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Alastor's shadow was a peculiar thing. It followed him everywhere, sometimes seen, mostly blended with the darkness. Vox knew it was more than just an accessory, though. The shadow was the real Alastor. All of his softer attributes- love, care, need for connection, self-worth, peace, loyalty- everything he didn't want people to take advantage of tossed out of the spotlight.
But spotlight was Vox's specialty.
The shadow ran to every patch of darkness it could find. Running in fear as each hiding place was taken away by another light. Eventually there were no more places to run. Only blinding LEDs in any direction. The separated shadow curled up in the corner of the room, a semi-tangible form of Alastor. Tender. Vulnerable. Without its protective mask to shield it from the horrors.
A single blue claw shocked under the shadow's chin, tilting up that dark face with its dimly glowing frown.
“What's wrong, Al? When have I ever not been good to you? You're always the one rejecting me because of your own insecurities…so I helped you with that obstacle. See? You can trust me~”
As his predatory claws chilled down the back of the shadow’s neck, it knew that it couldn't…but there's no other choice. Alastor’s body reflected the fear of the shadow, trembling in the chair at the other side of the room. Despite being disjointed, they were still two parts of the same man. Emotions, thoughts, and memories all intact.
“I never trusted you! You always lie and spin stories!” Alastor snapped, and a glowing wire wrapped over his mouth. There were no speakers for him to take advantage of, either. Vox grinned wider, knowing he was now one on one with the shadow. No mask to defend the way it really felt- The way Alastor really felt- and it could communicate directly into his signals.
“Come on, sweetheart. You can talk to me. Why did you reject me?” He leaned in, trailing a claw over the shadow’s semi-tangible ears. Even that small of a gesture made it recoil and pull its legs further up to its chest. A single green tear formed on its face.
A quiet voice, distinctly Alastor’s but laced with a southern drawl and a whispery softness, took form inside Vox’s head. “I was afraid…” It spoke timidly, “Afraid you would use me as a stepladder. Afraid I wouldn’t be enough to satisfy your need to climb higher. I know how you took advantage of people in your life…pretended to be in their good graces just to murder them and take their position.”
Vox’s face softened. Suddenly the visceral reaction Alastor had all those years ago made sense. Sure, his persona was a bit of a prick, but fear was the real thing driving his actions. “Let’s rule together as partners” wasn’t the genuine offer that Vox wanted it to be. In fact, he surprised himself with how much he really wanted to share the spotlight for once. It should have been no surprise that someone as skeptical, perceptive, and defensive as Alastor would take his offer as a threat.
He’d been the boy who cried wolf too many times. Established a pattern of being a friendly face in the morning and the throat cutter at night. It almost…it was rightfully stupid of him to think Alastor would take his offer differently. He backed away from the shadow and turned off the lights, allowing the two parts to reconnect. The wires fell. Alastor stretched and stood up. “Was your conversation with him everything you hoped and dreamed?” he asked sarcastically. That mask he wore really was insufferable. Sad, really, that he felt a need to cover up his true nature that way. Such a soft and gentle soul that wore thorns. A fawn pretending to be a wolf.
“It…was enlightening.” Vox said. His tone sounded defeated.
Alastor chuckled and spun his cane. “I bet so! And you haven’t–”
“Alastor.”
It paused for a moment.
“I’m sorry.”
The words hung in the air. Alastor’s expression glitching and shifting as if the mask were cracking. As if the shadow wanted to express itself and didn’t know how to because it’d been wearing this persona for so long. “You should be!” he finally said with a laugh, “This is probably the first time you’ve ever felt guilty, you poor thing! That is…if it’s not just a show to spin my heart back in your direction. You lost that and my respect long ago.”
“I know.” Vox surrendered, looking at his hands, thinking of all the things he’d done. “Being at the top…doesn’t really mean a thing if you’re up there by yourself. I’ve learned that much. And even if I can’t have you, I want to become the kind of person you might have considered if we could do it all over again. I want to change…I’m going to the hotel.”
“And I will make sure to avoid you! Good luck changing. You and I are both products of our time and no amount of singing and crying is going to fucking fix that~!” Alastor walked out, but the small voice with the Louisiana accent whispered one last time in Vox’s mind.
I’ll be waiting for you, dear.