The King & The Satyr {Obsession / Closed}

Suspended above the sea of gloomy mist that carpeted the shining marble floors of the throne room Erasmus sat upon his throne in silence. Thinking. It was one of those rare moments when the common rabble decided not to grace his door step with their filthy weakling feet and annoying bleating voices, when the transparent children fled to their individual mental corners and all Erasmus was left with... Was tranquility. The light of the moon descended at his back, his throne preventing the lunar crescents touch from reaching him, instead engulfing the monarch of monsters in shadow. On either side of the audience floor; shadow. The ceiling shrouded in darkness. Within the King's throne room alone there were multiple places for the evils of the world to hide and only he knew that they were empty. Erasmus needed to spread those shadows. He'd already infiltrated the world of Quincy, but he needed to cover more ground, needed to make sure that if getting through to the other figures of the mortal world proved to be difficult he could do some of the legwork himself.

Losing himself in his own thoughts would have been nice. Unfortunately a tiny presence bloomed in his inner radar, the vibrations of the beings footsteps being carried to him louder than gunshots as it traversed the halls behind the walls of his audience chamber. Just when Erasmus had thought that he was going to get a day off somebody had arrived to seek an audience with him, how bloody wonderful. With an exasperated sigh The King straightened himself in his chair, rising from his slouched position to lay his back flat against the stone, remove his leg from over the armrest and sit as a King should sit; regal and with posture.

Scraping with a deep gravely baritone the gargantuan slabs of stone that acted as the doors to the King's throne room were pushed aside, allowing the artificial light from beyond to stab the mist with ferocious eagerness. From up high Erasmus' bright emerald eyes followed the strange new arrival, a cold indifference swimming through those pools of green. If nothing else the individual followed the proper respectful procedures, bowing being the most basic. Honestly, why were there so many people that fucked up something as simple as bowing to the person who literally owned the ground they walked on? That being said, the ram-headed Hollow's first mistake had been made before he could even correct it.

"Not very social is correct. Have you ever heard of knocking?" Slow biting words spoken with a tone of distance, not quite harsh, but certainly not friendly. The King of Hueco Mundo studied the odd visage of the Arrancar with unabashed scrutiny, taking note of the milky white eyes, the eyes of an animal accustomed only to darkness. It was odd to see a Hollow that hadn't fully developed into their humanoid form, most Arrancar didn't have goat legs, after all. Perhaps this one had removed it's mask too early in the evolutionary cycle, it was certainly fascinating to see one of those unlucky few that hadn't been killed off because of their abnormal appearance. Either this one was incredibly strong, or incredibly cunning for an Arrancar of his status to have survived for so long.

"I'd have preferred it if you'd have joined the crowd; you're interrupting. But are you inconveniencing? No." He stated flatly, expression stony, dull and grim. Already The King was silently probing the soul of The Satyr, testing the extent of The Sight and it's ability to function undetected. Using Thisbee as a test subject even as he fulfilled the mans request. It worked well enough, he couldn't tell if Thisbee was aware of his explorations quite yet, but he was already reading little bits of information.

"Tell me what it is you need and I'll do my best to help, Thisbee." The King smirked, the thinness of his lip and the existence of knowledge that he shouldn't have chilling the room even further.

[Words: 671][GP: 13][Total GP: 13]

Erasmus always enjoyed watching the reactions of the lesser beings in his court when they realized that he was far more than he appeared to be. All it took was one word, one simple string of letters that there was no way in hell of Erasmus ever figuring out how to put together and they were dumb-struck, baffled by what they couldn't understand and -as was common- frightened. The icy dread that bristled Thisbee's hair was palpable and Erasmus fed on it as casually as if he were sipping wine, drinking in the subtle unease that the little Hollow-man worked so hard to keep secret. But there were no secrets in the King's court, when you entered through those doors you were exposing yourself to the ruler of the monster nation and if you're not prepared to have everything you are laid bare before him then you just might perish in the horror of being completely and utterly known.

It was obvious that Thisbee was aware, perhaps he didn't understand what was happening to him, but he was definitely aware that it was happening. The gaze of the king had penetrated his soul and was voraciously consuming any and all information it could gather on the weaker being, from the circumstances of it's evolution to the many hours of loneliness and self-inflicted solitude. This was not a person who valued the company of others, for him to seek out another was abnormal for his usual behavior. Whatever Thisbee wanted it must have been important for him to step out of his own little bubble. 

Sure enough, when the glassy white eyes beneath those curling ram horns regained their usual animistic observance Erasmus was treated to what sounded like a massive heap of horse shit. Those bright green flames sitting in the black pools of Erasmus sight narrowed ever so slightly, displeased that this being had approached him, had wasted his time for fairy tales and myths. Erasmus didn't work with uncertain legends or warped history, he only dabbled with the future and the creation of time. The high jangling of Thisbees jewelry rung from the rafters as the room ran away with the sound of joy, grabbed it and smothered it at the highest peaks of the throne room.

That being said Thisbee was an honor bound individual. Favors offered would have to be re-payed in kind, especially if that favor was owed to somebody as powerful as a King. Not to mention that the ram-headed beast-man had a knack for going unnoticed, despite his unusual appearance. He was small and knew how to avoid people. Perhaps Obsessions solution was staring him in the face, blatantly waiting to be taken advantage of.

"You're a man who values honesty, Thisbee, so I'll be honest with you." Gradually the King removed himself from his seat of power, slow and methodical like a stone sentinel rising from it's setting in the rock. When at last he stood he was outside of the shadow of his throne, the thin stretches of armor coating his shins and forearms glistening under the white light of the moon, the intimidating squared pauldrens widening his physique. Though his full height wasn't particularly imposing when compared to the size of other Arrancar the confidence with which he stood made his presence larger than any other could ever hope to be.

"I'm afraid I have no idea what it is you're searching for, nor do I believe that searching for it is a particularly productive use of your time. Whatever it is, it is a myth, man-made and manufactured to instill false hope in those who have none. These are the tales they tell soldiers and beggars to make them unafraid of their demise. They, in and of themselves, are tales of a dishonest sort." Each crack of his heel against the wide staircase that lead up to his throne shot through the shadows like the telling spark of a rifle, his words the biting bullets fired from the barrel. 

"That being said, however." Erasmus reached the base of the staircase, seeing his guest eye to eye, his own appearance finally fully revealed in the light of the moon. His face was somewhere between youthful and haggard, like a man who had aged well but had aged nonetheless. With deep dark circles beneath his ever open eyes and lines, whether from scowling or smiling was unclear, etched around his mouth. A great mane of grey hair hung hazardously from behind his ears, ending just short of his shoulders. The few hints of old pink scars made themselves known over the opening of his shirt along with the visible muscle that had deteriorated with time. He was old beyond his physical years, which was more than could be said for most spirits, an ancient ancestor in the youthful body that was trying it's hardest to catch up.

"I can still help you." Motioning for Thisbee to fall into step beside him Erasmus walked a circle around his throne and opened a hidden door behind the monolithic platform, the bright yellow light from within slicing through the darkness with a righteous purpose. "I have a library, just a little thing. I haven't looked at some of the books for quite some time so my memory of them has faded, but perhaps you might find information that would be useful to you. You're welcome to spend as long as you wish there. Is this acceptable?" He asked, standing beside the open door, the long brightly lit hallway a luminescent invitation for the weaker Arrancar to step inside, to go deeper into the labyrinth that is the King's Castle. 

[Words: 945][GP: 18][Total GP: 31]