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Working side by side with Poe, Cai - or Judas as he was currently - made quick work of picking the plants that were starting to get out of control. They were slowly starting to take over the majority of the crypt now but as a ritualist it was a good thing to have a stash of plants. Just in case. And they came in handy quite often if not for him then for someone else. The only thing he was missing now were the bluehearts that had been the entire point of his intended visit to Mora in the wilderness the other night. How could he have forgotten the plants? Simple. All he’d been able to think about was her.

“Mr. Cai? I’ve finished with the milfoil and am going to head into the next room to start tending the scarlets.” Judas looked up and stared at the man having forgotten that he was there. Poe waited patiently for a response, basket in hand. Right..he was waiting on him. Judas blinked and got to his feet brushing off the bits of dirt that clung to his suit pants. “Alright dude. Just stash them in the basket labeled specifically for them and I’ll go in later to see how many I want to keep.” Poe nodded and disappeared. The thrall was slightly confused. Lately Mr. Cai hadn’t been himself and had been calling him things like dude and hey you Poe man. It wasn’t his place to question though and with a final puzzling glance at the necromancer Poe disappeared to start his task.

Judas didn’t notice Poe’s absence until he noticed the silence. Even the vile voice of Cai’s mother was silent for once. Shock and awe there. Normally silence didn’t bother him but tonight it was deafening and left him feeling slightly uncomfortable. What he wouldn’t give to have some company. Which once more brought his thoughts back to Mora. Somehow, it just those few hours that they’d spent together out in the wilderness she’d managed to get under his skin and make herself comfortable. It should have scared him but instead it intrigued him. Where Cai would have tried to run and hide from whatever this thing was, Judas welcomed it with open arms. If, or when, Cai ever was able to take back the control he needed to realize that he couldn’t run and hide forever. Constantly being alone and refusing any and all relationships wasn’t healthy. And there was no way that Judas would let him give Mora up. Not now, and not ever.

A quiet knock on the door of the crypt pulled him out of his inner musings. Who would knock? Anyone who came by had a key and knew that they were welcome to just walk in. Judas could count on one hand the amount of people that even bothered to stop by nowdays. And the list of people who even had a key now had been cut in half thanks to Tate. Fried deliciousness had cut her ritual teeth on the unwelcoming ritual and had uninvited people Cai hadn’t spoken to in years. And if she made a mistake it was an easy fix anyways.

Crossing the room he pulled the door of the crypt open before they could either change their mind or knock again. “Mora.” It was like she’d read his mind and appeared simply because he was thinking about her. Or maybe she had a purpose for stopping by, given the basket of flowers she held in her hand. Either way her presence was a welcome one. Pushing the door open wider he stepped back and waved her in. “Please come in.”

Once she was inside he pushed the door closed and stuck his hands in the pockets of his suit pants. Nerves wasn’t something that he normally experienced, in fact he couldn’t really remember the last time that he had. But being in such close proximity with Mora now Judas was suddenly overcome with them. Nerves. He knew he had no reason to be this way but something had changed. The dynamics of the relationship Cai had had with her had shifted and gone off in another direction. At least for him they had, or so he thought until he caught sight of the shy smile that graced her face. Perhaps he wasn’t the only one.

“You’re too kind sweetheart.” Sweetheart? Where the hell had that come from? He didn’t know but he found that he rather liked it. It suited her. Carefully he took the basket from her, finally snapping himself out of the frozen state that was becoming a habit when he was around her. “I’m sure that I will be able to put these to good use. I’ve planted four pots myself, and made room to grow some green dragon leaf as soon as I have an extra seed to plant.” Comfortable territory, rituals were. Something that they had in common and enjoyed doing, and he was relieved that the nerves he had felt started to dissipate

He pressed his lips together thoughtfully. “I have that relic myself.” Judas waved a hand in the direction of the lowest part of the crypt where he’d sent Poe. “Poe can’t pick the flowers or anything like that but he can water the pots and keep everything clean. Such a tedious job but he enjoys it.” He took a breath, finally. “Though I think I better take a break on the Unknowings though.” Judas made his way over to the altar and placed the basket on the shelf above it and hoped that he wasn't rambling. “I accidentally made Tate forget what I looked like. Fried deliciousness is gonna be pissed I think.” It wouldn’t be the first time he’d done it and Tate was a rather good sport about it all.

Turning to face the altar he summoned the demi fae. He’d handed his tome off to Poe earlier over the protests of the older gentleman and needed to rebind his copy. “I’m doing well I suppose.” He spoke the words softly, the ones that he knew for certain were part of the Homebound ritual. One by one the words fell into place as he knew they would. “I can’t complain though I do find that being here in the crypt can be rather lonely.” Even as he spoke the words he realized how true it was. Cai didn’t mind the silence but Judas was different. He was more social, a others were beginning to see. “I’m glad you decided to come by. I have...missed you.”

“I am pretty sure that Tate is more than ready to revoke my ritual privileges.” His tone was rather amused. The amount of times that Tate had fallen victim to the ritual was laughable. Poor girl. but every time she took it like a champ knowing that her sire would never choose her as a target if he could help it. One day he fully expected Tate to manage to do the same to him, and when that happened they’d probably have a good laugh over it but they both would continue to cast the ritual. Judas was quite tired of his crypt being an open door for the various paladins that chose to slip in and attack while they were asleep.

He faltered just a bit, cursing softly under his breath as the fae attacked the barrier it was enclosed inside of. He hadn’t meant to sound quite so pathetic but Judas needed interaction. He wasn’t content to sit and spend his nights in the crypt with just his plants and altar to amuse himself. That was Cai’s thing it certainly wasn’t his. “You want me to come and visit you?” The idea appealed to him. Maybe he should after all a change in scenery was a good thing. And spending time with Mora was something that he wanted to do more often especially now since the dynamics of their relationship has started to shift in a whole new direction.

Judas had heard her and at first he thought that he might have just been hearing things. He replayed the moment over in his head and discovered that no he hadn’t misheard her. Turning from the altar he faced her, his expression just the slightest bit apprehensive. “I’ve never been on a date before.” Had Cai? He hadn’t taken the time to fully explore the memories located deep within Cai’s mind so he didn’t know the answer. “But I’d like that. With you…” He’d put it out there now and it was too late to take it back. Even if he could he didn't think that he even wanted to.