Empty Books. [Open]

[Alexiel BookMan]

It was one of those days, those horrid, quiet days where there really was no one to interact with what so ever. The librarian had called in sick, and because it was a week day, a lot of people avoiding places like the library, too bust with their own lives to care for reading about other people's lives. Alexiel hated days like this, and he hated very little indeed; but days like this meant he couldn't eat, but he dare not leave the library in case someone needed his help. After all, he was now the librarian for the day, and he took this role surprisingly seriously, he had even put a shirt on to make himself look respectable. He felt his stomach rumble, and there was something in him telling him he really needed a cigarette; this was a really horrid mix of things to have. Would he be allowed to smoke indoors? He had done it several times before but he was always told off for it after a few minutes of having smoke reach the alarms.

Alexiel rested his face on his hands, elbows resting heavily on the desk below him. He had been staring at the computer screen for hours and yet he still had no idea what it was telling him; infernal machine. He had been trying to use it for years, but he still had no clue what it was for, or why it was even here! He knew every book in this library, and where they were, so why bother having a thing... he guessed it was in case he was out of the building. With a heavy heart he sighed, looking away from the computer now and ruffling in his pockets for a packet before setting a single and very bent looking cigarette in his mouth. Hopefully it would take his mind off his hunger for a little while, at least until someone came in that he may be able to harass.

[Reikas Esterion]

Reikas couldn't believe he'd already lost his new library card. He'd just gotten a new one barely weeks ago! But no matter how much he tore up his room, it was nowhere to be found. Maybe a maid had picked it up and thrown it away. He really needed a wallet for these things.

Ah well. Time to get another. Not like he had much else to do today. Irina was out shopping all day and he and Belial really needed some breathing room apart. She was starting to get suspicious, anyway. So it was off to the library he went.

He wondered if anyone interesting would be there today. He could go for some conversation. Last time he'd dropped by, when he first got a new card, he'd met his first angel and helped him learn to read. That had been interesting. Hadn't seen much of the man since and he'd already forgotten his name, but sometimes casual encounters were just what the doctor ordered.

He did not expect the sight that greeted him when he walked through the doors though. He might not have paid the librarian on duty much attention if he was just going for some books, but a new card required he fill out some forms obtainable only from the front desk.

The first thing that hit him were the eyes. Belial's eyes. Other creatures had eyes like that? Don't tell me there's another mara around here...Next came the skin, pale as Belial's, and the cigarette. Smoking in a library? Had he no respect for the books? He must be new, Reikas had obviously never seen him before. But still, another mara.

As he walked up to the desk, he decided he didn't really care about the fag. He trusted this man's employers to have taken that into account and decided to give the man a go anyway. If he lit the place on fire Reikas was fairly sure he knew the nearest exits. He'd keep an eye out for them, at least.

"Excuse me," he said quietly with a friendly smile from halfway to the desk. There was no one else bothering the man, so he didn't feel particularly obliged to wait until he had crossed the entire length. He'd be there by the time he finished speaking anyway. "Hi, I lost my library card, I was hoping to get another? I just got one maybe two or three weeks ago, I'm probably still in the...the thing." Stopping in front of the desk, he loosely indicated the computer with a hand wave. He had no trouble approaching and talking to this man at this point. Sure he looked a bit nightmarish, but Reikas made love to a nightmare. He knew how very real they were capable of being.

[Alexiel BookMan]

Alexiel wasn't very good with shocks to his system, and someone coming out of the blue had startled him, enough to imminently place his cigarette down in the ash tray not too far away from him and he must have looked like a guilty child. He couldn't help but stare at Reikas for a second, not because of the way he acted, but the man was feeling both curious and friendly, a mixture of things he wasn't used to sensing at such a short introduction. "Oh! Uh..." the mara looked from Reikas to the computer in front of him and gulped. He knew this, he had been taught this and with a few strange movements of his twitching fingers he tried to open the right application; grinning like an idiot when he finally seemed to manage it. "Yup! Okay! Um, I'll need your name and your address... I think..." He muttered, still fiddling with the computer keyboard slightly as if it were a little to foreign to him. It was strange, the demon didn't appear shocked by him at all, and this pleased the mara all too much and he could barely contain his excitement of having a normal conversation.

"My name's Alexiel by the way." He also added. It wasn't that Alex liked the sound of his own voice, it was just he had gone most of the day without any human contact, and speech excited him, and conversations were only started by talking a lot (or so his experience had been). He reached under his desk and as he felt around a bit, he realised the papers had been moved and for just a split second his smile was gone. How was he meant to do his job if people kept moving things?! He got off the chair and walked over to some of the shelves, his clumsy wings knocking a pencil or two off the desk accidentally but he didn't seem to mind, as if he barely felt it. "Ah! There you are, silly forms!" His voice was childish, and turning back around to face Reikas he held out the papers, hoping that if the demon took them, there might be a small chance of skin contact, which would mean the tiniest of meals, but a meal never the less.

[Reikas Esterion]

Reikas found himself grinning back at this man as he seemed to take joy in just getting the computer to run. Very new, wasn't he? Maybe today was his first day alone on the job. Cute.

"Reikas," he replied as the man introduced himself. He leaned his elbows on the desk in a friendly manner, crossing his arms close to his body. "Reikas Esterion." He gave his address next, but Alexiel was already off looking for something else. My, he was a happy sort. His joy disappeared briefly as the man struggled to find what he was looking for, but it came right back as he procured the necessary forms for a new card. What a fine surprise. Reikas had just been feeling a bit famished, too. Not anymore.

He chuckled as Alexiel spoke directly to the forms and took them with a thank you. He touched only the papers though as he brought them to the desk in front of him, too distracted by how entertaining the man was and how good of a mood he was putting Reikas into to consider the effect of skin contact.

He looked around the desk for a pen. "So, I was here a few weeks ago, but I didn't see you. Are you new?" he asked conversationally, finally spotting one and reaching for it.

[Alexiel BookMan]

Alex was a little sad that he didn't get any sort of skin contact from the other man yet, but it only made him more determined to do so. He wasn't going to let a little thing like this put him off his current 'winning streak'; not with getting the computer to work and having a normal conversation with someone. The name had a nice name though, and very slowly and carefully the mara typed it out onto the computer keyboard and stared at the screen for a few moments. Alex was far too pleased with the machine right now though. He had accidentally spelled 'Esterion' wrong, but the darnedest thing, the computer corrected it for him. That was certainly nice of it. "Got you!" He whispered in a rather pleased tone. "Found you on this thing so..." He trailed off, looking around for the pencils he had just knocked off the desk. He almost jumped cat like onto the floor behind the desk and began searching, but with little luck.

"Um... I know there... ah!" He pulled the pen out from under the desk with some effort and stood, almost smacking his head but just barely clearing it. This would be when he would strike... wait. He noticed that Reikas had already found a pen and began to fill in the pages and once again the mara felt a little well of defeat in his stomach. This meal would appear to want to be tricky - but challenges were always rather fun. "I'm not that new... Lived here a few years actually, but I keep to myself mostly. People are normally too scared to approach me so I just wonder around the town on quiet days." Alex wondered if Reikas came to the library a lot, if so, it was strange he hadn't seen him; Alex had always run around like a headless chicken so it was VERY possible he was out stalking the streets for people to watch or just reading upstairs in his little flat dreaming about love. He gave a small sigh and when he finally snapped out of his thoughts he shivered.

[Reikas Esterion]

Reikas kept half an eye on Alexiel as he filled out the forms fairly neatly, still smiling. He looked almost rather coy about it with the way he kept glancing up and looking back down again. He grinned to himself as he felt Alexiel's roller coaster of happiness twist and wind its way through him.

"I actually meant if you'd been working here recently. Here, in the library," he said gently, indicating the desk with the pen, not realizing that where Alexiel worked and where he lived were one in the same. "I actually know someone like you, who looks a lot like you." He was almost finished with the form by now. He chuckled quietly to himself. Oh, did he know Belial.

This was pleasant. This was really pleasant and he was thrilled that he'd stumbled upon this gem of a man, even if only for this brief encounter. He wondered if the two knew each other...

[Alexiel BookMan]

Alex stared at Reikas for a second, but made sure not to make actual eye contact at any point, which must have made him look slightly nervous; but he kept his smile at all times. He tilted his head slightly, like a puppy. He thought he had answered that question but apparently it had slipped his mind that not every knew of the creepy young man living in the attic of the library yet. "I live upstairs... The old librarian found me all crumpled on the steps and took me in. Raised me, taught me how to talk, read and write. I helped him out for a bit, and when he died I half took over." He was now talking rather casually, not as polite as he had done before and sounded really rather English (The old librarian being English had sort of rubbed off on him). He did love living here, and now that Reikas knew, perhaps he would consider coming to the library more often, but the mara tried to keep that assumption from his mind; this man hadn't agreed to being his friend yet.

"Someone who looks like me?" Alexiel looked utterly stumped. He had no relatives, but he had read of a thing called 'doppelgangers'; not once did it enter his mind that maybe Reikas was talking about another mara, mostly because he had never even imagined there could be another like him. "You mean... wings? I heard there were a few angels around..." He muttered, a confused look spreading more across his face. His new friend Nate had told him of some angels he knew... so there must be things that he was meant to be. "But I don't really look angelic..." He seemed to be a bit lost for words, but this didn't mean he didn't want more information; and he looked at Reikas now dead in the eye, not caring about how much he most likely needed to finishing making him a library card.

[Reikas Esterion]

Reikas listened to Alexiel's brief life story with interest, inadvertently comparing it to Belial's. Fascinating. One was dumped onto a battlefield, the other into the attic of a library. His previous answer suddenly made sense about living here for a few years. He hadn't heard a word, interesting. The old librarian died though? That was sad, Reikas sort of almost vaguely remembered him.

"I don't mean angels, although I've met one of those. I mean not just wings, but eyes, pale skin...Everything. Correct me if I'm wrong, but you're a mara, right?" Reikas asked, pushing the now-finished forms across the desk at Alexiel. "I have a friend named Belial who has those same features. Even smokes, too. Funny how you both live in the same city now." Were mara really so rare that Alexiel's first instinct was to ask if Reikas meant angels rather than others of his kind? Well, they must be rare...They're mistakes of God, if Belial's to be really believed, he thought to himself. How many mistakes does the big guy make?

[Alexiel BookMan]

Alexiel looked like he might have collapsed from pure shock at what this man had just said. The word 'mara' really seemed to have made the boy freeze, deadly still as if he had just seen his worst fear staring him in the face. But it was nothing like that, he had just never expected it. "M-mara... yes. How... There's another like me?!" It seemed all this christmas had come at once for the young man and he leaned over the desk towards Reikas and took his hands in his own, holding them tightly as if he might try and run away from him with all this information still untold. He didn't care about the forms right now, he'd deal with that when the appropriate time came; even if the demon wanted to get away from the library quickly to get on with his normal life the mara was not going to let him. "He's addicted to things then?! Does he crave touch too?!" Alex wasn't even aware that he could be feeding off Reikas right now, all he wanted to feed off was knowledge and he had so many questions.

The most important things to him right now was that he wasn't alone. He didn't have a thought in his mind that this new mara might be rather a lot older, and a lot less happy about life than he was. Right now he was just picturing a slightly older version of himself, maybe like a father figure who loved books as much as he did. Oh joy be the day, this was the purest happiness he had felt since he thought he might be able to fall in love. "Mr. Reikas please... I never dreamed there might be another mara. Please tell me everything!" He begged, still holding onto the demon's hands softly but firmly, and his hands were as cold as Belial's always were; it seemed bad circulation was something they had in common too. But was it a good thing to learn about Belial? Alexiel hadn't considered the consequences of learning about someone who had described himself as: "giving up on love" which was really the only thing the little mara lived for.

[Reikas Esterion]

Oh hell. Apparently all maras were as clingy as Belial. Reikas tucked this information away in a safe place and tried not to think about how he might add another ff*ck buddy to his alarming list. This was a library, for God's sake!

It was actually fairly easy to do. He just nodded at each question, his head swimming with the joy and excitement pouring from Alexiel. The man's hands were as cold as Belial's, too. He actually bit a corner of his lower lip to stop himself from grinning as goofily as he felt like doing.

"Well I can't tell you everything, he's got his secrets too, but yeah, there's another one of you around, and he's everything you think he is." He was having a real difficulty fighting back the urge to mimic this man's childish glee. Acting mature in the face of such careless friendliness might just be testament to how used to dealing with people from all walks of life he was as a social slave.

"He likes being touched too, and he's a pretty heavy addict as well, but don't say that to his face, he won't be happy about it. He smokes, he feeds on people's fear. Do you go around scaring people as well?" he asked. How had he gone from getting a new library card to talking about his unofficial lover? "I wonder if you all think you're alone. Wonder how many of you there are."

They were quite different though. Belial was much quieter and much more shy and reserved than Alexiel. And yet Reikas found himself holding the mara's hands back, his palms up and fingers curled around the creature's cold digits to warm them. He was cute in that earnest sort of way, and of course Reikas had already taken a strong liking to him and his absolutely shameless friendliness.

[Alexiel BookMan]

Alexiel looked more pleased than he could express and with a strange sort of sigh his let his body relax, happiness flooding all over him as if it were sunlight. He was so glad that the other man was like him (well Reikas had said he was so that's what he'd go on) and he felt an uncertain twinge of pure delight. This man had really made his day, and it was only going to get better; though what was this about going around and scaring people? A small hint of sadness and uncertainty plagued it's way across him and his grip tightened a little on the man's hands, realising he could feed while they talked. "I-I don't mean to frighten people..." He confessed, half ashamed, "But it's hard when you look like this you know, people assume you evil or something. But I feed off whatever emotion... I'm not all that fussy."

Alexiel didn't even know someone could become addicted to emotion yet, he was still far too young to learn this kind of thing; and of course, not knowing any others of your kind, the only way to learn was to do. He knew certain emotions tasted horrid, and that some made him feel sick, but as of yet he didn't really have a preference. "Does this mean he scares people on purpose?!" the little mara suddenly looked a little shocked, and rather worried. He tried not to let his happiness drain but he could feel it seeping out a little and with a large breath he shook his head a little, so his hair covered some more of his eyes. All Reikas would have to do now was mention sex and Alex would literally be out of his knowledge zone on life, the universe and everything. This day was becoming a little confusing for the poor dear and he no longer knew just what to do with himself.

[Reikas Esterion]

((Reikas: Sexx. SEEEEEXXXXXXXX. *Wavy hand motions*))
((Alexiel: >: whot?))

Reikas actually closed his eyes and leaned forward noticeably on his elbows toward Alexiel, drinking in the purity of the ecstasy pouring from the mara. This...this was a feast. This was an unclouded, no-strings-attached, joy-for-the-sake-of-joy buffet, and Reikas could almost feel himself tipping dangerously around the point of overdrive. It must also be a trait of the maras to have naturally powerful and unrestricted natural emotions independent of those they also picked up from others. Oh, he could just lay his head down on that desk and sigh in unexpected content. And then it peaked and he came quite close indeed to making a very inappropriate noise in the middle of a public library.

But then, a cloud? He opened his eyes again as something tainted the purity of the moment and he felt the mara's grip tighten. He realized then that he was holding Alexiel's hands. When had that happened? He despaired inside as more and more of the mara's sweet bliss ebbed away, his mind racing to figure out where it was going even as he only half-paid attention to Alexiel's words.

The mara fell silent and Reikas realized he had been asked a question. The demon looked up at him and nodded. Was that the problem? Belial's lifestyle? Well, for "normal" folk, that kind of lifestyle probably would be a bit shocking. Reikas could see it.

"Among other things, yes," he said, trying to pretend he hadn't just been lost in the moment. "Fear is his best sort of food, from what I understand. I guess it works best with him. You don't have a preference?" He suddenly became aware that Alexiel was probably feeding from him right now. That must have been interesting, feeding on the emotions of a man thrilled about your own emotions. He wanted them back though, dammit! That had been heaven!

"Want me to tell him about you?" he suggested, half-hoping it might distract the mara back into excitement again. If Alexiel was anything like Belial, he might be easily swayed by things he wanted to hear or do. He was secretly thankful that the library was so sparsely populated today; the last thing he wanted anyone to see was him leaning across a desk and clasping the hands of a red-eyed male dread angel. As if he wasn't already gaining enough of a homosexual reputation for the lopsided gender ratio of his booty calls.

((And I think that phrase rank high in the Extensive List of Phrases I Never Thought I'd Use in a Role Play.))

[Alexiel BookMan]

((Alex: but in books they get married then kids appear out of no where!!!))
((Reikas: ... you poor child.))

Alexiel listened, like a religious man might do at church and he was becoming more and more interested in what Reikas seemed to say and do. He was surprised someone could be so enthralled by the taste of fear; it personally hurt him that men and women cowered at the sight of him, and he didn't understand at all. What a confusing day this was turning out to be... at least he wasn't hungry anymore though. "No preference... though I think I like positive emotions more... but that might just be because I get a little lonely here and I like the idea of friendship and love." And in this respect, he was very much like Belial, certain words, certain thoughts inside his head turned sadness into happiness and even the sound of the word 'love' seemed to cheer him up. What a simple man he must look like, pleased by so little and saddened by the same sort of thing; Alex made a note to try and calm down a little more.

"Tell him about me?" Alexiel questioned, almost forgetting for a minute who they were talking about. "Oh! Yes! You can do if you like!" Reikas had managed to bring back the pure joy again, though there was a little nerves mixed in with them, purely because Alexiel had never met a creature like himself before. Then something seemed to click and his mind spun with thrills and a smile bigger than before spread across his face. "He wont be shocked by my eyes!!!" Oh what joy, he'd actually be able to look someone in the eyes without feeling nervous or feeling like he might be scaring them. He looked Reikas dead in the eye and suddenly realised just how close he was to him and he looked a little shocked. When had he leaned in?

[Reikas Esterion]

Positive? A man after his own heart, Alexiel was. A happiness mara, that would be interesting. Reikas wasn't sure how to feel about that. On one hand, it was better than the alternative, but on the other, he hated feeling like anyone else was condemned to his same fate of pleasing others.

The concern drained away as Alexiel hit him with another wave of joy accompanying an exclamation. He swallowed hard and dropped his gaze to their hands to avoid any unexpected facial expressions. This one was tainted too though, like a barrel of water with a drop of clear oil on the surface. Just barely murky.

!!! His eyes snapped shut as the secondary wave hit him. His hands tensed and tightened in Alexiel's and he drew a deep breath, unable to suppress a shiver and hoping that Alexiel thought it was because the mara's hands were cold. Oh God yes...He inched forward a bit more. He hoped the mara couldn't feel his heart rate rising. That might be bad. But hell, Alexiel had no idea...He probably ought to tell the mara.

He smirked. "He won't be, I think he'll be very pleased to meet you. I think he thinks he's as alone as you are. It'll be nice to have a..." He opened his eyes just then and lifted his head and realized that his face was literally inches from Alexiel's.

He blinked. "...a friend," he finished awkwardly, staring into those hypnotic crimson orbs.

[Alexiel BookMan]

Alexiel didn't even think of moving, mostly because he had no sense of 'personal space' and partly because this man was far too interesting for his own good. He didn't even link the idea of being close to someone like this might encourage 'unwanted' behaviour, wow this man was as friendly as him. What was he doing exactly though? Apparently the mara was affecting him strangely but he honestly didn't know how, so he stayed just as he was, trying not to pay any attention to the raised heartrate. He felt a little strange looking someone in the eyes, but Reikas seemed to be hypnotized into looking at them, which had never really happened to him. "Then tell him!" Pure joy, nothing clouding it now, not even nerves, not even a slight hint of discomfort. It was not often he felt only one emotion, but right now nothing could have clouded him, not even a room full of misery.

Just what was this man staring at? Why was he so interested? Alexiel just couldn't work him out but right now he didn't mind, but what he began to mind was just how much they were talking about someone who wasn't even there; the mara wanted to know about the demon. "So Mr.Reikas tell me about yourself! No more mara talk~" He chuckled, still ever touching, one finger tracing around the other man's skin ever so gently that he himself didn't know he was doing it. He blinked and finally took his gaze away from Reikas, turning his head just slightly so their noses were not so close to each other now. It started to occur to the poor little mara that normally people got uncomfortable when they were this close to him, so he tried to keep that in mind.