Chapter Text
Settling down for the day, Horuss took his headgear off, placing it on the recuperacoon-side table. He currently wasn't in a very pleasant mood over the interaction he had with Kurloz earlier in the night. Rufioh didn't know anything regarding the situation, and Horuss wasn't sure how to bring it up to him. After all, it involved romantic advances he kept having to reject. Something about Kurloz's new strange behavior bothered him even more, making it all the more difficult to discuss. He wasn't sure if he could bring this issue up with his own moirail, due to her being awfully close to that clown.
Unfortunately, it wasn't the first case of uncomfortable advances. Cronus had accosted him before, ending up saying some hurtful things when being denied. He made the preposterous claim that Rufioh was seeing other people. That simply couldn't be true. It must have been one of the rumors within the group that meant nothing in actuality. Rufioh wouldn't do that to him. They've been devoted to each other for a long time. For eternity, as a matter of fact.
It was easy for him to see that they were the strongest pairing within their group. Spending both their life and afterlife together, as well as being the first and only couple to get engaged. Just thinking about these unwanted romantic encounters has got him worked up again. No matter the signs, he couldn't see himself with anyone but Rufioh.
Horuss looked over at his partner, seeing he was currently reading one of his exotic graphic novels. Rufioh always insisted that it was called something specific, but Horuss couldn't quite recall what that was at the moment. Mange? No, that's not it. Well, despite the fact he didn't quite get his childish interests, he still adored him. Just looking at that rogue has got him a little flustered. Hopefully he'll allow for a cuddle session this time, with the chance of it progressing into something more. Apart from the obvious sweating issue that often got in the way, Rufioh has been complaining about being too sore for it. Maybe he's been hugging him too tight lately.
Never mind any of that, Horuss needed to focus on completing his routine. All of this worry was just an unpleasant distraction. It won't do anyone any good to dwell on it. With that in mind, he then let his hair down, intending to comb it, only to be met with a horrible surprise. His hair has been cut, with a good few inches missing. His heart sank over his gorgeous mane being ruined. It will be quite some time before it grows out and looks normal again. There was no doubt that this was the work of Kurloz. Saying nothing, he put his hair back up before storming out of the hive.
The sky was overcast, looking like it would rain soon, but that didn't matter. Kurloz was out there, Horuss was certain of it. That troll was becoming a great problem for him. Pestering him, stalking him, stealing his things, and now this. At first, his advances seemed like some strange joke, like he just wanted to get a rise from him for a laugh, but he was gradually taking things further. This latest act of his was unforgivable.
Though Horuss didn't shout for him, he scanned the area while seething with rage. There were a large amount of hiding spots within the forest, especially the foliage, making this vantage point frustratingly useless. Kurloz could be hidden just about anywhere out there. However, what managed to pull his attention away from his hatred of Kurloz was Rufioh.
Cautiously approaching, Rufioh spoke up. "Yo, Horuss, my gangsta... What's going on?"
Horuss's expression softened as he looked over his shoulder at Rufioh. He wasn't sure what he should say to him, only sighing out at first. Still, it would be too dishonest to not tell him anything. "Kurloz has been rather troublesome as of late."
"Did he do something?" Rufioh asked.
That question made Horuss clench his fists, lightly stamping his foot in annoyance. There was no telling how long he walked around tonight looking like this. "He cut my mane." Getting met with a sympathetic "oh", with Rufioh finally noticing it, Horuss turned to face him. He was a mix of emotions, but tried to keep it together. Making use of what Meulin had taught him in that regard, he forced a smile and tried to be "positive" about it. "I would need to have a word with him about it later."
Wow, that smile was more off-putting when seeing the rest of his face. Trying to be polite, Rufioh returned a soft, yet awkward smile back. "Yeah... Uh... Let's just get back inside for now..."
"Alright."
-
Though Rufioh had managed to help ease Horuss enough for them to sleep together, once the evening came around, there was only one thing on Horuss's mind when he awoke. Kurloz. It was clear there was going to be some sort of confrontation between those two. Rufioh wasn't sure what kind, but it's been a while since seeing Horuss this outwardly agitated. Even if he tried to hide it with a smile this time around, it was plain to see. Horuss had insisted everything was fine, but this was clearly heading somewhere unpleasant.
For now, Horuss remained tense as he stared at the interface on his goggles, waiting for a reply from Kurloz. He's been thinking over all the things he could say depending on the response he got from him. The nerve of that purple blood. It was clear he was getting impatient as well, bouncing his leg in the chair he sat at. Feeling a hand get placed on him, he realized he was frowning and forced a smile as he looked over at Rufioh.
"Oh! I'm sorry, were you saying something?" Horuss asked, only to continue from Rufioh just appearing a bit unnerved. "I recall you said something earlier about heading out with some of our friends tonight. Are you leaving now?"
"Uh, yeah... Just wanted to let you know... Also, I wanted to check up on my boy before I go, heh." Rufioh said, rubbing the back of his neck. "So uh... You okay?"
"Yes, I'm quite alright. As I said before, I just need to talk to Kurloz."
Hearing that made Rufioh sigh. That was the only thing he's been getting from him about any of this. He's seen how Horuss acts when he doesn't like someone, but that often involves petty jabs in "friendly" conversation. Something that was pretty standard within their group. Whatever this was, it was far more intense. Horuss was completely fixated on Kurloz because of the incident with his hair, all while staying agitated and miserable over it. "Whatever you say, man..."
Watching Rufioh leave, Horuss's smile faltered, eventually returning to a frown. Maybe using Meulin's advice on how to counter negativity wasn't as helpful as he believed it to be. Because of that, he reserved a moment to reflect on this issue. Perhaps all of this was foolish nonsense that was beneath him; childish and absurd. To think Kurloz would ignite this old rage within him and bring him down like this. That alone gave Horuss more of a reason to hate him, but he had to resist. He was better than this.
He considered how to handle his time alone in a more productive way rather than remaining controlled by his anger. There were several projects he wanted to work on, and focusing on those could help ease him in this case. A lot of time and effort went into his craft, ensuring it was a perfect metal copy of what he saw within his mind. Then again, there was the issue of several important tools missing from his workshop. Because of a certain troll. That's nothing he couldn't work around in the meantime at least.
With this, Horuss exited the hive and took in a breath of fresh air before heading further up the structure. While he had left his original hive a long time ago to reside in this forest with Rufioh, the dream bubbles allowed for fragments of it to blend within the tree fort. Entering one of the many abandoned huts, he found himself in the main block of his old hive. It was nostalgic, sure, but that wasn't what he was here for. Disregarding everything else there, he headed to the door that went down to his workshop.
Once he descended the stairs, he looked over at the desk that remained cluttered, a bit saddened. His main project, unfinished just like the others. While not all of it was set here, plenty of it took up the space on this desk. Might as well do what he's able to with it for now. Approaching the bench, he eyed what he could potentially work with. Maybe he should have cleaned up last time. Leaving things out like that seems to have allowed for Kurloz to know exactly what tools to take.
Some of the smaller sheets of metal on the desk needed to be shaped compared to the rest, so that was at least something he could work on. He originally set those aside, after marking a guideline on them, in order to focus on putting the main parts together. Grabbing one, he moved to a less-cluttered desk and brought out what he needed to mold the sheet to the desired shape. For this next part, he equipped his destrengthening gloves.
He then set the metal sheet down on a leather shot bag, holding it steady as he readied his bossing mallet. To start off the shaping process, he began hammering within the marked guideline. While he could easily bend and shape the metal with his own hands, his freakish strength could just as easily cause defects. Metal wasn't too forgiving of a material with its ductility, after all. This process was far more efficient in his eyes. Plus it helped to keep him busy, which was needed in times like these. There was a lot that troubled his mind even without others meddling like Kurloz had.
As Horuss began to work up a sweat with this, a notification popped up on the interface of his goggles. Finally, Kurloz messaged him. It took him nearly half the night to respond. Though it would be best to ignore him, he wanted to see what was said. Letting out a huff, he set the mallet down as he opened up Trollian.
Unlike anything he was expecting, Kurloz replied back confused, like he had no idea what he was talking about. That instantly brought Horuss's temper back. This recent stunt involving his hair was clearly Kurloz's doing. Nobody else has been acting so antagonistic towards him, nor had anyone else been sneaking around or sabotaging him. Others in their group were also fairly aware of Kurloz's recent behavior, yet he thought he still had an out with any of it?
Before Horuss could respond to the messages, a pair of arms wrapped around him. His anger subsided for a brief moment. "Rufioh?" He looked over his shoulder, expecting to see his betrothed, only to be met with a painted clown face instead. "You-" Horuss started. His tone alone had caused Kurloz to let go and put some space between them while holding his hands up to suggest he was done. Still, Horuss was far from happy to see him. "... You have an awful lot of nerve."
From that being all that was said to him, Kurloz's smile returned, and he eyed him as he went up to the desk. While it was fun to mess with Horuss, he didn't want such an interesting process to stop now that he was here to watch. To try and encourage him, Kurloz gestured to the metal sheet, suggesting for him to continue. With Horuss appearing stubborn, he then reached over for the mallet, only for it to get grabbed. It was evident that indigo didn't want to risk any more tools getting stolen, but at least the almost-thievery seemed to get him back to it.
Despite Kurloz's very presence being a nuisance at this point, Horuss tried to carry on, hammering the metal again. Thankfully his goggles managed to block Kurloz from his peripherals. If he pretended he was alone, like he typically was, he could still focus on his project in peace. Though, at the same time, he was fretting that Kurloz was going to take advantage of this somehow.
It didn't take long before Kurloz invaded Horuss's personal space anyway, interrupting his work. The recently cut strands of his hair were being played with, as if to rub it in. Once Kurloz began twirling the strands around his finger, Horuss grabbed his wrist with a firm squeeze and set that hand on the desk next to the other. He waited for a few long seconds before finally releasing him. Nothing was said the entire time, but the message was loud and clear: he needed to keep his hands to himself.
After that, Horuss continued to shape the metal. Kurloz observed him during this, elated over how annoyed he appeared. He then set his focus to the hammering itself, monitoring it. There wasn't too much of a gap between the mallet and the metal sheet at first, but that soon changed when Horuss needed to intensify the metal's curve. Right as the mallet was at the arc of the next swing, Kurloz quickly set his hand on the metal sheet.
The sudden motion caused Horuss to redirect mid-swing to avoid hitting Kurloz, ending up smacking the mallet against the desk. Horuss grit his teeth over that, frowning more prominently. As if that alone wasn't enough of a disturbance, Kurloz of course decided to captchalogue the curved metal sheet as well. The flickering lights from that awful sylladex taunted him further.
Infuriated beyond belief, Horuss threw the mallet to the floor before grabbing Kurloz. Nobody has ever managed to tick him off like this before. While it would go against his vow of pacifism, part of him wanted to unequip his gloves just to leave some bruises on him. Nothing else was getting it across that this abhorrent behavior was the last thing he needed- nearly pushing him over the edge.
Kurloz seemed overly thrilled with the escalation, as if he finally got his way. Right, that was why he was doing all of this to begin with. "What makes you think you could have me?" Horuss fumed at him, though he already knew Kurloz wouldn't supply an actual answer. At most, he's been giving vague responses that ultimately meant nothing.
Kurloz chose to let this be a momentary standstill as he stared expectantly at him. There was genuine pitch tension between them, he could feel it. Not just plain hatred, but a passionate loathing. All he wanted was for Horuss to seal the deal. Then he could finally have him.
While still irritated, Horuss relaxed a bit from the lack of further antagonism. This is just going to continue no matter what was said, but he might as well get out with it. "I couldn't possibly vacillate between you and Rufioh. Even if pitch, your current behavior is beyond reasonable. I can't engage in this, and I don't want this. I get that you're frustrated, but you should really seek out someone else."
With that, Horuss released his grip on Kurloz. Rejecting these advances always made the atmosphere emotionally charged and uncomfortable. Because of this, he couldn't bring himself to look at Kurloz, turning away from him. After considering what to do for a moment, he figured it was best to leave Kurloz here rather than to try and force him out of the hive memory.
However, when he tried to walk away, Kurloz grabbed his ponytail and gave a forceful yank that brought him back. Up close again, a hand went to his throat. The grip was firm at first, with Kurloz then delivering a squeezing motion to teasingly constrict his air flow. Not enough to actively choke, but enough to make Horuss nervous he would. When he started to perspire from this, Kurloz leaned in and sniffed him, as if the scent was heady to him.
That sickened Horuss, but before he could do anything about it, Kurloz promptly gave him a shove. Offended, Horuss shot a glare at him afterwards, only to be met with a smile as Kurloz waved goodbye to him. It was as if he was saying he was done with him for now. Unsettled, Horuss made his way to the staircase, backing up while keeping an eye on Kurloz.
Once he made it to the stairs, he broke eye contact, only to hear Kurloz's hurried steps approaching. Panicked that Kurloz was chasing him down, Horuss made a mad dash up the stairs, ending up slamming the door behind himself when reaching the top. Leaning against the door right after, he tried to calm down by controlling his breathing. He expected Kurloz to make more of an attempt to get to him, mentally preparing himself for it, but everything remained still. Maybe Kurloz didn't have any real intention to do anything, with the short-lived chase being a bluff just to freak him out.
Though he was granted the time to relax, his pusher was beating frantically, and he felt conflicted over that purple blood. Kurloz was definitely doing something to him and he didn't like it. This felt like it was getting more intense the more it continued, which deeply troubled him. Already, he was dreading future encounters with him. Trying to ignore his worries for now, he decided to head back to his and Rufioh's hive.
-
Enough time had passed that Horuss was less stressed about the possibility of Kurloz doing anything to him, even if he was still hung up on it. Leaving that troll in his memory was probably a mistake, but it made sense to leave rather than to remain there with him for another second. He wasn't necessarily scared of Kurloz himself, but his actions were becoming too much for him to handle. Just thinking about how Kurloz held him close made him queasy.
It will be fine. All Kurloz needed was some time to process the rejection. He had Meulin, and his moirail Mituna as well. A decent support system. Unfortunately for Horuss, his own moirail was Meulin, which complicated things for him. He wasn't sure if she would be biased over this involving Kurloz, despite her pale relationship with him. At the very least, he could just wait this out. After all, it was only a matter of time before Kurloz got bored of this and stopped pursuing him.
What eventually disrupted Horuss's thoughts was the door opening. Still a bit on-edge, he jumped at the noise before turning around. Seeing it was just Rufioh, relief washed over him. His matesprit's presence alone managed to brighten up his night in an instant. More than happy over his return, Horuss didn't hesitate to head over and embrace him. The warmth of him was so soothing, not to mention intoxicating. Rufioh returned the hug, but not without letting out an uncomfortable laugh.
"Try not to squeeze me, big guy, heh..." Rufioh said, getting let go right after.
"Sorry, I-" Horuss began, only to stop when spotting Kurloz glaring at him through the window. A chill went through him from seeing that piercing gaze of his. Rufioh noticed this and looked over his shoulder and tried to see what he did, only for him to miss it by a second.
Though confused, Rufioh tried to reassure Horuss, but none of what he was saying was making it through to him. Especially when he noticed something that made his heart drop. The nose ring that fortified their relationship, their commitment to each other, was missing from Rufioh's face. He couldn't have just taken it out, right? It was an overly prominent display of their love. If he was- no, he wouldn't!
Smiling forcefully, Horuss decided to address it. "Rufioh, you appear to be missing your snout ring. Did something happen to it?"
Rufioh's eyes widened as he realized his mistake. He brought a hand up to feel the area above his lip, in disbelief he forgot to put it back in. Despite that, he immediately came up with something believable. "Shit... Man, I think it fell out or something."
Horuss was easily convinced of this, relieved it was missing rather than being hidden in shame. Now they just had to find it. That ring was something he had searched everywhere for before, and he'll search for it all over again if he had to. No matter if Kurloz was out there or not. "We should go look for it. Where did you say you went?" He asked, but Rufioh went ahead and talked him down in an instant.
"Woah, hey... You had a stressful night... You know, dealing with the whole Kurloz thing, and uh... I can just look for it later. Our friends can help too, so there's really no need to worry."
With that, Horuss loosened up a bit. He wasn't too sure about Rufioh's plan, but he understood that it was best to not get worked up about this. What mattered was that they were together, ring or no ring. "I suppose you're right..."