[ Henry chuckles, but then adds--] You mean, your coffin?
[ A joke-for-joke swap. See, he did just say he’s eternal, right? So there would be no grave; but vampires sleep in coffins so--
--aaaaanyway, enough of that. He’s about to comment about the usefulness in stitching the mouths of living and deceased individuals when, (bless), he’s redirected by Rei’s sudden close proximity. This centers Henry’s focus, (or, re-centers it, rather), brows lifting at learning he’s not the only one around here to have been labeled so horribly, (if not entirely inaccurately, in his own case). It’s no less unfair to either of them for being something they share, of course; but it also just compute? In general. After all, Henry’s cast his lot in with stranger folk before, and none of them are monsters! That’s just mean. Plus--]
Why would anyone fear you? [ He’d glance over, but that doesn’t really serve a purpose with them as close as they are. ] Why, your eyes are my favorite color -- blood red!
[ Said closeness is a move perhaps some would deem unsettling, especially given the context of their conversation at the time, but Henry’s interest is intensely piqued. With a breath near his ear, goosebumps rise, erecting the fine hairs on his arms beneath the fabric of his sleeves. There’s a little quiver of a thrill in the recesses of his chest -- or is that his stomach? maybe he’s hungry?? -- no, that’s not it.
He’s strangely, eerily... happy? It’s something he’s hesitant to acknowledge, even, for the knowledge that it may someday soon be gone. And if experience serves him well, asking “please don’t go” only has a certain degree of success -- especially for one such as himself. But all of this is tightly concealed, of course. Sure, he’ll speak with a smile about the awful things he’s done and experienced alike, but don’t speak to the impact it had on him beyond the most topical descriptions, (“that’s how I learned to smile all the time!”, et cetera). ]
Being normal is boring anyway!
I say, let’s be weird together! You and me! [ He’s giving absolutely no context for this, setting no parameters, no limits, nor making any distinctions. (But it’s safe to say he’s referring to the contract, since that’s been the point of this evening’s meeting.) His steps pause completely then and, in an act of needless symbolism, he’ll offer his hand, palm-up. ]
( why would anyone fear him? perhaps he'd tell henry sometime over tea, when the conversation was not so distracted. it isn't as though rei keeps it a secret; his heart has fallen into a state of inertia, barely beating, as though dead. nothing very much hurts him anymore, and so he holds very few secrets dear. he and henry may be similar in that respect, too— to numb the things said and done to them, they had to cast off some part of themselves; kill it off, to be more direct.
but the world turns indifferent, moving onward; moving them, in this brief moment of existence, together. rei believes vaguely in things like god and fate, and he supposes there is purpose to their meeting here, to their conversation progressing to this. as always, it seemed to be some higher power dwelling in him that says there is something here for him to do; yes, as if he were a hero, as though he were a saint, and,
perhaps, because he himself is a little bit curious about this strange man, who so easily lent him blood, and who stood in such stark contrast with himself. raw interest, somewhat abashed in the face of its own selfishness, stir embers of delight somewhere in the deep caverns of his chest.
he laughs, airy and easy. )
This is the first I've been complimented so genuinely about the color of my eyes.
( fluff talk, but not wholly untrue. without shame, he takes henry's hand in his own, delicate, thumbing henry's palm as if affectionate, and brings it light against his mouth. his lips—fangs—brush light against the palm, his words low but still loud enough to hear: )
... Then, if you should have me, I'm happily yours.
( and with this he drags his lips to henry's wrist, and there he sinks his fangs in; not to draw blood, this time, but to mark him. it would fade with time, maybe, but not this promise.
(this is all needlessly dramatic, maybe, but vampires have a penchant for flair.) )
[ A discussion for tea later on, indeed -- both the subject of fear, and perhaps much later, the topic of just how much, when, where, how, and why those dead ends of themselves happened. Because it is most certainly something they share in common, if unmentioned for the time being. At least in Henry’s case, before any twisted roots can be exposed, there’s quite a field of dead leaves to be raked first. If one really wants to devote the time and effort to that in the first place.
So for now, it stands to question whether the lack of even so much as a twitch in Henry’s palm is a product of a budding foundation of trust or something else. But either way, there’s not a shred of detectable hesitation in the hand Rei holds, even as the sharps of fangs glide effortlessly by a sensitive, delicate area, and then pierce a spot arguably even more so.
Needlessly dramatic or no, he sees and acknowledges the deeper meaning to the act: He’s been marked. He’s wanted? Even with any and all sexual content to the phrase stripped away, it’s still more than he ever could have hoped for, it does terribly wonderful, magical, utterly inexplicable things to him. The warm, tickly sort of sensation from before evolves into a full-blown hurricane of butterflies, and erupts onto his face in a spectacular fashion, a blatant and nigh-unflattering crimson taking over his cheeks by sheer force in a torrent. ]
You mean it? [ Pinch him. Punch him. Bite him. Something. He’s not quite sure this is real life. Still, he won’t question it any longer or deeper than that initial reflexive query, rhetorical as it is. ]
Awesome! [ A patter of bright and cheery laughter. ] Gee, I’m so happy, it feels like I could burst!
[ He means that in a very real way, too; it’s as though his biology struggles to cope with handling this much joy. ]
I’ve got a blood magic spell all ready to go! I’ll just need a few drops from you, aaaaand--[ his head leans over to one side ]--just kidding~!
[ But only about that last bit. Definitely not the whole thing -- he’s very much serious about that. ]
I’ll sign the papers, and you can come live with me, okay?
( he'd expected, based on henry's past reactions, that henry might find the bite delightfully fascinating, or fascinatingly delightful— what he doesn't expect is the great flush on henry's face; the strange joy in his voice. it's sentimental, maybe, but rei thinks he thought right; the stranger a person is, the more it's likely it's only that they mimic badly what it is to be human. their blood runs red just the same.
he'd sucked the wound briefly before pulling his mouth away—saliva, like before, as habitual aftercare— running his thumb lightly over the wounds to partly cover it before it begins to bleed, smearing the blood slightly when it does, almost intimate. this had been an act of marking, though rei wouldn't consider himself notably possessive for his kind; but it seemed right, and it seemed fair, given henry would have some ownership over him. )
When you put it like that, it sounds as if we're to get married.
( you know, marriage forms and all. but it's a joke as much as henry's blood contract thing is, even if rei would have believed henry was ready to pull one out; he seemed like the sort. )
Mm, but I have few qualms with moving up. ( haha get i- ) It would be a favor for me, considering the conditions of the Down . . . I'll need to move my coffin up, and the sets of clothing I've been given, but I have very little more than that.
( . . . harmless, harmless, something somewhere in him echoes, muffled quietly by a numb certainty. he should be a little more cautious than he has been, even feeling sure henry's unlikely to menace him, different than certain others; but perhaps overwhelmingly he feels certain he can handle it. it's maybe a poor way to handle affairs, but he has much lesser regard for his own well-being, and excess confidence in his ability to survive most anything.
well, this is a thought that has less to do with henry and more to do with others rei's met here. henry . . . despite the things he talks of, he seems somewhat demure, in a way, and it doesn't strike rei as an act. )
Would you prefer we sign the papers now, or should we enjoy some leisure walking? I recall there's an office some ways over . . . but it's a wonderful evening, too. The way the sun dyes the shadows of the park is a sight worth seeing, if you haven't.
( so he'd like to walk a little more, given rei never seems to be in a hurry, but he'll make an exception if henry is particularly excited to get things squared away. it reminds him a little bit of his first years— sentiment-wise, not the stuff about blood or bursting. )
That’s a completely different blood magic spell, silly! Plus, I would need a ring.
[ See! Not marriage!! Although--] If you wanna wear something that shows you’re mine, I’m sure I can conjure something! [ A shrug follows, as though to double-down on the implication that it’s absolutely not required. But, ah -- should he have been thinking of this before? Should he have had this ready to offer, like a dowry?? Well, it would make sense... Signing one of these contracts feels a bit like marriage, after all. Except. With more control involved. That, (well, and the sex entailed therein), had been more the focus of those introductions and tutorials rather than the details of contracts.
Which, on that note, it’s weird for him, being the controller rather than the controllee. The latter has always suited him more, he’s thought, considering he was at most ever a lieutenant under Chrom’s command, never a commander, himself. He fit in (“fit in”) just fine amid the ranks. (After all, they say power corrupts, and Henry needs no help in that area.) He’s possessive, yes, mayhaps to a fault; but controlling? There’s no particular desire in him for that. He’s far better at taking it than dishing it.
It’s good then, that this is as easy as it is. This partnership of theirs. It suits him just fine like this. ]
Great! [ With a dramatic flair of his own, and a wave of an index finger: ] I’ll send for your things~!
[ No he won’t; Henry has no such help, and crows can only carry so much. But he’s kinda always wanted to say something so fancy, anyway. It’s fun!
With this settled, normally he’s just the impetuous type to run right out and get the paperwork done -- but that’s after months upon months of courting to build anticipation. Here, conversely, they’ve had, what -- weeks perhaps? A week? No; at least two, but still a far cry from multiple months. Plus, they’ve made this agreement -- verbally and otherwise -- and Henry feels strangely secure in the fact that a delay on the bureaucratic end of things won’t affect the agreed-upon outcome. Not with the mark, now trying to dry and heal, still on his wrist.
He lifts it to his lips on that note, without a moment of forethought, tonguing it gently, an indirect kiss on his own skin. Add in the blood factor, and it sounds a particularly decadent way to spend an evening, in his opinion. (But that’s for another time.) ]
Hmm... it’s still early for you, but not bedtime for me, so this is as good a time as ever for a stroll! C’mon, it’ll be a real walk in the park!
[ You signed up for this, Rei. Look at your life, look at your choices. ]
Something to mark me? ( he laughs, evidently having not considered henry would offer the same, even if only in jest. ) I'll admit I'm curious to see what you'd come up with. I'll allow it.
( and he really does say it out of curious interest, really. marking someone only has meaning if the one marked allows it to, is how rei sees it. biting henry holds significance to them because this is a partnership they've agreed upon, for one. besides, he thinks he'd prefer whatever henry comes up with to the submissive mark running along his neck.
anyway, for the moment, rei will presume henry does intend to help out with moving things ... but he'll probably ask a much stronger friend of his for a favor in case it turns out henry doesn't have a solid plan in mind. no harm in having a backup plan, as rei is wont to have.
probably for the best, too. never mind the more ominous bits about henry; can he truly put so much faith in someone who perhaps puns more often than he breathes? )
Then, let's talk as we go. ( he says this as he pulls away, resuming a slow pace for their stroll. he brings his bloodied thumb to his tongue, licking it off. blood's still not his favorite taste, but he's getting used to it these days. ) Why don't you tell me about yourself? Where you come from, your hobbies . . . Trivial things, and I can answer the same.
( things usually meant to come first before anything else, but evidently not so for rei. )
[ Forgive him -- there’s a small ”gh-!!” type noise of shock at that answer from Rei. (heckin bamboozled again.) It’s not at all a bad thing of course, as is made evident the very next second. ]
Really? You will?? [ Now it really does sound like marriage... But rather than feeling overwhelmed, unsure, reluctant, or anything along those lines, instead he’s positively giddy. ] Then, I’ll work hard, and come up with something that suits you!
[ (This shouldn’t actually be hard, considering their tastes appear to err on the same side of the fashion spectrum, so to speak. You can find them registered at Hot Topic for wedding presents.) ] It won’t be cursed or anything; I wouldn’t wanna curse someone I like as much as you.
[ Not unless Rei asked him to, that is. Which, believe it or not, stranger things have happened. Anyway, he restarts to a slow saunter then, Rauðrraven tucked securely under one arm, the other left by his side. ]
Well, lessee... I’m from Plegia, a territory next to Ylisse. My parents didn’t want me, so they sent me to wizard school, where I mastered the dark arts and became the scariest dark mage Plegia’s ever known! Nya ha ha!
[ A product of years of torture, painful experimentation, and other atrocities that go unmentioned. Just the way he speaks of this much about himself with a smile and perceivable cheer is a little... unsettling. ]
When war broke out between Plegia and Ylisse, the Ylissean army walked right into an ambush. They were about to get crushed like bugs, so I decided to make things interesting and told them they were in a trap. Plot twist! Ha ha!
[ It’s arguably the most savage thing he’s ever done: A betrayal of his homeland that led the opposition to victory, causing the deaths of countless people he came to know and who came to adore him -- some even referring to him as (adoptive) family, welcoming him into their homes. It takes a certain degree of cold-bloodedness to pull off a stunt like that and come away free of guilt. (Which Henry will profess he’s done.) But in doing so, he joined the “nobler cause”, however inadvertently, saving weaker Ylisse from assured destruction at the hands of the Plegian army. ]
After that, people kept saying they were glad I was on their side, so I stayed. [ A little praise goes a long way with this one, clearly. (Still fitting in with the bloody retriever motif, here.) ] I hatched hexes and cooked up curses for anyone who needed anything -- and that’s probably my favorite hobby. [ With a note of pride in his tone: ] My dark magic’s the best around~!
[ And then, he’ll turn his smile to his companion. ]
( there are, so many places to begin with this, that the narration won't even begin to attempt it. it's perhaps to rei's advantage, too, that he doesn't attempt to unravel any of this, either; he simply takes it as it is, letting henry take him from one sentence to another, one foot after the other.
though rei refers to henry as a boy, it's here that rei distinctly like a child talking to an adult. what yumenosaki calls a war is, in comparison, merely child's play. even rei, in all his apparently infinite wisdom, cannot begin to fathom what it was to live through the full extent of henry's experience; not the war, nor his betrayal, nor his family history.
if anything, he's understood two things: the stakes henry had suffered were far greater than rei had, and that rei might be foolish to trust someone like him too easily.
henry, of course, seems chipper as always, but rei has already determined henry's attitude is far from an apt litmus test. )
My history is far less dramatic. ( an honest preface, since it's a little hard to follow up an act like that. ) I grew up surrounded largely by my family, immediate and extended. All self-diagnosed vampires, and generally very insular. As the next head of the family, I was trained up to take certain duties when it came time for me to inherit . . . I excelled in them, of course; even as a child, I excelled in most anything, could understand near anything with near clairvoyance, uncommon for even my kind.
I began to gain followers, at one point, as though I were a god.
( this sounds like bragging, but it isn't. it's merely a statement of fact, and said distantly, like it doesn't have anything to do with him now. (it does, naturally, but he'd like to feel as if it doesn't.)
he laughs. )
I'm no god at all, of course. I never claimed to be. With time, people grew privy to that fact. And yet, if something is beyond human comprehension, but is not a god, what do you call it?
( all sorts of things, naturally. devil, demon, monster; an anomaly, an eccentric, a freak— it's the predilection of the user. this much he offers to henry in followup of what he had brought up before, in probing henry for answers; he feels he owes henry at least this much explanation, oblique as it is.
he leaves the question and its answer hanging in the air coolly, as if it weren't worth elaborating on. he doesn't speak of the aftermath, or the burdens he was given abroad, or yumenosaki's warfare. he doesn't consider them important, nor does he think what happened to him matters. where henry's indifference toward his own condition causes him to turn verbose, rei's indifference forces him silent. )
Other than that, I currently act as an idol. ( ironic, given it's a loanword referring to things that were once worshiped. ) I don't suppose your home has something like that? We're performers— we sing and dance to uplift the hearts of our viewers.
It seems we have contrary pations, hm? I can't say I very well approve of bringing misfortune unto others, especially given my typical profession entails the very opposite.
( local bard class scolds black mage, )
Edited (i keep messing up my tag every time i try to fix something else... i,) Date: 2018-12-13 11:20 am (UTC)
[ ...he might be foolish to trust someone like him too easily. True enough, making that conclusion is logical. After all, the Plegian War proved Henry is arguably more obedient than loyal; and that his whims of favor swing almost solely toward those whom he likes -- and violently so. Of course, abandonment and cruelty laid the foundation for his life, creating the lens for his worldview; and thus, someone taking a sincere interest in him rather than blindly casting him out is something he’s weak to. It’s a struggle for him to voice as much, of course, having no experience with being on the receiving end of another’s affections to know a single thing about courtship beyond what feels good and right in the moment, as it’s happening. Forethought and planning are minimal, at best.
Naturally, such fondness for whomever he favors doesn’t negate or supersede orders, in his eyes, either. But... Henry has no orders. Not anymore. And while it’s left him feeling rather naked without someone to divvy out work or delegate chores after all this time under another’s jurisdiction, it’s sure to be but a brief interlude of feeling lost at sea before he finds a path and begins walking. The path he chooses, however, is at least very much undetermined as of yet.
For now, he’s taken essentially the only direction he’s been given, and forged a contract -- and with someone who likes him, from what he can tell! Of all the wild things one never thought possible, Henry included. They’re from very different backgrounds, yes; but despite that, it seems they’ve both tasted at least a spoonful of humanity’s bitterest cruelty, albeit in different flavors. As Rei expounds, fleetingly, he ponders -- is that why he called himself a ‘beast’ before? Because someone who couldn’t understand had labeled him that way in the past?
And now he’s called an idol. Idol? Given Henry’s experience, his mind first goes to ‘god’, which Rei has said he’s not; then to ‘statue’, which is also obviously untrue, then--
ohhh! ]
Mm, like bards! [ He seems all-too-pleased to point this out. ] We have those! [ Like Olivia, for example, (one of his marriage routes, ironically). ]
You call them ‘idols’, we call them dancers. Ours danced for the soldiers, played or sang songs in camps. [ A fingerwave. ] To-may-to, to-mah-to!
[ So they are, in essence, black mage and bard. More than a bit of a mismatch -- what, with one of them lifting hearts and the other more naturally inclined to stop them, or rip them clean out. But that doesn’t impact Henry’s opinion one way or the other. If he can befriend others topically ill-suited to him back home, he can do so here. Rei is just further proof.
So, even if his head tucks momentarily at that (lightest) bit of chiding, his smile doesn’t fade for a moment. ] Hey, could you sing for me sometime?
( he chuckles faintly at the mention of bards, if only because this sounds like the type of thing a friend of his—one who happens to be here—would better delight in. as for rei, he finds it fascinating how the terms of his life and his world translate to henry, someone of an origin and history foreign to him.
he hasn't forgotten what he'd considered that moment before, that he shouldn't so easily trust henry, but to rei both these things can exist in tandem; he can find henry both fascinating and an enigma. someone not to take lightly, but not necessarily something to avoid.
it's a careless line to tread, maybe, but it's one rei can't help but find himself walking again and again; he's willing, and, as he said, he can often do more than what others can; if no one else will extend their hand, then he might as well. )
I suppose I'm a lucky one, if all you ask in return for food and board is a song. ( teasing in tone as always, but not entirely untrue. granted, he doesn't know if that is all henry asks, but such is sakuma rei— implicitly confirming one thing while chatting about another. regardless: ) I have no quarrel with it. Should an idol stop singing, it'd be good as death— or, a second one, in my case.
Granted, this will be the first, still, I've done a private concert for another . . . I should call you a little bit lucky yourself.
( is it slightly full of himself to call someone lucky to get a private session with him? maybe, but he speaks with such easy confidence it sounds more like a friendly jest than a thoughtful brag. )
[ As for confirming the limitation of their contract, well, he’d technically ask for less -- nothing more than company -- but he’s curious to see what sorts of things his contract sings, if he’s honest. So, he’ll hold him to this, if only loosely.
Henry himself is musical only incidentally -- and more of a casual ”tra-la-la” or ”bom-bom”humming sort at that, idly making melodies at random as he passes the time. Leave the singing to the bards and the killing to the killers, that’s his mindset! And he is unquestionably the latter. ]
I wouldn’t want'cha to die again, after all! Ooh -- not unless you can come back and tell me what it was like?
[ ...Henry, just stop please.
But perhaps he’s got to double-down on the macabre piece here to abate the strange sensations the notions of a private show conjures. Needless to say, he's taken Rei's words to heart; just look, he’s warm all over -- even his ears! Is he coming down with something all of a sudden? ]
( he laughs, as if henry's request were in some way funnier than it were morbid. )
The living should remain concerned with staying alive. Or, perhaps it would be more apt to phrase it as "what it means to live"? ( the first refers to subsisting, and the latter refers to thriving. ) Winding one's thoughts around death so constantly poisons the mind.
( now, henry seems positively placated the way he is, so for all rei knows henry is, indeed, thriving—whether or not rei agrees with the way he's going about it—but should henry be so, then he would do better to keep his gaze set on it.
when he glances over, though, as he makes his remark, even in the darker hues of the evening he spots that particular sunset tint of henry's face. how unexpected, but curious; rei hadn't technically meant anything by "private shows," and it was more a natural part of his vernacular to phrase things so, well, particularly, but it isn't hard for him to comb back through his words and guess that might be the culprit.
interesting indeed. so there are some parts of him that are normal, even at the surface. )
Should we take to park bench once we pass this tree-bend? It seems you've gotten a chill in you, and could use a little warming up. ( oh, does he mean he'll— ) I'd hate for you to catch a cold, so perhaps I ought to lend you my coat?
( oh,
he can guess exactly why henry reacted that way, and yet he plays coy; he tends to pull back when followed, even if metaphorically, as always. )
[ “Poisons the mind”, he says? That could explain more than a small piece about Henry. But it’s not something he cares to debate; rather, he’ll leave it untouched in favor of moving forward.
...Or perhaps circling back to the topic of death was the safer option? Oops. #calledout ]
A chill? [ Henry looks at his hands first. All fingers appear the normal colors, pink and healthy; so that can’t be it. But they are a little cold against his neck, he discovers after placing them there -- and even colder on his face.
Well then. ]
Wow~! I feel pretty hot, actually! [ And now he’s calling himself out. As it stands, a coat feels like the last thing he needs, if the offer is literal. His cloak is sufficient enough! But he’s not so naïve or inexperienced with matters discussed in a camp full of lonely young men huddled around a late-night fire as to forget the implications of “warming up” in its lesser-used, more adult context.
But, my. For all his jokes and jabs about reproduction and the mating practices entailed, he sure is rather shellshocked when confronted with anything that dares warm him, personally, from his little-known soft-hearted gooey center on out, isn’t he?
So, where does he go from here? How does he respond to the offer? It seems he’s much more skilled at making them than accepting them. ]
Hmm... [ A sternly-thoughtful sound, as though this one’s a real brain teaser. ] How about we decide when we get there? Sound good?
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(no subject)
Date: 2018-12-08 10:03 pm (UTC)[ A joke-for-joke swap. See, he did just say he’s eternal, right? So there would be no grave; but vampires sleep in coffins so--
--aaaaanyway, enough of that. He’s about to comment about the usefulness in stitching the mouths of living and deceased individuals when, (bless), he’s redirected by Rei’s sudden close proximity. This centers Henry’s focus, (or, re-centers it, rather), brows lifting at learning he’s not the only one around here to have been labeled so horribly, (if not entirely inaccurately, in his own case). It’s no less unfair to either of them for being something they share, of course; but it also just compute? In general. After all, Henry’s cast his lot in with stranger folk before, and none of them are monsters! That’s just mean. Plus--]
Why would anyone fear you? [ He’d glance over, but that doesn’t really serve a purpose with them as close as they are. ] Why, your eyes are my favorite color -- blood red!
[ Said closeness is a move perhaps some would deem unsettling, especially given the context of their conversation at the time, but Henry’s interest is intensely piqued. With a breath near his ear, goosebumps rise, erecting the fine hairs on his arms beneath the fabric of his sleeves. There’s a little quiver of a thrill in the recesses of his chest -- or is that his stomach? maybe he’s hungry?? -- no, that’s not it.
He’s strangely, eerily... happy? It’s something he’s hesitant to acknowledge, even, for the knowledge that it may someday soon be gone. And if experience serves him well, asking “please don’t go” only has a certain degree of success -- especially for one such as himself. But all of this is tightly concealed, of course. Sure, he’ll speak with a smile about the awful things he’s done and experienced alike, but don’t speak to the impact it had on him beyond the most topical descriptions, (“that’s how I learned to smile all the time!”, et cetera). ]
Being normal is boring anyway!
I say, let’s be weird together! You and me! [ He’s giving absolutely no context for this, setting no parameters, no limits, nor making any distinctions. (But it’s safe to say he’s referring to the contract, since that’s been the point of this evening’s meeting.) His steps pause completely then and, in an act of needless symbolism, he’ll offer his hand, palm-up. ]
Whaddya say?
(no subject)
Date: 2018-12-08 11:29 pm (UTC)but the world turns indifferent, moving onward; moving them, in this brief moment of existence, together. rei believes vaguely in things like god and fate, and he supposes there is purpose to their meeting here, to their conversation progressing to this. as always, it seemed to be some higher power dwelling in him that says there is something here for him to do; yes, as if he were a hero, as though he were a saint, and,
perhaps, because he himself is a little bit curious about this strange man, who so easily lent him blood, and who stood in such stark contrast with himself. raw interest, somewhat abashed in the face of its own selfishness, stir embers of delight somewhere in the deep caverns of his chest.
he laughs, airy and easy. )
This is the first I've been complimented so genuinely about the color of my eyes.
( fluff talk, but not wholly untrue. without shame, he takes henry's hand in his own, delicate, thumbing henry's palm as if affectionate, and brings it light against his mouth. his lips—fangs—brush light against the palm, his words low but still loud enough to hear: )
... Then, if you should have me, I'm happily yours.
( and with this he drags his lips to henry's wrist, and there he sinks his fangs in; not to draw blood, this time, but to mark him. it would fade with time, maybe, but not this promise.
(this is all needlessly dramatic, maybe, but vampires have a penchant for flair.) )
(no subject)
Date: 2018-12-10 06:17 am (UTC)So for now, it stands to question whether the lack of even so much as a twitch in Henry’s palm is a product of a budding foundation of trust or something else. But either way, there’s not a shred of detectable hesitation in the hand Rei holds, even as the sharps of fangs glide effortlessly by a sensitive, delicate area, and then pierce a spot arguably even more so.
Needlessly dramatic or no, he sees and acknowledges the deeper meaning to the act: He’s been marked. He’s wanted? Even with any and all sexual content to the phrase stripped away, it’s still more than he ever could have hoped for, it does terribly wonderful, magical, utterly inexplicable things to him. The warm, tickly sort of sensation from before evolves into a full-blown hurricane of butterflies, and erupts onto his face in a spectacular fashion, a blatant and nigh-unflattering crimson taking over his cheeks by sheer force in a torrent. ]
You mean it? [ Pinch him. Punch him. Bite him. Something. He’s not quite sure this is real life. Still, he won’t question it any longer or deeper than that initial reflexive query, rhetorical as it is. ]
Awesome! [ A patter of bright and cheery laughter. ] Gee, I’m so happy, it feels like I could burst!
[ He means that in a very real way, too; it’s as though his biology struggles to cope with handling this much joy. ]
I’ve got a blood magic spell all ready to go! I’ll just need a few drops from you, aaaaand--[ his head leans over to one side ]--just kidding~!
[ But only about that last bit. Definitely not the whole thing -- he’s very much serious about that. ]
I’ll sign the papers, and you can come live with me, okay?
(no subject)
Date: 2018-12-10 10:21 am (UTC)he'd sucked the wound briefly before pulling his mouth away—saliva, like before, as habitual aftercare— running his thumb lightly over the wounds to partly cover it before it begins to bleed, smearing the blood slightly when it does, almost intimate. this had been an act of marking, though rei wouldn't consider himself notably possessive for his kind; but it seemed right, and it seemed fair, given henry would have some ownership over him. )
When you put it like that, it sounds as if we're to get married.
( you know, marriage forms and all. but it's a joke as much as henry's blood contract thing is, even if rei would have believed henry was ready to pull one out; he seemed like the sort. )
Mm, but I have few qualms with moving up. ( haha get i- ) It would be a favor for me, considering the conditions of the Down . . . I'll need to move my coffin up, and the sets of clothing I've been given, but I have very little more than that.
( . . . harmless, harmless, something somewhere in him echoes, muffled quietly by a numb certainty. he should be a little more cautious than he has been, even feeling sure henry's unlikely to menace him, different than certain others; but perhaps overwhelmingly he feels certain he can handle it. it's maybe a poor way to handle affairs, but he has much lesser regard for his own well-being, and excess confidence in his ability to survive most anything.
well, this is a thought that has less to do with henry and more to do with others rei's met here. henry . . . despite the things he talks of, he seems somewhat demure, in a way, and it doesn't strike rei as an act. )
Would you prefer we sign the papers now, or should we enjoy some leisure walking? I recall there's an office some ways over . . . but it's a wonderful evening, too. The way the sun dyes the shadows of the park is a sight worth seeing, if you haven't.
( so he'd like to walk a little more, given rei never seems to be in a hurry, but he'll make an exception if henry is particularly excited to get things squared away. it reminds him a little bit of his first years— sentiment-wise, not the stuff about blood or bursting. )
(no subject)
Date: 2018-12-10 04:47 pm (UTC)[ See! Not marriage!! Although--] If you wanna wear something that shows you’re mine, I’m sure I can conjure something! [ A shrug follows, as though to double-down on the implication that it’s absolutely not required. But, ah -- should he have been thinking of this before? Should he have had this ready to offer, like a dowry?? Well, it would make sense... Signing one of these contracts feels a bit like marriage, after all. Except. With more control involved. That, (well, and the sex entailed therein), had been more the focus of those introductions and tutorials rather than the details of contracts.
Which, on that note, it’s weird for him, being the controller rather than the controllee. The latter has always suited him more, he’s thought, considering he was at most ever a lieutenant under Chrom’s command, never a commander, himself. He fit in (“fit in”) just fine amid the ranks. (After all, they say power corrupts, and Henry needs no help in that area.) He’s possessive, yes, mayhaps to a fault; but controlling? There’s no particular desire in him for that. He’s far better at taking it than dishing it.
It’s good then, that this is as easy as it is. This partnership of theirs. It suits him just fine like this. ]
Great! [ With a dramatic flair of his own, and a wave of an index finger: ] I’ll send for your things~!
[ No he won’t; Henry has no such help, and crows can only carry so much. But he’s kinda always wanted to say something so fancy, anyway. It’s fun!
With this settled, normally he’s just the impetuous type to run right out and get the paperwork done -- but that’s after months upon months of courting to build anticipation. Here, conversely, they’ve had, what -- weeks perhaps? A week? No; at least two, but still a far cry from multiple months. Plus, they’ve made this agreement -- verbally and otherwise -- and Henry feels strangely secure in the fact that a delay on the bureaucratic end of things won’t affect the agreed-upon outcome. Not with the mark, now trying to dry and heal, still on his wrist.
He lifts it to his lips on that note, without a moment of forethought, tonguing it gently, an indirect kiss on his own skin. Add in the blood factor, and it sounds a particularly decadent way to spend an evening, in his opinion. (But that’s for another time.) ]
Hmm... it’s still early for you, but not bedtime for me, so this is as good a time as ever for a stroll! C’mon, it’ll be a real walk in the park!
[ You signed up for this, Rei. Look at your life, look at your choices. ]
(no subject)
Date: 2018-12-10 11:47 pm (UTC)( and he really does say it out of curious interest, really. marking someone only has meaning if the one marked allows it to, is how rei sees it. biting henry holds significance to them because this is a partnership they've agreed upon, for one. besides, he thinks he'd prefer whatever henry comes up with to the submissive mark running along his neck.
anyway, for the moment, rei will presume henry does intend to help out with moving things ... but he'll probably ask a much stronger friend of his for a favor in case it turns out henry doesn't have a solid plan in mind. no harm in having a backup plan, as rei is wont to have.
probably for the best, too. never mind the more ominous bits about henry; can he truly put so much faith in someone who perhaps puns more often than he breathes? )
Then, let's talk as we go. ( he says this as he pulls away, resuming a slow pace for their stroll. he brings his bloodied thumb to his tongue, licking it off. blood's still not his favorite taste, but he's getting used to it these days. ) Why don't you tell me about yourself? Where you come from, your hobbies . . . Trivial things, and I can answer the same.
( things usually meant to come first before anything else, but evidently not so for rei. )
(no subject)
Date: 2018-12-12 05:45 pm (UTC)Really? You will?? [ Now it really does sound like marriage... But rather than feeling overwhelmed, unsure, reluctant, or anything along those lines, instead he’s positively giddy. ] Then, I’ll work hard, and come up with something that suits you!
[ (This shouldn’t actually be hard, considering their tastes appear to err on the same side of the fashion spectrum, so to speak.
You can find them registered at Hot Topic for wedding presents.) ] It won’t be cursed or anything; I wouldn’t wanna curse someone I like as much as you.[ Not unless Rei asked him to, that is. Which, believe it or not, stranger things have happened. Anyway, he restarts to a slow saunter then, Rauðrraven tucked securely under one arm, the other left by his side. ]
Well, lessee... I’m from Plegia, a territory next to Ylisse. My parents didn’t want me, so they sent me to wizard school, where I mastered the dark arts and became the scariest dark mage Plegia’s ever known! Nya ha ha!
[ A product of years of torture, painful experimentation, and other atrocities that go unmentioned. Just the way he speaks of this much about himself with a smile and perceivable cheer is a little... unsettling. ]
When war broke out between Plegia and Ylisse, the Ylissean army walked right into an ambush. They were about to get crushed like bugs, so I decided to make things interesting and told them they were in a trap. Plot twist! Ha ha!
[ It’s arguably the most savage thing he’s ever done: A betrayal of his homeland that led the opposition to victory, causing the deaths of countless people he came to know and who came to adore him -- some even referring to him as (adoptive) family, welcoming him into their homes. It takes a certain degree of cold-bloodedness to pull off a stunt like that and come away free of guilt. (Which Henry will profess he’s done.) But in doing so, he joined the “nobler cause”, however inadvertently, saving weaker Ylisse from assured destruction at the hands of the Plegian army. ]
After that, people kept saying they were glad I was on their side, so I stayed. [ A little praise goes a long way with this one, clearly. (Still fitting in with the bloody retriever motif, here.) ] I hatched hexes and cooked up curses for anyone who needed anything -- and that’s probably my favorite hobby. [ With a note of pride in his tone: ] My dark magic’s the best around~!
[ And then, he’ll turn his smile to his companion. ]
What about you?
(no subject)
Date: 2018-12-13 11:17 am (UTC)though rei refers to henry as a boy, it's here that rei distinctly like a child talking to an adult. what yumenosaki calls a war is, in comparison, merely child's play. even rei, in all his apparently infinite wisdom, cannot begin to fathom what it was to live through the full extent of henry's experience; not the war, nor his betrayal, nor his family history.
if anything, he's understood two things: the stakes henry had suffered were far greater than rei had, and that rei might be foolish to trust someone like him too easily.
henry, of course, seems chipper as always, but rei has already determined henry's attitude is far from an apt litmus test. )
My history is far less dramatic. ( an honest preface, since it's a little hard to follow up an act like that. ) I grew up surrounded largely by my family, immediate and extended. All self-diagnosed vampires, and generally very insular. As the next head of the family, I was trained up to take certain duties when it came time for me to inherit . . . I excelled in them, of course; even as a child, I excelled in most anything, could understand near anything with near clairvoyance, uncommon for even my kind.
I began to gain followers, at one point, as though I were a god.
( this sounds like bragging, but it isn't. it's merely a statement of fact, and said distantly, like it doesn't have anything to do with him now. (it does, naturally, but he'd like to feel as if it doesn't.)
he laughs. )
I'm no god at all, of course. I never claimed to be. With time, people grew privy to that fact. And yet, if something is beyond human comprehension, but is not a god, what do you call it?
( all sorts of things, naturally. devil, demon, monster; an anomaly, an eccentric, a freak— it's the predilection of the user. this much he offers to henry in followup of what he had brought up before, in probing henry for answers; he feels he owes henry at least this much explanation, oblique as it is.
he leaves the question and its answer hanging in the air coolly, as if it weren't worth elaborating on. he doesn't speak of the aftermath, or the burdens he was given abroad, or yumenosaki's warfare. he doesn't consider them important, nor does he think what happened to him matters. where henry's indifference toward his own condition causes him to turn verbose, rei's indifference forces him silent. )
Other than that, I currently act as an idol. ( ironic, given it's a loanword referring to things that were once worshiped. ) I don't suppose your home has something like that? We're performers— we sing and dance to uplift the hearts of our viewers.
It seems we have contrary pations, hm? I can't say I very well approve of bringing misfortune unto others, especially given my typical profession entails the very opposite.
( local bard class scolds black mage, )
(no subject)
Date: 2018-12-13 09:54 pm (UTC)Naturally, such fondness for whomever he favors doesn’t negate or supersede orders, in his eyes, either. But... Henry has no orders. Not anymore. And while it’s left him feeling rather naked without someone to divvy out work or delegate chores after all this time under another’s jurisdiction, it’s sure to be but a brief interlude of feeling lost at sea before he finds a path and begins walking. The path he chooses, however, is at least very much undetermined as of yet.
For now, he’s taken essentially the only direction he’s been given, and forged a contract -- and with someone who likes him, from what he can tell! Of all the wild things one never thought possible, Henry included. They’re from very different backgrounds, yes; but despite that, it seems they’ve both tasted at least a spoonful of humanity’s bitterest cruelty, albeit in different flavors. As Rei expounds, fleetingly, he ponders -- is that why he called himself a ‘beast’ before? Because someone who couldn’t understand had labeled him that way in the past?
And now he’s called an idol. Idol? Given Henry’s experience, his mind first goes to ‘god’, which Rei has said he’s not; then to ‘statue’, which is also obviously untrue, then--
ohhh! ]
Mm, like bards! [ He seems all-too-pleased to point this out. ] We have those! [ Like Olivia, for example, (
one of his marriage routes, ironically). ]You call them ‘idols’, we call them dancers. Ours danced for the soldiers, played or sang songs in camps. [ A fingerwave. ] To-may-to, to-mah-to!
[ So they are, in essence, black mage and bard. More than a bit of a mismatch -- what, with one of them lifting hearts and the other more naturally inclined to stop them, or rip them clean out. But that doesn’t impact Henry’s opinion one way or the other. If he can befriend others topically ill-suited to him back home, he can do so here. Rei is just further proof.
So, even if his head tucks momentarily at that (lightest) bit of chiding, his smile doesn’t fade for a moment. ] Hey, could you sing for me sometime?
(no subject)
Date: 2018-12-15 04:52 am (UTC)he hasn't forgotten what he'd considered that moment before, that he shouldn't so easily trust henry, but to rei both these things can exist in tandem; he can find henry both fascinating and an enigma. someone not to take lightly, but not necessarily something to avoid.
it's a careless line to tread, maybe, but it's one rei can't help but find himself walking again and again; he's willing, and, as he said, he can often do more than what others can; if no one else will extend their hand, then he might as well. )
I suppose I'm a lucky one, if all you ask in return for food and board is a song. ( teasing in tone as always, but not entirely untrue. granted, he doesn't know if that is all henry asks, but such is sakuma rei— implicitly confirming one thing while chatting about another. regardless: ) I have no quarrel with it. Should an idol stop singing, it'd be good as death— or, a second one, in my case.
Granted, this will be the first, still, I've done a private concert for another . . . I should call you a little bit lucky yourself.
( is it slightly full of himself to call someone lucky to get a private session with him? maybe, but he speaks with such easy confidence it sounds more like a friendly jest than a thoughtful brag. )
(no subject)
Date: 2018-12-17 05:00 pm (UTC)[ As for confirming the limitation of their contract, well, he’d technically ask for less -- nothing more than company -- but he’s curious to see what sorts of things his contract sings, if he’s honest. So, he’ll hold him to this, if only loosely.
Henry himself is musical only incidentally -- and more of a casual ”tra-la-la” or ”bom-bom” humming sort at that, idly making melodies at random as he passes the time. Leave the singing to the bards and the killing to the killers, that’s his mindset! And he is unquestionably the latter. ]
I wouldn’t want'cha to die again, after all! Ooh -- not unless you can come back and tell me what it was like?
[ ...Henry, just stop please.
But perhaps he’s got to double-down on the macabre piece here to abate the strange sensations the notions of a private show conjures. Needless to say, he's taken Rei's words to heart; just look, he’s warm all over -- even his ears! Is he coming down with something all of a sudden? ]
(no subject)
Date: 2018-12-18 09:42 am (UTC)The living should remain concerned with staying alive. Or, perhaps it would be more apt to phrase it as "what it means to live"? ( the first refers to subsisting, and the latter refers to thriving. ) Winding one's thoughts around death so constantly poisons the mind.
( now, henry seems positively placated the way he is, so for all rei knows henry is, indeed, thriving—whether or not rei agrees with the way he's going about it—but should henry be so, then he would do better to keep his gaze set on it.
when he glances over, though, as he makes his remark, even in the darker hues of the evening he spots that particular sunset tint of henry's face. how unexpected, but curious; rei hadn't technically meant anything by "private shows," and it was more a natural part of his vernacular to phrase things so, well, particularly, but it isn't hard for him to comb back through his words and guess that might be the culprit.
interesting indeed. so there are some parts of him that are normal, even at the surface. )
Should we take to park bench once we pass this tree-bend? It seems you've gotten a chill in you, and could use a little warming up. ( oh, does he mean he'll— ) I'd hate for you to catch a cold, so perhaps I ought to lend you my coat?
( oh,
he can guess exactly why henry reacted that way, and yet he plays coy; he tends to pull back when followed, even if metaphorically, as always. )
(no subject)
Date: 2018-12-20 10:43 pm (UTC)...Or perhaps circling back to the topic of death was the safer option? Oops. #calledout ]
A chill? [ Henry looks at his hands first. All fingers appear the normal colors, pink and healthy; so that can’t be it. But they are a little cold against his neck, he discovers after placing them there -- and even colder on his face.
Well then. ]
Wow~! I feel pretty hot, actually! [ And now he’s calling himself out. As it stands, a coat feels like the last thing he needs, if the offer is literal. His cloak is sufficient enough! But he’s not so naïve or inexperienced with matters discussed in a camp full of lonely young men huddled around a late-night fire as to forget the implications of “warming up” in its lesser-used, more adult context.
But, my. For all his jokes and jabs about reproduction and the mating practices entailed, he sure is rather shellshocked when confronted with anything that dares warm him, personally, from his little-known soft-hearted gooey center on out, isn’t he?
So, where does he go from here? How does he respond to the offer? It seems he’s much more skilled at making them than accepting them. ]
Hmm... [ A sternly-thoughtful sound, as though this one’s a real brain teaser. ] How about we decide when we get there? Sound good?
[ He’s not good at this. ]