BONES TO ASH ━━━━━ 1x1

[skydust]

"ɪᴛ ɪꜱ ᴄᴇʀᴛᴀɪɴ, ɪɴ ᴀɴʏ ᴄᴀꜱᴇ, ᴛʜᴀᴛ ɪɢɴᴏʀᴀɴᴄᴇ, ᴀʟʟɪᴇᴅ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴘᴏᴡᴇʀ, ɪꜱ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴏꜱᴛ ꜰᴇʀᴏᴄɪᴏᴜꜱ ᴇɴᴇᴍʏ ᴊᴜꜱᴛɪᴄᴇ ᴄᴀɴ ʜᴀᴠᴇ." ── ᴊᴀᴍᴇꜱ ʙᴀʟᴅᴡɪɴ

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─────────── 🇮‌. ʀᴀᴢᴀɴᴇ. 437 ʏᴇᴀʀꜱ ᴏʟᴅ. ᴄɪꜱ ꜰᴇᴍᴀʟᴇ. ʙɪꜱᴇxᴜᴀʟ. 5'10". ꜰᴄ: ᴀɴᴏᴋ ʏᴀɪ. ʙᴏʟᴅ. ꜱᴛʀᴏɴɢ. ᴍᴏᴛʜᴇʀʟʏ. ᴋɪɴᴅ. ᴇɢᴏᴛɪꜱᴛɪᴄᴀʟ. ᴀꜱꜱᴇʀᴛɪᴠᴇ.
────── 🇮‌🇮‌. ᴄʜᴀʀʟᴇꜱ. 416 ʏᴇᴀʀꜱ ᴏʟᴅ. ᴄɪꜱ ᴍᴀʟᴇ. ʙɪꜱᴇxᴜᴀʟ. 6'5". ꜰᴄ: ᴊᴀᴄᴏʙ ᴇʟᴏʀᴅɪ. ɪᴍᴘᴜʟꜱɪᴠᴇ. ꜱᴜʟᴛʀʏ. ᴇɢᴏᴛɪꜱᴛɪᴄᴀʟ. ᴏʙꜱᴇꜱꜱɪᴠᴇ. ʟᴏᴠɪɴɢ. ᴠɪᴏʟᴇɴᴛ.
─ 🇮‌🇮‌🇮‌. ɴɪᴀ ʀᴏꜱᴇ ᴀᴍᴀʀɪɴ. 25 ʏᴇᴀʀꜱ ᴏʟᴅ. ᴛʀᴀɴꜱ ꜰᴇᴍᴀʟᴇ. ʟᴇꜱʙɪᴀɴ. 5'7". ꜰᴄ: ᴅᴀᴠɪᴋᴀ ʜᴏᴏʀɴᴇ. ꜱᴘᴏɪʟᴇᴅ. ɪɴᴅᴇᴘᴇɴᴅᴇɴᴛ. ꜱᴇᴄʀᴇᴛɪᴠᴇ. ꜱᴀꜱꜱʏ. ᴅᴇᴠᴏᴛᴇᴅ. ꜱᴀᴅ.

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[_seo_]

XX

indentKleos nearly let out another hiss, narrowing his eyes even further as his lips pursed, “Me? I’m the child? You…” He inhaled sharply, trying to calm himself as the older man turned his back to him. The spellcaster let out a snort as he finally relaxed slightly, “Good! I’m glad it’s not a place you’d usually hang out. Don’t worry about whether I’m always ready for those sorts of places. Do I look like I wouldn’t be?” He held up a hand to stop Clover, already seeing the smirk on his face and an upcoming retort forming on his lips, “That was a rhetorical question; keep your mouth shut.”
The looks they were receiving weren’t something he was unused to given his reputation, but that didn’t mean it didn’t affect him. It had been worse when he was younger, and the deaths of his family were far fresher wounds. Kleos had been reclusive for quite a long time, trying to build up a wall to protect himself and to mourn. He had come out of it with a slight chip on his shoulder and an anger problem. And despite the isolation having helped soften the blows, it didn’t stop the hurt altogether like he had once hoped. His brows furrowed when the conman’s hand came down on his shoulder and pulled him in closer, “Right, that’s so reassuring coming from you.”

indentHe let out a soft grunt as he was yanked closer against Clover’s side. His eyes narrowed as he wriggled, trying to break free. Kleos was so focused on breaking the man’s hold on him that he was only loosely paying attention to the exchange between the conman and Carlos. As he was guided inside, the pounding of the music inside the club made his bones feel like they were vibrating. His eyes darted around the packed building, shrinking slightly as his eyes flickered between his typical deep brown eyes and his silver feline. The smaller man hummed softly in acknowledgment as Clover left his side in search of the people he claimed could help.

indentThere were too many bodies, and the blasted music was beginning to make his ears ache as he waited for the conman to return. He had tried to make himself appear even smaller to avoid catching any attention, but that quickly proved to be unsuccessful in a place like this when a tall man with dark hair and burgundy eyes approached him. The man’s cocky, crooked smile gave him a slight peek at pointed incisors, and it hit him. That was why Clover told him not to interact with anyone; they were all vampires. A rush of heat flooded his veins as dozens of potions, needing either vampire venom or fangs, raced through his mind. The removal of fangs was a far too painful and precarious procedure, but venom retrieval was easy and had far more uses. His eyes flicked up as the vampire’s hand slid onto his waist, his voice husky in his ear as he leaned in, “You look like a pretty boy that’s in need of some company, and I am in need of a snack.” Kleos snorted, pushing gently at the vamp’s chest, “I don’t need company, but I’ll take something else in exchange…” His one hand slid down into his pocket, pulling out a small empty teardrop-shaped vial and holding it up, “Your venom.”

indentThe vampire shot him an incredulous look, his voice as Kleos shrugged, “It isn’t complicated, and I only need you to fill half of it. You sink a fang into the rubber covering the inside of the vial like you’re piercing skin; the venom drips into it. No venom, no blood.” A soft growl slipped from the vampire’s lips as if he would be intimidated by someone who looked like a frat boy wannabe. When the man realized his tactic hadn’t worked, he let out a sigh and held out his hand for the vial, “That’s what I thought.” It didn’t take long for the vial to fill halfway, and when it did, Kleos quickly took it from him and closed it. As he slid the vial into the pocket on the inside of his jacket, he held out his other wrist, “Go on, I got what I wanted.”

indentIt burned more than he expected it to, and it felt like it should’ve hurt but was more irritating than painful, like an itch that you couldn’t reach. The vampire had barely been sucking his blood for more than a minute when Clover’s voice filled his ears and the vampire was shoved away. Then there was slight chaos, and then Clover was scolding him, “He approached me! I didn’t go up to him, offering myself up on a silver platter. Do I look like someone who just goes up to random people to strike up a conversation? No!” His eyes flicked over to the other male, “Wow, you're the tallest person I have ever seen in my entire life… And I didn’t know… Don't have much experience with vampires…" Then the woman was taking his wrist and wrapping it with a piece of her dress she had ripped off with ease. She was scolding him now too, but he found that he minded far less than he usually did when he was spoken to like a child, “I’m fine. Good to know for the future, and I’m not afraid of dying.” Kleos couldn’t help but smile as Clover introduced him to the two vampires, “It’s a pleasure to meet you both. I appreciate any assistance you can offer me.”

indentHe tilted his head to the side as Razane tossed the now blood-soaked fabric to the conman, a slight frown on his face. Her dress had been so pretty, and because of him, it was ruined. Before he said anything else, he reached forward, hovering his hand over where the dress was that was torn, and muttering a spell under his breath. Within seconds, new fabric seemed to materialize, “For the trouble I caused you, Miss Razane. And it’s rather hard for me to put my condition into words other than it has seemingly caused death to follow me. I’ll occasionally experience blackouts preceded by a burning sensation under my skin. Anything more would be easier explained by me showing you both a few memories. If you can both move a bit closer together… And Clover, I’m not going to be able to see when I do this, so you’ll need to keep watch.” As soon as Charles and Razane were in touching distance, he held up both of his hands and gently placed them on their cheeks, “This spell makes it so you’re viewing the memories as if you were there rather than as if you were me.” His eyes then went completely white, a soft gasp escaping from his lips as he pushed the selected memories forward.

indentIt was supposed to be a happy day; at least that is what he had been told. But there was heaviness to the air that Kleos didn’t understand. Everyone went from big smiles and tight hugs to panicked expressions or frowns. At least his sisters weren’t frowning, but they weren’t laughing and smiling anymore either. They just looked confused… And Ajax, Ajax looked stressed and glanced his way every so often. Kleos didn’t understand what was happening or why all of the adults looked so unhappy, and no one would explain it to him. He was positive he hadn’t done anything bad or naughty, except for what he was doing now.
indentKleos knew that good boys didn’t snoop and eavesdrop on adults’ conversations, but he just wanted to know if he had done something to upset everyone. If he knew what he did, he could say sorry just like his mama had taught him to when you hurt someone’s feelings. Ducking behind the wall, Kleos tried to be as quiet as he could while he listened to the hushed voices of his parents, their magi friends, and the elders. His mother’s voice rose in pitch slightly, her voice breaking slightly, “He’s just turned five; be serious!” Another person’s voice, raspy like they had just stopped coughing, shushed her, “Iris, lower your voice! I saw it; you saw it; everyone witnessed that boy’s magic aura present itself as bright white and then morph into an inky black in seconds! It’s obviously dark magic.” His magic aura did that? He frowned, glancing down at his hand and trying to will his magic aura to show itself to him, but it wouldn’t, or at least he couldn’t see it.
indentThere was a murmur of agreement echoing in the room before his papa snapped, “You honestly think our son, seconds after his magic presented, engaged in dark magic? You’re all delusional! Half of the people in this room have changed that boy’s diaper and helped us teach him how to talk. And all of you have watched him for us at some point or another; you know he isn’t evil!” Kleos instantly recognized the deep, rumbling voice that spoke next as Uncle Ford, one of his father’s closest friends, “Direk, Iris, what else could it be? I warned you both not to have another child because of the premonitions I had of a dark presence following you! It must’ve been a warning for him! Look, I love that boy, but he isn’t going to stay sweet and little forever.” He could hear muffled sobbing and even quieter angry whispers as they all began to argue again. But all he could think about was that he wasn’t bad; evil beings hurt people, and Kleos hadn’t done that! Suddenly they all stopped arguing, and that raspy voice was talking again, “All of you are just jumping to conclusions. Did I say he’s the one that did it? No, I didn’t… The boy’s cursed, jinxed. It is the most logical explanation, and it is powerful. No one in this room is capable of removing it; you either send him away or it’ll come crashing down around you.” But he didn’t want to leave… Kleos leaped out of his hiding spot, heart racing as he dashed over to his mother and grabbed onto her legs. It no longer felt heavy; it felt cold. His mother was running fingers through his hair as he glanced up at the adults and flinched. For everyone except for his parents, gone were their affectionate, loving looks, the panicked expressions gone too; in their place was a wariness and fear that terrified him. They were looking at him as if he was some sort of scary monster that hid under their bed. Tears welled in his eyes as one of the elders stared down at him, hostility shining in his eyes as he spoke, “It’s your decision; just know you will handle it alone if he stays. He’s your jinx to bear, not ours. Come on, we are leaving.”

indentFollowing that, memories of several accidents flashed in Charles and Razane’s minds: a car accident, a fire, another car accident, and in all of them he was the only survivor. Unbeknownst to Kleos, there was a hazy dark grey tinge around them all as if they were—or his mind was—being corrupted or infected by something dark. As his eyes cleared, he lost balance slightly and stumbled, “Never shown two people at once…” He pulled his hands away from the two vampires’ faces and began to rub his temples, “I have had many other magi, other types of magic users, even psychics, check me for some sort of curse, but none of them found anything nor know of a curse like the one I’m certain I have.” The stress from showing the memories, having to relive his painful past, and the migraine forming was making his eyes flicker again. He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts, “Whatever you have to offer, whether it be just advice, an answer, or a lead, I am most grateful for it. I’ll sufficiently pay you for your services. Oh! I forgot I-I had a blackout recently! Just an hour or so ago, Clover can tell you as he witnessed it!” His silver feline eyes darted to where Clover stood, head tilted to the side as he stared at him, “Tell them… Please.”