Gargoyle (stone__heart) wrote in summerview, @ 2019-02-05 14:03:00 |
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Entry tags: | complete, zcallum casca, znerissa drake |
Maybe I have a problem
Nerissa knew that Zander had been kind of on an emotional roller coaster lately - and weren’t they just been talking about finding more gargoyles somewhere out there, in the great beyond? The only thing that was holding him back was the ‘lack of daytime travel’ hindrance. He was all stone form, all day - until the sun sank down to say goodnight, and the he could enjoy more freedom and mobility. That of course made searching difficult.
And yet, Nerissa had been determined to make it happen. Only it seemed like fate was going to bring the gargoyles to them instead - because one day, he just straight up told her that he had a cousin around now, recently inducted into the crazy known as Summerview, and also a brother. Grayson was someone Zander missed dearly, and to know that he was alive and well was equal parts wonderful and shocking - it must have felt like a bucket full of cold water dumped right over her gargoyle mate, the moment when he laid eyes upon a ghost frozen in time. But no matter what happened, she was there for him. Not to mention she was looking forward to meeting ‘the fam’ too - she loved him and all that shit, so, his happiness was hers and his family was hers as well. In fact, she loved him so much, she wanted to return the favor and like...actually do some cooking. Yeah, yeah, she sucked at it and he was always the one making meals if they ate in, but she wanted to try. The recipe for bourbon chicken didn’t look too complicated - she just needed all the ingredients because like fuck she kept any at her place, and also the main part? The bourbon? Right, needed that too. She was in the liquor store now, deciding which one to get - and, peering through the aisles like a Grade A creeper, she saw the back of someone vaguely familiar, but not. He had a similar build to her permanent booty call, let’s just say, so that meant she was going to push the bottles aside and give herself a little bit of room to stare. And make lewd comments. “Heeeey, nice ass,” was her opener. Yeeeeeeeep. Honestly Callum was beginning to wonder if he should be concerned with how many times he found himself in this liquor store but he was a Gargoyle and that came hand in hand with a high tolerance it would seem. Also he supposed he was also making good use of the ring on his right pinky finger especially with the promise he had to make in exchange for it so he might as well enjoy the daylight hours while he was able. He hadn't really told his cousin the whole truth about how he'd managed to secure that ring as there were some particulars that the other just didn't need to know. It wasn't Zander's job to dig Callum out of the hole he'd gone and thrown himself into out of grief. He wasn't about to toss Zander or Grayson for that matter into the same pit as himself because right now they were free and he was not, far from it in fact. Now the only other woman he'd encountered in here was Bree and the voice that called out that compliment around his ass most definitely did not belong to the werewolf. Callum arched an eyebrow and turned his head to lock eyes with a rather stunning woman who was apparently not at all shy. “Cheers, I think.” The serpent grinned - teeth, fangs, glistening venom. Her eyes were a mish-mosh of colors, sometimes pale grey like a lake iced over, sometimes onyx, sometimes hazel - the pupils were a bit reptilian as well, if one were to look close enough. But overall, the expression in those eyes was pleased. Nerissa scooted around the aisle, joining her newly found buddy in his. In her shopping basket she had a bottle of bourbon, Four Roses; it wasn’t overly expensive, but since she was just using it for cooking (or whatever her attempt at ‘cooking’ would be, Jesus fuckin’ Christ), it didn’t need to be the overly good shit. It would just need to go with the sauce she had in mind. “Cheers back to you, hot stuff. Are you new in town? I don’t think I’ve seen you before,” she mused. He had the same build as Zander but this couldn’t be one of the relatives. What the fuck was he doing walking around in daylight? Callum was well aware that what was approaching him definitely wasn’t human but it also wasn’t something he’d come across in his wanderlust. Not that it was a bad thing because new didn’t necessarily mean wrong. Besides she didn’t appear to be threatening or at least not in this exchange and it was a very open arena after all. “That’s because you’re right, I am new in town,” Callum shared. His accent also made him stand out more than he probably should but how many british guys did you come across in America? He shifted the bottle he was holding from his right to his left hand before he offered it in greeting. “Name’s Callum.” “No shit, really?? Callum, hey!” That was a scrambled response (and Nerissa almost dropped her shopping basket to do a fist pump because damnit, she was right) but she got it together enough to shake his hand. He even sounded a lot like Zander - though her companion’s accent was a bit more subdued, less of the Oxford remnants since he’d been in the States for some time. Still, she was impressed that this was clearly one hot as fuck family. Yay. “I’m Nerissa,” she introduced herself. “Your cousin Zander is my - “ How should she describe him? He wasn’t her boyfriend, that was stupid. Lover sounded dumb and partner was too simplistic. “...life hostage. In the sexy way.” There, that worked. Super romantic. Callum felt at a distinct disadvantage as the brunette exploded into what could only be described as an overabundance of excitement and practically vibrated on the spot. Thankfully she managed to hold it together enough to shake his hand and went on to explain how it was she knew of him. Life hostage? In the sexy way? That was definitely one way of explaining her and Zander’s arrangement, but as long as he was happy Callum wasn’t going to judge especially if it meant that Zander hadn’t spent all the time after the attack being completely and utterly miserable. “Pleasure,” he offered with a smile. “Nice to put a face to the name.” “Yeah, it’s a pretty good face,” she winked. The human meatsuit was cute and all, nice and compact for when she was on land and couldn’t be sixty feet long. This was a town stuffed full of tiny people, so, she had to accommodate. Others of her size and stature (dragons, etc) did as well. But wow, Zander’s cousin. Nerissa was happy as a clam (what did that even mean anyway? It sounded idiotic) to make his acquaintance. “And your face is nice too. If you need any help settling in, or whatever else - just let me know, ‘kay? I mean, I’ll probably check up on you often,” she shrugged. “But I won’t bother you if you’re like, entertaining company or whatever.” “And my ass too, apparently,” Callum remarked with a light note to his voice that was accompanied by a smile to show that he was teasing. Entertaining company? Yes, that happened frequently and often. Only not. Bree was most definitely his most steadfast companion since his arrival in town but generally speaking Callum had kept very much to himself since the attack. It hurt less that way and he had nobody to lecture him about how he was or wasn’t dealing with it. He wasn’t for the record dealing with it, at all. Finding Zander had gone some way to soothing the pain but not fully, not when all his immediate family was gone. Call her crazy, but - Nerissa suspected that he was not, in fact, completely fine with gargoyle decimation; maybe there was something in his eyes which reflected sadness. Something that a keen new study of gargoyles like her had picked up on, thanks to falling in love with one. Zander wasn’t totally fine either, even if the reappearance of family was like a balm to cool the burn. It didn’t heal those wounds all the way though, because they ran deep. She would make it her personal mission to be there for Callum too, in whatever capacity. “And your ass,” she replied gleefully, another flash of those fangs in a grin. “And trust me, I know asses. I work at the spa. I’m sure your balls aren’t tickled at the thought of pampering yourself, but you know. I do a lot of treatments for the guys too, just saying.” She’d even done one for Zander - and if she could convince him, she could convince anyone. “Oh, and pardon my curiosity but your, uh, self - “ Lowering her voice, she motioned toward the form of his chiseled masculinity, “...how is it not stone right now?” Callum folded his arms across his chest, not entirely sure that he could be talked into going to a spa and having a treatment, but weirder things had happened. “Magic,” was the answer he offered in response to Nerissa’s curiosity. It wasn’t a lie but at the same time it wasn’t the full truth. His deal with that Fae had been made in the throes of grief and blind fury, one of these days it would come back to bite him on the arse. Well, alright then. So that could be...pretty much anything. Part of Nerissa wanted to be like ‘are you okay, bro’ because while magic was cool and all, it wasn’t meant to solve every problem. You could get into some reeeeeeeal nasty business if caution wasn’t exercised. Like Fae magic - they were shady-ass Rumpelstiltskins when it came to making deals. Or black magic - the effects of the spell always came back times three. She personally didn’t know any witches who dabbled in black magic, but that didn’t mean those types weren’t out there. “What kind of magic?” she wanted to know. “I mean, I’m not trying to grill you. But Zander and I were talking about taking a vacation sometime. I want to show him things, like, ocean caves near where I came from. But you know...the daytime restriction. It just makes traveling hard.” She wondered if Zander knew his cousin was free from a stone prison during the daylight hours. It would be a good thing to bring up, she thought. “Had I known that Zander was alive,” Callum began. “I would have held onto the spellcaster a little tighter but between you and me it’s better this way. For you and for Zander.” He couldn’t imagine either Nerissa or Zander would want their lives together to be cut short by a demand on Zander’s time. “There’s a cost to everything, magic included. This is no different.” And he’d paid it, happily and readily. “I get ya,” Nerissa replied, and she wouldn’t press about it anymore. Either way, it sounded like her life hostage’s cousin was in some deep shit. And she knew this would worry Zander. But it was good to know that there was some type of magic that could fight off the stone prison. She would look into it - her and Zander. They could do it together, depending on whatever he wanted. “Well, what are you buying here today?” she asked, motioning around them - all the beautiful booze on display, oooh, aaah. “It’s my treat. And maybe if this bourbon chicken I’m planning to make for Zander doesn’t suck too much, you could come over and have dinner with us one night?” Now she’d really try to not fuck up this cooking ‘ish. Tall order. He appreciated that she wasn’t pushing for any further answers. There were some secrets best kept close to his chest, this being one of them. He definitely wasn’t going to push Zander or Grayson into the hole he’d merrily and happily dug for himself. “I was uh just grabbing a few bits.” A few bits being pretzels, candy, and another couple of beers because he and Bree had polished off the last lot he’d bought. “And sure that sounds good and maybe of these days I can return the favour.” Awesome, junk food. Nerissa approved. “I’ll get your bits for you, baby,” she snickered, scooping up Callum’s selections and putting them into her shopping basket instead. “Aaaand I’ll let you know how my cooking adventure turns out. Zander would say it was good no matter what, he’s kind of biased. If it tastes like shit to me though - we have a problem.” Because yeah, this sea serpent would eat just about anything. There was very little she’d turn down. “But it was cool running into you,” she told him, whipping out a few bills to pay at the register. “Like I said, I work at the spa and I’m on our island’s forum too so don’t be too much of a stranger.” Though she was aware gargoyles weren’t the most social of beings, nor the most talkative. Yet she wanted to extend the offer regardless - everyone needed allies around here, right? And Zander’s family was just as important to her, because he was important. So. What was it about women in this town and insisting to pay for his things? Callum shook his head with an accepting smile. “Next time I’ll get your bits.” Only fair that way. He did however pack up his and her things into separate brown paper bags and nodded. “Yeah, it was good meeting you. It’s good to know Zander has somebody like you in his life.” He managed to charm a pen out of the lady behind the till and scribbled down his number on a receipt he had in his back pocket of his jeans before offering it to Nerissa. “I can be reached on that number any time during the day. In the evenings not so much as I work in the city then.” Callum picked up his things and lifted a hand in parting as he headed out on his own. “Next time, my bits are on you,” Nerissa promised, and yeah, that sounded awful. But she just had a crude sense of humor, deal with it. With a fangy smile, quite cheerful, she took the receipt with the number and tucked it away for a rainy day. Or even a sunny one. “See ya later, Callum.” She couldn’t wait to tell Zander she ran into his cousin - and the fact that she’d done so during the day? Well, let’s just say they had a lot to discuss, mmmhmm. |