Who: Adrian and Caius When: early evening, Thursday, June 14th Where: The bluffs outside Point Pleasant Warnings: Violence
Caius had been working on the ritual for Adrian Moretti already, but the new developments with Reagan had lit a fire under him. He suddenly saw a very urgent need for a resource they could use to dispose of bodies, and what better resource was there than a wendigo? Though once Caius was done with Adrian, he wouldn’t quite be a wendigo anymore ... that was the idea, anyway. Caius had already made considerable progress on the ritual, but he dove into it with renewed fervor all of Wednesday and most of Thursday. He carefully planned, revising and reworking it until he felt confident he’d plugged up all the magical holes. It was going to take quite a bit of power and effort, but he was confident he could pull it off. In the end he and Adrian would both have what they needed -- more control over the monster within.
By the time Thursday night came around, Caius felt ready. It was best to strike while the iron was hot, so to speak, so he gathered his supplies and his notes and got into the car. He’d told Reagan what his plan was -- he’d vowed there would be no more secrets between them, after all -- but insisted she stay home. This was his task to do. It should be just Adrian and himself. As he pulled out of the driveway of their home to drive toward Mila’s house, he dialed the wendigo. Whatever Adrian was doing, he was going to have to drop it and come with Caius.
Adrian had been waiting for Caius to call him and with every day that passed without that happening he got more and more worried that even a powerful witch couldn't do a damn thing for him. His condition wasn't sustainable, even if he got a job and worked his ass off, his whole life would revolve around food to the point where he couldn't afford to do much else. He'd still managed to keep a brave face and didn't have to completely pretend to be okay just for Mila's sake, it was good to be back with his family. He was often tempted to text Caius, just in case he was ignoring his problem. It wasn't exactly lucrative to help him and Caius had plenty of other things on his agenda, more important than helping his employee's brother.
When Caius finally did call, Adrian thought his heart would leap out of his chest and when he didn't tell him that what he was asking was impossible and instead told him to get ready and come with him right away, well, there was no way he was leaving him waiting. He made it outside before Caius pulled up, jogging down to the street and getting in the car. "Hey," he said, trying to curb his curiosity so as to not lunge into a million questions right off the bat. "Please tell me you have good news."
It was a relief that Adrian didn’t argue with being picked up within the next few minutes. Caius was psyched and ready to go with this ritual, he didn’t want to wait for the subject to be ready. He was pleased that he didn’t even have to wait for Adrian to come outside. Caius let him get in and settled, then pulled away from the curb. “I have good news,” he said, glancing over at the man with a faint smile. “The ritual we’re about to perform should solve your problem for you. You’ll still be ... altered, somewhat. Not exactly human. But it should ease your hunger and keep the worst effects in check.” It would also bind him to Caius in a way he likely wouldn’t be happy with, but everything came with a price, didn’t it? That was how the entire universe operated.
Adrian didn't have much hope that he'd ever be fully cured of whatever ailment this was, he'd been told enough times that he would never be human again and while a part of him had clung to the idea that he'd been lied to, it felt like he'd long since crossed a line that made returning impossible. What Caius was offering was exactly what he'd hoped for: Enough to get his life back together, smother the symptoms enough to pretend he was human. He wouldn't risk having biological children but then his old dreams of meeting a girl who was enough of something to make it work despite him being gay were long dead and romance was the last thing on his mind lately. "That's exactly what I hoped for," he murmured. "What kind of ritual is it?" He wondered if he could keep some of that strength he'd attained but he was unsure how to ask for that yet and getting the details of what exactly he was in for felt more pressing for now.
Brief amusement crossed Caius’s face. It was a silly sort of question, he doubted Adrian knew enough about magic to understand anything about the ritual. It would take more in depth explanations of theory and language than they had time for on this drive. “It’s exactly the kind you need,” he said, his tone mild. “It will require some of your blood, and things are going to get windy and intense in the middle, but you’ll be fine.” That was probably more of what Adrian wanted to know -- what he would have to do, how scary it would be. Considering what he’d already been through, Caius expected bravery from him. He hoped he wouldn’t be disappointed, he didn’t feel like coddling anyone through anything.
It was probably very human for Adrian to worry that the ritual was embarrassing or awkward; he didn't want to feel vulnerable or make a fool of himself, especially in front of someone like Caius who did not seem like the type to make it any easier on him. It was debatable whether it was normal that he was more afraid of that than he was of it being painful, he'd been through so much pain already and he was terrified of reliving some of it, but unless Caius planned on killing him and bringing him back for this ritual, Adrian didn't think it would get too bad. Of course, now he had that idea in his head and he clung to what Caius had said. Some blood, some wind, some intensity. "Think I can handle a little storm," he said with a wry smile but he could still feel his nerves start acting up and wished they would arrive at their destination so they could get this over with before he talked himself into a panic.
Caius didn’t intend on killing Adrian. He wasn’t aware of the man’s seeming immortality, but even if he had been, that wasn’t part of his plan. He was going to be doing a lot of work with his spirit to bind him, however, and it would likely end up frightening and confusing, if not physically painful. Caius didn’t intend on spelling everything out for Adrian. He’d agreed to this, he needed to just be along for the ride. They would both end up getting what they wanted out of it, Caius was just getting a little extra. He was silent as he drove through the shadowy town for a few moments, then glanced over at Adrian again. “We’re going to one of the bluffs,” he offered, just so Adrian would have an idea of where they were heading. “Air is my element, and the wind coming off the ocean helps a lot. How are you at building a campfire?”
Adrian didn't really know what he was expecting, he'd only had magic used on him in a room that looked like it belonged in a hospital and he had no idea how Caius used his magic. Somehow it hadn't even occurred to him that they'd be doing this outdoors but it made sense the way Caius spoke of it and in a way it felt a little less intimidating; he wouldn't be closed in. "I can build a campfire," he replied though he suspected Caius could too, maybe even with less effort and magic. Adrian didn't mind though, it would give him something to do while Caius did whatever he needed to prepare, maybe help keep his mind off what was to come. "So how much will I owe you when this is done?" he asked and if Caius wanted a favor... Well, he was doomed and anxious anyway, what was one more awful thing to worry about? He wished he could be this flippant about it but really he just hoped Caius would want solid payment that he could pay off in parts once he got his job back.
He’d done plenty of magic indoors, but Caius preferred to be outside when he got to choose -- it connected him more deeply to his element, miles and miles of pure air above and around him. It put more power into his workings, and he was going to need power for this. Adrian was right that having him build the fire was part distraction, but it also helped to have the subject of the ritual involved somehow. Adrian’s energy needed to be woven into everything too, or it wouldn’t stick. The question he asked was a good one, and Caius had expected him to ask. He knew no one would buy that Caius was just doing this out of the goodness of his heart. He was already taking his payment out of Adrian, but he didn’t plan on informing him of that. If all went the way it was supposed to, the only ones who ever knew about it would be Caius and Reagan. “A thousand,” he answered evenly. It was a nice round sum that wouldn’t be impossible to pay off, but still substantial enough to seem real. “Small price to pay to have your life back, right? We can negotiate when it’s due once we’re done.”
A thousand dollars was a lot for someone without a penny to his name and Adrian felt a brief flash of irritation because Caius D'Onofrio did not need money. It was however more than a reasonable sum for what was essentially a life-saving magical surgery of sorts and was far better than some obscure future favor like he owed Westin. "I hope you'll accept installments," he said with a wry smile. "If this works I can get my job back but it never paid well and never will." That's what he got for choosing to become a registered nurse, one of the most undervalued and worst treated professions. Maybe he should become a hit man, he thought, with his track record he'd probably make a good one but the guilt he was already carrying was heavy enough. "You do realize that, right? It'll take at least a month or two before I can start paying you back."
Caius definitely didn’t need the money, but neither did Reagan, for the favors she sold out of Belladonna’s back room. Needing it wasn’t the point. He’d put a lot of work into this ritual, he was about to expend a bunch of magic energy on it, he wouldn’t be able to avoid all of the backlash coming to him over the next couple of days ... it was about being compensated for his time and effort and talent. Sure, he was taking a cut that Adrian didn’t know about yet, but he also couldn’t gain a reputation for giving magic out as charity. If word got around that Caius D’Onofrio was fixing people’s problems for free, he would never do anything else. He tossed a darkly amused glance over at Adrian. “You’re living in your sister’s spare room, which is a massive step up from the more recent residence of your car, of course I know that,” he said mildly. “I’m not pressed about it, pay me when you can. It’s either that or you do some work for me that you likely won’t enjoy, would you prefer that sort of arrangement?”
"You'd have to be a little more specific," Adrian replied and it stung more than he'd expected to be reminded of how low he'd sunk. "But you're not making it sound great." It did spark his curiosity though, what kind of work could Caius D'Onofrio need someone to do for him that wasn't pleasant? It would likely be something criminal since he could afford everything above board and probably wouldn't even have a hard time finding connections for the work that wasn't. "I try not to take on jobs I don't know anything about beforehand, but I haven't exactly been in a good position to bargain." Caius didn't need to know what that meant, the things Adrian had done both to keep himself and Mila safe, but also just because he had no god damn control at the time. Adrian wasn't really sure why he even told him about it, maybe the thought of saving up money was a little overwhelming at the moment. That sickening old guilt lanced through him again, but he was getting better at pushing it away and sometimes that worried him too.
That comment was slightly intriguing to Caius, and he thought about asking what sorts of jobs Adrian had been forced to take ... but it was probably best for both of them to stay vague. Caius didn’t need Mila Moretti getting more curious about the extent of his and his father’s business dealings. It might garner too much suspicion, especially if he was already using Adrian under the table. “We’ll stick with cash,” he murmured. “This is meant to help turn your life around, not dig you in deeper.” For a brief moment he felt a flash of guilt, but those were always fairly easy for Caius to dismiss. If he ended up needing Adrian’s services, he would wipe the memory from his mind and ensure he was never connected to the body at all. Caius’s life ran on contingency plans, and this was going to be a good one to keep in his back pocket. Not to mention, he would do absolutely anything to protect Reagan, and these days she was apparently more likely to create a corpse than he was.
For a fleeting and somewhat terrifying moment Adrian wasn't sure if he was happy with that or not but he just smiled faintly and nodded. "Alright." His curiosity was piqued and no doubt so was Caius's but they obviously had a silent agreement not to dig into each other's business and that was fine with him. He stared out the window for the rest of the trip and focused on breathing to keep his nervousness at bay. It wasn't like he had a whole lot of things to discuss with Caius and he was sure they'd never have spoken under any other circumstances, two men worlds apart even if they lived in the same small town. It was beautiful out as they made it out of town, darkness slowly enveloping everything, the sky streaked with the last hues of the sunset. That helped a little, gave him something to focus on and quiet his mind.
Caius was curious, but he knew better than to go down that line of questioning. He could well enough imagine the kinds of things Adrian had done and experienced throughout his ordeal. He was a man who understood dark secrets without having to hear them. He told himself it was okay for him to plan to add to Adrian’s list of questionable deeds because he was going to spare him the memory. This wasn’t an opportunity to waste. His father wouldn’t. Caius let them drive along in silence, enjoying the sunset a bit himself before he had to turn off the road and focus on driving down one that wasn’t paved. It took a little while through the trees, but finally Caius pulled to a stop. “It’s about a ten minute walk up the trail,” he said as he cut the engine. It was a spot he and his father had come to many times to train as he grew up, one of the places in town Caius felt his power the strongest, with the wind constantly blowing from the ocean. He reached into the back seat to grab his backpack, then climbed out of the car.
Adrian had to remind himself that he was here with a powerful witch because this really wasn't a place he wanted to be. Somewhere outside of town while it was getting dark and he wasn't hungry enough to be strong. He realized with mixed emotions that if this worked, he'd never be hungry enough to be strong again and it was a little disconcerting. Just waiting for a couple of hours to be able to do something hard had become almost like a safety net, but he reminded himself it hadn't exactly helped him much so far. That man on the street had still strangled him, the institution had still locked him up. He breathed in the night air as he got out of the car, a slow and calming breath before they started up the trail. "Don't remember coming up here before," he mumbled, just to say something. "Funny how you can live somewhere your whole life and still ignore parts of the place."
Having walked this path many times alone as well as with his father, Caius didn’t feel any fear. He felt like he could handle anything that might emerge from the woods. Hell, he was something to be afraid of himself. “It’s not a very popular area,” he replied to Adrian, glancing over with a faint smile. The trail was still visible, but it was obvious that not many people trekked down it on a regular basis. “Point Pleasant has miles and miles of secrets.” Caius was sure Adrian knew that, being one of them. He let them lapse into silence again as they walked, eventually pulling out a flashlight to guide their way as the gloom settled in. He didn’t need it, he could see in the dark with the Obscurities, but he didn’t want to spook the wendigo more than was necessary. Finally they walked out of the treeline to the clearing that overlooked the ocean, the cliff dropping sharply away in front of them. Caius took a deep breath of the salty ocean air and set his pack down. He instantly felt at ease and confident and ready -- he loved being up here. “Find some kindling and wood to get the fire started,” he instructed, offering out the flashlight. “Doesn’t have to be too much, I’ll keep it burning.”
"I don't need it," Adrian said with a glance at the flashlight and that was one of the few things he noticed always seemed to stick around. He got used to the dark really quickly and not in the same way his strength and madness seemed to come and go. "For now at least," he added with a faint smile and wondered yet again just how much Caius's spell would change in that regard. Would he feel human again? The idea that he might still feel the pain of what he was crossed his mind and he wasn't sure he could handle that in the long run. He thought he should probably talk to Caius about all the details of what they were about to do, but he had a feeling Caius was winging it a little. It wasn't like he'd done this before. Being a guinea pig wasn't appealing but he would do it for the sake of his family, if nothing else.
He wandered away from Caius, let his vision adjust until the dark became more light gray and this at least he could do, build a little fire, keep himself busy while Caius prepared for what was to come.
Caius wasn’t sure himself exactly what state Adrian would be left in. He knew he would be reducing the hunger of the beast inside of him to keep the balance of power in check, so he would probably lose some of the physical strength he could call on when he wanted to ... but maybe not all of it. Caius didn’t want to completely neuter the wendigo, it was too useful. He just wanted to give Adrian more control, more room to live his life. He didn’t know yet what that would look like day to day, but he hoped it would be satisfying enough. He didn’t want to have to do this again. While Adrian moved away to pick up sticks, Caius turned the flashlight off and brought his Obscurities forward to help him see in the dark himself. He unpacked the few things he needed from his bag -- his notebook with the incantations in it, a water bottle, a dagger to both draw out the circle in the earth and to draw out Adrian’s blood, a small stone bowl for the latter.
Caius found the spot where he and Anthony always put their magic circles -- there was a shallow pit in the middle of it for the fire -- and he dragged the dagger through the soft grass and dirt until he had most of a circle done, leaving a ‘gate’ open for Adrian to go in and out. He sprinkled water around in the same line, his notebook in his hand while he half-studied the words he would need to say.
It was telling that Caius didn't need a flashlight either and Adrian approached him again in silence once he had gathered enough for a decent fire. His gaze flicked over the things on the ground and he stopped right outside the circle, hesitant to enter without permission. Communication went without words as Caius gestured where he wanted the fire and Adrian had to brace himself to step forward. It reminded him of demon traps and satanic rituals and was that what he was now? A demon? He didn't feel anything as he stepped into the ring but then Caius hadn't really started doing anything so that made sense. He dropped the sticks he'd gathered and started lining them up and while Caius said he could keep the fire going, it felt prudent to build something that would last longer on its own, Adrian really had no idea just how busy Caius would be with the ritual. He still kept glancing over the witch, curious about what he was doing to prepare, apprehensive about where this was going.
While Adrian worked on building the fire, Caius put up a barrier of air around the circle to deflect the wind. The air would be still and calm inside now, at least until the ritual really started to pick up. Adrian had said he could handle a storm, and Caius hoped that was true. He didn’t need his subject to start freaking out and trying to break the circle or something. This was already going to be taxing enough. Caius studied his Latin and waited for Adrian to finish getting the fire going. Once that was accomplished, all of the elements present together, Caius stepped into the circle with him and closed it off -- dagger in the earth, sprinkled water, a wall of air. He stepped up to Adrian, closing the small book and tucking it into his back pocket. “Don’t break the circle, or you’ll fuck it all up,” he told him matter of factly. The magic around them would resist anything coming through it, but it wouldn’t hold in everything if Adrian was determined enough. His eyes still all-black, he looked steadily at Adrian. “Are you ready to begin?”
Adrian tried not to make the black eyes drive panic into his already jittery soul. This was magic, he'd seen worse and if Mila trusted Caius then he would too. There were of course a million things that could be going wrong, that this wasn't really Caius, that it was something new and dark here to trick him but if he let those panicked thoughts take control of him then he'd never get anything done. "I'm ready," he said, his voice more steady than he'd expected it to be. "Just tell me what I need to do."
He was brave, Caius had to give him that. Or maybe just jaded. He didn’t care either way, just as long as Adrian kept his head and didn’t do anything to jeopardize this ritual. Caius nodded slightly. “Roll your sleeves up. Listen and hold still first, then let me cut you when I need to,” he directed, lifting the dagger in his hand. “I won’t maim or kill you, I promise, but I need your blood and it has to be done at the right time.” He would be cutting himself too, and mixing their blood together. Caius didn’t feel the need to explain that part to Adrian. Blood magic was powerful, and he needed to do it to accomplish the binding. “Try to stay in control of yourself. It might get hard, we’re fucking with the monster inside of you, but try. Once I start I can’t stop, so get your doubts and questions out now, if you’ve got them.”
Adrian had plenty of questions but he wasn't so sure Caius had the answers and he wasn't sure he'd like some of the answers he would get anyway. Caius knew what he wanted out of this and Adrian trusted Mila's advice so he shook his head and tried to mentally brace himself for whatever was to come. He'd been so hungry he couldn't hold back, would this be worse than that? He'd survived all these years, had pulled himself broken and bleeding out of a monster's nest. Had his throat crushed by a lunatic. He could fucking do this. "Let's just start," he said and a part of him wanted Caius to cut him now, to psych him up and get him into survival mode and he squeezed his hands into tight fists before he unbuttoned his shirt and rolled up his sleeves. "Might be less messy to just take it off," he muttered. "I don't get cold as easily as I used to."
“Up to you,” Caius said with a shrug. He probably should have told Adrian to bring an extra shirt or something, but he hadn’t thought of it, so oh well. You didn’t get through this type of blood magic without getting a little messy, and he had a closet full of clothes to replace what he was wearing, so he didn’t care. Caius moved away from Adrian a bit, tucking the dagger into his belt and pulling a small vial of powder out of one of his pockets. He sprinkled some into one palm and tossed it into the fire, causing the flames to rise up and broaden to fill the fire pit. It was a little spell of Reagan’s -- it would keep burning even if the wood ran out. Caius held his hands out from his body, cleared his throat, and started to call on the elements in Latin to assist him. It was an incantation he knew very well by now, and he felt himself become more grounded and Ready as a breeze rose up from his feet to ruffle his shirt and hair, like a playful greeting from his element. Things would get anything but playful soon, but it felt nice for a moment.
With that done and the circle reinforced, Caius started calling on the spirits he’d chosen to focus on for this particular ritual. The area outside the circle started to get more shadowy, obscuring the ocean view and the trees around them with a gently undulating dark. Besides this being a familiar spot, the presence of so many wild spirits was another reason Caius had chosen this place. The wendigo was deeply tied to the woods, from what he’d read, and he hoped the spirits out there could help handle it, or whatever piece of it had been left in Adrian like a piece of spiritual shrapnel. Then Caius turned to Adrian, more Latin flowing from his lips as he pulled the knife free of his belt again. He held his hand out and nodded toward one of the other man’s arms. It was time for blood.
Adrian had opted for no shirt because he could only imagine the look on Mila's face if she was awake by the time he came home and he had blood all over him. Even if the reason was good it just seemed like an unnecessary fright to give her. He felt more and more unsettled when the magic began and while he understood a word here and there of Latin, this was far removed from what little he'd learned growing up so he couldn't really piece it all together. The darkness felt like it was closing in on them and by the time he realized he couldn't even see the ocean anymore he had to smother the intense urge to put a stop to this. Magic was dark, he knew this, but it was also the only thing that could help him so he fought off every instinct he felt that told him to get out of there and offered up his arm and hoped Caius really knew what he was doing. At least the chill in the air could explain the shaking of his body, too tense and rigid to relax.
It was good that Adrian had halfway stripped, Caius realized. It was in the plan to smear their combined blood on Adrian’s skin anyway, but seeing the tattoos on his chest again inspired an idea. Someone had put some binding magic there to start with, and Caius could use them to re-bind the wendigo -- along with Adrian -- to himself in a more powerful way. Caius picked up the stone bowl he’d brought along and held it under Adrian’s arm. He said a few more words and cut the flesh just under his elbow, careful not to push in too deep, but enough to get the blood flowing. It was a skill that was almost second nature to Caius by now. He felt the spirits both outside the circle and inside of himself get more stirred up and eager. Blood was always exciting to them, and this blood was special.
Once Caius had enough from Adrian, he crouched where he was and repeated the process on himself, bleeding into the bowl as the words flowed easily from his lips. He projected his intention into the bowl as he mixed their essences together, then stood up again, tucking the dagger back into his belt. The magic and tension was getting thicker in the air, and Caius knew that this was where things were going to get wild, if they were. The wind outside the circle had already picked up. He didn’t expect the wendigo to be further subdued without kicking up a fuss, but he still didn’t know what to expect. Chanting louder now, he dipped a thumb into the blood bowl and started to apply it over Adrian’s tattoos, covering the old ink in dark red to let his magic seep into him.
As soon as the blood touched Adrian's skin, the feeling of wrongness ramped up like nothing he'd experienced before. It was well beyond gut instinct and more like a punch in the gut, anger and fear rising up like bile in his throat and overtaking his whole body. "Stop," he said abruptly and God what had he been thinking coming out here alone with this man. Nobody knew he was here, Caius could kill him where he stood and bury him right here. Adrian was even sure it would take this time, a witch would have a way to get rid of him, some dark and foul magic that would rip his soul from his body. Mila would never know what happened. She'd think he just left her again. "Stop," he said again, the first time he'd said it had been quiet and uncertain but he knew now he couldn't let this happen so he stepped back and pushed Caius's hand away before holding up his own in a warding manner. "This is wrong."
Caius’s black eyes turned into a hard and flat glare at the interruption. He was seeing Adrian through the Obscurities, and there were changes happening inside of him. Bad ones, but not surprising ones. Caius didn’t fully understand what had happened to Adrian, how deeply embedded the wendigo was inside of him, if it was a separate entity or just a mindless influence, like some sort of infection or curse. But he’d anticipated that it wouldn’t like being fucked with, and he got the sense that resistance was starting now. Caius gave a curt shake of his head and continued on with the Latin incantation -- he’d warned him there was no stopping once he’d started. He just had to hope he’d gotten enough blood onto Adrian to be effective. His voice rising in volume and intensity, Caius smeared his bloody fingers across his forehead, leaving three stripes that looked black in the current lighting. The wind inside the circle picked up, making the fire flicker wildly. He could feel the magic working, an invisible bond forming between the two of them, thin tendrils of energy that would twist and swell until they were strong and undeniable ... as long as Adrian didn’t fuck it up somehow.
Adrian had gotten better at telling which thoughts were truly his own and which came from whatever monstrosity was battling him for control but that line usually wasn't as blurry as it was now. There was definitely a strong urge to kill Caius where he stood and it would be easy to tell that wasn't truly his own desire if it wasn't for the panic rising in his chest and the genuine concern that Caius was out to harm him. It wasn't a kind of gut instinct he could ignore, but a rising terror that clawed at his insides and had him convinced he was going to die tonight. The way Caius just kept going with that hardened expression only served to quiet down the small voice that tried to apply reason to the situation and Adrian felt rage mix in with his already tumultuous emotions. He wasn't paying close attention to what effect these words were having on his body but it was hard not to notice just how hungry he suddenly felt and that just made it harder to fight the urge to break the circle and snap Caius's neck.
"I said stop," he growled again and this time his hand shot out to close around Caius's throat, his fingers digging into warm flesh, ready to do some damage.
Caius couldn’t stop, even if he’d wanted to. Everything would be ruined if he did, nobody would get what they wanted, and the backlash would be severe. Maybe even enough to leave him incapacitated for a time, and that would surely end up bad with his current company. Adrian proved that point for him as his hand flashed out, too quick for Caius to dodge it. His first instinct was to grab for the dagger at his belt and jam it into whatever soft part of Adrian he could reach, but Caius resisted. The squeeze at his throat hurt already, and he was sure Adrian could crush his windpipe in mere seconds, but Caius didn’t need the air to keep talking. He got a few more choked words out before the Obscurities came pouring out of him to do their defensive duty. The shadow spirits rushed to surround Adrian’s head and body, screeching as they spun around him in a wild circle, tendrils rushing toward his orifices to plunge into his body, bringing freezing pain and suffocation with them.
Adrian had experienced a lot of terrifying and weird shit but this was the worst, he was pretty sure of that. Maybe because it was happening right now whereas everything else was a memory, but no, he didn't think so. He barely thought much at all beyond primal feelings of terror and rage, overcome with the wrongness of those black shadows entering his body. On some level he thought it might stop if Caius was dead, but he still let go of his throat involuntarily as he staggered back and dropped to his knees, wheezing and clawing at his own neck and head. He hadn't felt cold like this before in his life; it was nothing like a winter's breeze, it made nature look small in its intensity, far deeper than any chill. There was no getting those abominations out that Adrian knew of so he tried to get back up to his feet, either to kill Caius or to break the circle - anything - but those things, those shrieking awful things inside his body were making every little move a struggle.
Coughing, Caius took the opportunity to back up a few steps out of Adrian’s reach. His throat felt tight and bruised, but he could still get air, so he was fine. He was suddenly filled with his own hot rage, and for a moment he seriously considered letting the Obscurities kill the wendigo-cursed man. Ultimately, he knew he didn’t want to deal with the backlash, both magical and social, so he forced out the rest of the incantation, the words hoarse and halting. He could tell that Adrian was still trying to get to him, and Caius lifted one boot to shove him backward onto the grass while the shadows kept racing around his body. He could fix this, he told himself, he could finish the ritual and then wipe Adrian’s memory and it would all be fine. It would be worth it in the end, that was the important part. He would do anything for Reagan, including enduring this bullshit. Caius called the spirits back enough to let Adrian breathe, but kept his vision obscured and enough pain going to keep him subdued. They were disappointed to spare him, as always, but Caius didn’t let the Obscurities’ bloodlust influence him. With a few final words, he grabbed up the blood bowl and tossed the rest of it into the fire, which flared up like the blood was gasoline.
Adrian didn't stop trying, even as he got pushed back, blinded and disoriented. He might not know where exactly Caius was but it couldn't be so hard to destroy the circle, all he had to do was flail around and swipe at the ground but even that was too damn hard with the obscurities giving him no room to move. And then it happened, all at once yet those seconds seemed to stretch out for him in absolute clarity. He heard the whooshing of the fire, as loud as a scream and as it flared up he felt a hunger like he had never felt before and the kind of strength that made him feel like he could reach out and throttle the spirits tormenting him. Invincible, powerful and absolutely lost to himself he got up to his feet and followed the thundering beat of Caius's heart. He made it two steps before something closed around him. He still couldn't see but it felt like ropes, dozens of them all tightening around his body until he felt like his bones might break and he was sure they would because no body, not even his warping monstrosity of a body, could withstand that kind of pressure. Nothing broke, a second more and it was gone and so were all the crisp sounds of the night. No more heartbeat, no more waves in the distance, just overwhelming silence and a wave of nausea that had him staggering to his knees again.
Caius could see Adrian through the swirl of shadowy spirits, part of them still rooted within his body, and he had to admit the way Adrian got up and closed in on him with murder in his shiny eyes was impressive. He was mildly concerned for himself for a couple of seconds, but then Adrian was stopped, and relief flooded Caius. It had worked. Was working. He let out a short bark of a laugh as the other man dropped to his knees, more out of tension than amusement. Safe now, Caius called off the Obscurities with a wave of his hand, his body giving a little shiver as they all flew back to him and vanished. Caius was bloody and throat-sore but triumphant, every extremity tingling with the magic flowing freely through him. That powerful monster inside of Adrian was his now. “You are ... formidable,” he murmured slowly, his voice low and scratchy. He took a couple of steps closer to Adrian, gazing down at him with a smirk he couldn’t really control at the moment. “How do you feel?”
Adrian's vision returned slowly but surely but the obscurities left a chill behind that he couldn't shake and that clarity he'd felt wasn't limited to his surroundings. For those seconds he thought he'd known what it felt like to be completely one with the beast inside of him and there was a terrifying freedom in being so powerful and not caring about anything. He still remembered the feeling though and the thoughts that were not clouded by his feeble human mind. He wished he didn't remember because now he knew what was really going on and he was helpless to do a goddamn thing about it. "You got what you wanted," he choked out and it didn't occur to him for a second that the monster inside of him was lying to him. Caius had restrained it just like he had promised but he was also holding the leash. Nobody should have that sort of power over someone else and Adrian didn't really want to think about what Caius could make him do. "What are you going to do with it?" He looked up, betrayal and anger in his eyes but there was no real fire behind it, just defeat and exhaustion at having his trust betrayed yet again.
It was a little surprising that Adrian seemed to know exactly what he had done. Caius wondered vaguely if the wendigo part of him was more intelligent than he’d thought. Maybe he would experiment a bit someday and find out, now that the leash was indeed in his hand. He could see the upset, but felt nothing as he gazed down into Adrian’s eyes. Caius was just doing what he had to do to protect himself and his family, just like everyone else in the world. It just so happened that he had more options than most. Adrian was no saint either. Besides, Caius planned to use him with discretion. He was a contingency plan, if things went wrong. “Nothing you need to concern yourself with,” he said, leaning down closer to maintain that eye contact. “You won’t even remember.” It felt easier than it usually did to reach out with his magic and caress Adrian’s mind. Maybe it was the bond he’d just forged, maybe it was all the heightened magic in and around him, but Caius wasn’t going to question it. He was just going to use it to wipe Adrian’s memory of the past half hour, and to reassure him that he was okay. “You got what you wanted too, Adrian,” Caius went on softly, implanting the suggestions as deep as he could. “The ritual was a success, your monster is tamed. Not gone, but quieter, like you wanted. Less hungry. You don’t remember anything after I closed the circle, but it felt smooth and easy to you. You’re safe, and in full control of yourself. You don’t remember this conversation either, and when I snap my fingers, you’re going to wake up refreshed, feeling like a new man. Understand?”
The words should have infuriated Adrian but he just felt defeated and hopeless. It didn't matter what he said now, not when he believed Caius could make him forget everything with the snap of his fingers. His mind already felt hazy, the words felt alluring and if he was honest with himself - completely and utterly honest - wouldn't it be nicer to wake up content for a change? "And then what?" he asked bitterly but Caius didn't need to tell him anything and that was the crux of it. The snap, when it came, was loud and jarring, jolting him awake with a gasp. The first thing he noticed was that he was on the ground, fingers digging into the soil as cold wind battered his naked skin. The next was that he wasn't hungry. He took a few shallow breaths, trying to get his bearings before looking up at Caius, eyes wide with wonder. "It worked?" he whispered but he already knew it had. He felt safe, refreshed and in control of himself for the first time in a long time and the only thing stopping him from outright celebrating right away was the fact that it felt too good to be true.
Caius stood up straighter as Adrian “woke up.” He told himself that Adrian had nothing to complain about -- Caius had given him a gift. A whole new lease on life. All he asked in return was for the possibility of a favor if he needed it, not even something outside of his nature now. It wasn’t like he was going to call up the wendigo every other day to murder people. Caius didn’t want to need him ... but if he did, at least now he would be prepared. And he would continue to gift Adrian with the bliss of ignorance about any of it. He took that look of amazement on Adrian’s face as a good sign and forced a faint smile for him. “It worked,” he confirmed, his voice still a little raw. Caius offered Adrian a hand up. “It got a little messy though, don’t mind the blood.”
Adrian accepted and looked himself over with a huff of amazement. There was a lot of blood but it didn't hit his senses like it normally would, it was just there, drying cold on his skin. His arm, where Caius had cut him, itched a little but it didn't hurt. His body felt sore but that didn't surprise him. What really had most of his attention at that moment was the fact that he didn't feel hungry and he couldn't see quite as well in the dark. The latter was a small price to pay for something he'd dreamed of for years now and he looked at Caius again, a bit overwhelmed. "Fuck, it's cold," he mumbled, not wanting to get overly sappy with the man but the gratitude and relief was more than evident in his smile. "Where the hell did I put my shirt?"
He wasn’t in the mood to accept any sappy gratitude anyway. Caius still had to clean up everything around them and drive Adrian back home, and he hoped to do so with as little talking as possible. “Behind you,” he said, gesturing toward the black lump of fabric crumpled on the nearly-black ground. Now that the ritual was over, the circle could be broken, and Caius turned to kick some soil over the line he’d drawn in the ground. He felt the magic in the air relax and start to dissipate, the dark spirits that had surrounded them long gone now. He started to gather up the supplies to stuff back into his bag, then held one hand out toward the fire, starving it of oxygen until it snuffed out. “How do you feel?” he asked Adrian. “Different?”
Adrian couldn't help the grin that curled his lips and he picked up his t-shirt and pulled it on. Could words really convey just how different he felt? How damn grateful he was? "You could say that," he said with a sense of wonder and let out a little laugh. "So now what?" he asked and the words felt weirdly familiar, like he'd asked that already but he wrote it off as a deja vu and clarified his question. "Can I wash off the blood? Or have to wait for a certain amount of time? Do you think this will... hold?" Paying a witch a thousand bucks on the regular to renew a ritual was a daunting thought when he didn't even have a job yet, but it was still a very reasonable price for something like this; buying his life back. It was hard to believe this was it, painless and quick and effective.
If it hadn’t been so fucked up, it might have been funny, the difference in Adrian’s attitude. It was amazing how significant a few specific minutes could be. And he had the power to manipulate them. Caius thought he ought to feel more triumphant ... he was probably just tired now. “You can wash it off as soon as you want,” he said as he packed up the last of his supplies. “It’s done now. And yes, I think it will hold. Just don’t get attacked by another wendigo.” He slung the bag over his shoulder and started to walk back toward the trees and the trail that would lead them back to the car, gesturing for Adrian to follow him. “If you do feel it starting to slip though, let me know.”
Adrian had a feeling that he didn't yet know just how much had changed, he just knew he felt different - that he felt good - and that alone was such a difference from the anxiety and desperation that had been hanging over him for so long. The thought of getting attacked again put a damper on his good mood but he had never detected that presence here in Point Pleasant nor did he expect it to show up so far from the wild. The old fear was still a thing Caius couldn't fix, that along with the guilt and the shame was something Adrian himself had to work on, but this physical change was a damn good start. He trailed after Caius down the path and wondered what slipping would feel like. "I don't know if I can afford another ritual," he said with good humor. "I can't even afford this one yet. Let's hope it holds." He glanced curiously at the mysterious witch man in front of him, just a shadow behind his flashlight now. "Did it get rough? You said it might..." As long as it hadn't gotten so bad Caius was tempted to charge more he supposed it wasn't any of his business but it felt weird to have passed out right at the start.
Caius had almost forgotten that he’d put a monetary price tag on this ritual on top of the payment he was extracting without permission. He’d considered waiving the fee further down the road, just to be a nice guy, but Adrian had tried to kill him, so now Caius kind of wanted it as hazard pay. Maybe he would save up the small payments it would surely come in, and use it to buy something nice for Reagan. He huffed a short breath through his nose at the question, but didn’t look back. “A little,” he answered. “Nothing I couldn’t handle. And if it doesn’t hold, I won’t charge you for the next one. That would mean I failed, and I don’t accept failure.” He may have succeeded in his own personal goal with this arrangement, but if Adrian didn’t get the benefits he was looking for too, then it wasn’t a true deal. Caius knew his father wouldn’t have given a shit, that was just the price someone paid when seeking out magical solutions, but Caius had a higher standard for himself than that. Besides, threatening to reverse what he’d done and make Adrian a starving fiend again was leverage that he wanted to have, and it wouldn’t work if Adrian already was starving.
A morbid part of Adrian kind of wanted to know what rough entailed. He might have passed out, but had the monster inside him stayed awake? Caius wasn't dead, nor did he look beat up, but he was a powerful witch so it was possible that things had gotten... Rough. Adrian decided he didn't really want to know; if he didn't remember it himself, he didn't want to hear all about it from Caius. "Can I ask how it works?" he asked instead. "Or is it a trade secret?" He didn't truly care, he was alive and it had worked! There had been a part of him that feared that smothering the curse would kill him because of what had happened to him in Seaview. What if his miraculous survival didn't hold if he was fully human? "Did you just put it to sleep or something? Is it... gone?"
Caius tried not to be irritated with all the questions, he genuinely did. It was difficult though, he was tired and sore and there was a sharp pain slowly starting to cut through his head. He could understand the curiosity, he just hoped Adrian wouldn’t insist on talking through the entire drive back to his sister’s house. “It’s not gone,” Caius answered, wanting to clear that up first. “I did a lot of research, and I don’t know if getting rid of it completely is even possible. Whoever did the first binding did a piss poor job, so I just redid them, better. It’s still a part of you, it’s just less in control. If you starve yourself or eat human flesh it might come back to the front, so to speak, but you should still have more control over yourself even in that case. With practice, you might be able to learn to call it up on demand, when you need it. ... I have a similar situation with some spirits of my own.”
Adrian fought back the urge to tell Caius he'd never eaten human flesh, the mere mention of it making his skin crawl. Protesting often made a man sound more guilty than keeping quiet so that felt like the better option here. Something about Caius's spirits similarly gave him a chill but he couldn't remember the obscurities, neither seeing them nor feeling them so he blamed it on the topic in general. Would he ever want to call up that monster within? He could imagine a few scenarios where he might need to and he hoped never to go through something like that again. "I wouldn't even know where to start with practicing," he muttered, his good mood a bit dampened by the dark topic of eating someone. "Meditation, I guess." He huffed as if amused but he was far from it, staring at the back of Caius's head as if he could read his mind. He wondered if Caius knew he'd eaten people, if the ritual had unearthed something or if it was just an educated guess based on his research and decided he didn't want to know because that meant talking about it. "Any tips?"
During the course of his magical career, Caius had done plenty of fucked up things, but cannibalism had never been among them. Not yet, anyway. Who knew what the future held, he was willing to break all manner of social taboos to serve his magic. He did suspect that Adrian’s monster had gotten the best of him at least once and dined on what it craved, but Caius wasn’t giving it much thought, and he certainly wasn’t judging. He just knew that Adrian wasn’t some poor innocent human he was forcing something horrible onto. Everyone was shades of gray, and some were just darker than others. The request for tips made Caius chuckle faintly. His Obscurities were significantly different from what Adrian was dealing with, and Adrian wasn’t a witch, so Caius didn’t think he could advise him properly. Maybe nobody could. But at least now he had room to figure it all out for himself, instead of just scraping by to survive every day. “Accept yourself, that’s my best advice,” he said after a moment, glancing back at the shadowy man behind him. “You are what you are, and you don’t help anybody by hating it, least of all yourself. The more you accept the darkness as part of the spectrum of You, the easier everything else becomes.” Caius was sure that wasn’t the type of advice Adrian was looking for, but that was the best he could do.
The mere idea of accepting this part of him brought up a whole slew of complicated feelings and Adrian's first thought was that he could never accept the part of him that ate other people. That was the part that made him want to bury it all completely, be human again, go vegetarian and never even think about meat again. Then again, he did like being able to hear the heartbeat of his sister's unborn baby and the thought of being completely powerless again was daunting. In other words, he had a lot to think about and a lot to process. It was enough to make him go quiet for the rest of the trek and he had a feeling Caius preferred it like that so he didn't try to force a conversation. When they got in the car he could see Caius better for a brief moment and, smeared blood aside, he didn't look too good. It had gotten rough, he'd said as much, but Adrian still narrowed his eyes as he looked him over until Caius started the car and the light overhead went off again. "Are you okay?" he asked, curious again about what rough had really meant though he didn't want to outright ask if he had hurt him.
Caius did prefer silence, and he hoped it would carry over through the car ride, but he didn’t seem that lucky. He knew he probably looked pale and sickly under the unflattering interior lights of the car. He wasn’t sure whether Adrian could see the bruising around his neck or not, but he was glad to be in the shadows again as he put the car into gear and pulled away. “I’m fine,” he said quietly. “Doing heavy magic can make you sick, or leave you with a lot of pain ... we call it backlash. Nothing I haven’t dealt with before.” His head was starting to pound though, and Caius knew that if he didn’t get home soon, driving was going to be miserable. He didn’t want to describe to Adrian how his monster had tried to protect itself, so that answer would have to do.
That did more to explain the high price and Adrian winced a little at how annoyed he'd been at having to pay it. He couldn't help but wonder if that witch at the facility had suffered the same way but he couldn't really find it in himself to feel sorry for her, unable to shake the feeling that the warding had been weak on purpose. This felt like the real deal and he mumbled a quiet 'well, thank you' before going quiet again. It was obvious Caius didn't feel chatty and that was okay, Adrian didn't feel like he needed to keep a conversation going. When they closed in on Maple Street he glanced at Caius again and while he couldn't see the state of his neck, it didn't take a trained eye to see how miserable he felt. "You gonna be okay driving home? I could drop you off."
He was grateful that Adrian shut up without having to be told. Caius didn’t want to leave him with the impression that they were on bad terms -- he wasn’t very forgiving in general of people who had hurt him, but he knew these were special circumstances. It was just difficult to keep that in mind when it hurt to swallow and his assailant was still within arms’s reach. Discretion was key here, and he could do what had to be done. Still, Caius bristled a bit internally at the nice offer as he slowed to turn down Maple. He was tempted to just stop and shove Adrian out there to let him walk the rest of the way, but ... discretion, discretion. “I’ve got it, but thank you,” he murmured. Caius pulled up in front of Mila’s house and stopped, tossing Adrian a glance. “Stay in touch. Let me know if it doesn’t seem to be sticking.”
Adrian could only hope that 'not sticking' wouldn't end up being a complete loss of control all at once and even thinking about that felt overly pessimistic. He felt amazing right now despite the soreness and exhaustion that seemed to be looming over him, better than he had in years. "I will," he replied softly and it wasn't too hard to pick up on the fact Caius was not feeling social or perky so he didn't feel like he had to linger and make small talk. "Thanks again," he said instead. "I'll let you know when I can start paying you too, hopefully that'll be the only time I need to contact you." He unbuckled his seat belt and got out, giving Caius a friendly little wave before shutting the door.