Forks of Roads and Tongues [End]

[Kasatsu]

They were laughing at him

Sitting up in the bed, he sat there panting for a moment. Sliding out of the bed he used his beak to catch the pillow and toss it under his wing. Knowing the only thing that would allow him to go back to sleep he left his room and hobbled down the hall.

Reaching the door he gave a little shake, futilely trying to brush off the fear that still clung to him.

Using his beak, he pushed and nudged a the door till he had managed to force the door open slightly. "Kar?" He whispered his brother's nickname through the crack, waiting for a reply before he he made any move to make the crack bigger so he could enter. Sometimes his brother did not like it and he did not want to make him angry.

[Nako]

It was late. Technically, the hybrid should have been sleeping, but it was during these times that Karrock could find some level of privacy in his room. His aunt was asleep, and so was his brother, and only the faintest of sounds of the ever working attendants finishing up the most grueling of financial tasks could be heard across the way could be heard.

So, what would a lad of roughly 11 turns of age, finally creeping into the first stages of adolescence be doing in his room at this late hour? Well, probably what most young boys do at that age(... or not)... going through his wardrobe!

Turning this way and that, Karrock admired his reflection in the blue vanity before him. He hated that vanity. It wasn't even a pretty color blue, but some vague pastel shade that was the universal 'male' color for young children. Within the reflection though, Karrock was trying on a much deeper, much prettier shade of blue in the form of a decorative scarf. He hated this color blue as well... while at the same time loving it. He hated it because it reminded him of those half breed swirls on his wings... but then again, he couldn't help the fact that this color looked absolutely -fabulous- on him!

"I don't know, Fifi. Does it show off my 'half breed' side too much?" Posing, he turned to regard the finely clipped, tiny poodle that sat on the edge of his bed. The dog regarded him with huge, bulging eyes, trembling just a touch before curling back up in a ball to sleep.

"Hm. I'll take that as a no."

It was a good thing that Errol made quite a bit of noise at the door opening it, or else he might not have gotten as amiable(if Karrock could actually be so) reception at his arrival. "What do you want?" He sighed, tearing the scarf from his neck and folding it neatly back in his drawer carefully with the clawed tips of his wings. "Shouldn't you be in bed?"

[Kasatsu]

"So should you," he reminded his brother softly with a curious look and tilt of his head and he inched and nudged his way inside the room. He had only been witness to his brother closing the drawer so he was not sure what the older male had been up to.

After seeing that his brother was not going to too him out on his rear, he continued to hop over to his brother's bed. Upon reaching it he have a small twist of his upper body to toss the the yellow covered pillow he held under his wing, watching as it fell with a small plop next to his brother's dog. That done he then turned his whole body with a small hop before jumped back on the bed so he sat down right in front of his pillow.

Reaching out with a tentative wing he gave the dog a soft pet with his feathers.

Not looking at his brother he continued in his soft voice. "I could not sleep." He would not admit to his brother that he had had another nightmare though there would be no reason for his father to not know. His brother always seemed to know things like that whenever it pleased him.

[Nako]

He probably should have just yelled at him to leave. Normally he would have, but as he hat noted, it was late, and the last thing he wanted to do was wake up their aunt. While she wasn't necessarily a ferocious creature by any means, waking that woman up from her beauty sleep because of petty bickering was sure to put even the mild mannered serpent on edge.

Propping a wing onto the edge of his chair, he turned about to glare in the general direction of the bird, which seemed to be making himself most comfortable on his bed. The pillow that accompanied him said it all. He hardly had to ask what the boy was doing in his room. Regardless, Erroll offered him an explanation... one that he'd heard enough times. Karrock was very well able to keep to himself when his bad dreams came to haunt him. Even if it meant shivering all night under the covers in fear, he wouldn't go to his aunt or his brother for comfort. It just seemed.... demeaning.

Then again, he had to be the stronger one of the two of them. Erroll was quite a wet blanket in most situations; Karrock merely had to fill in the opposite dynamic, one would suppose. "Let me guess. Everyone picking on you again? Honestly, I think it's in your head, Erroll. Not nearly enough people are so cruel to you in real life. Not enough to warrant nightmares, anyways.

The tiny poodle trembled under the touch, but it was something that the tiny creature was merely prone to doing; it had nothing to do with fear or anything of the sort. Winding its head up towards the lad, she sniffed absently at the feathers that brushed over her head, giving her tail a tiny wag.

Without awaiting for an answer, Karrock hopped down from his seat, and onto the small double bed. At their present ages it was more than big enough for the both of them, but as Karrock grew older he knew he'd have to put a stop to these nightly visits if Erroll didn't grow out of it; a man has to have his privacy!

[Kasatsu]

Holding still so that she could sniff his feathers, he waited till she was done before continuing his treat of offering more gentle pets. The repetitive motion seemed to calm him a little. That combined with the presence of his brother, that was.

His brother, for all of his bark, would always protect him, this he knew even if his stubborn brother refused to accept it. At his brother's accusation he gave a definite, "Noo," while still not making eye contact.

For all that he loved his brother, the older sibling simply did not understand, was all. His brother, very much unlike him, was strong and thus it only made sense that he was never bothered by the reactions that people gave him. He, however, was not as lucky and thus it was his job to carry the burden for the both of them. A task his brother seemed to enjoy making fun of him for.

When his brother came over to his bed, he shifted so he was out of the way. "Can I sleep in here?" He asked softly, giving his brother wide eyes.

The question was probably slightly absurd at the current moment in time. After all, he was not going to be kicked out unless he really upset his brother and he had no aim for that.

[Nako]

Karrock gave him an expression that walked a fine line between exasperation and incredulity, rolling his golden eyes before falling back into his pillows. He hardly had much of a choice. The question that his brother asked him every night that he came into the room had become some farce of a courtesy, some rote questioning of acceptance though it seemed obvious that he wouldn't be turned away. Karrock absently wondered if the boy just asked out of habit, nowadays.

"I guess. Better you be quiet in here than crying in your room." He couldn't just give his brother admittance into his room without a sharp remark. In reality he liked his privacy; letting in without showing at least annoyance with his presence might make him more prone to coming into his room more often.

There was a moment of quiet, the only sound for a few moments would be the jingling of Fifi's collar as she jumped off the bed to slip out into the hallway, probably to go out the doggy door to wander outside a bit. She really couldn't go far, so Karrock never worried when she went out for a few minutes at night.

"I don't believe you, by the way." He said it in almost a conversational way, his high voice making it sound almost sing-song. "That's what you normally dream about. I know that's what it is because you never tell me when it is any more." He rolled over to look at the lad. "I don't see why it bothers you. You're more normal than me by a longshot."

[Kasatsu]

When the puppy had left he turned to face his brother. Grabbing the pillow he then wiggled his way up to the head of the bed, dropping it down on his 'side' of the bed before plopping down.

Giving his wings a small ruffle he settled down, making himself more comfortable. After all of his motions were done he gave his brother an innocent look. "I will be quite." He gave a nod to accent his words. There was no reason for him to be afraid of anything now, his big brother was here!

At his brother's accusation he guiltily slid his gaze away. Why did his brother not understand? Normal was all in the eyes of the beholder. After all, to him his brother was completely normal.

"If I had been born with two legs then I could run." The words were murmured so lightly that he was not even sure if he had spoken them aloud or if they had been thought. It was not just the looks or comments that he got that bothered him, but the limitations that his physical make up set forth.

[Nako]

Karrock shrugged, deflecting as usual. He didn't see what the big deal was about. He could fly just fine.. did he really need much else? "Auntie dont' walk either. She just slides around on her belly." That was meant for comic relief, but not much genuine humor reached his light tone. He stared up at the patterned wall a while. They were going down that road again... the one where they usually got into a 'pity me' contest that got them nowhere. Whatever grief Karrock felt about his situation was well hidden. Obviously if he didn't whine about his problem then it wasn't considered bad enough to be worse than whatever his brother worried about.

For the time being, he decided to keep to himself the fact that people thought him a monster when they saw him. He scritched an itchy spot behind jaw, the loose skin there stretching oddly with the motion. Absently, his snakelike tongue tasted the air. "We should be asleep." He mentioned, though he made no move to actually settle down for bed.

[Kasatsu]

He could not help but roll his eyes at his brother's comment. "Auntie is a snake," he replied, "she is suppose to slither on her belly. I am a bird and I am suppose to have two feet" He looked down at his one leg dejectedly.

So what if he was able to fly just fine? That was not the point. The point was that he only had one leg and therefore he was not content. If he had been any older it probably would have occurred to him that if he could not fly but had two legs his complaint would have been just the same. His tender mind could only grasp what it was knowingly missing rather than the main idea behind it.

Giving a small sigh which quickly turned into a yawn, he shifted onto his side. With one wing tucked under his cheek he gave his brother another of his puppy dog looks. "You should tell me a story," he suggested softly in his usual gentle - or weak as his brother liked to call it - tone.

[Nako]

Karrock shot a glance his way. Ugh... "I don't know any good ones..." But Erroll's pleading look was unabating. he assumed that he would not get much peace if he didn't go on with his brother's wishes. Coming up with some crap story would keep an argument from stirring up. He clucked his tongue, obviously trying to think of one.

"Once upon a time..." He started off lamely, buying time till something better came along. At that moment, Fifi had trotted back in and jumped up onto the bed. Aha. "There was... a dog." Was he buying it yet? Erroll seemed happy enough that he was at least attempting, but it was obvious he hadn't hooked him into it yet.

"And this dog... wasn't very pretty. He had some gimped up teeth... his ears were all mangled... and his butt looked like something got to it with some Lowland rot." Teehee. Butt. He snickered at the fact that he'd said 'butt'. "So pretty much, all of the other dogs would scream and run whenever they saw him because he wasn't pretty like the other dogs."

He sat up a bit, situating his pillows against the headboard so he could rest against them comfortably. At that point and time he was actually putting some thought into the tale he was weaving. "So, all alone, he wandered the streets without a friend in the world.. and that's when.." He paused for dramatic effect.