Contemptuous Arrest [ Erwin x OC ]

Sixteenth Endeavor: Aeshma

DISCLAIMER: From this chapter onward, be prepared for the grimmer side of this fanfiction ie. the truth regarding everyone's situations and pasts. It may be unsettling, nerve-racking, and/or difficult to comprehend until the ending, which is a mere four chapters away. As the author, I intend to warn you about the circumstances, as of which some will be addressed in the next few chapters for the more sensitive/mature themes being showcased in this work. Also, I implore you to keep track of the characters, since they're all a bit . . . entwined with each other.

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Aeshma's Quarters; The Regal Dwelling, Grahmmite, Year 21XX

Decimated lands and large fissures dotted the surroundings beyond a grand abbey window, as if the once-beautiful world had cloaked itself in a dreary canvas fit solely for despondent pigments and hues. The intricate lacing of the window wove into ovular and thorn-like Gothic designs, their bent iron masterpieces concealing bits and pieces of the mournful landscape below. A few sharp plinks resonated in the confines of an expansive, clustered setting, a sunflower-haired male occupying a plush leather chair as he continued to flick medallions onto his desk.

"Dove," Aeshma recited, flipping one of the white tokens that depicted the said avian onto a larger pile of similar objects, "pure and innocent; oblivious of her pitiful circumstance."

The commander's left eye blinked onto another pile of dark-colored coins, the ocean pigment of his iris affixed to the inky image imprinted on the round object. Picking one up with his gloved hand, he inspected the drawing of a dark-feathered bird centered in the middle of the medallion, the patch around his right eye obscuring his focus by a meager amount.

"Crow," the blond male jeered, a smirk creeping up on his masculine features as he tossed the coin into the same pile as before, "apathetic and reckless; overly selfish for the flesh of his beloved."

Withdrawing a final token, Aeshma gazed at the nostalgic etching adorning it and thumbed the icon accordingly, his smirk shifting into a contemplative smile. From the coffee plumage to the insidious look of its beady eyes, Aeshma had grown attached to the surreptitious fowl, his mind forever fixated on the thought of his favored specimen.

"Raven," he crooned, letting the name linger upon his lips before casting the coin into the growing horde of medallions, "vigorous and impetuous; foolish enough to believe his fate was far from inevitable."

Commander Aeshma sighed heavily, followed by a gruff, hoarse chuckle. His sapphire hues remained sedentary on his messy compilation, a satisfied simper curving the corners of his mouth upwards when he laid his sight on the masterpiece. Jumbled as it was, Aeshma could still detect who the various tokens belonged to and resembled, earning him another low giggle when he placed his elbow on the arm of his chair and cheek in his palm. A devilish gleam glinted across Aeshma's eyes as he blinked, his tongue pressing eagerly at the back of his sharp, jagged teeth.

Blinking his fair lashes shut, Aeshma hummed to himself, listening as the howling winds scratched and clawed at the fragile glass adorning the abbey windows of his private quarters. Dense, gloomy clouds hung in the atmosphere as if they were strung up by puppeteer strings in the distance, signaling a downpour was eminent within the passing hour. The pendulum to a grandfather clock listlessly swung back and forth with each second, filling the secluded space with a monotonous, tranquil aura.

Simplistic as it was, Aeshma adored it to the last detail, from the rattling of the old-fashioned institute to the audible tapping and drumming of his gloved fingers against the cherry wood of his desk. He let the dispirited void of the deteriorating world consume and ravage him as if it was reminiscent of the vehement waves during a disastrous storm at sea. The sounds of pure nothingness and despair sent a rippling wave of soothing ease and twisted pleasure throughout his stout figure, causing the flaxen-haired commander to exhale a stifled breath.