Mortas and Rona step into the mansion, eyes glazing over the place. Neither of them are accustomed to such small living quarters, however, Rona seems less bothered by it than his counterpart. As Rona continues to walk on without Mortas, the vampire huffs, mumbling on about how he wants to go home already.
"Boys, come over here!" Mortas's mother calls from down the hall, and the boys follow her.
They are led into an open room, quite spacious, which they assume to be the leisure room. But they can't take in the details for long, as that's not where they are headed. In the middle of this room, is a huge staircase, spiraling in a circle, leading upstairs. Mortas's mother leads them up there.
The upstairs is incredibly small, a stark contrast to the downstairs, one could almost call it an attic. However, that may just be the exaggeration of Mortas. There are only two doors up here. Rona and Mortas assume it to be their rooms, so they instantly pick a door, walking up to them. "Boys," Mortas's mother stops them. "One of those doors leads to the attic." She says.
"You don't mean-" Mortas groans.
"We have to share a room." Rona sighs. "Which one?" He asks. The Countess points to the door on the left.
"Trust me, it is bigger on the inside!" She assures. "You will both be given a room key soon, but in the meantime, please, get used to your new room!" She walks back downstairs. Rona opens the door to the room, walking in first. After the vampire doesn't follow him in, he speaks up.
"So, are you going to come in, or not?" Rona asks with his nonchalant tone. Mortas finally comes up to the doorframe, leaning on it. He looks around the room. It's a beautiful room. Spacious, with antique wallpaper, minimally decorated. However, that's the problem. This is a room belonging to a couple! There is even one master bed. Yeah, no way.
"I want you to know something," Mortas tells Rona as he fiddles with the toy the werewolf gave him. "Had our parents not been here, I would've already torn your throat to shreds." Mortas states. Rona says nothing, only staring at the vampire. He sighs.
"You vampires are all so vulgar, no manners whatsoever." He places the box Mortas gave him on a nightstand near the bed. "I pity your parents, really. Such a shame." Mortas grits his teeth, fist clenching around Romeo. Rona can't help but glance at the toy, his calm demeanor chipping slightly. Mortas notices this, easing off the toy.
"What is this thing, anyway?" He asks. "Why would you ever think of giving me such a worthless item?" He swings the toy in the air.
"D-Don't," Rona takes a step forward, but then calms himself, clearing his throat. "I've had it since I was a child. It is dear to me, so I've decided to give him to you." Mortas chuckles.
"'Him?' Does he have a name?" Mortas snickers. He holds the toy back in his hands, and Rona relaxes his shoulders.
"It.. doesn't matter. He's yours now, so, you name him." Rona says, turning away. Mortas scoffs.
"Why would I ever play with an ugly thing like this?" Mortas tugs at the arms of the toy, stretching the seams. Rona hears this, and instantly turns his head back. This asshole, he'll tear Romeo!
"Stop it, Mortas!" Rona walks up to the vampire, grabbing his arm.
"Tch, don't say my name! And release my arm, you mutt!" The two quarrel, and in the process, when Mortas tugs away, he takes one of Romeo's stuffed arms with him. The arm falls onto the carpet. Rona instantly falls to the floor.
"Y..You.." Rona holds the arm in his hands delicately, before balling his fists. "You ruined him, you damn flea!" Rona yells loudly, tears prickling his eyes. He's no longer calm or reserved, he's become completely belligerent. This rarely happens, but when it does, he needs to be restrained. Rona lunges at Mortas, knocking the vampire to the floor with a loud thud.
"What the? Get off of me!" Mortas holds the werewolf back.
"How could you?! You asshole!" Rona grips at Mortas's neck, squeezing.
"Rona! What are you doing?!" His mother suddenly enters the room, after hearing some thud from downstairs. "Unhand Mortas this instant!" She cries.
"N-No! He-" Rona's grip tightens as some tears begin to fall from his face.
"Rona!" His father calls as he too, enters the room, with Mortas's parents standing back. He has to pull Rona off of the vampire forcibly. Mortas gasps, sitting up. "Why would you do this, Rona? It's not like you!" His father asks him, shaking the teen by the shoulders. Rona looks over at the broken Romeo on the floor, all dismembered.
"I didn't know," Mortas says. "I was just playing with it, I guess I was too rough." He says in a sorry tone. "I apologize, Rona." He rubs his neck. Rona growls, trying to attack Mortas again, but his father stops him.
"Rona! Behave this instant!" He scolds. Mortas's parents step forward.
"It's really okay, Mr. Lycanis. It's not like Rona could have killed Mortas. That toy seemed to be a very important thing to Rona, no wonder he's a little upset it's broken." The Countess says.
"But, I tell you Rona really never acts like this," Rona's mother pleads. "I'm so sorry!" She bows to the Dracul's.
"It's really no matter," Mortas's father says. "Erm, why don't we have Mortas fix the toy up? He knows how to sew and knit." Rona continues sitting silently, staring at Mortas.
"No," Rona's father says. "That thing is old, and finally gave up. Rona shouldn't have chosen it as a gift. We should just throw it away, so it causes no more problems." Rona reacts to this, shaking his head.
"No! Don't!" He begs. His father continues to restrain him.
"You should've known better than to have chosen a gift like this, Rona. It was supposed to be for Mortas, now look what happened. Besides, this will help you. You need to get rid of childish things like this."
"No, no! Please! I'm sorry!" Rona cries. The Dracul's hesitate.
"Are you.. so sure, Mr. Lycanis?" Mortas's mother asks. Rona's father nods, and they take the toy (and its arm) away, most likely throwing it into the garbage somewhere, where Rona won't have to see. Or more importantly, won't take it out.
"Come on now, don't cry, Rona. Is that how we raised you? You will feel better soon." His father says. "Now, properly apologize to Mortas, and then prepare for dinner. We are making both of your favorites!" Rona's father stands, as if nothing has happened, and awaits Rona's apology to Mortas. His mother waits as well, unsure of what to make of the whole event. Rona stands, his knees feeling weak.
"I'm.." Rona begins. "Sorry, I laid my hands on you, Mortas. It will never happen again." The wolf bows slowly. Mortas smiles.
"I accept your apology, Rona. Let us be friends, yes?" He chuckles at the end, patting Rona's shoulder. Rona bites his tongue.
"Yes," Rona says. "Friends."
"Splendid!" His father cheers. "Now boys, go wash up, or whatever you all need to do. We are aware the rest of your clothes aren't here yet, but they will be soon. Just freshen up, or something!" And with that, Rona's parents leave the room. There is a minute of silence before either of the boys move. Rona glances at Mortas, who has a wide, sadistic grin plastered to his face.
"Maybe don't touch me next time, mutt." He shrugs, laughing. Rona grits his teeth, stepping past Mortas, to leave the room. His eyes are glassy, and he rubs them to get any excess tears out.
Rona wants to be a gentleman, but he doesn't think it's going to work. In his seventeen years of life, he's only had two outbursts like that. Two! Guess third time's the charm. To make it worse, his father got after him. In front of everybody! Had Rona been any weaker of a man, he'd have burst into tears right then and there. He hates it. He hates Mortas, he hates this stupid mansion, he hates his father, and most importantly.. himself. Everyday is misery. Rona shakes his head.
"No time for a pity party," he mumbles as he enters a washroom downstairs. There was one in the bedroom upstairs, but Rona believes it goes without saying that neither of them will agree to sharing a washroom. He splashes his face with water, looking at himself in the mirror. His eyes have already become slightly reddened, how embarrassing. It should be gone by the time dinner is prepared.
Rona fixes his curly auburn hair, and adjusts his shirt, before deciding to leave the washroom. He's reluctantly about to head back up to the bedroom, (he'll never consider it 'their' bedroom), when he hears his name being called.
"Rona, dear! Come to the dining room, dinner is almost ready!" His mother calls. Already? He hasn't even smelled any of the usual aromas produced when cooking. Whatever. He makes his way to the dining room. As he walks, he takes time to think. By the way, are Mortas's and his parents going to be staying here as well? It only makes sense, they did mention locking the castles up. Before, Rona would consider this a good idea, but after the events that just took place, he doesn't know how much faith he has in any of their parents.
Rona gets to the dining room, where a long oval table interrupts the middle of the space. It's similar to the one at his castle, which brings him some peace. Rona doesn't know where to sit, as there are more chairs than he's used to, so he picks a random one.
"Rona-" His mother says. "Sit over here." She directs him to a seat near the end of the table, and Rona sits. He watches as his mother retreats to the opposite side, and immediately sighs, as he knows what's going on. Not long after, the seat next to him is pulled, and low and behold, it's Mortas. They exchange no words, only sit in silence, as everyone else is seated. Rona quietly sips on his drink, and suddenly, Mortas's mother speaks.
"Why don't you say a few good words for our new friends, the Lycanis, Mortas? Before dinner arrives." She says.
"Oh," Rona's mother smiles. "There's no need, Countess, really!" The women laugh amongst each other, giggling, and Mortas finally interrupts them.
"Of course," he says. "I'd love to."