[PRP] Anything can be bought (Muerte & Athera)

[Melancholies]

Ah, well, there she went. Was 'Ateya' enough letters? Maybe that could work, he was tired of fighting it for tonight. Oh how his patience ran thin...

Muerte was busy scribbling down spellings on a scrap paper while Athera looked around with wide eyes. "Don't break anything." He warned her, whether she understood him or not. "Not that you could make it onto the counters I suppose..." He turned back to his work with a lofty sigh. He'd at least taken precautions to 'proofing' his room of any 'innate dangers' but the fact was his laboratory was still a bit of a death trap for any unsuspecting idiot child.

"Here, play with this," Muerte had since stood to fiddle around with the contents of his desk, "You'll probably find this amusing, Athera." Maybe if he kept calling her by her name, she'd catch on? He produced a small mirror and offered it down.

Did she know what she looked like?

 

[saedusk]

Athera, in fact, did not know what she looked like. She'd seen many others, many grey-skinned, black-haired wigglers like her, both younger and older. She'd seen her own grey hands and feet and understood in some vague, barely there way that she was similar to the other trolls in the caverns. Though Muerte was older and his features far more mature, she started to comprehend the similarities there, too—grey skin, black hair, a yellow eye, and brightly colored horns.

The child's mouth gaped open as she stared up at Muerte, then back down at the mirror he'd given her. She learned that instant that she was already doe-eyed by default, but feeling surprise made her eyes wider. She made more sounds and watched her own mouth move.

By the looks of it, Athera was enthralled.  

[Melancholies]

Muerte watched her with an unfortunate sort of expression. He'd done his best to ensure Athera was as close to the ends of her trials as possible before removing her, but maybe he'd been a smidgen too early still. Then again, what did he know about children? About as much as the next troll, so, not a whole lot. He wasn't a goddamn lusus... so maybe this was normal? He couldn't recall gawking at himself in a mirror like a bird.

As it was, all Muerte could fixate on was how unfortunate it had to be having asymmetrical horns, how unsightly.

"That's you." He enunciated himself very slowly. If anything, at least she wasn't attacking her reflection, that might get messy. At least she seemed occupied.

saedusk

 

[saedusk]

"Mmmmm..." Athera tilted her head, then tilted the mirror, repeating this process a few times until she was satisfied. Over what, it was hard to say, but she made another sound in her throat and set the mirror down in her lap. At some point, she plopped right onto her bum in the middle of the floor. "Mmmhhhh," she told Muerte as if he were supposed to understand. When she looked up at him, she yawned.

Melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

Muerte stood up, seized by sudden anxiety. Not for Athera's sake, but because the force she set the mirror down in her lap made him think it would break. Resources were hard to come by in the shop! That was his mirror!

But he settled back down, disgruntled, stupid child. She could break and die over anything else, so long as it had no traces to him. Suddenly she was yawning.

"Give me that before you break it." Unable to take it anymore, he got back up again to remove the mirror from her grasp, "If you're tired, then you can go back in the crate." He pointed to the box that she had initially woken up in.

saedusk

 

[saedusk]

Athera, of course, had no clue something as simple as taking a seat and setting down the mirror would cause Muerte so much anxiety. In fact, when he snatched her prize away, she looked downright wounded, pushing her lip out and scrunching her nose like she might cry. Good thing kids had such short attention spans, though what he implied next was almost worse than losing the neat new thing she'd had only moments before.

Wide eyes followed the line of Muerte's finger and back to the cage she'd just 'escaped.' It was like a realization dawned on her then, that she really was 'free' and the world outside of that cage was bigger and less scary because of it. Less scary because she wasn't trapped like an animal.

Athera shook her head violently, a huge frown on her face. "Nnnnn...."

Melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

Muerte made an exasperated expression, "Well you'll have to go back in there eventually." No, he knew how this would go down. Athera would refuse, she'd eventually tucker herself out in the corner of his laboratory somewhere, and then he'd have to haul her lifeless limp body back to the cage. It wouldn't do her any good to sleep outside of the slime. And he could already envision scenarios where she woke up and had some sort of a fit.

He didn't want to tell Byakko about her existence just yet, but he was starting to realize that he didn't want this responsibility for much longer.

"I suppose you can stay out for a bit longer." He relented. Somewhere above them--probably in one of the high, cracked windows--a featherbeast landed and settled itself down plumply on the sill. It tweeted pleasantly.

saedusk

 

[saedusk]

Indignant, she puffed out her cheeks. Athera didn't exactly understand the significance of sopor yet. Her safety and sanity had been kept by the mother grub before Muerte had swept in and carried her away. Without a lusus, these were all things she'd have to learn from another troll. Lucky for her, the greenblood had someone in mind.

For now, she seemed content he'd given in. It wouldn't be long before she either did pass out in the corner or he managed to corral her back in a sleepy haze. Until then, she stood again, eyes cast toward the far away ceiling. She heard that!

It sounded nothing like the actual twitter of a featherbeast, but Athera made some sort of attempt to mimic it.

Melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

Muerte was about to snap out a what are you doing, but his attention was quickly diverted when he also noticed the featherbeast by the window. Watching the two curiously, he set his cheek against his palm to watch the scene play out. Wasn't like he would be able to get much done anyway, what with worrying about a child behind his back constantly.

Not that there was much to observe anyway. The bird sat there, feathers ruffled out fatly, as it gave another inquisitive chirp. They usually stopped by around this time because they knew Muerte was a solid source of treats, and this one in particular seemed confused that the greenblood wasn't immediately moving over to feed it. A heartbeat later and another (equally rotund) bird had fluttered in to join the other, the two of them sharing the bemused, twitchy look of hungry birds.

Muerte whistled then, the sound obviously practiced (perhaps to an extent innate), before the birds both tweeted back an almost identical sounding call. "Those are birds, Athera." His eyes narrowed, "Harm them, and I will end you."

The birds didn't seem to care much though. They kept hopping closer to the edge of the sill, onto the counter, obviously upset in their search for food.

Then again, maybe that was the distraction Muerte needed. Maybe it'd keep Athera occupied until she passed out.

saedusk

 

[saedusk]

"Birs..." Athera repeated, not quite right, but close enough. They definitely would keep her occupied despite Muerte's threats. Their round, ruffly-fluffiness was nearly reflected in the child's wide, inquisitive eyes. With a few cautious steps, she continued looking up at them. Her head twitched one way like theirs did, then the other.

Predictably, she yawned again not long after, then again. Time passed and the stifled yawns and mumbles became commonplace. It wouldn't be much longer before she finally gave in.

"Birs........" She sounded very, very sleepy.

Melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

"Birds... yes..." He watched her, growing bored again.

Suddenly he got an idea.

There were many times where he found himself sleeplessly wandering the hive during the day. Bumbs was usually dozing, but sometimes he'd also be stirred by the movement, and Muerte had lost count of how many times he'd sat in his lab petting the lovable, fluffy lusus. It was calming. Maybe he was onto something there. Kids--they liked soft, huggable things, right? Right.

Bumbs wasn't really present though, so the birds would have to make do. He got up and approached the counter (the birds reacted eagerly), before picking one up and setting it unceremoniously in Athera's lap. Confused, but not really worried, the bird sat there.

Muerte gave them a silent promise of extra treats later. For now, it was back to his work. Athera didn't need to go into the slime immediately... probably. Whatever.

saedusk

 

[saedusk]

Oh. If life were a video game, a literal exclamation mark would've pinged over Athera's head. It was shocking but strangely humbling for reasons she couldn't properly process yet, but she let the rotund creature chill in her lap for a long, stretched out moment before she finally dared touching it.

Soft... It was soft and fluffy and she liked it. For a kid, her touch was surprisingly delicate, like she knew subconsciously that being too rough could hurt something of this size. She seemed pleased if her cute little smile was any indication.

The excitement of it all had given her a second wind of sorts, too, but the effects were short-lived. It wasn't long before her head was bobbing and her hand stopped moving, settling in her lap. Whenever sleep tried to take her, she'd snap back to attention before slouching forward again. Each time the drowsiness hit harder faster.

Melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

That, as they say, was that.

Muerte wouldn't have noticed that Athera was sleeping for a small while. He set back to his desk, pouring over notes on his newest project, and it was only when the birds dared to make another sound that he even remembered they were there in the first place. Ah, well.

He was surprisingly dainty as he (with great effort) moved Athera's sleeping form back to the crate. Being gentle was hard, but he didn't want to risk waking the child up again. This time he left the door unlocked, if only because he was content with letting Athera wander the lab while he was present in it. During the day it would stay locked, no questions asked.

As it was, the birds were privy to a inordinate amount of sunflower seeds (no wonder they were so fat), and Muerte went back to planning out another night. It seemed like everyone made out a winner, at least in this case...

saedusk

fin!