Tattoo [Growth [Part 1]]
May. 17th, 2020 09:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
esp_dragonv2Fandom: Noblesse
Summary: M-21 grows, and with it, so does the tattoo.
Contains: Mention of suicidal ideation.
Notes: Not the scenes I was thinking of doing in the previous part, but ah well.
Also, this ended up being over 10k, so I'll be posting this in four parts. XDDD;
Thanks to Madame Azure for all the support and cheering on while I was writing this. :D
Rating: PG-13
Genre: General
Word count: 1,575
Total word count: 11,870
Status: Work in progress
"M, hold still for a sec, will ya?"
M-21 turned his head to see Tao leaning over the back of the sofa, a measuring tape in hand. Measuring for a suit or a new idea? If it was, Tao would have asked him to stan-
"You too, Wolfy!"
Wolf-? The wolf tattoo barked on the back of M-21's hand, sitting still as Tao placed the tape next to it.
"What are you..." It was obvious what Tao was doing. "Why?"
"I'm measuring Wolfy's growth!" Tao said, as he pulled out a white card from a pocket. He set the tape next to an edge and marked a line on it. "I've made a growth chart an' everything!'
A growth what? "Why...?" But it was Tao. He did things because he felt like it.
"'Cause it's super important!"
And that was as much explanation as M-21 was going to get.
Tao waved the card towards the wolf tattoo, showing it the lines he'd made. "You've grown this much!"
M-21 peered at the card. The difference between the highest mark and the one under it was barely a millimetre. "When did you take the last measurement?" And how hadn't he noticed? There were at least four marks on the card.
"About a week ago," Tao said as the wolf sniffed at the card.
Was a millimetre a week a lot? What would happen if it grew so much it couldn't move over his skin?
...He wouldn't live that long.
M-21 looked down when the wolf nipped a knuckle. The wolf locked gazes with him, M-21 feeling the rumble of its growl.
He still hadn't figured why it nipped him sometimes, but it seemed satisfied if he changed what he was thinking about at the time.
"You two okay?" Tao said.
"Yeah," M-21 said, scratching at where the wolf had nipped him, the wolf dancing around his fingertips. "It doesn't always agree with what I'm thinking about."
"Heh, guess you can't walk away from each other if you have an argument," Tao said, waving his fingers at the wolf.
Not really. But it could stop interacting with him. M-21 ran his finger over the wolf's head, feeling its tail thump against his skin.
"Oh, I see who the favourite is," Tao said with a exaggerated sniff.
"He's known me for longer."
Tao squinted at the wolf. "If I can find out what your favourite food is, maybe you'll like me more."
M-21's heart lurched for a second before he squashed the familiar feeling down. "It doesn't eat."
M-21 exhaled when the wolf ducked under his hand and dashed up his arm. He closed his eyes when the wolf circled his heart and then settled over it. The wolf didn't howl this time.
"I'm fine," M-21 muttered, rubbing over it. The feeling would ease.
M-21 blinked when Tao poked his forehead. "If you were, Wolfy wouldn't'a - well, do whatever he's doing right now."
M-21 waved Tao's hand away. "I'm fine," he repeated. "You just..." He exhaled again, pursing his lips. ...The wolf really had grown since he'd arrived - it was bigger against his heart compared to the last time it had done that.
He swallowed, his breathing hitching.
"M?" Tao settled next to him.
He shook his head. "It's..." It wasn't nothing. M-24 would never be nothing. "M-24 tried to feed it once," he said, still rubbing his chest. "All it wanted was for '24 to feed me."
"Oooh. Sorry."
M-21 shrugged.
"Sooo," Tao said, leaning against M-21's side, "if food doesn't work - what about toys?"
M-21 stared at him. "You want me to throw a ball and see if it chases it?"
Tao waggled his eyebrows, grinning. "Have you tried?"
"...No."
Tao peered at M-21's exposed skin, grin fading. "He's not going to come out for a bit, is he?"
M-21 rubbed his chest again. "I don't think so."
Tao hummed, drumming his fingers on his knee. "Well, if I can't feed or play with Wolfy, how 'bout we get something to eat instead?"
The ache was still there, but M-21 nodded, getting up.
* * *
Tao squinted at the sizzling pan, hand inching towards the bacon. "I throw it in?"
"Doesn't it explode if you put something cold on something hot?" M-21 was sure he'd heard that somewhere.
Tao twisted to look at him, eyes wide and eyebrows raised. "That works for food as well?" Tao pulled out his phone and his fingers were a blur as he typed. "Ack, you're right - guess we should wait a couple minutes," Tao said as M-21 switched the heat off.
M-21 wasn't sure just how good the wolf's senses were, but he felt it pad up his chest and cross his neck to rest at his jaw.
"No interesting explosions to see here," Tao said, waggling his fingers at the wolf, moving the pan away. "Buuut..." He flicked his wrist, a cable spiralling out. He rolled it between his palms, the ball growing with each pass. When it was about the size of the wolf's head, Tao pinched the cable, detaching it. "Do you wanna play ball while we wait?"
M-21 didn't feel the wolf wag its tail like he thought it would. Huh.
Tao tossed the ball between his hands. "You get to chase it around! Sound fun?"
Tao flicked the ball at M-21.
M-21 caught it in one hand. The wolf didn't move.
Tao's face fell. "Aww, you don't like it?"
"Do wolves like playing with toys?" M-21 said. They were wild animals, but did the wolf tattoo count as the same?
The wolf moved down towards his arm and M-21 held the ball in his palm. He knew it could affect something touching his skin, but he'd never seen it try to interact with something like this.
The wolf circled the ball a couple times, not touching it.
"Eeem," Tao said, craning his neck to peer at the wolf, "roll it around."
Snorting, M-21 tilted his hand enough the ball moved.
The wolf followed but still didn't touch it.
Tao's shoulders slumped. "Damn. Maybe Wolfy'll like a different toy." He waved a hand over the pan and nodded. "Do you think he'd like bacon?"
M-21 grimaced. "You're not throwing bits of bacon at me." He tossed Tao's cable-ball back at him.
A cable shot out of Tao's wrist as he moved the pan back in place, snatching the ball in the air. It rippled once, and the ball was reabsorbed into the cable.
"I wouldn't throw them!" Tao said, laying the bacon in the pan, the cable disappearing up his sleeve again. "I'd hold them close and see how Wolfy reacted."
M-21 shook his head, a smile tugging at his lips no matter how he tried to hide it.
Tao turned the heat on. He threw his fists up in the air with a cheer. "No explosion! Right," Tao said, clapping his hands once, "what else do you want on this ultra deluxe sandwich?"
Uh... He had to choose?
* * *
"Why are you filthy enhanced humans hanging around here?"
M-21 hid his frown, staring at the blond guy who'd shown up on Ye Ran's grounds. Shit. Who was he to know and announce that in public?
"Who are you?" M-21 asked, narrowing his eyes. "Why are you here?" Could they get the stranger away from the school before he attacked?
"You dare..."
The stranger disappeared.
The f-
Pain exploded in M-21's lower back. He could hear the guy saying something else but he couldn't concentrate on the words, an anger roaring through him alongside the blood that thundered in his ears. There was something inside him. Fist. Felt fist sized. And it shouldn't be there.
A yelp of pain pierced the air and the fist was yanked out. M-21 had enough awareness to feel the wolf at his back as he whirled around.
The stranger's face was a mask of anger as he held his hand close to his chest. Blood dripped from his hand but that wasn't enough to hide the small ring of pinpricks on the back of his hand.
"You bit me!" the stranger spluttered.
"I..." Fierce pride swelled in M-21 seeing that. He might have been too slow to react, but the wolf wasn't.
The guy was fast and M-21 braced for when he attacked ag-
"RAEL!" Regis' voice echoed around the schoolyard and M-21 relaxed a little bit. More back up. Good.
With all of them together, they should be able to protect the school.
* * *
M-21 winced, his back throbbing. It was healing, faster than he'd healed before, but it still fucking hurt.
The wolf circled the wound, but it didn't touch the stitches, only licking the edges.
"Hnn..." M-21 said, tapping close to where it was to get its attention.
The wolf paused, going towards his fingers.
"Thanks for earlier." It had been hectic for a while - he hadn't had a chance to properly talk with the wolf until then. "If you hadn't been there..." The noble had had his guts in his hand. That could have been it for him.
The wolf barked twice, tail swishing as it went back to his wound.
"Focus on getting better, huh..." M-21 sighed. It was hard to do when the wound was a constant reminder of how slow he'd been -
The wolf nipped him.
"Fine." Heal up and get ready for whatever happened next.
Summary: M-21 grows, and with it, so does the tattoo.
Contains: Mention of suicidal ideation.
Notes: Not the scenes I was thinking of doing in the previous part, but ah well.
Also, this ended up being over 10k, so I'll be posting this in four parts. XDDD;
Thanks to Madame Azure for all the support and cheering on while I was writing this. :D
Rating: PG-13
Genre: General
Word count: 1,575
Total word count: 11,870
Status: Work in progress
"M, hold still for a sec, will ya?"
M-21 turned his head to see Tao leaning over the back of the sofa, a measuring tape in hand. Measuring for a suit or a new idea? If it was, Tao would have asked him to stan-
"You too, Wolfy!"
Wolf-? The wolf tattoo barked on the back of M-21's hand, sitting still as Tao placed the tape next to it.
"What are you..." It was obvious what Tao was doing. "Why?"
"I'm measuring Wolfy's growth!" Tao said, as he pulled out a white card from a pocket. He set the tape next to an edge and marked a line on it. "I've made a growth chart an' everything!'
A growth what? "Why...?" But it was Tao. He did things because he felt like it.
"'Cause it's super important!"
And that was as much explanation as M-21 was going to get.
Tao waved the card towards the wolf tattoo, showing it the lines he'd made. "You've grown this much!"
M-21 peered at the card. The difference between the highest mark and the one under it was barely a millimetre. "When did you take the last measurement?" And how hadn't he noticed? There were at least four marks on the card.
"About a week ago," Tao said as the wolf sniffed at the card.
Was a millimetre a week a lot? What would happen if it grew so much it couldn't move over his skin?
...He wouldn't live that long.
M-21 looked down when the wolf nipped a knuckle. The wolf locked gazes with him, M-21 feeling the rumble of its growl.
He still hadn't figured why it nipped him sometimes, but it seemed satisfied if he changed what he was thinking about at the time.
"You two okay?" Tao said.
"Yeah," M-21 said, scratching at where the wolf had nipped him, the wolf dancing around his fingertips. "It doesn't always agree with what I'm thinking about."
"Heh, guess you can't walk away from each other if you have an argument," Tao said, waving his fingers at the wolf.
Not really. But it could stop interacting with him. M-21 ran his finger over the wolf's head, feeling its tail thump against his skin.
"Oh, I see who the favourite is," Tao said with a exaggerated sniff.
"He's known me for longer."
Tao squinted at the wolf. "If I can find out what your favourite food is, maybe you'll like me more."
M-21's heart lurched for a second before he squashed the familiar feeling down. "It doesn't eat."
M-21 exhaled when the wolf ducked under his hand and dashed up his arm. He closed his eyes when the wolf circled his heart and then settled over it. The wolf didn't howl this time.
"I'm fine," M-21 muttered, rubbing over it. The feeling would ease.
M-21 blinked when Tao poked his forehead. "If you were, Wolfy wouldn't'a - well, do whatever he's doing right now."
M-21 waved Tao's hand away. "I'm fine," he repeated. "You just..." He exhaled again, pursing his lips. ...The wolf really had grown since he'd arrived - it was bigger against his heart compared to the last time it had done that.
He swallowed, his breathing hitching.
"M?" Tao settled next to him.
He shook his head. "It's..." It wasn't nothing. M-24 would never be nothing. "M-24 tried to feed it once," he said, still rubbing his chest. "All it wanted was for '24 to feed me."
"Oooh. Sorry."
M-21 shrugged.
"Sooo," Tao said, leaning against M-21's side, "if food doesn't work - what about toys?"
M-21 stared at him. "You want me to throw a ball and see if it chases it?"
Tao waggled his eyebrows, grinning. "Have you tried?"
"...No."
Tao peered at M-21's exposed skin, grin fading. "He's not going to come out for a bit, is he?"
M-21 rubbed his chest again. "I don't think so."
Tao hummed, drumming his fingers on his knee. "Well, if I can't feed or play with Wolfy, how 'bout we get something to eat instead?"
The ache was still there, but M-21 nodded, getting up.
Tao squinted at the sizzling pan, hand inching towards the bacon. "I throw it in?"
"Doesn't it explode if you put something cold on something hot?" M-21 was sure he'd heard that somewhere.
Tao twisted to look at him, eyes wide and eyebrows raised. "That works for food as well?" Tao pulled out his phone and his fingers were a blur as he typed. "Ack, you're right - guess we should wait a couple minutes," Tao said as M-21 switched the heat off.
M-21 wasn't sure just how good the wolf's senses were, but he felt it pad up his chest and cross his neck to rest at his jaw.
"No interesting explosions to see here," Tao said, waggling his fingers at the wolf, moving the pan away. "Buuut..." He flicked his wrist, a cable spiralling out. He rolled it between his palms, the ball growing with each pass. When it was about the size of the wolf's head, Tao pinched the cable, detaching it. "Do you wanna play ball while we wait?"
M-21 didn't feel the wolf wag its tail like he thought it would. Huh.
Tao tossed the ball between his hands. "You get to chase it around! Sound fun?"
Tao flicked the ball at M-21.
M-21 caught it in one hand. The wolf didn't move.
Tao's face fell. "Aww, you don't like it?"
"Do wolves like playing with toys?" M-21 said. They were wild animals, but did the wolf tattoo count as the same?
The wolf moved down towards his arm and M-21 held the ball in his palm. He knew it could affect something touching his skin, but he'd never seen it try to interact with something like this.
The wolf circled the ball a couple times, not touching it.
"Eeem," Tao said, craning his neck to peer at the wolf, "roll it around."
Snorting, M-21 tilted his hand enough the ball moved.
The wolf followed but still didn't touch it.
Tao's shoulders slumped. "Damn. Maybe Wolfy'll like a different toy." He waved a hand over the pan and nodded. "Do you think he'd like bacon?"
M-21 grimaced. "You're not throwing bits of bacon at me." He tossed Tao's cable-ball back at him.
A cable shot out of Tao's wrist as he moved the pan back in place, snatching the ball in the air. It rippled once, and the ball was reabsorbed into the cable.
"I wouldn't throw them!" Tao said, laying the bacon in the pan, the cable disappearing up his sleeve again. "I'd hold them close and see how Wolfy reacted."
M-21 shook his head, a smile tugging at his lips no matter how he tried to hide it.
Tao turned the heat on. He threw his fists up in the air with a cheer. "No explosion! Right," Tao said, clapping his hands once, "what else do you want on this ultra deluxe sandwich?"
Uh... He had to choose?
"Why are you filthy enhanced humans hanging around here?"
M-21 hid his frown, staring at the blond guy who'd shown up on Ye Ran's grounds. Shit. Who was he to know and announce that in public?
"Who are you?" M-21 asked, narrowing his eyes. "Why are you here?" Could they get the stranger away from the school before he attacked?
"You dare..."
The stranger disappeared.
The f-
Pain exploded in M-21's lower back. He could hear the guy saying something else but he couldn't concentrate on the words, an anger roaring through him alongside the blood that thundered in his ears. There was something inside him. Fist. Felt fist sized. And it shouldn't be there.
A yelp of pain pierced the air and the fist was yanked out. M-21 had enough awareness to feel the wolf at his back as he whirled around.
The stranger's face was a mask of anger as he held his hand close to his chest. Blood dripped from his hand but that wasn't enough to hide the small ring of pinpricks on the back of his hand.
"You bit me!" the stranger spluttered.
"I..." Fierce pride swelled in M-21 seeing that. He might have been too slow to react, but the wolf wasn't.
The guy was fast and M-21 braced for when he attacked ag-
"RAEL!" Regis' voice echoed around the schoolyard and M-21 relaxed a little bit. More back up. Good.
With all of them together, they should be able to protect the school.
M-21 winced, his back throbbing. It was healing, faster than he'd healed before, but it still fucking hurt.
The wolf circled the wound, but it didn't touch the stitches, only licking the edges.
"Hnn..." M-21 said, tapping close to where it was to get its attention.
The wolf paused, going towards his fingers.
"Thanks for earlier." It had been hectic for a while - he hadn't had a chance to properly talk with the wolf until then. "If you hadn't been there..." The noble had had his guts in his hand. That could have been it for him.
The wolf barked twice, tail swishing as it went back to his wound.
"Focus on getting better, huh..." M-21 sighed. It was hard to do when the wound was a constant reminder of how slow he'd been -
The wolf nipped him.
"Fine." Heal up and get ready for whatever happened next.