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

[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]

If so, it will be to your advantage. [ which is as close to outright approval as hades will get. he sends mitsunari a soft smile and turns back towards the entryway.

most of the rest of the evening will pass in similar talk. hades only interjects comments occasionally and mostly just tries to push the discussion on with cryptic statements. ]

[outforblood]

[mitsunari pauses at that smile, at the almost-praise, eyes widening a fraction momentarily. his thoughts rile and settle, and then he's back to his normal state of barely-restrained anger, of tension and distaste for this dinner.

he follows hades, and listens from a distance, and glares at the floor when he hears things that he considers objectionable (almost everything). any meaning in hades' own subtle comments escapes him entirely, though he does listen to them intently.

as the night wears on, people start to leave. he takes to watching them as he listens, counting their number, trying to remember who's who - and who's leaving with who.]

[rottings]

[ hades leaves the house slaves to clear dinner, picking up a few nuts to eat on his way back to his room. he gestures with his head for mitsunari to follow along with him. ]

Have you eaten?

[outforblood]

[it takes him a few moments to realize hades' gesture is for him, and he starts briefly before glancing around the room. (but it's being taken care of; this is not his duty.) he follows after, a little slower as he contemplates all he's heard and what is worth telling hades.]

No. [he idly curls his hands into loose fists, lets them uncurl.] It seemed unimportant.

[rottings]

What was important, then?

[ hades keeps walking towards his room, but on their way he pauses abruptly and turns to face mitsunari. he extends a pecan in his fingers towards his mouth. ]

[outforblood]

The work you set before me --

[he stops a moment after hades does, startled, instinctively pulling away from the proffered nut like it's a threat.]

... what?

[rottings]

It's a pecan.

[ he just keeps extending his hand further towards mitsunari, expression unchanging, before he stops quite abruptly as if he's just thought of something. ]

Would you prefer walnuts?

[outforblood]

[mitsunari keeps leaning away until he can't anymore, not unless he takes a step back, staring at hades in bafflement.]

I'm not hungry.

[rottings]

You say that quite often during mealtimes.

[ he retracts his hand after another moment, watching mitsunari with his flat black eyes before turning and continuing to walk. once he reaches his room, he waits for mitsunari to enter behind him before taking a seat on a cushioned lounge. there's two other seats for mitsunari to choose from, if he does. ]

[outforblood]

I am often not hungry.

[hades' pause gives him pause, but he follows anyway, returning to hades' private rooms in silence.

he takes neither seat, and contemplates what he's heard, watching the wall past hades without seeing it.]

... some tonight claimed your family has far less power than it truly does. What they hope to accomplish through such ridiculous lies escapes me.

[rottings]

[ hades matches mitsunari's thousand-yard stare with a long gaze of his own, eyes focusing on some point neither on mitsunari's face nor behind him, somehow stopping behind his eyes.

after a moment's pause, he blinks and turns to look out the window instead. ]

Lies are spoken and written for their own purposes. Selfish desires, or generous ones, perhaps. They will pass without substance guiding them.

[outforblood]

Pathetic purposes, then, with deceitful goals.

[his disdain is clear and hateful, and he falls silent again to wrangle that into something worthwhile. he heard more than he imagined he would.]

Others claimed much the opposite, but only in whispers. That your power is too great. Unfounded. Undeserved. Most of them, I noticed, left alone, regardless of who they had come with.

[traitors. his tone betrays him.]

[rottings]

If it is a goal, is it deceitful?

[ hades gives him a soft smile and extends a hand towards mitsunari's face—not holding a pecan this time. he can't reach up quite far enough to touch his face, but his fingers hover a few inches from his jaw. ]

Whether it is undeserved, or otherwise... what would you say?

[outforblood]

Deceit is the goal, for most.

[he almost doesn't notice the movement, caught up in his own anger, but the fingers nearly brushing his jaw make him start and watch hades very carefully again.]

Of your holdings? It is not my place to judge such things, but ... I have read the histories you permitted me. Your family earned what they have through strength of every kind. If they wish it for themselves, it's up to them to take it with equal strength.

[rottings]

And of deceit as a means... I suppose you would think of that, as well.

[ he makes another considering noise and gets to his feet, fingers now brushing mitsunari's jaw. if the man is angry, it isn't for hades' or his family's sake. at least—that's what he can gather. ]

What of your means?