• Mature • Cupid Without A Bow

[Balthazar Black]

35 Ashan 720

Balthazar had elected to go for a walk to try and shake off the almost week long hangover brewing in his head. His birthtrial had come and gone and he had an incredibly foggy memory of the last seven trials. That was probably a good thing- maybe even a great thing! Especially now that Isabella was in Scalvoris. She didn't plan to stay for long because she felt "more comfortable" in Almund which Balthazar knew meant it was easier for her to sell drugs there. Maybe that was why he liked Scalvoris Town more? The law and order was... surprisingly refreshing after a week of being a drunkard. It was good to be in a place where you couldn't be challenged to a duel for simply looking at someone the wrong way.

His walk had taken him to a small hamlet not far from Scalvoris Town, Beacon. He'd heard of the land but never been there before and couldn't deny that when he flew high enough into the sky to see it in the distance, it looked like a quaint little slice of Scalvoris. Guided more or less just by his sense of where the water was- Balthazar set off. Every once in a while he'd take a really high leap, propelling himself with defiance, to try and find the hamlet in the distance again, then he'd continue walking. It took a while, longer than traveling with a guide would have, but Balthazar arrived in Beacon and what was the first thing he did? His barefoot self walked into a tavern to get a drink.

It was harder to find a tavern in Beacon than Balthazar expected it to be. It turned out that the village was assembled of individuals training to work for one of Cally's many businesses and so Balthazar made a mental note that he wouldn't be able to live there, but eventually he found a tavern and took a seat at the bar inside. He ordered a drink and waited patiently for it to arrive.

[Devin]

Beacon, Devin decided, as he walked down the street, sucked. It was quite possibly the dullest place that he that had ever seen, and he regretted letting one of his colleagues persuade him to help him out and treat a few people in the village who had fallen ill. There were no casinos, and no brothels, and nobody was selling drugs either – in short, there wasn’t any kind of entertainment to be had. He wasn’t sure what the villagers did for fun. Maybe they didn’t have fun? Or maybe there were weird, perverted freaks that considered helping people and making the world a better place to be fun?

He was just thinking about kicking a random object because he really needed to take his frustration out on something, despite the fact that his left foot still wasn’t healed completely (he’d had to sacrifice one of his toes when he had been initiated into Becoming) when a most interesting building came into view. Judging by the sign that hung above the door, it was a tavern. He’d already given up hope that Beacon had one!

He quickened his pace, as much as he could, considering his injured foot. A moment later, he pushed the door open and made his way through the common room, towards the bar. It was then that he saw him. His eyes instantly lit up. Maybe coming to Beacon hadn’t been a total waste of time, after all!

When he had met Balthazar in Emea, he’d been too distracted by the mirror maze, the rainbow slide and all the other things that had been there to take a closer look at him, but now he couldn’t help but stare at him dreamily. He had the most interesting golden eyes, and what more, his white hair looked really nice and soft. He couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to run his hands through it!

So, without further ado, he slid onto the barstool next to the other man, put his fancy black and golden cane that he temporarily used as it made walking less unpleasant onto the bar and smiled absolutely radiantly at him before he turned to face the bartender for a moment and casually informed him, “I’ll pay for this gentleman’s drink! He can have whatever he wants!” Having said that, he abruptly pushed his barstool closer to Balthazar’s barstool, so close that their barstools were almost touching, in fact, still smiling.

“It’s been a while! How have you been?” he asked him before he revealed, “I’m a dreamwalker as well now, and I got magic on top of it! Do you want to see my witchmark?”

[Balthazar Black]

35 Ashan 720

Balthazar wasn't at the bar for long before someone joined him loudly. He turned his head a little to the right to find the bard from the dream and then he looked back to the server. Devin set his cane on the bar and Balthazar looked at it for a moment before turning his gaze to the bard who's wide smile seemed to have some hidden intent. Balthazar looked at Devin, then back at the server, and then back at Devin after a trill or so when he realized both that Devin was staying and that Devin was the bard from that weird glass maze. "I've been busy. How have you been?" Balthazar didn't delve into what he'd been doing. Ever since the ceremony he'd become a lot more guarded about his secrets... now he understood the value of information.

"Whiskey. I don't care if it has a color or not." In Yaralon, purple whiskey had been more or less the drink of choice for Balthazar and he'd been forced to lower his standards since leaving. The bartender brought Balthazar his drink and Balthazar raised it to Devin for a moment before drinking some of it. Beacon's whiskey had a familiar burn but none of the taste as Yaralon's. Unfortunate.

"Depends on where it is." Balthazar replied to Devin who had made such sudden claims. He was a dreamwalker and a mage on top of it? Things certainly had changed in the time since they'd dreamed the same dream. Balthazar did not know much of Becoming, or even that Devin had been initiated into that magic, but he wasn't sure that he wanted to see anything Devin was so eager to show him. Balthazar's own witchmarks were plain to see, his hair and his eyes, but he was somewhat curious what Devin's was. "What magic?" Balthazar added the question before taking another sip from his whiskey.
"Did the initiation hurt? They always seem to hurt."

[Devin]

“The same for me, please!” Devin told the bartender as Balthazar ordered whiskey before he turned to face the white-haired mage again, smiling brightly at him. Balthazar had accepted his invitation to a drink, and what more, he hadn’t said anything when he had sat down so close to him which meant that he was probably interested.

With that thought in mind, the bard grinned, pushed his barstool yet another inch closer to Balthazar’s, raised his glass in a toast and took a sip before he let his gaze drift across the other man’s body in appreciation and cheerfully remarked, “You look great! Have you been working out?”

Balthazar certainly seemed to be in good shape; and what more, he had such a strong, masculine jaw!

He was really attractive!

Balthazar was wondering about his magic though, so the Mortalborn temporarily stopped checking him out and proudly informed him, “Becoming! The initiation was extremely painful, but I didn’t mind at all!” That was a lie, of course. Devin had cried and whimpered and moaned and almost had a nervous breakdown because it had hurt so much.

He had also freaked out when his mentor informed him that she’d have to cut something off.

In short, he’d been the opposite of tough, brave and heroic. Telling the truth wouldn’t be conductive to his flirting with Balthazar though; besides, the truth was overrated anyway.

For that reason, he’d decided to change the story.

“As for my witchmark”, he said, grinned slyly and – abruptly raised his fancy shirt so that Balthazar could see the markings in black and various shades of violet and grey that ran down both sides of his torso. “It’s right here. You can touch it if you want to. I don’t mind at all. I can shapeshift into other people now”, he continued, leaning closer to Balthazar and lowering his voice a bit as he didn’t want everybody to know what he was capable of.

“I can also just change certain body parts though”, he added and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively before he lowered his shirt again as the bartender was starting to give him strange looks.

“If you want to, I can show you!”

[Balthazar Black]

35 Ashan 720

The more Devin talked, the more aware Balthazar became of how close to him Devin was getting. It was that final scoot, moving the bar stool inches closer, that really made Balthazar notice the lack of space between them. He was alright with it because he knew the consequence of getting close to him and it was shocking... literally. One of Balthazar's mutations would flare if Devin's skin came into contact with the mage and a small shock would pass between them due to a buildup of static electricity. Yet Balthazar wasn't as concerned with that as he was with Devin's eyes wandering up and down his body. He finished his whiskey quickly and gestured for another. The bartender quickly went about refilling his glass.

Balthazar never turned anything more than his head towards Devin as the bard spoke and the mage replied. He kept himself facing forwards is if to shut Devin down through body language. He hadn't come to the bar to be picked up by some dream bard while Isabella could have been looking through his peepers. When Devin made the comment about Balthazar looking great the mage looked down at his clothing which was fairly plain totrial. He wasn't even wearing shoes. "A little." Balthazar replied quietly with a shrug before taking another sip from his drink. It would appear his week long hangover would not be ending in Beacon.

"Becoming, huh? That's the... animal one, right? Really dedicated yourself you getting those wings." Balthazar said, more interested in the concept of the magic than the witchmark Devin seemed really interested in showing Balthazar. Without the wings, Devin didn't look as familiar to Balthazar as Balthazar was to him but the more they talked, the more of the dream Balthazar began to recall. Then Devin quickly moved back to talking about his witchmark and whether Balthazar wanted to see it or not, the man's shirt was lifted and the streaks of color were revealed. Then Devin's intention became much more clear- especially when he leaned in with the bit about changing specific body parts.

A cruel idea came into Balthazar's head. Cruel, but fair in his opinion. A prank, if you would, and one that he was certain Devin would forgive him for if all went to plan. Balthazar turned his head to Devin and tried to listen in on his frequency so that he could gauge the success of what he meant to do. Devin's song was a plethora of notes Balthazar had come across but never fully listened to- notes that would have taken far too much of Balthazar's time to examine so he focused on the most prominent of them. There was little time to assess his song before a response was called for and so Balthazar leaned closer to Devin to respond quietly. Devin waned to show him? Fine. He'd given Balthazar a drink, the mage could give him something in return. "There is a supply closet on the far side of this room that no one has gone into or come out of since I arrived." Balthazar said with a small nod of his head towards the door to the supply closet. "Head inside and... get ready. I'll entertain you in a few bits once I've finished my drink. Wouldn't want to..." Balthazar paused. "...arouse suspicion. "

[Devin]

When Balthazar finished his whiskey, the Mortalborn quickly grabbed his glass again and downed the rest of its contents in one go before he asked the bartender to refill it as well because he wanted to let the other man know that he could drink just as much as he could – and because the whiskey here was actually quite a bit better than he had expected.

Having done that, the bard who had begun to feel just a little warmer due to the alcohol that he had ingested (and the company that he was in!), went back to admiring the mage. He noticed that Balthazar’s body was facing forward rather than towards him, but he didn’t mind. Balthazar’s interest had been rather obvious before; besides, he liked it when a prospective romantic partner was pretending to be a little shy and playing hard to get!

“I’ve almost reached my goal, too!” he informed Balthazar in a bright tone of voice as the other man remarked that he had really dedicated himself to getting those wings. “Soon, I’ll look just like I did in our dream – no, I’ll look even better!” he claimed. “And I’ll finally be able to fly! We could go flying together!” he suggested, grinning all over his face, before he drank some more – and proceeded to lean even closer to Balthazar.

He didn’t have any idea that Balthazar was an Attuner, and he didn’t know much about that particular magic either (in his opinion, Attunment was the lamest, most pointless magic ever so he didn’t bother learning more), so when the other man listened in on his frequency, he mistook that for him admiring his witchmark and being speechless because he was absolutely in awe of his beauty and nearly being overwhelmed with desire.

Balthazar’s next words only confirmed that in his opinion.

When the mage mentioned the supply closet, Devin’s violet eyes widened for a moment, and then he nodded eagerly and grinned, quickly emptied his glass and whispered into his ear, “I’ll be there. Don’t keep me waiting too long though!” he warned him before he grabbed his cane and made his way over to the aforementioned supply closet. He moved quite fast, considering his bad foot. In fact, he barely felt his injury anymore because he was so absolutely excited and looking forward to his little rendezvous with Balthazar!

He stopped in front of the door to the supply closet for a moment and took a look around in order to make sure that nobody was watching before he opened it, quickly slipped inside and closed it again. Having done that, he deposited his cane on a wooden crate – and proceeded to start to take his clothes off because they’d only be in the way!

[Balthazar Black]

35 Ashan 720

Balthazar searched his memory briefly to try and call the image of Devin with wings back to his mind but it was as most of his memory was for the last few trials, fuzzy. All the same Balthazar chose not to comment. He had a larger game at play now and didn't want to disrupt his own efforts. Balthazar continued to 'admire' Devin while he focused in on the most prominent notes. Excitement? Intrigue? Lust? It was hard to tell exactly what the bard was feeling the most of but Balthazar kept trying to figure it out. Trills later, Devin was heading towards the supply closet as Balthazar had directed him to and the mage remained at the bar. It was only after Devin was in the closet and Balthazar was sure that Devin could not see him, that the mage stood up from his stool at the bar. A few light raps on the bar with his knuckles drew the attention of the bartender and Balthazar beckoned him over with a wave. The bartender finished helping the customer he was with and crossed the bar to Balthazar.

"I think someone went into your storage room." Balthazar said with a gesture towards the closet Balthazar had sent Devin to.

"Customers aren't allowed in there." The bartender said as if to express that he didn't believe Balthazar. The mage shrugged and backed away from the bar.

"Well someone ought to tell him that then." And Balthazar turned to leave before the bartender could reply. He walked quickly but tried to look casual as he left the tavern. He didn't want to alert anyone to the show that he was about to give them. Once outside, Balthazar leaned against the tavern wall so that he could still hear bits of Devin's frequency. Magical curiosity had compelled Balthazar to remain within range so that he could see how suddenly Devin's song shifted... because as Devin undressed in the closest, the bartender pulled the door open- revealing Devin to the entire bar.

[Devin]

The Mortalborn had just sat down on another wooden crate in order to take his pants off when he could suddenly hear footsteps. Assuming that it would be Balthazar, he hurried up, and then he positioned himself just so that the mage would immediately be able to see him when he walked into the storage closet, smiling an incredibly wide smile as he was just so excited about their rendezvous. When the door opened and a man that was definitely not Balthazar stood there, he abruptly stopped smiling again though.

For a moment, Devin and the bartender just stared at each other with a mixture of surprise and shock, and then the Mortalborn quickly grabbed his shirt and used it to cover the body parts that were exposed now and that he definitely didn’t want that man – or all the other patrons that were turning their heads in his direction and staring at him - to see.

“It’s not what you think!” he assured the bartender whose face had started to take on a rather interesting and intense shade of red and who was narrowing his eyes dangerously. “I can explain. You see, I have a …” He’d planned on telling the man that he suffered from a rare and incredibly serious medical condition and had retreated into the storage closet because he hadn’t wanted to apply his ointment in full view of the rest of the patrons.

The bartender did not give him the opportunity to finish speaking though. He just extended an arm and pointed at the door. “Out! Right now! Or I’ll call the guards!” he ordered Devin in no uncertain terms. The Mortalborn looked at him for a moment before he decided that the man was probably serious and that any attempts to argue with him would be futile, so he went to gather his clothes that were strewn all across the floor.

The bartender watched him for a few moments before he told him, “Faster, you little pervert – or else …!” Having said that, he grabbed a broom that was leaning against one of the walls of the storage closet. Devin looked at the broom before he gulped – and nearly put his pants on the wrong way because he was in such a hurry to get dressed.

Looking at the bartender again, he decided that it would be better if he put his shirt and his shoes on outside because he seemed to be pretty impatient. So, he grabbed the rest of his clothes, tucked his cane under an arm – and ran, as quickly as his poor feet could carry him.

Once he had reached the tavern door, he stopped for a moment and turned to face the patrons that were still staring at him though – and then he bowed in almost exaggerated manner, grinning, as if he were a showman and had just given them a great show. Unfortunately, nobody applauded. In fact, some people had the gall to laugh at him; and what more, the bartender that was standing there, in the center of the room, raised the broom threateningly. Their eyes met for a moment, and then Devin quickly darted out of the door, wondering what the fek had just happened. Where was Balthazar?!

[Balthazar Black]

35 Ashan 720

It was not hard to tell when the trap had finally been sprung for two reasons. The first was a clear and noticeable shift in Devin's frequency. Balthazar didn't quite recognize what the shift meant, but he knew that it was a result of the prank because at the same time he heard gasps rippling through the tavern. If that had not tipped Balthazar off, hearing the screaming barkeep certainly did. Balthazar laughed to himself when he heard the barkeeps first outcry and continued laughing so hard he didn't notice when Devin walked out of the tavern beside him. Admittedly seeing Devin prompted another round of laughs from Balthazar who only managed to compose himself a bit after Devin had left the tavern.

In his laughter, Balthazar was not searching Devin's song for notes of anger that he knew, instead he just enjoyed the result of his little game. "So it turns out that reports of that room being unattended to were greatly exaggerated." Balthazar said to Devin after he'd composed himself. Balthazar pushed off the wall and walked a little closer to Devin, still not nearly as close as they'd been on the stools. Balthazar gave Devin a quick pat on the back and then said "So did they like your witchmark?" Balthazar asked in almost a taunting voice. It wasn't that he meant to make the situation worse, but he found it incredibly funny... naturally Devin might not have felt the same about it.

[Devin]

Devin quickly ran out of the door, taking a look around as he did so and wondering what on Idalos had happened to Balthazar and why he couldn’t see him anywhere. Maybe he’d decided to wait for him outside after that embarrassing little episode? He was just considering that possibility when he heard the laughter, a laughter that he was rather familiar with. Narrowing his eyes, the Mortalborn turned around, searching. His gaze met Balthazar’s just as the white-haired mage pushed off the wall and addressed him.

“Obviously”, he muttered as he heard the other man’s words and looked at him in irritation for a moment before he abruptly thrust his clothes that he was still holding in his arms towards him and ordered him, “Take them for a moment, will you? Those people didn’t even give me the opportunity to get dressed again!” Having said that, he put his boots on before he reached for his shirt while he considered the situation at hand.

“They were all staring at it”, he replied a moment later, as Balthazar asked him if they had liked his witchmark – in an exceedingly proud tone as if he hadn’t really minded after all, as if he had in fact been enjoying himself. He even smiled, and he was just considering whether he should make another attempt as Balthazar had seemed rather interested in him before when he realized something. There was something about the tone of the other man’s voice. He hadn’t just asked him if people had liked his witchmark. He had …

“That was a prank, wasn’t it?” he asked, with a mixture of annoyance, irritation, surprise and something that almost resembled admiration - because it had been a pretty good prank, everything considered, the kind of prank that he’d have enjoyed playing on someone even though he’d never say so out loud. “You aren’t really interested, are you?” he wanted to know.

“Why didn’t you just tell me so?”