I'LL BRING THE PILLS AND PAIN / private, nero

[madster]

// i know the ic chat isn't really canon but im just assuming meri and nero had the conversation they did in the chat for convenience's sake lol

merihem quite liked nero. whether it was the whole vampire thing or his cutesy innocence, he'd never. was he a bad person if he wanted to ruin that? not in a perverse way, but he wanted be the one to change him. to reinvent him. he'd mold this little vampire boy into something others would be jealous of. meri had told nero to meet him in his room later that night but honestly he didn't plan to do anything that he implied- no, just getting right to the point was never fun.

the journey was more exciting. plus, he wasn't just into nero for the sake of satisfying some carnal impulse of his. he wanted to get to know him better. instead of ecstasy and lsd, merihem had bought some teabags from his usal dealers- flavored like blueberry, his favorite.

yep, he was intending to wine-and-dine him. without alcohol. well, maybe with a little alcohol later, but for now he'd give him something nonalcoholic.

and so he waited for nero to show up, sitting in his room idly. his room had been tidied up for the 'date', and he shoved all his extra clothing in the corner and hid his pills under the clothes. he had lit a single candle on the floor with the teapot near it and two red plastic cups. he was ready for this.

[Nero]

Nero didn't quite understand what Merihem was saying most of the time, but he was glad that the other feline was being so patient with him. He knew that he could be a little annoying sometimes, especially with all the questions he asked, but he was happy to know that there were people out there willing to put up with him. He had spent so much time alone, with only the books in his room for entertainment, that he didn't know much about the world yet. Merihem had offered to teach him though, and all the interest that he showed in Nero made the vampire's face feel all hot.

It was on odd feeling, one he wasn't used to. Nero had read a lot in his books, but most of them were about things like volcanoes and tectonic plates, science explained in child-friendly vocabulary that he quickly outgrew. He knew nothing about drugs or love or alcohol. But that was why he stood there, at the door to Merihem's room. He wasn't sure why his heart was beating so fast, and he took a second to steel himself before entering.

Once he deemed himself ready, Nero opened the door quietly and sneaked through the entrance. He didn't want to intrude on Merihem's space, so he tried to make himself look as small and not-annoying as possible. He was thankful for the darkness of the room, unaware of Merihem's romantic intentions. Nero just assumed that the other feline had guessed that he felt more comfortable in low light. he moved to sit across from his companion, offering him a bright smile. "Thank you so much for this, Meri! I really appreciate your help." He shifted a little, his tail curling securely around his body. "What will you teach me about first?"

[madster]

merihem got up from his sitting position to greet the vampire boy and a grin spread across his pale, freckled face. meri looked him over- cute as always, of course, and he could feel a heat rise to his cheeks. nero looked nervous- this was probably the first time he had spent one-on-one time with someone his age, and especially someone as excitable as meri.

"let's have some tea. i'm capable of liking things that aren't inherently morally depraved, y'know," he joked, noting his already-forming reputation of being a thirsty druggie. which wasn't inaccurate, but he had other things about him too. his past self-loathing, his beef with his brother... though, some things he didn't want to tell people.

"do you like tea? this one's my favorite. it's blueberry," he coyly said, flicking his tail. "anyways. i want you to tell me about yourself. where do you come from, nero? what do you do for fun? why are you so cute?" he joked, pouring them both a cup of tea with his mouth wrapped around the handle of the teapot- a task much harder done then said- and then blowing on the tea. "baby, talk about yo'self," added, rolling his shoulders. 

[Nero]

Nero didn't quite get what Merihem meant by 'morally depraved'. He had a lose idea of what morals were, but nothing definate. From what he could gather, moral things were good and immoral things were bad. Was Merihem implying that he liked bad things? Nero wasn't sure - the feline before him seemed too kind to be into anything shady. But perhaps that was just Nero's naivety talking. He couldn't answer the inquiry tossed at him, really, for he had never even had tea before. All he had to drink back home was water.

"Ive never had tea, but if you like it I'm sure I will too!" Nero said, his tail swaying excitedly behind him. And as for the other questions... there were so many in a row that he'd have to think on it a bit. He looked down at his cup as the drinks were poured, cheeks dusted the faintest shade of pink. Merihem really thought he was cute? That's a new one, something that Nero had been completely unprepared for, something he didnt know how to react to at all. He cleared his throat a little before speaking. "Well, I'm not that interesting really. I dont have any interests or hobbies yet. I'm using to being stuck in my house, so all the options are still a little overwhelming..." He shifted around a bit, watching the steam rise from his drink. "I used to live far away with my parents, but they stopped coming near me once... well, you know," he rubbed a paw over the puncture wounds on his neck and laughed awkwardly.  It was a bit of a sad memory, so he didn't like to linger on it. "Thats about all there is to know about me! What about you, Meri?" He would be lying if he said that the other feline didn't interest him greatly.

[madster]

merihem couldn't help but smile when nero talked. he was so innocent, but he grimaced upon hearing his little backstory. his parents abandoned him after he became a vampire? "that's sucky as fuck, baby. well, you know here... you've got all the family you'd ever want- and don't worry about the hobbies thing, you'll find something you like, there's a shit ton of things to do here," he quipped, lapping up some of the hot tea, burning his tongue a little, but he liked the sensation. nero was cute and innocent, and he knew the other clan members would want to protect him from the cruelty of the world- meri did too, to an extent. as he directed the question back at him, he blinked, thinking of a good way to word it all.

"well, i did live far away too. with my parents and my brother, malphas. just us four. then one day, my brother ran away, and when i was a little older i decided i'd go try and find him. i didn't find anything, except i found his scent on a blood-stained bear trap-" he realized nero probably didn't know what a bear trap was. "it's a steel thing that kind of looks like teeth and it snaps on to you and you bleed to death, probably," he continued. "so i think the idiot stumbled into tanglewood and got himself killed in a trap." merihem seemed rather chill about the revelation that his only brother was dead. "but i don't really care. i used to, but now it's like... ehh, he's dead, nothing is gonna bring him back. i can't go back to my parents and tell them malphas died, that'd break their hearts, so i'm just living here forever." he said.

"sorry, that was pretty long. i'll ramble if you don't stop me, ya' cutie," he purred. "so- how'd you become a vampire? tell me the story!"