Bloody Heart

Eren was trying his best to remain diligent. He was the one that was still coming, he was sure others did, but no one that he bothered to check on outside of him. As a Keeper, he was starting to feel....taxed. But it wasn't the work, it was the presence of something else. An unnerving sense of loyalty, sitting at the back of his mind. But he stayed quiet, he stayed true to what he thought he needed to do. A relic in a place that he wasn't exactly fit for; no one looked at him and saw anything but a druidic Keeper that needed to take his ass to the pyramid every day. A stone face that hardly showed anything, and to see it crack in anger was perhaps one of the few things that would happen recently. August would always look for a rise, and sometimes Eren would fall to it. "There is no attention in this. Can't say I'm desperate for yours either considering what that brought me last time." It was a nice reminder that he was here, despite August trying to kill him. Or whatever it was he wanted – feed him to the book. He would eventually stop, when he figured he'd gotten everything out of August that he could, and now, that was signing him up for something else. There had been a time where anonymity had been all he wanted, but that life had come and gone in death and blood. "Don't worry, I'm almost done visiting. You won't have to worry about seeing my dusty ass again." Eren made his way to leave finally, despite wishing to bore August with the same old conversation over and over again. Sometimes the druid just sat there in silence and read a book, other times he was annoying and hit a ping pong ball against the bars of August's cage. Nothing better than a scorned lover. "Soon, you might not be able to get any visitors."

"You said it, so it must be true." August could always tell when Eren was in the thralls of one of his tantrums; today was clearly one of those days, one quip and Eren was storming out. The druid had never been able to take a joke. Instead, he came, made some snide remarks, and was offended when that was all he got in return. At least when Vivianne or Bebe came, they talked about something other than how much they hated each other. Eren had said he'd be back every day until August died; apparently, in reality, it had only taken a month for the druid to get bored. Maybe Eren could finally get on with his life rather than holding onto former glories and a position that, in his eyes, was probably beneath him. August looked up from his book and towards the senator on the other side of the bars, "Get home safe."

Oookay, said a part of her, but it was void of any humour as now she only had a sudden desire to placate August and immediately put out whatever it was that inflamed him. But then, at the same time, there was another pang of relief in her at the sight. Life. He had energy, he had passion still. Medication in places like these had always worried Vivianne but it hadn't made him into a lifeless void. The paradox of these differing emotions hit her but all that could be seen was her slight shock and concern as she turned and shook her head, a hand coming up slightly in a placating gesture.

August's head moved back and struck the wall, it resounded with a steady thump before he repeated the motion. "Not her- no-" August's head struck the wall again, harder this time. "Him." He repeated this again and then again as the single syllable resounded from his lips. August had walked through the trenches of the Abyss, and wandered deeper than any other dared to sink his sinewy hands in the most base defilement that magic could offer. Madness was the price for power, the more of yourself you gave, the more of a husk you became, and August had emptied himself for what he wanted most. He'd heard the rattle of the dragon's laughter and took a knee before the effigy of devotion. August could hear him again and he struck his head against the walls, it felt like there were scales crawling under his veins as the witch's eyes opened to tears staining his cheeks. Peace? Safety? There was no such thing, there was no moving on, and there was no hope for those who'd sold their souls to the Devil. Him. Him. Him. Him. Him! HIM! HIM! HIM! HIM! HIM!

She could read it in his tone the: just stop. And Vivianne would have liked nothing more than to stop and to speak instead as though she knew what to say to him but she didn't. And, at the very same time, she didn't want to leave. It looked at those she were on the verge of tears for just a moment, but Vivianne collected herself quickly when it was only the relief overcoming her of just hearing his voice. Every time August spoke, every time Vivianne heard his voice, she felt such a swell of relief and joy that was almost incomparable. Only seeing Michael alive again and the rest of her coven well could compare.

"Would you look at that." Rhetorically stated as he looked towards the light that buzzed on the ceiling above, he didn't blink until it started to burn and only then did August draw his obsidian irises away from it so he could fixate on Vivianne once again. "Sovereign." Of all the things he might have counted on, the Alstroemeria Coven ever having a sovereign - ever having anything again - wasn't one of them. In those first few months in Rome him and Emory had broken in, the old wards still let him through and he'd watched for a break in the marshals that had been posted. Watched for weeks, that was how he'd met Eren; it all came back to that house that had felt more like a crypt when he'd walked through it. Defiled by unspeakable darkness in the months after the Asphodel claimed it, then wiped clean of anything after Theneras's explosives went off.

His voice, his looks. Vivianne fought the urge to swallow hard the despair as she noted the shadowy corners of her brother's eyes and the very apparent quality of his bones. Her mind yearned to visions of a chubby little toddler, the boy smiling as he managed to put together a wooden puzzle. A child of 8 that no longer saw or sensed her there but that looked so peaceful as he read his books.

"Vivianne." August sighed as the other rambled on, there was nothing in him left that could pick up on any changes of the other, it wasn't like he got the news in here and gossip didn't float around as freely as you might think. If August even cared to listen, as far as he knew, Vivianne was still a witch, she was still a sovereign, and she was still a senator. "They don't allow outside food." Just stop was written between the lines of what he was saying, besides, she knew the rules just as well as he did. Instead he just changed the subject because if there was something that Vivianne could give him then some peace of mind was a good start. "I've been reading, mostly. How's Yurena?" She hadn't come to see him and Augudst didn't blame her, he didn't want to see himself either but in here there was nothing but time for self-reflection.

"I should have said something." It's there and out in the air and it feels like it reverberates between the bars. They both know that if she'd had said something, things could have gone very differently. It's not something she likes to dwell on during daylight hours, that he very well had seemed so far gone that she was lucky to still be around at all. That he'd just sent her away as a form of isolating himself. "But it's over now and it's back to just you and me." Bebe's voice is quiet and despite the situation, there's this fondness in her ample chest at the idea of it. They were back at square one, rather mundane this time with him being but a mere mortal, but still.

"You couldn't have stopped me." Bebe could have tried, but the witch had been lost the moment he grabbed the spine of the Necronomicon from his father's hidden vault. Maybe even before that. Bebe's remorse was ill-placed but they were right that it was over now, it was all over; August was going to spend the rest of his life in this cell and while that was precisely what he deserved, Bebe coming into her own was what the demon was owed. That, and a very expensive vacation somewhere. "And Eren, apparently; he won't leave me alone." No matter how many times August sent him away or begged the guards not to let the senator back in, there he was.

"Do you think they'll let me stack up my retirements?" Eren hummed, pretending like he was thinking about the subject before tilting his head and looking down where August sat. The bars of the cage reminded him of another time, they'd never been good at remaining at the heel of someone else's orders. Shackles and sword, blood and sand, Eren already knew August was probably judging him. Something about living in the past and all of that. Unfortunately, the keeper was a walking relic and refused to try and adhere to the modern world. He'd lived lifetimes in the ancient ones, and just because there was one single modern one didn't mean a thing to him. But August did, somehow finding him amongst the vestiges of Rome and a broken coven had made Eren stay once more. And still, he remained. The druid hadn't broken any barrier of touch, anything that would make him falter despite the fact he'd been annoying August for months now. "They like to volunteer people to hand out food to the homeless on Sunday mornings, the Senate loves giving back to the community. Might sign you up for fun."

"Funny." August dismissed as he looked down at the ground between his feet, the cold of the stone nestled neatly beneath the soles of the standard-issue-glorified slippers that they handed out. He still resented this; Eren's visits and the time he took out of his days to come here. All that glory that his former lover once held was neatly distinguished by the need to pilgrimage to these four walls day after day. August had asked the other enough times why he was here that it felt pointless to keep talking in circles, this was their life now and he'd sooner be dead than give back to any sort of community. Especially this one, his remorse didn't extend that far. "You could never retire," August sighed, "you like the attention too much."

It all reminds her of her conversation with Lucretia. She'd told her that everything was fine, it wasn't, but it was. Because Bebe wouldn't allow herself to be so mistreated again. Whatever was left of her spine had been repaired over the course of that damn war, perhaps when August had first untethered her. Her weight shifts from heeled foot to heeled foot as she stands there before the bars of his enclosure, glossed lips pursing. Her phone goes back into the front of the hot pink number she'd put on and she looks to him squarely. "I know you are. And I forgive you." Which sounds ridiculous out loud. Her of all people? Forgiving? So many years had been spent selfishly because she'd bet on the right horse, had been attached to the right witch. Other familiars and their own witches had been thwarted by the two of their actions and she'd never thought much of it, it was just business. It was all just business until August had gone after that village. Until what was left of him was gone. This man though before her curled in a cell, there are flashes of the boy she'd once knew. "I forgive you." It's said with more confidence that time, with a nod of her head.

"We never should have come here." The thought had been running around his mind lately that this had all been a giant mistake. He had somehow damaged every life he'd come into contact with. "Now I'm going to spend the rest of my life in this cell." August had poorly wanted to get to the root of his father's disappearance and the old coven where he'd been born; uncovering the truth hadn't been enough; he wanted power, and he felt vindicated in pointing the finger in every direction but home. At least that was the case back then, but now, for the first time in his life, he was free of Pythia's influence through his blood and the Necronomicon. All August had was his thoughts and more regret than he could ever contend with. He sighed as his head tilted back against the wall as he fixed his gaze on the ceiling above.

Date: January, some time Location: Wherever August is mental healthing Characters: @augustcavaliere & @seeingvivianne Notes: :(

Outside the barred windows, there was snow falling, a chill permeating the concrete walls, and the sterile environment with such classics as a cat calendar that said "keep hanging in there" as the cat hung by its claws from a bar. Vivianne wasn't a surprise to see; Bebe had been there every day, and he'd heard from one of the nurses that a sovereign had passed through when he was first admitted. August couldn't blame her for not sticking around, he didn't really want to see himself either.

"Not really, seeing as how this punishment is for you, not me." Seeing Eren every day had to be everything the former witch hated anyway. After all that August had done, could he say he was genuinely happy to see the druid? Eren didn't think so. But this was the best way for the Senate to let him take care of his own issues, in his own way. He tilted his head now, watching as August took his lonely place back in his cell. Barren and grey, much like a mortal life would be without magic. Eren didn't wish this upon August, but it was a consequence he'd try to save him from. Anyone else would've killed August instead of jailing him, but the Senate liked their circus and their clowns, so the former necromancer remained.

It was small, but August managed a laugh that came across as more of a prolonged scoff. Progress was progress, so he didn't think anyone could begrudge him that. Seeing Eren was difficult; there were lifetimes of pain tied up with the other, broken promises, and unfulfilled vows. They never should have gotten here; the mortal and the druid were both past expiry now, yet they remained here. August was in this cell, and Eren was another sort of prisoner entirely, who'd convinced himself that he wasn't punishing himself as much as he was punishing Eren. "You might as well start working here, I heard the senate gave everyone dental now. Pension must be good." Old fuck.

"You don't have to say anything." She shakes her head, her perfectly curled hair tossing over her shoulders as she does. "Because I have plenty to say." There's been more that's she's been saying while he's been just laying there. That has been keeping him up to speed on what was going on in the city, this was personal. Standing there before him in her Valentino platforms, her hands clasped in front of her. August is going to sit there and listen, he is going to hear her out and then she is going to leave him to think about it, that's the plan. And she is not going to cry, she has a speech prepared. So she pulls her phone out from the front of her dress and pulls up her notes app. "I once told you when you were a little kid I wasn't going to ever leave you. And I stood by that. But I stood by and watched that boy disappear." Bebe has to look upwards, flutter her lashes a couple of times before she looks down again. "I love you. You're my family."

August remembered that boy he'd been, young, precocious, and inquisitive. That curious mind had led him down darkened paths, but the witch had been doomed from the start, born into an infernal pact with Pythia; maybe this precise situation was inevitable from the start. August had heard that Bebe had become a senator, that for the first time in centuries, demons were rallying behind a figure that wasn't some deranged ruler of the Inferno... But that was also dangerous, given the current situation. He'd spare her any lectures, she didn't need them, and August was the last person who should be telling her what to do.

Useless and weak, that was music to August's ears. He still didn't know why the druid had resigned to continue to come here. August remained unconvinced that this wasn't more about Eren's ego than anything else. He always had to win, he always had to be correct, and he always had to be the one that was left standing. August sank back into himself; anything he said or offered would sound like a criminal's desperate plea for release. Eren and Bebe sat on the senate, but neither could help him now; August had gotten himself into this situation, and he would either need to get himself out or find a way to live within these four walls alongside his consequences. "They'll come to me, eventually." Those who'd signed their name in the book but had tried to walk away wouldn't have much choice. "I'll see you tomorrow, Eren."

August was incorrigible as ever, but that's what kept Eren coming back every day anyway. The druid knew that the other knew him best, that it was Eren who hadn't changed as much as August had as of late. It put him ad a disadvantage, but the truth was, he'd always lay everything out for the former witch. Seeing him every day would probably annoy August, or at least Eren hoped to annoy him. It was how he kept it all alive, anyway. Every word spoken to Eren throughout those untimely years had cut him like knives, wounds that still openly bled even though he stood in front of August somewhat whole. There was never a plan, never a moment he didn't know what to do or say, until this life. Old and tired, August had called him, philtatos, poison laced and it'd done its job. "Tomorrow. And every day," he murmured, turning now to leave. Tomorrow would be another day, another conversation.

There was guilt and regret in Eren's heart; he could feel it tug at him sometimes. At his exterior that he tried to put up towards anyone that approached him. He had always been tired, this mention over and over again about what was left of what he had. Eren had known death with the fire of vengeance in his heart, knowing he'd be able to come back and try again. He was always meant to be a druid, the power of nature beneath his skin, elements to his will, so to be powerless – he could understand August's fear of what would come. It wasn't the prison, perhaps, but the fear of sitting with himself and only his thoughts.

Useless and weak, that was music to August's ears. He still didn't know why the druid had resigned to continue to come here. August remained unconvinced that this wasn't more about Eren's ego than anything else. He always had to win, he always had to be correct, and he always had to be the one that was left standing. August sank back into himself; anything he said or offered would sound like a criminal's desperate plea for release. Eren and Bebe sat on the senate, but neither could help him now; August had gotten himself into this situation, and he would either need to get himself out or find a way to live within these four walls alongside his consequences. "They'll come to me, eventually." Those who'd signed their name in the book but had tried to walk away wouldn't have much choice. "I'll see you tomorrow, Eren."

Person: @augustcavaliere Location: Prison note: you've been a very bad girl gaga It's not so high security anymore which both worries her and gives her hope they can finally get him away from a set from Gaga's Telephone video. Her heels still clack on the cement floor, a downgrade from tile but she'd take it because she sees him behind bars this time. "Well I'm glad you're out of that other place, was starting to think I'd have to start signing my name on the visitor's check in as 'Clarice'." Standing there before him, arms crossed over her chest, her teeth briefly chew at the inside of her cheek. "How are doing?" It doesn't feel right, that she can't feel any magic coming off of him anymore, that there's just nothing between them.

Bebe's was the only name on the visitor log; when August finally came, they'd told him she'd go regularly. Bebe had sat with him, gossiped with him, and treated him as if nothing had changed. The truth was everything had changed, and given his current state, he was glad that, at least in his madness, the former necromancer had taken steps to ensure Bebe's safety. Even though his power had been destroyed, the talisman he'd crafted for her would hold. Few were in the realms capable of channeling the necromantic power required to destroy it. Bebe was free, and here August sat metaphorically in chains.