HELLO SORRY FOR THE HIATUS IM BACK
Today on the menu we have body horror and more aladarius fluff!
Previous part:
https://theowlhouse.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000000207049
Portal: https://theowlhouse.fandom.com/wiki/User_blog:BeanieAndTheDucks/Take_This_Coven_to_the_Grave_(fanfic_portal_blog)
Lets go!
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Sprawling out his barely-limbs comfortably in his monster form, Belos waited. He stepped over to the small cavern pool once again, but was disgusted with the reflection that sneered back at him. No matter how natural this monstrous state became, his image never could. Glowing eyes bulging out from slits like those across a throat covered his skin like maggots. They writhed and wriggled, almost as if they were trying to escape the horror they were attached to. He attracted sickeningly utter misery, throwing up in his mouth a little every time he remembered what he really looked like. But it was natural, wasn’t it? It was natural to the magic that caused it, the dirty, satanic magic. The essence that seeped from the sacs of these creature’s organs. He took a hot breath, the goop of his mouth having to squelch to do so. He sighed to the taste of vomit as he thought of witches, but it came out as more of a sickly growl. They were the reason he was what he became. His rage was simple, sharp, and immutable. It dripped from his heart into his bloodstream, flowing its ugly way to become the high in his head. Lowly, he hummed. He loved himself for rebelling against these creatures, for taking a stand where no one else could imagine. For taking the power he did through the cruel means he boasted. He loved himself like an alcoholic. And, with that, he smirked, with one final wet slosh of that matter he called flesh, materializing the real thing from the ashes. It was slightly painful, to transform back, to suppress the monster, but in his sick little way, he loved it.
He had little clue how long he needed to wait, and so he filled the time with trips to the human realm. The rebellion may have had his vat of Titan’s blood, but little did they know, he had a stash. When the Draining Spell had been stopped, a crack formed in the inner skull of the Titan, and oddly, it secreted blood, just as if it were alive. Belos didn’t question this, of course. And the witches had know way of knowing – not with how he’d secured his own corner of the Titan, so secluded and well-held that they rarely dared to challenge his place. During these little trips across realms, he would tease, not quite shock. He had big plans for the living grimwalker, but the end is only as good as the buildup, isn’t it? So he taunted the poor children, silently bit into their lives and harassed them just enough to frustrate. Just recently he had twisted the leg of the purple-haired one’s cat from beneath a gutter. She cried and blamed herself, and it was child’s play to the emperor. Truly, he could’ve permanently moved to the realm if he wanted to, but he found the games the rebellion liked to play to be gleeful. He appreciated the challenge, and knew he couldn’t get any worse, anyway. This was surely his rock bottom, the most hurt he could get, any harm inflicted didn’t exist to him at all. He had it quite nice, come to think of it. Maybe he had failed himself, failed his life’s goal, but all things considered he still held mountains of power above both species. And that was all he needed, wasn’t it? Power. He grinned, satisfied with his thoughts.
**
Alador casually made his way into the woods and through the branches, logs and vines, all with one single thought on his mind: Darius. He’d forgotten about everything else, frankly. Not that he was worried – he trusted the other man, he knew how great he was at survival, he just couldn’t reasonably go on with his days with Darius missing. It didn’t feel right.
After a couple hours, give or take, he came to a small clearing far in the forest behind the sleeping tents, and heard a very recognizable sigh. He slid past some foliage, the purple abomination-hair in sight. That actually wasn’t too difficult, he thought.
The man didn’t notice him. But Alador did notice what he was staring down at sitting on a log – thorned vines emerging from the dirt curled around both his wrists. Alador widened his eyes and looked back and forth, unsure of how to not startle the man.
While questioning this, he let out an inquisitive hum. Darius jumped back and turned around, looking caught in the act. The act of what, however, Alador didn’t know.
Darius: Titan, what are you doing here? Why the… w- what?
Alador adjusted the goggles on his head. They’ve been quite loose, recently. He should fix that sometime. No matter. What the hell was going on?
Alador: Uhhh….
Darius raised an eyebrow, still clearly embarrassed at being found.
Alador: Well, I came to look for you.
Darius sighed and closed his eyes, removing the vines’ grip and letting them fall to the ground, leaving bleeding stab wounds dressing his arms. He quickly smudged the blood, trying to wipe it off, with his palms. He turned his seat on the log to face Alador.
Darius: The others are concerned, I take it?
Alador: Uhhh… well, some are, but Adrian seems to have the rebellion relatively under control, actually.
Darius rolled his eyes. Hard. It hurt for a second.
Darius: And so you came to get me because…?
Alador pursed his lips. Why did he come to find Darius? Was there really a tangible reason?
He opened his mouth the speak, but all that it resulted in was a light sigh and a questioning face. Questioning his own decisions, that is.
Alador: I came to find you because… uh… you weren’t there. I mean, it seemed reasonable to me at the time, despite all… reasoning.
The ghost of a smile taunted Darius’ lips. Alador had come to find him just for the sake of it.
A moment of silence was split between the two. Alador studied Darius, from the vaguely traumatic expression his face donned to the burnt, crackled skin covering half of his face, tracing down his neck and left arm and presumably further.
Alador: You look horrible.
Darius couldn’t help but let out a laugh.
Darius: [teasingly] Thanks, I missed you too.
Alador shot his eyes so far up it was comical. He was trying to suppress the… feelings… that stirred in him, when Darius said things like that.
Alador: Er, uh, what I should say is, mm, are you okay? You look really beat up, and, uh, everything.
Darius’ simple smile from laughing drifted into a much sadder one. He sharply inhaled and let out yet another sigh.
Darius: Yeah, I got beat up alright.
Darius slumped and hung his head.
Alador: Do you, um, want to talk about it? It’s just us here, we can, uh, talk.
Not quite meeting his eyes, a small smile crept up the corner of Darius’ lip. He hesitated for a moment, but then shook his head.
Darius: No, but I’d like to, y’know, have a place to sleep. Without returning to the rebellion, that is.
Alador debating responding with, “but we need you,” but ultimately decided that wasn’t how you comforted someone, even if it was true.
Alador: I see.
Darius: Have the others questioned my disappearance? Surely I can’t return silently.
Alador cringed. Truthfully, he had little an idea. All he did was track the Emperor from time to time when asked, not that he ever seemed to leave that damn cave, but otherwise Alador was living in his own world, really.
Darius raised an eyebrow.
Darius: You don’t know, I take it.
Alador opened his mouth to speak but couldn’t figure out any words to form. That was okay, though, as his clueless expression told Darius everything he needed to know.
Alador: Why’d you run?
Darius: I- I don’t want to talk abo-
Alador: No. I mean, why did you run. Instead of using your magic? You could’ve gotten way further with a couple abomination trips. Why’d you choose to go on foot?
Darius stared. He should have expected Alador to ask the strangest questions. Truthfully, he knew it was because magic taunted him, let alone his own. He couldn’t even think of touching the same material that was used to kill the Boy.
Darius just shook his head, staring. Even despite the lingering trauma, he never knew what to say to Alador. The man always asked the weirdest questions, said the most out-of-place things.
The air battered against Darius’ skin, burning the dripping cuts that now started to clot. Strangely, or perhaps not so, Alador didn’t bring up what he was just doing to himself.
He sighed.
Alador stood there awkwardly, not knowing if it was appropriate to sit right up next to Darius, considering the fallen tree he was on was the only seat around.
Alador: Uuuuumm…
Darius looked up at the man.
Darius: You can sit.
Alador nodded. He made his way through crunching leaves to sit next to Darius. Far away enough to not be uncomfortable, but close enough to not be awkward. He was quite proud of himself for doing the action so socially correct.
It would be rude to force him to talk about what had happened, Alador thought, but he also knew people found silence between two or more of them awkward.
Alador: You have to eat something.
Darius turned.
Darius: Huh?
Alador: You haven’t eaten in days, from what I’m aware, and there’s no food out here unless you’re planning to go hunt or something.
Darius steered his glance towards the ground once again. He knew he had to go back to camp, there was nowhere else to exist. Coming all the way out here was a joke, and he knew it. Why in the world did Alador come after him?
Alador: If you go back, you don’t necessarily have to fight. I’ll, I’ll explain it to the others, I’ll come up with a reason you get to stay behind. I’ll figure it all out. You just need to come back for your own wellbeing.
Darius held back a sweet smile. He blinked, and it stung a little, realizing he’d been staring blankly at the leaves.
For a moment, Darius sat in peace with the other man. Neither said a word, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. It was sensible. They both connected so simply in a way that didn’t need words and didn’t require action. For a little bit, all they could hear was the movement of air, breath flowing in and out of the other and light wind caressing their bodies.
Darius stood up and dusted himself off, bloody arms now fully dried, dark maroon. Alador followed.
Alador: I think I can teleport the both of us back to camp.
Darius cringed. He hated to ask for anything, but he couldn’t bear going through with abomination magic again.
Darius: Can we walk?
Alador didn’t question it.
Alador: Sure.
Walking closer to Darius, Alador instinctively let his hand gravitate towards Darius’. Darius donned a sudden look of surprise as he felt the warmth of the other man’s hand, but he didn’t pull away. Instead, he embraced it, and began to walk. His heart raced a bit, holding hands with this strange man for some incomprehensible reason, but in a way, it made him calmer than he was before. Wanted, maybe.
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