Opening the floodgates (Macklyn)
It had been a long five months.
Eric had given it a try, trying to hold reign on a normal type of a life. But the days were restless and the nights stretched out far too long. Every time he closed his eyes he didn't feel rested in spite of being so exhausted to the point of collapsing, and when he awoke during the evening hours it felt too long. He had adapted his sleeping schedule to be awake during the nights in hopes of catching John at the studios. Eric had been desperately trying to distract himself from the emptiness, but each day that came and went seemed like an eternity. The misery overwhelmed him when he was alone in that damned apartment. And the calendar on his mobile phone was all too eager to keep track of the days and nights so he didn't have to. They had flown by, each one had escaped him, and now he was convinced that this facade of an existence was no longer worth the effort.
Before....before the transformation into what he was presently, Eric had been able to be by himself with no concern. He hadn't needed anyone else, hadn't needed contact and presence of others to be happy. He loathed that the fairy part of him yearned so badly for that contact, the subtle motion of normal interaction. Being in Lee's presence helped, finding her on the wall was always a treat, and then there had been John. All of the time they spent together was nice, having someone to compose with, that understood the depth of music...but no matter how much time Eric spent with his friend it didn't ease him. This life he had built in Macklyn's absence was no life at all. In fact, each time Eric awoke to face the moon it was with dread. It felt like dying over and over again and he couldn't put up with it anymore.
Having made up his mind a few days ago, Eric knew it was best to escape this place while he could. There was nothing left for him here. He had entrusted Selina with Saucer, something that felt like abandoning part of his heart to a woman whom would only crush it beneath her shoe if she got the chance, but Saucer would be safer with her. And it was one less tie to the misery that had plagued him for the last five months.
This was the eve of the eve of his death. It loomed before him like a shadow and it made him hate the apartment more than usual. The couch where he slept during the day was a mess, his constant tossing and turning sending the cushions and blankets to the floor. The bedroom had remained untouched, the apartment itself was as much of a ghost as he felt like. Coats of dust covered much of it. He avoided the place when he could but having no place else to go made this the only true dwelling. He had toyed with the idea of burning it to the ground and each step closer he came to the 30th, the more pleasing the idea became.
Tonight he planned on going to the studio, though. There was a track that needed to be laid down and tampered with, and it was unfinished. He couldn't leave it like that. Hopefully John would show up at some point during the evening to approve it. If the vampire did, Eric would leave him the keys to the place. Eric knew John would keep it up and use it, which was what he had wanted.
But then something changed.
He had been about to put his keys in to the pocket of his leather jacket when he felt something in his mind switch onward and a flood of things returned. At first, it was a bit overwhelming, the connection coming back. Eric closed his eyes and savored it, letting relief wash over him. He wouldn't get his hopes up, not yet, but this was a start.
Another moment and he heard Bran in his head speaking to him.
Mara is here. She is beckoning us to return. It is time.
His eyes opened slowly. Eric wasn't sure if he was ready to face Macklyn yet. They had ended on such terrible terms and he was aware that his mate wouldn't have forgotten it. Eric couldn't even think to utter the word 'vampire' in regards to himself. He no longer thought about that part of himself. Buffy knew the phantom and the fairy, but only because of her occupation, and John wasnt worldly enough to know the difference in species.
It was time to go home.
Squaring his shoulders, Eric did push the keys in to his pocket and he was out the door of the apartment in a flash. It didn't take him long to find his way back to the little house that had once seemed a distant memory. Looking at it was painful.
Bran took his usual spot on the roof and the hybrid approached the front door unsure of what he would find. It took only a moment to open the door to the house, and once he had crossed the threshold he peered around at the dark, stale atmosphere. It felt like a shell of what had been there previously.
He wasn't sure if Macklyn was there waiting for him, they had a lot to catch up on when they did find each other again. It seemed best to just hang around and wait. He'd waited long enough already, what was a few minutes more? Slowly, Eric made his way further in to the house and settled into a shadow thrown by the kitchen to wait.