†
Pleasurable pins and needles of excitement danced atop the surface of such cold skin, but underneath where warmth still did not exist as well, and it was almost as if the ticking of a clock could be heard in the distance; tick, tock, tick, tock. Closer and closer, he could feel it with every fibre of his being. The pureblooded prince was going to find him, it seemed. The snow filled park was the correct destination, the fateful place for him to be as he gently swayed back and forth on the swing, one hand wrapped around chain links as the other arm kept the treasured porcelain doll snug against him. Ticking of the illusive clock seemed to be timed with the squeaking of rusted metal, and Caleb was humming, counting down until a familiar figure appeared in his line of vision.
Pale lips parted and curved upwards into a grin at the sound of silk ringing through the air, pearly fangs as white as the glowing snow were revealed, and ah, yes, he was certainly the product of none other than Aleksei Mihailov. He had always been, for 264 years. Even while estranged, he could feel it within his very existence because every once in a while, undeniably, they were who would cross his mind. Bound for eternity for over two centuries and that was how destiny had decided it would be. It had been mapped out within the stars before it had even happened.
Everything was left to the stars.
Loyal stars that Caleb couldn’t see, could barely hear, in a city lit with far too many man made light fixtures. It was frustrating. The legend of a vampire had been vexed for years as he wandered newly paved streets and lurked around corners of modern architecture. Desperately, he wanted to revert time, to travel back to the era of minimal lighting and horses instead of cars, ships instead of airplanes. Cobble stones were far more appealing than black tar and straight bumblebee coloured lines, and the loud honking of automotive horns only served to irritate. To top it all off, someone would have to suffer for the direction aesthetics had taken, for the style that nearly everything had molded to. Buildings were insufferable; bland and cubicle as they stood in all their non-glory, lacking detail and intricacy, and clothing was by no means any better.
But what stood in front of him at that moment, as his own amber hued gaze locked on to someone that had been so dearly missed even if it was the fair vampire’s own fault that they had lost all contact, was familiarity. Warm and comfortable nostalgia in physical form, something that could make him feel secure, a personified map that would make him just a little less lost. Aleksei was security and Caleb was ready to embrace them like he never had before, like he never could before. Self control was something that the embodiment of insanity had been making attempts at, for no other reason than him being forced, but who better to guide him, to hold his hand and teach him how to walk, than the person who made him who he was?
Caleb brought the swing to a stop, kept amber hues focused on oh so similar ones. He stood slowly and adjusted the doll in his arms to a more comfortable position without breaking gazes, pretty little grin still adorning thin lips. My, how nothing has changed, and yet everything has changed. In the midst of humanity’s rubbish, there stood Aleksei in front of him, and he felt it at that moment. A little spark of consolation.
Home, that m u s t be what you are.
"Miss Emily had wanted to meet you,
and we are both
so terribly
lost.”
As moments moved slowly, as seconds flew by with such ease it almost seemed ridiculous, Aleksei spent each of these moments gazing at his own progeny, trailing every line of his frame with amber hues and the way it was so familiar, the way it reminded him of a time he thought long forgotten, it had him grinning from ear to ear. How could he not? When staring at the one person, the one sirling he had created, that resembled himself on most points? There was pride and joy in his chest, harbored in a twisted, beating heart and it eased the ache of loneliness in withering bones. Indeed, he still found the sensations erupting atop of his skin strange, the way his entire frame tingled with anticipation and knowledge, the more the closer he got. But it didn’t serve to stop him, to make him hesitate. Oh no. Because he had been waiting for this moment for more than two centuries and he was glad to finally cease it — glad to have someone as precious as his own child back by his side.
His heart drummed slowly, as slim fingertips played with strands of blond hair for a moment, as he sent flakes of white flying by merely glancing at them. And he grinned. Grinned as childishly as he hadn’t done in years. Because he enjoyed it, he truly did. And it was surprising, his calmness was surprising as he stared into hues of hazel, as the male stopped the motions of the swing he was seated upon only to rise and Aleksei laced his own fingers together so gracefully it almost seemed rehearsed. He waited, waited patiently for lips to part for words, and when they came, his own chiming chuckle was gentle, and not carrying the hints of cruelty it usually bore. Because something so innocent, that had turned into something so twisted couldn’t possibly need more of it’s makers own insanity. Or so Aleksei resonated, thus meeting the other with gentle bouts of joy rather than stern and sharp arrows of hostility and agitation; cruel words and hinted hatred.
None of it was held against the younger, the eighteen year old beauty that wandered the earth, that graced the city with his unexpected visit. So he reached a hand out, gestured for the younger vampire to step closer, to come within reach. Because the siberian king was oh so curios, as to how the years might have changed the gleam in beautiful eyes, left traces of knowledge upon the smooth of Caleb’s pallor. ” Lost, you say. “ He stated calmly, as letting the pleasant curve of a smile curl his lips upwards, baring pearly whites without the smallest hint of hesitation, fangs still kept hidden however, a trick he had learned many years ago. ” If you, and Miss Emily, are so very lost as you seem to be, I shall, gladly offer the two of you my sincere help. “ He nodded slowly.
Aleksei had heard of the porcelain doll, heard of its name though never its meaning to the younger himself. He accepted it however, for now. Not wanting to strain things already. It’s seemed so very unnecessary.
He blinked a few times, to ease the ice away from his eyelashes, to keep his eyes from turning blue with the thrill of winter as his hand found it’s way back into his pocket. ” Is guidance what you seek, my dearest, when you return to me like this. After more than two centuries? “ His head tips to the side and he observes again, observes everything that Caleb is and almost eerily so, as if his gaze can see past flesh and bone, into the very depth of a troubles soul.
” Please my darling, tell me, how you need me to assist you in finding your way.“