He laughed quietly. "You're too kind, Bryce. They're really nothing special, just pictures of the sunset." His hands slid across the paper as he spoke, lingering over the spare drawings in the corners. An eye smudged away under his fingertips, the rough curves of a profile. His skin was stained black when he pulled away. "And anyways, I only make enough for me and occasionally a friend."
He shrugged, rubbing at the back of his neck with a lazy smile, "Well I think they're special." He replied. Maybe it was just the fact that he hadn't been able to enjoy a sunset for years. Maybe it was because he really did think they were special, but Bryce still couldn't help but admire the work, "It's up to you anyway, if it's not your thing, selling them, then that's okay."
Cyprus smiled and ducked his head a little, hair falling around his face until he brushed it back. "Well thank you for your approval, then." It was ridiculous, but Bryce's opinion had him relaxing, leaning back against the couch. "If I ever need some money I'm sure I'll think back to this conversation, but for now the only person I'll be loaning them out to is you."
"And I swear I'll bring them back in one piece once I've finished with them," He said, placing a hand on his chest with a charming smile, "I wouldn't even dream of letting anything bad happen to them." He knew how precious an artists work was to them. And from what Cyprus had hold him Bryce new he was going to take extra care of the drawings.
Cyprus laughed and reached over to give Bryce a gentle nudge on the shoulder. "You're cute, but there's no need to get so dramatic." Something in him went a little soft around the edges. "I know you'll take care of them. Just as well as you'd take care of anything you made." It was startling to realize how much he trusted Bryce after a couple hours of companionship.
Bryce went a very light red, looking down at his lap almost shyly, "Well, I just wanted to reinforce that," He said, running a hand through his hair, "You know.. being a full blood and all, you have no reason to trust me so was just- making sure you knew I wouldn't ruin them."
Cyprus laughed with him, glancing away from Bryce with a matching flush. Of course, his was quite a bit warmer since he had a little blood of his own still pumping through his body. "Trust me, I know. Normally I wouldn't want anything to do with your sort, but… well, from what I've seen you're a lot better than your elders."
He flushed a little darker, "Ah well, I might be a bastard but I ain't as bad as them," He sighed. Bryce knew how bad his superiors could be and made sure he never became as bad as them. Even if sometimes he said and did some things that would get him in trouble he would never go too far, "And I'll make sure that never happens."
Cyprus laughed quietly and slung an arm across Bryce's shoulder, pulling him in so he could ruffle his hair. There was a playful grin on his face when he let the other man go, eyes creased at the edges and dimples barely visible on his cheeks. "You don't need to get so serious, kid. I know you're not an asshole and anyways, god knows why, but I trust you."
"Woah hey hey! Don't touch the hair!" He batted the other's hand away playfully, a fake pout gracing his lips, "I'll have you know that early-morning-just-woke-up hair is the best kind of hair." Of course he didn't practically care at the moment, not when it was just Cyprus, anyway, "Trusting me might just be the worst decision you might ever make but thanks."
Cyprus laughed and let Bryce smack his hand away, content to leave an arm half draped across his shoulders instead. "Alright, alright, no need to get so defensive." He had to admit, the whole just woke up look worked for Bryce. It was sort of cute, the way his hair fell into his eyes and everything about him had a soft, rumpled quality. "It's just hair, you can have it good as new tomorrow. And I'm sure you'll be a good investment. I've become a pretty good judge of character in my old age."
Bryce wouldn't admit it, but he leaned into the other just a little with a soft laugh, "But if my hair looks good now it might not look good tomorrow. You can't recreate this look twice." He shrugged with a smile, "Aye, if you say you're a good judge of character then I'll believe you old man."
"Well it doesn't look good anymore, so I think you're just going to be disappointed." He smiled over at Bryce, strangely carefree as he slowly eased the other vamp closer. "And you're not allowed to call me that, I'm not actually that old. I bet whoever sired you has millennia on me, easy."
"Well if it doesn't look good that;s because you ruined how good it did look," He replied, sticking his tongue out at Cyrpus for a brief moment. He let the older vamp move him closer, not putting up a protest, "Make me. Sure, you're younger then my sire and some other vamps I know but you're still older then me so it does make you an old man."
(Not gonna be on until monday, sry!)
(All good :) See you then)
"Well if it doesn't look good that;s because you ruined how good it did look," He replied, sticking his tongue out at Cyrpus for a brief moment. He let the older vamp move him closer, not putting up a protest, "Make me. Sure, you're younger then my sire and some other vamps I know but you're still older then me so it does make you an old man."
Cyprus laughed quietly. "Don't flatter yourself, kid. It wasn't all that great to begin with, you've just got a pretty enough face to pull off something messy. And don't tempt me." His tone was lazy and playful, completely nonthreatening as he settled a few scant inches from Bryce's side. "I know your sire hasn't taught you any manners but that doesn't mean I won't."
Bryce went a light red however he smirked nonetheless, "I have manners thank you very much. You're just upset that I made a very valid comment about the difference in ages." He shrugged a shoulder, "So go one then, teach me how to show manners if it gets on your nerves that much."
Cyprus snorted quietly. "Well first of all, it's polite not to saunter into a club full of people who want nothing to do with you." He bumped his shoulder against Bryce's with a playful smile. "And second of all it's polite to actually respect your elders. Which I very much am, as you're so helpfully pointing out."
(Sorry for disappearing! Was very sick and then went right back to work)
Bryce pouted, "I only went into the club because I was with thin-blood thank you," He said, "Otherwise I wouldn't have gone in." For once he wasn't lying about that. The vamps he were with wanted to go into the club and he wasn't going to say no, "How is calling you an old man being disrespectful? I'm just stating a fact, not saying it's a bad thing."
(It's fine!! Take all the time you need to respond, don't worry about having to take a couple days off)
"It's disrespectful because I'm not old." He sighed quietly, on the playful side on exasperated as he pushed his hair away from his face. "I'm barely full fledged, you know. In a few dozen years you'll be every bit as strong as I am and you won't even be done learning from your sire yet, you being a baby doesn't make me old."
"I'm not a baby!" Bryce huffed, the pout deepening ever so slightly, "If I was human I'd be middle aged, grey hairs and all." He idly drew patterns on the other male's leg as he sighed, "Fine, you're not old, happy now?" If he was being honest he was feeling a little guilty for calling Cyprus old, but he wouldn't admit it to the older man.
"Yes, but I think it's very obvious that you're not human." He did his best to lean into the touch covertly as he argued, surprisingly comforted by Bryce's presence. Normally he couldn't stand pure-bloods, but Bryce was quickly subverting most of the pitfalls of his kind. Not arrogant, or rude, or even superior, just a little bit arrogant about the way of the world. "So however old you'd be in human years doesn't matter, so you are a baby. And I am, thank you."
He felt his cheeks heat ever so slightly but Bryce ignored it, focusing on the patterns he was making on Cyprus' leg. It was strange to be here and be comfortable and not have to worry for five seconds. Bryce was honestly surprised Cyprus hadn't told him to leave yet, "Yeah, you're welcome.." He mumbled, "Still not a baby though but suppose you know me then me."
Cyprus rolled his eyes and made sure Bryce could see it. "Oh, of course." The sarcasm was obvious, but not very pointed. It didn't take Cyprus long to drop the issue. "Maybe I am getting old. Anyone under fifty seems so… I don't know, so new." He was no wordsmith, but the phrasing seemed alright as he rolled it over in his head. Fledglings these days were so strange to him, with their still-rosy cheeks and their boundless excitement. Eternity hadn't caught up to them yet. "And feel free to interpret that as me getting grouchy in my old age."
Bryce chuckled softly, "Oh I am," He sighed, "I don't wanna get old… like, I know it's gonna happen, and you know, being a vamp and all it'll take longer to age but," He shrugged a shoulder, "Just never liked the concept. Maybe it was something to do with aging itself but the older you get the more responsibilities and the less opportunities you get."
Cyprus laughed quietly. He was older than most of his sort by a wide margin, and most days it seemed like those decades of extra experience were the only things keeping him alive. When he started embracing thinblood society, his society, he'd thought he'd finally stop outliving people he cared about. He was wrong. "I don't know. I definitely don't like… parts of it. But then again, your sort really doesn't grow old." His fingers slid through his hair. The silver in it gleamed in the light. "You'll be young forever, isn't that what they told you when you first woke up like this?"
(kinda love going back into lockdown for the start of the summer holidays)
"Physically, yes, I won't age. Well maybe a little, but not for a very long time." If he'd still been human, normal, he'd have grey hairs like Cyprus by now. In the eyes of every other vampire, he was a child. Bryce wouldn't be an adult for a couple hundred years, "I'll still feel old mentally, doesn't everybody at that stage? If you live for centuries… it's gonna catch up to you sooner or later."
Cyprus huffed out a quiet laugh and looked Bryce up and down, letting his eyes linger a bit. It was hard to imagine him as anything but young, hard to imagine him with white in his hair or lines around the eyes. "I don't think the years catch up with you the same way they do with me." He was still a little human, after all. Mortality gripped the edges of his being, even if death would never fully take him. "But… yeah. I'm sure in one or two hundred years you'll feel just as old as the rest of us."
Bryce cracked a small smile, "Yeah, you'll get more grey hairs then me and at an earlier age." He shifted a little so he could look at Cyprus clearly, almost as if scanning his features for a moment before he said, "I wonder what you'd look like with blond hair. The little greys you have wouldn't stand out as much as they do now if you were." He paused, "And if you cut your hair. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with it because you look great but still, would be fun to see."