The Shade {Josiah Cole} (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
deaths_head) wrote2016-12-16 09:13 pm
deaths_head) wrote2016-12-16 09:13 pm
Entry tags:
don't fear the reaper (rp for wearenotbroken)
"What can I get you?"
"Coffee, black."
The waitress took his order and headed away, leaving the massive biker to his thoughts as he sat in a little coffee shop just off the Strip. The neighborhood was a more or less suburban setting, and yet his motorcycle was still not altogether out of place where it was parked outside, his tattooed arms and black leather kutte earning him fewer stares than they probably should have.
The Shade was used to sticking out like a sore thumb, hence his chosen human guise...and yet it was the kind of ill fitting image that had its place--especially in a town like Las Vegas.
It was a town he always enjoyed returning to, when there were souls to be collected there. Elements of the city reminded him a bit of his day and age, a rebel outlier carving itself a memorable and powerful swath in the middle of the desert. Even now, in this modern age, it had the same frontier spirit as the people he'd been raised with out in Silverstone as a boy.
The souls he brought to the Vale from this place were always some of his favorite.
Eventually, his coffee came, and the Shade wasted no time in taking a long, scalding swallow with a grateful sigh. There were precious few things he truly missed about being among the living, but one of them was a good cup of strong, black coffee. What little he let himself remember of his human life often came back to these simplest of pleasures he was unable to let go of: a cup of strong coffee, a Sunday dinner of fried chicken and vegetables from Mamma's garden, even his motorcycle was reminiscent of the ornery stallion he'd gotten for a song from a breeder back in Santa Fe, an ornery old horse that refused to be broken--he never had been able to put tack on that beast, bless his heart.
The Shade was distracted from his thoughts by an arrival at the door of the coffee shop, a lone girl of seventeen or eighteen. She was tiny as he was massive, a blinding light of pure, living energy with dark hair and dimples--and when she looked in his direction, bore the mark of death in her eyes.
Struck him as mighty ironic that a life mage was destined to die--he recognized the power, and he wasn't happy with the notion...but at least he could give her some warning, and a second chance after the end.
So it was that, when her head spun in his direction, the teenage girl saw not a biker, but a vision of the past, wide brimmed hat sitting on the table respectfully as blood red hair spilled across his shoulders. What little was visible of his tattoos beneath his black leather longcoat glowed with an aura of purple light, and instead of steel grey eyes, sightless orbs of white watched her, sparking with the light of pure lightning.
And there was no question about it: the death god that no one else seemed to be able to see was watching her, and her alone.
"Coffee, black."
The waitress took his order and headed away, leaving the massive biker to his thoughts as he sat in a little coffee shop just off the Strip. The neighborhood was a more or less suburban setting, and yet his motorcycle was still not altogether out of place where it was parked outside, his tattooed arms and black leather kutte earning him fewer stares than they probably should have.
The Shade was used to sticking out like a sore thumb, hence his chosen human guise...and yet it was the kind of ill fitting image that had its place--especially in a town like Las Vegas.
It was a town he always enjoyed returning to, when there were souls to be collected there. Elements of the city reminded him a bit of his day and age, a rebel outlier carving itself a memorable and powerful swath in the middle of the desert. Even now, in this modern age, it had the same frontier spirit as the people he'd been raised with out in Silverstone as a boy.
The souls he brought to the Vale from this place were always some of his favorite.
Eventually, his coffee came, and the Shade wasted no time in taking a long, scalding swallow with a grateful sigh. There were precious few things he truly missed about being among the living, but one of them was a good cup of strong, black coffee. What little he let himself remember of his human life often came back to these simplest of pleasures he was unable to let go of: a cup of strong coffee, a Sunday dinner of fried chicken and vegetables from Mamma's garden, even his motorcycle was reminiscent of the ornery stallion he'd gotten for a song from a breeder back in Santa Fe, an ornery old horse that refused to be broken--he never had been able to put tack on that beast, bless his heart.
The Shade was distracted from his thoughts by an arrival at the door of the coffee shop, a lone girl of seventeen or eighteen. She was tiny as he was massive, a blinding light of pure, living energy with dark hair and dimples--and when she looked in his direction, bore the mark of death in her eyes.
Struck him as mighty ironic that a life mage was destined to die--he recognized the power, and he wasn't happy with the notion...but at least he could give her some warning, and a second chance after the end.
So it was that, when her head spun in his direction, the teenage girl saw not a biker, but a vision of the past, wide brimmed hat sitting on the table respectfully as blood red hair spilled across his shoulders. What little was visible of his tattoos beneath his black leather longcoat glowed with an aura of purple light, and instead of steel grey eyes, sightless orbs of white watched her, sparking with the light of pure lightning.
And there was no question about it: the death god that no one else seemed to be able to see was watching her, and her alone.
no subject
Setting his coffee down, he watched her lick her fingers and wipe them clean--and it made him uncomfortable. Back in his day, it wasn't the kind of behavior that was even in the same solar system as 'decent,' for one thing...and it brought back memories he'd not let himself dwell on in a century or more. Things like watching Mama cook, and licking cake batter off her fingers after smudging it on Baby Zeke's nose...or watching Sissy Lawson, the silversmith's daughter, daintily sucking clean the spoon she'd used to stir her tea with a wicked gleam in cornflower blue eyes he never could look into without turning as red as his goddamn hair...
"Means you know some folks think I'm worse than the Devil." he continued, blinking a little and meeting her gaze again with something almost like a smile. "What makes you think I'm not?"
no subject
Unaware of his thoughts and the way he struggled with them, she let her own thoughts drift as she started to think about the things she would need to wrap up. She would need to make sure that her sanctuary would have a new owner and there were things that she wanted to leave for her parents. There were friends she had to check in with but only a couple that she would tell the truth too. She would have to talk to Ed too and that thought made her sigh.
"Because you're not." It was said with certainty as she focused on him, drawing her thoughts back to the man sitting across from her. "Would you rather I was scared or angry?"
no subject
Shifting his weight, The Shade leaned forward, the at of folding his long legs under inadvertently jostling hers as he folded broad forearms along the edge of the table so he could close some of the distance between them.
"Part of the comfort I bring with the warning's that knowledge." he went on, then sighed with a rueful little twist of his lips that couldn't quite be called a smile this time. "You are right, though: Devil hates me almost as much as the Lord does for the souls I steal outta their care. And in seven days, one of 'em will get you, 'less you make a real and conscious choice to come with me...which you seem to have made without a word from me, 'less I miss my guess."
no subject
The feel of his legs bumping against hers was a nice distraction as she blew out a breath, setting the cup down once more.
"I might have." She told him then with a little nod, still leaning against the table and watching him. She was aware of the fact that he was leaning in close again which left very little space between them. The way they were sitting would suggest a level of intimacy between them and she found herself suddenly chuckling at the random idea that people would probably think they were a couple. She forced herself to sober so he wouldn't ask what she was chuckling at. "Uh. What is your world like? The place where you would take me?"
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With a sigh, he leaned in and ran a hand back over his hair, but there was a slight softening to his features. "It's...a true frontier. A land you can shape to be whatever you want from it."
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"So, seven days and then you just...come get me?" Setting her cup down, she tore another piece off of her danish and offered it to him again while watching his face.
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"Not somethin' I'd expect a life mage to have any familiarity with, but I'll come before your last day." he explained. "I got no knowledge of the means by which you die, but I can claim your soul 'fore your life actually ends. Might make your last day a bit hard to remember after, since the connection to your body'll be severed, but it means you won't feel no pain when your end comes." He paused, a look of disdain and a kernel of something black, something angry touching his expression.
"Ain't something most Reapers think or care to do...they wait 'till your heart stops beating. I spare my souls that trauma."
The rage left as fast as it came, and if Courtney looked very closely, there might have even been a glimmer of something like good humor in his grey eyes.
"I also got no problem fixin' my souls up with an empty building if they got plans for nonsense like a dance studio."
no subject
She paused again, looking up at him as she felt a spark of anger from his direction. For a moment she was tempted to ask what would happen if she didn't go anything on her last day but she knew it was pointless. Death was a vicious and determined fellow, she knew that. It could change on a whim, changing the way she died if she decided to try changing anything about her end. Where she might normally die by getting hit by a car, it could change to her accidentally electrocuting herself if she just stayed home. No, there would be no escaping it. Even for a life mage like her.
"I guess I'll take a look around and see if there is one fitting enough for what I would want to do." She decided with a faint sigh, like it was the most troubling part of what was coming.
no subject
It was humor, a playful moment of verbal sparring, and nothing that the Shade was used to. It bothered him on a primal level, this reversion to behavior more suited to a living man. It grated, the way she affected him, trying to coax free a state of being he'd shed a long goddamn time ago.
If he were a living man...God help him, it might even be welcome. She was a young thing, but pretty as a picture, and old enough to entertain suitors back in his day...
"Anyone ever tell you that you got too much steel in your spine for a girl your age?" he found himself asking. "Or that come with the power? Sassin' gods like you got a place to go off. Mind you, I ain't upset none--least not yet--but you confound the hell outta me."
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It also struck her that she found him strangely more attractive now. The realization almost made her laugh as she thought about how different he was from Ed. Or anyone that she had ever been attracted to before. He was so tall and imposing, looking like a biker than the death god he was.
"That's because people expect sunshine and rainbows when they think of a life mage." She snorted gently, lifting her cup again to take another small sip before she continued on. "But my parents thought the same thing. They've accused me of being a hellion from time to time but I don't mind. I'm not all sunshine and rainbows because life isn't that way either."
Then she laughed. "Usually people envision fae when they think of my kind. They are definitely sweet and cheerful but they can be assholes too."
no subject
And, while that was part of the lore of the god he had become...it wasn't something he talked about openly, and had him eyeballing her again over the rim of his coffee mug.
"And that's another thing y'all seem to have a knack for: loosening tongues." he rumbled, raising an eyebrow at her. "I came here lookin' for a soul, seems to me there's more to you than you let on at first blush. 'Specially if you got dealings with the fae and still got your freedom."
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She glanced up when he commented that she had a way of loosening tongues and there was a brief flash of something, a look of total and utter coy mischief, that crossed her features before it was gone again. It could have almost been described as wickedly flirtatious too. Just for a second.
"It's a handy skill to have." She commented before popping the last bite she had into her mouth and chewing. Then she shrugged a little bit. "The Fae and Life Mages usually tend to get along. We run similar circles and all that. Plus I sort of...dated one."
no subject
"Does his fair share of trickin' others, though." He continued, reaching for the plate. "And if your lover was a faerie, might wanna look there. S' unusual for any of the fae to let a human lover leave, 'specially a mage with any real power to speak of."
Reaching for a bite of the danish still on the plate, he popped it in his mouth and leveled his gaze at her again.
"So...which royal were you beddin', little mage? Oberon? King of Iron? Niamh and the Lady of the Lake prefer menfolk, but you just might be pretty 'nough to turn their heads..."
no subject
Then she shook her head. "No, it wouldn't be him. At least not directly. Our relationship came to an end because we both agreed that it should. There are some long time issues there that have nothing to do with us being together."
She could have told him what the real problem was but it was Ed's business that he had a woman that he was still in love with. Not that he could do anything about it since she was gone and believed to be dead. It was something that had weighed on Ed, even during their time together. It was been fun, though, mostly because they were friends first and she wanted to believe they still were. Which meant she would have to warn him.
"Hmm?" The corners of her mouth twitched as she bypassed his question to ask her own. "Wait, did you just call me pretty?"