➥ PROMPT | strays

[nestingdevil]

"Who were they?"

It was a heavy-weighted question. Held on a low breath and whispered as though it were a terrible secret. Loki let his hands hover above the bones, but he dared not to touch. Dared not to disturb as hollow eyes stared back at him. Empty shells dragged out of a sewer just below his feet and the feeling made a sickly sort of pit in his stomach. Made a feverish sort of sweat coat his skin.

He did not like the feeling.

But an anxious tongue spoke first and he regretted it far too late. Tried to snatch back the words as they flew from his mouth like a flock of frightened geese. But it was too little too late and for a moment, he merely paused. Froze still while instinct fought the desire to fight or flee.

However, there was little threat from the other. Body bent over, hands hanging between spread thighs. And the creature did not move; as still as a statue, which only raised hairs on the back of the young God's neck.

"They were mine."

Greed hummed, cut-off the snarl that was forming at his upper lip to casually roll out his palm. And in his sunglasses, they were there. Skulls and bones staring back; bleached white fading into those black shades. Caught in thick glass and wrapped. Like a wicked sort of blanket to put old ghosts at rest.

He extended a finger, traced the jaw line of one of them. Human looking enough, though there were tell-tale signs. Little discrepancies, little ticks to throw it off the scale. "They were like you," the Sin spoke as thighs slowly pushed him upright. And as he stood, fingertips slipped away from the bones only to fall at his sides.

Loki swallowed and suddenly, he felt small. Felt mortal. Felt like his own life was being choked from him; shallow and invisible hands around his throat and his mouth ran dry. He moved to speak, but his tongue merely rolled back as he craned his neck to watch the other.

To watch the creature he called "Boss".

But the Sin only smiled. That nonchalant sort of grin, that rise of an upper lip that was practically his calling card. And his teeth snapped shut. "They were strays - rejects. Freaks and monsters. But they were all mine," Greed spoke with an air of respect, with an air of admiration. And as he moved, that slow waltz of his boots seemed to echo through Loki's ears.

Seemed to suck the heat right out of him.

"But that was a long time ago," the homunculus spoke again, fingertips trailing the old bookshelf that housed his long-gone possessions. Dust clung there and he casually flicked it away. "-is that what you wanted to know?"

Loki took a few steps back, a sudden flutter in his chest. His mind was battling with itself, twisting and turning over like a squirming pile of snakes. All lashing and rattling in his skull. "I'm - " But it came only as a whimper.

And it was that that hurt him the most.

Greed watched the other. Jerked his body over his hips as his head swung against the dip of his shoulder. And his smile dropped, replaced with a puckered lip before snapping right back on his jaws. And the gaps were closed, the space between closing shut like the final crack of a door.

But he merely placed a hand to the younger man's head. Slid fingers to push hair back. "I'm not interested in your apologies, Loki. Like I said, it was a long time ago." And the hand left, trailed away like a ghost before hooking into the pockets of his slacks.

And Loki watched. Watched as the would-be monster sauntered to the open doorway. Watched leather sink into the crawling darkness just outside. Watched a thick neck dip into shoulders.

Greed flung a hand over his head, tossed out his fingers. "I'll see you later, kid."

It was only when he was gone, when the devil had left the proverbial pit, did Loki look away. Looked back at the hollow skulls, the cracked bones. And the thudding his skull stopped, the pounding in his temples cooled like that of a rattler's tail far in the distance.

There was still fear, but it was passing.

And for once, he felt like he was right where he was supposed to be.