Toxic Past: 5

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Sunlight had come far too swiftly for Terra Kali's liking. She stretched tall on her spot on the floor, groaning deeply and draping her forearm over her eyes to block out the light. She was wearing her pajamas, which--thanks to Dolor--were now clean. Small plaid shorts in bright yellow and black hues and a matching black and yellow tank top framed her body, her bare toes cracking as she stretched her feet. "Mattie? You awake yet, you bum?" she called tiredly, getting up from the living room floor to go get the coffee maker fired up. She had started off sleeping on the couch, but had somehow rolled off in her sleep and ended up on the floor. Not that she minded... She was used to sleeping on harder-than-comfortable surfaces. She pushed the button for the coffee maker to turn on and set everything up, then turned and headed for the spare bedroom that she'd allowed Mattie to take for the night, so he could have a taste of a real bed. "Mattie! Rise 'n shine, buddy!"

When Terra had fallen asleep the previous night, Mattie had swiftly and silently scoured the apartment in search of any hints on where the group of creatures were hiding out. After he finally gave up he had sulked back to the spare room and peeled off his clothes then flopped down onto the bed in his boxers and quickly fell asleep. Now Terra was calling his name and he groaned loudly, burying his head further into his pillow, willing her to go away. "It can't be morning already.." he said in a muffled voice as he lay on his stomach.

"Yup! And we both got work to get to." Terra Kali grinned, running at the bed and suddenly jumping onto it, tackling Mattie playfully before just laying on top of him, her chin on her hands so she could watch him. "Get up, lazy butt." she smirked. "I don't want to be late for my first day of work. Not that the guy told me exactly what time to be there... but I figure eleven o'clock is a good time for any business in this city." she laughed. She poked his ribs gently through the sheets then, grinning at him. "Get up, I'm warning you."

"Ugh..get off me." Mattie groaned as he rolled over causing Terra to slide off him. Suddenly his eyes widened as he heard the familiar jingle of his phone ringing and he pounced out of bed, scrambling to retrieve it from his jeans pocket. "Hello?" he said in a quiet voice in the hopes that Terra wouldn't overhear. So how did it affect you? came the voice of his boss through the phone. "Visions. Future and past..." Fantastic! That should sell very well. Have you got your next target? Mattie groaned and rubbed his forehead as he shut his eyes. "Yes and its big. Theres a whole group together..." He had to hold the phone from his ear due to the excited laughter of his boss. "Even better news! You're doing well boy. You have two days to get them to me. Times ticking so hurry." The phone went dead but Mattie didn't move it from his ear, just standing in shock. "Two days to catch an entire group..." he muttered then quickly dropped the phone and proceeded to get dressed. "I gotta go. That was my boss...." he said in a hurried tone to Terra.

"Uh-oh, so you're already late? You're such a bad influence on me, Mattie." Terra Kali teased with a laugh as she got off his bed and moved to the doorway. This was good though, it meant he wouldn't be here when Dolor came home.. She would have to find a way to tell him about this easy. "I'll see you later, right? After work, of course. I wanna catch up with you as much as possible." She moved to grab her own clothes, pulling them on quickly as well before grabbing for her red converse.

"I don't know." Mattie replied as he moved to pull his shoes on. "I'm in a lot of trouble with the boss...so I might not be around for a few days." he lied as his mind raced trying to think of how he was going to find the group. "I have to do a few jobs for him to try and make him happy, otherwise he'll increase the debt."

Terra Kali blinked at Mattie, then frowned deeply. "That's shit." she growled. "But fine. Do whatever you need to do. But at least come see me at work later today? I want to make sure you're okay, buddy..." She then wrapped her arms around him from behind, closing her eyes as she nuzzled her face against his back.

"Okay...where do you work?" Mattie replied a little shocked that he had actually agreed to meeting her again. This girl is going to hate you if she finds out you've been lying...but I don't blame her. he thought as he stood waiting for her to finish hugging him.

Terra Kali peeled herself from Mattie when she figured he wasn't about to hug her back, and she shrugged. "That record store down the street. It's a cool little place." she nodded, patting his arm. "I don't know what time I get off, but maybe we can walk back together after my shift? I can introduce you to my Do-do bird. He's the one that got me the job." she nodded with a wide smile. "Just be careful, okay?"

Do-do bird? Mattie thought but decided not to question it. "Okay, i'll stop by your work and we can walk back together. Finally catch up after all this time. It'll be fun." he said with a smile then awkwardly patted her shoulder before moving to the front door. "I'll see you later." he said with a small wave then disappeared from the apartment.

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In Peregrine's apartment, Dolor opened hid eyes with a gasp. His body was warm, and he realized he was curled up at Peregrine's side, apparently content to lay there. Dolor pushed himself up, looking around the room as he sat on his feet. The dream was still vivid in his mind, and he focused on the different aspects so they wouldn't slip away. Now he knew where he belonged. But there was so much to take care of. Dolor stretched his arms, waiting for the prince to awaken.

Peregrine's dark brown eyes fluttered open, taking in the world and the half bird man hovering over him. That made him smile, in a lazy 'it's going to be a good day' sort of way, and held his arms open to him again, offering to come back but not forcing him. "Welcome back..." he said, his voice smooth but thick with sleep. "Are you alright?"

Dolor lay back down so he was on his side facing Peregrine with on hand on the prince's chest. "That was....different." He really couldn't explain what he was feeling. It was somewhere between relief and awe. A weight had been lifted from his chest, but there were still so many unanswered questions.

Peregrine chuckled as he stroked Dolor's back feathers. "Different to your new life. In your old life you lived there all the time. This should be different," he told the phoera, waving vaguely around the dim room. "You are free to come back any time you want to see more of the Nightmare Lands of course. I would look forward to us spending time together again."

"Can...can I come back tonight?" Dolor knew he needed to go and get started on what he needed to accomplish today. Whether that meant Peregrine would join him or not remained to be seen. The Phoera reluctantly folded his wings, allowing them to meld into his body as he lay there.

The prince frowned at the loss of wings- Dolor was always so much more beautiful with them- but pushed aside his unhappiness in order to nod. "Of course," he promised and gave the phoera a smile. "But first-" He shifted carefully so he could sit up on the bed, looking over at Dolor. "Breakfast?"

With a nod, Dolor sat up as well, reaching one arm down so he could hook his shirt and pull it on. A random thought occurred to him as he pushed his head through the top of the cloth. "How old am I? How old are you? We can't be the age these bodies look, can we?" He watched Peregrine as he smoothed down the shirt, trying to look calmer than he felt at the moment.

Peregrine couldn't help but chuckle as he stood from the bed, shaking his head 'no' in answer. He turned and cupped Dolor's cheek before kissing his forehead, then stopped touching him. "No, you are right. You, my friend, are a mere fifty years or so, by human standards. I, myself, am just off of three hundred." He offered a hand to go with his kind smile. "Come, I will make pancakes."

"Mmm, I love pancakes," Dolor said as he took Peregrine's hand and stood from the bed. He reached down and snagged his jacket, placing it carefully over his arm before casting one more look at the room. Letting go of the prince, Dolor set the jacket aside and started straightening the bed, his hands moving quickly to put things to right again before he stood back, jacket in arms again, and nodded in satisfaction.

Peregrine smiled brightly and pulled Dolor into a firm hug. "My friend... I knew you were in there somewhere, even if you don't realize it yet." He chuckled and withdrew himself, taking Dolor's hand once again and led him to the kitchen where he started getting things ready for pancakes, letting Dolor choose where he sat. "And don't you dare try to help me," he said firmly, pointing the frying pan at Dolor warningly before going back to his task.

In the living room, Lavinia lay curled up on her nest of cushions sleeping soundly. She was back in her natural form, a head full of snakes, scaley green skin and the bottom half of a snake. At the sound of Peregrine and Dolor emerging from their room she stirred slowly, yawning loudly as she did, her long forked tongue flicking out between her fangs. "Morning already..." she muttered as she slithered from her nest and off towards the kitchen to greet the others, stretching her arms as she did. "Good morning." she hissed with a smile as she fixed her yellow eyes on Dolor.

Dolor held up both hands, a smile forming on his face as he sat down to allow Peregrine to go about his self appointed chore. When he heard the hissed greeting behind him, he turned and saw the snake woman. Despite all he had learned the previous night, Dolor wasn't prepared to put the knowledge into immediate action. So he blinked and stared before sliding from his seat to put the chair in between him and the woman.

A knock sounded on Peregrine's door as Cat leaned against the door frame and waited. The night before after she dropped Terre off at the airport she had gone home. Hopefully the girls were nice to her and help her figure out the phone. It wasn't a hard cellphone to figure out, but Terre was an innocent and didnt know anything about the modern day technology. Shrugging her shoulders she rolled them back and forth before waiting for someone to answer her knock.

"Ah, good morning to you, Miss Lavinia," Peregrine greeted with kind enthusiasm. Watching Dolor he couldn't help but smile fondly. "Dolor... You remember Lavinia? From last night? Do relax, she hasn't turned you to stone... Yet." He frowned a bit but then looked away at the sound of a knock. Setting aside his mixing bowl he went to answer it. "Cat? Good morning. Is there something I can help you with?" he asked while stepping back to allow her inside if she wanted.

"I came back to let Lavinia know that Terre got off alright." The moment Cat stepped into the room she inhaled. "Pere, are you cooking?" Her heightened sense of smell caught her off guard when she smelt another man in the apartment as well. "Your just collecting creatures as of recently, aren't you?"

"Don't worry, my stone gaze only works on humans which you mustn't be as you still stand here before me, flesh and blood." Lavinia said to Dolor as she moved into the kitchen, distracted suddenly for her need for food. "I wonder if theres any meat in this place..." she muttered as she opened the door to the fridge and began searching inside before finally emerging with a packet of sausages and bacon. She moved to the counter but instead of preparing them to be cooked she simply ripped the packet open and began eating the meat raw. "Mmmm...not as good as fresh but it'll do." she said in a contented tone before looking at Dolor. "Would you like some?" she hissed as she held a piece of bacon out.

"Uh, no thanks," Dolor responded. He watched her for a moment, debating about following Peregrine out to the living room. Something told him that this would be the first of many such encounters. He had attempted to avoid meeting up with other creatures, but that lifestyle was now behind him. "Can I ask, what are you?"

Peregrine chuckled, closing the door behind Cat. "Yes, it helps ease the loneliness. Not that you aren't wonderful company on your own," he added and gave her a peck on the cheek before going to the kitchen to resume cooking. Seeing Lavinia enjoy his sausages he shook his head in amusement. "So sorry we didn't have a pig for slaughter," he half joked as he continued working on the pancakes, setting the completed ones on a plate for everyone to simply take some from. He refrained from answering Dolor's question though he very much wanted to help his friend remember everything, all the knowledge he used to have. His curiosity was a good sign though.

"What am I?" Lavinia repeated the question with a curious expression. "I thought it would have been obvious but oh well. I am a Gorgon." she said then chuckled slightly as her head of snakes hissed as she said this. She took another bite of a sausage then smiled at Peregrine. "A fresh pig would have been delightful..."

Cat followed Pere into the kitchen and smiled happily. "Dolor!" Running over to the familiar man she wrapped her arms around his neck from behind and kissed his cheek. "Hello sweets. I didn't know you knew Pere." Smiling happily she rested her chin on Dolor's shoulder and peered over at Pere, watching him with fondness in her eyes. Her two favorite people, in the same room, how lucky could a woman get.

Nodding at Lavinia, Dolor was about to ask something else when his name was shouted and a pair of arms wrapped around him. "Cat?" he said, mildly confused at what the woman was doing here. Cat? She was another one? He looked at Peregrine for confirmation.

"He still doesn't really remember me," Peregrine told Cat before giving Dolor a fond smile of his own. "But when he does, he'll know me more than most anyone." He chuckled and turned back to the food, turning his pancake before getting two plates and two forks, setting them down for Cat and Dolor along with the plate of completed pancakes. "Cat, there's syrup, jam and things in the fridge. Could you get it please? Oh, and the orange juice?" He motioned to the fridge with his spatula before turning his attention back to the stove.

Cat, having been in Pere's place so often went straight to the fridge and was able to get everything she needed without difficulty. Placing everything on the table, she walked over to Pere and kissed his cheek. "Thanks for breakfast. I need to come over in the morning more often." Winking at him she turned and sat next to Dolor and patted his hand. "Dolor, sweets, maybe some time I'll show you what I can do. But I dont want to freak you out...yet!"

"How can you eat those things?" Lavinia hissed scrunching her nose up in disgust at the pancakes. "Don't you's want some meat?" she asked offering the raw bacon and sausages out to Peregrine, Cat and Dolor. She leant on the table next to Dolor, unable to sit because of her snake bottom.

Dolor speared a pancake and drenched the thing in syrup, creating a bit of a lake on his plate. "If it's something that freaky, maybe we'll have to schedule a date," he responded to Cat with a wink. As Lavinia mentioned eating raw meat, Dolor glanced over at her, his nose wrinkled a bit. "I've never tried it. Of course the humans have certain taboos about raw meat." The sheer number of new things he was being introduced to was a bit overwhelming, but he was trying to take it with grace.

"Ah, no thank you, Lavinia," Peregrine told the gorgon politely after relaxing the irritated expression he made at Dolor's wink. He didn't know better after all. "Perhaps another time." He set his cooking things in the sink, shutting off the stove before he joined them. He picked up a cooler pancake from the bottom of the stack and picked it apart, popping little bits in his mouth as he leaned against the bar. He looked at Lavinia. "Did Terre happen to get my address by the way, so she could write?"

"I gave her my spare cell so I can text it to her." Cat took some pancakes and placed them on her plate before looking up at Lavinia through her eyelashes. Slathering a bit of butter on the pancakes before she poured syrup over them, she smiled down at her yumminess and too a big bite. She savored the sweet little orgasm that was going on in her mouth before swallowing and sighing contently. "Thanks, but that's...gross. I don't even eat raw meat if Im a bear. I normally shift back over too cook my kill." Cat figured if she dropped little things about herself it wouldn't be so much of a shock to her friend once it finally came out what Cat really was. She felt back for hiding it all these years but it was needed in her line of work. Turning to Pere she smiled in thanks. "This is wonderful, I haven't had breakfast in so long."

The door down the hall opened and Pax emerged, looking distinctly ruffled. She was in her human form, but not pleased at all at this current state. With her hood up over her hair, she went to find everyone. The smell if pancakes was strong and Pax wandered into the kitchen, giving Peregrine a shy smile as she slid into a seat.

Taking this newest entrance as his cue, Dolor finished his pancake and slid from his seat. For possibly the first time in his life he felt no urge to clean his plate. He just wanted a moment. Dolor moved from the kitchen and down the hall, sliding into Peregrine's room once more. He sat on the edge of the bed, head in his hands, feeling ill. His mind was on fire, new ideas and things he should know running through it.

Peregrine smiled welcomingly at Pax but frowned as Dolor left. "Please excuse me for a moment," he told the three women politely and stepped out of the kitchen, leaving bits of his pancake still torn on the counter. When he stepped into the doorway to his room, his face fell even more at Dolor's state. He quietly closed the door and went to sit by his friend, stroking down his back in soothing motions almost as if petting him (as rubbing down AND up would ruffle the feathers unpleasantly). "Hey.. Dolor, are you alright? I did not mean to overwhelm you..."

Dolor didn't look up, he knew who had followed him. He had to take a few deep breaths before he could say anything. "I'm sorry. I just- I can't balance what I knew with what I know." He thought that he sounded a bit like a crazy person, but then he figured he was slowly losing his mind.

"It's ok, take your time..." Peregrine soothed him patiently. "It is not a matter of balancing but more a matter of integrating. Dolor, what you know now is a whole other life, but it existed along side ours. All you are adding to it is what happened before you woke up. It isn't going to go away so you are going to have to think on it. You can go back to your new life to take a break and assimilate, but you were the one who said you can't do that. Well, if you are going to stay here, then that is what you have to look forward to." He motioned vaguely toward the kitchen with one hand. "If you would rather go back to Terra Kali for a time, I understand, but she can't know about this and you are going to have to return."

Cat rose from the table and excused herself. Heading towards where she heard their voices, she knocked on the door before entering. Leaning against the door frame, Cat frowned, looking at the floor. "Dolor, honey. I'm sorry I never told you about myself. I really am. If I upset you somehow...or if you dont want to speak to me again, I'll understand. Just know, that I am terribly sorry." Chewing on her bottom lip she turned and headed back into the kitchen, having said her peace she slumped into a chair, running a hand through her long white hair. "Damnit..."

"Is everything alright?" Lavinia hissed at Cat as she began tidying up the breakfast things in the kitchen. "You seem troubled." she added as she gathered up some things and placed them in the fridge before lifting the empty packets from the raw meat and placing them in the trash.

"Just frustrated with myself is all, I guess." Sitting back in her chair, Cat shook her head, letting out a soft sigh. "I should have told him. Dolor's been coming into my bar for as long as I can remember. Sits in the same spot at the bar every day and talks to me. And never once did I think to tell him what I was. I've been hiding it for so long that it didnt even occur to me to tell him."

"It is not something most of us share," Pax said with a frown. She picked up a pancake with her hand, not bothering with a plate at all. "I would be more surprised if one such as him knew about us." Looking at the syrup, Pax shook her head suddenly, deciding that sugar was not what her system needed. After the awkwardness last night, and the discovery of so many others, the dream god wanted nothing more than to lock herself away as well. But she was more skilled with dealing than that.

Watching as Cat came in, Dolor closed his eyes tightly. "I don't know what to do," he told Peregrine, trying to settle his mind. "If I go back, I endanger all of you. If I don't, I leave Kali to whatever fate she was headed towards. There's just...too much to contemplate." His rational mind had decided to take a nap, leaving Dolor struggling with the decision based solely on his emotions. And that didn't sit well with him at all.

"Dolor... You can of course go back," Peregrine told him quietly but as if it should have been obvious. "You don't have to do either of those things permanently. Terra Kali is obviously very important to you and I don't want to tear you away from your friends. Even if she is... human." He tried not to ground out the word. He really had. He pushed a smile to his face. "You just can't tell her what we are, that's all. But you can still keep seeing her, spending time with her. I'd like you to stay with me but, if you won't, I understand that as well. I will see you whenever I can. If that is your wish of course. I don't want to pressure you, but at the same time... I really don't wish to give you up."

Cat's eyes darted over to Pax. "It is when that someone is one of your dearest friends and you would lay your life on the line in order for them to live." Her eyes were hard and cold for a moment, no only angry at Pax for trying to justify something she clearly didnt understand but at herself for not trusting Dolor with the truth. Shaking the tension out of her shoulders, Cat rose from the table once again. "Excuse me." Going back down the hallway to her boys, she took up the same stance she had before, leaning against the door frame. Cat caught the last bit that Pere had said and smiled softly. "Neither of us do."

It took some convincing but Peregrine finally managed to convince Dolor he needed to go to work, or at the very least see Terra Kali again, after the phoera promised to keep his mouth shut about what they were. Once he had gently ushered the taller man out, kissing his cheek in farewell before he closed the door, he set about writing a short list of sweets that needed replenished, as well as a few other groceries, like raw meat, and gave it to Pax with some money, thanking her for taking on the duties of his little sister's nanny before kindly asking her to take care of the shopping. That settled, he sat heavily down on one of his fluffy white sofas and laid his head back with a groan, covering his eyes with one elbow. He loved having Dolor back, but it only put more strain on him to protect more people from the blasted humans. Why couldn't things simply be as they were? Why did the humans need to be so greedy? So self-serving?

Cat followed Pere into the other room and knelt beside the armrest. Leaning over it she began to massage his shoulders and whispered softly. "Headache?" Kissing the top of his head she watched him carefully. Pere worked to hard. All the things he put up with should not have to rest on one mans shoulders, yet they did. Biting on her bottom lip she allowed her eyes to travel over his handsome features. She'd always had a bit of a crush on him, but never really acted upon it. He had a lot going on and she always respected that by not getting in the way. Some day maybe she'd tell him how she felt about him and they'd go from there.

"Perhaps a bit," Peregrine admitted, reaching up to rest his hand on one of hers, giving her a weak little smile over his shoulder. He kissed her hand briefly before patting the spot next to him on the couch. He hadn't forgotten about Lavinia, but she could join them whenever she wished. "What have you been up to lately Cat? It feels like I haven't seen you in forever." Actually, what had it really been? Perhaps a week? No, he was pretty sure it was less than that.

Cat took the spot beside Pere and shrugged her shoulders. "Working, trying to stay out of trouble." Leaning into the couch she turned and pulled her knees up to her chest. "I was arrested a few days ago. Brought in for questioning." Her eyes were distant as she recalled the treatment she had been put through. Tied to a wall and beaten. Good thing her shape shifting allowed for her to hide the bruising. The men in the human government didn't hesitate to hit woman, that was for sure.

Peregrine frowned, sitting forward and taking her hand again. "I would say that I am grateful that at least you came out alive.. but 'at least' isn't good enough. These humans.. they have to be stopped. They are arrogant and self serving..." He paused, sighing in an effort to calm himself, not wanting his full irritation to show, and lifted her hand to place a chaste kiss on it. No matter how angry he became at the humans, Peregrine always spoke of them from a higher level, as if humans were a pet that just didn't understand how to not soil the carpet. "Nonetheless... I am glad they did not discover you."

"I've always been a dissever. It's kind of my thing." Sighing gently, Cat looked over at the clock on the wall. It was her day off but normally she'd be at the bar, scoping out the males to see if she could gather any information. She was Pere's biggest 'helper' and sometimes she took it further than most. But it was needed. If there kind were going to be free again some day than she needed to the that extra step. Sitting back against the couch comfortably she closed her eyes and smiled. "So, you have house guests?"

"Ah, yes!" Peregrine's face brightened slightly at the mention of the new people in his home, temporarily setting the humans aside. "I stumbled into some other creatures walking around the other day-" He paused, frowning. He would need to go out later again. He was behind in his sales.
In fact, he hadn't checked his phone in... how long? He frowned. Oh dear, he bet he had more than one furious message at this point. "Still too few however. I wish they were easier to find." Again, he felt his heart become heavy with guilt. He had hidden them, and scattered them. It was his own fault they were so hard to find, so lost.

Lavinia appeared from the kitchen drying her hands on a cloth. "I tidied up as best I could." she hissed as she slithered over towards Peregrine and Cat. "Is everything alright?" She asked as she noticed the frown on Peregrines face, pulling herself up into a chair and curling up. "Do I need to hurt anyone?"

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