Joss hadn't even let the blood on his hands finish drying before he'd stumbled into an inn. Mud and blood splattered his boots and coat, but nobody questioned his disheveled appearance. People knew better than to ask strangers about things they didn't really want the answer to.
He felt as if he'd run several miles only to have the tar beat out of him at the finish line. A good hunt always wore him out. Of course he was a mongoose sitting in the middle of a viper's nest. All the unsavory sorts loved Zantaric – demons were quite fond of the place, which was why it was so easy to find fiends to vanquish. It also meant he was in even more danger than usual, but most of the characters in this particular inn seemed uninterested in picking a fight with him.
Good.
Joss fell into a chair at an empty table, pulling out a pipe and slowly packing it with his favorite tobacco. A sultry serving girl came to take his drink request, and left pouting when he refused to flirt or acknowledge her large, barely-contained breasts which she'd none-to-subtly tried to shove in his face. Probably made extra tips and got presents from fool customers that were actually interested in her wiles.
He wasn't in need of such fleshy comforts – or at least he couldn't indulge without answering some hard questions.
By the time his drink had been shoved in front of him and the offended tavern wench sauntered off to invest her attention elsewhere, Joss had finished stuffing his pipe. A simple spark of demonic magic caused smoke to wisp up from the basin as he puffed contently for a few moments before finally taking a long drink from his tankard; it was the perfect way to end a long day.
Calen glanced up when he heard the door open, then did a double take. Damn. Poor son of a bitch looked like he'd been dragged through a cross country course. Backwards.
Well. Not his problem. Plenty of people stumbled into the inns of Zantaric looking rather disheveled. Still, he found himself glancing at the stranger every once in a while out of the corner of his eye, curiosity piqued.
The barmaid approached to ask if he wanted another drink, all fluttering lashes and artfully exposed breasts. Calen resisted the urge to roll his eyes- to be honest he felt a bit sorry for the girl, but he'd been in the tavern enough to know how persistent she could be, and it could get rather irritating. Still, he just gave her a smile and a reasonable tip as he stood and gathered up his cloak, meaning to leave.
Until a rather large hand caught his shoulder just before he reached the door, shoving him back into a wall- uncomfortably close to the table the bedraggled stranger occupied. He stumbled and frowned, glancing up at his assailant- then gulped.
"Corryn. Well, it's been a long time-"
"Save it." The man- an acquaintance from a previous job that hadn't ended well- shot his hand out to grip the front of his shirt. "You and me need to have a talk, friend."
"You and I," Calen corrected, unable to help himself.
"...What?"
"You and I," he repeated. "Not you and me."
A fist cracked across his face.
Honestly the world didn't exist beyond Joss's very narrow sphere. Anyone could be staring at him and he'd not so much as spare them a glance - as long as they weren't bothering him he didn't give two fucks. All he cared about just then was drinking and smoking before eventually he'd get too tired to hold his eyes open and would pass out piss drunk somewhere.
Joss was barely aware of the drama unfolding practically against his table, and he wouldn't have cared in the slightest if his table wasn't bumped as one fool was punched by another. His ale shifted on the table, spilling over the side of the tankard and splashing on his trousers.
In the blink of an eye the table was flipped over - crashing into a couple other tables as all hell broke loose. There was going to be a full-scale brawl at this rate.
Joss didn't care, he'd take on every bitch in this shit hole, but first the one that fucked with his peace and quiet time. Corryn - not that he actually knew his name - would find himself with a fist in his own face. Hell, after a hunt why not end the night with a good fist-fight?
Startled, Calen realized he suddenly had backup- unwitting or not, he'd take it. With a quick jolt of magic he froze Corryn's feet to the floor.
Two other big thugs were moving toward them. Without thinking, he grabbed the stranger's arm and hissed, "C'mon, let's book before those louts make it over here. Trust me, not the kinda people you want on your tail."
He darted for the door, dragging the other man with him.
Frozen feet...well that was unexpected.
Joss hadn't really noticed the big thugs on the way until he was being grabbed by the arm and dragged out of the inn. That inner fire burned hot, angry at the thought of running away from anyone - he was a goddamned demon hunter! He could take them, he knew he could.
"Butt out, I'll break all their faces - give them mugs even a mother can't love!" The words were crowed rather hotly, but he put up minimal struggle. Demon hunter or not, Joss was running on fumes of power, the bitter dregs of sweet demonic energy left over from his earlier hunt. Sure, he could probably stay alive through a fight, but he wasn't going to win a fight - even with some two-bit thugs.
"I'm sure you could," Calen replied easily. "But I've always felt the best offense is smacking 'em by surprise and then running until they can't see you anymore. And that spell won't hold forever, the ice will melt or break."
He sped around a corner, keeping his grip on Joss's arm. With a charming grin, he added quickly, "Name's Calen by the way, and it's a pleasure. Think you saved my hide back there with that punch."
"That makes no sense. Running is for cowards." Joss grumbled unhappily, but at least he didn't shout it. He was too focused on trying to keep up to struggle with Calen as he was still being pulled along.
When they rounded the corner he stumbled, nearly falling completely. "Ugh, if that asshole hadn't spilled my drink I wouldn't have gave a shit."
He felt more than saw the stumble and came to a halt, unthinkingly pressing his unwilling companion up against the wall of a small alcove.
His eyes flickered around warily. The sound of footsteps has him pressing a finger to his lips, giving Joss a meaningful look at Corryn's and his friends thundered angrily by the alley.
Joss grunted softly as he was shoved against a wall. His whole body was sore and it didn't feel very good to be pressed against such a hard surface. Lucky for Calen he decided not to make a fuss just then, pressing his lips into a thin line and scowling indignantly at the strange man that had sorta but not really taken him hostage. If nothing else he took the opportunity to try to catch his breath and let himself cool off a bit.
He waited until the men chasing them were well past them before growling softly. "You owe me a drink, you know."
Relaxing as the sounds of their pursuers faded into the distance, Calen rocked back onto his heels and grinned at him.
"How about you give me your name and I'll buy you two," he countered with a friendly laugh. Smile turning sheepish, he awkwardly rubbed at the back of his neck and added, "Er, sorry about this by the way. It was sorta an instinctive reaction, y'know?"
Joss was beginning to question if Calen was perhaps just a little deranged. They'd just been running from people that seemed quite intent on doing them great harm and the moron was grinning like a bloody idiot.
"Yeah? Well your instincts suck." He grumbled, pushing away from the wall and peeking out around the corner just to make sure they really were gone. "Name's Joss, and you better not stiff me on those drinks. I've had a very long, very trying day and I'm thirsty as hell. If not for you I'd be halfway to pass-out drunk by now."
"Well aren't you cheerful," Calen laughed, evidently completely unbothered by the insults and surly attitude. "I'll make good on those drinks, promise."
He stuck his head out of the alley and glanced from side to side, then tossed a bright, "C'mon. There's another tavern down this street, probably a better bet at this point," over his shoulder.
He clapped a friendly hand to Joss's shoulder and steered him gently down the street. "Thanks for your help back there, by the way. Even if it was just because Corryn spilled your drink."
"The sarcasm is real." Joss muttered dryly. Cheerful wasn't something anyone in their right might would ever seriously accuse him of being. "As long as you do make good on them I won't have to hurt you."
It felt strange, as if he was completely out of control of the situation. First being dragged through the streets, then shoved into an alley, and now being gently herded to another tavern.
"Dumb luck for you, I guess." Joss sure as heck wouldn't have helped him out of the goodness of his heart. His crimson flecked eyes glanced at his very weird and uninvited companion. He had no idea what to really make of him. The guy was far too friendly. "Why were they wanting to pick a fight with you anyway?"
He laughed sheepishly as they came to the door of another run down tavern. "Weeeeell, it's a bit of a long story. If you really wanna know, I can tell you over drinks."
He pushed the door open and held it with a dramatically gallant bow at the waist. "After you, my good sir."
"I think I earned a little story time." Joss pointed out. After all, if it wasn't for him Calen probably wouldn't be very capable of telling any stories just then. He wondered how badly they would have beat the snot out of the cheerful weirdo.
Eh, didn't matter to him.
Joss rolled his eyes heavily and pushed his way past Calen into the building. It was another shitty tavern, of course, not that he was expecting something grand. He made a beeline for an empty table in a quiet corner, flopping himself into the chair closest to the wall and letting his eyes scan the room warily. The last thing he needed was more trouble today.
Cheeriness undaunted, Calen sauntered into the tavern after Joss and plopped himself into a chair at the same table. He raised a hand to get one of the server's attention, asking easily, "What's your poison?"
As the girl was making her way to the table, he leaned back in his chair and huffed out a breath. "Well, if you really wanna know, Corryn and I worked a job together a few months back. Basic thing, just guarding a merchant caravan- I do that kinda work a lot. Anyway, I got into a...disagreement with the man in charge- oh, hey there, sweetheart."
He smiled at the barmaid who'd stopped beside their table. "I'll just have an ale, and he'll have..." He trailed off, looking to Joss.
Joss felt around in his coat as he settled comfortably into his chair, or as comfortable as he could given the hard wooden nature of his seat. Sighing in agitation he realized he'd lost his pipe in the scuffle at the other tavern. Writing it off as lost forever, he pulled a small metal case from an inner pocket and flipped it open to reveal a few rolled cigars.
A much happier sigh escaped him as he put it between his lips and used a spark of magic to light it. The smoke soothed his frayed nerves. Joss was indisputably an addict and alcoholic, but he hardly cared.
The case was returned to its place as he listened to Calen begin telling him about the thugs that had been after them. He didn't smile at the serving girl, he barely even looked at her. "Same for me."
The girl nodded, casting Joss a rather sour glance, and flounced away. Calen gave a low whistle, smirking at his companion. "You're just all kinds of friendly, ain'tcha?" he joked good naturedly.
Evidently not caring if Joss was really listening, he continued his tale. "Anyway. Got into a bit of an argument with our boss when I found out "merchant caravan" is apparently code for "slave traders"." He frowned, for the first time seeming less than cheerful. "Sooo... I let 'em loose. Broke into the bastard's wagon and gave the people we was holding all the money he'd been going to pay us guards with."
He shrugged. "Corryn didn't take too kindly to not gettin' paid."
A grunt was the only response Joss gave for the criticism of his friendliness. His life was far too complicated - not to mention dangerous - for making friends. Being a jaded, cynical asshole was a good buffer to keep the vast majority of people far away from him. That was the way he preferred people - at a distance.
He puffed quietly on his cigar as he listened to the explanation behind their little impromptu getaway. Joss couldn't stop himself from snickering softly. "How noble of you. Seriously, why did you bother? Slavery is kind of a thing in most parts of the world."
Sounded like soft-hearted foolhardiness to him.
Calen shrugged. "Yeah, maybe. Trust me, I've heard it all before- saving a few lives won't make a difference in the long run, bla bla bla." He shrugged again and suddenly grinned as the barmaid reappeared with their drinks.
"The way I see it-" he downed a swig from his mug- "it doesn't much matter if it doesn't make a difference in the big wide world. It made a difference for them, didn't it? That's the important thing."
As soon as his mug was placed in front of him, Joss raised it to his lips and took a long drink, once again ignoring the barmaid. Honestly he didn't know how else to deal with flirty women. It wasn't as if he could engage them. Nothing would come of it, he didn't have anything to give them.
He drained his drink in one go, clanking down the empty mug with a clank and sigh. Then laughed a little at what he'd said. "Calen the hero, sticking up for the unfortunates. Lucky them."
Calen laughed and shook his head. "Aw, you're gonna make me blush." He took another gulp of his drink and settled back more comfortably in his chair. "Nah, I'm no hero."
He was quiet a moment, then tilted his head at Joss and asked curiously, "That trick you used to light your cigar- you a mage or is that just a parlor trick?"
"Heh." Joss smirked softly as he went back to puffing lazily on his cigar and looking idly around the room. It was no better than the last tavern, but it wasn't worse. That was good enough for him. At least no one seemed interested in them here. Well, except the barmaid, well - she was interested in Calen. Apparently he'd earned a place on her shit list, which was fine by him.
"That trick with freezing that asshole's feet a parlor trick or are you a mage?" If he was going to ask stupid questions might as well have fun fucking with him.
"'Course I'm a mage!" Calen toasted him almost sassily- which really shouldn't be possible, but it was a knack he's perfected over the years. "A pretty decent one too, all things considered. Just figured I'd ask- for all I know, you could have some sort of charm stuffed up your sleeve."
He looked Joss over and decided, "But I doubt it. You've got that...feel that magic has, real magic." Powerful magic, though he kept that thought to himself.
Joss snorted at the sassy declaration, not raising his mug to return the toast, instead pushing the empty cup towards him with a smirk. "You still owe me another drink frosty."
He didn't want to comment on the idea that he had a feel about him. All the magic he used was dark, demonic in nature. It was a matter of controlling those dark forces and bending them to his own will - turning demonic magic against demons. He liked to think of it as fighting fire with fire.
"Frosty?" Her pulled a dramatically offended face and laid a hand over his heart. "If you must use such a moniker, I prefer Ice Man. Or possibly Snowflake." He grinned. "Makes me feel special."
Flagging down the barmaid again, he gestured for another round and she nodded. "So what brings you to Zantaric," he asked rather abruptly. "You're certainly not a local."
Snowflake?
"Nah, I like Frosty. Rolls off the tongue smoother." Not that it mattered what he called him. The man owed him another drink, but after that Joss was ditching Calen as soon as humanly, or inhumanly, possible. A bubbly ice mage was the last thing he needed hanging around annoying the living hell out of him.
Joss eyed Calen suspiciously for a moment when he asked what had brought him to town. "Business." It was a curt response, but he wasn't about to share a whole lot about what he was doing with anyone. Even if the guy seemed harmless, he could talk to someone who wasn't and not even realize he'd caused a damn problem. That always was the trouble with overly friendly fools, wasn't it?
Calen backed off, peaceably raising his hands. "Alright, I get it. Lots of folks are here on business."
Their second round arrived and he thanked the girl with a bright smile. "Here." He lifted his glass toward Joss in a semi-toast. "To...you being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Definitely saved my skin."
Of course they were. Zantaric was a hotbed of business. Murders, thieves, smugglers, dark mages who used forbidden arts, inhuman monstrosities...the list of the depraved for this city-state was nearly endless. For him it just meant business was booming in Zantaric.
"To you shutting up about it." Joss muttered, humoring Calen by actually raising his glass before taking a swig.
Instead of being offended, Calen just chuckled and dramatically zipped his lips, taking a moment to make a ridiculous joke out of not being able to get at his own drink before dropping the act and taking a sip.
"So. How's a kid like you wind up in places like this? I mean, I know business, but surely you could do that away from these seedy taverns?" He was making an assumption with "kid". Joss just looked young to him, though he certainly didn't act it.
To be honest it made Joss uncomfortable to be toasted like he'd done some great thing - he hadn't been a hero, had some noble intent, or anything done anything worthy of praise. His drink had been knocked over and he'd lost his damn temper like a lunatic.
Kid?
"Business brings me to Zantaric. Booze brings me into seedy taverns. Alcoholic and all that. Conduct business all day then spend my nights being surly until I pass out piss drunk. I live such a charming life." Joss gave a short, humorless laugh before draining his mug again and plopping the empty container down. He'd nearly finished his cigar and dropped it into one of his mugs and stood. "Thanks for the drinks. Good luck with your Corryn problem in the future."
"Hey, wait a minute." Calen scrambled to his feet, flashing that same charming grin. An idea was niggling in the back of his mind- he figured Joss would take some convincing, but it was worth a shot.
"Look, I've got a proposition for ya." He folded his hands in front of his body. "I happen to be in town on...business as well. And as has been made abundantly clear to me tonight, this place is even more dangerous than usual if you're on your own." His grin widened. "And you're probably the only person who hasn't looked at me like you're judging the quickest way to slit my throat."
He leaned back against the table and tilted his head to the side. "So...what do you say we stick together? Just until one of us leaves Zantaric, mind. Safety in numbers and all that?"
Joss bristled when Calen got in his way. He didn't like feeling cornered or trapped. Especially by some idiotic rainbows and ponies mage that thought they were buddies for some inexplicable reason. It would be the second time that night Calen found himself pushed against a wall with his shirt gripped by a pissed off asshole.
"Safety in numbers? Look here you irritating little cockroach, I may not have looked at you like I was figuring to slit your throat, but if you piss me off I am far more dangerous than anyone you've had the misfortune of getting on the bad side of in your worthless life." People were looking at them now; staring, really. Joss hardly cared.
Calen's eyes widened a bit and his hands flew up to grip Joss's wrists. "Alright," he hissed, trying to keep his voice low. Anger flashed in his eyes. "Alright, I get it. Now let go."
His fingers cooled, temperature dropping dangerously low. "And keep in mind, kid, I am more than capable of defending myself." The cold raced out from his skin, wrapping around them in their own personal biting gale.
Joss gritted his teeth as the fingers around his wrist became agonizingly cold, but he didn't release Calen right away, his red and grey eyes glaring at the mage. He hated being called a kid by this giddy git. Who between them was the childish one?
"So am I." He growled before releasing him with a shove, which was really almost an attempt to throw the coldness away from himself. Joss took a few steps back, still glaring hard at Calen but shuddering softly. Demons were far more comfortable with fire than ice. He might not have been a demon himself, but his demonic influences were certainly enough to make it uncomfortable to be facing someone so opposite of his own typical powers.
"Just remember I wasn't the one that needed you." He huffed, turning away and sending people scrambling to get out of his way as he stormed towards the door.
Calen snorted as he got his balance back, tossing a few coins onto the table they'd been using before moving toward the door as well. He gave Joss plenty of space- with his luck the ornery mage would think he was following him- and made his way back out onto the street.
It was probably so late it was early. He really should find a place to hole up for the night.
As soon as Joss was outside he reached back into his coat and pulled out another cigar. With the sweet roll of tobacco clamped between his lips, he stalked away from the tavern, not really sure where he was going. Normally he'd have passed out drunk in an alley wherever he could, but he'd not had nearly enough alcohol for all that. There was just a warm pit in his belly and a pleasant buzzing in his head.
Calen was already all but forgotten.
He paused next to a building so that he could concentrate to attempt to light up his cigar. Working with fire while buzzed was always a tricky business. Perhaps it was for the best when he couldn't so much as summon up a spark. Whatever demonic energy he'd siphoned earlier had been used up entirely.
Joss gave an impatient sigh as he rummaged around in his pockets for a match. He was too distracted and self-absorbed to notice a familiar and very unfriendly group of men approaching him.
It was Corryn, flanked by his two goons, that shoved him up against the building, most likely, but who knew who's fist slammed into his face, then his stomach. The air was knocked out of Joss's lungs as he crumpled almost immediately, dropping to his knees and wheezing as he doubled up and bit back the vomit that threatened to escape.
Well fuck.
Calen fully intended to walk in the complete opposite direction from Joss- the nutter would probably think he'd be following him- but as he started off he saw the outline of three unfortunately familiar shapes and ducked into a doorway, crouching down and turning his face away in the hopes that they would pass him by thinking he was a random drunk.
But they'd caught sight of Joss, he could tell by the way they picked up speed as they hurried down the street. He hesitated a moment, then swore to himself and climbed to his feet again, creeping after them as inconspicuously as possible.
By the time he reached them the idiots had a slumped figure surrounded. Joss, it had to be Joss. Corryn's foot lashed out in a vicious kick and Calen saw red.
With a snarl, he darted forward and grabbed the larger man's arm, jerking him back and throwing him off balance. "What the hell?!" Corryn's fist came swinging at his face and he threw up his forearm to block it, his other hand slamming into the man's chest, making a claw over his heart.
His eyes flashed, eldritch blue, and suddenly the big man froze as cold seeped into his skin. A hand clamped down on Calen's shoulder, starting to pull him back, and he spat, "Call your men off or I stop your heart."
"B-back off!" Corryn's voice was rather high for such a large man. He stared down at Calen with wide eyes.
The ice mage tsked and shook his head. "I didn't want to do this. But feel that?" He sent another surge of magic through his palm and Corryn gasped. "I'm cooling your blood. I could freeze it if I wanted to. Stops your heart in a beat and a half. You really wanna risk that?"
Slowly, the man shook his head. His friends were glancing between their leader and the man they'd left slumped on the ground.
A pained grunt was forced out of Joss as he was kicked. If Calen had let him take care of these assholes earlier instead of running away he'd have still had some energy left to actually fight back. As it was, all he could do was curl up on himself, throwing his arms over his head in an attempt to shield from further blows.
Everything came to a screeching halt, just about. Here Joss had wound himself up in anticipation of a rather thorough beating and here came Frosty to bail him out. Of course he wouldn't have needed help with these thugs if it weren't for the ice mage in the first place.
It was a loop of fuckery.
Taking the opportunity, what with Calen having Corryn by the balls, so to speak, Joss stumbled back to his feet, slumping against the wall and bringing a hand up to his face. The alcohol helped numb the pain a bit, but tears still welled up in his eyes. Blood was streaming from his nose and he glared at all of them as it dripped off his chin.
"Stupid sons of bitches." He growled angrily. "You'll die for this."
Although maybe not right this instant...Joss groaned and moved his hand to spit some blood on the ground. He wasn't really in any shape to carry out the threat, but just let him rest up and get his strength back - then he'd show them.
Calen shot a glance back at Joss, then shook his head. "No one needs to die tonight," he said firmly, looking back to Corryn. "But you'd better back the fuck off. Come after either of us again, and I'll let the scrapper kill you. Or I'll just do it myself, got it?"
There was a long, tense moment of silence, then Corryn nodded slowly. Calen stepped back, letting his hand drop, and the bigger man visibly slumped with relief as the cold retreated.
"Come on," he growled to his lackeys, and they booked a hasty retreat.
Calen sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Damnit," he muttered, clenching his eyes shut. "I hate doing that." He turned to look at Joss. "You alright, kid?"
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."
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?"
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."
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.
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.
"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.
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.
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.
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.
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?"
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.
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.
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.
"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.
"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."
"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.
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?"
"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.
"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.
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.
"Fancy." Joss muttered dryly as he looked around the unimpressive room. It was better than an alley, though. Cobblestone didn't make for a very comfortable bed.
The bed was small, definitely only designed for one person, and it wasn't like he was going to volunteer to cuddle with Calen. For that reason, he didn't argue when it was offered to him, and didn't feel bad at all about the mage having to sleep on the floor.
With an exhausted sigh Joss practically threw himself down on the mattress. It wasn't the softest, actually a little lumpy, but he was too tired to care. "Good night, Frosty."
Calen snorted and slid off the bureau to the floor. "Night, Sunshine."
He tugged a blanket out from underneath Joss and wrapped it around himself before curling up on the flor next to the bed. He was fairly exhausted himself, and quickly dropped toward unconsciousness.
Despite his insistence that they would be parting ways at daylight, Joss was more than content to remain passed out well past dawn as long as he remained undisturbed. Between the hunt, all the magic he'd used, and getting beat on by Corryn the day before his body was just exhausted and sore.
Plus taking advantage of having an actual bed to sleep in.
Calen was up with the sun, as was his habit, though he was groaning and grumbling a bit to himself, stiff from sleeping on the floor.
Seeing that his reluctant companion was still asleep, he made his way quietly out of the room to the front desk of the small inn. Unlike the previous night, Allen was lounging back in the chair behind the desk. He glanced up and tossed Calen a smile.
"Saw you checked in. You brought someone with you?"
Calen shrugged. "He's still asleep. You got any grub around here?"
He was directed to the kitchens where Maria, Allen's business partner and wife, merely gave him a grunt and shoved a plate of food toward him. The woman always did have a knack for knowing what was needed and when.
He took the plate and returned to their room, trying to be quiet as he snagged a piece of bread and left the rest of the food on the small table beside the bed.
It was really the smell of food that woke Joss up with a rumbling stomach. He'd drank on an empty stomach and his head reminded him of it. His eyes had to squint open a crack as he groaned heavily. "Too bright."
Joss didn't want to see daylight ever again. At least his pounding head convinced him of that, because of course he couldn't blame the ale - he hadn't even had that much!
"Please tell me some of that is for me." He mumbled, rubbing at his eyes blearily before looking at the food on the table next to him.
"Sure is." Calen smirked and leaned back against the window frame, twitching the threadbare curtain to at least partially block the light. "Hot mash and some tea with lemon. 'Course I could always ask Maria for a hangover cure, but I'm not sure I want to disturb the woman so early for such a favor. She may eat me, and then where would we be?"
Joss threw his legs over the side of the bed, sitting up on the edge and rubbing his eyes with a heavy yawn. Obviously not a morning person. He picked up the tray and sniffed at the mush that was breakfast. It wasn't fancy, but his meals usually weren't. "Well if she eats you I think I would manage alright."
There didn't seem to be anything fishy about the gruel, so he took his spoon and shoveled a bit into his mouth. He only seemed partially awake and not really fully aware of his surroundings.
"Well, that's some gratitude," Calen said with a wry laugh as he leaned back against the far wall. "And how do you know you'd do alright without me? Maria might decide she's still hungry and come after you once I'm done," he noted casually.
"If you wanted gratitude you should have picked up a stray dog." Joss snickered between mouthfuls. He ate automatically, it wasn't about enjoying it. Food was food, and he was hungry. Given the way his life worked out taking advantage of a free meal was the smart thing to do, even if it was just some hot mash. "And she wouldn't eat me. Not enough meat on these bones to be worth the effort, all tough and sinewy."
"Hrmph. Well I won't fight you on that one," Calen chuckled. "You're a skinny lad, right enough."
He pushed away from the wall as it seemed that Joss was finishing up. "When you're done, we can vacate the premises. I've just got to grab that coin on our way out."
Joss snorted softly as he spooned the last bit of breakfast into his mouth. He really hated the implication that he was somehow a child by being called 'lad' and 'kid'. It was kind of demeaning, but he supposed he did look pretty young. Well, younger.
"You do what you like, I'm ready to split. We had a deal, remember?" He pushed the plate onto the table as he rose and stretched. They'd agreed to go their separate ways at first light and it was already past that.
"Alright, alright." Calen rolled his eyes and shrugged. "C'mon then, I can show ya out. Maybe even manage to slip past without Maria noticing."
"Why do we want to slip out without Maria noticing?" Joss questioned as he followed Calen, not that it really mattered to him one way or the other. He'd never met this Maria woman and she had nothing to do with him.
"She can just be...crabby," Calen hedged, not seeming to really want to elaborate on the subject.
"Sounds like she's just your type." After all, he seemed to take some weird pleasure out of pestering the hell out of Joss. He figured that Calen just liked pissy people!
He sighed dramatically. "I do tend to attract a rather ornery crowd, I suppose." Rubbing his chin, he added thoughtfully, "It's quite strange, I've always thought it would work the opposite.
"Things rarely work the way you intend them to." Joss said with a shrug, still following Calen through the buildings. He didn't really know where he was going and getting out with the least amount of fuss or trouble was preferable.
Calen chuckled and gave the smaller man a wink over his shoulder. "C'mon now, that's part of the fun, isn't it?"
With anyone else he might have given a friendly nudge or clapped them on the shoulder, but he had a feeling all that would earn him with Joss was a punch on the jaw, so he settled for a lopsided grin as he turned them down a hallway.
"And just where in all hells do you think you're going?"
He screeched to a stop, wincing as the strident voice rang out behind them. "Fuck me..." Turning, he widened his smile. "Hi, Maria."
"Fun, right..." The words were given dryly, with every sign pointing to sarcasm. Usually when things didn't go according to plan Joss found himself hurt in some way. Of course he had a bad habit of doing things to hurt himself on purpose - such as excessive drinking and smoking and picking fights he didn't plan on winning.
Joss whirled around at the voice, body tensing for a moment before he realized that it wasn't an actual danger. He relaxed a little, but an annoyed scowl was on his face. This was a delay to him getting out of here and away from the irritating mage.
Maria- a short, stout woman with a perpetual scowl- quilted an eyebrow, arms folded as she stared Calen down.
"How many times you gonna bring your strays in here, Cay, huh? Who's this then?" She jutted her chin at Joss.
A stray?!
Well, Joss had been called worse. His scowled deepened and he folded his arms across his chest, glaring slightly at the woman. "Name's Joss, and don't worry, I was just leaving."
"See, Maria? No harm done." Calen smiled his most charming smile and wrapped an arm around Joss's shoulders in a friendly manner. "We're just gonna get moving then, yeah? Can't keep my good friend here cooped up forever," he chuckled.
Maria snorted. "Bullshit," she noted wryly, shaking her head at him. "Be gone with you then- and next time I see you I expect paying customers, you mooncalf."
Calen put a hand to his heart. "That hurts, Maria. It really hurts." He turned the hand on his chest into a genuflect and nudged Joss gently back toward the hall, muttering, "Start moving."
Joss turned his glare to Calen when the mage wrapped and arm around him, but at least he left it at glaring. He kind of wanted to punch him in the face. Didn't he have such good self-control?
Instead of patting himself on the back, he wasted no time in turning and shuffling down the hall in the direction that Calen nudge him.
"Strays?" He muttered testily, obviously still quite cranky. "How many people you bring here? Wait, I don't wanna know and I don't want to know what for either."
Calen quirked an eyebrow. "I'm not sure I like what you're insinuating," he noted cheerfully, head tilted to one side. "Anyhow, you shouldn't pay it any mind. Maria likes to exaggerate."
"I ain't insinuating nothing." Joss grumbled, still scurrying away from Maria and towards freedom. Just a few more minutes and he could be alone again. No more annoying mages, just himself and his thoughts.
And booze.
He might as well make an early start of it.
Calen rolled his eyes and chuckled, giving a little "hmm" in the back of his throat as he ushered the younger man down the back hall to the door.
By now Joss already felt his throat was dry. He was super thirsty for something strong and bitter that burned like hellfire on the way down. As soon as he reached the back door he threw it open and stepped out, taking a deep breath with a sigh.
"Nice knowing you, but I think I'm gonna go get a drink and get on with ruining my life without the interference of annoying ice cube boys." Even as he said it, he reached into his coat and pulled out his tobacco tin, putting a cigarette to his lips and using a match to light it. He inhaled deeply, feeling a soothing burn in his lungs as he feed one addiction.
Raising his hands peaceably, Calen took a few steps out onto the street before turning to face Joss. "Hey, I'm not one to belittle another man's vices. Knock yourself out."
He quirked an eyebrow. "It's a little early for a drink though. Sure you don't want some company?" He couldn't help offering- the young man was obviously troubled, and it just wasn't in his nature to let that lie.
"Yeah, because having someone watching me and never shutting up while I get piss drunk before noon is how I always like to start my day." There was a lot of sarcasm, of course, but the second half wasn't a horrible description of how he spent half his days. Drunk was a frequent state. Joss preferred it that way. Alcohol was good at numbing both body and mind - both his usually hurt.
" I thought we were going away at dawn." He took another drag on his cigarette before turning and heading down the street, looking for someplace that was open at this hour. Most of the taverns weren't, but there were always a couple somewhere.
Calen shrugged as he fell into step beside him. "I mean, we probably should. Don't know about you, but I'd rather not into those louts from last night, if I can help it."
"If I see those assholes again I'm gonna incinerate them." Oh yeah, Joss definitely owed them for last night. His stomach, ribs, and face still hurt - probably bruised all to hell. Well, he never was going to win a beauty contest. Looking like he'd been in a scrap wasn't usually that attractive.
Being dirty usually wasn't either. His hands, face, and clothes were still splattered with blood. The smell of blood, alcohol, and tobacco currently clung to him.
"What's it going to take to get rid of you?" Joss asked between puffs on his cigarette.
Calen shrugged again, still smiling. "I'm not sure yet, guess we'll just have to see, huh?" He raised his arms up over his head in a stretch and crinkled his nose. "Oh, ech. I reek. Reckon one of the baths will be open this early?" he muttered, glancing around to get his bearings.
Yeah, like hell he was letting this moron follow him to the baths.
"Don't know, don't care. I'm getting a drink before I do anything else." A little buzz might take the edge off his headache, plus he wanted to do basically anything more than he wanted to try venturing to any bath while he still had Calen tailing him like flies on shit.
Yet another shrug. "Hey, to each his own." He didn't make a move to leave though, evidently content to trail behind Joss for the time being.
"You're more likely to find an open bath than I am an open tavern. Just go away, if you stink that bad maybe I don't wanna smell you while I'm trying to enjoy my drink." Not that he was holding his breath on it being so easy to shake his stalker.
Joss ducked into a place he knew would give him a few rounds, as long as he paid up front. He made a beeline for the bar and pulled a couple coins from his pocket, tapping them lightly. "Something good, I've had a hell of a night."
The bartender snickered at him, swiping the coins and pouring a mug of frothy beer. "You look like hell, and like you're getting a head start on having an even worse night."
"Man's got a point," Calen threw out carelessly as he strolled up behind Joss and leaned back against the bar. "You're just asking for a nice new hangover."
"Maybe that's my goal. Maybe I like hangovers." Nobody liked hangovers, but Joss had to be spiteful and moody somehow. Although it was starting to become exhausting and it clearly wasn't working. Pure unpleasant personality wasn't getting rid of his problem. Odd, since it usually did wonders for driving off pesky people.
He picked up the beer and drank deeply. It was terrible, and it would only lead to regret, but he couldn't help himself. Joss was in far too deep when it came to alcohol, but it was all he could do to keep from going completely bonkers and losing his shit entirely.
"Hey, two glasses and a pitcher of water," Calen called to the man behind the bar. He eyed Joss. Kid was going to drink himself stupid if he wasn't careful.
"Water's for fish." Drinking himself stupid was something Joss had become very good at and did frequently. He scoffed at the pitcher of water, not bothering to even acknowledge that it was brought over when the keeper set it in front of Calen.
Ignoring the comment, Calen poured two glasses and slid one toward the younger man, though he didn't say anything else about it.
"You're too young to be this drunk, this early," he commented blithely.
"I am not that young." Joss wasn't old, but he really suspected that Calen thought he was younger than he was. That was a little annoying. He hated being looked down on as a kid. Of course he really wasn't sure how old Calen was either. "It's none of your concern over how much I drink anyway."
"Anyone under fifty is too young to be this drunk this early," Calen retorted easily. "So unless you're some elvhen princeling or what-have-you, yeah, you are too young." He conveniently ignored the bit about it not being his concern.
"Oh yeah, I am totally an elf prince. You caught me." Joss snorted and finished his drink, pushing the glass away with a sigh. He wanted a half dozen refills, but he had a feeling that every single one would be accompanied by Calen's chastising and disapproval. Not that he cared what the stupid ice mage thought about his drinking habits, but his head hurt too much to listen to the constant bitching.
"What do you want?" He finally grumbled, looking over at his unwanted companion. "You have to want something or you wouldn't be still annoying me."
Calen arched an eyebrow and smirked. "Do I? Maybe I just like making a new friend," he goaded.
"Nobody wants to make friends with an asshole as big as me, and I don't want to make friends with anybody. Certainly not chipper ice mages that stalk me for no good reason." Joss grumbled and looked ruefully at his empty mug again.
"Hey, I'm not stalking," Calen defended mildly. "We just seem to be heading the same direction. A lot."
"Uh-huh." Joss snorted, relenting and taking the glass of water. He was thirsty, it was just to make his throat feel less scratchy and grainy, and had nothing to do with Calen. At least that was what he told himself as he drank the clear, tasteless liquid. "So if you're not going to let me drink in peace, now what?"
Calen had been subtly eyeing the door to the establishment. He wouldn't put it past the brutes from last night to have found some backup and come for a second ill-conceived attempt at revenge.
But of course he didn't tell the kid that.
"Well, now I think I'm going to order myself some breakfast," he said with an easy smile, flagging down the barkeep.
Joss had put the morons from the night before completely out of his mind. He hadn't given them a second thought since before bed.
"Breakfast? Didn't we already have it?" Not that the gruel slop they'd been fed that morning was a real breakfast. It had been free for him, and that's mostly all Joss had cared about. Sometimes he didn't eat at all and just drank his entire rations for a day.
He quirked an eyebrow. "Sure, if you wanna call that breakfast," he chuckled. "Don't you want some real food?"
"Depends, are you buying it?" Joss asked with a shrug. "I never turn down free food. Can't pass up the opportunity to eat when you don't know when you'll eat next."
Caleb could certainly understand that sentiment. And he had a little extra coin from his last job, so why not?
"Sure." He shrugged. He believed in paying good fortune forward. "What do you want?"
"Beggars can't be choosers, man. Whatever's cheap and you're willing to give." Joss shrugged his shoulder again. Hunting demons could be lucrative and rewarding at times, other times he got nothing out of it. Even when he did get money, it usually went towards tobacco and booze over food.
Caleb waved a hand to flag down a server. "Fair enough. So what sorts of work does a man do that lands him in a bar without the coin to buy much more than a drink?" His tone was light and teasing, but there was a searching curiosity in his pale eyes.
"The kind where you don't demand payment up front like an idiot." Well it wasn't like Joss didn't make good money when he was actually getting paid. Most people would pay anything to get rid of a troublesome demon. He just killed demons on principle, so money just wasn't always in the cards when he went hunting. "Besides, I squander my coin on my vices instead of food."
"Hey now, that's not very practical." Calen smiled, drumming his finger on his leg as he bounced his foot. It was getting hard for him to keep still. "So... You're some kinda tracker, right? Not a ranger...bounty hunter?" he guessed. People who tracked down and killed things for a living had a sort of...feel to them.
He pursed his lips, considering. "I may have some kinda work for ya, if you're interested. Well, I don't have it. I've got a contact. Y'know how it goes. Anyway, interested?"
"Yeah, well I'm not claiming to be practical." Joss grumbled, giving Calen a shifty glance as he tried to guess his profession. Not horrible guesses, but not exactly right either.
"I don't know, what's the work? I'm a bit of a specialist." They weren't a mercenary that people could hire for just any old job.
Calen grinned as though Joss had outright agreed to the job. "What sorta specialist? The way I understand it this job might get...dangerous." He shrugged, frowning a moment, then the smile was back in place. "But you seem like you can handle yourself. So. What exactly do you do?"
"I doubt it's any more dangerous than what I usually do." He scoffed, eyeing the mage's smiling face grumpily. Why was the bastard so cheerful all the damn time? "I'm a demon hunter. Not to say I won't go after the occasional other inhuman pest, but mostly demons."
That was enough to knock the smile off Calen's face, if only for a moment. He blinked, then gave a low, impressed whistle.
"Damn. You don't mess around, do you?" Then the smile was back and he leaned back into his seat slightly. "Actually... That's weirdly perfect. Far as I know there are no actual demons involved, but the ringleader of a particularly persistent bandit group claims to be a half-demon." He quirked an eyebrow. "You up for it?"
"Idiots that claim to be half-demon are usually just that - fucking idiots." Most of the men that Joss had heard boast about being part this or that monstrous creature were just men who wanted to sound scarier than they really were. It worked on the masses sometimes, but he wasn't stupid enough to believe it.
Still...the money might be worth it since Joss was broke. If there was decent money in it for him, at any rate.
"...so...what's the pay like?"
He could smell the beginnings of the sale, even if he wasn't the one technically making it.
"Definitely worth the perceived risk. Though if you're right and it's just some idiot trying to drum up a reputation, then we're getting vastly overpaid." He grinned. "Does that mean you're in?"
Joss really had to wonder if dealing with Calen for even longer than he already had was worth any price. The man was an absolute irritation, but again the fact that he was broke did make a good argument to grin and bear it a while longer.
"Yeah, whatever. This'll be a cakewalk, easy money." Joss finally sighed, glancing around with a frown. "Weren't we supposed to get something to eat?"
"Oh, right!" Calen actually flushed a bit and tried to flag down one of the servers. Seemed he'd gotten a bit sidetracked.
One of the servers wound his way over to them and stood waiting expectantly- more irritatedly, actually. Calen just gave him a bright smile, unperturbed. "Stew for me." He and the server looked to Joss expectantly.
"What's your preference then? On me."
He wondered who pissed in the server's oatmeal, but then Joss really didn't care if the guy was irritable. It wasn't his problem.
"Yeah, stew's fine. Just give me some of that." Joss wasn't picky, especially when it was free.
As soon as the server moved away from the table he frowned at Calen, wondering if maybe agreeing to do any job with him was far too much. "So when do we go hunt down this asshole? Right after breakfast or do we go bathe first?"
"Well..." Great. Now the fun part. "I may have to...actually get us hired first." He quickly raised a hand to cut off any protest that might be coming. "My contact's solid, and I'm positive he'd be fine passing this job along to me, but he did recommend I snag a partner. Which is where you come in. Which is why we need to meet up with him before we make any real moves."
Joss felt a flash of annoyance. So there wasn't even a job yet? Then why had he just had to listen to Calen prattle on about one? His scowl deepened as he glared at the ice mage with clear irritation.
"Well if he doesn't give the job to you, that just means I can be rid of you sooner." Either option had its own merits.
Calen placed a hand over his heart and rocked back in his seat, swooning dramatically. "Ouch. Cut me deep there, cut me real deep."
He might've continued to make a show of it, but then their food arrived and he was instantly chipper again, digging into his bowl of- at best- second-grade stew like it was ambrosia. "Go on, eat. Got a bit of a long day ahead of us, it seems."
The little show of theatrics was met with nothing more than a roll of his eyes. Joss doubted very much that he could offend the mage enough to drive him away. After all, he'd been purposely pretty rude since he met Calen and it hadn't gotten the man out of his hair yet.
"The more I have to listen to you talk the longer it gets." Joss told him sourly as he tucked into his stew. It wasn't the best he'd had, but he hadn't expected it to be amazing.
Calen just waved a hand at him with a quick grin, obviously not taking anything he said to heart. He finished off his meal very quickly, then sat back in his chair and glanced at Joss, looking him up and down.
This would be interesting.
"Alright, ready when you are," he said with a bright grin.
Thankfully he was able to eat his meal in silence. Well, at least until Calen was done scarfing down his, then Joss groaned softly as he glared down at the last few spoonfuls of stew in the bottom of his bowl.
"Stop talking." He grunted before making a show of taking his sweet time in the last few bites. Just because it wasn't great stew didn't mean he shouldn't enjoy it.
Caleb blinked, startled, then nodded. "Oh, okay. If that's what you-" He quickly snapped his mouth shut, and a hint of color came to his cheeks as he glanced away, clearing his throat.
He could totally handle being quiet.
Within seconds his knee was bobbing and his fingers were drumming a rapid pattern on the table, itching to be moving or talking or anything other than sitting in silents. But he could do this.
He could definitely do this.
...at least for the next thirty seconds.
Oh. Fucking. Gods.
Joss looked up with a look of pure murder as that drumming started up. Was he really serious right now? Could he not be annoying for just a minute so that a moment of peace could be had?
Apparently not.
With a disgruntled huff Joss dropped his spoon back in his bowl and shoved his chair back as he rose from the table. "Just forget it. I'm out of here. Have fun with your "half-demon" hunt."
"Whoa, hey!" Caleb got to his feet and quickly reached for him, then thought better of that and jerked his hands back, holding them in front of his body in a peaceable gesture. "Alright, what'd I do now? You seemed fine with the idea a minute ago!"
He liked to think he was a reasonable man, but this guy was even starting to make him frustrated. But the sad fact was he needed a partner or he wasn't going to land this job- and on the off chance there actually was a demon involved, a demon hunter seemed like a good bet.
Joss actually recoiled slightly when Calen reached for him. The last thing he needed was this irritating idiot touching him.
"I don't have a problem with the job! I have a problem with you. You can't be quiet for two damn seconds. If you're not talking you're making some other annoying noise." It was enough to drive him crazy. Everything about Calen had been driving him nuts since he'd met the ice mage. He was too chipper and perky, he talked too much, and just wouldn't leave.
Calen glared and folded his arms. He didn't need a partner that badly.
But he'd give it one more shot.
"Look, you're not exactly the most pleasant person to be around either," he said bluntly, for the first time to smile disappearing from his face. "But it seemed like you could use the money, and I know I could. If you're as good as you claim, the job will be over quick and I'll be out of your hair forever, not significantly wealthier.
"I'm unpleasant on purpose because I don't like people. I didn't twist your arm to hang around with me this damn long. Pretty sure I've done nothing but drop hints that I would love for you to get lost - pretty sure I've probably said it outright." Joss really didn't care about the money anymore. He'd get paid eventually by someone, it wasn't like he was actually in this for the profit anyway - killing demons was the reward.
"To hell with any of this." He hissed, turning and making quite a show of storming out.
Calen threw his hands up as Joss stormed away. Whatever. He didn’t need to deal with this.
Grumbling to himself, he moved for the back door out of the establishment. Fine, he could try to sell his contact on this job without a partner.
It'd just...probably take more time.
Joss didn't stop until he was well out of Zantaric. It wasn't exactly that he was afraid that the annoying mage would try to follow him yet again, but he was totally worried that Calen would try to follow him again. He went home to Serendipity, seeking work on his home turf for a bit, because clearly something was up with his other favorite hunting ground.
It was a little more than two months before Joss even set foot back in Zantaric, but he was eager to return to work in the most corrupt city in the world.
Two months was a long time. In Zantaric, it could be a lifetime.
Calen felt like it had been a lifetime. He couldn't remember ever being so tired. He'd already been back in the city a week, but still he felt like he was on the road, constantly exhausted an always alert for danger.
It turned out that half-demon hadn't just been boasting. Calen had managed to quell the bandit threat, but he'd had to kill their ringleader to do it. And the little shit had cursed him, literally with his dying breath- who actually did stuff like that.
He had absolutely no idea how the curse would manifest, but he could feel it buzzing just against the surface of his skin, occasionally interacting with his own magic in sharp pops or sudden little zips of electricity up his arms.
He needed a drink.
Grumbling to himself, Calen left the inn where he'd been more or less hiding for the last few days, hunching his shoulders as he headed out into an overcast dusk. He didn't notice a piece of shadow detach itself from the alley he passed and start to follow him.
Joss knew it wouldn't take long to find some prey, but even he was surprised to stumble across something vile and needing attention before he even made it to an inn or tavern. Usually the demon hunter had to shake down some leads, but the shadow that broke away to follow a haggard young man definitely warranted an immediate response.
It wasn't hard to fall in behind them both, stalking the demon even as it stalked its human prey. In the dusky evening and at this distance Joss didn't recognize Calen.
Putting his hands behind his back, the demon hunter sliced his palm, shuddering softly as he felt the blood begin to flow. A softly uttered incantation produced a wicked-looking and clearly demonic scythe that was taller than him - not exactly a hard feat, admittedly. Joss kept the weapon behind his back, but it was held at the ready to strike as soon as the demon made its move.
A chill crept up his back, sending a tingle straight to the crown of his skull Calen froze, his breath suddenly crystallizing into a cloud of fog as it met the air. His magic reacting to an imminent danger, warning him.
"You."
A grip so cold it burned wrapped around his bicep, then dragged him back off his feet and slammed him into the shadowed alcove of an alley. A roiling shadow rose up in front of him, one tendril of darkness reaching up to circle his throat while the one on his arm moved to clamp over his mouth and nose. The cold invaded his senses, all he could feel, breathe, taste, it was like a weight in his lungs.
He knew cold, he worked in cold, ice. He'd never felt anything like this. It was like his very essence was being dragged from his body.
"You were marked, little human," the shadow demon hissed. The quavery hands he'd wrapped around his mouth and throat suddenly grew claws that dug into Calen's skin. He choked, eyes wide as he struggled feebly against the creature's grip.
When the demon made their move, so did Joss. The moment he saw the man being dragged into a shadowed alley, the demon hunter sprang into action, sprinting towards where the pair had disappeared. He rounded the corner just in time to hear the icy voice of the demon claim that the human had been marked.
There wasn't time to really look at the man pinned against the wall by his throat. Joss couldn't think, only react. The scythe swung around, slicing through both air and flesh causing its cold blood to be splattered on the pavement.
"Let's dance, you ugly son of a bitch." Of course Joss couldn't resist taunting the damn thing.
Calen sank to the ground, gasping, as the shadow demon whirled and hissed at this new attacker. It had no defining features, but something about the way it flickered and loomed suggested an almost smug sort of air.
"You have no purpose here," it crackled, its voice like dry ice giving way under the weight of a heavy boot.
Still collapsed to the ground, Calen struggled to make sense of his fuzzy vision. "Y-you..."
"Yeah, neither do you." Joss informed the demon casually, speaking almost as if he were bored and not about to face down a creature of pure evil.
Red-flecked grey eyes cast down for a moment on Calen's face, familiarity flickering in his eyes as the ice mage tried to speak. Well fuck him sideways, what a stroke of luck. They hadn't exactly parted on great terms, but despite finding him insufferably annoying, Joss wouldn't have wished ill on the overly cheery man that he'd briefly known months ago.
It was all the more reason to send this hell spawn back where it belonged.
That had only taken a moment, taking in Calen's face and realizing he knew the demon's intended victim. Joss felt a surge of power and flames flickered along the blade of his scythe as he ramped up for this showdown. Not that he expected much of a challenge.
With a quick motion his weapon was twirling through the air again, flaming blade flashing again and again as he attempted to strike his opponent.
The demon hissed and wheeled back, spreading ice in its wake. Trembling, Calen forced himself to his feet and tried to stumble toward Joss.
"GEt-- get out of here," he panted. "That thing'll kill you..."
"It wishes." The spread of ice was met with flickering flames, the heat radiating from the scythe. Joss cast a smirk in Calen's direction and stepped forward, attempting to put himself between the demon and the mage. He was far more confident in his ability to handle this monster than in Calen's ability to do so.
Calen shook his head, but until his breath returned he could do little more than erect a weak barrier of ice around the two of them-- though judging by the creature's abilities, he doubted it would do much good.
What was this shit?
"That's in my way." Joss arched a questioning brow at the ice barrier. The scythe was hung next to him, the weapon suspended in the air as he pulled out his grimoire. Pages flipped rapidly by themselves as he released the spell book, it also floated in front of him. A ritual of banishment was where the pages fell open, black flames engulfing the tome. "Let's send this thing back to hell."
Calen was only going to be in his way, Joss didn't have time to toy with the demon if there was this big of a risk to another person.
"Gods!" Calen recoiled from the black fire, as did the demon. Well, that was a plus, at least. "What the hells is that?"
The demon hissed again and roiled away, tendrils of shadows flickering out like flames themselves. "I'd very much like to see you try, little mortal."
"Black hellfire." Joss answered off-handedly, not taking his eyes off the demon in front of them. He was pretty sure he had told Calen before that he was a demon hunter. Well, the mage had probably never seen this kind of magic before. Most humans didn't use the powers of demons.
More flames danced from the book as Joss began speaking softly in a demonic language, the fire leapt to the ground, igniting a circle around the demon. The ring of fire glowed ominously as it created a magical barrier and seal – nothing demonic could cross that circle, not to get in or out. "Calen stay back, when this magic releases it will be a bit violent."
Oh. Black hellfire. Of course.
As one does.
Feeling a little lightheaded, the ice mage nonetheless attempted to add his own power to the fray, reaching out and blasting a weak but still chilling wind toward the shadow creature.
"Stay back?" He blinked at Joss. "Wh-- where exactly am I supposed to get back to?"
"Well you could have run." Joss thought that Calen might have been able to dart out of the alley, if he was so inclined, but it was too late. The incantation had been finished, and the seal blazed to life, a column of fire rising from the circle above the rooftops as it consumed the demon within.
The power radiating off the seal was strong enough that Joss had to take a step back, raising an arm protectively in front of his face as the magic currents whipped about them violently. The fire pulled back through the seal and puttered out, leaving nothing behind to give evidence of what had just happened. His grimoire also slapped shut, extinguishing the flames that had pulsed around it moments before.
"That was a fun way to be welcomed back to the city." Joss mused as he reached out to pull his spell book from the air, tucking it back where it belonged at his side. The scythe faded back to nothing now that he no longer needed it.
Calen reeled back from the burst of magic, instinctively erecting another ice barrier to shield himself.
He was weak though, drained, and the ice quickly melted. Luckily, the demon was already gone, and Joss was gathering up his spell book as though he'd just done nothing more exciting than swatted a fly.
The ice mage blinked, then smiled a little shakily. "Well, hey. Fancy meeting you here," he mumbled-- well, slurred actually.
Was the ground moving?
Before he fully realized what was happening, his knees buckled and his head cracked back against the stone wall behind them, making him wince. "Ow..."
"Small world." Joss smirked, but it was short-lived. Calen collapsing and hitting his head against the wall was not what he expected to happen. Of course he hadn't expected to ever see the irritating mage again either, but what could you do?
He kneeled down in front of him, looking the man over to see how badly hurt he might be. Aside from smacking his head and maybe being really tired or maybe drunk with the way he slurred his speech, he didn't look hurt. "Hey man, are you okay? I don't know what you did to piss off a demon; but seriously, you should leave those things to the professionals."
"I-- I'm fine." Contrary to his words, Calen's eyes were clenched shut, his breath rasping slightly. Dark, bluish-purple bruises were beginning to form around his throat, and he couldn't seem to stop shivering.
"Gods, is this what normal people feel like in the cold?" he grumbled, almost petulant, rubbing his own arms as gooseflesh rose over his skin. He blinked, seemingly a little dazed, and glanced up at Joss. "I...don't get cold. I mean, ever. Why am I cold?"
"Probably." Joss had no idea what exactly Calen was feeling, so couldn't be sure, but it was as good an assumption as any, especially the way the mage was shivering and rubbing at his arms. Being a little chilly wouldn't kill him, but those bruises around his throat were nasty. He was lucky he hadn't had anything important crushed. The demon must have been playing with its prey.
"Well I'm sure demon cold is different than regular cold. Come on; let's get you up and inside somewhere warm and safe." Joss stood back up and offered Calen his hand.
Biting back another groan and complain about the unnatural chill, Calen reached out to take the offered hand and staggered to his feet. "Yeah...thanks," he mumbled, still sounding a little dazed.
Joss frowned as he helped pull Calen to his feet. The mage seemed unsteady and really shaken up, but he supposed he couldn't blame him. A demon trying to kill you was probably pretty terrifying if you weren't used to it.
"Come on, let's go to that one place you took me before." He gently put a hand on the other man's back and tried to guide him. Joss thought he remembered that place they had slept before, and he didn't know where else to take him. Calen had seemed to have friends in that place, and right now that was probably just what the mage needed. Friendly faces and a warm bed.
"Uh, yeah. Okay. Thanks." That seemed to be all he could do for the moment-- offer affirmations and vague gratitude. He looked blearily over at Joss, blinking as he tried to focus, and a lopsided, tired smirk tugged at his lips.
"If I didn't know better, I'd say it was fate or somethin'. Us meetin' like this again."
"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."
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.
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."
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.
"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.
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.
"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?"
"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?
"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.
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.
"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.
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.
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.
"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?"
"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."
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.
"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?"
"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.
"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.
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.
"Don't mention it. Ever." Joss grumbled a bit as Calen wiggled closer, but he threw an arm around the mage and settled in. "Go to sleep. You'll feel better after some rest."
The demon hunter wasn't actually sure of that, but it sounded good.
"Yeah..."
Despite everything, Calen almost smirked as he felt Joss's arm come around him. Knew you had a soft spot.
Luckily, he was too exhausted to voice that particular thought. With another little shiver, the mage sank into unconsciousness.
Speaking such an absurd thing out loud would have definitely got Calen punched no matter how pitiful he was just then. Joss did not have a soft spot, certainly not for irritating and needy mages.
Shortly after Calen fell unconscious Joss did the same. No reason not to take advantage of a free bed for the night, even if he did have to share it.
Throughout the course of the night, Calen's temperature dropped steadily. By morning, he was near freezing to the touch, skin pale and lips almost blue. He'd somehow managed to press himself so close to Joss that is was like he was fused to the other man's side.
He was awake, but he couldn't seem to open his eyes. It was just...so much...effort...
The first thing Joss noticed as he groggily woke up was that he felt insanely stiff and chilly, like he'd been cuddling an ice cube or something. It was about the time that thought flitted across his mind that he realized that he was practically wrapped around Calen, and the mage really was like a block of ice.
"Fuck." He sat up and quickly took Calen's face in his hands, using his thumbs he gently lifted his eyelids, looking into his eyes with concern. Joss scowled down at his frozen companion before gently closing Calen's eyes again. "You're going to be alright. Just hang in there, okay?"
There didn't seem to be a lot of time or a lot of choice. Joss pried himself away from the other man and dropped to his knees on the floor while pulling out his ceremonial dagger. The demon hunter sliced open his finger and began drawing in earnest with his blood. When the large circular sigil was complete he tucked his dagger back away and dragged Calen off the bed, laying him in the circle.
With no idea if it would even help, Joss started chanting as he flipped open his grimoire. The pages turned on their own before stopping at a certain spell. Whatever "mark" had been placed on Calen needed to be overridden before it killed him.
Unable to really move beyond a stuttered groan and fluttering eyes, Calen's head lolled to the side as Joss dragged him into the center of the circle. It was so hard to focus, to try to figure out what was going on. "H-hey...what're...y'doin'...?"
Another violent shiver, and now the cold was so strong it hurt, digging icy daggers into his heart and lungs. He coughed through the shudders that wracked his frame, a rather pathetic whimper that under any other circumstances he would have been embarrassed about leaving his lips.
"If this works? Saving your life." Joss muttered, although not at all sounding sure of himself. He was not a hero or a healer or someone that was designed for saving others. As a demon hunter all his focus was on destruction of the highest and most violent order. When facing evil you had to learn to turn evil into a weapon all your own.
Still, the book had responded to his need to save Calen. There was the spell right in front of him on the pages. That meant this would work, yes? Joss was willing to bank on it. Worst case scenario was it failed and the mage died. No skin off his nose, right?
The words poured out of his mouth without thinking about it, the demonic tongue harsh and raspy as he recited the incantations. Joss could feel the magic flowing through him and swirling around the room. When the last verse left his lips a molten pain raced from the palm of his left hand and up that arm to his shoulder. He yowled and clutched at his arm with the other, cradling and whimpering softly as the pain slowly ebbed away.
A protection sigil was seared into his left palm. Upon Calen's right hand was the matching sigil.
Heat. Blessed, searing heat. He didn't even care that it hurt, scorching him from the inside out, he was just so relieved to feel that warmth again.
Calen gasped, her back arching as his eyes flew open. Color returned to his face with a flush that seemed to spread from his chest, and the pain clawing at his lungs dulled in the wake of that sudden inferno.
Another gasp, and then he rolled onto his side, hacking and coughing as feeling returned to his extremities. Shaking, her pushed himself up onto his hands and knees, staring up at Joss with wide eyes.
"Um...thanks? Ah--!"
He looked down at his right palm as it sort of-- pulsed, and his eyes went even wider. "Uhhh...what's this?"
Joss couldn't answer right away. He was panting and his hand was shaking. That had been completely unexpected. If the demon hunter was honest he didn't have a clue exactly what had just happened.
"A protection sigil." He finally managed to croak out, holding up his hand for Calen to see. "I have one too."
"Ahhh. O...kay?" Calen looked from his hand to the demon hunter's, flexing his fingers experimentally.
Sitting up a little straighter, he flashed Joss a weak smirk. "Seems a little early for the whole matching tattoos thing, dontcha think?"
"Ha. Ha. Ha. It wasn't intentional you dunce." Joss grimaced and also tested flexing his fingers. The pain was ebbing away steadily, and though the mark looked like a brand it did not burn and sting like a real one. This was not a normal mark, that was for sure.
At least Calen seemed to have livened up. Did that count as a success?
"Hey, the good news is you aren't dead. I thought you were a goner, honestly. Whatever the demon did to you was no joke." Joss wasn't sure what he had done to Calen yet. Obviously something, but it was an accident and it had saved the guy's life, so ultimately a win.
"Yeah, you're telling me." Calen got to his feet with a groan, arching his back and stretching his arm up above his head. "I really thought I was gonna die..."
For once, there was no snap to his tone, no light jibe. His eyes had gone dull, staring down at the mark on his hand.
Then he shook his head and his customary smirk snapped back into place. "Well. Thanks, man. I really owe you one."
"Honestly? So did I." How much longer before the mage would have passed away in his sleep? It had been a close call, much too close for comfort. Not that Joss cared or anything, but waking up with a dead body would have sucked.
He hated answering hard questions.
"I think you owe me a few more than just one, Frosty." Heaving a sigh, the demon hunter rolled his left shoulder a few times. It was very weird, having his whole left arm get all scorching and painful. His magic had never really hurt him before. At least the pain had faded quickly. Joss stood up and copied Calen, stretching his back out. "Ugh. That bed is too small for two men."
Apparently unable to help himself, Calen smirked and quipped, "I dunno, I've gotten two men in there just fine. Three, on one occasion."
Already anticipating Joss's glare, he raised his hands and glanced at the door. He was making a concerted effort not to think about the new mark on his hand. "Gods, I'm starved. You hungry? Let's get something to eat."
"I really didn't need that knowledge in my brain." Joss scowled at Calen, decidedly not amused at the uninvited information about the mage's bed habits.
At least the next thing to come out of the other man's mouth was actually sensible.
"That's the first smart thing you've said today. Breakfast is pretty high on my priority list right now." Between fighting a demon, keeping Calen warm, and whatever it was he had done with the sigil, Joss had used up a lot of energy and magic.
"Considering I've only said about three lucid things today, I don't think that stung quite as much as you meant it to," Calen laughed, already leaning into the door to nudge it open. "C'mon. I think I can smell bacon."
"I was counting last night. So the first smart thing since I saw you again." It probably still didn't sting that much, but honestly Joss wasn't in the mood to try to barb the mage. He absentmindedly rubbed at the mark on his hand as he followed Calen. "Mmm, bacon. I sure hope so."
The ice mage chuckled, looking a little too pleased with himself as Joss's insult fell flat again, then jerked his head toward the hallway. "This way, shift it."
He strode out into the hall, glancing casually to each side before making his way back toward the main room.
Joss rolled his eyes and followed Calen into the hall. He didn't remember a whole lot from his last brief stay at this place. Then again, he'd been pretty drunk when they arrived and very hungover when they left. Neither was the best condition for making memories.
"You're cheerful for a guy that just cheated death." It was an offhand observation.
Calen grinned. "Why wouldn't I be? I just cheated death! I'm on top of the world, mate!"
He clapped a hand companionably on Joss's shoulder before striding back out into the inn's common room. It was empty, same as last time, but there was definitely the smell of cooking food from the kitchen.
"Some people would be more somber, contemplating their mortality, and thinking about how not to put themselves in a position to need to cheat death again?" Made sense to Joss, at any rate. "What did you do to piss that demon off anyway?"
The thing had sure seemed to want Calen dead, so there must have been something more than just a random attack.
Calen shrugged again. "I didn't do jack shit. I got hired to help a guy with the job, and we crossed that demon, apparently. I killed another one of the suckers, but I guess that guy took exception to that?"
He glanced back at Joss with a small frown. "Are demons particularly...familial? A lot of loyalty amongst themselves?"
"Hm." It was a noncommittal sound, to be sure. Helping a guy do a job and killing another demon didn't sound like nothing to Joss. Not that he sided with the demon in any way. All of the hellspawn deserved to be eradicated.
"Depends on the demon, and their motivation doesn't have to make sense to mortals. Revenge doesn't have to be about love or caring. If you killed a related demon they could take it as an insult to their power and strength, make them want to destroy you to prove something." He shrugged his shoulders as he looked around the empty room and helped himself to a table.
Sliding in across from the demon hunter, Calen shrugged and propped an elbow on the table, resting his chin in his hand. "Well, great. So possibly that thing is gonna come after me again?"
"Anything's possible, Frosty. Maybe it learned its lesson, maybe not. Couldn't tell you with reliable certainty. Do I look like a fortuneteller?" Joss shrugged again and folded his arms in front of him on the table, rubbing his left palm against his sleeve unconsciously. "All I care about is breakfast. Potential future demon attacks that may or may not happen really aren't that interesting at the moment. When there's an actual threat then maybe I might pay attention."
"Frosty" smirked and shrugged. "Well, if I know this place, an imminent threat might not be too far off--"
"Uhg."
Calen beamed and swiveled around in his chair. "Hey there, Maria! Been a while, love, how've you been?"
The innkeeper scowled at him and made a rude gesture in his direction. "You two planning on actually paying this time?" she demanded.
Joss smirked at the sound of annoyance that was directed at them, especially since it was far more directed at Calen, including the rude gesture. He had to wonder just how many times the mage had taken advantage of the hospitality around here without giving some proper compensation.
As amusing as watching the other man get told off would be...Joss was hungry and wanted to actually eat.
He knocked a knuckle against the tabletop and a metal clink responded, a moment later he flicked something small, round, and flat at Maria. Gold flashed through the air before the coin landed near her feet.
"I'm starving, lady. Do I smell bacon? I'll take...a lot. Of everything. There's more coins like that too, if that's what it takes to get some breakfast around here."
Maria's scowl stayed in place, and she kicked the coin back toward them. "I don't fetch, boy," she growled. "Just make sure you've got proper payment before you leave." She turned to head back into the kitchen.
Calen whistled softly and shook his head as he rose to collect the coin, flipping it back toward Joss's side of the table. "Lucky," he noted with a crooked smile. "If she liked me less, she'd have flayed you for that."
Well that went differently than Joss hoped. What kind of service was this? He huffed slightly and fixed Calen with a scowl. "You mean people actually like you? That's kind of shocking."
"Hey!" Calen pressed a hand over his heart, frowning dramatically. "I am very likable. Not my fault you've got a major stick up your ass."
"You're about as likable as that stick you claim I got." Joss huffed, glaring at Calen before turning his head to the side and scowling across the room. "Is she going to feed us or should we find breakfast somewhere else?"
"Naw, she'll bring us food." He gestured to one of the many empty tables, waiting only a moment before he took a seat. "She's just...a bit prickly. 'Specially when it comes to money. Her old job, she had customers throw her coins like it was nothing, like she was nothing...I expect it stuck with her."
He'd been frowning slightly, but shook his head when he realized what he was doing and leaned back in his chair, arms folded behind his head. "She's a good sort though, underneath it all."
"I'm sure she just loves me, then." He had tossed money at her, but he wasn't sure if he should care what some random woman he didn't really know thought about him. The demon hunter wasn't one to think about what might be considered rude.
Joss looked at Calen across the table, frowning pensively before turning to look around the room with a sigh. He wanted food, but he was also really wishing to be somewhere else by this point.
"So you're feeling better, and now that I don't think you're going to die, I'm thinking after food I should probably scram. Playing babysitter or nurse or whatever is already old." Calen was fine now, there was no reason to stick around the mage longer than necessary.
"Oh. Uh, yeah. Right." Calen blinked, then shook his head lightly. Somehow, without him really noticing, he realized he'd gotten used to Joss's company, had forgotten that the demon slayer was a transitory presence.
Stupid thing to do, really.
He smiled quickly though and tilted his head. "Well, hey, I owe you one now. You ever need a favor, just look me up."
"Ha, yeah. Maybe." Joss wasn't convinced that he could possibly need anything from the bubbly mage, but having someone owe you a favor could be useful once in a while. "Either way, I'm going to stay for breakfast, so..."
Man he sucked at small talk, but he doubted Calen would allow them to sit in awkward silence either.
"Ah, so free food really is the way to just about anyone's heart!" Calen proclaimed triumphantly. He pursed his lips and furrowed his brow dramatically. "I wonder how I should use this knowledge... Shall I better the world, or use it for my own selfish gain?"
"It's not free food, I was planning on paying for it, remember? Seems to be implied you're the one with all the freebies." The woman had asked accusingly if they were paying this time, after all.
"I've got a tab, there's a difference," Calen protested mildly. "And Maria knows I'm good for it-- I always pay up eventually."
"Eventually." Joss snorted softly and leaned back in his chair, folding his arms across his chest with a tired sigh. "I don't know about you, but I don't feel all that rested after last night. Not used to waking up next to someone that's as cold as ice and almost dead."
"Hey now." Calen put a hand to his heart and pulled a dramatically hurt look, pouting at him. "I'll admit I wasn't on top of my game last night, but I've never before had complaints about someone waking up next to me."
"First time for everything, Frosty." Joss smirked at the mage, who hadn't been exactly shy about slipping in little quips about his bedroom life. The demon hunter hadn't been particularly interested in knowing about Calen's sex life, but there you had it.
Calen smiled a bit, pleased almost despite himself that he'd at least managed to get a smirk out of the demon hunter, if not a real smile.
Dropping his voice a bit, he murmured, "Really though, Joss...thanks. And, uh, I'm-- I'm sorry I sorta dragged you into this."
"Don't mention it. Really. I have a reputation to protect, I'll have you know." Joss was frowning again, arms still crossed over his chest. "Besides, it was the demon that dragged me into it. I wouldn't be much of a demon hunter if I happened across one and just let it go on about it's business."
"Oohh, reputation," Calen ribbed lightly-- though he seemed to be a bit relieved to be moving away from more sincere territory. With another shrug, he added, "Eh, you won't hear any complaints from me, anyway." He tilted his head, considering. "Do I like...owe you for all that? I mean, besides the meal."
Hunting demons was his job after all. Should he be paying him?
"You didn't exactly agree to any payment beforehand, so I can't really demand one. Call it my good deed of the year." Joss did get paid to hunt demons, sometimes, but he would hunt down and kill them regardless. The demon had been there, so he had destroyed it. Calen had very little to do with that part, although he supposed he had gone above and beyond the call of duty in trying to keep him warm and performing that...ritual.
Joss still wasn't sure exactly what he had done. He unconsciously rubbed at his left palm again, where the mark now rested.
The ice mage's eyes flickered toward the movement of Joss's hand. His lips thinned slightly, a bit of the playful glint fading from his eyes.
"So, uh... Alright then. Thanks." Giving himself a little shake, Calen returned his attention to Maria when she stood behind the bar. "Hey, gorgeous! Any updates on that food?"
"Fuck off, Frosty!"
He winced and laughed, rubbing at the back of his neck. "Damn. I was sorta hoping that nickname wouldn't stick."
Joss didn't really replay to the thanks, just gave a bit of a grunt and stared at the far wall, not really wanting to focus on Calen, the mark, or any of what had happened since last night. Although he did snicker when Maria told the mage to fuck off.
"Aww, but it suits you so well Frosty! Damn, okay, that's my reward for saving your scawny neck last night." The demon hunter was still chuckling.
Calen found himself grinning almost despite himself and flicked his fingers in Joss's direction, sending a brief, chilly wind curling around the demon hunter. "Ass," he accused, narrowing his eyes in play-anger.
Joss crinkled his nose when he felt the chilly breeze swirl around him, the air currents ruffling his hair a bit, but he was still smirking as he glanced over at Calen across the table. "Were you expecting anything else?"
With another dramatic sigh the ice mage leaned back in his chair, one hand clutched to his chest and an expression of pure melancholy writing itself across his features. "Alas, it seems to be my lot in life to see the best in everyone, though time and time again the cruel world proves to me that it is not wise to do so..."
He said it with the same lack of sincerity that he said almost everything, a hint of a smirk twitching at the edges of his mouth. But just for a moment, there was the barest flicker of something-- something real behind his eyes. Something tired and grieving.
But it was gone in an instant, replaced with a full smirk and a jaunty wink.
"Heh." Joss rolled his eyes at the dramatic display. Most people had no idea how cruel the world could be. Sometimes he was bitter and hated other people for that. The rest of the time he knew that they just hadn't seen how ugly life could really be.
Ignorant fools.
"I think I liked you better when you were dying." At least then the mage had sort of been serious, but he delivered the words with a teasing smirk.
"Oh, oof, ouch." Calen pouted at him and faux-swooned back into his chair. "You cut me to the quick, Master Demonhunter."
"If you've quite finished being an idiot." Maria seemed to just suddenly manifest from the air, slamming down two plates of gently steaming food between them.
"Never, my darling," Calen replied with a cheeky grin and, with a quick wink for Joss, dug in.
"I'll find a way to live with the guilt." Joss snorted, giving Calen a bit of an eye roll. The ice mage was so dramatic.
He started slightly when Maria was suddenly there, putting their breakfast down quite forcefully. A cheerful woman, Joss noted. She was the exact opposite of the mage across from him in personality.
"He can only be what he is." Which was most definitely an idiot. Joss pulled his plate closer and eagerly started shoveling food into his mouth. He was starving!
Calen chuckled and swallowed a bite of breakfast before making a face at both Maria and Joss--though the innkeeper was already striding away back toward her front desk. "Y'know, I happen to be a powerful, dangerous mage," he muttered. "It might not be good for your health to get on my bad side."
Joss snorted at the threat, if you could even call that a threat. "Yeah, well fire melts ice and I saved your life, so I'm willing to take my chances. You can't be a demon hunter if you're not dangerous and ballsy as hell."
"And you can't work odd jobs from Zantaric to Arca and back if you don't know you're way around a bit of magic, a blade, and the kinda people who wield 'em," Calen quipped back lightly.
He had no doubt the other man was dangerous, but the ice mage wasn't actually the ditz he pretended to be.
"Forgive me if I'm not shaking in my boots, Frosty. Don't worry though Snowflake, I won't tell anyone about that whole almost dying thing you did last night through this morning." Joss frowned thoughtfully over his breakfast for a moment. "I still don't like all of that. It was weird."
"What, almost dying? Eh, not that weird, actually, happens to me on a pretty regular basis," Calen quipped easily, but there was a bit less playfulness to his tone, and his eyes had sobered entirely.
"...I didn't care for the cold though. That was...new. New, and unpleasant."
Joss chewed on a piece of bacon thoughtfully, brow creased as things became more serious once again. He hated not knowing what had really happened. It was one thing to not know what the demon had done to Calen, but he didn't know what he had done to the mage. Whatever it was, it had saved the other man's life, but at what cost?
"I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like it, and I know I've never done what I did this morning to save you before. It worked, so I guess that's the important thing, but I don't know. Not knowing what I actually did bugs me. Also the marks are weird."
"Yeah." Calen frowned and tapped the table twice with one finger. "Those. What the hells is that all about anyway? Not that I'm opposed to tattoos on principle, I just tend to prefer that I have some say in when and where I get them, y'know?"
"I told you that I have no idea what those are about. They're protection sigils, but why we both suddenly have them is anyone's guess." Joss truly didn't know the reason the marks had appeared on their hands. He had only known that the magic in the grimoire had revealed the ritual to him when he asked it to help him save Calen's life.
"Protection from what?" Calen muttered, though clearly the question was more rhetorical than not. He sighed and shoved back from the table a little bit, frowning down at the mark for a moment.
Then he shook his head and got abruptly to his feet, impeccable smile in place once again. "Alright, well. I'm gonnna go bug Maria, see if I can get her to serve some booze before noon. Back in a shake."
He turned and headed back in the direction the innkeeper had disappeared, shoulders slightly hunched and a frown once more stealing over his features.
That same question was nagging at Joss as much as it was Calen. He hated not knowing what was going on with the sigils and the ritual he had performed. It wasn't like him to just cast dark and heavy magic without fully understanding it first. Doing it that morning had been a sort of panic response to the mage dying in front of his eyes.
"Heh, and you gave me grief about my drinking." Joss wasn't about to complain about the idea of getting something strong to drink at any hour of the day or night. A pint with breakfast sounded like a fine idea to him.
He finished the last bites of his breakfast before easing himself back in his chair, making himself comfortable to wait for Calen to come back. It crossed his mind to just slip out now while Frosty was distracted, but for some reason he quickly dismissed the idea. Why would he not escape while he could? The mage had proven to be a nuisance about trying to get rid of him. Leaving made sense.
Joss felt something unpleasant squirming inside his chest, a niggling feeling that grew as the minutes ticked by. Where the hell was Calen? It didn't take that long to see about drinks, did it? He stood up and started pacing, feeling too anxious to sit still, and being frustrated that he felt anxious.
This was stupid!
Marai was about as much of a pain as Calen had expected her to be--although he was asking her to go against a general policy, so he couldn't really blame her for that--but eventually he managed to wheedle two pints out of her for a few extra copper bobs.
Eventually he made his way back to the table and plunked the drinks down. "Surprised you're still here," he joked with a crooked smile, "would have thought you'd made a run for it by now." Pointing to the ale, he added, "And that's all your getting out of me in the drink department, by the way. At least this early."
The moment Calen came back into eyesight, Joss felt that nagging weight in his chest lifted, which only caused him to scowl uncertainly. He really needed that drink the mage brought. Joss settled back in his chair and quickly pulled his pint closer.
"Only stayed for the drink." He grumbled as he lifted the tankard to his lips, rolling his eyes as Calen declared it was the only drink he was getting out of the mage, and began to chug the alcohol. It didn't really improve his mood any, because he still didn't have a good explanation for that odd feeling he'd experienced while Frosty was gone.
Joss drained the pint before plopping the empty mug on the table with a heavy thunk. The demon hunter ran a hand through his hair shakily before closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose.
He should have let the mage fend for himself as soon as the demon was dead.
"Right, of course you did." Calen shot him an absolutely shit-eating grin before taking a swing from his own pint. "Suppose that means you'll be on your way again shortly, then? Demons to slay, unsuspecting mages to charm, all that good stuff?"
He pursed his lips, brow drawn together just slightly in a small frown. "Don't suppose you'd be willing to stick around another hour or two and...try to figure out what the hells these are, exactly?" He gestured to the sigil with a brisk nod. "Not for nothing, but I'm not usually a fan of being involved in magic I don't understand."
"My way is the only way I tend to go, yeah." Joss grumbled, rubbing at his face tiredly. Why did he have to get caught up in stupid bullshit like this? He scowled when Calen brought up the sigils.
"You think I'm a fan of it? Magic you don't understand is dangerous. I saved your stupid life and now we got these marks on our hands. That's the extent of my knowledge on it. What more do you want from me?" Did the mage think he'd purposely done this? Joss had no idea what he'd actually done, only that it had saved Calen's life.
"Hey, whoa." Calen raised his hands again, eyebrows going up. "I'm not attacking you here. I just figure...well, if neither of us knows what it really is, maybe it's best to pool our resources to try to figure it out. The sooner the better, I should think."
He shrugged, folding his arms over his chest and leaning back a bit. "I mean yeah, magic you don't understand is dangerous. So I'd rather try to understand this as quick as we can."
"You mean my resources, because the spell came from my book." It wasn't an appealing idea trying to explain to Calen that he'd used a spell that he honestly didn't know. Joss had no idea what the spell did, and he didn't know which spell it was. The book had opened to a page when he asked for help saving Calen. He had no way to make the book show him which spell he had used last night.
"Look Frosty, I don't know what I did last night, and I have no way to reliably find out either. It could have been any number of spells in my stupid grimoire. I was kind of too panicked that you were dying to exactly dog-ear the page." What a mess.
"I mean our resources," Calen corrected with an incorrigible grin. "It's your spellbook, sure, but I've got contact. Lots of contacts. You don't do my kinda work without meeting quite a few...colorful people."
Maybe one of his old friends would have some idea of the kind of magic that had been used, if not the exact spell. He'd have to start putting some feelers out.
"Besides, there can't be infinite spells in that grimoire. Surely some thorough read-throughs will yield a bit of information, right?"
"Right." Joss's tone didn't suggest he was confident in whatever supposed contacts Calen had.
"Heh. You'd be surprised." There weren't infinite spells in the book, sure, but that really didn't help all that much. The demonhunter pulled out the grimoire and dropped it on the table between them with a heavy thud. It was thick and the pages were old, the language used was demonic. Joss opened the book to a random page, just allowing it to fall open.
"What spell did you show me last night? Which spell did I cast on Frosty?" For a moment the book did nothing, seemingly nothing but a regular book - if large and old. Then the pages began rapidly turning themselves, first one direction, then the other, until the book snapped shut obstinately.
"I don't know which spell the book gave me, and it won't show me unless it wants to, which apparently it doesn't. You try reading it from cover to cover finding the damn spell when the book decides not to cooperate." He gave a disgruntled huff and sat back in his chair, crossing his arms across his chest.
"...So your book has an even worse attitude than you. Figures." Calen sighed and ran a hand through his hair, brow furrowed. "Alright, that does...complicate things. Don't suppose there's any use in just...keeping at it? Hoping the damn thing changes its mind?"
He eyed the grimoire sidelong. "Does it do that?"
"It could change it's mind, but just as likely that angels will fly out of your arse." Joss scowled at his grimoire, which remained placidly on the table, acting the part of an innocent ordinary tome. "All I know is that you're alive because of whatever spell the book showed me, which depending on who you ask is a good thing, yeah?"
"Hey, stranger things have happened. I've been told my arse is pretty magical." It was a bad joke, but he was tired and frustrated and he didn't know what to do, and none of those things sat particularly well with him.
More than that, he was starting to get...scared. Joss was right; that spell had saved his life. What if it just...suddenly stopped working? He didn't think it would, but then again...he had no guarantee it wouldn't.
Sighing, he dropped his head into his hands and clenched his eyes shut. "Hey, even if I'm the only one thinks so, I'd say it's a good thing," he muttered.
A derisive snort was given to show what Joss thought of that. Magical arse indeed. Well at least it was clear this ordeal hadn't humbled Calen too much.
"Hey, I saved you didn't I? That's as close to me considering it a good thing as you're getting." He could have let the demon kill the mage, could have just kept about his own business - although slaying demons was his business - but he had jumped in to save Calen. Once the demon was dead he could have left the fool to fend for himself, live or die without further concern, but instead Joss had decided to make sure the annoying idiot survived.
That got the ghost of a smile flickering across Calen's lips. He kept his head down, hiding the expression.
"...Why did you?" he asked the table, softly. "I know you said it's your job, but...you didn't have to. You could have just left me there, once you'd dealt with the demon."
"Despite finding you annoying beyond belief, I don't want you to die. That's just extreme, since you've not done anything to me worth wishing death on you or something. That whole "demonhunter" think isn't just about killing demons, it's about protecting people too." Joss reached out and grabbed his grimoire, putting it away to give himself something to do since this was turning into something not only annoying, but awkward as hell.
"So are you going to annoy me to death about these sigils now? The're protection sigils, that's not a bad thing." Sure, Joss didn't know exactly which sigils or what they did or why they had them, but they weren't harmful marks as far as he could tell.
"Oh yeah, my plan all along was to irritate you to death and then hope that clears up any confusion about these." He waved the sigil in question, rolling his eyes. "I know they're protection. I'd just like to know what kind of protection. I mean, can I set myself on fire now? Or is this just gonna prevent me from getting splinters for the rest of my life."
"As amusing as watching you set yourself on fire would be I don't recommend it." There were countless different sigils that did innumerable things. Joss didn't really even know where to start on figuring out which they had ended up with. "My guess would be it protects you from that demon's power, but no idea why we both got one."
Calen drummed his fingers on the table, thinking. "Well...we could try testing them?" he offered slowly, turning the idea over in his mind as he spoke. "Y'know...poke 'em with some experimental spells, see what happens? Research."
"You want to test them by throwing random spells at them? Oh yeah, no way that could possibly majorly backfire or anything." Joss wasn't sure it was possible to make a statement dripping with more sarcasm. "While we're at it let's have you wrestle some hungry bears and see if it protects you from them, eh?"
He glared. "Alright, smartass, what do you suggest? We can't stay at Maria's forever, and I'm sure you'd like to be on your way as soon as you can." Gods knew he wanted to be on his. "But I don't exactly wanna just hit the road without knowing precisely what I'm dealing with here."
Calen sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Look, lemme just... I can start getting in touch with some people. See if we can at least get a direction."
"Sure, you do that. Let me know if you figure it out. Or don't. It's not exactly on my priority list." Joss stood up, adjusting his bag so it rested more comfortably on his shoulder. At least Calen was right about one thing, he definitely wanted to be on his way. This whole situation was giving him a headache.
"See you around Frosty." He turned and started heading for the exit, despite an uneasy feeling in his gut.
"Yeah. Right. Fine."
Calen watched him go, frowning. He pressed his thumb into his palm, rubbing absently at the sigil.
Anxiety churned in his stomach. More than was really warranted. He huffed out a breath and grabbed for his drink again, downing it in one go.
His eye kept going back to the damned symbol on his hand. He glowered at it, flexing his fingers and conjuring a bit of frost to his fingertips. Damnit. What was he supposed to do now?
It was maddening. With each step further away from Calen, the more uneasy Joss felt. He'd never felt anything quite like it. This wasn't the kind of uneasiness that he was used to, the kind where he sensed something amiss, like something was stalking him. If he didn't know better he'd say this was more like the anxiety of realizing something was missing, but not knowing what.
Despite the growing twisting in his gut, Joss stubbornly forced himself to keep walking. He had returned to this city for a reason. There were always more demons to hunt down, and this place was crawling with unholy beings - demon or otherwise.
Joss wasn't sure how far he actually made it from the inn that he'd left Calen before he was doubled over, clutching his cramping stomach and losing his breakfast on the side of the street.
Eventually, the anxious twisting in his gut grew too much to bear, and Calen got to his feet with a muttered curse. He left a few coins on the table, flicking up the collar of his coat and hunching down into it as he walked back out of Maria's place.
He just need some air. Some space. That was all.
He'd made it all of two streets over before he nearly tripped over a figure hunched beside the street, retching.
"Gods!" He staggered back, yelping. "Sorry, mate, I didn't--"
He stared. Blinked. Stared a second longer.
"Joss?"
Shit, what had just happened?!
"Oi, you alright?" Okay, stupid question. He reached out automatically, taking the other man's arm. "Here, lemme help."
Joss was panting, trying to catch his breath and wipe his mouth, when someone stumbled over him, almost literally. He was about to snarl at the person about watching where the hell they were walking when he froze, realizing it was Calen.
Because of course it was.
He couldn't escape the annoying damn mage, could he?
When he felt Calen take his arm, Joss forced himself to straighten back up. It was a lot easier than he expected, since the cramps were completely gone. Just like that.
Despite having just vomited, he felt fine.
"I'm alright, fuck." He ran a hand through his hair and made a face. "Ugh. Fan-fucking-tastic."
Joss pulled a flask out of his coat and took a swig from it, swishing the whiskey in his mouth before spitting it out off to the side. The next few mouthfuls he swallowed, trying to wash his mouth out the best he could. Nothing like the taste of vomit. Bleh.
"Gods and demons." Calen waited until he'd straightened up to remove the support of his hand, figuring Joss wouldn't take to kindly to the idea of needing help. Still, he couldn't help watching the other man in concern, frowning. "What in all hells happened? You were fine less than five minutes ago!"
He eyed the puddle of sick distastefully and sidestepped around it, getting on Joss's other side and looking him over again as though that might yield new information.
Joss shook his head, giving Calen a wary sidelong glance. "I'm still fine. Ever felt sick to your stomach and then you throw up and feel better? That."
He tucked his flask back into his coat and edged away from the mess.
"Yeah. Okay," Calen said slowly, eyeing him. "You sure? I mean...I know alcohol this early isn't normally a great idea, but I didn't think you'd get sick over it."
He wasn't sure himself how much he was joking. That was...unreasonably unsettling. Why did he care so much? Sure the guy had saved his life, but other than that he'd really been nothing but kind of an ass.
A cute ass, an unhelpful part of his brain piped up. But an ass nonetheless.
"It wasn't the alcohol." Joss grunted, taking a few unsteady steps away from where he'd gotten sick. "I actually felt a little sick back at breakfast, but it passed and I didn't think it was that bad. Guess I was wrong about that."
He really did feel better though, so maybe he really did just need to throw up. That was definitely a real thing.
"Are you following me or something?" Joss grumbled, shooting a bit of an annoyed look over at Calen. He'd just left that place to get away from the irritating mage. The last thing he needed was more of a headache right now. He'd saved the guy and made sure he was alright before leaving him on his own. Wasn't that more than enough?
Calen threw his hands up in exasperation, glaring. "No! I was on my way out of town and I nearly fell over you retching by the roadside, and I thought I should help. You're welcome by the way."
He glared a moment longer, then rolled his eyes and clicked his tongue sharply. "Well. Fine. If you're alright, I'll just...go."
Why the hells did he care, anyway? Sure, the strange anxiety he'd been feeling back at Maria's seemed to have faded, but now he was just irritated again. Sure, the guy had saved his life, but that didn't mean he had to owe him for the rest of it, did it?
...Actually, he was sort of afraid that was exactly what it meant. Damnit.
How did Calen think he was helping? There wasn't much he could do about someone throwing up, it just happened. Gods, the guy was irritating as hell. Still, despite how very surly and disagreeable that Joss knew he could be, the mage had tried to be nice to him since they'd met.
Putting his hands up in a surrendering gesture, only mildly hampered by the heavy eyeroll that accompanied it, Joss sighed. "Fine. Fine. Thank you. For checking on me. I'm good. You happy now?"
Calen blinked at him. Then, slowly, he started to smile. "You're welcome."
He clearly wanted to press that, maybe tease him a bit for it, but held himself back. "Alright. Well. You sure you're...okay?"
Gods, he was being ridiculous. He shook his head, frowning at himself. "Look, just...take care of yourself, okay? I'll...see you around. Maybe." He started to walk away, rubbing idly at the back of his neck.
"Yeah. Yeah. I'm okay." Joss waved away the concern with huff. He wasn't a baby that needed looking after. It wasn't like throwing up wasn't a fairly common occurrence for him. When you drank a lot you just had to get used to losing the contents of your stomach.
"Yeah, I'll be in town a while, find me if your contacts turn anything up about the sigils." He might not have thought much of figuring the marks out, but he doubted Calen would just let it go. If the mage actually learned something, well they could decide what to do about it from there, if there was even anything to be done.
Joss still couldn't help but notice that uneasy feeling creeping back over him as he watched Calen walk away, though. With a stubborn scowl he turned and started walking the way he'd been going before getting sick, and couldn't help but notice that he felt like he was sweating a little within a handful of steps.
The the hell?
He wiped his forehead with his coat sleeve and sure enough, yep, sweating. That awful twisting was just starting in his stomach again. Joss stopped and took a few measured breaths, trying to force his body to just relax.
Nope.
"Ugh. Frosty." At least Joss got the words out before he had to double over, hands on his knees as he took gulping breaths, trying not to get sick again.
He'd made it nearly halfway to the corner before he heard Joss's voice. He...didn't sound good.
"Yeah? What, you have some sort of demon-slaying tips to give--"
He turned and his eyes widened. "Shit."
Before he had entirely realized he'd moved, he was kneeling in front of him, bracing his shoulder with one hand and tipping his chin up with the other so he could see his face. "Joss? What's wrong?"
What. The. Ever. Loving. Fuck.
Joss closed his eyes and shook his head. He felt Calen's hand on his shoulder and almost immediately his stomach settled again. Typically he'd have balked at the mage holding onto his shoulder like that, and definitely would have swatted away the hand tilting his chin up, but this was all very disconcerting.
"I - I don't know. This is fucking weird." His breathing was slightly ragged as he just let himself sink to his knees. Whatever had upset his stomach was gone, but Joss took it as small comfort. Something was clearly wrong with him.
"Alright, that's it." Calen straightened up, sliding one arm around Joss's ribs in an effort to help him up and offer some support. "This is getting ridiculous, you need to see a healer or something..." He quickly flicked mentally through his nearby contacts, hoping he might be able to remember someone with the right skills that he'd trust not to just pawn them off with some cheap poultice or something equally useless.
Joss grunted softly as he was helped back to his feet. The urge to protest, to tell the other man to just fuck off and leave him be, was definitely there, but even he could admit that maybe something was really wrong with him and maybe not dealing with it alone would be a good idea. At this rate he was going to end up passing out on the street in a puddle of his own vomit or something.
"Yeah, alright. A healer might be smart." Joss sighed and did his best not to lean on Calen. It wasn't like he even felt bad at the moment, but he could be doubled up again in a minute for all he knew. "It's the weirdest shit. Like, it keeps coming and going. I feel fine now."
He snorted. "Yeah. Might be."
The snark at least helped cover the concern in his voice. Muttering curses--at both himself and Joss--under his breath in an old Serenian dialect, Calen started off down the street once more.
"Don't suppose you know of anyone nearby?" he muttered, frowning at his feet. "I can think of a few, but I'm not convinced that they're entirely...trustworthy."
Physically he felt fine again, but Joss was still very shaken up by not knowing what was wrong with him. Nothing like this had ever happened to him before and the demon hunter really didn't like that, not one bit.
"I know one, she's trustworthy." Joss had contacts all over the world for all different kinds of things, and though he despised going to a healer, well it was extremely important he know ones that he could trust, given the dangerous lifestyle he led and for key other reasons. Which reminded him that Calen was with him.
A terribly inconvenient fact but he was sure it could be...handled.
"I can walk, c'mon." Joss tried to shake Calen off slightly, he really didn't need the mage's help staying on his feet. At least not at the moment, but as proven earlier that could change fast. He started making his way to the healer he knew since childhood.
"Okay. Good. That's good." Calen allowed Joss to shake him off, but he stuck close to the demon hunter's side as they walked, casting concerned glances at him every once in a while.
Concerned despite himself. Gods, he'd never been such a mother hen before, even with people he liked far better than Joss... Not that Joss was a bad guy, per se, he was just...prickly. Though he had to admit, he had no idea why he was so invested in this man's well-being.
I'm just being a decent person, he told himself, then almost snorted at the thought. Him, decent. Right.
Joss said nothing as Calen hovered close to him as they walked. He made no snide comments, no insults, no expression of annoyance. Normally he'd have spoken freely, and it wasn't as if he didn't feel annoyed, but he also knew that driving off the only person that was willing to help him in this moment was a bad idea.
Instead he kept his mouth closed in a thin, determined line as he left the main road and began weaving through alleys. The home was more like a hovel as Joss approached. It was in a sketchy part of the city, although given it was Zantaric the same could be said for most parts of the city.
Joss knocked unceremoniously before stepping back and waiting. It was almost a minute before the door cracked open, just enough for the grey-haired occupant to look them over warily before opening it wider. The woman was older, but stood strong and straight despite her grey hair, her brown eyes were still bright, and she appraised them with a stern frown.
"Phara, I trust you to be discrete, as always." Joss said flatly, with a very small gesture in Calen's direction, one that the mage wasn't particularly meant to see.
"Of course. Well, come in then." She stepped aside and beckoned them in. "You don't look mauled by a demon this time, so consider me curious. Especially since I've never seen you bring a...guest."
"I'm just the ride," Calen replied with a quick smile for the healer. Though normally fairly observant, he was distracted enough by his actual worry for Joss and the confusion that the anxiety induced to notice anything cagey.
"He seems sick," the ice mage supplied as he followed the other man inside. "I dunno, it comes and goes. It's weird."
"Not like that." Joss growled at Phara's slightly questioning look as she closed the door behind them.
"Oh of course." Phara said with amusement, before turning to Calen and looking him over for a few moments. "I see. Sickness that comes and goes, how unusual. How quickly does it come and go?"
"Seems a bit random, honestly." Joss groused, running his fingers through his hair and sighing tiredly.
"Hm. Well I think you and I should speak alone, yes? I can examine you in the office." Phara gestured towards a door leading to another room and Joss went without hesitation, he knew his way around this house. Phara turned to Calen with a pensive frown. "You may wait here, if you wish, or you can go. I will take care of them."
Calen glanced between Phara and Joss, waffling. Which was ridiculous. He didn't waffle. He shouldn't even be here. Joss was fine, he was getting healing. He'd be able to check on him once he'd got some of his contacts looking into these weird sigils--not that he needed to check on him--oh, forget it.
"Yeah, I should...head out, I guess." He stepped back toward the door. "You, uh, take care then?"
He gave them both a little nod and turned to go, trying to ignore yet another strange pang of anxiety and instead focus on who he might be able to talk to in Zantaric.
"Yep." Joss barely even responded to Calen saying he was leaving. Most of the short amount of time he'd known the mage getting away from him had been the goal. Sure he'd used him to get this far, just in case he got sick again on the way, but now he was in Phara's capable hands.
"Close the door on your way out please." Phara simply nodded. They didn't wait for Calen to see himself out, instead both disappearing deeper into the house.
"Yeah. Right." Calen gave her another nod and a quick smile, but he wasn't sure either of them even noticed as he left. They seemed rather focused, which only made sense.
He made sure the door shut tight behind him--he'd spent enough time in Zantaric to know how much even a tiny bit of extra security was worth--and started off on his way again.
Although...he wasn't exactly sure which way that was. He hesitated, then shook his head and just picked a direction. He started off fairly confident, but with each step it suddenly began to feel like he was trying to walk through thick mud sucking at his boots. The knot of anxiety twisted tight in his lower belly, and he gritted his teeth, trying to shove it from his mind.
They must have made it to Phara's just in time, because Joss barely made it to the office before he was doubled up, holding onto the desk just to keep himself from falling all the way to the floor. Dry heaves shook him as his empty stomach tried to rid itself of things it no longer had left.
Phara helped Joss to a couch and set about trying to examine him. They exchanged a terse conversation, she asking questions to rule out certain conditions and he giving clipped, annoyed answers between heaves. As a healer she was quite skilled, and was proud of those skills, having patched Joss and his mother up on many an occasion, saving their lives numerous times. Today, however, well she was stumped. This was no sickness she knew.
Although the new marking on Joss's hand was definitely strange. Interesting, but strange.
Calen was cursing himself by the time he got back to the healer's door. He shifted from foot to foot, glowering at nothing and muttering under his breath about what an idiot he was being.
But already that tight anxiety was starting to loosen, even just having made the decision to come back and check. What the hells was wrong with him.
With a resigned sigh, he lifted a hand to knock. "Hey, it's me! I'm, uh...back."
The episode of being violently ill mercifully began to slowly relent. Joss was resting on the couch, head propped up with a small cushion and his arm laying over his eyes. His breathing was heavy and he'd begun to sweat again. Thankfully the symptoms were easing up, although how long that relief would last was anyone's guess. He groaned when he heard a knock at the door. Phara just patted his hand gently and went to see who it was.
Although it was fairly obvious when Calen announced himself. The healer opened the door and fixed him with a curious look. "Already? That was quick. Joss is on the couch in the office, he got very sick after you left."
Calen blinked. "Shit. Really?" Had the irrational anxiety somehow been founded?
Shaking his head, he rocked from his heels to the balls of his feet and back a few times before making a vague gesture inside. "Is it, ah...is it alright if I...?" He motioned again, feeling more awkward than he could ever remember feeling while fully closed. "It okay if I...check on him?"
Phara arched a brow at Calen before stepping aside so that he could come in. She called out down the hall. "Joss, your little friend is back."
"We're not friends!" Came the muffled response.
"Well they want to see you." She shook her head and gave Calen a bit of an amused smirk.
"Whatever." Joss definitely sounded a bit hoarse.
"Go on then. I'm going to fix some tea." Phara wandered to the small kitchen to begin heating water for a pot of soothing tea.
At the same time Joss shouted it, Calen rolled his eyes and huffed, "We're not friends."
He blinked as the demon hunter's voice overlaid his, then shook his head. He returned the healer's smirk with a quick sideways grin, falling easily into the habitual charm that had so often gotten him out of trouble--almost more than it got him into it.
Nodding at Phara when she moved toward the kitchen, he made his way over to the couch where Joss was laying, pausing in the doorway to lean back against the frame and fold his arms loosely over his chest. "So. Took a bad turn, huh?"
"Yeah, it's fucking bullshit. It's passing though, for now. I hope this isn't something that lasts for very long. I hate being sick." Nobody liked being sick. Joss sighed and lifted his arm so he could lift his head to squint at Calen with a frown. "Thought you left. Figured you'd be off to hunt down some answer to what the sigils are."
"Sigils?" Phara questioned as she came up behind Calen to glare at Joss. "There's more than one? Why did you only show me the one on your hand? Where is the other?"
Joss rolled his eyes, dropping his head back down and laying his arm over his eyes again, free hand pointing at Calen. Phara turned her eyes onto the mage with a disapproving frown, hands on her hips. "Well?"
"Well, I was planning to, but something told me some poor, helpless demon hunter might need my help," Calen quip wryly, smirking. He jumped slightly when Phara seemed to just appear behind him, spinning to face her.
"Gods! Wear a bell, woman," he grumbled, but with a quick sigh and another look at Joss, he dropped his pack so he could lift his hand and show his palm to the healer. "Happened when Sunshine used some sort of spell to..." save my life "Help me, after a demon attack."
Phara ignored the comment, grabbing Calen's hand and peering at the sigil with a frown, brow furrowed as she studied it pensively.
"Pretty much what he said. Some demon marked him and he felt like freezing to death so I ended up using...something. The book showed it to me when I asked for help to save the idiot's life before he turned into a block of fucking ice." Joss sighed again before trying to sit up, which he did manage, with gritted teeth. "Should have let him."
"The sigils are a matching pair." Phara concluded, releasing Calen's hand, satisfied with her inspection. "They are slightly different, but belong together."
"Eh?" Joss looked down at his left palm, studying the marking on his hand with a scowl. They weren't exactly the same? He thought they were.
"Wait, what?" Calen looked from Phara to Joss and back. "They are? Huh." Granted, he hadn't exactly been studying the two marks side by side, but he hadn't realized they were different at all.
"A pair," he repeated, frowning down at his hand. He looked up at Joss again. "So...what does that mean, exactly? They belong together."
A possible answer was starting to occur to him, and he hoped he was wrong. That would just be...so deeply inconvenient.
Joss refused to consider the whole belong together statement. Nope, he wasn't even going there right now. This was all too weird and extremely frustrating.
"Why do you keep asking me like I'm gonna magically pull the answer outta my ass?" Joss grumbled, but he dragged himself off the couch and moved over to Calen so he could hold his left hand next to the mage's and view the sigils side by side.
They did look nearly identical. However a single line was different, mirrored in placement. "Well fucking hell. They are a matching set."
"Because it was your book that did this?" Calen suggested in a grumble. He held his hand beside Joss's, squinting at the sigils.
He let out a low whistle when he saw what the other two already had. "I'll be damned," he mumbled. Then he snorted, glancing at Joss sidelong. "What, so we're...like salt and pepper shakers now?"
"I thought we already established my book is a total asshole." Joss huffed, knowing that at least part of this was on him. The book had showed him the ritual and he'd performed it without knowing exactly what it would do, but Calen was fucking dying in front of his eyes. The situation had created a sense of urgency, and it had done what Joss asked - it saved Calen's life.
"You were marked by the demon. Removing the demon's mark could have killed you if done incorrectly, but you would have died before I could have found the appropriate ritual." Joss was speaking a bit hollowly. "Removing it wasn't an option. So the book showed me how to...override it."
Now they both carried a new mark, a shared mark.
Almost despite himself, Calen snorted at that. He sobered quickly though, flexing his fingers against his palm and then spreading them out again a few times as he eyed the sigil.
"Hmm..." He trailed off, eyed the demon hunter sidelong, and sighed. Lowering his voice--not particularly wanting Phara to overhear--he muttered, "Look, I--I do know you saved my life. You didn't seem all that interested in gratitude, so..."
He shrugged, dropping his hand with another sigh. "Sorry I fucked up your ritual or whatever."
"You didn't fuck it up." Joss sighed, shoving his hands in his pockets. He didn't want to keep looking at the sigil. It was a complicated mess. "Now instead of that demon's mark you have, well, my mark, not to put too fine a point on it. They are protection sigils though, I wasn't wrong about that."
The sigils were a matching pair. One for him and one for Calen, but they could only work together. That was just fucking great.
"Phara, I'm not sure you can help with this one." Joss chewed on his bottom lip thoughtfully. There had to be a way to fix this. Could he undo whatever the hell it was he'd done? He honestly wasn't sure.
"Your mark," Calen repeated. Gods, he was just full of insights today. Rolling his eyes at himself, he shook his head and leaned back against the wall with a sharp exhale. "So what do we do?" he muttered, not really sure who he was asking.
He glanced down at his hand again, then away, frowning. "If they're a pair, that implies...they need to be together to work properly. For protection or whatever." He gave another sharp shake of his head. "But I don't need protecting, and I'm sure you don't wanna follow me around for the rest of your life," he said with a jerk of his head in Joss's direction.
Joss brought both hands up to rub his face tiredly. He didn't know how to fix it. At least not yet, but he would. Eventually. Fucking asshole book.
"Hell no I don't want to follow you around, not for any length of time." He had more than enough of the annoying mage already. The idea of being stuck with Calen for who even knew how long was far from appealing. It didn't seem like they'd have much of a choice, though.
"If the book showed you the ritual that did this, then it must have known this would happen." Phera spoke, looking at them both with a thoughtful expression. "It must have done this on purpose, for a reason. Maybe this is exactly what needed to happen."
Joss did not look happy. Not at all.
Calen stared at her. His jaw clenched.
It needed to happen this way... Sometimes fate just intervenes... Who can understand the gods' plan?... Even the most terrible things have a purpose...
"Bullshit."
He jerked his head around to glare at the wall, perhaps a little unreasonably irritated. He couldn't seem to help it. "Nothing needs to happen. Shit just goes sideways. "Fate" is people's way of trying to make sense of the awful, awful things that happen to and around them."
Realizing how that sounded, he winced, sighed, and added in Joss's general direction, "Not that this is awful, I didn't--" He sighed again. "That's not how I meant it. Sorry."
He hated this. Hated everything about it. But that wasn't Joss's fault, and clearly the guy had enough problems to deal with already. Even if he was a bit of an ass.
"No, you can say it. This fucking sucks." Joss could absolutely agree with Calen on that. This was definitely awful.
Phara tutted softly, shaking her head at them both. "To exist is for things to happen, and Joss, you should know better than your friend about fate."
Joss snorted and gritted his teeth. Fate was bullshit, but he wasn't convinced that it wasn't real. He didn't want to believe it either. His supposed "fate" was beyond grim, and frankly unbearable. So far he hadn't found a way to circumvent what destiny had been laid out for him by a stupid, short-sighted ancestor.
"Yeah. Well. Thanks for nothing. I guess." Joss turned to leave, heading for the door. "C'mon Frosty. We'll figure something out, but not here."
Calen's voice suddenly lowered to something blank, cold, and dangerous. "Lady, you don't know me. Don't think you get to decide what I do or do not know about fate."
Then Joss was turning to leave, and he shook himself, and just like that he was back to his usual, annoyingly cheerful self. "Right behind ya, Sunshine." He nodded to the healer, hefting his back again, and moved to follow Joss out. "Thanks for the help, ma'am."
Phara seemed completely unfazed by Calen's sudden change of tone. She simply watched them both until Joss had actually managed to open the front door and was about to step outside. "Have you heard from your mother yet?"
Joss froze, entire body tense, a muscle in his jaw twitching as he ground his teeth once more. "No. Give it up you old bat, if no one has heard from her yet, then the bitch is dead."
The demon hunter stomped out, turned, and punched the wall of the house so hard you could probably hear the strain of the bones in his hand at the contact. Joss closed his eyes and took a deep breath before continuing down the alley.
"...Hey."
Calen waited a few steps behind him, head cocked slightly to the side and brows drawn together just a bit. "Sunshine. You alright?"
The second the words were out of his mouth, he closed his eyes and pursed his lips. Right. That was gonna go over well.
"Peachy." Joss responded in a clipped tone. "Sorry about the wacko old woman, she's a good healer, but you have to ignore all the other stupid bullshit she says. I'd replace her, but finding people you can trust is...difficult."
Joss sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose - with the hand he didn't punch the wall with, that one was throbbing painfully. He'd deal with that later, though. Right now he just wanted to put distance between himself and Phara. If he didn't there was a chance he'd do something he regretted. The old woman was meddling, but harmless.
Calen watched him for a few moments longer, then sighed himself and moved forward to stand in front of him.
"Here." He reached out, watching Joss's face as he warned, "I'm gonna touch you, but just for a second, okay?"
He took Joss's injured hand carefully--he'd hit a few walls out of frustration himself, and he knew how easy it was to seriously bruise or even break your knuckles. Closing his eyes for a moment, he summoned his magic and allowed his hands to cool drastically: a living ice pack.
"Nah, I get it. She seems like a nice enough old bird, just...maybe a little nosy." He grimaced. "I also...overreacted back there. Sorry."
Joss stopped short when Calen was suddenly in front of him, a by now very familiar look of annoyance flashed across his face. Despite feeling more than a little aggravated by recent events, he didn't lash out at the mage. He watched Calen take his hand and felt the cold start soothing the pain.
"Nosy is one way to put it." Joss grumbled before sighing and closing his eyes. "She's useful. I'll replace her eventually. They all get replaced eventually. Good contacts just don't last forever. Also might be a very ironic person to apologize to for overreacting."
"Mm? Why's that?" The words sounded flippant enough, but he was distracted. Something Joss had said, replacing contacts...
He was so lost in thought that he didn't realize he was still cupping Joss's hand between his, the temperature of his skin growing slowly but steadily colder with every passing moment.
Suddenly his eyes lit up. "Contacts," he repeated, starting to grin. "Y'know, Sunshine, I think I might have us a lead."
"Wow, you really aren't even listening to me, are ya? My hand that interesting?" Joss had really thought that Calen would give some kind of reaction to that. In the very brief time they'd known each other, well the demon hunter had to admit he had a temper and was rather callous. Not that he would apologize for it, but he could recognize that he was kind of a shitty person most of the time.
"Oh yeah? Well let's go then, the sooner we fix this the better." He pulled his hand from Calen's grip, flexing his fingers gingerly. Joss hated to admit that the cooling touch had helped a little.
Calen really hadn't been listening, at least not fully, and he jerked, then gave Joss a sheepish smile for being caught out. He tried to play it off with a quick, "Well, sure. Even aside from the bitching new tattoo, you've got nice hands."
He let Joss pull his hand back easily and shoved his own into his pockets, rocking back on his heels. "Right. Right, okay. Thing is, Dain--this guy I'm thinking of--he's around, but he doesn't exactly have a base in Zantaric. I know how to get a message to him, but we might have to leave the city to actually find him."
"Nice hands?" Joss arched an eyebrow at Calen. That was definitely not a compliment he heard often. Or ever. Then again, his thorny demeanor didn't lend itself to earning many compliments from anyone, but still. Who complimented someone's hands?
"Of course he's not local. Why would it be that easy?" A heavy sigh escaped Joss as he ran his fingers through his hair, messing it up more than it already was. "Well it isn't like I've got something more important to do right now. I'm no stranger to traveling, so whatever. Let's find this Dain and see if he's got anything that can help."
"Excellent." Calen clapped his hands together with a bright smile, but it didn't quite manage to reach his eyes. He was still distracted, but now making more of an effort to keep his attention on the present, and the person in front of him. "Well, first step, I've gotta try to make contact. You staying somewhere? This should only take me...oh, say an hour. Ish."
"I had literally just gotten into town when I ran into you and your buddy last night, so no, not staying anywhere in particular. We can figure out where to stay after we make this contact, and yes we, because if you recall I get violently ill when you're too far away because of these stupid things." Joss grumpily waved his sigil-decorated palm at Calen with a sigh. Anywhere one of them went, the other was just going to have to follow.
This was going to be all kinds of irritating, but what could you do?
Ah. Right.
That.
Calen scrubbed his hands down his face, muttering curses into his palms. "Right. Right, of course. Sorry." He sighed, ran his fingers back through his hair, then nodded. "Okay then. Well...with me, I guess."
Shrugging, he turned on his heel and started off down the street once again, shoulders slightly hunched and eyes flickering about warily, though his customary smile was back it place. It didn't quite manage to reach his eyes, but it was there.
"Yup." Joss sighed, they didn't have much choice. He fell into step behind Calen, following the mage with slumped shoulders. They didn't get far before the demon hunter had pulled his cigar case out of his coat, putting one between his lips and a quick gesture of one hand caused the end to spark to life. He pulled in a deep drag before blowing out a small cloud of smoke and glancing around.
"You look nervous Frosty." Unlike Calen, Joss looked fairly relaxed, as if they were on a casual stroll and not traversing one of the most dangerous cities on the face of the planet.
"Mm, do I?" Clearly distracted, Calen adjusted his step slightly to partially block Joss from view as he spotted a pair--a man and a woman--glance their way from the entrance of an alley across the street.
When he realized what he was doing he paused. What in--?
"Ah, shit." He fixed his smile back in place and started walking again. "Right, so these sigils. Makes you sick when we're too far apart, makes me...twitchy. Don't suppose you think it would make us...I don't know, compelled to be--" he cast around for a better word, couldn't find one, sighed, and settled on, "Protective?"
"Mm." Joss didn't answer right away, mulling over the words as he puffed on his cigar, glancing towards the people at the entrance of the alley. He hadn't actually noticed the way Calen had tried to block him from them.
"Well, they are protection sigils." He finally said, sighing with a shake of his head. "I don't really know how they work. They can do all kinds of things that we don't know about yet - and won't know until it happens."
"Fan-fucking-tastic." Calen dragged a hand down his face--that was becoming a habit lately, he'd have to watch out for that. "Right. Great. Okay."
He exhaled a sharp breath and took a quick turn down a side street, after a swift glance around to make sure they weren't about to be mugged. "So, just so I'm aware of what I might be walking into: you're not in trouble with anyone in town, are you? Y'know, jobs you may have ditched on, jilted lover, debt, anything like that?"
None of Zantaric's gangs were exactly safe to deal with, but if Joss had any particular enemies then he could plan out how to get a message to Dain that was at least less risky.
"Big ol' nope to all of that. Anybody that becomes enough of a problem to me doesn't usually last too long, ya'know? Only problems we might have are with demons. They're not my biggest fans, if you can imagine that." Joss hunted demons, most people were pretty okay with that - except of course demons. He was good at pissing people off, but also dangerous enough that they were usually smart enough to let it go. When they didn't, well, he wasn't the most compassionate or merciful adversary.
"Does it surprise you that aside from some petty bar fights that I actually don't get into a lot of trouble?" Joss shrugged and smirked.
Calen glanced at him sidelong. "Uh...yeah, it does actually." He shrugged in turn. "Alright, well...that does simplify things, I suppose."
Weird to be working with someone who arguably had less to worry about in terms of "old enemies" than he did.
"Okay, so, see that building?" He gestured toward what appeared to be a rest house--not quite an inn, and definitely abandoned. "We should be able to leave a message there, and it'll get to Dain within a few days. He knows how to contact me, and if I haven't run into him since I've been here, he's not in Zantaric. So we may as well hit the road sooner rather than later."
"Heh." Joss was still smirking around his cigar as he shrugged again. He knew he didn't give off a good impression on almost anybody. It didn't surprise him that Calen figured he would have a lot more enemies than just demons, but he honestly didn't concern himself with much else, aside from the occasional inhuman monster causing problems for normal folks.
"Alright, seems really easy. So we just go in and leave a message, this should only take a minute." He really didn't see why the mage was so on guard.
"Yup." Calen looked around again. "Super simple. In and out."
They'd reached the building, and he hesitated. "Look, you just...stay here. I'm not going far, just inside." It was only a couple of yards, surely that amount of distance wouldn't trigger whatever illness overtook Joss when they were separated.
He smiled, getting close to the usual carefree grin. "Play lookout, yeah? Just shout if you see something...off."
"Sure, sure..." Joss released a small cloud of smoke from his cigar as he leaned against the building next to the door and folded his arms across his chest. He wasn't fully confident that it would be fine, but the only way to really test the range of the sigils was to, well, test how far he could stand to be away from Calen without getting sick.
It was insanely annoying that the mage only felt anxious when moving away from him while Joss got downright ill to the stomach, but there wasn't much to be done about it.
"Just don't take too long, in case I do start heaving, yeah?"
Caleb chuckled and gave him a quick nod. "I'll do my best. Try not to miss me too much."
With a grin and a wink he slipped into the abandoned rest house. He was only gone a few minutes, true to his word, but when he came stumbling back out he had gone surprisingly pale, and there was a fog over his eyes .
"Alright. Job done," he panted as he slumped against the wall beside Joss and let his eyes close for a long moment. He focused on breathing, struggling to feel his toes from the effort of breaking through the dozens of barriers he, Dain, and others had placed on the safe house.
The only response Joss gave to that was to flip Calen off as the mage disappeared into the abandoned building. As if he would ever miss some annoying ass frosty the snowman. Being stuck with him was such a headache.
A headache that he needed to find a cure to pronto.
Joss kept a rather lazy eye out for those few minutes, doing his best not to seem as tense as he felt. Luckily he didn't feel sick yet, but it was still uncomfortable, like an itch just beneath the skin. He resisted the urge to rub the sigil on his palm, scowling and puffing on his cigar irritably.
No, he was not sulking!
"You good?" When Calen had come back he looked a bit like he'd actually exerted himself quite heavily for those few minutes. Joss was definitely not worried about him. No fucking way. "Let's keep moving. Where next?"
"I'm...good," Calen panted, thoroughly unconvincingly. He gave himself a little shake, then groaned softly as he pushed away from the wall. "Now...well. We get moving, I suppose."
He glanced at Joss and shrugged. "You got anywhere in particular to be? I can usually find odd jobs just about anywhere, no skin off my nose which direction we head." Dain would be able to get a message to him just about anywhere, once the one he'd left reached him.
"Sure." Joss wasn't going to argue with the mage about it. If Calen said he was good, then he was going to just roll with that. He wasn't going to pretend to actually care!
"I go wherever there are demons to kill, which is to say I really don't give a fuck where I am, because there's always a demon lurking near enough." It was the truth. Everywhere Joss went there seemed to be no end of evil to hunt down - demons or other monstrosities. It hardly made a difference. "I live in Serendipity though. I just come to Zantaric for work a lot."
"Oh hey, my neck of the woods." Calen grinned tiredly, then shrugged. "Well, sort of. Used to be, I guess. Right!" He gave his head a brisk shake and rolled his shoulders back. "Serendipity it is then. Don't suppose you've got the coin to join us up with a caravan?"
Oh great, frosty was from Serendipity too? Well, that probably made some sense, a lot of mages came from Serendipity, but plenty came from all over the world too. It had been a while since Joss had been "home" last, so it was probably overdue, even if home was just an empty house in the highlands.
"Sounds a lot to me like you don't have the coin to join us up with a caravan." Joss rolled his eyes with a sigh and clinched his cigar between his teeth as he dug around in the bag at his side to dig out a coin purse.
The pouch was light, but there was the sound of a handful of coins clinking inside.
"Not sure how much it costs. I usually travel light - and alone." Joss was really starting to regret saving Calen last night. Now they were stuck with each other with no idea how to get unstuck and Joss knew that he wasn't great company on a good day, let alone a series of bad ones.