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[icy_veins]

WELCOME TO YOUR PRIVATE CHANNEL, ERIDANUS SUNGAZER. FOR SECURE COMMUNICATION, USE 099.23.886.00 *** Archmage has joined 099.23.886.00 <Archmage> Hello, this is Eridanus Sungazer. <Archmage> In the event I am currently unavailable, please leave a message. <Archmage> I will answer back, promptly. If I feel you are worth the trouble.

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[icy_veins]

[Eridanus inhales those wicked words that promise delicious cruelty as if it were a bouquet of sweet flowers, his flushed countenance already softening with the doting fondness of a lover. His verdant gaze half-lids at Lucius, gracing him with a look of adulation from beneath flattered lashes.

He's partially distracted by the way Lucius' mouth spreads far too wide to bare those needle-teeth in a charmingly deadly smile, admiring the way they catch the light of dusk; but when his sharpened words catch in Eridanus' ears, any fawning expression he had worn is gone.

As if the words uttered were an offense to him, his visage sours with anger and pain in kind, where his mouth pinches with ire behind his opaline maw.] You dare insult me by suggesting I settle for second best? [His own words are a poisonous hiss as he suddenly stops in his stride.]

I want nothing less than the best for our duel, a second-rate artist will only spoil the occasion. [Irritation prickles across his skin, but then, as quickly as it came with a thought—it's gone with another. Eridanus' brows lift as he comes to his own solution to this predicament, and a smile spreads across his face once more.]

I know... we find whichever artist we seek, and then, we torture and kill the others before him. That way he knows what lay in store for him should he decide to sneak away from his obligation — the perfect plan, no?

[chemoscion]

[ Lucius laughs, and the sound is filled with delight. It still rings through the twilight air as he clears the space left between them in a single bounding step; he has avoided touching Eridanus tonight, knowing well enough how easy they've found it to fall into debauchery at the littlest brush, but now he does so, hands threading their clawed fingers into his ashen hair with the urgency of his upwelling pride. ]

You've bloomed so beautifully, Eridanus. [ His words drip with adoration for the sight of a caterpillar transformed, and the pads of his fingertips begin to wind themselves down the column of Eridanus' neck as if admiring the work of the finest sculptor. They trace his shoulders, his arms, until they come at last to the backs of his hands; Lucius' touch traces of the dagger-tipped fingers there as he breathes, ] I can hardly wait to see what wonders and horrors you'll wreak tonight, with the power of these hands alone.

[ And then, Lucius is gone again, flowing around the broader shape of Eridanus' body with the speed and fluidity befitting the Eternal. Now he takes the lead in their walk, lengthy tail swinging pleasantly in the space he's placed between them. ]

I was suggesting you do as pleases you, dear Archmage. [ Gone is the hushed and intimate tone of a moment ago. What is left is something easy and self-assured as his voice rings clearly through the darkening air. ] If it doesn't please you to carry out your passions on your favored artist, then don't. My only wish is to see you satisfied, after all.

cw: slightly romantic gore ideation?

[icy_veins]

[Such praise only serves to flush Eridanus' pale skin further, the honeyed affection held within them unfurling pleasant adoration through his breast. As those golden claws caress his nape, loosing tresses of well kept ashen hair from his plait, the only thought that whirls through his mind is not of the splendid terror they are soon to indulge in, but that he never wishes for that touch to leave—and for a moment, it doesn't.

It finds the curve of his strong musculature, traces the ridges between soft flesh and the newly birthed opal stones that line his shoulders. It teases down the back of his firm triceps, sending shivers of delight up his spine, before tickling over the sensitive skin of his forearms and wrists—flesh unguarded by the opal gauntlets that have encased the front of them. Heat pools in Eridanus' belly, thick and intoxicating as that gentle touch, reserved for a lover, finds the palms of his hands. His thoughts race: of crushing Lucius' hands within his own superior grip, and of gouging his flesh to claim it once more as his.

But then that touch is gone just as quickly as it came, like a playful whisper on the wind. Eridanus exhales a hot breath, unaware he had held it for so long within his aching lungs. He turns, his gaze unfettering as it watches the toned muscles of Lucius' back as he dances away like the coy beast he is. Eridanus feels it now—the ache of hunger.

He chases after Lucius, his steps less graceful than a moment ago, but he stays himself from the animalistic urge to pounce like predator upon prey. Instead he folds his claws within each other, behind his back, as a means of shackling his desire. This is a hunt for something else tonight, not each other.]

Following you until the stars grow cold and the universe decays into dust would be the only thing to truly satisfy me. [He sucks in a cold breath, hoping the salty tang of the air could quell his racing thoughts and thundering heart.] To hunt for your amusement — my pleasure. I know you have only selected the best for us to enjoy tonight. Others do not see your need for perfection the way I do...