Description/Power Dynamic Practice

This is a practice for me to make my descriptive writing better. I used my characters Briar Rose Parsons and Armani Galencia to portray a feeling of unease, discomfort and a power dynamic in a short blurb. Enjoy~!

The air in the room was cold, though this wasn’t an unusual occurrence whenever Briar stepped into what she had dubbed as Armani’s Lair. Whenever she stepped in, the wrath of a thousand biters pulsed through the blood of that man, through the vein that bulged out of his neck whenever he got angry and slid through the wrinkles in his forehead as his eyebrows lowered, his face turning into a scowl. Though, this time seemed to be different somehow. Sitting in his seat, behind his desk with his legs kicked up and his two groupies by his side, tending to the injuries on his arms and bare chest.

“My sweet Rose.” His voice was gruff, yet soft, the tenderness of his tone only something that one of a father would give to his daughter. It made Briar uncomfortable, shifting her weight between her legs as she stood only a few feet away from her leader's desk.

He extended a hand out, one which Briar had assumed was for her to hand over the handgun that his guards did not take off of her hip, hidden behind her cloak, but when she had reached for the gun, Armani brushed his hand through the air, dismissing the action and beckoning her over with his pointer and middle fingers. Her hands fell to her sides as she cautiously stepped forward, eyes darting back and forth between the two women by Armani’s side and the man's eyes, locking them together every time she did so.

Now inches from the desk, the hand that had beckoned her over, made a signal, pointing those same two fingers towards the door, both women at his sides quickly walking from his sides, through the room without question and out the door that Briar had come in from. Briar looked briefly at the one to the left of her as she walked past, but was snapped back to look at Armani by his fist gently hitting the desk in order to catch her attention.

Once the footsteps had silenced and the door behind her had shut, Armani got to his feet, looming over the smaller woman as his form covered the window behind him, shadowing Briar from the light that had been hitting her moments prior.

“Rose,” he began once again, walking around the right side of his desk and slowly approaching her, one hand now placed on her shoulder, with the other sliding to her cheek, thumb gliding against her skin as her head was moved to look up at him. “Was the hunt today successful?” His voice was low again, the warmth and familiarity of the tone sending mixed signals to her brain that sent violent urges to rip herself away from his touch.

Briar nodded, but the hand on her cheek was rather firm, which meant he wanted words, not actions, something she still needed to get used to with the man, even after countless interactions with him. “It was, sir.” Her voice cracked, quickly clearing her throat and repeating herself for clarity, trying to look away but still forced to maintain eye contact.

“Good,” Armani said, a smile curling at the corners of his lips, the hand on her cheek now moving to her cloak, pulling it off her head and brushing the stray strands of hair out of Briar’s face as they fell from their keep.

Briar’s heart was beating rapidly, eyes searching through Armani’s for any signal that she was in danger, feeling his fingers slide from her cheek and down her face. What did he want? Every time he was this touchy it ended up being bad in the end, and she would end up hurt, traumatized or even both.

“Why so tense Rose? Relax…” His words lingered as his fingers moved to her neck, eyes widening as the gentle touch of his skin against hers turned into a tight grip around her throat, a shocked gasp slipping past her lips. Her arms moved towards his arm but quickly moved back to her sides. She knew the reason for his calling now, her reckless behaviour, and of course, he was going to try and settle it for himself.

“How many times have I told you that you must take care of yourself hm?” The softness had now disappeared, replaced with anger, which was looming over her along with the shadow he cast upon her from his height and physique. “You go into a building, set up perfectly for the hunt, everything was practically laid out to you for your taking and yet…”

The pause was met with a tighter grip, another gasp, eyes closed momentarily at the sudden pain that shot through her from her neck through her entire body, the soreness from the hunt injuries finally getting to her now that she was being made aware of them once more. “I..” She tried to speak, nothing but a hoarse croak coming from her as her throat was gripped. How much she despised this man. How many times a day she would contemplate murdering him and his smug face in this very room where she was being held like nothing but a doll. Which was exactly what Armani considered her to be. Another doll for him to use to gain control of the power he so desired in the mall they called their home.

“Shut your mouth bitch. I’m not done talking.” Armani spat, words like a snakes venom flicking off his tongue with the drops of saliva that hit Briar's face when he spoke. “You always have to get overzealous right? Think you’re some sort of tough shit when I send you out there cause you’re mine?” The grip tightened again, this time a squeak was all Briar could let out to express her discomfort, but then the grasp disappeared and was replaced by an embrace. “I can’t lose you Rose, my sweet gorgeous Rose. You mean too much to me.”

Bullshit. Lies. Briar thought, or rather knew that those words were nothing but empty, but because she lacked this affection, lacked this meaning and hope, she welcomed the embrace and returned it, her arms wrapping around Armani and moving closer to him, taking in his warmth, the scent of cigars on his clothes with a mix of the blood that stained them.

“You won’t lose me…” She mumbled into his chest, looking at the wall that was adorned with the old photos of models from the women’s clothing store that Armani used for his Lair. “I’m not stupid. I can hold my weight, and it's all for you, sir.” Speaking like that always made Briar feel uncomfortable, but if it kept her safe, she truly had no other choice but to keep up these antics to save both her life and her mothers.