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 stills suddenly at the movement, finally seeming to wake up and realize hades' closeness, the movement of the hand, the way it tilts his face toward hades. there's a moment of surprise in his eyes.

for once he thinks before speaking.]

... no. It was taken from me when I was dragged from the battlefield.

[rottings]

[ without moving his hand at all, hades continues: ] Tell me.

[ it could be a question about just about anything. his eyes are as dark and deep as before, and he gazes into mitsunari's face without blinking. if it was a weapon confiscated from a prisoner (soon to be slave), it would be almost impossible to retrieve by normal means. it's a good thing hades is far from normal. ]

[outforblood]

[the question is vague, and hades' expression is inscrutable. mitsunari considers asking another question, but there's a depthlessness to hades' eyes that stops the idea in its tracks.

his mouth is dry. too dry. he doesn't move except to speak.]

When we were driven to defeat I no longer had the strength to stand. I could hardly stop them from taking it and discarding it, or hoarding it - whatever it is your soldiers do with weapons scavenged from the battlefield.

[he grits hit teeth for a moment, his voice thin and tight when he speaks again.]

I would not be surprised to hear it had been destroyed.

[rottings]

I would not know. They are not "mine", except in the way that "all" are.

[ that said, hades is not bound by the laws of space and time as most are, and certainly not so that he couldn't reach back and pull out a single item.

that's for a later, time, though. now, hades moves one hand under mitsunari's chin and draws his other hand back. ]

When you were defeated, what was it that you wanted most?

[outforblood]

The honor of death - that I would have at least been granted the chance to atone for my failures in the next world.

[the answer is automatic, coming out before there's even a chance for thought, and mitsunari pauses after he says it. then he glances away, jaw tensing in hades' grip for a moment as he almost turns his head.

his next words are tentative, almost grudging.]

And ... to take up my blade again and carve a glorious victory from that crushing defeat. To finish what I set out to do. To not die.

[rottings]

[ hades has no desire to see death, nor to cause it. he could say that he has no desires, and he could say he has desires, at different times. ]

The difference is yours. Do you see entry, and further travel?

[outforblood]

[there's a flicker of confusion on mitsunari's face.]

It seems more a conflict than a mere difference. [he doesn't like that kind of conflict.] Entry into what? Had I been given the chance, I would have marched a road of conquerors. Whatever end awaited me would have no doubt been glorious.

[rottings]

Whatever end..? The end I see is always rotting. [ hades reaches out to touch mitsunari's face briefly and smiles. ]

And that road may not be mine, but I stand beside it. Hmph.

[outforblood]

[mitsunari frowns, just slightly, and just for a moment.]

You speak of this rot often. [he tries to wet dry lips again, and fails again.] I have never really understood what you mean by it - unless it's not within my rights to know, what is it that you speak of?

[rottings]

You have known it. You know it, and you will know it.

[ deliberately, with neither hurry nor hesitation, he places a fingertip delicately on mitsunari's lips. ]

A vessel and a channel. Do you partake in pleasures?

[outforblood]

[there's confusion there again, as his fingers curl against the blanket on the bed in a moment's frustration at the lack of an answer.

mitsunari starts slightly at the touch, watching hades more warily again.]

Pleasures? [his mouth twists a little as he speaks carefully against hades' fingertip.] Rarely. They're frivolous ways to wile away time that could be better used.

[rottings]

Pleasures. [ he repeats, voice gone soft and dark. ]

I could give you time, if only to see... what ways you would take.

[outforblood]

[his expression doesn't change for a moment, until he parses hades' words, at which point his face goes faintly red.]

I - if this is your will, then ... I would not refuse your offer.

[rottings]

[ hades watches mitsunari's face color and doesn't move his hand away. after a pause, he slides his fingertip down, to the center of his chest and then over his heart. ]

Well?

[ he doesn't exactly expect initiative, but he asks anyway. ]

[outforblood]

[under hades' hand, mitsunari's heart is beating faster, even if he himself completely fails to recognize it.

for a second he seems to be judging his words, but when he speaks they're certain, if quiet.]

Yes. Use me as you see fit.

[rottings]

A blade, and a sword. [ is that some really bad genuinely vintage innuendo? maybe. ]

Lie down. [ he pushes at mitsunari's chest gently with his fingertip, urging him to tilt back. ]

[outforblood]

[if it was, it goes right over his head, never so much as glancing off him.

mitsunari complies wordlessly, lying flat as hades instructs. he never takes his eyes off hades, even for an instant, his face still red. he isn't so much suspicious as just uncertain.]

[rottings]

[ that might be for the best, to be honest. ]

Your body. [ hades looks him in the eye for once and smiles, hand slowly journeying down to a stop just above mitsunari's navel. he moves it to one side of his torso, then across. ] Rotting.

[ his expression doesn't suggest any sort of dissatisfaction with what he's saying, though. ]

[outforblood]

[all his suspicions about what hades means by 'rotting' are only made more confused by this, but mitsunari holds his tongue and doesn't move. so long as hades doesn't seem to disapprove, he won't argue.

he does tense a little at the touch, fingers curling slightly as if he expects a need to defend himself.]

[rottings]

[ it's not unexpected to see mitsunari reacting like this. hades didn't think mitsunari would be enthusiastic about it, anyway. ]

It is not excessive.

[ his hand presses down lightly against the front of his crotch, slender fingers feeling deliberately for his cock. ]

[outforblood]

[that makes him react - even though the touch is light, mitsunari's whole body stiffens; he breathes in sharply, almost a gasp, and finally looks away from hades.]

And is that ... acceptable?

[he shivers faintly, still trying to hold himself still and under control.]

[rottings]

Is it?

[ that isn't an answer at all. hades doesn't amend his statement, though, just runs a fingertip down the length of him. ]

It is a decision.

[outforblood]

[mitsunari's back arches off the bed slightly, his face reddening a little more. his hands are fisted in the blankets tight enough to whiten his knuckles.]

I leave such things ... to your judgment ...

[rottings]

[ he starts moving his hand, fingers tracing mitsunari's cock through the fabric of his clothes with slow deliberation. ]

You have departed, and abandoned, already.

But not this... hmph. [ hades presses down harder, just hard enough to be slightly uncomfortable. ]

[outforblood]

[mitsunari's body responds remarkably quickly. under the deliberate touch he swiftly gets harder, and at the pressure he can't quite bite back a groan even with the discomfort.

he tries to concentrate on hades' words, but they don't make sense. he fixes his eyes on the ceiling and grits his teeth just long enough to focus.]

-- tell me what you wish of me.