[hr][color=7845b8][sup][h1] [center][img]https://media.tenor.com/Z45kbjRlqQgAAAAC/twd-walkers.gif[/img][/center] [b][center][color=silver]π΅π“‡π‘œπ“‰π’½π‘’π“‡π“ˆ 𝒢𝓉 𝒲𝒢𝓇[/color][/center][/b] [/h1][/sup][/color][right][sub][color=gray]π₯𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐒𝐨𝐧. Acropolis 𝐒𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐒𝐨𝐧𝐬. Phobos | Eros 𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐒𝐨𝐧𝐬. Psyche, MelinoΓ«, Xōchi [/color][/sub][/right][hr] As the heady haze wore off, his hands dropped away from the Aztec goddess. Phobos felt all the control he had slipping away like water through outstretched fingers. Never, since the fall, had he been so unable to keep ahold of the fear that seeped from him. He found himself shaking with fury. A hand came up to brush his hair away from his face, he knew without looking that Mel had left. Ignoring Xōchi he turned to Eros, roughly taking ahold of the love gods arm. His fingers pressed into the skin hard enough to leave several bruises. [color=ff446E]"Pho, come on man. We were just--"[/color] Eros laughed nervously, a free hand rubbing his tender neck. His lips were stained red and every so often a droplet of blood fell to the floor, though neither of them noticed. [color=ff446E]"It was just a [i]joke[/i]."[/color] He couldn't help but roll his eyes, figuring that Phobos was just overreacting. What could ever be wrong with kissing? He hadn't gotten to kiss anyone for at least an hour. So unfair. [color=#9E1B31]"Shut up."[/color] Phobos growled as he pulled his brother outside, ignoring the others. The door slammed shut as the god forced Eros down the expansive set of steps, pushing him away when they met soft ground. Eros stumbled back, his face falling for a moment before his mask quickly slipped back into place. It would not do to appear [i]upset[/i]. This wasn't the first time someone had taken his work the wrong way. [color=ff446E]"Well if you must hit me, please avoid the face."[/color] He said sullenly, wiping some blood away with the back of his hand. [color=ff446E]"Unlike you, some of us actually care about our appearance. My clients would be so upset if they saw me with a black eye..."[/color] He grimaced at the thought of having to look so unkempt, if even for a day. The pain itself did not scare him, he was used to it now and he had to self-inflict it on a near daily basis if he wanted to tap into his powers. [color=#9E1B31]"I'm not going to hit you."[/color] Fear rolled his shoulders back, muscles tensing with the movement. Eros paused in a combination of confusion and relief. [color=ff446E]"...you're not?"[/color] He frowned, momentarily perplexed. Sure looked like he was getting ready to hit him... [color=#9E1B31]"No."[/color] Phobos smiled predatorily, looking eerily in that moment like his sister. At times it was easy to forget that they were twins and inevitability, opposite sides of the same coin. The fear rolled off him in waves, reaching a hungry hand towards the hesitant form of love. Nowhere near as powerful as it had once been but still strong enough to affect a god. He let it run free, his body relaxing, exhaling what felt blissful to no longer keep at bay. [color=#9E1B31]"I was just thinking about Psyche actually..."[/color] Eros tensed as fear spoke, his face falling at the mention of one he never let himself think of. [color=ff446E]"Don't you dare speak of her..."[/color] He muttered, eyes darkening, any last hints of humor washed away by the sound of her name. It was a line that the other deities trod carefully around, no-one truly daring to confront him about it. Well, some had tried in the first few centuries after the fall but that had never ended well. [color=#9E1B31]"Why not?"[/color] Phobos neared his brother, placing a hand against his chest and shoving him back, his words cold and smooth. [color=#9E1B31]"She's a lovely girl. I do always wonder what she's been up to recently."[/color] He paced around the erote as he spoke, trying to ignore how much he loved this. How much he'd missed it. Nothing compared to the fears held by his fellow deities, they were so exquisitely more complex and darker than that of mortals. Most mortals, when it came down to it, simply feared death. [color=#9E1B31]"Being such a beauty as well..."[/color] [color=ff446E]"Shut up Phobos."[/color] Eros snapped back, wanting but unable to turn away. [color=#9E1B31]"Maybe shes found someone else to fall in love with."[/color] Phobos pulled at the thread of terror hidden deep inside his brother. Fears grip was tight once it decided to take hold and he really did not want to let go. [color=#9E1B31]"I bet mortals can't resist her."[/color] Eros saw it. Like a mirage. Psyche surrounded by mortals and gods alike. Bodys entwined. Moans slipping from lips heavy with pleasure. He would've found the imagery a turn on if he wasn't also so horrified. He reached out to touch her but it was just dust in the wind, his fingers tightening over naught but air. He shook his head, eyes closing against the images that came unbidden and unwanted. [color=ff446E]"Stop it. Stop it now..."[/color] Eros tried to yell, though his voice was little more than a groan. It wouldn't stop, it would never stop. It was like a broken amphora. He could try and put it back together but it wouldn't ever fit, so what was the use in trying? There were so many pieces lost, too small to ever find. [color=#9E1B31]"You should be scared dear Ξ±Ξ΄Ξ΅Ξ»Ο†ΟŒΟ‚. Why would a human ever truly have fallen in love with such a monster?"[/color] Phobos' words dripped with venom, though they were not really his own but the love gods deepest fears spoken aloud. [color=#9E1B31]"It must've been the arrows. And now their magic has worn off. Well..."[/color] He shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. [color=#9E1B31]"She must hate you. For taking her from her family, locking her up in your palace..."[/color] [color=ff446E]"I didn't--"[/color] Eros stammered but fear had taken a grip on his heart and he found he could barely move, barely speak. A tear rolled down a cheek flushed with fury and panic. His hands clenched, nails digging deep enough into his flesh to draw blood but he did not notice. [color=ff446E]"You--you're wrong."[/color] He had to be wrong. He could not face it if he was right. [color=#9E1B31]"Then why do you run from her?"[/color] [color=ff446E]"You..."[/color] Eros pushed back against the paralysing hold on his body. [color=ff446E]"You don't know what you're talking about."[/color] [color=#9E1B31]"There's no point hiding it Eros."[/color] Phobos purred, a small smile pulling at the corner of his lips. [color=#9E1B31]"I can see everything, every fear, every doubt that's swallowed you up."[/color] The darkness that sometimes enveloped Eros appeared in the corners of his mind. He didn't want to go there again. He couldn't think about it. He [i]wouldn't[/i] think about it. Without realising he found himself crouched on the ground, unable to hide from the numbness that had begun to creep up on him, darkening his vision. The tears had stopped and were drying cold against his skin, his fingers clutching uselessly at the dewy grass beneath him. He looked up to see Phobos staring down at him, his expression naught but a blank slate. He found himself wondering what it would like to be a mortal, faced with such a sight in the midst of a battle. [color=#9E1B31]"Stay away from me. Stay away from MelinoΓ«."[/color] Phobos muttered as he shook his head, pulling a cigarette from his pocket and lighting it quietly. Taking a deep drag, he exhaled a puff of smoke. [color=#9E1B31]"I won't play nice next time."[/color]