Designed Destiny

19. Host with the Most

Planet: The Underworld

Persephon was too nervous to have fallen asleep that night, he restlessly tossed and turned. Every time a shadow flittered across the window above his bed, he'd sit bolt upright, heart quaking with fear. Keir was curled up on the floor at his bedside, head up and eyes alert, supposedly posted to watch over him while he slept. But Persephon was hardly convinced she was the bodyguard he needed. After all, the only thing that he seen with his own two eyes that could scare off incubi was the God of the Dead, and lately he had been thinking about him nonstop. "Urghhhh," he groaned as he tossed the blankets off and finally climbed out of his bed that was beginning to feel more like a torture chamber.

Keir cocked her head, glancing at him in concern.

"Whatever, don't judge, just leave me alone." He huffed as he cautiously crept out of his room and swiftly padded up the stairs leading to the lone tower that stood above the rest of the castle. Keir curiously followed him at a slower pace. Persephon hesitated outside of Hades' imposing double doors, there were embossed skeletons of vultures seemingly paused in mid-flight upon the stone. He awkwardly knocked and then anxiously pushed the door open and scuttled in quickly, reclosing the door by leaning against it as he swiftly looked around the room. This happened to be one of the few nights Hades actually spent at the manor.

"Uhh, hello? Did you take a wrong turn or something?" The god demanded as he closed the book he was reading in bed. His long white hair was free from any restraints, looking exceptionally beautiful and wild and -for the time since Persephon knew the guy- he wasn't wearing a shirt, and what a view it was to behold. Persephon had no idea he had tattoos and tattoos he certainly did have. The ink itself appeared to be made of shimmering metals and the tattoos ever so subtly drifted back and forth across his skin as if they were breathing. The mystifying ink ranged from keys on chains, dogs fighting, burning chariots, and serpents consuming themselves and each other. The demigod was briefly spell-casted by their hypnotic beauty, and of course by the beautiful backdrop of so many pristine muscles, but then rapidly blinked when he realized Hades was staring at him currently ogling over him.

He blushed. "Huh? What? Oh, errr...no. I know my way around, trust me."

"Then what the hell are you doing in here?" He demanded, looking him over suspiciously. Persephon absently rubbed the long loose sleeve over his arm as he struggled to think of something not weird to say. Hades noted that the demigod was still wearing the shirt he had let him burrow a few days ago when he had patched him up after the incubi attack. It was at least three sizes too big and hung off him somewhat adorably; Hades' frosty heart may have melted a tiny bit. "Isn't Keir supposed to be watching out for you or something?"

Persephon scoffed. "I mean, Keir is okay and all but like, I'd rather not stake the entire sake of my well-being on a little gargoyle dog-goblin thing, y'know? Too much pressure on her, she might crack. She's only made of stone. So..." He forced a light smile, glancing around the massive room that could pretty much be summed up in two words: dramatic nerd.

The concave walls were lined with ashen white shelves teeming with books upon books and books and busts of famous mortal-creatures. Wall tapestries enwoven with strands of glittering gold took care of the space between the bookshelves and the tall slender windows that completely encompassed the room from all sides. The enormous black pearl caravelle bed was situated against a wall in-between two windows, the bedposts looked like skeletons reaching for the ceiling that was painted with millions of words forming stanzas of poetry. Spiraling between the airy writing were strips of mirror that created a loose whirlpool reflection above the room.

From where Persephon stood by the doors the floor looked level but as he cautiously slunk farther in, he realized part of the floor in front of the bed sloped down to form a grand alcove in the ground. It was filled with a dramatic marble fireplace that was blissfully crackling and purring with heat. "Errr, whatcha reading?" He fanned interest as he approached the bed.