Sirens & Clones [Castalia]

[Cedric Costello]

CEDRIC Cedric came to his senses somewhere in the sewers. His good leather shoes were soaked through and the stench stuck in his nostrils, making his eyes water. There was a ringing in his ears, his head fuzzy, and heavy. The last thing he remembered, he'd been drawn to the sewer's entrance because of a strange, eerie song. It was music unlike any he had ever seen before; it broke his heart when his heart had never been broken before. Cursing in his native tongue, Cedric shook his head and searched for an exit, clambering up out of the dank darkness to walk several blocks before he realised where he was. It took a further fifteen minutes to get to the mall, a message sent to Castalia on the way: 'I'm late. I'm sorry. I'll explain when I get there.'


CASTALIA Castalia sat at the arranged meeting place, her coffee having gotten cold not too long ago - he was late. The woman let out a puff of air, was it like Cedric to be late these days? She was ashamed to call herself his Sire at the simple fact that she did not know. A frown danced across her lips as she checked her phone for some type of - ah, there it was. A message. 'I have no where else to be.' She sent the text in response as she lifted the cup to her lips and took a drink. It hadn't been too long since she had last saw her friend, so she wasn't in any hurry to leave. Dressed similarly to the way she had the day the man had been turned, Castalia sat comfortably away from others as she waited, but close enough to the door to be spotted.


CEDRIC Cedric wandered through the door not too long afterward; he approached Castalia with a sheepish smile, leaning forward to press a greeting kiss to Castalia's cheek. "I am sorry. I smell. I ah..." he dropped into the opposite chair and lifted his arm to take a whiff. Did he smell bad? It's not like bathed in the sewage. Maybe the smell was just coming from his feet. "There was a... someone was singing? In the sewers. I wanted to know where it was coming from and I kind of... I don't remember how i got down there," he said, narrowing his eyes, hands flat on the table in front of him. "Strange. But... this city, it is strange, isn't it?" he asked, as if it weren't a big deal. As if he couldn't not stop thinking about it.


CASTALIA Castalia deleted her emails as she waited for him. There were few and far in between when it came to important things, spam primarily. But, as she heard approaching footsteps, Castalia looked up and set her phone aside just as he leaned down. "Bonjour." She chimed, returning the kiss to his opposite cheek. "You smell a little less terrible than you did while playing with zombies." She then crinkled her nose, "That is not an invitation to touch me with your stench. I have already ruined this outfit before because of you." Although, that incident was entirely her fault and was not one she regretted at all. After all, she wouldn’t have him sitting across from her. At the mention of someone singing in the sewers, Castalia frowned and lifted her eyebrow. "It is Harper Rock. I don't think strange is strong enough of a word, but it is home. Vampire, fadebeast. I will not be surprised if Tinkerbell exists along with the rest of the fae." She murmured, but looked at him in concern, her eyes - this time covered with light green contacts - moving over his body to make sure that he was alright. "You are okay?" She asked, unable to hide her concern.


CEDRIC Cedric laughed. To all of it, really. The outfit looked familiar but it was only now that Cedric understood why -- there were only a couple of times he had had the opportunity to ruin Castalia's outfits. "I'm perfectly okay, if not just a little bit confused," he said. He felt like he'd just woken up from too many hours sleep. "I do not think it was a fairy. I think ... well it reminded me of the stories of sirens," he said. And laughed. "It's almost ironic," he said, thinking he'd been lured into ruination of a seductive sort, when he himself, well. They both knew what his particular issues were.


CASTALIA Castalia poked her tongue out at him as he laughed, but she leaned forward to rest her elbows on the table and set her chin atop her hands. "Depending on which lore you study, siren are a type of faerie, or fae. Celtic folklore has stories of them, mermaids - which are what I thought of as you mentioned singing." Though, if she remembered correctly it regarded men being lured to their deaths and eaten. It was one of the good things about having a mythology buff as a father, she supposed. "It wouldn't surprise me if we have anything like that here." She sighed, and then felt her lips twitch in amusement. "Oui, the unfortunate factor. Perhaps that is why you were lured down there." Castalia teased before lowering her hand to cover and squeeze one of his. "I am glad you're alright."


CEDRIC Cedric nodded. "I was thinking about the mermaids," he said, scratching at an itch on his scalp and leaving his hair sticking at an odd angle. He felt like he was in dire need of a shower. It was hard for Cedric not to imagine Castalia helping him in said shower -- he had to clear his throat, lifting his gaze from her hand as it squeezed his. "And yet, I am not drowned or dead. So they did not do a very good job," he said with a twitch of a grin. "I am okay, Cast, you do not need to worry."


CASTALIA Castalia felt her lips twitch in amusement as she moved her hand, lifting it back to where the other was as she lifted her gaze to his hair. She closed her eyes and shook her head. "I do not suppose they would have done a significant job given your condition." The woman crinkled her nose again. "I will worry about you regardless. I do not have many I care for in my life, and you are my closest friend. I would be lost without you." Even if she didn't mention it, Castalia knew how important Cedric was to her. "Mystery song aside, how have you been? No more issues with your nether region monsters, I hope?"


CEDRIC Cedric softened, considering his sire in silence for a few seconds. "I am tainted, you mean? They did not want to touch me," he said, highly amused. He shifted, making himself more comfortable. "No more issues," he said -- denying the fact that he failed to form any meaningful relationships. But here he was, sitting with a woman who'd said she'd be lost without him. Who'd called him her closest friend. What was that, if not a meaningful relationship? "Are you doing okay, Castalia? Should I be concerned?"


CASTALIA Castalia playfully bared her fangs at him. "Yes. Oh so tainted by my touch. Such a terrible thing to be." She drawled before chuckling and shaking her head. The smile faded as she thought on his words. There it was again, that concern. "Good... I was worried." She wouldn't mention the minor throng of jealousy that inched her way into her mind, however. At his question, she lifted her shoulder and dropped them. "My father is enthused and telling everyone he was right about vampires. My mother thinks he and the rest of the world are insane. Father wants me to tell my family everything, but as far as I'm concerned I need to be dead to them." She lowered her gaze to her coffee, still not entirely sure how she felt about it all.


CEDRIC Cedric cocked his head to the side. Sure, he realised there was reason for secrecy -- but in his situation, he couldn't exactly overshare. He slept with women so that he could sate two desires at the same time -- one for sex, the other for blood. And then he killed them, because he couldn't be responsible for their inevitable pregnancy and the monsters they gave birth to. He couldn't save them all like he had saved Syn. "Why do you need to be dead to them? What do you think they will do, if you tell them?" he asked. He tried to imagine what he would do if he were in Castalia's shoes. Would he tell them? Would he tell his daughter? It didn't matter. He was probably already dead to her.


CASTALIA Castalia lifted her shoulders in a shrug. "I damn near gave my father a heartattack the day I talked to him about your situation." The woman frowned before leaning back in her hair. She pursed her lips. "Nolan would want to fix me. Find a cure..." She still thought of it as an infection, "And I couldn't expose the kids to this... to me. I never age, Cedric. I have looked exactly the same for a year, sans in a mirror where I seem to get uglier." Castalia collected her cold coffee, taking a sip as she lifted her gaze to him. "It would also put them in danger of the lunatic that created our line."


CEDRIC Cedric canted his head to the side. "...you told your father about me? Is that wise?" he asked. He hadn't met Castalia's father. Could the man be trusted? He leaned forward, wondering if that's why he had an assassin after him -- but she hadn't known what he was. She'd wanted to kill him for Brussels, not for anything that had happened in Harper Rock. "I haven't seen Ambrose in... I don't know, a year. More? Is he even still around?" he asked, but then shrugged. "But I do see your point. I am not sure that I will have told my daughter. My wife would only see it as a further excuse to have me killed. "What about when they are older, and more capable of understanding?"


CASTALIA Castalia nodded. "Not you per say... he actually thinks you are my partner. He knows I have you close to me, and about the fadebeast problem. I didn’t go into detail. My father is a cheery old man, he won't say anything to the wrong people. Has kept the truth that I am here from everyone. Even my own mother." She then inclined her head towards him, "I wouldn't do anything that would put your life in danger." She frowned and then shrugged once again. "I do not care if he is or not. He can go back for all I care." Maybe it was a little harsh to remain angry, but she had time. "She really sounds awful, and yes, perhaps when they are older... Nolan's wife would likely be in the same boat as your wife for my life. We got along fine but her marriage has gone downhill from the night Kika made a meal of me."


CEDRIC Cedric grinned. "So if there's a family Christmas gathering, I will have to go as your date," he said, matter-of-fact. Nodding, as if that were all well and good, and perfectly accepted. But still, he couldn't help but laugh. "So you told your father I am your partner -- and that my sperm has a habit of creating monsters? Did he have a talk with you? All about safe sex, and all that jazz?" he asked, bordering on teasing. He shook his head. "I do not think my wife will ever come here. It is not something that I worry about. Nor do I worry about Ambrose. He helped me, once. But that does not gain a lifetime of loyalty," he said.


CASTALIA Castalia chuckled at his words. "You would, yes. And he would be delighted to meet you. He always said I needed to get out after Nolan and I split." There was a shake of her head, "The first thing out of his mouth after I asked for help was 'please tell me you aren't pregnant again' and then I explained. He assumed we were a couple, but primarily because the correction of 'no daddy, I was going to have sex with him but ended up making him my dinner while still wanting in his pants' would be too emotionally scarring." She chuckled, considering it. "He knew more about vampire in this city than I liked. I had to tell him about me, as long as he kept quiet." About Ambrose and his wife, Castalia gave a nod of her head. Afterwards, she scooted out of her chair just a bit to collect more coffee l, returning to her seat only after pausing to set a kiss to his cheek. "This is true. I do appreciate that."


CEDRIC Cedric laughed, a hearty laugh as he imagined how that conversation might have gone. He watched as his sire got up to get another coffee -- this one she would not have to drink cold. As soon as she was settled again, he nodded. "Would have been emotionally scarring for you, too, I think. If you had ended up in my pants. Though, I do still blame you," he said with a wink. If that had been the case, what would they have done? "Though, it is only human women that I have impregnated. I have not tried with vampires..." he said, still with the teasing suggestiveness. Though it probably wasn't the best thing to test on his sire. It probably wasn't the best thing to test on anyone who might be able to rip his penis off with their bare hands.


CASTALIA Castalia batted her lashes at him. "To be fair, I was the one who turned you while you had a hard on." She chuckled, looking at him fondly as she settled in her chair. The thought was interesting, the idea of the two of them leaving to test out the theory... "Unless we know for sure that it will not happen, this is fine for us both. Though I will not object to cuddling during the day." Castalia added what she liked, taking a sip of her coffee. "I am so proud of how this place has gone. You've done well, Cedric."


CEDRIC Cedric considered Castalia carefully. The two of them did not live together. Daytime cuddling would require some shifting of habitat. "To be fair, yes. That is why it is your fault," he said with a wink. "If we cuddle, I cannot guarantee that you will not wake up to that same hard-on," he said. This was why he enjoyed spending time with Castalia -- it was completely open. There were no secrets, and no shame. Cedric looked around; the bar was dimly lit, chandeliers hanging from the ceilings. Someone else was at the piano tonight. "Thank you. It has been a success," he said. The profits, lately, had been soaring.


CASTALIA Castalia inclined her head back and forth in consideration as if the idea actually bothered her. "At least it would be a familiar one pressing into my back and not belonging to a man who sees me as a quick ****." She answered smoothly as if she had just mentioned the weather. Castalia didn't filter herself, it wouldn't change as a vampire. "You may take a little blame though. Shouldn't have tasted so good." She narrowed her eyes playfully at the man, but held her drink in her hand as she looked at the decorations quietly. She had always liked the fact it was similarly named to her little café. Lightly colored, a place where teens could enjoy themselves after a few classes, it seemed to be the opposite of his. Homey, maybe. "Good, it's in a nice location."


CEDRIC Cedric smiled as he considered Castalia, honestly thinking about the proposal. She might just find him on her doorstep near dawn. Somehow, the conversation they were having reminded him -- something that was big news, but he had failed to mention it. How could he have failed to mention it? Or even call her? He straightened in his chair. The Doppel was probably in the office, right now. Doing what Cedric had told him to. It was exactly like being in two places at once. "Oh! Have you ever heard of vampires being able to replicate themselves? Because I've done it. I call him Costello. He's in the office, right now," he said, nodding toward the office through the door behind the bar.


CASTALIA Castalia looked confused at the question. Two Cedric? She could almost laugh at the idea. The woman gave a shake of her head, showing that she hadn’t. "No, I'm still getting used to my own abilities let alone the ones of others." She frowned, looking towards the office door. "If I didn't know you, I would think you were messing with me. A clone. Who knew." She had no reason to find he was joking. "This place gets more particular every day."


CEDRIC Cedric waggled his brows, and nodded. Costello was parading as Cedric's twin brother from out of town. Luckily, Cedric had remained a mystery to his staff, and to those he knew. They didn't know that he didn't have a brother. He'd never told them otherwise. "Do you want to see? He's a complete copy. Down to the minute details. I'm need to test him. See what else is the same," he said, turning back to Castalia. It'd have to be a controlled experiment. See if Costello immediately impregnated anyone he slept with.


CASTALIA Castalia stared at Cedric with a blank expression the moment he mentioned testing and seeing what else is the same. Her mind immediately went to the curse. "You are going to have him sleep with some poor stupid bimbo, aren't you?" And true to her word, Castalia's lack of filter struck again. "And I am not sleeping with him to test the vampire theory. If I risk it, I'd rather have you to ***** at." But, she stood anyway and collected her cardigan. She nodded towards the office door as she put the sweater on. “Let’s go, mon amour.”

[Castalia]

CEDRIC Cedric laughed. "I did not think that I would test it on you. Yes, it will no doubt be some poor bimbo who has a thing for twins," he said, standing alongside Castalia. He led the way to the office, nodding to his cheerful employees as he passed. He opened the office door and stood to the side, gesturing for Castalia to walk in ahead of him. His 'twin' sat at the desk, looking as cool and collected as Cedric himself always did. Though, when he looked up to see his 'brother', he said 'Yo'. Yo. Cedric would never say 'Yo'. Cedric just rolled his eyes.


CASTALIA He needed a hobby. Castalia could not help but roll her eyes at the statement made about twins and muttered something about men in French. Her hand moved to rest against the middle of his back as they walked, the woman smiling to him as the door was opened and slid inside. Part of her had been hoping he had just been messing with her about the second version of him, but as she stood inside the office, Castalia's jaw fell just slightly; she, for once, found herself speechless. “Sirens, clones. What is next, little green men?” She lifted her hand to rub at the bridge of her nose, idly wondering how much coffee she had that day. Strange was one thing. This was another. “At least I will be able to tell you two apart by the way he greets others.”


CEDRIC Costello leaned back in his chair and arched a brow. “He is the cat’s father. Is that a thing? It should be a thing,” he said. Costello’s accent, strangely, was Canadian. It had to have something to do with the way he was ‘born’. Cedric really didn’t know how any of it worked, or why. But it at least made his story more believable. Costello lifted his hand in a wave. “I’m his brother,” he said, then grinned broadly as he glanced between the two. Cedric shook his head as he turned to face Castalia. “Costello, this is Castalia. My sire. Be nice,” he scolded.


CASTALIA She certainly thought little green men were now possible as she glanced between her childe and his… clone. Every day, she continued to learn something new and as she took in this new information, the woman moved to take a seat in one of the chairs in front of the desk. It was a little overwhelming. “I think you meant cats meow. That is a thing.” She said as she glanced up at Costello, and then, up at Cedric by tilting her head back. For a brief moment, she thought she was being told to be nice until her brain reworded it before she could say anything else. “It’s a pleasure, Costello. Cast is fine.” She added, but folded her arms in front of her chest. “He’s Canadian?” She asked, to her childe and lifted her eyebrow. Even her own accent was different, southern. “So there is one difference. Maybe if your testing works out there is some hope to find out why you have your issue and to find a way to resolve it.”


CEDRIC Cedric opened his mouth to reply, but Costello cut in. “Yeah, I’m Canadian,” he said, speaking a little louder. He then turned to Cedric, gesturing to Castalia at the same time: “Does she always talk about people like they’re not right in front of her?” Cedric just snorted and dropped into the other chair. Castalia had been perfectly amiable as far as introductions were concerned. Cedric just smirked. “Costello is a little touchy,” he said. And really, it was like having a brother, the way the two bantered. It was the strangest thing that had ever happened to him, but it wasn’t the worst. He often found himself staring at Costello. It was like looking into a three dimensional mirror. He just shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. If he’s -- if you’re -- different to me, then I’m not sure how it would help. Not without… well, a scientist. Or something,” he said. He’d have had no idea where to start.


CASTALIA “As you proceed to do the same thing, hypocrite.” Castalia shot back, her eyes narrowing at the man that was certainly not the same as her childe. Her allurist nature shining, as well as her tendency to be easily insulted. Rather than argue, however, she sank down into her seat in a petulant manner and studied the copy. It was a bit uneasy, really, to her. She worried enough for one Cedric, but now there was two. “So far Costello,” She made sure to pointedly look at the clone, “seems to have your looks. But, you, my dear, are less touchy. Costello, have you noticed anything less similar to Cedric?” She questioned, attempting to cool her temper.


CEDRIC Costello laughed. It wasn’t bitter or acerbic, but somewhat amused. “I was making a point,” he said, before he shook his head. “Less similar? I don’t know what you mean. But I am my own person,” he said, like he was sincerely insulted to be sitting there, observed like he was some object. To Cedric, Costello was an object. If he could make one, why could he not make another? If something happened to Costello, Cedric assumed he’d be able to just pull another copy out of thin air. Maybe. Either way, Costello didn’t take up any room in Cedric’s heart. But he wondered what it might be like, to live in Costello’s head. To be thinking and obviously feeling, but to just be some thing. “Maybe he is the opposite side of the coin,” he said. “Aspects of myself have manifested in him -- but they are aspects that I do not show, or that I myself am ignorant of,” he said, ponderously. He shrugged his shoulders. “I really do not know.”


CASTALIA “Rhys, as much as he denies it, has an extension into my subconscious.” She spoke to Cedric, but continued to watch Costello for a few moments. Her false green eyes moved to her childe afterwards to see if he understood where she was going, “As a thrall, he cannot disobey me.” A shrug was given as she frowned, realizing she had forgotten her coffee. Huffing, she adjusted to rest her legs on Cedric’s as she made herself comfortable. “You do smell better than he does, however, Costello. Sweeter, less like sewage.” She scratched the side of her cheek as she made mental notes of the conversation, weird as it was. The brunette almost even forgot about the gift in her pocket until she crossed her ankles. “Oh!” With that, Castalia patted at her leg before removing the small box and holding it out to Cedric. “For you. Late, rather than never.”


CEDRIC Cedric laughed, and looked pointedly at Costello. “Would you jump out the window if I asked you to?” he asked. Costello just looked crestfallen, shaking his head, almost a little terrified. “Please don’t ask me to,” he said. He looked glad when Castalia changed the subject, when she pulled the present out of her pocket. He thought he was off the hook. And Cedric let him off the hook. For now. These were all things that he would test later. “...Late?” he asked. He had no idea what Castalia was talking about as he took the box from her. “Late for what…?” he asked, tentatively. Was there something that he had forgotten? He didn’t open the box until she had explained.


CASTALIA She almost felt bad for Costello. Almost. But still, the woman reached over and flicked Cedric in the ear as it to tell him to be nice. “Do not put him through the ringer, or I will hurt you. And not in the fun way.” She frowned at Cedric. The woman pulled her hair over her shoulder, tugging on it before removing her cardigan. “I turned you thirteen months ago. I don't expect anything, nor want anything. I feel as if I sometimes take advantage of your kindness and wanted to give you a token of my appreciation. Of our connection.” She said, this time becoming sheepish. Castalia had forgotten. Rhys hadn’t, but he also had a stronger memory of dates. She just remembered events.


CEDRIC “Now now, I’m not kind,” he said, shaking his head and finishing with a small ‘tsk’. Kindness wasn’t generally Cedric’s forte -- if he was kind, most of the time it meant that there was something else he was getting out of the situation. With Castalia, however, he would give without expectation of any further gain. Though he wasn’t sure how much he could have done to warrant a gift to mark their one year ‘anniversary’. Still he opened the box and arched an admiring brow, tugging the ring from its snug setting and slipping it onto his finger. He admired it as it sat against the still-slightly-tan skin. “Thank you,” he said. “I did not know that this was an anniversary to be celebrated…” he said, already wondering what he would have got Castalia in return had he known. Costello went back to ignoring the two (probably hoping that by staying quiet and unobtrusive, Cedric wouldn’t ask him to jump out of a window). He went back to work.


CASTALIA “You’re kind to me, that is well enough.” She lifted a shoulder in a shrug. The brunette looked towards the doppelganger and simply fell quiet in thought. Her gaze returned to Cedric and Castalia felt a frown tug at the corner of her lips. “Honestly, I do not know if it is, or if it isn’t… but you’re one of the few people I have left in this life, and I just wanted to get you something.” She murmured before she poked him in the side with the tip of her toe. “Plus the blue coloring reminded me of your eyes.” She leaned back, folding her fingertips over the small of her stomach. “Kika killed herself long before my anniversary with her, and you know how I feel about the rest of the line. At this point, the only other family members I ever see are Kitchi and Jed. And I only talk to you.” She wondered how Delaney was doing briefly, but looked back to him. Her eyebrow lifted at the doppelganger, shaking her head afterwards. He was a strange thing, but at least he seemed to work hard.


CEDRIC Cedric lifted a thoughtful gaze to Castalia. “Costello, leave us,” he said. Castalia obviously didn’t have any qualms opening up in front of the thing, but Cedric would not even do so in front of something born of his own blood, or his own magic. In his opinion, Costello was less than a living thing. But he still had ears, and a mouth to speak with. The doppelganger did as he was told -- whether forced to or not, Cedric still did not know. Only when they were alone again did Cedric re-play, in his memory, what Castalia had said. “Perhaps one day you will meet Syn, though she is the quiet sort,” he said. “And then there’s Blair. She tried to kill me. She’s a little more fiesty, but you might like her?” he said, and then shrugged. The two women were all he had, too, aside from his staff. Everyone else were acquaintances, at best. Though it wasn’t something that bothered Cedric. “Are you lonely?” he asked. Blunt and to the point.


CASTALIA Perhaps it was because Costello was a piece of Cedric to why she spoke easily in front of him, but she was not in the least bothered as the creature left the room. As he begun to speak, however, she adjusted a bit more so that she could properly face her childe, giving him her full attention as she listened to his words. Why did it not surprise her, the women that seemed to surround the man? The allurist set her elbow against the arm of the chair and rest her knuckles against her cheekbone. “I have seen her before, not often, nor lately, but I recall her face.” Castalia mentioned about Syn, and at the mention of this Blair trying to kill him… well, at least it had been a past tense. Though, she still was not clearly happy with that development. “Why am I not surprised you have another woman in your life that has almost killed you?” She questioned, unable to keep the edge of… jealousy, was it, out of her tone. His question threw her off, and Castalia let out a quiet sigh. “I am alone, but most of the time I am not lonely. I have those important to me, that matters. I do not like animals, so the idea of adoption has always been out of the question.”


CEDRIC Cedric laughed. “Another? Who was the first?” he asked, though even he couldn’t be sure there weren’t others. His wife -- ex-wife -- certainly wasn’t a huge fan. Was there someone else he was forgetting? It wouldn’t be surprising. But then he recalled -- was he just going to be a meal to Castalia? Was she going to kill him, before she decided she’d do the complete opposite? Maybe it was best not to know. “I am not attached in any way to my bachelor pad. If you were serious…” he said, referring to her previous suggestion that they could cuddle. Well. He did live alone, and the women that surrounded him would not be allowed into his bed. He had no interest. Well, no. That was a lie. They were all very good looking women and, given half the chance he would jump into bed with them. But it would not be a good idea, and cuddling was out of the question. With Castalia, however, it didn’t seem like such a hardship.


CASTALIA Her lips twitched softly in amusement before she winked. There may have been a moment before he had been turned, but it hadn’t lasted long after they had begun to talk. She enjoyed his intelligence and he had reminded her of herself, making it easier to cope with certain things. The woman inclined her head softly at his words. “I was serious, the offer is always open. You have a key.” She lifted her hand to scratch at the side of her neck as she considered it. Yes, the offer to cuddle during the day time was a serious one, even as she thought it over. “This time I will not rip your throat open, but I can’t promise I will not occasionally bite you if you take the blankets.” The smile on her lips was clearly a teasing one as she fiddled with her bracelet. “We can either go there, as the silence does not bother me, and I know you are fond of it, or we may stay at my apartment.”


CEDRIC “For what it’s worth, that whole ripping out of the throat thing was kind of hot,” he said. But even as he said it he wondered whether it was a projection. Memory couldn’t always be trusted, and the thought of it now? It was a bit of a turn on. Had it been at the time, though? He vaguely remembered thinking Castalia was into something kinky and he’d been willing to roll with it. That was probably why he’d ended up with the issues he had now. If he’d just been terrified and furious like any normal person, maybe things would be different. “I do have a key. I’ll be there just before dawn,” he said, the agreement in place. He then fell into silence, considering Castalia with quiet curiosity. Until a smile slowly stretched his lips. “I’ll make sure I’m clean,” he added, eventually. He knew that Castalia was a stickler for cleanliness.


CASTALIA She laughed. “Well, for the record, it wasn’t my intention. You just smelled so damn good.” She felt herself grin at his words, “But I do have to agree with you. It was, at least until I felt your pulse slow. Then it scared the hell out of me.” She thought about the moment… about the fear that crossed through her system and wondered how many others felt the same when they found someone they wanted to turn. He had been her first… and as far as she was concerned, he would remain the only. At least for now. There was a soft ding from her pocket and Castalia checked her phone, a sigh escaping past her lips as it vibrated in her palm. “Rhys apparently needs me… but I’m looking forward to it.” And she was. It was a comforting thought, knowing Cedric would be there. Pushing herself up and out of her chair, mindful not to kick him, the brunette leaned down to press a kiss to his cheek. “And throw out those shoes. They will not come clean.” She stated, wrinkling her nose as she could still smell the sewage that seemed to cling to them. “If you don’t, I cannot promise they will not be set on fire before you wake.”


CEDRIC The mention of his shoes reminded Cedric of his earlier adventures; the romp through the sewers that he did not remember, and the fuzz his brain had endured but which was now gone. He was now as clear-headed as usual, alert and awake as if nothing untoward had happened at all. It was tempting to go back -- except to do so might risk missing his dawn ‘date’ with his sire. Maybe another night. “There is no guarantee that I won’t burn them myself before I ever reach your place,” he said, and the thought was tempting. More likely, however, that they would be wrapped in a plastic bag and thrown into the garbage. “I’ll see you soon, Castalia. And thank you for the ring,” he said, holding up his hand again to admire the piece of jewelry.