* DRABBLE. A TOUCH OF DEATH. ( v. the devil’s dance. )
trigger warnings for / blood, gore, and child death.
the serenity of the night to be violated by the sinister smog of renewed evil. as everyone laid to rest, a bitterly cold darkness sweeps across the home, finding its way into one such room where dearest eleanor had been enjoying a good night’s rest. emerging from the shadows in the farthest corner of the room, the man in the wide brimmed hat, stalking closer without so much as a breath of sound. stopping at the edge of the best, nox couldn’t help but take in the sight of eleanor’s sound sleep. he almost hadn’t the heart to wake them. almost.
gloved hands find their way down and around the child’s neck, hovering if only for a moment as he took in the last second of peace and quiet. then as a snake, taking their throat hostage as a leg came up and onto the bed, pinning a small pelvis against the bed with his knee. eleanor’s disrupted breath led into a struggle as the little devil’s eyes snapped open, hands reflexively trying to pry the death grip from around their neck. a rude awakening left eleanor momentarily unable to exert their own monstrous strength to remove their aggressor. seeing eleanor in this state, nox lightly shakes his head and shushes them.
the only thing little eleanor could see in the moonlit room was the hunched figure of nox, as well as the glinting grin he donned. eleanor scratches and claws at his arms as their form writhes under his, still trying to catch even the slightest bit of oxygen from underneath nox’s strangle hold. their eyes began to water and eyelids gave a flutter, they still clung to life, but for not much longer.
meanwhile, across the hall, alastair had awoken after a dream has sprung his consciousness back to life. his heart was racing and a hand clutches at his chest in fear that his rib cage could contain it. mumbling something to louie, who has stirred in alastair’s frightened awakening, alastair springs from best and bounds from the room, across the hall and flying through the door. alastair almost reeled back at the sight of nox, but instinctively comes forward again to throw a punch right into nox’s head. in a slight daze, nox’s grip on eleanor had been released as one hand flies to hold his head and nox only slightly stumbles back, but is able to catch himself after two steps.
eleanor’s strangled form swallows a fresh breath of air, overwhelmed with blurry vision and a near paralytic state, one hand feebly rubbing at their neck. alastair was overcome with acute anger as he strides forward and takes nox by the front of his robes, a flash of fangs and a fire sparked in the eyes. ‘ you just can’t help but prey on kids, huh, freak?! ’ alastair spoke through tight teeth as he shoves the other man back, to which nox stumbles again, but regains his balance almost immediately.
‘ very protective of this one, are we? ’ with his daze relieved, a grin dipped in malice to grace the man’s features. it was then that alastair’s rage melted away to reveal a twinge of fear. ‘ you were always an eager one, always cutting me off, never waiting your turn. ’ nox gives a few tuts as his eyes lock onto eleanor, whom alastair was defensively stood in front of. the child, with lungs full of air, scrunched up into the furthest corner of their bed, cherry eyes that dilate in a feeling unknown to them.
alastair could tell something was off about nox, but couldn’t quite read him as well as he’d like to. nox, opening his arms slightly, gives a light shrug. ‘i’m sure you’re shocked to see me. but i met a certain someone in hell, whom i share similar interests with. in fact,’ a hand comes up to point around alastair’s form and towards little eleanor. ‘i believe that man is this one’s father, and he’s not very happy with what they’ve been doing. disobedient, reckless .. quite the family disappointment. ‘
eleanor, enveloped in a sudden rage, lets out a wail as they leap from their spot on the bed, reeling back for a punch. but as the punch would have connected, the unstoppable force is met with the immovable object, and nox catches the supernatural blow with but a single gloved hand. eleanor’s initial shock left them vulnerable, and nox took full advantage. free hand shoots forward and takes ell by the wrist with a grip that brought them severe pain. ell’s form slowly crumbles to their knees as they let out a pained whine as they try to pull free, but to no avail.
alastair reacts and reels back once again, only the shoot forward with a bone shattering punch to the side of nox’s head. nox again releases eleanor, but does not fall, only stumbles as his head ducks down and drips with blood. alastair, fearful of the lack of reaction from nox, takes a baby step back. without looking at them, alastair helps eleanor to their feet as nox seems to fully recover from what should have been fatal. eleanor’s eyes had never been as full of fear as they were in that moment, tears renewed and streaming down their face.
‘ quite rude, the both of you. i come here with a simple task and you just make it so ...’ both gloved hands come up and flex their fingers, and for a moment, nox looked at least somewhat frustrated. but he regains his composure in almost an instant. ‘ ... it doesn’t matter, i’ll have the child dead within this night and then ...’ grin come creeping onto his face as his head tilts down if only slightly. ‘then, i’m coming for you, son.’
eleanor, who had been baby stepping back to the bedroom door, slips out and is never again seen. nox did not see phased, if not unamused, and let out a dismissive sigh. ‘ well, we can’t have that. i suppose i should go after them. ta ta.’ as alastair had collected him by the front of his robes, his form seems to melt right from between his fingers and dissipate into the shadows of the room, leaving alastair the least bit confused. almost immediately after, alastair hollers for eleanor as he bounds out of the room and out of the house.
but eleanor had been long since gone, sprinting down the street and towards the residential forest. they could go on forever if they wanted, not even once looking back. then slowed to an eventual stop as they took a look around at their surroundings. it was then that they were overwhelmed with the same unknown feeling as before, which caused their form to tremble. it was also then that ell could sense that they were not alone. taking another look around, ell began to back into the opposite direction and into the shadow of a great tree. their eyes never did stop watering, and they collapse against the trunk of the tree and slide downward until they sat against it.
‘ awww, is something the matter? ’ eleanor’s shaken gaze bolts upward to find nox only a couple feet away from them, right in front of them, collected in the shadow of the tree just as they were. eleanor instantly climbed to their feet as nox took in long strides and took hold of the shoulder of the top to their pink pajamas and held them to the tree. eleanor’s eyes dilated and they clung to the tree as if their life depended on it. dainty hands come up to his arm and begin to beat into it with all the force they could muster.
in that moment, nox couldn’t help but see a young alastair trapped in front of him, flailing his body for dear like as nox would have his way. corners of lips upturned into a wolfish grin, as his free hand rose with fist trembling from how tight it was closed. ell felt as if a punch was coming their way and braced themself, but instead was met by the soft touch of a gloved hand to their cheek. eyes that had been squeezed shut anxiously reopen and glance up to the warm smile of nox, whose momentary happiness was too sinister to have been real. eleanor feels a different sensation against their cheek and they see that arm become enveloped in physical shadow, something they’d never thought they’d be so horrified to see.
‘ you know, i think i’m getting this hang of this. and i have you to thank for that.’ eleanor’s heart was racing as the hand drenched in shadows draws back and ell feels the other hand snake back around eleanor’s throat. choking on their breath, eleanor begins to kick their feet, the familiar feeling of lack of oxygen as they begin to claw at his arm, the remnants of their own physical shadows flickering like embers of a campfire. with the clawed digits of his other hand, he finds pointed tips right against just the shy left of their chest. ‘allow me to show my gratitude.’ drawls the soon to be murderer, applying light pressure but generously giving more as he began to slowly force his way into eleanor’s chest.
eleanor let out a strained cry as they could feel their ribs splitting apart as a the foreign appendage forced its way through. darkened blood began to stain their pajama top and soon run down their stomach and down their legs. blood even surges upward and forces its way out of a strangulated throat. but nox did not stop until he felt the trunk of the tree, and even then, giving agonizing twists of his hand, which caused blood to begin gushing between movements. eleanor vaguely felt their form be removed from being against the tree and instead, suspended in air by the hand that still gripped them by their neck.
this gave eleanor another opportunity to squirm, only for nox’s hand to abruptly burst through their back. ell’s legs paused as blood drips from their feet. rapidly losing blood, eleanor progressively became more feeble, nox still held a toothy grin, taking in the sight as if he’d never quite seen anything like it. the both of them could hear the distant hollering of alastair, nox more so than eleanor, as the life began to drain from their body. it was then that eleanor could swear that they could see the vague form of lucifer, coming to collect them. eleanor’s form gave one more ferocious fight, only to be shushed by nox. nox could hear alastair’s panicked voice drawing nearer, but still too far to save what’s left of the child before him.
eleanor’s eyes fluttered, hands that were still gripped around the arm at their throat trembling. all they could see was the night sky. the last thing they would see is the night sky. vision blurs and that can’t find it in them to cling to life very much longer. their grip becomes feeble and eventually slides right off, the rest of their form falling limp as well. nox slowly removes the arm amassed with physical shadow, and seeing that the hole in their chest does not repair, a feeling of satisfaction washes over him. it was a shame, he thought, he’d almost begun to like little eleanor. if only a little.
letting their corpse topple to the ground against the tree, nox could here to distressed yells of alastair as he bounds into sight. nox passes a single glance a the last wink of a grin toward alastair before dissolving into the shadow of the trees, never to be seen again. alastair, as if not phased by nox’s disappearance, comes to to his knees and collects ell into his arms. he’d hope and pray that there was a sliver of life still nestled somewhere in the crevices of eleanor’s body, but the hole where their heart would be does not seal, and ell’s body had begun to grow cold.
this was the dream he had. holding eleanor’s still form in his arms, desperate for them to reawaken by to no avail. alastair’s jaw became tight as the tears began to stream down his face, he brought in ell’s form closer to him, feeling an immense wave of sorrow as he began to sob.
