#heirgrim

"Hey, uh- sorry, I'd normally ne'er bother ye like thes, but.. could I use yer shower afore I head home? I got a change of clothes with me, but-"

He'd faceplanted in the mud and his hair was a freight.

If Geo had thought the idea of being recycled was terrifying, where he ended up was worse. He had only heard of flesh fairs in passing, but he never thought he would see one in person, much less become a part of the line up for the show of carnage. He thought he would be smart enough to avoid them, but he wasn't prepared for how skilled the collectors were. They had large magnets that had made it impossible to run- He couldn't hide. They had found him and many others.

No matter how much he had begged to be let go, it had fallen on deaf ears. He wasn't alive to them- to any of them. It was just a farce of emotions. zeros and ones.

The android pressed his face between the bars, eyes darting around, looking desperately for anyone who could help him, or rather, anyone who would be willing to. His hands gripped the bars on either side of his head rather tightly, as if it would stop them from pulling him away when it would be his time to go on. He knew he was barking up the wrong tree but he had to try. "Please! Somebody help me! I-I must go! I don't want to be terminated!"

They ignored him for the most part, aside from the few who stopped to laugh, throwing their empty beer cans at his head. Geo's face fell, nearly ready to accept his fate- that was until he saw Mr. Grimaldi. What was he doing here? Was he really here to watch this death and destruction? He wasn't too hopeful, but he still had the smallest glimmer that the familiarity they shared might just help his cause. They had had some fun together at those parties, had they not? He had made him laugh! That had to be worth something. He had to try to appeal to him.

The conversations around her dulled to a ceaseless drone, drowned out by frenzied drumming of the next song that came over the bar's speakers. Crossing her legs, she propped her head up with one hand and sighed, staring at the ring of water pooling around her empty glass. It wasn't the first time her friend had canceled plans last minute and while she typically wasn't bothered by a cancellation, this time was different. She was in a new city without a clue of where anything was and walking around aimlessly and alone in a short, tight-fitting red dress and heels wasn't appealing and neither was sitting around in her dingy hotel room.

She debated on another drink or leaving to find the closest restaurant before returning to her room when she heard the offer. Faye lifted her head from her hand, looking to see if it was directed at her. Her heart fluttered in her excitement at not having to leave quite yet.

"I'm fine, I'm fine-" Cam laughed at the darkness. "My neighbourhood esn'that rough." The flat he lived in was just a shithole.

But it was cheap.

He showed Jesse to his building and informed him they'd be taking the stairs. "There's sumone who always lets their dog piss in th'lift," he grumbled as he trudged up, four floors.

"Now, now, Joey."

One elegant hand pet the side of the man's face as she clung around his midsection with the other arm. He was rigid in her grasp as he reached for the hand petting him. Though his voice was quiet, it was apparent that whatever he was whimpering was done so in desperation.

"Please," had slipped out louder than the other words as his voice choked, "I'll make it up to you!"

Gemina hushed him, head shaking as her tongue clicked against the back of her teeth. "How are you going to do that, my love? You led them straight for us."

More pleads, each one becoming increasingly frantic as he tried to shove space between the two of them, but her frame was inhumanly solid in spite of his struggling. Only as that hand petting his face reached for his throat and wrapped around did he begin to settle, tears glinting in the alleyway light while his sniffles echoed between the walls.

"It's alright, Joey.. You still have purpose.. You're still important to me.." Gemina soothed in such a way it sounded almost like a song. Joey seemed to calm a bit as his breathing began to even out. "Th-Thank you, Madame, I won't fuck up again. I- I swear!"

There was a pause then. A singular moment of silence as her lips spread into a grin - at the right angle her expression might have appeared almost motherly. Adoring.

Loving.

"You won't, Joey.. I know you won't.. I won't let you."

Before he could react properly she'd lunged into him, her jaw locking around his throat as he gargled out a helpless noise that might have been an attempted scream. Crimson spilled down from her mouth and stained the collar of his dress shirt while he visibly struggled against her, shoving and thrashing as his weight dropped to the ground.

It didn't last though. Hands that shoved soon came to embrace, gripping at her head to hold her in place as she wrapped her arms around him in a near lovers embrace. The two knelt in the dirty alleyway as Joey's head relaxed back in her hand, an almost blissful smile and glassy look in his eyes as his breathing slowed down to ragged whispers.

As her head withdrew from the crook of his neck, she continued to cradle him in her arms. Gemina was - truthfully - mournful over the entire affair. She reached for the bottom of his shirt, untucked it from his slacks, and used it to wipe his essence from her lips and jaw. He'd been a recent favorite of hers, even if he had been a bigger fool than most.

She started to rest his head down onto the ground with the intentions of making a call. It wasn't as though she could just leave him there, sprawled out in the alleyway to be found by anyone. Before she could reach into her purse that hung at her side, however, she heard a shuffling noise from down the alley.

Fabian didn't have many friends. Or any, really. He spent his nights alone, carefully stroking his tiny mice in his huge hands or cuddling his rabbits in bed as he stared up at the ceiling. He was lonely, it was true, but what could he do? People were horrified of him, and rightfully so. He looked scary, he had a felony, and he was a freak.

It didn't help that he was the boss's grandson at work - he supposed his coworkers thought he'd want special treatment or something similar. Truth be told, he just didn't want to spend his lunches alone anymore.

That's why he perked when he saw a new face at work one morning. An older man, a total stranger. Maybe a new friend.

On the crew's break, he swallowed his nerves and walked over to the stranger. He held out a cigarette.

Golden liquid swirreled in her glass as she rested in a booth at the back of the room. Around her the bar hummed with life beneath dim lights and moved in time with the steady bass that vibrated the air. Of all the places to be stood up, a high-end bar wasn't the worst.

After taking a drag of her whiskey she noticed a freshly familiar face. Gemina watched him for a few moments before smiling and reaching out, sharply manicured nails waggling to catch his attention before beckoning him closer.

"Well, well. It seems I'm just running into you everywhere, aren't I?" She hummed playfully while giving the seat next to her a tap. "Jesse, right? Come, sit, I'll buy you a drink if you keep me company."

---------

Tony thought he'd take a walk to his most recent favourite coffee place, and then walk home from there, and to be honest, he's starting to regret it, because he can feel eyes on him. Of course, he can almost always feels eye on him, but this is different. This is... weird.

He can't put a finger on it, can't even quite justify what about it feels weird, he just knows that something is off, that whoever has been watching him has been doing so even more intently than he's used to, and in all honesty, he's starting to get pretty freaked out.

When he walks out onto the street and the eyes return, well, he decides to just book it down the sidewalk.