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[lordoftheozarks]

When the ringing stops, all you'll hear is a cold voice that says one simple word, "Speak."

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Friend or Foe -- Do You Know?

[tisnotthehouse]

It will be easier, Tarantulas thinks, to simply make an appointment with Erik Osborne during his business hours, and discuss the matter of River then. He dares to hope that Erik will be easier to talk to, based on their past association. Perhaps his chosen profession has even given him a level of maturity or detachment that Annabel Lee lacks. Perhaps being confined by a schedule will even encourage him to brief. It does not occur to Tarantulas to wonder whether Erik might find something offensive in being asked to mix business and personal matters in this manner until he has reached Erik's door.

And then, of course, it is too late.

[lordoftheozarks]

"A pleasure to see you again," Erik says as he opens the door to let Tarantulas in. It's a blessing that Erik hasn't chosen to dress any differently for the encounter since it's in-home. That would have made this awkward.

"Make yourself comfortable. Any changes to terms since our last time?"

[tisnotthehouse]

"Mm." Tarantulas fidgets with the clasps of his coat for a moment, obviously embarrassed, before saying, "I actually wanted to speak to you about a personal matter."

He can't seem to bring himself to meet Erik's eyes. "Were you perhaps part of that mass dream event, some time ago...?" Tarantulas recalls a boy named Erik who worked in the bakery, but he has no idea of this Erik remembers the same thing. If it was even the same Erik at all.

[lordoftheozarks]

"Oh? If that's the case, then I'm not sure I should be charging you for the time." Left unspoken is that Tarantulas could have just asked to meet and talk. Erik is taking it, from how Tarantulas won't meet his eyes, that he already feels some sort of shame about this false appointment.

"Yes, I was. In that dream, I was a young, human, boy. I'm afraid I don't remember you from it. Why do you bring it up?"

[tisnotthehouse]

"Oh no," Tarantulas says quickly. "Don't trouble yourself. I made the appointment, after all." He set the terms of this meeting; it would be unfair to renege on them now.

"I remember you," he says quietly. "My daughter would play with you sometimes..." He shakes slightly for a moment before visibly steeling himself to continue. "In the dream, I was one of the local species; an elf named Taran Thule. I had a wife of fourteen years, Amy -- but in this reality, her name is River la Croix. Obviously we aren't married, but..."

Can Erik see the envy in those ancient yellow eyes?

"...She wanted me to speak to you. To ask your permission, before she would consider...continuing our association."

[lordoftheozarks]

"Thank you." He's less miffed now. Time is time even if they don't spend it fucking.

"Your daughter... Dawn?" His eyes are wide. Yes, he does remember now. It's vague in the way that many childhood memories become but, that doesn't really matter when he also has River's explanation fresh in his memory.

"River didn't tell me it was fourteen years, but she did tell me she was married to two others with a daughter."

He does notice that envy. It worries him.

"It will not trouble me if you choose to court her, so long as you do so with the proper awareness that she is not that same woman. And, she is not only yours."

[tisnotthehouse]

"I know that!" Tarantulas insists. His voice cracks; he closes his eyes, taking a deep, steadying breath. "I do know that. She isn't Amy, any more than Taran Thule was me. But those lives rhymed with ours, don't you agree? Like warped mirrors, they reflected us. And I --" His voice cracks again. He clenches his teeth together, struggling with it, before he admits, "I need her. I don't care if I have to share her with others, I need the things she made me feel. You can't understand how much I need it."

(But you can, Erik. But you do.)

[lordoftheozarks]

"I like your passion," Erik says soothingly. "And, yes, in some ways they did. That dream gave me things I'd once wished desperately for. Remembering them now, knowing they never were... it's painful in a way few understand."

He locked eyes with Tarantulas now. "But, I do understand. I do."

[tisnotthehouse]

Tarantulas flinches back, shying away from the directness of Erik's gaze. "I was alone for so long," he says quietly. "Not just alienated from society, but completely alone. And only now do I realize just how much I'd forgotten about being loved."

His gaze darts toward Erik and then skitters away again. "I don't want to take her from you. Perhaps we might even come to an arrangement, you and I. To make sure she's taken care of properly."

More softly. "She deserves to be well taken care of, doesn't she?"

[lordoftheozarks]

"I'm sorry that you had to know such loneliness. I suppose it's safe to say I sensed that in you the first time we met. Like called to like." Erik may not have been strictly alone for all his time, but he was deeply betrayed by the last two people he had left in his life, his sister and his lover. When he fled them, it was into the cold arms of a world where no one gave him a second glance. Until he made them.

"I don't mean to keep you from her, either. But, she is a capable woman, fiercely independent, as you must know. I would rather say that she wants to be cared for more than she wants to be taken care of."

[tisnotthehouse]

"Perhaps we have separate definitions of the term." But Tarantulas smiles slightly, his guard lowering by a tiny fraction. "But I'm glad we understand each other at least this far. The salient point is that...River should be happy. We both want that for her."

[lordoftheozarks]

"Perhaps we do." Erik has been known to split hairs. So much of vampire politics revolves around creative use of language. But, yes, he does think they both get the general idea.

"You're right. We want happiness for her and ideally with her. That being the case, I have no objections at all." He cracks a friendly smile. "We will simply have to become good at organizing our social calendars, won't we?"

[tisnotthehouse]

Well, that's. That's settled then, isn't it? It went so smoothly that Tarantulas is having a little trouble believing it, although he covers his uncertainty with a small, guarded smile.

"Thank you," he says breathlessly. And agrees, "Yes, we will. Ah..."

It occurs to him that he's still paid for a little more of Erik's time.

"Will you tell me about her?" he asks. "Not -- not anything too personal, I don't expect you to break any confidences. But it isn't lost on me that in reality, I barely know River. The real River, not that facsimile. I'd like to know her better..."

[lordoftheozarks]

"I wouldn't break those confidences even if you asked, of course." And not just because he knows exactly how easily he could be burned alive for that. But that's not NOT a factor.

"I'll tell you the things I see in her. The reasons why I love her in the here and now. But you'll do well to ask her for some quality time to get to know her yourself. Sit with me?" He gestures to the sofa that's large enough to seat both of them if a little snugly.

[tisnotthehouse]

"Of course. That would be a violation of both your professional ethics and River's trust -- twice as many reasons not to tell."

"It's not as though I wouldn't like to spend time with her," he explains as he sits down, anxiously plucking at his shirt cuffs. "Of course I would. But things are...difficult, right now. She's mourning our lost child -- something that I, unfortunately, already have a great deal of practice in." His voice is low. Practice does not make the pain any lighter, it just makes it easier to pick yourself up and keep going despite it.

[lordoftheozarks]

"I'm sorry to hear you have experience in mourning a child," he answers sincerely as he takes his seat beside Tarantulas. "I've never had to confront that particular form of life tragedy and likely never will. I understand that you are eager to get back to that closeness you felt, especially because of your shared loss, but you really must have some patience. It will take as long as it takes."

[tisnotthehouse]

"I...do understand that. I do." Tarantulas's fingers move restlessly, twining together before separating again to pick at his hems and the coarse hairs that cover the backs of his hands. "It's just. Difficult. I've known so much deprivation in my life -- but while that dream might have lasted only a few hours, in those hours I feasted. And now I find myself in famine again."

He smiles awkwardly. "I expect many would think I sounded quite mad, saying such a thing. They wouldn't understand, not like you do. But then you've lived many times the length of a human lifespan, haven't you?"

[lordoftheozarks]

"Intellectually, I know you do." But that fidgeting is telling to a man who has made a career out of reading people.

"I have lived an extended life, so to speak. I have walked the earth for over a thousand years. I know the pain of longing for things you thought could never be. But, the thing you must be wary of when going from famine to feast, Tarantulas, is that it can be very dangerous for one's health to take in too much too quickly. Maddening as it may feel, you have to take this slowly. For her sake and your own. I need to you to show me you know that in your heart as well as your head."

[tisnotthehouse]

Less time than he had hoped, but it would be madness to turn even a drop of sympathy away.

"I realize that." He chews the inside of his cheek for a moment before admitting, "But it's not impossible -- no, I should be honest with you. It's very likely that I may need help...demonstrating that principle to you. And discerning where the appropriate boundaries lie."

His gaze slides away from Erik yet again. "I am...so much older than you realize. My life has been measured not in hundreds or thousands of years, but millions. And I spent more than half that time alone. So, you see..." He inhales deeply, bracing himself. "I would rather cut off my own legs than purposely do anything to hurt River. But good intentions will not keep me from hurting her by accident."

[lordoftheozarks]

"I will try to be your ally in that, so long as you are making the effort." These words will prove to be... prophetic.

He can't quite hide the shocked lift of his thin eyebrows when Tarantulas lays out the truth of his longevity. Millions? Alone? How is he not insane? (What a great question.)

"That is an astonishingly long time. Is that common for your species?" He desperately needs some context on this issue.

"Regardless, I do believe you that you do not want to hurt River. Accidents happen; I am not unaware of that. I have made terrible mistakes with the best of intentions myself. But I am expecting you to try."

[tisnotthehouse]

"Common? Oh no. Not at all." Tarantulas titters quietly, covering his mouth with the back of one hand. "My species is highly social. The longevity is normal, however. We don't usually age like other species do."

Part of him wonders what he's doing, exposing so much of himself to Erik. This isn't like Neil, who is bound by his professional ethics, or Vika, whose antipathy towards humanity makes her unlikely to ever organize against him. Erik has power over him, that he could use for good or ill.

...But he's been very good to Tarantulas, very good. It would be all too easy to grow addicted to that goodness -- indeed, Tarantulas feels it may already be too late. Perhaps this already counts as drug-seeking behavior.

"Actually," he says slowly, "I used to be just as mechanical as that sweet little ambulance who works at the largest clinic in town. You might even say we come from different versions of the same world." He smiles slightly. "This...organic body is a recent development. I only just started experimenting in changing my nature some ten thousand years ago."

[lordoftheozarks]

"I'm very sorry that you suffered such isolation." That goes a long way to explaining why, even at their first meeting, he felt such deep longing in the man. Who wouldn't be desperate to feel any kind of connection after that?

"Really? I'm familiar with First Aid, yes, but I don't think I would have guessed you came from similar places on my own. That's remarkable. I don't think the world I hail from yet has the kind of technology it must take to make such a transformation. I... hope it isn't rude to ask if this is what you would consider your finished form?"

[tisnotthehouse]

"I've been keeping the secret rather close to my chest," Tarantulas acknowledges. Can Erik see the way he immediately relaxes once an opportunity to change the subject comes up? "So far only Doctor West and Vika have been told. I'd appreciate it if you kept it a secret as well, of course -- I have no direct quarrel with First Aid or any other Autobots, but that doesn't mean I want them prodding at me."

He smiles slightly. "This is my second organic body. The first was -- oh, part of a series of experiments in comparative biology. I wanted to see if I could combine the strengths of organic and mechanical forms, and eliminate their weaknesses." He isn't being entirely honest with you, Erik. "This body, however, was designed for all of you. When I was told I'd be working with humans and other organics if I chose to come here, I didn't to make anyone...prohibitively uncomfortable. So I made myself smaller, softer. With a human face. It's been interesting, observing how people react to me now. But to answer your question, no. I anticipate redesigning and reinventing myself many more times in the future, once I have the tools to do so."

[lordoftheozarks]

"You can rely on my discretion." He means that very seriously.

The smile is nice to see. It's reassuring. Clearly, Tarantulas is proud of how he's explored his own form. There might have been a time when Erik didn't understand it as well, but speaking to Chris at length about their own journey to create a body that fits their desired self, he can look at these things in a very new and positive light.

"Those legs of yours do hold an allure I will freely admit. That, and I like to see you smile." He glances around as if he's checking to see if anyone is listening. His voice lowers conspiratorially. "It is also very nice not to be the shortest person at all times any longer."

[tisnotthehouse]

Tarantulas giggles, the sound oddly open and free compared to his normal manic tittering. He stretches two of his legs out, the little claws on their tips resting gently on Erik's shoulder and his arm. "Can you imagine me at seven feet tall, like First Aid? I'd never get anything done."

Height is all well and good, but not when it interferes with his work.

But then he glances back at his lap, and after a moment murmurs, "But I know I...rather fell short of the mark, if I didn't want to appear monstrous to humans. It seemed unfair that I should be asked to give up everything I loved about myself, after all...but I'm sure it must have been strange to River, to dream of being in love with someone of her own kind and wake up to...this..."

[lordoftheozarks]

"You'd be too busy fighting off half the town trying to bed you. Believe me, I would know all about these townfolk's dark fantasies." Erik says with a bright laugh of his own... and just a touch of smug beneath that.

"I would be just as unwilling were I in your shoes. It's only natural you should want to look like yourself. I hope it hasn't caused you too much trouble here. As for River, I do not think such things matter as much to her as the underlying personality of her lovers. She wouldn't have rejected you for that."

[tisnotthehouse]

"Mm, well. The bookseller, Gerry, was a little rude to me the first time I entered his shop -- but I like to think we've come to a better understanding since then." He throws Erik a look that can't decide whether it wants to be secretive and smug, or anxious and uncertain. Being vulnerable with people is terrible, actually; why does anyone do it?

But he manages to smile slightly at Erik's reassurance. "It was the same for that other version of me. It was strange for him, at first, learning how to live with someone whose head isn't attached to their shoulders...but she was so kind to him. So eager to help, even when his fears made it hard for her...And he was afraid of so many things," Tarantulas notes, still exasperated with his other self.

[lordoftheozarks]

"Gerry was rather prickly to me upon first meeting, too, but he's since warmed up." Now they talk about fashion while Gerry tries to contain how sexy he finds Erik. It's fun.

Erik notes that exasperation. "Think of the insight you have gained now, having lived that life and felt those things. You can still find meaning in those moments. Even if they were only a dream, the experience was real."

[tisnotthehouse]

"Just so," Tarantulas agrees quickly -- too quickly, and he seems to realize it. After a moment, he asks, "I wonder...did the circumstances of your life in the dream have any parallels with your true history? Events that weren't exactly the same, but seemed to resonant with things you'd experienced before? It was so for me," he adds; he doesn't expect Erik to bare his past to him without reciprocation.

[lordoftheozarks]

"Hm," Erik says, contemplating that question before answering. "It was and was not. I was an orphan just as I was in life but, in the dream, I was adopted by a loving family and raised with care. That is quite the opposite of what truly happened to me. It felt like a fulfillment of a deeply held wish." One he didn't realize he had until now.

Post-Potluck | Absolutely NSFW

[somebodychildofanyone]

After helping Erik exit the party with what one might call a 'flag-waving kiss', passionate and meant to leave no doubt that she's on his side, River follows him back to his house. There's so much to talk about - her unfortunate flirtation with Max, that confrontation with the winged woman, but -

Well.

The moment they're inside River pins Erik to the wall and kisses him again, hungry, deep, fueled as much by worry as it is by love and lust. Her hands run down his arms, take his wrists, pin them against the wall too...

"I know we've got to talk," River murmurs into his ear. "I wanna talk, but please, please tell me you're not gonna leave me needy. This plug has been driving me wild..."

Post-Potluck Fuck, one might say

[lordoftheozarks]

He responds to those kisses like a drowning man being given a line of oxygen. He never expected a picnic, of all events, to fill him with such terror and fear for his future. But right now, all he can think about is how hungry he is for River's body. He needs her. More than that, right now he needs to be the one in control.

"If you have any idea what getting punched in the nose while wearing a plug feels like, then you know I've got every reason to make this worth it for both of us." With a low growl, he suddenly seizes her wrists and flips them around until she's the one pressed to the wall. His lips brush the tips of her ears as he whispers, "I'll make sure you save enough of your voice to talk later."

[somebodychildofanyone]

River hits the wall with a soft cry, relishing the way her breasts press against it; just hard enough to hurt, but oddly comforting in its own way. This is how he wants to be about it, huh...

She's into it. The elf's ass grinds against Erik as much as she's able to make it, his inhuman strength hard for her to contest unless she's permitted to. It's something she's known about Erik, and it's so very thrilling.

"Going to bite me, my lord?" River teases. "Bite me and then fuck the liquid back in?"

[lordoftheozarks]

He can hear the thrill in her pulse, feel it in the way she grinds on him, in the scent that wafts up from the friction. She wants this. He wants this. He held back today, harder than he's ever had to--No more.

He transfers both her wrists to one hand so he can grab a fistful of her fiery hair and yank her head back from the roots until her throat is exposed. "I'll put more in than I take out." He doesn't give her even a moment to respond before he plunges his teeth into her, both top and bottom sets of fangs closing hard enough for it to hurt.

He's careful to miss the arteries. He wants to taste her flesh pinched in his jaws, not risk her bleeding out from it. But that also means he isn't being too careful not to let the blood spill past his lips to paint down the side of her neck and onto her breasts. He can lick her clean later. He intends to.

[somebodychildofanyone]

River cries out when her hair is pulled, and again, higher, sweeter, when those teeth sink in. She tenses at first, almost fighting, and then relaxes into the pain and pleasure, relishing the sticky heat that makes her shirt cling to her breasts and reminds her that she's alive, alive, just enough pain to give her that thrill -

Her hands scrabble against the wall, and she pushes back against Erik, encouraging him to press her harder, to assert control.

[lordoftheozarks]

A rumble of pleasure vibrates his chest against her back where he crushes her into the wall, never letting up the pressure of his jaws, drinking in her sweet cries as he feels them leave her throat.

His hand creeps around from her hair, slender fingers pressing over her mouth as he finally releases the bite in favor of whispering, "We're saving our voice for later, remember?" But just to give her a real challenge, he thrusts his hips into her, grinding hard knowing that plug is there, knowing she'll feel it.

[somebodychildofanyone]

Oh, River thinks, he is in a mood. I'm going to fuckin' die.

Die happy, but die.

She makes a muffled sound against his hand, probably something provocative, but that thrust shuts her up, snaps her head back with a strangled sound. Her heart is racing even as the bite in her neck continues to leak blood. Finally, she nods against his hand. She can be a good girl.

She can be his good girl.

[lordoftheozarks]

"Good," he purrs. "Good."

Now his hand slithers down to her chest, roughly fondling her on his way lower. He finds the latch in her trousers and flicks it open with a motion like contempt. Nothing so trivial will stand in his way.

"The way you kissed me on our way out, like you were claiming me for all to see," he rumbles as his hand slips her pants down and away from her ass, "I'm going to return that feeling to you now. I'm going to claim you as mine, always."

[somebodychildofanyone]

"Ffff -"

She wants to reply, to assert that she was claiming him, but we're saving our voice, aren't we? She trusts Erik to lick the wound before she gets anything more than pleasantly dizzy, but the feeling of the blood leaking out still adds a delicious edge of threat to his assertiveness that has River's skin crackling with thrill. Still, she has to say something, anything...

River settles on a needy whine.

[lordoftheozarks]

He does lick the wound, dragging his tongue up from her shoulder to just behind her ear, leaving long streaks on the side of her neck. On his way back down he purposefully pierces his tongue and laps at the bite marks, closing them at last. Don't want her to get dizzy from that before he's had a chance to fuck her into oblivion.

With the bleeding now stemmed, his full attention is on her lower half. His fingers close around the plug she's wearing, but he doesn't remove it yet. Instead, he wiggles it gently, letting her feel it move inside her. All the while he murmurs close to her ear, "Hmmm, I'm not sure I'm convinced yet. Whine harder. Let me hear just how much you need me."

Ring Ring Ring Ring Ring Ring Ring --- Genasi Phone (boop boop badoopadoop)

[listenforbirdsong]

Mairi is admittedly a little discouraged about her set of gifts after her disagreement with Tarantulas, but she's not gonna let it stop her.

Erik is her friend. One of the first people to welcome her here. She's gonna give him the ring, even if her new one fits weird, physically and emotionally. She gives him a buzz on her sending stone.

Re: Ring Ring Ring Ring Ring Ring Ring --- Genasi Phone (boop boop badoopadoop)

[lordoftheozarks]

Erik is like an old man in many ways. This is one of them. He doesn't tend to rely on these stones yet. He's still getting used to them. So, when his starts to vibrate and glow and make noise he's so startled he almost drops it while trying to take it out of his pocket. Dammit, what is he supposed to do with these again?

"H-hello?" he says to the stone with no confidence that this is how it actually works. "Lord Osborne speaking."

[listenforbirdsong]

Mairi laughs on the other end. "Hi Erik! Are you busy? I have something to give you, but I know your work hours can be a little sporadic so I wanted to call ahead."

[lordoftheozarks]

"Oh, Mairi, what a pleasant surprise." Good recovery there, bud.

"You have perfect timing. I'm free for the next two hours. You are welcome to come to my home. I happen to be stocked in some herbal teas; would you like me to put a kettle on?" It's just boiling water so he can't mess that up.

[listenforbirdsong]

"Ooh, that sounds nice, thank you. It'll take me a bit to get there from Northwest Hollow but I'll go ahead and get movin'. See you soon, okay?"

Once they've said their farewells, Mairi finds her coat and begins making her way over. She catches a trolley and is there within the hour, knocking at his door.

[lordoftheozarks]

"See you soon."

The wait gives him some time to freshen up and air out his home a little. He's taken to burning spiced candles but some smells do tend to linger. That said, he opts not to close his business door so she may, perchance, catch a glimpse of the impressive wooden restraint cross he's recently had installed. Just in case she's curious.

"Come in," he tells her with a welcoming wave of his hand. The kettle is still steaming on his stovetop so he's managed to time it just right. A selection of herbal mixes are set out for her on the table to choose from, next to an empty tea cup and saucer. "Let me take your coat. Please, make yourself comfortable."

[listenforbirdsong]

Mairi removes her simple coat and hands it to Erik, taking a seat at the table. "Thank you!" He sure wasn't kidding about that "lord" business. He's a gracious host, with high society manners. She picks a tea and starts steeping it. "So, how've you been? Did you and Dahlia have a good time at Merrymeet?"

[lordoftheozarks]

He quickly hangs her coat on a rack by the door and comes to meet her, taking a seat across the table. "Thank you for asking. I'm very well. Yes, it was an enjoyable time. Some of those disturbances aside. It seems we can't have one simple gathering without the evils on this island raising their heads to attempt to spoil things." Not that he's complaining too hard. He got to witness River putting a demon very firmly in her place.

"What about you? How have you been?"

[listenforbirdsong]

"Ah, well--- It's been interesting lately." Mairi pulls a face to imply her meaning. "So, ah, back home--- I had this pewter ring that would play a bird call when struck, and my dearest friends all had matching ones. So I got a copy of mine made here, by River, and it disappeared not too long after it was finished. Turns out it was stolen by Tarantulas for some... infernal boon. I don't suppose you know anything about that...?"

[lordoftheozarks]

His head falls forward in something like a defeated nod. "I'm afraid I do. I wasn't aware of the ring, specifically, but I am aware that Tarantulas trespassed against his friends in order to bargain with a demon for the miraculous birth of his child. I know this because I was present at the birth."

[listenforbirdsong]

Mairi sighs. "Yeah. That's about the same story I got. At least I know he wasn't lying about that part."

She looks down at her hands, rubbing at the ring she now wears. It's wrong. It isn't hers. The spider lily design doesn't suit her. "I'd told him what the rings were to me. He was the one who helped me figure out how to get siren scales for River to enchant them with. I even made one for him, after this heart-to-heart we had about his past--- I wanted to make them for all my new loved ones. So that we could be connected, like I was with my old friends." She pauses to let out a hollow laugh. "Y'know, I don't know what's worse. The fact that he did it in the first place, or the fact that he apparently only chose me because he 'doesn't have that many friends to betray' or whatever it was he said. After all that, I was just a... a backup option. Probably to get him out of fucking Sally over, so that she could babysit him. Keep it classy, Tarantulas."

[lordoftheozarks]

Erik's expression crumples with sympathy and pain as she speaks. Tarantulas...how could you?

"I am so sorry. Tarantulas is a fool of the highest order. Stealing from you was terrible enough, but he squandered every last ounce of your goodwill. It's no wonder he has few friends if he cannot see the value before his multitude of eyes. What he's done is unspeakable."

[listenforbirdsong]

Mairi lets out a long, slow sigh. "Well... at least I found out now, before I got in any deeper. I just wish I hadn't thrown it back at him and worn the one for him instead. It felt like revenge in the moment, but now it just makes me sad." She clacks the ring against the table, and the barking call of a Northern Flicker sounds. The cadence is reminiscent of Tarantulas' distinctive laugh.

"...But, uh, that does remind me." Mairi fishes in her pocket for something. She hasn't known Erik all that long, but he was so helpful and charming when she first arrived--- having her fall caught when she slipped on the ice is an experience that sticks out in her mind as one that first made her feel safe here. And Erik's response to all this just solidifies her resolve. Erik deserves this gift. She didn't make another mistake. Mairi produces a ring with hickory leaf designs on it.

"I've heard you called Lord of the Ozarks. I had to do some asking around to figure out what that meant, but I found out that the hickory trees that grow there are apparently really beautiful, so..." She offers it to him. "Thank you for being my friend."

[lordoftheozarks]

"I could try to get it back for you, if you like?" His eyes soften with regret as he listens to that birdcall. It really does resemble Tarantula's laughter. Foolish spider. He'll be getting an earful about this.

"No, thank you" he answers in awe. "Yes, you're right. We have great rolling hills filled with Hickory trees that turn magnificent colors in the fall." He accepts her gift by putting his hands over hers, "Mairi, thank you. This is so touchingly thoughtful."

[listenforbirdsong]

"I'll get it eventually," Mairi sighs, but her smile returns as he describes the beautiful autumns in the Ozarks.

"I'm glad you like it. It plays a goldfinch call when struck," she eagerly tells him. "I used to use them as a signal with my friends back home, so... if you ever need me, strike it and I'll find you."

[lordoftheozarks]

He gently strikes the ring on the table the way he'd seen her do and listens with his eyes closed and a smile on his face as the birdsong fills the air.

"It's lovely. Thank you for both the gift and the offer to aid me. The sentiment is mutual. I have very good hearing. If you call my name, I will find you just as surely."

[listenforbirdsong]

His reaction brings a smile to Mairi's face, and a softness to her chest. Erik would have made an excellent druid in another life, she thinks.

"I appreciate you listening to me, too. This whole thing is such a mess, and the weird tension between Tarantulas and River really doesn't help." She considers this for a moment, then grimaces. "Oh, gods, you're probably in that one even deeper than I am, now that I think about it. What happened, anyway?"

[lordoftheozarks]

His smile turns wry. "Yes. The tension between them is thick enough to cut with a knife." Which is extra awkward when he refuses to turn his back completely on Tarantulas. But that doesn't mean he thinks River should forgive or forget any time soon.

"Tarantulas stole something priceless from her. Something meaningful in a way that shattered all trust she had for him. He is lucky she has not incinerated him yet. She still may." The way Erik's talking, it seems pretty clear he won't do anything to prevent it if she decides the spider's time has come.

[listenforbirdsong]

Honestly, at this point, Mairi won't either.

"He's lucky all he got from me was some water to the face." She heaves asigh. "Whatever. I've decided not to be worried about him anymore. I'm too busy anyway. Did I tell you I'm building a druid circle?"

[lordoftheozarks]

"Only? That was rather restrained of you." She didn't even try to suffocate him a little? Erik is impressed.

"No, I hadn't heard that. How exciting. What does building a druid circle involve? Vampires cannot perform magic so I do not have much experience with these things."

[listenforbirdsong]

"Really? I wonder why that is," Mairi muses. "But basically a circle is just--- like a hobby club, but more intense. I'm going to teach a few people how to do magic like mine and then we'll practice together."

[lordoftheozarks]

"The best conclusion we've been able to make is that the magic animating us nullifies other magics. Even those who had supernatural abilities before being turned will lose them." History does not look kindly upon how that knowledge was used against the Mediums of the past, but he doesn't want to get into all of that now.

"Who will you be teaching? Have you got many participants yet?"

[listenforbirdsong]

"So far, I've got César Salazar and Laios Touden, but I'm hoping I can get more folks on board. It'll feel like home," Mairi says, feeling lighter just talking about it. "My mother and sisters and I would participate in our own Circle at home, and it was... I really appreciated the sense of community, you know? I feel like I became a stronger mage as a result."

[lordoftheozarks]

"I don't think I've had the pleasure of meeting Laios yet but I know César well. I'm happy to hear he's branching out," the grin he's wearing says he knows what he did. That pun is intended.

"I'm sorry I cannot participate in a meaningful way with it because it sounds lovely. You're right that having a sense of community can be so beneficial. If there are ways I could contribute unofficially, don't hesitate to ask."

a bit of friendly competition

[stonecoldtop]

Having seen the posting on the community board, but not being interested in partaking of Erik's services so much as making connections, George calls ahead one afternoon.

"Lord Osborne? This is George Elsworth, I'm a recent arrival and I was hoping to speak with you as a fellow in the industry, if you've the time."

Re: a bit of friendly competition

[lordoftheozarks]

"Yes," he answers in something close to a purr. It is working hours after all. But he drops that just as soon as George introduces himself and states his true purpose for the call.

His voice brightens then with delight. "Well, this is exciting news. Of course. I'm free at present if you would like to come by my home. If you are new then I imagine you must be staying temporarily at the Inn?"

[stonecoldtop]

"I am, yes. Delightful place, if lacking in privacy. Your home would be wonderful, I shall see you shortly."

And true to his word, it's not long before George is knocking on the door. His bearing is cooly professional, with no hint of the burning curiosity he has as to how someone who bills themself as the 'premier town whore' presents showing through.

[lordoftheozarks]

"A little noisy for my taste, but very comfortable, yes. See you soon."

Erik opens the door on the first knock. He's wearing a nicely tailored suit in a dark cream matched with a burgundy tie. He's not very tall, at only 5'4", but he holds himself with regal elegance that somehow seems to make him appear larger. His smile warms his amber eyes as he appraises the man on his doorstep, before finally stepping back to let him through.

"Please come in. Do you take tea? I cannot partake of it but I do like to make my guests comfortable."

[stonecoldtop]

George knows that stance, 'Lord' isn't just for show or marketing, is it? Intriguing. If he wasn't who he is, he might be curious as to why a lord would take up sex work.

George is taller than Erik, by about half a foot, but he doesn't make any real use of it. Even as he slides from distantly professional to the casual refinement of a man among peers. If only he had something nicer to wear than what he was given on arrival.

"I'd love some tea, if you wouldn't mind. Black, no sugar, thank you." He smiles, already looking around now that he's inside, "It's a nice place you have here."

[lordoftheozarks]

"Not at all." Erik answers, pleased at the directness in his peer. He sets to work fixing the tea.

It strikes him just now that this is not completely unlike when he encounters another vampire in his territory. There is a dance that must be done. They must measure each other. Erik was here first, but that guarantees nothing. Here and now will define how they live in this town--as enemies or colleagues. Oh, they will be competitors either way, but that doesn't have to come between them.

"Thank you. I've had some time to improve things. I do like my creature comforts."

[stonecoldtop]

"Creature comforts are very important, I've always thought. Life would be worth far less without them."

George has every intention to make this as amicable as possible, it's very important to him that they exist more as colleagues than as rivals, and that means establishing the beginnings of a friendly rapport before they get down to brass tracks.

"How long has it been since you arrived, if I may?"

[lordoftheozarks]

"I couldn't agree more. I'll admit that starting fresh here took me some getting used to. But I'm living quite comfortably now." So business must be good. 

He sets the prepared tea down on the table in front of George and takes his seat across from the man. 

"It will be coming up on ten months, I believe. I'll be celebrating a year anniversary soon enough." 

[stonecoldtop]

George takes his tea with thanks, and perhaps slightly plays up his genuine enjoyment for the benefit of his host.

"That's quite some time." By some perspectives anyway, if not George's own, "I suppose that means I must settle in for the long haul, then."

[lordoftheozarks]

"For most, it is, yes." His perspective on a long time is more than slightly skewed.

"I agree it is best to resign yourself to being here for a significant amount of time. I was reluctant, myself, at first. But I've settled so comfortably here now that I may choose to make it my home even after the barrier around this island is released."

[stonecoldtop]

Between the word 'most' and the earlier comment about not being able to partake in tea, George has a few questions. Just not any that seem polite to voice at this juncture. Or that won't have similar questions levied on him in return.

"That's quite the commitment, though I can certainly see the appeal."

He taps on his mug a few times deciding whether or not it's the time to slip out of the pleasantries and into more pertinent matters.

"I have to ask, have you run into any problems with your career choice?"

[lordoftheozarks]

"Ostensibly, we are all meant to go back to the lives we left, eventually. It may not be a choice we have, but if it is, I think I could enjoy a quiet life here for quite some time." Even he is surprised about that, but it's the truth.

"If by problems you mean social judgment or retribution from the law, then no. None that I'd consider significant. I have my permits for work signed by Dahlia herself. I'm well-regarded among the villagers because I simply have not allowed them to disrespect me and go unchallenged. Few actually have. My dealings are all fair and transparent and I've received no complaints, to date." He says all of this proudly. But now his smile turns a touch wry.

"Though, I must warn you that one of the local doctors will come calling on you to inspect your health once you make your business public knowledge. First Aid was most insistent about it."

[stonecoldtop]

George nods, it's good to know and promising for his own business prospects.

"I'm surprised insistence was necessary." He's not going to voice his opinions more than that, but he's certainly not having Good thoughts on what that phrasing implies.

"I'll be sure to check in with, First Aid you said? At my earliest convenience. There isn't much risk of my passing anything on, but I'll want to be on the good side of at least one doctor regardless."

[lordoftheozarks]

"Yes. First Aid was not satisfied to take me at my word that, as a vampire, I am not capable of transmitting any diseases. He wanted to be certain about it. I thought it best to oblige him rather than fight it on principle. Having a certified bill of health from one of the trusted physicians here is a useful selling point, after all."

[stonecoldtop]

"A vampire? I thought vampires were mere folklore." Says the man who was kidnapped by Faeries.

[lordoftheozarks]

"I'm very real," Erik states flatly. "However, I have discovered since I got here that what counts as a vampire, and what traits a vampire may display can vary wildly depending on where they come from. I can only speak for myself."

[stonecoldtop]

"I never said you weren't"

They're diverting from the topic, but...

"Different worlds with different variations on the same theme, that makes some sense." He's already seen Erin and come to terms with her world's broken Mask, so this isn't quite the jarring thought it could be "I suppose I may as well tell you, I'm not entirely human myself."

Gilbert isn't going to be happy, but what can you do.

[lordoftheozarks]

"I'm glad it does to you. It took me some getting used to." Being confronted by the local 'vampires' was quite a shock to him.

"I did suspect. I have spent a long time perfecting the art of appearing human." It takes one to know one. "Your secret is safe with me."

[stonecoldtop]

"I'll hold you to that," George says, and the Wyrd twists around him binding the words to a Pledge. Not that he's going to elaborate further on just what he is without prompting, even with that assurance.

"How long is a long time, if I may?"

[lordoftheozarks]

Erik has half a mind to ask for information tit-for-tat, but he decides against that for now. His age is a point of pride for him, so that is no secret

"Over a thousand. For my kind of vampire, that is exceptionally long-lived."

[stonecoldtop]

George just stares for a moment. He's not sure what he was expecting, but more than a thousand? He's really not sure what to do with that.

"Well," he says at length, with something that might be either a laugh or a sigh, "It's nice to know I'm not anywhere near the oldest in the room for once."

[lordoftheozarks]

Erik is enjoying that look maybe more than is polite. Please, do be impressed by him.

"Just how old are you, my friend? Generally speaking?"

[stonecoldtop]

He spends a moment longer keeping the somewhat amazed look on his face. It's symbiotic, Erik likes the attention, and George is enjoying the glamour he sheds in response to it.

"That's a complicated question, but the simplest answer is 132."

[lordoftheozarks]

"I realize you are reluctant to name what you are, but that does make it rather hard for me to place if such an age is advanced for you or not. For a human, that would be exceptional, but human you are not."

[stonecoldtop]

"Again I say, it's complex."

George taps the side of his cup lightly as he thinks, the sound almost more like stone than nails. There's a risk to sharing more, he has no way of knowing whether this place is safe from the Gentry or not. Given that Dimitri had to contend with Them in a similar situation, the signs point more towards not. But if anyone can handle themselves it'll be a vampire who's over a millennia old. Plus Erin wandering around without a Mask likely poses more of a threat than mere words.

And lord help him he wants a peer he doesn't have to hide from.

"Knowledge of what I am can be dangerous, even explaining what the threats are is dangerous. So if I am to tell you more, I will need a more concrete assurance than 'your secret is safe'. Both that you accept the risk, and that not a single word of what I am will pass your lips to someone who doesn't already know."

[lordoftheozarks]

"I am no stranger to dangerous information. I accept the risk and I do not do so lightly. My word as a vampire, I will not tell a single word of this to anyone without your explicit consent or unless they can prove they knew it already. I do take my word very seriously."

[stonecoldtop]

George nods solemnly, rebinding this more detailed promise into the Pledge. He spends some time in silence, collecting his thoughts on a complicated subject into the most pertinent information for right now.

"I'm a Changeling, in the common parlance. Human, until I was taken by the Fair Folk, held in Their domain at the whims of my Keeper, and eventually escaped.

"Therein lies the complexity of age. By years lived the mundane world, I'm 38. Years since my birth, 132. Time experienced? That's more difficult. I'd wager at least 200 years, possibly approaching 3 or 400.

"I'm neither old nor young for what I am, but in my social sphere, by the ages we each claim for ourselves, I'm the oldest by about a century." He smiles, looking off into the distance for a moment, "That's including some who were taken around the same time as me, you can make of that what you will."

[lordoftheozarks]

Erik waits in patient silence. He gets the impression it's much like if someone were to ask him for his own history. There's a lot of it to put in order.

He's silent for a moment even after George lays out that complicated truth in front of him. He's heard of Changelings, but never encountered one (that he's aware of.) There is a lot he can make of this. He doesn't have to stretch his imagination very far.

"You are a survivor. That is what I make of it. And, if you are similar to me, you have regrets about how you survived. I won't ask about that, but you have my sympathy if you want it." And his promise of silence, of course.

"How long since you escaped?"

[stonecoldtop]

"Thank you." George says with a small smile, glad of the Mask that means Erik won't see how weak it really is. The worst thing is always how little he regrets what he did — what he became — in Arcadia.

"I've been out for just shy of eight years, which is not half so long as it seems and far longer than it feels."

[lordoftheozarks]

"Yes, I know what you mean. To me, eight years is barely a blink, yet much can change so quickly." He had Max in his house for less time and somehow those seven years seem more profoundly impactful to him than the hundred years that came before.

"And now, so soon after, you are here in a new place once again. How are you handling that transition?"

[stonecoldtop]

"Oh, this is fine. Losing everyone you've ever known and starting over in an unfamiliar world is far easier the second time."

He laughs, and it's genuine. As much as he cared for the friends he's gathered in London over the last 8 years, it doesn't hurt the same to have lost them as it did his friends and family from before Arcadia. He's had practice now. Wasn't expecting for it to happen again as such, but it wasn't much of a surprise either.

"Rebuilding my business will be annoying, of course, but at least it's something universally transferrable. Even if I doubt it will be anywhere near as lucrative here as I'm used to."

[lordoftheozarks]

Erik can't bring himself to refute George. How many times has he picked up and restarted? More than he cares to count. The sting does lessen with each one.

"I don't know what you are used to but, yes, business is slower here than it might be with a less static population. I assume you are male, so we may be in some direct competition, but I'm not concerned about that. I have my own advantages."

[stonecoldtop]

"One of my specialities was financial domination, I'm not sure that's an ethical offering here. Especially with the rates I charged." He'll miss those clients the most, and not just because of the money they brought in.

"Some direct competition is unavoidable, but I operate within a fairly specific niche. I'm a professional dominant, and I don't include any direct sexual contact as part of my services. That doesn't exactly suit everyone who is looking for a sex worker, no matter their preferred gender. Which is part of why I wanted to be sure to meet you, I prefer to have colleagues I know and trust to refer potential clients to if I'm not going to be a good fit."

[lordoftheozarks]

"I don't think I know enough about that to say if it is." He can guess but he doesn't want to make false assumptions when he hasn't been initiated into that particular subculture.

"But that does suit me rather nicely. I offer more straightforward and traditional services that might leave clients like yours wanting. I'll be glad to have a trustworthy place to refer them to. I think we should get along just fine."

Sex Ed Consultation - NSFW talk, possibly other stuff

[pineapplesalmon]

César shows up at his appointment time. He's made sure to shower after going to the farm to not get dirt everywhere. Which would be a bad thing considering what the dirt could get into. Also no cologne in case anyone has any allergies.

He knocks a couple minutes early.

Re: Sex Ed Consultation - NSFW talk, possibly other stuff

[lordoftheozarks]

Erik opens the door after only the first knock. He's fully dressed in an impeccable suit as usual. The air smells of warm spices from a lit candle and there is a steaming kettle on the stove in case César would like some tea while they talk.

"Come in. You're right on time. Would you care for tea? I've just boiled some water."

[pineapplesalmon]

César chuckles at the prompt response, then breathes in the scented air. He's wearing a decent shirt and pants, but he needs to honestly get more clothes. It's not quite in the cards, yet.

The entire set-up, from Erik's clothes to the kettle boiling clearly impresses César. "I'd love tea, thank you."

[lordoftheozarks]

"You're very welcome. I'll bring the box to you and you can select what suits best. This way, to the table."

Erik's home is modest, the kitchen and living room sparse but clean. He motions for Cesar to seat himself at the kitchen set while he bustles to a cabinet and takes down a cup and saucer, along with a cedar wood box. When he sets that before Cesar on the table and opens it, inside will be revealed as segmented sections for loose herbal teas and black teas, all neatly labeled. And in the front compartment is a tea ball for filling.

"I do not eat or drink human food, but I still pride myself on being a good host. It's important to feel comfortable when embarking on such talks. Please, help yourself."

[pineapplesalmon]

"It's appreciated. I'm definitely going to need something to do with my hands." Speaking of hands, César washes his at the kitchen sink, drying then before going to the table and sitting down.

He looks at the tea and takes a moment to consider them all. "... What types are the black teas? I'm afraid the only loose tea I'm deeply familiar with is yerba mate."

Pronounced sherba mate, because Argentine.

[lordoftheozarks]

"Yerba? I'm not familiar?" Erik sounds intrigued. It isn't every day he learns of something new after one thousand years.

"These two here are black," he says pointing out the first of two slots on the far right. "That one smells more strongly of lemon. The other less."

[pineapplesalmon]

"Mate is South American. The preparation depends on what country you're from. The leaves have higher caffeine than tea but lower than coffee. Lots of antioxidants, cleaner ride up and down." César smiles warmly. "It's a communal drink, passed around and shared."

César picks the regular tea, surprisingly. "That one. Do I make it myself...?" César's not sure which way he's supposed to go.

[lordoftheozarks]

"I have not spent much time in South America. Thank you, that's something I didn't yet know about."

Ah, so if the preparation is different then no wonder Cesar doesn't quite know what to do with this. Erik has gotten to used to humans simply knowing more about food than he does.

"Here, let me show you what I was taught. You fill the ball here with the leaves and rest it in your cup. Then pour the water over the top and, in the case of black teas, we let it steep for four minutes before removing."

Interestingly, this demonstration and conversation acts as a good introduction to the very listening and communication skills he is going to endeavor to teach Cesar in this session. It's almost as if he planned it this way. Almost.

[pineapplesalmon]

"You're welcome."

César does know about loose leaf tea from a high level. But he doesn't know how many leaves to put in. And it's good to see someone actually do it from start to finish.

"The temperature matters too, right?" They're skills that César has been trying to practice more, turning skills he learned to work under Black Knight and stay alive into something to support his girlfriend and others. "It's a different temperature than green, white, or mate."

[lordoftheozarks]

"I'm told it does, yes, but I'm still mastering that as an art. I have been told that hotter is better for black tea so I'm sure it will be close enough." He's really the wrong person to ask about these things.

"But enough about tea. We are here to discuss something more intimate than that, aren't we? Tell me where you would like to start?"

[pineapplesalmon]

César lets the tea subject drop and considers the question. "... I'm not sure, to be honest. My experience is very limited. Two women, both cis. And not... that enjoyable after a while."

He's divorcing himself from those feelings, talking about it more seriously.

[lordoftheozarks]

Erik steeples his fingers in front of him and eyes Cesar over them. He's already detecting one very important issue. 

"How did they make you feel? What about it was not enjoyable? I want you to take a moment to consider your answer before you tell me." 

[pineapplesalmon]

... oh, Erik's noticed. César looks down at his tea. And thinks.

"They were interested in my looks, not me. And... it just got too intense after a while. Too much movement, too many things going on. My body kept moving and doing things, but it wasn't... me? I completely disassociated."

[lordoftheozarks]

"And you are worried that you may do likewise with Magne," Erik says not so much as a question but as an acknowledgment.

"One worry we don't have is that she only likes you for your looks. It's already more than clear that she accepts you for your whole self. So, I suppose the real issue may be getting you to accept yourself in that way as well."

[pineapplesalmon]

César rolls that all in his head, staring at his tea.

"Magne accepts my very soul. Even deeper than we last spoke. And I accept her in the same way." He replies, then glances up, looking a bit less guarded. "... I.. used to accept myself fully, but then... I was forced to suppress my personality and whittled away myself from overwork for eight months. Magne and my friends are helping me rediscover myself, but... I want to make sure there's no unnecessary heartache when the clothes come off. For either of us."

[lordoftheozarks]

"This is very wise of you. I don't wish to elaborate too much, but I can tell you that I have some experience with this very issue. It is a deep well you have dug for yourself, my friend. Not to worry, we'll get you out of it."

He sits back in his chair with a thoughtful hum, considering. This isn't the same as getting a vampire to accept himself as he is now, but it isn't that different, either.

"This will sound strange I'm sure, but have you grieved that loss of self? Have you properly mourned the fact that you had to change and lose those old pieces of yourself in order to survive. Because, the truth is, you aren't regaining what you've lost. You never will. You are building it back anew. I feel this will be much easier for you if you let go of the person you were, and the one you became, and instead focus on becoming the version of yourself you most want to be now. This is better than constantly feeling as if you must look backwards to compare yourself to your own history. Does that resonate with you?"

cw: tangential mention of suicidal idiology

[pineapplesalmon]

The question gets an immediate response, César sitting up straighter with wider eyes. No, he hadn't. But the skills he learned under Black Knight means he can force his mind back to listening rather than retreating within himself.

By the end, César looks mildly distraught. "I-I hadn't thought of it that way. Yes, it resonates. Maybe too much." His eyes unfocus as he recalls back to everything that's happened. "... I only survived by the smallest sliver, when I didn't expect to survive at all. It would mean mourning my entire former self, because in that framework... he died entirely. It would mean I truly lost everything that mattered."

Re: cw: tangential mention of suicidal idiology

[lordoftheozarks]

"Yes," Erik agrees grimly. He knows this hurts. It always does. But it's necessary. Healing can't happen until Cesar has faced this brutal truth. "It does. You have, Cesar. And I am very sorry for your loss. I have been in your position. But where you are now, hanging in purgatory between that old life and your new one waiting to be seized upon is not healthy. Clinging to the past will only keep you from being able to move forward. It won't bring back what you've lost. It won't help you keep what is important to you now. Can you understand that?"

[pineapplesalmon]

César came here as a man, not a scientist. He has a brain that can be as emotional as it is logical... when he lets it be. He's been ready for months to start mourning, but hasn't let himself. Before, there wasn't time, and now, he's been too scared to start. Talking with Neil had been the first step, and telling Magne had been the second. But now he can start to see the path he needs to walk.

If it wasn't for his girlfriend, he'd struggle with this more. But he told her he wouldn't hide anything from her anymore. And that means he can no longer hide from himself. So he opens himself up to the idea, lets it in, and somehow finds there's already room for it in his mind. The process comes as a rush, because he had already been ready, just afraid to more.

His shoulders deflate; his heavy eyelids close his eyes; his voice chokes. "Yes."

César's expression crumples as he lets the emotions hit. "It hurts. I lost everything. I was alone in the world. But I'm not... I'm not alone anymore. I'm loved again."

And that love is the source of his strength to move forward.

[lordoftheozarks]

"I'm sorry," Erik answers, low and soothing. "The pain will always be there. But that love you feel will dull it, make it so that you can carry on without being cut by the edges every day. You will find it grows easier when shared. You are not alone. And when the time is right for you both, you will remember that. You don't have to hide yourself away from her. Just as you accept her for all that she is, so will she accept you. The trust you share is mutual and true. No matter how much this hurts now, you will be all right."

[pineapplesalmon]

Despite the pain, despite his closed eyes, César can't help but smile. "She already has, Erik. I'm slowly telling her everything, and she's opening up to me. We're not hiding from each other anymore. We fixed that after the potluck."

César's seen the scar she thinks is ugly around her waist that signifies how she died that she's shown no one else. Magne's heard about the control collars and EVO enslavement that canceled their genocide under Black Knight's orders. He knows she's been through hell and committed crimes that put her in jail. She knows about his eccentricities and tendency to overwork.

"My heart is already fully open." Holding both love and pain simultaneously in his heart in this moment; indeed, the pain is bearable, and he opens his eyes to look to Erik. "Magne has full access to my very being, and she wants to hear anything I'll tell her in my own time. And I've held her heart in my hands tenderly when she's needed me. We value each other's trust more than all the gold in the multiverse. She loves how her strength is a source of safety and security for me, and that I don't fear her in the slightest. That part, I don't need help with. Moving forward, yes. Working out my issues regarding sex, yes. But the love and trust part... we're already in the graduate level courses."

[lordoftheozarks]

"That is very good. All of that. It gives me full confidence that you both are right for one another. Let me ask you, then, what do you fear will happen when you try to have sex together? What is the worst case scenario you could envision in that moment? You do not need to say it aloud to me, but I recommend you tell it to her. She cannot help prevent it if she does not know."

gender dysphoria mention

[pineapplesalmon]

Neither of them need Erik's approval, but it does help to hear they're right for each other. César doesn't think he believes in soulmates, but he's so compatible with Magne that he wonders. The comfort just thinking about her brings him means he can hold that pain of revelation while answering.

"Thinking through these things is why I'm here--so it can be easier for me to tell her because I've had a sounding board for my initial thoughts and feelings." César pulls his tea bag out and sets it aside on the saucer, thinking. "There's relatively few worst case scenarios. She knows I'm inexperienced and will avoid overstimulating me. I'm just such a huge source of support and affirmation that the idea of accidentally making her dysphoric when it could be avoided makes me feel sick to my stomach. And I can't research anything here. But it feels wrong to ask her to teach me everything, even with that?"

César leans back and grabs his teaspoon to turn around in his hand as he watches it, less to avoid eye contact and more to give his brain space to think. "Honestly... it feels like sex is too high stakes to start? I'd rather take baths or showers together. Learn each other's bodies, what she calls her parts, and what feels pleasurable to each of us. Memorize her heartbeat. No expectations of getting off or anything. Just... being together, like we've always done. ... ... is that something we can do?"

Re: gender dysphoria mention

[lordoftheozarks]

Erik says nothing but he holds his hand out in a welcoming gesture, prompting César to go on as he feels comfortable.

"I do understand the point you are making. But allow me to counter it for you. Though her circumstances, and yours, come with many layers of emotional challenges you have both faced, one fact is true no matter what shape a romantic relationship takes. Lovers must teach each other about their wants and need. Has she not had to ask you just as many questions? Pay you just as much care? She seems like an incredibly capable and intelligent woman to me. I believe she will be smart enough to know that any misstep you take is an honest mistake. She doesn't strike me as so fragile that she could not forgive that. No one gets it right all the time, you know. Not even me." He sighs, thinking back on the stumbles he's taken with both River and Chris. No, especially not him.

But now the sign turns into a good-natured laugh. He rushes to say, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm not laughing at you. It just strikes me as so charming that you have to ask. Of course, César. Doing those bonding activities would solve a great deal of your worries. It would give you both time to know one another and yourselves. There's no need to jump directly to sex. There's no rule that states you must in order for your love to be real. You do know that, don't you?"

[pineapplesalmon]

César starts laughing after a moment of thought, too, and he can't hold onto the grief anymore. It slides away.

"I know, I know, but I am!" Laughing at himself. "I do know there's no rule. You see why I need a sounding board to get my thoughts out of my own head so they stop twisting around themselves? Things are often so much simpler than I tend to make them."

He looks back down at the spoon. "... Magne's an amazing woman. You're right. ... ... ..." Another soft laugh. "She's going to find the naked bonding idea cute."

[lordoftheozarks]

"You are a chronic overthinker, yes. I can see that very clearly," Erik chuckles.

It's good to see César able to laugh at himself as such. Humor is a balm in these situations.

"Yes, I'm sure she will. I have no doubt you will both be sickeningly cute with each other the entire time, as nature intended." They're going to be just fine.

"Are you feeling better?"

[pineapplesalmon]

"Everyone can." César jokes. "Magne's helping me get better not overthinking other things. And I'm motivated to get better, not just for her sake but for mine. And it's a good thing Magne likes cute things, eh?"

As César chuckles at himself, he finally takes a sip of his tea, which is finally cool enough to drink. "Oh, this is excellent. And, yes, I feel better. Sometimes you just need to talk to another man about some things. ... ... ... is there anything else you can think of, that I might need to work through?"

Looks like a good place to wrap

[lordoftheozarks]

"She very obviously likes cute things," Erik says, staring directly and very pointedly at César. That's you, buddy.

"I think we've covered a lot of ground already. Any more and it may become too difficult to process." He's given you plenty to overthink about.

"I suggest that you sit and finish your tea while we chat about something lighter as a palate cleanser."

Yes, a good wrapping spot!

[pineapplesalmon]

"She does." César processes the star a moment later and then lets out a bashful, warm laugh. "... Okay, okay, you're right."

He nods along. "It does feel like a good stopping point. And this tea is just the right temperature. It'd be a shame if I forgot about it and let it become cold."

late march.

[abhorrently]

Getting settled into this new town is easier than expected. Adjusting to having a whole apartment of space is sheer luxury after the cabins, after all she called her own being a bedroll and a few packs. Then there's work, and heading out to explore the newly discovered spaces in the world, and visiting the hot springs, and...

Suffice to say that she keeps herself busy. But not so busy that she'd forgotten him, that it would be difficult to notice someone's routine if by chance one designed to intrude upon it. Which is exactly what she decides one evening, going to the right pub and getting herself a drink.

She'll wait a while to see if her guess was correct or not, but neither option means she's going to turn down a good drink and a bit of conversation. The glass drains bit by bit, and Fever's unhurried. Worst case scenario, she finds someone here with lovely eyes and open arms. Still, her eyes occasionally flick over the room, wondering.

Re: late march.

[lordoftheozarks]

"Looking for me?"

One minute, the chair across from her is empty, the next, he's seated in it with his hands folded under his chin giving her big doe eyes and fluttering his fair lashes. It's been a slow night for work but he's more than comfortable financially, so why not have a bit of a holiday?

[abhorrently]

"And here I thought I was the peak of subtlety."

She doesn't sound upset to be caught out, though. Makes it all the easier on her to not have to think about how to get his attention when he could be working instead.

"Hopefully you've been keeping well in the meantime, my lord."

[lordoftheozarks]

"I'm an Elder vampire, over one thousand years old, it's very difficult to bluff me." The truth is, he was guessing. And he's pleased to have guessed right.

"Very well, thank you. With spring in the air, business is booming. But what of you? Have you gotten yourself firmly planted yet?"

[abhorrently]

Somewhere, there's a grave robbing joke she's not feeling witty enough to make.

"As well as I could wish. Employment at Town Hall, a residence to call my own, friends old and new. A woman really couldn't ask for too much more when it comes to making a new place for herself. It'll take time before I have proper roots, but that's what spring's for, isn't it?"

Delicately, she skates past the idea of calling it a home, and instead takes the second to last drink of her glass.

[lordoftheozarks]

He smiles wide enough to show a little fang, delighted that she took his pun and ran with it. He knew he liked her from the start.

"Wonderful news. Never a better time than this to sprout new shoots. As distressing as the thought is that most of us got here by being cut down, I am proof of nothing if not the fact that even dead things can return to new life."

[abhorrently]

It had been a guess if it was an intentional pun or not, but she's pleased that it paid off.

"And in this new place, we can grow, branch out to things that may not have been possible where we were before."

A pause.

"Please don't tell me you've got an abundance of those stored up, the last one I have is some riff on 'bearing the fruits of our efforts' and after that I'm spent. Til I've had a little more time to dwell on being clever, anyway."

[lordoftheozarks]

"My dear, I have had one thousand years to accumulate all manner of wordplay. I could keep this up all night."

He leans forward and rests his chin on the backs of his hands as he says through a mischievous grin, "You don't know what the meaning of the word spent is until you've had an hour with me."

[abhorrently]

"Is that my time limit or your estimation of my endurance?"

Finishing her drink, she mirrors his pose, looking into those amber eyes.

"Either way, I'd be delighted to test that."

[lordoftheozarks]

"That's the average for how long anyone can last under my focused attention," Erik says with a cheeky grin. "I welcome you to try beating the odds."

That said, he straightens up and offers her his hand. "Shall we go back to my place?"

[abhorrently]

"I'd be delighted."

Taking his hand, she rises from the table, nothing keeping her from this appointment. It's only when they're outside and on their way that something seems to dawn on her.

"New endeavors bearing fruit. Now why couldn't I think of that earlier?"

[lordoftheozarks]

"It always comes to you later." He chuckles as he pats the back of her hand. "I've had just over a thousand years to perfect the art of swift comebacks. And, yes, that does mean I practiced."

[abhorrently]

"Now I just have the image of you going about your day, murmuring different sentences and retorts under your breath to fine tune them until it sounds perfect."

She laughs a little, letting him continue to lead the way.

[lordoftheozarks]

"Nonsense," he answers blithely. "I practice in front of a mirror like any self-respecting vampire."

[abhorrently]

"You can see yourself in the mirror?"

This is a genuine surprise.

"The man I knew, he couldn't see his reflection. Though he still had mirrors, for reasons I cannot fathom."

[lordoftheozarks]

"What?" He's mirroring (heh) her surprise now.

"That was always supposed to be a myth. The poor thing. How long has it been since he saw his own face?" Erik is, truly, horrified by the concept. It's hard enough to retain a sense of identity after death, but to not even be able to observe the subtle changes that occur over all those years? Not to be able to look yourself in the eyes even once? It has to be maddening.

"Perhaps he keeps them for spite. To remind him what he lost."

[abhorrently]

"From what he told me, it was two hundred years ago. Though..." She pauses, considers how much to give to someone who doesn't know him. How much is permitted. "I've no idea if the face I know as his is the face that he had when he was turned."

How it could have changed as he did, from elf to vampire.

"If Astarion appeared before us, I'd have to warn you about him. I won't deny he's an utter ass in several ways. He's not to everyone's taste. But I'd trust him with my life without a drop of hesitation. Nor would I refrain from openly calling him my friend."

[lordoftheozarks]

"Only two hundred? Why, he's still a baby," Erik says good-naturedly. Not quite a fledgling anymore, but certainly in the teenage vampire range.

"My dear Fever, I would be shocked if he was anything else. Believe me, most vampires even where I come from are, shall we say, not to everyone's taste. If he ever does arrive, so long as you call him friend, he will be welcomed by me." There might even be offers of mentorship.

[abhorrently]

"If he arrives, I will introduce you to him personally, so long as you promise to call him a baby in front of his face so I can see his reaction."

She wouldn't miss that for the world. She can half picture it in her mind's eye, the way his gaze would narrow trying to decipher if it was a jest, an insult, or something else entirely.

"That is, of course, assuming he remembers me. But one can always hope."

[lordoftheozarks]

"I wouldn't be able to stop myself," Erik says, grinning with full teeth on display. He'd have to tease, but then he'd also make a genuine offer of mentorship shortly after.

"There is always hope."

They've made it to his home now. He unlocks the door but before he's gotten it all the way open a ghostly orb sticks his face through the wood and yells "Ghaaaaast!"

"Maxly," Erik chides his pet ghost pokemon, "What have I told you about waiting until I'm properly through the door?"

"Ghaaaaast..." moans Maxly apologetically, retreating back through and waiting on the other side until Erik's opened the door all the way.

"Please excuse my pet," Erik tells Fever as he motions for her to enter. "He's enthusiastic about meeting new guests. He's harmless, I promise."

[abhorrently]

The creature had surprised her, and she had stepped back on reflex, the syllables of a cantrip on her tongue, but thankfully Erik spoke before anything rash could happen. Oh. A pet entity - how quaint, really. Narrowly averting disaster, Fever comes in, eyes glancing around in appreciation, but also to see if she can catch the strange one in her gaze again.

"I've never seen a creature like him before. Is he some kind of spirit?"

To get through doors and such, or else just some innate magic.

[lordoftheozarks]

"I'm sorry he startled you," Erik says as he shows her into the neat but sparse living room.

The way he dresses, one would think the furniture in his home would be extravagant to match, but aside from the very handsome writing table in one corner, most of the furniture seems to be leftovers from the previous tenants. The door of his work bedroom happens to be open, revealing that the furnishings in there are a lot more thoughtfully chosen. The centerpiece is a St. Andrews Cross. The leather straps are stretched in a way that suggests they're well-worn.

"Yes, that's right. He is a spirit who does not remember his former life. He seems bound to only be able to say his creature name, Ghastly. But we have worked out a system for communicating in yes and no answers. He can understand you perfectly well."

Erik turns his gaze on Maxly again, "Which means he should be able to remember what I tell him. For now, Ghastly, I want you to go play outside."

The ghost pokemon sinks lower in the air, dejected at being tossed out when there's new company to meet.

[abhorrently]

"Oh, I'll get to know you later, promise. When I'm not busy with things that won't interest you at all."

There's a reassuring smile she gives the spirit, trying to cheer it for later. Behave, and she'll be happy to give it attention. Erik doesn't seem the sort to need her to immediately leave afterwards, so there'll be time.

Her gaze tracks across the house, devoid of judgement. Her own apartment looks much the same, a reflection of who was there before save the discreet altar, and they make do with what they have at present. Or, they innovate and create their own, like the cross. That gets an extra heartbeat of attention, but like most things, she has no plan. Merely improvising with what comes, to see how it all unfolds.

[lordoftheozarks]

"Ghastly! Ghastly!" Maxly cheers and does a circle around her before he finally obeys Erik and zooms out through the door.

"He's probably going to come find you and haunt you later," Erik comments, amused. "I can't tell sometimes who has adopted whom." Basically, Maxly is a cat. A very attention-loving cat. (He definitely adopted Erik.)

Erik catches her looking at his cross and his eyes glimmer with playful wickedness. "Curious about my most recent business acquisition? You are welcome to have a closer look."

[abhorrently]

The little chuckle she gives as Maxly circles her should say enough on how she feels about being haunted later. He's a cute one, in her opinion. But on the other end of things...

"Well, now that I've been invited."

She strides into the room as if it was her own, drawing near to the cross to examine it, fingers touching the straps. Solid workmanship. Made for someone with specific preferences. She's got no doubt the equivalent exists in Faerun.

"Does it get a lot of use?"

[lordoftheozarks]

He follows close behind her, enjoying the view from that angle unabashedly.

"It's been met with curiosity. I've had several try it once and decide it wasn't for them while others have become quite enamored with it. I'll never name names, of course, but I've seen a lovely array of tastes in my clients. If you would like to satisfy your own curiosity, I'm more than willing to show you what I can do with it."

[abhorrently]

"Believe me when I say I'm curious about almost anything. But, Lord Osborne, that includes something particular."

Her eyes are full of interest, when she turns to look at him again, the circlet on her brow catching a bit of the light. One of her hands absently toys with one of the leather straps for the texture, nothing more.

"I'm the most curious about what you want. Your work's about satisfying others, listening to what they'd ask of you, fulfilling those wishes. So, since this isn't work and entirely about our own pleasure...what haven't you gotten to have for yourself?"

Herself, she knows, she could go with anything. Willing and amiable to try different things, discover how she felt about them. But him? What does he want, if he's allowed to choose for himself outside of the framework of getting paid, if it's just for his own desires? That holds her attention far more than any particular set of bonds.

[lordoftheozarks]

"Hm?" He lifts a brow as she mentions she's curious about something in particular. Fool that he is, he doesn't see the most obvious of questions coming.

What he wants? It's as if he's been switched off suddenly--no simulations of breathing or blinking, just shocked stillness. What does he want? He can tell she's asking in earnest so why does it sound like a trick question?

How many seconds have gone by now? He has to answer with something. He can't tell her the truth? What will she think of a whore getting sentimental about sex? He can't come out and say that what he's desired most is for deeper connections, for it to mean something. No. That stays good and buried.

"I... hadn't give it much though," he lies. "I'm not choosey, so long as we both have a nice time."

[abhorrently]

Hm. With how it catches him like that, she's almost willing to believe him. And yet, there's something familiar in the shape of his words, something she can dig out and recognize. Something she knows intimately, enough to step closer, search his eyes for the cracks in his facade.

"How sweet. But I don't believe you."

Her words are softly spoken, though there's a hint of steel behind. He isn't allowed to run away. They're very close now, close enough that she'll see every twitch.

"Tell me the truth, Erik."

What does he want for himself? If he persists in lying, she'll turn around and leave.

[lordoftheozarks]

It's not often someone calls his bluff this directly. Well. All right. It didn't used to be often. It's happening more and more these days. He might be losing his edge.

"It's half of the truth," he hedges, meeting her eyes and then wishing he hadn't when he sees the steel behind them.

"I'm terrified you'll laugh. For someone like me, my wish is...embarrassingly mundane." He hasn't said what it is yet, but he also hasn't lied.

[abhorrently]

"I won't laugh. I promise you that. No fingers crossed or anything."

Her look softens by a degree, but it still asks for him to reply.

[lordoftheozarks]

"All right..." Dammit, he can't refuse when she looks at him that way. He never could resist soft eyes.

"Tenderness. That is what I desire."

He opens his mouth to keep going and stalls out as a lump rises in his throat. He swallows hard and forces another breath into his lungs. He has to finish this confession. That is what it feels like.

"I want to let myself be vulnerable."

[abhorrently]

As promised, she doesn't laugh. She does smile, but it's not a harsh thing. It's contentment with being told the truth, before she nods. Understood.

Tenderness. This she can do, this she can give. Something gentler than her usual approach, if he wants to be vulnerable about it. This she can demonstrate, stepping close enough that they brush against each other. Laying her hand on his cheek, thumb stroking his cheekbone she leans in to kiss him. Not pushing, not asking. Something given out, instead. What's mundane about that?

"We'll take it slow."

[lordoftheozarks]

If he needed to breathe he would have been holding his breath waiting for at least a snicker, possibly covered by a cough. Instead she... takes him utterly seriously. Tension he hadn't been aware of loosens between his shoulder blades.

His eyes stay fixed on her, wary and yet hungry for the way she moves, slow and gentle. He leans lightly into her hand on his face and accepts her kiss with softly parted lips. Usually, he would be quick to deepen it, make it fiery and passionate the way most people crave when they come to him to have their fantasies fulfilled. Today, it's his turn. He chooses to probe her lips slowly with his tongue, to savor the heat in her breath against his cold skin.

"I'd like that."

His hands wind up her back, lingering over every ripple of muscle he can feel beneath her clothes, and then, when he reaches her hair, his fingers twine into her curls, tracing the hard line of her skull beneath as if he means to memorize the curve and shape of it. He brushes against her tiara with a curious look in his eyes. "Does this signify anything in particular?"

[abhorrently]

Erik doesn't know how lucky he is, that she lacks the wit currently to make any jokes about warming him up. Still, his temperature is no barrier to her - she'll bestow heat freely, free arm snaking around his waist. He's not trapped, but held.

Beneath his fingers, at one point, there's a scar hidden under her hair. A neat, small line almost an inch long on the back of her skull.

When he asks about the headband, Fever blinks a little, and then smiles again.

"It makes things easier. Long story short, a while back in my life, I lost a fight I wasn't expecting to get into. It left some things broken in my head." Even though it's not really a story to set the mood. "This, and the one I had before I arrived here, helps me against the aftermath. With it, I can keep my focus, be less confused - it helps clear things up when I need to actually think. Just sort of...smooths over the rough edges."

A pause, then.

"What did you think it signified?"

[lordoftheozarks]

Jokes like that lead him to getting his teeth involved. Which isn't very vulnerable for him, so best let that rest for now.

It's a strange thing, to let himself be held. Let really is the right way to put it, as he fights the habit to assert himself. He wants this, truly, but there's fear in getting what he wants. What if it isn't what he hopes? What if it is?

He tries to put those worries from his mind by tracing the scar beneath her hair, wondering if this came from that fight she's speaking of. Blunt force could cause many long-term issues. A shame he likely can't so anything for it.

"I'm sorry you must live with such an ailment, but you seem to have it well in-hand. You don't strike me as one who enjoys being pitied." He could be wrong. He trusts she'll tell him if he is.

"I took it for an heirloom, perhaps. Or a trophy of some kind. Forgive me, but I did not judge you to be royalty."

[abhorrently]

She laughs, bright and easy, far from being offended.

"Not in the slightest. I'd make an absolutely terrible royal. Or noble, for that matter. I'd make some grievous social error and then wind up fighting whoever tried to take me to task for it."

There's an ease in her, nothing hasty. He's handsome, but she's decent at being patient when the time calls for it. For now, she'll just keep her arms around Erik, close but without pressure. Give him time to breathe, to be himself. It's hard to fuck up something like this, when it's for one's own pleasure and it's understood.

Strange, she'll ponder later, that of all the people to confess a wish for vulnerability to, it's to the woman who may as well leave bloody marks on everything she touches. Someone smarter than her could make meaning from it.

"...There are other scars on me, from different sources. Nothing hurts, and nothing is off limits to be touched. Figure I should give warning - it's raised some eyebrows in the past when I haven't."

Live with them long enough, you forget they're novel to other eyes.

[lordoftheozarks]

"Yes," he laughs along with her. "I could easily see that becoming a problem. But you would make an excellent guard. I spent most of my years sharpening my tongue rather than my sword. I relied heavily on my right hand, Josiah, to keep his weapons at the ready when words failed. Thankfully, that was not often." If one thing can be said for older vampires, it's that they are usually too risk averse to go to blows over anything trivial. That's how they've managed to live so long in the first place.

She may notice that the talking helps relax him into her embrace. It's as much defense as offense, even if he'll never admit to that aloud.

"Thank you for telling me. They won't shock me, I assure you, but I do always try to approach touching such marks with caution until otherwise told." Since he has aversion so his own being seen or touched too directly. "Scars are... a delicate topic for vampires. We usually do not have any--cannot have any." Yet, he does.

[abhorrently]

She thinks of Astarion's scars, and says nothing. That's his secret to dispense as he would if he ever sets foot here, not hers. Instead, she focuses on the man in front of her, notes how the talking seems to set him at ease. Good. The more he relaxes, the less he'll feel afraid, the more he'll understand he never had anything to fear when it comes to voicing his desires.

"No need for delicacy with these ones. I've been reckless and I've survived in turn."

Even the one that had made Hawkeye look askance, the one that tended to draw the most worried gaze, it's long healed. Fever never won't have that mark upon her, proof of what she went through, something that at times she feels was wholeheartedly earned.

"Is there anywhere you need me to avoid? Where I shouldn't be touching?"

The way he said that, he's all but confessing, so all she's doing is teasing it into the light by asking after it directly. She can't read his mind, and the last thing she wants is to kill the mood because she did something wrong.

[lordoftheozarks]

A flicker of tension pulls his chest tight like a spasm, but it passes so quickly it could almost go undetected. Almost.

She's asking out of concern, he reminds himself. It isn't as if he hasn't told plenty of people about this boundary. So, why does it feel somehow more intimate this time?

"My upper back and shoulders are a sensitive area. I have old marks there that I don't like others to see. Touching through fabric is tolerable but I'd prefer they be avoided."

[abhorrently]

"Then they will be."

She drops a kiss on his lips, light, and then up on his cheekbone trying to soothe it away. At the pace they're going, it'll be easy to remember, to redirect herself even when caught up. Just be careful, and it'll be fine.

"I won't touch. I won't look. You won't have to think about them."

He'll only have to think about enjoying himself. Plenty of other places for her to treat well.

[lordoftheozarks]

The final knot of worry in his chest loosens as she promises to avoid his tender back. He's trained himself, by now, not to openly react if anyone does approach that area but there is a real sense of relief to know he won't have to keep up that facade. He really can just... relax.

"You are more than enough to make me forget them," he answers in what should be a sultry low flirt but it comes out far more sincere. He can almost picture himself blushing beneath those kisses she feathers over his cheekbones.

Now, though, he's gaining the confidence to give back a little too. "Strip for me, Fever? Let me admire you and your storied battle scars. I have hungered to see you bare since I met you."

[abhorrently]

The smile on her lips has an edge of honesty that was absent earlier as she pulls away, reluctant to leave his proximity but knowing she's not going far.

"As you desire, my lord." The title is said with enough flippancy that he'll know there's no deference implied, only playful banter.

She strips leisurely, as she might have at home - not so much so that it becomes a tease, but comfortable in letting him see. The unveiling of how her freckles really do go everywhere, the exposure of her skin, her form, what a life lived by fighting does. The scars that are healing, that will fade when battle is no longer such an overbearing force in her life. Older and newer. And the mark left by the vivisection, uneven and arresting across her abdomen - hastily and sloppily stitched in anticipation of undoing it all the next day - but something that doesn't hurt. Just a foggy, distant image.

Fever casts her clothes to the side, knowing she can always get them later. Finally, she's bare before him save for the circlet, which she reaches up to remove infinitely slowly. This much, she'll tease with.

[lordoftheozarks]

He never tires of people calling him that in such pleasant teasing tones--not above having his ego stroked and he won't even pretend to be.

As she undresses, his unblinking gaze never wavers away. This is far better than any strip tease because it's real. It's her allowing him to see behind the curtain. What a pleasant discovery to find that she is speckled from head to toe in those fetching freckles. Those are more interesting to him than the scars are. Scars he's seen plenty of.

"You don't have to remove that if you don't wish to," he tells her as he steps closer, reaching with his delicate fingers out to trace the constellation of spots across her shoulder. He keeps tracing them down until he comes to that vivisection scar. He traces that now, too, with the same gentle attention.

"You look queenly just like this, My Lady."

[abhorrently]

His touch is gentle, and there's the slightest tremble in her nerves of anticipation, a soft little inhale of breath. His touch on the scar is sensitive in a different way, one that's both there and not there at all. Never ceases to be interesting, that detail about herself, but she's glad he's not being overly cautious about it. There's a spark in her gaze at the title, he gives her - something about it is charming, even with her declaration that she'd make a shoddy noble. Or maybe it's just the way he says it.

"I can be queen just as well without a crown."

Taking the circlet off, she gently tosses it aside, moving in to press herself close and kiss him again. More's in it than earlier, but still restrained, pulling herself to heel even with her hands on his waist, moving to run up his front. Slow, luxurious. They have all this time, and she wants to use it well, to find what places respond well to a touch, a kiss. Perfect for Fever to turn her head and murmur her request in his ear.

"Will you let me see you in return? I'll even say please."

She could do it for him, she knows. Might have tried, in another situation, but she's keeping Erik's words about his back in mind. Better to ask than risk killing the mood. Let him keep the pace that they've set, intimate and close.

[lordoftheozarks]

"Spoken like a true queen," he purrs. A satisfied smirk lights up his eyes as he drinks in her reactions. He shall have to think of a dozen more pet names to call her if she's going to look like that every time.

As she kisses him, he can't help but give in to the urge to tease her restraint. His fangs graze her bottom lip, not enough to break skin but the promise is there. At the same time, her fingers running across his pecks draw a deep and honest shiver out of him. He's noticeably leaning into her grip on his hips.

"Yes, My Lady."

He steps back from her grasp so she can have a better view as he pops open the buttons of his shirt, one by one, with practiced grace. Each move he makes, from the way he jerks his tie away, to the snap of his belt coming out of the loops has a sense of precise theatricality--like a stage magician redirecting his audiences' attention to exactly where he wants it. But there's nothing cynical about the performance. By the time he's stepping out of his trousers, there's a triumphant glint in his eyes.

He's down to just his undershorts and undershirt. The former are stripped down first. His manhood might not be the impressive girth of Max's, but Erik is a respectable average with the foreskin intact. He's also very nicely trimmed and groomed, as one might expect when that's part of his profession. The real show, however, is in the fact that, after a brief moment of hesitation, he reaches to draw his undershirt up and all the way over his head. Few get that privilege, but after the understanding she's shown, she's worthy of it.

After the shirt comes off, his eyes raise to meet hers, and in them is a look more vulnerable than any he's shown her yet. She's laid him bare in more ways than one, to his own surprise.

[abhorrently]

It all has its desired effect - her eyes watch him, intent and focused, viewing the show with all the appreciation and hunger one could desire from an audience. There are several comments she could make, but the words hardly matter when instead she's feeling her own resistance ebb. Gods, but it's hard to be slow when she wants to pounce on him instead, but she did promise. Still keeping herself in check, while a dozen filthy imaginings flit through her head, the trail of her eyes making absolutely no secret of it.

But when she steps close again, none of them gain a voice. Instead, she fits her hand to his cheek and exhales slow. As good at reading people as he is, he'll know the coiling tension in her, how she's keeping it in check. Steady, steady. No need to rush with this. It's exceptionally difficult. It's maddening. It's a fun challenge.

"...You're beautiful, Erik."

For all that she is, when she voices words like that, she means them. Not a trace of deceit or hesitation, only appreciation. There is no comparison to her other partners - why should there be? Every person is different, with different qualities. And right now, her thoughts are focused on him, on giving him the experience he's asked for. Even if she's only keeping her mouth close enough to tease, her entire self just away enough to not touch, save for her hand.

[lordoftheozarks]

His breath catches in a very human way when she calls him beautiful. The way she says it, when she's looking at him like that, he can tell she means it more than skin deep. He expects himself to balk at it but... no. This time he can let himself get lost in the intensity of her gaze, the warmth of her hand on his face, and let himself believe it's true.

For once, he can't think of anything to say. He doesn't have the words to describe how deeply she's touched him. But, he can see how she strains at holding back. For him. Now it's he who cannot hold back. He drives his lips into hers, hungry for more of her heat. It's not enough, so he presses his naked body against her as if he's trying to become one with her and not even in the sexy way.

[abhorrently]

Warmth radiates from her, everywhere they touch, pouring into him. She kisses him back, clasping him close. Her touch runs down his arms, his sides, his hips - and yet, for all the desire that's so easy to read, it never once strays towards his back. Fever promised, after all, and if she thought she couldn't keep the promise, she would ask him to bind her hands so she could keep it.

Somehow, her hands wind up in his hair, running through it and using the leverage to gently coax his head back. All the easier then to kiss down his jaw, his neck. Where a pulse would beat if he had one, where she might be otherwise tempted to leave marks.

"All this time before us," she murmurs into the hollow of his throat. "I'll make good use of it." Until he can't doubt that he's being handled with affection. A different day, she might have sunk her teeth into him - but restraint. Something kinder than that.

[lordoftheozarks]

Erik's head tips back in her grip as he gives himself over to the sensation of her fingers raking his hair. The heat of her mouth on his jaw, spreading kisses down his neck, makes him shudder in delight while the hairs on his body all stand at attention.

His hair is not the only part of him standing at attention. His cock throbs against her, as if in objection to her promise of a slow build. Patience, he cautions himself. He's the one who asked for this, after all.

"I'm already going weak in your arms, Fever. You're going to melt me into a puddle." He's going to enjoy every minute of it. He already is.

[abhorrently]

"I'll need to be careful to prevent that. Puddles aren't exactly sexy things."

He'll feel her smile and hear it in her voice, as she guides them to the bed, coaxing him with movement and kisses to lie on his back. There. Exposed, but protected. Means she can settle by his side and continue, learning his body under her hands and lips. Moving down, but decidedly avoiding where her attentions might be most desired. Her mouth ghosts over his hip instead, the gentlest suggestion of teeth over the bone.

[lordoftheozarks]

"You would be surprised the things that can be made sexy."

As she coaxes him to lay down on the bed, he's surprised by how pleasantly empty his mind is, as if the thoughts that would usually plague him have been swathed in cotton and pushed far away. All that's left to focus on is the way she makes him burn with lust, each kiss and caress building that flame higher. A deep and desperate whimper rattles the back of his throat when her teeth ghost over his hip. He spasms beneath her so hard and fast that the bedframe croaks in worrying ways as he forces himself down against the mattress to keep from bucking her off his his full strength.

"You really are driving me wild."

[abhorrently]

"All this, and I've only given you a little. Are you that pent up, Erik?"

Amused, but entirely unconcerned with going faster until he asks. This is about what he asked for, after all, though Fever wouldn't even try to hide how his reaction feeds her own hunger. It's a bright thing with teeth, and she wants, but she also wants to see if she can unwind him fully in exactly the method he asked for.

"If you can't wait, I should take you down my throat and see just how many pretty sounds you make. But I won't be through with you for a while yet."

A single kiss under his navel, while her hands fit to his sides, nails very lightly dragging over. No pain, just sensation."

"Your choice."

[lordoftheozarks]

Chagrinned, he laughs almost as much at himself as at the tease. "I may be a thousand year old vampire, Fever, but I am still only a man." A very horny man who is, as it turns out, more pent up than even he realized. Evidenced by how his cock stands up on its own when she mentions taking him down her throat. What, is he supposed to say no to an offer like that?

It's an offer he can't refuse, especially when she's still tantalizing him with that kiss and the light bite of nails. "Make me sing for you, Fever," he practically growls. "You'll find that I won't be done for a while yet, either."

[abhorrently]

Fever smiles and changes her position to be properly between his legs, settling there more comfortably. With permission granted, she lowers her head and licks up his cock, pressing a kiss to the head of it. Still teasing, even now, until she pushes a stray bit of hair back and commits herself to the act.

Slow and careful, taking him in her mouth, so she doesn't choke. So she can pay attention to every twitch of his, her tongue stroking him as she moves back and forth. Fever dares to look up during this - she wants to see his face at least once as she tends to him, to bask in his reactions.

[lordoftheozarks]

"Ffffuck," he hisses under his breath. He loves the tease, loves the way she takes her time on him, yet, paradoxically, it makes him more frantic for each touch. He's thoroughly caught in that delicious dilemma between holding back and letting go and each dip of her head over his cock brings out a new mewl of pleasure he can't hope to stifle.

When she first peers up at him, she'll see his face drawn tight in a look that's almost agony for how powerful it is, but when he opens his eyes and catches her observing, it's carnal heat that fills his expression. He reaches a hand out to cup her head and hold back her hair at the same time. His hand moves with her head, never forceful, but she may notice each pass she makes closer to his balls has his fingers flexing in a telling way.

[abhorrently]

It's a very satisfying feeling to hear him, to feel him. To know that every sound, every twitch is her doing. And then to see that look in his eyes, it hits her as a rush. A look like that could set someone on fire if they weren't already there, and she's twice as eager now to do her duty.

Fever could draw back, make Erik more desperate until he begged, but that's not the point of today. Another time, perhaps, if he wants to repeat the experience. This time, it's about bringing pleasure, in being indulgent. And so, noting that movement of his, her free hand comes to caress his balls, toying with them as her mouth keeps going. Erik need think of nothing else beyond chasing down his own satisfaction, nothing else than enjoying the moment.

[lordoftheozarks]

Fever truly could have gotten him to beg, his eyes have pleading in them already, but she doesn't, and a separate part of him is grateful for that. She gives him what he desires without needing to ask.

"Ohhh," he groans appreciatively, his hip twitching in time with her every caress. "Just like that."

He can feel the first hints of deep pressure kindling in his loins, and now he has a choice. It's easy enough to suppress it and keep going, often he does, but today is for his pleasure. Today, he will indulge in easy release. For once, he won't hold himself back. One last thread of tension in him snaps and, at that moment, he sags, bonelessly, beneath Fever.

"Just like that," he whispers, "and I'll be yours in short o-order."

[abhorrently]

Good, she thinks, deeply gratified to feel the change in him. Just like that. She relaxes her jaw so she can take him a little deeper, work him over better, suck harder. Let go. All he has to do is let go, and be hers, and she wants to see it. Not because he's the town's premier whore, or because he's a centuries old vampire, but because he asked this of her, and she can bestow it.

Let go. It's that easy.

[lordoftheozarks]

It seems so easy now, once the decision is made. His back arches as she swallows him deeper; his cock twitches against her tongue. Oh, fuck, he's getting close. Don't hold it back, he reminds himself. He's so deep in the feeling of her around him that he's not sure he still could.

"Fever!" he cries, both a warning and encouragement at once. His hips flex and hold the tension, all of him winding up for that forewarned explosion.

"Fe-v-AH!" With her name still on his lips, white heat explodes behind his eyes, pleasure spilling out of him in comparatively cold spurts against her tongue. Not once, or twice, but three times in rapid succession.

[abhorrently]

She's ready for it, and seeing and feeling him truly come apart feels exquisite, like a low hum of static along her nerves. Swallowing him down, a stray thought comes into her mind - huh, this is cold too - before she slowly pulls back and off of him, wiping her mouth on the back of her hand before she smiles, all self-satisfaction and genuine brightness.

Crawling back up to his side, her hand traces lazy patterns on his stomach, letting him come down slowly. No rush. Nothing more than being wanted just because he's Erik.

[lordoftheozarks]

He laughs at himself as he starts to regain his awareness and realizes his limbs are splayed to either side, his belly up like a dog--very happy to accept belly rubs. When she crawls up beside him, one of those splayed arms curls around her shoulder, cradling her close so he can continue to bask in her glowing warmth.

"Thank you," he whispers, as he leans to brush a kiss across her cheek. He doesn't want to move. Not yet. And she's in no hurry either. So, for once, he allows himself to lounge and rest, to enjoy the buoyant bliss of orgasm without letting the worries of the world creep in just yet.

The phone rings!

[astrogator]

It's a few days before Ari Tayrey feels ready to get in contact for negotiations. Days which she spends patching together a life in this place as if it were an emergency repair. A job, a house, a growing pile of resources. A solid place to stand.

When he picks up, he'll find her telephone manner might need some work.

'Lieutenant Tayrey calling Lord Osborne. Repeat, Lieutenant Tayrey calling Lord Osborne.'

[lordoftheozarks]

"I'm hearing you just fine, Lieutenant. This is Lord Osborne speaking. It isn't necessary to hail as one does on a radio, but I can do so for you if that would make you more comfortable. Over."

[astrogator]

It makes her smile that he'd be willing to adjust for her, but Tayrey knows it isn't really necessary.

'Peace and prosperity! No, this is fine, I'm still getting used to how these machines work.

Are you free for contract negotiation today?'

[lordoftheozarks]

"Peace and prosperity," he likes that.

"Yes, I am free for the afternoon. You can come by when you are ready. Shall I make some tea?" He's taken to keeping some stocked because a warm drink really can help settle the nerves in some of his more anxious first-timers. He likes to be a good host.

[astrogator]

It's always a good sign when someone mirrors her Tradeline greeting. He does seem to know how to make her comfortable.

'Tea's fine,' she answers. 'Or coffee, if you have it? I'll come by right away.' She does her best to sound confident about it, as if it's the kind of negotiation she undertakes all the time. It really isn't.

[lordoftheozarks]

"I'm afraid I have not quite gotten the hang of brewing coffee, yet. The last batch I brewed was, apparently, far too acidic. You're safer with the tea." At least he's honest about it.

"I'll set the kettle on now, then. Knock when you arrive; I'll hear you."

[astrogator]

Tayrey suspects that Erik's coffee might be tolerable enough, since her own efforts currently involve a large pot and an open fire - but she'll let it go.

'Sounds good to me. I'll be there soon, Tayrey out.' Alright, she knows she didn't have to say that last, but it's an old habit.

She turns up on his doorstep not long later, looking remarkably more at ease than on her first day. The change of outfit helps, those comfortable coveralls in a bright spacer blue, neatly tailored to show off her trim waist. Tayrey had looked underweight and sickly by the end of her time on the Serena Eterna, even before the attack that killed her. Now she's the picture of genetically engineered health. She knocks on the door, and greets him with another friendly peace-and-prosperity when he opens it.

[lordoftheozarks]

"Peace and prosperity. I take it that is your people's formal greeting? Please, come in. You're looking well."

He will lead her to his kitchen table where a steaming mug of hot water sits with a tea ball steeping in it. There's a small bowl of sugar out on the table if she desires to sweeten it.

"Now, I'm used to my contracts with clients being verbal in most cases, as that protects their privacy from prying eyes, but I have paper and pen should you wish to commit our agreement to ink."

[astrogator]

She steps inside, informing him that yes, that's her people's traditional greeting, and that it always makes her smile when others say it back to her. 'It makes me think of home,' she tells him.

Once she's in the kitchen, she drops a careful and modest half-spoon of sugar into the tea, her spoon clinking against the side of the mug as she stirs it.

'I do prefer to have agreements in writing; it means there's no room for errors of memory on either side. I also-' her eyes flicker upwards, she looks at him directly instead of at her tea, 'don't need this to be a secret. The intimate specifics, yes, but not the fact of it. I'm not ashamed. It's a mutually beneficial contract. Shall we start with the easier part? Basic expectations? Consent for everything - on both sides. I'm not the sort of person who thinks that if I buy your time I can do whatever I want, yes?' She won't say what she thinks of those people, but her concerned, disapproving frown might speak for itself.

[lordoftheozarks]

"It's a fine greeting." And he makes a mental note to use it with her unprompted from now on. Comfort is part of what he's selling.

"I never tell the intimate specifics of my services to anyone. That would be in poor taste, indeed. But I am always glad when my clients are willing to pass on their recommendations to others. Word of mouth is my most powerful advertisement tool."

He sets a few sheets of paper before her along with a fountain pen. "Yes. That is where I'd like to start, as well. I do have my stipulations and I do not work with those who refuse to abide them. In that we are very much of the same mind." He's liking her more by the moment.

"My strictest rule is that, no matter what, my back will stay covered at all times. You may feel marks beneath the fabric but I will neither speak of them nor show them to you. I also insist that we set a safe word at the beginning of a session. And that we will review that at the start of every session. When this word is spoken, all action stops immediately until further notice. That is my guarantee to you that you may be done at any time and for any reason. As far as how my fee is affected, I will only charge half price in that event, unless we resume. My fee is charged by the half hour, but I give a ten minute allowance for discussion and any additional negotiation. Is all of that agreeable so far?"

[astrogator]

She listens attentively, and nods her agreement when he makes it clear that she's to keep any curiosity she has about his back to herself - and Ari Tayrey, from a place and time where scars can be easily erased, is certainly curious. Not nearly enough to even consider breaching terms of contract, though. She'll respect his privacy.

At the mention of a safe word, though, she frowns, because it makes her think of Nobunaga and Klaus, the way they'd been with each other, the way they'd explained it to her - and that isn't what she's looking for at all. 'We're broadly in agreement,' she tells Erik, 'but in the interest of clarity? I don't play language games and I don't want to. My tastes are simple enough. If I say no, or don't, or stop? I mean exactly that, and I'll have it respected. Likewise if you say anything of the sort I'm not going to carry on because a special word hasn't been said, yes? I-'

She stops, suddenly, remembering what he is. He's been very kind to her, she doesn't want to think badly of him, but this was such a stupid idea. If he breaches contract everyone will just say oh Tayrey, what did you expect being vulnerable around someone like that? Someone literally out for blood? Creatures don't change their nature because of contracts.

'I'm sorry,' she says softly. 'I think this was a mistake. It's not your fault, I just... I'm damaged. It was never a good idea.'

[lordoftheozarks]

"You can certainly count on me to understand the word 'no' for what it is," he says, his tone changing to one of cautionary alarm.

"Damaged? That's a harsh thing to say about oneself. Does this have to do with the incident you wanted to speak of privately? You have extended your trust to me this far and I appreciate how hard that may be for you. Will you tell me what happened? Please? There is nothing binding between us, but I confess I ask now out of worry for your wellbeing."

cw: violence, cannibalism

[astrogator]

Tayrey looks at him, something dark and troubled in her eyes. 'Damage is exactly what it is,' she says in a low voice.

It had been her intention not to tell anyone - but the damage is apparent, whether she tells the truth about it or not. 'I warn you, it's... complicated,' she says, sounding resigned.

'I was kidnapped and held prisoner for over a standard year. One of the other prisoners was a man who could turn into a wild animal. A cougar. I was afraid of him, at first, and then I told myself it was prejudice against the unfamiliar. I got to know him. We had a contract, and his side of the bargain was that he'd never harm me. I considered him a friend. And then... I put an escape plan into action, and he didn't like how I did it, or that I did it at all. He thought I was entitled, wanting freedom. Not just being glad that my captor met my basic needs. He said that others were becoming better people in captivity and acted as if there was something wrong with me because imprisonment and torture were... were breaking me and I'd have done anything to get out.'

Her eyes glisten with unshed tears. The tremor has started in her hands, but she doesn't appear to notice. Arilanna Tayrey has begun to tell this terrible story, and she won't stop until it's all told.

'He acted as if our contract were nothing. He told me he'd... eat me. Alive. And then he turned into a monster. Chased me. Clawed and bit and crushed. Almost killed me. And even... even the friends who tended me acted as if I should have known better. That an animal is an animal. Someone who was kind to me before said I'd... I'd fucked around and found out.' Breathtakingly callous. 'Where I'm from that kind of savage attack is... I won't say it has never happened, but it would be universally condemned by anyone who isn't morally bankrupt themselves. No justification.'

Tayrey bites her her lip, takes a moment before she carries on. 'I was in so much pain. I could barely see. It took over a week for me to die. And then I got my freedom. This place. They're all here because of me, all the other prisoners from the boat, but half of them would still hurt me if they...' she trails off. The trembling is more pronounced now, until she clenches her hands into fists. 'I want to trust to contract. But I can't be vulnerable around someone with the power to do me terrible harm. I trusted him, yes? Before. And I'd die rather than go back to captivity again, but I'd sooner kill anyone who initiates aggression against me. Even now that I'm free I'm not... I'm not...' she shakes her head. 'There's damage.'

Re: cw: violence, cannibalism

[lordoftheozarks]

He nods at her warning. Most of these situations are complicated. Oh, but his sympathy does swell for her, as she lays out this terrible tale of betrayal. Could this cougar-man be the very same one he dealt with in his brief visit to that ship? The one who looked more than eager to rip into Erik on Max's account. Oh, Max, what company you keep. That's a problem for later. 

"I'm so very sorry. This is no small thing, to have your trust violated so thoroughly by more than one friend from the sounds of it. I get the sense that contracts in your culture are similar to how my word and oath functions in mine. If someone gave me their word as a vampire or in the same spirit as one, I would consider it an unforgivable sin to transgress against it. That is what happened to you. You were transgressed against, brutally, and you were hurt deeply not just in body but in mind. Such wounds take much longer to heal, I'm afraid." But there is hope. Healing isn't impossible. He wants to help her realize that.

"It would be extremely trite of me to try and tell you I would never hurt you in such a way. I have no desire to hurt you, but after what you have been through I can hardly expect you to take my word for it. What I can offer you instead is the key to defending yourself against me. For all my supernatural strengths, I do have a weakness you could exploit to protect yourself. Understand that I do not give such information lightly."

[astrogator]

She's not sure what to expect from him. In fact, it wouldn't have surprised her too much if he'd taken the other side, said she deserved it all, because while she tries to think the best of people, that's not as easy for her as it used to be. Yet instead, he understands. He understands it exactly, what was done to her and why it wounded her so deeply.

She nods. 'Contracts are that way in my culture - in my entire sector. Breaking one is a crime. Destroys reputations, careers... a contract-breaker is in the wrong just as clearly as an aggressor is. That was the worst of the damage, but it didn't start there. My captor was a sadist who profited from other people's suffering, but he never had to hurt me himself. The other prisoners did that. Physically, or by trying to tear me down, convince me there was no escape and I should stop trying. People used to come back from the dead, as long as they were useful, and then when they weren't, whatever remained of them was sent to... to some horrific sensory deprivation torture chamber. Indefinitely. I never understood how anyone, knowing that, could do anything other than loathe their captor and fight for their freedom. However pretty they thought the prison was.'

It did far more damage to Tayrey, feeling so isolated, so alone in what to her was simple truth. One evil tyrant holding people captive wouldn't be enough to shake her faith in humanity. The behavior of most of her fellow prisoners had done that.

Then she looks up at Erik again, blinks away her tears and meets his eye, and there's something of that Tradeline spirit still in her when she tells him, 'I value that you aren't taking my hesitation personally. If you give me this information, I won't share it. On my honor as a Tradeliner, word by contract.' She trusts him far enough for that, knows he won't dismiss her word as worthless.

[lordoftheozarks]

"When one lives and dies on the strength of reputation and keeping one's word, nothing is worse than proving your promises to be unreliable." Vampires can and are run out of society for breaking their oaths. They must be, or the social contracts would mean nothing.

"I am aware of that ship you were on. I never met 'The Captain'," he says that name with the utmost disdain, "but I suffered there for a month's time. It was truly despicable how he turned people against one another so he wouldn't have to get his own hands dirty. The coward. But it is a tactic that is not unfamiliar to me. I've seen it done before. I'm sorry you fell victim to it."

He can tell how much it's shaken her, even before she lifts her gaze to him with wet eyes. He can't undo what's been done, but he can give her one less person to fear--he hopes.

"I don't take it personally, at all. You have the right to decide for yourself if you want to do business with me. And, even if you ultimately decide against it, I will treat you no differently out of spite. And I accept your word as contract on this. But I will say, in the event I am somehow driven to madness or violence and am harming others, you are free to use this information to stop me in whatever way you see fit. I do not want to harm others. If ever I am compelled to do so by evil means, I want to be stopped." He can't bear to let what happened to Chris be repeated if he can help it.

"The key is my eyes. You cannot kill me until you have destroyed my eyes."

[astrogator]

He understands contract and what it means to her. In theory, at the very least. As he continues talking, Tayrey's all too willing to believe it's more than only that. That she can trust him.

'That djinn was no captain at all,' she says, because she has to. 'He was a coward, it's true. But every person on that ship remains responsible for their own actions. For the way they treated others.' One's character is tested in adversity, and if Tayrey's hadn't held up all the way, if she'd been too weak and emotional, at least she hadn't ever lost sight of herself and her values.

Then Erik reveals the means to stop him. She nods, very solemn. There was a time when Nobunaga had advised her that the eyes were a good point to attack, and Tayrey had reacted with the squeamishness of a Tradeliner for whom combat involved nothing more close and personal than squeezing a trigger. How long ago that seems! Now she knows she could put out his eyes with her bare hands if she had to, no hesitation, not when the alternative was being attacked.

'Thank you,' she tells him, earnest and genuine. 'I will keep it very much to myself, and I will not act on it unless you are a direct threat to me or to someone under my protection. And I do still want to do business with you. I do. You've proven that I can trust you. That you understand, and you truly don't want me to come to harm.'

good place to fade on?

[lordoftheozarks]

In general, he agrees with her. People are responsible for their actions, of course. But he knows how quickly harsh treatment can turn a person against their own nature. No one ever wants to admit how easily it can happen. Then again, there are the edge cases. Like Max. After everything, he appears to be the same kind-hearted soul he always was. For that, Erik is very grateful.

"I wouldn't have put the secret to my life in your hands if I thought you would break that promise. You have proven I can trust you, as well. Shall we continue with the contract, in that case?"

sounds good <3

[astrogator]

Tayrey's an exception. It did her a lot of damage. She'd say more than it did to those who just lay down and accepted their fate. Yut it didn't fundamentally change her. She never betrayed what mattered to her - and so she assumes that's the default, the behavior everyone should be capable of.

She's more than willing to move on to more pleasant topics now, though. 'Yes, let's,' she agrees, turning back to the paper before her. There's a lot else to discuss.

Evening | May

[crushed_pearls]

From just outside of Erik's property line one evening, Erin's voice calls out. "Unarmed and without ill intent, I request the pleasure of your hospitality, Erik."

Nice and formal. It helps that Erin doesn't currently own a weapon that isn't a Contract.

Re: Evening | May

[lordoftheozarks]

And here he was having such a nice evening.

He sighs, closes his eyes, and takes a nice big breath in through his nose and out through his mouth. He's so tempted to respond with some petty reply about how it won't be a pleasure. But, no. For Max's sake (and his own) he will abide by the rules of hospitality and he'll even try to be nice about it.

"I hereby extend my hospitality to you," Erik says, suddenly in front of her. "What brings you to my home?"

[crushed_pearls]

"High mischief and psychological attacks that would get me sentenced to death in a just world." Erin kinda wiggles her eyebrows. "It's best discussed inside, but I promise: your services, if provided, will be undetected."

[lordoftheozarks]

"It is only because I know you will keep to your word that I do not turn you away right now after hearing even half of that." His services? She can't mean his usual services.

"I'm too curious now. Come in." He'll turn and make for his front door, expecting her to follow.

The inside of his home has had some upgrades. New curtains were necessary after the flood and he could afford heavy textiles this time, in red and gold, of course. A comfortable sofa, deep maroon, and matching high-backed chair are set in front of the hearth, which is lit. He'll guide them both there, but he takes the chair.

[crushed_pearls]

Alas, Erin can't truly see Erik's tasteful furniture, but boy does that couch get an Appreciative Sound out of her when she sinks into it. For a moment she just luxuriates, and then she says: "I have...a prank, in mind. It's going to need a small group that I can trust to be discreet, work quickly, and - optionally, very optionally, pony up some cash." She flashes a sharp grin. "I want you to imagine that one morning, everyone wakes up, and there's a Burger King in town where none was before."

[lordoftheozarks]

He can't be hearing this right. He can't. This is insane. The last time they spoke, she broke his nose. She can't really be here asking for his help and his money for a prank?!

The room is dead silent for half a minute while he sits there, petrified by shock, looking at her unblinkingly as if he doesn't quite believe she's real. Could this be a prank?

At length, "You can't be serious?"

[crushed_pearls]

"Deadly serious, and I'm here at your home for rational reasons if you can believe it. 'Superhuman strength and endurance', 'discretion', and 'can't participate in the prank' are a really, REALLY short list that's just you and Daisy, and Daisy already said yes."

A lovestruck look crosses Erin's face.

[lordoftheozarks]

Erik's chair creaks as he slowly uncrosses and recrosses his legs. She really is mad. How many times did she kill him and in how many torturous ways? And now here she is asking him for his strength and his discretion? He could almost laugh.

"You know, usually, when one asks to hire services, they offer payment of some kind? You're asking for quite a lot from me. Why? Just because?"

He notices that look on her face and adds, disgusted, "Don't tell me it's to impress Daisy."

[crushed_pearls]

"Malice is its own reward," Erin not-answers, Mysteriously(tm), as she comes back to reality. "I both am, and am not, human. Let a bitch indulge in some monstrous curiosity, yeah? But as far as payment goes, consider: this is me being serious about there being peace between us, one. Two, I'm willing to offer one pint of my blood, to be extracted by that doctor friend of yours from the party. Do be careful with it, it's made of drugs. As for any hypothetical funds..."

She leans forward, and grins sharp. "I suppose I'd owe you a favor."

[lordoftheozarks]

Somehow, he thought peace between them would look different. Avoidance is what he expected, not... this.

Her offer of blood is tempting, but that alone he might still have turned away. Her owing a favor... he can't refuse that.

God.

Is he really doing this?

"Why a Burger King?"

He has to ask. He can't just agree to this and not ask first?

[crushed_pearls]

"I'll answer that after I make something clear: no amount of money you can offer is going to be worth a life, myself or someone else's. I'm offering what my people might call a medial favor - a season's worth of annoying labor, f'rinstance, delivering something through dangerous territory, punch out a bear and bring you the bear, that kinda thing. Is there an understanding between us on this, Erik?"

As for the shape of peace...

Well. Erin had expected a different shape of peace when she was given a community too, once.

[lordoftheozarks]

"Understood. Just to state it for the record, I would never have asked you to kill or maim anyone. Hard as it may be for you to believe, I'm not the sort of man. Rest assured, I would rather think of something perfectly innocuous and yet infuriatingly tedious for you to do." Or, he will keep this in his back pocket in case he finds himself in actual need later on.

Another long pause.

"I cannot believe I am truly going to entertain this ludicrous idea."

[crushed_pearls]

"Behold the power of the waking land and the flooding river, the blooming flower and the stirring bee, the frigid mornings and the muggy days, when the clouds choke back the stars and shower their love on the bent grasses that stir yet from sleep." Erin gestures with her free hand and continues to actually answer the question: "Believe it or not, Burger King was after a lot of thought. One big reason is to make others ask the same question you just asked, but hear me out: the location we have picked out will be convenient to the miners and other heavy labor folks, and by being near a trolley station it'll have access to the rest of the town too. That predisposes me towards a fast-food type deal over, say, an Applebee's or a Friday's or a Chili's. Now, speaking of those kinds of places, they have aesthetics that are more comprehensible to Americans but really rely on an Earth context - sports stuff, televisions, all kinds of shit I just can't install. So anything like that? Out."

Okay leaning forward is a bit much for back right now, so Erin presses herself back into this glorious fucking couch. "So that leaves a few options. I dunno about you but I don't think I can get away with a Panda Express, Subway poorly sucks ass and then asks for a tip, pizza places take too long and require delivery. Now, I could do McDonald's, everyone knows the Golden Arches, but word around the place is there's some kind of demon hellclown from fuckville that people here don't like at all and I don't need to give that dude ideas. But Burger King is nearly as famous, people in this world actually have monarchies sometimes, it fills a similar niche, and since it's thought of as the lower-rent version of McDonald's it'll cause the Earthlings even more emotional anguish to see."

[lordoftheozarks]

As much as he doesn't want to believe it, he does. She's put an infuriatingly large amount of thought into this and he can't find a reason to disagree with her conclusions. He's almost equally as mad about how much she's enjoying the hospitality of his very fine and expensive cushions. Is he really about to go in on a project where he will have to see her repetitively for, how long, weeks? Sigh. No one had better ever accuse him of not trying to build his bridges enough after this.

"Fine. Fine. I'll pitch in. But, I don't know how you expect me to keep Max from trying to plant his flag in this."

[crushed_pearls]

"He'll keep his own flag out," Erin answers simply. "Max wanted to open a real bakery. My little brother will be tempted, sure, he'll have a flash of puppy-like eagerness, but after a word from Valdis and maybe seeing the ghastly mask I'ma get built, he'll reconsider. Besides, look on the positive side: you're gonna see a lot of Fever about this. I know I like just lookin' at 'er."

[lordoftheozarks]

Once again he is annoyed to find he agrees with her assessment. His expression does turn sour at the mention of Valdis's name but he doesn't remark on it. He pulls an altogether less readable face when Fever's name is mentioned, but it's laced with suspicion. How much does she know of his and Fever's dealings together?

"I like conversing with Fever, as well, but I don't have to perform manual labor to do that, do I? You've already procured my commitment; don't make me regret it immediately."

[crushed_pearls]

"I'm sure you'll have no cause for regrets," Erin demurs. "Now, any standing questions? Because otherwise we'll meet as seldom as possible and ideally get everything done in a flurry after gently, gradually, buying the needed materials over time."

Beat.

"Actually I have one pertinent question for you, and I promise you the source of this question is the bit where I have no fucking eyeballs: how good is your handwriting and lettering? Someone's gotta do the signage."

[lordoftheozarks]

He huffs out a resigned sigh and shakes his head again, still in disbelief at himself. "I have excellent penmanship. I'm sure I can handle that part just fine."

Wrap?

[crushed_pearls]

"Excellent. Between you and Fever...well." Erin grins. "I promise by the end of this you'll have an appreciation for my sense of humor, great lord. And I imagine that appreciation will be extremely annoying."

Wrap!

[lordoftheozarks]

"Yes," he pouts. "And I'm sure you wouldn't have it any other way."

Now get out of his house!

A Good Day To Die?

[lordoftheozarks]

It's an ordinary enough evening. The last client of the day has gone home well before sundown, as most do, so Erik settles himself in his favorite high-backed chair, wearing only his robe, with a book in his lap to read by the light of a cheerful fire. He has no reason to suspect foul play is afoot, so he's not paying much attention to the noises outside his home. Not that it would save him...

[redlightgreenlight]

It happens quickly, and silently, and most notably...without any pain. Like slipping away into a peaceful sleep. Or at least, that's how she hopes it feels as that's what she's trying to accomplish.

Only after he's gone does she dare to enter his house, settling against the door and hoping, however death works here, she won't have to wait long.

[lordoftheozarks]

The only reason he suspects anything at all is wrong is the fact that he feels sleepy. I haven't felt like this in centuries, he thinks to himself...about one second before he slumps over dead.

He knows he's dead because he's once again looking at his own body. This time, it's sitting in the chair without him. He's done this enough now that he feels more annoyed than upset. He is, however, pretty fucking confused about how he's suddenly dead. That doesn't last long when Valdis steps into his home.

"I thought we were past revenge-seeking at this point," he says with ghostly arms crossed as he turns to face her. "Or did I miss a memo?"

[redlightgreenlight]

Luckily she can see him, unluckily, it seems he was naked under that robe.

"If this were about revenge, it would have been painful. I'm toeing a line as it is by being as kind as I was."

Claunthe had demanded blood and this was her workaround. Blood for Max, she knew Erik would forgive her for that.

"You owed me a debt, that debt has now been paid."

[lordoftheozarks]

A man has a right to be semi-naked in his own home.

"This is how you choose to claim your dues?" His eyes narrow at her. "Why?"

There has to be more to this. It makes no sense otherwise. Why kill him but not painfully? Whose line is she toeing?

"I want a full explanation."

[redlightgreenlight]

Much as she hates explaining herself to him, she knows he won't hesitate to use it against her if she doesn't. And for Max's sake, she needs him to tell as few people as possible.

"I made a deal with a demon to get Max off that infested ship, she demanded blood in return."

[lordoftheozarks]

He closes his eyes and takes a deep phantom breath in. Now it's all perfectly clear.

"And you calculated that killing me would be the safest and most efficient way to comply with that contract because I wouldn't hold a grudge if it was for Max's sake." She is right. Of course she is.

"Does Max know?"

[redlightgreenlight]

She inclines her head. She and Erik may not be friends, but they both love Max. Hopefully Claunthe would accept this death.

"No. He would blame himself for putting me in this position and for your death."

Even though it had been her choice to pay his passage.

[lordoftheozarks]

"He would. Yes." They both know that with utter certainty. "I don't want that. The secret stays with me. Well, with one exception."

Here is where having significant others starts to become complicated. Chris, perhaps, he can keep it from. Not River. He made her a promise.

"My girlfriend, River. I'll have to tell her something of this. I'll make sure she understands it was necessary. I will be going to meet her as soon as we are finished."

He turns to look at his body beside the still crackling fire. "Since you're already inside, could you do me the kindness of putting out that fire. It wouldn't do to have a stray spark sending the place up in smoke. There is a bookmark on the table, as well." For the book that's still laid open across his lap.

[redlightgreenlight]

Her expression turns wary when he mentions telling River, she recalls what the woman did to Tarantulas and pitting two necromancers against each other would be disastrous.

"I'll put out the fire, but I really think you should reconsider telling River. The nature of our abilities could endanger others should we have conflict with each other."

And Max would notice if she didn't come home.

[lordoftheozarks]

"I'm going to have to tell her something. I'd rather it be the truth." Perhaps creatively phrased, but still, in essence, the truth.

"I am dead and she is going to know about it. That isn't negotiable. She is not unreasonable, Valdis. It was only because Tarantulas's trespass was so great that she cursed him the way she did. She understands debts. And she knows about Max."

[redlightgreenlight]

"I'm not sure I like the fact that you've changed."

Makes him harder to hate.

"Do what you must, but remember that I will not stand for retaliation that harms Max in any way. I will defend myself should you be wrong about her being reasonable."

And he should easily recall that she hadn't been near him when he died.

"I have no desire to kill, which is probably why Claunthe requested blood as payment for saving Max, but I will."

[lordoftheozarks]

"Coming from you, I'm taking that as a compliment." And a personal achievement.

"Obviously, you'll kill if you must." He gestures to his limp corpse like he's imitating Vanna White.

"River would never harm Max. And, if for any reason she attacks you first it's between the two of you what the outcome is. She was a soldier once, she should know the risks of provoking a fight. But I do not think it will come to that. I will specifically request that it not come to that."

[redlightgreenlight]

If she were a Hound she would have bared her teeth, but as it is, she keeps her composure.

"I supposed I will simply have to offer you a tiny sliver of trust in that regard."

[lordoftheozarks]

"Yes. You will." He hopes it stings.

"Now, if you will excuse me? I don't want to keep River waiting."

[redlightgreenlight]

It doesn't sting in the slightest, she knows Erik would do his best to avoid causing Max pain.

"You're excused."

She'll put out the fire before she leaves.

Wrap!

[lordoftheozarks]

He rolls his eyes on his out/through the front door but just this once he'll let her have the last word.

Possession Times With River

[lordoftheozarks]

Following his conversation with Valdis, Erik makes his way to River's home. It's evening, and he hopes she is in because it's going to be awkward trying to find her otherwise.

He sticks his head through the front door and calls to her, "River? Are you home? I would knock but I am not currently corporeal."

[somebodychildofanyone]

River comes padding out in her nightgown, barefoot and so Fucking Sleepy; her jaw pops audibly as she yawns -

"...Oh. That kind of corporeal." It's almost in a daze, and then her ears flatten against her skull. There's a tight anger here, defensive and concerned, but River fights it back and takes a deep, deep breath. "Who or whatever killed you has shitty timing. There's hours until dawn - I'm wasting time, actually - I mean - did you still want to -"

[lordoftheozarks]

"Yes," he answers flatly as he ghosts his way into her house.

Noticing her ears flattening brings an ache to his heart for having to do this to her. Then, he reminds himself that he wasn't the one who did this.

"I do," he says gently. "But, should I tell you what happened first? I do not know if I will be able to communicate to you as effectively from... within."

[somebodychildofanyone]

"Erik, my love, you're gonna wish you had the option to not communicate with me by the time we're done. Ghosts and their hosts are some of the most annoying motherfuckers to one another it's possible to get, one second - here, follow me, I'll - ugh!" River throws her hands up, frustrated, and just stalks into the kitchen, where she fumbles around to find her matches and get some lamps lit, then blearily starts putting the kettle on for coffee. "Okay. Tell me what happened, I gotta remember where the hell I put my magic shit..."

[lordoftheozarks]

"Are we going to be finishing each other's sentences by daybreak?" he teases, doing his best to keep the mood light despite being deader than usual.

He trails along beside her, perfectly able to see in the dark even in this state. But, he laments, he cannot smell anything in the kitchen. The scent of coffee would be nice right now.

"All right. But I want to make a request first. I do not want you to retaliate against the one who murdered me. I'll explain."

[somebodychildofanyone]

The making of coffee temporarily stops entirely. River is stiff, trembling faintly...

She gets back to work. Softly, so softly: "If they gave you a clean death, sure."

[lordoftheozarks]

The look of relief that comes over him is obvious. At least he can answer this truthfully. "It was. I felt no pain and it was over in a matter of seconds. As gentle as falling asleep." Which is an interesting way to describe one's own murder, he knows.

"Valdis owed a debt to that demon woman for taking Max to safety, away from that insect-infested ship. The price stated was blood. I owed a debt to Valdis as well. Now both accounts are clear."

[somebodychildofanyone]

"When you have an ass again I'm gonna whup it for not telling me that you owed your life to one of my friends. Ass." River pinches the bridge of her nose, and just tries to focus on her breathing. It starts hot and angry at first, and gradually gentles, and gentles, and...

She sets the coffee to steeping, shaking her head violently as she does, and goes to scrounge up her supplies. "...I do appreciate you telling me. I'm still going to yell at her. And kick your ass, as mentioned."

[lordoftheozarks]

"Technically it was a favor I owed her." He's mirroring her, pinching the bridge of his own ghostly nose. Of course, she and Valdis are friends. Of course, they are.

"I can't stop you from speaking to her about it, or yelling, but I did tell her you would be reasonable." He doesn't comment about the ass-whupping because, well, fair.

His own voice drops low, tentative, "It was for Max's sake, River."

[somebodychildofanyone]

"What about my sake, Erik?" River exclaims, exasperated. "What if you hadn't come back, huh? What if that was just your life, up and over? You should. Have. Told. Me. Where's my - THERE!"

River seizes her magical supplies from inside a cupboard where they do not belong, and starts laying them out on the table.

[lordoftheozarks]

"I'm sorry, River. I would have if I'd had the time. The matter was urgent." That's one way of putting it.

"I came here as fast as I could."

[somebodychildofanyone]

"We can have it out later, you need to pay attention. Look." River holds up a tiny bag, maybe big enough for a single Brass. "Pure silver, powdered. Dust my body with it if you need to end the possession and for some reason I can't. Can't imagine what would make it necessary, but a good necromancer is prepared. Now."

Bone wand. A chip of obsidian. River drags out her bag of corn meal. "If you're ready?"

[lordoftheozarks]

"I understand," he says with a nod. Questions about why silver specifically or anything else for that matter can wait until time is less limited.

He pauses and lets himself acknowledge the full weight of what he's about to experience. Life. He's going to feel life through her body for the first time in a thousand years. Valdis doesn't know the gift she's accidentally given him alongside the curse.

"I'm ready."

[somebodychildofanyone]

"Here's hoping I learned this right, I usually do it the other direction."

A sigil of sprinkled corn meal, all around River's body. She clutches the obsidian chip in her hand until her palm bleeds, letting the drops hit the corn while she waves the wand over herself. Her native tongue should, by now, be somewhat familiar to Erik in its cadence - he's heard her swear in it, talk in it, sing in it, and, yes, moan with bliss in it - but with every word it's like a layer strips away from the light in the room, gathering something that is not quite shadow around the necromancer.

Her newly phantasmal lover feels it first as a gentle tug, then an inexorable one, drawing him rapidly into River's body. At first the sensations of life are muted, distant, as if observed secondhand; River herself, the heart and soul of her, eclipses the living world from his perspective not unlike how a tiny moon might eclipse the massive sun.

And then she just gets out of the way, retreating into some part of herself, and Erik Osborne is in control of a living body. Her living body, with all that implies, starting with the 'her' bit, and continuing into a myriad of subtle differences. The warmth of the sigils on her arms heats her blood into something that would be feverish if she wasn't a diabolist. Her hearing isn't much sharper than a human's, but her ears are attuned to the slightest changes in air pressure and wind direction, and the sense of balance in her body is incredible.

...And her body is tired, and a little sore, and doesn't want to be awake this fucking early. The scent of that coffee is known to these bones. They crave it.

I'll not lie to you, River says in their shared mind. If you don't grope me at least once I'm going to be very let down.

cw: NSFW talk at the end

[lordoftheozarks]

He said he was ready. But how can anyone truly be ready for such a seismic shift in their own perception of reality? He doesn't fight the tug when it grabs at him, but that doesn't stop a thrill of fear from gripping his immortal soul as he's absorbed into her utterly.

It's a comfort that he can sense her, feel her standing between him and the full bombardment of new senses. Until, suddenly, it's like the volume on life itself has been turned up past eleven.

The first thing he notices is how much it hurts.

Fuck! His back. His arms. His eyes. Everything itches, burns, tickles, or just... aches at odd moments. He's hot, but the floor is cold against his feet. The smell of coffee is making him salivate and... did his stomach just growl? It's strange how much less he can hear, but he felt that rumble in his belly. And, oh, he's never been so tired. He hopes that's only because he got her out of bed too early. Don't tell him she always feels like this?

It's overwhelming, to say the least, so much so that the implications of what he could do with or in her body haven't quite landed yet. Until she speaks. And when he laughs in response, using her voice, he's astounded by the heat of his own breath across his tongue.

"If I finger you like this do we both get to orgasm?"

NSFW discussion

[somebodychildofanyone]

Weirdly, no. I'm mostly an observer right now, everything is like it's through a thick window. Robert used to possess me when my guard was down, part of my training and all, and from experience even pain doesn't quite hurt right. Very distressing, until you get used to it. You'd experience it too if you didn't have control. So...

A warmth, of fond regard.

One day of life. Once you get breakfast in us I'll take control long enough to write a letter for Annabel, let her know I'm gone for the day and with whom and all. After that, free reign.

NSFW discussion - knowing these two that's going to be a permanent CW

[lordoftheozarks]

Robert did what? A hot blaze of anger draws a flush into his cheeks, and he is momentarily stunned by the sensation of his own heart accelerating. It's the shock that keeps him going into a tirade about her old teacher, which may be for the best. But later he's going to have a big long sit-and-think session about all of this, and about himself.

"That's a pity. I'll enjoy myself but it does take some of the fun away..." He absolutely is still planning to avail himself of this opportunity to understand her body in ways he never could before, but he'd have loved it if they could enjoy it equally.

"Speaking of breakfast. What do you suggest I eat? Keep in mind, my last attempt to cook unsupervised had disastrous results."

[somebodychildofanyone]

...Let me cook, I'll do something relatively fast. Just eat a big lunch later. Taking control.

It's not a violent sensation, not exactly. It's more like when a teacher gets your attention, or a choirmaster asserting her authority. River moves forward, and the world is muted again, the sensations of life at an voyeuristic remove.

She wastes no time getting around eggs and cheese for a simple omelette, with toast.

"Gotta say, weird hearing my voice in your accent. People will notice that, think I should come up front when you're buying food later?

[lordoftheozarks]

This is the wise course of action, he thinks. He'd like not to spend his one day of life experiencing food poisoning. That's not very sexy.

In some ways, taking the back seat again is a relief. A little space to process the new sensory information he's been getting on overdrive. He thought he'd be ready, considering how much he tunes out daily from around him, but most of that is external. He's not as prepared for it being so... internal.

Perhaps. Or... Now she'll have the opportunity to hear him in his own voice but imitating her accent. It's not perfect, but it is remarkably close. I could try a little harder to blend in.

[somebodychildofanyone]

River laughs aloud in amazement while she cooks. "We really do just keep reminding each other that we're disturbing threats to one another's health and sanity, huh? Maybe I should have guessed though, you've always said you're a well-traveled man." She shakes her head fondly, and sighs. "That works for me. Not like I can't vouch if something goes wrong, and...today's your day, love. The price of admission sucked, but I honestly can't wait."

[lordoftheozarks]

Still using her accent: It's a good thing we love one another.

After that, he drops back into the accent she's familiar with. Learning to sound local has always served me well. I speak a wide range of languages. But... This isn't my natural accent, either. It's simply the newest one I've acquired.

After all this, maybe it's time he let her hear what his voice sounded like before. The accent changes again, becoming guttural with rolling rs and dragging syllables. I am truly sorry for how this happened, but I've been longing to try this ever since you offered. I would say you don't know what it means to me, but I think you very much do."

[somebodychildofanyone]

Oh wow. Erik gets the front row seat to the wave of adoring fascination that River feels hearing his original accent; she has to shake it off or the eggs will burn, which feels unfair to her. Still...

Soon enough, though, breakfast and coffee are ready. River gets the plate and cup on the table, briefly murmurs a prayer, and then retreats to give Erik control.

This will be good.

[lordoftheozarks]

There's really nothing like having his ego stroked by her adoration from the inside. He'll have to make a point of whispering naughty things to her in this voice from now on. For the time being, however, he'll return to his customary Midwest accent. It's easier to stick to just this one after all the training he put himself through to cultivate it. But, just before he does switch, he lets her hear a long rippling chuckle in his native accent, because it's worth burning the eggs just to see her reaction to it.

"Do you pray before every meal?" he asks her as he settles at the table. He's the picture of prim and proper with his elbows up off the table to slice into her eggs.

The first pass with the knife barely does more than pop the yolks. He laughs at himself, and then speaks up to let her in on the joke. "I'm sorry. I'm not laughing at your cooking. I'm so very used to using only the barest amount of my own strength lest I break the plate in half. I'm still adjusting."

But, here now comes the moment of truth. He takes a bite and... moans so obscenely one might wonder if River has a caller over after all. "Dear God, I forgot how different the taste of food really is."

[somebodychildofanyone]

Do you pray before every meal. The question gets a sort of chagrin in response, the kind a person feels when caught mispronouncing a word they've only read, and never heard aloud. Soldiering habit, she explains. Sort of. When times are dire, that's a good time to beseech Red Troth for a path to victory or the Quell for a merciful judgement, but otherwise? A meal might be the only blessing in a day's march, so you don't go bothering the gods with a warrior's inevitable bitching and moaning and carrying on.

This will be the only coherent thought for a minute, because Erik's reaction to breakfast gets gales of lilting laughter.

[lordoftheozarks]

"No matter how many times you speak of them, I'm always struck by how different your people's relationships to Gods are compared to my world." How different things could have been...

Her laughter draws his attention away from such philosophical musings. It ripples inside his mind, filling his blood with heat like a rising fever. Oh. It really is. He can feel his body flushing warm with a new kind of hunger. Well, if it was ever a secret to begin with it won't be now. River's laughter is sexy as hell for him.

"You have such an effect on me," he says in mild embarrassment. "Keep that up and I'm never going to make it outside."

[somebodychildofanyone]

I can force the issue, and I will. Unlike yours, my body will be fucked up if you spend the whole day fucking it.

[lordoftheozarks]

He laughs--and surprises himself in the process because it sounds like her but not her's--and has to rest his fork lest he choke while doing it.

"If I had more than one day to spend, I might still try." Not really. Probably.

The heat in him still hasn't subsided and it brings to mind a new and softer thought. "I've always loved how hot you run, you know? Your arms, yes, but your passions as well, River. I truly do not know how to thank you for giving me your body and your trust with it. I won't ever forget this."

[somebodychildofanyone]

The warm feeling that comes from River is all affection and fondness. This is my art, you know? It's nice to be able to make people happy with it...you especially.

[lordoftheozarks]

"I'd never considered if something like this could be an art before I met you. River, you have opened my eyes to so much new beauty." That's saying more than he knows how to actually express.

He punctuates this with a sip off coffee and coughs. "This, however, might take some time to grow on me. How can it smell so nice and taste so bitter?"

June 10th because why not make it current

[pineapplesalmon]

[César calls suddenly.]

I completely forgot to tell you! Magne and I are doing great!

[A pause.]

Oh, and hello!

[lordoftheozarks]

[There's an extended moment of silence on the other end of the line. When Erik finally speaks it's with a tone of bemusement.]

Hello, César. I'm glad to hear it. Is that the... only reason for your call?

[pineapplesalmon]

[César mock-huffs but he sounds amused himself.]

Why can't it be the only reason? Your advice helped, and I didn't let you know until now.

[lordoftheozarks]

Oh.

[This is a man who is not used to people calling him with actual good news and it shows.]

Well, I'm happy for you that it did, of course. Thank you.

[Should he say congratulations? No, that seems crass.]

It is nice to know I've... had a positive impact.

[pineapplesalmon]

[It shows very much.]

It always feels good to know. And you were right. I was overthinking everything. Magne was happy to help me navigate things.

... You helped Magne when you spoke to us both at Merrymeet, too. She felt seen.

[He pauses for a moment, then adds something that's the result of many people around them.] Normal, mundane things are now more normal to her, too. She's thriving.

[lordoftheozarks]

Of course I was.

[He's trying to sound haughty to disguise how caught off his guard he is at what Cesar's just said of Magne.]

It pains me to know something so ordinary could be that novel to her. But it brings me greater joy to hear she is doing so well--that you both are.

[pineapplesalmon]

[Sounds fake, Erik. But César will let it be.]

I can't even begin to describe the joy I get from even just sitting back and marveling as she goes about her day. Magne belongs in the sunshine, amongst people.

And she's a natural entrepreneur! When I found out she was opening her own place, she already had a whole plan.

[lordoftheozarks]

[Shhh.]

I must say, she really does have that entrepreneur spirit. She impressed me, as well. It pleases me that I can refer any clients that won't be compatible with me to her instead. A little healthy competition is a good thing.

She's very lucky to have your full support. I know she knows that already. Frankly, I find it refreshing that people like us are granted an equal level of respect and commercial space as any other in this town. This never would have been possible in my home territory.

[pineapplesalmon]

[César chuckles warmly.]

She does! Mmm, I find the acceptance refreshing, too, even I've had to come to terms with it myself. But I have it a bit easier, with Magne acting as protection. We really only have eyes for each other.

That being said... I helped her with the business, design, and security portions. And I'll continue to do so whenever she needs me. No one's safety and livelihoods will be an afterthought under her roof.

[So he's all in, just in a different way.]

[lordoftheozarks]

Trust me, it's very obvious.

[A man without eyes could still see how in love they are.]

It's only right that you would support one another's ventures. I find what you've both done for updating and innovating within this profession admirable. As a vampire, I do not often have to fear for my safety in the same ways but that doesn't mean I ignore the need for it. You both should be proud.

[pineapplesalmon]

[A man without eyes can still hear it in their voices, after all.]

... Thank you. [It takes a moment to process it.] I'll pass that on to Magne. I'm hoping that our work here will set the tone for the industry in general, especially after we reconnect to the mainland. Modern business practices give us a competitive advantage that's at least decades ahead of everyone else. Not that we won't happily share information for others to use.

And this concept can be applied to other industries. Shared space leads to innovation. It certainly did between my parents and I!

[lordoftheozarks]

You would be doing this world a very large favor indeed. I genuinely hope you succeed at it.

[That would be beneficial for him too. He's decided to stay in this world, and, being immortal as he is, measures like these might ensure his career path is secure for centuries to come.]

It's very easy for me to see why the gods called you here. You've got the right attitude.

[pineapplesalmon]

As do I. This industry will always exist. Let's make sure people are safe.

[That takes a moment to sink in, and César breathes in.]

I'm grateful they did. I have my purpose in life again. I have people who love me. And... I'll be ready to be Rex's brother properly when I get back home. He's even going to have an incredible sister-in-law.

[lordoftheozarks]

The love of a sibling is a precious thing. I wish only the best outcome for the three of you. And, I had better be invited to the wedding.

[pineapplesalmon]

It really is. I think knowing Magne will help Rex bond with me, too. She's able to translate me into 'normal'.

You will be! There's no way we'd leave off the list.

good to wrap?

[lordoftheozarks]

Ha. Well, she'll be able to bridge the gap in the short term, at least.

I'm very happy for you both.

[But please don't call him after every time you have sex, LOL]

yup! A wrap

[pineapplesalmon]

Short term, because I'm not that hard to understand.

Thank you. Anyways, I'll let you go. Just wanted to tell you the good news!

[Oh boy that would be a lot. Don't worry, he's allergic to that many phone conversations.]

[abhorrently]

It starts with a call, as it might. Casually inviting herself over, as if it's just a normal time, and not one she'd contemplated while being laid up with the flu. They need to talk about this, or she's going to feel the resentment and irritation boil over to a place where she's going to be ripping out his intestines while he breathes.

For Max's sake, and her promise. Just talking.

When she's let in to Erik's home, she's all smiles, not a hint of anything underneath, and waits for the spirit that he lives with to approach. Chuckling, as if his antics are but amusing.

"Maxly, you act like this every time I see you. I haven't forgotten you, you know."

Taking a seat on the couch, she invites the spirit to come closer, hand out to offer a touch if he wants.

[lordoftheozarks]

Erik suspects nothing is amiss as he welcomes her in. Maxly, of course, zooms to meet her like he always does. Erik would say she must be one of Maxly's favorite people but the ghost just does that with almost everyone. He's really living up to his namesake.

"He always acts as if he's starved for attention," Erik mutters. "I assure you, he's not being neglected."

Maxly puffs up and blows a big wet raspberry at Erik before settling his ghostly self down right in Fever's lap.

Erik rolls his eyes at that but comes to sit next to them both on that same couch. "It's always a pleasure to see you, Fever. Was there anything in particular that brought you to my door today?"

[abhorrently]

She pats the creature, smiling gently as she does.

"Not much. I've been missing company that wasn't my own. Being ill recently was quite dull, and it gave me time to think. And now that I'm well up to the standards of a doctor, I can pay as many visits as I like."

The jaws of her trap are silent. Ensnaring with courtesy, with care.

"Actually, I have a question. Why did you name him Maxly? I've never had a pet, so I don't know a thing about how you decide on names, or any of that."

[lordoftheozarks]

"I see you got hit with that too. My lover Chris has been very busy in the clinic taking care of sick patients." Lucky Erik, he can't get sick anymore.

He's still ignorant of the trap, right up until the final snap of her words. In hindsight, he really should have seen this coming. He's heard Max talk to her like an old friend.

"Ah." He dips his head in shame. "I named him after a different Pet I had, because their personalities struck me as similar."

[abhorrently]

"That's sweet of you. Sentimental, really. It'd be charming, if I wasn't aware of who your pet was."

Fixing him with a look, she keeps blood red eyes locked onto his position. No magic surges from her, no hidden restraints, but there is a pressure in her gaze and her bearing that he might recognize - something more predatory, already in his home. If he lies, she thinks she has a good chance of discerning it.

Intuition. That's what this comes down to.

"I've heard his side of the story. Now yours is needed. Tell me why. Why he couldn't have been removed from your territory and allowed to live his own life. Why he lived in your basement."

cw: torture, imprisonment

[lordoftheozarks]

"I didn't think I would ever see Max again." That's the only defense he has for naming his ghastly that. He's aware that it isn't a good one.

Much as it pains him, he meets her red gaze head-on. He's not going to lie. He's not going to play dumb. If she wants his story, he will tell it. He has already laid himself bare to her once.

"I couldn't let him leave because I couldn't guarantee his safety anywhere else. The people my sister associated with... they do not give up until they get their own way. They never would have stopped trying to find him no matter what territory he went to. Eventually, they would have succeeded. The things they would do to him--they would have taken so much pleasure in spoiling such an innocent soul."

He's looking back at her now with the same level of intensity in his own gaze. She must be able to picture what he means. Max thinks only that he would have died. Erik knows better. Max would have been tortured for an eternity, turned into a vampire and left to starve until he wasted to nothing and yet still could not die--all for the crime of 'killing a superior being' or whatever way they would put it in their twisted minds. They considered humans as nothing more than prey and tools. The thought of that happening to Max is unbearable.

"He was safer in my basement. I built him that underground apartment in the hopes that it might be more comfortable for him."

[abhorrently]

"And let his family think he was dead. And instilled upon him that the rest of his life would be there. He called you his master." Her eyebrow raises, but she still rests her hand on Maxly, seeing no reason to make him move. "So what, in exchange for your protection, he had to serve you? How gracious of you, Lord Osborne. How considerate of you, really."

Her gaze is almost daring him to explain what that service entailed. If she doesn't ask, it could have been anything. The sarcasm drips from her words like venom from fangs.

"I'm sure that made him feel very safe and not at all like you'd throw him to his pursuers if he didn't do well enough."

And yet, the creeping dread up her spine asks her what right she has to be sitting here, interrogating him so. She doesn't know Max as dearly as others do - but still. It's too much of a reflex for her to ignore, even as the man's voice is in the back of her head talking about family.

[lordoftheozarks]

"I was his master. By vampire law he was considered my property. I'm not going to deny that. It was only because he was mine that he was untouchable. I instilled him with the brutal truth of the matter, that if his family did not believe him to be dead, if they kept searching for him, they would become targets. My sister's twisted allies would not have thought twice about using them as bait."

He does not break the eye contact. To his core, he believes every word he's saying to be true. It was necessary. All of it. She doesn't know his world like he does. That last part, however, gets him heated.

"Do not think, for one moment, that I ever threatened to send him to his doom that way. Never. Not once. I take the vow I made to him very seriously. I told him that from the day he was bound to my service, he would be protected always by me and mine. That was unconditional. I would protect him with my life." He has, in fact, but that is a secret he is also bound to keep.

Maxly, in response to Erik's raised voice, whines and wiggles out of Fever's grip. The ghost whizzes around Erik's head until the vampire reaches out a hand to sooth his pet. "There, there, it's all right, Maxly. Shh."

[abhorrently]

"Are you certain he believed that? No, a different question - have you ever once apologized for it?"

Without Maxly to occupy her hands, she leans back into the couch, still studying him. Turning over every part in her mind, trying to keep what was said in perspective, but still hating it. There were ways. If Max's death was feigned, if he changed his identity. There were options, they had just been deemed insufficient.

(and who are you, she hears in echo, to be acting so righteous now?)

[lordoftheozarks]

"I have, once. In writing. But I do still owe him the apology in person."

He pulls Maxly into his chest, hugging the ghost for comfort as if he were a stuffed animal. Maxly burbles happily and nuzzles his face into Erik, staying corporeal for now.

"Max asked me to keep my distance and I have been. Recently, we've been seeing each other for very short chats in a public spaces, but that's no place for giving a full and complete apology."

He releases Maxly and gives the ghost a gentle pat to get him to move aside so Erik can put both hands out in front of him, as if trying to show Fever there is nothing up his sleeves.

"I know it wasn't right. I believed it was at the time but I know better now. I cannot change what I have done, but I am committed to doing better. That is all I can say for myself. It is up to you if that will be enough."

[abhorrently]

"Enough for what? I'm not Max. I can't say what's sufficient, what's truly due him."

A pause, as she debates something, crossing one leg over the other.

"...he's the one that told me about this in the first place. In a far more forgiving fashion than I would expect anyone to. He knows I intended to speak with you."

Which means that for all the poison in her words, for all that she would love to make him squirm and lie and say it's some kind of justice, he's safe. They would remain words. Max has shielded him from the thinnest veil of an excuse to tear into him - much as she wants to tear into anyone, given provocation and a slip of self control.

[lordoftheozarks]

"You've got your own opinion, I'm sure. I suppose I'm glad you haven't already decided I put Max up to it in some fashion. I have been accused of that enough." And he's not hiding how much that accusation has stung.

He closes his eyes and draws in a deep breath all the way to his, practically atrophied, diaphragm. Frustrating as it is, he must remind himself that this outrage is deserved, no matter what his justifications were. He's not supposed to push back. And yet...

"Max is a more forgiving soul than most. For that, I am grateful. If he hated me, thought of me as nothing but a predator to him, I don't know that I could bear it. But he knows, whether the rest of you will believe it or not, that when I thought of him as mine it was never with malice. I was not like my old master. I was not purposefully cruel. Max was mine to protect. He was mine to care for and keep safe. Everything I did to him and for him I did because I believed it would protect him. I love him. Why can none of you believe that I loved him? I do still. Yes, I know, that is hardly an excuse in the end but... does it mean nothing? Do you, like the others, believe that because I am a vampire it cannot be true?"

[abhorrently]

"What? Of course not. Why would you being a vampire mean you're incapable of love?"

Despite the conversation, her brow furrows, the concept so absurd that it's thrown her off the rest of her train of thought.

"Love's complicated. It isn't reserved for a specific type of person."

[lordoftheozarks]

He snorts in chagrined amusement at himself. Well, of course she doesn't feel that way.

"There have been many people, over my long years, who have been very sure that a monster like me could never really love. Even I have wondered if I am only fooling myself."

The love of his sister is what started this. When she refused to let him die. But, from the moment she turned, everything was different. By the time Max came into things, his sister was already unrecognizable to him.

"Yes, love is complicated. It is multi-faceted. It ultimately may not be enough."

Maxly, in reaction the melancholy in Erik's voice, wiggles himself into Erik's lap and whimpers sympathetically. Erik smile down at his spectral pet and wonders, not for the first time, if the reason why his partners here and even his pet are all touched by death in one way or another is because he isn't compatible with anyone too full of life. Someone like Max needs more than he could ever give.

[abhorrently]

"You'd know the answer better than I." Love is a complicated, tangled thing. With her shattered brain, with her twisted self, her opinions on it mean very, very little. "I don't doubt that you love him. But I believe you can love someone and also hurt them. The two aren't exclusive."

She sighs, trying to mask how she feels out of her depth in that conversation.

"...It'd be ludicrous to expect you to hand me your life story, and in particular the wrongs you committed. I don't know your world, so you'll forgive me if I feel skeptical about what you say was required." And then there's really only one question to ask. "Are you going to do such a thing again?"

Because it's Daisy's voice now in her memory, echoing a very different conversation, with a heart that rhymes in a strange way.

(you're not, aren't you? wouldn't be looking so pale. wouldn't be standing there like I'm gonna bite you, or worse.)

[lordoftheozarks]

"I'd argue that we are capable of hurting the ones we love far worse than any stranger could." That, too, is a hard lesson to learn. It's one he should have known better than to discount. He won't forget now.

"Again? No. Of course not. I didn't want to do it the first time. I won't ever have to if I stay here."

[abhorrently]

"...then I have no more questions."

She closes her eyes briefly, feeling the pounding of a headache not far behind. She's not going to apologize for cornering him - she's not that sort of a person - but it does offer some relief to hear it. Max will be glad to know it was just a conversation. As promised. Fever doesn't regret knowing him, sleeping with him, being in his company - it's just another piece of knowledge she'll have to bear for the ones she might call friends.

[lordoftheozarks]

Maxly seems to sense her discomfort and phases right through Erik's hands to go settle on her lap again now, instead.

"If more come to you later," he tells her tentatively, unsure exactly where this leaves them but hopeful that it's still friends, "you can ask. I'm not running from my mistakes, Fever. I'm trying to amend what I can and atone for the rest."

[abhorrently]

Her response is half said to herself not him.

"What does that even mean? What does it mean when you can't fix the problem?"

With her eyes closed, she pats the spirit, and - yes, there it is, something of a small wince twitching on her features. When she opens her eyes again, she speaks more clearly.

"...might I have a glass of water?"

[lordoftheozarks]

From the way she says it, it seems to be a rhetorical question or something she's asked herself too many times before. So he doesn't answer it right away.

"Of course. Wait there, I'll get some."

He brings a glass back to her and looks her right in the eyes as he passes it over. "It means, Fever, that every day I will have to prove to everyone over and over that I am not the same man I was. The burden will always be on me to show my best self to the world."

[abhorrently]

"That sounds utterly exhausting."

She doesn't hold his gaze for long at all. Ostensibly, this is to fish out a small box from one of her pockets, flicking it open for the medicine inside. Swallowing it with the water, she's glad for the excuse to look elsewhere.

[lordoftheozarks]

"It is." Utterly. But, that's the point he supposes. His punishment is that he will always have to work for this.

"What is that medicine for? If I may ask?"

[abhorrently]

"I get headaches nigh daily. I can usually tell when they're going to come, and this will stop it from becoming something that splits my head open, and instead be something manageable, if not erase it entirely."

Life-changing, really. It's incredible to be without pain, to not just have to accept it as part and parcel of existence.

[lordoftheozarks]

"I'm sorry you have to suffer so. It must be such a burden to bear that daily. Is that medicine something you had in your home world or did you acquire it here?"

[abhorrently]

"Here. Sally makes it - I didn't really have time to seek such things out, before. They were just something to live with."

She shrugs - there's no bitterness in it. Only the fact that there was pain, and now there doesn't have to be. This isn't the sort she appreciates.

"I keep waiting for them to stop working or something else to happen, but no, she's sorted it."

[lordoftheozarks]

"That's an awful burden to live with," he remarks, more a statement of fact than a sympathetic overture.

"What else could happen?"

[abhorrently]

"Don't know. The headache to bounce back twice as hard or something."

She knows it's a foolish concern, but it's been there. If they started ever getting worse...

"Can some people just have this happen forever? Or does it usually heal?"

He's the immortal, surely he knows something? This is her logic, full of as many holes as a lace shawl.

[lordoftheozarks]

"I don't think I blame you for having that fear. It must take a lot of energy to endure such a thing day in and day out." He may not have to worry about illness or pain very much in his undead life but he can sympathize with there being an ever-present distraction eating away at her focus.

"I really don't know. I have heard of cases called migraines that can plague a person for all of their life. But, from what I gather, each case is unique. I regret that this is something I cannot use my blood healing to correct for you. I would if it were possible."

[abhorrently]

"What does your blood healing do? And how are you so sure it's impossible?"

She's tried stranger things, and probably will keep doing so in her life. Migraines, though, Sally's mentioned that word before. That might be the word for it.

[lordoftheozarks]

"Any wound my blood touches will be restored. I can go so far as to remove old scars, in fact. But my blood must come into physical contact with the wound. For example, when River's leg was broken, it was necessary to surgically expose the fracture and apply my blood to the bone directly. Do you see? I can't very well crack your skull open, can I?"

[abhorrently]

"You could, don't sell your strength short."

But still, at the mention of old scars, her hand reflexively twitches. He doesn't need to be a mind reader to know that her thoughts fled to the scar on her midsection, the one that healed twisted and haphazard.

[lordoftheozarks]

"I could, but you wouldn't survive it." Which would defeat the purpose.

He notices that twitch, and can very easily guess which scar she's thinking of. Would it be rude to offer? He supposes the worst she can do is turn him away.

"Fever, if there is a scar you would like me to heal, you can ask. It will cost me very little to help you."

[abhorrently]

"It's something I'd need to think on."

She exhales, trying to figure out how to phrase it right.

"I'm...not enamored of all my scars. But they are my scars. And with my memories as scant as they are, I feel reluctant to let go of what's mine. If that makes any sense at all?"

[lordoftheozarks]

"It makes perfect sense. Those marks are clues to who you were. They speak of your past even if you do not know how to translate them. The offer will always stand, but they belong to you and I will respect whatever choice you make."

He lifts his own hand in front of her, immaculate and untouched by blemishes, as they always are. "So many people choose to become like me for vanity's sake. Vampires carry no wrinkles, no scars. If we had them in life, they are wiped away in death-- and with them, all proof we ever lived." His hand goes to rest on his shoulder, fingers stroking the edge of where the scars on his back begin. "It makes me wish I could be proud of the ones I do have."

[abhorrently]

"You survived what brought them upon you. Is that not enough reason to be proud?"

Her voice is soft, but sincere. Somewhere in the conversation she's put her elbows on her knees, chin resting in her hands, leaning forward.

"You lived long enough past it to have them heal. And further still, to make it here."

[lordoftheozarks]

"No," he says flatly. She doesn't know, so he can't fault her for thinking so. It's logical, in theory. Maybe she is right, but he can't stop the way shame burns inside him when he thinks of what those scars represent.

"They didn't heal. That is why they are my shame."

Maxly, noticing Erik's distress, floats to him and burbles softly at his side. Erik reaches down absently to pet the ghost's head or the equivalent of that which is to run his fingers through the ghost's gaseous outline.

"Vampires of my breed are born bloodthirsty beyond all reason. A fledgling could eat an entire village in one sitting and still crave more. That is why it is vitally important that a sire monitor them in their earliest years of undeath, to guide them through that particularly dangerous time. It is rare for any freshly turned vampire to resist the call of blood."

He stops brushing his hand through Maxly's ghost trail and turns his eyes to her. Even so, the look in them is so distant he may as well not actually be seeing her.

"There is something else to know about my kind. We cannot starve to death. If we are not fed, we wither, but we cannot die. Instead, the wounds we sustain do not heal, our bodies deteriorate and yet still the suffering will not conclude in death, only endless torment and madness."

He looks away again. "And if a vampire is left this way for too long, some wounds may never heal at all. To be a vampire blemished with scars is to reveal that you were starved to such lengths. Just by looking, any vampire could tell as much."

[abhorrently]

"...Someone tortured you. Someone hurt you, and kept you from blood, and drove you to the depths."

Cool, calm, as she doesn't move a single inch. She's listening, still as a sculpture might be, only blinking when needed, barely breathing.

"Do you believe you deserved their treatment? Is that why their cruelty is your shame?"

cw: self harm

[lordoftheozarks]

"No," he croaks. "I did this to myself."

He twists his fingers in his lap as he speaks, looking more agitated than he has ever allowed himself to before.

"I did not want to be a vampire. I was not given a choice. When I woke, full of bloodlust, I resisted. I... tried. But he threw a peasant woman at my feet and I..." his hands clench tightly around each other. "She was dead before I came back to my senses. She was the first I ever killed and I do not even know her name." For that, he deserves the pain.

He takes a deep breath and musters his resolve to keep going. "I was more stubborn than my master gave me credit for. After that, I refused to drink again. I wished for death. My master locked me in a dungeon and tried many ways of convincing me. He whipped me, thinking the pain of those endlessly festering wounds would be enough to convince me. They weren't. But when he turned my sister..."

He closes his eyes and hunches over himself, "She begged me not to leave her. I broke."

[abhorrently]

Before he'll see it, he'll hear her quietly moving before him. And then a warm hand over his own, a gentle pressure there. If he opens his eyes then, Fever is crouched down before him, looking into his face from her position.

There are many things she thinks about him - she hasn't lost any of the dissatisfaction that comes from his actions, from imprisoning someone so. But even her ruined skull can see that it's far more complicated than black and white, messier than anything she ever heard about Cazador, than her circumstances before. He carries none of it with pride. He carries it because it is his. And he is showing her his wounds that fester still, that have not been able to knit themselves back together after all this time.

"Listen to me, Erik. Unless there were two of you - one to sentence the woman to her death, to wield the lash, to bestow upon you impossible compulsion, to create circumstances designed to perfectly destroy you, and the other to endure all that torture - you did not do this to yourself. There is no way that is so, in this entire plane or any other."

If he looks, there is an intensity in Fever's eyes - not a sorrow, but a flickering empathy. Something that understands.

"That death you dealt is yours. To pretend otherwise would be disgraceful. But equally so, I do not believe any power could have stopped it."

So, one carries it. One remembers.

[lordoftheozarks]

He can hear the movement, and sense her in front of him, but it takes a few extra moments to find the courage to look. When he does, he's taken aback by the empathy he finds in her. She has every right not to grant it to him. Especially given what she came here to discuss. Part of him expected to be told it served him right. Part of him agrees. That part grows smaller by the day. Today, especially. He cannot deny the intensity of her gaze, or how the words seem to come from a place deep in her soul. A kindred place.

"I do not deny it is mine," he says with returning resolve. "That I had no power to stop it makes her no less dead. Nor any of the other poor victims whose throats my master cut right in front of me. Even as a vampire, I was still nothing more than his toy. I just happened to be far less breakable." He can't bring himself to elaborate on that but he's sure Fever has no trouble imagining what it could mean.

"He never let me forget it."

[abhorrently]

"No, I don't imagine he would."

Her thumbs stroke the backs of his hands where they rest.

"You can still hear his voice, can't you?"

[lordoftheozarks]

"Always." His fingers curl into fists under her touch. "Not even a thousand years is enough to expunge it."

He never escaped the mocking. How many times did he hear that he was a failure? Oh, how his master delighted in reminding him that those scars would always hold him back. Who would love a marred creature like him? Who would respect a vampire who couldn't stand to eat?

"It shames me that I became like him, even a fraction. I told myself I wouldn't." He failed there, too.

[abhorrently]

There's something of a huff, a tiny shake of her head.

"Hence what you said about being better, every day."

That's his to carry along with the dead. There's no idealistic outcome where he didn't become what he did. Where circumstances are to blame. The parts of it that are his are his. She does not offer forgiveness, only understanding in the most bitter, blood soaked sense. But still, her hands are warm.

[lordoftheozarks]

"Yes. That is all I can do."

It's better that she doesn't try to dissuade him of that. He must carry this load to make sure that he never lets himself slip again. If arrogance was his downfall, then humility must be his uprising.

He gives her hand a squeeze, and then withdraws. "Thank you, Fever, for hearing me out. I do not take it lightly that you came to talk rather than to avenge. You can stay as long as you are comfortable but I think I might like some time to sit alone with my thoughts."

wrap?

[abhorrently]

"Of course. I'll see myself out."

She rises near silently, and walks out the same way. He needs time, and she doesn't trust herself not to misstep now if she stays. Later, she won't be able to focus at home, too busy turning his words over in her mind.

September, Pre-Gala

[somebodychildofanyone]

River coming over to Erik's house? Normal. Coming over to spend the night? Super normal. There was absolutely nothing suspicious about Erik's girlfriend here making the arrangements in advance to crash with him and only something mildly unusual about asking him to arrange food in advance ("Nothing heavy, you know why").

River skidding through his front door like a cartoon character, expertly dropping a bottle of wine on a little table while she slides across his floor? More unusual.

"Pick fast do you want the good news or the good news?" she greets; she's energetic, hyped up, currently completely sober. Her ears are attempting to make her head fly off of her neck like a fucking bird.

[lordoftheozarks]

Her entrance leaves quite an impression on him. One of his thin brows raises in an unspoken question, but she's already posing him one of her own before he can get further than The Look. Good news, says she? It must be very good to set her ears flapping like that.

"Let's hear it already," he says in amused exasperation. "If you hold it in any longer your ears are going to fly off the sides of your head."

[somebodychildofanyone]

"I've gotten confirmation and the front door is open for business, condoms no longer required, we are ready to fucking go -" She's talking fast, her native accent thick on her words in her excitement which gives her voice a somewhat slurred and lilting quality. "- and that's just the good news, there's also the better news, are you ready are you ready are you -"

cw: discussion of pregnancy all over this thread

[lordoftheozarks]

That news hits him like a sack of bricks upside the head. He actually staggers in place, putting a hand out to catch himself on the kitchen table. Condoms not needed? So then... there's no chance of pregnancy? But, then, why is she calling it good news? Is it...good news?

"Please," he all but begs, "don't keep me in suspense."

Expect It To Be The Main Topic

[somebodychildofanyone]

Warm hands on Erik's cheeks. River presses her forehead against his, grinning like a loon, practically glowing.

Well okay, also literally glowing, but details.

"If you're amenable to it," she says rather more slowly, making herself be a little calmer, "the Mothers are willing to intercede once they can. To bless you with the power to sire children of your body. And I think I'd rather like some."

Re: to infinity

[lordoftheozarks]

His eyes fly open wide, gaze locked on her as his hands reach up to grip hers on his face. Is this real? Yes. Of course it is. River would never joke about something like this.

Then...

That means...

"Living children? From me?"

He's a vampire. He doesn't have blood pressure anymore. Yet, he still feels like he's about to collapse backward. Of all the things he ever imagined for himself, this was one he'd never let himself dare to hope for. He could be a father. River could be a mother to his flesh and blood child.

He's lost complete control of his face. His expression cycles through shock, joy, fear, hope, and a million other iterations. Tears are leaking out of his eyes and he doesn't even realize it.

"This is... more than good news. River, this is a miracle. How? How is this possible?"

[somebodychildofanyone]

Almost laughing: "You answered your own question, love. Miracle."

[lordoftheozarks]

"I suppose so..." He can't help but shake his head in disbelief. Nothing could ever have prepared him for this. His mind is swirling.

"River. I think I need to sit down."

[somebodychildofanyone]

The urge to sweep Erik off his feet is strong, but River represses it; she gently guides her lover to the couch, and sits with him, holding his hand. Her voice sobers up, just some. "I know there's a lot to talk about. I'd like to talk about it right now, if we can, but like...how to put this..."

"...I want to be a mother. I'd like to have children of my body but adoption is far off the table. And even if you don't want this miracle, if you reject it for whatever reason, like...if I got drunk and woke up with like, Laois's children, I'd still want you to be a father to them. Does that make sense?"

[lordoftheozarks]

His mind is moving so fast that, in comparison, all the world around him feels like it's in slow motion. He finds himself seated on the sofa, his hand in hers, still clawing his way back up to the surface of this emotional tidal wave.

"I want it," he says emphatically. He doesn't want his current state of shock to give her the wrong idea about that.

"Yes, it makes sense. Forgive me, River. I've... I'd convinced myself it wasn't possible. I told myself that raising my sister's spawn would be the closest I ever came. You may have to do the talking. I barely know where to begin."

[somebodychildofanyone]

She strokes the back of Erik's hand, her heart fluttering at his assertion that he does want this, that he's wanted it for a long time. Wren's love...she'd been scared that maybe he wouldn't...

"I've been in written correspondence with Celestine," River murmurs. "That's where I'm getting this information. Right now, children between us are impossible, hence uh. Hence the front door opening up. But Celestine...my friend says what you need is the 'spark of life', and that she and her sisters are willing to provide. And I had to come tell you, y'know?"

[lordoftheozarks]

"The goddesses would really do that for me? For us?" Perhaps he really should stop avoiding them and the temple.

Some small voice in the back of his mind is asking when the hell River wrote that letter, but he's too overwhelmed with all of this to pay it much attention.

"A spark of life? What does that mean?"

[somebodychildofanyone]

"I'm not entirely certain! But it's exciting, isn't it?" She leans in a little closer, a little playful. "Celestine'll take letters, you know. If you want to ask. Leave it on her altar or burn it in your hearth, and wait. Or just wait a little further, she said she'll be around for her holiday later on in fall. Surely, my lord, a personal meeting wouldn't be too frightening?"

[lordoftheozarks]

"Exciting, and mildly terrifying." Maybe more than mildly. What does giving a spark of life to an undead creature look like? He has so many questions.

"I think meeting her in person to give her my thanks is the very least I could do."

[somebodychildofanyone]

"I'm not...not scared, myself. I dunno what that means for our potential kids, y'know? Half-elves? Dhampir? A new thing I've never even heard of? But...I'm ready to take what comes. They're gonna be la Croix, the whole family is freaks and necromancers already, they'll be in good company."

[lordoftheozarks]

"I can't help but worry about the unknown." Including worry about her, and what carrying children from him might do to her. But the goddesses wouldn't suggest such a thing if it would be her doom. A friend wouldn't do that.

"They will be very well cared for. There is no doubt. They will be loved unconditionally."

He grips her hand in his now, and moves from off the couch to the floor, down on one knee. He looks up into her eyes with an expression of deep love and gratitude... and also a fair bit of anxiety.

"If the children will be la Croix, then I, too, would like to bear that name. River, will you marry me and bestow your family name upon me?"

1/3

[somebodychildofanyone]

Stunned silence.

2/3

[somebodychildofanyone]

Stunned Silence 2: Revenge of the Stunned Condition.

3/3

[somebodychildofanyone]

"I - are you sure? What about...Chris, or...I - I mean -"

So, Erik. You've been a Lord, and a whore. Both professions should have given you experience with someone who clearly wants to just say yes but is having a brief crisis of conscience, yes?

[lordoftheozarks]

He chuckles and lifts off his knees enough to brush a kiss against her cheek.

"I'm not suggesting we cut Chris out of things in any way. So long as neither you nor they have a problem with being part of an open marriage."

He's been with her long enough to read the signs, even without his years of experience. He settles beside her on the sofa again, still gripping her hand.

"I'd like to keep my title, but the name Osborne has no greater meaning to me. Yours does. Say yes, River, please? We'll attend to the details as they come."

[somebodychildofanyone]

Her first answer is a fierce kiss, pulling Erik tight to her body; her teeth bite his lip, her breathing is hard, her heart pounding. She comes away red in the face, her ears flat against her head with sheer emotion.

Positive stress is, after all, still stress.

"Welcome to the family, Lord la Croix," she whispers, tears standing out in the corners of her eyes. "Yes, absolutely yes!"

[lordoftheozarks]

He revels in the heat of her mouth, and her body so tight against his. He craves it, and he's certain he always will. His arms wrap around her as a hungry growl lifts from his throat at the sensation of her teeth in his lip. He could listen to the sound of her heart pounding for an eternity. He intends to. For as long as they live.

"That has a lovely ring to it," he whispers back into her ear. "Thank you, my beloved, for making it possible for me to have a family."

[somebodychildofanyone]

"We have so much research to do now," River murmurs to him, stopping to nip at Erik's ear. "Local marriage laws, wedding traditions, we gotta figure out...I mean, my people do torcs as signs of marriage but that'd make casual feeding at least a little annoying for you."

Not that River minds being bitten on the inner thigh, but the wrist is a no-go thanks to her sigils and putting an obstacle on her neck...

[lordoftheozarks]

The nip of her teeth tempts him to stop talking in favor of other activities but... the words of River's visiting sister float into his mind then.

"When you say your people, do you mean your birth family, River? Is that a tradition they have?" He's not too worried about the obstacle. It's no worse than a necktie, and with neckties, he has to be careful about stains.

"The closest equivalent I have is exchanging wedding rings."

[somebodychildofanyone]

"...What is it with pale humans specifically and wedding rings..." She grins, a little shyly, and clears her throat. "It's uh, shared, in a sense? The elves in Greenwald kinda ended up passing torcs on as a tradition to the humans there, but according to Robert our family had a similar tradition goin' all the way back to the deserts from which we originally hailed. Still, the styles are pretty different..."

[lordoftheozarks]

All right. Now he is beginning to worry.

"Different how? I have heard of torcs, but the ones I am familiar with are thin metal, and lay against the collar bones. I take it the ones you mean are not so?"

[somebodychildofanyone]

"Oh, like the desert ones." River blinks, an gives Erik a guilty grin. "No, uh, no. More like a choker. Gold is traditional..."

[lordoftheozarks]

"Ah."

He steeples his hands together in front of him, his brow furrowed in concern. It isn't the potential inconvenience that gives him trepidation, though he will find that annoying too. There's something else about it that sits not quite right for him.

"River, in vampire culture, human servants wear a collar from their Master in public settings to indicated they are... owned."

[somebodychildofanyone]

"...Oh."

River droops. Her disappointment could not be less hidden. She understands where Erik is coming from here, but to have that taste of home teased and then snatched away...it wrings her heart.

"I um. I don't suppose the bit where I'm not human fixes that at all?" A half-hearted half-a-joke. She suspects it won't.

[lordoftheozarks]

It breaks his heart to see the way she droops but he could not, in good conscience, keep this fact from her. She knows him too well. She would know by his reactions to seeing it that something has been left unsaid.

"Not... entirely."

This, he tells himself, will be one of just many cultural differences they are going to have to navigate if they are serious. It's only the beginning.

"I don't want to take something important from you. And this is important. But I need you to know in case I... react a certain way. I never liked that custom in vampire culture. I was forced to wear a collar, myself, when I was still human. It made me feel sick every time I asked Max to put his on. I don't know how easily I can put such emotions aside, even though I know it does not mean the same thing. For you, I would try."

[somebodychildofanyone]

"It's not worth making you feel like that," River asserts, quietly. "...But maybe worth trying low-stakes? Like. It's not a collar, it really isn't, I...no, I'm reaching." Her eyes flick away. "...I don't wear earrings, you know? My people have a history with fucking slavers, and they clip our ears and put rings in them because we used to do that to our exiles. I. No, I get it..."

[lordoftheozarks]

His eyes close as he nods. But he tries to inject some levity into his voice. "Who knew accessories would be so fraught between us?"

He leans closer to her, drawn to her warmth, ever a comfort for him. "What of a pendant? One for each of us? Perhaps specially crafted?"

[somebodychildofanyone]

Warm fingers trace Erik's neck. "That's certainly a thought," she murmurs. "Iron for the chain, I think, gold and silver for the pendants...what brings your thoughts there though, love?"

[lordoftheozarks]

"They hang from the neck," he says, feeling a little like that's too simple of an answer. "It would favor that side of your tradition over a ring on a finger."

He turns his face to her, a rare and sheepish kind of smile on his lips, "And if it were a locket, I could carry a picture of you close to my unbeating heart."

[somebodychildofanyone]

River's face warms, and her smile is a little embarrassed, the result of many conflicting positive emotions; her ears flutter happily. "I need some wine for that cheese," she not-jokes, entirely through the moon at the idea. "...But where would we get an artist?"

[lordoftheozarks]

It takes all the self-control he has not to reach for her ears every time they flutter like that. He can never tell her how deeply adorable he finds it or she may combust on the spot.

"I have someone in mind. Their skill is unmatched, and I have hope that they will be enthusiastic about the proposal."

[somebodychildofanyone]

Erik you're in cuddling range, y'all both get to combust on the spot.

"Playing coy huh..."

...

"Alright. Fund it, I'll get to work on the metal. Fuck if I know how the actual ceremony should go but I'm in no rush."

[lordoftheozarks]

"I like being able to surprise you some of the time," he says, coyly, as accused.

He reaches to take her hand and brings it to his lips, to brush a kiss to her knuckles.

"We will take it all one piece at a time, just as we always have. Vampires don't marry often so we have no cohesive ceremony of our own. It is usually left up to the individual based on the custom of their country."

Either wrap or the logical extension of what's about to happen here

[somebodychildofanyone]

River gasps, involuntarily, at the little kiss against her knuckles; her heart flutters, and when Erik is done explaining about the relative paucity of vampire marriage she steps into him and puts her hand on his chest, its warmth pulsing into him. "I want a preview of the wedding night," she murmurs. "Fuck me like I'm gonna be the mother of your children. A lot of your children. Fuck me like you wanna be sure no one else slips into the wrong hole and makes a half-sibling by accident."

FTB on this one, wrap!

[lordoftheozarks]

He chuckles and wraps his slender fingers around her wrist where she holds her hand to his chest. Enjoying the heat, yes, but also gripping her with a possessive need that answers to hers. In that wicked tone of teasing he has, he leans into her and whispers, "Practice makes perfect, after all," and then seals it with a searing kiss.

Hope she doesn't have anywhere to be early tomorrow, it's going to be a long night.

november.

[abhorrently]

Autumn is in full swing, but even chaos will not stop Fever from dropping in on friends when time allows. Especially when she's been doing her best to get Chills socialized when it's obvious that he will not be migrating back to Paradesium. With the little beast tucked up in her jacket, she's at Erik's place, knocking on the door, at ease. The changing weather has her in high spirits, and she comes ready to simply catch up.

The question is if it's Maxly or Erik who will greet her first.

Re: november.

[lordoftheozarks]

Maxly wins this one. "Ghast!! Ghastly--ly ly!" The ghost cheers as it phases straight through the wood and proceeds to float in circles around Fever and Chills.

"The door is open," Erik calls out to her, "Let yourself in I'm just finishing the tea."

If she does as he asks and steps inside she'll find his home is warmed with the smell of apple spiced tea, and there are two cups set out waiting on the table this time instead of only one.

[abhorrently]

It smells lovely when she steps in, and at first she'll take off her coat, the tiny wyvern still clinging close to her neck for the warmth. He'll go play when he's woken up from the contentment of being snuggled and carried, because Maxly is infinitely more interesting a being, even if he doesn't play fair.

And she pauses when seeing the table before she settles down, looking at the second cup with a bit of bemusement.

"Are we expecting another guest?"

No need to immediately answer. She figures the response will be forthcoming when the tea arrives.

[lordoftheozarks]

Maxly calls out for Chills to follow him over to the fire place. The ghost Pokémon uses one little whisp of a tendril to pat the woven rug in front of the fire. Here's warmth too.

"No," Erik says as he carries over the pot, "But I do have news for you." Telling that he calls it only "news," neither good nor bad. It's all a matter of how she takes it.

[abhorrently]

The lizard considers, and then uses Fever as a launching point to fly over to the rug, finding the softness and warmth and friend. They'll keep each other busy for the time being.

"News," Fever echoes, an eyebrow raising. "Do share, before I have to start pleading with you."

[lordoftheozarks]

Erik cannot help but chuckle as he watches the lizard use Fever as a launch pad. Not her pet, indeed? More like her child if you ask him.

"I can taste food, now." No sense keeping her in suspense. "Aster offered me the ability as a 'gift.' There was no price, just a word of caution as to certain consequences."

[abhorrently]

At the mention of the word Aster, there's a tension that snaps into being in her, wires drawn taut. An expression that would have been wonder at this change in him now is colored with caution.

"No price. Why do I not believe that at all? I mean, I'm happy for you, truly, and if I'd known I would have brought a few snacks, but...do you feel any different? Has anything else changed?"

[lordoftheozarks]

He was bracing himself for this, but he still hates to see the way that name makes her sit up at attention. He can't say a word against it when he'd be doing the same in her place.

"The price, as it turns out, was that my new sense of taste is a double edged sword. Blood also tastes the way it should to me, which is not at all pleasant. No matter, I'm sure I will acquire the taste for it again after long enough. Nothing else about me has changed, I promise. That is the inconvenient part. I can only tolerate eating small quantities before it, inevitably, must come back up."

[abhorrently]

"What kind of gift is that, then? You can eat but you can't keep it, and when you can, it's not what you want." She's less irritated at him and more at Aster. "Should I be giving you congratulations or condolences?"

Exhaling, she shakes her head, but all told, it's milder than if Erik struck an actual deal.

[lordoftheozarks]

"Congratulations are far more appropriate, Fever, I assure you," he soothes, as he busies himself with pouring the tea. (The actual tea.)

"I have spent hundreds of years yearning to taste foods that were invented long after I lost the ability to eat. Even if I must be careful to pace myself, the fact that I can now taste a slice of Max's chocolate cake for the very first time is more than worth it to me. I do not regret this."

[abhorrently]

"As you say, then. If you personally have no regrets, and he's not trying to put more hooks in you, then I suppose I must yield, and can only lament that I didn't know sooner so that I might bring you new things to taste."

Accepting her cup, the warmth blooms in her hands, and she nods in thanks.

"He's been trying to make some offers, and I worry about my friends. That's all." A pause. "Now you can see why Max's bakery is so popular, though."

[lordoftheozarks]

"You're right to worry, of course. I can't fault you when I'd be giving you the same scrutiny if our places were reversed." He has some suspicions about that now, actually.

"He didn't come to offer you a deal, did he?"

[abhorrently]

It's her turn to hesitate, to look down into her tea and then back up.

"Yes. He sought me out for it, actually. Or I just crossed his path at the wrong time."

[lordoftheozarks]

"Concerning either way. What did he want from you?"

[abhorrently]

"He wanted to make me an offer. He legitimizes Dahlia Leeds as an infernal noble, free to choose where she aligns - and free from her obligations to the Dark Feast entirely. Free her from her particular needs. He breaks the contract with Nyarlathotep, and dissolves the barrier, as soon as it's 'strategically viable', so he says."

Her hand makes the air quotes, telling him how much faith she has in that statement.

"What he asks in return is me helping raise him to power, and then me helping him keep his throne from any threats to his claim."

[lordoftheozarks]

Erik frowns so hard it causes rare wrinkles in his forehead. "You cannot take that deal. You would be selling yourself into eternal servitude."

As much as he aches to free Dahlia from her torment, as much as he's sure Fever wants to as well, it wouldn't be any more or less than a captive life traded for another captive life.

[abhorrently]

"I know. It was why I asked him for time to consider it." A beat, as she sips her tea. "Without making this talk depressing, I have been fighting too long to be my own master, and I do not long to be at the beck and call of another again. That he'd ask this of me, who has more reason than most to despise him..."

Her eyes close for a second.

"But. I thought about the barrier."

If it could be shattered sooner, if people could be free, if they could choose to live where they would...she knows she can't do that. But it still feels like letting everyone down.

[lordoftheozarks]

"The barrier will fall," he says with iron conviction. "So will Aster. He will pay for what he has done. But I cannot accept the loss of you, Fever, as a trade for having it done sooner."

He reaches for her hand.

"I'm sorry he made such suggestion to you. I suspect he knew exactly what he was doing. But if he is asking for powerful people to guard him, then it does make me wonder if we have him worried."

[abhorrently]

She gives it, fingers automatically curling to hold his hand, seeking comfort from her friend.

"I think he's planning a coup. If he wants powerful sorts to help his ascension, then he needs them - I don't think Eligos would go quietly. Convincing people who aren't beholden to this land to be a standing kingsguard means he wants those he can trust to not be swayed by old loyalties. I mean, that's what I would do, in his place."

Her shoulders shrug, before she adds:

"He won't have me. I swore two oaths - one to not try and solve anything with my death, and one to not sacrifice myself. I cannot betray the ones who I promised so."

[lordoftheozarks]

Erik nods, agreeing with her assessment. "Of all these demon princes, Aster seems the most cunning. I think you're right. That is exactly what this looks like." Erik worries Aster may just have the resources to pull it off, too.

"You cannot, and you must not. Promise to me, as well. I do not ever want to see a day where I am forced to face you on that battlefield."

[abhorrently]

"I swear it to you. The only time you'll be witnessing my powers will be when they are fighting with you, and not helping an infernal army. I will not throw myself away for the sake of the future."

Her grip tightens a little into a comforting squeeze.

"We're going to get Dahlia out, too. She may have cause to hope sooner rather than later."

[lordoftheozarks]

"Thank you, Fever. Everyone who loves you thanks you."

He nods in agreement, just about to open his mouth to comment on Fever's statement about Dahlia when a new noise interrupts him.

Chills and Maxly have been play-wrestling this whole time, as they often do. The ruckus has been going on in the background of this conversation with no incident, until now.

"Ghaaaaast!" Maxly suddenly cries out, just before light envelops his entire form. The air stirs in a sudden wind as Maxly lifts into the center of a small magical swirl of energy.

"Maxly!" Erik shoots up out of his seat and races to his pet's side, but the light is so blindingly bright that he cannot see his Ghastly anymore. "What's happening?!"

[abhorrently]

"Maxly?!"

She's on her feet and as uncertain as Erik, but Chills retreats back to her, and Fever's arm is outstretched, ready to cast and defend if she has to. It's bright enough to leave spots on her visions, and this doesn't feel like magic going outwards, but...

[lordoftheozarks]

Erik can do nothing but stand and watch in horror. And then, as suddenly as it began, the wind stops, the dust settles, and in the place where a ghastly once floated, A haunter drifts above the ground instead.

"M-Maxly?" Erik asks, bewildered.

"Haunter!" Maxly replies, raising both of its disembodied claws in celebration. "Haunt! Haunt!"

Oh, God, it has hands now.

"I..." Erik turns to Fever as if to make sure she's seeing the same thing he is. "I think that's still him..."

[abhorrently]

".........he's got hands."

Does that just happen?

[lordoftheozarks]

"...A-Apparently so..."

Oh no. As if the ghost type wasn't a menace enough before hands.

"Maxly? Are you all right?"

"HA!" the ghost declairs, before he zips forward to float circles around Erik, then Fever, then Chills in his excitement. It's a very Maxly thing to do.

"I guess this is... normal for them."

[abhorrently]

Slowly, Fever lifts Chills off of where he is clinging, and looks him directly in his eyes.

"Don't get any ideas."

A small chirp is her only response, before she turns her attention back to Maxly.

"He looks healthy enough. And...I don't sense anything strange in the air. Nothing that would harm or change you. This might just be another way of becoming, now that he's had time enough to grow. Just growing all at once, instead of gradually."

[lordoftheozarks]

"Is Chills a... they said it's a pokemon...is Chills a pokemon?" Because, now that he's gotten through the shock, he recalls that there was a store in the mall that featured food and toys for creatures like his. They called them Pokemon. He got Maxly a treat there.

"I think you must be right. I can see no other explanation and, aside from the fact that he now has hands, I see nothing concerning about his new appearance. He seems happy."

The haunter zips around them as if to answer that he is. He claps his new hands together, too, shouting, "Haunter Haunter!"

[abhorrently]

"If he's happy, then...congratulations to him on his new growth, I guess. Strange, but at the least he's so energetic that he must be well."

Chills lets out another little chirp, and then wriggles out of her grip, fluttering back to the woven rug near the warmth. Fever lets him go easy, eyes busy following Maxly now, still thunderstruck by the change.

"Chills isn't a pokemon," she adds, feeling out the unfamiliar word. "He's from Paradesium - he flew up here during migration season and didn't want to go back. I tried to send him back, brought him there, and he kept returning." A strange beast, that one.

[lordoftheozarks]

"Must be..." Erik says, deadpan, as Maxly uses one of those new hands to play with his hair, tussling the auburn locks until they stick up at odd angles. But when Chills moves he abandons that and goes to the rug to try petting the dragon's head instead.

"I see. He's like a barn cat who decided he'd rather sleep by a hearth than hunt for his dinner. You'll be stuck with him for life. I do hope he won't get too large."

[abhorrently]

Chills seems confused, but then relaxes under his friend's touch, settling into the new state of affairs with far more ease than the others in the house. Meanwhile, Fever reaches over to Erik almost thoughtlessly to fix it, trying to not chuckle at the situation.

"If he gets too big, I'm kicking him out. My apartment is suited for one. Two, if we compromised. I barely even want him there in the first place, but he's been a thorn in my side since summer."

Shaking her head, she glances back over at Maxly.

"...I would suggest locks, but then I remembered he can bypass them with ease. You may have to look into wards."

[lordoftheozarks]

Erik makes a soft sound of surprise when she reaches for him, but he settles into her touch with a smile.

"Has he now? But he looked so content wrapped up in your coat." You can lie to yourself all you want, Fever, but he knows you'd kill anyone that touched a scale on that dragon's hide.

"Wards," he perks up at that, and so does Maxly but unhappily. "Is that something you could do?"

[abhorrently]

"I could try, but I'd need a starting point to build from. The closest thing to a ward I can cast is a reflex to prevent physical damage, but that's not precisely what you'd need. There'd need to be some research. Honestly, it might be worth asking Anzu, if you get the chance - Dr. Menelikov. He knows enough about the dead and spirits that he might have some concept of where to begin."

There. Now his hair's back in order. If someone were to ask her why she did it, it was a mere whim for her friend's sake.

[lordoftheozarks]

"A doctor who does magic? That seems to be a rare combination, but a welcome one." He is committing the name to memory, and realizing that this is a face he hasn't yet made a point of meeting. Hm. He's been slipping.

"Thank you for the recommendation." Erik is pointedly looking at Maxly, "I'll be sure to consult with him, especially if this new form of Maxly gets to be too much to handle on my own."

Maxly seems to be getting the message because he's leveling quite the puppy dog look at Erik. It's far more effective now that he can let his hands hang there pathetically in front of him.

After the fight with Artemy

[redlightgreenlight]

There's a knock on Erik's door, and when he opens it, he will find two uniformed enforcers at the door.

"Councilor," the taller ones says. "We are here to escort you to headquarters concerning the incident two days ago at the Oak and Iron."

Re: After the fight with Artemy

[lordoftheozarks]

Erik opens the door with a frown and crosses his arms. "It is the middle of business hours. Could this not wait until a more convenient time?" He's sure he already knows the answer but his pride makes him ask.

[redlightgreenlight]

"Unfortunately, it cannot."

Though neither of them look especially apologetic.

[lordoftheozarks]

"And who has given the order?" He's just trying to confirm a suspicion at this point.

[redlightgreenlight]

The two look at each other.

"Detective Valdis."

[lordoftheozarks]

Erik huffs a flat sigh and lets his shoulders drop.

"Just let me get my coat."

He does just that, grabbing his coat and his keys and pausing to lock the door and turn over the closed sign. Then he leads the way down the steps on the way to the office. He doesn't so much as look behind him to make sure those two are following. They'll all end up at the place together in the end.

[redlightgreenlight]

Valdis is waiting in her office. As much as she would love to speak to Erik in the interrogation room, it's a little too public. She looks up when one of her officers opens the door to let Erik in.

"Hello, Councilor."

[lordoftheozarks]

"Detective," he answers back sourly. "Shall I come in and take a seat?"

[redlightgreenlight]

That look and tone tell her that Erik knows exactly what she is doing, but unfortunately he doesn't have much choice but to listen under these circumstances.

"Please. I have some things to discuss with you concerning recent events at the Oak and Iron."

[lordoftheozarks]

"Very well. Gentlemen," he says as he steps away from the guards into the room and swiftly shuts the door behind him.

He faces Valdis again now that it's only the two of them.

"You could have called." He sounds equal parts defeated and angered. He hasn't taken his seat just yet.

[redlightgreenlight]

"That wouldn't have been as fun."

She smiles.

"I did briefly consider showing up to your place of work, but figured it might cause the wrong kind of rumors."

She doubts anyone would really care, but she has to tease a little when she can. Still, she can't tease him forever.

"Anyway, I heard you were stabbed breaking up a fight and didn't report it."

[lordoftheozarks]

"I'm glad one of us is having fun," he pouts, rolling his eyes, too, when she mentions rumors.

But, at last, he sits. "It was an accident and I wasn't grievously hurt. I didn't think it merited bothering anyone about it. Ultimately, no harm was done."

[redlightgreenlight]

Valdis takes a very patient breath.

"You are not just a town entertainer, Erik. You are also a Councilman, or did you forget that?"

[lordoftheozarks]

"I..." He lets out a sound like a deflating balloon. As if the hole Artemy put in him has popped back open.

Incredible. He really had forgotten what that might mean for his day-to-day behavior here in town. Has he gotten so comfortable? Something dreadful gnaws at the back of his mind but he ignores the thread of that thought and refuses to tug on it.

"I was acting rashly to save a friend. I'm sorry."

[redlightgreenlight]

She can't really call this a victory, even when he so completely deflates and her words sink in. It seems he had forgotten that his rank means he shouldn't do certain things. But there's a little thing there that he feels and then tries to push away.

"Yes, well, your rashness has caused a lot of paperwork for me, and your friend Pyotr wasn't exactly forthcoming with information, which also caused me a headache, and now I get to hunt down and arrest some guy named Artemy for stabbing a councilor. You do realize my time is better spent figuring out the demons, don't you?"

Surely it would be easier to just say she was upset he got stabbed, but that would mean admitting she doesn't hate him anymore.

[lordoftheozarks]

The thing Erik won't look at tastes a lot like fear. He is afraid he has undone the unshackling he thought he achieved in this place, free of the complex vampire social contracts. He's stepped into this town's ones instead. For the first time, he almost considers resigning on the spot.

"Do you really have to arrest him if I don't want to press charges?" There's a desperate edge to that question. "You could stop all this right now and save all that time."

[redlightgreenlight]

"I don't get to make the rules, Erik, luckily he's only getting talked to about assault and not murder because you're insufferably difficult to kill."

She's well aware of the mechanics of death here, and dying in the middle of the Oak and Iron with all those people there makes the body stay longer.

"Word of advice, next time you get stabbed, do it where there aren't dozens of witnesses dragging the enforcers into this."

[lordoftheozarks]

"If you absolutely must drag him in for questioning, then you should at least know that it was Pyotr that provoked this. In fact, the entire scene provoked what I believe was a PTSD episode in Artemy. It was the sort of painful insult that could only be said by someone who knows you intimately enough. The man is not a danger to the larger community." He has a feeling Artemy isn't going to stand up for himself so it falls to him to at least lay down the context.

"That's why I stepped in. I didn't think he deserved to be punished for such a moment. Next time--I was going to be upset with you for assuming there would be a next time but now here I am saying it myself--next time I won't let it get that far. I promise."

[redlightgreenlight]

"Ok, so you want me to arrest Pyotr too? I could charge him with disturbing the peace, throw them both in a cell for the night to work it out where meddling councilmen can't get stabbed."

Valdis' jaw tightens, and she forces herself to take a breath and relax, closing her eyes for a moment as she gathers herself.

"You say he's not a danger to the community at large, but someone with a temper like that, who would stab someone not involved in a personal affair is potentially a danger to others."

[lordoftheozarks]

"No, of course not. I've already instructed him that he must apologize for what he said. Locking them together in a cell will likely undo what good I've managed to salvage from this." Erik is used to dealing with things himself. He's loath to ever call in enforcement for just this reason. It complicated things.

"Artemy was aiming for Pyotr, and his aim would have been true had I not deliberately stepped into his attack. I can move faster than a human eye can track, after all."

[redlightgreenlight]

"I'll do what I can to make this go away, but you'll owe me again."

She sounds unhappy about this, making a deal with him, but if she's going to compromise her position to help him, then he'd better make it right somehow.

[lordoftheozarks]

"Owing you favors has been so very much fun for me," he says, chagrined. "But, fine. I accept that."

Now, there's just one other issue he probably needs to come clean about. Her eyes are going to be on him, so he'd rather not have any misunderstandings.

"There's just one other thing you should know. Pyotr and I now have a standing business agreement. How should I put this...?" He pauses to choose his words.

"It may at times look ...as if I am falling back into old ways, having a man take my orders like an eager puppy. You can ask him for yourself, too, but this was very much by his desire and not mine. Frankly, it's the best way to keep him out of more trouble."

[redlightgreenlight]

Valdis goes silent, unsure how to feel. Part of her jumps instantly to rage, anger that Erik would do such a thing, potentially even in front of Max. He could be saying this just to try to soothe her and get away with the same things he had done before. It's not a game for him as it is for her and Max. Yet she doesn't sense a lie in him, if anything she senses a burst of shame edged with worry and fear, though she's not sure if the fear is of her or something else.

It would not be unnatural for him to have a healthy respect for her, however, she suspects the fear has more to do with his concern about falling back into old habits.

"I'm not sure how to respond to that, or how to handle the pain it may cause to Max if he misunderstands what is happening between you and Pyotr."

[lordoftheozarks]

"If I can be candid with you, I am not sure how happy I am with this, either." The fear in him grows a little more prominent as he says it. He doesn't want his progress here to be derailed and more than that, he doesn't want Max to get hurt. The possibility of that brings a new rush of anxiety.

"It isn't what it sounds like. The man is, from what I can tell, masochistic and he is likely to harm himself without intervention. He begged me to drink from him, and I did. And he asked me to do so again, so I told him yes, on one condition: he would have to take better care of himself. That is the arrangement, Valdis. And the timing of it could not have been poorer for me."

[redlightgreenlight]

Valdis knows he isn't lying, or trying to manipulate her in any way, in fact she can feel his anxiety spike again as he speaks. She still doesn't like it though.

"And what such timing would make it upsetting to one who must live off of blood and now has a donor in a spoken contract?"

[lordoftheozarks]

He sighs performatively. "I suppose I am confessing everything today." He'd have to sooner or later, anyway.

"I must live off of blood still but, thanks to a gift I recently received from Aster, the taste of blood, of everything, has changed for me. He gave me back my human tongue. I can taste things now as they should be and... I am still getting used to the taste of blood. I had been cutting back to taking only what is necessary, but this contract demands more of me."

[redlightgreenlight]

"I don't exactly fee sorry for you on that count, but I will accept that you are not doing this to satisfy yourself."

She realizes a moment too late that that was rather harsh, but it's already been said.

"You should explain the deal to Max, he shouldn't be caught by surprise."

[lordoftheozarks]

"If only I were..." he says ruefully. The harshness of her words seems like nothing unusual to him.

"Yes. I should, and I will. I have an appointment with him already planned for tomorrow. I will tell him everything then."

[redlightgreenlight]

Valdis finds she dislikes the fact that he didn't snap back, or come up with some witty comeback or insult.

"Please do. I promise I will make this report go away, I just need time to figure out how without compromising the law."

There had always been some leeway where Mortanne's people were involved, so she could use that. Plus, no one had died and Erik wasn't even injured as far as anyone really knew.

[lordoftheozarks]

"Surely you can downplay the incident. A bar fight that stopped at fists and words. It was dim and it all happened quite fast. Who can say if there was a knife in use at all?" If she catches his meaning.

"Warnings were dispersed and I was, rather publicly, led here by two officers. That should seem like retribution enough for a first offense. Wouldn't you agree?"

[redlightgreenlight]

"Almost, I still need to speak with Artemy, I can't just fake notes when I've never even met the man."

She could try, but she doesn't even know what he looks like and a mistake could be caught.

"But I will twist the story as best I can."

[lordoftheozarks]

"I think you'll find him the easiest to speak to. He is a good man, not without sin, of course, but he is a man of medicine and lives by that creed." And Erik may soon have a very different kind of contract set up with him but he reserves speaking about that until after they've had time to settle the terms.

"I did what I did because I like him and I wished to spare him from a tarnished reputation so soon after arriving. I appreciate anything you can do to preserve that intention, Valdis. Thank you."

[redlightgreenlight]

Those two words were not something she thought Erik would ever direct at her, but she's not doing it for him.

"I hope it's as easy as you say, Pyotr only responded to threats and you know how much I loathe making idle ones."

[lordoftheozarks]

"If you tell Artemy that I trust you, then the talk should go better, I think. He feels horribly guilty for harming me already. As for Pyotr, well, here's hoping I can keep him out of mischief so there won't need to be a next time."

[redlightgreenlight]

It still feels weird for Erik to say he trusts her.

"If you think he'll believe me, then I'll put forth the effort, and please do keep Pyotr out of trouble. I'm due for a promotion and others might not be so lenient."

With any of them.

[lordoftheozarks]

"He is a very straightforward man. I think he will believe you."

One thin brow lifts at that announcement. "Should I congratulate you? Or is that counting chickens before they hatch?"

Damn, he really is going to have to be more careful from now on. He should put all the lights out first, next time.

[redlightgreenlight]

"I hope you're right. It would make all this easier."

She also arches a brow.

"Cerrit and I are creating a new department, but you'll still fall under my jurisdiction, so don't get too excited."

Not that she expects Erik to cause problems with Demons and the other supernatural entities on Marrow Isle, though he did make a deal with Aster, so perhaps she should keep an eye on him as if she's not being a hypocrite.

[lordoftheozarks]

"What new department?" Why would he still fall under her jurisdiction goes unasked but it's implied.

[redlightgreenlight]

"The Department of Supernatural Affairs. We'll be specializing in the demons, monsters and other supernatural occurrences on Marrow Isle."

[lordoftheozarks]

His expression turns deadpan in a flash. "If I count as supernatural then so do you."

[Backdated to January 5th] A Reunion

[somebodychildofanyone]

Overnights elsewhere are fairly rare, aren't they milord? But to travel at night is dangerous, and perhaps - perhaps - there is some unspoken anxiety about the pyromaniac who had a very public breakup finding you in someone else's arms within your own home. Not your anxiety, the clients'. River has never been known as necessarily the most level-headed person, has she?

So perhaps there has been an uptick in requests to stay over at the client's home. Or maybe they've just been more notable in the current circumstances, with the silent, not-enough communications that come from River. Little gifts left on the doorstep that smell of smoke and tobacco and forge-fire, glances in public places followed by her lighting a skull-shaped pipe as if reminded of it. A note, at Givingstide...

Her scent is stronger on the front step this morning, and there's another bottle there, in the snow; it looks almost like rice wine, but there is no label, and the maker's mark is in wax that has been inscribed with that scratchy, rune-like alphabet River uses when she's writing in her native tongue. A gift from her world, maybe? Purchased from that fun skeleton man, no doubt. An unthinkable expense in the middle of winter, with how hard it must be to find citrus at any price.

The scent continues inside, though. This is because River is right there; she has fallen asleep on Erik's couch, face-down and splayed in a manner that is very much going to make her back and legs and bones in general sore when she wakes up. The elf is half-dressed - the other half is thrown haphazardly over the back of the couch - and sleeps under her green cloak, hair plastered to her neck with sweat from what was probably a roaring fire in the hearth when she went to sleep. From the looks of the supply of firewood and the fact that it's still flames rather than embers, she was feeding it well into the night. Sitting up, maybe. Waiting. It certainly would fit the way that even now there's a tang of nervousness in the smell of her sweat, the way her fingers clutch at the throw pillow that is abrading the skin of her cheek and sensitive ear, the subtle soundless motions of her lips as she argues with someone in her dream.

At some point last night she broke down and smoked inside. Her pipe is on a little plate in front of the couch next to a neat pile of ashes and a note, half-drifted off the plate, that has Sorry scratched into it.

The cold breeze hits River's face, and she makes an entirely unconscious moan of discomfort, and rolls over, clutching her cloak around her shoulders and blearily demanding, "Closa fuggin' windows love...'s cold..."

Re: [Backdated to January 5th] A Reunion

[lordoftheozarks]

Sometimes the house calls are a respite against the fact that the scent of River fades a little more each day from inside his home. Except for those moments when she leaves him gifts. They fill his heart with a hopeful ache.

He's done his best to let her have the space she needs, just like before, but he still finds himself looking her way when her scent catches on the breeze. The spark of her pipe makes his chest feel heavy. The terrible tobacco he'd purchased for her stays safely stashed away in his bedroom, waiting for a day when he'll feel like giving it to her won't be so overwhelmingly painful. He left her tobacco as a gift on Givingstide, yes, but it was her usual blend, not the one suggested by her sister.

(He almost spit out his drink when he opened the gift she'd left for him, in turn. Her handwriting made it seem more like a threat than she might have meant it to. Or... maybe not.)

It all rises to the top of his mind again when he finds her gift on the steps. He can smell it through the wax and... dear gods, he hopes this means the forge is doing well and not that she isn't feeding herself to afford such a luxury. He has half a mind to try and give her gold back but that thought vanishes once he realizes the scent of her is still here, stronger, as he opens the door.

River?!

He'd fear the worst if not for the fact he doesn't smell any fresh blood. The way she's sprawled on his couch doesn't look intentional. The dim light of that low burning fire, one he does not remember building, is more than enough for him to make out all the details. Her pipe, smoked inside, has become less of a nose-sore for him now that he associates the scent with her, but he still chuckles at the scrawled apology. Her respect for him never wavers. What a relief that is.

As the panic of finding her here subsides, he stays in the doorway just looking. Just appreciating a sight he worried he might never get again. But her sleepy words move him to action. He closes the door and sets the drink down on the kitchen table. Then he's at her side in a blink, tucking the cloak around her shoulders more soundly, and brushing a stray strand of her vibrant hair behind her ear. He desperately wants to bend and kiss her, but not yet. Not yet.

"River," he asks, softly, "have you been here all night waiting?"

[somebodychildofanyone]

Still bleary and oh-so-asleep, her heartrate only increasing mildly in dreaming irritation, River mumbles, "Goway Erik, 'm tryna talk to Erik..."

Vampiric senses are wonderful things, aren't they? For instance, they help you pinpoint the exact spot in a person's dream at which they've said something so absurd that they realize they're dreaming and wake up immediately. It isn't a jolt or anything violent; River's eyes flutter open, crusty with sleep and with using, again, throw pillows as actual pillows, something only soldiers and the terminally polite do on purpose, and she groans and blinks dumbly. The smith tries to push herself at least half-upright but something clicks in her back and she flops back down with a loud 'urgghhh'.

Familiar morning sounds. Many a 'tomorrow' has started just like this, especially if River decided she was a big strong girl who don't need no safe word and let herself get run ragged out of bratty spite.

"When this barrier drops," she mutters, "I'm sending some strong fucking letters to the gods of creation about the existence of the spine. All life should be living fluid. They fucked us real hard." She scrubs at her ear, wincing a little - throw pillow again - and finally manages to look at Erik. "Hey," she murmurs. "You made it home. I was startin' -" big yawn. "- startin' to get worried there. Sorry for the...y'know...urgh."

She flops back down, giving up on getting up for the moment. "I think I had a plan for how this went back when I had coffee in my veins still. You have a good night?"

[lordoftheozarks]

A bewildered snicker leaks out through his nose before he has a chance to quiet it, but then she's awake so fast it hardly matters.

The other neat thing about vampire senses is he can tell exactly which two vertebrae in her back just clicked together. That... did not sound pleasant. Seriously, when is a chiropractor going to show up here? Maybe Artemy knows some techniques. Hm.

"I'll help you draft it, Love," he says with cautious amusement. Self-preservation keeps him from adding 'because they won't be able to read it otherwise'.

No longer able to resist it, he sits and pulls her over his lap in such a way that he can start to massage her shoulders and neck. It feels so natural that he doesn't even stop to consider if he should.

"It was a profitable evening, yes. A lovely couple had me over for a spur-of-the-moment bit of experimenting. I don't break from my standards often but I..." His hands falter with his voice. "I stayed the night because they were both so warm to sleep beside and I missed that."

He forces himself not to turn his gaze from her, even though he can't hide his anxiety. Not from her. "I've missed you, River."

[somebodychildofanyone]

A string of musical language leaves River's mouth in shock when she's touched, followed quickly by: "Gods of my mothers Erik you're fucking cold - gimmie -" before she takes his hands in her too-warm ones and squeezes them together, tight. And then she listens, her ears twitching, then drooping in guilt.

She nuzzles her nose into their joined hands.

"...We gotta talk," River murmurs. "I. Cut you pretty deep and then just fucked off. Realized it less than an hour after...but..." she sighs.

Hangs her head.

"...'m sorry, Erik. Sometimes I forget that you don't like being what you are. And that's. Cruel of me. To forget."

[lordoftheozarks]

That wasn't another snicker you heard, River, that's just your imagination. Cold hands are the burden she signed up for. Oh, but the heat of her hands, the press of them too, awakens such warmth inside him that he can let himself believe that spark of life Mortanne told him about could take shape.

He leans to press his nose to hers (it's cold too.) "You were right that I should have talked to you, first. I sometimes forget that I am not a lord in his castle any longer. For that, I am sorry too. You deserve consideration."

He nuzzles her lightly, "River, I do not hate all of what I am. But I resent that I wasn't given a choice. It hangs over me, always. But now, here, with you I have the power to become what and who I want. I should have had better faith in you and not a demon. The way you crave me, all of me ...puts me more at peace with it."

[somebodychildofanyone]

And she will never have revenge for the cold hands because her being too hot in summer is strictly a River problem. Thus is the indifferent cruelty of the universe.

"...I was scared," she admits, in a very small voice. "I'm still scared. I don't think I'll stop being scared until I see that deer-headed prick on a pyre. For you, yeah, but...also for me? That it was turning out I can't be enough after all."

[lordoftheozarks]

"I may have accepted his gift, River, but that won't stop me from throwing him on that pyre myself. He will be dead when all is said and done." For what he's done to his own daughter, Erik cannot forgive him.

"I'm sorry, River. I never meant to make you feel inadequate. I didn't do this because you aren't enough. I did it because I wanted more than I was physically capable of. I wanted this to bring us closer. I can taste you now. The salt of your sweat, the cinders on your breath. I was missing those parts of life. I can taste the world in a way I haven't in centuries. When you let me into your body, you showed me exactly what I'd been missing. An entire sense dead to the world. I told myself it wasn't important but... it was. It is. But it isn't more important than you."

[somebodychildofanyone]

"Gods. It's like the fuckin' bottle imps. Swap to being a vampire from my joint - you keep the sense of taste but look out, plague dog!" She makes a long, gently frustrated sound, and bundles Erik's hands over her heart. Its beat is slow, steady. Comforted, despite the back pain and also the lack of coffee that will, very soon, make River cease being the person Mister Rogers knows she can be.

"...What do we need to do so we don't go at each other like that again, d'ya think?" the elf murmurs. "'cause I don't wanna do that again in front of the kids, and, well, I'm on a bit of a window to significantly shift the population demographics on half-elves. Necromancers don't die old."

[lordoftheozarks]

He can practically feel a timer ticking down through her chest, one that has a little coffee icon in front of it. Good thing he's well stocked now.

"I like that my kind of vampirism poses no threat of infecting you. I don't want that to change, either. I do not think I could abide wearing fang condoms." A little joke for her, there, to lighten the mood before diving into the crux of things.

"We both failed to communicate as we should. We've been engaged in name, but I fear my actions haven't been that of a committed betrothed. Because of that, I made you insecure. From here on out, I will not make such monumental decisions without you. No matter how long or short the span of your life, so long as you are with me, I will ask and honor your wishes as equal to mine."

[somebodychildofanyone]

"I...think I gotta be. More secure about. Y'know." She gestures, vaguely, to All Of Herself. "...You, Annabelle, I keep hurting people because I'm not...okay with being me. For dumb reasons. If you wanted an elegant lady in a high manor you'd have one, y'know? At some point I'm just insulting your good taste. It's just hard for it to feel real sometimes..."

[lordoftheozarks]

He frees one of his hands so he can sling it around her, over the cloak so she's spared the cold. "I am a vain man, and I do like my fashion. But you, River, are like a fresh breeze in my stuffy life. I've been with elegant women and I have not found the happiness that I feel with you. Ophelia was an elegant woman. And she was cruel in ways you never could be. Ways you'd never know how to be."

He holds her tighter. "You are crass, and rough, and battle-weathered, but you are also sensitive, insightful, and very Romantic. These are the things I love about you. You remind me slow down to enjoy the small things in life when I have a tendency to overlook them. I see the passion you bring to every moment of your life and it inspires me to experience things the way you do, not floating above them but embroiled in the gritty reality of them. You speak your mind plainly and hold to your principles unwaveringly, but you are not above learning or admitting your faults. You are my wild flame. You terrify and excite me. You make me want to rise to meet you. River, my love, you are the most real thing in my life."

[somebodychildofanyone]

There is another trill of that musical language River lapses into oh-so-often, though this one she's said enough to be intelligible to Erik; it's "Wren damn my eyes", said with a blush high on her cheeks as she buries her face in her cloak. "...There is a lot to talk about," she admits. "Like. Do we move in together? Whack on a second house to one of our homes so we can keep our work separate? Just kinda keep technically living apart? Childcare's gonna be..."

...

"...Gods, actually. You don't sleep. I may be the first mother in living history to get a good night's sleep." She laughs, because it sounds great. However, the narrator would like to point out that she is, in fact, completely wrong about this and will be bitter about being wrong later, as is the way of the new mother. "...Fucksake there's so much to do and to discuss and to...we gotta take this seriously instead of just putting everything on the idea that affection alone gonna do it, right? I'm affectionate with my apprentices but I still gotta do fuckin' paperwork. And I need coffee. But..."

And here she turns and squirms until she can kiss Erik on the neck and nestle into him, confident that he's gotta be warming up to an acceptable temperature by now from her own excessive body heat. "...I kinda want affection too. I could go for a round of conversation and cooking breakfast while I get laid, if the domesticity won't hit your professional expectations and cause an energy explosion." She tilts her head up, grinning playfully. "You did keep the money, right?"

[lordoftheozarks]

"Right," he affirms, "It's about time to start asking and answering some of these harder questions. At least we have the luxury of planning."

Erik can't bring himself to burst her bubble about new mothers and sleep--not when she sounds as cute as this. She'll find out on her own, as all mothers do. That much he's picked up on in his many years. But she is right that she shouldn't expect to go it alone. He will be at her side through all of it. He wouldn't be anywhere else for the world.

She kisses his neck and he returns it with a kiss on her forehead. The fire and her body heat are doing their work to bring him up from frozen tundra cold to just normal cold. Best he can do for now. But, at her desire for affection, he smiles with no small amount of heat.

"I kept the money. And, River, I think you severely under-estimate how much I enjoy the domesticity. It's a perk. Especially now when I can share it with you to the fullest."

[somebodychildofanyone]

"Then let's talk," River half-teases, wiggling her way free. She pads, half dressed, towards the kitchen to hunt for the coffee. The elf gently wiggles her ass while she gets everything around to begin grinding the beans, her ears flicking in affectionate lust.

"It'll be a nice challenge for you," she muses playfully. "Get me off without turning me nonverbal."

[lordoftheozarks]

Let's talk, she says, while wiggling her half-dressed ass at him. Yes. Talk.... That's not what her ears are saying. Or her lips, moments later.

"I think that challenge is going to be yours," he purrs as he gets up to follow her, his stride smooth and predatory.

He hovers behind, trailing his cold fingers down her back until he gets a handful of the ass she's teasing him with. He knows better than to get in the way of her getting coffee, though. That's an essential part of the morning.

After The Opera and Efrain's Death, CW: NSFW

[redlightgreenlight]

It's been days since Efrain's death and her final decision regarding Aster, but she can't shake the lingering violence pulsing in her veins. It feels as if the Hound is trying to tear its way out of her skin to feed that insatiable hunger she's been plagued by since devouring Efrain's heart. The help she needs cannot be met by any of her partners, so she finds herself at Erik's door, knowing that not only will he understand her frustration, but he would be willing to soothe it.

It's a bad idea. Perhaps the worst kind of coping mechanism, but she has to ask or she'll go insane from the bloodlust.

She knocks gently on his door.

"Erik?"

CW: NSFW

[lordoftheozarks]

"Valdis?" He's not unhappy to see her when he cracks open the door, but it is unexpected. With all that's happened in the last few days, his doorstep was the last place he think to find her, yet he is quick to open his door and step back to allow her entry.

"Pardon my saying so but you look troubled."

[redlightgreenlight]

"Troubled?"

She releases a short laugh as she enters.

"I feel like a monster is going to tear free of my flesh and kill everything in sight."

Her skin prickles in response to her words, as if the beast really does want to do exactly that.

"I can't sleep. I can't eat. My mind simmers with rage and my heart pumps violence through my veins. So yes, I am troubled."

[lordoftheozarks]

"That's alarming, to say the least."

He can almost hear the crackle of her skin, and he can smell the bloodlust on her. It stirs the primal beast inside him, too.

"In what way can I help?" That's why she's here, he assumes, to seek his aid.

[redlightgreenlight]

Valdis doesn’t look away from him, her pride and dignity at war with what she needs.

Her fury at Efrain and his removal of her agency, the anguish of knowing Aster could do the same. After all, he had done it to Fever. Her need to be strong and independent against her need to let someone else take over.

“You have to understand, if Max could do this I would ask him.”

[lordoftheozarks]

He's studying her now like he's trying to detect some kind of trap door waiting to spring on him. She can't possibly mean what it sounds like, can she? But... he senses no insincerity here.

"I have no doubt of that but, I admit, I am still not entirely clear what you are asking me for."

[redlightgreenlight]

Valdis isn’t entirely sure how to answer to that question, whether because of that pride or genuine inability to articulate what she needs.

“I can’t break you, and you can’t break me.”

And she knows, deep down, he has feelings. Even in her annoyance in the green room, she wasn’t so blinded as to not sense it, even if she wanted to deny it.

[lordoftheozarks]

This is somehow more confusing and less at the same time. Can't break her? Physically, she means. But, then... does she want him to fight her? No, that doesn't sound like it. The other option feels obvious but that puts him in even more fraught territory when he knows, deep down, he'd say yes to a romantic escapade with her. That's not what this is shaping up to be, however. He never thought she'd be one to ask for this from him. He is glad she didn't ask it of Max instead.

"How rough do you want me to be to you? I'm not unfamiliar with dominance play but I do find it important to set expectations. That is what you're suggesting, isn't it?"

[redlightgreenlight]

“You are incredibly frustrating.”

Valdis knows he’s asking her to articulate and lay out boundaries, not because he’s trying to annoy her, but because he wants to make sure they are on the same page.

“I don’t want to play games, nor pretend at anything. I cling to control with everything I have and am so tightly wound that no amount of untangling will suffice.”

She swallows hard.

“I know with my history I shouldn’t want this. I know it’s the bloodlust in my veins fighting to get free, but I can’t stand my own skin. I need to release the energy somehow. I need someone to take over and push me to my limits to satisfy the violence I desire.”

She really does feel like tearing her own flesh from her bones. If this is the aftermath of consuming the heart of a demon, she’s not sure she should do it again. But she’s also not sure she could stop herself.

[lordoftheozarks]

It is finally starting to dawn on him how serious the situation is. She's not here for sex, she needs someone to take the screaming in her mind away by terrible force. She needs bloody release--La petite mort.

Something in his posture shifts, he stands a little taller. "All right, Valdis, I'll give you what you need. We'll talk about whether you should or shouldn't once you can think clearly. But I want to be very firm in one point--you will not be justified in being angry at me after the fact."

[redlightgreenlight]

“I’m not so far gone that I don’t know what I’m asking.”

Being angry at him for something that is her choice is incomprehensible, but There is a certain level of relief in her voice when he agrees however.

“I just don’t want you to regret it either. Ok?”

It will be complicated enough explaining it to River and Max. As of this moment she’s not sure how long she will be out.

[lordoftheozarks]

"I'm happy to hear it." A part of him did worry she might truly not be in her right mind at all. What a relief to know that's not the case.

With that answered, his next response is confident. "I won't regret it. If I was worried about that I wouldn't do it. I have come to care for you too much to risk that."

He offers her his hand palm up, "Come with me. I'll take care of you. I'll take control."

CW: Suicidal ideation, violence

[redlightgreenlight]

Her hand twitches, her mind torn between taking his hand and using it to rend open her own flesh. Surely self destruction would fulfill the need just as well as letting him do it for her. In fact, it would keep control in her hands alone.

And how many of her loved ones would she hurt by doing so when another answer stands before her, offering that release in a way that would be far more pleasurable to her while also denying the Void and everything it stands for. That is its own kind of control too, a choice she’s making.

“Don’t treat me like I’m human,” she says as she takes his offered hand.

FTB, Then Back Up for Pillow Talk?

[lordoftheozarks]

"I never do, Valdis," he answers darkly, his fingers closing on her with the kind of pressure no mortal could stand for long. "I won't start now."

As soon as the door of his play parlor closes, he'll consider the scene as begun. The door is never locked, but once inside, they will have everything they need...for however long they are going to need it. Why bother with time keeping? For Valdis, he will work her over as long as it takes.

[redlightgreenlight]

By the time they’re done she’s tired, but not exhausted. There’s not a single trace of their lovemaking on her skin, but she knows if it weren’t for her healing her skin would be marred with purple and black and she’d be too sore to walk. In a way it’s satisfying to know she can drive someone to that level, that she can enjoy it without being harmed or harming others. It’s nice to know he enjoyed it too.

She should probably buy him new sheets, but it was worth it to have the monster soothed.

“If you have questions,” she says softly, eyes still closed, “Now is the time.”

[lordoftheozarks]

For once, Erik is also tired at the end of their session. Impressive, considering he has the stamina of at least ten men combined. He gave it all to Valdis, just as she asked and needed, so the subtle tug of fatigue on his muscles feels like pleasant proof of a job very, very well done.

He's just finishing up washing his hands when she speaks, so he brings the towel with him to sit beside her on the bed, his voice gentle and devoid of the authority of before. "I have questions, but more pressingly, I have concerns. You trusted me with your body, now I am asking you to trust me a little more, with your mind. You said you shouldn't want what you were asking for. I saw your performance with Max, it would not be difficult for me to guess why you said so but I'd like to revisit the topic now. If you feel able?"

CW: explicit conversations of abuse and assault

[redlightgreenlight]

Valdis sighs softly, even in her bloody haze she did recall saying that and his note that he would like to revisit it. It only seems fair, after asking him to push her so hard to explain what she meant.

“If you saw what happened with Max then it shouldn’t be hard you guess what Fenrir did to me. Not just then, but after, when he tried to destroy me a second time. It’s fairly unnatural to wish to be touched like that when you have experienced such non consensual violence.”

She turns under the sheets to look at him as he sits there.

“And yet the only scars I bear are the ones inside my soul and the one made by the very weapon I wield.”

CW: explicit conversations of abuse and assault -cont.

[lordoftheozarks]

"Not hard at all," he agrees. "But it might comfort you to know it's not as unnatural as you think to crave what you do. I do not say that to minimize your feeling on it, to be clear. Objectively, you are not the only person I have met or serviced who has needs that seem to run counter to sense. In this, Valdis, you are not going to receive any form of judgment from me." His sincerity comes from a place of unfortunate comradery, but that just makes it all the more powerful.

"As for scars..." Now that she is looking at him, he takes hold of his open shirt and gently shrugs it down off of his shoulders. Through everything he had kept it on, never letting his back show for so much as a second. She'll see why, now, as the fabric drops giving her a perfect and full view of the bone white ridges that rise from his skin in ugly patterns frozen in place. "I happen to bear my own."

Cw continued

[redlightgreenlight]

His words aren’t comforting, but they aren’t insulting either. Valdis knows her trauma is her own and she gets to deal with it as she sees fit.

As his shirt drops from his back, she slowly sits up, holding the sheets to her chest as if he hasn’t just seen and felt every inch of her. She traces each scar with her eyes, considering each one and the pain inflicted upon a human.

It now feels unforgivable to do such a thing to a living creature, but there was a time when she wouldn’t have cared.

Valdis knows instinctively that this is sensitive for him. That fact he’s showing her at all feels like an immense exchange of trust.

“May I?”

Re: Cw continued

[lordoftheozarks]

Her instincts are correct. Only a handful of people in all his long life have been invited to witness this part of him, and more than half of them have been since he came to this town. Fewer still have been invited to touch.

"You may. Carefully. ... Can you tell what they are?"

Cw continued

[redlightgreenlight]

Part of her is surprised he actually gives his permission, but perhaps it's not so strange that he would want someone to see and understand what it means. She gently reaches out to him, tracing those marks with her fingers.

"I have seen them before on others, but usually not in such a number."

It's evident to her that these were from injuries received while Erik was still mortal. After all, the marks she left on him had already faded, if these were after he was turned, they would not have stayed.

Re: Cw continued + fresh suicide ideation

[lordoftheozarks]

Despite knowing it's coming, the touch still makes him flinch. He endures with slow, meditative breaths. If only her suspicions were true. But he's about to shatter them.

"Had I been mortal at the time, these would have killed me. I wished they could, when I received them."

He turns his head to look at her over his shoulder, "Has Max ever told you that a vampire like me is incapable of starving to death? And that the alternative is far worse?"

[redlightgreenlight]

She feels him flinch but doesn't withdraw her touch. If she were to recoil from the scars it would only reinforce what he believes them to be. Still the realization that they were not from before he was turned does, in hindsight, make more sense. She has never seen this number on a living person. Though, like her own scar, it simply means that the damage done was too extreme for a healing factor to resolve.

Valdis continues to trace each scar, knowing that, in another life, she could have taken them from him. But she wonders if that was even something he would have wanted.

"Max and I don't talk much about vampires, but I know the only way to kill you true dead is to destroy your eyes."

Or to take his soul, but that's fairly unique to her and her alone.

CW: continues

[lordoftheozarks]

He wonders it himself. What if someone here could heal them? Would he do it? So far, the answer has been no.

"Yes. Which is why I lived in irons for months. My sire did not wish to let me end myself. Even Max does not know the entire story. These..." he reaches around to touch his own scars, "...were inflicted by my sire's hand, but they were my own fault. This kind of damage is rare, and it only happens when a vampire has been starved to the point where not even their own blood can heal them. I was the one who refused to eat. My sire thought that whipping me would break my resolve. It did not. And because I would not relent any other way, my sister was made into a vampire beside me, to encourage me to choose undead life."

He lifts his gaze to meet hers from where it had drifted over his speech, "These scars are a mark of my history, but they are also my greatest shame. I think you can understand that."

CW: continues

[redlightgreenlight]

Valdis knows he is offering the vulnerability in exchange for hers, an honest conversation between two people who have known the pain of immortality and the suffering that can come with it.

"Shame?"

Valdis withdraws her hand from the scars.

"I feel no shame over my scars, Erik. They are proof I survived. Proof that even those far stronger than me couldn't kill me. Perhaps they conquered me for a time, and they are a reminder of that, but they are nothing to be ashamed of. If anything, they are motivation to never allow it to happen again."

Re: CW: continues

[lordoftheozarks]

"I'm not suggesting you should feel the same way I do. But isn't that a good illustration of how varied our approaches can be?"

Now that her hand has pulled away, he tugs his shirt back up over his shoulders and turns fully toward her.

"What it seemed like to me, was that you expressed if not shame then something like it over what you needed and over not feeling shame for it. Funny where that sentiment can sneak in, isn't it? Slips through the smallest of cracks. You are free to tell me I am wrong, but that is how it looked to me."

Re: CW: continues

[redlightgreenlight]

She watches him a moment, trying to hear him instead of being offended.

"I have used my body as a weapon and a tool throughout most of my life. It wasn't until I met Max that I ever considered it as something I should care about. He doesn't see it, see me, as something to be used as a stepping stone to reach a goal. Now he has no doubts, like you, about how it was treated by men more powerful than me, in fact, part of me worries he will never be able to touch me without thinking of what Fenrir did. Max would do his best to understand why I asked you for this, he would trust us in the decisions we made, but he will never feel good about the idea of my body being touched with violence. I was not thinking of myself when I spoke those words to you, I was thinking of Max and how much this might hurt him, of Fever, of Miles...of all the people who love me and want me to value myself more."

Valdis sits back and looks away form him.

"I asked you because you are one of those people, but I also knew that you wouldn't deny me or try to convince me that this wasn't what I needed."

Re: CW: continues

[lordoftheozarks]

"You are right that they would and will struggle to understand and accept. They only know that when they have been touched that way, it has hurt them and they cannot help but grieve your pain. That is the curse of being loved. Your curse, for being loved means you must consider them when you use yourself as a tool. All things you are well aware of, I know." He's working up to his point, as he often does, but he's careful to keep his voice neutral, to not seem like he's trying to influence her any one way. If only he could stop his own bitter sorrow from seeping through, but he has no defense against that from Valdis. 

"When you touch Max, does the thought of what I have done to him cross your mind?"

Re: CW: continues

[redlightgreenlight]

"Not anymore."

Whereas he feels bitter sorrow over her words, she feels tired, emotionally spent from the fire that had burned in her veins only to be quenched by him and his attention.

"But in the beginning, when he related what he remembered, when I could feel that he didn't know what actual love was...In that, I am far more blessed than you. I had someone before Max who showed me what it was, so it was easier to remember, to become gentle, to allow him room to grow and overcome...to be his Malachi."

Valdis looks back up at him.

"He might have guessed at my history, but to have it laid bare before him, for him to play the part of my abuser and to touch me with disrespect...those are things that he will remember for months, if not years to come...at least I did not have to undergo such psychological torture when I relived those nightmares, I have long since accepted them."

Re: CW: continues

[lordoftheozarks]

His soul is doing the internal version of holding its breath waiting for her answer. Relief is like a cool balm over that old hurt.

"I'm confident that his imagination has already conjured up hundreds of scenes in his mind exactly like the one you played on stage, and worse, long ago. Yes, he will remember this. But I wager there is something beneficial about having it demystified for him. To know for certain is pain, but to always wonder and never know can be maddening."

He reaches gently for her hand, ready to let her pull away if she prefers. "My advice is to keep growing and overcoming with him. Talk to him, deeply, about how you feel. You have accepted your past and for that I am very glad, but to him this is new. It may be frustrating, but he needs your guidance to see what you see and feel what you feel."

It might take time, but Erik has faith in their beloved Max, that he can overcome the specter of Fenrir's actions. That one day he would be able to answer "not anymore" just the same as she.

"I think you are right that he will never feel comfortable being violent to you, but I also think that was already true. If you are not compatible in that one way, would it truly be so bad to continue an arrangement like this, where you seek that missing piece outside of him? At first, it might make him sad that he cannot provide, but there are ways to frame it that remove the sting. I can explain it to him if you'd rather?"

Re: CW: continues

[redlightgreenlight]

She feels the relief in him, can sense the continued pain he feels over his actions. The words he speaks are wise and she knows there is healing to be done for them both. Her and Max.

Valdis tips her head at his offer, not moving away from his touch, considering it, but uncertain if that’s what she truly wants. In that moment she had needed it, to have control taken away on her own terms with the knowledge she could take it back the moment she wanted to. To be exhausted and have the monster removed in an act of love and violence. It’s twisted and strange and something she would not have resorted to, even if she had enjoyed it. And even if he didn’t say it, she knows he did too.

“I don’t think that’s the only relationship you want with me.”

It’s not what she meant to say, but she knows it to be true, because she can feel how conflicted she is to simply use him in that way. It was good, and gratifying, and she wouldn’t refuse if he wanted to do it again, but it’s not the only thing.

Maybe she’s simply exhausted and not thinking straight.

Re: CW: continues

[lordoftheozarks]

Erik would say yes to another round instantly. He cannot deny that using his full strength on her, being as brutal as he is capable without worry or fear, was exhilarating, satisfying... maybe even something he needed just as much as she did. If it's only ever this once, it will still be a deeply satiating memory to him for a long time.

He startles when she says that, at first opening his mouth to deny it but... he can't. When he searches his feelings, he finds a field of them has started to bloom around her place in his heart. "No, it isn't. I like you, Valdis. I enjoy our discussions and I appreciate that they are rarely shallow."

He pauses to look into her face, as if trying to read her the way she can read him. "What kind of relationship do you want with me?"

Re: CW: continues

[redlightgreenlight]

Valdis didn’t need him to confirm his feelings, she’s known they existed for a time, though subtle, but she’s glad he didn’t try to deny it. As he searches her face though, he won’t find much to give away her feelings, mostly because she doesn’t quite know herself.

“I don’t know.” She replies. “But I knew even in the depths of my hysteria that I could rely on you to help me. That’s got to mean something.”

She trusted him enough to invite that brutality, to enjoy it, to hold onto the power she had over him and allow him power over her. That’s not trust easily or readily given, but she’s not sure how she knew she could give it.

“I wish it were easy to explain, but I don’t want to use you just to satiate the monster, even if you are satisfied with just that. I don’t think it’s fair to you.”

[lordoftheozarks]

"I hope that it means you trust me," he answers softly, as if afraid of stepping too hard on thin ice. "And that it means I've changed enough to deserve that trust."

Perhaps it is the nature of what they are that makes it so difficult to read their own feelings. But he knows, instinctively, that he would not choose to betray her. It was for Max's sake alone, once, but now the thought of pushing her away with his actions springs forth a more personal grief. He would miss her company for its own sake.

"I don't think I would be quite content with only that, either. Friendship, after all, is a multifaceted gem."

[redlightgreenlight]

"Hmm. I think I could accept 'friends' as a start."

Valdis flops back down onto the pillows, wincing as she does so, some things still hurt, though none of them were inflicted by him.

"Sometimes I forget you were not with us on the Eterna, and how much you don't know."

[lordoftheozarks]

She'll feel the fluttering of anxiety go still in him when she does not reject his suggestion of friendship. Has it only been a year? Yet, somehow here they are.

"My experience onboard was, unfortunately, limited." That's a nice way of putting it when what he really means was it was a hellish three or so weeks of repeated agony, necessary or not.

"What part of what I don't know has crossed your mind now, if I may?"

[redlightgreenlight]

Even if everything had started as getting along for Max's sake, nothing said they couldn't become friends, especially when he has done everything within his power to change and grow as a person. She would be more of a hypocrite than normal if she refused to accept that.

"You saw my life in three acts, except...one of those acts wasn't about me."

[lordoftheozarks]

Since she has flopped back down, he decides to get a little mor comfortable himself, settling his back against the sturdy headboard and bringing his legs up onto the bed, over the covers, not beneath.

"When you say it was not about you, how metaphorical do you mean that?"

[redlightgreenlight]

"I mean I didn't even exist at the time when those events took place. Those events and my creation are hundreds of thousands of years apart."

Now that her mind is no longer clouded, she's able to try to put together the pieces. Much of it is guessing, but almost as much isn't.

"It's...complicated, but I'll do my best to make it make sense."

[lordoftheozarks]

As ever, she proves to be an enigma, but this starts to put things into perspective. He dares not try to interpret any of it yet.

"I will do my best to listen closely and only interrupt when necessary for my understanding."

[redlightgreenlight]

Valdis turns her head to look at him, rolling the information over in her head.

“Tiamat is a primordial goddess of Destruction. Based on what I can infer, it seems that she and the original Angel of Death, Muriel, were lovers. Muriel betrayed her and scattered her shards across the universe. Except for her heart. He kept that piece of her.”

It seems so terrible for her to have been betrayed like that, for a brief moment, Valdis can even feel sorry for her.

“Fenrir did not choose me as his queen as random. I was the only one who could be queen, and the only one Tiamat could manifest within. I don’t know if that was only by design or out of a desire for revenge on Muriel.”

She paused to give him time to digest and ask any questions that may help her gather her thoughts in a useful direction.

[lordoftheozarks]

"Are you telling me that you share your heart with this primordial goddess Tiamat?"

Well. That explains Aster's interest perfectly. Petty as it may be, it also makes him feel just a little better about how much Valdis scares him, even now. Her power is immense. Is this why?

[redlightgreenlight]

“At the very least our lives are too closely intertwined for us to be separated.”

She pauses and her voice drops.

“At most my soul is clinging to a heart that doesn’t belong to it.”

And she’s not certain how stable a connection like that could ever be.

“Either way, she and I are both here, though she is currently sealed by dark magic.”

[lordoftheozarks]

"Does it cause you pain?" He can't begin to imagine what it must feel like to exist in such a precarious state. Well... actually, maybe he can. A little. Perhaps the beast that stalks him as it does all vampires isn't so different.

Another question quickly rises when that last little bit finally filters through to him. "Currently? Is there a risk of that seal being broken?"

[redlightgreenlight]

Her gaze rises to meet his.

“Sometimes, but the Void mostly keeps to itself these days. Earlier was an exception.”

Valdis watches him in silence for a moment after his second question, uncertain whether to answer with the truth or to deflect.

“I don’t know. The seal was originally meant to imprison me, not her. The Captain forced us to switch places and she has been quiet since.”

[lordoftheozarks]

"Is that what you call it...?"

He reaches to pat her leg out of an unconscious need for connection as they speak on such intimate things. He can tell this is difficult for her to tell him, even if he's not sure of the full context yet. Even this much is enough to raise the protective hackles in him.

"What happened, Valdis? On that ship? Who tried to imprison you?"

[redlightgreenlight]

"The Void is the animalistic part of Tiamat, it remains free while her consciousness is sealed away."

Valdis doesn't shy away from his touch, nor from the sudden anger in him.

"His name was Maxwell, he made a deal with Tiamat to release her in exchange for my soul, he didn't realize that she would betray him."

[lordoftheozarks]

"And that animal part drives a hunger in you for violence? Am I understanding right?" There's no judgement behind the question, but he is curious if that hunger is something she needs to feed routinely, and what that could mean for them all after today.

"Maxwell," his nose wrinkles a little because that name is so similar to their Max's but nothing else about him seems at all the same. "Is he a fool with more power than sense? I fail to see how he thought he could trust a goddess of destruction. I'm far more enraged that he thought your soul was his to bargain with." She could order him to go find that man right now and snap his neck and a part of him is sure he would do it.

"I take it he did succeed in releasing her. What became of you when that happened?"

[redlightgreenlight]

The corner of her mouth twitches as she resists a tired smile at the emotions he's feeling. Perhaps she shouldn't be surprised he caught feelings, maybe she wouldn't be surprised if she develops some in return.

"I'm afraid I don't know the answer to either question. The former seems to become restless when I commit violence for the sake of violence...the consumption of the heart of a demon prince likely didn't help either. As for the latter, I didn't even realize anything happened on the Eterna until I spoke to Mortanne. It was like I went to sleep and never woke up until she called me. I learned later that Tiamat almost destroyed the Eterna and it was the Captain who switched us right before Mortanne called me here."

What happened after on the Entera she only knows from those who arrived here from after her time on the ship.

[lordoftheozarks]

"Perhaps that violence calls to her, brings her closer to the surface." Again he cannot help but draw a parallel there to himself and the way the beast inside always lifts its nose at the scent of blood.

"I'm sorry. It must be distressing to know that a part of your recent existence has been kept from you"--again--"Would you rather I ask Max for the details?"

[redlightgreenlight]

“Perhaps. But I was born from violence, so who’s to say for certain what my true nature is.”

Her gaze flits away from him again.

“I am quite tired of being yanked around by beings more powerful than myself.”

It was why she had been so tempted by Aster and why she probably will be until she devours his heart too.

“You can ask Max, or Fever. I trust them to be truthful, though they are likely going to be protective of such things.”

Especially after what Efrain did to them.

[lordoftheozarks]

"That you, yourself, cannot say is equally as troubling." How does one form an identity around a core one cannot decipher? Perhaps that is the problem.

"I wish there could be a way to promise you it won't happen again, but we know such promises are fairy tales. You made a good choice today, regardless of what Max, Fever, or any of the others might say. I can't swear to protect you from powers greater than us both, but I will promise that I won't prey on your weakness like Aster would. Should you find yourself in need again, I can guarantee you that."

As for asking Max or Fever about that lost history, his tone softens to reassure her. "They are protective of you, so I would expect nothing less. I can wait to ask. It will keep. I'm more concerned with what you need in the present."

[redlightgreenlight]

Valdis closes her eyes, tiredness starting to take over.

“I have not known what I am for some time. An Angel of Death? A Hellhound? Somehow both and neither at once.”

The title she could claim feels too wrong. To call herself something she hates even if it would fit.

“But either way, I would not have come to you if I believed you would take advantage of me. Not only would you not risk my wrath, or Max’s, you actually care about me.”

She’s already said that, but it bears repeating, if only to allow it to sink in for both of them.

“Which is probably why I trust you to guard me while I recover and ensure Max knows I am alright.”

She had left them all so suddenly and hidden herself until she couldn’t stand it any longer.

“It could be a few days.”

[lordoftheozarks]

"Perhaps you should decide a definition for yourself. You do seem to be, truly, one of a kind. I am sorry that it is so often a lonely existence." He's of the mind that she has a right to decide for herself what fits, but she'll have to come to that in her own time. All he can do is provide a place to keep her safe in the here and now.

"You're right, I do care. Almost in spite of myself, I do. You'll be safe here as long as you need." They've all been in captivity together, so there aren't even any appointments to cancel or rearrange. He'll have the house quiet for as long as she needs.

"I'll go now and call him on the sending stone. And Fever, too, if you'd like?"

[redlightgreenlight]

She sighs deeply, the exhaustion seeping in faster now.

“Yes. Just let them know I am safe and will find them when I can. I trust you will be delicate with the details should they ask.”

She would prefer to explain it all herself.

“Three days. Longer than that, you should probably get Neil. I’d prefer Erin, but she’s not here.”

[lordoftheozarks]

"Of course. I'll take care of it," he assures her.

He curses the way that name "Erin" still makes him squirm, but he makes no comment on it outwardly.

"Hopefully three days will be long enough, but if not you can rely on me. Rest now. I'll be in the other room over."

[redlightgreenlight]

Valdis is too tired to even notice his reaction to Erin's name and she's asleep before he even finishes speaking.

Here to see a man about a good snogging

[luckandmybruder]

Curiosity was what drove him here, initially; a card, finely made and bearing the name of the town's premier whore, as well as the location of his business. Part of him was mildly scandalized at such brazen advertisement of sex work being done in the village, but a much larger part was terribly curious. What did it mean, to be the premier whore?

Samuel's lips purse as he stares down the front door as if it had said something to offend him. Still, he takes that step forward and rings the bell, business card in hand, slightly crumpled in his grip.

came to the perfect place~

[lordoftheozarks]

Erik is aware of him standing there long before he gets the nerve to ring the bell, but that just gives the vampire time to make a show of opening the door. It's work hours, so he's in his lovely maroon silk robe and matching fur slippers. The full length of the sleeves and the long hem make it impossible to tell if he has anything on under that, but it's tied securely enough not to risk indecent exposure if not.

"Hello, sir," he purrs, glancing down to see the card and smiling wickedly. "Lord Erik Osborne, at your service. What can I do for you?"

[luckandmybruder]

The presentation half makes him want to bolt. Must be a mistake, can't believe I've rung the wrong doorbell, I'll just be going now-

But, no. He doesn't run from a damn thing. He's the one that collects information and sets traps and keeps his cool under stress. The man looking at him like a cat with a trapped bird doesn't scare him.

"Your...services. What do they entail, hm?" His accent is think, his tone clipped. Trying to cover any perceivable nerves with his usual acerbic attitude.

[lordoftheozarks]

Erik immediately has to stifle the little trickster in him that wants, oh so badly, to tease more of a rise out of this new man. Look at him putting on a brave face. If he only knew how his own pulse betrays him. But it wouldn't do to chase away a sale, would it?

"They entail a great deal, depending on what your taste is. Would you like to step into my parlor to discuss them more intimately? You'll be perfectly safe, on my word as a Lord."

[luckandmybruder]

Sam does not know yet that his every tell, normally well hidden from the eyes of most people that would get annoyed and leave him be, is laid out for this man to see. He steps forward at the suggestion, of course not caring to have this conversation from the front step. His business here was his own.

"What sort of clientele do you take? Anyone that can pay?" He's prodding a little bit, seeing where he might be able to keep something of an upper hand.

[lordoftheozarks]

Erik steps back for him with one arm extended in a pose of hospitality. It reveals the sleeves of his robe to to be kimono style.

"Generally speaking, yes, but I do have standards. I've no qualms turning out a rude or disrespecting customer. But I'm sure there's nothing to be worried about with you."

Erik motions to a love seat in the parlor that's made of plush fabric and finely carved wood. Clearly, he isn't wanting for money if he has such lavish furnishings.

"I am male, so of course I cannot be of service to those with no taste or desire for men touching them, but I am happy to negotiate almost everything else. May I ask what you are interested in? I think that might be more productive as a starting point."

[luckandmybruder]

Samuel steps inside quietly, brows arching up at the comparative opulence of the decor in here. There is a bit of distrust as he sits in the proffered seat, sinking in cautiously. Ridiculously comfortable. He tries not to let his guard down too far.

"There are worse things to be touched by than another man," he says with a dismissive wave of his hand. His weight leans forward on his elbows as he contemplates Erik's proposal, trying to put to words what it is he wants. That...had been something of a secondary thought, truth be told.

"You'll forgive me that I do not have words for every possible lewd act," he starts gruffly. "I am...curious. This place has all of its facilities indoors. In my life there was really no such thing. Shit pits, washbasins, whore's baths in troughs. You have such a thing here, yes?"

[lordoftheozarks]

"Very wise words, indeed." That's one less concern now.

"That's alright. It is my job to do the lewd acts, and even I cannot name all of them. Curiosity is the key."

He leans forward to match Samuel's posture, "Ah, I thought I recognized your accent. Sir, I do not know exactly what era you came out of, but I would wager it is one I have lived through. We have much better things in contemporary times. And, yes, of course I do. The water is even changed after every patron."

[luckandmybruder]

"Names change over time, but in my life the city was Kuttenberg, in central Bohemia. The Jewish Quarter was home," he confirms, looking Erik in the eye. his head tilts subtly, brow furrowing more deeply. "It was the year fourteen-hundred-and-three. My...patron was John the Second of Lichtenstein, burgrave of Znojmo Castle. I don't expect names to mean much to you, of course."

The prospect of a warm bath in clean water is a good distraction from his missing the weight of a certain ring around his finger.

"What is your procedure here, then? Pay up front, or is it hourly?"

[lordoftheozarks]

Bohemia. Oh, that is nostalgic. Mention of the Jewish Quarter as home doesn't phase him, but he can see in this gentleman's eyes that he expects it to mean something. No mysteries why, Erik can still remember enough of his history.

"I'm not familiar with the names, no, but I do recognize your region. And, please, you can relax. It makes no great difference to me that you came from the Jewish Quarter rather than from any other. If that requires specific etiquette you will have to instruct me on it, but I hold no prejudices against Jews." He really does hope that puts his guest more at ease.

"I accept several forms of payment, but I always insist on a written contract. I have taken the liberty of having the baseline of that contract printed in advance, with space to fill in details, for efficiency sake."

Erik reaches into the side table top drawer and pulls out a crisp print on a sheet of thick paper. It still smells of the ink from Gerry's press. He offers it to Samuel to read for himself, assuming he can.

It's a generic form written in language just slightly below legalese that outlines the liabilities that Erik will not let himself be held responsible for (such as a heart attack caused by his overpowering sexual prowess), as well as the general consequences of failing to uphold the contract in good faith, starting with immediate dismissal without refund and moving on from that to formal complaints at the constabulary. Most of the document is fairly inoffensive but he may find one part of it eyebrow raising. Erik decides to point it out proactively just in case.

"You'll note that on this paper, one of the options of payment, besides brass or traded goods, comes in the form of blood. That is strictly optional, but I would like to make you aware of the reason why before we go much further...

"I am a vampire, Sir. I am technically an undead corpse animated by blood magic that even I do not fully understand the mechanisms of. Blood is my only source of sustenance, so I am obligated to drink it, but I only do so from those who have given explicit consent."

This time it's Erik who is making piercing eye contact. "Is that going to be an issue?"

[luckandmybruder]

Samuel's face goes on a distinct journey, between Erik's assurance that he has no problems with or on Jews, to the contract and its wording, to the explanation that payment in blood was also acceptable. He stares at the paper, hoping that he was parsing it correctly; the text here is foreign, but the magic of the Isles allows him to read it, and the note about payment in blood brings up several Talmudic passages immediately in his mind. He's quiet for a long moment, then looks up at Erik once more and sits up, maintaining that eye contact once more.

"You certainly are confident, with your disclaimer of death by a good fuck," he points out sarcastically. Then, more seriously, "How much do you need to take to survive? You seem to be quite well established here so I can't imagine that you're hurting for a meal. I don't have anything else to offer you presently and I despise the idea of handing you an IOU."

In other words, he's talking himself into that being how he pays.

[lordoftheozarks]

That's another hurdle crossed, and Erik can let himself relax more now, too. That sticking point is always the one that gives him the most to fear. Now that it seems like his new friend's face journey has concluded at 'interested', it's time to upsell it.

"I am over one thousand years old and I have had a lot of time to practice, so, yes, I'm confident. My reviews are glowing. I've even been featured in the newspaper. But, to answer your question, I need no more than two full goblets of blood in a month to survive. To feel satiated, I tend to triple that amount. Given my spread of patrons, that comes to perhaps a shot glass worth from each donor. It's less than you might lose from a nasty nosebleed and will do you no harm. As a vampire I am also immune to all forms of disease, so there is no chance you will contract anything venereal from me. Lastly, as a courtesy, I always provide a snack and drink service at no charge as well, to ensure there will be absolutely no ill effects. I do try to be as accommodating as possible, you see?"

[luckandmybruder]

Sam is a man that is going from a world firmly grounded in the reality that things like magic, and creatures like Vampires, are only fairy tales. Fortunately though, he's also coming from a time in which the phrase "this might as well happen" could well have been coined by the people having to live in it tertiary to the war efforts.

Listening to the more detailed breakdown of Erik's needs, it settles it more or less in Samuel's mind. His arms cross as he looks from the man, back to his contract, then reaches for a pen to be able to put down his name. Part of him is already thinking he may return later for more, if this goes well.

"Do you keep a schedule? I am aware that your card offers walk-ins, but if you have appointments waiting, I will not keep them waiting. Otherwise, I think I would like to see your bath."

[lordoftheozarks]

"I do, yes, but you have the good fortune of coming during a dry spot. My next scheduled client isn't for several hours."

With the contract signed from Samuel, Erik gathers it, marks down blood as the payment of choice and the date, then signs it himself. With that matter tidied, he stands and offers his hand to the man.

"I will be very happy to show it to you. Follow me this way. The first door there is my working space."

Erik will guide his guest through the door, then shut it and lock it firmly behind them both. To the left is an elegant room divider stood in front of a large copper tub. Erik goes to turn on the hot water tap, a very modern invention indeed. As the water begins to fill, he'll indulge Samuel in a tour of the rest of his facilities.

"As you can see," he says gesturing to the wooden cross standing upright in the other corner with straps attached that make it look very much like a torturing rack. It sometimes is. "I am well prepared to handle any kind of taste no matter how unsavory it may seem to some. That, of course, is not for novices."

Next he gestures to the gorgeous canopy bed with luscious maroon velvet drapes and another set of restraints nailed to the headboard. "There's no need for shame, whatever you desire is a secret that stays safe with me."

[luckandmybruder]

While the contract is tucked away, Samuel stands and tugs down the hem of his tunic under the belt keeping it snug against his body. He puts his hand into Erik's, noting its chilliness with dull acceptance. He had just confirmed that he was a dead man, after all.

Following after him from the main room, Samuel takes a deep breath, then pauses and plugs his nose against a sneeze. He hasn't smelled lavender since the last time he'd gone traveling and found a massive field of it, and after the initial surprise he finds himself picking out individual scents. It's cleaner in here than anything he's experienced in a long while, and so rather jarring. The locking of the door behind them starts some alarm bells, but he comforts himself that for the sake of privacy he would have wanted it sooner or later anyway. The thought is driven soundly out of his mind as he steps deeper into the room, lips pursing at the sight of the finely crafted wooden torture device that he keeps himself from commenting on only through sheer power of will, at least until Erik brings it up himself.

"Yes, I see that... That is not exactly to my taste," he comments with a note of amusement, fine to be joking about it. Then his attention turns to the tub, and the steam that's drifting from the hot water. That keeps his attention, more even than the absolutely decadent bed, though he does privately want to sink into those blankets.

"I daresay that I do not want for much," he replies thoughtfully. "Perhaps I will ask after other things at a later date. For now, where do we begin?"

[lordoftheozarks]

"Not to worry. I think I know just what to do with you," Erik answers, seating himself on the edge of the tub and lazily shutting the water off now that it's full. He lightly runs his hand through the water to test it is not too hot, then playfully flicks the droplets from his fingers toward Samuel.

"I could start by undressing you. Unless you want to do so yourself? I also leave the option to you if you would like me to disrobe and get in the tub alongside you." It will be a tight fit, but sometimes that's the idea.

[luckandmybruder]

Samuel's expression remains unchanged at the drops in his direction, but here merely shakes his head and goes to undress himself.

It's strange, not to be wearing the layers that he'd become so accustomed to, down to only that thin tunic, his pants, boots, and smallclothes. Each comes off and is hung over the back of a chair, and with each garment discarded there is a brief glance back at Erik. Samuel's body is lean, very little body fat to be found, scars here and there denoting a perilous life that would surprise nobody that knew anything about the time that he'd lived in. Body hair that hadn't been trimmed, and circumcised as taught by the culture and the faith. He really isn't that different from Erik himself in size, and he still holds himself with an air of slightly prickly dignity even without his clothes.

"I would not waste your water, trying to fit you in and spilling it on your floor," he replies even as he tests the water with one foot, then eases himself over the edge of the metal tub that has already warmed to match the heat of the water. There is a temptation to completely submerge himself, wanting to feel it surround him completely.

He merely rests one arm on the edge of the tub near where Erik has perched himself, his chin on it while the other hand reaches for one of Erik's, feeling the cool temperature of his skin in contrast to the heat of the bath.

"Do you warm up, or stay cold I wonder..."