"..."
Jeremy turns his head at the sight of the long black muzzle. He bites his lip, thinking a tingling sensation is creeping up his neck.
"You didn't seem too pleased with my human greeting. So what made you call me here?"
The Jackal asks, crossing his arms when Jeremy doesn't respond to his greeting. As always, he is immaculately dressed. He even smells of cologne, a weighty yet refined scent that gives him a certain sophistication.
"I didn't call you... Ha... yes, right, I did. I did."
Jeremy swallows hard as he tries to tell his mind to mind its own business. If he tells Asterios that he didn't call him, this monster will probably ask him why he's lying again, so he decides to keep his mouth shut.
Jeremy is pretty sure that the Jackal heard him call him an assh0le and came over, although he looks relatively calm. He doesn't seem angry or offended. But even then, you never know when he's going to turn nasty, so Jeremy keeps looking away.
"It was..."
Jeremy doesn't know whether to question this crudely constructed island of memory or not. After all, the other person is a mind-reading monster, and he might be able to see through all his ruminations.
Finally, the middle-aged man speaks up with dry lips.
"I really can't live here."
"..."
The jackal's golden eyes narrow. Jeremy straightens, feeling his heart beat faster. This time he is sure. What he said has made the jackal angry.
Still, Jeremy must say something. If this jackal is going to be offended because he is telling the truth, if this jackal is going to abuse him again because he is hiding something, then so be it. He might as well just say what he wants to say.
"Yes, I asked to be sent home like you said, but... this isn't home. This is..."
"..."
The Jackal doesn't speak, just stares. It makes Jeremy think his palms and soles are tingling, like being pricked by thorns. He tries to be as gentle as possible so as not to offend the monster.
"I can't do this anymore, it's driving me crazy."
"Well, I'm sure you didn't call me here just to vent."
The jackal tilts his head as if he doesn't understand Jeremy's answer; he feels the human is hiding something. He gestures for him to continue, and the smaller, older human immediately begins to raise his voice.
"That's all I got...! Yes, that's all I have! I. CAN'T. LIVE. HERE!"
Jeremy clenches his fists. He is really struggling, and it makes him feel like he is being treated like a puff of air. As much as he is afraid to say it, isn't it true that this monster tricked him? It is unfair to keep him in this crazy place and even humiliate him. This beast is an extreme sadist, an abomination.
"What's not to like? Most of what you want is in here."
The jackal makes a small tongue click as he peers into the human's noisy mind. Jeremy Rogers is always angry, to the point where he wonders if he could cut him in half, he'd still be able to seethe with crimson rage. Last night, Asterios thought he'd cut him some slack for being so cute, but now he's not so sure.
"...TV is only what I've seen, books are the same, and there's not an ant in the neighborhood. Do you think you can live in a place like this?"
"Hmmm... Okay, I understand that you have a lot to complain about, so I'll take that into consideration, but you'd better explain instead of just ranting."
Looking down at the arguing human, the jackal blinks once. He is annoyed that the human has dared to bring up his mighty creations, though he has a point. Perhaps his need for entertainment is not being met. Considering the difficulty of raising humans, it is time to rethink the environment.
"By the way..."
Grooooowl~
"Oh... That, that... That's because you barged in before I had a chance to eat...!"
Jeremy yells on an empty stomach. He fumbles to cover his stomach with his hands, then realizes he is naked. His eyes widen. His cheeks flush. Oh, how he just argued with this beast like a man while completely naked!
There is a reason why this creature is so funny to Asterios. He is ashamed of being naked.
At the sight of the middle-aged man blushing and looking away, the jackal nods slightly and realizes something.
This human doesn't hate my perfect island, he's just hungry. He thinks.
Asterios is not one to forgive another's rudeness, but he decides to give this man the benefit of the doubt. Humans, too, seemed to share the pitiful characteristics of mortal organisms. Flesh and blood beings needed to consume energy sources on a regular basis, and when they didn't, they sometimes became extremely anxious and angry.
"I suggest you eat something first, and then calmly tell me what is so frustrating about me."
"What, are you actually going to listen to me?"
Jeremy's eyes widen even more in disbelief. Asterios, on the other hand, remains calm.
"I've always been willing to listen. I just want you to be able to lash out in anger or get fucked."
"You...!"
"Shhh, you're getting angry again. Sit down first."
The jackal gestures into the air, somewhat haughtily. The human's body floats helplessly away.
"...Ugh!"
Jeremy, pushed to the front of the table and forced to sit in a chair, glares at the jackal. A tall, sturdy, well-muscled human male would have been no lightweight, but the creature handles him far too easily.
Jeremy is relieved that he doesn't have the jackal's snout in his ear right now, but that doesn't mean he likes being in the same room with him. Just the sight of his pitch-black body makes Jeremy's mouth go dry, and he cringes in fear when the jackal suddenly raises his hand.
Unlike the bulls, Asterios doesn't slash savagely. Yet Jeremy is afraid of him. Not of the blows, not of the ripping, not of the tearing. He is afraid of his expressionless face, of not knowing what the monster is thinking. He is afraid that he will turn into something grotesque, that it will go into a cold rage out of nowhere and torment his body.
Jeremy instinctively rejects the idea of a being beyond human comprehension.
"I'll have your food ready in a moment."
"..."
When the human doesn't answer, the jackal isn't offended. Instead, he goes to the kitchen and fetches some cooking utensils. After grabbing the ingredients from the refrigerator, the creature begins to skillfully chop. The clank, clank, clank of the knife on the cutting board startled Jeremy, but he doesn't dare speak to it.
What the hell does he think he's doing, making me food?
The middle-aged man at the head of the table stares suspiciously at the authority figure's back. It is a strange feeling to see someone who was so abnormal suddenly acting so normal. Aside from the fact that this person is rummaging through his fridge, Jeremy isn't sure what to make of the fact that the Jackal is about to do something.
"..."
The Jackal is surprisingly adept with a knife, though he doesn't seem to be the type to prepare his own meals. Of course, the knife is the only thing he touches, and the rest is handled by things like black shadows extending from his feet.
It's a strange feeling. Apart from the occasional dinner that Max would make when he was in the mood, Jeremy usually prepared his own meals, so it is indeed strange and uncomfortable to be served by someone else. And the fact that the monster is dressed in an immaculately tailored suit only adds to the sense of strangeness.
'No, even if he feeds me, he's still an assh0le. I don't know what he's up to and I shouldn't fall for it.'
Jeremy brutally crushes any buds of friendly feelings that might have popped up. Even if the jackal offers him a hot meal, it doesn't change the fact that he's the one who locked Jeremy in this damned space. That alone is reason enough to curse and hate.
But it's nice to have someone take care of you when you're sick and tired.
In fact, deep down, Jeremy admits that he was the one who asked the Jackal for help in the first place, and that he never had a good enough conversation. Or, more accurately, he has not even thought about trying to have a normal conversation.
Jeremy doesn't care what the creature likes or what his life is like; he just keeps trying to figure out why he's doing those sadistic things. To Jeremy Rogers, Asterios is more like a supernatural demon that appeared out of nowhere.
Stop it.
Jeremy is so emotionally distraught and exhausted. Maybe he can try to have a normal conversation with the Jackal, but...thinking back on what he has done so far, Jeremy reacts with skepticism.