We are the Hunted (Invite only)

[Sorrow_Mirth_and_Sin]

"Hey you works just fine," Tithe said with an amused tone. "Call him whatever the hell you want - he'll probably answer to it. He doesn't remember his name. Been answering to 0013694 too long." The man shrugged. "He's not all there half the time. They broke him. You think I don't know what I'm talking about - he's the original - what me and Icarus are split from. You think he's fully functioning - try to imagine me and Icarus working together then add a s**t load of personal baggage and all the damages 5 years in one of those facilities can do to you. It just doesn't work. He's me with all the backlash of what it took to become me and none of Icarus' stability or control. The isolation, the stress, the guilt - it fried his nerves and his head. He hallucinates, both visual and audio. And again - fried nerves. No human contact for that long means it's uncomfortable as hell when someone finally touches you again, no matter how they go about it. He doesn't come out to play that often - he hasn't gotten over it. I do and I have."

"And I'm not allowed to eat because neither Icarus or Mr. Brain-dead can't live with what I'm programmed to call food. If Icarus does all the eating, he doesn't have to worry about it," Tithe said almost casually though something in his tone turned several degrees colder. "I suppose you had your eyes closed when I killed the thing that tried to stop us on our way out."  

[Ma Sai The Caged Tiger]

"The poor thing, you guys all went through so much. Is he- can he still talk? And how often does he come out? I don't want to call him by number, I wouldnt like it. But mine never stayed for long." He was chattering nervously, a bad habit of his from his youth. The brunet could never really keep ahold of a subject for long in his train of thought when he was nervous. "I know I wasn't in there for nearly as long, But I don't know how long it was really. More than a couple months. It all bled together after a while." His heart ached for all three at that moment. Each had their quirks but it wasn't their fault. And here they were rescuing him and protecting him only because Th-...because of a promise.

He couldn't just sit there like some damsel in distress, and hide in this bedroom until they stopped looking for him, if that ever happened. He wondered if anything still came to look For Icarus and Tithe, or if he had been given up for dead. Whatever they had done to the man in front of him, he had some pretty wicked power. He doubted what they had done to him was even that important, he couldn't see any changes in himself, and nothing seemed to be growing on him. Honestly he was thankful he didnt have scales or horns or something equally bestial. He wasn't calling His saviour anything monstrous, he simply didnt think he could cope as well as the other if something physically changed within him.

He blanched at the thought of what might be considered as food to the persona in front of him, the way he implied it sounded as though it was something completely horrid. "I kept my eyes closed, you told me to remember? I only did what you said."  

[Sorrow_Mirth_and_Sin]

Tithe had to check before he answered, frowning as he sifted through the other persona's mental prison. "He's still capable of speech," he said after a minute. "He just hasn't spoken since he cracked. He's only ever asked for or been allowed control a handful of times since I busted out of the facility - and never for more than an hour, maybe two at the most, except for now. He's never demanded control either, that was new."

He zoned out a bit when the boy started chattering but something in particular caught his attention. "Never stayed for long? It's a ******** tattoo, how the hell does that not stay for long?"  

[Ma Sai The Caged Tiger]

Well I am glad for that, I wonder, how come he decided to come out last night though?" He halted his thoughts when the other pounced on one of his rambled comments, pausing to think. "I'm not sure, maybe they used a different type of ink than you?"  

[Sorrow_Mirth_and_Sin]

"That would be your fault," Tithe said bluntly, pushing the cat away and getting up. He grunted at Tobin's answer, not entirely satisfied with that possibility but it wasn't really worth his interest enough to pursue it. He walked out of the room then, knowing Tobin wasn't likely to be satisfied with his answer and would most likely follow.  

[Ma Sai The Caged Tiger]

"But all I did was sleep. I didn't even know he was there with me until I awoke..." His voice trailed off as he watched Tithe wander off. Slipping from the bed he followed quickly after the man, hurrying to catch up. "What did I do?"The ginger tabby deigned them interesting enough to pursue as well, trotting after the two in a more sedate pace.  

[Sorrow_Mirth_and_Sin]

"This apartment is very small and very cheap," Tithe said as he dropped onto the couch, "which means you might as well have bawled your eyes out right in front of him. While Icarus might back off to give you some privacy, he won't."

"He's always done stupid s**t like that - every time he accepts control. Crazy ******** won't leave you alone."  

[Ma Sai The Caged Tiger]

Tobin took a seat at the end of the couch, looking quite embarassed at being hear. He hadn't meant to be loud, but neither could he stem the tears once they had started. "I'm sorry, I didnt mean to be so loud. But I don't understand about what his fixation is on me, did I do something wrong when I got here?"  

[Sorrow_Mirth_and_Sin]

"Think about what I just said - don't just expect a straight answer and move on to the next thing. I'm not trying to pull wool over your eyes and you're still missing the point. Icarus is very good at talking around s**t when he wants to, you have to get better at dissecting what you're told." Tithe grumbled, leaning back against the arm of the chair and staring at the ceiling. "I never said it started when you got here. I said he's been doing stuff like that every time he's taken control - and if this is the first time he's taken control in some time, what does that mean?"  

[Ma Sai The Caged Tiger]

Pulling his legs up under him, Tobin glared in frustration at the carpeted floor. Talking with one of them was confusiong. Talking withone of them about another was even worse. He was starting to get a headache from all of this abstarct thinking. "I don't know alright? You're confusing the hell out of me right now, why can't you just say what you want to say and get it over with instead of all this dodgy half answer stuff?"  

[Sorrow_Mirth_and_Sin]

"Because I don't happen to owe you anything," Tithe shot back, his tone calm and uninterested even if his choice of words were biting. "If you wanted things to be easy and clear cut, then maybe you should have packed up and left when your little friend failed to show his face again. Maybe that's why he left. Maybe you weren't paying attention and missed something. Or maybe s**t happened and things became confusing. After all, that's what Icarus is trying to protect you from, why not your prince loser? You're useless when things get too difficult to piece together in one go, why not?"

Tithe snorted smoke once more, the act quickly becoming an expression of anger. "Whatever. ******** it. You know where the kitchen is. Go feed yourself so we can get out of here and get your s**t."  

[Ma Sai The Caged Tiger]

Taken aback by the man's harsh words, Tobin turned away, his expression sad. "Why do you have to be so mean all of the time? I'm so sorry that I haven't been through what you have, or seen what you've seen, but just because of that it doesnt give you a free pass to attack the world every turn. I only wanted to...nevermind." With a sigh he sat up and hopped off the couch,making his way to the kitchen. Popping open curboards and the fridge, he looked around to see what there was to make.  

[Sorrow_Mirth_and_Sin]

Tithe grinned. "You're still breathing, sweetheart. As far as I'm aware, I yet to put a mark on you. I haven't scratched, bit, bruised, or burned that pretty skin of yours and I haven't ******** you into the nearest available surface. That's just about as nice as I get and that's with two other personas breathing down my neck. You want nice, go jump Icarus."