[ Lucius' lips part, and the pique worn upon his face melts away. That answer earns Eridanus a satisfied cooânot simply for the substance of it, but for the dedication that sits at its core. As quickly as displeasure had come, it is gone, and suddenly, the space of a game board between them feels like far too much.
Lucius rises, and it is nearly the same movement of sliding from his chair that has him seated in Eridanus' lap. Foot rubbing against his calf, fingers brushing through the hair at his nape, Lucius purrs, ] There is little that would bring me more joy than to watch you do so, alongside all your other beauty.
[ Centuries is more likely, of courseâbut, somehow, that fact only makes the affection in his breast swell higher.
But if they remain like this, they aren't likely to finish their game. Not that it particularly matters to Lucius, but Eridanus had seemed so eager for itâhe rises again, smile turning impish as he goes. ]
It's not how I typically like to be made to submit, but I'll allow it. You're right â you've already given me whatever it is I might ask for.
[ Though he could always come up with more, should it come to that. ]
[Eridanus' own hardened expression falters as he watches Lucius. They had been like two animalsâheads lowered, hackles raised in one momentâand then the next, it was as if the displeasure of their conversation had never occurred. His own ears unpin from the sides of his head (he hadn't even realized they had laid flat against his skull), as Lucius slides from his own seat and into his lap instead.
As naturally as breathing, Eridanus snakes a hand around his Eternal's hip, pulling him into his body. His own pleased, melodic purr fills the space of silence between words, and he leans towards his Eternal with unfurling desire. He's about to shove his mouth to Lucius' neck before the felid is gone from his lap just as soon as he'd arrived.
Like a whisper on the wind, Lucius is ever-unreachable.]
When I am made to work for what I truly desire, all else will pale in comparison. [Eridanus huffs back as he watches the dancing form of his lover claim his own chair once more.] Not that I particularly dislike the thought, of course. The saying of "practice makes perfect" exists for a reason.
[He leans back in his chair, the very picture of a king who sits lazily on his throne, as his intense gaze levels at Lucius.] But you must pick something, if we are to wager. Why not invite other tortures upon me? Surely there are some we've yet to enjoy together.
[ The promise of a true challenge is as scintillating as everâbut that is a prospect to be nurtured over a span of mortal lifetimes, and the charm of Eridanus' answer is far more immediate. It coils together with the warmth of moonshine in his gut, and as Lucius settles back into his seat, he draws his heel to the edge of his chair in an indolent posture of his own. ]
You wouldn't be so suited as my consort otherwise. [ As his cheek lolls into his knuckles, his gaze never leaves Eridanus' eyes. ] Funny that you understand so well what it means to be a man of the Emperor's Children, when so many of my brothers have forgotten their pride.
[ To devote oneself wholly to even the smallest goal, and to seek perfection in all things... Lucius sighs, the sound fond, and a feline purr rumbles its edges. ]
But, true enough â there is always more you might offer me. [ Even if, in the moment, he feels utterly content with Eridanus' words of dedication anew. ] You've yet to taste my venom in your veins. Perhaps it would bring you pleasure to end this day with your very blood alight with my favor?
[Consort. It echoes within Eridanus' mind, quieting any other thought that is left straying. As he stares at Lucius with eyes wide in stunned silence, he knows Lucius is not the type to be romantic in the common senseâbut he is also not the type to say anything with half-assed sentiment.
His gaze falls half lidded, and when he reaches for his glass once more, it never strays from the intensity of his Eternal's own. He pulls a mouthful of moonshine, rolling it across his tongue and savoring its promethium burn as it slides down his gullet.
Rather than questioning Lucius on his intention, Eridanus allows the title to settle within his thoughts. Affection unfurls with his chest, and he's no longer thinking about fethesi. His mind has been pulled back to their ceremonies priorâto the importance they both have claimed within the other's life.]
A pot of pleasure versus one of pain â you certainly know how to tease a man, Lucius. [He sighs wetly around the words, clears his throat, then bends forward to set his drink aside once more.
A huff of laughter escapes him, and he leans his weight to one side. Sudden warmth has laid flushed claim to his face, and he knows it isn't because of the moonshine that his heart and mind are both swimming. Words though, words will distract him from such an embarrassing proclamation.]
Why not both, is what I would say, were these not the terms for winning and losing. To feel your body writhe in pleasure as my own wracks with excruciating pain â that would be a bliss like no other.
It surely would be. [ The his laugh, low and dripping with honeyed amusement, isn't for those flirtatious words. It doesn't escape Lucius, the way embarrassment rises in the color of Eridanus' cheeks, or how the alien green of his eyes had widened so, or just how long it has been since any piece on the board has been touched. ] But is that not the nature of a wager? I wonder, Eridanus...
[ Lucius trails off, humming as if in thought. His fingers find his own glass, and as he lifts it to his lips, he makes a show of the slow and idle sip he drinks of it. Over the rim of that glass, Lucius' eyes roam with a scrutinizing gaze, studying every line drawn across Eridanus' face as if the contents of his heart were scrawled in the set of his mouth and the furrow of his brow.
Finally, though, the glass lowers, and Lucius cocks his head, the smile pulled across his lips a sly one. ] Whose turn is it again? It's been so long since you've touched the board that I've lost track.
[As keen, cat-like eyes rake over his form, Eridanus feels as if his flesh is being flensed away bit by agonizing bit; as if that aureate gaze intends to carve his soul from the vessel of his body and claim it, then and there.
Beneath Lucius' gaze he feels his body shiver, heat clawing up and down his spine with the familiar desire to consume and be consumed overwhelming his rationality. The hand that has remained resting against his thigh curls, claw-tips catching against the fabric of his trousers, ripping small holes in them, and cutting carelessly at the flesh beneath.
When he finally remembers to breathe, it's a quiet shudder. No doubt, Lucius can hear the way his heart thunders against his ribcage in a wardrum's beat. His pulse is loud in his ears, and between flushed cheeks and opal maw, his mouth splits in a sheepish grin.]
You are such a cruel flirt. [He exhales and shakes his head, the loose ashen blond around his face swaying with the movement.] I've forgotten if you made your move or not, I was far too distracted by you.
[ He must hear it, with the way his ears twitch, their tufted tips accentuating their every movement. He certainly hears that shaking breath, and at the sound of it, his coy smile pulls wider, the thin glint of teeth peering through full lips growing with it. ]
And you were the one so eager to play. [ A thought comes to him, of seeing how long he might draw this game out against the fraying of his dear beast's patience, and his posture sinks in his seat. Beneath the table, he stretches his leg between them, the padded toes of one foot dragging along Eridanus' shin. ] Does something that I've said trouble you, beloved Champion of mine?
Yet, [the syllable drips with desire, no more masked than what Lucius has already noticed.] You have not informed me if you made your move or not.
[Eridanus shifts from his lounging posture, and brings that clawed hand that had gouged holes in his pantsleg as if his fraying control depended on it, up to his collar. One long, glimmering talon hooks into the knot of his tie, loosing it from his neck, so that he can undo the top two buttons of his shirt.]
If you are feeling peckish, my Lord, then I'll be sure to best you quickly so that you may feast. [He leans towards the board once more, his claw hovering over the pieces,] is it your turn... or mine?
Me? All I've done is match your mood, you ravenous beast. [ And yet, his tongue licks over his teeth, expression unchanged from its cast of playful humor. His cat's eyes linger on those dark, opalescent fingers as they reach for Eridanus' throat, gaze falling half-lidded as they unclothe that slim snatch of skin that had been jealously guarded by his ever-formal attire. ]
It is yours. [ Beneath the table, his clawed toes tease against Eridanus' ankle. ] But, of course, if you hunger, there is nothing to stop you from claiming your heart's desire now.
[Once more the game of cat and mouse begins, Eridanus thinks, and Lucius is so cruelly good at it. He pulls his tie free and winds it around his claws before setting it aside, neat and proper.]
The pot calls the kettle black. [A short laugh gusts from Eridanus, and he leans forward to make his move, just as Lucius' toes find his ankle. They draw up the tailored hem of his trousers, and the sock that covers his flesh is not nearly enough buffer to hinder the touch that sends electric excitement through his skin.
Eridanus swallows, feeling the way his adam's apple moves sluggishly in his throat, and quickly moves one of his frontline pieces forward to claim one of Lucius'. He sets the carved piece aside, and levels his lascivious gaze across the table as he sits back.]
You just want to be free of a boring game, don't you? [He grins lopsidedly,] then I urge you to lose quickly.
Your words, not mine. [ Lucius certainly doesn't seem flustered by the loss of that piece, sure enough. And yet, his next move isn't careless; the tip of his finger traces over the pieces left to him, claws continuing to tease beneath Eridanus' pant leg as Lucius takes his time deciding his next move.
When he makes it at last, his gaze lift back to Eridanus across from him, cat-slit eyes hooded with mischief. ]
But, on the contrary, you couldn't be more wrong. You and I are simply playing two different games.
You wish to see my patience crack before I can win, do you? [Eridanus smiles over the board at Lucius, sharp and satisfied with the turn of events.
Regardless of the way that toe-claw shivers pleasant sensation through his skin, there is only one thing that can truly focus Eridanus' mindâand that's a challenge. Pride births competitive nature after all, and he is much too used to winning to let the coy cat he plays with best him in such a disgraceful way.
Eridanus' gaze drops to the board, and focus wrinkles his brow. As he contemplates his next move, his tongue drags idly over his upper lip, only to be pinched at the corner of his mouth as he finally chooses the piece to set forward. Once he's made sure of his move, he removes his clawed fingers from the piece and raises his gaze back towards Lucius.]
This is rather nostalgic, actually. I don't have many good memories of my father, but I am at least thankful he introduced me to fethesi.
I think it makes a far more appropriate contest between us, [ Lucius answers, with a smile sharp and impish to match.
Which makes it a clever gambit on Eridanus' part to shift the conversation to such a melancholy subject. Lucius' foot slides from its place beneath the cuff of Eridanus' slacks, its arch coming to rest over the back of Eridanus' foot instead. ]
Trying to distract with less appealing thoughts, Eridanus? [ The cadence to his voice suggests teasing, but but there's a measure of seriousness to it that belies his playful manner. His eyes drop to the board, and again, his eyes are focused on Eridanus' half of the board as he considers the moves he had taken last. ] It's true that it takes a special kind of man to have nothing redeeming about him.
[ And yet, he doesn't change the subject. It's one that is beyond him, more so than fethesi or regicide or chess, he hungers to know all of Eridanus' heart as much as Eridanus yearns for more of his. ]
[Eridanus reclines in his chair, enjoying the sight of Lucius' brow furrowed in concentration as the playfulness of a moment prior passes. As that foot settles comfortably over his, he takes up his glass once more between the tips of his opal claws.]
Distract? No, I would never use the very same tactic as my Eternal. [He smiles over the lip of his glass towards the hunched figure of Lucius, before taking a slow sip of moonshine. As it burns a path down his throat, the glass is set aside once more and he wiggles his toes beneath Lucius' footâcatching his toe-claws against the skin of the other's heel.
He leans his weight forward, bracing his elbows against his thighs, but his gaze shifts. It casts sideways, like Eridanus is staring off in the distance, suddenly entranced with old memories.]
He wasn't always so awful, not until my arcane ability manifested. [Eridanus folds his hands together,] he taught me fethesi before then, always saying that it's imperative for an aristocrat to be disciplined in all things. Logic, music, swordsmanship. Magic simply became another one of those things.
You misunderstand, Eridanus. I don't mean to distract, but to see how far your endurance runs.
[ Lucius lifts his eyes from the board with the words, and for just a moment, he shoots another taunting grin across the table. He feels claws catch at the pads of his heel just as he lowers his gaze again, and as his fingers hover over the board, a short purr rumbles from his throat.
Finally, he makes his move, the click of a piece against the board below the only sound to interrupt the brief, contemplative silence that settles between them. As Lucius sits back in his seat, his foot rubs with idle affection along the back of Eridanus' and the ankle above. ]
Of course. Even my education was broader than just warfare. [ Not that he had been born an aristocrat, but he had certainly been educated like one, even before his ascension to the ranks of the Emperor's Children. Now he does think of Fulgrim, just brieflyâas he had been a very long time ago, as a man who demanded his warriors be beacons of perfection in all things, even as some of their brother-Legions mocked them for their foppishness. ]
History and culture, art and music â competency in such things was expected of anyone who wished for good standing in the upper echelons of society. Luckily for me, [ he adds, voice lilting with humor, ] being a natural savant left me with plenty of time to focus on the subjects I preferred instead.
Then I suppose you will adjust to fethesi quickly, then?
[Eridanus returns, with a sly grin splitting his visage behind the guard of his opal maw. But he does seem to settle a bit, despite the prickle the topic of his father instills in him, as beneath the table Lucius idly doles out affection. Between the dowels of the kitchen chair he sits upon, Eridanus' tail swings with lazy comfort, and his shoulders relax.]
You know, when I first met you, I wouldn't think you as cultured as you are. A hooligan meaning to cause trouble, but I'm no peacekeeper nor a ward of morality, so I didn't care overmuch beyond how your antics disrupted my afternoon. [He chuckles as he glances across the board, and with the confidence of centuries of practice, sets another piece forward in their game.] For a time, I was determined not to like you, but you kept surprising me â and I quickly found that I could not deny the way you unconsciously commanded my attention.
[Beneath the table, Eridanus unfolds the leg that had been resting ankle-over-knee, and settles it beside Lucius'. He touches gently at the curve of the man's inner foot, and his smile wanes into something gentle and fond as he catches that aureate gaze.]
You enthralled me so quickly, I don't think my mind was able to comprehend the pace at which my heart soared.
Ah, yes. What is it that you said to me? [ Lucius tilts his head in a pantomime of thought, but with the way his smile grows across his lips in a vicious grin, he clearly already knows the answer to the question he asks. ] "An eternity with you would turn this place from a nuisance to a hell"? I seem to recall something like that.
[ And then he laughs, the rich sound of it cutting through the space between them. How could anyone not? As that pealing noise fades, his tongue licks out over his teeth, and beneath the table, his foot twitches with the desire to move. ]
For a time, you say, as if you held out against my charms for more than a few minutes. [ He had certainly left their first conversation fond enough to tease him with innuendo by their second. Now it's his turn to leave the board forgotten between them, the urge to enthrone himself in Eridanus' lap and ensnare his companion in the tangle of his embrace tensing his form, as if he might simply pounce across the table to do just that. ] And here I simply appreciated your wit.
[ Of course, Lucius recalls the precise moment where his interest turned to infatuation, and the one after that where infatuation became to deep-rooted, possessive need. For the moment, though, Eridanus has simply invited far too much teasing onto himself. ]
Your charm that day consisted of using a voucher for free fried chicken strips, offered to me because I made you laugh. [Eridanus retorts, and while his tone is sharp, his face is lit up with nothing short of a fond smile.
Lucius isn't the only one itching to move, and as Eridanus' eyes catch the low level of moonshine in his own cup, he finds it a good enough excuse to do so. He rises from his chair, foot pulled out from under the other's before he rounds the table. He pauses, leaning over Lucius, unable to resist closing in on him to whisper against his felid ear.]
Little did you know, I was speaking of feasting on flesh, all those messages ago. [He hadn't felt the need to correct his implied innuendo back then, because in all honesty, the result would have been the same either way. The two of them, up until the sun shined through their windows, as they returned passionate, torture-filled letters to one another. And who said romance was dead?
Eridanus saunters towards where the bottle of moonshine sits, and as he returns to the table with it, he stops to fill Lucius' glass first.]
Still, who would have guessed how well-matched our souls were, when we first met? Not I â I never would have imagined myself pledging fealty to a warlord, a year ago.
And yet, you are the one that fell for it. Which of us are you mocking, again?
[ Lucius settles back in his seat as Eridanus rises, as if merely having him those few feet closer is enough to settle his restlessness. He might ask what it is that makes Eridanus think Lucius had intended his retorts as anything else, but his thoughts are much the sameâthat it makes no difference either way, when one was as much a flirtation as the other.
As Eridanus moves so comfortably to retrieve the moonshine, Lucius watches him with indolent posture. It isn't until he has returned to refill his cup that he lifts a hand; as if Eridanus' flesh is simply his to take, his palm settles against the back of his thigh, running upward with his reply. ]
Of course, I am far more than a mere warlord. [ Sly, feline eyes fall half-lidded as they fix Eridanus above in their gaze. ] And I hadn't imagined just what a rare jewel had fallen into my sights. Do you know, the precise moment when you made me burn with obsession unlike any I had felt before?
[ Just recalling it is enough to draw up the same rush of giddy desire, the urge to pounce on Eridanus and tear him apart in his mouth. The edges of his words turn breathless with it, their contest truly forgotten now. ]
[The bottle in hand is quick to find the table once Eridanus has finished pouring, and as Lucius trails claws up and down the backside of his thigh, he smiles. Even knowing so much, to be claimed a jewel swells pride and affection so much within his breast that even he cannot resist the call to touch.
Eridanus slides an open palm across Lucius' shoulder blades, feeling over the grotesque bone structure that squirms beneath his skin with fetal twitching. Behind him, his tail swings lazily, happily, and Eridanus indulges that question with his fond gaze.]
When was it that you came to yearn for me, beloved? [He hums, hugging himself closer to Lucius with his hip to his Eternal's shoulderâever striving to close the distance between them completely.] Because I remember when my thoughts and desires became consumed by you â when you dominated my entire existence with a thirst for your blood, and your flesh, and your soul.
[And how every moment since has been a crude bastardization of the eternity he wishes to spend with the man he's so wrapped up with. Every touch leaving him breathless, no matter how chaste, every whisper like the song of angels in his ears. Eridanus' hand slides over Lucius' nape, fingers curling into his blond hair, a gentle and affectionate touch still with the threat of those obsidian talons against his lover's skin.]
[ So close to the cord of his spine, the dagger ends of those beautiful, glittering claws set sparks down its length, the prickle of danger beneath his skin too sweet a call for Lucius to ignore. He rises, his own palms dragging a greedy path up the length of Eridanus' corded thighs and sculpted stomach as he goes, and with his seat left behind him, Lucius squeezes tight against his consort's broader shape just the same. ]
I didn't ask about yearning, dear Archmage, [ he says, and the words would almost sound offended if not for the tremble of a laugh that ghosts them. One hand settles around the small of Eridanus' back, and the other above his chestâabove the rune carved into his flesh, hidden from sight only by the fabric of that buttoned shirt. ] Yearning is nothing compared to the way thoughts of you consumed my mind.
[ The words for it are almost beyond him, that giddy infatuation that had left him to daydream of gifts and painters and heated prose penned in Eridanus' own hand. As if that exchange were minutes past instead of months, his blood races with it anew, the chain only barely held by Eridanus' dutiful presence at his side giving way to the bottomless hunger of his obsession once more. ]
That moment you told me that to feel the everlasting anguish of my armor would be a delight â I could think of no one else. There is no one else â no one else in ten-thousand years of life who has said to me what you have. To find a man unmatched in the depths of his heart's depravityâ [ His voice gives way to a laugh, breathless and intoxicated with something far deeper than moonshine. ] You are a precious stone buried among endless slate, a single golden treasure among billions upon billions of counterfeits. Or do you believe I would even think to have a sword made for just any rabble who asks to duel me?
[ With those last words, a cheeky grin cuts his lipsâeven as the flush of infatuation rises to his cheeks. ]
[Lucius presses into him, and in the span of a single heartbeat, Eridanus feels utterly breathless. He's crushed beneath the magnanimity of those words, under the weight of what is no doubt the closest Lucius has come to a confession of love. He swallows around those words and the lump they form in his throat, and any idle desire he had felt a moment prior has made itself known in the racing of his heart. His chest feels as if it's a drum, thundering a war-beat as he presses into his lover with just as much relentless need to be closer.]
I know you are already so aware, butâ [Eridanus murmurs, barely above a breathless whisper as he smooths his opaline fingers over the sculpted curve of Lucius' cheek,] you are unlike any other. You have seen in me a value that I did not see myself, awakened my heart to desires I never thought I deserved â and not just that of the flesh. You have honed me into a blade, perfectly fit to your palm, and I have found... genuine happiness by your side. The first I've felt in so very long.
[He allows his eyes to slip closed, and dips his head down, so that their foreheads touch.] I have come to find fulfilment by your side, you have taught me many lessons. [Blond lashes flutter, his eyes opening and catching his consort's aureate gaze.] You are the air in my lungs, the sun on my face, the wind beneath my wings â I cannot live without you.
[Eridanus doesn't wait for Lucius' answer to his own confession. He knows it will be nothing more than an airy laugh, followed by casual affirmation. Rather, he claims those plump lips set before his own. Impassioned, Eridanus ravages that mouth, enjoying the tender give of flesh beneath the unrelenting opal of his own. He finds Lucius' supple lower lip, digging into it with sudden hunger, and suckling at that caught skin within the cage of his teeth.]
[When he finally pulls away, his arousal is apparent, lascivious desire edging into his breathless words,] forget fethesi â I need to make love to you, now.
[ Eridanus knows his Eternal wellâand why shouldn't he? That airy laugh Eridanus so expects is lost within the press of opal to flesh, Lucius opening his mouth for the pleasure of teeth that could just as easily shear his meat from his bones. And yet, the answering pride that wells within his chest remainsâthe thought that of course, Eridanus belongs to him, and the way Eridanus has ripened into a man he is proud to own. His thigh hitches around Eridanus', as if he might simply climb him to pull their forms another fraction closer.
When Eridanus draws away, Lucius answers him with a chuff of hot breath, the sound no less amused for the way it doesn't quite manage to become a laugh. ]
If you intend to make love as gently as you kiss, [ he teases, unable to keep himself from toying at such sentimental phrasing set against a kiss of ravaging, bestial passion, ] it will be my pleasure indeed.
[ Even now, he can feel those wicked claws where they slot against his form, and a shiver teases his spine at the thought of what their dagger ends might do to his flesh. It should rankle him, the way the pathetic vulnerability of this shape so often doesâbut, caged by the powerful arms of his lover, the feeling twists within his blood to become something else entirely, stinging his senses with the fresh scent of new possibility.
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Lucius rises, and it is nearly the same movement of sliding from his chair that has him seated in Eridanus' lap. Foot rubbing against his calf, fingers brushing through the hair at his nape, Lucius purrs, ] There is little that would bring me more joy than to watch you do so, alongside all your other beauty.
[ Centuries is more likely, of courseâbut, somehow, that fact only makes the affection in his breast swell higher.
But if they remain like this, they aren't likely to finish their game. Not that it particularly matters to Lucius, but Eridanus had seemed so eager for itâhe rises again, smile turning impish as he goes. ]
It's not how I typically like to be made to submit, but I'll allow it. You're right â you've already given me whatever it is I might ask for.
[ Though he could always come up with more, should it come to that. ]
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As naturally as breathing, Eridanus snakes a hand around his Eternal's hip, pulling him into his body. His own pleased, melodic purr fills the space of silence between words, and he leans towards his Eternal with unfurling desire. He's about to shove his mouth to Lucius' neck before the felid is gone from his lap just as soon as he'd arrived.
Like a whisper on the wind, Lucius is ever-unreachable.]
When I am made to work for what I truly desire, all else will pale in comparison. [Eridanus huffs back as he watches the dancing form of his lover claim his own chair once more.] Not that I particularly dislike the thought, of course. The saying of "practice makes perfect" exists for a reason.
[He leans back in his chair, the very picture of a king who sits lazily on his throne, as his intense gaze levels at Lucius.] But you must pick something, if we are to wager. Why not invite other tortures upon me? Surely there are some we've yet to enjoy together.
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You wouldn't be so suited as my consort otherwise. [ As his cheek lolls into his knuckles, his gaze never leaves Eridanus' eyes. ] Funny that you understand so well what it means to be a man of the Emperor's Children, when so many of my brothers have forgotten their pride.
[ To devote oneself wholly to even the smallest goal, and to seek perfection in all things... Lucius sighs, the sound fond, and a feline purr rumbles its edges. ]
But, true enough â there is always more you might offer me. [ Even if, in the moment, he feels utterly content with Eridanus' words of dedication anew. ] You've yet to taste my venom in your veins. Perhaps it would bring you pleasure to end this day with your very blood alight with my favor?
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His gaze falls half lidded, and when he reaches for his glass once more, it never strays from the intensity of his Eternal's own. He pulls a mouthful of moonshine, rolling it across his tongue and savoring its promethium burn as it slides down his gullet.
Rather than questioning Lucius on his intention, Eridanus allows the title to settle within his thoughts. Affection unfurls with his chest, and he's no longer thinking about fethesi. His mind has been pulled back to their ceremonies priorâto the importance they both have claimed within the other's life.]
A pot of pleasure versus one of pain â you certainly know how to tease a man, Lucius. [He sighs wetly around the words, clears his throat, then bends forward to set his drink aside once more.
A huff of laughter escapes him, and he leans his weight to one side. Sudden warmth has laid flushed claim to his face, and he knows it isn't because of the moonshine that his heart and mind are both swimming. Words though, words will distract him from such an embarrassing proclamation.]
Why not both, is what I would say, were these not the terms for winning and losing. To feel your body writhe in pleasure as my own wracks with excruciating pain â that would be a bliss like no other.
no subject
[ Lucius trails off, humming as if in thought. His fingers find his own glass, and as he lifts it to his lips, he makes a show of the slow and idle sip he drinks of it. Over the rim of that glass, Lucius' eyes roam with a scrutinizing gaze, studying every line drawn across Eridanus' face as if the contents of his heart were scrawled in the set of his mouth and the furrow of his brow.
Finally, though, the glass lowers, and Lucius cocks his head, the smile pulled across his lips a sly one. ] Whose turn is it again? It's been so long since you've touched the board that I've lost track.
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Beneath Lucius' gaze he feels his body shiver, heat clawing up and down his spine with the familiar desire to consume and be consumed overwhelming his rationality. The hand that has remained resting against his thigh curls, claw-tips catching against the fabric of his trousers, ripping small holes in them, and cutting carelessly at the flesh beneath.
When he finally remembers to breathe, it's a quiet shudder. No doubt, Lucius can hear the way his heart thunders against his ribcage in a wardrum's beat. His pulse is loud in his ears, and between flushed cheeks and opal maw, his mouth splits in a sheepish grin.]
You are such a cruel flirt. [He exhales and shakes his head, the loose ashen blond around his face swaying with the movement.] I've forgotten if you made your move or not, I was far too distracted by you.
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And you were the one so eager to play. [ A thought comes to him, of seeing how long he might draw this game out against the fraying of his dear beast's patience, and his posture sinks in his seat. Beneath the table, he stretches his leg between them, the padded toes of one foot dragging along Eridanus' shin. ] Does something that I've said trouble you, beloved Champion of mine?
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[Eridanus shifts from his lounging posture, and brings that clawed hand that had gouged holes in his pantsleg as if his fraying control depended on it, up to his collar. One long, glimmering talon hooks into the knot of his tie, loosing it from his neck, so that he can undo the top two buttons of his shirt.]
If you are feeling peckish, my Lord, then I'll be sure to best you quickly so that you may feast. [He leans towards the board once more, his claw hovering over the pieces,] is it your turn... or mine?
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It is yours. [ Beneath the table, his clawed toes tease against Eridanus' ankle. ] But, of course, if you hunger, there is nothing to stop you from claiming your heart's desire now.
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The pot calls the kettle black. [A short laugh gusts from Eridanus, and he leans forward to make his move, just as Lucius' toes find his ankle. They draw up the tailored hem of his trousers, and the sock that covers his flesh is not nearly enough buffer to hinder the touch that sends electric excitement through his skin.
Eridanus swallows, feeling the way his adam's apple moves sluggishly in his throat, and quickly moves one of his frontline pieces forward to claim one of Lucius'. He sets the carved piece aside, and levels his lascivious gaze across the table as he sits back.]
You just want to be free of a boring game, don't you? [He grins lopsidedly,] then I urge you to lose quickly.
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When he makes it at last, his gaze lift back to Eridanus across from him, cat-slit eyes hooded with mischief. ]
But, on the contrary, you couldn't be more wrong. You and I are simply playing two different games.
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Regardless of the way that toe-claw shivers pleasant sensation through his skin, there is only one thing that can truly focus Eridanus' mindâand that's a challenge. Pride births competitive nature after all, and he is much too used to winning to let the coy cat he plays with best him in such a disgraceful way.
Eridanus' gaze drops to the board, and focus wrinkles his brow. As he contemplates his next move, his tongue drags idly over his upper lip, only to be pinched at the corner of his mouth as he finally chooses the piece to set forward. Once he's made sure of his move, he removes his clawed fingers from the piece and raises his gaze back towards Lucius.]
This is rather nostalgic, actually. I don't have many good memories of my father, but I am at least thankful he introduced me to fethesi.
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Which makes it a clever gambit on Eridanus' part to shift the conversation to such a melancholy subject. Lucius' foot slides from its place beneath the cuff of Eridanus' slacks, its arch coming to rest over the back of Eridanus' foot instead. ]
Trying to distract with less appealing thoughts, Eridanus? [ The cadence to his voice suggests teasing, but but there's a measure of seriousness to it that belies his playful manner. His eyes drop to the board, and again, his eyes are focused on Eridanus' half of the board as he considers the moves he had taken last. ] It's true that it takes a special kind of man to have nothing redeeming about him.
[ And yet, he doesn't change the subject. It's one that is beyond him, more so than fethesi or regicide or chess, he hungers to know all of Eridanus' heart as much as Eridanus yearns for more of his. ]
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Distract? No, I would never use the very same tactic as my Eternal. [He smiles over the lip of his glass towards the hunched figure of Lucius, before taking a slow sip of moonshine. As it burns a path down his throat, the glass is set aside once more and he wiggles his toes beneath Lucius' footâcatching his toe-claws against the skin of the other's heel.
He leans his weight forward, bracing his elbows against his thighs, but his gaze shifts. It casts sideways, like Eridanus is staring off in the distance, suddenly entranced with old memories.]
He wasn't always so awful, not until my arcane ability manifested. [Eridanus folds his hands together,] he taught me fethesi before then, always saying that it's imperative for an aristocrat to be disciplined in all things. Logic, music, swordsmanship. Magic simply became another one of those things.
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[ Lucius lifts his eyes from the board with the words, and for just a moment, he shoots another taunting grin across the table. He feels claws catch at the pads of his heel just as he lowers his gaze again, and as his fingers hover over the board, a short purr rumbles from his throat.
Finally, he makes his move, the click of a piece against the board below the only sound to interrupt the brief, contemplative silence that settles between them. As Lucius sits back in his seat, his foot rubs with idle affection along the back of Eridanus' and the ankle above. ]
Of course. Even my education was broader than just warfare. [ Not that he had been born an aristocrat, but he had certainly been educated like one, even before his ascension to the ranks of the Emperor's Children. Now he does think of Fulgrim, just brieflyâas he had been a very long time ago, as a man who demanded his warriors be beacons of perfection in all things, even as some of their brother-Legions mocked them for their foppishness. ]
History and culture, art and music â competency in such things was expected of anyone who wished for good standing in the upper echelons of society. Luckily for me, [ he adds, voice lilting with humor, ] being a natural savant left me with plenty of time to focus on the subjects I preferred instead.
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[Eridanus returns, with a sly grin splitting his visage behind the guard of his opal maw. But he does seem to settle a bit, despite the prickle the topic of his father instills in him, as beneath the table Lucius idly doles out affection. Between the dowels of the kitchen chair he sits upon, Eridanus' tail swings with lazy comfort, and his shoulders relax.]
You know, when I first met you, I wouldn't think you as cultured as you are. A hooligan meaning to cause trouble, but I'm no peacekeeper nor a ward of morality, so I didn't care overmuch beyond how your antics disrupted my afternoon. [He chuckles as he glances across the board, and with the confidence of centuries of practice, sets another piece forward in their game.] For a time, I was determined not to like you, but you kept surprising me â and I quickly found that I could not deny the way you unconsciously commanded my attention.
[Beneath the table, Eridanus unfolds the leg that had been resting ankle-over-knee, and settles it beside Lucius'. He touches gently at the curve of the man's inner foot, and his smile wanes into something gentle and fond as he catches that aureate gaze.]
You enthralled me so quickly, I don't think my mind was able to comprehend the pace at which my heart soared.
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[ And then he laughs, the rich sound of it cutting through the space between them. How could anyone not? As that pealing noise fades, his tongue licks out over his teeth, and beneath the table, his foot twitches with the desire to move. ]
For a time, you say, as if you held out against my charms for more than a few minutes. [ He had certainly left their first conversation fond enough to tease him with innuendo by their second. Now it's his turn to leave the board forgotten between them, the urge to enthrone himself in Eridanus' lap and ensnare his companion in the tangle of his embrace tensing his form, as if he might simply pounce across the table to do just that. ] And here I simply appreciated your wit.
[ Of course, Lucius recalls the precise moment where his interest turned to infatuation, and the one after that where infatuation became to deep-rooted, possessive need. For the moment, though, Eridanus has simply invited far too much teasing onto himself. ]
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Lucius isn't the only one itching to move, and as Eridanus' eyes catch the low level of moonshine in his own cup, he finds it a good enough excuse to do so. He rises from his chair, foot pulled out from under the other's before he rounds the table. He pauses, leaning over Lucius, unable to resist closing in on him to whisper against his felid ear.]
Little did you know, I was speaking of feasting on flesh, all those messages ago. [He hadn't felt the need to correct his implied innuendo back then, because in all honesty, the result would have been the same either way. The two of them, up until the sun shined through their windows, as they returned passionate, torture-filled letters to one another. And who said romance was dead?
Eridanus saunters towards where the bottle of moonshine sits, and as he returns to the table with it, he stops to fill Lucius' glass first.]
Still, who would have guessed how well-matched our souls were, when we first met? Not I â I never would have imagined myself pledging fealty to a warlord, a year ago.
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[ Lucius settles back in his seat as Eridanus rises, as if merely having him those few feet closer is enough to settle his restlessness. He might ask what it is that makes Eridanus think Lucius had intended his retorts as anything else, but his thoughts are much the sameâthat it makes no difference either way, when one was as much a flirtation as the other.
As Eridanus moves so comfortably to retrieve the moonshine, Lucius watches him with indolent posture. It isn't until he has returned to refill his cup that he lifts a hand; as if Eridanus' flesh is simply his to take, his palm settles against the back of his thigh, running upward with his reply. ]
Of course, I am far more than a mere warlord. [ Sly, feline eyes fall half-lidded as they fix Eridanus above in their gaze. ] And I hadn't imagined just what a rare jewel had fallen into my sights. Do you know, the precise moment when you made me burn with obsession unlike any I had felt before?
[ Just recalling it is enough to draw up the same rush of giddy desire, the urge to pounce on Eridanus and tear him apart in his mouth. The edges of his words turn breathless with it, their contest truly forgotten now. ]
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Eridanus slides an open palm across Lucius' shoulder blades, feeling over the grotesque bone structure that squirms beneath his skin with fetal twitching. Behind him, his tail swings lazily, happily, and Eridanus indulges that question with his fond gaze.]
When was it that you came to yearn for me, beloved? [He hums, hugging himself closer to Lucius with his hip to his Eternal's shoulderâever striving to close the distance between them completely.] Because I remember when my thoughts and desires became consumed by you â when you dominated my entire existence with a thirst for your blood, and your flesh, and your soul.
[And how every moment since has been a crude bastardization of the eternity he wishes to spend with the man he's so wrapped up with. Every touch leaving him breathless, no matter how chaste, every whisper like the song of angels in his ears. Eridanus' hand slides over Lucius' nape, fingers curling into his blond hair, a gentle and affectionate touch still with the threat of those obsidian talons against his lover's skin.]
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I didn't ask about yearning, dear Archmage, [ he says, and the words would almost sound offended if not for the tremble of a laugh that ghosts them. One hand settles around the small of Eridanus' back, and the other above his chestâabove the rune carved into his flesh, hidden from sight only by the fabric of that buttoned shirt. ] Yearning is nothing compared to the way thoughts of you consumed my mind.
[ The words for it are almost beyond him, that giddy infatuation that had left him to daydream of gifts and painters and heated prose penned in Eridanus' own hand. As if that exchange were minutes past instead of months, his blood races with it anew, the chain only barely held by Eridanus' dutiful presence at his side giving way to the bottomless hunger of his obsession once more. ]
That moment you told me that to feel the everlasting anguish of my armor would be a delight â I could think of no one else. There is no one else â no one else in ten-thousand years of life who has said to me what you have. To find a man unmatched in the depths of his heart's depravityâ [ His voice gives way to a laugh, breathless and intoxicated with something far deeper than moonshine. ] You are a precious stone buried among endless slate, a single golden treasure among billions upon billions of counterfeits. Or do you believe I would even think to have a sword made for just any rabble who asks to duel me?
[ With those last words, a cheeky grin cuts his lipsâeven as the flush of infatuation rises to his cheeks. ]
cw: SIGHS at the hornee
I know you are already so aware, butâ [Eridanus murmurs, barely above a breathless whisper as he smooths his opaline fingers over the sculpted curve of Lucius' cheek,] you are unlike any other. You have seen in me a value that I did not see myself, awakened my heart to desires I never thought I deserved â and not just that of the flesh. You have honed me into a blade, perfectly fit to your palm, and I have found... genuine happiness by your side. The first I've felt in so very long.
[He allows his eyes to slip closed, and dips his head down, so that their foreheads touch.] I have come to find fulfilment by your side, you have taught me many lessons. [Blond lashes flutter, his eyes opening and catching his consort's aureate gaze.] You are the air in my lungs, the sun on my face, the wind beneath my wings â I cannot live without you.
[Eridanus doesn't wait for Lucius' answer to his own confession. He knows it will be nothing more than an airy laugh, followed by casual affirmation. Rather, he claims those plump lips set before his own. Impassioned, Eridanus ravages that mouth, enjoying the tender give of flesh beneath the unrelenting opal of his own. He finds Lucius' supple lower lip, digging into it with sudden hunger, and suckling at that caught skin within the cage of his teeth.]
[When he finally pulls away, his arousal is apparent, lascivious desire edging into his breathless words,] forget fethesi â I need to make love to you, now.
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When Eridanus draws away, Lucius answers him with a chuff of hot breath, the sound no less amused for the way it doesn't quite manage to become a laugh. ]
If you intend to make love as gently as you kiss, [ he teases, unable to keep himself from toying at such sentimental phrasing set against a kiss of ravaging, bestial passion, ] it will be my pleasure indeed.
[ Even now, he can feel those wicked claws where they slot against his form, and a shiver teases his spine at the thought of what their dagger ends might do to his flesh. It should rankle him, the way the pathetic vulnerability of this shape so often doesâbut, caged by the powerful arms of his lover, the feeling twists within his blood to become something else entirely, stinging his senses with the fresh scent of new possibility.
Anyway, ]