First off, a warning.
This chapter contains what I believe to be STRONG TRIGGERS for those who are dealing with CUTTING. If you are among those who (like myself) have the compulsion, simply SKIP THIS CHAPTER. I will recap in the next one what happened. There is no reason for you to draw blood unless you TRULY think it over for a while.
Second, I have no beta, so most of my stories are "hot off the press" I try to re-read them before posting, but find I often update at night and am too tired to do this. If you see a mistake, typo, error in reasoning, put it in the review box so I can fix it, please.
Congratulations! Because of "Wrath", KoruyuhaIgrainne, and nova bomb either reviewing or adding me to their story alert list, all of the rest of you readers (yes, I know you're out there, because four people couldn't have brought my hits to 234 for this story!) get a new chapter tonight, with a promise of another one tomorrow morning. Perhaps I could be convinced to update a chapter for every two reviews…not asking too much, I don't think…Oh, and any fans of either genre can probably tell I'm twisting both universes to fit my needs.
Onto the story!
Being one of Gotham's nocturnal crime-fighters, apprenticed to the Dark Knight himself, I have a higher than usual pain threshold. That is why I was able to start that night.
I have always had a strange fascination with blood, even before I started working with the Bat. For some reason, the sight of blood doesn't make me instinctively recoil, but instead calm me, clears my head and embarrassingly, excites me. Every time I get a cut or scratch, I can't help myself. My eyes are just drawn to it. Let me tell you, that makes it kind of hard on missions.
Batman thinks I have repressed memories of abuse or molestation or something (I don't, for the record). It's just that the sight of blood is something I can't look away from. Every time I see it, I want to smell it, touch it, run my crimson fingers over my body, and taste it.
My first hard-on was when I had to help Alfred patch up the Bat after one of his many run-ins with sharp objects.
I have many scars on my body, due to the fact that I never left a scab alone, instead picking them until my skin was forced to scar over. Every time I got hurt in a fight, I inwardly rejoiced. Another outlet for my 'habit.' Sometimes I even get sloppy in fights on purpose.
Like I said, I was able to use Her that night at the Cave. At first I only used her tip to scratch on my stomach, and it sated me for a while. But it wasn't enough. So I cut, shallowly. Damn, but it burnt! Only for a minute, though. Absently, I began to 'paint' on myself with it, tracing patterns like the ones on Her hilt. I cut deeper when I needed more to paint with, adding the cuts themselves to the design.
Then a word popped to my mind, and I blurted it out without thinking.
"Ssoulbondss…"
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I started that night, a bit before midnight. Like I said before, Potter has a private room due to his sometimes hectic training schedule. That room has a secret backdoor entrance that only recognizes him and Professor Snape, the one man who is most likely to understand Absolom than any.
After checking the wards, which said Snape had left me a letter to open at my convenience, I lit a fire and undressed; throwing my clothing everywhere and sitting starker in my chair. After all, it's my room and I see no reason to stand by the rules of modesty here! Or anywhere, really, but that's not the point…
I idly watched the firelight reflecting off of Her, enjoying the innocent creature comfort of the warm fire at my toes.
She called to me, however, and I couldn't resist making a deep scratch, not feeling the pain – thanks, Uncle Vernon. The blood welled up immediately, and I brought my arm in front of my face, watching the crimson line. A few drops fell on my chest, and I spread them around, making runes like those on Her hilt. I made cuts on my chest (that hurt a little) whenever I needed more of my blood-paint.
When my entire torso was covered with red lines and cuts, a word found its way out of my mouth without my consent.
"Ssoulbondss…"
A wind swept through my room, and I only had enough thought to cast a wandless summoning charm to my double-filled holster before my room disappeared into darkness.