[FIN] Happy Suffergiving

[TawnyAngel]

When Abel jerked away from him Taavi jerked back too in surprise though maybe he shouldn't have shocked that Abel hadn't exactly been focusing on him.

He wished he had an answer for his friend that was actually any help but he didn't, it didn't sound like there was anything that could be done until Alyssa decided what move she was going to make.

"Come and sit down," Taavi said after a heavy silence, reaching out to squeeze Abel's arm as he spoke. "Just... let's just sit down a minute." She'd stabbed Abel just ruining her fun in the past, what was she going to do to him for hitting her. ********. Even if she didn't give away whatever information she had, if she just - 'just' - had Abel do whatever it was she wanted him to do she wouldn't forget this. Things were going to get worse, a lot worse. Would she enjoy making Abel live out of his car or something? Probably she would.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

At Taavi's prompting, Abel silently acquiesced and headed with him towards the couch. He hesitated before it though, and rather than sit as he was bid he turned and started to pace instead. Anxious, nervous energy had built up so quickly, too quickly, and he couldn't just sit. He had to do something, but what? What could he do now? Nothing, nothing at all -- nothing except pace anxiously around his apartment, his distress growing exponentially with every passing second. "Ohhh ********, s**t, why did I do that?"  

[TawnyAngel]

Why had Abel done that? Something to do with a family member who'd died, a little girl?

Taavi didn't try to stop Abel from pacing, it probably wouldn't work and even if it did sitting down wasn't really going to help was it? Despite this thought Taavi sat down slowly on the couch himself.

"She pushed you," he said eventually, gnawing on his lower lip and looking up at Abel anxiously. "I'd probably have done the same if.... Yeah. What was she expecting though? Did she really think you'd just take whatever she threw at you forever?"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"I don't know what she was expecting," he said, throwing up his hands in his agitation. What had she expected? He licked his dry lips thoughtfully; too bad his whole mouth was suddenly dry too. "She probably expected me to get upset, or maybe to yell or something? Then she could've done.. whatever it is she wanted to do, berate or belittle me or whatever else, I don't know. She obviously didn't expect me to straight up punch her in the face," he went on with a helpless shrug. "********, I didn't expect me to punch her in the face, but she just..." His fingers flexed restlessly as he continued his pacing, his gaze focused on the floor.

Once they realized Alyssa was gone, his various pokemon came out from wherever they'd been hiding. Or some of them, at any rate; Sonia and Isaac trotted out from Abel's bedroom, worry and confusion written plainly on their faces. What had happened?  

[TawnyAngel]

"Yeah I... Guess, yeah." She loved pushing people until they snapped, just not that kind of snapping. Taavi rested the elbow of his good arm on his knee and allowed his head to drop onto his hand. What were they going to do?

Swift and Aurelia were quick to follow Sonia and Isaac out of the relative safety of Abel's room; the pair of Vulpix hopped up onto the couch either side of Taavi and pressed close against his thighs.

<> Swift wondered aloud. Abel's was pacing, eyes down, and Taavi was slumped on the couch in a posture of defeat.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Isaac frowned thoughtfully, though worry still dominated his expression. he said uncertainly, watching his trainer continue his anxious pacing. Something obviously must have happened, and if he said he hit her, then he must have done so.  

[TawnyAngel]

"...Abel, why did you hit her?" Maybe he wouldn't answer but... Well he had to ask didn't he? Not that he could do anything about it but he could offer comfort or... or something? "It was... it was something about your family right? A girl?" Maybe he shouldn't have asked but to him at least that would have felt like saying he didn't care, which he did. "I- you don't have to tell me if you don't... Um... But I'm sorry."  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Why did he hit her?

Abel halted his pacing for the moment, frowning at the floor as he scrubbed his fingers through his hair. Why had he? "Instinct, I guess," he answered slowly, thoughtfully, as if testing out the answer himself to see if it sounded right. It did but it didn't. "Uh." Nervous energy abated for the moment, the blond turned and plopped down heavily on the couch, slouching back into the cushions. "How much have I told you about my family?" He'd have a better idea of where to start if he knew that; there wasn't much point in going over stuff Taavi already knew.  

[TawnyAngel]

"Um, not a whole lot," Taavi replied with a shrug, family wasn't exactly a great subject for him so he'd never really made an effort to talk about it. "I mean I know where you're from, that your parents breed pokemon, but not a lot else."  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Yeah, I don't really... talk a whole lot about myself, I guess," he admitted as he leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees so he could tent his fingers. Even if he wasn't pacing, his body wouldn't let him hold too still. "Uh." A frown crossed his face as he tried to figure out a good place to start. "So you've probably heard me talk about my parents, or my brother or my sister. Or my nieces," the blond added, "but my sister Alexandra - she's five years older than me - she has two girls, my nieces, Callista and Camilla. Then there's me, then my brother Aaron is five years younger than me; he still lives at home with our parents. But my parents had four kids," he went on, then paused again as he tried to put his thoughts together, his expression a mixture of sadness and wistfulness. "My kid sister Amelia was five years younger than Aaron. She was kidnapped and murdered ten years ago," the blond admitted; his hands were on the move again, this time to clasp and unclasp each other. "She was six years old."  

[TawnyAngel]

...Oh.

Taavi froze, he didn't even try to think of anything to say because there wasn't anything you could say to that.

After the moment it took Taavi to process what he'd just heard he gently shoved Swift out of his way so that he could shuffle across the couch to Abel. "I'm so sorry," he mumbled quietly, and reached out to wrap his arms around his friend.

'Or maybe they spend the holiday reminiscing? I'll bet your mother does, for sure. How long ago was it now? Ten years?'

'Aren't they six years old too?'

How could anyone be that sick?  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"No, it's..." Was it okay? No it wasn't, it never was; they all missed her still and they always would, but it had been ten years. Nothing would hurt her anymore, and the one person who had would never hurt anyone else again, he'd made damn sure of that. It was the least he could do. "Don't worry about it," he said instead as he reached up to curl a hand around one of Taavi's arms. "But yeah, that's why. Not because she brought it up, but because of what she said after that -- that's why I hit her. I just... ********," he interrupted himself as he slumped forward a bit to put his face in his hands, "I hit her and now I don't.. What am I going to do? What is she going to do? I don't..." Everything was so terrible, so ******** up, and it was all his fault. He had no one to blame but himself. What was he going to do?  

[TawnyAngel]

When Abel slumped forward Taavi let him go, but he kept an arm around his shoulders. He didn't have an answer for him so he stayed quiet and stared across the room at the door. What was she going to do?