2020-04-23 - One Thing After Another

The last thing he knew, they were all running for safety after Byron had dispatched a jolt of electricity to try and fry the threatening mech. Then things happened all the same as what he'd experienced before, but different. This time around, rather than just the eye watching him and the others, they were witness to something far different, showing them just how tiny the City really was. Before he knew it, he was back at the casino, leaning against one of the walls in a some random corridor. He was disoriented, his head hurt and all he could feel was the anguish and sorrow of the 'City' and he could hear was the thing pleading for help.

"Not my problem." Is the first words out of his most. An automatic response to his annoyance at being summoned by this thing whenever it wanted. The next words out of his mouth are: "A mollusk shell on the beach..." He blinks. "Is that where we'll find her? Is that the way to free her?" Trying his hardest to remember, he murmurs, "But what beach?"

Soon, everything is rushing back to him-- What happened in the City as well as what he'd left behind when being pulled into the Dream. "Shit..." His hand quickly reaches for his phone as he rounds the corner, wondering if the security guys were still there. When he looks down at his screen, he notices four missed calls, all of which were from the security team. Byron also knows that they aren't the only ones he needs to be concerned about, so after dialing a number, he places the phone to his ear as he stands there near the elevators of the hotel lobby, his gaze lifted to stare at the security camera that he knows is mounted and hidden up near the ceiling.

(TXT to Lilith) Byron : (The phone rings)

(TXT to Byron) Lilith : (the call picks up immediately) ... hey baby. You okay?

(TXT to Lilith) Byron : (Sounding only a touch stressed from escaping a Dream just moments ago) I'm fine. I was worried about you.

(TXT to Byron) Lilith : (voice touched with strain, but relatively normal) I'm okay. Just... amped from lashing out to test what that thing was on the way out, I think. Hard to get the fight out of my system. That's what you've been dragged into over and over again?

(TXT to Lilith) Byron : Yeah. It started at some contracts office where people being turned down... or being fined in various lines were getting agitated. That was the first time. Then when you at the hospital was the second when I learned that they were preparing for a full blown revolution. (Pause) Sorry, to have dragged you into that mess.

(TXT to Byron) Lilith : It seemed more annoying than dangerous, like you implied. Kind of a relief to see that myself? But if you have to go up against that thing or multiples of them at some point, I can tell you right now, it's not going to be fun or safe. I could barely make a dent in a leg...

(TXT to Byron) Lilith : (pause) You know what's funny about me being dragged in, though?

(TXT to Lilith) Byron : It can be dangerous. In several of the other Dreams in that universe, we had to go head to head against those metal monsters. And we had to take some of them down. (There's a thoughtful pause) Hmm? What was so funny?

(TXT to Byron) Lilith : I guess funny isn't the word for it, precisely, but I was out on the terrace on the phone, yelling about a lost package. But I was looking at the casino and knew you were there and I was so 'grr' at the moment when I turned to walk back inside, I thought-- I wish I was with Byron right now and fuck everyone else on the planet on principle. Then woosh.

(TXT to Lilith) Byron : (There's some quiet laughter and his smile can be heard in his voice) So it was you and not me all along, dragging you into that shit show. Okay. Okay, I can live with that. (A quick pause) Be careful of what you wish for and all that. Were you disappointed?

(TXT to Byron) Lilith : Mmhm, it was totally me, it's fine. (There's a helpless partial breath of laughter exhaled into the phone, despite herself, then pause.)

(TXT to Byron) Lilith : I'd say I'm highly disappointed, because it wasn't what I had in mind, at all and the universe sure showed me how it can piss back when I'm mentally pissing on it. But I liked seeing you zap that big thing where I failed to manage. It was kind of hot.

(TXT to Lilith) Byron : (There's silence after something Lilith had said) Are you hurt? I... I could call it a day and head back home. (Another pause as he pulls the phone from his ear to check the numbers of those missed calls) After I return the calls of the people I ditched to go stand on some board to decide on something that I have no right to decide on. (The rest is said wryly) I'm sure my security team will be happy to know where I'd spent the last half an hour or so.

(TXT to Byron) Lilith : (There's a hesitant pause, as if she really wants to say something else, but she goes with helpful suggestion instead) ...If you can stay at work and need to, do it. I'm okay. I don't need you missing and re-arranging on my account more than you already do, you know? I can run down and swim laps in the pool to get the rest of this aggression out and... I'm eating ice cream. It might be working, I'm not sure.

(TXT to Lilith) Byron : I'll let them know that I was called away suddenly. I doubt that they'd check the security cams to make sure. (Another bit of light laughter) Ice cream, huh? Sounds good. I could go for a tub of the stuff myself. Anything you want while I'm out? I'd offer to pick up something to eat but it seems that you've already started.

(TXT to Byron) Lilith : ... just you. Just bring yourself, when you can. You're all I want. (Pause.) I'm sorry.

(TXT to Lilith) Byron : (There's a quiet sound of amusement, perhaps, at some of which Lilith says, but this is followed by some curiosity in his tone) Sorry for what?

(TXT to Byron) Lilith : (almost sounding a touch flustered on the other end before racing right over her words with dismissal) Not being myself lately... I don't know, nevermind. Come home when you're able. Love you.

(TXT to Lilith) Byron : (Byron is quiet once more to think on what she'd just said. Some of that 'silence' is broken by a single breath, almost as if he's about to say something. Instead, he saves what he might have said for later) I'll be back as soon as I can. Half an hour at the latest. I love you too, hon.

(TXT to Byron) Lilith : (mwah noise of kiss before hangup)

When the Dream was over, Lilith was standing right inside of the terrace doors left wide open, in the Penthouse as she meant to be when she crossed from outside to inside. She's dusted with debris, but not hurt beyond that, just adrenaline pumped from lashing out at the enormous 'Harvester' she wanted so badly to test and fight (but knew better). After orienting, getting irritated over the fact that just happened, then slamming the doors and making sure she didn't crack the glass on accident, she goes for her phone.

But it's already starting to buzz with ring once it's in her hand. As the pair converse on the phone, the brunette wanders to get ice cream from the freezer to eat straight from the container with a spoon while leaning on the kitchen counter. She's literally trying to sugar balm and brain freeze her destructive tendencies that are still flaring from the attack, so she's a bit reckless about eating too quickly, and she relishes the pain in her head briefly during brief pause in the conversation. It gives her something else to focus on.

Mostly, she wants Byron to come home okay so she can jump him, it'd be the most constructive and pleasurable, bonding way to manage what's been creeping on her even before she was yanked into the Dream. Fact of the matter is, they haven't had a no-holds barred sexual encounter since before the Vivisectionist's attack. They'd been intimate briefly with limitation when she was brought home from the hospital, but then she needed mending time and he needed catch up time for work, so she'd largely been hands off. Then there was the fight... she knew he didn't mean what he said as a complaint, but...

It made her aware, so aware of the way she is with him, the things they've intimately discussed, the things she's confessed to wanting, and... in that particular moment, in that context, it slammed her into insecurities she just can't shake. She's been wearing night clothing to bed, even, instead of just stripping and flopping in naked. She tries to be what other women are probably like, what she imagines is more normal. And they had issues, it made it easier to stick to, they were hurt again at the cocktail party, they...

Lilith won't ask Byron home during the call like she wants to. She won't lure him there with commentary or pictures, she won't ask him to ease her agitation with replacement emotions to rile her up so that she's pure tiger when he gets home. She tries to teach herself not to rely on his body and her body to try and get this burn of fight and adrenaline out. That's not all it is, of course, she's craving it too, but she's... she's shy.

Lilith is scared and shy. Maybe that's why she felt the need to apologize before deciding to eat her goddamn ice cream and go swim laps before he gets home. She slams the lid on the container with ire for herself after she hangs up the phone, throws the spoon in the sink, then goes to make quick strip into a bikini swimsuit that's bright cherry red. The woman takes a towel down with her, she doesn't bother with shoes or anything else, she just hits the elevator to go for the pool to try and get herself level before Byron gets home.

Depending on how quick he actually is, he has a window of time most likely where he gets to walk into the apartment and take a moment to unwind because there's a post-it note on the door with a drawn heart on it and the noting words 'POOL BRB'.

After reaching out to his security guys, giving them some flimsy explanation of where he'd been this whole time, Byron packs things up and head down to the underground parking to his car. Lilith's apology is still on his mind even as he reaches into his pocket to retrieve his keys, then crossing the half a mile long bridge back to actual land. Really, he was just glad to be home and away from the revolution started by strangers. In fact, he's trying to piece some of that together, the details of what they'd learned, despite already taking a stand due to, well, Lilith's request in helping this City.

The drive from the Grand Olympic to the Apartments isn't a long one, despite the long bridge connecting the casino to the mainland. Bayside Road is, in itself, a long road and one that leads out of the city, so it doesn't take long for him to pull up into the Bayside Apartment lot and park.

Even in his absence, things were going smoothly for the casino. He had people to help make decisions, though it was always his input that would become the final say for any project or suggestion. So while his phone and email might blow up with messages and contracts for him to look over, it didn't hurt overly much for him to take time off for himself. Even if he's had to do so more often due to crazy Dream things.

Reaching the penthouse, he's greeted by a post-in on the door, something which brings a smile to his lips. Taking the note in hand, he enters his abode, tossing his keys into the key tray by the entrance. Checking his watch for the time, he even considers making the short trek down to the pool, but who knows if she's already on her way up. So instead, he checks the mail which he'd brought in from the lobby, going through various bills and professional letters. If this were someone other than Gray Harbor, the concern that Lilith might be drawn into a Dream during pool time would never come to mind, but of course, it's one of the thoughts that pops into his mind right now, especially when he receives an odd envelope mixed in with the other mail.

Placing the rest of the mail onto the kitchen island, he examines the envelope. It's from that cemetery in town. Opening it up, it's oddly a reminder for the anniversary of Stephen Thorne's death, which is coming up soon. And an invitation to lunch following that invent... at a house on Oak. The Thorne House. "So this is it." He murmurs. He'd been putting off paying the House that visit and it seems that it was getting impatient. Stuffing the letter back into the envelope, Byron lets out a heavy sigh as he rounds the table, setting the envelope down on the bar top as he starts to pour himself a drink.

Byron has about five minutes with that drink tops before Lilith is coming in after his arrival home. The post-it is moved, so she knows on walking in with wet slicked back hair and a towel wrapped around her wet red bikini that the man of the place is home, "I'm alive and nothing attacked me while I swam." It's pretty sad she walks in that way, but the way things have been of late, it might be pertinent information that isn't taken for granted. Because after a Dream, there's always the paranoia of it happening again, and she was in water, she didn't want to be tugged to swim-fight pissed off fish or whatever else the universe can conjure up for her. She knows she damn well doesn't want to run into an elephant seal again, and wouldn't that just figure after today? Things were already grating her before the Dream snare got her all fired up to come down from.

Lilith swam a lot of laps fast and hard and quick and incessant while she was down on the pool level. Her limbs are a little shaky because of it and her breath is still coming with the quick kind of come-down. It's like she literally launched out of the pool and hit the elevator in a hurry once she realized how much time had passed, her towel and hair are pretty soaked too, eliciting a 'brr' out of her once the door is closed behind.

"Are you hungry? If you give me a moment to strip down and change, I'll make you something."

It's like a cue, that question, 'are you hungry?' The cat appears from the hallway where it must have been in the bedroom napping, finally coming out to greet the pair. After stretching, it hops up on the back of the piano to stare between the two of them, like it knows they've had one hell of a day, but deems it absolutely no excuse. The tail flicks expectantly and after smiling a little at Byron and his drink by the bar, Lilith stops to stankface the cat back, "Oh, NOW you want to come out because I'm talking about food. No leg purrs when I get pitched back into reality, I had to go for ice cream. Aren't you supposed to sit on laps and make humans process more serotonin or something?"

After reading that letter, these next five minutes are spent in a dark place in Byron's mind, between long drinks of whiskey from his glass. He hasn't moved from the bar at all, just standing there to go through various memories in his mind, along with this morbid curiosity as to what They have in store for him. This isn't a trance that he's in, Byron's fully alert to the here and now. This was more of a dark reminiscing on his past, wanting to know what the House wants with him.

The sound of the elevator alerts him to Lilith's arrival and he drains the remainder of his drink once the door is opened, setting the now empty glass down next to the mysterious envelope. He affords Lilith a beaming smile, even more so when she lets him know that nothing had attacked her. "It's a pretty sad state of things here in Gray Harbor when that's one of the first things that come to mind when we think to ourselves: 'I wonder what so and so is up to? I hope they're okay. ' As something normal that comes to mind.

He didn't get a good look at her since the Dream, but she any blood would have washed off by now. Still, he wanders over to give Lilith a good visual examination as she's only wearing a towel and he'll assume, swimwear beneath. "I'm alright. I had a coffee before I left the casino." His hands are placed on the curve of her shoulder as he looks her over, before his gaze lifts to meet with hers. "But, I won't complain if you strip down and finish drying off." This is said in a playful, drawn out way, his eyes once more lowering to the towel.

Then Smog appears, right on cue, and Lilith's scolding the critter the way she tends to do. The cat only draws a fleeting amount of Byron's attention. Or it would, if Lilith wasn't paying it so much attention. "I'll get the cat something to eat. You dry off before you catch a cold." He's still warmth and smiles at this moment.

Lilith pauses as Byron comes to put the hand on her shoulder and make the examination, and while he's studying her, she even goes so far as removing the towel to bare the two piece skimp of bikini underneath so he can see her expanse of uninjured flesh. After beaming a little smile of her own up at him as if to say look-no-booboos like it's something to be proud of, she lets the towel dangle from one hand, her other hand comes up to graze over the back of his knuckles while he has a hold of her.

And she's so tempted to just strip down here and let him warm her. But instead of smashing her wet body and swim attire in against Byron's suit and making their own heat, she turns her face to kiss at his hand before stepping off with the suggestion he makes, "Right. Right. Colds are a whole other ballgame in this place, I'd rather not." After a grazing of her teeth at her bottom lip, she stands still for a moment even after audibly agreeing, then bats her lashes a few times to look at the cat again before moving toward the bedroom, "... don't trip him. It's that kind of day."

Like the cat understands that or something. It just sits and looks at Lilith like she's delaying his inevitable mealtime, taking up the attention from the man in the room.

On her way to the bedroom, Lilith starts untying bikini strings, calling over her shoulder to chastise Byron without any real seriousness, "Coffee isn't food, you're going to get attacked by monster coffee cups in a Dream due to your mass consumption." Honestly, though, the woman isn't hungry herself, not for food. She's willing to cook if he'll eat it and make a show of eating it herself, but mostly, she'd rather not bother, eating seems like a hassle and bother at the moment, regardless of the fact she hasn't much slowed down to eat more than an apple (ok ice cream, but still) since breakfast.

Getting a new towel for her hair, she starts the process of actually drying off once she has the wet suit off, and while standing in the bathroom mirror, she pauses that way to look at herself. After working her tongue against one of her canine teeth with hard wiggle and press of thought, she looks back at the doorway, then herself in the image reflection again with a critical expression. After heaving out a sigh, she briskly moves the brush through her wet hair, then goes to grab a black silk robe out of the closet after shimmying into a pair of panties that match on principle. She's not terribly long, save for that lull where she's staring herself down and contemplating back and forth, calling while she wraps herself up.

"I'll be your best friend if you pour me a glass of wine. Also, I'm pretty sure satyrs are depicted in mythology and art with permanent erections, please tell me that isn't a thing with the one you've been dealing with. I admit, I didn't look."

Seemingly satisfied by Lilith's pristine condition and, in a sense, relieved that she wasn't hurt at all, Byron gives a double nod of approval. He even flashes a bit of smile at her unwrapping the towel so that he may have a better view of her. That smile lingers at the gentle touches she places here and there, his eyes watching as she turns to brush lips against his hand.

Thinking back on their situation there, the slow nod turns to an even slower shake of his head and he breathes out a voice of frustration, "You're probably right about doing what that /thing/ wants, even if I gotta be perfectly honest, that's not /our/ city and we've never had family live there for generations." He's saying all of this as Lilith is changing and he reaches goes for some cat food, the gourmet kind, and kneels down to fork some out onto the cat's plate.

"If only to shut that thing up. Though, in truth, I would've gone against the grain just to spite it, because I'd told her once already that if she wants a hero to save her, I'm not it." Once the cat is with food, he idly scritches it behind the ears before rising. He then responds to something Lilith had said prior, but it's more of an afterthought that anything else. He has weightier subjects on his mind, "If cups of coffee decide to summon into a Dream, I'd be killing it in there. Coffee is my super power, didn't you know?"

Rinsing the fork off, before letting it sit in the sink for the time being, his next stop is the bar, so that he can pour Lilith a nice red. Setting that aside now, he leans against the kitchen counter with his hands gripping its side, arms taut as they support his weight. "Can't say I looked." He says of the Satyr, "But as far as I can tell, that's the first time I'd ever met him. I was given his name once before when I'd asked who knew we were showing up the last time we were dragged into that City. That's the only way I know him." Waiting for Lilith to wander his way, he pushes himself off from where he was leaning to first hand her her drink and then to wrap his arms around her in full, laced hands resting at her rear. "Enjoyed your swim?"

"I don't know that I much care what the thing wants. I just want you to stop being yanked there to deal with their problems. It's a shut-the-bitch-up kind of approach. It was weird because I could feel her, hell if I know why. I just wanted her soothed into complying for another few hundred years or something, and since I could feel her irritation, I thought that might be the way to call it a day. But it seems she actually wants released, as she made so clear with that display..." Lilith pauses here to screw her nose up while coming back out into the hallway and her shoulders rack with an indicative shudder, remembering how it felt, then she carries on, "So I might have been advocating escalating a hostage situation on accident. I didn't much care, I just wanted to not have a headache and get you out of there before something flipped and monsters came out. Then, you know, lo and behold..."

The woman's head shakes a little bit, as if the monsters were somehow the less irritating part, which is backwards, but like she said, she liked seeing Byron zap one of those things' legs, and she liked lashing out to test it. Besides, they weren't hurt, no harm, no foul. Crossing the living area to meet with Byron by the kitchen counter, she takes the drink in one of her hands to hold out and aside for the time being, her other hand slips around at the small of Byron's back as she's drawn in. Looking up at him, she makes a 'kisskiss' gesture and noise at the air to direct his lips down to hers after she's said another small bit, "It's hard to spy on the crowd when I stand out like a sore thumb. Pretty is such a problem sometimes. Tch."

"Swim wound me down, I was mean to myself in the water, it helped." While they're standing together in embrace, Lilith's arm around Byron and the hand at the small of his back, it all shifts with fanning up between his shoulderblades and tiny tension testing finger digs, "... were you already having a rough day before that happened?"

Hearing of how the Thing had affected Lilith over the course of her visit, Byron's features turn grave and there's a hint of annoyance that can be seen in the set of his jaw and that familiar intensity within his dark eyes. "Did she hurt you then?" He then hurriedly adds, "I felt waves of distress coming from everywhere, but for someone who, supposedly, can tap into people's emotions, I was unaffected by any of that at all." Thinking back on that, he decides to state, "Well, until I tried to calm her down. Then I felt the full extent of her anguish and loneliness and I don't know why she's so lonely. I mean, if she's just some mollusk creature, can't she seek out companionship in other ways? I don't know what those things do to occupy their time anyway. Even in /our/ world."

He can feel his right hand dragging along her side as it withdraws, before it changes directions and lifts to gently touch at her chin and the side of her face. "All that she did was cause mass panic in the city and prevented us from doing whatever it is she wanted us to do in a political forum. Or whatever circus that whole thing was." His words soften, "I'm sorry that she fucked with your head like that." The mental stuff is something that he can do and he knows just how traumatic it can be for his victims.

With his thumb stroking at the soft skin of her cheek, a small smile creeps across his lips at she adorably tries to beckon him to kiss her. Leaning forward, he moves in slowly, stopping for a few seconds just before their lips touch, so that the hand cradling her face can lift her chin in a similar gently fashion before he takes her mouth with his. He savors the moment and with them being this close, he keeps his own chin lowered to press his forehead against hers the kiss is broken. "Darlin', you stick out like a sore thumb no matter where you go." Then, this thin frown forms on his lips as she tells him that she was hard on her body during that swim, "Lilith..."

He keeps to this level of closeness just as she asks whether he's been having a rough day. "Before we were pulled into that mess again? No. Or I didn't think so. I was just showing the security team around the vicinity, pointing out the various security cameras that they should get used to either operating or, when needing to call an incident in, they need to know the exact camera designation so that those with eyes on the monitor can more quickly pull up that view."

If there's anything causing him stress and for his muscles to tighten at this moment, most would think it was being dragged into the Dream of Heroes and Rebellion. But he had other concerns, with Lilith being a part of that. Then there was...

"I received a reminder from the Cemetery that we were nearing the anniversary of my father's death and to come visit." Now that he thinks of it, he wonders aloud, "Now I wonder if my mom received one too."

"Maybe it's because you were picking up everyone too strongly and it was making too much noise, she might have been bearing down on people or something that were vulnerable. It wasn't pleasant, but I'm okay, I promise. It was more agitating and achy than anything, which is probably why I reacted so badly when she really... pushed. Or whatever. On the plus side, all hell would have broken loose even if I caught everything on fire, so it would have been fine either way, hm?" Lilith starts her words contemplative, midway lapsing into an assuring tone. Then it all goes to a light uptick to mark her conclusion as cope humor. Like she says, she's probably fine, at least in regards to all the mind-messing discomfort.

Lilith can't keep the deadpan face long to go with it, though, and her lips slant with ghosting of smile he can see while he cradles her face for the kiss. Her breathing picks up subtly, fluttering air quick and hot over the man's near lips while he pauses with closeness. Then when the lips mesh, his arms around her body can feel her posture immediately meld and flex with melt. If she was rough on her body during swimming, it sure seems loose and exercised for the moment. (Admittedly, she'll be sore tomorrow, but that's a Future Lilith problem.)

The woman almost doesn't catch herself. She almost amps things the moment they start. Instead, though, she lets Byron take the lead with the kissing, the parting of lips, the slips of tongue, the drawback into closeness. Lilith can feel his breath while he explains on the inquiry she's made, she relishes in it while feeling out the tension at his back. While the man is always rather tense, he has degrees of tension she can feel more than others. By the time he's finished, though, she gets it, exhaling a soft and delicate, "ahh" of comprehension. After a beat of pause, she wonders, "... is that standard? Did you sign up for that? If they start sending me that about Hank... someone is getting yelled at." She pauses to brush those inquiries off in favor of a more gentle one, "...do you go?"

When Lilith tries to sort out why the intense and panicked waves of emotion did not trouble him the way it had with others, Byron has his own conclusions. Maybe he's just used to shutting out other people's emotions and mental assaults against him. That's the only thing he can figure about it all. Still, he set himself up to suffer the fate as everyone else did at the end there.

Licking at his lips, his own way of savoring their kiss further, when her curiosity is somewhat piqued by the mention of the envelope, he has to just let out a heavy, whiskey tainted sigh. Byron really was often tense, but something about this matter has him incredibly uneasy. Slowly, he begins to pull away, his arms drifting away from her as he turns to make his way back to the bar where he'd left the letter. He has no answer for whether this is standard or not for the cemetery, but he knows better. With the letter now in hand, he decides to relay, "I've been visiting my father's grave on his anniversary every year since I returned to Gray Harbor. Why wouldn't I? He's my dad and... it would be weird if I didn't show. Sometimes, it's my mother and me. Other times, we go separately."

No, he doesn't hand the envelope to her right away, but he will come out and say, "Despite what it says on the envelope, I'm pretty sure it's not from the Garden." He says of the Gardens of Eternal Rest Cemetery. She didn't want him hiding things from her, so he presents to opened letter to her, held between his index and middle fingers. Inside is both the reminder of Stephen Thorne's death and the invitation to the gathering held afterwards at the Thorne House.

As Byron draws back to turn toward the bar, the brunette's damp head moves into a couple of small nods of understanding to his answer, expecting as much, in truth. It really wouldn't have mattered if Stephen Thorne was a good dad or a terrible dad, he was going to do what was appropriate and expected as upstanding by way of the populace, Byron's been like that since he was a kid about most things. The question was an opening more than anything, to see how much he wanted to say about the situation, Lilith generally knows how to tread when it comes to the man's father, he'll either let things come out or he won't, and more often than not, it's mum's word. So when he doesn't go to pour another drink and picks up the envelope instead, she drinks from her wine glass to hide her surprise and steps forward.

With her free hand, when he extends the envelope, she takes it to investigate as much as read and look at. The woman's head tilts a bit and her lips twist briefly off to one side as she lapses deep into consideration of weighing one thing or another, "... I mean, if you were a donor to the local upkeep of the cemetary and asked for the notification, it'd be one thing, yes. But..." After wetting her lips, Lilith drinks from her wine glass again, deeply this time, then hands the invitation back a touch reluctantly. After a pause, she admits, "... you realize I am the pinnacle of self control right now. I'd say we could appreciate the drama of me lighting it up, but honestly, it'd be a very Inspector Gadget moment and I should maybe take it easy on the mojo slinging, considering."

Once it's handed back, though, Lilith drains the rest of her wine and puts the glass down to lean her hand against the bartop nearby, watching Byron, "... I guess call your mother and ask." Her fingertips rap a little anxiously on the bar top, but she doesn't fill a second glass of wine, she stands thinking a little longer, "... you know I'd do anything for you. Anything." After a drop of her dark lashes, she continues, "And sometimes, that extends into the territory of letting you do what you feel you need to do, even when I don't like it." On looking back up, Lilith tries on a small smile and he can see a whole lot of conflict in her behind that smile, but it's genuine and she's trying real, real hard to be a very big person right now.

"Just let me know what you decide."

While Byron might speak up about his childhood every so often, there was a difference between saying that something happened and then having them witness what actually happened. And while this may not be an issue with Lilith, not being a Reader, herself, that unless she was shown, it would be a non-issue, he knows what the things in the House are willing to do to make him comply. Or he thinks he knows, but even that is still a mystery.

Patiently, he waits and watches as Lilith goes through the letter and invitation from within the envelope. It's more of an idle glance rather than his trying to read into her expression and reaction to what was sent him. Deep inside, he believes he can already take a guess at how she must be feeling about this whole matter. With the envelope back into his grasp, he looks down at the address printed again, before simply tossing it onto the island counter to be dealt with at a later time.

"It would be a shame with such a historic property." Byron says of the idea of burning the place down, though it's come to mind before. "Though if you ask me, it deserves to be torched." Even with the envelope out of reach, his attention is drawn to it as it lays haphazardly on the counter. "Alexander Clayton wanted to go with me to try and put a stop to whatever is going on in there once and for all." He shrugs, turning now to look on Lilith, "And to make sure that it's current occupants are safe and away from the House's grasp, which is ridiculous because at least one of those women wasn't living here until she magically got the call to return." Now, he decides to refill his glass with whiskey, seemingly taking this all in stride and despite the tension she may have felt in the tightness of his muscles, he, at least, looks to not be overly concerned by the whole thing. "I'll let you know."

In fact, he's even wearing a warm enough smile, "Want me to fill your glass back up too?" A hand is already outstretched.

"Yes, please." Lilith tells Byron after watching him a little longer through his speaking and refill before she looks down at her own glass. While he pours that one next, she draws in a huge breath and takes to wander over in brief toward where the cat has posted up on a corner of the couch to groom his paws and ignore them, "C'mere asshole, cuddle me and earn your keep. You don't get to sneak in and sleep against my ass for free, sir."

Maybe if she cuddles a cat, she won't break anything when she realizes what she just took in stride. Just a whole cursed and haunted house that's obsessed with Byron, animating some crazy bitches inside, from what she's gathered. No big deal. Totally no big deal. Oh fuck, that's a big deal and the cat isn't complying. It squirms in Lilith's arms as she tries to redirect her very conflicting feelings at the moment to keep them from combusting. After dropping the creature onto the couch, she huffs at it and it shakes off and meows indignantly at her. To be fair, she was trying to grab the thing up and treat it like Dog with a hug ambush, which is not really the cat's thing, he has to come to you first.

(Alexander is going, that helps to know, it kicks in with delay and she thinks maybe she'll just break things later.)

"... thanks. For telling me. It'd suck if you didn't come home that night and I didn't know why. I couldn't handle wondering forever if it..."

Abruptly, Lilith's eyes fill with tears she has to swipe away and it seems to surprise and catch her offguard. She makes a quick wander toward the terrace to look out in an attempt to stop that mess in a hurry, arms hugging around her midsection. That's not going to happen, what kind of reaction was that? Maybe she should just break a coffee cup or something and get it out of her system. She goes for a subject change.

"I have to decide about that Midsummer Auction event soon. It's a good experience. Maybe one day I can... branch into work at notable auction houses in a big city."

When her glass is refilled and returned, Byron scoops up his own to savor that whiskey burn on his tongue and down his throat. In quiet amusement, he watches Lilith manhandle the fussy kitty, idly bringing that glass up to his lips to hide his little smile as he goes in for a drink. After another long drink, he finally speaks up, "You can join us if you want. I kind of have a feeling, after one of our most recent conversations, that you'd want to be there and see things through." Weighing some of the pros and cons of having Lilith there in his mind, Byron opted for this option even if he's not completely happy about the decision.

"I don't even want Alexander there, but I don't know if I can handle it myself. Though I should be the one to deal with this." He adds that last part, sounding adamant about it. In fact, when Alexander invited himself to this, some time in Winter, Byron had a mind to just do the thing and visit the House, after giving Alexander the wrong date and time. He never let on to any of his friends to the extent of what had happened, always pretending that nothing was wrong. What was he afraid of? His father was dead, what could he do about it?

But Byron knows what he fears the most about this whole thing.

Maybe it's the tremble in her voice when she starts to tear up, but Byron catches some sign of distress on her part, no matter how hard she tries to hide it and change the subject. Her words affect him, however, so much that he states, "If I don't return for whatever reason, just know that I didn't leave you on purpose. And I'd be fighting damn hard to get back to our reality to you."

After another drink from his glass, he sets it down, then beckons for Lilith to join here, "C'mere. Am I doing enough to earn my keep?" He asks teasingly, before nodding to the talk of an auction, "That would be great. And you'd be good at it too." Giving the apartment interior an roaming scan of his eyes, he murmurs, "It will help to get you away from here."

Lilith works her bottom lip between her teeth and blames brain damage for that sudden spout of tears she wasn't expecting because it's suddenly a damn convenient excuse. Damn well ridiculous, crying over the very idea of something. Something that just won't happen and can't happen because she bloody well says so. After breathing in a quick draw of air through her nose, she nips all that right in the bud again and unfolds her arms from cradle at her body to make another quick-check swipe at one eye, then the other on the relative sly. He knows what she's on about over there, of course, but she doesn't want to be all tear-wetted when she turns back around.

There's a few bats of her residually glossy, wet lashes before she makes that turn with his invite, because he's extended a different kind of invitation just prior that has to sink in, "You know I'm the destroyer of all things, you said so yourself. Say the word and I'll tear it down wall by wall. I'll break the leavings until there's nothing but dust if that's what it takes. That's how much I love you." That's when she finally turns to look at Byron seriously, her fine features laced through with steel before they soften, "We'll figure out what's best."

Lilith is relieved by the potential inclusion, but she wants him to know how serious she's taking the idea. It's his past, it's his show, these are his demons. She wants him to be sure, and she wants him to know she won't do anything without his say. And that's not something they need to figure out right now. Because he's inviting her with beckon and she's immediately coming to drift toward him for slow latching onto the man's body, wine refill forgotten for the time being, "Mm. I'll let you know the dates, then."

And once Lilith is against Byron in press, she looks up with perfectly deadpan understatement.

"Anyway. I think you earn keep well enough. You're fairly cuddly and nice to look at. You have nice hygiene too."

If Byron knew the extent of how much their discussion was taking a toll on Lilith, he doesn't let on. Was she tearing up? He doesn't comment on any of that at all and his prior statement was simply to help put her mind at ease, at least a little, in the case that he does vanish. Hearing her own convictions on what she's willing to do for him if it came down to it, Byron had no doubts of this and despite the gravity of the topic at hand, he can't help but express his own gratitude to his little Destroyer with a smile. "I know, Lil. We'll work things out when the time comes." And he knows that his mother will be involved at some point.

When she's near enough, he tugs her into his arms, but it's not as if she needed any help in that department when she embraces him in turn. "I have nice hygiene, huh? That's the best kind of compliment." Tacking on, "Cats have good hygiene. Or that's what I'm told. I don't consider spreading one's own saliva all over their fur to be a sign of cleanliness, but it is what it is." Pressing his lips against the top of her head, some other concerns come to mind. Things that he couldn't shake since their phone conversation earlier. "You have nothing to be sorry about." He repeats, finally, pressing yet another kiss in that same spot of dark hair. Yes, he recalls what Erin had asked of them when she was healing Lilith, but really, nothing seemed too out of the ordinary if you asked Byron. In his mind, Lilith just seemed as impulsive as she ever was.

"Come, we have some time to kill before dinner." The way that he steps back and away from her, all while reaching out to keep ahold of one of her hands hints that he's about to playfully drag her away towards the bedroom. "Let's use up the rest of that energy that the pool wasn't able to kill. And probably order in in the aftermath."

Lilith tilts her lips upward while closing her eyes and tilting her head into Byron's kiss, finally breaking out of the serious air of stress and worry. Though it kind of creeps back on her with secret nerves when he takes her hand to start implying lead to the bedroom, and she's not sure he understands why she was actually apologizing on the phone. She needs a damn drink, she's frustrated with herself in the same heartbeat as the anxiety spike. After drawing in a breath, she makes a playful dance move with spin out while keeping hold on Byron's hand, reaching for her wine glass to take a drink while folding slowly with spin back inwards toward him to let him guide her steps.

Normally, she might tug her robe ties and get naked on the way. Normally, she wouldn't even have underwear on because she knows it's just more to remove at the end of the night. Normally, she might make a joke or start bossing Byron around with a good, dirty telling of the way she wants it, in advance. Normally, after so long, she'd be biting at the bit. But tonight, Lilith just lets the man lead her into the bedroom, advising, "... close the cat out, I hate it when he stares."