Runelords 00.6 - A Most Auspicious Team

Virgil looked at the address again, and back to the small, ramshackle apartment before him. 'Hovel' was a generous word for the small building, tucked amongst others like it on the very outskirts of the settlement outside of Pandemonium proper. He sighed; he knew that as a devil, he'd have to jump through hoops to be accepted into the army for its prestigous training, but they were leaving absolutely no questions as to his place in the order here. He wasn't cleared to stay in the barracks with other recruits, since he wasn't an angel; he wasn't even allowed in Pandemonium without a full-time escort, in case he turned out to be a spy or a terrorist. Instead, he was stationed here: a shack in the bad part of the settlement that clung to Pandemonium's walls like algae. According to the file, he also had a roommate: another non-angel, he supposed. 
Walking up to the door, he tried his key: it worked, but the interior left just as much to be desired as the exterior. It was a single small room, not even furnished, and lacking in any sort of amenity, up to and including windows. "Ugh. At least when you have a terrible motel in Materia, it has a washroom somewhere..." he muttered, "I wonder if I can install running water somehow..." He stepped back again to evaluate the outside once more, and nearly collided with the man who had appeared behind him.
"Whoopsies!" The newcomer giggled, neatly sidestepping out of his way. He was tall, very much so, towering over the devil's six foot frame even before his sweeping antlers were taken into account. While certainly a humanoid creature, he would never been mistaken for anything other than an extraplanar. He seemed to almost shine amongst their dreary surroundings, with his porcelain pale complexion and silvery blonde hair, clad in a lavender and silver tunic of an unusual cut. His large, liquid eyes seemed to stare into Virgil and past him all at once. With a dreamy smile, he chirped, "Hello! My my, but lookit you! As I can't imagine someone trying to break into a place like this, I'll guess you to be the roommate I heard about, yes?"
"Well, if I was a thief, I'd certainly be disappointed, seeing as how there's nothing here." He peered back into the room, "Seriously. No bed or anything." Turning back to the newcomer, he asked, "You didn't happen to pack a bed, did you? Can't say I thought to."
Giggling lightly, he rocked his head from side to side, "Believe it or not, I actually did! This place so very far from home, and I honestly didn't quite know what to expect...so I packed all kinds of things!" Breaking into a grin, he added, "However, I only have the one bed, fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your outlook. But I am certainly not opposed to the idea of sharing."
"I suppose that will depend entirely upon the size of the bed," he returned the grin. "Too big and it won't fit; too small, and then we have to figure out who sleeps on the bottom. And either way, that will play havok on my back." He looked up at the ceiling, "Maybe we can get bunk beds...hammocks maybe?" He turned back, "We don't have a lot of space; how are your interior design skills?"
"They are, in my humble opinion, absolutely sublime," he said with a tone bordering on bliss. "Never fear, I will have this place fixed right up perfect in no time; you'll not even remember it's a dirty little shack once I've had my way with it. It'll be a little patch of home." As he spoke, he glided past Virgil, ducking his head as he stepped through the door and made his way to the center, surveying the room with his hands firmly on his hips.
Virgil chuckled, following him in, "I'm guessing since you're out here, home for you isn't Heaven. Where are you from? I'm..." he watched the man's eyes drift about, "guessing you're Etherian."
"You're guessing right, honey." He said, dropping his bag from his shoulder and crouching down to rummage through it. "You, you're harder to peg. Even with that pretty face and those wings, I can't imagine you to be angel. I can only assume you're from around here, in spite of that adorable Materian accent you have going on." Pulling out an intricately woven carpet, he inspected it lovingly before tossing it unceremoniously on the floor, a process which he was to repeat many more times. "As it were, what do people tend to call you? I usually answer to 'Khyrralien' for my part."
"Virgil," he replied. "And I'm impressed. I think you're the 6th person to recognise the accent. Spend a lot of time on Materia?" He looked at the growing collection of rugs on the floor and added, "I assumed that, as part of an army, I'd be in a barracks, so I'm sorry I didn't bring anything to contribute. But, I can get someone to deliver if we're short something."
"Interesting name, for a devil. I do like it." The fey commented, beginning to drag some of his rugs to the edges of the room, thoroughly covering the rough boards. "As for Materia, I've visited more than once or twice. It's not my favorite place, rather weird and bland for my taste. Far too many rules and all." He gave a dismissive wave and pulled a richly embroidered pillow out of his bag, tossing it too to the floor with a smile. Others followed it in short order. "As I said, I didn't know what to expect at all; I don't even know what a barracks would be expected to contain, but I didn't imagine it to be much...So! I brought mostly everything I could think of. We'll see if we're wanting for more once I finish unpacking, hmm?"
"Sure, go wild," Virgil assented. He watched Khyrralien unpack for a moment before asking, "Do you care if I smoke? Both now, and as a general rule going forwards, seeing as how we're living together and all. I can keep it outside, if it bothers you."
"Not at all! Get comfy, enjoy!" He chirped, tossing a tasseled pillow Virgil's way. "I'll join you when I'm done, even. I think I'll make some tea too; I've spent far too much time sober since I've gotten here, and that just will not do. The sooner we fix that the better, I'd say."
Virgil caught the pillow and let it drop to the floor with the others, as he rather quickly produced a pack of cigarettes and a match. As he took a drag, he grinned, "What are you planning on brewing?" He placed his pack on the floor and dropped lightly into the pile of pillows, seamlessly shifting into his human form as he did so and taking another drag.
Flashing an almost maniacal grin, Khyrralien dove into his bag with both hands, producing a teapot with one and a drawstring pouch with the other. Trotting over to Virgil, he dropped into a crouch before him and poured out a handful of its contents, an array of softly glowing mushrooms and dried leaves, presenting them to him with a giddy hiss of, "Theeese!!" Dumping them into the empty teapot, he asked, "Would you like to share?" 
Virgil held back laughter at the Etherian's exclamation at the fungi, as he dumped them into the pot. "No, no thank you," he said good-naturedly, pausing to take another smoke, "Not a huge fan of hallucinating. I'll watch."
"Aww well, suit yourself. The offer stands if you change your mind!" Returning to his bag, Khyrralien pulled out an ornately-worked brazier, rearranging the carpets to clear a space for it in the center of the room. "I like the outfit change by the way, very fetching! What's your fascination with Materia, may I ask?"
Exhaling slowly, Virgil offered, "I was born there." He grinned, "I have a complicated family history."
The fey paused and stared at him with surprise for a long moment, asking with no small amount of fascination. "Would you care to share? I do enjoy a good story, and yours certainly seems like it could be one of those."
He grinned lazily, "Sure, why not? Who doesn't like talking about themselves?" With another drag from his cigarette, he launched into the tale of his father, his birth and how he came to be in Hell. As he spoke, Khyrralien continued preparing his tea, returning to decorating the room while the water boiled. While his hands worked steadily, hanging soft drapes of richly patterned fabric across the walls and ceiling, his eyes remained locked on the devil as he drank in his words. As Virgil finished his tale, he returned to sit across from him and poured himself a cup of tea, sprawling across a pile of pillows.
"That sounds like a magnificent experience." He cooed, sipping his tea, "Or series of experiences, rather. Just fascinating."
"Yeah, I've lead an interesting life," he said, starting a new cigarette when he finished an old one: being an immortal extraplanar meant not having to worry about the illnesses that often came with substance addiction. "What about you? What brought you to this point in your life?"
"I live to experience things; the newer, stranger, rarer, more intense, the better!" He replied gleefully, "And I haven't had something like this before, so here I am."
"They let you in without any prior army experience?" he asked, eyebrow raised. "What, did you do a lot of extracurricular killing or something?"
Staring at the other man intently over his cup, he took his time sipping his tea before answering with a grin, "Yes, actually." Giggling slightly, he added, "Although none of the interviewers asked so directly as you."
"Well, they have to be polite," he said, voice dripping malicious sarcasm. "Half of the interviewers were obvious that they wanted nothing more than for me to fall on my own sword, and the other half obviously wanted to stab me themselves." He took a drag, eyes dark, but the look evaporated as he said lightly, "Doesn't matter though! I'll jump through any hoop they put in front of me. I'll take their challenge."
"And why is that, mmh? What brings you to this place?" he asked, cocking his head slightly.
Virgil shrugged, "I want to be better. This is one of the few places with an army skilled enough to possibly teach me something new...and that I can join, of course. As prejudiced as this place is, there are certain factions of Hell you just don't want to associate with. This is the next logical step in my training." 
"Training for what, if I might ask?" Slowly cocking his head in the opposite direction, his large eyes fixed on the devil's face, he added, "And why, pray tell, isthis place preferable to you than these factions of Hell you mention?"
"Training to be better. And this place is civilized, if racist as all fuck." He took a drag and added lightly, "The uncivilized parts of Hell aren't really good for anything other than surviving. Unless you get off on particular variants of pain or horror."
With a dreamy, thoughtful grunt Khyrralien leaned back into the pillows, an unsettling smile playing about his lips. His gaze slowly drifted away from the other man's face, and after a few moments he asked offhandly, "Better how? Better why?"
Virgil leaned back further, settling in deeply. "There is no 'why'. There is no 'how'. There's just better. Better in every way. In any way."
The fey's gaze returned to him, lingering for a long moment. With a disquieting little giggle. "Well now, I like your style, sugar. That kind of attitude can take you all sorts of interesting places; I'd love to watch."
With a snort and a smile, Virgil exhaled a stream of smoke and replied, "Be my guest."
Category:Rise of the Runelords