[ P ] Sorry, You're Not a Winner

Ransom Cyprus

Ransom found himself amazed as he loped through the Redwood. Why? Well, he had never seen a forest retain its vibrant colors like this before. The vast canopy of leaves stretched on as far as the eye could see, leaving the brute to marvel at its endless beauty. He had entered with the expectation to see leaves littering the ground, effectively leaving the great, swaying limbs bare, but he'd been too quick to jump the gun.

Since arriving in these lands, he'd seen oceans and sprawling mountain ranges, not to mention a lake tucked away in secrecy, but nothing compared to this. He wasn't one to sightsee, nor did he care much about his surroundings past making sure none lurked around the corner, but he found himself in awe right now. He wasn't sure how long he'd remain interested in his quiet surroundings, though.

Ransom thrived on thrill, and spending so much time in solitary wasn't his taste. Perhaps he would need to travel to a city next. He'd been contemplating his next move when the snap of a twig earned his ire, his ears immediately painting flat against his skull whilst lips of ebony peeled back to reveal lethal canines. His keen eyes darted from tree trunk to tree trunk to search for the source of the sound. "If you show yourself, I may allow you to keep possession of your skin," he spoke aloud, uncertain of whether his mind had been playing tricks on him or not. If there was someone there, surely they'd show themselves.

"You prey on people like a spider waiting for a fly."

table by rae - image by bunny

It isn't enough to start a riot, distort the light beam until I like me

Sinew tangled around a thick molar, while a tendon casually sawed between a premolar and a canine. The squelch and almost inaudible creak as the coagulated remnants slid against her teeth was almost an aphrodisiac, filling her head with a cacophony of sadistic delight. It curdled her blood making her feel every heartbeat while an almost violent shiver of unadulterated pleasure slithered down her spine. Carrying a scattered few remnants of a kill was an usual signature but it had been irrevocably linked to liberation in her skull and now it was an impulse, brutish and barbaric and so wonderfully beautiful that she couldn’t resist. Her tongue slid around glistening ivories and a whimper fled her larynx as the sinew dislodged and was finally swallowed to join the rest of the rabbit digesting in her belly. That only left the tendon. Her eyes fluttered, her head spun, she stumbled, snapping a twig beneath the weight of her bodice and reflexively wriggled the tendon free with her tongue and swallowed. Divinity.

A snarled voice echoed from her right and amber eyes both sharp and nearly iridescent swiveled in their sockets as her lithe form dipped and twisted, curving through the underbrush with predatory grace. Each paw was pressed into the soil with purpose, lacking any and all distraction that had riddled her frame with euphoria only a moment prior. On a dime she could alter her entire demeanor and change her personality. A true chameleon. If Doll had a base personality with preference and habits, one would be hard pressed to find it. With calm reproach and sleek movement, Doll curved between the trees, her earthen hued frame easily sliding into view. “Oh? Promises, promises. Pray tell, what pound of flesh will you render from my bone? What skin will you siphon to devour? Is it the permeance of ensuring one can never fully leave you or just merely blood that you hunger for?” Doll’s voice was low, an almost rhythmic baritone that purred through the air like forbidden fruit. Her tail twitched lightly, the long appendage tickling her hocks but her eyes remained focused, sharp and keen on the stranger before her. It was almost a challenge. You want your pound of flesh? Take it.




"When I'm dreaming tonight I can do anything, I can be anyone so don't wake me up."

Ransom Cyprus

A brow quirked as a femme clad in colors of the earth slid into his view, her low vocals persuading his audits to flick atop his dome. The man offered merely a hum in response to the inquiries posed, his head inclining whilst his body language visibly relaxed. Ransom didn’t have a reason to attack her now that she showed herself, but he couldn’t ignore the subtle challenge she elicited. He ignored it for now, opting to remain the calm and controlled man he normally presented himself as. “You speak as if you have no flesh for me to rip off your bones.” He spoke the words easily, his lavender gaze remaining locked on the features of the female. She mirrored his disposition, her own restraint clear in her stature alone. She seemed to be a proud creature, someone Ransom could respect if she continued to prove herself worthy of his time. Of course, the brute had no genuine hope for her, seeing as most females merely disappointments.

“Unless you mean to insinuate that I shan’t be able to rend flesh from bone because you mean to stop me?” A chuckle slipped from his lips, his head raised to maintain his proud posture, but his words were little more than jest at the moment. There was little else to do whilst the conversation was in early stages of life, but Ransom held hope that this female would hold his attention. Perhaps he could learn to enjoy conversation with them, though he still found them terribly unattractive. Nobody could sway certain aspects of his personality.

-

"You prey on people like a spider waiting for a fly."

table by rae - image by bunny

It isn't enough to start a riot, distort the light beam until I like me

Fire. Soot. Ash. This stranger was the harsh beauty of chaotic ruination embroiled into silken fur and subtle strength. Peppered like the fluttering remnants of a burned forest swept up in a gale, the intensity of his eyes reflected that brutal devastation and Doll let the shudder sweep along her spine, disguising it in a soft shake like the pull of an errant muscle. She could almost taste his brutality, his strength. Tantalizing indeed. She stepped forward, movements devoid of grace and beauty but roiled in sleek, lithe movements that reflected the intent of a hunter. Neither aggressive nor defensive but certainly keen on the target. “I speak of dark pleasure, pain as an aphrodisiac, divinity presented in the cruelty of malicious ivory. Too many see scores of blood as a thirst for unending abhorrence and violence, rage cloaked subtlety in aggression… but by taking a pound of flesh, by devouring a piece of your familiar, you’re absorbing them into your bloodstream, making them permanently part of you. So few recognize the intimacy of a bite.” Doll rumbled in response, her tone measured and controlled as she shifted to recline to her haunches only a few feet from him. She feigned relaxation perfectly but she was ready to coil and spring at a moment's notice, should such become a necessity.

Doll was a chameleon… not a whore. Seduction was an art employed by those unintelligent enough to extract information devoid of the temptations of lust and satiation. She was no stranger to the raw baser instincts of heat and sex but only a plebeian fool will fall victim to their vice. “We only just met, beyond the musculature structure of your frame, I’ve little indication for how well or how poorly you can strip flesh from muscle without damaging the meat. I prefer to withhold judgement and to allow those around me to paint their own tapestries.” The tip of her tail flickered, teasing the back of her forelimb while her golden eyes bore into the beasts that stood before her. Just what kind of abhorrence was he and how could she utilize it to her advantage?
"When I'm dreaming tonight I can do anything, I can be anyone so don't wake me up."

Ransom Cyprus

Ransom was no stranger to dark pleasure. He understood the intimacy with which she spoke. The first bite that caused shivers of pleasure to shoot down your spine, splintering off in waves of ecstasy to fill your veins with a sensation unlike that of anything else he knew. It differed from sexual pleasure, which he was more familiar with, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t get on her level. Sometimes sinking his teeth into the flesh of a kill was savored. He could recall shuddering as he cleaved meat and sinew from bone. “Few have had the desire to understand the intimacy taking a life can have,” he agreed, his electric purple gaze remaining trained on the female as she shifted to sit on her haunches. They were both beings who understood the darker spectrum of pleasure. It was interesting to meet another who shared his own thoughts.

“We have only just met. One who was less versed in body language might mistake you for someone who couldn’t put up a fight. That would be a poor mistake indeed,” he mused, having only to look at the wolfess’ stature to know she wasn’t one to be easily trifled with. He could respect that, truthfully. He wasn’t used to females who could hold their own ground. “You speak as if you’ve taken your pound of flesh more than others would care to admit. Do you find the lives you take something to be prideful of?” His words weren’t judgemental, no. He was simply curious.

-

"You prey on people like a spider waiting for a fly."

table by rae - image by bunny

I'm a liar, I'm a cheater, I'm on a nonbeliever, I'm a popular monster

Pain was a peculiar thing for a creature who’d been born and broken beneath it’s weight. Before she’d even stumbled blind into her mother’s milk swollen teet, she knew the feelings of barbed ivories within her flesh. A flash of agony as her mother ripped her carelessly from her place of breech upon the edge of her birth canal was her first introduction to the world and she was quite certain that same agony would eventually be her last. To Doll, it was an old friend, a companion or compatriart and one of the few she hadn’t seen fit to eradicate or leave behind. Pain had a place of permeance in Doll’s deceptive world and it always would. “Difficult to gut a carcass that’s already been stripped of delicacies. Unforgiving bone and leathery meat hardly make a fair pound of flesh.” Doll rumbled, her earthen hued bodice padding ever closer.

She tilted her head ever so slightly to the right when he seemed to read something in her posture that most were immune too. “Flatterer.” Doll accused. “Do you thirst for the coppery saturation of blood upon your tongue or is it nothing more than a means to an end and your own continued survival?” Doll’s low voice rumbled through the space between them. “I find myself often caught in the middle of both extremes, don’t you?” She was pushing him now, playing perhaps a dangerous game, but Doll just couldn’t help herself. He’d started it.

Doll tilted her head to the side and prowled closer, stopping just shy of what most would consider a respectable distance. “I feel… nothing at all. Hunting a wolf is no different than hunting a hare, both possess life that they wished they wouldn’t lose, no?” A small, almost bemused smile curled the edge of her mouth. “When a wolf hears the rabbit scream he comes running… but not to help. I like to think I am that wolf.”

"We're sick and tired of wondering, praying to a god that you don't believe. We're searching for the truth in the lost and found. So the question I ask is whereis your god now?."

Ransom Cyprus

"Perhaps," he agreed, watching the femme as she came closer, but he still felt at ease with the entire situation. He wasn't a male who showed discomfort easily, but despite the nature of their meeting, he didn't feel all that threatened right now. He was no fool, though. He knew better than to relax and offer an opening by assuming the lady incapable of fighting. "It may not be a proper pound of flesh, but it certainly offers a challenge, doesn't it?" He offered a charming smile after his inquiry.

The nature of his smile shifted when she accused him of flattery. It was no longer that of a gentleman, but of an outlaw who knew he was correct. "I have been known to use words to my advantage in the past, dear lady, but this is not one of those times. One would need to be excessively insincere and have their own interests in mind to truly be considered a flatterer. I speak only the truth - after all, what have I to gain from this encounter?" The low volume she spoke in caused an audit to flick idly to collect the words spoken to him, but he found her exceptionally well-spoken. "I do often find myself caught in the middle. Who wouldn't want to experience the best both ends of the spectrum has to offer."

Ransom glanced at the space between them as it shrunk further, but he still wasn't bothered. Her claim that she didn't feel anything was met with a nod of acceptance. "Both are living creatures that possess life. Though," a chuckle slipped past his lips here as he stood to his paws, his own limbs carrying him forward a step or two to test the female's limits. "I find it far more satisfying to hear a wolf scream."

-

"You prey on people like a spider waiting for a fly."

table by rae - image by bunny

A low almost bemused laugh trickled from her vocals and spilled into the air around them. Her tail flickered between her thighs and her golden eyes almost seemed to glow, did she want to feel the heavy weight of his flesh between the glittering ivories of her teeth? Not particularly but then again Doll wanted for nothing. She did not have hopes, fears or desires, a weapon without a purpose beyond the unpredictable impulses that occasionally struck her. “A challenge? Such a compliment, if I were a more cultured creature, I’d curtsy.” Doll drawled, a small smile curling the edge of her mouth upward.

He challenged her accusation and the lines of Doll’s body shifted subtlety, moving from a simple observer to a predator. It wasn’t aggressive but it was calculated and precise, a mere glimmer of what the earthen-hued dame was capable of. “What you will gain depends entirely upon what you want, but if you feel I am neither a threat nor of use, why would you bother conversing at all? ” There was no offense in Doll’s words only curiosity, she was far too accustomed to being underestimated to still be bothered by it and in truth it only ever tipped the scales in her favor. No one ever expected one of perceived poor pedigree to go for the jugular. “Both are divine in their own presentation. The rush to know you live when a moment prior the outcome was uncertain and the gush of an extinguished life squelching between your teeth for pleasure… exquisite. Nothing makes anyone feel quite so alive as adrenaline or perceived power.”

Slowly they encapsulated one another, the space between eradicating bit by bit, piece by piece until they nearly stood claw to claw. Doll could almost feel his body heat and when he spoke certain words, the ghost of his breath wafted across her muzzle. She let out a slow breath, enjoying the rare sensation as a hum trickled out from her lungs. “A haunted lullaby that carries over into dreams but a scream is proof of continued life. I prefer that last, wheezing desperate agonal breath. Soft, supple and almost inaudible it rattles out of dying lungs for such a brief stint before a body falls still and morphs into naught but nourishment for the Earth. That is the sound that lingers in my mind.” She purred that like a seduction, a decadent treat with a faint smile curling the edge of her mouth.