Nikolas

It was that week again that made him so antsy, so hot, and so damned horny. So much so that he couldn't think of anything other than getting off, luckily after his master had his way with him he was left to wander the castle. It took him much longer to be able to do that after the time he spent with the master, always left worse for wear any time he spent with him. He managed his way to the pool, surprisingly not running into anyone on the way there. Figuring the water would feel better on his overly heated skin, and maybe calm down his feral urge to hump someone.

Merek was a big fan of heat week, always had been, but even he needed a break from it every now and then. Currently, the pyromancer was cooling himself off at the pool, which wasn't really the best place to hide when it came to avoiding people going through heat. No point in not making himself available, though. With a small, content sigh, Merek had lowered himself further into the water when he spotted one of the councilmen entering the room. "Good evening, sir." He greeted with his trademark grin that always bordered on flirtatious. "Are you enjoying yourself so far?" Though he didn't think the man went through heat personally, it did seem to be a week that most of the vampires loved.

As much as Nikolas loved a good week of men throwing themselves at him the man wanted, no needed, a break. A moment of relaxing. When he entered the pool his nose picked the scent up quickly. Not just of heat, but of Merek. He looked at the other and nodded in acknowledgment. Luckily the other wasn't a problem and was actually on a good list with the master. "Evening. I take it you're here for an escape. A break from the rest of the castle." It was more of a statement than a question. Getting into the pool he sighed as sunk lower into the pool. "How has your week been?"

"Entertainin'? S'pose that's one word to describe me," Connor chuckled. Maybe it's because he'd been known to be a bit mouthier than the rest, a little louder and not quite as submissive. Sure, he could be good, but only when the mood suited him. His feistiness probably wasn't an ideal personality trait when he was trying to get someone to claim him so he could escape with Khion, but he did try to rein it in a little bit. "It's probably because all the pretty twinks were taken," he answered with a grin. "Connor. They told me yours is Nikolas. Want me to call you that, or do you prefer 'master' or 'sir'?"

“I’m not a huge fan of the twinks. There’s one or two I enjoy but it’s not really my thing.” The vampire smirked, amused by the other. “Nikolas is fine. Though in public settings sir will do.” He really wasn’t one for formalities all the time. And this one seemed like he needed to be broken in. So why not start out a little easy. “Come. Take a seat and get a drink. I like to know those who come into my space. Tell me. How did you get here?”

The Valkyrie was really starting to get bored of the same walls and scenery in the undercroft. He didn't get out of there half as much as what he'd like to, with most masters preferring the helpless looking slaves to mess around with. Connor looked a little rougher around the edges, and half the time was a likely to be confrontational, but he really was getting tired of the same shit day in, day out.

“Mhhmm. Well I told them to bring me someone entertaining. Seems they think you’ll be worth my time.” Nikolas honestly just needed to get rid of the boredom he felt and to relax after all these attacks and trials. The male looked sturdy enough. Perhaps he would be less breakable. “Why do you think they brought you up to me? You seem…..” his eyes trailed the other. “Troublesome.” Which wasn’t really a bad thing. It seemed he always was drawn to the more rough and fight first type. “What’s your name?”

“It’s good to separate things. Work from life. As much as I want to find the culprit, I can’t sacrifice my life over it. There’s a bunch of working on it, I’m sure we can take breaks from time to time.” Svein had only seen Nikolas interacted before but what from what he had seen, he was one of the calm ones. A perfect companion for a day off. “Easy on that.” He withdrew his hand and laughed. “For a moment you looked like you’d stab me to death. Quite fun.” He gestured towards the door. “After you.” He watched Nik and walked alongside the man. “You don’t party? Booze. Men. Sex?” He asked. “I guess I’m kind of a mixture of many things. I have my slow days, especially with work but when I need to loosen up. I need something loud and exciting.” He smiled. “But today, I just want something chill and quiet with a handsome man by my side.”

The other wasn't wrong. But Nikolas felt it best to continue till the person was caught and killed. "I just might if you take too long on the drinks." Nikolas replied not sure how long he wanted to do this small talk. As they walked he shook his head. The idea of a party lifestyle was never something he thought of. Nor enjoyed himself. "Men and sex sure. But never a crazy party. I prefer the intimacy of small gatherings." He could tell Svein was the party type. Which made him want to avoid the other most times. The comment was one Nikolas got sometimes, but normally when it came to others wanting sex. "Yes. Quiet is nice."

Raven wasn't sure what to feel when the guards came to him and informed him of a master wanting to rent him. The only person who ever did was a councilman, a liar who used him for his gain. Just thinking about Raphael made his blood boil but, well he knew better than to lose it at the moment. After being reprimanded a few times, something finally stuck. His way to freedom were the very captors he hated, he had to at least impress one. He followed willingly, even unbuttoning the front of his shirt to display his chest. If he was lucky, he might even befriend him, but who knew. He had a positive outlook but nobody knew exactly how it was gonna play out. When the guards left him by the door, he knocked a few times. He didn't even know his name, just the fact that he was a councilman.

Nikolas had kept himself far too busy the last month of the attacks. It seemed getting closer was so close and so far. He had been gathering with a few councilmen here and there to piece together all the evidence and attacks and accusations. But he figured it was time to take a break. He was strung up and hadn't relaxed in a long time. So he sent down for something new. Something or someone he hadn't had the chance to see before. Though he was annoyed the guards just left him at the door so Nikolas had to get up and open it. Looking at the other he raised a brow and stepped aside for the other to enter. Wolf. The smell of dog was obvious. And it seemed the pattern was continuing. A dog in some format seemed to be Nik's type. The first two of his boy's wolves, the third a hellhound, Finn his enemy still a dog, and now this one. It seems man's best friend was going to be a common thing. "Alright. So speak. Tell me something interesting or I just leave you half drained for the guards to drag back down."

@noblenikolas

"If you want to know anything you won't. You're a slave who doesn't ned to know anything." At this point Nikolas was used to people asking questions or making fun of him. So he was in no mood when this slave tried to talk about it. Eyeing the other he felt like the conversation was going to continue this way. Made him wonder if the other didn't have much to do. "Shouldn't you be doing something other than trying to pull information from me?"

“There’s a lot going on I’m just choosing to ignore anything council related right now.” Svein squeezed his shoulder. “Cheer up. You made it. You dodged death basically. That’s something to celebrate, isn’t it?” The Norwegian basically dragged Nikolas along, straight towards the suite. “Well I can carry you if you like. Though I don’t know what our fellow councilmen would say.” He smirked, teasing his fellow. “This is our first hang out together. Is there anything you wanna do?”

"I wouldn't ignore too many things. Might come in handy if you ever get attacked." Honestly all these councilmen not taking things seriously or failing to pay attention to things. "I suppose. Though I've dodged death multiple times. Never had it get this close though." And it did scare him a bit. Perhaps he had gotten too soft and comfortable. But that would be changing now. "No. I can walk. No need to get handsy." Honestly Nikolas might ring the male's neck if he tried it. Looking at the other he shrugged. "I don't know what you like doing. I like to train, read books, drinks here and there. I'm prety simple with hobbies."

“You’ve been attacked too, which kinda sucked I believe.” Svein hummed and tapped the male’s shoulder. “Or, you can hang out with me. This whole thing is actually making me think twice of booking a slave now. Not that I can’t handle an attacker, I just can’t book a slave without wanting to hit one right now. Damaging castle property won’t do us any good.” He grabbed his shoulder. “There’s no Sanson to tease right now and I’m so bored. Let’s have a gentleman party in my suite. I’m giving you booze.”

“Something like that.” Nikolas said still displeased about the attack. Looking at Svein with pursed lips Nikolas wasn’t sure if he agreed or not. While yes he could see how one would be worried, it was also unlikely the attacker would strike while being rented. That would leave a trail. As his shoulder was then grabbed the council just gave a small sigh. “I suppose I could indulge in a drink or two. Seeing as neither of us have anything going on.”

"Believe me, I'm gonna do a hell of a lot more than just punch you." Gareth grumbled as he led Nikolas through his suite and to the locked rom that housed all of the footage from the cameras. Aggression pretty much radiated off the aswang as he unlocked the door and stepped in, having already put aside the footage that the councilman was looking for. "Oh please, don't go trying to blame me if Finn did attack you. I don't have shit to do with what's between the two of you and even with what I "do to him", he hasn't tried to fuck with me yet. Tells you something." He picked up the disks and thrust them in Nikolas' direction. "Here."

"I won't blame you. but this is serious. Even if Finn isn't behind this, him attacking me is serious." For Gareth's sake he hoped Finn wasn't behind the council attacks. It wouldn't look good on Gareth. And the man was a good friend, he didn't want him to be in a bad light. "Ya, but as much as he says it, his dislike for you isn't the same as the hate he has for me. It's been brewing for years." Walking intot he room Nikolas was impressed with the security measure Gareth had. He may need to use this idea in his suite. Taking the disc Nikolas paused before looking at the other. "I'm not going to go easy on him. I want you to know this. But I will own up to my mistakes if I am wrong. As a friend and a man I will take that responsibility."

"I'm sure something will come to be. And hopefully this will lead to the council making more time to take this seriously." An unamused look on his face at the mention of his gaurd. "If my suspicions are correct Finn did this during spring break while I was under a human spell." With a sigh he nodded knowing he would need a lot of rest. "I planned to stay in bed until my strength comes back."

Svein wasn’t exactly thrilled that most his time was consumed by council duties as of lately. Their on-going investigation with the killings and the latest trials occupied his time that he didn’t really have the chance to let loose anymore. That’s why he looked forward to the weekend, minimal work and he declined any calls for meeting setting it a personal day off. He thought of taking a slave from Undercroft but he first made his way towards the library. He brought back some books he’d been reading for days and finally cleared up his plate. On his way back, a sight of his fellow councilman caught his eye and he decided he could go and say hi. “Someone doesn’t look busy today.” He greeted, giving Nik a glance and smiled. “Any plans on spending your weekend?”

"No not as of today. With everything going on I figured a break was good. Clear my head and hope to see thing with fresh eyes after." It wasn't often he talked to Svein outside of the meetings. "No, unfortunately. I mostly plan to just go over other work things and possibly have a few nights with some slaves." A slight shrug leaving his shoulders as he then nodded to the other. "Taking up some reading this weekend? Having a slow quiet one as well?"

Nikolas’ determination was admirable to say the least. The other’s discomfort was explicit and Rhys wished there was more he could do to help lessen the extent of it. Not even his dispel magic would be of any use in this situation. It felt near-impossible to pinpoint exactly what was afflicting the older man until they could reach somewhere a little more private. If they were lucky, Caspian would be available to assist with such an urgent matter at such short notice. If they made it to the infirmary in time, that was. All either of them could do at this point was hope. Nikolas’ mention of severe repercussions for whoever was behind this didn’t come as a surprise. Rhys really couldn’t blame the councilman for feeling so strongly considering his life was currently at risk. “Given what you’ve been able to tell me thus far, I have a few ideas. My healing magic usually doesn’t struggle to aid others, I’ve never had it fall short, so whatever this is, it’s potent. Darker than my own magic, that’s for sure–” Cutting himself off, Rhys took a second to cast his gaze over Nikolas sceptically before tentatively continuing. “I’m positive there’s dark magic at play here. Hellfire could be a stretch, but your symptoms do fit. I’ve never personally dealt with it, but my father has. He always spoke of it with reservation. Once we get you settled in the infirmary, I’ll see what my purification magic can do. If that’s not enough, I’ll see if Caspian or Jasper can assist.”