Tori Ashwood
Criminal
Black Thorns Leader
"Crave my heart, and it's bleeding in your hand. I can't say no to you."
Posts: 107
|
Post by Tori Ashwood on Sept 15, 2010 23:09:27 GMT -5
Maybethere's a God above, But all I've ever learned from love Is how to shoot somebody who outdrew ya And it's not a cry that you hear at night It's not someone who has seen the light It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah [/size][/color][/I][/center] The sight that greeted Tori's eyes as she turned into the alleyway was not a pretty one. Fox was lying on the ground, motionless, with what appeared to be a police or some sort of other official laying near him. There was blood all around; she could smell it in the air. Blood and pain and fear; scents she was far too used to. It was enough to send a stab of raw panic into her gut. This was her fault. Tori knew this was her fault. She was late arriving because she had to make sure all her stuff was packed before she left the house. If she and Fox and the kids were to move soon, then everything had to be organized. And God knew Fox couldn't organize shit; he was male. And so she had been late. And so Fox... Tori let out a vicious growl, pulling out her shovel as she ran forwards. She then quickly spun before standing in front of Fox. Her eyes flashed dangerously, despite the fear in her heart. "You want some?" She spat at the police man, taking a step back so she could kneel beside Fox. Her fingers touched his chest; she sighed upon feeling his chest rise and fall, "You wanna try something? Bring it on, muthafucker. I swear to God, I will kill you if you touch him again..."
|
|
|
Post by Solid Snake on Sept 17, 2010 21:34:57 GMT -5
Snake sighed in relief as Fox was carried up and off of him. Although he saw Fox waited longer to fall off and thus hurt himself even more, Snake was too beaten and bruised to feel any sense of victory whatsoever. He was just glad that Fox was done with punching his lights out, and Snake was more concerned about him getting out of the alleyway before more trouble occurred.
He was struggling with consciousness when Tori appeared, seemingly from no where. Snake was so shocked, he didn't say anything at first. When she spoke though, it became quite clear that she didn't recognize him, not in this condition anyways. <How fitting...> he sighed inwardly. <She can recognize him, but not me...>
"T... Tori?" Snake croaked, wheezing a little. "It's... not what you... think..." Snake groaned again in pain, feeling his bruised and swollen jaw. "Please... I didn't... want it to get so... bad."
|
|
Fox McCloud
Immigrant
"Landmaster is wave of future! Everyone having one!"[A1i:6]
Posts: 82
|
Post by Fox McCloud on Sept 17, 2010 23:41:18 GMT -5
Her scent, and her touch, brought him back to consciousness.
Though not fully... back to his mind.
Fox's head and side hurt the most. If he had been in his senses, he would have said he'd at the very least bruised a rib, if not broken one entirely. The anthro couldn't help but groan, before his eyes fluttered open.
They were glazed over, showing just how out of it he was, and a big, goofy grin curved up his lips. "Peppy," he muttered, voice croaking, though it almost had a proud tone to it, "Peppy... Peppy, I am doing Barrel Roll!"
|
|
Tori Ashwood
Criminal
Black Thorns Leader
"Crave my heart, and it's bleeding in your hand. I can't say no to you."
Posts: 107
|
Post by Tori Ashwood on Sept 17, 2010 23:55:12 GMT -5
Tori stared in horror as she realized exactly who had knocked the holy living crap out of Fox, and who Fox had scratched and beaten the crap out of it. Snake and Fox had gone at it; her men, the only people she really cared about, had knocked each other senseless. It was enough to make her sick.
"You guys... you guys weren't supposed to..." She flicked her gaze from Snake to Fox, who was starting to come around. Tori dropped her shovel, moving to brush Fox's headfur from his face. Her eyes softened, "Fox... Oh, man, Foxxy... you really got hit on the head hard, didn't you?"
She looked back over at Snake, "But you got it just as bad, didn't you? My God; you're a soldier. He's an animal. What made you think either one of you could honestly win this fight? Good God, honestly?" Throughout the whole time she was talking, Tori was running her fingers through Fox's headfur nonstop.
"Easy there, love," Tori whispered, before she could stop the words; by now, she was too worried about the both of them to watch was she was saying. "It's all right. Just breathe for me. You'll be okay. The both of you will." Her eyes flitted to Snake.
|
|
|
Post by Solid Snake on Sept 18, 2010 0:12:40 GMT -5
Snake just felt... awful. He knew he shouldn't have encouraged Fox. What he had done was wrong, and it wasn't fair to Tori. Not when she cared for this anthro as much as she did. He closed his eyes in shame at what he had done.
Then she called him "love".
Snake's eyes shot open. That crossed the line, absolutely and positively. There she was, comforting him. Soothing him. It wasn't like she moved to help him. And that word... It just was too much for Snake. Far, far too much.
"Love?" Snake sputtered. "I'm... glad we're all... on the same page then. I'm so sorry I'm being a... bother right now, obviously you two... don't need me." Angrily, Snake tried to move to get up, but trying to get up caused a wave of pain, and all he could manage was a sitting position.
"I guess I should just crawl away now, on my hands and knees," Snake laughed bitterly.
|
|
Fox McCloud
Immigrant
"Landmaster is wave of future! Everyone having one!"[A1i:6]
Posts: 82
|
Post by Fox McCloud on Sept 18, 2010 12:41:46 GMT -5
Fox leaned into her hand, though the action made a dull pain in his back flare up; he had bruised the hell out of that. Actually, bruising is pretty much all that had happened to him, even if it was BAD bruising: he had already had a bruised head from being pistol whipped, and smacking it on the pavement hadn't helped that; his back was all kinds of pummeled from the fall, as well; luckily, none of his ribs were broken, but they had been damaged and... yes, bruised.
The anthro let out a whine, his kind's equivalent of a groan.
As his mind returned to him, he was beginning to realize he should have listened to logic's side before jumping into this. He had known Tori was going to be there soon, and Snake was... Snake. He was a crafty, creative piglet; even Fox had to admit that. But he was still swine.
What Fox didn't get, however, was why Snake was getting so mad. He just couldn't fathom... what exactly was--
Wait. No.
No, there was no way that was right.
Snake had been talking about Tori earlier, about how Fox was going to hurt her or something by hurting him. He hadn't gotten that, either, but the way Tori was acting, and how mad Snake was getting at her right now...
Chudesnyi. Ow, his heart.
But the anthro couldn't let those emotions show right then. Slowly, painfully, he pushed himself up from the ground to a sitting position, clenching his eyes shut and pinning his ears back as the agony ripped at his body but not giving any other indication any was actually going on. A shudder made its way down his spine. If he had been able to afford it, he would have said he needed to get to a hospital.
"She is not meaning anything by it, piglet," Fox muttered, ear flicking at him. For once, his eyes didn't show anger towards Snake; this time, it was more like... reassurance. "Tori is being Fox's bro. We are being siblings, eh?" Even if he didn't really feel like that-- something he was having a hard time admitting to himself, though now he realized it in full-- he didn't want Tori to ruin her relationship with Snake, not like this. He just wanted her to be happy, and if Snake made her happy... so be it. Maybe it was long past time for Fox to retire from the game entirely.
|
|
Tori Ashwood
Criminal
Black Thorns Leader
"Crave my heart, and it's bleeding in your hand. I can't say no to you."
Posts: 107
|
Post by Tori Ashwood on Sept 18, 2010 13:18:43 GMT -5
Snake's words had Tori flinching back, but it was his laugh - that laugh - that had her mind flashing back for a quick moment. A delicate shiver crawled down her back. God, she hated it when people laughed like that. It was also so mocking, so... so much like her father's.
She turned her eyes from Fox to Snake, "Snake, please, you don't... You don't understand." She floundered, trying to grasp at some sort of straw here. True, she loved Snake, but Fox... Fox had been there for her. He had never left her. And so she had grown closer to the anthro. It wasn't like she meant to hurt either one of them. "I never... the words just..."
There was a burning sensation in the back of Tori's throat, and the young woman realized tears of helplessness were stating to form. She was caught between a rock and a hard place now; a feeling that only increased when Fox attempted to move. Without even thinking, she moved to wrap her arm around his shoulders, helping him sit up and allowing him to lean on her for support.
The action, and Fox's words, were like a punch in the gut.
She drew her hands back, as if burned. Her eyes flickered to his face, as if searching for any signs that maybe he lying, that maybe her feelings were returned. But if there was any hint, Tori couldn't read it, and that ripped at her heart. She turned her head away, so her eyes looked back at Snake. Brokenly, the young woman nodded her head.
"Right," she agreed; her voice was just barely above a whisper, "nothing more than siblings. I love him, but it's..." Her voice cracked. She cleared her throat; her eyes fell to the ground. This was going to kill her. This was going to kill Snake.
She wasn't sure how Fox was going to take it; she just prayed that he wasn't going to ignore or abandon her now.
"I love both of you. And I'm so sorry I've hurt you, Snake. I really do love you. But... But I love Fox, too. You don't know how much you hurt me when you left, and he just slid so easily into the hole you left behind. He and the children..." A sad, sad smile curved Tori's lips. "That doesn't mean I love you any less, but I do love Fox. God, you have no idea how much this hurts."
Maybe it was because of her childhood; maybe it was because she just felt so needy when it came to love, but Tori wasn't sure if she could handle either of her guys leaving her - especially now that it was out in the open. She wasn't sure how either of them were going to react; Snake was a military man, a man of strength and power. Fox... Fox had just lost his wife a few months earlier.
Standing, Tori gave Fox one last glance before moving towards Snake. She knelt beside him, placing a gentle hand on his arm.
"I'm sorry," she murmured, "I really am sorry. And I promise we'll talk about this later, but... You guys need to get to a hospital. You both are so beaten up, it's pitiful."
|
|
|
Post by Solid Snake on Sept 18, 2010 22:34:50 GMT -5
Snake was speechless. He was so shocked by what Fox had just said, without anger or venom too, that his jaw dropped. He had thought Fox had some sort of thing for Tori, but not like that... <Maybe... Maybe I need to cut him some slack... He's not trying to steal her away, like I thought before,> Snake realized mentally.
Then Tori spoke.
And Snake fell apart.
Every word was like a knife in his heart. Knowing that Tori felt like that for Fox... It left him broken. Shattered in two. It hurt to know that Tori felt this way for Fox... The same way she felt for him. <I thought... I was the only one...> he shuddered. It was just a lot to realize, and the pain in his heart made him just want to break down right then and there.
He was a soldier, but he was human too.
"O... Okay," Snake shuddered. "We'll... talk about it later then. I..." Snake broke off. He just... didn't know what to say to Tori at this point.
|
|
Fox McCloud
Immigrant
"Landmaster is wave of future! Everyone having one!"[A1i:6]
Posts: 82
|
Post by Fox McCloud on Sept 18, 2010 23:16:04 GMT -5
That... that was a lot to digest.
Fox had said what he had said because that was how he thought she had felt. But now... now, he didn't know what to think. He didn't even know what to feel. His heart was torn between a mixture of joy for his feelings being returned, and anguish that she still had feelings for Snake. Not to mention guilt...
The anthro glanced down at the wedding ring still on his finger, placing his other hand over it as both of his ears pinned back. The truth was, he was far from over Krystal. But he was an animal, one whose species wasn't even supposed to mate for life, and he was ready-- if hesitantly-- to move on.
Fox stood on shaky legs, letting out the tiniest noise possible as the pain flared up again. He wanted to go over and comfort Tori, but he knew right now, in front of Snake, wasn't the best time. Later, when they were back at the house...
". . .You guys need to get to a hospital. You both are so beaten up, it's pitiful."
That made both his ears prick up and, awkwardly, Fox coughed to get her attention. "Fox... Fox is not having health insurance," he murmured, frowning sadly.
|
|
Tori Ashwood
Criminal
Black Thorns Leader
"Crave my heart, and it's bleeding in your hand. I can't say no to you."
Posts: 107
|
Post by Tori Ashwood on Sept 18, 2010 23:29:28 GMT -5
Tori knew how much she had hurt both of her guys, and felt what was left of her heart shatter into nothing. She closed her eyes tightly, fighting back the pain she was feeling, and wrapped her arms around Snake's. Gently, aiding him to lean against her, she forced him to stand. As much as it caused her heart to pound to be this close to someone... She knew he needed help.
Her eyes, dull with the shell of apathy, shifted to Fox when he spoke to her. For a moment, the young woman considered arguing with him; she knew that she could afford to pay for whatever he needed to be done to him, but... She just didn't want to argue. She didn't want to fight. She had already done enough to these two; forcing Fox into something else would just by the icing on the twelve-layer cake.
"All right," she murmured, pulling Snake a bit closer so she could keep him from falling, "I'll just... I'll take care of you when we get home. Falco's watching the kids again, so I'll just put in a call and tell him not to bring them home until you're all patched up. God knows Marissa and Jeremy shouldn't see you like... like this."
For a brief second, her voice broke, but then she quickly managed to mend it right back up. She was stronger than this; she had survived venturing into hell and back. She was the leader of a gang. And yet she couldn't even decide which man her heart truly desired.
"Let's just get Snake to the hospital, and get him checked in. The hospital isn't far from the house, thank God."
Her eyes flitted over to Fox, observing his face, then back to the street beneath her feet. Carefully, making sure she had a good grip on Snake, she started down the street.
Praying Fox followed her.
|
|
|
Post by Solid Snake on Sept 19, 2010 2:14:49 GMT -5
Snake nodded and leaned into Tori as she helped him get up off his feet.
The closeness made him want to break. This wasn't something that was exclusively his any more. She was sharing this feeling, this closeness, with... him. And yet, he couldn't feel angry. With every fibre of his being, he wasn't feeling angry any more, not in the slightest.
Instead, hurt filled the void.
Snake let Tori lead him down the alleyway. He didn't have the energy to fight it any more. What he needed wasn't a hospital. It was an explanation, a talk, some sort of communication between the two of them. But now more than every, he felt like he'd broken off and floated away to see, an island all by himself, alone in the vast ocean of lonliness.
She loved Fox
The words swam through Snake's mind. As if he didn't need reminding; it was a constant reminder of how he'd failed. He failed her two years ago. Snake made the wrong decision, leaving the gang. All it had left was a trail of hurt. And Tori... Tori had met Fox. And while they hadn't been able to act on their feelings due to Fox's wife, that wasn't an issue any more. <They're free to be together now...> Snake sighed in defeat.
He had failed.
And it was all his fault
|
|