As Promised... (cont./Open) - The White Tower

"You didn't..." he drew his breath and let out a soft sigh that touched her lips. "The madman and his little pet did..."
The youth actually forced a smile as he brushed his thumb across her cheek with a light touch.

Still calm.
Probably just as well, he did much better work when he was calm. Anger simply clouded things and made them... messy. And when he did get his hands on the ghoul? Well, he didn't want to let her off the hook too fast..

"How are you feeling?"

"Pretty stupid, actually," she managed a weak laugh. "But I'm fine. Your blood helped," she smiled to him. "You helped."

Because it was a stupid idea to go over there in the first place...

He pulled back enough to look into her eyes as he tilted his head gently to the side and traced his fingers down her cheek and down the side of her neck.
"I'll speak with him..." the youth said after a few moments before easing his arms around her and picking her up off the floor as if she weighed nothing.

"Shower and a change of clothes... I probably got a few things that will fit you upstairs.."

She nodded in compliance, keeping a firm hold on him. "I'll have to burn these," she said about her bloodied clothes. She leaned her head to his shoulder, nuzzling against him. She was calmer now that he was calmer and was thankful he didn't just run out of the door right away. That could have been so much worse.

"I hope he listens to you when you do talk to him. I don't want him to get all defensive."

As if Charlie really cared if the Makavian was going to listen or not?

He didn't comment on it really, simply smiled and turned his head so to kiss her cheek before carrying her up the stairs and to the bedroom where he gently sat her down on the edge of the bed.
"Can throw the clothes in the fireplace later if you want" he brushed his hand across her cheek as he looked at her. "I'll get you some new ones mm?" Charlie smiled at her.

She smiled in return as she nodded. "Sounds good, sugar." She watched him for a few moments before beginning to strip down and out of clothes, careful as how she set them aside. She noticed the stains on her chest from the blood and sighed. A nice, long, hot shower.

For a vampire, she really didn't like the sight of blood.

He let her have the shower to herself, though followed her with his eyes until she was out of sight from where he was standing.

God damn it... some people shouldn't be allowed to have ghouls around in the first place...

The youth's fingers curled into tight fists, his body tensing again for a moment before turning his back to the bed and allowing himself to fall back onto it. One hand relaxing to cover his eyes as he muttered something less than kind under his breath.

Bitch would bleed... and Marvin? Oh he was going to have a talk with Marvin.

Cass remained in the shower until the water cooled significantly. When she was done and the water was off, she carefully dried off and inspected herself in the mirror there in the bathroom. She was whole at least, all traces of blood gone. Her face was fine. Though if she thought about it enough, she could still feel the sting.

She reappeared in the bathroom with the towel tightly around her. She looked to Charlie and sat next to him on the edge of the bed, running a hand down his arm reassuringly. Yes, she was trying to comfort him. But she really didn't know what to say. She knew he was still upset. Truth be told, so was she.

It wasn't until she touched him that he moved his hand from his eyes and looked up at her, gently brushing his fingers against her naked arm in return as he smiled.
"Much better..." Charlie sighed, a touch of his hand easing a few still wet locked from her shoulder before sitting upright himself. "Cuts and bruises doesn't suit you...." he whispered, leaning in and and kissing her shoulder with soft cold lips.

"I need to go out for a bit. Hunt... Will you stay here until I come back?" the youth asked gently as he looked up at her again and cupped her cheek with that same soft touch. "You can take of the clothes you want from the closest and I promise I'll be back before dawn"

She gave him an understanding smile. "I'll wait here, no problem. Just..." Just be careful... She wanted to say it, but he always says she worries, so she left the comment hang.

She kissed his cheek sweetly and softly.

"And if you're not back by dawn, I'll send a patrol," she grinned, pulling his lips to hers.

"Agreed.." he whispered against her lips, tasting them with another soft lingering kiss before pulling away, his hand lingering at her cheek for a few more moments with a smile as he turned and walked out of the room while grabbing a jacket on his way out.

Just hunt... He'd deal with the Malkavian and the bitch ghoul later.

She sighed heavily once he was gone and sank onto the bed where she stayed for some time before pushing herself back to her feet. Really, she didn't have much effort to do anything. It had been a trying night.

Slowly, she trudged to the closet and opened it up, not really sure what she was looking for. She ran her fingers through what was there and finally just settled on a shirt. Nothing fancy, just a plain old shirt. Charlie, thankfully, was much taller than she was, so the shirt actually covered her.

Leaving the closet open, she sat back down on the edge of the bed, checking the time on her phone...

Waiting was torture...

Actually...

If Cass stopped and thought about it, that shirt couldn't have fit Charlie either. It was much, much too large, the fabric still soft but showing a bit of aging as if the colours had faded somewhat. The cut, while shirts had a limited amount of things that could be done with them, seemed out of date. Way out of date actually.

That shirt had not been made for Charlie. If anything it had belonged to someone much larger, yet it had been hung in the closet next to his own.

Oh dear. This wouldn't do, not at all. Quickly the shirt came off and she moved back to the closet. She hung it up precisely-- no... EXACTLY the way she found it. Though she did look at it for a few moments as she reached to put it back. And then... something caught her eye. A book?

She looked around for a moment before deciding that the best way to reach was to just jump. It took her a couple of attempts before she could reach it and pull it down. She opened the cover carefully and found herself staring at... pictures...

No, that wouldn't intrigue the photographer, would it?

She stood with her shoulder against the wall and simply went through it.

The photoalbum, which at first didn't seem to cover any specific event or theme, contained a fair few pictures, all of which were of people.

Some where in colour and by the looks of it taken by professionals, some were in black and white, slightly faded but still good at least if one took into consideration the age of some of them which, judging by clothes and photo quality, probably ranged from near 100 years up to present time. A few looked like they were just snap shots taken on a whim, capturing a moment or a feeling the face of the person displayed on them.

They looked like memories.

A few seemed to stand out though, one man repeatedly showing up in several of them. In a couple he was bloodied and dirty but still grinning where he sat in the mud of a trench dressed in an American uniform, WW1 if she knew anything about history. There were a fair few more, a couple of him dressed in suits, one or two that were probably from the Vietnam war, some that where unmistakably from WW2 if the uniforms were anything to go by. A few newer ones, portraying him through the ages from posed pictures to the kind that had been taken at just the right moment whether by chance or good planning.
A few even had him and Charlie captured in the same frame, giving her a slight point of reference as the man towered next to the scrawny looking youth.
The name Sam Hensley was carefully written underneath a few of them with a delicate handwriting.

Several more were of other men and women, a couple probably more prominent than others in that they were of high quality and obviously professionally posed and shot. Charlie with two girls actually amounted to a short series of sort with a total of six shots. Most of which had been taken in the same setting by the looks of it, but one which still stood out from the rest as it was of the women asleep in bed, one resting her head on the other's shoulder. They looked peaceful, a smile across their lips. It couldn't have been too old a picture really, perhaps twenty-thirty years at most?
The names Annabelle Williams and Rose Michel Durant written underneath it.

And then there was one man, appearing solo in all his pictures. Tall, 6'6'' at least, broad shouldered and well muscled, beautiful in fact. More beautiful than any mortal. The oldest pictures looked like they were from 1920-1930 somewhere, the newest? Perhaps from the 1960's or so, it was hard to tell.
In a few of them he was obviously posting for the picture, his chiseled features not showing much emotion though doing nothing to detract from his looks. In a couple he could be seen sitting by a desk, working or reading. Though the one that probably stood out the most was of him, sitting in a comfortably looking chair with a book in one hand and his elbow propped up on the arm rest with his chin resting against the back of his hand, staring directly into the camera with a smile that was simply dazzling as if having caught the photographer sneaking the shot.
The name Italus was written underneath that picture.

Cass managed to get through the entire album before she suddenly felt very guilty for prying. But the uniforms, she knew them. In fact, the shots brought up some of her own memories, though they weren't very pleasant.

Of the women and Charlie, she merely smiled. Somehow, the poses didn't surprise her. Nor the context. The pictures of Sam however were even more interesting. She knew the name, of course. But to actually see a picture of him made it real. So many people hurt by his death and here he was, staring back at her.

She even teared up a little.

Of course, the teary eyes stopped the moment she laid eyes on Ithalus. God... so gorgeous. Idly she began to wonder if these pictures were of former lovers.

She chuckled as she closed the album and stood to put it back, the images locked in her head. Obviously, he knew his way a camera... Was it a poor gift choice?

No matter. She shook her head and pulled another shirt from the closet, judging it for size and hoping it wasn't something too good for her to sleep in.

But her thoughts were with Charlie and the picture album. Not that she didn't think of him as a person with emotions or a past before, but... it was so much more real now.

She laid down on the bed on her stomach and pulled a pillow over her head as she just... thought.

It was a while longer before the youth returned, the door to the bedroom swinging open with barely a sound as he stepped inside with an equally silent step as if afraid she might've already fallen asleep that him returning would wake her.
He had his jacket resting over one arm, the leather weapon harness hanging off one shoulder. No blood or sings of fighting though. So chances were he'd actually only gone hunting as he'd said he would.

The hell if she was going to be asleep before he got back. She pulled the pillow off of her head and sat up, turning to face him with her knees up tight to her chest. She pushed her hair behind her ears and gave him a slight smile.

"I was starting to get worries," she said honestly. "Good hunt tonight?" She gestured him over with a wiggle of her finger.

He smiled when she sat up, the fire that had been lurking in the back of his eyes seemingly all gone now as he was just his normal, calm self.
"Always" the youth said with a soft chuckle, dropping the weapon harness, still with the weapons in it, on the nightstand before sitting down on the edge of the bed so that he could face her as he reached out and traced his fingers through her hair and across her shoulder.
"You? I hope you haven't been too bored" Charlie smiled at her.

"No, I wasn't bored at all. My excitement came early enough tonight that I was fine with some quiet time." She smiled, holding a finger under his chin and pulling his lips to hers in a welcoming kiss.

"You look much better. That makes me happy." She continued to watch him with a soft gaze.

As his lips touched hers, he closed his eyes with a soft sigh and returned the kiss gently before looking up at her with a lingering smile.
"You look better yourself..." the youth tilted his head to the side and brushed his fingers through her hair again. "Much better..." he actually seemed a bit relieved about that. "And you're sure you've been alright?"

"Yes, I've been fine. Promise," she smiled and leaned against him. "I have been quite content lounging. Good for the mind, you see." She smiled and curled against him. " Come to bed?"

"Mm... in a second" he smiled as he nuzzled against her soft hair with his arm around her for a moment before pulling away as he stood up and wandered to the bathroom while his hands moved to unbutton his shirt.
He left the door open, allowing the sound of running water to escape through it, following by that of fabric being discarded and thrown aside. A couple of minutes later she emerged through the door again, a few drops of water in her hair, the shirt still on her shoulders though open, revealing that the wrappings around her chest had been taken off at least.
The panties though were feminine even if the shirt wasn't.

The youth tilted her head to the side as she ruffled her hair with a slender hand and walked over to the bed.
Charlie, Charlize, there was a difference though it was all in the little details. Like how she moved, how she carried herself or spoke.

Cass watched and as Charlize came near, she slid over to the other side of the bed, pulling sheet up to invite her in. "You look so much more comfortable without your wrappings."

She smiled to her, even as she absently ran the back of her hand over her mouth. "I hope this shirt was alright to borrow?"

"Oh, I don't mind them anymore" she smiled as she climbed into bed and eased in under the sheets to get close to Cass. "They're a natural part of my wardrobe by now" the youth said as she tilted her head to the side and let her gaze move across the Rose for a moment before finding her eyes again.

"Of course" Charlie touched a finger to the woman's chin. "Anything in my wardrobe you're free to wear. Besides... this looks better on you"