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Lux's apartment is... not in a good neighborhood. In the worse parts of Fairhill. There's a fair amount of run down buildings lining the streets, the sidewalks cracked, lots of graffiti on surrounding buildings. Lux's apartment, which Atalo had followed the trail to, is a four story building with... sadly not very much security. The front door is locked, however. Is Atalo going to try to pick the lock, try to slip in when someone comes out, or just... wait nearby to see if Lux comes out?
Atalo is patient and willing to wait. And has certain advantages when it comes to slipping in when someone enters or leaves. One hand resting on Cerberus' head to extend the benefit, he fades from the minds of any who pass, a figure and dog unnoticed by the world around them.
Of course, Lux's might not be the only scent Cerberus picks up that's familiar--Mearcstapa is around somewhere, he's passed through these doors recently as well as the unfamiliar painter.
After a while of waiting, Atalo manages to slip in without getting any second glances, when one of the other residences slips out. He can follow the trail up to the fourth floor. No elevator--it's a long walk up many stairs.
Mearc is no doubt helping Lux do some organizing, which seems to physically pain the Bright One. There's a fair amount of bratty whining, but Lux is poking through their piles of junk with a broody pout, sorting things into..... smaller piles, which at least can then be put away into bins or on shelves.
Atalo lacks Cerberus' nose, but the ghoul's tail does wag at a familiar scent and a grumbling exchange happens between him and his master, causing Atalo to develop a faintly speculative expression. Hm. Heading up, he adjusts his coat, adopting a hopefully friendly expression as Cerberus leads him to a door both scent trails pass through. Catching the faint sound of voices from within, he raises a hand, carefully restraining his above human strength to politely knock.
"And like I said, these shelves don't have to stay white--and I'm really, really not expecting them to, but..." He stops talking at the knock, freckles flashing red before swiftly turning green, giving Lux a questioning look. "Expecting anyone?"
"Hrmm, yeah, I might paint them all different colors. That might be nice..." Lux freezing in place as they look up at the door. They frown deeply. "...No. No one even knows where I live other than you, Jack and Raph, and Jack's at work..." They cautiously push themself to their feet, moving over to the door to peer through the peep hole.
What they see is a plain faced man in a simple white shirt and brown jacket, and possibly a German Shepherd depending on how much vision the peep hole allows. He's settled in place, focused on the door with a fairly patient looking manner.
Lux pulls back with a very anxious frown, looking at Mearc. "I don't recognize him," they say softly.
Mearc waits, moving in behind Lux, ready to lend support for whatever comes next. "Probably best not to open the door, then."
"Erm... probably. He has a dog."
Atalo pauses, then raises a hand, perfectly repeating the polite knock from before.
"Puppy, or more of a dog-dog?" Mearc gestures size, as if that's relevant at all here.
"Dog-dog. Looks kind of like a german shepherd?"
"...about how old does the man look?" Mearc's expression is confused now, instead of purely protective.
"Umm... mid thirties, maybe?" Lux makes a 'look for yourself' gesture.
Mearc moves to look through the peephole. "...why even..." This is muttered half to himself.
"...You know him?"
"Maercstapa." Atalo calls out lightly. "I believe you're inside? I'm hoping to talk."
He hesitates, glancing over his shoulder at Lux. "Move out of eyeline from the door."
And then he opens it, moving to stand right in the doorway so neither Atalo nor Cerberus can enter, occupying the space of the doorframe in a way that's clearly both tense and protective. "If it's a matter you couldn't text about, you should have asked me to meet you, rather than tracking me to here."
Lux bristles when they hear Mearc's name called. Their lights dim to a dull glow--an instinctive hiding response. "Mear--" they start to hiss, but then he's opening the door. They frown and quickly scurry into the bathroom, out of sight.
Atalo smiles lightly, spreading his hands before patting Cerberus lightly. and speaking quietly. "On the contrary, I only learned you were here a few minutes ago. It was the artist who got the city's attention whom Cerberus tracked here."
"And why did you and Cerberus track this artist down?" The look on Mearcstapa's face is much more animated than even when Atalo saw Anna-Marie goading him. There's a definite hint of growl in his voice.
Hearing that makes Lux go into a full panic as dots are connected, and they step over to fumble into a drawer to pull out... a throwing knife.
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/914FXY-Qn7L._AC_SL1500_.jpg? And of course it's rainbow.
"Cannot I discuss that with them in person?" Atalo asks mildly. "Simply though, I was asked to because someone was impressed with their work and had interest in possibly employing their services. There is nothing sinister or hostile, simply admiration."
"Would you be willing to swear it to me, that neither you nor the one who sent you means the artist in question any harm?" As much as he's blocking Atalo's view of the inside, he's probably blocking any possible clear shot for Lux with that knife.
"I can't swear exactly that." He admits after a moment. "What I can swear is that I don't mean the artist in question any harm, and that to the best of my knowledge the one who sent me doesn't mean the artist in question any harm."
Lux inches into the bathroom doorway, holding the knife tightly, watching Mearc and the door cautiously. They definitely are holding the knife like they know how to use it, though.
Mearc seals what Atalo swears, then looks over his shoulder. There's a small pause, as he tries to figure out how to defuse this, before he realizes that the perfect signal was set up last night, even if he hadn't realized at the time. "It's alright, hummingbird. Atalo's Greek, not Italian."
Lux blink-blinks at Mearc for a moment, looking bewildered and still clearly scared. But they slowly lower the knife. "...Okay..."
Atalo pats Cerberus lightly, who sits himself down, yawning briefly as he watches the going ons with canine cheerfulness.
"Can I invite him inside? They don't need the invitation like the myths say, but a lot of them are still pretty polite about it."
"...I guess he's already here. Might as well," Lux mutters, but clearly isn't happy about it. They don't put down the knife, but hold it more loosely at their side.
The apartment is small, and currently pretty messy--though in that "mess that comes before organizing" sort of way, with various things piled about in the process of being sorted and put away. It's pretty bare, otherwise--a mattress on the floor in one corner, with a brightly colored sheet set, and an old love seat. The walls have paint and graffiti all over the walls.
Mearc steps aside to allow entry. "Behave yourself. Your oath was witnessed."
"You're extremely protective Maercstapa." Atalo nods, padding inside. "I don't bring any harm to those who don't deserve it." He looks Lux's way. "Good evening." He offers quietly, before looking between them. "It's not any troubling thing." He tells them. "Shiri, who asked me to find out who the artist is, simply wanted to try and hire them to paint them a mural."
Lux blinks at Atalo as they listen, expression still cautious. They say nothing, just look questioningly to Mearc to try to see if he recognized the name Shiri.
"I don't know Shiri. However..." As he shuts the door, returning to Lux's side. "This is Atalo Ceres, and his dog Cerberus. Atalo is a vampire who owns a thrift store, and has never been anything less than civil to me, if not overtly friendly. He knows of my nature, though we haven't discussed personal details. Atalo, the artist will introduce themself or not as they see fit."
He nods. "That is their choice of course. I simply came here to explain Shiri's interest, which is to commission a piece of artwork." He looks towards Lux at that.
Lux inches closer to Mearc, nearly pressing against his side. Their lips purse as they listen, keeping their eyes on Atalo. "...Okay. I'm assuming Shiri is a vampire, then. ...I'm Lux."
"The other piece of context you should have, Atalo, is that Anna-Marie's threats against our community were aimed, in part, at Lux." He crosses his arms over his chest. "Her actions affect the reputation of your community as a whole."
That does elect a greater response from the vampire, the first strong emotional reaction since his arrival. His upper lip curls back and for a second his face is almost bestial, Cerberus letting out a low growl. "Her actions do not reflect mine." After that it's gone, his manner placid again. "I can appreciate your concerns. But as I swore, to the best of my knowledge Shiri means you no harm Lux. She simply has a passion for art."
Alas, Atalo's bestial reaction doesn't help much--Lux steps in front of Mearc with the knife lifted, their grip firm on it again. "Does she endorse tracking people down to their homes, or is that just you being an idiot?"
Mearc makes no move to interfere with Lux, stepping out so he's not directly between them and Atalo.
He cants his head, apparently untroubled by the threat of the knife. "Perhaps I shouldn't have done that. I simply wanted to explain her interest to you. If you prefer me to leave, I'll do that now."
"...I'll give you my number to pass on to her. But after, yeah, I want you to leave," Lux says with a frown.
"As you wish." He inclines his head, patting Cerberus again. "Thank you." He produces a phone and with agonizing slowness, taps at it to get the screen he needs.
Mearc remains out of the way, nodding slightly at Lux.
Lux waits, then slowly gives their phone number.
He nods, tapping it in with that same slowness. "Thank you." He offers a polite nod. "And see you another time Maercstapa, perhaps." Acting on Lux's decision he turns, heading for the door with Cerberus in tow.
"Almost certainly. I'll be around your shop again at some point." He huffs softly. "Good hunting, Atalo."
Lux doesn't give any goodbyes. Just watches Atalo leave. Once the door is closed they hurry over to lock the door, frowning deeply.
Once the door is locked, Mearc looks at Lux quietly. "What do you need, right now?"
"...I don't know." They frown down at the knife, then go to put it on a shelf. "Even if he's telling the truth... If he could find me this easily, then maybe Anna-Marie wasn't just bluffing."
"Maybe. But nothing has come of her yet, and we're going to get Jack in front of the Sakima, and all of that will be dealt with. I'm not letting her hurt you. I'm not letting anyone hurt you."
Lux turns to him, frowning deeply and still clearly anxious. "I'm sorry... You already have enough on your plate, than to have to worry about me."
"You're the worry I choose. One of the most important, and the one that has the greatest benefit for the pains."
Lux watches him a moment, then they exhale, shoulders slumping a little. "Okay..." They step over to pull him into a hug. "I'm glad you were here."
And Mearc squeezes back tight. "I swear, soon I need to introduce you to my sane vampire friend, Alex. She would not have done that to you, I'm pretty damned sure."
"Mm..." Lux looks uncertain, briefly. Then sighs and nuzzles against his hair and ear. "I trust your judgement. So I'll do my best to not hold this--and that bitch against her. Besides, if you care for her, I want her to care about me, too."
"She...when we first met, I was three months out of the Hedge, and she was Fae-Touched, and we were both too young to drink, but hanging out at a party at a security conference." He thinks for a moment. "That might have even been before I traded my eyes at a Goblin Market and started growing my red freckles."
"...Oh. You go that far back, huh?" Thankfully Lux's face is hidden against Mearc's hair. "Wait... traded your eyes?"
He nods slightly, his voice lowering to something soft and uncertain. "They were, um. They held Her mark on me. They were where I held Her mark. So I did what I could to get rid of them, without gouging them out. I sold them."
"...Oh... Oh, babe." Lux pulls back, their expression now nothing but soft understanding and concern. Their hand lifts to cup over his cheek. "I'm sorry you had to do that, but I'm also glad you were able to get rid of Her mark without... hurting yourself like that."
"And once I sold them, the red freckles started to grow in, one at a time." He leans his head into their touch, closing his eyes.
"Then it was a good thing." They caress along his cheekbone with a thumb, then lean in to gently kiss over each eyelid.
He smiles, and opens his eyes again. "I'm kind of not in the mood to go back to organizing right now. You?"
"Yeah... not really. And honestly I don't really... feel very safe here, right now. Want to go somewhere?"
A nod. "Where do you want to go, then?"
They consider for a moment. "Maybe we can go grab dinner, then head back to your place?"
"Deal."
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