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WHO: Eccarius and Raina
WHERE: some bar in Maurtia Falls
WHEN: after Cassidy breaks his heart.😢
WHAT: drinking, crying, commiserating
WARNINGS: Spoilers for Preacher S3; emo vampire, nothing else yet, I don't think

These last few months had been like fate had given them a second chance at happiness; a bit unexpectedly perhaps, given how their time back home in New Orleans had ended, with Cassidy threatening to expose Eccarius' nefarious habit of murdering his followers to gain personal power, Eccarius responding by crucifying Cassidy on a pool table with the intention (ostensibly) of letting the coming dawn fry him, then Cassidy feigning acquiescence while surreptitiously enabling the coven to turn on their leader by all secretly becoming vampires themselves and subsequently devouring him alive.

Yes, so. Not the best foundation for starting over in a new place—except for the fact that Cassidy hadn't remembered all that, being from an earlier point in time and Eccarius hadn't enlightened him, instead plotting secret vengeance while feigning love. What he hadn't planned on, was truly falling back in love, gradually abandoning his revenge plans and just being blissfully, idyllically happy—which naturally the Porter had to ruin by snatching Cassidy away and promptly returning him fully aware of all the aforementioned murdering and betrayal that had gone on back home.

Needless to say, things hadn't gone well, prompting Eccarius to leave their home with little intention of going back, instead hanging out in seedy bars drowning his sorrow with wine coolers (tempered by the occasional ginger ale, alcohol having a tendency to make him throw up).

Which is nothing more than he deserves, really. 😭

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Raina had also been having a miserable time, opting to drown her sorrows in solitude across the various porter cities. But tonight, she needed a little more of a thrill -- the sort of thrill Maurtia Falls' nightlife could bring. She didn't necessarily have a death wish, but at this point, she wanted to feel alive. And coming close to danger was the only way of it.

She chose a particularly seedy bar for her first stop with the intention of subtly stirring up trouble with some of the shady looking locals. What she didn't expect was to see Eccarius as she entered -- already drowning his sorrows at the bar and looking down.

Weighing her options of getting a thrill or aiding someone who had been of interest to her, she decides to do the right thing for once -- heading over to where he is seated and casually slipping into the seat beside him. "Eccarius? I didn't expect to see you here. You look down."

Hell, he looks about the same way she looked three months ago.

In the course of walking this planet for over three hundred years, Eccarius has had his share of ups and downs, but mostly, he simply endured, never feeling anything particularly deeply until Cassidy came along and his life subsequently turned into a rollercoaster thanks to that wanton riotous loveable junkie. He should be glad it's over really, glad for a return to something more normal (for him).

Instead, he's never felt so miserable and alone.

"Raina!" he exclaims quietly, the sight of a friendly face nearly making him weep. 'Looking down' is probably putting it mildly, considering his overall state of slovenliness; unshaven and unwashed as he is. "Do I?" he asks, his tone mildly wry. "Things... have not been going well lately, to say the least."

His lack of physical care for himself, him drowning his sorrows in alcohol. Well, sure it could be any number of problems. Maybe someone dear to him ported out. But Raina, having endured months of it, could see a broken heart from a mile away. And her expression becomes genuinely sympathetic as she reaches a hand out to rest against his soothingly.

"I know you don't know me too well, Eccarius. And perhaps I'm overstepping a boundary. But I also was engaged to marry my soulmate that I had been with for three years, only for him to turn around and destroy everything we'd built up. So I would say I know something about heartache...if you need someone to listen to your problems."

She probably can't help given that her solution has been to try and murder the one who ruined things, but at the least she could commiserate.

Considering that Eccarius' solution back home had involved murder as well (or at least the threat of it, with Cassidy being the one who ultimately ruined things), they really are birds of a feather, if they only knew.

It's true—they don't know each other very well, but sometimes it's easier to talk to a (near) stranger, especially when one's tongue has been loosened by alcohol, as bartenders the world over can attest.

His mouth twists a little. "It's that obvious, is it? My deepest sympathies on your own heartbreak." He has a sip of his diluted wine and sighs. "My lover and I had a rather tragic, albeit short-lived history back home; rife with adventure, joy and contentment, only to be poisoned by intrigue, conspiracy, and the ultimate betrayal. As fate would have it, we both showed up here, although his memories were not as complete as mine. I took that as sign; a second chance for happiness. A do-over, if you will, and for the last three months, we've been blissfully happy." Him plotting revenge for a lot of that time being unimportant.

"Then the Porter destroyed it all, by updating his memories as well."

As the porter often did. Though it usually separated couples. Eccarius's situation is unique and heartbreaking. Her expression softens, her fingers gently clasp his to give a light squeeze. The comfort is small, but she offers it regardless.

"Is there no way for him to forgive and forget? What happened, happened in a world far away. It doesn't matter here. Is there a way for him to see this? Is there something you can do to show him this?"

Obviously Raina doesn't understand what exactly the betrayal entailed, but no matter what it was, she can only feel like this world is a second chance as Eccarius had said. So could his lover be persuaded to see it that way as well?

He's very glad to accept whatever comfort she's inclined to bestow, as she might be the only friend he has in this world right now. He hasn't had a lot of true friends over the centuries, but he certainly needs one at the moment... even the semblance of one.

"There doesn't seem to be no, considering the first thing he did on returning was to attack and spurn me. I left and haven't been back since. That was about a week ago."

He pauses once more, giving in to another heavy sigh. "I can't say as I blame him really; I've done many regrettable things in the past."

"But the past is the past. It's not now. It's there. If he ever truly cared about you, he'll see that. It'll take time."

And with luck Eccarius would have time. Or perhaps he would port out instead and spare him this suffering. Either would likely be a mercy to the poor soul. This kindred spirit she had found. She closes her eyes, warding off her own emotions.

"I would say if there was an outside force that caused this, you could seek your vengeance on them. It might not fix the problem, but it would help you feel a bit better." A pause. "My fiance had an affair here. I tried the kill the imPort in question. It's not necessarily murder if they return..."

She says with a light smile. If he is absolutely against murder, she can pretend she was only joking.....yes.

He quirks the corner of his mouth, looking a bit rueful.

"Sadly, it's not that easy, where the only outside force is really the Porter and its whims. And seeing as how murder was the issue that we didn't see eye-to-eye on to begin with and what drove us apart ultimately, I doubt it would help things now, especially if Cassidy found out about it."

And then, very frankly, "I killed his friend you see; an innocent person." Along with eighty or so others Cassidy didn't know, but whatever. "So he retaliated by killing me. Or orchestrating it, anyway."

Confession buddies, here.

Cassidy. Her expression flickers with recognition at the name. Sure, it could be some other Cassidy. But somehow, Raina doubts it. She's not aware of any other Cassidy's currently in this world. And well, she could understand his appeal. Not surprising Cassidy would be drawn to someone like Eccarius and vice versa.

Raina doesn't flinch away from the confession, though. She doesn't even bat an eye at the murder part. Instead, she offers: "I am friends with Cassidy..." Conveniently leaving out the with benefits part. "I don't know how much weight I would have, but I can try and talk to him for you. I can be very persuasive, you know."

Her eyes lower, thumb brushing against his knuckles. "You died for your crime. You paid the price. And now, you were brought to this world together for a second chance. You have a chance to atone. I think Cassidy would see that. In my eyes, it's clear -- fate brought you both here to be together."

He'd caught the flicker of recognition and he scarcely needs the 'with benefits' part, knowing Cassidy as he does. They had an open relationship and Eccarius was fairly certain Cassidy had lots of 'friends.'

He might have been a little worried for a moment that Raina would take Cassidy's side against him, but that concern is quickly dispersed by the caress of her thumb.

"That's very kind of you to offer." His eyes drop for a moment, watching her hand on his, a tiny smile playing over his lips. He could use a few friends with benefits himself, come to think of it.

"That's what I felt when I arrived here and saw him." Eventually, anyway. "It doesn't appear Cassidy quite sees it that way."

"For as experienced as Cassidy is in many things..." Drugs, living a rough life, bumming it. "He does seem to miss certain cues. I think he could come to see it this way if someone were to show him. He had been very dubious about the concept of fate when I first met him. But here he is, living it. And maybe it'll just take someone on the outside looking in to make him realize it."

And maybe Cassidy is far more stubborn than Raina realizes. But she has a feeling she could possibly break through to him on this. Her romantic life might be in shambles. It doesn't mean theirs has to be.

Raina draws her hand back from his. "So, where is it you're staying at the moment?" From the looks of him, it doesn't seem like he's staying anywhere. Raina can at least do him a favor and help him get cleaned up and back to himself.

"If you get the opportunity, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try." He doesn't think Cassidy would be the sort that resented interference, especially not from someone as sympathetic as Raina.

"Presently, any dark hole I can find," he admits. Which is easier when one can shapeshift into a mouse, so that's one good thing.

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