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[sangreine]

[A timid face peeks around the corner of some building, no attention paid to the exact location or the fact that she's laughably terrible at being covert. A Chiropteran Queen reduced to a trembling escapee, fearing the very shadows she should embrace.]

[Taking her leave of Diva and Karl's mansion had been strangely, unexpectedly easy, even as Saya's heartbeat jumped into her throat at every imagined sound, every shifting shadow. She even bumped a table, upsetting several knickknacks in what surely must have alerted someone -- and yet a few frenzied glances about had revealed nothing. Perhaps they weren't keeping as close an eye as she'd thought?]

[The thought does nothing to keep her calm, but she has to at least try. Finding out whether Charlie was okay, and Setsuna, everyone who had been at risk simply for knowing her... it's worth the risk. It would help to have more a plan than "sneak around and try to glimpse them from afar" but the newly reborn aren't much for strategy. She dares not even use her device.]

[Skittish already, it takes only a minor sound, a glint of light, for her to turn and blindly flee. It wouldn't be surprising at all if she were to run directly into some random passerby.]

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[sangreine]

[Like a sheep called for slaughter, she nearly locks up when she feels him. But, she decides in a glorious burst of ire: no. She is no lost lamb to be docilely herded.]

[She spins just as his stance settles, eyes flashing in stark defiance even as cold fear skitters over her oversensitive nerves.] I'm going back when I'm done.

[For now, that's truth. Will it be in an hour?]

[worldofourown]

I never doubted that. [ He doubts everything she does. She's not her true self yet. That puts her in a spotlight of fierce scrutiny. ] But surely I can tag along? Hm~? [ He offers her an arm. A perfectly polite, old-fashioned gesture that's at odds with his sneering smile. ]

I give up on decent prose tonight ;;

[sangreine]

[Half-incredulous, she stares at his arm. More of this feigned act, when he's stated clear as crystal that he wants to kill her. Twisted games wrapped in faux courtship.]

Why? [Disgusted barb or genuine question, even she can't decide.]

I love all Lena prose, ssh<33

[worldofourown]

[ He tilts his head at her, eyes gleaming. His voice is liquid, almost seductive in the way he hums it out. But there's an edge of something darker beneath it. Madness? Amusement? ]

Does family need an excuse to spend time with each other?

too kind, that's what you are. <333

[sangreine]

[She can no longer refute the reality of her blood, and so bypasses that point as much as part of her heaves at the thought. But there's the other matter, more urgent and certainly more to the point.]

You've had me in that place for days, all the time you could want. [Even if it's not. Forever is his aim, Saya dead and rotten. Logic with a madman is as useless as a dull blade, but the only alternative is to join him.]

/snugs<3

[worldofourown]

[ Useless indeed. He extends a hand, eyes bright and twinkly above the cruel little smile on his face. As if inviting her into a dance. They've had so many dances over the years, haven't they? Each one interrupted, short-lived. ]

A few days? In the face of decades, that's hardly time enough, dear Saya.

[ There can never be enough time. The flavor of her presence is one that never grows stale. ]

[sangreine]

Why haven't you killed me? [She ignores his hand, his subtle jibes of mocking intimacy. That's the crux of it: he had her, has her perfectly poised, and yet hasn't acted.]

[worldofourown]

[ He doesn't drop his hand. Instead he reaches out, fingertips brushing her cheek. Almost affectionate. Except his voice is like black, ancient ice. ]

I serve a Queen, before all others. If she doesn't want you dead, I'll stay my hand. However much I wish otherwise.

[ Because that is his duty as a Chevalier. What he was made for. ]

[sangreine]

[Her life in Diva's hands is no greater comfort. The whims of that woman shift with every breath.]

[She turns her face, discontent with his icy touch but not, apparently, enough to truly protest. Hatred, love, some odd mixture; whatever is in his touch, she is sickened to find that it isn't alien to her.]

[worldofourown]

[ The smile fades when she turns away. This is what he hates most; having the validation of her gaze -- of Diva's -- withdrawn from him. It makes him feel like he's worse than dead. Like he never existed. It's what it all comes down to, in the end. Everything he's done -- every disaster he's caused. All for a fraction of Diva's or Saya's regard -- whether in hatred or love. ]

[ Or both. ]

[ Reaching out, he snatches Saya's hand. ] Come, come. Why the pouty face? [ Gallantly ] You may have your outing. I'll simply tag along as -- a bodyguard of sorts. [ His voice lowers, equal parts insinuating and beguiling ] You're used to that, I'd wager.

[ To Haji, trailing after her at every step. Not a deadly shadow but a smitten puppy. ]

[sangreine]

[The taunt offends, a pan-flash of indignance, but not knowing the reason inclines Saya to ignore it. This time she allows the contact, sick of pointless debate. If not by her side he would be lurking just out of sight, her prickling with his gaze. She prefers this.]

[However,] Why are you so cold? [His cool skin unnerves her, and for a moment she entertains the notion that he keeps it so for just that purpose.]

[worldofourown]

[ He misconstrues her question, mocking, ] I'm not cold, precious one. I believe that prerogative rests with you. [ The sarcasm flits away. He drops his gaze to their linked hands, hot on cold, dark on pale. A pretty contrast. He addresses them quietly, rather than fixing on her face. ] I'm City Dead. It means I'm dead in my own homeworld. [ His gaze flicks to hers, sharp, quick ] All because of you.

[sangreine]

[She's beginning to learn his reactions, nonsensical though they are, see the hook behind his offered bait. He didn't want her apology; what he wants is an excuse to react.]

[For herself, she won't. What honor has she left to defend?]

And what warmth would you want from the one who made you suffer so? [Strangely, impossibly, she thinks she might consider offering it.]

[worldofourown]

[ The naivety of her question makes him laugh. Is her world-view really so child-simple? So stringently black and white? Doesn't she realize how seamlessly hate can blur into adoration, suffering into longing, until they are all but impossible to differentiate? Perhaps he'll need to show her. ]

Existence is suffering, Saya. [ He murmurs it like a poem -- well-meant and well-memorized ] I'll take warmth -- any warmth -- where I can get it.

[sangreine]

[Her world is graying, slowly. Life experience of only a few weeks isn't much to draw from.]

[Even as naive, as new as she is, she rejects his words. Existence only became suffering when her Chiropteran heritage bled into it. But maybe... Karl hasn't known any other way.]

[Her steps halt, a quick heel-turn putting them face to face. She steps close, free hand stroking his cheek in a mimic of what he has so often done to her.] Is my touch warm? [Her hand uncurls, palm glossing over his icy skin.]

[Why she's doing this is a mystery too thick to begin unraveling. Regret, pity, kindness. Instinct, despite their frayed ties.]

[worldofourown]

[ The touch makes him falter -- not so much at the radiant heat, but the delightful boldness. It's these times, the snatches of nervy verve, that mark her as Diva's sister. As a Chiropteran Queen. And how very like Diva she is -- in this moment. All sweet and melting in a temperature that could instantly drop to violence and viciousness with the wrong touch or word. ]

[ Or the right one. ]

You know it is. [ For a second -- just a second -- his eyes slip shut. Her tone, the glow in her eyes, are burned into his memory, filling him with ideas he cannot dispose of. His hand lifts, covering hers -- almost gently -- before he peels it off. ] Carry on with your outing. The clock's ticking. [ It's crisp enough to seem aloof. But, like either a smitten schoolboy or a thwarted enemy, he doesn't meet her gaze. ]

[sangreine]

[Something twinges unpleasantly with his apparent dismissal, blood-red gaze bearing down on him. It's her wish to leave, and she intends it, but not because he tossed her aside.]

[She is not his to command. Her full strength is shown in fingers that grip his jaw, demand he look at her.]

[The flare of sudden dominance smooths into something like protectiveness as she gazes at his face. He needs her in some gnarled, tortured sense, and he almost wishes she needed him back.]

[A gift she can't give, so instead she glides forward to press against him, her hands splayed on his chest.] Don't follow me. [Her own command, somewhere between beseeching and petulant. Give her this small freedom and she'll perhaps be more accepting of whatever he seeks from her.]

[worldofourown]

[ He holds his ground when she presses in. But it's not in obstinacy or defiance. He couldn't draw away if he tried. His blood doesn't move; he has no pulse to skip a beat. Yet he feels something bloom at her warmth -- supersaturated and fierce and jagged, yet perfectly serene. There's something so right about her proximity. Right, in a different way from when Diva presses to him. Yet exactly the same. ]

[ Like she belongs there. ]

[ At her request, his pliant lip curls. He's Diva's Chevalier, not hers. He has no cause to obey. But wherever she goes, his blood will sense it -- invisible hooks and wires. She can't run far. Even if part of him wants her to. She's easier to hate, to obsess over, as an enemy, when she isn't yanking his ideas of her from pillar to post. ]

As you wish~

[ It's a condescension, a dark tease. But he obeys, slowly, dancingly, breaking away. Melting, without a word, into the dim alley he emerged from. ]