Enter The Soulless (Open)

It seemed his gracious offer was not well received by all but that did not bother him too much,they would realize the worth of Hale protection soon enough. The world was becoming a dangerous place,even for mages that he initially thought would be free from this scrutiny. He could see there was something between the two,something that is so painfully maimed within spoken language but Aaron wasn't really interested in something so painfully dull when he had what was still a potential member of the house within his hands.

”I do warn you that this will be a long walk my friend,so I hope you don't mind that. If we don't waste anytime we can reach my home within a half hour,where i'm sure you will be hungry Max.” He said this as if giving a friendly warning,his tone filled with a strange warmth to it that would usually seem uncharacteristic to him;then again he was not his Cousin,nor his brother. There was also his twin which was the polar opposite to Aaron in almost every way it seemed,including the annoying way he sagged his pants. This was civilized society,not prison where you sagged your damn pants to show availability;dating websites were for that.

The walk did indeed take around half an hour and near the end of it Aaron felt pretty tired. Not that he would show it in front of the prospective Hale family member,keeping that cool facade up. He wondered for a moment if Sean were up and if he were if that would cause any sort of difficulties. The large white mansion seemed almost like a fortress against the ruin that had claimed New York,its perfection seeming almost false against a backdrop of desolation. ”This is the mansion where i'm staying at and any Hale visiting New York stays at when they need a pace to rest their head.” He explained with a small bit of pride.

The front gates opened for them as he lead Max further into the compound as the massive wooden front gate opened. A plus to immense telekinetic powers was that he had to open nothing manually but do so with a thought. Standing on the other side of the door was someone that he was not expecting to see and it made his shoulders sag considerably. Sure meeting other family members here was to be expected but he wasn't expecting someone so soon. He looked like Aaron mostly except that he dressed far different and his mannerisms were different as well. He wore a goofy smile with wavy hair that would make anyone swoon really,unless one did not go for the pretty boy look. He was dressed in cozy sweat pants and a white muscle shirt.

Sure Brandon Hale did not the scary power of most Hale's but he was proportionally stronger,most likely the dwarven blood in fruition. Even through his white t-shirt one could see a powerful body,the young man stepping a few feet back as he gauged Max with interest. ”Oh,who is this interesting guy? Is he your new......” He chuckled to some sort of private joke as a small amount of color came to Aaron's cheeks. ”You know i''m kidding,don't be such a prude."He turned his attention to Max "Hello stranger,the names Brandon Hale.” He offered a hand waiting for the man to shake.

Brandon examined the youth for a brief second,intrigued by who he was exactly but letting that concern slip his mind. Her turned around as he trotted off,popping each knuckle with an audible click as his eyes darted to what seemed like a blur running down the long winding staircase that lead to the second floor. In a second Brandon found himself on his back,with a single foot on his chest and what seemed like a diminutive black haired male standing over him. His lips were stretched into a a toothy grin,dressed in a simple muscle shirt and boxers. If someone looked closely they could see what looked like a small patch of scar tissue on his left shoulder;peeking out from the shirt. ”Gotcha this time.” He said slyly removing his foot from the mans chest and taking a few steps back.

Aaron pressed his palm against his face,breathing a deep sigh as he furrowed blonde brows. ”Sean please stop playing around with my brother and put some damn pants on.” He said annoyed massaging the bridge of his nose softly. The diminutive male raised an eyebrow as is gaze moved over to Max,curious of who this strange male was that had accompanied Aaron here.

”So who do we have here?” He wondered stroking his chin in thought for a moment before approaching him. ”I won't pry in your business though,even if its very interesting.” In an instant he had bridged the distance between him and the pair. ”Hello strange guy I don't know. The names Sean.” He flashed a bright smile quickly not even bothering to offer a handshake.

Anyone magically sensitive could feel the massive amount of energy flowing off of Sean,though most did not. If anything he was powerful like his mother but honestly not able to match her immense amount of energy. ”This is Max and he is a guest.” Aaron glared at Sean,his eyes narrowing into slits. He knew what Sean was insinuating but he was not like his partner,who apparently was as some would call him “a whore”,but some people are just insatiable in that way. It was also not the first time he walked around without pants infront of his quests.

It seemed that Max was not as put off as he had expected by Sean and that was a good thing. Sure he would continue to demand that Sean put on some pants but at least the two were getting along well enough. Letting out a deep sigh he tapped his left foot lightly on the ground before letting his mind probe the home,exerting an almost inperceptible pressure through out the building as he he mapped it. It was a very basic application of his power but useful enough as he let the pressure up,mostly trying to see if anyone else were within the compound. ”I would apologize for Sean's rudeness but I doubt he would appreciate that very much.” Aaron said finally as the black haired male gave him a look.

”Damn right,not like I need to worry about how I act in my own damn home.” he muttered wryly before returning his attention to max. ”I'm glad you like the house though. Hales really like to make a place look nice,especially if they intend to live in it. Not as good as Caster architecture but pretty damn good if you ask me,much better than the house I was raised in.” he began to ramble on as Aaron simply stood with impatience on his mind,mostly by how annoying Sean could be sometimes but they somehow managed to co-exist. That was as some would say a miracle within itself,though they did not always have these mini arguments.

”This is a very nice place to live but not as good as the house in Chicago. Its around three times larger than this one and far more crowded. Then again that’s where the Hale''s hold the most power,so I guess its expected for the mansion to be larger.” He brushed a single strand of blonde from his eyes before making a few steps forward,one hand on Sean's shoulder that seemed to guide him easier than expect him;the grip enhanced by his telekinetic powers. ”Now could you please put some pants on? As much as I know you enjoy entertaining guests,I don't want you showing anything that needn't be shown off.” he said this plainly.

”Fine.” Sean said rolling his eyes dramatically pressing his lips lightly against Aaron's in a flash of motion before making his way off in a blur. Leaving Aaron and max alone with Brandon who was rubbing the back of his head. Sean never really seemed to change it seemed but that was kind of what he liked about him. He was always that knucklehead that he knew since they were young. It only took Sean two minutes before he appeared to them again with a pair of jeans with the knees torn to hell. ”There,I have pants on.” he grumbled. ”Happy now?”

”Yes.”

Aaron was somewhat surprised by how straightforward Max was with the question but didn't really think too much of it,a smirk permeating his expression as he considered what exactly to say in return to that. It was a really simple answer though and that was all that he needed though. ”I could say that its the duty of the Hale family to take in anyone that would prove beneficial to the family as a whole but that I don't think that would be accurate in this situation. Honestly its far too dangerous for someone of your power to be alone,its my duty to shelter you the best way that I can.” he said this simply,since there was really no other way to say something like that.

”I'm sure there are things that I can teach you and there’s plenty that I could learn from you,as well as this house can do with some new faces.” It was true enough that he would enjoy some new people living with him other than just Sean and occasionally his annoying twin.

”I won't force you to accept the offer but I would strongly suggest it. You'll be surprised the perks of joining the family,” he said this in a friendly tone. Sure he knew the chance that he would deny the offer was as equal as he would except it but no harm in trying at any rate. Sean was somewhat annoyed by the guy personally but then again he never understood why Aaron chose the people that he did,possibly was just some sort of sixth sense he had or something.

Perhaps he was trying to make up for all the brothers he had lost years ago but then again he had nearly died if not for Elena Marie,that potion master.

He had taken the offer well enough but Aaron could see that he was pleased with the developments taking place,he was happy. Next was to inform his family of the development,which he hoped would go smoothly,unless they were not so privy upon the magical aspect of him. Aaron would wait for the conversation to end,Sean popping each finer individually as he seemed to hum a tune to himself silently. Why did you really take him in?” Sean asked raising a black brow,lips pursing.

”Perhaps this is what he needs. I can tell hes had his fair share of rough times and I won't be the one to add onto that. I'm sure you can understand that Sean.” Sean made a derisive sound but did not continue in attempting to question why Aaron was helping this guy. He talked to his family for a few moments before walking back to him but Aaron could see that something had caused him some form of emotional distress;yet he had a resolve within his eyes. Whatever had transpired had hurt him deeply,yet Aaron was no good at comforting people.

Sean on the other hand took this as a sort of cue,quickly wrapping his arms around the male though he only came up to around his chest. ”Welcome to the family.”He said this sentence in his usual jovial tone but it always meant something,Aaron had a new brother or whatever he would like to consider him. The hug persisted for a brief moment before Sean pulled back and returned to Aaron's side.

”If you want I can show you to your room. It won't be to your taste yet i'm sure but there is plenty of time to have it furnished tomorrow,and if you are hungry there is a fully stocked kitchen. We don't have any servants too meet all of your needs but I can make you something if thats what you really want.” He was mostly trying to make sure that Max felt as comfortable as possible within this new environment. Sean snorted amused by the offer he made to cook when he was nowhere as good as a cook as Sean. Brandon was busy typing into a cellphone,probably doing whatever it was that he did;not that anyone present would find it interesting anyway.

”Anyway i'm starvin so i'm gonna cook something up.” He looked to everyone else. ”Anyone want anything?'

He could already tell Sean would like Max the moment he mentioned cooking breakfast foods,mostly because that was his favorite thing to eat next to Italian. Honestly if Aaron didn't protest he would eat Italian all day every day and would probably bloat to the size of a whale from all of that in take.

”Hell yeah!” Sean said basically in agreement before dashing off to the kitchen at his inhuman speed leaving the two standing there. He apparently just couldn't wait to get some food or he just thought they were too slow for his taste. Either way it would only take them a few minutes to reach the kitchen anyway,so it wasn't like they would be loosing anytime since food never would cook any faster because he was fast.

”Well I guess you have your answer.” Aaron said shrugging before rapping Brandon on the back of his head. ”Which means stop focusing on your damn phone.” He barely seemed to notice the sensation of someone hitting him on the back of his head but he turned his gaze to Aaron for a second before dramatically sighing.

Returning his attention back to max,he motion for him to follow with a simple motion. The kitchen was not too far away,only down a simple hallway and after only around a minute or two of walking they had found it. Upon entering they would see Sean leaning against one of the marble counter tops,one bare foot tapping against the tiled floor methodically. He acted as if he had been waiting for a good hour but they knew that he hadn't been.

”Took you long enough.” He said with a smirk before opening the large refrigerator,pulling out a large amount of eggs and anything else that would be required to cook a good breakfast. In a matter of minutes he had everything ready. ”Well I guess thats everything we need.” Sean muttered to himself pleased.

While Max was hard at work preparing the eggs,Sean did what he was best at;which was preparing the pancakes and the bacon. If anything that had to be his best breakfast food,considering that anyone so far that has eaten it didn't seem to complain about how it tasted. He had the batter ready within a matter of minutes,stirring rapidly before reaching for the bacon and throwing upon one of the many pans on their enormous stove. Grease hissed as the bacon made contact with the frying pans and the smell permeated the room like ambrosia,filling the nostrils of anyone within it. Aaron would let the two keep at it,seeing as he had no cooking skills of his own and that left him at a slight disadvantage if he ever wanted to live alone.

Him and Brandon were mere spectators really,though his twin was more focused on whatever had his attention on his phone. Max asked how many eggs they wanted and they answered him,Aaron then letting his mind wonder,reaching out to touch Sean's. ”So what do you really think of Max?” He asked using a mental connection to get the questions through. Sean didn't really recoil at the contact,still cooking while his mind seemed to come up with some sort of reply.

”He seems like a nice enough guy and hes not that bad lookin either. I do get this odd sensation from him though but then again I don't have that great of a magical sense.” Aaron could have expected that he would make a comment upon his appearance but that was just Sean being Sean. Then again he confirmed that there was something off about this guy and it was not just him;there hung an ominous aura about him. He must have done something but whatever it was he did not know,nor did he care to. In what seemed like only a few minutes Sean had finished making a mound of pancakes and a large amount of bacon,all ready for them to eat. Aaron pulled out the containers of orange juice,milk and anything else people drank at breakfast.

”Well looks like we are done here.”

Sean simply sat thee and listened to Max explain what he was,though it wasn't like he was really going to react any differently than Aaron would have reacted. He might have even been interested by the story that Max was telling him,which would have proved valuable. Eating his food with a steady pace he let his mind wonder over whom that guy was with and why he gave Aaron the strangest vibe as if he were the hunter and Max the harmless prey. Sure he was not all that harmless but no need to make him seem meeker than he really was. ”These eggs are great Max,best I’ve had in a long while.” he said with a smile preparing his explanation of the families,which would have involved a large amount of sensitive information.

”As for your question I have no idea where to begin on the families. All of the families have one thing in common besides magic and that my friend is their bloodlines,which stretch back farther than humankind can really date. We Hales descend from a line that is rich with the blood of Dwarves and as such we are skilled in weaving....enchantments I suppose the best word for it is,though we can also create weapons by hand if we have the gift of metal work. Some of us inherit the dwarven strength and physicality if enough of the blood is present,while some have little access to the magic dormant within our blood.” He of course omitted the sacred ritual of the blooding for those who proved that they could have their place within the family but that was to be divulged later of he truly wanted family membership.

”I cannot speak for the other families as they are rather secretive upon their information,so if you truly want to know anything I would suggest that you search for a member of their family and ask yourself.” He finished his explanation by taking a swig of the orange juice mug within his hand and letting out a deep sigh after the deluge of information that was released in this small moment. Sean continued to eat while he let Max take all of it in before he was sure to ask more questions.