Welcome to Gaia! ::

spidery alois || 25/25 || time to find some ice

The newly-masked man bent and extended his wrist slowly to test the damage. Movements still caused a wince. He really needed to get to some ice before his skin cooked down into the meat. What was that, full thickness burn? He didn’t want any of it. Temperance would know that without trouble, and afterward lecture him for being irresponsible somehow. „Is Adoelle inhuman? I heard tell about zem looking for someone wis’ human ancestry, but Ezra will not allow a human to die. Zat leaves someone formerly human. Not zat I’m complaining if it’s Adoelle…“ Alois finished, and cast his gaze out the window to the fog-swamped beneath. Iridescence danced on the low-lying clouds and added an atmospheric brilliance to the scene.

Hearing Rabbit finally speak up from the depths of the couch coaxed a crooked smile out of Alois. „No, I don’t sink he’s dead. Out, but not dead.“ He knew not what Rabbit apologized for, but it wasn’t his business. Blackmail, he found, mattered very little to Ezra overall.

Temper slipped somewhat with Juniper’s next words. His fist tightened at his side, nails biting for purchase against anything before them. „You say zat, but it took getting my hand broken to spur zem into action. And what came of zat? I didn’t see ze end of it, but since no one’s running about screaming zat we haf’ to leaf’, I imagine Melany is still alif’e and well. Maybe you don’t realize it, or you’re not paying enough attention, but everyone here is still playing by zeir rules on zeir field. Do you really sink that leaves any of your people at an advantage? Nevermind.“ Alois dismissed the question immediately. „You’ll sink how you want.“

Again he rotated his wrist. Again he looked to Jun, who looked content to simply lounge in the spire. „I should find some ice. Maybe later. As you heard, I haf’ a few chores to do.“ With a sigh, he started toward the stairs.

[Alois exit]

Hux in a Dress - 25/25 - gettin' contemplative up in hurr

Hux sighed to himself. He watched Alois leave with mild interest, but said nothing to stop him. If he felt he was better off downstairs, than so be it. He glanced at Juniper as she spoke, then allowed his gaze to travel over to Rabbit; interested in reading his response to whatever she had to say. It was futile, however. He had buried himself quite thoroughly within the chair.

"I think..." he murmured, finally, after giving himself a moment of contemplation once Juniper had finished saying what she felt needed to be said. "I think we've been here for a long, long time. A time long enough for us to not even be sure- really- how long we've been gone for. Rabbit, Alois, and I... maybe others, m'not sure." He rubbed his face wearily. His eyes felt like sandpaper and he wanted nothing more than to close them and rest, but he knew that'd be a fool's errand. There was no rest. Not here.

"We were taken, against our will, and thrust into... this... without much say. Forced to do the bidding of whomever declared themselves our masters... and I think we're tired... and it's easier for some of us to just play their game, rather than fight it... and m'not so sure us doing anything will actually change the outcome of tonight, because what I've seen so far is that... well, They're always in control. Even when you think They're not." He pulled his knees to his chest and rested his forehead on top of them, eyes closed. "And m'not playin' they're game... but m'too tired to fight it... so maybe the others downstairs will find some sort of way out... or maybe they won't. It's all up to fate, I guess."

Hux in a Dress - 25/25 - obliging Rabbit's desires

Hux looked up from where he had been resting against his knees and nodded in response to Rabbit. "Sure, man." He said, and offered up the bottle after taking one last swig. "Plenty ta go 'round."

alois scholz (masked) || 25/25 || being a douche

“This way,“ he called to the others upon crowning the stairs. Tired though he was, he felt accomplishment creeping into his bones, his bloodstream. Already he considered the confrontation won by he and those he chose to associate with. „They’ve holed themselfs up in here, but it is no matter. There’s no other outlets from the ebony spire. A perfect place for their last stand, I suppose.“ He laughed, and pressed his second mask to lips thoughtfully. „I expect they’ll put up quite a fight.“

Encountering Alois on the stairs was something of a surprise, as was his willingness to hand over his mask when asked. He anticipated the struggles met when Alois was first taken, and yet he complied nicely. Would the others serve the same? He doubted it.

„And Huxtable, I would like a word with your lesser half before you get started. You don’t mind, do you? If it’s a bother…“

But they reached the zenith. There was no further time for him to chat amongst his recruits. „Ah, yes,“ he began while clasping hands together. „I believe there’s a few unspoken words between us. Perhaps these matters are better directed with a heavy hand?“ In closing, he held before him the constellation mask that Juniper bequeathed to Alois. Through its second set of eye holes he spotted the blonde. „I will only give you one pass, dear guest. Take your mask. It belongs not on the servants.“

Hux in a Suit - 25/25 - arriving on da scene with his beautiful arm candy

Hux moved up the stairs gracefully, his arm locked with Rabbit's as they glided towards the top in near perfect unison. He chuckled at Alois' eagerness, very obviously amused by the turn of events.

"Do as you please, brother." He murmured simply, just before the door was opened. He cast a bemused glance in the Rabbit that was meant to be maskless' direction as Alois made his grand entrance, an odd smile curving Hux's features into something a bit more... hungry.

Then he focused his attention onto his other half, looking slumped and defeated at the wall opposite of them.

"It seems you've slighted the wrong Alois, you poor sap." He murmured, voice as smooth and velvety as the chair that stood tall at the center of the room. With that said, he leveled his gaze at Rabbit's twin, a frown suddenly tugging his grin downwards.

"And you, Bennett Vaughan... such wasted potential. It really is a pity." His arm snaked around his Rabbit's waist and he pulled him closer, turning his head so that he could press a kiss to the smaller man's temple but never allowing his gaze to leave the real Rabbit's. His voice was a sultry murmur against the other Rabbit's skin. "This Rabbit is much more deserving of the life you so desperately cling to, don't you think?"

He ignored the room's third and final inhabitant, considering her to be nothing more than a mere nuisance. He had no idea why she thought she could speak to them in such a way, but he was sure Alois would be quick to deal with it.

Hux in a Dress - 25/25 - standing next to Juniper, hoping she'll think for herself and vamoose

At first, the true Hux didn't bother to move from his position against the shelves. He was too exhausted to fight, and he knew that. Knew where this would lead, should things turn violent. He ignored his counterparts words, much to the other Hux's mild amusement, and shifted his gaze to look at Juniper. Her back was to him, barely clothed chest puffed out in defiance. She was certainly a woman to be remembered, if nothing else.

He lifted his large frame from the cold marble and closed the distance between him and her, gently resting his square-shaped palm on her delicate shoulder and pressing the pads of his fingers into her skin just so. A warning, and a farewell... should she actually listen. Which he knew from just the past couple hours that she wasn't the type to take anyone's advice but her own... though he still felt the need to try, because she didn't have to be here. She wasn't the one that required punishment.

"You should leave, Juniper... take your mask to the other Alois, group with the rest downstairs... find a way out of this ordeal." He murmured to her before regarding Alois with a cold stare. "She's got nothing to do with this, does she? Let her by." He was in no position to give orders, but he did so anyway.

alois scholz (masked) || 25/25 || holding his weave

“Enough posturing.“ He released the mask easily, his touch feather-light on the encrusted marvel he held, and she claimed what was hers in the beginning. The girl prattled, but he gave her claims little heed. Most guests from the banal culture of Ashdown mewled pitifully about human rights and equality and other inane garbage that he cared little for. They were in his reality now, where Alois was little more than property to him, and the pair only meant as much as Ezra valued them. Did she consider what her words would earn? He wondered in their brief gap of silence.

„Rabbit,“ he started, his attention quick to catch on the man who tried to pretend the scene was not amiss. „Do as he says. Surrender your mask now or I will ask Melany myself to consider Alois a tithe. That goes for everyone in this room who doesn’t wear a mask.“ It may go against Father’s wishes, but he will understand. He often does.

With the mask now slipped from his grasp, Alois strode slowly toward the giant in the room. Heeled boots struck the floor in derision. He paused near the bookshelf, where Hux melted to his right, and feigned interest in one of the many tomes before him. A hand slipped down, clawed fingers reaching, and seized the elaborate orchestra of hair on Hux’s head in an iron grip. He wrenched the man forward with the brunt of his strength to wholesale move the man’s body away from the wall. He maintained a tight grip in the thick locks while his gaze fell to Thorne, the maked Hux, and his arm candy. „I’m afraid he isn’t compelled. Listen,“ he commanded as he himself bristled, and the murmurs of thoughts or feelings or memories became known to him then. He looked toward the ceiling. „There’s ample ammunition above us. All you need to do is reach. This one will break. They always do.“

Lastly, he focused his attention on Thorne. „Alexander. What say you about the girl? She aided the one who wronged your mistress. Should she, then, shoulder the debt that Alois must pay? Or shall we leave her as a guest? I long for your opinion.“

Hux in a Dress - 25/25 - 'bout to take a beating prob poor baby, maskless

Hux remained silent as he is forced to his knees by Alois' superior strength. He dutifully ignored the claws his hair, mouth set in a grim line and dark irises empty of any emotion except perhaps a bit of anger, simmering at the edges. When he is taunted by the otherbeings, he offers nothing more than a defiant stare at his counterpart and the rest. When a bottle is shattered, the pieces skid across the floor. They cut into Hux's dress and slice against his knees but, again, he makes no sound. The majority of his hair had fallen from the up-do Adoelle so carefully magicked into place before the start of the night's events and Alois' grip remained strong in his thick mane.

He doesn't say anything to Thorne or to Alois or even to his double. Instead, he just waits.

Hux in a Suit - 25/25 - amused, masked, ready for the fun to begin

Hux, masked and tucked comfortably into a tailor-made suit looked especially put together in the face of his disheveled twin. He smirked at the bits of blood that had begun to stain the dress-wearing Hux's knees. "Does it hurt, brother?" He asked with a grim smile. He offered his Rabbit one last kiss- a quick grab of his chin and press of their lips- before he disconnected himself from the other and crossed the liquor-drenched floor. The dark brown liquid, somehow, moved around his feet so that his shoes wouldn't ruin.

"Though you and I both know physical pain is nothing in comparison to the sort of pain that blossoms at the back of your mind, whenever you're reminded of what you let slip from your grasp." He grinned, wickedly. "Your memories aren't just floating in the spire," he said, then gave his own temple a quick tap. "They're here, too."

He moved to touch the edge of Hux's jaw and dragged his nail across the hard edge of bone. They glared at each other, then the masked Hux drew his hand back and swept it across the maskless Hux's cheek with a sharp crack.

"You're pathetic." He stated, with a frown as he flexed the fingers of the offending hand. "Gretta drowned herself to get away from you." He laughed. "All the signs were there and you ignored them. You ignored her even when she begged you for help. And now..." Hux looked smug. "Well, I suppose I should take it easy on you... since you're in mourning... shall I show you, the memory of when your nieces and nephew found out about your sister? Oh, how they cried. They looked exactly as you are now, broken... empty... pitiful." Hux grinned from beneath his mask, finding joy in the way the original Hux gaped at him while struggling to put the words in the right place within his head. "And do you know what I told them? I told them it was their fault she died. Oh, you should have seen the hate in Keighley's eyes when her siblings heard that come from your- or rather, my, mouth. I don't think she'll ever be able to forgive you."

"M-Margaery?" Hux croaked, eyes wet and blood dribbling from the split in his lip.

The other Hux laughed. "Oh, don't be so naiive Huxtable. You knew she wouldn't make it. Don't pretend you didn't." He gripped the broken Hux's chin between his thumb and forefinger, forced the man to meet his wild, hungry gaze. "Maybe, though, she'd have made it... if you'd been there for her, like she'd always been there for you. Instead, though, you spent your time getting drunk- bringing whomever you wished home and putting them to bed only to kick them out the next morning. Oh, her final days were so stressful! She saw you dissolve into alcoholism, just like your father. And on her deathbed? She still cried for you, even after all the hardship I'd put her through. But you didn't come. Not until she was pale, just as pale as Gretta, and gone." The masked Hux cackled, and the other broke. He transformed into a hysterical mass of raw emotion. He shoved towards the masked Hux but was kept at bay by the hand still twisted in his hair. He howled and growled and he broke over and over again, barely human in his sorrow... in his rage.