Seven Devils

The night out had done everything that Dimitri had been looking for, afforded him the chance to unwind and let go of all the stresses and strains that came with handling people but more importantly, people’s money. Gone were the days when you could just murder somebody for being annoying and have it be ignored as that was just what happened which meant other methods of negotiation were required.

Velina was dancing somewhere undoubtedly luring in poor unsuspecting souls and revelling in every second of it whereas Marcus, well, he wasn’t one for big displays of socialising, which meant he had retreated to Thirst. Thankfully Dimitri had been in the town long enough and was known enough to be allowed passage into the club which catered to fanged friends and their particular appetites the same way The Vault did.

With collar popped and tie long since abandoned Dimitri gracefully navigated the spread of black and red until he dropped down beside Marcus, head lolling to lightly press his temple against the vampire’s shoulder before very blue eyes lifted to regard the other.

“So,” he drawled, lips curling into a slow smile, “How’s your week been?”

---

Truly, Marcus had come to Seven Devils with intent to be curiously passive. His plans had lasted all of a few days, and then completely unfolded by the end of the first week. First the family whose lovely home was now his, then Lexie at Fete, and now… Well, here he was in the company of an old friend in a club that catered to his kind.

Sort of.

Honestly he wasn’t a fan of synthetic blood, and the mocktails they offered did practically nothing for him except leave an odd chemical aftertaste in his mouth. He’d rather live off rats and birds, if he had the choice. Still, feeding was quite allowable in the club with consent. Although, call him a picky eater but he had little interest in feeding off of communal humans. His taste was far darker.

Lounged in one of the open sitting areas, the vampire watched his friend with a calm amusement. Taking a drink as the incubus sat beside him, he smirked faintly. “It was fine until I ran into old friends,” he admitted. “Present company not included, of course,” he quickly added.

“This town has a Templar problem, it seems,” Marcus half-grumbled.

---

Dimitri snorted quietly. “I would hope not.” He and Marcus, well, they went back, centuries back in fact and if the vampire considered life better without the Incubus in it then well, that didn’t say much for their friendship now did it?

He didn’t disagree that the town had a Templar problem because as well as they did to hide themselves in the guise of “normal” people when you lived as long as Marcus and Dimitri did then well faces became familiar as did behaviour and other aspects of everyday life.

“Any Templar in particular?” He asked curiously, still regarding Marcus from his half slumped position on the couch and head placed on the other’s shoulder. He did however catch the attention of a passing waitress and ordered himself a scotch, neat, none of on the rocks crap for him thank you very much.

---

It wasn’t even that he’d been looking for Nerida or intentionally trying to piss her off like in the past. For some reason she was in Seven Devils — he hoped by just coincidence as, unlike in the past, he now had his progeny in tow.

The vampire, as much as he refuted being touched by strangers and even most acquaintances, humored his old friend with providing his shoulder. Having spent literal centuries gravitating in and out of one another’s orbit tended to allow for such things. Plus, once you’ve gone through a good massacre with someone it tended to produce a rather strong bond.

“Nerida Manolas,” Marcus said, her name almost like a poison on his tongue. “I’ve run into her before, here and there,” he began to explain. “She’s quite motivated, and devout.” Which more or less meant that she was a holy pain in the ass. “She caught me feeding at Fete and took it upon herself to give me a warning,” the vampire said, the humor in his tone as he found it ridiculous - like he was some unruly child being scolded by one of God’s little soldiers.

---

Dimitri narrowed his eyes slightly as he tried to put a face to the name as it was definitely tugging at strands of memory. Probably because Marcus had mentioned her in the past, probably in similar terms.

“Those are the worst, aren’t they?” His ips did however toy with a smirk as he considered how the most devout were the most fun to corrupt. Not that he went out of his way to do so but it definitely helped pass the time which occasionally did feel as though it was either not moving or going in reverse.

He leaned forward to take the scotch which was brought over to him with a smile.

“I take that to mean that she, like so many others has made this little town her current place of operations?”

---

“It seems so,” the vampire said with a tone dripping of disdain and annoyance for the Templar. And the warning. And the fact that she had even followed him as if she expected the worst automatically. It’d been decades since he went on one of his darker benders and put a few drops in the murder-for-fun bucket.

“Undoubtedly where there’s one, there’s more,” Marcus added, his expression reflective of exactly how unamused he was with that fact. Like cockroaches, all of them. Still, perhaps Nerida’s attention could be drawn elsewhere. He was good at covering the tracks of his progeny and cleaning up their mess — and now it seemed he had to start doing so for himself.

He took a sip of his blood-spiked alcohol before turning his attention back to the Incubus, expression lifting somewhat.. “And what trouble have you gotten up to lately? Either in or out of work.”

---

“Invariably so.” Templars and their ilk were known for travelling in pairs or ironically packs and where there was one there would be more. It was like poking holes in an ant hill and watching them all pour out in defense of one another.

Trouble? Him?

Dimitri feigned innocence completed by the scandalised lifting of his eyebrows. “Whatever do you mean, Marcus? I’m just a well behaved upstanding citizen of the community.” Though the sly smile which curled around the edge of his glass begged otherwise.

---

The attempt at innocence actually warranted a small laugh from Marcus, the amusement betraying his otherwise stern expression. He had known Dimitri for so long, and they had been through enough — and innocent was never a word that even crossed his mind to describe the incubus.

“If you’re an upstanding citizen then I’m the bloody Pope,” Marcus countered.

He and Dimitri were similar in terms of willingly taking a seat back to let things play out organically. In a town such a Seven Devils, it was the smart thing to do, rather than jump into the thick of it. “I think I’m a bad influence,” Marcus pointed out teasingly, “if you’ve managed to stay out of trouble this long.”

---

Dimitri smirked as he finally untangled himself from resting against the vampire’s side with his head nestled on his shoulder, long fingers settling his glass on the nearby table. He casually lifted his hand and curled the tips to release another button of his shirt, touch catching on the pendant he wore in honour of his mother who had long since been lost to him.

Idle habit, the brushing of thumb across the rough and smooth edges of the stone.

“I suppose tax evasion, money laundering, and I maybe found myself in between a married couple the other night.” He turned his head to bare those perfectly normal teeth which hid his natural smile at Marcus. “Does any of that count?”

---

His gaze flickered to Dimitri’s undoing of his shirt and the stone that lay against his chest. Marcus kept nothing of the sort; pendants or otherwise. He wanted no reminders of his human life and those he had betrayed. His guilt was company and reminder enough.

Lifting his glass, he smirked at the mention of tax evasion, his eyebrows raising in distinct interest as he took a longer drink this time. “It’s a good start,” he chuckled.

“Have you heard any word about… your extended family being in town?” the vampire couldn’t help but ask. Obviously there were demons he wanted to avoid. And protect his progeny from. Dimitri was the closest thing to a lookout that he had.

---

“Mmm,” Dimitri hummed quietly as he took a sip from his drink. “Word is that there’s been some new arrivals, some that have always been here but are now coming out of the woodwork and let’s just say this many demons in one place?” He tutted quietly and shook his head. “Disaster just waiting to happen.”

He tipped his head and idly observed a young man, vampire of course, who in many ways looked like a deer caught in headlights.

“Speaking of family,” the Incubus drawled as he turned to look at Marcus, “How is your own doing?”

---

Marcus drew in a slow and steady, and wholefully unneeded, breath when Dimitri only confirmed the increased demon population. “Oh joy,” he said, completely dry of any emotion, before taking another decent gulp of his drink. Although he needn’t worry about an endless supply of demon blood, at least.

The vampire followed the other man’s gaze and smirked with a dark amusement.

“Well behaved for a change,” Marcus answered, settling back into his seat a little more casually. “Destiny is young, but I’m impressed with her handling Seven Devils thus far.” He could only imagine how the nexus felt to a young vampire like her. “I’m sure Elliot will help her through it all,” he spoke hopefully, before his tone changed to one that was more fond. “Isabelle of course will be the death of me,” Marcus raised his glass to take another sip but paused to add: “...again.”

He shifted somewhat in his seat before looking over at Dimitri. “I know I don’t ask this but.. should you notice any of them getting heavily involved with any of your extended family.. do let me know?” the vampire asked.

---

“Some things never change,” Dimitri remarked ruefully. “I’ll admit I am forever grateful that I have no such concerns.” Save for Lucas who he was keeping an eye on for an old friend, Lucas’ father to be exact, especially given his apparent inability to Incubus correctly.

He took a sip of his drink and leaned back, long legs extending until the edge of expensive shoes were propped up on the table in front of him. The Incubus was a picture perfect display of relaxation and decadence as he all but melted, owning and possessing the space around him with all the ease of somebody who belonged.

“I’ll certainly keep my eyes peeled.”

Perhaps even hit Elliot up as it had been a while since he’d last set eyes on the vampire and check out Destiny, see how she was finding Seven Devils. There was trouble to be found but definitely a different sort from the rest of the world. “I know some of the extended family can be far more tempting than you might imagine.”

---

“Don’t say it took loudly, Fate thinks she’s funny,” Marcus warned with a little grin. Although he could imagine the Incubus reacting in a similar way to any offspring or wards.

He held his glass up in a grateful toast before taking another sip, nearly finishing it. Marcus watched

“I’ve had my fair share of temptation,” Marcus commented, canting his neck to the side somewhat as if his tie was simply too tight. The scars on the side of his neck suddenly plagued with a phantom itch at the memory. “The only ones I care to avoid entirely, for the rest of my existence, are Lucifer, those pompous Knights, and.. her,” he said lowly, an actual malice in his voice as he referenced the demoness who had shown up to his sermon all those thousands of years ago. Leaning forward he set his glass on the small table and quickly got the attention of a waitress to order another, as well as another of Dimitri’s drink of choice.

“Yet I’m stubborn enough to stay here for the foreseeable future,” he admitted. “I love my house.” Well, the house he had picked out and taken over.

---

Dimitri angled his head at just the right moment to notice the scarring on Marcus’ neck. They weren’t new to him but it wasn’t very often the vampire did anything to reveal them. “Mhm,” he hummed quietly as he reached up to gently loosen and ease the tie looped around Marcus’ neck and then smirked. “Let’s hope she gives a small town like Seven Devils a wide berth but for preparation sake I’ll be sure to keep an eye out.

He tipped his glass in Marcus’ direction in silent thanks before taking a sip.

“So, tell me about this house of yours,” he all but purred as he leaned back into the soft cushions, full attention on Marcus.

---

Marcus paused to quirk a brow in Dimitr’s direction as the Incubus tugged lightly at the knot of his tie - a bold move, if there ever was one. Still, he couldn’t deny that it felt remarkably better and even reached up to loosen it further. A bad habit as a vampire — when you didn’t need to breathe you didn’t much care for how constricting your clothing felt.

“Indeed,” he agreed with a nod, flashing the other man a small smirk.

He cleared his throat and reached up to ran his hand against his chin and jaw. “It’s gorgeous,” Marcus all but gushed. “It’s got incredible stonework, an open courtyard right in the middle of it, and furthermore it’s secluded enough that I don’t have to worry about being dragged into anything,” he insisted. The home very much reminded him of a castle, back when it was normal for people to have castles - a lost architectural art, in his opinion.

“Really, the Templar should have been more upset that I took my time picking off the family when I first got here,” he admitted with a faint grin, taking a drink.

---

What were lifelong friends for if not to remind you to relax and let your clothing breathe even if you didn’t require air in your lungs?

He listened quietly and intently as Marcus gushed about the home, amused that of all the things he could love and adore it was architecture he felt so strongly about. Wonders never ceased and the vampire was full of surprises, one of the many reasons Dimitri enjoyed his company as much as he did.

“They do like to pick and choose,” Dimitri commented wryly. “I mean, you’d think the picking off of the family would be more of a heinous crime than daring to feed at a public event, but perhaps her priorities are fucked? Wouldn’t be the first time one of those tightly wound members went off the deep end or forgot their sacred vows.”

---

Marcus chuckled at Dimitri’s response, though Nerida was far from diverging from her vows. “I believe she just has it out for me,” he insisted, his lips curling somewhat as he pulled an indifferent face.

A simple touch to his friend’s arm in consideration - Marcus wasn’t so egotistical to proclaim such nonsense, nor was he active enough as of late to warrant such a response from hunters or Templars alike. “This one is smart, she’s done her homework… Knows my past, even as far back as when I was human.”

Which was a testament to the Templar — few knew about his past and all the bloodshed he could be linked to. But even fewer knew his human life. Dimitri of course was one of those very select few. And because of their friendship Marcus at least tried to remain conscious of his complaining.

He set his drink down, giving up on the synthetic blood that it was spiked with. That and all the talk of Nerida, and her warning running through his head, made him only want to act out to spite her. Casting a dark glance back at the Incubus he nodded toward a small crowd of curious college folk. “I’m feeling peckish, you?”

---

Dimitri turned his head as Marcus touched him and he took note because it wasn’t often the vampire initiated contact so when he did? It was worth taking notice of. “She’s clearly very obsessed with you,” he remarked, wry smirk in place. “What exactly is it that you did that has her so riveted?”

He’d been fortunate he supposed, that he’d managed to outrun a lot of his past and there were enough years between them that meant that most who had known him were dead by now.

His drink was lifted to his lips and the liquid was finished off quite smoothly as his eyes tracked to the crowd that Marcus had nodded towards. “Oh, most definitely.”

---

The vampire couldn’t help but laugh at the notion of being a Templar obsession. Although… Nerida was very hellbent on seeing him a pile of dust. “I was a man of the cloth who abandoned his flock for a demon,” he told the Incubus with a grin. It wasn’t often that he felt anything positive about his turning - but having the Templar at times trailing him, was entertaining if nothing else. “My very being goes against everything she stands for,” he chuckled.

It was a deep seeded hate, that was for sure. And the Templar Knights with their self righteous attitudes and playing the good little soldiers.

“Come on then,” he encouraged as he stood, straightening the lapels of his suit and undoing the first two buttons of his shirt. Since he’d already loosened his tie he may as well commit to looking relaxed.

---

Dimitri rested his now empty glass on the table and watched the show Marcus was putting on of undoing buttons with a smirk playing across his lips. He did enjoy Marcus’ company, more so when he relaxed into the moment.

“Let’s,” he agreed as he rose to his feet, his own hands sorting through dark strands of his hair until he had it arranged just right and the same approach was taken to buttons and cufflinks.

The Incubus regarded the vampire, thoughtfully, and without much ado he stepped into the other’s personal space and reached upwards to smooth a few hairs back into place because as relaxed as Marcus might be there were things the vampire just would not abide by. “This’ll be fun.”

One predatory grin and Dimitri was moving off towards the crowd.