Where The Dusk Falls (Adhara x Vinaein)

[Vinaein]

@Adhara

Adam Talbot never missed an opportunity to remind himself how much and how little the town about him had changed. Dusk's End was one of the crown jewels of the evening, a center of culture. One could step into the Old Quarter and be transported to a world from centuries ago with how the town had evolved, leaving pieces of it back in antiquity. There was the Old Quarter of the town, the place on where the sun set. Away from rows of beautiful houses and modern buildings, the rest of Dusk's End bore the unmistakable touch of 1800s antiquity. The wood and brick were aged, though not dilapidated with a variety of old homes that seemed more foreboding manor houses even though many families had long since moved away. Ageless works of art festooned noble walls, with tapestries depicting scenes of history and events of myth and lore. Yeah, Adam thought as he wandered through the town, Dusk's End had its reputation. But underneath the allure of the nobility, of the gilded surface, one barely needed to scratch to find something dark beneath it.

It had been a few years since he had returned here...looking unchanged, without family or, presumably friends to remember him. Adam was just shy of six feet, with jet black hair and dark blue eyes, his face smooth shaven, hair neatly combed. He was wearing a dark jacket, hands in his pockets as he walked, the sun having set as he made his way to the modern modern side of the city. He tried to convince himself, without much success, that the shadows on the wall were harmless, keeping his eyes behind him as he went...

Still running, he thought. Hoping that nobody would find him.

The world might as well be anemic now, Its lifeblood drained from it by those who dwelled in the night. Those who hungered for freedom, for conquest, for lifeblood, some going to lengths that Adam could never be part of. Perhaps it was futile, after so long, to hold on to any vestiges of morality in his silent, blackened and unbeating heart, but he had made the attempt to ensure they had at least been one he need not feel guilt over.

If any could have the presence of mind to recall him, he might have looked a bit of a fight. He was clothed in black and blue, his coat a dark leather, . If one looked closer at his blue eyes, they may even have noticed he never blinked, that his skin might have seemed too moon-pale, his nails perhaps a bit too long, his teeth a touch too sharp. He imagined he was somewhat less pale now after the imbibing of blood earlier, the night air frigid upon his skin, even as he tried to focus on the warmth inside.

He almost forgot the others, with their ancient societies and fraternities, tried to forget as best he could even if it was folly. An uprising was coming and he had little way to escape it. The frown deepened upon his face as he crossed down across the busier streets, seeing people talking among themselves with laughs and smiles...

Just like those years ago...when he had been such a cocky young man, compensating for lack of family with his arrigance, when he had arrived and met...

Her. But she must have been gone from the town now, he thought. Who'd stay around here?

Except the dead?

 

[Karma.]

Rhiannon had stayed, in fact. She loved this town and its gothic architecture, how the church bells rang at exactly noon and then again at four, signaling the end of a supposed workday. She had walked these concrete sidewalks with him, hand in hand. Silence eclipsing the issues they had faced as a couple just trying so desperately to survive. all she could do now and all she did now was try to forget. He had left the apartment in such a rush. Their fight was sure to be the end of something they both deemed great. She had since moved from the apartment into a house they had signed the agreement on, only her name remained. Just like that he had been erased, but she still thought of him. she still stared out of the floor-to-ceiling bay window with her coffee and half expected him to walk up the driveway, home to her.

She was encapsulated in time, her style, when they were together, hadn't changed one bit. she still held her ash-blonde hair, straight and down to her waist. her frame was slender, but she had put more effort into strength training than she had before, after all, all she had was time. her nails were still almond-shaped and matte black and she adorned her fingers in exotic rings, rings he had given her, and ones she had salvaged from an estate sale. Not much could be said for her clothing, she had always loved the color black, and all the gothic adornments like straps and frills. Of course, she couldn't wear half those things to work, but she still had them packed away in space bags under the bed. For work, she simply wore what was considered "docile" to her. skirts and blouses, heels and flats. today, however, allowed her the comfort to wear a black full button dress, tiny shimmery stars supporting constellations dotted it. it was the short sleeve, had a soft collar, effortless.

Rhiannon wanted to appear that way. Uncomplicated by her past obligations and issues. But, her mind still went to him. she had made this house a home by herself. She made her coffee every morning for one. It was one thing to let the words, " of course I'm happy!" spill from her lips, it was another thing to believe it. What if he came back? what if he walked right up that driveway... Rhiannon sipped her coffee and crossed one arm over her waist.

It was Saturday, the wait felt stale, autumn soon approaching, yet the summer heat baked weeds into concrete outside of the house. she had taken a few days off from her job at Sealife to recuperate. The building stood just on the outskirts of town closer to the ocean, which made it at least a 45-minute drive to and from. But it was what she had gone to school for.

Would he be happy for her?

She had struggled during their relationship to even work up the courage to leave her retail job and pursue her actual studies. All she could think, if she just put a little more effort into herself and her time, maybe he wouldn't have walked out. It was difficult to say, and with that, she took yet another sip of her coffee and sighed in deep thought.

 

[Vinaein]

There he was...Adam wandering about the town like a lost ghost attempting to return to the place of haunting. His hands were in his pockets as the wind rustled against his hair and clothes. His eyes, unblinking, stared up at the gentle moon as he did all he could to remember. He did all he could to forget at the same time. What was it Magnus had said? Past was past, mortality was best left behind. Forget her, forget it all, forget everything and everyone you used to know.

He wondered if he was only remembering the goo now. If the short time in undeath had chased away any hint of imperfections in his mind. With a single feeling to cling to, he had been warned, a vampire might be able to last forever. With one emotion to hang upon, one thing to clutch to...these feelings would not decay. So he held to the memory of Rhiannon and everything they had shared in all its glorious and mortal imperfection. From their smiles together, their dances, their intimacy...the feel of her kiss, the warmth of her body still lingered long after his own had grown cold.

He could still remember the gifts he had given her, from the pendants to the rings, in all her gothic glory to display them. There had been a selfish edge to it, he could admit. He had loved to see her in them, to know he could call her his when bedecked in those trinkets...the sigh escaped him as he thought of her, wandering down poorly lit streets while considering everything that had come to pass.

There was no shortage of darkness in his life now, it had to be admitted. Those he lingered with, those whose nocturnal fraternities to whom he belonged...but he was a renegade now, pondering his path. He could not, he knew, return to Magnus. Where else then? He knew of little else, save only named like Aurelius and Francesca. He was a neophyte in their life and was unlikely to be trusted anytime soon, he reminded himself.

So he was walking down to the street he had left, to the people he had left....she had to be gone by now. Was he tormenting himself? Was this just a masochistic desire to punish himself with the memory of her?

What had she done? What had she achieved without him serving as the lodestone about her ankle? What could she achieve without him where she was better off?

Was she happier without him?

With that thought in his mind, he continued to walk down...

Until he saw her from a distance...

 

[Karma.]

Rhiannon took a sip of her coffee and looked down to the dark golden liquid and at her reflection in thought. Her fingertips slid over her cheek and she closed her eyes then a sigh inevitably escaped her lips before she licked her lip free of the coffee. She just could not move past this but did it even matter if she lingered, Adam was gone, he was never going to come back, he was gone, and he had been gone for so long. She knew he had never loved this town like she had, that he felt stifled by the way they lived, did he feel this way about her? was she too much?

Slowly, Rhiannon took a seat on a chair that had been situated in front of this large multi-paned window, where hanging plant vines created curtains of whimsy and sunlight bathed the room in its warm embrace. A small end table sat next to the circular velvet upholstered chair along with several half-finished books and jewelry she had taken off and then tossed aside. She wasn't neat, but she would consider herself eclectic, even if that was a cop-out for being a little messy. In the Twilight book series, Bella had sat in front of a window for months waiting for Edward to return. And while Rhiannon hated that damn book, she wondered if maybe the writer wasn't so... off about her description of pain. Of course, cliff diving and riding dangerous motorcycles weren't exactly in Rhiannon's playbook. She just couldn't understand why her heart hurt so much and for so long.

They had never been perfect. Their fights had always been so destructive but magnetic, their passion just as telling. A smile crept across her lips as she recalled a time early on in their relationship, the war of differences ever-present.

Their road trip had turned sour, their car barely inching its way to the gas station, she should have gotten rid of that damn thing, but it was just too sentimental. Of course, new models of the exact same car had come out since its hay day, more efficient even, but she swore up and down that it was fine- perfect even. No bills, which she knew they couldn't take more of. Screaming in a hazy navy desert, as the sun sank into the sand, she begged him to trust her judgment. Only for her judgment to be completely clouded by the need to win this argument. The car was obsolete, it broke down on the highway leaving them stranded. She thought it was then that they might end things, maybe her explosive behavior at that moment was too much for him. Of course, they made it home safely, and she bought a new car to replace the old but did they really ever lean in to process that moment?

Rhiannon could almost taste the sand on her tongue, feel the warmth of the sunlight on her skin and with that, she opened her eyes and saw him from the distance.

Her heart raced, pounded against her chest, and thumped in her ears, were her eyes deceiving her? Was the blurry figure in the window someone else?

"Adam?" She whispered and stood from her spot, her foot had fallen asleep and she hopped around the little table beside the chair and to the door where she unlocked it and flung it open. The sudden burst of the wind brushed against her pale face and she stood in the doorway astonished. It wasn't her imagination, it was him.

Should she run to him?
Throw herself at him, scream his name?
Were they even still together?
Would it be strange to throw yourself at someone you weren't sure you were even romantically attached to any longer?

Rhiannon bit her lip and stood there, her fingers curling into fists and her shoulders tensing, she could have cried seeing him there, in his familiar leather jacket and neatly combed hair, just as she remembered him. He was perfect, untouched by the year they had been apart, he wasn't weathered from the stress as she had been... would he even recognize her?

 

[Vinaein]

There he was. Adam's mouth curled up into a sardonic smile. Was he still too human? Was he incapable of pulling himself away? How long had he been gone now? And that had been when he had been human. Now, he was far from it, one of the 'Nosferatu,' a vampire. It was a sad pull into his chest that drew him inexorably forward to a place that held only sorrowful memory for him now.

What might Rhia have thought? That he had vanished, died beautifully? Ended his own life? Adam was cognizant he should have known better than to romanticize death and suicide by now. There was no poetry in it, regardless of what Magnus might say. There was little romanticism in the cessation of heartbeat, and Adam wondered briefly at the morality of his most recent actions. He wondered if he was stealing her choice from her, robbing her of her manner of mourning him. A brief guilt filled him, gone like a whispering shadow. He stared ahead at the place where he had once been happy.

But had it ever been true happiness? Happy, certainly but happiness? They'd had passion. They'd had the physical, a lust for their bodies. There had been fights, so many of them. There had been joy and sadness and rage and understanding and everything else to go with it.

The road trip...under the sun in the sun-drenched desert. God, how he could remember the sun and its brilliant stare upon him. How they ha fought over that car, the shouting, the demands he adhere to her beliefs and judgement, that it had been over a car. Over a damned car. A car had nearly ended everything between them.

He stared through that window, into a world he was no longer a part of as he remembered the kiss of the desert wind. His mouth opened slightly as he tried to think of what he might say. Nothing. Move on. Back to the shadows, back to the night, away from her. She'd moved on. She must have...

From the depths of his being, he cried out for Rhiannon again, one feeling for a vampire's heart to cling to. He was about to move on, when he looked up at the clash of the door.

And there she was. Framed there, no different than he had left her and yet a different person entirely. His eyes widened in shocked surprise, her name lingering on his tongue in pale moonlight. Rhiannon, Rhiannon, why here and why now?

He knew her. He remembered her. He could never forget, untouched as he was. He should have done something to her. He should have attacked, clouded her mind. He should have turned and run, but all of the best of him that she had once inspired with the artistry of her heart...

"...Rhia...?" He whispered her name, staring at a reflection of his own feeling.

"Is that you?"

 

[Karma.]

Rhiannon stared into the darkness of night so long her eyes hurt from the lack of blinking. Every fiber of her being wanted to run to him, become enveloped in his arms that once protected her, but she couldn't. He had left. He had given up on them, on her. So, she stood there, eyes trained on the shadowy figure cloaked in Adam's dark jacket. It was too late, the moment her nickname slid from her lips, she crumbled internally, and her head bowed slightly before her eyes looked to the side, unsure.

"...Yes..." She spoke into the cricket-filled night. Every. Fiber. " You're back." She whispered, swallowing and then pulling her arms into her side to grip the light crape-like fabric of her star encrusted dress. Suddenly, her body shook, invisible tears pushing their way past an invisible barrier before they pooled in her eyes and slid down cheeks. ugly sobs contorted her face, and she used the back of her hand to wipe away tears. "W-w-why did you leave?" Her words were jostled about by her inability to control her sudden anxious reaction to seeing him. There he was, unchanged, standing as if he were the very image of the person that had left.

Each blink brought blurry vision, memories of their time together causing her knees to feel weaker and her body heavy. All their quiet moments where she would look over at him while sitting curled up on a ratty old couch, reading novels that had been dog tagged and tea stained. He was unchained. She supposed she hadn't changed much either, minus her tone body and new healthy-looking hair, she still wore her gothic clothing that was still a part of who she was and would always be. Tattoos were unchanged, none had been added, but then none had been taken away. Her posture was still lazy, and shoulders bowed forward even though she practiced carrying herself with confidence; she still leaned to one side like a child who scraped their knee and could stop sobbing at their misfortune.

Slowly, she moved closer to the ground, her vision blurry and her world spinning. She moved to crouch, but her held slid from under her and landed her right on her butt, and her one leg curled under her. She gasped, trying to pull the tears- already dried on her cheeks, back inwards. Trying to erase the moment of weakness.

"H-how? Adam..." She whispered his name, fleeting like the autumn warmth. " I don't understand."

 

[Vinaein]

As the night encircled the young vampire like a shroud, Adam knew he had erred immensely. He was staring a colossal screw up right in the face now; a breach of all protocols of vampires. Rhiannon knew he'd been missing. She'd know something was amiss. She saw him right here and now, staring at him. And he had surrendered to his mistake, let her name slip and tumble forth from his lips like a fool when there had still been time to run.

But running would have meant leaving her forever. It would have meant branding the image of her confusion, shock, her grief into his mind and soul for the rest of eternity. So he stood there and he stared with a desperate longing for her fixed upon his face, etched into his eyes.

"Rhia." He said it again. Said it when there was still time to take it back and flee. Said it with longing and pain as he fought away bloody tears. But she was crying suddenly. Weeping freely with pain and suffering. He should have run then. He should not have involved her any further in his life. But instead, he stepped forward. He crossed the distance to her. His hands went to her shoulders...for all the shouting, all the anger, he had always hated seeing her weep. "Rhia, I didn't...I didn't mean to..." it came out haltingly and weak.

She was the same as she remembered. Imperfect, but toned and her hair different. Still the same black clothes, the tattoos...still the same way of being that was so amazing to him. He caught her as she knelt. He looked into her eyes and he said it before he realized, just as he kissed away the tears.

"I'm back...Rhia...it's a long story...but...I'm here."

 

[Karma.]

Rhiannon brought her eyes up and looked at him through him. He was so gentle with her as he took hold of her shoulders, nearly pushing her back together like a broken vase. She could see his face in the pale moonlight, the shadows clinging to his features slowly. She pulled her hand up between his arms to touch his face, the silky sensation of the blood lingered on her fingertips, and she pulled it away to view. Her brows suddenly furrowed her as her thumb pressed into her index finger. With a swallow, Rhiannon looked back to him, searching for answers.

" You're hurt." She whispered; pain pooled in her eyes, her lip trembled slightly, and she pulled herself up with sheer willpower and took hold of his hand on her shoulder. "Come inside." She stepped into the house and pulled him into her breaking the threshold barrier, leaving herself exposed to him. Her last bit of protection shattered. The house's interior was dark; the last bit of dusk had bled into the horzon leaving the home in darkness. She kept her hand tight around his leading him into the living room and towards a floor lamp that she flicked on. Warm light filled the small living room space, giving way to the careful decor she had picked out by hand and placed in their new designated area.

Aside from the chair looking out of a multi-paned window, a navy blue velvet couch facing a brick fireplace. Several ornate-looking vases and jars sat staged on the floor, and the tiny little brick step added to the fireplaces architecture. Over the mental leaned a dark stormy ocean painting, chaotic winds giving off a cool palate. Candle holders sat on either side of the painting, shaped like claws and dipped in copper paint. The rest of the room was lined in bookcases; some filled to the brim with books while others housed curios and trinkets she had loved, memories of them still lingering in the air.

Rhiannon left him briefly in the living room and retrieved a small first aid kit from the hall closer and returned, a dry washcloth in her hand and the kit in the other.

"Please." She whispered as she sat down on the couch and opened the little plastic box of supplies. She was quiet, gentle almost. Crying had taken so much out of her petite frame any more blows to her heart would only weaken her further. She wasn't too well versed on wound care, but she read the back of the bottles carefully, maybe to distract herself from him standing before her, from how his lips felt against her cheeks as they kissed away tears. Rhiannon knew she could have melted in his arms right there and there, her safety had returned, and that's all she could suddenly remember. "Adam..."

Rhiannon wondered if he saw her as she was, willing to fight him at every breath, her selfishness clearly getting in the way of her decision-making process. A year wasn't long, but it was long enough to make her understand their relationship was severely flawed. "Let me help you." The words were soft, nurturing-her eyes holding the same tenderness.

 

[Vinaein]

The way Rhia looked at him, the way her eyes found him, reminded him of the old days, when they hadn't fought so much. He had her shoulders in hand, her palm brushing against his pale skin. He realized he had no idea what to do as to the moonlight fell upon the two of them. And she saw him... "You're hurt, she whispered in surprise, eyes seeking answers....

"I'm not hurt," he managed. His brow furrowed, his teeth setting into his lip as he tried to explain it. "Rhia, inside...I shouldn't- " but he made no move tor esist as he went along with her. He entered into her house, seeing through the darkness easily. With Rhiannon here, how could he control himself? How could he in so many ways with Rhiannon right here? His walls had collapsed, coming down hard with the presence of her beside him. He could remember the house, having been inside so many times. He had been here more times than he could count with her.

Now he'd come back. And there was the couch, the vases, the fireplace. He sighed heavily, a feeling of nostalgia filling him as he sauntered in with her. The memories flooded back with the scents. The bad and the good together...all there, with them, all there linked to her, tied to her that they had made together....he could have pulled away from her, but he would not. He let her work...even under protest.

He saw her need to help him. The same need she always had. The desire to assuage his hurt, to push it away. He brought his hands up to her face, staring into her eyes. He said her name, closing his eyes...he said her name....

He stopped fighting. And he let her.

 

[Karma.]

Gently Rhiannon wiped away the bloodied tears from his cheeks. To her, the blood looked as if it had dripped from the top of his head, as if he had gotten into a fight of some sort. This seemed usual for her; he had always been one to toe the line when it came to the law. But it was the sense of excitement that she loved. He wasn't one to sit back and take the shit that life had been dealt to him, or her for that matter.

There wasn't much more she could do other than clean up his face; if he had indeed been hurt from a smack to the head, he would need a shower, and while that was a possibility, she wanted to savor the moment they had with him right now. In the past, she would have grilled him for information; she would have fought him and accused him of withholding it. But she hadn't seen him in what felt like forever that she simply couldn't fathom that side of her. Maybe she had changed. Perhaps since he had left, she had realized the wrong in her ways.

Slowly, as his hand found her face, she leaned into it, her lips brushing against his palm, and her free hand rested delicately on his cool skin. She would never have known that this was from his new life. She simply thought this was from the chilled air he had walked around in for goddess knows how long. she slowly set the rag on top of the first aid kit and moved it off her lap and behind her on the couch. Then one arm wrapped around his neck, and she hoised her body onto his lap, straddling it so that she could hold him closer to her petite frame. slowly with one hand, Rhiannon pulled the hem of her dress up towards the crease of her thighs and hip exposing the smooth skin and nestling in comfortably into his lap. It was a bold move on her part, but the feelings of longing were too strong not to act upon. In doing so, she pressed her hand on the back of his head, splaying her fingers to cradle it, and pressed his face onto her bare neck. Her skin had drunk in the rose perfume she added every morning, sweet and floral- pleasant even.

Rhiannon was silent for a long while before she pressed her chin into his shoulder and spoke in a whisper. " Why did you leave? We had had a fight before and you left, or I left... but we always came back again." Sliding one hand up his chest she pulled away just enough to flick her eyes to his, searching. " Why do I feel like coming back now, is the final goodbye?"

 

[Vinaein]

She thought the bloody tears, all he could still cry were from a wound. Wasn't this so like Rhiannon? For all the toxicity and anger, for all the fighting and fury, when he'd been hurt, hadn't she always been there? Who soothed him, who reminded him that his hopes and dreams had validity? Who helped him to believe in himself when nobody else did? It had always been her, always been Rhiannon, his Rhia, with all her goth attire and the warmth under it. He stared at her close, trying to think what he might say to her now...some explanation, she deserved that much at least.

Nothing was forthcoming. His lips pursed, but he managed to whisper. "I'm not hurt. I promise. I'm alright. I'm here." He held her to him and he looked into her eyes, just before her lips touched his palm. It had been a bit since he'd fed from any living being and his skin had cooled as a result, but he was warm enough for the proximity. He whispered her name again...had she changed as much as he had? He wondered if that might be the case. How much might they have altered as people? For him, it was obvious.

For her? Less so...but he could see how his disappearance had weighed so mightily on her. He wished he could explain, take so much back. He tried to say something, before her skirt was hemmed and she was in his lap. His self control was almost gone as a result, more as she pulled him against her neck. He felt his fangs stirring, but instead he kissed at the warm pale skin. He trailed his lips there, kissing all over that neck as he took hold of her, to clutch her against him. "...I didn't...want to..." he could barely talk.

"I'm not leaving you..." his teeth found her neck, not the fangs, but a gentle bit of skin. "I can't talk...not with you so close..."

He kissed her mouth with a soft passion...inviting her to go further now after so long.

 

[Karma.]

It was difficult to see if this was the warmth of her body or his as she had been pulled so close, her ribs ached against his chest, and she chose to believe his words that he would never leave again, despite the thought of his departure before. The fact remained, he had left, she was standing at their apartment counter before the move to the house, pre hands pressed into the chipping laminate and their eyes meeting, her cheeks were wet with tears, eyes liquid and consistently pooling at the waterline, her heartbreaking as he moved away and out of her life. He could leave again. But she didn't want to face that fact right now. Her eyes dropped to his lips as he spoke, struggling to get out what he wanted to say to her, and she parted her own to follow but stopped herself from interrupting- now just wasn't the time to contradict what he was trying to say.

Gently, Rhiannon rested her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes to the feeling of his teeth on her neck, grazing it and causing it to prickle. The feeling forced a slight shiver from her body, one where she gripped his jacket and kept him close. She couldn't understand him now. How could he not talk? Was he so repulsed by her that he couldn't form the words he needed to explain himself? It was at that moment that she felt her heart quicken, she could feel it pulsing in her lips, and she knew that he could feel it in the small veins of her neck as well. She wanted to pull away, and her body arched in the fight against pulling away and staying close, but she felt his lips cool against her own-- a welcomed relief. After so long, she wasn't sure she could control herself.

In his absence, she had never taken on another partner, she had gone on one date, and at the end of the night, as the possible suitor led her to the doorway, she turned around quickly. She dodged a kiss, apologizing and stating it was late and she had work in the morning. There was just something about her relationship with Adam that was truly addicting. At this moment, as his lips pressed to hers, she knew why. She pressed her feverish lips to his, teasing him with a gentle lick as her tongue grazed one of the fangs slightly. She couldn't remember if his canine were this sharp before or if she had gone soft and unused to the once familiar sensation. Rhiannon pulled back slightly, and her left hand shakily slid up to his cheek while her thumb ran over the bottom of his lip curiously. She wanted more; just the tease of the sharp feeling was enough to re-ignite a spark she had missed.

"Adam..." Her voice was a breath, worry enveloping the very letters she spoke as if she were about to do something completely and utterly stupid. But she couldn't form the words she needed, she had to get hold of her desires, but they were pinging through her like fire. Slowly she slid from his lap, pressing her feet back into the cool wooden floor, and with careful steps, she moved away from the couch and behind it to the hallway. Rhiannon had never been one to prance around and throw herself at anyone; despite her clothing choices, she always dressed modestly, and even at this moment as the skirt of her dress swayed slightly against the back of her thighs with her careful graceful, love-drunk foot steps, she still maintained that modesty. Pausing by the arch of the hallway, she turned to look back at him. Her teeth had bitten into her lip nervously, a terrible nervous habit she had always had in situations she was unsure of. " I'm... I'm sure you're probably tired." Rhiannon paused to wipe the blood from her lip with a fingertip then. " I... I can make up the bed for you... I'll sleep on the couch. That's fine." She nodded slightly at her words, then quickly looked to the linen closet in thought, struggling to maintain her composure. She didn't want to launch herself at him, nor did she want to give him any reason to think that's all she wanted from him was their passionate moments back. " What do you think?"

 

[Vinaein]

Her warmth was seeping into him. He held on to her, feeling the warmth of her body as he stared at her. His body was craving her warmth and more...but right now he didn't want to leave her. He didn't want to pull from her. He didn't want to see her freed from his arms. And her tears, those tears could always get him to quaver, to change...he stared at her, looking at her before he dipped down and kissed at her tears. he tasted salt as he kissed them away. Someone like Rhia shouldn't cry, he thought. She shouldn't shed tears. Not for him, not now.

His teeth worked at the pale flesh of her neck, his hands sliding against her back. The warmth of her...vampires loved humans for so many reasons. The blood, but also the warmth of them, to be close to them, to lie with them..and Rhia, all those memories, with her warmth here. His kiss against her neck grew more aggressive as he nuzzled into her throat. His lips touched her own with a burgeoning need. He combed his fingers through her hair before she flicked her tongue to his lips. He panted as she pulled back, looking into her face. And he came on with a slow, hard kiss, taking her tongue into his mouth and simultaneously offering his own as his arms encircled her body tightly.

"Rhiannon..." he almost moaned it, feeling warm again. His heart was beating with desire for her, all when she rose from him. He stared at her, as if pleading not to depart from him while he rose with her, coming up behind to slide his arms around her. "...Can we both take the bed...?" It was an invite, a clear one... "I don't want to be apart from you, Rhia...I'll explain when I can, just..." he brushed her hair from her neck and he kissed it, hugging her against him.

His hands moved up and he cupped gently at her chest. He felt there, the fullness of her as he recalled the piercings she wore, feeling them through her clothes. His old dominance energy had returned as he kissed her neck, letting her feel him from behind as he leaned her head back and kissed her again.

"With me, Rhiannon," he let the old dominance bleed into his voice, but always with knowledge he'd adhere to her consent should she wish. "I want you..." his mouth found her neck and his teeth gently pierced there, without any of her knowledge, he took one sweet sip before he could stop himself, hiding any wound before he kissed her cheek.

"I want to be inside you again."

 

[Karma.]

Rhiannon stood still as his arms snaked around her waist, the strength behind his hand as It gripped her shrouded breast made her straighten her posture almost instinctually. Unspoken past training flooded her mind once more and she let her head fall back, her hair sliding from her shoulder and neck only clinging to the collar of her celestial printed dress. She hadn't switched out her nipple piercings often. When he had left she had switched out the rings for a standard barbell, but it felt... Off, some how. So, she switched them back, finding comfort in the feeling and shape of them just as she did now while his fingers slid over the metal covered by the dresses fabric.


She was desperate for his touch, it had been so long since she had felt his presence dominate her as it once had. She was more than willing to allow his teeth to graze her neck and the effortless pinch, she sighed softly and squirm in her place while flattening her shoulders to his chest. His words lingered in her ears and she swallowed at the thought of them sleeping in the same bed.


Truthfully, she had grown accustomed to sleeping alone. Sprawled out on a bed of cool silk sheets all to herself, it was difficult to think about even giving that up. But the Idea of him reclaiming her after so long was incredibly tempting, so tempting she could almost feel her body ache for him. So, as his teeth sank in to her neck effortlessly, she smiled slightly.

"I don't know... I've grown used to having a bed to myself..." It was playful, she slid her hands over his own and pulled them from her waist and turned, pressing herself to the opposite side of the arch way, her hands slide behind her and then folded her arms so each of her hands cupped her elbows giving the illusion of her arms being tied behind her back. Shrugging one of her shoulders she looked to him, batting her long, full lashes at him. " You understand, right? I've grown accustomed to a certain way of life now. I can't just change everything." The playful smirk remained, taunting him to make a move, anything to prove to her he was still the same person she remembered.

Rhiannon worried. She worried that he, like so many others she had heard about, had decided to simply forgo the dynamic they had built over the years. She was accustomed to that and she had wondered if that was why she had been so picky about potential boyfriend's: could they care for her the way she truly needed them to?


Dispite their fights, Rhiannon trusted Adam with her entire being. She knew he would accept her old chaotic state and he seemed to embrace it. But that trust had been broken. She would have loved for him to bend her over and take her right then and there on the couch this night.... Rhiannon could hear it in his voice, the hunger and need. But she had to ensure he could still handle her and accept the changes she had to make without him.

"Unless..." She paused, " you can change my mind? I know you said you want to be inside me, but what does that truly entail?" Hazel eyes slid to his before she shrugged with a sigh, "Could mean anything."

 

[Vinaein]

The way she stiffened up to attention as he rocked his hips against her rear...he was hardening just from the proximity to her. Her scent, her warmth, the feel of her, the taste of her lips, her tongue, her skin. God, for all the fighting, he could recall her obedience, through all the old training. The way she acted the brat to bring his dominant side out, the way he'd had to punish her in the best of ways...and all the affection through it. The way he knew her limits, the way he'd offer her so much care through it and afterward. His hand slipped under her shirt, fingers running against the skin of her stomach as he remembered every inch and curve of her.

He brushed her hair from her neck as his teeth sank in. The way she quivered and squirmed to him as he fastened his lips there...the taking of her blood aroused him all the more and he wanted her under him, her wrists tied above her...he wanted to see the flush in her face, the moans on her lips as he drove himself into her. He wanted to see the flutter of her eyes as he made her climax.

Her sighs were the most erotic thing he had heard in ages. He fastened his lips there and he drank delicately of her, all while his hips rocked against her rear, the hand in her shirt traveling up to feel the metal in her nipple, clasping at the fullness of her breast as he nuzzled at her neck. He tasted of her, felt her, wanted more..

and now she looked...tied. As she had when he locked those arms behind her, ravished her with all the intensity she craved. Her coyness made him smile, all but pant. And at the taunting, he kissed her. He pressed his lips to hers. "You will...you'll have me back in your bed..." he pinched her nipple softly enough to bring wiht it authority. "Because it's what you want...because it's what I want..." He brought his hands to her top and delicately tugged it down to allow her breasts to spill free, before he was kissing over her neck again.

"It means me...with you, Rhia. Now...and for the nights to follow." He locked her wrists in place behind her. "As I want. As you want....tell me what you want..." he bit at her neck again, harder this time before his hands found her breasts. "I'll give you the choice, if you desire it...in your bed. over your couch...or one then the other...you know full well, my Rhia...I know your desires as well as I know myself. Unchain yourself...because that's MY job."

 

[Karma.]

The bite into her neck was... different. Rhiannon didn't know what to think because before, it had been so painful, blunt teeth pressing into her skin, tearing into her like some hungry animal. But this didn't feel like that. She wasn't sure if she was just stronger in terms of her pain tolerances or missing something. Still... she pressed herself back against him, closed her eyes, and stood on her tiptoes to secure his mouth in deeper to her neck. If this was how this situation was now, he could bite into her anytime, and she would crumble at his feet. He had her now.

Pulling away was a struggle only because she was intoxicated by how he pressed into her and claimed her neck as his once more. But she had to tease him. It was in her nature, in her very make. He just brought out this side of her that begged to be acknowledged, and he had a good handle on how to make that happen. As he spoke, she listened intently, falling into old habits of obeying his every word, even more so as his hand snaked up the delicate hem of her skirt and cupped her breasts once more, fingering at the ring. How she longed for him to pull or bite at her once more, and that was becoming apparent in the way she shifted from one leg to the other in anticipation.

Rhiannon wanted to believe his words, that he would be with her now and every night after, but it was difficult to assume that when he had been gone so long, he could have changed; a fling here and now wasn't out of the ordinary when meeting up with a past flame. Despite her submissive behavior at this moment, Rhiannon wasn't that type of girl. She wasn't the kind to give up everything she had for one person... but he was her exception; It was the hold on her that she couldn't move away from. Lost in thought, she closed her eyes and let out a pain whimper at the new bite on her neck, overlapping the other, and then gripped his shirt and pulled him closer. It was short-lived as his words hunger-laden filled her ears, giving her options she desperately wanted. She looked to the couch, then down the hall to her room, and couldn't decide what would be better in this moment.

Letting out a shaky breath, Rhiannon looked up at him. Her lip trembling as she tried to push back the pleasure of his hand against her skin so cool and welcoming against her own, which seemed to rise with need steadily. Quickly, she grabbed his hand from under her dress and pulled him along with her to the bedroom, determination, in each graceful barefoot step. Releasing his hand to undo the rest of the buttons of her dress, she let it fall from her frame and then to the floor at her feet, completely naked now in the pale light of the room. This also concealed the blood that slowly trickled its way down her exposed caller and breast, marring it in crimson. Gently, Rhiannon pulled her ash-blonde hair to the side and looked back at him over her slender shoulder.

Rhiannon typically would have fallen to her knees, submitting for him. But not tonight. He would have to earn back her submission, much like he had the first met. With a sultry smile, she looked away from him into the vast expanse of darkness, " Well... What are we waiting for?"

 

[Vinaein]

When his fangs slipped delicately into her neck, he ensured Rhia would feel pleasure. Vampires had unique abilities, perhaps linked to the bite, to press those they fed on into a state of euphoria. He came Rhiannon a taste of pleasure, feeling the tremors of her body, feeling her become his. He felt the yielding of her body, felt her press into him as he answered her struggles with his unique claiming. He never wished to leave her, though. Not now, not ever again, not his Rhia.

But pull away she did with a secret reservoir of power he had not been aware she had. He stared at her, the grin on his face as he looked her over. Rhiannon was a submissive, in all the best of ways. No pleasure doll to be used, no...Rhia was a sub who reveled in it. She was a sub who had the power. She forced him to exert himself, forced him to creativity and hidden within their games was the safe word, the signal she could wield to revoke the power she gave to him.

Just the thought of it brought him to stiffness and to passion. He took her. He pulled her to him, he kissed her with an ardent fire, with a passion embrace as he sealed his lips to her own. His hands covered her breasts, squeezing and feeling the softness of her skin as he rocked his body to hers. She pulled him against her as he whispered sweet endearments, told her what he wished to do. The memories filled him, from her laying back, her legs spread so wide for him, her bent over, her reddened rear lifted for him...

He barely remembered the strip to the bedroom, going briefly in to lick away the trail of sweet blood...and then he pulled back to see her. There was Rhiannon. There was his Rhia. There was his lover...her curvaceous figure, her full breasts, her moon-pale flesh all exposed for him. And she was challenging him again. He liked it.

But it was not with fury and fire that he set upon her. Taking her shoulders in hand, he backed her away to the bed, setting her down as his shirt came loose, then his pants. Laying her back, her straddled her, kissing her lips, then her neck, before he kissed to the valley between her breasts. He kissed one nipple, taking it into his mouth, metal and sweet flesh mingling.

"You'll submit. You'll beg," he whispered as his mouth went down, his tongue flicking against her belly. Down he went, to kiss between her legs, halting there to turn and nip at her inner thigh. He teased like that a while, making to taste her, but pulling beg as he ordered her to beg, to submit in full, offering her a taste of pleasure he would not give...

Not yet. Not until she did. But when she did...she would find his mouth fastened between her legs, his tongue sliding into her womanhood with tenderness and hunger alike. He would not force her submission yet. He would make her hunger to give in. To be his.

 

[Karma.]

Rhiannon sat poised on the bed, her eyes trained on him, her back straight, and her shoulders had rolled back to show that she still retained some form of their training. She watched the shirt fall from his body, then his pants. He still was the same as she had remembered, and she wanted to reach out to touch his cool skin and claim it with her fingertips once more. He was perfect. Compared to her, he almost appeared to be carved from marble, which to her was something she would never compare someone to. She wasn't sure if it was their time apart that she was seeing him in a new light or if he had spent his time away like her. Either way, she adored every part of him, every shadow that dares touch his skin-- she envied them. Slowly as he moved back to her, she slid to her back, first propping herself up on her forearms, then allowing them to slide out from under her as they kissed. Her lips were fire, her tongue lashing out to taste and savor his own before he pulled away to tend to her hardened nipples.

With the gentle arch of her body, she ran her fingertips through his hair, gripping gently as she still wasn't sure if the blood had been from a head wound. Even now, she was still mindful of the situation they were in. She wondered if the sweet smell of rose that she had bathed herself in lingered on his senses was it attractive and alluring as she would have hoped? Her lips parted as she focused on his tongue, and a soft gasp of her own escape into the air, filling the quiet, darkened room.

You'll submit. You'll beg.

Was he so sure? Her body shivered under him, so absent of touch, and she didn't know how to react now. Even nerve was set alight, calling out to him. Every kiss that had been placed on her body had been something of a blow. She wanted to fight him; her gentle chuckle came out like whimpers and whines of frustration. His lips found her inner thigh, and she pressed her lips tightly together and let her hands fall from his head to the bed, where she gripped the bedding tightly. She couldn't hold in her desires long as she squirmed just from his touch. Maybe now wasn't the time to fight him. all they had ever done was fight.

"Please." It was a simple word, but as it spilled from her lips like lava, she knew he would find this a challenge for her. "Please." The urgency was riddling her body like hundreds of nerve endings bursting. She pulled her legs up to the edge of the bed and then slid them open, displaying herself to him. Soon after, she felt the warmth of his tongue, yet it had become cooler from their brief embrace. She adored the way he tended to her, tasing every drop of essence she oozed from her depths. In this position, arching her back was slightly more difficult, so she opted to tilt her head back and press it into the bed. Her fingers released the bedding, and she brought them up over her head and tangled her fingertips into her own hair while exuding a gentle, hungry moan-- begging for more.

 

[Vinaein]

Discarding his clothing felt only right and proper, like a secret ritual between the two of them. He disrobed himself, taking his time to cast away the shirt, then the pants to reveal his body to her; strong, muscled, powerful...just as he knew she remembered it. His body was pale, with a scar to his left hip. His smile hid the fangs as the shadow and moonlight touched him...he was leaning her back with rough kisses, trying to prove to them both this was reality. This was no dream, he thought. This was here for them, for BOTH of them. Him and Rhiannon, alive together this night.

And he worshiped her body like a proper submissive; every inch of her, every mark, from her stiffening nipples to the sweetness of her stomach. They had done so much together in this bed before. Sometimes they had lain together with sweetness and care, wrapped in warmth together...other times rough and heated, as if seeing how much the other could endure. Sometimes he had spanked her hard, using his hands or a paddle or a strap to see what she could endure before entering her. Sometimes he made her beg...

And he knew she was his. when his mouth touched the inside of her thighs. When he kissed the sweetness between her legs and her hands tangled into his hair, he heard the one word: 'Please.' Please, a word that contained all the feeling in the world for him. She was his, that word signified. It was a brand upon her, a badge that she donned voluntarily. She was his and she was going to be rewarded for it at last.

So he ate. He feasted upon her. His mouth fastened between her legs as his tongue eased its way into her. He licked inside her body, his enhanced senses filled her with scent and taste. He released her before she could crest over the edge of ecstasy. He kissed his way up her body, adjusting her legs and he waited until his eyes were upon him before he entered her.

He sank inside her, warmth to warmth now. He filled her body, easing in with torturous slowness before he began to move in a rhythm that memorialized all of her. Stroke after stroke as he remembered how to master her pleasure.

"Mine." That word said it all. "Say it."

 

[Karma.]

Rhiannon's eyes closed as she enjoyed the gentleness of kisses and the way his tongue caressed her, like fingertips upon her cheek. As he pulled up and away from between her legs, her eyes fluttered open curiously. She tried to calm her breathing, but it was all so much. In the darkness, she could see the glint in his eyes dispute the shadows that clung to the interior of the room. She was hungry for him, her breathing shallower, and her body stretched as he pulled her legs apart further, forcing every muscle to stretch and twitch under the new position. It had been so long.

As he eased into her, she whined quietly and twisted her body slightly to place herself in a more comfortable position. Despite the uncomfortable entry, Rhiannon was happy with herself and having not taken another lover in their time apart. Each touch he brought down on her body was like fire. She eased into a more comfortable position to match his slow, teasing rhythm. Bringing her arms up over her head, she twisted a few of her fingers together and bared her body to him. Rhiannon didn't want to muster up words to tell him she was his. So instead, her head tilted slightly, and she batted her eyelashes at him, teasing him now.

Each new stroke carved into her and made her nerves tingle and her skin prickle. "Please, Adam."

It was almost as if that word was the only one currently in her vocabulary. His name etched into her mind like a memory. While subtle, she could not shake the need to test his endurance against her stubborn behavior. A smile worked over her lips, matching the mischievous nature that brewed behind hazel eyes.

 

[Vinaein]

Adam's pale fingers brushed against her soft cheek, against the warmth of her living skin. His mouth found hers again, his hands cupping her face to bare her to his kiss. He could sense the fluttering of her pulsing heart, the racing beat sending blood coursing through her veins in pace for her arousal. His mouth lingered to hers. Her legs were spread open for him, allowing him to fit and ease between him, his own body all but shivering with urgent need. The piercings of her nipples caught the light and he sank into her.

The tightness of her body, the whimpering and the motions. He paused slightly to allow her to adjust to a position of ease and comfort, helping her to remain there for the maximum amount of pleasure. His smile was reassuring, the gentle expression of a good master who knew how to pleasure the woman sworn to him. His hips moved, pushing forward as he eased inside her as he had so many times before.

The way her lashes fluttered. He loved this about her; the fierce pride. Never did he feel her as a slave. Any ownership was given freely, any mastery he took over her body was earned by him. She splayed herself out, displaying that body to him with nothing short of incredible pride in herself. When he determined her body could handle it, he sped up with a firm push. Another, a third, the pace quickening as he sought to master her.

And he was taking her as he wanted, as she wanted, pushing in and out of her to surrender to the abandon they desired after so long. "Rhia...you're mine." It barely needed to be said. In the throes of passion, his mouth sound her neck, his fangs piercing into the flesh there as he began to sip.

All while he continued to take her to new heights of rapture.

 

[Karma.]

It was difficult to say If Rhiannon could feel Adams heartbeat at this moment or if this was her own. All she knew was that the cool brush of his lips against hers and the firm grip he had both mentally and physically on her was desperately needed. Rhiannon was surprised. She had always been once he had gotten his hands on her, truly a bond that one couldn't explain unless they had dabbled in this lifestyle. Secret and alluring-- she relished at this moment as they basked in each other. Rhiannon could feel his eyes on her, drinking her in like some kind of elixir. Deprived.

Her moans were soft, and she had never been one to be loud and unruly in this situation, though she couldn't promise that their fights prior had been anything but quiet. Little whimpers, caged behind her feverish lips, tried to push past the confines. She wanted him in every which way, undecided and hungry for what she had missed. He couldn't do every single thing she loved in one night, but truthfully she feared him leaving again. Abandoning her to sit in her own thoughts and emotions. She hated it... even though she preached it now. Each thrust brought a squirm and a gasp of enjoyment, a whimper of pleasure, and then finally a much-needed arch of approval.

Quickly she gripped his shoulders. Her painted nails dug into his muscle, warm fingertips pressed into cool skin. As he became quicker, claiming her as he had once before, her moans and gasps became silent, displayed on her open mouth and firm grip. she thrashed her head to the side, displaying her neck, and then the moment he sank his teeth into she yelped and whimpered.

"Adam..." It was a soft disgruntled whimper. Her nails moved from his shoulders to his chest to try and push against him while her legs pulled up to fight against the pain that coursed through her. This didn't feel as gentle as the first bite he had placed on her body when they reconciled. She could only contribute it to the fact her body was coursing with adrenaline and weakened from the result.

Rhiannon's eyes opened, and she saught the strips of moonlight as her vision grew blurry from tears forced out by the pressure his teeth provided. It was brief, but her body was in shock, fighting and struggling, and then.... numb.

Rhiannon wanted to believe she had never experienced this before, but the truth of the matter was she could only describe it as a relief. When the weather would change slightly, she could feel the migraine storm, and in that situation, she would take a much-needed trip to the emergency room for fluids. The pain was so intense, just like her life had been, and it hurt beyond belief, but the moment the saline hit her veins and the cloudy feeling had dissipated, she felt calm, at peace, numb. That was how she viewed him, the calm to the storm that was her life and her thoughts. Truly it was beautiful, and at this moment, as he pinned her to the bed and drank from her, she couldn't fight him; she didn't want to. Slowly, Rhiannon let herself succumb, let her body fight and struggle for peace before inevitably falling limp. She was his now.

 

[Vinaein]

With his fangs embedded into her neck, Adam drew in Rhiannon's blood. As his sire had explained to him, feeding was a pleasure beyond human comprehension practically. It was the most intimate of acts to draw another's life fluids into them and a vampire could control it, to make it even more pleasure for their 'victim.' Adam synchronized their bodies, taking in Rhia's blood as he pushed himself into her again and again. His fingers linked in her own, squeezing reassuringly.

He wouldn't hurt her beyond the bounds she desired. He never would. He never could. He kept moving, pushing in and out of her as he helped her keep the pace. He felt the pace of her heart while he took her. He felt it race, felt it hammer within her chest as his fingers toyed with the piercings at her breasts. The things he wanted to do with her, all the memories flooding back to him as his movements between her thighs continued.

The grip of her hands on his shoulders made him smile as his motions turned how she remembered. This was branding himself into her body, making her remember one inescapable fact in all the world: She belonged to him and only him. He withdrew his fangs, licking the wounds to seal them.

And she gave in. She surrendered. She was his. So he reared up and took hold of her hips. He flipped her over, planing her on all fours, leaning over to pin her as he adjusted her hair to kiss at her neck. Only to kiss this time, no biting. "you like this, Rhiannon...?" He began to thrust, deeper into her from behind, faster and harder as he showed the mastery he had for her body. His hand seized her hair, giving a light pull to remind her, as if it was a lesh to clutch her with.

"Move with me...you're mine..."

 

[Neopyric]

Rhiannon moved with Adam, like the waves of the ocean crashing desperately into each other numbed by the sudden lighting of his bite. She let out a gasp of surprise which bled into a low audible moan; he would bring her to her end if he wanted. she felt that it was strange that her head swam as it was, exhausted and tired, she stretched her arms over her head and weakly gripped the sheets.

It seems that the moment had been so brief and electric and when she woke the next morning, the sunlight bathed her body in golden color. Rhiannon blinked a few times, sleep still trying to claim her body like a sinful demon. She didn't want to fall asleep, she worried that the moment her eyes closed he was gone like fog on the distant horizon of a cold lake. but here he lay, tangled in the sheets with her. She pushed her body up on the bed, perching on her forearms like a cat, and looked over him admiring his unchanged form in thought. Bravely, her arm lifted and stretched out from the sunlight into the shadows of where he lay and she slid her warm fingertips over his skin. Maybe it was the early morning hours that his body was chilled, she didn't know. Instead, she leaned over and placed a gentle kissed on his ribs and moved out of the bed and to her closet.

Shaking a robe from one of the hangers she pulled it on and padded her way through the home into the kitchen to work on a cup of coffee. She watched the sunrise alone in the kitchen, pulling herself up onto the counter while the coffee brewed next to her. This moment felt both familiar and distant and she wondered if she was stuck in this dream still. It was the sound of her cellphone vibrating on the coffee table in the living room that snapped her back into reality. Hopping down from the counter she headed into the living room and snapped up the phone to read the incoming text.

​

Rhiannon set her phone down on the coffee table and bit at her thumbnail in thought. Of course, Daniel would take her spot, he was gunning for the Ocean project this entire time. This irritated her, but she wasn't in a position to argue with her own boss. Leaning back in her seat on the couch she thought a moment longer before standing and grabbing a mug to pour herself a cup of coffee.

 

[Vinaein]

When they were through, Adam waited a time, looking at the sleeping form of Rhiannon. How beautiful she was. Even more beautiful for his time away. There was so much he had wanted to tell her, when the desire and feelings had drawn him back. Was this wrong, perhaps? Was it foolishness? He was no longer human, after all. Being here might even place her in danger, could it not? The thought was a galvanizing bolt to him. They had never been perfect, all the fighting and argument. Their relationship had never been perfect. But it had been theirs.

It had been something of their own. It had been something special and beautiful, something they had cultivated together for all the imperfection. IT was something he had wanted. Something, he was aware, he still wanted. What a pathetic member of the vampire community he was to pine over a human like this.

But he slept. He slept beside her, waiting until the day and awoke to find Rhiannon there. The day made him weaker, sleepier. But even that did not let him miss the feel of Rhia's lips on his body. He stirred briefly, hearing her depart the bed and dress, hearing her go...he had taken some blood, nothing debilitating, but it would sate him for a time. By all the hells below, her taste lingered upon his tongue, he thought. How bad he still wanted her...

How his heart still pulsed for her. How much she still filled his soul. The others would sneer at him, as they had before he had departed....his sire would glare at him, furious how much he risked. At last he found the strength to pull himself from the bed, wrapped in the sheets as he found his clothing. The scent of coffee reached him as he walked out, beholding Rhiannon there.

Just like old times, he thought. "...Everything alright, Rhia? Stuff at work...?"