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Description
It was just outside of the Reaper's Cave, where he had caught Aster.

In hindsight, Aster really should have seen the trouble coming from a mile away; nobody hung out by the cave, hardly even its own inhabitants. So when the black reaper had come out of the geological formation and spotted a peculiar white and red wraith meandering nearby, he should have taken more notice.

Perhaps if he had, he could have avoided his current predicament. Inky eyes looked up timidly into fiery orange, struggling to hold the intense gaze of the stallion that now loomed menacingly above him. Out of context, it looked a lot worse than it really was, though - the relatively new wraith (his name was Valentine, he believed) hadn't touched him. The stallion had merely surprised Aster, moving so quietly that when the reaper felt a creeping sense of unease and turned to look, he was met with a face-full of red and white.

Looking up into that unimpressed expression, Aster sheepishly cursed his clumsiness. He still hadn't quite gotten the hang of his hooves. Black ears flicked forward to listen when a low, velvet voice rumbled from the other wraith.

"Tsk. So easily frightened..." Valentine cooed in a faintly audible accent, gaze breaking away from Aster's too look at the smaller body. It was littered with scratches, sore from bruises beneath the dark coat. Aster shifted nervously, feeling very naked beneath those eyes. His breath caught as their eyes met once again.

"Solo un bambino. I could help, though... Protect you."

The predominantly light horse's tone was kind, but something about it rubbed Aster the wrong way.

"I-I don't n-n-need your help," Aster stuttered out indignantly, feeling a small stab at his pride. He couldn't understand italian, but there was a patronizing note held within them. Sure, he was small and far weaker than some of the others, yet he could still hold his own. The offense quickly slipped Aster's mind, though, when a tense silence befell between the two of them, Valentine's eyes simmering like embers as the bore into him. Aster was quickly losing his nerve, and outwardly yelped when a heavy limb came down over his hip, trapping him.

"No? I'm hardly holding you down, tesoro. Can you get up?"

"Uh..."

Awkwardly, Aster shifted his long legs beneath his body, looking for purchase in the plush earth below. Finding his front legs, he manged to push up just a little before the weight of the other stopped him, and to Aster's dismay began to push him back down. He grunted with the effort, casting a glare at the face watching him critically.

"Weak..." Valentine muttered out, and for a split second his features seemed to soften. Aster couldn't really tell for sure, though, and the stallion pressed on. "You won't last long like this. I can help you."

"I d-don't care... I st-still don't w-want... want your a-assistance," Aster repeated, feeling some of his resolve return. He didn't know anything about Valentine beyond his name (where in the world had he even heard it? Aster couldn't recall), and at this point he had very little inscentive to learn more. Aster wanted to get as far away from Valentine as he could.

"Well then, that'd be a problem for me. Seeing as you have something I want... Surely we can work out a deal?"

Aster's ears flicked back as Valentine's larger head came close, too close for comfort, his gut twisting beneath that leg that held him down like an iron bar. So that's what this was. Extortion.

"Wh-wha.... What do you w-want?" Aster asked cautiously, but refused to look away. Was it just his imagination, or had Valentine's lip quirk upwards into a smirk?

"Simple, tesoro. Those souls you sever from the dead... I want them."

Aster's befuddlement must have been painfully obvious, and a short snort left the larger equine. A laugh?

"My job as a collector, as the title implies, is to collect souls," Valentine began to elaborate. "And it'd seem to me that the most efficient means of doing so would be to collect directly from the source - which would be you, tesoro. And in turn, I'm willing to give you something you desire.... Just tell me what that is, hm?"

There was a moment of contemplative silence in the small space between, and when Aster began to speak up, Valentine pitched heterochromic ears to catch that soft voice.

"Y-you..... You can h-have the souls. I d-don't care. All I d-desire is for you to get off of me."

It was Valentine's turn to show a fleeting hint of surprise on otherwise impassive features at Aster's display of having a back bone. A soft smile took place on a pinkish muzzle, pleased.

"Are you certain, tesoro? There's nothing else you wish for from me?"

"Stop c-calling me that. M-my name is Aster," the reaper retorted irritably, finding that he was quite finished with this whole ordeal. "Now l-let me go."

"Very well, tesoro."

"Aster."

The polite smile Valentine flashed was nothing if not infuriating, and Aster rocketed upright the moment he was freed, turning away without so much as a goodbye towards his new "associate". The thought left a sour taste in his mouth, not bothering to even glance back as the collector spoke to his retreating form.

"Pleasant doing business with you. I'll hold you to your word, Aster."

He had to surpress a shiver at the dark promise behind that statement.

----

SHITTY HALF-ASSED STORIES YAY!

Aster & Valentine (C) Alerium
Soul Wraiths (C) orengel

Description
It was just outside of the Reaper's Cave, where he had caught Aster.

In hindsight, Aster really should have seen the trouble coming from a mile away; nobody hung out by the cave, hardly even its own inhabitants. So when the black reaper had come out of the geological formation and spotted a peculiar white and red wraith meandering nearby, he should have taken more notice.

Perhaps if he had, he could have avoided his current predicament. Inky eyes looked up timidly into fiery orange, struggling to hold the intense gaze of the stallion that now loomed menacingly above him. Out of context, it looked a lot worse than it really was, though - the relatively new wraith (his name was Valentine, he believed) hadn't touched him. The stallion had merely surprised Aster, moving so quietly that when the reaper felt a creeping sense of unease and turned to look, he was met with a face-full of red and white.

Looking up into that unimpressed expression, Aster sheepishly cursed his clumsiness. He still hadn't quite gotten the hang of his hooves. Black ears flicked forward to listen when a low, velvet voice rumbled from the other wraith.

"Tsk. So easily frightened..." Valentine cooed in a faintly audible accent, gaze breaking away from Aster's too look at the smaller body. It was littered with scratches, sore from bruises beneath the dark coat. Aster shifted nervously, feeling very naked beneath those eyes. His breath caught as their eyes met once again.

"Solo un bambino. I could help, though... Protect you."

The predominantly light horse's tone was kind, but something about it rubbed Aster the wrong way.

"I-I don't n-n-need your help," Aster stuttered out indignantly, feeling a small stab at his pride. He couldn't understand italian, but there was a patronizing note held within them. Sure, he was small and far weaker than some of the others, yet he could still hold his own. The offense quickly slipped Aster's mind, though, when a tense silence befell between the two of them, Valentine's eyes simmering like embers as the bore into him. Aster was quickly losing his nerve, and outwardly yelped when a heavy limb came down over his hip, trapping him.

"No? I'm hardly holding you down, tesoro. Can you get up?"

"Uh..."

Awkwardly, Aster shifted his long legs beneath his body, looking for purchase in the plush earth below. Finding his front legs, he manged to push up just a little before the weight of the other stopped him, and to Aster's dismay began to push him back down. He grunted with the effort, casting a glare at the face watching him critically.

"Weak..." Valentine muttered out, and for a split second his features seemed to soften. Aster couldn't really tell for sure, though, and the stallion pressed on. "You won't last long like this. I can help you."

"I d-don't care... I st-still don't w-want... want your a-assistance," Aster repeated, feeling some of his resolve return. He didn't know anything about Valentine beyond his name (where in the world had he even heard it? Aster couldn't recall), and at this point he had very little inscentive to learn more. Aster wanted to get as far away from Valentine as he could.

"Well then, that'd be a problem for me. Seeing as you have something I want... Surely we can work out a deal?"

Aster's ears flicked back as Valentine's larger head came close, too close for comfort, his gut twisting beneath that leg that held him down like an iron bar. So that's what this was. Extortion.

"Wh-wha.... What do you w-want?" Aster asked cautiously, but refused to look away. Was it just his imagination, or had Valentine's lip quirk upwards into a smirk?

"Simple, tesoro. Those souls you sever from the dead... I want them."

Aster's befuddlement must have been painfully obvious, and a short snort left the larger equine. A laugh?

"My job as a collector, as the title implies, is to collect souls," Valentine began to elaborate. "And it'd seem to me that the most efficient means of doing so would be to collect directly from the source - which would be you, tesoro. And in turn, I'm willing to give you something you desire.... Just tell me what that is, hm?"

There was a moment of contemplative silence in the small space between, and when Aster began to speak up, Valentine pitched heterochromic ears to catch that soft voice.

"Y-you..... You can h-have the souls. I d-don't care. All I d-desire is for you to get off of me."

It was Valentine's turn to show a fleeting hint of surprise on otherwise impassive features at Aster's display of having a back bone. A soft smile took place on a pinkish muzzle, pleased.

"Are you certain, tesoro? There's nothing else you wish for from me?"

"Stop c-calling me that. M-my name is Aster," the reaper retorted irritably, finding that he was quite finished with this whole ordeal. "Now l-let me go."

"Very well, tesoro."

"Aster."

The polite smile Valentine flashed was nothing if not infuriating, and Aster rocketed upright the moment he was freed, turning away without so much as a goodbye towards his new "associate". The thought left a sour taste in his mouth, not bothering to even glance back as the collector spoke to his retreating form.

"Pleasant doing business with you. I'll hold you to your word, Aster."

He had to surpress a shiver at the dark promise behind that statement.

----

SHITTY HALF-ASSED STORIES YAY!

Aster & Valentine (C) Alerium
Soul Wraiths (C) orengel