// he's nice, polite, he'll catch you by surprise //
”Nothing.” She says and he immediately thinks it to be a lie. She’ll have learned something, though what it is might not be fully aware to her yet. Just as Astaroth’s had not been immediately obvious, not until he’d been rescued by Dygra and the expanse of the world and other customs that weren’t that of the cannibal clan he’d grown up with had been better understood.
So while it wasn’t a minor mistake, neither was his. He’d devoured someone and got caught for it. And he’d paid dearly. Very nearly with his life. And for her? He’d saved her. The least he can do is listen to how it happened if that’s what she wants to share. To understand it better, and perhaps if she didn’t see the lesson therein, perhaps he could for her.
His tail flicks against his heels as he plucks a petal from the rose but waits for her to ignite hers and tell her story, feeling the velveteen petal between his ashen fingertips. “I see.” He murmurs when she tells him that she needed a distraction, when she didn’t think she’d be a target for the Family, the butcher finds that to be a rather optimistic outlook. Because from where he was standing, it seemed the Family was more inclined to take whomever they could for sheer volume of Friends of the Family, while the demigods had been entirely for political purposes.
Her petal erupts in flame and she retreats to grab a glass and pour it with whatever open bottle she has and he nods, flashing her a small smile when she says friends excluded, more than happy to be included in the shit taste in men portion of her explanation.
“I would say that you did find trouble. But for what it’s worth, I do understand to an extent.” He shrugs a shoulder, lighting his petal between his fingers and lets it smolder with precise control so it doesn’t catch immediately. “I believe the lesson is to see if your lovers harbor ulterior motives.” Raising a brow with a touch of amusement, he lets it fall with a soft sigh. “I would still consider it a mistake, however. Just as my mistake was believing the rest of Caido worked as my clan did. I learned the hard way that not everyone was privy to eating their own.” The sharp smile he sends her way is one that’s both honest as it is amused. “And while I very nearly paid for my mistake with my life, I did learn to be more cautious.” Not that he wants to detract from her story. But the butcher can empathize.
He steps closer to her, finally letting the petal erupt fully until it’s gone in a plume of ash. “I am sorry, too, that you had to experience it. I suppose you will now also have to live with the curse of seeing the void’s true face?” He’d heard of the side effects from Flora, at least. And if Thalassa didn't know that before it had occurred, at the very least she might not be surprised to see it in the faces of those previously infected and the void that still continued to rampage out in the wild.
So while it wasn’t a minor mistake, neither was his. He’d devoured someone and got caught for it. And he’d paid dearly. Very nearly with his life. And for her? He’d saved her. The least he can do is listen to how it happened if that’s what she wants to share. To understand it better, and perhaps if she didn’t see the lesson therein, perhaps he could for her.
His tail flicks against his heels as he plucks a petal from the rose but waits for her to ignite hers and tell her story, feeling the velveteen petal between his ashen fingertips. “I see.” He murmurs when she tells him that she needed a distraction, when she didn’t think she’d be a target for the Family, the butcher finds that to be a rather optimistic outlook. Because from where he was standing, it seemed the Family was more inclined to take whomever they could for sheer volume of Friends of the Family, while the demigods had been entirely for political purposes.
Her petal erupts in flame and she retreats to grab a glass and pour it with whatever open bottle she has and he nods, flashing her a small smile when she says friends excluded, more than happy to be included in the shit taste in men portion of her explanation.
“I would say that you did find trouble. But for what it’s worth, I do understand to an extent.” He shrugs a shoulder, lighting his petal between his fingers and lets it smolder with precise control so it doesn’t catch immediately. “I believe the lesson is to see if your lovers harbor ulterior motives.” Raising a brow with a touch of amusement, he lets it fall with a soft sigh. “I would still consider it a mistake, however. Just as my mistake was believing the rest of Caido worked as my clan did. I learned the hard way that not everyone was privy to eating their own.” The sharp smile he sends her way is one that’s both honest as it is amused. “And while I very nearly paid for my mistake with my life, I did learn to be more cautious.” Not that he wants to detract from her story. But the butcher can empathize.
He steps closer to her, finally letting the petal erupt fully until it’s gone in a plume of ash. “I am sorry, too, that you had to experience it. I suppose you will now also have to live with the curse of seeing the void’s true face?” He’d heard of the side effects from Flora, at least. And if Thalassa didn't know that before it had occurred, at the very least she might not be surprised to see it in the faces of those previously infected and the void that still continued to rampage out in the wild.
Astaroth
// a smile so bright, you'd never bat an eye //
