there is a monster in all of us

darius is dead, tell me how your muse is dealing with it | @slake-my-thirst​accepting.

—with the Hand, sapping just a little speed from his reflexes. He was still a towering mountain of a man, but that only made him all the better a target for the archers and since he *still* didn’t wear armor… This death was a foregone conclusion and he was fortunate that it had happened while Lord Vladimir played at death on the battlefield. Or perhaps not. Perhaps he would prefer to die nobly on the field than ignobly in any other manner but it was not a choice Lord Vladimir would afford him.

A hum resonated in his throat as the fingers rested in his hair. His eyes narrowed a bit to avoid any strands that decided to fall to his face. But they hardly did, all that happed was that his hair was an even bigger mess than it was before.

“If my lord commands, then I shall.” He says simply, reveling in the small amount of affection he was given after he had wandered away for a good amount of time.

It has been a while since he had stepped foot on the estate. He decided to explore his surroundings. Unfortunately, it had taken longer than expected.

( because the world needs more salt && complications. feel free to change up the context or pronouns! )

The lady turned towards the voice in a slow graceful motion, beautiful eyes fell on the stranger that was looking at her, she smiled at him before a soft voice left her lips “ One of those that you never forget “ she giggled.

The woman covered her mouth timidly with her gloved hand, long thin fingers were dressed in purple velvet. “Sorry, you took me by surprise. Em, the lady of shadows,” she said curtsying. 

♥︎ She wasn’t really sure what to make of his magic but having him move her leg without even touching her was certainly something. It was a nice trick, not enough to amaze her but it definitely piqued her interest. She couldn’t quite put a finger on who he was yet but hearing him speak, they must’ve done some things in the past and given the fact that he was still alive had to mean that she actually had once felt affection towards him.

Curious of who or better what he was, she took it slow again, stood on her feet once again but her arms were still on his body, caressing his arms as she looked up in his face. Her lashers waved playfully, already hungry to feel his skin and taste his essence. There was a smirk on her lips again, he definitely wasn’t reluctant and it was definitely tempting for the seductress to follow a man’s lead for once.

“Sure.” she groaned, voice so seductive it could make a man swoon right away. “Not like I need neither a bed nor a human for what I’ve planned with you.” A little snicker left her purple lips and a devilish grin once again stretched across her face as she walked ahead, her lashers tugging on the man’s clothing to make him follow her.

Maybe she was a little excited, but fun was so rare these days for a demon that had already seen so much over the past centuries. She didn’t really see the need behind an inn, was the street just as good of a place to get it going but he seemed to be rather orthodox. Interesting, indeed, that a being seemingly so old actually still had manners left. Something Evelynn had given up a long time ago. She would walk around naked for all she cared. “Tell me, Lord Vladimir, where do I know you from?” she asked, titled her head back slightly while walking towards the inn he had talked about; the only one she remembered in this area at least. “Must be a long time ago…~”

Her lashers let go of him again and she returned to his side, claws moved across his arm again and came to a rest on his shoulder. She waited for him to take the lead. If he wanted to act all old school, then he rather get them a room and the promised human to have fun with.

“Oh, for such a long-delayed reunion, a bed and some luxury seems only appropriate,” Lord Vladimir said as he followed after her. The movement of her lashers, swaying behind her and latched onto his armor, made it seem as if he were prey being dragged off to her lair for consumption.

But what prey would ever walk so willingly into a predator’s nest? Only a predator disguised as prey, confident that the advantage of surprise would cancel out the advantage of home territory. What happened when two predators feasted on each other? Would there be nothing but left but bones in the end, two mouths locked together and gnawing at each other’s teeth?

There was an absurdity to the mental image matched only by the horror of it. Lord Vladimir needed life essence to sustain himself but Evelynn, his dark demoness, fed off the same substance. By rights, they should have been in competition but life essence was not a scarce resource. There were more than enough humans for them to cooperate.

“Our first meeting was some thousands of years ago, my dear,” he said, paying her the courtesy of escorting her like a noble woman despite her attire and clear inhumanity. His tone was mild, containing more than a hint of amusement, and his smile was a little sly. “I cannot even quite answer what land it is we met in – it has had so many different names by now.”

He paused in front of a store window, polished to a bright enough shine to act as a mirror, and gracefully brought her hand to his lips so he could kiss the back of it lightly.

“You, of course, were just as lovely then as you are now.” More quietly, he murmured, “What do you think of that blue-clad boy on the street behind us? Rather charming, is he not?”

Who, actually, determined the value of things? 

Who picked up a Shuriman ritual dagger and deemed it more valuable than, say, his trusty blade that the assassin kept close at all times and entrusted his life to?  Had the desert dagger ever tasted blood? What could possibly give it more meaning, more value, than the blood it shed? 

Of course Talon knew there were certain factors that came into play when it came to determining the worth of things - none of which withstood a closer examination. 

The material it was crafted of? What good was a chalice forged from the finest metals when they poisoned the water one drank from it? 

Time and age? It’s not like owning something ancient would magically grant you more time or delay the date destined for you to meet your fate. If anything it prompted a line of sentimental, melancholic thoughts of time spent and time wasted. 

Which lead to the third point: personal value. Something Talon still struggled to understand, a concept he could not fully grasp. 

This was the point where he pushed these thoughts aside as they threatened to distract him from what was actually valuable: fullfilling his mission. Some huckster from Bilgewater Bay was willing to pay a handesome fee, a small fortune really, for this dusty old relic some adventurer had dug up in some ancient Shuriman temple ruins. The man had sworn it was rightfully his and the vendor, who was currently trying his luck at selling this ancient blade on the Noxian market place, had deviously snatched it from him while he had been sleeping. Frankly, Talon didn’t care one bit about who it rightfully belonged to as long as in the end the richly filled coin pouch belonged to him.

He mixed in with the busy crowd surrounding the vending stalls. Banter, laughter and chatter disguised the rustling sound of his coat as he gently slid it aside to protrude his arm and ever so slowly extend his fingers to try and get a hold of the object. 

The second his fingertipps reached its cool surface, a voice spoke up.

[“You.”]

He froze. It felt like this voice had been talking to him alone. Not a single doubt that he was ‘You’. The assassin tried to play it cool as he retracted his arm, straightening out his posture as he turned to face the source of the voice.

Gods, was he pissed. 

Not only did that jerk on a horse cut him out on receiving enough coin to eat like a king for a solid two weeks, he also made sure all eyes were curiously set on the assassin. 

This was a disaster.  He pursed his lips as he slowly approached the man.

“To whom do I have the honor of speaking?” His words oozed with sarcasm.

“I am the Blood Lord Vladimir.” The answer was delivered with a certain flair, Lord Vladimir having clearly expected Talon to know him by sight and a little bemused that anyone in this city should be ignorant of him. Was he not the monster on the hill, the living corpse in the castle? Had the people of Noxus so swiftly forgotten to fear one who had lived before their city was ever built? He frowned, setting aside that thought for later examination. He could take to the field again, displaying his powers and trusting to the power of gossip to spread word through the army and then the civilians, but a demonstration of his abilities right now would be more suitable and far more efficient.

This boy, however - he was far more interesting than the opinion of peasants. This close, that fractional touch of familiarity was bolder. It was akin to a single drop of red on a white wall but such a glaringly bright red that it earned attention out of all proportion to its actual size. In this boy’s blood, Lord Vladimir’s family lived still.

Ambria, so fond of flowers and forever scolded for dirtying her white gowns with grass stains as she knelt to pluck daisies off the grounds. Drastia, crowned with pearls and a smile so enigmatic that the moon would have envied it. Arkady, confident and hedonistic, the eldest son and least loved sibling.

Lord Vladimir had killed them all and now, millennia hence, it was hard to remember what it had felt like to love them.

(But he had loved them, he thought, or at least he had liked his sisters. Perhaps that was the closest a monster like him could come to love.)

He looked down at the boy’s eyes, at the red that was a flawless match to the family crest, and his thin lips curved into a smile. There wasn’t enough hemomancy in the boy to make him worth killing – he posed no threat to the monster that Lord Vladimir had become – and so, Lord Vladimir made up his mind swiftly.

“Who are you?” There was no sign of the boy belonging to a noble family, no sign that he would be missed should Lord Vladimir choose to take him home.