just underneath the skin

Captive I may be. Prisoner, even. But I still want my damn welcome party. No, better than that - I want a parade. With balloon animals. And confetti! And banners with my name on them! Yeah! Tons of folks playing instruments and stuff, too. And I’m gonna ride on the big float and stare straight forward the whole time because no one is worthy of my eye contact.

What?

The strange male approaches me from above, climbing down the rocks like a goat or something. I have to admit to myself that my entrance would have been less graceful – my paws are built for swamp and quagmire. Working my way over crumbly stone has never been a strong suit of mine. But that’s fine. I have plenty of other strengths, some of which I’m willing to display should this individual give me any trouble. A small smile tugs at my cheeks while I watch him descend; I don’t intend to speak first, and I’m curious about how long we’ll stare at each other in silence.

He surprises me. No sooner do his feet reach the ground than his mouth unhinges and his word vomit fouls the air. He says so many things without pause that I don’t know which to react to first. A low, quiet laugh defies my control and escapes. But he seems to know a lot of things, too. My name, for instance, when I’ve never seen his face before now. Interesting. Hopefully we can get to that later. For now, I just want to get this show on the road. Ignoring all the passive aggression from my alleged ‘captor,’ I choose to remain pleasant until I know what’s going on. “I agree. No time like the present,” I say, and rise to follow him into Glorall.

We don’t make it far before a curious surge of warmth rolls through me. Then it is like a second heartbeat and I know before I see her that Katsumi is here. Foolish. Foolish for so many reasons, least of all for crossing a border without invitation. In winter. I am, and will always be, her biggest problem. As she is mine. I can’t do anything about it right now. Not while I’m a guest here. That would just be rude. And then I see her. Actually see her. The details of her face, the curves of her small body rock me in a way that little else can. But the rage is there, even against the season’s taunting urges. The tide of my anger rolls in and everything else is gone.

I am nearly shaking by the time she speaks; if I could shoot fireballs out of my eyes she’d be dead now. It would be over. Failing in that, I simply fantasize about having her alone. This power she has over me – I’m done with it. I need her gone. And I think I’m strong enough to do it now. When I get out of here, I’m going to end her. I’m going to reclaim my life from this worthless, lying, trash.

The mere thought of such relief gives me a remarkable amount of self-control. I manage a flat chuckle in response to the jab at my captivity, then steal a glance at my glorious guide to Glorall. What’s he making of this? He may jump her simply for trespassing. My plans are to stay neutral to her presence - the less he knows the better. BUT OF COURSE she has to open her mouth just one more time! Just once more! And she proceeds to out us. Hearing it out loud…it does something to me. I don’t care about treaties or alliances or anyfuckingthing. Everyone can go to hell. To air my own personal weakness, my biggest failure, aloud so others can hear it? No.

I am mid-stride when another voice draws me back out of my own mind. She speaks our language, and addresses me alone. Turning to look at her, I vaguely recognize her face, but I know that she comes from Iromar, too. Strange we should meet again so far away. “Non vult eam plus quam me.” (No one wants her gone more than me,) I grumble. I give her more information on the topic than I would give anyone else. Maybe I feel more comfortable using our language; there are fewer eavesdroppers.

I roll my eyes back to Katsumi, sitting pretty like she owns the place. Infuriatingly close. Looking at me like nothing happened. God, I want to rip her face off. I also want to have her behind the nearest tree. But I resist both of these urges, and instead settle for, “You need to leave immediately. Your assistance isn’t required here.” I don’t suggest, I command, both with my voice and with my eyes, and when I’m done speaking I simply look away to indicate that the conversation is over. Between myself, the Iromar girl, and the joker from Glorall, she can’t possibly want to argue about it.

When I look away from Katsumi I discover something strange. A large, black weirdo is sitting not far from us. But he doesn’t appear to want anything to do with our discussion. He just sits there. Staring. Not looking, but staring. I hadn’t known there was a difference until now. Is he…stable? He certainly can’t be dangerous without any of the gears grinding in his thought factory. I watch him for a second before looking first to Rogue, then to my kidnapper, and then back to glassy eyes who is still eyeballing us.

“So, do we know this guy?”

six ;; Demon King x Blood Mouth ;; angel dust