To break or not to break

As it says in the summary this is a collaboration done between my friend, Fuu, and myself. We have been roleplaying for a while and after going through my hard drive and finding all these things we\'ve done together I thought, why not share them with the rest of us yaoi lovers?

Fuu is the creator of Taithos and the house Malefactum and all thanks and praise go to him for thinking up this little plot bunny.
Antioche and Darsh are mine all mine and their sadism and angst respectively is thanks to many nights of binge drinking pop and chowing down on nothing but cookies.

Warnings: BDSM, yaoi and all that other good stuff. Plenty of angst on the part of Darsh and even a walloping load from Taithos so if you\'re looking for WAFF you\'re in the wrong place. This was done up a bit hastily to post here so if there are typos please excuse me, I\'m new to posting here and I hope that I can give you all what you need.

Disclaimers: None needed I think though we do mention the Underdark a few times which is property of TSR *shrugs* Just want to cover all my bases so that this doesn\'t get ripped down from the site.


Silence. Absolute silence - not the shouting or reprimanding of some novice or the sharp crack of a whip against bared flesh but the pure, unadultered bliss of silence. It was frighteningly uncommon in the Malefactum house but with their recent victory over one of the much smaller clans they\'d gained a good deal of favor with the spider queen and were holed up in an entirely different building for the day for a feast befitting such a conquest. They\'d be returning soon but until then the pleasure of quiet could be enjoyed for the few left behind.

One such resident was a small boy. Small by human standards, of course, but measuring in age of at least 19. Standing just above five feet tall, while the house was not the most lavish in the underdark it could still afford to adorn it\'s nobles and their offspring with the finest silks and trinkets. Groomed white hair braided and held back with a shining metal clasp, the boy was obviously not a student of any weaponmaster or sage as he was quite frail in appearance and nature.

Dark, black skin interuppted by the occasional glittering bracelet or charm, red eyes that were so characteristic of his race blinked in wake of a lit candle. It was so curious, infact, that he\'d wandered across the hall to better inspect the new source of light. Staring directly into the flames was a terrible idea!

Partially blinded and easily distracted, Taithos straightened the silk tunic that hung so loosely from his frame and stumbled down the hallway to the guest rooms - rubbing furiously at his eyes with the heels of his palms. Bloody candle. It wasn\'t his intention to stumble into an open doorway but it just sort of happened.
It was a good thing the Malefactum house did not trust this boy with defending anything dear to them. While he wasn\'t graceless he\'d sooner trip and fall on his own sword than strike a hit on any trained assasin.

Antioche glanced over at the intruder in his new room. How interesting. He glanced at the boy\'s clothes and could easily decude that he was not a slave of some sort, althought the women in this new society did seem hell bent on bending the men to their whims. Well maybe not so much whims as demands. It was a bit intimidating, but as a dark mage he was seen as someone invaluable, or so he thought because he was not in chains or dead yet, despite the fact that he came from the overworld.

The finely dressed magic user crossed the room, using his oaken staff as a walking stick, even though he didn\'t need to. It was more for show than anything, even while casting spells. His dress robes skimmed the floor, the silver threading sparkling slightly from what little light he\'d aquired in the underdark. Traced all through his robes were arcane runes of protection, but the drow here didn\'t seem to know that.

\"May I help you little one?\" The flaxen haired overdweller asked softly, his yellow eyes gleaming in mischieviousness.

Magic-users were oh so important to the establishment of a strong household so it was no suprise that this man was here. Taithos was no less confused by the light-skinned man, brows furrowing in his distress. Had he stared so closely at the candle that it had messed with his vision and everything was now inverted?

With an overactive imagination he squinted and, finding that this did nothing to darken the man\'s skin, glanced over his shoulder for a sister or matron. Was this a test he\'d not studied for?

\"Hello.\" The boy frowned, pupils shrinking in the wake of the lighted room. To have given the man any sort of light was more than generous considering the drow\'s normal heart for hospitality. Which normally consisted of a night full of a fun trip to the dryders.

\"Shouldn\'t you be at the feast?\" Ignoring the man\'s question for now and trying to appear as if he were not phased by the sight of something so unfamiliar, Taithos stood tall with one hand on his hip - fingers brushing against the decorated hilt of a dagger. Why oh why did they give him that damn thing?

Antioche\'s eyes widened slightly and he lifted his staff, darting toward the boy quickly. He had been too careless with his underdwelling brethren. They\'d seen fit to send an assassin for him so soon? It didn\'t make sense given that he hadn\'t supplied them with the information that they needed yet, but you couldn\'t put anything past a Drow.

The finely curved top of his staff morphed as it closed in on the boy and the wood turned to sharp metal, a scythe of some sort that he often used when sacraficing chickens. He shoved the point under the young prince\'s throat, a ball of dark energy massing in his free hand.

\"No, I should be here, resting from my journey.\" Antioche responded rather coldly.

Taithos hadn\'t found anything outwardly agressive in his gesture but it was understandable how any slight move from a drow could be misinterpreted. The boy had been afraid and it was a conditioned response - honest!

He choked and raised his head immediately as if he wanted to move away from the newly formed metal, slender fingers raising to push the sharp edge away. This split the thin flesh but with little more than a wince the boy refused to move his hands from protecting his neck, cheeks flushed a slightly darker hue in his panic.

\"Vel\'bol?!\" The boy hissed, common tongue a bit too complicated for such a frightened thing. \"Are all your greetings this friendly?\"

The mage had expected more of a fight from the \'assassin\' and he pulled his staff back slightly, his magic diminishing as he relied solely on his weapon of choice. The scythe didnt\' change back to it\'s natural form as he stared down at the youth. He was rather shrimpy... Perhaps all the better to sneak up on your adversaries?

\"Vel\'bol?\" Antioche repeated, the word rolling off his tongue easily.

He\'d gotten used to speaking incantations and learning new tongues as he traveled so immitating an accent was easy to him. It was the actual understanding that took some practice.

\"Who are you?\" The mage frowned, \"I\'m busy getting ready for tomorrow.\"

An assassin would need the strength and agility to execute a successful strike - neither of which were qualities that Taithos posessed. So Antioche was safe from the boy unless he should want something really complicated. Like an explaination for why he was wandering outside of his chambers this late at night.

\"Taithos Malefactum, second prince of the house Malefactum..\" He trailed off with a bored look. There was obviously a lot more to the title than the boy wanted to speak aloud. It was a long an needless rambling of numbers, successors and rank when all that had really been asked was his name. The position of \'prince\' was essentially worthless as it was filled by a male and thus of no merit.

His fingers hurt now and bled all over the pristene white cuffs of his shirt - something he\'d no doubt be yelled at for later.

\"Vel\'bol means \'what\'.\" He mumbled as an afterthought, looking thoroughly displeased.

Antioche was getting the distinct impression that even though the boy had to have been beaten often, he was rather a spoiled brat around outsiders. Perhaps too dependant on his title, however meaningless, to care what others thought of how he acted. The mage stepped forward and let his staff revert to it\'s slightly less harmful form, hooking behind the boy\'s back to keep him from turning and walking away.

\"Despite the fact that this is your home little prince, I care for my privacy. Your matron assured me hospitality befitting of my status as a grand mage.\" Antioche spoke softly, his voice ice, carrying through the barely decorated room. \"So unless you\'ve come here to sate me or to assist me in my craft then I suggest that you leave now.\"

Taithos wasn\'t spoiled! He was just.. rudely inquisitive at times. Happy that the blade had been removed from his neck, the drow suckled at a few injured fingertips with the upmost care, plump lips wrapping around the tender cuts in an almost obscene gesture.

\"I am not little.\" He pouted, wondering why he was so flustered by the man and why he wouldn\'t just submit and apologize. Well. He did mumble a quiet \'sorry\' for disturbing his peace but it was slurred around his fingers. He wasn\'t seriously expecting an apology in return but he\'d refused to leave on whatever silly principles younger boys held so dear. Plus he was just hard-headed.

....

What was that about sating him?

Antioche didn\'t appear at all amused by Taithos\' attitude, however one might explain it away. The man glared and moved the staff smoothly so it crossed up to the boy\'s shoulders. The little display with his fingers made him wonder if the youth was only teasing him and was actually there to satisfy him. He\'d heard nothing at all about Drow mating habits so he was rather at a loss.

\"You are so little, you\'re at least a foot smaller than I am\" He smirked slightly as he spoke and he watched the boy\'s lips like they would reveal a secret. No apology came from him, but he did continue. \"Now then, why are you here?\"

Had the drow thought on it more he would have realized how terrible it was for him to be sucking his fingers in the face of a stranger but he was the oblivious sort and found nothing wrong with it at the time.

The comment about his height flustered the boy and he huffed, cheeks flaring to a bright pink color in his embarassment.

\"I am not little!\" He repeated - sulking. He\'d not repeat any such muttered apologies after that! Not willingly, atleast. \"I don\'t know!\" Tiathos huffed, arms crossed over his chest in his frustration. \"There was too much light and I got confused.. Now could you lower your staff?\"

Antioche smiled slightly at the response he received, rather amused by the blush that was spreading on the youth\'s cheeks. It was endearing... too bad that he was a Drow and thus they couldn\'t be together or he might try to woo the youth to stay with him. There were spells that could be used if the boy was so inclined... But that wasn\'t to be. He shook his head slightly and lowered his staff as he returned to a waist high table that had his various herbs and spell runes etched on smooth rocks spread out across it.

He gently arranged the runes in a triangular form, glancing at the boy over his shoulder.

\"So then my next question would be... why are you still here little prince?\"

It would surprise him if his parents were to lower him to the level of a whore just to get a valued mage to stay. With an absent shake of his head to clear his mind of such thoughts, he gave a quiet sigh as Antioche stepped away - relieved that he was no longer at the end of that naughty staff.

\"I..\" He was still standing there, wasn\'t he? He would have given some smart ass answer but a sharp tongue just got him at the business end of a leather whip so he had to choose his words carefully. Taithos didn\'t want to up and leave now! He\'d be all alone again.

\"I\'m supposed to be hospitable to our guests?\" Which meant being good company, right?

The mage stepped back from the table, showing his runes if the youth cared to look. The stones appeared to be glowing but it was with a darkness, rather than like the few candles that he had set up around his room. It was dimly lit and he was trying to find another way to see in the dark. The long tower type thing that marked the hours outside didn\'t work well for him because it wasn\'t quite enough and he hoped that he might become used to it as he spent more time in the underworld. He didn\'t expect to spend a lot of time there, but if worse came to worse then he could get used to it.

\"Hospitable? and how precisely can you do that for me?\"

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Author notes: (well at least one of us) I\'m not sure that Fuu was taking me seriously when I told him that I was going to post this here so please leave a review and let us know what you think. There\'s currently many chapters of this written so if you\'d like more then you\'ll need to leave a note to let us know that you like it so we\'ll know to put more up ^_~