Stay With Me [Ciara & Dimitri]

[Ciara Devlin - Council]

“Feed us, feed us. Please, we are hungry, Shadow. Ever so hungry.”

The eerie hauntings of the Elders whined within each nook and cranny of her mind in a series of screams which beckoned her from her slumber; striking features crunched together as the morning light broke through the barrier of her eyelashes. With cupped fists, she rubbed her eyes with the back of her hands before sitting up and on the edge of her bed; the sounds of her sisters on the other side of the door caused her to shake her head. Yet, it was not her sisters that got her to get ready quickly, it was her. -  Matron, they called her; nothing more, nothing less. The name haunted the hallways of Hallows Hill Manor, echoed round spacious rooms and more importantly, it etched itself to the back of every young banshee’s throat. “Yes Matron, No Matron” Robotic, monotonic and lifeless; character, personality and individuality all relentlessly stripped from her children, plucked with precision and ease.They are one of the same; they are a moulding of her. Those that dared to defy her would be punished in the most undesirable of ways; as Ciara found out.

Beneath the deafening silence of the many footsteps coming to a halt and the sounds of girls holding their breath; Ciara could hear the faint ticking of the Matron’s shoes, causing her to make her bed as quickly as possible only to stand beside it with a childlike grin upon her features. Without a knock and without warning, The Matron barged into her room, her own mist covered gaze roaming around the state of the room before falling upon Ciara, she took one step closer. She smiled, a wicked curvature possessed aging lips, crows feet appeared at the edges of each eye and the back of bony fingers ran the length of Ciara’s flushed cheek. “If you do not feed them well today, it will not be you we will punish” The Matron cooed close to her ear, chilling breath freezing the lobe that it brushed over whilst a sinister laugh escaped her lips. “The Scream Chamber will reopen but, this time, the girl will be forced to swallow her scream" The air around the two women became palpable, so much so that Ciara began to hum a cheery tune, with a slight sway of her head. “Good girl, now go.” A kiss as sickly as nectar was placed upon her cheek, her tone ominous as it departed the tip of her tongue. Ciara gave her a child like smile with an agreeable nod.

Hallows Hill Manor stood tall, dying wisteria climbed the aged building as a permanent coating of mist painted the buildings bricks. Overindulging shrubbery nipped eagerly at passing ankles, whilst the distant whispers of the deceased echoed from the woodland’s deep belly. Skeletal branches waved in the breeze, beckoning anyone in who crosses it's path; wanting to swallow an individual whole within its shadows. Ciara found herself staring into the temptress for a few moments before setting off to find her prey this evening. The preselected male was not hard to find, he was a predictable creature and would be found in The Crowhurst bar, once again, cheating on his wife. The bitter taste of alcohol tickled hungry taste buds, the distant screams of her sisters screams rang in the distant air as she made her way towards his table; sitting opposite him with a wide grin.

“Shadow! Pleasure to meet ya!” Her Irish accent rolled effortlessly from her tongue; a wide grin on her features created dimples within her cheeks. The evening continued, a constant flow of conversations, laughter and flirtatious touching; of course, she had no intention of following through with her suggestive ways - it had been many, many years since she allowed a man to touch her or for her to touch him in that way. Ciara slithered her fingers through the gaps that his provided, there was a skip in her step as they left the bar and the man followed her eagerly. “Your name surely isn't Shhhadow" He slurred his repeated words as she guided him into one of the darkened alleys which looked as if it had fallen victim to an apocalypse; rubbish littered the floor and a singular rat scurried along the obstacles. Ciara grimaced internally at the scene, the screams in head growing in volume, in eagerness but also in sinister delight. 

“Feed us"

“Scream him”

“Shatter every bone in him"

They taunted her, urged her on as if they could control the very muscles in her body; she pressed the male against the wall, his hands found her waist much to her dismay before he leaned in to kiss her. Ciara allowed one kiss; the literal kiss of death before pulling her head back. “Say hello to Mister Devil for me when you get there! His dark magic gave me a second life” A light, teasing giggle bypassed her lips as he looked down at her in confusion and in silence. “Nooo, this is when you say, Yes Ciara, I will say hello to him for you. Go on, say it.” She pouted and prodded his shoulder.

“I knew you were too good to be normal” The male stammered and attempted to get away from his space between her and the wall; he only got so far before she channelled the scream which had been clawing at her lungs. Within seconds, his bones were licked with lightning as they cracked within his body and he dropped like thunder to the ground. Ciara managed to stand before him - her mouth wide as the scream erupted from her, windows cracking in the nearby radius as blood soon trickled from his ears, eyes and mouth. He looked up at her, pleading for her to stop but little did he know that her Elders were already feasting upon his soul. Her eyes had fully succumbed to the mist as the scream possessed her briefly, her fingers gave him a little wriggle of a goodbye before he fully crumbled into a mess on the floor. Once she was sure he was gone, Ciara let out a prolonged exhale and leaned her hands on her thighs to catch her breath once again, wincing somewhat as her lungs cracked themselves ever so slightly at the pressure.

Fingers ran through her sun kissed locks vigorously as she composed herself. “Cor Blimey Cici, that was a good one. Good job" She grinned to herself before giving herself a pat on the back and going on her merry way. Just as she was about to reach the entrance of the alleyway, the moonlight rested against another man on his way home; she caught his profile and frowned. His hair, how he carried himself - Ciara tilted her head to the side like a confused puppy. “It couldn't be…. Dimitri?”

“It's him, look at him walking without a worry. As if your death didn't affect him”

Curiosity and a forgotten anger carried her forwards, remaining in the comfort of the shadows as she followed him.

[Dimitri Ezperanza-Colette]

"Time has never liked me, I am sure I could prove it." he chuckled and in one fell swoop his drink was gone and he did not even process that it was at first until the bartender was topping him off. Maybe he should sit he thought so he did, as a snort escaped him at her timeless joke, which lead to him humming as he thought about the next thing she said. It was he who was picking at the peanuts now wishing he could say he avoided every war that had passed since the day she died. Could he even be honest in telling her that he had been drowning in grief since that day and that it crippled him from doing important responsibilities like caring for his mental health or caring for their daughter? That was another topic he had his doubts they could not speak on just yet, Madeline was a sensitive topic and he could understand why but thinking of her now made him suddenly realize just how dreadful of a father he had been to her. 

I was so blind because all these decades Maddie was reaching into the dark pool of grief and always dragging me out and every time I would slap her away. Sometimes even drag her in with me and leave her there to drown... In her grief alone and yet she was always the only one to make it out. I took a very heavy breath realizing this and sipped my drink letting the cool smooth liquid burn on the way down. "I wish I could tell you." I huffed out honestly as I stared at the bartop and chewed the inside of my cheek. "Everything just seems a giant blur because I admittedly did not handle... Losing you well." I say softly below the chatter and music but know she heard me. "I know I did a lot of things I regret. Things I remember, things that come back to me, things I will never recall. " I say a bit louder than everything said before this as I look up and towards the liquor lined up on the back wall. I finish off my drink and the bartender is there to fill me up again so I silently thank him with a curt nod. "Maybe as time goes on I can bring myself to share it all with you."

He sits there silently for a few minutes nursing his drink before setting it down slightly stern. It took a second and namely because he did not want her to see the shame in his gaze as he looked at her, so he waited until his gaze was clear to do so. He took her in for a moment and unknowingly a small and yet still sad smile formed at the corner of his lips. Hesitantly he took her hand that was nearest him and his small smile faded "I am sorry." he said seriously like there was nothing more important in the world to be said at this moment. "I am sorry I could not keep you safe and protect you as I should have," he said with a frown as he kept his head down.  He played with her delicate fingers and avoided her eyes. Eventually turning back to the bar and set her hand free convincing himself that she did not want him touching her anymore before counting the empty wine bottles on the bar. He groaned "I am never catching up to you!" he gently chuckled out to lighten the mood again. 

[Ciara Devlin - Council]

Stay With Me

“Oh this? I scheduled to cry today, it just came early”

The question she asked seemed to have dazed him, put him in some kind of trance; yet, what could she expect? She is asking him to recount many, many years of history and in such little time. Ciara was sure that his life probably had the same, if not more drama and action than her history of being with The Matron. But through her blurring gaze, Ciara could tell that the simple question had triggered a waterfall of overwhelming emotion from him, and if she felt like she was drowning from his unseen memories, the likelihood was, he was too. She finished her glass, and instead of filling that up, it was easier to neck the bottle instead; the final, strong gulp had her shivering, her lips raspberrying at the taste and strength of the alcohol.

She swivelled on her stool to get a better look at him as he attempted to find the right words for her; it would appear that she was scowling at him, frowning even, but truth be told… She was seeing him triple. Which, being a selfish lover as she was, that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. “You never lost me, dummy. I would have been, and was always, right” She prodded a finger into the centre of his chest. “Right there. You just forgot to look is all” Ciara shrugged with a crooked smile. “Tell me you want to tell me in advance so I get popcorn, alcohol, comfy clothing for the long story” She grinned. .

The music roared around them, and their energy did not match those around and behind them, she was surprised the barmen hadn’t politely requested for them to leave before they turn this place into a funeral. Her grin faltered slightly, perhaps out of nervousness but it did the moment he took her fingers within his own; his apology tempted her eyes to water, and dared them to overflow. “Sorry for what? Me doing my job?” She shook her head. “Women died in that house more than I can count, that’s not your fault” She reassured him, but nodded slightly in recognition of his apology; a tell tell sign that her human, secured self hadn’t been completely destroyed by her crazy.

A tear did dare flow and run down her cheek, which she swiftly swept away with her palm. “Oh this? I scheduled to cry today, it just came early” Ciara mused and grinned as he noted the wine bottles. “You never could, slow poke” She drawled and stood, hooking her arm through his; they were going to dance.

[Dimitri Ezperanza-Colette]

This certainly was not the reunion he had imagined a thousand times over; in some cases, this was probably a better scenario than some of the ones his mind thought up when it was lost in the dark. This was going well... too well, in fact, he began to question it. Starting with the sudden question of if this was even real. Was this another trick from the Matrion? Was this a dream? A plot to get him to get the Banshees something only an Eternal could? Was this moment even happening at all? Yet the moment her finger Jabbed his chest his mind emptied itself of all its clouded thoughts just to hear her. Allowing her words to destroy the stormcloud above his head just as they always did. He could not help but lay his hand on top of hers for the moment knowing she would pull away. "Guess I forgot to look there when I forgot that giving you my heart was a figure of speech." A soft chuckle breathed out of his chest and he could see the bartender silently critique his words from the corner of his eyes.

"I shall give you fair warning to plot but only if you tell me your story at the same time." The edges of my lips curled upwards faintly but quickly dropped seeing her tear. My breath softly hitched... she was still in there somewhere... the woman I fell in love with. While it was very evident before this that she still cared one could never initially know how deep that care went. My hand rose to brush it away but was beaten to it as she clearly wished to avoid this altogether and changed the subject as she wiped the rogue off her face. I would not push it, I had gotten quite far with her today it seems, and did not want to ruin it. We had all the time in the world suddenly but it was a hard concept for me to accept immediately.  I would need time to convince myself she was here to stay and time to believe she would not be stolen again. I will not let that happen, not after the first time. I would - did she day dance?

He stumbled after her as she dragged him to the dance floor immediately seizing up once they arrived. When was the last time he danced? His brain thought but no answer was given causing him yet again to curse himself for having such a rotten relationship with Maddie. Theirs was one that when the opportunity arose to have a father-daughter dance they were never present or able... and by they it was namely him. Still, he could refuse Ciara there was very little he could refuse in regard to her and that alone was dangerous even with the circumstances now. He took a breath and loosened up as he gazed at her. "It's been... awhile... so I am rather rusty."