[ action | closed ] dark shapes gather ‘round

[amberdrake]

Who: Ukoku Sanzo and Amberdrake
What: Drake contacts Ukoku a few days after this mess.
Where: Attleton - Sadullos Kestra
Warnings: Probably none, but I'll update if needed.

Amberdrake double-checked that the oven, now covered in all kinds of writing he couldn't hope to decipher, was still closed. Clicking on the light showed that the feather was still in it, though it had, of course, moved. Still, it was in there. He wasn't sure if the wards one of his clients had drawn on the oven would do anything to keep the feather inside, but the real purpose was to just hide it from magical detection.

Drake didn't need that thing lighting up every Mage-Sight like a bonfire.

He sighed, ran his hands over his hair again, triple-checked that he looked composed...

...And he did, as soon as he stopped fidgeting...

And then he went out into the lobby. He took a seat, grounded himself for a moment, and then pulled out his phone.

It started with a text.

You wanted me to impose on your expertise.

Ugh. This was not going to end well for anybody, and he knew it.

Comments

[bunny_doll]

Maybe it was just the knowledge that, of course, Ni would be smug carried over, but, somehow, the text he sent dripped with an eager smugness.

Ah!! what are friends for if not for helping? Do tell! ／(^ x ^)＼

[amberdrake]

Dear Gods, it was already worse than he'd imagined.

I have something at the office you should see.

[bunny_doll]

Oh!! A gift? <3 I'll be right over!!

He meant that quite literally. When one could teleport, it was pretty easy to get around the cities, even if he had to paused at a gate or two. The dark priest was at the door in a matter of minutes.

Ni stepped in without knocking, a bounce to his step and an eagerness to his limited emotions that Amberdrake wouldn't have felt before. Something was up with this, it had to be something big for Amberdrake to contact him. The therapist knew a great many people, a great many people that were skilled and magically competent. But here he was, asking Ni for help.

"Amberdrake~" he called in a sing-song voice.

[amberdrake]

When Drake got that text, he just stayed where he was. Sitting calmly in the lobby, waiting for Ukoku to show up like it hadn't literally just taken five seconds. Hell, he was already browsing his email.

"Hello, Ukoku Sanzo," Amberdrake put his phone away, and offered the dark priest one of his usual, serene smiles. Work mode was fully engaged. "I wasn't expecting you so quickly."

Like hell he wasn't.

[bunny_doll]

"I couldn't bear to keep you waiting!" He threw up his arms dramatically, ah this was great fun! The bunny was held by its ear and went swinging through the air. It was all very comical if you didn't know what kind of person Ni was.

"You did need my help, after all. I'm here to help. Anytime." The look in his black eyes was nothing short of vile.

[amberdrake]

"Yes, you're a very helpful guy," Amberdrake folded his hands in his lap and watched Ukoku's antics with seemingly endless calm and patience. That gross look and all. "I've stumbled across a creature that's defied all known categories, medical and arcane, and I need help identifying it. Who else is there that I could possibly know, who excels in both magic and science at the same time? You're a rare combination on any world, Ukoku Sanzo."

[bunny_doll]

"Aren't I?" Ni swooped closer, bending sharply at the waist to peer at Amberdrake's face, too close to be polite. His eyes scan that careful mask of calm pleasantry. It was so sturdy, well practiced. A hungry look flashed in Ni's eyes, just for a moment. He eagerly awaited the day he could break that mask and see the man behind it shatter.

He'd be even tougher to break than Genjyo Sanzo, it would be worth the wait.

"So? Did you get a picture?"

[amberdrake]

And it was all there for Drake to read, even without that hungry look. The kestra'chern regarded Ni from the priest's own chosen distance, arching a single eyebrow just slightly. So absolutely calm, and pleasant. "Better than that," Amberdrake smiled again, "I have a sample."

But he wasn't going to go get it while Ukoku was directly in his face like this. "I can see why everyone calls you a raven. Considering pecking out my eye, are you? That's not very nice, when I'm giving you something new and shiny to pick over."

[bunny_doll]

"They're prettier where they are, I wouldn't want to take them." Not yet. Ni snapped back upright, he'd bother Amberdrake more later, he wanted this sample.

"I'm sure it's something worth my time, you wouldn't call me otherwise, would you?"

[amberdrake]

"Well, aren't you a flatterer," Amberdrake moved to get up, as graceful as ever. "Of course it's worth your time, you know I wouldn't involve you lightly. Why else would you have come here so quickly? But," he paused, and regarded Ukoku for a moment, "I'd hate to think that you'd just take it and run off and never tell me what you found out. That would be such a shame... one never knows when I could come across something else of interest."

[bunny_doll]

"Ah! You're threatening to leave me out of the loop?" He leaned over, like he was wilting from the pain of such a threat. How could Drake! "What's the fun of study if it's not shared, mm? You'll know what I find out, don't fret."

He winked. The worse the news, the more fun it would be to share it!

[amberdrake]

"Yeah... you know, the sad thing is I kind of believe you," Amberdrake shook his head, "I'll be right back."

He went into the kitchen to retrieve the feather, stepping back into the lobby with the too-red thing held in a pair of salad tongs. Hey, he was from a world made of more magic and magical artifacts than most people he'd ever met on any other world; he wasn't a mage, but he also wasn't nearly dumb enough to touch the thing directly.

[bunny_doll]

Ni was too focused on seeing this thing for himself to sit down. He nearly jumped forward to take a look at the thing in the salad tongs. Sure, he should be careful, but he wasn't and plucked the feather from the tongs with his bare hands.

Ah, that was fascinating! He felt ill, an anxiety that wasn't his own set in almost at once. This thing didn't want to be touched hm? That hadn't stopped him touching anyone or anything before.

"Oh I see why you called me." He laughed and waved the feather in Drake's direction. "What a gift."

[amberdrake]

"Yes, well, don't say I never get you anything," Amberdrake set the tongs down. He'd... burn them later, or something. Ugh.

[bunny_doll]

"I would never!" He ran his finger along the should-be-soft edges of the feather and hissed when it sliced into his finger. Blood dripped down his hand and onto the carpet. Well, just look at that.

He laughed again, impressed.

"I can't wait, ah! Wonderful!"

[amberdrake]

Anything that kept Ukoku occupied with something that wasn't Sanzo was a good thing in Drake's books, even he was still certain this would find a way to backfire spectacularly.

For one thing, he actually liked Cassian. Even with his little feud with Sanzo.

"Well, go have fun," Amberdrake said with a smile, like he was shooing an eager kid out the door to play and not... the heretical Sanzo with a sample of an unspeakable horror. "Just remember to let me know what you find out."

See? Such good friends.

[bunny_doll]

"You'll be the first to know!" Ni sang as he turned for the door. He waved the feather over his shoulder, oh he knew Drake couldn't stand this thing. What else could he do with it? He'd have to find out.

He wasn't even completely out of the door before he vanished.