Parlay

[Existentially Odd]

Imagine Kerr\'s surprise when, the night after confronting Lazarus at Risk, he did a bit of searching and found out that Halwyn Doyle was living in the Capital Building, where he still owned an almost-penthouse suite (his friend, Ash, would just love to hear him think of his place as such).  It was the final bit of impetus he needed to act, rather than wait.  He was sick of being the victim of happenstance, it was time to be proactive!

The problem was, he had no real goal in mind, even as he stepped out of the elevator and walked up to the vampire in question\'s door.  It had seemed terribly easy, though, to drive a familiar route and park in a resident\'s space he still owned, to make this meeting happen.

The last time they\'d met, Halwyn had just risen from slumbering in the earth, a process his fledgling had been fascinated with (and Kerr, secretly, thought it was pretty cool, too).  He hadn\'t liked being housed at the Chambers of the Oligarchy, though, hadn\'t been interested in the Luminary\'s charity, hadn\'t wanted any part of the organisation, it\'d seemed.  They\'d had an inconclusive and suspicious sort of conversation that had ended with Halwyn leaving the Chambers to pursue his life and Kerr satisfied that the man would do them no harm.

That was, of course, before Lazarus was back in town.  Now that he\'d spoken to the ancient the night before, he wanted the same reassurances of civility from the blonde\'s ex-partner-in-crime as he\'d (mostly) got from Lazarus himself.  If the two of them were going to team up to fuck with his life, Kerr wanted to know about it and do something first.  None of this on-the-sidelines business any more.

The Irishman smoothed the jacket of his black Nehru suit, checking that the banded collar of the teal shirt he wore beneath was perfectly in line before he knocked.  He looked completely calm and in control, the epitome of authority in such an outfit, just as he liked it.  It was also early in the evening, for he\'d wanted to increase his chances of finding the vampire in his home so had avoided any potential delays by leaving his own household almost as soon as night fell (though he anticipated he might well be back here later moving Ichabod in upstairs, he wanted to take care of business first).  All ducks in a row.

He just needed Halwyn to be home.

[Saccharin]

Halwyn was indeed home, and as Kerr made his way to the door that led to the one room apartment, he was trying to arrange himself on the couch so he could reach the remote that had fallen on the floor not five feet away without actually leaving the couch. He strained, his arm outstretched and his fingers... almost... touching when the knock acted as the disturbance that sent him tumbling from the piece of furniture. He landed on his side with an \'oomph\', and after a few stunned seconds, picked up the remote and used it to pause the movie he\'d been watching before tossing it on the coffee table.

Damned thing had moved or something when he\'d tried to put the device there to begin with.

He stood, stretching and rolling his shoulders so his vertebrae popped pleasantly back into place and then padded to the front door, clad in nothing but silky black boxer shorts.

If he\'d had the ability, he would\'ve reached out with his mind to figure out who was there, and if he\'d had any sense, he would\'ve looked through the peephole before opening the door. But he didn\'t, and so was taken entirely by surprise to see who his visitor was.

When Kerr had last come knocking, Halwyn had tried to shut the door in his face after opening it, but this time he restrained himself. Barely. The fuck probably had demons around the corner, just waiting... He stuck his dark head out the door, looking down both sides of the hallway before making eye contact with Kerr.

"I didn\'t fucking do anything," he said as way of greeting.

[Existentially Odd]

Kerr blinked, teeth tapping around his tongue stud and his right eyebrow arching as he was met with a whole lot less dignity than he\'d been working towards exuding.  He leaned back slightly as Halwyn thrust his head forward to inspect... well, nothing that Kerr could see, as he instinctively followed the other\'s gaze.  They could\'ve been a duo on stage, so perfectly in sync were their movements of looking left, right and then together.

"No, I know that, I just - well, I wanted to- it\'s not that you, uh," Kerr was frowning now, having entirely lost his train of thought as everything got off on the wrong foot and stumbling over his words in an effort to appease the other.  He stopped speaking very suddenly, trying not to notice just how barely-clothed-and-hot-with-it Halwyn was, and get his act together.  He squared his shoulders and blinked away his frown, trying to regain his dignity.

"I wondered if I might come in and have a word with you?" he requested politely, his Irish accent thickening due to his concentration on sounding pleasant.  He would be pleasant, goddamnit, and this would go much better than their last meeting had (he told himself... hopefully).

[Saccharin]

He tilted his head back, trying his best to look down his nose at someone not only a few inches taller than him, but who also happened to be fully clothed. The result was laughable. He just looked like he was near blind and having to squint to see Kerr properly.

"You\'re not here to arrest me or whatever it is you do?" he asked, tapping his fingers on the doorknob he still held in his hand. "Just talk?" Before Kerr could repeat himself, he took a step back and pulled the door in. "Okay," he said, almost chirping the word, then retreated once more to the living room.

He situated himself on one end of the couch, and Kerr might\'ve thought he was saving room for him, but he pointedly pulled his legs onto the cream colored leather and then stretched his feet out so every bit of space was taken. "Soooo," he drawled, turning his head to watch Kerr approach the adjacent loveseat. He settled himself there rigidly, looking very much like some statue in the park. Halwyn wondered if the man would shatter if he smacked him solidly with a hammer.

The thought made him smile.

[Existentially Odd]

Kerr\'s gaze drifted the length of Hawlyn\'s sprawled body before he met the intense green eyes situated above it and he swallowed, disappointed that the other vampire hadn\'t felt compelled to dress himself more completely.  It would have made him far less aware of how gorgeous the other was, which would\'ve made him feel far less awkward all-round. That was probably exactly how Halwyn liked it, though, so he needed to learn to play the same game.  And keep his eyes at least above that deliciously broad chest.

He smiled, deliberately softening his shoulders and unbunching his hands, letting them lay more naturally upon his thighs, palm down, rubbing lightly and occasionally, as he began to speak.

"Firstly, I want to thank you for your time, Halwyn," he intoned seriously, inclining his head respectfully towards the other vampire in a most gentlemanly fashion.  "I understand that you and I didn\'t... necessarily... get off on the right foot when last we spoke, but I assure you, I have no ill will towards you.  As far as I know, your time here in the city has been uneventful and in accordance with Oligarchy policy," he murmured, his gaze drifting away from Halwyn\'s face to take in the simple apartment.

The vampire\'s home was tidy and well decorated, displaying taste and perhaps an indulgent nature, but one within limits.  Not like Ash\'s extravagance upstairs, certainly - the thought made Kerr inclined to travel northward after this meeting was concluded, and reacquaint himself with his movie star friend/lover.  It had been too long.

Looking back at Halwyn once more, his pleasant expression melted into one a little more serious.  "The thing is...," he paused to wet his lips with his tongue, showing he was uncertain about how best to broach the subject he\'d come here to reveal, "well, I ran into Lazarus last night.  He\'s back in town.  I wanted to let you know, as a courtesy, and to come here just to... reassure myself that you\'re still, uh... disinterested in disrupting the workings of the city?"  He raised his eyebrows on the last, turning it into a hopeful question.

Please tell me you\'re not going to go apeshit and fuck things up again.  Please?

[Saccharin]

His smile was replaced by a look of curiosity, and an eyebrow lifted itself above the other (making him look eerily like his brother) when he noticed the path Kerr\'s eyes took before they cemented themselves on his face.

Well, then. He\'d give Kerr something to look at. He resituated himself, sitting up a bit straighter and bringing his knee up to rest his wrist upon, only to be disappointed when Kerr looked away. His brief pout only served to make him appear all the more an underwear model in the middle of a shoot.

Halwyn was deciding which pose to strike next when Kerr effectively doused his thoughts by mentioning Lazarus. He shook himself mentally, like a dog would after pulling itself from the water, and forced himself to pay attention to what the other was saying from that point onward. The foot that supported his upraised knee tapped in an irregular fashion on the couch as he listened (mostly).

If Lazarus was back, then they had some catching up to do. He wondered if the ancient had been to Risk since they\'d remodeled it. The new rooms were nice, especially the- "What? Oh, no. I don\'t think they\'ll ever be ready for freedom," he said, referring to the supernatural populace they\'d set loose from the regulations and rules meant to keep them under the heel of humans. "They need you to tell them what to do." He shrugged, as if to say, \'oh well, their loss\'.

[Existentially Odd]

Kerr\'s expression was pensive as he watched Halwyn silently, trying to decide if the offhanded comments were genuine or not.  It was much like it had been with Lazarus; he could either trust that both of them had had enough of rocking the boat (overtaking the city), or that both of them were terribly good liars who\'d already conspired to do their worst and he was just making a fool of himself by attempting these parlays with the pair of them.

Either way, it appeared he was no better off, but he was also no worse off for the endeavour, and he felt with Halwyn as he had with Lazarus; that he wasn\'t that interested in stirring things up again, nor even in going against the Oligarchy\'s guidelines.  He trusted it to be the truth, for the time being.  They were just happy to let bygones be bygone (and ignorant supernaturals be ignorant, apparently).

He relaxed visibly, scooting his ass a little more fully onto the seat he\'d been perching on the edge of and slouching  against the back of it, his right arm coming up to rest along the top.  Even if he wasn\'t positive he could trust Halwyn, he felt better for asking and thought it might do to stay a bit and see if he couldn\'t learn a bit more about the vampire.  Lazarus he knew too fucking much about; it wouldn\'t hurt to get to know his Vampire Oligarch\'s \'little\' brother some more.

And the view\'s fucking nice, to boot.

At the thought, his gaze automatically drifted lower again, his resolve also relaxing, and he thought of Ben\'s modelling shots.  Halwyn\'s eyes were almost as breathtaking as his lover\'s, his body beautifully sculpted.  He was dark where Ben was fair, of course, but Kerr certainly wasn\'t averse to such things - especially when paired with such hypnotic green eyes.

"It didn\'t work so well when you and cockhead tried to coax them into thinking for themselves the first time?" he enquired conversationally, making his opinion on Lazarus obvious with the endearment he used.  He raised his eyebrows, now looking back at Halwyn\'s eyes.  Finally.  Those boxers certainly didn\'t leave much to the imagination, he\'d decided.

[Harlequin]

Before Halwyn had a chance to answer the question of the Cockhead, however, the pair was interrupted by the entrance of a petite young woman with whom Halwyn was welled acquainted – and she greeted him as such, with a chirp of "Hi, honey!" But her greeting stopped there for a moment as her almond-shaped eyes fell on their unexpected guest. They often didn\'t have guests, and certainly not like this – with Halwyn all undressed and lounging around.

Despite the not-insignificant black patent heels on her feet, Sachi was still quite short. Her black hair was curled into fat, round sausage curls and pulled back into a tight ponytail, except for the bangs that cut a straight line across her forehead – and she was dressed like a doll. In a high-waisted black, bell-shaped skirt ( complete with crinoline) and black, button-down blouse with puff sleeves and ruffled front. She carried a shopping bag from a high-end import boutique and a lace parasol over one arm. She stood in the door awkwardly for a moment before making up her mind and shutting it softly behind her.

If Halwyn didn\'t want her there, he knew he could tell her to go and she\'d (probably) go – but until then...well, this was her house, too. "I\'m sorry, I hope I\'m not interrupting. I didn\'t know we were expecting company." She shot a look at Halwyn. Who was, by the look of things, being a terrible host. Which was probably a good thing. If anyone around here was going to get out the guest china, it was going to be her.

[Saccharin]

Cockhead? He tilted his head to the side questioningly, but then his face came alight when he realized Kerr had to be talking about Lazarus. Cocky, sure, but a cockhead? Only if it was warranted. He\'d been about to say as much when Sachi provided enough distraction with her entrance that the comment faded away like mountaintop snow under the glare of a summer sun.

 He held an arm out and gestured with a flick of his fingers for her to join him. While she put her bags away, he dragged his legs off the couch and touched his feet to the ground again, making it so she could there as well.

"Kerr, this is Sachi," he said, nodding toward his little porcelain doll as she approached the couch. "Kerr is here to make sure I\'m staying out of trouble." His eyes were bright with amusement, and he looped an arm around the half-dryad\'s shoulder once she settled herself down next to him. "But he doesn\'t have anything to worry about, now does he?" he asked, his tone suggesting it was a rhetorical question, not worth a reply since the answer was already so obvious.

He looked again at Kerr, a tiny smile playing about his lips.

[Existentially Odd]

As he was introduced, Kerr sort of got to his feet and performed a gentlemanly little bow in the lady\'s direction then sat once more, watching the pair interact.

He\'d noted the assignation of a pet on Halwyn\'s sheet - something supernatural if he recalled correctly, but he couldn\'t remember what, exactly... something to do with trees was all that was coming to him as he thought back on it fruitlessly - when he\'d looked up the man\'s address but hadn\'t realised that a Sachi meant... well, that.  She was quite the high maintenance package, by the looks, and merely smiling at her had him feeling grateful for Jenna\'s refined-but-realistic ways.

"Pleased to meet you, Sachi," he murmured, looking back at Halwyn as the other vampire continued speaking.  It was lucky his gaze was returned at the end of his comments, otherwise the Luminary would\'ve suspected that the needling little comments weren\'t actually for his benefit.  But they were.  His jaw skewed as he grinned at Halwyn, his tongue stud tapping quietly against the inside of his teeth as he weighed up a response.

"Well... in all honesty, it\'s more the company that you might choose to keep that I worry about - no offense, Sachi," he added as a swift aside to the woman, before meeting Halwyn\'s bright green gaze once more.  It wasn\'t that he meant to insult the little doll, or even drag her into this conversation necessarily, but if Halwyn voluntarily chose to spend time with Lazarus, then his taste was obviously buried somewhere inside those silky boxers of his.

"To Lazarus I owe the dubious honour of even being in the damn Oligarchy - he blackmailed me into it when he was Luminary, you see - and also being in charge of it now; it fell to me to sort out the mess he left behind when he ran the place into disarray.  As you might imagine, I have no fondness for the man, his methods or his manners and if you think I\'m here to check up on you, you should also realise it\'s as much about that cu-uh," he broke off, scowling momentarily at Sachi as he curbed his expletive at the last moment.  It was enough that she\'d heard him say \'cockhead\'; best she not be exposed to his favourite term of endearment for a certain ancient scumbag.

"It\'s as much about Lazarus and what I know him to be capable of as it is being sure that you two aren\'t going to put your heads together and come up with \'The Apocalypse: Part 2\' or something," he finished drolly, his mouth describing a disapproving line as he looked at his host.  He wouldn\'t put it past them, but the more assurances he got that such a thing was a stupid idea, the better he felt all round.

[Saccharin]

Two things happened in the middle of Kerr\'s monologue; the first was that he began to suspect the man had somehow managed to increase his lung capacity so he might talk for longer spans of time without taking a breath, and the second was that he realized the screen that had been displaying a frozen scene of the movie he\'d been watching had turned blue.

His lips twisted as he looked just above and to the right of Kerr\'s head where the television hung, hoping the Blu-ray player had saved his place, because he sure as hell didn\'t have a clue where he\'d left off.

Kerr\'s words started coming back into clarity and his eyes shifted to the vampire\'s still moving mouth. Yup. Still talking. He caught bits about his position being due to something Lazarus had done (and wait, when had Lazarus been in control of the very thing they\'d dismantled?), and then he was focused in again on what was being said with laser accuracy.

"Sequels are never a good idea," he said. The movie reference came to him easily, considering where his thoughts had been only moments earlier and Kerr\'s own phrasing. "It may seem like a good idea, but it\'s just not the same."

[Existentially Odd]

Kerr watched Halwyn for a few moments, realising that he\'d lost the other vampire\'s attention but pleased that he\'d been allowed to say his piece, regardless.  He\'d got it off his chest, Halwyn had agreed that a sequel was a bad idea (not, unfortunately, that seeing Lazarus was, but he couldn\'t get everything he\'d wanted) and he\'d realised that, outside his relationship with Ben, not everyone was interested in his gripes.

All in all, he counted it as a fairly successful outing and his thoughtful expression melted into a pleased smile.  "Well, alright then!" he announced enthusiastically, getting to his feet.  "Enough from me, I\'ll leave you folks to, uh, get on with your evening, then."  In this, he turned his grin to include Sachi, ensuring his gaze stayed specifically on both sets of their eyes.  It would just get awkward, otherwise.

He waited for one of the two of them to stand and show him out, betting it would be the girl and not fazed by it.

[Harlequin]

As the two men conversed, Sachi took off her shoes, lining them up under the table before snuggling up against Halwyn. Her dark eyes flickered between Kerr and her master as they bantered. Obviously the one wearing the attention span in the relationship, Sachi\'s head titled curiously to the side as Kerr mentioned his Oligarchy position. So Halwyn hadn\'t been joking there.

Halwyn had told her the story of Lazarus and the \'apocalypse\' once or twice (with his chest all puffed out with pride like that, she couldn\'t help but be proud of him, too) but she\'d never really thought of it as something that would bear checking in on. Which, she realized now, was kind of silly. It comforted her to know that Lazarus was the more dangerous party in that situation (at least, that\'s what she got out of Kerr\'s rant). And that Halwyn had no interest in a redo. If he decided to dump her, she doubted she wold survive an uprising of the nature he\'d described to her.  

As predicted, she stood – giving Halwyn a light peck on the cheek – as their guest began to make noise about leaving. She tried to mask her look of disappointment as she lead him to the door, but failed pretty spectacularly. "It was lovely meeting you, Kerr," she said, however, "It\'s a shame you couldn\'t stay longer. You must come visit sometime when you\'re off the clock, yes?" Smiling up at him (and it was a rather long way up), she put a friendly hand on his forearm.

[Existentially Odd]

The request - delivered with such heartfelt enthusiasm that it sounded completely genuine - gave him pause and he blinked down at her, then looked almost curiously at her warm little hand upon his arm (in fact, his arm lifted forward just a smidge, so he could get a better look at it).  She seemed entirely too sweet for him to understand what motivated her.

"Oh.  Well, uh, of course," he agreed stiltedly, confused by her hospitality.  His gaze flew to Halwyn, a questioning look in his brown eyes that said, \'Is she for real?  You\'d better put her straight about us, I think!\'.  Kerr doubted very much that Halwyn would tolerate another social call from him and his look was prompting the vampire to say so; the female half of this relationship seemed adamant that a teaparty would be lovely.

He was suddenly feeling intensely guilty that he\'d been eyeing off her man\'s assets before she walked in, too, which made him feel curiously humble in this slight being\'s presence.

[Saccharin]

He took a moment to enjoy Kerr\'s discomfort before moving to intervene. "Sachi, love. Kerr is a very busy man," he objected, reaching out to gently sever her grip on the taller man. He wrapped both arms around her from behind and then took several steps back, pulling her with him.

"I\'m sure he appreciates the invitation, but he mustn\'t feel obligated to accept," he said, maintaining eye contact with Kerr as he leaned down to press a kiss into her hair.

She\'d meant well by her offer, not knowing that the last thing he wanted was the Luminary moseying into his apartment again. He\'d have to talk to her about it, but suspected she would be understanding when he explained he didn\'t want to be friends with the very man he was abso-fucking-lotely positive sent the assholes who trailed him any time he left the apartment.

"Oh, and tell Senan I took care of that bill. Tried calling, but he didn\'t answer." He never answered, but Halwyn still tried. He was persistent like that.

It didn\'t occur to him that the Luminary might not want to be his messenger boy.