(no subject)

[nathaniel_kitten]

[OOM:

Is life different
After midnight
With its new dawn
And its new light
Inconsistent
And indifferent
To the things
We were so sure we knew

Warnings are on the post itself.]


Nathaniel has claimed a comfortable chair near the fire. He's casually dressed in pajama pants and slippers, his wet hair braided. A cup of hot chocolate is in his hands, his knees drawn up to his chest as he sips the liquid. Nightmares were one thing. Nathaniel's had nightmares most of his life.

That?

That hadn't been a nightmare.

He sighs into his mug, closing his eyes briefly, and tries not to think too much about it.

Problem is, the more he tries not to think about the nightmare-that-wasn't-a-nightmare, the more it lingers in his thoughts.


[OOC: Sorry for the repost, decided to actually post him into the bar with his OOM. :D]

Comments

[ash-imperfect.livejournal.com]

Asher is alone when he wakes; unusual, if they are in Milliways.

He dresses simply (for him), smart black trousers and a pale blue shirt, his feet bare as he pads downstairs, entering the main bar. He follows Nathaniel's scent, the shimmer of fear and pain and sadness that cling to his lover.

"Mon chat?" He asks gently, placing his hand on Nathaniel's bare shoulder.

[nathaniel_kitten]

And he manages to get Nathaniel to jump a little before Asher's scent clicks as 'safe' in Nathaniel's mind.

"Asher," he says, looking up at his vampire. "I'm sorry. I meant to get back before you woke."

[ash-imperfect.livejournal.com]

Asher pulls back his hand, slowly sitting down beside Nathaniel.

"It is of no matter. You are here now." Asher smiles gently, slowly reaching out and touching Nathaniel's arm.

"Are you alright, cher?"

[nathaniel_kitten]

Nathaniel looks into his mug, frowning.

"Nightmare," he says, a half-truth. "I... couldn't(didn't) fall asleep again."

[ash-imperfect.livejournal.com]

He shifts, sitting back, sliding his arm around Nathaniel's shoulders, tugging him close. He kisses the top of his head softly.

"Do you wish to talk of it?"

[nathaniel_kitten]

Setting his mug aside, Nathaniel all but climbs into Asher's lap, wanting to be closer.

Safer.

"It was Gabriel," he murmurs. "Really Gabriel. His house... the damned playroom beneath it, and him waiting there. Just like he always was. Waiting and ready for me."

[ash-imperfect.livejournal.com]

Asher allows the closeness gladly, wrapping his arms around Nathaniel's waist, lifting his head to let Nathaniel tuck his face into Asher's throat.

"What did he do?" Asher asks, softly. He knows better than to question Milliways, to assume anything is merely a dream.

[nathaniel_kitten]

"Said things."

Nathaniel does, indeed, nuzzle under Asher's chin.

"I didn't let him get close enough to do much but talk. He yanked my hair near the beginning, and at the end he bit me as I was trying to run away, but in between... he just talked."

He chuckles, the sound a little bitter.

"Gabriel knows me so well," he says. "He always did."

[ash-imperfect.livejournal.com]

"He was responsible for who you have become, in many ways," Asher murmurs, kissing Nathaniel's hair. "It is only natural that he would know you so well." He slides his hand down Nathaniel's side, slowly.

"What did he say to you, mon chat?"

[nathaniel_kitten]

Nathaniel closes his eyes, swallowing thickly.

"Things hadn't been all bad between us," he says slowly. "There had been a lot I enjoyed. He said..."

He's been so careful not to let Asher in that far, to not let his vampire know just how damaged he was. The words stick in his throat for a moment.

"He said he'd only perfected me, that my past, before him, had truly made me what I was. He made me admit that love makes it all so much worse, hurt so much more..." Nathaniel squeezes his eyes tight. "But he abused me. His love cost buckets of blood and mounds of flesh. Gabriel's price was so high. I told him he never gave me what I needed, never taught me what I should truly want, but you... you and Anita had... and he was so angry..."

[ash-imperfect.livejournal.com]

Asher rocks Nathaniel gently, kissing his forehead again.

"He was angry because he knows he can never control you again, cher." Asher murmurs gently. "Because you know now that what he did to you was wrong, in many ways." Asher places his hand on Nathaniel's thigh, rubbing his thumb over the edge of his bitemark, hoping the slight pain will distract Nathaniel, soothe him somehow.

[nathaniel_kitten]

Nathaniel shudders and lifts his head, looking at Asher. The pain does distract, reminds him of who he belongs to now.

"When I was seven, I was molested by my foster father. Nicky was kept after classes, so he wasn't home when I got home from school. John had the day off because it was raining. You can't pour concrete when it rains. But he was there, waiting for me. I never told Nicky. I never told anyone but Gabriel."

[ash-imperfect.livejournal.com]

And suddenly, some things about Nathaniel's behaviour, about his relationships, make perfect sense.

"And he used it against you," Asher murmurs, not really a question. "he took advantage of the trust you showed, built on the abuse you had suffered already."

[redefinevictory]

Kait's costume is pretty (there are even wings!), but she's still a thin-blooded girl from the tropics. Fireplaces are good places. The not'werewolf jingles her away over (there are tiny bells around an ankle), a glass of lemonade in hand, but before she can claim a spot on the floor, she smells Nathaniel. Not werewolf, but not human, either.

"Are you all right, parat?" She asks, cautiously.

[nathaniel_kitten]

Nathaniel blinks and looks up at her.

"Excuse me?" he asks, not sure about that word.

[redefinevictory]

She keeps forgetting that no one else uses the word.

"Are you all right?" She repeats.

[nathaniel_kitten]

He musters up a polite smile.

"Yes. Thank you for asking."

[redefinevictory]

"No problem," she smiles back. "Mind if I sit?" No matter what he is, he doesn't smell dominant (something she has picked up from running with Gashta and his pack) as far as she can tell, but it is still only polite to ask.

[nathaniel_kitten]

Nathaniel doesn't have a single dominant bone in his body.

Well, if you asked him, that's what he'd say.

"Not at all," he says with a chuckle. "So long as it's not on me."

[redefinevictory]

Kait crinkles her nose, smile a little teasing. "I do not think you have to worry about that. Besides, it would be unfair to poke you with my wings."

[nathaniel_kitten]

Nathaniel grins.

"I've been poked by worse."

[redefinevictory]

"Ah, but did they have glitter?"

She can think of things - knives, swords, arrows, spears - but she keeps her tone to a banter.

[nathaniel_kitten]

Knives, swords, pokers, needles... yeah, he's been poked by any number of things worse than glittery wings.

"No, I don't believe they did," he says, smiling.

[redefinevictory]

"There you have it. Glitter never comes off."

[nathaniel_kitten]

"A good make-up remove can rid you of it."

Nathaniel nods.

"Every Thursday, I end my shift covered in glitter."