Sound and Silence 2: Home
#2 of Sound and Silence
Friends moving into a new home.
_Language Warning. Reader discretion is advised for this and potentially subsequent chapters. _
6 A.M. In The Morning
Reyson picked up his computer parts up off the floor and did his best to quietly move them to his car. Today was the day of the move and the wolf was being careful to not wake his father up. He usually wasn't up this early anyway, but better to be safe than sorry, he figured. Fortunately, the computer and monitor were the only things left he needed to move to the car. Unfortunately, on his way to the door, he tripped over some strewn about clothes left about by his father from the previous night and nearly broke his monitor. He was able to catch himself and set the piece of tech down without any serious damage, but it caused a loud thud whose noise and vibrations could be heard all throughout the worn-out home. Reyson immediately stood up and looked in the direction of his father's room, which was left wide open. There was the movement of bedsheets for a brief moment as his father tossed and turned, but eventually, stillness. With a look of relief, Ray continued getting his PC to his car, but not before moving the clothes out of the way-his father would soon not be around to put him on blast for touching his belongings anyway.
He eventually put the parts in his car and did a once over to check that he had everything: Clothes... Lamp... Some basic toiletries... check... check... check. He went back and closed and locked the door- then proceeded to leave the house keys under the doormat. He made it back to his vehicle and was about to start the car when the door swung open with an irritated adult wolf storming out of it. He was wearing a dirty tank top and was still in his underwear. Reyson pulled down the window just a bit-begrudgingly-so he could do the bare minimum and humor what his father had to say.
"Why the fuck is it so noisy this morning!? Where do you think you're doing? Why is all your shit in the car!?" he shouted at his son. Reyson sighed, as he started the car and began to leave. "I said. Where the FUCK do you think you're going!?" He demanded again, approaching the moving vehicle. Reyson stopped the car and pulled down the driver's side window so he could respond.
"I'm leaving. I found a place to stay. I won't be in your way anymore." Reyson answered with his signature short replies.
"What about my money?" He barked.
"There's a note taped to the door to your room. It has the money I was going to pay you for next month's rent."
"That's it? What about-" Reyson cut off his father, eyes serious.
"I said I would pay you for as long as I needed to stay here. I didn't owe you next month's rent... I'm leaving now." Reyson started rolling up his windows.
" YOU BRAT! WHO DO YOU THINK RAISED YOU!? WHAT MAKES YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST WALK OUT ON ME AFTER PRACTICALLY BEGGING ME FOR A PLACE TO STAY? EVERYTHING THAT'S HAPPENED IS YOUR-" the sounds of his fathers tantrum became muffled as windows shut against the top of the car door with a little "fwoop". The bigger wolf ran towards the car and Reyson stepped on the gas to accelerate out of the street before he could catch him and damage his vehicle. As he peered in the rearview mirror at his father's disappearing figure, still shouting expletives with a fist violently waving in the air, Reyson's stoic eyes flickered with a flash of pain and despair.
"Take care of yourself, father."
Clair loaded the last box into his car, with the help of his friend, Trevor, before giving him a fist-bump.
"Man, thanks so much for letting me stay for as long as you did Trev. You really did me a solid, ya know!" Clair said with sincere and exuberant gratitude.
"Nah man, not a problem! Happy to help a brother in need, ya'know?"
"You're too kind, bro. Anyway, I'm going to head over to my new place. I know I still have a few pieces of furniture here, but I can't fit them so I'll make another trip back for them in a few days, sound good?"
"Yeah, no probs! If I decide to not be lazy, I'll move them closer to the entrance for you too."
"You're a real hero, man! Alright, peace out!.. Oh! And I'll definitely invite you to come over soon!" Clair finished, before giving his friend a big hug and getting into his car. He was bobbing his head with excitement as he checked his phone, only then realizing he had several missed calls, and voicemails, all from his mom. Clair grimaced with annoyance, but in a rare moment of charity, he decided to check the latest of the voicemails and see what his parents had to say. There was some static, and then:
"Clair, please, this is really important! We need to speak to you as soon as possible! Your dad wants you to-"
He stopped the recording. He already knew how this was all going to go down. His parents would bait him into coming back home under some pretense of making amends or apologizing, and in a few days it would be back to the same old routine of demanding a career change and following in his family's footsteps. But he wasn't going to fall for it anymore. He silenced his phone and made his way towards the new place.
Upon arriving, he checked his phone to see a few more missed calls from his mom. It was unusual for her to be so aggressive in trying to get in touch with him, but it wouldn't be enough to convince him to respond to the calls.
"We need to speak to you as soon as possible!" The words rang in his head as memories of his home life came flooding back to him like an inescapable virus:
"It's your responsibility to inherit the company, son. We will accept no other outcome, and you will not disappoint us."
"We sacrificed everything for our place in life, Clair. We expect the same from you as well-to pay us back for what we've given you."
"This is for your own good. We know what's best for you."
...A fraction of the things said to him as his parents rigorously planned out his daily life. Any resistance or pleading to have a break was met with empty promises of a day of freedom, a scolding, and on some occasions, both. Truly, by Clair's definition, a loveless household.
Clair brushed off those feelings as he found his way to his unit, room 102, and opened the door. He was surprised to find that there weren't any furnishings in the main living room; Ray had mentioned that he would be here before him. Maybe he was running late?
As he finished that thought, he heard the distinct sounds of a keyboard from the other side of the entrance, in one of the rooms. He approached it and saw through the open door, Reyson sitting down on the floor with headphones and playing a rhythm game on the computer. Aside from the computer, there were some bed sheets laid out on one of the corners of the room. Out of the corner of his eye, Reyson spotted the curious cat, and waved to him during a break in the song. The feline was a bit taken aback by the lack of belongings, and waited for the wolf to finish and take off his headphones before finally asking.
"I-is this everything you brought?"
"Yeah." The wolf stopped playing his game, but started browsing the internet so as to converse with Clair at the same time.
"I'm surprised... you didn't have any furniture to bring from home?"
"...no, not really. Was all father's anyway." Clair scratched his head, well aware of the relationship between Reyson and his father. He smiled and continued the conversation.
"Well, I guess that makes sense. So you're just taking a break before you go buy some furniture then?"
"...what do you mean? This is fine." Reyson responded, not looking up from his computer. Clair scanned the relatively barren room lacking even a bedframe or mattress and looked back at Reyson with concern.
"Ray.. you're not even going to buy a desk or a bed?"
"...no?" Reyson replied innocently. Clair raised his voice as it flickered with distress.
"You can't do that! Using your computer on the floor like this is terrible for your posture! And you'll get bug bites if you sleep on the floor without a bedframe! You have thick fur, so you're going to have it especially bad!"
"That's okay-I'm used to it." Reyson said. Clair frowned at the wolf's complete disregard for how sad his living quarters looked.
"Just because you're used to it doesn't mean it's okay!" Clair was practically yelling at this point, covering his ears as he vocalized his complaints to protect his sensitive ears. "Ray, even when your home life started getting worse. You were never this apathetic about keeping a nice living space-what's gotten into you? Don't you want your apartment to be nice?"
"...This is just a place to stay... you don't need to worry about me." The wolf responded as he clicked through a few more websites absentmindedly.
"This is your home!" Clair shouted, his voice cracking in the process before dipping to almost a whimper. "Ray... Reyson... This... this is your home... Our home..."
Reyson stopped what he was doing at those words and turned to face Clair, his face a mixture of bewilderment, pity, and even a hint of betrayal.
"...Our... home?" The words came out as a mutter. No ordinary beastman would have been able to hear-except Clair with his exceptional auditory perception.
"Yes, you idiot! We're living together, _ aren't we _ !?" At those last words, a sudden wave of audio feedback emanated from Clair as his powers went out of control for a brief moment, causing the two to recoil and wince in shock.
There was a long silence as the wolf took a long moment to process what was being said to him. Clair, having quickly gotten his power back under control, was holding back tears, but continued regardless.
"You don't have to live the way you did back at your father's place. You deserve nice things for yourself and you owe it to yourself to live the way that you want." Reyson said nothing. "If... if you won't do it for yourself, then could you at least do it for me?... Please..." Ray continued looking down for a moment, slowly letting the truth of Clair's words sink in.
The ferocity of Clair's outburst echoed in Reyson's ears as the wolf began to realize just how long it had been since he could remember anyone who showed him such intense tenderness and affection. He recalled his loving mom, who showered him with all of the love and support in the world, and his dad, who always took such great care of the family with the warmest of smiles on his face... before it all fell apart.
He looked back up at the cat, who was also looking down and away in a futile attempt to hide his anger and grief... and, all at once, he felt the massive weight of guilt for allowing Clair to become so upset on his behalf. He got up and laid a hand on the cat's shoulder, whose tail responded with an agitated flicker.
"I understand. I'll buy some furniture for my room. Thank you... and I'm sorry for making you worry about me, Clair."
Clair turned to face Reyson, still visibly furious. However, it only lasted a moment as he wiped the tears welling up in his eyes and smiled.
"I'll drag you to the furKEA if I have to, you jerk." They stood there facing each other for just long enough for the pause to be awkward before Clair spoke again.
"A-Anyway! Do you mind helping me bring some of my stuff in? I have a few boxes and more hands would really help!" A startled Reyson quickly agreed. "Awesome! I'm so stoked to decorate our new home!" Clair cheered as he headed back towards the entrance with the usual spring to his step-as if the argument just a few moments ago had never happened. Reyson followed close behind as he pondered those last words.
"...home, huh."