†
Amber broke away from amber only to watch delicate snowflakes drift through brisk air; a gift of manipulation his sire possessed but hadn’t been showcased for Caleb in over two long centuries. It was fascinating, the way his prince could control frozen water as if it were merely an extension of their own body, make it move to their bidding. The British vampire had never been gifted with such powers, could not manipulate any of the natural elements like his maker, but he had been blessed with other fatal abilities that had served to create a legend out of him. Caleb was, perhaps, the only one out of any of them that could communicate with the dead, could be handed over information about the past and future alike, and use it to his advantage. Caleb could feel things that no one else could feel.
i͕͓̟̓͛̐n̹̱̗̆̄͝s̻̜̤̋͑̆a̡͈͙̔̅͛ņ̦̩͆̾̈i̙̹̞͌̏̐t̫̙͓̐̂̄y̧̖̭͆̈́̌
Soft laughter resonating through the empty park, as soft as the snow around them, was a sound so familiar to him even after such a long time apart. The sound of Aleksei’s voice had always been pleasant to Caleb’s ears, falling comfortably over him like silk, and he had always favoured the tone of their chords; how deep but how smooth, supreme but serene all the same. Whatever chaotic flurry that had been spinning uncontrollably inside of Caleb ever since the world began to change was pacified just from hearing. Not contained, not controlled, but soothed, and Caleb stepped forward when he was reached for, leveled their gazes once again, the vague crunching of snow beneath black boots breaking through the brief moment of silence that had fallen.
Insanity and blood lust and desire were all swimming within amber oceans, everything that had always been there since he had been altered for eternity. If Aleksei was searching for something, anything new, printed words of stories left unspoken by pretty lips, then all of it, surely, would be easily readable with a little attention and care. Like an old book that needed simply to be dusted and opened; nothing else. Crimson red hues instead of warm shades of hazel spoke more boldly, loudly, left the pages wide open for all to read more than anything else, because with red eyes Caleb had tore through humanity, had seen and done things that rumours and tales could not speak about. He was never more himself than when he was gleefully suffering from perpetual madness with a gaze the shade of blood. With the world’s aging and changing, Caleb was genuinely astray. And perhaps, that feeling managed to show itself, was hiding between everything else that was readable upon his visage.
Those pale lips curled again, revealed fangs again that Caleb had never given thought to concealing before, had never needed to, until the more recent decades. He was unable, or at the very least, he assumed he was unable, though he was aware of the fact that Aleksei could retract theirs of their own free will. “I seek your presence as well,” previous state of joy seemed to slowly dissipate, grin dropping as the wheels inside began slowly turning. “Everything has changed,” Caleb’s gaze fell upon the doll in his arms. “Everything is so loud… noisy. There are too many lights and I can only… I can no longer have as many… it’s been three nights and I have only had sixteen…”
A few more steps forward were taken, the space between them close to disappearing completely. With a pale, thin hand, Caleb reached forward to take hold of his sire’s arm, manicured nails of black bold against their pallid skin as well as his own. With a whisper, he spoke, amber hues flashing red only for a brief moment, as he sought Aleksei’s gaze once again. “Even right now, I can’t see them—I can’t hear the stars anymore. In this place…”
"The humans won’t let us have fun anymore…"
Gentle, was the dust of a breeze upon his cheeks. The snowflakes were slowly escaping his grasp, the strands of hair decorating his crown were ruffled, white slipping bast their boundaries and Aleksei chuckled with outmost calmness. It was a fair rarity, to see him pleased with the ways of the world, but how could he not be when everything was seemingly falling back into place? When what was his was slowly regained, little by little? It filled him with pride, with comfort and content at most occasions and the joy over finally finding his lost son was nothing aside from blissful. Beauty had been frozen for so many years, and the siberian prince had been convinced that a reunion would never come — saw it as an impossible, unfulfillable wish of his own. But it seemed, like the gods above had granted him the solitary thing he found himself wanting with the deepest parts of his own soul. Albeit committing so many sins.
Our sins are what will set us free.
His laughter echoed peacefully, slowly united with the silence and darkness of a grim december night. And as it died down, Aleksei’s amber hues faltered for a mere sliver of a second, looking past his progeny and studying frostbitten branches of graceful trees. He snapped back quickly however, as his silent demand had been responded to and the young one moved closer. Gladsome he was, as he watched graced steps, as he listened to the displeased sounds of crushed snow. It was a meaningful moment, one that would determine wether things would change or if they would come to remain separate. To the pureblood, the latter was not a proper option. He wanted to assemble his own family, although some strings had been more severed than others. Bridges burned to such an extent that not even the strongest of wood nor the finest of marble could rebuild them. It didn’t cause Aleksei any grief however, he was not one to remain dormant in response to treason. And the one who had abandoned him was Vladimir, not the other way around.
The thought made his lips twist for a moment, expression stern for a couple of seconds before it returned to gentleness and bliss. Before his mind settled with the thoughts that ultimately kept him calm. He had heard every tale, every legend. Stored every single word in the back of his mind but one could only tell so much form the words of others and his curiosity was boiling within ash-filled veins. Because as twisted as he had grown to be himself, the trail of corpses left behind him now exceeding one million people, those merely slaughtered to sate his never ending hunger, he knew his own name was known to many of those whom belonged the the more occult side of their current society. Even the king of hell himself had come to pay his respects. Another source of pride for the vampire, a great one at that. One could almost consider him humanity’s own executioner, for as many lives as he had stolen, calling him something else would be an understatement. He had lived for three thousand years, and if he could decide, he would live for many many more.
There would be, no death
in sight.
As the curl of pale lips became evident to old hues, the siberian king couldn’t keep his own away, the curve of perfect tires growing a bit wider and thus baring the sharp edges of his elongated canines. A chuckle, echoed briskly. Cut through the chill of night and his eyes shut tightly for a moment, as fingers curled around his arm and the presence of his young one was made final. Aleksei’s own hand was quick to seek the perfect curve of a slim shoulder, thumb rubbing over thinly layered fabric. “ My dearest, time always changes. ” He stated calmly, amber orbs bared to the blue moon yet again.
“Time changes and so does society, it all moves forth and makes life more difficult for us whom prefer the older ways. But even so, there are still ways to get around. Alas, we have to be more careful.” He sought the younger’s gaze for yet another time, blinking slowly as letting silence remains for a moment, in all its own suspicious glory. “ Sixteen in three nights is a good amount in these times of constant observation. You have skill and speed and I assume that is your advantage. If you choose to remain with me, I will offer to teach you the ways of the new age. ” He nodded slowly, brows furrowing just slightly at the last few words falling from pretty lips.
“ And I shall, try to reconnect you with your stars, dearest. ”
“ For I know where the sky is just as dark as it used to be.”
" Where the sea of light pollution will not disturb you. “