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Janus sat still with his legs crossed, a granny smith apple in his left hand. The gloves that made themselves a home on his fingers always made it hard to hold onto things with a firm grip but what he could say, the style was so worth the pain and annoyance that were a couple of mishaps.
There was no light the deeper the mind palace was explored. As the entire ‘sky’ was full of pure black void. It consumed the objects around Janus like toddlers scribbles. In addition to the darkness there was a single light that illuminated the snake-like man and the seat he was perched on. Every spec of luminescence was coming from a lone lamppost.
The base was covered in haunting eyes that blinked and darted around to watch nothing in particular. Following up the post there was a large cylinder candle the color of old newspaper, a faded brownish yellow. Wax dripped down its edges and collided with the glass that encapsulated and protected the flame in addition to everyone who inhabited this corner of the mindscape.
Flame flickered a couple of times as a shadow approached Janus from deep in the abyss. Noise followed it like a lost dog as it whistled some annoying tune. Feet just barely stomping on the almost concrete ground. The creature’s whistling turned to a gentle hum as it got closer to Janus, poking its head from behind a tree that sat directly behind the bench and strange light source.
There was some attempt at humor whilst snickering. A loud screech instead of ‘boo’ could be heard from just next to the lamppost. Scritchy vocals echoed through the dark and suspectedly unexplored chamber as its nails gently scratched against the bark of the tree.
Considering the attitude of the sitting man, there wasn’t a hasty response as he crunched on his apple. Methodical chewing was followed by a symphony of slow clapping. “Wow, Remus, you never cease to amaze me with your capabilities of stupidity. Bravo.” Janus’ tone was mocking and besides being sarcastic, dry and unreadable.
The entity now identified as Remus only laughed to himself, skipping over to the black bench. There was enough room on the wooden craft for three or four men but the hyperbolic being took up two seats all on his own. He didn’t pay any mind as he sprawled out, sighing a bit as he got himself comfortable. “Yeah yeah, we get it you’re smart and very sassy~ Just tell me why you wanted to talk to lil old me! I could hardly wait since you hardly ever want to chat~”
Remus’ fingers moved to fidget with his mustache, gently styling it as he made eyes at the deceitful side. To the literal personification of an intrusive thought, this meeting felt extremely out of place.
Janus was known for his loner tendencies and if being compared to Virgil was ten times worse with the habit of isolating himself. He wasn’t concerned with his coworkers lifestyle but was simply unsure on how to go about this interaction. Whether to keep it cool, get back at his dickish remarks with more witty insults, or simply be quiet and listen.
As much as the first two options were easier and held a large preference by Remus’ standards (especially the second one), he decided reluctantly on the last alternative. Number three in the works would keep everything unbiased for now and hopefully open up more of an opportunity to solidify the snake’s trust. Although, he thought to himself that he might add little bits and pieces of number two in.
Janus glared back at Remus from his side of the bench, sighing outwardly. His brows furrowed together like he wanted to speak but needed a second to gather his thoughts. Compile them in his head so they would come out just right. Lips moved apart as one final deep breath was followed by a hissy exhale. All of this before he spoke some sort of explanation.
“Remus I have to be open and tell you that I was unmasked over a week ago. I know I’ve been tiptoeing around the matter but you must know the context of my proposal in order to understand. And believe me, I know understanding is hard for you to do.”
The snake’s tone still fell flat and sardonic, almost unamused by this entire thing but if explored deep enough, his golden eye and slitted pupil would reveal the apprehension slowly seeping through his harrowing defenses. Shoulders that hung less rigidly and a body that reeked of exhaustion.
Remus’ jagged eyebrows raised for a second, grinning. “Are you asking for my, The Duke’s, rather extravagant assistance? I’m absolutely flattered Janny! I mean god when was the last time any of us collaborated after Virgil left?” He pondered for a moment, not even able to recall the timeline, much more easily distracted than any of the sides.
“Oh just leave him out of this conversation would you?” Another gentle hiss that melted into his words, some obvious disdain towards the subject matter. Raising his mouth to meet the apple again, he took a rather large chunk of it into his mouth. Bitter silence ate away at the air for a couple of seconds before Remus spoke up again, mostly to annoy the other man. Of course his original reference of Virgil was not supposed to be in vain but now that his ammo was out in the open, how could he not beat the horse dead? He’d beat the hell out of it!
“Well if we aren’t going to chit chat about Virgil, then can you please stop putting your real motives under a veneer and tell me why the fuck you called me here? That rhymed—” He snickered for a second, then his face melted back to a stone cold expression. “I’d much rather be writing down some of my joyous ideas of how to ruin Thomas’ day.” Demanding. His tone had switched over to something far more demanding despite keeping a singsong melody.
Atmosphere shifted slightly, Janus feeling a tad threatened by the sliver of aggression. Out of the two of them, Remus was extremely powerful in terms of illusions and the things he could control but overall Janus would win if they fought. Secrets were his forte and even if the other sides attempted to unveil the things he kept tucked away, they could never find the vault that held the lot of them.
One thing he wasn’t afraid of hiding was his extra arms, the ones he could summon at will. On command one slowly snuck up behind the unsuspecting victim. It still adorned Janus’ chartreuse gloves, buttoned at the bottom and basically glued to his hand. Fingers began to flip against Remus’ skin, putting pressure on his throat faster than he could react. Soon enough he found himself in a chokehold, his face showing the simple emotion of amusement.
“My god Janus when did you become so kinky! I knew you had it in you but—” Remus’ words died as another hand came around and covered his mouth.
Janus’ face looked completely blank and deadpan, not finding this at all pleasant. “Oh please, would you shut up? Somehow you’re worse than Logic. I’ve only known the guy for two weeks but he is slowly catching up to your level of ignorance. You have competition.”
Another pause, and then a gag. From Janus.
“You filthy, vile, thing!” It was an insult at best as his extra hand quickly retreated from the other side’s mouth. Remus burst into an uncontrollable belly laugh that filled up the void with scratchy and echoey banter.
Janus inspected his hand with a displeasure plastered on his face, tongue gently lolled out in disgust. He had licked him!
“Awww can’t handle a little love from saliva?”
“You as sssso infuriating!”
“I know I am Dee! But you just love me don’t you? Don’t you, you ssssnake?” Remus mocked his hiss with a shit eating grin.
“Oh my god, you are like a child. An immature child.” Janus retorts, the expression slipping out hard, quick and quiet. The now contaminated hand worked on retreating back to where it had first appeared to remove his toxin.
Remus ignored the insult, leaning his entire body weight against the bench he still sat upon and the arm confiding him. It shifted slightly, adjusting to the way he positioned himself. “Soooo, what did you want to talk about again? I forgot—”
“Already? I misjudged your idiocy. I somehow underestimated it.” Janus glared, taking another bite of his sweet fruit. Chewing filled the silence. Then a swallow. “To paraphrase without your interruption: I have been unveiled and need to discuss the terms of your appearance next.”
The Duke’s eyes lit up with pure surprise and this very characteristic excitement. “Oh! My! God! Janus you’re gonna let me free? You’re gonna let me show off my splendid talent? They’ll love me Jan!” He sputtered for a second, his body twisting within his restraints from pure anticipation.
“With rules.” Janus corrects, teeth connecting to the green flesh of his apple once again. There were fang marks left in his wake as he chewed. Swallowed. “You will of course have limitations for what you tell them about myself, our home, our motives, and our general secrets.” Remus sat still for a moment, nodding methodically. Almost like he cared— which he did! He knew this was serious. “Of course information about yourself is to be shared at your own discretion, but be wary.” Another reminder. Deceit knew exactly how ignorantly forgetful his ally was. How naive he was. Just like his–
“Soooo, can I tell them about how that stupid prick is my brother? I want to go upstairs to the mind palace and properly meet them! Maybe Patton will let me use his DDR for real this time if we’re actually on good terms! He seems like the nicest of them—”
“You are not to make close relationships with them, Remus.” Janus had slipped a shushing finger over his lips, the chatty nature that usually got on his nerves now pulling at his heart strings without fail. Not that he’d ever admit that, or show it on his scaled face.
“Remember, they are still friends with your brother and cautious of our assistance to Thomas’ mental health and daily life. They only barely trust my advice and I’m almost certain they would not heed yours.”
Remus pouted a bit, letting out a sigh that mushed together with a whine. “Fine.”
“And may I remind you that the light sides are aware of your past with Roman. They witnessed the split.” The rowdy man looked away, his voice suddenly sounding like it was coming from another room. “I know, sorry. I forgot.”
Janus rolled his eyes, sighing softly as his brain swirled with thoughts of pity. He cleared his throat. “Right, well, let us finalize this.” He fixed his posture. Back straight, hands clasped behind his back as he sat up. “I want you to show up in Thomas’ thoughts tonight but not how you normally do, make yourself far more comfortable there, Ree.”
Remus nodded again, starting slow then turning frantic. “Yes. Yes. Noted, you sly boa!”
Janus groaned, the extra arm that held Remus hostage slowly slipping away. As Remus got up to brush himself off, Janus dissolved his apple into nothing, holding out the now empty hand. “Shake on it and we can make our deal, let me do the rest. I will finally release your perfect creativity for them to all see. Although, I can not promise everyone will be fond of it, I’m sure that it’ll get their attention. All eyes on you.”
Remus shuddered, quickly taking his hand and shaking it with all his might. “Your slick words and promises make me woozy~ Keep it up ya danger noodle! We have a deal!”
Janus cringed at the nickname, pulling away and gently rubbing his now sore appendage. “Good luck, Duke.” And slowly, he sank away.
Remus thought for a moment before following suit, his mind simply reeling. The prominent question being: How would Thomas react to his new addition and a small side of intrusive thoughts?