The everyday monsters in our lives

"Not necessarily." He sighed, shrugging lightly. ".. Unless you made that up yourself just now. Then sure. You are a liar." he added while the stranger was quiet. He swirled the drink around, sniffing it too. It smelled strong even. But did he really care what it was? As long as it did the job. Which it would. The stranger spoke and Joe listened while he kept fiddling with the drink. When the stranger looked to him he looked back rather unamused. Was this guy about to drop some deep wisdom on him? He wasnt exactly in the mood. But it was better than thinking.
"Liars are such a pain in the ass." he just said before he downed the drink, gritting his teeth as it burned his throat. If anyone he should know, he had been one all night. "Was that what you came here to tell me?" he asked, turning lightly to the stranger with a bit of annoyance. But of course he was just still in a shitty mood and the alcohol wasnt helping. He would be starting a bar fight if the stranger hadnt approached him first.

The stranger's lips pulled up in a restrained smile, looking at the human who so clearly got angrier the calmer he spoke. He was a fascinating one for sure. "Perhaps," he hummed, getting up from his seat, but it barely looked like he had moved his feet. "I shall take my leave; I have an appointment with an old acquaintance of mine - and yours too, I suppose," leaving his drink behind he just headed for the door, a woman by his side as he exited, but she seemed to not even look at anyone but the man she was here with. Out on the street, and if the human had followed him, he would see he was heading in the direction of the hotel where he had come from.

Perhaps? Joe looked confused at the answer. Not that the stranger getting up and bidding him farewell with a cryptic message made him feel any clarity at all. Who was he talking about? The stranger left, with a woman as well. Joe maybe shouldnt have, under other circumstances had he not. But this felt like a scenario he wouldnt miss out on. And again, the alcohol kept him a little on edge, a little more adventurous and daring. He would at least see where the guy was heading and then go back home. Find a pack of cigarettes on the way and then crash. Yeah, he was looking forward to that right now. But first, the stranger.

His steps were silent in the night, the woman on his arm whispering things to him, but nothing loud enough for anyone around them to hear. He was quite aware of the fact that the human was following him, and yet he wasn't stopping to let him know. Humans were odd creatures. Well all living creatures were to be frank, but he saw a clear interest in those around him. The woman seemed to lead the way, and as they stopped at the hotel, he looked up calmly. His vision great as he saw the vampyre on the terrace quite clearly. The vampyre was looking down on him, and he just nodded.
He and the woman moved into the lobby, over to the elevator going up. They were heading directly to the penthouse, and once there the vampyre was there to open the door for them. "Mister Leone, or are you still going by your alias Marchese de Meraviglie?" the man asked calmly, the vampyre gritting his teeth but remained polite, "Leone, these days sir," he was polite and well mannered, gesturing for them to take things out on the terrace. The woman obliged, moving out onto the terrace and the man followed, the vampyre close after. "Anything to drink?" - "no thank you, I think it would be best to go straight to business." The man was speaking with a neutral deep voice, the woman simply walking around the terrace, seemingly taking in the view, but listening in as well.

As soon as he had realized where the stranger was heading, he had stopped in his tracks. How did this guy know that? He felt rather confused, though his mind was telling him to continue, did he not move a single step further in that direction. He turned to head back home, only to be greeted by a rather tall woman with blood red eyes. He barely got to react as the hairs on his neck stood up and she pushed him back to the wall, holding his shirt hard by the shoulder as she turned his head from side to side to check for marks. She chuckled before she made him face her. "You're intruding on grounds where you dont belong little human. And you reek of vampyre. Did your owner not tell you where not to go?" she asked him with a grin that flashed her fangs, keeping a firm grip on him before she dragged him with her.

While the building was not occupied with Cesare's sires, it was sure to say that his message had drawn them to his last known location. And that was when one of Cesare's sires noticed the human that was Sadie's brother. Or at least that was the understanding. He watched as he stopped and turned around only to be pulled in by a female vampyre. He frowned, moving closer and eventually interfering as the vampyress tried to pull him away. "He does not belong to you," his voice perhaps recognizable to the human as he had been the one to help him when Mariah had accosted him.
"Let this human be," he spoke rather clearly as it was an order and not a suggestion. If it had to come to it he would gladly fight her. He stepped closer, prying the vampyress' grip off of the human before taking the human with him. "Follow me, and don't look back," he spoke calmly to the human as they moved towards the hotel, heading up the elevator to the top floor. "It is not safe for you out there," he sighed.

Joe would have probably tried to break free from the vampyress' grip but she was rather adamant and strong. Well, until a sire decided to interfere. Joe recognized him but it wasnt like he was very relieved to see him. "He smells just like you. So why is he here?" she just remarked, looking the other vampyre up and down before she scoffed. "How about you and your master keep your meatbags where they belong and not here on someone else's turf?" she suggested, almost not letting go of the human until the vampyre came closer. She smiled playfully, willingly letting go of him to then wave them off. "I'll rip his throat out if I see him here again." she spoke so lightheartedly and yet the threat was serious.
Joe was not happy about being taken back to the hotel, feeling a little sobered up from the adrenaline that had kicked in once he had been in actual danger. "This isnt exactly a good idea either." he muttered in the elevator. It wasnt like he had left the vampyre on a good note. Coming back on the same night? Bound to be awkward.

"It might be a better idea than getting your throat ripped out," he just said, which was a fair observation was it not? He hadn't cared much for the vampyress on the streets, but the fact that she was calling this her turf was worrisome. Especially as that meant those who had to patrol this area had either given into bribery or simply abandoned their posts. The elevator made a soft ding as they reached the top floor, but seeing that someone was out on the terrace he signaled for the human to stay put while he went out.
Cesare was busy, but as he heard about the human he looked perplexed, "I'm very sorry, my lord, you were saying?" he turned his attention back on the man, the woman looking the sire up and down with a curious look. The sire returned to the human, "he will be done in a few minutes; Please stay seated, I have to go take care of our little mistress from earlier," he said, bidding the human good night before disappearing into the elevator door.
If the human moved closer to the terrace he would be able to hear a conversation. "You still have not returned that which you have borrowed," the man spoke calmly, his silvery eyes studying the vampyre quite intensely. Cesare was not a man who got nervous often, but this was a different matter. This was something other worldly, and he had to obey. "I know my Lord, but I do not feel as though I am ready to part with it yet," he said, to which the man tilted his head to the side, inspecting him. "You dare lie to me like you lie to everyone else?" he asked with a stoic expression, holding out his hand. Cesare grit his teeth, taking off a necklace which he placed in the man's pale hand. The man hummed softly, inspecting the necklace, the woman drawing nearer. Then the man frowned, "you have misused your gift," he spoke in the same flat voice as ever making Cesare frown. "I didn't use it for selfish reasons, I-" - "if I may quote a stranger I met earlier, I believe the phrase was; Liars are a pain in the ass .. Now, confess and I might consider lending you the gift once more."

Stay seated? Joe really just wanted to go home. Even more as his curiousity made him eavesdrop on the people on the terrace, looking at the floor as he did stay out of sight. But with supernaturals, he was sure they already were aware of where he was. He frowned a little at was he was hearing. This was a little much for someone who barely kept around anyone who wasnt just a regular human. It was so far fetched that he at least couldnt follow along with what they were really talking about. Until he remembered what Cesare had told him.
Gritting his teeth he just stepped out, because there was no point in hiding either way. "You're taking my words out of context." he just said rather forward, looking at the stranger who had gotten him a drink at the club. He also did look at Cesare but only for a moment, before he looked back at the stranger again. "Dont use my words as some sort of justification for whatever you're going to do." he shook his head. Even if Cesare was addressing the stranger rather respectfully, Joe didnt know this guy, so why would he do the same? The unwary human to anyone but their own.

The man was calm as the human stepped forward, still holding the necklace which had a nice seafoam green pendant on it. He looked to the human as he spoke, sending him a polite nod, "I figured you were listening, were you not?" he asked, though it was clear he didn't need an answer. He could see how the vampyre was tensing up and it made the man wonder. The woman stepped closer as well, leaning down to the man's ear, whispering something that even Cesare couldn't hear. The man hummed, nodding before the woman stepped away. "It seems as though you have fulfilled what you set out to do," he said, gesturing to the human. Cesare grit his teeth shaking his head no, "this isn't what I set out to do." The man raised an eyebrow before studying the human more, his silvery eyes almost scanning him. "Please excuse his rudeness .. he is unaware of who you are, my lord," but the man lifted his hand, gesturing for the vampyre to be silent. And Cesare complied which was very unlikely. "What he knows or not does not mean I take offense," he spoke calmly, getting up from his seat. "I will grant you your power back, but you also know what the deal entailed," he spoke and Cesare nodded. The man turned to the woman, sending her a slight but strained smile, "let us away then, Lucienne, we have business to attend," he said and Cesare got up as he was handed the necklace back.
The man and the woman went for the exit, the woman's eyes lingering for a bit on the human before the elevator door closed and it was just the vampyre and human left in the penthouse.

The question made Joe shrug. Of course he had been listening. He wasnt just going to sit around and wait for them to leave. The words to Cesare and the gesture towards Joe made the human frown a little, unsure what he was talking about now. More supernatural stuff that he didnt understand? Cesare denied it and then excused Joe which made the human furrow his brows a little. But even if he was told who it was, he probably wouldnt know. But if someone like the old vampyre was being polite and respectful to this man, he had to be someone important. Not that it meant that Joe would just follow along, he was far too stubborn.
The man spoke again and Joe watched the woman before the necklace was handed back and the pair left, leaving them alone. Joe checked his pack and looked at the last cigarette but decided to put it back in his pocket. "Right..." he muttered, letting out a small sigh. "I should go too." he said, not having much else to say to the vampyre.

Cesare didn't like this one bit. This agreement had been made many hundred years ago, and at this point he wasn't sure what to expect. The pair left and then Benjamin spoke about leaving too. The vampyre looked down in shame, "I'm sorry .. for dragging you into this mess," he said rather genuinely. He wasn't sure what had happened between the man and the human, but he wasn't sure he trusted it either. "I .. Can I do anything to make you stay?" he asked, because he felt like he truly needed some comfort right now. Nothing sexual just to not be alone. "I understand if you want to go; you do not owe me anything after all." It was quite clear that the vampyre was beside himself right now. And part of him worried about Benjamin. Was this truly the last time he would see him because he refused to reach out sober? "I just can't bear to be alone right now," he muttered, rubbing his face as he sat down on the terrace bench. His shoulders were trembling a bit. There were things in this world that even a vampyre could fear.

He didn't leave which did surprise him a bit, and even if he sat down with a bit of distance between them, it was nice to not be alone. He just rubbed his face a little more, fighting the tears he could feel were pressing on behind his eyelids. The question made him breathe out in a sigh, leaning back on the bench, looking up at the stars. What was going on was a great question, but a bit too broad for him to truly narrow down what he wanted to know. However the human soon seemed to ask more specifically, which did help a bit with his racing brain.
"I made a deal with him .. A long time ago," he scoffed, taking out the necklace, looking at the seafoam green pendant. A pendant that shared his eye color. "He promised me to be able to shape reality to my will until I found the one I was meant to be with," he said, gritting his teeth as he looked at the pendant, wrapping his fingers around it and pressing in, but even a vampyre's strength couldn't break it. It wasn't from this realm.
"I thought I was being clever back then," he scoffed, "that having whatever I said come true would make everything better - I could stop crime or heal everyone, but everything comes with a price." He frowned, looking back out at the skyline. "Nothing can exist without a counterpart; healing a lot of people means that a plague can erupt out of nowhere; stopping crime only makes that crime obsolete and create worse things." He had a lot of regrets about what he had done, but the power was also addictive. "I was warned more than once that I could not use the power for my own benefit .. And doing what I did to your father was done because I wanted to help you .. because deep down I must've thought that doing that would perhaps make you sympathetic to me, or at least respected?" He wasn't sure how to explain his own emotions, but it was truly hard when everything he felt right now was so conflicting.
"What I promised was that I would give that power back once I found the one I was meant to be with; Safe to say I've tried to avoid that for a while, going after anything but that." He looked down again, "that was why I sent you away that first time; I remembered where I had seen you before and it was in a vision .. I wasn't ready to just let go of this power, and yet I couldn't get you out of my head."

He was ready to listen but he definitely was ready to also not understand much of what he would be told. The vampyre however formulated it rather easy for him to somewhat understand. He however frowned at the notion of the vampyre finding who he was meant to be with. Surely... No, he really didnt want to think that right now. He instead just listened, leaning forward as he rested his elbows on his knees, lighting his cigarette to smoke.
The way he spoke about what he had done to Joe's father made him frown a little, though he puffed on his cigarette and drew the smoke down into his lungs. He looked at the vampyre, biting the inside of his cheek. The story was starting to go in a direction that Joe couldnt say that he really liked. It seemed so... written in the stars-type of thing that it felt uncanny. "No. Dont bullshit me now." he scoffed, shaking his head as he exhaled the smoke before he would choke on it. He swallowed and looked away, thinking it all through. "Fuck.." he muttered, lifting one hand to rub his forehead. "It cant be possible. You know where I'm from. I... We would never work out." he just said, feeling that he was being truthful, even if he didnt really know if what he was saying was the truth. It could be if he believed it.

It did sound cliché, but it didn't change the fact of the matter. He knew it was quite the knowledge dump to place on him, so frankly he was surprised that he wasn't acting more angrily. The statement made him chuckle, nodding as he was still looking out with sad eyes. "I know," he admitted. He knew they didn't make sense, he knew that they couldn't work, and perhaps that was why he was trying so hard to push him away. Benjamin didn't deserve this, he deserved better after what he had been through. Maybe to find himself a wife, try and have kids on his own - maybe even get a shot at being family with Sadie. But this, whatever this was, couldn't be a thing.
"I guess that's why it hurts so much," a few rogue tears running down his face that he quickly dried off with the cuff of his shirt, staining it. Biting the inside of his mouth he shrugged. "I keep pushing you away, but I can't help myself .. I'm selfish and over the years all I've truly longed for is a genuine partner," he looked down once more. Maybe he was kidding himself. Maybe all of this would've been for nothing. "Would it be too much to ask that you kill me?"

Surely the vampyre couldnt really believe this as well? Though he looked at him and it seemed rather unlikely to be the case. Cesare was smart after all, Joe knew as much. He looked back to see the tears run, but the vampyre quickly removed them. He shook his head and scoffed. He was a little baffled to even say anything. What could he really say anyway? The question made him frown. "Yes. That would be too much to ask. Fuck you." he scoffed, shaking his head, baffled that the vampyre even dared to ask. What a stupid question, he thought to himself. He finished his cigarette, before he placed his hands on his knees, looking directly at the vampyre. "So what can we do? What are the options from here? I cant even go back to my life, because I'm now your property in some vampyre's eyes." - "What does that even mean?"

"The options?" he wasn't even sure himself. He hadn't ever experienced anything like this, so the vampyre was quite at the deep end right now, struggling not to drown. He supposed he could at least set a strike over him being killed. But the notion that he belonged to him made him shake his head. "It's an old vampyre thing," he rolled his eyes, frankly it was so seldom used these days because donors were around every corner. "You're not my property, I want to make that very clear," he pointed out, looking at him, though he couldn't really rid his eyes from the sadness within. "But back before blood was easily available, some vampyres claimed their donors; It rarely happens these days, and I suppose you smelled enough of me to make them think that I had claimed you," he explained. He hadn't been a fan of it then and he wasn't now. He hated that he had involved the human into this messed up life. "I can set you up someplace new? Another town or country? There you could live your life as you please," - "Because if it has gotten out that you belong to me, then it's soon everyone's business." Vampyres were hugely into gossip, perhaps because immortality was so boring without it.
"You could stay with me, though I doubt you would want that one bit," he scoffed, looking down at his hand as he placed the pendant under his shirt once more, "or I could .. erase myself .. from your mind?"

It had been an odd encounter but it had also been rather clear that Joe couldnt just go around anymore. At least for the night if that was the case. He listened to him explain, humming as Cesare made it rather clear that he wasnt owning the human. It sounded primitive that vampyres marked their donors, but he had also sort of guessed it. The clarification was nice.
The options that Cesare presented just wasnt good enough for Joe. Even if it sounded dangerous that people would be after him if they learned of his association with the vampyre. "Dont even try to do anything to my mind." he warned him with a pointing finger. He wouldnt really hesitate to throw hands if the vampyre even started in the manner he had spoken to his father before he seemingly became a shell of a person. "Fuck... I'm too tired to even think." he muttered, rubbing his temples with his fingers as he felt the headache of the hangover slowly get to him already.

Cesare couldn't help but smile a bit at the warning. At least the human still had his fighting spirits. He would need that, wouldn't he? It was then he realized just how late it had gotten and he got up from his seat. "Go get yourself a big glass of water .. I'll make the bed and you can just get some sleep here," yeah, he wasn't sending the human out now. He knew that his sire was on the case about this mystery vampyress, but it didn't bode well.
If Benjamin let him, he would make sure the bed was nice and ready, though he wasn't getting undressed. He wasn't even planning on getting into bed with him at all. As the human returned he looked at him, wanting to reach out and touch him, but the rejection would be harder to deal with right now. "I'll be right outside on the terrace," he tried smiling, but it was clear his mind was filled with thoughts as well. Maybe he needed to close his eyes for a few hours as well, but he really couldn't see any scenario where the human would want him anyway near him now that he was sobering up.

It was rather late. The sky at least promised as much and checking his phone, he wished he hadnt. It was probably the vampyre peak hours at this time, so when Cesare spoke of making the bed, Joe for once didnt object. He went inside and got himself the glass of water. He rinsed his mouth and sighed deeply.
When he returned, he looked at the bed, frowning a little. "No get some rest too. I know you need sleep too, even if not as much." he said, looking at the vampyre seriously. They didnt have to lay back to back, it was luckily a rather large bed. Joe got out of his shirt and sat down on the bed, running his hands through his hair, ruffling it up a little.

Cesare hesitated, but eventually went to the bed, laying down with his clothes on. At least then the human wouldn't think ill of him, right? He just needed some rest. That was all. The lights were turned off and he closed his eyes. It felt weird to listen to the human's breathing. How his heart was pumping blood around his system. And yet it felt very comforting. It was like a warm blanket fell over him and he soon drifted off into wherever vampyres went when they quote on quote slept.

The next time he woke up, he realized that he was holding his arms around Benjamin. How had this happened? He was truly weak, wasn't he? And yet he clearly couldn't stay away. He was bad at keeping promises, that was for sure. "Are you awake?" he whispered, because he could hear the human breathing a bit differently. Was he mad? He could imagine why. "Sorry," he was going to apologize a lot, wasn't he? However instead of letting go he just buried his face in the human's hair, breathing him in as he was. Had anyone ever smelled like this? He wasn't sure, but what was sure was the fact that being close to him just made him in a better mood. "Do you want me to let go?"

No he guess he didn't mean it. But then again he was just selfish enough that he wanted to apologize regardless. The human turned around and he had to grit his teeth before pressing him closer. He couldn't help himself, keeping his face in the human's hair as if it was going to save him from anything. Did he need more sleep? No. But did he want an excuse to just lay here with him? Very much so. "Would you still let me hold you if I said no?" he asked, smiling slightly against his scalp. His smell was earthy, a bit of alcohol of course and the events of last night all mixed into one. He sighed, his hand moving around, touching his bare chest, holding his breath as he just wanted to feel his heat. "Should I go fetch you some breakfast?" he asked.