#hugobel

[scarletwritesshit]

🦇Hugo x Belle🦇Something About Sentimental Value

Clearly, Wise was asleep. As if she couldn’t assume from the current time, she could hear him snoring from the shop floor, thanks to the thin walls and apparently there being such thing as soundproofing in this building. At least he was a rather heavy sleeper. He wasn’t one to be disturbed by the vigorous computer work that Belle occasionally did during absurd hours, or the occasional nighttime stray that happened to wander into Random Play.

Not often did someone come through the doors at one in the morning seeking a movie to rent. Those who did often rented the more... questionable types of content, usually tapes intended to be watched in solitude. The look on their face when a tired young lady would come to the counter to check them out was quite often priceless, but Belle couldn’t care less what they were seeking out. She knew damn well the secrets kept within the store’s inventory. She was most certainly aware that such tapes were within their possession. And all she honestly cared about was getting paid.

The opportunity for these few and far in between transactions was why she left the doors unlocked at night, when many would assume they were closed. Open arms for the desperate to earn a few extra Dennies never hurt anyone. And in the position that their savings were in, those few extra Dennies were something that Wise and Belle could very well use.

A few weirdos walked through those doors, on occasion. Nothing she wasn’t already used to, though, given her eccentric dealings in the past.

For once, as a break away from the screen, Belle had temporarily retired the Bangboo for the night and was manning the front counter herself. All of this computer nonsense that she wished that she could pass off to Wise yet remained, but she was wide awake and it was better to use her time to get something done than to try and count on him to do something to some degree of success in the morning. Knowing him, he was probably going to nab some of the store’s stock and proceed to watch it for himself. Maybe she should start charging him a rental fee…

As she was skimming through a magazine out of complete and boredom, Belle heard the door bells ring as a customer walked into the shop. She peered over her magazine to get a glimpse of who had come seeking a tape at this hour, but she noticed that this visitor was most unusual. His profession, if one could call it that, wasn’t exactly that of someone you’d find so openly crawling around the store.

Being all too familiar with his slimy nature, there was no chance that he could be up to any good prowling around Random Play. Belle narrowed her eyes, and kept a sharp watch as the blonde-haired beast glanced over the shelves. He didn’t exactly seem to be browsing the tape selection with much intent; it was more as if he was standing by, idly waiting for something.  An opportunity, perhaps.

“…Can I help you find something?” Belle asked.

He turned to look at Belle with an eerily delighted gaze, as if he were seeking her attention more than a suitable tape for the night. She couldn’t help but stare into his silver and red eyes, though he made her tremble internally despite the brave mask she donned. Their meetings were, thankfully, few and far in between, but she knew him well enough to call him by name. And she knew more than enough about him to realize that he was up to no good.

“My dear, what do you think I’m here for?” he said, slipping a silver coin into his pocket.

Belle rolled her eyes. “Hugo, I swear if you start asking me for ‘no ordinary treasures,’ I’m going to see you out myself personally.”

“You know me all too well,” Hugo said, with his fangs protruding from his grin. “Way too well.”

“It’s kinda obvious,” Belle said, putting down her magazine. “You know, you aren’t really going to find much in Random Play. Just a bunch of videos that Wise only suggested we carry so he could watch himself.”

“Ah, but I find that rather hard to believe. This building also serves as your residence, does it not?”

“What gave that away? The freight train snoring upstairs?”

How she wished that she could be Wise right now, blissfully sleeping the night away fully unaware of Hugo’s presence. But no, she just had to be downstairs alone with him, along with some Bangboo, but they really didn’t count as company, especially when they were charging for the time being.

“Hence why I find it hard to believe that there is nothing of value here,” he said, resting his arms on the desk.

It was evident that he wasn’t exactly willing to leave empty handed with the way he was eyeing up Belle. He knew from pure intuition alone that behind the shelves and stacks of cheap movies for rental lied a goldmine of memories shared between Belle and Wise. Old miscellaneous souvenirs, remnants of projects that they had worked on together, and many other relics of their past had so little physical value, yet they meant a great deal to them in terms of sentimental value.

Unfortunately, those were precisely the type of “relics” that Hugo was seeking out.

“Do you really want some of our old crappy notebooks? Or maybe the wrapper that has been lodged in the couch cushion for maybe six years now?”

“There is no doubt that the memories your brother has shared with you are quite precious,” he said, gently lifting up her chin. “It’s almost enough to satisfy my cravings for a good, long while.”

“O-our notebooks? Enough for you? Do we truly matter that much in some underground market where our old nonsensical scribbles hold so much value?”

“Oh, dear, I believe you completely misunderstand me.”

He stroked the side of her face with his bare thumb, then slid his hand down the side of her neck.

“What I want is something that is so important, so valuable to your brother. Something of his that cannot even come close to the value of anything within this store. Something, or someone, who is irreplaceable to him…”

His hand was resting on the side of her neck. The way he rubbed his thumb across her skin was so eerily soothing, despite his claws being mere centimeters away from the major arteries in her neck. Belle couldn’t manage to pull herself, even with the knowledge that Hugo’s soft touch was greatly contradicted by the pain she knew that he could inflict upon her.

“D-do you want me? Do you want to take me back to your shady hideout, or whatever?” she asked.

“I couldn’t bear to cause such distress to a beautiful lady,” he said, taking hold of her hand and giving it a gentle kiss. “But it still must be known one way or another that I lay claim to you.”

He glared up at her and sank his fangs into the top of her hand. Belle’s jaw clenched tightly, rendering her unable to call for help. She couldn’t understand why she felt so reluctant to cry out, but perhaps it was simply the habit of not causing too much of a ruckus to those resting in the building. Hugo released her hand and she pulled back it, watching a small amount of blood trickle down her hand.

Some dripped onto the counter. It was something that she would have to remember to clean up before Wise made his way down the steps in the morning.

The pensiveness and anxiety in her eyes seemed to be entertaining Hugo greatly, and the sight of the crimson red staining her hands only drove him even more feral. With a fresh, open wound on her hand, Belle was practically presenting herself as a slab of steak to a rabid predator driven mad by hunger.

With her hand still trembling from the sting, she attempted to use her other hand to wipe off the blood, but could hardly manage as she winced in pain. The palm of her other hand became stained as well, creating an even greater mess than the one she started out with.

“Darling, your hands don’t deserve to be sullied with blood, whether it be yours or mine,” he said, once more offering his hand. “Allow me to…offer my assistance and clean you up.”

Belle, still holding her sore hand, wasn’t sure the best course of action to take. He clearly was on the hunt, and not for treasure, but Belle feared the consequences should she excuse herself from such a customer of hers. Reluctantly, she placed the palm of her hand into his, and as promised, he licked the blood clean from her hand. The only trace of injury now where the two fang marks.

“So sweet,” he said, holding back the temptation to bite once more. “So, so sweet, fitting for such a sweet lady…”

Belle was stunned into silence, having her hand gently held by this unfortunately attractive man and having her thoughts swayed by this quite literal sweet talking. It was all around a weird situation, for someone harboring such a strong desire to feast on her blood specifically. Given her history of cooperating with Thirens, the strange foes she had faced, and so on it certainly wasn’t the most unusual thing she had encountered.

“Just…say you’re starving, or something,” Belle finally muttered.

“That is quite the animalistic way to put it, is it not?”

“The sides of your mouth are already stained with blood. You’ve done more than plenty to make yourself look like a beast.”

“Ah…how…improper of me,” he said, wiping off his mouth with the back of his hand. Hugo placed her hand gently down onto the table, surprisingly considerate of the fact that it was rather sore. “But you just taste… far, far too good.”

Wise continued snoring loudly from the upstairs. From the sound of things, there was absolutely no chance of him waking up to such a deplorable sight should Belle agree to relieve some of Hugo’s cravings. She looked back and forth between her pricked hand and Hugo’s pleading eyes, as if she was debating her answer to his silent pleas to indulge himself.

All hell would break loose, should he cause Belle to die. Surely, he had to be smart enough to leave her in a somewhat stable condition. Belle clenched her fist and looked away from him, shamefully charmed. He had such gentle eyes for a predator…for someone that could bite her throat out if she made one wrong move.

“Oh, dear,” Hugo said, walking behind the counter. “No need to be so shy.”

Belle looked up to see him looming behind her. He placed his hand on her neck, gently pulling aside the collar of her shirt to further expose the bare skin of her neck and shoulder. The contrast of his warm fingers and cold rings sent a tinge through her body with every inch he stroked. She tried to relax, taking deep breaths and attempting to calm her heart rate so she wouldn’t be drained as rapidly. But Hugo’s touch was teasing the entirety of her body and she almost wanted to pull him down into her neck just to get it over with.

Belle looked down to the side, allowing her hair to fall out of the way for easier access to her neck. She didn’t utter a single word, but with her flesh exposed in such a way, Hugo took it as an invitation to feast on her blood. She tried to keep her hands steady on the desk and repress any signs of nervousness, but it was rather hard when her palms were becoming uncomfortably sweaty.

She could still see his shadow looming over her as he leaned down into her neck. Belle wanted to close her eyes and brace herself for the pain, but she just couldn’t. Her entire body felt frozen stiff with the force of Hugo pinning her against the desk, rendering her immobile with her weight if not with her nerves.

Hugo nuzzled further into the side of her neck, then licked it slowly. Belle’s whole body cringed from the feeling of his cold saliva, but she held herself tense in place. Should she attempt to instinctively back up, she would only find herself further pressed against his body.

Not like she had the option of going anywhere anyways. Hugo had her hands pinned to the counter, further stinging the one he had nibbled on prior. Belle had come to hardly notice this pain as she was blinded by the surge of adrenaline. His hold was firm, yet he was taking this as a prime opportunity to indulge in the sensation of her fingers for himself.

“Such a beautiful lady,” he whispered. “I almost feel guilty for doing this to you.”

Giving no time for Belle to counteract, he sunk his fangs into the side of her neck. She bit her tongue and tensed up her hand, but the growing tension in her body only made it feel worse. Belle would have to relax if she still had the goal of surviving this encounter. She tried taking a deep breath, but she felt that if she inhaled too much, her windpipe would, in turn, be punctured by Hugo’s fangs.

Belle was very rapidly becoming lightheaded. She was losing strength in her legs and she felt like she could collapse at any moment. Just how much was he planning to take from her? Belle was starting to wish that she had suggested him feasting off of her brother, but Hugo seemed especially insistent on her being his prey for the evening.

The tension in her body eased as her body lost the willpower to resist. Belle was becoming tired, and combined with her exhaustion from being up into the late hours of the night, she was doomed to pass out sooner than later. At least she wouldn’t collapse face forward into the counter, as Hugo kept a firm grip on her body preventing her from falling. If only she could muster up the strength to tell him that her body wasn’t as abundant with blood as he hoped so.

Tired. So…very tired.

Belle’s eyes became heavy, and she hardly had the strength left to fight to keep them open.

After a few minutes that felt like grueling hours passing by Hugo finally released his fangs from her neck and loosened his grip on her body. Despite this, Belle still couldn’t quite move with muscles still stiff from anxiety yet weak from hemorrhaging, but she at least could muster a deep breath.

“Such a good girl for your first time, dear,” he said, giving her a gentle kiss on the neck where her wounds were.

As if that would make it any better.

Well maybe it did, but just by a little.

Belle slowly turned her head around to see him with a considerable amount of blood on his face. Not the least bit surprising, but still a shocking contrast to the gentleman who was serenading her moments prior.

“You uh, have a little something on your face,” she managed to mutter.

“Ah, apologies for my lack of manners. Worry not about me, as I believe that it is best that your concerns lie within yourself,” he said. “Rest your weary body and allow me to carry you to your quarters.”

Hugo was being surprisingly considerate for someone who had just welcomed himself to feast on her like that. Belle was quite lightheaded and his offer was quite tempting, but she still had greater concerns and a shred of dignity left.

“But what about the shop? I still need to lock it up.”

“Do not concern yourself one bit,” he said with a wink. “A thief knows his way around locks quite well.”

Belle was too tired to be concerned with his methods and motives, so she allowed him to carry her up the stairs into the bed. Wise was still fast asleep as he had been throughout the entirety of the night, completely ignorant of his sister becoming a meal just moments prior. Hugo nudged her door open gently and laid Belle down on her bed with a surprising amount of care. He carefully rested her head on her pillow and pulled her blanket over her body before closing the door and silently making his departure.

The following morning, Belle slept in for quite a long time. Much longer than Wise, which was almost unheard of. She awoke with her neck feeling quite sore, and so she made her way to the bathroom to observe the damage. The wound was surprisingly clean; he must’ve taken it upon himself to clean her of blood. Despite this, the presence of the bite wound was still rather obvious.

Belle wrapped it in some gauze and pulled her shirt up further, hoping that Wise wouldn’t look too hard or care enough to mention. She held onto the banister tightly as she walked down the stairs as she was still feeling lightheaded and rather dizzy.

“Belle,” Wise said as soon as he caught a glimpse of her, “did something happen last night?”

What did he mean something? What could he have possibly heard?

“W-What do you mean?”

“There’s a little bit of blood on the counter. I was worried that you had gotten hurt.”

Crap. She had completely forgotten about the wound on her hand. The blood staining the counter, the sheer obviousness of its location, everything about it altogether. And when she realized this, she once more became conscious of the stinging that lingered in her hand.

“Uh, nothing!” she said, covering her hands as best as she could with her sleeves. “Nothing at all. Just got a nasty papercut digging through some old crap. Nothing bad. I promise.”

Wise looked at her as if he didn’t believe her story one bit.

She didn’t believe herself, either. Not with the pain as a result of that handsome devil feasting on her last night.

[pinkpong-art-contemporain]

WEACT #12 - Nouvelles dates centre d'art nomade : jusqu’au 15 août 2021 (Le Castelet Toulouse) — Hugo Bel Paysage mental © Hugo Bel, Paysage Mental, meubles, plâtre naturel, pigment noir, 284 x 360 x 250 cm, mars 2021 Le travail d’Hugo Bel s’inscrit dans le domaine de la sculpture et de l’installation in situ. Ses œuvres, réalisées sur place, sont souvent éphémères. L’artiste détourne l’utilisation classique des matériaux qu’il emploie, plâtre, verre… pour un rendu fin et fragile. Pour le Castelet, il conçoit une pièce monumentale en résonnance avec la symbolique du lieu. L’installation, constituée d’une superposition de colombins de plâtre, s’apprécie comme un espace pictural, traduisant les pensées d’un individu enfermé. ° Le Castelet, ancienne prison Saint-Michel, 18Bis Grande Rue Saint-Michel 31400 Toulouse, du mercredi au dimanche 11h-18h. www.pinkpong.fr/programme

[pinkpong-art-contemporain]

WEACT #12 - Nouvelles dates Le Confort des Etranges : 6 avril - 29 mai 2021 — Hugo Bel © Hugo Bel, sucre, tournesols secs, 230x260 cm, 2020 Une présentation d’œuvres récentes de cet artiste de l’intuition et de l’observation, en parallèle avec son installation « Paysage Mental » au Castelet. La production d’Hugo Bel s’empare d’expériences sensibles où se mêle translucidité, lumière et matières poreuses. Au travers de sculptures, en sucre incrustés de tournesols, en verre soufflé, en argile cru ou en plâtre moulé, l’artiste obtient une réalité altérée, un réenchantement des formes, des objets et des corps. « C’est un travail de métamorphose du matériau, un pas de côté pour donner autre chose à voir. Je crois qu’une sculpture m’attire lorsqu’elle n’est pas seulement devant nous, mais qu’elle convoque et propose autre chose à l’extérieur d’elle-même »— Hugo Bel ° Galerie Le Confort des Étranges, 33 Rue des Polinaires, 31000 Toulouse, ouvert au public en fin d’après-midi les jeudis, vendredis et samedis www.pinkpong.fr/programme