Messages Between Brothers

Who: Dorian and Mathias
Where: On the phone
When: Morning

"Bro, bro - pick up! Come on - pick up, pick up. You even there? Aww, hell. I'll ring back."

Dorian had been in the shower when the phone rang, getting ready for work. It wasn't until he was actually walking there that he heard the message. From the way it sounded, Mathias was in trouble. Dorian hurriedly called back, aware he couldn't do shit if he was, but not wanting to wait another minute. "Pick up," he muttered as the phone rang.

Unfortunately, right about the time Dorian rang back, Mathias was busy pushing his car off a cliff and didn't even hear the phone ring and the damn thing went, finally, to answerphone. Hey, this is Math - leave a message if it's important. if not - see you around.

Dammit, Dorian thought, getting pushed to voice mail. Hopefully that just meant Mathias was preoccupied, so he went ahead and left a message. "Hey, bro, it's me. Got your message. Call me back and let me know you're alive," he said, then hung up. What else was there to say? Mathias hadn't exactly been forthcoming in the message he'd left. Dorian would just have to wait.

Mathias did ring back - about three hours later and once he was well away from the scene. He'd have rung back sooner, but the area he was didn't have great reception for his cell. As if was, when he finally sat down beneath a tree to ring through, the line was terrible as it rang on the other end. he wondered if his brother would be in this time round.

By the time Mathias rang back, Dorian was at work. That didn't stop him from answering though. It was his store and he'd do as he pleased. Besides, the store was empty at present. "Hey," he said, jumping right into conversation. "Where are you? What happened?" Reasonable questions, considering it was Mathias.

"California. I think - possibly just over into Oregon. I dunno - Id rove a lot last night," he admitted. "And then ran some. Helluva view though - how's you little brother?" he asked, shrugging everything off. So there were people out for his blood - Mathias rarely let a little fact like that bother him.

The fact that Mathias was calm settled Dorian's nerves. If Mathias had still been in trouble, he'd have heard it right then. "As good as I can be, with Caleb in the house. Did you know he's a little punk? Somehow I missed this fact," Dorian said, flipping through a book on goblins. "So, what're you running from?"

"How's playing dad going for you then?" Mathias laughed. "And you were a little punk at his age. Probably - I think I remember mom moaning about you anyway," he added. Mathias hadn't been around much then. He hadn't been around much, period. Hell, Caleb hadn't even been at school when Mathias had left home. He ignored the question about what he was running from, knowing Dorian wouldn't approve - he never did.

"I make a shitty dad," Dorian said, rolling his eyes. He could report on the last few day's activities, but that would make him look like a real idiot. "I wasn't a punk like he is," he laughed. "Or at least, I don't think I was..." That may have been incorrect. It was hard to remember, but he hadn't always been the most pleasant to be around. Still, he wasn't like Caleb. "So, if you're not going to tell me what you're running from, tell me where you're off to?"

"Wherever the wind blows me, bro," Mathias said with an unconcerned air. "East, probably - hell, I can hardly go west, right? What's he doing that's so punk like then?" he asked, settling down more under his tree and looking up at the blue sky through the branches.

"We got into a fight and he stormed out. Came back in through the window and brought a girl with him. Total nutcase, but she's got nowhere else to go, so she's sleeping in the dining room," Dorian laughed, running his fingers through his hair. "I've gotta get her out of the house, but I don't know how. And then last night he barely made it home before dawn. I don't have a clue what he's out doing, but he's not even eighteen. And he doesn't really seem the type to be at a party."

"Fuck, bro - sounds like everything's totally fucking out of control there. You really aren't cut out for this parenting gig, are you?" he laughed. "You let his girlfriend move in? Hell, not even I could have pulled that crap off with mom and dad..." Which was saying something, Mathias was aware that he'd been very definitely number one son, and in more ways than just order of birth.

"No shit!" he said, leaning back in his chair. "How do I tell him no though, when the option is to throw his girlfriend out on the street? Oh, don't even get me started on what he thinks we could have managed," Dorian sighed. "He's pissed at mom and dad for reasons he won't go into, but it definitely involves us. Besides them, it makes me enemy number one. No, wait, that would be you," Dorian said, rolling his eyes. "It's good to come in second, for once."

"He barely even knows me," Mathias pointed out. "I was, am, what? the guy who occasionally shows up on Thanksgiving and sometimes even remembers to send a birthday card? And as for living on the streets - I've done it a fair few times in my life and I'm still here." He sighed. "Not that I'm suggesting you do that to girlie whatsername, but doesn't she have parents? How old is she anyway? She's not stringing him along, is she? Because I've seen that game played - hell, I've played it myself and it never ends well..."

"I'm not saying it's reasonable," Dorian said, completely with Mathias on this one. "I think he's holding things against me that I can't even imagine. And, if it was a guy, sure, he could be on the streets, but even then... we've had two murders in the past two days. Kind of strange, for such a small town. And she can't be more than sixteen. If she's stringing him along, she's going about it in an odd way. He was sleeping on the floor when I found them." Dorian snorted, amused, and shook his head. "Don't have a clue where her parents are, but she hasn't been reported missing. I had that checked into."

"Murders? Don't you guys live in some sleepy-ass town in the middle of nowhere?" Mathias asked, frowning slightly. "And if she's sixteen, call social services - they'll take her off your hands quick as. Course, Caleb might be pissed at you, but from the sounds of it that'd be nothing new," Mathias suggested.

"Yeah, we do," Dorian said. He'd thought it was awfully weird himself, but it had to be more dangerous in a bigger city, didn't it? Maybe it just didn't make the papers because it was more frequent. "And I don't think I'm ready for that new level of pissed. I'll give it a day and then talk to him again." She had to be gone by the new moon, end of story.

"Good luck with that," Mathias said - for once sounding like he meant it. "Look, Dor - I'm gonna be out of contact for a while. I've not got that much battery in this thing and I'm a ways from a town. I'll call when I can. Might be a couple of days though." Which was the nearest Mathias would ever admit to being in trouble.

"Thanks," Dorian said. He really wanted to get things under control soon. He wanted his house back to normal, his life, and his brother. The Caleb in his mind had never been this freaking crazy. "What's your final destination?" Dorian asked, attempting not to sound concerned. Mathias wouldn't tell him what he was running from, so the level of danger was hard to judge.

"Haven't decided yet," Mathias said, rooting through his back looking for food and coming out with half a pack of cigarettes instead. His voice muffled as he lit up. "Who knows - maybe I'll drop by or something," he added, nonchalantly.

Dorian chuckled softly and shook his head, a motion that Mathias couldn't see. He didn't really expect his brother to show up; he was halfway across the country. "Well, you're welcome anytime, if you're in the area. Just give me a call either way, okay? I don't you to go missing when Caleb's so intent on running off at every chance." At least he was there when Dorian woke up, even if he couldn't manage to be there when Dorian passed out. So far, Dorian's attempts at installing rules had failed miserably.

"I'll do what I can, bro. No promises though," he said, taking a long drag. "Look Dorian, I really gotta go - say hi to Caleb for me if you get a chance to get a civil word in there. And mom if they call." He paused. "And text me your address - I don't think I have it at the moment," he added. "Michigan, right?" Damn if that wasn't a long way away, but it was also, well, a long way away. And that seemed like a good idea at the moment. A town, a car, a plane - that's what credit cards were for, right?

"Will do," Dorian said. He was reluctant to mention Mathias to Caleb, if only because he was sure that would make things worse. He couldn't say why, but he had the feeling that Caleb's bitterness would just as easily extend to the brother he hardly even knew. "Yeah, Michigan. Marquette. It's up by the lake. I'll text you." His fingers drummed on the counter. "Be careful, Mathias. Okay?"

Mathias laughed at that, a short, harsh laugh. "Always," he said with confidence. of course, that was confidence from a guy currently sitting under a tree, on the run from a group of people who would love to see him dead, all his possessions reduced to a small back pack, a cell phone and a wallet full of cards. For Mathias 'careful' meant something most people wouldn't recognise. Unfortunately, his brother knew that all too well. "See you around," he said, before hanging up. He checked the battery level on his cell before switching it off for now as he stood up. He picked a direction almost at random, trusting on luck to get him where he needed to go. It might be less than scientific, but it had served him well in the past.

He was still alive, anyway.