[closed/complete] Characters: Morgause [rundesirerun] & Tezcatlipoca [ tezcatlipoca] Date/Time: Thursday evening. Location: Family home, Niflheim. Rating: R Warnings: Mentions of cannibalism, violence and torture. Summary: Tez is all about art.
Few others could compare their living arrangements and families to hers. Morgause carried an immense amount of pride in those related to her, from the bold to more reserved but still adventurous. And when it came to the living arrangements, who else could boast of housing not only their immediate family but close branches as well? To be fair, when it came to close branches, there were often very few members who lived with them but she welcomed them all. Echo was practically considered her daughter at this point.
A glass of wine in one hand, she was moving down the stairs with the intention to go into the conservatory. At her heels was one of her dogs, a dark-coated, powerfully built creature meant to guard and protect (and how well she did that). In the real world, she was a breed that would have been noted to be a Cane Corso. Valentina had also developed a great attachment with her, often refusing to go with anyone else.
Morgause loved that about her.
Tezcatlipoca liked living at home, as much as someone like him was able to like and such - he rationally knew that it was comfortable and suited him. There was a comfort to know his mother ruled the house and so everything ran smoothly. It gave him plenty of free time to do whatever he wanted.
Now, a lot of people would peg Tez as a senseless murderer, but he was not. In fact killing was never really the point to what he did (when he did it) it was power. Not mad power like those who were kings or queens, but another sort of power, that fed his own ambitions. Something that sustained him and made him better than most.
However, that did not mean he couldn't have his own fun, and he had (wrongly) assumed that Pan was going to come back bored of his little toy when he returned from Babylon. It was, after all, just one girl. Pan had had many, before and would have many after. Besides, he thought his craftsmanship was improving, and so the top hat wouldn't take much to be complete, the bottom part had already been covered, now it was a matter of waiting and letting it dry and stretch, then the next bit could be put in. Of course he couldn't flay the girl all at once, just in pieces to keep the skin fresh.
Hat in one hand, he spotted his mother heading into the conservatory and changed his path. Hecate would make sure Syrinx didn't suffer too much from her wounds, surely. If not, too bad. He knocked on the doorframe twice, smiling pleasantly. "Mother?"
His mother knew what he was. She was not blind or in denial of how dangerous her son could be and what he liked to eat. Maybe that was why she called him kitten. She really couldn't say aside from the fact the pet name had stuck. She also knew she granted her sons a great deal of liberties, including the kidnapping of some Babylonian girl. She felt a strong indifference to the girl's pain and plight, only concerned about how Pan would proceed to deal with her and whether Tezcatlipoca would end up eating her. It was never good to spoil one's self on too many treats.
Valentina lifted her head and then proceeded to ignore the familiar intruder, apathetic as he posed no threat to her mistress. After giving the dog a pat, Morgause looked up from the piano she had just sat at. "Yes, kitten?"
The urge to eat the girl was great, carve out her heart and eat it, however, he was saving that treat for last. Pan hadn't picked wrongly, he had picked a creature worthy of him, of becoming part of him (and making a fabulous new hat). Her pale skin was just perfect for what he wanted - her eyes would make wonderful decorations and her heart would become part of him. What Pan never understood was that there were many ways of making someone yours, and this was by far more effective.
"You look lovely, mother, as always." He complemented and stepped into the room, free hand caressing the surface of the piano, "I am working on something and thought you might want to see, it is far from finished, but-" He offered the hat to her. Much like a cat who brings its owner a mouse.
When the hat was presented, that made the dog pay attention, finding something offensive about what was being shown. Morgause could hardly blame her, feeling there was something certainly off about that hat. She didn't dare guess what it was made him although she believed she knew and would have preferred ignorance in this case. For that reason, she did not touch but did lift her eyes to meet his.
"It's interesting, my child." Not a lie, it was. It just wasn't something to be worn outside. Or at all if you were her. "You have had plenty of time on your hands. Will it be the only piece you make?"
"For now." He pulled back the hat and twisted it, "The top is yet to be completed, but you can't rush craftsmanship, right?" His lips pull back in a wider smile that was more creepy than warm, "Besides, I find myself having plenty of time since we're at war, most people are invested in that and not home things." People could go missing easily and no one would blink twice.
Ah, the times of war, good times, or at least interesting for some. "Maybe I should start something for Pan when he gets back, I'm sure he'd love a memento of some kind. An eyeball or two, they would make for some lovely decoration, a candle holder perhaps?" He slipped the hat on. "Ah, lovely, isn't it? Shame not many would appreciate it."
What her son said was confirmation enough that it had been made from someone. Someone who had to be that pale-skinned girl as now he was speaking of making a memento for Pan. Morgause frowned lightly, wondering if Pan even knew what had happened to his toy.
"It suits you." Again, no lie. "Just don't wear it outside the house, dearest. As you said, many would not appreciate it for what it is. And ask Pan before you make him anything. He might be a little picky. Tell me, does Pan know what you have done?"
"It is a shame a lot of people don't have any taste." Tezcatlipoca shook his head mournfully before he tilted it considering the question posed by his mother, "No, he does not." A lot of things he was but not a liar, "He took Echo to Babylon, I'm sure he'll be plenty distracted with her and other girls- boys, whatever it is-" he flapped one hand dismissively, "If he left her it means he's probably tired of her."
And if not he would be soon. "It is just... I felt inspired a few days ago. This couldn't wait." He pointed at his hat, "Otherwise the inspiration goes away and you know how it is." A smile was flashed at the dog by his mother's side. "She's just a thing, eventually to be disposed of, before they come looking for her."
A pause, "Or did Pan not mention that the Ambassador of Babylon himself is eager to get her back?"
Everything merited response but it was what he said last that caught her. The Ambassador of... Her hand was lifting before she knew it and she had pressed her face against her palm. "You took his relation? His lover? Did you know this before she was taken? When did you find out? And how much is left of her, Tezcatlipoca?"
She did not fear the Babylonian government but that did not mean she welcomed any trouble that could come to them. And if the girl was someone of great value and could even be traced back to them, that did not mean good things for any of her ruling nieces or nephew.
"I suspect lover or dear friend, he got very... ah, heated with me." Tezcatlipoca was going to go to hell for having baited Osiris like that but he enjoyed it so much. "In my defense, mother, it was Pan's wish to take her. I was just fulfilling my duty as a good brother, like you taught me to do." A shrug, did it matter who she was at this point? Honestly, he was telling Morgause because she should know, no other reason. "As for having known, no, if I had I would've advised against it." Or not really.
"How much is left of her..." He mused the question, "She's alive, no missing limbs, her heart is in place, and her eyes in her sockets. Just the one arm I took to make this lovely hat, mother. Shall I dispose of her quickly? I'm a little hungry but I wanted to make this one last so I could peel all the skin and use the eyes."
A flash of annoyance came for anyone getting testy with one of her children. Like a mother lioness, she would gladly tear into any soul that tried to threaten her cubs. Yet, she knew her sons could take care of themselves. Her words for the ambassador were then swallowed and she reached for her wine glass as she rose to her feet. Immediately, Valentina was on her feet as well.
"It would be better if you managed to make her disappear sooner. Remove anything of hers that are identifiable. That means any particular markings on her have to be burned. Her hair must be removed. Her eyes need to be disposed of properly as well, I'm afraid. The rest is yours to do with. Pan may be annoyed but we do not need that ambassador to wonder if you might have his...whatever she may be to him."
It was always about the family and guarding it. Nothing was more important than that.
"You'll speak to Pan on this matter, yes?" Tezcatlipoca smiled widely, he had gotten what he wanted after all: lunch and decoration. Morgause's approval was really what Tezcatlipoca wanted, "Do not worry, mother, the ambassador knows full well that I do not have her, just that I may know something." For all his jibbing at the other man, he wasn't that careless.
Maybe though, maybe Osiris would taste nice- no, he shouldn't get greedy about things. Instead he sobered up a little, "You should see her mother, she's so beautiful and frail and delicious." His eyes darkened, to some it would be lust, but in Tezcatlipoca it was power. Drunk on it.
Now he could do whatever he wanted, and Pan was in another country, not likely to interrupt.
Morgause wasn't about to mistake what was in her son's eyes at all. As stated before, she knew him and what he was. "His knowing something is bad enough. Your cousin Medb is working hard enough right now as is Galahad and Gwynevere. This war business is exceedingly annoying and not to mention foolish but I will not have anything more be thrown on them, kitten." The hand that held her wine glass had a finger extend out to point at him.
"And you will be informing Pan of all this. You started with your hat and now you must be sure to take responsibility for the rest, my dear child. Mother isn't going to step that far into her boys' matters.
"I will pass on seeing the girl. I have a charity to finish handling and then attend this week. She must simply disappear, that is all."
"Mother you know he will be so touchy with me, I do not wish to fight with him." Actually Tezcatlipoca wanted to not deal with Pan while he immersed himself in his work. Or meal. That was all. "She will disappear, don't worry, but perhaps Pan ought to be more careful in what he picks to play with."
"He may be touchy but you are brothers and you will resolve this as you are both at an age where you do not need your mother stepping into your issues. And Pan will learn from this as much as you will. But you will speak to him before you proceed." A look was given that demanded no argument and then she moved away, her dog following her. The hat was eyeballed, it seemed but, beyond that, the dog had no interest in Tezcatlipoca at all.
"And speak with him soon, kitten. Procrastination is not an admirable quality in our family."