-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- he lounges placidly by the fireplace in the parlour, a light smile touching his cheeks in reminiscence of former times he spent far east of this stone prison in which he now resided. it wasn’t necessarily that he didn’t like the court, far from it, actually. he was somewhat fond of the ways of this western circle of creatures with their high tones of propriety touching up their shameless core. of course, in the east, his own appalling mannerisms were respected, if not worshipped, and his quick temper and rude etiquette were generally applauded. the court’s virtues were new to him. they seemed like a gleeful ring of comrades who were happily set on destroying one another, and happily set on being destroyed. it was all in good fun, burning bedchambers, ruthlessly slaying servants, betraying friend and consort, but these acts were not openly discussed, save the circles of gossip maintained by some of the crude ladies of the court. this contrasted the ways of his western land, in which rank was applied firmly, and any form of threat would we dealt with savagely and brutally. as a prince, he had often delighted in sending many an outranked lamb to the slaughter, and it bewildered him to see monarchs jealous of some such inferior beings.

he was wary of the one called "Demetrius". he knew very little of this creature, save the fact that he was a threat to his existence among those of the court, and that it was necessary that he be exterminated. of course, nobody told him any of this, but he was a silent stalker, a dreadfully focused hunter. he was well aware that Lamia was interested in more than just befriending the male, and surely he would have to slay the vampire should he wish Lamia to remain faithful to him. of course, he was never big on commitment to anyone, and he had less control over his sexual urges than he has over Lamia’s. never-the-less, they were both jealous beasts, and, if Lamia wished to pursue this corrupt game, he was willing to take a ball or two into his own court. furthermore, he’d been dying to get closer to the raven headed monarch since their drunken skirmish during ball of the flesh.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- he hadn’t slept with Lamia for five evenings, now. he wasn’t above admitting that he was lonely at night, tangled among solitary sheets in the darkness, and he was determined to match the action that no doubt went on in the bedchambers where Lamia slept each night. he was irritated with her, and the best way he sought out to rid his anger was to match her. it had gone on centuries ago. as children, they had fought to match each other’s talents, to show each other up. kaleign was delighted at this revival from the past and at once he was glad to be entangled in Lamia’s wild existence once more. he leaned back in his chair and took in a large mouthful of strong smelling drink from his stone canteen, his vision blurring slightly to his delight.

he was never one to hold his tongue at any moment, let alone one as tempting as this. he could feel it, writhing and thrashing around against his lustrous sharp canines, enveloped in a prison of blood red gums, itching to be released. Lamia appeared tiresome to him this evening. although she was no doubt looking for a fight, he knew the redheaded brat would never admit this. he anticipated that she might bait him to insult her and use his rude reply as ammunition. of course, he was always the villain, with his ragged appearance and ill-manners, and this evening he had a fair amount of drink inside him already, and had set out to drink his canteen dry. there’s nothing better to spruce up a monotonous evening then hard liquor, or, at least from kaleign’s viewpoint.

naturally he had his pipe with him, tucked away in the depths of his cloak, waiting to be brought forth for a little entertainment. he brought this forth now and inspected it. it had been quite some time since the instrument had been cleaned, and the beautifully carved stone had become blacked with resin. he produced a pocket knife and began to scrape away at it, peeling the dark resin off to expose the smooth stone. Lamia never particularly favoured cannabis itself, let alone the harsh produce of the west. it was a wild remedy to dullness, a highly priced drug only available to those who were extremely wealthy. he had brought a large quantity with him, surely enough to endure several months of tiresome evenings, not that kaleign expected there to be many. never-the-less, the large bag of herb resided in a pocket in his cloak, waiting for use. he resolved to take his time cleansing the pipe, so he could feel out Lamia’s mood before losing his self control and his tongue. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- her words hung loosely in the air, and he smiled at her, his knife producing a high pitched squeak as it scratched against the stone. he released the firm clamp of his teeth on his tongue, issuing her an all too cold reply. "Yes, more often then not, you are the first to come out with it. Tell us, darling, what terrible injustices has the world brought to you this eve?" he smirked rudely at his false sympathy and took another swig from his canteen. he was well aware that it was the liquor that provoked his ill-manner. he stopped scraping at his pipe for a moment and frowned, only touched slightly by her change in tone. he was, in fact, a horrible injustice to the redheaded brat. for how could she play so childishly with her newest toys with her baby brother watching in envy? a pair of children, they were, pursuing petty confrontations over treasured possessions. the fact that a person can become a possession to either of them should be more than a hint that they were fighting off jealousy with tiny threatened fists. kaleign was partially oblivious to all of this, though, what with intoxication creeping up behind him with every drop emptied from his canteen.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- he took yet another long taste of the strong brew, throwing his head back with pleasure as it burned its passage down his throat. "I could say the same for you, Lamia." he began to scratch away at the resin once more. it was true, neither of them had a decent excuse to be so quick to anger with one another, save the weary impatience that insomnia creates and the itch for a fight that often builds with intoxication. jealousy was kaleign’s own battle, as the gossip circles had reported no sexual encounters made by Lamia, only insinuations of intimate interest in his newest rival. this was not really reason enough for Kaleign to be angry with Lamia, and her own hostility was even less justified. still, he could smell violence in the air, and was well aware that he and Lamia may not leave on good terms. this knowledge didn’t seem to upset Kaleign in the least, as he produced his bag of cannabis and began to pack the herb into the bowl of the pipe. getting himself high would no doubt make things much worse, as the harsh remedy was known to cure propriety and he lacked so much as it was. he ignored this thought as it tiptoed through his mind and raised his hand to light the bowl. the lighter made a light snapping noise and the long pale flame billowed upwards from its spout. he brought it to the herb and breathed in deeply, the flame being lulled into the bowl. he released his pale lips from the bowl and breathed in a little, trapping the smoke inside his lung. his eyelids fluttered momentarily and he issued a long trail of smoke from his mouth with glossy eyes and a violent grin. he offered the pipe to his sister with a snarl. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- the magic medicine worked. he was under its effects now, and his control was slipping from him. the polished off the last splash of liquid and cast his canteen aside. the drink flowed through to the deepest depths of his body, his veins pulsing as he chose his words clumsily. he soon forgot the words he had promised his mother upon his findings. the darkest secrets hidden in his mind were now spread out on a silver platter for Lamia’s picking. "Oh, you’d like that, wouldn’t you? You’d just love to keep up the mental image of your dearest brother come across the wide blue ocean just for you. Oh, yes, it’s always about you, isn’t it?" his words were slurred slightly, and he inhaled another deep lung full from the pipe to steady his words. he exhaled into her face, delighted at the opportunity with her sitting so close. he looked at her with a calm distaste. "Pity you don’t like my pipe, it’s quite the instrument, you know." he set it aside and frowned at her. "So I am angry, am I? I suppose we shall now play the game of ‘who started it first’? Very mature, Lamia. And stay out of my mind at once. I won‘t have your nosing mind listening to my thoughts. You know very well I could do the same to you. Besides, how shall I make sure I keep you ignorant of evil deeds? Surely, if you were to hunt around long enough, it‘d be too much for your poor little soul. You don’t want to know why I’ve come. Your mother told you nothing, you little brat." he sneers at the thought of Sita, his dislike for her growing. in his drunkenness, the two are impossible to tell apart. that threatening complexion looming up into his face into his thoughts. "You look just like your mother, you know." he scowls at her, a sense of deja vu washing over him. the drink took its strong hold of him and his loose tongue slipped even further. "Who would you like me to kill for you, today, mother, darling?" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- he despised her in his drunkenness, for she wasn’t Lamia anymore. she was Sita, with her seemingly sympathetic eyes, her false comfort, the many manipulative ways he knew so well. she did not care how his heart wrenched inside him, she wanted only to control it and use it to her advantage. Yaksha was always a wild and horrifying man. he would kill you and your entire family for looking at him sideways. he was an ungodly beast, and all were terrified of him. nothing could match his strength--except Sita. her violent ways could knot up a stomach in the way that even the most brutal kill could not. Kaleign hated the woman and had vowed to hunt her down and kill her next he saw her. here she was, looming in front of him.

he reached out and punched her fiercely in the cheek, tears of rage welling up in his eyes and pouring down his cheeks. "You heard me, mother. I killed Yaksha, and now I’m going to kill you." by now, Kaleign has lost complete control. he was delusional, mistaking his sister for his mother, and vowing to do away with her. of course, he was far to drunk and high to kill Lamia, though his fists hit her with a powerful fury that she couldn’t have expected. he stood up, flinging his chair to the side and raising his fists threateningly. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- he chokes, his lips grasping for air, the redhead’s hands tight around his neck. he groans as the blood pours from him, his eyes staring up at her in disbelief. only now does he realise it is Lamia, who’s hold threatens his life now. he feels as though he was just waken up from a lengthy sleep. he is confused, with no recollection of how he ended up here on the floor beneath her, blinded with rage.

his gaze lifts to see Ophelia’s skirts swishing around him, trying to pry Lamia from him. her hands still clenched tightly around his throat, his head swirls in intoxication and lack of air. his vision clouds, filled with thousands of neon coloured dots. he tries to blink them away, but they multiply again and again until he allows his eyelids to blink shut. his body goes limp underneath her, unconsciousness taking over. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------