Desire.
Baikal didn’t even know the man’s name, but suddenly he knew one thing with absolute perfect clarity.
The beautiful performer would belong to him.
The song came to an end too quickly and the auditorium erupted, people all but leaping from their seats as they applauded and cheered. He was one of the few who took their time rising to their feet, his six’ two” height allowing him to easily set his gaze back on his target the moment he was standing.
He watched as the man dipped into a low bow and then turned and steadily made his way off the stage, disappearing behind a large black velvet curtain. Even after he’d gone his presence lingered, urging Baikal to go after him and get him back within his sights. But he’d never been one to hand the reins over to anything, least of all his emotions, and instead of listening he slipped his hands into the front pockets of his pants and rocked on his heels as he considered where he’d go from here.
Suddenly the world didn’t seem so tedious or suffocating, instead filled with as much color and possibility as the beiska had created, and he gave himself a moment to drink it all in and fully experience it. After, he’d get to work.
His new tiny obsession might be an unknown right now, but he’d be changing that.
A Devil of Vitality never failed to hit his mark.
Chapter 1:
Rabbit Trace fiddled with the unopened bar of chocolate in his pocket, debating whether or not he could go another hour or so without eating a piece. Since he typically only allowed himself the one, unless he had a performance scheduled that day, he had to make the four-piece snap bar last.
Resolutely, he removed his hand from his pocket and picked up the fork he’d been using to spread his uninviting lunch around his meal tray, continuing right where he’d left off.
Across from him, his one and only friend finally glanced up from the screen of his multi-slate—the body-born computer they all wore strapped to their wrists that acted as both a communicator and computer—and took notice.
“Something up?” Sila asked, pointedly tapping the device off in a show of giving Rabbit his full, undivided attention.
He sighed and pushed more of his prim berries into the cali mash. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to talk about it, but the two of them, while friends, didn’t have all that much in common aside from being loners, and that had changed at the start of this year fairly quickly.
As a sophomore, Sila was dressed in the traditional shade of light gray that was required of him, the top three buttons undone to give a glimpse down the front of his shirt whenever he leaned forward even a little. He’d always had a toned body, but showing it off was new, as was the confidence in his stride whenever Rabbit spotted him around campus. Since they didn’t share the same major, and were a couple of years apart, they didn’t have any classes with one another. Still, they’d been sitting at lunch together since last year when Sila had quietly asked Rabbit if the seat across from him was taken.
When he thought about it, he supposed it made sense that the younger man had changed from that quiet reserved kid. Freshman year was always scary, but add to the fact Sila had traveled all the way from a different galaxy and it must have been heightened for him. Now that he was a sophomore and had a better grasp of things and the planet, he’d found his footing.
Rabbit really wished he’d find his own already, damn.
As a senior, he was dressed in a black shirt, buttoned to the top. Since it was the beginning of the semester and chilly out, he’d thrown on his black bomber jacket, the one that was big enough on him he felt he could hunch his shoulders and hide a bit from prying eyes. The color-coordinated dress code was a big deal at the university, and he’d traded in his dark gray one with the white stripes on the arms for this new one, knowing full well he’d hate it.
Black didn’t blend on campus as well as the two shades of gray, lighter for sophomores and darker for juniors. It stood out in the crowd in a similar fashion to the way the all-white freshmen were ordered to wear did. The only difference was as a senior he had more choice in style and could even wear things with detailing in one of the other three shades.
While his black ensemble made him stand out, it was also meant to be met with respect from younger students, though admittedly, Rabbit wasn’t a fan of that type of attention either.
“How are you so…” he waved his hand in the air and then blew out a breath, realizing he was failing miserably to start this conversation.
“I’m not following,” Sila said, tearing a chunk off his roll and popping it into his mouth as he waited for Rabbit to try again.
That was one thing that hadn’t changed about his friend. Sila was patient, impressively so. The guy could sit still for hours losing himself in one thing or another, sometimes just his own mind.
“You seem to be getting on with people fairly well,” he blurted, cringing at himself afterward.
To his credit, Sila merely hummed in understanding and kept on eating. “People are easy once you know how to get to them.”
He frowned, but his friend was thankfully not finished.
“What’s this about? It’s only the third week and you’ve already taken notice that I’ve made more friends. Usually you’d be too wrapped up in studies for that. Are you trying to branch out?”
Rabbit wasn’t even offended by the comment because it was the truth. He could count on one hand all the personal details about Sila that he knew. They were friends in the sense that they’d bonded over being loners, and sure, every now and again one of them opened up a little—like he was trying to do right now—but for the most part, they admittedly functioned more like close acquaintances than actual friends. Aside from their lunches, it was rare for the two of them to meet up anywhere else or hang out since Rabbit was typically busy practicing.
There was also the matter of him not really being allowed to have friends, but that part he smartly kept to himself. He may not be close with anyone, but he was hardly a social pariah, and he intended to keep it that way if only because he had to.
His interactions with Sila were the one small thing he allowed himself, and it appeared he was even messing that up.
