Ghost King

(¸.• ♛ → “Oh, yeah, kind of new, I arrived here like some time now but actually I can’t really complain this is way better than my old town” She says with a small shrug looking now at him

“It is? Well, this place puts me on edge a bit, but that’s just because I’m rather unused to large amounts of people.”  Nico gave her a slight smile and looked around.  “It’s nice I suppose.’

“Sometimes you just got to join in. It might bring you a little joy.” Hugo smiled softly, always sort of feeling happy. Something he had learned from his parents. “Sixteen? Really? This is definitely better than England.” The boy chuckled softly, tempted now to get himself a cup.

“Maybe....can’t say that’s really my personality though.”  Shrugging, he had to smile a bit at at the other’s delight knowing he was old enough to drink.  “I could be wrong, or the rules could be different here anyways....I don’t know.”

          at  the  word  of  demigod,  alec  couldn’t  help  but  furrow  his  eyebrows  in  slight  confusion,  but  mostly  in  suspicion.     ‘  demigod?  ’  he  inquired,  a  hint  of  disbelief  to  his  tone.     considering  all  of  this  as  weird  was  definitely  the  understatement  of  the  century.     if  anybody  was  in  his  place  and  saw  some  carbon  copy  of  themselves  randomly,  twin  would  probably  be  where  their  mind  would  go.     but  this  guy  had  no  runes  and  it  was  nearly  impossible  that  he’d  grow  up  anywhere  besides  idris.     at  the  other’s  question,  alec  let  a  small  sigh  escape  parted  lips.     did  he  really  want  to  stand  here,  having  some  random  conversation  with  someone  who  looked  exactly  like  him?     not  necessarily,  however  he  did  want  to  know  more  about  this  guy  —-  what  his  story  was,  why  the  hell  he  looked  exactly  like  him.     there  had  to  be  some  sort  of  explanation.     ‘  a  few  days,  ’  he  responded.     ‘  give  or  take,  it  hasn’t  been  long.     what  about  you?  ’

Nico sighed, realizing the slipup too late and decided to just go for it now.  “Yes.  Son of Hades, god of the Underworld.”  He gave a small salute and smirked. “I can show off if I need to prove it.”  He figured the other was about as thrilled to talk to some weird look-alike as he was, but he also knew he needed information.  Only way to get that would be to talk to his random body double.  “About the same.  You get a golden ticket too?  have any idea who would’ve done this?”  Nico cocked his head, hoping the other could put up with a conversation with him for just a few moments.  Maybe he knew something he himself did not.

A look of confusion crossed over Angel’s face at that. “I don’t know what a joke is so it doesn’t matter to me whether it was bad or not. I also don’t care about friendliness. If you’re a living being that can be used to allow my race to continue to exist, that’s all that matters,” Angel stated quite matter of fact. “Is that the only reason you don’t think anyone would want to be near you? I couldn’t help but notice your face warmed up right there,” Angel pointed out, his hands going to his own face so he wouldn’t have to see the other man flinch away again. “I’ve learnt that the added color to a person’s cheeks can mean a number of things. What does it mean for you? Embarrassment? Stress? Are you aroused, or drunk perhaps? I’ve seen it happen to women mostly when I pl-” Angel suddenly stopped talking, mouth fully prepared to have finished what he was going to say only to recall in time that some things probably shouldn’t be said out loud. Nodding once, Angel agreed for the most part. “I’ve never really thought about it before but yes, I think it must be nice to meet you too. A demigod is an unfamiliar species to me, but gods are not. I suppose that explains why I find you so interesting… In a way, yes. I feed on the time energy that is left behind when I send people back in time to die. It is, or was, my only food source. Here, I can survive with food that humans eat but it doesn’t truly satisfy me the way I know I can be satisfied. I have been hindered from consuming lives here in this place but I have found ways to get what I want even if it’s not as all-consuming as it should be.”

          he  only  had  a  blade  hidden  deep  in  jacket  pockets  —-  what  he  wouldn’t  give  to  have  his  bow  and  arrow,  if  only  for  his  own  comfort.     he  wasn’t  one  to  just  attack  whenever  he  wanted  for  the  sake  of  attacking,  but  considering  he  was  in  new  york  one  second  and  then  there  the  next,  he  was  definitely  on  edge,  to  say  the  least.     and  now,  coming  face  to  face  with  someone  who  looked  exactly  like  him?     no,  all  of  this  was  too  weird,  and  that  was  a  lot  coming  from  somebody  like  alec,  who’d  already  dealt  with  the  strangest  of  the  strange  —-  but  this  topped  it  all.     ‘  what  —-  no,  are  you  kidding  me?  ’  alec  retorted,  before  forcing  himself  to  calm  down  slightly;  this  guy  seemed  like  he  knew  just  about  as  much  as  the  shadowhunter  did,  which  wasn’t  a  lot  to  begin  with.     alec  figured  both  of  them  were  somewhat  in  the  same  boat  here,  there  was  really  no  sense  in  freaking  out  on  him.     ‘  no,  my  name’s  alec  and  this?     if  you’re  looking  for  some  explanation,  i  don’t  have  one.  ’

Nico relaxed, nodding.  “Praise the gods.  Didn’t need to deal with another morose demigod around here.”  He actually smiled with relief, not at all wanting to come face to face with himself. Even if coming across a doppleganger was entirely unnerving. “Well, good to meet you Alec. Even if this is...disturbing, it’s better than actually having a clone.  There’s something seriously weird about all this but nothing has crossed over to that extreme. But nah, explanation can’t be so easy as running into my twin on the street.”  His sober expression returned, he glanced around, deciding to engage in conversation if he could. “So, how long have you been here?”

“What are you doing here standing in the shadows?” Hugo raised his brow as the guy had caught his attention. All the other people seemed to be enjoying the festivities and having fun, but not this guy. “You should come join. Have a little fun. Drink a little of that mulled wine. I’ve heard it’s delicious. Not that I’ve tried it because not sure I’m legal here to have that already.” Hugo smiled softly, always sort of living by the rules as that’s how he was raised. He definitely resembled his mother in many ways.

Nico studied the other man, not really expecting anyone to pay him any attention.  He usually went unnoticed, but apparently not today.  The demigod shrugged a little, giving the other an uncertain smile.  “Can’t say I usually indulge in much fun...more of an observer really.  But I’ll think about the mulled wine.  And I think the legal age is...sixteen.  Pretty sure it’s sixteen.”

“It does”? He asked him.

“Yep...it’s winter, so...cold.  You okay dude?”

Suddenly someone was in front of him, looking at him despite the near total darkness he was surrounded by.  Startled, Nico’s control over the shadows slipped and the darkness around him retreated, leaving the demigod much more visible and slightly uneasy as he looked at the man.  “I, um...Hi.”

There was a great power surrounding the astonished man. Angel could practically taste it as a shudder moved across his entire form. Hiding the shudder by walking closer to the man, Angel gave him a charming smile before assuring him that his presence wasn’t bothering him in the slightest. “Would you like to touch them? Hardly anyone ever does but then I don’t usually show these off to people.” The reason why hardly anyone touched Angel’s wings was because they never got a chance to, what with being sent to the past or being killed immediately. One wrong move and Angel usually always got a lovely meal. The thing about this version of Paris however meant that Angel could be touched as well as touch others without sending anyone away. While it did nothing for his current form, he still used touch to his advantage because every once in a while, he was able to feed off of time energy just by being close to someone. The more flustered the victim became, the easier it was to latch onto their life force. The man in front of Angel had so much power that he felt drawn like prey instead of being the lure. Very much in the man’s personal space now, bringing his wings forward to wrap around his body creating a soft barrier between himself and the taller man, Angel promised quietly, “I don’t mind if you want to. It won’t hurt.”

Nico was taken aback by the other smiling at him and actually getting closer, the demigod all too used to people retreating rather than actually drawing closer to him.  Much less invite him to touch them.  Nico glanced around nervously, expecting some sort of trick or danger from someone with such beautiful features moving so close to him of their own free will.  “I..I mean...I well.”  He huffed, wishing his words would work as the angel stepped so close to him,  making Nico entirely distracted by the airy barrier of feathers between them.  He started to reach out to touch the wing when he remembered how unnaturally cold he felt, the chill of death on his skin enough to freak people out.  Quickly putting his hand in his pocket, he managed a soft smile.  “No thanks...but I appreciate the offer.  It’s...It’s kind of you to indulge my curiosity.”

(¸.• ♛ → “I can understand that but hey, look around, everything is christmas like, it looks really nice, maybe is time to just forget about things for now atl east” Beverly said with a small smile on her lips now looking at him “This place is not that bad as I thought at first”

Nico glanced around at the decor, then back at the bright woman.  He shrugged a little at her, though he didn’t make too much effort to walk off.  It was nice to talk to someone from time to time.  “Are you new to Paris too?  Or where ever this is really?”  

“Does it ever snow here”?

@child-ofthe-underworld

Nico looked over at the man with surprise before nodding. “I mean, yes?  It’s Paris.  It does get cold.”

It’s been a while since the Dream Realm got the visit of the king of nightmares and oddities himself. Bill stomped the ground once with his cane and soon, the whole place was covered by a thick fog and a big yellow moon that possessed a vertical pupil that seemed to watch it all.  SOON, another entity caught his attention. Bill melted into the ground and popped up in front of the young man with his traditional triangular form.    “Hey, kid! Welcome to the Dream Realm, have you visited the nightmare department?  IT’S A REAL TREAT”, he expressed with a voice that became a growl with the last words. The demon cleared his throat and snapped his fingers, taking again his human form. “Ha-ha! I was just joking, don’t take it personal. The name’s Bill Cipher, never saw another you before around here! Nico di Angelo, right? I’ve heard about you!”

@child-ofthe-underworld

Nico hadn’t even realized he’d fallen asleep on a bench during the holiday celebrations until he found himself dreaming, the middle space between his dreams and others a stark change from the lights of Paris.  Still, he opted not to rouse himself, knowing he needed the rest.  Even if the suddenly changing dreamscape was enough to show him he wasn’t alone, the eye-moon rather unnerving before there was suddenly some weird triangle in front of him, talking.  Nico held his ground, facing down the odd being before smirking darkly at his odd threat. “Been there, done that.  Skipped the T-Shirt.”  Some weird glowing triangle wasn’t enough to scare a son of Hades, though when he suddenly transformed into a fair haired young man and knew his name, the demigod went rigid.  “Can’t say I’ve heard of you.  How do you know who I am?”

Comfy wasn’t the right word to use in the moment Angel spread his wings. Freeing was more accurate. Being stone for as long as he had meant his current form was still taking some getting used to despite having been in the softer and far weaker human body he’d taken on some eight months prior. Even though Angel now had to live with the lesser form, there was one pro; his wings could be hidden along his back as though they were full body tattoos, the feathers reaching his ankles. The con to it was how uncomfortable it would become after too long and he needed to release them. There, in the shadow afforded to him on the moonless evening, that was what he did. The trek home had taken too long with the festive events starting and catching him unaware. He couldn’t make it home, so he found a darkened, deserted street away from the crowds.

There was another pro to his form, he found out shortly after arriving in Paris. His current form allowed him to move at will, no hatred at being quantum locked every time he was looked at here. Angel also had two ways to build up strength. The usual way of taking someone’s life before they could live it, and sleep. Seeing that Angel was alone here and couldn’t protect himself as easily as he would have been able to before appearing fully human, he refrained from sending anyone to a different time. That didn’t mean he wasn’t tempted to whenever something, or more commonly someone, interrupted him in what should have been moments of quiet. Like now, Angel thought with a grimace. The fall of footsteps didn’t go unnoticed by the lonely assassin and with wings still outstretched, Angel turned to face the possible victim. His movement stilled as though he were once more a statue as soon as his sight locked onto the person moving closer.

( @child-ofthe-underworld )

Nothing depressed Nico more than the holidays if he was being honest.  People surrounded by loved ones and family, celebrating and being grateful for the closeness and relationships they had, it was all things Nico wanted but knew he’d never have.  His father a god and far too busy to be involved with him, and his mother and sister both long dead.  He was a shadow to be feared, too close to death for others to be comfortable with him yet not near enough to actually cross over and be dead. Unwanted, yet surrounded by people overflowing with love for others.  It was painful.

Hence why he was moving down this silent street to keep away from the celebrations, not in the mood to face it, and far more comfortable in the dark. His hands burrowed in the pockets of his leather jacket he turned a corner and stopped dead, looking up to see a man, with wings.  The boy himself was rather beautiful, and the wings were absolutely magnificent.  His guard down, the demigod’s awe could be seen on his expression before he quickly hid it again, forcing his eyes to meet the other man’s instead of his wings.  “Hi.  I, well...I um...Your wings are amazing...but I’m sorry to have bothered you.  Wasn’t paying attention.”