Divinitas

053 - Predator and Prey

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Near scalding jets of water pelted down on Aether\'s flawless skin, ran in steaming rivulets down his long slender legs before swirling down an ornamental drain. Thick clouds of steam obscured the entirety of the more than extravagant bathroom, hid even the decorative tiled floor of the spacious shower. If only it muted the pounding in his mind.

In retrospect, it had probably been a bad idea on his part to go to Deus after he had left his sister. And why had he? A bitter smile slipped onto Aether\'s wet lips. To try and quench the desire that had been growing almost malevolently in his body and soul? It almost made him laugh, that he remembered too late that Deus never satisfied him, never even produced much of a reaction in him. Wasn\'t that what drew the God of Ten back to him again and again? Because Aether was perhaps the only being in existence that could deny him?

It angered him, that. It angered him because Deus couldn\'t subdue the change wrenching his heart. It angered him that it was a human boy that may very well cost him his bet with Deus. It angered him especially that the said human boy denied him. Denied him. He, the God of Soul, who could control those of his realm at will. Yet this Child of Fire burned him, denied him, hated him.

The faint bitter smile became savage, blank unseeing amethyst eyes staring at the patterned glass surrounding him. Did Aether want him? What a question to ask, dearest Sister. When had the game he started turned against him, became so deadly and serious? When had he reversed roles to become the prey rather than the predator. Oh yes. There was no point denying it any longer. Neither his heart or soul would stand for it. He wanted that boy. Phoenix. And the desire and need rolling like a tidal wave through his body wouldn\'t subside until he possessed him utterly.

Aether lifted his face to the relentless cascade of water, relishing in the way it poured over his closed eyelids and down the length of his body. It would never wash away the insistent whisperings of his soul that had only a week earlier been silent. Jus it it would never silence the promise Phoenix had declared to all the world… and to him.

I will not die!



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It was late. The evening had worn into night, and the almost full moon was high in the velvet sky. Phoenix\'s exhausted but healed body laid on freshly changed sheets, blood red eyes half-heartedly tracing the black engraved design on Ashura\'s ring. It always reminded him of black wings. Something Ashura wore, perhaps, because he found some connection in the design to his own ashen wings.

The Tenshi was asleep beside him, had been so shortly after he had bathed together with Phoenix and had then dried and healed him.

Ashura had said that sex was an act that usually expressed an attraction between two people. Lust, desire, need… love. It was also a form of power: to dominate, to submit. Phoenix felt none of these things for Ashura. There was just a vague sense of indifference. Ashura was a friend, a teacher, but nothing more.

All of this was for Aether. His God.

Silently, the Child of Fire eased himself from the bed, finding a clean set of garments and pulling them over his body. Perhaps he was rushing it. Leaving one bed to seek another, even when his entire body still ached. Only… he wanted to know. Needed to know.

The softly lit hallway with its wide breadth and lofty arched ceilings greeted Phoenix in silence as he stepped from the sanctuary of his room. They were empty, with an abandoned atmosphere clinging to the incandescent walls. This was a place that needed to be filled with movement and laughter… not the quiet and stillness of the night.

He didn\'t know where to go, really. He only knew that he wanted to find Aether. Wanted to force the unfeeling and selfish god to feel something, to hurt even.

The marble floors and endless corridors stretched before him, behind him, to his left, to his right. All empty.

He\'s lost. Find him. He wants you to find him.

The voice brought back the dampness of the dark suffocating earth, the coldness. It was the spark of hope and life that had flared into his ever unceasing obsession to live, to never ever die, to attain his place in Heaven. This was the God of Ten\'s voice. The same cultured, husky voice that had interrupted his fight with the Child of Air.

It hadn\'t been important then. The owner of that voice. It paled in comparison to Aether. Why. Why, when Deus was the one who offered the means to realise his Dream, and Aether was everything that would cause its downfall?

Bare feet halted underneath him. \"Why are you tell me…?\"

\"Because I love him, Child of Fire.\"

Phoenix turned around, pivoting on the ball of his right foot.

His presence should have been overwhelming, awe inspiring at the very least. Pure white wings and pure white hair, all accenting the deep summer blue eyes that mesmerised and dazzled without effort.

Yet… it didn\'t seem to matter at all. Not his physical beauty, not the aura of power that radiated like heat from his flawless form. Not the soft smile that was directed at him, but not caused by him.

There was no reaction… except a nibbling sense of… jealousy.

Deus\' smile deepened a touch before fading from his lips. \"Jealous…?\" the God of Ten inquired, raising one hand and brushing Phoenix\'s cheek with his fingertips. \"Of unrequited love? Of emotions so chaotic and overwhelming you would do anything to subside them? You\'re a naïve boy, my Child of Fire.\"

Phoenix jerked his head away, averting his angry red gaze from the all-seeing blue. It had to be a mistake, that feeling.

\"I can not have him, and I can not hurt him,\" Deus continued, his hand lowering back to his side. \"You, however, can.\"

\"I don\'t need you to tell me that,\" Phoenix said in a quiet rage, hands clenching into fists. He was angry. He didn\'t need this right now, not when his entire body was hurting and exhausted, yet still longed to be, demanded to be, in the presence of his God.

The silence stretched between them, the Child and God. \"Isn\'t it sad,\" Deus inquired finally, taking Phoenix\'s chin and lifting the boy\'s head to look once more into the burning depths. \"Isn\'t it sad… to feel nothing? Pain is better than apathy. At least when one hurts, they know they are still alive. You should know and understand this, Child of Fire.\"

Sincere endless blue. Like the ocean, like the sky. It had absolutely no power over him. Shouldn\'t they have, the eyes of a God? The eyes of the one who held his future in Ten in the palm of his hand…? Only… it didn\'t matter. He wasn\'t afraid of angering the God of Ten. Because this was his Dream, his desire. And to stand before it, afraid, was simply wrong.

\"Won\'t you go to him?\" Deus prompted in the silence of Phoenix\'s reply.

The boy\'s face hardened. \"Those were my intentions, my Lord.\"

Deus smiled, soft and serene. \"Then I thank you, for taking my place… and for helping to set me free.\"

The flare of danger spiralled through Phoenix\'s body. A warning. Truths and lies, interwoven too closely to untangle. But he had always known, even before accepting Deus\' offer. That this God was a dangerous being with hidden motives.

\"No. Thank you, for giving me this chance,\" Phoenix returned, knocking aside Deus\' hand and turning to continue his hunt for his God of Soul.

\"He\'ll be waiting. Go up. Always up. My apartments are on the highest level. The staircases will lead you there.\"

The stab of anger and hurt bit through him. Ah, but where else would his God be? The one who said he wanted him…

Liar.

Pray that what the God of Ten said had an hint of truth. Pray that Aether truly did want him, in however small a way. Because if it was the last thing Phoenix did, he would hurt his God of Soul, and rip out his very heart if only he possessed one.



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The droplets of water sparkled like gems as they fell from golden hair, as ifing ing stolen from the silky wet strands just a little of their divine perfection. Violet eyes watched as they splattered against the tiled floor, dying, losing their short-lived ethereal beauty.

Aether smirked to himself. He had been standing here quiet a while now, hadn\'t he? Just dripping cooling water onto the now very wet floor. Maybe Deus would complain later on. Or better yet, maybe he would slip and crack his too-thick skull open.

It took more effort that one would have thought, to finally command his body to take the large warm towel from where it hung on the wall and wrapped it around his waist. He never bothered to dry himself here, since it would annoy Deus to no end if he dripped all over the thick carpet and then on his silk sheets. Even if it was fan service, it was something he would endure if only to see the irritation flash across the God of Ten\'s face.

Feeling a bit giddy at the prospect of that slight mischief, Aether stepped over the threshold of the bathroom and into the overly large and extravagant bedroom.

The God of Soul raised an eyebrow. Empty. Well, this was something unexpected and new. Actually, the fact that Deus hadn\'t molested him whilst he\'d been in the shower was unexpected and new. Was he disappointed? Almost. For once when he wanted a distraction it wasn\'t there to draw his body and mind away from the forbidden. Ah, but of course, this was all Deus\' planning. The calculating bastard.

Did it irk him, just a little, that Deus could be so cold and calculating when dealing with his own emotions? That he could put aside his own feelings towards Aether to play all this out, for the greater reward at the end? It did, didn\'t it? It seemed wrong, somehow, to deal with one\'s emotions that way.

Amethyst eyes closed as a wet hand clasped the golden doorknob leading to the outer rooms. It might be nice, to lie naked on that thick fur rug in front of that cavernous fireplace, to feel the heat play across his still-wet skin. To forget all of this and just indulge the physical senses.

Silver moonlight streamed in through the glass wall, reflected from both the moon itself and the endless silver ocean beneath it. It painted the outer rooms with soft glowing light, casting a surreal atmosphere to every surface. It was cold, all of it. Beautiful but cold.

All of it… except… him.

Roaring flames danced and leapt, casting a golden light about the boy\'s form before the elaborate fireplace. A warm, burning light that set his hair alight and lent his eyes an almost demonic glow.

The God of Soul halted, folding into himself, ignoring the sudden pain in his once long forgotten heart, and instead letting the anger and bitterness smoulder. His twilight eyes narrowed as he felt the presence of another clinging to the boy\'s skin. The scent of sex left there with deliberate intent, that wouldn\'t wash away with ease. To say \'I had him first.\'

His lips curled up in a cruel smile. \"Did you come to taunt me? To say that, like your defiled lips, your body too has lost its innocence, that I can not be the one to take what should be mine?\"

\"No,\" Phoenix answered quietly, smoothly, like lava beneath a seemingly solid crust, waiting to explode and devour those foolish enough to tread upon its back. \"I came for an answer.\"

The boy let his garments fall from his slender body, revealing flawlessly healed skin that invited one\'s touch, that begged to be cut and bled. His burning crimson eyes locked onto veiled amethyst, determined and possessed.

\"If you really want me… prove it.\"

The amethyst eyes raked down Phoenix\'s naked body, at the way it was posed. At the arm that had been lifted towards him, fingers splayed out in a gesture of mocking invite. His crimson eyes flickered in the dying firelight, revealing nothing but intense hate and resentment… desire. Lust. Need.

Aether\'s soul surged, the boy\'s words and body impossible for it to ignore. His incomplete and empty soul wanted this. His heart wanted to feel Phoenix\'s beat and flutter against itself. Every particle of his being was drawn to the life and fire dancing within this boy, needed it because he was so lacking.

It didn\'t matter that the scent of another clung to him, that he had been taken by that Tenshi earlier this very night. It angered him, yes, and strangely it hurt, lacerated his heart with the sting of betrayal. Yet here the boy was, standing angry and hot before him, offering him exactly want his body and soul wanted.

In a smooth movement, Aether took the offered hand and pulled the boy to himself, feeling the heat of Phoenix\'s body slide against his own. The towel wrapped around his waist slide free, pooling about his ankles and allowing his heat to press against the boy\'s hot flesh. He caught the boy\'s face in his hands, holding it gently before his as he stared down into the burning crimson eyes.

\"Want is too soft a word,\" Aether breathed, lips almost brushing against Phoenix\'s. \"I need you, my Phoenix.\"

It was soft and gentle at fire, the kiss Aether bestowed on Phoenix\'s lips. It wasn\'t so different from the way Ashura kissed him… yet there was a sincerity and desperation here that Ashura never displayed. As if the kiss was tasting him, exploring his very soul, and at the same time whispering \'I will prove to you that I want you… because I do want you. More than that. I need you.\'

The kiss deepened, Aether\'s hand sliding around to the back of Phoenix\'s head to pull him closer. His other hand trailed down the boy\'s spine, feeling with a tender exploring touch the smooth curve of his form. The God\'s tongue dipped into Phoenix\'s mouth, licking up against his own, inviting, tempting, and so very hot and wet.

This was what Phoenix wanted. This and so much more of this. This kiss wasn\'t a lie. Its desire and desperation wasn\'t a lie. They were real and both he and Aether knew them to be real. Knew it, and finally accepted it. Gave in to it. Indulged in it.

The thick white fur was cool and welcomed against his back as the Child and God lowered themselves to the floor. It contrasted with the heat of Aether\'s kiss, a kiss that now tasted of blood, drawn as tongues scrapped too forcefully on teeth.

It shouldn\'t have passed between them, their blood. It burned both Child and God, setting aningning need racing through their bodies. The heat pooled in Phoenix\'s groin, and in response, the boy shifted up against Aether\'s weight, the better to feel the press of the other\'s heat against his own.

That was the final straw. Aether\'s carefully filed fingernails sliced into the hollow of Phoenix\'s throat, sending piercing pain knifing through the boy\'s neck and chest. As Phoenix gasped in a breath of cool air, half from pain, half from shock, red hot blood welled forth and spilled in a glistening river down the side of Phoenix\'s neck.

For a long moment, Aether stared at the life\'s liquid, feeling the heat and throb of it against his now stained fingertips. This was Phoenix\'s blood, that carried his untainted scent, that pumped with his will to live, his passion, his desire. That which he needed so very badly. Slowly the God closed his lips over the wound, tongue lapping up against the cut, wriggling against it to bring forth more of the burning liquid. The boy squirmed underneath him, gasping from the sensation that bordered on pain but held more pleasure than anything else.

The blood stained fingers trailed down Phoenix\'s chest, smearing the boy\'s blood wherever they touched. As if with a desire of their own, they occasionally bit into the boy\'s flushed skin, delighting at the sudden tightening in the flesh and the strained breaths that issued forth from Phoenix\'s too appealing lips. They would press harder and deeper until the wetness of blood gushed forth, only then moving on to unmarked skin.

Why was he allowing this…? Simply laying on the now blood stained fur, the fire dancing beside them in exotic twists and twirls? His arms rested above his head, unstrained yet unmoving, and his fingernails bit only into his hands each time his own body was sliced open and bled, never lifting one finger to restrain Aether\'s marking of his body. It hurt. Especially now as Aether\'s hands played down his bare stomach, fingernails slicing deeply into the flesh just above his navel. He could feel his own blood gush forth, pooling into the slight depression, impatient to be licked up and taken into the God\'s body.

Why…? Because he relished this pain. It was as Deus had said. Pain allowed you to know you were alive. It was proof of one\'s living. In a twisted way, inflicting pain on another, to cut them, to draw their blood… it was a way of giving them worth. Done without anger and hatred, only with desire and need… it was the proof Phoenix sought.

The sudden touch of blood-slicked flingers against his burning member jolted Phoenix\'s from his red coloured thoughts. His whole body arched as Aether closed his fingers around its length and bent his lips to kiss tip. The fingers slid teasingly up and down, lubricated by the warm blood. Fingernails sometimes scraped against him, mimicking Aether\'s teeth.

Phoenix squirmed underneath Aether, hands digging into the unfeeling fur. The accumulating pressure in his groin was overwhelming, spreading out like wild fire to the very tips of his fingers. This was too intense. Each throb of his sex vibrated through his entire body, made known each and every cut inflicted by Aether. He wanted to sink his own teeth into Aether, to feel his skin, to taste his blood. The thought exploded in his mind as he felt his entire length slide down Aether\'s throat, its tightness and heat sending a mind numbing orgasm crashing through him. His seed spilled into Aether\'s awaiting mouth, the god having pulled back to taste the boy\'s essence. His tongue caressed the tip, licking with slow laps the final drops from it.

Heavy breaths filled the momentary silence and stillness, Phoenix\'s body all too aware of Aether\'s mouth withdrawing from his throbbing member. He wanted to say something… to ask, do you really want me? But he already knew the answer, and his hands reached down slowly, wanting to push Aether away from him. Instead, they touched the God of Soul\'s face lightly, almost caressing, and drew Aether to lie over him once more.

Just once more. One last time… and he would be satisfied.

Darkened amethyst eyes stared down into his blood red ones, bitterness and regret swirling just underneath their twilight beauty. It seemed a dream, the way the boy\'s hand moved behind his head and pulled him down towards his swollen lips. The hand that sought his out and guided him down between Phoenix\'s legs, inviting him to touch, to enter, to become one…

\'I\'m offering myself to you,\' Phoenix\'s body seemed to say. \'You want it, don\'t you? Because it makes me yours when you take me. My passion, my fire, my will to live. So take me. Want me. I want you to want me. To need me.\'

Aether closed his eyes and surrendered.

Hands moved and intertwined, blood-smeared skin kissed and touched. Moving inside of that boy, feeling the throb of his heart echo throughout his being… the heart that would never stop beating, that would never give up or surrender. It was ecstasy, this, to be so embraced by that which you lacked and forever searched for, desired. It was be fine, to be lost in this… because this was what he wanted.

The boy underneath the God arched and offered his already bleeding neck to hungry lips, feeling the deep driving force within his body. And Aether… Aether, whose whole body trembled just a little, a ripple along his supple skin and lips as he moved in and out of him… he truly wanted him. A contented smile tugged on Phoenix\'s lips, and he pushed up against Aether again, inviting him all the more. He had won. He had won, and the God of Soul had lost. And that was all that mattered.

With a final thrust, Aether\'s essence ejaculated into Phoenix\'s receiving body, his teeth biting down hard onto the boy\'s molested neck and drawing fresh blood. The sensation of Aether\'s seed coursing into his body, along with the sudden burst of pain, pushed Phoenix over the edge, and his own semen spilled between them, mixing with the blood and sweat that smeared their chests and stomachs.

The waves of pleasure rolling through both God and Child had barely subsided when Aether\'s body suddenly tightened, arching as if caught in the throes of a heart-wrenching pain. The sound of wet ripping wrought through the air, and with wide disbelieving eyes, Phoenix watched as two magnificent and blood-soaked black wings rose from Aether\'s back. They flung themselves out to their full wingspan, sending a rain of hot red blood to splatter warm and wet over Phoenix\'s face and limbs.

Wide eyed and shocked, Phoenix didn\'t move an inch aside from the rise and fall of his breath when Aether collapsed back on top of him, burying his face in the boy\'s neck. The black feathered wings, still wet with warm blood settled behind him, covering their two naked forms. For a long eternal moment, the Child and God laid there, feeling the their hearts beat against each other. Then a violent chuckle moved through Aether, and the God with his bloody black wings lifted himself slightly to stare down at Phoenix.

\"Are you happy now, my Phoenix?\" Aether asked, his voice tight and underlined with bitter laughter. His violet eyes glistened with unshed tears brought on by pain and helplessness. \"Is this enough proof for you, Child of Fire?\"

Phoenix didn\'t reply. He couldn\'t take his gaze off Aether\'s tear-filled eyes, nor stop seeing the eruption of the black wings from the God\'s perfect body.

\"Do you know what it means, to coax forth my wings like this? These wings which only come forth when I command them to… or when I lose control? Are you happy and content, that you were able to make them appear when no one else who I have slept with in my entire existence has been able to do so?\" How on the verge of losing control Aether was. His voice trembled as did his entire body.

\"Die, Phoenix,\" Aether whispered, bowing his head and breaking the trace-like gaze. \"Please die…\" Two teardrops fell from Aether\'s eyes, one after the other onto Phoenix\'s cheeks. They stayed a moment before running down the sides of his face with a gentle sorrowful caress.

\"It\'s unbefitting,\" Phoenix found himself saying in a near silent whisper, \"for the God of Soul to cry… especially over one who he has always ignored until now.\" The boy\'s hand lifted, fingers running down the side of Aether\'s face. \"If you want me to die, why don\'t you kill me now?\"

\"I can not. You are the Property of Heaven. I have no right to kill you. And… any soul\'s whose life I take with my hands will simply be wiped from existence,\" Aether answered, defeat woven into his voice. \"That is something I will never do… because I want you to exist, always, together with me.\"

\"Silly Aether,\" Phoenix whispered, letting his hand drop back to the bloodied fur and tilting his head back to stare at the far away ceiling. \"Didn\'t I promise you? I will never die.\" His voice was almost soothing, soft, as if he meant to comfort Aether\'s tortured soul. \"Besides, if I died, if I was defeated, you wouldn\'t want me,\" the boy continued, a hint of anger and bitterness seeping into his voice. \"It\'s my will to live and my life that you want and need. My soul is meaningless to you if I died, and you know i


In a sudden fluid movement, the boy shoved the God of Soul off him, forcing his exhausted and pain riddled body to stand. \"So if you want me…\" Phoenix concluded, his voice now hard and cold, \"if you truly fucking want and need me, find another way.\"

Find another way.

The words clenched Aether\'s heart as his body slowly drew itself up into a kneeling form, subconsciously reclaiming his natural grace.

Does that mean I can have you, that you would accept me, if I am able to grasp your heart and soul in my arms without killing you? Are you telling me to sell half my soul for you?

\"I have what I came for,\" Phoenix suddenly announced to Aether\'s still and staring form as he pulled his clothing back over his defiled body. \"I know, as long as I live, you will want and need me. I needed to know that. Needed to be needed. Wanted to be wanted. But I do not need or want you.

\"I promise you this, Aether, my Lord and God. I will never die, for you, or for anyone else. I will always hate you for your treatment of me, and I will always defy you. I will never be yours.

\"I hope you enjoyed my body tonight, Aether, for the brief time you thought you possessed me completely. Because I will never give myself willingly to you again.\"

There was no malice in the softly closing door. It wasn\'t a huge wall wrecking bang, but perhaps it was worse than that, the gentle and final click as they closed and sealed the view of Phoenix from Aether\'s blurred vision.

Nothing now. Not even the crackle of flames in the fireplace. The embers too would not keep hispanypany. They chose to fade into darkness rather than warm his now shivering skin. Another two drops ran down Aether\'s cheeks and fell through the air, this time to splatter against the skin of his thighs.

His eyes looked down, staring for the longest time at the two miserable drops so faintly reflecting the moonlight.

\"These… are selfish tears…\"

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