Killing Butterflies - Empires SMP

Twenty Two - Rejection

A/N: Too lazy to format im posting in school lol

Exor was not a nice person. And usually when someone spent time around a not so nice person, they tended to not be nice themselves.

So, really, Scott shouldn't have been as surprised as he was when they burst into hysterical laughter. He really shouldn't have had such a look of utter, shocked, stupidity splayed across his face like someone had grabbed one of his owls and punted them across the room. Honestly, his expression made them laugh more - he looked like a deer caught in the firelight.

Soon, they were laughing harder than they had in years. Not a brief cackle or snort, but a loud, snarling fit of hysteria.

"Stop-" his protests were swallowed up instantly. "This isn't funny-"

To Xornoth, this was the funniest thing they'd heard in about twenty years. They managed to choke back their howls just long enough to make eye contact, to look deep into the eyes that seemed colder every time they looked at them. "If you don't want me to laugh, then maybe you shouldn't talk about bullshit."

"I'm not-"

"What a shame." They sighed dramatically, flicking their nails across their vision, spitting out another wheeze at his face. "Would Aeor really want his lovely champion Scott to lie?"

He gritted his teeth so hard they could have broken. They'd forgotten what normal teeth looked like (they didn't usually pay too much attention to his mouth) and the thick, rectangularness of them made them laugh again. How did he manage with such stiff blocks of ivory instead of sharpened, loosened points? How did he chew? When they killed him, maybe they could experiment. See how a body was supposed to work.

"Xornoth." His eyes, as shiny as ice, reflected something desperate. How humiliating. "This is really important."

"Mmm." They hummed briefly, before their voice broke into nothingness. "Got a reason as to why it's so important?"

He hesitated.

"And that's what I thought!" Xornoth jumped in before he could get a word in, raising their finger into an accusing jab. "If it's not important enough for you to be able to tell me, then I don't see a fucking reason for me to help you."

"What- yes I can tell you -"

"And are you going to?"

He paused again. The more he fumbled, the more annoyed they started to become.

If they weren't a nice person because they had been around Exor, they wondered if Aeor had influenced Scott's personality in a similar way. Because f their general knowledge, the two seemed to act relatively the same: hypocritical, full of shit, and incredibly fucking irritating.

"I think the answer is a pretty easy guess." They grinned at him widely and emptily, eyes betraying no hint of emotion other than coldness.

"Xor-"

"No." They turned back to examining their claws. They'd probably need sharpening soon - even if they had no idea what to sharpen them on. Scott's bones sounded fairly appealing to use, and if not, any particular piece of furniture that he was fond of.

He had the decency to wait momentarily before trying again. "...Please?"

"No."

"Could you-" they snapped their head around to stare at him at a breakneck speed, wings flaring stiffly against the bindings. Scott didn't react. "-at least consider it?"

"If you continue, I'll be considering whether I'll bring this up when I fucking kill you."

He was startled into silence, and his hand twitched around the doorknob in a way that was so awkward that fucking they felt uncomfortable. They basked in that sensation, and let it reek through the familiar memories in their mind. Finally, they were in their element.