My Fair Joel

Just try.

You pull my arm and lead me to think you're going to help me up and then---

Twist. Crack.

Ooh, good. Good, good, good. Mmmhmm, my arm is in terrifying amounts of pain, but I lash my foot out and catch you in the kneecap.

It shatters and you cry out and fall.

Too bad, you cried, you've lost. I win. I'm going to have to kill you instead of just doing what I was going to do. Once more, I'm the hunter, you're the prey. I shrug, my arm sending spikes of pain up to drive into my brain.

You lose.

I whisper it and stand up weakly, pain, pain, pain shuddering all up my length and making me happy, no one can hurt me anymore, pain is pleasure. I glance once at you and lash my foot out to catch you a glancing blow to your head, you cry out again.

Pain, pain, all pain, nothing but pain.

"Wreeeeeeeeeeeennnnnnnnnnn..."

You're moaning now and there's a trickle of blood running down the side of your head. I place my foot on your chest and stomp once, cracking several ribs and probably puncturing your lungs.

"AAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

Ah, my Joel, a lovely scream. Better than when I scream for sure. Your voice cracks and you begin screaming in hysterical fear. Coughing up crimson splots and crying, whimpering, screaming.

I kick you towards the bed, laughing, each breath hurting. Try to drag you onto it, you cursing and screaming hysterically, writhing weakly.

Oh, you won't escape. You might as well give it up now, Joel.

You close your eyes and scream again, piercingly.

Shut up already.

I cuff you roughly and grab your long ponytail, yank it viciously. You whimper and shut up.

"Wrenn...don't..no...noo....please...no...no, Wrenn..."

You mumble weakly over and over, no no, Wrenn, and I smile sadistically and look down into your fogged cobalt eyes.

I raise a hand and glance at it. It's still bleeding. Good. @

I rip at your shirt and begin running my nails down your bare skin, drawing red designs on your pale skin, gouging your flesh.

And I'm laughing again, maniacally now. It's fun. Torturing Joel is fun.

Strips of flesh are peeling off now when I scratch you, and you're still screaming hysterically. Fun, fun, fun.

Somewhere in the house a door opens. I don't care. This is too much fun.

I thought I heard Joel screaming.

That in itself is plenty strange. Joel's a very quiet young man, hardly the type to be screaming hysterically and sobbing uncontrollably.

Come to think of it, Dear Gods, what would it take to make him scream like that?

I open the door to the apartment and look around. The screaming's less muffled now and more hysterical. Joel's voice, that's for sure.

I look around, flipping my red-streaked hair§ out of my eyes and glancing suspiciously. Joel's room. And it certainly isn't just Wrenn and Joel having some bedtime fun. He's sounding urgent.

"Ooh, fun," Wrenn's soft voice, with an underlying tone of saffron malice. ¨

Funny how voices appear as colors to me, and now Wrenn's light purple is streaked with crimson and saffron. Dear Gods.

Joel's voice is completely lime with panic and terror. His normal cobalt isn't showing at all. Dammit!

I throw off my overcoat and run into Joel's room, drawing my gun as I do so.ª

MY GOD!

Wrenn glances up at me, his normally sparkling lavender eyes flat and expressionless, almost grey. His hair is streaked with blood and he's got this look on his face. A look that shouldn't be there.

Just as I thought. He's snapped.

Same as my Lucien, only when I met Lucien he'd already snapped and it was my job to nurse the poor boy back to sanity.©

Wrenn! Stop it!

"Why? He screams when I do it." Wrenn turns those lavender eyes to me with an innocent, childlike expression.W

He doesn't like the pain like you do. Stop, Wrenn. I don't want to kill you.

"I want you to."

No, Wrenn, you don't, just think about it.

I'm trying to weave some sort of web around him with my silver-and-ruby voice and it's not working. He's farther gone than I thought.

Joel has stopped screaming and is just sobbing now, his chest is bare and there are weeping scratch marks along it, his face is bruised, and his nose is nearly unrecognizable.

Joel? Can you hear me?

"Rubyn?" he croaks, voice strained and painful, some of his cobalt showing through at last.

It's me.

I try to think of something else to say but Wrenn leaps off Joel and pounces on me. Even in his adrenaline-crazed state, though, he's no match for me; he's a foot shorter.y

I wrestle him to the floor, cursing when he scratches me, or bites me, or whatever. Finally, I'm on top of him and have him pinned, and before he can reverse the position, I grab my gun and knock his temple with the butt of it, rendering him effectively unconscious.

"Rubyn," Joel pants, sitting up and gazing at me with hurt eyes. "Ru--"

I walk quickly to him and throw my arms around him; not minding that the silk shirt I have will surely be ruined by his blood.

It'll be okay, he won't remember in the morning. Or whenever he wakes up.

"But I will." Joel's sobbing into my shoulder.

I wonder where you are at the moment; you should get here soon enough. You can deal with Wrenn, I can work with Joel. Come on, Lucien, come on.

I know, I know. You'll never forget. But that, just then,

I gesture to Wrenn, unconscious with a look of sweet innocence that seems out of place on his bloody features.

That wasn't really Wrenn. That was a monster in his subconscious taking him over, Joel. Sweetheart, don't be afraid of Wrenn.

Ah, the door opens. Your voice calls my name, you're finally here.

In here.

You walk in and those quick green eyes summarize it in an instant. I remember how your eyes used to be flat like Wrenn's were.

"Rubyn." Your gold voice catches my attention.

Hm, Luce?

"I can take care of Wrenn. You and Joel go back home, I'll stay here and wait for him to wake up, and we'll talk it out."

I flash you a quick smile.

You're a Lifesaver, Lucien. Cherry.

You grin back and brush your blonde bangs back out of your narrow, sweet face. "I like lime better."

Lime, then. Green. Like those eyes.

Joel is listening to us banter and he's stopped crying now, he's just staring at you with frightened blue eyes.

Come on, Joel, let's go to my house, and we'll talk. I think I can help.

Joel nods and I stand up, letting him use my tall frame as a crutch. Damn. His kneecap is shattered and a gentle touch to his chest tells me that some of his ribs are, too.

:: You be okay, Ru?:: z Your thought broadcasts to me, in your usual gold with a hint of pale blue concern.

:: Yeah, I'll put him in a healing trance or something. He'll be well enough by the time you're home. What worries me is if he'll ever trust Wrenn again.::

::I think he will. Those two have quite the bond.::

:: Uh huh.::

I'm walking out the door to the room, slowly, grabbing my overcoat and tossing it over Joel's shoulders.

Your concerned face peeks out at me, your dusty rose complexion clouded.

:: Love you, Ru. Take care of yourself and Joel. I can do the rest with Wrenn. He'll be a little easier than Joel I think.:: this time your voice holds that elusive shining burgundy of love.

:: Love you too, Luce. Hope you get him feeling better. Call if you need help.::

:: You call too, on the hour, if I'm not home by midnight, then just call me whenever you want. Or:: your voice takes on sunny humor, :: you always could go to sleep.::