Subsequently

18: The things we do for love

If there were any other ways Marcus could conceive to appease his love, he would likely consider them. As it was there seemed only to be two;

Take her physically, yet under false pretenses.

Or apologize to that mortal boy who smelled like coconut and body spray musk. Not pleasantly to immortal senses. It was as if he drowned himself in the fragrance every morning and neglected to partake in other ways to cleanse the natural odors of the human body. Like soap. Or perhaps the coconut was meant to be soap. Or perhaps Marcus was looking for ways to look down on Brenner because he simply did. Not. Like. Him.

Yes. That was most likely. 

But that mattered little. Taylor seemed to be quite fond of Brenner. Not at all in the ways that boy hoped but enough to irritate Marcus. He didn't know what she saw in Brenner. Then again Marcus did not know Brenner like Taylor had. Not intimately. Marcus' jaw clenched at the thought. There were times where his vision aided him, to see the bonds between people as if they were physical illuminated strings. However, there were other times when Marcus would rather not know of other's connections. This was one of those. He would've done better not to know Taylor had at one time known Brenner and little more. Their bonds were clear as day though. Indicating a past relationship, past betrayal, and past contact that made Marcus' insides turn. Brenner was not at all worthy of Taylor. But, who was he to judge who Taylor found worthy? They had not known each other then. Yet it irrationally irritated Marcus to no end.

The studio where Brenner worked was a brick building connected to many other establishments that seemed sensibly placed given their proximity to Brenner's customers. On one side of the building sat a spa who's special included a 70% discount on chair massages if one invested in the shop's rewards program. A rewards program for a spa? Marcus hadn't heard of such a thing. The other side was some sort of health hut, where they sold green smoothies and hair scrunchies. Marcus eyed the establishments warily, noting the stares he received from patrons of each. He sighed. That was to be expected with his inhumane beauty.

And that may've been a part of it. What Marcus neglected to take into account was his sun-shading attire. Which included; a black suit, black gloves, large sunglasses, and a very large umbrella. What was the Volturi's M.O. again? Concealment of vampire kind? That might be easy enough for other vampires, nomads who wander the streets along side humans and their ever changing trends. Even the guard could work well enough in the shadows not to be noticed. But Marcus was a king... and rather sheltered. As he opened the door to this small studio and closed his umbrella he failed to notice how many eyes wandered downwards to his accessory. It was no longer common practice for humans to carry around umbrellas for the purpose of fashion. Especially not when skies shone as clear and cloudless as they did that day.

Beyond the doors revealed a large room, open, with glossed wooden floors. The interior walls were composed of that same brick from the outside. Lining the side walls were various green plants and idols cast in what looked like painted plastic. Straight ahead of Marcus the wall was painted over in a pastel orange. Hanging from that were various tapestries of hand woven cloth and glass images of serene tropical landscapes. In front of those, placed upon the floor, were wooden shelves which housed ornaments and crystals, as well as a radio playing some sorts of wood wind instruments. Beside that was a large stone water fixture made to look like a small mountain side. Water flowed smoothly down its' face, gathering in areas where the stone jutted out, and in the basin below. As Marcus opened the door it let through a small breeze which passed by the class in setubandhasana (bridge poses) facing him as he entered. The wind carried past the curious (turned bewildered) red faces of the class, past the instructor as his head faced the opposite wall, and clambered the twin sets of wooden chimes in harmonious unison.