Freaking Me Out

[Idrial]

(Reserved for Saiketsu)

Mitch had decided to make use of his time and attend a meeting at the Zingari Theatre that was open to the public, lingering in the audience chamber, quiet as a mouse, taking in all the information brought up at the meeting. It had been a while since he had met with Zeus, the meeting had been reassuring, however, Mitch owed the demon favour; a small price to pay. In turn, Zeus had reassured Mitch he was free to move around the West, long as he obeyed the rules and Mitch had done an impeccable job. This game that was afoot gave Mitch a rush he hadn't felt in years, he had a new fledge to play slave and it added to Mitch's twisted idea of pleasure. This weeks meeting was wrapping up, providing some insight and something for Mitch to mull over. Discreetly exiting the crowd once the meeting was officially adjourned, breaking off into a dark alleyway once he got outside. His attire was simple, a black, long-sleeved, the plain leather jacket with a high collar was his choice for a coat. Accompanied by dark denim jeans and black sneakers, nothing special. Relaxing his shoulders as the dark comforted Mitch, stuffing his hand into his pockets with an errie grin on his face.

Mitch had learned throughout his short time here that some of his people were unhappy, their leader's unexplained absence left a sour taste in some demons mouths; lucky for Zeus they were few and far in between. It wasn't the information he was actively looking for, Mitch merely found out upon chance while looking for other sources of information; unrelated to Zeus. He had found nothing that could point him in the right direction so far, his goal was here in the city and that he knew with one hundred percent certainty. Exactly where in the city was the golden question. His mind flashed back to his conversation with Nikolai, he could approach Zoheret, or he could approach Ben, each hated Jake with a passion and that would be his his fall guy to get into other parts of the city.

That would have to wait, something squishy and malleable was on his mind tonight, after his meeting with Apep Mitch had something devious in store, maybe Nikolai would enjoy his gift? After all, he seemed like a man willing to chase a good high, an evil smirk popped up on his lips, wouldn't that be something? His fledge enjoying the high in the presence of his Sire... highly unlikely, he had felt the hate that coursed through Nikolai. It would take much more lying and deceiving to win his trust, a challenge he was willing to take. It was there, that sense of wanting Mitch, it was small but Mitch could make it grow. And then the entity that resided within Nikolai, those two souls, demon or whatever co-existing, a chance to make the perfect assassin; a chance of achieving a perfect legacy.

Spending an extra amount of time on the Illuminate the Trail of Prey, spending good money on a white satin ribbon, letting the blood dye the fibres deeply. Once soaked Mitchelletto cautiously lit the satin ribbon on fire, a trail was illuminated, with gleeful and monstrous eyes Mitch could now see every single place Nikolai had been in the West within two weeks. He scoured the West high and low to extract any information on Nikolai and his places of interest, after a few hours he grew satisfied and returned to the area of within Zingari Theatre, now he had a dilemma. Did he summon Nikolai within the city as he mentioned in their earlier encounter? Or did he bring him back to the hotel outside of the city? Ah, fuck it! Turning on his heels he made his way back outside of the city, this needed to be done in private, and he was taking a leap teaching Nikolai Blood Sorcery first rather than Obfuscate. One he hoped would pay off in some sort of trust.

It did not take him long to return to the hotel, once in the elevator, he used the blood bond to summon Nikolai, only this time instead of feeling like an abusive summons, it would feel stern to Nikolai, a softer approach. The game had begun and Mitch gave out a small laugh, alone in the elevator, the doors sliding open with a satisfying grin on his face. A small spring in his step as he made his way back to his room, recently acquiring some new furniture after the damage that was caused last time, a small bill to pay. He decided to undress, letting his clothes slip off his muscular body in the bedroom, his socks and silk boxers were among the scattered clothes, he liked being commando. Grabbing a black tank top and a pair of sweat pants, sliding them effortlessly over his body. He decided to wait in the living room for Nikolai, elbows on his knees, his face pressed gently in his hands, it would not be long before he showed up.

[Saiketsu]

He had been fighting to remain sober for a full two days now, the cramps in his stomach almost debilitating. Every minute spent clean was an unappetizing victory. He smoked cigarettes constantly, cramming his eyes shut when the voices in his head crescendoed and made his ears ring. The blood he drank was warm and fresh from clean sources, though not lacking in violence, and did nothing to ease the torment in his body, the remaining leeches in his head, and the apathy that he felt on a nightly basis.

At first, he didn't believe Laurent - no, wouldn't believe him. Nikolai had spent too many nights on the shores of Awelfor Manor to believe She was back so easily. Wasn't it just like Laurent to torture him with the idea that She was back, without searching for him or finding him? Pathetic. She knew where and how to find him and had never failed to find him before. It was impossible. Damien would have made some kind of attempt to tell him that She was back - he was too good not to. He would have felt her enormous power, right?

"Odessa Turkevich has been sighted in two places: Sticks and Stakes Pool Hall and the home of Damien Evans."

Slowly it ate at him, sleeping with Her ghost daily. The more he thought about it, the less certain he became - which was exactly what Laurent wanted. He hated it. For the first time in his immortal life, sleep was difficult to find and harder to maintain, his days spent alone in bed depressed by the weight of the sun outside.

He was able to resist Laurent's words for two days before he decided to sober up. If he was going to see Her, he wouldn't be strung out like some junkie - not that he believed that She would actually be there. She was in the ocean, he knew. Going to Awelfor Manor was just to prove that, although some small want persisted, criticized sharply by a malevolent Judas in chains.

On the fourth night after Laurent's leech extraction and betrayal, Nikolai found himself in the driver's seat of his newest model Cadillac Escalade, facing a significant amount of withdrawal pain with a cigarette pinched between the fingers of his left hand. The SUV sped down up the coast, pointed towards the ancient's manor

With about twenty minutes left to drive, he felt Mitchelletto's Pull.

It grew like a warmth in his chest and at first he felt like he could ignore it. But as the SUV pushed through the night, the Pull grew heavy and stretched, building tension under his skin until it was compressing his ribcage. Nikolai groaned, pushed forward through his stubbornness until the pressure in his body leaked into his head, forcing him to slam on the brakes and turn to follow the tether out of the city. It was easy enough to follow, this tether, the connection only slacking the closer he got to the hotel. The need to find Mitchelletto was beyond aggravating, but over the past few weeks Nikolai had learned that his will no longer belonged solely to himself.

There was a cocktail of emotion flitting through him as he opened the door to the brothel and took the elevator up to Mitchelletto's floor. Laurent, it seemed from the lack of presence, was out for the night and Nikolai hoped that it would remain that way until he was well away from the hotel, his last meeting with the shadow demon being one he didn't care to remember anymore than he had to - and the one he thought about the most. Nikolai didn't bother knocking on the door, but just opened it to see Mitch smirking at him, both aware of the other as soon as Nikolai had parked.

If Mitchelletto hadn't been his sire, Nikolai may have been neutral about his attraction to him. As he stood before him, the door wide, he was aware of how magnetic the older vampire was, his presence easing the tension in his body instantly. The tight tank showed off some of the features that had originally drawn a human Nikolai to him all those years ago in Chicago; to this day, Nikolai only remembered bits and pieces from that night.

"A phone call works just as well, you fuck." He crossed his arms over his chest as he stood several feet from his sire.

[Idrial]

"Would you have actually come?" Mitch quipped back sternly at Nikolai, no malice in his voice this time. Granted, Mitch could have found his phone number with ease, but in reality, he didn't want Nikolai's number summoning him was much more reliable.

Mitchelletto's gaze was soft as he looked upwards, almost enduring towards Nikolai, however, that intense assassins aura leaked through at the same time. He never left the couch, remaining in the same position when Nikolai had entered through the door. There was no sense in standing, let alone flexing his own limbs without putting Nikolai in defence mode, he seemed slightly docile today and Mitch needed that to remain. Blood sorcery was a discipline that needed patience and calm, one false move, like his incident with Balefire years back, and there would dire consequences.

"You can hate me all you wish," stating in a calm, level voice, "I still have to take responsibility, planned or not. I will teach you what I know, you are still apart of the clan whether you agree with it or not." Half-truths rolled off his tongue sweet like honey, he didn't have to teach Nikolai anything but he needed a foot in the door.

"You are a man of information from what I hear from Laurent, there is something I can teach you," adverting his gaze to the chair behind Nikolai before looking at him again. He was signally politely that he should sit if he wished to know more, whether he sat or remained standing was up to Nikolai.

[Saiketsu]

Nikolai levelled a glare at him as Mitchelletto spoke of responsibility, remembering for the first time in a very long time how his father had pulled that same shit on him - sitting him down and trying to explain what was what. Then, just like in that room in 1932, Nikolai stood stock still and glared at the older man, waiting impatiently for the moment he would be allowed to use his free will again.

He didn't want anything from Mitch - there was no lesson that Nikolai could learn that would be worth being in his presence again, not after the incident with his shoulder. Laurent's punishment for lack of good intel. Fuck the clans and your abilities, he wanted to say. Because that had worked so well in the past.

Nikolai remained standing, his arms crossed over his chest.

[Idrial]

Mitch had expected resistance from Nikolai but what surprised the older vampire was not a word came out of his mouth, silence. Was this progress or did he really have nothing to say? Mitch matched his fledges level headed stare for mere moments, he then flexed his limbs, cracked his back and stood slowly from the couch, taking notes on how he was reacting, He did not close the distance between the two, he stepped away from the couch, away from Nikolai. Patience was needed on his part, beating the fool would not help one bit, one of the challenges of this game.

"It is called A Taste for Blood it allows you to collect information from just blood alone. Discerning certain traits of the one it belongs too," hoping that would pique Nikolai's interest.

[Saiketsu]

Hatred flared deep in his chest as the other vampire stood and he hoped silently that Mitch could feel it somehow, still unfamiliar with how this whole sire bond thing worked. Nikolai did his best not to flinch as he moved, the hairs prickling on the back of his neck as he prepared to fight his sire yet again. Nikolai wasn't fooled by his movement away from him, though he did find a touch of relief as he watched.

His eyes twitched as Mitch began with this magical clan bullshit. With the explaination of its usefulness, Nikolai's expression hadn't changed but he watched the other closely. Cautionary measures, in case Mitch changed his mind and launched at him.

[Idrial]

Mitch could feel the hatred within Nikolai, a swirling mass that stained the bond they shared, and he did not attempt to reach out and soothe him. that would be too obvious and from past experiences, Nikolai did not react all too to being coddled through the bond. All within his own right. Taking note of the hair that stood up on his neck, giving Nikolai his space was the best course of action. Mitch sighed deeply and shook his head as Nikolai still said nothing, deciding to lean against the wall close to Mitch, his arm crossed against his chest, mimicking Nikolai. Secretly he was pleased that he wasn't being a mouthy brat, not yet anyway and even if he did become mouthy Mitch would let it slide for this interaction. This was an experiment and Mitch needed to stay calm to get the results he wanted from Nikolia.

"There are other abilities I can teach you but this one is more simple to learn," trying to keep the conversation going. He did not raise his voice at Nikolai and the gaze he gave him was inviting.

He wondered if he would still remain silent or would he take a leap of faith and start talking? Perhaps the last beating really did put a choke chain on his own tongue? No matter. Tonight Nikolai would see a one-eighty in Mitch, however unbeknownst to Nikolai it was all a game, nothing was real. Being kind was not in Mitch's vocabulary, but he had fooled thousands over his long undead life and Nikolai would be no different.

[Saiketsu]

With a sneer, he shook his head. "Yeah? And whose blood am I going to use, huh? Yours? One of those terrified little girls you both love so much? Laurent's?" He scoffed at the idea, leeches hissing angrily in his mind but offering no other resistance. Like I want to find out anything else about any of you. He looked away from his sire out into the greater part of the room.

[Idrial]

Mitch had would have thought Nikolai would have had more bark to his sentence, his statement wasn't entirely correct, sometimes he had to use his own blood, but he let it slide and he arched an eyebrow at Nikolai. Maybe he needed to be shown what his blood was capable of, allowing Nikolai to look away from Mitch for now. He needed a mortal, making it known that he shifting positions, no longer leaning against the wall he made his way towards the phone in the kitchen, his fingers dancing over the numbers from memory.

"Send up a mortal boy. Anyone will do," hanging up the phone. Remaining in the kitchen, for now, this was might pique Nikolai's interest, his fingers tapping the kitchen counter deep in thought.

Several minutes later a small knock came at the door and Mitch sauntered his way to the door and yanking it open. There stood a petite and gorgeous blonde with blue eyes stepped through the door, the mortal locked eyes with Nikolai soon as Mitch shut the door.

"Twice the fun tonight?" Wrapping himself around Nikolai and giving him a wink. The statement was almost laughable but Mitch kept his composure.

"Can you stand in the far corner?" Mitch barked nicely. The statement surprised the mortal, letting go of Nikolai and standing in the far corner of the room.

Mitch be positioned himself on the other far side of the room, the mortal looked confused, then the show and tell began. A major artery opened up in the mortal's neck, blood spraying in a thin line across the room and into Mitchelletto's open maw, you could hear the pressure behind the blood that poured into Mitchelletto's hungry mouth, letting him feed twice as fast. The boy was subdued as if in the throes of an actual vampire bite, after several seconds the wound closed up and the blonde regained some movement. He wobbled a little from the blood loss and a little shaken from what had just happened. Mitch made his way over to the mortal, helping him out the door. Thanking him in the process then shutting the door, leaving the two vampires alone again.

"That was called Theft of Vitae, its range is longer than just across a room and one day you can obtain this power. Do you want to see more?" Mitch made his way into the doorway of the kitchen, letting Nikolai have his space.

[Saiketsu]

He remained suspicious of Mitchelletto even after the phone call and the arrival of the human. When the boy reached out and touched him, Nikolai pushed him away coldly, tempted in his discomfort of the entire scenario to break his hands for good measure. So when the kid lost interest and followed Mitchelletto's orders instead, Nikolai rolled his eyes and watched only because he had to, thinking that it was going to be some kind of obnoxious sexual ritual. But fuck, was he wrong.

There was a vibration in the air that he could feel coming from Mitch just before the human's neck burst open. Nikolai staggered as it happened, the unexpected wound not spraying all over the place as he expected, but following a contained path towards Mitch. He watched in fascinated horror as his sire opened his mouth wide and received it all, every drop, from across the dingy little suite. Not a drop was wasted, flying through the air and when the boy wavered, Mitch was there to escort him out before Nikolai could properly process what the fuck had actually just happened. His cockiness dropped and he stared after the boy with wide-eyed shock.

"How the fuck did you just do that?" Nikolai demanded, taking a step backwards away from his sire, veins pumped full of fear and amazement.

[Idrial]

"Sorcerous pressure is the proper term, our blood sorcery allows us to do far more than just that little trick," he said non-chalanetly. Studying Nikolai's face and Mitch liked what he had seen and liked what he felt through the bond. Amazement. The fear that Nikolai also felt was to be expected, but he did not think a reaction of amazement would be there too. Mitch was about as close to happy that you would get to an old evil fuck and he decided to show Nikolai more, that one was an at-will command, this one needed a ritual and his blood.

"Wait here," asking rather than commanding it through the bond, striding off into the bedroom only to appear moments later.

He had a small mirror in his hand, getting close to Nikolai but not too close, he didn't want to scare away that feeling of amazement, only to show him the mirror in his right hand, he then bit down into the fleshy part of his hand, blood pooling over the mirror. Mitch began to chant an incantation in a language that Nikolai would not understand, then he broke the mirror but he held onto a piece in his hand and achieved an incorporeal state right in front of Nikolai, a ghost-like image. Floating away from Nikolai he went through tables, chairs and even the wall and back.

"This one is a ritual known as Incorporeal Passage. You can still speak and see in this form but you can't interact physically with the material world. You can't change directions when you pass through walls and you can't return to the material world inside solid matter, you could be intombed in a wall or have an ashtray through your arm," he then dropped the mirror shard and came to be a solid being once again.

"You're also immune to all damage. The sun, fire, arcane weapons and spells that damage spirits will still hurt you," kicking the broken mirror under the rug. Let the maid get it.

Mitch leaned against the wall again and waited for a reply or statement or whatever was to about to come out of Nikolai's mouth, he felt good about the progress he was making, watching his fledges face and focusing on what he felt through the bond, hidden from Nikolai.

[Saiketsu]

Somehow during Mitch's ritual, he had flattened himself against the wall, stepping farther away from his sire as he carried out these strange and uncanny abilities. Nikolai had the potential to do this too? Chains rattled in his ears, a growling building in the back of his head. The leeches, however, remained quiet, their whisperings just beyond his comprehension. He watched the display of magic with suspicion, disbelief, and shock, his lips glued together to prevent him from giving in to what Mitch wanted. It was a game, all of this. There was some ulterior motive here behind Mitch's lesson and Nikolai couldn't quite figure it out.

He had lived nearly eighty years without Mitchelletto showing an ounce of acknowledgement of - let alone interest - him. Why all of a sudden? The chance meeting at the hotel under Laurent's watch? Sudden fatherly acknowledgements of some sort of pride? No, that couldn't be it... There was something, some reason that Nikolai couldn't put his finger on. He had said himself he had no problem killing his own fledges. Why had he escaped three times now? Because of Laurent? Doubtful.

"Why," he breathed with a voice barely audible. Why was he capable of these things? Why did he want Nikolai to learn them? Why should he care about him? Why now? Why were these things possible? Why... Mitchelletto could take his pick as to what Nikolai meant - he wanted all of the answers anyway. His expression was that of a man who wanted to understand what he saw, but couldn't quite trust the answer. There was nonetheless a glimmer of curiosity hidden deep within that vibrated gently through their connection without Nikolai's consent.

[Idrial]

"It is your right to know about your lineage even if you want nothing to do with it," he stated simply. Aware of everything Nikolai was feeling but he did not show it on his face.

"You would have died in the clan had you been embraced in Alumut I did not lie about that, Assamites are not kind to insubordination among our ranks. Rebellious clan members are as rare as green rubies and they either submit or they do not last long," showing some insight into Mitch's cruel behaviour, it was learned from his own Sire and he was not looking for any sympathy. There was truth to his words that pooled out of his mouth, laced with a serious tone.

"It is true I have killed my own fledges, but they failed their task to become a full-fledged member and the price is death. Some pass others do not." Mitch was proof that some did survive the gruelling trials of the clan.

"You have the right to choose. And as an outsider instead of death, like I had to face. I will just stop teaching you and send you on your way," the older vampire seemed reasonable towards Nikolai, willing to work with this strange arrangement.

However his true reasoning was far more sinister than Nikolai could ever imagine, however the formula to achieve that goal was a bit of a hit and miss. Mitch found out quickly that he could not use love or loyalty, Nikolai had none for him, well at least not yet anyway. That left faith and brainwashing with fear being the surprise component, too much and Nikolai freaked out, not enough and it didn't seem to hold his interest. Proud he had not broken his composer, so far.

[Saiketsu]

Nikolai, with all of his hatred and fury and suspicion, felt that draw to Mitchelletto, some inescapable pull in his blood towards him. Not an active thing, not right now, but something that linked them together away from others, something that must have always been there before but distance - and ignorance - had prevented him from recognizing the other vampire for what he was. He maintained his distance from the other vampire despite the discomfort of it.

His first instinct had been to question whether Mitchelletto was truly his sire - one brief night of fucking and drinking and overdosing was really all it took to create another? The vampire was gone when he had awoken on the hotel room floor in a dried puddle his own vomit, his throat aching and senses reeling. He remembered smoking a cigarette and dry heaving in the toilet for what felt like hours before the thirst drove him out to the lobby, where he sucked the reception desk help dry and took off into the night, terrified.

There had been so much that he hadn't known and had to discover on his own - how much to drink, how to hide bodies, how to avoid sunlight, how to contain himself around humans, how to not kill them in the first place... Mitch had been a distant thought after those first few weeks as he put as much distance between himself and Chicago as he could geographically get within the States. Now he was older, established, without thought of the man who created him nearly one hundred years ago, yet face-to-face with him and all of the unanswered questions that had escaped him.

A flash of indecision flickered through him. He wanted nothing more to do with Mitchelletto than he absolutely had to have. The only person he hated more than his sire, in fact, was the demon on the fourth floor who played him like a puppet. But these powers... Nikolai thought back to the past few weeks of torture and insult, mental slavery. Would he have been able to fight Laurent better with these skills in his arsenal?

The leeches seized him by the throat, paralyzing him until the thought passed, whispering in his ears about his servitude, threatening to send him to his knees in front of his sadistic sire, reminding him of all the things he was good at there. He stiffened, muscles tightening in his chest and a grunt escaping pressed lips. When he was released after a few moments of pressure, the leeches sliding back into the deep flesh of his brain, Nikolai asked the one question that bothered him more than any others.

"Why do you have the ability to call me back to you?" He glowered at his sire.

[Idrial]

Mitch was aware of the indecision that arose from Nikolai and that pleased him greatly, that was short-lived by the leeches that plagued his sanity, this would not do. Nikolai needed concentration. What to do? He wondered if perhaps through their blood bond he could lessen the leeches, a full removal if possible at all could be viewed as suspicious. It was a hard dilemma and one he could not solve right now, his fledge was talking and that is what was needed, to keep the conversation going.

"Every Sire does, if you embraced someone of your blood you would have the same ability. Comes from the whole I'm your maker yada yada," he was sure Nikolai got the point.

His composure was inviting towards Nikolai, free from the restraint of asking whatever question he wished. His shoulders sagged in a relaxed position, shifting his weight and getting more comfortable against the wall. Mitch still didn't reach out through the bond but he was aware of everything Nikolai was still feeling.