Matteo's Teaser

Matteo is a Nephilim, a "Fallen" so to speak. With his own plan in mind, he doesn't serve the purpose of living to cause pain and agony, but he is very much the intelligent and cocky manipulator...

Matteo’s Teaser.

Dull eyes revealed the level of intellect in the clueless expression plastered over the pallid face of a man whose obesity seemed marred by gaunt skin hanging in sacs off his broad frame. Seated on the wooden chair with sweat saturating his clothing, the smallest trembles racked his frame to reveal another form of life beyond the disbelief. Finally, the slack jaw worked itself into a fury as sounds began to travel up his throat and out, yet the second man in front of him didn’t seem concerned for either side of the spectrum; his answer, or lack of it. Matteo surveyed his spy with little more than unsatisfied distaste. The lack of an explanation, or a timely arrival, had already negated any good points the human had earned himself in Matteo’s books, which all now thoroughly read negative. That was fine by him.

Contrasting to both males’ dark aura, the well lit room boasted carpet, an old oak table completed by an expensive set of whiskey and rum bottles corked in their old glass jars, and a surprisingly large mirror which hung over a raging fireplace set in one wall. The walls themselves lacked any décor save for their cream hued paint, which flaked in places, and was marked in others by muddy prints akin to a dog’s.

“I don’t know,” Joseph said, petulant lips spraying a fine mist, almost with every syllable. Matteo slid his chair back a few inches, his fingers drumming the mahogany table, seemingly more intrigued with its grain. This only seemed to heighten Joseph’s sense of doom.

“They just disappeared,” he spluttered, and now fear coloured his eyes. Drumming his fingers ever faster, the more level of the two casually sighed with his eyebrows raised in a mock ‘what to do’ gesture.

“They musta been talking about leaving for a while, it wan’ our fault!” Now he was being outright offensive in his argument. Matteo could quite tangibly map his progress as he traversed the ranges, from a lack of knowledge, to explanatory, through to blaming others.

“It might enlighten me if you indulge your friend on who ‘they’ are? Considering I wanted tabs kept only on the half-breed,” Matteo finally said, flicking his short black bangs from his eyes and resting his chin on his palm. Only a slight creak in his leather jacket and a groan from the chair suggested he had moved anything beneath the table.

“O-of course! Well, there was… Laurent, yeah, Jacob, their friend Lily �" Liliana or something, uhh, Nait? Nick? Nick, yeah, that’s it, they all went missing, and then some,” Joseph said, a slimmed double chin wobbling. The fact of the matter was, that Matteo was not hearing what he had wanted. With a resigned sigh, he got to his feet, much to the increasing fear of Joseph who visibly recoiled.

“Missing? No doubt you tried to eat them or rape the women,” he said scornfully, folding his arms as he looked steadily down at the fumbling mortal. Joseph’s sagging skin about his face was again set in motion as he rapidly shook his head. That answered enough for Matteo. With a shrug, he brushed past the man. Out of the corner of his eye, strategically placed so Joseph would be able to see him only with his peripheral, Matteo opened his Gate. The consuming black hole enveloped him then sealed itself without a single sound, leaving Joseph to his own devices.

Beyond, where Matteo stepped from his Gate to another room, he found one figure waiting in a corner, dressed entirely in black. The form-fitting clothing revealed a feminine figure, completed by long locks of black hair tumbling down in waves to her elbow, currently being played with by idle fingers. Facing her, Matteo snapped his fingers for her to speak.

“Hell hounds are hunting her,” Silence said with a smile. Pleased with this bit of news at least, Matteo nodded his appreciation and motioned vaguely. The air before them rippled as his Gate opened, this time showing a shadowy version of events. The dark forest presented was alive as the hounds snaked their way through the brush, their speed revealed only by the trunks of trees rushing by as nothing but a blur. Their lengthened teeth were visible, rat-like tails poised straight. Silence purred in the background.

“Make sure they don’t actually hurt her. Not much use bargaining with damaged goods, you know,” Matteo continued flatly, noting the aggressive demeanour the hounds put off. It usually meant they were going in for the kill. Silence looked taken aback.

“Fine. I’ll go and be of assistance,” she replied. Matteo didn’t even bother watching as she left with a faint suction of air. Alone, he sighed and let the images fade, extending his wings. With a few feathers out of place, he set to pulling them out. As each fell, it returned to its natural state as a long strand, glowing with dark tones. At least there is some good to come of this chaos. His wings seemed to split as they fanned out, wrapping around him in a supportive and protective cocoon.

In the pitch black confines, Matteo thought about the meeting he had had three days prior. The thought still left him uncertain, wary. Nostravas. What is your plan…? Only the black dragon’s eyes remained in Matteo’s mind, vividly etched like a nightmare.

Author's Note

First draft, as usual. Not really too happy as I don't feel this teaser really brings out his personality, or is very interesting, but it sort of ended up like this as a flow that I just left. Matteo's the bad guy, I suppose, but in actual fact he's fairly neutral. At a later date, he and Serafa will have an interesting connection as well which in turn joins him to Shemaq.