Friends of cats

[Ripper Nightshade]

"I saw it," he said, because he had gone by the store twice when he mistakenly got off at the wrong place and went all the way around the route again, not knowing how the bus system worked. He would rather take the bus with the number on it that he knew, rather than get stuck going somewhere that ended with him getting in some major trouble with Keith later on.

"Yes, the card is... Yes." He didn't need to tell Mik that he hid the card away in Raf's room. It was safer to hide things in Raf's room because when Rhys came back, there were no excuses to be in Rhys' room. But he could easily have reasons to go into Raf's room without suspicion. They were... friends? Rhys barely even looked at him, but the first time he did, he looked utterly disgusted. Since then, Rip tried to stay out of his line of vision if he could help it.

"I would... I just didn't have a phone, plus I was..." Incapacitated but he didn't say that aloud either. "There was something... holding me up at home..."

He fell silent for a moment, remembering with a heavy heart the last time he had seen Mik. He had run off on him. But his heart wasn't heavy for that. It was heavy for Allie. Not looking up, focusing on the kitten, he asked, "Is Allie okay?"

[Mikko Ashby]

"Ahh... busy at home, huh? Do you have... a wife? Or a... partner? Kids?"

OKAY he could have been more subtle but screw it, why even bother! Those were innocent questions and Rip brought up the home thing and being busy anyway! He could have a kid he needed to look after! (Oof.) That might be why he couldn't have pets, since children and tiny animals did NOT mix! Mik knew all about that—one lady returned a sweet little puppy because her kid kept trying to ride it and kept bothering it while it was adjusting to its new home, and it was too skittish around them. Well no wonder, lady!

But then a dark cloud fell over Rip and Mik frowned, too. He didn't know what made him do it—maybe that sad look on Rip's face—but he reached out and gently rubbed Rip's back, up and down. "Allie said he got a little hurt, but when I talked to him, he seemed okay." Well... sort of. Mik heard the strain in Allie's voice, and he thought something was wrong at the time, too, despite Allie's valiant efforts to sound okay. Allie called to tell him he couldn't buy the tank, but that if he bought it, Allie would pay him back (which he did).

"What happened? Something happened right? I haven't heard from Allie since he called me after the festival..."

[Ripper Nightshade]

"What?" Rip all but choked at the question. "W-wife?"

His expression was downright indescribable, because his feelings on the matter were a mix of confusion, disbelief, and maybe a tiny bit of fear. Like somehow Keith could hear the exchange and come over to give him a good throat punch for even thinking about a wife and kids. HIM--with a wife and kids? He laughed despite himself.

"Oh no... no... I mean, yes? Not a partner... He'd kill me if I called him that. But uh... something like that, I guess..."

Partner was not the term for it. At all. Partners had an equal part in a relationship, did they not? Well.... there was nothing equal about their relationship. One person held 100% of the power. What was that even called? Honestly, Rip didn't know what else to call him but his master or creator.

"Mm..." The sound came out unbidden, the sound of a man starved for affection, for a soft touch instead of a brutal one. It felt good, the back rubbing. It would feel even better right between the shoulder blades and a little lower. (Not THAT low, pervs.) Now he felt like the kitten, with half closed eyes, content for the moment.

Oh right. Allie. Not... so content, after all. He lowered his gaze.

"My uh... partner hurt him. They got into an argument and he hurt Allie. I didn't see what happened after... We had to... he took me home. I wanted to help but..."

[Mikko Ashby]

Awww no, there was a partner! But—he? Mik went on a little bit of a rollercoaster ride there, first down and then up and then sort of coasting on confusion because Rip really didn't sound happy. And when Mik asked him about a wife, he got all flustered! Well what did that mean?! What Mik would have given to be able to read minds! (Not knowing that there were people who could, right here in town!)

And if the guy wasn't a partner, what was he? An acquaintance?! Maybe even Rip didn't have a word for it. Some people had flings, or they were loosely tied up with somebody but not in a relationship. Complicated probably summed it up for Rip, even if Mik was still weirded out by the way he referred to his... sort-of-partner with real discomfort on his face.

But. Hm. How cute. He seemed to like the back rubbing thing, so Mik kept it up for a little bit longer. There was a whole story behind Rip and his sort-of-partner too, he was more than sure. Did he want to know? It seemed like it was too early to exchange life stories and anyway, he only met Rip a few days ago! But over time, perhaps he could earn Rip's trust enough to learn about what was bothering him.

OR.

Rip's guy could have gotten into a fight with Allie! Mik's expression was of pure shock. "But—but who would try to fight Allie! What did they fight about?" It was so jarring to think about Allie getting into a fight with anybody! And—and Allie was a cop, even! He wouldn't assault anybody randomly, would he?

[Ripper Nightshade]

"Me..."

He could not be more uncomfortable in that moment. In fact, if he could have shrunk himself down into nothing, he would, gladly. Anything not to be standing there talking about how Allie got hurt because of him. But--but he tried! He really tried to tell Allie he wasn't Jack and he thought he believed him up until that moment, when he tried to take "Jack" home with him.

"They were fighting over me," he said miserably. He looked down at the kitten. At least looking at her made the ache in his chest lessen some. She was very cute. And look at her little paw, stretching slightly in her sleep as she slightly rolled with her tummy exposed. What a trusting little creature... That was exactly why she could never, ever meet Keith. Ever.

"Allie had me mixed up with somebody he knows and I told him I wasn't him... I think he was just humoring me because when I tried to leave, he got in the way... tried to stop Keith--my... partner person--and that's how he ended up getting hurt."

[Mikko Ashby]

"You?"

He didn't mean to sound so incredulous. Rip was a really handsome guy, and he was tall and that eyeliner thing really worked for him and there was a quaint childishness about him that Mik found very appealing. He sorta wanted to protect Rip; Rip had the air of an injured animal about him, to be perfectly honest, and rescuing injured, defenseless things was right up Mik's alley. Yeah, he was getting kind of moony over somebody with a partner but—it wasn't that he didn't think people wouldn't fight over Rip.

It was just...

Allie didn't seem like that hardline aggressive type! Mik didn't know Rip's partner, but he was getting a bad vibe off of him. Maybe he was a bully. That could explain why Rip seemed so uncomfortable talking about him, whereas most people would either be a little abashed or even outright proud.

"I'm sorry that happened... I hope you don't think it's your fault, though, because it's not!" Rip obviously took it hard. Mik patted his back softly as his expression brightened. "Hey let's call Allie and make sure he's okay!" Then Rip would stop looking so guilty over a misunderstanding that wasn't even his fault! Mik pulled out his phone and face timed Allie. "We'll be able to see if he's okay! Ooh he's picking up! Hi Allie!" He held up the phone so that Allie could see them—Rip and Mik and the little kitten.

Allie didn't look... dead. But he looked sleepy and he blinked a few times. "Hey guys. Is that—Jack with you?"

[Ripper Nightshade]

"...yes."

He didn't understand the tone. He thought it was because he was a worthless person to fight over and if Mik knew that he wasn't even a person, he was sure that the sound of his voice would only change to something worse. Disdain, like Rhys. Disgust, like Keith whenever he did anything he thought had too much... personality. You're not a person, Ripper. Remember that. Even Rhys called him an overgrown sex-toy or a... dildo.

Rip sighed.

The fight never should have happened. Poor Allie, he got in the middle of it and he got hurt over something not worth fighting over. Rip felt terrible about it. And he felt like he should have done more for him but he couldn't. Even if he had tried... he might have ended up nothing but dust for it. Would... it have been worth it? But Mik said that he was okay. Allie was okay, just hurt. Not dead, though. He lived another day. That was the part he clung onto.

"Oh. I..." The words didn't match the tone from earlier. Rip wasn't sure what Mik meant by that. That it wasn't his fault when it was literally all his fault. Just because he tried to help Allie understand didn't mean that he didn't hold responsibility for him getting hurt. But he didn't argue, only pet the little kitten while Mik administered more gentle back rubs.

"Oh. Okay..." He tilted his head as the phone was held up and the pair of them appeared in the corner. Was that what he looked like now? So bedraggled? He put one hand to his hair, trying to smooth out the tangle of curls. And then Allie suddenly appeared on the big screen, looking like he had been asleep. Oh. Rip's gaze lit up--he was sleepy but he was alive! But then...

"Ah... no... no, Allie, I'm not Jack, remember...? I'm sorry about what Keith did to you. Are you--are you okay?"

[Mikko Ashby]

Tsk. Rip obviously still felt bad but honestly nobody made Allie or that other guy fight. It wasn't like Rip egged them on or anything, Mik was dead certain. Rip wasn't like that, he just wasn't! And if there was one thing Mik had learned from all of his nineteen short years on this earth, it was that a person was not responsible for the actions of others. They were only responsible for their own actions.

At least seeing Allie made him cheer up a bit! Until Allie called him Jack, which confused Mik too. "It's Rip, Allie!" He corrected Allie, who was probably just all bleary eyed and tired and recovering from getting beaten up. At least that guy didn't hit him in the face? His face looked fine, just tired and haggard. But maybe he got kneed in the groin or something... Ouch!

"Oh, Rip. Hey. Yeah I'm okay. Marge got a fixer to see me in time." Allie smiled; he cleared his voice, which was rough with sleep, and shifted the phone around so that he could lay back and still see them. "Are you okay? Keith didn't do anything to you, did he? I'm sorry I couldn't get you away from him..."

Mik blinked. Oh boy—guilt party! But one where everyone was feeling guilty about not doing enough! Also—what was a fixer? And who was Marge?!

[Ripper Nightshade]

Marge? Rip didn't know that one, either. He frowned slightly; even though he used his proper name, Allie still seemed to be mixing him up with Jack. Fixers, he knew those, although he'd never had to see one... for obvious reasons. He nodded, smiled. Good. But then... Was he okay? Allie was asking if he was okay? Why...? Why would he ask? Did he know something?

"Ah... I'm... I'm okay."

He definitely wasn't getting into the punishment he'd endured when Keith dragged him back to the apartment. Nobody wanted to hear it and Rip didn't want to talk about it.

"I belong to him, Allie. There's nothing you could do."

[Mikko Ashby]

"Don't talk like that." Allie glowered at Rip through the screen. "You don't belong to anybody. You belong to yourself and don't you dare let that creep Keith tell you otherwise!"

Mik bit his lower lip softly. Oh no. RIp was starting to sound like the victim of domestic abuse. The way he seemed so resigned, saying that he belonged to someone was a sure sign of that. Plus now everything made more sense—the hesitance he showed when he spoke of his partner, that Keith person, and the reluctant way he said that he had something going on at home...

Did Keith hurt him? Mik's arm curled around Rip's waist protectively. Was that why Rip had no phone, either? No way to call for help? Keith was isolating him—another sign of a domestic abuser! Maybe Allie saw him being abused and tried to stop it, and that was how he got hurt! That seemed more in line with what Mik knew of Allie than him being romantically interested in Rip...

"Once I get better, I'm taking you back." Allie still looked grim, but then his expression softened. "Rip, listen... I know lots of weird things are happening right now, but we'll get through this, okay? I'll help you. I'm going to save you."

"...I'll help too!" Mik piped up—he couldn't stand by doing nothing! That wasn't his way! "If—if someone's hurting Rip, I'm going to help too! Domestic abuse is not okay!"

[Ripper Nightshade]

"But I..."

He did belong to Keith. Without Keith, he wouldn't even exist, as such. Plus, his sigil was firmly tagged onto his lower back. A tramp stamp, Keith called it, because he was Keith's little tramp. There was a sigil on his head, too, but it was invisible. It was the mark that made him a golem, part of the golem spell. Whenever Keith searched for him, it was there that he felt the tug on the mana in his body. Across the forehead.

"No, no. You don't--there's nothing to save me from. I'm... I serve my function."

And that was what he was created to do. His purpose. HIs driving force. And he did it well. It was really the only skill he knew for sure he even had, although he tried a variety of other things. Cooking, cleaning, sharpening Keith's knives, whatever task the others didn't want to perform.

But they viewed him as something more than a tool performing a function. And it made him feel... sadder than ever. Happy, but so sad. They wanted so badly to protect him but they had no way of doing that. They couldn't... If the creator was killed, so was Rip. And if they took him away from Keith, then Keith could just take his brand off and he would become nothing but a useless, unmoving, soulless lump of living clay.

"...you can't save me."

[Mikko Ashby]

"Bullshit. You didn't give up on me and I'm never giving up on you! I don't care if you're Jack or Rip or Skippy the Happy Burger mascot, you're my friend and you need my help, and I'm not quitting." Allie's voice was firm, ringing with resolve even through the speakers of his phone. "I'll find a way to get you away from that asshole if I have to call in the entire precinct of New York city and the SWAT team, goddamnit."

Well that sounded like it was going too far to Mik, but he understood the sentiment. Seeing Rip so sad and hearing his tiny voice telling them that it was hopeless, that just about broke his heart. He slid a hand into Rip's, the one not holding on to the little kitten. "Rip, you have to let us help you. We can't just let you suffer, when we know that guy's treating you badly. There's always a way."

He squeezed Rip's hand gently. "Besides, you have friends now! You have us! We'll find a way to help you. Trust us. We'll find a way—three brains are better than one, right?"

[Ripper Nightshade]

That wasn't me, he wanted to cry out. It wasn't him that didn't give up on Allie. That was somebody else. Jack. A person--the person he was based on. The person he was a pale photocopy of. An imitation. Not a very good one, either, despite how desperately this Allie person was hanging onto him. Once he realized he wasn't Jack, he was really going to be disgusted with himself. All this effort for a nobody!

"...I...I don't think there is."

But he wouldn't know, would he? How would he know if there was a way? Because if there was one, Keith never would have told him. All he did was threaten him with the ways he could take away what life he had given him. And it was his right, wasn't it? If he was the one who created him, it made sense that he could take it all away... if he wanted to... even if Rip didn't want him to.

He looked at Mik, whose hand in his was reassuring. His gaze pleaded with him.

"I'm not Jack," he said to Mik because Mik seemed to at least understand that. And it was an important distinction because what helped Jack didn't necessarily help Rip.

[Mikko Ashby]

Mik didn't know who Jack was or why Allie insisted on calling Rip Jack. Maybe a twin? Maybe someone who looked so much like Rip that he refused to believe it wasn't him? Regardless, it upset Rip to be called Jack, Mik could see that. But also if Allie really believed that Rip was his friend Jack, then of course only hard proof would change his mind.

But somehow Mik thought that even if Rip wasn't Allie's friend, he would still help. Allie wasn't a fair weather friend—and he was a cop, so it was his job to protect people, wasn't it? Just like how Mik took it upon himself to rescue strays, because he worked at the shelter and he was in it to help poor abandoned and mistreated animals.

When Rip turned to him, Mik shifted closer. "You're Rip. Not Jack," he affirmed, because if Rip said he was Rip, then Mik believed him. "I'm here to help and support Rip." Whoever Jack was, he was lucky to have a staunch friend like Allie but Mik only ever knew Rip. He was Rip's friend. Not Jack's. "We'll find a way to help you, Rip," he said again because it seemed like Rip was still doubtful. Victims of abuse often thought they had less power than they actually did—it was Mik's job (and Allie's) to empower him to see otherwise.

Speaking of Allie though... he was awfully quiet. Mik looked over at the screen and let out a low noise. It looked like Allie had... fallen asleep! Or he hoped so! He hoped Allie wasn't dead...! But upon closer inspection, he saw Allie's chest moving. "He's exhausted, I think. I'll hang up, we can talk to him another time, now that we know he's okay." Mik hung up and slipped the phone into his pocket.

"I believe you. You're Rip. Not Jack."

[Ripper Nightshade]

Somebody who believed him. Not that he didn't have a handful of people who knew the distinction but... Mik was different. He was a lover of animals and he helped them when they were in trouble. Not... that Rip was an animal and he hoped he wasn't viewed that way... but he guessed being seen as an animal was a step up from being seen as an object. No. He knew that it was.

He smiled, even if it was a small smile. Rip. Not Jack. This was important. Not just because he didn't want to be mistaken as Jack but because... seriously, it wouldn't help to treat him like Jack in this situation. If... if they really wanted to help.

"Oh... he... yeah, he..." He closed his eyes, trying to remember exactly what Keith did to him. "I think he corrupted him. But he didn't hold him long enough to kill him."

He tried to get a better look at the sleeping form in the phone screen but he couldn't get a good look at the arm, where he recalled Allie being touched. But it had just been the arm, hadn't it? Blight was bad no matter where it was but it would be so much worse if it had reached his face, seeping into his mind... He seemed fine, though, if exhausted. Corruption seemed to do that, though. It drained the person of their energy and gave it to the Fallen.

With the phone slipped away, it was just Mik and Rip and... the kitten, who was sleeping so soundly. It must have been a baby animal thing. Or a baby anything. Babies slept a lot, did they not? Rip gently massaged her little head with his thumb so he didn't have to let go of Mik's hand.

"I'm Rip," he repeated with a nod. "Not Jack. Jack is a fairy. Rip is a golem. These things are very different.... do you understand?"