Merule

When the Roar Falls ~ PopeAlessandros x Raafling

Autharyx watched from the couch as Tezy busied himself in the kitchen. He'd never seen someone cook over anything but an open fire before and it was pleasant to not have to make conversation for a bit. The not-human was being remarkably lenient with him, but he still didn't like the feeling of not knowing which customs he should follow. Everything was so much easier when he was the one calling the shots. But then he supposed that the whole purpose of this excursion was to experience something new for a change.

"It's okay," he said when Tezy turned to him again. "You are under no obligation to 'entertain' me." He frowned when Tezy said that people had let themselves into his house. It had happened a few times with him as well, but he'd always managed to eviscerate the thieves before they could get to his hoard. He was just about to say something along the lines of 'I hope they died a painful death' when the other started introductions. He quickly rose to return Te- no Viltez'- bow.

"I am honoured to have been invited into your house, Viltez," he intoned solemnly. "My name is Aryx." The shortening of his true name was the only concession he was willing to do. He just couldn't be sure that there wasn't someone that remembered the great dragon Autharyx that lives in the lake. If anyone asked, he could just insist he was named after... well, himself.

"I have come from up the river, and am unfamiliar with your customs," he went on. This excuse was the whole extend of his back-up plan if he didn't fit quite in. He hoped it would be sufficient.

Archangel and the Hunter

With a thought Gabriel slowed down the bleeding of the wounds as he led the Winchester into the car. He didn't particularly want him to pass out from blood loss, not when he was being uncharacteristically docile and willing to follow.

"I'm Gary," he said as he sat down in the drivers seat. He wondered how long it would take before their brothers would get suspicious. He was shielding himself from Cas, but if he hid Sam too there would be more trouble than it was worth.

"I live just down the road. Who are you and what are you doing at the Meyer's farm in the middle of the night?" He narrowed his eyes and took his eyes off the road for a moment to look at the Winchester. "You are not a burglar are you? Should I have left you there?"

Who Will Break? ~ PopeAlessandros x Raafling

"It's a nice house," Zack said, sending a tentative little smile the priest's way inbetween bites of bacon and eggs. The food was a lot better than anything he'd managed to get his hands on since he came to the town. If it had been up to him, he would rather have forgone eating human food entirely, but since it was such a big part of life on the streets he'd decided he needed to keep up appearances. Appearances that led him to stand in line for ages in the freezing rain for a bowl of stew of indeterminate origin that he then had to pretend to want to eat. No, at least this food wasn't a chore to swallow and it left him with a pleasantly warm feeling.

He lets his eyes light up when the priest brings out the syrup. He wasn't particularly fond of sweet things, but humans seemed to thrive on it. He smothered his pancake in the sticky substance and made sure not to show a smile on his face when the priest tried to pry some information out of him. This was exactly why he had spent those miserable weeks building his cover story, and he didn't hesitate to spin his tale in between sickly-sweet bites of breakfast.

"Well, I moved around, really," he said hesitantly. "Not that easy to find a place that'll have you, let alone for more than one night." He casts his eyes down to his plate for a moment, as if overtaken by memories. There were more than a few nights spent huddling in in some alcove, of course, and plenty of other tramps should be able to tell the priest about that. The more tragic part of his story would be formed by the nights where he had traded his body for a place to sleep, a meal to eat. To him it had been the most natural thing he'd done for the past month, but to a human it would probably seem like exploitation of the worst kind. Even as an incubus it wasn't optimal. Sure, he could take what he need from the arse end of humanity, but their energy was... tainted. He lived off desire, and those people didn't do what they did out of desire.

"It... it was fine, really," he said weakly before starting on his pancakes again. He put on a brave smile as he looked at the priest again. "I'm not a kid or anything and I know how to take care of myself." He paused, considering the vivid bruises that were still adorning his head and body. "Heh, well mostly anyway. Besides, I managed to get here, didn't I?"

Archangel and the Hunter

"A dog? That's horrible!" Gabriel said, perhaps playing up the 'innocent farm boy' angle a bit much. "We haven't had a rabid dog here in ages, come on, you need to get some shots immediately!" He reached out to take the hunter at his elbow in order to lead him inside the car. He didn't know why, but he really wanted the chance to talk to the younger Winchester without his pesky older brother present. Dean might have been the one to confront him in that blasted warehouse, but from the way he saw it Sam was the one that reminded him of himself.

Who Will Break? ~ PopeAlessandros x Raafling

It's fine :) It makes sense that posts become a little shorter once they start talking.

When the Roar Falls ~ PopeAlessandros x Raafling

"I did not mean to cause offence," Autharyx said, even though the other had indicated he did not need to be polite. It wasn't a matter of politeness for him, but a matter of respect. And even than it did not have that much to do with Tezy. It was a matter of personal pride to show respect to those he thought deserving. Even the humans that had traded with him in the past had gotten his respect, even though they were so much less than he was. The humans he'd met on his trip thus far had felt... more significant somehow, but Autharyx was certain that had more to do with his current form than the capabilities of humans.

When Tezy offered him the use of his washroom, Autharyx gave a small nod before heading in the indicated direction. He hadn't looked forward to the inconveniences that a human body would bring him, but at least he wasn't unfamiliar with any of them. Even without having seen the inside of a human house before, nothing proves to be terribly complicated and he takes the opportunity to peek around a couple of corners. Sadly there are no poorly-hidden treasure piles in sight and Autharyx has to accept that the house is indeed as humble as the human had suggested.

Although... not fully a human. Now that he is in the man's house, his scent is present enough that he can discern the particulars of it without too much effort. Tezy may not be fae or dragon, but he can't be fully human either. If Autharyx had to hazard a guess, he would say that he was the product of some kind of interbreeding between species, but it wasn't like he was an expert. It was not inconceivable that there were many creatures he hadn't encountered yet. He hadn't ever ventured too far from his waters, and he knew the world had to be much larger than that. He walked back to the table quickly, not wanting to seem like he was snooping.

"I'm sure any food will be fine," he said, happy for the invitation. He hadn't even properly introduced himself, nor had he exchanged a gift in return for the hospitality, but he was following Tezy's lead in this. He had no real experience with human customs, and even if he had they would likely be antiquated by now.

Who Will Break? ~ PopeAlessandros x Raafling

Sorry about jumping between tenses. I'm trying to figure out what works for me :P

Who Will Break? ~ PopeAlessandros x Raafling

Zach keeps still when the priest steps in to inspect his injuries, glancing at the man's face through his thick eyelashes. He makes sure to wince ever so slightly when his more colourful bruises are touched, but in reality the injuries are mostly cosmetic by now. Since he doesn't have the experience to mimic a broken bone or something similar, he would have to rely on a sympathy ploy to spend some more time with the priest, rather than just physical reasons. Once he plays up the fear of running into his attackers again, he should be all right.

"I don't really mind the silence," he says as he goes over to the cupboard to grab a cup. "It's always noisy on the streets. It's... nice to be able to hear yourself think," he casts his eyes down shyly as he seats himself at the small table. He grabs the fork, piles some bacon and eggs on it, then pauses when it's halfway to his mouth.

"Um... Should we say grace or something? I mean, since you're a priest and all..." In truth, a blessing would likely spoil the food for his palate, but he has to keep up the image of a timid youngster for a while longer. He'll be able to open up a little once the priest starts making an effort to coax him out of his shell.

Who Will Break? ~ PopeAlessandros x Raafling

Zach watched dispassionately as the dream fell apart. The priest seemed to have metaphorical demons to deal with, but that was of no concern to him. Anything that would not directly contribute to his task was by definition uninteresting. Still, he'd found out some useful information. The priest obviously felt strongly about keeping him safe, which was good. Now he needed to make the priest like him, and after that desire him. Normally desire should be enough, but he would probably need to have some incentive to break his vows. Besides, Zach didn't just want to prove himself: he wanted to seriously impress someone higher on the food chain. And what better way to prove that he could manipulate than to have an enemy soldier fall for him?

He stepped back into the physical world, lounging on his bed as he heard the priest move around in the next room. The damnable rain was still falling out of the sky, but it was a lot less horrible with a roof over your head. He could even see how the sound might be calming, if he hadn't had the memories of cold dampness to ruin it. He was just trying to figure out how long he should stay 'asleep' for, when the scent of bacon sneaked in through the door. He didn't need to eat in quite the same way as mortals did, but that didn't mean he couldn't appreciate bacon. When he opened the door, he was rubbing his eyes with a sleepy look on his face. His cuts and bruises were still nicely in place, but they didn't seem to hurt him as much.

"Who were you talking to?" he asked with a small yawn. "Er, I mean, good morning," he added sheepishly.

When the Roar Falls ~ PopeAlessandros x Raafling

Autharyx smiled as he worked, humming tunelessly in synch with the clouds rolling in as he carefully pulled his hair through the new beads before braiding it in. He could feel the cold of the wind on his skin, and while he knew it would get annoying in a while, for now he just enjoyed the feeling of a building storm. He'd always liked the change of pace that the weather could bring, and it was interesting to feel it on his skin as well. In his true form, lightning storms were one of the few times where he would take through the air, roaring with the thunderclaps as he twisted in and out of the cloud cover. He hadn't even done that for quite some time, now that he thought about it. And not for want of thunderstorms, as they rolled in every year. Strange, how he could just stop doing something that gave him that much joy.

He was shaken from his thoughts when Tezy came walking up with a shouted greeting. Autharyx quickly tied off his finished braid and stood up to make room for the man. Before he could react to anything he said, he opened the door to invite him in. As if the opening of the door was a sign, the clouds suddenly break to douse the earth in water. The droplets are cold on his skin, but Autharyx cannot help but turn his face back to enjoy the sensation for a second before shaking it off and accepting the invitation into the house.

Autharyx eagerly looked around once he stepped inside, curious to catch his first glimpse of a mortal's home that was not a boat. He found himself slightly disappointed. While the room was clean and warm, it was also very... bare. He knew his own collection would be vastly superior to anything a mortal could scrape together in their lifetime, but it looked like Tezy had nothing to show for his years. There was only wood and stone, and all of it seemed functional rather than ornamental.

"Thank you for inviting me into your home," he said, remembering his manners. He tried to look at least a little impressed. "It's very... spacious."