Vega has charms on his horns that humans he cared for in the past made him
Vega currently doesn't remember where most of them came from, but there's one that he has a very vivid memory of a shy cautious human from a long time ago offering the delicate, golden, wire woven chain to him, with a small purple crystal dangling from it
He doesn't remember who the human was to him, but he feels warm when he thinks about them, and when he looks at the charm, it reminds him of peace
Pet is threatened by an Imperium guard and Vega isn't pleased, to say the least.
What comes after the retributive justice would surprise those who think they know the Anacrusis of Gravity.
Threats of Violence, Threats of Rape/Non-Con, Canon-Typical Violence, Canon-Typical Behavior, Protectiveness, Gentleness, Dom/sub, Implied/Referenced Sex
Sábháilte = "safety" in Gaeilge 🇮🇪
1287 words (read here or on ao3)
Rated M
A lone human scurried through the winding maze of the Haven, disrupting the orderly silence that filled the empty halls, weaving their way to their destination, ignoring disgruntled shouts from the Haven secretary as they slipped past his desk and several steps of administrative red tape.
Their footsteps echoed on the bare concrete floor. When they finally slammed the final door shut – not without some effort on their part, it was intentionally designed to keep daemonic prisoners at bay – they allowed their forehead to press against the cold metal, gulping in air and choking on it. The lock mechanism slid noisily into place, earning them a mere pittance of relief.
However, the shadowy occupant of the room took in their still-abundant fear and he was not pleased.
"What happened, pet?" Vega's voice slipped unprompted into their mind, an unrelenting pressure that fought to still their rabbitquick heart. His eyes narrowed, catlike – ever the predator, assessing his prey – as he waited for their response.
"One of the e-enforcement guards... he... he..." Breaths coming too quickly to properly articulate their thoughts, they were hyperventilating, sending themself further and further down a panicked spiral that tunneled their vision and sent prickly jolts down their numbed nerves.
On feeling the bitterness of their distress, and unable to see any alternative, Vega reached out to delve into their mind. A delicate action to see what they saw and find out the truth. While large hands enveloped their form in the physical world, blackened claws sifted through thoughts like one would flick through a novel. One wrong move and their mind would turn to mush. But Vega was exceptionally skilled, they would be unharmed by his intrusion.
"I see." Vega's tone was icy as the situation became clear to him.
What he saw was one of the guards assaulting his pet, touching what didn't belong to him, making lewd remarks about their body, threatening them when they resisted.
"Don'cha wanna see what you're missin' luv?" The guard sneered, standing tall above the unempowered human, making himself look more domineering. "I've never fucked a daemon myself, but I know a human's gotta be a better lay than one of them. Or maybe he's ruined ya, is that it? I've seen the footage. You're just useless to everyone after a monster like that," The brute raised a hand to his Imperial-issued baton. "Maybe I should just do you a favour then an-"
The Sadism daemon had seen enough. Storming off with his blood boiling and magic crackling from his fingertips, he was a majestic sight to behold.
A possessive jealousy rose up inside him, thick and viscous and full of the need to show a certain someone not to mess with things that don't belong to them.
The door neatly shut as the last wisps of Vega's crackling aura slipped away.
Now alone, Pet crawled away from the door and curled up in the corner between the bed and the wall, tears blinding their sight, blurring the stars that twinkled above their head. Wrapping their arms around their knees, they waited for Vega to return. "He will come back." They weren't trying to convince themself of a faraway possibility; it wasn't up for debate. They knew he would return, even without him voicing the promise in their mind.
One by one, they counted the twinkling lights in the ceiling of Vega's cell, a facsimile of stars carved and formed by his magic, remembering the stories they had grown up listening to, the familiar parables giving them something to focus on. Their favourite was obvious, a falling eagle with a bright tail that held a lyre in its sharp talons.
In their dreams they heard its song, a gentle but haunting tune, each note a promise and an apology for everything that came before.
Some time later – Pet couldn't tell how long had passed while they slept against the wall – the door swung open, guided by a wave of Vega's clawed hand. They thought they could smell something metallic, something dark carried by the stale air blown in from outside... but it disappeared as quickly as it had arrived.
"Come now, pet, the danger is gone." He announced with a wry smile as he closed the door with a flick of a hand, before lifting them to their feet to guide them to the bed. As he sat them both down on the minimal comfort afforded to them by the Academy's Haven, he let the silence wrap around them, cradling their head in an act of genuine if unpractised comfort.
"What'd you do?" They asked quietly, though not afraid of what the answer might be. Pet understood all too well who and what Vega was, his methods were never something they had a problem with. They were merely curious.
"Just what needed to be done."
Pet nodded, satisfied. It was acceptance. Forgiveness of a sort. Gratitude for the deed that had been done in their name.
They reached out for his hands that he seemed to be keeping away from them, though he finally relented. "You do like my hands, don't you, pet?" He smirked, proudly welcoming their inquisitive touches.
Tracing along his long, monstrous fingers with their own, they memorised the shape of him – these instruments of horror, of torture, of death – and only saw things of beauty, of comfort, of safety.
"I do. They're strong," Pet explained, as if that was enough to justify their infatuation with them.
"And you like when I do this with them." He hinted suggestively, effortlessly plucking his hand out of their grasp and slowly aiming towards their neck, almost teasingly so, watching greedily as their eyes fluttered shut at the very thought of his fingers clasping around their throat.
"I do," they admitted with a whisper that felt like a sigh, like relief as his fingers closed together, encircling their throat with ease.
"Then it's a good thing I enjoy the reactions it illicts from you, darling. The way you offer yourself up to me so readily, so willing, so… mine."
"I'm yours." An unnecessary response given their docile reaction, but a pleasant one as Vega let his palm skim down their chest, their clothing vanishing in its path, his teeth replacing his hand's place by their throat, claiming their skin, making them call out his name in a air-light plea. "Make me yours."
"Gladly," he preened before rising up to his full resplendant height. "On your knees." The command was ground out like a low purr, tempting as it was terrifying.
Obediently, Pet sank to the floor, looking up at the daemon who had saved their life on more than one occasion, had rallied their perseverance and muted their fears, and they waited for the next profane pronouncement that would drip from his lips like a despairing sinner waits for benediction.
"Open up, pet. You know how vengence wreaks havoc on my patience." His honeyed words the semblance of a defence for their easy submission. "And how you are such a perfect remedy for that."
And here, with his clawed hands on either side of their face, as they looked up to him with supplicant eyes, they were safe.
A taloned thumb pressed down on their waiting tongue – "good pet," – as he turned his attention to the camera in the corner of the ceiling. Vega and his plaything were no strangers to exhibitionism, but tonight the voyeurs had lost that privilege; they would have to imagine the rest of the night's activities.
A pity. With the way both the daemon and his pet were feeling, it was going to be a long and debaucherous night.
"Don't hold back your pretty noises, Pet. I want to hear you."
