fallingbackup | The time of our great undoing

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[fabulae_victoriana]

The time of our great undoing

When Kevin woke up alone for the first time in months, he knew almost immediately that Glen was gone. If he were still human, he'd have looked everywhere for the man until he'd at least tracked down one of his Chains, and gotten confirmation from them that he was no longer in the world with them. But as it was, he could smell that the very spot he was laying on was the spot where Glen's trail had gone cold. The duke had vanished from the bed they shared as the knight slept.

That was well over a week ago now and in his head, Kevin's been lost ever since. He's done the best he can to take over Glen's duties around the house, and the Jabberwock, for whatever reason, has let him do it. But no matter how he tells himself that he's only minding things until Glen returns, and that he will, the atmosphere in the house rankles against him. Young Gilbert doesn't accept him -- not like this. The little Lacie pities him for the depth of his sadness; Lottie scoffs at him for thinking he can even attempt to fill Glen's shoes, even if he knows perfectly well he's only providing a poor substitute. With every day that passes, he feels more and more withdrawn, and so, when he can, Kevin escapes. He can be found wandering the city, now and again, letting the noise of it drown out his own thoughts. Or he can be found patrolling the fences around the farmlands as usual, perhaps in the hopes that the familiar solitude of it will help keep him in his right mind. But the truth is that Kevin hasn't felt this out of place and unsettled in at least a year, since he'd come to live in Glen's house in the first place. He'd thought he was home at last, that he'd found a new family and even a little peace. Now, it seems that all of that peace was in Glen all along, and Kevin has no idea when or if the duke will return.

But the most upsetting part of it all is what he does know. If Glen has really gone home, he's no doubt living through the Tragedy. Right now, somewhere, Kevin's Oswald is staring at the man who's broken his heart, there are swords raised between them, and the duke is maybe just realizing that he's going to die on that blade because Jack Vessalius never did love him enough.

And Kevin can't do anything about it.

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There's the clank of metal, the moment her Kevin goes down, a pair of the Rabbit's spear-headed chains materializing behind Lacie like two scorpion tails. When Kevin rolls out of the way, however, she holds back, waiting for some sign of when she's to join in.

Regardless of who often calls the shots in bed, she has no desire to steal his thunder, here. Particularly not when it's clear Kevin's having so much fun. She circles, as they move, intent on keeping herself at the best vantage point to see what's going on.

Back and forth, back and forth, the two Kevins exchange blows that grow more and more good-natured as the fight progresses. But even though they're fighting to amuse themselves and to let off some steam, sooner or later, someone has to win. Otherwise, the werewolf can't leave, and nobody gets the satisfaction of finishing. Thinking of it in those terms, this fight really is a good lead-in for what's to come next.

When the knight decides it's time to end it, he gives no indication of it until he's actually striking. In a burst of speed that turns him into a white, flashing blur, he has his one-eyed counterpart on the ground and disarmed, genuinely stunned, wondering why his sword is no longer in his hand. In the next half-second, the wolf twists on his heels and darts toward Lacie. If he can knock her down before her lover is back on his feet, taking them one at a time, he has a chance.

With her chains already out, all it takes is a thought for her to block the werewolf. Her feet may not be fast, but her mind is. All it had taken was her seeing him move so quickly against her Kevin for her to be ready. The bladed chains are whipping toward him in the same moment he blurs toward her.

She does not wait to see if they strike home, already summoning more of the things, weaving them into a defensive blur around her. The overall effect is almost beautiful. It's been a long while since she's had an opponent that wasn't a zombie. Lips pulling back in something between a grimace and a feral baring of teeth, she can't help being a little thrilled that it's her turn.

Kevin snarls. If he were human, he realizes, he wouldn't be able to dodge these chains at all. He can barely manage it as it is, reacting instinctively in the split seconds between the sound of the blades slicing the air and the moment when they reach their target. If he stops to bat them aside, more will just take their place. The only option is to dodge them and get close to Lacie.

He knows that he has the ability to move quickly enough to dodge them, that he is capable of the fleetness of foot that will let him change directions too fast for her to notice. But can he actually handle such maneuvers? Of course he's tested out his own abilities; he's Kevin Regnard, and he wouldn't ever let his own skills sit unused and unknown. But he's learned these things about himself by running through the woods and sparring with the Chains, when they give enough of a damn. He's never had to actually use them in a real fight.

As he darts forward and around and attempts to find an opening, the other Kevin pushes himself half upright, staring, trying to figure out just what he's looking at. Things are going so quickly he can scarcely make it out, and so he can't tell if he should be diving in to help or letting Lacie have her way with him. He's sure the other Kevin would never hurt her, but --

Lacie uses the wolf-Kevin's hesitation to her advantage, rounding quickly to the side, keeping herself on the move. The chains move with her, coming at him from different angles with each step she takes. It makes it harder for him to plot a course through her deadly little maze of metal, to get at her. She knows that's probably what he's planning--getting close is really the only thing you can do, against an opponent with a long-range weapon.

While he's focused on the moving Cuisinart she's become, she sends another chain, curving out and around like a scorpion's tail, to come at him from above and behind. She's not so worried about hurting her opponent, when all is said and done. He's as unnatural as she is, after all, and heals accordingly--probably even more quickly than she does. That aside, she's always liked a little blood in her foreplay.

Besides, if he's busy dodging that, he won't be busy finding a way to get at her.

The growl is audible this time, betraying the wolf's frustration. If there ever was a chance, he's already missed it, and he dodges the chain coming up behind him only out of sheer dumb luck. Noticing it as it strikes the ground where he just was, the rumble in his throat only intensifies, and he considers what to do.

He can't snatch one of the chains out of the air and pull her off balance; they're not actually attached to her. If this were a fight to the death he'd just barrel on through and strike and trust in his healing, but if she seriously wounds him, they win -- even if they refrain from having their way with him, he won't be in any shape to leave, and he's sure they'd only bide their time. And the longer he lets Lacie toy with him, the more chances the other Kevin has to get up and strike from behind.

If he has to turn and fight his other self again, Lacie won't back down and let him have another turn. She'll get him in those chains, and it'll be over.

Weighing his options -- it might be worth it to go the wounding route, out of spite if nothing else -- Kevin settles for running circles around her as fast as he can. He's stalling for time and he knows it, and he knows they know it too. Maybe he could run over and bonk the other one on the head real quick and then return to fight Lacie alone. He knows from experience that he's difficult to knock out, but if anyone can do it, surely it's himself.

The moment Lacie realizes what he's doing, more of the chains materialize, swinging out around her in a circle like a buzz saw. Whatever Kevin has planned, she's determined to give him as hard a time as she possibly can. She can already feel herself tiring, somewhat. Her Chain relies on her life-force to sustain himself, and keeping the chains moving so quick and so constantly is sapping at her energy.

She keeps up the moving shield, hoping for an opening to do more than defend herself. With him moving, like this, there's not much she can do. Then, a thought surfaces, and she sends one of the chains sweeping out at just about knee height.

Maybe she can trip him up.

He goes down, but he rolls when he hits, tumbling back up to his feet in a seamless movement. And as he bounces down and up, he realizes that the other Kevin is approaching from behind. He catches a glimpse of him in his peripheral vision, sidling up with his sword ready. It occurs to him that the other one might intend to drive him toward Lacie's Chains, or at least trap him between the two of them.

No.

Darting around, he grabs his doppleganger and hauls him around, essentially using him as a human shield. The other one laughs when he realizes what's happening. It won't work as well as he's hoping, but Lacie will have to slow down now, be a little more careful to avoid striking her own lover. That will help.

Lacie hisses out a curse, when she realizes what he's doing. Going back on the defensive, she edges back a bit, not wanting to take the chance of her Kevin being shoved at her moving shield. This complicates things, but it also puts the Kevins very close together, should her own Kevin have any plans up his sleeve.

Either way she can't very well attack, like this... at least not from the front. Sprinting to the side, she sends a pair of chains arcing at the werewolf's back, one from each direction. It's a trick she's used before, but it may distract him at the very least.

The trick up her own Kevin's sleeve is a trust that Lacie will do exactly what she has just done. The werewolf will have to move if he's going to avoid those chains, and if he moves, he either has to let his counterpart go or drag him along with him. As it happens, he decides on dragging -- and so the one-eyed one deliberately slumps, turning himself into dead weight in his arm. While the werewolf staggers and curses, Kevin drops his own sword and twists, getting his leg around the knight's and knocking him off balance. He doesn't hit the ground completely, shoving the swordsman into the ground instead of hitting it himself, but in this moment, he's vulnerable.

"Ha! Get him, Lacie, get him!"

Her Kevin has barely finished speaking, before the chains that had been arcing at Kevin's back change tactics. Rather than stabbing at him, they wind around the werewolf, like metallic boa constrictors ~~or tentacles in certain Hentai movies~~. With a delicate precision, they wrap him up neatly, without wrapping the other Kevin up with him in the process.

From there, it's a simple matter of thought for her to lift Kevin up off the ground. He can struggle all he likes, but she'll wager that werewolf or not, her abyssal chains are stronger.

Just for fun, she dangles him upside down.

The knight snarls, not a man at all, but an angry beast. Of course he struggles, because he really can't not, but even he can't get them to budge. The noise coming out of his throat is deep and full of thunder, a rolling expression of his anger, one that would probably be a lot more effective if he actually had the teeth to match at the moment.

The other Kevin has never really seen his own temper in action like this. It hurts a little, to essentially watch himself struggling in a way that is so very, very futile. Hits close to home. He'd had a notion that he might taunt the other man now that they've one, but seeing him like this takes all the joy out of it. Tilting his head over his shoulder, he looks to Lacie, letting her take the lead in what's to come next.

Lacie, it would seem, is quite a bit less affected than her lover, at the werewolf's plight. After all, he did just try to use her Kevin as a human shield. She doesn't stoop to taunting--given his obvious displeasure, and the fact that he now has to come share their bed, she suspects that would be rather hitting below the belt. However, she does let him dangle for a beat of silence, simply enjoying the view.

"Well," she says, finally, smiling. "I'd say we've won. Do you concede?"

Because if he really wants to struggle a little more, she'll let him.

Struggle he does, growling up a storm, and he's strong enough that the Rabbit gives an annoyed grunt in Lacie's head despite the fact that the Chains aren't going to budge. The longer the other Kevin watches, the more his pity changes to a disquieting anger. It's embarrassing, seeing this, and recognizing his own struggles, his own losses in the other one's temper.

So this is what he looks like. This is how he shows.

After a long, long several moments, he smiles pleasantly. Then he steps forward and punches his wolf twin right across his face, hard. Not bothering to wait and see his reaction, he turns and walks back into the house, leaving the other one quiet and stunned. That extra eye of his will be black tonight, but it will heal in a few hours.

The werewolf is not the only one stunned. While Lacie knows on an intellectual level that Kevin still struggles with a certain amount of self-loathing, she (who suffers comparatively little guilt for her own nearly world-ending sins) has not fully grasped its depth, until that sudden, vehement blow.

Concern for her own Kevin promptly dethrones her amusement at their victory. Abruptly, the chain around the wolf dissolves into shadows and dust, and she takes a step after her Kevin, before pausing.

"You're bested, knight." she says, softly, over her shoulder. "Fair and square. Honor it, or don't."

With that, she hurries after her lover.

While the other Kevin stays where he is and considers the world at large, Lacie will find her own in the study, pacing restlessly back and forth. Given that neither of them can be assed to move the shelves and the furniture lately, in this part of the house, the original wallpaper remains -- and it's his victim now. As he circles the room, he stops periodically to pry bits of it up where it's starting to peel anyway, tearing it from the wall and leaving the bits on the floor in a little pile.

He did this often, when they first moved in. But he hasn't in several months. Certainly not since the incident with the puppet monster, so it's been a good half a year. He was having plenty of fun before, but it seems the fight has jiggled something unpleasant loose.

Lacie lets the strips of water-stained old paper lay where it falls, just as she's usually done. Her attention is focused on him. For a moment, she misses the the puppet monster. It's always easier if there's something she can kill to make things better. Or at least more therapeutic.

Leaning against the door frame, she folds her arms loosely and watches him pace. This is far from the way she'd expected things to end, but since when is life the way you expect it to be?

"He doesn't have to stay, if you don't want him," she says, softly. "I could run a hot bath for you. We could play with the needles."

"I want to hurt him."

He's willing to say this, because it's Lacie. She knows all of his worst bits, and how to deal with them. Already she's offering him ways to feel better, instead of patting him on the head or trying to get to the bottom of what he's feeling. Because of that, he'll bother to try to articulate himself.

"He thinks he's better than me because he doesn't have the mark. Really, it just means he doesn't understand anything." With one of his middle fingers, he taps at his chest, right over the seal. "He's angry, but he doesn't know what it means to be angry and feel this."

She moves over to stand in front of him, and her hand slides up his chest, pressing against his mark. Merciless, the way he likes it.

"I think we already have, a little. We'll hurt him more." She glances over her shoulder. "If he stays. But I think he will." Turning back to him, she offers a cold, wry little smile. "I poked at his knightly pride, before I came in."

She traces a few of the dark lines from memory, through his clothes, eyes meeting his.

"We'll find out what makes him squirm, hmm?"

Kevin's answering half-smile is pained.

"Do as you like with him." It won't bother him if his own lover fucks this other Kevin senseless. She'd blow his mind even if she decided to be totally nice for once, which she won't, and he won't be happy about it, and this Kevin will take some satisfaction in that. "I may just watch. Or leave you to it."

He's not so sure the other Kevin really understands anything, and he's not sure he ever will. But he's not going to ruin Lacie's night over it.

Her touch moves upward, the sensual caress turning tender as she cradles his cheek.

"Whatever you want," she says softly, and if there is every a sign that Lacie loves him truly and deeply, it's that she can say that and mean it. She would like it best, if they could make the werewolf squirm and scream together. But if it's left to her to do it for the both of them, she will give him a good show.

Her heart still goes out to the werewolf, knowing the loss he's dealing with, but regardless of that, her primary concern will always be her own Kevin.

His own declaration of love comes back to her in the form of an affectionate nuzzle against her hair, despite the fact that every line in his body says that he really wants to go find somebody else to punch. Lacie is the one person in this world that he will never, ever raise a hand to, not unless she desires it -- and even then, he's the more submissive of the two. If Lacie wishes to be hurt, he'll oblige her. But Kevin never has any desire to cause her pain on his own, no matter how angry and twisted he feels.

"Go and fetch him, if you like," he says. "I'll -- be a minute."

His temper needs time to defuse a little. Then, they can see where they're at.

She leans up, brushing her lips against his.

"He'll scream for you, tonight, even if you don't lay a hand on him," she whispers, a promise. Considering that the first words out of Kevin's mouth a moment ago had been a desire for his counterpart to be hurt, the least she can do is her part in making that happen. When all's said and done, the wolf seems likely to even enjoy it, and perhaps that'll drive him a little closer to the understanding he hasn't got.

Turning, she goes out to see if their reluctant houseguest is going to keep his end of the wager or not.

Well, he's still there, which is a start. In a fit of Break-like pique, he's stretched himself out on the ground where he'd fallen, legs crossed at the ankle and hands clasped over his stomach. Yep. Here is a guy who is totally here on purpose. Nothing dubious going on in this here backyard.

...of course he thought of leaving. He knows perfectly well that he's been played. Everyone who knows him probably knows to play on his pride the way Lacie did if they want him to do something, but he can't exactly go against that, can he, not with something like pride. Pride is what you have when there's nothing else. So although he certainly considered it, he can't even leave out of spite. He doesn't turn his head when Lacie emerges, although he certainly knows that she is there, and the Headless Horseman can probably hear his teeth grinding all the way in the Marsh.

Lacie stares at him from the top of the porch steps for a long moment, her lips quirking in a wry smile. If his teeth hadn't been grinding, she would have been so strongly reminded of her Kevin. Her Kevin, though, would have either said fuck it and left, or he would've been laying there, utterly nonchalant instead of pretending to be.

This is a bit like having to go and comfort a petulant child.

Heaving a silent sigh, she steps down to the ground and goes to the werewolf, sitting down next to him.

"Do you know why he hit you?" she asks, conversationally. No sense asking him in, just yet. He'll just tell her no, most likely, if he answers her at all.

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