Arrangement Enciodes Silverash x Dr. Althea
; cw blood ; #perpetualmate
***
“That was unnecessary, my friend.”
“Better than acting too late,” Althea mutters, wiping her hand clean. “Their company will bite harder in the future if I let the new contract get through.”
She looks up at the mirror, her dull gray eyes gazing at the head of the Silverash house standing near the wall opposite the sink. The stern lines of his face are highlighted by the fluorescent light flickering from above them, the same light that causes Althea's iridescent hair to shimmer even after most of it has been splattered with blood and washed with water.
There’s no sound in that bathroom other than the two of them and the running water from the only functional sink, the building being abandoned as it is. Althea bathes her hair in the water again before turning off the sink until it creaks.
She’s grateful at the very least the light and the water aren't cut off yet so she can change her clothes and refresh herself. She looks down at the black ankle-length A-line dress and matching blazer, something similar to Enciodes’ casual wear. She told him to come and pick her up with clothes—any clothes—and to make sure neither Amiya nor Kal’tsit knew about it. However, she never thought he'd pick something that matched his. Oh well.
Althea turns away from the mirror and looks at Enciodes.
“I’m done,” she says. “We should go back.”
The man takes a few steps toward her. The clack of his shoes against the cracked marble floor is deafening.
“You missed a spot, Doctor.”
Enciodes leans forward and down slightly, caressing her cheek with his gloved fingers before wiping the blood staining the corner of her lips. The moment passes slowly as the nonexistent clock in the room ticks before the man speaks up, his voice low.
“My friend, if we ever become enemies, will you strike me down like that? Will you let your blood consume me until there is nothing left?”
Althea pauses for a second.
… was she too harsh out there? She made sure that the charlatan would still have a chance of survival, but hearing Enciodes asking something like this … makes her realize that the man must've seen something that worries him. She wonders what worries him.
“I don’t think you’ll just let me attack you, though,” she says, “and you're not the type to just go down like that. I know how you are in a battle.”
In her mind, for him to only lose a hand and around 30% of his blood wouldn't be a big deal. Someone will heal him and he'll stand back up before raising his blade again and finishing what started.
Enciodes responds with a ghost smile. “I see. Glad you see me the same way, my friend.” As he lifts her face with his thumb, their dull gray eyes and harsh expressions meet. Althea doesn’t say anything. “You are a worthy opponent.”
He closes their distance and plants a kiss on the Doctor's lips. The mix of his warmth and scent is a welcoming break from the tang of blood still in the air. Althea returns the kiss while grabbing his sleeve, and pulling him closer.
Enciodes peer into the woman’s eyes, searching for the sign of buried guilt she may have after the act she has just done. But all he finds are justifications rooted deep in forgotten memories and a silver-backed mirror gazing back into his soul.
He stops the kiss and licks the corner of her lips, his teeth lightly grazing her lips as he makes sure none of her blood still sticking there. The woman turns her head slightly in response before muttering a thank you and pulling away from him completely, still not breaking eye contact.
All this talk about what he’s worried about … Althea doesn’t even think what he fears will happen. She knows even when they become enemies, he wouldn’t do something as reckless as deceiving her just for a cut in a deal before throwing Rhodes Island to the authorities as a cover-up—it’s not a high enough stake for him. Not quite as high as destroying a train and its track for a grand plan to further your country's development.
And that's not something she can stop by pulling out her Arts.
“Now then, shall we depart?”
The feline speaks as he holds out his gloved right hand for the Doctor to accept. She puts her hand in his and marvels at how her hand fits perfectly in his.
After making sure they didn’t leave anything behind, Enciodes guides her, making sure they look natural. Just an ordinary couple who just came to the cinema around the corner. They stepped out of the bathroom in sleek, clean clothes into the busy street, leaving Althea’s old coat burned down into crisps in the dumpster and the barely alive company owner gasping for breath in the alleyway.
For today, they are partners, and partners support each other, no matter how much unknown there is still in each other's eyes.