Disclaimer
The original work, characters or plot do not belong to me.
Sixteen years later
The city was alive with humor and warm with charm. The days that turned to years in the blink of an eye had transitioned without fault more so than as far back as its history dated. As was the norm in almost every saloon or house of pleasure, gossip was the order of the day but at this point everyone had heard about it; the supposed coronation of a certain young Mink.
In the highest tower of Eos where work knew no end, Jupiter was putting the next Ruler of the world she had hand crafted, to the test and surely enough he ran through the phases as effortlessly as he always did.
"These tests of yours are beyond boring now a days," Raven drawled his voice nothing short of an ominous whisper as he crawled out of the simulation room too slothful to actually walk when he didn't have to.
Jupiter watched each calculated moved he made since he had just opened his eyes and even now she couldn't single out even the vaguest pattern of behavior. He had so much power in a finger than she held in her entire system and yet he failed to reveal an ounce of enthusiasm toward it. She watched the freckle faced youth crawl over to the bed that had been added to her quarters to accommodate him during times such as these.
He was a lethargic type, languid and lackluster in all he did and proved to be unresponsive and indolent in his making. He yearned for nothing but something new to challenge his intellect and when that failed he reverted to this state one in which he wrapped himself in her system and allowed the endless threads of data to work its way through him.
In all honesty he had completed the course at the tender age of nine absorbing every ounce of knowledge she held and now he was just shifting into his eighteenth year of life, there was nothing left for him to learn from her. But he welcomed everything that she offered him; having noted long ago that he only did it because he really didn't have anything better to do.
Though he didn't look it he excelled beyond peeks even his father had yet to reach with ease and transcended beyond her just the same. At the moment he only sought to appease his boredom and humor her curiosity in him.
If she could she might have laughed, he really was a bizarre anomaly but she would have never selected anyone else; especially since it was this ambition lacking demeanor which made him perfect for the job.
"I'm going home," he spoke up suddenly as he got to his feet, his immaculate physique he had inherited from his father now in full view which startled the eye every time he actually decided to stand on his own two feet.
"Am I boring you?" she mused already knowing the response.
"Utterly," his tone was nonchalant, the air of boredom around him making way for the word to sting ever time he said it.
By now she was used to it. Knowing that he was relatively impossible to please she tried not to allow it to sting at her pride.
"Safe journey home and please refrain from giving the guards a hard time on the way back those are Orphe's toys not yours," Jupiter commented to his back as he turned to leave, "you shouldn't break things that belong to others."
"It was all in the interest of good fun believe me," he assured her casting him a rare smile that told her that he had all intentions to wreck havoc once again.
She really didn't expect any less and only smiled to herself at the thought, that he wouldn't exactly be the son of Riki the Dark if he didn't cause mischief every once in a while, now would he?
"Good afternoon Master Raven," Hades, a relatively dark Furniture with enough sensual allure to kill, bowed deeply, as the one who resembled Riki the most swept pass him, "welcome home."
"Where's ka-san?" he questioned as he headed straight for Riki's room.
By now Raven stood over a head taller than him, as did every other Blondie in Eos. Raven regarded the Furniture with an assessing glance, like everyone related to him or the Dana Bahn incident, he seemed utterly timeless. Just as he was since they day they were born he was around five feet seven inches and had a far too shapely figure that was the envy of every pet in the Saloon from the time of his memory modifications to present date. Adding his effeminate frame, with the ever gloriously broad swinging hips to his androgynous looks, Raven doubted that the Furniture didn't know he had, he was the most desired furniture on the market today, though many were afraid to admit where their interests lay.
Raven was never one for pleasantries, and never offered a greeting unless, well, he never did; not even once offered greeting or returned it unless it was to his parents.
"Master Riki is with Master Iason celebrating their anniversary of their reunion after death," he explained as he trailed behind the young master who he was soon to be addressing as lord.
"That was today?" he drawled getting down on his hunches on the sofa, the black one with the red pillows Riki had gotten him for his birthday a few years back after noting his weird behavior of either crawling or stooping whenever or wherever he wanted.
With ever swaying graceful step Hades drew eyes and compelled desires to stir in people many didn't even know they had. He had seen it time and again and oddly enough he too have fallen into that trap time again. Though it was the reason why he utterly despised that furniture it was also the reason he adored him. Here in his home the unpredictable always occurred, if nothing else he himself was a result of that, he liked it here well most of the time anyway.
"Your brothers and sister have already gone out to buy them a present-," Hades stated after returning from the kitchen with something for Raven to munch on.
"And spy on them to ensure that all goes well," Raven drawled twirling a lock of hair between his fingers, a habit he had picked up from what he worded as over exposure to Hades as a child.
"That too but you could try to be a bit modest about it," Hades retorted as though he was scolding him.
Raven turned dull and irritated blue eyes on the furniture that put every pet in Eos to shame. Though his sensuous nature and natural finesse betrayed nothing, after living with him for so long he had seen through the looking glass on just the type of conniving opportunist the little devil was. But this much was predictable. After learning how this little pain in the ass became a Furniture, he could only guess that even when he was stripped of his memory he still had enough of his personality intact that made him amongst the most unique in both brain and brawn. But that still didn't change the fact that he was a diehard pain in Raven's ass.
Every time, he made the mistake of coming home to actually spend the night, Hades always stole the chance to shove a spoon down his throat.
Raven sighed, "I'm not hungry," he shoved the plate on the glass table aside with a bare foot.
"Yes I know," Hades, with his ever pleasant smile, pushed the plate back.
With only a though he moved the entire table instead, ripping it clear off the hinges that bolted it down in the process, with relative ease. Getting to his feet he opted for braving it out in the city. No one knew who he was which made it relatively easy to move through the city more so since he was often passed off as a brood, one of those retreatist or ritualist types that withdrew from society but still did the routine functions of ever day life
"Raven honestly," Hades sighed from behind him but he didn't care to listen.
He knew what come next if he turned around wide brown eyes dripping with tears would surely try to persuade him and quite successfully at that too.
"Yes honestly, I won't be that long Ceres isn't far if I teleport there," he stated halting in his steps as Hades by passed him and blocked the only legitimate way out.
He narrowed his eyes at the only person alive that his powers refused to work against. The sole entity that he really couldn't put up a fight against was the one who held sway over his welfare, oh the bitter irony.
"Master Riki has strictly requested that you consume something before making your way into the City," Hades stated bowing deeply, his growing mass of red curls that had gone lazy over the years falling over his shoulders.
"If I leave now there is no way Ka-san would even know that I was here," he wasn't about to stand here and negotiate with the Furniture, a servant of the household that was supposed to do as he was told, "Hades step aside."
But that was only in reference to the norms expected of a Furniture but in this household Hades seemed to be the one giving the orders around here and that was simply unacceptable.
"I apologize, Master Raven, but I will have to refuse. I must insist that you ingest something. According to my report you haven't eaten since day before yesterday," his eyes brows began to knit together in concern.
But he really felt fine; the sensation of hunger was never something he experienced since his first days of existence so he didn't see the necessity to eat so often. In the streets everything was flavorless and bland to his senses thus he never had any inclination to each beyond these walls if any at all.
"Hades for the last time-,"
"Please," his eyes this time around did not grow or brim with tears, "at least for master Riki, he's terribly worried about you."
"As is the norm," he turned on his heels knowing the furniture would never relent.
So the window it would be. Though it was a long drop, he had survived it many times and now would be no different.
But before he could yield to the call of freedom, Hades did it again. He pulled for trump card number two that got to him every time.
"Raven," his tone was the embodiment of seduction as slender arms sought to lock him in Hades embrace from behind, "just this once won't you do it for me."
He gave a mental curse, Hades never fought fair and always opted to bend the rules thus he always won. But not today, Raven gritted his teeth, he was going to stand firm. He knew Hades tricks like the back of his hands; there were limits that even he dear not pass and that was where he fell short. The day was his and he had all intentions of making Hades see that.
