(ACT 01) Two halves of a whole

‘What.’

This man (werewolf, Proserpina gently reminded herself) wanted to seduce her?

No talk of a date, of courting, just... that.

‘WHAT.’

...What the hell.

‘PROSERPINA!” Death’s sudden roar of outrage rang distantly in the back of her mind, barely making her blink. 'For the love of your father, please don't tell me you are actually considering this… this thing as a lover! Think of the consequences. It's not worth it!’

Forget about considering him as a potential lover, let alone bringing an actual werewolf to her bed.

She was simply tempted to... to punch this moron.

“...I am difficult, you say?” Proserpina finally asked, her voice growing cold as she slowly appraised him from head to toe with a deliberately apparent disdainful gaze, “I am certain if you tried to seduce anyone, let alone a god in such a dreadful state—unshaven, bloody, half-dressed, and half-covered in mud, not to mention you smell of dirt and sweat—you would be rejected.”

He actually winced at that, absentmindedly running a palm over his chin, seemingly even surprised to find some stubble there. “Today is not my day…” Alastor murmured, almost to himself.

“Then you should be on your way!” Proserpina suggested brightly, all false cheer with a single clap, “My uncles always said that nothing cheers up a man than a passionate night spent with a horde of gorgeous nymphs.”

He blinked, “What.”

She half-turned away from him, “Have fun with your groupies.”

“But I don't want them! Any of them,” the werewolf grumbled, as though he already had this kind of conversation before—with a body and a face like that, he probably did, “...not even before I saw you.”

For some reason, Proserpina can feel heat steadily creeping up her pale cheeks at the absolute sincerity in his voice, even though a part of her was outraged at the sheer audacity but another part—the larger part of her was absurdly pleased to hear that… despite the very vocal protests of Thanatos in her head:

‘Forget this. Forget it. And forget him! It’s not worth it. Just go home, prinkípissa, JUST GO HOME ALREADY!’

Home...

Right, Proserpina has finished her mission, after all.

She needed to get home now, back to William before Queen Persephone starts nagging and complaining again to Hades about her being out and away for so long and have her dragged to her father’s court, far away from this werewolf.

“I am flattered… but I am not interested.” Proserpina finally remembered to say, watching the smile slip from his face for a second.

“But…!”

“I don’t care.”

He actually recoiled from that.

Curious… but not enough to warrant her attention.

“Goodbye, Alastor Nyx.”

With that, Proserpina turned her attention to dispose of the empousa’s remains properly, intending to feed it to Cerberus once her inevitable return to the underworld is settled and knowing the queen, she will be most likely brought straight to her father's domain.

Proserpina opened her hand for the empousa's head, but Alastor suddenly stepped forward and dropped down on one knee making her tense, what the hell, are you going to pop open a ring now—but he simply picked it all up, ignoring the still-dripping blood coming from it, as if he was being a gentleman, retrieving a dropped handkerchief for his fair lady in the Victorian era instead of handling a beheaded corpse.

Maybe she was wrong about him–

Then, he threw it away, way high up into the air as it sailed past until even she can no longer see where it landed. He gave her a boyish grin, followed by a double thumbs-up.

...maybe not.

Proserpina sighed at his antics.

A being as persistent as Alastor Nyx would prove to be Proserpina’s downfall if she is not careful dealing with him; a handsome face that literally concealed a beast… that is, if the lore concerning his kind during the full moon is to be taken seriously—the possibility of him overpowering her in a fight with sheer strength alone still stands, after all—then he might as well be a threat even to a minor deity like her.

With her task done, Proserpina gently tugged off of her gloves and half-turned away from him, the shadows already growing to take her home… but Alastor suddenly held his hand out, his fingers very nearly touching the shadow as he stood up, as if intending to follow her.

At that, Proserpina wordlessly commanded the shadows to disperse all at once before it stole his. She glared at the stormy skies, her gaze tired and accusing because she was so certain that somewhere out there in the clouds, way up high in Mount Olympus... there was a certain goddess of love laughing her head off while watching Proserpina's current dilemma.

Then again, it could be Eros for all she knew…

“Are you deaf or are you dense?” Proserpina finally snapped, not bothering to look behind her, “I am not interested.”

“Is this because I'm a werewolf?”

‘No, because you're a man…’

Proserpina suddenly felt guilty when she turned around and saw the genuine hurt on his face, his dark chocolate like eyes tearfully gleaming amidst the rain, reminding her of an adorable, kicked puppy, begging for scraps of affection.

...then, she immediately felt annoyed with herself for even feeling guilty.

(Shame, he’d make a wonderful puppy…

Proserpina quickly shoved and stomped that thought away. Where the hell did that one even come from?)

“The rumors you heard? They are wrong. I am not hard to seduce... I cannot be seduced. And gods considers everything below us to be no better than animals or playthings, so it is best for you to be on your way and forget about it,” Proserpina told him, hoping to get her point across,

“I wasn't asking them. I was talking to you,” Alastor narrowed his eyes at her, “But I'm sure you don't agree with their perspective, or you wouldn't want me to be your mate.”

This time, Proserpina did not bother to hide her shock, “Mate...?”