[ Halloween Approaches -- Monsters and Mythology Style ]

[slavic_sinner]

There was a wood, red and golden, stark dry branches and dying autumn flowers. The stream that wound its way through the fading meadow still sparkled, rushing over rocks and fallen trunks of old and mossy trees, a large stream, its current strong. Although bright and grassy once, the banks along it now were a soft yellow, quiet and littered with

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[deademerald]

"Lost..?"

The word sounded prettier from the creature's lips than it did his own. Hisoka wasn't aware of becoming lost, but yet simultaneously wasn't particularly sure where he was anymore. He'd heard the haunting melody long before he'd wandered into the beautiful meadow. He'd come for the music, enchanted and enthralled, helpless to act in any other way. Did that make him lost? He... wasn't particularly sure.

"I heard you play.. It's beautiful."

[deademerald]

Whatever Mello would call it, Hisoka's body would again be taken by the shift in melody, uncurling and stretching out to perform properly.

Where before he'd clomped about with the heaviness of a mortal, under the violin's enchantment he danced with the light grace of a nymph. He moved with the music as a piece of it rather than in reaction to it, twirling and stretching and letting it lead where it wished. When he splashed now, it was subtle and deliberate, creating delicate ripples that set sail to the blossoming lilies. He seemed more at home in this foreign grotto now than any human had a right to be.

[slavic_sinner]

Mello watched him with amusement, continuing his song and letting his pet play a little longer. It was a pleasing sight, after all. Hisoka was surprisingly graceful.

[deademerald]

He would tirelessly continue his dips and pirouettes throughout the duration of the song, dancing on until it ended, leaving him to collapse into the pool in a panting heap. He blinked slowly, only the barest glimmer or awareness in his spelled gaze.

[slavic_sinner]

He played for a long time, intrigued to see how long the boy would last, and when he finally began to see those pretty legs start to tire, Mello gently slowed his song into a final note that echoed through the clearing.

Hisoka's fall splashed water into patterns of ripples all around him and Mello smiled, standing and setting his violin and bow down nearby. They would vanish while Hisoka wasn't looking, able to be summoned and dismissed at will as they were really a part of him and of the illusion, after all.

He walked gracefully toward the fallen boy, kneeling down to reach a hand out to Hisoka.

"That was a beautiful dance," he praised, helping him up. "You're so lovely, Hisoka."

[deademerald]

"You liked it?" He murmured distantly, if redundantly, as he was helped up. It was so kind of his gracious host to be concerned over his wellbeing. Even after he'd danced for what was subjectively weeks at a time, until his thoughts were so slow and thick with enchantment that it took him a moment to remember that the name being spoken was his own.

"I only wanted to please you..."

[slavic_sinner]

"You have done very well," Mello assured him, smirking, and took Hisoka by the elbow to guide him toward one of the caves. It was warmer inside, a violet fire dancing near the back in a concave little opening like a natural hearth.

The ground was littered with animal skins of all sorts, rabbits and bears and wolves and leopards, as well as plush silk pillows. "Rest now," he urged, gently pushing Hisoka down onto a white wolf pelt and a pile of pillows.

[deademerald]

Hisoka was led forward in a daze, only barely able to make out the beautiful setting through his hazy vision. When the inhumanly beautiful creature spoke to him now, it was an extension of the violin's melody, sound linked directly to his heart.

He walked. And then he was sinking forever into a pile of clouds. His palms ran along the furry skin in long strokes, unable to reconcile the gentle fur with his dulled state of being.

"It's beautiful here," he murmured softly, though he could focus his eyes on nothing but Mello's figure. "Thank you for bringing me with you."

[slavic_sinner]

"Rest," he repeated in a gentle murmur, sinking to his knees beside the boy and gently pushing him down by the shoulders to lean against a pile of pillows, propped up against Mello's side as he was.

[deademerald]

There were other things Hisoka wanted to know, to say... But they evaporated at the repeated command, replaced by an overwhelming fatigue. Hisoka's eyes went terribly heavy, and none of his muscles seemed to work anymore. He went limp, helplessly struggling just to keep his eyes open in tiny slivers. He wouldn't be able to see Mello with his eyes closed. It was terribly disconcerting.

[slavic_sinner]

"Shh," Mello soothed, one hand in his hair, stroking it idly. The other found Hisoka's arm, finding no resistance in the relaxed and trusting body. He lifted the wrist to his lips, kissing it softly, the tip of his tongue tracing a vein.

[deademerald]

That was all it took to end Hisoka's fight entirely. It wasn't quite sleep that claimed him now, but an absolute stillness. If not for his steady pulse, it might have been deathlike.

His body was Mello's to do as he wished.

[slavic_sinner]

It was amusing how readily this one fell under his will, but Mello didn't mind. Softly grazing his teeth over the thin skin on the inside of the boy's pale wrist, he simply enjoyed the scent for a few minutes, licking and kissing up his arm, tugging Hisoka more into his lap.

Slowly kissing his way back down the inside of his forearm to that wrist again, Mello finally stopped teasing himself with the scent alone. His lips curled back, teeth suddenly sharp and wicked, and he sank jagged incisors into the soft skin, letting the hot blood well up into his mouth. It was just as sweet as he'd hoped and he closed his eyes to relish it.

[deademerald]

It hurt. Badly. But there wasn't anything Hisoka could do about the hurt, as overcome as he was. His face contorted in pain, but there was no strength left in his limbs, no energy to pull away.

Though it might have been peculiar how warm he would remain even when drained, full of vibrance and life well past the point that would have murdered a mortal.

[slavic_sinner]

It would be a while still before Mello realized the true extent of the lucky catch he'd stumbled into. For now, he drank slowly, scraping the skin raw and lapping at the blood as it spilled out. His eyes, when he opened them again, would still be golden, bright and harsh against the blackness where there should have been whites. But the illusion was dropped now, and though the form of his body was still perfect, his skin was now a dark gray color, thin fingers tipped with long black claws.

[deademerald]

It felt cold, in a way he couldn't quite explain. He wrenched his eyes open after a period of extreme difficulty, though there was still nothing to be done to fend off the creature feasting upon his arms. It was definitely a creature, to be sure. But he wasn't positioned at a reasonable enough angle to see more, nor was he in possession of enough to himself to remember that he was supposed to know how to deal with such matters.

He whimpered his distress instead. What happened? Everything was so different now.. Where had all the music gone?