Truths Exposed [For FP-luff! Ended]

[Tigeress]

Her eyes were red and worn from crying, the nature of her dilemma was a strange one. She was excited, oh, was she ever! To be having her own children was an exciting point in her life. But, she was young, the equivalent of 23 in human years, and with a lot of life before her. Not only that but... the father of her children, had been a passionate one-night stand... though there had been talk of more, she'd been in hiding since she first started getting hints of the pregnancy, and now it was too obvious to deny.

Her hands sought the obvious swell at her stomach, not prominent enough to warrant a wobble, but enough so that you could tell it was not winter fat or any such thing. There was life growing inside her, and it was his. Would this change things between them? For better or for worse? On one hand, Igal would have to know eventually, she could dissapear away from Silvanus, but not from Igal, they had intended to meet only two days from the current. It was truly now or never, and by never, obviously that was two days. By Igal coming to terms with the situation, would Silvanus allow himself to be closer to her as they had been? Or would he shun her away and attempt to regain Igal's trust, would they both turn against her?

Gods she was so afraid. Rejection was on her mind in strong waves, the knowledge that even facing death, her parents held no concern for their daughter, like Igal, she'd been unwanted. Perhaps that was why they connected so well. Silvanus would reject her too, wouldn't he? Or the children, yes, they might pose a problem in all of this. Her life, independantly, was over, and now there would be presences at her side day in and out, possibly excluding one depending on how the talk went.

She knocked on the door, loud and slow, her face down, her teeth worrying at her lip as they had been for about an hour, red raw skin being evidence of her fear. She felt so vulnerable, so alone, and she hated it. She hated not being in control of this, hated not having anything cement to stand on, nothing to depend on, this could end in so many ways, most of them terrible. It was suffice to say that her will to be happy was for once outweighed by her misery and fear.

Someone was coming to the door...

[FlyingPanther]

Igal and Silvanus sat at the table. Igal had still not managed to gain a bipedal form, and so was having a hard time relaxing in a chair that was obviously made for those who were. Silvanus had offered to have them both sit on the couch, with him in his animal form, but Igal said he was never going to learn if someone didn't push him to. He wanted to be equal with Silvanus in that respect, and so he attempted painfully to shift into a more comfortible bipedal form in the chair while Silvanus continued to encourage him while drinking tea.

Igal blinked slightly at the knock on the door. Where they expecting somebody? He looked over at Silvanus, who shruged as well. Both had expected it to be a rather uneventful day. The only visiter they were anticipating was Astyana in two days time. "Maybe Ophelia has come by with the kids? But she had said they were not ready for the travel yet! I wasn't anticipating them around for another couple months." Silvanus tried to explain the knocking at the door, only to realize it couldn't have been his friend and their children. How ironic, that the events that were to take place would change this day into something much more then either of them had anticipated, and that it would be...not his friend, Ophelia...but his friend Astyana with his children!

Igal shrugged and headed to the door with a small bound, slinking quickly over with his animal form. After a couple of moments struggling with the door, he finally opened it, and there was Astyana. Igal stifled the smile that threatened to appear on his lips for a split second at seeing his friend, but just as quickly as the urge had come...it had gone...instead, replaced with wide eyes. Her eyes were as red as her pelt, and watery with tears. She clutched at her stomach with a hand, a stomach that was not painfully noticable, but one that was undeniable from the placement of the bludge. Igal was far to shocked to move...his mind racing wildly, but not managing to stick to one actual thought. Astyana was pregnant? Who had done this to her? Did Astyana have friends, hell, lovers that he didn't know about? Why was she coming here? Did they do something to her to hurt her? More and more questions seemed to pop in his head.

Silvanus could see Igal standing at the door in shock, unmoving, and not gesturing for the person at the door to enter. "Who is at the door Igal? Whats wrong?" he quickly strode over to his son's side and stopped midstep, recognizing what had took Igal a couple moments almost immidiately. His eyes mirrored Igals...only...he was not as delusional about who the father was. He knew that the only men in Astyana's life was himself and Igal....and Igal had not mentioned them having sex. He backed up slowly, not sure what to do...and feeling the intence urge to escape. How could this be happening to him AGAIN. He just had a bunch of children with his other friend, and now he had gotten this girl pregnant? 'Calm down, calm down, they might not be yours. Who knows...she might have had a one night fling with someone she met...or maybe Igal wasn't being honest with you? Just...don't panic.' he stopped moving backwards but still felt the intence urge to do so. He cursed at himself...unable to process his own thoughts, much like Igal.

Igal moved aside, letting her in with a bow of his head in the direction of the couch. His affectionate side finally winning over, and despite his emotionless way of being, it was obvious that he was worried about the Astyana. "Astyana....you didn't...tell me you were....well...you know. Are you alright?" his voice remained monotone and as steady as he could make it, his eyes showed that he was worried however. Silvanus just stood were he was...not saying a thing...trying to collect his thoughts before he would give himself away to Igal. There was still the chance that they were not his after all, and boy would he hate for her to say they werent his...AND for Igal to find out about their small affair.

[Tigeress]

Igal was the one who opened the door, making Astyana duck her head in embarassment, she hadn't wanted him to see her like this, she hadn't wanted for anyone to see her like this, but she simply hadn't been able to properly collect herself. At all. Though she'd tried, she'd wanted to be strong and appear casual about the whole matter, 'thanks for the sperm, a pleasure making babies with you' like some sort of estranged business transaction. However, life didn't seem to want to permit that, not with all the questions left unanswered.

Somehow, she still felt like she should shield Igal from this, but one glance at Silvanus told her that she couldn't do this any longer, she had to be honest here and now, and she wouldn't let him slink away from this. She felt for him, she really did, for she'd just recently heard from Igal about a similar situation with his friend Ophelia... but on the other hand, it upsetted her greatly to see him so ready to flee from this. He wasn't even having the children, hell, he probably didn't even know the pain of the emotional attachment that she did.

Yes, she had feelings for the handsome stag, of course she did! What woman could ever deny the strings of emotion for her very first lover? Not to mention, he had been more than that to her, he had been a friend, and she wanted that to continue, but she didn't want it to be forced, not like this, not like this would be a fate worse than death but one that he had to bear simply out of guilt. No, she didn't want it that way. If he truly could not handle this, she would do this on her own, completely on her own. She had the confidence, all she needed was the skill and knowledge to back it up.

Her timid nature seemed to slip a moment as she stepped purposefully into the room after Igal moved, not following her friend for once, but instead heading towards Silvanus. She made her movements slow, as if at any moment he would bolt or freak out should she make any sudden movements. However, it was a reflection of how she felt inside as well, she didn't want to be doing this, she didn't want to be doing this to him. He might have thought he was keeping his composure well, and he was, but it was slipping just as hers had.

"Silvanus, we need to have a talk. As my first and only, I think I can safely say there is no doubt in this matter." There it was, the truth, for both of them. She'd only been with Silvanus, even in the span of them being apart, there had been no others. Igal would now know the truth, but would he remember that night and curse himself for not having seen it? Her hand reached out tentatively for Silvanus', aiming to keep him still and to try and coax him into coming closer to her, she didn't like to feel like she was cornering him.

Her eyes looked up at him, searching rapidly, back and forth from one eye to the other, trying to check for the first signs of any response or emotion. She was prepared for everything and nothing, the worst and... well, always hoping for the best. But it was too unreasonable to think things would go the way she wanted them to in an ideal world, she was just another lover to him, however a step or two below that was still feasable... hopefully...

[FlyingPanther]

Silvanus could see the hurt in Astyana's eyes as he backed up slowly, and he cursed himself all the more. He knew that this meant alot to Astyana, even if she wasn't exactly ready for parenthood either. It was hard to ignore the fact that she had such a deep and unrelenting 'thing' for him, and he was sure that him backing up in such a fashion was more then hurtful for her to behold. It was just...hard. It was Ophelia all over again, and Silvanus hadn't been ready for that either. He felt like some kind of monster, placing responsibility upon those who didn't want it...or were not ready for it. He wasn't ready for such commitments either, which was the part of him that wanted to run away and never come back. It was the side of him that he knew Severus could see, and resented him for. He resented himself as well.

All he ever wanted to be was a good person, but he could not escape his past, and he could not escape what was happening to him now, no matter how much he wanted to. The world seemed to constantly be testing him, checking to see if he would stay in character, if he would be the valiant and chivalrous male he had always wanted to be. The tests were hard, and Silvanus felt as if all he was doing was flunking out. He watched silently as she came towards him...his eyes flicking nervously to Igal. He knew what was coming...and at this point...he was more worried about Igal then anything.

Igal watched as Astyana completely ignored his worried gaze and questioning...as if he wasn't even in the room, and drift over to Silvanus, a new grace in her stride despite her bulge. He could almost imagine transparent white silk trailing behind her like some sort of angel, that was how graceful he saw her in that moment. He was so confused. What was going on? Why was she going to Silvanus? HE was her protector! He promised he would always protect her! He promised he would make her life easier for her! Wouldn't she stride towards him in need of help?

Then it all came crashing down, as if a large tidal wave had been forming behind the three that no one had noticed, and had just smashed into them. It all happened rather quickly. Silvanus' eyes widened as Astyana said quite bluntly to him that they were his, and in front of Igal. Silvanus immediately turned to Igal, his eyes filled with horror. He wondered why it had to be like this...but knew somewhere within him that it would have to be known eventually. Igal's mouth dropped. One and only? They didn't....

"You didn't." it was a voice that made Silvanus tremble. Astyana and Silvanus would have never heard this new tone of voice, maybe not have even imagined it in their wildest and most terrifying dreams. If Igal's eyes could have changed color, they would have been a tumultuous solid black which no light could have reflected off of. It could have been his normal monotone voice...but it held so much venom, the words nearly physically oozed out of his mouth. While it was more a statement, there seemed to be a bit of a plead in there somewhere as well, though it was weak compared to the pure hatred that seemed to eminate from every pore. It had happened in a split second. Igal was no longer himself, he was something else far more frightening. His fur bristled unnaturally, and if one had the bravery to stare at him long enough, one might notice that he shook.

Silvanus looked over at Astyana and then back to Igal. All words he might have said stifled by his fear of Igal's new 'form'. He looked back to Astyana for a second...as if to say something, his eyes fearful, but trying to be soft, as if ignoring Igal's fearsome self. Before he could say anything, however, Igal was now stalking over towards them, as if he was some sort of feral beast, eying Silvanus like he was some sort of prey. Before Silvanus could say anything Igal interjected again, "You traitor. You knew..." his voice held emotion that neither of them could have ever heard before...so much that he couldn't finish what he was going to say.

Silvanus' eyes widened, and immediately put Astyana behind himself, shielding her. "Don't do this Igal. You're scaring Astyana...we can talk about this..." Silvanus pleaded, slowly backing up with Astyana, attempting to get her out of impending harms way. He knew Astyana was probably just as scared as him, hell, maybe even less scared...but he thought that maybe by bringing up something harmful being done to Astyana, Igal might stop his advance.

The rodent dog showed his teeth in a smile that showed nothing but the malice in his heart at that moment. Igal had completely changed, it was as if something had snapped at the words 'one and only'. Nothing in his features remotely would be able to remind them of their old Igal. It was hard to tell what he was thinking, though probably only the worst things imaginable. Igal would probably not remember any of this later...his emotions were running so high. Still he slinked forward, violence playing upon his movements.

[Tigeress]

It seemed like her life was running on fast-forward, everything happening in a split second, barely any time to think or react. She could tell Silvanus was torn, but she'd been expecting that, she was torn herself. Was she even ready to be a mother at all? Even if Silvanus agreed to help her out, would that be enough for the children? Would they need a real father that was around 24/7, would they develop differently if they could tell their parents weren't in love? There were too many questions, and she couldn't get the answers.

Before she could open her mouth to speak again to Silvanus, to either begin the conversation they needed to have, or to reassure him, or anything else, Igal had spoken in a voice she was unfamiliar with. Turning slowly, fearfully towards her childhood friend, she couldn't stifle a gasp, her hand going to her mouth seeing what she'd done to him. This wasn't supposed to happen this way, Igal was supposed to be the reasonable, level-headed one, she had thought he would just shake it off as he did with everything else that had bothered him when she'd been around. She'd never seen this side of him before, and Silvanus' fear could only mirror her own.

"Igal I... please, he didn't force himself on me, I wanted... I kind of... I... seduced him. This is my fault." She didn't know if trying to shift the blame would do any good, but as Igal began to advance she started to panic, reaching for Silvanus' shoulder to pull him back while stepping forward. As soon as she was in front of him, she turned and wrapped her slender form around the front of his, eyes wrenched shut, just praying that she didn't get herself or the children badly harmed with her bold decision. "You'll have to go through me, if you intend to hurt him." She knew for a fact that her Igal, the Igal she knew would never hurt her, ever, but this... was this Igal? Could she use his affection for her, friendly or otherwise, to try and change his mind? Or would he even see her there? Did he only see Silvanus, and the pain he wanted to inflict? She saw it in his eyes, and it was... horrifying.

"I think the option for talking this over passed by the moment I spoke..." She whispered quietly, hurriedly next to Silvanus' ear, the talking seemed to calm her a bit, even though she believed her own words, Igal wouldn't listen to reason, not with that look in his eyes. How would she calm him down? How could they fix this even if he did? She was so lost, and coated in guilt like a hot wax searing into her skin. No pity did she want, she understood just how very much this was her fault, all of it, the entire mess. Suddenly she thought she shouldn't have come, it was her burden to bear, and she really did feel like she seduced Silvanus in that moment. She truly believed it had been all her. So then why was she standing here, presenting her tender flesh to be shredded instead of his?

Silently she cursed the handsome stag she held onto and his inability to feel anything but lust, though she knew whatever driving force made her protect him, be it simply adoration or love, was not his fault either. Nothing was. Which was why she couldn't let him pay the price for her selfishness.

[FlyingPanther]

Silvanus looked at Astyana in suprise as she wheeled in front of him, now sheilding him. He shook his head, and in his panic, forcefully ripped her from in front of him, attempting to bring her back around and behind him. "Don't...he's not himself, and you're carrying. Don't be foolish..." he whispered imploringly and with a stern demanding in his voice as well. In his panic and the fear of what was to happen next, he seemed to have forgotten his polite mannerisms, but he was sure she would understand. Now was not the time for things like, 'Please, m'lady, let me take care of the brute, you stand behind and take care of your little bundles. Wouldn't want you to miscarry!'.

Igal's head snapped violently in the direction of Astyana now, wrinkles seeming to appear in places unimaginable as he sneered, spit beginning to collect between his off-white teeth, dribbling ominously. "He knew that I love you, even if YOU don't. HE KNEW. Weather you seduced him or not HE ultimately made the CHOICE to FUCK YOU." now he swong his head at Silvanus, mouth slightly open as if ready to shred. Silvanus was to afraid to move now, hoping that Astyana would take the hint and not do something foolish, and keep behind him, run out of the house if need be. "You backstabing son of a bitch...I am charged to protect her...and LOOK WHAT YOU HAVE DONE." the last part was spoken with the vehemence of the devil himself.

Silvanus was to afraid, but in the end he would be feeling a great amount of guilt, as he did the night of the occurence. He tried so hard to be what seemed he was intrinsically unable to be. Why did he do this? None of this would have happened if he had just said no. And what was worse, was that Astyana had given him the choice to say no. He thought he would be doing a favor for both Astyana and Igal, but he saw now that his reasoning had been tainted heavily by lust. Where did this sudden lust come from? Silvanus had always been the type to have a long and lasting relationship with anyone before he had sex with anyone. Why now had his teenager like lust come? And how the hell was he getting so many people pregnant on the first time? His fear kept him from thinking, but this would all be questions running through his mind if he was alive by the end of this.

Igal began to lower himself, as if to leap, his tendons poping as he readied to spring. Silvanus gave one last plead to Astyana to stay out of the way, before shifting into his animal form. He had no weapons in the house, and his only way of protecting himself and Astyana was with his antlers. Making himself smaller would help to lessen the amount of space exposed for injuring. He lowered his antlers his eyes still wide. "Please...Igal...I've done you wrong...I've done something terrible...but no one needs to get more hurt."

"I WILL NOT BE THE ONLY ONE HURTING. YOU WILL NOT TAKE HER AWAY FROM ME." Igal's shrieks only seemed to make half sence, but it was understandible despite the panic. He didn't understand the situation...he only felt his betrayl by the one he loves and the one who was suppose to care for him. He leapt, speeding midair towards Silvanus and the antlers. He didn't seem to care that he was about to be possibly impaled.

[Tigeress]

The force of his movement made her grip his arms in surprise, which worked out well, because she refused to allow him to take the blows that should be meant for her. She dug her hands forcefully, but not aiming to hurt, into his forearms and stared at him, shaking her head from side to side. "No, I won't let him hurt you, not because of me." She had torn everything apart between them, and every word Igal said was because she had made the choice, even knowing somewhere deep down, that this is what would happen. Though she never imagined it to be quite so terrible...

She tried to repress a shudder but failed, paling slightly as she listening to Igal's feral growling of words. "No, Igal. I made the choice. Several times he tried to refuse me, for YOU. Because he couldn't stand the thought... Igal, he told me. He told me how you felt, and I made the call. Hate me, because I was the selfish and insensitive one. I... I did this to you." Tears formed in her eyes, hot and heavy. It was enough to distract her to that Silvanus could throw her off balance, her hands catching her on a table behind them where she stood frozen in disbelief.

Why wasn't he listening? Silvanus didn't do this to him, it had been her. She'd known about his feelings, and ignored them for the sake of her own. God was she disgusted with herself. And yet, she was disgusted for feeling disgusted... was this really her fault? Was she supposed to be punished for having feelings for someone else? Did Igal really attempt to 'claim' her in such a way so that all others who tried to compete for her affections would have to suffer? He had seemed so kind... how could he... where did this come from all of a sudden?

"I WAS NEVER YOURS!" She shouted as she, too, changed to her animal form and lept forward to intercept Igal's lunge, hoping to knock him back and save him from the fate she saw glistening in ivory glory upon Silvanus' skull. Her anger and panicked fear had gotten the better of her, but if she could restrain him in some way, or shock him enough to get his attention, make him stop just a moment, just long enough to think, to see what he had become... then anything was worth it.

[FlyingPanther]

There was no time to reply to any of Astyana's comments, the two males locked in their own gazes, flinging back replies and insults with one another. The truth of the matter was that Igal was not the only one hurting, though out of all of them it was hard to tell who was hurting the most, he or them. Silvanus was guilt ridden, and while he was to intent on protecting Astyana from her own protector as well as a little paniced, it was something that was raging in his subconcious. If he had just said no. If he had just said no...none of the pain exhibited here would be happening. Indeed, the three of them might have been sipping on tea and laughing like they used to before this happened. Astyana might have been helping Igal into bipedal form. And maybe if he had just said no, she wouldn't have been under the impression that he would continue that relationship. Maybe...she really would have been Igal's. If he had just said no...

If Igal had not been so focused on maiming Silvanus, he might have voiced his thoughts. Not his angel, not his Astyana. She would never hurt him like this. They were at the very least, friends, and his best friend would never have done this to him. He had clicked into his brain that it was all coniving Silvanus' fault, and nothing either of them said at this point was going to change his mind.

He heard Astyana's final words as she crashed into him, his heart breaking for the second time that day. No...she was never his, he admited to himself, but still the beast raged on. They fell to the floor, Astyana on top of him, and with a great shove he pushed her off, claws digging into her tender face flesh as he did so. He didn't seem to even know who she was in his feral state, just an obsticle on his way to his goal. "ASTYANA!" Silvanus called out in a paniced voice. He wasn't able to see the extent of the damage before Igal had recollected himself, and now lunged again, though this time at Silvanus' exposed neck.

Rat-like maw clamped on to Silvanus' throat with murderous intent, and all Silvanus could do was stagbark out his pain. He swong his neck in attempt to dislodge Igal enough to kick him off, another bleet of pain immiting from his mouth. But instead he shifted the center of gravity, and the two fell on Silvanus' side, so that Igal was on top, his maw still clamped dangerously onto Silvanus' neck. Silvanus bucked wildly with his front and back legs, but that did little to hinder Igal. His bite was crushing. His last attempt was with his antlers, which grazed Igal's face aswell. Igal stumbled back letting go of Silvanus' neck.

It bleed freely, but even so, Silvanus called upon his minor power of ignoring pain. He knew now that Igal truely ment buisness, and he wasn't about to let him hurt Astyana the same way, love or no love. He stood shakily and faced his antlers towards the bloody mawed monster Igal. Igal didn't seem to be paying much attention to either of them, as he clasped a paw against his own raked face.

[Tigeress]

Suddenly it had been worth it, it had all been worth it. To see Igal's true face, it had been worth every moment of guilt and pain she'd felt. He tried to claim her for himself without her permission, and when he couldn't have her, everyone else had to die. This was not who she wanted to be with, this was not someone she could have ever loved. And if she had... would she be in this position a few years from now? If she were to incur his anger in another way, without Silvanus to help her, would he have shredded her apart? Maybe this was an inevitable turn of events.

Her protector had failed her, coaxed her into a false sense of security only to tear it apart, tear her apart. Her screams tore through the air, loud and ragged as the marks that ran down her angelic features. Her collarbone dispalyed a wicked gash that could have been a killing blow had it been any higher. As it was, she had trouble breathing from the bruised and/or broken ribs, and trouble seeing from the blood which had gotten into her eyes. She folded onto her side when the vicious weight of Igal's body had lifted, moving along on her stomach in a desperate attempt to get closer to Silvanus. She had to help him...

"SILVANUS!!" Her scream was interrupted by a sob hard enough to shake her entire body, which in an instant was up and moving, without thought or notice of the pain which had made her feel sick to her stomach already. She couldn't get a clear view, couldn't reach Silvanus from this angle, and if she got any closer, she would be in danger of being hit by one of them as they swung each other around in a bloody dance.

"IGAL STOP!!!" She knew her screams wouldn't stop him, for the sight of her shredded flesh had done nothing to make him come back to himself, it had only really urged him along. At last it seemed Silvanus had gained them a moment to catch their breath, as Igal touched his own face in what seemed like shock or disbelief, which would surely only make way for more anger in moments. She finally reached Silvanus' side, trying not to block his view of Igal, or get in the way of his antlers. It seemed everything was slowing down, maybe Igal was coming back to himself? She looked on eagerly, though her body was tense, waiting for the next strike to come. "Silvanus... is he... himself again?" Who would know better than Silvanus? She couldn't tell just yet..

[edited for better time-meshing with posts XD]

[FlyingPanther]

Igal's beast had gotten what it wanted, but at a high price that he was not fully aware of yet. Igal was slowly coming to, to the suprise of both Silvanus and Astyana surely. He winced as he lifted his paw from his face, looking down upon it to see imperfect streaks of blood staining his white fur and blue pawpads. He looked at it as if he was not entirely sure what had occured. His claws were still unsheathed, and he looked at them with a forboding curiousity, glistening with blood in the light provided by the kitchen he was in, seemingly unaware of what was going on in front of him with Silvanus and Astyana. He could hear their voices flow in and out of his consciousness...the screams helped to 'sober' him up. The taste of blood suddenly became very clear to him...and his eyes opened to the drama unfolding before him.

His mouth stood agap as he finally realized what he had done. How he had let his emotions swing so out of control that he had hurt not only Silvanus (for which the beast seemed satisfied with), but also Astyana. When did he hurt her? "God...what have I done..." He wasn't sure what to do...now that he had settled back into himself. He was still angry...hurt...but there was no beast controling his emotions now...and he was not sure how to deal with the reminents of what he had done...let alone the strange emotions that ran through his usually fairly emotionless self.

Silvanus kept his eyes on Igal, watching Igal's slow decent back into reality...and slowly, he visibly relaxed as well, but didn't change back to his bipedal...and didn't lower his antlers. Just incase he had to be ready. He somehow doubted though...that Igal would continue...he had tasted his pound of flesh...and he could see in the creatures eyes that he was horrified with what he had done. It was the next extreme after such a beastial form...his fear...at what he knew had happened. He watched Igal's eyes wander over to Astyana...and knew he was looking at the wounds.

[OOC: um...well...I dont really know what to add....or...um...edit...or anything to make it more of a reply to your reply...so...I hope this is sufficient >.>;]