Let's get this started

Saige moved over to sit beside the daemon as he gestured for them to do so. The explanation made sense, but why hadn't he just told them not to touch it? That way they wouldn't have had that stupid idea. "I promise I won't ever touch it or ask about it again," they said, reaching over to take his hand, just holding it and actually seeking some comfort in him instead of shying away when they felt hurt. "But could you please tell me when there's something you don't want me to do or touch?" Was it a big ask to be informed? The seraph would hate to make him upset again, and the key was clearly a sore point for him. They leaned their head against his shoulder, "it hurts seeing you upset." A rather vulnerable thing to admit, but Saige clearly cared for him a lot. Sure he was still in a way their owner in some sense, but it seemed that things were slowly changing and they had to figure out new limitations.
"The world is hard enough as it is .. and I don't want to make it harder for you," they spoke rather caringly, caressing the daemon's hand with his free one. Just looking at how strong he was, how he was protecting them so effortlessly. How kind he was. "Can I do anything to make you happy again?" They asked, leaning away from his shoulder to look up at him. They had clearly put a lot of effort into their make up as it seemed almost seamless, even up close. All Saige ever wanted to do was be good and please Callan, like they were fully committed to the daemon by their side right now.

Their promise wasnt really necessary because he didnt doubt that they would stay away from it. He let them hold his hand, giving it a soft squeeze as it was rather clear that they wanted to be comforted. Otherwise they wouldnt be touching his hand, right? "No you're right, I should have told you." he agreed, looking at their hands. He felt their head push his shoulder and he lifted his eyes to look at them. They were rather cute like this. He couldnt stay angry at them.
"My world isnt that hard. I'm strong and smart." he smiled, not wanting them to worry too much about him. He sighed at their question and shook his head. "There's no harm done. I'm not angry." he said, looking at them with a softer look to his eyes. He lifted his free hand to cup their face, inspecting their makeup. "Do you need to eat before we go?" he asked, gently stroking their cheekbone. If so then he would let them sort that out while he went and changed. He didnt want to show up in work clothes, but he also wasnt one to dress fancy. Once that was done, did he go look for the seraph. "Rose will be there tonight as well. Just so you know."

Their face was cupped again and they leaned their cheek against the strong palm. All they wanted was to make him happy. That and be close to him. Why, they couldn't really say unless they thought about it, but that seemed a little too daunting at this point. At least they hoped that they looked the part for this evening, and the question of food made them hum. They got up to go make some food, eating it sitting down for once as they had to use a fork and a knife. Finishing up as Callan came out, they placed their plate and utensils in the dishwasher before turning around to look at the daemon. They felt themselves blush, looking quite stunned for a moment. He looked .. so good! The mention of Rose however didn't sit well with them, but it was perhaps just one of those things that they had to live with from now on.
They moved a little closer, touching the shirt that the daemon was wearing, making sure the collar sat just right. "Can I give you another gift?" They asked a little carefully. If the answer was no, then they just had to bite it in them, but if the answer was yes they would smile. They headed into their room briefly, getting a nice handkerchief that had been embroidered in the same style that Saige doodled on their clothes. However they had felt that this might be more appropriate for the daemon, and more muted to his style. "I thought .. I wanted to match a little," they said, blushing a little as he could probably see that the pattern was the same as the sleeves on their dress. It was a subtle nod, but it showcased that they were going together.

Saige smiled at the notion, but they weren't sure if he liked it or not. He did wear it in his pocket, so that had to count for something. Getting in the car, the drive wasn't too bad, but they were a bit surprised to see where they had ended up at. It was a relatively large mansion, lots of people arriving and the seraph started to feel rather nervous. Wasn't this just a small business event? They felt unsure of themselves now, unsure if it was even appropriate for them to be there, but then they looked down at the ring. No, they told themselves, Callan had asked them to be there, and so they would stay with him.
Outside Rose was dressed in a beautiful long red dress that had golden roses going around her waist. The dress was snug, really showing off her curves as her hair was beautifully curled and styled to one side of her face, reaching over her shoulder. However when she saw Callan arrive along with that damned weed she did pull a somewhat cracked smile. "How good it is to see you, Callan," she spoke, nodding her head in a respective manner before she looked to the seraph. They were still wearing the number, so at least the daemon could still discard them for the night. "And good to see you too, little Dandelion, I hope you are doing well," smiling almost too sweetly. Saige just smiled, nodding as they looked down, "you look really beautiful," they complimented her, and it seemed to put her in a better mood. "Shall we?"
Inside opened up to a grand hall, guests gathering around in smaller groups and Saige noticed that there were a handful of flowers here as well. Perhaps brought here as dates or entertainment of some of the rich participants. Saige just kept close to Callan, feeling a fair few eyes on them as they walked in. They weren't really sure where to look as it all seemed so overwhelming, and they just started fiddling slightly with their hands. "Saige, why don't we go get ourselves some drinks? I'm sure there are some people in here dying to meet you," she smiled, locking her arm with the seraph that was just basically pulled with. Saige turned their head, looking at Callan a bit confused an perhaps worried, but soon enough businessmen and women gathered around the daemon to talk and discuss the market. Of course it wasn't the type of men to invest in stocks, rather it was more of a criminal undertone to it all.

When they arrived to meet Rose, did Callan quickly look at her outfit. But then again, he did own her, so what she wore had to be on point. Imperfection was simply not in the cards for them tonight. Though he knew that Rose of all people would never disappoint. Maybe that was why he trusted her as much as he did. "Rose." he nodded as his greeting, before the attention was turned to Saige. Callan couldnt tell if there was jealousy to see from Rose when she saw the seraph but he didnt quite have the time to observe much further than a first glance.
He did grab the seraph's hand to place in his arm as they went inside. Just so everyone would see them together before they would have to part. Callan let Rose take them away as he had to see to some formalities either way; Surely it would bore Saige more than what they could get from interacting with people who werent high standing business men in the criminal sense. A lot had brought their own plus ones that all were either like one of the flowers or a few that seemed rather normal and mundane for such a gathering.

Saige was a bit proud to be showed off like that, but it also made them worry a bit. What if they didn't do as good as Callan wanted them to do? Though soon enough they would have completely different troubles. Rose took them around, and as she talked about the place and people here, silently introducing them to everyone present, it was clear that she showed off just how much knowledge she had about this world. Saige was quite frankly in awe, sipping on a sweet punch that they weren't sure whether was alcoholic or not from the sugary taste. It was clear that Rose was popular, plenty of people approaching her, wanting to talk to her, and Saige started to pick up on a few things. For one, she seemed rather flirty, but also direct, which made the other person more inclined to speak more and share details they probably shouldn't. Secondly, it was clear that she was slowly getting a bit annoyed with the fact that those approaching soon enough asked about Saige.
The seraph of course wasn't sure how to handle the attention, but Rose had given them a formal flower education and so they would do their best to do their part. Besides, they couldn't let Callan down. "My, my, my, where have you hidden this beauty away in your lovely Garden?" a woman said, leaning down to touch the sleeve of Saige's dress, complementing them, "I almost get jealous that you aren't coming home with me." A soft chuckle leaving her lips as Rose joined in, "sadly no, they are not in my arrangement of flowers," she said. It was clear the mother of flowers was not happy right now.
Saige decided to keep low profile and eventually got outside into the garden. They felt like they could finally breathe, feeling their heart in their throat. Everyone seemed so friendly, and yet they couldn't ignore how everyone seemed to want them yet simultaneously keep their distance. Was it because they had been seen so clearly with Callan? They felt a rush in their stomach because it made them somehow feel so happy. Looking up at the sky they took a few more deep breaths before returning to the mansion. A few men pushed through the doors, chuckling as they were headed out for a smoke. "Woah there lost kitten; better not stray out in the garden - it's not safe to be alone around all of these people," and the group burst into laugh as they went to smoke. Saige just smiled, shaking their head a little at their drunken antics, but they weren't offended. They were right. Heading inside, they were looking around, seeing if they could find Callan anywhere, but they couldn't .. And Rose wasn't there either. What was going on?

Callan was in fact keeping an eye on Rose and Saige when he had the time to. Or just a simple glance in their direction to make sure everything was fine. But once the small talk was over and people got to drinking, was it time to act. He found Rose, though she was alone which he found odd; they had to act now. He pulled her along before he instructed her to find a certain person. He would wait around for them to come, taking off his jacket to avoid getting blood all over. He wrapped something around his knuckles to hit harder.
When Rose would bring in the guy, hopefully seducing him into being completely unaware of his surroundings, Callan would grab him and bang him against the wall. The music and commotion would completely deafen the fight. Though Callan hadnt expected the guy to really be prepared and a knife was drawn. A few hits from Callan and the guy wafting the knife around to protect himself, left the daemon with cuts on his forearms, a cut under his armpit. But the guy fell to the ground, beaten pretty hard. Callan was panting, feeling the adrenaline make him restless and angry. He stepped closer to the guy, though he had done what he set out to do. Make an example. This prick had been someone who needed to be put in his place.

Rose had lost the seraph in the crowd, but could she really be blamed when she had to keep up the facade? She wasn't a babysitter! When Callan came to get her she did her job tremendously well, luring the guy with her to one of the rooms upstairs. Of course the guy thought it was for some harmless fooling around, however he was met with fists upon fists of rage, and Rose just leaned back, watching it happen with a rather apathetic look before the guy started waving a knife around. She tried to get closer, grab the idiot, but Callan was clearly pissed now.
Saige felt disoriented. Everything in this place just looked the same, and they couldn't find Callan anywhere. They even went out to the garden to check, as the daemon smoked from time to time, but no luck there either. As they were about to head inside the woman from earlier stopped them. "Oh dearie, are you alright?" She asked, reaching out to touch their arm, making them shy away, "I-I'm alright; just needed some air," they said politely before heading back into the party. The woman frowned, looking as the seraph disappeared into the mansion.
The seraph wandered around, looking everywhere they could think of before they moved upstairs. It was a bit more quiet up here, but there were still a few people looming around. Maybe this was a bad idea? And it turned out to be true as they stepped into the room where Callan stood, blood up his nice shirt and his eyes filled with fury. Rose looked surprised as they entered, but the startling effect made the victim reach out and grab around Saige, pressing the knife to their throat. The seraph was completely frozen in place, their eyes scared as they looked to the daemon, unaware what was going on. "Nobody fucking move .. or you'll lose your little pet seraph," the man spat. Yeah, he knew about this damned little special kid that Callan had taken in. Saige looked panicked, but Rose leaned onto Callan's shoulder, whispering in his ear, "just finish him off already; you said this was more important than anything?" Or was this another time where the seraph was more important to the daemon?

Callan should've probably stomped his skull in, but he didnt. For once was he choosing to not just be violent, because the seraph's words rang in his head. And it turned out to bite him right in the ass when Saige showed up to everyone's surprise. Even Rose lost her focus for a second and it ended up putting Saige in danger.
Callan stood still at the warning, but he looked even angrier than he had after attacking the guy. This threat was beyond physical. Rose's whisper made him look away as he did consider it, but in no way would he sacrifice the seraph now. He loosened the chain around his knuckles, dropping it to the floor. "I should have crushed your skull when I had the chance." he hissed, before he looked at Saige. Why did they have to show up at the worst time possible? But Callan was the one that had been weak. He hadnt followed his instinct and now this was happening.

Seeing the chains drop the victim seemed a bit more satisfied, but he wasn't releasing Saige just yet. If he wanted to make it out alive then this seraph was his ticket to freedom. Rose had a lot of respect for Callan, but that move made her look in disbelief. Where was the fierce daemon who cared so little about anyone? Where was the daemon that she had come to love? And then she looked to the seraph, gritting her teeth a little in frustration. It was that damned brat. But she knew better than to speak up now, so she hung back, watching things unfold.
Even if Saige was being held hostage they were still more than worried for Callan. They could see the cuts, and they lifted a hand to reach for him as they felt the blade pierce their skin, whining as their body instinctively tried to move away from the sharp object. The guy grit his teeth, "don't move," he hissed as he wasn't sure what the seraph was trying to do, but he would have none of it. Saige had to lower their arm, but their eyes were glued to Callan. "Now, you are a man of your word, Callan; I want you to swear to me that you wont harm me nor follow me when I leave this place," he demanded, and if the daemon hesitated or tried to bargain he would simply make smaller cuts against the seraph's throat. That way the daemon could decide for himself how many pieces he wanted the seraph back in.
"This isn't right, boss," Rose whispered. This had taken a lot of planning and time. Was he just going to waste it all over this stupid seraph that he had known for a fraction of what he had known her for? A stupid weed that had no worth besides looking pretty. Of course she didn't want to know the details of what Callan got out of the seraph, but she could imagine that it was something strange in nature. "What will it be?" The man demanded an answer.

The man nodded in approval, smiling as he now had the upper hand. However a faint shot was heard, blood splattering everywhere as Saige was released, landing on the floor with bits and pieces of brain and skin tissue all over them. Completely in shock they desperately reached out to touch the man, wanting to heal him despite what he had done, but even the seraph's powers couldn't heal a bullet through the skull and brain. They were just shaking, falling back as tears just started to rain down their cheeks. The woman from earlier stepped in and over the dead body, looking to Callan, Rose and then finally at the seraph on the floor. "Best to get out of here before he's noticed," she said with a nod of respect towards the daemon.
She had clearly been the one to shoot the guy, even if the event had called for no weapons, it seemed that people weren't taking it too seriously anyways. "She's right, we should get going," Rose said, at least relieved that the guy was dead now, even if it was in the wrong way, he at least hadn't gotten to run off. The seraph was just crying, grasping at their own clothes as they couldn't stop the feeling of not being able to heal someone because there was truly nothing they could do. "I hope to be seeing you soon in better circumstances," and with that she left the trio, clearly not wanting to get caught up here with the murder weapon along with a victim. Rose hummed, not really phased by what had happened as she went to go grab the seraph. However Saige was frantically trying to get away from her, shaking their head, crying and begging not to be touched. Rose groaned grabbing them anyways and the seraph screamed out in pain making her let go in an instant. Fuck they were troublesome. Why did Callan even bother?

Rose went on ahead, making sure they wouldn't run into some trouble right outside. Saige was shaking and crying, and as Callan touched them they at first tried to move away, but soon enough had to give in. Their body recognizing the safe arms that were now around them, even if they were still in a lot of pain. Somehow it felt good this way, because Callan they could at least heal, and they ended up hiding their face away in the daemon's neck, their hands touching his skin to ground themselves.
Rose lead the way, getting out of there without any trouble it seemed. Seeing as she wasn't bloodied up at all, she helped the two to the daemon's car before she looked back at the mansion. "I'll go back to keep up appearances; if you're missing then people will ask questions," she knew this crowd in and out, and she wasn't going to let this one slip up ruin their entire reputation. So she headed back in, putting on a smile and telling everyone that the daemon had taken the seraph home as they had had a bit too much to drink.
Once in the car, Saige just curled up in a ball on the front seat, shivering and shaking as the smell of blood was making them nauseous. However they couldn't just pull over and clean up. They needed to go home before any of that could happen.

Saige was just shivering, sobbing from time to time. Frankly they didn't blame him for leaving them behind. They felt so horrible anyways, and at some point it seemed that they had just shifted into a robotic like state. Entering the house they barely noticed the mess. The only thing they could focus on was getting all of this gunk off. Stripping down in the bathroom they didn't even bother looking in the mirror as they just stepped into the shower, turning it on and not really caring what temperature it was. Lucky for them it was warm, and it made their body able to more more easily, scrubbing their skin hard and making it red with irritation. Eventually they just sat down in the shower, crying as they hugged their legs in which their knees had been pulled up to their chin.
It wasn't even like they could close their eyes and relax. No, every time they blinked they could see the blood and brain matter scattered all over. The gunshot still ringing in their ears. But the worst part was that sensation of nothing. The feeling of a dead body that they could do nothing about. It made them feel so empty inside, and they wondered if it had been better if they had just stayed home. Maybe they should just stay home forever? It would save the daemon a lot of trouble. Or maybe he should just get rid of them already as they seemingly could do nothing but get into trouble today. They looked at the ring on their finger, sobbing softly as they had really liked being here with the daemon. They just wanted to make them happy but it all seemed like all they could muster was failure after failure that ended with the daemon hurt or angry. Or both.

The daemon remained in his room for a while, before he eventually went down to the living room. He grabbed himself a rather strong drink before he went out on the porch and sat down. He had cigarettes with him as well. He had wrapped his arms up in bandages so they would stop bleeding. He had switched out of his torn shirt, putting on a more loose one to not mess with the wrapping. The brute had just sort of jammed a piece of cotton in the wound under his armpit, wrapping that tight as well. He was mostly just contemplating what went wrong and how it could have meant that the seraph would have gotten badly hurt. That was what bothered him the most about the whole ordeal. He had called Rose, asking her to come over when she was finished at the event. It wasnt often that he did that. But he couldnt deny that she often could be a voice of reason when he was conflicted or bothered.

After crying for a while and scrubbing themselves to the bone they finished the shower drying off before they got dressed in some clean clothes. What they needed right now was just Callan, even if he would get angry with them, so they moved around looking for him. He wasn't in his room, so they moved further out into the house before they spotted him on the porch. They moved closer until they saw who was with him. Rose. All of their insecurities were just heightened tonight, and the pain they had felt when being touched by anyone but Callan was too much. They knew she saw them, but they just hurried off to their room, crawling into bed and hiding away. The daemon didn't need them anyway, and yet all they could think of was how hurt he had looked. They felt guilty for hiding away, but Rose being there wouldn't make them feel any kind of comfortable.

Rose had arrived not long after the daemon had called for her. She was still wearing a different dress, clearly one that she had meant to change into in case she got blood all over her. Seeing him sitting there on the porch she rolled her eyes, crossing her arms. The two of them had known each other for a long time, and she got away with being rude. Especially in these scenarios where he had asked for her help. Moving up she found a packet of cigarettes herself, putting one between her teeth and lighting it, inhaling slow and deep to get the nicotine rush. "It was a shit show, huh?" She was just blatantly honest with him, "it should've been easy .. why did you hesitate?" She hadn't ever seen Callan second guess his actions and that was what she liked about him. He was unapologetic and did things his way. Was he starting to get soft?
"Don't you think it's about time you get rid of that seraph?" She knew she was biased in this, but the weed was clearly changing the daemon, and she wasn't sure that was a good thing. "You've had your fun and the guy who wanted to buy them still calls the Garden every now and again," she shrugged. In her eyes it was a good deal to just sell the seraph off to someone who seemingly wanted them. "I know I'm coming off cruel and blunt, but you don't call me over to baby you."

Her assumptions had been right, it had been that damned seraph who had messed with the daemon she found so perfect. Why couldn't he see that she didn't want him to change? That he as he was was more than enough. Though she over spoke, the daemon grabbing her by her throat, gasping for air as he threatened her. He had done it before in regards to the little weed who was sleeping in his house, eating and probably doing nothing all day. When she was released, she realized she had dropped her cigarette, stomping it out, and picking up the rest to just leave it in the ashtray. If he already knew who had messed up, then why was he calling on her? He was clearly not satisfied and yet it seemed like he wanted a solution to a problem none of them could solve. "What do you want me to do? Find a new person that you can beat up to show an example?" She wasn't kidding, she would do that if that was what he wanted. But she just hoped he wouldn't hesitate this time.
Sighing she rubbed her temples, "if you want to mope around for a while, that's fine, but things are only going to get more difficult .. if the others start to see you slip then things can get really bad really soon," she reminded him. Of course she would be the last one to betray him, that was for sure. She got up from her seat, dusting her dress off, the faint finger marks around her throat visible and they would probably bruise after a while. "I need to get back to the Garden; I think I'm about to crack Daisy," she just said, nodding as she checked her hair in the window. "Anything else I can do for you?"

Rose hummed as he seemed to agree with what she needed to do, though the way he touched her neck made her frown. Why was he touching her like that? She liked to be grabbed, not caressed like that. Frankly she was just happy to get out of there when she did.

Saige had done their best in regards to wrapping themselves up. However the wrap around their neck was itching and they couldn't fall asleep. Eventually they just got up, moving around their room before they just decided to pull it off. They were still bleeding a little, though not as badly as it could've been. A distraction .. they needed a distraction! And what better way than to start painting. It was their form of therapy, and soon enough it seemed that their body started to relax, getting all of the emotions out and onto the canvas. Out of their head and away so that they didn't have to think about it all. When the painting was somewhat done they sat down on the floor, just sitting and staring up at the canvas covered in cool tones, only one warm that seemed to pierce it all which was red like blood.
No, this wasn't something they liked looking at. Their fingers still full of paint grabbed the canvas, pulling it with them outside where they broke it in half and tossed it into the garden with a soft grunt. They just collapsed to their knees, tears running down their cheeks as they weren't even sure what to do with themselves any more. Pulling at their hair the voices in their head were just telling them to do things they didn't want to. They wished that they had just gone to Callan, even with Rose there. They needed him and yet they felt so selfish for doing so.

He sat on his bed, looking at the kit but ultimately put it on his nightstand. To torment himself? Maybe a little. He did hear the seraph move around the house as it was so quiet now. Like an uncomfortable silence that grew louder. He leaned back to lie on the bed, looking up at the ceiling. It was odd how the seraph was affecting him and apparently it was starting to show more obviously. Would it put Saige in danger in the future? He caught himself thinking that rather than caring what it would do to his business.
He got up from the bed before he went to look for the seraph. They werent in their room, nor the room where they usually painted. He ended up checking every room before he eventually saw them outside. He stepped out on the porch, seeing the torn and broken canvas. "You'll get sick wearing only that out here in the cold." he said, reaching down to pick up the seraph to bring them back inside.

Saige wasn't even sure how they were going to make it through the night. Nothing made them calm down, and it seemed not even painting could soothe them. The daemon spoke behind them but it was like they couldn't move. When they were lifted up they weren't sure if they could even fight back. "Why do you do this?" They asked, grasping onto the daemon's shirt, probably getting paint stuck to it, but it was like they didn't care if he was going to get angry. They wanted him to talk, to hear his voice, even if he was going to be upset with them. "Why did you do as he said?" They still couldn't understand. Saige knew that they cared for Callan, and somewhere deep down they knew Callan cared for them as well. But they weren't worth more than finishing a plan, were they? No, they couldn't begin to believe that. "I wouldn't have been upset with you .. if you hadn't," they were perhaps too quick to forgive, and yet they were so compassionate. They reached their hands up, cupping his face, "let me heal you." They were practically begging, but it wasn't so much about the fact that the daemon being hurt, it was more trying to erase that empty feeling they had felt when they had put so much energy into saving someone that couldn't be saved.