an air of great human feeling

You reblogged that post about touching mud and making ceramic pots and it instantly brought the mental image of that scene from the movie 'Ghost', but with you and Eric instead of Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze

“…That doesn’t ring a bell, sorry.”

desanctii:

faintly-radiant:

desanctii:

faintly-radiant:

*chuckles*

“Absolutely not. We would never.”

“Do I want to know?”

“Santo, you wound me. I know you’ve seen Ghost.”

“I’ve seen a lot of films, Eric. That doesn’t mean I’ll instantly recall every scene from every one of them.”

“That just means you haven’t seen them enough times. Anyway, the scene is essentially sensuous pottery. A lot of... hand guiding.”

#desanctii

You reblogged that post about touching mud and making ceramic pots and it instantly brought the mental image of that scene from the movie 'Ghost', but with you and Eric instead of Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze

“…That doesn’t ring a bell, sorry.”

*chuckles*

“Absolutely not. We would never.”

“Do I want to know?”

“Santo, you wound me. I know you’ve seen Ghost.”

#desanctii

You reblogged that post about touching mud and making ceramic pots and it instantly brought the mental image of that scene from the movie 'Ghost', but with you and Eric instead of Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze

“…That doesn’t ring a bell, sorry.”

*chuckles*

"Absolutely not. We would never."

sangcreole-archived

moral-cipher replied to your post “Headcanon about Louis as a pet owner So although Lestat’s…”

// the one thing he could bond with eric over, in other words. a shared love of reptiles.<3 (also jesse tbh. she started that whole trend.)

// Lol they could have play dates with their lizards. I’m so here for the Vampire Reptile Club.

// if only they'd gotten on this a few years ago when pythagoras wasn't like 15 feet long, lmao

but vampire reptile club is excellent

robotmango

me, crouched down in front of my tomato plants, examining a pattern of insect bites on their lower leaves: i’m going to fucking kill whoever did this. i’m going to kill them for you. don’t worry, babies. I’m going to murder every single son of a bitch who ever got a mouthful of you. they’ll die screaming

my neighbor, who i did not realize was also outside, standing behind the fence: oh! okay. you’re talking to the plants. okay.

#;about #tbh #;queue

wild-cabins

GUNNAR FREYR

#;dwellings

desanctii:

Not too many miles away, Santino’s feet touched ground. He knew Eric had not followed immediately. He knew that Eric’s mind was awash in distress and confusion. He knew Eric thought of sneaking off, disappearing while Santino had his back turned. The thought made a cold shiver run down his back, a needle right to his heart. He did have one of those. It had been acting up all night.

Anxiously he stared at the night sky, waiting in the garden for a sign that Eric was arriving soon. He wouldn’t find any sort of calm until he was safe within those walls. He hated being out in the open where anyone might creep up on him. And Eric… Eric could be lost so quickly. He felt as if one breeze might turn his course and he’d be gone from him.

But Eric did appear, seeming a reluctant wanderer in the sky. And he did land beside him but his feelings hadn’t cleared. Santino looked at him with a mild frown but decided not to say anything about what had transpired in the silence between them. “Will you come to bed with me?” He asked as he held open the door for his lover.

It was one of the few pleasures he still knew. He recognized the feeling of Eric holding him. Eric’s arms used to encompass his entire world. He had existed only in tandem with his lover, like a thing born entirely of him. Sometimes he thought it would be better for them if they could just return to that state.

As soon as their house came into view he realised that Santino was waiting for him in the garden, and his heart sank and tripped at the same time. Santino had noticed his absence. Eric couldn’t help being hopeful about that. But even as he let himself drop, landing lightly on his feet next to his lover, he knew that he might just as well be in for a row about lingering. Santino had been peremptory with him lately, possessive. He might not have missed his presence, so much as his obedience.

Touching Santino’s mind lightly, he was surprised to find anxiety again. Santino was afraid that Eric would leave him, afraid to be exposed and attacked... afraid just in general. Eric hadn’t thought he was capable of another sudden change of emotion this evening, he felt wrung out and bone weary. But the guilt was settling on his shoulders again like a blanket. Guilt, and protectiveness, and yes, love.

As he passed Santino and went on into the warmth of their home, he nodded, the motion tired, but genuine. He half-turned to meet Santino’s eyes. “Always,” he said quietly. Then he toed off his shoes, hung up his jacket, and went on ahead into the bedroom, automatically stripping off his clothing and hanging it over the back of a chair. He pulled on his loose pyjama bottoms and worn t-shirt and got under the duvet, giving Santino a tentative smile as he held back the covers for him. “Come here, then.”

desanctii:

He knew he had hurt Eric with his reaction, unintentional as it had been, but he didn’t think there was anything he could do to soothe him. Better not to acknowledge it, he figured. That seemed the more noble thing to do. And besides, he couldn’t find it within himself to do more than acknowledge the fact as an unfortunate part of their conversation. He didn’t want Eric to get hurt, surely not,least of all by himself. But this was their reality now.

“So?” He prompted. “Besides, I don’t think I do, anymore. It’s not exactly rocket science. I know how to do it. I command this power as much as any other. There is nothing to hate about this.” Of course that wasn’t quite true. He knew what he had feared before, how uncomfortable it had made him to lose touch with solid ground. But these worries seemed far removed from him now. What if he fell? He wouldn’t fall. And even if he did, if it were a concrete fear in his mind… There was nothing frightening about falling. And a fall, he knew, couldn’t kill him. So what did it matter?

All in all, Santino found, he was much less bothered by many trivial things. His mind had always been so full of sentimentality and concern. How had he survived at all, with a head so heavy? He had felt for the entire damn world. And to what end? There was no point, to anything. He touched his thumbs to his fingers as if to check if he could still feel at all.

“Let’s just go. I’m tired.” Said it, and took to the air.

The alley seemed silent as a grave. Only the occasional passing car in the busier thoroughfares or a brief snatch of distant conversation broke the night-time quiet. Eric couldn’t make himself move to follow. He knew he should. Santino would probably notice. But then again... he might just go home and go to bed alone without giving it any thought.

Eric thought bitterly that Santino could probably go to bed alone every night without it bothering him overmuch. Something was missing in him, and Eric was beginning to think it wasn’t just because he felt betrayed. Santino’s anger, he could have handled. It would have hurt to be recriminated for not being present for something Maharet had never even deigned to inform him of, but he could have borne that. That would have been deserved. But he didn’t really think Santino was angry with him at all.

For a moment he considered just leaving, taking off and going in a different direction. He was still easily the fastest and the strongest of the two. If Eric didn’t want Santino to know where he was, he wouldn’t know. He could see Maharet, tell her what happened. Maybe she would be able to advise him on what to do next. If Santino really meant to harm Marius, or any of the others... they would have to prevent it.

Kicking at a brick wall perhaps a little harder than he should have, he brought his hands up to his face in frustration. He knew all too well how Maharet dealt with these things. She used chains. The idea of Santino bound, locked up, trapped in some minuscule dungeon room like it was the Dark Ages all over again... he couldn’t. He couldn’t just foist Santino off on someone else, as though he were a problem. Santino was his, damn it. His to protect and his to look after. He owed him more than that. Before he could change his mind, he forced himself to kick off and head for home.

desanctii:

Santino looked at him, almost distantly. At Eric’s attempt to comfort him, something inside of him let out a jarring laugh, a cold spiteful sound that echoed through his mind. Eric’s protection… What was that worth? What had Eric’s protection done for him in that court room? What use had it been when he had screamed and screamed and died? Those thoughts left a bitter taste on his tongue, especially because they had come entirely unbidden.

“You misjudge me, Eric.” Santino said as he slowly withdrew from the incinerated remains of the fledgling. “I’m not ‘angry with him’. No creature in my state can be angry with another. This is a matter of survival and nothing else. I will not rest until he is gone from the world, and I will take his ashes and pour them into the sea if that is what it takes. Until that day no one will be safe from me because I will not be safe. And I do want it, Eric. I want it to be war. I am too proud to accept less.”

Santino took them to a secluded place, high walls, narrow alleys. “You are more accustomed, can we fly from here?”

Eric took a step back, his breath leaving him in a single exhale. He hadn't even needed to make an effort to hear that, it sliced through the ether of their mental connection like ice. What use are you? What use have you ever been? Why should I put my life in your hands? For a moment he couldn't think. Not strictly needing air, he forgot to remind himself to start breathing again. Santino had always trusted him, so much it had made Eric want to cry sometimes. More than he'd felt that he deserved. But Santino had never agreed with that assessment. He'd always chided him when he dwelled too long on his failures. And now Santino was laughing at the very idea of looking to Eric for protection, for help.

But it was true. It was true, and as much as that thought made him want to vanish into the earth, or at least to turn away from Santino right now and fly home on his own, give himself space to calm down, that would be selfish, too. There wasn’t time for him to sit around and feel sorry for himself, or complain about his hurt feelings. He'd made an enormous mistake, and he could never make up for it. But he owed it to Santino to try.

While Eric grappled with his own misery, the rest of Santino's little speech washed over him like so much sound and fury, without him being able to make intelligible sense of any of it. He was too distracted. It was only when Santino halted in an alley that he looked up in surprise.

"Well... yes, but.. you hate flying."

desanctii:

Santino’s muscles tensed under Eric’s hands, not because of the touch but because of the words that accompanied them. Something as irrational as fear bloomed in his throat, unfurling downward and pushing against the walls of his chest. I could have killed you. I could have killed you. I could have killed you. He saw the fire, the blood flooding his vision, he felt the phantom pains of a body torn apart from the inside out. His heartbeat accelerated even as he tried to keep his breathing even and calm. Nonsense, he chastised himself. Eric would never harm him.

“I wanted peace.” He pressed out through gritted teeth. “I came when Maharet called and when Marius demanded my head I never said a word, because I wanted peace. But Maharet betrayed me, and they all stood by and let me die. You weren’t there, you didn’t see their faces. They simply watched on as the butchery took place. Peace was never an option. And I will never, you hear me? Never allow myself to be fooled again. I will never let them make you suffer again.” He drew a shuddering breath. Santino wanted to give his usual spiel, the litany of reasons why this was necessary, why he had to do this despite how he abhorred violence and cruelty. But he didn’t want to lie to Eric.

“The Old Ways are gone, too. This is simply war. And a frightened enemy is more dangerous than a dead one.” He drew himself up, composed himself again, banishing the feverish gleam in his eyes. Santino looked at Eric expectantly.

“And now I’m going home. Will you join me?”

Eric froze when he sensed the creeping fear in Santino’s thoughts and felt the galloping of his heart, and then he instantly softened, apologetic and tender, his thoughts as well as the gentle touch of his hands doing their utmost to soothe. He lightly cradled Santino’s face between his hands, stroking his jaw with his thumbs. No, Santo, never, you’re safe, I promise. Was this what lay underneath everything? Was it fear? The thought made his chest constrict with sympathy, but it also lit a cautious little hope. If it was simply fear, perhaps it could be mollified.

“I know, darling,” he said quietly while Santino talked, shaking his head just a little. “I know.” He was angry, too. And afraid, in hindsight. He didn’t think he’d ever quite forgive anyone who’d been in that room, either. “But I’m all right, and I’ll protect you, I swear.”

The look in Santino’s eyes was startling, but he thought he understood it now. He’d seen the same thing before, in leaders and generals. Paranoia. It so often came from a near brush with disaster.

“Yeah,” he nodded, smiling a little. He kept his gaze averted from the remnants of the vampire on the ground, which still reeked, although less strongly now. “Let’s go home. But it doesn’t have to be war, Santo,” he added, kindly, stepping back to let Santino lead the way. “Not with the world. That you’re angry with Marius and his little posse, I’ll never begrudge you. I’m angry with them too. But your quarrel is with them, not with everyone else. Don’t take on more trouble than your lot, hm?”

“quit it or i’ll bite.” - love, eric

@faintly-radiant

“That has never stopped me before. Now don’t be a child.” Maharet remained undeterred and picked the last stray leaf out of Eric’s hair. She gave him a small smile, seashell-pale lips curling in half a smirk. “All done. That wasn’t so bad, was it?” She challenged in jest, tilting her head up at her tall fledgling.

redweaving:

Maharet closed her eyes for a moment, feeling her fledgling’s sweet kiss upon her cheek. Her heart swelled with an old, enduring love for him, but she said nothing of it. She only pulled him along to walk off the trodden path. “I would like to see them again. Some work might do me good. I have a lot of mail to answer.” She mused. “But I cannot leave here, not without Mekare. And I don’t wish to make her move again.”

“Maharet…” He paused for a second, hesitating, then forged ahead. This needed saying. “Whatever else may or may not be missing from Mekare, she can take care of herself. And she loves you. Even if you were to leave for a while and give her freedom to roam, she would come back to you. I don’t like the idea of you stagnating here because… because you’re afraid to lose her again. I understand it,” he hurried to add, a small weight of emphasis coming into his voice as he remembered his own close brush with loss. “Trust me, I do. But it wasn’t doing me any favours.”

“quit it or i’ll bite.” - love, eric

@faintly-radiant

“That has never stopped me before. Now don’t be a child.” Maharet remained undeterred and picked the last stray leaf out of Eric’s hair. She gave him a small smile, seashell-pale lips curling in half a smirk. “All done. That wasn’t so bad, was it?” She challenged in jest, tilting her head up at her tall fledgling.

redweaving:

“He could have made it a point not to act upon the first impulse that gripped him.” She agreed, and there was a cooler edge to her tone now finally. “But we must allow him the benefit of the doubt. Knowing Mael, it likely was no more than an impulse. If he says any more about this I will talk to him myself.” She said decidedly before adding in a joking manner: “Hopefully before Santino takes a chunk out of him.”

Eric laughed a little, leaning in and kissing Maharet’s cheek lightly, the gesture familiar and entirely platonic. “How have things been here? Has anyone I know stopped by? I know we talked about this on Samhain, but I still think you should begin visiting with your mortal family again. It used to make you happy. This place won’t perish in your absence.”

fresh-isinglass

wish you were here

“quit it or i’ll bite.” - love, eric

@faintly-radiant

“That has never stopped me before. Now don’t be a child.” Maharet remained undeterred and picked the last stray leaf out of Eric’s hair. She gave him a small smile, seashell-pale lips curling in half a smirk. “All done. That wasn’t so bad, was it?” She challenged in jest, tilting her head up at her tall fledgling.

redweaving:

Maharet stroked the back of Eric’s hand with her fingertips, absentmindedly, as if deep in thought. Of course the threat of solitude was never so great as it was now; a paradoxical development considering how close she was with others now. There were many who came to see her now, but it was an emptier world for it. They were all just huddling together for warmth. And she wanted no lover out of any of the men and women she met. Her sister was her companion, as faithful and as silent as her reflection. Sometimes it was a little like a dance before the mirror.

“I am glad,” And she was. “Jesse deserves all the happiness the world can give her. And I know how jumpy Mael gets when he knows I am unhappy with him. But he always had his charming ways, not to mention that he adores her. Missteps like this… ” She trailed off as if to say ‘What can you do?’.

Eric shrugged a little, careful not to make it seem as though he were trying to dislodge his maker’s gentle grip. He didn’t allow these kinds of indulgent caresses from many, but Maharet would always be an exception. “I still think he could have handled it better. Jesse was very upset. She came to us, because we were closest,” he added by way of explanation. “She was crying.” His brows knit while he talked, thinking back to the first evening, when he and Santino had all but taken turns hugging Jesse. “But at least it won’t happen again. If it did, I think Santo would take a rolling pin to him.”

“quit it or i’ll bite.” - love, eric

@faintly-radiant

“That has never stopped me before. Now don’t be a child.” Maharet remained undeterred and picked the last stray leaf out of Eric’s hair. She gave him a small smile, seashell-pale lips curling in half a smirk. “All done. That wasn’t so bad, was it?” She challenged in jest, tilting her head up at her tall fledgling.

redweaving:

faintly-radiant:

“It doesn’t get too quiet?” Eric asked carefully. Maharet had always loved to gather her friends about her from all over the world, and to visit her mortal relations, and nowadays it seemed she wasn’t doing much of either.

“I just don’t want you to hide yourself away completely, with only Mekare for company.” He didn’t say what he was thinking - that it was unlikely anything would ever wake something in Mekare. There was no need to be so blunt when it would only hurt Maharet’s feelings. At least not yet. If she persisted, maybe he would. “You do have a family, who cares about you for you, and not for your library. Even if Jesse is probably a little torn there,” he added with gentle humour.

Maharet glanced at Eric with tender melancholy in her eyes, knowing well enough what he was driving at without a mental link between them. After three thousand years they barely needed words to communicate. Despite his worry, it was so good to walk with him again. She gladly held his hand.

“How is she these days?” Maharet finally asked him, gracefully evading any direct answer. “Last I saw of her was during Samhain. Have Jesse and Mael made peace?”

Eric frowned just a little, but he let it go. He knew that look in Maharet’s eyes. And truthfully, he couldn’t really talk. For millennia he and Maharet had been inseparable. And then Eric had found Santino. He knew Maharet didn’t blame him, and he knew he had nothing to feel guilty over, but the fact was that for the past 300 years he hadn’t been around. Nor could he invite her to stay with him and Santino, because Santino would not appreciate it. And Maharet didn’t have a lover who could take Eric’s place as her constant companion. So without being able to offer a solution, he had no business emphasising her sorrows.

“Yes, they did,” he said reassuringly. “Jesse called a few days ago to update me. I think they’re going to be fine.”

“quit it or i’ll bite.” - love, eric

@faintly-radiant

“That has never stopped me before. Now don’t be a child.” Maharet remained undeterred and picked the last stray leaf out of Eric’s hair. She gave him a small smile, seashell-pale lips curling in half a smirk. “All done. That wasn’t so bad, was it?” She challenged in jest, tilting her head up at her tall fledgling.

redweaving:

faintly-radiant:

From Maharet, this kind of softness was an olive branch, and no mistake about it. Eric laughed a little, and let the smile linger wryly on his face. “It’s been good,” he said truthfully. “I think it’s what we both needed. I know Santo was glad to be back in Italy.”

Putting his hand over Maharet’s and gently wrapping his fingers around hers, he gave her a searching look. He worried about her just as much as she worried about him, and he’d never made any attempt to hide it. “And what about you? How have you been doing?”

When Eric mentioned Santino her smile wavered slightly. She could not shake the guilt of it, this moment of utter failure, and of course Eric’s presence brought it back to the forefront of her mind. This was something she would have to endure for the sake of him. She had missed him. She was certain he knew.

“It is quiet around us these days. I prefer it that way but I enjoy the company of those that come to visit, even if it is not me but the libraries they seek.” She added in a lenient tone. “I hoped that the jungle might wake something in Mekare that I cannot touch on. But if she has any thoughts or feelings about it, then she keeps them to herself.” A soft girlish sigh escaped her, too youthful for the age she carried.

“It doesn’t get too quiet?” Eric asked carefully. Maharet had always loved to gather her friends about her from all over the world, and to visit her mortal relations, and nowadays it seemed she wasn’t doing much of either.

“I just don’t want you to hide yourself away completely, with only Mekare for company.” He didn’t say what he was thinking - that it was unlikely anything would ever wake something in Mekare. There was no need to be so blunt when it would only hurt Maharet’s feelings. At least not yet. If she persisted, maybe he would. “You do have a family, who cares about you for you, and not for your library. Even if Jesse is probably a little torn there,” he added with gentle humour.