Tame (Anyone!)

[Carhilwen]

(Anyone can feel free to repllllly~ Matiz needs some friends!)

Matiz looked hesitantly towards the shut door, his fingers slipping around the key on one of his usual dark jeans' pocket. The metal, while cool, felt barely solid in his grasp until he realized that he'd need it to get into his apartment. With a slight fine-tuning of his focus, the Shadow felt the cold now, from the hard key that was pressed firmly into the palm of his hand. He hated what he had been reduced to; having to think about the stuff he wanted to feel for it to happen. He looked over his shoulder again, back towards the other doors of the apartment's floor. The brunet was curious as to who lived there, and above and below his apartment, but he was far too shy to actually do anything about it.

With a shake of his dark haired head, Matiz fished the key out, and slid the end of it into the keyhole. His bright, and now glowing with his anxiety, eyes moved over the neatly printed numbers on the door. My door... He smiled, a sense of ownership in such a turbulent life was more then welcomed. As his mind strayed over what he had become, his hand slipped into the cool metal, and disappeared out the other side.

"Oi!" Matiz cried out, sliding forward until his forehead connected against the door with a solid thunk. He could feel his fingers wriggling on the other side of the door, the key buried somewhere in his elbow. While uncomfortable, it wasn't painful since the Shadow was more then used to this sort of thing. He took a deep breath and relaxed, trying to ignore the door so the material being would release him.

After a couple moments he drew back, slightly red in the face, and his hair flattened on the side where he had been pressed against the wood. "Stupid..." He frowned, grabbing the small box of his possessions (Simply a couple changes of clothes, a pair of boots and his wallet) and finally opened the door. The air that rushed out to greet him was stale, but not unpleasant, with a slight hint of lemon scented cleaner. 'At least it smells clean...' He thought with a smile, and stepped inside.

At the sudden dimness, his eyes flared a bright blue, and his felt his body tremble. He hurriedly flicked on the light switch behind him next to the door, a pale, wavering light filling the room. "Whew."

[Netreemic]

Absalon strolled the sidewalk, hands stuffed in his pockets while happily whistling. Flecks of snow steamed where they struck his skin, his breath puffing out in smoky clouds. At each window he paused to look into the well-lit environments. He shuddered. Gah, some happy sappy old folks surrounded contently purring cats. No thanks. Striding onward he hoped over the cracks in the sidewalk, changing his whistle to some morbid children’s song.

He passed a little Chinese place, quickly side stepping some dragon chick. She blew a cloud of smoke in his face and he glowered in turn. Fusty dragons…they never gave up ANYTHING. Speeding past he switched his attention to an empty pop can, bemusedly kicking down the sidewalk. He paused and turned to look at the nearest building feeling pretty sure he had been there recently. Oh yes, he had...all those tasty vibes. He'd stopped by to get something. He peered into the first floor window, stuffing his nails into the window cracks attempting to pry it open. Pursing his lips in failure he backed up to reconsider the options. He circled the building and studied the handholds. He squinted up at the second story, one of the windows was cracked a smidgen. A catty smile graced his face and he readied himself for his catty climb. Thank goodness for decorative bricking.

Yanking his shoes off, he tied them together and flopped them over his shoulder. Flexing his toes and fingers he scrambled up the wall, arguably a short climb but nonetheless taxing. Bracing his chin on the window ledge and his toes stuffed into tiny brick cracks, he wiggled his fingers under the slight opening. Tensing his whole body his raised his arms over his head, forcing the window up. He scrambled in and rolled when he hit the floor. He stayed flopped on the floor, pleased with his efforts. Under the haze of lemony freshness and exerted energy he stretched out and dozed off. In his snoozing he thought he heard something, but paid it no attention. The light snapping on, however, was a bit harder to ignore.

He sat up slowly, short hair sticking in all directions to regard the electronic item oozing the pallid light. Then the “whew” caught his attention. Eyebrows crawling up, he stared in surprise at the intruder. Wait…the other guy had the key, that would make Absalon the intruder. Laughing lightly, he waved at the pale youth. “Uh…hello. The window was open, otherwise, certainly, I would have knocked.” He threw on his friendliest smile, vaguely hoping he wasn’t about to be pulverized by whatever creature was standing in the doorway.

[Carhilwen]

Matiz, far too concerned with the fact that he was afraid to touch the door again, hadn't noticed the window open, nor the man who had came in through it. Only at his voice did the Shadow notice, and with that, he dropped the box with a squeal. "Oh! Uhhhhm.... Hello?" He nervously licked his dry lips, and offered a thin, wavering smile at the other man. "I wouldn't trust that door if I were you..." He warned quietly, shooting said door a glare over one of his thin shoulders before looking back to the taller man. "So you live here then? Well, not here, but in these apartments?"

The light flickered, and in the few seconds of darkness save for a strip of light from the hallway, and Matiz knew his eyes were glowing again. As his shape wavered, the box slipped through his now semi-transparent hands, and onto the floor with a bang. "Oh, would you mind," He smiled, and gestured towards the wall near the window, "Flicking on that light? I really need to get brighter bulbs..."

As a Shadow, he needed light to keep his solid form, whereas in darkness and shadow, he reverted back towards his true form, a simplistic body of dark matter, and a set of glowing eyes. In that form, he cannot touch or handle anything, for he'd slip right through it. He would never go through the floor mind you, because in the transparent form, a Shadow would actually levitate.

[Netreemic]

Absalon nodded sagely along with the youth’s opinion regarding doors. They were certainly disastrous inventions, always catching the stray finger. Tapping his foot against the floor he continued to stare at …well…perhaps “misty man” would be accurate description. He was all…weird and fade-y. Looking down at his tapping foot a passing thought struck him. “Ah,” stomping his foot down harder, “Right down there. I’m locked out though. Possibly.”

Glaring up at the flickering lights, he let out a light grumble, eyes then snapping wide as the box thudded into the floor. He squinted intently at the young man. “Hey,” he murmured in return, a frown furrowing his brow, “tell you what, I’ll do the next best thing~ CLAP ON!” A smile burst across his face and he slapped his hands together. Little globes of Hellfire sparked into life, flooding ruddy light throughout the apartment. Eyes gleaming merrily, he considered his work. “Normally, I’d say that was a useless expenditure of energy…but you are looking a little…thin…over there.” and we can’t have any of the intriguing qualities of this place drying up too fast~ A thin smile stretched his lips.

He ambled towards the young man and leaned down to heft up the box…heft up a very light box. All politeness aside he peaked into the box, vaguely curious for the reason of its lightness. “Smart packer hmmm?” He held the box out, turning his gaze to the man’s arms, and just how much substance they might have regained. Not quite the features of a spirit, the light sensitivity threw a wrench in that. He removed one hand from the box and snapped, two tiny Hellfire orbs appearing in front of his eyes, in imitation of the other’s glowing set. “You are not some sort of,” he paused dramatically, ‘eyes’ blazing, “Sun-Sucker are you~?” He threw the joke out there with a crooked smile plastered to his face, mental cogs whirring high speed. If he was correct and this boy was like the one in his notes…He rearrange his hold on the box, keeping his fingers further from the youth. The glowing Hellfire eyes guttered out, leaving his face shadowed.

“Oh…and I’m ma ah...” He hesitated for a second, head tilted a fraction in consideration. He closed his eyes, concentrating on clearing some mental space. “Absalon.” His eyes flicked open, faintly glazed over.

"And...ah...do you want me to leave?"

[Carhilwen]

"Thin's one way to put it, I guess." Matiz laughed quietly, and he offered the other a grateful smile when he picked up the box, but pursed his lips at the question towards his species. "Sun Sucker? No, uhm... I don't like, use light for energy." At the sudden flares of light, Matiz felt his body turn solid, and his feet touch the floor once more. It was nice to know that he would never sink down through a floor, since he had trained himself to always know it was there. Unlike other things, especially new things like that door... He accepted the box gratefully, focusing on the grain of the cheap cardboard so he wouldn't end up stuck wrist-deep in it. It wasn't that he chose to pack so few things, for in truth, it was all he had since his death.

Matiz noticed that Absaion was looking over him and... Thinking? Judging even? Not like the brunet cared, but he did have a small flicker of hope that he and the Demon of sorts could become friends. It was rare for a Shadow to even live in an apartment building where others resided as well, but since Matiz was still new to the whole species, he felt like he needed to be close to others, and still keep up the now useless acts of breathing, bathing and eating and such. With a toss of his head to get his black and bright blue bangs out of his face, he smiled again, "I'm Matiz, and I think I'm called a Shadow? Or something like that, I'm kinda still really new..." He chuckled, embarrassed that he wasn't even sure what he was. The sentiments were obvious by the tinge of pink that made itself known across his cheeks, but Matiz smiled again, "You don't have to go!" He blinked, and laughed, moving one hand deftly though his short, inky locks of hair, "If you want to, that is."

[Netreemic]

“Matiz.” Absalon formed his mouth around the new word, testing it out. Chanting the name in his mind, he cemented it (for the time being) along with the face, intriguing hair and “new” Shadow. He squinted against a momentary headache and watched the pink dash across the other’s face. The demon blinked. Shaking off his thoughts, his ears perked when the oth…Matiz…when Matiz welcomed him to stay. Sort of.

“Well, thank you. I’d hate to climb back out the window so soon. It is harder to go down a wall…though,” he paused and walked back to the window. Ducking the windowpane, he leaned far out the window and considered the ground. “It’s only the second story. Probably could jump it and be fine. I could have sworn this was fifth floor. And that is one strange looking city.” He pulled his upper body back into the room, scratching his jaw in confusion. His hand jerked to his back pocket. Just what had he forgotten to remember the boy’s name?!? His heart ratcheted when his fingers didn’t rub up against the usual metal binding of his notebook. He rubbed his clammy hands against his jeans and slowly turned back towards Matiz.

“Uuuuuuuuuuh…” Absalon coughed delicately. “Did I happen to mention where I lived?” He pushed his hand against his forehead, quelling the blood rush. Blasted tactical logistics. Must have lost his emergency schematics of…well, wherever he was. Raheem had laughed at him the last time that happened. Lips pulling from his teeth, he snarled and forced that emergent memory back where it belonged. Taking a steadying breath he tried to ignore the pressure and energy thrumming through the building, intent on not tipping any more internal balances until he found his journals again. He had not survived the centuries to hit a hiccup now. He’d be saved before he lost his simplest tools for weaseling out of the rules. Slipping his hands into his pockets he attempted a façade of calm as he waited for, hopefully, Matiz’s positive reply.

[Carhilwen]

Matiz blinked, looking at Absalon's back as the demon leaned out the window. He blinked a couple times, his irises fading back to the usual, but still inhumanely bright, blue color, and his mouth formed a soft "o". "Yeah! Down stairs, I guess on the first floor? You said it was right under this apartment." He, in an effort to be and seem helpful, imitated Absalon's earlier action by tapping one foot on the floor before looking back to the other. "Did you loose something?" Matiz questioned softly, tentative on whether or not the other brunet would be willing to put up with the Shadow's oddness. "Sometimes when I loose things I stop thinking about it. I mean..." His lips pursed as he racked his mind for an example, "I loose spare change in my legs sometimes."

Shrugging, the brunet went to set the box down on the table, only to realize that he had indeed let his mind wander, and now his hands were gone, stuck in the box of his clothes. "Shoot!" He frowned, wiggling his fingers about in his clothes. He shot a glance towards the Demon, and let out a pathetic, sad chuckle. "Uhm, Absalon?" The Shadow let out a soft sigh, and awkwardly let the box rest on the table that had come along in the kitchen of the already furnished apartment. "Would you mind distracting me?"

[Netreemic]

Twitching anxiously, Absalon was intent on rushing down some stairs the second Matiz moved out of the doorway. Or maybe he’d just jump out the window. Muscles tensed, mind elsewhere, all Matiz’s comments went over his head. And besides, he never lost anything. Good thing he missed that attack on his pride. Wasn’t his fault that he was designed with his left and right brain basically battling to the death. He never intentionally forgot, he just traded one memory for another. Logical for the emotional.

He paused in his surreptitious edging towards the door when Matiz called out his name. Part of him screamed in annoyance. Hanging around here wasn’t going to solve anything. He just wanted to get his journals, dammit. However, his emotions, his human attachment was on the rise. It was like his heart was being squeezed by that quiet sigh. Besides, he argued, already went to the bother of remembering his name…waste of previous energy if I leave now. His eyes shot back to the door, lip caught between his teeth.

“A distraction~?” His muscles in his left leg twinged, limp becoming more predominant as he stalked over to the smaller man. Planting his fists on the table he leaned across towards Matiz, eyes still smoldering from his internal argument. “Let’s try this shall we?” A toothy grin dashed onto his face as he lunged around the table, throwing Matiz, box and all, up and around his shoulders, easily positioning the light youth into piggyback situation. Within seconds he was dashing the two of them out the door, rebounding off a few walls before hurtling down the stairs. Two birds with one stone~ Leaping most of the stairs, right leg taking the weight out of years of practice, Absalon spun onto the first floor, bare feet skidding along the carpet. He looked over his shoulder, laughing uproariously, “Are you distracted yet~? Or do I need to use more drastic measures?” He quipped, eyebrows waggling.

[Carhilwen]

Matiz looked up as Absalon strode towards him, leaned across the table and grinned. The Shadow blinked, bright eyes wide, before he was grabbed and tossed, carefully, onto the other man's back. Even at this, his mind jumped away from the thought of the bow which made it go crashing to the ground, and he hooked his arms tightly around the brunet's neck. A squeal tore out of his throat as the other man bounded out the door, and down over the stairs with limping strides. His form was wavering, but he forced his eyes open to remind himself that he was on someone's back, and that he couldn't simply disappear into the demon. As the stairs lept past his peripheral vision, his thaoat far to tightened to let anymore noises out. Instead, dark wings tore out of his back, the shapes slightly see-through and shaped like ragged bat wings. They tried to flare out to slow down the duo, but the air simply moved through them as they buoyed coldly again the Shadow's back.

They jostled again a couple walls, Matiz felt his stomach lurch, and his wings strengthen and solidify slightly. As they turned onto the first floor, he finally felt his lungs inflate with unneeded, but still welcomed air. His cheeks were flushed with fright and exhilaration from the trip, and he refused to let his arms relax around Absalon. "N-No..." He exhaled softly, the wings settling against his back after a slight flicker. "I uhm, had dropped the box when you grabbed me, actually-y." He managed a weak laugh in response to the demon's loud one, and offered him a nervous smile. "Thank you t-tho!"

[Netreemic]

He quieted his laughter seeing some people down the hall, not wanting to get kicked out now that he had met Matiz. Flicking his gaze to the shadowy wings fluttering back into place on the light boy, his eyes crinkled in enjoyment. Slogging through the masses of mortals was always a dull ordeal, especially with their low tolerance for differences, but ever so often something good worked its way out of the mud pile.

“Sorry for the mad dash…” He freed a hand and spun his finger next to his ear, “It’s how I roll~…sometimes.” Shrugging, jostling his passenger lightly, he flexed his free hand and smashed it into 1-1’s door. Smiling as it let out a screeching groan and shuddered open, he tapped it further open with his bare toes. “Kinda remembered I really need to be feeding Shanti anyways…hope you don’t mind.” Lights flickered to life as he crossed the threshold, splaying a golden glow against what could only be described as extreme eclectic. Wooden masks and frayed tapestries mixed with movie posters on the walls, floor inches deep with thick, overlapping rugs, apartment provided furniture replaced by dumpster dive equivalents, a pile of puzzle boxes and a go board, and foggy jars that exuded the light scattered amongst it all. And on a carved wooden tree, sporting sparkly bangles and a variety of mats, a green iguana quirked her head at the two.

Hefting his Matiz load more comfortably the demon crooned as he meandered through the jumble until he reached the basking reptile. Counting on the other’s tight grip to keep him in place Absalon reached out both his hands and deftly removed the iguana’s clawed grip on the tree limbs. Tucking his hand carefully under her chest and near her tail he tilted her so they were face to face. “Shanti, meet Matiz. He’s the very nice Shadow living upstairs. Matiz, Shanti. She's my lee-zhaard." Hoping the slight man wouldn’t mind close quarters with his green buddy, he tucked Shanti against his chest. She peeked over his shoulder, making geayuuuu noises at the Shadow while Absalon dug through the fridge, fishing out a packet of snow peas and grapes. He glanced sideways, saw his bag draped across the back of a kitchen chair and let out a relieved sigh at the notebooks poking out. The demon waved the zip-lock bags at Matiz. “Can I interest you in anything~?” He gestured at the still open fridge. “I am mostly certain I have more than just lizard food.”

[Carhilwen]

Matiz, still clinging very koala-like to the others back, shifted his grip to a more comfortable hug around his shoulders. He hoped that it wouldn't throw Absalon off balance, and it didn't seem to as the demon picked his way over the collection of stuff, the Shadow would never call anything junk, to an iguana who was perched on a wooden carving of sorts. His eyes widened at the reptile - He had never been in close quarters with any living animal in a long time, and specifically he had never met an iguana! He pursed his lips slightly and cooed softly at the lizard, pulling himself up a bit higher on the other's back to wiggle a finger towards Shanti. He smiled, the nervousness edging away from the expression, and genuine curiosity took its place as he looped his free arm around Absalon's shoulders.

"She's so cool!" He pooked his lips towards the lizard once more, before the rest of the apartment grabbed his attention. The light that flooded the apartment was bright, and very assuring that the Shadow wouldn't find himself halfway through Absalon anytime soon. The ornaments, mats, and the sheer amount of stuff that cluttered the room. Jars gleamed with curious lights, shining bangles dangled from all sorts of perches. Thick and thin mats and rugs layered over each other, and hung off of a lot of the pieces of furniture, while masks glowered fiercely from their places in boxes and on the walls. Matiz couldn't keep the look of child-like wonder off of his face as he gazed around the demon's apartment, his wigs finally disappearing in a whisper of shadows. "This place is SO cool! He stage-whispered, tho a normal one would of done the job since he was still on the other's back. Th mention of food made his heart sink slightly - He didn't need food as a Shadow, and when he did eat, it made him feel odd. Not unpleasant of course, but a bit off in how he moved and such. "No thank you, I ate earlier. While he wasn't sure if Absalon would see it or not, Matiz smiled in return to the offer.

[Netreemic]

[sorry, lots of 'lon inner thought-age ''<_<]

Absalon rubbed a couple dark fingers down Shanti’s spine as she gobbled the grapes held in his other. Cool…I guess she is. Though not cool enough not to end up in a storm drain I found her in. He quietly smiled at Matiz’s childish exuberance. Must be nice to be new, the world not yet able to make too many lasting scars. His finger rose as it drew over the mars on the iguana’s tail where she’d grown it back multiple times. He could feel only twelve claws digging into his own scars through the light t-shirt. Those same twelve claws that snagged his pant leg when he’d been wandering the sewers following a rather intriguing scent. Well, there had been a lot of intriguing scents down there but Shanti turned out to be what he’d been drawn to. Swallowing the last grape, the iguana tightened her grip, tail wrapping around Absalon’s side to thump into Matiz. He’d obviously been out of the room too long to elicit such a worried reaction from the lizard. His eyelids fluttered, drawing out her fear of abandonment with each stroke of his fingers, causing her claws to slowly release his shirt.

“Wonderful, it would be moderately awkward as I stared at you while you eat.” He bugged out his eyes in example his he looked over his shoulder. “’cause I just ate too~.” oh what a witty beast you are. Silently laughing at his own bad puns, he braced Shanti’s tail as she attempted to climb over his shoulder to get closer to Matiz. Liveliness restored by the snack she cocked her head sideways, considering the shadow with a single eye, tongue flicking in interest. “Play nice,” he murmured quietly.

He glanced around the room as well. His eyes passed over certain items without interest. They were black and white images in a Technicolor world, all their previous energy sapped. “I need to rotate some of the stuff out, so if you need anything feel free to adopt.” His previous wanderings through the city had turned up a great deal of homeless objects, and possibilities for more, each humming with their own stored memories. Beloved objects thrown by the wayside were always perfectly fine holdovers for Absalon, especially if he found enough of them. He’d really been looking for some homeless people to hang out with, or some rich lady suffering from childhood abandonment issues, but, alas, neither was to be found. The lack of homeless people had floored him. He’d gone under every bridge, dug in most of the garbage cans, and hung out on staircases expectantly. Though, he hadn’t seen the entire city yet, maybe they were hiding in a shelter on the opposite side of the city. No matter. The simmering energy in the complex was increasing; no doubt more morsels were turning up within easy sponging distance. Too bad the roof is so far from first floor, something good is up there. He mentally slapped himself, something good was attached to his back. Talk to the little one before you scare another one off.

“So…ah.” He stuttered back to a halt. Well, he was trying to talk to someone attached to his back, for goodness sakes. And Shanti was better at the “interacting in a way the other isn’t convinced you were insane” deal. Would it be normal to ask someone on your back what they liked to do? Other than remaining clung? Clunged? Clinged? He jerked his mind back on track. He threaded his fingers through the tassels hanging from the blanket thrown over the nearest chair. Besides, those types of questions usually meant a response would be required from him as well. What could he possibly respond with? Don’t worry, I’ll probably erase my own mind and wander off before you get to know the real me~ not that you would really want to…I don’t even know half the time. He clenched his jaw, hating how stupidly emotional he got whenever he spent too much time around a specific being. Not that he blamed Matiz. It was beyond wonderful to have someone staying so…well, close. It was just that primordial coding from his creation, fashioned with the intention of keeping him from raising a dear mortal to godliness and conquering the world. No, instead he would become so much in sway of emotions that’d he’d fear every moment they would abandon him, and respond by either blasting them off the face of the earth in a fit of despair or removing them from his memory first. He had pages filled with equations (and a few detailed examples) designed to understand the time period of his emotional decay, but it always changed with the being he was around. Sure, it usually took years...and it wasn't like he'd go nutters today, but should he even have bothered intruding his presence on Matiz?

Twitching with increased nerves he couldn’t formulate anything to ask or talk about as static swallowed his thoughts and instead continued to fiddle with the colorful blanket.