Authors Notes: Okay this is just a little black butler piece I did. A friend of mine (guildie from Rift actually) were talking about writing prompts, and so, for her prompt that she gave me, I had to do a little piece on it...and it was a drabble at first...I made it into a slightly longer drabble to eventually post up here, but I do hope you enjoy it!
I don't own Black Butler.
Ways of the Demons: Need To Feed
It is a pity...but, I find I do not mind. There is an approach of sorts, a way, of course, to break the rules...a contract can only be a true contract, between servant and master. Nullifying it does very little good...this is merely a minor inconvenience, a noteworthy effort to harass me, but, amendable none the less. After all, how does one think a demon is actually born?
A contract scorned, like the one between Ciel and myself, well, lets just say it is not the first time, nor the last, in demon history. Truly, if anything, I have only become more able to taste the joys of truly proper souls...although, having an apprentice was not something I would have intended. However, if I were to accept such an underling, the boy is truly worthy.
For you see, being a butler, a truly great one, is a hell of a task indeed.
To live for countless years, wallowing in the turmoil of those still living. To bind one's own heart into a contract. To make true their petty whims and thoughtless desires. To feast merrily upon the soul cultivated by the pact that so binds you, merging their soul with yours. That is the way of any first class demon. I have learned and lived by that way of life for eons. The lonely world be damned to hell, by the hands who grant normal humans strength and hope. Those of my kind, those of others. The underworld only one world of many within the universe...
For, you see, there are a series of unchangeable, unwritten laws within such a universe.
I've fallen victim for one of them. Oh my, what am I to do with such a young demon? His soul, it is indeed worthy of so much more. True, I will never again have the hope of tasting that which should have been mine. It matters little, for he will be far greater. He shall be my legacy, my charge with whom I raise, so that one day, when I am terminated, he can live on. Yes, eternal suffering. That is his fate. After all, butler or no butler, he must still become a demon worthy of breath. He must still make pacts. If he does not feed, he will surely wither away into nothingness.
That is the path of the creatures known as demons.
Our journey into the underworld will awaken his true form. Within that, he will need to find souls. Like me, he must nurture it, giving life, love, and solace. Then, like myself, and others before him, he shall devour it, just as I wished to do with his...unfortunate, that I could not taste him...it matters not, in the long run.
A new life begins now for the both of us. Although I am to serve him, I can do little more than teach. He is such an insipid child, but, he also still holds light. The darkness within him, the demonic power, pure and honest. His wishes have not been tainted, indeed, he is a fine demon for that truth alone.
Immaculate, much like myself. There will be no doubt that other demons would approve of him. I decided upon him after all, at one time he was my master, a contract one of most delight. I suppose I should fetch him from his dark catacomb. His sleep is no longer restful and if I let him drift in the nothingness, he will fall pray to an even greater evil.
It falls on me now...Ciel...do try to trust me...being a demon is even more suitable for you.
...
He closed his eyes unknowingly, letting himself float on the nothingness that was bliss. Fast rapids, if he could call it that, heaven in the way it carried him away from his troubles. Yet, was that really enough? He didn't know. He let the wave crash over him anyway. It was easy to do, because as long as he held his breath, this undertow could drag him under. If that happened, he could open his tear stained eyes, and look up at the man that always protected him, from even himself. If that happened he knew a gentle rumbled thunder would crash over him, setting his nerves alight, and he could fall upon the earth without questions...the demand quelled by knowing lips and experienced hands.
He had no idea why he knew this...only that he did.
How he so desired to melt into that embrace. Wishing it would swallow him whole. Praying it would, so he could cry out, and become selfish once more. However, darkness had greeted him in vexatious solitude. It was away from anything he'd ever known, though, he did not know why, he could feel the gleaming red eyes of his companion watching him. He could feel the the raw, dripping tendrils of being human seep away from him, he was becoming a different creature at his core...rather, he was a different creature now...no longer human at all.
Instead, a demon, not unlike that of his butler.
The world echoed with each step as a lone figure traveled the darkness with ease. It was as if his steps were clattering on fine marble, upon which, he neared his sleeping companion. "I am sorry to disturb you. However, I do believe it is time that you wake up." A voice of liquid harmony called out from the veil of blacked air. "You would not want to rest for all eternity, would you?"
"Where am I, Sebastian?" A voice young and pure asked in his doleful monotone.
"Why, I believe you've lost your touch, Ceil." Humor laced each word, his red eyes glowing in the depths of colorless void.
"Don't address me with such informally, you dolt." The young earl was now no more, and his life was not a mortal one.
"Now now, I meant only to trifle around a bit." Sebastian smiled grimly. "However, I regret to inform you, the truth also represents the statement." With a flick of his wrists, the room lit up, the chamber one of antiquated beauty. Candles lit the walls in muted light, hews of deep golden colors mingled darkly with blood reds and blacks. "I'm afraid 'Master' is now an obsolete term. 'My Lord' is only for someone who you share a pact with. You'll find that it would not do, addressing you with formality is rare, even among demons who serve other demons. You are merely Ceil for me now, although I do admit, that I will care and do for you all that I can, as per our contract. You must also learn the skills needed to survive, often a difficult task for any new demon."
"How am I to learn, when you've told me nothing about such a thing." The demonic boy spoke calmly, a hint of arrogance slipping into his voice. "You've always been very closeted about your origin, you know." Smiling smugly, he took the room in stride, seeing it most fitting for a person like himself. "I will expect that you will prepare me for my new life, and see that I'm given all of the knowledge needed."
"Surely that was my intention." Sebastian nodded, before looking at the door at the back of the room. "Come, allow me to show you our new abode. I believe you'll find it quite suitable for your tastes."
"I doubt that." Ciel noted dryly, as he licked his lips. "I've other concerns for the moment." He closed his eyes again, feeling those pulsing beats that coaxed from him a feeling, one that was quite unlike anything he'd ever felt before. "What in the hell is this feeling, Sebastian?"
"The pangs of a demon, Ceil." The crimson eyed butler said with a soft smile, his teeth glinting dangerously. "Wondrous, aren't they?"
"Not quite how I would describe it." Ciel let two of his fingers to come up and rub is temple. "Will this go away any time soon, or an I doomed to feel this...well, whatever this is, always?" His answer was gifted to him in the form of a incredible tastes upon his lips, and as he licked licked it away, he sighed blissfully. When he opened his eyes, he saw a truth placed before him. "A soul..."
"A lost one, indeed...it belonged to an animal, I'd assume." Sebastian nodded, quite pleased with himself. "They taste nothing like that of a human's soul, especially not the ones bound by contract." Then, as he thought about that, his humor shook him, even if only slightly. "Though, I suppose, for a person so new to the idea of feeding, even something as bland as this, would be quite the treat." He handed over what was a glowing orb, floating in the air. "This is what you crave, so go ahead, and taste what shall belong to only you." Then, he let a laugh of venom come forth, dark, and yet so warm, as his master partook of the sustenance. "Is it to your liking?"
"Indeed, it is." Once the little orb was gone however, Ciel began to wonder about his new body, his new life, and even about the twisted coil of something that tauntingly lingered...only enough to be maddening. Tickling the interest of the demonic boy was only the start. When his eyes slipped closed yet again, listening to the beats of the world around him, instincts kicked in. "Those whispers..." Yes, he could understand them now. "They're humans..." His voice was of soft contemplation, and, as he nodded to himself, he finally came upon the question he wished to ask. "Our home, it is though that door?"
The surface grim, the truth tainted. It wasn't as if his butler was a sly creature, though, he could be, if he dearly wished. Ciel looked for an answer that the man seemed not interested to give, and finally Ciel opened the door. Nothingness awaited him, emptiness was the loudest of screams. He could not even hear his own existence, not his breath, nor his footsteps called out to his ears. Finally, with his new, very acute, but very green senses, he felt Sebastian pass him by. The butler lit one lone candle, upon a table, one with a crimson cloth. "This is our home, our world in which we wait." Sebastian explained softly.
"And, what exactly, do we wait for?" Ciel felt unnerved by simply waiting around, however, he liked it here...it seemed as if it befitted him, though, he hadn't a clue why he felt so at ease, in what would otherwise be a morbid existence.
"Supper." It seemed enough, for at that moment, Sebastian could see understanding fall over Ciel's face, as that of a mask.
Then, as always, when caught off guard, indifference became his nature. "I made my contract here, in this very room." He bit his lip, and sighed. "I surely am a devil."
I hope that was to your liking...I quite enjoyed the change of pace.