PARALLEL: Battle of the Fledges

[Trillian]

Both blond men listened to Jake's pickup and Ben screwed up his nose. Those lines worked? They were shit. The guy Jake had pulled was full on into it. Too much into it, in fact. Ben's mind turned on that, inspecting it from all angles until Lazarus set a hand onto the small of his back and pushed him forward.

"Off you go now. Get yourself some of that." Lazarus knew it wouldn't be easy for Ben to insert himself into the pair, especially if Jake was feeling spiteful, but he wanted to see what would happen pushing a hungry fledge into Jake's pull.

Ben, shoved forward out of the shadows, had his hoodie pulled up over his head. As he approached the pair he felt a bit like a thug, as if he was going to rob them of something. Technically he was going to take something without asking. He was salivating at the thought of biting down on the guy's neck. He'd been shown how last night by Lazarus but only the most basic of instruction was on his mind. Find a pulse with his tongue, shift his fang(s) to it, then bite down and drink.

Ben walked all the way up to them, looking between Jake and the human until the latter caught his attention fully. Ben's eyes were a silvery blue and shiny, glowing like a cat facing torchlight. Ben licked his lips as he drew nearer.

He had no idea what to say, but he was in their space and they could both see him.

[Black Philip]

Jake was surprised to see only Ben. He figured Lazarus would teach him how to drain quickly in an alley. The kid was small, and far from enough blood for all three of them to feed, especially a new fledge. Jake caught Ben approaching, but was busy snogging the mortal boy, moving his lips to kiss his neck. He found the vein, and normally would've bit down by now, but what to do with Ben? Then, to make matters worse, the human noticed him.

"Hey, who's that," he asked Jake.

"My step brother," the brunette replied. "He's just come out as gay. He really looks up to me."

He motioned for Ben to come closer. If the little shit wanted to blow a perfectly good cover story that was on him. Jake had kept it simple. He searched for Lazarus, wondering if was expected to give up the meal. He liked the look of this one, and wanted to taste him, but he guessed he should really just make sure Ben didn't kill him on the first go. Killing was fine with Jake, but knowing how not to kill was more important.

[Trillian]

Now that he was closer, Ben was focussed on the mortal's heartbeat. Could he actually hear the blood whooshing through his veins, pumped by the muscle that would force that blood into Ben's mouth once he bit? Thinking about it made him salivate.

He didn't contest Jake's words because he barely even heard them. He'd hesitated away from them but now he had a single-minded purpose to follow through. Eyes glazed over with hunger, Ben moved up to them with the intention of taking over.

His hands lifted, one to grab the mortal by the shoulder and the other to push Jake aside. The instinct was primal, he behaved without thinking. He was hungry and there was a person available with blood in him and Ben was going to go get it.

[Black Philip]

When Jake saw the look on Ben's face, he recognized the hunger. Damn baby. He froze at first, unsure how to intervene. This led to Ben grabbing the mortal boy, attempting to bite him, and shoving Jake to the side. Jake knew what would happen next if he did nothing. He opened his mind, and prodded Ben's. It was single tracked, and about to be satisfied.

Ben stop it or you'll lose control.

He wasn't sure if Ben heard him, but his behavior was the same. Jake let him take the boy, more interested in keeping the lad alive than fighting with Ben at this point. He'd berate, belittle, and insult the little puppy once they were done here. Jake had only the moment to think, but realized Ben biting the boy would cause less of a scene than the human screaming. He changed his aura to be calming instead of sexy, and extended it to Ben and the kid.

He would wait and watch. If Ben could pull back on his own that would be all the better, but if it looked like he couldn't, Jake decided it would be hilarious to make him stop. He could seal up the wound and confuse the boy into thinking he'd had rough sex if he needed to. All the while, he wondered where Lazarus was. It really should've been him leashing the newbie. He crossed his arms in boredom. He was pissed he'd need to find another meal for himself. 

[Trillian]

From the shadows Lazarus saw what was happening and laughed. His eyes glistened with interest as he considered what might happen between the two young vampires and that poor soul between them. Disappointment flooded him when Jake gave up his food so easily. Shame.

Ben, in the meantime, was operating on pure instinct. He found the vein in the neck easily of the mortal, too surprised to react, pressed against the wall with considerable strength so that he couldn't escape - not that he was trying just yet. By the time the shocked young man thought to pull away he was under Jake's calming influence and the zen quality of the bite. He sighed and his hands rose to hold Ben's waist as he became meditative.

Ben drank, the blood his ambrosia. He swallowed over and over, the frenzy lessening little by little but not fast enough. The human would be dead or dying if Ben drank all that he wanted. There was no stopping him, but Jake's calm fell upon him in a way that had little effect since now he was already calm, getting what he wanted. Only when Jake pulled him away was he under its influence. There was impatience at being separated from his food but then Ben's awareness returned when the mortal was sent on his way, healed up and confused about what had just happened. Ben lifted a hand to his mouth, horrified at himself at how much control he'd lost.

Lazarus continued to watch from the shadows out of the way. His fledges would be able to see him but he was more interested in seeing how they interacted afterwards. He thought he might have to pull Jake off Ben so he was prepared to interfere if one looked ready to kill the other.

"You can't let me get that hungry," Ben said first to Jake and then turning to see where Lazarus was. His shaking voice betrayed his anger while his bloodline betrayed his guilt. "It's your fault," he said to the ancient, who should've known better. "I could've killed him. I could've..." Ben looked back at Jake, to see if he cared, because he could tell that Lazarus didn't.

[Black Philip]

Jake was happy the way it had ended. The mortal was alive, nobody screamed, and Lazarus was on the receiving end of his new fledge. Once Jake separated them, he quickly caught eye contact with the mortal. Doing funny memory stuff was easier when he could lock eyes. Jake didn't believe in souls, but guessed that whole window crap people slung had something to do with why controlling people was easier when you held their gaze. He implanted himself fucking the youth roughly, and while the boy had no hickey's, he'd feel as though he had one to explain the mix of pain of pleasure. The youth stumbled out into the night, looking weak, but not bad enough he couldn't make it home alone.

As Ben reflected on what might've been, he was able to summon the tinniest amount of empathy. He didn't care that Ben cared about what he'd done. It was something deeper than that. He cared that one day Ben would be alright killing. He cared  that one day soon, Ben would be a little monster too. If he'd stayed with the moment, he might've gained some insight into himself. However, Jake thought too much reflection was a path to death. What was that one piece of advice Lazarus gave?

Just focus on the good times love.

However, since Ben was looking to see if Jake cared, it would look like he actually did. It was gone as soon as it came, but lingered in his answer. He was less sarcastic, less cruel. It was almost nice. "You didn't do anything this time," he grumbled. "I kept you from doing that. Your welcome." He pulled out another smoke and lit it. He was going through them quickly tonight. "Lesson of the day. It's easy to kill a bitch. It's harder to stop. Trust me, I know all about it."

He wondered what Lazarus would make of this momentary showing of warmth. He hadn't seen it's like since Jake was a mortal, and here he was giving it to Ben. It was strange. Jake's face turned back into the annoyed, eye rolling expression it normally held as he waited for Lazarus's reply to Ben.