The Persephone to the King of Shadows [Social | Private]

Rima would take a deep breath of the chilled air, releasing it into a deep worn-out sigh. She was exhausted, as she had only taken two short naps the day prior. The aspiring magician would stop for a second to pull out the small black pouch she kept hidden away under her dress. It was where she kept all of her money and rarities, so she made sure to keep it hidden at all times under the instructions of her dear friend, Diana. “Looks like I have enough to hit up an inn tonight.” She would whisper under her breath, shifting her eyes towards the large building in front of her. Her eyes would catch the open window at the very top, the one that had a faint orange glow to it. The sight for some reason caused a chill to go down her spine, there was absolutely no reason for this that she knew of. That was, until she had finally noticed the ominous aura coming from it. The feeling was intense at first, but she simply pushed it aside as one of her many unreasonable paranoia attacks.

The magician would tuck a bit of her purple hair behind her ear, finally forcing her eyes off of the lit room. ‘Guess I’ll stay here tonight.’ she thought to herself, watching Set, her bat companion make its way up towards the top of the inn, flying past the room she had been staring at. The two have had enough time to bond and begin to trust each other, so she didn’t mind if he decided to stray away from her a bit, as she knew he was merely but a curious beast, one that always came back to her. Eventually, Rima would finally begin walking towards the inn and entering inside. It was a relatively large and fancy looking, so the more she looked at it the more she began to worry it might be a bit too expensive for her current budget. “Welcome! What is a beautiful young lady such as herself  doing here at this time of night?” A loud mustachioed man would yell out, making his way towards her. A confused expression crossed her face as she pointed to herself, as to ask if he had been referring to her. The man merely nodded and inched ever so much closer to her, clasping and rubbing his hands together.

“Oh, I assume you want my money.” Rima would say, laughing at her own absent mindedness. She would reach her slim and delicate fingers into the pouch to pull out the usual fee for these types of inns. “Will this cover it?” The man had finally reached her, glaring at the coins she held out in her hand. “Ah yes, that shall do.” He would say quickly, snatching the money out of her hands and placing a numbered tag in its place. “That’s the room that you’ll be staying in tonight, and if you need anything at all, don’t hesitate to come get me.” Rima wasn’t entirely sure why, but she was a tad bit skeeved out by both his appearance and personality. He just seemed a bit “off” too her, a bit creepy even.

With that being said and done, Rima finally had her room number and proceeded to start walking up the staircase. The hallway was fairly empty and barren excluding a single light source, making it give off a slightly eerie vibe. She began to make her way down it, eventually reaching the very last room. “Man, I’m beat. After Set comes back to me, I’m totally going to pass the hell out.” she would grumble to herself as she began to try turning the doorknob to her assigned room. ‘Huh, that’s strange..’ she would think to herself, realizing the door must have been locked from the inside. Her first instinct was to immediately begin knocking on the doorframe, in order to get a response if someone were already inside. ‘Ah crap, I hope I didn’t wake anyone up if they were asleep..I didn’t think of that.’

magoi: 380 / 380 | stamina: 80 / 80
WC - 681
7D0552

Even though Rima didn’t hesitate to knock on the door, she was not at all prepared for what was behind it. The silver haired man awaiting inside was unlike any man she had met prior, with silver eyes that pierced into her very soul like a sharp blade. Both her face and the Rukh around her turned a bright pink color, giving her a much more lively appearance than normal. The way she felt was strange and new, especially for someone who typically liked women instead. She tried to think about it for a second, but this was undoubtedly the first man to have ever made her feel like this.

A cold sweat began to form on the back of her neck as she continued to stare at him, even as he made his way over to the table and was pouring a glass of water for her. Instead of saying anything, she stayed quiet as she fast-walked over to the chair he had pulled out for her. Sitting down, she was surprised to find that the gentleman began pushing her in, as if he were some fancy waiter in an expensive restaurant. Her eyes then peered over towards the suspicious glass of water he had poured for her. She did her best to remember what Diana had warned her about beforehand, but she couldn’t quite remember the exact word she had used for it. “You didn’t impale this drink by any chance, did you?” she asked him, nodding her head as if to verify what she had just said.

Without even waiting for an answer from him, Rima would grip the glass in her hand and bring it up to her light-plum colored lips. The cold water entering her mouth was almost orgasmic, as she rarely had the chance to drink anything other than lukewarm water. “Delicious.” she would say, slamming the empty glass with a lipstick stain on the table. Clearing her throat, she would finally begin her brief explanation. “Um, this is my room, the manager gave me this slip of paper.” she would say, placing down a piece of paper with the number nine on it, or perhaps it was actually the number six. As she awaited his response, she would begin tapping her neatly manicured nails against the table.

magoi: 380 / 380 | stamina: 80 / 80
WC - 1065
7D0552

Adrastos chuckled lightly as he sat down and poured himself a glass. “I wasn’t expecting any company tonight, let alone an arrival from a beautiful woman such as yourself. It would make no sense for me to taint something I would have drank regardless if I received visitors. You saw me pour the glass, yes? Nothing was added or altered.” The magician refilled her glass out of courtesy in case she was still thirsty, but he remained attentive, his silver eyes watching and his ears listening to the soothing sounds of her musical voice, until the parchment was placed on the table.

The man set down his now empty glass to study the words on the document. Sure enough, this room was hers as the number read nine. Could Nox have mistook room numbers? The man should have had enough knowledge to know how to count, else he’d be wasted as a general for the Shadow Society. Though, the man at the desk was a lecherous individual and clearly leered at his female customers in a way that was impolite. He could have also given the same room, hoping to play Cupid to amuse his own foul fantasies.

Without a word, Adrastos slid the paper back toward the woman. He opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted when a young man with black eyes and hair entered. “I apologize, sir, I didn’t know you were expecting company,” he said, his voice matching the emptiness that lingered in his eyes. “I see you brought my wine, Tai,” the magician responded without looking at his subordinate. “Can you please set it down over here and hand me the document the manager gave you earlier?” The man, now revealed to be named Tai, obeyed silently. Before even looking at the paper, Adrastos spoke again. “You’re sure this is the room we are supposed to be in?” His voice was suddenly harsh, his tone hinting that a mistake, no matter how small, would mean punishment. “Of course, sir.” The magician’s face softened, his brief show of hostility gone, like it never existed, as he set the paper down next to hers, allowing her to see they matched. “It looks like we are sharing this room. Though I must ask you forgiveness as I never introduced myself to you. I’m Neo, a blue magician,” he said as he stood and stretched his hand out toward the young woman. “It’s a pleasure to meet you despite the awkward circumstances.”

Upon hearing the man’s response, Rima couldn’t help but feel a bit dumb. Of course she would have seen him do something, he did pour the glass in front of her after all. Despite her rudeness, the silver-haired man would still refill her glass to the brim. “Of course not, sorry for accusing you. I was being overly cautious” Rima would say, scratching the back of her head out of embarrassment. Despite her being genuinely sorry, she would still chug the glass of water placed in front of her in mere seconds. After finishing the refreshing liquid, she would simply push the glass aside in order to show the she’s had enough.

“Thank you for the water, but i’d hate to continue being a burden.” Rima would say, about to get out of her seat. However, the sudden sound of someone new would enter the room before she got the chance to get up. “I apologize, sir, I didn’t know you were expecting company,” After that, the two would continue mingling about matters that seemingly did not involve her, except for the room part. She wasn’t entirely sure, but for a second it felt as if the tone of his voice became ever-so-slightly hostile towards the man whom just entered. Who were these strangers? Were they dangerous? She didn’t necessarily get a bad vibe from them, though she could clearly see that the one before her shared the same blackened rukh that she did. She dare not ask about it, especially considering she didn’t even know if the man would understand a term like that.

“It looks like we are sharing this room. Though I must ask you forgiveness as I never introduced myself to you. I’m Neo, a blue magician,” The ever-so charming man would state, stretching his hand towards her. Rima would lift her dainty hand as well, stretching it out towards him. “The name is Rima, it’s nice to meet you.” she would say shyly, not very shocked to find out that he was a magician as well. He did look the type, afterall. The purple-haired girl couldn’t help but feel incredibly intimidated, by both Neo and the stranger lurking behind her. “I-uh, yeah it’s a pleasure to meet you as well. Sorry, if i’m being a bother..”

magoi: 380 / 380 | stamina: 80 / 80
A695AD

Adrastos lifted Rima’s hand to his lips to plant a gentle kiss upon the back of her hand and let go. “A woman such as yourself could never be a bother, Rima. Don’t apologize.” He gazed into her eyes, soaking in every feature of her face, and was unable to breathe. She truly was beautiful, but there was something else that pulled him, called to him. Was it her supposed innocence? Was it the opportunity to taint her and it offered a welcoming challenge? Was it the potential he could see in her? Her power? He couldn’t quite understand this pull he felt, but he wasn’t going to dwell too much on it in case he began to reexperience what happened with Noir Ecryola.

“If you need anything, I’ll make sure you have it, or if you desire sleep, please, help yourself to the bed. You need not worry about me; I’ll sleep on the floor across the room.” He smiled at her, his expression gentle and sincere.

A light pink blush fell over Rima as the man pressed his lips up against her delicate hand. As he did this, her chest would begin to feel slightly knotted. “A-A woman such as m-myself? What do you mean by that?” Rima asked sheepishly, trying to break eye contact with the man. She’d never experienced someone act like this towards her, it was strange and new. Clearly he couldn’t be dangerous, unless this was some sort of act. Diana had warned her that people might try to do something like this, in order to ‘get in her pants’.

“I’m feeling a little tired I guess, but you don’t have to sacrifice your bed for me.” Rima would say, taking a quick deep breath before continuing. “I really don’t really mind sleeping on the floor, I have a couple of books that can keep me company anyways. I’m used to spending the night outside, so the floor is actually an upgrade.” Saying the word ’book’ actually happened to give her an idea. Considering he had just offered to give her anything she wanted, maybe she could ask for some books off of him.

“Sp-speaking of books, do you maybe have any on hand? I was actually going to buy something new one to read earlier, but the shop was closed. I’m fine with just rereading the ones that I have, but I’ve been wanting new material for some time now” She felt sort of bad asking him for something, but he was the one who offered in the first place. Waiting for a response, she traced a black fingernail over the table they were sitting at.

magoi: 380 / 380 | stamina: 80 / 80
A695AD

Adrastos chuckled lightly, smiling. “I’d hate to sound like any other man, especially those that may have lustful intentions, but you are beautiful. Of course, there’s not just that… You seem like you have an aura around you that I just find welcoming and kind. That’s what I meant by that really.” He was honest in his response, but there really was no point in lying either. He wouldn’t gain or lose anything, making the act useless as a whole.

“Well, I can’t sleep in good conscious knowing you’re on the floor while I’m using the bed; it hurts my pride as a gentleman,” Adrastos professed. “Besides, if you think the floor is an upgrade, then the bed would obviously be a grand improvement.” He strolled to the bedside dresser and opened the top drawer. After pulling out a book, he thumbed through the pages. “I can’t say for sure if you’ll find it very entertaining, but here is my favorite. It’s an adventurous mystery story where the main character seeks revenge against those that slaughtered his family, but in order to do so he must scour the world for clues and hunt them down. If that doesn’t satisfy your tastes,” he added while handing Rima the book, “feel free to rummage through my limited stock in the top drawer of the bedside dresser.”

The magician returned to the window, and with a yawn, he stretched on the ledge. He didn’t want to hover over Rima or be perceived as rude if he stared, so his silver eyes were directed toward the quiet streets below. In the shadows, Adrastos recognized a familiar silhouette in an alley a block away. He tapped his fingers, watching the shadow disappear from view, and looked toward the sky, unsure of what to do.