“Oh? So you’re looking for favors now?” Augustine retorted with a laugh, shaking his head. He was oblivious to the other’s state without his heightened senses, only able to pick up on what was conveyed from the human’s tone. “Not sure what you expected coming to this shit show. Guessing you were looking to see if anyone was breaking the terms of the agreement?”
“I don’t remember asking for any favours.” Eiji answered, not entirely sure what the guy was getting at, but too tired to dig or be argumentative. “Yeah, well, I just work here.” He shrugged and placed the now lit cigarette between his lips before offering out the packet to Faust, purely to be polite rather than actually wanting to share. “But yeah, it’s a good chance to see how the rules are holding up in such a large scale event. There aren’t many humans, so that makes it easier for them to abide, but still. The rules are meant to help keep everyone safe, and not just from vampires.” Eiji found an empty bench and sat down on it, finding himself rather carelessly with his guard down after how the evening had transpired. “Why did you come?”
“My good graces, thinking I’ll cut you slack just because you’re out here moping about,” Augustine explained, taking a step closer to the Artemis member and eyeing him closely. “I came because I’m a witch, and it’s commonplace for us to attend community events. Surely you already knew that though,” he added. “Last I checked it wasn’t your responsibility to make sure the agreement is being upheld. We have people better able to protect themselves for that job. If someone realized who you were tonight, you’d probably have been dead. Den of vipers in there.”
“Slack for what?” Eiji retaliated incredulously, but mostly, impatiently. He was pretty sure he’d lost his brother tonight over a vampire he had known for all of five minutes— yet another of his family members who saw it fit to drop him once they’d found something better—and now Judas knew of his identity too. He really didn’t have it in him to play Jacob’s act of sweetness tonight.
He retracted his hand from where it had once been offering out the packet of cigarettes with a roll of his eyes and promptly stuffed it back into his pocket. “Yes, I knew that. I’m not a dumbass. I was just asking you a question like any normal person at a party. I wasn’t sure if you’d suddenly decided you enjoyed the ambience of the Rubicund. Or maybe you’d come here on the pull. God knows you need to get laid with that attitude.” Eiji blew a plume of smoke out from between his lips, “And what fucking concern of yours is my safety, huh?” He asked him, struggling to uphold any of his fake identity at this point. “Just give it a fucking rest, will you?”
"Thinking I'll tolerate your bullshit," Augustine retorted, using magic to pull the pack of cigarettes back from Jacob as he moved to lean against the back of the bench and face away. "And yes before you even begin with what bullshit, I think it's time you started being more honest with me."
Augustine had looked and looked and could not find a shred of evidence in any of Faust's belongings that he'd ever been with the man before him, and the more information he gathered about Jacob had him confident the little shit was lying. To what extent however he wasn't sure. He snatched the pack from the air, giving Jacob a rather fuck you stare, as if to say he would take a cigarette now thank you.
"It's simple. You're a human. And well aware of the dangers vampires pose. And if you came tonight under the guise of a worker, you're sure as hell not armed to defend yourself either," he continued, pulling a cigarette from the pack and a lighter from his own pocket. He lit the cigarette before tossing the pack back into Jacob's lap as he took a drag. "Now why you're acting so weird and making up lies around me, is what I'm still trying to piece together."
Eiji frowned as the packet of cigarettes was pulled from his jacket. Sometimes he wondered if witches could try not to be so obnoxious just for a second. “You could have just politely asked for it back, it’s really not that difficult.” He muttered, but without any intent to conceal his words.
“Is that so.” Eiji responded as he placed the cigarette back between his lips. Hopefully everything he had smoked since his teens would kill him sooner rather than later. “I work here all the time, not just tonight. You’d know that if you paid attention in the slightest.” He responded. Though after everything that had transpired tonight, Eiji sure as hell couldn’t return. “Again, why do you care if I’m armed or not? That’s the whole point of this, isn’t it? Humans don’t have anything to defend themselves with. That’s why we need to know these rules are working.”
Eiji paused as he watched the smoke drift from his lips into the air, quietly debating where he was supposed to go from here and finding he didn’t much care. “Still thinking about that, huh? You must have a lot of time on your hands. You disappeared, we needed answers. That’s it. You got me. Clearly I shouldn’t quit my day job and become an actor. You happy now?”
Augustine took a look around before he spoke, keeping his voice low despite the presumed privacy they had for the moment. “If you trust them that much then why are you in Artemis in the first place?” He took another drag then, hesitating before adding, “As for the actor bit- you know… I’ve thought a good bit on that dream shared back in February.”
Eiji had to keep his voice down and he did just that. “You missed the point. No, I don’t trust them with human safety. But it doesn’t matter if I walk in there with a full armoury, none of it is going to match up to what they have and that’s the whole point. Trying to gain something where we don’t feel like we have to walk into somewhere with a weapon.” At least that was Eiji’s take, but the gun they’d created was clearly another way of looking at things. It wasn’t a bad thing, to have a form of defence, but it wasn’t Eiji’s goal to go about eradicating supes of their powers unless it was for a good reason. “Really? And what fascinating tidbit do you have to share with me now?” He asked dryly.
Augustine turned, gaze locked on Jacob as he spoke. “Just found it interesting how you were awfully close in that dream with some folks I’d never have expected. Elijah Remington’s youngest son, for one… Twins in that dream, was it? What are the odds complete strangers end up sharing a dream they’re twins.”
Eiji frowned a little, “We’re not strangers.” He answered simply and his eyes lifted from his cigarette, “Albeit I don’t know him that well, but I also don’t control what goes on in those dreams. You and I were also fucking in a hut in the Maldives, but you don’t see us sipping pins coladas in our undies now, do you?” Eiji paused for a moment, before adding, “Why is it you seem to care so much about the Remington’s now? You seem to have gotten awfully cosy with all your trips there, Gus.”
Augustine snorted in mild amusement at the reference to the dream, responding, “Fair. Although if you’re tracking my movements, then you surely know I spoke with Rei tonight.” Did Augustine care about the Remingtons? No. But Rei was his only lead. And knowing Jacob was tracking him only furthered his drive to bluff his way into answers.
“Don’t flatter yourself, my sole purpose isn’t just to follow you around. If it was I’d be very bored, wouldn’t I?” Eiji paused, “What did he have to say for himself?”
"Would you? As you said-- fucking in Maldives. You obviously don't find me that boring on some level," Augustine rebutted with a smirk, eyeing the human with a mixture of emotions as he recounted the confusing dream that he'd been utilizing as a lead. "What's it to you what I discussed with the Remington kid? Is there something you'd like to share with the class?"
Eiji rolled his eyes, under other circumstances it could have been playful, but right now he was finding it difficult to muster much positivity. “Want to test that theory?” He joked humourlessly. In an extremely pathetic way, Eiji found himself recalling that dream fondly. His family had been functioning and dare say it loving and the interactions he’d had had been fun and light and the complete opposite to his current state. “You’re the one that brought it up, not me.” Eiji reminded him, “I find it more curious why you were spending so much time there.”
“Answers,” Augustine answered back plainly. “Since you think you’re better off keeping your mouth shut, I opened mine,” he added, taking another drag of the cigarette. “So why risk it?”
“Why were you questioning my ability to come to this event unprotected, when you’re willing to waltz into the Remington coven and start asking questions?” Eiji replied, “Because you’re a witch and I’m human, I get it.” He muttered the answer to his own question, but quickly realised he needed to keep his damn mouth shut. “Doesn’t seem suspicious at all that you’d find yourself there after disappearing for a year.” He stood up from the bench, crushing the cigarette out and blowing the remainder of smoke from between his lips, “Listen, I don’t know what it is you want from me. If you’re not going to tell me, I’m going home.”
“Yes. Because I’m a fucking witch- an established one at that,” Augustine sold with genuine annoyance, moving to walk around the bench and yank Jacob back down by his shirt as he sat beside him. “Now why don’t you fucking tell me why you’re tracking me so god damn much. —And don’t feed me the disappearing bullshit as a reason, because going off the radar isn’t anything new for anyone in our line of work.”
Did all witches just enjoy toting their achievements around? Eiji bitterly thought to himself as he raised his hand to the oncoming cab to try and flag it down. That was before he was promptly pulled backwards and he let out a disgruntled, “Hey!” Before his back hit the back of the bench again.
Eiji’s patience was wearing very thin that evening. He’d lost his brother along with every other close relationship he’d ever had—not to mention having his identity discovered by yet another person that evening that was probably going to be the end of him— and he was feeling reckless and emotional.
“You couldn’t just fucking leave me alone could you?” He snapped, turning his body to face him. “Because I know you’re full of shit.” He said through gritted teeth. Eiji released a breath and leant in then, lowering his voice so that only the witch could hear him, “Whoever you are, we know it’s not Faust.” He told him, not letting his gaze drop, “So I would tread very lightly before you threaten me again.” He said, thinking back to their last encounter and covering his hand over where the other mans fingers were still tangled in his shirt as he unpeeled them. “Established or otherwise, you haven’t convinced anyone.”
Augustine's eyes widened at the sudden outburst, caught off guard. The tonal shift in the human put him on edge, fully believing his words. It was all the confirmation he needed to know at very least some of Artemis knew all was not what it seemed. "You're fucking mad," he responded, pretending he was caught off guard by the outburst and nothing else. "Absolutely bonkers," he added. His questions regarding why Jacob was following him were answered by the other's response-- it was obvious at very least the human didn't buy the double life if he was tracking him, and while Augustine couldn't confirm if it was a bluff or not, the other certainly was selling him that it was more- much more. The witch stood up himself, hands up in defeat. "Look-- I ain't looking for trouble. Stop stalking me and I'll leave you the fuck alone too," he added, stepping back and utilizing what shadow magic he knew to disappear and make a sufficient get away.
“Sure. If you say so.” Eiji muttered and let go of the other man’s hand. He watched him get up and move away from him, wide eyed and hands up. At least for a moment the admission had gotten him off his back. He didn’t have much time to respond though, not when the witch was summoning shadows and disappearing into the darkness. Eiji exhaled slowly. He just wanted to go home… if you could even call it that, and try to process everything that had happened that evening, hopefully at the bottom of a bottle.
