KazAlkemi

Chicago After Hours

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Caden

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

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Caden's focus shifted from the attention he was giving Nero's wrist to the tension on their brow. Clearly they had been with the dragon for too long if they were developing the same habit. Caden pressed a finger to Nero's brow, smoothing out the creases with a lovers smile.

"It may have started for fear of Mundus, but I believe you created a reputation for yourself all on your own, regardless if your increase in power was a gift from this so-called Queen. You made the power yours. Don't let anyone take it away from you. As for why he didn't come after you, it's likely he may be locked up."

Caden intertwined and played with Nero's fingers with his own. His focus shifted from the scars of the past to the one's more recent. He ran a thumb across the scar he gave them with his dragon claw.

"You're safe here," he reminded them as much as himself.

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Avery Zain

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

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Avery chuckled when Nic got excited and asked Kiki a couple dozen questions. Thankfully, Cassi arrived in time to distract him from his inquiries, and Avery turned his focus back on Kimiko.

"But he flipped you. You could have flipped him. Or kicked him, or punched him in the ribs or any number of other places rather than the face. Remember, you don't have the reach, Kiki. You have to go where you can. Nic not only has height, but he also has longer arms which give him a longer reach. You can get him in the stomach, the ribs, the legs," Avery said, listing all the possibilities. "When you fight, you need to look at your opponents weaknesses as well as their strengths the compare them to yours. The ones that overlap will be your trouble, but where your strengths excel, that will be the difference between life and death. Or capture. And no magic unless you spar with me," Avery said, shaking a finger at her.

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Cassiopeia Claire Alistair

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

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Cassi's face flushed when she was caught spying and she slipped into the room. The tops of her feet were still covered in dirt, as well as her hands. She dumped her stuff in the corner, keeping the cardigan on for now and wrapped it around herself. Her skin was still damp from the rain and glistened under the lights in the training room.

She shrugged at Nic's question. "I was enjoying watching," she said simply. "Are you learning lots?" she asked, staying along the edge of the mat to keep it from getting covered in dirt.

Neon Noir - Cyberpunk Crime Thriller (CLOSED)

Haha, okay. Sounds good

Chicago After Hours

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Caden

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

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"Not every meal needs to be an overindulgence, my little imp. Then it's not as special," he said. Caden tilted Nero's head up and smiled at them. He kissed their nose before leading them to the kitchens.

The smell of bacon, sausage, and eggs took over. Caden's mouth watered as he walked in. Nero and Caden were both greeted warmly and offered drinks before they were ushered out of the kitchen.

"We're just about done. We'll bring everything to the dining room."

Caden chuckled and thanked them all before he took Nero back up the stairs to the dining room. He pulled Nero onto his lap without a second thought. Moments later breakfast was served, and then the two of them were left alone again.

Caden sat forward and managed to eat happily with Nero still in his lap. He ate a decent amount of food before he took a sip of his drink and spoke.

"How are you doing with the revelation about Mundus? I can't say I find the memory comforting. From what Abaddon said, it sounds like he might still be alive. You're just no longer tied to him. Which I am grateful for," Caden said. He picked up Nero's arm and titled their wrist to his lips and kissed the spot where chains would have chafed on their skin.

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Avery Zain

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

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Avery watched the matches with approval and some pride. Kimiko was able to keep Nic at bay, but he noticed her pattern before Nic did. Once the human noticed, Avery knew Kiki was in trouble.

Avery managed to stay calm with the first hit but the second one had him clenching his fists. He shut his eyes and breathed, calming his wolf back down. Kiki was perfectly fine. This was training. Avery opened his eyes back up to see Nic had helped Kimiko stand. Avery walked over and handed them both some water.

"You grew complacent," Avery told Kimiko. "He figured out your pattern and started to use it against you. It took him a few rounds, but someone more experienced would have picked up on that quickly. Never get complacent."

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Cassiopeia Claire Alistair

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

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Cassiopeia had lost track of time. She sat with the newly healed trees as the slow rain soaked the ground around her. She had been mostly covered by the new foliage, but as the leaves grew saturated, they dipped and hit the sorcerer with water. It wasn't until Cassiopeia felt the beginnings of a shiver that she decided to move. Picking up her shoes, Cassi left the cover of the trees and stared up at them and the sky. The leaves and needles were a brilliant green, like the first signs of growth after a forest fire.

The image brought a smile to Cassiopeia's face even though it had her crying again. She understood the benefits of fire in nature, but when it came from her own hands, it wasn't as easy to accept. She wanted to create life rather than destroy it, even though she excelled at each. Perhaps helping Caden and Nero would be the start of her amendment for what she had done to them and all the other families she had ended.

Cassiopeia shrugged on her jacket and walked back to the house, barefoot and somber. The rain continued where she started, but nature did take over and the gray clouds she had seen in Chicago earlier drifted out to take over.

When she walked inside, Cassi wiped her feet on the mat before she padded quietly through the house. She could hear the quiet cadence of Caden's voice carry out to her from the dining room, but she ignored it and snuck down to the training room. She could hear the sound of boxing gloves hitting each other, and peeked her head around the edge of the door to see.

Cassiopeia was surprised to see Nicholas and Kimiko sparring, but she saw Avery keeping a close eye on the match. She switched her focus back to the fighters and watched Nic flip Kimiko over his shoulder. Cass' eyes widened in surprise, but she was happy he flipped her rather than the other way around.

Movement in the corner of her eye pulled her attention and she watched Avery take a step towards Nic before he got a handle on himself. Ya, Cassi wondered how hard it was going to be to fight that mate instinct. Avery seemed to have control, though, so she remained hidden outside the door, listening to Avery's instruction to Kimiko. She smiled to herself, knowing the speech well.

Chicago After Hours

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Caden

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

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Caden smiled softly and pulled Nero into him. He wrapped his arms tightly around his imp and inhaled their scent. ”I think of you every second we are apart and wish all the more to be with you. I’m glad the feeling is mutual,” he said and kissed the top of their head. ”Let’s get something to eat, then we can do something else. Avery is setting up a match between Nic and Kiki right now. He’ll be preoccupied with that.”

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Avery Zain

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

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”That’s the spirit. Nic, you guard first, Kiki, you’re offensive to start. When you’re ready,” he told her before they started.

Avery had them do a couple of rounds of guarding to make sure they understood how to protect their vulnerable parts; after that, Avery opened up the match for them to do as they needed.

”Kiki is better on the offensive Nic; keep your eye on fast attacks and heavy hits. She has an extra kick, thanks to her supernatural ability. Most creatures will have enhanced strength and or speed. Keep that in mind when you find yourself in a fight because, trust me, it will happen sooner rather than later. Start.”

The werewolf stepped back, watching the fight going back and forth, encouraging stronger hits and better blocks.

Chicago After Hours

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Caden

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

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Caden squeezed Nero’s hand three times while they walked to the kitchen.

”It’s okay. You don’t need to show me unless you want to. It was just a lot of information to absorb. I confess I am stuck on Cassi’s grandmother making a deal with a demon. You didn’t know her, but Claire never struck me as the type to make a deal like that… Especially for her people to be enslaved in a war they never signed up for.”

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Avery Zain

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

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Avery laughed and clapped Nic on the back. ”How about pineapple? Or you can just tap the mat,” he said and looked at Kimiko. ”I have a feeling Cass would be more upset if you held back and didn’t show Nic what he could be up against in the field. Especially if the creature in the hospital is a big threat,” Avery said, nodding at the TV that continued to play the surveillance footage.

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Cassiopeia Claire Alistair

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

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The land invigorated Cassiopeia while she worked. The animals in the area had scampered away to let Cassi do her work, but they, and the supernatural guardians of the woods, stayed near to watch her work.

Cassiopeia moved from tree to tree until they were all healed, and then she sat down at the base of the other. A light rain started with Cassi's encouragement, and she sat there, letting the rain wash her face, her tears blending with the rain.

Cassiopeia hated demonkind her whole life for how they killed her family for no reason. How they just took what they wanted with no regard for others. And now it was a lie. Her grandmother had made a ridiculous deal for what? Protection? Power? Cassi didn't know and she wasn't entirely sure she would ever find out, but what she did know was everything she thought she knew about Nero had been wrong. Well, aside from them still being self-centred and annoying.

”Imp beag fuilteach,” she cursed.

translations

Bloody little imp.

Chicago After Hours

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Caden

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

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Caden wrapped his arms around Nero, and held them while they revealed the memories to Caden. They jumped around from memory to memory. Caden did his best to follow, but he was still hung up on the fact that Cassiopeia's grandmother made a deal with Mundus.

”Oh… oh, that's good,” Caden said, smiling slightly at Nero. ”Apologies, mein kleiner Kobold, that was a lot of information to take in. Come to the kitchen with me? Kiki has informed me I'm too hungry.”

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Avery Zain

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

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”Good. I think for now, avoid shots to the face. Let's work on guarding first, and then I'll let you two spar. Nic, I want you to hold out for as long as you can during sparring. Kiki has a hard time hitting a target, but once she gets the rhythm, she's unstoppable. Go with it like a real world scenario, but know your limits. I won't stop it unless you want it to stop, alright?”

Avery knew Nic was here to train for the supernatural fights. If he wanted to be ready, training here like it was the real thing would be ideal. Of course, Avery wasn't expecting anything traumatic happening today, but it was best to be prepared.

Chicago After Hours

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Caden

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

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Caden’s eyes wandered Nero’s body, searching for anything that might have signalled why Cassi and them were no longer together, but aside from Nero’s question being the reason for Cassi’s disappearance, he didn’t see any signs of their conversation having gone wrong.

”She helped you find more memories? What did you see?” Caden was surprised Cassi had helped Nero that way, but he was curious about what they saw, especially if it involved Mundus.

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Avery Zain

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

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Avery finished the round he was doing with Nic and looked at Kimiko. Avery had set up two bags for them and had Nic follow his rounds. The human was powerful --- Avery had to admit --- he had to switch his style quickly to challenge Nic more.

”I was thinking you and Nic should go, actually. That way I, can get you to switch up or point out where you both need to tighten up more. How does that sound?” he asked, looking at the two of them.

Chicago After Hours

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Cassiopeia Claire Alistair

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

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Electricity tingled along Cassi's body from Nero's irritating behaviour. They seriously had no regard for anything other than themselves. Cassi stormed out the side door, ignoring Nero's nickname for her, and the way they thought Nic's blood was no big deal. Leave it to someone who thought they were invincible to care nothing for those who weren't.

Cassiopeia stormed across Caden's yard through the trees, cursing in French and Gaelic as she went. The trees swayed and bent around as she went, responding to her uncoiled power. She dropped her bag once she reached the damaged trees and she knelt, digging her hands into the earth and attempted to breathe.

After Avery had picked up breakfast and Cassi ate, she had started to feel better. Her dIzzy and lightheadedness had gone away, and she felt her power restore. Connecting herself back to nature was another notch in that direction.
She inhaled deeply, the scent of dirt and growing things tickled her nose and she sighed.

Cassiopeia opened her eyes and pulled her hands from the ground. Dirt and grass stained her hands, but she didn't care. Cassi stood, pulled off her shoes, and dug her toes into the ground. She placed her hands along the charred trees one by one and started to hum life back into them.

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Caden

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

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Caden's attention shifted when Nero entered the room. He scanned them for any damage, but saw none aside from the red eyes. Caden dropped the weights on the machine he had been working with and walked over to Nero.

”Ist alles in Ordnung? Wo ist Cass?”

Translations

Is everything okay? Where is Cass?

Chicago After Hours

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Cassiopeia Claire Alistair

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

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Cassiopeia frowned at Nero. She resisted the urge to yell at them for even suggesting Nic.

”You’ll have to ask him,” she said and stood. [color=#DB709”I need to go check on the trees I burned last time I was here.”[/color] She grabbed her bag and jacket after she extinguished the candles.

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Caden

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

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In order to transfer some of Caden's feelings and emotions to Kimiko, he had to receive some of hers as well. So Caden knew when she got distracted and why.

Caden smirked and glanced over at Avery. ”I'll eat after, but do you think you'll make it?” he teased her, no longer talking about actual food.

Caden blocked Kimiko out before he could feel her reaction and to save her from feeling his hunger.

Chicago After Hours

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Cassiopeia Claire Alistair

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

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A slow smile spread across Cassiopeia's face at the realization Nero is speechless. Cassi picked up the piece of paper Nero was writing on and looked over the list of items needed to summon Crowley.

”This doesn't make us friends,” she clarified. ”Just, a better understanding of each other. Caden will have the cigar and alcohol, along with everything else but the candy, I think. Does it have to be human blood? How much?”

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Caden

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

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”Does it feel like you're doing it? Are you feeling hungry?” Caden asked, moving over to some of the weighted machines. In the background, the sounds of fists hitting a bag could be heard as Avery and Nic moved on in their training.