tarnished_ (![[info]](https://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} tarnished_) wrote in ![[info]](https://www.insanejournal.com/img/community.gif){kind=small} beforedawn_ic,@ 2025-02-12 20:41:00 |
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What: Sterling seeks out help
When: The next day after this
Where: Gage's
Rating: low
Sterling had limited time to do what he needed to do. He went to his hotel and packed up his stuff. The product that he needed to make or ship out, he arranged to have delivered to his new place of residence. There would be several boxes. #sorrynotsorrycastor
But now - fuck, he was loathed to do this but he needed help more than not doing it would allow. Fuck his pride or ego or whatever. He walked into Gage's shop and glanced around. Gage knew this town. He might be able to help.
---
Gage had just finished with a client and was heading up front when he spotted Sterling. That was unexpected. Almost as unexpected was the look on his face. Making his way to the front he tilted his head. "I'm surprised to see you here. What's up?"
---
I done fucked up was on the tip of his tongue but now was not time to make light of the situation. Sterling had done fucked up plenty of times before, usually because he was on something and it was the consquences of his actions. No, he wasn't oblivious enough that he would deny he used sex as a substance. He did. Okay. So he did done fucked up.
"I need help," Sterling said, "I didn't know where else to go. I'm sorry."
---
Gage's eyes widened and he nodded. "Come on, lets go to my office and we can talk." He took Sterling's hand and quickly led him to his office, closing the door behind them. He sat and motioned for Sterilng to sit if he wanted. "What's going on?"
---
Sterling let Gage take his hand and he followed his ex to his office. He sat down and hesitated. Yeah, there was no good way to say this.
"I hooked up with a guy, who turned out to be a vampire, who slapped this collar on me and is keeping me," Sterling said flat out, "I can't take the collar off and I don't know how to get out of this."
---
The hooking up? That didn't surprise him. The rest of it? That was unexpected. He opened his mouth and closed it as his brain tried to get hold of what Sterling was saying. "Well, fuck." He blew out a breath. "What's the vampire's name?" Gage wondered if he had heard of him.
---
"Castor... something?" Sterling winced. He made a really bad decision, "His sire's name is Ares? They have a fucking swank house. They... have others they keep too. Like this is normal." Except Sterling had heard whispers of a human trade within the vampire world but he avoided that the best he could. He never thought he would end up here.
---
Gage hadn't heard of this Castor but he knew Ares. He hoped it wasn't the same guy but as Sterling kept talking he paled a little. "Well, fuck." He said again. "I don't know this Castor but I've heard of Ares. And none of it is good. He's vampire royalty. And not the good kind."
---
"What do you mean vampire royalty?" Sterling asked, "Did vampires even have royalty?" Fuck. That didn't sound good. Explained the swanky place but, fuck. He rubbed his face.
"I don't know how to get out of this," Sterling said, "Fuck. I'm so stupid. I figured we were having fun and then he tells me he wants to keep me and I thought he was being cute, you know? Not literal."
---
"So there's a group of old as fuck vampires who have basically made themselves out to be the biggest and baddest of the species. At least in this general area. They run half the city and pretty much do as they please. Including buying, selling and trading humans as pets."
Taking a deep breath, he blew it out slowly. "Did he tell you what he wants you for? I mean, I know you're good in bed and all.." he tried to tease but it fell flat. "Don't beat yourself up too much. He probably would have snagged you either way, you just made it less painful."
---
Fuck. That didn't sound good. If Castor got tired of him, would he sell him? He reached up and tugged on the collar. It was stupid. He knew it wasn't coming off. He tried for a while last night but he couldn't get it to budge.
"To be available to him?" Sterling shrugged, "I don't even want to think about what that means. He doesn't really know what kind of magic I have and I can't imagine what I can do is useful to anyone. I am thinking of filling the place up with ghosts and watch them go insane however."
---
"That's ominous." Gage winced slightly but then snorted out a laugh. "Okay, as much as I'd like to see that I wouldn't recommend it. It won't do you any good to be dead." Gage chewed on his lip. "Not knowing what he wants you for makes it harder to come up with something to offer him in exchange." He didn't mean it to sound as crass as it did, he was just trying to think of alternatives. "Obviously he let you out so you're not locked in some dungeon. That's good at least."
---
"I may be also be available to Ares? Which I also don't like the sounds of," Sterling sighed, "Yeah, I have no idea what to offer him. I mean, our relationship was based on sex. It wasn't like there was a deep conversation to be had. I could try to talk to him and figure out his interest but..." he didn't want to.
Sterling rolled his eyes, "I said I would play nice. I'm staying with them in that house. Which, yay, free housing, but not the way I want. I should have left this town sooner."
---
Gage grimaced a little. That didn’t sound good either. “But you don’t want to interact any more than you have to?”
As much as he didn’t want to agree, if Sterling had left he wouldn’t be in this mess but it didn’t need to be said. “Sadly that’s probably the safest play.” He bit at the side of his cheek as he thought through things. “I don’t know anyone personally who has dealt with this before but I can put out some feelers. See if I can learn anything that can help.” Gage sighed softly. “That sounds so empty”
—-
“If I’m going to be… their bedroom toy, I rather not be,” Sterling said. He rubbed his face again. Fuck. He was really stuck, wasn’t he?
“Nah, I get it. Didn’t really think you could just get me out of this. I just got to get out of this collar and then… I don’t know. Fuck. None of this is good, is it?” Fuck. How was he going to play this?
—-
"No, it's not good." Gage shook his head, he was trying to think of anything and everything possible that could help Sterling. "Can I take a look at the collar? I don't know if it will tell me anything but it's worth a try right? I know a couple tech guys." He wasn't going to get up in Sterling's personal space without his permission. "I also have a friend ..." He thought of Aidan and Aesir. Maybe. "I'll reach out."
---
"Yeah, go ahead," Sterling said, "Castor mentioned something about an option to block magic too... I had no idea such things were out there." He didn't even want to know who was making these things. He liked being blissfully unaware.
"A friend? Think they would... I don't know, would they know these assholes?" Wouldn't that make them an asshole too?
---
Gage shuddered at the idea of blocking magic. "That would be fucking awful. I've heard rumors of such things but didn't know they truly existed" He stepped close to Sterling and looked over the collar. "This is serious tech. Not something that's going to come off with a lockpick." He sighed and sat back down.
Blowing out a breath, Gage rubbed his hands together. "So my friend Aidan is paired with another vampire in the area who is pretty big himself. He's not part of this royal family. He's not exactly a saint. He'd probably claim you too if you were blonde." He winced. "And I don't know if he'll help. But I can ask."
---
Sterling was silent for a long moment before saying, "I can't risk him blocking my magic. I don't know if my magic allows me to see or allows me to filter what I see but if it's unfiltered..." He trailed off. Gage knew about the things Sterling had seen. Probably why Sterling used escapism as much as he did. If he couldn't protect himself from that, it would be bad.
"Okay, I am disturbed that you know people who claim others. It's fucking... I don't even know," Sterling said, "But, yeah, if you can. I hate to ask that but..." But what else could he do?
---
Gage bit his lip. He hadn't thought of that. "Yeah, that would be bad. So definitely don't fill the house with ghosts." He knew that Sterling was already goign to be careful about making sure htat wouldn't happen.
"It's ... yeah. I'm close with Aidan. Have been for a few years. I only sort of know Aesir so I have no idea if he would help but, it won't hurt to try." Especially if he coudln't come up with anything else.
---
"No promises," Sterling said. He sighed softly. He should go, shouldn't he? He came here to get help and he wasn't going to get help, not that he thought he really would. He sighed again.
"So, yeah, if you don't hear from me? I didn't move on. Vampires." He wasn't sure what to say about this Aidan and Aesir. He didn't know those names and he had no idea if they could help.
---
Gage reached out and took Sterling's hand without thinking about it. When he realized, he didn't pull away. Fuck it. He squeezed instead. "I will find a way to help you if it's the last thing I do." He said simply and wasn't surprised anymore that he meant it. "Just ... hold on until then, okay?"
---
Sterling glanced at their hands but didn't pull back. He smiled small and said, "I appreciate that but I don't want you to put yourself in harm's way for me. I feel like this is probably something you have warned me about before and I ignored." Like Sterling's tendency to use escapism instead of dealing with the actual issues he had.
---
"Like how you warned me about Gwydion and I ignored it until I couldn't anymore?" Gage rasied an eyebrow at Sterling. "I'm not going to race in with guns blazing, that wouldn't help either of us.But I'm not going to just walk away."
---
"I never said you and I were geniuses," Sterling said with a soft laugh. He looked at Gage, "Thank you. I appreciate it. Though I wouldn't blame you for walking away. Vampires... aren't... things to be dancing with and you have enough on your plate."
---
Gage cracked a crooked smile. "I'm sure we would both be in very different places if we were." He let out his own soft laugh then took a deep breath. "I'm not going anywhere. I will use every resource I have and if it's not enough, I'll find more."
---
"Thank you," Sterling said, "I'll be doing what I can. Maybe it won't be so bad. I mean, it threw me off guard but maybe he'll get his fill and be on his way." Sterling shrugged. He would definitely be more careful in the future, which kind of sucked.
---
"I hope for your sake and his that's exacly what will happen." It was true, though Gage wasn't going to hold his breath for that. "At least you got to keep your phone. That's a huge bonus."
---
Sterling nodded, "And I can leave to do work things." Maybe he could use his charms and whatnot to his advantage. He never felt like a traditional music user but maybe it was time to dig into his magic given gifts.
---
"That's good too. And I can keep in touch as I figure things out that can help." Gage had never been good at creating charms himself but his mind was already racing forward trying to think of something he could do. "Do you need anything that I cna get you right now?"
---
Sterling hesitated then shook his head, "No, but thank you. I appreciate you listening to me, letting me come here." He didn't think he and Gage would talk like this again. Or maybe it was just out of the fact that Sterling was in deep shit and Gage wasn't the type to kick him when he was already down.
---
“No matter our issues I would never have wished this on you.” Gage said simply. “And I will do everything I can to help.” Gage wanted so badly to fix it.
—-