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Description
Characters:
Rath Draal
Curtis MacArthur (resides with Kelpie-Mare )

Horses:
Black Rose (Rath's horse)
Violin (Curtis' horse, also resides with Kelpie-Mare)

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Having left an open invitation to summon him whenever, essentially, Rath was more than eager to see Curtis again when the other demon had summoned him for some mounted archery together. This time Rath brought him to his own world, where he had set up a nice little course to practice in. After shooting some targets and climbing on the roof of his temporary abode, he quite eagerly brought Curtis down to the nearest city. Although this was the second time he'd brought Curtis to his world, it was the first time he got a chance to really show him around; his world was quite a stark contrast from modern earth.

The architecture in the city screamed victorian england, though the fashion didn’t line up with any time period in history. Skirts and dresses were seldom seen save for the very rich, and bright colors were few and far between. The bustling streets were populated mostly by pedestrians, with plenty of carriages and riders trekking about. Clearly there were no traffic laws, it looked like everyone was simply beelining to wherever it was they were off to.

About half the people they could see were elven, and less often they could spot the occasional goblin. In the distance they could scarcely hear the sound of a train, and ravens roamed about as commonly as pigeons would have, alongside similar black avians with long tails and feathers that allowed their legs to function as a second set of wings.

“Here we are, the city of Arcamourne.” Rath grinned as he slowed his steed to a walk. Rose was especially alert now, trying to watch everything around them, but he was being a good boy.

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“Wow…” breathed Curtis, his eyes going wide. “I…wow,” he repeated. “It’s so much,” he laughed softly. “I wasn’t expecting that at all,” he said, shaking his head softly. “It looked so much littler from the property,” he added, trying not to stare as an elf bustled past. He figured it would be as rude in this universe to stare as it would be in his homeland.

“Are there any others…like us here?” He mused, as a goblin wandered past, and he again caught himself from staring. Violin twitched an ear, but otherwise seemed totally calm. The horse wasn’t bothered by much in the city, despite how fiery he’d been today. He was a creature of contradictions, it would seem.

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“Quite different from your world, right?” Rath chuckled, “I’d hardly believe this was still Earth if I hadn’t lived through the war.” This world had once been just like Curtis’, Rath still hadn’t figured out where the elves and goblins even came from.

“There’s bound to be other demons around.” He answered, leading the other down a main road towards the cities’ center. “Despite the apparent diversity around here, the likes of us still aren’t looked upon kindly. If there are others, they’re hiding too.” He explained. “I haven’t met any, but I suppose it’s only a matter of time until that happens.”

The scent of various foods would hit them as they passed through the market district, where even in the cold winter weather, merchants who didn’t have a permanent building to set up shop in had set up temporary little stands along the wider streets to hawk their wares. One had live dodo birds in cages, and would either sell them live or butcher them on the spot. Further ahead, Rath caught sight of a livestock auction taking place, obvious in the moment from the bison far more massive than normal being bid on.

The demon eyed a couple food stands with temptation in his gaze, but he was determined to save room for dinner later. “We have a bit of time before dinner, but we can eat early if you want. There’s a park between here and the restaurant I have in mind, and I know there’s a jousting arena a bit further north.” He suggested with a grin.

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“Huh,” he said, nodding. “A war sounds…not very fun,” Curtis mused, shaking his head thoughtfully. “But yeah, I suppose hiding is smart,” he added, thinking about it. It didn’t make sense that one kind of creature was fine, and his was not, but earth was like that in a lot of ways too. So he didn’t take too much to heart about it. He could smell the foods, and they made his mouth water, but he shook his head.

“No, dinner’s at dinner time,” he laughed. “I’ll live until then,” he said. “So let’s check out that jousting arena until then!” Added Curtis, his eyes lighting up. The idea of getting to see it, let alone play around in it was enticing.

Violin snorted, and looked longingly at an apple cart, but Curtis redirected the black stud’s attention. Wasn’t every day that they got to deal with stuff like this, he supposed, but the horse still had to have his manners.

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“Yeah, that was…” He trailed off while trying to think of how to word it when he thought on the war. “A difficult time. Kind of a long story I guess.” He wasn’t going to put a damper on the mood by getting into it, unless Curtis asked further.

Grinning for the way the other demon’s eyes lit up, Rath eagerly led onward towards the arena. “Hell yeah! I don’t think there’s anything going on over there today, so we should have the place to ourselves.” Anyone could just walk into the place when it wasn’t being used. Rath didn’t entirely know if it was allowed, but if it wasn’t, nobody was enforcing it.

They had to keep at a walk while passing through the market district, though once they’d cleared past all the big shopping areas the road was clear enough for them to safely trot the rest of the way.

The massive arena was surrounded by smaller rings clearly meant for non-equestrian competition, with ample room for spectators in between. The wooden bleachers bordering the jousting ring provided a covered area for spectators to hitch their horses underneath from the main entrance, as well as a space for knights and competitors in a separated space. Rath didn’t know his way around, but it was easy enough to find the way to get them and their horses into the actual arena.

Rath appreciated how quiet it was here, he was right in assuming they’d have the space to themselves. It felt a little surreal riding in the same route a knight would before a competition, and the high-standing bleachers surrounding the space made him feel tiny. The tilt - a solid wooden fence - running down the center of the arena was well-decorated with bright colors, although up close it looked like it needed a fresh coat of paint.

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Curtis had to admit, he was curious about the war, but not enough to ruin the mood for both of them by asking. So he kept his mouth shut, and waited for them to pass through the marketplace. As soon as it was clear to do so, he started trotting, until they reached the jousting arenas.

“Wow,” he breathed, staring at the arenas. “This is great,” he said, grinning. He followed Rath, noticing the bright colors of everything, taking it all in with hungry eyes.

“Should we just practice on the Tilt?” Asked Curtis, nodding to the wooden “man” and his counterweight that would provide them a good, harmless way to have fun. “I mean, no offense, but I have no armor, so I don’t feel like getting stabbed with a lance, even a dulled one,” he laughed softly.

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“Isn’t it?” Rath agreed with a grin, “I haven’t done too much jousting myself, but I’ve been meaning to get more into it.” He grabbed a lance from a rack, walking Rose so they were facing the dummy and ready to charge.

“Oh yeah, I’d never hit anyone with a lance without armor.” He laughed, “If it breaks, those splinters can really get you good sometimes. And that shit hurts regardless of whether or not you have armor.” He remembered the first time he took a hit, even though it didn’t technically damage him thanks to the armor, it was surprisingly painful.

He looked to Curtis, waiting for him to grab a lance as well. “Would you like the honors of going first, or shall I?”

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“Well, we could try,” he laughed, “But I’m not great either,” he smirked. “Yeah…all right, definitely attacking this guy,” he added, nodding to the Quintain. “Whether or not it hurts, I’d rather not find out personally,” he grimaced. Violin snorted, and pawed at the earth, wondering what would happen next. Curtis picked up a lance and tested its heft, then went for a slightly thinner one, liking it better.

“Well, why don’t you go, and show me how it’s done?” He teased with a wink. “Besides, I can always upstage you at the very end, like a dark knight come to take the field,” he laughed, teasing. “Hey, have you ever seen A Knight’s Tale? That’s all I can think of at the moment, not going to lie,” he laughed, jovial and having a great time.

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Nodding as he was invited to go first, Rath gave the other man a grin. “We’ll see about that,” He laughed, glad to see Curtis having such a good time already. “Yeah, I’ve seen it once or twice. Can’t say it didn’t cross my mind coming in here too.” He answered amusedly.

Adjusting his grip on the lance, the demon locked eyes on the target before bringing Rose into a full gallop. The stallion was eager to lurch forward so abruptly, accelerating quickly. Rath lowered the lance as they drew near to the quintain, finding it a bit heavier and more difficult to aim than he remembered.

The lance struck the very edge of the target, the feel and sound of the hit feeling rather satisfying to him. He slowed to a canter once he was certain he was clear from potentially getting hit by the sandbag that swung around, bringing his steed around the other side of the tilt to canter back.

“Okay, so, aiming is a bit harder than it looks,” He laughed, stopping a moment to steady the quintain so it was back in a good position to be struck again. Keeping his lance vertical, he trotted to Curtis’ side. Rose snorted and shifted in place a little after they’d stopped, wanting to run around some more.

“Whenever you’re ready, it’s all yours.” He motioned to the quintain with his free hand before giving Rose a pat.

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Curtis couldn’t help but grin at the thought of watching the movie again. It was, and had been, one of his favorites for most of his life. He’d spent much of his young adult life wishing to be a young Heath Ledger. A pang of sadness swept over him, for an actor he’d never met, and that was strange. But he shook it off.

He watched Rath with a critical eye. The man did well, as he watched from the sidelines. He nodded, taking in the notes that Rath made for him. When it was his turn, he lowered his lance, and pressed his heels into the black stud’s sides. Violin reared up, and galloped forward. A satisfying crack resounded as he hit the Quintain. Grinning, he picked up the pace past the thing, so that he could avoid the sandbag.

“Oh, that’s fun,” laughed Curtis, eyes bright as he grinned - almost wolfishly- at Rath.

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A grin from the demon for the more dramatic rear before he set into a gallop, keenly watching the other charge at the quintain. Even just watching, Rath felt a bit of second hand satisfaction for the successful hit, that lovely crack was like music to his ears.

“Isn’t it?” Rath agreed a bit more enthusiastically, unable to wipe that grin off his face. This was even more fun than he’d have thought. “I can definitely see why this is so popular around here…from what I’ve heard you don’t actually have to be noble to participate like in the movie, maybe one day I’ll try doing this in an actual competition.”

Eager to go again, he adjusted his grip on his lance and readied Rose to go again. “Alright, my turn now.”

Without much hesitation, he brought his steed into a gallop towards the quintain. He was more focused now that he’d gotten more of a feel for it, making a more direct hit this time. He could feel the wind of the sandbag against his hair as it swung around behind him, giggling a little for how narrowly he avoided being smacked.

Cantering back around, Rath startled just a little at the sight of another rider who’d come in while Rath was charging the quintain, who’d been behind both of them in the moment.

Just at the entrance to the arena stood a red stallion in lavish white armor gilded in gold, its rider an elven man with light brown hair that bordered on blonde, dressed almost as nicely as his steed and inquisitively eyeing the two with dark eyes.

“Pardon the intrusion, gentlemen,” The stranger spoke with a gentle voice and bowed slightly before locking eyes with Rath. “Rath Draal, I presume?”

A bit of wariness entered the demon’s gaze as he was addressed by name. In his experience, random strangers asking for him by name was bad news for him.

“Yes…?” He walked his steed closer anyway, to put himself between Curtis and the elf if nothing else, dark magic discreetly gathering in his free hand just in case.

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“You should totally compete,” said Curtis with a wide grin. He watched, as it was Rath’s turn again. The horse cantered around, and then Alex caught sight of another rider and horse. Curtis frowned. He raised a brow at the stranger, and felt a shiver go through him as he heard Rath called by name. Whatever could the new rider want? Curtis moved closer to Rath, because although he didn’t have as good a wielding on his powers, he didn’t want to leave Rath without backup.

“Can we help you?” Asked Curtis, trying not to sound super rude, but firm enough that he could make it clear he wasn’t going to take any funny business at face value.

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The stranger’s eyes flicked between the two briefly, especially eyeing Curtis inquisitively. The man was a quarter demon himself; he wasn’t demonic enough to see through his disguise, but still enough to tell there was some kind of illusion around him, though he couldn’t quite place what it was.

He could see the pair were wary, though his expression remained calm, serene almost. “I don’t wish to impose, so I’ll try and keep this brief. Fane Caligari , I am but a humble messenger.” He introduced himself, “I bring news of the passing of Elaxidor Cruor.”

Rath raised a brow, still unsure of this stranger. This could be a trick, it didn’t seem too plausible. “My father is dead? …Are you sure?” He was never close with him, but he knew him to cheat and flirt with death often.

“Quite certain indeed.” Fane nodded, reaching into his coat to produce a couple papers; one rolled up neatly and sealed with wax, and another smaller one, neatly folded and a tad crumpled. “There was a…very sudden, unanticipated threat.”

Unfolding the smaller paper, he glanced it over briefly. "Apparently he turned into--" He paused to examine the paper once more, eyes narrowed in concentration. "--a screaming black cloud of smoke and disappeared into the sky."

He promptly looked up to Rath again, "So we thought, he'll surely just possess a human and take it as a new vessel, and it'll be fine. But, alas, no one's seen any sign of him since, and it's been over a year now. Either he's laying low and avoiding us for whatever reason, or something went wrong with his vessel and he lacked the strength to get another." He shrugged a little, shaking his head.

"Regardless, he left...a lot to you, to say the least. Even in the case he should return someday, I'm certain he'd want you to pick up where he left off until then." With that, he offered the papers to Rath.

The magic gathering in the demon’s hand dissipated as he recognized the wax seal, certain now that this really wasn’t a trick.

"No..." Rath breathed in disbelief when he realized what that meant for him, bringing his steed closer and grabbing the papers to break the seal and examine them.

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Curtis felt his stomach churn. The way the stranger looked at him made him feel like he was under a microscope, and he wished he hadn’t disguised himself so thoroughly, so that he could be a bit more intimidating. Still, there wasn’t much he could do, though small tidbits of lightning crackled around him.

At the mention of Rath’s father, his stomach sank. While both his own parents had been estranged, it still hurt when they left the world behind. Worse was the loss of his brother, the only sibling that actually saw him for himself. The grief he felt turned to empathy, as he glanced at Rath, not sure what to say to make the moment any less…terrible.

“I…I’m so sorry,” he managed to croak out after a second. “I mean…is there anything I can do?” Curtis offered, sighing heavily. Violin tensed, and moved a little closer to Rath’s horse, wanting to see what was going on that was stressing his rider so.
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Yellow eyes scanned over the paper, which he guessed to be a few hundred years old at least, based on the state of it. All the text was not only written in latin, but also in an ancient runic alphabet; Rath’s father really didn’t want outsiders reading this. It was good for the demon that he was fluent in both.

“This is great!” Rath grinned after briefly skimming over the document. Looking up, his gaze caught a mild look of unsurprised disapproval from the messenger after he spoke, and empathy from Curtis. Was he the only one happy about this?

“I mean, it’s unfortunate he died - I’d hate to think of what kind of foe could’ve done him in, the guy was an angel killer - but he really did leave me everything it looks like.” He grinned, glancing back down at the paper.

A slight nod from Fane, “The whole estate, and the business it comes with…if you can handle the job.”

“Of course I can.” Rath didn’t hesitate to answer. He knew what kind of business his father got himself into, it wasn’t unfamiliar territory.

“Good. I hope to see you there sometime soon.” The elf glanced between the two, satisfied it seemed, and gave them a curt nod. “Good day, gentlemen.” Not wishing to impose any further than he already had, he turned his steed around and rode back the way he came.

As soon as they were alone again, Rath brought Rose closer to Curtis and Violin so they were right beside each other, leaning towards the other demon to show him the document.

“Curtis, look at how long this list is!” He spoke with hushed excitement as he pointed out the smaller text taking up the center of one of the papers, the list broken up into shorter rows so as to not take up the entire length of the page.

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Well, that wasn’t exactly the reaction Curtis was expecting, but hell, he’d take it. He nodded, looking over the list. “Can’t read a lick of it, but I know it looks long enough,” he laughed softly. “Well, I suppose that we should do something about those things you’ve been left, huh?” He added, nodding to the papers. “I mean, if you don’t mind me going along with you?” He added. “I know grief can be a…private thing,” he started, smiling softly. “But…if you want me to help, I’d be happy to help.”
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“I’m a little slow reading it myself.” Rath admitted amusedly, “Thankfully that’s not the common language around here, my father was just really secretive.” He muttered, glancing over the text another moment.

“You want to come?” The demon was a little surprised that Curtis wanted to join him in taking care of the matter, albeit pleasantly so. “I wouldn’t mind at all, I’d love to have you come along. I’d quite appreciate the company.” He grinned. He really didn’t know what to expect, it’d be nice to have someone he trusts with him.

His gaze turned to the sky briefly, taking note of where the sun was. “We still have plenty of time before dinner, I suppose we could go now if you’d like. Unless you’d rather joust some more.” He offered, turning to Curtis again.

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“Yeah, that’s…yeah,” he said, nodding. “I mean, I wouldn’t mind going with you at all,” he shrugged. “As far as jousting, I don’t mind going now,” he added with a smirk. “I have had plenty of time to practice,” he laughed softly. “And who knows, one more hit of that Quintain, and you may lose another relative,” he snorted, rolling his eyes. Always one to cope with humor.

The black stallion shifted, clearly happy with anything that got them moving. Violin was not great for a stallion, because he was still learning manners, and people blamed it on that fact, but Curtis believed that the horse could be great, someday.

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Rath laughed as he went to put his lance away, grinning to the other demon. “If we hit that thing again and someone else dies, we’re burning it.” He snickered before riding out of the arena with him.

His eyes scanned over the paper in his hand one more time, making sure he read the address on it correctly. As much as he wanted to go over it more thoroughly on the way, reading and riding weren’t the safest combination - especially in populated streets - so he soon tucked the documents in his coat before leading on.

It was a long ride to the property Rath was intended to go, although mainly due to the fact it was on a side of the city he’d never been to, and he got a little lost a couple times. The place was easy enough to identify when they reached it however, from the huge decorative metal gate in the middle of a length of iron fencing that ran along a significant length of the street on the very edge of the city. The actual manor within was almost difficult to spot from the outside, between how far it was and the sparse trees obscuring the view.

Bringing his steed off the road so he could stop just by the gate to double check the address, the demon nodded slightly to himself. “This should be the place. Honestly, it’s a lot closer to everything than I’d have thought.” He pondered, looking up at the gate before lightly pushing on it; causing it to slowly swing open with a low, drawn-out creak. A sure sign that they were expected.

“Well then. Perfect.” He mumbled to himself before pushing the gates open the rest of the way, gesturing for Curtis to go on ahead of him. “After you, m’sir,” He chuckled, letting the other demon go in first before following after him and shutting the gates behind them.

The stone-paved path lead straight across the large, mostly-open property to the lavish manor at its heart, splitting into a circle just in front of it; Rath assumed there was some kind of garden there when it wasn’t covered with snow. Several hitching posts could be found just in front of the building, the snow along both sides of the manor disturbed by a mess of tracks.

“This certainly looks like the type of place my father would live in. He wasn’t too humble.” He snickered with a glance towards Curtis as he dismounted.

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Curtis and his black stallion followed quietly, thinking. He was lost in thought as they rode. It wasn’t like he’d been necessarily close to his own father, and perhaps being a demon was a bit different, but Rath seemed to be taking this really….well…and Curtis wondered if it really meant he was doing well, or if he was hiding something under the surface.

“Sure is nice,” Curtis said, whistling as he dismounted. A strange thought occurred to him, but he put a pin in it; not time to ask about his own abilities, not when they had Rath’s father to take care of. But the mention of fathers had made him think of his own, his childhood, his adulthood, and all that culminated into curiosity about his demonic abilities.

Still, he kept quiet, patting Violin’s neck as he stepped away from the horse.

“What now?” He asked, glancing over at Rath curiously.

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Rath was quiet for a moment, eyes scanning over the building ahead of them. He picked up a glimpse of movement in one of the windows, so at least they didn’t have to worry about nobody being home.

“I suppose we ought to go in and see what’s up.” He answered, taking Rose’s reins and leading him along down the path that led up to the manor. After hitching their horses to the hitching posts, the demon walked up the steps before using the gargoyle-carved knocker quite loudly.

There was a moment of silence before the door quite suddenly flew open, the man on the other side startling somewhat as though he hadn’t expected anyone to be there. He looked elven at first glance, having the same pointed ears, and long ginger hair tied in a braid. Hourglass-shaped pupils set in lavender eyes which lacked any visible sclera served a clear indicator he at least wasn’t fully elven, and a forked tongue that flicked at the air in front of him a couple times.

“Hah, sorry, I didn’t expect to see uh…you’re Elaxidor’s son I’m guessing?” The man grinned somewhat bashfully, displaying a set of thin, needle-like teeth and a mouth that extended across his cheeks.

“I am. I assume we’re expected?” Rath inquired, unsurprised and unbothered by the reaction from the stranger. He knew he had a pretty close resemblance to his father.

“Of course, come on in!” The man smiled as he let the two inside, shutting the door behind them. “You guys aren’t allergic to hyaenodon or anything, are you? ‘Cause we have like…five of them in here.” He asked, glancing between Rath and Curtis.

The inside of the manor was about as lavish as the outside; tidy, ornately decorated, and incredibly spacious, apparent even just from the foyer.

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Curtis was…not happy to see the stranger, because he got a sense of the heebie-jeebies from the elf, especially with that mouth…but…what could he do but come on in? He followed Rath, not worried about the horses for the time being. He was more worried about his own hide.

"Hyaenodon?" He muttered to himself. The house was spacious, and felt…inviting, despite his worries. Curtis moved quickly inside. He wasn't sure what to expect, but he figured that it was better than being outside alone.

He watched the stranger that led them inside. His hackles were up, but he'd be civil. For now.

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“Not that I know of, I’m sure it’ll be fine.” Rath answered to the man before turning to Curtis to explain quietly. “They’re like…big hyena-lion things.” He tried to describe the creatures, though his words did little justice to their uniqueness.

“Oh, pardon my manners, I’m Ardor!” The man offered to shake each of their hands with a smile, “And uh, you don’t need to hide yourself here if you don’t want to, we’re a demon-friendly household.” He added, mostly directing this to Rath for the sole reason that he was clueless to the fact that Curtis was a demon as well.

“I’m Rath, this here is Curtis,” Rath wasn’t so wary around this stranger as Curtis was, fairly confident he could end Ardor easily enough should things go south. Such confidence was completely unwarranted however, this was a complete stranger and even Rath wasn’t sure what he even was. Of course if this person knew anything of his father he’d know he was a demon, so Rath didn’t have any issue with letting down his disguise for now.

Ardor led them into a big living space, a particularly massive room furnished similarly to a living room. A couple flights of stairs were on the left of them as they came in, and a fireplace easily large enough for several people to stand inside on the right.

Most notably however, were the sets of white feathery wings displayed on the wall above it. Easily spanning the length of the room - one of the two pairs not even fully fanned out - with several dark glassy eyes set within each wing. The wings were far too massive to have come from any known animal - likely from a being too large to even fit in this room - and easily dominated the room’s decor as the main display.

Rath stopped nearly in his tracks at the sight of the wings, taken aback by the sheer size of them.

Ardor noticed the demon had become distracted, but ignored this for the most part as he turned to them again. “Right, so, you’ve got paperwork stuff or whatever to go over, I’m going to get Fane so uh, wait right here!” Without missing a beat, he bolted off nearly at a sprint, leaving Rath and Curtis alone for a minute.

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Curtis took the hand that was offered to him, shaking it firmly. He had been taught his manners, and hadn’t forgotten them, not even here. The fact that there were hyena/lion hybrids rolling around didn’t make him feel very confident, but Ardor had a good handshake, and that was something in the right direction. He thought long and hard about unveiling his horns and black sclera. He didn’t do it lightly. But…what better time to actually try out his idea than now? He’d wanted to check in with Rath and see what he needed to make it happen, but well…desperate times called for desperate measures, and he really didn’t want to be told ‘no’ either. Besides, he had people here to catch him.

I mean, if he fainted or died or something, there was no better place to actually do that than in a household with a demon and a…whatever Ardor was. So he took a deep breath. Normally shifting was pretty easy, just a little blur here and there as his horns grew from his skull. He had to focus hard, now. He couldn’t just let the horns spring forth; he had other plans. He wondered if it’d be as easy - no - or as simple to ignore, also no. This time, lighting cracked around him, not even scorching the floorboards it was so harmless. His eyes darkened, his horns sprang up, and he felt his bones shifting, his body growing a touch taller, stronger. The lightning almost tickled, but didn’t harm him. But it ran from tip to tail, for he did have a long, leathery tail this time.

“That’s…unusual,” he said. His voice was deeper, his adam’s apple more prominent. And where he’d been thin and wiry, he had a bit more muscle. Clearly, this body belonged to a demon of a male persuasion. He grinned. Only Rath would possibly catch the shift, because he had always passed pretty well, but now…he didn’t have to.

The wings….Curtis took in a breath. He’d not been raised in the Bible Belt for nothing. The words “Be Not Afraid” were practically etched into his brain. He knew what those were, and he shifted. Not really a common thought, of his, how to take his entire life’s training and turn it on its head to enter the demonic world. Of course, it wouldn’t be out of place here, even if Rath was surprised to see them. Curtis felt his stomach churn slightly.

Curtis glanced from the wings to Rath, to the wings, to Rath. He turned his attention to finding somewhere to sit, moving a little awkwardly, like he wasn’t completely used to walking.

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Rath paused as he noticed the lightning, visibly surprised - and impressed - by the new form Curtis took on. His tail flicked behind him briefly, like that of an excited cat - an unconscious motion he couldn’t help any more than a dog could help wagging its tail, or a human from smiling - but he restrained his fascination until they’d been led into the living room and left alone together.

Ardor had paused briefly as well, though considering he’d only just met the two, he assumed this was just the usual for them and barely passed a curious glance at each of them.

The wings had briefly broken Raths’ train of thought; he knew his father had kept angel wings above his fireplace, but he was a little surprised that he’d still had them, considering the level of destruction from the war so long ago, along with the near-priceless value of such rare and well-preserved wings. They must’ve been around…1200 to 1300 years old now? And still, they looked brand new.

After a moment Curtis’ movement caught the demon’s attention again, following the other to sit on one of the several couches. The huge fireplace had a fairly large flame burning within, easily heating the large room. Rath relaxed a little, appreciating the break from the cold outside.

“I didn’t know you could shift that much,” He commented with a light grin, “It suits you.”

His gaze then turned up to the wings again. He knew it was unlikely he’d need to explain what they came from. “Those were my father’s prized possessions. There was nothing in this world he valued more. I’ve never actually seen them before, though.” He pondered, tail curling around his lap. “I suppose they’re likely mine now.”

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Curtis was exhausted. The shifting had taken a toll, and his spade-ended tail curled limply around his feet as he flopped down. But he felt…invigorated. All through his life, he'd dreamed of being able to do this, and now he could?! It was amazing, to say the very least. Amazed he was, as he stared up at the many-eyed wings. That was an elephant in the room, more than any changes he made to his physique. Though, the words "it suits you" from Rath kept ringing through his head.

"Guess so," Curtis mused. "I mean, it's a hell of a decor choice," he smirked. "But I suppose that I'd have to face that aspect of being a demon one way or another, and I'd rather face it with someone else," he sighed. "So…they must have some value, if only sentimental," he stated. "What are you gonna DO with this place? These treasures?"

_________________________________________

“I’ll say.” Rath agreed with a chuckle. “Quite the flex too, for him at least. Supposedly he killed this thing all on his own.” He added. As neat as it was, this did leave a very high bar for Rath to reach as Elaxidor’s son. Demon offspring are meant to - expected to - surpass their predecessors, but how does one top killing an angel single-handedly?

A slight nod from the demon, “Yeah, demons and angels…aren’t on the best of terms.” He didn’t know how Curtis felt about angels, but regardless, it wasn’t likely to change how angels felt about him now that he was a demon.

“Good news about that is most of them fucked off after losing the war, and we outnumbered them to begin with. So there’s…not that many around these days.” Admittedly, part of him did want to try and hunt one…but another, perhaps more reasonable part of him never wanted to have to lay eyes on another living angel again.

“Oh yes, angel wings - especially ones this well-preserved - sell for a fortune. I could probably buy a whole castle if I sold them.” He confirmed with a slight laugh.

He had to think a moment about Curtis’ question, glancing around the room. “I mean…assuming I can do whatever I want with all this, I have a cozy place to live now if nothing else.” He pondered. “I don’t know though, I’ve never had…this much before. I guess there’s no harm in just holding onto everything until I figure it out.”

_________________________________________

Curtis wasn’t sure what he thought of it all. The idea that his father had taken down an angel, supposedly the most powerful of the arch-creatures save for…well…he didn’t want to think about the stories he’d heard year after year as a child. He had what he wanted, a person, a form he could stand, a place to stay. What if he never returned to his home? That wouldn’t be so bad, would it? He could get used to being a demon. Right?
He shook his head. His dumbass nephew wouldn’t survive without him. He sighed. “I suppose it’ll be different, living here than where you were,” he said with a small smirk. “But I suppose that’s the way it goes, isn’t it? The old ones leave room for the new,” he added, thinking aloud.

“I mean, I wouldn’t sell something with such…sentimental value,” he sighed, glancing at the wings again. “Besides, this seems like a perfectly nice castle to live in,” he laughed softly. “And I can always come visit,” he shrugged. Not like he’d entertained the idea of staying just a moment before. He’d done this for his nephew’s sake, given up his very life for this. He couldn’t abandon his family now.

But he wasn’t ready to go just yet. So he settled back into the couch, and sighed softly.

_________________________________________

Rath nodded his agreement, “I’m sure I could certainly appreciate living here a lot more than my old place. It’s so fancy here.” He chuckled. He didn’t know how many other people lived here, but he was sure he could get used to it.

Glancing up at the wings again, the demon smiled softly. “I wouldn’t actually sell them, not for all the money in the world…probably not, anyway.” He chuckled. “Of course, you’ll always be more than welcome to come visit anytime.” He grinned, glad to have a nice place to chill at together if they didn’t want to go out to a place at any point.

“Apologies for the wait gentlemen, we weren’t expecting you so soon.” Fane spoke up as he walked into the room, giving the two a curt nod as he glanced between them. He was a little surprised to see that Curtis was a demon as well, but not enough for an outward reaction. Ardor had followed him here as well, though this time hung back and stayed mostly quiet.

“We have much to discuss,” Fane seated himself across from the two so the will could be laid out on the coffee table between them to go over the details together. Ardor still hung around for a short time, though very quickly became visibly bored with all this talk before discreetly taking his leave.

Apparently, Rath only actually got the inheritance if he took up the role of running the business his father had; if he refused the job or simply couldn’t do it for whatever reason, he didn’t get anything at all. It almost felt like he’d been tricked to some extent, but the writing was right there on the will; and frankly, Rath didn’t care. It was a no-brainer for him, he’d been only doing a bit of freelance work while trying to figure out a more permanent job as it is. He didn’t care what the job entailed, it was worth it for everything he’d get in exchange.

It made sense to him anyways; as a creature with an indefinite lifespan, he could never just sit on a pile of money with no income for the rest of his life, he’d eventually run out. Not that he ever planned on doing that, he’d get bored pretty quick.

“Very good, we’ll start your training once you’ve settled yourself here.” Fane smiled once their discussion was over - which hadn’t lasted nearly as long as he’d anticipated - and handed Rath a key to the place.

Rath blinked, a little surprised it was that simple. He promptly tucked the key into his pocket, turning to Curtis with a grin. “Hey, y’know, I can afford a really nice dinner for us now.”

_________________________________________

Curtis was quiet, while Fane went over the rules and regulations of the inheritance. He didn't ask any questions, figuring that he didn't want to know what the family business entailed. He was still a goody two shoes at heart, despite his recent newfound abilities. But he supposed it would be good for Rath to have something that kept him entertained and busy. So he was fine with whatever Rath decided. As the business came to a close, Curtis glanced over at Rath, considering his words.

"I suppose, though I don't know how exactly I'll pay you back later," he laughed softly. A thought crossed his consciousness, but he bit his tongue lest he seem ungrateful or crass. "What an odd day," he remarked, thinking aloud.

"Well, we should probably get on that," mused Curtis, wondering exactly how late it was getting. He glanced over at Rath, smiled softly, and stretched, exploring the sensation of relaxed muscles that ran from shoulder to fingertips in this new vessel/form.

_________________________________________

“Oh, you don’t have to pay me back for it.” Rath laughed, “I’m paying you back for that first meal we had together, so this makes us even.” He assured the other before rising from his seat. He still hadn’t forgotten his promise to get him a proper meal after that double date, and he was intent on keeping his word.

“Yeah, we should probably head out. I imagine it’ll be getting dark in a few hours.” He agreed, glancing at the nearest window to see the sun beginning to get low.

With that, Fane showed them out and bid them a good evening, expressing his eagerness to show Rath the ropes of his new job another day.

Rose perked his ears when he spotted his rider coming back outside, having been getting bored being stuck by the hitching post this long; as was evident by the disturbed snow all around. Rath chuckled as the stallion pressed his nose into the demon’s palm, a pleased nicker from the horse as Rath petted his face.

The demon turned to Curtis as he unhitched Rose and mounted up, giving his steed an extra pat on the neck. “So what do you prefer, fancy or more casual places?” He asked, having a few options in mind already.

A portion of the roleplay between myself and Kelpie-Mare ! May or may not add more of it later, but for the moment at least, I think this is enough ^w^

Description
Characters:
Rath Draal
Curtis MacArthur (resides with Kelpie-Mare )

Horses:
Black Rose (Rath's horse)
Violin (Curtis' horse, also resides with Kelpie-Mare)

------

Having left an open invitation to summon him whenever, essentially, Rath was more than eager to see Curtis again when the other demon had summoned him for some mounted archery together. This time Rath brought him to his own world, where he had set up a nice little course to practice in. After shooting some targets and climbing on the roof of his temporary abode, he quite eagerly brought Curtis down to the nearest city. Although this was the second time he'd brought Curtis to his world, it was the first time he got a chance to really show him around; his world was quite a stark contrast from modern earth.

The architecture in the city screamed victorian england, though the fashion didn’t line up with any time period in history. Skirts and dresses were seldom seen save for the very rich, and bright colors were few and far between. The bustling streets were populated mostly by pedestrians, with plenty of carriages and riders trekking about. Clearly there were no traffic laws, it looked like everyone was simply beelining to wherever it was they were off to.

About half the people they could see were elven, and less often they could spot the occasional goblin. In the distance they could scarcely hear the sound of a train, and ravens roamed about as commonly as pigeons would have, alongside similar black avians with long tails and feathers that allowed their legs to function as a second set of wings.

“Here we are, the city of Arcamourne.” Rath grinned as he slowed his steed to a walk. Rose was especially alert now, trying to watch everything around them, but he was being a good boy.

__________________________

“Wow…” breathed Curtis, his eyes going wide. “I…wow,” he repeated. “It’s so much,” he laughed softly. “I wasn’t expecting that at all,” he said, shaking his head softly. “It looked so much littler from the property,” he added, trying not to stare as an elf bustled past. He figured it would be as rude in this universe to stare as it would be in his homeland.

“Are there any others…like us here?” He mused, as a goblin wandered past, and he again caught himself from staring. Violin twitched an ear, but otherwise seemed totally calm. The horse wasn’t bothered by much in the city, despite how fiery he’d been today. He was a creature of contradictions, it would seem.

__________________________

“Quite different from your world, right?” Rath chuckled, “I’d hardly believe this was still Earth if I hadn’t lived through the war.” This world had once been just like Curtis’, Rath still hadn’t figured out where the elves and goblins even came from.

“There’s bound to be other demons around.” He answered, leading the other down a main road towards the cities’ center. “Despite the apparent diversity around here, the likes of us still aren’t looked upon kindly. If there are others, they’re hiding too.” He explained. “I haven’t met any, but I suppose it’s only a matter of time until that happens.”

The scent of various foods would hit them as they passed through the market district, where even in the cold winter weather, merchants who didn’t have a permanent building to set up shop in had set up temporary little stands along the wider streets to hawk their wares. One had live dodo birds in cages, and would either sell them live or butcher them on the spot. Further ahead, Rath caught sight of a livestock auction taking place, obvious in the moment from the bison far more massive than normal being bid on.

The demon eyed a couple food stands with temptation in his gaze, but he was determined to save room for dinner later. “We have a bit of time before dinner, but we can eat early if you want. There’s a park between here and the restaurant I have in mind, and I know there’s a jousting arena a bit further north.” He suggested with a grin.

__________________________

“Huh,” he said, nodding. “A war sounds…not very fun,” Curtis mused, shaking his head thoughtfully. “But yeah, I suppose hiding is smart,” he added, thinking about it. It didn’t make sense that one kind of creature was fine, and his was not, but earth was like that in a lot of ways too. So he didn’t take too much to heart about it. He could smell the foods, and they made his mouth water, but he shook his head.

“No, dinner’s at dinner time,” he laughed. “I’ll live until then,” he said. “So let’s check out that jousting arena until then!” Added Curtis, his eyes lighting up. The idea of getting to see it, let alone play around in it was enticing.

Violin snorted, and looked longingly at an apple cart, but Curtis redirected the black stud’s attention. Wasn’t every day that they got to deal with stuff like this, he supposed, but the horse still had to have his manners.

_______________________________________________________________________

“Yeah, that was…” He trailed off while trying to think of how to word it when he thought on the war. “A difficult time. Kind of a long story I guess.” He wasn’t going to put a damper on the mood by getting into it, unless Curtis asked further.

Grinning for the way the other demon’s eyes lit up, Rath eagerly led onward towards the arena. “Hell yeah! I don’t think there’s anything going on over there today, so we should have the place to ourselves.” Anyone could just walk into the place when it wasn’t being used. Rath didn’t entirely know if it was allowed, but if it wasn’t, nobody was enforcing it.

They had to keep at a walk while passing through the market district, though once they’d cleared past all the big shopping areas the road was clear enough for them to safely trot the rest of the way.

The massive arena was surrounded by smaller rings clearly meant for non-equestrian competition, with ample room for spectators in between. The wooden bleachers bordering the jousting ring provided a covered area for spectators to hitch their horses underneath from the main entrance, as well as a space for knights and competitors in a separated space. Rath didn’t know his way around, but it was easy enough to find the way to get them and their horses into the actual arena.

Rath appreciated how quiet it was here, he was right in assuming they’d have the space to themselves. It felt a little surreal riding in the same route a knight would before a competition, and the high-standing bleachers surrounding the space made him feel tiny. The tilt - a solid wooden fence - running down the center of the arena was well-decorated with bright colors, although up close it looked like it needed a fresh coat of paint.

_________________________________________

Curtis had to admit, he was curious about the war, but not enough to ruin the mood for both of them by asking. So he kept his mouth shut, and waited for them to pass through the marketplace. As soon as it was clear to do so, he started trotting, until they reached the jousting arenas.

“Wow,” he breathed, staring at the arenas. “This is great,” he said, grinning. He followed Rath, noticing the bright colors of everything, taking it all in with hungry eyes.

“Should we just practice on the Tilt?” Asked Curtis, nodding to the wooden “man” and his counterweight that would provide them a good, harmless way to have fun. “I mean, no offense, but I have no armor, so I don’t feel like getting stabbed with a lance, even a dulled one,” he laughed softly.

_________________________________________

“Isn’t it?” Rath agreed with a grin, “I haven’t done too much jousting myself, but I’ve been meaning to get more into it.” He grabbed a lance from a rack, walking Rose so they were facing the dummy and ready to charge.

“Oh yeah, I’d never hit anyone with a lance without armor.” He laughed, “If it breaks, those splinters can really get you good sometimes. And that shit hurts regardless of whether or not you have armor.” He remembered the first time he took a hit, even though it didn’t technically damage him thanks to the armor, it was surprisingly painful.

He looked to Curtis, waiting for him to grab a lance as well. “Would you like the honors of going first, or shall I?”

_________________________________________

“Well, we could try,” he laughed, “But I’m not great either,” he smirked. “Yeah…all right, definitely attacking this guy,” he added, nodding to the Quintain. “Whether or not it hurts, I’d rather not find out personally,” he grimaced. Violin snorted, and pawed at the earth, wondering what would happen next. Curtis picked up a lance and tested its heft, then went for a slightly thinner one, liking it better.

“Well, why don’t you go, and show me how it’s done?” He teased with a wink. “Besides, I can always upstage you at the very end, like a dark knight come to take the field,” he laughed, teasing. “Hey, have you ever seen A Knight’s Tale? That’s all I can think of at the moment, not going to lie,” he laughed, jovial and having a great time.

_________________________________________

Nodding as he was invited to go first, Rath gave the other man a grin. “We’ll see about that,” He laughed, glad to see Curtis having such a good time already. “Yeah, I’ve seen it once or twice. Can’t say it didn’t cross my mind coming in here too.” He answered amusedly.

Adjusting his grip on the lance, the demon locked eyes on the target before bringing Rose into a full gallop. The stallion was eager to lurch forward so abruptly, accelerating quickly. Rath lowered the lance as they drew near to the quintain, finding it a bit heavier and more difficult to aim than he remembered.

The lance struck the very edge of the target, the feel and sound of the hit feeling rather satisfying to him. He slowed to a canter once he was certain he was clear from potentially getting hit by the sandbag that swung around, bringing his steed around the other side of the tilt to canter back.

“Okay, so, aiming is a bit harder than it looks,” He laughed, stopping a moment to steady the quintain so it was back in a good position to be struck again. Keeping his lance vertical, he trotted to Curtis’ side. Rose snorted and shifted in place a little after they’d stopped, wanting to run around some more.

“Whenever you’re ready, it’s all yours.” He motioned to the quintain with his free hand before giving Rose a pat.

_________________________________________

Curtis couldn’t help but grin at the thought of watching the movie again. It was, and had been, one of his favorites for most of his life. He’d spent much of his young adult life wishing to be a young Heath Ledger. A pang of sadness swept over him, for an actor he’d never met, and that was strange. But he shook it off.

He watched Rath with a critical eye. The man did well, as he watched from the sidelines. He nodded, taking in the notes that Rath made for him. When it was his turn, he lowered his lance, and pressed his heels into the black stud’s sides. Violin reared up, and galloped forward. A satisfying crack resounded as he hit the Quintain. Grinning, he picked up the pace past the thing, so that he could avoid the sandbag.

“Oh, that’s fun,” laughed Curtis, eyes bright as he grinned - almost wolfishly- at Rath.

_________________________________________

A grin from the demon for the more dramatic rear before he set into a gallop, keenly watching the other charge at the quintain. Even just watching, Rath felt a bit of second hand satisfaction for the successful hit, that lovely crack was like music to his ears.

“Isn’t it?” Rath agreed a bit more enthusiastically, unable to wipe that grin off his face. This was even more fun than he’d have thought. “I can definitely see why this is so popular around here…from what I’ve heard you don’t actually have to be noble to participate like in the movie, maybe one day I’ll try doing this in an actual competition.”

Eager to go again, he adjusted his grip on his lance and readied Rose to go again. “Alright, my turn now.”

Without much hesitation, he brought his steed into a gallop towards the quintain. He was more focused now that he’d gotten more of a feel for it, making a more direct hit this time. He could feel the wind of the sandbag against his hair as it swung around behind him, giggling a little for how narrowly he avoided being smacked.

Cantering back around, Rath startled just a little at the sight of another rider who’d come in while Rath was charging the quintain, who’d been behind both of them in the moment.

Just at the entrance to the arena stood a red stallion in lavish white armor gilded in gold, its rider an elven man with light brown hair that bordered on blonde, dressed almost as nicely as his steed and inquisitively eyeing the two with dark eyes.

“Pardon the intrusion, gentlemen,” The stranger spoke with a gentle voice and bowed slightly before locking eyes with Rath. “Rath Draal, I presume?”

A bit of wariness entered the demon’s gaze as he was addressed by name. In his experience, random strangers asking for him by name was bad news for him.

“Yes…?” He walked his steed closer anyway, to put himself between Curtis and the elf if nothing else, dark magic discreetly gathering in his free hand just in case.

_________________________________________

“You should totally compete,” said Curtis with a wide grin. He watched, as it was Rath’s turn again. The horse cantered around, and then Alex caught sight of another rider and horse. Curtis frowned. He raised a brow at the stranger, and felt a shiver go through him as he heard Rath called by name. Whatever could the new rider want? Curtis moved closer to Rath, because although he didn’t have as good a wielding on his powers, he didn’t want to leave Rath without backup.

“Can we help you?” Asked Curtis, trying not to sound super rude, but firm enough that he could make it clear he wasn’t going to take any funny business at face value.

_________________________________________

The stranger’s eyes flicked between the two briefly, especially eyeing Curtis inquisitively. The man was a quarter demon himself; he wasn’t demonic enough to see through his disguise, but still enough to tell there was some kind of illusion around him, though he couldn’t quite place what it was.

He could see the pair were wary, though his expression remained calm, serene almost. “I don’t wish to impose, so I’ll try and keep this brief. Fane Caligari , I am but a humble messenger.” He introduced himself, “I bring news of the passing of Elaxidor Cruor.”

Rath raised a brow, still unsure of this stranger. This could be a trick, it didn’t seem too plausible. “My father is dead? …Are you sure?” He was never close with him, but he knew him to cheat and flirt with death often.

“Quite certain indeed.” Fane nodded, reaching into his coat to produce a couple papers; one rolled up neatly and sealed with wax, and another smaller one, neatly folded and a tad crumpled. “There was a…very sudden, unanticipated threat.”

Unfolding the smaller paper, he glanced it over briefly. "Apparently he turned into--" He paused to examine the paper once more, eyes narrowed in concentration. "--a screaming black cloud of smoke and disappeared into the sky."

He promptly looked up to Rath again, "So we thought, he'll surely just possess a human and take it as a new vessel, and it'll be fine. But, alas, no one's seen any sign of him since, and it's been over a year now. Either he's laying low and avoiding us for whatever reason, or something went wrong with his vessel and he lacked the strength to get another." He shrugged a little, shaking his head.

"Regardless, he left...a lot to you, to say the least. Even in the case he should return someday, I'm certain he'd want you to pick up where he left off until then." With that, he offered the papers to Rath.

The magic gathering in the demon’s hand dissipated as he recognized the wax seal, certain now that this really wasn’t a trick.

"No..." Rath breathed in disbelief when he realized what that meant for him, bringing his steed closer and grabbing the papers to break the seal and examine them.

_________________________________________

Curtis felt his stomach churn. The way the stranger looked at him made him feel like he was under a microscope, and he wished he hadn’t disguised himself so thoroughly, so that he could be a bit more intimidating. Still, there wasn’t much he could do, though small tidbits of lightning crackled around him.

At the mention of Rath’s father, his stomach sank. While both his own parents had been estranged, it still hurt when they left the world behind. Worse was the loss of his brother, the only sibling that actually saw him for himself. The grief he felt turned to empathy, as he glanced at Rath, not sure what to say to make the moment any less…terrible.

“I…I’m so sorry,” he managed to croak out after a second. “I mean…is there anything I can do?” Curtis offered, sighing heavily. Violin tensed, and moved a little closer to Rath’s horse, wanting to see what was going on that was stressing his rider so.
_________________________________________

Yellow eyes scanned over the paper, which he guessed to be a few hundred years old at least, based on the state of it. All the text was not only written in latin, but also in an ancient runic alphabet; Rath’s father really didn’t want outsiders reading this. It was good for the demon that he was fluent in both.

“This is great!” Rath grinned after briefly skimming over the document. Looking up, his gaze caught a mild look of unsurprised disapproval from the messenger after he spoke, and empathy from Curtis. Was he the only one happy about this?

“I mean, it’s unfortunate he died - I’d hate to think of what kind of foe could’ve done him in, the guy was an angel killer - but he really did leave me everything it looks like.” He grinned, glancing back down at the paper.

A slight nod from Fane, “The whole estate, and the business it comes with…if you can handle the job.”

“Of course I can.” Rath didn’t hesitate to answer. He knew what kind of business his father got himself into, it wasn’t unfamiliar territory.

“Good. I hope to see you there sometime soon.” The elf glanced between the two, satisfied it seemed, and gave them a curt nod. “Good day, gentlemen.” Not wishing to impose any further than he already had, he turned his steed around and rode back the way he came.

As soon as they were alone again, Rath brought Rose closer to Curtis and Violin so they were right beside each other, leaning towards the other demon to show him the document.

“Curtis, look at how long this list is!” He spoke with hushed excitement as he pointed out the smaller text taking up the center of one of the papers, the list broken up into shorter rows so as to not take up the entire length of the page.

_________________________________________

Well, that wasn’t exactly the reaction Curtis was expecting, but hell, he’d take it. He nodded, looking over the list. “Can’t read a lick of it, but I know it looks long enough,” he laughed softly. “Well, I suppose that we should do something about those things you’ve been left, huh?” He added, nodding to the papers. “I mean, if you don’t mind me going along with you?” He added. “I know grief can be a…private thing,” he started, smiling softly. “But…if you want me to help, I’d be happy to help.”
_________________________________________

“I’m a little slow reading it myself.” Rath admitted amusedly, “Thankfully that’s not the common language around here, my father was just really secretive.” He muttered, glancing over the text another moment.

“You want to come?” The demon was a little surprised that Curtis wanted to join him in taking care of the matter, albeit pleasantly so. “I wouldn’t mind at all, I’d love to have you come along. I’d quite appreciate the company.” He grinned. He really didn’t know what to expect, it’d be nice to have someone he trusts with him.

His gaze turned to the sky briefly, taking note of where the sun was. “We still have plenty of time before dinner, I suppose we could go now if you’d like. Unless you’d rather joust some more.” He offered, turning to Curtis again.

_________________________________________

“Yeah, that’s…yeah,” he said, nodding. “I mean, I wouldn’t mind going with you at all,” he shrugged. “As far as jousting, I don’t mind going now,” he added with a smirk. “I have had plenty of time to practice,” he laughed softly. “And who knows, one more hit of that Quintain, and you may lose another relative,” he snorted, rolling his eyes. Always one to cope with humor.

The black stallion shifted, clearly happy with anything that got them moving. Violin was not great for a stallion, because he was still learning manners, and people blamed it on that fact, but Curtis believed that the horse could be great, someday.

_________________________________________

Rath laughed as he went to put his lance away, grinning to the other demon. “If we hit that thing again and someone else dies, we’re burning it.” He snickered before riding out of the arena with him.

His eyes scanned over the paper in his hand one more time, making sure he read the address on it correctly. As much as he wanted to go over it more thoroughly on the way, reading and riding weren’t the safest combination - especially in populated streets - so he soon tucked the documents in his coat before leading on.

It was a long ride to the property Rath was intended to go, although mainly due to the fact it was on a side of the city he’d never been to, and he got a little lost a couple times. The place was easy enough to identify when they reached it however, from the huge decorative metal gate in the middle of a length of iron fencing that ran along a significant length of the street on the very edge of the city. The actual manor within was almost difficult to spot from the outside, between how far it was and the sparse trees obscuring the view.

Bringing his steed off the road so he could stop just by the gate to double check the address, the demon nodded slightly to himself. “This should be the place. Honestly, it’s a lot closer to everything than I’d have thought.” He pondered, looking up at the gate before lightly pushing on it; causing it to slowly swing open with a low, drawn-out creak. A sure sign that they were expected.

“Well then. Perfect.” He mumbled to himself before pushing the gates open the rest of the way, gesturing for Curtis to go on ahead of him. “After you, m’sir,” He chuckled, letting the other demon go in first before following after him and shutting the gates behind them.

The stone-paved path lead straight across the large, mostly-open property to the lavish manor at its heart, splitting into a circle just in front of it; Rath assumed there was some kind of garden there when it wasn’t covered with snow. Several hitching posts could be found just in front of the building, the snow along both sides of the manor disturbed by a mess of tracks.

“This certainly looks like the type of place my father would live in. He wasn’t too humble.” He snickered with a glance towards Curtis as he dismounted.

_________________________________________

Curtis and his black stallion followed quietly, thinking. He was lost in thought as they rode. It wasn’t like he’d been necessarily close to his own father, and perhaps being a demon was a bit different, but Rath seemed to be taking this really….well…and Curtis wondered if it really meant he was doing well, or if he was hiding something under the surface.

“Sure is nice,” Curtis said, whistling as he dismounted. A strange thought occurred to him, but he put a pin in it; not time to ask about his own abilities, not when they had Rath’s father to take care of. But the mention of fathers had made him think of his own, his childhood, his adulthood, and all that culminated into curiosity about his demonic abilities.

Still, he kept quiet, patting Violin’s neck as he stepped away from the horse.

“What now?” He asked, glancing over at Rath curiously.

_________________________________________

Rath was quiet for a moment, eyes scanning over the building ahead of them. He picked up a glimpse of movement in one of the windows, so at least they didn’t have to worry about nobody being home.

“I suppose we ought to go in and see what’s up.” He answered, taking Rose’s reins and leading him along down the path that led up to the manor. After hitching their horses to the hitching posts, the demon walked up the steps before using the gargoyle-carved knocker quite loudly.

There was a moment of silence before the door quite suddenly flew open, the man on the other side startling somewhat as though he hadn’t expected anyone to be there. He looked elven at first glance, having the same pointed ears, and long ginger hair tied in a braid. Hourglass-shaped pupils set in lavender eyes which lacked any visible sclera served a clear indicator he at least wasn’t fully elven, and a forked tongue that flicked at the air in front of him a couple times.

“Hah, sorry, I didn’t expect to see uh…you’re Elaxidor’s son I’m guessing?” The man grinned somewhat bashfully, displaying a set of thin, needle-like teeth and a mouth that extended across his cheeks.

“I am. I assume we’re expected?” Rath inquired, unsurprised and unbothered by the reaction from the stranger. He knew he had a pretty close resemblance to his father.

“Of course, come on in!” The man smiled as he let the two inside, shutting the door behind them. “You guys aren’t allergic to hyaenodon or anything, are you? ‘Cause we have like…five of them in here.” He asked, glancing between Rath and Curtis.

The inside of the manor was about as lavish as the outside; tidy, ornately decorated, and incredibly spacious, apparent even just from the foyer.

_________________________________________

Curtis was…not happy to see the stranger, because he got a sense of the heebie-jeebies from the elf, especially with that mouth…but…what could he do but come on in? He followed Rath, not worried about the horses for the time being. He was more worried about his own hide.

"Hyaenodon?" He muttered to himself. The house was spacious, and felt…inviting, despite his worries. Curtis moved quickly inside. He wasn't sure what to expect, but he figured that it was better than being outside alone.

He watched the stranger that led them inside. His hackles were up, but he'd be civil. For now.

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“Not that I know of, I’m sure it’ll be fine.” Rath answered to the man before turning to Curtis to explain quietly. “They’re like…big hyena-lion things.” He tried to describe the creatures, though his words did little justice to their uniqueness.

“Oh, pardon my manners, I’m Ardor!” The man offered to shake each of their hands with a smile, “And uh, you don’t need to hide yourself here if you don’t want to, we’re a demon-friendly household.” He added, mostly directing this to Rath for the sole reason that he was clueless to the fact that Curtis was a demon as well.

“I’m Rath, this here is Curtis,” Rath wasn’t so wary around this stranger as Curtis was, fairly confident he could end Ardor easily enough should things go south. Such confidence was completely unwarranted however, this was a complete stranger and even Rath wasn’t sure what he even was. Of course if this person knew anything of his father he’d know he was a demon, so Rath didn’t have any issue with letting down his disguise for now.

Ardor led them into a big living space, a particularly massive room furnished similarly to a living room. A couple flights of stairs were on the left of them as they came in, and a fireplace easily large enough for several people to stand inside on the right.

Most notably however, were the sets of white feathery wings displayed on the wall above it. Easily spanning the length of the room - one of the two pairs not even fully fanned out - with several dark glassy eyes set within each wing. The wings were far too massive to have come from any known animal - likely from a being too large to even fit in this room - and easily dominated the room’s decor as the main display.

Rath stopped nearly in his tracks at the sight of the wings, taken aback by the sheer size of them.

Ardor noticed the demon had become distracted, but ignored this for the most part as he turned to them again. “Right, so, you’ve got paperwork stuff or whatever to go over, I’m going to get Fane so uh, wait right here!” Without missing a beat, he bolted off nearly at a sprint, leaving Rath and Curtis alone for a minute.

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Curtis took the hand that was offered to him, shaking it firmly. He had been taught his manners, and hadn’t forgotten them, not even here. The fact that there were hyena/lion hybrids rolling around didn’t make him feel very confident, but Ardor had a good handshake, and that was something in the right direction. He thought long and hard about unveiling his horns and black sclera. He didn’t do it lightly. But…what better time to actually try out his idea than now? He’d wanted to check in with Rath and see what he needed to make it happen, but well…desperate times called for desperate measures, and he really didn’t want to be told ‘no’ either. Besides, he had people here to catch him.

I mean, if he fainted or died or something, there was no better place to actually do that than in a household with a demon and a…whatever Ardor was. So he took a deep breath. Normally shifting was pretty easy, just a little blur here and there as his horns grew from his skull. He had to focus hard, now. He couldn’t just let the horns spring forth; he had other plans. He wondered if it’d be as easy - no - or as simple to ignore, also no. This time, lighting cracked around him, not even scorching the floorboards it was so harmless. His eyes darkened, his horns sprang up, and he felt his bones shifting, his body growing a touch taller, stronger. The lightning almost tickled, but didn’t harm him. But it ran from tip to tail, for he did have a long, leathery tail this time.

“That’s…unusual,” he said. His voice was deeper, his adam’s apple more prominent. And where he’d been thin and wiry, he had a bit more muscle. Clearly, this body belonged to a demon of a male persuasion. He grinned. Only Rath would possibly catch the shift, because he had always passed pretty well, but now…he didn’t have to.

The wings….Curtis took in a breath. He’d not been raised in the Bible Belt for nothing. The words “Be Not Afraid” were practically etched into his brain. He knew what those were, and he shifted. Not really a common thought, of his, how to take his entire life’s training and turn it on its head to enter the demonic world. Of course, it wouldn’t be out of place here, even if Rath was surprised to see them. Curtis felt his stomach churn slightly.

Curtis glanced from the wings to Rath, to the wings, to Rath. He turned his attention to finding somewhere to sit, moving a little awkwardly, like he wasn’t completely used to walking.

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Rath paused as he noticed the lightning, visibly surprised - and impressed - by the new form Curtis took on. His tail flicked behind him briefly, like that of an excited cat - an unconscious motion he couldn’t help any more than a dog could help wagging its tail, or a human from smiling - but he restrained his fascination until they’d been led into the living room and left alone together.

Ardor had paused briefly as well, though considering he’d only just met the two, he assumed this was just the usual for them and barely passed a curious glance at each of them.

The wings had briefly broken Raths’ train of thought; he knew his father had kept angel wings above his fireplace, but he was a little surprised that he’d still had them, considering the level of destruction from the war so long ago, along with the near-priceless value of such rare and well-preserved wings. They must’ve been around…1200 to 1300 years old now? And still, they looked brand new.

After a moment Curtis’ movement caught the demon’s attention again, following the other to sit on one of the several couches. The huge fireplace had a fairly large flame burning within, easily heating the large room. Rath relaxed a little, appreciating the break from the cold outside.

“I didn’t know you could shift that much,” He commented with a light grin, “It suits you.”

His gaze then turned up to the wings again. He knew it was unlikely he’d need to explain what they came from. “Those were my father’s prized possessions. There was nothing in this world he valued more. I’ve never actually seen them before, though.” He pondered, tail curling around his lap. “I suppose they’re likely mine now.”

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Curtis was exhausted. The shifting had taken a toll, and his spade-ended tail curled limply around his feet as he flopped down. But he felt…invigorated. All through his life, he'd dreamed of being able to do this, and now he could?! It was amazing, to say the very least. Amazed he was, as he stared up at the many-eyed wings. That was an elephant in the room, more than any changes he made to his physique. Though, the words "it suits you" from Rath kept ringing through his head.

"Guess so," Curtis mused. "I mean, it's a hell of a decor choice," he smirked. "But I suppose that I'd have to face that aspect of being a demon one way or another, and I'd rather face it with someone else," he sighed. "So…they must have some value, if only sentimental," he stated. "What are you gonna DO with this place? These treasures?"

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“I’ll say.” Rath agreed with a chuckle. “Quite the flex too, for him at least. Supposedly he killed this thing all on his own.” He added. As neat as it was, this did leave a very high bar for Rath to reach as Elaxidor’s son. Demon offspring are meant to - expected to - surpass their predecessors, but how does one top killing an angel single-handedly?

A slight nod from the demon, “Yeah, demons and angels…aren’t on the best of terms.” He didn’t know how Curtis felt about angels, but regardless, it wasn’t likely to change how angels felt about him now that he was a demon.

“Good news about that is most of them fucked off after losing the war, and we outnumbered them to begin with. So there’s…not that many around these days.” Admittedly, part of him did want to try and hunt one…but another, perhaps more reasonable part of him never wanted to have to lay eyes on another living angel again.

“Oh yes, angel wings - especially ones this well-preserved - sell for a fortune. I could probably buy a whole castle if I sold them.” He confirmed with a slight laugh.

He had to think a moment about Curtis’ question, glancing around the room. “I mean…assuming I can do whatever I want with all this, I have a cozy place to live now if nothing else.” He pondered. “I don’t know though, I’ve never had…this much before. I guess there’s no harm in just holding onto everything until I figure it out.”

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Curtis wasn’t sure what he thought of it all. The idea that his father had taken down an angel, supposedly the most powerful of the arch-creatures save for…well…he didn’t want to think about the stories he’d heard year after year as a child. He had what he wanted, a person, a form he could stand, a place to stay. What if he never returned to his home? That wouldn’t be so bad, would it? He could get used to being a demon. Right?
He shook his head. His dumbass nephew wouldn’t survive without him. He sighed. “I suppose it’ll be different, living here than where you were,” he said with a small smirk. “But I suppose that’s the way it goes, isn’t it? The old ones leave room for the new,” he added, thinking aloud.

“I mean, I wouldn’t sell something with such…sentimental value,” he sighed, glancing at the wings again. “Besides, this seems like a perfectly nice castle to live in,” he laughed softly. “And I can always come visit,” he shrugged. Not like he’d entertained the idea of staying just a moment before. He’d done this for his nephew’s sake, given up his very life for this. He couldn’t abandon his family now.

But he wasn’t ready to go just yet. So he settled back into the couch, and sighed softly.

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Rath nodded his agreement, “I’m sure I could certainly appreciate living here a lot more than my old place. It’s so fancy here.” He chuckled. He didn’t know how many other people lived here, but he was sure he could get used to it.

Glancing up at the wings again, the demon smiled softly. “I wouldn’t actually sell them, not for all the money in the world…probably not, anyway.” He chuckled. “Of course, you’ll always be more than welcome to come visit anytime.” He grinned, glad to have a nice place to chill at together if they didn’t want to go out to a place at any point.

“Apologies for the wait gentlemen, we weren’t expecting you so soon.” Fane spoke up as he walked into the room, giving the two a curt nod as he glanced between them. He was a little surprised to see that Curtis was a demon as well, but not enough for an outward reaction. Ardor had followed him here as well, though this time hung back and stayed mostly quiet.

“We have much to discuss,” Fane seated himself across from the two so the will could be laid out on the coffee table between them to go over the details together. Ardor still hung around for a short time, though very quickly became visibly bored with all this talk before discreetly taking his leave.

Apparently, Rath only actually got the inheritance if he took up the role of running the business his father had; if he refused the job or simply couldn’t do it for whatever reason, he didn’t get anything at all. It almost felt like he’d been tricked to some extent, but the writing was right there on the will; and frankly, Rath didn’t care. It was a no-brainer for him, he’d been only doing a bit of freelance work while trying to figure out a more permanent job as it is. He didn’t care what the job entailed, it was worth it for everything he’d get in exchange.

It made sense to him anyways; as a creature with an indefinite lifespan, he could never just sit on a pile of money with no income for the rest of his life, he’d eventually run out. Not that he ever planned on doing that, he’d get bored pretty quick.

“Very good, we’ll start your training once you’ve settled yourself here.” Fane smiled once their discussion was over - which hadn’t lasted nearly as long as he’d anticipated - and handed Rath a key to the place.

Rath blinked, a little surprised it was that simple. He promptly tucked the key into his pocket, turning to Curtis with a grin. “Hey, y’know, I can afford a really nice dinner for us now.”

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Curtis was quiet, while Fane went over the rules and regulations of the inheritance. He didn't ask any questions, figuring that he didn't want to know what the family business entailed. He was still a goody two shoes at heart, despite his recent newfound abilities. But he supposed it would be good for Rath to have something that kept him entertained and busy. So he was fine with whatever Rath decided. As the business came to a close, Curtis glanced over at Rath, considering his words.

"I suppose, though I don't know how exactly I'll pay you back later," he laughed softly. A thought crossed his consciousness, but he bit his tongue lest he seem ungrateful or crass. "What an odd day," he remarked, thinking aloud.

"Well, we should probably get on that," mused Curtis, wondering exactly how late it was getting. He glanced over at Rath, smiled softly, and stretched, exploring the sensation of relaxed muscles that ran from shoulder to fingertips in this new vessel/form.

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“Oh, you don’t have to pay me back for it.” Rath laughed, “I’m paying you back for that first meal we had together, so this makes us even.” He assured the other before rising from his seat. He still hadn’t forgotten his promise to get him a proper meal after that double date, and he was intent on keeping his word.

“Yeah, we should probably head out. I imagine it’ll be getting dark in a few hours.” He agreed, glancing at the nearest window to see the sun beginning to get low.

With that, Fane showed them out and bid them a good evening, expressing his eagerness to show Rath the ropes of his new job another day.

Rose perked his ears when he spotted his rider coming back outside, having been getting bored being stuck by the hitching post this long; as was evident by the disturbed snow all around. Rath chuckled as the stallion pressed his nose into the demon’s palm, a pleased nicker from the horse as Rath petted his face.

The demon turned to Curtis as he unhitched Rose and mounted up, giving his steed an extra pat on the neck. “So what do you prefer, fancy or more casual places?” He asked, having a few options in mind already.

A portion of the roleplay between myself and Kelpie-Mare ! May or may not add more of it later, but for the moment at least, I think this is enough ^w^