born to die -- open to death eaters

[tom marvolo riddle]

TRIED TO TAKE WHAT I COULD GET
scared that i couldn't find all the answers, honey
♚

tom marvolo riddle apparated with a snap into the sleepy town of little haggleton. the hour was late and the town was asleep, tom could scarcely make out the outlines of the rooftops of the homes in the valley below. he looked over to the giant manor behind him. a handsome and massive home surrounded by a wide expanse of velvety green lawn. he walked slowly up the steps and removed the hood of his cloak which covered his head. his appearance still bore the resemblance of a human being. his transformation was not complete yet, although his skin had become increasingly pale, and his bones more defined in his face.

the building was extraordinarily haunting. it was perfect. tom hadn't been in the place many times since he had murdered his family in it when he was seventeen, but he thought that the setting was perfect for a meeting of his death eaters. perhaps they would meet here regularly from now on. he took out his wand from his robes and held it up in the air sending green sparks flying towards the sky. the death eater alert was set. they should start arriving momentarily. he would soon change this alert to resemble his new symbol, the precise purpose of this meeting.

he flicked his wand sharply now towards the building, unlocking the massive front door, and entered the mansion. it had become quite shabby over the years, cobwebs covered nearly every surface. he found the grime and darkness quite comfortable. he entered the dining room area which consisted of a long dark wood table that was once the riddle family dinner table. it was massive, taking up most of the room with two chairs at each head and six chairs on each side. there was a well preserved suit of armor in the corner of the room, and a fireplace on the furthest wall. tom flicked his wand toward the fireplace and a flame ignited providing the only light in the entire house. he pulled out one of the head chairs and seated himself. he rolled up one of his cloak sleeves to observe a new mark on his arm. he ran his fingers over it and it tingled. it was laced with blood. still fresh. the shape of a skull with a snake emerging from its mouth. his "dark mark" he called it.

for now he was the only one brandished with this mark, but once his death eaters arrived he would introduce them to this new mode of communication. he planned to brand each of them with this mark so that all he had to do was press his wand onto the spot and they would all feel a surge of pain through their forearms, bidding them to his presence at once. he could demand to see them at any moment. and anyone who did not comply would find that the mark on their arm would grow increasingly painful until they could bear it no more and would be forced to come to him. he pulled his sleeve back over the tender mark and pressed his fingers together in front of him. waiting.

[JOSEPH TANNER]

Joseph was walking down a worn dirt road, enjoying the quiet solitude of the night, when he saw the flash of green. He was being summoned. The tall, blonde man was at the street before the sparks had finished raining down upon the Riddle house. He walked purposefully up the drive, his black cloak billowing in his wake, his gait steady, not slowing as he reached the large front door and entered the foreboding mansion; He did not knock; the sparks had been his invitation in.

He bowed deeply upon entering the large dining room, "My Lord." his eyes fell upon the only other person in the room, Tom Marvolo Riddle, one of the only people whom Joseph feared. It was not a shameful or cowardly fear, but a rational fear of possibly the most powerful wizard alive. His pale skin seemed to glow in the darkness, and his gaunt, unforgiving face was illuminated eerily by firelight. Joseph inconspicuously blocked all disloyal or dangerous thoughts, leaving his intentness to fulfill his masters wishes and the respectful fear he felt be first in his mind.

His observant pale blue eyes did not fail to notice the strange mark of ink on the Dark Lord's forearm, and he wondered what gruesome, fascinating purpose it had. He did not allow his eyes to linger on it too long, but the curiosity stayed with him. He heard the loud cracks and footsteps that announced the approach of others.

[Keira Robinson]

never wanted this

Keira was roaming around the streets of Knockturn Alley again, finding something to do. She had woken up in fairly decent spirits that morning. She hadn't been summoned by the Dark Lord for a few days already, and generally, not having to attend those meetings, and then go ahead and kill more people, seemed to make her feel better. It was like as if just for some time, she was free from the clutches of the dark side which she had willingly sauntered into.

She was just about to head into Borgin and Burkes, just to have a look around for the fun of it, when she saw the flash of green sparks. Damn it. Here she was, thinking she could elude the meetings for just some time more. But no, apparently, the Dark Lord had something important to say, and was summoning his followers. Rolling her eyes and gritting her teeth, she turned on the spot, thinking hard about the Riddle Manor, the new headquarters.

As soon as the sick sensation of apparation faded, she opened her eyes to see the grand mansion. It must've been one of the best back in those days, just by looking at the extravagant grounds that surrounded it. But right then, it merely looked liked a run-down manor that would creep any normal human being out. Not the Dark Lord, though.

Taking a deep breath and successfully shutting her mind to anyone who'd try to break into it, she stepped forward and made her way into the mansion's dining area, only to see a few others, including Joseph Tanner who she loathed, and the Dark Lord. To make her presence known, she neared Tom Riddle and bowed. "My Lord," she greeted him, her eyes never betraying the fact that she hated all of this.

[tom marvolo riddle]

TRIED TO TAKE WHAT I COULD GET
scared that i couldn't find all the answers, honey
♚

voldemort felt the presence of another entering the house. he instantly penetrated their mind to learn that it was joseph tanner. one of his most loyal death eaters, if not, THE most. he placed a lot of faith and trust in tanner. he was young, but he could be relied upon for a great deal. he was quite valuable. a noble servant. "joseph... tanner..." he replied, acknowledging tanner's presence in the dining room. his voice was as cold as ice and notoriously emotionless. "you always are the first." the toll of his transformation was effecting his body more and more each day, and his voice had become increasingly snake-like than it ever had before. "sit," he instructed flatly to joseph, motioning to the chair closest to him. his gaze followed joseph closely and observed that he noticed his new dark mark. a small smile curled ever so slightly on the edge of his lips. what pleasure he would take in brandishing each of his loyal servants.

more and more of his followers began to trickle into the room. he only acknowledged those whom had been faithful to him and for quite some time. finally, one of the last few to arrive was keira robinson. her trustworthiness was questionable indeed, but she was more than easy on the eyes and that provided other advantages as well. "nice of you to join us ms. robinson..." his icy eyes observed her up and down when she entered the room. he saw her make for a chair and stopped her by grabbing her arm with one freezing cold hand. "sit next to me," he instructed her. finally a few more death eaters filed in to complete the group.

"i've gathered you here for this," voldemort said raising his forearm to reveal his dark mark. "each of you will be branded with this... dark mark..." he reached across the tabled and snatched up joseph tanner's wrist who sat next to him. he held joseph's wrist down firmly on the table with the inside of his forearm pointed upward for all to see. with a devilish smirk he raised his wand and pressed it into tanner's forearm, hard. he inflicted a great deal of pain on joseph, creating the dark mark, but he knew if anyone could hold their composure at the table, it would be joseph. voldemort found this quite entertaining. almost like a challenge. how far could he push before causing him to cry out in pain? he jabbed the wand in further and the symbol of a black skull with a snake going through its mouth came to fruition on tanner's arm.

voldemort stopped for a minute to admire his own work, then held up the forearm for all to see seated at the table. "this, my loyal servants, is how i will summon you from this point onward," he told them, letting go of joseph. voldemort held up his own arm and jabbed his own forearm with his wand, demonstrating the summoning process. he watched joseph's face as the pain in his own arm must have been corresponding with the pain in the dark lord's. his eyes flashed and he looked from one death eater to another. "if any of you do not come to my bidding, the pain will... exceed... your capable thresholds i assure you."

next voldemort snatched up keira's arm in a firm grip. "joseph," he asked, placing keira's arm flat on the table. "i want you to brandish her."

[JOSEPH TANNER]

The smallest smile played on Joseph's lips as his master commended him on his loyalty, pleased at the slight acknowledgement, quite an accomplishment for a death eater. He bowed once more in answer to the command, and then took his seat next to the Dark Lords own.

Joseph observed each death eater as they entered, his face expressionless. One of the last to arrive was a young, blonde girl. Keira Robinson. He despised the girl for her youthful arrogance, her disloyalty, and the fact that Tom Riddle seemed to dismiss it; His eyes met hers, and he allowed a smirk to flash across his face.

Joseph wasn't the only one paying attention to the young lady, and he noticed as The Dark Lord looked her up and down as if she were a meal. Joseph was tempted to argue as she was instructed to accompany her master to the table, but decided it better not to question The Dark Lord's judgement or power.

The death eater's pale blue eyes watched Tom Riddle intently as he explained the ink on his arm- The Dark Mark. Suddenly, an ice cold hand gripped his wrist, and though it didn't show on his exterior, he was thoroughly startled by the sudden contact.

Joseph knew what was going to happen in an instant, and braced himself for pain; The wandtip dug into his skin with a sharp pain, and then suddenly pain exploded, as if a small hand grenade had gone off in his hand. He blocked the pain out of his mind to the best of his ability, only dulling the sensation, and gritted his teeth, but otherwise kept his composure; Joseph knew what The Dark Lord was doing- This was a test, an example to the other Death Eaters, and he knew that his master was thoroughly enjoying it. Either way, he would not disappoint.

He sucked in a sharp breath as the pain intensified, and then it was gone. Joseph did not let the relief show on his face. He looked down at the knew mark on his arm, a skull and snake to match The Dark Lord's. The pain as his master summoned him was nothing compared to the brandishing itself, but the pain was pain all the same. Joseph resisted the urge to wince, and kept a straight face, this time without pain flashing in his eyes as he knew it had at the last moments of the brandishing. He doubted anyone aside from perhaps his master had noticed.

Keira was the next to have her arm snatched from its resting place on the table, and the thought of watching her go through the pain he just had was twistedly appealing to Joseph. A wicked grin danced on Joseph's features as the Dark Lord requested he do the honor of brandishing the insolent girl, something he had not expected. "An honor, My Lord" he replied, taking Keira's arm in a firm grip and drawing his own wand. He repeated the Dark Lord's incantation and pressed his wand into Keira's fair forearm. Hard.

[Keira Robinson]

Keira was rather shocked to see the Dark Lord looking so pale and sickly, and his voice was so close to the hiss of a snake that Keira resisted an urge to look around for a gigantic one. The Dark Lord would think she was mocking him. In actual fact, she would be rather glad to do so if only she could gurantee that she could walk out of the mansion alive after doing so.

The sudden, icy, grip on her arm scared her, and a gasp left her mouth as Voldemort beckoned her to sit next to him. Forcing a proud smile on her face, she took her seat next to him, opposite Joseph Tanner. Ugh. She hated that man. Hated the way he was so loyal, hated the way he loved causing pain, hated the way he just seemed to be so full of himself. These days, Keira could only just stop herself from hexing him into oblivion, but only because she knew he'd do the same to her within nanoseconds.

She obediently sat next to the Dark Lord, and watched in horror as he introduced the Dark Mark. So now they had to bear a mark that would forever seal their loyalty to him? Something that would constantly remind her of who she really was, or had been, even after finding a way to get out of his clutches? It was all she could do from bolting out of the huge manor and never return again. Instead, she remained expressionless, like how she had trained herself to look all these years.

She tried not to scowl as the Dark Lord chose Tanner to be his first victim. Of course, she was more than happy that the brandishing of the mark might actually hurt him. But she didn't like the fact that he was the first. She didn't like it one bit.

Keira could see that it was hurting him, even though he was doing a good job of hiding it. She could see his jaw clenching, and she smirked to herself. She would get to feel it too, yes, but a part of her still danced in joy to see Tanner in pain.

Her smirk disappeared soon enough when the Dark Lord ordered Tanner to brandish the mark on her arm. Damn it. She knew the Dark Lord had something against her. As his cold hand once again grabbed her arm and laid it on the table for Tanner, she took a deep breath, and clenched her teeth. If the Dark Lord had done it, she just might have allowed the pain to show. But with Tanner? There was no way in hell that she was going to give him the satisfaction of causing her pain.

So she used her Occlumens skills, and blocked the pain as much as she could as Tanner pressed his wand hard against her skin. It was still horrible. It was like as if the dark mark was being formed out of her own veins, the skull twisting and turning, forming itself on her left forearm. All the while, Keira never took her eyes off the mark, biting her lips hard as she refused to even blink in pain.

And as soon as the pain had come, it was gone. It was over. The dark mark sat upon her pale skin, the fact that she was forever marked by something so evil and vile hurting her more than the brandishing of the mark itself.

[tom marvolo riddle]

TRIED TO TAKE WHAT I COULD GET
scared that i couldn't find all the answers, honey
♚

voldemort was thoroughly pleased to see joseph take the pain so well. this was why he was so reliable. he could withstand pain, he could endure under difficult circumstances. it was an ideal trait for death eaters who would constantly be prey to questioning. joseph was never a worry. he had endurance beyond measure, even though voldemort knew that the pain he was causing would cause any other of his death eaters to at least flinch the slightest amount. voldemort's request to brandish keira was, yet again, another test. voldemort was always testing his death eaters time and time again. they had to be sharp, on their toes at all times, and joseph did not disappoint. this time, voldemort looked to see a true pleasure on joseph's face while he brandished the most beautiful and youthful of the death eaters. voldemort searched his face and penetrated his mind, and found this pleasure to be true.

some of the other death eaters may have the smallest ounce of pity to inflict pain upon women or children. they might even dislike the task. it baffled tom. and so keira was a worthy test of the death eater's abilities to harm those kinds of 'innocents'. she was young and beautiful, the perfect target. but to joseph it did not matter. voldemort decided her age, gender, and aesthetic appeal didn't give joseph any discomfort to hurt her, and he even found the same pleasure in it that voldemort had. that was a valuable death eater indeed. a small smile curled on the edge of tom riddle's lips.

now keira was being brandished. the dark lord suddenly became very interested. she was also holding her pain very well, and he was hoping she would be the first to cry out. was she trying to impress him? probably, all the death eaters were. but voldemort was not satisfied. he did want his death eaters to be strong and withstand the pain of this task thoroughly, but of all the death eaters, he wanted to watch keira squirm in pain. it brought a sick and twisted pleasure. slowly, voldemort rose from his seat, his finger tips pressed on the table in front of him. everyone's eyes seemed to follow his every movement.

"tanner..." tom started in his chilling voice. "brandish... the rest of them..." voldemort got up from his seat and walked behind keira's chair. his light eyes looked down upon her from above and he placed his hands on her shoulders. "ms. robinson... i hope joseph wasn't going easy on you my dear... was it not painful enough for you?" he asked coyly. he licked his cool lips in anticipation of perhaps torturing her. the thought had crossed his mind more than once. not to kill her, of course. she had her merits to be kept alive. just tortured. he knew full well that joseph tanner was not being merciful. she had withstood the pain on her own abilities. and voldemort just wanted to watch her skin crawl.

[JOSEPH TANNER]

Keira kept her composure almost as well as Joseph, and he felt stinging disappointment, but it did not show in his merciless blue eyes. He had not been the least bit sympathetic, quite the opposite, and it seemed that determination and hatred fueled her endurance. It seemed that she would allow him the sweet satisfaction. No matter, he would get it some time- And whats more the Dark Lord seemed more disappointed in her than him. Much like himself, Riddle had wanted to see the young girl suffer,

A wicked smile danced on Joseph's lips as Voldemort instructed him to brandish the rest. He enjoyed having undeniable power over the other death eaters, and the opportunity to watch the weak squirm in pain. He stalked towards the nearest death eater- a man he knew to be arrogant but weak- and grasped his wrist firmly. He shook his head as the man cried out. Pathetic; It only caused him to dig his wand harder into the flesh. Keira had reacted undeniably and surprisingly well, not yielding to pain- a bitter disappointment for Tanner, and it seemed he wasn't the only one. He watched with pleasure as the Dark Lord approached her; He doubted he would commend her on the performance. Joseph so hoped she would be tortured.

He kept a fraction of his attention on Keria and his master as he brandished the rest, inflicting maximum pain even on his most favored companions, enjoying the task more than one probably should. He enjoyed testing the strong, punishing the weak, and the fact that they were all powerless before him for it. His only master was Tom Riddle, and he would serve him well.

He observed the reactions thoroughly, getting a taste, or distaste, for each of his 'companions' capabilities. A few were strong, disappointing but impressive, most average- gasps of pain, groans-, and some utterly pathetic. One even begged for mercy. Joseph hoped they would be punished.

[Keira Robinson]

Keira could almost sense the disappointment rolling off in waves from the Dark Lord and Tanner, and didn't know whether to be truimphant or annoyed. Annoyed that they wanted to see her in pain, that the Dark Lord wanted it. She might not exactly be too keen to be participating in the 'activities' the Dark Lord made them do, but she did end up fulfilling his demands. And she did a good job, at that. It disgusted her more than anything to torture and kill someone, but she still did it. Of course, it was too much to ask for credit from the Dark Lord.

She resisted an urge to snort and role her eyes when the Dark Lord gave Tanner the task of brandishing the rest of them. It was probably a job that Tanner enjoyed more than anything, and it was obvious that the Dark Lord love watching others satisfy their sadistic instincts just as much as he loved satisfying his own.

Honestly, she didn't know what in the world she was thinking when she decided to become his follower.

And then Keira felt the Dark Lord's cold, cold hands on her shoulders, and tried not to shudder. "ms. robinson... i hope joseph wasn't going easy on you my dear... was it not painful enough for you?" She swallowed hard, still refusing to show how afraid and intimidated she was feeling right then. "I....No, my Lord. I mean...it was painful..." she stammered. Whatever she said, she knew that it would be the wrong answer. By agreeing that it had pained her more than anything, she'd make Tanner happy. By saying that it wasn't painful enough, she would only give the Dark Lord an idea to torture her. Instead, she just stopped stammering, and stared at the table intently. She was in trouble. She could feel it already.