[ It was a testament to the level of distress Will was suffering that he didn't immediately clue in on James' hesitation around him.
Truth was, Will was used to people giving him a wide berth when he was like this. He slowly curled his legs upwards, folding his knees to his chest and wrapping his arms around them. ]
I've told you about this guy before. [ He said quietly. Truth was, to anyone paying attention and capable of understanding Will, this explosion had been building for a long time. The man in question was a brute, a bully. Effortlessly cruel, but cunning enough to always keep to the right side of regulations, he was exactly the sort of abuser that Will's 'righteous violence' tended to seek out. ]
He was back from a recent patrol, and crowing about ... [ Will began, stopped and then continued. ] They'd come across a den of Umpogs. [ A mid sized monster type, not overly interested in bothering the population of Riverview, but violent enough when provoked that they were labeled as mid-level dangerous.
They resembled a cross between dogs and small komodo dragons, the biggest danger being that their bites often proved fatal due to infection. But Will had studied them closely and used them as an example, in his occasional arguments that not all the monsters on this planet deserved to be eradicated, just because they weren't human. The Umpogs, for instance, had a very strong family and social structure, like wolves but even stronger and exhibiting more self-awareness.
Will looked down at his hands as he continued in a whisper. ]
He was sharing how they had pulled the pups out ... slaughtered them in front of the parents ... I didn't hear much after that.
cw: fictional monster young murder
Truth was, Will was used to people giving him a wide berth when he was like this. He slowly curled his legs upwards, folding his knees to his chest and wrapping his arms around them. ]
I've told you about this guy before. [ He said quietly. Truth was, to anyone paying attention and capable of understanding Will, this explosion had been building for a long time. The man in question was a brute, a bully. Effortlessly cruel, but cunning enough to always keep to the right side of regulations, he was exactly the sort of abuser that Will's 'righteous violence' tended to seek out. ]
He was back from a recent patrol, and crowing about ... [ Will began, stopped and then continued. ] They'd come across a den of Umpogs. [ A mid sized monster type, not overly interested in bothering the population of Riverview, but violent enough when provoked that they were labeled as mid-level dangerous.
They resembled a cross between dogs and small komodo dragons, the biggest danger being that their bites often proved fatal due to infection. But Will had studied them closely and used them as an example, in his occasional arguments that not all the monsters on this planet deserved to be eradicated, just because they weren't human. The Umpogs, for instance, had a very strong family and social structure, like wolves but even stronger and exhibiting more self-awareness.
Will looked down at his hands as he continued in a whisper. ]
He was sharing how they had pulled the pups out ... slaughtered them in front of the parents ... I didn't hear much after that.
[ He'd snapped. ]