Introduction
Characters: Jareth Keenan Molko Gregori Petrenko
Location: Venice, Italy
Plot summary: Gregori and Jareth discuss Therianism and controlling the animal.
Logs:
(Amendments Note: These logs have been spell checked prior to addition to this site.)
Gregori skulked about on the edge of the piazza, people watching but never meeting anyone’s direct gaze. He felt like he was surrounded by some great herd, the ebb and flow somehow strange and yet so familiar. His head dipped low, his eyes trailing the old, the young...He shook himself sharply, wiping his sweating palms on his new jeans. Catori had kindly held good to her word and he was freshly washed and clothed. He couldn’t tell her how grateful he was for her kindness and a part of him didn’t want to leave his new friend. His hand slipped into his pocket and pulled out the worn scrap of paper with Jareth’s number on it. He had considered calling for the last few days but every time he had pulled out at the last second. However, the thirst for knowledge was getting the better of him and he wanted some real answers. Slumping to avoid attention he made his way to a pay phone and stabbed in the number, listening to the dial tone and jiggling his foot in nervous anticipation.
After a disagreement in one of the shops, Jareth told off the employee and stormed out of the building. As he exited a human female bumped into him and almost knocked him over. "Oh I'm sorry" she said in Italian and hurried off. "I should have stayed in bed today," he said to himself. That's when he heard his cell phone ring. He reached into his pocket and pulled it out answering "Hello?" to the strange number.
Gregori hesitated at the sound of the other boy’s voice. God, he sounded even younger than himself, what was he doing? He swallowed and held the phone close to his ear. “Er, hi. Jareth? I’m sorry if this is a bad time or anything. I...I was wondering if you were still in Venice?” He looked around quickly, the crowd passing by just like on any other normal day. Normal, heh. That was something he was starting to miss. “I need to...talk to someone who knows about this...stuff. I’m at the piazza.” He didn’t know if it was a too bolder move to call, he barely knew Jareth after all, besides his name and what he was, but the boy had seemed nice enough.
Jareth listened to the other voice, and with all the noise around him, he didn't recognize the male on the other end who had not said his name. He was a little caught off guard, but answered, "Uh, yeah, this is Jareth, I'm still in Venice, who are yo..." he stopped as he suddenly remembered, "Wait a second, is this Gregori?"
Gregori sighed and nearly kicked himself for not saying his name at the start instead of babbling ahead, though it seemed that words seemed to flow unbidden from his mouth with little restraint. “Er, yeah it is, sorry.” He said, blushing with embarrassment and glad that Jareth couldn’t see it over the phone. “I’m sorry if this is a bad time.” He repeated, he seemed to be apologising a lot lately. “I mean, it’s cool if you’re busy or something.”
Jareth muffled a laugh, but let him finish. "Actually this is not a bad time. I've had a pretty rough day and I need something to get my mind of this crappy day." He looked up at the nearest street sign to regain his bearings after almost being knocked over. He was near the piazza, hopefully Gregoi was too the thought. "So yeah mate, where are you at? I'm near the piazza."
Gregori blew out his breath in relief, his foot still tapping out a nervous rhythm. “I’m in the piazza too, near that cafe place we met last time?” He glanced over at the place, seeing the shaded outside area was pretty empty. His stomach growled but he pushed the hunger away, acutely aware of how empty his pocket was. “I’ll wait for you outside .” He paused, “Er, bye.”
Jareth closed his phone with a grin and shoved it back into his pocket. He flung his backpack over his shoulders and merged into the masses of humans out and about. As he walked, he could sense who was human and who was not. He caught the distinct scent of a feline, and two other lycans. The feline however noticed Jareth looking and opened her mouth letting out a nasty hiss. Jareth mocked her in return, blowing her a kiss. It wasn't long and he came upon the cafe and sure enough, there was Gregori, looking like a fish out of water. Jareth smiled at the thought. "Hello Gergori," he said as he got to him.
Gregori scanned the crowd while he waited for Jareth, watching the people bustle about their daily lives. The hairs on the backs of his neck rose and he turned sharply, relaxing as he saw Jareth. He mirrored the boy’s smile with a smaller one of his own. “Hi.” He said, his fingers playing with the edge of his pockets. An awkward moment passed before he indicated the tables, “Why don’t we go sit?” He asked, before picking one close to the rail. “I’m sorry about your bad day.” He offered, to start the conversation.
Jareth nodded, "Thanks, but no worries." He then slid his backpack off and set it on the floor next to him. As he sat he said, "Besides, you sound worse off than me." Jareth then noticed his complexion, it seemed off to him, "Are you all right? Have you eaten?" He motioned for a waitress, who nodded and said "One moment please."
Gregori shifted uneasily, he hadn’t eaten today but he despised having to ask people for charity. He felt bad enough about having the room opposite Catori’s. She had fed him but he hadn’t seen her today and he was pretty much broke. “You don’t-“ he rested his hands on the table top, a grateful smile tilting the corner of his mouth. “Thank you.” He said earnestly. He brushed a hand through his clean blonde hair, “Seems I’m always hungry these days.”
Jareth grinned and with mild amusement he said, "Yeah Gregori, that happens to *us* all." Emphasizing the word "us" to make it clear he's not the only one who's gone through it. Jareth readjusted himself in his seat and said, "But I'm here, and I said I'd help however I could, so lets start by getting you some food. And, while we wait, ask me anything you want to know."
Gregori sat back in his chair and thought about all the questions he wanted to ask; all the things that had been running through his head the past eleven months. He played is fingers across the edge of the table while he thought, his eyes straying over the cafe and its customers. “Well, now that I have the opportunity, I don’t know what to ask first.” He said with a laugh. His expression faltered, “Is there a way to get rid of it? Like a medicine or something, a cure?” he asked, eagerness creeping into his voice.
Jareth smiled. *If only there were,* he had thought many many times. But, there isn't. And probably never will be. The young boy just looked at Gregori and shook his head, "No, there isn't. No cure, no nothing." *God,* he thought, *Wait till he finds out he's now a hunted man,* referring to Death Dealers. "Gregori," he said calmly, "this is something you are going to have to deal with ... forever, and when I say 'forever,' I mean 'forever' quite literally." Jareth was trying his hardest to not sound so harsh, but he needed to get his point across. "If you don't," he shook his head, "if you don't learn to control it, you will be killed."
Gregori frowned, his heart sinking at Jareth’s words. “So I’m stuck like this?” He clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white. His last flicker of hope towards normalcy died away, leaving a sort of hollow acceptance. He’d dealt with this for nearly a year but now he had help, people who could maybe teach him how to control it. The waitress returned and Gregori ordered a burger, refraining from ordering everything on the menu like he wanted to. “Then how do I control it? I have all these urges and strange feelings. Everything is so loud and bright and, and smelly.” He laughed at his own words. “Every full moon I become a danger to everyone else, I mean I remember flashes but it’s all so overwhelming...”
"Stuck, yes" he said nodding. Jareth could see it in his eyes, so many thoughts rushing around in his mind. He went through it, but he had Korin to help him. Now, he had to help Gregori. "Well, to control it, I've always found it to be ... in an odd, yet very ironic way, a lot like a Lion Tamer." He almost laughed at the thought, but its how he thought of it. "To keep a big predator at bay, to train it, you need to show it respect, never be threatening to it, always let it know you are in control. You're thoughts, your mind, you... not the animal." He paused as the waitress asked him what he wanted, and after ordering, he finished, "For me, the most important thing is to stay calm and centered. I meditate every day for an hour at least. It really does help"
Gregori considered this. “I’ve never meditated before.” He confessed. “Truthfully I do keep thinking of the animal as a separate being. I mean it’s not me right? How can it be. People in the normal world don’t turn into animals, or drink blood.” He picked up a napkin and started shredding the corners. “But then it is me now isn’t it? This is what I am.” He nodded to himself. “Do you know how this is possible? How did it start? How many others are there like us?” He knew the questions were coming thick and fast but he was on a roll now.
Jareth leaned back in his chair throwing his hand up saying, "Whoa whoa whoa..." He looked around and noticed they were being looked at by a few humans. "First thing is to STAY CALM!" he hissed. "Think of the animal as you, but not you. It's an extreme version of you because it mutates your genetic make up. It, and you are 'merged' if you could call it that." He'd forgotten how difficult this was to try and explain, but he did as best as he could. "If you let it consume you, it will and there might be no getting you back... which means you'd have to be, well, put down." Why did humans have to be so paranoid he thought, if they weren't this would be so much easier, "Our kind cannot be known to the humans, and one of us going around killing them because they can't control it, it could risk exposure." He remember back to when he first became a Lycan, back them Pagans were feared and executed, Jareth hated to think of what would happen today id the world found out.