—lupt & quiche

[prince lupt]

𝐌 𝐀 𝐘 𝐇 𝐄 𝐌
mayhem gave the human a couple more seconds to run forward, watching him flee like a wolf letting their meal go. one of the many pleasures of hell was how unaccommodating it was to humans. the weather constantly fluctuated, and the atmosphere kept their patrons debilitated. he knew the human couldn't get far, and that even if he did, mayhem knew hell more thoroughly that he did. it was nothing less of a tortuous labyrinth, with a new surprise, or danger, around every corner. the corners of his mouth rise to form an intrigued smile. he was fascinated to see how long the human would go on before giving up.

it only took a few strides, him pushing against the ground with his feet into short sprints, to catch up to the human, practically gliding in the air once he was close. his cloak―a long, white cape fastened with a demon insignia―flutters swiftly in the air as he moves. he takes one more long stride, a stride long enough to be in front of the human. stopping in a confident stance, he stumbles slightly, before staring him down. " really? I always thought they were scarcely intimidating. but they will make it easier to eat you with. " he takes his tongue and slowly runs it across the top set of his teeth, smiling maliciously. it was a joke on his part, he didn't really like the taste of humans, even their souls, which some demons do take a liking to. they were always so... how to put it... unpalatable, as most humans are archaically unclean. but he wanted to mess with his new toy.

[quiche cat!]

ＪＡＣＫＳＯＮ

great, this was just great! nothing but trees every which way, and even on the horizon, the various sizes of shrubbery were outlined in a murderous red hue. thinking too much into this nightmare was a waste of time, but really, it felt too real to just be jackson's imagination. it was mind-boggling to think that he'd created such a nasty villian such as that man-- actually, some say that you can only "make up" faces that you've already seen—it can be a split-second glance—so... had jackson seen that creep before? in a film, or maybe as someone's wild halloween costume?
as he was calming himself by coming up with possibilities for this unfortunate event, the demon had easily caught up to him; one moment, the vast expanse of open land lay in front of him, and the next, the creep was blocking his vision. with a shriek, jackson skidded to a halt.
although the man had stumbled a bit—seriously, was he actually drunk, or what? insane, or incredibly sick?—the way he looked down at jackson sent a trillion more chills climbing up and down his spine. yikes! this wasn't real, this wasn't real... no real person could run that fast! even as he repeatedly reminded himself of this, the demon's teasing sent the boy reeling backwards, straight onto the ground. "no, no no no! i'm not tasty at all, i probably taste like... salt! a pile of salt!! right, so please, don't eat me."
hm. for some reason, that didn't sound convincing enough. since this was most definitely not reality (virtual reality? a nightmare? maybe he was the drunk one, and was currently hallucinating while in the hospital, or at some random club?), jackson was sure that he could do whatever he wanted and not actually have to bare the consequences. "i'll do anything! just, don't eat me. i beg you."

[prince lupt]

𝐌 𝐀 𝐘 𝐇 𝐄 𝐌
" too bad. I was feeling especially hungry today. " he bares his teeth with a grisly smile, straightening his posture to practically tower over the human. mayhem was just playing the human now, but he knew it would be easier to go forward with his plan if they were more willing. he takes a second to act, looking thoughtful, taking a lean finger and poking his cheek. it was too easy to trick him, almost to a point that it was starting to get boring. " but... if you'll do anything... " his face relaxes, and he raises an eyebrow, waiting for a gesture of consent from the human.

" there is something else you'll do for me... a little... trade, in sorts. " as he speaks, he ambles forward, bending down to be eye-level with the human. this was the first time he took a good look at the human. it honestly wasn't what he was expecting. he was naturally afraid, but unlike the humans already in hell, he didn't express the same wrath that they did. it immediately gave him comfort, for some strange reason. or he was still lightheaded and couldn't quite process the humans reaction. he stares the human down once more. " what do you say? " mayhem hums, gazing at the human expectantly.

[quiche cat!]

ＪＡＣＫＳＯＮ

hungry? this creep of a man had no right to talk about being hungry!! there was no way—after pointing out all the body mods this man seemed to have—that he was any worse off than jackson! and, to top it off, this creep had probably eaten a decent dinner. jackson, on the other hand, couldn't handle opening a silly little bag of ramen, and had given up and gone to bed without food. starving didn't even begin to describe how the boy was feeling: irritated, exhausted, angry, upset, confused, and above all... completely willing to make a bet with this man! since, after all, jackson believed that this was only a dream. and what did he have to lose, if this was a made-up world with a made-up creep who claimed to be more hungry than him? nothing, nothing at all.
jackson tried his best to maintain eye contact, but as the demon-like man towered over him, he couldn't help but nearly shrink back into the ground. what a frightening presence he had! the boy had never met a person that seemed to harbor so much disgust for mankind as this creep did. jackson almost wanted to ask what made him so sour, but upon second thought, realized that he didn't really care. also, he had more important matters at hand. gulping down any leftover doubt that the boy still held onto, he nodded his head: a small bob, up and down, in a somewhat reluctant response. "sure, yeah, hit me with your best shot. what awful thing could you possibly be thinking of--"
with a jolt, jackson had realized that the man had stooped down to his level and was now eye-to-eye with him. yikes! talk about personal space, especially with that highly-dangerous set of snappers!! pausing abruptly mid-sentence, jackson scrambled backwards, putting a safe distance between the two of them. he'd be lying if he said he wasn't sweating right now, both due to nervousness and the godly heat. the beads were dripping down his back, and were probably noticable as they slid down his neck and speckled his forehead. he fought the urge to swipe at them with the back of his hand, and instead pretended that they weren't there as he cleared his throat. "i-i wouldn't get close if i were you. just... stay over there."

[prince lupt]

𝐌 𝐀 𝐘 𝐇 𝐄 𝐌
the demons expression darkened, but his amusement did not falter. it was at that moment that it hit him; this little human still didn't know what was going on. they didn't know how undeniably generous mayhem was being—letting him live, being an escort to them in hell— and if they had known how good-natured mayhem was being, that is, not doing demon-esque things, they would be grateful. or, in the least, that's what mayhem thought. being this nice to a human didn't come naturally to him. not to mention how hard it was to walk and talk with all the fuzzy blotches in his vision. he moves back to a standing position, a little too hastily, and falls right back to the ground with a soft thunk. it didn't really hurt, but he sat for a moment, almost completely oblivious to his surroundings. and, like nothing ever happened, he pushes himself off the ground, back to his original standing position. he scowled at the weary human. the way humans discharged moisture—as if demons would ever have to sweat—was beyond vulgar. but that response was all needed.
" follow me. " with a sharp sigh, he moves in the opposite direction, his whole body tilted to slightest angle so he was unable to move in a straight line. he kepting his hands tucked behind his back to show that he wasn't going to try anything deceitful for the time being. if the need was necessary, however, he would be more than willing to give up the human as quickly as possible. there was no need to worry about that now. hopefully.

[quiche cat!]

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ahh, yikes. the creep's expression was getting even more scary. what should jackson do? try to jump the gun again, while the creep seemed unfocused? or maybe throw a punch? kick him in the shin? deck him in the face? the possibilities were endless...!
...but, not really. being physical wasn't really jackson's forte—or, at least, he'd like to think it wasn't. so for now, the boy would just go along with whatever he said--
jackson stared in awe as the man abruptly tried to stand up and instead fell right back down. "by any chance, are you..." upon questioning the man, an innocent inquiry as to whether or not he was drunk (because he was definitely acting like it), jackson's voice faltered and faded away. "nevermind." honestly, it didn't matter. none of this mattered! silently willing himself to stop worrying about everything, the boy watched as the man stood up, this time without falling over. finally. it had taken him long enough.
as soon as the creep urged him to follow, jackson obeyed without question, even though it felt weird. normally he'd put up a fight, but for now, he'd decided to keep quiet. at least, until the man did something that angered, frustrated, or upset him enough to make him do something about it.
...or if he kept acting like a drunkard!! how aggravating this was, seeing a man (that appeared older than him) wobble about like a newborn deer!! pushing himself to his feet, jackson stomped over to the leaning man, reaching over and snatching a handful of his fluttering cape. he gave it a good tug before realizing what he was doing, and who he was doing it to; considering those things, jackson released the cloak, stumbling back a few steps and swiping some of the sweat from his brow. god, this temperature was making his brain turn to mush!! but it was too late to turn back now. taking a deep breath, he cleared his throat, grabbing hold of the cape again. "where... where are we going? tell me! and, tell me... tell me if you're drunk or not! you're an embarrassment, bumbling around like this, you creep!"