#MARLOWE┊detestable taint of death

[voicilasirene]

❛ if i didn't know any better, i'd say you were jealous. ❜ — MARLOWE

Anouk rolled her eyes, waving off the comment with a swipe of her hand. Earlier she had sharpened her claws on bits of coral and the dust that lingered shimmered with the action as it hit a beam of sunlight that had pierced through the water. She really ought to have ignored him altogether. Marlowe wasn't worth a millisecond of her time and yet it was quite delightful to test the edge of her words against his frail ego to ensure they were as sharp as her claws.

"Of your standing with Ianthe? Oh, please!" She scoffed, "Anyone with any bit of sense at all would know better than to envy that. Not to speak ill of her, of course, I have nothing against Ianthe. But to be in a place of power? What a horrid burden! The constant stress of knowing that you have an unknowable amount of enemies just waiting to strike? Duress is so bad for the skin....I can hardly imagine an existence more wretched." She paused to look Marlowe over pointedly and frowned, "Well — perhaps I can imagine one actually."

"Regardless, to be a part of that inner circle, well, you've only traded one death sentence for another; albeit, a slightly lengthier and less predictable one. Hardly something to envy from my vantage."

@lowetyde

[dirtyfilthy]

You know I hate, detest, and can't bear a lie, not because I am straighter than the rest of us, but simply because it appalls me. There is a taint of death, a flavour of mortality in lies - which is exactly what I hate and detest in the world - what I want to forget. It makes me miserable and sick, like biting something rotten would do.

Charles Marlow, “The Heart Of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad. God I love this book, I am reading it for perhaps the tenth time.

[voicilasirene]

Marlowe’s verbal barbs missed their mark, leaving her unaffected and clearly unimpressed. Or perhaps they had landed a blow, as the bite in his tone lured in her in by making Anouk feel more invested in continuing her critical observations of the wounded mer instead of leaving him to bleed in desolation. 

“Well, feigning innocence is my calling card,” She countered and smiled prettily, accompanied by the shrug of one shoulder and a flick of her tail cutting through the water.

“Oh, how cute! We both know you should be grateful that I deigned to acknowledge you at all. But to pretend it’s irritating — malin!” Anouk drifted a bit closer, casting a considering look Marlowe’s way before asking, “Or have you actually convinced yourself that you really do prefer the solitude — barring Ianthe, of course; as if it’s a personal choice and not merely your lot in life?” She gave a shake of her head and let out a soft laugh, “No, of course not. Your defense mechanisms would never be capable of such a thing. My mistake.”

@lowetyde​​ | cont’d from here.

[voicilasirene]

“I thought you liked games.” ( marlowe )

"Oh, I do," Anouk assured in a sweet, agreeable tone before going on to clarify that, "I even enjoy going against a far inferior opponent; however, at least with the mortals, I get a meal out of it."

"You, on the other hand," Anouk offered him a smile, condescending and full of sharp teeth, "Have nothing at all to offer me." A flick of her blue tail sent droplets of water flying out to emphasis her words and express the boredom this conversation was inflicting upon her, the pink color-shift of her scales catching in the sunlight.

"You're no good to anyone, Marlowe. Now stop wasting my time." A clear dismissal, further exaggerated by her swishing turn in the water so that her back was presented to him. Had Anouk at all perceived him to be a threat, she would never have turned away. It put her in what could have been a vulnerable position, but without Ianthe around to fight Marlowe's battles — who was someone like him to her?

@lowetyde