Eiji Remington

Currently in hiding and under the new name Jacob Flores | Human born to witches of the Remington Coven | 28 | Bartender at The Rubicund | Ex Cybersecurity Engineer for No-Rex [Vievecor City RPG]

[eijiremington]

Original Biography | Headcanon’s | Playlist

CHARACTER NAME: Zachariah ‘Eiji’ Remington. Currently under a new identity Jacob Flores.

OCCUPATION: Bartender at The Rubicund / Ex Cyber Security Engineer for No-Rex.

AGE: 28

GENDER: Male. He/Him

SPECIES: Human

CHARACTER TRAITS:  Sensitive, Clever, Resourceful, Resentful, Deceptive, Sharp-tongued

HEIGHT: 5’8

BIRTHDAY: August 12th

ZODIAC: Leo

SPOKEN LANGUAGES: English, Japanese

QUOTE: My past has tasted bitter for years now. So I wield an iron fist. Grace is just weakness, or so I’ve been told. I’ve been cold, I’ve been merciless. But the blood on my hands scares me to death. Maybe I’m waking up, today.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

BODY TYPE: Slim

DOMINANT HAND: Right

POSTURE: Neutral/Good Posture

SCARS: Various small, faint red scars (fading) from numerous drunken accidents.

TATTOOS: See here & here + the supernatural mark

PIERCINGS: a couple in his left ear lobe

CHILDHOOD

HOME: Remington Tower

SIBLINGS: Jeremiah ‘Rei’ Remington

PARENTS: Elijah Remington & Kyoko Matsuda.

ADULT LIFE

CHILDREN: None

CURRENT RESIDENCE: A tiny apartment in a large block / The Shipyard

RELATIONSHIP STATUS: Single

FINANCIAL STATUS: Grew up very wealthy. Currently on the other end of the spectrum, but quietly enjoying having to earn everything for himself.

CRIMINAL RECORD: Minor drunk and disorderly offences in his early twenties. Incarcerated by not convicted of various, substantial crimes against the supernatural community. Currently in hiding avoiding these charges.

ROMANCE

SEXUAL ORIENTATION: Homosexual

TURN ONS: TBA

TURN OFFS: TBA

LOVE LANGUAGE: Words of affirmation, acts of service

RELATIONSHIP OUTLOOK: Eiji has never had a serious relationship. He has a feared of being abandoned or somebody saying that they care about him, only to change their mind. Because of this he chooses to avoid any attachments or allowing himself to feel anything for anyone. A one night stand and climb out of the window situation in most cases. He usually picks people he knows he won’t form an attachment too / he feels don’t have any genuine interest in him to ensure this.

RELATIONSHIP TENDENCIES: One night stands, friends with benefits

MISCELLANEOUS

HOBBIES: Video games, D&D. Secretly can play piano well.

PHYSICAL ILLNESSES: None currently

FEARS: Fear of never experiencing love. Facing death alone. He wouldn’t admit it, but he is afraid of his identity being revealed and what will happen to him when it does, even if he does believe it’s been worth it for the cause.

SELF-CONFIDENCE LEVEL: 2/10

VULNERABILITIES: Being human is a vulnerability in itself, but being reminded of it in the way that he’s a disappointment and didn’t fulfil his family’s expectations is a larger factor. He doesn’t believe anyone will ever love him for who he is. The list of vulnerabilities could go on forever, but there’s also the idea that Rei is generally always the preference over him and tends to succeed where Eiji doesn’t.

[eijiremington]

“Okay, well… maybe I just wanted the excuse to come in here.” Eiji lied again, this time taking a different approach. Vampires generally liked to have their ego’s fed, it was usually the reason they surrounded themselves with familiars. It wasn’t just about the blood, they could get that anywhere and discard the person or blood bag afterwards, it was about the adoration and obsession the human exhibited for them. “Is that such a bad thing?”

[leon-blachedone]

"More honest, albeit not the smartest move," Leon mused, "Bad when you don't know who your host is," he added, beckoning Eiji closer as his tone shifted ever so slightly with the intent to glamour the human. "Come here."

[eijiremington]

Eiji realised he may have been a little arrogant thinking that he could get away with something here. He moved closer and quietly wondered how long it would take for one of his co-workers to realise he wasn’t where he was supposed to be. He drew closer and stopped just short of the vampire. “Would you rather I left?” He asked.

[jacklycaon]

captive | eiji & jack (past thread)

for: @eijiremington location: Lycaon house

The news of the captured Remington child was a buzz around the pack. Many people wanted the chance to watch over him and have a few stern words with the young man about his actions. Jack hadn't been unaffected by the leaks from NoRex and he had been on the ground for every attack by Artemis but as a police officer, he was less likely to lay into the young Remington like another pack member would. When he got home from his shift, he was sent into the basement to watch over Eiji for a few hours.

Sitting across from him, the wolf crossed his arms over his broad chest and settled in. It had been a few years since he had seen Eiji Remington and he looked older now, more tired and skinny than he had been a few years ago. "You look like shit. Is my brother not feeding you?" he asked after a few long moments.

[eijiremington]

Eiji thought he’d spent more time with the Lycaon’s now than he ever had. While most of them just wanted the opportunity to come down and vent their frustrations over what he had done, he supposed he still should have been thankful this was the alternative over Zamok, even if it did point out the glaringly obvious flaws in their current justice system. It seemed like it was getting late by the way the basement had darkened and Eiji glanced up from the book Caleb had given him when he heard the door open again. He shifted so that he was sitting up and briefly looked over the man who’d decided to come and badger him next. From what he remembered, this was the eldest of the Lycaon’s.

“Caleb’s been accommodating. Who knows, maybe he’ll open up a half-way house for wayward souls and give up his day job.” Eiji retorted. He could have blamed his irritability on the drug and alcohol withdrawal, but he kept his mouth shut in front of the man in uniform. Like that was even the worst of his problems. “But thank you for pointing it out. I’m sorry we can’t all be lumberjacks.” He grumbled, absently flexing and clenching his fingers when he felt like they might start to shake.

[judassamara]

@eijiremington

[ text: Jacob ]: You can start coming back in for your shifts on Tuesday.

[eijiremington]

There was only a select few people that had the number for his burner phone. Judas had been out of necessity for work. Still, Eiji had been pretty much ignoring anything that came through since the wine festival and choosing instead to rot in his apartment, much like whatever was rotting in the walls that made the place smell like that.

Later that night, he’d glanced out of curiosity, but ignored it, leaving it on read.

There was a part of him that wanted to reply, but he couldn’t go back to the Rubicund now. He was going to have to hope that he could get in touch with Zaman sooner rather than later and that perhaps her dubious offer might still be available.

[eijiremington]

“I suppose you’re right.” Eiji muttered, unsure whether he liked lumping himself in with those people, but he supposed that was the choice he was making with this curse. Didn’t his father deserve a little bit of consequence?

“I’ll find the item.” He reassured him and extended his hand, “Deal?”

[matthew-alexander]

"Wonderful," Matthew said with a too-big smile. He looked down at Eiji's extended hand and reached out to take it in his own. "Deal."

[eijiremington]

END.

[eijiremington]

Eiji wanted to ask why the leader of a pack cared about how he was doing, when his own father had resorted to minimal visits and his mother was nowhere to be found, but he resigned himself in fear of sounded as bitter— or maybe as vulnerable— as he felt. Caleb was likely just following through with small-talk anyway. “I’m fine. Nothing like a dark, confined space to clear the mind.” He replied instead.

His fingers flexed tensely where they’d been holding the edge of the mattress before relaxing again. “Have they? I wouldn’t know. Again, dark and confined space.” He smiled humourlessly.

[caleb-lycaon]

"I can bring you books if you'd like. Just give me some titles you're interested in. Or perhaps you'd trust me with providing you with a few books?" Caleb offered. While Eiji was being incarcerated for a reason, that did not mean that Caleb could not sympathise with someone being locked up.

"I suppose I wanted to ask you for whatever you might know about them before you were arrested. Any information at all. They've been attacking more of us and we cannot predict where they'll strike."

[eijiremington]

Caleb had always seemed like one of the most reasonable of the council members, although he supposed that wasn’t difficult given who he was compared against. Eiji almost felt bad he’d greeted him with such bitterness. “Oh… thanks.” He replied, “I’ll trust you with that one.” He decided. Ironically, Eiji usually enjoyed fantasy books but asked for that after he’d just attempted to out the supernatural community to the world seemed a bit like a kick in the teeth.

“I don’t know what to tell you,” It wasn’t as though he was entitled to a lawyer as he should have been, so he was going to keep his mouth shut. “I wasn’t part of any group.” He lied.

[eijiremington]

“Alright, I’ll find something.” Eiji agreed. He’d had enough time to linger on his own thoughts not to hesitate to the terms of the agreement now.

“Is that really something people do?” Eiji asked, unable to conceal the judgement in his voice when he pictured the type of people that might get excited over watching a demon carry through a contract. “Fine, sure.” He agreed regardless. He supposed he should make sure Matthew actually did what he was asking for, considering how petty the feud with his father was. “When can we meet again?”

[matthew-alexander]

"Of course. It happens more often than you think. I imagine people take great pleasure in bringing misfortune to others..." Matthew explained before levelling Eiji with a look. "Don't you think so?" he asked with a smile.

"I can pencil you in for next week. What matters most is that item you need to procure."

[eijiremington]

“I suppose you’re right.” Eiji muttered, unsure whether he liked lumping himself in with those people, but he supposed that was the choice he was making with this curse. Didn’t his father deserve a little bit of consequence?

“I’ll find the item.” He reassured him and extended his hand, “Deal?”

[eijiremington]

Eiji clearly hadn’t learnt his lesson when it came to interfering with things that should have been left well alone and clearly his sense of self-preservation was even worse.

“Another staff member. They said we might need a switch over in here.” Eiji swiftly lied, glancing briefly towards the familiars towards the back of the private room. He felt his feet move before he’d even decided to do as he was told and he found himself moving forwards to sit in the seat close to the vampire.

[leon-blachedone]

"A switch?" Leon quirked an eyebrow, listening to the other's heartbeat as he spoke. "A switch, boy? Please, if you're going to lie to me, you could at least come with something better prepared," Leon retorted, eyes narrowed as the human boldly stepped closer. "Now why don't you try again? Something believable this time," he requested, already expectig he would be glamouring the human after he spoke.

[eijiremington]

“Okay, well… maybe I just wanted the excuse to come in here.” Eiji lied again, this time taking a different approach. Vampires generally liked to have their ego’s fed, it was usually the reason they surrounded themselves with familiars. It wasn’t just about the blood, they could get that anywhere and discard the person or blood bag afterwards, it was about the adoration and obsession the human exhibited for them. “Is that such a bad thing?”

[eijiremington]

“I don’t know about that, I’ve never been known for my elegance.” Eiji chuckled, “But thanks. Do you ever miss any parts of it, the circus?” He asked. “Maybe there’s something else you could teach me that doesn’t require using actual muscles in my body.” He only partly teased. Something about Lian teaching him something reminded Eiji of the dream. Lian and Emmett had been good parents. It had been nice to live in that moment for a little while.

Eiji was glad of their humour and he chuckled. “What do you mean? The neon green doesn’t suit me?” He teased. “I’d say if I can hide pills from my father, I can hide them from the cops, but I don’t think he was really paying attention anyway.” Eiji replied with his usual dark humour and cast them a smile as they tugged him closer. “I’d love to.”

[liankoeman]

"I do, I miss a lot of it. I think I miss the elephants the most though." The world had changed a lot since her day's in the circus but she still missed being part of that strange little family. There were a few things that came to mind and it would be nice to have a reason to see each other more often and for something leisurely for once. "I think the muscles in your body could use it. Perhaps we could take a yoga class?" she suggested. "Or I could teach you to cook?"

"I think we both know it is not. Blue would suit you much better." Lian doubted that his father paid much attention to anything other than himself. The man seemed so self absorbed and it had cost him the best things in his life, his children. For now, they could keep Eiji safe from the party and hopefully the police. When he was close enough, her arm wrapped around his waist with a small squeeze. They were both solitary beings so she knew he must be lonely too. Lian didn't want him to feel that way if he could help it. "Maybe for the next event, you can be my date and not my bartender?"

[eijiremington]

“Don’t body shame me.” He teased her, breathing a chuckle, “I think any yoga instructor would be able to tell I’m in need of far more cleansing than any class could achieve.” He only partly teased, though the idea of getting to see them for more than a couple minutes at these events was a nice thought. “You mean I can’t live off of instant noodles my whole life?” He asked, but smiled, “Cooking sounds good.”

“Blue? Noted…” Eiji chuckled and his eyes softened a bit when their arm came around his waist and squeezed. For a moment he felt a surge of something that felt like homesickness. Maybe he missed his mother, or maybe he just missed the idea of Lian being that for him. “Your date? People would definitely think I’m punching above my station, but I’d be okay with that.”

[howellmaxen]

For: @vievecorcitystarters Location: Garond District Hospital, Evening of Day 1 of Vibefest

The headache was well set by the last two hours of his shift, not even extra strength Ibuprofen would do anything to fix this. He needed a thick, greasy burger, a glass of scotch and a twenty four hour rest. At this rate he’d be lucky just to get one. The hospital had a policy of zero days off during city wide events so even if he had wanted to he’d be back in twelve hours. He could hear the crowds that still cluttered the ER waiting room as people waited likely impatiently to be seen in order of severity. People didn’t always understand that. They hurt, they ached and like anyone in discomfort they wanted it to go away. Unluckily for the people of Vievecor who directed themselves to the Garond District Hospital they’d find that a slew of emergency vehicles kept their automatic doors busy, bussing in various injured individuals from Vibefest. “Alright let’s get some fluid in Mr. Parker here, check his vitals again and if stable send him on his way.” He nodded to his CEN before heading back to the central desk. The place were chaos was supposedly wrangled, the altar of the ER gods that everyone had to pay tribute to. Quickly he swallowed down the last of his fiber water, having aged out of energy drinks, and grabbed the next clipboard.  Rolling his shoulder, before during back around to the zoo he called home.

“What’s next?”

[eijiremington]

Vibe Fest was an opportunity for some cash to be earned on the side of Eiji’s usual job at the Rubicund. He’d been working behind the bar when he’d spotted one of his human friends in the crowd— one he’d needed to cut off contact with as soon as he had gotten arrested. When the crowds had gotten a little rowdy and she’d ended up in the middle of it all, Eiji hadn’t been able to resist going over to help her. He didn’t have his real face… it wasn’t like she was going to know, he tried to tell himself.

They’d ended up at the closest hospital, waiting in the bustling ER beside his friend, who clearly thought the bartenders at these events were looking for an excuse to get off work early if they were willing to chaperone her to the ER. Eiji had gotten hit in the face in the midst of it all, but it hardly warranted going to the ER, he was mostly just there for moral support.

Eventually, a nurse came to call them in to see the doctor and Eiji followed his friend to the door. “Doctor Maxen will see you.” Maxen, Eiji thought to himself, knowing he recognised that name somewhere. He was surprised when the nurse directed his friend towards another doctors bay, apparently leaving him with Doctor Maxen. “Oh, I don’t need to see anyone. It’s just a black eye. I was just here with my friend.” He insisted.

[howellmaxen]

“Well that’s my job to decide, but I promise you it’ll be quick and then we’ll get you back to your friend.”  Howell turned to the cabinet of supplies the snapping sound of latex hitting his wrists echoed in the room as her acquired gloves. He hadn’t been surprised that this music festival was bringing in all sorts of cases. If he was honest with himself he was grateful this patient was just an eye injury. His cortisol level couldn’t take one extreme event after another.

“Now let’s take a look, may I?” Consent was always important and in the ER when you weren’t sure the state of a person’s mental faculties, it was even more so. Gently his long fingers titled back the jaw, lite stubble poking at the barrier of the gloves. “Now Mr…..” Pausing for a name he’d forgotten to look at any chart, if there even was one in all this chaos.

[eijiremington]

Eiji supposed if he was going to get stuck in the emergency room, then getting checked out by the good-looking doctor would make it worthwhile. “Sure…” He responded, easily letting him tip up his chin. “Flores. Jacob.” Eiji answered as swiftly as he would his own name. He might not have been used to the unfamiliar face in the mirror, but he has gotten used to the habitual lying that came with taking on a fabricated identity.

Maxen, though, he knew he recognised that name…

“Looks like you’re having a busy night.” Eiji observed, “Do you like working in the ER?”

[eijiremington]

Eiji nodded, twiddling his spoon around in the mug of black coffee in front of him. “I’ll be fine. It’s not the first time something like this has happened.” Albeit he didn’t go around giving himself concussion every weekend, but Eiji wasn’t exactly known for taking care of himself either.

He sat quietly, unsure of what to say or how to act after the previous nights confessions. He waited, not wanting to be the one always starting the conversation and yet hating the quiet at the same time.

[eremington]

Elijah winced, remembering the multiple times before that he'd seen Eiji come staggering back home or the aftermath. There were also some times when he'd heard about it from someone else and had tried to just brush the rumors aside, though with his promise to Eiji he would try to quash them in the future. "Go easy on yourself, please. If-"

He was interrupted by a loud chime from his laptop and glanced over before looking closer with a quiet curse. As he opened the message another one came in on his phone. "Sorry, I..." He read the message and sighed before looking up at Eiji. "I have to deal with this. I will be- try to be back in fifteen minutes." He stood up and took a step back from the table, mouthing another apology over the sound of another notification before teleporting away.

[eijiremington]

Eiji knew the whispers weren’t confined to his lack of magical ability, it was everything he’d done afterwards too. Elijah Remington’s disaster of a son. As if on cue, the sound of his father’s laptop and phone broke the silence between them and Eiji watched him be quick to respond to it. “Right…” He answered quietly, without expectation and just like that, his father had disappeared.

Eiji sat for a while, hoping the mixture of caffeine and pain medication would knock him out, but unfortunately he had no such luck. Fifteen minutes passed, then thirty, then forty-five and Eiji wondered why he continued to expect more of his father, time and time again. He left his fathers uneaten breakfast on the table and instead went to the cupboard, pocketing some further pain killers before exiting the kitchen.

END.

[eijiremington]

Daphne’s words made him pause for a second. He knew he couldn’t accept her offer, but for a moment it was nice to entertain being a part of something again. “Depends, is Sharknado on the list? I can’t respect your movie choices if it’s not.” He teased. Eiji would have to make up some excuse as to why Jacob couldn’t attend if she ended up following up on her offer, but for now he could carry on the charade. He’d grown used to the grim realisation that he was going to be on his own for however long it was that he had left.

“I probably shouldn’t, but thanks for offering. Why don’t you have mine and go and have fun for me? I’m on drinks duty here for a while before I move onto dishing out special ‘party favours’” Eiji chuckled. “Maybe see you later?”

[daphne-blackwood]

"Worse." She smiled, hoping to tempt him to come by. He deserved to have a support network for his victories and failures. It was nice that he had people outside the city, but there was a definite need for closer friends too. He seemed like one of those genuinely good guys. "The last one we watched was a movie called Rubber. It's about telepathic car tire that goes on a murder spree. Fun for the whole family."

She looked back out at the party with a sigh. Daphne knew that she couldn't hide forever. With any luck, she'd only run into Max. Hearing Elijah's lecture regarding her necklace of the night would be a total nightmare. "Alright. I'm going to hold you to that." She wanted to see him out from behind the bar enjoying himself. "And stay safe with those party favors. They pack a hell of a punch."

[eijiremington]

“That… sounds awful.” Eiji chuckled, but found himself grinning at the idea. As much as he wanted to go, he knew that he couldn’t, for his own safety along with everyone else’s. “I’ll see what I can do.” He promised anyway and was glad when she seemed to be allowing him to slip back into his mindless bartending. “You too. See you around, Daphne.” Eiji nodded at her before quickly turning his attention to the numerous other party goers eager for him to finish his conversation and serve them.

END.

[eijiremington]

Eiji rolled his eyes, unable to muster any fake amusement in that moment. In fact his patience and motivation for keeping up the whole charade in general had definitely taken a beating that evening. He supposed he should have applauded him. It had been Eiji’s whole plan to be the one finding out what was going on with Faust and yet he’d ended up in the firing line of questioning more than once now. He took a packet of cigarette and a lighter out from his jacket pocket.

“I’m really not in the mood for the third degree tonight, so if you could just cut to it.” He responded impatiently. His eyes were bloodshot from tears shed and he wanted to get a cab and be gone from there. “Witnessed what exactly? A load of stoned vampires ruining a perfectly good ferris wheel?”

[augustine-lycaon]

“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.

[eijiremington]

end.

[eijiremington]

[eijiremington]

“Yeah, most of them live outside of the city though, so we don’t get to see each other often.” Eiji lied. He missed the group of human friends he’d had before he’d played his part in the hack. They’d been like a surrogate family to him despite not knowing the full circumstances of his family trauma. Since being arrested and then becoming Jacob, he’d needed to leave them all behind.

“I don’t know. I think it’s going to take time, dealing with species that are so old and used to acting in a certain way isn’t going to be as easy as that.” Eiji replied casually, making sure to keep his rather passionate views quiet. “Makes me glad I’m not a politician.” He breathed an easy chuckle. “I’m not sure anyone wants life coaching from me of all people, but thanks. What drink are you going for?”

[daphne-blackwood]

"Well you are welcome to join my group. I'm sure you'd fit right in with Rei and Max." She felt bad for the man who would need to travel to see his friends. Long distance relationships were so hard when all you wanted to do was hang out and talk about anything that pops into your mind. Jacob deserved better. Everyone deserved to have friends around. "We usually have movie nights. Nothing is ever fine cinema- well usually not fine cinema. How do you feel about sci fi b-movies or movies that are certified rotten by Rotten Tomatoes?"

She nodded solemnly, knowing that he was right. There were beings that transcended Daphne's concept of time. There were those as old as the earth itself. To be told to change would take decades if they were lucky. "That makes two of us. I can't imagine what it is like to be stuck between worlds. We can picture a brighter future, but there is so much contention to what that looks like exactly. What's best for one person is horrible for the next." This was a party. She didn't know how they had gotten so off track. "A shot of tequila would be great. Am I allowed to buy one for you too? It seems like you've had a long night that's only getting longer."

[eijiremington]

Daphne’s words made him pause for a second. He knew he couldn’t accept her offer, but for a moment it was nice to entertain being a part of something again. “Depends, is Sharknado on the list? I can’t respect your movie choices if it’s not.” He teased. Eiji would have to make up some excuse as to why Jacob couldn’t attend if she ended up following up on her offer, but for now he could carry on the charade. He’d grown used to the grim realisation that he was going to be on his own for however long it was that he had left.

“I probably shouldn’t, but thanks for offering. Why don’t you have mine and go and have fun for me? I’m on drinks duty here for a while before I move onto dishing out special ‘party favours’” Eiji chuckled. “Maybe see you later?”

[eijiremington]

“What are you hoping to use it for?” Eiji asked curiously. It felt a little pathetic that he had to ask his father a question regarding his work in order to break the silence between them, and that he had to be the one to initiate it. Eiji shrugged, “Not a lot. Work tomorrow.” He responded. He didn’t want to actually say the words ‘sleep off the hangover’ even though it was blatantly obvious that was what he ended up doing most weekends. Eiji paused for a second, distracting himself with a bite of toast before asking, “How come?”

[eremington]

"I don't really know yet. It'll depend on what sort of spells from it actually work, but it looked like something with illusion magic." He admitted with a self deprecating shrug. He considered offering to ask if Eiji could have a sick day off from norex, but was afraid he would think that was patronizing or Elijah giving him special treatment. Better to wait and find out how he was feeling tomorrow and go from there, maybe find some excuse to keep him at the tower. "I just want to make sure you'll be alright. I've gotten concussions before, so I know what the recovery feels like."

[eijiremington]

Eiji nodded, twiddling his spoon around in the mug of black coffee in front of him. “I’ll be fine. It’s not the first time something like this has happened.” Albeit he didn’t go around giving himself concussion every weekend, but Eiji wasn’t exactly known for taking care of himself either.

He sat quietly, unsure of what to say or how to act after the previous nights confessions. He waited, not wanting to be the one always starting the conversation and yet hating the quiet at the same time.

[eijiremington]

Eiji had to believe that Daphne wasn’t naive enough to truly believe her own words and that she was trying to give the vampire the benefit of the doubt. “There isn’t much a vampire can’t hear… If they didn’t stop when you asked, it’s likely they chose not to.” He paused, knowing it must be difficult, when it seemed like she wanted to put her trust in the vampire. “Sounds like you have good friends looking after you. Hopefully with these new rules in place, they shouldn’t have to be so protective for much longer.” He replied, though Eiji knew they were a long way off from that being a reality, “Can I make you a drink to have this whole thing be less depressing?” Eiji asked her, “Is that supposed to be me?” He laughed. “Because I’m definitely not qualified for that job. Someone should do it though. It’s a Dragon’s Den winner.”

[daphne-blackwood]

She knew he was right. Whether it was microexpressions or just the years of wisdom behind them, it was almost as if they could read a person's inner thoughts. The more that she was forced to think about the incident, the clearer that it became that it was no accident. She let out a deep breath, hating that the world was proving her optimism to be a danger rather than an asset. "I do, I'm lucky like that. What about you? Do you have a good group?" She was thinking of introducing Jacob to the group chat. Rei and Max were always so welcoming of others. They were the sort to adopt the loners of the world and call them as good as blood. She forgot about the new rules. Although they didn't impact witches as much as the other species, it still chaffed to think that magic could ever be considered something bad. It was what a witch did with it that made it so. "Do you think people are actually going to follow the rules?" She was curious. Most of those that disagreed would find a way to bend them until they were out of shape. Still it was better than nothing. "A drink sounds great. And yes, it was about you. You're a great bartender. And if you ever get tired of it, you have a promising career as a life coach."

[eijiremington]

“Yeah, most of them live outside of the city though, so we don’t get to see each other often.” Eiji lied. He missed the group of human friends he’d had before he’d played his part in the hack. They’d been like a surrogate family to him despite not knowing the full circumstances of his family trauma. Since being arrested and then becoming Jacob, he’d needed to leave them all behind.

“I don’t know. I think it’s going to take time, dealing with species that are so old and used to acting in a certain way isn’t going to be as easy as that.” Eiji replied casually, making sure to keep his rather passionate views quiet. “Makes me glad I’m not a politician.” He breathed an easy chuckle. “I’m not sure anyone wants life coaching from me of all people, but thanks. What drink are you going for?”