Pain is a Uniquely Personal Experience

Her fear was palpable, more vividly tasted in night air than the blood would be, running over his tongue, once he bit into her. He'd not made a move, nothing to alert her to his position, yet she was already scared. The hair on the back of her neck stood straight up, her breathing shallow and quick as her eyes jumped here and there, waiting for the inevitable to strike.

A quiet sigh loosed as he kept tabs on his target, noting how there'd be no challenge in it, no real work needed to trap her and take her. Had it not been ideal, had he not needed to feed, he'd probably have let her slip through his grasp without so much as a hiss and light nip.

Marius had only just arrived in Storybrooke, his winding path having led him to the sleepy town filled with the stench of dog and the beating hearts of new victims. Yet, he was only there for one, for her. It promised to be a fun game, his shadow having arrived there just in time to intercept her, but that didn't matter. It always ended the same:


As his new conquest stumbled, he was on her, hand catching at her own before her body hit the ground. A smile playing at his lips as his claws elongated, poking lightly into her soft skin, just as his soft laugh echoed through the alley. "You should be more careful..." he chided, humor in his tone, along with overtones of a dangerous intent. "You never know what may be lurking in the shadows..."

Her eyes looked back at him in surprise, momentarily taken aback, but almost happy that someone had been there to catch her. "You're right, I suppose," came her breathless reply, seemingly too distracted to notice the bits of blood smoothing out over her wrist from his hold. "I don't know what came over m-"

"I do," Marius cut off, his eyes flashing a deeper red before they mellowed out. "You're feeling scared, completely off kilter...as you wander aimlessly through this dark alley...in the wrong side of town, not really remembering exactly where you were headed...But knowing you'd give anything to be there at this moment...rather than here with me..." His voice was drawn out, deliberate, calm and steady, despite something lingering in the depths of his deep, blood-red eyes.

Her own brown eyes widened as taking in his expression, his words, becoming suddenly aware of the claws pricking into her. She wanted to yank her hand back, to scream for help, but she couldn't. The realization that it was all too late, that there was no escape, hit her like a ton of bricks as her heart skipped a beat, her breathing hitching. Tears welled up in her eyes, her lower lip quivered, and a nervous head-shake took hold of her body. The softest of sounds came across her lips, the knowing terror in her eyes unable to be shaken.

"...Please..."

So simple a word, "please". Had he not been so hungry, he may have let her go, may have let her return to the dull life she led. Letting her go back to that would be a travesty, a crime in its own right that he wasn't so willing to commit.

"I can't let you go now, love. We're only just getting to know each other!" His words had turned somehow happy, an almost child-like enthusiasm dripping from them.

"N-No, I don't want t-"

"Now now, you'll hurt my feelings!" he replied with a flippant wave of his hand, face frowning before his grip tightened on her wrist. "We wouldn't want to upset me..." Though she whimpered in response, she didn't fight him on it, the pain shooting up her arm incentive enough. "Now, I want you to stand there, tilt your head to the left, and not move when I bite you."

"What?!" she exclaimed, immediately shaking her head emphatically. "Why would I do that?!"

"Because the more you struggle, the more I'll get the urge to hurt you, make your passing painful...You do so look ravishing in this moonlight...fear heavy in your eyes...If that's your wish however..."

A strangled sob erupted from her throat, quickly squelched as a hand reached up, covering her lips as she bit back the remaining sob. Tears falling down her cheeks, her breathing erratic, she nodded, leaning her head to the left as her eyes drifted closed, not wanting to watch, to see anything as he bit down.

A smile grew on his lips as she complied; a smile that couldn't have been smacked off of him for the world. The hand gripping so tightly on her wrist loosened, smoothing over her arms as he shifted more behind her, the other hand mimicking the movement on her other arm. The touch was fleeting, light, an air-like caress as his chest brushed lightly against her back. A slight chuckle slipped forth as he took in her silent tears, a thumb reaching up to wipe a stray tear from her cheek. "Keep that up, and I may not be able to control myself..." Another strangled sob broke through the quiet of the night, a delightful soundtrack to his movements. His head lowered, hot breath grazing over the supple skin at the nape of her neck. Lips brushing softly over the area, a mere ghost of what was to come, accompanying his words. "Just stay calm...Quiet...We wouldn't want to attract unnecessary attention..."

And then his lips opened, fangs piercing her skin as her blood ran hot across his tongue.

The sound he made, a cross between a growl and a moan, couldn't have been smothered if he'd wanted it to be. As he'd known it would, the fear adding an almost fruit-like taste to her already sweet blood. She'd tensed, the muscles having contracted as he tore into her, and the pain she felt causing her to silent tears to increase.

He could feel it.

He could feel everything.

The bond he'd only just wrought with her coming into fruition, her pain echoed on his body as he continued to drink.

It was almost too tempting, this new pain, to rip her apart, take from her what he would eventually claim in its entirety. But he refrained, using what little restraint he harbored to draw it out as much as he could bear. Her heart had begun to slow, her body growing weaker and weaker with each drag of his lips at her neck. It couldn't take what was happening, the fear causing it to pump faster, but with each pump, it forced out that vital liquid and threw itself into a panic.

At that last moment, before her consciousness left completely and she passed from this world to the next, he stopped. Cradling her in his arms, he turned her around, his hand cupping the side of her cheek as his eyes bore into hers. "Keep your eyes open...I want to watch the life drain from them in these final moments. I want to see your passing, relish in it, take that moment from you and use it as a momento."

Too tired to fight it, she blinked blearily at him, his hand leaving her face to bring up her injured wrist to his lips, biting hard into it and suckling the sweet liquid as his eyes remained locked on hers. Her mind had clearly already begun its descent into darkness, a sort of subconscious knowledge of what was happening taking hold as she watched him.

Another sip and her eyes were glazing over.

Yet another, and they were slowly growing duller.

On the last haul off of her delicate wrist, her body gave out. Eyes rolling back, body collapsing, and he let it. Falling into a crumpled heap, he released her wrist, watching it fall with a satisfying crack against the ground, the dead drop confirming what he already knew. Kneeling over her, he used a finger to open one of her eyes, letting out a sigh of contentment as his mind memorized the way her eyes had become so void of life, void of anything life had once afforded them. "So...beautiful..." he murmured, getting up and nudging her body off to the side into some brush, tongue flicking out over his lips to collect any excess he may have missed.

"You won't be missed," Marius told her lifeless form. "But you will always be remembered, and revered as a satisfying conquest, I can promise you that."

His reemergence was going well. Treykon new the people could be reminded quickly, but as it was he could not be in multiple places at the same time. What he needed was a avatar. A prophet to spread the word and meaning of his gift of pain. But in this world so plagued with happiness, what were the chances of finding a creature willing to submit to such torment under his own free will?

A spark to the East. Treykon felt a soul in great suffering. Fear and pain running through freely and on such a level, he needed to see what was causing it. He came upon a dark and shady alley, with but a couple people in the area. No screams, no blood, but the fear was palpable. Breathing in deeply through what was passed off as a nose, he moaned in pleasure. He felt alive again, powerful. This fear was on par to what he once though only he could bring forth. He had to get closer.

The air in the alley grew colder, the light dimmer. His presence always had that effect though. What was new was the fact that the two people in the area paid absolutely no thought to the changes. It became quite apparent that whatever they were doing was intimate.

The closer he got the more he could feel, but it was waning. She was getting relief, this poor soul was having his gift taken from them. He manifested as fast as he could but the young woman was beyond help as the life left her eyes and she was taken from the blessed pain. This man was able to give the greatest gift, but wasted it on his hunger. He could do so much more, BE so much more. The mans mind was so full of pain, but it did not cripple him. He was the epitome of his teachings without even realizing it. Using the pain as his strength and even his pleasure. He needed to make this being his prophet.

Getting into his mind was a simple task, so open to the task at hand as the womans life vanished in front of him.

"Marius my son, you kill so freely, do you not know of the great gift you give to people with your skills?" He spoke directly into his mind. He would show himself, but with a creature as unpredictable as this Treykon wanted to make sure he gained his trust.

As the silence began to wrap around Marius with such finality, he inhaled deeply...and stopped. Something was different, off, taking hold of the atmosphere he'd created and changing it.

What's worse? It was all wrong.

His brow furrowed, though the rest of his demeanor remained calm. Now that his focus wasn't so completely on a victim, his eyes noted the change, not only in atmosphere, but in physicality. The light, what little there had been, had died out a considerable amount. It wasn't so much the light that he minded, always having favored the dark and what could lurk within it, but rather how...with the light's death, the air grew colder. It wasn't a physical cold, but something more mental, sinister.

And it wasn't his doing.

Taking stock of his surroundings, eyes scanning for any sort of movement, any other heartbeat, he frowned. Nothing was coming to light, which perplexed him all the more. It took a lot to hide from him, given his abilities, his talents.

"Marius my son, you kill so freely, do you not know of the great gift you give to people with your skills?"

His mind immediately snapped to attention, though his body remained as it was. Unnerved by how someone had breached his mind so easily, spoke to him so clearly, yet he couldn't feel them. An odd position to be in, for certain, but he wasn't worried. Not yet, at least.

So, you can muddle around in my mind, but I've not the privilege of seeing you? My feelings are hurt, he responded, his thoughts unerringly calm despite the discontent he felt. Seems a bit unfair in my view... Turning about in the alley, wandering slowly as his eyes continued their scanning, he continued. Perhaps you can come out and talk with me face to face? It's the polite thing to do and I feel that such things should be observed, don't you?

The god chuckled, a sound more akin to the churning of maggots than anything merry. "Perhaps for your kin you are correct. Politeness and niceties are a bit foreign to the likes of my my child. Please do not be offended, few can withstand my true form. And I respect you far to much to risk that. " Some light was revealed around Marius himself as their conversation continued and the world itself seemed to halt and fade away around them. "At least I can give us some privacy. You are an interesting one Marius. You revel in pain yet you merely kill your 'prey' as I suppose you call them. Why is that?"

Whatever that sound was, whether a supposed chuckle or not, it had Marius's skin crawling...But in a delightful way, if that were really possible. Something completely different from what he was used to, as most laughed with true humor in its infliction. But not him, whatever he was.

He'd have replied right then, but the light that formed around him had him perplexed, a brow perking up at his distaste, before responding in kind to the god's question with an annoyed air. I revel in pain, but don't seek to revel in it with every conquest. There's no point. She was merely a fleeting thing, something I needed and took advantage of. Pausing midthought, he paced a bit more, one arm behind his back as the other gestured haphazardly in the air beside him. While it's nice to wallow in something that's so freely given, there's no real point. No challenge. Being a predator, the hunt was what he craved, what drove him to such lengths. If there was no hunt, what was the point of prolonging something needlessly?

"But you are alone in that my son. The pleasure is fleeting, lasting but as long as their life." His voice reverberated from the left to the right as he paused in his speech, as if pacing in the man's mind itself. "There is power to be gained in continued use of this prey. Power you could use against your enemies." The voice paused for a moment. "Against Samyaza."

The mention of Sam's name had true anger striking up in his mind, burning as brightly as the unnatural red glow bleeding so prevalent from his eyes. Sam...Though it was laughable that he presented a challenge, considering the length of time he'd evaded the poor soul, there was always that inkling. Always that "what if" that lingered in the back of his mind. I plan to use that very thing against him with my Asteria, my current blood-bag he holds hostage. His brow furrowing, the anger sparking anew as he pictured her with him rather than by his own side, had him loosing a bitter laugh. I was breaking her in, prolonging her use as best I could. I don't think I could have been any more patient than I was with her...I relished in her pain for years...Years of torment could be going down the drain as we speak...

He'd not meant to go off on a tangent, but it happened, regardless of what he wanted, it happened. And there was no going back on it now. Not like it mattered, as the voice was in his head, and most likely privy to everything he knew anyway. What do you know of such? Why bring it up to me now? he asked, his temper becoming increasingly short.

"Because I want to help you Marius." A quick flash of pain went through the mans body. "I can give you what you desire whenever you desire. I can give you powers to do the same to anyone you please." The pain relented as suddenly as it had came. "I do not ask for much in return."

The pain...The blissful release taking hold of him as it moved through his body. His breath hitched, his eyes rolled back as ecstasy gripped him. It was the pure, unadulterated pain that he sought so reverently through others. And, just like that, it was gone. His body cried out in protest as the blissful pleasure ended so abruptly, his eyes opening half-lidded as a sigh tumbled out over his lips. A hand reached up to rub his temples, getting a grip before think-speaking again. Why would I need that help from you? I seem to do a good job evoking such in people without your added guidance, he retorted, his usual tone, a bemused one, returning.

The chuckle returned. "That's precisely why I'm here marius. I recognize your talents. I really do. But pain is a gift that needs to be given endlessly." Treykon then sent wave after wave of searing pain into Marius. His arms, legs, chest, everything burned as if hot pokers were being stabbed into each tender joint. "It is a marvelous gift to have, pain. Wouldn't you agree?"

There it was again.

That glorious, rapturous pain that gripped a hold of him. Anything said after the searing pain that attacked his body fell on a deaf mind, wholly preoccupied elsewhere. His eyes rolled back once more. His hands twitched at his sides. A sound that could only be called a moan made itself known, a growl shortly thereafter ensuing in pure pleasure. It couldn't be helped, this reaction. Pain was his vice, his drug. And, if this unseen being was willing to give it...

...Who was he to argue?

"You give this delightful feeling to all your victims my son. This could last forever for them and for you. But killing them, that is pointless. It removes my purpose from the world and theirs, and your strength." As he finished his sentence, the pain left him. For a short while all sense left him. No pain, no sight, no feeling at all. Just sound. "This is their fate Marius. And it will be yours as well if you continue down your path. Think of my offer. Give it time and we shall speak again." The senses returned as did the dim light in the alley. "I answer to one thing my child. You'll know how to contact me again." And just as quickly as the presence appeared, it was gone. Nothing left but a body slowly growing cold at the mans feet.

[Exit]

Words echoing through his mind, breaking through the haze of pleasure and contentment in which he found himself, Marius was forced to listen. Despite his state, he heard what the man...being...thing...was telling him, and couldn't deny it. Though, thinking of such was not on the top of his to-do list.

And again, it was gone.

A growl erupted, the rest of his senses falling away, left with nothing but the sound of his voice, the steady rush of his own breath, and the understanding that came with it.

Slowly, his surroundings reappeared, the body at his feet calling more of his attention than he realized as his gaze moved over her newly deceased form. He knew he was alone; no longer feeling the other's presence touching against his mind, he stood, mulling over his words.

Marius had always been a solitary creature, preferring to work alone to perfect his art and worship that pain that no one seemed to understand. Yet, whoever he was...He got it. Understood it. Prodded him to create that perfection he'd only dreamed of. He'd never been goaded on so freely, not by anyone. If anything, he was more used to hearing "stop," "please," or the ever popular, "don't". But this...This was new.

Kneeling back down beside his victim, he began tidying her up, laying her out just so, with her arms crossed at her chest, her face looking peaceful. Picking a stray flower, he laced it into her fingers, and brushed a few stray hairs from her face. A lingering question seemed to float in the air between them, a question that begged answering, though he had none to give it.

...What if...?

It was with that sentiment that he stood, brushing the dirt from his knees before straightening his jacket as a cool breeze blew over him. "'What if' indeed," he repeated, this time aloud, as he began to meander out of the alley, deep in thought as his form clung to the shadows. There was much to think about, new victims to stalk, and a certain Nephilim to find.

Far too much to do to be staying in an alley with a dead body.

Bad form, that.

[Exit]