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
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."
no subject
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."
no subject
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?"