In a city full of people sometimes Aiden just wanted to be ALONE. It was simply what he had been used to for so long, he had learned to find solace in being by himself. Now, he had people around him more often than not. People who, at times, would even look out for him. It was hard to become accustomed to company, which is why he had made it a small habit to sometimes break the rules. Mainly in the form of going out by himself at night.

The bar may not have been the best place for alone time, but it was definitely a good escape. When he sees Damien from across the bar, he almost considers simply ignoring him and going on with his night. After all, company wasn’t exactly what he was after tonight. But instead—he’ll at the very least, offer a nod and slightly awkward smile in his direction before taking a shot.

                     Damien knew that he shouldn’t be out by himself. It didn’t set a good example for the rest of the coven. But Gio has already gone back to the manor and Damien hadn’t felt like returning just yet. Instead he decided to go to the bar for a few hours. He was close enough to the manor, and to be perfectly honest, he wasn’t worried about the so called hybrid.

                     His gaze picked up on the familiar face as soon as the other vampire had entered the bar. He looked for a moment to see who would be following Aiden inside and wasn’t all that surprised when there didn’t seem to be anyone else with him. He watched him for a moment just raising an eyebrow when the other vampire nodded in his direction. Getting up after a moment Damien made his way over to where Aiden was seated, not bothering to ask for permission before taking a seat next to him.

“Of course he did.” He said, trying not to sound snarky, though most certainly did. His hazel eyes darted to the other’s face, “And Ophelia told me everything about you.” At least this one didnt hit him. Maybe he hadn’t heard about the argument Noah and Ophelia had gotten into. Noah wasnt going to offer that information freely.

“I wasnt in a hurry. I walk with my head down. I honestly just didnt see you. I am sorry.” He dropped his hand,“is this just super overprotective dad things or did I do something to make you and Zaiden act like I pushed Ophelia down on the playground while you watched? I did try to leave but that was out of instinct. I had a sire that made us move every ten years or less so I just got anxious. It passed. I swear.” Now he was on a roll and rambling. He fully expected the other to either roll his eyes and walk away or hit him to make him shut up,“I even went to Zaiden to try to ask how I can contribute to the coven more. Ophelia is the closest friend Ive ever had and I am trying to be better for her."

He held his hands up defensively, palms toward Damien, ready for what the taller man was going to do, how he was going to react, “I’ll do anything you ask so she can be happy.”

                     There was something about the boys attitude that made Damien frown a little more. He knew that making rash decisions about others wasn’t exactly the best way to go about things but he already could tell that he didn’t like Noah. Not at all really. But he did wonder just how much Lia had told about him.

                     “Ophelia is the only family I have,” he took a moment to look over the boy standing in front of him again. He still wasn’t exactly impressed with him. “So I suppose you could call it an overprotective dad thing. I am just trying to look out for her.” He added his expression still stoney and serious. He didn’t doubt that the younger vampire’s sire probably had forced them to move. Most vampires were familiar with needing to live a more nomadic lifestyle, not aging tended to draw attention after a while.

they aren’t exactly surprised that damien is scaring off their potential suitors. in the nicest way possible, he’s got the kind of face that could make blood run cold, depending on his expression. illusive and rare, alexi’s seen damien genuinely smile though so they do know he’s capable of mirth, despite his typical brood. “you’re not sorry,” they accuse breezily, no mind paid to the lost attention. a man who wasn’t going to brave coming near damien if it meant talking to alexi didn’t have what it took to charm lex in the first place. it’s practically a test.

they tap damien’s shoulder and gesture for the nearest club to catch their attention, then. it looks just upscale enough to have the expensive drinks they like while not too high end to only attract rich but boring middle aged men. new york is, thankfully, spoiled for choice when it came to nighttime establishments. maybe that’s why so many vampires flock here? “don’t sound tooexcited to come along,” alexi mocks in a monotone. “wouldn’t want you having too much fun or anything.”

their eyes roll playfully as the door is held and they stroll their way inside. they give the bouncer a pretty enough side glance that he doesn’t even ask to see lexi’s id – no compulsion necessary. turning to damien under the dimmed blacklights, they flash a wild grin and add a wink for good measure. “if that’s your subtle way of expressing interest, i’m afraid i already know you couldn’t afford me. i’m expensive.” the matte black amex in their pocket begging to be used attests to the statement. “you can, however, buy me a drink – if you’re gonna spook all the tops in here, you can at least make up for it by doing their part getting me drunk.”

                     Damien smirked as Alexi casually accused him of not being sorry. Of course he wasn’t sorry, not even a little bit honestly. “Let’s be honest, he didn’t have the right kind of stuff anyway. Just another waste of time, turned by a pretty face.” He added letting them lead the way now. He wasn’t put off by their mocking tone, reaching to hold the door and allow Alexi to go in before him. “Of course we wouldn’t. I do have a reputation to uphold you know.” He reminded them with another smirk before laughing out loud as they made their way past the bouncer.

                     “As lovely as I find you Lex, I assure you that was not my intention. Though now im curious, just how much is enough?” Damien wouldn’t lie and say that Alexi wasn’t his type, they definitely were, but he knew that there was something going on between them and Gio. Even if his friend hadn't really figured that out yet. But that was besides the fact that Damien’s eyes had been lingering on just one vampire in particular lately. And it wasn’t Alexi.

“It’s not extravagant, but you can still tell it’s your room,” she continued, her brown eyes finally finding his face. Ophelia smiled shyly, registering that he had pictures of her throughout the centuries in certain places. Her chest warmed with happiness, but she wasn’t here to discuss their relationship. No, that would wait for a different day.

As Damien spoke, Lia listened closely. She wanted to take in every single detail that she could. There weren’t many true born vampires around, so she had experienced the same loneliness growing up that her father and mother had. A lot of her source of entertainment came from Zaiden teaching her everything, but then there were the pranks she pulled. Every so often, her father would want a painting done of her, and she’d sit for only a few short minutes before running away. The way he spoke of her mother now, she knew that some part of him must have loved her, and a guilty feeling bubbled up in her chest. “You never told me that, no. But, for some reason, I’m not entirely surprised. I had to get my attitude from someone, right?”

Before she knew it, tears pricked at her eyes, and she reached up, brushing them away quickly before he could notice. “I’m sorry I took her away from you,” she muttered, averting her gaze to where a painting of her as a child hung on the wall. She blamed herself for her mother’s death, and she probably always would. “I wish I could bring her back.”

                     Damien was sure that Ophelia had more or less experienced the same thing he had growing up. Pureborn vampires weren’t terribly common in the coven as vampiric pregnancy was more of a rare occurrence. As she confirmed for him that he’d never told her how much she reminded him of Chanel, Damien couldn’t help but feel how it weighed on him. “You’re just like her, always getting pushing your limits, stubborn to a fault…” he let his words trail off with a warm smile. “She was an amazing woman honestly.”

                     He picked up on the tears in Ophelia’s eyes just as she was brushing them away, a frown settling over his expression. He didn’t need her to tell him what was going through her head. “Your mother’s death was not your fault Lia. She wouldn’t want you to think like that and I know for a fact that she would be very proud of you.” He said after a moment, moving to take his daughter’s hand, squeezing gently as he offered her a small reassuring smile. He fell silent for a moment just following her gaze before smiling again.

◜.•° .•° .•°◞  ━━━━━━ || THERE ARE FEW he can trust – not for lack of trying. siwoo knows that in order to build his circle again he has to be vulnerable, and show others that he wants to be a part of a community, of a family. but each time he goes to paint himself as such, he holds back. it can open doors to more pain, and he’s already endured enough. there is not much more he’ll be able to take mentally. the few he does find himself more comfortable around are older than he, or at least act it. it’s refreshing; a nice break from the fledglings he seems to gravitate towards nowadays.

◜.•° .•° .•°◞  ━━━━━━ || THIS SCENT HE recognises as one of said people and he doesn’t mind letting his presence be known, moving a little louder, more obviously towards the source so as to not (potentially) startle them into a fight. “it’s siwoo,” he announces awkwardly ahead of stepping in their line of sight, as though it’s relevant. “can i sit here with you for a while?”

                     It wasn’t all that rare for Damien to have nights to himself. His position as head death dealer hardly gave him anything to do while there was still technically a truce in place. Of course that didn’t stop him from continually going out whenever he could spare the time. He had a feeling that this truce wasn’t going to last as long as everyone else thought it would, and Damien was determined to be there to keep things in order when it all fell to pieces.

The halls have become familiar. The panels, the decorations, the furniture. It all is so familiar. Noah hasn’t had anything be familiar to him in quite some time. He doesn’t know at what point it became familiar. He doesn’t know at what point this became home. He doesn’t know when he had made the choice to stay. He just knows that he has. He had chosen to stay for two hundred years. Settled down for a girl that caught him by surprise. A girl that even aggravated him a bit at the start. More than aggravated. She had almost pissed him off, to be honest. He didn’t originally want this. This terrifies him beyond belief. somehow though he realizes he needs this. He really does.

He finds his way down a strange way he hasn’t been before, entirely lost in thought as he wanders. He needs Ophelia. There are only two obstacles in his way now…

…and he runs smack dab into one of them coming out of one of the rooms. How had he missed Damien? Damien really commands the space he in in, but Noah somehow still runs right into him. He doesn’t think he has ever had a conversation with the other vampire, but he thinks it must be fate.

“My apologies, I had a lot on my mind. Uh…” He grins and offers his hand, “I’m Noah Allen, I don’t think we have ever actually spoken. I’m friends with Ophelia.”

                     Damien wasn’t sure just what was going on. There were still a lot of things without answers, and with every passing day Damien could feel his nerves getting more and more frayed. There wasn’t much to do though, and he was getting tired of fielding the same questions over and over again. He had just made up his mind to go out for the remainder of the evening when someone walked right into him.

                     “Yes I’m aware.” Damien knew exactly who Noah Allen was, and he made no move to take the other’s hand. “I know exactly who you are. Zade had told me all about you.” He added with a heavy sigh. Zaiden had filled him in on the things that seemed to be happening between the vampire in front of him and their daughter. He didn’t have specific details but he knew enough about what had happened between. And he didn’t like it at all.

DANTE: do you not like my socks?

DAMIEN: they're lovely.

DANTE: hello do you like my new socks?

DANTE: [ img attachment of some blurry feet covered in neon green socks ]

“I don’t fraternize with dogs. I’m sure at this point everyone is aware of just who I’m not that fond of. And if it’s a secret why do you think I’m going to tell you?”

“And just what rumors are you talking about?”

“I have...spit into my partner’s mouth before during sex. Would you consider that out there?”

“Isn’t this game getting a bit old? If I have to answer, I’ll have to kill Dane, fuck Dante, and marry Lex. Happy?”

“I believe you meant after Zaiden and Lia, seeing as they are the ones I consider to be at the top of that list and therefore i’m including them, after them, I would list Gio, perhaps Lex, and Russo.”

He silent for a long moment before clearing his throat with a stern look. “I don’t believe that either of us would be interested in that.”

                    There were a lot of rumors floating around about just who had been killed, and what had killed them. The police hadn’t released the poor girls name yet, but Damien didn’t doubt for a moment that the killing had been supernatural in origin. But with a lack of detail, it wasn’t clear just who was responsible. He did have some suspicions though, and he was on his way to either have them confirmed or denied. The last thing he wanted to do was make any kind of assumptions.

                       Daire’s club was everything Damien expected it to be. He’d only been here once before, when he had come back to New York. He hadn’t stayed long that last visit, and he wasn’t all that sure that he’d be staying all the long this time either. Daire might not even be here tonight. Which was proving to be quite the possibility the longer he waited. The young man who’d asked him if he needed help had still not returned with the vampire in question.