Arlo James

See what it's like to be a vulture's lunch

It was so....much. At least, more than Arlo had actually expected it to be. Those very legal words pouring from Sebastian's lips like a fountain. The younger vampire merely left staring at his elder companion near blankly in the wake of it. He understood, to some extent, just what Sebastian had said and yet so much off it was little more than words to him. How in the hell had he ever thought he might be able to do this alone? Sebastians expertise, hell, his very professionalism, putting to shame any of Arlo's own previous thoughts that this case might be simple- or cheap. He'd never had to hire a lawyer before in all his life. Exactly how much they charged had never really occurred to him and yet someone like Sebastian, someone actually good at that job was probably a lot more than most. Maybe more than he could actually afford. That very look upon Arlo's features almost sheepish then as his hand rubbed at the back off his neck. The younger vampire biting down on that veritable pride to admit that, realistically, he probably couldn't pay Sebastian what he was owed. Especially not with the amount of work it looked like it might take. Surely Seb knew someone cheaper though right?

That look of surprise found Arlo's features as Sebastian all but waved those concerns away with the insistence Arlo need only cover some of those costs, along with the renewal of Seb's lawyer license (who knew that was a thing?). The elder vampire insisting that it would be fun regardless. Arlo content to let one eye arch slowly upwards at that very admittance. Fun? Only one type of person found work like this fun- he was sure. Nerds. Nerds found work fun. Sebastian was a nerd. He knew it! He'd known it since they moment they'd met. He'd merely been thrown off by Sebastian's uncharacteristically good looking features and talents with women- traits most nerds lacked. Sebastian was clearly some sort of.....hybrid nerd. That grin having worked its way onto the Crusniks features then as he eyed his companion with that very announcement. Sebastian, for his part, responding far more indignantly then he'd expected. The other vampire leaning back in his chair to fold his arms across his chest with a pout of sorts. Arlo readily taking up that very challenge.

"You absolutely were. I bet you found school fun, I bet you got amazing grades and more then that, I bet you were in like the chess club or band or something weren't you? Like a nerd. You almost had me fooled though. I mean, your at least a solid nine out of ten on the attractive scale, which is rare for a nerd, but that comment about this work being fun gave you away. I'm also like ninety percent sure if we found a picture of you in your school days you'd be that kid with his shirt tucked in and the really neat hair. I know i'm right, bud. You can't fight it."

That simper on Arlo's features tugged all the higher. Those words entirely good-natured despite that obvious ribbing all the same. Arlo almost curious to see whether or not Sebastian had any real defense against those claims. Of course- there was all those women he had slept with. Arlo almost inclined to wonder if Seb knew how many he had bedded over the years. Maybe it was better not to ask. Seb was probably beating him. Arlo reached easily for those scraps of paper then to begin actually attempting to put them in some sort of cohesive order for Sebastian to look through. The Crusnik attempting to align them by song as Seb passed him one piece of paper after the other, that very comment about that contract prompting the vampire to pause for a moment. There was a chance he might even still have it. Arlo reaching for another of those boxes Abby and himself had pilfered. It took several moments of digging before that crumpled, stained, terribly weathered old contract was plucked from the pile and handed to Sebastian in turn. Each of those places requiring Arlo's signature left notably blank. That stack of papers having been tossed into that very box, perhaps, all those years ago only to be forgotten about until now. Sebastian entirely content to thank God for Arlo's apparent hoarding.

"Hey!"

It was his turn, this time, to be the indignant one. Arlo sure he wasn't a hoarder although really, the evidence was perhaps littered all around him. The younger vampire reminiscing briefly over one of those very songs before a flicker within his peripherals saw him glance upward- that ready cry of alarm barely free off his lips before man and chair tumbled to the ground in a truly undignified display. Arlo near hurriedly attempting to scramble to his feet with the insistence Sebastian was being robbed. Sebastian, for his part, hardly seeming as concerned about this as Arlo thought he should have been. The elder vampire merely insisting it was 'just Matteo'. Did his father-in-law always just....appear? Did Fae not use doors? That very surprise continued to linger upon his features as he moved to trail after Seb all the same. Arlo, for the first time, pausing to sniff at that air. That scent was, well, incredible. Like Dorian's own but stronger, richer somehow. Arlo almost content to contemplate just what Fae might actually taste like.

The Crusnik trailed easily into that room after Sebastian then, his gaze lingering upon the Frenchman whom reclined almost laconically in that leather chair. Sebastian's presence seeming to prompt that housekeeper to hurry off with her cheeks so flushed Arlo was almost certain he could smell the blood blossoming beneath them. Not that he blamed her. This the first time he had ever truly been given a chance to, well, look at Matteo in any real sense. Arlo assured Abigail could never come back here. Not if there was a chance this guy might just be walking around. Hell, if Sebastian was a nine on that attractiveness scale then Matteo was at least a.....fifty. No wonder Seb damn well thought about the guy! Arlo almost inclined to admit Matteo was, well.....pretty. Abnormally pretty. Those very words uttered beneath his breath before that sudden comment upon his music was directed toward him and those pleasantries exchanged. He'd never met this Matteo before, hell, he'd only ever seen him once, vaguely, at that wedding and yet, somehow, the guy was almost intimidating. Even despite the fact he hadn't done anything other then sit in that chair. Sebastian's demeanor in turn having shifted entirely. The englishman having become, well, pretty damn english in that moment. Sebastian almost rigid and overly formal. Arlo suddenly inclined to take his hands out off his pockets if only because it suddenly seemed.....impolite of him to have them there. Sebastian insisting Dorian would surely be back soon and yet the Frenchman hardly seemed surprised by that notion in any sense, that vaguest of simpers finding his lips as his head simply nodded. "He will be awhile yet."

He said it as if he knew. Arlo staring near blankly at the oddly intimidating Fae for several moments before commenting upon that strange briefcase. Who the hell carried a wooden briefcase? Matteo, for his part, effortlessly seeming to pick up that line of conversation only to suggest he needed a favour from Sebastian and himself, Arlo's surprise surely clear upon his features before the man mentioned needing a donation. The Crusnik mostly sure a twenty was about the best he could do. Matteo insisting he had misunderstood only to comment upon that desire for vampire venom. Arlo suddenly inclined to find a stillness all his own. No one had ever....asked him for venom before. That sudden sense of unease rising within him as he glanced again towards Sebastian. What did a Fae want with venom? He wasn't going to....kill anyone with it right? Not that Arlo was truly sure his venom could kill anyone to begin with and yet that very silence that persisted in the room around them suddenly seemed heavier. Sebastian, at last, seeming to find at least some words.

The Frenchman, for his part, hardly seemed at all perturbed about that very silence. Matteo content to remain within that seat he had taken up, one long leg folded over the other as if he was entirely comfortable with requesting that very substance. His silver gaze drifting lazily between the pair before that sound within Sebastian's throat saw his attention fixate upon the Englishman. Sebastian asking whether or not he could inquire about just what he wanted that venom for. Matteo's fingers drummed briefly upon that arm of that chair, a soft sigh resonating from within him before his fingers abruptly paused in that motion. Arlo almost entirely sure the man was thinking, though about what he hardly knew. Matteo hardly seeming put out by that query, rather, he seemed to be choosing those very words with care, his gaze resting upon Sebastian still as if he was almost...vaguely amused by the vampires caution. Those accented words offered simply then. "Your venom is decidedly unique not only in what it does but, I suspect, in the fashion it does it. Your companions venom, in turn, is one of the rarest substances on this earth if only because it is designed to be more effective against vampires than any other substance in existence. What I intend to do is blend them both." Matteo's shoulders lifted in a simple shrug in that moment, as if those very things he spoke off were merely commonplace and hardly the recipe for what Arlo was mostly sure was beginning to sound like some kind of....weapon.

"Are you going to...kill someone?"

Was this a hit? Arlo's gaze flicking briefly between Sebastian and Matteo again. The Fae merely letting one eye lift ever so slightly before offering a simple shake off his head. "Not tonight, Mon Amie. I cannot afford you every detail I fear and yet I offer you my word all the same that I am not about to bring about the death of any being. What I intend to do- is to help someone. Though that is all I will say on the matter tonight. I will force neither of you to assist if you choose otherwise though your assistance will prevent my having to hunt down an unwilling donor." Was he going to hunt a vampire? That look of bafflement still surely clear upon Arlo's features all the same. His mind still turning over those very words. That Frenchman decidedly good at.....not giving away information while making it seem almost as if he had. Arlo unable to shake the feeling the guy was, well, not exactly being truthful. Then again, maybe he was helping someone?

"Look bud, I...I mean, even if I wanted to let you have it I can't just....make venom happen. Maybe Seb can, but I need to be about to eat or to have some blood around at least."

Venom, after all, only tended to start flowing when he was about to bite or at least the prospect of having something to bite presented itself. He could hardly just make it appear and yet the Frenchman appeared equally as unconcerned by that very proposal in turn. "There is no need to worry, I know well how your species works. I assure you I can make that venom run." Matteo's foot shifted just so to tap against that wooden briefcase. Arlo suddenly inclined to wonder exactly what the hell was in it!

Matteo's attention shifted from Arlo and back to Sebastian once more. The Frenchman wholly aware of the truly precarious nature of that very request he had thrust upon his son-in-law in that moment. It was so hardly a request he desired to make and yet- if it might yield those very results he suspected- it would prove entirely worth it, in the end. A part of the man inclined to feel near.....guilty over so having to place that very indecision upon Sebastian and yet some things surely need be done. "I am asking you to trust me, Sebastian. As I trust you each and every day with the most valuable thing I have ever made." And there it was- that veritable hidden dagger so easily concealed within those layers of accented politeness. Those very words hardly a threat in any sense and yet they were a reminder of sorts- of just what Matteo had surely given him in Dorian. A weakness the Fae knew could so easily be exposed and veritably exploited upon the Englishman- a weakness they both shared. How well he knew just what those very words might prompt within the vampire. Matteo pressing upon those delicate tendrils that encompassed their very relationship as father and son in law- and those very societal expectations he knew still bound Sebastian above all. That duty to family.

Those words, it seemed, were utterly lost upon Arlo. The younger vampire oblivious to just how those very 'deals' had once been struck in those centuries long passed. Arlo far more used to those blatant, obvious agreements rather then those very things that remained unsaid and so nestled within the details of the words themselves. To make a request of another man had once been a veritable art form, whole arguments so capable of being held within singular words. Matteo long since practised in that very game. Arlo merely glancing toward Sebastian in that silence that followed.

"Are you...doing this?"