BLEED

"You seem like the type to scope a situation out before you fully commit. The same way you were staring at me the moment I walked into this place."

He tapped the top of them and the dealer slide him another card. A single glance before he sits it down. "Cautious but curious. Which also means... you'll be a risk taker if you think it'll be interesting enough."

Usually those kinds come from old money. Opportunistic predatory types. He certainly didn't mind.

"However, regarding me watching you, you stick out like a sore thumb, as others would put it." He sets his own card down.

"I would hardly call Prince Adolin a friend of Vanth. They only had just met. His death will mean nothing to my Dove." Now, turning to face Aurelius, he cocks his head curiously. "And you failed to answer my question. What is it you want, Aurelius?" He watches the angel carefully, and then he exhales a sigh. Releasing the tension and negative emotions he was feeling.

There's then a smile, relaxed, genuine.

Since Aurelius is here and he was having such a time, why not play with the angel a little bit?

Aurelius answers a bit too quickly—not because he doesn't believe Sebastian, but because the demon's words ring true. A grimace hits his features before he adds, "I don't."

"So I'll tell you directly: either cherish him and his friends, or lose them both. I don't know what kind of lust-addled confession you fed him, but it doesn't take a fool to know that relationships work best while built on trust."

"Who am I to dismiss what you say? Perhaps you know more about that than anyone, mm? You had to go through something similar." He places his hands on the railing as he watches the ocean glow with its bioluminescent creatures of the Moonbeach.

"Aurelius," he begins, voice a whisper as he calls the angel's name.

"I am a demon. King of hell...it is etched in my veins to be the way I am..." he sighs softly again. "But it isn't impossible for a demon like myself to learn what it means to be good. That is what I want to be for Vanth.

"And here I thought you'd rather avoid me. What is it you want, Aurelius Vane-Tempest?"

Sebastian's hair is tied in a low ponytail. Not the usual hairstyle he'd go for, but that's irrelevant.

Golden eyes focus back out into the horizon, and those golden eyes shift into their usual red.

His face is pale with simmered fury, and the gaze focused on Sebastian's eyes—how dare they bleed red in his presence—glows with fresh contempt.

"You have no grounds to speak."

"I would hardly call Prince Adolin a friend of Vanth. They only had just met. His death will mean nothing to my Dove." Now, turning to face Aurelius, he cocks his head curiously. "And you failed to answer my question. What is it you want, Aurelius?" He watches the angel carefully, and then he exhales a sigh. Releasing the tension and negative emotions he was feeling.

There's then a smile, relaxed, genuine.

Since Aurelius is here and he was having such a time, why not play with the angel a little bit?

It's when the pebble hits the wrong platform and the robots spawns that Sebastian moves, ready to attack, only to then stop himself with a quiet breath of fresh air.

3.

3 robots storm in, all different in size but no bigger than a horse. Two come from either side of the captors, and one is at the center. They all seem to start scanning the two to copy whatever powers they have stored. Even the faintest of shadows has been copied, and they dance ever so weakly against the feet of these robots.

Sebastian wants nothing more THAN to fight.

Still, at least Morpheus can assist them---by fighting a robotic hell hound they managed to copy from Morpheus. Make that 4 robots.

"Try not to die," Sebastian says calmly. The comment is mainly aimed toward Adolin

And as if on cue, these tincans are charging in!

"Very well. I will work toward being more careful. However, that means you will have to do the same, mm?" They both knew it would be something impossible. He shifts, laying himself and Vanth down into a more comfortable position.

So when Sebastian suddenly appeared close to them, Noir yelped out of surprise and shock that he had let his guard down more than anything else, his hand instinctively reaching for the handle of his gun. Likewise, Anubis, due to his size, jumped behind instead of in front of him, eyes wide with terror. And when the jackal saw who it was, the burning in his sockets intensified, yet his body language revealed that he was scared. Under any other circumstances he would tower over him, but now he felt so, so very small and helpless.

Oh, the stench of death clinging to him, so unnaturally made his insides churn with disgust. This was not a being that should exist, yet here he was, walking among the living.

“Holy fucking shit, a little damn heads-up would’ve been lovely, Everest.” Then he continued, a red tint painting his cheeks, “hell would freeze over before an atom of my body would even consider missing you!” Noir was so ready to give him a quite angry lecture about manners and courtesy, two things he himself did not possess. However, that should not be the focus of their meeting, no, his irritated expression shifted to the trembling dog by his side, who by now gathered enough courage to face the demon in front.

Of course, the condescending comment didn’t help.

It's the reaction from Noir and the god of the undead that tickles Sebastian. The chuckle is low, but delighted, honestly. He finds it amusing to see both of them so startled, one of them with his tail tucked between his legs and those legs trembling.

"Ah, and a shame. Here, I thought we were friends after spending quality time together. Just the two of us." He answers plainly afterward. His gaze meets the jackal with a tilt of his head.

"Ah, it seems Noir's discussion hasn't gone through to you? I quite enjoy existing. Since we already had this conversation," he says, looking at Noir, "I will not repeat myself again. Besides, we are here for a meeting, are we not?"

"well, look at that. Hit a nerves i assuming? Or is that your usually face when you're excited??" A sly smirk reached the corner of his mouth, almost toying with the man. He doesn't flinch or step back, Edward looks straight onto those red orbs as if challenging.

In the haze of his afterglow, Sebastian still licks and sucks him. Vanth hardly moves despite the noises his lover's attention draws out of him, faint, breathy, and high-pitched, as sweet as birdsong. Sebastian answers his soft cries by closing his mouth over his. At first, Vanth warbles gently against his lips, muffled, before the taste of himself on Sebastian's tongue subdues him. With sluggish desperation, he flicks his own against it, and then Sebastian pulls back, murmuring praise against him. Good boy. ___ Later, Vanth lies against Sebastian's side, both of them washed and cleanly dressed. Bruises peek out his collar, already fading from violet to blue. ❝ You took care of me already, ❞ Vanth quietly reassures him. After all, Sebastian had prioritized Vanth's health over his own. A few bites and a little blood loss were nothing in comparison to what Sebastian had been left with. ❝ I'm okay, I promise. You were careful with me... I hardly feel a thing. ❞ Instead, Vanth's concern is with Sebastian. He brings himself upright, inspecting his beloved from above.

His feature softens, and he runs his fingers through Vanth's hair as the man shifts, concern in his eyes. "I am fine. You fed me well." He lowers his hand from Vanth's hair and links those fingers around Vanth's to help him move his clothes aside, "See?" Those injuries look to have fully healed. There's some mild discoloration from the holy attacks, but they are barely noticeable, at least to Sebastian. It didn't bother him at all.

But that was something she never found uncomfortable. It was more the circumstances the Stars subjected them to that drew her ire. At least it wasn't a cage they had to suffer alone- something Orchid seemed quite keen to pick up on. Though Jinx remained wary, she forced herself to stay in place when the woman approaches. The kindness in her expression does little to truly ease her mind, even if it does make her less inclined to turn her away.

Besides, she liked being helpful.

Orchid seems a little bummed to share this news with someone else. "You seem like you know your way around, and seeing as how you said you've been here a while, I believe it is safe to assume you may have seen who I'm looking for." That or know of the person. She could only hope for the latter.

Toji allowed an easy smile to spread before he patted the adjacent seat.

"Black Jack is one of the easier games to pick up. It's about counting."

The ends and out of the game was easy to show during the actual game itself. Explaining the cards and their corresponding numbers and the goal to hit 21 or be the closest to it at the end of the round wins, Toji watched the man closely.

"You tell the dealer to hit you with another card if you think you can get to 21. The moment you go over, you lose. The other player is also doing the same and trying to bluff you at the same time."

What a way to just throw the question right back at the guy.

It was what Sebastian was aiming for. The way Vanth comes down, the way Sebastian fights the urge to bite him more, and then the way Vanth's coming back up from that downtime. The climax is strong, but Sebastian doesn't let any of it go to waste. He TAKES it all in his mouth, swallowing every drop. As if this would quench his thirst just like blood. It works for the most part, because once he's done licking and sucking the last remnant of Vanth's cum and swallowing it, he moves back up to seal his lips with Vanth.

He wants Vanth to taste himself. To taste just how good he is. When he pulls away, he whispers against his lover's lips.

"You've done well, my dove. Good boy."

He ate so, so well.

--

♠ “How can you be so fucking stubborn?”

This charade had been going on for hours at this point with Anubis blipping in and out of existence and Noir desperately trying to manifest him again. His last encounter with Sebastian had given him food for thought and he decided - despite his animosity towards him, which had not changed - to at least lend him an ear. Because he had been right in pointing out Anubis’ hypocrisy. His biggest crime to Noir wasn’t the fact that he was a spawn of Satan for all he cared, it was the fact that he was harming innocent people, that he was ready to go out of his way to harm those he deemed unworthy of protection. And despite everything, that was the biggest issue the detective took with the guy.

The fact that he was not human came secondary, even if it to some degree added a certain layer to the whole mess.

“You will accompany me when I go see him today.”

Silence. Even the smoke from his cigarette had died down despite the tobacco being lit, Noir taking a casual drag to force his friend. “You cannot hide forever. What if he betrays me? What if he attacks me and holds me captive? Takes my glasses away from me and locks me up in his torture basement? I thought it was your damn job to protect me.”

A deep huff echoed through the room in a clearly displeased tone accompanied by a small puff of flickering smoke. Then more silence before the jackal finally manifested, his eyes glowing dull with his ears folded backwards. “I do not trust this creature.”

“Believe me, neither do I. But I feel like sooner or later I might get in trouble when dealing with him, and I’d be pissed off if you didn’t come to rescue me. God of the Dead my ass, can’t even look after one lil’ sheep.”

That comment certainly triggered something within the god, puffing up his fur to appear taller since that ability had been taken away from him, eyes glowing with more intensity. Rude or not, his protégé was right, what kind of guide was he if he didn’t go out of his way to protect the one person he pled allegiance to?

It was the same thing every time.

“I despise vampires.”

“He is not so by choice.”

“A monster is a monster no matter what coat he donnes."

Noir wanted something, perhaps?

He doubts it, but he's gone in just a thought, and shortly, reappears a few feet from where Noir and his friend are.

"And here I thought that by you sending me a message, you missed me."

"Was it not clean enough?" He barely spilled a drop. Though he supposed he could have made the guy feel calmer. What fun was that in a hunt, though?

He chuckles with a shake of his head.

The noises are intoxicating. He knows Vanth is trying not to stir him, but the Dove is failing miserably. The noise only causes more and more hunger. He responds by biting down harder into the juicest part of Vanth's leg. His moan is content--satisfied, but also careful. Careful, he doesn't want to harm Vanth. He can't harm him too much.

Fuck. Fuck.

He runs his tongue along where he bit the hardest. As if with such action, he's apologizing. Red eyes peek up to get a glimpse of Vanth. He is so beautiful, though. He moves his head, buries himself between his lover's legs. He breathes against Vanth's bare shaft. Nothing covered his lower region but perhaps the curtains of Sebastian's jet-black hair as he closed his mouth around the pactbearer's shaft.

The soft, primal sounds that shake out of Vanth rouse the hunter inside his lover, like he were his bounty. Sebastian's fangs force deeper into the tender flesh of his thigh, drawing another long and breathless cry from his throat. Wounded again, his leg lurches as it did at first, but it holds itself open this time, lying splayed out as Vanth gives himself as nourishment, content to be eaten. Nevertheless, Sebastian apologizes for these instincts. His tongue soothes over Vanth's smooth, bruising skin, lapping him clean. The wet warmth causes Vanth to squirm. He writhes against the sheets slightly, gasping quietly through the fist over his parted lips before seemingly sensing the gaze on him, and looking down. For a few ragged breaths, they consider each other. Sebastian's eyes are still as red as the blood he seeks, though their voracity for it tempers for fondness. Vanth's pulse skips, the bites on his body throbbing in sync with it. He watches as Sebastian disappears between his legs, only to tense and shiver at the hot breath that brushes against his naked length. That wet warmth from before completely envelopes him the next moment, and Vanth's head jolts backward as he dizzily keens. Without realizing it, his hand has left his face to tangle into Sebastian's dark and silky locks.

Sebastian places a hand on Vanth's body part. Nails digging in just enough. His begging has his head spinning round and round. He works his tongue around his member, and finally, he's bobbing his head up and down Vanth's.

He sucks, kisses, and licks Vanth's length from tip and all the way down the base and continues just like that. At some point, he releases Vanth's part from his mouth only to nibble at his inner thigh.

"This requires you to remain vigilant, Vanth. Do not let frustration blind you." He trusts that they'll figure it out.

"There is no timer. Take your time. I have a sinking feeling that pushing the wrong platform will summon those beings."

"Do you wager?"

The plate of snacks was set down but not before one of them was popped into his mouth as he approached one of the tables. Roulette was fun when he was already on a winning streak. Poker among familiar faces was more his speed.

He liked counting cards though. It was more a game of skill than just fate being fickle after all.