Walking along her usual route, Poppy turned around the bend and passed a
small little alleyway that she wouldn't ordinarily have taken notice of had
there not been the notes of a supremely familiar voice drifting towards her
from that very vantage spot. Stopping her stride, she frowned a little and
listened for that voice again, spotting two hooded and darkly cloaked men
in the aforementioned alleyway, out of the corner of her eye. In the space
of the second that it took for her to scrutinize the men, she heard the
words "attack" and "Kent" in the same sentence, but barely more than that
as the two men were doing a good job of being secretive.
She blinked. There had been suspicions of an attack on Kent. Trouble is definitely afoot. Before she could quietly turn away and remain undetected, as she realized how dangerous it was for her to be in such close proximity to them, one of the men nodded and went away down the alleyway while the other turned and caught sight of her. The air left her lungs and the blood flow to her brain stopped. She now saw who the owner of that familiar voice was and she knew she was in the deepest of troubles at that point.
Aurelius stared at her with a piercing gaze for a few moments, as if quickly thinking and wondering how much she might have heard. A cold, and slick smile appeared on his lips as he moved with casual arrogance towards her. The impulse to run was growing on her, but she knew it would be folly to do so. She would have to play his game, play it cool and casual. As he neared her in almost half a second, she was assaulted by the thought once again that this slime was Alastor's brother. It was amazing. It's been said that siblings are almost always different from each other and it's rare to find those who are alike, but somehow it took on a new meaning when she faced the brother of the man she loved more than life itself.
"Good day, Poppy. Fancy meeting you here. Out for a stroll, were you?" He asked, his voice light and warm, the exact opposite of his eyes, which were shrewd and calculating. He bowed in his arrogant manner, taking her hand to leave a kiss on it. If she hadn't already endured much of his mind games for the past several years, she would have flinched. As it was, she barely mastered the impulse to cringe with revulsion. She'd had worse from him before, and somehow she knew that this was just the beginning.
Forcing herself to think and be calm, she waited until he released her hand, which he didn't do quickly enough for her comfort. He seemed to let her hand linger in his, to clearly show her that she wouldn't be getting away easily. When he did let go, she slowly and, with much practiced nonchalance, let her hand rest at her side, trying to ignore how much she wished she could wash it clean that moment.
She knew that he was waiting for an answer and she would not be able to escape with being altogether silent. "No, I was heading to work," she told him calmly, wishing for the life of her that she had either taken a different route that day or been quicker at getting away undetected. Stupid girl. You know you're going to pay for this... and the price will indeed be high.
His lips curled into a small smirk. "How are things at work these days?" He asked conversationally, lightly fingering her healer's bag with feigned curiosity. She kept her hands at her sides, forcing herself to keep her expression blank and her voice light. "Fine, thank you." Poppy responded, trying not to let her eyes focus on his hands. She purposefully kept her eyes level with his. "Excellent," he murmured, circling her a little, coming to stand at her side as opposed to facing her. "I know how hard things can be with these attacks, you know."
Standing still and silent, she didn't respond. His smile grew wider as he leered at her. "You know," he commented with the air of a best friend, "it's been a while since I've visited friends." Glancing down, he let his eyes move up and down her frame. She was all too familiar with this. She continued to remain still. She would wait him out as she had always done. He had the upper hand and they both knew it. "I do wonder: how are things going for my little brother?" He asked her with the feigned concern of a sibling.
Her heart beat just a little faster. Cripes... this is bad... Her eyes were beginning to water with the effort at not blinking. Her muscles ached from the strain of trying not to tremble or shake. It took every bit of strength to stand there with quiet composure, to not gasp or gulp or make a false move. She was playing with fire and knew that she would get burned. If not her, someone she loved would. She had to endure; she just had to. She'd brought it upon her self by not leaving that alleyway from the get-go.
Clearly he knew just what he was doing to her, as his smile broadened. Running a finger up and down her arm, that thankfully was covered by her robes and spared her one less touch from him. He leaned in a little closer to her, his breath hot and heavy on her cheek. "Perhaps I'll have to make a few friendly visits before I leave. I've quite missed everyone," he whispered, his lips purposefully close to her ears. Merlin help me... She closed her eyes, hoping beyond hope that he hadn't seen her do so. Quickly she opened her eyes, barely biting the inside of her lip to keep it from trembling or to keep herself from screaming.
He moved away then and stood before her. "Though, I have to admit, time is a precious commodity," he tipped her chin up a little with his forefinger. "I might have to settle for one friendly visit," he told her, his steely eyes boring into hers. She knew what was coming and she knew she would not be able to avoid it. A numbness spread over her, that mercifully spared her from any reaction to his touch.
"I trust you remember where my manor is?" He asked, tracing her jawline down to her neck, leaving his fingers at the base of her throat. "Yes," she responded, knowing full well that he could feel the vibrations of her voice inside her throat as well as her racing pulse. It didn't help that she could hear her heart pounding loudly in her ears. It was giving her quite a headache that was compounded with the fact that she was quite literally at the mercy of this man. Any false move and she could very well be responsible for a death of a loved one if not all her friends.
He didn't smile, but he did look very much like a beast that had just enjoyed toying with it's prey. He bowed and stood upright again. "Good day to you, then. Take care, Poppy," he'd leaned in forward to her, whispering that last part as a taunt before kissing the tip of her ear. He smiled licentiously and with a swish of his cloak, vanished down the alleyway, leaving her standing there, in the hazy sunlight, feeling the most extreme numbness one can ever feel.
She blinked. There had been suspicions of an attack on Kent. Trouble is definitely afoot. Before she could quietly turn away and remain undetected, as she realized how dangerous it was for her to be in such close proximity to them, one of the men nodded and went away down the alleyway while the other turned and caught sight of her. The air left her lungs and the blood flow to her brain stopped. She now saw who the owner of that familiar voice was and she knew she was in the deepest of troubles at that point.
Aurelius stared at her with a piercing gaze for a few moments, as if quickly thinking and wondering how much she might have heard. A cold, and slick smile appeared on his lips as he moved with casual arrogance towards her. The impulse to run was growing on her, but she knew it would be folly to do so. She would have to play his game, play it cool and casual. As he neared her in almost half a second, she was assaulted by the thought once again that this slime was Alastor's brother. It was amazing. It's been said that siblings are almost always different from each other and it's rare to find those who are alike, but somehow it took on a new meaning when she faced the brother of the man she loved more than life itself.
"Good day, Poppy. Fancy meeting you here. Out for a stroll, were you?" He asked, his voice light and warm, the exact opposite of his eyes, which were shrewd and calculating. He bowed in his arrogant manner, taking her hand to leave a kiss on it. If she hadn't already endured much of his mind games for the past several years, she would have flinched. As it was, she barely mastered the impulse to cringe with revulsion. She'd had worse from him before, and somehow she knew that this was just the beginning.
Forcing herself to think and be calm, she waited until he released her hand, which he didn't do quickly enough for her comfort. He seemed to let her hand linger in his, to clearly show her that she wouldn't be getting away easily. When he did let go, she slowly and, with much practiced nonchalance, let her hand rest at her side, trying to ignore how much she wished she could wash it clean that moment.
She knew that he was waiting for an answer and she would not be able to escape with being altogether silent. "No, I was heading to work," she told him calmly, wishing for the life of her that she had either taken a different route that day or been quicker at getting away undetected. Stupid girl. You know you're going to pay for this... and the price will indeed be high.
His lips curled into a small smirk. "How are things at work these days?" He asked conversationally, lightly fingering her healer's bag with feigned curiosity. She kept her hands at her sides, forcing herself to keep her expression blank and her voice light. "Fine, thank you." Poppy responded, trying not to let her eyes focus on his hands. She purposefully kept her eyes level with his. "Excellent," he murmured, circling her a little, coming to stand at her side as opposed to facing her. "I know how hard things can be with these attacks, you know."
Standing still and silent, she didn't respond. His smile grew wider as he leered at her. "You know," he commented with the air of a best friend, "it's been a while since I've visited friends." Glancing down, he let his eyes move up and down her frame. She was all too familiar with this. She continued to remain still. She would wait him out as she had always done. He had the upper hand and they both knew it. "I do wonder: how are things going for my little brother?" He asked her with the feigned concern of a sibling.
Her heart beat just a little faster. Cripes... this is bad... Her eyes were beginning to water with the effort at not blinking. Her muscles ached from the strain of trying not to tremble or shake. It took every bit of strength to stand there with quiet composure, to not gasp or gulp or make a false move. She was playing with fire and knew that she would get burned. If not her, someone she loved would. She had to endure; she just had to. She'd brought it upon her self by not leaving that alleyway from the get-go.
Clearly he knew just what he was doing to her, as his smile broadened. Running a finger up and down her arm, that thankfully was covered by her robes and spared her one less touch from him. He leaned in a little closer to her, his breath hot and heavy on her cheek. "Perhaps I'll have to make a few friendly visits before I leave. I've quite missed everyone," he whispered, his lips purposefully close to her ears. Merlin help me... She closed her eyes, hoping beyond hope that he hadn't seen her do so. Quickly she opened her eyes, barely biting the inside of her lip to keep it from trembling or to keep herself from screaming.
He moved away then and stood before her. "Though, I have to admit, time is a precious commodity," he tipped her chin up a little with his forefinger. "I might have to settle for one friendly visit," he told her, his steely eyes boring into hers. She knew what was coming and she knew she would not be able to avoid it. A numbness spread over her, that mercifully spared her from any reaction to his touch.
"I trust you remember where my manor is?" He asked, tracing her jawline down to her neck, leaving his fingers at the base of her throat. "Yes," she responded, knowing full well that he could feel the vibrations of her voice inside her throat as well as her racing pulse. It didn't help that she could hear her heart pounding loudly in her ears. It was giving her quite a headache that was compounded with the fact that she was quite literally at the mercy of this man. Any false move and she could very well be responsible for a death of a loved one if not all her friends.
He didn't smile, but he did look very much like a beast that had just enjoyed toying with it's prey. He bowed and stood upright again. "Good day to you, then. Take care, Poppy," he'd leaned in forward to her, whispering that last part as a taunt before kissing the tip of her ear. He smiled licentiously and with a swish of his cloak, vanished down the alleyway, leaving her standing there, in the hazy sunlight, feeling the most extreme numbness one can ever feel.