cookierainkingdom - Tumblr blog

cookierainkingdom · 11 days ago

Text

Home

Context: The Ancients won... But the Beasts are still immortal. Each Ancient tried to take on their respective Beast as their responsibility, however after far too long trying with their own equals/'soul-mates' they try instead to work with one-anothers' Beasts. Cacao seemed the most capable of handling Spice; after all, the king is very experienced when it comes to fighting monsters, and what is a Beast but another monster? Warnings: Violent combat that results in what should be fatal wounds. Also swearing.

Cacao was troubled. It was difficult to maintain his routine with his 'guest' making such a fuss; but he supposed it was about lunch time, and he really should ask if Spice was hungry.

The king strode to the armoury, untying the ring of keys from his belt as he approached the tall reinforced doors. Those alone would not stop the Beast, he knew - but the doors did well to keep anyone from foolishly entering Spice' sphere of 'influence'. Clik-clunk. Cacao pulled the doors open, letting thin grey light from the hall illuminate the ashes that still hung in the air. Spice was a rather complicated guest to house. He destroyed the first room Cacao tried to give him, and even after he was moved to the emptied armoury (to keep him separate from the barracks) he'd continued to incinerate any furniture he was given. The armoury walls had been dark to begin with, but they were now blackened and matte-dark with the fury of Spice' flames.

Spice had heard the door, and stood in the middle of the room to face the king as he entered.

"Burnt through another muzzle?" The king remarked, closing the doors behind him to shut himself in with the monster, "That one was metal---"

"Metal melts."

Cacao cocked a brow, wondering what exactly the melting point had been. He moved to stand opposite to Spice, unwilling to shy away or concede space to The Destoyer.

"Are you hungry?"

"Not for the pig slop you and your pets eat." Spice sneered, "It's bland."

"It's nutritionally balanced and affordable for feeding an army---"

"Even your defence of it dares not mention its' taste."

Cacao sighed patiently, "It's not for long. You can go home soon."

"That gaudy abomination is no home of mine." Spice huffed, gripping the chains that kept him where he couldn't harm anyone. He flicked the length of chain to unkink its' length and allow him the space to pace. The links clattered terribly in the large empty space, and Cacao was certain Spice was aware how grating the noise was, and used it to antagonise him. "Right." Cacao swallowed down his irritation, "Well, you destroyed your temple."

"A temple is no home either. It is a place of worship."

"Then where is home to you?"

Spice rolled his eyes, ignoring the question.

"I can't send you somewhere to be happier if I don't know where to--"

Spice kicked up the chain, whipping it at Cacao. Thankfully, the black dragon, ever defensive, met the metal in the air and deflected it to keep the king safe. Spice cursed and spat, hurling insults at the dark coiling serpent. The king listened a while, hoping that Spice would get it out of his system and settle down. The Beast still smouldered, tension evident in his broad shoulders, but the insults slowed and soon fell silent as Spice turned his attention to the barred windows high overhead.

Cacao followed his gaze, "Assuming you scaled that wall and escaped, where would you go?"

Spice approached the wall, felt along the stonework a moment and then punched into it. Cacao wasn't sure if the crack he heard had been the stone, or Spice's knuckles.

"You don't have to break out, if you cooperate and answer me---"

"You bore me."

"What a surprise." Cacao replied sarcastically, briefly forgetting himself.

Spice hit the wall again, and this time there was the hiss of dust against the ground and several small rocks peppered the floor.

"Stop that."

"Fuck off."

Cacao took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly, "Don't make me shorten the chain."

Spice's eyes met Cacao's, holding the king's gaze a long moment. After a few seconds there was the unmistakable smell of iron, and Cacao registered the faint glow in Spice's claws. The chain---

"Metal melts."

The king drew his sword in time to meet The Destroyer's swinging fist, planting his feet to hold his ground as Spice unleashed hell upon him. He could not allow Spice to continue - once the Beast began his temper only ramped up as his bloodlust turned to an unstoppable inferno. Cacao deflected another blow with the flat of his blade, sidestepped the next and brought his sword down on Spice. It met the Beasts' shoulder, lodging itself deep in Spice's collar bone. The king grimaced and back-stepped away from the next attempt on his life, leaving his trusty blade embedded in the raging Spice.

"You've made your point." Cacao chided.

"You are INSUFFERABLY condescending for someone so stupid."

Without his sword Cacao was forced to be entirely defensive, keeping out of Spice's reach while trying to reacquire his sword. Frustratingly, Spice made no attempt to remove the blade from himself, which made recovering it more complicated.

"Then educate me. I cannot learn if you will not speak with me."

"I've no reason to assume you would learn regardless." Spice spat, finally pulling the sword out and inspecting it, "This is garbage."

"It still cut you, didn't it?"

"You should have taken my head." Spice gripped the blade in both hands, and Cacao raised his hand in a silent plea as Spice began to bend the sword.

"Don't." Cacao warned.

"Stop me."

Cacao brought his fists up to protect himself with his gauntlets as he stepped forward. Spice threw the sword behind himself and it clattered away into the ashes and darkness at the back of the room. The Destroyer mirrored the king's stance, in his own way. His form was looser, less rigid. He wasn't defending the same way.

Cacao frowned over his gauntlets, "This is pointless."

"Everything is." Spice retorted, stepping into Cacao's personal space and taking another swing. Cacao dipped beneath it… and Spices' knee came up to crack him in the face.

The king stumbled back to shake the stars from his vision and to be out of range while he recovered, but he heard Spice' feet as he rushed Cacao so he braced in time to be struck by the Beasts' tackle. Cacao's armour made a terrible cacophony as he fell with Spice atop him, and even as they fell Spice pummelled him, boxing him about the head with unrelenting force and a wicked grin.

Cacao's hands were still raised, so he managed to keep Spice from striking his face directly, but this was far from optimal. The king was not above hitting below the belt, however.

Spice rarely showed signs of pain, but any man would grimace at how hard Cacao kneed him and where. In the split second Spice's attack was interrupted the king tucked both knees to himself and kicked Spice away with as much force as he could muster.

Spice rolled away, rubbing at the ache between his legs before he fixed Cacao with his smirk once more and prepared to pounce.

Cacao had to roll further away before he knew he'd have the space to stand again, he had to maintain some distance, "Stop this! I am TRYING to help you."

"No, you're trying to feel better about caging me. Trying to tell yourself you're reasonable, righteous…"

Cacao didn't need Spice to believe him in this moment, but as Spice argued he wasn't focused on attacking, giving Cacao the opportunity to stand back up.

Spice snarled as the king dared to glance past him, trying to spot his sword, "OH I SEE, it's not even that. Just another pathetic little man clinging too tightly to his possessions."

Cacao's brow furrowed as Spice stood, blocking his view of wherever the blade had fallen, "You're attacking me."

"I don't have my axe, coward!"

Cacao considered this, "If you just want to spar---"

"I want to destroy. To rip and tear and break and END."

Cacao brought his fists up once more, "You will not destroy me."

Spice bellowed angrily and rushed Cacao and Cacao side-stepped him like a raging bull, bringing his heel down on the back of Spice's leg to try to disable him, if only long enough to retrieve the sword--- Spice, however, had an impressive wingspan and a MEAN backhand. The Beast caught Cacao by surprise, and struck his face directly. Cacao cried out and clutched his face, his gauntlet bloody red even to his blurred vision. It was not the only red in sight. Spice stood shakily, but he did not seem to care about whatever damage Cacao had managed to do to his leg. Still, Cacao knew his sword was now behind him, so he backed up toward where he thought it may be while keeping Spice in his line of sight.

Spice charged again, and Cacao focused on deflecting each blow, backing up with each new strike until his boot heel clicked neatly against something metal. In a flash he dropped out of the way of the flurry of attacks, snatching up his sword and bringing it up to cleave through the heavier mans' exposed stomach. This, finally, slowed Spice's aggression. The Beast clutched his gut, holding his insides inside and panting with the pain, not exertion.

"We don't have to do this." Cacao tried to regain his regal demeanour as his vision cleared enough to see the terrible damage he'd done to Spice. Damage that would by tomorrow be entirely healed.

"You're right! You could die. Or you could get out of my way." Spice grunted, retying the sash a little higher and tighter to keep his stomach together.

"That has to hurt."

"Everything hurts." Spice groaned, "This is not more than the background pain that has seeped into every corner of my miserable existence."

Cacao lowered his blade, but kept his grip firm on the hilt, "That is the first time I have heard you admit such."

"Perhaps you should try to be more entertaining, so I will be more invested in talking to you at all."

Cacao watched Spice do some very shoddy self-maintenance. Though, he supposed, with a recovery speed like that it didn't much matter, "… What would you prefer I speak of?" Spice looked at his hands, soaked with his own jam… His lungi was darkening, the red stain spreading quickly.

"… If you lay down, I will tend to that."

"I don't want you to."

"I'm better at it than you think---"

"I don't want to survive it."

There was a long and awkward pause… Cacao broke the silence first, "Right. You wanted to… Hm." Cacao was aware he was not going to hear the end of it from the other Ancients if the Beast did somehow manage to die in his care… So he approached Spice to mend him regardless.

Spice's claws swiped the air between them - slower than before. The damage was not entirely meaningless, then. "Don't." Spice warned.

"I do not wish to kill you."

"That's why I despise you." Spice grimaced as Cacao caught his wrist and twisted his arm to force the Beast into submission, "You want to play hero but you won't commit to what must be done."

Cacao pushed Spice to lay down as Spice snarled at him, "You do not have to die."

"You hold such contempt for death. Just like mortals always have…" Spice would not let Cacao see the gash that split him open, but he could not rise to his feet again, "Born, grow, wither… It is the births that are the most cruel."

Cacao listened patiently to the mans' rambling, "And why is that?"

"You can have a good death. You can lead a passable life. No one is born willingly. That's why the first thing infants do is scream… Likely thinking, 'Not this shit again. Not another damned cycle.'…"

Cacao did not share Spices' beliefs on reincarnation, but humouring him kept him from flailing too violently, "I don't think babies have such complex thoughts so early."

The pool spreading beneath Spice was inky-dark, "You don't know though, do you?" Cacao pulled the sticky sash away from the slash in Spice's stomach. It was deep. If it had been almost anyone else Cacao would be confused how Spice was still alive, let alone speaking. "Babies cry because the most important thing a vulnerable sapient social species can do is call for help."

"What do you imagine they want help from?"

"I'm sure they're merely confused."

"Your certainty is misplaced."

Cacao kneeled beside Spice, trying to work out how to stitch The Destroyer together enough to stop him drowning the palace in his gore. He decided to change the subject, "You were more agitated today."

"You pissed me off."

"I wanted to know if you were hungry, and then I asked about---" Cacao paused, "Your home?"

Spice winced, confirming to Cacao that yes, that had been the trigger. "… Why are you so desperate to avoid the subject of your home?" Cacao asked, his voice soft and confused.

Spice looked far more tired than Cacao had ever seen as he met the kings' eyes, "Every home I have ever had is gone. That is the nature of change…"

"Why did you destroy---"

"That was my charge. My yoke." Red smeared at the corners of Spices' mouth as he spoke.

"You didn't have to destroy your home."

"Ah yes, because the Witches are so forgiving to Beasts who eschew their roles…"

Cacao wasn't sure what to say to that, "… What were your homes like?"

"This is not a deathbed confession, Your Majesty." Spice spat the title with sarcastic bitterness, "I will survive this too, whether I want to or not."

"I bore you. So, instead of me speaking to you, how about you speak with me?" Cacao countered.

Spice rolled his eyes, "A bit late for therapy, and you appear under-qualified."

"All I need do is listen… I can do that while I stitch you back together."

Spice' frustration caused his eyes to dampen his lashes. Unable to enact his rage, his emotional outburst could only heat his eyes and tighten his throat. He wouldn't cry, not outright, but the pain had to go somewhere.

"Spice?" "The first one was…" Spice squeezed his eyes shut to shake away the forming tears, speaking through bared teeth, "My first home was nothing special, really." he confessed, "But it was mine…"

Cacao could not help but hear a touch of Golden's possessiveness in Spices' softer tone, "A humble home for a 'god'?"

"I already had the temple for the rest of that shit…" Spice groaned as Cacao pushed the two halves of his stomach wound back together, "No one needs gold." Cacao nodded along. "What mattered was that we were together, free, comfortable…" It was clear that Spice was starting to drift off as the words tumbled from his gritted teeth.

"Who is 'we'?" Cacao asked. But Spice could no longer answer. Perhaps Cacao could ask again, when Spice awoke the next day. In the meantime, he needed far stronger chains.

#my writing #fanon #fanon spice #fanon cacao #long post #ask to tag #self reblog

13 notes · View notes