The Incubus's Heart Ch. 06

Nothing gave Seneca a sense of 'home' more than working with Kennedy and her rescue dogs on Sundays. This Sunday they were washing a particularly wily, newly acquired greyhound named Freya.

"Seneca, hand me that wire brush, would you?" Kennedy asked without looking away, her old red and grey flannel shirt soaked from holding the skittish dog. Freya had other ideas about where she wanted to be, and none of them included this particular vessel of soap and water.

"How can people be so terrible," she lamented, turning to retrieve the brush.

Kennedy shook her head, working her fingers into the dog's matted fur. "I found her and her friend Frecki in the other room chained to up behind an abandoned grocery store. They didn't have any food or water. Poor babies were half-starved, dehydrated, and the worst of it is these." Kennedy tilted the dog's head to the side exposing deep, dirty scabs that seemed to circle the dog's neck. "From chains that were wound around their necks to keep them tied up. Poor baby, these are definitely infected."

Seneca handed Kennedy the wire brush, then moved to hold the dog so Kennedy could brush the burrs and muck from the dog's short coat. Kennedy took the brush, then wiped a stray lock of grey and brown hair from her face. The rest of her hair was braided into a tight bun.

She smiled her thanks before going back to the dog. "There's that 'always bitch face' Live loves so much," she teased.

Kennedy rolled her eyes. "It's the face God gave me, girl," she said, running the brush gently over the dog's flank.

Seneca shrugged. "Well, I like it."

"That's good, cause I'm stuck with it." Kennedy snorted at herself. "Always bitch-face. Just keeps people on their toes around me." She snorted again.

A few moments of silence, other than the whining of the trembling dog, passed as Kennedy worked and Seneca held the dog and comforted her.

"You know you can always come to me, right? When you have stuff going on, or just to talk." Kennedy frowned at a particularly embedded burr, working it hard with the brush.

"Huh?"

Kennedy snorted. "Like, if you have stuff, with a boyfriend, for example."

She narrowed her eyes, but Kennedy stayed focused on the dog's short fur. "What's Liv told you?"

"Don't be so surprised, you know she calls me at least once a week. But, it wasn't her this time. Chip called me." Kennedy grunted with effort as she raked the brush over some more burrs lodged on the dog's back.

"Wait, what? Chip called you?!" Freya jumped and she immediately regretted her outburst. She shushed soothingly before she continued, scratching behind the dog's ear as she hugged around her neck. The dog trembled. "Shh, you poor girl. Shh. I'm sorry. It's okay, let mama brush those nasty burs from your fur." She addressed Kennedy, softening her voice. "When? How'd he get your number?"

"He called me, more than a few times in the last week, actually. He tricked my number out of Liv. I already made her feel bad about it, and she apologized, like, a lot, and she begged me never to tell you, so you didn't hear it from me."

"What'd he say?"

Kennedy snorted. "What did he say? Can you imagine my surprise that my daughter was getting married and I didn't know about it?"

"I didn't, I mean, no! I'm sorry, I would've told you, but that's not... I'd never marry him, Kennedy! No, no, no!" she insisted, feeling terrible. "He decided that all on his own! I didn't say yes!"

Freya shivered violently in her arms and she forced herself to calm down. "I'm teasing," Kennedy soothed. "About the marriage part. Seriously, he went on and on about that and I instantly knew what happened. But, he sounded... off. Like, I dunno. Just weird."

"Ugh, Kennedy! I couldn't marry that man-baby! He's... god, he's so... I can't breathe, this whole thing. He was just supposed to be fun, and an easy bite!" She hugged her face to the wet, upset dog. Freya trembled, but didn't shy from the affection and she felt an instant kindred with the wet canine.

Kennedy chuckled, placing the wire brush on a bench behind her. She pumped some of the dog shampoo into her hands and then lathered it soothingly over Freya's flank. "I know, I know, and he was just a Norm anyway. But... I dunno. I sorta liked him. He seemed nice. Dumb, but nice. But, god, he's dumb." Seneca narrowed her eyes and Kennedy snorted. "Okay, after all those calls? He's an idiot. Why'd you stick around with him so long?"

"Honestly?" She sighed. "He, tasted good and, ah, has a nice body..."

"Oh, you dog!" Kennedy laughed, full and rich, scaring Freya. Seneca hugged Freya tighter, being mindful of the scabs around the dog's neck, particularly around her throat. She looked into Freya's big, scared eyes and wondered if this was how she looked when Kennedy had rescued her.

"Anyway," she continued as she stood. She moved slowly so she didn't spook the frightened pup as she reached for the shower hose. "Can you turn that water on for me? Thought I had it on already..."

Seneca released the dog once Kennedy held her, then took the nozzle and turned the water on. She tested and adjusted it until it was the perfect temperature, then held it close to Freya's fur, starting just behind her head.

Kennedy held Freya close as Seneca finished the dog's bath. "It's for the best, but he's still sweet on you, like really, really into you. Be careful, Seneca. Something's just not right with him, he was really weird on the phone. Creepy, almost. He's... I don't know. He's not right, so just be careful of him's all I'm saying. He's dumb, and weirdly obsessed. A bad combination."

Seneca kicked the release on the bottom of the tub and the water began to drain. Freya, perhaps sensing her bath was over scrambled against the metal basin and Kennedy struggled to hold her still.

"I know," she agreed as Freya tried to slip from Kennedy's arms, then reared back, almost headbutting her. Seneca handed her mother a large, well-worn towel. "Shh, pup. Calm down." She sighed. "He's been following me this week. He was waiting for me in the lobby at work the other day." She reached out again to hold the dog, then grunted as the dog pushed hard against her, almost knocking her down. "I hadta sneak out the back."

"Oh my," Kennedy muttered as she wrapped the dog in the towel, pressing the water from her body. "You can let her go now."

As she did Kennedy picked the shivering dog up and placed her on the tile. Freya fled to the sound of claws on tile, and Seneca instinctively moved to catch her. "Freya!"

"No, no, let her go. She's going back to Freki is all. They're all they have, those two. Gonna be a lot of work getting them comfortable around people again. Shame, they're both such sweet souls." She flinched when she heard the distinctive sound of the dog shaking water from her fur and knew there would be some additional clean up.

Neither of them said anything for a moment as they stared off in the direction the scared greyhound had fled. Then Kennedy handed her a dry towel. "Ready for Freki?"

Seneca nodded, then followed behind her mother. Freya was dancing around Freki's kennel. She looked up, then skittered to her own kennel when they entered the room. Freki growled low in his belly as Freya danced nervously, whining from her kennel next to his. Seneca could see he was bigger than the female dog, wider in the chest and hips, but still way too skinny.

His aggression didn't bother Kennedy. She unlocked the kennel and slowly backed away. Freya rushed out of her kennel and into Freki's, frantically licking his face and ruff. The action pushed Freki out of the kennel and she followed him, licking and nuzzling him with the energy of a toddler. He rubbed his head against hers before he returned his glare to Kennedy, hackles raised.

"Come on, baby," she soothed, kneeling down a good ten feet from his kennel. She held out one gentle hand palm down, and spoke softly to coax him forward. "See how much better your sister feels? Come here, baby, and we'll get you cleaned up. You'll feel better, little pup." She stayed still, watching carefully for signs of aggression.

He growled louder, a low, menacing sound, his tail between his legs. Freya danced around him, rubbing her muzzle against his flank. When he began shaking Seneca knew they wouldn't be washing him just yet.

Kennedy confirmed this with a sigh. "Let's let him get calmed down before we try. Freya being gone made him skittish, and I don't want him biting you. No good, what vampire blood does to scared dogs." She turned slowly without turning her back to Freki. "Why don't we wash up and have some tea while he calms down?"

Ten minutes later they dry and mostly cleaned up, sitting at the well-used kitchen table with two steaming mugs of black tea. Kennedy didn't appreciate loose leaf tea in the same way that Seneca did, she stuck to traditional tea bags from the grocery store. The warm mug was comforting, but it was too hot to drink just yet.

"So, Chip aside, Liv tells me you might have a new dark horse in the running?" Kennedy smirked.

"OMJesus, Kennedy! She's such a big-mouth!" She bit the inside of her lip, debating how to tell Kennedy about Godwin.

Kennedy chuckled. "She loves me, so of course she tells me. But, it's all good right? You've found someone new? Someone you like enough to leave behind nice abs and a decent bite?"

"Ah, yeah, I guess... maybe..." she replied, hesitating. "I mean, the whole marriage thing didn't help Chip's case, but it had been over long before that. I'm just lazy."

Kennedy leaned back, relaxing in her chair, calmness and patience radiating from her. The ability to be so calm and collected was one of Kennedy's gifts, and why she was so good at rescuing animals. "Does he have a name?" she asked, picking up her tea and blowing across the top of the steaming cup. "Your dark horse?"

"Godwin," she admitted, staring into the depths of her mug.

"Just Godwin?" Kennedy asked. "No last name?"

Seneca blushed. "He has a last name. I, we just aren't that... we haven't been together that long. I'm sorry, Kennedy. I wasn't trying to keep secrets or anything, I, ah, just wanted to test the water first."

"I'm not upset." Kennedy shrugged it off. "I was just wondering. Liv thinks you're really into this one, this Godwin No-last-name." Kennedy spoke softly and avoided eye contact as she sipped carefully at her too-hot tea. Seneca recognized Kennedy's body language, she was treating her like she treated scared dogs. She wondered how often her mother had to handle her like a skittish pup.

Probably a lot. She flushed, then picked up her mug to have something to do with her hands. The warmth reminded her of Godwin and her fingers drifted to his collar. "I guess I might be..." she admitted.

"That's from him? That necklace?" Kennedy asked.

Seneca blushed harder, forcing her hand back to her mug. "Um, yeah," she confessed.

"It's beautiful. Looks like real silver. He must be very enamored, to have given you something so nice so soon. It looks handmade," Kennedy noticed.

"I don't know about that..." she replied, feeling conflicted.

Was he enamored? In the times between their play she didn't see him at all. She wondered, during those long, lonely times, if he truly liked her, or if she was just a good way to kill time while also getting a good meal. She was terrified to ask, worried that even the mention of her insecurities would self-destruct the fragile relationship. It made her stomach sour.

"Oh, Seneca, you love him, don't you?" Kennedy asked, finally making eye contact. The compassion she saw in her mother's eyes had her averting her own.

"I do," she admitted, though she only realized it when Kennedy said it. Kennedy always seemed to know what she was feeling, she'd always been able to suss out the truth. "But... I dunno. Our relationship... We both kinda agreed that it's just physical. Nothing serious."

Kennedy smirked at her. "Your necklace suggests otherwise. That doesn't look like a piece of costume jewelry given to a blood-friend. Tell me his last name, I might know his family. He's a Wren?"

Seneca pursed her lips, afraid of where this conversation was going. "He's not a Wren," she hedged, worried about what Kennedy might think if she knew Godwin was an incubus.

"He's not a Wren, then?" Kennedy continued her questioning.

Seneca shifted in her seat, putting the cup back on the table, her tea untouched. "Godwin SynLilin," she muttered, praying that Kennedy didn't know anything about demons.

"SynLilin?" Kennedy said, tasting the word. "Hmm. Not sure I know any SynLilins, but it seems familiar somehow..." She took another sip as she thought. "Well, either way, I wish you well with your Godwin SynLilin, but you need to find out his feelings for you before you get in too deep." When Seneca didn't say anything to fill the silence between them she sighed. "Okay. Ready to check on Freki?"

"Sure," she agreed, relieved to be leaving the topic of Godwin. Her heart both gushed and dropped when she thought about him. Her hand returned to her collar and she traced the words around her neck.

My master serves me as I serve my master. She felt the engraved words under her fingers, remembering the translation of the script that flowed like water around the delicate silver. The collar felt warm to the touch, a constant yet pleasant reminder of Godwin. She wondered idly what the words actually meant, and if they were Godwin's sentiments or just something on a piece of jewelry he had given her as part of the game they played.

The collar didn't feel like something Godwin would give lightly, but outside of their game, she didn't know much at all about the incubus.

Her foster mother watched her for another moment before getting up. "Oh, and Seneca, I mean it. Watch out for Chip. He makes me nervous, like a rabid animal."

***

Seneca met Josh at a pizza place he had suggested during their previous meet up the week before. They met up roughly once a week, though last week she'd seen Josh twice. Godwin always told her when to contact Josh, and Josh didn't seem to have a problem being a booty call.

The first few times meeting up with Josh were a little awkward, but now it felt comfortable. She found herself liking everything about him, his smile, his smell, his taste. Godwin had tried to introduce her to other men. She hadn't met with anyone, refused to hook with anyone but Josh. She liked playing with Josh. Godwin quickly gave up finding other suitors for her, and she was now seeing Josh exclusively. This was their seventh 'date', if she could call it that.

Dinner went well enough, but as they walked to the hotel Josh grew strangely quiet. She gave him some space, unsure of what she might have done to make him so pensive. They went into the hotel and straight to the elevator. Neither of them said anything as they waited, or even when they boarded the empty elevator car.

"Smells like someone peed in here and they tried to clean it up with even more ammonia," she said, wrinkling her nose as they watched numbers above the elevator door increase. He sniffed the air and shrugged, not really looking at anything. "Hey, Josh, are you okay? You got all quiet."

He sighed, running his hands through his sand-colored hair. "It does smell like shit in here. I hope the room isn't as bad. And, ah, sorry. I mean, I was really looking forward to seeing you tonight, I've just had a shit day. I'm... I dunno."

She frowned. "Your boss?"

He sighed again, then looked up as the elevator dinged. "Our floor." He stepped out and she followed him, then headed the wrong way before he caught her and turned her the in right direction for their room. The hallways all looked the same, it creeped her out.

"Sorry," she apologized.

Josh sniffed. "Don't apologize, Seneca. Yeah, to my boss, but also got in a fight with my best friend this morning and it's bothering me."

"Do you wanna talk about it?" she asked.

"Not really. I wanna have fun with you." He sighed again. "But I can't get over it, either. I'm sorry, yeah?" He exhaled loudly, then stopped by the last door on the left. "This's us. You got the card?"

She nodded, then handed it to him. He held it over the sensor and the door beeped. Josh pulled the door open and she followed him inside. The lamp next to the bed was on, casting a comforting glow over the room. The shades were already drawn, too. She thought she could smell that Godwin had been here, but there was no sign of him and his scent was faint.

Josh sat down on the bed, his hands on his knees as he studied the carpet. "It just really bothers me, you know?"

"What does?"

"Fighting with Abe. My best friend."

"What'd you fight about, if you don't mind me asking?"

He looked up at her, then back down at the floor. "I kinda mentioned that I was meeting up with you and... well it didn't go so well. I... Never mind."

"Your friend doesn't like you meeting up with me?" she asked, trying not to be offended by someone she'd never even met.

"Nope. Thinks you're using me. I mean, I know what I signed up for, and I'm having fun. I like meeting up with you."

"I don't want you to think I'm using you," she pouted, thinking about all the ways she was actually using him and feeling bad about it.

"Mutual using," he corrected. "I mean, it's all good, Seneca. I like what we do, I signed up for it, and I like it. You're not using me." He ran his hands through his hair again, making it stick up in places. "I know this's no strings attached. Just, Abe doesn't like it, cause I'm Wren. Like, I don't get it. I really don't. Isn't this what it's supposed to be like?"

"What what's supposed to be like?" she asked, secretly loving how cute his hair looked all messed up.

"Our relationship. Like, vamp and Wren, right? I get bitten, you get blood, both of us mess around. Fun times with no expectations. So, like, I don't wanna ruin it with my own junk."

"You're not ruining anything," she soothed, sitting down next to him.

He sighed. "Abe thinks you're taking advantage of me. Cause you're a vampire, and you wanna do this all, you know. Like hook-ups, but not commit to me being your only Wren." He paused, then hurried out his next statement. "No, don't take that, I mean, I really like this, what we're doing. It just bothers me that it bothers Abe. That we aren't talking right now. It really bothers me."

She picked up his hand. "I'm sorry. I really can't be more than this with you right now. I'm just out of a relationship, and my ex turned a little weird at the end. It's a lot. I don't want you to think that I'm abusing our situation. We can, I mean, if you don't wanna-"

"No! Stop, I wanna!" he interrupted. "I really wanna. It's just, we haven't fought like this in a long time, me and Abe. It's just junking me up a bit."

"Josh, I don't wanna come between you and your friend."

"Seneca, that's that and this's this. I wanna play with you. I like this. A lot."

"Are you sure?" she asked, feeling guilty for general principals. "I don't want you to think I'm taking advantage of you. What can I do to make you feel better?"

"Nothing. Be you. I like this, and you aren't taking advantage of me. Not by a long shot. Seneca, it's all good. I'm sure Abe will get over it, and even if not, it doesn't change our situation. I wanna play with you."

She bit the inside of her cheek. "Are you sure?"

He nodded. "Positive." He squeezed her hand. "I don't wanna think about the librarian overlord or Abe right now. What did you have in mind for tonight?"

"I still feel bad, though. Is there anything I can do, to make it better?"

Josh looked over at her. "You really wanna make me feel better?"

She nodded. "Of course."

"Do you have anything in particular in mind, for tonight?" He smiled a genuine smile and it instantly made her feel better.