Alcides let go of Lucrèce's head, leaning back in his chair again.
"I suppose I'll have to be more careful with its face, then," he noted, legs folding once more as he looked to his friend. She chuckled, rolling his eyes.
"If you do with it what I suspect you are, you will for sure." Alcides chuckled deeply as she spoke.
"You got me, you got me."
Rafael came back into the room as his master spoke, kneeling down by Lucrèce's side. He was silent as he began to wash the wound Alcides had left on his head from the mug, dabbing the blood away.
Lucrèce winced at the touch, the expectation of it urging more than it really did. He relaxed again once the initial pain subsided. Something natural, instinctual, had him tilting his head towards Rafael’s hand. Craning for gentle human interaction after a show of cruelty. He had a fleeting idea of what Alcides and his friend spoke about, but he deliberately chose to ignore it. He let his eyes close, and a low hum of appreciation to Rafael leave his chest.
Alcides's friend watched Lucrèce and Rafael interact, laughing softly.
"Aw, they seem to get along well at least. You'll have to keep an eye on them and make sure they don't try anything." Alcides looked down as his attention was brought to the situation, smirking some.
"Oh, I've made sure Rafael won't try anything, isn't that right?" Rafael didn't look up, pausing in his work to bow his head in a deep motion of submission. He continued then with working on Lucrèce's would, not looking at his face as he did.
(This is so fucked up I love it. Definitely stalking.)
(Eee it really is aha <3)
((welcome fellow stalker, it's very lovely here <3))
“That was uncalled for,” Lucrèce mumbled, but then again, why would he expect anything different? They all seemed to be brimming with uncalled for comments suited for any situation. Except for Rafael, of course, whose blind submission made him almost as angry as his captors did. He wondered again what must have happened to make Rafael what he was, and a wave of pity replaced whatever anger he felt for him. “It’s not like you’re the one wiping away my blood.”
Alcides looked down, smirking some.
"So, it's finally decided to talk," he said, shifting in his chair some. "It seems you and Rafael have more in common than I thought. It couldn't keep its mouth shut either, but that's not a problem now." Rafael had no response to all of this, keeping his eyes down still. Alcides's eyes narrowed some at Lucrèce's last comment, hand coming up to catch Rafael's wrist. The slave didn't fight the touch as Alcides took the rag from him, backing away with a bow of his head.
Lucrèce squinted at the wrist Alcides took in his hand—thankfully not his own. But he tended anyways seeing that the man took the rag. He wasn’t wanting Alcides to wipe his head instead, of course he misinterpreted the comment, or else he just didn’t care about Lucrèce wanted out of the situation. The latter option was more likely. He blinked his eyes a few several times hoping to rid the blurriness in his vision. He could hardly focus on anything let alone whatever the sadist Alcides had in mind. “That wasn’t an invitation. Don’t touch me.”
"You're not really in any sort of position to try to order me around, now, are you?" Alcides chuckled, turning in his chair to deal with Lucrèce. His touch was just as gentle as Rafael's when it came to tending to the wound, but that didn't mean it was as comforting in any way. This man was more than willing to hurt Lucrèce again if he deemed it necessary. He hummed some, tilting Lucrèce's head to face him with a finger to his chin.
"Now, I'd suggest behaving yourself, before I decide it won't be worth the effort to keep you pretty."
“How very thoughtful,” Lucrèce returned with a taut frown. He still forced his half-glazed-over sight to meet Alcides’ eyes whenever he looked at him. Defiant, desperate not to show any submission by looking away like Rafael did. He wasn’t like Rafael.
He hadn’t had much experience with being called attractive, particularly in such a context. It didn’t warm his heart any. Even if it wasn’t part of a back-handed compliment. He spent too much time indoors, steeled away in his room or tucked away in the corner of a shop—which was what got him into such a mess in the first place, he supposed.
Alcides chuckled once more. This entire situation had been so amusing to him, the entire time. He continued to clean Lucrèce up, humming some as he did.
"My, you really are willing to stoop to low levels to make your point, aren't you Alcides? Cleaning a slave up yourself- anyone else and I would be laughing." Alcides glanced over as he finished, letting the damp and bloodied cloth fall to Lucrèce's lap. If he wanted to try to cover himself up, he could use that.
"I do what I want, Marian," He said, legs folding as he leaned back into his chair.
Marian. So that was the woman’s name. He tucked away the information in his mind for later use, if he would even remember it, considering both head injuries. He squinted down at the cloth in his lap, frowning deeper at the feel of it against his skin. Of course he preferred modesty for pride’s sake, but a damp cloth stained with his own blood was not exactly what he had in mind. Ignoring the current subject of conversation between Marian and Alcides, he spoke up again. “Where are my clothes?”
Alcides didn't bother answering Lucrèce, ignoring him for the most part again as he picked up the conversation with Marin.
"It's like having a brand new Rafael," The woman noted, giggling some. "Does this mean you'll finally give it to me?" Alcides shook his head.
"How could I ever part ways with my favorite slave, hm?" He looked over to Rafael, motioning for him to come over. Rafael did, of course, one hand coming up to hold his chin.
"Besides, it's still quite lovely, I could never part with such good product for free." Rafael didn't meet Alcides's eyes, pliant as he was moved, head side to side as Alcides's examined him.
Lucrèce watched the scene from a side-glance, mindlessly biting at the inside of his cheek. Mostly he was glad the attention wasn’t so much on him anymore, despite not having his question answered. It did have its advantages, though. Such as giving him the slightest bit more freedom to examine the room, maybe even look around for any future advantages. He didn’t notice any right off. There were simply too many people in the room anyways.
In the end he resolved to just curl back against the wall, taking the moment to draw the least amount of attention to himself as possible. Let Rafael have it.
Alcides eventually let go of Rafael's chin, waving him off. The man bowed, retreating to his corner.
"And the price would be more than you could afford," he said in conclusion, looking to Marian. She just laughed some, hands folded in her lap.
"You underestimate the profits our little business venture has brought me as well. You're not the only one who's rich here, Alcides, even if we both don't show it." Alcides rolled his eyes, taking his pipe out of his mouth for a moment. Rafael left the room at what could be assumed was a cue, coming back with his tray full of food now. Alcides took some as Rafael made his rounds, glancing down at Lucrèce with his curling smirk.
Lucrèce eyed the food on the tray as it made its way around the room perched in Rafael’s hands. Having not eaten since the night before, his stomach still terribly ached, only slightly soothed by the water. Though he wasn’t entirely convinced that he wouldn’t vomit up anything he ate being so nauseous already. It didn’t hurt to admire the idea of eating, however, so he ignored Alcides’ glance and kept eyeing the tray. He would look where he wanted to look.
(Swim do you always play sadistic motherfuckers or is it just the most common type for you xmdnxnj)
(can confirm- they're my most common character aha)
(The rest are people who get hurt by the sadistic mofos)
This time, there was no calling Rafael over to get Lucrèce something. If he was so keen to speak, he could ask if he wanted something. Well, begging would be what worked, but Alcides did nothing but smirk as Lucrèce held his silence. He finished his food, pulling his pipe back in his mouth. Rafael stood in his corner with his food when he had made his rounds, only moving when someone motioned for more food. Alcides continued to chat with his friends, the naked man against the wall seemingly forgotten for idle chit chat.
Lucrèce stayed curled up against the wall for a long while, listening to the idle conversation. Eventually, though, he felt his head clear enough to think that he could stand. And so he tried. Rolling over to his side, leveraging himself up with his elbow on the wall, struggling until he finally made it to his feet. He swayed a bit in place while he waited for his head to stop spinning, then slowly started inching down the wall towards where Rafael stood in the corner. Face flushed with embarrassment. He knew his captors could see him, it was just a matter of not caring. That and hoping they didn’t pay enough attention to him to care either.
(I’m sorry Swim, I know the friends are causing a lot of problems.)
(I will be vigilant alongside you for your very serious rp.)
Alcides glanced over as he caught Lucrèce's attempts to stand out of the corner of his eye, holding back a chuckle for now. Marian paid no attention to the man obviously not trying to get to an exit, and it looked as if no one really cared what Lucrèce did at the moment. He was naked, wounded, and obviously embarrassed- he wasn't going to cause too much trouble.
Rafael glanced towards where Lucrèce was, then back down to his tray. He didn't acknowledge Lucrèce any more than that and a slight clench of his hands.
Lucrèce kept shuffling around the edge of the room, encouraged by the lack of attention. The lack of care on his captors’ part. That and the fact he wouldn’t even try to escape in his condition. He just wanted something to eat. He finally found his way to Rafael’s corner, shoulder leaning against the wall for support, while raised his bound hands to grab something that looked like some sort of pastry off the tray. He wasn’t sure what Rafael might do, but he hoped the man’s acquiescence applied to him too.
Rafael didn't do anything as Lucrèce reached for the pastry, since he had not been told to. It looked like Lucrèce would get to eat after all…
"Rafael," Alcides said, the man's attention turning to his master. He moved from his corner, ignoring Lucrèce and his outstretched hands. Alcides reached up when Rafael came to his side, taking the pastry that Lucrèce had been reaching for. He didn't even bother to eat it, just holding it as he talked. His friends followed suit, and by the time Rafael returned to his corner, nothing but crumbs were left.
