp "woof" sound as Meka buried his elbow in his assailant's belly and wriggled out of his hold. Any shred of self-control he had left within him was gone as Mekakushi threw himself at the smaller boy in a rage, his weight sending the both of them sprawling to the floor as they grappled with each other.

Meka's head rocked back on his neck as S-D's fist connected with the shelf of his chin and he retalliated by threading his fingers through a length of his attacker's black hair and pulling hard. "Fffuck!!" S-D hissed, trying to twist away and giving a growl of pain as a few strands of his black tresses pulled out. Using his newfound leverage, Meka took the opportunity to forcefully slam S-D's forehead into the under-sink cabinet before scrambling to his feet. With oily speed, S-D did the same, his eyes two orbs of emerald flame as he wiped a thin worm of green blood from the corner of his mouth.

Before Meka had time to wonder about the odd color of the fluid, S-D came in low, butting his head into Meka's ribs and knocking him into the open door. The raccoon gave a grunt of pain as the knob jabbed into his lower back and stumbled into the hallway as S-D stormed after him, kicking out at the backs of his legs.

"Is that it?? C'mon!" S-D devilled as Meka turned to face him again, ears flat against his head and tail bottlebrushed out behind him.

"What the hell is wrong with you??" the raccoon growled, his pelt of thin ash-colored fur bristling in utter aggravation. His answer came in the form of a fist punching him in the shoulder.

"I said come on!" S-D panted, grinning, his teeth smeared grotesquely with green blood. His voice held an undertone of almost desperation...like he -needed- to fight. Meka faltered, his breathing heavy as he hastily debated with himself whether or not to count his losses and retreat. He was angry, no doubt about it, but it almost made him feel like he was feeding something by continuing to fight with Snape-Doll.

As though sensing his waning interest in the fight, S-D launched himself at Meka once more, slamming the raccoon back-first against the wall as he leaned in close, still grinning, eyes narrowed. "Give us a kiss...?" he asked sinisterly, his grin broadening to show his slowly-elongating fangs. Meka gave a cry of revulsion and attempted to throw S-D off of him. When the smaller boy clung fast, he cocked his arm back and began to punch him, feeling his fist hit home against S-D's jaw with each strike. It was no longer about anger, it was about getting the fuck away from him and whatever he was.

Snape-Doll took the first two blows in stride and turned his head to avoid the third. As he felt Meka's fist smash into his ear, warm pain blooming shortly afterward, he whipped back in the direction of Meka's arm, the fourth blow glancing off of his temple before he lashed out, sinking his teeth into the raccoon's wrist and keeping them tightly clenched as Meka began to thrash and cry out in pain. With his free hand, he beat frantically at S-D's face and forehead.

"Let go! Let GO, you son of a bitch!!" he demanded, wincing as he felt Snape-Doll's sharp teeth grind together a bit more firmly as he staggered backward, trying to free himself. His hip ricocheted off the top of the banister, and a moment later, both of them were toppling down the stairs. Meka's vision was momentarily dazzled with red stars as his forehead struck the floor and he quickly became aware of two things -- that he had landed on top of S-D and that a pair of jaws were still clamped relentlessly on his flesh.

Wincing, both in hurt and in upset, Meka lowered his free hand to S-D's throat and began to squeeze. The smaller boy choked and snorted through his nose, but didn't relinquish his hold...if anything, he held tighter. The raccoon's and werewyrm's eyes locked in an intense glare of mutual hatred, each waiting for the other to give.

"SNAPE! MEKA!"

At the same time, both Meka and S-D released their hold on one another, looking up to see Starluck storming toward them as Karma trailed behind, looking apprehensive. "What in the -HELL- are you doing??" the liontaur demanded.

"He started it." Snape-Doll muttered lamely, rubbing at his bruising neck.

"Fuck you! I didn't start shit, you freak!" Meka snarled, examining the bloody set of fangmarks in his wrist.

"I don't care who started it!" Starluck yelled, stamping one lionid foot on the floor to get their attention. "It stops now!" her head swung in the raccoon's direction, her eyes narrowed. "Honestly, Mekakushi, he's at least five years younger than you! Set a damned example!"

"Example??" Meka snapped, rising to his feet. "He's been fucking with me all day! Then he comes up into the bathroom practically -begging- me to fight with him and--"

"And you took the bait like an immature prat." Star finished, shaking her head disapprovingly.

"Oh I see...I see..." the raccoon fumed, jerking a thumb accusingly at Snape-Doll, blood pattering in dime-sized droplets to the carpet unnoticed for the moment. "I was just supposed to stand there and let him pound on me until he was exhausted, shake his hand, and then drag myself off to a c a cigarette and reflect?? What is this, fucking nursery school?" Before Star or Karma could answer him, Meka turned and stormed back up the stairs to tend to his wrist.

"And as for -you-..." Starluck snapped, turning her attention to S-D who had sat up and was attempting to work a snarl out of his hair. "You're on my last nerve, S-D!"

"What'd I do?" Snape demanded in a petulant tone, glaring at her. "I told you he started--"

"And I told YOU that I don't care." the liontaur interrupted. "You don't like him? Don't talk to him. Its only been a day and I've already had it with you two macho jackasses beating your chests every time you see each other!"

"But--"

"Just...go upstairs." she sighed, shaking her head. "I'll call you when its time for dinner." S-D gave a stale hiss in response as he turned and tore back up the stairwell. A moment later there was the sound of a door slamming shut and then silence. Star wearily brought a hand to her brow and shook her head as she headed back in the direction of the rec room where she and Karma had been sorting laundry when they'd heard the sounds of a scuffle and came to see what was going on.

"You okay...?" the frog asked warily.

"I'll be fine." Star muttered in reply, not slowing her gait. Karma chewed her lip worriedly as she followed after her friend and then spoke.

"S-D bit , St, Star...does that mean he's gonna--"

"No." she interrupted. "S-D's bites aren't venomous, his blood is. He's not built exactly like a regular wyrm and the worst Meka will have to worry about is an infection."

"Are you sure...?"

"Karma, I've been obsessing myself with running tests on S-D for the past two years. If there's one thing I'd like to be sure of, its that I know what I'm talking about when it comes to matters about him. Meka'll be fine." As she said so, there was the sound of a vehicle pulling up outside, making both of them stop in their tracks and look in the direction of the front door. "....and that'll probably be your moving trailer."

"Probably..." Karma nodded in agreement as she went to the foot of the stairs. "Meka?? Our stuff's here!" She was silent a moment as she awaited a reply. Receiving none, she moved to start up the stairs.

"Leave him for now." Starluck shrugged, catching her by the back of the shirt. "Heot got going to be much help if he's in a mood. We'll just leave his stuff down here and he can deal with it himself in the morning. I'M not hauling boxes and bedframes up the stairs anyway..."

Karma seemed to debate with herself a moment but then nodded and changed her direction for toward the front door, Star trailing behind her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meka scrubbed at the wound on his wrist angrily, not minding the sting of the soap or hot water against his punctured flesh. Son of a bitch....he'd been minding his own goddamned business in the first place, that fuckwad had come out of nowhere to harrass him, and now it was -his- fault?? It would have been different if it had been a little kid he'd picked a fight with, then Star would have had every reason to get angry with him. He could have -understood- that...he could have been sympathetic.

As things were, however, he was being painted as a jackass with no self control because an even bigger jackass with even less self-control had been egging him on and he'd finally reached his breaking point. He supposed it was useless to try and tell this to Star, however, as she had made it more than clear she refused to see fault with her adopted son. Sure..blame him. Everybody else did.

When he was satisfied that the bite was as clean as it was going to get, Meka twisted off the faucet and fished a hand towel off of the floor to gently mop his hand dry with. He supposed he should bandage himself while he was at it, but the bite alr see seemed to be clotting over and wearing a dressing would probably just give S-D something -else- to harrass him about the next time they ran into one another. With a sigh, he snapped off the light and headed back into the hallway.

His mind turned back to the odd ripple in species S-D seemed to exhibit...he was far too deliberate about it for it to have been Meka's imagination. The way his eyes flashed, the way fangs seemed to descend out of nowhere...he'd never seen anything like that before, not even on a halfbreed.

As half of a raccoon, he had inherited such traits as nocturnal vision and an annoyingly-strong like for peanut butter, but his species-oriented quirks were fairly run-of-the-mill. What made up S-D's other half, he wondered? Given his fluid reflexes and temper alone, fangs not even considered, Meka would have assumed that he was, at least in part, a snake. But what sort of snake had flickering eyes and could keep its traits well-hidden enough to assume an otherwise-normal human body when it wasn't attempting to be threatening?

"To hell with it." Meka muttered at himself aloud as he reached the door to his room. It was worth little of his time wondering and even less of it trying to answer the questions it wrought. As he turned the knob to allow himself inside, there was suddenly a loud thud, followed by a long rattling hiss from behind him. Turning his head, he noted that S-D's bedroom door had come ajar slightly and was in the process of yawning open on its hinges slowly.

In spite of himself, Meka froze in his tracks as his tail bushed outward. He didn't want to fight again, he really didn't, but if Star thought he was just going to stand there and take it....

A minute passed. Then two. At length, satisfied that S-D wasn't coming out but puzzled, Meka found himself edging toward the open door. ~I'm going to close it. That's all.~ he assured himself as he kept his footfall silent on the carpet. As he drew near, he noticed that something was hulked low to the floor of the doorway and felt adrenaline shock through him as his mind immediately conjured images of S-D huddled on the carpet like a cobra ready to strike.

~Not too farfetched, is it? The little fucker wanted to see if he could draw you out one more time, and what are you doing? Walking right into it.~ his mind chided him. Meka paused against the wall and leaned forward a bit, getting a be loo look at whatever it was and giving a faint sigh of relief to see it wasn't S-D at all. On the floor, in a rumpled heap, was a tangle of thick leather straps which looked to be some sort of harness, at the top of which was an equally-thick black collar. Affixed to the collar was an engraved silver tag which Meka squinted and inched closer to read. In simple type-script, the tag read "TOY".

A muttered string of curses and profanity dragged Meka's attention away from the odd piece of attire on the floor as he peered into the darkness of S-D's room. It didn't take him long to spot the thin boy staring fixatedly out of his bedroom window, his forehead pressed to the glass as his hands rested on the sill. He looked like a man impatiently waiting for something...waiting for -what-, though?

For a long moment Meka stood in silence, watching him curiously, his anger from their earlier encounter forgotten. He might have gone on studying S-D for quite some time afterward if the boy's eyes didn't suddenly flare like two tongues of green candlepoints in the darkness, though he didn't turn his head from the window.

"I know you're there, fuckwallow, now what the hell do you want?" he demanded to know. Meka felt his eyes narrow, his feelings of spite for Snape-Doll returning in a vehement rush.

"Nothing." he snapped, growing bolder as he took a step forward and gave the collared harness a kick, watching it slide two or three feet across the floor back into S-D's room. "Watch where you're throwing this shit." He paused, expecting a retort or S-D to fly into another rage. Instead, he remained motionless at the window, continuing to stare outside at nothing in particular. "What're you waiting for anyway? The poor bastard that you make wear that thing to come crawling back?" he asked, not really sure what had possessed him to say it other than him seeing the smaller boy's sudden passiveness as the perfect opportunity to get in a parting shot.

"-I- wear it." S-D replied, his teeth clenched and his voice issuing from him in a rumbling growl that involuntarily made the hair on the back of Meka's neck stand on end. "You have a problem with that?"

"Should I?" Meka retorted. Honestly, no, he had no problem with that...if anything, he found it vaguely funny, though. The absolute -last- thing he had expected S-D to be was submissive for ANYBODY. "How long's he been gone?" Silence. "Must be awhile if you're wringing your apron over it like a damned housewife."

".....the fuck Would YOU KNOW???" S-D demanded, his voice starting in a normal pitch and rising in volume to a full-blooded scream as his breath fogged the glass of the window. Meka flinched, but stood his ground in the doorway, his hand reflexively delving into his jeans pocket for his pack of cigarettes. He suddenly wanted one badly as he fumbled one into his mouth and fished for his lighter.

"More than you think." the raccoon stated, flicking the lighter ablaze on his third try and lighting the end of the cig as he leaned slightly against the threshold. "And if that's what you've been shitting on me about since I got here, then maybe you need to grow the fuck up. If you think you're the first person ever to get dumped on his ass by someone he thought he knew, you're crazy." There was another stretch of silence between them before S-D moved finally, turning slowly away from the window, his eyes no longer flickering, but glowing steadily as they settled on Mekakushi.

"Maybe I -am-." he murmured, shoving away from the window and heading toward Meka. The raccoon immediately backed off, expecting to have the door slammed in his face or S-D to lunge at him again. Instead, however, the black-haired boy closed the distance between them until he was standing nearly nose-to-nose with Meka, eyeing him in silent rage. "....but I'll tell you what I'm not. I'm NOT going to sit here and let you get your rocks off watching me go through this just because you want some limpwristed revenge over that bite I took out of you." His hands shot out suddenly, giving Meka a shove backwards. "So fuck off."

"Did I -say- I was enjoying it?" Meka scowled, bracing himself against the shove and managing not to go off-balance. "Maybe if you weren't such a fuckhead, he wouldn't have left in the first pla--" his statement cut off as S-D seized him by the collar of his shirt and slammed him up against the wall, much in the way he had yesterday the first time themet.met.

"Okay, Furboy, let's go!" he bellowed at Meka, his eyes radiating green as his voice faded in and out of a hissing rasp. "Its another fight you want, isn't it? ISN'T IT?? You can't stand that you lost the first one so now you're sucking around to try it again! FINE! Beat on me then if it'll shut you up, you petty son of a bitch!" He exhaled sharply, his breath snorting out of his nostrils as he loosened his hold on the raccoon. "I don't care anymore. You're not worth it."

Seizing his chance, Meka heaved his weight against Snape, shoving him against the hallway's opposite wall and pinning him by the shoulders. "Now you listen to me..." he said, trembling with anger, the cigarette's filter clenched in his teeth. "All I've wanted since I got here was for people to leave me alone and YOU'VE been following me around like my fucking shadow trying to get a rise out of me. So -don't- try and pin it on me when YOU were the one jonesing for a fight! I'm not your boyfriend or whoever the hell you're pissed walked off on you, so how about you stop treating me like I am??"

"You don't even know what the FUCK you're talking about!" S-D yelled, twisting violently out of Meka's hands and beating angrily on his shoulders and chest in the process. "And why the hell are you even here if you're not rubbing it in, huh?? Nothing's in it for you!" he started back toward his room's door again. "Nothing's in it for anybody..."

"I've been there before, that's all." Meka said to S-D's retreating back, making him pause and glare over his shoulder at the raccoon. "And I think you're acting goddamned ridiculous. Who the hell do you think you are taking it out on everybody else just because you're not getting your way?" S-D's eyes narrowed to slits and his fists clenched into white-knuckled balls at his sides.

"Why can't you shut the fuck UP??" S-D demanded, cocking his arm back and launching his fist into the plaster of the wall in front of him. Meka winced at the dull crack as Snape Doll's knuckles split open and a small flower of green blood stained the white paint. Giving a pained hiss, he clawed his door open with his good hand and stormed past the threshold, slamming it shut behind him. Meka stood by himself for a moment and then spoke loudly enough to be heard through the closed door.

"You're only leaving because you know I'm right!"

"Are you running for fucking office or something??" S-D's voice demanded to know, muffled by the closed door. "Can you -not- stand to know someone's ignoring your ass??"

"I know when I'm being ignored, do YOU know when you're being unreasonable??" The door flew open again and S-D's closed fist flew into Meka's face, stopping short of striking him as the middle digit popped up.

"Reason this, fucktard." he snarled, withdrawing back into his room and slamming the door once again. Meka stood still a moment, letting what had just happened sink in before bristling with frustration.

"Asshole..." he muttered, turning away from S-D's door and heading back toward his room, his cigarette leaving a thin line of white smoke in his wake. As his door slammed closed as well, in the same instant, molar-rattlingly loud electric guitar music began to issue from S-D's room. An instant after that, Starluck came tearing up the stairs, flushed from carrying boxes and half-past give a shit with both S-D and Meka for the day.

"Turn it down, S-D, NOW!!" she demanded, pounding on the door with the side of her entire forearm. The music continued for a moment and then stopped abruptly, replaced with the sound of a reptillian shriek as green light strobed beneath the crack of Snape-Doll's closed bedroom door, puddling on the hallway carpet eerily. The liontaur hesitated, biting her lip and debating on whether or not to barge in and medicate him. "S-D...?" she asked hesitantly, knocking again, gently this time. "Listen, can I talk to you for just a minute?"

THUD!

Something heavy struck the door, making it jump on its hinges as she backed away, eyes wide. The same heavy something struck the door again, making the frame splinter a bit and the latch give way as it swung open. A large black muzzle slid into view, steam venting from its nostrils and its maw hanging slightly agape to reveal dagger-like fangs. Large serpentine green eyes stared at her, nictating membranes blinking soundlessly over them.

Starluck backed slowly away until her rump touched the wall, speaking in a low gentle monotone. "S-D....calm down...." she said gently as the wyrm craned its neck, forked tongue flickering out of its mouth. "Don't eat mommy...." It was useless to reason with him in his current form, she knew, as his ability to comprehend had fled, but he still seemed able to recognize base things....voice tones, scents, sensations. She had no doubt it was through these very things she had avoided being devoured or killed in the past times he'd turned.

Star began to edge toward the stairwell, the wyrm's large reptillian head following her as she went, his neck bobbing slightly as he slithered further out of the bedroom. If she could just get him downstairs, she thought frantically....down where she could get at his restraints and medicate him to turn him back. Just as long as no one made any sudden moves or noises...

At the other end of the hall there was a loud bang as Meka's door swung open and the raccoon strode angrily into view. "God dammit, will you keep it down??" he snapped as the wyrm whipped its head in Meka's direction, giving a sharp snort.

"Ohhhhh shit...!" Star groaned, her fingernails digging into the flesh beneath her eyes in horror as Meka froze on the spot, regarding S-D's changed form as a deer might regard an oncoming truck. The wyrm reared back, giving a shriek that sounded like a wire bottlebrush being scrubbed against a pane of glass. "Meka, run!! GO!!" the liontaur ordered frantically, her voice seeming to break his terror-induced paralysis as he took a stiff step backward.

The wyrm lunged suddenly, emerging the rest of the way from S-D's room in a wave-like motion to reveal the rest of itself, a pair of leathery wings protruding from its back and small near-useless spidery arms outstretched at the raccoon in a futile attempt to grab him. With a strangled cry, Meka dropped to the floor in time to narrowly avoid being seized in the large reptile's jaws and scrambled forward clumsily as the wyrm gathered itself, coiling to strike again.

As Meka skittered toward the stairs, managing a half-turn, half-tumble into the stairwell, he felt hot wind pass just beyond his back, followed by another growling roar as S-D sailed past him, missing him by inches. Though the larger form had granted him speed and strength, it had taken away his precision, thankfully. "Get to the living room!" Star cried down after him as he took the stairs three at a time down to the ground floor, the liontaur not far behind him. "I need to get his collar and fix a syringe, so keep moving!"

"Move -where-??" Meka demanded to know, looking frantically over his shoulder in time to see the wyrm's glowing eyes appear as it began to muscle its way into the stairwell that was, it seemed, just wide enough to accomodate its body.

"Anywhere!" she demanded, making a mad dash for the hall closet, nearly tripping over a stack of boxes she and Karma had brought in from outside. "Figure it out unless you want to get bitten in half!" Having been presented with his options, Meka lit off in the direction of the living room just as S-D arrived on the ground floor, the scales of his belly tearing up carpet in large tufts beneath him. Regarding the escaping raccoon through narrowed eyes, he gave a cheated hiss and continued to pursue his quarry.

"C'mon, c'mon!" Star whimpered as she rifled through the tangle of coats, boots, hats, and other seasonal debris on the closet floor. The collar was usually in an easy-to-grab location, but occasionally Evil or Zizzi would misplace it when it was set aside in an attempt to find something else which always proved troublesome later.

"I'm going to leave Meka's bedframe on the porch and if he wants it he can haul his ass downstairs and get it himse--" Karma trailed off as she let herself in from outside, the last box in her arms, and paused to regard Starluck's frantic searching puzzledly. "What's going on? What's the matter?"

"Put that down and help me!" Star said tersely, startling her friend as she obediently dropped the box and scuttled to the closet. "S-D's gone and shifted again and he's out for Meka's ass in the living room." she explained hastily, throwing one of Evil's feathery pink scarves over her shoulder, at last finding what she was looking for as she tugged a collar the size of a hula hoop out into the open. Karma blinked in bewilderment as it was handed to her, grunting a bit as its surprising heaviness settled into her arms. "I'm going to need you to get that on him so I can anchor him down." she told her, hauling out a length of thick chain as well and affixing one end to the thick link on the front of the collar.

"I can barely lift it!" Karma pointed out, having an even harder time holding onto it with the heavy chain now attached.

"Just get it over his head." Star insisted, already darting away from the closet and loping into the kitchen. "Or get Meka to do it, but -somebody's- going to have to! I have to fix his meds!" And with that, she was gone. The frog looked longingly after her, wincing in apprehension as she hauled the collar and chain as quickly as she was able in the direction of the living room.

Meka, his full focus on eluding the raging black wyrm that was currently pursuing him, didn't notice her as she edged in, her orange-tinted eyes flying wide as she took in the sight of the feral reptile snapping and thrashing at Meka. The raccoon scrambled to the top of the recliner, his weight toppling it over backwards and spilling him onto the floor.

"Do something!!!" he yelled in Karma's direction, noticing her standing there uselessly as he crabwalked backward as quickly as his arms and legs would allow him to, flinching away as S-D's jaws closed just shy of his left ankle. Remembering herself, Karma moved forward, holding the collar out in front of herself and wondering how the hell she planned on going about this. The wyrm moved much too quickly to even get -near- let alone wrestle a collar onto. For that matter, he seemed far too concerned with Meka to even get within her range.

"Karma...!!" Meka cried, rolling sharply to the left to avoid another strike. S-D's snout collided with the side of the sofa, making him squeal in aggravated pain as he shook his head to clear it before refocusing himself on Meka with a hiss. The frog was suddenly struck by an idea -- albiet, not the best one she'd had, but an idea nonetheless as she stood the collar on its side.

"Crawl through here! Quick!" she instructpoinpointing at the collar.

"What the fuck do I look like, a circus dog??" Meka demanded to know, nonetheless scrambling frantically toward the collar as she stood to the side and out of the way. As she'd hoped, the wyrm gave chase almost immediately, following closely behind Meka as he pulled himself through the loop of the collar, its spade-shaped head lodging itself within the thick leather loop almost immediately afterward.

It didn't make it fully onto his neck, Karma noted with chagrin as she watched the wyrm pause in its pursuit of Meka to lash its head to either side, trying to dislodge the troublesome leather harness that had become stuck on its forehead and lower jaw. Swallowing hard, she took hold of the chain and braced herself against the floor wincing when the black wyrm started forward again with a shriek, nearly pulling her straight off of her feet with the jolt it gave her.

S-D grunted in surprise at the sudden anchor he'd acquired and whipped his head sharply backward, making Karma cry out as the chain was jerked painfully from her grasp, but not before the collar had slipped the rest of the way over his head. It settled at the top of his throat just as Starluck charged into the room, a syringe and a pair of large pliers in either hand.

"Move the sofa!" she cried, bringing her forepaws down on the chain to catch it, applying her full weight and, at the same time, tossing the syringe and pliers aside where both landed safely on the couch's center cushion. The liontaur, heavier than the frog had been, had better luck holding S-D in place, preventing him from further assaulting the panic-stricken raccoon who was currently pressed against the wall, eyes wide and knees drawn to his chest.

"Oh, don't -help- me or anything, please..." Karma grunted, sparing Meka an aggravated look as she shoved mightily against the couch. When she'd pushed it about halfway aside, Star coiled the chain around her hands and began to inch forward, S-D fighting back as furiously as the collar would allow him to. At last, she reached her destination...a square of concrete about a foot in diameter around which there was no carpeting that seemed to have been added into the floor after the fact. In the middle of it was a thick steel hook which Star hauled the chain toward, looping it quickly over and around.

The wyrm gave a cheated roar, realizing it had been caught, and protested mightily against its bonds to no avail. Satisfied the chain would hold, Star meandered toward the couch to recover the syringe and pliers. "That's the worst of it. We had that hook put in after the first time he turned. It goes all the way down to the foundation of the house so he can't pull it up when we chain him to it." she assured Karma with a nod. "Now comes the fun part. Gotta get at the tender bits." She clacked the pliers together twice for emphasis, gave a humorless chuckle, and then edged around to S-D's backside.

Karma watched in silent awe as Star reared up and leapt neatly onto the wyrm's back, shifting her balance as he squirmed beneath her before righting herself and creeping along the curve of his spine, up to where his wings met his back. In a practiced motion, she wedged the nose of the pliers between two glossy plate-like scales and gave a yank, one of them coming free between their teeth. As she inserted the needle of the syringe into the newly-exposed bare spot, S-D ceased struggling beneath her and went rigid for a split second as she depressed the plunger and immediately climbed down to move a safe distance away.

All at once, the wyrm exploded with activity, its cries near-deafening as it bucked and twisted on its chain. Its eyes flashed like defective bulbs on a pinball machine as its serpentine frame began to contort and shrink, its armored scales smoothing back into ivory skin, wings pulling back into its shoulders, and its tapered snake's tail separating into two gangly legs. As Starluck, Karma, and Meka watched, where the raging black wyrm had once been now laid Snape-Doll, naked, trembling, and sobbing helplessly.

"Well..." Starluck stated to no one in particular to break the silence. "...now that you've seen him at his best and brightest..." She padded forward, shooing the now-much too large collar aside and bent over to take him by the shoulders, helping him sit up as he wiped at his eyes with the heel of one hand, looking miserably exhausted. "Go get dressed and get yourself a drink of water." she told him, her voice holding a motherly tone of stern gentleness.

Not looking at any of them, as though trying to salvage what little dignity he had left, S-D rose from where he had been sprawled on the floor and limped off to disappear upstairs. When he was gone, Meka was the first to heave a sigh of utter relief as he all but collapsed against the wall, his nerves rattled and raw. Killed....he'd nearly been killed. By a fucking -dragon- of all things.

"Congratulations, you two, he's never done this in front of company before." Star sighed, examining the black scale that was still tweezed between the pliers she held. "But, on the bright side, I think he's thoroughly embarrassed himself and we won't see him the rest of the night, the poor doofer."

"Poor him??" Meka spat in disbelief. "He almost -killed- me!!"

"And you'd be sorely missed, I assure you." Karma replied, not looking at the raccoon as she approached Starluck to join her in looking at the black scale.

"These things are like steel..." she muttered non-chalantly as though nothing had just happened.

"That's it?? You're just going to let it go at that??"

"Meka, shush." the liontaur muttered, putting a hand to her brow. "I can't punish him for something he can't help and if you hadn't come blasting out into the hallway to whine about the noise, he wouldn't have gone after you in the first place. And I hope the two of you have gotten all of this shit out of your system now, because the house isn't going to survive if you two keep doing this. If I have to get muzzles and blinders for you two, don't think for a minute I won't go that fa--"

She trailed off at the sound of slow, even footsteps on the stairs and turned her head as S-D emerged from the stairwell. He'd gotten dressed again and looked utterly hollow...like his soul had fled his body as he approached, his head held low. He passed by both Karma and Starluck, ignoring them both as he neared where Meka was still huddled against the wall.

The raccoon drew in an audible gasp and shrank away as Snapll sll stopped dtly tly in front of him and his fur bristled defensively. What the hell was -this- now, Meka wondered? He awaited a rain of blows, a scream of rage -- SOMETHING -- and instead the silence spanned on for several moments before S-D lowered himself to one knee and bowed his head further.

"You were right." S-D muttered quietly, his voice in a low monotone. "I shouldn't have taken it out on you. Its not your fault I'm this way. You don't have to forgive me."

Meka blinked, bewildered by what he'd just heard. Apologies were the last thing he had expected to recieve...unless this was a trick of some sort, of course.

"Fine...whatever...just get away from me." the raccoon managed, his tone sounding strangled as he tried to shrink further away from S-D and found it impossible.

"I wouldn't want you to be upset with me, Master."

Meka jolted as though someone had slapped him hard across the face. Now he -knew- the other boy was bullshitting him. He had to be.

"Will you fuck off?" the raccoon snapped suddenly, growing irritated as his already-ragged nerves were played on. When S-D didn't move, he grew angrier. "You won, okay? What the hell do you want from me?"

"You can hit me." he offered. "I won't fight. I shouldn't be fighting anyway."

"Wha---I'm not going to hit you!" Meka growled, quickly standing and backing away. S-D looked up at him with a cowed expression, not moving from where he crouched. When Meka looked to Starluck for help, she simply turned her head and looked at the floor. "What -is- this??"

"Its part of an agreement." he muttered in a voice that was barely audible and dull. "I'm under a contract of subservience that someone who's currently out of reach holds. I've breached said contract and you have every right to punish me for it."

"Contract?" the raccoon asked incredulously. This was all starting to sound like the plot of some sort of horrible midievil crossover. Dragons, unicorns, shapeshifters, now contracts of slavery. Did Star keep a torture chamber in the fucking basement too, he wondered crazily?

"I was tricked into agreeing to serve anyone I wrong without reason. That means I follow and obey all commands given to me by that person." he replied, the words sounding practiced and tired as though he'd recited them many times before.

"Signed in blood and punishable in the highest degree until his terms are carried out." Star finished for him with a sigh. "Boy, S-D, you really sold yourself cheap on that one. You're just lucky Esteban is the one who's got that contract and not someone who might actually WANT to see you squirm." He flinched a bit at her words but made no reply.

"Who's Esteban?" Karma asked, looking as though the entire thing had just gone over her head.

"A friend of the family. He and S-D had a falling out last year about his temper. Esteban warned him he'd get himself in trouble one of these days if he kept acting first and asking questions later...so he tricked S-D into this contract as his own way of teaching him a lesson."

"What would you like of me, Master?" Snape-Doll inquired, looking at Meka hesitantly. After casting another helpless look at Karma and Star, Meka lo dow down at S-D with frustration.

"What I'd LIKE of you is to knock off this 'Master' shit and stay away from me." he snapped, crossing his arms over his chest.

"As you wish." he nodded, looking soberly at the carpet. Gritting his teeth in aggravation, Meka turned on his heel and stormed out of the room, tromping back up the stairs. A moment later his door slammed shut and a hush descended as S-D remained where he was for a moment before slowly rising and looking in the direction Meka had gone with placid eyes. Swallowing, he shuffled off after the raccoon as though against his will.

"Well...this should be interesting." Star sighed, retrieving the empty syringe from where she'd dropped it before plodding off to the kitchen. "Come on, Karma. If we hurry, we can get you unpacked before bedtime." The frog hesitated only a moment, looking like she had many more questions before shaking her head and following Star for lack of anything else she could do.

She'd known she'd have to get used to a lot of things when she moved into a new household, but she wasn't sure something like this was a thing she'd ever learn to brush off as typical goings-on.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Considering all that had happened, a shower had sounded like an incredibly good idea to Meka. After closing himself in his room for a bit to let the last of the adrenaline leave his blood, he'd slunk off into the upstairs bathroom and ran the water as hot as he could stand it for twenty minutes or so. When he felt remotely human again, he emerged from the shower and stood at the sink, studying his reflection blankly through the fog of steam on the mirror.

If that wyrm had gotten any luckier with its strikes, he thought miserably, he'd be suffering something a little worse than scattered wits and twanging nerves. He supposed he should be thankful to still be around, really, but around for -what-? Its not as though his situation had improved much from when he'd been in Zeal...now instead of one woman nipping at his heels, he had two of them -and- S-D.

Feh...S-D. After the horseshit he'd survived today, if he never saw that cocky son of ach ach again, it would be too soon. It was bad enough he'd been trying to pick a fight all day, even worse that he'd turned into some sort of...creature...and torn the place apart trying to kill him, but the final straw had been that subserviant bullshit he'd pulled to rub salt in the wounds. What kind of jackass needed to drag things out that far, he wondered? Was it really that important to Snape-Doll that he win thoroughly and completely? The fact Starluck had gone along with it had made him even angrier.

He opened the bathroom door and padded out to head to his room to towel off and lay down for a bit. He felt he'd earned that much.

"I've brought you your clothes, Master."

Meka nearly tripped over himself as he whirled around to face S-D with bewildered eyes. He had been standing silently outside of the bathroom door for god-knew-how-long, a folded pair of jeans, boxers, and a shirt in his arms that looked like he'd pulled them straight out of one of the moving boxes. "Would you like me to dress you?"

"Give me that!" Meka demanded, grabbing his clothes away from the smaller boy with one hand and holding his towel around his waist with the other. "Didn't I tell you to fuck off??"

"Forgive me, Master, but I was not properly dismissed. I thought you would enjoy having fresh dressing brought to you."

"Cut the shit." the raccoon snapped as he stormed down the hallway indignantly. "And leave me the hell alone." was his parting shot as he slammed the door before throwing the clothes to his cot with a huff. The box against the wall containing the clothes he hadn't yet gone through had, indeed, been opened and he felt himself growing angry again. Tomorrow he'd ask Star if she had anything against him putting a lock on the door as he let his towel drop away from his waist and began rummaging for a new pair of underwear in the box nearest his cot.

Silently, the bedroom door eased open a bit as S-D let himself inside, moving across the floor with near-flawless silence as he crept up behind Meka, the blankness still in his eyes as he held something between his hands.

"Would these suffice, sir?" he asked, making the raccoon yelp in upset and whirl to face him, forgetting he was naked as he was met with Snape-Doll offering him a pair of his own black silk boxers.

"What the hell are you doing?? GET OUT! GO!" he demanded, pointing at the door and simultaneously curling his tail around his waist to hide himself as he flushed with frustration and embarrassment. S-D, however, didn't move and remained where he was, shifting his weight from one foot to the next and looking uncertain. Growling, Meka plunged his hands into the box, rifling through his clothes until he found a pair of green flannel boxers and hurriedly stepped into them. "What part aren't you understanding, exactly?" he asked when he looked up to see S-D still present. "'Get' or 'out'?"

"I don't mean to be impudent, sir." S-D replied, lowering his head with a shamed expression.

"Stop that." he spat. "I'm not your master, I'm not 'sir', why are you doing this to me??"

"Forgive me, M--" he bit his lip and looked like he was trying hard not to finish his sentence. "....forgive me, Master." he muttered, cringing. Meka felt his fist clench as the urge to smack him grew stronger, and then forced himself to drop it, remembering the still-hurting bite on his wrist.

"Look, don't you know when you've taken a joke far enough?" he said, trying a reasonable approach.

"Its not a joke. I wish it was." he said dejectedly as he retrieved the pair of pants he had offered Meka outside of the bathroom door from the cot and held them out to him again. "Here, sir." The raccoon hesitated and then sighed with disgust, grabbing the pants away and pulling them on.

"And what exactly would make you go away?" he asked through gritted teeth, jerking up his fly's zipper.

"When my term has been served." he replied with a slight shrug. Meka sank onto the cot, his ears flattening. Wonderful. Now the one person he would have moved heaven and hell to get away from was fucking adhered to him.

"There's got to be SOME way to get rid of it." he reasoned as S-D sauntered past where he was sitting and leaned against the wall, crossing one leg over the other.

"Eh...better men than you have tried." sma smaller boy remarked casually, yawning and reaching up to scratch his belly. "Will that be all, sir?" Meka's head shot up at S-D's sudden shift in tone and the black-haired male offered him the same blank expression his face had been fixed with since the incident downstairs.

And then one eyelid dropped in an impish wink.

"....you son of a bitch." Meka sneered as a smile surfaced on S-D's lips.

"I can't believe you bought that!" he chortled with a shake of his head. "Christ, did you roll off the wagon yesterday?"

"I -wouldn't- have bought it if you'd just let it fucking go." he fumed, narrowing his eyes as he flopped to his belly on his cot, hoping that, having made his victory complete, S-D would leave him in peace.

"Tell me you hated it." S-D devilled, grinning widely and chuckling as he walked a circle around the cot. "Tell me it was sheer torture to be waited on hand and foot. I tell you, I was fantastic! Being a natural actor kicks such -ass-!" he punctuated the last word of his statement by reaching out and swatting Meka sharply on the rear. In the same instant the raccoon's head shot up, murder in his eyes, S-D threw himself onto Mekakushi's back, his fingers attacking his ribs mercilessly.

"Let's see...there's supposed to be something here...what was it called, a 'gee spot'?" he mused aloud to himself as Meka cried out and writhed beneath him, trying to throw him off.

"You FUCKEthe the raccoon sputtered as he was tickled.

"Say uncle!" the smaller boy demanded as Meka turned his face into his pillow to try and muffle the helpless bursts of laughter escaping his mouth. "Say it, you bitch!" he barked, his green eyes shimmering with malicious amusement.

"Get the fuck off me!" Meka managed between gasps for air, his voice muffled against the fabric.

"So sorry, are two syllables too much for your pussy ass?" S-D inquired, leaning close to one of Meka's tufted ears. "UN-CLE. Say it with me, pussy! UN-CLE!" The tickling continued with more fervor than before, S-D's fingers invading his sides, his lower back, and beneath his arms as Meka fruiltlessly attempted to defend himself from the attack. He was unable to catch his breath, he realized, as he gagged and choked with humorless laughter. Red spots began to dance before his eyes and his ribs felt as though they were collapsing as S-D locked an arm under Meka's chin. "Say uncle, you little pigfucker, or I'll ride your ass off into the sunset!" he declared gleefully, laughing loudly as Meka shuddered beneath him and passed out, having been unable to catch his breath.

As the raccoon went limp beneath him, S-D shifted his weight a bit and turned Meka over dispassionately, swatting him across the face. "Wake up, Cumbubble." he demanded. When Meka remained unresponsive, he hit him again, this time eliciting a faint moan and a fluttering of eyelids. "Wake -up-, I said! Prince Charming just left, he said you were a bloody awful lay."

"Nnnh....wha...?" came Meka's eloquent response a moment before S-D leaned in and pressed his mouth over Meka's forcing a purposely-sloppy french kiss onto him before he had time to react.

"Mmm...you were -so- well-behaved." S-D purred, a thin string of saliva still connecting their mouths as he grinned down at the disoriented-turning-horrified raccoon boy beneath him. "I really should fuck you while you're out more often." He braced himself as Meka's eyes flew wide and, a moment later, he was sent toppling to the floor as the raccoon bolted upright, bristling and wiping at his mouth with the back of his hand.

"HA! GodDAMN you're gullible, aren't you?" the smaller boy smirked, picking himself off of the floor and giving Meka a mock salute. "I'm going to bed." he announced as though Meka might care. "Till we meet again, Goldilocks." he called over his shoulder as he swaggered out of the room, looking thoroughly pleased with himself as he closed the door.

Meka quaked with unspent rage, humiliation, and upset as he watched the boy's retreating back, every muscle in his body locked and wanting nothing more than to throw himself at Snape-Doll...to tangle his fingers in his hair and beat his head against the floor...ANYTHING to erase the utter smugness from his features.

"....fuck you." he managed to get out, the statement sounding small and futile in the empty room. Heaving a shuddering sigh, Meka forced himself to lay down again, his head still swimming from his brief blackout and his heart still pounding. Eventually, his rage ebbing away, he was able to sleep.

TO BE CONTINUED...