“What are you afraid of?”
sayf hummed in response to the question, turning from where they looked out over the ballroom, drink half-drunk in their hand. a night for them to relax, something gentle buzzing in their veins as they indulged the pleasures of the fae. [ oh, they could be as loud, as raucous, as single-minded and selfish, as much as they preferred a colder kind of cruelty, mocking smirks and cunning manipulation. ]
❛ mattaeus. ❜ they say, acknowledging the other, before looking back out at the crowd of dancers, laughter sharp and heady, wrapped up in their own worlds even as sayf schemed to bring it all down around their empty heads. ❛ what am i supposed to tell you? it’s certainly not spiders. ❜
what were they afraid of? failure, eternity, finality? to have lived for no purpose, to let their wrath consume them, to let the fire fade into embers?
[ they are afraid. afraid of taking a moment, to look at themselves, to realise they are worse than the devil they claim to destroy. everything they hate and more, and perhaps this wrath is nothing more than self-flagellation. ]
❛ or are you after something more? ❜ they ask, turning to face mattaeus, used to his propensity to ask after something deep, searching for some answer, won’t turn away until he’s satisfied. the alcohol is humming in their lungs, in their throat, tingling even as they continue to goad. ❛ do you want to know if something keeps me awake at night, or if there is some fear all-consuming? ❜ they smirk, let the cruelty in their eyes settle fully on their face, danger sparking as their stance shifts subtly. an unconscious berth is given, fae around them leaning away even if they’re not fully aware, before sayf reigns it back in, shrugs.
❛ no such fear here, i’m afraid. ❜ no fear of guilt, or rather, none that they’re aware of, but their understanding of the truth slips from their tongue with no hesitation. ❛ why? are you afraid? ❜