A Rumored Troublemaker and A Control Freak's Attempts At Bridge-Rebuilding

''I am inclined to agree with that'', William said, as he sat in front of the camera, his face now in full view of the girl, his smile crooked and filled with equal amounts of mischief and amusement as he turned his head slightly towards his side, where Tavish was now sitting, closer, probably, than he had ever been to him in a situation that did not include William either waking up from a nightmare or breaking down in panic.

''Ninja Dude?'', he said, his voice a mix of emotions, not one of them, however dark or destructive. ''Honestly, college boy'', he said, berating him playfully as he turned back towards Pauline, despite the fact that Tavish had already indicated that the nickname had not been his idea. Whether he did not believe him or was simply teasing him, he was not sure himself, but it did not really matter in the end.

''I would appreciate it if you did not call him that any more, Pauline'', he said, addressing the girl directly this time once again. ''Because, for all your brother's misconceptions, Warrior is not, in fact, a ninja'', he said, the warrior which had moved from his far away place by the door closer to William side the moment the conversation had taken its lighter note, now stepping even closer so that a part of him was too in the camera's view.

Spirit too stepped up then, almost cheerfully when compared with his previous mood from where he had been all but hiding in plain sight on the floor, and leaning his head on William's shoulders in a way he would have done before his breakdown had happened, indicating that he was, at least mostly over it now. His face was now, thus, in the view of the camera as well, so that Pauline was faced with all four of them. Or, well, three and a half, considering that the only recognizable part of Warrior that could be seen was his arm.

''At least he did not tell you that Spirit was a dog, if nothing else'', he said, grinning widely at the girl before he remembered, or was, to be more precise, reminded of, her age, and the fact that he should really try to control himself at least a little. He had managed not to curse yet, at least, which was something, but as a consequences his language had now turned into the stiff, formal tone which he had been taught and home and because of which he had started cursing so much in the first place. He had no neutral tone, he realised. He was either too formally polite, a true family hair, or a wild mess of a cursing rebel.

''As for the amount of pizza I ate, well'', he said, shrugging his shoulders lightly despite the fact that Spirit was leaning onto him, making the wolf's head slide from his shoulder as it moved, which in turned got him a growl and an almost-bite on the neck, ''He got that correctly, too. In my defence, however, I had been hungry. I had not had either breakfast or lunch.''

If either Spirit or Warrior had noticed the change in their Summoner's language, neither of them chose to comment on it, on long words and complete sentences formed into an almost overly formal tone for talking to a twelve year old girl instead of the usually stream of curses which would make a sailor blush on the days he really tried. They simply stood close, the sudden lightness of the mood lifting the heavy fog of memories of them, despite the lingering awkwardness and confusion they were bound to see and feel in William. If anything, he could assume they were happy for the change, and the fact that he was trying not to insult Tavish's little sister.

((He was still not thinking about that. Not while computer was on, not while the girl could see him, because he did not know what would come out of his mouth once he did actually process everything that had happened))

William watched with his head titled to the side, Spirit's body warm by his side, Warrior a solid presence behind his back, as the teasing between siblings slowly progressed into a disagreement, and then into a fight, or as close to a fight as Tavish berating his younger sister could get, and he wandered, if that was how family was truly supposed to look like, opposed of what he knew of those who were related to him by blood. If it was, so, he thought, his hand absently patting Spirit's back, it was no different from the wolf would growl at him to eat his vegetables when he was younger, or how Warrior would later, even when he was already an angry mess of a teenager, refuse to turn out the lights if William refused to go to the bathroom and wash his teeth. It was familiar, all in all, in a way that set something within him at ease ((or had at least made the confusion-anger-notanger easier to ignore)), at least temporarily.

And on the note of it seeming familiar... ''You worry entirely too much, Tavish'', he said, giving the girl on the other side of the computer screen his best not-angry-not-half-mad-not-bitter-or-anything-else-negative-smile. It was something that he had not seen appear on his face for a while, if ever, and in some ways, he imagined it made his muscle ache with disuse, though he knew that a thing such as that was entirely impossible.

''I have lived on nothing but pizza and takeout ever since I have gotten here, and I am still alive, am I not?'', he asked, conveniently forgetting to mention how he had years of living under strictly controlled diet while training several sports to conunter the effects of his new developed habit on constantly indulging into unhealthy foods as he turned towards the man by his side this time, only to once again be hit by how weird it seemed, to have someone that was not a spirit that close to him in a situation that did not include split lips and bruised knuckles.

He felt the need to move away, at least for a bit, away from the warmth of a body that was not Spirit's but if he were to do that, he would exist the screen, the camera on Tavish's laptop covering only so much space. Thus, he stayed put, choosing to ignore the said need just like he still ignored about everything else but the slow burn of a surprise at how fun it could be, teasing someone and bantering with others when there was no bitterness behind his words, no raw soul wounds or shattered prides.

''And I am not even going to talk about your habit or ingesting your body weight in coffee, a substance as unhealthy as pizza will ever be or perhaps even a bit more, each and every'', he said, rising his eyebrows at the man. ''Twice that if you're actually studying'', he finished, noting that last thing that the man had said. So apparently he reminded him of his little brother ((still not thinking about that. by this point the response was so automatic that it didn't even stir the deeper currents of his thought and soul)) enough for him to tell his sister about him but not enough to worry about the way he eats or acts on most ways. And he thought ''Good''. He would hate to have even more of Tavish's complaining tone directed towards him.

He already had a care taker, and Spirit was perfectly capable of making sure William did not in fact kill himself.

William felt something strangely akin to a victorious smile tugging at the corner of his lips as Tavish finally gave in in the face of his and Pauline's reasoning. He did let it show, however, frowning slightly instead, before cleaning his face of all expression but a silent amusement which had been there ever since he had decided he would act nice for the girl who really did not need to know about, or see, all of his wounds and scares and bitterness. The amused victory, the feeling of warmth and familiarity, and wandering if this is what it would have felt like had he also had siblings to banter with and gang up on were all swept under the proverbial rug and into the category of things which he was currently ignoring.

''You worry entirely too much, college boy'', he said, the words escaping him in a way, yet still perfectly controlled, the phrase he previously used as an insult towards Tavish now somehow not that. Instead it was filled with something he himself couldn't really place, much like many of the other things that were currently going through his head. He could only hope that Tavish wouldn't be able either, for it somehow felt too safe and familiar and warm to be let out into the world, and that the words would actually have the effect he had intended: to rattle Tavish out of his worrying state, while also not insulting him too much.

''Much like this one over here'', he said, pointing towards Spirit once Pauline had asked about the wolf, the enthusiasm of her words actually making him smile this time. ''Who is indeed Spirit'', he added, still amused. The wolf huffed, but said nothing still. ''He had expressed similar concerns towards the abilities of my metabolism and stomach several times before, but is still unable to prove there is anything supernatural about it'', he said, letting a smile morph into a grin this time, careful to keep the madness and bitterness out of it, however. ''My powers thus only remain in the realm of summoning these...two'', he said, his voice falling, and the hand resting against Spirit's back clenching as he thought about how that was a lie, how there was a third. About the darkness swelling underneath his skin and how he had almost unleashed it on Tavish two days ago.

Before his thoughts could go any deeper than that, bringing up and dragging out all the things he did not want to think about right now, the wolf by his side finally spoke, probably sensing his discomfort.

''You still eat entirely too much junk food, boy'', he said, huffing yet again. ''And Tavish is right'', he said, his eyes focusing on the screen now, and the girl staring at him with her wide eyes. ''Twelve year olds cannot live on pizza alone. You need to eat healthy in order to grow up right.''

By his side, William chuckled, then laughed, unpleasant thoughts forgotten about again, for now.

''Yes, do listen to the giant wolf's advice'', William's laughed had died as quick of a death as one might expect with him, warm but brief, pushed out of existence by the part of him which was not used to laughing, or smiling, or anything, honestly, which was, in some way, connected with his anger and how to express it in the most bitter of ways. In the memory of his laugh, however, a small smile still danced in the very corner of his lips, and his words, though mocking in form, were still nothing but fond, a tone he was not familiar with either, but could not, for some reason, get rid of like he could get rid of all of the other things which were confusing him right now.

''He usually knows what he is talking about'', he smirked, before grinning as the expression on Spirit's face slowly morphed into his usual state of quiet exasperation which he often used when dealing with William on his most obnoxious days. Much like with his Summoner however, the wolf kept things hidden underneath what others could see, memories of the two days ago still fresh, countered only by the wavering hope which seeing William like this, so soon after his breakdown, woke in him. Knowing the boy as he did, he also knew that some of it was not real, that his words and thoughts and actions were not natural in part, but tightly controlled by his mind. Still, the very fact that he would chose to act, or that he could act it so well, meant something after years of nothing but anger and rage, and laughter that had no place at the young child's face.

''Only usually, boy?'', he asked, bearing his teeth in a threat that was as mocking as William's words has been a moment before. His tail flickered behind him slowly as he debated hitting William over the head with it in the spirit of reestablishing the fact that they were all slowly healing and getting back to where they were before the boy broke down in front of them, again. What he would do, he decided then, would depend on what William would say.

Spirit's words made the younger man stop for a moment, staring thoughtful at the wolf, the bared teeth and the tail he could feel moving behind his back, before he suddenly smirked once again. ''Most of the time?'', he asked, only to let out a small gasp of pain as heavy muscle and, admittedly soft fur, met with the back of his head in the form of Spirit's tale.

''Yeah, yeah, I get it'', he said, letting out a small laugh again. ''There is a child in the room, you know'', he said then, as he leaned back against the wolf's lower body, his eyes turning back towards the screen, ''Well, sort of in the room'', he said, his voice becoming lower as he sighed. It was starting to strain him, acting like this, watching his words and tone and actions so closely and keeping so tight of a leash on them, and it could probably be felt in the way he spoke and held himself. He did not know how much longer he could last before something slipped past him that shouldn't, the second current of thought slowly growing stronger within him as his confusion grew with each new emotion he could not decipher immediately. He could only hope, however, that his control could last longer than Pauline's collection. Tavish, he decided, could deal with the consequences of what he had started.

''You're no mister though'', the boy said, his eyes closing as he let out a small sigh again, trying to relax at least some of the strain he was putting on himself with this, ''Or sir'', he said, his voice no longer that cheerful but still politely neutral if nothing else, at least until he realized what the girl had said next. ''Nor a dog to be petted'', he said, opening his eyes again, a frown forming around them as he locked his gaze on the screen again. ''I have already warned you of that'', he said, his voice still not harsh, despite the fact that this, people reaching for or reacting to Spirit as he were a dog, was, usually, one of the easiest way to get a instantly violent reaction from him.

He was still in control of himself, he thought, still on top of his emotion and following the decision not to hurt or scare the girl, but some decisions were too deeply engraved into his being for him to forget about them even when that was the case.

William felt his shoulders relax somewhat, the very height of tension bleeding out of them, as the conversations between siblings turned away from him and towards things he did not know, or truly care about for that matter. His thoughts began to drift, at first slowly, jumping to other subjects that were just as safe, but it did not take long for him start thinking about all those things that he was not ready to think about yet...if only just because Pauline was still in the room in a way, and the control he had somehow enforced over his own emotions would, he knew, never stand the even greater strain of dealing with everything that had been said. Thus, having taken another slow breath, he opened the eyes he had closed and started following the conversation again.

Sensing what had happened, again, Spirit moved his body so that it pressed even more against his, guarding him as best as he could against this, as he always did. The feelings exploding even through the tightness of his control filled his chest with equal measures of guilt and warmth. ''Later'', he thought. He would apologize later, as best as he could, and that strain would lift too. For now...

''Ever so modest about your abilities, Tavish'', he said, his tone still the same, but at the same time still not completely there, though the difference was so subtle that only his spirits would notice it. Tilting his head slightly, however, he said nothing else for a while, noting, how somehow, Pauline asked for Tavish's permission still, despite having already acquired one from their mother. And that was important to her, too, he could see. She listened to her words, those of her father too, probably, unlike him, but still, the very fact that she wanted Tavish to be fine with it to and say that she could was...interesting. And in some ways, very familiar, he thought, his fingers slowly brushing against the soft, heavy fur of his spirit's tail.

He still added nothing to their conversation, however, for there was nothing more for him to add, just like he had thought at the beginning, when he had left his thoughts drift. It was a conversation between siblings, not about him, or things even slightly familiar to him. Even the game they mentioned, one that...Finnegan...(a part of him wandered where in the world did their parents look for their names, though he said nothing, remembering Tavish's reaction to that very same question on the first day he had moved in, for that was yet another on the list of things his sister did not need to hear or see) played meant nothing for him, and so he stayed silent, simply listening, and wandering, turning his thoughts on and off as they got too close to certain topics and doors.

He had to admit, however, that he was slightly curious about the brother he apparently reminded Tavish of, but it seemed it would truly just be Pauline he would be seeing this time. ((And that was a lot too. More so then he could have comprehend at the beginning. It was why he had turned it off in the first place. He was slowly coming around it though, slowly processing all that needed be made so before he could talk. He was not sure still, however, of things that would come out of his mouth. He never was. Thus, he was keeping it all buried, until it was safe, so that he could rage and rave if so came the mood, without needing to worry, for the first time in a long time, who would be hurt by his words))