repay what you invest

so we'll run to the sea—

The summons arrived unexpectantly on ebony feathers. He half expected the urgent flapping to be Fish but discarded the thought – besides being left to babysit Lorelei whilst he attended to the business that brought him to the crownlands, the damn duck was rather hopeless in regard to flight – and lifted his head, curious considering very few knew the whereabouts of his temporary lodging, to the black-winged messenger. Two words were all that were uttered by the raven, but two words were all he needed to know precisely who he was being summoned by. As for the why… he anticipated, with his lips looped into a half-grin, it would be equally surprising, as it always proved to be.


Some delay was sure to be forgiven on such short notice, but he was purposefully unhurried, drawing out each slow stride to stoke that anticipatory flame. When he did enter the seedy establishment, he made far quicker work of scoping it for an unfriendly face before he cut a direct path to the staircase enveloped in shadows within the far wall, and into the crust of the earth he went. The clamor and din of the Drunken Seagull faded the deeper he descended until it was only heard between his and the guards’ breaths. Then, within the dragon’s lair, there was only silence.

Until it was undone by a velvet purr. “It certainly has been a while.” Bastien stepped into the room, crimson eyes alighting upon the familiar face. “Hasn’t it, Amoux?”

—and find no captain waiting

code // art

AMOUX A S C H

A meeting was to be had, but he preferred it to be with someone he trusted. Though months had driven a wedge between them, it did not feel as such when he saw the man of ivory and coal enter his domain. Those eyes, piercing as always with a tongue to match. "It has, and I am sure you know I have called on you with importance other than more personal matters." Amoux stood, moving closer to his equally sized acquaintance with a glisten in fiery gaze. "Though you make it difficult to not mix work with pleasure." He inhaled a slow breath, taking in the musk of the man he came to know well over the course of the years as he slowly met his gaze.

"I have an issue I need taken care of. Obviously it comes with risk, but also reward," Amoux knew exactly what was needed, how he wanted it done, and when he wished it to be done by. Clyde was not allowed to roam the streets, nor were his comrades for the way they had left Drusilla to die. It was cowardly, at best, and where they aimed for her they would have never dared to cross his path instead.

"There is a man named Clyde. Often he resides in Rionna and has been a silent competitor of mine up until recently. He has crossed a line, and I wish him to be vanished without the imprint of my name. I trust you can do this without much effort." Amoux reclined back, his gaze focused on twin flames that stared back at him.

art & table by soar

so we'll run to the sea—

Were there many things as gratifying as the insatiable rake of eyes across one's form? If there were, they paled in the light of Amoux's firelit gaze. Delighting in the heat of it, Bastien loosed one of his signature lazy smirks. "So I've been told," he drawled in the cocksure way only one whose ego has been sufficiently stoked could.

Amoux would come closer but only just enough to make the air swirl beneath his nose. The notes it carried to him were rich and decadent, but Bastien found himself longing for something spicy and burnt, and that intrusive realization lured him from his reverie. Amoux, ever the businessman, seemed to have already steered the conversation to the matter he needed dealt with. "Easy enough. Though I'm not foolish enough to believe you desperately needed to seek me out for this job when Rionna has as many contract killers as it does Imperial soldiers – possibly more. What's the catch, Moo Moo?" He slipped past the ebon-dominated man towards the desk on the far side of the room, lashing the tip of his tail against Amoux's nose as he spoke the cutesy pet name he bequeathed the man.

—and find no captain waiting

code // art

AMOUX A S C H

It would not have been Bastien if he did not come back with a dripping tongue of venom, though the words were not meant to poison him. When Amoux pulled, Bastien would tug back and it was always that subtle smirk on his lips that caught the soot colored man's attention. He would watch as his acquaintance moved away and to the opposite side of the desk, his tail tickling Amoux's nose in its wake. 'Moo Moo.' Oh how close one had to be, and how personal, to be able to get away with such a pet name.

Amoux inhaled a sharp breath, exhaling the musk from his nostrils while his gaze did not dare linger from him. "There are plenty, yes, but there is only one of you." His muzzle rose slightly, his stare intense as he trailed over Bastien's much lighter colored fur. Trust was something not so easily given, and there were only few and in between who knew of his true nature. Bastien was no stranger to what Amoux was, and who he had become over the years and more so what he was capable of. While he did not prefer to be the one to get his paws dirty, it was not beneath him, but in this case he would have rather Bastien perform the deed.

"Do we have a deal then?" His large paws carried him closer, closing the gap between them effortlessly as he purposely invaded Bastien's personal space. It was not the first, or even the second time they had been so close—matter of fact, Amoux had come to learn of the man on a much more personal level than just the pleasantries of simple conversation. Ears flattened against his crown, his muzzle caressing the velvet of Bastien's ear gently. "I suggest we touch base on the fine print of this contract," a dark purr of french touched baritone spoken with promise.

art & table by soar

so we'll run to the sea—

Bastien made a convincing show of sifting through the obnoxiously organized assortment of documents that were present on the desk. It did him little good when his reading skills were limited to what could be connected through careful observation and context clues. He hadn't sought it himself nor had anyone who'd taken him under their wing thought it prudent to focus on a formal education when he had a clear propensity for picking things up on the job.

Nonetheless, it was an effective enough display to compel Amoux to follow. "That is true," he acknowledged the fair assessment, and was about to tack on a similarly vain remark when the opposite-colored male pressed against his side.

The scar across his throat served not only as an ugly mar but a visual reminder that Bastien was not invulnerable despite the lofty, unfettered way he conducted himself. While fangs could clearly harm him, there was no greater pain than to be denied what he most wanted and what Amoux was all too willing to provide. Their bodies were flush but the revelry the sensation sparked in his nerves was so muted that all it drew from his throat was a soft sigh.

Still, he smiled. "How ever could I say no? Besides, contracts always have sounded better on an accent... I do wonder though," His own voice dropped to a seductive hush, Amoux's attempt at getting down to business falling prey to Bastien's insatiable appetite for wanton whims. "Is the fine print all we'll be touching?" He didn't come here expecting to see the evening flourish into anything more than a business meeting, but if that's how it started to turn... Bastien would gladly roll over.

—and find no captain waiting

code // art

AMOUX A S C H

Lips would pull back into a smirk at the response, while he half expected Bastien to say no the ball was then thrown back into his court. A soft growl formed in the pit of his throat, the desire to grab him by the scruff and take him where he stood flowed heavily within his primal blood, but even still he contained himself as hard as it might have been. Amoux only listened for a moment, allowing his calculated breaths to ruffle the fur of the man as he inhaled him. He would graze his teeth over the back of the man's neck, nipping at the delicate skin between his shoulders as he moved up to his ear and placing a kiss there. Simultaneously he would also redirect Bastien's hips until they were slotted against his own, forcing the soot of his chest into him with force.

He replicated those very affections of nips and bites down Bastien's spine, finishing off at the soft flesh of skin between thigh and belly before retracting his head. His tongue raked over ivory teeth, tasting him while a small click echoed off the walls of his office in response. He would separate them, however, offering a small distance though he never broke Bastien's gaze. He had known Bastien to be many things as they once shared a pretty deep history, and not once in those years could he have remember ever being denied by the man. It was a game of cat and mouse, a dangerous one at that being Amoux was who he was, for as long as he had been so. A man who teetered on dominance, one whose ego did not do well with being tampered. His longtime acquaintance with Bastien gave the man that knowledge, and some, enough so to be provided with a pet name which would have been burnt off anyone else who dared it.

Amoux, however, only wished for Bastien to come back, and know that he would each time without a hint of hesitation.

"It brings me comfort that even with time and distance you are willing to rewrite history, but as I said I do not wish to mix work with pleasure. At least not yet," he would move to the door, opening the heavy oak with a paw as it creaked slowly. "Perhaps when I see the deed has been done without any fault, we can revisit this conversation." Amoux found there were no more words to be said, the contract was written and once it was done it would be sealed, stamped, and sent away.

art & table by soar

so we'll run to the sea—

Ah, this. This, Bastien considered more satisfying than just an appreciative gaze. He felt Amoux's desire before the man so carelessly handled him, his body going slack in response, a more than willing recipient for uncontrollable urges such as these. Wasn't it only recently that he'd begged for another to stake his forceful claim? This was one manner in which Amoux never disappointed. While it was an act, this domination, that risked going stale, Bastien wasn't under any illusions that they would amount to anything more than two animals enslaved by carnal craving.

Unbearable heat raged to the surface of his skin with the deliverance of painful kisses and palliative nips. Combined, they left him breathless and gasping all at once. It was infuriating how composed Amoux was able to be the very moment he stepped away. "Bastard," he snarled, more ruffled by his own lack of composure than the denial. Bastien hated when that aching need was coaxed into the open. It made him feel exposed, and there was only one thing he wanted to be exposing to a booty call.

Gathering himself the best he could, he prowled toward the open door, pausing just long enough to exhale a hot breath against Amoux's neck. "That better be a promise, Moo Moo. Until then," Bastien exaggerated a bow, waggling his haunches provocatively, then took his leave. At the very least, he knew there was another outlet for his frustrations somewhere nearby–though, with a pang, he hoped the major hadn't found himself other obligations.

—and find no captain waiting

code // art