"What?" Mateo glanced over, surprised that he was being addressed. He'd brought a cart down of new books to replace the ones on the shelf and was just starting to do his restock when the other man spoke. He'd noticed him, obviously, noticed that he wasn't someone he recognized from the Undercroft but pleased that he was reading and hadn't actually intended to disturb him. "I'm not here for that." He corrected, with a smile. "I'm just restocking the shelf. Didn't mean to bug you, sorry." He went back to his restocking and nodded towards the book. "What're you reading?" Mateo was always curious when he saw someone with a book and hadn't managed to catch the title. He was more or less used to the Undercroft now, having been down here enough to either bring slaves up to the library and give them a break or rotating the books like he was doing now but it was still kind of uncomfortable. Still, the thunderbird did his best to be nice to anyone he interacted with down here. Their lives were hard enough, they didn't need him making them worse.

Kell had learned over time just how fickle the masters of the castle could be, so he'd never really expected any of his claims to last for very long. But this one, he reflected as he walked between the two guards who had been assigned to bring him back to the Undercroft, had seemed exceptionally short compared to the others. Though, for once, he didn't have to wonder if it was his own fault for getting sent back. His former master had been urgently called back to deal with something back home and had simply been unwilling to purchase Kell just to drag him along for god only knew how long.

The guards left him shortly after reaching the Undercroft and Kell made his way toward one of his usual haunts when he was unclaimed. He picked a random book from the shelf and settled himself onto one of the couches in the dormitory, sprawling out comfortably along it. Kell had only just gotten through a chapter when a shadow fell over him and the human's gaze flicked up. "Evening." He began, carefully closing the book. "Are you sure you're not more interested in them?" Kell asked, gesturing toward some of the newly arrived slaves.

@krovscastlestarters

"...Right. I guess you can." Mateo conceded the point since that seemed like the smart thing to do even if he still didn't think it was fair or nice. Then again, Finn had never claimed Gareth was nice and didn't even seem to like his master very much. He swallowed when Gareth leaned closer again, barely any space between them now with Mateo's back to the wall. Being in someone else's body with someone else's magic was definitely a mindfuck but strangely, with someone else so close and with....less than pure intentions it seemed to be a good distraction. Is that was he needed, that kind of distraction? Just to get the jitters out, maybe? Or that might be a terrible idea since if he let loose too much...he shrank away from that thought. "It seems....polite. To ask." He mumbled, watching Gareth, clenching and unclenching his hands at his sides. He didn't really know how he'd get a hold of Finn right now, though, and Gareth's proximity and being trapped was becoming more and more distracting. "Ok." It was a terrible idea, a total mistake, but his mind felt scrambled and he just needed something to make him forget about it, just for a little while. To that end, he kissed Gareth just to make it clear what he was agreeing to.

"He's my slave, I can talk about him any way that I want." The guy's defensiveness when it came to Finn was amusing, though. It didn't at all surprise the aswang that someone had apparently developed a crush on the familiar since he was pretty sure the older man had a hell of a lot of them around the castle. Not that he would ever tell Finn that -- his slave had enough of an ego as it was, really. With Mateo pinned up against the wall just like he wanted to, Gareth shrugged carelessly and leaned closer, as always more than comfortable to push other peoples boundaries. "You could. I don't really think he'd give much of a shit if we fuck around while you're in his body, though. I did the same thing with Silver when he and Finn swapped the last time."

"Yeah, I've noticed that. Doesn't mean you have to talk about him that way." It was out of his mouth before he could stop himself, a little more strident and while he didn't regret defending Finn he realised it was probably a mistake. He swallowed but didn't take it back. What was the point? It was out there now. Mateo needed his thoughts to calm down or to leave or maybe to find Finn but he wasn't sure how he was going to get away from Gareth. He could just say no, firmly, he supposed. Masters were supposed to respect that, right? Did the rules change if technically he was in a slave's body? "I guess so." Mateo agreed, a little more mildly, wetting his lips. Gareth came towards him and he backed up a little more...right into the wall which let Gareth trap him there. "No, of course not." Why should Gareth care? Mateo's heart was hammering both from the whole general situation but also from being trapped against the wall and that part of it wasn't entirely fear or nervousness. "Shouldn't I....get his permission? If we're going to do this?" Mateo hadn't yet actually said 'no' though he probably most definitely should have.

"Don't know if you've noticed, but a lot of shit around here isn't." Gareth was sure some people would take offense to how he talked about Finn, but it wasn't as if he wasn't saying anything that wasn't true. Hardly offensive, either, in his opinion considering so many people were exactly the same. Hell, the aswang himself wasn't real picky about who he fucked around with at the end of the day as long as he got good sex out of it. Gareth leaned back against the wall as he waited for Mateo to make up his mind about what, if anything, they were going to do, crossing his arms. Sure, he probably could have forced the issue considering staff usually catered to the masters, but he didn't see the fun in that at the moment. "Probably. Nearly everyone hooks up around this place." There were probably only a few Gareth himself hadn't hooked up with and that was either because they didn't interest him or they'd done something to piss him off. He snorted softly, pushing away from the wall now to crowd right into Mateo's space, his hands on either side of the man. "I'd ask what existential crisis you're having, but I don't really care."

Mateo smiled, chuckling a little at the invitation. "Or something?" He batted back, playfully, though that was certain to mean only one thing, especially in this place. But hell, Hunter was attractive and seemed nice which was a little rare at Krovs, so why not? It wasn't heat week and Hunter was most likely a vampire, given the lack of collar, but unless this was an act it didn't seem like he was a shitty one. "Sure, I'll take a drink first and we'll go from there. Lead the way."

Smiling at the little compliment in return, Hunter wondered how Mateo hadn't been snapped up yet. Or perhaps he had and Hunter was about to set himself up for a brutal rejection. "Me too. Are you, uh.. busy.. right now? Was just wondering if you wanted to join me in my suite for a drink or.. something," Hunter offered, eyebrows lifting slightly as he looked at the other man while he waited for a response to his question.

There was definitely a moral dilemma about all of this and Mateo couldn't seem to stop thinking about it but then he had a tendency to get in his head about things sometimes, especially when he was as off kilter as he was now. Gareth came closer and Mateo took a small step back but then stopped, uncertain. Was he allowed to do that? In spite of the whole messed up situation, he still frowned at the way Gareth talked about Finn. "I don't think that's fair..." He swallowed and berated himself. He should probably shut up and not argue with a master especially while he was in the body of that master's slave but...Finn didn't deserve that. The whole castle was geared towards enjoying sex, Finn shouldn't be judged or blamed for taking advantage of that. Mateo kind of forgot about Finn when Gareth answered his questions, though. Well, at least that was clear but that didn't solve any of the problems Mateo was currently having. "Uh..." Was he allowed to say no? Some part of him thought it might get him out of his head if nothing else and maybe there was an even smaller part that was curious as to how it would feel to fuck in someone else's body. But then how would he look Finn in the eye again if he knew he'd used his body like this without his permission? "Would we?" He stalled a little, not able to come up with any answers to any of this and trying to stay as calm as possible, laughing nervously in spite of himself. "Only if you consider an existential crisis more important." It wasn't a very good joke and it probably didn't land but Mateo wasn't sure what to do with himself, looking away and swallowing nervously.

Gareth was sure there was some sort of stupid moral dilemma when it came to hooking up with people in someone else's body, but it had never bothered him. After all, he'd willingly come to a place like Krovs -- morals weren't really something that the aswang was big on. A small laugh escaped the master and he shrugged, slipping his hands into his pockets even as he stepped closer to Mateo, getting right into his space. "Maybe. There are some people around here who don't throw themselves at everyone like Finn does, though." Luckily, the aswang enjoyed watching his slaves hooking up with other people -- which was part of the reason he'd installed cameras in his suite. "Sure, why not." He replied, a gleam of amusement once again in the aswang's eyes. "We'd probably end up fucking eventually, anyway, at one of the parties or something. Less you got something more important to do right now."

Mateo just laughed a little at the reassurance. True to his word, Finn was right where he'd left him, though the thunderbird hadn't been gone very long. He nodded and settled a hand on Finn's chest, lazily tracing random patterns on his skin. "Sounds good." He paused a moment then continued with a question. "You wanna switch it up? Gotta say, I've been curious about how this would feel since I first saw it..." His hand trailed down, his fingers lightly tracing over Finn's cock and specifically the piercing, smiling. "It's fine if you don't want to, just thought I'd ask."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Finn assured Mateo with a lazy grin as he admired the view of him walking away. Showering later would be preferred since Finn had no desire to get up right now. He thanked Mateo for the cloth and used it for a wipe down of the sweat and grime lingering on his skin. "I'll need about ten or so and then I could use that shower," he said, tossing the cloth on the nightstand.

"Guess they've taken to it more than they should've but you'd think some of those older world manners might have stuck around." Hell, Mateo wasn't even that old and he hadn't grown up with cell phones, he couldn't imagine how someone centuries old would just...take to it so quickly and forget everything else. Mateo chuckled at the age comment. "True, I'm practically a spring chicken compared to someone like you." He teased lightly, smiling as he did, and nodded at the waiter. He dumped a few packets of sugar into his coffee and a healthy amount of cream, stirring it and looking back over at Finn. "Kinda, yeah. I'm just curious about a lot of things so I've gone down a few historical rabbit holes. I can just easily get sucked into a good fictional story, though. That probably happens more often." It made sense, given that he was a librarian who surrounded himself with books, but there was no harm in mentioning it. "What's your favourite kind of book?" Needless to say, he'd be more than a little disheartened if Finn didn't like to read.

"Exactly. It's not hard, especially considerin' most the folks grew up in a world before cell phones came along and were used to goin' outside and talkin' without distractions," Finn added, smiling after a moment. "Well, I wouldn't say that you're old, comparatively, but yeah," he chuckled. The waiter returned then with their drink orders and Finn pulled his cup closer while dipping the tea bag a couple times. He glanced back up at Mateo then. "So are you a big history buff type then?"

"Okay." Finn seemed certain so Mateo would stop questioning it. He took another deep breath and tried to steady his still jangled nerves. "My suite, I think. The less people the better." He smiled a little self consciously and almost shyly took Finn's hand, squeezing it a little, then lead him off in the right direction. "Thanks again."

"I don't mind," Finn reassured Mateo. He wouldn't have offered otherwise. He smiled again and gestured for the thunderbird to lead on to wherever he preferred to go. "Any of them is fine, whatever you're most comfortable with."

Mateo noticed that the other held onto his hand maybe a little longer than necessary but didn't comment on it. He blinked at the compliment but smiled. "Gracias. I don't know about all the time, especially in this place with everyone else looking like they do, yourself included. But I appreciate it, anyway." He'd definitely been getting it more today, though, that was for sure. The purr made his eyebrows go up a little though he wasn't opposed to it. "You too. I'm surprised we haven't run into each other before."

It was comforting to know that there didn't appear to be anything wrong with him, so his concerns were quickly pushed to the back of his mind, his attention shifting to the stranger instead. He grinned, taking the man's hand to shake and letting it linger a little too long. "Hunter. You are.. gorgeous, y'know that? I bet you get that all the time though, huh?" He practically purred, apparently a tad captivated by the guy in front of him. "Lovely to meet you."

They fell into a good rhythm, though Khion changing up his pace kept Mateo guessing a little, though he clearly enjoyed it given the sounds he was making. There was no need for finesse right now since they both just needed to get off and that grew closer and closer as time went by. Mateo made his own chorus of sounds and gripped tightly onto the other man, rocking with him as they both chased their release. "Me too." He agreed, reaching down to stroke himself and giving a sharp cry as Khion got rougher as he finished. Mateo followed soon after, hips rocking down just as erratically as the pleasure crashed through him. He clung to Khion for a moment as he came down, shuddering through the aftershocks, and cursed softly as he laid his head back against the couch. "Damn." He breathed, clearly pleased and spent, at least for the moment.

Khion made a soft noise into the kiss in response though he really needed no further encouragement. He soon found his rhythm, mixing up his pace between hard and fast or deep and purposeful with each and every thrust. Course the precision and speed didn't really matter as minutes later his moans and grunts grew more frequent as his hips moved erratically chasing after the impending and much needed orgasm right within his grasp. "Fuck, almost there," he breathed out as the only warning he could give before his climax hit him hard like a train, the pamola fucking his seed deep into Mateo throughout the crashing waves of ecstasy.

Gareth didn't seem too disgusted with him or anything which was kind of a relief. If anything, the other man just seemed kind of amused and obviously willing to elaborate for him. Mateo wasn't sure that's what he wanted but he was still wrapping his head around the idea so it didn't hurt to have Gareth keep talking. "Right." It still seemed like a bizarre idea but maybe...that was the thrill? Experience what it was like to do things in someone else's body? It made Mateo uncomfortable precisely because it wasn't his body and it seemed like you should get permission for something like that but maybe Mateo was just...naive, at least about that. The mention of Finn made him blink. "I mean....is anybody in the Castle, really?" Strangely he felt like he should defend Finn but Gareth was his master, lived with him and everything, he probably knew Finn better. Still, it was the principle. He laughed a little, nervously. "Sorry. This is just...a lot for me." He ran a hand through his hair and very, very belatedly realised something. "Uh...so wait, you're saying you want to mess around? With me? Like this? Even though you know I'm not really Finn?" On the one hand, obviously Finn and Gareth slept together so it wouldn't be like he was doing something with Finn's body Finn wouldn't do in spite of the feelings he seemed to have for his master. On the other, it was still very strange. Gareth could obviously do what he wanted though since if Mateo was in Finn's body and Gareth still owned the body technically...this was going to give him a headache.

It always amused Gareth whenever he came across anyone in Krovs who seemed to have even a touch of innocence. That wasn't something that tended to last very long in the castle, particularly when it came to slaves or staff. The masters tended to end that quickly. With how pretty he remembered Mateo being, he doubted that he was really left alone much. "Yeah. I can think of a few people who would take advantage of the situation. Myself included." He'd body swapped with Raphael and definitely had some fun, though he'd been careful to not do anything too stupid. Pissing off a councilman, even one who liked him, wasn't in Gareth's best interest and he knew it. "It wouldn't be out of character for Finny boy either. He's not exactly picky who he fucks around with, is he?"

Mateo smiled as Finn returned the compliment, more pleased than he probably should've been. He'd blame it on the afterglow. Finn didn't seem eager to get up either so Mateo just relaxed against him, closing his eyes for a moment and just enjoying the light touch of Finn's fingers. "Me too." Admittedly, Mateo had pretty purposely gone looking for Finn but there hadn't been a guarantee that he'd find him or that Finn would be free when he did. He opened his eyes and lifted his head just to look at the familiar, turning his face towards him and stealing another kiss, a slower one, before he eventually pulled back. "I'll grab us a cloth. Don't go anywhere." Mateo rather reluctantly pulled back and away, wandering to the bathroom and getting a damp cloth. He cleaned himself up then came back to Finn with a clean one, handing it to him as he climbed back on the bed and settled beside him. "We can always shower, too, but I figured this would do for now." They were both still in heat, after all, it likely wouldn't be the only round but it seemed only polite since they were in his suite this time to give Finn the option of cleaning up.

"So are you," Finn said breathlessly, his chest heaving as he gradually came down from the high. He felt nice and warm underneath Mateo like this, though that could also be they were both running fevers in heat. Either way, he had no qualms with staying here and melting away into the mattress like this. His grip relaxed in the thunderbird's hair, fingers dragging down Mateo's neck and over his shoulder blade lazily. "I'm glad we found each other again."

Mateo: It was a pretty good basket. You know how to pick 'em. Mateo: It still sounds very silly. He'd probably laugh about it, too. Mateo: No, no, I don't need you to hold my hand for it though I appreciate the offer. I can handle it, it'll be fine. Mateo: Oh yeah? What're you guys working on? Mateo: You got all snippy so it definitely seemed like I hit a nerve. Mateo: How very modern of you with your over a millenium old vampire. Mateo: Of course you have hope, you're a hopeless romantic and don't even try to deny it. You're also weak as hell for him and you can't deny that either. I waved red flags in your face about him and you ignored me so don't pretend you won't do exactly the same thing going forward.

Rhys: It was a good basket though, right? Can't deny that. Rhys: I'm just saying it's an option! Don't limit yourself. Could be fun. Rhys: He won't fire you. You'll be fine. If you need emotional support, I'm happy to accompany you for the talk but I don't know if those kinds of optics would send the right message. Think on it. Rhys: Not extensive experience, no, but he's easy to talk to. We'll be working together in the near future, so I've had a few meetings with him to discuss the finer details. He's been nothing but a gentleman with me so far. Rhys: You didn't hit a nerve, you made an outlandish suggestion that needed correcting. There's a difference. We haven't really discussed a label now that I think about it. We just kind of... are? I guess? That works for me. Rhys: 'For now' he says. We're going from strength to strength now that we've talked things through and established a few boundaries. I've got nothing but hope for what's to come. Have a little faith, Mateo.

"Right, that's been the way of things for longer than I remember sometimes." History was tricky. The First War had happened a long time ago so vampires had been known but a lot of the other supernaturals had managed to stay hidden and remain more or less myth and legend as far as humans were concerned. Mateo had always found how it all worked and came together interesting. "That's cool though, right? Like these two different histories going on side by side." Maybe it wasn't that cool or maybe Mateo was just a nerd about that kind of thing but he was pretty interested in it.

Mateo ordered a coffee then focused back on Finn. He was still kind of buzzed and the caffeine would probably help sober him up a little. The thunderbird nodded and groaned a little in sympathy. "I know what you mean. Maybe put it down and be social for five minutes? It's great for communication with someone who's not there but you don't need to be glued to it." He shook his head, chuckling a little at them. "Now we just sound like two old men complaining."

"For the most part yes, up until, y'know, the fanged cunts made themselves known on the throne," Finn answered. Then there wasn't hiding the supernatural world at all from the humans who'd lived in blissful ignorance for the most part. "The human historians tracked history as they saw and believed it while the few supernatural historians ensured it stayed that way while their kinds remained in the shadows for as long as possible. The latter wound up the sources of fairy and folk tales, myths and legends, all that good shit."

The waiter interrupted Finn then to take both of their orders and he requested black tea, then looked to Mateo for what he'd like. Once finished, he left them both and Finn continued. "The thing I really miss most are the days where there wasn't this obsession or addiction to technology," he said. "All for electricity, better cars, indoor plumbing, that shit. But my god, it aggravates the shit out of me when I'm talkin' to someone and they have their fuckin' smartphone in their face. Truly feel like most people wouldn't survive without them."

"I don't know about miracle. Nightmare, maybe." Mateo's teasing was fairly good-natured and Byron was probably used to it by now anyway. Byron and Rhys were the two people most likely to make Mateo's eyes roll out of his head he used the gesture with them so much and he did it again now. "Not that easily but I'm not the prudish shut in you're making me out to be." The thunderbird shook his head. "You're not right about everything, you know." Byron wouldn't agree but Mateo felt like he should say it anyway.

"Oh no, we're not making any plans. Just shut up about that, seriously. If we pretend really hard that it won't happen maybe it won't." That was most likely wishful thinking but the idea of Rhys actually marrying the vampire was so horrifying Mateo shuddered to think about it. One awful step at a time. It was bad enough that Rhys was clearly going to get back together with him let alone tie himself to him for the rest of his life. Byron wanted to be prepared but Mateo would rather live in denial, at least for the moment. He gave Byron another wry look at that particular crack. "I think doing my job is important to more people than just me. Like my bosses, maybe? You know, the ones that hired me for this job?" Byron had never had a real job that Mateo knew of so it was probably a stretch to expect him to understand but at least Mateo could try.

The thought of Byron unsupervised in the library was a terrible idea, especially since Mateo had mostly gotten it organized just the way he liked it. Leaving Byron to his own devices would be like letting a tornado loose in the place. "Too much. This feels like coercion or blackmail." There was no heat or real seriousness behind the comment, it was just a little wry and Mateo felt like he needed to make his continued protests at least somewhat known though he stopped resisting the hellhounds pulls. "I guess I could take my lunch break or something but if we're doing that let's not stay here." It wasn't that Mateo (and surely others) hadn't fucked around in the library before but that was usually during heat week or other extraordinary circumstances. Normally, Mateo at least tried to be more professional than that.

"I know, and yet here I am, a true miracle!" Matty worked so hard trying to pretend he didn't adore Byron. It seemed like a waste of energy when adoring him was so natural and right, but people were quirky like that. "Uh huh, you spread like peanut butter, I'm sure." Tragic, really. The cardigan alone spoke of chamomile and warm fires and other things Byron planned not to do til he was dead. "Actually, Cato, that's exactly what it means."

Byron had never considered if people enjoyed being mauled. It was how he'd grown up, and no one had minded so much that they'd tried to kill him in a while, so why change? Plus, Matty loved it. "I'm just saying, preparations need to be made. Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance, ie whatever fucking weird-ass wedding Rhys plans with a vampire. It'll look like Queen Victoria's funeral." Byron saw no point in not being prepared for Rhys to do something gross and stupid like monogamy and matrimony. He'd tried it before thanks to his mother's arrangements and had narrowly escaped enforced heterosexuality. If Byron had been allowed to fix it, the whole thing could have been resolved in a weekend. "No no, I meant like, actually important, not just -" he searched for the right word - "important to you."

The stacks awaited but Matty was being silly and still talking about his job or something. "I've missed you! But if you wanna leave me unsupervised, that's totally fair. How much trouble can I get in?"

Mateo was relieved when Finn seemed all right with him not explaining right now. He meant it when he said he would it would just have to be after all this was sorted out and he was on a more even keel again. "Honestly? I don't really wanna be alone, no. If you don't mind. We don't even have to do anything just...it would be nice." He hoped it didn't seem like he was taking advantage of Finn's kindness this way but he really would prefer to have someone with him right now. It would be a good distraction if nothing else. "Maybe we can just go...sit somewhere. In my suite or the library or something."

"Yeah, of course," Finn replied, smiling warmly at Mateo. "Well, that depends, would you rather be alone or would you rather some company? I can do either, just let me know." This wasn't really his decision considering Mateo was the one in an emotional crisis. Finn didn't want to come off as pushy or overbearing.

"Definitely lucky." His eyebrows went up a little as Quin came around to this side of the desk, which he wasn't really supposed to do. "This side is for employees only, councilman." Mateo scolded lightly, his tone a little firm. His eyebrows went up as Quin licked his thumb. "No, we couldn't have that." He fought a smile and gently pulled his hand back, standing up and straightening his outfit. "The books we need are at the back. Follow me, please." He brushed by Quin, much closer and more slowly than he needed to, then finally got by him and glanced over his shoulder to make sure he was coming then headed into the stacks. There was a corner deep in the back that he had in mind...for research, of course.

His little librarian seemed less flustered and more keen to be bossy, which amused Quin. He'd wanted to go to the pool, but he would hardly say no to more time in the library. He was developing very fond associations with the place. "Lucky I showed up when I did." Coming around the desk, he leaned on it and pulled Mateo's hand to his mouth, licking the thumb that still had food on it. "Wouldn't want to get the books dirty."