(no subject)

[amour-propre-1.insanejournal.com]

Who:

Narcissus + Open to Erzulie and Apollo

Where:

Streets of New York

When:

Saturday night

What:

Narcissus gets his comeuppances for breaking Echo's heart.
Warnings: This could get bloody....

Echo had been the last person on Narcissus' mind for months. When she pitted her broken heart at him after refusing him he cast her out like yesterday's garbage. He had thought little of her since because she was of no importance to him if she could not put him first. No one turned him down without him getting the last word or the last laugh. He had tried for months to work with her but even still she denied him and Narcissus cursed forever to love only himself would not let her hurt him.

The hurricane on the coast was drawing in rain and heavy wind, but there was something else lurking in the shadows. It wasn't like the dark that had turned himself inside out, had him crying on the floor like a child. It had been a horrible weekend then, but he had overlooked it as something he had no control over--which that in itself angered him.

He walked with his head in the air, cutting his eyes at people who passed by, their whispers and glances he was always certain for him. The wind whipped across the back of his neck, chilling his skin. Winter was catching up, which meant dry skin, chapped lips and puffy circles under his eyes from too much sleep. It was not a time of year he favored, but in reality Narcissus hardly favored anything that wasn't focused on him or catered to his needs.

Comments

[twosides-oflove.insanejournal.com]

Erzulie had tried to be nice about this. Well, semi-nice. She had planned to lure Narcissus out on a date with her and then stab him when his back was turned. But he was as arrogant as his name implied, and so Erzulie Dantor was on the hunt now. Freda, her gentler side, had retreated into her, not wanting to deal with the blood.

All the better. Dantor preferred to work without distraction.

Erzulie glanced at the buildings around her. The other Greek, the one who had agreed to help get Echo's revenge, was lurking somewhere nearby. Apollo would help her finish Narcissus off, but for now, he was all Erzulie's. She grinned, teeth bright in the dark, and fell into step behind Narcissus.

"Sir?" she called out. "Sir, I think you dropped your wallet."

[amour-propre-1.insanejournal.com]

Narcissus didn't turn around at first. He ignored her because he knew full well that his wallet was safely tucked in his pocket. He didn't doubt that for a second. Then she caught up to him and he turned, acknowledging her with nothing more than a snub of his brow. "Certainly you aren't pulling that tactic?" It had been done so many times, it was quite pathetic to vie for his attention in that way.

[twosides-oflove.insanejournal.com]

Erzulie blinked, surprised, and then she laughed. This man was so full of himself that he was nearly bursting. Any reluctance Freda had been putting forth about hurting Echo by doing this faded away under the force of Dantor's anger.

"You're not nearly pretty enough to warrant such arrogance, you know," she said.

[amour-propre-1.insanejournal.com]

Narcissus saw what he wanted to see. It was a mirror image of what was inside which was ugly and distorted. While his face changed over the centuries, depending on what time period he was going through, his image was persuaded by the times. During World War II he'd been blonde and blue-eyed, during an era where Hitler wanted the perfect youth to control. He'd been different then, but the mentality had been the same.

Today's standards were not focused around muscle bound body builders with gorgeous eyes and chiseled features. His look was more dapper, thin and willowy. He cast her a venomous glance, surely she had not cut him down with that petty excuse for an insult. She herself was quite ghastly looking and he noticed. "Should it be comparable to a woman with a ghastly mane and pink lips?" She looked hideous.

[twosides-oflove.insanejournal.com]

Dantor's rage on Echo's behalf was immediately drowned out in Freda's seething, volcanic fury. Freda was generally peaceful. That pacifism didn't last when her appearance was insulted, though. Dantor honestly wasn't sure which one of them was doing the kicking when the planted their boot in Narcissus' chest and knocked him backwards into the alley.

"You hurt a friend of mine," Erzulie said, pulling out a long, silver knife.

[amour-propre-1.insanejournal.com]

Narcissus wasn't expecting the hit which took the wind out of him as he flew on his back. He wasn't a fighter, though he had trained to be one in the past. He lay there for a moment as the shadow of this ugly figure loomed above him. Instead of pleading for his life he couldn't help but throw in the jab. He started to laugh. "Oh, who? That pathetic creature who clings to me like a shadow?" Forget the fact that Echo was as much a part of him than he wanted to believe. She had bombarded herself into his story. Getting rid of her was inevitable. Hurting her though, he could still do that.

[twosides-oflove.insanejournal.com]

"The girl who loves you," Erzulie said, expertly blocking his jab. She was a warrior, a righter of wrongs. "You are hollow, with nothing to fill you up but yourself. Wonder what'll come out when I do this."

Her knife flashed across his face, leaving a deep gouge in his cheek. "Just blood. What a shame."

[amour-propre-1.insanejournal.com]

"She is a pest. How can anyone love a pest?" He laughed rolling over on his side to push himself back on his feet. Then that sharp, swelteribg pain drove itself across his face. He cried out, quickly holding down what felt like his flesh coming off. "You bitch!" He yelled.

[twosides-oflove.insanejournal.com]

"That got you," Erzulie said, grinning widely. "Aw, look at that. Not so lovely anymore."

She slashed again, this time across his chest, his hands. In a perfect world, she'd have time to pin him down and gut him like a pig about to be slaughtered, but she'd make do.

[amour-propre-1.insanejournal.com]

He could hear the blade hit his flesh, no different than a slab of meat being cut and prepped for dinner. Narcissus squealed like a girl, horrified that she was marring him with her blade.

"You bitch! What are you doing?" he gasped with wide eyes at the fresh wound. It stung, blood seeping into his clothing.

[twosides-oflove.insanejournal.com]

"I'm killing you," Erzulie said, something close to glee in her voice. She backed him further down the alley, blade flashing out again to slice across his skin.

[mousegetes.insanejournal.com]

Apollo was hidden in the recesses of a fire escape, still as a column as he watched and waited. He didn't usually work well with others - it wasn't in his nature - but when a favor was to be won, he could be persuaded to act out of character. Daphne would be in debt to him, and having that kind of leverage (coupled with the power of Eros' curse) was something he desperately wanted.

He was fine with letting the goddess Erzulie get her kicks in. Daphne's wish was for the boy to be punished, and this fell well within the guidelines. So long as he was able to land the final blow, she could toy with him as much as she wanted. But Apollo wasn't known for his patience, and eventually he became bored with watching. Narcissus' whining was annoying him and the quicker he could report back with his success, the better.

It was second nature for him to nock the arrow and draw the bow. The old pieces were almost an extension of himself, never aging so long as he didn't. He made no noise, save for the soft creak of the bow and the slow inhale, slower exhale as he aimed. Once they were far enough back in the alley, and Erzulie was clear of his shot, he allowed the string to simply slip away from his fingers and stay perfectly still as he watched the arrow sail through Narcissus' chest and into his heart.

[amour-propre-1.insanejournal.com]

Narcissus was appalled. Precious blood was flowing out of his body causing more pain. He was disgusted that this bitch was intent on killing him. It made him a little nervous, his voice hitched each time she sliced.

There seemed to be no one else around to help him, he struggled away from her long enough to get his footing and take off running. He didn't get very far when he felt a jolt press through his ribcage all the way through out the other side. It was only moments that he looked down at the arrow piercing him, fingers struggling to get it out, but he fell face down into the ally before he could gurgling on his own blood.

[twosides-oflove.insanejournal.com]

Erzulie laughed with delight as the arrow sailed from seemingly nowhere and planted itself squarely in Narcissus' chest. She turned and saluted in the direction the arrow had come from. That Greek hadn't been kidding about his aim.

She planted her boot on the back of Narcissus' head, grinding it down into the dirt as he bled out.

"Think of this as a little message from the gods, honey," Erzulie said. "Stay away from Echo and get over yourself. Or else."