#finalbrokenlaments

[thegutterwelcomesyou-blog]

Porcelain World {Steampunk}

"She's asleep" Alice huffed, carrying the tray back down the hall to the kitchen after being unable to contact Zivon. The rest of the makeshift family had already eaten and the dishes were being tended to by Fifi and Anja. 

"Of course she is, she's exhausted." Dem reasoned, leaning over to kiss the little redheaded girl beside him softly on the forehead as she gathered his dishes and ran back to the kitchen. 

"Well is she gonna sleep all day or is she gonna starve?" 

Dem sighed and stood, moving to take the tray from Alice with a passive-aggressive tug, though his smile to her kept the mood between them light.

He brought the tray back down the hall to Zivon's room, setting it on the ground and opening the door slowly. Propping the door open with his foot he brought the tray inside and set it on a dresser, then approached the girl as she slept in the bed.

She was like a small pale doll, surrounded by white silk and lace like water over a pearl. Zivon looked so fragile, and Dem was afraid of touching her lest she somehow shatter beneath his fingertips.

"Child." He said softly, petting her hair slowly and sitting on the side of the bed, not close enough to invade her space but enough to take the weight off his feet. "Come now, it's morning, wake up, I've brought you breakfast." 

[thegutterwelcomesyou-blog]

Pay No Worship to the Garish Sun

Things were finally back to normal, Armand had returned and was sleeping soundly by Cal's side, she had been perfectly well behaved and she'd even gotten around to eating regularly again. Growing stronger every day, as fledglings do, she'd also become more polite and proper, for her Maker's sake. For this reason, it'd been several months since she'd been to The Gutter, which had put a stopper on her affair with a particular vampire in question. She'd finally visited, hoping she'd see him there as they'd promised long ago. Cal knew he'd probably forgotten about her, after believing she'd forgotten about him, disappearing like she had. He'd probably gone off somewhere new like Italy or Spain or France or.... New York or something.

Still, as she sat at the bar sipping her drink, the same one she had the first night she'd met him, the fledgling felt hands on her waist. She smiled and turned slowly, first with her neck, then her shoulders, and finally her hips and legs as she discovered who it was. As soon as she faced him she lifted herself on her toes, hugging him around the shoulders and holding him close, realizing how eager she'd been to see him. pulling back with a smile she gazed at him dreamily. "Thank god the sun didn't blind me so I could see your face again." 

[thegutterwelcomesyou-blog]

We'll Have Tomorrow

Cal sat on the slide, the width of her hips holding her snugly atop it. Her eyes burned where salty tears had eaten away at her skin like acid, and the cold night air drying them, making them water again. She didn't want to blink, because the sight of Luther on the floor of the shop was painted on the inside of her eyelids. She'd quieted and sat in the darkness, silent as the world slept around her, minutes ticked by as she tried to turn all the noises, the sights, the smell into static inside her brain.

In a sudden burst of energy she pulled up her legs and stomped on the metal slide, letting out a night-splitting scream that echoed through the dark side by side with the booming of metal. The spasm loosened her body in the side and she tumbled down it quickly, being thrown off the bottom into the wood chips. She landed with a thud, bursting into tears again as she turned and threw her arms over the bottom of the slide, burying her head into them and breaking the silence with hiccuping sobs. 

[thegutterwelcomesyou-blog]

"There’s a difference between respecting someone and blindly following them." Al replied. "I think of the two of us, you’re the one in need of loosening up."

She narrowed her eyes defiantly at him, snorting slightly. Her arms were below the waterline, and she shifted blindly below the waves, never breaking her gaze above the surface. When she finally ceased movement, the water broke up around her and she lifted her arms hurling a dark ball of wet denim at him, smirking from the moment the heavy pile left her hands.

[thegutterwelcomesyou-blog]

Al shrugged. “Don’t take it personally. I even call my own Alpha a brat should he act like one. I’m unprejudiced in my condescension.”

"For someone who supposedly has respect you definitely do condescend." She ducked under the water again to get her hair wet, but floated a bit closer to him in the process, then proceeded to wade in a circle around him, slowly, like a lioness hunting prey. "I would make a comment about you needing to loosen up but since you were so subtle about your comment earlier I won't. Besides." She shot him a teasing smirk. "You might find me sexy if I do." 

[thegutterwelcomesyou-blog]

"Also valid points." Al shrugged. "What would I get out of lying to you? Why shouldn’t I respect you? You’re strong and intelligent and from what I’ve seen an good Alpha."

"You did call me a bratty child." She pointed out, pursing her lips slightly. She found it hard to accept his respect, given her past. "Thanks, I guess..." She chewed on her lip, a bit lost in thought.

[thegutterwelcomesyou-blog]

"Are you sure? I mean….you are an Alpha. Pretty damn dominant. Of course that’s a good thing." What was he doing? Flirting, really? Probably creeping her out most likely, but he couldn’t shut himself up. "Those boys of yours must have mad respect for you. I know I do."

She shook her head, scoffing. "Didn't I give you a history lesson last time? You guys are so full of penis superiority that you argue wet jeans as a men's issue." Cal deflated visibly, his statement being only a dream where she had an ounce of control over her Pack. His final statement surprised her, and she narrowed her eyes at him. "You're lying." She accused, her voice still soft but losing the teasing, flirtatious tone from before. 

[thegutterwelcomesyou-blog]

"I don’t know. Maybe." he shrugged, leaning his head back to look at the sky. "You give off this whole dominatrix vibe. Kinda sexy."

He'd rendered her silent, the compliment shocking her. She swallowed, a strange fuzziness forming in the pit of her stomach. Cal knew she was far from a dominatrix, but she did find herself more in control when she was around Alphonse, when he allowed her it anyway. "I don't know if that's true." She said, shifting a bit awkwardly, the denim irritating the skin of her legs.