[attr="class","salvatore"]A part of him was expecting another chain of insults, which, in his mind, had become a signature move of hers at this point. He clamped his teeth shut behind closed lips. Earlier, he had been more composed, and had taken the attack in stride, but after a rather exhausting past few minutes of conversation, where he actually had to lower himself down to almost begging just to get her to listen and stick around, he wasn't sure if he'd be able to take it as well as he had. However, what he received instead was a rather pleasant surprise, as she sighed against Cain's resilience, choosing to answer this time. Well, it wasn't what he had been asking for, but really, it was better than what he had expected to have received from the pink-haired beauty. He blinked, taking in the unexpected development for a brief moment, before finally registering her words. He cocked an eyebrow, glancing down at her said drink. Wasn't that her second drink now? Despite her complaints, it seemed that she carried a strong enough of an addiction towards caffeine to ignore its shortcomings.

A short huff of amusement came, the smile that would have followed halted by the placement of a pamphlet down on the table. He blinked, staring at it, and unsure entirely how to react to it. It was a tourism pamphlet, one of those papers that boasted the features of Salem Town, trying to attract tourists to come and pay patronage to their establishments, thus boosting business. He knew what it was, that was established. What really distracted him was the implications of her carrying it. He narrowed his eyes, focusing in on it, before raising his chin to look up at her, just as she started on her last sentence.

"... Don't tell me you're actually here for sightseeing," he commented. This couldn't have been her first time in Salem Town, right? He knew that the Brooks were from the Kingdom of Britain, but it was near unlikely that she hadn't been here before. He reached forward, grabbing the pamphlet, just to emphasize on its existence. "Wait, when did you actually get here?"

The Godfrey Family, after all, were based in Salem Town. He couldn't remember immediately any instances where her family had visited his instead, but even then, the close relations between their parents and grandparents would have warranted at least one visit with her in tow to the Godfrey's home. He glanced down towards her drink, then back up at her. It brought upon a worrying thought, then. With her beverage finished, would she take her departure then? Or would she stay? Cain had hoped to have a longer conversation with her, but he lacked any extra funds to actually offer her a drink. And that incapability itself was a sour hit to his pride, really.


✏: ---
@: @loraina

[attr="class","salvatore"]Her father? Now, wasn't that quite a juicy bit of information. If her father had sent her - the apple of his eye - here, then that meant that there was more to her presence here than just a visit. Hell, this probably wasn't even a visit. Any witch that wanted to be any witch worth knowing had come by here in Salem Town, the so-called city of magic. Everyone and their mother were witches here. It was the hub of magic. It seemed that the man had succeeded in letting his daughter go, to learn the ends of magic studies, and to become the woman she was meant to be from birth. A woman of legends, carrying on the legacy of the Brooks. An expectation that had been placed upon her shoulders, for her to fulfill. To what end, Cain could not tell yet, but if there was anything that Cain had gotten from that tidbit of information, it was that she was here to stay.

And if he knew about it, then he could bet his bottom dollar - which actually was a big deal in his case - that his family knew of it too. Had they contacted her already, he wondered?

The thought of it prompted a suspicion that there could already be a Godfrey around, and he found himself glancing around, though he did it casually. The last thing he needed was being marked down by his family as well. They had left him alone so far, but if they were to notice that he had yet to kick the dirt, the prideful family may just attempt to remove the one stain in their honor. The Brooks were a highly-treasured association by the Godfrey family, and having their oldest daughter here would definitely mean a great deal to them. They'd want to look over her, of course, just to appease the head of the Brooks family. And here he thought this meeting would actually be a good thing.

It was becoming more and more like a headache.

"More or less," he replied, as he slowly turned his eyes and attention back to her. And to think, he was just starting to relax again. Now, the idea of having the family keep track of him again was haunting him, like a whisper over his shoulder he could not get rid of. So, a month, hm? The Brooks had probably secured a nice little private establishment for her to reside in, to enjoy the fruits of her family's labor, with a cozy little bed and servants to answer her every beckon. He knew how it was. He had lived that life. And it was something that you grew up with, the dependency and incompetence. One could be a powerful witch in every aspect of the term, but one thing he noticed about the people of that social circle was that they had little or no survival skills. Even if they had been trained in it, they had little to no chance to apply said training. Experience was one thing, Cain figured, he trumped over the rest when it came to living.

He narrowed his eyes at her words, before taking another sip off his coffee. "I told you, didn't I? I disowned the family, and they disowned me. I had nothing when I left, and they gave me nothing since then. When you have to claw your way back up from the bottom, you don't come out of it unscathed," he explained, and though his words were cryptic, he trusted she would understand what it was he really meant.


✏: ---
@: @loraina

[attr="class","salvatore"]"Sundial," he answered almost immediately, a disappointed sigh escaping his throat. The disappointment, really, was more to himself. When he left the Godfrey household, he had been expecting to live a life of adventure, traveling the world in search of magic and its wonders, to battle against fearsome monsters, and to create a name for himself with his remarkable feats. It was all a kid's dream, though, and he had had to face the adult world head on, from the very bottom. Instead, he had to live in the streets for a while. His adventures were struggles. His traveling was looking for new places to sleep in. And the wonders? The wonders was how dark and cruel people could be when driven to a corner, killing just to live another day. They were the monsters he had to fight with. And a name? It became the least of his worries. He was fighting just to live. And so, traveling to other cities other than Sundial was really just a far-fetched dream, even then. It was going to take a bit longer, before he was going to be any closer to actually getting a chance to visit the other cities and towns of Salem, not counting the visits his family had dragged him along when they still held hope that he would change to their ways.

Cain then reacted to her following words with a simple shrug. There was a particular mindset that Cain had in terms of how he lived his life, and though it sounded cliche, it was his driving force, really. "A crow that lived free to fly the skies on his own would have a more fulfilling life than a pampered songbird in a cage," he stated, taking one more sip off what remained in his cup. Even if it dirtied his feathers, Cain was more than willing to crawl in the mud once more, if it meant getting away from the cage that had been the Godfrey legacy. His older brother was now the prize of the Godfrey family, the lone hope to carrying on their reputation as a producer of the world's greatest witches. There was his sister as well, though she had been a bit more compassionate than his brother was. At least she did not disregard his existence when told to by their parents.

"The Hovel," he answered, leaning sidewards and resting the side of his stomach against the arm rest, with his elbow positioned at the front end of it. He watched her calmly, then, wondering how she'd react to it. Would she sneer at him? Would she obtain a bit of vengeance and ridicule him? Would she continue to remind him of the current difference in social standing between them with venomous words and ice-cold stares? Or... Would she even understand what he meant by the Hovel? It was the name of a neighborhood, after all, but any Sundial resident would understand that it wasn't any ordinary neighborhood. It was more commonly known as, well...

"Sundial City's slums," he added on, tilting his head.


✏: ---
@: @loraina

[attr="class","salvatore"]"Thanks for the reminder. I'd almost forgotten how miserable my life seems to be," he replied with a roll of his eyes, this time refusing to allow her to be the only one throwing daggers across the table. It wasn't as if he couldn't take back either. It was just that, in the earlier topic, he really had no ammunition within his weapon, no argument to fall upon, nothing. He was the one that had been completely in the wrong, and even he was fully aware of that. The man had his pride, sure, but there were times when even he knew it was time to swallow that pride.This time round, it was about his living conditions. It had been worse, and he had only gotten up to this point via hard work and street smarts alone. Magic didn't matter much when everyone else was too poor to afford their own books or scrolls too.

What came next came as another pleasant surprise to the young man, as she inquired about his actual opinion on something, without any insults, hidden or otherwise. He blinked, raising his eyebrows slightly, before finally allowing himself to accept the improvement in the mood of their conversation, and registered her question into his head. What was his motivation, exactly? Well, putting it in that context, he knew that explaining his motivation would be quite... Tricky.

"I mean, I guess I can say I carry no love for the world and its inhabitants, but I'd rather spend my energy trying to get back my wings to fly again, than hate everything else and burn on the ground with the rest of the world. But what's my exact goal?" he blinked, pouting his lips slightly as if in deep thought. Then, he scoffed, a soft calm smile coming upon his face. He had almost forgotten it, hadn't it? He talked about it, he ranted about it, he dreamed about it, but he had forgotten the very essence and history behind it. He had cut everything off completely, wanting to be removed from his past. He had been so focused in simply getting out of the streets, into a proper residence, and starting a steady life that he had forgotten the ultimate goal he had, that was the reason he was struggling in the first place.

"I wanna show that a crow has the capability to fly higher than any songbird," he smirked, looking up at her. He realized, of course, as he said it that indirectly, it was a challenge to her as well. He was the crow, and in his eyes, she was the songbird. Undoubtedly, a beautiful songbird, but that wasn't the point here. However, that smirk disappeared with her ominous next words. Cain could not decipher whether she was just rambling, or she was actually implying something in her phrase. Was she talking about him? Probably, though he never did actually go back against his family yet, did he? Or what about her? Impossible. Just as she was the apple of her father's eye, she was daddy's little girl as well. He doubted she would be capable of that.

Rambling, then, Cain figured. He shrugged, allowing his reply to be a bit of a casual ramble as well. "I guess, then, the songbird becomes like the crow too."

Then finally, the conversation reverted back to what Cain would have expected from Loraina. Insults and teases. He frowned, before clicking his tongue. "Can you hop off my back about that already? Fine, no, it's not easy to get clean water. Probably enough for a shower, but not always enough to wash all my clothes at a time. I'm sorry I stink, alright?" Another click of his tongue, before he grumbled as he finished what remained of the coffee in his drink, before placing it back down on the glass top of the table between them. It had completely slipped his attention that she had not only ordered drinks for herself, but for him as well. Nope, he was too blinded by the frustration that was building up from the constant reminder of his state of hygiene.


✏: ---
@: @loraina

[attr="class","salvatore"]Cain's eyes widened at the sudden arrival of a foreign voice, and he found himself looking for the source. Once again, he felt that familiar chill of nostalgia run down his spine, and he knew he had heard this voice before, but he could not pin down where exactly. Hell, it was the exact same sensation he had received earlier upon hearing Loraina's voice for the first time in almost a decade. Who the he-- Cain did not really have to search for long, for the familiar would make its presence visible then, as it stood perched on Loraina's shoulder. Cain blinked, staring at the red parrot, his lips parting in shock. The bird spoke, sounding like a parrot that had spent too much time with the wrong crowd. He could not believe his eyes, to say the least. No, it wasn't as if he hadn't seen a familiar. In fact, it was quite the opposite. He had seen this familiar before.

He shut his eyes for a moment, before opening them once more, as if to reassure himself that the oddly-dressed bird was really there. "... Crimmy?" he inquired, though his question was drowned out completely by the bird's monologue. At this point, Cain's attention was on the familiar, and he failed to see the annoyance on Loraina's face. That was, until, she tried to interject into Crimmy's monologue, but was ignored completely by her own familiar. It took a while for his words to actually register in the fire witch's head, as he finally got over his shock. He was.. As expressive as he always had been, it seemed. A complete opposite of the soft-spoken Hailey that he felt continued to shiver and heat up in his pocket. Well, this was really a rather unexpected experience for him. Berated by the witch, lectured by the familiar.

It took two warnings from the pink-haired witch to finally silence the parrot, and its neck retracted, a clear sign of retreat against its witch. Cain continued to stare towards the bird's direction. He was a lot larger than Cain remembered, and his voice had changed a lot too. It still had that habit of dressing up in odd attires, but that was just one of its rather amusing and unique quirks, wasn't it? It made him recall all the times Crimmy scolded and cussed him out everytime he threw a tease or insult at Loraina's way, but the bird, it seemed, was better in dropping grudges than its witch could. "A blabbermouth as ever, huh, Crimmy?"

And then, the offer came.

"I'm sorry, what?" Cain asked, his voice carrying a heavy tone of disbelief as he stared at her, eyebrows knitted. His head was tilted slightly, a habit of his whenever he was confused. Did she just offer him a place to live in? Oh, no, it wasn't a gift. It was just something that would be made available to him. Nonetheless, he was not expecting it at all, especially from the girl that had just been cursing his very existence a few minutes past. Try as he could, though, he found it incredibly difficult to reject the offer. He gritted his teeth, flopping back against his seat as he glanced, at the table. "You're serious?"

On one side, he sorely wanted a place he could actually get a good warm shower at, and a bed that wasn't made up of an old mattress with the springs sticking up against his back. On the other, he did not want to be indebted to her, or anyone involving his family, for that matter. She wasn't part of it, sure, but she was linked to them nonetheless. That very fact in itself was something that remained a concern in his head.

But...

A warm shower and bed.

"... I'll think about it."


✏: ---
@: @loraina

[attr="class","salvatore"]"Come try it, birdbrain," Cain sneered back at the giant avian, placing both hands on the edge of the desk as he leaned forward towards it. Before the two hard-headed figures could continue their back-and-forth battle of insults, though, Loraina would put an end to it with an order towards the familiar. Of course, the creature would comply, its existence, after all, linked to the blue-eyed beauty that sat opposite Cain. It was the same for Hailey. As timid as she was, she would always be compelled to join Cain in whatever challenges the young man had to go through. Whether it was due to the fact that she was his familiar, or a sense of duty towards him, Cain wasn't sure, but she would always remain by his side. Cain could do, though, with a little bet less of the screaming and whimpering.

With the bird gone, however, the two were left alone again to their conversation. Hailey finally began to cool down, and Cain would release a sigh of relief as he placed a gentle hand over his chest. He wondered if she would have noticed how many times she had done that by now. She could always disappear into that other realm where familiars lived in, but Hailey was... Like a small child. She didn't like other realm because there, she was always alone. She preferred the small and tight compact space of Cain's chest pocket, for some reason. Cain never had much complaint, but it was rather dangerous whenever he found himself dragged into a brawl, especially in the slums.

As Loraina spoke, he was reminded of how jealous he had actually felt of her. He had seen how her father reacted around her, and around his subjects. She was his treasure, and he doted on her. Despite the expectations they had on her, they never forced or tried to brainwash her into it. They had been nice, caring, like actual parents, not glory-hungry hounds that wanted trophies, not children. Still, he was nonetheless surprised that the offer was coming from her mouth. Out of the obvious spite that she had towards him, she could have just left him to deal with his own situation in the slums, not extend a helping hand out like this.

Yeah, she certainly drew the longer straw when it came to their fathers, that was for sure.

He sighed, crossing his arms lightly over his abdomen, looking down at his empty cup. "... Fine. Once. What do I owe you for it?"


✏: ---
@: @loraina

[attr="class","salvatore"]Cain blinked, the disapproval in his face quite clear if one looked for it. So, in return for this kindness, what Cain would basically owe her was a favor. A favor of equal weight to alternative residence out of the dangerous and dirty slums. Basically, what he had been working for the past year. And all he had to do, was agree to owe her a favor. It probably didn't seem to weigh as much for her than it did for him, and honestly, Cain would have preferred it like that. He didn't want her to realize just how much of a hold this favor would have over him if he accepted it. "Fine," he answered almost half-heartedly, the man still on the fence as to whether or not to accept the offer. It broke the illusion of his independent rise to power as an act of rebellion against the Godfrey family, but realistically speaking, he wouldn't even be able to achieve such a success without the help of others.

He could only go so far and do so much on his own.

It made him wonder, though, what kind of favor would Loraina even want from him? She had a lot more than he did, that being in terms of financial and social support. Here in Sundial City, connections was a stronger weapon than most people believed. In fact, it was one of the few things that he knew his family was strongest in, and that in itself was a constant worry for Cain. The conversation would move on before Cain could give the favor much thought, though, this time moving over towards Hailey. He felt the hummingbird fidget in his pocket at the mention of her, and he subconsciously rolled his eyes down, before looking back up at her.

"She's here," Cain answered simply, as one hand moved to grab the front of his jacket. Pulling it outwards, then, he'd show her the inner layer of it, revealing a bulging pocket where the chest was. Then, sticking her head out slowly, the hummingbird pointed her bill and beady eyes towards Loraina's direction, its orange and red feathers a clear contrast to the black shelter she had taken as her mobile home.

"H-Hello, Miss Loraina," the bird 'spoke'. With no means of manual conversation of her own, Hailey spoke via telepathy, and this one was a broadcasted one that radiated from her, as if she was speaking of her own voice. The bird lowered her beak, as if to bow. "You can come out, Hailey," Cain suggested, looking down at the small 3-inch hummingbird. "Crimmy's not around anymore, and she won't hurt you." Hailey looked up at him for a brief moment, before slowly nodding her head. Then, she hopped out from the pocket, and perched on the fabric for a moment, before floating down onto the table, between the two of them. Once again, the timid and shy little bird bowed to the pink-haired woman.

"It's nice to s-see you again, Miss Loraina," she greeted, though there was a hint of obvious concern and fear in her tone, her earlier display of anger towards Cain still fresh in her memory.


✏: ---
@: @loraina