HUMAN, AFTER ALL

Easier said than done; how long and often could one keep keeping on until they became unrecognizable, until the end no longer justified the means. Pushing away his family, longstanding friends, and any in between as the Archer was hellbent on completing his own goal, no matter what wretched timelines or sprouting mushrooms attempting to get in his way. Sabina was a very real piece of what he hunted, infernal blood, so why he treated her any different was any clue to the hunter; he was also sprouting something very real with the First of demons, so it was fair to state that Wade had some sort of implicit bias when using discretion between each demon, cambion, and otherwise, that he chose to hunt and chose to spare. "Oh, yeah?" Wade nodded her direction, "So, there's no trouble for you to keep on keepin' on either, right?" What she spoke of, these unfathomable horrors that could not be medicated away, seemed difficult to navigate around; Sabina was one who hid her pain well, hid her pain often, maybe that's why he got along with her so well.

Two simple men who often ignored the root of the problem in their lives, perhaps it was that which bonded them for as Wade sat and actually caught up with the other, he realized how different their paths genuinely were. Kayce ventured into this world by choice, he'd been a little blind to it all initially but the Mechanic jumped right in once the rules were played out before him; it was something which Wade could never do. Maybe a hypocritical statement considering, though he felt human, he was now a Darkfriend, bonded to some mystical brotherhood. "Well, don't get lost in all the backwoods, homely vibes," Wade snorted humorously at that, the Archer always thought he was infinitely more funny than he truly was, "And say hi to Flora from me if you see her."

"Anybody ever tell you, ya got a few screws loose up there?" There's a half-grin planted on the Archer's face as he pairs the question with a finger pointed to his head, rolling it in that crazy notion. It wasn't the smartest thing in the world to prod at someone who genuinely was a bit twisted, but if Bishop didn't like the teasing, Wade would really just jump right back up again once Bishop cooled off. "Neither have I, it might've been able to save me a few close calls if I'd heard of it before; though I guess it's not something they're takin' direct auditions for." How long the Archer had sought after The Eye only for them to turn against what they were crafted for; it was an embarrassment, and it seemed the Brotherhood was keen to clean up what the organization had failed to deliver on.

"If you want to romanticize what you've got then I'm in no mood to convince you," stated plainly but equipped with a smile to soften the blow, Wade can only shrug. How often had he sat in opposition of a friend who had gone down this path, the Archer was tired of justifying these impulsive mistakes that could not be reverted. Though Wade supposed he was being silently hypocritical considering Wade was now considered indestructible and was, in a way, indebted to some entity. "If you're happy with all the bad that comes with your life, then by all means, Dulce."

"I am no fool, Wade Calhoun," she tells him coldly, but almost invitingly. In the end, she desires for him to take his chance, to attempt a culmination of their conflict, so she can have the excuse to retaliate finally once and for all and altogether destroy what makes him him. Death is far too much of a blessing for a man like him, and it is not what expects him if he falls on her clutches. Perhaps a changeling fate awaits him, hunting and maiming those he holds dear. Perhaps eternal rot, his body being eaten molecule by molecule before being put together again. Perhaps, a return to his mushroom form, a slow suffocation that slowly destroys his ability to think until he becomes a doll on her hands. She simply cannot decide, all the options as tempting as ever. "I have never been anything but who I am, Calhoun. You must forget, my kind is older than humanity, we have never been human. I held fondness for your species, yes, desired for peace between us. You have changed my mind, however, as you became an ambassador of all that you hate. I hope you know, the abomination that killed your family would be proud of what you have become, and he likely awaits you on the depths of what is left of the Inferno, awaiting for your inevitable transition into demonhood. For make no mistake, you will become a demon if you continue on this path."

"It's not that I forget, I just don't give a damn," a grimaced nod is punctuated by Wade's ireful grin; where once he would have sought forgiveness for his panic-stricken mistake outside the fey forest boundaries, Wade now could only wish that he'd twisted the knife into her with genuine intent. "You're so self-inflated that you'd like to pretend you were always like this, this beacon of leadership; I saw how far you'd come when we traveled together, all the differences seen in a few short months. You want to act like you've never changed, like you've been this ambassador, that's fine; I'm not here to convince you. Next time, I might even be here to kill you," a shrug, casual despite the harsh screech of his chair as the Archer stood to leave, "You're such a fucking farce, Robin, you wanna act like this world is all black and white, good and evil, then you go ahead and live in that fantasy land. Maybe, I'll just sit back and watch your people overthrow your ridiculous ideals instead," killing her would be a mercy for her people.

"Well, I sure as fuck wouldn't have done the same. Then again, I'm not some southern gentleman like you." It was partially a joke. Sort of, he guessed. Cruz had never been good at those unless it was trying to cheer his sister up when they had to find some dirt to sleep in for the night. His singing voice had been absolutely atrocious, she'd always told him. Maybe he should've done that to get people to take him less seriously. Actually, he didn't want to get along with people so he was going to bypass that thought entirely. The point now was that Wade had brought beer and somehow the two of them were decent enough friends for him to not want to stab the other in the neck like he always wanted to with Bishop. "Why would it be an initiation? It's your ass if you fuck up, not mine." Cruz also wasn't the type to hover so he wouldn't if Wade didn't explicitly ask him to do so.

"I don't know," a swift retort from the Archer, garnering quite a bit of grit towards the situation as Wade attempted to navigate the unknown. This was a contractual obligation with some divine and dead entity and the rules had been clearly stated, but Wade hadn't been sure what it meant for those specifically chosen when it came to one another. Bishop was…. well, he'd always been acerbically murderous. Cruz, Wade had briefly known from the Eye before the organization had gone soft and the Archer basically liked him because he was so reticent, quiet, and was proven to have a good kill count against these monsters. Viola, well, he was still learning about her but it seemed clear that they all had to have one thing in common: a clear line of hatred towards supernaturals. "It seems Bishop and you have been indoctrinated way longer than I have," well, that was just a guess considering, again, Cruz didn't often talk much.

"Don't put that to the test," there's a lot that had changed under the circumstances of both their respective lives. Kayce had been willingly bitten, sure, but Wade really had never found a problem with the lycans; it seemed that they'd lost their tooth and grit before that previous alpha had come along and went a little crazy. "So, did you join that pack or are you, tough as nails Kayce, gonna rough it like a loner?" It felt weird for him to dish about shit like this, but Wade continued to garner secret after secret as his life dramatically seemed to change course each day. Enemy of the fey, now a Darkfriend, killer of demons yet he was seeing the First; he'd rather not focus on his own life.

Not even a residual headache could hint towards the violent act Bishop had inflicted upon the Archer, no scars nor tender bruises of an injury since miraculously healed. "I can't say I wanna find out our limits, but, actually, I kind of fuckin' do," in a way more purposeful than Bishop blasting him in the head, or them taking turns on concocting violent deaths to try out on one another. "Just not necessarily with you, sorry man," a small grin, "I think the whole deal might link to our capabilities in what they asked of us," oh, Wade, thinking he was so smart for figuring out the obvious. "How long have you been like this?" A vague inquiry as to see if Bishop had actually been out there brawling with a supe' with his newfound and seemingly indestructible life.

It made sense, truthfully, that Wade would edge towards the Eye. Towards something that could give him an edge against things like the demon that had killed their family. But Grayson's magic had flared then, an easy signal to his real father who had swooped in at the most opportune moment. He looked at his brother, now, "I don't know what to tell you anymore," he admitted. He didn't need Wade to hold his hand and guide him, not like he did a long while back. "I made a mess of my life, and I've put back on track. I always wanted to find you. But I'm not gonna fuckin' beg to be a part of your life."

They'd grown from the children they'd once been, witnesses of a tragedy, victims; but only one had stayed stagnant as time raged onward. Wade was stuck in such pivotal moment, it guided him towards every disastrous decision in this future; threatening Atlas, nearly killing Robin, promising Emory his demise. A downward path that Wade was hurtling towards and here his brother was, something which brought him to a frigid standstill. "I'm proud of you, I am," something which couldn't be stated about himself, "I'm supposed to be your big brother and maybe there's this childish piece of me that's still angry at what was." Words were jumbled together, sentences that never really lifted off to a sensible conclusion, but Wade shrugged almost pathetically, "I'm not trying to make it seem like your life was perfect, but you had a ticket out of there and I'm... I'm trying to let that go." Okay, that was closer to an apology but it still didn't quite hit the mark.

"I'm seein' that," her demeanor and her fate spoke it all, though Wade wasn't sure of the details, it hardly took much to convince the Archer when staring at her within the confines of a vampire's paradise. He blinked, taken aback by the statement of being betrothed to someone merely because one's duty had been slaying monsters and culling the herd; inevitably, Wade laughed, shaking his head, "You definitely went to the extreme, yeah. Couldn't you meet in the middle? I think if you still were a human you'd be quite alright," the Archer suppressed a snicker, it was hard to think that someone from a notorious hunter family, one that had been intimately apart of the Eye, had chosen such deliberate fall form notoriety.

Bishop hadn't hesitated, the other Darkfriend presenting the weapon and hardly waiting a half breath before the shot rang out. It was instantaneous and perhaps the Archer could be thankful that Bishop hadn't chose some other method to execute the example. Wounds sewed shut, the bullet wound mended and healed before Bishop's very eyes; Wade had no idea how long it'd been from then and now, but he startled awake as though the Archer had merely taken a rough nap, "Sort of, in theory," grouchily retorted, Wade's hand came up to where a gaping bullet wound should be; his forehead unmarked. "I've got more than nine lives, right?"

"Hey, man; I'm a lover, not a fighter," words sweetened with the same ridiculous smirk that found itself so frequently etched in his features. Once upon a time, Kayce had been warned about vampires. He'd even been attacked by one and left for dead, or something like that. One might have assumed that he'd be standoffish around them, scared or angry or something of the sort. Kayce, however, seemed to be having the time of his life. "Isn't it the same for your kind and vamps? Or lycans? Or anything else for that matter?"

"So, you've gone soft," it was easy to tease his friend considering this whole tough and steely image Kayce normally had which often betrayed his kinder demeanor. It was the whole shtick of being riddled with tattoos but being irreverently kind, Wade shrugging, "I dunno, I swear once that I was told it's a whole biology thing between vamps and lycans; you should know." Considering they were now surrounded by vamps at some all out Christmas rager; one would think Wade would have paid attention to all the gritty details Sanem once bestowed upon him.

"Oh right, yeah, sorry. Daddy Warbucks came for fuckin' orphan Grayson, and I'm a goddamn millionaire. Use your head, Wade." Grayson's bitch face had been perfected, as all little brother's had, "I remember enough." It had haunted him for months, magic that had reacted to his fear, being pulled away from the only family he had left – "Yeah, okay. Fuck you, dude. If you're gonna apologize, be sincere, or shove it up your ass." Grayson moved closer to Wade, searching his features, "You gonna tell me what you've been doing instead and why you're here?"

"Sorry, all my brain cells were left behind in the mines," he could still wallop that elder brother sarcasm when Wade felt like it; even though Grayson had just pleaded for the Archer to be serious on the matter. Siblings were inherently annoying that way, something they both seemed to be proficient in, "I came here to join the Eye, but it turns out they're just a bunch of pussies, too," vulgar but the confession fell from Wade's lips with an ireful flair, "All this tech they promised they had on demons? Meaningless now; so really, I came all the way out here for nothing." A half-lie considering how he'd died and come back under the contract of the Brotherhood, but, baby steps.