theyrecompletelymesmerized:

iamthefirechild:

Summer sat back, startled. “What /are/ you?” Had he actually resisted her power? It /looked/ like it, though he’d put the cigarette out, as well. But still, the reaction was off — it should have been him not wanting the cigarette; instead he’d responded as if to /her/ dislike.

“That depends, what exactly are you?” the Mesmer found himself asking, his voice curling the words in an annoyed way. He wasn’t really upset at the cigarette-thing, but at the fact that he knew she’s attempted to use some kind of power-of-persuasion against him. His next words fell from his mouth without a thought, “You know, it isn’t polite to use magic on strangers.”

“It’s not polite to smoke in a stranger’s house, either,” she shot back, eyes flashing. “It’s not magic, anyway.” Summer held up a hand, fingers spread and palm up, and a flame curled up from the center of it. “/That’s/ magic.” She closed her fingers, and the fire vanished. “I’ll tell you what I am if you tell me why you could resist my empathy.”

theyrecompletelymesmerized:

iamthefirechild:

“Oh, that’s always fun, to confuse people like that. You’ve no idea what I mean, do you? I know what /kind/ of person you are, not who you are, vexatious Vincent.” Summer grinned, but then he lit up without so much as a ‘by your leave’, never mind looking for an ashtray, and her expression went flat. “You don’t want to do that here,” she said, pushing distaste/disgust/faint shame at him. Her gaze flicked sideways to the lighter, and she reached out and picked it up, running a thumb over the design.

Vex raised an eyebrow at the odd woman, who was proving to be more and more confusing by the moment. Shaking his head a little, he commented, “You’re off your bloody rocker, aren’t you?” A sudden wave of disgust filled her presence as he hit the cigarette, which made him frown; he really hated it when people did that, but he supposed he couldn’t blame. Usually, he would have asked, but he’d gotten so comfortable that he hadn’t thought to do so. Snuffing it out in the empty coffee cup, he tucked it away and made a mental note to rinse it out for her before he gaze the mug back. “My apologizes, Miss Summer,” he said with an evenly flat tone, daring her to be sharp about it.

Summer sat back, startled. “What /are/ you?” Had he actually resisted her power? It /looked/ like it, though he’d put the cigarette out, as well. But still, the reaction was off — it should have been him not wanting the cigarette; instead he’d responded as if to /her/ dislike.

theyrecompletelymesmerized:

iamthefirechild:

“What /kind/ of night club?” she laughed. “If it’s anything like you, I think I would not be appreciated by your other patrons.” She reached out and ran swift fingers over his leather. Her smile twisted sideways as she went on, “How do you even know I would enjoy myself there, Vex? I might be a proper, strait-laced girl with no interest in night clubs, or dancing, or anything frivolous.” She tried to pull her expression into something prim and serious.

Vex shrugged his shoulders as he admitted, “I s’ppose you’re right, but they really wouldn’t bother you; they know if somebody out-of-place is there, it’s for me, and not to cause trouble.” He blinked as the woman ran her fingers quickly over the leather of his outfit, surprised by the abruptly friendly touch. “I s’ppose that’s a possibility, m’dear, but I ‘ave a feeling that if that were the case, you wouldn’t be talking to somebody like me.”

“No, you’re absolutely right. They would not, by any means, bother me,” Summer mused. “Not if they wanted to keep their sanity intact, at any rate.” She chuckled a little at the expression on his face. “You’ve me dead to rights there, darling. You’re so obviously who you are, so clearly a kindred spirit, if I wasn’t one too I’d’ve left you in your misery and fury.” She trailed off, watching him, tasting his emotions. He didn’t conceal much, but there was still that strange edge that she didn’t know what to make of.

theyrecompletelymesmerized:

iamthefirechild:

Summer cocked her head to the side, considering him. Her green eyes narrowed slightly, once again assessing the goth look he sported. “No, I think Vex suits you better.” She grinned. “A descriptor, is it? You look like someone who would be very … vexing. On purpose.” She leaned forward a little bit, interested and curious.

Vex nodded in response to that, shrugging his shoulders, “That’s what everyone ‘as said, which is why that’s my legal name now.” He sipped at his coffee as she commented on him more, nodding in agreement as he told her, “For the most part, yes.” His accent curled everything he said in a fancily dark way, which was another key trait that people picked up on. “I own a night club,” he told her with a bit of a smile, “You should stop by sometime.”

“What /kind/ of night club?” she laughed. “If it’s anything like you, I think I would not be appreciated by your other patrons.” She reached out and ran swift fingers over his leather. Her smile twisted sideways as she went on, “How do you even know I would enjoy myself there, Vex? I might be a proper, strait-laced girl with no interest in night clubs, or dancing, or anything frivolous.” She tried to pull her expression into something prim and serious.

theyrecompletelymesmerized:

iamthefirechild:

A faint smile twitched at her mouth in response, both to his compliment and his smile. She dropped neatly and quickly crosslegged to the floor, looking up at him, and twitched her braid around into her lap. “Understanding is what I do,” she murmured, eyes flicking away. “Forget her. Tell me about you. Vex? Truly? Or is that a nickname the way I’m sometimes called Naienko?”

Vex watched as the woman dropped to the ground not far from him. He shrugged his shoulders as he replied, “Alright.” He paused briefly at her question, contemplating how to explain. “My birth name is Vincent, but I’ve since changed it for the simple fact that nobody called me by it,” he explained. “It doesn’t matter to me which you use, whichever you prefer really,” he added, shrugging his shoulders. He’d only preferred Vex because it hit his moods, but he didn’t really mind being called Vincent either.

Summer cocked her head to the side, considering him. Her green eyes narrowed slightly, once again assessing the goth look he sported. “No, I think Vex suits you better.” She grinned. “A descriptor, is it? You look like someone who would be very … vexing. On purpose.” She leaned forward a little bit, interested and curious.

theyrecompletelymesmerized:

iamthefirechild:

theyrecompletelymesmerized:

He’d planned for a night on the town with somebody he’d started to fall for, which wasn’t normal for him at all. The Mesmer didn’t do ‘love’ all that frequently, but he’d certainly thought…  He sighed, realizing that he must have been wrong, because if he had been right, he wouldn’t have been standing alone on the side of the road. He was dressed in his best, leather-clad nonetheless. Kicking the edge of the street’s pavement with the toe of his combat boot, he muttered to himself, “Bloody emotions… Knew they ‘ad to be useless…”
The sound of a woman’s voice caught his attention, causing him to turn as her hand brushed over his shoulder. A slight sigh escaped his lips as he replied, “Ello.” He had to think about the question, dark brown eyes flickering through a series of moods before he finally said, “Yes, I’m al’ight… Just a bit lost, I s’ppose.” Shrugging his black-clad shoulders, he told her, “Got left ‘ere after a bit of an argument.”

She looked at him for a long moment, then stepped over to open a secretary in the nearest set of bookshelves. Helios squirmed off Vex’s lap to lie beside him, turning his soft belly up and purring. A few clinks, and she held out a tumbler with a couple fingers’ worth of golden liquid in it. “Some people,” she said, holding it out, “are too stupid to know what’s in front of them.”

Vex smiled a bit as he watched the cat hop off his lap and settle onto the couch at his side. Reaching out, he ruffled and petted the feline’s belly as he sipped at his coffee. Glancing at the tumbler Summer had held out, he smiled; maybe they would get along better than he’d assumed. Taking it, he breathed in the alcoholic scent and replied, “I s’ppose you’re right.”

“Of course I’m right,” she shot back. “Anybody with eyes could see that was a stupid thing to do to a man like you. Imagine! Dumping someone by pretending to go on a date with them and then leaving them by the side of the road! Sometimes I really wonder what in the actual fuck is wrong with people. What, were you supposed to walk back to your house? I mean, honestly.” She flung her hands up in the air. “You’re lucky I saw you, honestly, I mean this isn’t the worst part of the city,” it better not be, she thought, with me here, “but it’s not the best either. Not a place to be wandering around without a clue.”

theyrecompletelymesmerized:

iamthefirechild:

theyrecompletelymesmerized:

He’d planned for a night on the town with somebody he’d started to fall for, which wasn’t normal for him at all. The Mesmer didn’t do ‘love’ all that frequently, but he’d certainly thought…  He sighed, realizing that he must have been wrong, because if he had been right, he wouldn’t have been standing alone on the side of the road. He was dressed in his best, leather-clad nonetheless. Kicking the edge of the street’s pavement with the toe of his combat boot, he muttered to himself, “Bloody emotions… Knew they ‘ad to be useless…”
The sound of a woman’s voice caught his attention, causing him to turn as her hand brushed over his shoulder. A slight sigh escaped his lips as he replied, “Ello.” He had to think about the question, dark brown eyes flickering through a series of moods before he finally said, “Yes, I’m al’ight… Just a bit lost, I s’ppose.” Shrugging his black-clad shoulders, he told her, “Got left ‘ere after a bit of an argument.”

It only took a moment for her to set the Keurig machine and drop a k-cup in it. She came back out to the living room to see a huge, fluffy, seal-pointed cat stretch a long white paw over his head and try to pat Vex’s leg, and grinned. “That’s Helios,” she said. “He’s a Ragdoll throwback, though I’m damned if I know how. His mom was solid black and shorthaired.” She slipped back into the kitchen to grab the cup and brought it over to Vex.

“You want to talk about it, or forget about it?”

Vex watched Summer as she stepped into the other room to make the coffee, chuckling as one of the cats started to bat at his leg. Glancing up as she re-entered the room he said, “Cats are strange creatures when it comes to that.” Picking the cat up carefully, he set him on his lap and began to pet him. Taking the coffee in his free hand, he absently continued to stroke the cat’s fur as he sipped at the hot drink. “Thank you,” he commented briefly, a small smile in his eyes. At her question, he shrugged his shoulders and said, “The short story of it: I was with this woman, finally got comfortable enough that I thought she really cared, and then, well… Tonight, we had planned to go out, dancing I think it was. She was driving, and instead of taking me to the club we’d planned on going to, she stopped out ‘ere and told me she didn’t want to ‘ear from me again. Then she left.” He concluded the story with a sour taste in his mouth, taking a long swig of coffee with the hopes of getting rid of it.

She looked at him for a long moment, then stepped over to open a secretary in the nearest set of bookshelves. Helios squirmed off Vex’s lap to lie beside him, turning his soft belly up and purring. A few clinks, and she held out a tumbler with a couple fingers’ worth of golden liquid in it. “Some people,” she said, holding it out, “are too stupid to know what’s in front of them.”

theyrecompletelymesmerized:

iamthefirechild:

theyrecompletelymesmerized:

He’d planned for a night on the town with somebody he’d started to fall for, which wasn’t normal for him at all. The Mesmer didn’t do ‘love’ all that frequently, but he’d certainly thought…  He sighed, realizing that he must have been wrong, because if he had been right, he wouldn’t have been standing alone on the side of the road. He was dressed in his best, leather-clad nonetheless. Kicking the edge of the street’s pavement with the toe of his combat boot, he muttered to himself, “Bloody emotions… Knew they ‘ad to be useless…”
The sound of a woman’s voice caught his attention, causing him to turn as her hand brushed over his shoulder. A slight sigh escaped his lips as he replied, “Ello.” He had to think about the question, dark brown eyes flickering through a series of moods before he finally said, “Yes, I’m al’ight… Just a bit lost, I s’ppose.” Shrugging his black-clad shoulders, he told her, “Got left ‘ere after a bit of an argument.”

Summer set her hand to the latch, pausing for a moment, then pushed the door open. Feline ears popped up from a couch, flicked once, and subsided. “Ignore the cats,” she told Vex, and “make yourself at home. How do you like your coffee?” He seemed ill-at-ease, which she could understand a little bit; they knew nothing each of the other, but that didn’t seem quite right with how he was feeling.

Vex couldn’t help the smile that formed on his face at the sight of the small, cat-like ears that popped up from the couch. He’d always adored cats; seeing this one now, he almost missed the stray, M&M, that he’d picked up over the years. “Thank you,” he said again, smiling gratefully as he took his seat on the couch. At her question, his eyes flickered to her and he told her, “Just black, please.” He found himself calming a little bit, but his anger was still coiling in the center of his gut; he hoped the hot coffee would help his nerves.

It only took a moment for her to set the Keurig machine and drop a k-cup in it. She came back out to the living room to see a huge, fluffy, seal-pointed cat stretch a long white paw over his head and try to pat Vex’s leg, and grinned. “That’s Helios,” she said. “He’s a Ragdoll throwback, though I’m damned if I know how. His mom was solid black and shorthaired.” She slipped back into the kitchen to grab the cup and brought it over to Vex.

“You want to talk about it, or forget about it?”