Raksha "Hellcat" Kurosawa (mercenary_cat) wrote in landvik_logs, @ 2013-05-02 03:10:00 |
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Current music: | Demons - Imagine Dragons |
Entry tags: | !shifter, raksha |
Who: Raksha and Aidrian (pov)
When: May 1, late night
Where: Sitting on the roof
What: Aidrian's pov (oh snap) for a look at Raksha through another pair of eyes.
Warnings: mostly just angst, Aidrian's trying to be there for his brother
Rating: PGish probably
When you feel my heat
Look into my eyes
It’s where my demons hide
It’s where my demons hide
Don’t get too close
It’s dark inside
It’s where my demons hide
It’s where my demons hide
When Aidrian got back to their room after a long day hunting an obscure line of folklore, he found his twin absent. Raksha had been in something akin to a good mood after the rescue, as much for the hunt itself as anything else, Aidrian knew. His twin was more cat than human than most people realized and along with that...predator to the core. Of the two of them, Aidrian had always had an easier time seeming human than Raksha had. He knew the post-hunt high wouldn't last. So moody as to be defined by it, Raksha could go from humor to killer in a heartbeat or any other unexpected switch. The scent of cat was strong in a way that implied his brother had been here between finishing work and now. Nostrils flaring reminiscent of his equine half, Aidrian moved around the set of rooms, going through his usual post work routine. Raksha's shoulder holster and jacket were on his bed with the phone. Aidrian eyed them with a sigh, at least their presence meant Raksha wasn't far. It was an easy guess.
Giving Raksha a little longer to be solitary, Aidrian changed clothes and took a brief shower just to feel like he wasn't covered in old book dust anymore. He'd not finished the salad from lunch, so he settled in to do so now. Sometimes Landvik felt so foreign, to know he didn't have to pretend to be human here. Less than a year in Norway, he supposed it wasn't a surprise to still find things odd. He still wasn't sure that coming here was the best choice, but it'd be the only thing to shake his twin out of the grieving self-destructive streak spurred by Izzy's death. Aidrian missed his brother in law too. Izzy had been family, Aidrian had never really been a loner. At least not by choice. He'd been afraid for the first year that his twin would follow Izzy. And was still grateful everyday that that hadn't been the case. Whether that was for him, because Raksha wanted to live, or Raksha's promise to Izzy, Aidrian didn't know for sure.
Finishing his well overdue dinner, Aidrian pulled shoes back on and slipped out to find his twin. It didn't take long to get to the rooftop where Raksha liked to go when the cracks were showing. His eyes had well adjusted to the dark by the time he stepped out onto roof. It only took a few moments to spot the still form of his twin near one side. He felt the brief kick of tension in his gut, moving forward slowly to gauge his twin's mood. "Comin' to babysit me again?" the words drifted back to him, cynical humor and something underneath.
"Older brother's right," Aidrian replied, pausing a foot or two behind Raksha, who didn't turn around. Aidrian could read the tension in the smoothly muscled shoulders. Easy enough when Raksha was his usual shirtless self. A soft snort from Raksha was the only response. It was an old joke between them, born with only five minutes between them. Frowning at his twin's refusal to face him, Aidrian moved closer, continuing with the line, "Someone's gotta keep you out of trouble," teasing, testing the response. Silence.
"Good luck with that," the reply was a heartbeat too late and still Raksha didn't face him. Aidrian didn't miss the raw undertone to the words. He stepped to the edge, turning so he could face his twin. The ugly bruise from the cattle prod was still visible inside one hip and disappearing below the waistline of Raksha's jeans. The look in those golden eyes was a punch to the gut, red-rimmed and full of pain. The predator was there, but tired and wounded. Raksha met his look, but didn't speak. Asking for comfort had never been Raksha's way. He'd carry it all, refusing to show weakness, self-control so strong it was a fight to relax. Aidrian didn't speak, words didn't go as far. Instead he moved to put an arm around his twin, concern deepening when other than the tensing of sleek muscle, Raksha didn't fight him. His twin was sitting, so Raksha's head was even with Aidrian's chest.
After a moment, he felt Raksha's fingers curl around the edge of his shirt, gripping firmly. Humming the tune for the old Gaelic lullaby their mother had sung, he ran his fingers through the soft, black hair. Kept humming, even when his shirt started to feel damp and the tremble of suppressed tears rippled through Raksha's muscles. He knew where his twin was. Remembered all too well in the first few years, how he'd crashed and burned each time the anniversary of Mikah's death came around. How Raksha had shaken him out of nearly unconscious suicide with razor words that lanced the wound and let it bleed clean. And stayed close after, a silent well of strength when Aidrian had none. So he tried to give the same back when Raksha's tears soaked his shirt and those golden eyes desperately sought understanding.
He stayed until the cool night air made them both shiver. Until Raksha didn't fight him when Aidrian pulled him to their rooms, too tired to argue. Ignored the soft snarl when he tried to help his twin with removing shoes. Raksha did it himself, curling up on his bed after. Aidrian kicked off his own shoes and sat on Raksha's bed, rubbing his twin's shoulder. Moonlight filtered in the window, limming the contours of Raksha's body with silver and highlighting the drops of moisture on the dark lashes. Grabbing a blanket, Aidrian curled up next to his twin, covering them both with the blanket. It would have looked odd to an observer, but Aidrian didn't care. Neither of them ever had, their interaction had always been more animal than human. And Aidrian knew how important touch was to his twin, how it could do more than words. He knew because it was the same for him. He couldn't make the pain Raksha felt go away, but he could be there so his twin didn't have to face it alone.