Well Ain't That Swell?

[ωΘĿƒ]

The cafe was crowded at this time of night. Strangely enough, Le Cyll did not mind this kind of crowding. The people here all had their own agendas, and without any loafing about they went through them effortlessly, as quietly as possible in some cases. This left the secluded wolf to sit all by his lonesome, amidst the thronging crowd of patrons and without a care in the world.

The things is, throughout the drunken college kids, the already stoned older beings, the nervous but excited younger ones, and the ones that sat like statues as if awaiting their plans to be lain out in front of them, Le Cyll sat and he watched.

He loved people watching. It was much like bird watching or hunting, except without the payoff of the kill. He could handle that, as long as he was left in peace.

Peace was all he ever wanted, after all.

And as if on schedule, the bartender turned to him, smiling with his sharp white teeth bared.

"What'll it be, wolf?"

"Nothing," Le Cyll replied, dryly.

"Why not?" the candid old man chuckled, perhaps amused slightly, but for reasons unknown to the wolf. "It'll do ya some good, especially nowdays..."

There was a small hint of knowledge in the words as they were offered kindly up. Still, the wolf was unmoved. He would not be surprised that the vampire knew of such things as his... mental problems. He was a creature of empathic ability, as was Le Cyll. Therefore, he could accomplish all kinds of ambiguous readings and awe the onlookers without much of a sweat. However, it was nothing to respond to.

"I'm fine." The sound was like crackling ice.

The bartender fixed him with an odd, contemplative stare before simply scratching his head and shrugging in the very smooth mimicry of a human.

"Alright, pup. If you want to sit there. Just don't start any more trouble with my kids, alright?"

Le Cyll smiled slightly as he remembered the group he had met when first he entered this school.

"They're a lot more aggressive right now."

The wolf snorted, and the vampire shrugged again, unbothered. He wandered off to go tend to some other patron, leaving the wolf in his secluded silence.

"Don't be a buzz kill like Crane, pup," the man said, just as he left earshot. That bothered Le Cyll. He did not like these people, or this place... Colleger was filled with the strange and macabre; and what's more, no one seemed to see it.

Even at night they could not see it. The darkness hid the creatures that waited to pick off the drunken children that staggered from the sanctuary of the cafe. Le Cyll, for one, was willing not to be one of those children...

And perhaps that is why the one called White had tried to get him to drink?

[Iƪƪia]

Woman and alcohol; needless to say, this place was alright with Hendrix. Since he'd found this town, he had spent many a night in the cafe. In fact, altogether he'd spent even more time here than he had at the cabaret, though to be fair he tried not to frequent that place as often nowadays. There was no need to throw any more suspicion onto himself as girls suddenly began to disappear.

Luckily for him, this place saw its fair share of hot, young, clueless chicks come and go as well. So many, in fact, that no one would notice if some of them suddenly stopped coming in. What's more, most of them were way too wasted to notice what he was doing until it was too late. The only problem he ever had was trying to figure out what types of mythical freaks they were and whether or not it was worth his time to go after them. Though it usually worked out in the end.

At this moment, he had his eye on the two lovely, young ladies across the room. They were speaking very loundly, their slurred speech nearly cancelling out all the other noise in the room, and laughing even more deafeningly. Not to mention, they looked like they were far too young to be drinking, which made it even better.

Casually hanging near the front of the room, he was watching their every movements with a sort of avid hunger. Bringing his glass up to his lips, he drained the last of the golden liquid before trotting cheerfully up to the bar. He slid onto one of the stools and loudly slammed his glass onto the table, in an effort to attract some sort of attention from the girls. An unsucessful effort. Several others noticed and shot him a few irritated glances, however his targets didn't even look up. They were too far gone, off in their own little world now. Hell, they might even be on drugs... Man, this only got better and better!

Chuckling to himself, he leaned back, though he had to catch himself as he almost managed to fall out of the chair. Damn... Was he drunk already too? He had only been here for a few hours. Well, it didn't matter. He knew he could be as charming drunk as he was sober, and so he leaned forward, focusing only on those girls, waiting for them to either notice him or leave. He could make due with either opportunity.

[ωΘĿƒ]

After excluding himself from all things vampire-bartender-related, Le Cyll instead busied himself with what he actually came her for: people watching.

Well... not exactly. The wolf wasn't much for staring at people in an obsessive or otherwise leisurely sort of way. More like, the wolf simply loved knowledge, and that knowledge came with certain... hobbies he must take up. People watching, for instance.

How was he to know, after all, who all the players were if he was never to get out and find them? And considering that this vampire's bar was the social hotspot of the school, Le Cyll was confident that any gossip his wolf ears could pick up would be useful.

For instance, he already knew that Ivan was not to be trifled with, Elle had an estranged friend named Illia that would no longer be a problem, and Coyle would indeed help him in this endeavor of his. It was all perfect.

But, he also came here to see. The people that came to this place were often troubled and useful to him. Right now, he was noticing a man of about the "rock star" caliber with an interesting aura coming off if him.

That meaning, he was drunk, trying to pick up chicks, and he was very good at it. There was something interesting about this man.

"One of my best customers."

Le Cyll jumped, a slight growl escaping his lips. The old, carved face of the vampire was right behind him, looking at Ivan.

...vampires. He hated vampires, as he was sure the whole school did. They were humanoid, and useless pieces of garbage. Parasites, really.

Le Cyll smiled politely at the man.

"Yes? And how is that?"

White looked at the wolf, his blue eyes flashing, and only stared onward to the drunken patron of interest.

"Information's at a premium, pup. I don't suppose it's worth anything to you to know all about that one?"

Le Cyll scowled. Vampires... But this one was a strong thing. He wasn't about to be so foolish as to provoke a fight. White seemed to notice this, and shrugging as he did so often, he lit a cigar and puffed the cinnamon smoke.

"One drink. That's my price."

...wait. What? A drink? He gets a drink and he finds out about this one? Obviously, this vampire must be joking. The man at the table with the girls was interesting, yes, but who exactly was he...?

"He's a creature you've never heard of." White puffed. "He's insubstantial, literally, and he's a very naughty boy, that one. Used to be a regular at my Cabaret until too many of his lady friends went missing. Well... not missing. I find some of them around sometimes. Bury them, though there's not much to bury. Still, he's a nice guy. Very focused. Gotta love that in a critter like him. I'd talk to him, if I were you."

Without Le Cyll noticing, White had somehow filled a glass of draft beer and was now sliding it up to the wolf.

"Do me a favor and get him, Hendrix, out of here... He's raping and killing all my customers."

With that, the vampire left. Le Cyll watched him go, snorting.

Vampires... but he had been useful. Le Cyll looked down at the glass of frothing liquid beside him, and wondered to himself.

How did he know that the wolf would drink it?

Well... he would. Fair is a highly respected concept of his. White msut have known that.

It made Le Cyll wonder how much more White knew, and about whom... Himself? Ivan? Elle? Coyle...?

He must check back in with this, but for now, he would do as White directed him. He would speak to this creature.

After all, White was a man of honor too. Le Cyll knew that before walking into here. Although the vampire may be terrible, wherever he went, fortune and profit followed. It had been that way for nigh over five hundred years.

Wasn't history grand?

Taking a swig of drink, Le Cyll continued to watch the creature known as Hendrix. This might bode well for him...

[Iƪƪia]

"So then we went out to get in the car, only it wasn't there!"

"It totally just vanished!"

"Ohmigawd, we spent hours looking for it!"

"But then guess what? It was in the driveway the whole time!"

The women the fell into another fit of drunken laughter, falling over the table and each other. Sitting back, watching this spectacle, Hendrix merely smiled. This was looking like it'd be a very easy kill. They were already wasted, after all, which meant that he didn't have to spend any of his money on them. They also seemed like they couldn't handle their alcohol very well.

He could probably just wait for them to pass out and...

He picked up his glass only to find it empty once again. How may times was this now? Ten or so? Standing up, he walked away from the table and his two new lady friends, reaching the bar and setting his glass atop it.

"Yo, need another refill here, please," He called cheerfully.

Leaning against the bar, he ran a hand through his hair, glancing back at the table. Perhaps it had something to do with his race, or perhaps it was simply talent, but whenever he was 'drunk' his mind still worked just fine. Even now he was predicting their every move and contemplating possible plans of attack. He wasn't always so impulsive after all... In fact, drinking seemed to turn him into a master tactician. Drinking also seemed to make things a hell of a lot funnier, and he had to stop and wonder why he had been chuckling this whole time...

[ωΘĿƒ]

As White went to fill the glass for the creature known as Hendrix, he gave absolutely no notice of the wolf quietly nurturing a taste for the bitter beer. It was probably for the best. Even though White had constructed his little plan around Le Cyll and ingeniously hooked him to follow it all while smoking that disgusting piece of dried plant life, Le Cyll still had his doubts.

As he had continued to listen in on the conversation though, he had grown more bold.

Odd. He never grew bold. There was only the clean logical thinking that he was used to or the pressured, frenzied thoughts of that little whisper muttering its crazy things in his ear. Two very opposite ends of the mental spectrum, but bold never entered into it. He executed anything with an unearthly amount of caution.

But now... It all seemed so easy... Le Cyll took a look at the near empty glass and cursed to himself.

Vampires... He was drunk. Not that drunk, but enough to cause harm.

While Hendrix was getting a drink, Le Cyll deftly picked out one of his portable concoctions from the lab and tossed it onto the girl's table.

...why?

The table lit on fire, and began to splutter white hot sparks in a flurry of light and hissing noise.


Oh... That worked.

Looking around quickly, Le Cyll just sat there and gulped down the last of his drink.

Hm. He may need to get drunk more often.

[Iƪƪia]

Tapping his fingers on the glass, Hendrix marveled at how much luck he'd had since coming here. Sure, things started off kind of slow, but work picked up fast. Real fast. It was like this place was a holding center for hot chicks. He found a new target just about every other day, and a willing even more often. Of course, some of it had to do with his natural skill: his abundance of charm and charisma. However, places like this bar helped too, by herding them all into one, confined space.

It was like shopping. He just had to go in and pick the one he liked best.

Chuckling at this thought, he then heard a strange noise behind him. It was a sort of... Crackling sound? Curious, he turned back, stopping and trying to get his mind to comprehend what he was seeing. The table was... On fire? But who- how? Tables just didn't spontaneously combust. So maybe one of these freaks...

Almost immediately losing his train of thought, Hendrix only stood back and watched the fire. Well, it was kind of mesmerizing. His "friends" didn't seem to think so, however. After their initial drunken amazement, they began to panic, turning to him though he gave little more than a shrug in response. With that, they stumbled away, leaving him to watch the burning table, alone.

... Wait, what?

Rubbing his eyes, he glanced around, wondering where they had run off to. Aw, hell. He had missed the perfect moment to make a move. With them all freaked out like that... He could have went outside with them and...

Growling, he waved a hand, extinguishing the fire. Why he did that, however, he was unsure of. Man, he must really be drunk. He had to be if he let those two get away, after all.

Turning away, he noticed for the first time some strange guy watching him from the bar. Watching him? For how long had he been watching...? That was just the slightest bit suspicious. And creepy, even to a guy like Hendrix.

"Hey," He muttered, nodding in his direction. There wasn't much else he could think to say.

[ωΘĿƒ]

Now waiting for things to start happening, Le Cyll sat back and watched the table burn and the girls leave and everything work out very nicely and without a bit of a bump at all.

It all went very smoothly, except for the "him watching" part. He knew better not to watch this happening. It made him look extremely suspicious, and that was very bad for him to look suspicious towards... this Hendrix.

Hendrix seemed like a predator to him. Without the words of White or the sense of pleasure with which Hendrix went through the motions of reeling in those girls, Le Cyll could still tell these things.

Hedrix was just like him, but different. Two species of the same monster.

...and he had just ****ed off that monster. Oh no. Why had he done that? Why? Again looking at his drink, Le Cyll could just shake his head. This was very bad... and it became more bad when Hendrix turned around and spoke to him.

Snapping his head up, Le Cyll scrambled for something to say. What should he say? What to do? What excuse could he have for this strange act of driving away prey that even he could not explain to himself?

"Play it cool." that horrid little sound chimed in his head, and having no better idea, he simply accepted the sound as a command.

"Hello," Le Cyll said back, taking the last sip to his drink. No. No. No. No. He shouldn't be doing this. Drinking this! What was happening? Things were becoming less and less controlled by the second, and he did not like it one bit.

"Chill out. Let it all flow... There's no way to stop it now..."

No! He would not accept that. Not now, and not ever. This was a controlled situation... he simply... did not have as much control over it! Yes! Had to get that back! What? So confused... Why was he saying these things without thinking first?

"I'm sorry for the loss, but you did miss your chance, didn't you? You still could have had them. Even after the fire."

No... Why...? So confused... Not supposed to happen...!

Of course, the way Le Cyll worked, he did not show any of this panic. He sat there, completely calm and focused in his sharp, wolflike way. Staring at Hendrix as if he were sizing up the man while deep down inside, he was a panicked mess of misery.

Compartmentalization was great.

[Iƪƪia]

With nothing else to do, Hendrix was left to lean against the bar as he watched the guy appear to put quite a bit of thought into how to respond to a simple 'hello.' Well, maybe not so simple. They were kind of weird circumstances. Plus, both of them were probably drunk already, which couldn't help anything.

Once the greetings were finally finished, Hendrix arched an eyebrow in a mixture of confusion and suspicion. For some reason, the guy seemed awfully concerned about the fact that he'd just struck out- no! Not struck out! It was just going to take him a little longer to win, that was all. Shaking his head, he looked away from the guy, toward the table, then finally out the door, though none of these sights helped to lessen his confusion. In the end, he decided that he was simply being paranoid and reading into things too much.

"I know, right? I'll get them... Later, but... Man, I must be off my game."

Running a hand through his hair, Hendrix took a seat at the bar, with only a few seats in between them. He sat with his elbows resting on the bar, facing the front of the room. Despite the fact that he greatly enjoyed his "job" it was still nice to take a break and do nothing for awhile. Although that generally left him alone with his thoughts, which could be good or bad depending on several factors.

"There's a lot of **** going on, though. I'm not myself lately, you know what I mean?" He said, speaking as if this stranger were an old friend, "Sometimes I just don't know who I am anymore, ya know."

He looked down at the glass he still held and drained the last of it in one gulp. Then, setting it down on the bar, he went about trying to remember what he had just been talking about. Unfortunately, he hadn't been paying much attention to what he'd been saying, even as he said it. He did, however, come up with one thing to say.

"Oh right. Hendrix," He said, gesturing toward himself before clutching his head in his hands, "Damn it, I have such a headache..."

[ωΘĿƒ]

Interestingly enough, this hairbrained scheme had.... done an exceptionally good job of accomplishing something.

For some strange, unnameable reason; Hendrix did not suspect anything about Le Cyll's little stunt. On the contrary. He seemed to be very open about the whole incident.

.....What? Predator. The wolf went over that word again, just to make sure he had the spelling and context right. He did, yes? Yes... A creature that preyed upon other creatures. Why was he not predatoring now then?

....Predatoring was not a word. He was drunk, and apparently he was not a very good drunk either. How pleasant.

But! That didn't change anything! Why no anger? Annoyance? What was this strangely accepting attitude? Didn't it matter that he had lost? At all...?

Odd. Failure did not seem to phase this Hendrix. And neither did the concept of acquaintances. He spoke... very simply. Not in a guarded or unfriendly manner. Nothing of a simple disistrest in the stranger that he had just met. Actually, they seemed to have skipped past "meeting" and "acquaintance" and gone straight to "friend."

How odd. It was... a foreign concept to Le Cyll, but his immediate reaction was to fall into the natural rhythms of socialization and simply go along with this opportunity to be candid.

"...Yes I think I know the feeling."

Odd. Truth. Why was he so truthful? The drink... He really didn't like that. It was so distracting.

And just like that, he continued talking.

"Things haven't been very bright lately, have they?"

He gave a wry, ironic smile - more a reflex than anything - but for some reason completely genuine.

Okay... Lesson learned. Drinking makes him say stupid things like the truth. He decided he was not going to repeat this maneuver ever again. Truth was dangerous. Very dangerous. Besides lying came so naturally, it felt almost strained to speak so freely now.

Hearing Hendrix say something about a headache, Le Cyll couldn't help but look the man over once, speculating.

"Hmmm... Does that happen often?"

[Iƪƪia]

Hendrix had let his hands fall into his lap, though his head was still down, staring at the floor, eyes half-closed. It had come to his attention that perhaps the real reason why he'd been acting so strange and apathetic tonight wasn't because he was drunk - on the contrary, alcohol barely affected him at all - but rather, he was simply exhausted. It had been a number of days since he'd gotten a decent night's sleep, and while that had been fine in the past, his body wasn't able to handle it as well anymore.

At that moment, something weird happened. His new friend here seemed to be sympathizing with him. No one sympathized with Hendrix. No one. Yeah, you rape a few people and suddenly you're the scum of the earth. That was precisely why he never talked about his hobbies, especially to people he'd just met. Sure, he really was a pretty nice guy, but he wasn't stupid.

Pushing those thoughts out of his mind, he merely chuckled at his question.

"Yeah, that's one way to put it."

His life had gotten very strange since coming here. Sure, he got to continue to indulge himself, but the creatures here were much more strong willed than the ones he had been used to. Not to mention how some of them seemed to be in love with the concept of torture. He liked to hear people scream and cry as much as the next guy, but some of these people were just plain sick.

He'd been here for quite awhile now and he was still unsure as to whether he actually liked it here or not. It wasn't really such a bad place, although there were certain things that made him want to flee the country. However, something told him that he wasn't leaving this school for awhile... Or maybe he never would.

The thought sent chills down his spine, which he immediately shrugged off, scrubbing his hands through his hair and trying to massage the headache away. It was to no avail, of course. Nothing but time made these headaches go away, so all he could do was wait until someone stopped plunging that knife into his skull. It was painful and it took way too long, but he was used to it by now.

"Hmm?" He questioned, looking up at the guy curiously before he realized that he was talking about his headache, "Oh. It's just occasional. Although it's gotten a little more frequent lately... I'm just tired."

Of course that wasn't the reason, though it probably contributed to it. Naturally, he wasn't about to tell him the whole truth. He didn't normally explain his medical history to complete strangers.

[ωΘĿƒ]

Le Cyll pondered this strange occurrence, and this strange indulgence in someone else's problems, and he came to the conclusion that it was a foolish and wasteful thing. He did not care. Why did he even want to speak with such a creature as Hendrix in the first place? Curiosity. It killed the cat, but he was a dog. Hopefully Hendrix was cat-like enough for this rather dangerous curiosity to pass over Le Cyll unavenged and instead strike someone of less value.


That would be preferable, but it was rarely how things were.

He has the same pain as you.

"What?" He barely noticed as he spoke this aloud. It was always very difficult to tell what was real and what was head trauma these days. He imagined he might have a whole conversation with himself and not even know it.

Not the same as that specific headache, but he has it. That one's different though. You should check it out.

"Helpful today, are we?" Le Cyll muttered, very quietly. If he was going to talk to himself, might as well do it covertly as not to alarm anyone. He would hate to do that.

Still, the nauseating voice had a point. It did seem... for some odd reason... that these pains were connected.

Or he could just be drunk. He liked that option. He would do less there.

Nono it's the same. Exactly.

Le Cyll blinked, trying to alleviate this sound from his ears. How he thought he'd do this by blinking was beyond him, but he'd tried everything else.. This could not hurt.

Failing, he could only continue to blither out sounds in the form of conversation.

"You are sick."

Odd. He knew that was right, but was that double meaning he heard? Why yes it was! He was quite annoying when he was drunk. Now there was twice as much truth being spoken per sentence than there should be! All the more reason to never touch alcohol again.

And yet it had been spoken, and nothing else. He wondered if Hendrix would catch exactly what he meant. Hopefully not. He knew already. Why should Hendrix know he knew? That would prove dangerous.

Not acceptable.

Lighten up.

[Iƪƪia]

Sighing, he looked out the window, running his hand through his hair several times, though it still did nothing to lessen the pain. Defeated, he resigned to simply staring out into the darkness outside. It was so bleak, so unforgiving. Wait... Was that depression he was feeling? This was exactly why he should never be away from women for too long. When he was, he began to think. He shook his head in an attempt to shake away the thoughts as he focused on the voices, listening to them whisper words of comfort until he felt better.

At that moment, another whisper of sorts rose to his ears. He tipped his head slightly, listening as his neighbor began muttering something. What exactly was said, he couldn't hear, but he didn't really need to. He knew that mumbling. You did that when you were trying to speak to something only you can hear and at the same time trying to hide it from everyone else for fear that they may realize that you're insane. He knew that because he did that. Or perhaps he was reading too much into this. Actually, that was probably the case here.

He chuckled slightly at his paranoia when his friend spoke up again, louder this time. However, what he said caused him to glance up in confusion.

"What..?"

Not that it was a strange thing for someone to say to him. He'd heard it plenty of times in the past. Although, people usually waited until they knew him better to make such a judgement. As he thought about this, it suddenly struck him that that was probably not the intended meaning. He probably meant it in the literal sense, though the way he had said it still put him on edge for some reason.

"Ah... Heh, right. You a doctor or something?"

He looked away, fidgeting slightly. Not good. What if he was onto him? He couldn't tell what half the creatures in this place were. For all he knew, this guy could be something much bigger and stronger than him that didn't find his "activities" as entertaining as he did. He was probably just waiting for him to slip up now. Damn him.

No, no... That couldn't be it. He really just had to remain calm now. Just treat this as a normal conversation. Or maybe...

"You're in the habit of talking to yourself, huh?"

He didn't really have a reason for bringing that up at all. Except, perhaps to cause him as much discomfort as he could. It had never really been a good idea for him to speak while he was still slightly irrational like now. He blamed the lack of sleep.

[ωΘĿƒ]

Le Cyll watched this double meaning cross the man's mind, then drift away leaving only a bad inkling and a firm belief that he had not meant anything harmful by it. He was wrong, but thankfully so.

The wolf seemed to be extremely truthful under these circumstances, although at least intelligent enough to hide these truths behind less conspicuous words. Now, it would be pleasant if only he could leave without saying much else in this general direction.

...and just as he thought that, Hendrix continued to speak.

"A doctor?" Le Cyll repeated the word, wondering whether this information was important or not.

No. Not at all. Why would he think it was? Just the paranoia, perhaps... Or the alcohol. Or, he could be wasting his time like he did so often nowdays. Apparently this was a side effect to hearing things that were not exactly there. It was really a sad and frivolous abuse of good time he would rather be using purposefully, or maliciously, or any other way that was not in the contemplation along the lines of "am I really that crazy?"

Such things were far too bothersome to ponder on... And yet they were haunting now that there was a second opinion in the matter.

"Six years of medical school," he said, uninterested in the thought of his studies. They were not important to him. At least, not in a conventional way. "and I know something of recurring migraines."

Now that... was less needed to be said, however, it was not entirely suspicious. His next answer, on the other hand...

"I don't-"

And... what would he say? He didn't? IT was not "him" he was talking to, it was that little pestering noise he heard? OR perhaps it was himself? He had not considered this thought seriously before. Almost with a sense of certainty that it was not true, he passed over the thought that he was alone and he was indeed speaking to the thing that wasn't there.

It made for a sarcastic thought but... no. Not him. It had to be something else.

Right...?

Very indignant about this whole ordeal now, and close to giving up on this conversation entirely, the wolf did something he rarely if ever attempted.

He addressed the issue at hand in a straightforward, and non bull****ting way.

"Well I'd never have degenerated this far if it weren't for that monstrous dragon... Playing his little games while he shoves me off the edge of my own sanity! Sure, why not? Talk to myself... But I'm not the only one am I? Something has to make you gallivant around raping women left and right!"

Oh..... that was.... ah... on a scale of.... that wasn't what....

You're screwed.

"Shut up!" he snapped.

[Iƪƪia]

Hendrix listened curiously as he explained his academic background. He looked a little young to be a doctor, but that wasn't the strangest thing he'd heard in his time. Especially around here. He'd met people who were supposedly hundreds of years old, yet they acted as though they were still teenagers. One would think that after all those years they'd learn to stop making the same mistakes over and over again. He had. For example, it had been ages since he'd attempted to pursue a dragon.

He looked up at his neighbor's next words. It sounded as if he'd intended to say something, though he changed his mind. It was rather strange, though. It wasn't as if it was a hard question. Well, actually, it might be hard if you were drunk.

... Or maybe this guy really was unstable and he'd just pushed him over the edge.

He moved back, only slightly, prepared to bolt out of there if things took a turn for the worse as he listened to the psychotic rant before being called out himself.

He only stared at him, unblinking as he looked for anything suitable to say, but he came up with nothing. He didn't do well with confrontation. Actually, his natural response would be to mumble a half-assed apology and then to get the hell out of there. However, something was stopping him. Perhaps it was the knowledge that he had been correct in his assumptions. This guy was like him. Not exactly like him, no, but he came closer than anyone else had. Well, that was all well and good, but right now how could he get himself out of this?

... We didn't mean anything by that!

"We didn't mean anything by that," He repeated immediately without stopping to listen.

We were just making an observation.

"We were just making an observation."

Look, we're really just an average guy!

"Look, we're really just an average guy!.. I- I mean I'm, ah... Damn."

Rolling his eyes, he looked away, raising a hand to his head as the pain increased in intensity. When he looked back, he had decided to do away with the excuses. Getting up, he moved over to take the seat right beside him. As he leaned in closer, his eyes betrayed only the slightest hint of his insanity.

"Alright, fine. You got me. I'm never alone, just like you aren't anymore. When did it start? I'm guessing it was pretty recent. Started off as a feeling, as a presence, maybe there was a soft whispering. Then it learns to talk and now it won't shut the hell up! Oh, and ignoring it? That ****in' sucks, doesn't it? But you gotta. You want to talk back to it, you have to, but you can't, not while there's people around, 'cause then they'll think you're crazy. Heh, imagine that. Me, crazy? The bastards. They don't understand, they never could. That pain; that annoying, constant pain that they bring to you. And you want to listen to it, you want to listen so bad. So why don't you? I mean... When you think about it..."

He leaned back, chuckling, "It's not so bad."

Looking away, he leaned back against the bar again. Letting his head fall back, he closed his eyes and exhaled deeply. At least that paranoia - that fear in general was gone now. Though it still wasn't good for him to get so excited. It took a moment of steady breathing before he decided to look down again. When he spoke next, his voice was perfectly calm.

"It really isn't so bad. Not when you realize that they're the only friends you've got. They won't leave you, won't lie to you. They look out for you. Not like people. Take that dragon friend of yours. Screwin' with your mind like that, and why? Under some pretense of help? Friendship? Yeah, like I haven't heard that before. You're probably nothing more than a science experiment to him. He's probably Japanese too, right? I ****in' hate those arrogant bastards."

Sighing, he drummed his fingers along the bar to some tune unknown even to him. When he glanced to the side again, he grinned widely, letting out a maniacal laugh or two as he made a grandiose gesture toward himself.

"Just look at us. We've been doing whatever the hell we want for over three hundred years now, and we've never felt better."

That wasn't meant in a literal sense, of course, but whatever. He would get the intended meaning.



(OOC: So yeah, Perfect Insanity was playing in my mind the whole time >.>)

[ωΘĿƒ]

(OOC: >.>.............<.< *claps awkwardly in the silence*)





There was one of those moments... and perhaps it followed something so rare because in and of itself it was rare? perhaps this thing could only emerge after something so mathematically unlikely had happened and it was safe for all the crazy, strange, and completely random things to join in on this interesting experience and make a tiny bad problem a huge one.

Perhaps... And perhaps he wasn't thinking this as he normally was. You see, that was this thing. Silence. Complete silence, in a place where only he could hear and listen. Only he could speak without being spoken to and think freely without persecution of any kind.

Why... was it all empty now? Nothing... It bothered him, but only in a mild way. Only in a way that meant so little to him it might as well be someone else's phone ringing.

That wasn't his problem... No. Why would it be? Let someone else deal with this mess..

Pay attention!

A jolt of electric pain shot through him, making him tilt his head slightly, noticing it.

Here. You have to be HERE. Don't hide from me...!

Right... Yes... Here... Where was here again?

Oh. Le Cyll blinked, then he focused back in on what was happening. Immediately, several facts became apparent to him.

Yeeeesss. Look... Look! You can see it can't you?

Fear. Apprehension. The distinct notion of leaving as soon as possible. But mostly fear. Spineless terror at what was happening.

And not his... It was Hendrix's fear he saw. The weakness, so easily displayed of only he focused on it - made the picture so sharp and clear that he could see every movement.

Le Cyll, being a predator at heart, fixated on this. In a way, you could say it comforted him in a way nothing else could. Fear. Of him. Not a threat. Not a threat...

Not a threat.

Yes. He said that already. Twice. That was enough repetition for now... Now was time for seeing what had caused this thing - this fear of sorts from something supposedly powerful enough to become a nuisance throughout the school.

Ah... but he did prey on women, didn't he? He sought weakness, just like the wolf himself. He looked for ease of target, and he struck when they were least ready for it.

The following long, tedious message that Hendrix relayed was memorized with perfect clarity. Le Cyll listened, unflinching and unmoving, and when he found the interesting parts he replayed them to himself, comparing and contrasting them to something very similar to this rant.

Sounds like you... very much.

He nodded, although he made it look like he was nodding in response to the sound of the long string of frantic words carefully mushed together as if this was a weight long bore by Hendrix. He did seem stressed. Maybe something to calm him down? A prescription would fix the headaches too, if he wasn't mistaken. Although from personal experience, the wolf could never tell what any kind of drug did.

He'd never really taken anything. It seemed hypocritical for some reason.

...And when the long speech so artfully blurted was finished, Le Cyll could only nod once more - this time directly at Hendrix - and mumble something.

"Yes."

That was all he had. Yes. He... didn't really know what to say. He was sure this was not a conventional conversation, but it was definitely more interesting than one. Perhaps it was more likable too? So simple, if you thought about it.

A match made in hell...

"It annoys me."

The **** did you say?

"A pestilence that eats away at whatever cognitive thought I have left. A parasite."

No, you should listen to him. He understands. He knows what I am. What we are. We are good for you. We protect you.

"And though I may be rather deviant in my behavior, I do the opposite of it's command."

You will see... Later. Much later. It will take a while, but you will know what he means by his words...

Le Cyll's tone, he noticed, was still displaying the appropriate markers of normal conversation. It must be rude, he reasoned. Such a useless waste of thought, to cloak himself. But he required it to go about unmolested - pun most likely intended since he was in present company.

And, in the most simple sense of the engagement, "I'll show you mine if you show me yours" was in effect at present.

"Stop that," the cold, mirthless sound twisted what could have been - and was very frequently - a rich, honest voice. "It's far too public for your foolishness."

Terribly sorry... Oh so regretfully he relayed this message - in a way that sounded not at all these things but he would tell you himself, was every bit so. He did not mind this mania - he could quite understand it himself, and it did look wonderfully enjoyable to sit there and giggle like a madman - however, it was too crowded, and he was much too paranoid to even think of such an outburst without first ensuring he wasn't seen like that.

He would much rater suffer ins silence, whatever that suffering may be for the day, than do something so... exposed.

So, checking without looking for anyone who had noticed this interesting stunt, Le Cyll then proceeded to find something much more subtle to add to this - apparently - honest and not very conventional conversation.

"But I'm sure..." he said, simply, picking up from an earlier thought, "given enough time I'll be much more susceptible to the sound of that voice. Singular, although I'm sure there will be a plentiful amount in no time at all..."

And he had mentioned Kendryek.... That went without saying, and Le Cyll very much preferred it that way.

Of course there was a dragon, and of course it was Japanese... Of course he was just some pet project for something bigger and more powerful than himself, dancing around like a flea on a stage for this thing that plagued him...

Yes... Of course... There was nothing to say of that... Nothing. It was so painfully obvious how true it all was...