new prodigal

Noah shrugged at the idea of staying out of trouble. "Shouldn't be too hard. Don't trash the suite, don't be a total asshole to Stigr. He's pretty chill if you follow his rules." The idea of Noah being the one to keep anyone out of trouble was kind of funny but so far he had behaved pretty well since Stigr had claimed him, minus the fact that he was some low level of drunk or high all the time but most people couldn't really tell that. It was better for everyone anyway since without that Noah's anger would be a lot more apparent. "Yeah, I guess. He'll be able to tell real quick, though. Unless you can act like Taliesin a lot better than you have been." The cambion frowned at the defensiveness and the sudden questions, though he was forced to answer them because of the spell. "No, we sure don't. He's fuckin' annoying, for one. Always on my ass about leaving shit around the suite or being too noisy or moving his plants or some shit. He's a prissy little fuck. We'd get along better if he just left me alone, honestly, but no he think he's all high and mighty and can't help himself." Sure, they lived in the same suite but they had different rooms and could probably interact a lot less but apparently the other slave thought differently.

Even ignoring the whole body-swapping conundrum (and who would've thought Soren would get to a place in his life where he could think that), it felt surreal listening to the other man describe living as Stigr's slave like he was listing the rules for shared dormitory. 'Pretty chill' was not the wordage Soren would remotely consider relevant. How long had Noah been there anyways, to talk about being held prisoner like that? Soren had Taliesin's face twisted into a skeptical frown already when Noah started to list his grievances with the younger Mistry and the expression only deepened into a graver scowl, though Soren used every ounce of self control available to him to hold back from immediately jumping to Taliesin's defense. It did... sound like him. Prissy still put Soren's hackles up regardless. "Maybe he's just trying to feel like he has some kind of control here," The human managed, peevish, still reining himself in, "I mean, it's not like either of you got a choice. Is it that shocking that he might want to have a say? Don't you?"

Cillian was an expensive man. There was truly no other way to put it. It had come from all his loved ones spoiling him with what they could, spoiling himself, and then a sire turned husband who, even separated allowed Cillian to use one of his credit cards. Not that he needed it, but it was mainly something he used when he was angry with him. Nothing like an 'i'm mad at you' like a few thousand dollars credit card statement. He had built his own fortune, so most of his things were earned by himself. If anything, that really only encouraged his 'why would I deny myself of this' mindset.

Ah, there was the confirmation of interest. Soren was starting to get a little better at taking the very public, direct flirting on the chin nowadays compared to his first encounters with it at Krovs. "I - well, thank you. I appreciate that." Cillian wasn't a councilman, he knew that much, having spent plenty of time acquainting himself with their faces. What Cillian was beyond that was still vague. Swallowing his consternation, Soren told himself he might as well figure it out when the stranger left him for dead in a nearby alley, if it came to that. It was exhausting being paranoid all the time. "I'm Ravi," He submitted, giving Cillian a small nod, still fiddling idly with the shirt the other had approved of, "I'll take your expertise, then." Soren had gotten used to giving out the false name by now; it slipped out of his mouth without a hitch, even with his perpetual nerves.

"I suppose it's a good thing I don't have any, then." Not entirely true but Roland didn't consider himself as someone who had phobias in the sense that Ravi was talking about them. Of course there were...emotional things he feared but surely everyone had those? When it came to physical things or risks Roland thought of himself as quite fearless. The other man had clearly been trying to distract himself with the business of preparing for the blood draw when Roland brought attention to his nervousness and the vampire arched a brow. "Oh? Isn't this kind of thing terribly routine? I would've thought you could perform such a simple procedure in your sleep. There must be another reason..." Of course he knew very well what it was but Ravi made it far too easy to tease him and Roland was not above taking advantage of that.

Soren nodded at Roland's response not surprised to hear those particular comments about flavor. Hell, even humans online would speculate about that, especially in those weird little circles that went out of their way to try to court a vampire's attention. "Interesting," He hummed in response, eyes still directed down at the little vials and the dark line of Roland's blood moving through the tubing, "I suppose for species that stop aging at all, those markers cease to develop." It made him wonder which was more important: whatever was present in the blood that the undead detected as they drank it or the receptors the vampires themselves developed that could sense such variations. Now they were getting into the realm of tissue sampling and Soren was very thoroughly distracted with that line of thought as he carefully removed the needle. He even moved unthinkingly to grab a bandage for the councilman, stopping in place with a few quick blinks down at the crook of Roland's arm as his mind caught up to his actions and he watched the little prick heal in less than a second.

The mention of marriage had Enzo's eyebrows lifting ever so slightly in surprise -- mostly because he shared the same feelings on getting hitched. It had never been for him -- no one could pin him down long enough before he got scared off at the prospect of being with someone forever. Forever was an awfully long time when he could literally live forever..

Ravi didn't sound like he thought it was random and maybe it wasn't but chances were they weren't going to find out so what did it really matter? He clearly wasn't a fan of the spell lasting for days but there wasn't much he could do about it now so he might as well get used to it. Noah shrugged at the idea that he had a job. "And? Doubt there's a lot of people goin' to work with all this shit goin' on. Your boss probably won't even notice you're gone for a couple days. Or hell, maybe Taliesin will go to work for you. Who knows?" Going to work didn't actually sound like something the other slave would do but who knew? Noah tensed a moment as Ravi approached him quickly, dropping his arms in case he needed to use his fists or something but relaxed when it was just to try and get his help. "I don't know if I can. Depends on what you mean by 'lay low'. You gonna pretend to be Taliesin, 'cause that's gonna be tricky. Your best bet is probably just to tell Stigr what's goin' on, especially if you don't want him to fuck you. Don't know why you'd wanna avoid that, he's a good lay, but like if you're goin' the pretend way you'll probably have to." Ravi probably could've figured that out but it didn't seem like there was any harm in making it clear. "Also, if I did, what's in it for me? Me and Taliesin aren't exactly best pals."

In any other circumstance, Soren would've gotten a good laugh at the idea of Taliesin puttering dutifully around the lab. Now he almost wondered if that might be a merciful break from what the castle demanded of him. Who was he kidding - his brother was probably panicking as much as Soren was, if Taliesin wasn't halfway back to Krovs already. "I just mean... trying to stay out of trouble." His lip tugged into a grimace at Noah's words, immediately seeing the sense in them, though he at least managed not to visibly wince at the notion of Stigr trying to sleep with him in this body. "Have to figure that out once he shows his face again," Soren muttered, absentmindedly threading his fingers together as he tried to mold his confusion into something more constructive. His eyes flashed back to Noah's face with a more present concern at the last sentence, brows knitting, immediately a bit more defensive than he probably should've been, "What? You two don't get along or something?" Soren's stomach twisted with premonition, mind conjuring up all too easily the reasons why Taliesin might think himself into starting trouble with the councilman's other slave.

The vampire's brow raised just slightly as the other seemed a bit unnerved by his presence. It wasn't unusual, not exactly common now a days but Cillian didn't find it strange. He didn't react to the quick look over he was given, Cillian always knew he looked amazing, and even if he was wearing something more casual for his taste, it didn't change that. "Of course," He hummed, letting his hand drop to settle gently on the shoe box he still held against his chest. He remained there even after giving his assistance, watching with eyes that were too gentle for a vampire of his age. A misleading softness.

Maybe he should've seen the offer coming. The stranger certainly looked like someone who cared about dressing well; Soren could spot that high level of tailoring a mile off, and the leather jacket the other was wearing looked like it'd be positively buttery if he ran his hand over it, four figures at the very least. He could practically hear Dmitri running scornful commentary in the back of his mind, exactly the kind of outfit the werewitch would've given him hell for appreciating -- predictable little rich boy. Maybe the human just missed having one person around who would talk straight to him. "I'm sure you do," Soren cleared his throat, "Have a good eye, I mean." That wasn't to say he could sense any malevolent intent in this one, who was giving him the most guileless stare imaginable with those very blue eyes. "i don't want to distract you from your own shopping," He gestured towards the box clasped against the other's chest, "Unless you've got the time to spare. I've been called a lost cause before." The human's time at Krovs had taught him there were much more things to be perceived as than a charity case.

"Occasionally. Though it has been quite some time since I've played." These days, it was a much different game he played. Stigr found it was something that he enjoyed far more than the ones that were set up outside. The vampire nodded at the bartender when the man set the drinks down in front of them, picking up his own. He shot Soren an amused look, not missing the slightly disgruntled one the human had made. It would be better for him, really, if he accepted that Stigr would be controlling quite a few things with him. "Company that I rather hope you enjoy." He replied with a smile. "Even if I pulled you away from your conversation."

Soren's gaze drifted down to the glass as it was placed in front of him, hesitating a beat before he reached for it and brought the drink up to his lips. He tried to be subtle about taking a cautious sniff and felt silly about it immediately. What was Stigr going to do, poison him? It was just a drink, and yet. His eyes narrowed slightly at the ancient over its rim, glass hovering in front of his mouth. Paranoia was a difficult coat to shed, especially when their conversations increasingly felt like tiptoeing through a potential minefield. "I suppose I'll just have to forgive you," Soren said huskily, finally making himself take that first sip.

He laughed, more hearty now as he shook his head. "I believe it could be true for you too, you ever need someone to motivate you i'm around," He joked, though an underlying seriousness was there, an offer to.. what did people say? Hang out? He wouldn't mind a work out buddy, he knew that for sure. Exercise of any kind was just something he did, not necessarily as a stress relief, but because he was used to it, he knew it, he was good at it. He never worked out with anyone before, he thought it might be a good time.

"Yeah?" Soren's grin widened, his thoughts not so far from the shifter's. Friendship was a strange proposition for a man in his position. But Cyril was maybe one of the safest bets he could place, least likely to pry, to want anything deeper beyond someone to bitch with at the end of the workday. Maybe Soren could go for that. "Sounds like a great opportunity to embarrass myself. I might have to take you up on that."

Finn's gaze snapped up to meet Soren's as his free hand fell onto the taller's shoulder, curious what question was coming. He snorted out a light laugh and smiled lopsidedly up at the other with glittering eyes. "No, no platforms tonight," he answered. "I'm not naturally this tall though. I'm around 5'8." Soren was still a good few inches taller than him even in the four inch heels bringing him right at 6'0" he wore underneath.

Soren caught that brief flicker of something close to trepidation and he couldn't blame him; it was unlikely bordering on impossible that Finn hadn't already heard a good handful of audacious comments tonight. "My condolences to your feet, then," He remarked as he led the slave the first steps of the dance.

“I know a thing or two about parents that should definitely not be together, and yet they are. I feel your pain, colleague.” He smirked as he looked at Ravi getting all hot and bothered about sleeping with Dmitri. Gabriel was going to be honest: he didn’t quite understand what Ravi’s deal was. Was he afraid of tarnishing the pristine image associated with his white coat? Or maybe it was internalized homophobia? Gabriel couldn’t quite tell yet, but he was determined to. Somehow, the human reminded him of his younger self, before life caused him to become colder and crueler. His naivety, his passion, his nervous energy: it was like looking in a mirror that showed the past. The warlock didn’t know if he wanted to protect that young innocence or tarnish it, like he was Lord Henry from The Picture of Dorian Gray. As often happened with Gabriel, both of the alternatives seemed to apply, in some measure. “Oh, come on, Ravi. Do you know I’m a sex demon, right? I’m the last person who can judge you for sleeping around!” He mused with a nasal voice. The only people he avoided having sex with were his psychiatric patients—intimacy was incredibly damaging in those situations, after all. “I might be judging her for sleeping with Dmitri, though. Not because he’s a man, not because he’s your patient, but because he’s… Dmitri.” He added, a quick disgusted snort on his face. “Was he the first man you slept with?”

"No," The word leapt out of Soren's mouth without his input at the question, the human cringing fiercely down at his mug as the kettle heated up, "I've been sleeping with men since university. Not that it's any of your business as my coworker and I sure as hell wouldn't be talking about it if not for this ridiculous spell because nobody's supposed to know." Soren wasn't sure if he wanted himself or Gabe dead more in that moment, even if the irrational notion had him feeling weirdly guilty the next instant and immediately annoyed again when Gabriel kept running his mouth regardless, Soren shooting the warlock a sharp look. "You don't have to threaten me out loud. You're a mage, aren't you? A demonic one, at that. Not even getting into the whole double-councilmen's son situation - I know you could dump me in a ditch without consequences if you felt like it and I'm trusting that you won't." Once he started talking, it felt impossible to stop. It was almost cathartic. Soren fumbled angrily with his teabag, more frustrated with himself than anything. He couldn't even find it in himself to parry the flirtation, which he was almost entirely sure was just to get a rise out of him. "You decide my research is interesting enough to take and pass it off as your own, you can. You decide you want to force me to spill my guts about whatever seems vaguely interesting to you, you can do that too. Of course I'm nervous."

There had been the briefest of considerations about simply having Soren get down onto his knees and just undo his pants, but Stigr had decided against that. Better to get the clothes out of the way now, especially since the vampire planned to do far more with the human than just having Soren suck his cock. A kinder, gentler man might have taken their time and eased the younger man into his new circumstances, but Stigr was sure that Soren had known exactly what he was agreeing to when he'd said yes to replacing his brother. It wasn't the vampire's problem if it initially made the human in some way uncomfortable. As far as he was concerned, that was something that Soren would have to get over. And quickly.

Soren let out a slow, shaky breath as Stigr moved to briefly take over, staring blindly at the vampire's hands as he slipped off his shoes, the human's hovering uncertainly above. He didn't know enough of the councilman's native tongue to understand what Stigr had called him and for some reason, that was the first thing to spark real frustration in him rather than dread. It lasted only a moment, Soren's eyes flashing up hotly, the expression vanishing just as quick when he was confronted with the councilman's cool, calm stare. That was all it took for the human to be reminded of everything that wasn't in his favor. What was he going to do? Fight? Run? And what, sprint naked through the streets shouting that a vampire was after him? And Taliesin...