V & V - Rageous Rageon Rise

Raúl Y Rocío

Mateo POV:

We get to my ranch. I park and help Dom out. Instead of walking inside, I take his hand and walk him to the barn a few meters away. The snow hasn't reached this far in rural Mount Rageous, so the air is simply chilly. 

I lead him to my two horses, Raúl y Rocío. Hopefully, they can cheer him up.

Mateo: "Here are mi caballos. This is Raúl, y this is Rocío. Rocío is the gentle one."

I take his hand and hold it to her for her to sniff. She sniffs his hand, then gives him a gentle nudge. 

Dom: "She's very cute. I like how glittery she is."

Mateo: "Yes, she's very sparkly. She helps me calm down if I'm ever sad. Raúl is playful. He goes crazy a lot, so very fun. Come on, let's let them have some fun."

I hand him Rocío's lead and have him walk the horses with me to the fields. I help him lead Rocío to a sectioned-off pasture, and we watch as the horses trek into the field.

They play around in the blue dirt, kicking up sparkly little clouds as they trot around. We need to talk about what happened earlier. I guess now is as good of a time as any.

Mateo: "So, I know your apartment was... not a good experience. I came because I didn't want you to leave. I don't want to lose you, Dom."

Dom: "I know that now. I let my fear get the better of me. I'm so worried about hurting you... that I let my fear freeze over."

Mateo: "Which we reversed. We stopped it, and... I don't care how many times I turn ice. I don't care if you make snow or freeze. We will work through the fear. I won't let you do it alone because I love you. Do you see that I will work with you as long as you work with me?"

Dom: "I do. And... that means a lot to me."

Mateo: "I'm glad. Now, please tell me whatever is on your mind that you are afraid of me knowing. I understand you killed in your family. I understand you hurt others. I understand that."

Dom bites his lip nervously before sighing.

Dom: "I... am scared most... of."

He stops, takes a deep breath, and leans on the fence before us.

Dom: "I... used to make conjurings. I conjured images of myself to scare Kid Ritz and Veneer. I... conjured monsters to ruin Mount Rageous. It got to the point where... I didn't have control over them. I didn't have control of my... doppelganger. I hallucinated images in my apartment. I'd see hands reaching for me; I'd hear whispers. I'd hear voices telling me terrible things... and I never found out if I was seeing things or not. Veneer came over... and he had gotten a sense of what I was going through. I... had a period of time a little while back where Kid Ritz and Veneer said they... forgave me. After that, the hallucinations stopped, and I felt like I could relax."

He sighs before looking at me. I can see how much the stress and depression have worn him down. His eyes look tired, even past the bright blue. His forehead is lined with stress... he always seems worried and grim.

Dom: "I... wanted to be the ruler of Mount Rageous so badly. I thought that with me in control... I'd never get hurt. I let that evilness inside of me fester and grow. I... was so happy to have met you at that party, Mateo. Quickly... I realized I had a crush on you. But... with that crush feeling... I've been petrified of fucking things up like how I did with Veneer. Since falling for you, my negative thoughts have come back. I'm so scared of hurting you... and... treating you as badly as I did with Veneer... that the doppelganger in my mind has begun to reappear. I think that conjuring is so strong due to my emotions. It's similar to reflecting the weather. For whatever reason, I have a big impact on my surroundings. I just... I'm genuinely horrified at the thought of you experiencing my counterpart."