~Artemis torture palace~

[Little Broken Puppet]

Dantes_river

Artemis didn't say anything as she took the supplies from his hands and put them away. She returned to stand in front of him, examining his chest and then his face, as if she was searching for something. "I'm assuming that Gage and Twillah will be leaving today. Catherine and Kuro are already on their way here, so we should probably head back upstairs." She said smoothly, taking her hair down out of her pony tail and running a hand through it. Her eyes were no longer red, but instead the grey cloudy color that they usually were. She didn't like the fact that she didn't know what had happened to him, but she wasn't going to ask anymore questions about it. You can go ahead and go up. I need to take care of some things first."

Twillah smirked slightly, sticking her tounge out at him. "I think I would prefer you to be with a guy. But, that could just be the jealousy within me." She said in a child-like tone, before pulling him towards the door. "We should probably head down now." She said, stepping out into the hallway as she hummed softly, dragging him along behind her.

Cathrine got a little choked up at his words, images flashing through her mind. She didnt say anything for a few minutes as she gathered her composure, refusing to cry right before lunch with her sisters. "That's sweet of you to say, Kuroboshi." A light smile slipped across the female's lips as she moved closer by his side, linking his arm in hers. "Thank you for doing this for me. I know you don't like being inside the house, or out in the open for that matter."  

[Dantes_river]

Little Broken Puppet

Nightsong nodded slightly as he headed for the door only to take a pause beside it. "It's just Nightsong now, Artemis... Nightengale and Pardonner have returned to me and now I'm one person again... That's the answer you were looking for," he rumbled lowly as if it explained the universe. Before she could respond, however, the demon vanished out the door and skipped stairs to reach the upper floors. Once there, he found a quiet corner in the diningroom to sit at and sat down in it.

"Hilarious. Let's go," Gage chuckled lightly as he followed behind Twillah. She was so sweet and so understanding that it made his heart flutter. She had to know he had to do these feedings whether either of them liked it or not. It was the only way to keep her from ending up as his snack after all.

"It's just how I feel on the inside and I felt he wanted you to know that. As for doing this for you, it may make me uncomfortable, but you said it'd be a short visit and I'd like for you to be happy," Kuroboshi responded with a light smile as he gently used his freehand to stroke the female's hand. When they exited the woods, however, it was obvious he was getting tense as sometimes he'd forget to move his thumb and the rest of the time he was shifting his gaze around warily and trying to keep from hurting Catherine's arm.

 

[Little Broken Puppet]

Dantes_river

In the dining room, food lined the long black table. Where I came from, one could not be sure of. Most likely from the creatures that lurked in the shadows within the castle walls. But all in all, the food looked rather appetizing. Darkred roses were located in black vases that lined the middle of the table, giving the whole room a fresh, flowery smell,

Once Nightsong left, Artemis let out a sigh of relief. So that's what it was. She made a mental note to talk to him about it later, but for now she needed to hurry up and get through lunch with everyone. Walking out of the room, Artemis flicked off the light behind her and shut the door, her heels clicking against the cold dark floors as she made her way back through the tunnels. Once she had secured the opening and made her way to the dining room, everyone was starting to arrive.

Twillah walked into the dining room, dragging Gage along behind her as she examined the scene. Everything looked so good, and it made her feel a tinge of guilt as she knew this would not satisfy Gage's hunger. She smiled softly as she heard Artemis come into the room, shifting her gaze to meet her sister. "Good Afternoon, Sister." She said softly, walking over to the table and taking a seat. She barely noticed Nightsong in one of the corners, since he was so quiet. But when her eyes landed upon him, she gave him a slight nod only to signal that she acknowledged his presence.

Catherine paused right before she opened one of the back doors, turning to give Kuro a quick kiss and a soft smile. "We won't be long, I promise." She told him in a soothing tone, giving his arm a soft squeeze before opening the door and stepping inside. She led him into the dining room, seeing that everyone was already there. "Hello there everyone." She chimed happily, leading the male over to take a seat across from Twillah and Gage.

Once everyone was sitting, Artemis moved to stand at the head of the table. "Well, I'd like to thank you all for coming to visit for a while, it really has been a pleasure seeing you all here. But enough with the chit-chat. Lets dig in." Her tone was smooth and oddly happy as her voice filled the room. She managed to give a forced smile to them all before sitting down and taking a sip of the blood that had already been filled for her in a wine glass at her place. Artemis really didn't care about anything except for questioning Nightsong at this point, and she made that clear to him. Her eyes examine him from across the room, not moving an inch.  

[Dantes_river]

Little Broken Puppet

Knowing he was being stared at by Artemis, the demon simply rotated the fork in his hand and occasionally took a sip of his drink. He wasn't feeling all that hungry even though he could tell his stomach wanted to argue with him on the topic. Even though Nightsong hadn't bothered glancing up, he raised his freehand briefly as if saying his hello to Twillah.

"Good afternoon all. I'm kinda surprised Kurotan actually came up here so willingly instead of leaving claw marks in the ground though," Gage hummed lightly as if trying to clear up some dark cloud in the room. His comment, of course, ended up getting a sharp glare from the halfbred vampier. The glare just got the incubus to chuckle softly as he found the other male only shooting a brief glare was his way of speaking without actually speaking to those in the house.

Kuroboshi was somewhat irked at being called Kurotan and yet also somewhat surprised. The incubus had guessed what his brief thought before stepping inside the house had been down to a tee. He'd wanted to turn back and run off to the trees and yet he had gritted his teeth and was now fidgeting slightly in his chair with his legs crossed in front of him. And then there was the whole 'elephant in the room' of the only apparent "couple" not sitting together; Artemis and Nightsong. Briefly leaning over to Catherine, he whispered softly, "are we missing something?"

 

[Little Broken Puppet]

Dantes_river

Artemis cast a glance at Kuroboshi, eyeing him curiously as he asked Catherine if they had missed anything. "Nothing of your concern, Kuroboshi. I for one, am also surprised." She said smoothly, before her eyes shifted back to Nightsong. She of course hadn't bothered to put any human food on her plate, but instead continued to sip at her glass. She really didn't enjoy having everyone together at once, but she dealt with it. She pushed the rising feeling that this lunch wouldn't go over so smoothly aside, trying to keep herself positive about the situation.

Twillah didn't feel very comfortable in the situation either, but she didn't say anything when Artemis made the comment about nothing going on. Casting a glance around the room, her eyes rested upon her empty plate. She wasn't feeling very hungry, especially since she knew gage was hungry and human food wouldn't satisfy him.

Catherine looked between Artemis and Nightsong, frowning slightly and reaching over to hold Kuro's hand. She knew he probably ha actually contemplated what Gage had suggested, but she was glad that he hadn't. Taking a bite of her food, she chewed and swallowed before speaking. "So how is everyone?" She asked, glancing at all the faces.  

[Dantes_river]

Little Broken Puppet

"Eavesdropping is rude, Artemis," Nightsong almost seemed to mutter in something of a purr. He then started to actually eat before his stomach could go audible about it's protests. Taking a brief pause between bites, however, he answered Catherine's question while using his freehand to point at each of the people although he saved Artemis and himself for last. "Nervous and uncomfortable. Glad he didn't run off. Starving for a soul and suffering from very sore muscles when I tried crushing him and Twillah. Not too happy her boytoy needs to suck face with another girl let alone another person. Personal issues. Personal issues. And everyone's noticed there's a terrible aura in here. That about sums it up."

"See? I'm not the only one... Eh? Wow... You've gotten vague and yet so blunt all too quickly." Gage had started in a smooth hum only to become rather appalled by Nightsong answering for all of them. Nightsong just gave a brief shrug before responding again. "Yeah well... Y'all don't worry about the atmosphere. It's a private matter. Just eat."

"Just bein' nice is all..." Kuro mumbled while lightly gripping Catherine's hand in his own. Even if Nightsong said not to worry about it, he was worrying him and him being in an uncomfortable situation almost had him crawling up the walls.

 

[Little Broken Puppet]

Dantes_river

Do you mind if I skip to the end of the meal?

 

[Dantes_river]

Little Broken Puppet

Feel free.

 

[Little Broken Puppet]

Dantes_river

As the lunch came to an end about half an hour later, Artemis stood up from her seat at the head of the table, smoothing out her clothing and letting a smooth smile slip across her red lips. "Well, it certainly has been an eventful few days here at my home. I'd like to thank you all for coming to visit, and you're certainly welcome back at any point in time. Twillah, your luggage is packed up in the car for you and as for Gage, well there have been arrangements and there is someone waiting on the path towards the waterfall. Catherine and Kuro, you'll still technically be on my property anyway so feel free to come to the house at any time. Now please excuse me, see you all soon." her voice was very sincere and polite as she spoke, leaving the room gracefully and swiftly as she passed through the dinning hall doors into the kitchen. As soon as she was out of the tension filled atmosphere she sighed with relief, the feeling of paranoia subsiding from her mind. Artemis walked over to the sink and leaned herself against it, her hands moving to her temples as she closed her eyes and sighed heavily. She had a feeling that the rest of today would be anything but uneventful.

Twillah smiled softly as her sister left the room, giving a proper thank you before she had went into the kitchen. She stood quickly, linking her arm through Gage's and pulling him along with her. Her pale eyes examined him carefully before they moved to Catherine and Kuro. "Well, I suppose that's our que to leave. We will see you two soon!" she said in her sweet manor, giving a brief nod towards Nightsong before walking along with Gage out of the room. "I'm so sorry, that probably drove you crazy. But at least she has a meal waiting for you."

Catherine smirked slightly as everyone left the room, well everyone except the demon that remained at the table. "I told you that would be realitively painless." She mumbled to Kuroboshi, standing up and running a hand through her hair. "Well, we should be on our way. It's getting late. Goodbye Nightsong." Catherine said smoothly, taking Kuro's hand and leading him out of the room, and the demon by himself.  

[Dantes_river]

Little Broken Puppet

"It might be best if you just ask them straight up. Going about it nicely as you would Pardonner much less throwing me in a room with your shadows as you would Nightengale will get you nowhere with me," Nightsong stated ever so calmly after having gotten up, collecting as many dishes as he could carry and taking them into the kitchen. He then started softly humming a gentle tune that sounded Korean while going back and forth in collecting up dishes. Pausing in his song, he admitted, "Your relatives are somewhat unnerving. It's not like dealing with Lymbo and keeping hold of two separate personas inside yourself..."

"I'm glad she has food prepped for me, but her and her boyfriend had me on edge the way she never seemed to glance away from him and the way he seemed to be deliberately avoiding eye contact with her. What made it worse is how he didn't seem to care he tried crushing us shortly before lunch. He just seemed so... Cheerful? Calm? Relaxed?" Gage breathed out as he rubbed the back of his neck slightly. It was nice getting out of that tense atmosphere with the bipolar loon and his sadistic girlfriend sitting across from each other. "Dude's insane, Twillah. He's the kind of guy you see got arrested for killing a massive amount of people in alleyways."

Kuroboshi kept moving until he got to an area in the woods where he felt more at ease to which he dropped into a low crouch and shuddered rather visibly. Oh lord this was insane. His skin was crawling just as badly as he wanted to in the house. "I didn't like doing that. The vulnerability, the atmosphere.... I thought I was gonna start crawling up walls," Kuro mumbled softly while trying to keep himself from shuddering again. That feeling of vulnerability and bothering others was already weighing heavily on him so that awkward atmosphere between Nightsong and Artemis hadn't helped him relax any.

 

[Little Broken Puppet]

Dantes_river

Artemis opened her eyes to examine the demon carefully, watching as he moved from room to room. When he came back into the kitchen she appeared beside him, grabbing his wrist gently to stop him from moving. "How did it happen..?" she asked, her tone a tad bit demanding but also very soft and curious. She didn't understand what had happened to him, and it was driving her crazy not to. When he mentioned something about her family however, her eyes shifted to a rather emotionless gaze. "My family has always been that way. Constant tension. Little miss Twillah was usually the cause of it at home, believe it or not. She was a bit of a handful." Artemis seemed a bit reluctant to say more, and she didn't think Nightsong cared enough to hear more. She wanted answers.

Twillah laughed lightly, moving to stand beside Gage when they managed to get outside of the house. "Well, Artemis herself isn't quite sane, dear. She will keep him in line. As for you, you need to feed. I'll wait right here for you by the car until you get back." her voice was light and worry-free as she spoke, leaning up to give him a soft peck on his cheek before flashing him a soft grin.

Cathrine sighed lightly, moving to sit on the ground beside Kuro and turning her eyes toward the cloudy sky. It looked as if it would rain at any minute, and she had no doubt they would get caught in it. "I know, I really appreciate you joining me though. I have no idea what Artemis and Nightsong were discussing, but I agree. It made the room extremely uncomfortable. I won't make you go back there."  

[Dantes_river]

Little Broken Puppet

xxx"Ah," Nightsong breathed out knowingly, his eyes focused on the hand holding his wrist. The colors of his eyes flickered slightly up until he blinked and flashed a light smile up at Artemis, the colors settling on his right eye being a hunter green and the left being a fiery reddish-orange. "The same way I created them of course. A sound body and sound mind becomes shattered in order to remain complete. One to protect the good, one to protect the bad and one to protect the neutral. One to protect the white, one to protect the black and one to protect the grey. One to protect the heart, one to protect the mind and one to protect the soul. In short, I had to break myself before Lymbo could break me in order to remain whole. Nightengale was myself protecting the things I loved and cherished; my heart and life. Nightsong was myself protecting my memories and my sanity; my mind. Pardonner was myself trying to keep all of the pieces together; my soul and very self."

xxx"Not helping any. I'll be back shortly," Gage sighed lightly before gently brushing his lips against Twillah's cheek as she pecked him on the cheek. He then flashed a slight smile before releasing the female's hand and going off to where Artemis had set up plans for his source of food. He didn't want to be gone too long from his lover's side after all.

xxx"Thank you, Catherine. I wanted to make you happy, but felt like I was trying harder not to break your hand from being so uncomfortable outside of the forest. I'm sorry for not being able to leave the treeline without tensing like some kind of coward," Kuroboshi murmured softly while gently sliding his pinky around the female's little finger. It was far more comforting having her near although it'd done little outside of the forest. He'd tried, but he was going to have to take smaller steps in leaving the forest if he was going to make her happy should she want to see Artemis and Twillah again. He couldn't - no, wouldn't - deny her that.

 

[Little Broken Puppet]

Dantes_river

Artemis examined Nightsong's eyes closely, releasing his arm a few seconds after he gave her an answer. She didn't say anything for a few moments, letting the silence grow thicker in the air before her cool voice finally broke the tension. "So what made you want to combine it all again..?" She asked, raising an eyebrow in curiosity as she made a small circle around him, examining every inch of him as if his physical appearance had changed, although she knew it hadn't.

Twillah smiled softly as Gage left, but as soon as he was out of sight it quickly turned into a frown. She turned towards the limo that was already packed for them, moving to the very last door and swinging it open. Climbing in rather quickly, she shut the door behind her and sank down into the black seats. She knew Gage hadn't wanted to leave her side, she could feel that much. But she couldn't help the feeling of jealousy that rose within her. Twillah had never really handled that feeling very well, but she knew she could trust him. Shifting herself to lay down in the backseat, she stared at the roof of the car and tried to focus on something more pleasant.

Catherine smiled softly and leaned over to give Kuro a quick peck at the corner of his mouth, watching his face carefully. "You tried your best and you didn't explode, that's all I could ask for, Love. We can leave the forest for a shorter amount of time if you want to build up your tolerance, I'm not pushing you into anything you don't want to do." She murmured softly, leaning in to quickly brush her lips against his before standing up slowly, her eyes never leaving his face.  

[Dantes_river]

Little Broken Puppet

xxx"It was always my intention to become one person again as soon as I was free from Lymbo. I waited some time to be sure I would be here in which you proved that to be true when you denied Lymbo taking me back. Then there was just so much going on I didn't have time to do it. That includes Nightengale's tantrums. He was making it difficult too. While sitting in that room, however, he seemed to have calmed down quite a bit and admitted that listening to Pardonner's sobbing and whining and the debates over who got control over the body was really irritating. Pardonner just didn't want another run-in with your pets and so he submitted to becoming one person with relative ease," Nightsong responded calmly while cautiously watching the female circling him. She didn't seem all that unhappy by him doing that, but then again... Shaking off the thought, he smiled oh so calm and cheerful. Rocking back on his heels slightly, he started lightly tapping his fingers together as he waited for her to speak up again.

xxxAfter some time, Gage climbed into the limo beside Twillah and gently lay his tail over her stomach while his wings kept a steady beat just so he could remain hovering just above her instead of bothering her with getting up. "Hey there, beautiful. You do realize that pout is a turn on for me, right?" he purred in a light tease while stretching out on his stomach above the female so he could flash her that sweet yet mischievous smile of his.

xxxGiving a slight nod, Kuroboshi gently kissed the female back while lightly brushing his fingers against her cheek. "I want to be able to do things with you outside of the forest such as visiting your sisters. They're your family after all and I don't want to take anything away from you," he breathed out between kisses while standing back up. At least the shudders had stopped.

 

[Little Broken Puppet]

Dantes_river

She came to a stop in front of him, her eyes showing no hint of anything as she watched him tap his fingers together in amusement. "If you're wondering if I'm upset.. the answer is no. But I am intrigued. Very intrigued." Her voice was smooth as she spoke, moving her gray eyes to his and holding his gaze there before taking a step back, realizing how close she had gotten unintentionally. "So what did you think of my relatives?" she asked in a curious tone, leaning back against the counter with her arms crossed over her chest.

Twillah giggled softly when she heard Gage's comment, opening her eyes to examine the face above her. "You know that purr is a turn on for me, right?" She countered in her own teasing tone, moving to sit up against the wall of the car, her knees pulled into her chest. In response to his signature smile, she flashed him her own, feeling the car pull out of the drive. It felt nice to be going home, but she was going to miss her sisters, even if it was nothing but trouble when they all got together.

Catherine laughed lightly, leading him down the trail at a light pace and glancin over her shoulder. "We don't see each other that often, trust me you aren't keeping me from anything, Love." She wasn't really sure of what they could do for the rest of the day since they still had a good five hours of daylight left, but she was trying to get some ideas in her head so they wouldn't be stuck staring at trees all day.