Tantalizing

[Aiden Finnegan]

Aiden came out of the opulent restroom shaking the water from his hands. He had no patience for towels; it always took too much time to make sure your hands were truly dry. There had been a few minutes where he wove a few flows of Air around his hands, trying to speed up the process, but the ethereal Air only served to push the beads of moisture all over his hands… Perhaps if he had tried Water, gathering it up and off of his skin, but Aiden had no skill with that element yet. Just Air and Fire… Spirit was coming in a close third, but he really didn’t know what use Spirit had… So much to learn still.

                The rest of Jaxen’s pad was just as impressive as the sitting area and entryway. Aiden found himself admiring the art, the technology, and the furniture that was scattered about the various rooms; although he didn’t stray too far from his path. It would not be polite to wander Jaxen’s rooms without his approval. Oh, Aiden was definitely tempted too, but he opted for caution… Especially after staying at Dorian’s mansion and seeing just what other Channelers could do with magic. Nox laid out traps all over the lawn; there was no telling what Jaxen may have hidden in the rooms of this hyper-techno palace of a Condominium.

                Entering the living room, Aiden caught the tail end of something Jaxen was saying… Indeed, he was hiding something. Taking an internal sigh of relief, Aiden was suddenly thankful for his gut instinct and avoiding the whole snooping thing. Sage was where he had been, a glass of clear liquid and an ice cube in the shape of a skull nestled in his hands. Jaxen seemed to be enjoying the same.

                I thought I said whiskey… Aiden thought to himself.

                Aiden, once again, sighed internally. Vodka would do if that was the drink being offered. He preferred brown liquor, but being in Russia, one had no choice but to develop a taste for the potato-based spirit… A love for the vegetable was in Aiden’s blood, being Irish and all, so the shift wasn’t an unwelcome one; although he may very well end up blacking out before the night had finished. Mixing different types of booze always spelled trouble.

                With a tune on his lips, the infamous Lady GaGa’s Poker Face, Aiden embraced that strange light behind his shoulder and wove a thread of Air. The third glass, which he presumed to be his, floated across the room, carried by unseen hands. Any chance to practice his craft was a welcome one. Throwing back his head and releasing the magic, Aiden swallowed half of the glass and gave a satisfied sigh.

                “Good stuff, Jaxen… What’s the brand? I’ll have to have Dimitri pick up a case of this stuff…” Aiden purred as he moved back to the couch and plopped down next to his boyfriend. He put his right arm around Sage and sipped on more of the drink, cheeks flushing as the clear liquid hit his bloodstream.

                “So, what are we talking about again? What’d you steal? What’d you wanna show us?” With a nod towards the glass case, Aiden cocked an eyebrow at Jaxen, “Is it in that curio cabinet? I’m very curious as to what those artifacts are all about, though I haven’t taken much of a look at them…”