D.A.R.E to Dream

[Black Philip]

Apep hadn't met someone for an old fashioned hand off since his days running errands for much bigger and scarier gangs. They were all gone now, slain by Prince McCloud, a real prince indeed if rumors were to believed. Still, Apep supposed he should be thanking the little fanger. He'd opened up the market, and the Sinister Serpents had been filling it. He wondered how big he could get until daddy Zeus came in to set a few parameters. The thing was to fly under the radar, and doing this kind of job wasn't the way to do it. Still, the little rich brat had paid a lot to get direct access and so Apep had thrown on a zip up hoodie, sneakers and track pants. Sutekh coiled around his torso, resting it's head just inside the hoodie's hood. He popped in a pair of ear buds, grabbed three vials of Venom and left his comfortable, suburban house.

He walked to the Zingari theater, the meeting spot being the back alley where they kept a loading dock for set pieces. Once they were out of sight, Sutekh slunk out of his hoodie and hid in a pile of trash, red eyes now on the look out for Apep's guest. He didn't bother trying to look inconspicuous. Instead, he stripped down to nothing, feet now standing on the filthy ground. When his contact came, he'd shift into demon form, and the poor boy would be greeted by a six foot long giant cobra. For now he waited.

[sully]

pat... pat...pat

Royce enjoyed the soft, rhythemic sound of the rain hitting his umbrella as he walked through the streets. Gone was the heavy, humid weather of summer, and in their place was the comforting chill of autumn. The rain, while constant, was light in nature. His only outclothes was his leather jacket made of warthog hide covering his bright white buttondown. Unlike the jacket, the leather pants were made of dolphin and his shoes were custom snake skin rain boots. Royce never missed out on an opportunity to dress up.

He spied the location of his meeting and began to change course. While he wasn't proud of this meeting, all anyone was talking about was Venom. Royce had spent weeks trying to covince the looser members of the Sacrament staff and his frequent lovers to tell him where he could aquire some of it. In some ways, Royce was an overachiever and refused to leave a drug untested. He would get a taste of Venom, no matter how much it cost. And with how much this guy asked for, it was gonna cost him alot. But he had been assured that this guy was the only one to get it from.

[Black Philip]

Apep's eyes were white as he controlled his snake and looked through him. He saw the entitled little rich boy, with his fucking snake skin boots, and his mouthed formed the smallest of scowls. He began the transformation, arms morphing into his body, as his legs shrunk and weakened. His skin gave way to scales, and his soft eyes were replaced by red daggers in the night. His fangs were large and menacing. Sutekh hid in the garbage, silent and still. Royce turned to the corner, and saw Apep's true form, staring directly at him.

[sully]

Royce let out a yelp of terror at the sight of the huge snake before him, but quickly composed himself. Demons were still new to him and their odd desire to scare those they met with was a mystery to him. "But how different is it than a drug dealer showing you their piece as they reach towards the drugs" Royce thought to himself.  He shrugged off the surprise and walked towards the huge snake. "I'm assuming you can talk in this form? Some of you guys always seem to mumble your words when you transform." Royce stopped a few feet from the snake and gazed into it's red eyes. A small shudder ran up Royce's spine, but he fought it back. Lighting a cigarette and clamping it between his teeth, he reached into his jacket and briefly flashed a stack of $100 bills at the snake.

[Black Philip]

Apep laughed, which in snake form sounded like a coordinated series of hisses. That little jump of terror set the stage of this interview, and so now the form had served its purpose. He began to transform back, his body not enjoying reverting through the process so quickly. Soon, he was a tall, very toned human male, with dark hair and beard, and everything right where it was supposed to be. He smiled slyly at the vampire, revealing his own pretty little fangs.

"I prefer to speak like this," he said, putting back on his clothes. "I didn't realize you'd met my kind before."

He had a polite and somewhat formal style of speech, like someone who'd had a proper education. There was a crispness to his consonants that made him sound well spoken. He didn't seem to mind at all that Royce had seen him nude. What was clothing but a disguise from the real self?

[sully]

Royce raised a quizzical eye at the demon's human form, especially at his newly revealed manhood. The demon would have caught him more off guard if he had surprised him in his naked human form. But alas, the beautiful view was gone too soon as the snake man clothed himself. "No, you are the only Scarie I've had the pleasure to meet. But many of your kind seem to enjoy a good scare in these types of meetings. And some of them end up being denser than a bag of rocks." He flicked ash from the cigarette onto the wet asphalt and gazed into Apep's eyes. "Let's get this over with. I don't think either of us would benefit from being discovered in this situation."

[Black Philip]

He was a brash little prick, the stereotypical spoiled vampire brat. If they didn't pay so well, and so often, they'd almost not be worth doing business with, but Apep valued his success over his petty feelings. He'd sell to this boy a million times if the money was green. He didn't allow Roye's sense of urgency to overtake him. No, that wouldn't do at all. He would decide how this was going down. He spoke slowly and with a deliberate weight.

"So you want a single dose right here, how about we add a vial or two for you to take home. I can give you a package deal."

His face clearly showed a preference for the package deal. He smiled wickedly, and began closing the difference between them.

[sully]

"There's always a package deal..." Royce thought to himself as he watched Apep approach. And to be fair, the offer was tempting. For someone with Royce's tolerance, it was always good to have a lot of it on hand. Lord knows he'd probably go through it eventually. But he never liked investing in a drug he'd never done before. And he knew Ari was going to find out anyway and it was no use buying extra that Ari was immediately going to toss. "I'll just take the dose, thanks. But I'll give you a little extra if you agree to stay in touch, incase the package deal strikes my interest."

[Black Philip]

Apep smiled as he was called out for his predictability. Perhaps there was more to this party boy then met the eye. Apep also didn't mind the look of him. This would be a fun bite. He moved slowly and stopped just short of their torso's touching. Holding Royce's eyes, he ran the back of his hand on the young looking man's cheek.

"Very well," he said, "a single dose it is."

He pulled out a business card from his hoodie pocket, and extended it haphazardly laced through his finger tips. Royce had one of his own, although what business Apep couldn't guess. Money was exchanged, including the promised bonus, and once Apep had done his counting and placed the bills in Sutekh's mouth. The snake slithered back to it's garbage pile, the taste of paper displeasing it.

With the negotiations complete, Apep grabbed Royce's hair roughly and pulled him close like a lover. Craning back the young one's neck, he opened his own mouth wide, and bit down on the exposed artery. He tasted the boy, and even consumed some of his blood as he let the venom drip into his blood stream. Their bodies were rubbing against one another during the administration, and Apep decided he would see this one with his clothes off, eventually. His snake skin boots would have to stay home though. Royce went limp in his arm as his trip began, and once Apep finished he retracted his fangs. The vampire flesh healed without any help from the snake demon, a plus of biting vampires.

[sully]

Royce savored the smell of the demon’s skin and the warm radiance of his body as Apep pulled him close. He could get used to a drug like this, especially if this was a possible way to administer oneself. The pinpricks of pain as the fangs pierced his skin produced a small wave of ecstasy to course through Royce’s body. One of the early lessons of hedonism is that pain and pleasure rarely part and he had yet to disprove that statement. He felt the beads of venom enter his bloodstream and travel through his veins.

In an instance his physical form melted away and he was caught in an endless whirlpool of dark red ichor, flecked with striking emerald instances. He tried swimming towards it but they continued to dance across his vision at the same distance, no matter how far he traveled.

[Black Philip]

Apep sucked blood from the boy, imagining his strength growing from this pure breed little WASP. Meanwhile, the Venom dripped into Royce's bloodstream, numbing his fingertips and relaxing his body into Apep's embrace. It was a rather sexual metaphor, the penetration, the domination and submission, the control of pleasure of and pain. It was damn near intimate. Apep could hate this little brat, but when providing this service he gave everything he had to it. He prided himself on a very satisfied customer. Sutekh hissed loudly. They weren't alone. Apep drew back his fangs and pushed Royce to the ground.

"Show yourself vampire," he called out. "My snake can smell you."

Ari had been following Royce for several minutes, their bond allowing him to always find the younger. He'd been suspicious of Royce's prospective whereabouts, when the other gave noncommittal answers about his destination. Royce was a colorful talker, but had always had a problem getting Ari to believe his shit. He'd let Royce get a sizable lead before leaving Penbrook.

Ari had decided to drive instead of just using Celerity, and picked out a sensible black sedan. He didn't want to risk being seen, and he didn't know what state he'd find Royce. Sure enough, his love had gotten high on some new drug, and Ari only hoped the west was far enough away that the other's didn't sense it right away. He could always claim Royce had a drunk human. He was known for that, and it wasn't as taboo as it once was. If Charon, or Felecia or even Hugh were to find out about this there would be hell to pay.

"He's had enough," Ari said to the slick looking drug dealer. "I'm taking him."

"So take him brother," Apep laughed, counting Royce's cash. "I'm done with the brat."

Ari had the urge to break this little nobody's neck, but he knew that was rash, and the best thing was to remove Royce from the situation. He was about to scoop up the boy and move him to the car, when the snake demon called out to him once more.

"Want my advice," the thief asked Ari, sounding sugary sweet and helpful.

"No," Ari said forcefully, casting a withering gaze at the snake. He let his age envelop the demon, choked him with the raw strength and power of his aura. Ari was impressed that the demon's face barely contorted, and he found a way to press on despite his new fear. 

"Hey, hey, hey, man," Apep objected, holding his hands up in surrender. "All I'm trying to say is I think I can help you."

Ari scooped up Royce like he was a doll, cradled in his arms. He looked so peaceful and content high. It saddened his maker. "What is it then," Ari huffed, wishing to be rid of this demon.

"Fuck with him where he lives," Apep advised. "You want to control someone, find out they want, and then either give it to them, or..." he showed Ari one of Royce's hundreds. "Take it away." He ripped it in two. He looked at Royce's boots.

"Hey man, can I have those," he said pointing to the shoes.

Ari simply frowned, turned his back on Apep and began to walk away. The snake demon howled with laughter. Ari let him for a moment, before his mental attack fully hit.

Don't sell to him again, Ari said, as Apep went paralyzed at the waist. Ari didn't wish to cause more violence than was needed, and so he conditioned Apep's mind to have the effect dissipate over time. It still made him feel better to punish Royce's supplier. Apep cursed violently, slowly turning back into his snake form so he could slither home. Sutekh stared at his master blankly.

Did we win,  he asked Apep.

[sully]

As Apep dropped Royce's body in the "real world", Royce felt himself being pulled to the center of the crimson whirlpool and beneath the surface. Inky darkness surrounded him, cutting off all sensory information to his brain. Time became meaningless and Royce drifted lazily across an ocean of nothingness. After an eon of unknown existence, Royce began to hear a faint voice off in the distance. On the limitless horizon, a large, white figure walked towards him. As it came into focus, Royce recognized it as a large white wolf with it's sickly yellow eyes focused inclusively on him. Once the wolf got near, it leaned down and grabbed Royce by the back of the neck and lifted him up.

As he rose, the previously empty world around him dissolved and became filled with chaotic life. Royce was sent momentarily into a state of total sensory overload, all five sense gathering organs screaming in pain from the sudden intrusion. All the while, he felt the wolf moving on, carrying him effortlessly in its jaw. Eventually, Royce adjusted to his new environment and found himself in a huge forest, in proportionate size to the over-sized wolf. The ground and sky retained the inky blackness from before, but the trees were the same white as the wolf that carried him, each leaf producing a radiant, nearly blinding light. "Fuck him where he lives..." A voice rang out through the forest as the pair continued on. Sickly emerald tendrils swam across the trees, threatening to corrupt the pristine white beauty.

"You want to control someone, find out they want, and then either give it to them, or..." Royce felt his wrists and ankles grow heavy and saw that black iron chains now bound his hands and feet together. He began to struggle, frantically trying to free himself from the restraints. In response, the wolf growled and he felt its hold on him loosen. "Take it away." As the unknown voice finished its sentence, the wolf's jaw let go and Royce began to fall trhough the air. The wolf's teeth flashed before him as it tried to catch him, but he was falling too fast and crashed against the black earth. A shattering sound shot through Royce's mind and he felt himself falling back again into the inky void.

[Black Philip]

Ari made it back to the car and placed Royce carefully in the passenger seat. He started the engine, and backed up into an alleyway, making them unlikely to be seen. Once he was alone with his love, he sighed, placing his head in his hands. He felt a weight, a heaviness. He would have to take drastic action to keep Charon out of the loop. Charon's ire had been on Taylor during Royce's absence, and Ari hoped that his grandsire had forgotten about much of Royce's past, however, if he saw this, he might do something drastic. Ari would never oppose Charon on anything, except this. He would earn his grandsire's ire and hatred, if it protected Royce. He knew he had to act fast. Royce had only been on his trip for a few minutes, and besides they were in the west. He looked once more for humans, but then opened his wrist with a fang, slumping Royce's smaller body onto his. He brought the wrist to Royce's mouth, and mentally commanded, drink!

Royce would have no choice to obey. His older blood would sober up his child. It was his very essence, just more ancient. When Royce awoke, he'd be in Ari's arms, but the older vampire would have a disappointed expression. He wondered where they would go now.

[sully]

Still trapped in his iron bonds, Royce sank further and further through the empty void. He gasped for air, but was given none, causing him to chock slightly. Words began to fill the darkness around him, voices chiming in a dissonant melody. "Utter failure..." "Insolent child..." "I won't always be there to protect you Royce..." He recognized them as the voices of his family, mainly those of Charon, Hugh, and Ari. Charon and Hugh's words stung, but it was Ari's that cut him to his core. Despite his uncaring outward appearance, Ari meant the world to him. Beyond simply being his sire, Ari had always loved and respected him, even when Royce hadn't felt that way about himself. The idea of Ari seeing Royce for how he truly was... how everyone else could see him... Royce could think of no worse fate than living a life without Ari.

It was at this moment that Royce heard Ari's voice cutting through the void. The voice was not like before. It cut through the very fabric of Royce's hallucination, startling him to a semi state of consciousness. "DRINK!" The command was deafening, shattering every bone in Royce's metaphysical body. Barely holding onto the dream, he felt his physical body move and wrap his lips around Ari's wrist. As his sire's blood entered his mouth, the last of the dream exploded, blinding Royce with imaginary light that caused his brain to shut down for a moment. As he came to, his first thought was that he was wrapped in Ari's arm, feeling the familiar twists and turns of his form. For a moment, Royce existed blissfully in his fantasy that his trip had just been a bad dream, that now he had awoken and was in bed with his love. Opening his eyes however, made it clear that was not the case. Ari's eyes bored deep into Royce's soul and the look of disappointment caused physical pain to shoot into his heart. "Hi..." he replied weakly, attempting to portray his usual level of cockiness, although it was unsuccessful.

[Black Philip]

"Silence," Ari said coldly, in a tone Royce was not used to him using. Ari was hard to rile up. He was just a low key person, and had been to some degree even as a human. However, becoming a vampire had further tempered him. Royce was the one thing that provoked strong feelings in th ancient. When they were good, Ari was never happier. The way they'd made love the night of Royce's return had been one of Ari's most joyful moments in years. However, now he was furious, and his aura weighed down on his child.

He gently untangled their bodies, never letting his rage become physical in nature. He could tear Royce's head off if the beast was ever allowed to escape, and whatever Royce did, Ari would never hit him. That didn't mean that what he was doing wasn't harmful, and he wondered if the change in mood had an additional sobering effect. Their bond was stronger now because Royce had drunk from him, and so Royce felt Ari's rage as if it were his own for a moment.

"We can't go home," the ancient yelled. "I need to shield your mind, or possibly purge this memory."

Ari went through his knowledge of the city, and an appropriate place entered his field of vision. He shared a picture of the Detour Motel with Royce, before turning on the engine and driving off towards the north. He couldn't even look at his love. He was too disappointed.

/end