"Where you go, I shall follow, forevermore." [Closed]

In all his years, he had acquired many titles. For although many believed in his mythology, many worshiped him as something akin to a God, he was but a demon. A creature of negativity, birth into existence with no purpose other than to follow his base desires. He was at best neglected by his father, and at worst actively toy'd with. Brought into a world where it took everything to suppress the deep echoing pain within his being. That to call him anything humanlike would be entirely false, for much like his creator, any shred of humanity he had was buried deep.

He was a demon's demon, for better or worst. An exemplar of what their race could become with self-control and the power to manifest their desires. For some, to be a demon was a curse upon reality. To be born a creatures of raw negativity, who thrived off such to bury the pain deep in their existence. Perhaps, in some ways, this was why Mat felt some disgust towards how newer demons carried themselves. He'd never admit it, he'd never show it, but the humanity newer generations of demons actively expressed brought him envy.

But he was far too old, and far too jaded, to truly change.

However, none of this mattered in the end. As he approached a building holding the personage of the woman whom he came to meet. Someone he could not accurately give a relationship to, other than complicated. A demoness whom for all her mania, and espionage, was a woman whom he had some dealings with. They held a mutual objective, even if their goals did not entire matched. So he 'called in advance' as one might say. As he approached the building he felt a light feeling enter into his stomach, a foreign and rarely felt one.

As soon as he felt it, he buried it deep. Closing it into a casket, than setting it on fire. Such brief glimpses of true emotion, of humanity, where best to be done away with. As he allowed an easy smile to enter onto his face, the toga clad male would make his way through the building with ease. He wouldn't be stopped or question as he almost ethereally glided through the checkpoints until he reached the office of Inami Ashtavon. A brief smile, and cool word, with the secretary would alert Inami (if his raw presence hadn't) that he had arrived.

He prepared himself to meet her once more. A smile curled onto his lips, as crimson irises glowed. That feeling returned, if only to be buried once more.

Inami had felt him since he had entered hong-kong. The pulsating energy that had driven so many of the fortunate, and dastardly epoch’s of humanity. A being whose reprehensible grasp over his nature had led to pre-conceived notions of bemusement. A man whose very nature both vexed, and called out to her own.

”Let yourself in will you.” The sing-song voice came lazily across the room, not echoing like one might expect, but flitting too-and fro as if carried by the wind. The mired layers of bemusement held the interest that lay within. The heady undertones of euphoria buried beneath whimsicality. The very inhuman depth of her emotion bleeding into the demonic heritage that sang within her veins. The inhuman beauty of her tone aligning itself with her truest nature.

Upon entering the room, he’d be greeted by a cream-kissed beauty whose raven locks lay glimmering against her charcoal dress. Golden eyes lazily looking up from where she was pouring herself an amber liquid from a crystal bottle into a glass. The way she just let the bottle dangle against the tips of her fingers gave off such a sense of leisure, and the small razor-backed grin she let peak on the corner of her lips was as alien and yet beautiful as the rest of the Queens visage.

Oh so inhuman, and yet so very much more than human. It wasn’t that Inami didn’t feel these ”emotions” that humans had quantified. It was rather she felt far more deeply than most, and since she had decided to be true to herself, her nature, and her ambitions the wild, alien undertones of her essence had bled into even the simplest of actions she partook in. Like right now, the wriggling predatory edge of her actions conveyed this game of cat n mouse that lay between them.

” Like the view?” Perfectly mundane, yet the way it drawled forth from her lips as she cocked her head faintly towards the window was done masterfully. She was perfectly content with letting this little moment draw out into eternity until he decided to reveal the nature of this visit. The way she leaned forward faintly, setting the crystal bottle down with a thunk to pick up her glass, was done so that she never broke eye contact.

Tilting the glass back against her full lips, she’d take a sip of the liquid within. Fire warming her center while she lazily clicked her nail against a second, empty crystal glass that lay on the desk. The tinkling sound of her nails against the glass slow and rhythmic as she said lightly.

”Help yourself if you want some.”

After saying so, Inami straightened up, making her way to the window, looking out at her favorite view--the glittering bay. Her golden eyes looking out at those deep blue waters which glittered against the morning sun.


” Join me after you're done?” Inami said lightly as she continued to stare out the window. Glass cradled lazily between her hands. A tiny smile blossoming, ghosted on the corners of her lips as she wondered just why such a troublesome person had walked up to her door today.


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When he stepped through that door, he walked into a new domain.

When it came to interactions among demons, Mat was a demon whom usually held the upper hand. He was a figure of legend, a hushed whisper among demons. Unlike Mana or the self-proclaimed royals, he was something far older. Something which had survived ages hundred times longer than when their first ancestors walked. So it only spoke the volumes of the history between the two demons within this room than when he entered he did so not with a smile, but mild caution.

If there was a woman whom he had to be careful around, it was Inami. Every person possessed a weakness, an Achilles heel, and while he kept his closely guarded if there was but one person who may find it; it would be her. But even with all this known he couldn't help but allow a smile to ghost his lips, catching the sight of the woman. In a world where demons should shift their appearance, to be however they pleased, every form she possessed seemed to draw something from him. As he glided towards the bottle she invited him towards, his smooth baritone would speak out.

"Need I answer something, so obvious."

The words rolled off his tongue in a quick parry, like a fencer whom riposte against his opponent. Their game of back and forth was something to be expected the moment he entered the room, but none the less he poured himself a glass of the liquid, before picking it up walking towards the window. The sound of his heavy foot steps becoming louder as he stopped next to her, his purple and white toga contrasting against her own. The golden jewelry which adorned his body shining in the evening sun ever so much, creating an almost divine image.

After a moment of silence, his crimson irises gazing out into the bay, he had to admit but one thing: Earth possessed some interesting sights. From the red sea, to the shores of california, the man had seen them all. Even this, he had probably seen once before in his existence. In a long ago era, doing something which he has since long forgotten. Such was the nature of his perpetual existence, one which persist even in this conflictive times.

"You've changed."

The words left his mouth idly, as he lifted the glass to his lips. His eyes shifting to look at her, slowly lowering his glass. Perhaps she had changed physically since they last met, but that wasn't what he meant. His words went far deeper than that, burrowing into her core. As from but a singular site of her, from her walk and talk, to everything that she was, she had changed. Rarely was he this direct, and he almost cursed himself for it.

As he looked on her however, he noticed something. A small dripple of the liquid which she drunk. A small droplet, from the sip she had taken. His body turned moving with an almost slowness to it, as his thumb extended. Irises going to her own as his thumb brushed against the skin to the side of her lip, wiping away from liquid. The callous finger only brushing past her bottom lip, holding his position for a moment, before retreating back silently.

He did not want her visage marred with such an imperfection.

He hadn’t changed a bit. If there was one thing in this corrupt, self-serving world she could expect to be the same, undoubtedly it was him. Something was broken with this one, and yet maybe that was where the fascination lay? That display of twisted, churning beauty--like nightshade, poisoning everything it touched. It was tantalizing, and frustrating all at the same time.

Inami’s eyes remained at the window after the few moments they had lazed upon him--when she was pouring herself a glass. That self-assured air of his, the way it teased at the fringes of her essence, brought the faintest wrinkle to her nose as she responded airly.

” Oh if you’d be so kind, enlighten me” Inami’s tone was non-committal as she swirled the amber liquid in the glass, her eyes drawn to the way it’s mercurial depths shimmered and swirled against the light that filtered in from the east. Biding her time until the next quip was directed towards her, she let her eyes drift from the glass to the skyline below, the urban labyrinth laying beneath her, sprawling out in all directions.

Eventually, a remark came. On how she’d changed. Imperceptibly, the faintest makings of a frown twitched upon the fringes of her fair lips. Her eyes glimmering with a kind of pain that was there for only a split second, yet the emotion that lay behind it could rend the skies and set the seas ablaze. Such sweet agony, that’d fade as once more a lazy grin spread upon her mouth, her brows arching faintly as she looked side-long at the male that stood at her side.

” Now this is rich, you are talking of change? Does it not suit me?” Inami spoke with a saucy slowness that dripped like honey from her mouth, the faintest hint of smog puffing from the corners of her lips as she did a little twirl, kicking the fringe of the dress out. Miraculously, she’d pull off the stunt without any liquid spilling from her glass, as if mocking such a thing as inertia.

Deflecting such a muddy topic as her emotions, she felt his thumb brush against her lips. The sensation of dry rough skin, especially when uninvited, against her mouth caused a flicker of annoyance to linger in her eyes for a moment. For such an open girl, Inami was fairly particular on who touched her when it came to such actions of intimacy. Yet..

She didn’t harm him, an oddly misleading passivity when considering what she had done in the past to others if for nothing more than for sport. She didn’t step back either, brows raised as she glanced between his eyes and the finger. Flickering back and forth betwixt the two.

”Careful now, that was almost nice. You’re not thawing on me are you?” Inami quipped snarkily, yet the snark didn’t reach her eyes, those glimmered with mirth. It was obvious she felt some modicum of amusement from the exchange.

Afterwards Inami turned her head towards the far wall, breaking eye contact. This gave the man the view of the back of her head, and leaving him privy to none of the emotions that might have crossed her face in the exchange to come.

”I’ve been through a lot recently.” Inami finally said, her voice soft and smooth as it slipped from her lips. No more was offered, and no emotion was there to be gleaned from such an exchange, but she’d still have answered his question on change honestly.

Inami lapsed into silence after that, taking a sip from her glass as she turned back around, the rays catching her golden eyes as she stared into the sun, her expression.. Contemplative.


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"I have no idea what you mean, have I not always been warm to you, Inami?"

His question cut through the air far sharper than any blade, splitting the tension with such force that one might be taken aback by such a statement. As he brought the glass to his lips taking a deep sip, he'd lower it as he crossed his arms to stare outside. She was such a strange demoness, changing in ways which he could not understand. Within he lay the blessing of demonkind, and to think that she may fall to the same Mana or that young demon Calypso. It brought him an uneasy feeling, to think she may lose her purpose or fall into some dispair.

All he did, even if he did not admit it, was to ensure that such a fate did not befall his kind. That destruction of any type was preferrable to the depression and sadness which consumed a demon whom had no purpose. Who could not feel the white hot feeling of joy. So with that a hum escaped his lips, as he listened to all she said.

"It is always a pleasure to gaze upon, all that you are."

The compliment left his lips with all the smoothness which was associated with him, said coolly without betraying anything. If it came from any other man or woman, they might think it something flirtious. And perhaps, deep down, maybe there was something to that. But instead he merely spoke it as if it was but a simple truth, to admire a woman with a beautiful exterior. Yet, there was more to it. For when it came to their kind, to display themselves in any light was but at their finger tips. So when Mat spoke, he did not merely speak of her visage.

He spoke of her person, of everything which made Inami, Inami. All the conflicts and madness she was. For however much she changed at her core laid that demon whom he knew. The one of many years, and nights, ago whom he shared a passing moment with.

"We all go through things, it does not mean we must change so dramatically."

His voice perhaps held a bit of challenge, frustration even. Where it came from could be debated, but he settled on philosophy. It wasn't so much she was changing, but that she seemed to becoming different than what he knew. Distancing herself from her kind, from their people, and.. from himself. A inhale was taken as crimson irises dipped down to stare out into the bay, washing the waves crash against sand and rock. How she angered him, and yet how he could not display it. How she changed, and how he stagnated.

He was the Danava of Catalysts and Hinderances. For every step forward, another was taken back. Perhaps that was why he stayed the same. Some may call it stagnation, but what was so wrong with that?

”I think you mean insufferable.” Inami retorted almost reflexively at the notion that this is what he called being treated “warmly”. The vexing thing was, he probably meant it, even if Inami felt differently about it. Maybe that's why she always had been at odds with him, this basic difference of Ideals, and ambitions.

Inami’s body shifted as she leaned back slightly, turning until she leaned against the glass window. Her arms crossed right underneath her bosom, her gaze lingering upon him. Golden irises narrowing faintly when Mat talked about always deriving pleasure from gazing upon her. Sure, she knew that he didn’t mean her outwards appearance, but it didn’t stop a resplendent peal of laughter from bubbling forth from her lips. She was one of the most anti-social people she had ever met, nasty, grumpy, prone to violence--how any of these things were pleasurable to ”gaze” upon alluded her sense of reason oh-so-nicely.

”We both know i’m far from wonderful to gaze upon, but I'll take the compliment.” Inami’s words were mirrored by the man-eating grin that lingered upon her face. The leery crooked razor-backed smile was all teeth, all sarcasm. A feral sense of bemusement was stoked in the center of her being in response to such honeyed words. After all, the Queen didn’t know what it meant to love. Affection, and possessiveness sure. Twisted, corrupt emotions they were when they danced in her bosom. For now though? She was merely gleeful.

”I think you change too little.” Inami’s smile was wiped away, and something gentler replaced it. A thoughtful look crossing her face as she tipped her head back and downed the rest of the glass in her hand, a fine trickle of the amber liquid rolling from her mouth, to follow the curvature of her neck.

”Pah.” Inami exhaled before her hand jerked to the side, throwing the glass across the room where it shattered against the corner of a shelf. The tinkling of the broken glass both loud and abrupt, as Inami’s golden eyes snapped to matts own, and she snorted faintly before she went over to the glass bottle that lay upon her desk.

”Always afraid aren't you? That you’ll be unable to recognise yerself.” Inami said, a tinge of frustration marring her voice as well as she popped the crystal stopper and upended the bottle into her mouth, drinking deeply. Gulp after gulp of amber liquid spilling down her throat. Further and further her head and back bent, until the bottle was pointing upside-down towards the ceiling. Until every last drop passed her lips. Only then did she toss the bottle as well, letting it smash against the table in the corner of the room.

” What, you don’t like it?” Inami said incredulously, shaking her head, her raven locks swaying too and fro as the woman eventually sat down on the edge of her desk, her feet dangling from the ground. Her golden gaze was scorching as it remained on mat, almost as if challenging him to say something contrary. In Fact it was daring him to do so.

” I think change can be fantastic. We are always changing. Immortal we may be, that doesn’t mean we must be unchanging, static things.” Inami growled faintly before exhaling. God he was always infuriating. That certainly hadn’t changed. Prodding and poking, with words that sounded so lovely to hear.

After leaving him with those barbed words, Inami reached down to grasp her heels. The tiny strappy things coming off with a tug of her long, slender fingers--before they too were chucked across the room. Only once they were off, did she let her heels thud against the side of her desk, making a faint dunk dunk dunk noise, her golden gaze fairly interested in the paneling on her ceiling at the moment.



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"I suppose beauty remains in the eye of the beholder."

Mat remarked dryly as he brought his glass up once more to take a sip of it. His mind flushing with thoughts in the moment, as annoyance seemed to run down his spine. She bulked so hard at her innate nature, the beauty which was prescribed to her at birth. He could not understand why the demoness looked so poorly upon it, or rather he refused to accept her reasoning. Every passing year marked her as so much more human in his eyes, and where he should feel disgust he simply felt.. emptiness. A hole within his person which he would never admit, which he would fill with avarice and desires.

His eyes moved to her as she spoke of his change, of his lack of it. The sound of the glass shattering filling the room, followed by another. She downed the entire bottle and merely cast it aside, and in that moment he saw the flicker of her true being. That deep pain and negativity which resided in the person of every demon. The thing in which they ran from, which they hid from, and filled with all the desires in the world. It was almost enticing.

"I fear nothing."

Was he lying to her, or merely himself. Or was it simply the truth which resided within him. A being so immortal and old that even the thought of destruction didn't raise the hair on his arms. It all was so tedious, but yet it was the path laid out before him. Something he so deeply believed in it drove his every action, even now, all his actions seemed to be guided by his beliefs. As much as Inami seemed to follow her heart, and beliefs, Mat did the same. Yet in a twist of fate it seemed it pulled them in seperate directions.

Then she dares speak of change to only call him, him of all people, out! It was nearly enough to make the stoic expression which had settled on his face morph. His back was to her his eyes gazing out into the bay, and she in her chair gazing into the ceiling. As if neither could bring their gaze to bare upon each other for what may be said. But in this moment, he felt the tug of his demonic essence. As white hot flames ran across his soul, forcing him to down his glass and let go of it from his hand. The sound of glass smashing on the floor as he turned around, the toga wrapped male walking over to her desk.

A hand would slam upon it as he body weight caused the desk to groan in protet, his crimson irises glowing. The blackened background of them almost like a void as he stared down at her. "As Immortal as we may be, why do we need to change? What is so wrong with being a stalwart figure, amongst the constant chaos." His baritone voice dripping with challenge, staring down upon her. His body hunched over her own slightly in an invasion of space which any other man may fear. But he did not care, for he was drawn in by his pride, his anger, and other emotions best left unsaid.

"Why must you fear stagnation, why do you so fear that which is your nature. That which you where birth for." His voice tumbled out in a jumbled mess, far from his usual persona. A true glimpse into Mat, into the Demon. His eyes bearing down on her, forcing contact. His mouth opened, as the two equally terrifying demons bore down on each other. The Devourer, he who is whispered in the nightmares of their kind, and she- whom accomplishments and terrors are often spoken about in silent corridors. His eyes betrayed him, they spoke so many more words that he himself would not say. Words which if spoken, would forever change everything.

To want so badly, and to deny one's self. It was the most undemonlike thing Mat had ever done.

Insufferable. The thought pervaded her mind, a slippery, ornery thing that sought to bring her further discomfort and annoyance. Her eyes remained askance, staring at the ceiling as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. The marble paneling, luminous alternating whorls of white and black, had reddened, blood-baked hues--aglow in the fading red and purple sun.

Through the window, the office that had no lights aglow within, was cast in brilliant magenta hues. The shadows casting upon inami’s cream-colored face deep and meaningful. The contrast between darkness and light--both brilliant and breath-taking.

For a woman who had sat in the mired filth of her mind for so long, simply taking and taking the pain. Bottling it up inside until it had become something putrid and irreconcilable, the thought of this man who simply wallowed in his own stubborn stagnation was enough to drive her positively insane. The expression on her face shifted, annoyance bleeding into her angular, beautiful features once more as she thought more about it.

One of her heels hit her desk a little harder, denting the beautiful inlaid wood. She bit her lip with her razor-sharp teeth to draw motes of blood as she thought a little harder. why did he always infuriate her so? She felt like the answer lay at the tip of her tongue, until she heard something positively untrue bubble forth from his lips. He had the audacity to say "I fear nothing.".

”Liar. Many things scare you do they not? “ Inami’s words were full of acidity. A tittering of laughter bubbling dryly from her mouth as she had said those words of condemnation. It was clear that not only Inami disbelieved that statement of his, but she found it downright insulting that he’d find her to be naive enough to believe such a load of crock.

Then he had come over, like a raging bull. The sound of his hands slapping against the desk, both loud enough, and strong enough to send the papers atop it’s surface scattering across the floor. A tiny snow-globe fashioned after hawaii was knocked from the corner of the desk--just another sacrifice in their pissing contest.

Now Inami’s eyes looked down as she felt the man’s proximity. Trapped between her perch on the edge of her desk, and the man that was leering over her, the anger that lay in her gaze smoldered as she studied him. The uneven spikiness of his hair, down to the way his state of undress was from a time long in the past. Then the passing notion that flitted in her head caused a wide shark-toothed grin to spread across her lips. looks like I pushed his buttons this time”.

”Oh no, looks like you’re gettin angry poppet. Careful, I know how much you love Control. “ Inami said in an almost crooning tone as she reached up, her slender right pointer-finger booping the tip of his nose, as if the mans anger, and the way he loomed over her didn’t phase her in the slightest. Their shadows over-lapping, cast against the far wall behind them.

Inami’s golden gaze lingered upon his crimson one. The many emotions that lingered in those eyes, and the many different flavors of his emotions as they intermingled upon the tip of her tongue. It was.. spicy. The scorching intensity, the way he was so fervently stuck in his ways… god it was annoying.. When he finally got over his anger enough to rebut her statement, Inami couldn’t help it. Her head tilted back as a healthy chortle spilled forth from her lips. Her chest and tummy heaving in her mirth. All this build up, all this tension, and that what what he had decided to say?

Truly she wasn’t laughing at him, it was just the melting pot of absurdity they had found themselves in. When she finally found some semblance of control within the tumbling seas of both amusement and anger, her lips curled in a little smirk and she said.

” What I fear is not my nature, what I fear is opening my eyes a thousand years from now to a world driven to ruin by the countless maybes that were never answered. I fear the endless doors that remained shut because I feared to want more. I fear stagnation because I am selfish. “ Inami’s words came forth from her lips with a sultry purr. A dangerous murmur that spilled forth from her mouth as her hand came to rest against his throat, her head cocked slightly to the side as she studied him contemplatively.

” Do you truly believe that you are afraid of nothing? Are you that naive? “ Inami’s tone was challenging as her gaze seemed to hold equal parts of anger and concern. As if she couldn’t believe that someone like him would be so untrue to themselves.

” Or are you just afraid of admitting to yourself the truth?” Inami giggled faintly as the hand that had remained upon his throat squeezed slightly, the way they were cradled together causing her to lean slightly backwards, so that their bodies wouldn’t be flush with one another.


.

The feeling of her hand wrapped around his throat was something he hadn't felt in some time, in some ways it excited it. Ignited a primal flame deep within the demon which had been smothered out many years ago. His crimson irises meeting her own eyes with unwavering presence. That despite her advantage in raw power, this was still the same demon whom has survived and thrived more lifetimes than could be counted. But yet, he made no move to remove her hand instead just staring upon her beautiful visage while she spoke to him.

How could he answer such a question, how could he speak to her in a way which she understood. Could they even find some middle ground between their two extremes. His hand raised up slightly until but the barest of milimeters prevented his callous fingers from touching the skin of her hand. She was the only being in all of creation who would challenge him like this, at least the only one which he would give the time of day to.

"When you have seen the world as I have, you learn that fear is meaningless."

He deflected the question bashing it aside, he would not be backed into a corner. He would not grant her this victory over him, instead his hand would come to grip her wrist. Crimson eyes flaring as his body blocked the ever setting sun. His body nearly on top of her as a hand came to rest against the side of the table. The ever present feeling of her hand upon his throat did nothing to stop him from moving. It was as if he was waiting to see if she would force him to move, or if he would back down. A meeting of wills.

"I did not come here to discuss philosophy."

His words came out softly, as his hand tightened around her wrist. There was something in his voice, hidden beneath all the guile and anger. Many years ago they had been in the same position, perhaps in a different location. But it all held that familiar taste to him, like a dream which seemed to constantly want to relive it's self. Oh how he missed her, and yet how he could not stand her. For as much as their bickering, their arguing, their anger, their frustration, in some ways the world seemed all the much boring when she was not present.

He came here to discuss Shadowfall, the problem it posed. To debate on how they should proceed. There was so much to do, and they possessed all the time in the world. He wasn't in a rush. Still to be here in this room, with the sun on his back, and that insufferable demon under him- By creation did he feel a rush.

The hand upon her wrist lightened it's grip, perhaps guided by his instincts, it would glide down her pale skin. The feeling of his callous fingers against the impossibly soft skin of Inami seemed to ignite sparks, electricity running across his skin. Going from her wrist, towards her elbow, and even further beyond. Until it slowly would make it's way to the crook of her neck, and when it seemed he might squeeze, it roamed upwards to the outline of her jaw cupping it slightly. In a moment of weakness, or of demon urges, he spoke.

"I've missed you."

He preached to follow your instincts, and yet, he restrained his at the most crucial of times.

Close enough to hear the heart that beat within Mat’s chest, Inami was struck with the fragility of their immortal lives. With but an errant thought, or the twitch of a hand, Inami could erase this man in an instant. They both knew it, and yet here they were. Inami’s annoyance with his proximity was intermixed with the bemusement at his audacity. No one other than her family dare challenge her. Many feared her yes, but very few cared not for the danger she posed. Maybe that was what kept drawing her back in, even when she was angry enough to shatter glasses, mad enough to waste a hard to find vintage of her favorite spirit. This tiny lingering attachment that kept reeling her back in kept her from sending him out that door for good.

So there they were, practically pressed up against one another. Inami’s golden gaze contemplative as she studied the angular, chiseled features of the man in front of her. He was handsome perhaps, if she had to quantify him in this world's standards. His face was chiseled and taut, he had a nice, strong nose. Yet, it wasn’t really the exterior features that held Inami’s interest. No, it was that vexing personality of his, that made her want to throttle him, which kept drawing her back in. It’s what kept the hand that nursed his throat from clenching and crushing it, kept her from hurling him out her 200th story window.

When he spoke of seeing the world as he did being a justifiable excuse to stop feeling fear, a flash of pity made its way into her golden gaze, the hand that had laid so passively upon Mat’s neck clenching a little harder. Not enough of course to cause any harm, but it was hard enough that if she were to let go, the red indentation of her nails could be seen clearly upon his bronzed flesh. The sensation of his rough hand against her forearm, while foreign and slightly annoying, did bring a feeling of.. anticipation? So few were willing to be this close to her, such was her reputation. Still, that didn’t give him a pass for the lies that passed his lips so blatantly.

” Then you haven’t seen much of the world. Abandoning your fear is easy Mat, accepting it is much harder.” Inami’s words were hushed, but they held equal parts irritation and fascination within them. She enjoyed their manipulative little bouts almost as much as mule-like stubbornness drove her insane. As she spoke she leaned back just enough that it was no longer a hand that propped her up, but an errant elbow. Her hand still remained upon his neck, as she looked up at him from their angle, completely unintimidated, nor flustered from their close proximity.

Then he spoke of philosophy, and a devilish smile smoldered upon her lips. Her sharp teeth in full display as she arched her brows mischievously. Her voice thick with sarcasm as she said whimsically.

”Philosophy? I thought we were commenting on the weather.” Inami nonetheless let go what she knew was her advantage. There was an art to this after all, digging under his skin just enough to plant seeds within for him to ponder, but not enough to drive him off all together. Even if he’d never acquiesce to her own opinions, she still enjoyed it.

Then the grip upon her wrist lightened, and that errand, meandering hand of his trailed it’s way upon her flesh. If she had a heart it might truly have missed a beat. If she was a human, maybe tingles would have raced up her spine. she wasn’t human, so instead a kind of heat blossomed within, even if it was a tiny, confused ember flickering in the lonely broken darkness. A tiny modicum of light in the abyss. She knew this had nothing to do with him coming here, she knew there was another more pressing matter upon his mind. She didn’t care though. It felt good to feel another's touch sometimes, even if she’d never admit it.

Finally that rough and calloused palm--a product of many lifetimes of travel, lay upon her face. Cradling her cheek. Inami closed her eyes to soak it in. Counting slowly to ten, Inami savored that sensation, before opening her eyes to gaze up at him. Unspoken emotion lingered there, one of those countless maybes, one of those doors that could be opened. The chance for change. Yet, despite that glittering gaze of hers, her eyes were searching.

”Yet that is what you fear, isn’t it?” Inami finally said after a few moments of silence in response to his declaration of missing her. The hand upon his neck remained there, but maybe it lightened for a moment. The touch that had been bruising, maybe it was a tad gentler than before? It was such a fickle thing wasn’t it?

”that you miss me. “ Inami’s words were gentle, but they held the world within them, a world of change.

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