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Cassandra hates her neck.
It's been marked and left looking horrible by the Briarwoods and Professor Anders, the reminders of Sylas using her for food and of Anders trying to kill her…
They were uncomfortable at best, hidden now by scarves and high collars.
She was sure nobody would be sympathetic to her pain, how many were bitten by a Vampire and lived?
It was just proof that she was untrustworthy, really.
Who could look at her and see anything but a Vampire's pawn?
So the day she finds Vax'ildan, one of her brother's Half-Elf friends, sitting applying makeup to his neck in one of the castle's public bathrooms, she's surprised to see such familiar little marks.
"Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't know anybody was in here!"
Vax jumps, dropping his makeup sponge and spinning around on the edge of the sink with wide hazel eyes, a hand going for a dagger that isn't there.
"Lady Cassandra! I didn't hear you come in." He says, clearly put off at the fact.
He slips off the marble counter in a swift, elegant way that reminds Cass of flowing water, the rogue quickly bending down and grabbing the dropped makeup applicator.
"Sorry, I got used to moving around silently to avoid… Them." Cassandra gives a stout laugh, rubbing at the bite scars on her own neck.
Vax softens at that, sitting the sponge he had dropped down onto a pad of foundation that matches his skin tone rather well.
"No, no. You needn't apologize, this is your home, I should have been more alert." He tells her, a gentle smile gracing his face.
Cass relaxes a little, glad he's not angry at her.
"What were you doing?" She asks, playing dumb as she looks to the foundation pad.
Vax rubs at his scars now, laughing sheepishly.
"I was caught snooping in their room way back, just before we came to liberate Whitestone actually, and… Sylas got a quick snack out of it when I failed to convince them I was charmed by him…"
Cassandra's pale blue eyes widen, her body moving towards Vax out of instinct.
He tilts his head so she can see the marks he's trying to hide, feeling a pang in her chest at the sight of them.
All of her bite scars are neat and uniform, but his are not.
It appears that the fangs had been ripped out suddenly, probably when Vax had tried to escape from Sylas.
Thin lines drag up jagged and uneven towards his ear, going from deep to shallow as they crawl higher.
"That looks painful." She comments, empathy swelling in her heart.
Backing away, she looks up into Vax's eyes and can almost see Sylas' grinning face in them, shivering as Vax turns away.
"Yeah, they took forever to heal… They kept on opening up again." Vax sighs softly, grabbing the makeup sponge once more.
"Percy gets really quiet and pale whenever he sees them, so I try my best to hide them." He explains.
Cassandra hugs herself, "Do you… Do you still feel him?"
Vax pauses, the sponge inches from his skin.
"Yeah. As if his fucking fangs never left my neck."
Cassandra sniffs, licking her lips nervously.
"Sometimes I wake up at night in a cold sweat, thinking he's there, but he's not and I'm all alone..."
Her voice is small, shaky.
Vax exhales, sitting the sponge down again and hanging his head before turning to her.
"I do, too... Sometimes I even fall out of bed in a panic, scrambling for a weapon, and accidentally wake somebody up - Which isn't exactly fun to explain."
Cassandra wipes a tear away that tries to fall, "It's like he won't leave."
He nods at her.
"It is," he responds, "I think that's the idea of it, Lady Cassandra. Keeping us afraid at all times."
Cass gives a harsh sound, something adjacent to a laugh but colder, "Yeah. Sylas would like that, us stuck fearing his return."
Vax hums, his mouth thinning into a tight line before he talks again, "Bastard sure knew how to make himself memorable."
Cass looks down, biting her bottom lip and wringing her wrists awkwardly.
"Um… When you finish hiding yours, can you maybe cover up mine as well?" She asks shyly, feeling silly.
Vax smiles faintly, understanding her.
"Of course, do you have a foundation that matches your skin tone?" He asks.
They were both quite pale from a lack of time in the sun, but Vax still had more sun exposure than Cassandra did.
Besides, Cassandra's skin was otherwise somewhat fairer than his skin was, so his foundation wouldn't match her anyway.
Cassandra nods, "I can go get it and bring it back."
Vax smiles, "Okay, you go do that, I'll finish up here."
Cassandra feels much better now, a quirk of a smile tugging at her chapped lips.
"Thank you, Vax, really." She says, lingering a bit.
Vax laughs, "I'm happy to help, Lady Cassandra. Any family of Percy's is now part of my family, I'm afraid."
"Then no more of that 'Lady' bullshit, okay? Just call me Cass." Cassandra snorts, giggling when Vax chokes.
After recomposing himself, though, the Half-Elf gives a short bow, winking at her.
"Of course, Cass."
Cassandra laughs harder, waving him off before slipping out of the bathroom.
She doesn't even remember why she had walked in there anymore, but she's glad she did. She liked Vax, he felt safe and familiar.
Feeling a bit giddy and with a slight skip in her step, she hurries off to her new bedroom with a warm buzz running through her system.
She hates that Vax knows the pain and terror of surviving Sylas, but she feels better knowing she's not alone anymore.
Maybe, together, they can both finally move past him.