Till Death (Volturi / Twilight Fanfiction)

22 1/2: Little Changes

Marcus

The incredulous stares were something Marcus expected. He had strolled into the lounge room without needing to be called for and announced something which would've been previously out of character for him. The laughing, however, was a bit much. Caius never laughed without his wife in the room. Marcus thought perhaps he struggled to find amusement in anything unless she pointed it out. There she lay, head in Caius' lap, golden waves draped past her shoulders. She wore a baby blue tiered maxi dress, an inexpensive garment she insisted on due to her distaste for over-constricting clothing. Her feet were bare and kicked in delight when she began laughing at Marcus' declaration. At this Caius joined, in a much calmer manner, and far more dismissively than his wife. 

"Oh, my Goddess! Dear Marcus!" She steadied herself, grabbing Caius' hand and placing it on her chest as if to hold her down. "A sudden burst of energy, and now this? You've clearly lost your head." She chuckled. 

"I assure you, I am more coherent now than I have been in centuries." Marcus took a seat in a wicker chair. The lounge room was nearly outdoors, nearly. The number of windows hardly gave way to any wall space, and what wall space there was, was covered in blooming flowers or woven decor. This was the lounge room nearest the tower, a place Marcus did not frequent often but his brothers often frequented. It was one of the areas their wives were found most often however, as previously mentioned, Sculpicia was in self-induced isolation in order to perfect her craft. So in the lounge were Caius, Athenadora, Aro, Corin, Chelsea, and presumably Afton. Though, Afton's power made it difficult to be sure. He could turn invisible at will, or at least transparent, one could squint their eyes and most likely find his outline. But Marcus was uninterested in the bond manipulator's mate. 

"Wouldn't that prove detrimental dear brother?" Aro queried. He sat patiently waiting just in case his wife left her domicile. "You will need to feed eventually." Marcus waved a hand.

"I will no longer participate in the castle's feedings. That does not mean I will not satiate myself elsewhere." He explained. 

"Do you plan to hunt? To travel to a nearby providence every time you thirst?" Caius scoffed, he could understand the anxiousness of not properly feeding as of late. He too had thought of the very idea he voiced before he deemed it ridiculous. He missed warm blood. Medicinal bags were no substitute for an open artery. But Marcus wasn't just voicing frustrations to the humans poking around the castle. He was speaking of not joining them in their feasting even after the mortals left. 

"I will satiate myself. The manner of which should be of no concern to you all. I only made known my decision to no longer feed with the coven, so that I was not questioned about it later. It will not impede my duties in any way, so you've no need to worry Caius." 

"I do not worry for you. Nor your duties. You've proven that even under tremendous strain your work will not suffer. What I am concerned with is the law, no one is permitted to hunt in Volterra. This law does not fail to encompass ourselves only because we are its' enforcers. So, your feeding habits are of concern to the coven..." Caius stroked his chin in thought as the two strained brothers stared each other down. He bit his cheek as if holding back a thought, which was something Caius was not used to doing. His doing so made Athenadora gaze up at him and softly touch his cheek. Almost as a subtle reminder not to hurt what was hers. He removed her hand and kissed it in reassurance before deciding to simply speak his mind. "This has something to do with the human." He stated. Athenadora furrowed her brows. 

"It does not." Marcus lied through his teeth, rather convincingly if Caius had been a complete moron. But he wasn't.

"You were absent all day yesterday, not to be found within the entire castle. If you had another matter to attend to; do share what exactly that was." Caius set down his wife's grasp and used his now free hand to point in Marcus' direction. "You cannot. Because you were with that woman, as you've been every other day since that drove of what humans call entertainers called for her. An on-site medium...you failed to mention that absurd detail." Caius lowered his hand at Marcus' gaze, it was cold. A mix of not wanting to admit Taylor's involvement in his decision and a warning to Caius as he began speaking ill of his Taylor. Something Caius saw plainly and found amusing. Athenadora sat up suddenly, turning towards Caius with a confused expression.