Flashback Bully (Markus Andres)

[Tabitha Aryns]

Tabitha seemed to close up the moment Markus’ hand connected with her shoulder, a not so mean gesture, but he had pushed her before so it was cause to be suspicious now. There was none of that though, he did not push her, and instead aimed to comfort the smaller of her fears much like how Amanda had. Maybe the bully was capable of kindness. Uncertainty laced within her expression betrayed a small doubt in what he was saying, but she nodded, to convey she understood what he was saying, and promptly brightening at his compliment on the soapy idea. Like a fool Tabby grinned up at him. “A-alright, so long as w-we don’t h-hurt the d-d-d-d-... Dog.” With that she also ran off but not in the direction Amanda had pointed earlier, but instead to her house, for there were containers there they would be able to use. It took perhaps a few chimes or longer to finally arrive there but upon doing so she stopped in front of one of her home’s windows. It was higher up than she was, upon a stone foundation that rose a foot above the initial dirt ground, so she had to stand on her tip toes just to see within. Upon glancing inside Tabby saw the family table they ate at every night, and a smidgen of kitchen to the side, the room seemed mostly empty until Tabitha’s mother moved into the picture. It seemed she was getting ready to leave for the market, a basket on the table, with petticoat by its side until Ceras picked it up and pulled it on, taking the basket, and then turning to leave for the door. Tabitha’s breath hitched as she let go of the windowsill she had been holding on, sliding down just as her mother turned and prayed that Ceras had not just seen her. The best idea then would have been to run to the side of the house but instead Tabby pressed against the stone foundation, held herself small, hoping her mother would not spot her as she left the house. Her mother walked forwards, basket in arm, but she stopped just before making her way down the door steps, started to look around when a particularly strong gust of wind blew past and almost took her mother’s hat. “Wooh, chilly.” Tabby heard her mother mutter after she had secured her hat from flying away, she continued her short descent and turned to the market. If not for that sudden and strong breeze, the small girl would have surely been caught red handed. Tabby whispered to herself in relief. “That was really close.” Waiting for her mother to make the turn into the road that would lead to the market before standing up and walking around to the steps to enter the house. Tabby was in and out of her home with a medium sized jug in her short arms and was now making her way to the location Amanda had pointed to. It wouldn’t take long now, the boy would have his jug of water and the dog its bath. The two came back to Markus holding each of the jug’s handles because it was heavy with water and set it in front of him, the sloshing cold liquid inside meant for nefarious deeds but before Markus would be able to take the jug, or order anyone to do something with it. Tabby did something brave. “Y-you better n-not break it! I’ll tell my m-mommy you did! If y-you do..” By it, she meant the jug, but she was serious on tattling. Much like how her mother would scold her father, she placed both hands on her hips and held her lips back in an annoyed frown, an incredible likeness to the older woman whose wrath was best left unstirred. Though perhaps the effects were mitigated by the innocent girl’s stutter and age. Amanda was mostly unfazed and held back a smile with some effort, but she added on to Tabby’s demand with some support of her own. “That woman is evil, she’ll flay you alive faster than that dog could chew your face off.. I barely escaped alive.”

[Markus Andres]

Markus watched as the last of the two girls decided to run off. Looking briefly to his hand and the involuntary wince she had made when he had touched her. It brought a small mischievous smile to his lips. It would be so delightfully easy to have the girl cry in the future. Apply a little pressure and she would break. He almost clapped his hands together at the thought of keeping the girl around as an accomplice, or perhaps just as the scapegoat. With the girls gone he could stop acting brave in front of them and could breathe easy. Today was already shaping out to be a fun day and he had already had the pleasure of seeing the stuttering cat-girl cry once. Perhaps when she discovered that he wasn't going to give the dog a nice bath, she would cry again. He could almost guarantee it! The smile quickly vanished from his lips. The child was not blessed with patience and without either girl to keep him company he quickly grew bored of listening to a dog growl and bark at him.

His right foot began to draw circles on the dirty ground. That grew old almost as soon as he began doing it, yet he stubbornly kept at it for half a chime or so before even his stubbornness could handle the boredom any longer. All by himself and he felt a little lonely just standing there, waiting for the girls to return. A little worried that they might not return, for once they were out of sight, who was to say they would not just stay away? Markus pushed those thoughts aside the best he could and found a stone by the wall and picked it up. Weighing it in his hand, if the girls did not return soon, the dog would get a nice rock right between its eyes. Plus any other rocks he might find in the vicinity. He found a nice place by the wall and leant against it, idly tossing the rock into the air and catching it again. He firmly believed he looked cool as he did so. Nonchalant. Raised above the others. In fact he looked neither of those. His eyes kept turning to the stone to make sure it stayed where it was, his throws were terrible and he had to correct his stance every so often to reach the rock and his arm swayed from side to side trying to catch it before it landed on the ground.

He most certainly did not look cool.

The girls returned and Markus had never been happier to the see two girls and he sighed with relief. His worries that they might not return, that his revenge would go unfulfilled, had nagged at him from the back of his mind. The grin on his lips when he realized the jug had been filled with water already. It was within reach. Just a little more and he would have the revenge he had dreamt of since this morning.

"About time." Came the simple response as he pushed away from the wall. The rock was pocketed for a future purpose that he had not yet figured out. Besides, he had liked the way he had imagined himself with the rock, no use letting such a wonderful prop go to waste. Despite his harsh comment, a smile was upon his lips. Watching the restless water move about in the jug. It looked cold. It looked perfect. Then the stuttering girl surprised him, he had expected the older girl to stand up to him. But not this one, not the one who flinched at his slightest touch. He found it adorably sweet that she would tattle on him and he had no intention of breaking the jug. Especially not when he noticed the determination in her eyes. The follow-up from Amanda had him a bit scared actually. He didn't want to be flayed. Being flayed sounded unpleasant, like something a Zith would do.

"Alright alright, I won't break it. Geeez." He was genuinely frightened at the idea of being flayed by her mother. He carefully picked up the jug. It was heavy. Very heavy. He could probably not carry it by himself. Certainly not tip it over alone. But he was a boy! Stronger and smarter than puny girls!

"Tabitha, come help me." To Hai with pride. Markus waited for Tabitha to grab the other side before he would advance again. "Don't be frightened. Soon, he will be a cute little doggy. Happy and springing about." His voice sugar sweet as he told the innocent white lie.

[Tabitha Aryns]

Upon Markus’ confirmation that he would not break her mother’s clay jug a bright smile broke out on her face as she was easy to please. There would be no extra punishments for the girl if her mother ever found out; the small girl had her doubts about her mother actually disciplining the boy even if Tabby tattled, but took solace in the bluff anyways. For now it had worked and that was all that mattered at that moment. “Thank you!” She chirped at Markus, whilst Amanda rolled her eyes. Even if the boy had been a total butt head to the both of them, that wouldn’t stop Tabitha from being polite with him, call it habit if one could. Amanda leaned over to Tabitha, whispering accusations to the young girl as Markus tried to move the jug. “Don’t act so excited dolt, he’s probably planning to break it anyways.” “O-oh.. B-but he said..” “No buts, we can’t trust him.” “I kn-know.” “Real-” The two girls whispered amongst themselves until Markus called for Tabby, cutting off their conversation, and Amanda’s skepticism. The small girl jumped at the command, shaken back into the reality of their situation, and where they currently were; with the bully. Over to Markus she went on the other side of the jug, nodding her head as she obeyed willingly to help him though the doubt in his words showed. The dog was incredibly scary, its harsh barking and growling growing louder with every passing tick, the sound of teeth gnawing against steel grated against her ears as it tried desperately to get at them. Just as Tabitha would begin lifting the jug with Markus, grunting with its weight, she looked at the dog directly. The snarling beast was wild, its eyes heavy with murder. “Ni-n-n-n-nice d-d-d-doggy..” She choppily stuttered out pitifully, her grasp on the jug tightening, but her movements froze in place mid way. The jug was growing unsteady within their grasps, an object too heavy for two children to hold up for very long, it would fall and break on the ground if not for Amanda. The older girl saw what was about to happen and jumped before one could utter a word, she grasped the jug’s bottom and pushed it forwards, using her shoulder to prop it up. The jug’s mouth would clank on the metal bars safely, the sound of rushing water splashing and splattering out on top of the mutt trickled down to the ground. When the deed was done, and the jug safely back on the ground, Amanda crossed her arms and glared at Markus. Her tongue slipped, quick to blame Markus, instead of Tabitha when really it was almost the young girl’s fault. “Be more careful you moron, you almost broke it.”

[Markus Andres]

The two had been whispering something. Something the young bully could not hear, but that they whispered between them was not something he liked. Not at all. Best to separate the two somehow. Soon Tabitha came over to help him with the jug. It made it a little easier to lift it, but it was very heavy and with their arms at the top of the jug. He could feel the bottom sway and they would spill and break the jug. He used all his strength to try and avoid this outcome. But it was not enough. He opened his mouth to speak out a warning of sorts. When suddenly an extra pair of hands and shoulder helped the two. Amanda the older girl had come to their assistance despite her continued resistance to his plan and benevolent rule as their master. Tipping the jug became easier and to Markus' immense delight the mutt had had no clue what was about to happen. Only snarled and barked at them with the same hate that Markus had endured for a while now.

The furious barks turned into a pitiful howl of surprise when the cold water splashed over him. It retreated from the fence and tried to hide away from the cold. Markus had seen the change in its face. How hate turned into a whimpering and pitiful fear. The joyful smile that appeared on the young bully's face was so happy that it was hard to contain and the laughter flew freely from his mouth. He had let the two girls astray this long and managed to exact one of his justified vengeances upon this foul mutt that deserved everything that happened to it! The jug was placed on the ground, angry words spoken in his direction, but he did not care! The bully did a little dance of joy as it had finally come. The sweet release of a vengeance best spilled cold!

"HAH! TAKE THAT! Stupid mutt! BARK AT ME EVERY TIME I PASS BY! SERVES YOU RIGHT!" Markus kicked the fence, agitating the dog further under normal circumstances. Now, it just let out another pitiful howl from the dog as it shook visibly, trying to shake off the water. Or it was merely cold. Markus hoped it would die from the cold water. Stupid ugly mutt. "Did you see the look on its face? It was great! And that howl!" A gleeful smile on his lips as he continued to dance on the spot, barely able to contain himself. They had been his accomplices in this foul deed - he wondered if he could get them to do more naughty things with him. Like stealing bread from the baker or find a hill to roll a barrel down and see it smash into a building! So many mischievous things on his mind. Joy was a good motivator.

"Let us bring that jug home and go find something else to do!" He looked at the two girls, dark green eyes looking at them full of hope and mischief. Even going so far as to extend a hand to the smaller of the two to grab. "Come! Plenty of fun to be had in this city!"

[Tabitha Aryns]

Laughter? Did he think hurting another living being as fun? Small figure, tiny hands, she had grasped the iron bars and crouched, staring inside the fenced in yard at the poor dog. What had she done. Tabitha couldn’t say a word, but her mind was swimming with right and wrong, the howl of surprise didn’t sound like one of joy. It sounded more like pain. Uncertainty, towards Markus, to the dog, and most of all to the nefarious action they had just performed; what was the consequence, and did they actually help? It was clear by now that Tabitha had been tricked by the boy, and a little too late to do anything about that realization. The dog was soaked, there was nothing she could do. Up, she looked towards Markus’ hand, he seemed so happy about what just transpired. “I-i-i.. do-don’t want to pl-play anym-more.” She choked the words out, looking back into the fenced yard, fighting back tears. Tabitha hated dogs, but she didn’t hate them enough to hurt them. The overwhelming sadness was not exactly that, it was filled with confusion, she didn’t know whether or not to be happy with the boy, or run off, and tattle on him. It seemed that would not be the case today. “Oh shyke.” Amanda cursed under her breath, hissing quickly to the two after. “We need to split. Your mothers spotted us!” “What?” Tabby squeaked, brushing away Markus’ hand and standing on her own. “Whe- wait, Amanda!” There simply was no time, Amanda had scooted off just as quick as she had warned the two. It was either flee or fight, and the older girl had chosen to run. Looking around wildly, Tabitha took in the jug, Markus, and finally, dark brown eyes swivelled onto a quickly approaching figure whom of which was homed on the two. The jug. Tabby started to panic. Amanda. Two big no-nos, taking an item out of the house, and meeting up with her best friend, and now this boy, and his evil plots? If Markus hadn’t run at the sound of Amanda’s warning, he would quickly experience the wrath that was Tabitha’s mother. “M-m-markus, hi-hide the j-ji-ji-ji-j-eg.” Tabby stepped in front of it, to try and hide it from her mother’s view while looking for Markus to back her up almost frantically, but it was far too late now. Her mother was of black hair, blue eyes, and white skin, her hair was pulled up into a neat bun upon her head, and her attire was prim, proper, and simple at best. “Tabitha, don’t act like I didn’t see the jug, I’ve been watching you and your friends the entire time.” Came the strict voice of her mother.

[Markus Andres]

Simple pleasure as the laughter rolled from his lips like the sick twisted enjoyment of a youth gone wrong. But he did not care about the little girls who saw him at that moment. They had no significance no longer, they were his accomplices, they were his to use, manipulate, force into helping him. Kvist had seen his father use others in that method. Seen them squirm under his fist. How they had desired to be elsewhere. But that was too late for these girls. The bully had brought them far along to help him in this endeavour that he knew he could force them along on any other great act of justice.

'oh, shyke' Kvist did not like the interruption to his enjoyment and the girl who broke it was met with dark emerald eyes. How dare that shyke interrupt him with her empty-headed words. He would make her pay somehow - find a way to make that Amanda pay for her continued resistance. Kvist felt his hand be brushed aside as those words were spoken and the scaredy cat got up on her own. How it annoyed him. The words of a mother did not register in the annoyance of the continued opposition to his perfect idea. Which explained how he stood so stunned and looked at the adult who made his plans fade away. The shoulders slumped. Triumphance vanished in the sight of the adult. Previous confident arrogance vanished and he saw the very adult woman glare at him. Markus was stunned as she spoke. Did not even hear the words of the stuttering girl. Markus knew their game way up. Once the woman, Tabby's mother to be sure, was done with them, his own mother would be told and he would be beat again for what he had done.

"Sorry miss, it is my fault..." Kvist did not know what he spoke. "I asked her, sorry. Your Tabitha to help me clean this woofie." Words rolled easily. Of course she would believe him! He was a cute innocent boy! "Sorry for not asking for the jug." Kvist pleaded with his best set of puppy eyes directed at Tabby's mother.