The Fine Line Between Love and Hate (w/ Blooming B

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potassiumboron

~I'm drinking coffee on a trampoline~
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Monsters, supernatural, fantasy, romance, criminality, slice-of-life (modern or set in past, usually with some twists)
Despite the day being Monday, marking what would be a normal school day for the children in Saewen (there was only two schools - one of those under twelve, and one for those aged twelve to eighteen), it was hardly that simple in the Rose household. While knowing her two youngest children needed the education, with all her other offspring already having had private tutoring and the best education when in their native land. They had the fortune of being raised in the castle, as proper royalty, but the same luxury couldn't be said for Folie and Cobie. They had been beaten by their father, ultimately leaving Florentina no option but to take a leave.

She didn't want to have to leave around humans. The thought repulsed her, in truth, and it didn't come without its risks. Every month when she and the nine children had to alternate their forms, there was always the undercurrent of worry that they would be found. So far, after so many years living as normal civilians of Saewen, they had the luck of being undetected, seen as just a normal family, but Florentina didn't necessarily let her guard down. Any day now, their long running luck could quickly run out.

And there was a risk that sending her youngest to school could just backfire. She didn't want any of her children mixing with humans, but it was hardly realistic to expect any of them to go without mingling among them. All her other children had jobs to provide income, and as long as they didn't make friends and didn't find relationships, she had to accept them working among them. They were among the major rules of the household: no friendships with humans, no relationships with humans (both purely out of disgust for the kind) and definitely no losing control of tempers and letting their real forms show. Because she realised that the twins needed their education, despite it not being as brilliant as her other children had had, she did have no choice but to let them start the new school year on that morning, calmly standing by the wardrobe to pick out their clothes. They were both sixteen, but she proceeded to treat them like they were still children - they were her babies; her youngest, and being a maternal species, she didn't want to let go of them. Heck, all her children lived with her still, though that was mostly because she wanted to ensure their safety from humans, and potentially from their father and the wyverns who were bound to have believed the King's lies. Of course, having the family all live in one small, four bedroomed house was difficult - but she made it work. She took the smallest room for herself, making that sacrifice. It was hardly the grand master bedroom she had had as Queen, but here, in Saewen, she was no different than her next door neighbour. The two eldest, Sebastian and Malakai, shared a bedroom with the flirt of the family, Damon; Cordelia and Fleur had wanted to do the obvious thing and share with their younger sister, but after kicking up a fuss, it was decided that Adonis would reluctantly share with the two sisters, while Alyona shared with the twins. In truth, she got on far better with the twins than she did her sisters. All they wanted to do was chat about boys and what their perfect guy would be like - they had never really taken in that Alyona was a lesbian, and it infuriated her to have to constantly grumble that to them when she was asked about her 'dream guy'.

"I... don't want to go to school again. They're all horrible." Cobie groaned from bed, currently sharing his twin's. He did have his own bed, the top bunk of the bunkbeds, but frequently he clambered down and simply shared with his brother. Sixteen or not, he didn't see a thing wrong with cuddling with him - their closeness was a factor that contributed to their teases at school. "And honestly, I'm tired. I... I feel sick too, right Folie? We don't feel good, Mom."

"Mm, I'd love to keep you off, but we'll get in trouble if you don't go in." Florentina murmured absently in reply, setting out the sets of clothes for them both, casting a fleeting glance at her youngest daughter who was currently in her double bed and snoring contently - while all the others worked, all she really seemed to do was laze around in bed all day. "Get dressed, okay? I'm sure you'll both have fun if you stick together. You don't need friends."​
 
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"Absolutely terrible..." Replied the youngest, leaning on Cobie as he nestled close to his side. Folie had a history of being reluctant to school more than his brother, having to deal with years of teacher being concerned with him and his lack of social interaction- even if he wasn't allowed to anyway. The difference between him and Cobie was that he didn't WANT to make friends. He was completely, and utterly content with keeping to his family after all. Letting out a groan for emphasis, the tired eyed wyvern offered his attempt at a soft pout to convince their mother in any way possible, even if that meant humiliating himself. He even added a feigned cough, adding to the best of his acting ability.

For Folie, he never really trusted others except Cobie, and his family- even them, though, he refused to admit his "issues" only a year and a half ago. It was Cobie he told, and it just spread to the others eventually. All of this being because of their father- his trust for his family diminished when, to him, they did really nothing to stop the abuse for so long. Naturally, anyone would be a bit wary, even if it had been over 14 years. He let those emotions bubble up inside him, because he couldn't trust his mother with that information.... Knowing her, after all, she might completely snap and give their identity away. It wasn't an impossible feat, after all, especially when their mother seemed very... Well, motherly. But, he had practice of pushing those negative thoughts away, and if they showed up, he promised that he would express them to at least Cobie. Now that time had passed, the only "problem" with him really was his overwhelming anxiety towards strangers and crowds, something that could easily be blamed as a normal teenager problem.

Once seeing that their whining was no use, he lightly nudged his brother with a huff. "I guess we have no choice then, right? Let's... L-Let's make the best of it. You can't leave my side, though, okay? You know what happened last year on the first day..." That being, Folie nearly changed his form and burned down the entire school. It took more than just a little convincing to calm down, though his anger was only replaced with pure anxiety and took about a half hour to truly relax him. "Maybe we can find you a boyfriend?"
 
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"I... I'll stick by you, promise. I shouldn't have left you last year, I just got distracted. This human girl said that the Prince was outside, and I've never seen the Prince apart from on his birthday. I don't know... family first, promise. Especially for you. You're my twin brother, you know?" He quietly smiled, easing himself from bed to scoop his clothes up. He could always trust his mother to pick out what he liked, that mostly being a simple style - just a pair of light jeans and some thick sweater to protect him from the cold, even if naturally, being a creature that could produce fire, he had never really felt truly cold. But to be on the safe side, his mother tended to coddle both him and his twin in warm material to have them avoid falling ill, and because he adored them, he saw no need to really argue against her.

Shimmying into his jeans, his pale eyes automatically widened at the other's comment. He had grown up around humans, and it was natural, no matter how much he was told to hate them, that he would find the odd boy at school attractive. But dating? It was one of the rules of the household, one his mother was stern on - he knew that she must be wanting a partner. Being the species they were, with great emphasis placed upon bearing children, she had gone all this time without achieving that, and so if she could do it, force back her instincts, then surely he could? Though perhaps it was a tad more difficult for the younger members of the family. At least, it was difficult for Cobie.

He was pure, completely, and innocent, but that didn't disguise the sort of thoughts and dreams he often held for a certain boy at school. He would date him if there wasn't the rule, but because there was, he was choosing to honour that rather than give in to the... rather lewd thoughts. Ones he did often feel guilty for - though he had only confessed them to his twin. "W-We can't date, Folie. It's sort of important-- you know I would if we could. I'd totally date Benji, but it's... not wise. Humans are... they're bad creatures, right? Awful..."​
 
"... I-I don't really think humans are that bad." He admitted, once their mother had left. Dressing in the pre-picked clothes of a pair of pants and his own sweater featuring a cute pattern of various animals, he tugged on a hat to keep himself warm and toasty, especially in the steadily chilly air that hit the kingdom. Adding a scarf for extra emphasis, he turned to tug on his bag with a soft sigh. "I mean... I know that mom says they are, but they haven't done anything to use to prove it. I-I... I'm not as confident with my, uh.. . Sexuality, as you are, you know? But I think I have feelings for someone. You wouldn't like it though, and even if the rule didn't exist, it would be damned near impossible to work out, so!" He laughed awkwardly, waiting patiently for his brother to finish as he shifted his weight. "I shouldn't even have brought it up, sorry."
 
"Wait, you have feelings for someone?!" He squeaked, his eyes blinking rapidly to try and take in the news, wearily fiddling with the straps of his backpack as he observed his younger twin with a sudden frown, only a glimpse of one but still, nevertheless, a frown that replaced what was usually a consistently sweet smile. "Y-You have t' tell me, I told you about my dreams, didn't I? That was hugely e-embarrassing, you saw what happened. I had to deal with it myself and I was awful at it."

He awkwardly cringed at the mere memory, distinctly remembering having broken into panicked tears when he had felt aroused and became as such. Only when instincts kicked in did he manage to calm down once ridding himself of the problem - possibly because of that, he wasn't as innocent as he liked to present, though given just how he had reacted (crying in panic and thinking it was this major thing ruining his health), he was still pretty naive and so retained a great deal of the 'cute' factor the twins seemed to possess.

"C'mon, I'm your twin brother, I... wanna know, Folie. I won't tell anyone. Just 'cause there's a rule, doesn't mean we can't talk about this stuff," he decided, reaching to hold his hand as he would do on every morning. Despite being ridiculed for it, he wasn't going to stop just to stop the teases. He could deal with them, comforted by the knowledge he had a few big brothers to stick up for them. "...Do you like a boy or a girl?"​
 
"It's not like, s-some guy in our school Cobie." He replied, avoiding the other's gaze as a deep red reached his cheeks. "I mean, if he found out about us, we'd be dead. Like, really really dead. So I know that the whole thing is like, forever unrequited.... Please don't be mad at me?" He pleaded, his eyes landing back on the other as they brimmed with tears. Just like his brother, Folie was pretty innocent- except for the issues he had with himself, he still felt absolutely dirty for feeling like this towards ANYONE, especially for who he had fallen for. Clearing out his throat nervously, he shyly squirmed to adjust his bag as an attempt to distract himself. The more time he kept saying nothing, though, more tears formed under his eyes as he shook.

"The prince. I mean, Jakob.... H-He's just, really attractive you know? A-And... And he seems really nice! But it's just, really dumb... Please don't bring this up to mom? Or any of the others? I really don't want to be yelled at." He pleaded, hands reaching for his cheeks to hide them in sheer embarrassment. "God, I'm so stupid... I'm sorry."
 
"You... fancy Prince Jakob? Saewen's Prince Jakob?" He blurted, having automatically moved to dab his eyes with a tissue and move to cuddle into him as a way of attempting to ease the tears in his brother's eyes. The two could be rather tearful at the best of times, but because of their somewhat different personalities, and because Cobie always tried to be optimistic, it was usually Folie that suffered more with tears and sadness.

"H-Hey, don't get so upset, silly. You can fancy him, I doubt anyone will realise-- I'm your twin brother, we have this amazing bond and even I didn't guess, so... don't worry. It's innocent, you can't act on it, so I wouldn't worry too much-- he is rather dashing, isn't he?" He smiled, attempting to cheer him up with a playful bump of the hip, his usual giggling arriving soon after. He had this sunny disposition, a cheeriness that the family greatly appreciated when the mood could often turn bitter in the family, especially for the older siblings who could remember their life as royals, but now were nothing but normal civilians in a human-run kingdom. So Cobie was appreciated when he had the tendency to always be smiling, despite having gone through exactly what this twin had, and Folie had turned out different, been affected by the experience in a worse way.

"Have you... uh... it doesn't matter. I don't like talking about dirty things. Damon's the pervert in this family," he scoffed playfully, trudging out the room to head down the small staircase to the constant buzz of the kitchen. With a large family, consisting of nine children, it was always going to be busy.​
 
Trailing behind quietly, he tensed slightly from the loud noise, expecting the barrage of usual insults he and his brother received from being babied so often. Whether it was because their and their father's history, or just because their mother was too kind for her own good, even Folie knew that they were taken care of a bit more than the others. Desperately holding Cobie's hand, he took his normal seat and took in his family. They were all far older, larger, and well adjusted then not only him, but he assumed Cobie too.... it was always far more intimidating than it should for fellow family. Expecting the usual breakfast of either oatmeal or cereal, he gave a sheepish thank you when he was handed over a cup of tea. Not big on talking so early in the morning, he much preferred to hear others speak about and around him than try and involve him.
 
"Are you two going to school then? Mom hasn't tried forcing you to stay home?" came the cool comment of the eldest sister, Cordelia, who was currently braiding her vibrant pink hair, her breakfast consisting entirely of a smoothie she had mixed up herself. She was always trying odd diets to shift what she thought was the last few pounds - in truth, she was at a perfect weight, but having a relationship with her sister Fleur where the two bitched at one another, certain comments stuck.

"Obviously they 'ave t' go." Damon grumbled, halfway through tearing a piece of toast apart with his teeth, chewing with his mouth wide open until benig told off for doing so with Florentina, who was busying herself preparing the twins' lunch - she didn't want them eating anything prepared by a human. "Honestly, just keep 'ya heads down, get through the day, and if you 'ave trouble, I'll beat 'em up for 'ya. Well, I'd get Adonis to. He's the sporty one."

Cobie managed a brief smile at their elder siblings, fully aware that if they lived back in their kingdom, able to live life according to being a wyvern, all his siblings would have left home, married wealthy wyverns from upperclass families as expected to by their father, and all would have a troop of children of their own. The fact that they had to leave for Saewen did affect their lives a lot, for they had to alter their lives to live as a human, fully aware how different their lives would be if Mikel wasn't a tyrant who got handy with his youngest sons. "...We'll be fine," he said confidently once tearing his mind off the thought he could be an uncle to god knows how many kids if things had gone differently and they had stayed - he was thankful they had left, for that reason. He disliked children a great deal, surprisingly. He was sweet, bubbly... but children weren't his forte. Animals, on the other hand, were. "Right Folie? We're tough too, so... there. I've seen Folie, like... tell someone to shut up. It was quiet, b-but he still did it! So... So we'll be fine~"​
 
"I... It wasn't that big of a deal..." squeaked the smaller boy, cheeks now a beetroot red. "It was just this human, he kept trying to poke fun at Cobir for holding my hand. H-He doesn't understand that Cobir means a lot to me, you know? It's not like he could hear it, so... Mother? What time is it?"

It was a subtle way to try and end the conversation, though it was evident that he was awful at being the focus of a conversation. Getting to his feet, he carefully carried the other's plates away before waiting impatiently for his twin to join
 
Cobie silently wolfed down the remainder of his cereal, shooting a small smile at his bickering siblings as he trailed after his twin obediently, reaching to place his lunch in his neon-pink backpack. It wasn't his choice, but it had been a hand-me-down from Cordelia who admittedly was obsessed with the colour, and he hadn't wanted to argue with his mother who was struggling for money. She had to work three jobs to support the family, so arguing with her over the colour of a bag seemed idiocy. Even if it was a reason for him being teased.

"Come on, let's go," he cooed, pecking Florentina's cheek before taking his twin's hand when he shared the affection with their mother, entwining his fingers as he left the warmth of the house to the brisk Winter wind outside. "...Let's go the long a today, past the castle," he said softly, shooting his brother a sudden smirk, filled with what was playfulness. "Maybe we'll see His Highness~ Have you ever spoken to him? Apparently, he chats to normal people-- can you imagine Dad doing that to his kingdom? I doubt it. Jakob seems real nice, bro..."​
 
Clinging to his own bag, decorated rather lamely in various pins he had scrounge throughout the village and the ouskirts on their usual monthly trips- you'd be surprised how much trash gets blown into the outskirts, after all. Tugging on one of the strings of his hoodie, he was happy to trudge along the snow, until hearing the mere mention of the castle. Shooting a glance at the other, he nearly passed out then and there. "W-What?! No... N-No, that's not gonna happen! B-Besides, ah... H-He wouldn't notice me."
 
"He might! We.. We should hope he doesn't, because Mom won't like it, but we can innocently walk past the castle, can't we? If he happens to notice you, politeness forms our obligation. We... have to be polite, he's a royal. We'll tell Mom that if she hears of the interaction," he said softly - for someone so innocent, he could come up with plans that Damon would be proud of. At the end of the day, he was a wyvern, and he did have a natural ability to be sly if he needed to be, and if his brother fancied Jakob, he was going to make sure he stood a chance of at least seeing him before starting the school year.

"When we go back to our kingdom, we can date then," he reassured, biting his lip quietly at the thought. He had thought a lot about how all that felt. Kissing and whatnot, and was clinging to the hope of going home at some point. He ay be having lewd dreams lately, but he was hardly going to act on them with humans. He feared being disowned if he dared to do anything with one. "...It's strange, you know. If we were in our kingdom, Mom said we would be looking to marry and having kids. We're still kids ourselves! I'm... glad we're here, in a way. Aren't you? Dad would have killed us by now, otherwise."​
 
"... I'm happy here." He admitted, turning his head foreward to avoid any slipping on ice. "I don't really trust our own kind, Cobie. If... If our father is anything like the others, I don't want to be like a normal wyvern. I want to be able to live here, with people I knkw won't hurt me after they say they love me. Not to mention, m-maybe it's just me, but the humans seem less vengeful towards wyverns unlike the other way around. Just... if we ever had the chance to go back home, I'd stay. Let whoever rule, I'll find a small home here."
 
"Y... You what?" He suddenly squeaked, tugging his earmuffs over his ears a little in midst of his evident shock, a rare scowl gracing his otherwise cutesy features. "What if I went back home? W-We can't be separated, silly! We... We have our plan. When we find partners, we'll all live together. I'm not going to be i-in a different kingdom-- and sure, humans... may be less ferocious, but if the ever found out you're a wyvern, y-you'd be burned at the stake. You know what happened to the Royals of the kingdom. Granted, it was Dragons that killed them, but Dragons and Wyverns and indistinguishable in the eyes of humans," he growled, unable to hold back his angry tone, and stormed ahead despite there being black ice hidden underneath the snow, and not walking tentatively would always run the risk of him slipping.

And expectantly, he did go flying a few seconds after in a rather comical style, both legs up fro the floor when he fell hard on his back and landed awkwardly on his arm. Groaning, and probably crying too as he always tended to, he didn't bother to even attempt to move-- though the first hand offered to help him up didn't come in the form of his twin, but instead, a heavily-blanketed figure, wrapped in a coat, scarf and woollen hat, who had run across when seeing the inevitable occur. "I... I'm okay, really," Cobie gushed, wiping his tears away with the back of his hand. "I... It's my own fault..."

"Are you sure you're alright? It was an awful fall," the stranger replied, loosening the scarf a little and, with one fleeting glance to the looming presence of the castle nearby, did smile widely down at the two teenagers from his six foot stature. "Shouldn't you both be in school? I could tell my father and have you thrown in the dungeons-- I could, theoretically, but it's hardly like I will. I'm--"

"W-We know. We know, sire," Cobie hurriedly grinned, his behaviour somewhat... not flirtatious, but certainly not shy in front of the Prince, despite knowing his twin had recently opened up with his affections for the kindly man. "You're far too nice to do anything mean like that. Ah... Folie? Let's go- now."​
 
Ready to slrint over to his brother at the sound of a crack, knowing all too well that Cobie had hit SOMETHING. He could heal both himself and others, and- in a display that woukd make any normal human laugh- he held up his hands in front of him to heal anything that might have broken or scraped.... That is, until hearing the familiar voice. of royalty.

He was as frozen as the ground below them, his body stiffening to match the texture. Looking like a deer in a pair of headlights, the only response he could really utter was soft babbling that was blocked by his scarf, thankfully. If it hadn't been covered, it would show the steadily looming blush on his cheeks.

Just hearing the man's voice made him fluster, but when it truly hit him that here, stood before him, was royalty? The man he may or may not have had lewd dreans of? The man that made him want to stay in this cruddy kingdom? He wobbled a bit, before passing out face first into a snow bank, unmoving and unconscious after a barrage of thoughts hitting him like a brick wall.
 
"O-Oh my god," Cobie squeaked, ignoring his broken fingers -all three of them on his left hand- in order to kneel in the snow and urgently attempted to wake him up. He may have been a bit dizzy in front of the Prince and ultimately ignored his brother just a tad, but that was to be expected in front of the heir to the kingdom. Sure, technically he and his twin were royalty themselves... but having left all that, they had been raised basically as normal people, so being faced with royalty like this had made him a little bit of an airhead.

Until seeing his brother faint and fall on his face, starting to whimper as he turned him over and nudged his cold cheeks-- until his twin was promptly lifted into the arms of Jakob who, not exactly knowing just what to do, opted to lift him away from the cold of the snow. That seemed wise. "...Where do you live? He needs to go to bed, I imagine, and warm up. I've never... had someone faint in front of me. Is he cold?" He asked, far too nice to even believe that the display of unconsciousness was in response to seeing him. He wasn't pompous, and the thought hadn't even entered his head. "Look, I... suppose you can come into the castle. I'm hardly going to walk by while your brother is in this state," he said after a moment's contemplation, nodding swiftly once that was decided and strolled with pace towards the grand castle, with Cobie practically on the verge of hyperventilation and fainting himself as he tried to keep up with the Prince's long strides.

What everyone said about him was true - he may be this big, tall, muscular man, but... he had a heart of gold and extended kindness to anyone. Well, he wouldn't if he knew what he and his twin were, but Cobie was hardly going to admit to that. Smiling timidly to himself, he did fiddle with his scarf. This was all lovely of the man, and he knew Folie would freak if he woke up in his arms, but... it was too risky. They weren't supposed to interact with humans, not like this, and particularly not with the Prince.​
 
Completely out cold, it was probably in Folie's best interest to stay that way. If he found out that his face was that close to the prince's, he would most likely combust then and there- not only from the sickeningly close proximity, but also for the fact that he had just passed out in front of the most charismatic man in the entire kingdom, in his eyes. It was embarrassing to say the least, and he knew that, in the back of the mind, whatever he woke to wouldn't be good.

Though he hardly was in control of that, seeing as he was completely unconscious and easily carried about like a rag doll down the street and through the banks. If he knew his brother's hands were broken, he'd probably miraculously awake from his temporary coma-like state and fix them without really caring for the prince to see, only to pass out again knowing that he had been found out. It was all very... complicated. But hey! He didn't have to deal with any of it now, did he?
 
Cradling his broken hand close, his worry for his brother, mixed in with the excitement about entering a castle did mask the pain greatly. It hardly registered at the moment, despite the fact he could quite easily see bone. Unlike his brother, he didn't really have any healing powers. Just because they were twins, it didn't exactly mean that they would be entirely similar - they were the same height, same weight, but not identical, and so the fact Cobie hadn't inherited or gained any sort of healing powers was understandable.

Wandering after Jakob, who had hurried to order a maid to fetch both a sling for Cobie, and some blankets and herbal tea for Folie, the older of the twins did stare wide-eyed at the luxurious grandeur the inner interior of the building possessed. He had been born into equal luxury, but he had only been a baby; a young child when he and Folie were torn from it, and for as far back as he could recall, all he had known was normality in a little house. Hence why the castle was so breathtaking... even if he had the niggling realisation that mingling with Jakob, the Prince, was hardly wise when the only rule their mother imposed on them was repelling humans. And here, he had no choice but to break it.​
 
When the dizzy spell eventually ended, and Folie opened his eyes to an odd bedroom that he was far from familiar of, he expected himself to jump awake in horror. Though, still a bit off, he accepted the warmth instead of pushing from it. Letting himself relax, it took a long moment after that to really realize where he was. Bolting up from the bed, he instantly slowed himself when he was hit with a wall of woozy. Stumbling a bit once on the wooden floors, his wide eyes instantly began to search for Cobie to rescue him from whatever very nice, very comfy dungeon they were locked in. Interrupting his panic, he looked at himself to observe whether or not he was in rags- no. He was still in his clothes, just dressed down to the regular layer rather than the coat and various other winter accessories.
 
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