|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Fri Apr 24, 2020 1:55 pm
 |
|
|
 |
Cassius had given his word, of course. And in such a way as to protect them both if needed, though she likely wouldn't catch that until much later.
Once she handed him the gem, he inspected it very carefully and very thoroughly, frowning over the spells it held but saying nothing about it for now. What interested him was the flaw in the stone. The spells wouldn't prevent him from fixing it, but it wouldn't be easy.
After a while, he finally looked up at her with a small frown that didn't detract from his attractiveness at all, "I can fix it. I can do it and leave everything else intact; spells, coating, everything. But I'll need to make sure that you can handle the process..." he told her then paused there for a moment.
He almost laughed at her literally holding her breath over it, but he kept his composure and pressed on. He was issuing his own warning for a very good reason, after all.
"I'll have to sing... And there is no one that I've met so far than can withstand my singing unscathed... I've drowned entire ships, and even seduced a goddess with it once... And my powers have only increased since then," he pointed out, knowing that she needed the warning.
Of course, by revealing his level of ability, he revealed exactly who he was. If she paid attention to that kind of thing. There really was only one mermaid with that kind of power: the current heir to the throne... |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Apr 25, 2020 10:30 am
|
|
|
|
The lead sitting inside her stomach suddenly vanished upon his words. He could fix it, truly? Unbridled emotion welled up and she had to blink a couple of times to stay the moisture from her eyes. Demoness’ don’t cry. Especially over a simple piece of jewelry. She could hear her father’s stern voice, back when she was still in his good graces, echoing in her mind, ‘Crying shows weakness, and no daughter of mine shall ever be weak.’
“Truly? I’ve been searching decades to find someone with the ability to fix it. Originally, it was just malfunctioning, so I took it to be looked at, but that stupid elf didn’t know what he was doing and ended up cracking the jewel. Without that centerpiece, the key is practically useless.” She said, her crimson eyes narrowing at the thought of the elf in question. He had said there was nothing wrong with her amulet, and to prove it he tried to activate the magic within. Except, only he didn’t have the right type of blood to use it, so the magic backfired and ended up cracking the jewel. She was so enraged that she tore the elf into several different pieces with her bare hands. Glorifying in the satisfaction she felt when he screamed while his blood covered her from head to toe. That was one of the few moments she truly felt like Asmodeus’ daughter.
Blinking, she was brought back from that memory when Cassius sounded off his warning. “Singing?” Aeshma asked curiously, her head tilting ever so slightly to the left. “Oh! That’s right, you’re a siren. But how will your voice help restore my amulet? I’m not sure I understand.” The demoness said, suspicion glinting in her eyes. She had taken the tavern owner at his word that Cassius was the best, but perhaps she should have dug a little deeper into the male sitting across from her before handing over her family’s heirloom. What if he messed it up more than the elf? What if he destroyed it in the process? She had heard a siren’s song could be quite powerful, but outside of the tryst she had a couple of centuries ago, she had never been around another one. And she definitely hadn’t heard one sing.
ωɦε૨ε: Cassius' Shop ฬเtђ: Cassius мσσ∂: Hopeful, Suspicious ωεα૨เɳɠ: Outfit and Hair (minus the purse) || AMULET
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Apr 25, 2020 11:20 am
|
|
|
|
Cassius gave a nod of understanding, "Alright then... You've obviously never heard a Siren sing. It's part of our innate magic. All Mermaids can spell-sing, but Sirens can do alot more than that. We can enchant and create, we can kill or make someone kill themselves... My singing could enchant you as well, even if it's not directed at you specifically. Especially if you're not prepared for it," he explained to her, already able to tell what had been done to screw up the piece without the explanation...
He waited a bare moment then grinned at her, "Luckily I'm prepared for this," he told her cheekily, his vanity at the fore once more as he gestured to a shelf next to her, "In the shell box there, there's an amber pendant on a leather cord. Put that on and it'll shield you from the worst," he instructed, just grinning again at her look of distrust, knowing full well that she was going to do it anyway.
Once she'd put the amber on, he got up and gestured for her to follow him. Beside the staircase that led to his bedroom was a doorway that he led her through and into an addition he'd put on the building. This was originally Kota's painting studio. Now Cassius used it for more complicated spellwork.
This part of the building was magically shielded and sound proofed as well. The only part that wasn't was the aerie, which was currently closed off since there was no resident for it.
He moved to a circular rug in the center of the room and placed her jewel in the center then sat down on one side of it and gestured for her to sit across from him, "When I gesture for it, I need you to put a drop of your blood on it. No more than that. And not before I tell you to do it. Until then, just sit there and enjoy the show," he directed as he settled himself comfortably on the plush and cushioned carpet.
Once she was seated, still with that look of distrust that only made him grin in delight; then he closed his lavender eyes and took in a slow deep breath.
Then he started to Sing....
It became obvious at once that he could enchant entire armies with his voice alone. And there was power in his voice that couldn't be denied. As he sang, his hair slowly started to rise around him as if he was floating in water, showing his nature as a mermaid. In this moment, he was even more beautiful to look at. As she watched, the stone started to slowly heal itself. After a few moments, that likely felt like bare seconds, he gestured for her to put her blood on the gem. Once she did so, his song shifted slightly.
The gem finally gave a brief bright flare then settled down, fully repaired. Cassius' song came to a slow end and his hair settled around him once more before he blinked his lavender eyes open and gave her that cheeky grin of his, "All finished. Fully repaired and restored. There was also a flaw in the gem itself that allowed someone else to use it. I fixed that. Now, you're the only one that can use the little beastie," he informed her, knowing that she wouldn't understand the power it had taken to do both at the same time. But it had been worth it for him.
While he was beautiful normally, and even more so when he was singing; it was in his mermaid form that his true beauty could be seen. But his singing gave a hint as to why kings, queens, and even gods and goddesses would risk the enchantment of his voice to be with him. He would look fabulous on anyone's arm and held power that very few could touch...
He confidently gestured to the gem for her to take it, knowing that they could talk about price later. He usually bartered his wares and skills, usually trading for another gemstone or a meal or something that he needed around the house or shop. But for this one, it needed taken care of or the thing would have, quite literally, blown up in her lovely face.... |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Apr 25, 2020 11:52 am
|
|
|
|
Aeshma blinked at Cassius while she digested his words. She had heard of the power of sirens, but once again she had no idea the depth of their power. Could he really sing into existence different things? And if so, what kind of things? Was it just inaminate objects, or could he create creatures by just singing? ‘Woah. If what he says is correct – I don’t know if my magics will be enough to stop him if he has nefarious plans for my amulet.’ She thought to herself, a small frown on her face.
She watched his face for any type of deceit for a few minutes, but all he did was grin at her in amusement, and her magic could usually detect when something mischievous was afoot, and right now it was laying silent and dormant. Nodding her head after a slight hesitation, she walked over to the shell box and retrieved the necklace he described. Pulling it over her head, she felt the warmth of the magic inside the stone wrap around her gently like a lover’s touch. ‘I wonder if he sung this one into creation?’ Man, I have so many questions if this works!’
Once the amber necklace was around her neck, she remained silent as she followed Cassius into a hidden room she had missed before upon her initial inspection. Raising an eyebrow, the demoness slowly eased her way into the warded room and followed his instructions once he placed her family amulet on the circular rug. Making sure to sit with her legs folded and pressed together underneath her, Aeshma ran her hands up and down her leather pants as anxiety got the better of her.
“Why do you need my blood?” she asked suspiciously. When he responded and explained how and what he was doing, her tensed shoulders eased down slightly and she nodded for him to continue. As soon as his voice reached her ears, she closed her crimson eyes as bliss radiated up and down her spine. Even with this spelled amber necklace around her neck, she could still feel the pulse of his magic trying to call to her. It was beautiful and haunting, and before she knew it, Aeshma had shifted forward ever so slightly so that she was closer to both Cassius and her amulet.
At a pause in his singing, the demoness opened her eyes and when she saw him motioning her, she blinked stupidly for a few seconds before remembering that he needed her blood to activate his spell. Using one of her canines, she broke the skin on the pad of her thumb before letting a drop of the welling blood drop on the golden amulet. A bright flare of light shrouded the room in whiteness as Cassius song changed in tune and pitch before it came to a slow end.
Aeshma gasped softly when she saw the cracked jewel was no longer cracked. Darting her crimson eyes to meet those of his lavender ones, she silently asked with her gaze if she could pick it up. At his words, she gently reached over and picked up her key, bringing it closer to her face so she could inspect it. It look good as new, but there was only one way to find out if it was fixed.
Not paying Cassius anymore mind, the demoness closed her eyes and pulled up her kitsune magic up, letting it surround the jewel. The blue fire of her magic engulfed the key briefly before sinking down into the amber stone. Suddenly, she felt a pull in her chest causing her eyes to snap open right before the key started vibrating in her palm. Her crimson eyes widened, and she shut down the connection quickly before it could fully form. With a beautiful smile, she looked over at Cassius before throwing herself into his arms. “You are ******** brilliant!” she said before pulling back and giving him a smacking kiss on the lips before pulling away to look at her amulet once more in excitement.
ωɦε૨ε: Cassius' Shop ฬเtђ: Cassius мσσ∂: Excited and Happy ωεα૨เɳɠ: Outfit and Hair (minus the purse) || AMULET
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Apr 25, 2020 12:17 pm
|
|
|
|
Cassius laughed as she threw herself at him, kissed him, then complimented him, "I know I'm brilliant, Darling... I'm also gorgeous, talented, and good with my hands. If I could cook, I'd be perfect," he told her cheekily as he tapped her nose with a finger then set her aside so that he could get to his feet, then offered her his hand to help her up in a very courtly movement.
Cassius had impeccable manners when he chose to use them, which was alot of the time. Many found those manners romantic and saw them as a sign of favor. But for Cassius, it was a way of flirting politely, and he flirted with just about everyone...
He got her to her feet and led the way back into the living room where he collected his cup and went into the kitchen briefly to refill it before returning to his very comfortable work-chair. He dropped onto it seemingly bonelessly and tucked one leg under him, bringing attention that even while dressing casually he still managed to bring an air of class to it that few had.
That didn't mean that he was a snob. Far from it. He was probably the most approachable person in the village. People were even intimidated by Rex at first appearance. But with Cass, everyone wanted to be around him. He couldn't leave the building without being surrounded by a flock of lovelies that wanted his attention, male and female. He gave them some attention, but not enough to encourage attachment.
When he'd spoken of wanting someone for commitment, he needed someone that was also a challenge. He hadn't found anyone like that since Kota and Meryth left him. In the end, he guessed that the Church and their Hunters had gotten their revenge on him...
He didn't realize that that brief shadow of pain flashed across his beautiful features before he returned to being the flirty and vain gem carver that he appeared to be.
"Besides, if I hadn't fixed that thing for you now, it would have quite literally blown up in your lovely face inside of a week. It wasn't just cracked, it was unstable. I took care of that for you. No sense in ruining such a beautiful face, after all. That would be almost as bad as ruining my own..." he explained, giving another teasing grin at the end then taking a sip of his coffee.
Thankfully, she wouldn't realize the level of power it would have taken to fix the blasted thing and his secrets were safe for a while longer. Which meant that only two people still knew who and what he truly was. He was safe for a little while longer... |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Apr 25, 2020 1:25 pm
|
|
|
|
Aeshma rolled her eyes but couldn’t help the giggle that followed Cassius vain words. “Well, you are all those things, I can admit that. However.. You’re still not my type, pretty boy.” She said, smile growing at his expression. What he said was all true, and she might have lied a little bit when he said he wasn’t her type only because the demoness didn’t really have a type to begin with. And as much as she might have been intrigued at the idea of bedding this beautiful male in front of her, Aeshma was vain enough that she liked to be the feminine one in a relationship, whether emotional or sexual it did not matter.
When he held his hand out to help her up, she placed her slightly tanned hand into his paler one without hesitation. The siren had so far proved himself to her by fixing her heirloom pendant, so until he proved otherwise, she was going to go along with her instincts and trust the male next to her. He didn’t know how much this amulet meant to her, no one did truly. And outside the elf she killed that time for messing it up, no one else knew the true extent of what her key could do. Although the way he explained how his magic worked, he might have an inkling now that he has touched it with his magic. But it did not matter whether he figured it out or not because he took a binding oath that he would never speak of it again once she was gone. So her secrets were safe. At least for the time being.
While Cassius was cleaning up, Aeshma sat back down on the couch, this time on the edge of it as she ran her hands over the jeweled pendant. The light from his windows caught the amber stone inside, and she could just make out the mists swirling inside. Happiness surged through her veins followed by contentment as soon as the amulet was around her neck again with the key part pressed against her chest. She tucked that jeweled piece into her bra-let, sighing in relief when she felt the warm pulse as her skin practically melded with it.
The demoness patted her chest, gently running her fingers across her breast where the pendant lay hidden. It wasn’t sexual movement, but more of an unconscious one that he had done a hundred times before. When Cassius came back into the living room, she glanced over at him with a genuine smile before shrugging her shoulders. “Well, then I guess it’s good that I came across you then, isn’t it? My beautiful face thanks you for saving it.” Aeshma said with a giggle.
ωɦε૨ε: Cassius' Shop ฬเtђ: Cassius мσσ∂: Excited and Happy ωεα૨เɳɠ: Outfit and Hair (minus the purse) || AMULET
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Apr 25, 2020 5:30 pm
|
|
|
|
Cassius just gave another soft chuckle then took another sip of his coffee before setting the cup on the table next to him and picked up an uncut ruby the size of his fist that was his next project. He was determined to make this into something besides a heart...
"I usually barter my skills and wares but that thing really needed taken care of, so we'll leave it at that," he explained to her simply then put the ruby back down and looked back at her, "The island operates on the barter system. They do take money sometimes, but that goes into a pooled account to buy stuff the island can't make for itself. Sebastet up at the castle usually handles that. You can go up there if you want to, the path through the forest is safe. Or you can find a room at one of the inns here or even take one of the rooms Rex has available," he explained to her, giving her a few options for where to go.
Admittedly, he could put her up on the couch-bed for the night, but he wasn't too much for overnight guests these days... |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jul 03, 2020 1:50 pm
|
|
|
|
MzDuchess We can move you on up to the castle from here.
Cassius frowned as he heard laughter downstairs that woke him up. Okay, okay, he wasn't sleeping... He was just laying down and pretending to sleep... He hadn't really slept in two years...
He got up and slid his silk robe on then slowly made his way down the stairs. He had to pause at the entrance to the living room, wondering if he was going insane. He had no expression on his beautiful face as he looked at them, finding that something was shutting down his emotions that involved seeing them there.
He finally shook his head slightly and headed into the kitchen, "Great... I'm seeing ghosts now... What next? The former MereKing coming to haunt me as well? Maybe the Hunters?" he said, his voice heavy on irony and sarcasm. But he was serious in thinking that they were ghosts instead of real people.
He moved into the kitchen and put the coffee pot on the stove to get that going and leaned back to rub at his face a bit in a sign of how tired he was. After a moment, he moved back into the living room and ignored them as he crossed to his work table and checked a bit of paperwork, "Still have that carving to do for Sebastet..." he commented to himself, "And the wedding brooches for Mina's family..." he added under his breath and laid out the gems he'd need for those items then added back into the kitchen.
It was obvious from the condition of the house that he thought that Kota and Meryth had died. The portrait Kota had painted of them was covered with a black cloth, as were all the portraits Kota had painted of them. Their possessions were carefully packed away in the studio, with a few of them put into glassed-in cabinets as if preserving them.
And if they touched the bond, it would become even more obvious that Cassius wasn't feeling it at all... For him, it had been severed and caused him about two months of massive pain, further proving to him that they were dead. So he simply couldn't not comprehend right now that they were alive. It didn't occur to him at all. For him, they had to be dead and the people he was seeing in his house right now had to be ghosts... |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jul 03, 2020 4:09 pm
|
|
|
|
Cassius shook his head slightly, finding that Kota's hands moving through his hair was soothing. But after going through the pain once, he was pretty good at handling it by now, "Upstairs... Bed... Quiet... Dark..." he whispered the words, letting them know what he needed.
He simply needed to be in bed, in the quiet and dark until the pain went away. He had a feeling that Rex would find out soon enough, somehow, and be over later to help. That was how he'd survived last time. When the pain hit him last time, he'd collapsed just like he had this time, only he'd spilled the entire pot of coffee over his left hand. Rex had come at just the right time and had taken care of him, cycling the village kids through to watch over him when the big male couldn't be there personally. They'd made sure that he stayed hydrated, used the bathroom, stayed clean, ate simple foods, and they'd brushed his hair for him every day...
This time, he gave a groan as Meryth simply pulled him up to his feet and they both supported him to get him up the stairs. He heard Kota's gasp as they got his robe off and knew the smaller male could see the burns already coming up over his thighs and belly from the hot coffee. To be honest, he didn't feel it. His head was overwhelming everything else.
He got into the bed and curled up with his arms around his head and worked on keeping his breathing controlled.
Downstairs, sure enough, Rex gently knocked on the back door then opened it and stepped inside, "Cass? You okay? Young Mike said he heard something fall and got worried," he called out in a much gentler tone than he usually used. It was surprising that such a large male could be so quiet when it was needed. After a pause, he continued as he looked up the staircase, "That headache come back again?" he asked, his tone clearly worried. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
