Arlo James

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

Arlo's gaze continued to shift from the aristocratic French Fae lounging in that leather chair, to Sebastian beside him and back again. The appearance of the man Sebastian deemed his Father in law was one thing and yet, the way Sebastian seemed to completely shift his personality into an entirely different being was another. Seb was always so suave, so confident, so damn near quick to hassle him back whenever he teased him and yet the vampire who stood beside him now was none of those things. Sebastian almost seemed anxious. Maybe more than that. Maybe he was outright nervous. Although, really, Arlo supposed he hardly blamed the man. The Fae was...unsettling. Even if he wasn't exactly doing anything other then sitting there. Arlo hardly able to put his finger on exactly what it was about Matteo that made him anxious and yet the Frenchman just had a way of, well, looking at him almost judgmentally. At least, Arlo was mostly sure it was judgmentally. Maybe he always looked like that. Hell, maybe it was that change in Sebastian that was unsettling him more. The elder vampire having become almost rigid and overly polite within a matter of seconds. Arlo almost wishing he'd go back to calling him a chuffed wanker and arguing about the necessity of school. The Crusnik convinced only a nerd would say that as well. School, he was sure, was a waste of time for the most part. Arlo oblivious to the pressures and expectations of the society Sebastian had grown up within and how truly vital that schooling had been. His lack of knowledge on those very expectations perhaps prompting some measure of confusion here and now as to exactly why that relationship between Sebastian and Matteo seemed so....strained. At least, beyond Matteo's generally air of unsettling. That a son in law had certain duties to his father in law had hardly crossed his mind. That Sebastian still strove, valiantly so, to impress the Frenchman equally unconsidered.

Arlo's own attention lingered upon that wooden briefcase for several long moments as he stood beside his companion. At least until the Fae commented on that request for a favour from them both. Arlo's blue gaze flicking upward to meet that unusual silver shade Matteo shared with Dorian. What on earth did he have to give the man? This was kinda the first time they'd ever really met. Could you even ask for favours from people you didn't know? That suspicion within himself, it seemed, was reflected in Sebastian in turn. Both vampires content to eye the Frenchman almost warily then. Arlo so mistaking that mention of a donation for a request for money. Maybe Matteo's job was more....title then it was payment? Arlo content to offer that twenty he was mostly sure he had in his wallet. At least until that mention of venom. That clear surprise making its way onto his own features then. Both vampires seeming to still almost instantly at that request. He'd never been asked for venom before. That frown making its way onto his features then. What in the hell did a Fae want vampire venom for? What was he going to do with it? That suspicion surely clear on every line of the Crusniks features as he glanced briefly toward Sebastian and back to Matteo again. That silence suddenly seeming to drag on before Sebastian cleared his throat to ask the very question that had lingered in Arlo's mind in turn. Matteo sighing as if that question was somehow a bother. Sebastian almost seeming to flinch at the sound. Did a sigh mean something? Arlo's own head shook lightly. Maybe it was better not to try and understand Sebastian here and now.

The soft insistence from the Fae that he intended to combine their venoms to help someone momentarily saw that curious look return to the Crusniks own features. Could that be done? How on earth was that going to help anyone? Arlo hardly able to prevent that suspicion that surely played upon his features. His trust in Matteo a decidedly limited thing. Arlo hardly willing to give up that venom only for it to somehow be used in some sort of crime, or worse, against Sebastian and himself later on. Surely the Frenchman would hardly bring any harm to his own family and yet that uneasy feeling had settled almost heavily in his stomach. There was simply something....off about that request. The explanation the elder man offered them not exactly informative in any real fashion and yet the idea that he might simply choose to go and get that venom from an unwilling donor if they refused was, well, not exactly the most pleasant thought. Sebastian seeming to pick up upon that very idea too with that sudden query on whether or not there was someone else out there to replace the both of them. Arlo suddenly intrigued in turn. Matteo's shoulders lifting into a smooth shrug as he faced the pair. The Frenchman hardly seeming concerned in the slightest for the manner of the conversation they were engaged within. "There is no one I know that can do exactly as your venom does, Sebastian. In truth even I do not know the full range of its capabilities. I have seen what it does only through varying visions. I suspect it is quite unique. As for Arlo, while most Crusniks posses some sort of ability to disable their vampiric prey with their venom, Crusniks themselves are near impossible to find. It would take me some weeks at best to find where in the world another Crusnik might be and several more to find another vampire whom possesed a venom similar to your own- and then comes the manner of having to take it from them...."

Arlo's own features shifted readily into a frown at the idea of 'taking' that venom from them. The Crusnik mostly sure he hardly desired to know exactly how that was done. What on earth Matteo had meant about 'varying visions' remaining to be seen all the same. Arlo readily considering, instead, just how Matteo intended to get that venom from them if they agreed to it. After all, venom didn't just...happen on command. That substance had a habit of coating his fangs and saliva only when he was about to feed or something equally appealing was offered toward him. Matteo, it seemed, hardly concerned about that in turn. The Frenchman merely taping that curious wooden case once more with the insistence he could make that venom flow if need be. Arlo staring again at that box with an almost nervous curiosity before the elder man addressed his companion again. Those very words and indeed the very hidden dagger that laid nestled within them was all but missed by Arlo entirely. The Crusnik so much younger then either man before him and so blissfully unaware of just how much could be said without being said, nor the true weight of the words Matteo offered his son in law then. That very duty to family a weakness for Sebastian that even Arlo himself hardly anticipated the depth off and yet....the way Sebastian looked at the floor was hardly missed. Arlo understanding that even if he failed to understand just why Matteo's words seemed to hold so much sway. That very gesture...submissive on Sebastian's part. Arlo staring at his companion in near disbelief before glancing toward Matteo. The Frenchman appearing almost, well, smug really. As if he knew that battle had been won. Was Seb actually going to do this?

That very question fell from his lips barely a moment later. Arlo hardly anticipating that arm that was suddenly held out toward him with that query on whether not not he desired to bite it. The Crusnik very near content to argue that this hardly seemed like the time to offer him that meal and yet that scent off Sebastian's blood was almost cloying. That hunger suddenly seeming far more potent as it all but clawed at his throat. The venom already rushing to coat his fangs and pool within his mouth at even the mere idea of it. There was something so enticing, so exciting and damn near satisfying about being offered that blood. Arlo oblivious, in that moment, to how very fixated his gaze had become on Sebastian's arm alone.

......................

A part of the Frenchman felt almost guilty for so pressing his son-in-law beneath the weight of those familial expectations he had known always had and indeed, always would, continue to be a veritable weakness for the man. Sebastian was nothing if not a product off his time in every fashion. A man bound by the very expectations of duty he had grown up with and in that singular moment the frenchman was wholly content to use it against him even if, somewhere within, he felt the veritable wound this might surely have put upon their relationship. Yet, in time, Sebastian would surely forgive him this indiscretion. Indeed if the Englishman truly knew just what that very venom was for he was near assured the man would have offered it far more freely and without that need for coercion. That truth not yet one he was willing to offer the man nor his own son in turn. For now, that venom simply needed to be acquired. Matteo unable to prevent that slight simper that found his features in that moment Sebastian's gaze flickered to the floor in an unspoken defeat of sorts. He would need make it up to the boy, somehow, one day. Matteo's own head nodded in that simple, silent acceptance in turn before he lent smoothly to pluck that briefcase from his feet and flick open those near ancient locks. The case was placed effortlessly upon the coffee table, facing away from the pair of vampires if only to prevent them becoming entirely more...skittish then he desired. Matteo selecting that container from within before unscrewing the lid.

His silvered gaze glanced readily upward at that sudden offer of Sebastian's arm toward Arlo. Matteo's own features frowning softly before the extent of Sebastian's plan became clear. His son-in-laws blood, it seemed, a decided draw card for the Crusnik fellow. The man becoming predatory within a matter of moments and yet that very flicker of the future about to unfold so seemed to assault the Frenchmans senses but a fraction too late. "Sebastian, move your arm!" That very command fell from his lips in near the same moment that affinity for teleportation embraced his own figure and yet- neither man, it seemed, had been entirely swift enough to prevent Arlo grasping Sebastian's offered arm and plunging his fangs into that vulnerable wrist. Matteo so appearing beside the pair then and yet that very venom he desired was so currently being injected directly into Sebastian's blood stream. Another soft sigh falling from the Frenchman then. Vampires. Such difficult creatures to work with! "Arlo, I think that is quite enough." He offered simply, those accented words, he knew, likely to be ignored. A feeding vampire a truly difficult thing to control in every sense. His request met with a distinct and undeniable growl. Where was Alexander when he needed him!? The Hunter far more adept at dealing with vampires then he himself. In the very least he could match their strength in a way Matteo himself could not. Yet- the Frenchman was hardly one to be put out in any sense.

Matteo's hand reached effortlessly forward in that moment to nestle within those dark locks of Arlo's hair, his fingers entwining with those strands only to quite abruptly grasp a rather large portion of that hair and jerk the Crusnik's head backwards. Arlo's fangs forced out of Sebastian's arm. Whatever protest the vampire had so attempted to make about having both his hair pulled and his meal denied were all but swallowed in the wake of Matteo's free hand lifting that rubber-rimmed container to Arlo's mouth and hooking his fangs over the edge of it. The Fae wholly content to hold the vampires head to that container then. That venom running freely into it now. Arlo's protests all but muffled by his current position. Matteo so appearing distinctly unconcerned with the entire affair before glancing upward toward his son-in-law once more. Sebastian appearing decidedly....baffled by the sight before him. "It is not the first time I have done this, mon amie." His shoulders rose in that simple, noncommittal shrug once more and yet Sebastian still seemed decidedly unconcerned in any sense. How unusual. Matteo glanced briefly from Sebastian to Arlo and back once more. That venom, it seemed, having already begun to run near rampant in Sebastian's system. This- was not going to be the simple job he had so envisioned. Not now in the least. A final sigh eased from him before Arlo was at last released. The Crusnik cursing at him profoundly amidst that sputtering and coughing. Matteo content to pay him little heed as the lid was screwed back on that container and returned to the briefcase. A second container plucked from within then and held up toward Sebastian.

"Sebastian? Do you need some assistance in activating that venom or can you manage?"

He had never truly seen that Crusnik venom at work before, at least not at such close range upon another vampire. Matteo content to eye Sebastian warily all the same lest the man decide he might desire his blood. Some measure of curiosity for how Arlo's venom worked tugging at him all the same. Just how useful Sebastian was about to be so remained to be seen.

"Do not be difficult please."