Your pastimes consisted of the strange, the twisted and deranged
With a yawn and a toss of her scarf over her shoulder, Bookman started back towards one of her rooms. She- it was amazing how quickly he'd come to refer to himself with (temporary) female pronouns- was exhausted from the tea party and all the mischief that had come with it. None of it had been particularly unpleasant, fortunately, and she was more than happy to go back and sleep off the effects of one or two unfortunate teas.
Unfortunately, it seemed as if she was out of luck. Without a sound hands grabbed hold of her hips from behind and she whirled around, startled and instinctively attempting to draw Tessei against her assailant. He caught hold of her hand before she could do so, holding painfully tight. Her eyes darted towards the man and inwardly she cursed, recognizing this Tyki instantly. Still, she forced a smile that looked anything but.
"Hey, Tyki."
"You look different." There was a distinct note of irritation in his voice, overlaying a separate tone that the redhead couldn't quite place.
"Ran afoul of this place again."
"You should be more careful." Tyki leaned in, grin stretched unnaturally wide. "We wouldn't want you to get hurt, after all♥" He placed a hand on her cheek, mockingly, expecting a flinch. When it didn't show he scowled, dragging his fingers down to grasp her chin roughly.
"Gotten better at hiding, have we?" He hissed, face inches from hers.
Bookman wasn't sure how to react for a moment, mind whirling with probabilities and risks and memories of past encounters. She wasn't nearly as flightly about being touched now, and it seemed to bother him. Unfortunate, as she'd thought the change would help her. Leave it to Tyki to twist it into a liability. Finally she forced a slight waver into her voice, and attempted to take a step back. "Of course not. Just a bit tired, that's all."
"Liar, liar," he growled, matching and then trumping her step to close whatever gap remained between them. The hand on her hip yanked her body flush against him, and suddenly she was acutely aware of the fact that she could still grab Tessei, still stand a chance of fighting him off long enough to at least run. The movement of his hand dropping from her chin to the base of her spine made her hastily reconsider, however, as the man ghosted gloved fingertips over nerves and vertebrae.
She sucked in air through clenched teeth, posture only growing more rigid as he casually dipped his hand through her spine and into her torso from behind, brushing against organs with a look that was nothing short of predatory. "Tyki-"
He didn't answer at first, instead pulling her closer in a gesture that would have been comforting if it weren't for the feeling of fingers closing around her heart. "Hush now," he murmured, breath tickling against her ear. She found herself frozen with trepidation as his face rested softly against hers, almost affectionate until he jerked his hand back and ripped her heart free.
There was of course no time for her to respond. The redhead's face was already paling as her body slumped in his arms, free of wounds. He dropped her corpse unceremoniously and began to walk, disinterested now that the struggle had left her. Instead he smirked and pressed his lips against her heart, faintly tasting the blood and feeling the last shivers of life that ran through it. Beneath the seething aggression and the shaking, manic laughter welling in his throat, there was a note of ironic amusement in his voice.
"So you were human after all, Bookman."
Unfortunately, it seemed as if she was out of luck. Without a sound hands grabbed hold of her hips from behind and she whirled around, startled and instinctively attempting to draw Tessei against her assailant. He caught hold of her hand before she could do so, holding painfully tight. Her eyes darted towards the man and inwardly she cursed, recognizing this Tyki instantly. Still, she forced a smile that looked anything but.
"Hey, Tyki."
"You look different." There was a distinct note of irritation in his voice, overlaying a separate tone that the redhead couldn't quite place.
"Ran afoul of this place again."
"You should be more careful." Tyki leaned in, grin stretched unnaturally wide. "We wouldn't want you to get hurt, after all♥" He placed a hand on her cheek, mockingly, expecting a flinch. When it didn't show he scowled, dragging his fingers down to grasp her chin roughly.
"Gotten better at hiding, have we?" He hissed, face inches from hers.
Bookman wasn't sure how to react for a moment, mind whirling with probabilities and risks and memories of past encounters. She wasn't nearly as flightly about being touched now, and it seemed to bother him. Unfortunate, as she'd thought the change would help her. Leave it to Tyki to twist it into a liability. Finally she forced a slight waver into her voice, and attempted to take a step back. "Of course not. Just a bit tired, that's all."
"Liar, liar," he growled, matching and then trumping her step to close whatever gap remained between them. The hand on her hip yanked her body flush against him, and suddenly she was acutely aware of the fact that she could still grab Tessei, still stand a chance of fighting him off long enough to at least run. The movement of his hand dropping from her chin to the base of her spine made her hastily reconsider, however, as the man ghosted gloved fingertips over nerves and vertebrae.
She sucked in air through clenched teeth, posture only growing more rigid as he casually dipped his hand through her spine and into her torso from behind, brushing against organs with a look that was nothing short of predatory. "Tyki-"
He didn't answer at first, instead pulling her closer in a gesture that would have been comforting if it weren't for the feeling of fingers closing around her heart. "Hush now," he murmured, breath tickling against her ear. She found herself frozen with trepidation as his face rested softly against hers, almost affectionate until he jerked his hand back and ripped her heart free.
There was of course no time for her to respond. The redhead's face was already paling as her body slumped in his arms, free of wounds. He dropped her corpse unceremoniously and began to walk, disinterested now that the struggle had left her. Instead he smirked and pressed his lips against her heart, faintly tasting the blood and feeling the last shivers of life that ran through it. Beneath the seething aggression and the shaking, manic laughter welling in his throat, there was a note of ironic amusement in his voice.
"So you were human after all, Bookman."