This chapter is dedicated to the friends I made because of R+. You know who you are and I havent forgotten about you! <3 Whips and Kisses, N.D.
[Chapter 6: Dawning]
Christoph woke the next morning feeling energized as he never felt before, he felt like a new person. Standing from his bed , he walked over to his closet to pull out a pair of jeans. After sliding into the jeans he made his way to the bathroom, taking note that Paul was still in his bedroom. Flipping the light switch on, he stood in front of the sink to brush his teeth. As he brushed his teeth, he caught sight of something on his chest in the mirror. Stepping a bit closer, he saw a faint red mark, almost like a rash on his chest over where his heart was. The mark, though a bit indistinct appeared to be a perfect circle. Putting his hand up to touch the mark, he suddenly had a flash back to that chilling dream he’d had at Till’s house. Tearing his hand away, he quickly finished cleaning his teeth and vacated the bathroom.
Stepping back out into the living room he saw Paul standing over the stove preparing breakfast. Seeing that the man hadn’t noticed his appearance, Christoph decided to give the man a slight scare. Sneaking up behind Paul, he grabbed him by the ribs effectively startling Paul and almost causing him to burn himself. “What the fuck, Christoph?!” Paul shouted clutching his chest a bit. Laughing, Christoph hugged Paul from behind. “Sheesh. Calm down, Paul. I’m just playing with you.” Shaking his head, Paul said glumly. “Haven’t you scared me enough in the past twenty-four hours?” Pulling away from Paul and going to sit at the table, Christoph pulled out a chair and sat down. “Oh come on. Please don’t start on that.” Paul turned around and gave Christoph a pointed look and shook his head again. “Do you want breakfast?” “Yeah sure.” Came the response.
The phone rang and Christoph dashed to answer it, feeling that it was probably important. Picking up the receiver he said “Hello?” “Hello to you too, Christoph.” Came Till’s warm voice, instantly bringing a smile to Christoph’s face. “What are your plans for the day?” Came the smooth voice through the receiver. Shrugging to himself, Christoph replied “Nothing really. I had planned to try and get ahold of you because I needed to discuss something important with you.”
“Well then that works out perfectly, I called to ask if you were available to visit my tailor so he can make some suits for our trip to since most of our time there will be in a formal setting. Is that alright with you?” Came the question. Doing a slight ‘happy dance’ excited to spend any kind of time with his aloof lover, Christoph replied. “Yes! Of course!” “Wonderful.” Said the honey-rich voice. “Then after that affair we can have dinner and discuss whatever issue you’re having over a delicious meal.”
“How long do you think you’ll be before you get here?” Christoph asked. “I’m already in town so I should be there in twenty minutes or so.” Till answered. Nodding, Christoph said his good-byes and then hung up the phone. “Was that Till?” Paul asked through bites of French toast. “Yeah.” Christoph said dreamily, almost floating over to the small dining table. Paul snorted. “I should’ve figured as much, you always get really fidgety whenever you talk to him or about him.” Christoph stuck out his tongue at the teasing and then commenced to taking a bite of his breakfast. “So have you been looking for a job at all?” Paul asked. Shaking his head in the negative, Christoph swallowed his food and replied. “No, but I have an explanation to as why I haven’t tried, but I need to speak to Till first before I can divulge any details.” Paul raised a brow at this, but didn’t prod any further on the subject.
“Christoph, you know you always have a home with me even if you don’t have a job; you’re like the little brother I never had. I just ask about the job thing because I know you become restless if you don’t have something productive to do, but now that you have Till I doubt that you become restless now.” Paul gave a devious smirk at his last statement causing Christoph to give a dry look and kick the other male’s shin underneath the table. “Pervert.” Christoph muttered a ghost of a smirk find its way to his lips. “Don’t play coy with me, you two had to have messed around by now. Look at me with a straight face and say you haven’t” Paul smiled, folding his arms over his chest in a triumphant manner.
Taking a final bite of his food, Christoph narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth to answer when the house phone rang once more. Knowing that the call was for him, Christoph dashed to answer it looking over his shoulder and playfully shouting “Saved by the phone!” Answering the phone, Christoph let Till know that he would be right down to greet him and the hung the phone up. Going to his room and grabbing a shirt, he pulled it over his head as he walked towards the front door. “Don’t think you’re off the hook, Mister! You’ll answer my question even if I have to torture it out of you!” Paul threated from the kitchen. Pulling the door open, Christoph laughed at his friend’s antics as he descended the stairs.
As he walked through the doors of his apartment building, Christoph had no problem spotting Till; his flashy sports car standing out next to all of the average cars parked on the street. As he approached the other man, Christoph once again took notice of how stunning Till looked; he also wondered if the man ever wore casual clothing outside of his home. When Christoph finally came to stand before Till, the other man said nothing; instead opting to push him against his car and kissing him fervently. Shocked at first at the slightly aggressive behavior, it wasn’t long before Christoph was under the spell of Till’s exhilarating kiss. ‘Perhaps the reticent ones are the most passionate’ Christoph thought sluggishly. When Till finally decided to stop plundering Christoph’s sweet mouth, the younger male gave a breathy “Good morning to you too.”
“Come let us be off so we’re not late for our appointment.” Till said as he helped Christoph pry himself from his car and opened the door for him to get in. Once both were in the car and heading toward their destination, Till spoke again “I missed you greatly, Christoph.” Christoph felt his heart flutter at the quiet declaration, never having someone miss him before. Shyly putting his hand on Till’s muscled thigh, Christoph returned the sentiment. “I missed you too, Till. I couldn’t stop thinking about you even though we were just together yesterday.” “It was the same for me as well, my thoughts were constantly clouded with your visage.” Till elaborated. Christoph smiled brightly at the other man’s statement, knowing from the visual cues he was getting that divulging feelings wasn’t something that Till normally did as evidenced by the death grip he had on the steering wheel.
They finally pulled in front of a beautiful antiquated shop. “We’re here.” Till stated as he got out the car and opened the door for Christoph. Walking through the front door and seeing the store filled to the brim with expensive looking outfits, Christoph immediately felt out of place in his jeans and t-shirt. Following behind Till they came to stand before a bespectacled man intently working on a navy colored suit on a mannequin. When the man failed to notice their presence, Till cleared his throat slightly startling the old man. “Oh! Herr Lindemann you’ve arrived! I’m sorry about that, it seems in my old age I’m becoming a bit senile.” Till waved his hand in dismissal. “It’s is of no consequence since we’re in no rush.” The old man took his glasses off and cleaned them on his vest. “So what can I do for you to day?”
“You remember Herr Schneider, correct?” Till began. The old man nodded and smiled “Of course! How could I not remember such a generous man?” Pulling Christoph from behind him and presenting him to the old man, Till spoke once more. “Well this is his son Christoph.” The older man’s eyes widened in surprise. “My goodness! I thought he was believed to be dead?” Christoph stood awkwardly in front of the man and offered a weak greeting. “Your father was a great man, it devastated him something fierce when you disappeared. But enough idleness, I’m sure you don’t want to hear an old man’s ramblings.” The elder man stood from his seat and beckoned the two males to follow him into the back where the fitting room was.
“So Herr Lindemann, what did you have in mind for your young friend here?” The man asked. “I would like to commission you to construct three, make that four suits for Christoph. I would like them to be made from the finest and most breathable linen you can procure as we are visiting a country whose climate is quite oppressive.” Till explained. “Ah, going on holiday?” The man asked. “Yes and no, it’s a pleasurable business trip if you get my meaning.” Till supplied. “Aye, I do. Now, Herr Schneider disrobe and stand upon this stool so I can get your measure you accurately.” The man requested. Hesitant at first, be getting reassurance from Till; Christoph pulled his shirt over his head and the pulled his jeans off, happy that he choose to wear underwear today. Standing upon the wooden stool, Christoph stood patiently as the man took all of the required measurements. Turning his eyes to Till, Christoph saw that Till’s eyes were roaming his body heatedly; everywhere Till caressed him with his piercing gaze felt like it was set aflame. “There we go! All done!” The shopkeeper exclaimed happily as Christoph stepped down from the stood to retrieve his clothing.
Once Christoph was dressed the walked back to the front of the store. “The suits should be finished in about three days, is that alright Herr Lindemann?” Questioned the old man. “Yes that is acceptable, how much do I owe you?” Till asked. Waving both hands in the air the shopkeeper replied “There’s no charge today, Sir. These are on the house for your continued patronage.” Till nodded his thanks and the two departed from the store.
“So what are we gonna do now?” Christoph questioned once they were back in the car. “Well if you don’t mind I needed to check on my flat that I let my cousin use for his wild parties; I’d like to make sure the building’s not been burnt down or completely trashed.” Till explained. Christoph’s eyes bulged at that statement. “Your cousin has burnt down a building before?” He asked incredulously. Nodding his head ruefully, Till confirmed the fact. “Yes, a friend’s guest house, it was when we were much younger though.” Twenty minutes later the two arrived outside a lavish apartment building, walking inside Christoph realized that this wasn’t the same kind of apartment building he was used to where people are packed like sardines.
As the ascended the spiraling staircase he saw that this building only had a few occupants, there were only three doors he’d seen. When they arrived at the top of the stairs, Till took out his key and let them into the home. Once inside they saw that no fires were alit and the home was pristine, Till looked visibly relieved. “Come sit down.” Till said as he made his way over to the Victorian era couch. “Would you like anything to drink?” He asked. “Yeah, could I have some water please?” Christoph asked. “Of course.” Till intoned. Returning from the kitchen with a bottle of mineral water and handing it to Christoph, Till sat down next to him and quietly watched him down his drink. When Christoph placed his drink down on the coffee table before him, Till took the opportunity to pounce on him like had earlier in the day. Covering the younger male’s mouth with his own, Till moaned when he felt Christoph’s tongue beg for entrance.
As soon as Christoph’s soft muscle was within the confines of Till’s greedy mouth the predator in him took over and he dominated the kiss; eventually breaking the kiss to nip at Christoph’s swollen lips. The pleasure filled moan that escaped from Christoph’s supple lips spurred Till to abandon the conquest of his lips and plunder other areas. Kissing down his jawline to where his neck was, Till paused to lick up the length of Christoph’s graceful neck causing him to shudder and thrust his hips upward. Snickering at the boy’s reaction to his teasing, Till leaned back in and nipped sharply had the sensitive parts of his neck making him whimper and thrash a bit. Lifting his shaky hands, breath coming out in short wisps; Christoph made to unbutton Till’s shirt, but a shrill noise rent the air interrupting their petting session. Growling angrily, Till sat up and snatched his cell phone from his jacket he’d laid on the arm of the couch. “What?!” He snarled into the phone, gripping it as if he wanted to break it to bits. Telling the person to hold on, he excused himself from Christoph’s presence and walked into his office. Sitting up, Christoph fanned himself with his hand trying to cool the fiery heat that arousal had surged within his body. ‘How does he do that?! It must be unnatural to get someone so aroused so fast!’ He mused to himself. A few minutes later Till emerged from his office, walking stiffly and face tense.
“What’s wrong Till?” Christoph questioned, putting a hand on Till’s arm when he came to stand before him. “It seems as though I have to fix another one of Richard’s screw ups, do you mind waiting for me I promise I won’t be too long.” He said. Nodding his head rapidly, Christoph replied “Of course I don’t mind.” The other male’s face relaxed a bit. “Alright, make yourself at home. Help yourself to anything you like, I shall return as soon as possible.” Till said and then kissed Christoph upon his forehead.
After Till had left Christoph tried to entertain himself by watching television but failed to find anything worthwhile to watch. Standing and stretching he decided to look around the huge apartment and possibly do a little snooping. As he walked through the home he saw various interesting artifacts, such as the beautiful intricate dagger encased in glass and an ancient looking marble bust of a man with rams horns sprouting from his head, the placard at the bottom reading ‘Jupiter: Deus-Pater’. One odd thing that Christoph noticed as he looked around that there were no photos of Till’s family or of Till for that matter. He eventually dismissed the abnormality thinking about how he had no pictures of his parent’s or himself either. Wandering into the office and flipping the light on an archaic map took up a large portion of one of the walls.
Stepping up to the map he saw markers on the map seemingly following the path of something, the origin of whatever was being followed originating in what appeared to be the farthest reaches of the Mediterranean coast and spreading in many different directions from there each path marked a different color from the other. Eyes flicking to the corner of the map he found the map to be dated from late 1600s. Once he was done with his assessment of the map, he stepped away from the map and looked about the room trying to find anything else of interest. Only spotting books and scattered papers on the desk with what looked like financial figures, he decided to leave the room and relax on the couch once more. Plopping back down on the couch he flipped through the channels until he found something semi-decent to watch. As he watched the television show about the mating habits of rams, the peaceful droning of the narrator’s voice eventually lolled him into sleep.
{Start Dream}
He walked across the cool marble floors of his sanctuary delighting in the soft crunch of the fragrant rose petals against his bare feet. All around him various people kneeling and shouting declarations of praise and devotion. He did not acknowledge them, no words of gratitude slipped passed his lips and his eyes were fixed upon the masked figures that stood next his ornate throne especially the one on the right. When he approached the stairs, he lifted his crimson robes and ascended the few steps there. He then nodded his greeting to the two and turned to face his audience, robes swishing as he moved.
Then he held out both hands to his side palms up, offering them to both of the men standing on either side of him. The two males took the man’s hand and helped lower him into his seat. Looking over to the masked man on his left, his favorite, he felt him lift his hand and kiss his knuckles. Tuning his visage to the people that were still groveling before him, he shook his head and proceeded to pull away the pure gold cast mask revealing his cherubic face to his subjects. The people in the room gasped in wonder and admiration having never been allowed to look upon their sovereign’s face. His ice blue eyes seemed to glow in the dim light torch lit room filled with mirth as to what was about to occur. Crossing his leg over the other and leaning back in the chair, he smirked and said “Why you act as if you’d never seen someone’s face before.” A brave soul, a man, found the courage to speak. “My liege would you allow me the honor of speaking?” Rolling his eyes and waving his hand dismissively, the ruler said “Speak.”
The man bowed and rose back up “We are all deeply honored to be able to gaze upon your countenance. It is just that no one has ever seen the face of our leader and many have, excuse me for this, assumed you had leprosy.” A dark look crossed the ruler’s face and the outspoken man began to quake where he stood. Then a bubbly sounding laughter rent the air and the ruler waved his hand dismissively once more. “Don’t fret old man, you need not worry about losing your head over mere rumors, I am not that malicious. The reason you were all called here is because of my unmasking.” The ruler paused and ran his hand through his wavy locks. “You see as I have sacrificed the ability to wear this blessed mask tonight, you all must make sacrifices too.” The older man spoke up again “Pardon me my liege, but I’m not quite sure I understand what you mean. All of the necessary sacrifices to the Gods have been made for year.”
Smirking once more, the ruler beckoned the man closer to him. Leaning forward in his seat, the leader pointed to the intricate marking upon his brow. “You see this? This is the marking of the Gods, I have been blessed in their name to bear their mark. The sacrifices made to them were not enough, they tell me they need something more…substantial.” The elder man shook his head. “I’m sorry my liege, I think I still fail to understand you.” The ruler leaned back in his seat, his face clouded with true darkness this time. “It figures that sheep like you wouldn’t understand.” He said coldly and then proceeded to kick the elderly man to the floor. Raising his voice so all could hear, the ruler said “What this means for all of you pathetic little bugs is that… YOU’RE ALL DEAD!” Then the heavy doors to the shrine slammed shut seemingly on their own and the fire on the torches flared and turned a ghostly blue-white.
The ruler laughed madly as the two masked men standing at his side began to massacre the people in the room; pulling their masks away to feast on the blood and flesh of their victims. When all in the room had perished except a young female, the larger of the formerly masked men pulled her roughly over to where the ruler sat; his face and hair stained with bits of gore. The other male came to stand next to his counterpart holding a bejeweled golden chalice. The favored male produced an ornate dagger and pulled the girl’s head back roughly by her hair. When the blade was placed against her delicate throat she began begging and pleading for her life, but the ruler gazed at her unfeelingly.
When the ruler nodded the girl’s neck was slit and the chalice was quickly placed under the blood flow making sure to fill to the brim. The male with the chalice approached the ruler and handed him the cup filled with life-blood and he greedily drank it down; reveling in the power he felt being poured into his body. Once the cup was drained the ruler stood and descended the stairs to stand before the two males. Pulling the hidden pin in his robe, he let the fabric fall from his body in a flurry of crimson and gold bearing his body to the men before him. He then kneeled before them as they too undressed their phalluses already erect and pointing at the ruler as a heady sacrament. Wiping the corner of his mouth and smearing some blood left there, he leaned forward and began to pay homage to the beings before him.
{End Dream}
A/N: YAY! Another chapter down! Oooh! That was an interesting dream, huh? But was it really a dream? Or was it a past life? Who knows?! Stay tuned for the next installment of Change of Skin. *Is off to try and write somemore while she still has the time*
