He crossed his arms with a deep cold sigh, leaning on the wall.
“I dont deserve a lot of things. But hey, i have them” he shrugged “And i also have your attention” he winked, a cute smirk curved on his mischievous lips.
“Anyway-“ he dodged the bird, looking as if he were playing limbo for a few seconds as it squawked at him.
“If you dont want to tell me, you dont have to. I cant control you. Well actually i can, but i wont. Don’t want you to fall in love with me too quickly now would we?” He smiled.
He pushed himself off of the wall and looked around “was that your little brother back there? He seemed sweet” he says calmly, not in his flirtatious way anymore.
(Sorry its so short.)
"Go near him and I won't hesitate to slit your throat," she said calmly, brushing off her hands and going over to the bag of clothes to zip it up and drop it onto the couch. Her brother didn't need to be traumatized even more by this vampire, and it was her job as an older sister to protect him.
His flirting felt off to her. He's gone from afraid to pissed off to indifferent to flirting with her, and it was offputting. She weighed the pros and cons of telling him her reasoning behind leaving school early, then settled with telling him the bare minimum. "Mel is sick, so I'm taking off school to take care of him until he's better," she said, turning to look at the vampire. Her hands clutched at the cloak draped over her body, unconsciously hiding by sinking into the cloth and making herself less noticeable. "So, sorry, but your vendetta against me will have to wait until I get back. If I ever do."
“Oh thats sweet” he says genuinely thinking it was sweet for her to do that for her little brother.
He wished he could have done that for his younger sister, but it was too late.
He pushed away the thought and distracted himself with everything that decorated her room.
“Don’t worry, I’m not going to hurt you or anything. And i would never hurt him. Hes adorable. And besides, You’ve done nothing in particular to make me hate you. Other than being mean and threatening me.” He shrugged, brushing it off as if threatening to kill him was normal. With her, he guessed it was. She was quite the creep, though he didnt voice his thoughts.
“I’ve marked you as potentially dangerous to me. Thats the only reason i acted as i did. Anywho” he rolled his eyes and leaned on the wall again, his tongue running along his fang as he was tremendously bored. But this was better than school, he did admit to that.
Her eyes watched him with a strange mixture of emotions swirling in them, intently focused on the exposed fangs. She stared perhaps a little too long to be considered normal, then released a heavy sigh through her nose and rubbed at the corners of her now-closed eyes. "Okay, look. If you want to hang around here for some gods-awful reason, then at least make yourself useful and follow some rules."
Laedita didn't like entertaining a vampire in her house, especially with Meleki present as well, but she didn't have a choice. He's clearly decided that hanging around here was better than leaving her alone and going back to school. So, she tugged at the greenish roots of her hair, then faced the vampire and dropped her hands to her hips. "My main concern is that you don't show your fangs to Meleki. If you do that, then refer to my previous statement. It's my job to keep him safe, and having you here is already jeopardizing that. At least give me that bit of relief." She lightly bit down on her bottom lip, eyes scanning the room. "Some of the plants need more fertilizer. After that, you're helping me try to figure out what's wrong with him. From there I can come up with a treatment." For the first time since she's met the male standing in front of her, she spoke confidently without hostility, stating things without room for argument.
He quickly closed his mouth hiding his fangs and pouting a little "well little kids tend to think they're cool" he stuck out his bottom lip.
"But okay. Your rules I guess." he says looking at all of plants then turning to her "where is the fertilizer though?" he uncrossed his arms and his yellow eyes went around the room. It was more cluttered than he would like for it to be, but this wasn't his house to judge
(sorry it's short)
"Mel won't," she muttered, a muscle in her cheek ticking as memories flashed through her head. She blinked those pictures away, though her fingers were unconsciously reaching beneath the cloak and rubbing at the crisscrossing scars all the way her one arm. Speaking of, the cloth was becoming bothersome and warm in her already warm house, so she reluctantly slid it off and draped it over an open stool. "Bone meal is over there," she said, flicking her fingers dismissively towards the sagging bag next to a desk littered with both intricate and rough drawings of spells. Hoping he wouldn't need any more direction, she searched for a book on illnesses in her overflowing bookcase—only one of many bookcases in the apartment.
(~ unless your computer still isn't working)
(Okay, i got it started back up! I’m so sorry for the inconvenience!)
He hesitantly Stepped over to the bag, making a face at the smell. His nose was way too sensitive for his liking. Even every day things smelled weird to him if he got to close to it.
Quickly trying to finish up whatever she needed done, putting the fertilizer in with the plants soil, careful not to knock anything over. Cassius loved flowers and gardens, but this was a little much.
Once finished the vampire stood, straightening his back after bending down to all of those plants. He turned to her as he put the bag back on the chair, glancing at all of the books. Recognizing some he started to read a few before he got distracted by the sound of her footsteps. “You have any more slave work for me to do?” He smirked, crossing his arms and leaned against the wall.
What was he still doing here anyway? He could leave any time now. Should he?
No that felt rude. Too rude. So would he just continue helping her? He didnt really have anything better to do anyway, so he might as well.
(That's alright! I'm glad you got your computer working again!)
She glanced up at him and, without thinking twice, let a mischievous sparkle glitter in her eyes and a slight quirk to her lips. "Oh, I'm just getting started," she said, then skimmed her fingers over the book spines to find the one she was looking for. "You can leave, y'know," she pointed out without sparing him a glance, shifting her weight onto one leg so she could scratch her calf with the other foot. "Believe it or not, I'm not holding you prisoner."
Laedita's head tipped to the side when she heard the thumping of her brother clumsily dressing himself, then braced herself for the inevitable. "DEEEEEEEE" came the adorably helpless whine, then the pitter-patter of Meleki's feet running through the apartment. She snorted and had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing. The poor kid was all tangled up into his shirt, one arm somehow twisted through two holes, his face covered, and the entire shirt put on backwards. "I'm stuck," he pouted, coming to a halt in front of them both.
She laughed and crouched down in front of him, carefully disentangling him from his shirt. "Dork," she chided playfully with a genuine smile, ruffling his black hair when he was finally free of the fabric trap. He grinned up at her goofily, then tipped his head like a puppy and peered up at Cassius. He smiled brightly up at him, even as he obediently lifted his arms up to let his sister put his shirt on properly. "Hi! I'm Meleki!" he greeted.
He stood and watched her crooked fingers run along the spine of the books as she spoke. “I know. But this place is more interesting than school. I dont have anything better to do” he shrugged as he looked over at the desk of papers again, quickly shifting his eyes. He didnt want to know what they said.
“If i wanted to leave i would have a long time ago. Even if you were holding me prisoner. You’d have no chance” he smiled at her challengingly as he uncrossed his arms and stuffed them into his pockets, pulling out a small rock and shifting it back and forth between his dark fingers, small golden freckles dotting his hands and arms.
He was rather startled when the boy yelled and ran out asking his sister for help.
Cassius smiled and watched as she smiled genuinely. He didnt think it was possible for her to actually be cute, but she was at the moment. A sight he probably would never see again due to her annoying attitude.
He distracted himself with the stone until the boy spoke and his yellow eyes peered to the boy and he smiled. “Oh hello Meleki! I’m Cass” he says bending down to the little boy with a friendly demeanor.
Laedita sat back on her haunches and watched the two warily, filing away the vampire's name with half a thought. She didn't interfere, however, even if she was ready to defend her brother if need be. Her hands rubbed at her scarred arms unconsciously, then stopped when it attracted her brother's attention.
Meleki pouted in thought, then lit up and held up a finger towards Cass in a 'wait here' gesture before scurrying away. It didn't take long for him to come back with a stemless flower in his palms. Its coloring was a pale green, its veins a neon blue that blended into the soft gradient at the tips of the soft petals. No areas for pollen meant no allergies or getting pollen everywhere. His sister furrowed her brows in confusion but said nothing as she watched the interaction.
"Dee takes care of me all the time," Meleki said as he stood in front of Cass, full of confidence and devoid of fear, a strange combo for someone his age, "but she doesn't take care of herself." He looked down at the flower, stroking its petals fondly. "I promised mommy to take care of her any way I can." He held out the flower to the man, big green eyes full of light. "I asked Dee to make this for me. It's my lucky charm. If you promise to take care of her, you can have it. I'll be a sign of our contract." He smiled, while Laedita turned away from them both and covered her face with her long hair and a hand, feeling her cheeks heat up. Why was her brother so friendly?
He glanced over at Laedita and saw her facial expression before turning away from the two.
Cass turned to the boy with a tang of pity and compassion swelled up in his chest as he nodded.
“Oh course i will. She is my friend after all” he smiled rather mischievously “But-“ he hesitated “are you sure i can have such a lovely flower?” He asked, his eyes wide and enthusiastic as he was when he talked to kids.
He looked down at Meleki’s small hands holding the fragile flower with such care and his voice sounded so sincere. He already loved this kid. He was so adorable, he would do anything for him.
It wasnt often when he got to interact with kids, let alone one like this.
Walking down the streets especially at night, he did seem rather scary. It was one of the only times he went out so that was probably one of the reasons he never did see kids.
If so, their parents always pushed them past him, rushing them away. His eyes did practically glow in the dark due to how light they are. Since they had inhanced vision, his eyes are always trying to gather any light they can, therefor looking as if they glow in the dark. Kind of like a cats. Whenever a picture is taken of him his eyes tell him apart from everyone else, having a red color to them just like an animals to a camera.
He tried to avoid pictures at all times. Which hes gotten decently good at.
Meleki smiled back and nodded. "I can have Dee make more! She's really good at making stuff, like Tulip! He's my cat." The little boy hummed and rotated his body back and forth, petting the petals again. "I asked her to make a flower for me that never died." His eyes flicked over to his sister, who was peeking through her fingers to watch them both. She smiled sadly, knowing what he was referring to with that particular request he had come to her with.
"And," he continued, looking back up at Cass and pointing up at his mouth. When the vampire had smiled, the little boy had caught a flash of sharp teeth. "You are a vampire," he stated, fingers still loosely curled around the flower. Laedita tensed up, very much ready to protect her brother, but was surprised by his legitimately calm expression. "Do you hurt mommies and daddies like the ones we met?" he then pointed to his sister's arms, "Will you hurt her like them?" At that, Laedita curled her arms to her chest and avoided looking in the vampire's direction. She would rather keep their past a secret, but Meleki—for some gods-awful reason—trusted this one. So, like a good sister, she stayed quiet and let him make his own decisions.
His his cold heart twisted and turned in every which direction as he listened to the boy talk.
The flower that would never die… he thought it was sweet yet sad. He figured he’s had someone die in his life. How unfortunate for that to happen to someone at such a young age.
His breath stopped and his head pounded when the boy said those words. “You are a vampire”
So calm too? This was what she was talking about when she said he wouldnt like it.
But Meleki wasn’t running away in fear or crying like he thought he would. This kid was different.
“I’m a nice vampire” he says warily with a smaller smile, careful not to show any aggressiveness towards the boy. Not that he had any. But if a vampire hurt someone he loved when he was younger.
So much as seeing a vampire could be traumatic for a child. Even to some adults.
“I dont hurt mommies and daddies, nor sisters. And i wont hurt her nor you” he held his pinky to the boy as a promise. A pinky promise is what his mom would call it all those years ago.
He was still astonished at how calm this boy was. Meleki has been hurt pretty bad, along with Laedita, he could tell. He was a monster just like those who hurt this poor family.
Now regretting being such a jerk to her earlier, he gave her an apologetic look before turning to the boy
Meleki smiled and hooked his own pinky around Cass' sealing the promise before handing the flower over to the vampire again. "I believe you. Here." Unlike his sister, Meleki didn't judge based on a commonality, and he had been so young when that incident had happened that he could only remember the barest of details. His family being hurt, and then he and Dee moving—without their parents. It took her a bit to tell him that they were never going to see them again, and he was sad, but he still had his sister, and that was all that mattered.
And now Dee had a friend! A friend that promised to take care of her for him! His sister was always so stubborn when it came to taking care of herself, that's why he made that promise to his mommy in the sky. He glanced over at his sister, who was still looking away, strange eyes seemingly unfocused and seeing nothing, then back at Cass and smirked mischievously. "You didn't hear this from me, but Dee loves fruitcake." He knew that his sister would need to warm up to the vampire in her house, even if Cass had claimed to be friends—she's never been one to be quick to trust anyone, especially now, and with vampires. But he wanted her to have a friend, and he liked Cass.
He let out a small relieved sigh when he hooked his little pinky to his, thankful he didn't scare the kid with his movements. He didn't know what he had witnessed or what trauma he's gone through. He knew one certain move could trigger anything, so he made sure to be extra careful.
That meant with Laedita too. He shouldn’t have been so aggressive with her in the first place.
Trying to follow the boys eyes curiously when his gaze turned to something else, though getting nothing but confusion when he turned back to him with a smile.
“Fruitcake huh? Ill remember that” he says holding the flower gently in his big dark hand.
He wasn't planning on sticking around this girl for long, just causing a little harmless trouble and pranks before leaving her to herself when she finally got too fed up with him.
But now that he's made this promise to Meleki, there was no was she was going to get rid of him.
It was going to be interesting to see what happens with this broken family.
"Mel," Laedita eventually said, swallowing a lump in her throat and standing. "Why don't you go to your room and play with Tulip? I'll be in to check in on you and take care of that mean disease you've got." Her words were light-hearted, but her smile was strained and she was trying not to freak her brother out about what was going on through her head. Her one hand clamped over her wrist, hiding some scars that blended in relatively well to a dismissive or ignorant eye.
Mel nodded and hugged her leg, then smiled and waved to Cass as he ran into his room to do as told without a fuss. She followed his departure with her eyes, then closed them once he was gone, slumping against the wall with a heavy and weary sigh. "Sometimes, he talks too much," she mumbled, keeping her hand on her wrist. She was happy that her brother wasn't completely terrified of all vampires, but she was concerned that he would trust any old stranger with that sort of logic. People were not as they seemed, even if they claimed to be different or promised to be good. Promises were eventually broken, and lies flow easily over the tongue.
He waved Meleki goodbye before turning back to Laedita. “Dee” he says with a little laugh “thats kind of cute ya know” he smiled at her, trying to make light of the conversation.
Studying her facial expressions and her body language, he could tell she wasn't in the mood for jokes. The vampire stepped up to her, looking down at her wrists, not saying anything about them though.
“You okay? I know you don't like me, and i see why you don't. Not many people do” he says calmly and gently. He wasn't going to make any excuses for how he acted. He was naturally mischievous, but he said nothing about it. “But hey, i made him a promise. After about 228 years, I haven’t broken a single promise” he says with a friendly smile and in a confident yet gentle tone.
“I wont hurt him if thats what you’re concerned about. Nor you” he said the last part a little quieter.
He knew he couldn’t control whether or not she believed him or not. And he didnt expect her to.
Cass didn't know her very well, close to none at all. But he was hopeful he could get to know her so he could protect her.
She flicked her eyes up to meet his, studying him warily in silence as he filled up the space with his words. She didn't know what to think about him right now. He was so gentle and caring towards her brother, careful of scaring him when the smart kid figured it out—side note, cut back on his teachings. He was starting to get too smart for anyone's good.
Her eyes lowered when he finished off with those quiet words, trying to sort through everything she knew. Vampires had ruined her life. This particular vampire threatened her at school, then followed her here. Mel had met this guy once and entrusted him with taking care of her. He had agreed to it, and was now promising to not hurt her or her brother. Things were so confusing.
"It's Laedita," she finally said, looking back up at him. "And it's not just you that I don't like, it's all vampires." She gestured lazily to the hall where Meleki had run down. "Now you have an idea why." She took note of him acknowledging the promise, even after her brother had disappeared. He seemed genuine about keeping that promise. She sucked in a deep breath and rubbed her hands over her face, fingers pulling at the corners of her closed eyes. "I suppose I'm stuck with you now. He likes you."
He took a deep breath, punching the bridge of his nose, annoyed when she said "all vampires"
"I threatened you because I didn't want you finding out who I am and ruining my life" he says in a soft tone, obviously holding back his slight frustration.
"I can say all spellcasters are horrible misters that destroy people's lives because one killed my dad, that doesn't mean all of them are bad. You aren't bad and I can tell. I'm not like whoever the hell hurt you alright?" he growls, turning around and taking in deep breath, the cold air rushing into his lungs then out. "if you go through life stereotyping everything it's only going to get worse" he turned back around to face her. "and yeah, you are stuck with me. Because I'm not leaving you to your own account. It obviously makes your little brother sad. You can hate me, and I can let you hate me. Keep on thinking I'm a horrible vicious monster, and I might hate you to. But if I'm not doing it for you, I'm doing it for him. He needs protected and his heart needs healed from everything he's gone through. You cant even take care of yourself, so you obviously are in no position to take car of him" he says clutching on fist to his side, though with his other hand holding the flower oh so gently careful not to so much as dent the petals small little fibers.
She clenched her jaw, refusing to look at him as he spoke. Logically, what he was saying made sense. It wasn't fair of her to automatically assume things based on past experience, mainly in this case. But to her twisted and hurt mind? She refused to believe him, refused to think otherwise. So, yes, she would continue to hate him, but tolerate him for her brother's sake. She could give that much to Meleki.
However, when he said she wasn't fit to take care of her brother, she snapped her head up to glare daggers at him. She bore her teeth and shoved at his chest angrily, hands protesting at the obvious resistance they faced, due to him being so much larger and physically stronger than her. "You don't have the right to say I can't take care of him," she hissed, stepping close to him. The veins in her arms turned a sickly greyish black, and the plants and bones around her quivered unnaturally. "I've been doing this for five years. Do you know how hard it is to take care of a three-year-old boy that just witnessed his family getting tortured, and then his parents getting slaughtered? When you're barely a teenager yourself? You don't know what goes on in my head, or in his, or what I do to protect him. You don't know what I've had to give up to make sure he never goes through anything like that again." She raised a hand as if to cast a spell, then stopped herself mid gesture, flexed her aching fingers, and let her arm hang limp. The black and grey disappeared, and the objects around the house went back to normal. She let out a breath through her nose and looked away, so many emotions flickering through her eyes. "I'm trying…" she finally whispered.
He didn't budge, bit only stood still as he hit his chest. He could say plenty of things right now to prove her wrong and to get to her. To insult her and hurt her to the core. But he didn't. He knew she was hurting and he knew she was trying.
Keeping him a secret in itself was a challenge. If he was to be found out both of them would be taken into foster care. He thought about it for a second before wondering how she does it.
Once she was done, he sighed, running his fingers through his blonde hair, yellow eyes turned away from her. "I know… I apologize. I shouldn't have said that" he says weakly as if she was the more dominant one. A way to show kindness. Ways most vampires did. They were obviously stronger than a normal human. But to show weakness was a way of showing that they would be kind and they cared. He never really used it though.
He felt the just in her voice as she spoke, making him want to hug her and you could see it in his eyes.
But he said nothing more, afraid he was going to make her burst again.
She didn't want to look at him when he apologized, nor did she want to look at him when she felt his stare. But she couldn't keep her eyes from slowly lifting to meet his. Shit. She saw that look in his eyes, heard the offer of kindness in his faint words. She was too close to a breaking point to even muster up a harsh defense, or any defense, for that matter. She was too close to breaking down yet again.
I can't keep doing this to myself.
He was right. She knew he was right. By her neglect for her own health, she was harming her brother's chances of getting what he needs. Her constant mental battles, the obvious lack of attention to her physical needs, her almost obsessive need to study and master spells, they were all products of all her devotion to Meleki, products of her doing everything she can to take care of him. She didn't have the time for herself, didn't have the mental capacity to care. "I'm sorry," she whispered, voice breaking. She sucked in a breath and rubbed at the inner corners of her eyes, looking up at the ceiling as if that would ease the obvious shine newly forming in them. "I'm just…not in a good headspace right now," she continued just as quietly, "You're right, I know, I'm just…" She couldn't even form the words to explain her twisted thinking.
Cassius didn't want to be right. He wanted nothing more than to be wrong but he knew it was the right thing to say what he did. And even if it wasn't, he couldn't have taken it back. But it was fine, because he was going to help them! Now he had even more. Motivation to find the money he hid in his old house in the woods. Which yes… Sounds really sketchy and creepy. Something a criminal would do. Which technically he was a criminal. But that wasn't what was important.
He was snapped out of his thought process when she spoke again, her voice trailing off. He took a small step forward and grabbed her hand, gently pulling her towards him before he hugged her. He moved without thinking. But he figured she could use it right about now.
"it's fine" he says in a hushed whisper before he let go. "I don't know you very well, but I want to." he says to her. Already feeling protective over the two siblings. "will you let me help you?" he looked into her eyes with concern.
"please say yes. Please say yes"
She froze up for a split second when he pulled her against him and hugged her, but didn't pull away until he did. Even then, she was too rooted to the spot to even make an attempt at getting away from him. A harsh and humorless laugh escaped her lips, chest shuddering with the shakey huff of air. "You don't want to know me," she said, but didn't say no to letting him help her. She felt a cold streak go down her cheek, and she quickly turned away and furiously wiped at her face, breathing in and out in a controlled exercise.
"I'm fine, I'm fine." A lie, a lie.
Once she calmed down enough, she played with some strands of her hair. "Alright…" she finally answered, nodding once. "You can help." For Meleki, who had chosen Cass of all people to help take care of her. For herself, because she didn't think she could survive another breakdown like the one she had gone through right before the vampire had barreled into her life. For the vampire that looked at her with not sadistic delight and harmful intent, but concern and a pleading for her to let him in.
