though you'll never die --

An EYE for an EYE, a leg for a leg, A shot in the heart doesn't make it UNBREAK.

"Don’t look back."

"I missed you."

"It’s too late."

"Please don’t go."

"You promised me."

"Who did this?"

"I forgive you."

"We were gods."

"Leave me alone."

"They found us."

"Trust me, please."

"I need help."

"Run. Don’t stop."

"It wasn’t me."

"I remember everything."

"Burn it all."

"Tell me why."

"You never called."

"It’s just rain."

"You owe me."

"She’s not breathing."

"Is that blood?"

"You were right."

"It ends now."

"We start over."

"Stay with me."

"Nothing feels real."

"I hate this."

"Do it now."

"They're watching us."

"Make it stop."

"It's not yours."

"I was waiting."

"He’s behind you."

"They’re all gone."

"Time is up."

"Bring them back."

"It’s our turn."

"This is wrong."

"Don’t let go."

"We are cursed."

"No one knows."

"You're not real."

"Don’t say it."

"I saw everything."

"Nothing ever changes."

"Call it off."

"What are you?"

"I found it."

" Hm. " Mephiles makes something of a noise of acknowledgement. Not an answer, but not a denial to one either. Mephiles faces away, shoulders tensed slightly by his sides -- contemplating an answer. It's not that he couldn't answer it, but the extent of that information... who is this, and why did they need to know? Eyes close and he folds his arms, thinking. " A bold question for that hiding his own eyes. "

Oh, how he'd smile. He had one respect for them, so far.

The  hall  starts  buzzing  with  confused  whispers  &   startled  questions  ,   nobles  &   simple  folk  scatter  away  as  knights  raise  up  to  surround  the  intruder  ,   sharp  ends  of  their  blades  keeping  him  in  place  .   Behind  them  Arthur  stands  up  in  urgency  ,   and  green  meets  green  as  both  demon  &   king  harbor  similar  surprise  ,   what  he  sees  is  a  hedgehog  ,   or  at  least  the  king  assumes  so  ,   but  it's  certainly  not  a  simple  one  ;   shade-cloaked  ,   dragon-eyed  .

Glided  gauntlet  raises  up  ,   and  the  room  gradually  grows  quiet  under  the  king's  order  .   He  doesn't  break  eye  contact  with  the  new  company  ,   his  confusion  turns  into  something  calmer  as  he  takes  matters  into  hand  ,   a  small  smile  gracing  his  features  .  The  day  was  getting  quite  dull  anyways  ,   what  a  welcomed  twist  of  events  .ᐟ 

A court. Knights. A king. His options are narrowed, but not by much. Eyes wander the tapestries before he locks eyes again. He has to say something, doesn't he? Or should he? In plain truth, he hasn't decided yet how he wants to play this. Oh, he has missed a melodrama. Perhaps...

❝ Wa-how. Based on that reaction alone, I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say the answer is probably no, ❞ Macaque chuckles, amused by how quickly the other shadow’s steely demeanor switched up. Truthfully, he has no idea where he’s going with this. He just wanted to see how the other reacted. But now that he’s got Mephiles all flustered and speechless, he just can’t help himself but keep going. Macaque grins, leaning just a liiiiiiiittle closer.

Oh, he must look so outlandishly foolish; whoever this is is getting their fair share of theatre, and the embarassment coupled with this anger only boils inside of him. But the manifestation overtaking that is still shock.