Chapter 02
Tyru woke up suddenly for the second time that night. This time, the nightstand clock read 2:54... The fox sat up slowly, and ran a paw through his hair. Plenty enough time to get some more sleep in; he'd probably need it later on this afternoon. But he'd already slept the whole evening, and it didn't look like he was going to get any more in. He sighed and moved to get out of bed. Might as well go to the lounge and get something to drink. Maybe one of the building's insomniacs would be some conversation. Careful not to wake Galen, he hopped off the bed.
His leg caught something next to his bed, catching his pantsleg and hurling him to the floor. "Shit! So much for keeping quiet..." he grumbled, picking himself up. Looking at his foot, he saw it caught on his nightstand drawer, which had been left open. Left open when he distinctly remembered closing it. And everything from the package he had put in there before he went to sleep was missing.
Tyru ran to the door. "GALEN!"
The fox ran down the dorm hallways, trying to figure out where his roomate had taken the missing items. He barely managed to stop in the lounge entryway, almost crashing into the doorframe before he could stop himself. There were two students in the lounge, a cat and a skunk.
"Did....did you guys see....a-a-a rabbit come...through here?" Tyru asked, panting for breath. He looked at the two imploringly.
The cat nodded. "Yeah, I think I saw one head out to the parking lot...real weird...his fur was a whole buncha different colors..." he blinked, and pointed in the direction of the student parking lot. Tyru nodded in thanks, then took off outside.
Tyru caught sight of Galen, keys in the door of his car, and a box under his other arm. He put all his speed into a running tackle, pushing the rabbit away from the car and sending both of them rolling in the grass next to the lot. Once they stopped rolling, Tyru pinned his roomate under him.
"What the fuck are you doing?!" he screamed.
"Get the hell off me!" Galen yelled back. He tried to push the fox away, but Tyru punched him in the jaw.
"Shut up! You stole my stuff, you bastard! The only thing I had left of...them and you stole it! What the hell were you gonna do with it?!" Tyru held onto Galen's shirt collar, shoving the rabbit against the ground every so often. Angry tears collected in his eyes, but he blinked them away.
"I don't hafta tell you anything!" the tye-dye furrie snapped, and whipped his arm around before Tyru could catch him.
Galen had the pocketknife in his hand and drew it across the fox's arm quickly, making a small cut on his left arm. Tyru yelped and brought the arm against his chest instictively, allowing Galen to push him over until he pinned the fox instead. He held the knife threatningly against Tyru's cheek.
"It doesn't matter what the hell it's for. Maybe I need money, or maybe I just wanna fuck with you cuz you're gay. But is it really worth getting cut up for? Huh?!"
Tyru glared at him. Then, with the injured arm he had cradled against his chest, punched his roomate as hard as he could in the throat. Galen fell backwards, dropping the knife and wrapping both paws around his neck in pain. Tyru got to his feet and picked the knife up off the grass. Then, after retrieving the box from where it fell, he turned his attention to Galen, who was still on the ground.
"You're crazy. You know that? You've got some real fucked up issues. But I'm not gonna let you mess with me cuz you've got problems dealing with people or whatever shit's wrong with you. So I suggest you sign up for a new room. Cuz if I see you near me again...I can't be held responsible for what I'm gonna do."
He kicked the rabbit once for good measure, then started back towards the dorms.
~*~
Tyru locked the door behind him, not caring in the slightest if Galen needed anything from the room. That was his problem... He waited a few minutes to see if the rabbit would come back, banging on the door and demanding enterance, but he didn't.
"At least he's that smart..." Tyru muttered, throwing himself on his bed. He put the box back in the nightstand drawer and once again sat cross-legged on top of the blankets. He ran an aggrivated paw through his hair and was startled by a flash of red mixed with the light orange of his fur.
Upon closer inspection, he found it was blood. Blood from the cut Galen had given him. It hadn't hurt since the inital shock of recieving it, so he'd almost forgotten it. It wasn't deep enough to do anything, but a thin line of darkish red fluid was there, laying still on the cut. Tyru blinked a few times, still staring at the small gash. For reasons he couldn't fathom, his eyes refused to leave it.
The black-haired boy licked his lips unconciously and reached into the nightstand drawer. His non-injured arm returned to his side shortly, now holding the pocketknife that had once belonged to his father. He flicked it open, noting the tiniest of dried blood on the small blade. Frowning, he went to wipe it clean, but paused in mid-action.
Then in one swift motion, he ran the knife down his arm, wincing as he did so. It hurt, there was no denying...but there was some inner satisfaction in having made the mark, a twin to the first cut. One could almost call it beautiful, in a morbid sense...the red of the newly-shed blood gleamed brightly.
If he wasn't so caught up in the moment, he might have called himself crazy. Sick, twisted, masocistic and crazy. But as he drew the blade along his arm once again, this time in a S-shaped curve that stretched from wrist to elbow, only one thought came to him.
Beautiful....
~*~
Tyru was surprised to hear his alarm clock that morning. He had abandoned all hope of sleep, and had amused himself in making a collection of cuts, small, large, designed or just a sharp pull of the knife. He had cut one thin line, circling almost all his wrist, like some sort of bloody bracelet. He had done the same just above his elbow. They were stopping points. Nothing below the wrist and nothing above the elbow. But in between, an array of red marks stood out against the orange fur.
Finally content with his work, he sat, staring straight ahead but gaze unfocused, until the buzz from the clock had brought him back to reality.Looking down at his arm, he felt a growing apprehension.
He didn't regret doing it. Quite the contrary, it still looked as beautiful to him then as it did when he first cut them. His only worry now was what would happen should someone see what he had done. They'd send him to the nut house. Some sort of counseling therapy thing at least. They'd ask him why...
And to be quite honest, he still wasn't sure quite why. It made him feel better somehow...let him know he was real, he was alive...the blood proved that. And every time he looked at his arm...he had to smile as the art...his art stared back at him. It was eerie, it was hauntingly lovely, and it was comforting.
Even if it wasn't normal...
Finally he got up to face the day. rumaging through his dresser, he realized that short sleeves were no longer an option. He might as well just wear a giant sign that said "Look I'm a masocisitic freak...". Sighing, he pulled off his yellow sleeveless sweatshirt and replaced it with a black longsleeved tee.
He knew what he had done was dangerous. At any time he could've cut just a little too deep, lost a little too much blood. But he hadn't, and was rewarded with a sort of on-body abstract painting as a reward. He wondered vaguely for a moment where he'd put them next time.
But he knew there would be no next time. There didn't need to be. He had done enough the first time. And he knew even once the cuts healed, the scars would be there. They would be as the cuts are now, irriststable to look at and leaving him with a sense of inner calm.
Things were finally starting to go his way. After six months of depression, Tyru finally thought he could go on after all. Galen was gone. He'd never have to put up with the rabbit's rude comments anymore. And for once he didn't feel like wallowing around pitiously. He felt...good. Surprisingly good. Like a weight had lifted.
He grabbed his bag from the desk chair and started out the door. I think... he thought with a slight grin ...that this was just what I needed...
~Fin~
