Strange Magic [Dragonsong]

Zero · August 27, 2018, 02:08:33 PM

"Fate? Pfftahaha!" Joss actually laughed at the very idea. "Just dumb luck. Or maybe not, you seemed to have had a demon problem, and I told you I was a demon hunter. This is just me doing my job."

He helped Calen along, remembering the best he could how to get to the place they'd stayed together before. It didn't take long to find the door he only half-remembered. "I think this is it, right? You should be able to stay here and be okay tonight."

DragonSong · August 28, 2018, 07:07:41 PM

Calen smiled tiredly and attempted to clap the smaller man on the shoulder-- all he really managed was to sort of awkwardly grip at his arm before his hand slid down again. "Thanks, Sunshine," he murmured, lurching forward to lean against the doorway of the inn. "I can...get myself inside."

That...might have been a lie. He honestly wasn't sure. But he felt like he had to at least make an effort to seem a little less pathetic, gods.

Zero · August 29, 2018, 05:24:49 AM

Joss had already done more than enough. He hadn't needed to bring him all the way here in the first place. If he'd been smart he would have walked away and left Calen sitting in that alley and let the mage figure out on his own how to make it through the night. His part was only killing the demon, not taking care of the clean-up.

Of course he could tell himself that, as he watched Calen lean against the doorframe pitifully.

"Tch. You sure about that? You look like you're gonna collapse the moment I walk away." Well this was just great. With a sigh Joss stepped forward and grabbed Calen's arm, trying to help him stand upright again. "Just do your secret coin stuff and I'll get you as far as your bed."

DragonSong · October 01, 2018, 07:23:09 PM

Wearily, Calen offered him a small smile. "Thanks, lad," he mumbled, too tired and sore to even give a token argument. He chuckled roughly as he wrapped an arm around Joss's shoulders and limped into the inn, already fishing the needed coin from his pocket.

"You're being awful nice to me," he noted blithely, trying to keep himself awake more than anything else.

Zero · October 03, 2018, 03:35:31 AM

"I told you I'm a demon hunter, you got attacked by a demon. If you go and die lying in a ditch or alleyway it was a bit of a wasted effort." That sounded like a plausible enough explanation. It fit well enough that even Joss was convinced, and why not? He didn't actually care about the mage, Calen was annoying as fuck, after all.

Joss stopped at the counter they had left the coin at last time, looking around nervously. They just had to settle Calen into a room and then he could be on his way.

DragonSong · October 29, 2018, 11:05:04 AM

Calen huffed quietly as he flipped the coin onto the counter. "Yeah, guess you've got a point."

He shivered again, then scowled. "Fuck this fucking cold," he grumbled, sounding more like a petulant child than a capable mage.

Zero · December 02, 2018, 04:46:20 PM

"I thought you didn't get cold, Frosty." It was a lame quip, but honestly Joss wasn't sure what to say about how cold Calen was apparently feeling. All he could do was get him into a bed and throw some covers on the mage to try to make him warmer.

He pulled Calen down the hallway, eyes darting from door to door as he hesitated. "Which one?"

DragonSong · December 02, 2018, 05:29:04 PM

"I d-don't." Calen paused, startled by his own chattering teeth. Then he shook himself and pointed to a door. "That one, th-third on the left."

Oh gods. He was freezing. And he was starting to panic about it, just a bit. He never got cold, never, not since as far back as he could remember.

What if...that demon had done something to him? He was no scholar, no archmage. How the hells was he supposed to fix this?

Zero · December 02, 2018, 05:40:55 PM

"Almost there, man." Joss soothed gently, trying to keep Calen calm now that they were almost at the goal. The end was in sight, they just had to reach it. He dragged the mage along, pushing the door open with his shoulder and sighing in relief as they crossed the floor to the bed.

Gently the demon hunter eased the ice mage down to sit on the bed. "Come on, let's get your boots off and you under the blankets. You should start feeling warmer soon."

At least he hoped so.

DragonSong · December 02, 2018, 06:07:38 PM

The mage shot him a faux-suspicious look, trying to recapture some of his trademark mirth. "You are being awful nice to me," he noted, narrowing his eyes dramatically as he stumbled toward the bed.

He desperately ignored the fact that it was becoming harder and harder to keep himself upright, the cold sort of...seeping in, dragging at his limbs, his head, his eyelids. He blinked slowly, then looked down at his feet. "Right. B-B-Boots."

Fumbling slightly, he tried to reach down and tug at his shoes, rolling awkwardly to the side as a sudden shiver racked his frame.

Zero · December 03, 2018, 06:40:49 AM

"And you're being way less annoying than before, plus you're kind of pathetic right now." Well it was true, also Joss was neither drunk nor hungover. That helped with most people's moods.

He didn't even try not to roll his eyes as Calen fell over trying to take his boots off. Despite his display of annoyance, Joss was actually pretty concerned. The mage was clearly not doing well, something was wrong with him and a warm bed and hot soup probably wasn't going to cut it for a cure.

Joss sighed and knelt in front of the bed, gently pulling Calen's boots off and lifting his legs into the bed. It felt weird to be putting someone to bed as the demon hunter pulled the blankets over the other man's shivering form and tucked him in.

"You're going to feel warmer soon, Frosty. I promise." It was a hell of a thing to say, making a promise like that. Joss was supposed to leave as soon as he got Calen into bed, but he wasn't sure the mage wouldn't freeze to death if left alone.

What a mess.

Joss stepped back and cupped his hands together, drawing on the demon magic still left within him to create a small spark of flame. When he opened his hands the fire danced to life, growing and splitting as tiny flickering balls began floating around the room. Waves of heat radiated off them, but they would not burn anything as they warmed the air around them.

DragonSong · December 03, 2018, 07:48:25 AM

With a quiet scoff, Calen curled himself under the blankets. He was too cold and too tired to do much else at the moment.

The demon hunter's little balls of fire seemed to help, at least a little. He found himself curving toward the nearest one, desperately seeking the warmth.

Zero · December 03, 2018, 08:07:50 AM

The little flames made flickering shadows across the walls as they moved around, hovering closer to the bed, concentrating their heat where it was needed most.

"Are you going to be okay? Should I get a healer or something? My magic is really more geared toward destruction. I could probably dispel a curse or something, but I'm not sure what the demon actually did to you." Joss sat on the edge of the bed now that the magic was set and laid his hand against Calen's shoulder.

DragonSong · January 12, 2019, 11:39:06 AM

"Gods, I don't know." Calen struggled into a sitting position, then wavered as the room spun briefly around him, then abruptly righted itself again. "I don't-- it said something about...a mark? I dunno, is that like a curse?"

Zero · February 17, 2019, 03:47:20 PM

"Don't try to sit up you idiot." Joss huffed, putting a hand on Calen's shoulder and gently trying to push him back down. He scowled softly as he thought about this mark the mage mentioned. "It could be a curse, but I would need to know exactly what I was dealing with to do anything safely. I'm sure you don't want me accidentally killing you."

DragonSong · February 17, 2019, 04:22:47 PM

The ice mage laughed raspily and flopped back. "Yeah, no. Killing me would be...not great. For anyone. I mean, maybe for you, I dunno. I seem to really irritate you." He tried for a joke, offering a crooked half smile before another shiver gripped him and he tried to burrow further into the blankets.

Zero · February 17, 2019, 05:37:14 PM

"Oh you do irritate me, but I don't want you to die necessarily. Aside from being an annoying bastard you've never done anything worth wanting you dead." The demon hunter tucked the covers tighter around Calen with a sigh. Joss squinted at the little dancing flames and they grew a bit more, producing more heat and more flickering light.

"I don't think you should be left alone right now." He didn't know if there was someone that he could get to take care of the mage. "Do you have a friend or something that can come look after you for a while?"

DragonSong · February 17, 2019, 07:05:10 PM

"Um..." Calen smiled sheepishly, though his face had gone even paler than before and he was shivering violently nonstop. "You?"

Unfortunately it was true. He didn't know if any of his contacts were in the city, and wasn't sure he should risk trying to contact them.

Zero · February 18, 2019, 07:39:36 AM

"I said a friend." They were not friends. Joss didn't have friends. Still, he supposed if that was the only option then there wasn't a whole lot of choice. He didn't want Calen to die. Not that he was sure the mage would die. It wasn't a chance he was eager to take. "You're a real pain in the ass, you know that?"

Well if there was nothing else for it, might as well make the most of it. Joss tethered the magic maintaining the heating lights and settled down on the bed beside his unintended charge. The bed wasn't really made for two, but he doubted Calen would mind the body heat.

DragonSong · February 18, 2019, 08:01:35 AM

Calen most certainly did not mind the extra heat. Pushing his luck as much as he could, he shifted closer to Joss and curled up a little tighter. "Th-thanks," he muttered, his eyelids fluttering as he drifted closer to sleep.