WHEN: 2044, early afternoon
WHERE: The Warrens
WHO: Thirteen, Ichi, Naoki
---------------------------------
[12:53] ᴄᴀᴇʟ (helio5igma): Ichi was uneasy. While he often went on outings with his mother and while it wasn't uncommon for it to happen while his mechanical friend needed maintenance it was typically to Seiiki that such outings took them. Lex's dislike for the Warrens was no secret and Ichi could not help the sense of guilt that sat in his gut when they descended into them, evident in the tension on his still politely smiling face. /"People are staring at you, Mother,"/ he observed in hushed Japanese. There was no alarm only gentle concern - though he did have his father's habit of locking eyes with those that stared too long. Ichi had something in that unblinking stare that starkly contrasted the sweetness of his face.
[12:59] Thirteen (aimee.aurelia) smiled softly, the expression one that went with many memories of ruffled hair or kisses on his brow. It was a maternal smile, a mixture of pride and absolute affection. "They do that," Thirteen replied calmly. Dressed 'down' though she might have been, the clothing was expensive and a faint trickle of aether left in the wake of her footsteps that sparkled on the dull pavement before fading. She paused to examine the offerings of one of the dingy stalls as if she were seriously considering a purchase though Ichi had never seen his mother actually *eat* anything on their Warren jaunts. "I can make them stop, if that would make you more comfortable," she offered glancing over briefly to one of the vendors who was currently staring at her. A press of her thoughts against his as the man's attention dropped away, his gaze blanking out absently. "It's alright, Ichi. If people remember me, they're much less likely to remember you and you need to eat, don't you?"
[13:11] ᴄᴀᴇʟ (helio5igma): Naoki was never far when those two ventured into the Warrens. Though he didn't make himself immediately visible Thirteen would certainly sense his presence nearby, lurking and observing from behind (or on top of) one of the nearby shops. <Don't stop them,> he instructed her, his thoughts to her own. <It'll make picking his lunch easier.>
He wasn't wrong. Ichi's eyes lingered on the vendor even after Thirteen redirected his attention only to snap elsewhere as someone whistled at the pair of redheads from a distance. "I can eat at home, too," he countered but the reluctance to hunt ebbed quickly when given the proper reason to do so. His own hunger aside, his mind could hardly think of Lex disproving of protecting Thirteen. While the younger Sato's attention was otherwise occupied a little sliver of blood made its way up Thirteen's leg, winding up under the fabric of her jeans and moving upward until it could slip a strap off her shoulder to further entice anyone that might be daring enough.
[13:18] Thirteen (aimee.aurelia) smiled faintly, glancing down at the blood coiling around her shoulder. <You could take over, you know. You are the hunter and I am not.> Thirteen's thoughts curled around Naoki's much in the same way the blood tendril entwined around her skin. <Or are you seeing if he will notice a predator stalking him while he looks for his own meal?> She asked, her head turning to track their near grown offspring as his attention was drawn away. "You can," Thirteen agreed. "But if you are to live on your own at the Academy, you will need to know how to balance such things. This, too, is part of adulthood. You know I am happy for you to stay with us forever, Ichi, but more than that, I want you to have the life you desire, whatever that might look like."
[13:34] ᴄᴀᴇʟ (helio5igma): <It's a good skill to have,> the Jikininki responded. At the moment Ichi hadn't yet noticed his father despite having both his keen senses and his mother's affinity for Aether. Both abilities weren't as honed as his parents' were and he was distracted besides, already taking a few steps towards the pair leering at Thirteen from near the dumpster and the makeshift camp next to it. "I want them to stop staring at you," Ichi said plainly and walked up to the two men to peer down at them. Still smiling, his tone was polite when he said, "That's my mother. Please stop staring and show her some respect."
Behind them, Thirteen likely felt the subtle changes in the crowd. Naoki's presence had shifted, slipping through the Warren's crowds being a quiet deterrent to people hanging around. Stubborn ones were pulled into an alley and simply knocked unconscious. Others were smart enough to just skitter on away. Vendors were accustomed to this sort of thing by now - fights, thefts, assaults weren't exactly uncommon in this part of the city.
The pair Ichi was confronting laughed, drunken and unbothered by the young man's admonition. "Your mom's a hot piece of ass," one of them spat out as he got to his feet. He was taller than Ichi by at least half a head, bulkier about the shoulders. Ichi met his stare regardless. "I'm sorry, but that's an inappropriate thing to say."
[13:38] Thirteen (aimee.aurelia) appeared unbothered by the coarse dialog but then, Thirteen was far more likely to be bothered by the mind saying one thing while the mouth said another. The ruffians didn't bother her and she would have ignored it as she did so much else but she was not bothered by their imminent death and consumption either. While her gaze remained fixed on their son and any possible threats, she still marked Naoki weeding through the crowd on silent feet and dispersing them, her head tipped to the side slightly as she watched to see if Ichi would notice. < To be fair, beloved. You are not actually a threat to me, his senses are not exactly wrong to not register you as such. >
[13:43] ᴄᴀᴇʟ (helio5igma): Laughter from the two men masked already quiet feet as Naoki sidled up behind her, two hands winding about her waist. His lips found her neck, the graze of teeth against enchanted skin teasing at the hunger that rumbled in the Jikininki for much more than a simple taste. "Am I not?" he murmured before pulling her quickly and firmly into the space between two of the stalls. He took a quick, heated moment to crush his lips against her own, his hands roaming to squeeze at her hip then her ass before tugging her along further from the line of stalls.
[13:48] Thirteen (aimee.aurelia) laughed, the sound soft and not likely to carry as she was pulled into the shadows by the deadliest creature currently stocking the Warrens. She turned in Naoki's arms, pliant and content to be pulled from the eyeline of their stalking offspring and the targets he was locked on. Her hand went up, fingertip finding the curve of Naoki's mouth and tracing over the veining. "I suppose it depends on the definition of a threat. Threat implies fear and I have no fear of anything you might do to me," she murmured softly before following the butterfly light touch of her fingertips with her lips. Thirteen trailed a kiss over the corner of his mouth and down to his jaw.. Which wasn't to say that she didn't think Naoki could or would hurt her. They just both knew that if he did, Thirteen would welcome whatever form his desires took.
[14:00] ᴄᴀᴇʟ (helio5igma): Ichi should have picked up on his mother's absence but the lack of scream and even the quiet volume of her laughter made it a difficult task when compared to the two brutes and their teasing. It was only when they mentioned that he'd 'let her get away' that he actually turned around, wide and darting eyes searching the street for signs of her. "Mother - " the call was cut off when one of them grabbed him from behind, a poor choice quickly countered by the eruption of blood-form spikes out of Ichi's back, tearing through both his clothing and the body of the unfortunate man that grabbed him.
Naoki paused with his lips on Thirteen's sternum. He smelled blood, tasted it in the air - both his spawn's and that of the stranger. "How long do you think he'll be distracted?" he murmured and reached behind her to undo the straps of her top. Hasty hands ripped it from her frame before reaching to lift her up so he could push her against the wall and claim one of her breasts with his mouth.
[14:04] Thirteen (aimee.aurelia): Thirteen's husky chuckle cut off with a low moan. "Not long enough for your plans," she replied. "He'll leave the bodies to look for me." That was said with quiet certainty. Naoki didn't have the restraint of their son and even he would leave a meal to find Thirteen if he was concerned. With the twin prodding of the threat of Lex's disappointment and the love Ichi held for his mother, Thirteen was confident in his behavior patterns. Still, her hand threaded through Naoki's hair, holding him to where tongue and teeth teased her nipple into a sharp point. A soft 'Oh' left her mouth in a sigh of pleasure.
[14:20] ᴄᴀᴇʟ (helio5igma): Ichi shoved the man off his back easily, the blood retracting as he turned around to face him. With the other vagrant already scrambling to run away he was left only with the choice between the meal in front of him and the question of where Thirteen had gone - easily answered as his mother had predicted. Crouching down beside the man's head, he dug his fingers in around his windpipe, taking the slow moments it took the necrosis to spread and ensure a more painful death than simply bleeding out to recollect his calm. "I'm sorry, but you were being inappropriate," he said quietly. Getting to his feet, he shook blood from his hands and stalked down the row of stalls, a small bow of his head and a quiet apology given to those that seemed disturbed before he was focusing himself on the trail of Thirteen's aether.
Naoki let out an audible groan of frustration and need. His lips sucked off of the rosy peak of her nipple with a soft pop! and he lifted to sling her legs around his waist. "Can't let him see you like this anyway," he huffed, urging her to hold on tight as quick movements took them up the wall and onto the stall rooftops. He ran along until they could hop off the other side safely, putting some distance between them and their offspring in pursuit.
[14:27] Thirteen (aimee.aurelia) gave Naoki an amused look as she wrapped her arms and legs around him. Thirteen's power was in manipulating aether but her vessel was human in its limitations, no stronger or faster than a fit woman her size could be. She nuzzled into his neck, content to be carted along. Thirteen did not point out that Naoki had often made her clothing out of his blood constructs though the amusement in the curve of her smile made it clear she remembered that just fine. Her fingers ruffled through the short hair at the nape of his neck. "Are you sure you don't just want to prove that you remain the apex predator?" Thirteen teased, prodding at the feral side of her lover. Her senses told her clearly that there was no threat to their grown offspring nearby so she was content to let Naoki coax out the boy's instincts freely and unfettered by Lex's watchful automaton guardian. "Or perhaps you just wish to see what happens outside of the Professor's careful parameters, hm?"
[14:37] ᴄᴀᴇʟ (helio5igma): A little huff of air through his nostrils betrayed the amusement in the elder Jikininki despite his otherwise neutral expression. As Ichi grew he'd begun to match his father in terms of speed but Naoki's mastery over his blood magic and his less than standard methods of traversing surfaces with it kept him a step ahead, taking paths up walls and alongside the cliffside that ran along the Warrens' outer edge until he arrived at the warehouse that sat by the far end. There he set her down near the yellow scaffolding nearby, hands firmly against her waist until he was sure she had her balance. The movement of his eyes from her wrists to the scaffolding himself were, perhaps, more telling than anything he could have said. "Do you trust me?" he asked quietly with a nod at the chains hanging from the scaffold railing.
Ichi was catching up quickly. He followed the trail and the bits of movement he could catch, pushing through crowds with more urgency until he found himself doffing standard walkways and stairs for leaping to overhangs and railings to close more distance more efficiently. When he finally arrived at the warehouse he was out of breath, partly from anxiety and partly from the rush to get there. Naoki had rushed off by that point, leaving Thirteen in whatever state she'd agreed to be found in.
[14:41] Thirteen (aimee.aurelia): "Always." Thirteen's response had been automatic, already lifting slender wrists. "But my top first, please," she'd added because as content as she was to let Ichi's buttons be pushed, some things could never be unseen and they'd done so well so far avoiding giving the kid that collection of particular issues. It was easy enough to leave a little bit of sinew to retie Thirteen's top and she was perfectly content to be trussed up by her wrists and dangling from the scaffold, looking no more distressed than she ever was. As willing to play the bait, or damsel or whatever, Thirteen remained terrible at play acting. She wasn't *in* distress so her expression certainly didn't telegraph it as she settled into the bonds tying her wrists above her head.
[14:48] ᴄᴀᴇʟ (helio5igma): Naoki did have the good grace to help Thirteen get her top sorted out and decent before going to tend to the other part of his plan. By the time Ichi was rushing to the scaffolding to inspect the chains she was fully dressed and not in danger of adding complexes to the poor young man, leaving the confusion that bubbled in his brain solely one caused by the definitely-not-tight nature of her bonds. "...are you alright?" he asked, quizzical and concerned despite the obvious lack of injury. He was still on edge, his cardigan was a bloody mess, and his hair had come undone from its neater coif and sprawled into his face.
It didn't take long for the body of the leering vagrant to come shambling to the warehouse door though the significant dislocation in some of its limbs made it obvious Naoki hadn't been terribly gentle in getting it here in the first place. It waited almost politely at the Jikininki's command, half obscured by the massive doors as Ichi fussed over his mother.
[14:52] Thirteen (aimee.aurelia) watched Ichi hurry up, brief concern flicking across her features at his obvious worry.. Thirteen's natural reaction was to soothe but she was accepting - most of the time - of Ichi's fathers' needs to occasionally discomfit the young man in the name of growth. "Yes, of course," Thirteen agreed easily, likely only adding to Ichi's confusion. "I'm quite comfortable," she added that odd assurance as the bonds were loose and knotted in such away that she could grip the rope and not just dangle at the shoulders. It would only take a bit of effort to swing her foot back and probably stand up on the bench but Thirteen remained where she was, posed and prop like in Naoki's constructed drama. Her gaze flicked to the shambling monstrosity but she did nothing more to warn Ichi than flick her gaze away over his shoulder
[15:02] ᴄᴀᴇʟ (helio5igma): Ichi was alert to his mother's movements and emotions most of the time but in that moment he was especially sensitive to her reactions. He caught the flick of her eyes and wheeled around immediately, eyes locking on the familiar if bloodied face and sharpening to a predatory rage. "You should be dead," he hissed. The puppet corpse charged at him, arms outstretched and maw agape - not terribly threatening even so considering the clumsy nature of its movements. Ichi reacted immediately, meeting the charge head on and grabbing the man's head with both hands. He forced his thumbs into the man's eyesockets with a cry, not bothering to use his own blood to pierce the tissues before pushing him back and onto the ground. It was the corpse's blood not his own that coated his hands, rending at flesh and flinging bits of muscle off to each side with each rip and tear.
It didn't fight back. Naoki seemed more satisfied to see his son acting out so viciously without the necessity of self defense in the mix. He hazarded a half step out of the cover of the warehouse doorway to watch as Ichi raised both hands up to bring his fists down and cave in the man's ribcage with blood hardened around his hands like a club. Bones were tossed away quickly in favor of the lungs beneath, now bare for the young Sato to rip into with his teeth.
[15:07] Thirteen (aimee.aurelia): With Ichi having engaged in the way that Naoki had aimed to provoke, Thirteen absently swung one heeled foot back to catch the metal and stand up on it taking any further strain off of her arms though she made no efforts to free herself. Their son's brutal thrashing of the corpse didn't bother her nor did the gore he was starting to spread around the room. Her gaze slipped away from Ichi and the false threat to smile at Naoki's pleasure in their son's skills. "See, I told you that he was very capable when he needs to utilize that side of his nature," Thirteen commented aloud from her perch.
[15:14] ᴄᴀᴇʟ (helio5igma): There was a true smile on Naoki's face as he observed, one that widened as he turned his attention to Thirteen and made his way around the feasting youth to his mother. "I didn't doubt that he *could*," Naoki countered, moving to steal a kiss before he started freeing her. "Only that he would, given the restraint he's been taught most of his life." He helped Thirteen down from the platform, keeping an arm slung around her waist and fingertips dipped just beyond the waistband of her jeans before he showed a tiny bit of his own restraint and settled them more appropriately outside of her clothing on her belly.
Ichi was most of the way through the second lung before he seemed to come to, taking a big swallow and a few deep breaths before he could turn to look at his parents in surprise and immediate confusion. "She's safe," Naoki said immediately with a nod to Thirteen. /"Congratulations. Good job,"/ was spoken in Japanese. /"You should finish your meal."/
Wide eyes blinked and looked hastily to Thirteen for either explanation or approval to go on. She could tell likely that the boy was still hungry despite how much of the corpse he'd eaten already but it was easy too to pick up the fretting over the mess he'd made of his very light-colored clothing and moreso over the absolute lack of control he'd exhibited in tearing the man apart.
[15:21] Thirteen (aimee.aurelia) nodded, her voice gentling as she added, "Eat. Your father will show you how to clean your clothes after. It's within your skillset and a useful talent that the Professor has made use of before. It will be a good lesson," she encouraged gently, adding her more emotionally supportive confirmation to Naoki's. "We will discuss the lessons after you are sated," she confirmed before turning back to Naoki. She tipped her head up the slight difference in height. With her heels, she was close to Naoki's own slight height. "I had no doubts." Thirteen hummed, leaning into Naoki's touch, her body swaying naturally to curve against his side. "He remains very much your son even filtered through the Professor's lens. It isn't as if the Professor is without that side himself," she reminded them, though between the two of them, they could probably count Lex's control lapsing on a single hand.
[15:31] ᴄᴀᴇʟ (helio5igma): Ichi, having half risen from the corpse, plopped back down to sit on the ground in a huff. It wasn't unlike moments he'd done the same as a much younger monster - when he was far clumsier on far smaller limbs. "...it was a lesson?" he asked as he gingerly took a loose rib and much more carefully stripped the meat from its bones. His eyes glanced too at the street beyond the warehouse's doors, clearly wary of being seen. "He had an associate. Wouldn't he make a report?"
Naoki encouraged the lean against him with a tighter hug of his arm. The tension in his own frame betrayed just how restrained he was being when it came to his own hungers with the scent of a fresh kill in the air and the vivid image of Thirteen strung up on the scaffolding still in his mind. He kept from doing anything terribly overt but was unable to keep himself *perfectly* behaved. Blood worked its way from his body to hers under the cover of his shirtsleeve, tickling down her spine as a warm tendril that soon meandered down to slip under her panties and curl around underneath her, resting between her lips to slide its tip ever so gently against her clit.
[15:38] Thirteen (aimee.aurelia) relaxed into Naoki's arms, shifting slightly as his tendrils wound around intimate parts. Thirteen's soft hum was throaty and it took her a moment to realize that the question was aimed at her. "This is the Warrens and the Professor retains contacts at the constabulary. Any report made won't go anywhere but your father is hungry as well." She reached up to caress Naoki's impassive features, fingertips trailing down his jaw tenderly. "Letting the man get some headway and stalking him will make up for the fact that his prey is slow and human. I imagine his bones will join his friends in the waters below before the sun sets." Thirteen elaborated for her son. "All things are lessons to a curious mind but yes, I believe Naoki was testing and teaching you today."
[16:05] ᴄᴀᴇʟ (helio5igma): The noise she made was altogether too enticing. Naoki pressed the tendril against her more firmly before he too brought his focus back to the conversation happening between mother and child. With a sigh the blood construct withdrew into his sleeve, though when Naoki lifted his fingers to lick something off of their tips it was obvious enough that it had left the slickness of her arousal there for him to taste. "There is more than enough in the Warrens to keep the constables busy anyway," he added with a nod of his head out the door. "Don't feel guilty about the man either."
"I don't," Ichi was quick to interject. He licked his lips and sat back on his heels, keeping his messy hands up and off of his lap despite the bloodstains already on his clothing. "But I lost control of myself. When I thought my mother was being... threatened, I - " he stumbled over words before huffing and swallowing and recollecting his thoughts. " - I won't let myself lose composure in such cases in the future. Thank you for the lesson, Father," he recited, pulling a deep sigh from Naoki. Lifting his hand, he called to the blood still pooling in the corpse and used it to pluck the rib bone from Ichi's fingers. A loud crunch and he'd snapped it in half in his own jaws, chewing and swallowing with ease as his own wordless commentary on the obvious regurgitation of Lex-speak.
[16:11] Thirteen (aimee.aurelia) hummed. Thirteen had disapproved of Naoki's punishment and long absence from her life and Ichi's formative years but she avoided taking a position on the tension between fury and restraint that waged between the men in her life made manifest in the form of her child. When Naoki released her, Thirteen took a step forward and reached out to touch her son, unconcerning of the gore that smeared her clothes in the process. "Everyone loses control sometimes, even the Professor," Thirteen said softly, the truth rarely spoken by either Naoki or Lex. "It is important to know how you break, my sweet, and how to ride through to the other side once more." Her fingers swept through his bloody hair before she mutely held a hand out towards Naoki, silently asking for him to pull the blood away from her skin and clothes. Lex might hate these jeans but Thirteen was rather fond of this pair and god knew if her artfully ripped jeans had to get destroyed, it would be a while before she could get another pair.