KazAlkemi

Chicago After Hours -- Paused (indefinitely)

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Cassiopeia Claire Alistair

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Location: Caden’s House – Chicago, IL
Skills:

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I smile and lead the way to one of Caden's sunrooms. I still remember the day he asked me to do this for him. I wanted to start from scratch, not go to the store and buy fully realized plants. It took time and a lot of love, but I think it has really turned out.

I picked a lot of leafy plants that took up space to make it seem more full. I used vining plants along the bottom and helped them shoot up, so they adorned the walls of the sunroom.

A lemon tree sat in one corner to collect sunlight, but not as much as the Areca palm needed in the other corner. Large potted plants and ferns sat on the floor, scattered about. About halfway up the glass walls was a ledge with smaller potted plants. Some of these were just new plants, growing and waiting their turn to be transplanted. I even had a couple venus flytraps and other carnivorous plants to keep the bugs at pay. It really was quite the little ecosystem I built.

Fairy lights crisscrossed across the ceiling to light the room during the twilight and night hours. Low light lamps sat by the couch and bookshelf to allow enough light to see by.

I walked to the table and set the wine and glasses down. I started opening the bottle of wine while I scanned the room, looking to see where I needed to start for the evening.

Chicago After Hours -- Paused (indefinitely)

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Caden

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Location: Caden’s Home – Chicago, IL
Skills: Notice;

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I smile and shake my head. ”Oh, no. I won’t be long,” I assure him. I cover up the main food dishes once again, knowing they will be fine for a couple of hours.

Meanwhile, Cassiopeia slips out of the room to secure the bottles of wine to take to the sunroom. She waits for Nic though, not wanting him to get lost in the house.

Chicago After Hours -- Paused (indefinitely)

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Cassiopeia Claire Alistair

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Location: Caden’s House – Chicago, IL
Skills:

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Caden and I both start laughing, the tension officially broken. I finish up my last bit of rice when Caden stands.

”Why don’t you two go through to the sunroom? I’ll bring in dessert,” Caden offers. I look at Nic and stand.

”We could open that wine now,” I suggest.

Chicago After Hours -- Paused (indefinitely)

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Cassiopeia Claire Alistair

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Location: Caden’s House – Chicago, IL
Skills:

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Nic’s reaction makes me smile. I pick at my skirt before I look up at him. ”I was around when they used leeches for inflammation and fertility problems. Do you think they’ll make a comeback?” I teased, to try and break the tension.

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Caden

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Location: Caden’s Home – Chicago, IL
Skills: Notice;

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I smile at Cassi and nod to keep her going. ”What about bloodletting? I thought the vampires in Europe were going to die from overindulgence,” I said with a laugh.

”Oh, they’ll definitely bring that one back to help cure all the new diseases. Right, Nic?”

Chicago After Hours -- Paused (indefinitely)

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Caden

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Location: Caden’s Home – Chicago, IL
Skills: Notice;

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”I won’t lie to you, Nic. I have killed people more than my fair share, I am sure. I’ve killed humans, and I’ve killed supernatural creatures. I wasn’t always this composed. This life isn’t easy. Being as old as I am, I’ve seen and done a lot.” I look at Cassiopeia again but don’t look away this time.

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Cassiopeia Claire Alistair

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Location: Caden’s House – Chicago, IL
Skills:

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I sigh and flop back in my chair. I hate this. I really, really hate this. ”I’m also nearly 300 years old. Caden and I grew up together. Like he said, it hasn’t been easy.” I stare at the table as I talk. I hate talking about myself. It always brings up things I don’t want to think about.

Chicago After Hours -- Paused (indefinitely)

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Caden

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Location: Caden’s Home – Chicago, IL
Skills: Notice;

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I look at Cassiopeia. She shakes her head, allowing me to go ahead first. I look back at Nic, and I nod. ”You may question any of my staff if you wish. Henry has been my longest staff member. He’s practically family. But they will tell you what I am about to do. Everyone I dare to bring on goes through a bit of a trial. Everything is treated as normal; if they are good at their job, they move on; if not, no harm is done, and they return to their everyday life. For the ones who make it further, I will sit down and speak with them on a more personal level and have them sign an NDA—more formalities than anything. People who want to work for me believe me to be a billionaire, so signing an NDA is nothing unusual. The unusual comes after that when I tell them about me. I ease them into it a bit more than what happened to you. Some are fine after a period of adjustment; others can’t fathom it. The more rational they are, the easier it is to alter their mind, either by vampire compulsion or Cassi’s unique ability to change memory. If they aren’t rational, their minds are forcibly altered, and they will not recover from that. I send them to a privately funded psychiatric hospital where they are looked after. I am not ignorant enough to know that it is not okay. Their lives are over, but I do the best I can to give them some semblance of a life. I have spent most of my life without staff, but certain appearances have to be kept up. Being in the position I am not to have staff would raise more questions.”

I look over at Cassiopeia, but she takes a sip of her drink. I frowned at her avoidance but gave her the benefit of the doubt. She is probably waiting for Nic to digest what I’ve said.

Chicago After Hours -- Paused (indefinitely)

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Caden

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Location: Caden’s Home – Chicago, IL
Skills: Notice;

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I watch Nic closely for a minute. It did surprise me that he didn’t question me on that. He seemed concerned with Nero’s meat suit but dismissed the fact that I had to deal with some of my ex-staff. I look at Cassiopeia — who has stopped eating.

I look at my drink and swirl the liquid around. ”I’ll tell you if you really want to know, Nic. I am no stranger to judgment, and I am far from perfect. I have been alive for three hundred years and have made some unpleasant decisions for my protection and the safety of others.”

Chicago After Hours -- Paused (indefinitely)

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Caden

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Location: Caden’s Home – Chicago, IL
Skills: Notice;

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”I’ve been here for ten months doing some consulting work with the police. It’s not my first time in Chicago, but the last time I was here was five years ago,” I tell Nic.

Chicago After Hours -- Paused (indefinitely)

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Caden

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Location: Caden’s Home – Chicago, IL
Skills: Notice;

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”They do. I vetted everyone, although I do confess that some were not up to the task and were dismissed. A few of them, I had to take action to protect the supernatural community. I assure you they are living their lives well enough and are taken care of even though they are no longer part of everyday society,” I tell him truthfully.

Chicago After Hours -- Paused (indefinitely)

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Caden

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Location: Caden’s Home – Chicago, IL
Skills: Notice;

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”All of them, except one,” I tell Nic. I finish my own meal and lean back in my seat with my drink. I glance at Cassiopeia, but she is still happily picking away at her meal, enjoying that the attention isn’t on her for the time being.