[Silco wasn't wrong. The man's formidable. A tower of hard muscle, of (no doubt) harder bone, and if things had gone differently, he would tell him more. About that bar, about the people in it, and how they would have welcomed them all without question.]
[But they aren't here to bleed their hearts. They aren't here to share stories of last calls, and the wars they crossed paths with, purposefully or not. They're here because he has to be here. He has to because that's his job.]
[The Ultimate Shield. The thing, born of nothing, that'll guard everything it has.]
[Greed raises his eyes to Vander, and the points of them shrink; the whisper of them, lost in a fog of purple and red.] I don't, but what can I say? [His smile forces itself up to the surface as he peels his shoulders off the back of his chair.] It's one of my rules not to lie, Vander. Take that however you want.
[He can't get angry with the man, though. Silco's hands are soaked: in the blood of the people he's cut down, in the lives he's shattered as he passed pink between them like change. Yet, he'd been honest with him. Had put all (or, well, most of it) out there the moment he shook his hand. A challenge, maybe, to see how truthful his avarice was.]
[Or perhaps, just to prove that, out of the two of them, he was the true monster.]
[Greed turns his attention back on the bottle as he presses his lips together. Humans. Humans and their rights, their wrongs, their fucking own undoing(s). It'll be the death of him. It had been the death of him.]
[And in the end, they'll always be so, damn stubborn.]
Wouldn't call us that. Think it's just convenient. Jinx, staying with me. Him, needing a place. [Even that, though, he's unsure of. Silco could have taken his daughter away at any point. Could have cut his throat and disappeared in the middle of the night, leaving him to wake up with less than he had to start with.]
["But you're wrong about one thing." Silco's voice, warning him. "If something does happen to me, you're exactly who I want helping her."]
[The Sin's tail wanders, drifting over the cracked floorboards and dust like a snake that's had its head severed with an axe.] Eh, you can't blame me, Vander. You already told me you don't need an explanation. I am greed. It's what I am and always will be. Can't really change that, hmn? [He lets his claws circle his drink; a fan of nails that could easily tear a man to shreds or peel open a cage.]
[Then, Vander says it before he has a chance, and the former homunculus goes eerily still:]
["I'm nothing to you, or at least I currently have nothing you would likely consider valuable."]
[And that's it. The whole reason he came here. The whole reason he'll never tell Silco, never tell Jinx, never tell any of them. Because he doesn't know Vander, that's true. But if his and Silco's spat through the Murmur showed anything, it was his willingness to look beyond. To look at the bruises he left behind and admit he was wrong.]
[Greed's smile falls; the expression on his face as blank and far away as a man who's seen what two centuries can bring, and what they can easily take away.]
[He grabs his drink, raising one claw off the brim.] That's where you're wrong. You've got something I do want, but I don't think you're going to like it very much. [He doesn't take the time to savor his drink, nor does he take the time to enjoy it. All he can feel right now is his want. His want, his desire, to defy the odds, even if they'll hate him for it.]
[Defiant. He'd rather smile in the face oblivion again than the alternative.]
I'm working on something. Something to show our friend here that she's not as untouchable as she thinks she is. [The glass empty, the former homunculus flicks his wrist, sending it sliding across the table.] And when I do, if I know anything, she'll finally start paying attention. Leashes, Vander. She isn't the first to try, but it didn't end too well for him, either.
[He's not thinking of his proverbial Father right now, however. Instead, his head is swimming with other faces: Jinx, talking to her haunts on the bar top. Sharon, and the Cult that cooked her of her innocence. Kalmiya, and a smile that probably held too many secrets to count.]
[Silco. Silco and how much damage he's caused without knowing a thing about alchemy, or what it took to break down his 'Shield.]
[The Sin slowly pulls a cigarette from the pack, twirling it over his fingers.] I need you to take them. All of them. When and if the time comes, I need you to get them as far away from me and the 'Nest as possible. [A match comes next, and he strikes it up the leather of his thigh. Whoof.] Jinx, a girl named Sharon, a woman named Kalmiya, this little pissant that calls himself Yuuto.
[And now, here comes the pill. The big, fat, fucking pill he doesn't know if Vander will swallow. Doesn't know if he can swallow it. But as he brings the fire to the end of his smoke, the former homunculus locks eyes with the man - the truth of his glance, a hellfire's promise.]
Silco. [He says, finally.] If you never do me anything in your life here, this is the one thing I'll ask. Nothing else, nothing more. [He tries to swallow and it's dry again. Yet, it isn't the tobacco. It's that desert dryness. The one scorching from his core, pounding at his chest, and begging him for a heart.]
[Greed snuffs the match between his thumb and index finger.] I can't have anything happen to them, Vander. You can hate me all you want, but I need you to understand that no one - [His mouth splits, his teeth show, and his grin is wild. A devil, looking a god straight in the face, and laughing at her hubris.]
[The corner of Vander's lip curved, and Janna's tits he would enjoy a smoke right about now. He was forced to quit, and he would say it was a wholly unpleasant experience except the cravings were more muscle memory than any actual drive for a nicotine hit. According to others, he hadn't had a puff of his pipe or otherwise in a very long time, which was bothersome yet also one last thing he needed to fight with while he was here.]
Funny thing about those committed to the truth; they still lie to themselves usually. They just can't bring themselves to admit it to themselves either. I appreciate the candor.
[He sized the other man up - demon, avatar of greed or whatever - as he considered the conversation. This felt rushed, so he could see where the other wanted to blurt everything out and scram. What was the hurry for someone who had lived such a long time and would be expected to live for far longer here? Maybe Greed had the unfortunate habit of revealing too much to those that could and would look for the quiet parts.]
I've been thinking about that since you dropped that on me. Greed and how you said people think of it easily about materialistic values. I find that interesting; it's been good food for thought and told me a lot about you and little of it surface level.
[He doubted there was a need to expand. Maybe not here, maybe not ever. There was likely a high chance that he wouldn't enjoy whatever proposition was in the works here. It was a risk making a difficult proposition on someone who wasn't well known, though if Greed had seen much of Silco's life, then perhaps Vander had been more revealed than he was comfortable with.
Too bad that was the point of this place. Expose the insecurities. Break down the walls. Let the heart break.]
Hmmm... [He sounded and let Greed talk, not interrupting, only listening. He considered the few facts that he was being provided, and he made a mental note of the list of names that were provided to him. His expression belayed none of his thoughts on the matter outside of the fact that he was contemplative.
Inside of him, that darkness stirred at the mention of leashes. Oh how many of those he had worn....]
You're going after Sleep. That's risky business. How much do you understand of the risk that you're undertaking when it comes to her?
[He reached up and scratched his bearded cheek thoughtfully, keeping his cards close to his chest as he considered the potential implications of taking on Sleep to grab her attention. She was powerful after all, so performing some method, miracle or disturbance large enough to capture her attention was probably something his small mortal mind couldn't entirely wrap around. The prospect was enough.]
Two questions: why me and what's in it for me?
[He understood Greed on some level at least. He rubbed his cheek with his big palm as he stared into those eyes.] They're as close to your family as you're going to have here, aren't they? You surround yourself with abused, broken people and call them your own. [He dropped his hands to the table and leaned forward across at Greed.] How many pseudo-families have you lost in all those lifetimes you've lived, hmmm? It's a piece you're missing, isn't it? Everywhere you go, you gather them up, make them your own, lose them and find another band of broken misfits.
[Greed indeed.]
I don't hate you. [There was only one person he felt even a remote amount of that emotion towards and Greed was protecting him.] You make a lot of assumptions about me, Greed. That's dangerous.
[Lax as he is, the Sin's eyes are a tell. How they turn towards Vander, watching as his body language give away nothing, nothing at all. It's a pointed look. A viper seizing itself up for the chance that the pitchfork comes striking down, down, down.]
[And yet still, his smile stays; the shine of his teeth like daggers, cleaned for the kill.] Have you now. [Greed crosses one of his legs over the other, throwing his arm behind the back of his chair.] Y'know, I didn't get a chance to say it before, but you and I might have a lot more in common than you think. [In some areas, at least. For the majority, however, they couldn't be more the opposite. If his hunch is right, Vander is a caring man underneath it all. With a heart as big as his frame would suggest, thumping its sympathy.]
[And him? Ah, well. He's just another monster, isn't he? A thing from old, Amestrian stories, creeping around in the dark.]
[Greed pats his claw against the wood of his seat, plucking away a few, stray splinters.] More than you know. You could say I have some experience, personally. [Not with Gods, per se. Those didn't really exist where he came from, not in the way Sleep describes herself. It was more a law. A law beyond a gate that kept the whole world in check.]
[The former homunculus bounces his heel and as he twists his ankle, the toe of his boot draws circles in the air; the kick of dust, of his own soot, mingling together in devilish harmony.] I knew someone, once. Someone who thought they were above it all just like she does. [He figures the man can get some of the story, scraps as they are.] And he was. By all means, it should have been impossible to take him down. But that's the thing, Vander. [He turns his wrist counter his heel - his two circles, drawn out of nothing and becoming just the same.] There's no such thing as no such thing. And wouldn't you know it, it was the mortal lot that finally brought him down.
[Well, and him. However, that's not a piece Vander's going to get. That's a piece no one is going to get unless Sleep pries it out of his hot, blackened fingers.]
There's always a way in. It's just a matter of finding it. Besides, think it's worth the risk, don't you? [Playfully, viciously, the Sin cocks his eyebrow, leaving his grin to slice across one half of his face.] Sitting around and doing nothing never suited me. And I already told schatz the same thing I'm gunna tell you - I'm really bad at following anyone else's rules.
[He drops his hand, then; the touch of his nails, leaving behind curls of smoke.] Because you know Jinx best. Because you know Silco better than I ever will. The man's a stubborn shit, and if I told him what I was going to do, he probably wouldn't let me hear the end of it. [Silco had told him not to come crying if Vander beat his ass into the concrete. He doesn't think he'll earn a lot of empathy from the man if he knew how much he's willing to pay if and when Sleep decides to come knocking at his door.]
[The former homunculus drops his foot, causing his boot to slap hollow into the floor below. Thnk.] As for the rest, I have a feeling you would do it anyway. Call it intuition. [Loop by loop, his tail tangles around the legs of the table.] Gahaha - ! Oh, if only you had any idea - I gotta say, I admire that avarice of yours. So be it.
[He spreads two of his knuckles, forming his claws into the shape of a V.] From my world, they call them chimera. And something tells me you'll want to know about them sooner or later. When you do, I'll tell you everything I know. What it means, how to control the parts that run more on instinct than anything else. [And what the hell could that possibly mean? Nothing that he's willing to elaborate on at the moment, that's for sure.] Other than that? [He lifts one of his shoulders and the fur of his collar grazes his cheek.] Whatever you want. Name your price.
[Ready as he had been about the whole affair, what he hadn't prepared for was the interrogation. The interrogation not about his association with Silco, not about what he wants out of Jinx, but about him. About his time, his years, and as the Sin's eyes squint, that smile of his heats up. The lash of his tongue on his teeth more similar to the broadside of a skillet, spitting its oil.]
Now who's making assumptions? [Greed snaps his jaws at the air. A warning cooked in brimstone.] Oh, ho. I'll give you both the credit. You and Sil sure are bold. [But whatever fire's about to start, it snuffs itself out. His body, his everything, as hushed as a candle that's barely got a wick left to give.]
[The Sin sways his hips, spinning his legs out in a fan. And as he sets both his feet down on the ground, he lifts himself out of his chair.] One. One that counted, at least. [It's the most open he'll be with the man. And besides, their story isn't his to tell.]
[Greed pockets his hands, sliding around the other side of the table.] So, do we have a deal or what?
[He hummed noncommittally at the attempt to make a reasonable connection between them. It was such a common tactic that he wasn't certain if it was truth or fabrication to ease his natural guard down to encourage him to be more pliable to what Greed wanted of him.]
Is that so? Do tell how we are so alike with one another.
[His eyes studied the other man's face, uncertain how to take someone who had apparently decided to take on a god-like figure. He doubted that Greed was the only one, but the rate of success here might be less. It seemed to him that someone like Sleep could created dreams to toss them in to navigate through had an upper hand, but then again, Greed had apparently been alive for a long time.
Vander did not and could not discount that level of life experience, not when he recalled all those conversations over a drink and a smoke he had with Babine. Her long time made for interesting conversation, but more than that, her experience to assess a situation and survive in ones that could bring about her downfall was nothing to scoff at. He therefore had to believe Greed had experience to that level.
Experience enough to be bold to hatch a plan to catch Sleep's attention. Maybe Greed just liked attention too.]
I suppose you living long enough for multiple attempts and hatching multiple plans does help with your case. [He hummed.] Mortals are tenacious little buggers, aren't they? Always pushing boundaries. [He was on the fence if he thought this was worth the risk; he didn't know exactly the game being played or what hand of the deck he was playing with at the table.] So you're going to rebel because it's part of your nature then. What about everyone else if your little plan brings Sleep's ire down on everyone, not just those you care about?
[Vander snorted softly in disbelief to the justification to come to him. It was an untruth, though perhaps Greed didn't know that. It felt like he was being set up to take the fall so Greed to sacrifice himself but couldn't control the crew he had amassed around him at the same time. As if Vander could control anything Silco did; no, he was a sliver under the fingernail to the man and Jinx was willing to go along with whatever Silco wanted as far he could tell.
It struck him that Greed had at least picked out Vander's purpose in life: a shield. He was the muscle that put people behind him, dragged them out, took the hits so they didn't have to. He was the body that took up valuable space and provided the most overt threat in a room when a fight was about to break out.]
So you're setting me up to be your distraction so they don't follow you into whatever mess you're going to whip up with what you're doing. [It was true that he normally would for Jinx, probably Sharon. His natural inclination was to protect, especially as his losses remained a raw live wire burning in his spine and brain.
Yet, his expression turned to one of confusion at the mention of chimera. He didn't know what that was about, though something in him was uncomfortably aware. His eyes threatened to change colour, but maybe that was just a trick of the dim light of the room.] What makes you think I want to know anything about a chimera? I think everyone runs a bit on instinct, so I'm not special that way.
[Vander and Warwick had not met in the middle; their lives and entities were separate and slowly merging. One was suppressed while the other was in control, and it took considerable strain for the other to awaken and push through. He knew things had happened to his corpse, but knowing and living were vastly different experiences he was in moderate denial about.]
Call it the trencher in us. Boldness got us both far. [And he didn't believe it was an assumption; after all, there was nothing in that reply being a 'no'. Greed to have something of the past, greed to have something to covet, greed to enjoy those fleeting connections of a family and friends. It was the most baseline of what a greedy person could want. No wonder Silco and Greed found each other.] Would it be the one those soldiers took from you in the original Nest then? [Or it was before then, perhaps even at the start of that old life.
He regarded Greed as the other sidled over to him around the table.] How can we have a deal when I haven't told you what I want? You're in quite the hurry wheeling and dealing aren't you? I thought we were here to share a drink and rub elbows until I go ballistic and beat you into the floor. Won't you be disappointed if we don't hit that point?
[It's because he's on a timeline, and he knows it. The longer he sticks around, the longer the barracuda has a chance to stew. To stew and run laps, over and over again, to whatever end he sees fit. It's been hard enough already, getting Silco to stick around. Spending seconds, minutes, hours with his ex-friend? Ex-lover? Without giving him a lot to work off, save his word, is already testing the water's limits.]
[And there's that other thing, too. The tether and how he knows damn well some part of him (some part of his core) is screaming out, howling, that he can't tip his entire hand. Because he doesn't expect Silco to give a shit. That much is obvious. And perhaps, he never will. That's the burden for creatures like them. The mortal lot would never know, could never understand, how long he'll carry them, even if they'll hold everything he is against him.]
[And tonight? Well. It's not a good time to lose control.]
[Greed freezes, his one heel pried off the ground. He'd like to think Vander doesn't know what he's asking, doesn't know how much it truly stings. But then again, maybe he should have expected it. If he couldn't get Silco, he was the next, best thing.] No. Most of those were just humans that didn't know any better. [Humans, following the orders of the man who had taken the original 'Nest from him and so, much more.] Who you're talking about is a single person. [The Sin's tail whips erratically behind him. No longer like a cat, but more similar to a high-voltage wire, snapped in a storm.] Führer King Bradley. That's what all of Amestris knew him as, anyway. Governments, Vander. You can't trust anything they tell ya.
[He's cornered. On one side, the man he's asking to do him a favor, a favor beyond simple drinks and chitchat. A man who, by all means, should probably be doing just as he's implying: grabbing him by the throat, tossing him to the floor, and reminding him that this feud has nothing, nothing, to do with him.]
[And on the other? Something he doesn't understand, doesn't want to understand, and would rather bury, just like everything else.]
[The former homunculus takes another drag off his smoke, letting the burn of it settle in his chest.] Call it the trencher, call it both of you being the same, fucking pissants I've come to expect. [It isn't Vander he's angry with it. It isn't Silco who's got the forks of his tongue buzzing like a rattler. It's that debt. That debt that never, truly got settled, no matter what Sleep had to offer.]
[King Bradley. Wrath. It's the second time he's been reminded how close him and Silco could have been, if their worlds had been switched.]
[And how he still, still, can't shake that nagging, clawing feeling, circling at the back of his skull.]
[Greed laughs (airy, light, empty), and a cloud of smoke fogs over his face.] Maybe, you're right. Everyone's got an instinct. Bad of me to assume, I suppose. [Again, his shoulders squeeze in on themselves, and the chord of his tail slowly wraps around the bulk of his thigh.] Sure, Vander. Sure. I was the one who called you down here, after all. Would only be fair, right? [He turns, then; the smile on his face, his own shield, bringing up every wall he's got.]
[He'll deal with Silco later. He already said the man could have his, too.]
[With a snort, the former homunculus grabs the bottle, tipping it into his own, emptied glass.] I'm always going to rebel. She should have known that from the start. [Glg, glg, glg, goes the liquor - its rich amber, turning haunted in his eyes.] She won't go after anyone else. Not if she listens to my offer. Because if it works - [He picks up the stopper, only to slam it into the neck with the flat part of his palm.]
- then she'll have to decide if she wants to risk it. Not knowing where she's going, or the price she'll have to pay once she's through.
[Vander made a mental note that Greed was cagey being around him the longer this drew out, which allowed him to ascertain that perhaps there was a tether between this one and Silco. Probably Jinx. Likely others. He imagined Silco would be extremely displeased of any deal struck with him, so with that in mind, this was probably spun as a conversation only. That was a lot of balls in the air traveling close to each other; like juggling hand grenades honestly.
He also made note that Greed did not answer his question about which of their qualities they apparently were alike. A ploy then. Warm him up but provide as little as possible to nudge him on side, mostly be pulling at perceived heartstrings. Manipulation was the tool of all who were after an end point and needed to drag those in their wake in behind. Maybe he was little more than the next meat shield; it wouldn't be the first time he held such an honour. Silco was involved after all.
He hummed in the face of Greed's explanation, lightly stroking his fingers over his beard as he considered the other. He didn't recognize the name at all, but he filed it away as potentially important information for later.] I'm well aware of the limitations of government entities. Most serve self interest or the interests of those with enough money to buy them favour. That's the way the world works. Bradley means something more to you though. [What everyone else knew him as... meaning Greed knew him as someone else.
He shrugged his shoulders at the assessment of himself and Silco. One thing was certain: both went into situations with a plan when they had time to figure one out. Vander had come here to gather information, solidify his suspicions and read the room. Last conversation he had been off his game, the darkness lurking closer to the surface than he would like, but he was in control this time. He already had gathered what he considered valuable information about Greed. To him, that was better than any shared drink.]
What's he told you about me then? He buzzing at the back of your brain all frantic cause I might charm you?
[The corner of his lips pulled and he showed just a touch of those charms that he had within him. Just a taste as they liked to say. He leaned closer, sizing up the risk of doing so, but he expected that Greed wanted more from him than the other way around.]
You are the one that called me. [He picked up the glass for the first time, swirling the liquid, still making no formal commitment to the 'deal'.] Please, she knew you would rebel. I think she knows more about us than we're particularly comfortable with. She knows Jinx can't help herself but to throw herself at Sleep. She knows you'll rebel at every opportunity. She knows Silco will plot and scheme, gather a circle like a spider. I expect Sleep's counting on it; it's when we do the opposite of what she expects that will actually grab her attention.
[He regarded Greed steadily.] And what are you going to do when she breaks all your tethers and isolates you? What if she takes everything from you as punishment for your insolence?
[When Vander leans in, the Sin matches him; the glint of his smile, the sharpness of it, far too close for comfort. Bold, he's reminded again. If the two of them had nothing else in common, they sure were bold.]
Careful, Big Bear. You're asking about something you might not like the answer to. And I don't think you and I are good enough pals to be telling you all my secrets. [The former homunculus skirts his claw around the brim of his glass; its strike, humming with the whisper of a spark.]
[Two, after all, could play that game.]
Think you could? [He levels his glass to his lips, taking another, healthy pull.] Dunno, Vander. Maybe I've got a preference for how I take my men. [It isn't a lie if he isn't admitting anything. In the end, he didn't have any particular inclination. Not really. Men, women, those in-between: it didn't take much to catch his eye. Yet, for some (for the ones that stuck around, for the ones that burrowed under his skin), well. They always did find a way getting his attention. Of getting all his focus, all his want, like a rust-covered knife just waiting for the picking.]
[Greed lets the forks of his tongue lash at his drink; the burn of scotch, fizzling on his lip.] If you have to know, he was like me. A homunculus. [He leaves a sigh between them before he turns; the taste of it, hot with steam and liquor. Greed pads over to the bar and as his heels drum lazily against the floor, the sway to him is dangerous. His viciousness more similar to that of a wasp, showing off its stinger.]
Ehh, you're gunna make this hard, aren't you? Men like you - [The Sin sets his glass down with a clp. A second later, and he hops up onto the bar proper - the thump of his tailbone, causing a couple of leftover knickknacks to jitter in place.] - it's always better to take my offer, Vander. But I guess that's just how it's always going to be, isn't it? [Languidly, slowly, he spreads his legs to balance his heels atop the heads of two stools tucked underneath the lip of the counter.] As for what he told me about you, most of it isn't anything you haven't proven already. [With his middle finger, he drags his drink over, letting it hang between his knees.] You won't listen to anything I say because I'm with him.
[If he means anything more by that, either he doesn't realize it, or it's simply because he hasn't or can't come to terms with it. An afterthought, and one he doesn't intend on thinking about too hard.]
[The former homunculus rolls his wrist, forcing whatever's left of the scotch to shine along the sides of his glass.] Mnn. Now, that's for me to know. Don't start pretending like you actually give a shit. Doesn't suit you. [He lifts his gaze and from behind him, his shadow begins to run up the wall. It stretches, unbeknownst to him. A lick of black rising and oh, if isn't one shield meeting another.]
[Greed pats his feet, tilting both stools back on what remains of their legs.] I've been honest with you from the start. Think it's only fair you do me the favor, don't you? [His wings fold and curl, hunching about his shoulders as silty as a cloak of leather and soot.] Don't think it matters, anyway. You're smart enough to figure it out. You would do anything to protect what's yours. And I'll do the same, friend.
[Crck, and his nail cuts into the glass; its thin line, blistering with heat.] When you and Silco come to blows, and I know you will, I won't let you kill him. As for the rest of it, you can consider my offer or not. Doesn't make a difference to me. I'll make sure none of them get involved if things get too messy. An escape plan, right? [His eyes drift to map out every inch of the man from his perch. Like a vulture, waiting to see which part of Vander will split open first.] Though, if you're planning on making your bed with her, I would really appreciate if you kept our little chat between the two of us. Suppose that's your choice, though.
[He plucks the cigarette from his lip and as he lifts his leg, he grinds the cherry of it into the bottom of his boot; its ash, flecking away in spits of red and orange. He only has Silco's word to go on, he knows that. Still, he said it, didn't he? No loose ends.] But if that is the case, I think we're about done here.
[Is that what they were doing with one another here? Telling secrets. Vander would contest that as it was clear that they were holding their cards close to their chest and mostly sizing one another up. The fact that Greed leaned in was unsurprising; this was not a person that was willing to lose face with someone they were negotiating with. He wondered how often Greed was challenged head on either.
The corner of his lips pulled slightly in a small smile.] Careful, Little Bear, we keep talking and maybe we will be pals. That would be awful awkward for you, now wouldn't it?
[It reminded him of the distaste long ago of him being friends with both Silco and Benzo. The pair were oil and water, though Vander had liked them both and appreciated their varied and different perspectives regardless of how little the meshed together. Neither had liked each other and Vander often found himself in the middle, sometimes literally. It would be interesting to be on one side rather than i the middle; maybe it was Greed's turn for a spin on that.
It wouldn't happen.
He tilted his head as he considered.] You like them shorter than you, skinner and keen minded, probably sharp and jagged. You collect the ones that people may take one too many second glances at. [There was a means to an end, always. At base, he didn't think Greed was actually a picky as the other man was letting on, all bluster and antics. After all, he'd come for something from Vander.
A homunculus, huh? If this was Greed, did that mean someone called 'King Bradley' was Pride? It almost seemed too on point, but he was willing to entertain the idea regardless.] So you two were best buds then, being the same and all. He come down there to spank you like you were his little brother or something?
[Men like him? That was a risky road to walk so early on. He rested his thigh against the table as they continued their stand off with each other.] Sorry, I've been forced into deals before, and the last one ended up with me and mine dead. You'll appreciate that I'm taking my time assessing the risks and rewards with you. [And the reason he was dead? Silco. The deal had been with someone else, but it had precipitated his downfall regardless of his lack of real options back then.] I'd listen to what you have to say if you were telling me something solid rather that providing half-details and assuming you know who and what I am.
[Of course, Greed wasn't entirely wrong with naming what Vander was as he knew he was a shield. However, he had such a distant or no relationship to those that he would be shielding that he had to consider the risk to those he was closer to. Jinx was his daughter, but he wasn't so blinded to know in planning that she would take Silco's side. Sharon would take Jinx's side and publicly threw her lot in with Silco. That was dangerous for him. His world was forced to shrink as he considered that.
Vander's expression hardened, and he rocked back to standing on both of his feet. The beast stirred as a manifestation of a flicker of his temper, the silver glow of his eyes brightening in response.] What do you know about what I might give a shit about? Out of the two of us, it seems like you're more likely pretending, playing with a deck of cards you think I don't see you're fixing for your own benefit. You called me here because you know I care; you were counting on my caring nature.
[And there was a thing about caring, especially when pushed. Vander had a temper; he had suppressed it for about six years, but the beast and even the event that forced him to fight had happened. It was a mistake to consider his passivity and consideration to the fact that were provided as weakness and that he wouldn't fight for what he believed in and to protect those he felt he needed to. It helped that there was obvious contrary here, shaking his head as he crossed his arms over his chest.]
Oh, you won't let me kill him? You're a funny guy, aren't you? [He shook his head.] Already his attack dog, are you? I've been there before. It's fun until it isn't. [Vander could only regard Greed with a bemused expression.] Why bother make an offer at all if it doesn't make a difference? You're a rather contrary person; you ever actually run anything like this before, or are you flying be the seat of your pants beholden to you base nature?
[Vander almost laughed then realized that Greed was probably serious. He wasn't taking sides in what people decided to rail against Sleep for; why would he go running to the eldritch god to whisper what he had heard? He figured she was well aware of it already.]
Sounds like you and Sleep both would benefit from a hug or two.
[But then Vander says it, and oh, how he couldn't be more wrong. Couldn't be more wrong about the depth that it went, about who Bradley really was, and how it all went circling down the drain like the trash everyone (everyone) discarded.]
[It's the first time his smile fades, even for a moment. And through him, through every inch of him, comes the static. The raw, snapping, buzzing static that shoots off in the back of his skull and from behind his eyes like spent bullets. He deserved that. He knows he did. No one knew the whole story. Certainly, not Vander. It was all too easy for him to take a cheap shot.]
[Still - ]
[The Sin dips his chin, summoning that same, ol'grin back onto his face. The look of it as ancient and desolate as his centuries would suggest.]
Younger. Youngest of all of us, actually. [The quietness about him is unsettling. A ghost at a graveyard he'll never get buried in. It's something else he'll have to keep from them. If this world collapses, if they win, he'll be nothing. Nothing but ash, scattered in the wind.]
[Greed's mouth twists, bitterly. He eyes Vander from the hollow points of his sockets, and the glass in his hand splits loudly down the middle; his temperature, far too much for it to bear. Honesty it is, then.] He stole them from me. Every, last one just to make a point, among other things. [A bead or two of scotch dribbles over his claws, hissing to a quick-fire dry.] That's what happens when you don't obey Daddy sir. Suppose he needed a new pawn in the rotation once I left. A human-made homunculus.
Wrath. [Greed leaves his glass behind as he slides off the counter, letting it bleed out its fill.] So, to answer your question, pup, call it a guarantee. I'm not going to fight you, but I will be there to take him - [Home, he almost says. Almost says before he chokes it down, swallowing it into the pit of his throat.] - back to the 'Nest before the two of you end up leaving that daughter of yours to pick up the pieces.
And maybe I was, maybe I wasn't. None of us are innocent, Vander. We've all got our choices, right? [The shadow behind him sinks, drifting into the floorboards like a black, oily tide.] Oh? Did I hit a nerve? [The former homunculus wraps his hand around the small of his hip, and the side of him hisses back. A sign that he's running a different kind of fever entirely.] You keep acting like you've already got it all figured out. So why would I bother telling you anything else? [With a tilt of his head, he slides his spent butt back into his pocket.]
I'll give you this much. If any of them do show up, just know they won't give you the same courtesy. To them, human lives don't mean a thing. They'll kill you just because they can. That's how they are, and how they'll always be. [He walks the line of the bar - his heels, leaving behind prints of tar and heat.] You'll know them by this. [He shows his hand as his walks - that tattoo of his as clear and red as day, spanning over his knuckles.] Avoid them, Vander. Like I've told you a thousand times already, I'm not interested in hurting you if I don't have to. But the rest of them won't think twice.
[Greed pauses at the door (its body, wafting frailly in the night breeze), and his teeth flash back in its mirror's jagged edge. Another challenge to no one. No one present, at least.] Mnn. You'll always be the sort. Had it right from the start. Those emotions of yours - [The Sin's tail skates off the floor, and a stray tumbleweed of newspaper immediately catches. A huff of fire, then gone.] - you'll lose everything that way, if you aren't careful. Keep that in mind. If not for you, then for her. It's the least you can do.
Because I have been doing this a long time, Vander. I know your type. There's no point in whatever I have to say. But Jinx - [The former homunculus prods open the door, causing it to whine quietly on its hinges. And as he steps through, he lifts his shoulders in a vague shrug. The tiredness of it all, finally catching up with him.] - think she deserves to have both her dads in the picture, don't you?
[But he's not going to get an answer. Not tonight, not tomorrow, maybe not ever. And that's fine with him. He rolled the dice and lost. That's just a part of the game.]
[Greed takes a step out onto the sidewalk and as the air touches along his throat, he snaps his wings wide open; their skin, fluttering like a lonely breeze, trapped in the belly of a sail.] I'd say it's been a pleasure, but we both know that'd be a lie. Enjoy the drink, Vander.
[And with that, he takes off; his howl of chains, the wafting wind, screaming as cold as a banshee's wail.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2026-03-21 05:21 am (UTC)[But they aren't here to bleed their hearts. They aren't here to share stories of last calls, and the wars they crossed paths with, purposefully or not. They're here because he has to be here. He has to because that's his job.]
[The Ultimate Shield. The thing, born of nothing, that'll guard everything it has.]
[Greed raises his eyes to Vander, and the points of them shrink; the whisper of them, lost in a fog of purple and red.] I don't, but what can I say? [His smile forces itself up to the surface as he peels his shoulders off the back of his chair.] It's one of my rules not to lie, Vander. Take that however you want.
[He can't get angry with the man, though. Silco's hands are soaked: in the blood of the people he's cut down, in the lives he's shattered as he passed pink between them like change. Yet, he'd been honest with him. Had put all (or, well, most of it) out there the moment he shook his hand. A challenge, maybe, to see how truthful his avarice was.]
[Or perhaps, just to prove that, out of the two of them, he was the true monster.]
[Greed turns his attention back on the bottle as he presses his lips together. Humans. Humans and their rights, their wrongs, their fucking own undoing(s). It'll be the death of him. It had been the death of him.]
[And in the end, they'll always be so, damn stubborn.]
Wouldn't call us that. Think it's just convenient. Jinx, staying with me. Him, needing a place. [Even that, though, he's unsure of. Silco could have taken his daughter away at any point. Could have cut his throat and disappeared in the middle of the night, leaving him to wake up with less than he had to start with.]
["But you're wrong about one thing." Silco's voice, warning him. "If something does happen to me, you're exactly who I want helping her."]
[The Sin's tail wanders, drifting over the cracked floorboards and dust like a snake that's had its head severed with an axe.] Eh, you can't blame me, Vander. You already told me you don't need an explanation. I am greed. It's what I am and always will be. Can't really change that, hmn? [He lets his claws circle his drink; a fan of nails that could easily tear a man to shreds or peel open a cage.]
[Then, Vander says it before he has a chance, and the former homunculus goes eerily still:]
["I'm nothing to you, or at least I currently have nothing you would likely consider valuable."]
[And that's it. The whole reason he came here. The whole reason he'll never tell Silco, never tell Jinx, never tell any of them. Because he doesn't know Vander, that's true. But if his and Silco's spat through the Murmur showed anything, it was his willingness to look beyond. To look at the bruises he left behind and admit he was wrong.]
[Greed's smile falls; the expression on his face as blank and far away as a man who's seen what two centuries can bring, and what they can easily take away.]
[He grabs his drink, raising one claw off the brim.] That's where you're wrong. You've got something I do want, but I don't think you're going to like it very much. [He doesn't take the time to savor his drink, nor does he take the time to enjoy it. All he can feel right now is his want. His want, his desire, to defy the odds, even if they'll hate him for it.]
[Defiant. He'd rather smile in the face oblivion again than the alternative.]
I'm working on something. Something to show our friend here that she's not as untouchable as she thinks she is. [The glass empty, the former homunculus flicks his wrist, sending it sliding across the table.] And when I do, if I know anything, she'll finally start paying attention. Leashes, Vander. She isn't the first to try, but it didn't end too well for him, either.
[He's not thinking of his proverbial Father right now, however. Instead, his head is swimming with other faces: Jinx, talking to her haunts on the bar top. Sharon, and the Cult that cooked her of her innocence. Kalmiya, and a smile that probably held too many secrets to count.]
[Silco. Silco and how much damage he's caused without knowing a thing about alchemy, or what it took to break down his 'Shield.]
[The Sin slowly pulls a cigarette from the pack, twirling it over his fingers.] I need you to take them. All of them. When and if the time comes, I need you to get them as far away from me and the 'Nest as possible. [A match comes next, and he strikes it up the leather of his thigh. Whoof.] Jinx, a girl named Sharon, a woman named Kalmiya, this little pissant that calls himself Yuuto.
[And now, here comes the pill. The big, fat, fucking pill he doesn't know if Vander will swallow. Doesn't know if he can swallow it. But as he brings the fire to the end of his smoke, the former homunculus locks eyes with the man - the truth of his glance, a hellfire's promise.]
Silco. [He says, finally.] If you never do me anything in your life here, this is the one thing I'll ask. Nothing else, nothing more. [He tries to swallow and it's dry again. Yet, it isn't the tobacco. It's that desert dryness. The one scorching from his core, pounding at his chest, and begging him for a heart.]
[Greed snuffs the match between his thumb and index finger.] I can't have anything happen to them, Vander. You can hate me all you want, but I need you to understand that no one - [His mouth splits, his teeth show, and his grin is wild. A devil, looking a god straight in the face, and laughing at her hubris.]
- takes what's mine.
no subject
Date: 2026-03-21 06:01 am (UTC)Funny thing about those committed to the truth; they still lie to themselves usually. They just can't bring themselves to admit it to themselves either. I appreciate the candor.
[He sized the other man up - demon, avatar of greed or whatever - as he considered the conversation. This felt rushed, so he could see where the other wanted to blurt everything out and scram. What was the hurry for someone who had lived such a long time and would be expected to live for far longer here? Maybe Greed had the unfortunate habit of revealing too much to those that could and would look for the quiet parts.]
I've been thinking about that since you dropped that on me. Greed and how you said people think of it easily about materialistic values. I find that interesting; it's been good food for thought and told me a lot about you and little of it surface level.
[He doubted there was a need to expand. Maybe not here, maybe not ever. There was likely a high chance that he wouldn't enjoy whatever proposition was in the works here. It was a risk making a difficult proposition on someone who wasn't well known, though if Greed had seen much of Silco's life, then perhaps Vander had been more revealed than he was comfortable with.
Too bad that was the point of this place. Expose the insecurities. Break down the walls. Let the heart break.]
Hmmm... [He sounded and let Greed talk, not interrupting, only listening. He considered the few facts that he was being provided, and he made a mental note of the list of names that were provided to him. His expression belayed none of his thoughts on the matter outside of the fact that he was contemplative.
Inside of him, that darkness stirred at the mention of leashes. Oh how many of those he had worn....]
You're going after Sleep. That's risky business. How much do you understand of the risk that you're undertaking when it comes to her?
[He reached up and scratched his bearded cheek thoughtfully, keeping his cards close to his chest as he considered the potential implications of taking on Sleep to grab her attention. She was powerful after all, so performing some method, miracle or disturbance large enough to capture her attention was probably something his small mortal mind couldn't entirely wrap around. The prospect was enough.]
Two questions: why me and what's in it for me?
[He understood Greed on some level at least. He rubbed his cheek with his big palm as he stared into those eyes.] They're as close to your family as you're going to have here, aren't they? You surround yourself with abused, broken people and call them your own. [He dropped his hands to the table and leaned forward across at Greed.] How many pseudo-families have you lost in all those lifetimes you've lived, hmmm? It's a piece you're missing, isn't it? Everywhere you go, you gather them up, make them your own, lose them and find another band of broken misfits.
[Greed indeed.]
I don't hate you. [There was only one person he felt even a remote amount of that emotion towards and Greed was protecting him.] You make a lot of assumptions about me, Greed. That's dangerous.
no subject
Date: 2026-03-22 12:39 am (UTC)[And yet still, his smile stays; the shine of his teeth like daggers, cleaned for the kill.] Have you now. [Greed crosses one of his legs over the other, throwing his arm behind the back of his chair.] Y'know, I didn't get a chance to say it before, but you and I might have a lot more in common than you think. [In some areas, at least. For the majority, however, they couldn't be more the opposite. If his hunch is right, Vander is a caring man underneath it all. With a heart as big as his frame would suggest, thumping its sympathy.]
[And him? Ah, well. He's just another monster, isn't he? A thing from old, Amestrian stories, creeping around in the dark.]
[Greed pats his claw against the wood of his seat, plucking away a few, stray splinters.] More than you know. You could say I have some experience, personally. [Not with Gods, per se. Those didn't really exist where he came from, not in the way Sleep describes herself. It was more a law. A law beyond a gate that kept the whole world in check.]
[The former homunculus bounces his heel and as he twists his ankle, the toe of his boot draws circles in the air; the kick of dust, of his own soot, mingling together in devilish harmony.] I knew someone, once. Someone who thought they were above it all just like she does. [He figures the man can get some of the story, scraps as they are.] And he was. By all means, it should have been impossible to take him down. But that's the thing, Vander. [He turns his wrist counter his heel - his two circles, drawn out of nothing and becoming just the same.] There's no such thing as no such thing. And wouldn't you know it, it was the mortal lot that finally brought him down.
[Well, and him. However, that's not a piece Vander's going to get. That's a piece no one is going to get unless Sleep pries it out of his hot, blackened fingers.]
There's always a way in. It's just a matter of finding it. Besides, think it's worth the risk, don't you? [Playfully, viciously, the Sin cocks his eyebrow, leaving his grin to slice across one half of his face.] Sitting around and doing nothing never suited me. And I already told schatz the same thing I'm gunna tell you - I'm really bad at following anyone else's rules.
[He drops his hand, then; the touch of his nails, leaving behind curls of smoke.] Because you know Jinx best. Because you know Silco better than I ever will. The man's a stubborn shit, and if I told him what I was going to do, he probably wouldn't let me hear the end of it. [Silco had told him not to come crying if Vander beat his ass into the concrete. He doesn't think he'll earn a lot of empathy from the man if he knew how much he's willing to pay if and when Sleep decides to come knocking at his door.]
[The former homunculus drops his foot, causing his boot to slap hollow into the floor below. Thnk.] As for the rest, I have a feeling you would do it anyway. Call it intuition. [Loop by loop, his tail tangles around the legs of the table.] Gahaha - ! Oh, if only you had any idea - I gotta say, I admire that avarice of yours. So be it.
[He spreads two of his knuckles, forming his claws into the shape of a V.] From my world, they call them chimera. And something tells me you'll want to know about them sooner or later. When you do, I'll tell you everything I know. What it means, how to control the parts that run more on instinct than anything else. [And what the hell could that possibly mean? Nothing that he's willing to elaborate on at the moment, that's for sure.] Other than that? [He lifts one of his shoulders and the fur of his collar grazes his cheek.] Whatever you want. Name your price.
[Ready as he had been about the whole affair, what he hadn't prepared for was the interrogation. The interrogation not about his association with Silco, not about what he wants out of Jinx, but about him. About his time, his years, and as the Sin's eyes squint, that smile of his heats up. The lash of his tongue on his teeth more similar to the broadside of a skillet, spitting its oil.]
Now who's making assumptions? [Greed snaps his jaws at the air. A warning cooked in brimstone.] Oh, ho. I'll give you both the credit. You and Sil sure are bold. [But whatever fire's about to start, it snuffs itself out. His body, his everything, as hushed as a candle that's barely got a wick left to give.]
[The Sin sways his hips, spinning his legs out in a fan. And as he sets both his feet down on the ground, he lifts himself out of his chair.] One. One that counted, at least. [It's the most open he'll be with the man. And besides, their story isn't his to tell.]
[Greed pockets his hands, sliding around the other side of the table.] So, do we have a deal or what?
no subject
Date: 2026-03-22 01:34 am (UTC)Is that so? Do tell how we are so alike with one another.
[His eyes studied the other man's face, uncertain how to take someone who had apparently decided to take on a god-like figure. He doubted that Greed was the only one, but the rate of success here might be less. It seemed to him that someone like Sleep could created dreams to toss them in to navigate through had an upper hand, but then again, Greed had apparently been alive for a long time.
Vander did not and could not discount that level of life experience, not when he recalled all those conversations over a drink and a smoke he had with Babine. Her long time made for interesting conversation, but more than that, her experience to assess a situation and survive in ones that could bring about her downfall was nothing to scoff at. He therefore had to believe Greed had experience to that level.
Experience enough to be bold to hatch a plan to catch Sleep's attention. Maybe Greed just liked attention too.]
I suppose you living long enough for multiple attempts and hatching multiple plans does help with your case. [He hummed.] Mortals are tenacious little buggers, aren't they? Always pushing boundaries. [He was on the fence if he thought this was worth the risk; he didn't know exactly the game being played or what hand of the deck he was playing with at the table.] So you're going to rebel because it's part of your nature then. What about everyone else if your little plan brings Sleep's ire down on everyone, not just those you care about?
[Vander snorted softly in disbelief to the justification to come to him. It was an untruth, though perhaps Greed didn't know that. It felt like he was being set up to take the fall so Greed to sacrifice himself but couldn't control the crew he had amassed around him at the same time. As if Vander could control anything Silco did; no, he was a sliver under the fingernail to the man and Jinx was willing to go along with whatever Silco wanted as far he could tell.
It struck him that Greed had at least picked out Vander's purpose in life: a shield. He was the muscle that put people behind him, dragged them out, took the hits so they didn't have to. He was the body that took up valuable space and provided the most overt threat in a room when a fight was about to break out.]
So you're setting me up to be your distraction so they don't follow you into whatever mess you're going to whip up with what you're doing. [It was true that he normally would for Jinx, probably Sharon. His natural inclination was to protect, especially as his losses remained a raw live wire burning in his spine and brain.
Yet, his expression turned to one of confusion at the mention of chimera. He didn't know what that was about, though something in him was uncomfortably aware. His eyes threatened to change colour, but maybe that was just a trick of the dim light of the room.] What makes you think I want to know anything about a chimera? I think everyone runs a bit on instinct, so I'm not special that way.
[Vander and Warwick had not met in the middle; their lives and entities were separate and slowly merging. One was suppressed while the other was in control, and it took considerable strain for the other to awaken and push through. He knew things had happened to his corpse, but knowing and living were vastly different experiences he was in moderate denial about.]
Call it the trencher in us. Boldness got us both far. [And he didn't believe it was an assumption; after all, there was nothing in that reply being a 'no'. Greed to have something of the past, greed to have something to covet, greed to enjoy those fleeting connections of a family and friends. It was the most baseline of what a greedy person could want. No wonder Silco and Greed found each other.] Would it be the one those soldiers took from you in the original Nest then? [Or it was before then, perhaps even at the start of that old life.
He regarded Greed as the other sidled over to him around the table.] How can we have a deal when I haven't told you what I want? You're in quite the hurry wheeling and dealing aren't you? I thought we were here to share a drink and rub elbows until I go ballistic and beat you into the floor. Won't you be disappointed if we don't hit that point?
no subject
Date: 2026-03-22 03:22 am (UTC)[And there's that other thing, too. The tether and how he knows damn well some part of him (some part of his core) is screaming out, howling, that he can't tip his entire hand. Because he doesn't expect Silco to give a shit. That much is obvious. And perhaps, he never will. That's the burden for creatures like them. The mortal lot would never know, could never understand, how long he'll carry them, even if they'll hold everything he is against him.]
[And tonight? Well. It's not a good time to lose control.]
[Greed freezes, his one heel pried off the ground. He'd like to think Vander doesn't know what he's asking, doesn't know how much it truly stings. But then again, maybe he should have expected it. If he couldn't get Silco, he was the next, best thing.] No. Most of those were just humans that didn't know any better. [Humans, following the orders of the man who had taken the original 'Nest from him and so, much more.] Who you're talking about is a single person. [The Sin's tail whips erratically behind him. No longer like a cat, but more similar to a high-voltage wire, snapped in a storm.] Führer King Bradley. That's what all of Amestris knew him as, anyway. Governments, Vander. You can't trust anything they tell ya.
[He's cornered. On one side, the man he's asking to do him a favor, a favor beyond simple drinks and chitchat. A man who, by all means, should probably be doing just as he's implying: grabbing him by the throat, tossing him to the floor, and reminding him that this feud has nothing, nothing, to do with him.]
[And on the other? Something he doesn't understand, doesn't want to understand, and would rather bury, just like everything else.]
[The former homunculus takes another drag off his smoke, letting the burn of it settle in his chest.] Call it the trencher, call it both of you being the same, fucking pissants I've come to expect. [It isn't Vander he's angry with it. It isn't Silco who's got the forks of his tongue buzzing like a rattler. It's that debt. That debt that never, truly got settled, no matter what Sleep had to offer.]
[King Bradley. Wrath. It's the second time he's been reminded how close him and Silco could have been, if their worlds had been switched.]
[And how he still, still, can't shake that nagging, clawing feeling, circling at the back of his skull.]
[Greed laughs (airy, light, empty), and a cloud of smoke fogs over his face.] Maybe, you're right. Everyone's got an instinct. Bad of me to assume, I suppose. [Again, his shoulders squeeze in on themselves, and the chord of his tail slowly wraps around the bulk of his thigh.] Sure, Vander. Sure. I was the one who called you down here, after all. Would only be fair, right? [He turns, then; the smile on his face, his own shield, bringing up every wall he's got.]
[He'll deal with Silco later. He already said the man could have his, too.]
[With a snort, the former homunculus grabs the bottle, tipping it into his own, emptied glass.] I'm always going to rebel. She should have known that from the start. [Glg, glg, glg, goes the liquor - its rich amber, turning haunted in his eyes.] She won't go after anyone else. Not if she listens to my offer. Because if it works - [He picks up the stopper, only to slam it into the neck with the flat part of his palm.]
- then she'll have to decide if she wants to risk it. Not knowing where she's going, or the price she'll have to pay once she's through.
no subject
Date: 2026-03-24 03:48 pm (UTC)He also made note that Greed did not answer his question about which of their qualities they apparently were alike. A ploy then. Warm him up but provide as little as possible to nudge him on side, mostly be pulling at perceived heartstrings. Manipulation was the tool of all who were after an end point and needed to drag those in their wake in behind. Maybe he was little more than the next meat shield; it wouldn't be the first time he held such an honour. Silco was involved after all.
He hummed in the face of Greed's explanation, lightly stroking his fingers over his beard as he considered the other. He didn't recognize the name at all, but he filed it away as potentially important information for later.] I'm well aware of the limitations of government entities. Most serve self interest or the interests of those with enough money to buy them favour. That's the way the world works. Bradley means something more to you though. [What everyone else knew him as... meaning Greed knew him as someone else.
He shrugged his shoulders at the assessment of himself and Silco. One thing was certain: both went into situations with a plan when they had time to figure one out. Vander had come here to gather information, solidify his suspicions and read the room. Last conversation he had been off his game, the darkness lurking closer to the surface than he would like, but he was in control this time. He already had gathered what he considered valuable information about Greed. To him, that was better than any shared drink.]
What's he told you about me then? He buzzing at the back of your brain all frantic cause I might charm you?
[The corner of his lips pulled and he showed just a touch of those charms that he had within him. Just a taste as they liked to say. He leaned closer, sizing up the risk of doing so, but he expected that Greed wanted more from him than the other way around.]
You are the one that called me. [He picked up the glass for the first time, swirling the liquid, still making no formal commitment to the 'deal'.] Please, she knew you would rebel. I think she knows more about us than we're particularly comfortable with. She knows Jinx can't help herself but to throw herself at Sleep. She knows you'll rebel at every opportunity. She knows Silco will plot and scheme, gather a circle like a spider. I expect Sleep's counting on it; it's when we do the opposite of what she expects that will actually grab her attention.
[He regarded Greed steadily.] And what are you going to do when she breaks all your tethers and isolates you? What if she takes everything from you as punishment for your insolence?
no subject
Date: 2026-03-26 12:56 am (UTC)Careful, Big Bear. You're asking about something you might not like the answer to. And I don't think you and I are good enough pals to be telling you all my secrets. [The former homunculus skirts his claw around the brim of his glass; its strike, humming with the whisper of a spark.]
[Two, after all, could play that game.]
Think you could? [He levels his glass to his lips, taking another, healthy pull.] Dunno, Vander. Maybe I've got a preference for how I take my men. [It isn't a lie if he isn't admitting anything. In the end, he didn't have any particular inclination. Not really. Men, women, those in-between: it didn't take much to catch his eye. Yet, for some (for the ones that stuck around, for the ones that burrowed under his skin), well. They always did find a way getting his attention. Of getting all his focus, all his want, like a rust-covered knife just waiting for the picking.]
[Greed lets the forks of his tongue lash at his drink; the burn of scotch, fizzling on his lip.] If you have to know, he was like me. A homunculus. [He leaves a sigh between them before he turns; the taste of it, hot with steam and liquor. Greed pads over to the bar and as his heels drum lazily against the floor, the sway to him is dangerous. His viciousness more similar to that of a wasp, showing off its stinger.]
Ehh, you're gunna make this hard, aren't you? Men like you - [The Sin sets his glass down with a clp. A second later, and he hops up onto the bar proper - the thump of his tailbone, causing a couple of leftover knickknacks to jitter in place.] - it's always better to take my offer, Vander. But I guess that's just how it's always going to be, isn't it? [Languidly, slowly, he spreads his legs to balance his heels atop the heads of two stools tucked underneath the lip of the counter.] As for what he told me about you, most of it isn't anything you haven't proven already. [With his middle finger, he drags his drink over, letting it hang between his knees.] You won't listen to anything I say because I'm with him.
[If he means anything more by that, either he doesn't realize it, or it's simply because he hasn't or can't come to terms with it. An afterthought, and one he doesn't intend on thinking about too hard.]
[The former homunculus rolls his wrist, forcing whatever's left of the scotch to shine along the sides of his glass.] Mnn. Now, that's for me to know. Don't start pretending like you actually give a shit. Doesn't suit you. [He lifts his gaze and from behind him, his shadow begins to run up the wall. It stretches, unbeknownst to him. A lick of black rising and oh, if isn't one shield meeting another.]
[Greed pats his feet, tilting both stools back on what remains of their legs.] I've been honest with you from the start. Think it's only fair you do me the favor, don't you? [His wings fold and curl, hunching about his shoulders as silty as a cloak of leather and soot.] Don't think it matters, anyway. You're smart enough to figure it out. You would do anything to protect what's yours. And I'll do the same, friend.
[Crck, and his nail cuts into the glass; its thin line, blistering with heat.] When you and Silco come to blows, and I know you will, I won't let you kill him. As for the rest of it, you can consider my offer or not. Doesn't make a difference to me. I'll make sure none of them get involved if things get too messy. An escape plan, right? [His eyes drift to map out every inch of the man from his perch. Like a vulture, waiting to see which part of Vander will split open first.] Though, if you're planning on making your bed with her, I would really appreciate if you kept our little chat between the two of us. Suppose that's your choice, though.
[He plucks the cigarette from his lip and as he lifts his leg, he grinds the cherry of it into the bottom of his boot; its ash, flecking away in spits of red and orange. He only has Silco's word to go on, he knows that. Still, he said it, didn't he? No loose ends.] But if that is the case, I think we're about done here.
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Date: 2026-03-26 07:50 pm (UTC)The corner of his lips pulled slightly in a small smile.] Careful, Little Bear, we keep talking and maybe we will be pals. That would be awful awkward for you, now wouldn't it?
[It reminded him of the distaste long ago of him being friends with both Silco and Benzo. The pair were oil and water, though Vander had liked them both and appreciated their varied and different perspectives regardless of how little the meshed together. Neither had liked each other and Vander often found himself in the middle, sometimes literally. It would be interesting to be on one side rather than i the middle; maybe it was Greed's turn for a spin on that.
It wouldn't happen.
He tilted his head as he considered.] You like them shorter than you, skinner and keen minded, probably sharp and jagged. You collect the ones that people may take one too many second glances at. [There was a means to an end, always. At base, he didn't think Greed was actually a picky as the other man was letting on, all bluster and antics. After all, he'd come for something from Vander.
A homunculus, huh? If this was Greed, did that mean someone called 'King Bradley' was Pride? It almost seemed too on point, but he was willing to entertain the idea regardless.] So you two were best buds then, being the same and all. He come down there to spank you like you were his little brother or something?
[Men like him? That was a risky road to walk so early on. He rested his thigh against the table as they continued their stand off with each other.] Sorry, I've been forced into deals before, and the last one ended up with me and mine dead. You'll appreciate that I'm taking my time assessing the risks and rewards with you. [And the reason he was dead? Silco. The deal had been with someone else, but it had precipitated his downfall regardless of his lack of real options back then.] I'd listen to what you have to say if you were telling me something solid rather that providing half-details and assuming you know who and what I am.
[Of course, Greed wasn't entirely wrong with naming what Vander was as he knew he was a shield. However, he had such a distant or no relationship to those that he would be shielding that he had to consider the risk to those he was closer to. Jinx was his daughter, but he wasn't so blinded to know in planning that she would take Silco's side. Sharon would take Jinx's side and publicly threw her lot in with Silco. That was dangerous for him. His world was forced to shrink as he considered that.
Vander's expression hardened, and he rocked back to standing on both of his feet. The beast stirred as a manifestation of a flicker of his temper, the silver glow of his eyes brightening in response.] What do you know about what I might give a shit about? Out of the two of us, it seems like you're more likely pretending, playing with a deck of cards you think I don't see you're fixing for your own benefit. You called me here because you know I care; you were counting on my caring nature.
[And there was a thing about caring, especially when pushed. Vander had a temper; he had suppressed it for about six years, but the beast and even the event that forced him to fight had happened. It was a mistake to consider his passivity and consideration to the fact that were provided as weakness and that he wouldn't fight for what he believed in and to protect those he felt he needed to. It helped that there was obvious contrary here, shaking his head as he crossed his arms over his chest.]
Oh, you won't let me kill him? You're a funny guy, aren't you? [He shook his head.] Already his attack dog, are you? I've been there before. It's fun until it isn't. [Vander could only regard Greed with a bemused expression.] Why bother make an offer at all if it doesn't make a difference? You're a rather contrary person; you ever actually run anything like this before, or are you flying be the seat of your pants beholden to you base nature?
[Vander almost laughed then realized that Greed was probably serious. He wasn't taking sides in what people decided to rail against Sleep for; why would he go running to the eldritch god to whisper what he had heard? He figured she was well aware of it already.]
Sounds like you and Sleep both would benefit from a hug or two.
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Date: 2026-03-27 12:57 am (UTC)[It's the first time his smile fades, even for a moment. And through him, through every inch of him, comes the static. The raw, snapping, buzzing static that shoots off in the back of his skull and from behind his eyes like spent bullets. He deserved that. He knows he did. No one knew the whole story. Certainly, not Vander. It was all too easy for him to take a cheap shot.]
[Still - ]
[The Sin dips his chin, summoning that same, ol'grin back onto his face. The look of it as ancient and desolate as his centuries would suggest.]
Younger. Youngest of all of us, actually. [The quietness about him is unsettling. A ghost at a graveyard he'll never get buried in. It's something else he'll have to keep from them. If this world collapses, if they win, he'll be nothing. Nothing but ash, scattered in the wind.]
[Greed's mouth twists, bitterly. He eyes Vander from the hollow points of his sockets, and the glass in his hand splits loudly down the middle; his temperature, far too much for it to bear. Honesty it is, then.] He stole them from me. Every, last one just to make a point, among other things. [A bead or two of scotch dribbles over his claws, hissing to a quick-fire dry.] That's what happens when you don't obey Daddy sir. Suppose he needed a new pawn in the rotation once I left. A human-made homunculus.
Wrath. [Greed leaves his glass behind as he slides off the counter, letting it bleed out its fill.] So, to answer your question, pup, call it a guarantee. I'm not going to fight you, but I will be there to take him - [Home, he almost says. Almost says before he chokes it down, swallowing it into the pit of his throat.] - back to the 'Nest before the two of you end up leaving that daughter of yours to pick up the pieces.
And maybe I was, maybe I wasn't. None of us are innocent, Vander. We've all got our choices, right? [The shadow behind him sinks, drifting into the floorboards like a black, oily tide.] Oh? Did I hit a nerve? [The former homunculus wraps his hand around the small of his hip, and the side of him hisses back. A sign that he's running a different kind of fever entirely.] You keep acting like you've already got it all figured out. So why would I bother telling you anything else? [With a tilt of his head, he slides his spent butt back into his pocket.]
I'll give you this much. If any of them do show up, just know they won't give you the same courtesy. To them, human lives don't mean a thing. They'll kill you just because they can. That's how they are, and how they'll always be. [He walks the line of the bar - his heels, leaving behind prints of tar and heat.] You'll know them by this. [He shows his hand as his walks - that tattoo of his as clear and red as day, spanning over his knuckles.] Avoid them, Vander. Like I've told you a thousand times already, I'm not interested in hurting you if I don't have to. But the rest of them won't think twice.
[Greed pauses at the door (its body, wafting frailly in the night breeze), and his teeth flash back in its mirror's jagged edge. Another challenge to no one. No one present, at least.] Mnn. You'll always be the sort. Had it right from the start. Those emotions of yours - [The Sin's tail skates off the floor, and a stray tumbleweed of newspaper immediately catches. A huff of fire, then gone.] - you'll lose everything that way, if you aren't careful. Keep that in mind. If not for you, then for her. It's the least you can do.
Because I have been doing this a long time, Vander. I know your type. There's no point in whatever I have to say. But Jinx - [The former homunculus prods open the door, causing it to whine quietly on its hinges. And as he steps through, he lifts his shoulders in a vague shrug. The tiredness of it all, finally catching up with him.] - think she deserves to have both her dads in the picture, don't you?
[But he's not going to get an answer. Not tonight, not tomorrow, maybe not ever. And that's fine with him. He rolled the dice and lost. That's just a part of the game.]
[Greed takes a step out onto the sidewalk and as the air touches along his throat, he snaps his wings wide open; their skin, fluttering like a lonely breeze, trapped in the belly of a sail.] I'd say it's been a pleasure, but we both know that'd be a lie. Enjoy the drink, Vander.
[And with that, he takes off; his howl of chains, the wafting wind, screaming as cold as a banshee's wail.]