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nextinline) wrote2012-10-08 08:08 pm
nextinline) wrote2012-10-08 08:08 pm
(no subject)
The daily lessons being, finally, finished with, Kellen files out of the math classroom along with his peers. Those poor, dispirited souls have another hour of bullshit to get through - mandatory prayer group, a bane of the boarding students - and Kellen's very glad to be stepping away from the general stream of sinners to head to the basement instead of the chapel. Though he does, technically, live at the school for the majority of his time, being Leech's brother and ward gives him the benefit of avoiding most of the banes of the boarding students.
It is not all benefits, though, this living with Leech. Now, for example; Leech's erstwhile 'daddy' had gotten himself incredibly beat-up and is currently languishing in Leech's (and Kellen's) bed day-in and day-out. Ruckus seems no more pleased with this arrangement than Kellen, but that doesn't engender much sympathy from the boy. He knows perfectly well that if Ruckus had not been shot, stabbed, and generally kicked into invalidity, the man would likely still be avoiding Leech ninety percent of the time. This would lead Leech to be worried, which would make him angry (with himself more than Ruckus), which would in turn make Kellen angry (definitely with Ruckus). Now that Ruckus is here and in such a pathetic prone state, Leech is able to give his worry a free rein, but - it seems to Kellen - has completely forgotten to be angry about the four months during which Ruckus had been out of contact. And forcibly has also forgotten how Ruckus will inevitably leave again, the very second he's physically capable of it, if not before.
Brooding on this brings Kellen down the flight of stairs to the basement, past the blank doors of isolation cells, and to the door of Leech's (and his) rooms. The door is locked in triplicate due to Leech's worry about Ruckus (either that the people who hurt him will somehow trace him to the school, or that Ruckus would contrive some means of escape) and the younger brother methodically unlocks the series of security measures to let himself inside.
The main room, a combination of living area and office, is empty and dark, as is the tiny kitchen. Only a faint light shows beneath the closed door to the bedroom, and Kellen hesitates, listening, before entering. Dark and empty would be preferable to semi-lit and inhabited by Ruckus, but Kellen is relieved that Leech isn't there, too. Watching Leech fawning over and coddling someone else awoke an uncomfortable jealousy in Kellen which he tried not to examine too closely, thus he spent a lot of time not watching.
Kellen drops his backpack onto the top of the sturdy metal cage to one side of the door, toes off his boots, and collapses on the unoccupied half of the bed. Movement from the other half surprises him; he'd thought Ruckus was sleeping. Not allowing that surprise to show, the kid gives the man a casual, dismissive sort of glance before starting to rummage in the bedside table's small drawer. That glance shows him that while Ruckus is not asleep, he's not precisely awake, either: lazily hooded, somewhat glazed eyes and complete relaxation in the long, battered body. He looks a lot like Jimmy tends to look after taking one of his extended breaks to the bathroom, though lacking the occasionally forgotten belt around the bicep.
Finding his own sedative of choice, Kellen slides the drawer closed and begins to prepare a joint in a routine way. He can feel Ruckus watching him blearily, but refuses to return the look, letting the silence stretch until he, at least, feels awkward in it (he doubts Ruckus feels much of anything at all).
"Leech had to deal with one'a his usual miscreants," Kellen informs the sedated man. "Said to tell you he'd be back a little later." He had also said that Kellen ought to make sure Ruckus is comfortable, but Kellen doesn't pass that on. Finishing his expert joint assembly with a quick flash of tongue across paper and a roll between long fingertips, the kid finally does peer back at Ruckus, watching him for any response - disappointment, relief, or anything in between.
It is not all benefits, though, this living with Leech. Now, for example; Leech's erstwhile 'daddy' had gotten himself incredibly beat-up and is currently languishing in Leech's (and Kellen's) bed day-in and day-out. Ruckus seems no more pleased with this arrangement than Kellen, but that doesn't engender much sympathy from the boy. He knows perfectly well that if Ruckus had not been shot, stabbed, and generally kicked into invalidity, the man would likely still be avoiding Leech ninety percent of the time. This would lead Leech to be worried, which would make him angry (with himself more than Ruckus), which would in turn make Kellen angry (definitely with Ruckus). Now that Ruckus is here and in such a pathetic prone state, Leech is able to give his worry a free rein, but - it seems to Kellen - has completely forgotten to be angry about the four months during which Ruckus had been out of contact. And forcibly has also forgotten how Ruckus will inevitably leave again, the very second he's physically capable of it, if not before.
Brooding on this brings Kellen down the flight of stairs to the basement, past the blank doors of isolation cells, and to the door of Leech's (and his) rooms. The door is locked in triplicate due to Leech's worry about Ruckus (either that the people who hurt him will somehow trace him to the school, or that Ruckus would contrive some means of escape) and the younger brother methodically unlocks the series of security measures to let himself inside.
The main room, a combination of living area and office, is empty and dark, as is the tiny kitchen. Only a faint light shows beneath the closed door to the bedroom, and Kellen hesitates, listening, before entering. Dark and empty would be preferable to semi-lit and inhabited by Ruckus, but Kellen is relieved that Leech isn't there, too. Watching Leech fawning over and coddling someone else awoke an uncomfortable jealousy in Kellen which he tried not to examine too closely, thus he spent a lot of time not watching.
Kellen drops his backpack onto the top of the sturdy metal cage to one side of the door, toes off his boots, and collapses on the unoccupied half of the bed. Movement from the other half surprises him; he'd thought Ruckus was sleeping. Not allowing that surprise to show, the kid gives the man a casual, dismissive sort of glance before starting to rummage in the bedside table's small drawer. That glance shows him that while Ruckus is not asleep, he's not precisely awake, either: lazily hooded, somewhat glazed eyes and complete relaxation in the long, battered body. He looks a lot like Jimmy tends to look after taking one of his extended breaks to the bathroom, though lacking the occasionally forgotten belt around the bicep.
Finding his own sedative of choice, Kellen slides the drawer closed and begins to prepare a joint in a routine way. He can feel Ruckus watching him blearily, but refuses to return the look, letting the silence stretch until he, at least, feels awkward in it (he doubts Ruckus feels much of anything at all).
"Leech had to deal with one'a his usual miscreants," Kellen informs the sedated man. "Said to tell you he'd be back a little later." He had also said that Kellen ought to make sure Ruckus is comfortable, but Kellen doesn't pass that on. Finishing his expert joint assembly with a quick flash of tongue across paper and a roll between long fingertips, the kid finally does peer back at Ruckus, watching him for any response - disappointment, relief, or anything in between.
no subject
Even halfway was probably too much. What with Ruckus dropping nouns and vital adjectives from his little monologue, what Kellen takes away from it is probably not what was actually intended, and his eyes are colder again when he gets the (incorrect) gist of it and looks more sharply at the man across from him. "The fuck does that mean? He's not safe, you have to stay away from him? Leech didn't have anything to do with getting you fucked-up and hospitalized." To his credit, Kellen sounds somewhat less volatile than he feels, though that likely won't last long depending on Ruckus' response. For which Kellen waits intently, muttering not-quite-under his breath that he doesn't much like the man like this, either.
no subject
He shakes his head to answer in the negative, but it makes him feel a little like his brain is pin-balling through his skull and it's none too great a feeling. "Killed his rape bear." He slurs the words through that rockcandy voice of his, but it's still probably the most clear sentence he's said this whole time. Kellen might know about Ivan, might not, but maybe it still makes sense in an abstract to him. "Didn' want Leech... steppin in the traps..."
no subject
He bites back a few more hostile responses, knowing Leech wouldn't like for them to be given voice, and that they would be wasted on Ruckus right now besides. Instead, he merely exhales heavily through his nose and says in a remarkably even tone, "I just don't get why you bother to come back, if the first thing you wanna do is leave."
This has little to do with the current discussion, but anything else would cause no less confusion and no more. Looking away, the boy brings that cigarette to his lips finally and lights it. He throws a hopeful glance at the clock, but is disappointed to see that it is not yet late enough for anyone he might enjoy spending time with to be at liberty. In dubious resignation, Kellen drops to lay on his back again, staring up at the cigarette smoke interweaving with the canopy of chains over the bed.
no subject
For a second, Ruckus - with Leech on the brain - seems to forget it's not the parasite sitting with him, (Kellen's familiar appearance doesn't help) And he reaches out with a wrapped arm and splinted finger for Kellen's cigarette in a familiar sort of comfortable action, like they do this all the time. He and Leech do, of course. But this is just a mind slip, innocent enough.