Wild Tiger Chase - Chapter 23: Chapter 23

— Léon —
Wrong.
Something was definitely wrong there, and it wasn't the casual way Phillip had leaned on the same tree Rafaela was propped against. It wasn't their proximity, either, and it certainly wasn't the way Rob looked at them, in a mix of anger and pain—these were starting to feel common by now.
What was wrong was the increasing heat in Rob's words.
"Seriously, Beto," Rafaela tried to say.
They had spent the whole night talking, and now—sore throats and cold fingers—they leaned toward the embers of their campfire, trying to capture the remaining warmth coming from it.
"Enough, sis," Rob interrupted in a hard voice. "The more I think about it, the more I realize this is the best place for them. For us." Rob sighed and looked away, towards the ever-intensifying rays of daylight on the horizon. He had his hands joined under his chin, his posture stiff and uninviting.
Rob didn't sound like Rob anymore. This person had nothing to do with the adoring man Léon had made love to in the lake. How could a handful of hours have changed him so much?
What the hell was going on?
"And then do what?" Rafaela asked. "Will we live here forever?"
Rob shrugged. "If we can. This place has everything we need."
"You can't!" Caidara said in an angry voice. "It's my home; I want you out of here as soon as possible."
"See?" Rafaela pointed at the old woman. "And as much as you want to think otherwise, we're not safe here, Beto. We—two people in a sea of trees—found this place without help. Cae has his whole organization out there, looking for us. There are three cosmic trace wielders bundled together here, and two of them barely understand their own powers. The third"—Rafaela tapped her chest—"is like a dead battery who can barely fight a simple bandit."
"You're selling yourself short. And you can still teach Léon and Pipo!" Rob snapped back. "We can protect this place."
"Is this kid inviting himself to live in my damned property?" Caidara asked.
"He surely is, Caicai," Phillip said with a sneer. "He always wanted whatever I had; the guy must be obsessed or something.
Rob growled at Phillip.
"Beto!" Rafaela took in a deep breath and tried to control her voice. "We can't ask Fofo or Dr. Modraniht to fight, Pipo is just a kid, and as strong as you and Caidara are, you two can't face a whole gang of barbarians alone. We can't stay."
"Okay, I disagree with Robbie-boy, but I want to remind you all I'm here too," Phillip said. "And I can fight if you need me."
"You're sick; you can't," Caidara said. "And you'll have to stay here if you want the sickness to keep contained." She crossed her arms, a cigar stub locked between her teeth. Caidara's smart eyes set on Anhangá and narrowed. "And you, you old bark, letting kids fight for you—"
"Allow me," Anhangá interrupted, "to say how beautiful this pocket dimension is." His voice had a weird sweetness to it. "I doubt Phillip would find a better place to stay or better company, Madam."
Caidara rolled her eyes, and Phillip's eyebrows arched.
"You have your own pocket dimension, Caicai?" he said. "That's impressive. Almost as impressive as knowing what a pocket dimension is. Cause... you know, I don't. Also, I don't wanna get stranded in this place."
Léon spoke for the first time in a while. "Is Modraniht still sleeping? It's been—what? Almost a whole day?"
"He was tired. And he's old!" Caidara said. "Let him sleep."
"He's not old," Léon mumbled.
"Wait, I'm serious. What's a pocket dimension?" Phillip chimed in.
"Ugh. C'mon, everyone! This is not a joke." Rafaela massaged her temples. "We have to take Léon and Pipo to safety, and Cidade Santa is our best option. Marlo can help us if we manage to reach the precinct. We'd have the whole force at our side."
"The whole force consists of six officers, Rafa! You said so yourself—we're too few. And even if we had more people, you know that institution is a joke, nothing else. It serves to give people a sense of stability, not to protect anyone. If anything happens, do you think Marlo will keep us safe?" He scoffed. "Cae will have Léon, Pipo, and you at his mercy. We can't let that happen." Rob took a deep breath and controlled his voice. "You heard what Caidara said. Cae wants their power so he can use it as a weapon. The police have been letting him have many different weapons over the decades; they'll do nothing to stop him—like they did nothing to stop Connie Travone. Cae will only get even more influence than he already has!"
Rafaela opened and closed her lips, eyebrows furrowing in an expression of simmering fury. Léon didn't know who that Connie was, but the mere mention of her made Rafa's face get a few shades darker, tinted with anger. The muscles tensed in her neck and shoulders, and her hands balled, trembly, at the sides of her body. She raised her hurt eyes.
"I thought there was meaning to what we were doing and to the choices we made in there. I thought we'd keep an eye on her!"
Rob scoffed. "It was a bloody paying job, Rafaela. The only one we managed to find. I couldn't let you make us lose it."
Shit. Léon had never seen him being so... cruel.
"But... you went vigilanting with me," Rafaela said. "We wore ID concealers. We stopped crimes!"
"And Cidade Santa is as bad today as it was back then. Okay? Now wake up from your fantasies, sister. You're not a hero anymore. There never was any hero in this fucking place!"
The silence around them made Rafaela's scoff sound even drier and colder. She blinked a couple of times and shook her head. Her hands opened and closed as if looking for an answer—but the way she clenched her fits and gritted her teeth was enough to show that conversation had ended.
For a long minute, there was nothing but the sounds of the awakening forest. Then, Rafaela stood up. She fitted her hands into her pockets, her eyes sharp as they swiped the faces around her. "Yeah, well. You do whatever you want." She bit her lower lip, perhaps weighing her words. "I'll teach Léon and Pipo whatever I can, and then I'm off to Cidade Santa." She turned around. "Good night. Day. Whatever."
When she was out of earshot, Rob let out a deep sigh and lowered his head, his fingers losing themselves in his hair.
Phillip whistled and let out an impressed chuckle. "Way to go, Beto."
"Shut the fuck up, mate," Rob growled. "And don't call me that." Rob sat down again and growled. "Bloody hell, why is she so stubborn?"
"Reminds me of someone," Phillip mumbled. He smirked, pure venom seething through his thin lips. "Except this someone is a bastard full of shit who thinks he knows what's best for everyone."
"Shut your mouth," Rob spat back—and with such violence, Léon's shoulders jerked up. "I'm doing my best to—"
"Your best is not enough, Beto," Phillip interrupted. In his voice, the nickname Rafaela used was filled with contempt. "I thought you had learned how to work in a team while we were in Invidia. Seems I was wrong."
Rob gritted his teeth. "You conceited, disgraceful piece of waste."
"Conceited!" Phillip barked out a laugh. "Me? Oh, Beto, do you even know what that word means?"
Léon got up and placed a hand on Rob's arm. "Hey, that's enough. You two just calm down."
They ignored him.
"I said shut your mouth, Phillip."
"I won't! You're the one who's trying to decide shit in other people's places, partner. All over again!" Phillip sneered. "I won't sit quietly and watch that happen."
Rob pushed Léon's hand aside and stepped towards Phillip. "What?"
"Let me be very clear so you'll understand, Roberto." And if there were contempt and venom in Phillip's voice before, now his words were like a sharp blade against Rob's neck. "We're not horses like you were, and we won't follow your orders." Phillip shoved his chest. Considering how Rob swayed backward, reeling two full steps, he wasn't expecting the strength in that gesture. "Haven't you learned anything with all that happened to your master, Brash McCockay? Or is The Mayor still pulling the reins of his glorified pony?"
Rob growled, the sound deep and dangerous in a way that sounded too beastly to belong to a human. "You shouldn't even be here, mate. Look around you. We're here with my sister, my mentors, my brother in law, my doctor friend, and my boyfriend." The words were slow and spiteful. "Go back to the bloody hellhole you came from and let my fucking family and me alone. You're not a part of us! You're nothing, Phillip."
Léon's eyes widened.
Holy shit.
Before he could say or do anything, Phillip attacked. He moved so fast and with such fury, it was difficult to follow. Rob dodged the first blow and blocked the second, but the third caught him hard on his stomach.
Rob doubled over, and his knees jabbed the earth will a dull clack. He whimpered and gasped, his breathing cut and broken by the blow. Phillip gripped his collar and tugged it up. His face was raging-red when he leaned down to whisper against Rob's ear.
Léon didn't hear Phillip's words, but the lone tear sliding down Rob's cheek was proof of how hard those words had hit him.
It was as if Rob's batteries were removed. He hid his face in his hands and curled down.
Phillip let him go.
"Remember what I said, Beto." And with those words, Phillip turned around and walked away, following the same path Rafaela had walked.
Léon had thought about talking to Rob after that, but if he needed to be honest, everything Rob had said in his conversation with Rafa, and then in his fight with Phillip, was rubbing him the wrong way. The way he had talked about him—my boyfriend, my brother in law, "my" everything, so sure and so entitled—was making his cheeks burn with anger, not love.
Because of that, he did nothing while Rob marched towards the trees, losing himself in the green maze around them.
"I'll go," Anhangá said with a gentle caress on Léon's shoulder.
"Kids these days," Caidara mumbled.
And after that, silence.
Deep, dark, haunting silence.
A silence that still accompanied him now, as Léon sat on the bench outside Caidara's cottage.
It was close to seven AM, and the sun was high in the sky. Léon felt he had had a couple of broken hours of sleep on that bench, but they were not nearly enough to tear away the weird, unnamed feelings swirling in his chest.
He rested his head on the wooden wall behind him and closed his eyes.
What was he supposed to do?
"Hey. You okay?"
Léon opened his eyes. There was a silhouette in front of him, framed by a golden line of sunlight. He narrowed his eyes and needed a moment to recognize his brother.
Pipo sat down beside Léon and offered him the second glass of milk he was holding. "I saw you here all alone and thought you'd want it." He put the glass in Léon's hand. "You're making that face."
Léon accepted the drink and looked at Pipo. A crease formed between his eyebrows, and his voice was amused when he said, "Am I making a face?"
Pipo nodded. "You're making the I think I ate a shrimp dumpling face." Pipo chuckled and clinked their glasses. "Wanna tell me what's wrong? Talking about it can be your EpiPen tonight."
Léon smiled and caressed his brother's cheek. "You're so smart with words. Even your jokes are getting better."
Pipo smiled. He had always felt mature for his age, but Léon would have never expected him to have grown this much. After all, Pipo was only seven, no matter how much older he looked.
Could Léon open up to a seven-year-old?
He sighed and shook his head.
"It's nothing, Pipo. You should go to bed; it's too early."
Pipo tsk-tsked. He slid closer to Léon and rested his head on his shoulder. Léon thought he saw his brother's eyes tearing up, but before he could be sure, Pipo closed them and said,
"When they took me from Amma, I thought I'd never see you two again. I'm happy you're here, Leo. I missed you very much."
His chest warmed up, and the feeling climbed his throat and cheeks, knotting his vocal cords. Léon smiled. He swallowed and rested a hand on Pipo's shoulder, pulling him closer. Pipo's hair smelled like jabuticabas and cinnamon when Léon popped a kiss on the top of his head.
"I missed you too, munchkin." He cleared his throat and steeled his voice. "And I need you to get ready. We'll have to do our best to learn how to control our powers, okay? We have to learn as much as we can, cause I don't know if Rafa will be with us for long."
Pipo nodded. "She's scary... but I think I like her. I want to have her with us."
Léon laughed. "Yeah, well. I don't know what she'd think about that. She's our teacher now."
"I know." He grinned and looked up to meet Léon's eyes.
"And..." Léon's smile disappeared. "I need you to tell me everything that happened since I left, Pipo."
Pipo sighed. He lowered his eyes and straightened his posture. From their left came the sound of hard steps on the grass.
"I know," Pipo repeated. With renewed confidence, he set his gaze on Rafaela, who continued her walk through the grass until she reached them. Pipo got up. "I also know something that can help us three. Something that can make us strong again. If we want to."
He looked at Léon.
"What do you say, Leo? Do you want your powers back?"
Well, Leo?A__A tsk tsk. I'm not sure if I would if I were in his place...