Why, I often wonder the same thing, [ Lucius returns, the words nearly sung in jest. Truly, how could Eidolon have been so foolish! But he knows the mechanics of it, and the mechanics were all he promised to tell; again, dark enamel plays the length of Eridanus' spine as Lucius draws air through his sharpened teeth. ]
The plan that was agreed upon was this: Horus would marshal his Sons and drive an attack against another of the Palace's cardinal walls. The furor of it would draw the attention of its defenders away from the west. While they were so absorbed in warding off that assault, Eidolon and his men would make an entrance through the breech I guarded â once I made sure it had only me to protect it. Three dozen or so heads for me to take, alone...
[ Even as close as Eridanus has pulled their eyes, his tongue lolls between his teeth again, hungry with the thought of that struggle. Never once had he doubted in his ability to end the lives against that mob alone; still, it had been quite the experience, defending himself from so many blades wielded against him on all sides. More than any human enemy, it had felt like being locked in battle against the Megarachnid on Murder once more, in that struggle that had nearly ended his life centuries before he could become the blight the galaxy knew him as today.
A pity, that none of those men had been as swift or as unfaltering as their xenos foes. ]
Simple enough for a swordsman as skilled as I, wouldn't you say? [ Like the punchline to a joke, he exhales those words in a breath of laughter. ] The first handful were dead before the rest of our brothers could understand that I had killed them. The rest threw themselves to me, but no matter how many of them came at once â compared Lucius the swordsman, their clumsy bladework was little more than the imaginary play of a Chemosian child fantasizing of growing up into a grand duelist.
[ There had been someone else there, too, butâwell, that subplot hardly mattered anymore, and Eridanus couldn't give the payoff nearly the appreciation it deserved without hearing a whole other story first. ]
By the time Eidolon and his men arrived, my face was a mask of blood, and not a single drop of it dripped from a gash made by any other sword but my own. Just as we agreed, I allowed him entry to the palace, where he would flank our struggling kin...
[ Lucius trails off as though his story were about to crescendo to some new and glorious turn of eventsâbut then he shrugs, the brightness of his expression suddenly diminishing with his disinterest. ]
I didn't accompany him, so I cannot tell you precisely what occurred from there. Still, I know enough to say my dear friend Saul Tarvitz had doubled back, evidently in the hopes of finding me. Too much of a dullard to realize I had decided to move onto more fruitful lands, I suppose he was worried for my life.
[ He doesn't mention the way he had Saul had fought long enough for the pair of them to be found, and though he speaks of the concern of what may be the last man he had ever called a friend, his voice is flat. ]
In any case, Eidolon, that fool â he was so preoccupied with thoughts of glory and claiming the most heads that he threw out good sense. [ Lucius rolls his eyes. ] As the good Lord Commander flanked our loyalist kin, Tarvitz gathered what men had been left scattered and unmoored by the disorder. Eidolon allowed his flanking force to be flanked, and by perhaps a mere two dozen marines!
[ He scoffs, and it's hard to say which irritates him more: Eidolon's failure, or Saul's success. ]
The damage had been more than done by then, but can you imagine the humiliation of being driven out by the same men you had set fleeing like vermin from a flaming field? That he couldn't finish the task, that he suffered so many unnecessary losses in what should have been a foolproof operation â well, you can imagine it was quite the stain on the story of his great victory.
[Keen to the changes in Lucius' expressionâsubtle or unsubtle as they areâEridanus' excitement for the tale at hand dims and like a lounging cat basking in the sun, he lowers himself to quiet repose upon the expanse of that monstrous, scarred chest. He watches the way his consort's lipless maw twists around the words, how laughter reverberates beneath him, and how disgust pulls a grimace across Lucius' waxen mask. His gaze searches every crease and ridge of the face before him, and with the ridge of his own opaline maw settling atop the backs of his hands, Eridanus resigns himself to what he assumes to be the great climax of the story.
Except, for as much as he was expecting an utter blunder, he isn't expecting it to be so incredibly stupid. So much so that for the few moments of relaxation he had found himself in, he is once again pulling himself up to sitting upon Lucius' overlarge chest.]
And this man is a military officer? [He finds that incredibly hard to believe, and that incredulity is heard quite literally in the tone he takes when he asks the question. More so, his brow furrows along with the twist of his lips into a poutâas if the story has ended in nothing but disappointment.
But... no, it couldn't. After all, this is a story that his Eternal stars in! So of course, there is room for triumph and glory awaiting. Perhaps the climax is not yet here.]
What did you do? Surely you rescued this plan, since the Lord Commander failed so miserably?
I asked the same thing myself, once we were back aboard the Andronius! [ That response seems to restore a measure of Lucius' good moodâor perhaps they simple are turning toward a punchline Lucius enjoys. Either way, a grin splits across his face again, sharp and feral.
Still, the next words from his mouth aren't quite so exciting, so he settles back against the pillows beneath his body with a click of his tongue. The tips of his claws tap against stony skin, and his overlong tongue licks across his teeth. ]
It's as I said, Eridanus: Eidolon's damage was already done. He merely completed his task... falteringly, rather than making it the decisive triumph it ought to have been. The loyalist resistance still lay broken by the end of it, and that was enough for the Warmaster to call his forces back to their ships â where we all watched as whatever stragglers still stubbornly clung to life were rewarded for their valor by his fleet's world-ending munitions.
[ If Lucius were to speak of regrets, that he couldn't see the light leave Saul's eyes for himself is the only one. But that isn't the topic at hand, and instead, Lucius' lips light with a smile. This is it: the true point of this little anecdote. ]
And when Fulgrim's loyal sons came to stand in front of their primarch once more â well, you already know which one was praised for his cleverness and credited for cutting that conflict short, don't you?
[ Eridanus doesn't really need to answer, because of course the answer is him. He chuckles, the sound low and rich, as he recalls not Fulgrim's praise, but the envy of his brothers who had coveted it in his stead. ]
The next time I saw Lord Commander Eidolon, [ Lucius goes on, without pause, ] he had been tasked with escorting me to Bile's apothecarion. Imagine how he seethed, Eridanus! He had been upstaged by a twice-damned traitor â a pernicious stain on the III Legion's honor he would have left to die with the rest, had the decision been his to make. Of course, [ and his tone suddenly shift sly, ] he hadn't seemed so put out by our bargain when he thought the accolades would be his instead.
[ Lucius' arms pull around Eridanus' waist, drawing him upward. His head leans forward, eyes glittering. ]
That was the moment we both knew, soon, I would rise above him in the eyes of our gene-father.
[The climax isn't one he expects. There is no riotous claim to victory had by Lucius' own hand, nor utter decimation wrought by anything more than the finality of a battle won. In some ways, it's poeticâwar is not always like the ballads say, with grand heroes and epic monologues. Sometimes it is nothing more than beasts heeling to greater beasts, made to submit with the end of life itself. So, in a sense, this ending is also more satisfying than he had imagined.
As Eridanus is pulled up, closer to that grinning waxen mask boasting its confidence and pride, his own visage cracks with a fond smile. In the end, what he knew to be true was just thatâLucius rose above all the rest, and proved himself to be the king among fools. Now, if only he could see himself as greater than that pestiferous gene-father he goes on about, then he and Eridanus would truly be in agreement.]
Once more your glory is known. How the eyes of your brothers opened to that truth that day is a most glorious tale, my beloved. [He traces the scarified ridges of Lucius' visage with reverent glee, his claws nicking the deadened skin with the haste and carelessness of his excitement. Behind him, his tufted tail whips through the air, and within the thin space between their faces, his eyes gleam ecstatic.] What great honor was awarded to you? Surely you received some prize for your triumph?
Surely you know the favor of a king is its own prize. [ At least, that is what Lucius remembers. His claws continue to smooth up and down Eridanus' spine, and his head leans back, as though his consort's over-eager claws were the touch of a seasoned masseur instead. ] Fulgrim's eyes were upon me, and that meant the rest of the Legion followed. My lesser brothers vied for my company, and officers more senior than I opened their ranks to me, offering me privileges and luxuries beyond my grasp as a novice captain.
Of course, [ the words are a half-sigh, and with the same idleness, Lucius catches the base of Eridanus' wagging tail within the crook of his thumb and tugs, ] I snubbed them. You know me well enough, Eridanus, to understand that command is nothing more than a means to an end for me. Besides... A larger bed might be more comfortable, but the First Captain's seething face was priceless!
[Once more Eridanus' smile sours just a fraction at the mention of that insipid father of his. Perhaps, for the barest of moments, his distaste shows in the way his claws silently bear down just a bit harderâuntil welts become the pinpricks of daggers' tips that bead fresh blood within waxen divots. Sharp or simply cruel, when Lucius takes hold of his tail, it's as though he knew of the resentment in his heart, and Eridanus yelps his surprise.
Though the sweet taste of pain doesn't simmer his irritation, it does remind him of his place and so, he resigns himself to leaning down and nuzzling his face into the muscular curve of Lucius' neck. He will continue to bite his tongue for centuries and millennia to come, but that will never douse the flames of his dislike for a man who holds a tighter grip on his Eternal's affections than he does.]
That anyone ever thought less of you is a offense worthy of death, my beloved, [Eridanus mutters bitterly against waxen skin, his claws instead tracing the scars along his consort's chest once more,] I am most pleased to hear that you made those lesser men aware of your greatness.
Oh? I'll be sure to inform Eidolon of that, the next time he calls together the Phoenix Conclave.
[ His idleâpeacefulâsmile widens with his humor, and while his pet's fanaticism is sweet, there is a sense in which even Lucius doesn't see it as merited. After all, as with any other victory, his rise to prominence and power among the III Legion's ranks would have tasted far less sweet unearned.
Beneath Eridanus, the great shape of his body shifts. Lucius turns over in their bed once more, carrying Eridanus' weight with him, and as he settles again, it's his turn to pick affectionately over the newly-returned opal that decorates his consort's face below him. ]
Or perhaps I'll grant you the privilege of doing so yourself, given that you will surely be there at my side.
[Even if it weren't what he wanted, Eridanus is easily rolled to his back as their positions are reversed. It's always moments such as these where he wonders if Lucius isn't much more perceptive than he lets on. Of course, his consort is a man who encompasses many talents, so he wouldn't put it past him; but still, the way he easily melts the frigid heart within his chest is yet another reason for which Eridanus finds himself increasingly enamored with the beast above him.
He leans his face into those adoring touches, his jewels admired just as well as the scars of the visage before him had been. Eridanus allows his eyes to flutter closed, and were he capable of rumbling his pleasure, he certainly would.]
I would be more than happy to propagate your greatness, [he states, matter-of-factly, with his lips twisting into an uncharacteristically boyish moue,] and if he says anything otherwise, I will be even happier to end his sorry existence in a pillar of hellfire.
[ Lucius' voice buoys through the still air of their bedroom, and he laughs, bright like the too-harsh light of a lethal sun. He sees the boyish pout set into his consort's lips even as his head lolls in contentment, and unseen to Eridanus' closed eyes, Lucius' grin pulls into an expression of mischief. ]
Eridanus, [ he purrs, his lips ducked close enough for his breath to tickle along the sensitive length of one overlong ear, ] your age is showing.
[ His split tongue dances from his lips. Blessed with its preternatural dexterity, one fork curls around the angular cusp of that ear before his lips; the other seeks with probing interest, teasing at the opening of its canal. ]
[Whatever protest Eridanus might give to those teasing words, dies in his throat in favor of the wanting noise that wells up from his chest. His breath catches in his lungs, overlong ear flicking away from the teasing touch of breath and a prehensile tongue that seeks the sensitive inner shell of it. He feels his blood rush through his limbs, coloring his face, his neck, and pooling hotly in his belly. Pinned as he is, his wagging tail cannot even display his eager excitement.]
Lucius... [He whimpers, with claws digging into the scarified flesh beneath them, as if he could anchor himself into Lucius' body and keep a hold on his crumbling composure.
He can't, though it isn't so much a bad thing between them. Eridanus draws in a shaking breath, and then he turns his head, pressing his mouth against his lover's. His own tongue unfurls past the thicket of fangs guarding it, greeting Lucius' own just as eagerly as the wanton moans elicited from him would expect. One day, he thinks, they'll kiss before the starsâand that thought alone, is one he cannot wait for.]
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The plan that was agreed upon was this: Horus would marshal his Sons and drive an attack against another of the Palace's cardinal walls. The furor of it would draw the attention of its defenders away from the west. While they were so absorbed in warding off that assault, Eidolon and his men would make an entrance through the breech I guarded â once I made sure it had only me to protect it. Three dozen or so heads for me to take, alone...
[ Even as close as Eridanus has pulled their eyes, his tongue lolls between his teeth again, hungry with the thought of that struggle. Never once had he doubted in his ability to end the lives against that mob alone; still, it had been quite the experience, defending himself from so many blades wielded against him on all sides. More than any human enemy, it had felt like being locked in battle against the Megarachnid on Murder once more, in that struggle that had nearly ended his life centuries before he could become the blight the galaxy knew him as today.
A pity, that none of those men had been as swift or as unfaltering as their xenos foes. ]
Simple enough for a swordsman as skilled as I, wouldn't you say? [ Like the punchline to a joke, he exhales those words in a breath of laughter. ] The first handful were dead before the rest of our brothers could understand that I had killed them. The rest threw themselves to me, but no matter how many of them came at once â compared Lucius the swordsman, their clumsy bladework was little more than the imaginary play of a Chemosian child fantasizing of growing up into a grand duelist.
[ There had been someone else there, too, butâwell, that subplot hardly mattered anymore, and Eridanus couldn't give the payoff nearly the appreciation it deserved without hearing a whole other story first. ]
By the time Eidolon and his men arrived, my face was a mask of blood, and not a single drop of it dripped from a gash made by any other sword but my own. Just as we agreed, I allowed him entry to the palace, where he would flank our struggling kin...
[ Lucius trails off as though his story were about to crescendo to some new and glorious turn of eventsâbut then he shrugs, the brightness of his expression suddenly diminishing with his disinterest. ]
I didn't accompany him, so I cannot tell you precisely what occurred from there. Still, I know enough to say my dear friend Saul Tarvitz had doubled back, evidently in the hopes of finding me. Too much of a dullard to realize I had decided to move onto more fruitful lands, I suppose he was worried for my life.
[ He doesn't mention the way he had Saul had fought long enough for the pair of them to be found, and though he speaks of the concern of what may be the last man he had ever called a friend, his voice is flat. ]
In any case, Eidolon, that fool â he was so preoccupied with thoughts of glory and claiming the most heads that he threw out good sense. [ Lucius rolls his eyes. ] As the good Lord Commander flanked our loyalist kin, Tarvitz gathered what men had been left scattered and unmoored by the disorder. Eidolon allowed his flanking force to be flanked, and by perhaps a mere two dozen marines!
[ He scoffs, and it's hard to say which irritates him more: Eidolon's failure, or Saul's success. ]
The damage had been more than done by then, but can you imagine the humiliation of being driven out by the same men you had set fleeing like vermin from a flaming field? That he couldn't finish the task, that he suffered so many unnecessary losses in what should have been a foolproof operation â well, you can imagine it was quite the stain on the story of his great victory.
no subject
Except, for as much as he was expecting an utter blunder, he isn't expecting it to be so incredibly stupid. So much so that for the few moments of relaxation he had found himself in, he is once again pulling himself up to sitting upon Lucius' overlarge chest.]
And this man is a military officer? [He finds that incredibly hard to believe, and that incredulity is heard quite literally in the tone he takes when he asks the question. More so, his brow furrows along with the twist of his lips into a poutâas if the story has ended in nothing but disappointment.
But... no, it couldn't. After all, this is a story that his Eternal stars in! So of course, there is room for triumph and glory awaiting. Perhaps the climax is not yet here.]
What did you do? Surely you rescued this plan, since the Lord Commander failed so miserably?
no subject
Still, the next words from his mouth aren't quite so exciting, so he settles back against the pillows beneath his body with a click of his tongue. The tips of his claws tap against stony skin, and his overlong tongue licks across his teeth. ]
It's as I said, Eridanus: Eidolon's damage was already done. He merely completed his task... falteringly, rather than making it the decisive triumph it ought to have been. The loyalist resistance still lay broken by the end of it, and that was enough for the Warmaster to call his forces back to their ships â where we all watched as whatever stragglers still stubbornly clung to life were rewarded for their valor by his fleet's world-ending munitions.
[ If Lucius were to speak of regrets, that he couldn't see the light leave Saul's eyes for himself is the only one. But that isn't the topic at hand, and instead, Lucius' lips light with a smile. This is it: the true point of this little anecdote. ]
And when Fulgrim's loyal sons came to stand in front of their primarch once more â well, you already know which one was praised for his cleverness and credited for cutting that conflict short, don't you?
[ Eridanus doesn't really need to answer, because of course the answer is him. He chuckles, the sound low and rich, as he recalls not Fulgrim's praise, but the envy of his brothers who had coveted it in his stead. ]
The next time I saw Lord Commander Eidolon, [ Lucius goes on, without pause, ] he had been tasked with escorting me to Bile's apothecarion. Imagine how he seethed, Eridanus! He had been upstaged by a twice-damned traitor â a pernicious stain on the III Legion's honor he would have left to die with the rest, had the decision been his to make. Of course, [ and his tone suddenly shift sly, ] he hadn't seemed so put out by our bargain when he thought the accolades would be his instead.
[ Lucius' arms pull around Eridanus' waist, drawing him upward. His head leans forward, eyes glittering. ]
That was the moment we both knew, soon, I would rise above him in the eyes of our gene-father.
no subject
As Eridanus is pulled up, closer to that grinning waxen mask boasting its confidence and pride, his own visage cracks with a fond smile. In the end, what he knew to be true was just thatâLucius rose above all the rest, and proved himself to be the king among fools. Now, if only he could see himself as greater than that pestiferous gene-father he goes on about, then he and Eridanus would truly be in agreement.]
Once more your glory is known. How the eyes of your brothers opened to that truth that day is a most glorious tale, my beloved. [He traces the scarified ridges of Lucius' visage with reverent glee, his claws nicking the deadened skin with the haste and carelessness of his excitement. Behind him, his tufted tail whips through the air, and within the thin space between their faces, his eyes gleam ecstatic.] What great honor was awarded to you? Surely you received some prize for your triumph?
no subject
Of course, [ the words are a half-sigh, and with the same idleness, Lucius catches the base of Eridanus' wagging tail within the crook of his thumb and tugs, ] I snubbed them. You know me well enough, Eridanus, to understand that command is nothing more than a means to an end for me. Besides... A larger bed might be more comfortable, but the First Captain's seething face was priceless!
[ A short laugh punctuates the words. ]
no subject
Though the sweet taste of pain doesn't simmer his irritation, it does remind him of his place and so, he resigns himself to leaning down and nuzzling his face into the muscular curve of Lucius' neck. He will continue to bite his tongue for centuries and millennia to come, but that will never douse the flames of his dislike for a man who holds a tighter grip on his Eternal's affections than he does.]
That anyone ever thought less of you is a offense worthy of death, my beloved, [Eridanus mutters bitterly against waxen skin, his claws instead tracing the scars along his consort's chest once more,] I am most pleased to hear that you made those lesser men aware of your greatness.
no subject
[ His idleâpeacefulâsmile widens with his humor, and while his pet's fanaticism is sweet, there is a sense in which even Lucius doesn't see it as merited. After all, as with any other victory, his rise to prominence and power among the III Legion's ranks would have tasted far less sweet unearned.
Beneath Eridanus, the great shape of his body shifts. Lucius turns over in their bed once more, carrying Eridanus' weight with him, and as he settles again, it's his turn to pick affectionately over the newly-returned opal that decorates his consort's face below him. ]
Or perhaps I'll grant you the privilege of doing so yourself, given that you will surely be there at my side.
no subject
He leans his face into those adoring touches, his jewels admired just as well as the scars of the visage before him had been. Eridanus allows his eyes to flutter closed, and were he capable of rumbling his pleasure, he certainly would.]
I would be more than happy to propagate your greatness, [he states, matter-of-factly, with his lips twisting into an uncharacteristically boyish moue,] and if he says anything otherwise, I will be even happier to end his sorry existence in a pillar of hellfire.
no subject
[ Lucius' voice buoys through the still air of their bedroom, and he laughs, bright like the too-harsh light of a lethal sun. He sees the boyish pout set into his consort's lips even as his head lolls in contentment, and unseen to Eridanus' closed eyes, Lucius' grin pulls into an expression of mischief. ]
Eridanus, [ he purrs, his lips ducked close enough for his breath to tickle along the sensitive length of one overlong ear, ] your age is showing.
[ His split tongue dances from his lips. Blessed with its preternatural dexterity, one fork curls around the angular cusp of that ear before his lips; the other seeks with probing interest, teasing at the opening of its canal. ]
no subject
Lucius... [He whimpers, with claws digging into the scarified flesh beneath them, as if he could anchor himself into Lucius' body and keep a hold on his crumbling composure.
He can't, though it isn't so much a bad thing between them. Eridanus draws in a shaking breath, and then he turns his head, pressing his mouth against his lover's. His own tongue unfurls past the thicket of fangs guarding it, greeting Lucius' own just as eagerly as the wanton moans elicited from him would expect. One day, he thinks, they'll kiss before the starsâand that thought alone, is one he cannot wait for.]