KazAlkemi

Chicago After Hours

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Cassiopeia Claire Alistair

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

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”I’ll have tea,” Cassi said and turned back around to tend to the soup.

The simple work helped to relax her. Once the soup was finished, Cassi filled two bowls and brought them to the kitchen table. She then grabbed some buns she had still as well as crackers in case Nic wanted something to dip into his soup. She reclaimed her seat and sat down to enjoy a warm and comforting meal.

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Caden

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

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”Yes. Like Avery, she keeps things close to her chest, and with Nic going through his own demon troubles, she would feel like she was taking away from his situation if she told him. But, what happened to Cassi was in the past. She can't go back and fix it, so there is no point in hanging onto it. Besides, Nic will be able to help her process it.”

Caden Squeezed Nero's leg in silent thanks for the way they were rubbing and scratching his back. It was relaxing and was helping to settle his nerves.

”I'm not sure we're allowed spa days,” Caden chuckled in response to Kimiko's statement. It said it only because of how busy they always were.

Chicago After Hours

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Cassiopeia Claire Alistair

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

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”Fine, you win.” Cassi grumbled as she turned around and buried her face into Nic's chest. She huffed a breath before looking up at him, her cheeks still red from all the praise Nic was giving her. ”Do you want tea or something else to drink?”

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Caden

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

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Caden smiled and nodded. ”Exactly. Avery just needs to talk about how he's feeling rather than bottle it down to protect you. I bet he will be more willing now.” Caden had a good feeling that the results of today scared Avery worse than the warehouse had. ”It'll be okay, Kiki. We are all going through our own battles right now. Nero with their memories, Nic with his family, Cassi with hers…” Caden sighed.

He rested his head on Nero's shoulder for a moment. He took a couple of breaths in before looking at Kimiko. ”Cass' grandmother made a deal with Mundus. Our children were going to be his, but when Cass and I broke off the engagement, it broke the deal. That was why her entire family was killed. I don't know what Mundus gave Claire in return, but it can't have been worth it.”

Chicago After Hours

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Cassiopeia Claire Alistair

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

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Cassiopeia could feel her face flaming. She buried her head in her hands and stamped her feet. ”Niiiccc, stop,” she whined. ”I’m trying to be a good girlfriend and feed you.”

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Caden

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

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”It really had nothing to do with Nic and everything to do with seeing someone manhandle you. He would have reacted the same if I had done it. Possibly even Nero,” Caden told her truthfully. ”Remember, he’s never seen you in action. Just that once when you first came to town. Seeing you in that warehouse… It really screwed with his mind. Avery keeps everything pretty close to the vest. Did he tell you in was in the army during World War Two? He was also in the Korean war and Vietnam. He was mostly a grunt and witnessed things most people can’t imagine. Done things most people would never consider. It took him until meeting me to finally work through it all. You really scared him when you were taken. I think he was worried he was going to go backwards if he lost you.”

Chicago After Hours

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Cassiopeia Claire Alistair

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

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Cassiopeia felt quite flustered when Nic used her full first name. He rarely used it if ever, so it sounded lovely coming from him, even if he was teasing her. Then he had to go and call her adorable again.

”You've mentioned it once or twice,” she said, refusing to turn around. She could feel his eyes boring into her back, willing her to turn around, so he could see her flushed face.

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Caden

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

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Caden chuckled from Kimiko's frustration. ”I've always enjoyed it,” he teased her. He kissed Nero's forehead, finding the rhythm of them playing with his shirt and tie soothing.

He looked at Kimiko. ”Remember this is both new for you. You two are the same in so many ways, Kiki. Alone most of your lives, resigned to the way things are, and having to look after yourselves. It took a while for Avery to warm-up to me, and we still butt heads from time to time. I believe the two of you care for each other more than you can stand. It's a lot of emotion in a short amount of time. You'll figure it out. Just like Nero and I, and Cass and Nic,” Caden said confidently.

Chicago After Hours

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Cassiopeia Claire Alistair

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Location: Driving – Chicago, IL
Skills:

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”Nicholas! I'm standing over a stove,” she reminded him. She shifted her stance so it was wider and could handle the weight he was adding to her, but the digging of his chin into her head was rather unpleasant. She was moments away from jabbing her elbow into his stomach.

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Caden

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

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Caden shifted back in his seat as soon as Nero stood. He dropped his leg and wrapped his arms around Nero losely, grinning at his mate. Kimiko drew his attention back and Caden looked down at Nero's red pants. He ran his thumb along the velvet and shrugged.

”The rest of the day, a week, a month. However long you want, Kiki. What he did was reckless and stupid. I knew Avery to be thick headed and rash, but I didn't think he was that stupid. He could have done a lot of damage. As it is he exhausted his mental reserves. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if he didn't wake up today, which makes me half tempted to wake him up and make him do a perimeter check for me,” Caden said bitterly.

Chicago After Hours

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Cassiopeia Claire Alistair

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Location: Driving – Chicago, IL
Skills:

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Cassiopeia stirred in the mixtures before she turned the stove down to keep it from boiling over. ”Is your head so heavy that you need to use me as a leaning post?” she asked teasingly.

Truthfully, Cassi didn't mind. She enjoyed that Nic liked to be that close to her even though it was new for her. She valued her own space and the comfort as well as growth that came from that. But it had been a while since she had someone to share that with aside from Caden. It was far different to share one's time and space with a partner than it was with a friend.

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Caden

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

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”Alright, perhaps another room you want renovated then,” Caden suggested. He squeezed their hands before looking over at Kimiko. ”How long are you going to let Avery stew by the way? Not that he doesn't deserve it, I'm just curious.”

Chicago After Hours

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Cassiopeia Claire Alistair

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Location: Driving – Chicago, IL
Skills:

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Cassiopeia laughed and nodded. Crowley definitely did have a punchable face. She hated very much that he was Scottish. As if having any more ties to him was comforting.

Cassi scratched Max's head one more time before kissing her familiar's head. She set him down and he stretched before finding a nearby perch. Cassi stood and kissed the top of Nic's head before she went to add in the soup stock and mix.

”I wasn't going to hit him, but I did feel the storm close. You grounded me, though. Even if I did feel a little weak in the knees. Which definitely wasn't the right emotion to have,” she admitted, still feeling slightly embarrassed.

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Caden

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

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Caden couldn't help but smile when Nero said they were frustrated Cassi had to make a deal as well. Caden already knew Nero didn't mind Cassi, maybe even liked her and wanted her friendship, but hearing that Nero was expressing emotions for her made him happy.

”It sounds like you need to work your frustrations out, because unfortunately, all of those things are out of our hands and have already happened. But your feelings are still valid. I suggest breaking things. Kimiko already damaged the training room. You could continue in there if you like,” Caden offered, trying to bring some humour into the situation while providing a possible solution.

Chicago After Hours

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Cassiopeia Claire Alistair

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Location: Driving – Chicago, IL
Skills:

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”He is, but he's also one of the most powerful demons. I enjoyed how protective you got over me, even though I did worry you were going to do something stupid,” she teased, watching him.

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Caden

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

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Caden held up a finger to Kimiko, silently asking her to wait a moment before he captured Nero's hands.

”What are you having difficulties with?” He could very clearly see the frustration right now. Caden wasn't sure if it was overstimulation or something they had read that was upsetting them. Caden wanted to understand what Nero was thinking, so he knew how to help.

Chicago After Hours

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Cassiopeia Claire Alistair

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Location: Driving – Chicago, IL
Skills:

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”Probably, but I want to look after you right now because I know you're going to want to look after I tell you what's going on. But we'll wait until lunch is served,” she said and patted his knee. She scratched Waylan’s head before continuing to pet Max.

”I didn't think I'd like having you with me today as much as I did,” Cassi confessed. ”It felt like we were a team.”

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Caden

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

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Caden watched Nero closely, ready to pull the book away from them if their expression got any worse.

”No, Cassi didn't give over her soul or agree to killing or hunting anyone down for him, but Cassi is the last of her kind and the most powerful. He could want anything from her.”

Chicago After Hours

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Cassiopeia Claire Alistair

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Location: Driving – Chicago, IL
Skills:

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Cassiopeia shut her eyes when Nic started to massage her shoulders and neck. She sighed not wanting him to stop but also wanting him to just sit with her.

”Mmm, just sit with me, Nic. You can do that later if you really want to,” she said, tilting her head back to look at Nic.

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Caden

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

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Caden smiled and watched Nero sit down before Kimiko drew his attention. He sighed and pulled a chair out to sit down. Caden removed his jacket and draped it over the back of his chair before sitting and crossed his legs.

”It went as expected. We got some of our answers. However, Nero owes him a favour, and Cass.” Caden looked at Kimiko, knowing she knew just how much Cassi hated demons.