Seeing those emotions on the other's face only brought him joy. And that enjoyment only further spread on his own features, rolling into an equally joyous laugh, contrasted by the blood on his face.
"Vampire? No. But the presumption never gets old." He hums a bit, deciding to finally swipe some of the blood from his chin.
"Loki? I have not heard of this one." He sounded intrigued, as one would with a new culinary prospect. Is that why they tasted different? Oak. Salt. Fermented yeast and honey.
Mesmo tendo um apartamento distante do centro da cidade, Arthas frequentemente visitava o homem que considerava seu mentor. Ainda carregava consigo a memória de como chegara até ali, consumido por uma intensa raiva e ódio, sem qualquer freio em suas ações. No entanto, com o passar do tempo, ele havia conseguido encontrar algum controle sobre suas emoções avassaladoras. Ainda nutria os mesmos sentimentos ardentes, mas agora conseguia lidar com eles de forma mais consciente e disciplinada. Alguns tempo havia se passado desde o terrível massacre, sabia que os caçadores estavam em estado de alerta, e desde então, Arthas havia se mantido no anonimato, desaparecido das vista. Havia questões a resolver, assuntos inacabados que o levavam a adiar o reencontro com o mais velho. No entanto, o momento parecia oportuno. Era hora de enfrentar seus demônios internos e buscar a orientação daquele que o acolhera em meio à escuridão. Adentrando o imóvel conhecido, o loiro agiu como de costume, abrindo a geladeira em busca de uma cerveja. No entanto, sua ação foi prontamente interrompida pela presença do homem diante dele. "É bom ver que você está vivo, J."
where: One Man's Trash
when: mid-evening
whom: @javiervidal
When Lucretia had gotten the call, she understood nigh-immediately that she was likely the last on his list of people to talk to. She wasn't offended though, no, she was thrilled. It meant that she still had some semblance of meaning to him. His eat, pray, dick tour through another country had not lessened how she effected him and, whether she understood it or not, that made her happy.
No, instead she'd taken her time, deciding to be a little late to the appointment time SHE had agreed to and set up; just long enough for him to think she had almost forgotten.
Each step through One Man's Trash was calculated, as if looking for spots to make sure the sound of her heels resonated — reinforced with titanium with a removable tip to reveal a stiletto blade — as much as they could.
Who dresses like that to a first meeting with their new boss? Even if it is your ex-husband. A perfectly tailored deep red silk suit jacket buttoned just beneath her rib cage but left open to reveal the bare skin of her decolletage and sternum as she wore no shirt underneath; a pair of matching silk pants made for her, clinging against her hips and snug at her thighs but flaring out a little towards the ankle; a pair of black heels with six inch high heels and modifications to suit her tastes; her hair was pulled up, a messy bun that left pieces falling to frame her face, artfully done to seem as if it wasn't, but each aspect was perfectly planned; across her fingers — between the top and middle knuckle as well as beneath the middle knuckle — several rings of varying metals and gemstones, but all perfectly meshing with her entire vibe.
The real kick was, dangling on a long, delicate chain in the center of her bare chest, next to a tattoo of a black tattoo of an anatomical heart with lines of gold in the style of kintsugi, was a small charm — an arrow made of platinum pointing straight at her real AND tattooed heart — seeming almost fragile in the way it hung yet she never seemed worried.
No, this wasn't how one dressed to meet with their new boss; it's how one dresses when they plan to kill their new boss. Or, perhaps, other fun things.
She knocked on the door but didn't wait to be admitted, instead pushing it open and letting it close in behind her. Her arms would come to cross her torso, one hip cocked out and looking all at once excited and bored. He'd know better than anyone there wasn't a part of her outfit that didn't house some kind of weapon... the cuffs of her sleeves, in fact, had razor thin garrote wires, for instance.
"Javier," the name on her tongue felt like a forbidden prayer, a litany of gospel she had no idea of and dripped a venom laced sweetness, "so glad to see you made it back in one piece. Oh, I apologize."
A slight grin tugged one corner of her mouth, head cocking to the side, "I should say... Jefe."
“Hey!” Haven called out to Javier as she spotted him in the crowd, or at least, she’d hoped it was him. She was definitely drunker than she’d ever admit, but that tended to happen considering how little she ate in a day, and just how strong the drinks there were. “I thought I fucking lost you, don’t leave me again. Its dark.” @castillo-javier
A trip to Devil’s Gullet. Maybe some things aren’t so unfounded.
With: @damn-fine-cup-of-tea
It took Felix a bit longer than expected to pick the right suit he wanted to wear. A spooky ominous cave outing a federal agent, of all people! It was a very exciting time and he could only wear the best. The fae opted for a dark grey tweed suit, off-white shirt, and maroon accents with the tie and buttons. If they were going to possibly get into some shady business at one of the biggest manufacturers of town rumors, he wanted to look nothing less than great. Rumors were important to the business. Straight from the source. He adjusted his tie, slipped on his glasses, and willingly made his way to the police station for the first time in what felt like thirty years. If Javier Sterling was going to be anywhere, that was the likeliest place. The agent might as well have declared that joint as his place of residence. The fae tipped the cab driver heavily. Smoothing down the front of his suit, Felix put on a bright smile and strolled in like it wasn’t the last place in the town he should have been going. “Hiya, hope the night’s been slow,” he greeted as the person at the front desk picked their head up. Arms loosely folded, he leaned against the counter. “Looking for an Agent Sterling. Is he poking around somewhere? We got a little thing to do, you know how it is.”
His tape recorder charging, his case files tidily stored in the middle drawer of his desk, the agent took a step back to look at his office. He noticed that he would have to wipe the window clean, because apparently, this was not part of the janitor’s duty. He put the pages of research publications he had just printed out into a paper folder, stuck a label 5 inches from the top of the front, right in the middle of it, and wrote neatly on it: Cephalopods and Maine. Of course he had not found a lot of people who had worked on these beasts living in the State and it already confirmed his idea that no, there was no reason for a squid to have taken up residence in Dark Score Lake. His phone started ringing, picking it up, he recognised the receptionist’s voice and warmly replied. By the description given to him, Javier could only guess that Felix had decided to come to the station. Now only he knew why he would think this was appropriate. Taking his beige coat from the rack, the agent opened the door and starting sliding it on, over his usual work uniform : a plain black wool suit, a crimson red tie, and enough details on both of them to suggest that those did not come from a rack. The shoes were not nearly as nice, but he had picked them to be comfortable and also allow him to run after someone without tripping or slipping too easily. A compromise had to be found. A man who looked way too overdressed for this usually neutral place stood out by the counter. Javier figured that this was him. His brows furrowed and he held out his hand to salute him. “Shall we get going, now?”
The fae chatted idly with the receptionist, who looked somewhere between too polite to end the conversation and like they had nothing better to do than to humor his musings. “You see, I never could really get behind these compact discs. If it’s not vinyl, I don’t really like mess--” Movement towards Felix had him picking his gaze up from the receptionist and slightly adjusting his posture. “Agent Sterling! Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, huh?” He said, the prior conversation completely forgotten as he flashed a wide smile. The receptionist didn’t seem too bothered by the turn of events. He stuck out his own hand and gave the man a firm but quick handshake. It was only polite, after all, and he had really been itching to meet the federal agent in town. “We shall. That sounds like a real swell idea!” The fae turned on his heels and retraced the steps he took earlier. “Gotta say, that’s one hell of a suit you got going on for you. Everyone else in the joint jealous that they just gotta stick with the boring duds?” Amused, he laughed a little to himself as he took in a deep breath at all the lovely night ahead of them. “Gotta tell you that I don’t know how to drive so you’re gonna be stuck driving me around. That alright with you?”
“Swell, of course,” he walked by the other man, a puzzled look lingering on his traits for a second. “Well thank you,” he adjusted his tie before holding the door open for the two of them. “I don’t think they are jealous. I think they should be proud of wearing this uniform,” he replied, although that was not entirely true. Uniforms were a good thing, but they never really suited anyone and he was glad that he got to pick his own clothes. Javier glanced up, looking at the night sky. With only a thin crescent of moon, they would certainly not count on the satellite for light. He was heading toward his car to get flashlights when he heard Felix say that he couldn't drive. “Of course, I just need to tidy up a little bit,” a bottle to the trash can later, the agent sat behind the wheel, adjusting the rear view mirror and his seat before even starting the car. Attaching his phone to the windshield, Javier entered the address into it and started driving. Now all he could hope for was for Felix to be a reasonable person.
“Well if it’s not swell, what else might it be?” Felix asked, lightly teasing. Geez, could the guy look anymore straight-laced? Stiff didn’t seem like a fair word. He nodded a thanks as he passed through the open door. The fae tried not to smile too sardonically. The history he had with those particular uniforms on anyone was definitely patchy. “Right, of course. All got a real important job to do and all. There’s plenty of pride to be found in a job well done!” Because if he had learned anything about White Crest, it was the stellar work of their police force. Javier didn’t need to hear his thoughts on that though. He eased into the car. Tried not to duck too noticeably even though his antlers wouldn’t be a problem with the glamour up. “Tidy up?” He repeated as he swiveled his head to look over it. He shrugged and sat back, remembering the seatbelt as he did. A car ride with a federal agent! The boys back in New York would laugh themselves sick. “So, Sterling. You done anything around the town that doesn’t got to do with work? Other than this whole thing, of course!”
“Peachy,” Javier allowed himself one thin smile. After all, the only way for him not to spend a long evening was to at least get along with the person he would be sharing it with although Felix’s reply concerning the police department left him with a bitter taste in his mouth. Sure, a lot had to be improved in this department, but there were many detectives in there who really tried, and just like him, were confronted to something they did not understand. His conversation with Rebecca may have helped him see a bit of light, but it was his encounter with the squid that made him truly realise how bad things were in this town. “You know, if you think you can do better than them, they are hiring,” he drily replied. Moving onto the main road, the agent gave Felix a glance, wondering what exactly he meant behind his apparently innocent question. “I have. I especially like the lake. It’s so quiet,” he explained. There was no point in avoiding to talk about the place, even if he had avoided it so far. And yet, to go to the Gullet, the shortest road was the one that ran along the lake’s shore. “I also had pie with a university professor. You have been blessed with quite the bakery.” When all of this would be over, he would go buy himself another slice of that apple pie, he thought to himself. “But enough talking about me. Why are you so excited about going to the Devil’s Gullet ? You don’t really think he lives here, right?”
A warm, bright, and bubbly laugh spilled out of Felix like an opened champagne bottle. “Well, hell, he lives! You can joke,” the fae joked. “Peachy keen, even! Think you might really be onto something!” He never liked to be stuck in vehicles and he tried to keep his knee from bouncing too much. Space was what he preferred but he could tolerate it for the time being. At Javier’s suggestion, Felix framed his jaw with a hand and tapped his fingers against his cheek. “I don’t know if I’d cut it being one of the boys in blue,” he said, nothing but truthful. “But I’ll keep that in mind in case I’m wanting a change of scenery.” Before he lowered his hand again, he adjusted his red-lensed glasses and eased back into the seat. He ran a thumb along the tailored end of his suit jacket as he listened. “Not a big fan of noise, huh? This place can get real dang loud when it wants to.” His own actions could be attributed to that slight increase, but humility and a want to not incriminate himself kept him from saying as much. “You had pie, huh? How’d that go?” He tilted his head to glance over at Javier. When the questions fell to him, he smiled some. “I don’t mind talking about you, but sure, if you insist. The place has got a reputation and I like checking those kinda joints out. Guess it’s like a special little brand of tourism.” At the second question, he hummed thoughtfully. Looked out as they drew nearer to where the Gullet was. “No, I’m not the believing type if you catch my drift,” he said with a shake of his head. “But imagine if there was a devil or two there? I think we might all be goners.”
“I’m a human being, of course I can joke,” he shook his head lightly, as if what Felix had just said did not make any sense. They were nearly there, although they would probably have to walk a little before reaching the gullet. Javier was not surprised to hear an excuse of a reason concerning joining WCPD and making a difference. People were certainly quick to criticize, but when it came to offering solutions, they were atrociously silent. “I see,” he commented. Stopping the car by the road, the agent got rid of the seatbelt and turned to look at Felix. Sure, one could have said that he wasn’t fond of noise. He rarely listened to the radio, but enjoyed listening to music, or play music. He still had not had time to play the oboe since he had arrived, and he missed it. “Huh uh,” not entirely convinced by Felix’s word, he stepped out of the car, heading to the trunk to get flashlights. He considered leaving his gun in the car but decided against it. Shutting the trunk closed, he handed the largest flashlight to Felix and turned his own on, leading the way down to the Devil’s Gullet. The woods around them weren’t fully silent, but he chose to ignore it. Forest animals could stroll more easily at night, after all.
Felix shrugged, a lazy smile on his face. “Right, of course!” It made sense that the Gullet wouldn’t just be a place they could park at and get to from the street corner. Of course it would be in one of the shadiest corners that the town had to offer. He expected nothing less! As he got out of the car, he furrowed his brow some. He didn’t have any preternatural sense to divert him from danger but even he could sense that something was a little off with the area. Just wasn’t concerned enough with it to think about turning around. As Javier handed him the flashlight, he felt tempted to say he already had a pair. However, he didn’t think that would go over too well. The flashlight clicked to life. A gun wasn’t on him but he had more than a couple stiletto blades on him. Not that he planned on sticking anyone but you never knew. The fae stuck close to the agent as they walked, a low hum of an old song in his throat. “So, what are the odds that it’s just a real spooky hole and nothing else? You feel like making a bet?”
The agent bit his tongue, annoyance on his face as the man behind him started to hum. Couldn’t he be quiet just for one second? This was fine. He was not working right now. Speaking of, he would have to visit the Mime restaurant in the morning to discuss some very interesting things he had found out while digging in the old town files. It was neither related to his case, or to the squid, but each time Javier looked closely at something related to White Crest, it was almost always incredibly sketchy. “Have you ever been to the Mime themed places?” he asked, seemingly out of the blue. His torchlight aimed toward the floor, he stepped carefully over vines and stopped. “I suppose we will find out soon enough. I will bet you one piece of apple pie that it’s a spooky hole and nothing else,” without any warning, the agent started walking away, stopping by the edge of the pit. The place had certainly not stolen its reputation of being bottomless and unsettling. For all the experience he had gathered, you could tell, from the look he had on his face, a look of concern and unease, as he glanced up blankly at Felix, that Javier might have actually already lost his bet.
The fae made a sound of disgust, somewhere between a sigh and a groan at the mention of the mime-themed places. “You know, I’m really not too keen on those places. I know they give most people the heebie jeebies but they just really rub me the wrong way,” Felix said, wearing his first frown of the evening. “It might be worth looking into the history of those places, you ask me. Having that many in one town just doesn’t make a lick of sense.” As close as he was to Javier, he had to bring himself to a quick and abrupt stop to not bowl the both of them over. The mention of pie had him smiling again, all thoughts of mimes tossed out. “I’ve never bet on pie before. I got a friend you might like to meet. She’s real big on pie. So sure, slice of apple pie it is. I’m gonna hold you to that, you know!” He thought about sticking out his hand to shake on it but didn’t, considering the situation. When Javier started walking again, Felix took a moment to glance back down the path they had come. Without their beams, it was pitch dark. Leading all the way to the gaping hole like some kinda drain for bad things. Maybe the worst things. Nothing like what he had ever seen. He turned back and went to Javier. All smiles and frowns were gone, a face of neutrality on as he glanced between Javier and the hole. “Well, it sure is one hell of a hole,” he commented, one hand on his hip. He glanced at the agent. “You, uh, alright there, agent? I think it’s really just a hole but I can see why the locals might start spinning stories about it.”
“What I don’t understand is,” the agent looked as if he had spent quite some time thinking about this, without figuring it out, “Bo aside, I do not think I have met one person in favor of mimes.” And since he liked being thorough, he had asked all his suspects, witnesses and almost everyone he spoke to, about this. Including Felix now. “I would not be surprise to find that these are a front for money laundering,” the last part was him thinking out loud, although he did not suspect that Felix would pay much attention to that. “Is that so?” Javier had yet to meet someone who enjoyed pie as much as he did, although he could only get along with such a person. “I would love to meet your friend. Back when I was still a student I made a chart to grade pies, depending on the quality of the crust, and the taste of the filling,” he had always liked charts, and while his work never helped anyone but himself, he had still enjoyed making that chart, and he had done it with all the seriousness he was capable of for more important matters. Still, the pie had vanished from his thoughts the moment he had approached that hole. He did not want to believe that this place was evil, and yet. If thoughts of pie were gone, new thoughts had replaced them, but they were not his own, not quite. “Yes, I’m fine,” he wanted to frown, but instead, he smiled up at Felix, a smile that vanished as he heard a voice, coming from below, calling for help. Holding up his hand as if to ask Felix to shut up and stop moving, the agent pushed himself to the ground to listen closely. “There’s someone in there,” he glanced up at the man then back inside the gullet, searching around with this torchlight. “Well that’s funny, there’s a path leading down there.”
“Thinking you might need to start looking into this Bo figure, agent?” Felix offered with a Cheshire grin, further enunciated by the shadows. Javier had a point though. A very good one. The fae had met next to no one that actually cared to have the mimes around. And if they did, he didn’t care to have them around. If it was money laundering, it was covered by one really convoluted gimmick. A tacky one. He couldn’t afford or abide by tacky, Kaden’s birthday party withholding. Pie was a better discussion topic than mimes and he was glad for the change. “Indeed it is! I’ll introduce the two of you after this little outing, she’s real swell. Her name’s Deirdre,” he said as they walked. The smile that warmed his face as he looked at Javier was genuine gold. A pie chart. He eyed the agent slightly and shook his head. Agent Sterling was serious about his pies. How endearing. Humans were wild. Terrible, but wild. “Had yourself a regular pie chart going, huh?” He laughed. Something in the distance startled. The shaking of a branch keyed him into just how silent the whole place was. A vacuum. A regular black hole punched out into a map that nobody could say they really understood. It was hard to match the agent’s smile when he looked at him. Wrong. Profoundly wrong. And coming from him, a proprietor of varying levels of wrong, it was something. When the agent held his hand up, Felix peered into the dark for just a second. His brow furrowed and he edged his glasses up to look at it with bare eyes. It was just darkness. It didn’t even move. It looked like pure nothingness. Nothingness that he could personally do without. That thrill from earlier dissipated. He traced where Javier pointed his flashlight with his own. “A path? It’s just a hole, Javier.” He didn’t see anything of the sort. “The heck you talking about? Pretty sure it’s just you and me here, Javier.”
“Aside from her cooking, she has committed no crime,” Javier had never liked clowns and other gimmicky forms of art, but now that he had mentioned cooking, he was more than happy to have it be the subject of their conversation. He personally was not much of a cook. He spent far too much time on the road to ever settle down and learn a thing about it. The only things he afforded to be picky about were tea, and his pie. “Deirdre ? That’s a great name. I look forward to meeting her.” Deirdre. The name was lovely, and he couldn’t help but repeat it a couple of times, like a child who just learned a new word. His brows furrowed however as Felix mentioned his chart. Oh. OH. “Believe it or not, but I didn't even use pie charts for my pie chart,” his laughter was genuine, although rare, and it felt very loud, in this eerily silent place. It was the silence which drew him back to the gullet. “You really don’t see it?” He looked up at Felix with his brows furrowed. Clearly the man was messing with him again, just like with the pie charts. “You’re being silly. Look,” once again, the agent pointed his flashlight toward the void, the emptiness of the gullet. “Here, a path. I have to see where it goes,” he took off his coat, and folded it carefully. Placing it on the ledge, he picked up his flashlight and took another look at the path that only he could see. The voice was heard again, although it seemed more distant than before, as if it had wandered away.
“I really have to get in here, Felix,” he looked at the other man, a stern look on his face. Very few people would have dared to tell him not to go then. Worst case scenario, he would need a rope to get out, and he had some in his trunk. This would be fine. Carefully, the agent turned his back on the hole and left his feet to dangle in the gap first, hands holding firmly onto the edge. His flashlight tucked in his jacket, he pushed himself down, expecting to fall onto the path almost immediately, but a second passed and his feet did not reach the ground. Instead, he saw the pale light of the moon vanish above him. This bottomless pit did have an end to it, although the agent did not fall to the ground. He was caught. As the light of his flashlight lit his savior, and while the man had never been scared so easily, all Javier could do was scream, although then, it was too late. The aswang could sleep well, for the agent would no longer look for her.
Javier had a nice laugh. A real nice one. For a human, Felix reminded himself. Even then, he couldn’t help the way he lit up. All smiles. But then it was gone. The agent was saying a lot of nonsense. And, normally, the fae was fluent in nonsense. “Don’t think it’s me being silly here, Javier,” he said, nervous laughter slipping out like a thief in the night. “It’s really just a hole. Tell you what, I bet we can find a place that serves some late night pie and we can just get on outta here, huh?” Even as he talked, he could nearly sense the conviction in the agent. Damn human stubbornness. “Javier, buddy, what the heck kinda human nons--” The agent had started to lower himself into the hole. The bottomless hole. “The FUCK are you doing? ” Fingers slipped away and he was gone. A scream. Nothing. The light went out. Felix slowly took off his glasses. Stared at the dark. A darkness he didn’t want to wander into. That was a first. “Javier?” Nothing. Quiet. No. There was something. Slimy. He started to move. Grabbed the folded up coat and walked away. Quickly. The car keys burned his hands as he fumbled them, dropped them twice. As he sat in the dark of Javier’s car, hands around the wheel, that nervous laughter returned. He didn’t know how to drive.
The nice part of spending so much of the last few years highly attuned to Jesus Alvarado’s schedule was that it made avoiding him so much easier. Not that Ty was avoiding one of his best friends. He was just... collecting his thoughts. Separately, and often with a canvas that stayed frustratingly blank. He wanted to try and have at least something figured out before he went crying to Cordelia for help. It hadn’t worked all that well so far.
Avoiding Jesus had also meant avoiding Javi, and that kind of sucked. He liked Javier. They’d been friends independently of Jesus before. Maybe it would have to go back to that.
When he’d invited Javi over to watch 2 Fast 2 Furious, he’d kind of assumed that Jesus had told him everything. They were cousins after all. The Yao cousins seemed inseparable, and he didn’t have any other basis for comparison.
“Hey Jav,” He said as his friend came inside. Ty felt weirdly on edge, like Javier was going to judge him for the way things had gone down. “Thanks for uh, thanks for coming. And not like, punching me.”
