“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 gremlins 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.
Lucrèce watched in disbelief as Alcides took the pastry, and then just…sat with it. He supposed he should have expected nothing less, particularly when Rafael returned with an empty tray. They were all messing with him. Rafael included. He clenched his jaw, shooting a narrow glare at Rafael, then to Alcides and the pastry in his hand. What kind of sick game was this? He hardly believed this was happening at all. This was a prank from his brothers, obviously. With that sudden realization, he let out a sputtering, albeit weak laugh. “This…this is just hilarious, you all. You got me. Tell Laurent I fell for it. He can have his damn bragging rights.” Maybe it was blind, desperate hope, or else he was just succumbing to his injuries.
(Lmaooo “What kind of sick game was this?” kinda fits)
(XD)
(The gremlins are so fun)
Alcides let his eyes slowly travel from Marian as Lucrèce spoke, looking at the man.
"Who?" He asked, chuckling some himself.
"Aw, it's delusional," Marian said with a pout. "You hit it too hard, Alcides, don't tell me it's broke." Alcides rolled his eyes, looking back at his friend.
"It's denial, Marian. It'll get over it eventually." Rafael didn't react to Lucrèce's glare, eyes on the tray. He'd just done as he was told, he wasn't the one denying the other food.
(Yess I love it lolol)
Lucrèce blinked. The so-certain smug expression on his face slowly began to dissipate as he realized his captors truly weren’t in cahoots with some trick of his brothers’. “Laur-Laurent,” he stammered. “He put you up to this, right?” He furrowed his brow as the dread came back, nestling like a serpent in his gut. His bottom lip caught between his teeth anxiously, and he chewed at it while he had to process everything all over again. Marian was right, and so was Alcides in a sense. His head had been hit too hard to think clearly, and he was in denial all the same.
"Never heard of them," Alcides said, looking away. "If anything, Luca did. He's the one who paid his debt with you." The man chuckled again, setting the pastry on the end of his chair arm.
"Sit down, won't you? You're not in any condition to be standing there in defiance." The man still didn't eat the pastry, but it was there, taunting.
"Hell, I'll even let you have this if you can manage to get back over here." The man smirked as he spoke, not saying a key part of what he was doing out loud. Lucrèce could find out the hard way.
The offer was tempting, he had to admit. Lucrèce mulled over the thought for a handful of moments, staring at the pastry on the armrest. He made his decision at the same time as vowing never to visit Luca’s bookstore again. That might have been a given, whether he ever escaped from his predicament or not. He stayed against the wall as he slid back to Alcides’ chair. The last thing he wanted was go anywhere near the man again, but at the moment the promise of food was far more desirable.
At last he reached the point where he was before. Lips pursed, as he reached for the pastry again.
"Aren't you even going to say please?" Alcides chided. He picked the pastry up once more as Lucrèce's reached for it, holding it just out of the man's reach from where he was. Marian giggled some as she and the others watched. Would Lucrèce swallow his pride for the food?
The gleam in Alcides's eyes made it quite clear- if Lucrèce didn't, he wouldn't be eating anything that day.
Lucrèce’s lips dropped more into a frown than it already was. His nostrils flared with controlled anger. It was just a word, one he’d used plenty of times in the context of polite dining and house gatherings. Then again, never in this context. It was just a word. So after a long moment of tense silence, he finally spoke. “If you…please.” It took all of his effort not to snarl.
Alcides seemed to genuinely be considering not giving the pastry to Lucrèce, but after a moment he smirked and handed it over.
"See, that wasn't so hard," he said, a deep chuckle escaping his lips. "You'll have to get much, much more broken into this, it seems." Marian laughed lightly, drawing Alcides's attention back to her.
"As if you have any problem with that," she teased.
Lucrèce took the pastry into his hand and did his best to ignore the two’s jeering as he slid down the wall. Mindlessly staring forward as he took bites, one by one, savoring the taste. It wasn’t as good as his favorite breakfast from home, but it was food, and that was enough for now. He didn’t want to draw their attention back to him. If he did, who knows what his captors could have in mind next. As such, he had no intention of finding out.
Alcides and his friends ended up ignoring Lucrèce once again, their talk going from Lucrèce to the slave trade in general.
"Any news on the shipments?" Alcides asked, looking to Marian.
"No, actually," she said, shaking her head. "None since we last spoke." Alcides had to keep the frown from his lips, his smirk just curling down instead.
"We need another way to secure our goods, then. It won't be able to get here in time, and we have many people who are waiting for their goods already. We're lucky they aren't picky."
Lucrèce was about to ask what Alcides meant by what he said when he reminded himself that captors likely wouldn’t even bother sparing him another glance, let alone get an informative answer. Whatever it was they were talking about he figured it was illegal. Likely some sort of slave trade, he supposed, considering his current position. And Rafael. He doubted these people were law-abiding, tax-paying citizens. In the absence of a napkin, Lucrèce used the side of his hand to wipe away the stray crumbs from his mouth once he’d finished eating. It didn’t satisfy all his hunger, but at least he had more energy to stand up for himself for whatever Alcides planned next.
Alcides tapped his finger lightly against his armrest, Rafael leaving the room at the cue. He came back with a new tray of food, standing at the ready again. The man of the house shook his head some, letting out a long breath as he held his pipe in his teeth.
"None of this is going to be good for us if we don't solve this quickly. Any word from Daren?"
"No, none. We fear he was caught." Alcides did scowl at that.
"He always was a cocky bastard," he growled, the muscle in his jaw twitching some.
Lucrèce stated idly at the ground, but not after curiously glancing at what Rafael had on the tray. He wasn’t in the mood for anything else. Not at the moment, though there was no doubt he was be hungry again soon. He distracted himself with his captors’ conversation since there was obviously nothing left to do. No way to escape. No way to walk around the room, or look for his clothes, and especially not join in on the discussion. He didn’t want to anyway, thinking that if he did manage to think up something to say, he might be ill.
Alcides's and his friends talked for some time after that, things of no importance. They had let the subject drop when Marian noted how Alcides reacted to the mention of Daren and his possible situation. He seemed to calm after the subject change, falling into easy conversation and laughter at times. The subject of Lucrèce and slaves in general didn't come up again the entire night. Friends would leave occasionally, and by the time the sun was setting it was only Alcide's and Marian.
"Break it good, eh?" She said as she hugged Alcides in farewell, glancing at Lucrèce.
"But of course- I'd have it no other way!" Alcides laughed some as Marian walked away, standing in front of Lucrèce with his back to the naked man.
"Rafael," he said when it was just the three of them, "Go get some coverings for it. Can't have it freezing to death when it goes in it's cage."
