Messages

16

Mirror Lake / Re: All In

« on: August 17, 2019, 11:24:40 PM »

"I can accept that, I'll look forward to it. I'm shit with that kind of thing," Ichabod said with a smile, a bit surprised at how this had gone from 'never seeing him again' to swapping numbers, but it wasn't a bad surprise. Although his confidence had grown in certain things, Ichabod knew he'd have to work himself up to be the first to text.

Same with Sam, he was going to text first too. Ichabod wondered who would text first. Would he get to go on a date with Sam before hooking up with Win again? If he'd drunk more recently Ichabod's cheeks would have coloured as he realised he'd just assumed that their next meet up would be a hook up. Even though they'd just been talking about meeting up with Murphy. Fuck.

Ichabod found himself wanting to please Win, wanting to keep him safe, but what if he was wrong? What if Win was like Lazarus and ending up hurting Murphy more?

"Murphy and I, we don't really know each other so it might take a bit of time to set up you meeting him," Ichabod said, chewing lightly on his lower lip, "But maybe we could do something before that? Like I could come see when you find a place, or you could come round mine one night, or we could just... do something else," Ichabod said, internally reprimanding himself for sounding so awkward.

17

The Luminary / Re: Blood & Bears

« on: August 17, 2019, 10:54:44 PM »

Dom nodded in appreciation at Kerr's offer of a place in the building they were in.

"Well when we came back I thought you were dead and didn't know what was going on here, so we just stopped at the first place we came to," Dom said with a shrug, "But we will take you up on that, thank you," he added with a warm smile.

"I'll try to go in with an open mind, hopefully he'll have a good explanation for some of those things, such as his living quarters," Dom said, shaking his head slightly. How was someone supposed to care properly about what happened in their district if they didn't even live there?

He watched Kerr, sitting up a little straighter as the vampire went to get the addresses. He was relieved that Kerr's opinion of the other new Leader, Sabrina, was more positive than the rest of their conversation had been going.

"Thanks," Dom said, accepting the Post-It and sticking it to his notebook, scanning the two addresses and vaguely placing the locations in his mind.

He had his answers now, but being back here, chatting with Kerr, it was a nice distraction. He'd not had many of those since it happened. And it was more pleasant than he was imagining his conversation with Saraekiel would be in Kerr's description was correct.

"How has it been, since you came back? With your fledglings and everything?" he asked, closing his notebook and slipping it away back into a pocket now the business part of the meeting was done with.

18

The Luminary / Re: Blood & Bears

« on: August 14, 2019, 04:49:35 PM »

"Saraekiel," Dom repeated slowly, struggling to get his tongue around it but determined to. He pulled out a small notebook from his jeans pocket and wrote it down phonetically. Having been homeschooled and with a lot less time available than humans due to his faster aging, his hand-writing was messy but legible.

His notes continued, writing down the other District Leaders names and where their check-ins were. He knew their names, but since some bits had changed he wanted to make sure he had the details right.

"Thanks for that information," Dom said, giving Kerr a smile as he finished his scrawl. "Are they precious about who attends? I mean, if we chose Charon for Caden, would we need to live in the East? We're in a hotel at the moment, so we can narrow our house search," he explained. Caden would want to see each to give an opinion on which he wanted to attend each month. Hopefully one would be suitable - Dom didn't really want to risk something happening to Caden under his watch as it had with Carrie.

He wasn't impressed with the description Kerr gave of how the North was being handled and he wrinkled up his nose in distaste at hearing the Dark Angel was using them as guards.

"That's idiotic. They have no control over themselves when they're changed so if there was a threat, all they would do was rip it apart, not deal with it properly," he said, the disgust obvious in his voice. He didn't have anything against werewolves - they were cursed with a horrendous curse, but they didn't need to put themselves and others in more danger than necessary.

He opened his mouth at Kerr's final comment, then shut it again thoughtfully. There were no werewolf facilities in use in the North. There were werewolves roaming and putting people in danger. And the man Kerr described sounded like the kind of person Dom preferred to stay away from. Games, competition, secrets and riddles, these were no indication of a good leader. Everything Kerr had said made him want to stay away from the North.

But Dom did feel a swell of responsibility - his leaving had been the reason why Saraekiel had been able to take over and turn it into a shambles.

"I shouldn't have trusted those I left to just be able to do their jobs," Dom said, giving a small sigh and sliding his hips forward a little on the cushions to recline on the sofa a bit more.

"And the city should never have been split into Districts. People clawing for power but ignoring those in need. I don't imagine there's a fair split of species being represented? I don't know... Sabrina?" he said, glancing down at his notes for a prompt before looking back to Kerr. His fingers drummed again on his knee, a short pattern which halted before it could get annoying.

"I'll go see him, if he'll meet with me. I don't suppose he'll be pleased to see his predecessor," he said with a toothy grin. He didn't want to meet him, not if he wasn't going to get a straight discussion or answers, but it might be entertaining on some level.

19

Mirror Lake / Re: All In

« on: August 14, 2019, 04:24:29 PM »

"I'll text him and set it up," Ichabod said with a small nod to himself. He had Murphy's number from the brief time the three of them (he, Murphy and Ben) had lived together, but he didn't think he'd ever actually used it.

His gaze drifted back to Win, watching his tongue dart out in that enticing manner. "I'll have to get your number before I drop you off, can't have you just disappearing into the city on me," Ichabod said with a teasing grin, leaning forward to lightly brush his lips against Win's. He was definitely hoping for a repeat at some point, but he guessed it would to do with how things went with Murphy.

20

The Luminary / Re: Fourplay

« on: August 14, 2019, 06:38:01 AM »

Gabriel let out a murmur of pleasure as Ben's hand roamed further. The blonde would find him a decent handful, without being too much. He was aroused, but not quite standing to attention just yet. He was happy to ignore what was happening in the front of the car, but felt the vehicle speed up.

"Patience, Ben," Gabriel murmured with a playful grin, making it obvious he was teasing with the glint in his green eyes and giving an additional squeeze.

"Good," Charlie said, eyeing up Kerr as the vampire sped up, imagining all the things he wanted to do with him once they got there. He had managed to position himself sideways, lifting one knee up on the seat so that he could watch Kerr driving. His eyes and whole face occasionally lit up as they passed streetlights, showing how intently he was watching Kerr, wanting to reach out again, but aware that he shouldn't whilst they were driving.

Fortunately, it didn't take too much longer for them to pull up at the hotel and Charlie was undoing his seatbelt before Kerr had put on his handbrake.

"About time," he said with a grin, "I can't wait to do all those things to you I've been imagining." After that play with his thumb, sucking on Kerr was top of Charlie's list, but they were going to feed from him too, and he'd barely had a chance to imagine getting Ben and Gabriel involved in his fantasies too.

21

Mirror Lake / Re: All In

« on: August 14, 2019, 05:57:28 AM »

Ichabod gave a sigh and a shrug. He had been starting to look forward to having Win stay around; even if things didn't go much further than they had done tonight (like he'd originally expected), maybe they could have become friends. And Win seemed like he would have had a lot of stories, a lot of inspiration for things to go and do.

"No, I don't want you to move on. But it's not up to me. There's people here who Lazarus has done stuff to who might not be willing to listen, or to see you as different to him. People who will act before thinking about consequences or people."

He reached out to lightly touch the closest part of Win, which now happened to be a leg since Win had changed position.

"His fledgling, Murphy, he's... he's close to the person I would be most concerned about. Maybe you should meet him first." Murphy had fucked up some stuff, he was the reason they had lost Kerr for so long, for no fucking point, but Ichabod had to admit he was pretty level headed, he spoke sense. If anyone could stop Jake from trying to lop Win's head off with a sword, it would be Murphy.

22

Mirror Lake / Re: All In

« on: August 12, 2019, 04:40:15 PM »

Ichabod watched Win roll onto his back, mulling over his questions. He hadn't been able to sense Win was Lazarus' sire, like Win had said, there had been enough different blood running through those veins that it couldn't be felt.

"Some people might make assumptions," Ichabod said slowly, trying to swallow down his own. Win hadn't seen Lazarus for however long, Lazarus clearly had no interest in being near him given that he'd left him and recently just driven straight past. So Lazarus wouldn't come looking for him.

"You don't have to tell anyone. We could just... not mention it." How many people would ask who an absent sire was? There were enough vampires out there that it would be unlikely they knew them (in most cases). But if he told people... Ichabod couldn't imagine Ben leaping to conclusions about someone's character because of their sire, or putting someone in danger for it. But Jake? The maniac with the sword. Ichabod could well imagine Jake not bothering to ask questions before wanting to take revenge.

23

Mirror Lake / Re: All In

« on: August 12, 2019, 08:37:46 AM »

Ichabod felt a wave of nausea come over him and he shut his eyes for a second.
The fledgling isn't the same as the sire, they're different people.

"I know his new fledgling," Ichabod said, lifting a hand to run through his hair, trying to forget that Win was linked to Lazarus, whilst still wanting to discuss it. Fuck, that was confusing.

I was almost his fledgling, if things had gone differently. That was a terrifying thought. Win's touch was comforting though and reminded Ichabod of his previous thought, that Win was not Lazarus. Everything about their first meeting had been different.

Apart from getting pretty sexual within the first ten minutes. That was the same.

"He wasn't his lover. They'd not met before I think. Lazarus turned him to get back at... at other people."

24

Mirror Lake / Re: All In

« on: August 12, 2019, 08:18:49 AM »

Ichabod tensed up slightly as Win mentioned how old his sire was now, his mind racing so he barely heard Win's comments about being told only the best lovers were picked. There weren't many vampires that old in the city and Ichabod was pretty sure any which were anywhere near that old would be known about. The ones he knew of didn't exactly keep very low profiles. And there was one who had recently sired someone and then disappeared pretty quickly.

"Who is your sire?" Ichabod asked quietly, trying to sit up a bit, but finding it difficult with Win still on top of him and not wanting to urge him off too brashly. There was a wariness in his eyes which hadn't been there before.

25

Mirror Lake / Re: All In

« on: August 12, 2019, 03:16:43 AM »

Ichabod raised an eyebrow at Win's non-answer. Since he left him? Hell, there was two-hundred years history there, it could have happened at any time. But if Win didn't want to give a specific answer then Ichabod wasn't going to push. Win had mentioned before he'd done most of his travelling alone, so it was probably quite some time.

"That must suck," Ichabod said sympathetically. He and Ben were connected, but Ben had been there during his siring, he'd known it was going to happen. To have that shoved upon you with no suspicion it would happen would be horrible (although Ichabod didn't know exactly how it would feel, Ben had always been a part of it, he wasn't a new feeling).

"Can you feel where they are too? Was the new one with him when he went past?" Ichabod asked, hoping he wasn't prying too much. There were dozens of other questions which came up... how many fledglings were there? Did it feel the same each time? Could he sense anything about them? The way Win spoke about it, it sounded like his sire making fledglings was a pretty regular thing. It must be like having kids, some people wanted to constantly have more, others wanted none. But if Win was scared of going to his sire, Ichabod didn't want to press with too many questions.

Not all at once anyway.

"They might not be lovers. I'm not with mine," Ichabod added, trying to reassure Win.

26

The Luminary / Re: Fourplay

« on: August 11, 2019, 11:50:37 PM »

Gabriel smiled against Ben's mouth as he felt the blonde's tongue playing against his lip. His own lips parted as his hand slid from Ben's chin to the back of his hair, running through his short hair. He wanted to pull him closer, but Ben's slow movements stopped him from pushing things faster, as much as he wanted to.

Ben's light touch on his thigh sent a tingle through him and Gabriel sent a mental trace, reaching for his mind to give Ben encouragement, letting his enjoyment show through in that intimate caress. With that, his tongue set out to explore further as well, seeking out Ben's whilst his free hand moved to imitate Ben's running over his thigh, but on the outside, reaching towards his ass, aiming on pulling him closer if Ben would allow him.

Charlie chewed on his lower lip, the breath catching in his throat as Kerr took him into his mouth. He could easily imagine that mouth elsewhere and the feel of that cool stud on his skin. Fuck.

Charlie felt a twitch in his pants, his excitement growing with every block. The release of his thumb was a mingle of disappointment and relief - he could easily see himself becoming too aroused before they even left the car, which could be embarrassing. Although the tension in the car and the way Gabriel and Ben were acting in the back indicated there wouldn't be much need for embarrassment.

"It better not be too much further," Charlie said with a grin, lifting his damp thumb to his own lips and sucking on it, wishing he could taste Kerr properly and knowing it wouldn't be long until he could.

27

The Luminary / Re: Blood & Bears

« on: August 11, 2019, 11:19:18 PM »

Dom nodded at Kerr's words of sympathy and gave a small smile at the offer. It was painful to think about and he hadn't told anyone about it, so saying it outloud for the first time... it made it more real. He and Caden hadn't discussed it since they came back; that car journey had felt like it had taken days.

"Thank you. It's all still very recent, but it's good to be in a different environment to start with anyway," Dom said, lightly touching Kerr's hand on his arm appreciatively before letting it fall back to his knee.

"In fact, I was hoping for a little guidance," the shifter went on, pleased Kerr had given him an opening, as terrible as the lead in had been. "I'm not sure if you remember, I had a werewolf in my care, Caden. When I left I made sure there were shifters who knew how to run the monthly check-ins, but things seem to have changed slightly. I don't know half the people in control now. Are the check-ins here still running? Or can you give me some information on my replacement before I go see him? What's his name? Sara... Sarak... something like that?" he asked with a small frown.

Dom knew he hadn't been much of a leader himself, but he'd never wanted it. He had tried to find out what the new leader had done, but there hadn't really been anything apart from a couple of notices.

28

The Luminary / Re: Blood & Bears

« on: August 11, 2019, 10:31:59 PM »

"Good point," Domink said with a shrug and a smile as Kerr pointed out he'd techincally already been dead. He listened to Kerr's explanation with a small nod, happy with the description given and not needing to ask any more. Dom didn't know anything about different dimensions, but there was a lot of stuff which went on in this city which he didn't understand and didn't feel the need to study into. They didn't involve him and he didn't need to know more. Kerr was alive, that was what mattered.

"Well I'm glad all the things people thought had happened weren't true," he said, gesturing with a hand towards Kerr. He had never been very close to Kerr, or any of the other Oligarchs, but he'd thought Kerr was a good leader. Fair. Logical. Emotional when needed but not letting it control him. So many of the others only acted in their own best interests. That was not how leaders should behave.

Dom flinched slightly at the mention of Carrie and flexed his hand, remembering the feel of her slim neck in his grasp, how one swift movement had just...

"She... she's passed away. You know she was a werewolf. There was... an incident," Dom explained, somewhat vaguely, his grey eyes fixed on his hand before he lifted his gaze back upwards to meet Kerr's. "Our cub, Sadie, she was involved too. She's..." He's eyes slid away from Kerr to look over his shoulder at the lights of the city.

His voice was steady, but the pauses as he tried to figure out how best to phrase it made it obvious the affect it had on him. Kerr would be able to hear his heart rate had picked up at the mention of Carrie and if he was open to his emotions, he'd feel that mental turmoil, but Dom took a deep breath and tried to calm himself.

"She was a handful, I don't suppose you've ever handled a baby bear?" Dom said, a smile returning to his lips at the memory of his cub and he focused on the vampire again. "We'd been living a few hours outside of the city. After everything happened, I didn't want to stay there so I came back."

29

The Luminary / Re: Blood & Bears

« on: August 11, 2019, 05:52:26 AM »

Dominik raised an eyebrow at the receptionist's expression, finding it amusing, but it could easily have become frustrating if the human had decided to be difficult about the fact that he didn't have an appointment, since he seemed quite put out by it. He kept his grey eyes fixed on the young man as he called, waiting patiently but not distracting himself by turning his gaze elsewhere. His expressionless gaze turned into a polite smile when he was finally granted access upstairs and Dom followed the guidance provided, heading straight to the lifts and heading upstairs.

The lifts were fast and it was only a few moments before Dom was stepping out into the hallway. He met Kerr's greeting by accepting the handshake firmly and smiling, although it was a slightly quizzical one. After all, it wasn't every day you went to a meeting with someone you thought was dead. Although he guessed that was something Kerr had come across quite a lot recently.

The shifter followed Kerr into his office - which was pretty impressive. Dom preferred life outside of the city, in nature, but he could appreciate the finer things. His own office as an Oligarch had been inherited from the previous one so he hadn't bothered changing any of the decor - it had been functional but also had some needless knick-knacks to clutter it up (or decorate it, whatever).

Dom took a moment to admire the view of the city's twinkling lights before following Kerr's guidance to the seating area. Dom took a seat on one end of the couch, folding one leg over the other and sitting back against the comfortable cushions.

"You look good for a dead man," Dom said, a teasing glint in his eyes and a small smile on his lips as he drummed his fingers against his knee in a thoughtful manner. It hadn't taken long for him to discover Kerr was alive again once he was back in the city, and that someone else had taken over his role of District Leader. He had no idea who this person was really, so it seemed most sensible to go to someone who should have an interest in knowing about things like that. Or so Dom assumed.

30

The White Rabbit / Re: Breaking News - Part II

« on: August 11, 2019, 02:16:39 AM »

Murphy tried to relax into the kiss, but before he could properly enjoy it, enjoy being near Jake again, it was over and Jake was holding him... then not.

The loss was tangible and Murphy took half a step forward, wanting to close that space, but he couldn't. Not with that look on Jake's face.

"I'll call you. And you call me," Murphy said, nodding to himself at deciding the plan. He had said it needed to be when Jake had thought about it, but then Jake had said to call him - it had to go both ways. Neither of them could feel like they couldn't do it.

"Goodnight," he said, turning to leave again and this time making it out of the door.

Thankfully Murphy managed to make it out of White Rabbit without bumping into anyone who tried to stop him. Not wanting to wait for a driver, Murphy hopped into one of the cabs on the taxi rank and gave Penbrook's address. He couldn't go home, not yet. He couldn't go back to Ben. Jake was always going to remember Lazarus every time he saw him, felt him.

But maybe they could get beyond that. In time. Maybe.