So, We Meet Again [Oriel]

[Gryphon Matsuoka]

Just because Gryphon had an injury, and was on doctor's orders not to do any strenuous physical activity, that didn't mean he couldn't still go to dance. Come on, you couldn't blame him! It was a pretty huge part of his life, and he looked forward to it so much - to deprive him of the activity would be selfish and mean and cruel. Plus, he wasn't actually about to dance and screw himself over even more. It was possible for him to simply dance without using his arms, but jumping and difficult moves required arm movements which caused him pain. He didn't like pain.

So, he was helping instead, with his single hand. Playing music, moving things that weren't too heavy and aiding other's with the details of their techniques. It was no-where near as fun as actually getting involved, but it was better than lazing around and getting bored, which he would be doing otherwise. He could fly... but he was too restless when he did, he wanted to fly faster, and further, and it would quickly become too dangerous and he would have to force himself to land.

And he was constantly restless because of his thoughts. If he sat still for two seconds, that was enough time to think about what had happened between him and Kodi and he was struggling enough as it was. He felt extremely close to that dentokinetic, and it felt right, but it felt wrong. It was too fast, it had been what, a month? And he'd already told him that he loved him. Too fast. It hadn't damaged them or anything... if anything, it might've made them even closer. But he didn't forget - Kodi had hurt Phoenix. It was difficult to think on... he almost felt like he was betraying Phen by being around Kodiak... ugh, this is why he tried not to think about it so much.

There were a few people milling around, stretching and the like. Gryph was moving chairs with his one hand saying hello to everyone who came in; whether they were friendly back was up to them. The door opened again and - why didn't he expect this? As soon as he made recognition of who it was, he ignored them. Oriel was a pain to deal with, simply put. He didn't have the right energy to put up with that boy today.

[Deleted]

Oriel had stopped showing up to practice early like he liked doing. He didn't show up early for any other reason to avoid the crowds of people who came and went in the minutes prior to practice. Plus, it gave him time to stretch out before diving head first into complicated dances that would probably have Phoenix tripping over his own feet. However, ever since his encounter with Callie(and subsequently his encounter with her self-proclaimed protector), Oriel had made it a point of not showing up when there was a high likelihood of him being stuck in a room alone with her...or anyone else, for that matter. It was better if he just kept his mouth shut and stayed away from people he didn't know, that way he couldn't damage them just by being in the same room as them.

Heck, he was even hard pressed to interact with people he did know. And then there were those that he just wasn't sure about.

Like Gryphon! Oriel's eyes caught the winged meta just as he pointedly turned his gaze away, all set to ignore the lover of his best-friend. The best-friend who had been terrorized by Gryph's current not-boyfriend(because, fuck, what else was he supposed to call them?).

Oriel really did hope they got along well. Kodi needed some stability and support in his life and unfortunately, Oriel couldn't be the one to give it to him. Oriel couldn't even allow himself to feel bad about it because that would be unfair to Phoenix. Oriel just hoped that Gryph didn't pull the same thing on Kodi as he'd done on Phoenix when things got to be too much. If he found out about the history the three of them - Phoenix, Oriel, and Kodi - all had together, Oriel wondered if that would be enough to make him fly off like a scared pigeon.

Fuuuuck. Now Oriel had to know. His curiosity couldn't keep him from sticking his nose where it probably didn't belong, but he needed to know.

Of course, a normal person would've just been friendly with Gryph and ask like a...normal person. But this was Oriel, and he also couldn't pass up an opportunity to annoy a particular person he hated/kinda-didn't-hate. Well...somebody once said that the more Oriel teased, the more he secretly liked you(hint: it was Phen), so that had to count for something, right? Maybe?

"Dimples!!" Oriel called out the nickname as obnoxiously as he could. "How you doing, turkey-boy? Buddy? Paaal?" He flashed Gryph his best "I'm totes your friend" smile as he sidled up beside his fellow dancer and gave him a supportive pat on the shoulder.

[Gryphon Matsuoka]

Gryphon didn't know what to think of Oriel. He hated him for his possessiveness of his best friend, his violence, harshness, sarcasm, idiocy and other traits. But he had an ounce of unadmitted respect quietly tucked away somewhere... and almost thankfulness; that someone had picked up where he had failed and had managed to make Phen happy. He tried to ignore the nitty-gritty details. Gryphon didn't want to say that it wasn't totally his fault, but he definitely felt like he could've done more. Even if he was only small at the time.

Kodi was a whole other case. It was a shock to the system to see him act so... vulnerable, open. Gryph wouldn't even dream of leaving him behind at this point - seeing the boy in such a fragile state just made him realize how much he needed someone and he hoped that he could be that person.

But back to the present, and Gryph placed his chair on top of a pile, the echo of clashing metal bouncing off of the walls, and then meeting with a name that made him cringe.

It was like Oriel didn't understand that there were lines in place, and that you didn't cross those lines, because he did the opposite way too often. "Oriel!..." He replied unethusiastically, sarcasm thickly spread between his words. He didn't want to talk to the dark-haired upside-down mop of the boy that he was.

Turkey-boy? Was that asshole even joking? Its like he didn't understand how friendship worked. He leaned, moving his shoulder out of the way of Oriel's hand and walking in a different direction, "I'm fine." He informed the younger boy, walking to a stack of CDs. He looked through the cases, "Yourself?" Gryph may have had a strong dislike as of this moment for Oriel, but that wouldn't stop him from being polite, simply put.

[Deleted]

Oriel and boundaries had the same relationship that Oriel had (or used to have) with a lot of people; with him straddled over the bitches and fucking them senseless. Crossing lines was something he did on a regular basis, testing the waters to see how far he could swim before a tidal wave hit and he was forced back to land....or drowned, but Oriel was usually pretty good at getting himself out of shit. Usually. Granted there had been a few(or more than a few) occasions that should have taught him to know better. And they did, he was trying! Oriel had actually made some improvements! But....it was definitely an ongoing process and results weren't going to happen overnight. Especially not with such a delicious looking target standing before him.

And anyway, annoying Gryphon was only the secondary point of this conversation. What he was really vying for was intelligence.

"Good! Glad to know you care!" Oriel crossed his arms and leaned up against a nearby chair. "Soooo....." How to bring this up? "How're things going with Kodi? You two fucked yet? Gotta say, if you haven't, you're missing out on an experience. I mean...," he held up his hands to roughly demonstrate Kodi's 'size'. "...wow!" Naturally this was followed up with a tongue sticking smartly between his lips.

Oriel, that is not how you get answers from people, stop it.

[Gryphon Matsuoka]

Glad to know you care! Yeah fucking right - Gryph cared about as much as a crocodile cared about a family of ducks.

Why couldn't Oriel just be like everyone else who had come in, who said hello and then let Gryphon alone or actually made a short but sweet conversation? Why, what was so difficult about just doing that?

Sooooooo... The above is what Gryph was asking himself as soon as he heard that word being stretched out in front of him. He knew this was gonna be bad. And then Oriel opened his mouth again. Gryph twitched at the sound of Kodi's name, trying to stay normal or nonchalant or something useful which wouldn't give Oriel anything to feed off of... but he couldn't help it, the topic of sex made him awkward. "None of your business." He replied shortly, not wanting to make this conversation last any longer than it needed to.

And he had seen Kodi's dick. Just because he was still a virgin didn't mean he hadn't done other things with the dentokinetic. But now was not the time to be thinking about that, he was concentrating on Oriel, and how to get him to piss off. It didn't seem like he could easily be made uncomfortable, so that was a bad idea... oh for God's sake, why couldn't he just go away?

[Deleted]

Oriel wondered briefly if Kodi had said anything about the relationship he had with Oriel. After their previous interaction at the mall, it wouldn't be uncalled for for Gryphon to ask Kodi how the two knew each other or even if they were friends. Knowing Kodi, though, he'd probably deny any sort of involvement with the younger boy and just call him an asshole, like most people did. Ugh! How ungrateful! And after they shared such a lovely afternoon(or few) doing each other's make-up and frolicking merrily about their bedrooms like a couple of rabid mongooses. Or was it mongeese? Oriel could never get that straight.

"None of your business." To which Oriel immediately interpreted as a big, fat "no".

"Haven't yet, huh? Well, that sucks. And here I thought we could share stories." Oriel dipped his head back dramatically. "You know, strengthen our fragile bonds over shared experiences." Oh, now he was choking up. He wiped a 'tear' from his eye. "For my Phennie Muffin-Butt's sake." Oriel protruded a fat lip out at the dimpled boy.

Oriel dropped the act before too long and scratched his head with a sigh and a yawn. "Seriously, though. I thought for sure Kodi'd've forced it on you by now. Might want to step it up, take one for the team, 'fore he gets bored, loses interest and finds someone who will put out."

It wouldn't be surprising if Oriel developed an intimate "bond" with Gryphon's fist over the next few minutes.

[Gryphon Matsuoka]

Gryphon just kind of... assumed that Oriel and Kodi were friends of some sort. Or they hated each other. He didn't exactly understand their relationship, but Oriel was just a slippery person and Gryph just couldn't trust him at all.

Fucking hell... Gryph rolled his eyes at Oriel's overly dramatic ways. And share stories? He really didn't want to know what this idiot got up to in his spare time. "I'm sure Phen won't mind if I keep my privacy intact." He stated - the winged boy failed to believe that Phoenix would make him go outside of his comfort zone to try and bond with his... boyfriend.

The taller boy reluctantly listened to Oriel dribbling on and... what? How fucking dare he? He glared at the boy, "I don't need you of all people tellin' me what t'do." If Oriel knew even the slightest detail of the emotional turmoil that he had gone through with Kodi, how much he cared about him as a person and not just some fuck toy, he wouldn't say shit like that.

Hell, he probably would, but maybe he wouldn't seem so ignorant whilst saying it.

[Deleted]

Gryphon's assumption was sort of right. Oriel and Kodi were friends and they hated each other. Nothing wrong with being both and it was a relationship that suited them just fine so far.

"Oh, c'mon! You want to pass up this golden opportunity to bond like brothers?" Oriel held out his hands, wrapping one around the other in a desperate pleading motion. "If it meant us getting along, I'm sure Phoenix forgive us even fucking just to move past our differences." Though considering Oriel was supposed to be exclusive to Phoenix now, this was definitely an empty suggestion.

Oriel grinned at his reaction to the next comment, knowing he'd hit a sour point. And now he wanted to dig further to find out just what he'd struck. Oriel could probably imagine. "What's wrong? Kodi not turning out to be the sweet little cock-sucker you expected him to be?" Oriel knew better than anyone about Kodi's feral nature and how incredibly malevolent he could be. It was Gryph finding out about that side of Kodi that worried the ink manipulator.

Oriel crossed his arm in front of Gryph and set it down firmly on top of the CDs he was rifling through. "I just want to make sure you know what you're getting yourself into, Gryph." He was speaking seriously now, in a low yet firm voice, locking his eyes with those of the older dancer. "Kodi's my friend. And I ain't gonna sit by and watch him get hurt when things get too fucking real for you to handle and you finally decide to fucking abandon him like you did Phoenix. Capisce?" Oriel blinked.

[Gryphon Matsuoka]

"Yes." Gryphon was an only child - that meant no brothers (or sisters, for that matter). So this 'brotherly' connection wasn't necessary. Or even wanted.

And even considering something like that... Gryphon looked at Oriel for a few seconds and shuddered. The idea of going to bed with Oriel of all people, teamed with the idea of doing something Phoenix definitely wouldn't be happy to hear about... "You're an idiot." Gryph stated the obvious, trying to end the conversation as soon as possible.

Yes, Oriel had hit a sour point. Gryphon practically growled in response, "Sucking cock isn't important," he glanced back at the dark-haired boy, "Least not t'everyone."

There was a hand. Gryph looked Oriel in the eye, half scowling, half curious. Which turned into half curious, half furious. "I'm glad that you actually seem t'have some sort've a soul, but I'm not about t'make the same mistake twice." He stood so he was level with - hell, taller than, even - Oriel. "Like I said, I don't need someone like you to tell me how to act." Oriel didn't even know the half of it.

[Deleted]

Oriel wasn't an only child. His only sibling was ripped away from him when they were both still young and impressionable. Nor did he have a family. In the absence of one, Oriel had taken care to treasure the bonds that he did have. Even if he got into horrible fights with them, Oriel would always still consider the other party a precious friend. Which was why it was always so devastating to the young boy when those bonds had been severed.

And all this would have made a difference if Oriel actually cared about Gryph. But it was Kodi for whom he had concern for.

"Actually, I'm an asshole, but some peep seem to think the terms are synonymous with each other, so I'll take that as a compliment." Oriel could hear Phoenix now, though, insisting for what was probably the millionth time that Oriel wasn't as bad as he believed himself to be. Well, Gryph here no doubt disagreed.

Oriel growled at that soul comment. He could be called an asshole as many times as people felt he deserved, but assuming that there was nothing beneath that, like they actually knew who he was and what he'd been through, was one thing that got him to switch moods from happy to pissed in an instant. "You saying that 'cause you don't like me and just being stubborn, or because you actually get it? I'm serious, no matter how full of shit you think I am. Kodi's…" He paused, sighing as he thought of how to put this. "Look I might hate your guts, but….you been good for Kodi, so can't hate you too much. Just don't want you to screw it up."

[Gryphon Matsuoka]

Asshole, idiot... those words and multiple others seemed to be easy to label Oriel with. In a way, he was pretty versatile, which probably wasn't a good thing in this instance. But what it reminded him of, actually, was Kodi, in a way. Saying that he was... something he wasn't gonna remind himself of, and how little his self-esteem was showing to be... maybe Oriel was suffering from the same?

Hell, what the fuck was he on about? Oriel was an arrogant dickhead.

Gryphon actually listened to Oriel now, with minor intent. But... get it? He wasn't entirely certain of what that meant... however, he knew a few things. Like no, he wasn't about to abandon Kodi, hopefully for better, for worse. Whatever force it was above had given him another chance to rectify his actions against Phen by bringing them back together, and he was lucky for that. And, and he definitely cared about Kodi. Maybe whatever it was... he did get it. But he wasn't sure.

An exasperated sigh escaped Gryph's mouth. The... Oriel's intentions seemed sincere, and that caused Gryphon to hesitate before answering. The feeling was mutual, about hating him. So that didn't sting too much. But... Gryph didn't want to screw it up either. He had no idea what Oriel's intention's were, for making sure Kodi was happy. Some kind of personal gain? The only gain Gryph had witnessed was when he'd interrupted their date and messed with him. Yes, he was still pissed about that.

"Believe me, that's the last thing I wanna do." he finally spoke, actually taking the other boy seriously... to a point. Gryphon raked a hand through his hair, looking at the ground, his slight aggression and annoyance passing him by for a moment. How was he supposed to talk properly to someone who he only held the smallest concern for because of Phoenix? "But I can't fuck up again. So I'm not gonna." A short spurt of pain shot through Gryph's wrist and he winced, moving the fingers in their cast - it didn't help but it as automatic.

Hopefully, Oriel would back off now. Even if he wasn't so angry now, either that would return, or he would just end up ignoring him, which wouldn't help matters either.

(OOC: I'm honestly such a dunce! Sorry this is late, I didn't realize it was my turn! ><)

[Deleted]

If Gryph and Oriel were closer, Oriel might actually explain that how his initial assumption there was pretty accurate. Oriel couldn't help but look at Kodi and, despite being older, see glimmers of his past self in him. From a year ago. From two years ago. The person Oriel was before he came to Hammel, the boy who drank, smoked, and fucked his way into trouble everyday. The boy who only knew how to solve his problems through acting out, throwing a violent tantrum, talking back, and distrusting anyone and everyone around him. The boy who believed that everything wrong in his life was his own fault simply for how he was born, and who thought he didn't deserve any sliver of happiness because of it. The boy who believed the lies that were constantly flung at him by the adults who were supposed to care the most.

Oriel was still that little boy in many ways(at least he wasn't beating up vending machines anymore). He still felt like him. He could still feel him there. But even Oriel could see how much different he was now than from how he was back then. And Oriel felt like most of that progress had been made over the past year…no, since he met Phoenix. He wasn't going to say or think anything cliche like "love cured me of my evil ways!" or something, but…he would admit that Phoenix had become an anchor for him. A reason for him to hold back.

It was probably foolish of him to think, but Oriel hoped that maybe Gryphon could be that for Kodi. Oriel couldn't, as much as he cared for the dentokinetic. So someone else had to.

Gryph seemed about as sincere as he could get. Though it was times like these Oriel wished he was a truth detector and not an ink manip. Oriel smiled, satisfied with Gryphon's response for the moment. "Alright," he said with a nod. "I'm trusting you on this. So don't fuck it up."

Oriel did wonder about the wrist, but that was hardly the most important thing right now. What was more important was… Oriel leaned in and held his hand up as if he were telling a secret. "By the way, I know Kodi like the back of my hand, a bunch of tricks that'll get him rolling and mad with ecstasy, if you know what I mean. Might make your first time just that much better…you know, if you ever get that far." He flashed his own cocky demon smile at the bird-boy. "Interested?"

(OOC: no worries! <3 )

[Gryphon Matsuoka]

Kodiak needed an anchor. Gryph felt like he knew that better than anyone else at the moment. What concerned him the most was that he didn't know if he was strong enough to be that. He never knew what to expect from Kodi - whether that was a good or bad thing was lost on him as well. So... could he continue to be stable, even if things turned sour? He hoped so.

Gryphon didn't even know if he'd been doing anything so far... apart from the occasional rumour he used to hear about Kodi just not coming into contact with him anymore, nothing had really changed for the winged boy. And he hadn't exactly remembered half of those rumours anyway, so what was he supposed to think?

Gryph almost chuckled at Oriel's response. Almost. But his face lightened a little. He was still on his guard. "I promise." He said, voice failing to make him sound clear on his intentions. He didn't feel like he needed Oriel's guidance, but he was truthfully making that promise. He wasn't gonna let Kodi down.

First... first time? What, how... Gryph... Kodi hadn't said anything, had he? Of course, Gryphon wasn't ashamed to be a virgin, but why did Oriel know? Maybe... maybe he was interpretting it wrong, maybe he meant... he just meant the first time that Kodi and Gryph... would do it. Because Gryphon was slowly warming to the idea of it being with Kodi. He stuck with that thought, and hoped that Oriel didn't actually know about his virginity.

But it was still about... sex. So Gryphon was gonna be stiff; his hand came to the back of his neck awkwardly and he rubbed it, turning away a bit, "Uh... I'm, I'm good." Plus, he couldn't trust that Oriel would actually be telling him the truth. The thought was... intruging though. At the small possibility that he wouldn't lie. To see Kodi like that... not a good time to be thinking about that...

...wasn't there any water around here? Gryph tried to find an escape from the conversation again - the reason changing but the urgency the same.

[Deleted]

If this guy expected it to be smooth sailing from here on out, then he was in for a big surprise. Well…Oriel could be wrong, it wasn't like he was psychic or anything but…Oriel at least knew that Phoenix and he had their share of problems and uncertainties before they finally became official…and even then, it'd only been since about a month ago that they even started being exclusive. And Oriel couldn't help but think that it was his own insecurities and emotional issues that had held them back for so long.

Oriel really was lucky to have someone as patient as Phoenix by his side. He felt like, if these things had been proposed to him a year ago, even just six months ago after they just barely hooked up, Oriel probably wouldn't have been very acquiescent to the idea of a serious relationship. As much as he wanted one, as much as he needed one, Oriel knew himself well enough to know he would not have reacted well.

Maybe Oriel was just thinking about it too much? Like usual.

"Alright," he said, his own smile a rare picture of sincerity. "I'm going to hold you to that." Oriel wasn't sure how much he trusted this bird-boy, but he didn't have much of a choice now. He just had to hope it all worked out.

Oriel had no reason to believe that Gryphon was a virgin, so the intent behind his offer was definitely referring to Gryph and Kodi's first time together. Though Gryph's stiff refusal still had Oriel grinning like a demon. "You sure? Alright, have it your way." It was his loss. He was kind of hoping that Gryph would take him up on his offer, give them another reason to….well, not be at each other's throats. Oriel really was trying to be nice! In his own special way.

Oriel smirked and slid even closer to the other boy, invasively placing his arm around his shoulder. I just know it's a pain to have to start from scratch, finding all them sensitive spots. But if you're fine flailing about like an amateur, I ain't gonna stop you." He released a short series of cackles as he gave the bird-boy a friend pat on the shoulder.

[Gryphon Matsuoka]

Gryph'd already had some... difficulties with Kodi. He didn't like it when... when things went bad, but if it was all perfect and sunshine and rainbows, Gryphon would be anticipating a nightmare of a problem to arise and he would just become paranoid. So in a way... it was good that things were difficult. Because they could hopefully come out the other side smiling.

Especially if this turned into some cliche, cheesy relationship. Speaking of which, it seemed to be recurring, the subject. Were Kodi and Gryph a 'thing'? They didn't call each other boyfriends, but they were kind of close, and... this is why he shouldn't've broken his wrist, he had too much time to ponder things! And that was dangerous. Back to the present.

Oriel seemed... not fake and cocky for once. It was weird... but nice. So he did have some other side... maybe he wasn't so bad. And being held to that promise wasn't a bad thing; if anything, Oriel could act as motivation.

On second thoughts, that might not've been the best of ideas.

Gryphon was battling with his better judgement. It shouted how can you trust someone with a smile like that? And the rest of him was trying to fight back. Ugh, this was difficult. And Oriel wasn't helping either.

The winged boy tightened up when Oriel put his arm around him, but didn't really do much to move it. And he did nothing as Oriel drawled into his ear. Gryph was more than an amateur, he knew that himself very well. He could kiss, but anything further... I mean, he wasn't terrible, just clunky and awkward. Not exactly arousing. He sighed, "I dunno," should he say this to the other boy's face? ...well, he was gonna, "How do I know you aren't about t'trick me?" Especially after hearing that laugh; it gave Gryphon the creeps.