Cassidy didn't think twice about standing out of the seat and leaning the bottle into her hands. She took a swig, wincing from the burn of it going down her throat. When she coughed, she shook her head. Cassidy cackled. There was something about a lightweight choking back hard alcohol that would always make him laugh. Lily held the bottle back out to him, wiping her mouth with her arm. He grabbed it back from her and couldn't hide his wide grin if he wanted to.
He noticed her heart beat still above normal, but noticeably lessening in pace towards a more average level.
She glanced once to her bag before staring back up to him, "You need blood to survive then?" She asked.
He shook his head, "Not really. Well. Kind of," He rocked his head side to side, "Like I said, for healing, mostly, other than that, I don't go outta my way fer it." His grin had faded and voice trailed off as he took a swig out of the bottle. She nodded, closing her eyes as her face twisted at the thought. "Hm." She said shortly, holding her hand out for him to pass the bottle back, which he did. He couldn't help but smirk.
With her eyes still closed, she asked, "So all the myths... are they true?" "Hmph!" He chuckled, "No, not really." He smiled again. She turned her head, "So you can't be killed with a stake... or a cross, or holy water or anything?" Lily asked remarkably.
He chuckled again, amused, "No." She raised her brows and he pressed his lips together, leaning his head to the side, "The only thing stoppin' me is the bloody day."
She finished another swig and shook her head, "What?"
He sighed, "The damn sun."
"You can't be in the daylight?" She asked, sliding the bottle over her lap for him to grab.
He leaned forward, "Nope." He said. He looked up at her as he reached for the bottle, "As soon as I had dealt with those bastards I took y'straight t'the hospital, hardly beat the sun rise. Left y'on the front step o'the hospital n'watched them grab you inna coupla minutes of me leavin' y'there. Have t'cover myself from the sun real good, otherwise things go real arseways. Look like a bloody fool half the time."
He placed his elbows on his knees and leaned closer to her, his voice a soft rasp, "That's why I couldn't come to the hospital sooner. Knew they'd never let ye leave with me lookin' like a complete psychopath." She stared at him with vulnerable eyes, seeing the very tops of his. They were cloudy and almost glazed over. He didn't move, "But as soon as the sun went down I went straight there t'get yew the Hell outta that shite excuse of a hospital."
His mouth was straight, the sincerity in his voice was no mistake genuine. She closed her eyes and cleared her throat to cut the edge in the air, "So," She took the deepest breath she could with her injuries, "What kind of superpowers do you have?" Cassidy laughed at her, sitting up and leaning back in the chair he was in, "Superpowers." He repeated, nodding as he picked at the bottle label, "I wouldn't call them superpowers... I suppose there's the odd perk, like."
"Perks like being able to heal after being blown up by a shotgun." Lily stated. Cassidy nodded, "Yea, like that." He raised the bottle to his lips and she watched the bottle's level of liquid recede a good amount. Lily blinked, "And being able to drink enough to kill an average person-" He hummed at her, the bottle still in his mouth as he held a finger out. He finally moved the bottle away from his lips, "That's less ova perk and more of a dent in the wallet, major expense, like."
"Hm," She raised her head a little bit, "Right." At this point, she was convinced she was making light of the situation to make her feel less shaken up about the whole thing as she lay there pretty much defenceless, she caught herself having a hard time keeping her eyes open, "I can only imagine what Jesse did when he found out about you. Being the way he is right now." She said, a cold remark in a somewhat warm moment.
He pursed his lips and sat straight up again slowly. When he hung his head and continued picking at the bottle label in his hands, she furrowed her brow, "Jesse knows... right?" She asked as if it would be crazy if he didn't. Cassidy raised his head back up to her, "Well, it's not like I haven't tried. I have tried to tell 'im. Many times." He whined.
Her head was spinning more. It was going to be hard enough to convince Jesse to leave, let alone being in the middle of this shit storm. She leaned forwards grabbing the bottle from him again, "Jesus, Cassidy." She took another swig. "Hm," She hummed, swallowing the burning liquid in her mouth, "That's not really even your name, is it?" She recalled his signature at the hospital.
He nodded, "It is. Well..." He swayed his head side to side, "Cassidy's my last name I suppose, but Proinsias doesn't really fit well with the times, now, does it?" He mused, watching as she downed another gulp out of the bottle.
"The times," She repeated with her voice tight. Lily scoffed, pulling her head back as she rubbed her face with her hand, "Oh, God." She groaned, "How old are you, like, a thousand?"
Cassidy laughed, "A hundred and nineteen." He said, thankful to see hear her heart rate the most normal it had been in hours.
She took a larger swig with nothing to say. It was getting easier to drink, easier to ask questions. She leaned further back into the lounge of blankets and pillows he had so kindly stacked behind her. "A hundred and nineteen." She sighed in amazement, cradling the bottle in her arms, and he couldn't help but smile at her. "Ya, that opens up a shiteload of possibilities for more questions, right?" Her brow scrunched slightly and she could barely keep her eyes open, "How long have you been.." She trailed off.
"A vampire?" He finished. She nodded, it felt too ridiculous to even say it out loud. His smile dissipated slightly, "Since I was a teen."
"Hm," She hummed, "Wow." Her words were beginning to blend together more. "So," She continued, her eyes heavy, "My brother doesn't know." She stated, trying to remember all the information she was being fed.
"He wouldn't listen," Cassidy whined defensively, "I tried."
She smiled, "Hmph." Her eyes stayed closed and her mind was suddenly much more groggy than the light and fluffy it had just seemed. "For the best," She mumbled, "He'd lose-it... fu-ur sure..." Her voice was dwindling off.
Cassidy frowned, crossing his arms and staring at her melting into the linens behind her, the bottle in her arms. "No, I shan't," He groaned, "He wouldn't do that t'me. He's my best frien- I saved his life fer cryin' out loud!" He said enthusiastically. "Ya," She mumbled, "I know." She inhaled deep as she could, "You've mentioned that." Cassidy straightened his mouth, "Wot's with yew, then? Comin' 'ere for yer brother, with little explanation other than y'thought somethin' bad was gonna happen to 'im."
"Issnthat enough?" She asked, he was watching her slouch farther back each second. "Well, ya," Cassidy said, "But how'd ye know exactly where he was then?.. If yew two haven't talked in a coupla years?"
Lily swallowed, "I saw him die, at least... I thought. I saw it wassa church. Knew there wassonly one it couldbe."
"Cause yew remember bein' 'ere as a kid, or wot?" Cassidy prodded, leaning closer and arching a brow as he leaned closer. "hmph.." Lily laughed once feebly, "No. I was too young to 'member hardly anything about this place." Cassidy bit his tongue, "So yew don't have the same desire to live to yer father's path like Jess does, then?"
Lily stared at him for a moment, blinking slowly, "That's what he said?" He brow furrowed, "Hm." She thought on that a moment, "Didn't know him. Died when I wassa newborn. No memory of him. Jesse doesn't talk about our parents much... ever, really..." Cassidy bobbed his head, "Hm." He said simply, his eyes flickering around as he thought about her words. His eyes moved back to her and he watched as Lily nursed the last of the bottle, "Yew n'Jess may not have that sense of livin' t'yer fathers name in common, but what yew do have in common, is this... thing about yew two.."
Her face scrunched, "A thing?"
"Yea, it's quite annoyin', actually. The two o'yew... there's this quality about ye y'share. I see it the same in 'im as same as I do in you. It's like there's a switch that needs t'be flicked..." He snapped his fingers, "There's so much more than y'two can do then live the borin' lives of a preacher n'an goodie-goodie business professional or whatever the Hell it is yew do."
She found it in her to open her eyes just enough to glare at him, "I'm not boring." Cassidy laughed. "I'm not." She closed her eyes again, "Or a goodie goodie." She said slowly, and unconvincingly, since moving at all proved to be impossible and putting out words was becoming a challenge itself. She was talking much slower and far less enthusiastic, "I know my brother is." She sighed, "He needs to get out of here and snap the Hell out of whatever this is, I know that." She took a slow breath, "But me?" She breathed, "I'm not boring. I'm organized. Sorry you don't know the difference, Cassidy."
"Ooh," Cassidy said, scrunching his face with a smile, "That hurts." He teased, as if he gave a shit. Her eyes were still closed and he wondered how someone so petite could look so heavy, "Besides," She mumbled, "I'm wasted drunk... alone with a vampire right now... with no one else knowing my whereabouts... doesn't seem so boring to me." He cackled, watching her faintly smile with her eyes still shut.
Cassidy nodded slowly, "Well," He sighed, "The two of yew, yer brother and yew, need t'get over the spilt milk o'the past and move on, already, Christ." He said, "Not many people are lucky enough t'ave a sibling to share their lives with." She didn't say anything, but he was fine with that, relieved that she seemed much more at ease. He didn't want to disturb her, but he knew she needed to get to Houston.
"Hopefully yer drunk will wear off before we check ye in t'the Hospital in Hou-" He stopped, the bag of meds from the hospital catching his eye from across the room.
A sudden realization hit him like a train. His eyes shot to the empty bottle cradled in her arms. He had indulged a lot himself, sure, but she had more than her fair share. He'd entirely disregarded the fact he'd given her the painkillers less than an hour ago, not to mention the dose she must have received at the hospital, and suddenly, he realized why she was so relaxed.
Her heart rate was no longer normal, it was becoming fainter, struggling, almost.
Strong opium mixed with hard alcohol was the recipe of a start to an average good night for him, but to her, it was a deadly combination.