A Little Fight

Who: Dorian and Caleb
Where: The Lockwood Residence
When: Around 3pm

"Home," Dorian called out as he shut the door to the house. The day had gone fast, what with talking to Mathias and all. Now he was just glad to be back home. With Caleb's schedule as of late, he didn't exactly expect him to be there, but he still felt the need to announce he was there, just in case. Furthermore, he didn't know if Tensiel was around and he preferred not to have her sneak up on him.

Caleb did happen to be home, and he sort of half winced when he heard his brother arrive. He still wasn't sure what exactly to do about things, and was just hoping that he could get away without being found out. "Hey." he called back. He'd been sort of sleeping on Ten's mattress in the dining room, but got up and quickly moved up the hall so that wasn't obvious.

Dorian turned the corner, surprised to find Caleb right in the middle of the hall. "Hey," he said, turning into the kitchen. "So, where'd you run off to last night?" He had to ask. Caleb hadn't been home when he'd gone to bed, but he'd been in bed when he'd left for work. That his brother made it home safe was what really mattered, but he was curious after the fact.

"Just out walking." Caleb said evasively. "Had a lot on my mind." So it wasn't the best answer, but it was a true one. Sort of.

"Well, that's nice and vague," Dorian said, pulling a beer out of the fridge and then hopping up to sit on the counter. "Anything specific? Or are you just trying to drive me nuts?" Dorian couldn't help but worry when Caleb didn't come home. It was just part of his nature.

"Contrary to popular believe, I don't actually exist only to make your life worse." Caleb said drily, getting himself a can of soda out of the fridge, and leaning against an opposite counter to his brother. Well so far so good. "But just...shit, that's all. Nothing important."

"I know," Dorian smiled, then took a sip of beer. "In fact, I seriously doubt I even crossed your mind." He'd been that age before. He knew that, with everything going on, the people waiting back at home for him weren't always top priority. If Caleb had been preoccupied, he certainly wouldn't have thought about Dorian. "So, anything new with Tensiel?" he asked. He figured Caleb had seen her and would know if she'd found somewhere else to stay yet.

Caleb shrugged. Dorian had crossed his mind, but mostly on the 'I hope I don't get in trouble' fashion. Not necessarily much of the 'he might be worried'. He took a drink of his pop before answering. "Beyond she keeps injuring herself on cupbord doors?" he asked. "She's fine. I think she's just a little clumsy."

"On cupboard doors?" he asked, sliding off the counter to start looking for something to eat. "She's a little odd... Do you know if she's actively looking for somewhere else to stay? I know she's fine here for now, but she really can't stay forever. Or, more specifically, past the new moon."

Caleb had a sinking feeling at that. "Shit." he said. Obviously, that hadn't occurred to him quite yet. He'd been busy worrying about other things. Not so small was the five stitched gashes in his lower back. "I don't know. I'll...ask, I guess. I met another friend of hers, but he didn't like me so much. Can't say I liked him either."

"It's not that I have a real issue with her," he said, reaching over Caleb to get something out of the cabinet. "It's just-- It's that a hickey?" he laughed, suddenly realizing that Caleb was covering something up on his neck. The moment he said the word, he forgot about what was in the cabinet and tugged on Caleb's shirt collar. His smile fell a second after though, when he realized it was nothing of the sort. "Talk. Now." he demanded.

"Hey, no--" Caleb started and then Dorian had his shirt. He shoved Dorian back, hitting his hand so he'd let go. His can of soda went dropping to the floor, sending carbonated sugar water everywhere and he backed off completely across the room. "Fuck off, it's nothing."

"No, it's not," Dorian said, temper rising. It was one thing for his brother to fight with him and run off and bring a girl home and get into all sorts of normal teenager-like trouble. It was another for him to end up with a vampire bite on his neck. Dorian wasn't stupid. He'd had run ins will all kinds and he knew what he'd seen. It couldn't pass for a hickey if it tried. "I wanna know what happened, and you're not leaving the kitchen till you tell me," Dorian said, stepping over the soda. "Now talk, Caleb."

Caleb kept moving back away from his brother, putting as much distance as possible between them. He held up a hand. "Just back the fuck off---" he said, not wanting him anywhere near right now. In his quick movements, he thought he'd pulled some stitches in his back, but that was hardly the issue. "Got jumped by a vamp, I got away. He disappeared. I came home. End of story."

"That's not the end of the story. It's not even half of the story. Fuck, Caleb, you could have been killed!" To say that Dorian wasn't happy didn't near cover it. He'd tried not to worry about Caleb last night and look where it had gotten him? "Where were you? What did he look like? How the hell did you get him off of you? And he disappeared?" There were pieces missing, things that Dorian might be able to put together if Caleb would only talk to him.

Caleb was slightly less tense when Dorian didn't keep following him, but he stayed pressed up against the wall next to the door just in case he had to bail. "I was just out walking on lakeshore, and he came out of nowhere. Tall guy, I don't know, I was bit before I knew what happened. Then he reeled back because I don't know. Guess he knew I was...different. I hit him, threw gravel at him, he kicked some in my eyes and poof." he explained. "Then I came home."

"You hit him?" Dorian asked, raising a brow. That alone would not have sent a vampire off. "We might taste different," he explained offhandedly. "They're meant to feed on humans. We're not completely. It's not something I'd tested, though." And he hadn't planned on it. Dorian's finger tapped nervously on the counter as he thought, research coming together with legends and then the words just clicked into place. "Fuck!" he shouted, not necessarily at Caleb, but in general. "That's likely a Renfield. Do you realize the danger you were in? And you came straight home? After he disappeared?"

"Will you keep it the fuck down?" he asked, looking around. Since he'd been asleep, and the alarm Ten had set for him had done fuckall to wake him up, he wasn't sure she was gone. Though she probably was, still. "Renfield? Dorian, take two seconds to think for me, will you? I don't know about any of this bullshit. So whatever you're saying? Spell it the fuck out or shut up and leave me alone."

"First, I don't fucking believe he'd back off just by you hitting him, but that's hardly the point." Dorian had started pacing back and forth in the little space available in the kitchen. It was one thing to deal with this when he'd been alone, when he'd been able to run. He couldn't run when he had a home, a brother to protect. "There are different, um, not breeds, but... types of vampires. They're all vampires, but they're a little different. Renfields are a type. They're typically insane and, to my knowledge, they're the only ones that can go poof! and disappear. Except I don't know where they go to! He could have followed you! He could know where you live! And if you pissed him off?" Dorian's hands curled into fists and as he cursed again, the kitchen window shattered.

Caleb's eyes went to the window then back to his brother, and he bailed. Quick as he could, he broke for the door, not even about to stick the fuck around when Dorian was breaking shit with his goddamn mind. FUCK NO. His own anger was peaking as well. What exactly did he expect?should he have just allowed the vamp to kill him then so he didn't bring him back home so he'd attack Dorian some night? That the fuck did he want from him? He punched hard into the wall as he continued for the front door, cracking his knuckles against it and he split the skin, leaving a red smudge in his wake.

Unfortunately, Caleb didn't have control of the doors quite like Dorian did. When he realized his brother was running, they shut and locked, with pressure applied to such a degree that they weren't likely to open by Caleb's strength alone. Luckily, breaking the window had brought Dorian back enough to reality to realize that he needed to calm down. "Stop," he said, standing clear on the other side of the room, running his fingers through his hair. "Caleb--- I'm sorry. Just stop."

Caleb tried for about half a minute to get the fucking door open, then flattened his back against it, glaring heatedly across the room at his brother. "Let. Me. Out." he said, words all clear, but low. Angry.

"Stay... Please," he said, aware of how angry Caleb would be for that move, but he hadn't been willing to let him run quite yet. He could run all he wanted after, though Dorian quite expected he'd never see his brother again the second he went out that door. "Give me ten more minutes, then you can go wherever."

Caleb didn't move, keeping his eyes locked onto Dorian as he tried to calm himself down a little. Breathing. In. Out. Waiting. He wasn't moving a fucking inch. But he didn't try to leave again. He was dripping onto the carpet, but didn't actually notice that. His concentration was far too much on Dorian.

Dorian licked his lips, trying to think of what he should say. Apologies seemed to be the first order of business. "I'm sorry. I.. uh.. sometimes lose control of things when I lose my temper." He lowered his hands down to his side, fingers tapping nervously on his thigh. He took a deep breath and there was the audible click of the doors unlocking. "If you're going to be out there, you should know that Vampires can't enter our home without an invitation. Some can disappear. Some can turn into things. Some bites supposedly feel good. Some don't. And some vampires, particularly Renfields, are notably insane. And-- you're bleeding," he said, expression turning to one of concern. He started to take a step forward, then stopped himself, not wanting Caleb to bolt.

He tensed and flattened farther against the door, hand coming up to rest on the doorknob when Dorian took the step, but he didn't open it when he stopped. "Fine." he said. "I figured that part out, the disappearing thing." he said, voice still tight. "I'll make sure not to invite him in if I happen to see him, and next time I'm attacked, I'll make sure I don't come here, just so I don't lead him to you." he added. "Are we done now?"

Dorian held his hands up, instinct, to show he wouldn't do anything, even if his weapon was in his head. "I wasn't worried about me," he frowned. "He could see you walk out that door. He could see Tensiel." He didn't understand why Caleb had such a hard time believing that he might worry about him. "Why are you bleeding?" he pressed, taking a step back in case that might help.

Caleb didn't answer that. "So what was I supposed to do then? Just wander around and wait for him to take a second fucking shot?" he snapped. Never mind that he was skipping part of the story, but he so wasn't going to get into that. He couldn't. He'd have to admit he was hurt worse than what Dorian could see. So...no. Huge worlds of no.

Dorian took a deep breath, trying to work things out in his head. "Um. No... but... Well, I don't know where they go when they disappear, but I would have picked you up, if you had called me. I don't think they can move as fast as a car." It was a guess, and that was all. There were just some things about vampires that he didn't know. It wasn't like they sat down and wrote a book of all their secrets. Knowledge had been collected over centuries. It was a process of trial and error, written by humans who had gotten close enough to acquire it.

"Because he couldn't at all get the plate number or see it in the fucking driveway, in this stupidly small town." Caleb snapped. He looked away. "Are you done?"

Okay, so that wasn't the brightest of ideas, but Dorian was trying to think in a very small period of time. "Take a cab maybe?" he said with a helpless shrug. He didn't know. He didn't know what was necessary to properly outrun an invisible vampire, or if the vampire could follow at all. For all he knew, it disappeared and reappeared somewhere else, like in a crypt or something. "If I stop asking why you're bleeding, will you let me help you?"

"I was bleeding and I wanted to get home." he said. "Forgive me for not thinking tactically about shit I know next to nothing about." Caleb snapped. "You're the college boy who knows everything, I'm not. In case you haven't realized I'm not you. Or your shadow, or that anyone taught me anything about any of this. Because the parents? Didn't. So just...fuck off, leave me alone, and can I please fucking go now?"

"Yeah," Dorian said quietly, backing into the wall, eyes downcast. In terms of bitter relationships with family members, Dorian hadn't thought anything could compare to the issues he used to have with Mathias. Apparently, he'd been wrong. In a matter of days, he and Caleb had managed to go for each other's necks, when they should have been trying to get along. The effort, it seemed, was completely in vain. "Be careful."

Caleb didn't answer, just pulled the door open and slammed it shut behind him before he was off like a shot into the overly hot afternoon. He had no idea where he was going, as long as it wasn't where he was right now. He couldn't handle this anymore.

Dorian shut his eyes as the door slammed shut, waited a full sixty seconds, then followed Caleb out the door. His intent was not to follow his brother, but rather do the opposite. He was tired of being responsible, tired to trying, and just plain sick of waiting in the house to see if his brother ever decided to come back. Dorian took off, deciding that there were far better ways to lose control than breaking windows. He just had to seek them out. In a town like Marquette, there should be plenty.