Snuffle :3 [ complete ]

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Character(s): Inu, Saix and whatever/whoever
Content: ARRIVAL!
Setting: Muspelheim
Time: Week 2, early evening
Warnings: ... Uhm. Bondage? :D. Inu and Saix, use your imagination :3




The smell of metal stuck out like a metaphorical red flag to Inu's nose. It was sharp and direct, unlike the muddled scents of sweat and other human left-behinds. Metal was one of the things Inu knew well, he knew it in the small flat dog tags that the Igura contestants wore, the smell which he could not ignore, the chains on his wrists and leash around his neck. He moved across the ground on his hands and knees, feeling the concrete through the leather knees of his pants and the gloves covering his fingers. It was closer, now, the dogtag, a king. But there were other smells too, sweat, blood, urine. Inu turned his head, listening for the inevitable sounds of someone breathing, the slow shallow gasps, or the rapid hysterical breathes of a participant. He knew them all by smell, sound was just an added bonus.

He rounded the corner, feeling the stacked trash cans (also metal, but dirty and rusted, iron and oxygen) to his left and the open mouth of the alley to his right. Inu let his nose lead him, the chain that connected to a buckle on his collar had the weight which brought giggling and breathing. Gunzi and Kiriwar -- not that he knew them by name. He knew them by the metal Gunzi used to hurt people with, the smell of ink and skin and the heavy steps. Cheerful, heavy steps. Everyone else knew them because they were the punishers of whoever broke the rules. And the rules got broken often. Much closer now, and Inu slunk forward...

...and sharply inhaled. The silver haired young man crawled backwards in confusion. The metal was gone, and so was the other smells. It smelled almost clean, like fresh laundry or the soapy smell of bathwater. He shook his head, and felt a laxness on the chain that wasn't supposed to be there. Had he any coval cords, and a gag not been firmly slipped between his teeth, Inu would have whined. This was not right at all. He crawled forward, hearing the chatter of people. It wasn't the low whispers of people making strategies, or the voice of people acknowldging his master. Not even some victorious yells or giggling and breathing's banter and then pain.

If anything, it was a curious lack of pain. Inu turned his head in both directions, settling back on his legs, trying to get a bearing on where he was. It didn't smell familiar at all. There wasn't even the scent of a dogtag anywhere, or oil, or rust. No smell of rot, or organic matter quietly decomposing in the corner. He leaned forward again, and took a few hesitant movements forward. He wrinkled his nose and promptly ran into something warm. Someone's back leg? He should have realized that they were there, but the lack of smells (familiar ones, anyway) had completely disoriented him.

"Hey!"

Inu turned his head towards the voice, blindfold pointing in their general direction. However the voice moved on, to give their name to someone even taller (judging from how quiet their voice was) and female. Inu paused, before someone's foot planted itself firmly behind him and pushed. Stumbling on all fours is harder to do on all twos, but that was what happened.

"...Na... oh my,"

The taller female person commented. Inu 'looked' over at her, and then bumped into ... something... wood? He wasn't sure, it wasn't at all like the brick walls of the city or the fine furniture of his master's house at all.

"...uh... name..."

The woman tried again. Inu took in her scent. It was... it was somewhat like sniffing a plastic bag. Far too clean and pressed to be of any importance. There was an abundance of human-smells past the gate, however. He turned in that direction and crawled through the gate.

Comments

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Naminé lay breathing, quietly, her arms cradled around herself. She was shivering, her skin erupting in goosebumps, eyelids fluttering from the force of some ghoulish nightmare she was wading her way through. Saïx watched her with cold eyes, only the rapid tapping of his fingers upon Naminé’s table betraying his impatience. She cried out aloud, Saïx’s gaze narrowed in response. It seemed like the strain was getting to be too much on the girl – her weak mind, weak body, weak existence could not handle it. Saïx exhaled in carefully controlled frustration, making no sound as he slid to his feet, cruel gaze still fixed on the girl’s contorted expression. But, Saïx knew, for all his impatience, the vigil was offering him no more information than he was in care of before he entered Naminé’s room, merely a pounding headache courtesy of the blinding white the girl surrounded herself in.

Saïx closed the door, loudly, without conscientious intent, not caring if the girl awoke from her slumber or not. Time was wasting away, and the Superior was a stupid, stargazing fool, spending all of his time stringing words together and experimenting for no good cause. Even as the Kingdom Hearts brightened in the stark-black sky of their world, Saïx felt the time drifting away, unused, wasted.

The World That Never Was shone particularly artificially as Saïx stepped into it, the darkness slipping wetly, uncomfortably, from his skin as he stepped out of his portal. Saïx sneered to himself as he made his way to the castle, quite prepared to lash out at the Superior for yet another botched experiment. Naminé was a waste of time, the keyblade wielder would have to remain their only hope to regain the hearts they had lost.

But as Saïx strode angrily into the castle, he found his vision suddenly blurring into gray, black, his knees melting as he collapsed gracelessly to the ground. He grunted, unused to the weakness that coursed through his veins. There was the distinct scent of something burning in the air – Saïx immediately thought of Xemnas, of Vexen’s lab, with tangible condescension, but he wasn’t given much longer to stew on the thought. As he were a book and the story was finished, Saïx snapped shut, losing consciousness with the taste of ash burning in his lungs.

Saïx regained his bearings shakily. The fact that he had awoken in a completely different location from where he had passed out was not particularly frightening, even if Saïx had the ability experience fear. The soft whiteness of everything reminded him sharply of Naminé, and he furrowed his eyebrows, smelling the air like a cat. Clean. Saïx pushed himself to his feet, swaying dangerously as the ground spun beneath him. But he righted himself, easily, natural grace subtracting the time to his recovery. A line of people stood before Saïx, but he pushed past them without a second thought, gaze fixed upon the archway that led to a glistening city within.

A new world meant more opportunities for the Organization to succeed, more knowledge, more resources. With this thought pinned securely to the back of his mind, Saïx pursed his lips, stepped up to the strangely-clad woman who stared lifelessly up at him. She was small, fragile, Saïx noted, this place was at peace, then, if they were lax enough to allow someone such as this cloud of a woman to be the gatekeeper.

“VII,” was his firm reply to her question of his name. She took it without skipping a beat, handing him a strange metallic device and abruptly turning to the next person in line. Saïx moved fluidly past the high archway, entering the city with his mind already running through the next steps of this game.

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Footsteps, footsteps, walking, walking. Inu tried to adjust to this place, and was doing a poor job of it. There was light on his face. It was a slow warm, like sun, not like the harsher burning of a lightbulb. From the way the sound moved he assumed that this was a large open area, not at all like the twisting alleyways made of brick he was used to. Inu moved further forward, cautiously.

His jaws worked slightly, biting down more on the leather in his mouth, the only nervous habit that he was allowed. He turned back, expecting to hear something familiar, but the only sound he recognized was the dragging of his chain leash on the ground. And that was hardly reassuring. What had happened? Had giggling and breathing run off? But even if that had happened he would be able to find his way around.

Sharp.

Inu turned his head at a somewhat familiar smell, it came from behind him. Metal, but not the kind he was familiar with. And footsteps of someone who wasn't moving along at such a perfectly regular tempo. Inu turned back around to fate the gate, hunching down a bit lower as he moved towards the smell of metal.

It wasn't just metal, though. Metal and something that reminded him of ozone, or tangy pinches of air. The kind that made his nose itch, like after a live wire had crackled in the air. He slunk forward, the six rings on his chest almost touching the ground as he moved.

[moons-rage.livejournal.com]

The city was open, fresh, full of large, open spaces. It made Saïx almost uncomfortable, needles pricking uncomfortably his skin. There was an overabundance of light, too little of the cool, familiar, darkness, and the lack of proper cover was unsettling in a city full of unfamiliar faces. The headache from earlier was returning in full force – too many sounds, too much chatter, too much, period. He hissed softly, shading his face with a crooked arm.

The quiet sound of snuffling, thin metal being dragged across the ground alerted Saïx to the breach in his personal space – he shifted away, sharply, hands outstretched as if to call on his claymore. But the sight that met his gaze was less than threatening – a slightly built young man, crouched on the ground like an animal. He was blindfolded, gagged, metal rings piercing the skin of his chest, where a scar – much like Saïx’s own – marred the skin.

Saïx knew nothing but disgust at the pathetic sight. The silver hair reminded him vaguely of the keyblade wielder’s friend, but they were not the same, thus, the boy was of no consequence. He turned away, aristocratic features twisted in distaste. The place was proving only to be yet another waste of their time.

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Movement away. Inu heard the rustle of clothes, and the familiar squeaks that they made when people turned. Had he been in familiar territory this would have been a sign to turn around and leave. However, he wasn't and there was nothing here at all. Well, there was the people that didn't smell like they should, and the small amount of metal he could smell was enough to guide him after this one. Male, he assumed, by the placement of the strides and the sound of feet on the ground.

He followed a handful of paces behind the onewithmetal. Each noise he heard distracted him, however. A new arrival through the gate, the sound of a door being opened, greetings and exchanges of money. Inu continued to turn his head to each new sound and smell. The ground was surprisingly warm and free of debris. There weren't puddles of human waste, or even the tackyness of dried blood mixing with dirt.

The chain continued to drag behind him, and did not snag, another tribute to the cleanliness of this place. As he followed, Inu's posture got a little straighter. He raised himself off the ground a little, a more 'normal' gait for him, though he was still moving along on his hands and knees.

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The boy hadn't given up on his pursuit, despite Saïx's clear dismissal. Saïx chose to ignore him for the time being, in favor of surveying his surroundings - small, homely buildings, bathed in light. Drowning in light. A cafe stood to Saïx's left, and a great amount of people seemed to be within, their chatter carrying out into the street. It was a warm, comfortable, unthreatening place, which only set Saïx more on edge. What appeared the most unthreatening on the outside tended to have the deepest running repercussions in store.

The boy was still following when Saïx looked over his shoulder. The sharp stirring of what Saïx could only inaccurately term anger was stinging softly, deep within his ribcage. He stiffened and faced the boy again, gaze unreadable. "I'll take it as a personal affront if you pursue me any longer," he said, his words feral, fierce, despite his subdued tone.

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Inu physically jerked as he was addressed. For some reason he hadn't been expecting that at all. It made him pause, leaning back onto his knees more to register what had been said. This was not his master's voice, but it was one that commanded respect.

"I'll take it as a personal affront if you pursue me any longer

Despite the threat Inu leaned back onto his hands again. The concept that this was might end negatively for him hadn't registered at all. Well, it had, but the tone of voice hadn't been one of anger, not the lashing out kind. At least, not yet. Even if it had been it probably would not have deterred Inu. He went through life 'doggedly', whatever blows came his way.

He continued to follow the man. It was a confirmed male now, by the voice, and the apparent height was also confirmed. Unless he was bending or standing on something, but that seemed unlikely, since they were moving.

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The boy moved as if he were on puppet strings, jerking back as if struck when Saïx spoke. It was an almost comical sight, the way he was leaning backwards on his haunches like a tamed beast; without direction or free will. Saïx stepped experimentally forward, only to see that the boy hadn't been deterred in the slightest by the threat.

The sun was still high in the sky, which meant there would be little chance for his berserk tendencies to break to the surface. With this thought in mind, Saïx called his claymore silently to hand, the weight of the weapon familiar in his grasp. One liquid second later, and he tipped the boy's chin upwards with the weapon, the bitter taste of holding back his annoyance coating the inside of his mouth.

"I warned you." he growled, dangerously, but softly. There was no need to draw any more attention to himself than had already been drawn.

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As soon as the weapon touched him, Inu went still again. Perfectly still, waiting for Saix to make a move. His back had straightened again, and if his eyes had been uncovered he would have been looking straight at Saix. He wasn't afraid, because that would involve some knowledge of what was going on. Instead he was apprehensive.

Inu's jaws worked into the leather of the gag again, betraying his otherwise perfect position. The tone of voice had changed a little. Not nearly so sublime, and with a hidden catch or two. The kind of voice Inu could recognize, or at least, pretend was familiar. He was used to two toned voices and people with weapons.

The man had just moved into a realm of understanding for him.

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Gritting his teeth, Saïx watched the boy, silently. There was no visible fear in the the cocked posture - he seemed almost curious, as if he didn't quite grasp what was occurring. Saïx ran a tongue across the sharpness of his fangs, debating whether making an example out of the boy would be worth it.

No, gaining the fear of an entire world was never worth getting rid of a mild annoyance; not in a world where he was supposed to be gathering information, rather than destroying it. Saïx knelt next to the boy, features contorted in ill-temper. He looked around for a few seconds, spotted a convenient lamp post. Still holding the claymore steady under the boy's chin, Saïx directed him to the lamp post; methodically tied him to it, hands rough as he unstrapped the leather fastenings around the boy's body and restrapped them to the post. When he was done, the boy hung there, tethered like the animal he was pretending to be.

If nothing else, it would at least deter the boy from following him any longer.

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His mouth formed surprise around the gag, but the man was offered little resistence as he was tied to the post. Inu attempted to follow the man, however, once he felt the hands leave his body. Confusion crossed his face as he found himself tied there. The struggle then took place, as he attempted to dislodge his body from the post, however, unlike a person who would have felt for the buckles to undo them... Inu merely pushed away from the post.

More struggling simply left him tired, and he leaned against the pole, jaw working furiously on the gag. Clearly he'd been tied here, and he could smell the metal moving further away from him. He could do nothing but hope that someone would release him. Inu's body slumped in defeat, and he waited.