Cassius' Shop of Jeweled Wonders

[Red Gypsy]

Vihata

Cassius felt the pain of both actions and actually dropped to his knees, breathing heavily in an effort to deal with the pain. It hurt. Gods did it hurt! But he was trusting Meryth with everything right now. Especially since he didn't think he could trust himself.

He raised his lavender eyes to look at Kota's face and almost whimpered with him, "I will love you no matter what, Kota..." he whispered to him softly then pushed himself to his feet and moved unsteadily to the back door, "I'll leave you to work Meryth... I can't see him in this much pain without trying to help even though I know I can't," he added for the stronger Alichino as he left the door open behind him to move out onto the beach.

He pushed himself out until he was out into the darkness, close to where the water met the sand then dropped to his knees with his head down and his hair surrounding him. In this moment, without the bond to Kota filling him, he knew he'd only have a short time before either of them noticed.

He raised his hands after a moment and looked at them. They were shaking but he'd expected that. He wasn't expecting the scales that were spreading over them or the ones he could feel at his chest, back, shoulders, and hips. As he watched, the spines started forming along his forearms.

He needed to push it back, to stop it from happening. But he was powerless against it. Without Kota to ground him, to give him someone to care for, to give his heart to, he had no reason to stay here beyond his duty to Sebastet. Even though he'd gained a great deal of energy during his one night with Dakoda, he still wasn't at full strength. Yet he'd done so much since coming home and now it was all coming crashing home to him.

He couldn't heal Kota. He'd done nothing but hurt him.

They were right. They had to be if this was what he'd come home to, what he'd done in such a short time of coming home. They had to be right.

He was dangerous. He could already feeling himself losing control. He could feel the call of the ocean pulling at him, pulling at his natural form.

He wondered if he should make it easier. Easier on Kota. Easier on everyone. All he would have to do was get into the water. Instinct would take him over and take him where he should be. They'd put him somewhere safe, somewhere that he wouldn't hurt anyone again.

That was his one thought.

Then the memories hit him:

The Hunter begging for his life. But Cassius simply slashed his throat. The next begging just the same. But Cassius simply kissed his life away. Another begging. This time singing his heart into exploding.

On and on the memories went. Hundreds of deaths, maybe more. All of them over the last six months in the ocean.

Killing in self-defense was one thing, killing in defense of another something else but equally noble. But that wasn't what Cassius had done over the last six months. He'd gone hunting. Hunting for information. Hunting for revenge.

He was now a killer and hated himself for it. But he also knew that there was no way that Kota could forgive him for that, or for his moment with Dakoda... There was no way he could atone for any of it, no way he could ask for real forgiveness...  

[Red Gypsy]

Vihata

Cassius was all set to go off on Meryth and his words, but then he pressed him back into the sand and made him finish listening. It was partly the words, yes. But it was the pain and dominance that snapped him back, leaving him reeling and gasping as his body shifted back.

But his own reaction brought tears to his eyes as he remembered the hurt in Kota's eyes when the Alichino he loved had caught the memory of what the dominance had brought from him. He didn't try to push Meryth away, though he thought he should have.

Instead, he raised his hands to cover his face, "I won't leave him... But I know that he'll know I betrayed him every time he looks at me... He'll begin to wonder every time I'm out of his sight... Then he'll start to hate me... And I would have ruined everything... I will wind up hurting him every day... How can I live with that? How can I live with what I'll do to him?" he asked, clearly feeling the pain from what he'd done and what he'd inadvertently caused to Kota.

"Everything else I've done aside, how can I live with hurting him that way? I'll eventually come to terms with what I did to those Hunters. I know that. I'll figure out how to handle that. But I now that something's changed with my innate powers, Meryth. Something they warned me of when I was with my father. It's all changing, taking on a life of its own. When I met Kota, I could heal anything with a song. Now... Now I've done this to him..." he continued to let it out even as his body reacted to the pain and Meryth's position over him.

But he still couldn't help but think that Kota would hate him for this reaction as well...  

[Red Gypsy]

Vihata

Cassius was almost overwhelmed with the signals he was picking up from Meryth and doing his best to fight it. But by the time Meryth got up and offered his hand, the siren was actually panting softly, feeling his body on fire.

He still gave in to the implied dominance and put his hand into Meryth's, letting the Alichino pull him to his feet. They'd gone a few steps towards the house before the words caught up to him and his steps faltered, "What do you mean 'comes of age'?" he asked, his nervousness coloring his tone despite the very obvious desire the Alichino had raised in him.

Kota as an actual child was going to be a bit problematic, if he thought Meryth was saying what he thought he was, "I don't know what to do with kids. I can handle the ones in the village because they run errands and I don't have to deal with them for long," he said in total honestly.

"The only reason I fathered even one child was because I had no choice in the matter and the mother was raising it," he added, so rattled over the prospect that he still didn't realize that they were still holding hands.  

[Red Gypsy]

Vihata

Cassius thought about the mess and shrugged one shoulder as he looked it over, "I can get rid of the mess easily. It's just a simple spell," he said softly, his eyes going straight to Kota's for a long moment. Until his words hit him. Then he winced a bit, "Well, if my magic will cooperate with me, that is," he added in a softer tone.

Then he realized he'd been asked a question and winced again, "I can put us together something to eat. Nothing cooked, mind you, since I'm hopeless for cooking anything but coffee. I know Alichino don't need to eat sometimes still manage to enjoy it, but it's something to do..." he offered in a hesitant tone.

The only reason he was hesitant was because he suddenly found himself unsure. He didn't want to hurt Kota again by answering the need that Meryth had awakened on the beach. His short time spent back with his people had reminded him that they really weren't a race that did well with just one person, they all existed in group relationships. It was part of their natures to love more than one person, different people answering differing needs and maintaining harmony in the home.

But Kota's reaction had shown him that he couldn't even consider bringing that one up, so he was hesitant to open himself to that possibility.

Besides, he understood that Meryth was much more dominant a personality and found himself understanding that making any moves with him would be... unseemly... to such a personality. He understood that and part of him craved having someone take him over so he'd stop thinking, exhaust him to the point that he wouldn't dream when he fell asleep.

But he was also worried about Kota, unsure of doing anything but simple things until he was sure that Kota was fine.

So he really had no idea what to suggest...  

[Red Gypsy]

Vihata

The male knew exactly what he was doing to him, Cassius decided. Especially when Meryth pulled him in close and was able to feel the siren's very obvious desire. The kiss even pulled a small sound from that he was unable to hold back.

But the last sentence reminded him of something. The basics of dominance and submission that he knew so well.

Right this minute, Meryth was triggering all of his own submissive needs by taking control of anything intimate. Kota had needed just that from him and he'd forgotten that in the jumble of everything. He'd never apologized for who or what he was before. But combined with everything that had happened over the last six months, things had gotten jumbled for him.

So he finally raised his lavender eyes to look at Meryth fully, "You know more about my people than Kota does, you know how we live. I need that. I need someone in my life who can make me stop thinking or overdoing. I need someone in my life who can take me over when I need it. I also need what I have with Kota, but it answers a different need in me," he started then tilted his head back as tears threatened again.

He didn't want to cry anymore. He wanted loving and laughter and joy back in his life and in his house. Not sadness and this deep despair he felt inside of him.

"Take me, Meryth," he said in a soft whisper as his eyes returned to that perfect face, "Tear me down and fix me, just as you're doing for him. I need... I... I need..." he felt everything to overwhelm him again and had to close his eyes tightly against it.

But that was the closest he'd ever come to begging in his entire life. He never begged for attention, never had to. He was always fawned over and admired, always appreciated, and never had to lack for bedpartners. But that was in the past. Ever since he'd wound up with Kota, he'd only been with two other people. One of which had admired him as he was used to while the other had hated him just as much as he'd hated her. One was his choice after thinking that he'd lost Kota completely while the other had been by force.

Right now, he needed the attention just as much as Kota did, needed to be taken over and cared for just as Kota did, needed the shell pulled away and himself renewed just as Kota did. The siren simply required a different method of renewal....  

[Red Gypsy]

Vihata

Crap post, I know, but it gives us a brief timeskip.

When it came to lovemaking, Cassius had enough stamina to give an Incubus a run for his money. But tonight, when they'd finished the first round, the siren's mind went instantly to Kota. That first hurried and frantic round had taken him out of his head enough to think clearly even as he was left gasping in a sprawl on the bed, "We need to check on Kota... Orthius was exhausted..." he gasped out, knowing that Meryth wasn't finished with him yet.

But they could return to finishing what was needed once they were sure Kota was alright. There was plenty of time, after all, for the dominant Alichino to take care of both of them.

Even though Meryth was dominant to both of them, Cassius still took his position with Kota seriously. He knew he had enough room in his heart for both of them. He only hoped that Kota would understand that.  

[Red Gypsy]

Vihata

Cassius moaned under the onslaught of sensations and demands, his body shifting under it all. But as much as he wanted to continue right now, his connection to the wards and protections on the building were going off in a warning that he couldn't ignore.

He knew Meryth wasn't going to let him up on that alone so he simply sent a thread of power through those protections that gave Orthius a small shock to wake him up and restore the bird's energy. Thankfully, it was enough to wake the bird up.

One look at Kota's eyes open and all the blood under him and the bird got going, flying upstairs while calling out that Kota had managed to wake up and was bleeding badly.

All Cassius could do by then was shift under Meryth's demands as his body was worked up to a fever pitch and his mind was lost under pure sensations to the point that he only barely heard Orthius.  

[Red Gypsy]

Vihata

Cassius had followed when he could move without staggering, wearing a pair of simple beach shorts with his hair pulled back. He said nothing at first. He simply collected a bin for Meryth to put the removed pieces of porcelain into and set it beside his hand then checked his energy levels. That brief check showed that he could easily do the cleaning spell needed and did just that.

It was a brief and soft song that moved into another that would ease Kota's pain some. At least, he hoped it would ease his love's pain.

The cleaning spell instantly cleaned up the blood and ensured that any more of it would be cleaned up as well. He didn't want Kota to come out of this with such a mess revealed to him, worried that he'd panic over it or something.

He knew he was fairly useless to Meryth as he worked on Kota, so he moved himself into the kitchen to put together something to eat, needing to keep himself busy. What he managed was basically a salad, but it had meat to it and a few other ingredients that allowed it to be a full meal. It wasn't much, but it was something he could do. And it was intricate enough that he kept himself busy and out of the way as Meryth worked.