Death, oh yes, the very death,
One and only,
I am her partner, in joy and grief,
I take lady Death
To have and to hold
For better or worse,
For richer or poorer,
In sickness and in health,
To love and to cherish,
And there is no-one to part us!
The wings of my solemn vow,
The wings of dead doves,
Are decorating my gravestone.
But I never lie,
there,
I never lie.
Perfume bottles filled with brewing blood
Scent of rusty iron is better than a heart without texture,
I am always the dead one who is the only alive.
Mortem? *laughs*
Such a torture to forever remain alive,
In twisting convulsions,
Waltzing dance macabre with the shadow of lady Mortem.
Death is a dirty matter, yes the matter!
Rotting, decomposed lie about all the beautiful things a life has to offer.
As you keep breathing with clocklike regularity,
and the life showers you with all the world´s charms and delights,
the old hideous lady Death,
groaning and creaking,
slowly (if you are lucky) is creeping from behind.
The next sudden moment she grabs your throat,
with her cold sharp fingertips,
she wraps around your neck,
down your spine,
pull it all out outrageously and tears into pieces.
Then she proceeds
to dive deep
into the fragile cage of your chest,
raking with its moldy bony fingers
into your hysterically beating heart,
squeezing and crushing it like a piece of clay,
and finally tossing it,
the useless deformed substance,
your precious heart!
With thousand of tingling needles
she mercilessly penetrates your brain
and pierces neuron by neuron,
like cheap funfair balloons.
The myriad of emotions,
from despair to hysteria,
exploding your unprepared mind.
That’s what death is.
The Servant of merciless God.
That’s what happens,
when you eat alive your guardian angel.
Death! *sings* Death, death, oh sweet fucking death!
It is death, nothing more, nothing less!
A void! As horrid and boring as it can be.
Inevitable fall to the abyss masked by the mundane triviality of existence.
It is in death we all are equal,
It is to death we are nothing but miserable moths,
In fear and despair,
trying to reach the fire pond of her lethally alluring will.
We reach for the fire to burn alive,
In hope it would warm us!
We cling to life by dreaming of death.
And when we finally face her coming,
we gather all the life forces
to fight against her embrace.
The thought of giving in vanishes by instinct,
leaving us with a steelstrong desire to breath,
to exist,
to keep a meaning of our name,
To fight for our lifestory to continue…
Grande finale is not an option, oh no!
Where is then our romantic longing for death,
we so lovingly cherish,
in tedious safety,
during the times of boredom?
The desire of adrenalin simmering though our entangled veins,
Too fragile,
too weak to handle the force of the desire,
Tunica intima,
bursting fireworks with joy of anticipation.
And the arc of triumph,
bloodworms crawling,
Around your neck,
Curtains closed.
Where is our wish to meet the death with dignity,
Betrayer, it leaves us alone,
to face the mother death,
She’s calling us back to the womb of the void.
Back to the abyss,
To prove,
Once and for all,
that each and every of us
is a part of the ultimate grim nothingness.
Back to the sacred void,
To show,
That nothing of our importance really matters,
nor does it have any significant meaning.
Just a mere illusion,
created out of despair
and our narrow-mindenessness.
Cowards!
We turn into pathetic cowards
when death strikes us,
and all we then dream about,
in face of cold and gloomy unknown,
is safe and warm mundanity, which
with enthusiasm we once happened to curse.
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Part 2 to this post
tagging @mj-or-say10, who requested a part 2! :))
Warnings: Implied/referenced noncon, noncon touch, noncon kissing (kinda), burns, collars, dehumanization, lmk if I’m missing anything
(PS-- Could possibly become a longer series, if anybody would be interested?? If so, should I give the characters names or leave them with the placeholders? Lmk!)
Caretaker had gotten off relatively easy that night. Teammate D was by no means kind, but he was better than the others, and, when all was said and done, Caretaker was left with only a couple of bruises splotched here and there. It hadn’t taken long, and afterward he was left to find what rest he could while Teammate D did the same.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t much rest at all. Caretaker rarely slept— and he never slept well— but tonight was even worse than usual because he couldn’t stop thinking about the concubus. About the way they’d screamed as Whumper B held their arm over the fire. In the darkness behind his eyelids, he could still see the desperate terror that had danced with the reflected firelight in their eyes.
He knew he couldn’t have done anything to stop it. He knew that. In all likelihood, if he’d tried, both of them would have been punished and he would have made it worse. But that didn’t stop the guilt that threatened to choke him because he should have done more. He should have done something. He’d been their only potential ally in a crowd of people who treated their torture as a form of entertainment and he’d just sat there.
They hadn’t looked to him for help. They hadn’t looked to anyone; they had known no help was coming. That isolation, that knowledge that no one around you would intervene no matter what they did to you— it was a kind of fear he knew all too well, and his stomach churned. He knew exactly how they must have felt, kneeling there by that fire, all eyes on them as both people they knew and ones they didn’t watched with rapt attention as their skin blistered and bubbled.
Memories weren’t the only thing that kept him awake, though. From a few tents away, he could hear them crying. He could hear other things, too— things that made it clear that Whumper was not yet asleep— and Caretaker did his best to stop his mind from conjuring up images to accompany the sounds, to no avail. Images rose up to craft sorely unwanted scenarios of what was happening to the other demon just a couple of tents away. What Whumper was doing to them.
For hours he lay like that, trying not to listen to the sounds he couldn’t help hearing. Possibilities blended and blurred with memories until Caretaker was lost in recollections of hands in his hair, hands around his throat, hands roaming hungrily over his body, nails raking down his back, teeth pressed to his skin hard enough to draw blood. He shuddered as bile rose in his throat. His nails pressed into his palm, the pain bringing him back from the ledge he’d been teetering on, and he heaved a breath. Not now, he thought. Not here.
Caretaker pushed himself upright and slid off the cot, slipping, unnoticed, out of the tent. He wandered toward the fire pit and slumped on one of the logs, staring numbly at where the fire had been. The night air was cold, but he didn’t bother expending the energy to conjure up some warmth. Besides, the chill kept him present.
No one disturbed him as he sat there. No one came to drag him back into the tent to make sure he wouldn’t bolt. They all knew just as well as he did that Caretaker had nowhere else to go and very little chance of making it very far before they caught him again, so they didn’t bother wasting time or resources on keeping him locked down. It was almost worse than if they did put him in chains, and sometimes Caretaker wondered if it was on purpose. If it was just another way to taunt him, a display of power. Like he was a well-trained dog, so obedient that no leash was needed to keep him at his master’s heel. He scowled.
Not for the first time, his mind went to the plan he’d been cooking up to make his great escape. It was just a pipe dream, of course, just a comforting fantasy, but he sometimes wondered if maybe…
He had it all worked out. In this little daydream of his, he would barge into Whumper’s tent in the middle of the night and take the keys for the trucks. Whumper couldn’t stop him. He may have been half-starved, but he was still a demon, and Whumper was only human. If it came down to it, Caretaker could overpower him easily. Then, he’d get into the smallest, least conspicuous of the vehicles and simply drive away and never look back.
It was easy in his head. Easy enough that it almost seemed achievable, until he factored in the hundreds of ways it could and surely would go wrong. Even if he made it out, where would he go? To the nearest city, to be immediately discovered by the king’s soldiers? To the woods, with nowhere to stay and no human energy to feed on? Even going to a mage hideout would be a risk, considering what he was, and that was assuming he could even find one.
It was impossible. Of course it was impossible. It was a stupid plan. But sometimes he wondered.
At some point during Caretaker’s daydreaming, the noise from Whumper’s tent had subsided, save for the concubus’ gentle and unrelenting crying. Even that had gotten softer, so quiet now that Caretaker wouldn’t have been able to detect it if he was human, but he wasn’t. His heart ached for them. He wanted to go to them, to be one bright spot for them in the suffocating darkness they were both caught in. He wanted to break Whumper’s fingers for touching them because god, they were so small. Not physically— they weren’t young by human standards, not by a long shot, and maybe not even by demon ones— but Caretaker was an expert in reading people and everything about them screamed gentleness. Innocence. They don’t deserve this.
It didn’t matter that he didn’t know them— they were the only one of his kind he’d seen since being cast out of his home, and he needed them to be safe. There was a bond there, an innate tie to one another simply because they were both foreigners to this realm and they were both hurt for that.
Maybe he was the only one that felt it. Maybe they hadn’t given him a second thought. But it didn’t matter because he did feel it, and it fucking hurt.
That half-baked escape plan was looking more enticing by the minute. If he could get them out of this…maybe it was worth the risk.
He shook that thought away. Hope was a dangerous thing for people like him, moreso when it was most assuredly a false one. It wouldn’t— couldn’t— happen, and it wasn’t worth dwelling on. He tried to reel in his wandering thoughts, bring them back to safer topics, but the only other thing he could focus on was the sound of the concubus’ soft whimpers. That, and the steadily growing urge to sneak into Whumper’s tent to see them.
It was only a few more minutes before he gave in.
Caretaker stood and made his way soundlessly to the front of the tent, pushing back the flap and slipping inside. The setup was sickeningly familiar to him, down to the placement of the cot and the flickering candle on the engraved pewter dish. On the cot, Whumper was sound asleep, his hair mussed and his torso bare.
Caretaker grimaced and turned away, immediately catching sight of Whumpee, who was curled in a ball on the ground. Unsurprising. Whumper had no problem fucking a demon, but god forbid he let one sleep in his bed. He’d always made his disgust at that notion abundantly clear.
A flimsy leash that was clearly more for show than functionality was clipped to Whumpee’s collar, tethering them to a leg of the cot.
Whumpee hadn’t looked up when Caretaker came in, and they remained motionless as he took a few careful steps toward them. Honestly, he wasn’t even sure they knew he was there. He moved to the side so he was approaching them from the front, making sure to move slowly so he wouldn’t startle them, but when they still didn’t show any sign that they’d noticed his presence, he knelt down in front of them.
They jolted, then, tensing and drawing in a sharp breath as they blinked up at him, a soft whine catching in their throat. They bit their lip, their eyes flicking nervously back and forth, to his face and then away.
Caretaker offered them what he hoped was a reassuring smile, relaxing his posture to try and seem less of a threat. Whumpee glanced back at him, and when they saw his kind expression, some of the fear in their eyes melted into uncertainty.
It was a step in the right direction, at least.
Whumpee shifted, eyeing Caretaker cautiously as they pushed themself into a sitting position, their knees drawn to their chest. In the flickering candlelight, Caretaker could see the tear tracks staining their cheeks, as well as several fresh bruises. As his eyes travelled down, cataloguing their injuries, he found another bruise peeking out from under their collar, deep, violent purple ringing their throat. A bite mark above their collarbone. Angry red scratches curling over their shoulder. And, of course, the vicious burns on their arm. It was a struggle to keep the anger from showing on his face, but he managed.
When Caretaker looked back up to meet Whumpee’s gaze, their brows were furrowed in confusion, but their eyes were wide with— what? Recognition? Awe? Caretaker didn’t understand at first, but he realized after a moment that they were staring at his horns.
“You’re…” They trailed off. Their voice shook and it sounded raw— probably from the screaming, or the crying, or a combination of the two. They didn’t finish their thought, but it didn’t matter. Caretaker knew what they meant.
“Yeah. I am.” He smiled a little wider, a little softer. “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen another demon.”
They just nodded.
The wariness had gone from their gaze, and they stared at him now with a reserved intensity that he found hard to describe. It was subdued, but at the same time desperate, and almost…almost a little hopeful. It was a strange thing to be on the receiving end of. Whatever that little flicker of hope was, he wanted nothing more than to fulfill it. To be whatever it was they were hoping he’d be.
At that moment, Whumper stirred. It was brief, a slight shift of position, but Whumpee jerked back as though struck. Their eyes went wide and wild with panic, their breath catching in their throat as a whimper slipped past their lips before they could stop it.
It was quiet, but it was enough.
As Caretaker tried to calm them down, tried to reassure them that they were safe, Whumper’s eyes blinked open. The grogginess of his sudden awakening lasted only a moment, and then he was on his feet, his eyes narrowed and focused squarely on Caretaker.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing, incubus?”
Caretaker stood and plastered on his trademark smirk, shifting to the side to shield Whumpee from Whumper’s view.
“Just stopped by for a little visit. Got a problem with it?”
Bad move. Whumper closed the distance between them, and in an instant his hand was fisted in Caretaker’s hair, yanking harshly.
“I’ve got a problem with you. I thought I’d taught you some fucking manners by now. But if you need a refresher, that can be arranged.”
Caretaker laughed. He was already in deep shit— may as well commit to it.
“Have you considered that maybe you’re just not a very good teacher?”
Whumper’s eyes blazed with fury. He backhanded Caretaker across the face. Hard.
“Stop it! Don’t hurt him!”
Whumper turned to Whumpee, who had gotten to their feet as well, and grinned mockingly. “Oh look, the little toy learned to speak.” He cocked his head to the side. “I suggest you unlearn it, unless you’re looking for an encore to our performance earlier.”
They cringed back, fear flashing across their face, but they held their ground.
“Fuck you. J-just leave him alone.”
Whumper lit up with a sick delight. He released Caretaker, stepping around him and advancing on Whumpee. They stumbled back, but the leash clipped to their collar only let them get so far.
“What was that?” Whumper’s tone walked the line between anger and excitement, and it made Caretaker’s skin crawl. Whumpee just shook their head frantically as Whumper approached.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, please, I-”
“No. Say it again.”
“J-just leave him a-alone…”
“No, no, the bit before that. Say it.”
Whumper was upon them now, and he hooked a finger in the front of their collar as they hyperventilated, still shaking their head. They’d started crying again.
When Whumper leaned in, his teeth scraping against their throat, they stopped moving, though their body still shook violently and their chest still heaved with panicked sobs.
That was too much for Caretaker. He surged forward, pulling Whumper away from Whumpee and shoving him to the floor. Whumper stared up at him in incredulous fury. Before he could get up to retaliate, Caretaker sent a surge of magic at him, stunning him.
“The keys. Where are they?”
Whumper only glared. Sensing that he might need a little encouragement, Caretaker focused, conjuring an invisible band of magic around Whumper’s neck and squeezing until Whumper started gasping for breath, his face turning a bright red, then blueish. Caretaker relented, then asked again. This time, Whumper twitched his finger, managing enough movement to point to his pocket.
Caretaker leaned down and snatched the keys. He sent another, stronger surge of magic at Whumper, and this time he made it hurt. He smirked when Whumper eked out a sound that surely would have been a scream had his throat not been paralyzed, then turned to Whumpee. They were still shaking, still gasping in short, hiccupping breaths, and still crying.
Caretaker went to them and reached for them slowly, giving them time to move away. When they didn’t, he rested a hand on their shoulder, waiting again for them to pull away. They didn’t. He took a small step closer, and they surprised him by closing the short distance between them, burying their face in his shoulder. His arms came up around them, holding them tightly as they trembled against him, running one hand soothingly over their back while the other came up to subtly unclip the leash from their collar.
He hushed them softly, cooing gently to them while they cried. “Shh, it’s alright. It’s okay. I’ve got you. It’s okay, you’re gonna be okay.”
When they finally caught their breath, Caretaker drew back reluctantly.
“C’mon. We’ve gotta go now, yeah?”
The concubus sniffed and wiped their eyes with shaky hands, nodding. When he offered his hand, they took it and followed him out of the tent.
They made it to the vehicles unhindered, and Caretaker unlocked the doors of the nearest one, helping Whumpee into the passenger seat. He rounded the front and climbed in on the driver’s side, then shoved the key into the ignition. The engine roared to life, and as he backed the vehicle out of the circle and drove away from the camp, the crunch of leaves and gravel beneath the tires was music to his ears.
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