[Citanul]

Though he hadn't paid too much attention to it before, now Malkov could tell that his mate wasn't feeling the best. He gently rested his hand atop Dejar's, his own body warm, a little overheated from trying to get warm from the rain. The Demon in him always kept him warmer than usual.

There was a nod as Malkov smiled happily, pulling Dejar to rest more against him. He was strong, and could take the weight of the other against him. "Won't ever leave you either, Dejar. Yours." He cemented the word, looking to the man that would be his mate now.

While leaning into the kiss Malkov pulled Dejar back to his table so they could sit, softly pulling him mostly into his lap. The power he could obviously feel... He leant into it more, eyes closing after a moment. Of course he wanted the power, but he only took a little, not pushing Dejar. He needed that power - from the looks of it he was sick.

Brujah paused in his inspection of Beat as the woman came in. He coudln't hear her thoughts, but she was odd... Then the big guy behind the bar walked over and looked under a table... And Brujah immediately picked up his new puppy, cuddling it close so that the Kalamarei wouldn't get it. He edged away a bit from them and back to Malkov and Dejar, sitting at another chair at the table. He didn't seem to care what they were doing, happily playing with his puppy, rubbing its ears and petting down its muzzle.

[ToxicShadow]

Lie smiled briefly, seeming to calm down efficiently due to Casey's words and efforts. Ah, the nerves had unknotted themselves. It was comfortable to be here as she was. She felt safe with him, unlike how she was with most people. Perhaps meeting him had made her just a little braver then she had been before. The heavens know she had reality smack her in the face a few times, and she had no choice but to put a lot of old things behind her and move on.

"It's...like a disease now?" She asked, amused.
Might have well have been, she decided. It didn't seem curable, no matter what was done. It would always plague the person who got caught in it's snare. Frankly, she was fine with that too. If it wasn't curable for either of them, then all was well.

Her ears shot up with his next words, all previous thoughts being lost. So...he'd decided to leave that life behind? Because of her? She wouldn't say so, but that made her feel very...warm....and fuzzy inside. Something she couldn't exactly explain. It was a good feeling.
Knowing that, there wasn't an option of denying him, regardless of anything else.
"How could I say no?" Her answer was soft spoken, but very sure. It was decided then.
A hand trailed to one of his automatically, intertwining with it.
"I could care less what the living arrangements are, so long as....we're together." No, admitting it like that was a little harder. Lie wasn't used to always speaking her feelings. "If you're sure you can handle someone with vampiric spells."
She would continue to change back and forth, always.

"Of course...I'd need to pack and inform everyone of my leaving... Thankfully, the kids are already fairly well off on their own."
Yes, it would be rude to up and leave without saying a word; a temporary good bye to her sister and everyone else. That, and she had things of her own that would need to be gathered.


That was the hope- that there would be some sort of solution to the issue of Aaron's illness. If not a solution, then insight. Strages would be pleased just to have that, even though solutions were preferred. You had to take what was given to you. That included every moment that he got with his love, just in case something dared to go wrong. He didn't want to think of the worst, but it was fact. He would never leave him, after all. If anything, he was just happy he could be there for Aaron. As much as he could as they tried to work through this.

Eyes strayed into the direction of where Casey was as he continued listening as their prospective living conditions were spoken of. If he wasn't mistaken, Strages could actually recognize the woman with whoever that man was. He figured that if his mate trusted the guy, then things would be alright. And her, she was actually from his own home, relatively, anyway. He'd never met her before, nor knew much about her. She was timid by nature, if he recalled correctly. He wasn't fortunate enough to know details.

"What needs to be done, shall be." So yes, that was an agreement, spoken as he looked back to the man so near him. "I figure you trust him. As it's best for you to be close, I'm willing to move in." Everyone should fair well enough without him to supervise them. Besides that, he was used to having people around 24/7. It probably wouldn't be bothered by roommates, unless they tried something. He'd mellowed out enough to handle being around random people. Hopefully.
"When will we need to get situated?" If Aaron wasn't already.

[GrayGriffin]

[Uh-oh. Jingle's not going to be happy. Poor guy...so sophisticated, yet so stuck in his fixed definitions.]

Terra leapt up. "Jingle!" she snapped. "Why do you keep following me around like this? I can take care of myself-I'm as much from Khimera Labs as you are!"

Oh dear oh dear oh dear. He didn't have a human form. Well, he had been told to protect Terra, and that was what he was doing. He quickly slid out from under the table and drew himself up to his full height by balancing on the tips of his tentacles.

"I was told to protect Terra, and I will! This is my assignment, and I shall follow it to the utmost of my ability!"

"Get out!" screamed Terra at this point. "You have no right to snap back at him, or think such thoughts about the people here!"

Jingle turned to the bartender with an angry glow coming from his eyes. "If I leave, she comes with me! This is a bad-" Before he could say any more, Terra stormed over, grabbe his head, and flicked something on it. The lights faded, and she shoved the now unresponsive robot out the door.

"Thank the gods they made him with an off switch," she muttered, then turned to the bartender. "I am very sorry for what just happened-my associate tends to be stuck in his definitions sometimes. I'm hoping I can get him a Ballama, to open up his mind a little. And I am sorry about my thoughts-I'm not used to things like this. Then again, who am I to talk?" She ruffled her own metallic hair, smiling ruefully. "I, personally, find this place's decor rather charming. Did you decorate it yourself?" She had only wanted to find a place to come in out of the rain, but now things were rather different. She hoped they didn't get nasty.

[149, 2]

[Rainbowfox Ari]

Dejar met the others hand, and curled his fingers around it, closing his eyes, and relishing in the warm contact. His own body burned with fever, but the touch of a lover... of a mate... it was a significantly different sort of warmth. A kind warmth. A gentle warmth. Dejar let himself relax against the other. He felt safe and protected in his chosen one's arms. And that had been the whole point. Dejar may have been a god... but that didn't mean that he didn't need to be watched over as well. He heard the words leave his mate's lips, and knew them for truth. His hand slid up, and under the back of Malkov's shirt, resting against the skin of his mate's back, and almost-kneading. He wanted Malkov to feel loved and cared-for as well. Even if Dejar was currently the one that was sick.
He let himself be pushed back onto the table, and gladly sat, taking the weight off his legs, and relishing the relief of the burden. A soft sigh escaped, and he felt himself leaning forward, head resting on the others shoulder. He was very sick, and really didn't know how to deal with it. Because... his father had never described how a generally benign disease like a cold or the flu could hit a god hard enough to knock them into next century. And that's what he had, he was sure. Some cold or fever or something that was sapping his energy enough to drain it completely. Soon enough, he was entirely unconscious, and sagged in his mate's arms, limp and nearly lifeless.

[Casey is leaving with Lie now!]
Curling his arms around Lie softly, he hoisted her up, and started to carry her bride-style. If she wanted to put her arm around his neck for stability, he'd let her. If she wanted to relax, he'd let her. It was her and him now. All the way. A team. Mates for life. Lifemates. And Casey really did like the sound of that.
"We'll be going now..." he said, looking at Lie, but speaking to Dustin. "Just me and her. Put what I bought on my tab, okay?"
At a nod from the bartender, Casey started out the door with his new mate in his arms. Together. Forever. Just the two of them. The way it was always meant to be. It just took Casey a long time to realize that.

Aaron was happy enough to be sitting there with Strages that he didn't happen to notice anyone else. He nodded at his mate's agreement to live with him in that apartment, then groaned when Casey carried Lie out like a bride, and chuckled softly.
"Ahh well... I can't say we weren't the same way when we first.. decided to be mates. Right, love?"
To the other question, he bowed his head in thought for a  moment, and tapped his fingers on the mug as time passed, and the gears in his head turned.
"Aaah... That. I already made arrangements to move in next week. If that's not too early for you. The doctor sees a lot of patients, and he wants me close ASAP. Interested in my case, I think. But all I care about it having you with me, and not having to worry about being terrified every time I walk into the man's office. You're my security blanket, you know..."
It was half-teasing. But mostly true. Without Strages there, Aaron would likely go nuts.

Dustin sighed as Casey left, then the robot was shoved out of the Tavern. He held up a finger, and pulled a chip from his coat pocket. He was used to dealing with robotic creatures without human form... so he came prepared with certain chips that could be inserted into various slots to force the human form to appear. Walking out into the rain, he dragged the 'unconscious' Kala back into the tavern, and inserted a chip into a slot near the bottom. The change was instantaneous. He hadn't meant for the other to be thrown out into the rain like that. Especially not to be deactivated. He lay the now-human-form Kala in one of the booths to recover, and turn to the other one who was talking to him.
"That should take care of the no-human-form problem for now. I suggest you look into getting one installed in him. The chip I've inserted retains that form - but only for as long as it's in the slot. Programmed by myself. There are a lot of places around here that require human form, and it's going to be hard getting into them, if he doesn't have one. See that you remind him to go get it installed, miss."

[Citanul]

Brujah watched the two for a few moments. He'd never seen Malkov hold anyone but him like that... And it made him a little jealous. Maybe his big brother liked this new guy, but that didn't mean he had to steal him away. He would wait for the two though, he knew that they were busy. Climbing out of his seat again he watched Nhevi follow happily, seeming to never run out of energy.
He came back over to the pale man with the red and blue markings... Hadn't the blonde guy said his name was Beat? He thought Beats were something in music... Dad had tried to teach him to sing once. Carefully coming over he rested his hands on Beat's knee before climbing into his lap and touching his forhead, waiting for a reaction. He wanted to know what the metal thing was around his neck.

Malkov was careful as he held Dejar, making sure he was comfortable and secure in his grasp. He hadn't expected to find a mate that seemed so dominant over him, and yet was smaller. He could feel Dejar's warmth under his fingertips, knowing that it couldn't be due to his immortality, he had to have a fever. Weren't the Gods supposed to be immune to being sick? Well, he had said that he was from another plane, like Citanul, so maybe diseases here affected him.
Rubbing his mate's back softly he tried to comfort him, already seeing the signs of him feeling sick. Dejar was tired, that much was obvious. But as he slumped against him, Malkov was instantly worried. "Dejar. Dejar!" He wasn't loud, just a little more forceful as he sat up straight and moved him a little.
"Is anyone here a doctor?" He called out, loud enough to be heard but not frantic. He was calm, at least for now.

[GrayGriffin]

Terra stole a look at Jingle. His human form was different from hers, with no metallic appearance whatsoever. He had golden-red, short hair, and somewhat tanned-looking skin. A few little bells hung from each of his waists, and he was clothed in a simple-looking red-and-green set of clothes. He looked...handsome, somewhat. Hopefully, the transformation would also do something to widen his scope-the new models were definitely more advanced, but lacking in emotional simulation.

Suddenly, she heard a call-for a doctor? She felt around in her pocket, pulling out the medical kit. Lifting her head, she quickly realized that the sickness was apparently severe-she couldn't diaganose it in her human form. Still, she could try.

"Excuse me," she commented to the bartender, standing up and walking over to Malkov and Dejar. She bent over the unconscious male, trying to see what was wrong. But it seemed like...everything.

"Do you know what happened?" she asked the other worriedly.

[150, 3]

[ToxicShadow]

Lie did wrap her arms up around Casey's neck for the heck of it, once she got over the momentary shock of being swept off her feet, in the real meaning of it. The pale skin of her face warmed into a pink-red shade simultaneously. His picking her up seemed to have made the answer clear enough for Lie, though she wouldn't know the answer by hearing it in words. She'd never been carried like this in any time of her life, so it was all the more fun to her. She'd have to get used to all of this... Not being alone. Always having someone there, someone to lean against when she needed it, someone to support when they needed it. Together. Two pieces of one whole. Never did she think she'd find that. Especially not in the way that she did.
A smile touched her lips as she was so willing carried away.
[Lie has now left.]

Strages chuckled a little, having noticed the almost showy act Casey and Lie had put on. Pardon him for looking at things from the perspective of an actor, but he held nothing wrong with it. Actually... "Is that a sign to say that I should sweep you off your feet sometime?" His voice had a twinge of deviousness to it, even if it was only to satisfy the mood. While Aaron was sick, their little games probably weren't the best of ideas, but maybe just the words would lighten the atmosphere to some meaningful degree. They way Aaron said that, they were like an older couple. They weren't constantly caught up in the bliss of their love, as they had always been forced to see the more serious areas of it. There had been little time, if none at all, to simply see the bliss. There was too much going on.

"Next week is fine by me." He'd move in a night, right away, if he had to. "I suppose it's a good thing that he's interested. Sounds like he'll try and take good care of you." Yes, he had to realize he couldn't do everything for his mate, even though he wished more then anything that he could.
A faint smile came to his face, "I'm glad that I can be that for you." And a feathery kiss was given to his temple, two more following down the side of his face, as if just a simple sign to say he was there, and he wasn't going anywhere.
Holding Aaron any closer, and Strages was afraid he'd mess with some internal stuff and bring more pain, which he really didn't want. He had to settle for little kisses.

[Rainbowfox Ari]

Without a doubt, Dejar had to be in the most serious pain he'd pretty much ever encountered. With that little realization, his god-like powers started to take effect. He was 'phazing' out - and taking Malkov with him. When the woman went to bend over him - he had already partially disappeared. When she finally started examining him... there was nothing to examine. He was already gone, having disappeared in a flash of brilliant blue-and-black light. Where he was, there was only the ground.
While Dustin DID pause when this happened, he soon went back to work. Things like this happened with Castledown customers all the time. He was used to it by now. After a few moments, he brought Terra a strong drink.

"Here. Drink up. You get used to stuff like that after a while..."

[Dejar has left]

Unfortunately, Dejar's disappearance - taking Malkov with him - had forgotten to include Brujah in the equation. He was still on Beat's lap - as the Lucain had stopped listening to his heart and scooped him and the puppy up when he'd heard the little boy's voice.

"Hey kid... My name's Beat... Who're you?"

He wasn't trying to be creepy or anything, but he WAS smiling. He happened to like children a great deal, and was so far unsuccessful in actually having any of his own.

Aaron blinked a bit as the god shifted out of existence and took the other with him. Nope. That wasn't creepy. Not at all. Nope nope. Sarcasm anyone? He was shaking again now, and it was partially thanks to that, but he calmed down quickly enough. Reaching out for Strages' hand, he held it, then pulled himself closer to the other Lucain until he was practically on his lap. Coughing, he was forced to bury his head in Strages' chest, panting after it was over to catch his breath. He was so tired... Perhaps just curling up right here against 'Jes, and going to sleep wouldn't be such a bad...
He was out cold in Strages' lap before he finished the sentence.

[Citanul]

Luckily, Brujah wasn't paying attention to his brother anymore. Beat was much more interesting, and currently had him in his lap. There was a bright smile as he hugged his puppy close.

"I'm Brujah. And he's Nhevi." He stroked the puppy's ears, his eyes trained on Beat and not the squirming puppy in his lap. "What's this?" He asked, gently tapping on the stethoscope.

[GrayGriffin]

"Thanks," said Terra, taking the drink. She sipped slowly, pondering on the nature of the people here. Turning, she noticed that Jingle had begun to stir. Hopefully, his human form came with a more accepting nature about the setting they were currently in.

"Ughh..." groaned Jingle, slowly sitting up and rubbing his head. Well, it seemed that he was alive...He tried to stand, but fell over. What? He only had two legs? How was he supposed to move around like this? For that matter, why was he human now anyways?

Terra approached, trying not to laugh. After all, it took some time to get used to two legs. She helped Jingle to his feet, allowing him to sit down on a chair.

"It takes time to get used to being human," she explained. "You should thank him-" She gestured to Dustin "-for giving you this chance."

[151, 4]

[Rainbowfox Ari]

Beat offered up the stethoscope while explaining it, trailing a hand down to ruffle the fur of the puppy in a carefree manner.

"That's a stethoscope. It's what doctors and others use to hear sounds they can't usually hear without help. I use it to listen to my heart, because the sound of it makes me happy."

He hoisted the youngster up further so that he didn't slip off to the floor.

"You can try it out if you like."

Dustin shook his head at the conduct in his bar. If he were in any less of a good mood, he would have kicked the other two out of here so fast their heads spun. He really SHOULD put up a sign about animal forms that was more noticeable - but he didn't want to alienate potential customers by doing that. It just wasn't in his nature.

[Citanul]

Nhevi wiggled and gave a very soft puppy-growl, cuddling to Brujah and Beat happily.

"Listen to your heart?" Brujah smiled and watched Beat excitedly, shifting a little to help him so that he wouldn't fall. "But I can already do that." Smiling brightly he just barely touched his hand to where Beat's heart was. "Yours is faster than mine."

While smart for such a young boy, he didn't understand some things. Like being a vampire slowed his heart... But also made his touch cool, unlike his half-demon brother who was always warm.

[GrayGriffin]

Terra lifted her head. "I think the rain's stopped. C'mon Jingle, we'd better get home." The Khalmar-newly-turned-human nodded his head numbly, standing up and leaning on his charge's shoulder as they left. Terra turned around and nodded at the bartender. "Thank you for lending us this place to shelter. I appreciated it quite a bit." She gave a glare to Jingle, before the two left.

[152, 5]

[Terra and Jingle have left.]