/-/ Hey guys! Sorry again I totally suck wow but here's a thing I hope you don't hate me okay. Say hello to Greedy! I suggest looking up the origin of his last and middle names, Im pretty proud of my cleverness. Yes yes. I still love you guys I promise more things will be here in the future \-\
He was here. His lithe fingers were curled in to a tight knot which he used to pound down the walls of the Once-ler's blissful happiness. The fabric of his long green gloves contrasted against the wooden door indiscreetly and with cacophonous, incessant raps. Once-ler could hear the shifting of a long, lanky arm as it fell in patient waiting. His heart thundered against his ribs and he could almost smell the danger in the air, but he nevertheless found himself turning. His own fingers, trembling with reluctant determination, fell upon the cold metal of the familiar knob. He twisted the round mechanism in his grasp and the wood creaked, as if neglected. A singular blue eye peered through the minuscule crack between wall and door. He saw no weapons on the enigmatic stranger, but then again such an elaborate and well-tailored coat could be home to tons of hidden pockets.
"What do you want?" he growled bitterly, hoping he hadn't sounded as terrified as he had felt.
"To speak with you is all. I promise I have no plans of skinning you alive, or whatever else you may be thinking. I'm not here to hurt you. Unless you wish me to, then I would be more than happy to make an exception."
Once-ler's lip upturned stubbornly. He threw the door open the rest of the way and stood with a sense of dominance. Puffed chest, feet apart. A common display of superiority.
The stranger's stance mirrored his own, except it radiated a suave aura. He was a natural at this, probably born in to a rich and pompous family. What had made the Once-ler's knees buckle under him and force a stroke of fear in to his heart once again was that ravenous smile. Each tooth was a knife, falling in place like they had belonged to a shark.
"I appreciate that, doll," he crooned while taking a fleeting step inside, dismissively pushing past the frightened other. His clothed fingers reached in to a front pocket and withdrew a crisp business card, which he handed to his blue-eyed similar.
Once-ler's sky irises gazed on the card he absently clutched with curiosity. It read nothing but a name: Desir E. Plutus. An eccentric name, but he really had no room to speak. "What does the 'E' stand for?" he asked, his dark brows raising to address his near mirror-image.
"Are you going to drop your hatchet?" the iniquitous and eloquent doppelganger purred. Once-ler immediately allowed the alleged weapon to crash to the ground. Desir grinned widely at that, folding his hands behind his back, "it stands for Esuriens."
"Is that French or something?"
"It's Latin, and you're hopeless," he murmured with discontent, his shined shoes stepping toward the door in leaving.
Once-ler abruptly interrupted his uninvited guest with a discordant, "Wait a minute!", to which he received a questioning look. Not totally sure as to why he had stopped the other, he had eventually marked it down that he was intrigued by the stranger's undeniable charm. It was appealing to say the least, and he was slightly curious as to who exactly this enigmatic person may be. Besides, he hardly seemed dangerous if you could look past his menacing teeth. "You can't just show up here and give me a stupid business card with your weird name on it and expect me to just be fine with you turning around to leave. What the hell do you want, eh? Are you following me? Why do we look so much alike, are you like my long-lost brother or something?"
"Actually, I can," Desir's ebony brow lifted, and his piercing green eyes caught on to an expression of defeat. His smile upturned, but his mouth remained closed, "But since you were ever so polite, I'll answer your questions. Are you going to offer your guest a place to sit, or must I tire my feet with standing here?"
"Right. Uh. Sorry," the more uncoordinated of the two fumbled with his words and his feet as he uncovered a simple wooden chair, which he questioningly brushed off and pushed toward the intimidating stranger.
"Much better," a cordial tone soothingly muttered while its owner took a seat. Once-ler, with no other chair to sit upon, chose to rest himself on his bed, where his thin legs hung off the edge. "I'm not following you, I was simply observing an opportunity. The same as if such an opportunity were a commercial or an object. Casual research. You're an opportunity, understand? As to why we look alike, I can only tell you that we must have 'one of those faces'. No relation, I promise."
"So you're really...well, real?"
"You thought I wasn't?" Desir wondered aloud, a look of unsure hesitance in his eyes.
"I thought you might be some twisted version of a tulpa that had went terribly wrong and I was completely unaware of. Like you might have represented my moral downfall, or something," Once-ler admitted, a sense of laughter and embarrassment in his voice.
"That's absolutely ridiculous."
"Yea, I know."
"Now," green, gloved hands folded politely into Desir's lap, a triangle formed by his right leg, which crossed over the other and connected at ankle and knee, "as for what I want. I wish to work for you. Your business is aspiring and I'm interested in it. Not to mention you're a little in over your head. You need a helping hand."
"My family is coming, though."
"Hogwash! What are they, 4? 5?"
"Uh, there's 5 of them, if that's what you're asking."
"So you clearly need all the help you can get. I can offer you expertise in business matters, financial planning. Anything that concerns the productiveness of your business. You need another mind on the team, something more than a hopeless grunt to do manual labor."
"I guess so..."
"Marvelous!" Desir blurted, his infamous smile stretching across his lips, the sinister image of it forcing Once-ler's spine to shake. A hand was offered to him, and he shook it absently. Though he was content with the answers, he wasn't sure he wanted a stranger working for him. Then again, how bad could it be? Desir was underneath him. He was in charge. So what could go wrong? "I must be off then, doll. I'll come to call tomorrow morning, okay?"
"Uh, sure. I'll be here," Once-ler mumbled, to which he then stood and pulled the door open for his aberrant guest.
"'Till then," Desir waved nonchalantly until the door was shut in front of him. He could hear the slam of shoulders against wood from behind the threshold and smirked at the noise before turning to walk away.
Appreciate your content.