You're arguing, dear lamb? [ Again, Lucius' voice lilts with an incredulity just for show. His hand moves up; the soft pads of its fingertips graze along Eridanus' delicate throat, until his palm cups the bottom of this boy's jaw. ] Then I suppose anything must have been a lie.
[ His thumb hooks, gilded claw pressing between Eridanus' lips. Sliding into the wet space between gums and bottom lip, it plies at the flesh as though it were his own plaything, watching its shape distort around the intruding digit. ]
Even Lords take a knee to something higher. [ Again, his tongue licks through the air. An old, familiar impulse thunders through his blood, this youthful Eridanus so precious that he fills Lucius' skull with thoughts of his body ripped limb from limb. ] You don't need to worry â I'll take good care of you, little one.
[Over the sensitive skin of Eridanus' throat, he can feel the callouses that roughen otherwise soft felid paw-pads. His heart flutters in his chest, and as it does, he's unsure of whether it's excitement or dread that quickens it. That hand, he knows it can easily crush his throat.
Then suddenlyâas if he remembered some important piece of informationâhis eyes snap wide open. He has his magic, still. At his side, Eridanus' palm raises, but before he can begin his incantation, an aureate claw slips past his lips and settles upon his wriggling tongue. He jolts, surprised, his eyes only fixating the man above with a look of disbelief.
Had he realized? Did he know that Eridanus needed to speak his spells to cast them? Eridanus squirms beneath the hold, but after a moment, he realizes he's yet to be killed by this man. If he really means what he says, then... what would it mean to be his pet?
His gaze lids a bit, and then, he bites down on that thumb with indignant rage.]
[ A far cry from the bone-shearing fangs of a troll, the teeth that clamp down are the blunt shape of a man's (or elf's, as the case may be). Still, there's no shortage of determination in the press of their edges against his flesh; Lucius' breath hitches with sudden anticipation, and when he feels the telltale well of blood beneath that grinding pressure, he groans.
The twitch of his thumb within the wet prison of Eridanus' mouth is nearly reflexâand yet, there can be no doubt that its course is calculated. His thumb curls downward, pressing into the hard grip of those jaws rather than pull against them, and as it does so, the gold tip of his claw presses into the base of Eridanus' tongue. Hardly another twitch, and it'll pierce right throughâas though Lucius intends to wrench it whole from the mouth that seats it. ]
Allow me to make something clear to you, [ he hisses, though it's hard to say whether the tight smile that accompanies it is one of carnal desire or bloodlust. ] You have nothing. No home, no wealth, no magic, and no father for you to cower behind. Either you become my playthingâor I rip this useless thing from your mouth and turn you outside, ripe for a monster without my bountiful generosity to into a meal.
Even an idiot could tell I am the better deal. [ The claw digs in, drawing blood of its own as he asks, ] Are you too stupid to even play a court's fool?
[At the sound of that groan, his overlong ears perk upwards at attention; and in the split second between it and the press of a sharp point on Eridanus' tongue, he feels sick excitement wind tightly in his guts. That this man would draw pleasure from his bite is both exhilarating and frustrating, as if his act of defiance were nothing more than the impotent slapping hand of a babe's.
But then that claw presses harderâpulling from his throat not his tongue, but a whimperâand soon he feels the taste of iron trickle down the back of it. Tears bud anew at the corners of his eyes, wide saucers as he stares up at the leering face above him. Such cruelty digs into his very soul, pulling thoughts of just what might be worse than this? He doesn't want to find out.
So, with reluctance and rage roiling hotly through his veins, Eridanus seizes that wrist in his grip. He doesn't seek to remove it, but rather holds that hand in place as his teeth let up on their tight clamp of that intruding thumb. His jaw relaxes, albeit with some effort as pain swells through it, and he finally seals his lips around the digit instead. He gives it a defeated suckle, the only response he can muster when his mouth is rendered useless for speaking.]
[ Lucius had anticipated a bowed head and a meek shake. What he receives instead is at once far bolder and far more submissive. A seductive thought curls through Lucius' mindâthat in this moment, Eridanus' past is his to claim just as well as his future. ]
Just what do you think it means to be the Eternal's pet, I wonder?
[ He laughs, another harsh and mocking soundâbut, even more so than before, he doesn't afford Eridanus the chance to answer. Lucius pins his bottom jaw still between the vice of his fingers and the heel of his palm, and within Eridanus' mouth, he toys with his tongue the way a cat toys with a mouse, pushing it here and there as nothing more than a limp piece of meat.
In the end, though, he does withdraw it. Slick with spit, instead, Lucius' rests its pad over this boy's lips. ]
Ah, but what manner of toy have I acquired?
[ There is only so long he will be able to keep up the charade of not knowing his nameâand more than that, he wonders who this Eridanus is. ]
[What does it mean to be a pet? Such a silly question, Eridanus thinks, as he's kept silent by the thumb that toys with his tongue. His gaze narrows as it meets the one above, and beneath the furrow of his brow, those eyes quickly turn from fear and instead towards annoyance. This beastman may be strongâwith teeth and claws befitting his originâbut has he no idea how lucky he is? To have a prodigal mage in his hands...
Except, didn't he say he had no magic? Eridanus jerks his mouth from the thumb that presses to his lips, allowing himself just enough room to respond.]
You speak to Lord Eridanus Sungazer, mage and heir to the Sungazer dynasty. [He huffs, pride still puffing his chest despite the plain disadvantage he finds himself in.] Pet or no, I am a man worthy of respect. I've accomplished much, you know!
[ That stubborn pride isn't unfamiliar, and for the first time in what feels like a long while, Lucius wonders what it is about sorcery that makes a man think he ought to be lauded for it. It's no different than the stubborn superiority of any one of the Crimson King's sons, and with the thought of taking such pride in so unremarkable a sentiment, amusement turns his grin crooked. ]
And no doubt you'll grow more worthy, in time. [ The compliment is wholly sincereâand so is its backhanded delivery, befitting the cruel affection burgeoning in his chest. Of course, Eridanus can't know he is a kitten bearing his teeth to a lionâbut his readiness to do so is certainly cute, regardless. As his clawed thumb slips downward, running its pad along the hollow of Eridanus' throat instead, another purr rumbles through his chest. ] Don't worry, sweet lamb â you'll get what you deserve. It reflects poorly on a man, if he doesn't care well for his pet.
[ His weight sinks. Before long, even through the flimsy barrier of the sheet Eridanus has tried to hold between them, he'll feel the weight and warmth of Lucius' sleek form, sheathed in soft fur and the vibrations emanating from his breast. ]
Then tell me of your accomplishments, little lord.
[Though Eridanus has hardly lost any over his height overnight, his slimness is certainly no match for the compact musculature that wraps Lucius' own honed form. As that weight bears down on him, Eridanus isn't in any capacity able to move out from under it, effectively pinned beneath the form that slots with his own. It rushes anxious feeling through his gutsâa fluttering excitement and wariness bothâeven with the relaxing rumble of a purr in this beast's chest.
Still, the pet names, taunting as they are, only serve to irk him further. To be treated as a child, despite all he's been throughâenduring his father's torment, and the expectations of society both on his shouldersâroils sick disgust hotly in his veins. He pushes impotently against Lucius' shoulder, a growl on his lips.]
Hah! Do you think I would boast of my power to a man who could kill me? One does not show his hand so early. [His own lopsided smile twitches at one corner, the strain on his expression easily apparent.] First, to whom am I meant to be a pet? I hardly believe you are worthy of such a fine companion as myself!
And why would I kill what's mine, dear pet? [ Lucius' grin only widens as those hands push uselessly at his shoulders, because, of course, the answer to his own question is obvious. What matters is that he won't grow tired of Eridanus, whatever childish state he has been reduced to. As if it were the batting of an infant, Lucius ignores the hand that shoves at his shoulder, his own fingers instead curling themselves within a loose lock of his companion's hair. ]
Very well. Fair is fair, as they say! [ His crowing voice swells into a laugh, as though Eridanus had asked him something funny. The fingers winding his hair draw tighter, holding him like an animal on a leash. ] My brothers once named me Lucius the Eternal, and that is the name the galaxy has whispered in fear and reverence for ten millennia since. You see, boy, I am the chosen Champion of the Lord of Ecstasy Himself â the Youngest God, and the only bidding He asks of me is that I slake my dark desires however I see fit. I have sailed the stars for eleven-thousand years, killing men and razing civilizations whole as it suits me â and in those long millennia, I have tasted the pleasures of more lives taken and more worlds left in ash than either of us would care to count.
[ As he speaks, his gleaming eyes bulge, fanaticism transforming the sadistic humor of his expression into something else entirely. It carries his words from him in a torrentâand yet, their ebb and flow is that of a virtuoso's melody, the weight and clarity of every note sweeping the ear implacably toward that final crescendo. Its a climax that leaves Lucius' breath light in his own throat, and as the final word hangs in the cloistered air between their mouths, it flutters hot against the youthful face before his own.
And then, just as swiftly as it had overtaken him, his mania disappears. As he opens his mouth again, once more, he speaks in tones of breezy insouciance. ]
So, as you can see, I tower high above any one lord of any single world. You ought to consider yourself lucky â there are devotees out there eager to suffer any debasement for the privilege of calling themselves the Eternal's pet.
[As this manâLucius, as Eridanus will soon come to knowâspeaks, the viridescent eyes that glow beneath that face that tightens with growing zeal, blow wide. It's reminiscent of the demonic cultists that have begun to plague Vathea, he thinks. The stories of their bulging eyes and their manic grins that spread ear-to-ear, as they dance and prostrate themselves before the ones they would worship as gods, filter through his skull and quicken his heart. This man is dangerous, he thinks to himself, and though that single thought could excite him on its ownâcombined with what he knows, what he's heard of, he feels fear more than anything.
What could a man, who claims himself to be a Champion of the Lord of Ecstasy, want with him? A fledgling mage, not even a weapon of power just yetâa little lord, only with title and none of the power. He's nothing so much as a pretty face to look at, as he is now. So as the silence grows fat between them, and the rumble of that feline purr vibrates against his own breast, Eridanus can only swallow down his trepidation.]
Such an accomplished man, [he exhales, his breath barely above a whisper as he tries to keep the trembling of his form out of his tone,] what could you ever want from one such as me, then?
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[ His thumb hooks, gilded claw pressing between Eridanus' lips. Sliding into the wet space between gums and bottom lip, it plies at the flesh as though it were his own plaything, watching its shape distort around the intruding digit. ]
Even Lords take a knee to something higher. [ Again, his tongue licks through the air. An old, familiar impulse thunders through his blood, this youthful Eridanus so precious that he fills Lucius' skull with thoughts of his body ripped limb from limb. ] You don't need to worry â I'll take good care of you, little one.
no subject
Then suddenlyâas if he remembered some important piece of informationâhis eyes snap wide open. He has his magic, still. At his side, Eridanus' palm raises, but before he can begin his incantation, an aureate claw slips past his lips and settles upon his wriggling tongue. He jolts, surprised, his eyes only fixating the man above with a look of disbelief.
Had he realized? Did he know that Eridanus needed to speak his spells to cast them? Eridanus squirms beneath the hold, but after a moment, he realizes he's yet to be killed by this man. If he really means what he says, then... what would it mean to be his pet?
His gaze lids a bit, and then, he bites down on that thumb with indignant rage.]
no subject
The twitch of his thumb within the wet prison of Eridanus' mouth is nearly reflexâand yet, there can be no doubt that its course is calculated. His thumb curls downward, pressing into the hard grip of those jaws rather than pull against them, and as it does so, the gold tip of his claw presses into the base of Eridanus' tongue. Hardly another twitch, and it'll pierce right throughâas though Lucius intends to wrench it whole from the mouth that seats it. ]
Allow me to make something clear to you, [ he hisses, though it's hard to say whether the tight smile that accompanies it is one of carnal desire or bloodlust. ] You have nothing. No home, no wealth, no magic, and no father for you to cower behind. Either you become my playthingâor I rip this useless thing from your mouth and turn you outside, ripe for a monster without my bountiful generosity to into a meal.
Even an idiot could tell I am the better deal. [ The claw digs in, drawing blood of its own as he asks, ] Are you too stupid to even play a court's fool?
no subject
But then that claw presses harderâpulling from his throat not his tongue, but a whimperâand soon he feels the taste of iron trickle down the back of it. Tears bud anew at the corners of his eyes, wide saucers as he stares up at the leering face above him. Such cruelty digs into his very soul, pulling thoughts of just what might be worse than this? He doesn't want to find out.
So, with reluctance and rage roiling hotly through his veins, Eridanus seizes that wrist in his grip. He doesn't seek to remove it, but rather holds that hand in place as his teeth let up on their tight clamp of that intruding thumb. His jaw relaxes, albeit with some effort as pain swells through it, and he finally seals his lips around the digit instead. He gives it a defeated suckle, the only response he can muster when his mouth is rendered useless for speaking.]
no subject
Just what do you think it means to be the Eternal's pet, I wonder?
[ He laughs, another harsh and mocking soundâbut, even more so than before, he doesn't afford Eridanus the chance to answer. Lucius pins his bottom jaw still between the vice of his fingers and the heel of his palm, and within Eridanus' mouth, he toys with his tongue the way a cat toys with a mouse, pushing it here and there as nothing more than a limp piece of meat.
In the end, though, he does withdraw it. Slick with spit, instead, Lucius' rests its pad over this boy's lips. ]
Ah, but what manner of toy have I acquired?
[ There is only so long he will be able to keep up the charade of not knowing his nameâand more than that, he wonders who this Eridanus is. ]
no subject
Except, didn't he say he had no magic? Eridanus jerks his mouth from the thumb that presses to his lips, allowing himself just enough room to respond.]
You speak to Lord Eridanus Sungazer, mage and heir to the Sungazer dynasty. [He huffs, pride still puffing his chest despite the plain disadvantage he finds himself in.] Pet or no, I am a man worthy of respect. I've accomplished much, you know!
no subject
And no doubt you'll grow more worthy, in time. [ The compliment is wholly sincereâand so is its backhanded delivery, befitting the cruel affection burgeoning in his chest. Of course, Eridanus can't know he is a kitten bearing his teeth to a lionâbut his readiness to do so is certainly cute, regardless. As his clawed thumb slips downward, running its pad along the hollow of Eridanus' throat instead, another purr rumbles through his chest. ] Don't worry, sweet lamb â you'll get what you deserve. It reflects poorly on a man, if he doesn't care well for his pet.
[ His weight sinks. Before long, even through the flimsy barrier of the sheet Eridanus has tried to hold between them, he'll feel the weight and warmth of Lucius' sleek form, sheathed in soft fur and the vibrations emanating from his breast. ]
Then tell me of your accomplishments, little lord.
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Still, the pet names, taunting as they are, only serve to irk him further. To be treated as a child, despite all he's been throughâenduring his father's torment, and the expectations of society both on his shouldersâroils sick disgust hotly in his veins. He pushes impotently against Lucius' shoulder, a growl on his lips.]
Hah! Do you think I would boast of my power to a man who could kill me? One does not show his hand so early. [His own lopsided smile twitches at one corner, the strain on his expression easily apparent.] First, to whom am I meant to be a pet? I hardly believe you are worthy of such a fine companion as myself!
no subject
Very well. Fair is fair, as they say! [ His crowing voice swells into a laugh, as though Eridanus had asked him something funny. The fingers winding his hair draw tighter, holding him like an animal on a leash. ] My brothers once named me Lucius the Eternal, and that is the name the galaxy has whispered in fear and reverence for ten millennia since. You see, boy, I am the chosen Champion of the Lord of Ecstasy Himself â the Youngest God, and the only bidding He asks of me is that I slake my dark desires however I see fit. I have sailed the stars for eleven-thousand years, killing men and razing civilizations whole as it suits me â and in those long millennia, I have tasted the pleasures of more lives taken and more worlds left in ash than either of us would care to count.
[ As he speaks, his gleaming eyes bulge, fanaticism transforming the sadistic humor of his expression into something else entirely. It carries his words from him in a torrentâand yet, their ebb and flow is that of a virtuoso's melody, the weight and clarity of every note sweeping the ear implacably toward that final crescendo. Its a climax that leaves Lucius' breath light in his own throat, and as the final word hangs in the cloistered air between their mouths, it flutters hot against the youthful face before his own.
And then, just as swiftly as it had overtaken him, his mania disappears. As he opens his mouth again, once more, he speaks in tones of breezy insouciance. ]
So, as you can see, I tower high above any one lord of any single world. You ought to consider yourself lucky â there are devotees out there eager to suffer any debasement for the privilege of calling themselves the Eternal's pet.
no subject
What could a man, who claims himself to be a Champion of the Lord of Ecstasy, want with him? A fledgling mage, not even a weapon of power just yetâa little lord, only with title and none of the power. He's nothing so much as a pretty face to look at, as he is now. So as the silence grows fat between them, and the rumble of that feline purr vibrates against his own breast, Eridanus can only swallow down his trepidation.]
Such an accomplished man, [he exhales, his breath barely above a whisper as he tries to keep the trembling of his form out of his tone,] what could you ever want from one such as me, then?