#i;games

     Shit. The male had been entrusted with one simple job. Get in, get the item he was instructed to retrieve, and get out without even the slightest trace. However upon a closer look of not only the item held in his clutching grasp, but his surroundings as well-- something felt amiss.

     Roman numerals etched along an, admittedly well crafted, but standard face. Hands far too common; too familiar to be anything that was even near spectacular. The monotonous tick-tock....tick-tock...that was far too well known. Drapes obscuring the the window positioned to his left made from obviously cheap material. Worn chairs upholstered with imitation leather; a table just barely standing on cracked legs; a minimalist's dream-- were it by choice rather than otherwise.

      This was not the item he had been in search of. Hell, this wasn't even the correct location. "This is what she gets for trusting information from that idiot!" He couldn't help but exclaim in the face of the clock, returning the item to its niche without care.

     Only to hear footsteps trailing after the fading thump. The creaking of door hinges having gone unnoticed. A voice, clearly surprised by the male's presence, ringing out and bouncing off every poorly painted wall.

                                                 ❝I know you'll never hurt me.❞

     It had only ever been said in passing; a brief moment in the middle of a grander conversation, but of course it was genuine. Luhan about the other side of his husband. The darkness and madness that resided within the man he loved so dearly, but he'd never viewed it as any sort of threat. He knew Jonghyun better than he knew himself-- better than he knew anyone else in the world. And even with the knowledge of this other persona, never did the brunet think himself in danger.

     Now as he stood before the blond, the faint light provided by street lamps reflecting off the unusual mask Jonghyun wore, Luhan was struck by the other's words. "I don't want to hurt you"? So that's what it was... His prince; his cheesy, dorky, greasy puppy; the love of his life...had been overwhelmed by his own madness. And it was all thanks to that god forbidden mask adorning the lower half of his face. The taller of the two was sure most would run away in this situation. He was too aware of the threat Jonghyun could pose to anyone else he may encounter in this state.

                                                     But not him. Never him.

     Without hesitation, Luhan took the several steps or so it took to put him directly before his husband. Creases were deeply etched between his brows; not with anger nor fear. No, something else entirely. Determination. The brunet allowed his orbs to travel over the other, taking in the various splotches that painted his dark attire. It was quite obvious what had been the cause, but he didn't dare to mention it. Not like this; not when his husband seemed so...fearful of actually causing him harm. The brunet slowly raised his gaze until he was met with crimson orbs. Cautiously, more for his husband's sake than his own, Luhan raised a hand-- finger tips caressing over the mask.

                                         ❝They're around here somewhere!                                You! Search over there! You two! Over there!❞

     The sound of synchronized boots trampling across the hard packed soil served as an ominous soundtrack for a moment. They were getting closer; the blackened tips of spears peeking out from bushes, an authoritative voice followed by words of confirmation. And yet there sat the brunet with sprigs of green sticking out from his hair, his back pressed into a bush decorated with blackened blooms. His chest heaved with each processing of breath, brows furrowed while concentrating on each sound. From the sounds of it, they were heading in the opposite direction now. A god send really.

     Luhan jumped at the familiar voice beside him, turning then to be met with a worried expression. Bleeding? Ah, that was when he felt it-- the sharp, stinging sensation located just below his ribs. Sticking out from his crimson soaked shirt was the broken half of an arrow, lodged quite deeply into his flesh. With a shaky laugh, the sound containing an obvious note of hysteria, he reached down to slowly remove the weapon; teeth gritted against the pain, cheeks draining of all colour once the vile object was removed.

     "For today, Han, you'll be on ALICE duty."

     Such a tedious task meant for those that only just barely ranked above those useless cards that called themselves soldiers. Of course he had asked why, for the third time, he had to be in charge of such a thing. And, of course, his benefactor had given him a reasonable answer-- which was rare and far between in this land. The ones that were meant to be watching the foyers were far too busy she had said. With what? Fixing the very problem that was putting Luhan in this position. He wasn't the least bit surprised that it was even their fault, but that didn't stop him from feeling frustrated and pushed to his wit's end.

     "I suppose," he mumbled to himself in the otherwise silent area, "that it's less stressful than the usual job. But still!" The male's words echoed through the darkened foyer, bouncing off the walls only to return to their owner's ears. For the past hour, the young male had sat in the exact same wingback chair. Black-- to hide the stains he supposed, but it didn't exactly do the job. As the thought passed through his rather muddled mind, a long fingertip traced one such stain that appeared on the arm of the chair. Darkened brown eyes then trailed around the room, finding matching splotches scattered about the black and white checkered floor. "When's the last time anyone even cleaned this one...?"

      Shoes scuffing across the tiled floor caught his attention then, slowly raising his gaze to an approaching figure breaking through the darkness before him. A look of surprise settled itself in Luhan's features, finding it almost fascinating that he was n the presence of a Rare one; one that was actually able to survive the fall. Though it had only been a handful of months or so since his first visit to his homeland, the male had only heard of possibly five or six ALICEs that were able to find their way in unscathed. Even the tone of the-- he assumed-- female's voice seemed steady and didn't betray the owner possessed any sort of injury. The question, however, brought only amusement.

      Pushing himself up from the chair, Luhan tugged at the hem of his shirt in an attempt to straighten himself out. Pink lips spread to reveal perfectly whitened teeth, nearly glowing thanks to the dim lamp sat beside him on a small table; the eerie glow slowly spreading out to encompass the young girl that now stood before him. Though the bow of his head was polite-- "You mustn't frighten them before the time is right," that tyrannical woman often preached-- the words he spoke were heavily entrapped within a laugh.

SEND ONE OF THE FOLLOWING FOR MY MUSE’S REACTION (REALLY ANGSTY VERSION)

SEND ONE OF THE FOLLOWING FOR MY MUSE’S REACTION (REALLY ANGSTY VERSION)

Urgent wails of a siren could be heard in the distance-- closer than they had been only several moments ago. From the corner of his eye, the male could spot the tell tale red and blue lights. How had this even happened? Earlier in the day, everything had seemed perfectly fine. Luhan had called his friend-- well, more like a daughter if he were to truly think about it-- to spend some time together. It had been too long; he wasn't sure what prompted him to call, but he hadn't regretted it either way.

Hours after they had agreed to meet, the male had stood at the restaurant entrance with a scowl deeply engraved between his brows. Of course. For one reason or another he hadn't even been surprised that the woman didn't show up. It wasn't that she was one he couldn't trust to keep plans, it was something about the day. As nice and normal as it all seemed, that should've been his clue.

It was his fault for not noticing the signs. His fault for not questioning often enough how the the older was doing. And his fault for not protecting her like he was meant to.

SEND ONE OF THE FOLLOWING FOR MY MUSE’S REACTION (REALLY ANGSTY VERSION)

"...I'm not even sorry."

Perhaps there was a time when the brunette believed every single human being to possess more goodness than bad. He wondered just how naive he had been to believe such a thing? Staring at the woman before him, her words proven to be true in the unapologetic expression she wore, he had a strong urge to smack his younger self. How could he ever think that these-- people...had any sense of decency.

"She was right..." It was nothing more than a whispered thought, ignoring the other's presence for a moment. The brunette's mind began to wander back to a conversation he had some months back. At that time, he had actually exerted a large amount of energy to defend the people he had spent his entire life around. He saw them as lovely even with their many flaws and overtly deceptive ways. But even then he'd had his doubts.

"Think of it this way..." the tyrant of a woman had began, chin resting on a loose fist-- the bored expression making it quite obvious she had no real interest in this topic. "In the short amount of time that you've known of us, have any of us been quite so sneaky in our pursuits? Even that goody-two-shoes of a sister of mine has her own agenda. Now ask yourself-- how many of those people have gone behind their back for what they want?"

A chuckle left him then, not even an ounce of true amusement within the sound. She had been right of course. Even his own parents had never been truthful with him; as a matter of fact, the only person he could say he trusted with his life and truly mean it was his husband. He looked back to the older woman, his lips curved into a smile that was miles away from reaching his eyes.