i put socks on my feet

[rottings]

[ hades himself isn't much one for social pleasantries, but he there's great importance to dinners like these, and watching their interactions really is fascinating. the meal is already winding down, but the poet who's been declaiming for the better part of an hour is still going strong.

hades is mostly ignoring him and picking at his food, humming occasional acknowledgement to when people talk to him, as head of the house. most of the slaves waiting on them are positioned around the perimeter of the room, while hades has left mitsunari largely to his own devices. ]

Comments

[outforblood]

[mitsunari is largely ill at ease with the whole situation, and it's been evident in his rigid posture and his permanent scowl. in silence he's stayed near enough to hades so that it's evident who precisely he takes orders from (and none other), but far enough that he isn't intruding, or so he hopes.

primarily, he's been listening. there's nothing much else to do, and it isn't as if he eats. over the voice of the poet (they are much too proud in this place, he thinks) he hears whatever is being said around him. largely it's unimportant. but whenever someone speaks to hades, or about him, or about the family, mitsunari's attention is rapt, eyes narrowing at the distance.

he listens now, as someone speaks idly to hades about the affairs of the estate, and his mouth twitches slightly in a sneer.]

[rottings]

The gods must smile upon you, Hades, for your house is stronger than ever. But that relative of yours... surely he can't be meant to succeed at the temple?

[ so on and so forth. hades merely smiles his small smile at him and makes some noncommittal reply. he directs the conversation elsewhere, and then excuses himself politely. on his way out of one of the doors, he beckons quietly for mitsunari to follow. ]

[outforblood]

[he fixes his eyes on the speaker, mouth pressed into a thin line of disapproval. even if he has no idea what he's disapproving of.

hades is better at simply bypassing these things, and mitsunari follows him when he gestures. the tension in him lessens slightly once they're a fair enough distance from the rest of the guests.]

Do you wish something of me?

[rottings]

You seemed uncomfortable. [ never mind that mitsunari was standing behind hades... ]

Is such air not to your liking?

[outforblood]

[he grits his teeth against how obvious he must have been. never let it be said he knows how to be subtle.]

It's not the air, it's the people. Frivolous, petty, irrelevant - [not unlike some back home, he thinks bitterly.] - and they insult you with every word they can get away with! How you put up with such things is far beyond my understanding.

[rottings]

But it is the people who create the air. [ it still doesn't seem to bother him, though. hades stops in the hall, reaching out to caress the petals of a flower in a vase consideringly. ]

You have heard many things already, tonight. It will be of use when considering the next vote, I think.

[outforblood]

[mitsunari watches hades carefully. for how little he cares for the politics of this land, his involvement in the estate's affairs means he's gotten to be familiar with them, at least in passing.]

... if you say so. Frankly I don't find anything that's been said to be of real importance. [insults aside, of course.] What use their idle, irritating chatter has is yours to determine.

[rottings]

They are ones who have stakes in the country's running. [ hades lets go of the flower and moves on to walking towards a courtyard. this late at night, it's lit only by lamps from the inside and the moonlight. ]

Discrepancies and deceits. Take note.

[outforblood]

[mitsunari follows, his resolve suddenly snapping back into place. there's tension in him again, but quieter, more honed.

deceit. he can find that.]

Very well. [in the moonlight, hades is cast in strange shadows, the warmth of the lamps seemingly lost before it reaches him. mitsunari pauses before he speaks again.] Already I've heard your eldest brother's ... detractors - [enemies, he wants to say, but it's not quite the right word.] - speaking unfavorably of him, though some things I cannot determine the truth of. Nonetheless, I can only assume they intend to slander him.

[rottings]

He is a far one. [ neither agreement nor disagreement, but hades acknowledges his point before taking a seat on one of the stone benches. a cool breeze stirs the warm air. ] Their words are to him as the dunes are to the wind.

...though, they may not be discrepancies, after all. [ zeus is kind of an asshole. ]

[outforblood]

[mitsunari gives hades a questioning look. he hasn't met the man's brothers personally, only overheard rumors - none of which he approves of - but their place in the estate's scrolls makes their positions very clear.]

To be worn away? [he glances around, in case anyone is trying to eavesdrop.] Discrepant or not, their words range against him and poison the minds of those who might otherwise support him. Until the truth can be determined, they should remain silent.

[rottings]

Incidental. [ there's no one else in the garden, and hades usually speaks quietly, though his low voice does carry somewhat. ]

If they could be silenced, there would be no discussion from the beginning. It is process, Mitsunari, one which... also wears away.

[outforblood]

[mitsunari makes a dissatisfied noise and turns to glare at the archway they came through. nobody's there to run off, so he holds his ire in check. for the moment.]

I doubt I will ever truly understand how your government works. [no matter how much he reads in the estate's histories. he shifts where he stands again, as if almost wanting someone to pass by so he can turn his unsettled anger on them.] I will listen for anything that may be considered a lie, and leave it to your judgment to determine what is slander and what isn't.

[rottings]

[ the man is a plebian, wearing a simple belted tunic and sandals. hades has him currently kept in one of the side rooms, which is well-lit, neatly furnished, and somewhat at odds with the panicked excuses spilling from the man's mouth. he's also tied to one of the chairs, which somewhat detracts from the quiet chirping of birds in the garden outside.

hades stands in the doorway, having led mitsunari with him from his room to this one without any explanation. ]

Your judgment awaits.

[ he faces into the room, but he turns to direct a smile at mitsunari after speaking. ]

[outforblood]

[mitsunari followed in silence, sword gripped in his left hand as it always is, now, and always was before. hades gave no explanation, and he didn't ask for one. at the sight of the babbling man, his brow creases.]

He has committed a crime?

[he doesn't doubt this is the case - why else would this be as it is? his eyes never leave the man, and his grip on the sword's sheathe shifts ever so slightly.]

[rottings]

Would you ask that of him?

[ hades looks at mitsunari's hand, the way his fingers are tight around the sword. ]

It is your decision. [ if not his choice. ]

[outforblood]

[slowly, he moves into the room, paces around the bound man with a studying and judgmental gaze. once around him, and mitsunari stops, fingers flexing on the blade again.]

He would not be here if he had done otherwise. If this is so, then his actions are clearly against you, something for which the only proper punishment is death.

[he glances toward hades, head bowed slightly.]

At your will I will deliver him to the justice he deserves.

[rottings]

[ there's irony here, somewhere, in the idea that the proper consequence for going against death is death. hades' smile is wide when mitsunari bows his head, and cruel. ]

It is the will.

[ he points at the man, expression turning benign once again. ]

[outforblood]

[mitsunari misses most of the smile, catching only a moment of it as hades' expression goes back to its constant calm. it doesn't make him pause, but it does make him think.

for now, though, he turns back to the man at the chair, right hand gripping the hilt of the blade and drawing it partway. automatically he falls into a slight stance, feet bracing him against the ground for the draw.]

By this, perhaps you will earn forgiveness for your crimes.

[he doesn't ask what they were. he strikes in an instant, blade flashing out almost too fast for the eye to see. the cut is very neat, and very thorough, but the result is not; the man's head falls from his shoulders accompanied by perhaps less blood than would be expected, but it's messy anyway.

mitsunari flicks the blood off his blade and sheathes it again, his attention already moving back to hades.]

[rottings]

[ hades watches mitsunari execute the man, unflinching. blood from the remaining stump splatters over the ground, a little landing near hades' feet. he doesn't smile again, but his posture is relaxed, welcoming.

they are in his realm now. ]

You have ended it. [ a pause. ] And yet, a cut creates two.

[ there's a severed head on the ground. hades turns his back on it; the room will be cleaned at another time, even as a shadow seems to begin to eat at the blood on the floor. ]

[outforblood]

[out of the corner of his eye mitsunari sees the shadows move, but he doesn't turn to address it, only makes a note of it and keeps his focus on hades.]

Decapitation has always been the punishment for a traitor, as I've known. [because any crime against hades is betrayal, arguably.] But if a different end suits them better, then I will deliver it.

[rottings]

Ah... that one is decided but for others' gazes.

[ hades seems pleased with the decapitation, at least, but rather than leaving, he takes a seat on one of the other chairs in the room. ]

Does this "suit"?

[outforblood]

[mitsunari considers hades' question, ignoring the blood pooling on the floor even as it creeps toward him.]

Yes. Those who cannot respect and adhere to their master's will deserve no less than this. [he gestures with his sword at the corpse without looking at it.] Whether through decapitation or simply bleeding out, their lives are forfeit.

[rottings]

This is not one previously within my will, but their movement brought them close.

[ he gazes at the tip of mitsunari's blade, where it's still dark with a little blood. his smile has returned, this time warmer in a way that is not welcoming. ]

Give me your sword.

[outforblood]

[mitsunari hesitates at that order. it's only for a moment, but his grip tightens on the hilt of the blade, on the empty sheathe, before he approaches hades and offers the weapon to him. dull side toward hades, hilt closer and easier to take.]

Their 'movement'? A rebellion against you?