Your front door has been graffiti'd. "Missing someone?"
Tamsin had been back at her home in the Elite Hills when the attack started, having realized she had forgotten some essentials as she moved towards staying at Gabriel’s house full time. Something in her security had gone haywire with the explosions, trapping her in the building until the power was well and fully out, huffing as she got her front door open. She’d have to just hope her place wouldn’t get looted in the more protected area and come back another time for the things she had gone for in the first place. Turning to shut her door, though, she realized the front of her house had already been vandalized. She took a few steps back, letting the words sink in, worry startle to crop up. She had no idea where Violet was, and while Gabriel had texted her about being safe and Acacia being at home… That was the last she had heard of him. She checked her phone again, but it displayed no messages. Surely he would have said something if he had gotten out? But the chaos wouldn’t have left him time to text, she reasoned. She glanced around, trying to see if anyone was still lurking to make sure she received the message, but it was an eerie pocket of calm around her.
to [gabriel 💕] : made it out of my own damn houseto [gabriel 💕] : going to find Violet and see the help I can give the other eldersto [gabriel 💕] : i love youto [gabriel 💕] : let me know when you’re home safe with Acacia
She put her phone away before she could rattle off any more messages. They didn’t seem like they were going through, anyways. “Someone is just trying to scare you,” she muttered softly. But her stomach turned, though she did her best to shove her worry far down as she set out towards the heart of the city.
A brick had been thrown through your window. In thick black marker it says "He's Ours." Who could they mean?
Quint was sure it was just another fucking rebel trying to flex, but the lone brick was odd….Quint was ready to just throw it back out the window when he caught the wording, his brow furrowing. He’s ours? The fuck….but than he caught that scent. Gabe. Quint snarled, quickly stalking out of the home and making a beeline for Tamsin’s home. Maybe this was some kind of joke….
A brick was thrown through Quint's front window. It says "he's ours" in thick marker
Quint had helped her get home. It had been a little awkward with her ankle – really the only way she could get anywhere was by clinging to the large wolf. Now they were back and it was throbbing painfully, though she had no idea what to do for it. To make it worse, Quint had taken one look at the brick and left – though she was sure it was with good reason. Reading what was written on it didn’t make much sense to her and without his sense of smell, she had no idea who it was about. Hopefully Baz was safe.
A brick was thrown through your window. "Tick tock" it says in thick marker
As much as he hated revealing any weakness, once Luke had realised he was injured – he’d helped the Phoenix to his home. Taking stock of the message, he puzzled over it. He wasn’t going to die of this wound, so it couldn’t be that. Luke was with him, so it couldn’t be the chimera, he was safe. Henry was gone already, so it wasn’t the wolf. So what or who could it be about? And then a possibility occurred to him.Fuck.
"Too Late" is written across the front door. In blood. Anyone with a heightened sense of smell who recognizes that scent will know who's blood it is.
Things had gone quiet enough that the familiar felt safe venturing out from her hiding spot, kitchen knife still clutched in one hand and her cellphone in the other. The quiet put her on more on edge than it usually did, but as she moved throughout the house, a sense of dread rose through her body. No light, save her phone, was a bad sign. Gathering up her courage, she padded to the front door on bare feet. First, she peered outside before taking a few steps out. Glancing around the yard, she wasn’t certain what she was expecting.
It was quiet, of course she was alone.
The knife slipped from her fingers at the sight of the blood on the door. “No, no no no no…” she whispered as she frantically started try and call for help. Her own blood ran cold as she kept getting error messages until she screeched out of frustration. Dipping down, she retrieved the knife, her knuckles white as she gripped the handle.
“Where are you?” the familiar screamed at the darkness around her. “Come out here!” she demanded, wholly unconcerned with the fact that she was likely drawing out anyone nearby, not just whoever had written on the door.
Gabriel found himself parted from the slave who had been in the grocery store with him - for better or worse. All he could think of was exactly what was on his mind the last time there was an attack. A blind loyalty and tunnel vision. He had to find Tamsin. Now. Thoughts of others flashed through his mind. Acacia was safe in the basement - she had a whole kitchen to choose knives from before locking herself in, and there were plenty of weapons down there from his smithing - including the nearly done viking sword he’d been crafting in his free time for Quint. Quint. He could take care of himself, one of the toughest motherfuckers Gabe had ever met in the six centuries he’d been alive, He wasn’t worried about him on paper, but of course his heart stung at the idea anything could happen. Flashes of faces ran through his head. Kian. Audrey. Violet. Nate. Raph. He hadn’t heard back from anyone after texting them, but of course, if they were fighting for their lives or seeking out shelter, they wouldn’t be able to answer. Last time, Gabe had been home. He could put his breast plate on and wield his weapons. The thing about being a blacksmith was that he had to learn how to use them just as well as their future owners so he could be sure they performed optimally.
He felt his phone buzz and as he ran, he opened the texts from Tamsin. He could blame what happened next on this distraction, but they’d been watching him. Waiting for the perfect moment. Was the whole attack on the city based around this? Or did they happen upon the perfect moment to hastily put their plan in motion? He couldn’t hear their orders over all the other screaming.
Gabriel gasped as something sharp penetrated his neck. The pressure built, spreading from the epicenter outwards quickly followed by a raging stinging sensation and then numbness. A heavy, tight embrace of something restrained him as his vision began to blur. Everything was off centered and wobbly. His mouth tasted bitter and metallic. Distorted faces made their way into his view as his body seemed to slum to the ground in slow motion. Spreading from the injection, his body felt like it had a million fire ants running through his veins, biting over and over before a buzzing nothingness. His tongue felt swollen and his eyelids heavy as anything in view just became colored shapes that he couldn’t make out. His breathing struggled. His body was being lifted up before he’d even fully passed out. There was no feeling left. His head dropped backwards as they hastily ran with him and tossed him into a car. Everything was just bright lights and shadows....until it all faded to darkness.
There was no way to know how long he’d been in the car, but every so often the vervain that had been injected into him began to fade and the vibration and bumps of the ride would jostle him and remind him that this wasn’t just a nightmare, it was real life. His brain was still too fogged out to understand what really was happening. There was a sickening slice that he could feel, though still too numb for the sharp pain just yet. Gabe could feel himself growing colder, if that was even possible, and he was able to open his eyes for just a moment to see everything covered in a deep crimson before his eyes lulled back again.
The next time he woke, he was laying on concrete in the fetal position. Ankles bound and wrists cuffed behind his back, Gabriel could feel the deep ache in the shoulder he was laying on as well as a maddening itch and burn across his body. If he could have clawed his skin off, he would have. Everything was muffled like he had headphones on. Or like a song that had over produced fuzzy vocals. He caught words here and there. “...rip his fangs out, then the fucker won’t have any way to attack someone.” Laughter. “You dumb fuck, do you really think they’ll be okay with damaged goods?” “I just say we kill him anyway.” “If we do it right, we’ll get the cash and kill whoever shows up.” Multiple voices talking over each other. The sound of it all made his head spin. The vervain in his system made his stomach retch and he vomited a sickly black across the floor involuntarily.
“Aw fuck. He’s up again.” Foot steps. Through blurred vision, Gabriel could see the silhouettes of a group standing together in the concrete bunker under a single light source and the feet, growing larger as they approached. “Someone clean this up.” The voice sighed, annoyed. It rolled him forward and back. “Everything’s healed up real nice. I’m surprised that worked. Throw me the collar.” A metallic clank rang through his ears and fingers grabbed at his hair, lifting his head up. A tight cold collar was clamped around his throat and he could feel his powers, his lifeforce drain away. Whatever they did to him, beyond the collar, was killing him. Quick enough to be terrifying, but slow enough to be torture. Exhausted tears spilled from his eyes. “Alright, time to go night night. Can’t inject you again for a while. Don’t want to kill you too soon. Nah, we want your fucking monster lovers to watch the life drain out from you.” Before Gabe could register anything, His head was smashed against the floor, knocking him out cold.
Gabriel's front door has the words "too late" written in blood. Anyone with heightened sense of smell & who's familiar with whoever's blood that is will know in a moment. It's Gabriel's. And it's a lot.
“Last time?” She asked. Nina had still been happily living with her humans when the last attack on the city had happened. She knew nothing about it, though she suspected whispers would fly again if this was the second attack. Taking a deep breath, the dragon let it out slowly – largely ignoring the commotion all around them. She wished she could transform and fly away, try and track down any of the humans from her family that had lived. “So what now? No doubt you could get your list for free. If you don’t mind fighting for it.”
He nodded, though he wasn’t sure if she could see him. “Yeah, a few months ago some people attacked the city and tried to kill as many inhabitants as possible. They failed in the large scheme, but the city was a mess, emotionally and literally. Honestly, things had just started to get back to normal.” He sighed. There was something the rebels must have taken advantage of - no matter how vigilant & prepared people are, the more time passes after a traumatic event, the less they think about it, and the more their guard drops. He pulled out his phone and shot of a few quick texts to key people.
A grocery store seemed like such an odd place to take a slave. Still, she had followed and attempted to contain the urge to roll her eyes and make commentary on the location (and the choice of groceries.) All things considered, she was being rather polite – she did have it in her after all, when she felt like it. They’d walked past a series of tins, the shiniest of which had caught her eye. Nina was still fixated on it when the lights went out and unable to contain the desire, she reached out quick as a flash to swipe the tin from the shelf. It weighed down her pocket but that really didn’t matter. She had her new shiny.
Suddenly she was aware of voices in the background, chattering over one another, sounding panicked about what was happening. Someone else bumped into her as they ran past with a bundle of items in their arms and Nina let out a tiny growl. This was not what she had anticipated today. Was that the person who had rented her? She turned around to look and bumped right into someone, aware of the sound of something smashing to her left. “Really, I expected it would take far more than this to create this kind of insanity.” She drawled, even though she had just stolen a tin. That was different, though.
Gabriel had decided to grab some groceries for Acacia that she’s specified for something she wanted to try. Since she was still working on reading, he figured this would be a quicker trip if he did it himself and rented out a slave for assistance. He took the first one he spotted that morning since he wanted this to be done quickly. So much for that now. He sighed in annoyance and felt Nina bump into him. “Well, last time, people were unprepared and feared for their lives, so I’m sure they are in full panic mode.”
“Wow….You’re old sir.” Laughing she listened and nodded. “I understand that. Not everyone would wish to live after all of that. But I think a lot of us are glad you were picked.” Smiling at the kiss Violet raised a brow as she played with the back of his neck. “I think a lot of others are displeased with my loyalty and submission to you. Many have tried and failed. And I’ve made enemies here from it. Powerful ones too. Which is….not the best thing in this city, but I was angry and lost. I wish I could apologize and work on changing it, but it’s a pretty lost cause.” Looking at his hand she lightly took hold of it and let her lips wrap around it closing her eyes as she drank. Honestly she felt fine, but she knew not to argue. Especially after what the man had just done from her. Pulling away after a bit she licked her lips clean of any little bits of blood. “Thank you. Though I would have accepted passing out and being carried back sir.”
He chuckled to himself. “Well, I appreciate you saying so. And you’re right, but honestly, they don’t matter. They’re either jealous that someone else managed to get you to submit, or are angry that they’ll never be happy again.” He smiled and played with her hair. “I can still carry you to the car.”
Nate leaned into the caress again with a slightly tired sound. He nodded anyway though, “Yeah. Thanks. My ribs were getting to me – I – I really hate feeling almost mortal.” He complained, allowing himself to be more vulnerable with Gabriel, as usual. The angel shrugged off the fact that Gabriel hadn’t been there – he’d had a lot to go through in his head, not that he was anywhere near through it in honesty but maybe it was for the best he’d had some space.
He thought about the offer seriously, half tempted to ask Gabriel to take him back to his own home. His old home – but he wasn’t really sure he could take it. Being in public was still difficult, since even if they weren’t all looking at him and whispering, he felt like they were. “The water sounds good.” He said after a few minutes of contemplation, knowing he at least felt safe there.
He smiled and nodded. “Okay. Let’s go.” Gabe stood and offered Nate his hand to help him up and lead him from the area. “We’ll rest for a little while and enjoy the scenery. And then each other.” He grinned as they approached his car. Once they were inside the car, Gabe reached over to play with Nate’s hair before he started driving. “Would you like me to play with you as I drive, or you can take care of me if you’d like. Might be a tight fit to use your mouth, but you can use your hand. In fact, we both can at once.”
Her mind had always had a way of wandering back to him in the spare, quiet moments she had in those days. Their connection had always run deeper than either of them could properly explain, so she always had wondered if it had been some indication that he was going to return to her soon. Or maybe she had just been more attached to him than she had liked to admit, even then, especially with the decades between their last meeting to make her miss him. But she could remember the harsh edge in her voice when she couldn’t get the words out fast enough for her secretary to let him in, because he was the only person who could ever know to ask for her that way–and his sire wouldn’t ever want to come into the city–let alone with him. It was mere moments between knowing he was there and knowing he could really be hers. She grinned, grinding her hips into his. “I love you,” she murmured, still feeling like she was testing out the words on her lips, though they felt absolutely right coming out of her for him.
He grinned and leaned in to kiss her, repeating the words back against her lips. “We shouldn’t have waited so long.” Gabe slowly starts to undress Tamsin with a soft smirk. There was a part of him deep down that felt guilty about making love to Tamsin while Quint was down the hall lamenting the loss of his mate, but he couldn’t stop this moment from happening. “But now we truly have forever together, my love. My darling.”
Quint grunted, leaning around the other a little to grab at the bottle he had left on the table. “Fuckin clean ass start….gettin bored with em anyway.” He growled bitterly, taking a heavy swig of the liquor. Quint rolled his eye. “Aint really in a comfortin mood, Gabe.” He replied honestly. “Sides, he liked her too.”
He frowned. Gabe caressed the other man’s cheek and left a peck on his lips. “Well, when you are, you know where to find me.” Gabe gave his shoulder a squeeze and got up off Quint’s lap. “You’ll get through this.”
Smiling up at her master, Acacia was relieved to hear that he wouldn’t look to her for such things, and that he didn’t seem disappointed about it. “Thank you sir, but I think you’re right.” Acacia let herself have a little sigh as she cuddled up to her master. Violet would surely be upset that they might not be able to have fun how they’d planned. At least she’ll likely be understanding about it, the familiar reasoned to herself. “Thank you for understanding, sir,” she murmured softly as she kissed along Gabriel’s neck.
“You’re welcome, precious.” He gave her a peck to the cheek. “Now, should we work on your reading and writing? Or would you like to out to a shop with me?” He folded his paper, long since done reading it, and looked her over.
“Nothing to worry your pretty little head about, dear. Just some difficult things going on with some people I’m close to.” She didn’t need to know about all he was dealing with. “But, since you mention it, yet another master I’ve never met is looking to get on my good graces to spend some alone time with you. Now, I do want you to have friends and be polite and respectful to your superiors, but I have to admit, I’m not a fan of just letting you go off with these people whenever they want to take you. I don’t know them. Tamsin of course, whenever she wants. As I said, I want you to treat her as though she’s your Mistress as well as she and I are a pair. Quint hasn’t expressed interest, but he, too is someone I trust with my life and thus trust with yours. Kian is slowly climbing the ranks in my inner circle as well, so if he comes calling, you’re welcome to go with him. And same with Cyrus, should he ever return. The rest of the city? I don’t trust like that.”
Acacia frowned. She wanted to protest, and tell him that Chance had been nothing but kind, and he knew about books and food, or how he hadn’t minded answering her questions. At the same time, it was ultimately Gabe’s decision who she spent time with, not hers. The familiar let out a little sigh and leaned into her master a little more. “I…I guess all I can do is hope you allow me to see them when you feel it’s alright,” she offered. “I’m a little torn, sir. I’d very much like to visit them. But..it’s honestly a relief, to not have to go with whoever decides they want me,” Acacia confessed. “And I’m grateful that you keep me safe. I hope you aren’t disappointed with me, master.” It was her greatest concern, no matter what triggered it. Would he want to send her back because he was being pestered?
He nodded. “You’ll be allowed to visit, I just need to know about it first. And, remember, you are mine. You do not have to go above and beyond to please anyone who isn’t me. Except maybe Tamsin.” He smiled. “If you want to say no to something, say so. If you want to say no, and are uncomfortable or too scared to, just say you don’t think your master would approve. No one will go against that. And if they do, I’ll fuck them up.” He smiled at her again.
As she listened to him describe it from his point of view, and describe slaves he knew who had conformed to this life, Eden struggled to place herself in either of the two categories he listed. She had a hard time understanding how one could be truly happy in this town, and in her own case she very much doubted that happiness was within reach again. But at the same time she had no intention of trying to fight anyone, nor was she really angry. While her smile remained, sadness came to tint it again. “I kind of envy them, finding happiness again and all. Its good to hear that its possible for some.” Luckily their conversation didn’t only center around one subject. The way he explained this siren of his made Eden curious. She had always believed nothing could really compare to sex with a vampire. “It sounds.. incredible. You should, I really wouldn’t mind that.” The girl grinned. Now there was a small silver lining. When his expression changed, she felt a little well, sorry for him. Because she imagined it might be hard to remember being something you weren’t anymore, or a life you’d had but which was no longer yours. The past was always painful to face. “Do you ever wish you could just forget?”
Gabe shook his head. “No. In fact, I do everything I can to remember.” He said softly, thinking on the memories of his children. “I don’t dwell on my past, but I have to hold onto it. It’s who I am, I never want to lose that.” He said, shaking his head. “Now. Would you like to come to my home? We can lay by the water and continue this conversation there.”
“I know, baby, I know.” He wrapped his arms around him and held the wolf close as if he could shield him from everything he’s dealing with. “My home is yours any time you need it. I have the guest room downstairs, and as I said, you’re welcome in my and Tamsin’s bed any time for cuddles.” He smiled sweetly at him.
Quint heaved a sigh, rubbing his face a little as the other offered his bed. Honestly, he may take the other up on it….he wasnt use to the large home. “Gotta fuckin figure out what I wanna do with Baz and Raph…” He muttered.
“What do you mean? Are you considering sending them back?” he questioned. He didn’t know much about the boy but was sure Raph would be crushed. He began rubbing the man’s shoulders. “I think you should keep them. Or at least Raph. She truly adores you and I know she’ll be there for you to give you comfort in this trying time. Let her.”
Don't be aroused by my confession @gabriel-crivelli - Tumblr Blog | Tumgag
