Quelling Anger

[pinkroses]

“Hmm, if what I’ve read is right, I definitely got off lightly,” Seb said with a smile as Zoheret commented about Samael’s feelings towards Seb’s actions. He raised an eyebrow as she went on to discuss how an Angel could Fall. He hadn’t imagined that would be a gradual thing – he’d imagined it being one huge unforgivable event which would lead to a Fall, not Doubt.

He mulled that over, his eyes dropping for a moment as she rearranged her position. Those legs seemed to go on forever, as did a certain redhead he’d recently been spending time with. He and Lisa-Joe hadn’t really discussed their relationship, but he got the impression she wasn’t one to get tied down too easily. She’d been more vulnerable recently, with the case, but he was sure she’d bounce back in no time.

He was brought back to the here and now by the beautiful blonde’s questions and he gave a smug smile, but tried to brush it off with a nonchalant shrug.

“Oh, I was more lucky really. I was executed for my beliefs, for trying to convert people to Christianity, but my sire found me after I’d been left for dead and turned me. I guess I don’t learn too quickly, because I went to face the man who had ordered my death, to try to speak up for my people. And they tried again.” He gave a chuckle, before draining the last of his drink.

“Luckily they dumped me in a dark hole, so she found me again and took me away from Rome since I couldn’t keep out of trouble there.” He wondered whether she might have heard of his story before. After all, he’d become a Saint for it. But that was more a human decision than something Angels probably had any hand in.

"Can I get you another drink?" he asked, gesturing to her empty glass with his own.

[Saiketsu]

The dark angel cracked a smile as he recounted a tale she knew well enough. She felt slightly giddy with this inference, never suspecting the possibility that the man before her would once been considered a Saint. "I thought you weren't going to be rude to me anymore," she pouted impishly, suspecting he might be telling her the truth. "You're an awful man for trying to convince me you are the Saint Sebastian." She only half-believed him, expecting to be let down at any moment. Any immortal could claim they were a saint of old - look at that fool Lazarus.

Though if he were the real Saint Sebastian, the martyr who died for what he believed, for the love of Christ, well, it made her very interested in seeing what else he could tell her. There was a stirring inside of her body that she had never felt for a vampire before, and had she been sober she probably would have ignored and controlled it. As it were, there was just enough liquor in her to want it expressed and explored. She certainly didn't need another drink, but the offer made her feel appreciated, like good company. Perhaps, she mused to herself, delighting in the thought, this drink would turn into something more.

"You simply must buy me another if you really expect me to believe that tale of yours."

[pinkroses]

“Oh, I wouldn’t dare lie to you, especially not about something like this,” Seb said with a smile, pleased that she had heard of him. So few people nowadays cared about things like that and although he’d been a lot of things in his life, that was the biggest part of his existence.

“There’s a portrait of me in the gallery, although the likeness, as with so many of those old portraits, probably won’t convince you that it’s me,” he said with a small shrug. “If I was going to lie about being a Saint, I’d probably choose a more famous one,” Seb added with a wink before he gestured to a passing server to bring them the same drinks again.

“Other than buying you more drinks, do you have any questions I could answer that might convince you?” he asked, folding his hands over a knee.

[Saiketsu]

She easily found herself fancying his charm and his smile. The darkness of his sharp eyes pulled at her and Zoheret found it difficult to hold his gaze without redness filling her cheeks.

"Well you see that's the problem," she explained to him. "Anything that I know about the real Saint Sebastian is only from what I've gathered from the humans who have celebrated him - legends and the like." The stories of his devotion and deaths were only ever told to her orally or through artistic renderings. Certainly knowing that the creature before her was immortal gave more plausibility to his tale of martyrdom.

"I want you to tell me something that only few people who knew the real Saint Sebastian would know about him." Zoheret smirked as the drinks landed on the table between them, the server slipping in soundlessly (though quite distractingly), to remove their emptied glasses. The dark angel lifted her glass to her lips and sipped as he responded.

[pinkroses]

“Well, that is a bit more a challenge, to find something unique to tell you which you’ll also find interesting,” Seb said, running a finger down his cheek in a thoughtful manner.

“If you know my story you could probably guess that my sire was Saint Irene of Rome, she was a wonderful woman, so caring. I can’t believe she put up with me for as long as she did,” he said with a wistful smile as he thought of his sire. “She was so old, it was about thirty-five years ago she ended her own life. I hadn’t seen her for decades, but I guess she must have tired of the world. Sometimes I can see why,” he added, glancing around the crowded room about them and mulling over the trial of Lazarus. People could be exhausting.

“Then again, there are those things which brighten the world again,” he added with a smile, lifting his glass and raising it in a toast towards the angel. He realised he probably hadn’t yet told her anything she couldn’t have worked out herself.

“During the Black Death I would like to claim I was one of the founders of the style of mask with the hooked nose – you wouldn’t believe the stench of death. If I’m trying to impress you though I should probably go with modesty and admit it was more of a team effort with some mortal doctors,” he said, gesturing with a hand to indicate the shape of the plague masks with a chuckle.

“There is a town in Germany who believe they have my actual skull, they’ve covered it in silver and drink wine out of it, so grotesque! It was actually the skull of a prostitute the seller murdered just so he could pretend to sell relics. His business did not last long after I discovered what he’d done.” Sebastian much preferred healing to harming, but he’d been so angered by the amount of money the scam artist was making out of murdering innocents that he had dispatched him fairly sharpish.

[Saiketsu]

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that," Zoheret said respectfully at the loss of his sire, a thing she had no understanding of. Vampires were so familiar with each other, even more so than humans, and it perplexed her constantly. But she did understand loss and so based her response from this as Seb continued his tale.

She almost laughed when he raised his glass at her, the comment of her making the world bright flattering, but relatively untrue in her opinion. The dark angel kept such comments to herself. Let him think that she made his day brighter; she loved the possibility of so affecting this dark, handsome creature. Zoheret raised her glass in a matching gesture of courteous appreciation, but said nothing otherwise. Listening to Sebastian's invention of the plague mask, amused her, though didn't do anything to strengthen her belief in him as a supposed Christian saint - of that she was already convinced. It was the discussion and passion of the happenings of his supposed skull in Ebersburg that piqued her interest mostly. It was only a hint, of course, but she suspected that dear Saint Sebastian was as vicious as he was beautiful. She liked that.

"So explain to me, if it's not too bold to ask," she queried with genuine curiosity that she usually had a better hold of, "how does Saint Sebastian justify his existence as an undead immortal and a beacon for Christianity?" The question was simple enough for Zoheret to ask, being so separated from all things heavenly for almost two millennia. But this was Saint Sebastian and she hoped he wouldn't take the inquiry as more than it was - curiosity - and ruin their night together with any potential zeal. That would be simply boring.

[pinkroses]

Seb stayed quiet for a few seconds at her question. It was something he had struggled with at times during his long life, especially near the start.

“Some of the things I have seen in my time as an immortal have only convinced me more thoroughly that God is real. And I believe I have made good use of my time to serve him as best I can, but what’s the point of immortal life if you don’t get the chance to enjoy yourself as well? I’ve done a few things I’m not proud of, but I feel that overall the good outweighs the bad,” Seb said, resting his drink upon his knee as he spoke.

“And how about you? An angel, but one who has fallen. How does one such as you define your existence? Your purpose in this world?”

[Saiketsu]

She had been expecting this question, but his deliverance of it held something weighted that pulled her attention. He was curious about it, more than that. Interested, even. It was darling.

"Unlike you," she began with that same easy smile, "I have never been a human, facing my own mortality; immortality is really all that I have ever known. So I neither had to discover a purpose nor adjust myself to its existence. I was given a purpose - to exist - and so I do. What I make of it all from here, free of God's grip, is mine to take. And I want to taste it all." She rose the glass to her mouth, rubbing the icy glass against her painted lips while never looking away from her companion. Zoheret took a sip, just enough to wet her lips. "My Fall has allowed me to taste as much as I want, the same way your death has allowed you to see wonders your human heart would never have guessed at. We're not much different in that regard." That coy expression slipped back into her eyes, the interest and excitement in him.

She could feel the effects of her drinks well now, a slight buzzing sensation under her skin. Relaxing; her tension was gone, Jake McCloud forgotten for now. She stretched and twittered her wings, relaxing them comfortably folded behind her now, the tips peeking just above the back of her head. It was almost enough to make bad decisions and she began to wonder what could tantalize him the most. "Tell me, what taboos are you interested in breaking tonight, Saint Sebastian?" She took another sip of her drink, thankful that her tolerance was better than a human's.

[pinkroses]

Seb found his own tongue darting out to wet his pale lips as he watched Zoheret play with her glass. She was definitely a seductive creature, such a temptation. Her description of taste was enticing – especially for a creature who hadn’t really had food for centuries. Chewing food lost a lot of appeal when you knew you would throw up after it.

“Enjoying time like this with a fallen angel is already something I didn’t think I would ever find myself doing,” Seb said with a smirk. He studied her for a moment, debating his next words before going on.

“I know a few things your company has put into my mind tonight. But before anything goes further, I must tell you, there is someone I am seeing,” he said, feeling a little odd using the modern way of describing his relationship with Lisa-Joe and not really sure if he was using it correctly. He and Lisa-Joe definitely had fun and he cared about her, but they’d never discussed exclusivity and when you were immortal, did it matter? As quickly as they’d got together, it seemed to him unlikely that she’d mind too much if he was open about it.

“Perhaps I’m making assumptions about how you may think this evening may go though,” he added with a smile. After telling her that this could go several ways. Maybe she’d be fine with it and not care that he was fucking someone. Or she would care and be offended that he’d been flirting with her. Then again she may pretend she’d never been flirting at all and that she’d not intended anything further happening tonight.

Then again, she’d surprised him a few times already, so who knew what she’d come out with?

[Saiketsu]

Her heart was racing with the anticipation of her next question and his response had caught her unguarded. Certainly, she hoped that the night would turn in her favor and they would share a few brief hours together before she sent him on his way. But Zoheret was so focused on containing herself for her actual proposition that the almost-blatant discussion of seeing someone made her brow arc high with amusement and laugh briskly.

"Now you truly have offended me," she feigned innocently. The dark angel leaned back into her chair and crossed her arms over her chest in a resigned, almost cold manner. It was the bright fire in her eyes that would have given away how excited she had become about his jump to conclusions - if he were perceptive enough to notice such things. "It's quite bold of you to assume that fucking me is what I want you for." The expletive was sharp on her lips, something exotic and foreign to her natural patterns of speech. In most situations, she did her best to never curse - it was unbecoming and vulgar. But occasionally, especially in matters of the bedroom, she let one or two words slip, fall, and break upon her partners' ears. "You do seem to love your assumptions of me."

She ruffled her wings again excitedly, eyeing the glass in his hands. For a moment, she considered backing down from expressing her thought to Sebastian. Surely, it would be gossiped if anyone found out, unprofessional, obscene. Angelkind would see it as a mar upon the species, disrespect to the Creator.

It was a good thing, then, that Zoheret had stopped subscribing to that kind of nonsense many centuries ago when she had performed the Sacrifice.

She was the District Leader of the north-west and she did what she pleased. Pleasure was simple and necessary. Curiosity was one of the things that kept her alive through the millenia. This simple, little question was an experiment in experiences. Nothing more.

"Now you must answer a question for me," she sat forward again, lowering her crossed arms and swinging her blond locks over her shoulder, "or this time of yours will have simply been wasted and I will never forgive you." Zoheret paused for one last consideration before she whispered the question loud enough for only Sebastian to hear "Have you ever drank from an angel? Fallen or... otherwise?" Zoheret smirked and did her best to not look away from the vampire before her while her cheeks blushed delicately.

[pinkroses]

Seb gave a small shrug at her response to his informing her about Lisa-Joe – some people would have been offended at his assumption, some would have been pissed if they had found out later. But he could see that sparkle in her eyes which indicated she wasn’t as offended as she was making out.

“I don’t believe I mentioned that at all, maybe you’re making the assumptions now,” he said with a smirk, which faded away at her next question. Slowly he leant forwards, placing his glass on the table between them without taking his eyes from hers.

“I have not. And I’ve not heard of any who have,” he said in a low voice. With the quietness of her words, and the potential tattoo behind them, Seb knew better than to speak loudly about what she was suggesting. He could feel his mouth starting to water even at the thought of it. An angel, what would that taste like? Would “heavenly” be too much of a cliché?

“How susceptible are angels to mortal wounds?” he asked, his blue eyes dropping to linger on her exposed throat. Her skin looked soft, but she was immortal. Was her skin impenetrable to non-angelic weapons? To his bite? Or would they simply heal quickly, like a vampire would?

[Saiketsu]

She enjoyed his reactions, watching the wheels turn in his head as he considered the possibility. She also didn't miss his gaze flickering over to her bare skin. But it was her own reaction to his gaze that caught her off guard. How many times had she had eyes rake over her, undress her, enjoy her over the millenia? Somehow this gaze was different from any she had experienced formerly - hungry, curious, thrilling... Taboo. Had she really just inferred that he could sink those pointed, demonic teeth into her neck and take  her blood willingly? Most certainly it had been idea that she had toyed with since moving into the city where vampires were altogether too abundant -  mostly in passing, intrusive thoughts in her spare time. But now she had broken through her own resolve and decided that pleasure and amusement were the only ways to satisfy her poor mood.

And now that Sebastian sat before her, intrigued in her offer, why would she deny herself any opportunity to press herself close to him?

"Nor have I," Zoheret admitted slyly with that same glimmer in her eye. At his next question, she leaned back debating with a smirk. It was quite satisfying that her kind was so unknown in this city. It had been a factor in winning her the position of Oligarch, and later District Leader. The entire city had limited understanding of angelkind - and even less of dark angels. Zoheret typically preferred it that way. Let the city believe she was Satan, incarnate - it only empowered her.

"Angels of all kinds - including dark angels - can be wounded as easily as any mortal," Zoheret explained slowly, her voice low and full of insinuated sensuality. She eyed him boldly with that same flush in her cheeks. "We do not heal quickly like vampires, or have different forms like demons. We simply do not age and remain powerful and beautiful forever."

The District Leader inhaled deeply before her next statement, shifting her weight in the chair, crossing her legs - left over right - with a most deliberate motion, expecting him to be watching. "I'll admit I have been curious about it all for a while now - the whole feeding thing. I have human staff who indulge frequently. I hear whispers in the halls of my home about the pleasure of it all, though unsurprisingly, no one discusses such matters with me directly."

[pinkroses]

Seb made a thoughtful sound in the back of his throat at her admission. Her skin looked so perfect, that was why he’d assumed she couldn’t be injured, and he supposed he’d just always assumed angels could only be harmed by angelic weapons, not by anything so simple as mortal violence – or a vampire’s bite. A spark of something deep within him felt a thrill of excitement at that thought, that he could be the one to slice through that alabaster skin.

Of course, he’d heal her as well, if his blood had the same effect on her as a human.

“Beautiful indeed,” Seb agreed with a wolfish grin at her comment.

Her shifting legs had the desired affect and his blue eyes dropped to watch her changing position, a somewhat more predatory look in his gaze now, a glint in his eyes.

“I’m surprised you have waited so long to indulge that curiosity – you don’t strike me as the kind of creature who waits patiently for an opportunity to rear its head. I would have thought you’d go find it if it had sparked your interest. Was there anything in particular you would be looking for before you decided to try it?” he asked, raising his chin slightly. Yes, his mouth was watering at the thought of tasting her, but this could work both ways in an ego massage. They would both be getting something unique out of this.

[Saiketsu]

Her smiled darkened with her own enjoyment of the game, remaining sinfully pleasant. So he could be tempted to sin with her. Zoheret's desire for his body pressing against her grew. She watched him turn his eyes on her, a giddy feeling filling her head and the familiar want rumbling beneath her ribs, curling into her lower abdomen. That look... that was the one she wanted. Zoheret made no attempt to hide her enjoyment nor curb her desire for the other.

"This is the first time in my very long life that I have found myself surrounded by so many undead in one area," she purred and finished her drink. The alcohol was making her feel silly, girlish, and very foolish. She felt relaxed and was certainly in a better mood now than she had been at the beginning of the evening. "Honestly, I blame the humans. It wasn't always an interest of mine until very recently. This is the first time I've been around a group of humans who are simply infatuated with the event. So many humans being willingly fed from - it's not a normal situation anywhere in the world. Typically humans should be afraid of the things that could kill them. And forgive me," she answered his last question with a feigned sense of innocence that she hoped he would see straight through, "but it seems I needed the proper partner to indulge with. Handsome, mannered, and old enough to keep up with me."

[pinkroses]

Seb gave a pleased chuckle as she gave him his praise in return. Like her, he had his pride and it was delicious to have a celestial being giving him that approval.

“This place is definitely an anomaly. I’ve not come across a place like this previously – not so openly. Although the masquerade seems to be a popular view, it’s still a lot more open than anywhere else in any time that I can remember,” Seb said with a small shrug. He had come across clubs previously, or a town under the thumb of one vampire when they didn’t really understand what was happening. But this was a different level.

“I’m assuming that this is something you would want to keep private, if it were to happen?” Seb asked, his glass abandoned on the table between them now that there was the offer of a different taste before him.