Chronicles of The Omniverse Archived Lutetia City: Vargeras

Antoine listened intently, leaning slightly towards his friend to push away the sounds of the city in distant chaos. He couldn't even imagine what it would have been like to grow up without any family, let alone any sort of real friends. As much as he wanted to say being raised by a single mom was horrible it was nothing compared to what Seri went through. A sense of empathy and pity had grown along side Ante's own selfish emotions, pushing against his own self-pity. They might have been two broken kids, but at least they could understand each other better than most.

"Bad boys are hot," Ante remarked flatly at first, smirking and chuckling a moment later as he turned to look at the golden eyed thief. Playfully he scratched Seri behind the ear lightly with his index finger, reaching over with his opposite arm to do so, leaving them both very close. "So not very weird then." He kept scratching the same spot for a few moments before letting his hand fall down to the railing, this time propped up by his right arm and hovering over Seri's left.

"And you're two for three now, eventually you'll no longer be pretty or young, you'll have to find some old woman to adopt you and become a house cat."
 
Seri flushed a little at Ante's comment on 'bad boys'. There wasn't any mistaking that for anything other than flirting, and if he found it difficult to deal with smalltalk and niceties, he didn't have the first idea how you responded to that. He attempted to play it off with a casual smirk and a shrug, but when the other boy reached to brush at his ear, the smirk turned into an embarrassed laugh. "Ah, no, that's definitely weird!" he managed to splutter out, going further red and playfully batting away the hand. "You're ridiculous..." he started as he looked back up, only to realise how close the other boy was, and trailed off.

Huffing a nervous laugh, he shook his head. "Well, if werecats work anything like werewolves, I'll stay pretty for longer than you'd think," he mumbled. "So being a house cat can wait. Alley cats have more fun anyway."
 
"Oh you've seen nothing yet," Ante remarked at Seri's accusation, idly playing with the young man's forearm. He gazed up and to the side at Seri with a much larger smirk than before after seeing how red Seri had become. Under the shadow of death and destruction their playfulness was a gentle salve that the curly head boy cherished, and it showed as he leaned closer still.

"Aren't you lucky," he chuckled and rolled his eyes, turning his gaze back to the skyline and the glowing lights of still burning fires. "You'll be young and beautiful while I'm old and wrinkling, or Wick-forbid I start going bald." He took a break from touching Seri's arm to run his hand through his locks, sweeping the wavy mess backwards. "I don't know if I could ever be a sugar daddy, but I guess I just need to save up so you have someone to mooch off," he added, doubling down on his supposed ridiculousness.

"But not many alley cats live to old age," he continued, shifting his tone to a more somber and fitting one. "Be careful, I might need that lap cat when I'm older."
 
The werecat's awkward blushing remained prominent as Ante got even closer, though he managed to force himself not to overreact this time, instead just giving a quiet laugh and looking bashfully off to the side. He looked back a few moments later, as the other boy started going on about aging, watching him quietly as he spoke for a few moments before realising himself and looking away again. Gah. Stupid pretty boy, making him stare.

"Depends on their survival instincts," Seri replied to his final statement with a small shrug. "I'm not planning on sticking my nose into too much that's too dangerous. Bloodstone life starts being more hazard to me than help, I won't stick around." Not if he could help it, anyway. He wasn't sure he liked the idea of leaving Cass and Hubert behind in a case like that, as much as he liked to act indifferent. Maybe they'd be smart enough to find a ticket out around that time too.

"Who knows where we'll be that far down the line, anyway," he added. "The world never stands still for long. Today's proof enough of that."
 
Seri's words were poignant, continuing his now somber mood as he let his nearly empty glass hang upside down over the railing, dripping what small portion of amber liquid was left. He let out a sigh before turning to give his werecat companion a soft smirk. As much wallowing in terror and sadness felt appropriate for the occasion Antoine was able to shelter against the storm with someone next to him.

"I trust you to be sly as always, and to slink your way here if you ever need it," he remarked. Leaning his head forward, he rested against Seri's shoulder, playfully pushing against the raven haired boy. "Or if you ever felt like stopping by, for whatever reason. Like catnip or cream."
 
Seri smirked, lightly shrugging the shoulder Ante was resting on to return his playful nudge. "I don't know," he remarked with a teasing tone. "If you can't come up with any reasons for me to come by that aren't cat-joke related, I might not bother."
 
"Oh I can think of a few reasons not cat related for you to come stop by," he replied with a chuckle. The brown, almost amber eyes looked up at Seri as he pulled backwards, with a come hither look that skirted the flirtatious line of teasing-but-not-serious and genuine desire. Of course it was easy enough for Antoine to tread that line like a cat walks a fence. He'd had plenty of practice in the past, which led him to quickly think about Jacques, and in turn his family- keeping his desire in check despite a growing hunger in him.

"But I'm well aware cat's like to play hard to get," he remarked with a side ways smirk. He pulled back from their perch with that same flirtatious look.
 
"Tch," Seri looked off to the side, finding himself embarrassingly incapable of meeting that gaze without getting flustered. "Games of cat and mouse tend to end predictably," he mumbled - though he ironically wasn't altogether sure which animal he actually was in that analogy. He certainly didn't feel like the one in control here. Glancing back up as Antoine pulled away, he hesitated a moment before following, lingering in the doorway to the balcony and leaning against its frame in an attempt to seem more relaxed and at ease than he was. It was only partially successful, given that he still couldn't quite meet the other boy's eyes for more than a moment at a time.

He found himself wondering where this was going, and in turn, what his opinion on those places were. Uncertainty seemed to be the answer to both questions. A long silence accompanied the circles that his thoughts were running in, leaving him hovering hesitantly in the doorway.
 
Retreating back into the small flat should have relieved Antoine of the goosebumps covering his arms, but all Antoine could feel was cold. Just as the fiery drink failed to satiate he couldn't feel the change in temperature as he backpedaled into. He did his best not to show it, and kept his flirtatiousness going as a distraction. Thankfully Seri seemed unable to keep his gaze on Antoine, obscuring his occasional shiver or brisk rub from marring his flirty disposition.

"Think of it less of cat and mouse, and more," he paused for a second, sauntering forward as he pondered his own analogy, "the flowers and the bees, not all of life is to devour another, not everything is like living with the gangs."

He'd crept closer and closer until he was again within arms length of Seri, and the slightly taller boy could see the look of desire, flirtation, cold, and hunger even better. Ante sat his dangling glass down on the window sill next to the doorway, free both arms to reach up around Seri's neck and pulled him over the precipice and into the warm room. Ante's bare arms were cold against Seri's skin, and for the first time since they'd stepped out onto the balcony Ante could feel the heat being wicked away from his companion's skin. The look on his face faltered for a moment as his gaze went from want to need, and he eyed the werecat fully with hunger.

Instead of lunging at the young man like the boogeymen that were vampires Antoin pulled himself fully against Seri, and embraced him with arms tightly clasped behind the thief's head. Pressed together Seri could feel exactly how cold Ante had become, specially as he leaned in and pressed his deathly cold lip against Seri's own, spurred forward by that gnawing hunger in the back of his soul.
 
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A moment of panic crossed across Seri's features as Ante draped his arms around his neck, teenage desires warring with uncertainty and inexperience as he was tugged over the threshold of the apartment. "Uh-" he stammered, any semblance of composure abandoning him."This is- oh-" he was cut off as the other boy pressed himself against him, and then tugged him forwards into a kiss. The werecat gave a muffled gasp, his hands reaching up instinctively towards Ante but hovering just off of him, hesitating.

Why was he so cold?

Doubts he had about this whole situation aside, something was making the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Instincts that went beyond conscious were sounding alarms, and before he knew what he was doing, Seri was pulling back, pushing the other boy away. "W-wait, stop," he blurted, redfaced. His heart was racing from a mix of unbidden arousal, and the beginnings of something else: fear.

"What are you doing?" he managed to muster, noticing for the first time the hunger in the other boy's eyes that went beyond lust. Idiot, not seeing that before. He was an idiot for not just running now, too. Questions wouldn't do him any good if he ended up dead for hesitating. But he asked anyway, trying to take a step back away from the other boy and fixing him with wide eyes that all-but pleaded for an explanation.

And just when I was about to trust you.
 
As their lips pressed together the oppressive cold that'd seeped through every fiber of Antoine's body started to recede. He could actually feel the heat radiating off Seri's body, flowing from the boy's lips into his own, and taste the brandy on both their lips for the first time that night. He felt the edge cutting at his flesh dull, and the anxiety and tension of the night air faded and for a moment he was sure he'd never woken up from his dream.

He didn't want to let go of Seri, feeling as if he was standing on the precipice of some great abyss. If he let go he was sure he'd lose his footing and fall into black pit, lost to the void. That feeling sent waves of panic over him as his friend pulled back, and their embrace was broken. He was falling down, down, down until he stepped back and the solid floor snapped him back to reality and he saw Seri- saw the fear in his eyes and silent plea to give an answer Ante wasn't sure he had.

"K-kissing you, I thought that's where we were headed," he stammered, a look of embarrassment on his face. Instead of mirroring the werecat's red blush his face was still pale. His gaze faltered and fell from the golden orbs looking down at him. He ran a shivering hand through his locks out of nervous habit before stumbling over his words again. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have, it's just, just been." He shrugged with a quick glance back up at Seri. "Tonight's taken its toll on me." He wasn't sure if he wanted to even admit his loss of taste or the ever spreading cold through out his body.

"And before all that, I woke up from a, a dream or nightmare or something, " he paused to rethink his word choice, electing to forgo calling what woke him up a vision. "You're just the one thing that seemed right tonight."
 
"N-no, that's not..." Seri shook his head, looking away bashfully for a moment before catching himself and forcing his eyes back towards what was now a potential threat. "You were... are cold. And not just cold from the balcony." Pushing his embarrassment aside - because he was better at dealing with dangerous situations than ... that - he narrowed his gaze, taking a deep breath. "And your eyes were... wrong. What were you doing? Why are you so cold?" There was a sharp, accusatory edge to the werecat's tone. He was angry - at himself, most of all: that he'd let his guard down, when this was what he should have expected. Nothing in this city was safe. Nothing ever came for free, and nothing was ever 'just' a good thing. He was an idiot for letting himself forget that.

And even still, Ante's words tugged at him, kept him from just bolting like his instincts told him to. 'You're just the one thing that seemed right'. It felt nice to be ... wanted, like that. A part of him was still hoping it wasn't just a disguise for a want that was more insidious.
 
Ante felt the sharpness of Seri's words sink into his chest and he shrunk backwards, arms curled around his midriff. His eyes, their dullness turning glassy, looked up at the young man with a hurt expression hidden behind a look of confusion and uncertainty. Even if he understood the situation, of Seri's apprehensiveness and fear, he couldn't reason away the wound the accusations cut into him. Emotions of all colors ruled that night.

"I don't know," he said softly, "I don't know what's going on or what's happening to me." He shrugged in defeat, but kept his gaze still locked on his friend in retaliation- forcing the werecat to look him right in the eye or falter and not give Ante the decency to see him in full, a scared and confused boy.

"I'm cold, I can't taste anything, there's death hanging over the city, and I'm all alone." He added in a frustrated tone, but quickly let out a desperate laugh. "Those last two are pretty much just like every other day, huh."

He paused again and finally let his focus fall onto the floor again. "I felt something when I kissed you though, and I thought it was good sign, but... I don't know."
 
Seri watched Ante for a few moments after he'd finished speaking, searching him for signs of deception. When he didn't find any, he let his scowl soften slightly, sighing and folding his arms over his chest. "Right. I suppose that's better than you being a secret vampire or something," he mumbled, looking off to the side. He felt bad for freaking out so much, but not so much that he didn't feel it was justified. He was ... glad that this wasn't just a trick, that this was something out of the other boy's control. It seemed selfish, thinking about it that way, but it meant this wasn't necessarily a betrayal. Not yet, anyway."Still sounds bad, though," he went on. "Could be a curse. You pissed off any witches lately?"

Glancing back at Ante and just barely holding back a wince at how dejected and lost the slender boy looked, he hesitated only for a moment before stepping closer again - with only a slight hint of tension to his posture as he did. "Er, here... let me..." he murmured, reaching out for the other boy's hand and lifting it, feeling the cold and trying to get a sense of what prolonged contact might do - if anything.
 
His posture stiffened a bit at Seri's advance, tightening his arms around his abdomen for a moment even as the other boy reached out to take his hand. He looked it over for a moment, resenting the request after being pushed away, but acquiesced. His hand was, much like the rest of him, slender and crowned with five spindly digits. Delicate would have been the easiest way to describe them if it wasn't for the callouses on his finger tips from his job.

"I don't know," he replied flatly, not sure if the boy was being serious or trying to lighten the mood.

In Seri's hand Ante could feel that same radiating heat as before, but less so. It was still better than the cold that had wracked his body and reflexively he curled his finger tips around whatever part of the werecat's hand he could- though not firmly. From Seri's perspective the sensation was nearly the opposite. Like placing a hand against the frosted window panes that lined the two walls of the apartment. The longer he held Ante's hand the less likely it seemed he could warm their hands together.

"So, what's the alley cat think?"
 
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Seri's frown deepened as he held onto Ante's hand, feeling the cold seeping into him. It didn't feel dangerous, at least, but there was no telling if that would last. What was clear was that it wasn't normal. "I'm hardly an expert," he muttered, "but you're colder than's just natural, and not getting any warmer. If there's no other magic shit you're involved in, then maybe the weird robes-guy at the cathedral did something else to you when he made you understand him."

There was a pause, as Seri awkwardly frowned at where their hands were still touching, before looking off to the side. "Uh, sorry, by the way. For freaking out. I thought... I don't know, that you were going to eat my soul or something. Wouldn't be out of the ordinary for this city." He sighed, running his free hand through his hair. "But I guess whatever this is, it's not your fault, so... sorry." By the way he was stumbling over it, it was probably obvious the werecat wasn't particularly used to apologising. "Maybe there's someone out there who'd be able to help you more, but... I'm not one of them. I don't know anything about magic."
 
Ante's gaze faltered for a second at Seri ramble off a guess as to where the 'curse' came from, and his mind visited the dreamscape that he'd awoken from no more than an hour or so ago. "Al Hajj al Mubarak Allah al Mukhtar," he whispered under his breath as if compelled to correct some great disrespect, but catching himself just in time to curb the involuntary reflex. The last thing he wanted was to freak Seri out any more by spouting off in a language he had no right of knowing.

"Yeah, probably, that's like the only weird thing that's happened to me in the last month or so, at least outside of the normal, shenanigans." Despite the humor he didn't laugh or crack a smirk. Instead he just looked down at their hands and appreciate the rare apology. He still felt hurt by the reaction, and it showed in his tone, and how slow his movements were. Not slowed to add a sultry air about his flirting, but lacking the drive to be who he normally was around someone who'd caught his eye.

He did however squeeze Seri's hand a bit tighter in an attempt to reassure the werecat that his apology was silently accepted- to comfort both of them. "It's okay," he said simply. He held his silence a bit longer, appreciating the moment and what physical contact he could share with his friend. Slowly he rotated his hand so their palms could align and their fingers intertwine, bringing their hands slightly higher between the two youths.

"Sometimes, the help we need isn't the kind we're looking for."
 
Seri's eyes widened a little at the murmured phrases, and he frowned. That wasn't a good sign, probably, and it pointed to that... guy being responsible. Rather than pull back, though, he made himself stay where he was, and although the frown remained as Ante went on it softened a little back into a slightly awkward half-smile. He gave a half-laugh, sighing. "Eh, I'm not sure I'm so good at mushy stuff either," he mumbled, "but uh, I guess I can maybe try."

Huffing a small sigh, he shifted around to sit down next to Ante, still a little uneasy with the contact (although whether that was because of the cold or just general awkwardness at this point was unclear). "Nobody's really been interested in me like this before..." he paused, snorting with amusement before continuing. "I guess I spent the last ten years of my life half-caked in dirt and surrounded by trash in every sense of the word, so it's probably to be expected."
 
Ante longed for the warmth radiating into his body through their intertwined hands. The longer he held on the stronger that gnawing feeling in the back of his soul started to become, but he kept it at bay. Seri's scared look was seared into his mind, and the last thing he wanted to do was drive his friend away. It felt like a dangerous wire to traipse across, but the alternative was worse. On a night like this, where fires of fear and flames licked at the skyline and the specter of death hung over the city like a storm, being alone was in Ante's mind a fate worse than death.

"You're in good company then, I'm well versed in the art of lovely dovey and poor relationship choices, both key parts of being mushy" he replied as a chuckle broken his solemn demeanor. He followed Seri's lead as the werecat took a spot on the bed next to where he was standing, sitting down on the edge and scooting the raven-haired boy over. All the while he never took his hand away.

"That I'm a bit surprised by," he added, leaning forward so he could look up into Seri's golden orbs, "with eyes like that..." He paused as he lost himself for a moment. Tenderly he reached towards Seri's cheek with his free hand, and caressed the supposed dirt-covered cat's cheeks. Only his finger tips pressed against the soft skin, Ante fearing how uncomfortable he might make Seri otherwise. He coughed a little as he snapped back out of his momentary stupor and spoke in a slightly more solemn tone. "Everyone deserves at least one person who cares about them."
 
Seri's cheeks reddened for the umpteenth time that morning, a shy but pleased smile flickering across his face at how genuine the compliment seemed. "I... ah, thanks," he mumbled, at something of a loss for words for a few moments. He wasn't used to words like that, or at least not the meaning behind them. "You're not so bad yourself, I guess," he added, then hesitated. "I mean- you're good-looking- and nice, not just ... You know what I mean!" The werecat's blush only deepened as he stumbled inelegantly over his words, eventually cutting himself off with a frustrated huff.

"Uhg, see, I told you. I'm bad at this," he grumbled. "Look, as for this... cold, stuff. I'm sure there's somebody out there that can figure it out. I'll ask around, with the pack. Someone must know someone who can help, or at least know someone who knows someone. I might not be good with magic, but I'm not so bad at finding people and figuring things out."
 
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