Prima Mortis Arbitrium

Biting his tongue, the Master held back a cheeky remark. He was rather interested in eating the dinner - it smelled nice enough. The blonde doubted the Doctor would still treat him to the meal if he made a snide comment about the man himself or his guests. "I'm aware it's fine. Did I say anything to the contrary?" He finally whispered hastily to the Doctor, masking over his irritation. "I'm behaving and the event is perfect." If a bit too stuffy with wealth and power he was jealous he didn't own.

In an effort to keep his behavior at a gold standard, the Master held back from saying anything else for the moment. The shock of the collar still freshening his dislike for the Doctor at the moment. Although he wasn't fond of the whole ordeal, it was a bit more stimulating that staying in their suite twenty four hours a day. "Are you enjoying yourself?" He asked finally as he bored of his own thoughts.

"I will be during dessert when the poison kicks in." the Doctor mumbled softly, careful not to be overheard. "I have a traitor here. I'm about to make an example. Felt you might enjoy seeing that. Because I'm going to need somebody to take over those tasks." he informed softly. It wasn't much. Mainly imports and exports. Easy for even somebody in the Master's position to cover.

Which was the point to all of this. The Master was about to receive the first real temptation on the Doctor's part. Hopefully the Master was smart enough to piece the puzzle together and figure out that this was going to work itself out in such a manner. The Doctor just hoped that the Master didn't protest or make him regret doing such an act.

[I SHOULD NOT ENJOY THE DOCTOR POISONING SOMEONE AS MUCH AS I DO.]

The Master nearly coughed out what was in his mouth, but forced himself to swallow instead. The Doctor killed people, he knew that. He just usually only knew it after the fact. And somehow, for some reason, he was still comparing the Doctor in his dream and his Doctor - and damn, if that wasn't a 360.

"Oh," He said softly and mostly to himself. He was stuck for a moment with a normal brain, working through new information like a marsh. "Well, I guess we get a show with dinner?" The Master added wittily after a few minutes of silence. He assumed the tasks would fall on him, as that would be the only reason the Doctor would be telling him about them. And, as much as he welcomed the slight ego boost from that, he still had an urge to say no, if only to be disagreeable. "Confirmed traitor? Or do you just have a feeling?"

"What's the difference? I'm all for traitors. But when you're too stupid to cover your tracks, then you deserve to die. I'm sure you'll enjoy the show. Secon to the last on the left. We will have our dessert and he should collapse about then. I thought you might enjoy it. Who knows? With time I may even let you do a few kills." the Doctor purred softly. He thought the Master may enjoy that.

Why not? It would be fun. It would be enjoyable. The Doctor wanted the Master at his side, lashing out and helping him to rule the universe. Why not? How could he want anything else? The Doctor wanted it. "Trust me. Life is about to become so much better for you now that we're home." he stated softly. Who could honestly think otherwise?

The Master looked over the row and located the individual, and finding nothing above average, stopped looking. It wouldn't do to give away the surprise on accident. "Wonderful." He said slowly. Poison wasn't the most interesting, but it was better than most ways to kill someone. He looked over at the other Timelord and gave a small smile. "So you keep saying, and saying, and saying." And saying and saying. The Master was starting to wonder if the Doctor was doubting the idea himself.

He looked at the food in front of him again before pushing it a little bit away from himself. It was a bit hard to eat so much after eating so little for so long - which, he would openly admit was his own fault. If he hadn't been so stubborn he was sure he could eat the whole meal. "And are all the guests aware of this plan? Or is it to be a surprise to them?"

"Why would I tell them?" the Doctor asked slowly. Seriously? What would be the point behind that? It would ruin the fun. He leaned back a bit as the next course was brought in, a smirk in place. That would be the poisoned portion of the meal. Always fun. Always enjoyable. "I want to make a point...Make an example. You'll be taking over imports and exports from now. Foods, materials, cloths...Simple and boring, but you'll do just fine." he assured.

"And if you do better, and you prove yourself, I'll offer you more to do. I want you to be happy." the Doctor said softly. He did. He wanted the Master to relax and follow his every word. Why not? That's all he ever wanted. He wanted the Master to hang off of his every word and work alongside of him. He just couldn't achieve that before.

The Master shrugged, it was simply a question. Apparently no one was aware. Hopefully they all had the same views of poisoning a person at dinner. Who was the Master kidding. They were the Doctor's supports, his wallets, they approved of things far worse. "I'm sure I'll be great at it." The Master agreed with a roll of his eyes. "I feel that you've got fairly loyal puppets here - you kill enough people on a regular basis to keep them on their toes. " In fact, he felt this was more for the Doctor's benefit, a nice source of entertainment.

The Master gave a quick supportive smile to the Doctor. "And I'm content." He said, which wasn't equal to happy, but close enough at the moment. "You're being extremely generous already." He let his elbow rest on the table slightly and leaned back into the chair. "On a completely unrelated note - how high is the voltage in the collar?"

The Doctor simply waved the question off. "Not enough to cause severe damage, I assure you. It's a modified shock collar for dogs. I took your weight, compared that to a dog, and had somebody purchase one from Earth. A few modifications later and I was set to deal with you." he stated with a small shrug. What? He didn't feel like making one from scratch. Not when he could get one already basically made.

Which meant that the Master wouldn't be harmed from it in the least. Not really. And it usually wasn't on too long. The Master was generally able to behave quick enough and right things before the Doctor made things too difficult. "You'll be fine. If you behave, it will be off in another day or two. Don't worry." the Doctor assured firmly.

The Master nodded. If only the collar had kept more of it's original form, he might have been able to alter it. The needle, however, put a damper on that. "I know that," He told the Doctor crossing his arms. "I was just wondering. It gave me a nice jolt earlier. It's a reasonable question, so I know what to expect." The Master planned on keeping his behavior on track, at least until the thing was removed. Then his quick wit and stubbornness could come back a bit.

"You don't have to keep reminding me, you know. I told you I'd try, you can trust that." As much as the Master could be trusted with anything. "At least, you can be at ease knowing I'm not going to do anything in front of other people. I may still be a bit edgy with you on our own." A good enough compromise for the moment - and the Master didn't behave too badly when it was just the two of them. He was just a bit more... open, about how he felt.

"I would be bored with anything less." the Doctor informed simply. The Master having no bite whatsoever? He would have offed the other long before. He couldn't help it. The Master would have lost any and all appeal where the Doctor was involved. He preferred the other to be more behaved in public than behind closed doors. He liked to have fun. He enjoyed a bit of pushing back.

He shifted when the next course was delivered. One more. The next would bring about a lovely little shock. And the Doctor couldn't wait in the least. "I like you as you are, my dear. I have no desire to have you completely belly up submissive to me." the Doctor assured softly. Only an idiot would think something along those lines.

At least that was the case - he just had to watch out and not push it too far, or he'd end up with another bruise shaped like teeth. He watched to next course of food show up and glanced at the Doctor. He had half a thought to just tell the person - not that it would keep him from dying, but it would mess with the Doctor's plans. But... they were getting along rather well at the moment, so he stayed away from the idea.

"This dinner is nice and what not, but are your events always this boring? Or maybe I'm just not as entertained by people as I used to be." He sighed and put his chin in his hand, looking around the table again. He wondered absently what exactly the Doctor classified as a cross. He looked back at the Doctor and tilted his head sightly. "What did they do anyway?"

"Ironically? Crossed you. They were altering orders, smudging the books, and all in all screwing up a few things. All of it was mild, but it turned around and it altered what you would have been receiving. And the events are this boring, imminent murder aside." the Doctor bemoaned. Which would explain his habit of trying to treat the Master to this sort of thing. Because it meant that he would be entertained.

It wasn't long before the dessert was brought out. And it wasn't more than a few seconds before a wet cough erupted from the end of the table, the Doctor watching on with a cruel grin as the man choked on blood, slowly suffocating to death and not a single person made any more to aid him. The Doctor stood up and gave a small lecture on the importance of not crossing him, his audience staring to him, fearful of who might be next as the Doctor calmly returned to his dessert. He did so love a murder to spice things up.

The Master looked taken aback for a moment. "I don't receive much - or anything that's too big of a deal." He wasn't entirely sure why someone would be murdered for, for adding the wrong spicing to his food? Ripping a hole in his clothes? Then again, he wasn't about to complain about his best interests being protected. "It's nice of you to do that," Was his answer to the statement, giving the Doctor a little grin. He sighed at the Doctor's complaint and made a face at the event itself. "Good thing there's no reason to have them every day, huh?"

The poisoning was alright, it was over much to quickly for the Master's tastes, only creating entertainment for a few minutes. But then the Doctor followed it up with a speech about remaining loyal. It sounded a bit familiar, and he smirked a bit at having some of the things told to him one-on-one. "Well, a little less boring for a moment, hm?"

"And the dessert with delightful." the Doctor added lightly. Eh. Why not? It was tempting to have somebody cook more often. As for the lack of things for the blond? "I've ordered a few specific things for you. Treats and food, cloths, and the likes. A few forms off entertainment...And they weren't being delivered. He'd been keeping and pawning them for personal gain." he murmured.

Which wasn't acceptable. He might be a bit of an ass, but he was fiercely protective of the Master. Nobody crossed the other Timelord unless it was him. He couldn't help himself. Not really. It was just him. The end of the meal had him saying a few goodbyes and orders to clean up the corpse before he placed a hand upon the Master's lower back, leading the other back to the lift.