#sxmniphobia

With the information he had learnt from his little faceless shadow, Phobetor had wasted no time obtaining what he believed to be the perfect gift for his little puppy. Sure, he might be able to think of something better if he thought for longer, but given that the holiday was apparently today, time wasn’t really on his side for that. Regardless, he had a feeling that Nick would enjoy the gift.

With a flurry of black feathers, the god flew into Nick’s room, swift wings carrying him so quickly that he seemed to just suddenly appear in the room. Allowing his wings to dissolve, Phobetor softly landed on the ground and took a few hops forward to get closer to Nick. “Puuuuppyyyyy~! Guess what a little shadow told me. Apparently it’s a holiday today in the mortal world. Something that starts with V, I didn’t care to remember the actual name. Though you probably know about it though, since you live here and all that. But the shadow also suggested something reaaaaally interesting.”

While Phobetor had seemed to be nothing but a flurry of activity in the few seconds that he had already been there, it was quite easy to notice that his hands were not joining in that rush of movement. In fact, both of his hands were hidden behind his back, though they were soon brought forward to reveal an object wrapped up in white linen. “They told me that couples give each other stuff like chocolate, flowers and jewelry on this day. I figured that getting a cute puppy like yourself chocolate wasn’t the best idea, and I already got you flowers…. technically. And just giving jewelry is boring, so I decided to do something better.”

Tail waving in excitement, the god held out the present for Nick to take, waiting for the hound to unwrap the linen. His gift wasn’t one that would even normally be considered as a present for any occasion—let alone as a show of his apparent love—but something told him that Nick would still be quite surprised to see a beautifully decorated metal scabbard and dagger when he opened the last fold. 

“It’s kind of ancient, back from waaaaay before you were created, but it’s still in good condition. I figured it might be more useful as a stabbing weapon than your scissors.”

Nick was trying to focus on reading through the file for his latest assignment, but on this particular day, he was finding himself too distracted by other thoughts to focus properly on his work.

Immortality typically didn’t allow for lasting relationships, but in spite of this, it was the first Valentine’s Day in a very long time that Nick felt a little…lonely. He’d never really been bothered by the day, as it was often easy to find someone he could spend his evening with. Humans had commercialized the holiday to such a degree that he rarely gave it a thought other than that, but this year was different. This year, he couldn’t just pick someone to have dinner with or to tempt into bed. Loyal as he was, he didn’t want to find anyone else to be his partner for the day, and he was beginning to think he would need to call out to a certain god to get a visit.

…Granted, Valentine’s Day wasn’t a typical holiday he would expect the god to know about, but that didn’t stop him from wanting to spend time with Phobetor on what most mortals considered to be a special day. He was being selfish, perhaps, but he hardly cared.

Just as he was about to give up on concentrating on his work, the fastest rustle of feathers he’d ever heard—followed by an all-too familiar voice—had him whirling around in his chair to face the sounds. Eyes wide with shock, he stared at the other male in his room, slowly processing the fact that Phobetor was here and he hadn’t even needed to ask. He’d heard of prayers being answered before, but this was on a whole other level.

He was equally shocked that the god knew about Valentine’s Day, and not only that, had made the extra effort to bring him a gift! Open-mouthed, he stared down at the bundle of white linen for a moment before accepting it, and the unexpected weight of it in his hands quickly transformed his surprise into excited curiosity. One hand worked to unfold the cloth while the other held onto it, and as he lifted up the final fold to reveal the dagger in its scabbard, his eyes lit up with wonder and glee.

It was gorgeous.

The detailed metalwork was unlike any he could ever hope to find on a typical dagger in modern times, and he reverently ran a few fingers down the side of the scabbard before carefully drawing out the dagger. The blade itself took his breath away for a moment, the gasp easily audible from anywhere in his room. Even the blade was beautiful—and it looked exceedingly deadly, which made it even more perfect. Moving as quickly has he trusted himself to do while still being careful, he sat the scabbard and linen cloth down on his desk. One hand now free, he gingerly ran a finger down the side of the sharp metal and shivered with excitement and anticipation, already imagining it in use by his hand.

“I have no idea how you got your hands on this, but I won’t ask. It’s perfect, not to mention beautiful. My scissors are custom-made, so they’re still better than most…but I guess I can admit that dagger will be far better for stabbing than they are. Thank you.” His smile wide, he carefully returned the dagger to its sheath, if only to give himself two free hands for showing his gratitude. His arms looped around the god’s waist, and he leaned in closer, bringing their lips together. He may not have asked for permission this time, but it should be allowed without complaint, he thought, since it was one way of saying ‘thank you’ for his present.

“Ah—I didn’t get you anything since this isn’t a day you would normally celebrate. I didn’t even think you knew about the holiday. But…if you’re not too tired, we can go on a date if you want.”

After accepting such an exquisite gift, his pride wouldn’t rest if he didn’t try to offer something he considered valuable in return. An idea of what he could do that might count as a gift—besides a date, that is—occurred to him, but he was reluctant to say it. He was a creature made from pride. It would go directly against the larger part of his nature to even offer it, yet he was also an immortal naturally loyal and—to an extent—subservient to those he deemed worthy, and Phobetor certainly fell into that category.

It was a matter of which he was willing to cope with more—accepting the gift and giving nothing in return, or his little idea. Since this was for Phobetor and the day was supposed to be about spending time with and giving to someone he loved… Perhaps he’d been living with humans for too long, but he knew what his heart wanted him to do.

@sxmniphobia, @horclogium

Chuuya knew what he had to do. He hated it with every fiber of his being, every ounce of any shred of humanity he had in him. But he couldn’t let Cardia continue in her current state. It already felt as if the world was crumbling around them, and he realized he had someone else to hate—the person responsible for changing Cardia into something far more powerful and destructive than she wanted to be. He couldn’t waste energy on that, though. Not right now; not when the fate of the rest of the world was at stake. 

“Cardia… Forgive me. I’m sorry…that you’ll have to see the monster I can become.” He had no idea if she heard him or not, but at this point, he couldn’t wait keep stalling. He couldn’t afford to think anything further, or else he might risk making an incredibly stupid, horribly selfish choice. He hesitated one last time, but it was only to remove the gloves he wore—the poison-proof gloves she had made for him—and hide them in what he hoped would remain a safe place. Slowly, he drew in a breath, trying to shove his emotions deep, deep down, and then he uttered the words that he intended to be his last.

                “O grantors of dark disgrace, do not wake me again.”

Less than a year of his life was normally something Nick would consider a trivial amount of time. It went by in the blink of an eye for him compared to the rest of his immortal existence. As one who could not die and did not physically age, time was of little importance to him—unless, of course, there was a certain god with whom he wished he were spending more of that time.

Dates in the Land of Dreams were perfectly fine with him, as it meant he got to see his erastês without the date cutting into either of their schedules—he was already asleep anyway, and Phobetor always seemed to have pre-constructed nightmares at the ready to leave some time available at night for a little fun whenever they had their dates. Being allowed to control his own form during these dates had its perks too, but even so, as real as they often felt, they weren’t real. No amount of dream manipulation could change that, and he was starting to miss their time together in the physical world. More than once, he’d woken up sulking, pouting, or both because Phobetor wasn’t actually beside him in his bed, curled up against him like a kitten seeking warmth. If he had an interrogation to do that day, the poor soul at his mercy had an especially rough time.

Damn his canine nature.

That was why he’d approached Phobetor the second he heard the recognizable whoosh of the god’s wings, and why he’d kissed without any hint of hesitation. It gave him a sense of satisfaction to know that he’d moved fast enough to temporarily stun the other male, and a small smirk turned up one corner of his mouth, a low chuckle slipping past his lips. “It might not happen every time.”

Feeling Phobetor’s hands on his face, he shuddered a little from the cool touch on his heated skin, but didn’t dare pull away, instead letting the hands draw him closer. His grip on the god’s hoodie loosened, and his hand lowered down, fingers trailing over the familiar shadowy form before both arms came together to loop around the other male’s waist instead. Red eyes locked with red, the happiness and excitement he couldn’t quite contain reflected in his own for the god to see. His heart skipped a beat at the sight of the black feathered wings moving to encase them both, and it was as if the rest of the world fell away in that moment, blocked out by the shadows and darkness that he was all too eager to embrace.

But before he could say anything else, he was silenced by Phobetor’s lips claiming his, effectively rendering him speechless for the time being unless he wanted to break the kiss right away—and like hell he was doing that this time. Sighing contently, he tugged the god closer against him and let his eyes slide shut. Perhaps he was foolish for dropping his guard so willingly around the feared god of nightmares, but although he knew how easy it would be for the tail around his waist to shift into a venomous snake—or for Phobetor’s entire being to shift into a massive, deadly monster, for that matter—he believed that nothing like that would happen. It had been over half a year since either of them had seen each other in their physical forms, and Nick had sorely missed moments like this. He didn’t even want to end the kiss to speak, relishing the way the soft, cool lips of his erastês felt against his own.

The two of them were quite literally like fire and ice, and he wouldn’t have it any other way.

Sleepless nights weren’t often a problem for Nick, but like many that lived in the mortal world, he was bothered by them from time to time. Such nights were inexplicable, brought on by a reason he couldn’t pinpoint other than the immense annoyance that came with that same inability to get some rest. In a huff, he tossed and turned in bed, ultimately burying his face in his pillow to muffle a groan of frustration.

Turning onto his side, he huffed again and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to will himself to go to sleep. It didn’t help, and that was when his nose caught the briefest, almost imperceptible whiff of a subtle earthy scent; something that reminded him of some sort of plant or flower. Before he could think over what it might be or where exactly it was coming from, all of his irritation faded away as sleep overtook him, the tension ebbing out of his body. Although he wasn’t awake to be fully aware of the kiss left on his forehead, his lips curled into a soft smile as though he still sensed it.

A glimpse of black fur somewhere on the floor out of the corner of his eye was his only warning before he felt tiny paws and claws grabbing at his clothes to climb up his side. Startled at first, he sat up straight in his chair and quickly looked around, trying to figure out where the animal had come from and why. Once he realized it didn’t have its own scent, however, he relaxed and let the little mink climb as it pleased. No scent could only mean one thing—a certain god had come for a visit, and he was happier for it.

In contrast to Jarvinia’s annoyance, Phobetor’s tail and grin gave hint to only amusement. With a swish and a twitch, his tail and ears returned to their feline version, the tail swaying behind the god. “I stand by my words. Your ears and tail are very cute and nicely groomed, and now that I can see your face, I can say that you have a cute face to match.”

✂ --- Mun Views ---

11. On your character.

Ahaha... Well, to be blunt, Nick is a dick. But he’s not like that “just because”—he has his reasons. I’m not defending his moments of cruelty by any means, because yes, he’s awful and I know it. But is his behavior justified to a certain degree? Yep, I’d say so. If you listen to “Control” by Halsey, I’d say it relates pretty heavily to Nick’s early childhood and what got him started on a personal need for control and independence. It just spiraled in the wrong direction after he was kicked out of his home. If he’d never been kicked out, things would have turned out very differently for him. Yes, he’s horrible, but he’s also a product of his environment. That said, he has his moments when he can be genuinely kind and precious under the right circumstances, and I love those moments—not just because they’re cute or fluffy, but also because they prove that there’s more to his character than just a sadistic bastard (literally oops) that loves to torture others.

As for his hellhound verse, I love being able to have the different verse and explore what he’s like with the changes to his character that come with the verse. He obviously has supernatural abilities, and his human childhood and past don’t apply. What he’s made of and the creature he is are what shapes his personality and behavior in that verse, so it gives me a chance to explore a side of him that can’t attribute much of his behavior (if any) to the early years of his life. And honestly, I absolutely love that he is literally a big puppy. :’D

12. On your own writing.