The first steps always the hardest [Spellstone]

The low beeping of the phones alarm was what woke Michael up, ethereal groaning lowly as he drug the back of his hand across his face, eyes meeting the ceiling within the darkness of his room. There was no one to wake him up, not as he was used to and the feeling of that was a hollow one, a dull ache rising within his chest, followed by this was a small whine from Michael was he tossed the covers aside and rolled knee first onto the floor. Rising to his feet, the male yawned loudly and stretched, a few low popping sounds coming from his back and he looked over a small picture standing upon his nightstand, the only thing really visible within the low light. It was a picture of what one would call a happy family, a young tan child being held by what looked like Michael, the male smiling widely as the child was latching onto him much like a young monkey.

He sighed to himself before placing the picture down and picked out the clothes for today, though they were nothing special. A simple white polo shirt and a pair of light pink shorts, something that he had bought on one of the few times that he had been able to spend with his younger brother; before his death anyway. Around his neck was a seashell necklace, a memento of his son, the seashell a dingy brown color that rested in the hollow of where his collar bones met. Taking the clothes and walking through the still house, he slipped into the shower and washed off, something about the feel of the warm water relaxing him, but only by a fraction. However it was around this time that he thought the most, and when….memories resurfaced, save for when he slept.

All he could think of was the weeping young ethereal, the dead wolf and that sentence. ”Death would be too good for you.” he had said something to Silus along those lines, and muttering them now only sent a wave of repulsion through him, as if those were the only words he had ever said to him that stuck. Fingers wound tightly into a fist, nails biting into his palm but not breaking the surface, eyes closing tightly as Michael crossed arms over his stomach and hunched forward. He had said that to Silus, he was…a monster. For a moment everything seemed to go into a haze before clearing up, Michael curled up io the shower and the warm water still washing over him, heartbeat a loud and audible sound. ”Me feeling guilty? Damn, I must be losing touch.” Rising to his knees, he caught the shape of a familiar figure but Michael jumping back and slamming into the shower wall, eyes widening.

However the shape was gone as soon as he saw it, leaving him surprised and….naked. Slipping out of the shower, Michael dried off, got dressed and sighed, brushing his teeth and doing the usual. Walking from the bathroom, he was face to face with a certain tan male he knew as his father, silver orbs looking into his  own, though lacking the neon green specks. ”Heya Mike.” Sean would say with his usual chipper tone, as if Silus’ death did not affect him. He was shirtless and wearing the usual light pink, and floral patterned boarding shorts, ones that he saw a lot on the beach. ”You…um doin okay.”

”Yeah dad, I’m fine.” Michael deflected, not really wanting to get into any sort of heart to heart scenario.

"Oh….um okay then.” Sean muttered awkwardly before wrapping Michael into a tight hug, much like the ones that he would give to him when he was younger. The ethereal male melted into it for a moment, returning the gesture before turning rigid and pulling from it.

”Yeah…I’m goin out.” Michael noted, slipping into his shoes and grabbing his phone before heading out the door, passing Fera by.

His phone vibrated and upon further inspection, he took note that it was from a certain mage. He hummed lowly to himself, thinking about the fact that he had not seen him for a few months and now he was contacting him. Answering back, he drew upon his ethereal energy and within a few seconds he was gone, appearing within Chicago and not far from the coffee shop. Adjusting his hair to the right style, Michael walked through the shop door and spotted him, with the drink that he had drunk when they first met. A low chuckle escaped from his lips as he quickly ordered a small chai tea with whipped cream on top and took a seat across from him at the table. ”You needed me for something?”

The question moved through the air, Michael sipping lightly on his chai tea for a moment as he considered a reply to such a question, unsure how he would respond and what would be an appropriate response. His eyes would search the eyes of the male sitting across from him, his own blank slates almost in how he was trying to hide all emotion, hoping nothing slipped through. One thing he could not permit was allowing the human to see that he was vulnerable, raw and hurting much like a wounded animal. He blinked a few times and formulated an answer, though it only seemed to take around ten seconds in total and the pause was by no means too awkward. ”I’m doing well, a little tired but otherwise I’m fine.” He was by no means tired, but the slightly bloodshot eyes showed otherwise. They were simply a product of something else, and something that he would not delve into.

His eyes drifted from the male and to the light rain that was falling outside, something about it somber and at the same time…depressing. Shael had loved the rain, running around in it and trekking mud in later, a huge grin on his face as he did so. For a few seconds his face seemed to soften, a small smile flowing across it and falling away so fluidly that it was hard to notice, Michael becoming fluff and then stone within a matter of seconds. Having his emotions acting up like this was…annoying, and something that he wanted to end soon, yet he knew that would not happen. Perhaps it would have been better if Raziel killed him, spared his son. Sure the young one would have mourned, but he would have gotten over it quicker, he had the family, a family that loved him; Zell and Sean would have likely been able to do a better job.

If it was one of them there, he would have not died, and Michael was more than aware of that, his weakness was the reason. Returning from nostalgic thoughts, he cocked an eyebrow and spoke up. ”How are you Joshua? Slay anymore dragons lately?” he joked lightly, smirking lightly and sipping on his chai tea, the taste soothing and the whipped cream simply adding a certain charm to it.

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The taste of the drink washed over his tongue, drawing a low and pleased hum from Michael as he went back to contemplating the rain. ”Fought one in Los Angeles?” he would have thought it was his father, but the moment that he mentioned she, he knew that it was not the case. How he described this mysterious dragon reminded him of a certain person, the mother to his child and a person that he hated more than anything. Which reminded him that he needed to kill the bitch the next chance he saw her, if what he heard about her was correct. ”Sounds like quite the…adventure.” Michael mused taking another sip of his drink, a small amused smirk finding itself stuck upon his face as he breathed slowly through his nose, a low calm sound that was pronounced even with the light pattering of rain.

The question about his life then came up and Michael was not sure exactly what to answer with, considering that his life had for the most part gone to hell, or whatever equivalent there was. Would he tell him of how he had managed to…emotional butcher his brother, or that he was the reason that his son was dead? No, the male likely did not even know of the fact that he had a son, and that would bring up more cumbersome questions than he wanted to deal with. ”Haven’t slain any dragons that I’m aware of, just a lot of lesser demons.” Michael noted, even though he did not bother when it came with dealing with demonic individuals. ”I was busy with what you would call family issues, but those have…passed.” He noted off handedly taking another sip of his drink.

His mind was half here and it was also half somewhere else, place he wished it were not. His eyes slowly analyzed the male, taking in every subtle twitch and muscle movement, mulling over what each one meant and processing them to perhaps understand more of the male. He had twitched and that suggested some manner of hesitance with the male, not that he felt like bringing it up. ”I was also in the Chicago area and you happened to contact me, which worked since I haven’t seen you in a while. So here I am.” He concluded motioning to the small coffee shop, resting chin on his palm as he waited for any sort of answer.

He spoke of not having to deal with family issues in ages, and something about that felt wonderful, a relief in some ways. Yet the idea of being disconnected from his family also had a certain painful sensation that followed the feeling of freedom, much like that time he stood against them. It had taken so much to make him realize he was being an absolute idiot, that his family was there for him and he was isolating himself more than anything, and now he realized that family was perhaps the most important thing in his life. ”Lucky you.” Michael noted with a small amount of wistfulness, looking down to the placid surface of his drink and then sighing, the force of his exhalation creating ripples across the surface of his drink. His chest was aching dully and had been doing so since he woke, though it was more of a daily occurrence.

Something about this feeling of weakness and vulnerability was maddening, as if he wanted to turn it off yet had no idea how to. He was too….hesitant to talk to Zell, or Sean about this, not even Jordan, they would likely blame him, laugh at him and brush it off. Why should he miss Silus when it was him that did such horrible things to the ethereal? Michael had no right to miss him, they were seemingly brothers in only blood; the guy had idolized him, and all he did was spite him at every turn. Fingers gripped tightly round the cup, turning to Joshua as he began to say something, answering his last statement almost though what he said was rather rapid. Michael had to listen closely to understand anything that he had said, words spoken without any discernable pause. Once he ran it over in his mind, Michael finally figured out what was said.

”You want to go out….sometime with me?” He asked as if not sure of what to say, the idea that someone would want to go out with him almost incredulous. He could not help but chuckle, leaning forward a little as his eyes bore into the males. ”Sure, I would like to.” Michael answered leaning back within his seat, sipping on his drink and waiting for a reaction.

He was mentally processing everything that the male did, muscle movements and things of that nature. Upon his agreeing to this whole going out thing, the male seemed to relax so profoundly that Michael could tell that his answer was welcome, even though his facial expression was one of shock. ”I am pretty sure.” Michael answered slowly, cocking an eyebrow in unison with the male and nodding as if to get the point across. The human had some interest in him, and Michael felt like gauging how far this interest seemed to go, the excited reaction proving even more that this had some kind of value to him. ”No need to thank me.” He added, unsure how to proceed from here, seeing as how he had no idea how this kind of thing worked. All he had for an example of a relationship was his fathers and from what was said, they were not the best example.

Michael tapped his index finger against the table in a rhythm, watching the male and waiting for him to say something else. ”Well…don’t people usually go to things like movies on dates or whatever this is?” Michael questioned, letting his mind run over what kind of movies were out this time of the year and if any of them would be worth watching. Likely he would want to watch something full of action, unless the human persisted on watching some manner of romantic comedy to make some manner of romantic tension. ”I don’t really know any of the movies out at the moment, but its whatever.” Michael shrugged finishing off his tea with a long gulp and placing the cup on the table, waiting for some manner of answer.

Something about the males grin was infectious, a grin forming along Michael’s face and hopefully this small distraction would allow his mind to move to….happier pastures.

Something about the male’s expression showed elation, even though the emotion itself was not profound enough to really draw a verbal response from him. His mind wandered over the movies that could have been playing, yet he knew nothing of them, save for the fact that there was something in the places humans called theatres.  A phone was produced and then he began to tap away on it, Michael sighing and looking to his phone, not having a single text save for…..one from Sean. Sup? ~~Dragon Daddy :3Michael snickered, the signature of the text amusing him somewhat as he sent a reply to the male.

Coffee in Chicago with a friend.
U have a friend?
Yeah, I do.
Good 4 u Mike! :D

The ethereal male rolled his eyes dramatically and looked up to the human, taking in the name of the movie and smirking. ”Sounds like an…interesting movie.” He admitted  depositing his phone into his pocket, he looked to his finished drink, sighing under his breath as he adjusted a strange ring on his right hand, one that was silver and inscribed with multiple runes. ”I guess I would be up for watching it.” Michael stood to his feet and looked to Joshua, waiting for him to stand so they could get moving.

Michael tapped his finger against the table for a moment, once again examining the male expression as he looked to the rain that fell out the window. ”Do I know where the movie theatre is? Nope, can’t say that I do.” Michael muttered, chuckling to himself as the small drizzle seemed to continue to pour outside, eyes narrowing as he sighed lightly. He turned to Joshua with a small smile, not a smirk but a legitimate smile, even though it was simply something that slipped by. ”Would you mind leading the way?” he asked with as much charm as he could muster, which was a decent amount. He paused for a moment, and let his devious streak show itself as it always did.  He would press on the door that opened into the small downpour, sighing as some of the droplets fell cold on his head and then retreated back inside for a moment. ”Might have to lead me by the hand.” Michael noted, remembering that humans usually held hands or something on these kinds of thing; not that one should take advice for dates from shoddy romantic comedies.