for Essek (lacrymaperle) - vampire/werewolf au

[ausgebrannt]

[There had been a simpler time, several years before when Bren hadn't yet known Trent Ikithon, a time when he was thoroughly and blissfully unaware of the things that existed in the dark, when the ideas of werewolves and vampires and other creatures that ought to have been nothing more than fairy tale fodder. Instead, his paths had crossed with Trent and everything had changed. He'd been thrown into a small walled courtyard one night, under the light of a full moon, and he had not been alone. That was the first time he had met a werewolf. Bren remembered the bite, still had the scar of it on one forearm, remembered the confusion and the terror -- both of which were nothing compared to the full moon that followed the month after, the first time he'd transformed. He remembered the pain of his entire body breaking and reshaping itself, the fear of losing himself entirely. He'd blacked out that night, woken up naked and aching as if he'd been run over by a bus.

It had been the same very moon since, except that piece by piece, bit by bit, he held onto some small shred of himself during the transformation. Trent Ikithon had explained that all this was for Bren's own good, that he was safer here than anywhere else. that there were vampires who would tear him apart on sight, one in particular, a singular monster who Trent seemed to have a personal loathing for. Bren tried to probe why any vampire, never mind a particular one, would have any interest in him. No explanation was ever given except that 'the Shadowhand will never have you. Not in this life or the next. I will see to that.'

Bren had no idea what that meant. Before all this, the only strange thing in his life were recurring dreams -- and oh they were beautiful things. Arms that were secure and safe around him, tender and gentle but not warm. The soft lilt of a voice that assured him everything would be well, that wherever he went he would be found again. Trent had hated the dreams and had done his best to cast them out of Bren's conscious awareness. Now they were barely shadows, things he could remember the feeling of more than the details. It hurt even trying to recall them, so he didn't.

This past moon Bren had made his escape after he transformed, finally aware enough of himself that he had his chance. He was free. That was the only thought in his mind right now and it repeated in echoed mantra over and over again as he tried to keep himself from spiraling into a breakdown. It had been years since he'd been out, actually out in the world, not kept with Trent Ikithon's control, trapped within the grounds of that monster's manor. He was, after all, Trent's pet project, for whatever reasons the old bastard had. It didn't matter. Back in that direction lay only pain and isolation. He wouldn't go back.

Of course, he didn't really have a plan to go forward either, really. Even before he'd been captured and turned, he hadn't had any family left, few friends, and he'd been out of the world for years now. He managed to steal find some clothes, ill-fitting, a coat that was too big on his underfed frame, a scarf wrapped about his neck. He was a mess, long copper hair in tangles past his shoulders, his beard untrimmed, a frantic fear in wide blue eyes as he tried to find somewhere to hide, somewhere to get his bearings. He couldn't let Trent find him again. This was freedom, and he would not give it up.

A soft meow caught his attention, and he looked up in surprise as a small orange tabby approached him. For the first time in a long while, Bren smiled.] Hello there... [The little creature sniffed his outstretched hand and headbutted his fingers. It was the first kind touch that he'd known in so long, he almost teared up over it.] Well, at least I am not alone anymore. That's comforting.

[Now if he could just figure out what the hell he was going to do, where he was going to go.]

Comments

[zauberdecke]

[ Bren was so very tight, hot and quivered around his hand. The howl that filled the area around them, rising up-- as Essek marked his possession of the other man. There would be no doubt to anyone who was watching via a rogue scry, no doubt that Bren was owned by this man and it was a far deeper magic that bound them together than even Ikithon had access to.

A few more measured paces and then he was drawing his fingers tenderly into a fist, even as he pressed a soft kiss against that mouth, could taste the needy gasp from his darling submissive, the soft glaze of those blue eyes that denoted that he was looking through him. ] You are going to remember this in the morning, with startling clarity.. how we ruined your fuckable hole. [ And in true Essek fashion, he made such filth feel like a religious experience with his own measured and soothing voice.

The Essek behind slipped his hands underneath those knees to adjust the man more, so that the angle would be better, so that the drowpire in front of him could started slowly fucking that tight channel that squeezed him desperately ] It is only fair that if you get to breed me, I get to do the same.. isn't it?

[ausgebrannt]

[Bren was unraveling, being undone expertly by his mate, absolutely lost in the rush of pleasure and that edge of pain and the haze of submission. He leaned up to meet that kiss, soft and sweet as it was. That utterly dazed look was still flooded through his eyes as Essek spoke again. The words were obscene, the sort of filth that ought to have made Bren blush, but there was something sacrosanct about it too, as if all of this were some sacrament, an act of holy worship -- though the only deity that Bren had eyes for was the beautiful creature currently wrist deep inside him.]

Ja... yes... only fair. Breed me, use me, fill me up with your cocks and your come until I can't take anymore, until I'm dripping with your seed...

[Words spilled out of him in a litany, another prayer added to his worship on this makeshift altar. Eventually words gave way to incoherent moaning, his breath catching as his knees were drawn further back, as he was exposed so completely.

But as lost in the moment as Bren was, somewhere beneath the surface, Caleb had the wherewithal in a brief moment of control to fix blissed out blue eyes on the exact spot he'd expect Ikithon's scry to have been placed as another cry escaped, roughened with utter wanton desperation. Bren's back arched, seemed to tremble as if his body was trying to thrust him into his orgasm despite the cock around his ring, and being thwarted by that clever magic item.]

[zauberdecke]

[ Essek saw the moment that that head lolled to the side and then those eyes were fixed on a spot in the distance; fixed and yet not. It managed to walk that fine silken tightrope between haze and concentration, and that was absolutely sexy-- even as he pushed his fist in until his knuckles were all but grazing that prostate, just barely-- touching it while those walls clasped about him.

In the scheme of things, his hand was delicate-- his wrist on the smaller size and it would take Bren little to withstand it, to mold to him. But he did know how to subtly use gravity to push within while he leaned closer so that he could speak against those panting lips. ] Tell them who you belong to, do not talk to me.. talk to them.. [ His voice encouraged in that dusky softness, and the hands wrapped around him, the chest upon which he was backed up against.. those arms held Bren tighter. ]

Once you say that, I will give you what you desire, my M'hrandii, you will have both our cocks inside of you---and breed you like our precious mate, fill you until you are dripping with our come.

[ausgebrannt]

[Another moan, more breath than soun now, as if his voice had slipped from his reach in that moment in the favor of remembering how to breathe. His eyes were still staring off at that otherwise unremarkable point as if seeing straight through the spell, lost in pleasure and utterly debauched but also issuing the challenge, gauntlet thrown: I am not yours anymore. I will never be yours again.

Because he did belong to someone else now, and at those words, good as a command, Bren keened another whimper in agreement.]

I am yours, Essek Thelyss. Your bitch, your whore, your hole, your lover, your mate... everything you want me to be, my heart and body and soul belong to you. Yours and no one else's.

[zauberdecke]

[ His everything.

He slid his hand right out of Bren slowly and carefully so as to not hurt him going out as he had in, there would be a bereft emptiness however and his hand once again . able to breath, able to assist in undoing his hot pants; first the belt clattered to the ground and then finally fabric was parted and he was drawing out his own hard arousal; it was hungry and flushed darkened plum, the tip of his head leaking generously in anticipation.

And his simulacrum helped to move Bren back into those arms, against him while those fingers spread thighs wide, before fingering that hole that was attempting to grasp at nothing. A simple matter to use that gravity to push back against walls, a cooling sensation-- to keep Bren ready to accept the two of them.

The main Essek, Prime Essek was pushing a leg back and slipping himself closer, the head of his cock pushing against that slickened hole, and then the one behind him, joined it like a symphony, sandwiched perfectly between his mate; two exquisite men who were just for him. Essek could learn to make other edits to the clone, perhaps even with Bren's assistance.

So many things they could do together and this was only the beginning. ] You are my everything-- you are the only one I will ever love, my wizard, my Alpha, my mate, my Submissive, all of those things. [ And then together, they pushed into that tight hot sheath ]

[ausgebrannt]

[Bren whined as that hand slipped out of him, as he felt the sudden utter emptiness as his hole did indeed try to clench around nothing there. He ached in anticipation, eyes fixed on Essek as he worked those obscenely tight pants open, as Bren finally laid eyes on his mate's prick, couldn't help but lick at his lips in undisguised hunger.

He shifted back in the other Essek's arms, pliant and eager as he was spread wider. His entire body was trembling by the time he felt the first press of both those cocks at his hole, caught between these two perfect, beautiful creatures. His lovers, his entire world in this moment.

Eyes that were swimming in a dazed pool of lust turned to Essek as he spoke, those words doing such wicked things to his heart even as his body was brought straight to its limit. He gasped at the first press, still a stretch to take them both, even after what a beautifully thorough job that Essek's hand had done in preparing him. His lips parted around a groan, but no actual sound came out, breath stolen away entirely.

When he found his voice, it burst out of him in a hoarse, breathless whisper.] I love you... my mate. My everything.

[zauberdecke]

I love you too...

[ And it was echoed between both of the Essek's, both prime and sub. Their voices harmonizing in the most distracting way; the two of them worked seamlessly and in tandem to impale Bren, to work into him-- two cocks slipping in at the exact same speed even as soft kisses were placed against a shoulder, biting and indulgent. Likewise was Prime Essek's hips jerked ever upward and deeper, sliding hot and throbbing while he claimed that mouth.

And then the dance could begin, a thrumming beat in time with the music that reverberated through the club. Heat and the way that the sweat gave off steam against skin, causing dew drops of perspiration that scented of countless pheremones. There was on the floor below several werewolves who caught wiff of the pheremones, there were a few growls here and there, as well as hisses from other vampires who had come to the club upon invitation.

Unfortunately, pheremones were contangious and so close to the full moon, it was a bit of a danger zone regardless. ]

[ausgebrannt]

[Bren could barely remember how to breathe as he was slowly but surely impaled, leaning heavily back into Essek's simulacrum's arms, and it didn't matter anyway. Kissing Essek was far more important than air, and Bren gave himself over to it fully, to the hot, hungered slide of that tongue, as his mouth was claimed as surely and certainly as his hole, as all of him.

It was a heady mix of arousal and pheromones that stripped away the capacity for higher thought from Bren, left him a creature made entirely of instinct and need. He could distantly hear the sounds of growls, and a low rumble of his own started. Let them growl though. Essek was his and no one else's.

He broke from his mate's lips to gasp for breath, to release that breath in a primal, feral scream. He had never been so stretched, so full, so entirely and utterly claimed. Pain and pleasure blurred, and his hard, aching cock still begged for release, still ringed and held on that edge. But he wanted that too. He didn't want to come until he felt his mate spill inside him, to breed him properly.]

[zauberdecke]

[ The drowpire had not pondered using this spell until last night when he had thought of a way to make sure that Bren had a release that would shatter through him, and then suddenly tonight Bren had not one but two cocks deep within, and Essek was panting sharply against skin, leveling nibbles and bites against neck though not enough to give sustenance but enough that his lover would be marked up.

The undulations of hips, deeper and deeper-- both them acting as two merged beings as they spread Bren so perfectly, enough that precome generally leaked against the inside of those quivering walls. even now Essek could smell the heat in the blood and the way that the cock strangled out little droplets of salted tears against his abdomen, causing skin to glisten with a clear glaze. ]

You are so tight that I will not last, you are so perfect and welcoming. I am so close to being milked by your hungry walls. [ Already Essek's balls felt tightened with pleasure, ready to spill their contents deep inside, and he would be ready to loosen the ring so that as he did so, Bren would destroy himself with the force of his orgasm. ]

[ausgebrannt]

[Bren had not known that this spell was even a possibility, but ah, he was appreciating Essek's magical and sexual prowess right now. More than appreciating it given that he barely seemed coherent through the desperate lust and pleasure that was ruining him. He moved with both his lovers as much as he good, all instinct and need.

He held on for dear life, gasping for each breath now. Sweat beaded on his skin as he felt each movement inside him. His pupils were blown wide, as if he was seeing something beyond his physical surroundings, but still they were fixed on Essek's face, hanging on each word as he spoke.

Those words, that praise, had him whining, his cock throbbing.]

Please... gods please. Come inside me, fill me with your seed. I need it... I need to come. Please.

[zauberdecke]

[ Bren looked so incredibly debauched, with those spit-slicked lips and the dazed blue eyes that held fathomless depths, they looked as if he was experiencing his own sort of delirium and it made Essek feel powerful that he was the one who was engendering these feelings within his beautiful Mate. He bit at that neck and it was a delicate and yet sharp thing between them. And thus he pressed kisses to those lips, to prove that he was was going to cherish him even as he was going to utterly ruin him, ruin him as much as he was able to.

a choked gasp against those lips and then he was pushing himself deep inside until he hit that prostate, the walls that clenched around him in such a dizzying symphony.

It positively made the blood in his veins sing, or perhaps it was just the bond within that tied him to Bren, so that he could feel the way that the other man's blood thrummed in a dance to the music that he was conducting. Perhaps it was the blood, but no matter what-- his fingers were searching for the ring with trembling breath, cool fingers against rigid shaft and teeth from behind bit right into the back of Bren's neck in a manner that was decadently primal.

The moment that Essek came, it was a combination of his own seed and then also the aether resonation of the simulacrum's, mingling into something that was filling as it was nearly imploding, and then off came the ring and it was cast aside; their own bodies slick with the sweat and spend. ]

[ausgebrannt]

[Bren cried out again as Essek's cock found his prostate, at the stimulation and pressure against that sensitive spot. It felt like there was not a single centimeter of him that Essek or his double were not filling ., and he could feel his body react, as if wanting to come despite the ring, hole clenching, squeezing tightly as if he could draw both those pricks deeper inside himself.

He whimpered a softer sound to Essek's lips, all plea, begging for release even if he couldn't find the words anymore. No, words were well beyond him. All he knew was the primal, desperate rhythm of moving between the two drow, the perfectly synched dance of being taken, being wrecked by two versions of his mate at once.

A startled gasp at the sharp feeling of teeth. Primal indeed, pure instinct in what was clearly a claiming bite. He was distracted enough that he almost missed Essek freeing his poor neglected arousal from the ring that had kept him on that edge for so long now. His lips parted, but no sound managed to escape this time as he came.

His orgasm crashed over him like an earthquake that shook out from his very center. His vision whited out and for a moment Bren lost all connection with the world save for the two men holding him to earth. He came hard, spilling himself in rope after rope across his own stomach, the leather bands strapping his chest, against Essek's in turn, making a damned mess of the both of them.]

[zauberdecke]

[ It was a hot, dirty and utterly debauched mess. Stickiness covered his own tunic, he had not bothered to push his own clothing up so it was pearling all over leather and velvet which would be sexy for all of the moment that it was supposed to be sexy; his own body quivering in response as he unloaded his own very real spillage within the other man.

It would join nicely with the aetheric gravity that would cause that hole to tingle and perhaps coax another vibration from him. Not just a vibration though; he was pent up so long that Essek was hoping that he could rip another fission of pleasure through him. If there was nothing else that Essek was, it was precise and focused.

Lips slid against a neck that was glistening with sweat ] There is my good boy.

[ another cool set of lips to press against the pulse at the side in an equivalent to cooling a horse down after a race. ]

[ausgebrannt]

[Dazed eyes tried to focus, but it was a struggle, as if all his senses had overloaded in the rush of pleasure that had strangled his climax from him and he was still settling back into the use of them. Bren panted, soft gasps, almost starting to come down from that high when his body betrayed him again.

Another jolt, an aftershock of the first initial earthquake that had shook him. He arched between Essek and the simulacrum, his cock giving another throb, a slower seeping trickle of release this time as he whimpered.

A tremble at that praise and he let his head fall tot he side to welcome those cool lips against his skin.]

Mm... yours... love you... I...

[What were words anyway? Bren didn't know.]

[zauberdecke]

[ Bren did not need to think in this moment, he could sink into the safety net of no thoughts and Essek would be there to wrap his arms around this man, his mate and he would kiss him back into coherency again. There was a shimmer off to the side before it disappeared, in which case Essek recognized that they were no longer being scryed upon-- which meant that Trent had caught all of it.

Good.

For the subtle bit of dirty that made him feel, he also realized that Trent had likely been fuming the entire time, choked up in his own rage; there'd been no getting off on it for the man. If Essek knew anything of him, it was that he was fuming and cursing what had happened, which would lead up to his downfall.

He pressed a soft kiss to that forehead as he endeavored to ease him with a bit of self care. The simulacrum moved away but only so that he could get a pitcher of water from the side board, as well as a washcloth. ] Do you need anything? I am getting you water, but do you need food or well.. whatever you want, I will provide.

[ausgebrannt]

[Lost in subspace and the aftermath of his climax, of handing over control so utterly and with nothing but trust to his mate, Bren drifted. He did not notice that scry evaporate, did not notice anything except Essek's presence, the cool lips pressed to his heated skin like a rush of cool water for the fever still burning through him.

His eyes fluttered and he leaned into Essek, still panting as he remembered how to breathe, how to fully exist in the material plane once more. A soft whimper of sound as the second version of his mate moved away. Bren was a mess; he'd pleaded with Essek to ruin him, and his lover had done exactly that. He was still trembling, his stomach and chest streaked with his own release. He could feel the dampness against his thigh as Essek's come leaked from him.

It took a moment for him to realize he should answer the question posed to him.] Mm... just you. Hold me?

[Otherwise he might shake apart entirely with the way the aftershocks of his climax still trembled through him.]

[zauberdecke]

My love..

[ Essek murmured as he slowly shifted, though not without his arm being around Bren and then he was moving the two of them to the plush seat of the booth, all but adjusting gravity so that he could carry Bren with him easily and effortlessly. Once there, he slid in first and then pulled in his mate with him; his back hit the seat and then he parted his legs so that Bren could curl up against him. ]

As if I could ever let you go.

[ The simulacrum of Essek returned with a herbal tea, cool and refreshing-- in addition a wet wash cloth which was handed to the real Essek; the cloth was then lightly slid against stomach in a manner meant to groom and take care of his mate. ] Everyone knows you are mine, everyone knows that if a single hair is touched on your head then I will see to it that the world ceases to be.

[ausgebrannt]

[Bren had fully surrendered still, leaving trust entirely in Essek's hands that the other man would take care of them, take care of him. He barely even noticed where they were moving, until he found himself tucked up against Essek, eyes fluttering before settling shut for a moment as he remembered how breathing went.

He found his way to tuck his face up against his mate's neck, breathing in the scent of him, the lingering scent of sex and sweat, of pheromones that still made his blood sing. His eyes opened slowly at the touch of that cool cloth as he was taken care of.]

I am yours... [He agreed, voice low and husky, roughened from half screaming in pleasure over and over again as his lover had ruined him so expertly.] And everyone should know... [He brushed his lips along Essek's neck.] And you are mine too. My everything.

[zauberdecke]

You belong to me, you have claimed me.

[ Harkening back to the moment in the hired car, the way that leather had broken underneath nails and the soft huff of breath against the back of his neck followed by teeth; how he had become Bren's beyond all else, just as he had been Caleb's-- he was still both theirs in this moment. But for right now, he would take care of Bren, would cherish him and protect him even as he pressed a soft kiss to the forehead, a soft little shadow of one that was cooling to volcano skin, like raindrops. ]

Tomorrow night we will spend the full moon in my room, as an experiment-- and once we gauge how that works out then next full moon we will make potential amendments.

[ It was better to keep Bren to himself in that room, so that he could guage the control. It was protectionary toward his own staff; but Essek knew that if he could keep himself under control then it may be possible to let him have reign over the grounds. Plans were formulating within his mind, calculations. ] Nothing will happen to you, or anyone else.

[ Even more quietly as his fingers stroked through sweat-dampened locks of ginger hair ] You have a mate who loves you very much, who will protect you-- I will not leave you through your transformation sequences, both intial and secondary; I will hold you the entire time.

[ausgebrannt]

[Bren smiled at the memory, one that was still sharp and clear and poignant in his mind, of the way Essek and he had moved together in the back of the car, when his heart had beat for both of them. He sighed a soft, relieved sound at the touch of those lips to his forehead, cool and sweet and grounding.

But his eyes snapped wide open at the next bit, a sudden anxiety.]

...I have learned to keep my mind during the change, but I still... I am dangerous, Essek. If I were to hurt you...

[He didn't worry to himself, but he worried for his lover. He worried for anyone else around him. He would never forget the full moon when he'd come back to himself, back to his human shape, and found his parents dead, their blood soaking him through.

But gods did it sound like some perfect dream to have Essek there, to be able to take refuge in his arms when he was at his most vulnerable, especially after the full moon had passed.]

[zauberdecke]

[ Essek knew there would be protestations, no matter how weak they were. But he also know that he had survived; that he would continue to survive, he stroked his fingers through locks of hair soothingly as he waited for Caleb to finish speaking his own thoughts; it was important that the werewolf have his own autonomy, it was likely more than Trent Ikithon would ever have granted him. ]

If you do not want me there, if it makes you uncomfortable then I do not have to be there, but I will offer one thing in that I have survived, Bren-- I will survive, and I can ward against you; if I feel threatened, I am equipped to restrain you as needed.

[ A gentle reminder that he was a vampire and that if he could walk into a room of a dozen or so more werewolves.. without fear-- then he could protect himself in a room with merely his mate. ] And if you attach me, it will not make me love you less. It will only make me hate Trent Ikithon more, for making you this way.

[ausgebrannt]

I want you there.

[Bren admitted. And Essek was right. He had never been given a choice, never been offered an option. He'd been powerless in Trent Ikithon's possession, caged and controlled and left at the mercy of the monster he'd been turned into. He'd clawed his way back to some semblance of humanity despite it all.]

I want it so badly, to not be alone with the moon. But I am afraid of what I could do.

[Yet Essek was right too. He was a powerful creature in his own right, longer-lived than Bren and brilliant. If anyone could handle himself even in the face of a monster, it was Essek.

And maybe it was those last words that truly did it, that soothed the worries that Bren had not even admitted to himself, that Essek seeing him as that monster, would it change how his mate saw him? He turned into him then, arms winding around him.]

Promise me you will not allow me to hurt you, to put even a scratch on you.

[zauberdecke]

I would like to see you try to put a scratch on me, but if it makes you feel better perhaps we can arrange it so that you are bound for the first hour of the night until we can ascertain your behaviors, and then from there we can ease you off the cuffs?

[ It would allow Essek to be there while also preserving a safety net. It was important for the other man to be comfortable and Essek wanted to ease his mind in whatever way he was able to. He pressed a soft kiss to the top of that head, lightly salt and sweated-- against a splash of freckles against skin; and he hummed soothingly. ]

I understand that you are frightened of what you could do, and I respect that fear because it comes from a place deep inside of you that is filled with love, but also I know that you recognize me as your mate.

[ And then he softly teased as he pressed a soft kiss to the tip of that nose. ] Perhaps within a few cycles of the moon, we can mate when you are in your werewolf form, I would not be adverse to being close with my mate in such a way, for I love you no matter what-- the world has defined the both of us as monsters, and the monster within me loves the monster in you.. and together we are better for it.

[ausgebrannt]

[Oh, that idea is one that clearly catches Bren's attention.]

Ja. That would be a good idea, to be certain.

[It was an excellent compromise really, one that gave him some assurance that Essek would be protected from the worst of him until they knew just how bad that worst would be. His eyes shut once more at that kiss to his head, and he sighed softly, some of the tension bleeding out of him at this solution.]

You are my mate... the wolf should know that.

[He admits. And the wolf would never dream of hurting its mate, would instead tear the world apart to see him safe.

Then Essek kept speaking and Bren lifted his head to look at him, wide-eyed once more, unable to keep the way that certainly spoke to something inside him out of his expression. Oh.

Oh.]

I... ja. I would like that, if it is safe.

[zauberdecke]

[ It was a wonder how perfect Bren fit within the circle of his arms like this, sweetly vulnerable and soft-- Essek knew that this was not always the case especially with a wolf who was growing closer to that time of the month where the moon rose high in the sky. This was a treasure and a gift, he'd seen how there had been posturing on the dance floor, had seen those looks darted by Bren at other wolves who had been circling.

In that Bren, there was nothing of the submissive; it was all alpha and inexplicably male.

It was attractive, if Essek was being honest with himself.

Now though, he stroked through hair and allowed his lips to find forehead, hair.. anything that he could get a hold of; all the while the shadow clone made work of the clean up and treating Bren just as gently and tenderly. Though very soon that too was gone, leaving the two of them together with the sound of the crowd below the mezzanine a drifting sweet backdrop to the closeness and intimacy that oftimes came from such situations as these. ] You have proven I am your mate to everyone here within this club, I like being your mate, it suits me to belong to you.

[ Those slightly widening eyes and then the back of his fingertips lightly grazed against a cheek and he was filled with how much he loved this man, how much each gesture was like a feast for him. Deep inside, he knew the stars would die before he let this man go again. ] We may cuddle first, and work up to that.. if you are a good boy for me.

[ Ah, he knew that would hit like an arrow to several parts of Bren. ]