Today was the day — Cayde knew it. It was perfect — clear skies; temperate weather for Rivain. It was the third day of the vacation Lucanis actually let Cayde (and Spite) bully him in to taking. Being the First Talon was no small job, and the additional strain of Caterina Dellamorte breathing down Lucanis's neck was clearly weighing on him.
And Cayde and Spite, being the wonderful significant others they were, knew something had to be done.
Cayde looked to Spite, slinging his backpack over his shoulder, and grinned. "Are you ready?"
"Yes! Want to. Go. Before he. Wakes up!" Spite grinned, glowing violet eyes widening with his excitement. Lucanis was asleep — and Cayde worked hard for that — which meant Spite could drive, so to speak. Cayde loved Spite, just as much as he loved Lucanis, and knew the demon adored his host much the same.
Spite was fun, and was just as concerned over getting Lucanis out of the monotonous circle that was his life working for his grandmother's business. At thirty-six and already leading a company, life was best described as stressful on good days. Mostly, it was an agony of paperwork and arguing executives.
And Cayde and Spite both agreed — Lucanis needed a break.
Snagging his phone off the charger, Cayde nodded. "Alright. Some sun, some fun, and good food on the Rivaini beach," He nodded. "Just what the doctor ordered."
As Cayde went out of the front door, he missed the way Spite double checked his own bag, rifling through, before nodding once to himself, and following Cayde to the car.
X
"Why. Is it. On fire?" Cayde resisted the urge to scream. Just barely.
"Because I'm a shit cook, Spite," He grumbled, turning the grill off and hissing at the feel of the afternoon sun blistering overhead. Rivaini heat was no joke, and Cayde was starting to seriously regret some of his recent choices. He could feel his skin heating up, knew he'd more than likely burn despite having slathered himself with sunscreen earlier. And not the shitty, low SPF kind either — the good stuff.
The steaks continued to smoulder and smoke, and Cayde stared at it in a mixture of disdain and despair.
"Need. Lucanis?" Spite asked, coming up to stand next to Cayde and lean against his shoulder with a sad little pout. Cayde looked to Spite, then back to the grill, then back to Spite again, and sighed. "Smells like. Coconut and despair."
Cayde made a face at that, then shook his head to insist, "No, no, this is supposed to be a vacation, not more work," Grumbling, Cayde tossed a baleful glare at the stupid grill and wondered why he thought grilling would be a good idea when Lucanis wouldn't even let him use the stove or oven at home. "I can — I can handle it. We just… Won't be able to eat the steaks after this."
"Why?" Spite asked, cocking his head and watching as Cayde wiped his brow and moved to grab up his backpack. "Are you. Making it. Worse? How?"
"Because if you eat this," Cayde laughed, yanking out the little camping sized fire extinguisher he'd brought along. "Then we'll have to call poison control, and Lucanis gets to spend the rest of this vacation in a Rivaini hospital."
Spite made a face, kind of like a cat after it jumps into a bathtub full of water, then shook his head. "Bad. Don't. Eat that."
