An Exploratory Venture

[notcharming]

It's only a matter of a few months to determine that Arkady is not in his domain. What's odd is that it should have taken him a shorter amount of time than that, but there seems to be conflicting information on whether or not Arkady is dead, which is unusual at best and somewhat alarming at worst.

It doesn't seem like he ever made it to the Underworld (no one possesses the power to escape once fully there), but it's possible that he stopped along the way there and turned back. That alone isn't all that unusual. Plenty of people destined for his realm were in comas, or had near-death experiences. There were stops along the way, metaphorically speaking, before the point of no return. But what's odd about Arkady is that there's debate in what Ereuvir can sense on where he belongs.

It's not enough that he would normally do something like this, take this kind of time, but Ashley's description of his brother has him intrigued as does the bits and pieces of their story he's picked up, and how angry Ashley had seemed about Arkady being alive when he had told him. Or perhaps just disappointed? He wasn't entirely sure.

Ashley has been... complex to deal with, but immensely satisfying, and he can't help but keep wondering about the entire story, the other half. And so, he started trying to track Arkady through the world of the living.

It doesn't work, of course. He has no powers above, even with someone who perhaps needs to be below. But eventually, he's not sure why, he has the idea to hone in on Ashley's remains, which he is innately and easily able to do... and when he discovers that they're in separate places, it's almost a foregone conclusion that he would track them down.

Which brings him here. The door of a manor and an ostensibly human, ostensibly modern sort of look for himself. He doesn't have a "plan", really, but he doesn't intend to be particularly subtle, either, beyond his current appearance, which is an expensive, tailored suit in a deep shade of blue, almost black, every bit of him screaming businessman or possibly noble, despite the fact that he's unaccompanied and rather casually just knocking on the door.

Comments

[notcharming]

Ereuvir isn't concerned about it for himself, but the pause makes him consider Ashley again. He seemed to thrive on such an idea, but Ereuvir wonders if it's not a bit of a curse, to be so exquisite on the outside that it becomes what defines you to other people, to the point where even someone who cares more about you than about their own life has to pause for a moment to decide if they want to see you if your beauty has dimmed.

"I ask because I am... not a good judge of such things," Ereuvir admits, "there is much that I think is beautiful that I have been told alarms people. A life well lived can show as exquisitely on a person's face or in a person's scars as it can be expressed in perfect form and function. You clawed your way out of Hell and that has leant you beauty, as has the desperate sort of look you get whenever your touch that box," he gestures, the first time he's even so much as looked at it, "Your brother seems lovely enough to me, still. But I do not know how you will find him."

[raventonmagick]

Arkady is hardly one to talk, as he used to be quite handsome, and Ashley made it no secret that he admired Arkady's good looks. But he's confident that Ashley will still recognize his brother, because their love ran deep.

Fingers touch his cheekbone, and his sunken in cheek. He's never been told he's beautiful like this. He certainly got compliments on his looks before his death, but never after. Dark eyes glance down at the box, then back to Ereuvir.

"That's all I have left of him."

Arkady turns the box so it's facing his guest and opens it to show the polished white skull that belonged to Ashley. He's obviously taken good care of it.

[notcharming]

Ereuvir nods when Arkady shows him the box,

"I know. I can sense it, even if it's only in the echoes. It is good of you, to take such care." He circles back around, though, the small touch to Arkady's own cheek not going unnoticed, "Perhaps," he begins, "you are not so much worried about Ashley's state for him, but for yourself? If death has left him untouched, perhaps it will loose it's hold on you?" it's not meant to imply he doesn't care for Ashley's beauty in it's own regard, not really, but he's aware it could sound like it.

"Still..." he leans forward, over the box, the motion deliberate, avoidable, but if Arkady doesn't avoid it, he'll cradle the lower part of his jaw, rub his thumb into the hollow under his cheekbone, "It would be a shame to lose this... It's so rare my domain is writ on someone with such plain devotion."

The way he says it, it certainly sounds as though there is another option, though he doesn't offer it outright...

[raventonmagick]

Arkady allows Ereuvir to handle his face. He's missed being touched. Ereuvier's hands don't feel like those of a mortal's. They aren't cold like a corpse or a statue, but there is a certain chill to them. It's not really a physical chill, but more the feeling of being touched by someone that embodies death itself.

To anyone else, the touch would be unnerving and creepy. But Arkady doesn't move to pull his head away or give any indication that he wants it to stop.

At Ereuvir's words, Arkady catches that little hint behind the phrasing. "You already piqued my curiosity, and yet you dangle another little bit of bait before me. I'm finding it harder to refuse."

[notcharming]

He has touched the living for pleasure, his and theirs, before, certainly, and not entirely infrequently at that. But it is very, very rare that he has ever done so with someone who knows who he is. This sort of situation is, perhaps not entirely unique, but certainly novel and he's enjoying it a great deal already. Most mortals would have shied away from his touch, if he were not taking pains to seem more human, but Arkady seems to enjoy it, though he is certainly a harder read where pleasure is concerned than his brother.

"And yet that implies you might still refuse," he's mostly just teasing, now and he really only makes the slightest of efforts to hide it in his voice. He knows he has the ability already to compel Arkady to follow him, but he is enjoying playing this game too much to claim victory just yet. Besides, he's interested to see what Arkady will pick up off the table if he leaves it, so to speak. "What must I do to convince you, then? An offer to share my knowledge and my library? An offer to share my bed? I have learned what sort of a monster your brother is, but what sort you are still remains to be seen."

[raventonmagick]

"Your library is a tempting offer. I wonder what sort of books you may have." Arkady had once had a very large library in the mansion. But now the shelves were empty, and held only dust, the books having been donated to the town library upon his and Ashley's deaths.

"The offer of your bed is a more intriguing offer, though. I admit, I do certainly find you attractive." If Ashley had managed to get himself into Ereuvir's good graces, Arkady figures his brother is already sharing Ereuvir's bed. "So long as it didn't take me away from Ashley."

[notcharming]

Interesting.

He had expected the pursuit of knowledge to drive Arkady more than pleasures of the flesh, just from what he's seen. He sharply re-evaluates the previous conversation, and the rest of his impression. This is one of the things he finds the most delightful about humans: how they can still surprise and amaze him, even after thousands of years. Ereuvir had figured there was a high likelihood he was at least partially losing a lover in all of this, his curiosity simply insatiable even if that was the case. That he might be gaining one certainly had been a thought, but not something he considered likely enough to be a motivating factor.

He tugs just slightly on Arkady, just enough to make him need to put his hands down on the table to support himself. If they land on either side of the skull, all the better to drive the point home,

"And if I told you it was a price more than an offer?" Ereuvir's capable of it, has done far worse in the name of torturing the souls under his control. But that's much more a function of his job and his being than it is something he typically desires. He wouldn't actually force Arkady to sleep with him in order to see his brother.

But he is very interested to know if he would and he's also interested to know if the other man would even consider it a price at all, or if he would desire it still, even if phrased that way.

[raventonmagick]

Arkady's hands go to either side of the box. He he could, he would look down at the skull. He can almost picture the soft skin of that skull, and feeling it under his fingers once more.

"If it is a price, it's one I would be willing to pay." Even if seeing Ashley wasn't on the line, Arkady would still find himself wanting to sleep with Ereuvir. There's something enchanting about him that draws Arkady in like a moth to the flame. Sleeping with him would be an experience that he could take to his grave. The metaphor of Persephone and the fruit comes to mind again, though Arkady himself is a mere mortal and not anything divine.

[notcharming]

Ereuvir shifts his hand slightly, until he can run his thumb over Arkady's lower lip instead of his cheek,

"Luckily for you, I think like the idea of luring you more than forcing you," Ereuvir's lips curve into a smile, "I'll admit, I'm pleasantly surprised. I didn't think to find a necromancer quite so attuned to the pleasures of the flesh." The position is awkward for a kiss, but that doesn't stop him from leaning in to brush his mouth against Arkady's, though he doesn't hold it long. "And yet, here you are." After a moment, a thought occurs to him and there's a wicked little set to his mouth,

"It occurs to me that perhaps it is not death that fascinates you so, but the forbidden. All of the things that you are supposed to hold sacrosanct: death, family. Is that the case? Rules are meant to be twisted, rather than broken, turned into a form that better suits you?" It's a guess, really, and a real question. He's trying to figure out the angle here, looking to be surprised again, perhaps.

[raventonmagick]

However brief the kiss is, Arkady reciprocates. To be touched so tenderly and offered pleasure from Ereuvir is like tasting the finest wine, though it's tinged with the reminder that his guest is far more powerful than he could ever be. Being around him is like being in the presence of a predator. Even still, Arkady finds that it makes this little encounter all the more thrilling.

Usually, Arkady is the dominant one in matters of sex and seduction. He would play the piper's flute and charm others into his bed, and now he finds himself the one being enchanted. His love life with Ashley had always had that air of power play, with Arkady fancying himself the more dominant partner, even though Ashley had a certain hold on him.

"Perhaps. I never was one to follow the rules, or at least not follow them to the letter. I was to be a perfect gentleman, and yet I had hobbies that most gentlemen do not. I was devoted to my brother, but that devotion included certain stirrings that many would find repulsive."

[notcharming]

Arkady might find a surprisingly willing partner, if he ever did attempt to be more dominant, if he ever dared. Ereuvir doesn't have much in the way of either an ego in such matters or a preference. He's used to punishing the evil, certainly, but he loves games too much for the winner to matter overmuch to him, when he decides to play. And one of his favorite games is to give humans power to see what interesting things they do with it. They rarely disappoint.

"Well. Perhaps we'll see if there are some other rules you can break," he grins, then leans back, finally, reclaiming his wine glass. "Will you bring it with you," he says, of the skull, breaking the tension somewhat, at least for a moment.

[raventonmagick]

Arkady looks down at the skull, gently touching the cranium with his fingers. His mind gets a taste of memories, seeing happier times and the times when Ashley was lonely for his brother after he went away. How Ashley missed had missed him, just as Arkady had missed him in return.

Fingers pull away from the skull and he looks back at Ereuvir. "Will it make a difference were I to bring it?" How would Ashley react if he were to see his own skull?

[notcharming]

Ereuvir shrugs and voices almost exactly what Arkady is thinking, almost enough to be creepy, perhaps,

"Intrinsically, no, but I could certainly see why a dead man wouldn't want to see their own body parts. Though perhaps it would not bother him at all." Ereuvir grins his little grin, taking another sip of the wine,

"Do you have any other questions, or would you like to leave right away. I wouldn't want to rush you, but there's no reason to delay, if you don't wish to."

[raventonmagick]

Arkady looks back down at the skull and slowly closes the box. He doesn't know if he'll be returning from the Underworld, and thus whether he'll actually see that skull again, but considering that he's about to be reunited with Ashley for real, it's a small sacrifice. The skull is a mere reminder.

He stands up, leaving the box where it is. "I have no more questions." Arkady downs the rest of his wine, not even gasping as it burns on the way down. "I wish to go with you once you are ready."

[notcharming]

Ereuvir takes another solid sip of his, but doesn't finish it, setting it aside and standing, himself. He considers for a moment,

"For me, the travel is easy, but I don't normally have passengers. It would be a shame if I killed you in the process of bringing you alive to the Underworld," he looks around, appears to have an idea, nods to himself, before he turns to face Arkady, "You come with me of your own free will, knowing that there is no way for you to return to the world of the living save if I choose to bring you there." It's is not a question. It is a stipulation, or perhaps a warning. Either way, he draws Arkady close, doesn't quite kiss him again, but leans in, intimate,

"If you walk through the door, you're mine, whatever else happens on the other side." And then he's literally drawing Arkady towards the door they came into the room through. He closes it it and, when it opens, there is another front entryway beyond. It looks... deceptively normal, and richly appointed.

"Perhaps a chariot would be more appropriate, but this isn't likely to involve you going insane before we get there." He grins.

[raventonmagick]

Arkady blinks when the door shows an unfamiliar room. He'd tensed up for a moment, almost afraid of what Ereuvir was going to show him, but now he relaxes.

Arkady looks back at the sitting room, the implications of what he's about to do hitting him full force. If he goes with Ereuvir, he might never see this mansion, or the mortal world again. He'll be leaving all of it behind. He'll belong to the lord of the underworld, likely forever.

He looks back at the doorway, then to Ereuvir. "There is nothing left for me in this world."

His possessions had been sold or donated, his friends had abandoned him, Ashley was on the other side of that door, and all this mansion holds are memories. There's nothing holding him to the mortal world.

[notcharming]

"Well then." It's said like a full thought, with another nod and Ereuvir steps through the door, turning back and holding out his hand for Arkady, to draw him through. Even so, the choice is his right up until the last moment.

When he steps through, however, the door closes behind him and they are just standing in Ereuvir's entryway. Here, he's dressed in his more usual, almost timeless sort of attire: black knee high boots, black pants and a shirt also in a deep color, this time blue. He looks perhaps a bit anachronistic, but more like some eccentric poet might be, not like someone at an Renaissance Faire or something.

"Welcome to the Underworld. And also my home," he smiles slightly. "Please, have a seat," he gestures to a small sitting room off to one side, "I will return with your brother," the smile grows a hint of teeth, "I wouldn't harm you on purpose, but until you've been here long enough for the house and the servants to recognize you, I wouldn't wander off. You are very clearly living to anyone and anything here, and that makes you something of an intruder here. You will be safe if you stay in the sitting room. I cannot promise the same if you wander about. I will only be gone a few minutes, I suspect."

That said, he leaves and goes in search of Ashley, honing in on him with his senses if needed.

[raventonmagick]

Arkady doesn't know what he's expecting. There's no shock, no feeling of leaving his body, he feels the same as he did before he went through the door. This place doesn't feel any heavier than his mansion did. Arkady's not bombarded with the scent and feeling of death. This is almost homey. In fact, Ereuvir has good taste in decor.

"I must say, I like what I see so far." He's speaking of both his host and his new surroundings. If he's to live here now, he likes that it'll be in the lap of luxury.

He does as told, taking a seat. It's really happening. He's going to see Ashley again. Will he be beautiful, or a ghoul like himself? He wishes he'd washed up or combed his hair before coming through the door. Arkady steels himself, telling himself that he'll still love Ashley no matter what.

[notcharming]

It is, perhaps, even a step above luxury into a kind of decadence. Further examination reveals an odd mix of what look like ancient influences but also modern touches and everything in between. It's as though he's always been a "lord" but what that's looked like has changed over the years, leaving traces of the old in places, though the house much more resembles a manor house of the present than the temple it still has traces of.

Whatever Ashley is doing when Ereuvir finds him, he tugs him away from it and pulls him in for a long, possessive kiss, probably unexpectedly heated, but he often seems to like to reassert his claim whenever he's been gone for very long.

"I'm home," he says, with a hint of a laugh in the statement that shows he knows how redundant that is. "And I've brought you a present."

Whoops

[raventonbeauty]

Ashley can be found, predictably, in the library. Reading is his favorite pastime when Ereuvir is away, though he's always happier when Ereuvir is around and offering him attention.

Greeting his lover with a thrilled smile, Ashley throws his arms around Ereuvir and melts into the kiss, making happy little sighs and moans because he always likes it best when Ereuvir's heated and possessive toward him. It reassures him that he's still desired and valued, which is what he wants most.

"You know how I like presents," Ashley says, giving him a radiantly happy smile and leaning most of his weight into Ereuvir, enjoying Ereuvir's attention far too much to be impatient. Adoring and devoted, he studies Ereuvir's face, basking in the attention he's getting.

[notcharming]

Ereuvir has an entire realm of beautiful sycophants if he wants them, but he does genuinely enjoy this. If there's occasionally a little bit of desperation to Ashley in regards to his attention, it somehow just makes things sweeter and there's something about making a kind of finicky lover unwind and melt.

He's a little impatient to show Ashley what he's brought, moreso than Ashley is to see it, clearly, but he also wants to take a moment to savor this. He's very much aware that what he's doing is a gamble. Both of the brothers clearly value each other more highly than any human lover, certainly, and while he would not come between them, exactly, Ashley is still his, by ceremony and by right, and Arkady is well on his way to potentially being. There are stakes, here, and even though the odds of an unacceptable outcome are low, this could be the last of this, and so he savors it, takes his time exploring Ashley's mouth, drawing him close.

"The only problem," he says after a moment, pulling back, smile wicked, "is that I'm never going to be able to top this. Come. I want to see your face." He is excited about this, an impossible present, a gift beyond measure, and his own anticipation grows as he leads Ashley through the house until he's drawing him through the door into the sitting room.

[raventonmagick]

Arkady remains patient, his hands in his lap, as he waits for Ereuvir to return. It's like waiting for a gift on Christmas or Valentines Day. For over a year, he just had a skull and memories to keep him company. Perhaps the nights of only having his own hand and those memories to keep him company during the night are over again. Perhaps he should have brought a mint.

He looks up when the door to the sitting room opens, dark eyes lighting up immediately.

Ashley. It's him. He's here and he's still beautiful, just as Arkady remembers him. He's frozen for a moment, needing a second to process all this. They can be together again, forever this time.

Arkady stands up, still gazing at Ashley. He forces his feet to move finally. "Ashley... my love... my beautiful Ashley."

[raventonbeauty]

Ashley knows what it means when Ereuvir says he’ll never be able to top this. There’s only one gift that could possibly exceed all others to that point, and Ashley has waited patiently, asking only rarely whether Ereuvir has any news of his brother. He trusts Ereuvir to handle the search as he sees fit and trusts in the temptation that he has laid out: Ashley chose to dangle the idea of both of them belonging to Ereuvir, and he genuinely believes that prize to Ereuvir will be enough to ensure what Ashley wants. He knows also that if he pushes this too hard and evokes either irritation or jealousy in Ereuvir, he risks losing both of them. So while Ereuvir has searched, Ashley has set aside thoughts of his brother and focused entirely on Ereuvir.

“You found him,” Ashley says, delighted. He lights up with hope, kissing Ereuvir in celebration and practically bouncing as they make their way through the palace and to the antechamber where Arkady is waiting.

He looks past Arkady as he enters, looking for his brother but only seeing some sallow-cheeked servant, and he startles as Arkady stands and addresses him.

Unprepared for this sight, Ashley takes a step back, half hiding behind Ereuvir like a shy child. He’s smart enough and well-educated enough on occult matters to immediately guess as to why Arkady’s appearance has changed, and it gives him some of the answers he was lacking, but not others. “You broke your promise,” Ashley says, lashing out in order to keep Arkady at a distance and buy himself some time to process.

[notcharming]

That Ereuvir gets a victory kiss goes a long way to dispelling the notion that perhaps the two of them would rather be left to their own devices. He is also aware that Arkady seems willing to entertain the possibility of bedding him and so it's hardly as though he'd suddenly find himself with a lack of company in that regard.

But he's enjoyed having Ashley's affection as much as the more physical aspects, perhaps does not enjoy Ashley's attention quite so much as Ashley enjoys his, but he does still enjoy it. He will miss it, if it turns out this is all a ploy, though he would have to acknowledge a game excellently played, if so.

And speaking of games, this isn't intended to be one of his. He wasn't lying to Arkady when he called him lovely, wasn't exaggerating to say that he really had no idea if Ashley was beautiful, still. He does understand basic aesthetics, of course, and what people generally find attractive or horrifying, but until he sees the relief on Arkady's face, he has no way to know if Ashley looks the same as ever, or if death had made him uncanny in his beauty. Similarly, he knows that Arkady does not look "normal" but he finds him genuinely extremely attractive like this and so he's caught off-guard to see Ashley shrink back, a rare, unguarded expression that Arkady gets to experience.

Still. Just because he didn't mean to leave Ashley to be shocked, it could prove interesting.

At any rate, he remains silent for the moment, lets Ashley use him as a shield and lets Arkady presume whatever he wants about that (or about the fact that Ashley is not dressed as though he came from anywhere outside.) After all, he is curious about this as well, if the dying was what had prevented him, or was circumstantial.

[raventonmagick]

Arkady freezes, his heart feeling like it was just torn from his chest. To see Ashley shrink away from him is a dagger to his soul. For some reason, he thought that Ashley would still recognize him and wouldn't mind that he wasn't the handsome man who left for Paris. Never mind that Arkady might have had the same reaction if Ashley had been the one to turn gaunt and skeletal.

He'd been so focused on how he would react upon seeing Ashley that he didn't give any real thought to how his brother would react upon seeing him.

Ashley's words are another dagger to him. "I was going to come back to you, and make you my apprentice, just like I promised. I dragged myself off of death's doorstep so I could return to you, and then you were gone."