The Palace of Role Play

 The cold warranted a little extra clothing, and so this was one of the rare occasions that the incubus known as Nathaniel or Natrix was actually sporting a proper amount of clothing. As he was used to frolicking in the near nude he did not mind a little cold, but the winter air chilled him when he had stepped out of the castle in just his leather shorts and a devious smirk.

 It was this (and the fear that some of his own vital parts might freeze off) that prompted him to pull on his slacks, shoes, shirt and over coat, all of which were fairly well tailored. Though he did not do it often, he knew how to dress himself like a proper gentlemen.

 At present, he was using his wings to carry himself over the snow, they were leathery and a little stiff from the cold, but the exercise made him feel good, and most importantly his nice shoes were not being soiled by snow. Natrix had never owned nice things before arriving in Castlevania, and so he felt a need to take special care of the clothing that his master had gifted him.

 His breaths made clouds of steam before him, and he found this a little amusing as he glided slowly over the ground, flying less than a foot about the snow covered surface.

 Natrix blinked slowly, his dark eyes scanning the snow. He could see the shuffle like trail that his dear pet had left in the snow, and so he peered behind him, watching as the creature mindlessly followed him.

 "Nibbler, you naughty little thing," he called, tail flicking slightly in amusement, "dragging your master out in the cold to search for your arm!" His voice was very sing-song, and flicked around a little in the air, raising away from the ground more so and spinning absently as he waited for his pet to catch up to him.

 "I don't see your arm anywhere, are you sure you lost it by the lake?" He questioned, scanning along the snow again, and spotting other monsters seemingly making their way towards the lake.

 "Rawgaahaawah," responded the zombie, whom was missing it's right arm.

 "Alright, if you say so," the demon murmured, wondering what the other monsters were up to.

Hm, I think I'd like for Natrix to sort of happen upon them. He doesn't like the cold but he does like company, and also tormenting and the like.

 Or perhaps he would be looking for Nibbler. Or a piece of Nibbler. The possibilities are endless. xD

Fixed. P:

And also fixed the broken italics. xD

Thanks guys.

At any rate, stumbled upon this song and thought it would make a nice theme song for Kylie. P:

Skillet - One Day Too Late (Lyrics)

So, I have a question...

 What would happen, if say, someone stumbled upon Kylie's bloody shirt upon the ground? XD

 Ironically, earlier today I was thinking that there weren't many guys on here.

 At any rate, it's nice to meet you.

 Gabriel remembered that day quite vividly, as he always would. It was a warm day, late in the summer. The sun was shining, but dark clouds were slowly rolling over the small town, threatening to burst and spill their contents in a downpour. The breeze was gentle, warm. All in all, it had been a beautiful Saturday, just like any other.

 Jeremy hadn't even reached thirty. He was still youthful, very much upbeat and unlike the bitter man that he had become years later. He was sitting on the edge of a sandbox that he had built for the children, and he watched as his two older children played with a couple of the neighbourhood kids. Meanwhile, he held the youngest in his lap. She was barely three years old, and had little interest in playing with the others. She was much to curious about the world, she did not like simply sitting around, she wanted to explore!

 A dragonfly buzzed around them, causing the girls to scream and run away from the sandbox, while the boys swung plastic buckets and shovels at it, trying to kill the elusive bug as they ran about like madmen. They were not successful, and soon lost interest as they lost sight of it. With that, they through down their equipment and made for the open garage door, where a basketball net was hanging.

 The large bug had perched itself on the youngest child's nose, and she just stared at it, in a wide eyed wonder. Her little hands reached for it, attempting to catch it, but Jeremy brushed a hand along her nose, effectively dispersing the bug and making her giggle as it clearly tickled her.

 "You don't want to play with that, Kylie, it's dirty," he laughed a little, allowing her to crawl from his lap and out of the sandbox, apparently intent on chasing the thing. He rose quickly to follow her, as in an instant she had managed to escape his reach, but as he turned he spotted his younger brother standing there, the little girl in his arms. Jeremy smiled, resting his hands briefly on his hips, "well, well. Finally found your way back here again, did you college boy?" He teased, which was more or less how he always talked to his brother, and the man usually returned it, but not that day.

 Gabriel appeared almost morbid as he looked at the girl, running the back of his finger over her face, "my, you've grown," he murmured, noticing how strangely the girl looked at him, as she clearly did not recognize him. He couldn't blame her, of course, he had been gone for some time and she was so little that she wouldn't have remembered. He sighed heavily, slowly looking to his brother, clearly not himself.

 Jeremy furrowed his brows, dusting his hands off in his oil stained jeans as he approached his sibling. "You look like someone killed your best friend," he quietly pointed out, watching as his brother shifted idly and awkwardly in his place. He was growing worried, that perhaps something was wrong, he hadn't Gabriel so conflicted since their parents had died years earlier.

 "Is... Eve home?" He awkwardly asked, feeling his chest twinge as Jeremy nodded. Hesitantly he offered the girl back to him, and cleared his throat, "would you mind coming for a beer with me?" His voice was quiet, almost fearful as his older brother stared upon him. He made a point to look away, diverting his pained eyes as though they would give away everything that was on his mind.

 Jeremy accepted his daughter, shrugging his shoulders as he did so, "yeah, sure." He murmured, as he was not one to turn down a cold drink. Besides, his brother was clearly bursting to tell him something, likely something that he deemed important. He's probably going to tell me he's gay... Like I've not realized it already. He scoffed inwardly before making his way inside his home, where he dropped off his youngest child and informed his wife of his plans. Upon his exit, he did not notice the worried young woman appearing in the window, gazing harshly at his brother as though warning him to stay his tongue.

 Gabriel saw this, and swallowed a hard lump in his throat, turning his dark eyes down the street as he waited for his brother to reach him. When the two young men were reunited, they started down the street together, a silence between them unlike any they had ever felt before. Gabriel was simply pathetic looking, as though he were beating himself up on the inside.

 Jeremy recognized this look. He knew his brother well, and why wouldn't he after having lived with the man for the better part of his life. He stared intently at Gabriel, hoping to gain his attention and have him spill his guts without further probing, but the man's eyes were downcast, and he was lost in some realm of thought. The older brother rolled his eyes, eventually extending an arm to lightly punch the other in the shoulder. "Something on your mind?" He asked, once he held his brother's attention.

 Peering through his glasses, rather pitifully, Gabriel gave his head a single, firm nod. His throat became dry as the inevitable 'what' followed his brother's first question. "I..." His voice faltered, and for a moment he felt as though his awkward puberty voice had returned to him. He rose a hand to his throat, clearing it rather loudly. "I did something bad, Jeremy," he finally admitted, his dark, sad eyes turning to the other man.

 Jeremy snorted a laugh, raking his fingers through his own shaggy hair, "what? Accidentally close a door in someone's face?" He taunted, but his brother remained grim, and so his arrogant smirk slowly faded away. He grew quiet, clearly realizing how serious the situation must have been, that he could not even so much as make the usually care free man smile.

 "Something terrible," he mumbled, feeling his blood run cold and palms growing clammy with fear and regret. "To someone very close to me..." He bit down upon his lip, wondering if his brother would eventually catch on if he kept dropping hints. However, Jeremy was just staring at him, in that way that he always did, silently demanding that he say more, or at least start making sense. Another burdened sigh escaped his body and his shoulder slouched with the exhale, his tall form slumping as he slowly came to a halt.

 Jeremy was quickly growing impatient, he wasn’t entirely sure what his brother was getting at, but whatever it was it really didn’t sound good, and even if it wasn’t as bad as his brother was making it out to be, he’d have to smack the man for making him worry needlessly. “C’mon, spit it out, we’re not getting any younger here,” he slowly managed to say, his brows furrowed impatiently.

 Gabriel’s heart was racing, telling him that he had to unveil a truth that he had been holding in for almost four years. His head argued that the consequences would probably break up the family and sever their bond of brotherhood, but alas, his heart, as per usual, won the battle, and before his brain could stop him his mouth began to run.

 “Jeremy, when I was living with you...” His voice broke once more, but he forced himself to stay strong, “I... I... Slept with your wife while you were at work one day, and I...” His voice faltered completely at the look on his brother’s face. He could pinpoint the exact second that his brother’s heart broke. He tried to continue, but no words came out, only a soft whine like sound.

 “Gabriel...” His breathing was heavy, laboured and distressed as he rose his hands to pull at his hair, “how could you? How could you do this to me? You know how much I love her... Why... Why would you seduce her? In my own fucking house?!” His hands fell to his side, and he swung one so fast and hard that Gabriel believe he was going to receive a punch in the face.

 “I didn’t, Jer, she came onto me, I know that’s no excuse, but she was all over me, telling me- UGH!” Gabriel was correct, though his timing was off. His brother’s fist swung around, catching him in the upper lip. He recoiled slightly, taking a few steps back as he touched his throbbing face. He knew full well that he deserved it, in fact he had hoped he would feel better when his brother inevitably punched him, but he did not. The tears in Jeremy’s eyes could never console him, much less when he had caused it.

 “Don’t talk about her like that,” he choked, breathing unevenly as he held his fist curled tightly at his side. He was oblivious to the neighbours peeking out their windows and craning over fences to see and hear what was going on. None of that mattered to him. A growl left his throat, “you traitor, I though we were family,” he lunged at his brother, and the two men fell to the ground amidst a flurry of grunting, swearing and flailing limbs.

 There was a crunch as Gabriel’s glasses were broken, and as his brother briefly nursed his wounded hand the younger sibling managed to push him off and stumble to his own feet. His nose was bleeding, his lip swollen, and the broken frames of his glasses hung off of his face, with several shards of glass having lodged itself in his cheek. “Please, please listen to me, she told me it wasn’t the first time she cheated on you.” He coughed, sending a little blood across his bottom lip, “and I know you’ll hate me for what I did, and I wont blame you, but please don’t blame her...” He begged, becoming incoherent as he continued to ramble.

 “Blame her? She fucking cheated on me with my own damn brother, she’ll be lucky if I don’t kick her sorry ass out on the street,” Jeremy growled, appearing rather brutish as he managed to make it to his own feet, with his shoulder slouched and his arms hanging straight down, as though they were filled with lead.

 “No, not her,” Gabriel shook his head, taking another step back as he feared his brother’s reaction when he was to learn the worst of the news. He spat a bit of blood onto the side walk, shaking his head a little sadly, “Kylie... She isn’t yours Jer. She can’t be, since you had that surgery.” Of course, Gabriel was referring to a vasectomy, which his brother had undergone several months prior to the conception. If his brother was angry before, he looked about ready to murder Gabriel where he stood.

 “Don’t... Don’t you dare say that!” He hissed, teeth gritting so tightly that they were hurting his jaw, not that any of that mattered to him, “don’t you ever say that. Eve told me... That it was... possible...” His voice trailed off as he realized that he had been deceived by his wife, clearly more than once. He shook his head in disbelief. Jeremy’s mind could not process everything, and so he was running through emotions at an insane pace. Sadness, anger, depression, confusion, rage. One moment he was sobbing, the next he was yelling. Another moment still he was begging that God let him wake up from the nightmare. When he finally collected enough of himself he managed to get to his feet, and started to stamp towards his home.

 “Jeremy, where are you going?” He asked, trying to follow the man, whom whirled about and tried to punch him square in the nose. Luckily, Gabriel managed to dodge this one, and stumbled backwards to escape any further outbursts.

 “Stay the hell away from me,” Jeremy yelled, shaking his head violently, “and stay the hell away from my family.” With this he turned, dragging himself towards his home, still an unstable mess that could barely keep himself on his feet.

 Gabriel stood solemnly, watching the sad sight, with tears swelling in his eyes, and it was that sobering moment that the sky finally chose to break, and the rain began to pour, though Gabriel made no move to try to evade it as the sad reality had set in, that he had not only destroyed his brother’s life, but effectively removed the only family that he had left. His glasses finally fell from his face, landing on the pavement hard enough to devastate the rest of the frame. “I’m so sorry,” was all he managed to whisper as he simply stood there, gazing after his brother, even after he had long disappeared...