KazAlkemi

Chicago After Hours -- Paused (indefinitely)

---

---

Cassiopeia Claire Alistair

---

---

Location: Cassi’s Home – Chicago, IL
Skills:

---

---

”Throughout my whole life, eight,” I tell him. ”In the last thirty years, none.” I look into Nic’s eyes, noting the green in his eyes for the first time. I feel myself leaning closer, trying to see just how much green is there.

---

---

Caden

---

---

Location: Caden’s Home – Chicago, IL
Skills:
Fit

---

---

I laugh, watching Nero gather more tarts. I kiss their cheek before setting them on their own two feet. ”Go on ahead if you wish. I’ll be only a moment.”

I gather the dishes from the table and pile them onto a trolly. I roll everything back into the house after shutting the fire table and the lamps off.

Chicago After Hours -- Paused (indefinitely)

---

---

Cassiopeia Claire Alistair

---

---

Location: Cassi’s Home – Chicago, IL
Skills:

---

---

My leg twitches from where Nic touches me, but only because of how close we are sitting. The sensation seems more intimate somehow.

”Yes,” I tell him honestly. I had many intimate relationships throughout my long years, nothing close to Caden’s conquests, but I did have more long-term relationships than Caden.

---

---

Caden

---

---

Location: Caden’s Home – Chicago, IL
Skills:
Fit

---

---

My heart does continue to race while Nero and I kiss. After some time, though, I have to pull away to regain my breath. The sun has fully set, and a chill starts to set in despite the fire table and heat lamps that surround us.

”Perhaps we should move indoors,” I suggest, tucking Nero’s hair behind their ear.

Chicago After Hours -- Paused (indefinitely)

---

---

Cassiopeia Claire Alistair

---

---

Location: Cassi’s Home – Chicago, IL
Skills:

---

---

”Since you’ve been born, or my whole life?” I ask him cheekily.

I liked it when he touched my cheek. Well, I liked it whenever Nic touched me, even if it was to point out silly embarrassments, like how often I blushed. I scoot myself a bit closer to him, my knees resting on one of his legs.

---

---

Caden

---

---

Location: Caden’s Home – Chicago, IL
Skills:
Fit

---

---

I move my hand from Nero’s cheek and slip my hand into their hair, holding them to me while we kiss. I try to convey how much they mean to me through the kiss, and show them that I am here for them no matter what.

Chicago After Hours -- Paused (indefinitely)

---

---

Cassiopeia Claire Alistair

---

---

Location: Cassi’s Home – Chicago, IL
Skills:

---

---

I smile now that Nic and I are mirroring each other. I look into his eyes for several minutes before I have to look away. I know the tops of my cheeks are probably pink now, but I don’t let that bother me.

”So, how many relationships have you had?” I ask, figuring this was a safe topic of conversation for the both of us. I sip my tea while I wait for Nic’s answer.

---

---

Caden

---

---

Location: Caden’s Home – Chicago, IL
Skills: Shapeshifting
Fit

---

---

I rested a hand on Nero’s cheek when they kissed me. I smile on their lips and nod. ”You are most welcome,” I say before I kiss them again.

Chicago After Hours -- Paused (indefinitely)

---

---

Cassiopeia Claire Alistair

---

---

Location: Cassi’s Home – Chicago, IL
Skills:

---

---

”Because I’m a delight,” I say with a laugh.

---

---

Caden

---

---

Location: Caden’s Home – Chicago, IL
Skills:
Fit

---

---

”Of course, mein kleiner Kobold. I’ll be with you every step of the way while you uncover more about your human past,” I say. I lean into their touch, closing my eyes once more.

Chicago After Hours -- Paused (indefinitely)

---

---

Cassiopeia Claire Alistair

---

---

Location: Cassi’s Home – Chicago, IL
Skills:

---

---

I laugh and rest my arm on the back of the couch, using my hand to prop my head up, allowing me to look at Nic with a sideways glance. ”A smart decision, really,” I say.

---

---

Caden

---

---

Location: Caden’s Home – Chicago, IL
Skills: Shapeshifting
Fit

---

---

I rub Nero’s side in a more comforting way than a sensual way. I could understand their fear, even their concern for what I just laid at their feet. It was a lot to take in. ”It’s okay for me, but it has to be okay for you, too. No decision needs to be made on this now. It’s not on a timeline,” I said, trying to assure Nero.

Chicago After Hours -- Paused (indefinitely)

---

---

Cassiopeia Claire Alistair

---

---

Location: Cassi’s Home – Chicago, IL
Skills:

---

---

”I know you are, but it’s important to me that you know before our relationship progresses further,” I tell him seriously. ”I like you, Nic. I’m having fun with you, and my cats like you. Caden likes you, and even though he doesn’t dictate what I choose to do with my life, his opinion makes a difference.”

---

---

Caden

---

---

Location: Caden’s Home – Chicago, IL
Skills: Shapeshifting
Fit

---

---

I smile, brushing my fingers along Nero’s cheek and over their bottom lip. ”You… I believe you are our mate in this life,” I say. My heart is racing as I say it, and there’s excitement in my dragon as well, but they seem calmer than I do after I say the words.

My eyes shift back, and I take in Nero’s entire face. My eyes move back and forth as I try to gage their thoughts and feelings on what I’ve just disclosed. This was something I probably wouldn’t tell Kiki or Cass for a while still. They didn’t need to know this yet.

Chicago After Hours -- Paused (indefinitely)

---

---

Cassiopeia Claire Alistair

---

---

Location: Cassi’s Home – Chicago, IL
Skills:

---

---

I smiled while I mixed honey in with my tea. I decided on a raspberry mint mix. Apparently, I was on a raspberry kick. I turned around, and gestured for Nic to follow me into the living room.

My house was a bit more boxed off than Nic’s open concept. My kitchen was in its own little nook with a small table by a window overlooking the garden in the back. There was a little looking window in the kitchen, so I could see the dining area, but the walls closed it off. My living room was back near the front and a bit narrower than the dining and sitting area next to it. I had a bathroom on the main floor and then two bedrooms plus another main bathroom upstairs, then a master bath.

I sit down on my overstuffed creme-coloured couch and curl my legs up under me, sipping my tea. ”That answer leads into the heavier topic of my life,” I tell Nic with a sad smile. ”I do want to talk to you about it, Nic, sooner rather than later. Maybe the day after tomorrow? We can go out for drinks or go to the park and drink, maybe.”

---

---

Caden

---

---

Location: Caden’s Home – Chicago, IL
Skills: Shapeshifting
Fit

---

---

”Yes and no. I could feel someone is my mate, but my dragon half might not agree, and vice versa. Unlike Avery, where he and his wolf are one and the same, I am separate from my dragon, and they are from me. I am a host to them if you want to label it.”

I ran my hand down Nero’s side again and met Nero’s gaze. ”I think I figured out why my dragon has been so close to the surface lately,” I tell Nero, my eyes shifting to that of the dragons.

Chicago After Hours -- Paused (indefinitely)

---

---

Cassiopeia Claire Alistair

---

---

Location: Cassi’s Home – Chicago, IL
Skills:

---

---

Max hops off the counter to find something more entertaining, and I fix up my tea while I answer Nic’s questions. ”He’s my first. Honestly, I took that really hard for a long time. I thought I wasn’t blessed to have one. Familiars aren’t as common as TV shows and movies make them out to be. Now that Max has chosen me, Max could live as long as I do, or if he feels his mission with me is completed, he could move on. And before you ask, no, I don’t know what his mission is. He refuses to tell me, and he doesn’t have to annoyingly.”

---

---

Caden

---

---

Location: Caden’s Home – Chicago, IL
Skills:
Fit

---

---

Nero’s gentle touch sets my blood on fire, and my dragon rumbles inside me. Maybe they’ve been so close to the surface because of my connection with Nero. I haven’t had them so uneasy since Avery and I formed a pack bond. It could be possible Nero is supposed to be my mate.

”I’m starting to think that doesn’t matter. You just have to have an essence still.”

Chicago After Hours -- Paused (indefinitely)

---

---

Cassiopeia Claire Alistair

---

---

Location: Cassi’s Home – Chicago, IL
Skills:

---

---

I turn on the kettle and laugh at Nic’s excited comment. ”Familiars are a thing. They choose their sorcerer or witch. They just kind of show up one day and don’t leave you alone,” I say M, scratching Max’s head. ”For that reason, don’t expect him to cuddle you. He likes you, he’s told me so, but he really is a one-person cat for obvious reasons. Max used to be a sorcerer, and came back as a cat in his next life. He retains some magic but at very basic levels. We can communicate, but not the way you and I do. It’s through feelings and intuition mostly. We’ve also been together to long now that I just know and understand his habits. If we get separated he can find me easily, and he helps me navigate some of the more trickier spell work. He can also bless some of the potions I make if I need it,” I explain to Nic.

---

---

Caden

---

---

Location: Caden’s Home – Chicago, IL
Skills:
Fit

---

---

”Truthfully, I am not sure, but if my family and Cassiopeia’s family wanted us to be joined, I assume yes. For a very long time, I thought she would be my forever, but when we didn’t marry, it felt right that we didn’t. After that, I haven’t felt a strong enough connection with anyone I’ve been with to warrant mating for life. I always assumed it was because I wasn’t meant to or my mate hadn’t been born yet. As you know, age doesn’t matter much to us.

I finish my drink and set the empty glass on the table. I rest my free hand on Nero's leg, looking at how my hand seems to encompass their leg, and how naturally it does so.