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tampered2007-08-15 05:21 am
maitre-de-carte.livejournal.com) wrote in tampered2007-08-15 05:21 am
log; complete
when; 13 August, late evening.
rating; PG-13. Mild violence.
characters; Alexis Hargreaves (![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
maitre_de_carte), Riffael Raffit (subserviently).
summary; Cain's loyal servant comes to see the former Earl, only to walk into peril.
log;
It had happened again. The writing, the strange, horrifying messages to himself... they had all begun again and he couldn't take it any more. Sleeping only woke him up to the signs of being watched, being here and being observed. It was as though someone was mocking him and he couldn't take it any more. Whatever Jezebel had given him wasn't strong enough, he needed more of it otherwise he'd have these nightmares even more.
Finally, he'd broken free and headed out to meet the man who under all circumstances, should have been his enemy, and for what he had put his lover and Lord through, he was. Meeting under the public eye was a foolish choice, he had to make sure no word of this got out to Cain... he didn't want him to mistrust him for the wrong reasons.
Yet, wasn't this in a way, a betrayal in itself?
Finally making his way to the meeting point, Riff stopped in the middle of his walk, pausing to cover his eyes with a hand as though the darkness was stinging his eyes... and before he knew it, he could feel something clenching in his chest. A choked sound escaped him, and he looked down at the ground, his own feet...
It's begun... like the nightmares...
The evening, dark and chillier than expected for a summer night, seemed even clearer than most other nights. Not that it was all that readily noticeable while underground. That, perhaps, was the only complaint Alexis truly had for the place... otherwise, it had proven most accommodating. Dully, he eyed the large, almost eerily dungeon-like cavern he had claimed. Sure, some minor alterations had been made - frankly, he had been lucky to find what resembled a stone fireplace within the area - but nonetheless the atmosphere remained quite intact. It hardly troubled him, to be honest, and he patiently awaited his guest while the fire crackled behind him to cast an orange glow to the place.
Yes, his guest... the poor soul he had taken in and allowed to remain by his own son's side. The book he had been reading, a book labelled "Ascension to Glory" in golden letters against almost forest-green leather, suddenly snapped shut before him once he had heard a sound just outside the room. It came from the other side of that heavy door... and only a few people knew exactly what lie within this cavernous space. Unless such a thing as a homing instinct had been drilled within the human race. He smiled to himself at the thought, crossing the room to open the door.
And none other than his esteemed guest stood there, seemingly keeping an intense stare upon the ground.
The moment the door opened, Riff composed himself, or at least attempted to, the pain in his chest not having subsided. But he did do his best, and pushing himself up to stand straight, he faced the man he owed for his 'new life'. Though until this moment, it never occurred to him how true this was, in more ways than one.
Once he was able to face Alexis, something akin to loathing went through him, followed by a strange sense of respect. It was odd, as though he always knew that feeling, and it troubled him to think that he was feeling something he never remembered having.
"Lord Hargreaves." he greeted in a soft voice. Strange that the man would make this his habitat, and he drew back and away from the door, crushing his own feelings of tension and shaking his head.
A strangely familiar look seemed to be upon the young lad's face when Alexis stared at him. Such a subservient nature the boy had, really, even though there still was an ever-present edge underneath such. It was almost the precise reason he had taken the boy in to be a servant just for the accursed child. It was more venom to the wound in the end, and he knew it well. And he smirked, watching the younger man for what seemed ages before stepping to the side of the door.
"Surely you do not wish to remain outside?" he prompted with an almost tauntingly cool tone. Gesturing once toward the interior, he then remained where he was, waiting upon either the boy fleeing or stepping inside. Though he was certain that he would not see Riffael's back turned to him in favour of running away. More was at stake for him now than ever, and people were sometimes astoundingly desperate in the face of such challenges.
It was like willingly walking into a devil's workshop, in a strange way. The man before him almost seemed patronizing, and it was disgusting him to think he had to come here for aid. But he had to, he couldn't risk entering Lord Cain's presence once again when he was like this. As he moved in, he took a look around the place he was coming into and he was briefly reminded of a stone crypt used in ancient burial grounds. Not wanting to think more on the subject, he stood up straight, finding the nearest means of support that he could, preferably a wall, and leaning against it. He appeared exhausted, and it shone on his face.
His voice, tight, was shaken with soft shivering breaths and he looked back up at Alexis with a hard stare.
"What have you done to me?" he hissed, before he could stop himself.
"You talk as though I personally am responsible for your illness," Alexis remarked, crossing the room at a deliberate pace as he maintained his look upon Riff. With such a copper light glinting in his eyes, he almost looked like a bloodthirsty tiger circling his prey. And perhaps he truly was... he knew of the young man's true purpose, the very reason he had placed him in such a precarious position. It was all deliberate, precisely measured, almost boiled down to a science. And it wasn't ever more obvious before than it was currently as he stared the challenging youth.
It amused him so much that he let a fraction of a chuckle loose while he took to sitting within the chair by the hearth.
"Foolish boy - I've not laid a hand upon you, have I?" A patient, and yet somehow lethal, smile curved his lips, and those green eyes - as green as poison in the flickering light - seemed to toss his own silent challenge to Riff. "It's certainly impolite to blame your own ill fortunes upon innocent bystanders."
"The Doctor is working under YOUR order, is he not?" Riff couldn't help but hiss. "Why would he willingly go out of his way to help m--" his words never finished leaving his tongue, because they felt like they were being cut off from within him. Master Cain... his thoughts were suddenly filling with images of his Lord, and he quickly shook his head, attempting to clear his thoughts. No, he couldn't... he was dying as the doctor had said, and now--
His eyes snapped open, with himself feeling very much like the cornered prey ready to take on death head on, and he forced himself to move, but didn't manage to get very far. As soon as he managed to get in front of Alexis, his feet seemed to be held by some force inside him, disallowing his legs to move and he staggered, collapsing to his knees, still shivering. Something was wrong. Dead wrong.
And when he looked up, his own expression was confused, pained and he shook his head. "Am I... Am I going to die?"
He was growing weak before him. With a patronising sort of look, Alexis stared down at Riff, who had taken to kneeling right before him. The young man had become quite overtaken with the "illness"... and, as much as it was somewhat enjoyable to observe, Alexis didn't need such a waste of his time. The tip of his neatly polished shoe moved underneath Riff's chin to nudge it upward, all so that the young man could see the coolly disdainful look as he hovered above him from within the chair. Ever the loyal dog.
"Humans all die, Mister Riffael Raffit," he stated calmly, scoffing a touch before kicking at the man's jaw. "But how far one will go to keep that firm grip upon life... is completely up to the individual, is it not?" After a moment of silence, the rustle of his clothing broke it while he rose to stand - remaining mere inches away from the young man as he stared down with his mouth curled with slight distaste.
"But the question remains... what would you do?"
He barely even had the strength to protest the lift of his face, forget defending himself from the kick that came next. And in that moment, Alexis' face flashed before him as though burning into his very thoughts and scalding him with an impression, never meant to leave him.
He was sent to the floor with it, falling onto his side, a hand over where he was hit, and he shivered. Even now, he felt like something had clenched over his beating heart and was forcing it to shut down. But that wasn't it, entirely. Physically, he was feeling as though he no longer had any control over himself, and he turned his head, looking up at the man with a look of pleading.
"Anything. Anything I must..." he whispered. "Lord Cain needs me. I..." he nearly retched with the force of the choking hold that entity within him was now beginning to administer, and for some reason, the words, 'Man's worst enemy is himself' couldn't have held more true. He was feeling betrayed by his own body, and he turned to look back at Alexis, a light trickle of blood beginning to trail down his lip from where he'd bitten down when Alexis had kicked him.
"I have to do what I was supposed to!!" in that moment, it was hard to really tell who had spoken. The sharpness and edge in his voice was hardly like Riff's, normally anyway, and his glare had become icier. "I... w-won't abandon Lord Cain..."
The change was washing over Riffael like a wave upon the shoreline. The ebb and flow were interesting to watch at times, and it was strangely fitting of that crackling, dancing light to flicker over the young man's statuesque face. The tower was cracking... the foundation was weak in some places. And as only the Cardmaster could, he knew precisely where those weaknesses in the stone were. And how to make the tower crumble to the ground.
He remained where he was, standing above the crumpled pile of a man that was his son's manservant. A condescending look met that chilly glare, and without prelude, his foot squarely met with Riffael's jaw once more, with such a casual ease as though he were merely kicking trash upon the street. Perhaps he was. "Anything to remain by his side, is that it?" he echoed with a sneer upon his face. "Avoiding death to be near the accursed child of God..." He aimed this time to kick at the young man's stomach, this time in an attempt to have him look directly up at him. "Now, why is that?"
Pain. He could only feel it coursing through every bit of his body and making him numb in agony- things were changing, everything was changing around him and that look of venom, that piercing green that seemed to sting through every vein of his was mocking him, mocking every bit of his very existence.
First thrown back, Riff felt his teeth bite into his lower lip, the effect causing it to slice open enough to bleed strongly, trickling down his chin. Before he could even think of wiping it off, another kick to his stomach made him choke, and he ended up coughing, his head spinning. Yet he made no attempt to fight back.
"I... l-l...lov.." the words never left his mouth. Because within the next few moments all breath left him, causing him to choke and his hand shot out to clutch Alexis' trouser hem, a snarl on his mouth.
"Cardmaster..." he hissed. "He is my PREY."
The choking hardly registered in his ears when he watched Riff roll about on the floor. Blood was flowing a bit freely from his mouth, and Alexis had half a mind to kneel down and wipe it off with his fingertips. He paused, however, when he heard a broken, hoarse whisper come from the beaten man. Love. Alexis knew better. What foolishness to come from the young man, one who had served without asking many questions, one who had smartly grown attached to the green-gold eyes of his master. His foot rose from the floor, readying for another kick to the abdomen....
But he stopped once he felt desperate fingers clutch at his trouser's leg.
When he looked properly again at Riffael's face, he didn't quite recognise it for the feral look upon it. Cardmaster.... Once he heard the boy speak - no longer in the same voice - Alexis seemed to closely scrutinise the injured man on the floor. Yes... the tower's foundations were now crumbling. He met that vicious snarl with a darkly pleased smirk, pulling back the leg at which Riffael clutched. "Your prey... up until a certain point, Tower."
No longer was he the same person he had been merely moments earlier. Though still struggling, more so out of the injuries the man before him had inflicted on him, Riff slammed his hand down against the ground before clenching his fingers into his palm, pushing himself to sit up. He'd been struggling to get out, and it had worked... pathetic, pathetic side of his... and he moved a hand up, light eyes glaring up at Alexis with a bit of spite and resentment.
Moving the back of his hand over his chin, wiping the blood off, he coughed a little and then, a rather sly, casual look entered his eyes as he moved a hand behind him, looking as though he was making himself welcome on the floor and grunted a little, before turning to look up at the Cardmaster.
"And it took it's own time." he grumbled softly, eyes narrowing as he began to stand up. Now, standing at his full height, his look towards Alexis was nothing short of contemptuous. "Watching that fool act with my body... how long until that continues?!"
"Now, now... you know it is necessary, don't you?" Alexis stared at the newly transformed man sitting now at his feet, still smirking to himself with a strangely dark look in his eye. His Tower had arrived, and he knew now that the upper hand was his once more. The cursed child had thought he would forever be surrounded by friends... and he couldn't be any more incorrect. A beautiful doll... made to be isolated. He chuckled to himself, a voice rich like an after-dinner port as he knelt before his resurfaced Major Arcana.
"But, of course, it is dependent upon whether your appearance would be beneficial at this time," he continued, grinning almost wolfishly to the young man. "Now, what would you think, Tower? Can you imagine it all?" Alexis certainly could... and the expression he could see upon his son's face would certainly make up for the transgressions. If only Augusta herself could see it....
Of course he could. There was a lot to this that he had seen as beneficial, but little would the Cardmaster realize that it was more of an advantage to himself than anything. His gaze followed the cardmaster as he kneeled and he couldn't help but notice with a hint of dark mirth, that he had the same eyes. Moving his tongue over his lower lip to catch the blood that had been flowing, he tasted himself... still alive, still bleeding. Everything was as it should be. And that very thought made him smirk, his gaze settling onto the Cardmaster's green one.
"I tire of these games, Cardmaster." he spoke in a low voice that no longer sounded like the subservient kind tone that Cain's beloved Riffael Raffit held. "If you would only let me work without pushing me back, perhaps that arrogant child may even succumb..." The Tower had no care for anyone's pain or grief. He had been awake, alert, waiting. This entire time, and it had stunned him how strong that other had grown..
"How much longer?"
While Riff stayed there, wiping the blood from his face, Alexis had merely to restrain himself from saying something rather nasty. The kicked puppy, now a ferocious, rabid dog. It was interesting just what changes a man could undergo. One icy stare met with that impatience before Alexis again rose to his feet - this time, settling back into the armchair by the fireplace. And he damn well could have remarked on such insolence. He was tempted to, but there were other methods of subduing dogs.
"I don't believe I'm at liberty to discuss such things with you, Tower," he replied almost icily, as though he were willing those words to freeze the young man in place. "If you have any suggestion, you're certainly free to admit it right now." Cold green eyes stared long and hard at the other man, issuing a challenge to him to defy his unspoken orders. If he truly knew better, he'd bear witness to it just at this moment.
He wasn't in the mood to be patronized, and turning his gaze as Alexis moved, his gaze never leaving the Cardmaster's face. Awakening had occurred for him and he slowly got to his feet, eyes narrowing as he wiped the rest of the blood off his chin, and his eyelids lowered, glancing down at the shirt that was now stained.
There was so much he could say, so much that seemed to be rightly set just for this moment, but he wasn't a fool. The cardmaster was walking on thin ice with him, even he knew it, and that alone gave him a small sense of defiance in his own attitude as he moved up before him.
"I think I made myself clear enough." he hissed. "This... thing believes that I feel love for that arrogant child. This was not what I was giving up my body for, Cardmaster."
The thought amused him... his very own Tower so close - palpably close - to the very one he had pronounced prey. The indignation Riffael had at such proximity was, in a way, entertaining. Alexis couldn't place just why, but it was almost as though, in a sense, things had come full-circle. He created those wounds, so tenderly caressed by the façade of the man before him, and he would so return to inflict even more damage upon the boy. It was somewhat poetic - at least, he thought so.
"The blame falls not upon me," Alexis responded with an ironic smile upon his face. "I would take it up with the personality in question if I were you, my boy." The smile remained, even though a certain harsh edge overtook his eyes while he stared up to his Major Arcana. He wasn't a fool... he knew when the crew were screaming mutiny, and it seemed like a precursor to such in the other's speech. A good leader, of course, knew how to deal with such things accordingly.
Alexis almost snarled, and he would have, had he not decided upon keeping a crafty smirk as he leaned back into the chair. "But if you wish for the wait to grow longer, then I insist upon keeping up that tone, boy."
He was mocking him now, wasn't he? He wasn't happy, and it shone in his eyes as he remained glaring at the Cardmaster. He wasn't at full strength and it would be foolish to come onto him right now. Not only that, he could still feel that entity inside, that disgusting, creature of an entity that was made up to restrain that brat of a master of his.
Of course, as wisely as he could manage, he did calm down, only to realize something off. His eyes widened, hand flying to his head as his other clutched his heart, and he shot Alexis a spiteful glare. "This was supposed to wear off sooner. You knew, Cardmaster..." his words died as he ended up struggling, before the pain forced itself down and the look in his eyes changed, once again, to the lost deer in the middle of a street expression he had earlier.
What was...
Confusion now lined Riff's eyes as he looked upon Alexis, and the fact that he was standing. He had been on the floor, hadn't he? Blinking twice, he looked up at Alexis, lowering his hand, unable to form words.
"Master..." he whispered, suddenly fearing this reaction. What words he thought he'd said... he couldn't have... "What have you done to me?"
Damn it. Alexis cursed mentally to himself when he saw the reversion, but he still remained where he was, still looking on at Riffael as he seemed to undergo an about-face. He knew... yes, he did know. After all, the boy was of his own creation, more or less. He frowned a bit, choosing now to rise from the chair and hover over the mantle of the fireplace. Damn it. But, of course... there were proper methods to establish a sort of stability with the identities that lurked within the young man who stood now a mere few metres away.
A sly look crept onto his face while he looked back up to Riffael. "You should be thankful, really, that you're even alive, Mister Raffit," he stated calmly. "Certainly, otherwise, you would merely be a rotting corpse in a ditch by now if you were not standing here. Think upon that." His stare, now sombre and dark, lingered longer upon the boy before turning his attentions to the fire again. Yes, other options, indeed. Just a matter of which to pick.
"No..."
The words breathed past his lips were a fearful gasp, and Riff took a few steps back, now observing the man near the flame. Briefly reminded of a devil waiting at the gates of hell, he shook his head, feeling the pain explode inside him, and he found himself shivering.
"Why are you doing this to him, Master Hargreaves?" he finally managed to ask, pain reflected in his eyes. "What sin has he committed to have become YOUR child?" now, back into the identity that loved Cain, he clutched at his chest, shivering visibly now and trying to control himself.
"I... what are you turning me into?" the questions just kept coming and he grimaced, looking up at Alexis with a pleading look, though what he was pleading for now, even he didn't know. "I can't die yet... I can't."
He had dared to ask. Why was he doing this? The details were hardly important to anyone else, let alone the loyal dog that stood before him, clutching at his chest as though undergoing a heart attack. And yet, he had dared to ask. A small scowl turned his lip up as he merely watched Riffael writhe with pain, shooting him those looks of agony and questioning.
If anything, it was quite the testament to the legacy the young man's master had taken upon for further generations.
Alexis kept a dull look of scorn on Riffael, watching his every move while he still leaned against the mantle ever so casually. "He is meant to live as I wish him to live," he replied firmly. "To be isolated... to repent for his sins... it is merely within his destiny, Mister Raffit." Suddenly, the rage espousing from that impudence bubbled up within him - although he never showed it while he took hold of the polished cane that rested faithfully by the fireplace. "And no one, under any circumstances... is to deviate from destiny."
Cautious steps brought Alexis before the lad... such a deliberate pace seemed to take ages to cross over the carpet and travel a meagre metre or so. "Those ties that bind people are so fragile, Mister Raffit." He looked up to Riffael, a dangerous look in his eye before he rose the cane and prodded it forcefully into his chest cavity. "And I'll prove it to you."
Riff's expression changed to one of confusion, before registering what his former Master had said, grunting when the cane end hit him. His eyes held a look of helplessness, but the determination hadn't died and he moved his hand down to clutch the stick in his palm, trying once more. Yet at the same time, he wondered, was there any way to reach Alexis Hargreaves any more?
The man had come back from the dead. Was he expecting him to think like the living, just for what he wished?
"You're wrong! Lord Cain is not a doll you can puppeteer to your whims!! Open your eyes, Master Hargreaves!!" this side of Riff, would fall from the skies for him. That child he had seen in tears and helped embrace warmly. "He's... he's worth more than that if you would just..."
Another groan escaped him and he took another step back, suddenly fearful of what was going on within him and choked, until he coughed, and he moved a hand to his mouth. When he drew back, the coppery scent acted like it's own warning.
Blood. His eyes widened and he looked up at Alexis in desperation, staggering back again, shaking his head. "Don't do this, Master Hargreaves."
"As thin as a spider's web, really...." He jutted the cane harder again into Riff's chest, looking directly into Riffael's own eyes. It wasn't an act, and he knew better than to expect such antics if it ever had occurred to his Tower. Again, Alexis pushed the end of the cane into the young man's chest, this time with enough velocity behind it as to knock him over. If this one was the loyal puppy, the dog eager to be kicked, then he would certainly see to it that such limits were tested. Riffael certainly didn't deserve the courtesy of keeping within the boundaries, if he were a representative of the master that continually stood in the forefront.
"You're not to speak out of turn," he scoffed at the other man, narrowed eyes focusing into a dull sort of glare as he took more slow, deliberate steps forward. "I shall show you the fragility of these relationships, Mister Raffit."
It was hopeless... hopeless and painful, and unable to really put a resistance up against the push of that cane, Riff lost his balance and fell back, arms beneath him while the other still clutched at his chest once more. It was a pitiful image really, him as a victim, and Alexis like a ritual master preparing for a sacrifice. He wiped the blood off his chin with the back of his hand once more, and he could feel his own body betraying him when it refused to move back any further.
Once again, once again the nightmare was calling to him...
No. He had to fight, and he had to fight NOW. But there was no will, no strength, and his entire world began to spin as he watched the man approach him with a reaper's stride.
'Why, Lord Alexis...' he found himself thinking, the elements blurring around him. 'Why do you hate Lord Cain so much...'
Even if he wanted to, the words would not come, and before he knew what was happening, his body had hit the ground, eyes blanking as he did, the heat of the room finally burning him from within. To be surrounded by a comforting, black darkness...
Lord Cain... Forgive me.
rating; PG-13. Mild violence.
characters; Alexis Hargreaves (
maitre_de_carte), Riffael Raffit (subserviently).summary; Cain's loyal servant comes to see the former Earl, only to walk into peril.
log;
It had happened again. The writing, the strange, horrifying messages to himself... they had all begun again and he couldn't take it any more. Sleeping only woke him up to the signs of being watched, being here and being observed. It was as though someone was mocking him and he couldn't take it any more. Whatever Jezebel had given him wasn't strong enough, he needed more of it otherwise he'd have these nightmares even more.
Finally, he'd broken free and headed out to meet the man who under all circumstances, should have been his enemy, and for what he had put his lover and Lord through, he was. Meeting under the public eye was a foolish choice, he had to make sure no word of this got out to Cain... he didn't want him to mistrust him for the wrong reasons.
Yet, wasn't this in a way, a betrayal in itself?
Finally making his way to the meeting point, Riff stopped in the middle of his walk, pausing to cover his eyes with a hand as though the darkness was stinging his eyes... and before he knew it, he could feel something clenching in his chest. A choked sound escaped him, and he looked down at the ground, his own feet...
It's begun... like the nightmares...
The evening, dark and chillier than expected for a summer night, seemed even clearer than most other nights. Not that it was all that readily noticeable while underground. That, perhaps, was the only complaint Alexis truly had for the place... otherwise, it had proven most accommodating. Dully, he eyed the large, almost eerily dungeon-like cavern he had claimed. Sure, some minor alterations had been made - frankly, he had been lucky to find what resembled a stone fireplace within the area - but nonetheless the atmosphere remained quite intact. It hardly troubled him, to be honest, and he patiently awaited his guest while the fire crackled behind him to cast an orange glow to the place.
Yes, his guest... the poor soul he had taken in and allowed to remain by his own son's side. The book he had been reading, a book labelled "Ascension to Glory" in golden letters against almost forest-green leather, suddenly snapped shut before him once he had heard a sound just outside the room. It came from the other side of that heavy door... and only a few people knew exactly what lie within this cavernous space. Unless such a thing as a homing instinct had been drilled within the human race. He smiled to himself at the thought, crossing the room to open the door.
And none other than his esteemed guest stood there, seemingly keeping an intense stare upon the ground.
The moment the door opened, Riff composed himself, or at least attempted to, the pain in his chest not having subsided. But he did do his best, and pushing himself up to stand straight, he faced the man he owed for his 'new life'. Though until this moment, it never occurred to him how true this was, in more ways than one.
Once he was able to face Alexis, something akin to loathing went through him, followed by a strange sense of respect. It was odd, as though he always knew that feeling, and it troubled him to think that he was feeling something he never remembered having.
"Lord Hargreaves." he greeted in a soft voice. Strange that the man would make this his habitat, and he drew back and away from the door, crushing his own feelings of tension and shaking his head.
A strangely familiar look seemed to be upon the young lad's face when Alexis stared at him. Such a subservient nature the boy had, really, even though there still was an ever-present edge underneath such. It was almost the precise reason he had taken the boy in to be a servant just for the accursed child. It was more venom to the wound in the end, and he knew it well. And he smirked, watching the younger man for what seemed ages before stepping to the side of the door.
"Surely you do not wish to remain outside?" he prompted with an almost tauntingly cool tone. Gesturing once toward the interior, he then remained where he was, waiting upon either the boy fleeing or stepping inside. Though he was certain that he would not see Riffael's back turned to him in favour of running away. More was at stake for him now than ever, and people were sometimes astoundingly desperate in the face of such challenges.
It was like willingly walking into a devil's workshop, in a strange way. The man before him almost seemed patronizing, and it was disgusting him to think he had to come here for aid. But he had to, he couldn't risk entering Lord Cain's presence once again when he was like this. As he moved in, he took a look around the place he was coming into and he was briefly reminded of a stone crypt used in ancient burial grounds. Not wanting to think more on the subject, he stood up straight, finding the nearest means of support that he could, preferably a wall, and leaning against it. He appeared exhausted, and it shone on his face.
His voice, tight, was shaken with soft shivering breaths and he looked back up at Alexis with a hard stare.
"What have you done to me?" he hissed, before he could stop himself.
"You talk as though I personally am responsible for your illness," Alexis remarked, crossing the room at a deliberate pace as he maintained his look upon Riff. With such a copper light glinting in his eyes, he almost looked like a bloodthirsty tiger circling his prey. And perhaps he truly was... he knew of the young man's true purpose, the very reason he had placed him in such a precarious position. It was all deliberate, precisely measured, almost boiled down to a science. And it wasn't ever more obvious before than it was currently as he stared the challenging youth.
It amused him so much that he let a fraction of a chuckle loose while he took to sitting within the chair by the hearth.
"Foolish boy - I've not laid a hand upon you, have I?" A patient, and yet somehow lethal, smile curved his lips, and those green eyes - as green as poison in the flickering light - seemed to toss his own silent challenge to Riff. "It's certainly impolite to blame your own ill fortunes upon innocent bystanders."
"The Doctor is working under YOUR order, is he not?" Riff couldn't help but hiss. "Why would he willingly go out of his way to help m--" his words never finished leaving his tongue, because they felt like they were being cut off from within him. Master Cain... his thoughts were suddenly filling with images of his Lord, and he quickly shook his head, attempting to clear his thoughts. No, he couldn't... he was dying as the doctor had said, and now--
His eyes snapped open, with himself feeling very much like the cornered prey ready to take on death head on, and he forced himself to move, but didn't manage to get very far. As soon as he managed to get in front of Alexis, his feet seemed to be held by some force inside him, disallowing his legs to move and he staggered, collapsing to his knees, still shivering. Something was wrong. Dead wrong.
And when he looked up, his own expression was confused, pained and he shook his head. "Am I... Am I going to die?"
He was growing weak before him. With a patronising sort of look, Alexis stared down at Riff, who had taken to kneeling right before him. The young man had become quite overtaken with the "illness"... and, as much as it was somewhat enjoyable to observe, Alexis didn't need such a waste of his time. The tip of his neatly polished shoe moved underneath Riff's chin to nudge it upward, all so that the young man could see the coolly disdainful look as he hovered above him from within the chair. Ever the loyal dog.
"Humans all die, Mister Riffael Raffit," he stated calmly, scoffing a touch before kicking at the man's jaw. "But how far one will go to keep that firm grip upon life... is completely up to the individual, is it not?" After a moment of silence, the rustle of his clothing broke it while he rose to stand - remaining mere inches away from the young man as he stared down with his mouth curled with slight distaste.
"But the question remains... what would you do?"
He barely even had the strength to protest the lift of his face, forget defending himself from the kick that came next. And in that moment, Alexis' face flashed before him as though burning into his very thoughts and scalding him with an impression, never meant to leave him.
He was sent to the floor with it, falling onto his side, a hand over where he was hit, and he shivered. Even now, he felt like something had clenched over his beating heart and was forcing it to shut down. But that wasn't it, entirely. Physically, he was feeling as though he no longer had any control over himself, and he turned his head, looking up at the man with a look of pleading.
"Anything. Anything I must..." he whispered. "Lord Cain needs me. I..." he nearly retched with the force of the choking hold that entity within him was now beginning to administer, and for some reason, the words, 'Man's worst enemy is himself' couldn't have held more true. He was feeling betrayed by his own body, and he turned to look back at Alexis, a light trickle of blood beginning to trail down his lip from where he'd bitten down when Alexis had kicked him.
"I have to do what I was supposed to!!" in that moment, it was hard to really tell who had spoken. The sharpness and edge in his voice was hardly like Riff's, normally anyway, and his glare had become icier. "I... w-won't abandon Lord Cain..."
The change was washing over Riffael like a wave upon the shoreline. The ebb and flow were interesting to watch at times, and it was strangely fitting of that crackling, dancing light to flicker over the young man's statuesque face. The tower was cracking... the foundation was weak in some places. And as only the Cardmaster could, he knew precisely where those weaknesses in the stone were. And how to make the tower crumble to the ground.
He remained where he was, standing above the crumpled pile of a man that was his son's manservant. A condescending look met that chilly glare, and without prelude, his foot squarely met with Riffael's jaw once more, with such a casual ease as though he were merely kicking trash upon the street. Perhaps he was. "Anything to remain by his side, is that it?" he echoed with a sneer upon his face. "Avoiding death to be near the accursed child of God..." He aimed this time to kick at the young man's stomach, this time in an attempt to have him look directly up at him. "Now, why is that?"
Pain. He could only feel it coursing through every bit of his body and making him numb in agony- things were changing, everything was changing around him and that look of venom, that piercing green that seemed to sting through every vein of his was mocking him, mocking every bit of his very existence.
First thrown back, Riff felt his teeth bite into his lower lip, the effect causing it to slice open enough to bleed strongly, trickling down his chin. Before he could even think of wiping it off, another kick to his stomach made him choke, and he ended up coughing, his head spinning. Yet he made no attempt to fight back.
"I... l-l...lov.." the words never left his mouth. Because within the next few moments all breath left him, causing him to choke and his hand shot out to clutch Alexis' trouser hem, a snarl on his mouth.
"Cardmaster..." he hissed. "He is my PREY."
The choking hardly registered in his ears when he watched Riff roll about on the floor. Blood was flowing a bit freely from his mouth, and Alexis had half a mind to kneel down and wipe it off with his fingertips. He paused, however, when he heard a broken, hoarse whisper come from the beaten man. Love. Alexis knew better. What foolishness to come from the young man, one who had served without asking many questions, one who had smartly grown attached to the green-gold eyes of his master. His foot rose from the floor, readying for another kick to the abdomen....
But he stopped once he felt desperate fingers clutch at his trouser's leg.
When he looked properly again at Riffael's face, he didn't quite recognise it for the feral look upon it. Cardmaster.... Once he heard the boy speak - no longer in the same voice - Alexis seemed to closely scrutinise the injured man on the floor. Yes... the tower's foundations were now crumbling. He met that vicious snarl with a darkly pleased smirk, pulling back the leg at which Riffael clutched. "Your prey... up until a certain point, Tower."
No longer was he the same person he had been merely moments earlier. Though still struggling, more so out of the injuries the man before him had inflicted on him, Riff slammed his hand down against the ground before clenching his fingers into his palm, pushing himself to sit up. He'd been struggling to get out, and it had worked... pathetic, pathetic side of his... and he moved a hand up, light eyes glaring up at Alexis with a bit of spite and resentment.
Moving the back of his hand over his chin, wiping the blood off, he coughed a little and then, a rather sly, casual look entered his eyes as he moved a hand behind him, looking as though he was making himself welcome on the floor and grunted a little, before turning to look up at the Cardmaster.
"And it took it's own time." he grumbled softly, eyes narrowing as he began to stand up. Now, standing at his full height, his look towards Alexis was nothing short of contemptuous. "Watching that fool act with my body... how long until that continues?!"
"Now, now... you know it is necessary, don't you?" Alexis stared at the newly transformed man sitting now at his feet, still smirking to himself with a strangely dark look in his eye. His Tower had arrived, and he knew now that the upper hand was his once more. The cursed child had thought he would forever be surrounded by friends... and he couldn't be any more incorrect. A beautiful doll... made to be isolated. He chuckled to himself, a voice rich like an after-dinner port as he knelt before his resurfaced Major Arcana.
"But, of course, it is dependent upon whether your appearance would be beneficial at this time," he continued, grinning almost wolfishly to the young man. "Now, what would you think, Tower? Can you imagine it all?" Alexis certainly could... and the expression he could see upon his son's face would certainly make up for the transgressions. If only Augusta herself could see it....
Of course he could. There was a lot to this that he had seen as beneficial, but little would the Cardmaster realize that it was more of an advantage to himself than anything. His gaze followed the cardmaster as he kneeled and he couldn't help but notice with a hint of dark mirth, that he had the same eyes. Moving his tongue over his lower lip to catch the blood that had been flowing, he tasted himself... still alive, still bleeding. Everything was as it should be. And that very thought made him smirk, his gaze settling onto the Cardmaster's green one.
"I tire of these games, Cardmaster." he spoke in a low voice that no longer sounded like the subservient kind tone that Cain's beloved Riffael Raffit held. "If you would only let me work without pushing me back, perhaps that arrogant child may even succumb..." The Tower had no care for anyone's pain or grief. He had been awake, alert, waiting. This entire time, and it had stunned him how strong that other had grown..
"How much longer?"
While Riff stayed there, wiping the blood from his face, Alexis had merely to restrain himself from saying something rather nasty. The kicked puppy, now a ferocious, rabid dog. It was interesting just what changes a man could undergo. One icy stare met with that impatience before Alexis again rose to his feet - this time, settling back into the armchair by the fireplace. And he damn well could have remarked on such insolence. He was tempted to, but there were other methods of subduing dogs.
"I don't believe I'm at liberty to discuss such things with you, Tower," he replied almost icily, as though he were willing those words to freeze the young man in place. "If you have any suggestion, you're certainly free to admit it right now." Cold green eyes stared long and hard at the other man, issuing a challenge to him to defy his unspoken orders. If he truly knew better, he'd bear witness to it just at this moment.
He wasn't in the mood to be patronized, and turning his gaze as Alexis moved, his gaze never leaving the Cardmaster's face. Awakening had occurred for him and he slowly got to his feet, eyes narrowing as he wiped the rest of the blood off his chin, and his eyelids lowered, glancing down at the shirt that was now stained.
There was so much he could say, so much that seemed to be rightly set just for this moment, but he wasn't a fool. The cardmaster was walking on thin ice with him, even he knew it, and that alone gave him a small sense of defiance in his own attitude as he moved up before him.
"I think I made myself clear enough." he hissed. "This... thing believes that I feel love for that arrogant child. This was not what I was giving up my body for, Cardmaster."
The thought amused him... his very own Tower so close - palpably close - to the very one he had pronounced prey. The indignation Riffael had at such proximity was, in a way, entertaining. Alexis couldn't place just why, but it was almost as though, in a sense, things had come full-circle. He created those wounds, so tenderly caressed by the façade of the man before him, and he would so return to inflict even more damage upon the boy. It was somewhat poetic - at least, he thought so.
"The blame falls not upon me," Alexis responded with an ironic smile upon his face. "I would take it up with the personality in question if I were you, my boy." The smile remained, even though a certain harsh edge overtook his eyes while he stared up to his Major Arcana. He wasn't a fool... he knew when the crew were screaming mutiny, and it seemed like a precursor to such in the other's speech. A good leader, of course, knew how to deal with such things accordingly.
Alexis almost snarled, and he would have, had he not decided upon keeping a crafty smirk as he leaned back into the chair. "But if you wish for the wait to grow longer, then I insist upon keeping up that tone, boy."
He was mocking him now, wasn't he? He wasn't happy, and it shone in his eyes as he remained glaring at the Cardmaster. He wasn't at full strength and it would be foolish to come onto him right now. Not only that, he could still feel that entity inside, that disgusting, creature of an entity that was made up to restrain that brat of a master of his.
Of course, as wisely as he could manage, he did calm down, only to realize something off. His eyes widened, hand flying to his head as his other clutched his heart, and he shot Alexis a spiteful glare. "This was supposed to wear off sooner. You knew, Cardmaster..." his words died as he ended up struggling, before the pain forced itself down and the look in his eyes changed, once again, to the lost deer in the middle of a street expression he had earlier.
What was...
Confusion now lined Riff's eyes as he looked upon Alexis, and the fact that he was standing. He had been on the floor, hadn't he? Blinking twice, he looked up at Alexis, lowering his hand, unable to form words.
"Master..." he whispered, suddenly fearing this reaction. What words he thought he'd said... he couldn't have... "What have you done to me?"
Damn it. Alexis cursed mentally to himself when he saw the reversion, but he still remained where he was, still looking on at Riffael as he seemed to undergo an about-face. He knew... yes, he did know. After all, the boy was of his own creation, more or less. He frowned a bit, choosing now to rise from the chair and hover over the mantle of the fireplace. Damn it. But, of course... there were proper methods to establish a sort of stability with the identities that lurked within the young man who stood now a mere few metres away.
A sly look crept onto his face while he looked back up to Riffael. "You should be thankful, really, that you're even alive, Mister Raffit," he stated calmly. "Certainly, otherwise, you would merely be a rotting corpse in a ditch by now if you were not standing here. Think upon that." His stare, now sombre and dark, lingered longer upon the boy before turning his attentions to the fire again. Yes, other options, indeed. Just a matter of which to pick.
"No..."
The words breathed past his lips were a fearful gasp, and Riff took a few steps back, now observing the man near the flame. Briefly reminded of a devil waiting at the gates of hell, he shook his head, feeling the pain explode inside him, and he found himself shivering.
"Why are you doing this to him, Master Hargreaves?" he finally managed to ask, pain reflected in his eyes. "What sin has he committed to have become YOUR child?" now, back into the identity that loved Cain, he clutched at his chest, shivering visibly now and trying to control himself.
"I... what are you turning me into?" the questions just kept coming and he grimaced, looking up at Alexis with a pleading look, though what he was pleading for now, even he didn't know. "I can't die yet... I can't."
He had dared to ask. Why was he doing this? The details were hardly important to anyone else, let alone the loyal dog that stood before him, clutching at his chest as though undergoing a heart attack. And yet, he had dared to ask. A small scowl turned his lip up as he merely watched Riffael writhe with pain, shooting him those looks of agony and questioning.
If anything, it was quite the testament to the legacy the young man's master had taken upon for further generations.
Alexis kept a dull look of scorn on Riffael, watching his every move while he still leaned against the mantle ever so casually. "He is meant to live as I wish him to live," he replied firmly. "To be isolated... to repent for his sins... it is merely within his destiny, Mister Raffit." Suddenly, the rage espousing from that impudence bubbled up within him - although he never showed it while he took hold of the polished cane that rested faithfully by the fireplace. "And no one, under any circumstances... is to deviate from destiny."
Cautious steps brought Alexis before the lad... such a deliberate pace seemed to take ages to cross over the carpet and travel a meagre metre or so. "Those ties that bind people are so fragile, Mister Raffit." He looked up to Riffael, a dangerous look in his eye before he rose the cane and prodded it forcefully into his chest cavity. "And I'll prove it to you."
Riff's expression changed to one of confusion, before registering what his former Master had said, grunting when the cane end hit him. His eyes held a look of helplessness, but the determination hadn't died and he moved his hand down to clutch the stick in his palm, trying once more. Yet at the same time, he wondered, was there any way to reach Alexis Hargreaves any more?
The man had come back from the dead. Was he expecting him to think like the living, just for what he wished?
"You're wrong! Lord Cain is not a doll you can puppeteer to your whims!! Open your eyes, Master Hargreaves!!" this side of Riff, would fall from the skies for him. That child he had seen in tears and helped embrace warmly. "He's... he's worth more than that if you would just..."
Another groan escaped him and he took another step back, suddenly fearful of what was going on within him and choked, until he coughed, and he moved a hand to his mouth. When he drew back, the coppery scent acted like it's own warning.
Blood. His eyes widened and he looked up at Alexis in desperation, staggering back again, shaking his head. "Don't do this, Master Hargreaves."
"As thin as a spider's web, really...." He jutted the cane harder again into Riff's chest, looking directly into Riffael's own eyes. It wasn't an act, and he knew better than to expect such antics if it ever had occurred to his Tower. Again, Alexis pushed the end of the cane into the young man's chest, this time with enough velocity behind it as to knock him over. If this one was the loyal puppy, the dog eager to be kicked, then he would certainly see to it that such limits were tested. Riffael certainly didn't deserve the courtesy of keeping within the boundaries, if he were a representative of the master that continually stood in the forefront.
"You're not to speak out of turn," he scoffed at the other man, narrowed eyes focusing into a dull sort of glare as he took more slow, deliberate steps forward. "I shall show you the fragility of these relationships, Mister Raffit."
It was hopeless... hopeless and painful, and unable to really put a resistance up against the push of that cane, Riff lost his balance and fell back, arms beneath him while the other still clutched at his chest once more. It was a pitiful image really, him as a victim, and Alexis like a ritual master preparing for a sacrifice. He wiped the blood off his chin with the back of his hand once more, and he could feel his own body betraying him when it refused to move back any further.
Once again, once again the nightmare was calling to him...
No. He had to fight, and he had to fight NOW. But there was no will, no strength, and his entire world began to spin as he watched the man approach him with a reaper's stride.
'Why, Lord Alexis...' he found himself thinking, the elements blurring around him. 'Why do you hate Lord Cain so much...'
Even if he wanted to, the words would not come, and before he knew what was happening, his body had hit the ground, eyes blanking as he did, the heat of the room finally burning him from within. To be surrounded by a comforting, black darkness...
Lord Cain... Forgive me.