Face It All Together: Rising Tensions

The morning sun seeped through the cracks in the blinds that had been pulled down overnight, still managing to light up the apartment decently. A large, anthropomorphic, vulturine figure stood at the kitchen counter, waiting for the coffee machine to be done brewing. The figure was very tall, silky feather mane unkempt and ruffled from sleep, not having been cleaned up and brushed out quite yet. His long flowing tail feathers weren’t braided as they usually were, but they normally weren’t unless leaving the apartment was necessary. Atop his head were two ram-like, spiked horns, similar to obsidian in appearance and texture, but one was much shorter than the other, seemingly having been broken off recently.

 

*Click*

 

The coffee machine finished brewing its contents and dripping them into a mug placed beneath it. The figure, wearing nothing but a pair of shorts and a ripped t-shirt, grabbed the mug and unplugged the machine, sliding it back into its place under the cabinets. He took a sip of the hot drink, not bothering to add anything to it. He could faintly hear the sounds of birds chirping outside.

…As well as the nearly-silent sound of footsteps in another room. This didn’t startle the avian, who continued sipping his coffee. After a few more moments of silence, a door down the hallway creaked open, and louder footsteps could be heard against the hardwood floor of the hallway.

 

“Morning Victor.” The figure greeted his roommate as the other came into view, but he didn’t look up from his coffee.

 

“Morning Mortifer.” Victor mumbled. Mornings really weren’t his thing, the taller had come to realize about the smaller corvid. He was always quiet, trying to wake up fully, rarely engaging in conversation or just staring off into space. Mortifer didn’t mind, having been so used to silence for a good majority of his adult life, and he actually preferred it quiet, but he always felt a strange sort of concern when his usually-bubbly roommate was so humbled. He was normally very reserved and stayed to himself, but for whatever reason Victor had managed to slip through his defenses. Which is why the two now lived together in an apartment, at least for now until they could both financially support themselves alone. Although staying together was a recent development, Mortifer somehow didn’t mind Victor’s constant presence. There was also some part of Mortifer that could see something…different in the avian he once knew, albeit not on great terms, but he knew him all the same. But as soon as he was starting to notice little things different about Victor’s behavior, it would vanish in an instant. Almost as if Mortifer was imagining it.

Mortifer had been so lost in his own thoughts that he hadn’t realized Victor had asked him something. The corvid was looking at him expectantly.

 

“Sorry, what was that?” Mortifer felt bad, he was sure Victor felt like he wasn’t paying attention, which admittedly he hadn’t been, but Victor hardly showed it.

 

“I was wondering if you had a plan for breakfast this morning. Or should I just make my own thing? If you don’t have plans, I mean.”

 

And there it was. One of those little things that made Mortifer think something was up with Victor. Backtracking on his words? The Victor he knew all that time ago would’ve never thought twice about something, he just did it, whether it ended up good or bad.

Maybe Victor had just changed in the time they’d been strangers. Maybe Mortifer was reading too far into these little nuances. But then again, someone like Victor didn’t seem like the type to suddenly change like that.

 

“I don’t have anything specific planned, no. I figured something simple like cereal or maybe some toast would suffice.” Mortifer replied after realizing he’d been drifting off in thought again.

Victor seemed to relax a bit, shuffling over to the fridge and opening it up to grab the milk.

 

“Cereal sounds good.” Victor replied, a bit more confidence in his voice. And just like that, Mortifer wondered if he really was imagining things. Up until recently he wouldn’t have given a damn about what others were feeling, but traumatic events can change a person, for better or for worse. Mortifer wasn’t sure what he’d call his sudden shift in mentality, good or bad, but he knew that something in him had changed.

Victor gently nudged Mortifer aside to access the drawer full of utensils, grabbing a spoon and reaching for a bowl that had been drying in the dishrack. Now all that was left to retrieve was the cereal itself. But the problem became apparent as Victor trotted over to the fridge again, looking up to the top of the appliance at the box of sugary goodness he needed. Victor wasn’t the tallest guy out there, in fact he was very short compared to most others like him. This led to some problems in life, like not being able to reach things on high shelves, being lost in group photos if he stood too far back, and a whole slew of other things that came with being short. It was probably a good thing Victor lived with Mortifer for now, since the other was so tall in contrast.

Mortifer seemed to notice the corvid’s plight and chuckled lightheartedly, reaching up to grab the box and handing it to Victor in one swift movement.

 

“Thank you.” Victor hummed, pouring the dry cereal into his bowl and dousing it in milk. He took his first bites in silence, Mortifer continuing to simply drink his coffee. Mortifer would’ve been fine to continue that way, if he hadn’t happened to notice the sounds of Victor’s munching cease. He glanced over to the corvid, who was now idly stirring his cereal in circles, not actually eating anything.

 

“Something bothering you?” Mortifer raised an eyebrow at Victor, who seemed startled by the question.

 

“N-no, I’m alright.” The stutter was a dead giveaway that he in fact wasn’t alright. Mortifer huffed in disbelief. He considered not pressing the issue, but something was clearly upsetting Victor, and although before his change of heart he wouldn’t have bothered to find out why, Mortifer now felt like it was his job as a good roommate to help his friend in any way he could. Not that he’d feel the same if it were someone he had barely known like he knew Victor, or like someone he actually cared about, but that was another story, and something he had to get better about; showing compassion. Despite his feelings having changed, he still had a hard time showing that he cared or wanted to help. Mostly because he defaulted to his old ways most of the time, but now he was making an active effort to correct his behavior and try to be of some use in situations that caused distress to others.

 

“You’re lying.” Mortifer hadn’t meant to sound so harsh, which clearly upset Victor more.

 

“Look, I don’t think you’d understand, it’s…hard to talk about. Plus I’m sure there’s better uses of your time than talking to me. I’ve always been simple-minded, as you’ve said.” Victor retorted, hitting Mortifer like a dagger to the heart.

In the past, yes, Mortifer had done many unkind and unwarranted things to hurt Victor, and many others in fact, but he had thought his attempts to make amends had made an impact on Victor. He’d been living with him for god’s sake! He must know that Mortifer was really trying to improve and grow their relationship together, even if it had started and progressed in a less than favorable way. Or was Victor really just so different now…?

 

“I’m sorry, I’m not the one who comes out here all mopey every morning. Maybe some of us just want to help with that.” The words slipped out of Mortifer’s beak before he could stop himself. Victor’s expression immediately changed from grumpy to surprised, then to agitated. He huffed, hopping off his seat at the counter, grabbed his bowl, placed it in the sink, and stormed off, slamming the door to his room as he disappeared down the hallway.

 

Mortifer

1364 words - 26

Extra stryx-3

Flockmate-4

Personal-3

Total= 36 AP

 

Victor

1177 words - 22

Extra stryx-3

Flockmate-4

Total= 33 AP