The Hounds Of Hell Are Getting Closer
Who: Ciel Phantomhive, Sebastian Michaelis, Claude Faustus, maybe Alois later later on idek.
When: September 15th
Where: Phantomhive Manor
Summary: Sebastian's back, and he's looking for his Young Master, naturally. Ciel isn't happy. If anything, he's absolutely furious. Claude is creeping, as usual.
Warnings: Ciel flipping his shit. Demons being ( Read more... )
When: September 15th
Where: Phantomhive Manor
Summary: Sebastian's back, and he's looking for his Young Master, naturally. Ciel isn't happy. If anything, he's absolutely furious. Claude is creeping, as usual.
Warnings: Ciel flipping his shit. Demons being ( Read more... )
Claude Faustus steps out from behind Ciel's chair as though he's been there all along. Calmly, coolly, not missing a beat, he moves so close that they're almost touching. With his left hand--pale, bare, black fingernails, contract seal--he touches the front of Ciel's chin, nearly caressing it. He pauses, then, poised like this, and looks up from the top of Ciel's head to Sebastian's confused, irritated face. It's the best, Claude thinks. Just like that. Perfection.
He completes the motion--he covers Ciel's eye entirely, the one with the blazing contract seal. In comparison, the seal on Claude's hand is all wrong with its stereotypical pentagram of spindly arms and layers of gold-orange. Alarmingly, it's a somewhat recognizable seal, belonging to the demon known as the Spider. He is already contracted, but handles Ciel like his own.]
Young master, [he says, addressing Ciel, watching Sebastian. He cups the purple light, hiding its ugliness away; with what little influence he has over this foreign contract, he wills Ciel to calm down by degrees.] Increasing your volume will not allow Sebastian Michaelis to understand you any better. Please do save your breath for when you need it.
[And then, to Sebastian:]
Better late than never, I suppose. Welcome back.
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Him.
Sebastian bristles at the sight of Claude, but when the other demon touches Ciel, he practically growls, the sound nearly inaudible and low in his throat. What was he doing here? Why was he--
His voice is tight but controlled when he answers. Always controlled. Clearly he is in the wrong right now. He must tread lightly until he can figure out what is going on.]
Thank you for the welcome. Perhaps you could explain to me what I clearly do not understand, since the Young Master is too upset with me to do so.
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Don't touch me. [It's low, but with a tremor.] Both of you.
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And not so impossible to tame is the meaning of his amused smile at Sebastian.]
Is it not obvious to you? [he asks patronizingly, adjusting his glasses and then one of his gloves. Anger festers under his amusement: Sebastian doesn't remember him.] The young master has lived here in Siren's Port for more than an entire calendar year. In that time, his contract with you has been flagrantly and repeatedly violated by you. This includes invalidation in the form of desertation, which you yet again claim to have no knowledge of.
Sebastian Michaelis, you continue to confirm my long-standing beliefs that your disobedience makes you unfit to be a butler.
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[His voice is sharp and cold as he keeps his eyes on Ciel. Always on Ciel.]
The Young Master's opinion is all that I require, so I would like to hear it from his own lips, and not yours.
[He pauses, and then minutely relaxes. Allows himself to look like the butler that Ciel knows-- should know.]
So if you please, my lord.
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[Harsh and bitter, sharp and cold. These were the qualities Ciel's words possessed as he stood.]
I fear any order I give you will simply fall on deaf ears.
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It's impossible for Claude to stop smiling right now. Premeditated or not, Ciel's reactions are far better than anything Claude could have expected.]
Young master, if you'll forgive me for a suggestion: Sebastian Michaelis could stand to learn his place once more. The household hasn't need of a second head butler, after all, but there are certain gaps in our daily operations than even as slovenly a creature as him is capable of filling. It will teach him some respect, and to be truly humble, if nothing else.
[Strip Sebastian of his longtime, trusted rank. Humiliate him with a merciless demotion. Do it, Ciel Phantomhive. Do it, do it, do--slight breathlessness, already--it do it do it do IT DO IT DO IT FUCKING DO IT.]
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What do you think, Sebastian? Do you think it's an adequate punishment of a disloyal servant to be stripped of their rank? Or do you have something more fitting to suggest?
[Sebastian was a butler. His butler, through and through. But that didn't mean Ciel couldn't toy with the idea of taking his identity away.]
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And then his wide eyes close. His lips purse into a thin line.
He is seething inside.
Perhaps Ciel had witnessed several 'betrayals' before, but the Sebastian who stood before him here and now had a perfect track record. His aesthetics were unblemished, and the accusation is a sting, but not a blow.
His Young Master would regret this. And the Spider Demon would be dealt a lesson from this slovenly, disobedient butler.]
I would agree that a disloyal-- [He has to grit out that word.] --servant stripped of his rank would be more than adequately punished, as rank is the mark and honor of a loyal servant, and I have not been such. If the Young Master so wishes to punish me further, I would accept whatever he so deemed appropriate as well.
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As you wish.
[He bows from the waist up, a hand on his chest, and then glances at Sebastian--] My name is Claude Faustus, and I belong to the Trancy family. Our coat of arms bears a spider, so it's our tradition not to kill them. Please be mindful of where you choose to step. [--before leaving the bedroom properly. A supernatural sense of hearing and his spidery friends should keep him apprised of whatever else happens between Ciel and Sebastian.
Outside, after he shuts the door behind him, Claude leans against the adjacent wall and stares down at his hands. The smile he couldn't help before finally slips away, returning him to something stoic, even though he's feeling so much more than he has in the past few weeks. Right now, he isn't suffocating from a sense of pointlessness; nothing maudlin, anguished, or uncertain. The world is crystal clear and saturated, not the seeping grey of apathy. He's still breathless with it and he doesn't need to breathe.
His blood is really moving, really spiraling under his skin, because having Sebastian Michaelis' attention is one of the most thrilling things there is. This Sebastian isn't the same, not exactly, but he's wonderfully hot and cold and hot again.]
Yes, [Claude whispers.] Never forget.
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Even steps take Ciel up to where Sebastian stands. A second later, his hand strikes out, to slap Sebastian across the cheek. It makes a satisfying sound, but it does little to make him feel any better inside.
At the core of it, Ciel is frightened. Terribly so. Horrified of the demon standing before him. Sebastian most likely could feel it, but Ciel wouldn't dare to show it.]
This is the final time I will ever give this order: Never disobey me or abandon my side, ever again.
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Yes, he can feel that fear. It's nearly palpable, radiating from the boy's body.
It barely mollifies him.]
Yes, my lord.
[He bends at the waist, gives him a low bow. He will play the dog on the leash for a while longer, insufferable child.]
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There's a sudden flare of jealousy within his chest. Claude had wanted Alois so terribly. He could feel Sebastian's disdain clearly.
There was a moment longer before he turned, stepping back to the table, speaking blandly as he did so.]
Madam Red is here. So is Lady Elizabeth. Finny and Snake are also present. As for Alois Trancy and Claude Faustus, who you have already met, they also live here. Do try to endure Claude's existence.
[There was a pause then, as he stepped around the mess that he'd pushed from the table to the floor, before coming to stand behind his chair.]
A handful of others also live here. They are also to be shown respect. Have this mess cleaned up. I want lava cake for dessert.
[Tiny fingers curled over the back of the seat.]
You may take this opportunity to inquire about the state of affairs, or whatever else you find terribly amiss. I'm certain there must be many things.
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[A pause.]
Then I'd like to ask how old you were when you came here, Young Master.
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