Fledgling Cherry

[Trillian]

Continued from \'Genesis\'


Ben moved into the nightclub proper through the corridor entrance, glancing once at the noticeboard where the Risk rules and the Oligarchy rules were pinned side by side.  The traffic signs and industrial hazard signs peppered the wall in a way that was both trendy and garish, and somehow the metal signs harnessed the strums of punk rock and reverberated them around the room so that Ben\'s ears rung with the sounds.

Kerr had told him that the music would be unbearably loud, and he was right, but Ben was more overwhelmed by the fact he could hear conversations beneath the music, a hum of shouted words and laughter.  He reached back behind himself, groping for Arles hand as he followed Kerr inside, in between the two vampires in order of how he\'d met them - it was strangely apt yet straining for him to notice.

Ben wasn\'t recognised as an avid Risk visitor, though Kerr got a few glances and nods of recognition.  Ben picked up on the signals, subtle as they were, and he even received some acknowledgements.  Was it a club membership of some sort?  Now that he was part of the vampiric community, they were noticing him in a different way than when he was potentially a blood donor?  He\'d not realised such a thing was going on.

"The smell," he said after a moment, his nostils flaring and mouth watering at the scent of blood nearby.  In a booth, someone was feeding, and he squeezed Arles fingers while at the same time reaching forward to touch Kerr\'s back.  He needed to feel their physical presence, he felt like he could control himself with his sires nearby.  It had been a good idea of Kerr\'s to bring him here - for the urge to simply sate his hunger with the first willing body that brushed up against him, was strong.

And so Ben finally understood what it was that Kerr had seen in him the first time they\'d met - and no, it wasn\'t sexual, but it did have similarities.  The strong memory of their meeting came to his mind and he projected it out like a foghorn - enough so that a nearby vampire

smell old
I can smell age
fuck
that guy\'s older than all of us put together
not that I count as anything

frowned at him, rolled his eyes, shook his head and touched a finger to his lips before looking at Kerr.

teach the fresh one fast, he\'s disturbing

Ben didn\'t hear what was said, and Arles wouldn\'t either - for the Ancient could control his thoughts well enough.  Kerr would get the concept of \'disturbing\' for the word to mean Ben\'s powers were disturbingly strong, rather than annoying and interrupting in one\'s head.

If Ben had been told, he would think such a thing made sense, and be proud - the youth had spent his whole life concentrating on his thoughts and also the past six months focussing his mind for thought communication anyway, thanks to Kerr initially and then Declan always reading from him for four months solid.

"Sit somewhere?" Ben said, projecting that in his thoughts as well as saying it aloud, if only so Arles and Kerr would hear him.

[Existentially Odd]

Kerr frowned also, feeling vaguely embarrassed to have been chastised by an Ancient and also because he hadn\'t expected Ben to be that powerful - not initially and without other training.  Since he hadn\'t had numerous fledglings, however, he didn\'t think it extremely out of the ordinary.  Just a little special.

He spun on his heel at about the time Ben spoke, hands going to the blonde\'s hips to detain him, placing his cheek against the fledgling\'s head and making eye contact with Arles over his shoulder, speaking for his elder\'s benefit but able to convey thoughts to Ben at the same time.

"You\'re broadcasting your thoughts and memories like a lighthouse, you need to

if you can\'t wall your thoughts then I\'ll have to, because you\'re surprisingly strong and it disturbs others.  Can you do it, or do you want me to?

stop it."

He pulled back and gave his love an encouraging smile.  "It\'s wonderful that you\'re so enthusiastic, but it needs to be tempered with practice, alright?"  He reached up and brushed Ben\'s forehead with adoring fingertips, readying to limit the mental communication the fledgling couldn\'t help indulging in to just the two of them.

He wasn\'t certain Ben could control his thoughts to any great degree - even if he was keen enough to try it - so he believed it would be in all their best interests to limit things... whether he got the fledgling\'s permission or not.

[pinkroses]

He wasn\'t quite sure how he had made it into Risk, the bouncers on the door had looked a little dubious before letting him in but Ichabod guessed the sense of purpose about him must have made them think a little more about it. This was one of the last places in the city he had to check for Nikki, after this he was out of ideas. He desperately hoped to find him here, maybe working behind the bar or partying with some other people, just as long as he was alive.

He hadn\'t heard anything from him since that night he\'d gone to his work and that was more than a month ago now, Ichabod could only guess that he had done something wrong, after tonight he was going to give up, just try to make everything go back to normal, forget about the one person he\'d ever really cared about.

Why else would he be in here? A dark, dingy, crowded place with flashing lights...and that smell. Ichabod couldn\'t put his finger on it, but it wasn\'t a smell he was enjoying. He was too busy looking around for that flash of blonde hair to notice what was being served at the bar, to notice the couples pinned together in corners in an embrace that was more than just close. The young man stood at the edge of the dancefloor, trying not to watch the couple grinding together just a few feet away from him, trying to concentrate on looking around and keeping breathing in the heavy crowd. Why were these places always so busy? Duh, stupid question, but still, a bit of space at times would be nice.

His hand moved to push his glass up his nose, ending up touching nothing before he remembered he was wearing contacts, they were easier when he was out, even if his eyes did hurt the next day. That, and they made him look a bit older than his eighteen years which made it easier to get into clubs to look around. It wasn\'t like he was aiming to get drunk anyway. Ichabod took a step backwards as he turned to keep moving, walking straight into another, incredibly solid, man.

"Sorry," Ichabod murmured quickly to the blonde, blinking slightly as he noticed how pale he was. His dark eyes flickered to the other men he was with, one of whom was running his hand through the the other\'s hair, wow, they could both do with some sun; this place seemed to attract those types.

"Sorry," he repeated again in a quiet voice, before quickly moving away, not even sure if he would have been heard over the pounding music, he definitely couldn\'t hear anything that was being said and he heard no reply. Well, he was trying to move quickly through the crowd, there always seemed to be people in the way just where he seemed to be trying to go. His cheeks flushed with the heat of this place and it took a few moments before he realised just how cold the man he had bumped into seemed, he just didn\'t get how some people managed to stay so chilled. Maybe they were more used to being in places like this and weren\'t so worried about the whole idea of hundreds of people being crammed in a tiny space.

[Noctambule]

Arles still wasn\'t an avid socialite. He\'d been to Risk a few times but clung mostly to the shadows even then. Out of sight, out of mind and therefore out of trouble. But it appeared that Kerr wasn\'t of a similar mindset, which was beneficial for Ben, and Arles was relieved that at least someone could help this situation along. With Arles\'s luck he would end up with another fledgling.

The blonde glanced at the nearby ancient, not quite catching what motion he\'d made but knowing it was directed at Ben. Still, it didn\'t seem overtly threatening. For some reason Arles felt on age...possibly because he knew exactly how easy it was to mess with fledglings.

As Kerr spoke Arles vaguely grasped what must have happened. Ben\'s thoughts were low and distant in his head, like a radio left on in another room, but he was partially shutting him out. Even so, Kerr was the one to handle it as Arles took in the area.

It was exactly as he remembered but nothing seemed to change in Risk. It was still dark to mortal eyes, the music was still loud and the entire place still reeked of blood and lust and sweat. He kept his fingers linked with Ben\'s, the pad of his thumb tracing along the top of his hand. He\'d tell him to build a wall but Kerr was more or less giving the same lecture.

He decided not to stare at the two as they...communed or whatever it was. It felt too much like being a voyeur. However as he turned he ran into (or more accurately was run into by) a mortal. Blinking downward, he quickly looked over the male. Shorter than he was. Brown hair. And he didn\'t look at ease. So he wasn\'t a regular.

Without realizing it, Arles reached out to grab his upper arm. He drew him closer, smiling and trying to be disarming...as though he wasn\'t catching a meal for Ben...or for Kerr...or for himself really. "What?" He shouted over the noise though he knew perfectly well that the man had simply apologized.

[Trillian]

Embarrassed, and his cheeks lightly pinking (instead of his face going red like it used to), Ben nodded and mouthed:

You do it

as though it was his voice that was setting off his thoughts.  It obviously wasn\'t, for those three words echoed inside Kerr\'s head.

So far Ben didn\'t know that his broadcasts were unusual either.  He figured that all fledglings had lack of control over certain things, and mental abilities was one of them.   What he didn\'t realise was that lack of control was usually lack of ability.  All the practise he\'d had in the past half year had obviously been transferred from his mortal to his newly vampiric self.

Blood.  The smell of blood was everywhere.  Like Arles, he could smell blood and sex and sweat, as well as an undercurrent of colognes and perfumes of those nearby.  He looked away from the main floor and back at Arles, to see that his sire had grabbed onto someone by the arm.

Already?

Ben blinked at them.  If he could\'ve heard thoughts the same way he projected them (before Kerr blocked them off), he would\'ve been insulted at the thought the other youth had regarding him needing more sun.  He was still tan, he\'d just... lost a little bit of it recently.

[Existentially Odd]

Smiling indulgently, Kerr encapsulated Ben\'s thoughts and made it so that only he would be able to hear the fledgling.  It was surprisingly easy to do, the blood bond had a lot of benefits that he\'d not really tapped into - knowingly - with the twins but he was making connections now, where he hadn\'t before.

He followed the blonde\'s

thoughts

line of sight to see Arles hanging onto a mortal that didn\'t seem too comfortable with things.  He wondered idly, if the elder vampire didn\'t openly and frequently communicate mentally, did he ever dominate others into doing his will?  Did he ever bother to manipulate their minds so that he was invisible, or levitate or change form?  Kerr had worked at all these things religiously and had significant skill in some... but would Arles even be able to make this boy do what he wanted (if, indeed, the boy was what he wanted to do)?

He took a slight step away from Ben to get a better view, fingertips sliding into the front pockets of his jeans as he shifted his weight onto his right leg.

[pinkroses]

His first instinct when someone grabbed him was to pull away, but before he realised what was happening he was instead being pulled closer to the man he\'d crashed into. Ichabod knew he could hold himself in a fight, but that wasn\'t what he was here to do and this guy, well, he hadn\'t even moved an inch when Ichabod had banged into him.

But that smile...it didn\'t look threatening, not exactly anyway. It was a little disturbing, but not like he wanted to fight. He strained his ears to hear over the racket of the music what he asked and just about got it.

"I said sorry, I didn\'t mean t\' crash into you," Ichabod said a little louder, his eyes fixed on Arles. They flickered quickly to the people he appeared to be with, then he couldn\'t seem to help letting them shift back to the first blonde; mainly because he was still holding onto his arm. He took half a step backwards, wanting to continue his search and not really liking the way he could feel the other two\'s eyes on him, watching what was happening.

[Noctambule]

Arles was a tad uncomfortable with people paying so much attention to him. Or rather, Ben and Kerr. He\'d been happier when they were lost in their own little world and he hadn\'t had spectators to what might be a losing affair.

Even so, his smile stayed plastered on his face and his fingers didn\'t loosen on the mortal\'s arm. He held his gaze, eyes no doubt seeming even more unreal in the atmosphere of Risk. In most light you could dismiss them as extremely dark blue or brown. In here there was no light for the iris to reflect.

There was also too much noise. He leaned down a bit, putting his mouth richt next to his present captive\'s ear. When he spoke it was in normal tones, slow and almost instructing. "Why don\'t we go...?" With his free hand he motioned to a nearby booth.

It wasn\'t ideal, and he hadn\'t really pulled out any tricks. Arles wasn\'t overly used to people refusing him. But just in case he caught Ichabod\'s gaze. He wasn\'t practiced to any great degree but...you didn\'t go through centuries without picking up a thing or too. He wasn\'t sure he could bend someone to his will if they struggled...but he was rather could at putting suggestions in people\'s minds.

"There\'s too many people. You\'ll find what you\'re looking for if you go sit down," He added, grasping the basic notion of why the mortal wanted to get away but not much else. Once again he indicated the booth to the side.

[Trillian]

Ben\'s hand had been released in order for Arles to make his waving motion towards the seating area.  Without waiting to see if the captive would agree, Ben took the lead, following Arles cue out of habit.  The blonde would usually make suggestions that Ben would willingly comply with, so it was a matter of habit for Ben to follow a request that was intended for someone else.

He slid into the booth, which could easily sit six due to its luxurious wraparound nature, and shuffled further in without waiting to see if Kerr, Arles or Arles\' new friend would join him.

[pinkroses]

He still wasn\'t letting go. Ichabod found crowded places like this stressful enough without strangers stopping him from moving. But strangely he felt himself relax slightly as Arles spoke quietly in his ear. Nikki was the only man he had ever felt anything for, but having someone else so close didn\'t feel at all strange, in fact it felt quite nice. The fact that he couldn\'t feel breath on his skin didn\'t strike him as at all odd, he didn\'t even notice.

Finding somewhere quieter to sit down seemed like a good idea, even if it was with these men he didn\'t know, and who all seemed to have something...different about them. Arles\' eyes for one thing, Ichabod couldn\'t seem to tear his gaze from them. If they were sitting he would be able to hear what he was saying more easily, and hopefully get a good view of the room from there; he could look around without worrying about other people gettig in the way. That was another thing the man was right about, there were far too may people.

"Alright," Ichabod said, relaxing and moving a little closer to him, ready to follow him towards the table. He was surprised at himself for his answer; although it made so much sense, he knew he normally wouldn\'t have agreed to it. But why not? It made perfect sense.

((Feel free to shuffle Ichabod along and put him where you want))

[Existentially Odd]

Kerr frowned as he watched the interplay with the mortal.  It made him nervous, that Ben would be invited to drink instantly - that hadn\'t been the plan at all.  There was no way he was going to let the fledgling have at a vein without something to ease his hunger, just in case, so he abruptly turned on his heel and headed for the bar.

He would return with two glasses of blood (one for him and Arles to share, one for their fledgling), so that Ben might be better able to judge himself when he drank from the boy Arles had picked - better able to appreciate the beauty of a living donor too, for that matter.

[Noctambule]

Arles watched Ben go, reminding himself about the time Kerr headed off that he shouldn\'t simply thrust the mortal into this situation. It could be particularly dangerous. But then he would have remembered before the bite, wouldn\'t he?

The blonde moved a hand around the mortal\'s shoulders, guiding him toward Ben. He situated himself so he was between them...not wanting an accident this soon into things. "What\'s your name?" He asked, still smiling. "I\'m Arles and that\'s Ben and..." He motioned in the general direction the other had gone. "That\'s Kerr."

It felt very strange. He wasn\'t used to finding a meal for anyone except himself. Something to adjust to, perhaps, taking care of a fledgling though he had faith Ben would catch on quickly. "And you were looking for someone?"

[Trillian]

Ben gave a tiny smile and an awkward half-wave as he was introduced after Arles and his newfound companion entered the booth.  He was surprised that Arles would keep himself between them, for it would mean more shuffling around later on... unless Arles meant the youth for himself.

Ben cast his gaze down on the table, suddenly embarrassed at his own presumptuousness.  Maybe Arles meant for him to find his own meal, after all, when they\'d first met, that had been Arles\' way of testing Ben\'s competency at such things - by having him lure someone back to the privacy area, in order for Arles to feed.  In doing so he\'d proven that he didn\'t need either Arles\' or Kerr\'s help when it came to finding himself someone to drink from - especially not in this nightclub.

[pinkroses]

Ichabod felt a wash of relief as the hand moved from it\'s tight grip on his arm to slip in a friendly manner around his shoulder. It meant they were physically closer, but he felt, probably incorrectly, that this position wasn\'t as constricting. After being lead to the table he slid into the booth after Arles, giving a nod to the other seated man, Ben, he soon learnt, who looked about the same age as him. "Hi," he said, giving him a nod, then turning his eyes back to Arles.

"I, er, Ichabod," he said, still feeling a little uneasy and a small frown flickered across his face for a moment, was it that obvious he was looking for someone? Probably, he hadn\'t cared about being subtle about it, but it was still a bit unnerving to hear someone say it. He gave a small shrug and a nod trying to relax again.

"Yeah, a friend, I haven\'t seen him for a while and I just...thought he might be here, he goes out all sorts of places,"he said, his gaze shifting down to the table in front of them as his fingers ran over the smooth edge of the table.

[Noctambule]

Arles wrapped an arm around Ben, pulling him close momentarily. To others it would look like a kiss, which it was as he brushed lips along the fledgling\'s cheek. "You don\'t need to try until you have something else in you. Kerr is taking care of that. We don\'t want any accidents." And when he pulled away, the smile was still on his face and it was looking a little more genuine.

He looked back at Ichabod, seeming entirely at ease. "All sorts of places? So you thought you\'d check the strangest of those places?" He asked. If he was a mortal he wouldn\'t willingly enter Risk. But then...Ben had when he\'d been mortal and that was how they met.

His gaze travelled over the wound and his hand rested on Ben\'s leg absently, hopefully keeping the fledgling\'s thoughts from wandering too far.