Chapter 7
Ezekiel bashed his knuckles into his brother's jaw and as Lander was thrown back into the floor, Ezekiel wrapped his right hand around his throat and twisted his arm. With a furious hiss Ezekiels hand clamped down at the junction at the top of Landers wrist and put painful pressure on the joint until Ezekiel had bent it inward towards the pulse.
Ezekiel could have snapped his wrists or broken his neck in his fury, but beyond the anger was the slow realization of just who this person was to him. Just exactly who he was about to harm....and somehow Ezekiel....stayed his hand.
He curbed it just enough that with a harsh shove he slammed his brother back into the unforgiving Earth and rolled off of him before he could do any further harm. Lander was up in seconds, crouched on his hunches he released a blood curdling snarl, claws slowly growing out of his fingertips.
Ezekiel let the beast inside bleed out over his flesh, he felt his jaw shift, his skin flash into that of another creatures. A blood thirsty menacing hiss curled up out of his throat part man, part beast. Then Ezekiel pulled the Leopard back. He looked at his brother, green glowing eyes connecting with his own, refusing to back done.
But Lander would have known what this action symbolized. It was a threat of serious harm. A warning to back off before things went past the point of no return. A full Shift was the final stage and there would be blood if things went that far between two mature male Leopards.
Somehow no other words were needed as both of the brothers remained rooted to their spots. Neither of them willing to carry the confrontation any further. Neither of them willing to spill the others blood.
Only a few seconds after this tense standoff Ezekiel took a step towards Lander, who was still crouched on his hunches and yelled at him. "Are you insane!?" He shouted at Lander.
Ezekiel panted, he still felt his body shaking, his entire body brimming with blood lust. With death. "Why did you wake me up like that Lander.....you know....you know the anger inside of me is lethal!" he demanded, appalled at himself. At what he had almost done to his own brother.
With a nonchalance that only re-boiled Ezekiels blood and made his teeth clench, he watched his Lander sit up and slowly wipe a hand across his mouth to remove the forest dirt from his chin. Casting Ezekiel a murderous glare he simply hissed at him in expiration. "I had to wake you up, you fucking animal! You were dreaming!"
Instantly knowing nothing that his brother said would be enough to stop him from trying to attack him again Ezekiel took another step back and snarled at him, he felt the sharp pints of his canines as he bared his fangs at his brother in anger.
"So what!? Ezekiel rebuffed him, still too angry to think strait. He backed away from his brother and walked a straight line back and forth trying to work off some of the boundless fury. "I can sleep if I fucking want to!! Especially since IM not the one on watch tonight and YOU are!!" he pointed out as his panting slowed slightly.
Lander slammed his fist down into the mulch and nearly shouted over Ezekiel. A pained expression over coming him that made Ezekiel confused...until Landers words hit him. "YOU WERE DREAMING...and...and I COULD SEE IT!" Lander closed his eyes and shuttered slightly before he opened them back up. "I COULD FEEL IT....All of it!! You hunger your lust!" Lander growled at him, his face screwing into a sneer of disgust and misery, his fangs flashing in the moonlight.
As Landers words registered and Ezekiel realized just exactly what his brother was saying a two pronged punch of guilt and embarrassment hit Ezekiel in the chest. Guilt because he knew that Lander had seen exactly who he was dreaming of...and Embarrassment....because he had been dreaming things he definitely didn't want his brother to know anything about.
But because Ezekiel was a grown man entitled to his own thoughts, the first thing to go out the door was the embarrassment....even if the guilt remained, but in places of the embarrassment rose indignation at his privacy having been invaded.
He stopped pacing and growled at his brother his face scrunching into a furious frown. "You were watching my dreams?" He spat at his brother. "What the hell Lander why would you...!" He started to shout, but to his surprise Lander cut him off with an out raged hiss, his face turning down in a horrible expression of resentment.
"I wasn't watching shit!" He growled in a powerful tone that stole all of Ezekiels flame away from him. "I just saw it...felt it!" Lander continued to lament his right hand balling into a tight fist. "And as soon as I could, I got the hell up, and did something about it!" He cried and shook his head at Ezekiel. "Do you think I want to see that shit? Do you think I want to hear it! Do you! I HAD NO CHOICE!" Lander bellowed at him.
Seeing how irate his brother had become with him Ezekiel tried to pacify both his own anger...and Landers fury. "Look, it was just a dream! MY DREAM! You can't blame me for that! AND maybe if you stopped fucking with my mind all the time and listening to everyone's thoughts, then maybe you wouldn't see the things you didn't want to see!"
Instantly Ezekiel knew what he had said was partly inconsiderate and unfair. He.....and possibly only he knew how hard his brother struggled with his power....because Ezekiel knew what it was like to be controlled by your own body. But unlike Lander he knew the struggle of exercising control.
Something his elder sibling seemed unable to do.
A slight tinge of red of anger rose over Lander face as he tried not to go into another customary fit of anger. He paused and spat his next words on a hiss.
"I See everything Ezekiel....I hear everything! All THE TIME." He exclaimed. "You know I don't want to! I JUST DO!" Lander growled just barely keeping his voice at a dull roar so as not to awaken the entire camp. With a final deep sigh he attempted to modulate his voice down into a swift whisper "AND!! I'm not the only one fucking with your head these days. This thing with you and Brandon is dangerous. You Are Dangerous." He finished in a soft hiss with a truth that was anything but gentle.
Those words shouldn't have hurt but they did when Lander said them. Ezekiel knew he was dangerous. HE knew he had been a liability to each of his siblings all of his life....but they had all always trusted him to remain in control. To protect them from danger...and from himself. And he had always trusted them to inform him when he was getting too erratic. He had always trusted them to warn him when he was getting out of control.
But in that moment...he didn't wasn't to hear it. He didn't want to see it. It was hard to believe that he may have been losing control....and that he hadn't even noticed it
"Lander I'm fine...." Ezekiel tried to reassure his brother, instead of accept his words. But Lander wasn't letting him off.
"You're not FINE!" Lander growled at him, a flash of light dancing across his jade pupils as the Leopard beneath the surface reacted to his anger. "You don't think I can see it!" He cried, a sneer growing on his face as he spoke. He raised a finger to his temple and tapped on it roughly. "It's in your mind Ezekiel! The anger.....The Reaver is getting closer to the surface every day. Brandon is messing with your control." He coldly stated, and before Ezekiel could take a breath to respond he was shouting over him.
"Listen to me! I've seen you go Reaver twice in the last seven years and suddenly this mortal shows up and you're like hot and cold every other hour!" Lander continued, dropping his voice and giving Ezekiel a solm head shake. "You're going to hurt someone....and that weak lil mortal will be the first one you dash away like a fly."
This time Ezekiel shouted at his brother. "No! I wouldn't! I wouldn't hurt him....or any of you!" he snarled at his brother vehemently.
But if Lander was moved by his declaration his brother didn't show it, he simply twisted his mouth to the side and repeated what Ezekiel had said. "You wouldn't hurt him? Jezz, you need to go get laid! If you want the little homo so badly why you don't just go after him Ezekiel!" Lander submitted, but not before sticking his tongue out in a sign of disgust. "Don't get me wrong! I hate this gay shit, but maybe once you've scratched your disgusting little itch, your blood will cool the hell down. And I won't have to worry about you going off the rails!"
Why don't you just go after him? Yeah right....
Ezekiel mentally scoffed at his brother.
If it were that easy maybe I would pursue him like any other conquest. But it just isn't. Brandon's so tightly wound and volatile.....but when I get too close, he also seems fragile. I'm afraid Ill break him if I push too hard.
Is what Ezekiel wanted to say in that moment...But these thoughts were too intense and far too personal to share with his brother, so Ezekiel simply denied all that he had said.
"Lander...I don't need your advice." he pointed out with a scoff as he readjusted himself against the hard back of the tree that he was laying on.
"And for the record there is nothing going on with my Reaver....I'm not losing it. I'm always in control." Ezekiel told him softly if firmly. "And there isn't anything going on with Brandon either. So stop talking about it." Ezekiel finished with a slight hiss, conveying with that one sound just how over the conversation he really was.
Picking up on the silent warning Lander simply chuckled to himself and said. "Why does everyone think they can lie to the mind reader?"
Then Lander had sighed and without another word, he had turned walked over to his spot by a far off tree. Casting Ezekiel a hard glare Lander had slid down the rough bark, crossed his arms over his chest and settled back in for the rest of his Watch, but not before issuing a firm warning.
"Look I really don't care what you two fags do..." He began with a nasty snort. "But If you start dreaming that sick shit again, Ezekiel...." Lander growled heavily. Viciously. "I'm going to fucking break your jaw next time. I promise you that!"
****
"Hey Ezekiel!? Are you going to answer him or not?" Nates voice asked, breaking into Ezekiels mind and pulling him up from the memories of the night before.
To Ezekiels chagrin he blinked and suddenly noticed that his entire family was staring at him in anticipation. Especially his father. Who was standing with an intense frown on his face, as if he knew that Ezekiel had in fact been daydreaming through his entire morning announcements.
A beat of silence passed as each of his parents turned and shared a look, before Mantilo let out a soft sight and said. "So, Ezekiel will you do that for me?"
Instantly at a loss for a response Ezekiel cleared his throat and said the only thing he could think of.
"Yes...I'll do that." For a second Mantilo stared at him in silence, making Ezekiel feel like an idiot for answering a question that he clearly hadn't asked....Then with a curt nod his father turned to their mother and held a private conversation with her.
Suddenly all of Ezekiels brothers began to climb to their feet, each of them adjusting their clothing or belts as they prepared to head out. As covertly as he could Ezekiel tapped Brandon on his elbow and was ridiculously vilified when he didn't flinch at his touch, but instead leaned in towards him with his eyebrows raised. "Um....What did I just agree to do?" Ezekiel asked him.
"You said yes to moving a few vegetables, I think?" Brandon reported with a small shrug, before he twisted his lips to the side and leaned back in his seat. "But I honestly didn't really understand everything Mantilo was talking about." He finished, and before Ezekiel could stop him Brandon was raising his voice and saying.
"Hey Nate... What was all of that about? Ezekiel and I got lost. What did Mantilo want him to do? Wasn't he just supposed to move a few vegetables around or something like that?" he asked, unaware of Ezekiel putting a hand over his eyes in embarrassment.
With a good natured smirk on his face Nate leaned closer and replied.
"It's a good thing you asked, Brandon." He said, before he glanced at Ezekiel, and even though his words were directed at Brandon, a slightly mocking tone rose as he continued. "Ezekiel just agreed to haul the entire harvest of vegetables and fruits to Erin's house."
Now that the cat was out of the bag Ezekiel groaned at Nate and said "Great. The entire harvest? That carts been getting piled up with potatoes and pumpkins all month....Its got to be as heavy as a horse."
"Yup...." Nate said still smiling, the stud in his left eyebrow catching the sunlight as he tilted his head back. "And its not like Erin's house is right around the corner. She lives about ten miles out...."
"10 Miles?" Brandon interjected drawing Nates gaze back to himself. His light green eyes were quizzical as he asked. "But why would you need to haul a cart ten miles to Erin's house. What is she going to do with these vegetables anyway?"
"Well, we need to haul them out to Erin's because she's volunteered to pre prep a lot of the foods. Along with the help from a few dozen of the women in her Village." Nate explained.
"So it's a group effort? Does anyone else help with the food preparation?" Brandon asked Nate next after his explanation, but Ezekiel cut in and answered before Nate could.
"The Clans schools are all centered on the part of the village where Erin and Drin's cabin happens to be. So, not only a few of the Leopardesses, but most of the children and teenagers that go to the schools in those areas, will help with the preparation for the upcoming celebration."
Ezekiel broke off of his explanation with a soft hiss. "This cart is going to be huge....every year its packed with vegetables." With a sigh Ezekiel picked up the glass of water that he hadn't managed to finish
"Yup...." Nate laughed as he suddenly stood up from his stool and made to follow the rest of the Guardians that were already making a swift exit out of the kitchen. "And no more dreaming Ezekiel....we wouldn't want you and Lander getting into any more fights."
Not two seconds after he spoke Ezekiel nearly chocked on the water in his throat. Nate simply laughed at him. Brandon asked him if he was alright and hesitantly patted him on the back.
And with that Nate had soon disappeared out of the room, leaving a sputtering Ezekiel behind him.
Brothers!
Ezekiel snarled in his head.
Who needs em!?