[ his heart is pounding in his ears. cloud's stomach is revolting, and nausea eats at him bit by bit, his mind and body overwhelmed by the attention and imminent threat of what they're going to endure.
it would be fine-- were it him alone. the terror would be present, but it wouldn't parried by this sickness, this rage. but tifa-- he can't bear it. he can't bear the thought of what they'd do to her, of what he's landed the two of them in. ]
I'm going. [ he snaps, watching as vulnerability wells in the ambers of her eyes. ] I'm not letting you do this alone--
[ and he tastes the salt of her skin, her hand having clasped over his mouth. he goes wholly still despite wanting desperately to shake it off with the fervor of a dog. be her guard? he would rather vivisect the patron before letting them touch her. let them watch? the two of them, together, at someone else's mercy-- it ignites his nerves, makes him want to scream.
"i can't lose you," she says, and his head pulses, throbbing with pain. i'm here, he wants to say. i'm still here--
"but are you really?" the voice, the one he can't recognize, in the back of his mind coos.
their patron steps forward: an aged man, salt and pepper hair slicked back with hard lines characterizing his face, in a well fitted suit. a step above don corneo, and yet the circumstances feel more unforgiving.
"what a lovely pair. it's my honor to have you two for the night."
cloud wrenches tifa's hand off-- and he nearly snarls, biting back a reaction, before he's pacified against his will. he feels his senses easing into a haze, a drowsy and intoxicating tranquility. he doesn't remember what happens next, or how they've found themselves in this luxury room. he doesn't know it if it's the magic or his own mental instability that causes the lapse. but it's gilded with gold as the soft light whitewashes the marble tiling. there's a bed at its center, one large enough for the three of them.
his eyes search for her immediately-- only to find that she's seated across from him. their patron stands at the foot of bed.
"please undress when you're ready. i'll be waiting."
the heel of cloud's palm rubs at his forehead. the fog is unbearable; it clouds his mind, quelling his indignation. ]
Tifa... [ he murmurs, voice still laced with concern. ] Just... leave it to me. I'll take care of him... you don't-- don't have to...
[ the sickening anger has melted away into complacence. but somehow -- the thought of her in pain, in deep discomfort, still pricks at his heart. ]
no subject
it would be fine-- were it him alone. the terror would be present, but it wouldn't parried by this sickness, this rage. but tifa-- he can't bear it. he can't bear the thought of what they'd do to her, of what he's landed the two of them in. ]
I'm going. [ he snaps, watching as vulnerability wells in the ambers of her eyes. ] I'm not letting you do this alone--
[ and he tastes the salt of her skin, her hand having clasped over his mouth. he goes wholly still despite wanting desperately to shake it off with the fervor of a dog. be her guard? he would rather vivisect the patron before letting them touch her. let them watch? the two of them, together, at someone else's mercy-- it ignites his nerves, makes him want to scream.
"i can't lose you," she says, and his head pulses, throbbing with pain. i'm here, he wants to say. i'm still here--
"but are you really?" the voice, the one he can't recognize, in the back of his mind coos.
their patron steps forward: an aged man, salt and pepper hair slicked back with hard lines characterizing his face, in a well fitted suit. a step above don corneo, and yet the circumstances feel more unforgiving.
"what a lovely pair. it's my honor to have you two for the night."
cloud wrenches tifa's hand off-- and he nearly snarls, biting back a reaction, before he's pacified against his will. he feels his senses easing into a haze, a drowsy and intoxicating tranquility. he doesn't remember what happens next, or how they've found themselves in this luxury room. he doesn't know it if it's the magic or his own mental instability that causes the lapse. but it's gilded with gold as the soft light whitewashes the marble tiling. there's a bed at its center, one large enough for the three of them.
his eyes search for her immediately-- only to find that she's seated across from him. their patron stands at the foot of bed.
"please undress when you're ready. i'll be waiting."
the heel of cloud's palm rubs at his forehead. the fog is unbearable; it clouds his mind, quelling his indignation. ]
Tifa... [ he murmurs, voice still laced with concern. ] Just... leave it to me. I'll take care of him... you don't-- don't have to...
[ the sickening anger has melted away into complacence. but somehow -- the thought of her in pain, in deep discomfort, still pricks at his heart. ]