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Strange Magic [Dragonsong]

Started by Zero, August 15, 2016, 04:06:13 PM

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Zero

That comment earned Calen a glare. Who died and made him judge of fate? Joss was the one that just got assaulted, he thought he had a pretty good case on why he had more right to make that call. Well it wasn't like he could do anything right that minute anyway. He could bid his time. Frosty wouldn't be there to stop him.

Joss watched the rest of the confrontation while holding his nose. The bleeding had slowed and stopped by the time Corryn and his goons left.

"Stop calling me a kid." He growled from behind his hand, still glaring sullenly. It hadn't been a good night at all so far. Somehow he didn't think it was going to improve much. "I'm...fine. I could have handled it. You're too soft. Killing twats like that would make the world a better place."

DragonSong

He shrugged. "Maybe. But it's not my place to decide who deserves to live and die." He wouldn't pretend he'd never killed before, but not in cold blood, not when he could avoid it.

Calen folded his arms and arched an eyebrow at Joss. "Y'need a healer, ki- Joss?"

Zero

Joss wondered if he had ever viewed the world through such rose-tinted goggles, but quickly discarded the thought. With his mother everything had always been far too real and dark. There was no such thing as real innocence.

"Fuck healers." He grumbled, wiping the blood on his coat sleeve. It caused him to hiss softly with pain, but Joss didn't think his nose was broken. There was probably going to be some bruises on him from being hit and kicked, but nothing a fraction as bad as a demon did to him on a regular basis. Besides, going to a healer presented its own set of problems. "I've had worse beatings from my mother for back-talking. Those guys are pathetic."

DragonSong

Calen sighed and scrubbed his hands down his face. "Alright, fine. Be stubborn. At least let me take a look at you, will you?" He took a hesitant step forward, hands raised peaceably.

Zero

It wasn't a conscious action, but when Calen stepped forward Joss jumped back, pressing his back against the wall and holding his hands up almost defensively. "No way, don't touch me Frosty."

Yeah, the last thing he needed was someone feeling around.

DragonSong

"Alright, alright." Calen backed off again, keeping his hands raised in the universal look-I'm-unarmed-and-mean-no-harm gesture. He huffed out a breath and rolled his eyes.

"Look, will you at least let me get you to somewhere you can stay the night? No strings attached." Surly and violent the young man may be, but somehow the ice mage had taken some sort of personal interest in him.

Zero

Yeah, that gesture lost some of its meaning when the person making it was a mage that could freeze the blood in your veins with nothing but those hands. Not that it was Calen's magic that Joss was worried about. No, what he had against the overly friendly mage was the same thing he had against pretty much the entire world.

"Why?" Joss narrowed his eyes suspiciously. He really didn't know why Calen was just so intent on helping him. He'd been as rude and abrasive as he could be and the guy still wouldn't just go away.

DragonSong

Calen gave him his most charming grin. "Do I need a reason? Just being helpful."

Well, he knew that wasn't going to work. He huffed out a breath and fisted his hands on his hips. "Look- I don't know what it is, but I'm...just offering some help alright?" He had this- this feeling, like if he didn't give this ornery bastard a hand he was going to regret it later, but he didn't even quite know why.

Zero

The look that crossed Joss clearly indicated what he thought of the question. It was the stupidest thing he'd ever heard. Well, the stupidest thing recently. Everyone needed a reason. People didn't do nice things for nothing. Even the assholes who thought they were such great, generous people had their own motives and if they said otherwise they were liars.

"No, not alright. Things are very rarely alright." Joss huffed, folding his arms across his chest uncomfortably as he shuffled a little bit away from Calen. "Look, Frosty, thanks for coming back to help me out, not that I needed it mind you, but from my experience people don't do things for no reason and not knowing why you're sticking to me like a leech makes my skin itch. People aren't nice just because, and especially not to people like...me."

Hateful and confrontational. Joss wasn't exactly a pleasant person to be around, but he'd intentionally done this to himself. For the best.

DragonSong

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. The man had a point, but he just felt like...it was an itch he couldn't scratch.

"Look, honestly? I don't really know why. Normally, I'd leave ya here seeing as Corryn shouldn't be an issue anymore. But I just...can't. I've got a feeling about you. And the kind of life I live, I've learned to pay attention to those kinds of feelings, y'know?"

Zero

Now if that didn't set the hairs on edge nothing would. Joss shifted uncomfortably as he cast a wary look at Calen. What kind of feeling did this guy have about him? It was kind of unnerving. Did the mage suspect his secret?

"If I let you find somewhere for us to crash until dawn will you just fucking let it go?" If ol' Frosty was suspicious of him then all the more reason to get away as quickly as possible.

DragonSong

Calen beamed. "You've got yourself a deal, Sunshine. C'mon, there's a place that's not too sleazy a quick walk from here." He nodded his head down the street in indication.

Zero

Sunshine? Ugh.

This was one of those decisions that Joss immediately regretted. Just the smile alone was enough to make him groan and put his head in his hands. It was just until morning, then the pest would go away and he could get back to life as normal, even if normal was kinda hellish.

"I mean it. Sun comes up and you're gone." He grumbled as he moved down the street the way Calen had nodded his head.

DragonSong

"I know you mean it," Calen replied cheerfully as he started walking. He kept smiling, but internally his thoughts were whirling: why on earth was this so important to him? He couldn't for the life of him figure it out, he just knew it was.

He led them down a few back streets to one of the less dilapidated buildings in this section of town.

Zero

"As long as we're clear. No misunderstandings." Joss was sulking along, and he knew it. His face and head hurt, his stomach hurt, and he felt too tired to really fight with Calen anymore. Hell, he couldn't even fight back against Corryn and his men. That alone was proof enough he needed some rest pretty badly.

They came to one of the nicer buildings, at least nicer for this area. It looked a little less likely to collapse on itself than most of the others. "So where are we, anyway? Can't say I've been here before."

DragonSong

"Just an inn I've stayed at before." Calen smiled and bumped the door open. "Come on, no one will bite. Promise."

There was no one working the front desk, but Calen strolled in and dropped a few coins before waving for Joss to follow him toward a door.

Zero

Even if Calen's sunshine attitude was a little hard to swallow, Joss had to admit that free booze and bed seemed like an almost reasonable trade off.

Almost.

He followed him into the building, squinting as he looked around, a little surprised no one was up front and more surprised when the mage just waltzed right in after dropping a few coins. "Kinda lacking on the service, eh?"

DragonSong

"The place usually is," Calen chuckled as he opened the first door down the hall a crack and peered in. He quickly shut it and moved on. "Allen knows me, so I can get in."

He tried another door and, with a small sound of satisfaction, ushered Joss inside.

Zero

"Well you never expect a palace in Zantaric, but someone manning the desk is kinda expected, you know? Just anyone could walk right in here." For instance, them. Sure, Calen had left some coins, but someone else might not have, and anyone that walked in behind them could just swipe the money.

Joss's head throbbed with a headache just thinking about it, so he sighed and followed the mage down the hall. When he was ushered into the room he truly had no idea what to expect.

DragonSong

Calen snorted. "Not likely. There's a...trick to this place." He smiled crookedly and explained, "One of those coins I left is enchanted. If someone comes in without one, it sets of the wards and Maria- the woman who runs the magic around here- can come running. She'll give me back the coin when we leave so I can get back in."

He gestured to the small bed and plopped himself down on the set of drawers tucked into the corner with a sigh. "You take the bed. I can manage with a blanket on the floor."

The room was dingy, but not exactly skeevy. There were certainly worse places to spend the night in Zantaric.

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