Merule

When the Roar Falls ~ PopeAlessandros x Raafling

Name: Autharyx

Race: dragon

Age: Several centuries. He experiences time differently in his dragon form, so he didn’t count.

Height: 6’0’’

Weight: 150 lb

Hair: Thick and black, in a braid reaching halfway down his back.

Eyes: blue/green

Skin: Pale

Build: He is somewhat slender of build, with wry rather than bulky muscles. His movements are fluid and graceful.

Appearance as a dragon:

Hider

His scales are a deep, iredescent blue/green. His mane and eyes are the same colour as his human equivalent’s

Clothes: He wears the somewhat fancy garb of a more wealthy type of trader. The tunic is dark blue, with embroidery in a rich green along the bottom, sleeves and collar. The pants are black. Although the clothe are of a high quality, they are wrinkled and the seams are unravelling in some places. He wears leather shoes that were soft before they got soaked and dried a couple of times.

Accessories: He wears colourful beads and shiny shells braided into his hair. He has a small embroidered shoulder bag filled with various knick-knacks he couldn’t bear to part with.

Powers/Skills(If Applicable): He’s attuned to the energy of nature, particularly of rivers and water in general. He can shift between his human and dragon form within moments, but cannot consciously alter the appearance of either form. Even in human form, his senses and strength are superior to those of mortals.

General Personality: Curious and inquisitive, but does not like to show if he doesn’t know something. He looks down on mortals in general, which can quickly turn into animosity if they try to take something that is his. Like all dragons, he has a penchant for shiny and wondrous objects, which he will defend with extreme prejudice. In spite of all this, he keeps his word and always pays his debts. He prefers to talk around the truth rather than lie outright.

Background: For most of his existence he found humans a nuisance: just a more disruptive type of mortal that moved in his territory. Over time he came to appreciate the things they could make, even if he didn’t really see the point of their fast-paced lives. When dragons started pulling back, he could also feel his own nature fluctuating. This made him restless, which eventually led to him to seek out a human city, if only to keep his mind off things.

Who Will Break? ~ PopeAlessandros x Raafling

Name: Zach (real name Enoiziach)

Race: Incubus

Age: 85 (inexperienced for a demon) Appear to be somewhere between 18 and 22

Height: 5'10"

Weight: 140 lb

Hair: Black, in a shaggy cut somewhat past the jaw line.

Eyes: Really dark brown, appear almost black.

Skin: Tan

Build: Lithe and athletic.

Clothes: Run down commoner clothes: pants, shirt and a vest in shades of blue and grey. The clothes don’t seem to be quite his size. His shoes and coat are slightly better, of simple, but serviceable make.

Accessories: none

Powers/Skills(If Applicable): Can modify his appearance. Can walk between plains (he can use this to travel into people’s dreams).

General Personality: It is in his nature to be manipulative and cunning, but that doesn’t make him sadistic. He watches and listens carefully to see how he can use a situation to his advantage. He does not like to use blackmail or coercion, finding those tools blunt and inelegant. When he seduces people to do his bidding, he likes to make them believe it is their own decision. He likes to see manipulation as an art, rather than a necessity. When he is backed into a corner, however, he will strike viciously and without hesitation to preserve his own well-being.

Background: Enoiziach is young for a demon. Like all demons he came into existence in the infernal plane, without any parents being involved. He was quick to adapt to the hierarchy, and knew how to stay under the radar. He has no interest in the politics of the higher demons, who are involved in battles with the church of the humans. He feeds off human desire, and most of his contact with mortals has been in their dreams. He is a natural at slipping in unnoticed and guiding the dreams without human being aware of it. It was only in recent years that he started to move onto the physical planes as well. The contact with humans is pretty tightly regulated by the higher demons, as it would be against their agenda to have humanity become aware of their existence. At the same time, interacting with humans opens up a lot of possibilities for them. Incubi and succubae are amongst the more common demons that are allowed into the mortal plane, as their seductive natures open up doors that violence might not.
Enoiziach has proven that he does not need to be closely monitored, as he knows how to keep his nature hidden while getting what he wants. His skills have sparked interest in some of the higher demons, and they have now sent him to seduce a virtuous priest to see if he will be of any use to them in their on-going conflict with the church.
He has taken a human identity and spent the last couple of weeks living on the street to build up the image of a troubled youth. He’s kept an eye on his mark from afar, but has not approached him yet. When the story begins, he has put himself in a satiation where he got beat up pretty badly, before making his way over to the church to knock on the door there.

Who Will Break? ~ PopeAlessandros x Raafling

That sounds perfect! Especially since Zack can't slip out as he's planned to :p

Who Will Break? ~ PopeAlessandros x Raafling

Zack the smile on his face grow, making it hopeful rather than smug. The priest is obviously happy to see him relax again, and he is reasonably sure that by talking about the fun stuff for the rest of the evening, he can make this a good memory in the priest’s mind. And they’ve spent so much time together, that it won’t be a stretch to give the man’s dreams a nudge to start including Zach. From there on he can start placing small suggestions to slowly but surely lead the man’s thoughts to where he wants them to be.

“Oh, can we have pasta again?” he says without having to fake his enthusiasm. “I really liked it when-“

There was someone in the room. Zach only has a moment to see someone backed up in a corner before Kiel is pushing him gently but firmly aside and then the air is filled with strangled sobs, enough to push away all chances of a productive evening for Zach.

Something dark flashes over his face, but he quickly buries it in favour of an expression of awkward indecision. It’s not difficult to summon a sense of feeling out of place, and when Kiel asks him to get a glass of water he is grateful to have something to do.

“Em, of course, I’ll get it,” the kitchen is familiar to him by now, and when he brings the glass of water he also has a cookie in his hand that he cautiously offers to the girl. Now that he has swallowed his initial disappointment of having his plans foiled, the girl’s sadness is pushing at the edge of his mind. It is in his nature to be in tune with the emotions of mortals. While extremely useful in his line of work, it can also be a spot of trouble when strong emotions hit him when he’s unprepared- and it tends to be even more pronounced when he’s hungry.

As it is the girl’s pain feels raw and jagged against his mind and he’s filled with an irrational urge to help her soothe it. No one would accuse demons of being kind, but Zach had nothing but contempt for those that willingly caused harm to children.

“There you go, Sarah was it?” he said softly, easily falling into a pose and speech he knows will register as unthreatening. As a creature whose existence depended on being able to read and adapt to mortals, it was simple to go on instinct when it came to soothing frightened children.

“I’m Zach, and I’m staying with Kiel for a bit. You know Kiel, right? He’s a good guy, and now that there’s two of us you’re going to be even safer here.”

When the Roar Falls ~ PopeAlessandros x Raafling

It does Autharyx well that Viltez seems to be on guard in the town- a sign that he might still care about his own wellbeing at least a little. Viltez might not want to harm humans that come at him, but perhaps he will act on instinct when push comes to shove. At least Autharyx is planning to be there as well, so Viltez is perfectly safe.

The drake pays little attention to the humans milling about in the town, though he does spare a small glare for the shopkeeper that had treated him so rudely the day before. He can feel the prickle of their eyes as they make their way past stalls and stores, but as long as no one approaches them Autharyx honestly couldn’t care less about them. Viltez’ company is more than enough to keep him interested, even if he like to think of himself as similar to the humans that inhabit the town.

The piece of fruit Viltez throws at him takes him by surprise, and he looks it over with a small smile until Viltez encourages him to eat it. The fruit is sweet on his tongue, and he munches away happily as he keeps ignoring the stares and whispers of the townsfolk.

His good mood is not diminished by the time they return to his host’s house, and he chuckles as he can hear his stomach. Even with the fruit, he can also feel the unfamiliar sensation of hunger in his stomach, and it isn’t long before the scents of cooking food encourage that feeling even further.

Last time he’d been content to sit and look through the house, but this time he moves into the small kitchen as well, curious to see how this ‘cooking’ thing works. He tries to keep out of Viltez’ way for the most part, but with the limited space there is a limit to how well he succeeds at that. It’s not entirely on purpose, but Autharyx can’t deny that he enjoys the little brushes of contact he doesn’t try very hard to avoid. It was strange to feel a small thrill shoot up his spine every time from something as basal as a brief point of warmth where he was touching another mortal body, but he supposed it was just the novelty of the whole thing that appealed to him.

"What are we eating tonight?" he asks, trying not to look too hopeful as his tail moved ever-so-slightly in his direction.

Animal Instincts (recruiting!)

Hey guys, I've missed last weekend and I've just heard I'll be busy for tomorrow and next weekend as well. I think I'll drop out as well, rather than lag behind with the rest. Have a lot of fun!

Who Will Break? ~ PopeAlessandros x Raafling

It is simple enough to guess what the priest is doing by not letting him out of his sight, but Zach doesn’t mind. He keeps the lines of tension in his back for a while, then gently smooths his posture out as they walk to the bus and wait for it. It is important to show the priest that he can come back from an outburst like that relatively easy, so the man will feel confident to pry further next time.

Still, he doesn’t initiate conversation as they wait on the bus, and neither when they are seated, preferring to let his body language speak for himself. He peers out of the window as if he’s deep in thought, pretending it’s about what just happened rather than what he’s planning to do once they get home.

There are plenty of sexually repressed people on the church grounds, so it should be simple enough to tweak a dream until it can give him what he needs. What he needs to decide, however, is whether he should try and creep into Kiel’s dream before going somewhere else. He wants to, but he doesn’t want to risk ruining the progress he’s made so far. Of course, he can always choose to bail if it doesn’t go well. Just… have a peek at what he’s dreaming at least. He is his assignment, after all, and it’s a good idea to keep a close eye on how things are going.

Before he knows it, they’ve reached the bus stop at the church, and Zach is shaken from his musings. He lets a small smile on his face as they get out, slowing down so he can walk side by side with the priest.

“That was really nice,” he says softly but earnestly. “Thank you for showing me.”

Animal Instincts (recruiting!)

@Araby264

Aw shucks :( Good luck with school! I'll be away from civilisation for the weekend, Kara will just hang around the gym for now

When the Roar Falls ~ PopeAlessandros x Raafling

Autharyx’ expression falls slightly when his host discounts his compliments out of hand. He feels as if he has committed some kind of social faux pas, but how could he have when all he did was compliment Viltez on his strength? The man said he didn’t ‘see himself as a fighter’, but would that really mean he wasn’t planning to fight if anyone were to mean him harm? The very idea seems inconceivable to Autharyx, but it does make him a bit uneasy. With all this talk about ‘not being better than anyone’, he was starting to think that Viltez might not place his own life above that of some foolish mortals who might attack him.

Luckily for him, Autharyx knows that Viltez is far more interesting than the scores of humans he’d met in his long existence. Of the two of them, surely the dragon is more qualified to judge the worth of his existence against that of another? He can’t very well tell the human that, though, so he supposed he should let it rest for now.

“I apologise if my comments caused you… discomfort,” he says as they start to walk, swallowing his pride. “I only meant to say you have shown yourself to be strong and fast, and good company besides that.” He doesn’t mention the failed hunt, as Viltez seems perfectly content to skim over it as well. It wasn’t as if her would have failed if he’d actually put some effort into it, after all.

He keeps the conversation light as they head back, talking about what to get for dinner and other unimportant mortal tidbits. It’s not as nice as running around in the forest had been, but he likes it anyway. In spite of his earlier reassurances, he notices he gets a bit more on guard as they near the village. Surely no one had seen them, but if they did it would be good to be prepared. He was paying attention to Viltez, but made sure to keep an eye on their surroundings as well, both with his natural and supernatural senses.

Animal Instincts (recruiting!)

@Araby264@WhenBooksFly101@Eklispe

"Er, Armis, I think we have more company," Kara looked past the lizard girl to find the sloth boy and someone she couldn't remember. Surely she hadn't missed an entire person, which meant the girl had to be new. She looked very human-like, same as her.

"Er, hey. Sure, you can play. I mean, we've wrecked our ball but I'm sure there's another one here. I'm Kara by the way," she hoped the other girl would take this as an invitation to introduce herself. Kara was bad with faces, but her sense of smell usually made up for that in recognising people. She'd met so many new people in the last few hours though, but she was pretty sure she hadn't introduced herself to everyone.