TRP: Anwyll and Raef (Mine)

**Mink**

[Day: 361-362.
Setting: Dreamscape]

Raef settled down on the bed, shutting his eyes with one
hand lazily resting on his chest.  The
warmth was there, glowing, calming.  He
hadn't told Az - hadn't told anyone - and he hadn't listened to Anwyll not
until this night.

He could've ignored it, could've ignored Aziz, ignored
Anwyll, could've - could've done anything else, but he called.  For the first time, he sought out the demon
that he had given soul to.

When he opened his eyes, he was walking down the disused,
overgrown path.  Another dream of a home
he would never see again.

**Coyote**

As Raef walked down the path, the forest grew wilder and
more chaotic around him. Monsters moved in the dark: some looked like
half-human, half-ape hybrids, lumbering stooped on their knuckles. Others
looked like hissing ratmen.

A few noticed him, but gave him a wide berth.

Wherever Raef stepped, behind him grew wild vines and
twisting thorns, leaving the path thicker behind him. The brambles ahead parted
and curled.

Farther down the path ahead, there was the sound of snarling
and shrieking.

**Mink**

His hand hung loose by his side as he walked, reaching for a
dagger that wasn't there and one he didn't need.  He took a deep breath as he continues walking
towards the shrieking snarls.   It was a
dream or else he'd been heading the other way.

"Anwyll?" he ventured, hand still grasping though
now it was for something else as he recalled the spell.  Oh, he was supposed to keep the book, but he
didn't hit 331 withoutt being able to memorize.

**Coyote**

Ahead, there was a lake, and around it, there were shrieking
and snarling ratmen and apemen. Anwyll— faintly glowing a golden light— sat at
the shore.

He cradled a small female body with white hair. Her skin was
fair, like his, but faintly pink. Her throat had been cut, and she had been
stabbed several times.

Anwyll’s face was twisted in a cold rage.

It seemed that all these monsters were mourning her. And so
was Anwyll.

**Mink**

Raef's had relaxed when he saw Anwyll. He glanced at the
beasts briefly as he walked closer - hesitant, slow.   The demon was pissed, it was easy to
see.  But...but...he swallowed.  There wasn't only anger.

"Anwyll?" he said again, breaking the distance now
with longer strides.  He looked to the
body of the girl - she had to be little more than a girl - but he couldn't look
at her for long.  It was painful.  Before he could stop himself, or think to do
something else, he slid a hand over Anwyll's shoulder.

**Coyote**

“He— killed— another one. Sloth. My Lizzie. My girls. I’m—
going— to kill him.”

Anwyll’s voice could barely contain his rage.

**Mink**

Raef nipped the inside of his lip.  He squeezed Anwyll's shoulder.  It was just a little (demon,
monster...kid...)...if it was Tikva...if it was Theo..."I'm sorry."

**Coyote**

Anwyll caught Raef's wrist, digging his fingers in. He
pulled Raef down onto the ground with him. "If he-- ever-- comes near
you--"

**Mink**

Raef winced, dropping to a knee. "...'bout
that..." He dropped to both knees, but didn't pull out of the grip.  If Anwyll was gonna do something them he
would've.

**Coyote**

Anwyll tightened his grip. He looked up at Raef with burning
silver eyes and kept him close as possible.

**Mink**

He inhaled sharply.
Shit. "I...uh.  I spoke with
him the other night," he hissed out.
He didn't flinch away from the oh so beautiful silver gaze, the real
Anwyll peeking out.

**Coyote**

“Voluntarily?”

**Mink**

"Yeah."

**Coyote**

Pieces of Anwyll's skin cracked and flaked off around his
eyes as his face twisted in rage, exposing slivers of silver scales. He got up,
abruptly, pulling Raef deeper into the forest, away from the ratmen and the
apemen, and away from the lake.

**Mink**

Raef stumbled when pulled abruptly to his feet.  His jaw tightened and dug his heels into the
ground, twisting at his waist to pull at the grip. "I can walk," he
said coolly despite his pulse speeding up.
"Let go."

**Coyote**

Anywll stopped, giving him a measured look.

A while ago, he wouldn't have let go, but this time he did.
Eventually Raef would be his peer, and it was no use to drag him around.

Anwyll went further into the woods alone.

**Mink**

Dick.  Raef let out a
puff of air and followed Anwyll into the woods.
He'd sought him out, he wasn't leaving now.

**Coyote**

Anwyll's skin kept flaking off as he walked. His foot tore
open against a fallen branch, scraping white skin off his heel and his shin.
The silvery scales had an iridescent quality. A shifting rainbow hue.

Once they were deeper inside, the brambles shifted around to
create an empty space, then wound around it to enclose them.

**Mink**

Raef avoided the flaked skin, watching as silver scale upon
silver scale was revealed.  A shiver
crept up his spine and the hair on the back of his neck stood up.  Relaxation gave way to a tense nervousness as
the forest closed them off. Together.

"You're outdoing yourself," he commented, breaking
through the unnerving silence.  He didn't
like this - didn't like that Anwyll was pissed off, which he wouldn't admit.

**Coyote**

Anwyll forced himself calm. He could sense Raef was unnerved
and unhappy-- probably was afraid of him-- and although Anwyll was angry,
wanted to lash out and hurt him, he knew that was the wrong thing to do. He
needed to make Raef more comfortable. Didn't want to drive him off just yet.

"I'm sorry," Anwyll said. He reached to touch
Raef's face. "Am I scaring you, beloved?"

**Mink**

He thought about taking a step back.  If it had been a few weeks ago then he would
have.  Instead he withstood the tender
touch.  He wanted to reach up to caress
the back.

"Wary," Raef answered, making himself relax
again.  He glanced towards the brambles
that hid them away from the monsters outside before looking back Anwyll.  "You need to talk about it?"

**Coyote**

Anwyll hated the idea of Pride talking to Raef. Make the
hair on the back of his neck stand up. "Yes. Tell me what he said to
you."

**Mink**

Raef had to catch himself; he wasn't eager to talk about
Aziz or Sam.  They were part of the whole
damn reason he sought out Anwyll in the first place, but he didn't exactly feel
like dying.

"Lots of things." Pretty, calm, soothing in the
way that Aziz didn't sem to give a damn. "He said he was gonna kill you
and any little...things...you made."

**Coyote**

"Unfair." Anwyll boiled inside. "Controlling.
Always wants to stop me from doing things. Always has to have the final say,
like we're not equals, we're not peers." He narrowed his eyes. "Did
he offer you anything?"

**Mink**

"Yeah...I got that feelin' from him." Pride was
above everyone, but...that fuckin' fit Aziz.
Raef rolled his tongue as he thought before nodding. "Everything
you did...and...more."

**Coyote**

"What else? I can do more for you. I wouldn't trust
him. He's a liar."

Privately, Anwyll often thought that Pride did not have
feelings the way Anwyll did. Anwyll loathed things; Pride disliked them. Anwyll
adored things; Pride found them mildly interesting before he moved on.

"He's not going to value you," Anwyll said.
"Even if you leave me. Don't go to him. Nothing has value to a king that
thinks everything is beneath him. You don't have value."

Anywll thought, He won't love you as much as I do. *Mine.*
Mine. Mine.

**Mink**

Raef arched an eyebrow.
He believed Anwyll; he believed that he could squeeze a little more out
of the demon, sweeten the deal a little, push him a little more.  He believed that Anwyll would agree.  His stomach knotted, almost like it sickened
him to think of pushing Anwyll.

"He offered to keep my daughter safe." He took a
step closer.  Tilted his chin up to look
up at Anwyll. "Said he could get my dead kid to where he needs to
be."

**Coyote**

"He might. That's a good deal for him. As long as your
daughter is safe and alive, he'd have your loyalty, and if she did happen to
die, he'd be back to where he started with you, and you'd be against him again.
It's all benefit, no risk for him, and he wouldn't have to even do anything,
just say he was. Raef. I want to come nearer to you. Or you could come nearer
to me. Do you want to be where I am?"

**Mink**

"See...his offer means taking on a god for me."
Maybe it wasn't a risk to Aziz, but it removed the risk to him, to his friends,
to his family. Raef worried his tongue before he took the few short steps that
would bring him closer to Anwyll. "I like my daughter being safe,
Anwyll."

**Coyote**

Anwyll narrowed his eyes. He was fairly sure he knew what
Raef was talking about. Tikva would be possessed by Gruumsh the same way Raef's
lover had been.

"I can help keep her safe," Anwyll said. He looked
at Raef with his wet silver eyes. "I can make you strong enough to keep
Tikva safe yourself, Raef Chastain. Strong enough to take on a god. For
yourself. For your daughter. And then there will be two of us."

He laced their fingers together.

**Mink**

Being strong was good.
Instead of this weak thing that could only watch as loved one after
loved one crumbled to dust, leaving him.
Instead of this weak thing that couldn't even help itself.  Even now he needed Anwyll's help, even now he
ran to him, plagued with uncertainty, with all the familiar worries...

He squeezed Anwyll's hand, tracing his thumb down the back,
over the smattering of smooth scales.

Anwyll did promise him something more than Aziz had,
something different, something that could soothe some of the darkest thoughts
he had.

*...two of us...*

"You promise?" he answered, tip of his nail
gliding where his finger had caressed.

**Coyote**

"I am not a liar, Raef Chastain." He brought
Raef's hand to his mouth.

**Mink**

Raef almost smirked.
"Good." He didn't think Anwyll was a liar.  He smiled a little with the soft touch to his
hand.  This was better than the
indifference that radiated from Aziz. He placed his free hand on the side of Anwyll's
face.

**Coyote**

Anwyll stared up at him adoringly. "Thank you for
coming to me tonight," he said. "I was so happy to see you,
beloved." Mine, mine, mine. "You deserve a reward," Anwyll said.
"What would you like?"

**Mink**

Raef smiled softly, unable to stop himself. "You've
made it easy to see you now." For better or worse.  He slid his thumb over Anwyll's cheek.
"Mmm...why don't you surprise me?"

**Coyote**

"I can do that," Anwyll said, and pulled Raef down
into the vines and sharp leaves on the jungle floor.