Posts by reed.

torren, honestly, loved cooking. he had always been pretty good at it, but he'd never had a way to get stuff to cook. he didn't exactly have money growing up and he didn't like being at home anyway, so he mostly just ate out and snacked on junk food. now that he had his own place and more money than he really knew what to do with, he couldn't really fathom a reason to go back to that.

the man also ate quite a bit. he wasn't a slob or anything when it came to eating, but he had to eat more than almost anyone to fill himself up. perhaps it was mixture of animal and human in him, but he usually ate about three times as much as someone normally did in a single meal. so he usually cooked quite a lot. his diet was excellent, too. a wonderful mixture of fats and proteins and carbs and veggies and fruits. he was probably one of the healthiest people he knew -- occasional alcoholic binge aside.

currently, torren was beginning to plate up everything he had cooked. there were pancakes, bacon, sausages, french toast, regular toast, scrambled eggs, fried eggs, roasted peppers and onions, dried tomatoes, and a healthy assortment of fresh fruits. he set the pancakes and french toast on platters on the bar counter in front of the stools, setting his collection of syrups -- he had basically every kind that existed because he enjoyed switching it up day to day. the meats went on another platter. eggs on a separate platter. roasted vegetables and greens on another platter. and, finally, the assortment of fruits on yet another platter.

hearing irrstra's voice as the younger came downstairs, torren felt his ears pin back against his head, a very soft blush setting on his cheeks. "because your clothes smelt bad and i just washed my sheets. besides, i don't know what you had done in them before you came over, so i just wanted to be safe." the shirtless man mumbled. he reached into his fridge and pulled out creamer for the coffee he had made, as well as some milk and various juices. honestly, he could more than likely eat all of this by himself.

glancing over, torren was a little disappointed that irrstra was changed back into his regular clothes, but there was no way in hell he was going to say that to the other man. he grabbed out some plates as well, placing them next to the vast amount of food he had prepared, setting silverware and some cups down as well. this was his basic morning routine -- wake up, shower, brush his teeth while he dried off, then make food. it was mundane and usual, and he found comfort in that. he loved cooking, too.

"sit down and eat. you look like you've been eating trash for the last two decades." which he assumed wasn't too terribly far off from the truth. torren didn't know much about irrstra's home life, just like the younger didn't know much about the older's home life. they knew that basics, but that was about it. torren was almost convinced that they hung out with one another to get away from home in a sense.

the older man grabbed his own plate, grabbing one of everything and a cup or orange juice to sit down at a stool on the bar. he had blow dried his tail this morning, which made it even fluffier than it normally was; same with his ears. beginning to eat, torren stared at nothing in particular. "did you sleep okay? you passed the fuck out." he couldn't really look at irrstra, considering the younger was absolutely covered in bite marks from the older man and it would no doubt cause a very rosy red to appear on his cheeks.

*casually steals this spot* tracking! Let me get a response up!

screaming bc i could not find a picture i liked for the life of me but this one actually fits really well i think?? let me know if you want me to change it! <3 ]]

this place was onri's home. rascilla was the only place she had ever known as home. with its high plateau's and sandy hills the rose up high, as though trying to reach the very heavens. red dirt that turned to a rust brown mud in the wet seasons and caused for mountainous celebration as people took the opportunity to turn the newly clay soil into fine pottery and even houses for their families. warm and dry, rascilla was not for those who were weak of heart and spirit. to survive the harsh climate, one needed to be equally as harsh. plant life and foliage were sparse and inedible -- most of the food sources in this place being meat and animal products or bitter fruits from harsh trees. grains were present, though they, too, were bitter. food, however, was quite the delicacy, and those who complained were welcome to try to find something else.

despite this, rascilla had many imported goods and items; animals, plants, foreign silks and fabrics. it was hard environment to be sure, but onri would have it no other way. this nation had hardened her and taught her how to live. it taught her how to take care of herself, how to adapt to any situation and overcome all trials. this place would always be her home. rascilla would always be worth fighting for. onri saw a beauty in this nation that many could agree with and many wanted to preserve. it was a place like no other -- its people like no other nation's inhabitants. so to see them fall so easily and submit was... disheartening. to see the majority of this proud nation fall to the knees in fear because of the tyrant now controlling their land. they had gone from one mad king to another, it had seemed.

tipping back the mug to her lips, onri drank the mead with a sigh as she slammed the empty container down on the table. damn! she grimaced to herself. despite all of their ambushing of the tyrant's guards and soldiers, they still didn't seem to be letting up or even showing any kind of signs of listening! she didn't want to ruin this nation -- rascilla was worth saving. the people were worth saving! the wonderful magic users of this kingdom were like no else! those who could not preform any type of magic were very few and far between -- usually very small children who hadn't developed yet, or those very elderly who had forgotten how to even dress themselves. their magical abilities and prowess set them apart from other in the neighboring nations; it was another thing that made rascillian's special and unique!

the red head placed her scarred fingertips against her temples, rubbing at the to desperately try to curb the growing headache that was biting in her skull and the back of her eyes. they couldn't do very much more -- they were still largely outnumbered by the royal army. planning a full on attack was simply useless considering they'd all be subject to be wiped out at once. all they could do for now is continue setting ambushes and gaining in numbers. grinding her teeth together, onri grabbed the mug again, tilting it back to swallow the harsh liquid. cowards. all of them. bending knee to yet another madman. where did their fight go? their passion? it was strange. this new tyrant -- helidor, his name was -- seemed to have everyone quaking in their boots. onri had only seen pictures of the man, and always spat on the posters and burned them in the fireplace. he wasn't so terrifying. he wasn't even an emperor yet, and still he acted like he had complete control. it was a mockery of the people who lived here. they were weak in their struggles against their last monarchy, and yet they had fallen into the same pattern with someone twice as brutal it seemed.

onri looked over at the tavern door as it creaked open, the heavy wood scraping against the ground. the woman placed her hands against the edge of the table, grinning at the man who stepped inside. "marian! my lo-" her golden eyes were quick to widen at the flood of soldiers behind her partner. the man refused to meet her gaze, instead he just lifted a finger and pointed at the rebel leader. perhaps it was the shock, but onri didn't notice the guards coming closer to her until they had her by the arms, legs, and hair, dragging her through the tavern. her gaze locked with that of marian's hair as he stared at the ground. there was a deep setting confusion in her very core that was only cleared up when she saw the large bag of coin tossed at marian's feet by one of the guards. that bastard... after everything.... a fiery rage set in as she began kicking and thrashing against the guards trying to hold her still. "bastard!" she screamed, the very rage and strength of her voice causing marian and the guards to wince. "you're a dead man, marian! you can use that gold to pay the chirurgeons to piece you back together when i tear you apart!"

kicking, screaming, thrashing, fighting. there was no second on their decently long trek back to the stolen castle that onri was quiet. she'd knocked out a few guards, clawed and slashed a few more with her weapons. they hit her back, of course. blood dripped from her nose, over her lips, and fell off her chin -- another prominent stream coming from her forehead, just at the base of her hairline, that fell into her eyes and onto her cheeks. the pain didn't register, however, as she continued to fight. she'd continue to give the guards hell until they released her, whenever that would be. without her weapons, she felt a little bit more defenseless, but she still had her magic. however, an idea struck her as she squirmed and screamed. they don't know what my magic is. i won't show them. if they know, it'll prevent me from escaping.

the castle was a sight she had only seen in the distance; she had never had the luxury or going close to its royal walls or inside of it. of course, she lived in the main city surrounding the castle, but that was simply to keep an eye on everything. that didn't mean she was every really that close. the capital was very large and vast, spanning many miles. to be dragged within its walls felt almost sacrilegious in a way as she writhed and tried to break free from the guards and their vice-like grips on her arms. they were already leaving ugly bruises on her nicely tanned, moderately scarred skin; their grip only tightening as she got closer to escaping from them. she had broken free a few times in their trek, but the guards were quick to catch her ankles with the pillar of the spears to trip her and yank her back up.

she was tossed on beautiful marble floors, her hood falling on top of her head and over her eyes. brushing the fabric back, she was met with the wheezing of a dying man who had been stabbed though the neck. his blood stained the floor and the palms of her hands as she was shoved not two feet from the near-corpse. the incident was recent, she could tell because the blood was still flowing -- reaching ever outward as it tried desperately to escape. onri's eyes lifted to meet those of the tyrant in control of their proud nation. so this man was helidor? the guards in the castle were quaking in their boots. he was obviously cruel enough to murder his own soldier, as told by the sticky blood on the blade of the sword he was fondling. golden yellow eyes shone with rage as the woman growled quite much like a feral beast. his question only served to fuel her fires of anger. if she stopped being angry, the sadness of being betrayed by not only her closest companion, but her lover as well, would come full force. she would not show weakness. not in front of this man.

"i'm disappointed," the woman barked, her fingers clawing at the marbled and stain ground beneath her as she clenched her fists, "i was expecting the tyrant to be someone worthy of fear. all i see is a scrawny, weak toddler." this man was more than likely older than her, as she was only in her mid twenties, though she wasn't about to begin to think about those kinds of things. "those propaganda portraits around town certainly did capture your froggy, bull's ass of a face, though. you couldn't afford to pay the painters more to make you look better? fucking pathetic."

// ahhh! i hope this was a good starter for you! let me know if you want me to change anything!! <33

torren scoffed at the other's teasing. the younger always made fun of him for eating so much when they were younger. when they'd go to restaurants and sit down, torren would always order enough to feed at least three people, but always ate it in one sitting and still had room to snack on something else a few minutes later. "does your food go right to your ears and tail?" irrstra would always laugh and grab at the appendages.

with a gentle and soft smile, torren bit on his lip, working through his first plate rather quickly. not only did he eat a lot, but he also ate pretty fast -- taking large bites and not spending a lot of time talking as he ate. why pause to talk when your food was getting cold? it made no sense to him, honestly. what surprised him, however, was the amount of food that irrstra put on his plate. that was...

glancing at the other man, torren blinked a little bit. the younger began talking again, causing the soft rosy red to paste itself back onto torren's cheeks. goodnight kisses...? that's not what those were at all! they... they certainly looked good, sure, but they weren't kisses! the sight of the bruises on irrstra's neck filled the older man with almost a sense of pride as he finished his first plate. he scoffed again, though this time it sounded more nervous than the first time he had done it. once more, the man piled one of everything on his plate; choosing some blackberry syrup this time before he dug back in.

"i know you're not going to eat that much." the man commented right before taking a sip of his orange juice. "and for the record, it much easier to see how little you've eaten if there's a bunch of stuff on your plate, rather than if you put hardly anything on there." his voice was gentle as he pointed this out. he knew irrstra wasn't the biggest appetite. he could eat a normal amount, sure, but usually not in one sitting. the younger always preferred to eat smaller things throughout the day rather than three meals a day. it contributed to the other's lithe, slender figure, he assumed. not.. not that he really knew what irrstra's body type was, of course! it's just... with how light the other man was...

trying to force his heated cheeks to go away by chugging orange juice, torren scowled to himself. even though they hadn't seen one another for nearly a decade, torren wasn't an idiot. he knew irrstra's habits and quirks. he knew how much the other could stomach, the foods he liked, the movies he liked, the adventures he liked to go on. hell, they had spent every single day together since the day they met until irrstra had gotten arrested and taken away. which begs the question; why was he smiling when he got taken away?

they spent every day together, so the idea of irrstra finding time to try and kill a man just didn't... seem right. the whole situation didn't seem right. none of it was right, and torren knew that. he refused to believe his best friend was some kind of sick monster. finishing his second plate, the older man went back for thirds, with very little being left on the platters anymore. honestly, he was probably going to finish ninety-nine percent of this by himself -- the other one percent belonging to his friend who was slowly munching his way through whatever he put on his plate.

"they weren't goodnight kisses, and you know that." he finally was able to comment on the younger's previous teasing words without his face burning up. "and it was only right to put you in a bed. i wouldn't be able to leave you on the floor even if i wanted to."

CARBON-LOU WILSON

carbon scowled at himself in the mirror, narrowing his eyes. sure, the dress shirt looked rather nice on him -- accentuating his arms quite well if he did say so himself -- but his hair... it was unruly. there was truly nothing he could do to make it look tamed and fit in for the semi-formal style of his pressed shirt and slacks. of course, carbon-lou looked damn fine in formal attire, but he always hated the way his hair looked when he tried to dress up nicely. it never seemed to fit the aesthetic he wanted to go for and he was a little more self conscious in his own skin when he was wearing something nice, considering most people that dressed this way had clean shaven faces and short, tame hair.

tucking his black dress shirt into his black slacks, carbon almost wished he had a tie. it had been forever since they're had to dress up like this for any reason, let alone a restaurant. james seemed really excited, though -- he hadn't told his lover where they were going, but the excited look in his eyes was all carbon needed to agree. if james was this excited about the food they were about to order, then carbon was going to be equally excited for his part of the deal. actually, he was going to be more excited for his part of the deal. he'd managed to tucked the box safely into the cuff of his pants, securing it tightly and testing to see if it would fall out by kicking the air and flailing his leg wildly. it didn't come out and stayed neatly where it was, which was perfect. "ready?" he called to james with a bit of his lip and a grin on his face. he had gotten dressed in the bathroom away from his lover to not only secure the box, but to also surprise his lover. after all, they hadn't seen one another dressed up since, what? college graduation?

tugging the door open, carbon slipped out, having purposefully left the top three buttons on his shirt undone. james was beyond gorgeous, too; dressed nicely with his hair styled -- courtesy of carbon. honestly, it made carbon want to tackled him and tear their clothes off. "ta-da! formal assassin!" carbon grinned. "i can't get these top buttons, though; you'll have to help me~" he teased with a low purr in his voice. for an extra tease, carbon shifted his arms -- bending his elbows so the sleeves around his arms really squeezed at his biceps. the younger had always had quite nice arms. honestly, carbon had always been pretty built. hell, he'd had abs when he was thirteen. being in shape for carbon was a necessity. he might have been fraught with worry and barely eating when james was in the hospital, but he worked out very regularly during that time too. doing push-ups and crunches while his lover slept.

"i could be a james bond villain, dressed like this." carbon teased. he meandered over to his lover, placing his legs on the outside of james' own to let the older do the buttons at the top of his shirt. it wasn't needed, but it was fun. carbon liked the contact. he liked the normality. and, besides, they'd always done this. carbon always teased james that he couldn't tie a tie, or do up the last buttons, just to have the other roll his eyes, blush slightly, and mumble about how carbon should learn how to do all of that. carbon knew how to tie a tie and do up buttons -- he'd always known -- but where was the fun in that. while james fiddled with the buttons, carbon trailed his fingers over his lover's shoulders. "you could be a villain too. we'd have hot villain sex whilst thwarting bond's plans." he chuckled to himself. "you look really good, baby~ like... stunning. like i'm jealous of whatever man gets to cuddle up to you at night. can i know where we're going now?"

// y'know

perhaps it was good that i lost my last post

bc i like this one much better lmao

reed.

onri barked out a laugh at the man sitting on his stolen throne. everyone in this room, save for onri herself, was terrified of this man. they way he killed indiscriminately, his lack of emotions, even the aura that radiated off this man just screamed danger! get away! if onri was an animal that had hackles, they'd be as raised as they could go. luckily for her, however, she was not an animal. she could easily hide her fear behind the anger burning in her soul. she could hide her fear by pushing it so far down her throat she couldn't even feel it. she could cover everything up and face this man in battle if she wanted. if she could get close to this man, onri was certain he'd be dead in an instant.

there was a reason this woman was the leader of the rebellions. she was the strongest fighter possibly in all of rascilla, one of the most in tune with her own magical abilities. the ability to summon and control virtually whatever she wanted was a strong one. the only catch was that she could not make something out of thin air -- she had to have a base material and had to touch the material with either her bare hands or her bare feet. for instance, she could touch the ground and form a large spike from bloodied marble to embed itself in the prince's stupid forehead. the only thing that was stopping her was the idea that if his son were to die, the current emperor would more than likely just either assume his place, or appoint someone equally as cruel. as much as she hated to say this, she needed to figure out a way to change the way this place was ruled before she went killing anyone. but, of course, that wouldn't stop her from fighting.

"run your blade through me?" onri retorted with a snort as she spat some blood-riddled mucus onto the floor of the palace. the blood from her nose had dripped into her throat a little bit, staining her tongue with the tinge of copper. "i doubt that shitty, spoon-dull stick could pierce my skin. why not give a try, huh?" as if to entice the prince to jump at her, onri moved to stand up from her position on the ground, her usual attire baring her well-toned stomach. she wasn't afraid of exposing her organs -- she was on guard at all times which made it almost impossible to sneak up on her. the guards were even more tense than when she had arrived; her fiery attitude no doubt putting them on edge. it was quite clear to see that no one ever dared to talk back to this man. and, if they did, they'd be dead long before they got their last words out. why was this man letting her live for so long?

"besides," onri smirked at the man, golden eyes flashing brighter than the hot desert sun and with twice as much heat and anger, "it'd be a personal blow to my pride to be injured by such an ugly thing. i'd refuse to even let myself bleed!" onri's willpower was legendary, with people marveling how she'd lived through this event one year, and that event the next. she simply refused to die. the woman would never go down without a fight -- marian had made jokes about onri punching death itself in the face when her time came. the thought of her lover made the fires of rage in her eyes burn much brighter, her bloodied fingers clench into tight, white-knuckled fists. coward... i'll see him dead if it's the last thing i do. to be betrayed by the man you not only grew up with, but had married and planned a life together? it was almost embarrassing.

the man began speaking about killing innocent's and torching villages. it set a panic inside of her that she immediately stomped down. no weaknesses. i'd rather snap my own neck than give this bastard the gratification of seeing me worry. with another snort, onri lifted his chin up, looking down at the man who was sitting on the throne. she was baring her throat to him, a signal of defiance and a silent challenge. come and try it, i dare you. if it weren't for the, what? twenty guards? more than that? if it weren't for the mass amounts of guards in this room, onri would have already jumped at the prince on the throne, scratching and clawing at the man just to see him bleed. "what good would that do? killing innocents and torching settlements? that would only add supporters, you absolute dunce." which was technically true. word spread fast, and if this man was going to go torching neighboring settlements, that would only fan the flames higher. just a little more and they could finally, truly, rebel against the army helidor had built.

"it's funny, you keep calling us savages, but you haven't even seen a savage!" onri took a few steps forward, her soft hide shoes soaking up the blood of the dead man that was next to her. "perhaps i'll stick you like the pig you are and roast you over a low flame, hmm? i'd say i'd feed you to the wolves and vultures, but they'd get sick from eating your rotten flesh, wouldn't they?" a few more steps forward and there were a few guards stepping between onri and the prince, stabbing their spears at her but not piercing her skin. she supposed they were so terrified of the tyrant that they wouldn't hurt her without his permission. they wouldn't spill her blood on 'his' marble floors without him saying so first. the woman slapped one of the blades out of her face, refusing to even flinch as the sharpened steel cut through the calloused skin on her hand. not a single ounce of hatred had left her features as she made eye contact with no one but the prince. "you'd be better off trying to beat me into submission -- you'll find it's impossible. but it'll certainly keep a deranged coward like yourself entertained, right?"

icarus listened to the angel, rolling his eyes as he took another deep inhale of the cigarette. he flicked the ash towards the other man with a grin. "a demonic contract, my dear dove," the man said sweetly, "has to benefit both of us in a way we could not otherwise benefit. if i wanted venus all to myself, i could kill you in a second and walk back up there. so making a deal with you just to have some time with her wouldn't work. you have this idea in your head that you could change the contract so it'll benefit you, but not me -- but that just isn't the case."

the demon tossed his cigarette on the ground, noticing a few water droplets rippling a nearby puddle. it was raining, and the deep rumble of thunder made him grin as he turned back to his little angel friend. "you want me to tell you what happened to me, hmm? well, i want you." the demon's scent change from that of ash and smoke to a cinnamon and sugar -- a scent to distract humans from being able to scream. it was involuntary, and icarus couldn't control it, but he doubted it would work on virgo. "you mind, your connections, your useless soul, and your body. give those to me, and i'll tell you."

he knew that virgo would decline. to be owned in such a primal way by a demon would surely have an angel wanting to kill themselves instead. though, as they got closer to one another, a dark, twisted look flared to life in icarus' onyx colored eyes. "but i suppose you don't have to give them to me -- i can simply take them from you instead." being a demon, having millions of years of hatred and rage twist his insides, icarus was quite literally the definition of demon. the only kindness he'd ever shown since falling was towards venus, and it would continue to stay that way.

icarus raised his hands, looking down at the shorter angel below him. "you're a guardian angel, virgo," the demon said, spitting out the words 'guardian angel' with pure malice, "you're not a fighter. even if you were, i outrank you by a heavy margin." between icarus' fingers, ice crystals were forming, twisting together and taking shape as the demon moved ever closer. within a few seconds, the ice had formed a quite beautiful, but gruesome-looking dagger. ice was indeed an angelic power that not many were gifted with -- and the angels who had control over it could only make tiny little sculptures to view. icarus' hatred and fury had taken his own ice to an entirely new, dangerous level.

"i'll do you a favor, dove. i'll kill you with a heavenly ability so you can keep at least some of your pride. you must feel so honored right now, to be slaughtered by an angel of old." angels of old were the highest esteemed, considering they were around since the dawn of time. with this, however, icarus slammed the dagger of ice where virgo's head was -- the hardened ice piercing through solid brick as the angel dodged. with a twisted grin, icarus yanked the ice out from the wall and turned back to virgo. "how long will you keep running, hmm? it's not fun if you don't fight back!" icarus lunged at the angel again. he was holding back purposefully, like a cat toying with its prey before it killed it.

// i love the idea of them being back at the concentration camp and virgo freaking out

and then icarus burning the place to the ground or something

"there, it doesn't exist anymore. move on and let yourself rest."

how cocky this bastard was. onri would refuse any help given to her by this man; she didn't need any kind of medical attention, she could barely even feel the wounds staining her skin with blood. before the soldier's shifted her away, onri kicked at the puddle of blood left by the deceased soldier, staining both a large amount of the marbled floor, as well as her legs and shoes. leaving a bloody footprint trail as she walked, she shrugged the soldier's hand off of her and marched onward, following after the two guards ahead of her. they were all still so uneasy, murmuring among themselves about how strange and terrifying it was to see their prince like this. she almost wanted to ask, but she didn't really care. helidor was not, nor would he ever be, her ruler. what did his mannerisms matter to her apart from gaining political power and change?

the trek to the cells in the dungeon was quite long and onri found herself marveling at how massive this castle was. why would one need to live in a place this large? there was nothing but empty spaces and hallways. castles were little more than a simple display of power and authority over the people, in her mind. if a ruler wanted to live with their people and truly understand them, they would not live so extravagantly while their people died in the streets from no food and no shelter. still, though, it was quite impressive -- clean and pristine as she walked through. the deeper they got, however, the less clean it got. they passed the servants quarters, with the servants and maids hacking and coughing as they ate food. they glanced at her in wonder and marvel as she bared her teeth at them.

finally, they had reached the dank cold of the dungeon. there were no sounds down here, save for some almost inaudible groaning of someone who was certainly going to die soon. it looked as though the prince didn't believe in taking prisoners and instead enjoyed simply killing them. the dungeon was, as expected, stained with blood and smelled sickly sweet of rot. she wondered if the petty criminals were taken somewhere else. she assumed that someone so insignificant as a bread thief would be dealt with and sent on their way, or simply taken to a smaller imprisonment that wasn't located inside the castle. it appears i'm special. the woman thought to herself bitterly. she certainly didn't feel special. angry and cold, onri felt the last little gates to her open heart close, likely never to be opened by anyone else again.

she felt a hand on her lower back which caused her to fight back a shudder as she tilted her head ever so slightly to listen to the soldiers behind her. "he wouldn't find out, would he? we could take turns, after all." the woman grinned over her shoulder at the men. "be careful. you don't know what kind of diseases i have." she spat. this was enough to dissuade most of them, though she could tell that a few still wanted to climb in the cell with her. they were welcome to try, but she wouldn't be taken so easily. being shoved to the ground inside the cell, onri shifted until her back was against the wall. the guards pushed the heavy bars closed again and murmured among themselves, debating something, onri stared at them, disinterested and annoyed as they seemed to come to a conclusion and left the dungeon. the woman wasn't stupid, she knew they'd come back later -- most likely after their prince had gone to sleep.

onri took the alone time to tug her hood down from her head, short red hair looking a shade of deep crimson in the dark candlelight of the dungeon. there was a high row of barred windows that allowed sunlight in, though the light they let in was minimal, considering the window was no more than three inches high. the walls were textured, but smooth, offering nothing to grip to try to climb upwards towards the window. the cell was completely walled off, save for the thick bars that made the door of her cell. there was a little space at the foot of the door; a small opening where plates of slop were no doubt kicked through. the floor was stained with dried food, vomit and blood and the smell made onri want to wrinkle her nose up. she wouldn't show weakness, though. she couldn't. she'd rather die than give that bastard any gratification. but her death would also bring him joy, so she couldn't exactly do that either. she had to help her people -- and now she had the advantage of being inside the castle, close to the tyrant himself.

there was nothing else in this cell except for chains and shackles on the walls. there was no bed, no pillow, nothing. just her, the stains, and the shackles.

footsteps approached shortly after her arrival and she watched as a middle aged man stood in front of the door, followed by two guards. they unlocked the door and let the man inside. he carried with him a satchel of what she assumed to be medical equipment and tonics. sneering, the woman backed even further into the wall, as though trying to merge with it to get away from the doctor. "don't you dare touch me. i'd rather bleed out." her wounds weren't severe enough for her to bleed out, but they'd certainly get infected if she were going to remain a prisoner here. the chirurgeon simply sat his satchel on the ground and motioned for the guards to come in. "hold her down." the man said numbly. again, she fought and writhed as the guards grabbed her, calling for more guards to help as she refused to stay still. their heavy armored bodies sat on top of her, grabbing her hair and skull to keep her head still, laying across her legs to keep them from kicking, putting all of their weight on her arms to prevent punches from being thrown.

in total, it took six guards to completely immobilize her enough to allow the man to stitch her wounds. he applied a salve to the deep and nasty cuts that stung and made her eyes water before he wiped it away and replaced it with another cool liquid before he stuck the needle and line through her skin to stitch her up. being stitched up was not a new feeling, but the pain of being completely sober was. she normally drank until she could hardly stand before her fellow rebels stitched her wounds as the alcohol helped immensely with the pain. she refused to make a sound, though her eyes welled with tears that dripped silently down her cheeks as she stared past the guards on top of her and instead looked at the ceiling that was just barely basking in the last little glow of sunlight before the sun went down. it would be nighttime very shortly. in rascilla, the days were hot and the nights were warm as well, though they could be very frigid during their winter months. they didn't experience snow or a drop in temperature during the day, but the temperature at night went low enough to freeze animals left outside and not properly warmed in their stables.

right now, she was no different from those animals that were cooped up in their enclosures, was she? she was no different from cattle or sheep or any other animal that had been taken from the wild and put in a pen. she could escape right now if she wanted, but this was an opportunity that she couldn't miss. if she could get information about the prince or the emperor or the way they run things, she could further her cause. she had to stick this out -- no matter what they did to her. she would survive this; it wasn't the first time she had been taken a hostage and kept prisoner. it likely wouldn't be the last time, either. she would continue fighting for what she believed in until death came to take her; and even then, she would fight death as well. onri was not going to let anyone take her life or fight without going through the hell she could give first.

finishing up with the bandages, the doctor stood and placed his supplies back into his satchel. he left the bloodied rags on the floor, demanding the guards escort him back through the dungeon. the men seemed hesitant to get off of onri, but they followed the man's orders eventually. they released onri and she immediately sprung up and backed against the wall again, wiping her eyes with her arm. when they left, she waited until their footsteps were no longer heard before she tugged her legs up to her chest and placed her head on her knees, wrapping her arms around her shins. it was getting very cold as the sun set and she had to retain as much body heat as possible, lest she freeze in this already chilled cell. marian, you bastard. why? was the money really worth that much to you?

the slice to his face from the blades of pure, soft light made icarus' skin burn slightly. it wasn't just a cut, considering it had been pure holy light that had touched him. if icarus was a lesser demon, this little nick would have been enough to kill him. angelic light was one of the most powerful weapons that angels possessed -- just like demon's hellfire.

icarus barked out a laugh, watching as virgo created another weapon of light; the beams illuminating the dark alleyway they were in. it was as bright as daytime, and it honestly hurt icarus' eyes. still, though, he grinned. the onyx color of his pupils and irises had spread over the whites of his eyes, creating a black color that seemed deeper and darker than the void of space itself. "died fighting? don't make me laugh. you died chained to a wall." he spat. honestly, icarus was losing control of any sense of humanity he had, which was a very big problem. if he lost control, he'd turn into a hellish beast and go on a rampage through the city.

the angel lunged at him again and icarus grinned widely. he tossed the dagger aside, hitting the angel in the arm to get him to drop the sword of light. it wasn't enough to really hurt the angel or even make him bleed, but it was enough to get him to drop the weapon for a fraction of a second -- which was enough time. enough time for icarus to move.

his left hand grabbed the angel by the throat, easily twisting and shoving the man against the brick wall. his right hand grabbed the angel's wrists, lifting them high above his head to prevent him from creating another weapon easily. the demon placed his knees between virgo's legs to avoid having the other kick him at him. the blackness in his eyes was spreading across his face, morphing and twisting it into that of a deer's skull as the inky abyss continued to spread along his body. "you will die a coward in both lives." the demon snarled, his voice echoing with hundreds of others.

before the demon could make any other move, something hit him on the head. glancing up, he got hit in the face with a shoe from little venus as she yelled at them. "get your butts up here! now!" as if scared by a sudden light, the shadows twisting around icarus' body slid back to the onyx of his normal, human eyes. he scoffed at the angel and released the other man; placing his hands in his pockets as he trudged back upstairs to the firecracker of a girl. he'd let virgo pick up the shoes she had thrown.

// we love to see it lmao

i would also love for icarus to come back to venus' place or something

and there are rose petals and candles lit everywhere with dinner made

and virgo just sheepishly sitting at the table like

"i made dinner..."

to an untrained eye, it might have looked like onri was shaking from the cold. it simply wasn't true, as she wasn't yet feeling the nip of the air as it seeped through the window at the top of her cell. instead, onri was clenching the muscles in her body hard enough and with enough strain to caused them to vibrate -- thus keeping her warm. by constantly working her muscles, she wouldn't feel cold and would not succumb to sickness. obviously, she could not do this forever, but perhaps she could hold out long enough to give her body time to adjust to the chill in the air. most nights around this time, she was in her home with marian, cooking a simple but delicious meal for the two of them.

why him? why marian? of all people to succumb to greed, why did it have to be him? it certainly stung her heart more than if it had been anyone else. even her own parents didn't mean as much to her as marian did. not that she really knew her parents, but still. the two had grown up together, meeting when onri stole some bread from marian and his family as they perused the market. marian had noticed the bread was missing and sought to find it -- finding little onri eating it hastily in a back alleyway. instead of growing angry and calling for guards, marian had simply given her some coin to buy food. the next day, onri returned to the same place, hoping to find the boy who had helped her out. he was there, and the rest was, as they say, history. they spent every day together; growing closer and closer as friends, and eventually as lovers.

onri was happy with him fully and completely. they had their issues and arguments, of course, but it never caused a rift between them. they always came to a compromise. the biggest issue they had was onri's infertility; marian wished for a family more than anything else. they settled on adoption -- neither of them agreeing to a surrogate because it felt wrong. perhaps onri was too possessive and jealous, but the idea of marian getting another woman pregnant, and then having to raise that baby herself... it didn't taste right in her mouth. the thought was so far away and almost ludicrous to her. adoption it was, though onri knew marian would never be absolutely happy with that. there was nothing like having a child to call your own, fully and completely. bonding with a child in the womb was something onri would never experience, but that was okay in her opinion.

"no... no mo-re..." the woman glanced up upon hearing the voice of the other man in the cells with her. she could see where he lay from her position in her own enclosure, watching him shake his head. she was confused why he would suddenly begin talking now, until she heard some stomping coming from above. was that the torturer coming to try and break the woman's spirit? obviously, it was enough to frighten the half alive man. he began lifting his head and slamming it on the ground again, weakly, but repetitively. "ki-ll... kill... me... n-no... no more..." the woman watched as the man continued to bash his head against the ground until he lay still, the blood pooling out from his skull as the life left him. what a cowardly way to die... she'd never get to that point. never in her life.

tentatively, onri placed her head back down. the chill was setting in to her bones as the man's wailing and death had distracted her from keeping her muscles active. they burned and stung and refused to continue the brutal pace of their trembling to keep the woman warm. it was incredibly cold, now that the light of the sun was gone and she only had the flicking glow of the torches to help her see and keep her warm. perhaps when the torturer left, she would snatch one of those torches. she could see one right next to the door of her cell. a few touches of the concrete and she could have the fire in here with her and keeping her goosebump-riddled body warm enough to survive the night. perhaps it was some of the guards who wanted to have some fun with her, coming in early to get a taste before their friends showed up.

she wasn't afraid. they could do nothing to her that hadn't been done before. nothing could be done to her that she hasn't experienced before. assault, beatings, torture, it was all the same. she could handle it. from the prince's demeanor, she doubted he'd let her be killed on the first night. no, instead, he would probably keep her around for quite some time to play with. he didn't seem like the man that would just kill someone quickly and painlessly. onri had seen his type before quite often -- the sadistic ones that delighted in battle and seeing other people struggle and fight back to save themselves. helidor seemed like the kind of man that delighted in the chase of prey, rather than killing it and eating it. he enjoyed the thrill of the hunt, rather than the reward of his efforts. what a pathetic and sad man he must be. what a boring life he must live.

perhaps it was bad luck to think about the man, because the familiar cooing voice made onri grit her teeth. of course he had to be here. of course he had to show up to annoy her more. why? why was he here? shouldn't he be getting pampered before bed time? the woman glanced up at the man, the same fiery anger in her eyes -- looking twice as brutal because of the dim light in her cell. of course this stupid little man would come bother her. what did he want? was he just that bored and had nothing better to do? was he a glutton for punishment? did he have some weird fetish of being insulted? all options were plausible in her opinion as she snorted.

"escaping isn't in my best interest right now. you've given me a perfect opportunity to burn your empire to the ground from the inside out, pig." she spat at him. she noticed that he had brought his sword with him and she turned her nose upwards as she stood from her position. confidently, the woman strode over. she pressed the knuckle of her index finger to her right nostril and sucked in through her nose, spitting out the snotty mucus onto the prince's cloak. why he was wearing such a thick and warm jacket in a place like rascilla, she couldn't tell. "if you're here to lie with me, you'll be disappointed to know your men already made plans to slip in here while you slept." the idea of the man coming into her cell made her want to vomit. she'd much rather the guards than the prince himself. "do you have a degradation fetish? with your ugly, pig snout, i can understand why you'd resort to having women insult you -- no sane or insane person would ever willingly touch something as vile as you."

torren rolled his eyes at irrstra's mumble. it wasn't like the older really wanted to pay attention to him -- it wasn't like torren had sat staring at the younger man for their entire childhood. he simply just picked up on irrstra's habits far too easily. the older was pretty good at that kind of stuff; seeing patterns and drawing connections. it wasn't hard to tell when someone had a habit of something.

finishing his third plate, torren simply picked whatever was left off of the other platters and ate those as well. he was feeling close to full, though he'd still probably not had enough just yet. it was fine, though -- he could snack on something while he cleaned his house or watched a movie. he was planning on staying in today and not really going anywhere. maybe he'd look at his house and think of ways to decorate it now that it was devoid of any kind of personal touch.

what would he call them? torren snorted at the other's obnoxious behavior, glancing over at the other. what would torren call them? they definitely weren't goodnight kisses like irrstra teased him about. no, instead, they were... with the tiniest, almost unnoticeable smirks on his face, torren hummed. "payback." he said simply. yeah... the marks on his neck were payback for irrstra's constant teasing and flirting with torren. it made torren feel better about the whole situation, anyway.

finishing the rest of everything except for what was on irrstra's plate, torren stood up and stacked up the empty plates nad glasses. he brought them to the sink and began washing them carefully and thoroughly. he couldn't stand piled up dishes or dishes that weren't washed well enough. he was a bit of a clean freak. absently, his tail swayed behind him as he washed.

way too in to it? somehow, the older man managed to fight the blush that wanted to creep its way back onto his face for the millionth time since he had woken up. he wasn't in to it... they were simply just messing around. just because torren's dream resulted in them actually going all the way and he woke up with an issue to take care of did not mean he enjoyed it. it was just a stupid dream and it had just been a while for him.

rolling his eyes again and putting a platter on a rack to dry, torren shook his head. "i wasn't even remotely in to it. if i actually enjoyed it, do you really think i would have stopped there? besides, you know i don't like guys."

// torren plz

just admit it bro

CARBON-LOU WILSON

tilting his head, carbon pouted playfully. "no response to the villain sex? damn, shut down... i thought you liked me! i guess i'll bend myself over tonight if you don't wanna have hot formal sex with me..." carbon was eager to kiss the other back before pulling away and pulling on his shoes. he didn't really like formal clothing on himself, though james looked absolutely stunning in the outfit and carbon found himself groping the other as they moved down the hallways -- poking at james' ass and playing with his boyfriend's zipper as the walked with a cocky grin on his face. the receptionist wished them luck, complimenting both of them on their wonderful appearance. carbon smiled and thanked the sweet old woman as she returned to her crossword puzzle without a second glance at his lover.

the smell was still obvious, but it was much, much subtler. it was almost like james was wearing a few spritz of cologne. you couldn't really smell it unless you got within whispering distance. the effect on carbon had changed, too, from putting him into a top's headspace and desires, to simply just lust. he just wanted his boyfriend, no matter which way -- though that was all the time, so it wasn't too terribly much different. as fun as it had been for carbon to be on top, the younger man didn't want to do that kind of thing very often. it was unique and interesting, but it almost felt wrong in a way. to see james like that always made carbon think of charles and that was a good way to ruin the younger's mood. he was glad that charles was dead and gone; he'd be glad to burn the fucker again if he somehow lived through being melted into a puddle of flesh.

sitting inside the car, carbon checked his email, perking up at a response from the agent he had messaged the night prior. "sunday morning at ten thirty we're meeting the agent for the house. i guess we're meeting him at his office to take a virtual tour of the house. it makes sense, considering it's like, what? six hours away from here? i like it, though. i already looked at the dimensions and it's huge. so in other words, we're meeting up at ten thirty to buy the house." carbon rambled, mainly to himself. he was excited! he had already quit his job at the mechanics shop, but he was planning on saying goodbye and buying all the tools that justin would sell him before they headed off. they'd need to buy a car before they headed out, though. maybe james would agree to getting a truck? that'd be pretty sexy, honestly. carbon had always wanted to work on and tune up a truck.

carbon glanced up after a while, immediately noticing where they were. when he told james to pick somewhere fancy, he didn't mean this fancy. well, maybe james wasn't going to the place he thought he was going to, though. still, carbon was even more excited. he hadn't been to this side of town in quite some time, so it was nice to see it again. biting on his lip, carbon glanced at the neon sign they were approaching. yep, he knew it. "when i said fancy, i didn't really mean the library fancy." he teased, looking at the familiar place. he hadn't been here in quite some time; almost five years. "good choice, though! their wine selection is gonna blow your fucking mind, baby. can i get smashed at dinner? in more ways than one?" the man leaned over the console as james parked the car, grinning widely at his lover and pursing his lips for a kiss. "pretty please? their bathrooms are fairly soundproof!"

//carbon is a super slut lmao

we love to see it

reed.

onri watched with fiery eyes as the man paused in his statement and looked down at the spit that covered his fancy cloak. she was expecting to be hit -- for the man to call the guards to unlock her cell so he could go in there and smash her face into the ground. she expected at least one broken limb as the man was interrupted. instead, all that the redhead got was the prince calmly taking the furred cloak off and tossing it towards the door of her cell. what the hell? was this really the man that everyone was so afraid of? onri couldn't even begin to fear this man, considering he was just taking everything she was giving to him, going as far as to come back for more.

golden eyes glanced down at the cloak that lie still on the floor of the dungeon. an idea sprung into her head and she bent down, snatching the fabric up and yanking it through the bars of her cell. there was no way this was the man's only cloak, so he could spare this one, right? after all, it was stained with a barbarian's spit now. it required a little bit of extra force to get the fluff of the fur through the small spaces of the bars, but the woman managed it. turning her nose up at it, onri picked at the fur, tearing clumps out of it and glancing at the patterned pelt. what kind of animal was this? "what matted mutt did this come from?" she mumbled, mostly to herself as she tossed the fabric to the furthest corner of her cell. as much as she despised it, that little piece of clothing would serve her rather well -- not only to keep from freezing to death in this cell, but for other purposes as well.

she heard the sound of creaking and clattering wood, bringing her attention back to the prince as he brought a stool towards her cell. onri smirked when she saw how much distance the man put between them -- obviously a sign that he didn't want to be spit on again. honestly, she could spit on him from the other side of her cell; she always won spitting contests with the neighborhood boys. to most people, onri would be seen as just what the prince liked to call her -- a savage. she was crass, rude, foul-mouthed and acted like an animal half the time. it was a trait that had brought he lots of attention from men, but nothing that really lasted. marian had complained a few times about it, but that was mainly when they were in public and he didn't want eyes on him. it was understandable, though it wasn't so simple to break onri out of the habits and mannerisms she had picked up in her life on the streets.

watching as the man began speaking again, onri ignored him blatantly, looking at her fingernails and picking at the dirt from underneath them as he yammered on. of course, she heard every word he said -- it was hard not to when he was the only one making noise down here -- but she acted as though she didn't, even going as far as to whistle a soft tune as she surveyed her nails, then used one to pick at her teeth. she only scoffed at the man's threat to cut her tongue out. if he was going to hurt her, he would have done so already, so she was no longer harboring any kind of hesitation in her mind about him. there was no doubt about it -- this man was not going to hurt her. thee way he looked at her like a child marveling at a flying rabbit showed that much. the fact that he had come to the dungeon to pester her more showed that.

tugging a piece of meat out from between her teeth, onri flicked it at the prince, watching it stick to his expensive pants. to know that the prince was an insomniac was a good bit of information that she knew he didn't tell freely. why was he suddenly spilling everything to her? if this was going to be a recurring thing, then onri would have an easier time manipulating this man than she thought. if he was going to tell her all of his secrets on his own free will, that saved her from having to dig around for the information. it also let her know that she'd have to be extra careful sneaking around the castle at nights to look for more information to help her cause.

the woman, satisfied with her oral cleaning, sat down on the ground in front of her cell door, tugging her thick hide shoes off. though they were thoroughly soaked with blood, not a drop of it had soaked through onto her feet -- creating a sharp line on her ankle where the blood she had splashed in stopped on her leg. onri bent one leg up towards the trunk of her torso, extending her other foot out, poking it through the bars of the cage. the bottoms of onri's feet were heavily scarred with tattoos of strange symbols and markings covering every inch of the soles of her feet and pads of her toes. she had little to no nerve endings in her feet from decades of trekking barefoot over scorching sand and jagged rocks. the palms of her hands shared the same strange tattooed markings and symbols, though she still had nerve endings in her hands.

onri wiggled her toes to stretch them out a little bit after they had been confined within her shoes all day, finally glancing at the prince with disinterest. of course, anger still burned in her eyes, but the rest of her face portrayed boredom. "are you done yammering?" the woman sneered, mocking the way helidor was tilting his head. "i expected you to be frightening and scary, but all i see is a fucking pushover." it was true. helidor had made absolutely no move to attack her, and had even said multiple times he was going to keep her 'intact' and not torture her. if he wasn't going to torture her then what was he going to do? talk her to death? he just might, honestly. with the amount of rambling the prince liked to do, he might just bore her to death.

"are you afraid to come near me now? scared i might spit on you again? or are you afraid of me because you don't know what magic i'm capable of?" the woman sneered. her arms extended backwards, her elbows straightening as she leaned on her hands. "if you're not here to torture me, then why the hell are you bothering me? i can't see why anyone would be afraid of such a blabbering fool -- except i'm a little worried you'll bore me to death with your stupid rambles." onri raised one arm, sticking a pinky finger up her nose to itch the inside of her nostril.

"self-righteousness?" onri echoed finally with a laugh. "for the sake of not making your small pea brain ache, we can call it that for now. but seriously, are you done yet? have you gotten off enough that you can leave? i'm getting bored of you." she paused for a second before grinning and flashing a defiant look to the prince. "besides, i've got some guards to seduce. unless you want to be an audience, i suggest you move along, little boy."

// screaming bc i love writing onri

CARBON-LOU WILSON

for the second time of the night, james completely refused his advances without so much as commenting on them. he even had the audacity to not give him a kiss before they left the chair. "fine, i'll just go on this date myself," the man mumbled, sticking his tongue out as james as the other had the balls to open the door for him. of course carbon slipped in, waiting for james to ask for the reservation as the younger glanced around. this place was exactly the same as it had been all those years ago -- pristine and clean on the inside. there weren't too terribly many people in here; about an average for this place around this time, but still it seemed like too much. everyone was sipping wine and looking either absolutely disinterested in their partner, or they were very drunk and very interested in their date. nudging james and pointing to a couple that was getting thrown out for fondling one another, he hissed, "that could be us, but i'm mad at you for not giving me a kiss."

the man sat down at the table and took the wine list that was given to him, glancing at it as the waiter stood by to hearing the list. humming softly to himself, carbon perused the list. he knew james wasn't the biggest fan of wine, especially anything super dry, so he was trying to find something that they could both drink. he didn't like sweet wine whatsoever, but he would stomach it for james. today was a special day, and carbon didn't want to go crazy on the wine list. he had a tendency to order one of every alcoholic beverage when they went out to a restaurant. the waiter seemed about ready to offer a sample, but carbon simply grinned. "taittinger prélude brut grands crus," he said. the waiter blinked a few times at carbon's pronunciation before nodding heading off to grab the requested drink. it was very, very easy to forget that carbon was fluent in not only english, but french, german, and spanish as well.

wait, what the fuck? carbon can speak french? paying no mind to the shocked tone of icarus' voice, carbon squirmed a little in his seat, moving to music that didn't exist as he eyed the menu. this place was prestigious and pretentious, but the food was pretty damn good. especially their salmon. the waiter returned with their wine, pouring a sad amount into the glasses -- it was technically the right amount, but carbon always filled his cups up to the top -- and aired the wines out for them as he grabbed his notepad. carbon ordered what he always got when he was here; salmon on the reef. all the food was good here, but carbon really liked their salmon. he was a sucker for fish and usually ordered that whenever he got the chance. sipping at his wine, carbon fought the urge to cringe at how sweet it was. of course, being a wine, it wasn't overly sweet, but it was still too sweet for his liking. he bit back any kind of face he wanted to make, however, and simply drank it. he might not be the biggest fan of it, but he knew james would really like it. it was either this, or an italian primo amore muscato -- but that one would absolutely be too sweet for him.

carbon handed the menu back to the waiter, swaying in his chair to keep himself from turning to sit sideways. it got him a couple of odd looks, but nothing that he couldn't handle. besides, james knew the risk of taking carbon here -- he knew the man's inability to sit still. a few weird looks from carbon swaying gently was nothing compared to the odd looks he would get if he were sitting sideways eating his food on his lap. he didn't want to subject james to that, though he had done it before. perhaps they could get him some kind of adhd medication that would keep him still and curb this habit of always having to move? it wasn't that big of a deal, but it was definitely inconvenient at some times. james never seemed to mind, but carbon never wanted to embarrass the older man. "what'd you get?" carbon purred, rocking back and forth. "do you like the wine? if you say no, i'll drink both glasses."

// we love a super slut

but he wants to be dicked down NOW james

reed.

icarus glanced at the guest bedroom. it was incredibly small, with the bed taking up almost all of the available space. it wasn't anything more than a full size, and icarus blinked. he wasn't going to fit on that damned thing unless he curled up into a circle, considering his frame of six foot seven inches seemed to be twice as long as the damn bed.

still, though, he'd rather that than sleeping on the floor.

with a grin, icarus slid into the room, kicking his shoes off and falling onto the bed on his stomach. "i call the bed then!" he cooed, almost like that of a child. venus shook her head.

"you're both sleeping on the bed. it's not fair if one of you has to sleep on the floor."

icarus stared blankly at venus, blinking a few times as if he didn't hear her right. this bed was barely big enough for the demon, how the hell was virgo supposed to fit on here too? besides, virgo looked half scared to death for some reason. all icarus remembered was being cut with one of virgo's dagger and then looking up at venus as she threw her shoes at him. everything else was blank. what had happened?

"and you!" venus turned on the demon once more, marching over to him. she crossed her arms over her stomach and glared at the man. "you're not going to start fights anymore! you're not going to hurt virgo anymore!" she said. icarus rolled his eyes.

"yeah, sure, i won't hurt vir--"

venus interrupted the demon by sticking out her hand -- closed into a fist save for her little pinky finger. "promise me you won't hurt virgo anymore. demons can't break promises! i read that in a book!" icarus blinked a few times. with no terms, conditions, benefits, or even a damn contract, this was nothing more than empty words. however, looking at his baby's serious face, icarus found himself softening again, wrapping is own much larger little finger with venus'.

"alright, i promise. i will not lay hands on virgo in a way that will hurt him ever again." he said. venus, happy with this, marched over to the door and pushed virgo inside the room, who still looked terrified and shaken up. icarus blinked and sat up, shrugging his shirt and jeans off. no way in hell was he going to sleep in his clothes. he still had boxers on, but even those would come off later. he couldn't sleep with any kind of clothing item on.

"you're both sleeping on the bed. i'm gonna check up on you throughout the night and if either of you are off, you're in big trouble! now apologize and go to sleep!" she said, closing the door behind her as she wandered off to her own room. icarus stared at the closed door before looking at the angel.

"the hell you so shaken up for?" he questioned, the tone in his voice obvious that he really had no clue what happened.

// we love to see it

especially since icarus has literally never been romanced before

like at all

he's gonna be so damn confused and honestly really excited too

onri watched with near excitement as the prince drew his sword. yes! finally, she'd get to see what made this childlike man so terrifying! she'd get to see his anger and hatred. she had pushed him to a breaking point and he finally had snapped! the idea of losing a limb or being cut down or run through with a blade was secondary in her mind as she had finally pushed this man to anger. honestly, it had been her goal when she figured out he wasn't going to hurt her normally. she wasn't going to sit here and continue to be rude and defiant if it didn't anger the man.

instead of stabbing the blade through her flesh, however, the sharp crackling of stone made her ears ring. the excitement drained from her face and was replaced with the furrowed brows of confusion. she was, of course, confused for two reasons. one, being he still refused to harm her, and two, the fact that he had cut through solid stone. if the blade were wider, then surely it would have been easier to achieve, but with the sword being so thin and flimsy as it was, having it impaled through solid ground was about as likely as using a toothpick to bore a hole through solid brick. the woman reached up a hand to scratch at the back of her head. he still refused to attack her, huh?

still, he refused to hurt her. onri was incredibly confused. she stared at the prince as he cast his gaze to the symbols on her feet. they didn't mean anything, honestly. they were the scratchings of a madman. at five years old, onri had found herself in the poisonous marshland of rascilla, jumping over the acidic water with glee as she challenged herself. she had come across a hut made from logs dripping with mud that burned your skin and tied together with hollowed out snake corpses. the madman had greeted her by name, despite never meeting her before, and had explained to her what her magical abilities were and how to use them. he drew the symbols that would later be tattooed on her feet and palms, claiming that if she didn't have these symbols near, great misfortune would befall her. seeing as how he had gotten everything else right, onri listened. what better way to keep the drawings with her than to be imprinted on her skin?

years later, when onri was about ten, she had sat down with a tattooing stick and tapped the designs onto her own feet and palms, biting through block of wood after block of wood from the pain. marian saw it as bad luck, as did the rest of the town she frequented, but onri didn't care. even if she was met with misfortune for the rest of her life, it was more than likely her own fault -- as she had messed up in a few places on her right foot. considering the symbols looked alien to everyone, nobody could tell where she messed up, but onri knew exactly where her blunder was. if anything had caused her to have misfortunes in life, it was because she had done the tattoos herself and messed up the madman's drawings. even still, she was always lucky enough to power through whatever bad luck she had.

and just like that, the prince was back to being perfectly calm and civil. the flash of anger was enough for onri to know that she did, in fact, piss him off with her antics. perhaps one day she would get to the point of actually seeing him do something out of anger towards her. for now, she was simply intrigued by his refusal to lay a hand on her. it seemed this prince was no ordinary man, as no man would have been able to stab such a thin blade through solid concrete like he had done. no ordinary man would simply put up with this level of insulting and abuse from a woman, either. the prince had secrets, absolutely, and onri already had been told one by him. perhaps he would willingly spill more about himself to further her own cause? now that would be quite fun.

glancing back at the prince, onri scoffed. "i wouldn't kill them immediately," she purred, venom dripping from her voice, "after all, what's a savage woman without her own savage needs, hmm? i'd only murder them once they all finished. then i'd have benefited in more ways than one." the woman glanced at her fingernails again, extending her palms to eye the tattoos there as well before she had to bite back a yawn. being as cold as she was, trembling lightly, it was exhausting her already exhausted body. the trembling was really the only thing keeping her awake at this point, but it wouldn't last forever. there was no way in hell she was falling asleep in front of this weird man, however.

"are you really planning on being here all night? aren't you supposed to starve your prisoners of human contact? you're obviously too much of a coward to hurt me, so what's the point in sitting there and talking? don't you have someone else to bother? some other woman that you can pay to insult you?" if the man didn't leave soon, she'd have to wrap herself in his cloak regardless of whether or not he stayed there, considering how frightfully cold it was getting in these dungeons. if there had been any kind of moisture in the air, it would have been snowing quite heavily. bringing her foot back to her body, onri raised her knees up to her chin, folding her arms there as she glared at the prince before her. she could hear and feel thumping above her, as well as the soft opening of the door that lead to the dungeons.

so, it seemed the soldiers really were coming after all. onri blinked and smirked to herself. she would love to see how this panned out. the prince had said he was going to remind them of their place, but what kind of sadistic man would he be if he saved her from being assaulted? if anything, he should want for the guards to slip in her cell with her. onri could hear footsteps belonging to several people approaching, as well as the hushed voices of the men. "oi, savage. you haven't froze to death have you? we're not in the mood to stick in a cor--" there was a collection of sucked in breaths from the men as they rounded the corner, presumably setting their eyes on their prince as he sat in front of the cell. onri couldn't see, but she wished she could. well now, things should, hopefully, get much more interesting from here. she was curious as to how this would all pan out.

// thank you bbbyyyyy

i'm absolutely in love with helidor

icarus stared blankly at the angel as the younger man seemed to lose control of himself for a few moments. he didn't mean it? well, technically, there was nothing holding icarus to the little agreement him and venus had made, but icarus wasn't planning on breaking it any time soon. he had given himself a stomach ache from drinking that godawful tea just to see his baby smile, so why in god's name would he purposefully break a promise to her?

little venus shouted from down the hall and the demon raised an eyebrow at the rosy red that dusted the angel's cheeks. he was really quite embarrassed it seemed. icarus scooted as much as he could when the angel approached the bed, accepting the pillow that was tossed between them wordlessly. he almost wanted to tell virgo to take his clothes off, considering it couldn't be comfortable to sleep in them, but he couldn't really find the words to do so.

instead, icarus just rolled his eyes and stared at the closed door of their room as the angel turned his back to him. he couldn't comfortably lay on the bed because of his height, but he couldn't curl up the way he needed to because then he'd be touching the angel. it was truly quite the issue he had been presented with. honestly, if it weren't for venus telling them that she would check on them periodically, icarus would have grabbed a pillow and one of the blankets and moved to the floor. as it stood, though, he got an idea.

with a soft grin, icarus morphed his body into that of a maine coon cat. the cat's soft fur was a brilliant white, the tips of its ears, it's snout, the paws, and tip of the tail a beautiful gold color. icarus, when in any kind of animal form, always had this fur pattern. it was a curse put on him by god, he assumed, so that he could never forget how gorgeous and stunning his wings once were. the only off putting thing about him being an animal was that his eyes were a pure black, just like when he had begun to lose his humanity in the alleyway.

circling around on his side of the bed, icarus kneaded at his pillow, stretching his new legs and arms as he climbed on top of the pillow and hunkered down into a soft circle. he curled his fluffy tail around himself, resting his chin on his golden paws as he purred softly to himself. the purring of cats was always so wonderfully comforting and nice to hear; maybe it would put virgo at ease enough to make the dumb angel fall asleep. icarus was going to keep his promise for as long as he physically could.

// absolutely love the idea of icarus having a nightmare

and when he has nightmares, the giant scars on his back start bleeding again like they were freshly torn out

he's gonna be in so much pain we love to see it

it's totally gonna force him back into human form

comfort him virgo <3 give him some love he deserves it

the soldiers shifted ever closer as onri herself moved towards the door of her cell. her fingers wrapped around the bars as she sat on her knees, eyeing the scene before her. the prince seemed so angry and annoyed. why? tilting her head, onri watched as the soldiers took terrified glances at one another, the prince, and a few quick glances at the woman in the cage who was surveying it all. they were all confident and strode in here with insults lacing their lips until they set eyes on the prince. obviously, they were beyond terrified of helidor, but onri still couldn't understand why. the closest she had gotten to understanding why people would fear this man was a simple sword in the ground, and that was hardly scary.

it seemed as though the man who spoke the insult to begin with was suddenly caught by the tongue with fear as he, too, refused to answer the prince as to their sick intentions. onri felt her face twist up into both disgust and second hand embarrassment. to be so cowardly as to not relay your actions to a man who clearly knew what you came here to do... it was pathetic. these were the soldiers who had swept across their proud nation and brought the kingdom to its knees? that didn't seem right. helidor's goons were nothing more than a bunch of lowly cowards -- something else must have happened internally to bring rascilla down. perhaps they had been bribed? or perhaps there was some kind of deal that was signed before hand? helidor's mighty army was looking less and less mighty by the second.

onri parted her plump lips to tease the soldiers about what they were talking about when they held her down for the chirurgeon to tend to her wounds, but the words never came. instead, she watched as the prince reached out towards the guard, lifting him by the throat and easily slamming him back down onto the ground. the sound of the guard's breath leaving his body was soon interrupted by helidor's fist making contact with his skull. a sickening crack echoed through the dungeons as the bones gave way like they weren't even there. as the prince pulled his hand back, onri spied the fragments of bone shards sticking out of his knuckles. her gaze slid over to the dead man in the cells across from her, the cracking of his skull had sounded so much nicer compared to this most recent one.

one of the soldiers wet himself in pure fear from the spectacle which made onri wrinkle her nose up. perhaps it was a good thing that helidor had stopped them from slipping into the cell with her -- how pathetic she would have to be to let those men put hands on her in that manner. instead, she probably would have ended up killing them all before they took their armor off. all she had to do right now, was bide her time and wait for the perfect opportunity to strike and to escape with everything she had gathered. as it stood, she simply didn't have enough information right now. if helidor had taken some kind of sick liking to her, then perhaps she could use it to her advantage in the near future.

as the fresh corpse was dragged away, onri watched the trail of blood as it spread across the dungeon floor. this helidor was much stronger than an average man, which made the woman curious. he didn't seem to have any kind of magical abilities, so how much torment and pain had he gone through to twist him into such a being? onri had heard the the poisoning from one of the subjects that had been loyal to her cause had failed. not because helidor had never ingested the poison -- he ate the full poisoned meal -- but because the poison hadn't worked at all. she now knew three pieces of information about this man; he was insanely physically strong, was resistant to poisons, and had insomnia. three valuable bits of information in such a short time. perhaps this stay would be worthwhile after all.

now being left alone with the man again as he picked at the foreign bones in his hand, onri cast a glance to him. still, she could not dissuade the pure disgust and contempt in her eyes towards the prince, even if her face was no longer twisted into that of an angry animal's. instead, it had fallen blank and bored as she stood from her position and walked to the corner of her cell where she had tossed the man's cloak. she was exhausted and cold. if the prince was going to stay there all night, then so be it, but she wasn't going to allow herself to freeze to death. besides, a few of the guards had seen the man's cloak in her cell -- confusion sweeping their features before they had left. good. that was perfect.

"it was boring, just like everything else you've done." came the woman's response. she grabbed the cloak and eyed it once more, wiping the mucus on the ground to get it off, lest she accidentally roll around in it and wake up with it crusted to her skin or the cloak. as she looked, she noticed just how much larger this man was than her. onri had always been small, but muscular. only standing a few inches above five feet, her small size made it incredibly easy to slip in and out of places without being detected. with her being so small, she was silent on her feet as well, especially when she was barefoot.

the cape was thick and heavy, obviously made when helidor was in his homeland. she had heard that it was a polar opposite to rascilla; it was a cold and snowy place. perhaps one day she would travel to a snowy place. she'd always wanted to see snow and feel it against her skin.

sitting back onto the ground, onri slipped the prince's cloak around her shoulders, being enveloped by the warmth of it. it smelled like the prince, which made her wrinkle her nose, but it was better than freezing to death. how pathetic would that be? almost as pathetic as the soldiers helidor called his army. she moved to lay down in the corner of her cell, turning her back to the prince as she waved her hand dismissively at him. "go away. your stench will give me nightmares." she bent one arm on the ground, resting her head on it as she tugged her hood over her short red hair for a little bit extra warmth. "i'm done talking to you for the night. you're excused. go bother someone else."

his own footsteps echoed on the marbled granite of the palace's floor. the other angels moved out of the way, covering their mouths with their hands and murmuring among themselves. icarus' eyes burned with a fury no angel had ever seen before as his fingertips leaked liquid light to form his scythe. "bring them back to me!" he shouted, causing god to tilt his head as the guardian angel approached.

"they were tainted. i did them a mercy." came the man's voice.

"you killed an innocent woman and child! how can you sit there and say you did them mercy?!" icarus heard the pleading of the other angel's, telling him to stop and to calm down. from behind him, lucifer and the others stormed in as well. icarus jumped at god, the pure light of his scythe fizzling and darkening to a rage fueled black flame. the black flames of his blade connected with god's neck, slicing through a full inch. icarus' eyes widened as he saw the blood pool out.

a horrendous pain rippled through his back and spine, causing icarus to forcefully change back to his human form. the feeling of his wings being torn out once more was overwhelming. he landed on the bed on his hands and knees, feeling the blood seep through the gigantic scars that spanned the entire length of his back. it felt cold compared to how hot and damp his body was with sweat as his muscles trembled and overworked.

tearing at the bed sheets with demonic and clawed fingers, icarus growled. he was trying not to scream, lest he cause someone to call the police, though he was growling and snarling rather loud instead. he was struggling to bring himself out of his own memories, the images of violet and venus screaming in pain until their agonizing end. "give them back to me!" he shouted, unable to bite the words back. he lowered his head onto the bed, as if he was on his knees begging someone. "my wings! my violet! my venus! give them back!"

// we love to see steamy sessions lmao <3

venus is totally gonna burst in to try to comfort icarus too lmfao

onri padded silently through the halls of the castle, glancing around and taking in the layout of the very place she had found herself imprisoned in. there was a strange feeling of being followed and watched throughout the entirety of the castle, but onri, upon looking around, could see no one. perhaps the rose empire had people able to slip into the shadows unnoticed to oversee everything that happened here? she wasn't too worried about it, as she wandered through the halls. all she was doing was getting a layout of the castle. she needn't do anything else and was honestly just wandering around until she was caught by the guards.

hearing voices, onri blinked a few times, ducking behind a rather large potted plant as some guards wandered past. they talked about their night shift, of which they had just been relieved of. "the night shift is easy! haylen and i simply spent it at the brothel! the stupid prisoner didn't move after she fell asleep! hear this, bernard, his highness gave that savage of a woman his cloak! what kind of madness has he slipped in to? do you think he fancies her? do you think -- bernard, do you think prince helidor has already lain with her? i heard he killed a guard and is relocating a few more who wished to see her in her cell last night. to think our emperor-to-be would stoop so low..." the guards glanced around, dropping their voices as they murmured. this made onri smirk. perfect. dealing with the stench of that man as she slept in his cloak -- therefore also wrapping his smell on her own skin -- gave exactly the response she wanted.

as the guards moved on, onri stepped out from behind the plant again, watching them walk away before she continued towards the western half of the palace. the dungeon was about as far east as the castle went, so she had explored everywhere that she could on the eastern side. slipping into empty rooms and hiding behind plants every time a guard passed, onri wrinkled her nose up. these damn guards were absolutely clueless and terrible at their jobs. what kind of reason was that? the guards who had helped overthrow their previous mad king and by extent had forced them into submission were ruthless and brutal -- true hunters and killers who knew exactly how to find their prey before they killed it. these guards were nothing like those men. they were nothing like the men that struck fear into her proud nation. these guards were poor excuses of men and even poorer guards.

reaching the western half, onri mapped it out in her mind once more, noting landmarks and twists and turns in the castles vast hallways. everything was so extensive and expensive. it made the poor thief girl feel very much out of place. she'd never had riches even a fraction of this and had quite never wanted any. to have so much money to spend on pointless stuff to show how wealthy you were... it made no sense to her. any wealth she had ever had always went towards helping others -- towards educational institutions and people who needed coin to pay for life saving medicine. she had no need for money for herself; her reputation got her free things left and right. but, of course, money was beginning to run the world that they were beginning to live in. she doubted her reputation would hold after being sold out by her decidedly ex-husband.

she had thought about it as she woke up in the wee hours of morning. there, in the cold dungeon, wrapped in the warm and velvety soft cloak of a man she despised more than anything, onri had come to the conclusion. if she were to ever see marian again, she'd pound his face into the red hot dirt beneath their feet and spit on him. they were no longer married, and the gold band that had been tailored to fit her finger was taken off and stuff into a spare pouch on her waistband. she couldn't wait to see marian again and throw this damned ring into a mud puddle in front of him. she'd keep it until then, a tinderbox to spark her rage and desire to see her plans come together.

moving through the halls, onri tugged the cloak further around her small but muscular frame. it served to hide the fire red of her hair or the brilliant white of her clothes as she walked -- though the size and length of it was rather annoying considering she nearly kept tripping on the damn thing when she wasn't careful. besides, if anyone actually saw her out here, walking through the halls of the castle with prince helidor's cloak wrapped around her shoulders, what would they think? it would only serve to bustle the rumors and peddle word around the nation. though she despised helidor and this smelly cloak of his, it was serving her incredibly well. rumors had already begun to spread as she slept in her cell with the man's clothing, and that was perfect.

"my lord!" the sound of yelling made onri panic slightly, ducking behind a door to what looked to be a closet for mops and brooms. she kept the door opened ajar slightly as a pair of guards ran up to a door across the hallway. she had been so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed that door. it as much larger and grander than any other other doors she had seen. judging by the way the guards pounded on the door and called for the prince, onri could surmise that that was helidor's room. "my lord! the prisoner is gone! are you okay?!" ah, so they thought she had gone right for an assassination attempt? she could have, but she knew now that the prince would have been awake. besides, killing helidor would serve no purpose right now. in her dreams, she had come to the conclusion that she would deal with being prisoner, for the greater good of her homeland.

onri watched the door to helidor's room tug open as the guards saluted. "sire! you're alright!" they were glad, but trembling in their boots as they spoke to the man. with a grin, and considering the guards were too fearful to pay attention to anything other than the prince, onri opened the door silently to the closest she had been in. she leaned against the door frame, crossing her arms over her bare stomach as she glared at the prince from her position. "there was no sign of forced exit o-or anything! it... it's like she just simply walked through the walls!" walked through the walls? well, now, that was precisely what she had done. onri had simply moved the material to create an opening for herself before she closed the hole back up. her magic allowed her to shape material whatever way she wanted -- it made for easy infiltration and escapes.

raising a hand from under the prince's cloak, onri wiggled her fingers at the man before bending them to brandish her middle finger to him. the guards, still occupied with trying to explain themselves and save their own lives didn't notice as the woman slipped around the corner and began walking down the halls. like she said, she was going to wander until she got caught by the guards and thrown back into her cell.not a moment sooner.