RunRiot/Doubts
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
The door slid shut behind him as he entered the darkened confines of his quarters. The nearby window was open, and was the only source of light for the rest of the room. The picture outside the window portrayed a beautiful wall of green-blue, the ocean floor, and several fish swimming nearby. All of this was only visible thanks to the lamp mounted outside of the facility, to provide viewers with a vision of the bottom of the sea. Riot had just returned home to headquarters of Inevitable Evolution, after his usual rounds of meetings, secret dealings, and investigations. He’d actually had gotten to fight for a change at the end of the night, getting to take on some Rikti with his sister, Berry. It had been relaxing.
He gazed over the former Warden's quarters that had been converted into his. He didn’t sleep anymore, so the irony of having a bed wasn’t lost on him. Still, he needed a private area to call his own, and he did enjoy some of the activities that came with having a bed.
Claiming the old longbow base had been a good move. The underwater facility was large enough for his family, and was private enough for it to be a difficult facility to attack. His eyes caught the corner of the windowsill where a single beetle was currently situated. It was a large insect, easily the size of a man’s palm. Its blue-black wings fluttered every so slightly at his presence, sensing the electrical current that walked in the shape of a man. In response to the fluttering, the small shape sleeping in his bed made a few murmurs before stretching out fully, her bare feet slipping out from under his black comforter, and then sliding back in to curl up into a smaller form once more.
Looking over to the corner, he saw her clothes piled up, and the empty container of Yodels on the ground. Another beetle, the same size as its sibling, was currently nestled inside of it. He crossed the room and sat down on his bed. Before really thinking about it, his hand was sliding forward, reaching up toward the woman who was asleep in his bed, and gently caressing her shorter brownish-grey hair. There was a look of slight confusion on her face at first, her brow furrowing together, and then almost, a look of, realization? She smiled in her sleep then, and seemed to nestle back into his palm.
He withdrew his hand, and went about the process he use to do, back during the days he needed to sleep. Slipping his boots off, pulling his shirt off, then slipping his pants down as well, before his smooth form was clad only in the very light, constantly flowing electric current over his body. He slipped into the blankets, and pulled himself up against the smaller form that was already there. She murmured once more in her sleep, the feel of her skin was like soft leather as he brushed against her. Her folded wings almost gave a slight buzz before she rolled over completely, pressing her chest against him, and nestled into his arms, beginning to snore shortly thereafter.
Riot reflected over the events of the last few days, the events that had led to the current stage of events that transpired. He thought of his girls, his daughters, Ink and Holly, both asleep in their rooms. He had checked on them before coming into his own, as he did each and every night. Was he doing right by them? Was he giving them the best environment for them to grow up in? Could he keep them safe? Who would take care of them if something were to happen to him?
His brow furrowed once more, he looked down to the sleeping woman in his arms. She was a member of a group he didn’t agree with. Why didn’t he agree with them, were they all really Supremacists? Was his perception wrong? The whole incident with breaking from Nation, with Woefull saying “Fuck them!” only to join up with them herself a few weeks later, replayed itself before him. The incident wasn’t as cut and dry as he would usually like to think. Yet here she was, the woman he felt strongly for, a member of that group. The woman who had shown one of the most sweet and caring sides he’d ever seen, even as her words reverberated in his mind, “I don’t believe in love”. He remembered her saying that. He also remembered her arms around him, hugging him tightly, “I want you” she had said in an almost pained tone.
Yet, could he trust her? Could he really surrender himself, his feelings, so completely for her? There was doubt in him, doubt for the insect mistress who was curled up against him. Once more he remembered the words of others, “She’s a snake, Riot. She’s bad for you” from Bunny, his ex, the lovable, sweet Bunny, who’d never had reason to lie to him. “Be careful with your new girlfriend, she’ll sell you out to the highest bidder”, Prentice's words, after they had made peace. Prentice was looking out for him. Dread had only further cast shadows, agreeing whole heartedly with Prentice, and both of them didn’t have a reason to lie either.
Doubt, yearning, desire, all of these feelings, plagued Riot, as he held the soft sleeping form of Hoi in his arms. All he could think of now, was uncertainty, and the recalling that a Praying Mantis always devours the male when mating. He looked down once more at the woman in his arms, how she made him feel inside when she was like this, and then his eyes caught sight of another beetle, sitting on the wall, across the room, watching him. Riot and the beetle continued to watch one another the rest of the night.
