"No."
A blond brow raises. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me."
"You misunderstand, Little Sister," he scoffs, arms crossing over his chest as his eyes narrow and his head tilts with superiority, "I ask as courtesy not a request."
She sees his scoff and raises him a sigh as she regards her brother with neutral eyes. His behavior is…troubling. Not his scathing arrogance or even the impossible magnitude of what he wishes of her, these are typical quirks of her aloof, twisted elder twin, mundane responses to his boredom with eternity at which she doesn't bat an eye. No this oddness has been steeping slowly but steadily into the very air with his arrival, concentrated at just that: his arrival.
Not that her brother is unwelcome at the pinnacle of her kingdom, he is not. Despite the…unease his very presence tends to feed into her subjects and servants, he is well-thought-of, beloved among the populace of Mt Olympus, and though the mortals may fear his kingdom and his power, her gods are enamored of his presence and would certainly enjoy seeing more of him.
But he rarely concerns himself with the wants of others and his appearance in her realm is a rarity indeed. And of his own accord is an occurrence not seen since the old days when the world was new, not yet split, and the three realms were one.
But he has come to her today with this request-and it is a request, she knows, despite his claim-that is nothing short of insanity, and that is strange. She isn't sure what to make of it. Her gut instinct insists that this is some sort of bizarre game for him designed to sate is boredom with his own disturbing sense of humor in mind. If that were the case, however, she is certain he would simply send Matsurika in his stead, eventually forcing her to come to him in order to unravel the whole mess. This is new. Unexpected, unsettling, and she doesn't know how to respond.
Finally she settles for mimicking his movements, rolling her crimson gaze skyward for good measure, and doesn't budge.
He cracks first, tossing her deeper into this strange, new territory, her disorientation and uncertainty increasing marginally. This is not how interactions with her brother work; he should have her fidgeting and scowling before he makes a move, confident in his control over the situation. It is the reason she's cropped her hair so short, to keep her fingers out of it and remove her most obvious tell. But she sees his fingers tighten slightly around his arm, brows v-ing in frustration and further narrowing his eyes as his smirk melts into a hard line.
"I'll have her," he murmurs lowly, "With or without you."
That makes her straighten a bit.
Not because the tone is unfamiliar, soft but with an underlying firmness that dares her to enforce her verdict, he's used it before. Just not directed at her, at least not paired with that expression. Where is that infuriating smirk, the familiar spark of mischief in his eyes? There is no crowd here to jostle or perform for at the moment, and she has taken no bait, likely because he has offered none. He doesn't seem to be playing with her; no matter how she angles it, she cannot see where this situation would be amusing to him. He seems so far away from her right now, and she simply has no response to the strangeness in her brother. So instead she defaults to playing along, intentionally interpreting his words in a manner she's fairly certain he does not mean.
"Such a bold declaration of disobedience," she clicks her tongue, eyes narrowing and hands finding their way to her hips. "And to your Queen no less. Take heed, Big Brother, some may call that treason."
"Damnit, Shizu," he growls, voice raising with agitation as his fists clench and beat the air at his sides. Red eyes flash, as deep and fathomless as eternity, "You owe me!"
He doesn't mean it. Not in the way it that sounds as he spits the words out thick with accusation and anger. He's broken character, shattered and splintered his role across the room, splattered it against the wall and allowed his upset to get the best of him. Those words came out all wrong, and she knows he doesn't mean it…
But she also knows her brother, and if she gives him an inch he'll take a mile. This is one insult she cannot, will not, allow to slip past unchallenged. Electricity dances along her fingertips, thunder purring overhead. "Choose your next words with great care, Big Brother," she warns and her voice crackles dangerously, "I have earned my throne."
Whatever his privet thoughts may or may not be on the matter, he concedes that point, swiftly changing tactics.
His head ducks, chastised, and he breathes deeply nodding his agreement with her claim. Once. Twice. "My apologies," he mumbles softly and with a humility even moments ago she would have believed him incapable of achieving with any measure of sincerity. "That was inappropriate, and I did not mean it. It's just-" he doesn't follow through with his explanation, cutting himself off with a dreamy sigh. It's a soft sound, whimsical and happy, and so out of place in his sarcastic, demanding mouth. His eyes drift slowly closed as his fingers clasp together against his chest.
"Eros arrow has found its mark," he mummers sweetly. "My heart is pierced." Eyelids pull themselves apart, twin pools of liquid crimson locking together as his barriers crash and crumble around him; he pulls his guard down and lets her in.
Surprise floods her system, cooling her temper and silencing the thunder overhead. In all the sorted, various scenarios she's imagined and discarded, every incident and crisis she'd prepared herself against, this is one possibility for which she has no counter attack, and she fears Eros may have crossed a thick, bolded line this time.
Her own powers may be infinite, but they are not absolute; Eros is ancient, even amid the long memories of the gods. She was here before here existed, will likely persist when here exists no more. She does not doubt her loyalty or submission to her will, but she is not so foolish as to believe that ultimately she has any power, any control over this creature born of Chaos who breathed life into the dirt.
Her stories are beautiful, often tragic sometimes happy, always stone-set and ultimately irrecoverable. She thinks not of Eros, but of Kanae and the laurel crown that still sits upon his brow. Of Ryuuken and Tota, the hunter she threw into sky. Of Eros' own missteps the handsome Berlin she eventually took as her husband. The powers of love and desire, she knows, are not to be trifled with.
But…well…Shizu loves her brother; the deep, unconditional sibling affection, unrelenting and fierce in its embrace. And she knows, in a distant, echoing kind of way, that he loves her with equal devotion and unrivaled loyalty. But she doesn't trust him any further than she could throw him, her powers over physics and nature aside. He knows exactly where her heartstrings lie and knows what tune to pluck to have her dancing and singing along. He is not above manipulating her in such a way if that is what it takes to get at the object of his desire.
And yet…
Though she knows better she cannot help but believe him when he looks at her like that. Eyes open and honest, fingers clasped so tightly together against his chest as if in protection of his heart, hopeful trust in his pleading expression. There is a vulnerability in him, a determined spark of life in his eyes she has not seen since those terrifying first days when Granny the World Mother had hidden the two of them deep within her very bones, far from the hungry eyes of their Titan father so frightened of what they would become his only course of action was to swallow them whole…
"Please? Shizu?"
She blinks, considering...
So, um, anybody interested?
…10 points to anyone that can guess who is playing Eros!