OUR FOREST OF THORNS | tbosas ✔️

008 || Unintentional Confession

"How about your brother?"

"He's just a violent prick."

Now, embraced by the heat of summer as it instantly took his fret and turned it into a cold sweat running down his spine, Coriolanus understood that night on the bridge Daphne had tried to be as frank as she possibly could, even as she followed her confessions with a chuckle or two once their weight became unbearable. For people like them, being honest about the situations waiting for them in what was supposed to be called 'their home' was merely what most would understand as an equivalent to stripping themselves bare in public — being seen mattered, how they were being seen was ever the more significant too.

However, to see Albert's hand wrapped around Daphne's neck awakened in Coriolanus far more than a guilt-riddled memory. Anger sparked up in his veins, forcing him to close his hands into fists long before his thoughts have been fully formed.

He had to do something and he had to do it fast, but in front of that awareness stood taller an option that was first and foremost utterly outrageous — his instincts told him to run into that ally and put Albert in his place.

But this was no private encounter, within the span of a second his mind started dissecting his instinct, tearing it apart to its smallest flaw. Any passing witness would only be seeing a nobody attacking the president's son next to the Justice Hall, not Coriolanus Snow defending Daphne's honor against her tyrannical brother.

And what was it that he hoped to achieve by starting a fight he so obviously couldn't finish?

Though Coriolanus couldn't exactly consider himself malnourished, it would have been dumb of him just then to overlook the fact that Albert looked the part to have twice his strength and just about enough madness in his eyes and power tucked under his sleeve that he could kill Coriolanus and get away with it too.

No — though his fists clenched, he couldn't follow through with that instinct of violence and fight his way to a resolution.

However, he couldn't stand by and watch either.

"Daphne!" He unclenched his right fist and raised his hand as he shouted her name, giving the impression that he had just spotted her, not that he had rushed out of a moving car in panic to get to her a moment before.

As soon as his loud voice sounded across the street, he witnessed his fast response had earned the desired reaction from Albert, whose hand left Daphne's neck, as if electrocuted by the contact with her skin. And he might as well have been, because if anything could scare people like them, then that was the promise of a ruined reputation.

Coriolanus unfroze himself from the place and, lowering his hand, he kept his hurried steps looking as natural as possible, walking towards the ally. It should have chilled him to the bone to meet Albert's eyes, because such mindless fury was unnatural to be found outside of some wild forest filled to the brim with hungry predators, but for some unknown reason, Coriolanus felt fear drain out of him and get left behind with each step he took closer to the scene. Maybe that's how victories tasted, as sweet and as sour as pride.

"Oh, Mr. Albert Ravinstill," Coriolanus greeted like he had just noticed the man, even going the length of extending his hand forward too, for a handshake that wasn't going to happen.

Albert muttered some incomprehensible curse, taking one last glance at his sister before pushing his way past Coriolanus and returning with a cloud of anger shadowing his features towards the Justice Hall. That glance prompted Coriolanus to finally look at Daphne and every single ounce of pride turned to lead, sinking his heart.