The Promises Meme

[alethiometric]

the promises meme • Comment with your character's name and fandom in the subject line. • Select an option or roll RNG for a prompt. • Play! prompts i. family. A promise made in the name of family, whether literal or metaphorical. ii. business. No personal feelings involved. Just a working agreement. iii. romantic. A promise to your lover, something that binds you together. iv. enemy. Looks like you made a deal with the devil. v. too good to be true. A promise with hidden caveats. vi. false. A promise you don't intend to keep. vii. broken. A promise you've betrayed. viii. fulfilled. The time has come to make good on your word. ix. bound. A promise you have to keep, whether by threat, blackmail or magic. x. secret. A pact you can't reveal. xi. forever. You're promising forever after. xii. never. You promise that something will never happen. Ever.

Comments

[grindr]

[ A more genuine look came to his face, one that was thoughtful. No, it didn't seem at all tawdry to want a promise, but from a stranger, that was the bizarre part. But it was easy to say, 'Yes, I swear on what I hold most dear' and not mean it. He couldn't even say there was something he held most dear or if it was, in fact, a thing rather than a situation or a feeling.

Steve came to mind.

His expression softened, a ghost of a smile and a subdued sort of happiness coming to his eyes. That was it. Steve changed his life and that was something precious, so very precious to TJ. At length he nodded once. ]

All right. You can have my pledge. But, if your secret is that under all that you're a man, I'm going to be wholly unimpressed with all this drawn out mystery.

[mantichora]

If I asked you what it was, specifically, you were making that pledge on, would I get an answer? [The question is playful, coy again. Curious; she would love to know, but would hardly be surprised if he refuses to tell her. Though one can only imagine what a boy's whose grown up constantly in the spotlight considers important enough to actually keep as a secret.

But for some reason, in his own she fancies him to be a man of his word.

At his remark she laughs, a brief and soft if genuinely amused sound. A bit darkly amused, at that. It's the sound of someone who knows a little more than you - maybe more than a little - and is laughing about something you couldn't understand.]

Oh, no. Many things have I been in my day, but male was never one of them.

[grindr]

[ TJ shook his head to indicate the negative without a beat of hesitation. ] No. You said it yourself, all you wanted was my word. Now you have it. I'm not offering any more than that.

[mantichora]

[She looks at him evenly. Her smile is respectful. She's taken his measure and has admiration enough for what she sees.]

Fair enough. Can't blame a lady for being curious.

But since you've been such a good boy, here's my secret...[Standing right in front of him she leans in, not quite whispering into his ear, but almost. Her voice is low, her whole manner dark and powerful, in control of the situation entirely.] I'm not human.

[grindr]

[ He almost laughed. Almost. TJ couldn't say what it was that left him inclined to actually believe what she said. There was just something about her, the careful way she spoke, that almost alien way she watched, that knowing look in her eyes that teased of secrets unknown to many. Still, he was convinced he was a cynic and often prodded himself to behave accordingly. It was that which prompted the jaunty smirk as he leaned back to put a proper measure of space between them. ]

No? Then what?

[mantichora]

You don't believe me, do you. No?

[Not that it's much of a surprise. She doesn't even bother to feign being hurt. If anything her expression only grows more smug, more confident, more wicked.]

Well--

[She shifts her weight so it's more on one foot, upper body leaning forward at an angle, knee bent. So that she's not actually shoving her chest into him her spine twists in a way not everyone would be flexible enough to pull off. One hand goes to press against the wall at his back on either side of him. At first blush it would seem an aggressively flirtatious posture.

Except. Her eyes go from green-gray to green-gold and then just golden, becoming more slitted and feline as they do. Her smile bares fangs now. Fingernails extend into claws that dig into the wall's surface with an audible scrape.]

...How about now?

[grindr]

[ Instinct pushed TJ back, attempting to lean away and finding the way blocked by the wall behind him. His eyes went wide and the colour drained from his face. Stuff like this just wasn't supposed to happen when he was sober. ]

...What the hell?!

[mantichora]

[Her smile doesn't go away. She should probably move back so he doesn't feel nearly so threatened -- in a moment. It's been a good long while since she's gotten to scare somebody. She'll allow herself to enjoy it for a while.

Her head tilts idly and she contemplates letting it go a little further, bringing out her tail. She does so miss her tail sometimes...but, no. The further she lets the mask shift the harder it can be to force in back again; she doesn't want to have to spend a week in hiding while she retrains her body how to appear human.]

Ah, there. I'd say that put a few cracks in the jaded mask. Welcome to the waking world. It's full of a few more things than I expect you have imagined.

[There's a grating sound as her claws dig deeper into the wall.]

But after all, seeing is believing. Isn't it?

[grindr]

[ Scared? No, more like panicked. It was panic that flashed through TJ's eyes. A conflicting cacophony ran through his mind in an effort to explain what was clearly before him.

She drugged him.

He's hallucinating from withdrawal.

Oh my god, in either case he needed a hospital or something... He pressed back further into the wall, the cigarette fallen forgotten from his hands as he fumbled in his pocket to fish out his phone and call.... Well, Steve came to mind first, but he's in New York. Dougie. He'd ring Dougie. Dougie always helped. ]

[mantichora]

[Her smile fades, eyeing him searchingly.]

TJ?

[Well. She's had her fun. Time to give him some breathing space. But as she pulls back he tugs out his phone - and like lighting she reaches out to swat it from his grip with one hand. Quick as she can be while still being careful; it would be a cruel mistake to scratch him, now.]

No, no. No calling for help now. Remember: you promised.

[Under the circumstances her scolding tone seems almost mocking.]

[grindr]

[ The phone fell from his hand with a clatter and, had he not been too wary to take his eyes off her, he would've scrambled after it. Seriously, something was wrong with him if he was seeing visions like this when he was sober. No booze, no drugs, not even an aspirin. This was definitely every kind of not good he could imagine. ]

No, you don't understand... I think there's something wrong with me.

[mantichora]

[Her head tilts again, eyes narrowing thoughtfully as she briefly weighs that statement. Comprehension dawns. She can't help giving a brief, quiet chortle.]

Oh no. It isn't all in your head, never fear. What you're seeing is quite real.

[Amusement aside, she does feel more than a little bad. Even guilty. And guilt is a funny emotion, for her...it doesn't come very natural to predators.

But while his fear was amusing to toy with (like a cat with a mouse) it never occurred to her she would so fully traumatize him. It wasn't at all her intention.]

I'd invite you to touch, if that sense would convince you of the reality, but sadly, that could only end very unfortunately. For you.

[She moves back further, a full arm's length away now. He could run, if he really wanted to. She's safely out of reach.

She lifts up her left arm and gazes at her own claws thoughtfully.]

Deadly venom that can drop any mortal dead within seconds. Almost overkill, really, for a beast that can devour its victims whole. But so very effective.

[grindr]

[ Life really wasn't supposed to be this strange, was it? If people saw heroes and gods and monsters every day it would be known. It would be commonplace and this wouldn't be nearly so shocking. Part of TJ had to wonder about his luck...

Once she moved away and he felt like he could breathe again, the panic started to subside. Okay, she hadn't actually drugged him. He wasn't hallucinating. And she wasn't planning to kill him. Good things, all. Keeping his eyes fixed on her, TJ took a step away and crouched to grope for his phone on the ground. Not in an effort to call anyone, just so he didn't lost the damned thing. ]

That's... disturbing.

[mantichora]

[Luck indeed. Too bad for you all the interesting people also find you interesting, TJ.]

Is it, now? Hm. I imagine it must be.

[Her eyes flick to him, watching, and once she's assured he's not about to do something truly reckless like attack her, they go back to looking at her own claws.

She closes her eyes, lifts her head up, draws a breath and visibly focuses. With a wet and grinding sound the shape of her hands change, claws retracting and disappearing and bones turning back into something significantly less dangerous. Ordinary human fingers.

Her fangs are gone as well, when she opens her eyes, though said eyes are still slightly closer to yellow in color than green.]

"Martya xwar", to the Persians. "Martichora", to the Greeks. "Mantichora", in the Latin.

[grindr]

[ The name vaguely sounded familiar, something from something he'd read or seen a lifetime ago. It was a word he recognised as a name, but nothing more than that. Mythological creatures were a long lost memory from high school. In the haze of retreating panic, it just sounded like some foreign word. ]

Uh, is that supposed to mean something to me?

[mantichora]

Evidently not. [She's smiling again, almost glib.] Maybe I only wanted to see how broad your pool of reference for mythology is.

Now, what about the word "manticore"?

[grindr]

[ He kept a wary gaze on her, finally stuffing his phone back into his pocket rather than gripping it like it might save him from this nightmare. ]

Sounds like something I might've heard a long, long time ago... All that myth and legend stuff didn't really stick with me.

[mantichora]

Well. Google it. I won't bore you with all the details any more than I already have.

[She says it very ironically, well aware that 'boring' him is the last thing she possibly just did.]

[grindr]

[ His eyes widened slightly, brows lifting. An incredulous look painted itself over his face and, for just a few seconds, he gaped at her. ]

You consider this boring?

[mantichora]

Actually, I was trying to be facetious.

Though I do suppose in a way it's boring for me. It is my life after all. [The edge of her smile turns wry, wistful.] You live with the same reality every day for so long, it becomes routine.

[grindr]

[ Easy for her to say. She wasn't the one who nearly wet herself in fright. Finally, TJ heaved out a breath and shook his head. ]

Jesus, you could kill someone with a trick like that!

[mantichora]

There was a time when that would've been the point.

[It's an offhand remark, though. Already her head turns, looking away.]

Well, now you know my secret. As promised. Here's hoping you'll keep up your end of the bargain.

[grindr]

[ TJ barked an incredulous laugh and shook his head and the absurdity of it. ]

Yeah, like anyone would believe me if I said.

[mantichora]

Hm, I suppose you have a point.

[She was counting on that, actually. Another reason why she felt so secure in letting him in on the secret in the first place. But she had wanted to get that promise, all the same: see how he would react, if he was the kind of individual she really thought he was.

So far, he did not disappoint.]

All the same, whatever it is you swore on. I'm certain you'd hate to see it...compromised.

[grindr]

[ He canted his head to the side, a brow lifting. ]

All the better you don't know then, isn't it? Still, you shouldn't worry too much. I'm not the sort to kiss and tell, as it were.