He did not lie when he spoke of needing to do laundry. The clothes in his hamper were approaching embarrassing levels and would need to be addressed before morning. He needed to do them, get them washed and hung to dry before he drifted off. However, his legs carried him a different way, down a near invisible hallway where only candlelight shone in the darkness. It was here a hand would turn the faucet on, letting steaming water fill the tub that stood quietly beckoning to him.
He was tired in a way he was unfamiliar with, it was heavy and yet his blood surged in his veins. Just listening to the water rushing into the tub helped settle him as he willed his being to calm. Only when the water level threatened to overspill did he stop it, staring at his reflection in the steaming waters. A quiet moment lingered before his clothes were striped off, leaving him bare with only the talisman around his neck hiding his frame.
Lifting himself over the frame, he granted himself reprieve as he sank beneath the waters with a sigh. A simple shift found his head resting on the edge as he fiddled with the cord about his neck. A split decision was made as he slipped it from his head, letting out a relieved sigh as his skin shimmered in a silver light. It clattered against the wooden floor as he sunk further into the waters, letting his mind float and his aether to stretch. His eyes drifted shut as his aether tightened and pulled him away.
A haze clung about the room, the air thick in a cloud that would grant a swift death to any that drew it in. There was always a small window that he'd hesitate before walking in, a part of him giving caution to a hazard that should be feared. His body always won in the end, feet carrying him forward despite the protests in his mind. A deep breath was taken in, drawing that haze deep within himself and letting it linger in his lungs. It felt like water in a desert and he found himself smiling in content.
::How long were you planning to stay away this time?::
The voice was familiar, it always had been for as long as he could remember. Dropping to a seat, he let the dampness of the room cling to his body. Yet even with the comfort of the poison, the blood in his veins rushed and ached.
::Your blood sings. Tell me. What has riled you so?::
"What has happened to me? Why did I wish to bring pain to that...man? It took everything in me not to rip him from that stool. Why? They had it under control so why did I care? Why do I still care?"
He huffed out a frustrated snarl, glaring at a nearby slime as it made it's way along the floor.
::Because you foster him do you not? That candlelight you keep at your side. You foster these...feelings as their kind call them.::
Hearing the voice even speak of him, drew his lips up and over his teeth, baring them against the darkness of the room. The nearby slime shook in response, a hint of amusement in its tremble before the voice spoke again.
::Bare your fangs all you wish, little Lei. You can not hide him from me anymore then you can hide yourself. You may play with whomever you wish. He is nothing to me.::
The slime carried on it's way, leaving his line of sight as it faded into the dark. Another was soon seen, gliding across the floor from another direction. He wanted nothing more than to kick them into the darkness but even he knew it would do nothing to soothe his blood. His voice was barely a whisper as he glared at the distant creature.
"You still have not answered me."
::Is it not obvious? You see him as yours. HOLD YOUR TONGUE!::
He nearly bit his own tongue as his jaw snapped shut at the command. At least that got his blood to still for the moment. Shivering under the demands, he willed himself still, listening with painfully straight ears.
::You wished to shed that creature's blood because it insulted what is yours. You held yourself back from demanding its obedience. Instead your blood sang, calling out to him and willing him to act. He is deaf to your calls. He will always be.::
The fact he was referring to C'rik as a he was comforting in the worst way. He saw him as something important but importance also brought attention. And his attention on C'rik was the last thing he wanted. He wished to speak but his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth and his teeth were clenched shut.
::It is no different then when that witch of the manor spoke and called onto you. You laughed in her face did you not? She cannot call you. No one can. Because you are MINE.::
The word quaked the floor, leaving him to grip his arms as an icy pain sang through them. Where once his blood boiled, it froze in his veins shocking him from the hazed room.Â
He came to with a start, gripping onto the end of the tub in a vice-like grip. His heart pounded in his ears as his arms throbbed and screamed at him. Slowly his gaze would drift towards it, catching the sight of the raw edge of that seal. It sat festering, the skin beneath it boiled and broken in places, leaving cracks deep enough for streams of black to run off and into the water. With a tired sigh he let his head thump back against the tub's edge, waiting for the woken aether to calm.
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theartofmadeline
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