It tasted awful, like carbonated sewage. Pat couldn't imagine how people drank this stuff, but he kept going. Patrick had a bad feeling about what was about to happen here, and even humans trusted their instincts. He still had to do this, there was no other option.

Uh... I think there is?

Pat couldn't risk looking like a loser in front of these people, Pat couldn't help but imagine what people would think of him if he left.

And? They don't matter.

Would Jack not like me anymore if I didn't do this? Would Nick start talking about what a loser I am? Is that why I'm doing this? Gods, aren't I shallow, crying over what people you just met think about you.

Woah, woah, when I said to be vulnerable this is not what I meant.

Par couldn't hear them, he was lost to it all.

I don't want to disappoint my new friends.

You.. aren't disappointing them.

I just want to be good enough for them to like me... is that bad?

I keep telling you to listen to me! Of course it's not bad, it's natural, it's mortal.

Pat recognized a newfound softness to their voice, one the demon would vehemently deny.

Gosh, I can't even keep it together for a fucking day, no wonder-

...Patrick. Please listen to me, please?

Pat finished the bottle without knowing it, only realizing that he had drunk it all once a weird feeling had replaced all the anxiety he had. It wasn't a bad feeling per se, but it felt weird. It was kind of funny, everything was funny actually.

Stop running from this, it's not healthy.

Being drunk is funny, like what the hell was I thinking? How did I even get drunk this fast? Oh, right, magic.

You really can't hear me, huh? Oh well, just know I'm here for you... Alright?

I mean, we've been together for what, 4 years now? Can't let you die, yet.

Pat wished this softness had come earlier, when he wasn't a mess, perhaps? It was welcome, little comfort here though.

He wouldn't remember the pleas or the support. But he'd remember the comfort. He'd remember the warmth of someone wanting them to succeed, a feeling he hadn't felt since...

Why did I do this again... Oh, right.

Pat looked behind me and saw almost everyone already sitting down, guess that was his cue. Patrick was going to murder past him...

I'm going to kill future you.

***

Jack deeply regretted letting Pat do this, He felt like a terrible friend, and they've just become friends. Jack guiltily watched as Pat walked to the circle with a big smile on his face.

Jack could smell the drunkenness on Pat's lips from here. He shouldn't have let his friend join, he's not ready for this, he's too... nice for this?

All Jack could hope was that he was eliminated in Truth, Dare, or Punishment. If Patrick made it to Inixza, he'd be miserable. Jack doubted he even wanted to hang with them, he doesn't want this. Well that wasn't quite right, Jack doesn't want this for Pat.

Jack knew he was selfish, Patrick is a person who can make their own choices. But he just knew that Patrick wouldn't like what happens next... Jack didn't... he'd never...

...

But there was nothing he could do, Pat chose to do this while sober. As selfish as Jack was, he was not going to force Pat into anything. But if things went too far, Jack would stop it. He... he could stop it... right?

That didn't matter right now.

The game had already started, anyway. The others had seen him, even if they didn't act like it. He wasn't in the background anymore. The spotlight was shining and the stage was set.

How ironic, a stage for a human. Ugh, dramatic irony is stupid.

Jack walked over to one of the chairs set up for his group. As he sat down, I noticed a lot of people eyeing Pat.

They looked curious, it's not every day that a completely new person rocks up on the scene. He was the fresh kill to a bunch of cions. Jack had no idea why Patrick thought this would be a good idea, to throw himself into the limelight this quickly.

Jack had no more time to worry about his stupid, stupid friend however, as Ethan started the game by standing up.

"Hm, which one of you losers should I pick?" He said, cartoonishly evil. Ethan looked the whole group in the eye. With a single sweep around the room, a quarter of the circle sat up and left.

That was rude, even for Ethan... guess he chose to be a jerk today.

As the circle moved to fill the space, Jack could only think about how they dodged a bullet.

Smart people, I wish this idiot would join them.

"Ok, now that we got the boring people out of the way. Who wants to go first?" Ethan said, half yelling the word boring so the people leaving could hear.

This was how the game started though, the smart people would leave, realizing how much of a bad idea this was. Then Jack and his friends just let the idiots who remained tear each other to pieces.

It was simple, really. Easy and impersonal...

The perfect superiority cocktail for a bunch of self-righteous dicks.

Except one of these idiots, Jack gave a damn about. All the others had been through this before or had at least heard the rumors.

Wow, the lengths mortals go to delude themselves is... Astounding.

Jack never felt bad for them, they never hid how cruel these games could get. Everybody knew, everybody except his drunk friend. If anything they deserved this.

A kid wearing a denim jacket rose their hand, Jack thought their name was Kai. "Truth, dare, or punishment?" Eliza asked, looking down at her phone, bored. Jack wondered who would ever pick punishment, it was always terrible.

Jack always hated having his mind read, none of these people were very good at it, so it always felt so violating. It's like they've never cast a spell before, Gods.

As it turns out, not everyone can cast every single spell that comes to mind. Odd how someone who's never had that problem gets to complain.

Jack could only guess who awful this sounds to a stranger, but usually people already know this going in. Pat was one of the first to go in blind.

Jack thought about this kid a lot, but he couldn't help it, he was at fault. If he'd just grown a pair and told him not to do it, Jack wouldn't feel this guilty and Patrick wouldn't be in this mess. Jack looked over at the boy, he looked way too excited.

He don't know why, but Jack's instincts were telling him that he needed to protect Pat. As a Ferin he'd learnt to trust his instincts, even if they seemed weird or out of nowhere.

"Truth," the Kai responded, snapping Jack from his thoughts. Jack looked at Kai, poor kid, there was no good option in this game. No matter what you picked, it would suck for you.

"Is it true that you sucked Jay's dick for 30$?" Ben asked, Kai simply nodded.

"Well it's not fun if you just say it, where's the drama?" Ben scolded. "But I'm still impressed, a amateur, for 30$, that's impressive. Mind teaching? I still have a hoe phase to go through." Ben joked to Ethan, who did not look amused.

Ethan simply looked forward, his hands gripping the chair tightly.

Magic swirled around Ben as he checked if their answer was true, apparently it was, and Kai got to ask next.

"Hey, Trina! Truth, dare, or punishment!" Kai asked enthusiastic, seemingly glad to have survived.

"Punishment, because I'm not a coward." The girl named Trina replied, partly annoyed to be called next.

"You sure?" They said as if she needed reminding what Punishment entailed.

"Yep! Give it to me!" People were enthusiastic about playing, Jack guessed they didn't realize how serious this was to your social life, or maybe they didn't care.

"I want you..." The spell was cast, and it must have been juicy because Kai snickered a bit.

"-to let this spider crawl in your hair for a minute." Kai looked proud of themself, and Jack canceled them. That was... just... no. Spiders were disgusting. Jack would've destroyed anyone who made him do that.

Not because he was scared of insects... or anything like that. They're just gross, alright?

Said spider appeared in Kai's hand, unmoving.

"Fuck that." Trina instantly said, staring Kai in the eyes. Kai tilted their head, looking a mixture of surprised and confused.

"But you just said to-" Kai started, looking really confused.

"Did I stutter?" Trina asked, and that shut them up. Her tone left no room for argument. She was Jack's new idol.

Sometimes he wished he could tell people no that easily...

She got up, ignoring the teasing from the other people in the circle. She conjured a chair and sat on the sidelines, looking keen to see how this all this ended.

"I'M NOT A COWARD" Someone mocked, they were hiding themselves though, and Jack was too emotionally exhausted to look.

Oh, poor you! Gods, I guess you're just EXHAUSTED having to deal with the consequences of your actions.

...

Jack felt a link opening inside his head, he tensed for a moment before recognizing the presence.

Gods, imagine being that confident then deflating 'cuz of a spider.

...Yeah, heh. They... really... are stupid for that.

Maintaining that cheery yet condescending tone took work, but Nick always gave Jack some practice. There was always this... tension, when talking to Nick. Even when they were just hanging out, there was this sense that Nick shouldn't be talked to recklessly.

Let's hope no spider "accidentally" falls on little Ms. Coward soon, right?

Nick... you shouldn't... do things like that.

Oh, and why not? It's what someone like her deserves for being so pathetic.

Jack couldn't hold back a tremble at the half growl at the word "patheitic". That tone was one Nick only used if it was a bad day or he was having a tantrum.

Today wasn't bad, Nick seemed fine. Why was he getting upset?

Jack would have to tell the others about this, something was wrong. Nick's mood was dropping and there wasn't a specific reason.

Usually when they were all together Zane would crack a joke to calm him down, or one of them would distract the boy with some random fact that needed Nick's full attention.

Jack almost mentally called out from them, but there was huge pressure blocking outside interference.

His heart dropped, and Jack's eyes unconsciously flickered to Nick, the most likely source. Nick had that rising anger about him, but looked unaware of the block. That meant Jack couldn't bring it up...

Jack was alone until Nick got bored of him.

But... how is a phobia pathetic.

Hm?

Jack should've shut up by now, but something kept driving him to fight, to push at Nick's ego. Jack was searching for an answer, but he couldn't think of what.

Oh, I'm sorry... I should've known someone like you would be offended. Say, met any Triyapedes lately?

Jack ignored the jibe, but didn't press further. Jack knew that once the insults started gettting personal, he should back away. He couldn't keep all the hurt down, Nick knew how Jack felt about bugs. He swallowed the pain away, Jack couldn't be the reason Nick exploded.

Because after the insults came the breaking point, and gods have mercy to whoever was around him at the time.

Jack wished for the better times back, when the good days heavily outweighed the bad. When talking to Nick wasn't this... tiring. Looking back, there was even a time long ago where there weren't any tantrums.

Yeah, it was tiring...

Jack assumed that came with the job of being someone's friend, but...

If that was the price... then why did he never feel that with Zane, or Ben, or the rest of the group? Hell, he never even felt that with Patrick, and he didn't expect to. How did talking to a random kid he'd met that day feel less stressful then talking to one of his best friends?

What was it about Nick that made him not walk, but tiptoe on eggshells?

Truely impressive, quite a talent you have for lying to yourself, little one. If your introspection is going to be this unfulfilling, you should focus on the game. Wouldn't want our little Bunny to get slaughtered, now would we?

Perhaps Jack should focus on the game now, thinking and toeing lines wasn't doing any good.

He let the link close, and felt a bit of relief when he glanced over to see Nick slightly bored, but otherwise fine. The pressure was gone, but Jack still had a feeling that reaching out would make everything worse.

"Well since she doesn't wanna go, Kai gets to pick again," Eliza stated, bored out of her mind. Until Inixya it was fairly pedestrian.

"Cas" Quickly said Kai, dragging Jack out of thought yet again. They seemed to be really good at that.

"Cassidy, trut-" Ben said, though getting cut off immediately.

"Dare," she said, cutting Ben off confidently. Jack almost felt bad for these people, they all seemed so... normal? If he didn't know that they wanted to tear his friend and each other apart he'd want to get to know some of them.

You really think everyone here walked in just to break each other down? Come now, I know you're smarter then that.

Though, you're still ignoring me so maybe not that smart.

"Damn ok, just like, cut me off then." Ben said, jokingly annoyed. Ben knew it all was in good fun though, he didn't mind much, he was much too busy staring at Ethan's biceps to care anyway.

Ethan had the decency to half hide his glare, Cas still gulped though. Ethan was beginning to be another issue, he also seemed upset. While he'd always been overprotective of the group, there'd never been outright hostility other then with actual threats.

Kai seemed to notice, because they had an odd glimmer in their eyes now. A spark of something sinister.

"I want you to-" Kai started to magically whisper the instructions to her. After Kai finished, Cassidy paled. She looked really nervous, she closed her eyes. She seemed to be attempting to steel her nerves. After 30 seconds of silence, Cas stood up, looking resigned to her fate.

She looked towards someone sitting across from her, and said in a tiny, shaky, much less confident voice;

"H-hey Ethan-" Oh gods, everyone knew Ethan was being a hot head right now, this oughta be interesting. "M-maybe if you stopped being such a trash dueler, you could actually win 6th for o-once..."

"Oh? I couldn't hear you, I think you'll need to repeat that." Ethan growled dramatically, his expression both, annoyed and embarrassed. It would be seriously stupid to repeat that, but... they weren't wrong.

Jack smiled to himself, Ethan's face when they won 7th was hilarious.

He must've let his grin show a bit, as Ethan spoke to him magically.

Fuck off, that guy was tough and you know it.

It was kinda true, but Zane had been able to beat 'em. Plus they were 6th, not exactly the next Silium.

Silium was a champion dueler from Kinis, launching the town from backwater to dueling capital of the kingdom.

His team had steamrolled over the completion, They were so cool! Silium's use of seer magic was famous, he'd basically formed a whole new way of utilizing spirits.

Silium was basically the reason that seer magic is recognized as a combat school in the first place.

Seers were sorta rare and if you weren't born one, you had to train your ass off. That along with the limited capabilities of combative seer magic led to it being overlooked.

In fact, Silium Goldentongue was the only combative seer, he really was so cool. Silium and his team was the reason Jack had gotten into dueling at all.

It had also helped that Silium was easily a 12 in Jack's book. With his mane of fiery hair, Zalio blue eyes and dueler's physique, they looked unexpectedly like the king. To the point that it was rumored that Silium was a bastard, with his looks and skills.

Jack had only spent a straight week looking, so he wasn't too knowledgeable about all that.

Jack had prided himself on only crushing on Silium for a year, a new record when it came to celeberty crushes. Well... a year so far.

He was a grain of sand compared to Silium and his team...

Zane is on a completely different level and you know it.

Also true, Zane trained harder then any of them. He had a burning desire to be the best at fighting, never told the rest of the team why. He could be trying to avenge a dead ex, he could be trying to kick Silium's ass, who knew.

Awwww, baby mad he couldn't defeat a freshman?

They were like 8ft tall!

Also true, but that was obviously magic. And shitty magic at that, it flickered away like halfway through.

And? You can grow to like 13 feet with magic, step on them.

That'd been the last time they checked too, which was last year.

Ethan groaned, and Jack let the link snap shut.

Even Ethan actively being a bitch was much easier then a neutral Nick. Ethan, even at his worst, held a lightness in his voice that Nick rarely did. Ethan's bite mostly came in the form of playful abuse of his strength (he always held back) and dumb pranks. It was almost scary how even when Ethan was uncharacteristically angry, it still felt like Jack was talking to his friend. When Nick got angry, it was like talking to a whole new person. Ethan's wrath was teasing...

Nick's came in bruises. Not that Nick meant it! He just lost control of his strength sometimes. It was fine, they healed quickly anyways.

He glanced towards his friend, and saw Ethan look at Jack with an a-bit-annoyed-but-I'm-dramatic smirk.

But.. after glancing away for a second, his expression changed...

Ethan looked even more pissed off then usual...

Whoops, sorry Cas...

Fortunately for Cas, she noticed, quickly sitting down.

This is what Jack meant, people just wanted to rip each other to shreds. Knowing that this was happening to someone he...

Jack cared a little bit about, suddenly everyone seemed so much less distant.

He glanced around the room, he hadn't noticed before, but people were talking to each other.

Cas was being reassured by her girlfriend that Ethan wouldn't actually eat her alive. Jack could remember himself saying that to Ben, after he bumped into the 2nd place after the competition.

The guy had looked like he wanted to shatter ever bone in Ben's little 5'11 body...

5 minutes later they were cracking jokes about how badly Ethan had lost, apparently they still talked too. Ben was good at making friends, hell, Ben would probably be buds with the prince if you gave him long enough. And that bastard didn't like anyone.

Jack pulled away from those that train of thought, he felt he needed to focus on these people. It felt like he was grasping at sand, and this was his one chance to catch it.

Trina was being teased by her friends for her unfounded confidence, just like he and his friends had always done to Ethan.

These people all cracked jokes and annoyed their friends and rushed to school and forgot their homework... just like them.

Gasp! People they're... they act like people! Wow, Jack, you're a genius!

You're lucky the spirits are taking an interest in you, that complex isn't doing you any favors, little one.

They didn't feel like strangers anymore, they were people. They were just like Pat...

They were just like Jack. These thoughts, that he perhaps had known all along, created a new train of thought... a dangerous one.

Why do I get to look down on them? What do I have that they don't?

Birthright? What did that mean here, we're all teenagers.

What if the only diffrence between me and them is that I didn't let them get on my level. What if I'm the one keeping these people beneath me?

Jack had no idea where these thought came from, he'd never thought about this before.

Though that's the funny thing about privilege, huh? You don't have to think about this stuff.

Where the fuck was this coming from!?

Don't act like you don't know, little one. You've known all along.

You wanted a prayer after all, now you'll need to be ready to hear what I have to say.

What if he stopped pushing people down, l-like humans, how strong could they get?! He'd never seen a strong human, though he'd never seen a human, period...

What if humans were already strong, he'd just never bothered to look.

Jack was shaking now, the voice which had spoke earlier was gone. He wanted it back, it had to be the reason he was thinking these mutinous things.

It needed to explain this.

Nothing made sense, he never prayed for this, who was the voice, why was it here? What the hell was going on?!

A laugh shot his thoughts back into the game.

Jack didn't know anything about the voice or the thoughts... what he did know? He hated this.

He hated the fear, worry, and heartbreak that constantly radiated off these strangers auras. The laughs as their social lives were ruined.

He hated the guilt he felt, despite doing nothing. Jack was part of the problem, too. He hadn't said anything because he's a coward.

Ah, there we go. See? All you needed was a little push.

For once, he let himself think those thoughts he'd kept buried.

I... I-I don't like this.

Why were we even doing this? This isn't fun anymore.

This feels wrong, really wrong.

Maybe we should sto-

And that's all it took... Didn't last much longer then I thought you would. It was a good effort, though. At least we're finally at the starting line, my little embryo.

***

Pat now realized now why Jack didn't want him playing, this was brutal. He watched as the game continued, people using everybody's fears against then, not just during punishment.

If people had any knowledge about anyone else, they used it without hesitation.

Only about half of the people who started the game were left. The ones eliminated either gone back downstairs or sitting on the sidelines.

Eventually, someone worked up the courage to ask Pat. He was shocked he didn't get picked first.

They know nothing about you, that'd be stupid.

Though Pat guessed since he was new, nobody knew how to get him out quickly.

"Hey, new kid, pick!" A guy demanded. Ethan, Pat remembered.

He didn't even know the hosts could play, but...

I know you can't hear me, but maybe you can use this.

Maybe I could use this...?

Oh lovely, looks you can hear me just enough for plagiarism.

Drunk Pat was much more devious then sober him, that's for sure.

Yeah...sure.

Ethan seemed to be hotheaded, easy to anger... cocky, they would want to "knock him down a peg"...

What they didn't have was info.

They know nothing about me... best to keep it that way.

It seems to have worked so far.

This could work, at least until the "other game". This would mean I couldn't get a punishment though, can't trust them not to go poking around.

Not like Pat could afford that earlier either, one peek and his secrets out.

Damn, looks like you can be smart... could've used that earlier.

"Dare," Pat said simply, trying to keep a poker face. He couldn't show emotion, these people can literally smell it.

He found it just as annoying as he did when his... when Papa told him.

Pat...

He had to be neutral and cold. Act like nothing phased him, and maybe he can make it through the night. Nothing, could break him, or he'd die here.

Emotion was costly, and Patrick was poor.

"I dare you to kiss me," He said, a smirk on his lips. He was obviously trying to humiliate Patrick, and he might be hot enough for that.

As Ethan said that, Pat suddenly noticed Nick's eyes on him.

Patrick turned to meet them, there was humor, and something darker flickering in them. He knew, he had to. You can't just look at someone like that, with those heavy, hot eyes and not know they like you. Pat heard a whisper in my ear, even though Nick was sitting a little ways away from him.

"Survive until the next game, I want to see how I match up."

Jealousy is not a good look, asshole.

Was Nick... jealous? He seemed mad, there was venom in his words. Well, he had bigger things to worry about then Nick's jealousy.

Hey, that's what I've been saying! Finally, you listen to me.

"Ok," Pat said, nonchalant. Ethan looked confused, Pat's demeanor had dramatically shifted. He glanced around the room, some were confused, some suspicious, all a threat. Pat stood up and slowly walked over to the man.

"No emotion, no feeling, give them nothing to get you with."

Looks like they did come in handy, huh?

His dads' words echoed, all the lessons... the training. A human life was a hard one, so there were unwritten rules to get by.

"A mask should be be the first thing a Ferin is greeted with... a small, shy little smile and there's no way this human could dislike you for any reason."

"Act like you're hanging off their every word, and they won't notice the venom in yours."

Despite not having shows since before the war, humans were as good actors as ever. A good facade and no can even tell how much you hate life, how much you hate them.

Pat hadn't used these lessons here, why would he? These people weren't scary, they were just... people. He had friends now too, and he couldn't just lie to them.

"Friends" aren't people you've known for a day. Survive tonight and maybe we can think about friends.

Despite his misgivings, Patrick knew instinctively that this... man? was worth using them on.

These words, these lessons were Pat's mantras as he approached the man, he could clearly see his face now.

He was attractive, with his golden hair and eyes. His expression ruined the image, quite a different sight from when they looked at Ben or their friend group. The fury in his expression looked hideous on Ethan.

Ethan looked his best when he wasn't filled with jealousy.

Who knew people looked better when they weren't jealous pigs?

Pat really didn't want to kiss this guy...

Pat glanced around, but couldn't take in any faces as his vision was slowly consumed by the man, who had also started forward. It was like Ethan was stealing away his attention, literally.

Just kiss him on the cheek or something.

Maybe I don't have to... I mean, he never said I had to kiss him on the lips.

Pat kissed him on the cheek, and quickly returned to his seat. Pat now knew the importence of carefully wording his dares.

"Wha? That wasn't a real kiss, do it again!" Ethan said, outraged that he apparently wasn't good enough to kiss. Or perhaps that he hadn't gotten to rub the kiss in Ben's face. Unfortunately, that's not Pat's problem.

"If you wanted a kiss on the lips, either start seducing me or word your dare better." Pat shot back, the mask of nonchalance slipping for a moment.

Damn it Pat, stop being stupid.

Damn it Pat, stop being stupid.

Ok, now you're just full on copying me.

"I could make you fall for me if I wanted, h-" the boy said hotly, he was cut off as Eliza spoke up.

He really was committed to making Ben jealous, but there was something darker then jealousy in his eyes.

it was much more... violent. It didn't seem natural on Ethan, like a shirt that didn't fit. This hatred didn't match up with how Jack had described him.

At least to Jack, Ethan was way more friendly and laid back. Most of the time he was too busy trying to get Ben to kiss him to hold a grudge.

That wasn't the person Pat was seeing.

The way it contorted his features into something different was frightening.

After a second it vanished, and Pat couldn't stare any longer into those eyes. They were too hot and angry and bright. As if Raina lounged in them.

"No rules against loopholes, bitch." Eliza finally seemed interested in Pat's existence. He supposed that was good... or really bad.

Ben started laughing, almost seeming happy.

"Ethan, stop being dumb, since when do loopholes not count? Is this your first time?" He glanced at me for a second, smiling.

"We're switching now since Ethan couldn't keep it in his pants! I still can't believe the newbie knew how loopholes work before you, you loser!"

That laugh was definitely fake, and they look heartbroken, poor kid. Don't worry, Pat knows allllllll about falling for a stupid prick.

"Like seriously, how long have you been here?" Ben teased.

Ethan blushed madly and glared at Pat.

Then Pat realized what he said, they're playing the other game now... Pat hoped whatever it was, he wouldn't be humiliated. Though Pat also had a bad feeling, and he kinda wanted to get more drunk.

"Ethan, since you're soooooo thirsty, pick!" Ben did sound jealous, like he wouldn't mind if Ethan was thirsty for him... wait...

That bad feeling? Now 10 times worse.

If mission accomplished... then why did Ethan still look at Pat with that angry, scorching look in his eyes. Why did hatred overtake his features, twisting his ichor eyes into butterscotch... then to coal?