Fate

Nine

Tonius wasn't sure what made him snap out of it. What made him regain some sort of consciousness. Maybe Beast had gotten tired. Maybe it was the voice.

It shattered through the yellow, sending Tonius reeling into some form of control. Enough to know that he recognized the voice. The voice of Beast's next victim.

"Beast, stop! He's a friend. He's a friend!" he screamed into the black he found himself standing in. Is this what was behind the yellow? A never-ending night?

Let me take care of it.

Beast's voice came at him from every direction, trying to be soothing, but it held a sharp edge. Like it was exerting itself. Is this what happened when he was conscious while Beast was in control? He had so many questions and no way to get answers.

Wispy tendrils of yellow snaked around his limbs, trying to suck him back in. He shook them off. He was done sleeping. It was high time he took control. Faced his demon head on.

"He's not your enemy!" he shouted into the dark. "Don't kill him!"

He is the enemy.

"He's not. Beast, he's not. He's our friend. He helped us. He helped Elyssa, remember?" Thinking about her hurt, but he pressed on. "He's done nothing to deserve his death!"

He wants to take you from me! it screamed. Tonius had never heard it sound so desperate before. Sound so...afraid.

"Beast. We are the same person. The same being. We're always together. How could someone separate us?" He was trying to remain calm, but he wasn't sure if he was speaking fast enough. He couldn't be sure what Beast was doing in his body. In their body. He couldn't hear the voice anymore.

You think we're the same being? The question wasn't asked in malice. It was asked in uncertainty.

"Of course we are." This was the truth he'd come to realize, standing in the darkest corner of his mind. For so long, he'd denied that part of himself. Locked it away good and tight and tried too hard to pretend like it didn't even exist. He wanted so badly to be like a human, to be normal, that he ignored what he really was.

Not that he knew what that was. But even still.

"This is our friend. And we don't kill friends."

Friend? A foreign word to them both. Only recently had they learned the true meaning.

"Yes. Friend."

Friend.

He felt himself rush back into his own body, a peculiar sensation that he couldn't even begin to describe if asked. He shook his head, trying to get his bearings. It was only then that he became aware of the position he was in. He was straddling someone, pinning them to the ground with one hand, the other raised and clawed, ready to swing down and gouge out his throat.

Alarmed, he jumped back in a hurry, not stopping until his back slammed into the boulder behind him and he had nowhere else to go. He fisted a hand, a vain attempt to hide his claws. "I'm sorry."

Micah coughed, raising slowly to his feet, brushing the dirt from his clothes. "Youse need no' apolo'ize."

Slowly, the claws retracted, sinking back into his nail bed painfully. He shook out his hand. "I have a lot to apologize for. Trying to kill you damn near tops the list."

He hadn't expected Micah to laugh. But laugh he did. Big, loud guffaws that echoed through the trees.

"Micah, why are you here?"