Monster's Welcome [Syn]

[Cedric Costello]

At first, Cedric thought that he had lost her. She was gone. The desk was empty. Had the blood worked only for her to die directly afterwards? But there was no ash – and that made no sense. Vampires all turned to ash when they died, didn’t they? Was that what Castalia had told him, or had he misheard? Surely, though, it wouldn’t have worked that quick…

It was only then that he saw the way the blood was smeared. The way it disappeared over the edge of the desk, and he had to walk around it to find her. Curled up, like she was an animal searching for a quiet, dark place to be alone to die. Cedric crouched down, his elbows on his knees as he gazed at her; as he tried to put himself in her shoes. Pregnant, with a monster in her stomach and death inevitable, her last sight of a man wielding a knife to slash her open. A man who seemed to have no sympathy for her plight. Probable, he had said. Had he even apologised? He couldn’t remember. It was all a blur. Did he feel guilty about it now? He should. He knew that he should. That was enough, wasn’t it?

From where he was crouched, however, he could see that she was not dead. She had all the appearance of someone dead, but that gash over her cut was pinching itself together. Maybe it wouldn’t heal completely, but it was starting to. And that was a sign; the blood was working. Probably better that it did so while she was asleep. He recalled his own turning, and the excruciating pain of it, while each organ shut down and he practically died.

But wasn’t Syn already mostly dead? What would it matter to her, just a little more pain? Whatever the case, whatever else she had to suffer, she was doing so while she was asleep. Which was better than when awake. Cedric sighed, and nodded, before he stood and made his way back around to the other side of the desk. He sat in the chair that was generally reserved for guests, his legs sprawled in front of him, his elbows on the armrests, his fingers massaging his temple. All of a sudden, he was exhausted. Exhausted, and a little thirsty. Overall, however, relieved. He had saved one. At least, in this entire debacle, he had managed to save at least one. Whether or not she would appreciate it was another question. Was he even ready for a childe? Could he teach her? Would he even be a good sire, or was he too heartless?

How long did he sit there, before he heard her stirring? Before she spoke and he opened her eyes to look at her with a curiously intense gaze?

”I am sure that it is dead,” he said, slowly, before he straightened himself and leaned forward on his knees, head canted to the side.

”And so are you, by traditional standards. You will notice that you now have no heartbeat…” he said, nodding toward Syn’s chest, challenging her to focus, to find out for herself. She was incredibly calm for a woman who had just had a monster pulled out of her. For a woman who had just died. Which was, Cedric concluded, rather disconcerting.

[Syn (DELETED 7911)]

Syn’s blue eyes watched Cedric and noted how he had leaned forward upon his knees as he spoke. She noted the way he spoke and she heard him say that she was by traditional standards dead. The woman froze and cantered her own head to the side as she listened, listened for a heartbeat but she heard none. It was silent like a deadly hunter. Her logical mind told her that by now she should have been freaking out, that she should be hysterical, but instead, all she felt was calm. Total and utter calm. It was a reprieve really especially when her heartbeat before she had died had been hammering like a jack rabbit. Now it was dead silent and she simply couldn’t hear it. Slowly a hand drifted downwards to lightly touch the translucent wound at her lower abdomen and she paused in her thinking to look back up at Cedric.

”You’re right, I don’t hear a heartbeat.” She blinked and slowly rose to her feet. Syn remembered why she had curled up under the table. The woman had done so out of fear and pain, but not only that but because she had felt alone. However, as she now rose to her feet, as painful as that was with her wound, she felt nothing. What had changed? ”Why is it that I hear no heartbeat Cedric? What has happened to me? I don’t understand.” The words were spoken in a calm manner, not frightened, just simply calm as if she was simply trying to find the word in a simple word search. Now where was that word that she was looking for? It was then that she lowered her form into a chair behind the desk as she lifted a hand to her head. Not because she may have had a headache, but simply to try and solve the puzzle at hand.

She felt a burn at the back of her throat, which was not exactly normal and she had no heartbeat. The woman was calm, when before she had ‘died’ she had been fearful and in a lot of pain. Should she be feeling scared now? The beast was dead and Cedric was still here, so she guessed that it would be a no? The hand that had lifted to her head, dropped down to her chest almost as if to confirm that there was no heartbeat. That perhaps she if doubled checked with touch that there might still be a heartbeat, but there was none. How could she be ‘alive’ if she had ‘died?’ Was it even possible? Cedric had cut a fade beast out of her, why was she questioning the possibility that she could still be alive but dead at the same time? Perhaps it was because it just didn’t make any logical sense.

Slowly, she blinked and then looked back to Cedric, her gaze flickered over his form in thought. He had stayed after she had ‘died’ to make sure that she had awaken? Why? Then on top of that she felt a loyalty to him that she had never felt for anyone else. The woman rose from the chair, her left hand going to her lower abdomen. She started to make her way around the desk, but she paused to look at the blood that had been smeared when she had slipped off the desk. ”I feel as if I should be scared, that I should be shocked and I shouldn’t feel calm.” Syn angled her head to the side as her gaze looked back to Cedric. ”But I’m not. I don’t feel anything like that, I feel calm even though you said that I am technically dead. Logically, none of this makes sense, but you had told me about the fadebeast, so I’m guessing that all of this means that whatever I am, it’s no longer a normal human being. Especially judging by the fact that I no longer have a heartbeat that is.”

[Cedric Costello]

Cedric wondered if the woman might not be in shock. She was far too calm, even after she’d realised she had no heartbeat, and that he was telling the truth. Shock did weird things to people, didn’t it? It wasn’t uncalled for, that this would all come crashing down around her, eventually. The shock was protecting her from the consequences. She’d died in a horrific way. Cedric could forgive her if she needed time to adjust, to come to terms with the fact that she was not, in fact, dead.

Would a person in shock know that they were in shock? Would they be able to consider it as an option to dismiss? Cedric watched Syn’s every movement with consternation – though he couldn’t really complain. He wasn’t sure how he’d deal with a woman in hysterics. Not well, probably. She’d detest him, if he were forced to take care of her hysterics. He’d often been told that his bedside manner left much to be desired.

”You don’t have a heartbeat because you are no longer human, that is correct. I made the decision on a whim. You are not the only woman who has died under these circumstances, nor do I suspect that you are the last. You came in time enough for me to at least attempt to save you. Even if you had come a week ago, the outcome might still have been the same,” he said. He was no surgeon, and he would not have been able to risk taking her to one. Not a regular one, anyway – not unless they paid someone to do the surgery late at night in some secluded place, and killed all the witnesses afterwards.

Although Cedric had not had much to do with his extended bloodline, Castalia had mentioned something about rules. They were rules that Cedric later went back to check. Although he felt that he did not owe any allegiance to a man he did not know, he still knew that he belonged to this grander thing. And he should at least try to follow the rules. There was no reason to be disloyal – though he hated to think what Ambrose would do if – or when – he ever found out about Cedric’s problem. Chewing on the inside of his cheek, he considered asking Syn to keep the circumstances of her siring to herself. Instead, he decided somewhere in the back of his mind that he would come clean. Eventually. He was almost certain he could argue his case with some conviction.

”You are a vampire now. We are a part of the Acheron bloodline. Eventually, you will meet the others. I might have suggested you get settled, first. But… you are handling this much better than I could have thought possible,” he said, and then stood. There was a mess in here that would need to be cleaned up, but he would deal with that later. He pulled his phone from his pocket and called the Cocoa Bean. Leith, one of the bartenders, answered the phone.

”Leith – yes, everything is fine. No – no, we left a suitcase behind. Can you please bring it to the record store? Just inside the door please. Thank you,” he said. They would need to get Syn cleaned up, first. Though, glancing down at his own attire, the suit now ruined, Cedric realised that he too needed cleaning up. He was covered in blood. They were not fit for the public. He hummed, considering.

”We can go back to my place. If that is agreeable. I think that we can make it to the car without too many stares…”

[Syn (DELETED 7911)]

Syn listened as Cedric mentioned that she was handling this all rather well and she blinked. That was what had caught her attention. The man had mentioned that she was a vampire, but after the night she had had with a Fadebeast, her mind just couldn’t find any logical reason that would explain the situation any better. Her blue eyes looked back down to the bloodied desk before she looked back to Cedric and nodded. ”I don’t feel a thing. Not fear and not even shock.” Her gaze shifted to the door of the room, ”I guess I should be afraid right now, but I don’t seem capable enough to be afraid. Thus giving off the appearance that I am handling this situation rather well.” Which to her, struck a chord of truth. The woman wasn’t sure just as to how she was supposed to be dealing, so to her, this was her not dealing just minus the emotions involved in not understanding the situation.

A slow breath was inhaled, as she listened to the man speak and it was then that she remembered her own appearance. Her gaze was drawn downwards and she spied the dress which was torn from the stomach downwards. She recognized at this point that she should feel indecent at the very least, but she simply did not. Even if she did walk out in this very state, she was likely to draw attention to herself and she guessed that that was exactly what Cedric didn’t want. Yes, her bag was a good suggestion, she could pull a change of clothes out. She would draw less attention in something less torn up, however he did have blood upon his suit, a suit that was now ruined. ”It’s a shame that your suit is ruined, I had liked it.” Yes, liked, not loved. Liking wasn’t even close to an emotion, but liking would be enough right? Liking hinted that she at least noticed things... Right?

After a moment’s silence, she spoke once again while her gaze lingered upon the ruined bloodied suit. ”Your place is fine, however, I will have to change before we leave. We can’t afford to have too many stares upon us as we leave, it might draw the attention of the police.” Technically, no one had been murdered, she was alive in a manner of speaking, but blood always brought up questions. Silence seemed to fill the room and she noted that it was literally silent. There were no heart beats shared between the two present and she wondered just how she had missed that when the two had shared a bed. How did she miss the lack of a pulse as her hands had slid over his skin? Had her human self really been that determined not to question such oddities? It was ironic really, because her human self had also been determined not to get pregnant and had double the protection.

She knew that she should feel angry at Cedric, because some-how, he had gotten her pregnant and killed. Instead, she didn’t feel anger towards the man, not even the slightest. Which was strange because she felt loyalty more than anything. Which, in a sense, wasn’t a feeling at all, just an allegiance really. If anything were to happen, then she would take his side, no matter the topic. Her feelings would be and were a moot point, because she had none. Which, a simple allegiance with Cedric would solve. It would make decision making easier and far less complicated if she simply sided with him regardless. She heard a distant door open and close, so she edged to the door of their room. Slowly, she opened it and looked passed the counter only to see her bag present upon the floor near the front door. ”Your… friend has delivered my bag. I should get changed.”

Syn opened the door enough so then she could slip through it, wincing as she did so before she made her way around the counter towards her bag. She simply retrieved it and placed it upon the counter so she could fish out another dress. Simply dressing in dresses, loose dresses, had helped get around the bump that had been presented. Now she didn’t have that problem, she just needed something clean and not so ripped up to slip into. So the simple, light blue dress that she pulled from her bag was good enough to change into. Upon changing, she stuffed the bloodied and torn up dress into the bag, while her gaze sought out Cedric then and she cocked her head to the right, ”Shall we go?”

[Cedric Costello]

One didn’t have to be bereft of emotions to be able to think logically. Cedric could almost hear the cogs turning in his own brain as he watched Syn; as he could see the cogs turning even in the words she spoke. It was almost as if he could see her looking in on herself, assessing the things that she felt – or didn’t feel. That seemed to be the overriding theme. She couldn’t feel the things that, logically, she should.

Cedric was forced to glance down at his suit and assess his own attire. He grasped the lapels to open it up, to see the white shirt beneath coated in blood and bits of rotting flesh. The blood was from Syn; the flesh from the child that would never be. He glanced over her shoulder, making sure that the creature was still dead, that it hadn’t somehow reanimated and come back to life. These were the things he thought about, even while considering Syn’s state of mind. The office. He’d lock it. He’d call the employees and tell them it was closed for the day – water damage, burst pipe or something. They would be none the wiser.

The Belgian followed Syn out the door; he might have been a gentleman and turned away while she changed, but they had slept together. He figured it wouldn’t matter if he saw her naked again; though she kept her underwear on while she changed out of a tattered dress and into a clean one. Even with the still-healing gash across her torso, Cedric knew that she was a good looking woman. She was lithe and toned in all the right ways, his head canted to the side as he indulged in the memory of the night this monster had been conceived. It was such a good night, one that he had remembered. Maybe that was why he had kept her number, even though she was leaving town again. He had wanted a repeat.

The question brought Cedric out of his reverie. His mouth snapped shut and he nodded. From his pocket he withdrew a jangle of keys, which he used to lock the office door behind him. He rounded the counter and took the handle of Syn’s suitcase in his hand.

”Yes,” he said.

”I have plenty of other suits at home, just like this one. Some you might even like better,” he said with a misplaced wink. It wasn’t really the time or the place to flirt, and he shouldn’t be thinking about getting Syn naked again when they got back to his place. After the ordeal she’d just been through, he doubted she would let him. But then, she didn’t seem all too shook up.

No, he told himself. He would not take advantage of her in that way; he would disappoint himself by creating yet another hurdle to overcome. With a hand at the small of her back, Cedric led Syn to the door. There was nothing they could do about the blood that stained his clothes, nor was he really aware of how it was splattered over his face from the beating he had laid into the monster baby.

”We’ll just walk quickly,” as he peered out at the crowd, nodding toward the elevator. He doubted there’d be too many people in the garage to notice them. He ushered Syn out the door before locking it behind him; hand again on the small of her back, he initiated the quick stride toward the elevator. At least if he kept his back to the crowds, they wouldn’t notice much.

[Syn (DELETED 7911)]

Syn had caught the way that Cedric had looked at her while she had been changing into a dress that had less blood upon it. She had also taken note of the hunger within his eyes and realized that he must have been remembering when they had last had sex. The woman could still remember the physical feelings that it had given her. The way it made her skin tingle and the pleasant feelings that it sent through her body. Cedric was a fine lover, that much she did know. So when she felt his hand moved to the small of her back and led her out, she couldn’t help but think of where else his hands had been. Hmm, she thought to herself. It seemed that she was definitely emotionally dead, but her physical body could still feel. Perhaps she could instigate yet another round of… She caught the thought before it led too far on, would it be wise right now in her new life to think about such things?

Cedric led her out the front door and she patiently waited for him to lock it before she felt his hand return to her back and begin to lead her again. Their strides were far quicker than when they had been inside the record store, but she kept up with him, regardless of the wound that she carried. How long would it take to heal? The woman angled her head downwards so then not to draw too much attention to her own appearance. However, as they stepped into an elevator which appeared empty and the doors closed, she slowly leaned back to feel the man’s hand that rested there at the small of her back. Yes, she could physically feel it, she wasn’t dead in that sense, just emotionally and she wondered if that was normal for a vampire. She knew, after she had seen Cedric flirt with her before, that it wasn’t. Somehow and for some reason, she had woken up emotionless.

The fledgling saw the lack of emotions as a blessing in disguise once again, as if she had woken up with her emotions still intact, she probably would have been hysterical. She didn’t want Cedric to see her like that and that was why she was glad that she had woken up emotionless. Syn could bypass all the unnecessary emotions and spare herself the embarrassment; another feeling that she couldn’t feel either. Truthfully, she had always felt that embarrassment was a useless emotion before she had lost the ability to feel it. Perhaps now she would be able to focus upon her work one percent without distractions. Well, the only distractions that she could see happening, was the feeling of touch, something which she could see herself getting a little addicted to. Especially seeing as it was the only thing that she could feel.

It was then that she focused upon the hand at the small of her back once again. It was a weight that most would considered comforting… Yes? She blinked then as she lifted a hand to lightly place it upon Cedric’s shoulder before she turned her gaze towards him. ”I would definitely like to see your other suits…” The woman paused then as she tried to take stock of everything, ”Perhaps… I could help you.” She angled her head then as her blue eyes slid over the man’s face as she tried to dissect him. To try and dissect the emotions from the way he expressed them. The woman was beginning to think that she was going to have to fake emotions at some point and it was better that she learned earlier rather than later.

[Cedric Costello]

The suit that Cedric wore, the edges of it, the glance of it would be enough, he hoped, to ward any suspicion from them. They were good looking people wearing clothes that only the well-off might wear. The way today’s society worked, people suspected those of lower social rank to be the murderers and thieves. If they caught sight of the blood splattered across Cedric’s clothing or Syn’s skin, they were more likely to write it off as some kind of accident. Paint, maybe. Or a food fight involving tomato sauce. If anyone caught Cedric’s eye he made sure to smile and nod. Nothing was wrong. There was nothing to see, here.

Cedric had been solely focused on getting them both into the elevator without too much trouble; without someone stopping them to concernedly ask what had happened. Cedric had garnered a reputation within the centre; other shop owners would recognise him. They knew him to be charming and generous, though they did not know that his generosity, most of the time, was for his own gain. If he was generous toward his customers, they would come back. If he was generous toward his suppliers, they might give him further discount, and if he was generous toward the other owners and landlords in the centre, they would feel obliged to owe him future favours. It was always good to have a stock of favours up one’s sleeve. Kindness, whether genuine or not, got people further than obvious greed.

It was only when Syn leaned back against Cedric’s touch that he realised he was even doing it. The hand that he’d placed at the small of her back to guide her to the elevator was still there. Although he’d been watching the numbers as they took them down to the basement where his car was parked, his attention was now drawn to Syn, and the way she was looking at him. The proposition was… well, intriguing.

Cedric was no stranger to flirtation. She wanted to help him with his suits, to change. The night they had spent together was one of the better ones, and the thought that Cedric was now taking Syn home for another roll through the blankets took precedence. His imagination ran away with him, until he remembered what they had just done. Syn was not herself. She could not possibly be entertaining the idea of sex when they’d just pulled a fadebeast from her torso; something that had killed her. And now she was vampire - no. Cedric had to control himself. He cleared his throat as the door dinged and smoothly slid open; the muggy humidity of the elevator, heated by the centre’s heating systems, was dispersed by the cooler air of the underground parking lot. Cooler, but not crisp. Exhaust fumes and burnt rubber assaulted his nostrils.

The car was parked across from the elevators. It was white, a BMW sedan. Although it wasn’t modest in cost, the appearance was modest enough. Sleek, though it didn’t stand out in a crowd. The keys were still in his opposite hand, and the light blinked at them as he unlocked the boot. Somewhere to put Syn’s suitcase.

”I think once we are home, I will be changing into something a little more comfortable. After a shower,” he said. There was no need for Syn to help him with another suit, he meant to hint. Though he wasn’t sure how well he’d go at resisting her if she insisted on helping him get clean, too. He was still watching Syn carefully every chance that he got; she would have questions too, surely. There were things that she would need to know, and a thirst that would need to be sated. He went to the passenger door and held it open for her, gesturing inside.

He might have impregnated her with demon-spawn, but he could still be a gentleman.

[Syn (DELETED 7911)]

Syn wondered just as to what was going through the man’s mind. He seemed… Distracted. Or perhaps it was just simple thought as to what he had done. As they exited the elevator, the man continued in silence. Her blue gaze watched the lights of a car simply flashed as it was unlocked and she stood beside the vehicle and lifted a hand to rest it upon the roof. A nod was given at the man’s words and a simple smile was given. ”Of course.” Was there anything else to say? Of course not. The man had opened the door, but she was simply focusing upon her five senses, especially considering that it was the only thing that she could feel. Her skin felt the cool brush of the night air and while it didn’t make her cold, it was still a cool feeling. Especially considering that she was dead on the inside and outside.

The woman could hear the sounds of distant honking cars and the gentle purr of another car engine starting from across the car park. It echoed in the enclosed car park and she listened to it. How did she feel about such things as she had exited the taxi? Perhaps if she thought about it within the car and didn’t make Cedric wait, then it would be more appropriate. ”Apologies, these new senses are somewhat… distracting.” Another smile was given before she simply slipped into the passenger’s seat. It was much warmer within the car, but it didn’t really matter too much. The temperature didn’t bother her at all, it was rather pointless, but at this precise moment she was just glancing over the things that she could physically feel. Slowly, she leaned back into the seat and rested her head back against the head rest, while her right hand lifted to lightly rest upon her lower stomach.

Pain could still be felt and yet she felt no need to express this or dwell upon it. Perhaps it was due to such an event that Cedric felt the need to say no to her offer. Was it because right now she was supposed to feel some kind of emotion that was the opposite to wanting to have sex with the man? Hm, perhaps in hindsight an injury such as hers was not really practical. She would wait. Wait for what? It was a question that she wasn’t exactly sure about. Perhaps she should go back to her life in California. Hit the business charts and finish off that project that she had been working on. The graphs and statistics were not going to complete themselves. Besides, she had mentioned to work that she was sick and wouldn’t be in for a few days. Perhaps she could get a plane out of Harper Rock that night and be back in California to start work in the morn… No, she couldn’t. If books and movies were anything to go by, sunlight wasn’t going to be her friend.

She ran her tongue over her lips then as she began to recognize a slight burn at the back of her throat. Was she hungry? Her right hand lifted from her lower stomach to rub at her throat then as she pondered over possibility of plane tickets. It was a shame that her phone was currently residing in her bag. She would just have to make preparations when she got back to Cedric’s. Slowly, she rolled her head. It was strange that she felt more than before she had died. Well, physically. Perhaps it was because she had lost her emotions that she could physically feel more. There were no emotions to distract her from it. ”Once we get to yours, I will start to make preparations to leave. I will see if I can get a flight home tonight.” Then what after she returned home? Going to work would not be wise, she would probably burn. An experiment to try later.

Silence ruled over the woman as she thought over her plans. Perhaps she could bribe a medical certificate from a doctor which said that she was allergic to sunlight. It was possible, rare, but possible. They couldn’t fire her due to such a thing, it was a medical illness that she couldn’t avoid. ”I will try not to inconvenience you as much as possible. Besides, I have an important project to finish back home. It needs to be finished in a couple of days and I still need to look over the spreadsheet for it.” Mentally, she was ticking off all of the tasks that she had to do for the project and she quietly noted that she felt nothing. Not even stress. At least she could be more efficient with her work.

[Cedric Costello]

Cedric nodded.

He knew what it was to be distracted by one’s senses. After he’d been turned, how long had he spent at the piano? The piano was his life; his wellbeing. At times it became just a ball and chain, something that he had to do in order to make money to survive. After he was turned, he remembered his passion for the music; he could hear each note with a clarity that he never thought possible. Music was not just a thing, it was a force of nature. It was something that could control hearts and minds. For hours, nights, it had put Cedric into a trance. That Syn was distracted for a few minutes by whatever was outside of the car was completely forgivable.

As soon as she was in the car, Cedric closed the door and circled the vehicle and settled in the driver’s seat. The car started beneath them, a mere purr. It wasn’t long until he was out in the streets, winding through them to the apartment that Cedric claimed as his own. It wasn’t anything grand, despite the money that he was slowly raking in. It was, at least, better than the draughty show box that he’d first moved into. At least he could keep warm, if warmth was something a vampire could ever claim.

When Syn suggested that she would get on a plane tonight to get back to her own home – to get out of Cedric’s way, more or less – Cedric laughed.

”I’m sorry, but you have just been turned into a vampire. I think that should be higher on your priority list than a work project,” he said, briefly glancing sideways at the woman in his passenger seat. Meant only as a bit of fun, and now she was his childe. To allow her to just fly off into the night would be a great mistake. It would be a lack of common sense. He rubbed at his jaw as he sighed and turned his attention back to the road, the street lights sweeping over them in varying strobes.

”If work is that important to you, of course I’m not going to tell you what you can and can’t do. But my suggestion is that you stay here, with me. Just until you find your new feet,” he said. Could he really blame her? He had gone straight to his piano after he’d recovered from the violence of the turn.

”You can’t go out in the sun. You have to drink blood to be nourished. There might be urges that you can’t control. What if you got back to your office and suddenly decided it was a grand idea to rip your boss’s throat out?” he asked, giving only one of many scenarios. This was assuming she could get close enough to her boss; assuming that she would make it through the doors without being burnt to a crisp. Though, Syn didn’t strike Cedric as stupid. He doubted she’d keep walking through the inferno if she knew that it was going to continue to hurt her. He gave half a shrug.

”It’s different for everyone, but I know that I cannot stay awake during the day. If you want to continue with your work, you will have to find your way around things,” he said. He was stopped at a stop light, his thumb drumming the steering wheel as he waited to turn left.