i had fun with this.. feat. my first time drawing virgil on this account, i dont know what i want to do for his hair
youll notice logan and patton dont look like how they do other times i draw them and thats because this was about 4 different alters working on it and none of us can keep a consistent style to mask for the life of us
LOGAN LOOKS SO CHOPPED OK IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE AN ANGLE WHERE YOU'RE BELOW HIM BUT IT DOESNT LOOK THAT WAY WHAT FUCKING EVER
Day 356: redraw of this day
@the-office-cat @tacochippy @planetkookie @strawberry-otter @toiowov707 @ollyollyoxinfree @ambersky0319 @rose-coloured-prince @pleasedonthurtcjstar
Demon Logan: This is purely for business purposes. I don’t have feelings at all, much less feelings for this human. Yes we are cuddling as I speak, and I spend all of my free time with him, and he’s the light of my eternal life. Yes he’s hot, objectively speaking. But this is strictly professional. No funny business.
Yo wouldn't it be funny if like.. you finally had a vague story for those demon angel au drawings you made forever ago? And... and wouldn't it be hilarious if.. if you had no idea what to do with this new story... so you just.... suffered? Haha, yeah, so funny.
He was shaking, and surely not from the cold. He may have been able to fool someone in the harshness of winter, but not right now. Not in summer, not even when his cloak had holes in it. No, this wasn’t cold, and his face betrayed that it wasn’t anger either.
Slowly, Virgil dared to look up. Not into his face, he wasn’t stupid enough for that, but enough to see what was going on. Just enough to see where the glittery black sleeves made way for a set of large hands. And the weapon lazily held in one of those hands. A sliver morning star. Virgil didn’t want to know what the boy… the man? The royal. What the royal would be capable of doing to him with that.
“Huh~”, a melodic voice sang way to happily for a situation like this. Another shiver went down Virgil’s spine. He swallowed hard, cursing the gods in his mind for not only being dragged strait in front of the prince, but also in front of this prince. He’d heard the stories, after all. He knew what this prince did to criminals.
Why him? Why now? Next month the two princes would celebrate their birthday and this one would move away to become a duke in a far-off castle, as rumor had it. Then again, Virgil knew better than to trust rumors…
“So let me get this right. This little cutie is a demon-kin?”, the voice asked, just as cheerily. Virgil flinched, the guard next to him gave a confirmative nod.
“And he used his powers to burn down a village?” Still with that same, creepy delight in the voice. Virgil winched at both the voice as well as the accusation against him. Yeah, things weren’t looking too peachy right now…
“And no one survived?” Why the fuck did he sound so god damn happy about this?! If he thought he’d survive it, he would have told him how inappropriate that was and that he should just stop with it already. But this was prince Remus, that’d be suicidal. So Virgil kept his mouth shut.
When the guard confirmed again, everything was silent, and suddenly the creepiness of the prince’s humor wasn’t that bad anymore. It was better than this long silence, at least. Anything was better than kneeling here, bound up, listening to his silence as he probably decided on all the ways he would torture Virgil and what experiments they would do to him and, god, they would execute him wouldn’t they? And they would put up his corpse for decoration as a warning or something and everyone would point and stare at his dead body and he would be dead and-
“So what do you want me to do about that?”
…
What?
“What…?”, the guard asked with just as much confusion as Virgil had thought it, though a lot sharper as well.
“…do you want me to do about that, yes.”, the prince continued on, still sounding so carefree, as if the guard had intended for him to finish the sentence. What the hell was wrong with this guy? Not that Virgil was complaining, at least he didn’t seem to think about any weird experiments or new ways of torture or something, and maybe he would even let Virgil live.
Maybe.
Possibly.
Probably not.
“Your highness, he has to be punished for that! He killed an entire village!”, the guard protested, probably not believing what was happening any more than Virgil did right now. The prince only chuckled darkly, though.
“Well, the way I see it, those people are dead. Nothing much I can do to change that. Does he know how to revive people? Do you? No? Didn’t think so. And, look, I’m not the one who was gonna reign over all those fuckers anyways. Wrong twin. I don’t really care. Frankly, I’m just sad I missed that. I bet that must have been so fun to watch. Now they died and no one even enjoyed it. What a waste, am I right?! But it’s too late to change now anyways. Besides, I don’t appreciate you telling me how to do my job. It’s my job, I get to decide, you don’t. Now, why don’t you go away before I grab that spear of yours and shove up your-”
Judging by the sound of the door slamming shut, the guard hadn’t stayed around to figure out where his spear would be shoved if he didn’t. And Virgil was pretty relieved he didn’t have to find out either, but at the same time he wasn’t really happy about being in a room alone with the crazy royal.
He tensed when the royal in question hummed again, now sounding a lot less annoyed or angry than just a few seconds before, and started to circle Virgil. “So, you’re a demon-kin, huh? I’ve never met one in person before.”, he said.
Virgil wasn’t surprised.
It was usual for his kind to stay hidden if possible. No one would hire or house a demon-kin, so they lived out on the streets, with the rare exception of the few that had built a life for themselves deep in the woods. Virgil didn’t belong to the lucky few. He’d been one of the many raised in dark allies and abandoned buildings, buildings that were nearly crumbling under their own weight. If he wanted clothes to wear or something to eat, he had to steal. Honestly, if the prince had ever meet someone like him before, that would have been a scandal. He would have known about that already.
“Not a man of many words, huh?”, prince Remus sighed, before chuckling again: “I wonder if you’ll even know if I cut your tongue off…” If he what?! Virgil had to muster up all the courage he had to stop himself from trying to run away. He knew he wouldn’t come very far and judging by the reaction he’d had towards his guard just now, Virgil feared what the futile attempt would get him into.
“Ha! I like that look. Don’t worry, though. I don’t really plan on doing that. Cutting off body parts is just for interrogations. It’s become boring way too long ago to use it for anything else.”, Remus sighed. Virgil felt as though he might puke. If cutting off body parts had become boring, just what would he actually do to Virgil?
“Well, that can wait anyways. So… What’s now? Uh… Right! Right, you get to tell me what happened! So? What do you have to say?”
Huh? Was that a trap? The guard had already told him about everything. What did the prince expect him to say now? Virgil opened and closed his mouth a few times before he finally managed to say something, though it was barely above a soft whisper: “I don’t… I don’t think I understand, your highness… I, uh, I’m sorry, but… Tell you… Tell you what? Uh, your highness!”
“Okay, so first of all, don’t ever call me that again.” The voice had suddenly become so cold that it made Virgil flinch and shiver at the same time. “That title is my father’s and don’t you go call me ‘prince’ either, got it? That’s Roman. I’m Remus, just Remus. And if you ever forget that, I’ll personally carve it into your body somewhere where you’ll always see it. Or maybe just all over your body.” Virgil swallowed dry again. That really didn’t sound so good, and it didn’t sound like an empty threat either. He started to feel light headed again.
“Secondly… Just, tell what happened. I don’t trust that guy, he’s way to prideful and a suck-up at that. So? What actually happened? Or don’t you have anything to say for yourself?” And how could Remus’ voice change the tone back that quickly? How did he continue as though nothing had happened at all?
But at least Virgil knew what to do now. So the prince wanted him to defend himself. Explain why he did what he did, give him a chance to redeem himself. Yeah, he could work with that. Though he knew that this was obviously dangerous as well. Anything you say or do can and will be used against you, right? Still, better than being sentenced without a chance to say anything at all, and honestly more than he’d expected to get.
So Virgil took a deep breath and nodded once. “Yes, of cause. It, um… It happened mostly like the guard told you. I, uhm, lost control and… The fire spread too fast for me to do anything.” He closed his eyes, remembering how he’d desperately tried to take back the flames but had only made everything worse. The screams and cries… He shook his head to disperse the memories. “I tried to, but it didn’t work. But I didn’t mean to! Please, you have to believe me, I didn’t-” Virgil cut himself off as his eyes meet glowing green ones, looking back down as fast as he could and mumbling an apology.
“Aha. And do you loose control often? Or what happened there?”
…
This prince didn’t know anything about how this was supposed to go either, did he? At least judging from his tone of voice. Great, just awesome…
“No, I usually don’t.”, Virgil answered nevertheless, “They had been trowing stones at me and things like that. I’m used to it but, uh…” Should he really say this? The prince would probably use that. Then again, what other choice did he have, really? “They had started to talk about tearing my wings off and… I just…”
“Acted on instinct? Got it.” The prince hummed in thought. “Well… I really, really don’t care about what you did there. And they honestly sound like a bunch of assholes anyways. Like, good job. Could have made it more painful, though…”
What the hell? What the actual hell? Okay, that had to be a trick. He just couldn’t be serious about that. And then he felt a finger underneath his chin, tilting up his head. His eyes lifted again to see the pale face with the glowing green eyes, a mustache growing on the upper lip. The prince had his lips pierced as his eyes looked Virgil up and down. “Heh. You’re kind of purple, aren’t you?”
Virgil flushed. What? He wasn’t that purple. Most people didn’t even notice his skin was slightly off-colour. The vibrant purple streaks in his otherwise black hair or the violet color of his eyes, sure, but not his skin. Or maybe they just hadn’t commented anything about it because they’d been too concerned with the black of his nails and lips or the bat-like wings sprouting from his back? Still, he wasn’t that purple.
“You’re cute, though. Not hot, but cute. And you’re fun to mess with. So easy to scare and that whimper you let out when he try to hide your reaction or the way you bite your lip when yo try to stop shaking!” The prince looked really happy as he laughed quietly to himself. “Yeah, I think I’m gonna keep you around. I wanna see you much, much more scared than that! And I’m curious to see your other reactions, too~”
The prince stood up abruptly, not saying anything else as he walked out of the door. What the hell was that? Virgil wasn’t too sure about what he was supposed to do, but he guessed he was supposed to stay put? Slowly, Virgil looked around. The throne room was empty. There were enough windows to his side. If he was quick about it, maybe he would be able to escape whatever was awaiting him once the prince came back.
“I would advice against that.”, a cool voice cut through his thoughts, making Virgil yelp and jump. What…? He looked over to the side where that sentence had come from. A young man with brown hair stood there, a dark blue suit hugging his frame. That looked expensive, and Virgil vaguely remembered the emblem on his jacket. So a noble. A noble had figured out he’d thought about escape, huh? Virgil swallowed again, biting his lips. He really hoped he hadn’t just added on to his sentence. Technically he hadn’t done anything yet, had he?
“Salutations. You are the demon-kin Remus talked about, I assume?”, the man asked. Virgil flinched, but gave a shaky nod. The man nodded back, a quick and sharp motion. He then walked over to Virgil, slowly as though not to frighten him, and wasn’t that just the weirdest thought? Someone being aware of Virgil’s feelings? “My name is Logan Night, and I shall bring you to the location you will be staying at until the prince has decided what to do with you. May I inquire your name?”
“…Virgil.”, he mumbled. The man hesitated for a moment, before he asked for a last name. Should he make something up? No, that probably wouldn’t do him much good. So he just bit his lip and shook his head.
“So just Virgil? I see.” Logan nodded again. “I will cut those robes now. Don’t be alarmed, I have orders to ensure no harm shall come to you.” Virgil nodded, though he was a little confused. Why would the prince give any such orders? That wouldn’t make any sense. He would be tortured and/or killed anyways, wouldn’t he? Then again, maybe the prince just wanted to do all of that himself? He had just talked about cutting off body parts as something he used to find entertaining, after all. Virgil shuddered again.
He barely registered the ropes falling to the floor over his thoughts, but when they did, his wings gave a flutter he hadn’t intended. Thankfully Logan didn’t say anything about it. Instead, the taller man only signed for him to stand up and follow him. Of cause Virgil did. Even though it looked pretty easy to escape right now, he didn’t dare test his luck.
They walked in silence and Virgil held his head down, not only to hide behind his bangs but also to avoid seeing the people point and stare. He hated when they did that. It was only when Logan led him up a flight of stairs instead of down that his head shot up again. And really, Logan nodded up. So he wouldn’t be staying in the dungeon? That was odd…
Suspiciously he walked up, followed the man with the dark blue eyes and light dust of freckles until the very top and into a cozy looking room. It had a bed, a few chairs, cushions, a chimney, a table, one window. The window was nailed shut, though. Probably so he couldn’t escape by flying out of here. But other than that, the room generally didn’t look as though a prisoner would be held here.
Virgil eyes Logan suspiciously as the other closed the door. The man gestured for him to sit down, and Virgil did. Even though he felt as though his very presence would ruin the room. It was just so… clean. And Virgil was so obviously living on the streets.
Logan sat down as well, offering the beginnings of a smile. “There we are. I’m afraid I won’t be able to tell you how long this will take. Prince Remus usually doesn’t concern himself with issues like this. But I would assume that he has a plan already and only needs to prepare or make sure of some things.”
Oh, how very comforting! Virgil took a shaky breath. At least the guy talked to him normally. Maybe he could ask him a few questions about what would happen? He hated the dread in his stomach.
“I, uhm… What… What usually happens?”, he asked silently, not daring to be any louder. Logan looked at him thoughtfully. “Hm, I don’t think you should take ‘usually’ as a measurement when it’s about Remus. He is quite… incalculably impulsive. He is smart, in his own way, but he doesn’t concern himself with rules or norms much.” Logan chuckled lightly. “If he wasn’t born a prince, I don’t doubt he would have been executed by now. And he takes great pride in this fact.”
“Ah. I see…” Virgil bit his lip, looking out of the window. So no clue what would happen next still. He wished he could just give in to his instincts and fight everyone and run away. But he didn’t dare to. Not in this situation. They’d find him, and any chance of survival would be gone then.
“He doesn’t hate the demon-kin, you know?”, Logan’s voice cut through his thoughts. Virgil looked back at him. What? “Remus. He doesn’t hate the demon-kin. Or anyone with magic running through their veins. And if he would have wanted to kill or torture you, he would have done so already. I may not know what he’s planing, but he doesn’t plan on either of those. Unless he changes his mind, that is.”
“Does he often change his mind about stuff like that?”, Virgil heard himself asking. To his surprise, Logan actually answered: “Oh, yes. Sometimes even in the middle of doing something. But how he feels about something or someone doesn’t change that easily. His heart may be the only consistent thing about him.”
Silence came back and Virgil looked back down at his hands. That hadn’t helped him much. There was still a lot of different scenarios playing through his head, and not one of them did he want to live through. Apparently Logan had noticed, because after a few minutes in silence that made his panic grow stronger and stronger the man asked: “Would you like a distraction? I could offer telling you about a book I’ve been reading. It may keep your fear at bay.”
Virgil looked at him silently. Why would he do that for him though?
“I am to stay here anyways, so I might as well. Besides, I was ordered to prevent you being harmed for now. Mental harm is just as dangerous as physical harm, you know? Though I doubt the prince actually meant that as well…”
Was Virgil just really obvious or was this guy really good at reading him? But Virgil nodded nonetheless. As Logan had said: Might as well.
And Logan was good at it, too. He presented historical facts with such a passion that it as hard not to be drawn in to it, even though Virgil had no clue what half the things were he mentioned as reference. And historical facts soon changed to be political, and political became astrology, and astrology became astronomy and astronomy mythology. Virgil only noticed how long he’d listened to Logan’s soothing voice when the door was pushed open suddenly and he jumped. Was it really sundown already?! Wait, not the time.
In the door stood a smiling prince with sparkling green eyes. “Hey, purple demon! I’m gonna take Lo from you real quick. Ice-knight! I need your opinion on something! Come here!”
Logan sighed, and smiled almost compassionately at Virgil. No. Yes? No, he probably imagined that.
Virgil watched as Logan stood up and bowed swiftly before the prince before stepping out of the room. And… Did Remus just wink at Virgil?! What? That prince confused him more and more every time he did anything.
The door was closed and immediately he could hear hushed voices talking. Probably about him. And all the fear he’d put off hit him at once now. He could barely even breath. No, wait, scratch that. He couldn’t breath anymore.
No, no, no, no, no! He didn’t want to die, he didn’t want to be cut up in tiny pieces, didn’t want to be tortured or poisoned or…
His lunges felt like they were exploding any second now, and he could feel himself shaking. Was he having a heart attack or something? No. No, this was just the panic. He knew that, that happened every now and again. He had to breath. If only his lunges would cooperate! Match that song’s rhythm his older brother had taught him before he’d died, that usually helped. What was it? Hm-hm-hm-hm, la-lada-lada-lada, na-na, na-na, na-na, la-na. Right.
It took a little while, but finally he managed to calm his breathing down, and somehow that got him to breath down as well. It always did. Just in time too, it seemed. The door was sent flying open again, just as he had dried up his tears.
“Alright, Virgil, the decision has been made! As your prince I hereby sentence you, for the hilarious crime of turning a village into a torch, to be… my court magician once I leave the castle next week!”
Virgil couldn’t do anything but stare at the smiling prince for a few moments. That was a joke. That had to be a joke. But he looked serious?
“Isn’t your court supposed to be just nobles, though?”, he slowly asked finally. And out of all the questions in his head it just had to be that one, didn’t it? But the prince barely seemed to be bothered by it. “Nope! The magician is the exception from that rule.”
Virgil shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. “But I can’t control-”
“Relax! You’ll get time to practice. And I’ll give you all the books you need for that.” He waved his hand as though to disperse the thought.
“I can’t read, th-”
“Janus will teach you that.” His grin intensified.
“Won’t people be-”
“So what? Let them talk! They won’t do anything anyways. Wouldn’t dare.” Remus shrugged.
“But how can you trust me with-”
“I don’t trust you, don’t be rediculous! Nope!” Remus chuckled again. “One wrong move and you’ll be really in for it. But you can earn my trust, if you try. Plus, this nerd here vouches for you. That’s good enough for now.”
Virgil looked at Logan in shock, who only shrugged with a smile in response. He then looked back at Remus, who had a surprisingly soft look in his eyes. “Look, I get that that’s weird. And you probably aren’t thrilled by working for me. But you’ll have a place to stay and you’ll get payed. No more streets and idiots throwing stones.” Then the soft look vanished into thin air. “Well, not like you got a choice anyways. It’s either that or death, so… yeah.”
Virgil looked at him for a little bit longer, before he suspiciously asked: “Why?”
“Honestly? I wanna know more about demon-kin and your reactions to stuff are fun. That’s about it. Besides, you have the magic, that’s basically the only qualification, and you have more of it than any normal human with magical talents will ever have. So… eh.” The prince shrugged.
Virgil stared a few more moments. No one, absolutely no one, would ever employ a demon-kin. One would have to be crazy and anarchistic to even consider that. But it looked as though he just found that crazy anarchist…
So, knowing full well that he’d absolutely regret it sooner rather than later, he nodded. “Thank you. I’d… I’d really love to, if you’ll let me.”
And it was true: He absolutely did regret it, almost every hour of every day. Still, it was whatever. Better than what he had before, at least. Well, most of the time.
