Travis turned, his eyes narrowing again. He knew that he had sensed Cain’s presence. “Couldn’t I ask you the exact same question?” Travis demanded, unconsciously shifting his position to shield Tyler from Cain. His eyes sparked with anger at his brother’s sudden appearance.
"Oh I think you know.." Cain took another step towards Travis, his eyes beginning to glow a bright green.
Such fierce emotions were threatening to crawl out from the depths of his brothers core. I could have a little fun with this.
Cain's eyes locked on to Travis' as he reached down into where all the anger was being stored. "You want to protect the girl so badly." he chuckled. Everyone around them vanished from sight. All Travis would be able to see was Cain holding an illusion of the girl against him, his fangs extended towards her neck. "So much life inside this girl, don't you agree? And her energy, surely you feel it too."
Travis shook his head. “That’s not real…you’re just trying to mess with me…” he muttered, refusing to rise to the bait as his brown eyes remained remarkably normal. His posture, however, proved that he wasn’t totally immune to his brother’s tricks. Louder, he added, “And I have no idea what you’re talking about.” He kept his voice steady, but he had never been an actor.
(Is about to pass out, I'll respond asap)
(are you okay?)
(I have this thing called nausea which is caused by my insomnia. I'll respond as soon as I can today though it might be a while since I'm at college)
(okay i hope that you feel well)
Travis shook his head. “That’s not real…you’re just trying to mess with me…” he muttered, refusing to rise to the bait as his brown eyes remained remarkably normal. His posture, however, proved that he wasn’t totally immune to his brother’s tricks. Louder, he added, “And I have no idea what you’re talking about.” He kept his voice steady, but he had never been an actor.
To make things even more realistic for his brother, the illusion of Tyler began to struggle against his hold, just like the real one would do.
"You know exactly what I'm talking about." Cain murmured as he caressed the illusion's cheek, a sly grin on his lips. "You feel the hunger too, don't you?"
"Don't touch her!" Travis cried, his panic showing through for a moment before he managed to neutralize his expression. "Nice try, Cain. I don't know what hunger you're talking about." But even as he said it, he could feel the need to be close to Tyler, and to try to take her energy, her very life force, away. It was like nothing he had ever sensed before.
A bright fanged grin spread across Cain's face at his brother's outburst. He knew it. Even Travis couldn't resist the girl.
"How about I make you a deal little bro?" he hissed slyly. His fingers curled into a fist in the illusion's hair as he yanked her head to the side to expose her neck. Travis was panicking, which only fueled the illusion. The girl's scent swarmed around them, trying to intoxicate them. Cain himself was having a hard time keeping control of himself as he continued to press on with the illusion, though he wouldn't let it show.
Travis glared, doing better at containing his true feelings now. He couldn't let Cain faze him. Cain had messed with his mind before, shouldn't he be used to it by now? But he still couldn't deny that he was beginning to panic, and a more animal part of him longed to take Tyler's energy, but he couldn't do that. "What?" Travis asked warily, his gaze hooded.
"Get me some of her blood, and I'll quit being a douche towards you." With that, he was serious. Travis could have looked him dead in the eyes and would have seen that he meant what he said. "I don't are how you get it, but I want it by the end of the week."
What really satiated his hunger, was her emotional energy, but he could imagine that her blood would spark some kind of peace in his stomach too. It had been a while since he'd had blood, and Aria was to blame for that. He stood the illusion up, the fear in her eyes made him smile even brighter, then everything faded away as soon as he snapped her neck. The snap echoed around the dark basement, and it wasn't for another couple of seconds that light returned to the room.
Travis hated himself for considering it, but some part of him thought that maybe he and Cain would finally get along if he did as Cain asked. He'd always wanted to get along, but the paths that they had chosen seemed to always be in the way of that. But he couldn't do it. Even if it didn't hurt Tyler, it would be betraying her trust, and he was certain that Cain would want more. He would never settle for just a little bit, Travis was sure. He blinked as light returned to the room.
"Once, and only once, do I ask this of you." Cain stuck his hand out towards Travis, something softening in his usually harsh eyes. While they still glowed a little, they were not as cold as Travis was used to seeing. In truth, he did want to get along with his brother, and his parents certainly put a strain on their relationship. All Travis needed to do was what he requested, and they would be fine. If he didn't do it, Cain would do it himself and the outcome wouldn't be pretty.
Travis looked at his brother hopefully, something in him softening as well. He moved his arm as if to shake Cain's hand, but pulled back at the last minute. "I…I can't," he said, obviously pained. He bit his lip, feeling awful. No matter what he chose, he would lose someone.
Cain's smile faded and twisted into something between sadness and anger. "I see how it is…" he whispered, sharply retracting his hand. "You would choose a girl over family. We really are brothers.." His eyes drifted to Aria for a moment. Shaking his head, he turned his attention back to Travis with a disappointed frown. "I really thought we could have been something.."
"I don't understand why you're making me choose between having a brother and having a conscience!" Travis yelled. While his brother got quiet, Travis got loud. His heart felt like it was breaking all over again. He couldn't help Cain hurt an innocent girl, even if saying no to his offer was killing Travis.
Cain fell completely silent. He needed to get out of that room. His hunger was beginning to be too much for him, and he had drained a lot of his overall energy by casting that illusion. Soon his senses would start to overload, then all he would see was red. Calmly, he shrugged. Travis didn't know about Cain starving himself, and it wasn't something he was going to reveal now. "Have a conscience, I don't care." the tone of his voice said otherwise.
“Cain, I’d do almost anything for you, but I can’t bring myself to hurt an innocent person! You have to understand that. Please,” Travis begged, looking into his brother’s eyes. He knew that Cain cared about him, however deep those feelings lay. Travis just hoped it would be enough to change his brother’s mind.
"Ask me that again when I'm not trying to stop myself from tearing the girl I love to shreds." Cain turned away from Travis. He wanted nothing more than to be an actual brother to the boy, but it was difficult to do when hunger existed. Perhaps he could go hunting during the night, take Travis with him even.. No way would Travis say yes to that. As far as the town was concerned, the two hated each other. Why would they now do something that would make it seem like they actually cared about each other?
Travis couldn’t stop his eyes from watering. Great. He was always the whiny brother, the crybaby brother. He would have just cried if he didn’t think Cain would mock him for it. “You think it’s any easier for me, Cain?” Travis asked, his voice breaking. He used to prey on innocent people, but he wouldn’t let himself go back to doing that. Even now, the only way he could get by was by taking the energy or blood from animals, and it left him weak. He was doing all he could not to let it show how tired he constantly was. “I can help you. Just please let me help you.”
But Cain didn't want help. He wanted to be free, or as close to free as he could be. He knew full well the animal based diet his brother had taken on, and would rather die than fall into the same hole. He may as well have been dead by that point, for as long as Aria lived he wouldn't feed on humans. Not their blood anyway. "No, thank you." he grumbled, keeping his back towards his brother. "I'm fine just the way I am."
Travis knew that no matter how much he talked, he wouldn’t convince Cain to change his mind about that. But maybe he could change Cain’s mind about how their relationship? Travis really did crave a better relationship with his brother. “I just want us to be friends,” he mumbled, his voice wavering.
(Oh goodness, i totally forgot about this! Can someone be so kind and catch me up on what's happened?)
(basically Cain told Travis that he would stop being a jerk to him if Travis got him some of Tyler’s blood but Travis said no so now he’s trying to convince Cain that they can have a better relationship without Travis hurting anyone)
(Oh okay. Thanks a bunch! Aria will just sit in the sidelines watching this happen ig
"Friends?" Cain sneered, his usual demeanor returned as he slowly craned his head to see Travis. "Why on earth would you want that?"
He moved back towards Aria, discreetly touching her hand with the back of his, but not so much that anyone would think he was doing it on purpose. "While you spend your time with strange girls and animals, I have better things, and better people, to be with."
No, why was he saying that? He didn't want to say that! His parents had drilled the idea that Travis was an outcast into his brain, it wasn't something he could forget so easily. He wanted to be a brother to Travis, but with so many obstacles in the way it was hard.
Aria watched the whole thing unfold. Confusion overwhelming her mind.she didn't know Travis very well. But she did know they were brothers. She was long gone, lost in thought until something touched her hand. She jumped when it did, but she looked down and saw that is was just Cain. She wanted to just leave right then.
The atmosphere around Aria changed, and Cain was the first to know. With one last glance at the girl who Travis was so keen to protect, he licked his lips slightly before heading back towards the stairs. "We do not need to stay. There is nothing of use here."
Travis blinked, a tear sliding down his cheek. “I just…I just thought…” he started, feeling like a little boy again for a moment, heartbroken and abandoned before he swallowed thickly and glared. “Fine. Leave then. I…I don’t need you anyway!” He managed to get his voice relatively steady now as he wiped away his tears (including the ones which remained unshed).