haunted at centre, haunted at heart

ARNON CEANAI. twenty-six. claimed by tiernan. seelie halfling. versatile, bottom-leaning.

[kresnikxkaden]

Kaden wondered when Lucien would inevitably give up on this whole "grounded" schtick he was on. The one thing he'd learned about his master was that every time he wanted something from his kresnik slave that Kaden never gave, whenever that desired wish came to fruition it suddenly wasn't such an appealing thought any more. Now Lucien wanted Kaden back in his suite and the castle full time and it'd been a few months of Kaden with his scream sneezing, "dad noises" upon sitting or standing, Hallmark movie or Westerns or Below Deck marathons, extremely picky eating, and just general Texanisms that apparently hadn't driven the moroi further insane yet. Yet, being the operative word, because Kaden still had oodles of patience to wait this out. He believed it was only a matter of time before Lucien realized what he wanted was only appealing in the idea and not the execution.

The last few months he'd been stuck in the castle he'd not seen much of Arnon. Maybe they were both released from their literal or metaphorical cages at perfectly inopportune times to catch each other and it certainly didn't help this castle was absolutely massive in size. He hoped that his unofficially adopted third child was still alive and well in Tiernan's grasp, especially after his stint at Halloween. He'd sadly not seen much of Arnon since then... until now.

It had to be luck or fate or some sort of divine intervention that the kresnik's walk around the grounds to enjoy the blossoming spring weather coincided with seeing a familiar halfling out and about. A grin spread across the older man's features as he walked over to Arnon. "Howdy, kiddo, long time no see," he greeted him cheerfully. "How've you been doin'?"

@bastardfae

[bastardfae]

though it had taken a little debating and debasing himself, arnon had practically sprinted out of tiernan’s suite the moment the blessing to wander for a few hours was finally granted. it’d been tempting to stick around and pester tiernan throughout whatever mind-numbingly boring work apparently demanded more of his attention than arnon did, but the halfling knew better than to fuck up a golden opportunity when it presented itself. after a quick stop in the undercroft to check up on jamie, arnon had decided to make the most of his temporary freedom and enjoy the pleasant shift in the magically-controlled weather outside, traversing the grounds as the subtle warmth of spring embedded itself into his bones again. it felt as if it’d been a lifetime since he’d been able to properly enjoy the world around him. when had the last time even been? with finn, all those months ago? that was fucking depressing. flopping down to settle in the sunniest patch he could be bothered to find, arnon laid back against the grass and scanned his gaze over the wisps of cloud above, clearing his mind of any immediate stressors to make the most of a little peace and quiet for a change. 

he’d paid no mind to the sound of approaching footsteps, more than ready to tell whichever guard it was that he had explicit permission from tiernan to be free range for a few hours and that they were more than welcome to go ask him themselves when the voice that accompanied the approach immediately cleared any argumentative thoughts from his mind, the halfling sitting up instantly as he turned to get a better look, his entire demeanour brightening at the familiar face. “fuck me– kaden?” he pushed himself to stand and barrelled into the kresnik with as much enthusiasm as physically possible, his arms wrapped tight around kaden as he grinned against his second (first) favourite father figure. “better now. how long you been here?” he took a small step back to get a proper look at kaden. “you been treated okay? as okay as you can be?”

[kresnikxkaden]

"It's not a promotion it's a temporary situation," Kaden corrected Arnon with a brief glare in the rearview mirror at the dig to his boss. Was Ransom's situation entirely the chief's own fault? Yes. Did Kaden think the punishment was just? Yes... and no. He didn't like Krovs to begin with, wouldn't be here if he had a choice in the matter. He firmly believed people came here to kill their morals considering all the power and corruption the councilmen oozed out from their comfy little thrones on top of the mountain. "That still doesn't mean he won't hurt you," the kresnik pointed out, gaze softening now. "I've seen what some of these masters will do and some of it ain't pretty. You should ask Finn Winchester what Bradbury did to him for tryin' to escape and Bradbury ain't even a councilman. I don't want to see you in these situations where your safety is further at stake with Halloran's claws so tight around your throat."

[bastardfae]

“i get where you’re coming from, pops,” arnon knew better than to throw all of kaden’s well-intentioned advice right out the window. the kresnik knew what he was talking about even if arnon was happy to shrug it off. “bad man does bad things, tale as old as time or whatever–” he lightly kicked at the back of kaden’s chair with a scoff of laughter, slouching further down to hide his amusement from kaden’s immediate attention. “–but ‘s all good, really, i mean it.” and if it wasn’t? he’d deal with it, whatever form that came in. what other choice was there? “you don’t gotta worry about me. i can take care of myself jus’ fine, even against princess halloran.” arnon felt a pang of fond familiarity as he stole a glance out of the window, the approaching sight of the station bringing back a wealth of memories – most of them clear, some of them considerably less so. “thanks for giving a shit, though. means a lot that someone still does. don’t dwell on it too much though, yeah? you’ve got enough to deal with now that you’ve got your big boy temporary situation to be goin’ prematurely grey over– does it count as prematurely when you’re already old as shit? respectfully, i mean.” there’d be plenty of time to get into the finer details once they were inside; for now, arnon was happy to warm kaden back up to the usual tempo of their exchanges.

[enforceryuta]

Yuta had finally settled into his role as the Enforcer and after doing his early morning run through the Undercroft to make sure that everything was status quo. After breaking up a small fight between two of slaves who were having a disagreement and bringing one of them up to the castle doctor to get stitched up. He decided to swing by the castle gym to get in a quick training session, he had been so focused on his job that he hadn't taken a moment for himself and this was the perfect opportunity to maintain his skills.

After testing out the sparring swords and finding one that had a decent weight to it, Yuta stepped into the sparring ring to get some sparring in with the staff. After spending over an hour sparring with whoever was willing to step in the ring with the Enforcer, Yuta finished off his workout using the punching bag.

As he was unwrapping his hand wraps, he felt a pair of eyes on him and he smiled. "Did you enjoy the show?" He asked them, not even bothering to look to see who exactly was staring at him but he hoped that it wasn't a councilman. He didn't want to spoil what was so far, a promising day.

@krovscastlestarters

[bastardfae]

watching scuffles unfold between various slaves within the confines of the undercroft had become something of a favoured pastime for the halfling over the past few months. with tiernan’s allowances for a little free time becoming more and more regular – so long as things between them remained as harmonious as they could; something that remained a continuous challenge for arnon – he found himself spending the vast majority of his enrichment time spent observing those less fortunate than himself try and expel a little pent-up energy. he’d heard talk about the new enforcer but had been yet to see him in action. fortunately, such a fact was almost immediately rectified as the warring pair were forcibly pulled apart by who he could only assume was the enforcer in question. arnon booed the interruption to the morning’s entertainment and bided his time, waiting until the enforcer and the less fortunate slave were halfway up the staircase to push himself off of the couch to follow, holding back to observe without making it obvious. the stop at florian’s office was brief and arnon could easily pretend to be innocently wandering the corridors should anyone feel the need to inquire. as the doctor’s office door opened, arnon watched the enforcer continue his wanderings in his peripheral and pushed himself away from the wall opposite to follow at a safe distance. 

the gym wasn’t somewhere he frequented often. though it would likely be a much more beneficial way to disperse some of his own pent-up frustrations, it felt like far too much effort to actually commit. instead, he spent his time observing each sparring session in the ring in muted interest, only drawing nearer to clamber up onto the sidelines, throwing his arms over the ropes as he flashed a bright grin in the enforcer’s direction as his attention was finally turned to him. “as far as free shows go, guess that wasn’t too bad,” running his gaze over the other’s form, arnon smirked and titled his head to one side, his eyes bright with intrigue. “word around here’s that you’re our shiny new enforcer. that true?”

[kresnikxkaden]

"Later ain't too far off," Kaden grumbled as he started the car and pulled off from the curb down the street. His hands white-knuckled the steering wheel as he drove slowly, taking his time and adhering to the speed limit (like he ever went over it in his life) because he could at least drag that later out just a little. He also still had to work tonight because the station were down two cops, one of them included the chief himself. "You realize that I'm still workin', right? I'm fillin' in for the chief. I reckon that catch up will be interrupted very shortly after I drop you off." His gaze flickered up to the rearview mirror, tired eyes narrowed ever so slightly at his pain in the ass ward behind him. "I'd love to hear how much worse you think this could be that you're enslaved to Halloran and you don't even seem remotely concerned about what he'll do in retaliation."

[bastardfae]

“ohhh… so you’re, like, the big boss while ransom’s getting humbled or whatever? checks out. ‘s about time you got yourself a promotion, kaden.” if there was any seriousness in the conversation, arnon missed it by a mile, simply happy to be in the kresnik’s presence again regardless of the circumstances and the likely hell that awaited him later. conveniently, kaden seemed hellbent on reminding the halfling that the aforementioned hell wasn’t necessarily something to be taken lightly and arnon gave him a noncommittal shrug in response as their eyes met in the mirror. “eh, you can put up with anythin’ if you zone out enough. jus’ gotta get in the mindset to check out for a bit, y’know?” he tapped his temple with a grin, offering a wink before kaden’s gaze flickered back to the road. sticklers weren’t usually the endearing type in the halfling’s eyes but when it came to kaden, arnon was always happy to make allowances. “‘s not like he’s gonna kill me. he’ll probably think about it, probably thinks about it most days, but he’s not gonna. ‘s nothin’ to worry about, kaden. really.”

[hoosbandewan]

EVERY EWAN MITCHELL ROLE — Will in Salad Days (2019)

[jamie-on-fire]

Jamie supposed Arnon had a point, though he would've argued that most of the Old Testament was more there to provide a backdrop for the gospels of the apostles and the Pauline letters. But Arnon probably wasn't interested in a discussion of doctrinal ethics. "Sometimes it's nice to have a guide. Not like I've done so well without one." He also felt fairly strongly that angels, demons, and dragons all probably should count, but he wasn't willing to make a fuss about it. "I've never been to the library yet. I bet it's grand." His sigh contained a lot of desire and envy for those allowed to enter such hallowed halls. He would have to be content with the books that some very nice person kept having sent to the Undercroft.

Accepting that, if his new friend really did want to bring him along, it would be rude to decline, he nodded and gave a shy grin. "I'll be sure to tie the sheets together." Arnon gave him the first hug that hadn't led to sex or had a hint of it implied, and he liked it so much that he'd happily have given Arnon the shirt off his back if he'd had one on. "You've got a way with words. You're sure you're not Irish?" The image of a body covered in glitter made him laugh. Though he sobered slightly with the list of names. "Raiden, Raphael, Tiernan." He committed them to memory, making a face at the words "stab-happy" because that sounded awful. "No wonder you want out. Sorry for not understanding before. He sounds awful. Wish I could help." He had no power whatsoever, but he was sure he could think of something if he tried long enough. "Am I? That's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me. Can't think why Tiernan's such a - a cunt to you." He resisted the urge to glance around and make sure no one's mammy or the pope were watching him curse. He sent up a silent apology to God, with the caveat that Tiernan did seem like a right cunt.

[bastardfae]

considering the other slave’s words carefully, arnon made a quiet noise of contemplation and silently studied jamie’s profile as he pondered where the need to believe in the words of some dusty old book stemmed from for him. then again, it wasn’t like arnon could say shit. abban had preached about the power of the fates and the ceanai bloodline’s steadfast belief in predestination. if any of it was true, arnon had a bone to pick with whichever fate thought it’d be a laugh to shove him in this shithole under the guise of it being acceptable because it was preordained. what a load of shit. “i guess,” he replied after another beat of silence, realising a moment too late that he’d been staring at the other in silence like some sort of gormless freak until then. “it’s as you said, though. how fundamental is it if someone like you still manages to wind up somewhere like this? can’t be all that helpful.” arnon’s expression shifted into something a little more sympathetic as jamie expressed his lack of any library visits and heaved a heavy sigh directly at the other slave. “damn. you just get more an’ more unfortunate with each new detail, don’t you? want me to talk to mateo for you? a little birdie told me he’s got a thing – normal thing, not a kink thing – for renting slaves just to let ‘em chill in the library for a while. could see if he’d be willing to spend a few pennies on you.” if tiernan was willing to let him wander to the library any time soon, he’d happily do so. he just had to gauge the ghoul’s mood before asking. if worst came to worst, he’d mention it to whichever magic consultant got hauled into tiernan’s suite the next time his collar needed repairing – both seemed decent enough to pass the inquiry along.

with a deal seemingly in place, arnon mirrored jamie’s grin though with far more gusto, his eyes practically glimmering with eager anticipation as the halfling pulled back a little to regard him fondly. he snickered as the question was posed, pretending to dwell on it for a moment. “‘fraid not, just northern.” arnon reached up to jamie’s hair with a nod as he repeated the names offered. “ah, don’t worry. you didn’t know. around here, ‘s best to assume all of the councilmen are scum until proven otherwise which obviously they won’t, they’re councilmen, but y’know. ‘s a good benchmark. jus’ keep that in mind.” shifting to move closer to the edge of the pool, arnon flopped down onto his stomach to idly trace his fingers against the surface of the water. “uh huh. don’t let ‘em break that in you, either. ‘s nice to meet someone genuine in here for a change.” jamie’s assessment of tiernan instantly pulled a bark of laughter from the halfling and he glanced back at the firebird over his shoulder with a grin. “‘s like i told you; tiernan’s a cunt to me ‘cause he’s a cunt inherently. you’ve gotta be to take a seat on the council. ‘s one of the main requirements of the role, actually. didn’t you know?”

[bad-dog-byron]

Byron looked innocent, or attempted to anyway. "Good, you're usually full of shit anyway." He glanced over at the doors. If Arnon invited him in, that wasn't illegal, right? Well, it probably was, but it was less illegal. Maybe. Possibly. "A little bit. You weren't at the bar but I thought you just got yourself kicked out or something. But then your old boss said you'd been dumb and ended up here." Byron hadn't actively gone looking for Arnon. He'd just happened to stop by the store and inquired. That was all. The knowledge that Rhys had already promised to help Arnon was unsurprising. Rhys really was such a soft touch. His jaw extended and his eyes glowed as his fangs extended and he looked a lot more canine as he leaned in and took the collar in his teeth, ripping at it with teeth that normally could split steel. It left serious dents but didn't actually break. "Short of buying you, sadly no. Though I'm happy to chew on it more." He wiped his mouth, the feeling of having a human tongue and teeth back so suddenly always a bit weird. He'd pushed Arnon against the wall while he was biting the collar in case anyone wondered what the fuck he was doing. "Are you going to invite me in?"

[bastardfae]

“‘kicked out’” arnon parrotted with a scoff, his eyes rolling in overdramatic exasperation. “please. they love me down there. most’a the time, anyway. ‘s good of you to come sniffing around. surprised you made it this far without anyone questioning you about it.” an undignified yelp of surprise left the halfling as he was unceremoniously shoved against the wall, moving to shove byron back in retaliation before he thought better of it, the unfolding transformation before him actually managing to make arnon think before he acted for once. he patiently waited for the results as he felt byron’s teeth clamp around the leather even if he knew the outcome, a frustrated huff of disappointment leaving him as the hellhound drew back. “don’t. ‘m pretty sure that’s gonna be enough to have dasior swanning over here soon enough to triple check it again. tiernan’s gonna have to give him a raise at this point.” arnon frowned as the question was posed, momentarily perplexed by the concept as he glanced back at the doors to tiernan’s suite. after a millisecond of deliberation, he gave a halfhearted shrug and affectionately punched the hellhound’s shoulder as he pushed himself away from the wall to shove the suite’s doors open with a flourish, pausing to bow as he gestured for byron to head inside. “tolī ao,” he glanced up to flash a bright grin at byron as he passed, straightening up to wander after him and kicked the doors shut behind him without a glance, all his attention fixed on byron. “what’d’you think? not bad for a glorified torture chamber, right? you wanna see the cage he keeps me in when he’s sick’a the sight of me?”

[kresnikxkaden]

"Do you listen to yourself sometimes?" Kaden asked, now moving beyond the point of exasperation. He gripped the steering wheel tight and shut his eyes, resisting the urge to bang his head against it. In hindsight, perhaps this was fault for entertaining Arnon's ramblings and encouraging him to keep sharing them with someone he could trust when he probably should have hammered caution and tact in that thick skull of his favorite pain in the ass he called a third child. It wasn't so charming now that Arnon found himself in Tiernan's custody all because of his mouth making more enemies than friends around here. He opened his eyes again after mentally counting to ten and letting out a slow breath, then he turned around to look at the halfling in his backseat directly. "Catchin' up ain't all that worth it when I have to personally hand you over to your master later this evenin'. You understand that, right? There's no way out of this, kid."

[bastardfae]

“yeah, later’s the key part’a that sentence, kaden,” arnon gave a dismissive shrug, seemingly entirely indifferent to the poor kresnik’s frustrations. “for now, it’s just me an’ you. like old times. like it should be.” leaning forward to invade kaden’s personal space as best he could from the back of the cruiser, arnon hummed tunefully as he peered through the windscreen to watch the other souls still milling about and enjoying the evening. “look, i get that you’re all hung up about the tiernan situation– trust me, i’m not thrilled about it either. kinda really fucking sucks. but–” even if kaden was utterly oblivious to it, arnon flashed a bright grin at his beloved father figure. “we don’t have to worry about that right now. until the time comes when you hand me back to him, you can tell me all about how boring your life’s been without me in it. that should kill a few hours.” even if there was no way out of this, arnon was determined to make it as worthwhile as he could. when news finally reached tiernan of his very public oopsie, arnon was at least seventy percent sure it'd be the last of kaden he'd be seeing for some time. "cheer up, old timer. could be worse."

[masterxtiernan]

The fact that Arnon was even willing to let Tiernan anywhere near him was an improvement on what they had been like when Tiernan had first got his hands on the halfling... not that Arnon had much choice in the matter other that to take whatever Tiernan did to him. He smirked down at his pet, slowly stroking the slave's length as he pressed his own cock against the other's ass, rocking his hips against him. "Mm, but I'm a pretty good fuck," he purred before using his own spit to wet his cock, pressing the head against Arnon's hole, carefully working his length inside. "Love how tight you feel around me," Tiernan moaned softly, rocking his hips to push in deeper on each and every thrust.

[bastardfae]

“delusional is what you are,” arnon huffed, his mock irritation fading as a soft whine slipped past his lips as the familiar ache began to register. tiernan’s penchant for any substantial prep was something arnon had long since learned to familiarise himself with by now. at the very least, it’d be kinda worth enduring soon enough. a series of muttered curses were uttered under the halfling’s breath as he moved to cover tiernan’s hand around his length with his own to wordlessly coax him to go a little faster as he tried to adjust, each thrust pulling a moan more needy than the last. “‘s not like you’ve got a– fuck, tiernan– ‘s not like you’ve got a choice. who else fucks me but you around here?” 

[masterxtiernan]

Even if Arnon wasn't the one to hit him with the spell, Tiernan would absolutely have to punish him once it was all over. There was no way he was getting away with this. The ghoul clenched his jaw as he looked at his slave, annoyed that he had no choice in the matter and had to do whatever Arnon asked of him. Stupid fucking spell. "You're going to regret it, trust me on that," Tiernan murmured in response, but with the spell in play and Arnon telling him to do it himself, it was like he was on autopilot as he unzipped his jeans. In the back of his mind, he knew it was humiliating to be bossed around by his slave, but he had absolutely no choice but to do as he was told. His cock was already hard in his jeans, so actually touching himself was both a relief and, again, humiliating. Wrapping a hand around the base of his length, Tiernan started slowly stroking his cock, letting out a soft groan of pleasure.

[bastardfae]

though it could barely considered adequate compensation for everything tiernan had put him through ever since that rigged trial fucked arnon’s life sideways, arnon took a strange pleasure in watching the tables turn before his eyes. flickering his gaze down again to watch tiernan obey perfectly, arnon chuckled at the disdain radiating off of the councilman consequently. “you’re real lucky none’a your councilman buddies can see you right now, tiernan. can you imagine what they’d say? seein’ you taking orders from your own slave?” flashing a bright grin at the ghoul as arnon glanced up to hold his gaze again, arnon sat forward to push himself off of the couch, giving a firm tug on tiernan’s leash as he wandered to the kitchen, humming tunefully under his breath as he rifled through drawer after drawer until he found what he’d been looking for, plucking the sharpest knife from the collection and twirling it between his fingers as he turned to face tiernan, his grin still in place. whether tiernan got the pleasure he wanted or not was the last thing on arnon's mind right now. “you’re gonna listen to every word i say, aren’t you? gonna do whatever i tell you? wanna hear you say it, tiernan. word for word. once i know we’re on the same page an’ all, then we can have a little fun.” 

[icebird-khion]

"How'd your risk turn out for you?" Khion countered, raising a brow at Arnon as he indeed referenced his current situation and how he wound up in it. Not that Arnon did anything more than run his mouth with the gods honest truth in the heart of the hornet's nest yet the point still stood. He leaned back and shrugged his shoulders. "Depends on what it is and if it caters to my own interests. If it doesn't benefit me or my own happiness, likely to sit back. If I can find an advantage in it for myself and the risks are worth it, I might act. I'm not about ruining what good I have in my life." He smirked crookedly at the halfling. "You seem like the type to act and often without thinking first, aren't you?"

[bastardfae]

“this is jus’ a minor complication,” arnon replied breezily, shrugging off the impending doom of being tiernan’s house pet for the remainder of his days as if it was the least of his concerns. “a bump in the road, y’know? jus’ one more thing to overcome.” with uncharacteristic patience, arnon listened closely to khion’s angle on things without interruption, nodding slowly as he took in each word. “smart, smart. sensible. can’t argue with that. but would you really say that life is good here? even with a lax master, there’s no true freedom here. would you consider that good? just ‘cause the floor’s a little further away when the council’s collective boot is off your neck doesn’t mean you’re not still stuck down beneath ‘em.” despite the weight of his words, arnon’s tone was surprisingly upbeat. getting too weighed down by the horrors of everything krovs stood for didn’t do him any good. khion’s smirk pulled a light laugh from the halfling, his expression brightening further still as he reached out to playfully punch the paloma’s arm. “where’d you get that idea from? i’m a saint, me. besides, sometimes there’s no time to think. if the chance to act is there, ‘s best to take it. around here, who knows if it’ll ever pop up again? gotta do what you’ve gotta do, khion. sometimes all you can really do is say fuck it and give it a shot.”

[masterxtiernan]

Continued from here

Clenching his jaw and moving forward slightly at the tug to his leash, Tiernan practically glared at his slave. Despite his anger, Tiernan was incredibly horny thanks to the spell, but he tried his very best to subdue that and control any urges. "The difference is.. you're my pet. You belong to me," Tiernan murmured, his face just inches away from Arnon's. "This is.. a stupid spell."

@bastardfae

[bastardfae]

the halfling’s smugness was practically radiating off of him as he grinned at tiernan’s discontent, a bark of laughter leaving him at the pitiful complaint. “oh, fuck off with that already, tiernan. you don’t own shit, certainly not me.” dropping his gaze to scan it curiously over tiernan, arnon smirked at just how worked up this spell had made the ghoul. he’d definitely have to thank byron for this later down the line; who would’ve guessed that an old situationship would pull through so well? “you wanna get off, that’s your problem, not mine,” cutting his gaze back up to meet tiernan’s, arnon gave a huff of laughter as he toyed with the leash. “do it yourself. ‘s not like your hands are broken. might as well gimme somethin’ to watch if i’m stuck keepin’ an eye on you. make yourself useful or somethin’.”

[nicotine-noah]

Noah snorted. "Okay, sure, but we can't exactly do fuck all about that, can we? At least I can deal with shit between us on my own terms." The cambion didn't trust the bright smile. Arnon was clearly some kind of slippery fucker who's mood seemed to change pretty damn quickly, which was saying something because Noah wasn't exactly steady when it came to moods himself. "You really wanna know what's goin' on down here when you're free to walk around the whole damn castle? Doubt that." Noah shook his head, wishing he had another cigarette as he slumped back against the other side of the couch. It wasn't like he was going to ask the little prick for one though. Case in point, he kept firing off insults, and Noah glared at him again. "Not after one of 'em's clocked the other. Either it becomes a real fight or someone runs off. Where the fuck have you been that you don't know that? And all your shitty little comments aren't makin' me wanna stick around and give you the time of day."

[bastardfae]

arnon pulled a face at the immediate dismissal. “i mean… yeah. yeah, we can. we can definitely do something about it. but i’m not getting the vibe that you’d be down for that, so keep on keeping on with the hopeless outlook. if it works for you, fuck it all, i guess. be my guest.” despite arnon’s best efforts to get some sort of conversation going, noah seemed allergic to each attempt and once again, the halfling found himself met with unmoveable hostility. it was understandable given the scrap a short while prior but if arnon had moved past it, why couldn’t he? not that there was any point in dwelling on it; it was clear that neither of them would be seeing eye to eye on anything any time soon. “what’s me being able to wander the castle got to do with wanting to know what’s going on down here?” frowning, arnon rolled his eyes in exasperation. “jesus christ, man. you’re a real downer to be around, y’know that?” his gaze lingered on the cambion for a moment longer as he tried to figure out just how far the stick up his ass was rammed. “look, you’re hardly a contender for the conversationalist of the year award either. awful bedside manner. never go into hospitality, will you? it’ll be a disaster.” with some effort, arnon pushed himself to stand and tentatively ran a hand under his nose to check for any further bleeding before moving to stretch his arms above his head with a drawn out sigh, glancing down at noah as he readied himself to wander off to greener conversational pastures. “look, i’ll save you the trouble of figuring out common decency and clear off before you implode or whatever. good talk, though. thanks for passing the time with me. see you around. maybe.”

[masterxtiernan]

Leather: Arnon

Muse must wear a leash and collar, becoming extremely horny as a result. If another mun sends this off anon, the muse must be their character’s slave for the duration and do whatever they ask. The effect lasts for 48 hours.

"Oh, darling, I will get you for this."

@bastardfae

[bastardfae]

giving a not-so-gentle tug on tiernan’s leash, arnon positively beamed at the sight of the ghoul’s suffering. “wasn’t even my doing, tiernan. not really, anyway. no use whining about it to me. still, you can’t say ‘s not deserved. seem to recall you doin’ the same shit to me a few months back. not so fun when it’s your turn, is it?”

[bradleyxharper]

"The vamps can surprise you, y'know? I thought Gareth had a heart of stone, which he does, but.." Bradley shrugged. "Not when it comes to me, apparently." He couldn't imagine that anything would change the heart of a couple-thousand-year-old councilman, but maybe it was worth Arnon giving it a shot. "We.. dated before Krovs.. then it kinda fell apart.. and now it's.. back together?" Bradley explained, in the simplest terms he could. He chuckled at Arnon's question, wishing there was something he could do to help out his fellow slave, but unfortunately he was just as powerless. "Playing the long game is about the only plan anyone has in this place. It's not like you can get rid of him without getting killed yourself. This castle has strict rules."

[bastardfae]

despite his best attempt not to, arnon snorted at bradley’s surprisingly generous assessment. “the vamps have surprised you, y’mean. the only surprising thing any of those cunts can do for me is collectively off themselves. somethin’ tells me that won’t be happenin’ any time soon, though.” if his opinion of all vampiric beings wasn’t as low as it was, arnon probably would’ve attempted to foster bradley’s more optimistic outlook, but given the unwavering firmness of his moral compass, arnon knew it wasn’t a realistic possibility. the backstory provided certainly didn’t endear the halfling any further. “i’m real happy for you, man. sounds like a fairytale. a shit one, but a fairytale nevertheless. at least you can kinda enjoy it, i guess.” despite the severity of the possible outcome, arnon chuckled at bradley’s words of warning.

“just ‘cause there’s rules in place doesn’t mean we have to abide by them. they’re like… a serving suggestion but for life. it’s recommended. i mean, yeah, death is a pretty shitty outcome, but at the end of the day, they’re just rules. some jumped-up prick says somethin’ so now we have to follow it?” arnon scoffed bitterly, a humourless laugh following seconds later. “yeah, no, don’t think so. anyone can say anythin’. doesn't automatically make it true or right. those fuckers weren’t democratically voted into power across the board. i sure as shit didn’t vote for a single one of ‘em. why the fuck should i respect a thing any of ‘em say when they keep unclaimed slaves in worse conditions than humans keep livestock?”

he held bradley’s gaze for a moment longer as if to dare him to challenge the rhetorical questioning. “you do you, man, by all means, i’m not gonna judge. but i’m not gonna roll over an’ show my stomach to ‘em jus’ ‘cause one of ‘em claims to love me or whatever your situation is. thousands of our kin didn't die in the second war for this shit to go on unchallenged for as long as it has."

[icebird-khion]

"It doesn't, like, I don't know if anyone's said that to you or what, but our individual experiences here aren't a competition of who has it worse," Khion continued. "I mean, yeah, like logically some do have it worse than others, but everyone's also got different personal standards of what's terrible to put up with. The fact that we're all even here as slaves is shitty enough to deal with." He followed Arnon wherever he was going since Khion didn't have much to do himself these days. Besides, he rather enjoyed chatting with the halfling here. "Yeah, being smart is the key when the council and their goons are likely always three steps ahead. Just saying, they haven't maintained their power over the world like this for as long as they have just by existing. I'm sure they would expect slaves to rebel at some point, probably had it happen multiple points. There's no way they've gone this long without someone speaking up, y'know?"

[bastardfae]

it was an undeniable breath of fresh air for arnon to finally have a conversation with someone on the same wavelength as him; a small part of him was beginning to wonder if he was being a little too headstrong with his disgust for the current circumstances but clearly, he hadn’t been having the right conversations with the right people. arnon wrinkled his nose in visible irritation as the ever-delicate subject of past rebellions arose. “yeah, for sure. there’s no doubt in my mind that they’ll–” he gestured a throat-slitting with his free hand as he paused. “–if any one of us even tried, but… what’s the alternative? we keep putting up with it? day in, day out, same old shit goin’ on an’ on? sometimes you’ve gotta take a risk for things to change.” it was one thing to talk about it; to actually commit to doing something about it was another matter entirely but enough of the slaves were on board with such a suggestion, arnon struggled to see a downside. the only fly in the ointment was the matter of getting the collars off, but that could be worried about at a later date. sneaking a glance at khion, arnon coaxed a reassuring smile into place. “d’you see yourself as the type to act? or the type to sit back an’ watch it go down? hypothetically speaking.”

[jamie-on-fire]

"Are they?" Jamie had never considered being Catholic as being "weird" except that he wasn't C of E, but Oxford had a large Catholic population so it had never seemed strange. It was obvious Arnon still thought he was posh, so Jamie splashed more water at him. He refused to admit any level of poshness beyond … well, going to public school and then Oxford, but that had been on a scholarship, so it definitely didn't count. Posh boys certainly never sold themselves into slavery, so that was that. "Is there a list of fae names? Like Ye Olde Booke of Fairy Names? Or a website now I suppose." He wasn't sure what was entailed by "the sight" since it sounded like The Sight and thus meant more than just being able to see.

The idea that anyone would come back for Jamie was both unimaginable and incredibly sweet, and Jamie beamed and blushed in equal measure. "Don't get yourself in trouble for me. Though it'd be dead lovely to be free. Not sure what I'd do with myself, but still. Dead lovely." He'd have to find some way to get back to Ireland from Russia, which seemed wildly impossible, and then explain to his siblings why he was no longer "Working abroad". Jamie had so far not met any bad councilmen, but given that Arnon was owned by one and he wasn't, he assumed Arnon knew better. "I'm not indoctrinated. I just - I dunno, it was worse at my last place. It can always be worse." He didn't go into detail for obvious Delilah related reasons. "To be honest, no one's - well almost no one's done anything to me yet. Mostly they just ask me to read poetry and talk about their dead lovers. Or brothers. It was confusing. Possibly both? Either way, still better than the last place."

[bastardfae]

“i mean… yeah. what’s not weird about living your whole life guided by some words in some book written, like, three millennia ago or somethin’? you’re tellin’ me you don’t think that’s weird? some mystical being in the sky is gonna decide how you should live your life? yeah, nah, fuck that. i know celestials an’ demons would probably say otherwise, but they don’t count right now.” then again, no part of arnon’s upbringing had involved any kind of religious influence. the closest he’d come to dealing with it had been religious studies in school but much like the vast majority of his time spent in education, arnon hadn’t had the attention span or the interest in committing much of it to memory. at the very least, he’d wrangled enough GCSEs to be considered competent for further education. if it hadn’t been for his father’s interruption, college and university could’ve been possible options. “y’know, there probably is. somewhere. i’d suggest checking the library here but anything to do with faeries is… few an’ far between. best to approach any of it with a pinch of salt, y’know?” if the portals to the realm were open, it’d be a different story entirely but there was no use in saying so; what was done was done in that aspect. jamie’s reaction sealed the deal for arnon immediately and he waved away the other slave’s protest the moment it was uttered. “nuh uh, none’a that. you’ve got every right to break outta here. once we’re both on the outside, we’ll figure it out from there, yeah? jus’ gotta take it a day at a time for now.” arnon’s expression softened a little as jamie disclosed a past more unfortunate than the present and threw an arm around his shoulders in solidarity to tug him a little closer. “slightly better doesn’t mean good, jamie. you can roll a corpse in glitter. ‘s still a rotting, stinking thing at the end’a the day. same thing applies here.” he chuckled as he listened to jamie’s recollections of his experiences so far. “eh. you’ve been lucky so far. if i were you, i’d steer clear of raiden, raphael an’ tiernan. raiden’s hard to miss. he’s the size of an apartment complex and thinks he’s somethin’ special. haven’t dealt with raphael myself but i’ve heard enough about him to know that he’s a fucking nutjob. tiernan… well… fucker can’t take a joke for the life’a him like i said. he’s also a little stab-happy from time to time. don’t wanna see you go through that. it fucking sucks. you don’t deserve that. you’re, like, the nicest person i’ve run into down here yet.”