Playing Catch Up

Who: Dorian and Mathias
Where: The Lockwood Residence
When: 3 p.m.

It should have surprised Dorian to find Mathias asleep on the couch, but it didn't. Apparently his brother had nothing else to do but encourage the ongoing jet lag. Dropping his keys on the counter, Dorian grabbed a coke from the fridge and plopped himself down in one of the living room chairs. "Hey Math. Wake up," he said, then took a sip of his drink. He wasn't sure if Mathias was just snoozing or completely out, but if he had to ask again, it would come with the hit of a pillow.

Mathias grunted and rolled over sluggishly, taking his pillow with him, keeping it under his head, the blanket twisting round his hips as he turned. He'd long ago learned the value of catching sleep where and when you could and the fact it was well into the day didn't bother him in the slightest. He wasn't ready to get up yet.

"Wake up," Dorian said, this time a little more forcefully, the pillow pulling hard out of Mathias' hands and into Dorian's. "You know, if you sleep all day, you're never gonna get over your jet lag." Not that Dorian cared at the moment, but more that he'd wanted an audience with his brother over 24-hours ago. He wasn't waiting any longer, his lack of politeness due to a growing lack of sleep.

Mathias' head hit the arm of the sofa with a thump and he groaned. "Fuck off - what the hell - lemmealone," he grunted, pulling the blanket up over his head.

"I moved some more rocks," Dorian said, now that Mathias was listening. "I know you told me not to go down there alone, but the dreams have gotten worse. I don't think they're gonna stop until all the rocks are cleared." It wouldn't be that much harder to finish moving them all, but Dorian didn't want to end up so tired that he couldn't do anything but sleep. Rocks were heavy. They weren't nearly as easy to throw around as, say, knives.

Mathias' eyes blinked open at that and he rolled over to look up at his brother. "You promised," he stated, fixing Dorian with a stare. "You promised you wouldn't go up there alone - who'd you take with you?" he asked.

"I went alone," Dorian said. He wasn't a child, but he was expecting to be scolded anyways. It hadn't exactly been intelligent on his part. "I'm afraid if I don't do something..." What was he afraid of, exactly? What was it that had compelled him to go out there by himself and move rocks? "Someone's going to get hurt."

"You'd be worse off than if you went up there on your own, following dreams of corpses and death?" Mathias supplied, sceptically. But he didn't have the energy to argue. He rolled up and off the couch, hitting the floor and rising to pad into the kitchen, pouring himself a coffee. "You do anything else stupid while I was gone?" he asked, adding sugar - he needed it today. He got over jetlag easily enough, but it had been kinda traumatic the day before and he hadn't slept well as a result.

"Besides the shit I already told you?" Dorian asked, raising a brow. He already had quite a list with destroying a demon, killing Aiden's car, and following dreams down to a mine shaft. "Leija came by and picked up Caleb's pocket knife. I went shopping with Eury, but that's going nowhere. I mean, we're friends, but... I think you've heard of most of my stupid behavior."

"Is been 24 hours and last time we spoke I was on the other side of the world - and no, I'm not including the 'I've landed' conversation, so no need to get defensive," Mathias told him, feeling a little better as the caffiene entered his blood stream. "Going nowhere - I thought you were going for it? You give up already?" he asked, catching that part.

"Sorry," Dorian said, leaning back in his chair. "I'm running on four hours sleep. My pleasant disposition is dwindling due to a variety of factors." None of which actually had to do with Mathias. "I was trying to go for it. Kind of. But we've been friends, and she's been screwing Aiden, and I'm not even sure she's interested anymore. I mean, I don't really know why she would be, but-- Okay, here's what's bothering me: at one point she told me she wanted to get to know a guy before she slept with him. That she didn't sleep around. Or I guess that's what I thought she was saying. But then she just fell into bed with Aiden. I know they didn't get to know each other before hand. So I wouldn't have minded sleeping with her months ago, but I thought she'd want a relationship, and I wasn't ready, and now? I feel like our relationship's grown more and more platonic every time I see her."

Mathias considered that. "Fuck," he muttered. "That's kinda harsh. So - what you gonna do about it?" he asked. Normally, he knew, he'd have more to say on the subject, but right now he didn't think he was the guy to be going anywhere near relationship advice. He was confused and uncertain enough as it was.

"I don't know," Dorian sighed. "See where it goes, I guess. I mean, they might still be seeing each other, but I don't know. I didn't know in the first place, until Aiden told me. I don't think they are, but that's based on how Aiden's been acting, not Eury, and I'm not confident I can trust him. And even if they're not together, that doesn't mean she's got an interest in me, you know?"

Mathias frowned. "Bro - you do know that it takes two, right? I mean, if one party's saying there's not a relationship - there's not a relationship, however much the other person thinks there might be. And why wouldn't she be interested? Girl'd have to be stupid not to be - and I've met her. So, you have some competition - so what? There's nothing wrong with a bit of healthy competition."

Dorian knew his brother was right. That didn't make it easy, but it certainly helped give perspective. "Aiden's the only guy I know who's more anti-relationship than you are," Dorian said with a small, hopeful smirk. "If Eury wants anything more than a good lay, she's not gonna get it. Not unless Aiden does a complete one-eighty for her. And maybe he will, but I'm hoping he won't." So what if that was selfish of him. "I just need to be patient. And try not to physically take out the competition," he said with a little laugh.

"...And be there to pick up the pieces?" Mathias suggested with a smirk. It was evil, but it worked - the 'friend in need' thing, a shoulder to cry on. He'd done it a few times himself - though more often he was the one giving out nothing more than a good lay. As his brother had pointed out, he didn't do relationships.

"That too," Dorian said with a snort. "I'd really prefer he didn't hurt her, but I also think it'd take an act of God for him not to. It's just what he does, when it comes to girls. I don't really understand it, but it's none of my business... usually." If he hadn't wanted Eury for himself, he might have sought out to understand it better, to help Aiden and Eury stay together. Unfortunately for them, he'd offer no support this time around. As much as he didn't want Aiden to hurt Eury, he still wanted to see them fail.

"Well, if she didn't understand how it worked in the first place, she'd gonna get burned," Mathias told him, sounding unrepentant about it. He shrugged. "You've gotta know what you're getting yourself into and unless he's totally playing her, she should know better." Mathias was always upfront with the girls he took to bed that they weren't getting any more out of it than that - it wasn't his fault that some of them seemingly didn't believe him, or thought that through sex alone they could somehow change who he was and he'd want to see them again. That was their problem, not his.

"I don't know. I haven't seen them together since they met, but she's usually pretty wise. Or I thought she was. It could be different when it comes to guys," Dorian said. He'd never prodded her about her past relationships, not enough to know how she was in them. She knew him well enough to know he didn't do them, at least till now. "So you went to India," Dorian said, turning the conversation around. "What'd you get?"

"You never can tell," Mathias agreed. he set his coffee down on the side and wandered back out into the main room at Dorian's question, retrieving the knife from his bag. Taking it out of its box, he handed it over - it was still a remarkably unremarkable lock knife, nothing special about its appearance at all. "I got him this - we agreed that he needed a weapon that wasn't blood magic, after all."

Dorian took the knife, turning it over in his hand. It looked simple enough, though probably effective. "What's it do?" he asked, looking up at his brother, because Mathias didn't go all the way to India to get a knife that didn't have something special about it. Dorian knew that much.

Mathias chuckled. "You know, that was Caleb's first question as well?" he told his brother. Obviously, they were just that kind of family. "It heals - every bit of damage he causes with that knife, it'll heal him by the same amount. Figured it would provide a good support to his blood magic - I doubt there's any way to convince him to totally stop using something that powerful, but at least this will mitigate some of the damage done and provide a good fall back."

"Well, if there was nothing special about it, then why go all the way to India," Dorian pointed out with a smile. Then his brows rose in surprise. "It heals?" he asked, pleased. "That's exactly what he needs out there, something to offset the fact that his defense hurts him with every blow." Dorian flicked out the blade, then slid it back into place. "I couldn't ask him to stop with the blood magic. I have the feeling it's a bit like asking me to stop with the TK. Once you can do it, it's hard to drop it. It is effective, and I doubt he's gonna stop getting himself into trouble." Dorian handed the knife back to Mathias. "Good find. I'm impressed."

"I felt the need to get out of town for a few days?" Mathias pointed out right back - it was, after all, entirely possible and Dorian should know it. This was the longest 'visit' he'd ever made with his brother - in the past he'd been gone in under a week. "But, yeah - a contact sourced it for me, but insisted I collect myself." And be there to hand over the cash, he mentally added. "Glad you approve though - oh, and it's only usable by Caleb, so I wouldn't think to rely on it."

If Mathias had just wanted to get out of town for a few days, Dorian didn't think India would have been entirely necessary. It was a long way to go just to serve Mathias' wonderlust, but Dorian didn't argue with his brother. "It's bound to him?" Dorian asked. "I think that's good. It prevents someone taking it and using it against him." Because if it had been him, and he'd seen someone heal using that knife, that was exactly what Dorian would have done.

"Yeah - it's bound to him," Mathias confirmed, holding a hand back out for the knife. He wanted to keep it safe until Caleb was out of the hospital. "Anyone who tries to use it against him will find that they injure themselves as much as they hurt him. Not recommended. And for anyone else, against anyone else - well, it's just a knife." He considered telling Dorian about the tracking spell, but figured that the less people who knew about that, the better - after all, Mathias was the only person it would work for anyhow.

"Nice," Dorian said with a small chuckle. He could have provided nothing of the sort to Caleb, no matter how hard he tried. He was glad that Mathias had been able to come through for him. "So how come you never brought me such awesome gifts from far off lands?" Dorian teased. "Was I just not reckless enough?" In comparison to Caleb, Dorian had been tame, at least when it came to getting himself hurt. He could hurt others just fine, when he wanted to. A lot of it came down to what Dorian was willing to get himself into and what he preferred to stay away from. It all depended on his mood, along with the stage of the moon.

"You never threatened to do more damage to yourself with your 'abilities' than you could benefits. And no - you weren't reckless enough," Mathias confirmed, putting the knife away. "I never doubted you could take care of yourself. Caleb? Caleb, I think, could easily get himself killed without guidance. I've never had to worry about you the way I find myself worrying about him." He looked back at his brother. "That's a compliment to you, by the way."

"Thanks," Dorian smiled. "It's rare that I wear myself out, and even when I do, it doesn't really hurt me. Eventually I just pass out." Which was a pain, but how often did he get to that point? Only once had Dorian pushed himself that hard and it had been of his own doing. He'd never been self destructive the way Caleb was, but every once and a while he could be just plain destructive.

"Exactly - you, me, we can take care of ourselves. Caleb didn't get any of that shit." And it told. Mathias wasn't going to dissuade him from anything he could do to help out, but he worried about his brother. At least Dorian had a more stable outlook on life. Caleb seemed to be more like him - draw to the chaos. But Mathias had the skills to deal with it he was certain Caleb was lacking.

"He gives in to it more than I do. He's more like you in that. But, yeah, none of the perks. And more unstable than either of us. Though he did seem better the last time I visited him," Dorian said, preferring to be optimistic on that front. "Also, kind of random, but Leija came by to get his pocket knife. Now that I know what you got him, it makes more sense, I guess." He was still going to ask Caleb about it, though. He wasn't sure why his brother would be giving a girl a pocket knife, unless maybe she was into knives. Still, kinda odd.

"He likes her," Mathias confided in his brother. "Or so I assmue - he mentions her name enough. And I think he'll tell her - despite everything. He's really feeling the fact that he knows what she is, but she has no idea - and apparently he can feel her narrowing it down. I think he'll tell her, given time."

"She'd be a safer choice than Ten would have been," Dorian said. "I'm not exactly one to talk when it comes to making those decisions. When someone knows what they're looking for, it's not that hard to narrow it down. At least, for me it wasn't, when it came to Aiden." But Aiden hunted demons. Still, an angel would normally be familiar with a demon's tell. Luckily, Caleb didn't have one, not really, except on the new moon. "I think she's good for him. Just based on what little I've heard. I know he mentioned her, but... I was a little caught up in my own head last time I was there."

"I think the guy will make up his own mind no mater what we say, so what does it matter - I'm more worried about the fact he was convinced that being a half-demon meant that he was fucked from the word go. That he was something evil even before whoever he was was taken into it. Hopefully I managed to dispel some of that, but you should be aware that our baby brother has some preconceptions about our heritage that aren't necessarily healthy for him," Mathias told Dorian.

At that, Dorian frowned. "I've talked to him about that before," Dorian said, sure that they'd been over this. Obviously he'd done a relatively poor job. "I don't know how to get through to him that we're not full demons, that we're not necessarily evil. Yeah, we have demon blood in us, but... Hopefully he listened to you. Sometimes I think he discounts my opinion based on the fact that I fight it," Dorian said, rolling his eyes. He'd acknowledge that, that he didn't completely take hold of his nature. If he did, he'd get into a lot more trouble than usual, but that still wouldn't make him evil.

"Yeah, I'm talked to him about it before as well - getting through to Caleb sometimes is like banging your head against a brick wall. Knowing him he'll probably decide that I was talking shit and tomorrow we'll be back to square one," Mathias sighed. "I'm gonna go see him again this afternoon. Maybe if we both keep talking to him, something will get through. I think he needs to hear this kind of stuff from both of us." He paused. "You know that he's making shit up in there? Because his real issues are tied up with us and angels and shit, he's making up problems to talk to them about. That's not good."

"I know," Dorian sighed. "I mean, I know he can't talk about the issues. I don't really know what he's making up. Is it bad?" It only mattered because Dorian wasn't sure if they could hold Caleb there longer, though maybe his brother had made up getting better along with his imaginary problems. "He can't talk about the real issues. It'd be great if there was someone he could talk to outside the family, but I wouldn't even know where to start with that." It wasn't like he could just look 'supernatural psychiatrist' up in the paper and find anyone legit.

"I just know that I want him out of there as soon as - I don't even know if it's doing him any good." Plus Mathias hated the place, but that was his own problem - if he at least thought it was helping Caleb, maybe he could get over that. "I don't know what he's saying or anything - I didn't ask. We're discharging him as soon as the week is up, right?"

"Of course," Dorian said, for there'd never been a doubt in his mind. He might not have been as uptight about the place as Mathias, but he wasn't fond it either. "I think Caleb needs help, but I don't think he needs them to help him. He can't even discuss his problems with them, so what's the point? Just the fact that he's there makes him depressed. I think we need to get him out as soon as possible."

"The moment his mandatory time is up," Mathias agreed. "Which is, what? Just under a week now? Can't go fast enough for me," he added.

"I'll have to check the calendar, but yeah, just under a week. Which is good, cause the new moon's coming up as well. If the two overlapped, we'd have a serious issue," Dorian said. He couldn't imagine what it would take to break Caleb out of there, but he really preferred not to deal with that. The fact that they could just wait it out was a life saver.

"Oh hells yes," Mathias agreed wholeheartedly. That was a problem he was very happy not to have to think about. He paused. "Do you think that his being in there has done any good at all?" he asked, wanting his brother's opinion on that. Mathias was torn, he wasn't sure - but then Dorian had always knew Caleb better than he did anyway. Until recently, his youngest brother was a near-stranger to him.

"I try to think so," Dorian said, thinking back on the last time he'd visited Caleb. "You know, I didn't see it coming the first time, but he doesn't seem as unstable as he was. I think he's always gonna look for trouble. I think that's just part of who he is. But I'm hoping that his looking for trouble won't be quite as self destructive as it was this last time around." Dorian didn't think Caleb would do it again, from what he'd seen and heard, but he couldn't be sure. "I think he's gained a bit of perspective maybe."

Mathias took this in a weighed it, nodding slightly. He trusted his brother's perspective on this, he had the benefit of knowledge and that was important. He felt a little better for it as well - he'd been worried that the place had done him no good at all and he was pleased that that didn't seem to be the case.

Dorian wasn't positive it was the place that had done Caleb good, but perhaps the people that had talked to him while he was there, his brothers and Leija, and that other girl perhaps. Dorian didn't remember her name. But he thought maybe that was it, more than the psychiatric ward itself. "We'll need to keep watching him though, just to... be sure. I think he's got a lot of issues to work through."

"Well, that's definitely doable - and you're right. The kid's got issues," Mathias agreed, shaking his head. "Anyway, I need food - really need food." Since he'd slept half the day away, his belly was protesting being ignored as he headed for the kitchen.

"Wanna go out and grab something?" Dorian asked. "I'm not really up for cooking tonight." He hadn't run to the store and he didn't feel like doing so. If it was only he and Mathias, there were much easier alternatives.

"Sure," Mathias acquiesced - that sounded like a good plan and it was better than cooking. He could go and see Caleb afterwards - after all, he'd already proven that visiting hours applied only to other people.