[IC] Chicago After Hours

[KazAlkemi]

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Avery Zain

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Location: Caden's House – Chicago, IL
Skills:
Fit

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Avery watches Cassiopeia more than Nic as they walk by. Part of him wanted to make sure she was okay for himself, but he kept Kimiko behind him instead. He nodded when Nic said he was taking the SUV again. Once they were gone, Avery turned and looked at Caden.

Avery hadn't seen Caden emotional much, aside from anger, but right now he could see his alpha crying despite the rain. Avery looked down, feeling he shouldn't be privy to this.

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Caden

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Location: Caden’s Home – Chicago, IL
Skills: Shapshifting
Fit

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Cassiopeia walking away fully broke Caden. He wasn't sure when he was going to see his best friend again. Close to three hundred years they had been together. Inseparable. Until today.

The rain started to slow the further Cassiopeia got away from them, but the broken trees behind him reminded Caden that distance didn't matter when it came to Cassiopeia. When the storm had moved in, it reminded him of a time when Cassiopeia earned the nickname "Storm Witch".

Caden looked over to Avery and Kimiko, seeing them soaked through and frowned. "Go inside. Stay away from my side of the house." Avery quickly turned and grabbed Kimiko's hand, pulling her across the yard and into the house.

Once everyone was gone, Caden stepped away from Nero. He took five, long strides away from his mate before he turned around and faced them. They were in a ball on the ground, trying to shrink themselves even smaller. Caden wanted to hold them but he couldn't. His wings remained, smaller than they were in his true dragon form, but they were large and menacing all the same. Completely different from this vantage point than they had been when Caden was protecting Nero with them.

"I need you to tell me what I just saw. I need you to tell me why you were leading the army that killed Cass' family. My family by extension." Caden stared at the space just in front of Nero, unable to look at them fully.

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Cassiopeia Claire Alistair

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Location: Caden’s House – Chicago, IL
Skills:

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The tears started to fall down Cassiopeia's face, mixing with the rain, as she was pulled along. Cass didn't register passing Avery and Kiki, or walking through the house and going past Henry. She only came back to herself when Nic pulled her into a hug. He asked if she was okay and she broke.

Cassiopeia sagged into Nic, gripping his shirt and cried from her heart shattering. She wailed, unable to control her tears, or her emotions. The wind whipped around Nic and Cassiopeia, the rain pelting them. The temperature gradually dropped, making the rain colder, and biting as it cut across any open skin.

[Donut Look Now]

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Kimiko “Kiki” Voss

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Location: Caden’s House - Chicago, IL
Skills:
Fit

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Kimiko let herself be led inside - her eyes stuck on Caden as she saw the tears falling. She barely notices when she’s inside until she registers Avery’s hand holding hers. She turns towards him looking from his hand to his face, concerned but also wanting to kiss him again. Now’s not the time Kiki… She looks down at her soaked clothes and sighs.

“I know this is far from the biggest issue right now, but I can’t just go grab a change of clothes from my room right now, right?” Caden had been clear not to go on his side of the house.

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Nero

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Location: Caden’s Home - Chicago, IL
Skills:
Fit

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Nero doesn’t move their body, just shakes their head multiple times. “I don’t know!” They say, close to hysterics. The rain has gotten lighter, but their back is soaked.

“You should have let her kill me.” They add as the tears start falling, mixing with the rain. They finally peek up at Caden, letting themselves fall completely to the ground, legs splayed underneath them. They can’t even appreciate Caden’s wings without feeling as if something is stabbing their heart and twisting the blade.

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Nicholas “Nic” Wu

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Location: Caden’s Home - Chicago, IL
Skills:
Fit

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Nic holds Cass tightly against him, kissing her head and running his hand up and down her back. When the cold starting cutting into them, Nic easily scoops Cass up, sweeping an arm under her legs. It’s not as if she weighs nothing, but working in a hospital and helping orderlies with lifting bodies has him not phased by it. His arm under her knees opens the SUV door before placing her inside on the seat and buckling her in.

He grabs the towel off the floor and leans over her to turn on the engine and hit the seat warmer. Wiping off most of the moisture from her face and shoulders, he lays the towel on her before cupping her face gently. “I’ll be right back, okay?” He tells her, kissing her forehead before closing her door.

He makes his way to the back of the SUV and grabs the other towel as he pulls his phone out to send a voice message to Jane. “Something’s come up and I need to stay with Cass right now - I might not come home tonight, please take care of my dad.” He says before hitting send and climbing into the car.

He drapes the other towel on Cass’ legs, thankful it was dry now at least, before turning on the heat and driving away from Caden’s towards her house.

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[KazAlkemi]

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Avery Zain

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Location: Caden's House – Chicago, IL
Skills:
Fit

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Avery stared out the back door, torn between the need to be there for Caden, but to not disobey a direct order. Thankfully, Kimiko drew his attention back to the present moment. He squeezed her hand before he letting go.

"There are extra clothes in all of the guest rooms. Feel free to to change into something there." Caden gave a direct order and Avery could try to break it, but he didn't want to push Caden. It would be best to stay on the opposite end of the house tonight.

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Caden

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Location: Caden’s Home – Chicago, IL
Skills: Shapeshifting
Fit

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Caden's eyes shift to look at Nero. He feels the tug to go towards them, but he remains rooted in place. "If she killed you, I would have to kill her. The mating bond requires retribution for murdered mates." Caden turned his head away from Nero and stared at the destruction of the forest.

"Just, tell me you blocked that day out...That you weren't secretly keeping it from me." Caden's voice is barely audible as he asks Nero.

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Cassiopeia Claire Alistair

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Location: Caden’s House ---> Driving – Chicago, IL
Skills:

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Cassiopeia tries to calm herself, but the memories of that day rip across her mind as if it were happening for the first time all over again. She weeped openly and loudly. Once she was in the vehicle, Cassi curled in on herself, trying to shrink her size. Everything hurt. Her body, her heart, and her very soul.

She was dimly aware of the heat that started to envelope her, but it did nothing to comfort Cassiopeia. Instead she started to shake from the adrenaline coming down.

Outside, the rain gradually disappeared and the storm clouds moved on while Nic drove. Cassiopeia slowly regained control of her powers, but she was by no means okay as she continued to cry in the passenger seat of the vehicle.

[Donut Look Now]

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Kimiko “Kiki” Voss

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Location: Caden’s House - Chicago, IL
Skills:
Fit

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When Avery takes his hand away, Kimiko frowns, both at him letting go but also at the thought that she wouldn’t be able to be in her own clothes either. She glances down at her shirt again, noticing the burned mark, but also that her bra was visible. “Can you show me where those are?” She asks Avery, crossing her arms over her chest. “I don’t think we can do anything for them right now anyway.” Her eyes dart outside before landing back on Avery.

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Nero

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Location: Caden’s Home - Chicago, IL
Skills:
Fit

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So I could have potentially gotten Cassi killed along with me. And Caden would have lost their mate and best friend in one night. Nero thinks to themselves. At Caden’s last words, Nero gets up and closes the distance between them. They’re careful not to touch Caden, even though they’re dying to, but they try to position themselves in his eye line so he can see their sincerity. “You think I would purposely hide that from you? That I would willingly go into this relationship knowing I had… I had…”.

Their resolve fails them and they look down at their hands, almost seeing the blood on them again. They blink back tears as their hands start to shake uncontrollably. I’m not the one who should be crying. I’m not the one who should be comforted.

“I didn’t know.” Nero finally just whispers before sinking to the ground again. I knew I didn’t deserve him. I knew there was going to be something like this.

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Nicholas “Nic” Wu

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Location: Caden’s Home - Chicago, IL
Skills:
Fit

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Nic can’t help but glance over at Cass, trying to make sure she’s not going into shock. Even with the rain, he speeds towards her home. He has his gym bag still in the car and could change into it if needed, but his priority right now is Cass. He reaches over and finds her hand, interlocking their fingers and gently squeezing. It takes about half the time it typically does to get to Cass’ town house and Nic quickly parks the car.

He gets out and rejoins Cass on her side, grabbing her purse and digging through it until he finds her keys. He then takes the towels off of her and tosses them into the back seat before unbuckling her from her seat. He picks her up in similar fashion to how he placed her in the car back at Caden’s, carrying her to her front door, quickly finding the right key to unlock it.

The cats come running as soon as Nic crosses the threshold and follow him as he places their mother gently on the couch. He scoops up Wayland and places him on her lap, kissing her forehead before he runs out of the house to grab her bag, his backpack, and the groceries from lunch, bringing all the items inside in one trip somehow and putting them on Cass’ table before turning to find Max.

“I know you’re not my familiar, but can you show me to her room? She needs dry clothes.”

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[KazAlkemi]

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Avery Zain

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Location: Caden's House – Chicago, IL
Skills:
Fit

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Avery's eyes had wandered to look outside again. It was difficult not to be concerned for them, but Kimiko was right. There was nothing they could do. Avery cleared his throat and looked back at Kimiko.

"Sure," he said and led the way to the larger of the guest rooms. He walked into the closet and open up drawers and gestured to the clothes hanging up. "Everything is regularly washed and dry cleaned, or replaced. So, the clothes are basically new if not actually new," he assured her. "I'd offer you a towel, but they are all missing."

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Caden

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Location: Caden’s Home – Chicago, IL
Skills: Shapeshifting
Fit

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Caden's eyes bore into Nero's when they speak to him. He searches, looking for the lie or the fault, but all Caden can see is his mate. Is Nero looking terrified and destroyed. They collapsed in front of him and Caden's eyes follow their descent. He towers over Nero before he kneels and pulls Nero in.

"I believe you, mein kleiner Kobold," he said. Caden kissed the top of Nero's soaked head before scooping them into his arms.

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Cassiopeia Claire Alistair

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Location: Driving ---> Cassi's House – Chicago, IL
Skills:

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When Cassi had first lost her family, the pain had been nearly crippling. It isn't that bad this time, but as Nic carries Cassi into the house, arranges the cats around her, and brings all the bags in, she is reminded of when Caden looked after her. She continues to cry while Nic bustles around the house, going into full caregiver mode.

Being in her house calms Cassi. The spellwork she wove into the place serve to dampen and soothe her powers. The plants greet her and of course the cats flock to her. She shuts her eyes and pets Wayland and Calypso.

Maximilian stares at Cassiopeia in silence before Nic calls to them. He stares up at the human, flicking his tail back in forth before he walks down the hall and leads Nic up the stairs into Cassiopeia's room. He walks to the wardrobe and leans up to set paws on the third drawer where Cassi keeps her comfortable clothes.

[Donut Look Now]

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Kimiko “Kiki” Voss

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Location: Caden’s House - Chicago, IL
Skills:
Fit

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Kimiko puts her face in one of her hands as she starts to laugh at this irony. “They’re in Caden’s office.” She says with a laugh before looking at Avery with a sheepish grin.

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Nero

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Location: Caden’s Home - Chicago, IL
Skills:
Fit

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Nero almost fights Caden off as he pulls them into an embrace, but they can’t bring themself to. Instead, their arms wrap around Caden in return as they sob into his shirt. “I swear, I didn’t know.” They cry out, clutching at Caden. When their eyes fall close, they fall into another memory, unconsciously taking their mate with them.

“They broke the deal, sir.” Nero sits perched on the knee of Mundus as another demon enters his throne room. The black hand belonging to the son of Lucifer and Lilith runs through the long white hair that Nero now has. The little imp has no expression on their face and looks more like a porcelain doll than anything else, except for the thick metal collar and chain on their neck. His movement pauses, however, at the arrival of this other demon.

“The sorcerer clan?” The deep voice of Mundus asks impatiently. When the other demon nods, Mundus sighs loudly before turning Nero’s face to look at him using only a finger under their chin. “My pet, you’ll need to go to the living realm for me, it seems.”

Nero blinks slowly before tilting their head, seemingly waiting for a command as their expression remains neutral. Mundus tells them to gather a group of demons and lead an attack topside. From Nero’s perspective, they’re just on autopilot as they go through the motions before taking the group. The memory starts to blend into the same one just unlocked with Cassi.

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Nicholas “Nic” Wu

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Location: Caden’s Home - Chicago, IL
Skills:
Fit

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”Thank you.” Nic says to Max, giving him a head scratch before digging out a change of clothes for Cass and heading back downstairs to her. He kneels in front of her, gently holding her knees while lookin up at her. “I hope these are okay - do you need help changing at all?” Coming from anyone but Nic, it might sound like they are trying to get lucky with Cass. Nic hopes that his sincerity to help is evident in his actions. His rubs his thumbs in a soothing manner against her pants.

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[KazAlkemi]

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Avery Zain

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Location: Caden's House – Chicago, IL
Skills:
Fit

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Avery pauses and looks at Kimiko. ”Seriously?” He started to laugh and shook his head. ”Of course. Well, your SOL, little fox.” Avery walked out of the closet and glanced back at Kimiko. ”I’ll just let you change,” he said, not sure what to say, and left.

Avery shut the bedroom door behind him before he pulled at his wet clothes. He sighed and glanced down the hall before walking into another bedroom. Sometimes he stayed in the house, but not very often. However, he did have a stash of clothes. Avery went into one of the smaller bedrooms and shut the door behind him to change and figure out if he should leave the house and Kimiko on her own or if he should just crash in Caden’s house to keep an eye and ear on everything.

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Caden

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Location: Caden’s Home – Chicago, IL
Skills:
Fit

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Caden went to stand, but a memory flooded his head, and he couldn’t move. Caden managed to sit on the ground while he road the journey with Nero out. Caden seemed to alternate between watching through his mate’s eyes and watching as a bystander. The look on Nero’s face crushed Caden. He knew that look only because he had seen it in Cassi. Had seen it in himself. Disassociating from the pain of reality was the only way to keep living.

The memory of Mundus sending Nero after Cass’ family faded into the memory Caden had already seen. He pulled himself out, bringing Nero with him and buried his head into Nero’s neck. At some point, Caden had started crying again.

He didn’t speak to Nero. He just cried, holding his mate tightly.

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Cassiopeia Claire Alistair

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Location: Cassi's House – Chicago, IL
Skills:

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Cassiopeia opened her eyes and blinked several times when Nic touched her. She looked down at him, coming back to reality. It took her a minute to register him and the questions he asked. She looked down at Max, who sat beside Nic, staring up at her. Cass stared back for a couple of minutes, leaving Nic’s question to hang in the air.

”No,” she finally said. Cass turned her head and looked at Nic. ”Can I have some tea?”

[Donut Look Now]

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Kimiko “Kiki” Voss

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Location: Caden’s House - Chicago, IL
Skills:
Fit

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Kimiko almost tells Avery to stay and then flushes, instead opting to just nod her head. Once she hears the door close, she quickly finds some comfortable clothes to change into. This clothes fit her well, although a little tight on her chest. She pads out of the room and looks around for Avery, hoping he hadn’t just ditched her. ”Avery?” She calls out.

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Nero

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Location: Caden’s Home - Chicago, IL
Skills:
Fit

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Nero breathes heavily, feeling like they’re about to hyperventilate. This is too many memories for them to remember, but a small voice in the back of their mind tells them they deserve to feel these emotions right now. But Caden didn’t. “I-I-I’m sorry. I d-d-didn’t mean to p-pull you with m-me.” They manage to stammer out.

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Nicholas “Nic” Wu

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Location: Caden’s Home - Chicago, IL
Skills:
Fit

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Nic waits patiently as Cass slowly comes back to him, a gentle smile on his face. He nods when she finally answers. “I can definitely make you some tea.” He reaches up to tuck her hair behind her ear before cupping her face. “Would you like me to draw you a bath? And I can bring the tea to you when it’s ready?” He offers.

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[KazAlkemi]

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Avery Zain

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Location: Caden's House – Chicago, IL
Skills:

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Avery pulled on a simple pair of Adidas lounge pants and a dark blue hoodie, and leaves the hood up on his head. He opts for bare feet and goes to turn on the TV in the room when he hears Kimiko. He tosses the remote onto the bed before opening the door and pokes his head out.

”Ya?” Avery’s eyes naturally drift over Kimiko’s body, taking in the outfit before meeting her eyes again.

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Caden

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Location: Caden’s Home – Chicago, IL
Skills:
Fit

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Caden holds Nero tighter when they start to stammer while talking. He can’t stop crying, but he can try to calm Nero. Caden rubbed Nero’s back, using a bit of force to create pressure as well as friction.

”Atme, kleiner Kobold. Atmen. In eins, zwei, drei, vier. Halten Sie, eins, zwei, drei, vier. Raus, eins, zwei, drei, vier, fünf, sechs.” Caden continues to count in German to help Nero calm their breath. It even helps to settle Caden.

”I’m glad I saw it. I’m glad I can understand you better and why you don’t remember a lot of your beginning as a demon or life as a human.”

translations

Breathe, little imp. Breathe. In one, two, three, four. Hold, one, two, three, four. Out, one, two, three, four, five, six.

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Cassiopeia Claire Alistair

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Location: Cassi’s House – Chicago, IL
Skills:

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Cassiopeia closes her eyes again when Nic cups her face. He asked her another question, and it still took her a moment to answer. ”Yes,” she breathed.

[Donut Look Now]

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Kimiko “Kiki” Voss

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Location: Caden’s House - Chicago, IL
Skills:
Fit

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As much as Kimiko wants to pounce on Avery and kiss him again when she catches his eyes drifting over her outfit, but resists as she quickly walks over to him. “So, I don’t want to be alone tonight… at least not yet, I mean.” She quickly adds the second part as her cheeks flare. “Can I watch TV with you?” She asks, peeking around Avery when she hears the television to try and catch what he’s watching.

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Nero

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Location: Caden’s Home - Chicago, IL
Skills:
Fit

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I don’t deserve his comfort. I deserve to be back in hell. Nero still can’t bring themselves to push him away. They close their eyes, matching their breathing to Caden’s counting, once again grateful to this man and his ability to speak German perfectly. “Ich habe dir und Cassi in einem Ausmaß wehgetan, das ich nicht einmal ansatzweise wiedergutmachen kann.…” Nero murmurs, clutching at Caden, afraid that he’d let them go.

“Ich hätte nicht...” They can’t complete their thought, but they feel like they’ve now entrapped Caden into mating with them.

Translations

I’ve hurt you and Cassi on a scale I can’t even begin to atone for // I shouldn’t have

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Nicholas “Nic” Wu

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Location: Cass’ Townhome - Chicago, IL
Skills:
Fit

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Nic smiles again and nods before he kisses her head. “I’ll be right back.” He goes to find a bathtub to start running. Once started, he runs back down the stairs to find a kettle and start to boil the water before he rejoins Cass, sitting next to her and pulling her close for a moment. He runs his fingers through her hair as he holds her. “Do you have any bath salts, bombs, herbs or anything you’d like me to add to your bath?”

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[KazAlkemi]

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Avery Zain

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Location: Caden's House – Chicago, IL
Skills:

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”Oh, ya, sure. Do you want to watch in the bigger room?” Avery didn’t fully care which room they were in, but the smaller bedrooms were much the size of normal bedrooms. The master bedroom on this side of the house was a lot bigger and might be more comfortable.

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Caden

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Location: Caden’s Home – Chicago, IL
Skills: Shapeshifting
Fit

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”Lass mich dich reinbringen,” Caden whispered. Caden stood with Nero still curled in his arms. His wings folded back in, and his eyes shifted back to their normal blue-green colour.

The storm had completely subsided, and the trees that were on fire no longer burned. Caden walked up the stairs on the outside of the house to the second level. He opened the door and walked down the hallway into their room. Caden could smell bath salts, soap, and candles. Clearly, his staff had anticipated Caden’s needs. Undisturbed by the supernatural outburst earlier.

Caden walked right into the bathroom and set Nero on the edge of the bathtub. He held Nero’s face and brushed his thumbs along their cold cheeks. ”You didn’t know,” he whispered. ”You were following orders.” Caden leaned in and pressed a kiss to Nero’s forehead.

He shuddered, having missed that connection with Nero. All Caden had wanted earlier was Nero’s touch and their comfort because, despite what happened, and what they did, Nero was their safe space. Nero was their mate.

Tears started to fall down Caden’s cheeks again. ”I know you. I know who you are, Nero. I’ve seen what you’ve endured, and I still choose you. I love you.”

translations

Let me get you inside

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Cassiopeia Claire Alistair

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Location: Cassi’s House – Chicago, IL
Skills:

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Cassiopeia holds the dry clothes in her hands while Nic runs around her house again. It would be comical if she could actually enjoy it. Instead, she is in the same position Nic left her in when he returns. She leans against him when NIc pulls her close. She closes her eyes, feeling tired, and shakes her head when Nic asks if she wants him to add anything to her bath.

”I can do that. I can go upstairs and do that,” she declares.

[Donut Look Now]

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Kimiko “Kiki” Voss

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Location: Caden’s House - Chicago, IL
Skills:
Fit

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Kimiko tilts her head as she considers the question. “Which one has the comfiest bed?” She asks after a moment. She assumes it will be the bigger bedroom, but Avery would know better than her. If she plans on getting any sleep tonight, comfort is the highest priority.

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Nero

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Location: Caden’s Home - Chicago, IL
Skills:
Fit

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Nero buries their face in Caden’s chest, not daring to look around them as Caden carries them inside. They start to feel like they had in the latest memory - numb and unable to feel anything and barely registering as Caden sets them down. Nero’s eyes overfill with tears at his words as he caresses their face and they start bawling when Caden says they still choose them, they still love them. They can’t get any words out, they just reach back up towards Caden, wanting to hold them again.

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Nicholas “Nic” Wu

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Location: Caden’s Home - Chicago, IL
Skills:
Fit

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Nic would laugh if this was any other time or any other moment, instead he just kisses her head before standing and picking her up again, glad that she’s holding her clothes to make this a little easier. “I know you can do that, but you can also let me take care of you a little tonight, okay?” He says in a soft tone as he carries her up the stairs to her bedroom and then her bath.

He sets her down on the toilet as the bath continues to fill, steam rising off of it. “If there’s anything outside this room I need to grab for you, let me do that. Otherwise you can get anything inside here for your bath. Does that work?” He asks, willing to compromise.

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[KazAlkemi]

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Avery Zain

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Location: Caden's House – Chicago, IL
Skills:

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”Well, from personal experience, this one,” Avery said, gesturing behind him. ”I’ve never stayed in the master, but that bed is a King size whereas this is just a Queen,” Avery said and stepped aside for Kimiko to see.

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Caden

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Location: Caden’s Home – Chicago, IL
Skills:

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Caden obliges Nero and wraps his arms back around them. Caden holds Nero close, resting his face in the crook of their neck, but Caden doesn’t hold them for long. Nero is freezing, and Caden doesn’t like that. Slowly, Caden starts to help Nero undress before getting them into the bathtub.

With Nero taken care of, Caden starts to strip down as well. It takes a while for him to peel his clothes off. Everything sticks to him, but once he is free, he steps into the bath and pulls Nero into him.

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Cassiopeia Claire Alistair

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Location: Cassi’s House – Chicago, IL
Skills:

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After being home for some time, the warding working to dampen her powers, and the cats sharing their comfort, Cassiopeia is more coherent when Nic picks her up. She wraps an arm around him, nervous he’s about to drop her, but Nic effortlessly carries her up the stairs and to her bathroom. Once Cassi is sitting, she stares at Nic, ignoring his other questions.

”Did you carry me inside as well?” Obviously, he did, but he didn’t register that he was that strong until now.

[Donut Look Now]

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Kimiko “Kiki” Voss

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Location: Caden’s House - Chicago, IL
Skills:
Fit

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Kiki peers around him at the bed before walking in and hopping into it. “Do you sleep in here sometimes?” She asks, eyeing his outfit. The clothes fit him as well as anything else he wears, which Kimiko’s sure he has to find specific brans to fit his muscles. She scoots over so that she’s on the far side of the bed from the door before she pats the empty side.

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Nero

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Location: Caden’s Home - Chicago, IL
Skills:
Fit

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Nero feels their body relax almost instantly in the bath, blinking as they only just realize they’ve been shed of their clothes and placed in the tub. They peer up at Caden as he struggles to get his own clothes off. When they’re pulled back into Caden, they curl into them and wrap their arms around his neck again.

Now that they’re able to think a little more clearly, their mind quickly fills with questions, most of them how to fix Caden and Cass’ relationship. But they stay quiet for now, wanting Caden to also relax more before they have to face the hard truth.

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Nicholas “Nic” Wu

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Location: Caden’s Home - Chicago, IL
Skills:
Fit

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Nic can’t help but smirk a little at Cass’ question and kneels down again so he can cup her cheek. “Yes.” He says with a small laugh. Leave it to Cass to focus on that rather than anything else. “I’m a nurse who works out, before you ask if I’m sure I’m human.”

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[KazAlkemi]

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Avery Zain

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Location: Caden's House – Chicago, IL
Skills:

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Kimiko waltzs past Avery and immediately jumps onto the bed. Avery stares at her in disbelief. He shakes his head and closes the bedroom door before he picks the remote up from the edge of the bed.

”Sometimes. Specifically if Caden has a high-profile client or someone visiting. Or if I just want to be alone.” He walks over to the unoccupied side of the bed and moves the pillows so he can be semi-seated.

Staff housing was good, and he had a great set-up, but sometimes socializing after a long day was the last thing he wanted to do.

Avery rests one arm behind his head and flips through the channels on the TV, looking for a movie or something to watch.

---

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Caden

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Location: Caden’s Home – Chicago, IL
Skills:

---

---

Caden drifts against the edge of the tub, bringing Nero with them, and he rests his head against the edge of the tub. A few stray tears fell down Caden’s cheeks as he processed the events of the last hour. Finally, Caden takes a deep breath in, holds it, and exhales loudly. He opened his eyes and looked at Nero.

”I want you to know something first before you ask me all those questions swirling in your head. What has happened, what you’re past revealed, doesn’t change anything for me when it comes to you. I don’t know what is going to happen with me and Cass, but I’m not loosing you.”

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Cassiopeia Claire Alistair

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Location: Cassi’s House – Chicago, IL
Skills:

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---

Cassiopeia smiles briefly, but it quickly falls away. ”Okay, if you want to get me a towel from the hall closet, I can look after my bath. Could you also give the cats some food, and some treats? They’ll show you what cupboard everything is in.” Max brushes up against Cassi’s legs before he curls on the floor beside the bathtub. ”Well, Wayland and Calypso will show you,” she whispered.

Cassiopeia looked back at Nic, fresh tears threatening to fall. ”Will you stay tonight? I don’t…I don’t…” The tears started to fall, and Cassiopeia started crying all over again.

[Donut Look Now]

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Kimiko “Kiki” Voss

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Location: Caden’s House - Chicago, IL
Skills:
Fit

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---

Kimiko tilts her head and smiles as he talks, not missing the way he shakes his head at her. When he gets in the bed, she turns towards him a little, resting her weight on her hip more. “Did you want to be alone? You can say yes and I’ll disappear if you want.” She says, realizing she might be overstepping with him again.

---

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Nero

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Location: Caden’s Home - Chicago, IL
Skills:
Fit

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---

Nero frowns even as they’re elated to hear that Caden doesn’t want to get ride of them immediately. “I don’t want to be the reason you lose your closest friend.” They say in a small voice reaching up to wipe the stray tears from Caden’s face.

“Is there anything I can do? I-I can stay at my place, it’s okay if it’s just temporary. Once everything is settled, I-I’ll come back.” If everything settles. Nero slowly starts to realize that the voice in the back of her head, the one that’s been telling them they’re not good enough, that they don’t deserve Caden, sounds awfully close to Mundus’ voice. Tears start to prick at their eyes again and they look down at the bath water.

---

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Nicholas “Nic” Wu

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Location: Caden’s Home - Chicago, IL
Skills:
Fit

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---

Nic nods, glad to have gotten a smile out of Cass, but sad to see it go just as quickly as it appeared. “I can do that.” He says as he starts to stand up, but he’s pulling her back into his arms again when her tears fall. “I’m not going anywhere - I already let Jane know I might not come home tonight. I’m all yours.” He runs his fingers through her hair and down her back, kissing her head.

---

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[KazAlkemi]

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Avery Zain

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Location: Caden's House – Chicago, IL
Skills:

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Avery eventually finds a channel that is showing a couple of Star Wars films. He sets the remote on the bedside table and rests his free hand on his chest. Avery looks at Kimiko.

”Something tells me none of us wants to be alone tonight,” he said.

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Caden

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Location: Caden’s Home – Chicago, IL
Skills:

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---

”No.” Caden said. He tilted Nero’s chin up to look at him, and Caden shook his head. ”No, Nero. Didn’t you hear me? I’m not losing you. I’m not letting you go, and you’re not staying in your house. This is your home now. You are my home.” Caden buried his head into Nero’s neck again, his tears soaking into Nero’s skin.

---

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Cassiopeia Claire Alistair

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Location: Cassi’s House – Chicago, IL
Skills:

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Cassiopeia sniffed, brushing the tears from her face with the towel and nodded. ”Okay. Tell them I’m sorry for keeping you.” She looks up at Nic and wonders why he’s still here. The power she exerted was something people feared about her, but here Nic was, treating her just as tenderly as he had all day.

[Donut Look Now]

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Kimiko “Kiki” Voss

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Location: Caden’s House - Chicago, IL
Skills:
Fit

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---

Kimiko tries not to smile when Avery admits he doesn’t want to be alone either. Her mind drifted back to the kiss outside and her cheeks flare, but she leans a little closer to Avery. “Um, about earlier.” She tries to say casually, her fingers dancing on the bed in the space between them.

---

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Nero

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Location: Caden’s Home - Chicago, IL
Skills:
Fit

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---

The tears start falling rapidly down Nero’s face again, but Caden’s face in Nero’s neck. A small part of them hopes he doesn’t notice them. Nero moves their hands so that one is scratching his head lightly while their other hand scratches their back. “I’m here as long as you’ll have me.” They whisper, closing their eyes.

---

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Nicholas “Nic” Wu

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Location: Caden’s Home - Chicago, IL
Skills:
Fit

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---

Nicholas wants to tell her no, that she doesn’t need to apologize for anything, but instead he pulls out his phone to see if Jane had responded to his voice message at all. “Jane says she and Kat hope you’re okay and sent this video.” He holds up the phone for Cass to see. “This is their cat.”

---

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[KazAlkemi]

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Avery Zain

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Location: Caden's House – Chicago, IL
Skills:

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---

Avery watched the movie, not really focused on it, but it gave him something to do aside from staring at Kimiko in her too-tight clothes. Maybe he should just give her a sweater. No. That would make it worse.

He felt her shift on the bed, moving closer to him, but Avery didn’t look at her until she spoke. He cleared his throat, trying not to react too much to the memory of her lips on his.

”Ya?” He looked at her, not being able to help himself.

---

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Caden

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Location: Caden’s Home – Chicago, IL
Skills:

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”Forever,” Caden responded. He kissed Nero’s neck once before pulling back. He sees their tears and wipes them away. Caden has a feeling there will be a lot more tears shed tonight.

”What do you want to ask me?”

---

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Cassiopeia Claire Alistair

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Location: Cassi’s House – Chicago, IL
Skills:

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Cass looks at the video Nic shares with her and smiles despite everything. ”Tell them thank you…” She looks away and leans over to shut the water off. As of right now, Cassi doesn’t feel like she’ll be okay. This isn’t something that can easily be let go of.

[Donut Look Now]

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Kimiko “Kiki” Voss

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Location: Caden’s House - Chicago, IL
Skills:
Fit

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Kiki’s eyes narrow just slightly at how casually he replies to this and moves in closer, scooting to sit on her butt and be able to look him more in the face. “You kissed me back.” She says with a slight tilt of her head, unable to help herself.

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Nero

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Location: Caden’s Home - Chicago, IL
Skills:

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---

It’s a telltale sign that Nero’s not okay when they barely react to Caden kissing their neck. They let their head fall to the side in a tilt, looking at Caden as they try to decide what questions to ask before they just start to ask all of them. “Was that your wedding? What are you going to do if Cassi won’t be your friend anymore? What are we going to do about the bonding? Do you know what deal her family made with Mundus? How are we going to unlock the rest of my memories?”

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Nicholas “Nic” Wu

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Location: Cass’ Townhome - Chicago, IL
Skills:
Fit

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---

Nic nods, glad to see the smile make a reappearance as he quickly sends off Cass’ thanks. In the distance he can hear the teakettle start to scream. He gives Cass another tight hug and kisses her head before pulling away. “I’ll be back soon with your tea and towel after I give the kids some dinner.” He promises before stepping out, letting Wayland and Calypso lead the way before he gently closes the bathroom door behind him.

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