<blockquote> ooc. Mia 5th, 81382. ic. Oh, I'm the march of every genocide. The Grader mansion was, to sum it all up in one word - overpowering. It was carved of white marble, with ornate decorations of silver and black - it wasn't nearly as trendy or new as Dyl's place, and he was almost overwhelmed at its vastness and air of power. A billion flickering digits without even one turn of sympathy. Not even empathy. It was cold as the ones who had once inhabited it. Requiem stood beside his father, dressed in a furred bomber vest over only his thick winter pelt, paired with black cargo pants and a spiked rainbow belt. Dylan, on the other hand, had taken a more formal approach to dress - he had gray trousers on, along with a matching toggle coat over a striped dress shirt and a paired set of a striped bomber hat and scarf to protect him from the cold. He knocked once on the door, and they waited. </blockquote>
Every fibre in Cayson's body appeared to be tingling with anticipation. Sitting upon the low stone coffee table in the parlour was the photo album. It was a thick book, perhaps three inches wide. What contents and stories it held, Cay couldn't even begin to imagine. He'd often seen Koani with it... and whenever it wasn't with her, it was always locked away in her room. Yet there it was now, out in the open and completely unattended. He wanted so much to open it, but had to wait. Which explained why he was pacing back and forth. Had Koani been there, she most likely would have given him a slap upside the head and told him to calm down. She was busying herself with one thing or another, so it was alone that Cayson was waiting rather impatiently for their guests. The sound of a knock coming from the door prompted Case to grin. At last! As he passed by the intercom, Cay pressed the inner-house button and spoke Koani's name. Wherever she was, she'd hear him. Then without a moment to spare, Cay went to answer the door. The main door itself was a massive thing. One would expect not to be able to open it at all by oneself, yet due to either some mechanics or magic, it swung open inwardly with just the slightest touch. “Welcome! Come in, come in!" Cay said with a smile as he ushered in their guests. Although Mia was always just beginning, winter in Ajita always swept in swiftly and the cold it brought was quite murderous. Case hugged himself briefly, his arms crossing over the thin navy sweater he was wearing. “Could I take your coats? Koani's—" “Right here," Koani supplied as she brushed Cayson's shoulder and made him jump. To Cayson she seemed to have materialized out of nowhere. Much like a ghost. Cay scowled at her. He didn't exactly enjoy being startled. Koani smiled back at her son. Unlike him, she was dressed quite warmly. She wore a thick white knitted sweater with amethyst and dark fuschia stripes over an even darker top. She'd also forgone her custom of wearing a skirt and was wearing a comfortable pair of fitting black slacks. “Djaasemdt Dyl, Requiem," Koani said in welcome, her tone warm. “I'm glad that the two of you could make it... specially at this hour. It's too bad it had to be a late evening instead of a dinner date, but you know how days have that tendency of filling up quickly. I wish it could have been sooner too."
<blockquote> ooc. Sorry this sucks. :/ ic. Requiem stepped forward and cupped Cay's jaw, sliding his thumb over his cheek, electricic currents flowing off of his fingertips - "I love you, Cay'sla," he murmured, before moving inside, his father following him. He deftly slid off the vest, hanging it up himself - "You don't have to," - he said, waving off his lover. His LED-green eyes flew to Koani's locked on her pink-flecked ones like the crosshairs of a gun, and watched as Cayson visible flinched. "Hello, Ms. Grader." He could never lose any of them. Never. --- "Oh, don't you look lovely, 'Ani'ni," Dylan said, smiling. His blue eyes glittered feverishly, and he bent to press the back of her hand to his lips. I missed you, he longed to say. "Do you mind if I sit?" he asked. His eyes caught hers - hoping desperately to see some broken thread of love for him - and then, in a subdued voice, he answered her. "It's alright - I had to work on a dress, anyway..."
Cayson's heart took a wild leap, rocketing into the heavens like a bird startled out of hiding by a hunting dog. Requiem's touch had been just a soft, friendly gesture, but to Cayson it had magnitude. “I love you," Case whispered in a fevered response, his voice seeming to linger as Requiem hung up his own vest. Cayson hooked his left finger into Requiem's belt loops and pulled him gently along. The anticipation of the photo album and Requiem's visit combined was almost more than he could bear, and Cay had never been the patient sort to begin with. “Hello Requiem," Koani said with a smile as she looked at the two boys together. They certainly were a smart looking pair. She couldn't deny that. “Shumc iyo, Dyl'ni," the thill said in response to Dylan's compliment, her voice taking on a modest note. She'd been thinking a lot about Dylan lately. Though she was loathe to let the feeling of regret to seep into her mind. “Yes, let's sit. Work, ah... sometimes I don't even like hearing the word. We do what we must though. Now, Cay here has been all wound up. Pacing back and forth for at least the past half hour. I think if we keep him waiting anymore, there could be some trouble. The main parlour is ready for us." Without another word, Koani beckoned to the small group and led them down the corridor and into the parlour. Once there Koani sat almost in the middle of the large cream coloured couch. She then looked pointedly at Dylan and pat the cushion beside her. “Sit, sit."
<blockquote> Everything about Cayson was right, from the temperature of his skin to the way his pulse matched his. When 'Quiem turned his face into the hollow of his throat, he pressed his lips against the vulnerable area; not quite a kiss, not quite not one. He kissed him, and he tasted of heat and sunshine. He kissed him until the room spun, until he couldn't remember how much time had passed, and then he had to sit down on the couch besides him. Golden chalice, good to house a god, he thought, stroking Cay's gold hair. Please don't tell me how the story ends. --- "Ha," Dyl laughed. "Silly children. And you're welcome." Requiem glanced at him, a question in his eyes. He glared back at him with a look that threatened "I'll get you later if you don't behave, young man,". "Work." He grunted, his blue eyes throbbing like a thunder-swollen sky. "It's tough, but you do what you have to to get through the day - I don't know what I'd be doing if not working. It takes my mind off everything else." He followed to where she had beckoned him and sat, his eyes meeting hers with his trademark half-smile.</blockquote>
If Cayson was aware of the pointed looked Koani was giving him, he made no indication of it. He was too wrapped up with Requiem at the moment. He didn't even realize until a few seconds after the fact that he was now seated on the couch. The photo album, his mind suddenly hissed at him. That's what this little get together was going to be all about. What they were about to get into seemed so dangerously alluring. Koani's past, his dad... what sort of people had they been? Cay snuggled close to Requiem, silent for the time being. “Silly... yes," Koani agreed. “Sometimes I think they're more trouble than they're worth," she added jokingly as she flashed a fanged smile at Cayson before returning her attention back to Dylan. He looked so astute, sitting there beside her. Although years of no communication had separated them, it was at times like these that she felt no time had passed between them at all. “Oh, I know what I'd be doing if I wasn't working. I'd be sleeping, or at least attempting to sleep," the Grader laughed. “I fear I'm stuck in this position until the very end though."
<blockquote>The corner of Requiem's mouth curled into a faint, contemplative half-smile. It might've looked shy, but there was something about him that made that very unlikely. He reclined in his seat on the couch, both hands clasped supportively behind his subtly cocked head. The room became a haze of hoarse murmurs. By contrast, Cayson shone like a pearly orange figurine, flawless and ethereal. A wet dream. "We're well worth it," he muttered to Koani softly, smirking. --- One brow disappeared behind a thick swathe of hair that had settled comfortably over the eye still facing Koani. "Ah..."" he said, and grinned broadly for a split second. "Are we ready?"</blockquote>
Koani smiled demurely. She had meant her words in jest and was glad that Requiem had picked up on the humour. Cayson on the other hand had simply rolled his eyes at her. Of course, Cay'ni was most likely tired of her jokes by now. “More than worth it," Cay whispered in Requiem's ear. “It certainly looks like we're ready," Koani replied. All they needed now was some sort of drum roll or climax building music. At least that's what the situation seemed to call for. As much as Koani wanted to treat this as just another ordinary day, she couldn't. She hadn't shared this album with anyone. It was almost as if it had gone into quarantine when Saber had died, or rather, had become a personal and intimate memento of a life that had once been. Without further hesitation, Koani flipped the cover of the album open with her tattooed right hand. She heard Cayson take in a sharp breath of air. The first few images weren't particularly interesting. For the most part they were establishing shots... landscapes and images of Janardan as it was then, and Koani's own stately dormitory. “Ah... kind of obvious I suppose, but, these are all from when I started going to Janardan. I admit, I wasn't too happy with the school change at first..."
<blockquote>A brooding intensity rose in Requiem's expression like a smoldering sunrise, expectantly waiting for the photo allbum to be opened. A collective exhale spilled from shuddering lips and the half-Yki, ears twitching and eyes ablaze, buried his oblong muzzle into Cay's neck, licking the rim of his ear. "More than worth it," Cayson whispered. "Keep trying," he chuckled softly. Trying implied that there was a goal to be reached, and a goal as yet unattained meant a journey. Requiem rather liked journeys. Blessed with his rockstar status, he had learned to be less concerned with where he was going, and more with traveling in style. "We're gods. We are the worth." --- Dylan, meanwhile, had created an alclove between himself and , and was grinning crookedly into their shared space. "Ah... I remember your dorm. Next page?" he queried, gingerly rubbing his tongue against the pointed end of one white, glistening canine. It sounded more like a 'well, duh, did you even have to say that?' than a genuine question.</blockquote>
Cay grinned widely at Requiem's comments. Perhaps they were gods after all. Just what did it mean to be a god though? Were they invincible? Immortal perhaps? Maybe all they really had were godly looks... if that's all it was, Cayson certainly didn't mind being a god at all. Nor having his own god to call his own. Koani gave Requiem and Cayson a dubious look. If anything, they were heretics, not gods. Though it wasn't quite her place at the moment to say that. Without a word to Dylan, she flipped it over to the next page. This one held an even greater wealth of information. Scores of pendragons were caught between the pages, even Koani herself. Young, and for the most part, relatively carefree. “Oh, wow!" Cay nearly shouted. “That's you.... and Dylan... and," here Cayson stopped and pointed to a particular individual, his face wrinkling up in concentration. “Is that Radin's mom?" “Yes, it's http://shadowlack.com/persona.php?id=371Ratharee</a>," Koani confirmed, wearing only half of a smile now. “She sure had changed," Cay murmured. Radin's mom was so haggard looking these days, not at all like the youthful creature in the book.
<blockquote>So perhaps they weren't real gods, but that didn't get him down. The media and the public worshipped their every move, didn't they? He was optimistic that they would become deities, sometime soon. And if not, why fuck, tommorow's just a day away. A sentiment he could almost sing. He nuzzled him, muzzle burying into his lover's neck, before one forefinger traced his father's figure. "Ah," he said, grinning. "You were cute." --- Dylan blushed furiously at Requiem's comment before he tossed his head, the scarred side of his face covered by a broad piece of tri-colored hair. "She used to be beautiful, Ratharee," he said quietly.</blockquote>
Koani sighed softly. It was disconcerting to think about Ratharee. While Koani hadn't exactly been friends with her from the beginning. At the most they had been acquaintances, and perhaps even rivals. Yet where Ratha had fallen down with her despair, Koani had... flourished? No, perhaps that was too strong of a word. Ratha had been hit unfairly hard. Comparisons were in bad taste. “Very cute," Cay piped up as he agreed with Requiem. A part of him was still living in disbelief though. Even though the pictures were right there in front of him – there had just never been a time when he had thought that Koani had been young. She'd always been an adult to him. Someone powerful, someone kinda scary... and at one point, maybe comforting, though those particular memories were fuzzy. “She was, yes. I don't think I'd mind having a chat with her sometime. We haven't spoken in ages. Though... I'd probably be best to ask Lorax about that." Koani said as she brushed at the yellow tattoo on her right arm. Of course, she knew that even Lorax had changed. He used to be such a tease and a flirt. A terribly fun guy to hang out with. Time was a horrible, killing beast to some people.
<blockquote>Skin contact was a coveted thing, and the sweet caress that Requiem bestowed upon Cay's arm commenced with his green eyes fluttering shut momentarily — a vulnerability that he permitted none but Cayson to see — as a husky purr thrummed in his throat. But in the next moment: "Very cute," came the throaty reply, and he could not resist gazing at him openly, a siren’s smile curving at the corners of his muzzle. 'Quiem was a tease, and the gods wouldn't have it any other way. "Last time I talked to her was years and years ago," Dylan said. Losing so many children - it must've had its unfortunate effects on her. Tipping his head to one side, he looked over the picture intently, distaste bleeding through his facial features, seeping into his earlier contentment like blood into snow. "Shame what that can do to people," Dyl murmured. </blockquote>
Cayson grinned back at Requiem. It was almost as if the two of them had their very own language. A secret language. It didn't require words, just touches, small glances, and the odd growl or purr. Cay entwined his fingers with Requiem's and peered over again at the album. Koani was still talking about Radin's mom, and this was really of little interest to him. “Same here. It's been much too long." Indeed, Koani hadn't spoken to Ratha much at all since she'd returned to Ramath-lehi. She had run into Lorax a few times and had been rightly spooked by the gloomy aura he carried about with himself. A small part of her actually didn't want to see Ratharee at all, if Lorax had changed that much, what would Ratha be like? Hoping to change the topic, Koani flipped to the next spread of images. Similar to the previous page, this one was also focused primarily around Janardan. “I think –" No sooner after Koani had begun though, Cayson interrupted her. Koani's pink flawed eyes flashed angrily at him. “Is that Dad playing... Menlo?" Cay asked in disbelief as he pointed to an image taken at Janardan's main stadium. Large screens were displaying the virtual action on the field to all the spectators, and along the sidelines Cayson could see Saber among a bunch of other players. “Sort of. He didn't really play, but he used to do a lot of programming for the suits and various viruses." Koani gently bit her lip. That seemed so long ago now and she was always forgetting the Menlo thing.
<blockquote>"Cay - do you play Menlo?" Req purred, the low, silk tones of his voice clandestine and soft, as though they held a secret for Cayson alone. He arched his neck, the sultry curve of his back following suit as he stretched luxuriously, and looked obliquely at him. Dylan couldn't help but to reach out at the faded picture and trace its edges with one taloned forefinger. "I remember..." he began, squinting, as if it could help bring back the ghosts of memories from their padded cells. "It was you, Lorax, Ratharee and I - Lorax and Ratharee were dating, as were you and Saber, and I was with some girl, and we all went to watch Saber. The one after the abortion." Requiem stared at his father, eyes widening. "What?" he breathed. "I had a girlfriend when I was fourteen; she was sixteen." Dylan said, frowning grimly. "I - ah. I got her pregnant, by accident - we were young and stupid - and her parents wouldn't let her keep the egg. She... got rid of it. I wanted to keep it; my parents, as much as they disliked me at times, were fine with it, and I would've, but - " he bit his lower lip. "She went to a clinic, did it without telling me..." He looked suddenly sobered, with a look in his eyes that announced he was about to start crying if he didn't get a grip on himself.
"Me play Menlo?" Cayson laughed. "Ha. I wish. I've never been good at that sort of thing. I've always been the guy the people go to in order to organize the after-parties." There had been many-a-drunken parties. It was a miraculous wonder that Cayson had managed to remain some brain cells. He'd spent so much of his teens it seemed in a drunken, yet happy, stupor. Cay focused intently on Requiem as the arden stretched quite seductively. Hot, his brain screamed. It was small actions like this that made Cayson love him all the more. At Dylan's mention of the abortion, Koani likewise frowned. A part of her was somewhat shocked; he was talking so openly in front of his own son and Cayson. Dylan had been completely devastated by his girlfriend's actions. It had been shortly after that that Koani had met him and had taken it upon herself to comfort him. It had been one of the big things that had ultimately built their relationship of trust. He had been such a conflicted and troubled child, and now, as an adult, wasn't much different. Sensing Dylan's abrupt change in mood now, Koani reached over and gently rubbed the arden's knee. "Shh, Dyl'ni..." she murmured, her voice a purr and heartfelt. "Think of what — rather, think of who you have now."
<blockquote>"I still party a lot," Requiem said, but it was expected of him, wasn't it? He was a rockstar. "I should really stop." He cuddled up next to Cay, tongue delicately swiping at his ear. "Hehe," he giggled, burying his muzzle into his neck, and then turning to Dyl. "Ahhh, I'm sorry, dad." Dylan offered him a weak smile and squeezed his arm gently. Koani. His "friend". How easily those imagined double quotes clenched around the word friend. They squeezed the real meaning out of the word and made it vulnerable to infection by irony. "Shumc iyo, 'Ani," he murmured, sidling a little closer to her. "I have you, and 'Quiem, and now I have Cay, too," he said, grinning. Skin contact with his unrequieted love was a rare and treasured thing for him.</blockquote>
Cayson eyed Dylan and Koani for a moment. He knew that the two of them had a history. He'd known as soon as Koani had uttered Dylan's name the first time in a passing conversation. Still, he was no expert in regards to his mother's thoughts. She'd always existed as something separate, an entity all on her own. It was strange to see her acting compassionate toward another arden, the last one (that he'd known about anyway) had been Plicae... and Case hadn't exactly been enthusiastic about that. "Nothin' wrong with partying... just, when you get so drunk stupid that you forgot that you'd gone swimming in the pool with your clothes on, and then wake up stinking of chlorine. Heh." Cayson offered with an amused shrug. He'd done a lot of stupid things, mostly while capering around with Radin. However, now that Radin was busy and working toward his master rank... their adventures had come to a screeching halt. He curled his tail possessively around Requiem's ankle, quietly enjoying their closeness. "Iat, iyo py." Koani said with a smile, and left it at that. She then deftly reached over and flipped to the next page of the photo album. They were now several pages in, and it was here where her and Saber started to become the more prominent subjects. "Whose ship is that...?" Case asked, attracted by the glittering sheen of silver in one image. It was a small personal aircraft. Cay didn't exactly know the different makes of ships, but it certainly looked like a space faring one. "Your Dad's," the Grader answered, now looking at it as well. "It didn't work back then though." "Really? What happened to it?" Cayson again prodded Koani with questions. However, this time he didn't get an answer of the verbal variety. Instead his Mom simply shrugged her shoulders. Cay wasn't sure if he'd somehow managed to upset her, or if she really didn't know what had become of the aircraft.
<blockquote>A wry, amused smile curled over Requiem's pale countenance, and he buried his face into the cologne-scented part of Cayson's neck, just below his jaw, murmuring strings of not-so-sweet nothings. "Mhmhmmmm, I love you, don't drown in your own vomit." Which sounded more like 'mgaaah, olive juice, cunts 'round about a comet.' "Iat, iyo py." She probably had other people, too. Koani had friends, and Dylan knew some of them, but generally he preferred to keep his distance. How much easier for friends to maintain a quiet truce about such things, keeping everything informal and vague. How much easier not having to negotiate debts and favors, lies and silences, the rates of emotional exchange that would occur at the consolidation of two social systems into one. He just liked being with her. Dyl had to admit that, even with Vythe, he'd been jealous of all him time with 'Ani... but that was her choice, keeping him as a bodyguard, and he could do nothing about it. He was a very capable one. "I used to be a Kugsuem," he said to Cayson, grinning. "Had a ship called Sha Hujremdaj." Dylan raised a hand to the back of his neck. "'Ani - do you have any film of the time we... ah, played those pranks on the senile geography teacher?"</blockquote>
Cayson's nose wrinkled, Requiem's words were so muffled that they were almost unintelligible. Had he just said something about juice and cunts? Surely he hadn't. It was quiet enough that neither Koani or Dylan could have heard, but still. Cay's striped tail flicked. “Um... What? I could get you a drink, if that's what you want." He offered after a moment, still wearing a perplexed expression on his face. However, that look immediately disappeared at the mention of Dylan being a Kugsuem. Cay's blue ears perked noticeably. “Oh, wow!" he nearly shouted with genuine interest. He'd known a few other pendragons who could pilot ships, Radin's father was one in particular. He and Radin had even managed to get off-world a few times with Lorax, although... they were usually just short little excursions to one of the moons. And Candrice? It was just a fuzzy spot in his mind surrounded by the loss of both his mom and dad. “What happened to your ship?" A coy smile tugged at the corners of Koani's mouth. “You think I'd keep incriminating evidence like that around here? Besides, that teacher was pretty nice... despite his shortcomings. I remember though. That was around the same time that I got my tattoo." Koani said as she faintly touched the organic designs that riddled her right hand and forearm. “I was all bandaged up."
