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kingdomsofrain2025-09-24 03:51 pm
onefellswoop) wrote in kingdomsofrain2025-09-24 03:51 pm
destro & enrion
-you're my home, too: introduction to coldharbour. (rook needs to edit and repost this holy shit)
-betrayal: silvanus imposes a visit. destro fucks up real fucking bad. enrion tells daddy to stay.
-dungeon doings.
introduction to coldharbour: 1
Destro: (out of nowhere asks enrion if he's ever been to coldharbour)
Destro: (have they been cuddling probablyyyy)
Enrion: (looks like he just sat up after cuddle time very ??? where u going)
Destro: (Destro has been entertaing A Though over the past few days. past... weeks.)
Destro: (it comes back to him now as a impulse, striking sharp enough that he draws back from the boy's warmth, hand set light against enrion's shoulder.)
Destro: (he's blinking. he could... consider this. could shove the impulse away. it's late, they're comfortable, and the boy's warmth is deeply appealing.)
Enrion: (Enrion hums a protest, easing up with a bemused expression. His voice is soft, has been soft all evening, drowsy with narcotic pleasure.) Daddy?
Destro: (oh, that isn't making this any easier, ad destro swallows, shifts his forefinger over the boy's shoulder. (it would be easy to stay.) (but, there's that sharp compulsion.) (but, if the moment strikes and he pushes it off, will he be able to find a moment again?) (it isn't... easy, what he's thinking of doing.) (it isn't easy, but he wants to do it.))
Destro: enri.
Destro: (a moment as he lets his thoughts settle, as he breathes, as he considers the decisions he could and couldn't make. (there. that idea, alone: there are choices to be made. he. has a choice to make. and the path ahead is clear.))
Destro: (finger still drifting over enrion's shoulder, he speaks, voice almost a little too even-)
Destro: puppy. have you ever been to coldharbour?
Enrion: (He feels languid, feels warm and supple, and there were caresses, there was himself and Destro twined impossibly close, there had been whispers - why would Destro leave that?)
Enrion: (...To talk about. Coldharbour. Of all things.)
Enrion: (He hasn't. He shakes his head, clearly at a loss for why this is a question.) Mm-mm.
Destro: (a slow nod, more to himself than to enrion. another breath, and again his finger brushes enrion's shoulder.)
Destro: puppy... i'd like to show you something.
Enrion: (He thinks about reaching out to Destro, whispering 'come back', but he's not fast enough. And -)
Enrion: (This seems important. His eyes clear a little of their dazed unconcern, and Enrion cocks his head.)
Destro: (there's something unsettled in destro's expression, and from time to time his gaze flicks sideways, toward nothing, then back to enrion, fully focused. he thinks perhaps he ought to say more. he doesn't think he'd know where to begin.)
Enrion: (He thinks back to some weeks ago, to - that conversation. That heavy conversation. Destro wants to show him something - and it might be? Maybe that. Related to that.)
Enrion: A secret?
Destro: ((can't even think about it, really. no one... no one has seen his place there. he'd assumed no one ever would.))
Destro: (a nod, this time for enrion) yes, enrion.
Destro: my enri, it is...
Destro: please.
Destro: the timing may not be ideal, but.
Destro: ...as i said. i am unaccustomed to forthrightness.
Destro you might need to take the opportunity when it strikes.
Enrion: (He nods without hesitating - a little eager. A lot...Something other. Gratitude, maybe.)
Enrion: The pillows aren't going anywhere.
Destro: (a small smile, a little bit distracted though he tries to keep focused on the boy.)
Destro: true.
Destro: (before he can let himself linger, he's upward, reaching for enrion.)
Destro: stick with me.
Enrion: (Enrion reaches back, assuring. Rising to his feet. And - yeah. Holding on.)
Destro: this is....
Destro: i suppose you'll see.
Enrion: (This is /creepy/. But he's not going to say that.)
Destro: (he hadn't precisely prepared the place for the boy, but. perhaps it's better than way. less contrived, or... well. never mind.)
Enrion: (just look around with a neutral expression, and follow destro.)
Destro: (just gonna. pause a moment.)
Enrion: (....Focusing as ever on the wrong thing)
Enrion: (Enrion points and -)
Enrion: Hey, an indrik!
Destro: ...yes.
Enrion: (...What's an indrik doing in Coldharbour.)
Enrion: ...Huh.
Destro: you're welcome to meet her. after you...
Destro: i'll introduce you.
Enrion: (He looks at Destro, then...past. Destro.)
Enrion: (It looks like a greenhouse, like what he'd see in Summerset.)
Enrion: (It's weird, to see all of these familiar things in this...place.)
Destro: (part of the trouble here. with this place. is that it resonates so thoroughly with destro. that he's found no place more consonant with himself (With himself alone, because there's a follow-up thought: the manor is becoming equally as consonant, with destro who has enrion.))
Destro: (difficult to share anything so close to himself. difficult to share anything so littered with signs of what and where he's been, the pieces he feigns to have discarded but hasn't wholly lost hold of.)
Destro: (he cocks his head, a movement half-forced.)
Enrion: (It doesn't take Enrion long. Not as long as usual.)
Enrion: ...This is where you go.
Destro: ...yes, puppy.
Enrion: (When Destro goes.)
Destro: it is...
Destro: mm.
Enrion: (He's frowning faintly. He doesn't. Know what to make of it yet.)
Destro: you could call it my most regular haunt. outsider of recent months.
Destro: (he tries not to dwell on that frown. clears his throat)
Destro: i'll show you the... well. what passes for an inside.
Enrion: (He tilts his head. He can already SEE inside - to the bed. To the lamplight.)
Destro: a little bare right now, but. you see.
Enrion: (He doesn't move far past the threshold. There's little judgment in his bearing, but his uncertainty is clear.)
Destro: (that wasn't really a complete sentence, or thought. he knows.)
Destro: i like to...
Destro: while i'm here, puppy.
Destro: i prefer to see the sky.
Enrion: (He doesn't like that there are two pillows on the bed. He has questions about it. About whether Destro sleeps here. And who sleeps here with him.)
Destro: i came upon this place with the greenhouse and. it's been mine ever since.
Enrion: (He tries to focus. This is important. Destro's showing him something personal and private and secret.)
Enrion: (That's important, and he tries to hold on to it.)
Destro: (he's starting to feel nervous. more nervous? uneasy. the boy doesn't look precisely on solid ground, and it's to be expected. destro's given no way of understanding this place. destro's not certain he could explain it.)
Destro: it's the only place i have that...
Enrion: (And he remembers Destro said he might not like - or no, that's not right. He said. What was it he said.)
Enrion: (When Enrion knew him through and through.)
Enrion: (His attention slowly shifts around the room, then comes to rest on Destro - who looks uneasy.)
Destro: i've. suggested to you. that i own homes, properties beyond our dwelling.
Enrion: (Enrion blinks, then nods.)
Enrion: ('Our', he called it.)
Enrion: (But.)
Enrion: Our home.
Destro: (a nod, and a small smile that's mostly grateful, partly abashed; he might have said as much in the first place.) our home, puppy. yes.
Destro: this.
Enrion: (Enrion's eyes raise, because a moment or two ago, Destro said something about liking to see the sky.)
Destro: ...i don't make a habit of telling anyone where i'll be on any given day. but there are people - my family prime among them - who know where i might be. what places are mine.
Destro: this is the one place i've kept hidden.
Enrion: (And his attention snaps back.)
Enrion: ...You haven't told anyone else?
Destro: (blinking, shaking his head once) no.
Destro: nor did i intend to.
Destro: this is...
Destro: i suppose you could call it a well-kept secret. playing host to... other. more or less well-kept secrets.
Destro: (Clears his throat, tosses his hair, not quite looking at enrion)
Enrion: (Enrion does feel a momentary flicker of pleasure - to be in on the secret, to be the only one no matter how many pillows are on the bed. But it fades almost immediately.)
Enrion: (Replaced by.)
Enrion: (He. Doesn't like it. This place is bleak, and empty of warmth, and Destro comes here /alone/.)
Enrion: ...I don't like that, Destro.
Enrion: (His voice lacks accusation; it carries only soft fretfulness, the same as his eyes lingering, seeking.)
Enrion: I don't like thinking of you alone like that.
Destro: (he tries not to balk at the words. (the way he feels them slam against him, though he expects there's no censure intended, though he expects the force he feels is of his own perceiving. no, there isn't accusation or thrust force in enrion's words. still. for a moment, it was hard to take.))
Destro: (the follow-up helps, and he manages a small smile.)
Destro: oh, enri.
Destro: i understand it isn't...
Destro: it doesn't appear a warm place. i know. but i've never felt...
Destro: ...i'm near to myself here. myself, and my capabilities.
Destro: as i am, i find, becoming nearer and nearer to myself in our home.
Enrion: (There's something stirring in Enrion's brain, some awareness or. Some comprehension. That Destro needs this place.)
Destro: that, puppy, is new. and dire to me.
Destro: but this is also... i suppose, who i am.
Enrion: (He listens, and he lets the words settle against the dawning comprehension.)
Destro: (he wants... fuck. he wants the boy to understand, to understad at least some part of his meaning. but he can't let himself think on that. because what if. because what if...)
Enrion: (And there's something. He's not quite grasping, but he thinks he feels it there, right on the tip of his tongue.)
Destro: ((he doesn't like to think of enrion looking at him or at this place with condemnation.))
Enrion: (Something about the direness of home.)
Enrion: (...Funny, that he feels at home with Enrion in Reaper's March. But has this home, too.)
Enrion: (Funny that he kept it secret.)
Enrion: (Funny that. He. Brought Enrion here. From their home in Reaper's March. To this place, that is also dire.)
Enrion: (And home.)
Destro: (he wishes the boy would speak. feels himself beginning to fidgit (a rarity), fingers curling and uncurling behind his back.)
Enrion: (He's staring at Destro, but not quite at him. Listening to the rumble of not-storms, and the quality of their breathing and the music from a music box.)
Destro: (he shouldn't. push enrion. he won't. but the silence weighs on him.)
Enrion: (And the puzzle piece slots into place. His expression softens, his head ducking a little.)
Enrion: (It's an assumption, but it's not that big of one. Not a leap, when Destro is wearing his ring.)
Destro: (he sees that shift in expression, and there's a fluttering through his lungs, his chest.)
Destro: (maybe. maybe.)
Enrion: (It's not home anymore. But Destro needs it, so he brought what is "home".)
Enrion: (Enrion's mouth curves in a lopsided smile.)
Enrion: (He closes the distance - one or two steps - and draws the backs of his fingers along Destro's cheek.)
Enrion: (And softly - bending down a little to meet eye-to-eye, to make sure Destro hears him, feels the impact -)
Destro: (his eyes clench shut, his head burning with relief. with the grace of that touch and the image of that smile.)
Enrion: Hey. Look at me.
Destro: (feeling the boy come closer, and opening his eyes to find him, to answer that call)
Destro: (yes; he'll look; yes, those eyes are the truest he's known)
Enrion: (--Oh. Oh, he. Feels the last little bit of his heart go out.)
Enrion: (And smiles tenderly (lovingly) (loving) (oh, he does, every bit -))
Enrion: You're my home, too.
1
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dungeon miscellany: 1
Destro: (gonna get that palm to your chest action puppy :3)
Enrion: (He grins. It's been a nice day, couple of days, who knows.)
Enrion: (And destro maybe you can feel his heart slamming under his armor.)
Destro: (destro is smiling. has been smiling an uncommon amount. and yes he feels that heart and yes that only stokes the smile further)
Destro: (And yes, enrion's getting a kiss on the jaw)
Destro: such a capable puppy. c:
Enrion: (Enrion's eyes grow heavy, and his smile softens rapturously.)
Destro: (just gonna caress that cheek)
Enrion: (He likes being here. He likes being with Destro, here, where he gave him that ring.)
Destro: (watch and feel gratified by that expression)
Enrion: (Maybe he doesn't say the words but when he refocuses, there's clear wonder in his gaze; he thinks over and over, /You're incredible./)
Destro: my beautiful enri.
Destro: (one more kiss to the jaw, and then, after letting himself watch the boy for a lingered moment--)
Enrion: (That ricochets through him, eliciting a little sound, barely a whimper.)
Destro: why don't you show daddy what you can do, hm?
Destro: and after.
Destro: ...mm.
Destro: (stepping back, head cocked)
Enrion: (He had started to look Destro over, give a playful twist to his mouth to say, /I'll show you what I can do./)
Destro: (thaT look gets a smirk)
Enrion: (But freezes, and raises his brows midway.)
Destro: (v pleased smirk c:)
Destro: we'll see about a cooldown for you, hm?
Enrion: (His eyes widen a little, eager, and Enrion grins. Bolts in for a kiss-)
Enrion: (and to murmur adoringly.) Yes, Daddy.
Enrion: (And.) My fondness.
Destro: (eyes half-shut, voice nearly a rough purr) my fondness.
Enrion: (Well that. Makes all his nerves spark and his chest glow, and his grin is set firm.)
-----
Enrion: (turned to see daddy looking in his backpack so he's just)
Enrion: (going to try something.)
Enrion: (Enrion carefully - always gentle, always delicate - comes up behind, and winds one arm around Destro's waist. The other hand drifts his hair aside, baring his neck to a kiss. )
Enrion: (He hesitates before the moment of connection, waiting to see if he'll be shaken off, of course.)
Destro: (he will absolutely not be shaken off. and though destro's pulse increases, though his breath catches (again and always again; the boy's a menace!), he doesn't stiffen. lets his pack lower, and arcs his neck minutely, inviting)
Enrion: (There's a whispered brush of lips against skin, an awed (imploring) ((loving)) exultation of the other man's name.)
Destro: (and responding, in a voice little more than a breath, as once hand reaches behind to find the boy's cheek-) enri.
Enrion: (He breathes out unsteadily, then leans his forehead against the back of Destro's, his eyes closed.)
Destro: (destro's just gonna linger in this shared suspension as long as he can. hand kept quiet against enrion, his eyes half-shut. senses tuned at the outskirts for signs of danger, but mostly, mostly, what he knows is enrion.)
Destro: (familiar and astonishing. how well he overwhelms the world)
Enrion: (Enrion feels himself breathing in time with Destro; what could have been (and were) excited near-pants steady, draw long and stable, and he feels.)
Enrion: (He feels like part of something.)
Enrion: (Inclining his head again to offer another kiss, he whispers:) You're special. You know that?
Enrion: (He wishes he had better words. Bigger, grander words. He'll learn them, maybe. Sometime, for Destro.)
Destro: (this place - deep and dire, smelling of earth and rust and scattered decay - is an enchantment. or it's simply where the boy found words, found action, brought something nigh-impossible to speech and into being.)
Destro: (regardless, it's beautiful.)
Destro: (he arches against that kiss, smirking with pleasure, and shifts to press his head against enrion's, brushes his fingers through the boy's (Well-brushed) (soft) hair.)
Destro: no more special than you, enri.
Destro: and i think i hardly need say--
Destro: you are unparalleled.
Destro: (just gonna nudge the boy with his head) you can rely on my judgment, puppy.
Destro: i've met more than my share of people.
Destro: none approached any fraction of what you are.
Destro: lovely boy.
Enrion: (He was trying to be romantic. Sweet. (Maybe something like seductive, if he thinks that far.) Instead, Destro's got hold of the conversation, has turned everything back around on him. He huffs a little, consternated, not-displeased laugh.)
Enrion: If you think it, then I'm lucky.
Enrion: (Very lucky. But also -)
Enrion: Flirt.
Destro: (wulp now U get a huffed laughed, enrion. destro rushing his fingers back and forth over the boy's head, a feigned admonition, a gesture of amusement.)
Destro: am i?
Destro: mm.
Destro: i know what i know, puppy.
Destro: and if i am a...
Destro: (Clearing his throat, just a lil theatrically) 'flirt.'
Enrion: (He likes that. He likes everything Destro graces him with. But this touch earns a little laughter, and a nuzzle.)
Destro: i think we know who's driven me to these ends, hm?
Enrion: Oh, yeah.
Destro: (gettin a nuzzle right back, puppy)
Enrion: Clementina's a bad influence.
Destro: (go enrion he did not expect that just gonna shake his head a little, smiling)
Destro: yes, you'll need to have a word with her about that.
Enrion: Hey. She's your turkey.
Enrion: (Is that an impish grin over Destro's shoulder?)
Destro: (Clearing his throat; 'excuse you, puppy?')
Destro: (oh he can HEAR that grin u little brat ;.;)
Enrion: (There's another deep-throated laugh, humming and warm against Destro's neck.)
Destro: she is my companion. but as i've fallen for her misguided guidance, i don't believe i'm fit to HAVE that conversation.
Enrion: Maybe I'm not fit for it, either.
Destro: oh no?
Destro: ...you have a point, enri.
Enrion: (He lets that settle, and - he's never. Really tried it before. But he's feeling a little bold.)
Enrion: (There's a light scrape of teeth where there had a heartbeat before been a press of lips.)
Destro: (get a lil growl-purr for that one, puppy c:)
Enrion: I like the flirting. [And.] Daddy.
Destro: mm. (the sound drawn out a little too long, a little too thrummed around the edges.
Destro: and, pressing a firm caress to the boy's head) in that case. i don't believe i'll make any endeavor to stop.
Enrion: (Well he's just. Going to try that again, with a little more intent, and a sound of pleasure underlying.)
Destro: (what he says, a soft sound, pleased and rough-edged-) yes.
Destro: (yes, puppy, you may.) (yes, puppy, that is... quite good. very good.)
Enrion: (Enrion's stomach twists with surprise, with pleasure, and for a moment, he hovers an inch or two from another kiss, or another graze of teeth.)
Enrion: (He wants to hear that tone again. He wants to cause it.)
Enrion: (But more than that, his skin feels too hot-burning, and there's a fever racing through him, leaving him unsteady and starting to tremble.) (He made Destro moan.) (He - ) (He swallows, his mouth dry and his heart thrumming.)
Enrion: (And he breaks.) Please, Daddy.
Destro: (a moment lacking breath. a pleased smile. and he turns in enrion's hold, shifting to face the boy, to caress his jaw again, more pressured. to smirk at him, smile at him, eyes focused on enrion and enrion alone.)
Destro: oh, puppy.
Destro: my poor puppy.
Destro: (there's a kiss for the boy, his own teeth grazing soft across the boy's lower lip.)
Destro: of course.
Destro: daddy will take care of you.
-----
Destro: (destro just gonna occasionally. cheek caress and smirk)
Destro: (and enjoy the hell out of watching puppy destroy!)
[ ... ]
Enrion: (big explosion!)
Destro: nicely done, puppy. c:
Destro: you're getting better and better.
Enrion: (He glows with the praise - from the only man he wants to impress.)
Enrion: (enrion is going to peek under the hood of Destro's skeletal mage btw)
Enrion: (curious! about which corpse it is!)
Enrion: Oh hey. It's the argonian.
Destro: so it is. (mild amusement)
Enrion: A lot quieter now.
Enrion: That's nice.
Destro: c:
Destro: (destro agrees v much c:)
betrayal ('daddy, stay')
Destro: (........)
Silvanus: Are you home?
Silvanus: Hello! (Yoohoo motherfucker.)
Destro: (...........)
Silvanus: Destro, I know you're here. Your horse is outside.
Destro: (destro is considering the merits of 1) not responding and waiting for the idiot to leave and 2) strangling his brother when--)
Destro: (...well fuck.)
Silvanus: Well, there you are. No worse for the wear. Lucky us.
Destro: silvanus.
Destro: (what his tone says: 'what the literal FUCK are you doing here.')
Silvanus: (Was he hoping Destro kicked it, left him whatever...ha. Fortune.)
Silvanus: (MAYBE.)
Destro: out of my office.
Silvanus: (He makes himself at home in the room, strolling through, touching. Things.)
Silvanus: (...Until that.)
Silvanus: That doesn't work on me.
Silvanus: :|
Silvanus: I remember you when you were knees and elbows. (A prod of his finger to Destro's chest. And a little push with that finger.)
Silvanus: Breathing space, Brother Dear.
Destro: (teeth gritting. this. this is why he doesn't permit visitors. this is why he's told his siblings not to FUCKING interfere.)
Destro: ...
Destro: (destro places a hand on that shoulder. would like to shake his idiot brother; settles for a sharp pressure.)
Destro: out.
Destro: go have a seat, silvanus.
Silvanus: (He tsks.) One would think you're not happy to see me.
Destro: 'one' would be perfectly correct.
Destro: have a seat. or would you rather i walk you over? >:C
Silvanus: Our mother would be horrified to hear you speak that way to your baby brother. You know that, right?
Silvanus: (Frankly, she probably wouldn't care.)
Destro: (it's not worth trying NOT to scowl. he feels wrong-footed. has approximately NO footing right now.)
Destro: our mother would be horrified by the wretch her precious child's become.
Silvanus: (But. He turns, throwing up a hand in dismissal.) Fine, fine. Out of the office I go, you moldering old wretch.
Destro: (fuck's name. that's one step, anyway.)
Silvanus: (He stops at the sofa and stares at it blandly.) Interesting choice in decor you've got here.
Silvanus: (He sprawls on it, of course, one arm slung over the back, one foot out, right at hOME.)
Destro: (a thought: it's lucky the boy is out. should be out for a while yet, and destro intends to have this squalling shit out within the quarter hour. >:C)
Destro: ....
Destro: (don't. touch. his stuff. silvanus >:C)
Destro: 'interesting.'
Destro: (he doesn't give a fuck.)
Silvanus: 'Interesting'. 'Tacky'.
Destro: i didn't ask you to be here.
Silvanus: Perhaps I wandered in, mistaking it for a brothel.
Silvanus: (He examines his nails, winding up for something.)
Silvanus: I heard an interesting rumor yesterday.
Destro: (he half-noticed that wind-up, senses something amiss, but he's still prickling at this unexpected arrival)
Silvanus: Where, here, 'interesting' does not mean 'tacky', so much as 'alarming'.
Destro: i expect it’s nothing at all.
Destro: and i suspect i don't have a fuck to offer, silvanus.
Destro: unless you've brought dire news, you've overstayed your welcome.
Destro: you know how to reach me.
Destro: (you absolute shit.)
Silvanus: ...Are you absolutely sure? (He's looking askance, a grin slicing across his mouth.)
Destro: (that grin means nothing good. that grin's nothing to poke at. (what for fuck's sake does silvanus know?))
Destro: have i ever been uncertain about anything?
Destro: you do me no good.
Destro: spare us both the time and waltz your powdered arse back through the door.
Silvanus: (Silvanus eyes his brother malevolently, a brow raised, and settles further into his seat.)
Silvanus: I think you'll want to listen. Why don't you give it a try.
Silvanus: You see, this rumor - this alarming, interesting rumor - bubbled up from a sordid little man who tends bar in a place you've been known to frequent.
Silvanus: Now, you mustn't blame him. I was searching for an acquaintance of mine - a Nord. He's up and vanished. Most peculiar thing.
Silvanus: (does he send people to spy on Destro mAYBE)
Destro: (he doesn't let on that the words stop him cold. (or. he thinks he doesn't let on. but there's a tensing in his shoulders, hard to hide when he's irritated, and when the only observer's known him all his life.) he breathes. cocks his head, expression unmoved. (he's going to need to kill that bartender. never mind the rules. never mind the loose-lipped barman's connections.))
Silvanus: (And Silvanus is watching Destro very, very closely just now, his teeth glinting from behind a curling, amused lip.)
Destro: insipid, both of you.
Destro: i'll have none of your idle gossip, silvanus.
Destro (to his credit, he DID make that sound approximately 10000% dismissive)
Silvanus: 'Insipid', he says. 'Idle gossip'. (He feigns an aghast tone.)
Destro: (blink blink motherfucker.)
Destro: quit wasting my time.
Silvanus: Ten witnesses to your carnage. Do you know how much I had to pay them to shut them up?
Silvanus: You should be thanking me.
Destro: (.........)
Silvanus: ...Or your Puppy should.
Destro: (that's a--)
Destro: (was a. cold shot down his spine.)
Silvanus: (Gotcha you old fuck. >:) )
Destro: (became a moment of blankness, his heart arrested in its beat)
Destro: shut your fUCking mouth.
Silvanus: ...So it's true, then.
Silvanus: (Hello Christmas.)
Silvanus: (You came so early this year.)
Destro: (did he itch to reach for his knife? yes.)
Silvanus: (Silvanus cocks his head, raising his brow at that knife, at the hand moving to the knife.)
Destro: ...
Silvanus: Really, Destro.
Destro: (fuck.)
Silvanus: Your own brother.
Silvanus: What would Delphinia say?
Destro: i expect she'd thank me.
Silvanus: Hm. And her wife?
Destro: it's a wonder we've let you live this long.
Destro: (...goddamnit silvanus)
Destro: (100% got destro gritting his teeth again)
Silvanus: (The peacekeeper. The one who keeps the even keel.)
Silvanus: (His personal aegis. )
Destro: ...
Silvanus: I'm really only curious, you know. About your new...friend.
Destro: ('of course you are. 'curious.' he thinks. doesn't say. he isn't going to encourage talk in that direction, and his confusion clears for a moment, long enough that he can favor silvanus with a withering glare before fading back into... what is he supposed to do, if he can't just kill the fucker.)
Silvanus: (Silvanus is back to inspecting his nails, thinking to himself that he'll really enjoy relating all of this to Madeleine - or Tirzah, or whatever she calls herself these days.)
Destro: (and he can't. or he won't. agreements have been made. and though most vows may be useless, he promised years ago to keep the family standing, if not precisely united.)
Destro: we both know i've the funds to pay off who i like.
Destro: throwing money after nothing is your choice.
Destro: wasteful, i'd say.
Silvanus: ...Nothing?
Silvanus: (He looks bemused - farcically so.)
Destro: nothing.
Destro: (CUTE, SILVANUS. he's not budging on this >:C)
Silvanus: Destro, the things those dreadful little brigands were saYING.
Silvanus: About my own dear brother.
Destro: strange that you should have been listening to any manner of 'brigand.'
Destro: upstanding as you are.
Destro: i'd warn you against sticking your nose where it doesn't belong. :|
Destro: (says the man who is up in everyone's business :|)
Silvanus: (He pauses, his brow arching again.)
Destro: and if you DO intend to interfere--
Silvanus: Tell me something.
Destro: don't expect commiseration for the coin you've wasted.
Destro: i ought to have it taken out of your inheritance. :/
Destro: (look if he keeps talking he doesn't have to tell u anything!)
Silvanus: (He twitches, and yes, that struck home. So he rebounds harder with -)
Silvanus: The absolute scandal of hearing that my brother - upstanding creature that you are - was having a go with an Altmer a third his age.
Silvanus: Loud enough to shudder the masonry.
Destro: (.....)
Destro: (oh, he doesn't care for that.)
Destro: (for silvanus daring to speak any proximity to enrion, to any knowledge of enrion.)
Destro: (but.)
Destro: (but.)
Silvanus: (Silvanus doesn't touch the fact that Destro has never seemed. Interested. In fucking.)
Silvanus: (Not. Directly.)
Silvanus: Is that what does it for you? Youthful exuberance?
Destro: (he offers a crooked smile.) i suppose i'm not surprised word made its way around.
Silvanus: (D a d d y)
Destro: (....fuck)
Destro: (.....)
Destro: (breathe. don't. let. the self-satisfied shit distract you.)
Silvanus: (Silvanus has, meanwhile, been casting a look around the room, taking in the telltale signs of Another Person Inhabiting This House.)
Destro: is this what passes for news these days?
Destro: (his voice sounds just a little strained at the edges. behind his back, his hand flexes.)
Silvanus: (A snort. It's true, then.)
Destro: look at me, silvanus.
Destro: (not. around. the house. >:C)
Silvanus: (Silvanus notes the mead set out, and the books that are clearly not to Destro's tastes. The Alinor furniture.)
Silvanus: (New additions.)
Silvanus: (That painting is new.)
Silvanus: (The pot, Elsweyr design and cheerfully blue.)
Silvanus: (He settles his attention on Destro.)
Destro: SILVANUS.
Destro: (maybe he didn't intend to. shout. almost shout. raise his voice.)
Silvanus: ...Goodness.
Silvanus: Temper.
Destro: (well. what's done is done. and his hand flexes.)
Destro: you wear at my patience.
Silvanus: ...He's not here, is he.
Silvanus: (He grins.)
Destro: some of us have work to see to--
Destro: (....wh a t.)
Destro: (SILVANUS U SHIT)
Silvanus: Your playmate.
Silvanus: That's what this is.
Silvanus: You're trying to hustle me out of here before I see him.
Destro: (his voice drops low, a growl, a compulsive threat-)
Destro: shut. your fucking. mouth.
Silvanus: Oh but I'd love to have a good look. I hear he's pretty.
Silvanus: (He can't. Shut his mouth.)
Silvanus: (This is too good.)
Destro: (and yes he's moved closer and yes his hand's turned to a fist behind his back, he's thinking of that knife again, he's thinking how easy it'd be to grab the idiot by the collar escort him off the FUCKING property.)
Destro: i've never wanted you here.
Destro: you've never been wanted here.
Destro: and you've brought me nothing but dross.
Silvanus: (Silvanus doesn't tense, exactly. But he knows that look. He knows a blow might come. And one might be given in turn.)
Destro: i suggest you leave, silvanus.
Destro: and don'T return.
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stay with me, for always
Enrion Varanil: (He finds the note on the post outside and reads it again, again, hungrily scanning the handwriting, that familiar handwriting, all for him. And he decides to...wait.)
Enrion Varanil: (Not because Destro asked, but because he wants his ring.)
Destro Rubeno: (aside from silvanus's word two - two and a half? - days ago, destro's heard nothing of his... of the boy's whereabouts. (has and hasn't been looking. has been prodding carefully at could-be-sources. could-be-leads. never enough to yield much. never enough to risk altering the boy or... or.)
Destro Rubeno: (or breaking some agreement, though it's true that no matter what he does, or how he acts, he's breaking some promise to the boy. (which scarcely matters, when enrion is no longer his.) (will no longer be seen.) ((apologize, silvanus said, but how to manage an apology when the boy's gone missing. when the boy said 'stay'.))
Destro Rubeno: ((which scarcely matters, when destro has already leveled the deepest wound.) (betrayal, he thinks.) (betrayal, he knows. another of the echoes in his chest.))
Destro Rubeno: (he returns to the house holding nothing, knowing nothing. no wanting to be here or anywhere, but unable to leave the place for long. (he'd like to abandon it. half-thought to burn it, but couldn't complete the idea, even. the house was also enrion's. the house will remain.))
Destro Rubeno: (because what if. because there's a chance. because enrion could return.)
Destro Rubeno: (he doesn't hope for it, precisely. but he can't defy the thought. and so he's returned, and so he'll enter the house again, push through those empty doors into an empty (And not-empty) (and memory-laden) room. where the paintings the boy brought have been taken down, and lean against the walls, awaiting removal from the house, or. waiting for
Destro Rubeno: storage elsewhere in the house, out of sight, but never gone.)
Destro Rubeno: (he doesn't want to enter, but then, he doesn't want to do much of anything.)
Destro Rubeno: (so. he shifts the knob.)
Enrion Varanil: (Enrion roams the grounds, looking over the waterfall, and the rock that he had "dibs" on, and the fox that inhabits the little brushes to the right of the house itself.)
Enrion Varanil: (And inside, he roams the rooms, looking, noting what's changed. Noting that things /have/ changed. The paintings he brought have been removed, and seeing them carelessly leaning up against the wall feels like a cold hand wrapping his heart.)
Enrion Varanil: (His own room is untouched, for some reason. All these - boxes, these toys. Puzzles he no longer wants to look at or think about. )
Enrion Varanil: (The whole place is familiar, but cold. Familiar, but not home: a house readying itself for him to be gone and done. (Maybe Destro is readying it for some other idiot. Some other puppy to look up at him like he's. Oh, everything.))
Enrion Varanil: (He puts out still-burning lamps with a shaking head, wondering how long Destro's been gone and why he never remembers to put out the lights.)
Enrion Varanil: (There are two he can't. Bring himself to put out. He can't go in the room, can hardly look at the doorway. (Who's going to sleep there now?) (Who's going to take his place?) (It's none of his business.))
Enrion Varanil: (It won't be his business anymore, after today. And this place won't be home ever again.)
Enrion Varanil: (He hears the door open and close and has to force himself to breathe, because Destro is down there. He's closer than he's been in weeks, and if Enrion listens, he thinks he might hear the other man's breathing, his footsteps.)
Enrion Varanil: (He could sneak out a window. Destro would never know he was here. Or maybe he'd suspect, maybe he'd think he was being haunted, and that is how Enrion feels: like a ghost, haunting this house.)
Enrion Varanil: (...But he wants. (To see.) (To see him.) (Make sure he's okay.) (Even if he's not okay. Just see him.) Get his ring back, he wants to get his ring back. )
Enrion Varanil: (So he breathes again and heads downstairs, hand trailing the wall until he reaches the corner, where his eyes settle first on the stone floor, and then raise, seeking (Daddy) (oh) (not anymore) (or ever again) Destro.)
Destro Rubeno: (he knows who it is. (of course he does. no change of clothes tone of voice posture could hide the boy from him.))
Destro Rubeno: (and also. this isn't right.)
Destro Rubeno: (the sight strikes a manifold shock: enrion HERE. (
Destro Rubeno: he wants to focus on that. wants to graps hold of the short-lived fluttering the gasp of hope quickly exstinguished by the dimmed lights. (thinking it's possible. the boy came here to kill him. thinking he wouldn't blame enrion in the least. why else this mask, this mein? why else the room gone dim, and the boy waiting?))
Destro Rubeno: (destro had asked him to wait, in the note.) (destro will take whatever the boy delivers.)
Destro Rubeno: (and why. why is enrion (why else would enrion be) dressed in such drab colors, hiding his face here, of all places. as ifdestro wouldn't know him. as if anyone else would (...well, ha; silvanus) see him here.)
Destro Rubeno: (what is it the boy's hiding himself from.)
Destro Rubeno: (protecting himself from.)
Destro Rubeno: (which sparks an urge to look away; give the boy his space if he wishes it so badly. which isn't an impulse destro can follow; he can't, he won't, it'd be impossible to look away from the boy.)
Destro Rubeno: (at his side, his hand clenches, unclenches.)
Destro Rubeno: (and it occurs to him the boy is armed (not with his axe) (of course not with his axe). that destro has his knives, and no intention of using them. that he might offer the boy those knives, see what he might enact with them.)
Destro Rubeno: (he knows he's breathing, barely.)
Destro Rubeno: (he knows he wants to speak.)
Destro Rubeno: (but everything's gone dry, gone wound into contortions, and all he can manage is one, then two careful steps forward.)
Destro Rubeno: (he doesn't know what this is. but. enrion is here.)
Enrion Varanil: (He doesn't know how long he's been staring. This is what it is to reunite, even if the reunion is sad, even if the person you love is the last person you want to see - because being away from Destro has been like starving, like dying of thirst. It's been like slowly suffocating, and now they share this room and this air, and Enrion is able to fill his lungs again. He doesn't want to look away. He wants to remember more than the small store of months he had. He wants to find the things he found absent in his memory and overwrite them: the exact way the red marks on Destro's skin curve. Which way his hair parts, and the exact shade of black it is. The angle of his nose and the wiry strength despite his size, despite how thin (and is he thinner, or is that Enrion's imagination?))
Enrion Varanil: (He doesn't want to forget. Anything.)
Enrion Varanil: (He should forget. He has a right to forget. (But the hook in his heart tugs him, almost betrays him.) He nearly takes a step forward, but Destro moves first, and it stills him tense.)
Enrion Varanil: (He looks away. Around the room, his expression hidden by cloth and shadow.)
Enrion Varanil: You shouldn't leave all those candles burning when you go.
Enrion Varanil: (He's said this before. It's melancholy, empty, full of depthless longing, to say those words again. His voice only registers softness. Lack of malice. Lack of anything. A recitation.)
Destro Rubeno: (the way the boy surveys the room. inscrutable in shadow, in that mask. his posture telling little; the boy is. remarkably unreadable just now. (has been remarkably unreachable since leaving. has been hidden, hiding himself and covering his tracks. enrion knows how to make himself absent. enrion has proven again, again to be more capable than he shows. meaning, partly, that this might be precisely what it looks like: the boy having gathered himself for retlation. the boy waiting, not precisely because destro requested it, but because enrion arrived with a purpose.)
Destro Rubeno: (dressed to escape, in case anyone might be watching. (does he know that though destro hasn't been watching closely, silvanus has - apparently - been monitoring the boy to some extent? is that the reason for this... wholly un-enrion appearance.)
Destro Rubeno: (and the way he spoke.)
Destro Rubeno: (no malice, no ire doesn't mean no intention. though destro would like to believe otherwise. though destro would like to think that what he heard in those words was... oh, that word again. 'mercy.' kindness. an opening for speech.)
Destro Rubeno: (he feels drained through his marrow. he feels... very little that he can name.)
Destro Rubeno: (and this time he does reach for a knife, the knife, the knife he's kept against himself for years, the knife most reliable, never parted with.)
Destro Rubeno: (and he takes one step forward, tosses the knife toward the boy's feet. tries not to feel the press of wordless rots in his chest, crawling through his throat.)
Destro Rubeno: does it matter.
Destro Rubeno: (and-)
Destro Rubeno: perhaps i was trying to call you back.
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