That Which Lies in the Dark

23

Roman growled lowly as he passed a crystal charm, seeing the way its light brightened at his passing but did not make a sound. Artem just laughed as he followed after, the charm not having the same reaction to him as it did the hunter.

"I hate those damned things." Roman grumbled under his breath as he tried to take a breath, fixing his mask better over his face.

"Well, Children of the Moon do tend to cause a more distinct reaction in them. It's no wonder they latch onto your presence so thoroughly." Roman's eyes darkened but he did not say a word as he just focused on looking around for any possible mask. Artem just watched, with a small smile on his face seeing the subtle emotion in the hunter's movements. "You must care a lot for this ghoul-..."

"He's a ghoul. I couldn't care less."

"Do not bother to redirect me, by using his species as a deterrent. I know the truth in how you work. I've been in your service for several long years now, My Lord." Roman growled, stopping to glare the fae down, red peaking through the eyes of the mask. "You can deny your feelings even to yourself but there will always be someone who can read you like an open book." Artem held a finger up point at the moon making Roman falter. The buzz in his skin grew, drawing a small whimper from his lips, as he looked up to see how the moon's light glimmered in an obvious way. "What does your mother say about all this, hmm?"

"Mother?" Roman's voice is hushed as he focused on the movements of the moonlight. He could feel this pulse in the hair, a subtle bit of energy, as he tuned into the emotions that suddenly started to fill the air. Artem's eyes narrowed watching all the crystal charms glow brighter, his hand slowly reaching out to Roman, instantly turning black with stars the closer he reached out to him.

"My Lord?" Roman's eyes widened as he suddenly looked over to this one table with a nod.

"Mother said to go over there." Artem sighed with a smile seeing the crystals die down, as Roman pointed to the table with a soft growl. "She said there should be a mask there, I would like."

"Well then... After you." Roman gave a soft nod, slowly making his way over to the table. His eyes trailed the merchandise he could see, as there wasn't much. However, it wasn't long before the moon's energy pressed against him again and he felt his eyes being drawn to this one section of the table that was hard to see.

His eyes flashed red under the mask as he carefully moved something things about, making it almost appear as if he was looking at everything he picked up, before freezing up at the sight of these two masks that were before him. One was a snow white with rich dark purple shading, silver swirls, and a golden filigree butterfly wing molded to the right side of it. Its partner was snow white, as well. This time with a dark blood red shading, golden swirls, and a silver filigree butterfly wing molded to the left side of it. Roman could almost feel a press of a hand against his own, as he reached out for the red and purple masks, this sense of protectiveness falling over him.

"Ok, Mother. I hear you." Roman whispered catching Artems attention, who instantly froze up seeing the masks Roman was holding.

"Those are... well they're very nice." Artem hummed as he glanced up at the moon in question. "And a partnered set... I wonder why she brought you here."

"Mother seems to like the ghoul." Roman sighed as he clutched the masks a little closer to himself with a frown. "I am unsure as to why."

"Well, she is the moon..." Artem purred softly making Roman grunt in understanding. "She knows more about her children than anyone could dare to imagine. I take it you've chosen to listen to her this time." Roman simply nodded as he waved the merchant over. "Good. You should listen to her more often." Roman instantly growled, shooting a glare over at the fae before stopping short as the merchant finally appeared. It was clear by the look on their face, that they were judging him with how their eyes trailed his form.

"Hello there... uh... is there something I can help you with?" The merchant asked a little coldly, subtly reaching out as if to take the masks from Roman.

"I'm here to purchase these." The merchant frowned as he once again looked Roman over, eyeing the wooden mask with a very clear look of disbelief, only making Roman groan. "I have the money, so just tell me how much."

"My lord." Artem, pressed his hand to Roman's back, making the hunter jerk a bit before forcing himself to breathe. "Calm yourself, all will be well."

"Lord?" The merchant mumbled with a look towards Roman and even Artem tensed up at it. "Right... anyway the masks are 10 gold a piece. Take it or leave it." They did not have that kind of coin. Sure Roman had a bit saved up for emergencies, but as for spending money, he had already spent the gold he had gotten. Still... it was either spend the money now and rebuild the savings or not get the masks. Roman growled but still reached for his coin purse only to stop as Artem grabbed his arm.

"I'm afraid you have me a bit confused. 10 gold pieces... for a single mask. 20 if we wanted both... is that right?" The merchant laughed as Artem gently took the masks from Roman's hand, who clearly hesitated, this look of worry in his eyes. It was clear Roman wanted these masks. And even more so, Mother moon herself wanted Roman to have these masks. Artem was not going to fail them. "Pretty pricey for a mask if you ask me?"

"They're high-end and durable. Besides, they're protected by the sun. Do you want the surety of his lights grace or do you want to be the moon's meal?" Artem noticed right away how Roman flexed his fingers, his nails looking more like claws before the fae quickly stepped in front of the hunter to put some space between him and the merchant.

"Oh, I see... You see the mask, My lord is wearing and you assume we are in desperate need. I can assure you we are not-..."

"10 gold per mask or nothing." Artem sighed as he reached into his bag making Roman growl, giving him a look of confusion.

"Oh, hush, My Lord. You needn't waste your gold on such a pointless venture." Artem winked at Roman, before tossing a pouch over at the merchant, who caught it in surprise. "That should be enough, yes?" The merchant, who had peered into the pouch simply nodded, making Artem smile. "Good. Then our business is settled. Is that all, My lord, or..."

"Almost." Roman frowned as Artem nodded and started to lead him off. "Hey..." Artem hummed in response as Roman just stared at the masks in confusion. "Why..."

"The merchant was overpricing them because they assume you could not afford it." Roman's eyes widen as Artem just gave him a smile. "They assumed if they made them out to be highly expensive you would drop the act and walk away. Either that or they would get a lot more money than they would have gotten. Do not worry, My Lord, only 5 of those gold pieces were actually real. The rest were all glamoured rocks. They will return to normal in a month's time."

"You did not have to pay." Artem just laughed as Roman brought them over to another table looking at all the paints.

"With the money, you send to us, on a regular basis, it seemed only fair-..."

"Yes, but I do that for the charms and-..." Roman stopped short seeing the look Artem gave him and sighed.

"She wanted you to have them. I was not about to let you get used just so that you can appease her." Roman nodded, before picking out a few paints and paying for them, all while Artem watched with a curious look. "Now... shall we return? You do have me awfully curious about your intentions."

"Yeah... I need to check on Remus anyway."