Know your place.

Ind. roleplay and ask blog for a fandomless vampire villain oc. Highly selective. Icon drawn by bishopinblue and colored by townofcadence

[bloodlustiing]

Ah, Valentine's Day. And what a heartfelt meal they had shared... he thinks of it with only the most fondness.

[eerieeyedleveret]

"The only person who ought to be embarrassed here is you, for the faux pas of incorrectly thinking I'd be talking about you."

[bloodlustiing]

"Oh it's no faux pas, dear. I am, in your own terms, in 'this place,' making me included in your statement. I am also, objectively, one of if not the most beautiful person here. Other than yourself, of course."

[eerieeyedleveret]

@bloodlustiing

"Get out of my house."

[bloodlustiing]

"There's no need to be so pushy, my love. Even if you are embarrassed."

[deductiions]

The detective can feel the other looming over him as he comes to a stop before his desk and the moment he has to crane his neck back to look up at him is when he decides to stand. "Ah. Finding someone...a missing person, I presume? Of course! I specialize in locating missing persons." Sterling says confidently, pushing his glasses up some on his nose.

"Now tell me," He begins, grabbing his notebook off of his desk along with his pen and flipping to a fresh page. "Who is this person you're searching for and where were they last seen?" He asks, bringing the tip of his pen to his tongue before pressing it to his notebook, eyes trained intensely on his client.

[bloodlustiing]

Ares doesn't budge as Sterling stands, unperturbed by the suddenness of it. If anything, his smile seems to grow just a bit bigger. "Oh? My, how very fortunate for me. This person is in grave danger, you see... so the sooner I'm able to find them the better."

He watches the detective grab a notebook and pen, and perform quite the outdated act. Old habits die hard, perhaps? Modern pens didn't need the extra assistance after all, they hadn't for some time if he's remembering correctly. "Mm, yes of course. I'm looking for a man named Franklin Daye. The last I saw him was at his place of employment, a construction company named Brick by Brick. He has a wife as well, by the name Barbara Daye. If you could locate the two of them I would be ever so grateful, I need to make sure they're taken care of..."

[townofcadence]

Blink blink.

".......I have been training in programs since I was 16." Greyson's brows lower slightly. "I have twenty-two years of experience, working under master chefs in seventeen countries. I have dabbled on my own in other cuisine from many other places as well." This feels somewhat like a job interview. Perhaps the standards of this event are rather high.

[bloodlustiing]

Ares has a small pause, though his face doesn't change much. He blinks, and his head tilts ever so slightly as he examines Greyson... but that is the only indication that anything is happening inside of his head.

"Hm... I see. Quite the experience you have, dear. Far more than most could ever hope to boast." An index fingers taps a slow and rhythmic motion upon his knee. "Would you be available from the twenty-second to the twenty-fourth?"

[deductiions]

"Pardon my intrusion, I was looking for a private detective. Am I in the right place?"

UNPROMPTED. // @bloodlustiing

Sterling looks up from the case file he had been heavily annotating at his desk when the question reaches his ears to find a surprise visitor. Word must finally be getting around about his impeccable crime solving skills--this is his offices second visitor in a long time!

"No pardons are necessary. You couldn't have possibly landed yourself in a more correct place. Come in. What can I help you with?" He asks, scribbling one last thing down before closing the folder and giving his guest his undivided attention.

[bloodlustiing]

Ares' face melts into a pleasant, easy smile upon hearing he's in the correct place, and he strolls into the office without a second hesitation. "Oh, perfect. This is my first time seeking this sort of thing out, I'm glad I found you."

The clicking of heels comes to a stop as he does before the desk, gloved hand resting upon corseted waist. Dark lidded eyes gaze down upon Sterling, drinking him in. "Well, I was hoping that you could help me find someone, Detective... if that's a service you offer? It's of the utmost importance."

[townofcadence]

@bloodlustiing // Continued

If they notice the turn of phrase, they don't react. Instead, Greyson sits rigid in the offered chair, gloved hands clasped in his lap. "I have, with as many masters as I could manage. I can make myself available, if there is a need for catering. Do you know when the event is scheduled?"

There's no question about pay. They know Ares would more than compensate the work, as he always did.

[bloodlustiing]

"Hm, it's not exactly catering, though your services would be appreciated if I decide to attend." He seems to not acknowledge the question about the date, at least not yet. It seems as though he's still deciding whether or not to attend in general.

"It's an impressive prestige to have, especially for someone so... limited in time and resources. Out of the general one hundred and ninety... oh, what is it these days.... one hundred and ninety-five countries, I believe? Out of those, how many would you say that you've studied in?"

[townofcadence]

"Greyson, dear, come sit. There's something I need to discuss with you."

".......Yes sir."

[bloodlustiing]

"Good boy." Ares sounds the most pleased upon Greyson's compliance. His glass sits upon the table and he adjusts himself to face his little chef better, legs crossing at the knees and hands folding atop them.

"I wanted to know if you would be available for an event I was invited to participate in. You've mentioned studying your craft in a number of countries, haven't you?"

[bloodlustiing]

Sips wine very smugly.

[roua-poemului]

might fuck around and make you mine in ways you never dreamed of.

[eerieeyedleveret]

Artair's brow pinches slightly at the assertion. It'd almost make them laugh if the stakes here weren't so dire. "...No-- no, it's not the money. It's-- It's your safety, Ares. what would I be if I pulled you out of one shitty situation-- incredibly fucking shitty at that-- to then start having you come out here like this and potentially get hurt? It'd just be trading one bad situation for another." Not if they could help it.

"I have some training and I know what I'm doing." They take his arms at the biceps, looking him in the eye despite the lurch and thud in their chest. There is nothing but a plea on their face. "And --- and if something bad happened to you...." The words hang unsaid.

[bloodlustiing]

"It wouldn't be your choice, then." He insists, a soft fortitude behind his voice. "You helped me out of a horrible situation, even if it was one of my own making. And now... now, I choose what I want to do. And this, helping you now... that's what I want. Being here with you is what I want. Keeping you from being hurt like..." He swallows. "Like before."

He hates more than anything that he flinches when they take him by the arms. He's been a little better about it lately, but it still happens. All he can hope is that Artair knows somehow that it's not them he's flinching from.

And it's hard to meet their eyes, when they look like that. He feels like he could crumble beneath it. He tries not to, even when their voice breaks ever so lightly. "Then it is my own doing. And if I get hurt... well, isn't there a chance that you could get hurt, as well? And neither of us will get as hurt as we would alone... it would only be a net positive, if there were two of us." His own voice shakes as he tries to make his case. "I-- I'm sorry, I just." He breathes. It doesn't help, not that it has in a long time. "I just want... you to be okay, and I feel like I could really help."

[eerieeyedleveret]

Their expression creases as Ares speaks. Just hearing that he wants to be useful......

Artair debates in silence, hand clasping over their own jaws, and squeezing to slide down to their chin, in repetitive motion. The minutes stretch on, before they shake their head.

"No--- Ares, you--- you don't need to be useful to matter, okay? And I can't--- you've already dealt with enough." The bait offer is entirely out of the question. "I..... look, even if you stayed, I'd want you much further than this. Okay? I know you can handle yourself and I know you don't want anything to happen to me but-- but this is my job. I don't want you getting pulled into this."

[bloodlustiing]

The silence is almost hopeful on his end, hoping that Artair will give in to his desire to help. It's a long shot, but he's already here and that has to mean something, right? It would almost be more trouble to not use him, now.

Of course Artair doesn't agree. Ares' shoulders slump ever so slightly, before raising again. "I know, I just--" He fights the urge to fidget again. Maybe if he stands more confidently, appears more capable... His frown deepens. "Job or not, I know first hand that you've already been through enough, too. If it's money, if you're worried about having to split your pay or something to that effect, don't. I don't want anything except for you to be safe and unharmed. What if something goes wrong, and you're here all alone?"

[eerieeyedleveret]

Artair's lip thin at the way Ares looks away, but they don't speak on the why either. There's a swell of something hot in their skin, one that burns at their face even in the silence. But the fact that Ares is here is more pivotal, more electric. Their lungs cannot take in air, and they feel perspiration beading the nape of their neck. Their fingers drag through their hair to cup against it, nails biting against the skin.

Ares is so small, so vulnerable and gentle, and there are a thousand things they can imagine being the end of him being here.

The sentiment is kind, which Ares Castellanos the Fledgling is. But they hardly hear the words before Artair is shaking their head, eyes wide. "No-- no.... Ares, I appreciate it. But you can't be here. You can't-- it--- it is dangerous. That-- they were human but they're not anymore. But I know what I'm doing. I know what I'm dealing with, what's happening. Ares, I need you to go before it's too late. Please." The voice is desperate, edged.

[bloodlustiing]

Ares frowns at how swiftly Artair tries to reject his help. It's like with Affogato all over again, isn't it? But-- he isn't scared now, and he doesn't balance everything he has on the creature he caught a brief look at. If he is at all scared, it's for Artair. He can't allow what he witnessed to happen again, at any cost! Not when they are so kind and gentle, entirely undeserving of such a fate.

"If it is dangerous, then I think even more so that I should stay." The words are slow, careful, still timid for pushing back against what he's told. "I know you worry, I do, but-- I worry too. And I can be of use to you, I'm sure of it! Even if I just stay back and watch, and only join if things start to look bad. I even brought the sword you gave to me, just in case." His fingers part, to brush along the black leather sheath at his right hip lightly. "Or I could be a distraction, something of that sort."

[eerieeyedleveret]

@bloodlustiing Sent: what is that thing? what does it want? (from fledgling Ares!)

Artair's head whips around at the voice, to a familiar face. For a fleeting moment, there is adrenaline, sharp on their tongue and like nettles in every tensing muscle.

Blue eyes. A softened expression and clothing in shades of pink.

That is all it takes for the shakes to set in, but their shoulders to drop like cut strings. And then, all of it weaves its way back into them, eyes wide when things click into place. "That doesn't--- fuck-- what are you doing here? How did you get here?" There is no shortage of tremor to their voice. They move to block the space they'd been observing from view with wide eyes and pinched brow.

[bloodlustiing]

It's to be expected, now. Every time he speaks, every time he approaches quietly as he if oft to do-- every touch, anything unexpected. It all elicits this sort of reaction. Shaking tenseness he recognizes too well. But he understands it so deeply, Ares would never blame them. It hurts sometimes, to be looked at in that way for even the smallest of moments, but there is nothing to be done about it, so he does not comment. Artair would never want to hurt him like that.

He stands, fingers barely touching in front of him, with his head lowered just a bit. "I-- mm." He knows what he's done is wrong, very wrong. "I was worried about you. I do apologize, I know it's a bit of an overstep, I just..." He just can't get the mental image of their mangled body out of his mind, no matter how hard he tries. "-heard what you were doing, and thought it might be better if you had help." His own brows are pinched in the slightest way, gaze dropped once they stepped in front of the opening.

"That creature-- is it dangerous..?"

[killyridols]

1997: relative by rebecca storm, 2024, acrylic on canvas, 9 x 12 inches

[neenarchive]

boys like it when you imprison them in the ornate birdcage that hangs in the centre of your lair

[bloodlustiing]

Verse: Fledgling

This verse is set in Ares' past, when he's just recently been turned into a vampire. He is extremely different in this verse, due mainly to a lack of confidence and power, as well as being under the thumb of an unforgiving and cruel vampire lord who goes by the name "Affogato."

Ares, desperate to restore his family name and wealth after the untimely death of his parents and departure of his younger brother Apollo, sought aid anywhere he could. Affogato, a manipulative man well aware of the wealth and influence tied to the Castellanos name, seeks him out and offers to help him reclaim what was lost in exchange for servitude. Seeing little choice, Ares accepts and is turned into a vampire against his will.

Weak and with no real means to grow stronger, Ares struggles with his lost humanity and the side effects of vampirism while trying to keep up with Affogato's increasing demands. He does his best to keep his head up, though. After all; what he's been promised is more than worth the torment of undeath and the abuse he suffers at his lord's hand.

Isn't it?