We are the Hunted (Invite only)

[Ma Sai The Caged Tiger]

This definitely wasn't Tihe, if it was he'd already be talking down to him. Tobin thought quietly to himself as he studied the figure on the couch. He didn't think it could be Icarus either, judging by the way he held himself. That only lft the one that had hugged him his second night. Cocking his head to the side curiously, he settled indian style beside the couch. "You're...the one from before, aren't you? Tithe said your name was a number....but I didn't like being reffered to as a numbr in there....do you have a name?" He flushed in realization that he probably had just rambled as was his nervous habit.  

[Sorrow_Mirth_and_Sin]

The man didn’t even seem to notice that the boy was talking. He looked down at him for a moment, uncomprehending, and then he got up, stepping around him and wandering into the kitchen. After a bit of rooting around, he was seated on the kitchen counter with a jar of peanut butter, helping himself by the spoonful.  

[Ma Sai The Caged Tiger]

Tobin trailed off when His audience got up and left mid sentence. He almost felt as though he hadnt even been heard. Quietly he got up and followed after him, watching from the doorway. "Hey...." He tried again. "Can you not hear me?"  

[Sorrow_Mirth_and_Sin]

The man looked up at the boy, studying his mouth as if he were trying to understand what the words were and why he chose to let them loose but he made no attempt at reply. After a minute he seemed to lose interest, scooping up another spoonful of peanut butter and popping it into his mouth.  

[Ma Sai The Caged Tiger]

Realizing it was fruitless to try and speak to him, Tobin sighed and started moving about the kitchen to prepare some food. For himself if not for both of them. His movements seemed mechanical , for he had many things to think about. He was already halfway throught chopping everything for a soup when a sharp pain forced him to drop his knife. Grabbing up his injured hand he let out a small pained noise, moving out of the kitchen on his way to the bathroom for the kit. That's what he got for cutting while distracted. Atleast it wasn't too bad.  

[Sorrow_Mirth_and_Sin]

Theo dropped the container of peanut butter and hopped off the counter, following the boy in a rush. He kept pacing around behind the boy as if someone was blocking his view, his movements frantic and distressed, his face painted with a level of concern that might have been more fitting if Tobin had cut off his hand. He made no sound nor any move to touch the boy, slipping around him instead and into the bathroom before him, all but attacking the cabinet as he dug around for the kit. Things went flying, something crashed, bits glass scattering across the floor and some kind of liquid that burned faintly at his skin sloshed at and pooled around his knees. He didn't seem to notice and he didn't seem to see the kit right in front of him either. It was right there, neatly tucked away in the front corner, just as Tobin had left it only hours ago but even as his eyes passed over it numerous times, he didn't seem to register that it was there and he was getting more and more agitated the more he searched.

He hissed loudly in frustration, swiping a bandaged hand across a cluttered shelf and knocking the contents to the floor, pawing wildly through the mess, his eyes growing unfocused again. It was possible he had forgotten what he was even doing -- after a minute he was scrabbling blindly at the floor, clawing scratches into the tile. He looked up with a startled hiss at Tobin suddenly, breathing hard, his wide blown pupils shrinking to fine slits with startling speed as his eyes focused sharply on the boy with a predators accuracy. As insane as the man's behaviour was, he still seemed to recognise who Tobin was though and made no move to attack. His gaze dropped to the boy's bleeding hand -- either suddenly remembering what he'd been doing or restarting the whole panicked process again as his eyes turned to scan through the mess, still failing to spot the one thing he hadn't disturbed. His shoulders slumped as a sad, strangled sound escaped him, his face falling into one bleak expression of defeat and despair, his eyes haunted by the ugly sense of failure that tore viciously into his battered mind.  

[Ma Sai The Caged Tiger]

At first he was surprised that the other male had even realized he existed, let alone pre-empted him into the bathroom for the kit. However, as he stood at the doorway, he quickly grew concerned at his behavior. The kit was almost blatantly staring the one armed brunet in the face, yet he kept moving past it or looking over it. Tobin moved to show him the kit, picking his way across the glass strewn floor, but halfway there he reared back as he was met with a hiss.

He waited patiently for the man to realize he was no threat, and his gaze softened when the man let out that horrid wail. Using a rumpled towel he wiped the glass from the floor and settled beside the broken man, hushing him softly with a sweet voice. "Look here, it's alright. See? " He snagged the kit awkwardly with his uninjured hand, fumbling with the tabs as he tried to open it. "It's fine, here is the kit. And my cut isnt that bad." He dragged another towel from the rung, wincing as he ruined it with the blood running down his arm. His thumb was pretty bad, in all actuality. But maybe the man wouldnt notice if he told him it wasn't.  

[Sorrow_Mirth_and_Sin]

Theo stared at the kit and then at the mess he had made, as if suddenly aware of what he had done. He drew in a few ragged breaths, trying to slow them, his body trembling slightly. He ducked his head in something that might have resembled a nod, his hair falling into his face and hiding his eyes. He reached towards the kit, helping Tobin with the tabs as best he could with a shaking hand. He rifled through the kit briefly and then stopped, looking up and staring at Tobin for a minute before his hand left the bag and trailed slowly up the boy's arm, his touch feather light and scarcely there until his fingers traced over the place where Icarus had cut him hours ago, a patch of clean smooth skin that no longer bared any mark. The gears seemed to be turning in his head and he reached back into the kit again, ignoring the curved needle and surgical thread and reaching for a bit of gauze instead. It wasn't Theo's intelligence that was questionable -- he knew the difference between a minor injury and a bad one and a bit of gauze wasn't going to be enough to patch up the boy's thumb but he was wrapping it carefully but firmly around the boy's thumb anyways, fastening it in place when he was satisfied that it would keep him from spilling blood everywhere.

He took the already ruined towel and used it to clean the blood gently from the boy's forearm before he dropped it aside and stood, reaching out and taking hold of the boy's wrist and pulling him up as well. He didn't let go when the boy was on his feet, pulling him along quickly from the ruined bathroom and down the hall and then outside again. He let go of him then, stepping around him to shut the door behind them.  

[Ma Sai The Caged Tiger]

Tobin watched in awe at the change that came over the crazed man. He hadn't switched as far as he could tell, but the light of lucidity had filled his eyes. He shivered lightly at the ghosting touch, following his hand with his eyes puzzled. The blood hadn't trailed that far, so he could see no reason why the man was so fixated. Eventually he reached into the kit and pulled out the bandage that he himself had used on the man's knuckles. "Wait...I don't think that will...." His protests like before went ignored and with a sigh he gave up and let the man do what he wanted. He could just sew it together after.

He winced when the pressure was applied, but held still dutifully as the wrap was applied. It didnt take long for it to neatly tie, but as soon as he finished he wiped Tobin off and pulled him to his feet. The smaller brunet was about to thank him when he lurched forwards out of the bathroom. "W-wait where are we going?" He found out soon enough when the warm sunshine was let in through the back door and he was gently steered out. Hearing the door click closed he turned, eying him strangely. "It's very nice outside, but I need to-" He cut himself off, about to say sew and instead found something better as an excuse." finish dinner. Please." With that he circled around the man, moving his uninjured hand towards the knob.  

[Sorrow_Mirth_and_Sin]

Theo reached behind him and grabbed the boy by the waistline of his jeans, pulling him back around and pushing him ahead of him. He moved forward slowly, stepping to keep himself between Tobin and the door. He lunged forward a few steps, Tithe's predatory growl rumbling up his throat, but he made no move to actually attack. He slowed again instead, his eyes sharply focused and almost laughing, a playful grin stretched across his lips. He wouldn't let Tobin pass him, constantly moving in his way or driving him back instead like some strange dance.

Curiously, he seemed to register the boy's words this time. He even shook his head, though the movement was slight, perhaps unintentional or unconnected to the gesture it was linked to.  

[Ma Sai The Caged Tiger]

The growl coming from the other man's throat startled Tobin, and for a moment he believed the man to have changed. But the smile was not something he had seen on Tithe yet and the odd jig he found himself in was rather enjoyable. He found himself forgetting his cares and excuses, joining the game and laughing care freely for the first time in years.

He danced around with the other male for a good long while, letting the easy fun wash over him as warmly as the sun's last ray's. Last...Looking up he noted that the sun was quickly on it's way to setting and he slowed to a halt, looking over with a smile as he panted from exertion. "Hey..I really should get inside. You too, it'll be getting cold soon alright? That was a whole bunch of fun but now I really should finish dinner."  

[Sorrow_Mirth_and_Sin]

Theo stilled, focusing on the boy's mouth as he spoke as if he could see the words and they fascinated him. He looked up at the sky and the sinking sun, shrugging. Night and cold meant almost nothing to him, he suffered from the pull of neither. He moved, out of Tobin's way but not away from him. He reached out and took the boy's hand, gently removing the bandaging, heedless to any protests the boy might have had.  

[Ma Sai The Caged Tiger]

Tobin sighed in relief when the man finally moved out of his way. He had started to head towards the door when he felt the other's hand close around his wrist. He protests when He noticed what was about to happen, but he was ignored, no matter how hard he tried to pull. "Wait, It probably hasnt clotted...yet?" He had been expecting an immediate welling of blood when the wrap came away, but was surprised to see-something completely different. True, his thumb was still injured, but not to the degree he had been earlier. Instead of something that looked like it could make him faint from blood loss, it looked like a minor cut.He could have sworn he had almost cut through to his cuticle, but feeling it lightly he could tell it wasnt even half that far. "But..."  

[Sorrow_Mirth_and_Sin]

Theo seemed to lose interest, dropping the bandage on the lawn chair and wandering across the yard. He stopped near the area Tobin had chosen to start his new garden, placing one foot on a sizable rock that would need to be dug up and then stepping up and bracing his other foot against another, balancing on his toes. He looked around at Tobin's work curiously, almost entirely mindless of what he was doing while he looked and then his attention was venturing elsewhere once again, his head craning skyward and searching the darkening sky. The city was terribly light polluted but the first few traces of starlight could just barely be seen -- a bit easier for him when his pupils slitted, sharpening his focus. He sighed, his gaze flicking from one point of light to another as he leaned back, his feet swivelling to accommodate the change in balance, his arm rising in a lazy stretch and then folding as his fingers caught in the hair low on the back of his head -- not having another hand to clasp there.  

[Ma Sai The Caged Tiger]

Tobin continued to stare in open wonder at his hand long after the other make had left his side. After a few more moments he shook it off and looked up at his preoccupied friend. "Hey...I need to go re wrap this and finish dinner alright? So uh, either stay near the house or come inside with me." he didnt expect an answer, this personality seemed like it couldnt speak.

Reaching out, he carded his hand gently through the man's hair, almost as if h were trying to thank him for playing today. Turning his back he headed slowly towards the door, moving his uninjured hand towards the handle to let himself inside.