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The most annoying thing Bruno has gotten used to with having a system is even more spacing out. Sure he was distracted as a kid, heck he’s distracted now, but it’s so much worse when there are three other voices in your head.
Don’t get him wrong, Bruno loves his brothers Jorge, Hernando, and Diego. They all have done so much to help each other. They take care of one another and keep everyone safe. The downside is when one disassociates, sometimes they don’t all retain the same memories.
The example of this Bruno found himself in was getting caught in the middle of a Madrigal prank war.
It was good that Camilo and Diego were getting along, after all the shapeshifter was the reason Diego presented himself the way he did. Tall, thin, and scary with his constantly glowing eyes. Now, however, their relationship was a little too chaotic. One moment Bruno would mind his own business going about his day in Casita. The next, the seer would walk through a doorway and step on a trip wire. The bucket above the doorway splashed him with a gallon of milk, soaking his favorite ruana.
“Camilo!” Diego yelled as he fronted. “You’re in for a rude awaking!” The alter glared daggers into the shapeshifter, who was laughing from his hiding spot on the second floor.
“You’re a clairvoyant!” Camilo called back through fits of laughter. “Shouldn’t you have seen that coming?”
Diego just rolled his eyes. “That’s not how it works.”
It took a few hours to get the smell out of his clothes.
The next time Bruno got caught in the middle was when Camilo threw an empty bottle of mislabeled shampoo at his head. The teen walked passed him with their once beautiful head of copper curls dyed a bright shade of green. “Tell Diego, he’s a terrible person.” Bruno glanced at a reflection of himself where he saw the alter laughing. “I think he already knows.”
Diego drew the line when Camilo brought the rats into the prank war. He returned the favor of coloring his hair to the small creatures by painting their fur. Harmless enough, with the natural paint Camilo used but the rats themselves were still uncomfortable with the substance trapped on their bodies.
The morning started tame but by the end of the day Camilo gave up miserable.
Camilo had gone down for breakfast and reached for some sugar to put into his coffee. He liked his more on the sweet side so without checking he put in a few large spoonfuls of the white substance and took a large sip. He spat it out as soon as he tasted the salty flavor. It was a few breaks later when the teen reached to grab a cool drink of milk. He shook the glass bottle a few times but after staring at the solidified content he gave up.
Later in town, his losing streak became public when Camilo went to meet up with a few friends. They got a few bags of roasted flakes and fries to enjoy while they walked around. Diego switched Camilo’s treat out with a fresh batch of peper-laced food when the boy wasn’t looking. It only took a few bites before the teen’s face was as red as a tomato and he was sweating.
“Surriender and you get releif.” Diego appeared around a corner offering a glass of milk.” “How do I know that’s not poisoned too?” Camilo coughed. The seer took a sip of the beverage, smirking with his new milk stash. “Guess you’ll just have to suffer.” “Gimmie!” Camilo bounced to inhale the drink. “Why does it taste weird?” He glanced at his uncle once the burning on his tongue had died down. “Cuz it’s day old goat's milk.”
“Ewwwww.” The chorus of Camilo’s friends drawled as they watched his suffering.
“You try living in the walls and getting things that weren’t expired or thrown out.” Diego shrugged as he disappeared into the crowd.
After that attack Camilo kept his guard up, unsure when Diego’s next strike would be.
The answer was when the attack came from Antonio. Well, maybe not directly from him, but who else would have been able to convince Pico to drop a bowl of melted cheese on Camilo’s head? The toucan flapped away as the shapeshifter attempted to pick the sticky substance out of his (thankfully now brown) hair.
“Really? Now that’s just a waste of perfectly good food.” Camilo deadpanned as Diego descended casita’s stairs. “Who said it was going to go to waste?” The man tilted his head, signature creepy smile plastered on his face. Diego snapped his fingers and a few dozen rats scampered up Camilo’s body to devour the cheese.
“No no no! Get them off me! There’s so many!” The teen squealed as he tried to push the rats off and pull them out of his hair. “No, I think this is fair.” Diego patted his nephew on the shoulder. “Think of it as their revenge.”
“Diego no! Come back! I give up okay? You win! Diego!”