#caenos things

[sasster]

tag your oc as the guy i just passed in the bike lane who was wearing a headlamp, safety vest, and roller skates that he used hiking poles to push along

[sasster]

Setback

For your eyes.

--

Ever since that entire escapade with Benjin, you’ve been on quite the short leash. That old frog was entirely too cautious when it came down to all of you, which was more than a little bit silly considering the line of work you were all willingly part of. It is an appreciated notion, but unnecessary. No one even got hurt! At least, not at first. Ah well.

You suspect that if not for the pressing matter of this case, you’d still be on punishment. Thank god for bleeding hearts!

At this point you’ve been meandering around Thorezille for a little over an hour, by some miracle Gracious was still allowing his visitors so much lay of the land. Not that it really mattered much in your case, to slip in and out of places otherwise unreachable. Still, it’s a shame that this guy turned out to be such a rancid man, the town itself is quite lovely and so are its residents.

Kids, mutated and otherwise, run around you just cognizant enough of your existence to avoid knocking into you, but not interacting or acknowledging you behind that. Happy as clams, the way they skip along away from the school.

Perfect! You should be able to snoop around the patrons residence unimpeded. Scope out potential exits. Not perform any emergency extractions. Easy enough!

The school is where Theo, from the depressing cavern he’d turned his blankets into, said would be the most likely place to find Sonny on her own. The thought of Theo sobbing away in his bed was enough to make you want to break a few rules – But middle of nowhere is right. Running away from here with a stowaway would be much more difficult than your trip to the Dominion’s, uh, dominion.

Sonny should be coming out right about now, honestly she deserves a big hug for her troubles. Along with a little bit of reassurance. Styx will be around shortly, and she will have her freedom shortly and she will have her freedom shortly thereafter.

In the meantime, you busy yourself kicking a rock back and forth, as the students flow in and out of the school, not a single one so much as making eye contact with you.

It’s a cute place, reminiscent of Ilioneus. But like, government sanctioned you guess.

Your thoughts get away from you, so much so you don’t hear the incredibly gentle voice that calls out to you, it really isn’t until you see a pair of feet approaching in your peripherals and stopping just in front of you that you register someone is actually speaking to you.

“Are you lost?”

When you look up, you lock eyes with the oldest jadeblood in the world. Your blood runs cold. Concern creases his brow.

Gracious smiles when he recognizes that he has gotten your attention.

He smiles at you.

Did you get that lost in thought with that rock? You smile back.

“Oh, I was just looking around. I didn’t mean to cause any trouble, it’s just so much nicer here in person than just hearing about it suggests.” Easy fix, easy fix. Right?

“Seemed as though you were on a mission when we crossed paths earlier this evening.” He extends his hand to you as he speaks. “I meant to make the time to compliment your interesting body art. It is quite nice. Who do I have the pleasure of speaking with?”

Your smile wavers, only for a fraction of a second as you shake his hand. “Caenos.”

He saw you.

The entire time.

“Thank you. They were an impulse purchase.” You swallow, an attempt to wash away your panic.

Gracious seems to take note of this, indicating as such by tilting his head just a bit to the side. Of course he notices, you’ve never been caught before.

“Are you feeling alright, Caenos?” His voice is soft, genuine worry rings out and creases his brow line all the more. Steady eyes watch with a scrutiny that is almost hard to place.

Fuck, you’ll be failing this girl twice now.

“Hah! I – Well,” You laugh sheepishly, pulling your hand back to rub the side of your head. “I figured I was being sneaky enough..”

The truth. He raises both of his eyebrows, smile becoming tight.

You make eye contact with him again, before quickly averting your gaze to the floor. You start to kick the rock you’d been preoccupied with previously.

Feigning embarrassment was easy, it masked the nervousness. Provided a reason for the elevated heart rate.

Gracious is stock still as he watches, his gaze is like a dagger.

“See, this is so silly. I heard. I heard that the Marauder was still here,” You slump your shoulders and let your gaze travel back up to him. His smile relaxes. “I’m such a big fan, I know I’m too.. I’m too old for that. I thought if I wandered around places they said you frequent.. This is so..”

You knock on the side of your head.

“This is so embarrassing. I thought I’d stand a chance of running into him!”

“Ah,” his shoulders relax. He buys it. “I am afraid you will not be finding Zerkev out and about much during this visit. He has quite a bit of work on his plate. Perhaps you will be lucky enough to catch him next time?”

“Oh. Damn! Erh.. Darn?” He does not react. “At least I can scratch meeting The Gracious Provider off of my bucket list!”

“At least there is that.” Gracious echoes as he takes a look at his watch. “Ah, my apologies for having to cut this short. I am running behind. Do enjoy the rest of your visit, Caenos.”

You nod slowly as he carries on toward the caverns.

What the hell are you going to tell Veylin?

[sasster]

Everything IS Fine

Here’s a link to the google doc if you hate reading on my blog.

If you’re lost well. I’m sure you’ll stumble across part one to this drabble somewhere along the way...

---

It was easy enough to gain access into the compound, no one in town so much as took a second glance in Caenos’s direction. Often what he found when he had to visit places like this is that they were lacking in the type of security that keeps people out. No one was really trying to break into any cults, were they? Alternia typically left those freaks to their own devices. Out of sight, out of mind.

Caenos kept his usual gait as he gave himself a tour of the expansive territory, he was confident enough in his own abilities that it looked less like he was on a stealth mission and more like making a trip to an abandoned amusement park. Cautious, but not really fussed about it. He’d made it into the quarters of such an important man with very little effort, after all. It was nothing, really. A cakewalk. Then came the heavy footfall, shaking everything in the vicinity of each impact in a way that can only be described as a self contained earthquake that traveled along the path of the thudding footsteps. It wasn’t long before his field of view was filled with the vision of a man that was quite literally larger than life.

Harlan Mahkir. The Dominion.

See, in Caenos’s line of work, you hear about guys like this all the time. Older than dirt, as influential as the Empress. Maybe more. Sometimes you see them. Some make grand displays of their power, others prefer to work in the shadows. Letting that power speak for itself. But no matter how many times you see someone like that, no matter which category they fall into, nothing can quite prepare you for the sight. Caenos couldn’t help but hold his breath and draw himself in as close to the wall as possible. If he could flatten himself against it he would.

For his sake, it seemed his presence went unnoticed as the giant continued on, unbothered. The Dominion’s heavy steps were not hastened, they were evenly dispersed. Calculated, yet careless. For whom did he have to move softly for? His heart did it’s best impression of an acrobat as it leapt into his throat. It really really sucked that he was alone, usually he was just the getaway driver. But when it came to extractions and meetings like this, first contact with an unknown subject in hostile territory? He had to go alone. His abilities were not strong enough to cloak more than himself and maybe one other person. Nevermind an entire team of people. In other words, there was no back up. He was on his own. Fine. Easy enough on it’s own. With normal people, that are normal sizes. This guy was. No he was too much.

 When the purple blood passed him by, Caenos let himself reinflate, pulling himself up from the wall. He took in a deep breath to reward himself for the bravery he’d just displayed. If he gets caught this early on, well his goose will be as good as cooked to say the least.

Anyway, enough doubt. He took another deep breath in and exhaled sharply once Harlan was gone from view, to steel his mounting nerves. And then. He followed him. Inadvisable? Sure. Foolish? A little bit. One of two things comes from this step, though. Either he gets to learn more about this man and his mannerisms or, and the one he’s really hoping is the case, he’ll stumble across the troll he was actually here looking for. Vital information for Styx’s extraction in the end. He takes great care to follow him at a distance, making sure to match cadence with him in order to let his own footfall be masked by the impossible loudness of that of his prey. The purple blood disappears into a room and Caenos pushes on, settling a little ways beyond the doorway, once again he finds himself pressed up against the wall. His perch lay on the opposite wall facing the door at an angle, not a very good angle to get a view of the inside but, it would put him at less of a risk of interacting with a passerby. Who knew how long this would take?

“Benjin.”

“Sir.” 

He listened closely to the muffled conversation coming from the bedroom. Well, one of the voices was muffled by the four walls separating them, strangled down by nerves that worked way too hard to keep the voice steady. The other? Loud, as though Caenos were standing in the room right along with them. Smooth like velvet. A gentle sound, borderline calming. The wrong voice for the piece of man meat he’d just followed up here

At least he knew he had the right room, now he’d just have to wait out whatever scolding he’s just happened upon. So he slid down in his spot,criss-cross applesauce, messenger bag folded politely over his legs. Based solely on the beginning of this interaction, Caenos no longer felt that they needed to vet out whether or not this child wanted out. He wants out. He needs to be let out.

The steady footsteps of The Dominion fill the room and spill out into the empty hallway, keeping Caenos from disappearing into his own thoughts. It reminded him of a predator stalking its prey. He could almost envision it, slow deliberate steps around some frightened individual. Looming, basking in the powertrip.

That was when the faint smell of iron started to permeate from the room. Not a lot, more like a warning than a maiming. Thankfully so, he was already really grappling with the idea of storming the castle, so to speak, adrenaline and morality tag teaming his better judgment in a bid to get him to get up. To do something. What if it’s already too late for a plan? No, shut up. He shook his head to clear the thought from his mind, and instead focused that energy on trying to hear the boy's response to one-lined prompts. Well, threats disguised as prompts anyway. And when that didn’t work, he just pulled out his phone and started to look at all of the missed messages he’d accrued in the time since he’d entered the compound. There were a few from Styx, one from Papili, and a really very angry one from Caktil. Oops. On the top of the list was one from Petasi –

Crack!

Okay. So. Petasi gets the predictive text answer, Yeah I’m okay, because his phone is getting shoved right back into his pocket now.

The sound had caught him off guard, he started to scramble to get himself up off the floor. There, this had to be the line right? There was something he could do, probably. Maybe? Now he was very accustomed to the sound of bones breaking. What was unfamiliar, what set him off, was the lack of a yell, whimper, hell a screech – An indication that major trauma had occurred. Broken bones are a major trauma, right? Consequences be damned –

But by the time his brain made all of these connections, by the time he’d made up his mind, there he was, The Dominion exiting the room, shutting the door behind him. Caenos froze in his squat, staring up at the behemoth. Fuck, he’s so much bigger than he needed to be.

Fuck.

The Dominion stood there for a bit, apparently examining the hall. He looked left, he looked right. Caenos tried tracing the gaze of those ominously glowing eyes, hoping he could make a dash for it should that gaze make it to the corner that was his only real cover. He held his breath. Had he dropped his guard? Was he seen?

Seconds, minutes, shit maybe even hours could have passed. Caenos ducked just beyond the behemoth’s field of vision, a perfectly impassive, unreadable expression on his face.

“Curious.”

That was it. That was all? He gives the area another lazy sweep, and leaves the way that he came. The floor and walls shuttering in protest of his presence as he does. Only once the giant was fully out of view, and the vibrating of his surroundings ceased, did Caenos find that he’d regained his ability to breathe. A horse tranquilizer couldn’t take that man out. Styx could not take this man in hand to hand. There’s no way. Well, good thing that Plan A is going to be a quick extraction, because once again holy shit that guy was a different breed.

Ancestors suck! They’re so fucked up, seriously.

Alright, alright. Back to the kid. He pulls himself up right, clutching his bag to his chest instead of wearing it like a normal person. There’s no way to be normal after experiencing whatever the fuck this guy is. Caenos has seen fucked up, but it should be reiterated that guy is fucked up.

His own footfall no longer full of the same confidence from earlier in the day, his steps were slow and calculated. Every so often, he looked over his shoulder as if that beast could sneak up on him. As if he would make the effort to. He delicately opened the door and was met with.

Quite the sorry sight.

The panic quickly washed off of his features when he realized the damage was not done to anything vital. Okay, broken bones hurt but at least a finger is better than a leg is better than a rib. He did his best to close the door in a way that dampened the sound and very quickly rushed over to Benjin’s side, helping him to settle down at his desk.

“Hey Benjin, met your friend Veylin. Teacup, by the way. I know now is a terrible fucked up time, but I’m really not trying to spend the day here. Let’s brainstorm.” He was talking a mile a minute, letting his words replace any awkward silence that might’ve tried to settle between them, as he started to rifle through his bag. He always hated the sticky sweet smell of blood, he worked and moved quickly to keep himself from having to look at it for much longer.

“I can take care of those cuts, set your finger even– I won’t splint it, it ought to get splinted though. It looks. It looks really bad.” He prattles on as he starts to pull some antiseptic wipes and other first aid essentials from his bag, when he looks back up he is looking into the shell shocked eyes of a broken man just holding his hands out to him obediently. Ah, fuck. Pap, Styx, literally anyone else is better at the emotional available bit than he is. He should not have come alone.

He frowns.

“It’s going to sting.”

“Sure.” His voice was as hollow as his stare.

“Do you want to bite down on something – “

“Just do it.”

Caenos nods slowly, setting his bag and small collection items, including his phone, onto the desk. He gently takes Benjin’s right hand into his, and gets a firm grasp on his pinky finger. He gives the appendage a firm tug, setting it straight. In his grasp, he can feel Benjin sort of recoil in response, but the movement is gone just as fast. “It really needs a splint.. So it can heal. They’ll uh. I’m sure.. They’ll have questions if you walk out of here with a splint like five minutes after experiencing major trauma..” As he talks he grabs at the sanitizing wipes he’d left on top of his bag, and while holding his hand firmly in his, he starts to delicately wipe at the gashes his nails’d made in his palm.

This was, uhm, really not the damage he’d expected he’d walked in on, but he was sort of relieved. The scene he’d painted in his mind was a lot more gruesome, but the reality was so tame. Here sat a broken boy, in a sad room, in the worlds most fucked up castle.  It’s like Rapunzel but worse? What the hell man.

Benjin didn’t seem fussed by the splint issue, in fact he sat there unmovingly, watching the stranger start to put a liquid stitch in the deeper of the gashes on his hand. Very delicately he sets his right hand down on the desk and takes his left one now to repeat the process of cleaning it, again only using the liquid stitch to close the worst of the gashes. He didn’t know how much that brute would inspect his handiwork, but at least there’d be something to see when he did.

“Hey bud, I know you’re not in the mood right now but we’re going to have to start – “ When he looks up again, expecting to be met with those same dead eyes, he is caught off guard when he sees – Benjin is crying. Tears were beginning to form, and once they locked eyes, they spilled over and the flood gates were officially open.

“You’re… Actually helping me.” It sounded like the emotion started to find it’s way back into his voice, the words came out of his mouth in a low murmur, but the crack in his voice was evident.

“Yeah, of course I am – Oomph!”

 He is cut off by a gangly set of arms wrapping around him, which probably undid the hard work he’d put into resetting that finger. Ah, no matter. He’ll do it again later.

For now he should.. Really let someone know where he is, he uses one hand to pat Benjin on the back, rubbing it in a soothing motion. He uses his other hand to grab his phone from the mess of stuff on his bag.

“Okay bud, I’ll stay the day with you. But we really need to start talking about what we’re going to do about getting you out of here come nightfall, okay?”

Benjin only sniffs and gives him a tight squeeze in response.

[sasster]

✘ CAENOS!!!

:| Something about the idea of wet foods touching dry foods like.. Well before they’re abotu to be eaten sends him absolutely over the edge |:

:| He loses his mind every time he sees it |:

:| A little humorous if you ask me. |:

Send me a ✘ for a specific character, and someone’ll tell you their biggest fear or something that disturbs/disgusts them

[sasster]

also 📂 sawbones and 📂 caenos

If you manage to get close enough without him biting your fingers off, Sawbones loves getting his hair brushed. Even better if you braid it after. --

Caenos is allergic to pineapple! :( But he'll eat it anyway. He says it's fine. It's okay, pineapples are just spicy!

[sasster]

Caenos 📂

Caenos is ridiculously good at math, for like no reason. It's his favorite subject!

[sasster]

music notes caenos😔💕

The Grand Finale | Set It Off

Life of the Party | All Time Low

The Cult of Dionysus | The Orion Experience

The Wrecked and the Worried | NateWantsToBattle

Send me these music notes (♪♫) and a troll and I’ll give you four songs that I relate to them!