[PRP] About those shapeshifters... (Oliver & Horace)

[The Semblance of Unity]

"STOP TELLING OR WE WILL CRASH." Horace rarely yelled, but Ollie's constant shrieking was bringing his own anxiety to the forefront. He felt it bubbling under his skin, making him jittery and irritable.

"I don't give a s**t how you never wanted ears, but you've got 'em. Are you one of those shifter things? And hell yeah, I texted Shiloh." Horace tried to concentrate on the road in front of him. "So, who are you?"

melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

Oliver wheezed out a sound that sounded vaguely reminiscent of a dying animal.

But he stopped yelling, at least. Being yelled at was a really effective tactic. Instead he sat there fidgeting wildly with his scarf, ears flicking wildly with new nerves that he hadn't figured out total control with yet. "I-I don't know." He confessed, still agitated, still worked up and still very much on the defensive. "I might be."

He let that hang in the air for a while as he made his peace with himself and God and everything. He had been caught in a lie, stuck in a death trap, being forced to deal with a really awkward social situation as a result of his sins. He sighed.

"Oliver." And then a moment later, "Beaumont. I'm his brother at least alright? I-I just wanted to get home..."

He went back to fussing with the scarf, trying it around his head again.

The Semblance of Unity

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

"Dude," Horace said. "Just leave it off. I already saw your ears and that looks awkward as ********." Oliver winding the scarf around his head looked about as graceful as a giraffe learning to walk.

He sighed. "Hi Oliver. And yes, before you ask, I am still taking you home. The brother thing explains the looks." The car in front of them ran the light and Horace winced as they narrowly avoided a collision. "Why don't you ask Shiloh's boyfriend about the shifter stuff? I heard there's quite a few of you guys."

melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

"Don't tell me what to do!" He snapped back, wrapping the scarf around even more out of sheer contrary agitation. When the car ran the (and someone inevitably honked) he started again, "JESUS CHRIST." There went his blood pressure again.

"Look alright?! I know about the moonwalker s**t, I know about it. I'm not happy about it." He huffed as the scarf was wrapped way too tightly around his head, face perfectly framed. He was the little Russian lady. His leg was starting to go numb with how hard it was pressed against his surroundings. "My god we're going to die." Here they went with this s**t again.

The Semblance of Unity

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

"They're cute, though. The ears, I mean." Oliver was rather violently wrapped himself up again when he let out another shriek. Horace glanced over. It looked like... well, he wouldn't be surprised if Ollie was about to have a panic attack or something.

"Hey... should we stop the car for a bit? I ain't in any rush."

melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

"NO, no. No. I'm fine, we're almost there, just—you think they're cute?" His thoughts were totally derailed for a blissful second, head spinning around to stare at Horace with wide blue eyes. The gentle movements of the car in motion eventually jostled the scarf loose again thanks to Oliver's weakened grip on it. The ears poofed out—and despite being incapable of their own thought—seemed happy, if that was at all possible. He sniffed and turned forward again.

"Still sucks though..." he sulked, but at least he seemed momentarily placated. Didn't mean he couldn't hear his heartbeat thudding against his rib cage and his throat and his wrists, but he was pretty good at the off-on-off-on in control-not in control thing. "But it's fine. You people just don't know how to drive..."

The Semblance of Unity

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

"Of course they're cute," he said. "What animal can you shift to?" Horace wasn't going to say it, but he thought they kind of suited Oliver. However, saying that might bring up another round of shrieks.

But Oliver's grumbles made him through that caution out the window. "Oh and just [i[who is 'you people'. Sholiver?" Horace deliberately hit a pothole.

melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

Oliver didn't shriek when they hit the pothole at least, but he did visibly tense (as if he wasn't tensed up enough already). "T-That's exactly what I'm talking about! You're deliberately trying to kill us." Because hitting a pothole was definitely a dangerous thing to behold, thank you Oliver.

"And I..?! D-D-Did you just call me Sholiver?!" He didn't shriek per say, but his voice raised as he was left speechless and utterly baffled. He badly wanted to fight that statement with 'we're not the same person, idiot' but it never made it through, less he be an utter hypocrite for trying to fool Horace in the first place.

He groaned and sank down into his seat, defeated. The ear flicked uncontrollably. Horace's other question went unanswered.

The Semblance of Unity

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

Horace snickered just a bit at Oliver's reaction to the pothole. However, he looked over at him and resolved to drive one hundred percent normally. There was a tenseness in Oliver that he couldn't really fake, and Horace knew what it felt like to be tense all the time. However, he wasn't going to stop calling him Sholiver.

"Yup," he said cheerfully. "Because that's who you are, Sholiver. At least, based on what you said earlier to get into my car." He glanced over again, seeing the ear twitch. "Can I touch them?"

melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

"Touch... them...?" His eyes creaked open again, gaze shifting to look over at Horace. Honestly he was caught in a constant 'don't touch me' but 'I'm utterly touch deprived please touch me' kind of conundrum, so he resorted to staring blankly at the man behind the wheel.

He pressed his fingertips together in thought. "Only if you stop with the Sholiver thing. And once you're not actively driving." He finally decided with a huff. He reached up to touch them himself, noting just how soft and fuzzy they were.

The Semblance of Unity

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

Horace cracked a grin. "Deal, Oliver. And I'll hold you to it." He wouldn't, not if Oliver didn't want him to touch them when they stopped. But they looked so damn soft and fuzzy...

He focused on the road.

melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

He actually smiled at that. Oliver appreciated and valued respect over most things in life. Another time, maybe the Sholiver gimmick would be funny, but after the one-two-three-probably fifteen near death experiences he'd had in the past ten minutes, he wasn't into it.

"When you go through this light, it'll be on the right. I'll point it out to you." And he did whenever they were in sight of it.

The Semblance of Unity

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

Horace pulled the car to stop, parked it, and turned off the ignition. He glanced over at Oliver. "Well, you didn't die." He grinned, leaning on the steering wheel. "So, is it still cool if I...?"

melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

Oliver kicked his feet a little, puffed his cheeks out, shuffled in his seat. He unbuckled his seat belt before turning to Horace, head ducked slightly. "Only if you make it quick, cause I gotta try and magic them away before anyone else sees."

The ear in question twisted around a little. Oliver was still slightly weirded out, but also sort of into it? He was far more receptive to positive touch than anything else, anyway.

The Semblance of Unity

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

Horace raised an eyebrow. "Can you do that - just magic them away? Then what was the scarf for?" And, because he wasn't about to miss this opportunity ,he reached out with both hands, twisting so it wasn't quite so awkward. One hand landed on each ear and they were just as soft as they looked. Kind of like cats' ears, he thought.

"Nice." He rubbed them gently, wondering how much he could get away with. Scratches, maybe?

melancholies