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ONWARDS!
Kuro whistled as she eyed the large gates, hands casually resting in the pouch of her hoodie as she sized the place up. The entrance was about as grand as it could get down here, with the harsh red sun giving the gate an almost bloody-like glow. If she squinted, she could make out the flecks of gold mixed in with the reds.
Just beyond it stood the brimstone castle in all of its glory. Up close, Kuro couldn't help but liken it to a fortress or some sort of base, with multiple towers surrounding the main one in the middle. Just looking at the building as a whole felt wrong, like she had no right to be this close.
The very thought made her want to deface it.
She walked right through the open gates, making her way over to what looked to be the "party area", a smirk growing across her face as she eyed the guards lining the walkway. It was too hard to resist, the urge to mock and make them uncomfortable.
Choosing one at random, she turned on a dime, making sure to know he knew she was grinning at him before walking over. She stared into the slits of the helmet, leaning against the guard as if he were nothing more than a wall, "Hello to you, good sir!"
"…"
"Nice weather we're having, the blood red sun really helps me with the tan I'm working on!"
"…"
"God, I couldn't agree more! I do think that our social economical problem isn't the fault of the government, but is instead the direct result of the peasantry class and their constant bitching!"
"…"
"Aww, don't be so crude! But, I have been meaning to ask, how are the kids?"
"…"
"Aw, come on! Break, dammit!"
"…"
"…I will lick you."
Her grin only widened as she watched the guard stiffen up, his audible gulp euphoria to her ears. Sure it was childish, but wining something as stupid as this made her feel untouchable. She cackled, throwing the guard a kiss before making her way down the rest of the walkway. She whistled, as she entered, eyeing the golden arc that seemed to serve as the official barrier.
Maybe it was the lights from inside, or maybe it was the stupid golden arc that she'd walked under in order to enter, but Kuro suddenly felt very… uncomfortable. She looked around the room, nose wrinkling at the multitude of scantily-clad demon women around her, each one wearing something more revealing than the last.
She was convinced that she'd somehow found herself in the succubus group, what with how little clothing they were wearing.
"Wow, this place is stupidly huge." Kuro muttered, slowly backing herself up into a corner. Yes, a nice comfy-cozy corner. That's exactly what she needed right now.
On her way, she couldn't help but notice and wince at the group of Rifters in the room. They had at least tried to look presentable, what with their raggedy dresses and made-up hair. Kuro almost felt pity for them, watching as their eyes darted about, forming a sort of circle as if it would help their chances.
Not that she could really talk, not with what she was wearing. "At least they put in some effort." Kuro muttered, fingers absentmindedly poking through one of the many holes in her shorts.
Finally she made it to the corner, turning to lean back on it as she fully took the room in.
The ceiling in itself was high, to the point where she couldn't see where the chandelier was hanging from, the chain disappearing into the black abyss. The walls were made of what looked to be a dark brimstone, while the floor looked to be a polished obsidian. In the back of the room, opposing the arching entrance, a twin staircase that connected the level above them to the middle of the room. Somehow, despite the dark interior, the room was as bright as possible, like the decorators were virulent enough to blind everyone.
Kuro couldn't help but stomp on the ground with her boots, a bit pleased with herself when a scuff mark was left.
Now, if only she could do that for the rest of the night.
A pair of wine red eyes watched on with slight amusement, a glass balance in one hand while the other held fast to the railing before him. He loomed over all of them, watching them scramble about underfoot.
Right where they belonged.
He watched the new and last demoness stumble in, a huff of a chuckle on his lips as he took a sip from his glass. It was painfully obvious that she was a Rifter, as common as the commoners came. From the clothing she wore (a hoodie to a formal event. How audacious of her) to the way she held herself, there was no way that she was of any royal demonic heritage.
Regardless of that, he found her to be more interesting than the usual floozy that pranced about the floor. Maybe it was her odd attire, or the way that she held herself; all things that had no place within the castle.
Which was why seeing it in person was all the more entertaining.
Despite her failure to present herself in a professional manner, he couldn't help but note how naturally pretty she looked. Something about those eyes, those dark violet eyes, held so much behind them that he wanted to unpack. They were light and mischievous, that much he could tell from where he stood, but there was something else too. It was almost too much, like a front she was putting up, trying to deflect from whatever lied under them.
He wanted to know what she wanted to hide so badly, wanted to dig deep down and rip it out of her, whether she liked it or not-
"Oh, a cat demon?" The Crow mused, noting the two black tips that poked out from her hair when she'd flattened it down against her skull, as if she were trying to hide behind her long, brown curly locks.
And here he thought this would be a big waste of time. Here he thought he'd end up picking the most submissive one and calling it a day. Out of all the whole lot, this one seemed… promising. A fun little challenge for him to enjoy, to toy with and take apart.
Regardless of her current situation, stomping scuff marks into the floor for whatever reason.
The edge of his mouth curled up with his smirk, lifting his glass as if to offer a silent toast as he watched her closer.
"What a curious little thing."
She tried, she really did, but she could only make so many scuff marks without growing bored.
Unwilling to mingle, she instead took to walking about the large room, eyes darting about as her mind flew.
In the event everything, for some reason, went south, she could take out that guard stationed by the open window and flee through there. Rushing the doorway would be a death sentence, what with every other demon most likely attempting to use it. Also, a narrow exit area would only make it easier for whoever was attacking, giving them an easy-
She was knocked from her head when someone bumped into her shoulder, nearly throwing her to the ground with the exaggerated force. Kuro was stunned for a second, watching the demon walk away with a thin-lipped smirk behind her hand, as if she'd just told the funniest inside joke.
She did her best to shrug it off, nearly pulling her hood over her head to stalk off. Stupid nobility, thinking that money and a shit attitude was enough to widen the divide. They were nothing but power hungry dogs, the whole lot of them, always wanting more and more power to feed their growing egos.
"Mentally bitching about it isn't going to change anything." She muttered to herself, looking around for a clock, only to find no such thing anywhere.
Maybe it was stupid, but this felt like the boiling point. This was supposed to be the main building of the whole castle, and they couldn't afford to put some sort of time-telling device in the room? Hell, if Shax could afford one, surely Satan himself could afford to put some in this main hall-looking place, right!?
Somehow, she finally managed to pull herself from that mental downward spiral, forcing herself to keep still rather than whip about and look for a way out. But she felt it, the itch to get out of the room. Hell, if she were kicked out of the capital, that would be even better. The only reason she'd ever want to come back would either be on a job or… No, yeah, only on a job. She'd only want to come back if it came with a promise of money and a noble's head rolling across the ground.
She made a point to ignore the odd stares and stifled laughter that was quickly beginning to surround her. Each passing second made her feel like she'd been stranded in the middle of the ocean, the demons around her hungry sharks looking to get their next bite.
Their snide comments and biting remarks, at best, were laughable. Someone to her left was laughing about her gross-looking hoodie, a group to her right grinning about how she looked like a wet rag a servant had accidentally left behind. Honestly, she was more offended by the lack of creativity behind the dull insults rather than the insult as a whole. If someone was going to go out of their way to insult someone, that insult had better be either hilarious or something so haunting it stuck with the person until their end.
Let them enjoy their shitty comments and crappy insults, with her luck, Shax would assign a few of them to her list.
Regardless of them, the room continued to grow ever smaller, the open exit growing more and more appealing as time went on. She really wanted to turn tail and run out, the need to escape growing with each passing second…
Kuro fumbled for the ring from her pocket, fiddling absentmindedly with it as she made her way back over to the corner. Honestly, half the reason she'd brought the small thing was to make sure her mind wouldn't wander too much. It helped to center her thoughts, having something to keep her fingers busy so her brain wouldn't try to backflip right out of her head.
Once she was sure she wasn't going to throw herself out the nearest window, she slipped the ring on, watching the silver band as she twisted it around her finger. She glanced around the room, eyes searching for something to attach and ground herself to. A lady in a green dress laughed loudly, making some sort of grand gesture with one hand while the other slipped around the waist of a blue dress, snatching a small coin purse in the process.
Kuro couldn't help but feel a small smirk as the blue dressed demon walked on, oblivious to the theft. It helped to calm her, almost, knowing that not even the stupid nobility were safe from how Hell worked.
But, after that little robbery, nothing else really happened. Every direction showed more or less the same scene: a group of snooty demons gossiping and chatting it up, a few stranglers that either looked lost or apprehensive; but nothing else.
Regardless of the people walking about, this didn't feel like a party; this was… a gathering without food.
God, that realization only served to make her more disinterested, if not sad. She doubted that the prince was out and about, surely he would have had some sort of grand entrance and following if so, so she doubted that it was really worth corralling all of these of-age women into the open yet suffocating room. At this point, she couldn't help but ponder how hard it would have really been to weasel her way out of this whole frivolous "party"-
"Nice ring, kitty cat."
Kuro couldn't help but curse herself for raising that flag, pulling the fakest smile over her face as she turned to the familiar face, "Nice dress, venom breath." Kuro shot right back, eyes tracing about the bottom of her little black dress, like a dark halo around her upper thigh, "I know that your kind thrives on attention, but this is getting ridiculous."
"Are you really that dull?" Andras exasperated, her condescending smirk only matched her over the top giggle, "No, you know what, it's pretty fitting for some stray Rift alley cat."
"Okay, I look poor, I get it." Kuro muttered. She already wasn't the most patient, so the sudden and constant verbal bullshit spewing from the succubus was really pushing her buttons. She wasn't looking around for a way out anymore, rather, she was looking for the closest thing she could bash Andras' skull into, "For what it's worth, at least I won't be mistaken for you. Now, is there a reason you've decided to seek me out, or are you here to ask me something? Cause, I'll tell you right now, I don't swing that way."
Kuro had been hoping to peeve the woman off enough to get her to leave. So, when Andras got closer instead, Kuro had to fight down the urge to clock her in the chin, "Do you not know anything about looking good?"
"Nope. I have no clue."
"I already look great, but surrounded by some many others looking just as or more alluring than me, I have to go out of my way to attract." She then bumped her hip against Kuro's, the cat demon all but seething while the snake replied with a snarky grin, "Standing next to living rags like you will make it impossible for the prince to not notice me."
"Oh, great, I've been demoted from Rifter to backdrop." Kuro muttered, rolling her eyes as she looked about. There was a whole flock of scared poor-looking demons just a few feet away, why couldn't she just go and bother them instead? When she tried to move away, Andras' hand shot out to grab Kuro's wrist, nails digging into her skin, "Hey, what the hell!?"
"Don't think that I'm going to just let you leave." Her playful smile on her face did not couple well with her venomous tone, "You're going to stay right there and be a good little spotlight."
Kuro tried to wrench her hand form Andras' grip, both surprised and irritated by her surprising strength, "Bitch, I could not give less of a fuck on whether you're noticed or not. I just don't want the prince to come over and notice me."
"Don't worry, little puss-puss," Had she not been trying to pry her nails from her skin, Kuro would have shuddered at the new nickname, "he'll be too busy talking to me to notice you."
"Funny, everything you just said would suggest against that."
Andras scowled, "Are you trying to start something here, kitty cat?"
Kuro took a moment to clear her head, throwing Andras' irritated scowl a levelled look. While she had a lot of them to choose from, words weren't going to do anything more for her here, that much was obvious at this point. And, while she really didn't want to draw the wrong kind of attention, it wasn't like anyone has stopped Andras yet…
With that, she nearly reeled her fist back, ready to bust straight through this tramp, only to stop at the last second. This wasn't the Rift, she had little to no street cred here. As much as she hated to admit it, if she started throwing punches, there would be more screams of terror than approval.
As if she could smell Kuro's powerlessness, Andras glanced down at the wrist in her hold, eyes greedily taking in the ring around her middle finger, "Where'd you get this little thing?" She cooed, wrenching the thing right off from her finger.
"Hey!" Kuro exclaimed, making a grab for it, "Give it back!"
"Aww, maybe the kitten knows how to play fetch?" Andras chided, before tossing the ring, "Go on!"
Had Andras not released her grip, nobility be damned, she would have curbstomped the grinning succubus. She tried to catch it in the air, feeling the cool mental of the band slip through her fingers. Eyes going wide, Kuro's stomach felt like it had thrown itself to the floor, watching the ring roll into the crowd.
Kuro all but dove into the crowd, seething at Andras' almost echoing laughter as she searched the floor. She was on her hands and knees, trapped within this mad frenzy of dress bottoms and exposed legs in her search. God knows how badly she wished she had borrowed one of Zagan's knives for this; make it easier to clear out all these- Holy shit, Kuro felt like her nose was dying.
"Holy hell it smells horrible down here."
Each passing second without the ring in sight only added to her growing anxiety. That ring was easily the most valuable thing she owned. Hell, if she found the ring in the hands of a prince, you had best believe she would start throwing-
In her frantic search, she whipped around and rose to stand, thinking she'd get a better chance of seeing it from above, only to collide right into someone else's chest. She was knocked right back down on her ass, holding her head as if that would help the room stop spinning.
Her other hand flailed about as it tried to accept the gloved hand offered to her, letting this person pull her up as her head tried to eject from her neck. The prior aggression from Andras only added to her burning fury, who exactly the fuck did this chick think she was-!?
Her inner monologue of a rant came to a screeching halt by deep, golden eyes. Kuro couldn't help but cock her head to the side, staring down the beautiful yet odd eye color. While gold wasn't exactly out of the ordinary (unlike violet, apparently), Kuro had never seen a shade of gold so vibrant yet dead at the same time.
Normally, gold was an eye color reserved for the royals and highest of the nobles. Her stomach once again tried to abandon ship at the idea that she had bumped into someone important. Once she was pulled to her feet, she took in the short and messy black hair, the glasses- why did this guy need glasses? Demons had perfect vision, why would a demon need glasses?
"…Miss?"
Kuro shook her head, mentally cursing her derailed train of thought, "Hi, yes, that's me. I think."
She almost laughed at his expression morphing into one of confusion, most likely taken aback by her calm and lax style of speech, "I am terribly sorry to have walked into you like that. Are you alright?"
"Huh?" Kuro muttered, pulling her eyes from the floor. Sure this guy was being nice and all, but she still didn't see any sign of her ring anywhere, "Nah, dude, no worries, I'm fine. I just, ah, might have dropped a thing."
"...I'm sorry, pardon?"
"I. Dropped. A. Thing." Kuro said slowly, articulating each word with a small hand gesture, as if that would help him understand the words coming out of her mouth, "Are any of my words coming through here? Vielleicht verstehst du das besser-"
"What did you drop?" He quickly cut her off.
"My ring." Kuro said, eyes darting about as she continued to scan the floor. Hopefully, she wouldn't have to hold the place hostage in order to get the ring back, regardless of how funny the situation looked in her head. She wondered how long it would take to get Zagan to back her up on this-
"Are you, by any chance, referring to this ring?"
Kuro couldn't believe her luck as she looked at the ring he held between his fingers, seemingly producing it out of thin air, "Dude, thanks."
"Please, allow me." He tried to insist, holding his hand out for Kuro's own, only to have her snatch the silver band out of his hands. He was too confused to be irritated by this demon's audacity, the nerve she must have had, to pluck the ring right out of his fingers like that.
"Thanks, but no thanks." She said, twisting the ring back onto her finger, a wave of relief washing over her with the ring secured around her middle finger, "Nothing against you, I just don't need someone putting a ring on my finger anytime soon."
With that all figured out, Kuro looked over to the sharply dressed demon, her curiosity only growing with each passing second, "So… Are you gay and hopeful, or something?"
"I'm sorry?"
"Well, I mean, a well-dressed guy like you walking around? I doubt you're a servant, and it's not like the guards are letting dudes in all willy nilly." Kuro asked, her curiosity pushing out any form of respect, "Looking to catch the eye of the Crow?"
The demon huffed at that, shaking his head, "I'm not looking for attention, nor am I looking to catch my brother's eye."
"Ha, but you didn't disprove the-Wait." The gears in her head grinded to a screeching halt, "Brother? No, that's ridiculous, cause that would mean that… that you're a…"
A shadow of smirk crossed over his face, bending at the waist to give a slight bow, "Yes, I am one of the many sons of our King, Prince Aranea." His voice was filled with a respectful snark, head cocked to the side as he looked up at Kuro, eyes alight with amusement, "A pleasure to meet you."
The moment Aranea came into view, the Crow felt his blood begin to boil. How dare he attempt to walk about like that, to prance among them as if he had any right to do so.
He nearly crushed the glass in his grip as his pest of a brother dared to speak to the cat demon. The very same cat demon that he himself had his eye on. He could read Aranea's intentions from his perch; the slight upwards tilt of his mouth, the interested gleam in his eyes.
The fact, no, the very idea that his brother wanted anything of the feline only served to fan the flames of his jealous anger. He nearly stumbled down the stairs in his rage, licking his teeth before biting down on his own lip, hard.
He knew what had to be done here, and knowing Aranea could do nothing but watch made it all the sweeter.
"…Can I just call ya Arc?"
"…I beg a pardon?"
"Don't get me wrong; it's nice to meet you, your prince-ness, I'm very honored to stand before you, I'll worship the very floor you walk over, yadda yadda yadda." Kuro grinned, throwing herself into a mock bow as an almost playful grin spread across her face. Maybe she shouldn't have, but it was hard not to enjoy the visible confusion on his face (not that she could get anything else from his blank expression), "But, your name is kinda… long."
"I… I suppose?" Arc wasn't sure how else to respond to that, turning his head to clear his throat into his fist, as if that would help to clear his mind, "Might I ask for yours?"
"Kuro." She whipped up into a salute, her grin turning sly as she leaned forward to poke his cheek, "Aww, come on buddy, it isn't that hard to smile a bit now, is it?"
"I am not your buddy." Arc's voice was calm and smooth, eyes narrowing ever so slightly as he tried to get some sort of read on this girl. Surely she was playing at some sort of angle, playing stupid and childish as if it would get her somewhere.
"Oh, I am so sorry Mr. High-and-mighty." Kuro snickered, her smirk only growing with Arc's veiled irritation, "What would you prefer? Bro? Broski? Buddy-boo?"
Unsure of what else to say, Arc took a step back, "Is this how all Rifters act in the presence of royalty?"
"Hah, I wish." It was odd, the calm that overtook her, letting her speak unfiltered to this powerful demon. One wrong word, and he could have her incarcerated, killed even. Maybe it was her natural disinterest and apathy at work, but talking to this prince, she couldn't care less for what words were coming out of her mouth, "Sorry, but not all of us can afford your style of luxury living."
"Yes, well, the 'luxury' is rarely worthwhile." Arc sighed, eyes snapping to the ring on her finger, "For someone from the Rift, you seem to be rather well off."
Kuro couldn't help but look down at her attire, and then to the demons around them, "...You're kidding me."
"The ring on your finger would beg to differ, don't you think?"
"Trust me when I say that this has nothing to do with my social standing." Kuro muttered, all but flipping him off in her exaggerated display of her ruby ring, "Even if I did sell it, I doubt that I'd gain much from it."
Arc hummed, head spinning as he tried to piece together this anomaly of a demon. All his life had been spent being waited on, left wanting for nothing as anything he could ever want was only a command away. It was odd to see someone not only content, but also so seemingly… poor.
"What would you be willing to do for it?"
"Huh?" Kuro muttered, giving him an odd look, "What was that?"
"If I said that I could give you anything you want, anything you desired, what are you willing to do for it?" Arc reiterated, curious. Would she give him a straightforward answer, or try to weave in some of her own desires into her response?
"...Who the fuck do you think I am?"
Once again, Arc was thrown off, watching as Kuro's blithe grin turned to an irritated sneer, "...I'm sorry?"
"I don't give a crap about how rich and royal you are, don't just assume that you can waltz about with your title and trick me into some deal." Arc physically had to take a step back, narrowly avoiding Kuro as she swung her hands about. She spoke as much, if not more so, with her body language than she did her own mouth. "I don't care how much money and gold you have to flaunt about, the last thing I want is help from a demon like you."
That… That oddly hurt. Yes, everything she had said was true to a point, but to have her just whip around and throw it into his face like that… "And why is that?" Nevertheless, he felt as if he was onto something, so close to understanding this enigma in the ratty old hoodie.
Never had he ever met a demon who didn't want something from him. Rifter, noble, it made no difference; everyone had some sort of agenda, some wish that they assumed he could grant with his lineage. Sure she'd been doing it for the entirety of their talk, but to have her snap at him like that, seemingly out of nowhere…
It was fascinating.
"Isn't it obvious?" Kuro grinned, a mischievous gleam flickering behind her eyes, as if the two were sharing some sort of insidious inside joke, "Cats don't like being tied down. The last thing I want is to owe you something. Do you have any idea how annoying it is to owe a debt to someone? So not worth it."
"Which is why you won't accept help?" Arc concluded, speaking it aloud to make sure he understood, "I see, forgive me for offending you."
Such a simple answer, it almost made him wonder how he'd missed it. And yet, the answer she gave only led to more questions swarming about in his head, mentally unable to fully understand the inherent simplicity. Had it not been for the guard stalking towards them, he might have kept her there the entire night, just to have some company that wouldn't bend their words to better please him, to try and gain his favor.
Someone who felt… Real.
"Miss?"
She turned to face the guard, no sign of fear in her eyes. If anything, she'd gone from mildly interested to downright bored with the armored demon's arrival, "If it's all the same to you, I'd prefer the term 'Mx'. Sounds a whole lot cooler."
"You have been called in for an audience." He said without missing a beat, gruff tone indicating exactly how little he cared for the cat demon's minor objection. That, and the metal-clad hand that clasped down on her shoulder.
"Fuck, watch it!" Kuro grumbled, before shooting Arc a look, "Did you slip them something about me?"
"I… What?"
"What the absolute hell, dude!?" For as angry as she sounded, she walked away with the guard rather willingly, dramatically throwing her head back as the guard ushered her along, "And here I thought we were cool!"
Arc had little time to react, watching silently as she was escorted through the crowd, only to shake his head. Of course the Crow had been watching, he thought bitterly to himself, slowly pushing through the crowd to follow the pair. He could hear Kuro admittedly chatting up a one-sided conversation with the guard, doing his best to apologize to those he may have shoved aside too harshly.
It would have been so much easier if these peasants knew who he was, he couldn't help but think, have them bow and trip over themselves in order to get out of his way. But, at the same time, he had wanted to avoid any extra attention…
He managed to break through the crowd just in time to watch the guard usher Kuro into a small concealed room under the grand staircase, pushing her past the open door frame before moving to stand in front of it, effectively closing off the only entrance/exit.
He couldn't help the scowl that crossed his face, staring down the doorway as if his foolish brother stood there. She had caught his attention.
As opposed to the bustling party room outside, this area was incredibly dim, the only light coming from the ominously placed torches in each corner of the room. She'd been ushered into what looked like a storage room, surrounded by boxes and other shelves holding who knew what.
Other than the guard blocking off the entrance, there was no one else around.
"Finally."
"Holy crap," Kuro muttered, whipping around to find the source of the whisper. Her eyes narrowed, staring at the walls and boxes as if something would walk out from them. Sight wasn't an issue, since seeing in the dark wasn't a problem, so when she didn't see anything or anyone else in the room, she couldn't help the nervous laugh that escaped her mouth, "Okay, great, I've finally gone insane. Now I'm talking to an empty room and it's boxes."
In a show of idiocy, she pranced over to the nearest box, leaning down to pat the top of it like a dog, "Good evening, Mr. Box."
"Good evening to you too, young miss."
She wasn't sure which one was worse: the fact that the voice wasn't in her head, or that it was coming from behind her. She spun around to meet the person speaking, "Umm… Hi?"
She could feel the power rolling from his shoulders, the expensive black coat more than enough to signify his status. It was really hard to look away from those wine-red eyes, a color normally held by only the strongest of the strong, the top of the pyramid, and…
"I'm going to go out on a limb here," Kuro muttered, shoving her hands into her hoodie pockets, pulling at her fingers and she rocked back and forth on her heels, sizing the demon up with growing anxiety, "You're a prince."
She fought against this inner need to shiver, her discomfort only growing under his predatory gaze. She felt like he was on the verge of lunging for me, despite his laidback stance and casual smile, "That I am."
"Cool."
When she didn't say anything further, the demon took a step forward, giving a small bow, "Do forgive me, I haven't properly introduced myself. I am Prince Corvus, at your service."
With that, he reached out towards her face, fingers curled as they tried to catch her hair.
Kuro ducked out of the way, giving him an odd and confused look. Was this how the nobility greeted each other, or…?
When he went in for it again, Kuro instinctively moved to grab his hand, the two of them staring at their joined hands before Kuro let out an awkward laugh, "I, umm, nice to meet you too!" She said, making a big show of shaking his hand before finally letting it go.
She half expected him to think she was weird (not that his first impression was much better), not have him chuckle lightly, "You're a lively one, aren't you?"
"Some may say that, I guess." Kuro yawned, looking around the room. Her eyes felt droopy, and the ground was looking surprisingly comfortable-
She was shaken from her drowsy state by the Prince's laughter, "To think that someone of your status would speak to me in such a manner. Has no one taught you respect yet?"
"Respect isn't exactly mandatory in the Rift." Kuro shot right back, nose wrinkling ever so slightly with her irritation, "Besides, I could say the same about you. Forgive me if I'm mistaken, but touching a girl's hair isn't a very formal greeting."
In the back of her head, she couldn't help but cringe ever so slightly. Regardless of if they were related or not, this Crow felt much more different than Arc; Arc didn't have an underlying sense of dark power in him, nor did she feel the need to watch her back around him. But this prince was a whole different story; from his predatory gaze to his formal yet relaxed stance, something screamed at Kuro to run.
But, on the other hand, she was never one to use nor have a filter. That much was made all the more clear when she took a step forward, poking her finger against his chest, "How about you get off your high horse and use a person's name rather than dancing around it?"
"How rude of me." Corvus sighed, as if Kuro wasn't invading his personal space, "What might your name be, kitty cat?"
"Kuro." She hissed her name through her teeth, jaw threatening to break them with the pressure she put them under, "Best remember it, might be the last one you ever hear."
She was further taken aback when he laughed, shaking his head as she slapped her hand away, "My, you're quite the feisty little pet, aren't you, my dear Kuro?"
"Do us both a favor and never say that again."
"There's no need to be so threatening." Corvus went on, head tilted in a way to make him look all the more taller than her, as if he didn't already tower over her smaller height, "And, while you're a bit of a handful right now, I'm sure it's nothing a little training can't fix. We'll have you housebroken yet."
"Is that fucking so?" Never before had she met someone capable enough to make Kuro's blood boil. Each word only added fuel of her inner fire, regardless of his rank and status and shit, "Listen here, birdbrain. Just because you're a prince doesn't mean you'll always get what you want, no one gets everything they want."
"Thankfully, I'm not a 'no one'." Corvus snickered right back.
"Well, you're less than a no one to me." Kuro shot right back, nearly spitting right in his face. She almost bit down on her tongue to keep from doing so, "You know what, fuck you, I just might be more difficult just to despite you."
It was easy for Corvus to take hold of her hand with how close she was, his grip gentle yet firm, "Someone ought to get you a leash and collar, Kitten~." He cooed, reaching out with his other hand to pet her head.
Maybe she had reached her Kuro scowled, slapping his hand away before twisting her clenched hand to instead latch onto his own, pulling him down to force him onto her level, "And someone ought to get you a cage, Crow." She spat right back, violet eyes burning against wine red.
The two stood there in silence for a moment, Kuro taking just a bit too much pleasure in the Crow's wide eyes, nearly laughing at the idea that she'd not only managed to get under his skin, but it seemed to be enough to render him speechless.
He mumbled something Kuro didn't catch, eyes narrowing with his grin for a second before his other hand came down on her neck, hard. She shouted, trying to wiggle out as he brought her in close, suffocating her with a one-sided hug.
For as lanky as he looked, it was surprisingly difficult to fight him off.
She nearly jerked back when she felt his nose against her shoulder, mumbling something into her skin before biting down. She nearly screamed at the sudden sharp pain stabbing into her, opting to drop his other wrist before reeling it back, punching him as hard as she could in his gut.
Thankfully, that was more than enough to get him to back off, stumbling backwards as Kuro ran her hand over the meat of her left shoulder. Sure enough, she could feel two deep fang marks pulsing beneath her skin, "Dude, the fuck!?" Kuro snarled, hands curled into fists as she watched the Crow closely, all but shaking with rage.
She didn't care if this guy turned out to be Satan himself, who the absolute hell pulls shit like this on the first meeting!?
She watched as he slowly rose back up to full height, his surprise melting back into this false mask of calm and control as he dusted off his coat, eyes unable to meet the fury behind her own, "You may leave now."
His voice had been so low she'd nearly missed it, but the moment it registered, she wasted no time pushing past him, "Fucking asshole." She muttered, just loud enough to make sure he'd heard her before ducking out.
Kuro left the room just as a sly smirk crossed his face, just barely able to contain his gleeful laughter.
To think that the guards mistook five other girls before finally bringing in the right one.
He licked the residue from his teeth, savoring the flavor of her blood. It was quite worth the cost of a punch to the gut and biting words, if anything, it was a sort of added bonus. Such a sweet taste from something so rotten; it really was terribly fascinating.
And then there was the roaring inferno behind her eyes! In the dim light, her dark purple eyes looked illuminated by her tangible rage, like a polished stone catching the light at just the right angle. She was a force that dared him to push her, dared him to defy her will. And when he did, not only did she refuse to budge, she dared to push him back!
He had meant to call her in as a sort of practical joke, something to wave in front of his brother's face at a later date, just to get a rise out of him. But now, well, it would be a waste to let such a lovely thing like her just walk out of his life now, wasn't it?
With another short huff of laughter, the Crow exited from the hidden entryway, his smile as dark as his attire.
Not only would this be a fun little game, but the prize was all but guaranteed at this point.
Arc nearly did a double take as Kuro stomped out of the room, pushing right through the guard as if he was a door rather than a demon. The guard seemed like he was about to stop her, a hand outstretched to grab her shoulder, only to stop at the last moment under Arc's stare. With that, the guard gave a small bow before walking into the storage room himself, as if called in by a silent voice.
With that fixed, he made his way over, his long strides quickly closing the distance, "Where are you going?"
"Away." Once again, her simple answer only raised more questions. He watched her stop suddenly, shoving her hands into her pockets before tilting her head back, taking a deep breath in. Despite her obvious efforts to calm down, her face was still red with rage, irritation laced in her eyes, "I came, I saw, I'm out."
With that, she made her way out of the room and towards the gate, Arc keeping to her heels as he eyed the guards, giving a small shake of his head: a silent command to allow her through.
Once they reached the outer gate, Kuro turned on her heel to give Arc a look, the leftover embers leaving her face rather red, "Do you need something from me?"
Arc stood there for a moment, mouth parting to speak, only to snap shut the next second. He had a lot of things to say, each of them as difficult and abstract as the last. He nearly missed Kuro leaning in front of his face, her stern expression holding just a hint of mischief in that smirk on her face, "got something to say, or do I have something on my face?"
"I-No." Arc took a moment to clear this throat, gathering together the first line of coherent words he could, "For what it is worth, it was nice to meet you." With that, he bowed, his sudden movement nearly earning him a surprised kick to the face, "I wish we had more time."
She stuttered for a second, unsure how to respond as she scratched the back of her head, "Same here. Honestly, you're probably the nicest person I've met here." She mumbled the last part under her breath, waving it off before Arc could say anything, "Who knows, maybe we'll end up meeting again some time."
There was something ominous to the way she worded that sentence, but Arc didn't have time to think about it, instead watching as she reached out to grab his arm. He was too confused to stop her from adjusting his hand into a position of her choosing, eyes only narrowing as she slapped it in a high five, "Well, I umm, yeah!"
And with that she walked off, Arc unable to do anything outside of staring where she once stood. He stood there for who knows how long, just… staring. He stood there as others began to leave the castle, stood stone-faced at the ones who decided to gawk and try to get his attention, all of which met with his unaverted gaze and statue-like posture.
At least, despite the multitude of queries he had, he couldn't help but the warm bubbly feeling he'd felt with that final, truly happy smile she wore.
Come on, we all knew it was going to go down.
Azazel: Why does this look familiar?
Me: I wanted another swing at a love triangle, sue me.
Amy: After going through Azazel's story, I wasn't aware that you know what a "love triangle" is.
Erin: Have you seen Korean drama? They don't have love triangles, they have freaking love hexagons.
Lilith: What I want to know is how, out of everyone there, was Kuro able to catch his eye? Without trying?
Kuro: I can stand for that, I was about this close to taking a nap on the floor.
Amy: Dude, I'd pay to see that.
Kuro: How much? Come on, make it worth my while.
Erin: Now you sound like you're trying to sell yourself.
Kuro: Again, make it worth my while.
Miu: I personally think t-that this'll b-b-be a nice change!
Katrina: That's what they thought of me and my story.
Amy: Now is not the time to be salty, Wise ass.
Katrina:...Is that my official nickname?
Kuro: Hehehe, nice...Zzz...
Lilith: And she's out of it.
Me: I'll end it now.
I hope you guys enjoyed, I update on the weekends, so if you're super thirsty for another chapter, the soonest I'll probably get it out is next week Saturday. Sorry, I'd get it out sooner, but I've got a lot on my plate.
With that said, I hope you guys enjoyed, be sure to leave a review if you did, and I'll see you guys next chappy!
Till then, bai bai!