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The Maschief would whine, but when the little pup would quietly be laid on the blanket as Jazz set everything out, the little pup rubs into her side, as Magnus...[break][break]

Remains as quiet as he was.[break][break]

His face is set forward, golden eyes trying to quantify his actions. The moment sandwiches are offered, he just... refuses to eat. He stares down at the blanket. And with a hand over the fur of Cappuccino, he lies down, arms behind his head.[break][break]

Too much shit in his head.[break][break]

"Thanks," he begins... as he starts as he stares at the sky. He's bitter. Pissed at himself, inwardly, and outwardly, at all of it. "It happened when we got together years ago. First night-" he starts, bitter. "-you looked so perfect, dancing. I couldn't tear my eyes away, you know."[break][break]

...[break][break]

His hand reaches for her own.[break][break]

His grip tightens.[break][break]

"I mean that, Jazz."

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It's finally feeling a lot warmer now. It's not fixing the issue, dear god the level of work needed on such a fine-tuned level needed to fix it, but... it's a good point for starting.[break][break]

Holding Cappuccino in one arm, and Jasmine in the other, he stands, back to his tall, tall height, he stands more emotionless. "Let's get out of this jungle first, Jazz."[break][break]

As Cappuccino makes little quiet whimpers, Magnus wants to at least, handle the dog first before anything went further, but-[break][break]

...[break][break]

Shit.[break][break]

Yeah. Lot better to get that out of his system now at least. Not supposed to love.

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It's romantic in the same way that Magnus always is. Jack is a prude, he's a spiteful sleazy douche sometimes. But today, he knows that its a front. Mostly one stupid front, to keep himself from that commitment. And Jazzy's the same. They lie, they play with others, but they both were bad at this. They were.[break][break]

Magnus can see her blush. Even if its cringey, he can't help but smile. Genuine. How long ago has it been since this?[break][break]

The dog whining has her rip herself from his arms, and Magnus hears it too. He's quick to pinpoint where. And its when he sees it, that he's already throwing off his jacket, and his shirt. Cappuccino had broken his little leg, and was whimpering. There was a little blood too, but as soon as Magnus finds him, he's crying again, he's fucking bawling more than any crybaby. He's pulling him into a hug.[break][break]

"Don't go far from me."[break][break]

To whom is it meant for...?[break][break]

One arm looped around his Mabostiff, and another now pulling Jasmine close... it was to both. "..." He pulls Jasmine to a quiet, tender kiss.[break][break]

"I ain't gonna lie, Jazz... I'm terrified of this shit. Always been told not to fall for a stripper." he can't help but get a smug, yet hearty look on his face as he makes the jape, but pulls her to another tender kiss.[break][break]

"They've just never found the right one. Not like me."

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He knew exactly what he was doing. She knew too. Because the moment was so heavy... par tof it certainly was Orthrus. Part of it might have been a phase, but it was one that to his core made him vulnerable. To his core, showed him what he had to lose, and realize how much more he had to hold on.[break][break]

He's afraid to let go, so he bends his back, he holds on more and more, he tightens his grip... the fear came in. She was already gone. At least, he thought she could be so easily gone.[break][break]

He smiled so innocently for the moment, as he turns her to him. "Jazz-" his eyes are pricked, and he moves to grab her hands in his. "-the real reason I ain't with anyone else... is because I mean it," he confesses, not from guilt, or hatred, of codependency. He wasn't happy deliberately because no one could fit that square peg to the round hole that way. "Months ago, I tried to get with this-... someone. I tried... couldn't get it up."[break][break]

He continues on. "Next day, you come into my room, and I can't hold back... tried again a few times. Left a few of them on read before..." he pulls her into his chest now, letting her lean into him.[break][break]

"Everyone leaves... I got so little of it left... but not you. I can't let you go. Not my woman."[break][break]

Whining...[break][break]

Wait... puppy whining? Where was it coming from...?

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"No."[break][break]

He stops her fully. Pulling her back into him. The roar in the distance startled him, but the way his chest pounded, as he lets her feel it fully, he finally fucking says it.[break][break]

"Tellin' you, because I love the shit you do for me." He loves it. He says the word, but not directly. Not yet, anyways. But as they stop, he pulls her tighter, holding on for dear life. Because the other dogs leave, they all walk away, and he just doesn't want that anymore.[break][break]

"Because I love you, bitch. You drive me crazy."[break][break]

Okay... well, he said that in his way. And as he pulls her tighter, he closes his eyes.[break][break]

"That's why I can't stand the idea of you with other guys... Lani, she's probably the only woman I'd ever allow, but not other guys. Never." He was in love with a stripper, and finally admitted it. Took a damn long time.

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He was looking right at her. Even as they walked, even as she led them forward, all he could do was look pitiful. The leader of Orthrus shouldn't look this pathetic, but he just... can't help it. He was down. Really down.[break][break]

"No. It can't," he finally says. The tone he took was weak, and quiet. Fragile. He takes a breath in. They walked... and so he talked.[break][break]

"Ever since... people started doing their own thing, it's felt more and more like the family keeps leaving," he opens up. His heart thinking of Slade, Keira, Oz, Doc, to name a few... "-I made this gang to pull in the dogs that the world lets go of, but-" It's more than that. As his eyes painfully show it, he feels the knots form in his stomach.[break][break]

"-I need them." His hand tightens around Jasmine's. He wanted a family more than anything in his life. His dad was practically always afraid of him, and his mom did too. They weren't parents. "I need you, Jazz-"[break][break]

And then-[break][break]

"I haven't seen anyone in the past few months." A dry spell. His hands tightens... Wisteria hits the skies, and all he can do is admit it. He's not seen anyone in awhile. Well, save maybe Leilani Reinhardt but well. They both did. The girls just had the common damn sense to keep Orthrus afloat while Magnus nearly drunk himself to death. Leilani really was a female version of himself, in so many ways, and it scared him. Yet, it was something he needed too.[break][break]

"And I don't want to."[break][break]

His thumb runs over her hand.

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It wasn't Jasmine at all. None of this was her fault, it was him. He did this. She just had everything down to a T, and she let it loose. And as he beats into the ground, he smashes up his hands.[break][break]

Another scream. This one, ripping at his very vocal chords, as he throws his head up. He shatters.[break][break]

And as that scream dies down to a whimper he bloodies his hands more. But nothing will bring them back. Not being angry at Jasmine, not being depressed, nothing. Nothing will work. The dog days were over. They were, and they werne't coming back.[break][break]

Magnus couldn't move.[break][break]

He becomes... almost catatonic. His face was riddled with tears and shame. His golden eyes just look listlessly forward.[break][break]

Cappuccino was-[break][break]

"Huh?" There it was. Instead of anger, or hatred, a genuine look of heartbreak is on his face as he hears Jasmine... and all he can do is just say.[break][break]

"Okay."[break][break]

He withdrew into himself. His hand out. Jasmine could pull him along, but... Magnus, as they walked, could only muster it.[break][break]

"... I'm sorry. Jasmine." Her full name...?[break][break]

Holy fuck...

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How the fuck did it get here?[break][break]

She spits back at him, he fights, but no matter how much he attacks her, it always hurts him the most in the end. Because he doesn't believe what he's saying. It crashes down at him, it always does. Lately, he's been so depressed, feeling lonelier than he ever had before, and he wants to fight back. He wants to show the world, nah, he won't take it.[break][break]

And yet, here she is. Jazz stands as the sole reason he can't get himself together. She drives him crazy, the way she is. How she was before, how he assumes she still is. He's in love with her, yet every second he thinks that, he doubles back. She can't love him, he can't love her. That's why they always fight. That's why he'll always get irritated at the other men. Why he always hates it. It's codependency. It's awful, it's terrible.[break][break]

And.[break][break]

When she throws the fist back, the gauntlet thrown, all he can do is respond with more anger.[break][break]

"I lead Orthrus! I-" For a moment, his hand is off the leash, letting it drop...[break][break]

And with it, Cappuccino runs for the hills, and Magnus' head swerves.[break][break]

Just like all the others. Doing work in the background, leaving, shimmying away. And the leader of Orthrus finds that the fight wasn't worth it, because his anger self-fulfilled his own prophecy. And with it, Jasmine saw the cracks in the armor.[break][break]

In the most pathetic attempt to throw an arm out, he doesn't catch the leash. The Mabostiff runs. And all Magnus can do is yell.[break][break]

"CAPPUCCINO. DON'T LEAVE ME TOO."[break][break]

Is... Magnus crying?[break][break]

Oh.[break][break]

Oh.[break][break]

He realized how much this had hurt him this whole time... and now, running into the dense jungle, all Magnus could do is roar, beating at the ground. He did this. The scream louder. What was he without them?[break][break]

He pushed them away. The Dogs of Orthrus had run their own ways. And with this... he felt the worst he ever had.[break][break]

The vulnerability breaks him. And he was doing the same to Jasmine Blair.

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It just keeps getting worse... but it's not her fault. But then, he who could he get mad at? He's not good at this. He can read all the books, become an intellectual all he wants, don't mean shit...[break][break]

When they all go away.[break][break]

Even now, she's yelling about some stupid shit, about how he's cheating all the time. How he can live as he please. Because he grips it longer, he holds on tight. He bends his back, knowing it bends too far, it bends too quickly, it bends-[break][break]

And snaps.[break][break]

"Yeah, well fuck you. You know that? You are, because-" Because why? Why was she cheating? His pride doesn't want him to say it, he holds onto that leash.[break][break]

Cappuccino begins to restlessly pull away, attempting to pull the leash out of Magnus' hand. He didn't like when they fought.[break][break]

"You DO cheat. I-"[break][break]

It's not the cheating.[break][break]

"I'm the leader, that's enough to do as I say, not as I do." He orders, commands... but even he doesn't feel it anymore.[break][break]

A leader of what? A few dogs?

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It's deep-seeded depression, this holiday season, though a walk through Fortree leads to a yellow sky, a disgusting wash with jungles about the place. Magnus has been through them once before. One of these rifts. Last time, he had been here with Keira and Slade. Both currently busy with their own thing.[break][break]

It's something else entirely, to lose that drive, and suddenly not know where you are, how you got there, or where you're going. For Jack Magnus, that's been something he's grappled with for a long, long time.[break][break]

Ugh. The worst part is, he just wanted to walk Cappuccino. The newest little guy in his squad, a tiny shiny Maschief with a pep in his step, and a grr in his grr-rowl. And now, he's busy yelling.[break][break]

"-maybe if you weren't such a raging b-"[break][break]

Wait.[break][break]

What was he even saying now? Why was he so angry? He can't fathom the reason anymore. What were they even arguing about? But no, his mouth kept yapping away, up and down. He can't bother to back down. Too prideful? Probably.[break][break]

What's he have to be prideful over lately? Eh. It hurts his heart knowing he doesn't have a real answer to that question. No conquests made, no heart sought after. Just a dry spell that pisses him off, and no one to let it out on except the punching bag at the gym; which tore open last time he was there. Why is he so fucking angry this holiday season?[break][break]

"-yeah, keep yellin', go ahead, it won't-"[break][break]

It won't what?[break][break]

Does he even realize why he's arguing with her anymore? Does it matter if he did?

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There's that question. How is he right now? With a knitted brow, that loaded question sends him on his ass. Sweet as he was, and as overconfident as he looked for a moment, knowing damn well he was going to get some tonight from his endeavors... it's her question... Lani's question... that corners him.[break][break]

"Idunno how to answer that right, Princess."[break][break]

Outside is nice, and though they both were exhausted, he finds himself looking at the stars. Now curling an arm around her, there's a certain tightness to his hands. They're beefy, strong, and holding onto her, but there's something else. Magnus was depressed. In the fucking gutter right now, more like it.[break][break]

He deposits it. "Feels like everyone is drifting away a little bit, ya'know?" He can't help it. So many of the gang was off doing their own thing. And the pack leader, the alpha was left more or less sitting there. Some of the pups stayed behind, sure. He's eternally grateful that he can be a part of their lives.[break][break]

But he wanted them to be there too.[break][break]

There's a sadness, but even so it isn't like he can't see them. It just... feels sad.[break][break]

"Don't go too far from me, Princess." He requests, though that of a hypocrite truly. He knows he's drifted far enough away from her that he has no right to say that, but his golden eyes show that sadness deep within.[break][break]

"Kay?"

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Huh. Here he was, walking his dogs. Two Houndooms, just walking with their master, when Magnus sees the swarm of Mabostiff. And a smirk appears on his face at the idea. He'd always wanted one of those little guys.[break][break]

"Fuckit, we ball."[break][break]

Times like these, Maggie felt like some kinda crime boss for dogs. Like some kind of Godfather who could, and would, sick the hounds on anyone. Lately though, that's been losing its edge more and more in his mind. He's growing soft.[break][break]

Maybe seasonal depression? Eh. Whatever. New dog would help get his mind off it. So, racing into the fray, he doesn't fight any of them. He just holds out some dog treats he had on hand, making a couple of clicks of his tongue to get the attention of any of the pups who'd look his way. Coco and Latte both respond in kind, sitting and looking at the treats.[break][break]

"This way. Got somethin' good for ya."[break][break]

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