Shadow Puppets AU - (not) In control
He lifted his hand toward the Stella-Luna Amulet but dropped it again. He should have just let Astrophel come with him, he never would have let Belos lose himself like that, and those two men wouldn't have had to die.
He returned to the inn, deciding to keep the slip up to himself. He hadn’t eaten them, so it wasn't like he'd crossed the line Astrophel didn't need to know about it, they just had to get out of here early tomorrow before the men were found dead.
The inn keeper had left their Palismen unguarded at the front desk, Belos snatched it as he passed on his way to his borrowed room. He entered without knocking so he wouldn't disturb Hunter. "I'm back." He announced, quietly.
Astrophel jumped back up into his proper shape to greet Philip as he returned, but paused with a crestfallen expression on his face when he saw that Philip was covered in blood.
"Philip! What happened?"
It was second nature for Astrophel to first assume that the blood was something that happened to him, but he was quick to realize that it was too much blood. And of course no one in the Boiling Isles would harm their emperor.
Which meant that the blood was something Philip did.
"What did you do?" He hissed, "You didn't take things too far did you? You didn't eat someone?"
That was the worst case, and honestly Astrophel was not prepared to do what he had promised he would do if Philip had gone too far.
"Please tell me you didn't! We've come too far for you to lose yourself!" Tears stung at Astrophel's eyes and he did not care if he was being too loud.
Belos made a hushing motion and gestured to Hunter. The boy stirred a little but as far as he could tell the young Grimwalker was still asleep.
"I'm fine, it's fine. I'm in control." He said in a quieter tone than Astrophel, but his left eye was still a hollow socket aglow with his curse, indicating that he was still being influenced by it to some degree.
Belos crossed to the bathing room attached to the suite and used magic fill the tub with hot water. He washed his face in the sink, trying to get as much blood off him before he got in the bath.
"I ate four Palismen before it happened. I just wanted to get a few more to take back to the palace, in case four isn't enough." Belos continued as he undressed and got in the bath. The warm water helped him relax, "Somebody saw me, that's all. I killed them because they knew who I was. I didn't eat them. It's fine."









