Keith W. Crane

He trailed off not sure what else to say, he was tempted to play off as a joke but they were both being vulnerable to each other right here in this room. He had to ask someday, but this was probably the worst time for the elf to ask such an important question. "You know........just forget about it. You are dealing with something more important than this silly question. We can put it on the back burner for now." The elf made himself a shot and took it down, making a face before pouring another and taking the second shot down.

Byrne was not ready. He had to run this by Sabrina and come to terms with what this meant for both him and the elf. But he also didn't want to give him the wrong idea. "Mal.." he shook his head, "You're important. But I do want to think about this, if that's okay? If I am to do this, I need to consider things properly."

"Well.........ever since the invasion and the new system I realized that being close to an authority helps a lot. And being in a house again while the dorms were being rebuild reminded me of what I had back home of that normality. And so I had a thought.......a crazy thought if you will.........that maybe........" Malon looks down scared to death but takes a deep breath before looking straight at Keith's eyes with a determined and scared look. "I was hoping that maybe you can claim me and be my master....."

The vampire's frustration did not often get to him, meaning he rarely lost his patience, but he was..more irritable lately, was he not?

Malon had conflicting feelings when it came to the new arrangements and new rules. They didn't seem to be too bad but being ranked for being the most submissive bitch and the most sadistic asshole to get benefits seems a bit much. Luckily he hasn't stepped on anyone's toes as of late, so he was cruising along like always. But the thought in his mind kept running with millions of 'what ifs' that shook him to the core. What if there was a master that would rent him and beat the shit out of him? What if someone would rant him out just to get some extra points? The list goes on and on, and he isn't sure what to do.

Though staying at a Master's house during the emergency homing made him realize how much different worlds for slaves that are claimed and those who live in the 'dorms'. The new layout wasn't too horrible since it got an upgrade, but having his own room, his own bathroom, his privacy was like a reminder of what he gave up when he came to this island. Even though he told himself he would never be owned or be someone's 'pet' the idea of a sanctuary was nice and very few Masters he could think of that he would be willing to own him. But there was truly one person he would want to claim him but he wasn't sure how to ask him. Would his boss be conflicted with owning him AND being his boss at the bar? Mal needed to think and the new lounge just opened so that might be a good place for him to think things through.

Heading to the lounge seeing the new set up he went straight to the bar to get a drink and flops on the couch thinking about the possibility of asking Keith if he would claim him. @keith-crane

That afternoon, in particular, he happened to be on his way to Grace's when he walked past the lounge. Normally, he would have not looked up. Normally. But something compelled him to this time -a certain scent, which he had come to know well. Malon. Sat on a couch with a drink in hand...this was reason enough to stop by, was it not?

“Dhani…” he whispered as he reached for his hand, hesitant and scared, but only deep down. “I know you’re not ready to give up because you simply don’t..do that.. but you can’t lose yourself in the process. Sometimes people can’t be fixed right away..sometimes they can’t be fixed at all.” Maybe Leib fell into the second category and if it ever came to that..well, fuck, right? They’d find a way.

“You can play by his rules and wait..or believe what he says and find somewhere else to crash. It’s your choice - but uh,” and his lip twitched there, “I n-need you here.”

Keith gripping his hand was so unexpected, Dhani gave a short inhale of breath. Not out of fear, not at all, but out of overwhelming relief. He immediately squeezed back. And after a short moment, listening to Keith, he couldn’t stop himself, tears flowed freely, relatively silent.

Maybe someday he could put into words how much this moment meant to him. But for now, it was impossible. He took another short breath, attempting to regain some control over himself for Keith’s sake, gave another grateful squeeze of Keith’s hand.

Keith had no other reason to need him, other than being a friend. How far they both had come to get to this point…

“Thanks, Keith.” Dhani said, strained but sincere. He wiped at his face, giving a nod. “Thank you. I’m… I’m not going anywhere. I just…” He shook his head. He didn’t have any answers, clearly he was at the end of his rope with trying to figure out just what to do.

Maybe hearing he was needed by one of the last people to say it was exactly he needed just now. They couldn’t solve one problem, but they had fixed another. As much as Dhani wanted to congratulate Keith for his selflessness right now, he doubted it would be taken well.

Keith hadn't entertained the idea of speaking to anybody up until this point. And with the way he was, it would have probably stayed this way if it wasn't because he happened to be a little on edge. Sabrina had stopped replying to his texts. He did not know where Dhani was, or Mal was, and he had been starving himself for the past four days by not feeding as often as he would've. So naturally, when he felt the touch of someone else's hand around his, he gave up his front..blue eyes meeting human ones.

"..water?" It seemed like a perfectly reasonable question and yet, it gave this vampire pause. "I don't fucking know. I believe there are some vending machines...and a café on the ground floor. Not sure what the state of either is." Ah.. Jesus. Keith pulled his hand free, gently, and sighed. "Do you need..help getting there?"

"Yes, water," she said, slower. Tilly was impatient and scared, and that tended to make her a bit bitchy. But, tonight, she'd argue it was warranted. "Alright, you don't fucking know, it was just a question," she scoffed. She stood - her legs were surprisingly alright. Most of her was, all things considered. It could have been a lot worse and she supposed she was lucky in that regard. A bloodied bandage around her neck with two fanged puncture wounds wasn't bad. But all her precious belongings - she could cry just thinking about it. "No, I don't think I do," she said, as she stood. "You can feel free to keep a girl company, though. I don't want some other supernatural asshole getting excited at a human slave wandering by herself."