When the craving strikes [closed]

[Taitum Marshall]

The slender young blonde never noticed the dark eyes watching his every single move, even in broad daylight. Or maybe the blonde was far too confident to even fear the predator stalking him so effortlessly. A leopard didn't change it's spots. As a ex-Nato soldier, Taitum couldn't resist the challenge of being invisible. Though this wasn't some well trained enemy, armed and dangerous. This was a teenaged boy. Something he never would have believed himself to see as prey. There was just something about the blonde that was different.

Brave and stupidly overconfident. Just like the three men he'd killed. Now the question was, whether he was stalking the young student or protecting him from harm? Said young student was out way past curfew time anyway. Said young student should have been in bed. Taitum came up silently behind the young boy, grabbed his wrist and twisted it behind behind his back pulling the blonde firmly against his own chest before using his other hand to cover the blonde's mouth.

Taitum leaned in and bit into Ty's earlobe pulling the boy into the shadows. When he thought then sufficiently hidden he let go of the earlobe between his lips. He whispered against Ty's ear.
"Gotcha."
Was all he said before he let go and uncovered Ty's mouth.
"Now what are you doing out of bed?"

[Thyme Ersilia]

Thyme could not sleep tonight, and he wasn’t really sure as to the reasons why. He was exhausted, but at the same time, he just felt so restless. Eventually, it grew late enough that he could have cared less if he was going out past curfew. He needed some fresh air, and he slipped on a pair of jeans and a jacket before making his way out the gardens. This was a place he liked to go to relax his mind, and tonight was no exception.

However, as he thought he was in the clear from security, he was snatched from behind, his wrist twisted back uncomfortably. Ty cried out in surprise, but his mouth was covered and muffled the noise. The boy angrily struggled and eyes were wide at the bite to his earlobe. What kind of security guard was this anyways? An eerie voice whispered in his ear, and the moment his mouth was uncovered, he released a sound similar to a growl, dangerously close to lowering the constant guard he had on his powers.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing? Do you just go around grabbing people like that? Let me go!!”

He had decided to ignore his question and instead focus on the fact that he had been so rudely taken from his nightly excursion. It wasn’t like he was causing any trouble anyways.

[Taitum Marshall]

Taitum smirked and twisted Thyme around when he started protesting before shoving the younger male hard into a nearby tree before covering Ty's mouth and stepping closer to him. Taitum quickly glanced around to make certain that no one was out there to have heard Thyme's screaming protests. His dark eyes returned to lock on the boy's eyes.
"Ty... shhhh. You're gonna get yourself into trouble that you won't be able to handle."
Taitum lowered his hand from Ty's mouth watching the boy.

Waiting for the awkwardness. The flash of fear. The scowl of hatred. Emotions he felt familiar with. Emotions that made him feel normal again. Taitum was impossing when he was so close. He was a trained killer. He was good at what he did. He was intelligent and cunning and he was disappointed that Thyme didn't recognize his voice. Taitum would have given up on the blonde if he hadn't seen that spark of interest in the boy's own eyes the first time they'd met. If his gasps of pain didn't sound more like longing to him.

Maybe he was just imagining things. Maybe it was real. For the past few months, Taitum had made it his little project to find out what the story behind Ty was. Taitum placed his palms flat against either side of Ty's head against the tree blocking him in.
"Thyme? What are you doing outside.... after curfew? Looking for trouble? It always happens to find you."
Taitum said softly smirking at the younger boy.

[Thyme Ersilia]

Thyme knew the only person who would grab him that way would be Taitum, but for some reason, he had been in slight denial until he was turned around. This man and him had been having a strange sort of tug-of-war relationship going on between them, and it seemed that Taitum felt like literally tugging this time. The boy opened his mouth to speak again, but he was shoved into the tree before he could, eliciting a groan and slight glare. After a moment of scolding, the hand lowered, and Ty sighed.

“They put you on duty tonight?”

Thyme was a tad frightened around the guard, since he was pretty creepy sometimes, but a part of him found him interesting at the fact that he was unreadable in some situations. He was interrogated by the older man, and Thyme crossed his arms in irritation, as if he had every right to be out of bed past the strict curfew they had been given to him.

“I wanted some fresh air…is that considered trouble? I just can’t sleep. And are you looking for trouble?”

He smirked slightly, and tried to keep calm. If he played his cards right, things would go smoothly here…maybe.

[Taitum Marshall]

Taitum smirked in satisfaction at the fact that Thyme seemed uneasy when he'd seen it was Taitum. Honestly, who else would it be? Taitum had set himself, personally, in place to look out for Thyme and he didn't even understand why? The blonde seemed overly confident. It was just asking for trouble and Taitum watched, waiting, wanting that trouble to occur. His eyes narrowed at the boy's explaination. Taitum slowly nodded smirking at the question.

"You're lucky I am on duty tonight. Someone else and you'd have been in a whole mountain of trouble. Right now, it's barely a mole hill."
Taitum pushed away from the the tree and wrapped his fingers around Ty's wrist tugging him away from the tree trunk and backing out of the shadows.
"Why would I be looking for trouble when I caught it already? "
Taitum teased as he headed back toward the school watching the boy.

He was like the friggin sheppard for lost sheep. But Taitum paused bringing them both to a stop glancing sideways. This wasn't just any student though.
"Why couldn't you sleep?"
Thyme did very much remind him of his younger sibling and he really didn't want the boy to get into trouble. Thyme might have found him creepy but Thyme just had to find out just how lucky he was to have Tait on his side.

[Thyme Ersilia]

Taitum probably was right about the trouble part. Had another security guard caught him wandering around past curfew, he would have surely been punished by the school, which could have had the possible result of delaying his future chances of leaving. Taitum would not turn him to the school, but Ty was not unsure that he wouldn't likely punish him himself. The man pulled back from the tree, and the teen sighed a bit in relief. He wasn’t sure why Taitum scared him so much sometimes, but he just had this awful feeling that the man had done some pretty terrible things.

A hand wrapped around his wrist and pulled him away as well, leading him back towards his dormitory. Ty sighed. So much for the late-night walk. He was caught like a stray animal and being brought back to what seemed like a shelter. For some, it was, but for others, it was a prison.

“Aww, man! Can’t I stay out for a bit? It’s stuffy in there…”

Taitum asked why he could not sleep, stopping almost abruptly, and Thyme glanced down to the ground.

“How should I know? Probably just some weird insomnia episode…or maybe I just felt like practicing my salsa moves”

Thyme sarcastically answered, but was even more awake now, but he wished he could just go to sleep already.

[Taitum Marshall]

Stuffy in there? That was the most pathetic excuse that Taitum had ever heard and his eyes rolled in annoyance at the young male not letting go of the wrist he held. He'd have appreciated Thyme's company though, however reluctant it seemed most of the time. He practically forced Thyme into every moment between them anyway. He liked to have the control over the situation and would deem that if he was with Thyme, he was protecting him from other dangers. It was litterally like having his brother with him again. Tait did blink at the fact that Ty was having trouble sleeping.

Tait knew these fazes. Something was either bothering Ty or he was bored. Taitum's brow furrowed at the blonde beside him as he mentioned salsa moves. Taitum really got annoyed at the fact that Ty had to be all girlish by wanting to do salsa. It was stupid and where would it get him anyway. Tait rolled his eyes and let go of Ty's hand.

"Self defence classes would do better than salsa classes. What if you go out on a date with someone and they pull out a knife on you. What you gonna do? Dance them to death?"
Taitum hissed under his breath as his arms folded across his chest while his eyes shot up and down the slender young form before him.

"And work on your excuses if you're gonna be lurking around in the dark. Malcolm... if he caught you, would not take that one as an excuse at all. It's stuffy? in that place?"
Taitum nodded his head to the huge building and tilted it in disbelieve.

[Thyme Ersilia]

Thyme knew that his attempts to explain his reasons for being out past curfew were not at all convincing, and he was not surprised that Taitum immediately called him out. However, he found it most amusing that the first thing he addressed was not the fact that he was out, but the fact that he was taking salsa dancing lessons. He had said the excuse to be a joke, but Taitum did not seem to think it was very funny.

“You know, that’s what I thought at first too, but it works surprisingly well”

Thyme smirked. What an interesting way for him to have worded everything.

“Why a date? That’s an incredibly random situation for you to come up with. Is there a reason for that? Am I more likely to be held at knife point on a date than out here like I am right now?”

The boy moved a bit closer, staring him down as if trying to intimidate him.

“My excuses would be better if it were anyone but you. Since I’m ‘lucky that you’re on duty tonight’, I figured it didn’t matter if I made up some bulls**t”

Thyme looked down to the wrist that Taitum kept firmly in his hold and frowned.

“You know…you might wanna be careful touching me. If I get the least bit out of hand with my emotions, you could turn into a human lightbulb”

The boy liked to think he had enough control, but sometimes when he thought everything was all right, things turned ugly.

[Taitum Marshall]

Taitum rolled his eyes when he heard what Thyme said to him and shook his head, not being able to stop the slight smile creeping onto his face as he watched the young blood tease him lightly about salsa lessons and dancing people to death.
”It’s that teacher isn’t it? The way you act around him is perfectly sickening.”
Tait hissed softly under his breath.

No, he was NOT jealous. He was just simply disgusted. Just a little of course cause how could he be any sorts of disgusted by Thyme. He adored the boy too much to be disgusted by him. Tait frowned when Ty mentioned Dating and why dating. His face then fell into an emotionless blank as he watched the younger male for a couple of minutes before he shrugged his shoulders.

Taitum’s eyes narrowed back at the young man when he came closer to him and trying the whole intimidation thing, which didn’t work at all by the way. Taitum slowly started to smirk at the words. Was Ty accusing him of something? Tait shrugged his shoulders.
”I dunno. We’ll have to wait and see won’t we, though I do admit, you’re much safer on the grounds where we’ll be able to keep an eye on you at all times.”
There, his own words didn’t go without warning to them and even sounded threatening if you replayed it in your mind a few times.

Taitum held back a little growl at Ty’s sarcasm in his words and tried very hard to relax himself, since his grip on Thyme’s shoulder was growing a little tighter. That faded the moment attention was being drawn to said wrist. Tait glanced from Ty’s face down to the wrist before smirking.
”Do you wanna know what happens to students who use their powers against me? I’d tell you but I’m trying to get you back in bed and asleep and the night terrors might not be such a fantastic idea to meet my ends. I’m sure that gave you incentive enough to try a little harder with your human light bulb trick hmm?”
Tait turned and tugged lightly at Ty’s wrist heading for the entrance to the school.

[Thyme Ersilia]

Thyme frowned a bit when Taitum claimed that he was sickening from the way he behaved around Reece. So what if he was taking the salsa dancing classes just because he was teaching it? It was a free country, and he had the right to participate in useless activities if he wanted to regardless of what Taitum thought. Thyme laughed briefly as if amused by the man’s irritation.

“Thanks for noticing. You really do watch me too much, don’t you? Maybe you should get a life”

Ty was beginning to get upset, but he took deep breaths in order to keep his powers contained. Taitum didn’t seem to have a valid explanation for why he brought up dating, but he was quick thinking enough to turn it into an indirect threat instead. The boy knew it was probably a terrible idea to say such things to him, since it was clearly evident that he was starting to get mad. Ty quickly silenced himself when the hand tightened on his shoulder, and he slumped a bit, defeated, from the final threat that left him feeling dreadful.

“Fine…just take me back. I don’t care anymore”

Thyme stared off away from Taitum and willingly allowed himself to be led by the guard. There was no point in arguing anymore, was there? He knew when it was time to stop.

[Taitum Marshall]

Taitum half glared at the laughter that came from Ty’s lips. That was unexpected. Completely unexpected. He’d hoped for something similar to shock or annoyance or even fear. That was what he aimed for in people. Not happiness. He wasn’t here to make people happy. He wasn’t saying that his sole purpose in life was to make people sad but for God’s sakes, a little unease or fear from Ty would have been much more appreciated then the laughter was.

He’d practically just admitted to stalking Thyme and what was he getting? Laughter? Yes, there it was. The irritation and annoyance he’d been hoping for. Ty finally became annoyed that Taitum watched him so closely and a smirk settled on Tait’s lips at the remark.
”Hmm… just haven’t figured out who’s life to take… or get rather as you put it but thanks for the offer.”
Taitum bit back dangerously, his eyes darkening as he tugged at Thyme to lead him back to his dorm room.

Taitum lead then up the stairs into the building and through the hallways and staircases to the dorms his hand remaining firmly set on Ty’s shoulder. Finally he noticed the slight twinge of fear in Ty’s voice when he mentioned he didn’t care anymore and he simply yielded. Self satisfaction flooded Tait at that point to know he was the one in control and that was simply because of fear.

”Apparently it helps imagining you’re in a forest beside a stream and seeing all the…. Creatures there.”
Yeah he was not about to say fluffy bunny rabbits and pretty butterflies. That would just be totally embarrassing but it was what their mother had told them when they had difficulty sleeping at night. Taitum stopped in front of Ty’s dorm and let go of the boy stuffing his hands in his pockets as he waited for Ty to enter it and go to sleep.

”Growing boy like yourself would need some sleep. ”
Taitum let that dark grin curl on his features as he watched Ty like a cat would watch a mouse, like he always watched Thyme.

[Thyme Ersilia]

Thyme found it incredibly eerie when Taitum commented about whose life to take. Did he really mean killing someone, or that he just wanted to be overly involved in someone’s life? He really hoped it was the second option, even if that was still rather creepy. The man’s eyes were so scary, and his hand kept its tight grip on his wrist as it tugged him along back to his room. What did Taitum want with him anyways? What was it about him that made him behave like this?

“What…? What do you mean by that?”

He was terrified to ask, but he tried to keep his demeanor calm. This man seemed to feed off of fear, and he would not give him the satisfaction. Taitum gave a horrible example of a calm landscape to imagine in order to help him sleep. A dark forest full of monsters? That sounded nice…maybe to him.

“You’re crazy…”

Thyme eagerly pulled his hand away when Taitum let him go, and he scowled at the dark grin that the man gave him. He was starting to get fed up with it, and he placed his fingers on the door knob, glancing back at him.

“Stop grinning at me like that. It creeps me out. Maybe you're the reason I can't sleep at night”

[Taitum Marshall]

Taitum watched the young blonde with an expressionless face when he was asked about the truth behind the words. Of course he'd said that to get the boy freaked out. It did people good to be afraid of at least something. Hell, it did Taitum good to have people afraid of him! Meant he didn't have to start caring or being all nice to them when they were around him. He hated the mere thought of being nice to anyone. He had a hard time showing he cared. Despite not needing to fear loosing someone, that fear was still there, hooked on him like a disease.

It was horrible to be afraid of something that could hardly become real. It was proven that he would and could loose people he cared for so naturally he was afraid of it. Maybe that was why he put up these horrible walls to keep everyone out and make sure he didn't care. Thyme told him he was crazy after Tait had mentioned the fairy tale stories he and his brother had gone to sleep with when they were children, the same fairy tale story he thought up when he lay in the medical ward, hearing people screaming in pain and agony at night, when he was trying to get some rest.

Tait's eyes flashed with just a hint of pain before he turned them stoney and he talked himself up, smirking at the boy. 'Crazy's what makes me unique' Taitum thought leaning his shoulder against the wall and whistling a little tune as if he wasn't at all bothered about the insults. When Ty swung the door open and accused him of being the problem for his insomnia. When the door shut Taitum's eyes snapped shut before he turned to lean his back against the wall and slide down it to the floor.

"That could have gone better..."
Taitum whispered under his breath before digging his hands in his hair. He just needed to calm down, He could feet the power tweak through his veins. Deep breathes. Taitum's eyes finally fluttered open and he starred at the door across from him for a long time before he pushed himself to his feet once more and got on with walkiing the grounds once again.