KEEP ME AWAKE, GIVE ME A FRIGHT ☆ trygve

[michael t.]

Michael had a soft spot for children. It wasn't exactly something that the bobcat had thought a great deal about in the past, but it was something that he knew to be true. Even when he and Trev had been out in the wilds, constantly moving from place to place and fucking over everyone in their path, Michael had made it a pretty hard rule for them to never hurt little kids. He didn't know what it was about little ones and family life that seemed so wonderful from the outside, but he knew that life wasn't really for guys like him. Hell, he had tried before to have the picture perfect family of all the old human movies, when he had unsuccessfully tried dating Amanda, and that had hardly gone well. Nowadays he could say – a little nervously, mind you – that he knew why that was, and it hadn't been because of the family aspect of things. Even now though, after somewhat beginning to come to terms with his sexuality... the family lifestyle still just seemed so far off and distant. He and Trevor were both thieves, assholes, and thugs. They weren't meant for things like that, even together... if they were even together, the bobcat still wasn't sure on that just yet.

Despite this, that didn't mean that Michael couldn't live a little bit vicariously through his sister, Roxie. His beloved sister had delivered her little litter of cubs without much issue – if you called "in a tree" without much issue, anyways – and now they were around the group for everyone to see and interact with, including him. He had thought they were pretty damn cute when they were barely the size of his paw, but now? Now he found them to be pretty entertaining, given the way that they were just beginning to figure out that world and everything that living in it involved. He didn't really have a favorite yet – and if Roxie ever asked, he never would have one – but they were all pretty cute, and rambunctious. One of the main outliers was Trygve, the young cub who looked like his father seemingly having inherited all of the trickster genes from both parents, if his actions so far were anything to go by. Michael had been making an attempt to nap out in the sun for a while when he heard soft, careful footsteps approaching him, clearly trying their best to make noise, but not succeeding very much in the end. There was something akin to a shout as a cub came down upon Michael's head, but the thief didn't overthink it, just tilting his body sharply to the left to dump Ry back onto the ground in a cloud of sand. Looking down at the boy, Michael felt a very pleased little smirk come to his muzzle as he spoke, "You can't really sneak up on a thief, kiddo." He had noticed Trygve didn't really like being called kid, but... it was kind of fun to push his buttons and watch him puff up faintly in anger.

[glow=#75603C,1,000]" oh, it's a setup, no, no, we won't fall. "[/glow]

[T. ROUX]

[glow=white,1,400]GONNA MAKE YOU SORRY THAT YOU MET ME, GONNA MAKE YOUR INSIDES HURT !｡+ﾟ.[/glow]

Trygve was frankly much too young to think of ever having a family, besides, he thought the whole love bullshit was gross and would make a gagging noise whenever he saw couples kissing or some other cheesy shit. But he did love his family more than anything else even if his father wasn't around, Ry never met his father to begin with and well, his mother always got sad whenever any of the cubs asked about him. He saw the sadness in her eyes whenever Roxie would look at him, he couldn't understand why she was saddened whenever she looked at him. Had he done something wrong? Yet when he asked, she would always shake her head and pull him into a warm embrace soothing the questions that buzzed within his mind. They lingered there in the back of his mind often finding himself snooping around his mother's room for any clues though to no avail did he ever find anything that could have caused such a sadness to blossom within his mother. It frustrated him knowing that he couldn't do anything about it, it made him angry that the moment she looked at him that familiar sadness would arise in her mismatched gaze. He was angry at himself.

Now, he was out on the beach trying to find something to entertain himself with feeling that anger that boiled within his belly stir. His gaze shifting around with boredom, he growled under his breath in a bout of frustration. Although, it wasn't  long before his eyes locked onto someone very familiar and his body already lowering to the ground with belly brushing against the warm grains. He shifted his weight just a bit trying his best to keep his paws silent as he swept across the beach though if someone were to see him now they'd notice how funny he looked. Thankfully, Michael had his eyes closed so all he had to so was leap at his uncle and then he would have succeeded in this small "attack" of his. With a growl, the cub launched himself at Michael's head trying to get a good grip on his scruff with tiny paws but that didn't go his way as the bobcat would move his body sharply knocking the boy right off. He sneezed only to growl lowly, his eyes locking onto Michael as he glared at his uncle. The moment he was called kid, Ry would let out a soft hiss with his tufted ears pressing against his head only to say defensively with a lash of his spotted tail.

"Don't call me kiddo. Besides, I could totally sneak up on you if you showed me." Trygve was far from being an apprentice but he was already determined that he could learn everything under a week or two though it didn't help that his mother was so protective of him. That was the only issue standing in the way of him learning badass shit, he appreciated his mother's concern but he felt that she needn't worry. Ry rose to his paws with a tilt of his head looking like he was about to leave though he quickly aimed to launch at his uncle once more and if he succeeded would cling onto the bobcats back with his paws and only to bite down on just a bit of fur growling. [glow=COLOR,1,400] ━ ✧*:･ﾟ[/glow]

[michael t.]

Despite his very apparent soft spot for them, Michael hadn't actually interacted one on one with a child in... well, ever, really. When he had been traveling from camp to camp with Trevor, the only children they had ever met were the ones latched onto the sides of the people they were scamming, so it was hardly the best time for bonding. In spite of his relative inexperience of those of the younger persuasion, the fugitive had already come to realize that Ry was the troublemaker of his sister's children. Perhaps not the only troublemaker of the litter – he had seen Natyli and the others going along with and encouraging his poorly thought out schemes – but certainly one of them. That was why it wasn't very surprising that Ry had chosen to leap on him while he was just casually resting. What Michael was very glad for, however, was that Ry hadn't decided to come up on his bad side. The left side of the bobcat's body was essentially senseless save for smell, with his eye and ear both not working ever since his birth. His mother and father had never been interested in finding out why, and none of the medics he had gone to after escaping their clutches had been able to figure it out, so he had come to just accept his disabilities as a fact of life – albeit a rather upsetting one.

The sound of Trygve's frustrated young voice was what finally pulled Michael from his self-deprecating trance, his blue gaze flicking down to look at his nephew. He felt a smirk form across his muzzle when he saw the way that Ry fluffed up and lashed his tail, clearly enraged at the thought of being considered nothing more than a mere kiddo. The bobcat said with a low chuckle after Ry had spoken, shaking his head from side to side, "I won't call you kiddo when you're not ages younger than me there, kiddo." He lazily flicked his paw forward to knock Ry over again into the sand, not doing so maliciously, but just because he found it entertaining to see Ry's little badass ego a bit bruised. Michael would never mistreat or berate a child like his parents had done to him, but it wasn't as if Trygve was going to wilt like a weak little flower if he got teased a little bit by his uncle. At least, he wouldn't if he had gotten any of Roxie's DNA. After all, she was the one who had taken to teasing Michael all the time, despite being the younger of the two adopted siblings.

Upon hearing the second part of Trygve's words, the male found himself laughing again, although this time it wasn't at Ry, rather at the mere notion of what he was saying. Firmly shaking his head, Michael mumbled as a few more stray hiccups of laughter left him, "Show you? No way, Ry. Your mother would kill m–" The bobcat was cut off, however, by Ry launching himself upwards once again, this time actually managing to latch on to the older feline. Despite this, Michael wasn't too worried, simply dropping down and beginning to roll over to crush the boy beneath him – leaving plenty of time for Ry to scramble out. He then tried to grab the other's scruff, plopping him down and saying with a snicker, "C'mon Ry, you've hardly shed your baby fat yet. You're not ready for all the fun shit the apprentices get to do." It was blunt, but it was also honest, Michael not even realizing he had broken his no cursing around the children rule already.

[glow=#75603C,1,000]" oh, it's a setup, no, no, we won't fall. "[/glow]

[T. ROUX]

[glow=white,1,400]GONNA MAKE YOU SORRY THAT YOU MET ME, GONNA MAKE YOUR INSIDES HURT !｡+ﾟ.[/glow]

He growled loudly when he was knocked back again into the sand, his eyes glaring daggers at Michael. Ry could definitely hold up with any form of teasing that was sent his way but if any kind of teasing was directed to his siblings then there would definitely be hell to pay. Trygve would stand up on his paws once more shaking himself off, he let out a loud snort hearing what Michael said to him next, well, he obviously would never be older than Michael to not be called kiddo. He would retort sharply lifting his chin up with a bit of defiance "Not m'fault that you're an old fart." His pupils narrowed as he rose to his paws crouching onto the sand with his belly brushing against the warm grains, his tufted ears perked forward as his tail lashed to the sides in an angry manner. "If I was bigger I could easily pummel you." Confidence dripping from his voice, though he was well aware it would be a while before he was any bigger than his uncle Michael. He wished time would go the fuck faster. Maybe then, Trygve would stand a chance against anyone who tried picking fights with him or his loved ones. He wouldn't be weak, he'd be strong and nobody would get hurt. He was seriously determined. All he had to do was convince Michael but how? He was sure that he would find out someday on how to change that.

"Mama doesn't have ta'know," He said growling through a mouthful of fur but it didn't last long as Michael rolled over and basically crushed him with his gut only to lift him up by the scruff dropping him into the sand, he let out an angry grunt. His tail lashing violently to the sides as he kept glaring at Michael and it didn't get better when his uncle stated something about his baby fat not even shed. That was a stupid reason for him not to train, he could probably burn it off then his ears twitched hearing the word shit. Michael was told not to swear by his mother, at least, not around the kids anyways. So the cub gawked at him for a moment only to growl "I am ready for apprentice shit! I am ready for all the shit! Baby fat or not!" He lowered his head deciding to charge at Michael aiming to ram his horns into his uncle's side, he had to show Michael that he was wrong. He'd show everyone they were wrong, he could be an apprentice. [glow=COLOR,1,400] ━ ✧*:･ﾟ[/glow]

[michael t.]

Shit. Shit, shit, shit, fuck. A string of curses ran through Michael's mind as he stared at Ry, attempting to process what the other had just said. Often the bobcat didn't even think before he used curses in his own vocabulary, far too used to just being around other adults to even think twice about whether or not such a thing would be a bad idea. This time, however, it was a very bad idea, because there was a reasoning behind him not wanting to curse in front of Ry and Roxie's other children. He had promised his sister that he wouldn't, knowing that she didn't want them learning such foul language this early, and had promised knowing full well she'd tear his ears off if he fucked up. Well... he had royally fucked up, because of all Roxie's cubs, Ry seemed the least likely to keep his mouth shut about such a thing. Internally panicking, Michael began to speak quickly, his paws shuffling, "Wait, ah– no, no, don't say that. Ugh, don't say anythin' like that, your mom will kill m–" However, the fugitive didn't get a chance to finish his sentence, caught off guard by Ry suddenly rushing in and slamming into his side. There was a spike of pain as the other's rounded horns jabbed into his side, and the black furred feline let out a yowl before falling over.

There was a brief moment of silence after this, where Michael simply laid on the ground, his side aching and his head blissfully blank of any and all thought for just a few moments. However, this was cut short when he scrambled to his paws, moving to quickly rush at Ry and attempt to barrel the boy over, pinning him down with his weight, if he was successful, he would be careful not to use all his weight, not wanting to crush Trygve, but simply hold him in place while he spoke. He quickly hissed, his small nubbin of a tail twitching anxiously behind him as he thought of how furious Roxie would be if Ry said "shit" in front of her, "Okay kid, I'll tell you what– you don't tell your mom that you learned that word from me, and I'll train you, alright? I cannot have Roxie knowin' I already broke my promise." Would Roxie be pissed about him training her son so soon too? Probably, but at least this way there was less of a chance of his ass getting beaten – by anyone by Ry, anyways. Although, the thief liked to think he at least had the fighting skills to best a kid like Trygve, at least until the other for bigger and stronger than his uncle.

[glow=#75603C,1,000]" oh, it's a setup, no, no, we won't fall. "[/glow]

[T. ROUX]

[glow=white,1,400]GONNA MAKE YOU SORRY THAT YOU MET ME, GONNA MAKE YOUR INSIDES HURT !｡+ﾟ.[/glow]

He had caught the other off guard and it made a tiny smirk lift his lips up though the small victory didn't last for long as he was pinned down by his uncle who had gotten up from their brief daze. He would writhe growling with frustration, he wasn't expecting the bobcat to barrel into him as he let out a soft "Oof," Michael was definitely right about Trygve not keeping his mouth shut, he was already getting used to the new word too "Shit! Your gut is crushing me!" He would yowl unsure how to get out of this one, though he would lift up his tiny hind legs aiming to kick at Michael's belly in an attempt to push the other off, whether or not it had worked. The cub would glare at the other only to perk up slightly at what his uncle began to say about training him as long as he didn't tell his mother that Michael had taught him the word shit. His pupils widened for a moment before narrowing into their usual dangerous slits, his snout wrinkled with a scowl on his maw. How did he know that Michael wasn't lying to him? Trygve Roux was not to be fooled with so lightly, his tail lashed underneath him and his tufted ears pinned against his cranium "You're serious? You'll train me? No fooling 'round this time?"

Now, he'd be able to protect his sisters and brothers from any dangers that would threaten them. The thought made an excited flutter rise in his belly but he had to remember who this was, who he was going to negotiate with. The very man who broke his promise to his mother. How could he trust Michael not to lie to him and not train him afterwards. His nonexistent eyebrows furrowed in his usual scowl before he lifted one of them up "How do I know you aren't lying to me, uncle Mikey?" Suddenly, an idea popped into Trygve's mind and his tail began to twitch with excitement. Oh, he knew how to get the other off of him though he wasn't sure if it would be pushing it. He's my mentor now! It should be fine, He thought with a light wiggle of his body before lifting up his cranium aiming to bash Michael headfirst in the face or chest, whatever was closest to his reach if that worked then the small cub would scramble away with a soft huff. Ah, that had hurt his head but no matter. This was part of becoming an apprentice.

Trygve Roux was about to show his worth. [glow=COLOR,1,400] ━ ✧*:･ﾟ[/glow]

[michael t.]

It really shouldn't have surprised Michael that Trygve thought he could've been lying. After all, Michael De Santa had been a thief and a fugitive for practically the entirety of his life – what was another little white lie to a kid? Unfortunately for him, it seemed as though the Roux family was not quick to just take his sweetness laced words at face value. When Trygve began to squirm beneath him, spouting off nonsense about his gut, Michael felt his face burn beneath his thick black coat. His weight had always been something he was sensitive about, even when Trevor was choosing to compliment it in his own... unique way. So, upon hearing Ry's words, Michael lightly aimed to shove the kid's head back into the dirt, snickering at him. He could feel the kicks against his fluffy stomach, but he ignored them for the most part, saying firmly, "My gut is not crushing you! I'm hardly all that heavy!" When his nephew then began to question him, Michael just felt a smirk coming to his face, his little bob of a tail twitching from side to side with amusement, "No foolin'. You just have to trust me. I mean, you should anyways. I'm your fuckin' uncle."

There was a long moment of silence after that, and Michael shifted a bit, his head tilting to one side as he noticed the thoughtful expression upon Trygve's face. What could the boy be thinking about? Hadn't he just gotten the thing that had been begging for this entire time? The thief opened his mouth to question what the hell was taking so long to answer, but then Trygve spoke, questioning his honesty. Lifting up a paw to place it against his chest in mock hurt, Michael responded curtly, "Lying to you? You honestly think I would lie to you, my own beloved little nephew? I can't believe you'd think such a nasty thing about me, kid." His usual snark was present within his sarcastic words, and he was about to continue in his little speech when suddenly he saw nothing but fluff. He let out a shout as Ry's head collided with his own, the larger of the two males stumbling backward as he cursed and fell back with a grunt. He brought his paws up to his now aching nose, glaring daggers at Ry as he hissed, "Really, Ry? That's what you thought would make me want to take you on as an apprentice? That really hurt my damn face, you know!" He was cursing up a storm as usual, to no one's real surprise, but he still shouldn't have been doing it in front of poor Trygve's innocent ears.

[glow=#75603C,1,000]" oh, it's a setup, no, no, we won't fall. "[/glow]

[T. ROUX]

[glow=white,1,400]BUT THEY'VE WRITTEN MY NAME IN THE STARS. I'VE DEALT WITH GREED AND SCARS !｡+ﾟ.[/glow]

Oh yeah.

That gut comment got his face shoved into the sand underneath them and he only let out muffled growls, obviously his kicking wasn't helping him at all either. He would lift his head a bit spitting out some sand only to growl at Michael in protest "You're heavy to me! Now get off!" He squirmed a bit more only to narrow his gaze at what Michael said next about how he should trust his fucking uncle, a scowl forming on his face as he rolled his eyes for a moment and shook his head as he would reply with a soft snort escaping him "I'll trust ya when ya start training me," He decided to go with only to lash his tail to the sides, his tufted ears swiveling forward. "And besides, you broke mama's promise of not fucking cussing in front of us anyways." His own smirk appearing on his maw, he brought one of his paws up to his nose to brush off the grains of sand from his nose. God, he hated whenever it got stuck between his toes and now it felt weird having it on his stupid nose. Though he didn't complain too much since he and Brandy would always rough house with one another, so getting sand in your nose was kinda inevitable at this rate and he was sure it would become a frequent thing if Michael was going to be his mentor.

He watched as Michael tilted his head to the side seeing him become thoughtful, it honestly amused him knowing that his uncle wasn't expecting his next move but he would play along nonetheless as his scowl deepened especially once he saw the mock hurt that Michael began to portray. "Yes, I do, beloved uncle." He snorted with a bit of amusement and only felt adrenaline course through his body when Michael stumbled back with both of his paws resting upon his nose, Trygve took the opportunity to scramble to his paws and shook the sand out of his coat with a soft pant. He immediately turned around to listen to Michael curse and watch as daggers were glared at him, it honestly made a devilish smirk appear onto his lips "Aw c'mon! I just wanted t'show you that I'm not just a cub! I can put up a fight," His smirk grew wider as he added "Besides, I didn't think you'd let your guard down even for a moment." Hopefully, Michael wasn't bleeding from the nose. A bit of concern briefly flashing within the draconic cubs eyes as he tilted his head a bit to try and see if there was any. He couldn't really see with his uncle's paws over his nose and Ry frowned a bit only to finally voice his worry.

"You alright? You aren't bleeding, are ya?" [glow=COLOR,1,400] ━ ✧*:･ﾟ[/glow]

[michael t.]

Michael Townley had never been much of a fighter. After all, there was a reason why he relied so heavily on his earth elementals, and why in the past he had constantly surrounded himself with goons. He had been born as the runt of a litter before his siblings passed away, and he was honestly just lucky he had made it. He had constantly been deprived of food until he finally managed to get away from his horrible family, and that had made it so that his stature had suffered somewhat, leaving him short and slightly chubby. None of this was really a secret, easy enough to see just from watching the fugitive live his life normally. Hell, Roxie had delighted in reminding him of how much smaller he was than her while she was pregnant, something that had started a great deal of squabbling between them. Despite this, there was one thing that Michael had up his sleeve. Something that seemed very obvious to some, but was actually easy to overlook for others. Michael Townley was crafty, and he wasn't afraid to be a bit of an asshole to get results. After all, if he had ever been afraid of being an asshole, then he wouldn't have turned to a life of thievery in the first place.

There was a brief moment of silence between uncle and nephew, before eventually Trygve voice his concern, causing Michael to smirk a bit beneath his cupped paws. His nose was still aching somewhat, but he knew it wasn't anything too bad. He'd seen much worse pulling off heists, or just generally dealing with Trevor's bullshit. Despite this, he let out a pained groan, mumbling in a muffled tone beneath his paws, "I don't know, might be... you managed to hit me pretty hard, kid..." He knew that the worry in the boy's voice meant that his guard was down, and that was exactly what the thief was hoping for. After all, if he was supposed to be Ry's mentor, he might as well teach the kid about opponents that wouldn't play fair, right? He waited until Ry had leaned in a bit to try and look to see if he had done any real damage. The bobcat leaned in as well, a wicked smirk forming, hidden beneath his paws. Once he was close enough, Michael attempted to lunge his forelimbs forward suddenly to grab Trygve firmly. If he was successful, then he would try to use all his might to toss the boy up and over his own head. It was a painful maneuver for him, considering his lack of decent muscles and the fact that Trygve wasn't a small kid, but it was a worth a shot, especially considering what Ry had just done to him. After all, it was only fair that Trygve get a pelt full of sand in exchange for a hurt nose.

[glow=#75603C,1,000]" oh, it's a setup, no, no, we won't fall. "[/glow]