GOT A PM OR TWO ASKING IF IT'S GOING TO BE SCARLETT/PHOENIX... NO! FOR ONE THING, THE PAIRING IS BABETTE/PHOENIX, AND SECONDLY, THEY'RE HALF SIBLINGS. INCEEEEEST ;)
"Y- you... the... the..." Phoenix couldn't quite get the words out of his mouth. He felt sick. He could feel himself shivering, and his stomach was tying itself in knots as his legs practically turned to jelly. Babette... this strange woman... the Dark Brotherhood? Phoenix felt like he was going to faint; his head was spinning. He needed to sit down, but what if he had to run... He knew his eyes were probably clouded over, because Scarlett was giving him a strange look. Babette looked anxious, her eyes narrowed, and little creases on her cheeks. The youth wanted to run, but his legs were frozen into place, as he stared at them, terrified. Scarlett had stopped talking, clearly confused. She raised her eyebrows at the young vampire, and Babette laughed shakily, shrugging.
"Didn't I mention that?" she asked, her voice light. Phoenix knew she knew she hadn't told him. The look in her eyes... The eyes of a murderer. MURDERER. He'd known she was a murderer, but... a Dark Brotherhood murderer... For MONEY! Not for nourishment, considering she didn't usually kill when she fed, but for MONEY and FUN! A... a psychopath! He began to back away, holding up his hands. Phoenix could feel his mouth gaping, as he stared onto the two... the two killers. Both of them had blood on their hands... Sure, he too had blood on his hands, but the first was in self-defence, second and third were by accident, and the fourth... madness. Light was beginning to dawn on him as his hands wound and unwound behind his back. Scarlett was armed, even if Babette was not, and the older looking woman could take him out with ease. He was unarmed, smaller than her, and had a lot less training... He was fast, and an acrobat. Maybe that would come into use...? He backed away slowly, knowing the fear in his face would only amuse them... Babette. His friend. He felt miserable, betrayed... He'd known there was something wrong about her, deep inside, but he'd hoped it was just the whole vampirism thing... Not that she was an assassin. She'd lied to him, not told him the truth...
He looked at Scarlett, of whom he was more afraid, but she wasn't moving. She was leaning on one leg, a relaxed stance... But all that he could see of her face, her eyes, was cold and calculating, eyes narrowed. Slowly and deliberetely, not taking her eyes off him, she brought her hands to her cowl, and pulled it off, shaking out long, curly blonde hair. A smell of jasmine hit the air, and Phoenix couldn't stop himself breathing deeply to inhale the scent... But there was something under the nice smell. Something almost metallic... blood. That was it. But then, he brought his eyes to his face, and almost fainted. It truly was the face of his goddess: an ethereally beautiful face with high cheekbones, and a proud look to her, and a twisting, dark smirk... This truly was a queen of darkness, someone to worship and admire. Phoenix felt his breath taken away as he watched her, almost giddy.
But he was put off by the dark look on her face.
Red eyes narrowed, she smiled humourlessly. Beside her evil prescence, Babette looked like the little girl she appeared to be; cute and vulnerable. Phoenix felt a rush of fear, and for a second, he forgot that Babette was a centuries old vampire. She looked like an innocent child, about to be killed and devoured by this succubus of a woman, and he wanted to help her! The look of worry in the young female vampire's face was adorable and, even though she'd utterly betrayed him, Phoenix felt a rush of love for her, intermingled with his wide eyed admiration of the older assassin.
"Go on then. Run." Scarlett's voice frightened him. Low, dark, silky... Not sweet and kind like his young friend's. He could definetely imagine this woman stabbing a knife into someone's back, but the thought of Babette doing such an evil act... Perverse. He wanted to help her! He could take her away, he could... But then the assassin's words made sense to his ears. She was allowing him to... to run? Just like that? But he knew who she was, could describe her to guards, could... But her dark glare brought him back to his senses, and he looked straight back at her, determined to show no fear. Phoenix wanted to be brave, and he would try his hardest. But the little boy voice in him was urging him to run, to take the chance while he had it... But how could he leave Babette? The wind rustled in the trees, filling the air that consisted of, before, only of the rippling of the river. It was a spooky atmosphere: almost pitch black apart from the moon lighting small slants through the trees. Phoenix was completely split. Fear was still coursing through him but, looking into the evil woman's eyes, he knew he had to choose quickly. Should he run, and try and forget about his lost love and the whole ordeal? Or should he stay and deal with the consequences?
"You can run if you like. I won't follow you. I swear on my sister's grave."
Sister's grave? Who would make a promise like that, and then forget it? That would dishonour the dead and she, clearly a Nord, would not do something like that... Even an assassin had honour, right? But a twinge in Babette's eyelid told Phoenix something was wrong with this statement. He had learned to pick out small things like that, especially when he worked with other acrobats, and his vampiric eyesight had only enhanced his ability to notice things... Then it came to him. And, without thinking about the consequences, he said firmly and clearly,
"You're lying."
It was a mistake, and Phoenix knew it. Babette was giving him a pained look, and the second the words passed his lips, the youth regretted them immensely. He had just told a powerful assassin that she was a liar... And now she would probably disembowel him. He was frozen with terror, and shut his eyes, waiting for the blow of true death and the blood that would spurt down his front... But he felt nothing. Maybe, when you're a vampire, death doesn't hurt... Slowly, tentatively, he opened his eyes. Scarlett was still standing in front of him, but she didn't look angry, not at all. She looked interested.
Then, seeing his shocked gaze, she laughed. "I don't have a sister. Well done, little night-spawn." Phoenix wasn't sure if she was being sarcastic or not. Her voice sounded mocking, but almost everything she'd said so far sounded like that. He wasn't sure, yet, if he liked Scarlett. He wanted to worship her, if that was anything, but he tended to like people who were straight out nice to him, no strings attached. He was almost certain that, if he became friends with this woman, she would stab him in the back the moment it suited her. However, unconditionally, he admired her. "So, now, not the best situation for you, it it? Try to run away, and I'll kill you. Stay here, and I'll take you with us and probably kill you in the morning. Nothing personal... Loose ties, all that." her voice was pleasant, now, as if they were discussing the weather, not his imminent death. Phoenix very almost laughed. This whole situation was ridiculous: from the vampirism, to the Dark Brotherhood, to the murders... He would wake up, at any second, to find the whole thing had been a horrible dream, and that he hadn't even performed yet. No, he'd be in Cyrodiil, with Thorn's family, eating bread and soft goats cheese and grapes and hot chocolate...
Thorn. Mercury. The friends that he'd killed.
Unwillingly, he began to cry. Tears were dripping down his face as he fell to his knees, and sobbed into the ground. Misery replaced his fear, as he screamed out his agony, and shock and terror... Why was this happening to him? Why him? He was just a simple acrobat with crushes on girls, and friends, and... And no family. Shaking his head, he suddenly felt ashamed at crying in front of this stranger. Sitting up, he wiped the tears from his face, and looked up. Then, his shame evaporated. The look on Scarlett's face was not of pity. It was of understanding. Looking over, he saw an anxious look on Babette's face, and felt his heart melt for her.
"Phoenix, right?" he turned to look at Scarlett, determinedly unashamed. He would not show her his fear, not after that embarrassing episode. She was holding her cowl under her arm, and her head was tipped on one side. For the first time, Phoenix noticed that Babette was holding her arm, huddled into her side. Although the younger looking Babette was about 10 times her age, Scarlett looked like her elder sister, or mother even. Somehow, to Phoenix, it softened up the atmosphere. Although the way the assassin was looking at HIM wasn't exactly motherly, there was basic kindness under the mocking exterior. She looked a lot gentler like that.
"Yeah." he replied, and when he spoke, he found his voice was quite stable. Strange, as he'd been crying to high heaven only a few moments ago. Staring into her eyes, he saw a glimmer of pity streak through them. Then, slowly, she shut her eyes, as if thinking. For a few, heart stopping moments, the woman just thought, opening her eyes and studying him carefully. Then, she said in an almost flirtatious voice, "You've got the build of an assassin. Look like one, too."
"I thought he looked like you."
Both of them stared at Babette, who had not spoken for a while. She was looking back and forth between them, screwing her eyes up. Then, she nodded. "Yes. You look alike. I thought he looked like Astrid too..." Scarlett flinched at the name. For a second, a mere second, Phoenix could see a look of pain in the woman's demonic eyes, before they turned plain evil and teasing again. Oddly, the name Astrid struck a cord with Phoenix, but he wasn't sure why. Astrid. A nice name; pretty. He smiled vaguely, although he wasn't completely sure why. Scarlett was standing stock still, hands knotting and unknotting. Apparently, the mention of the name had unsettled the assassin, because she had her eyes shut, and her head was tilted towards the ground. She was biting her lip and, like with Babette, blood was dribbling out from the puncture marks. Once again, the youth felt a desire to lick the blood away. He realised most men and boys, in his position, would, if only to lock lips with this stunning creature... But there was something about her that reminded her of himself, if only in looks. Not that he thought himself as beautiful as she, but... The facial features and structure were the same. There was something familiar about her.
Slowly, Scarlett nodded, opening her eyes to look at him. "Yeah. He does look like Astrid. And Silvanus." her voice had gone from miserable, to curious. Her eyebrows were raised, and she was studying him closely. Then, she muttered something to herself that Phoenix only just caught. "About the right age, too... It couldn't be..." she gave Babette a strange look, and the young vampire gave her an equally significant look. Phoenix frowned, confused. What was going on? Who were they talking about? Suddenly, he realised he was no longer afraid... They didn't seem so intent on killing him anymore. But what on Nirn were they talking about?
"It's not." Scarlett's voice now sounded determined. "It isn't." and then, when Babette opened her mouth to argue more, the assassin gave her a dark look. "Don't argue with me, Babette." for the first time, Phoenix felt true, pure anger in the woman's voice. Babette fell silent, a grim look on her face. The fear returned, as Phoenix saw a flash of fury go across Scarlett's face. She was scrutinizing him, now, all kindness gone. "Now is the time to make your choice." all of her playfulness was gone. She sounded straight-out furious. "You can run, and I'll give you twenty seconds before I come and kill you. Stay... and I'll consider other options. Maybe, if you make yourself useful, I could spare you. I'm waiting."
She began to tap her foot. Phoenix, shocked by her sudden outburst, found himself stuttering. Join the Dark Brotherhood? And... and murder for money and... fun. They thought killing people was... fun. He felt ill. He should run! Maybe he'd stand a chance against her... No. There was no way in hell he would. So... stay. If he made himself useful, she'd spare him... To be an assassin. To kill people, in exchange for his own life...
Babette, seeing his inner turmoil, stepped forwards, a helpful look on her face. "It's not hard. You killed that red-haired child to survive, didn't you? Well... it's the same. You kill to survive. Like the rest of us." her voice was pleading. For the first time, Phoenix thought. Babette... she really wanted him to survive. The look on her face, caring and worried, showed that. She was an angel, and Scarlett was a devil. Somehow, despite the evidence, Phoenix couldn't make himself think about his friend killing people... It just wasn't true. There was a mix up, somehow. He felt his heart lift. When she put it like that... It hadn't been so bad, killing the child. The thinking about it had been the real problem for him... so he wouldn't think about it. At least he would survive, even if he would become a thoughtless monster.
"A... I'll be a thoughtless monster." he found himself addressing Scarlett, now, keeping eye contact. They looked at each other for a moment and, for some reason, Phoenix knew he rather liked this woman. Even though she had been barely civil towards him, he could sense a hidden kindness, that didn't show on the spiky exterior. A vulnerablility. She narrowed her eyes at him, and then, slowly, nodded, never taking her eyes from his.
"If so," she said dryly. "You'll find yourself at home with us, I promise. If I don't just kill you in the morning." Scarlett chuckled darkly, and Phoenix felt another ripple of fear go through him. He stood still, facing her. For a few moments, they sized each other up, until eventually, Scarlett smiled. It was a genuine smile, friendly, teasing. "I'll take your silence for a yes?"
Slowly... Phoenix nodded. He nodded. And in his mind, he could play himself nodding again and again and again. This was not just agreeing to an extra sweetroll, or an answer to any normal question... This was the question that would change him and his life forever, and he knew it. Playing Babette's words through his head was the only way he could keep the courage to not run away screaming then and there.
Looking back at Scarlett, he saw a look of slight sympathy in her eyes. "I..." she stopped herself. Then, with a reluctant grin, she looked at Babette. "Sorry I came." then, winking flirtatiously at Phoenix, she whispered, "Take care of her, now. She's very dangerous, even though she doesn't look it." they all laughed. Even Phoenix found himself laughing and, suddenly, a huge weight was lifted off his shoulders. He would have to remember to keep on Scarlett's good side. "I'll see you back home." she said, nodding her head at Babette. The two embraced quickly, before Scarlett moved off into the darkness, pulling on her cowl. And then, as mysteriously as she'd appeared, the woman had disappeared into the night, like a shadow. Phoenix watched where she had melted into the dark, mouth slightly open.
Then, he turned to Babette, who had a sheepish smile on her face. And he growled quietly.
"Babette. You have a lot of explaining to do."
!NOTE FROM LACHANCE!
Yaaaay! A brief summary of this chapter:
Phoenix joined the DB Scarlett was a poser (XD)
Babette was sheepish.
SPOILER FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER Fighting. Sibling rivalry. Romance. Blood. And plenty of lollygagging.
Astrid :)