Beg Mercy [Closed] - Printable Version
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RE: Beg Mercy [Closed] - Tindome - 10-23-2019
"It does," the King conceded. He saw no reason to pretend otherwise. He'd always been clear about his nature.
"It doesn't mean only doing as you're told," Gareth felt obligated to interject, before Ren started feeling fatalistic about the whole thing. "Just look at Jamie."
"Yes," the King agreed. "Her will aligns with mine."
"They like the same things." He thought it best to put things in terms that made it sound achievable. 'Submission of will' would not sound achievable. 'Do things that make the King happy' sounded like something she could manage. She'd managed well enough today. He watched her warily as she shimmied along the King's wing. "Please be careful."
The King shifted the wing she wasn't balancing on.
"Please."
"It doesn't mean only doing as you're told," Gareth felt obligated to interject, before Ren started feeling fatalistic about the whole thing. "Just look at Jamie."
"Yes," the King agreed. "Her will aligns with mine."
"They like the same things." He thought it best to put things in terms that made it sound achievable. 'Submission of will' would not sound achievable. 'Do things that make the King happy' sounded like something she could manage. She'd managed well enough today. He watched her warily as she shimmied along the King's wing. "Please be careful."
The King shifted the wing she wasn't balancing on.
"Please."
RE: Beg Mercy [Closed] - SolitareLee - 10-23-2019
"Well," Ren informed them both. "If it makes ya feel any better, I'm real invested in not dyin'." Wasn't that the truth. If it wasn't the case, she wouldn't have survived all the things she'd survived and she never would have wrested enough control over her initial panic to stop the rats from rioting. The first week had been... Well. She was amazed, looking back at it, that anyone had thought her so worth keeping that they'd put up with the situation. And considering Gareth hadn't even known what she'd been working on that caused the explosion, she really had no idea why. "Ah," she said, nodding as if she understood and found this infinitely more palatable. She didn't think that she and the King liked the same things, except clearly in bed, and even then might just be when he was in a certain mood. For instance, she liked social uprisings and destroying the upper class, of which the King was the upperest.
Still. She might try. She had an idea.
"I'm being extremely careful," she lied, with seemingly no awareness or concern. "I'm cleaning his wings, where his teeth aren't. I dunno how much more careful I can be." As if to make a point, she shimmied out further. Honestly his wing was so big that she was willing to bet that if he held very still, she could tightrope walk all the way to the tip. She was very good at balancing. Although this was very hard on her core muscles, which had recently been the victim of quite a beating.
"If I fall," she said seriously, turning to look at Gareth over her shoulder. "I need ya to know it's cause ya dicked me too hard." She went back to polishing. "Do y'think if I held on really tight and you flapped, I'd be able to stay on?" she mused. "Don't try, please," she added, as an afterthought. "Gareth'll shit." She considered this. "Unless y'think it'd be funny, I guess."
She gestured between Gareth and the King briefly, seeming unconcerned that when she did so, nothing of her was gripping the King's wing. "How long you two known each other? I don't even know how old he is," she added to the King. "He doesn't tell me anything, y'know, other than that he dicks down other women regularly and that they're nicer than me."
RE: Beg Mercy [Closed] - Tindome - 10-23-2019
"I would be less concerned if you were near his teeth," Gareth said, "since you can't accidentally bite yourself." He regretted saying that immediately, sure that she would find a way. She would fall from his wing, directly onto his teeth, somehow.
"Stop begging for my dick and it won't be a problem," he snapped. He did not appreciate her making a good point about his culpability.
"You would not," the King said, and so did not move his wing. "Your tribute was strenuous, and my wings are strong."
Gareth nearly stood up to try and reach out and catch her.
"It has been thirteen years," the King said, which he knew only because they still celebrated the anniversary of his coronation every year. He loved an excuse for a party, particularly one centered around celebrating his presence. "He was nineteen, then. I am not surprised that he is popular. He was always much beloved by many in the castle, I have been told."
"If she wants to know things, she can ask me."
"I have revealed nothing that common gossip does not know."
"Stop gossiping with the servants."
"I will not."
"Stop begging for my dick and it won't be a problem," he snapped. He did not appreciate her making a good point about his culpability.
"You would not," the King said, and so did not move his wing. "Your tribute was strenuous, and my wings are strong."
Gareth nearly stood up to try and reach out and catch her.
"It has been thirteen years," the King said, which he knew only because they still celebrated the anniversary of his coronation every year. He loved an excuse for a party, particularly one centered around celebrating his presence. "He was nineteen, then. I am not surprised that he is popular. He was always much beloved by many in the castle, I have been told."
"If she wants to know things, she can ask me."
"I have revealed nothing that common gossip does not know."
"Stop gossiping with the servants."
"I will not."
RE: Beg Mercy [Closed] - SolitareLee - 10-23-2019
Ren, who was capable of doing basic math, blinked in surprise. "You've known him since the coronation? Were you a King's Guard back then?" She remembered it, although she'd been very young. She had been so fucking excited about a dragon being King, because of course she had been, she'd been like fucking seven or something. What an idiot she'd been. "I dunno why yer pissy about him sayin' yer a popular fuck. You tell me that yerself all the time," she pointed out. "Anyway, you were way too fuckin' relieved when I suggested y'both fuck me for you t'be thrown this kinda attitude. Honestly." She stood up, mostly to make a point. "How many times have you seen me up in rafters 'n' shit by now? I swear it's like you think I don't have any ba--"
So, it turned out, her tribute had in fact been strenuous, and her legs were still kind of wobbly, and also it was really fucking windy when standing upright on top of a dragon's wing on top of a mountain. With a blink of surprise, she lost her balance and toppled backwards into the water.
Even as she fell, she wasn't very concerned. She was aimed towards deep water, after all, and wasn't falling from that high. People did this sort of thing on purpose for fun all the time. It was, in fact, pretty fun. And they did say the best way to learn how to swim was just to be thrown into the deeps. She hit the water and kept her eyes shut, keeping Gareth's warning in mind. She kicked her legs and flailed her arms around a bit, trying to figure out how upwards momentum worked.
Given time, she was confident she would get it. However, she was not figuring it out as fast as she would have liked.
RE: Beg Mercy [Closed] - Tindome - 10-23-2019
"I was," Gareth said shortly. He preferred not to think about it. Everything between puberty and Avi's arrival was a bit of a blur. The transition of power... he tried not to think about that part. It was a confusing time. His memories felt like they'd happened to someone else. Maybe they did. Safer not to think about it. It was a dangerous time, too. Most of Leopold's court and his Honor Guard were gone now. The servants fared better. Some of them still called him Randy's kid.
A shame, they'd say, what happened to Randy.
He preferred not to think about it.
Gareth dove into the water as soon as she tipped into the air. He did not take his own advice, eyes stinging as he sought out her shadow. The crystals at the bottom of the spring still glowed in Avi's presence, making her shape more obvious. She was only a blur, but he could at least tell where she was.
He had not considered how difficult it would be to try and grab her while she flailed. He had also not considered that trying to save her himself was stupid. This became clear when a clawed forefoot swept through the water to grab her, wrapping around her waist. Gareth grabbed onto Avi's wrist, and he lifted them both up and out.
"I told you," Gareth said, trying to rub at his eyes while holding on to the King.
"Yes," the King said. "I did not think she would be as bad as that."
A shame, they'd say, what happened to Randy.
He preferred not to think about it.
Gareth dove into the water as soon as she tipped into the air. He did not take his own advice, eyes stinging as he sought out her shadow. The crystals at the bottom of the spring still glowed in Avi's presence, making her shape more obvious. She was only a blur, but he could at least tell where she was.
He had not considered how difficult it would be to try and grab her while she flailed. He had also not considered that trying to save her himself was stupid. This became clear when a clawed forefoot swept through the water to grab her, wrapping around her waist. Gareth grabbed onto Avi's wrist, and he lifted them both up and out.
"I told you," Gareth said, trying to rub at his eyes while holding on to the King.
"Yes," the King said. "I did not think she would be as bad as that."
RE: Beg Mercy [Closed] - SolitareLee - 10-23-2019
She kicked without thinking when something grabbed her, before realizing it must be Gareth. She'd recognize that grip anywhere, frankly. She had just relaxed into the grasp, eyes still closed, when something much different and startling swooped her clean out of the water. Gasping and still clutching desperately to the King's brush, she wiped her eyes off as best she could before opening. "Why did you jump in, you idiot?" she exclaimed, spitting gold-flecked water out of her mouth. "We're in here with a giant dragon! And I would have figured out swimmin', anyway! That's still how they teach kids outside the city, y'know? Did you open your eyes, you fuckin' assheaded--" She tried to wipe off the corners of his eyes the best she could without getting more water in them.
Then she glanced down at the brush and paled. She hadn't dropped it, because she had good instincts in some things, but it only just then occured to her that maybe she oughtn't of gotten it wet. "Oh, shit, I'm... I didn't think about... Is it okay?" She looked up at the King, looking pathetic as a drowned rat, which she pretty much was. She'd thought it would be fun to fall in, and it had been, but she hadn't been thinking about collateral damage at all. As she so often wasn't.
RE: Beg Mercy [Closed] - Tindome - 10-23-2019
"You weren't figuring out shit," he shot back. His eyes burned horribly—not just the sulfur, but the heat. He lowered his head against Avi's arm so it would be less obvious that they were watering.
It didn't count as crying if it was purely a physical reflex. Everyone knew that.
"Hmmm." The King regarded them both. "This is very serious. You have blinded your manager, and ruined my favorite brush."
"Bullshit it's your favorite," Gareth interjected. "And I'm not blind," he added in a mutter.
"Very serious," the King repeated, setting them down carefully at the edge of the spring. Gareth, blinking furiously, rested the fingers of one hand at his temples to cover his eyes.
The King lowered his head to touch Ren with his snout, paused, and then licked her.
It didn't count as crying if it was purely a physical reflex. Everyone knew that.
"Hmmm." The King regarded them both. "This is very serious. You have blinded your manager, and ruined my favorite brush."
"Bullshit it's your favorite," Gareth interjected. "And I'm not blind," he added in a mutter.
"Very serious," the King repeated, setting them down carefully at the edge of the spring. Gareth, blinking furiously, rested the fingers of one hand at his temples to cover his eyes.
The King lowered his head to touch Ren with his snout, paused, and then licked her.
RE: Beg Mercy [Closed] - SolitareLee - 10-23-2019
Ren paled further at the King's words, beginning to shake slightly in his claw. "I-I-I'm sorry," she stammered out, which would probably be another shock to Gareth. She had blown up a lot of things in the lab, even significantly injuring herself in the process, and the concept of an apology had never seemed to cross her mind. She clutched the brush to her chest like she could somehow bring it back to life. The King had literally just been talking about how hopeless she was, and how she was half an inch from being devoured at any given time. It was similar but somehow worse than the frequent gallows talk she was subjected to by the King's Guard. Gareth had mostly stopped, but he was the only one. The guards occasionally even jeered at her about it; one had even said it was ridiculous they hadn't snapped her neck alongside her filthy rats. And yet here, staring into the jaws that would do it, it seemed even more real.
"I, I wasn't thinkin', I just didn't wanna drop and break it, an' normally I could stay up there no problem, I swear, I just, my legs, and the wind, and--" she was rambling, she knew it, but she didn't know how to stop. "I-I'll fix it, or replace it, or, or, invent a new an' better brush, ask Gareth, I can invent anythin'." She stared over at Gareth for help, but he did in fact seem slightly blinded. Why had he jumped in? She'd never asked him to! This absolute idiot, she would have been fine. Either the King would have fished her out or she would have figured out how to get to the surface long enough to gasp a few breaths of air.
The King lowered his head towards her, and she curled up, holding the brush up above her bowed head like a talisman that might save her. The King's head came close enough that she could feel the heat of his breath, and she whimpered in mortal terror. The King, with slow deliberation, licked her. As if tasting her.
It was at that point that fight/flight kicked in over freeze. She set down the brush, slowly, as if she might make another plea... and with the kind of jackrabbit speed Gareth had seen from her before, she kicked off the ground and bolted. There was nowhere to run, of course, but she wasn't thinking logically in the slightest. She bolted for the rocks, eyes on a tiny crevice that she could conceivably stuff herself into. It wasn't a reasonable thing, when the King could just breathe fire and roast her, but it seemed the best idea at the time.
Despite her weak limbs, she didn't think she'd ever bolted this fast in her fucking life.
RE: Beg Mercy [Closed] - Tindome - 10-24-2019
As soon as Ren bolted, the King started to laugh, booming and roaring and loud.
"For fuck's sake, Avi," Gareth snarled, his eyes flaring hot and bright. Then he blinked. "Oh. That's much better." Whatever had been irritating his eyes seemed to have burned away.
"I know," the King said, totally unaware that this would happen.
"She's going to fall off the fucking mountain," Gareth said, scrambling to his feet. "It's a shitty brush!" he called after her, hands cupped around his mouth, though he doubted she'd listen.
"I will get her," the King said.
"Please don't."
The King had already pulled himself out of the spring and launched himself off the ground, leaping toward the rocks and over Ren's head. He twisted his body around, claws digging into the rock, so that he could look downward.
"You're not helping!"
"For fuck's sake, Avi," Gareth snarled, his eyes flaring hot and bright. Then he blinked. "Oh. That's much better." Whatever had been irritating his eyes seemed to have burned away.
"I know," the King said, totally unaware that this would happen.
"She's going to fall off the fucking mountain," Gareth said, scrambling to his feet. "It's a shitty brush!" he called after her, hands cupped around his mouth, though he doubted she'd listen.
"I will get her," the King said.
"Please don't."
The King had already pulled himself out of the spring and launched himself off the ground, leaping toward the rocks and over Ren's head. He twisted his body around, claws digging into the rock, so that he could look downward.
"You're not helping!"
RE: Beg Mercy [Closed] - SolitareLee - 10-24-2019
Falling off the mountain was a genuine risk. If there'd been any sign of cover over the cliff, Ren would have lept first and asked questions later. But she was dealing with something that could fly, so her instincts sent her underground instead. Not paying attention to any of the voices behind her beyond the King's roaring laughter--she was almost to the rocks!--she simply ran. She didn't let the burst of air from the King's wings distract her, or the way dust and rocks and a bit of snow swirled into the air. There was no point in looking back and no point in looking up because it wasn't like she could dodge him. Her vision instead tunneled in on the little crevice, barely wider than her slight, bony shoulders.
Then the King came down on the rocks, claws scraping against it. An actual animal, at that point, would probably have turned to scurry the other way, but Ren's focus was absolute. She took two more leaping strides, then flung herself forward, legs out, one forward and one bent underneath to help her slide. It felt like absolute insanity, diving towards the King. It was not comfortable sliding along rock, and she left some skin and probably some blood behind her, but her aim was true. With an alarming THUMP and a mini-explosion of dust and rubble, she slid right into the tiny hole.
The second she was in, she shoved herself backwards into it as deep as she could go, twisting furiously, kicking, even corkscrewing to get as far away from the entrance as possible. Finally, barely able to move, twisted in at the very far back corner of the little hole, she hid, ice-blue eyes glaring out at the entrance, catching light and sending it glinting back like a raccoon's. If there had been a single rat on this mountain, they would have been swarming to her, but as it was, there were just some squirrels near the base of it going absolutely hog-fucking wild.
RE: Beg Mercy [Closed] - Tindome - 10-24-2019
The King started to laugh again. "She has gone to ground," he informed Gareth.
"You realize she's probably hurt herself," Gareth said, not at all amused.
"Yes," the King said. "She does that, I have noticed." He folded in his wings until they disappeared, drawing in his limbs until they were smaller. A streak of lead ran through the stone, and lead dust was on his skin. He gave a full-body shiver to get it off of himself, took his hands off the stone one at a time to blow fire over them. Then he peered upside-down into the crevice, his hair hanging down in wet curls. "Should I smoke her out?"
Gareth would have been tempted to swat Avi with a broom, if he'd had one. The sight of him balanced upside-down and naked was unsettling. The cold air away from the water was biting into Gareth's skin. "Leave her be," he said. "Give her a minute to regroup and she'll come back out when she's ready."
He paused to think about this.
"Please come out before you freeze," he added, bending at the waist to try and see her better.
"I want her to run more," the King said, still watching her.
"Not when you look like that," Gareth said firmly. "You can't go chasing people naked through the mountains. It's… unattractive."
"You realize she's probably hurt herself," Gareth said, not at all amused.
"Yes," the King said. "She does that, I have noticed." He folded in his wings until they disappeared, drawing in his limbs until they were smaller. A streak of lead ran through the stone, and lead dust was on his skin. He gave a full-body shiver to get it off of himself, took his hands off the stone one at a time to blow fire over them. Then he peered upside-down into the crevice, his hair hanging down in wet curls. "Should I smoke her out?"
Gareth would have been tempted to swat Avi with a broom, if he'd had one. The sight of him balanced upside-down and naked was unsettling. The cold air away from the water was biting into Gareth's skin. "Leave her be," he said. "Give her a minute to regroup and she'll come back out when she's ready."
He paused to think about this.
"Please come out before you freeze," he added, bending at the waist to try and see her better.
"I want her to run more," the King said, still watching her.
"Not when you look like that," Gareth said firmly. "You can't go chasing people naked through the mountains. It's… unattractive."
RE: Beg Mercy [Closed] - SolitareLee - 10-24-2019
Ren had hurt herself, a bit, but she wasn't in the state of mind to notice. She was in a small, tight, dark place, and the threats were out there, but still a danger. She saw a face pop into view, and pushed backwards further, glaring. It took her a good long moment to register what that particular face meant. The King had shrunk down. To reach her better? She hoped the hole was still too small for him to fit, but he was talking about smoking her out. He didn't need to reach her, he could still kill her from there, and she knew it. She shook in her little hole, trying to suck in deep breaths and failing. Her lungs couldn't expand much, as cramped as she was.
"I'm not comin' out!" she yelled out to Gareth when he bent down to look into her little hole. "Go away!" It was petulant and stupid, but she wanted to be petulant and stupid in her dumb hole where bad things couldn't reach her. "I'll freeze in here if I damn well wanna! At least then I'm not gonna get eaten!"
It really was hard to breathe in here. This wasn't sustainable. She would have to stretch out if she wanted to get enough air, but if she did that, either one of them could probably reach in and grab her and drag her out, and she was ratless in here. She glared again at the upside-down face of the King, still shaking. "If you pour smoke in here, I'll just suffocate to spite you!" she yelled. She wasn't getting eaten today, goddamnit.
RE: Beg Mercy [Closed] - Tindome - 10-24-2019
The King dropped to the ground, twisting in the air to land on his toes and crouch obnoxiously in Gareth's way. His claws touched the ground, and dragged them idly to make sparks against the stone.
"Avi," Gareth said cautiously, leaning down against him to put his mouth against the points of his ear. "Leave her alone for a minute." Ren was clearly having some kind of episode. Playing the part of the frightened animal was interacting dangerously with Avi's instincts. Like dangling string in front of a cat.
The King turned his head abruptly to catch Gareth's mouth with his.
"Mmph!"
But just as quickly, he had let him go and was peering back into the crevice again.
"Will you?" he asked, exhaling smoke through his nostrils. "You worked so hard to breathe, earlier."
"Come back to the spring," Gareth urged.
"I want to see if she'll do it."
"Avi."
"Avi," Gareth said cautiously, leaning down against him to put his mouth against the points of his ear. "Leave her alone for a minute." Ren was clearly having some kind of episode. Playing the part of the frightened animal was interacting dangerously with Avi's instincts. Like dangling string in front of a cat.
The King turned his head abruptly to catch Gareth's mouth with his.
"Mmph!"
But just as quickly, he had let him go and was peering back into the crevice again.
"Will you?" he asked, exhaling smoke through his nostrils. "You worked so hard to breathe, earlier."
"Come back to the spring," Gareth urged.
"I want to see if she'll do it."
"Avi."
RE: Beg Mercy [Closed] - SolitareLee - 10-24-2019
The King crouched, and Ren tried to twist further backwards. It wasn't really working, but she was remarkably far back for such a tiny hole. His claws made sparks against the stone, and a whimper escaped her mouth and echoed out against the rocks. The fact that he was small didn't seem like much less of a threat, suddenly. She was aware Gareth was there, still, sort of, but it seemed unimportant, in the face of the much more obvious danger. Gareth might hurt her, but he would never kill her. He hadn't even threatened it in ages. The sight of the kiss, though, was almost enough to make her reconsider hiding--what if he hurt Gareth instead?--but not quite. She didn't like him that much.
She whimpered again at the threat, at the smoke escaping from him, threatening a slow roasted version of her. She tried to breathe, tried to expand her focus as far as she could get. Nothing. Some things, squirrels mostly, but nothing she knew how to force. She should never have let him take her up here, where there were no rats. What was she thinking? She didn't even have a distraction. "Please," she said, voice shaking. "It was an accident. I didn't mean to. I can make it up to you, I can, I can--"
She wished there was a rock she could slam down in front of her. Even the tiny, maybe foot-wide space was too much vulnerability.
RE: Beg Mercy [Closed] - Tindome - 10-24-2019
The King growled, opened his mouth to let the sound travel through his teeth and echo in the small space that held her.
"Does she plead with you this way?" he asked.
"No," Gareth said, and he was grateful for it. He wanted to hold her to his chest, and kiss her eyelids. His own eyes were coal-fires, his stomach in knots. It was foolishness to hate Avi for this. He couldn't help the monster that he was. He was a natural disaster, a thing to be accounted for and avoided but not managed.
It was foolishness to hate a wolf for eating sheep.
"Only for me," Avi said, pleased. "He doesn't understand us," he told Ren. "He's too civilized. He's domesticated. But I know a prey animal when I smell one." He grinned. "Will you come to me, Boldheart? Or do you like it too much when I take you?" His claw sparked against the stone again. "If I promise to give you a head start, do you promise to run?
"Does she plead with you this way?" he asked.
"No," Gareth said, and he was grateful for it. He wanted to hold her to his chest, and kiss her eyelids. His own eyes were coal-fires, his stomach in knots. It was foolishness to hate Avi for this. He couldn't help the monster that he was. He was a natural disaster, a thing to be accounted for and avoided but not managed.
It was foolishness to hate a wolf for eating sheep.
"Only for me," Avi said, pleased. "He doesn't understand us," he told Ren. "He's too civilized. He's domesticated. But I know a prey animal when I smell one." He grinned. "Will you come to me, Boldheart? Or do you like it too much when I take you?" His claw sparked against the stone again. "If I promise to give you a head start, do you promise to run?