little scoprion

he should have bit his tongue. he was punishing himself. why did he refuse this? why would he not allow himself one thing? … why do you deserve it? ❛ oh, yes. of course, i only meant… ❜ he placed his pipe in it’s stand. his arms reaching now to the soaked blanket. ❛ give that here, i will take care of it in the morning… ❜ he hadn’t been ready for guests, his house needed to be cleaned, and desperately. he took the blanket in his arms and started to walk off. ❛ i’ll show you to the washroom. forgive me… i should have cleaned a bit more. ❜

vanessa handed the damp blanket over to mr. sumner,  feeling embarrassed by how the scent of it carried into the empty space,  ❛ once again,  i must apologize to you… it is not a fault of yours that you are not prepared for uninvited guests.   ❜   another smile came,  it was becoming easier to fall behind this mask.   she had given to much of her sorrow,  and she should not have tried to push her burdens onto his shoulders without asking first if he could bear it.   ❛ thank you for allowing me here anyway,  ❜

❛ sir malcolm willingly put you in danger? i would assume he knew you capable of this. he mentioned before knowing you as a child, and if that were the case... ❜ it was unfathomable. he tuts and shakes his head, blowing smoke into the clean air. ❛ in times such as these… ❜ his nerves alight with something now. something he deems anxiety and swallows it down best he can. he’d not known how to let people in and he’d spent so long pushing people away that sharing any details of himself became more painful than he cared to admit. ❛ i could prescribe you a small dose of laudanum. ❜ he stands now, begins to head to his desk. ❛ that is why you came yes? you require my aid. ❜ he knew that's not why but instinctively he pushes. back pressed to the wall, fear clung to his features. please do not get in… please do not see me in all my pieces. ❛ i will make up the guest room, miss ives. ❜

❛ it was not sir malcolm’s idea,  that fault belongs to mr.  lyle.  ❜ vanessa did not know why she sought to defend sir malcolm when mr.  sumner’s tasked him with the blame.  ❛ i do not want to believe that sir malcolm would ever put me in harms way willingly,  but perhaps his subconscious does this for the wrongs i have caused him.  ❜ vanessa felt the air change and regret built inside her and she could not stop it from spreading,  much like a weed does in a garden.  ❛ i did not come as a patient,  doctor.  ❜ she was aware of how her voice became colder,  ❛ i am sorry to have intruded on you,  nonetheless,  i appreciate you giving me refuge from the rain.  ❜ vanessa shrugged the blanket from her shoulders,  feeling too warm now.

❛ perhaps not you… ❜ he mumbled into his pipe. he had no love for mr. chandler, but he could not say he hated the man. disinterest was the proper feeling, and it was the feeling that sir malcolm had told him to retain, so he clung to it like a child handed a gift from their grandparent. his knuckles white and his heart elated. he couldn’t say he was fond of any of their found comrades in this hunt for mina. ❛ but me. i do not care for him, and i have learned better than to trust men like him. i hope you heed my advice, he is not a trustworthy man. ❜ a beat. ❛ and not simply because sir malcolm likes him. ❜ another beat. ❛ i do not get jealous of men, or for men. or women. i do not get jealous. i simple do not like him. ❜ he nodded. ❛ that is all. ❜

vanessa felt her mouth curve into a small smile.   it was not of satisfaction of the discovery,   but simply of knowing that she was right of her assumptions.   mr. sumner was not fond of mr. chandler,   perhaps it was mr. chandler’s volatile nature that led him to distrust him.   jealousy was too easy to assume,   and he had dismissed it before it lingered in the afterthoughts of her mind.   ❛ i will hold caution for him,   as you suggest. ❜ she placed her hands in her lap and cleared her throat.

he strummed wistfully at the strings on his guitar — a tune that remained stuck in his head. something, he assumed, from his past life; perhaps a remnant of who or what he once was. but as the words came to the tip of his tongue he smelled her. the iron scent that permeated his senses, pushing a sigh full of hunger from his throat. so it seemed, his hunger had not been sated by the man he drank deep earlier in the night. a hummed, strumming to the melody, eyes closed as the filí draíocht moved through him — flashing lights through the sky and cause a thunder to crackle through the air like a storm. he felt it faint in his veins, but with each song it was drawn forth, given power and shape.

❛ mm… ❜ he shook his head, returning the smile. his fangs still hidden, aching for a taste of her. he set his guitar down. ❛ i figured sir malcolm would start to keep you longer. think he’s starting to suspect us, darling. ❜ winking at her and breathing out a short laugh. ❛ or — rather, i think he’s starting to suspect me. ❜ a more serious glint flashed in his eyes. trust was hard to come by, but with vanessa being so willing remmick had never been given reason to doubt. ❛ sorry for the mess. ❜ a quick hand gesture to the blood that splattered his white top. his suspenders had been pulled from his shoulders left to hang from his pants and the blood was smeared, the color faded but still theres. ❛ i just tell ‘em i’ve got consumption. ❜ he gave another laugh.

❛ nonsense,❜ she said quickly to dispel his suspicions, ❛ if sir malcolm suspects anything, he suspects our entanglement to that of a romantic sort, or full of lust. ❜ vanessa’s mind had paid little thought to what sir malcolm might uncover even if he managed to string things together, she knew he would be too late to his discovery. as all things that did once come to be, sir malcolm had the unfortunate ability of denying all right conclusions until the tangible evidence was placed in front of him, as graspable as his dinner plate.

vanessa listened with intent as he spoke, not quite familiar with the terms, but vaguely they brushed a crossed her mind, ❛ i’ve never read of such a thing, but as you might have guessed, the volumes that sir malcolm possesses are so painfully english. ❜ she managed a chuckle, ❛ even in his adventuring to other continents, he takes back only what he can understand through the knowledge that he possesses. ❜ she sighed deeply, it was hard to mask her disappointment in her discoveries in sir malcolm, ❛ however, there is a man who he has entrusted with the egyptian hieroglyphs that we discovered underneath a creature’s skin. ❜ she saw curiosity swimming underneath the depth of his eyes, ❛ he has knowledge of ancient languages, he may have more useful resources amongst his possessions. ❜ she watched him for confirmation of his willingness, though she could see the hesitation in his movements, perhaps it was the thought of involving yet another person he could not simply use for sustenance.