Kieratandanu‌:

gabrielxnikephoros‌:

Gabriel had made his way around the store to stand by Silas finally, tilting his head a little bit more at the snark that exited his friend’s mouth. The other incubus was soft; a kinder spirit than Gabriel had ever met in his entire existence. And that existence was being reminded to him, again. “Oh, so he’s got jokes.” Gabriel huffed out a laugh, shoving Silas lightly, “Unbelievable. I offer you my friendship, my wisdom with all my age, and you just – throw it back at me. Forget it. I’m going to steal the tea recipes and then I’m going to blame you.”

“Alright, see you in about thirty minutes,” the fellow cubi kept the smirk firmly planted on his face as Gabriel attempted to psych him out. Silas wasn’t exactly sure if he really needed another with him in order to do the deed, but assumed another set of hands was probably necessary. Either that or another set of eyes. Regardless, he was involved now for better or worse. “Maybe you can support the bookstore across the street while you wait. I’m sure there is something you haven’t seen yet.”

So— he hadn’t seen her since the festival. Unusual given the fact that before that, Silas had spent much of his time wandering into the tea shop where she worked. Lately, however, he actively made the choice to go inside the doors of their competition and hadn’t fully pinned down exactly why. Maybe it was because it all felt too different, they had seen each other outside of a work setting and could no longer call Ophelia just an acquaintance. His mind drifting towards the curiosity of how she might be doing and if she had, at all, noticed his absence. Not exactly a thought that he wanted to be caught in, but their little game of chess was intriguing and Silas couldn’t ignore the allure of the rootless ground. That’s why he found himself inside again, sitting at an antique table that was probably older than he was now and nursing a lukewarm tea. “How are you settling in?” he asked, filling the air with something other than the lingering silence between them.

@opheliancano​

Several days had gone by with the curse lifted, but Silas was still showing hints of fatigue. Nightmares had dissipated into solid REM sleep, though the incubus’s body had yet to fully recover. He kept the shop closed for those days, placing a sign for anyone that came by that read “temporarily closed due to illness”, and stayed huddled up in his loft just above. Guilt swiftly crawled into the sheets as he slumbered. The scale had plagued him, changed his core moral compass to something the cubi had never expected nor fully realized. Not until Safiye had ripped it from his grasp to pulverize it, bits of jade and emerald dust fading into nothingness. When he woke, all Silas could think about was his fellow incubus and the way he had treated someone he considered a close friend. Lies and for what reason? An object and a false sense of doing a good deed? Hardly the path the Kyun was known to walk and it showed in the way Gabriel believed him.

The smell of books permeated his nose as the cubi slunk into the library, peeking around each corner in hopes to find the fellow cubi working his usual shift. A text was too impersonal for an apology, charcoal hues bouncing around the room until chocolate locks were seen and Silas made his way over. “Hey—” his usual warm grin and eyes that actually looked as though there was life behind them, “Got a break soon?”

@gabrielxnikephoros​

opheliancano​:

This is new ground Ophelia finds herself on. She knows more of cubi by reputation and what the furies taught her than personal history, and Silas is nothing like she had been expecting. Perhaps that is why she finds him so fascinating. Green eyes watch for him, from behind the counter of the tea shop, where he had been a frequent patron before the pride festival. Perhaps she’s scared him off? Regrettable, to be sure, though she suspects not many of his species would willingly choose to spend time around her; that had been another point of her curiosity, how he never seemed to be particularly afraid, or even worried in her presence. Ophelia has just about written him off as a willing participant to their game, much to her disappointment, when she finally spies him reenter AnxieTea — and the smile that graces her face is not false, for once. Their song and dance is not quite finished. Good. Once she is certain to not leave her coworker swamped with customers, she steps out to take her break, making a beeline for Silas. “Rather well, I think. So many interesting things to see, and people to meet. I don’t think I’ll be bored.” The double entendre is there, clear as day for anyone who has the appropriate context. And then, because Ophelia has always been bold, she adds, “you were gone for quite awhile. I wondered if I’d seen the last of you.” 

A hardened swallow after a long drink from his tea, processing her words as they lingered in the space surrounding them and made a point to not allow his feelings to surface. The feelings of intrigue and wonderment on how she could have plucked the question from his brain— how she might have actually been concerned for him in some way. Not that an individual being endearing towards the incubus was foreign, his natural magnetism making it fairly simple in most settings, but that was obsolete here. With Ophelia, it was all genuine and that in itself was enough to shake up his perspective. “Hardly,” he finally mustered up in response, a light grin emerging as the tea cup found its place on the coaster in front of them, “Best tea blends in town, if you ask me.” Though they both knew that wasn’t the only reason Silas found himself roaming to its doors, even if his guts refused for him to admit that detail out-loud and tried to keep the subject on her versus himself, “I’m sure not. There always seems to be something exhilarating happening, especially in this town. I’m sure it will be quite effortless for you to find and keep your foothold.” Which was true, her aura calling attention to its daring and valorous nature.

✧

SEND ME A ✧ AND I’LL BOLD ALL THAT APPLY TO YOUR MUSE.

I would kill you. ✧ I would physically hurt you. ✧ I would attack you unprovoked. ✧ I would manipulate you. ✧ I dislike you. ✧ You annoy me. ✧ You scare me. ✧ You intimidate me. ✧ I hope I intimidate you. ✧ I pity you. ✧ You disgust me. ✧ I hate you. ✧ I’m indifferent toward you. ✧ I’d like to get to know you better. ✧   I’d like to spend more time with you. ✧ I’d like to be friends with you. ✧  I’m unsure what to think of you. ✧ I’m unsure how I feel about you. ✧ You are my friend. ✧ You are my best friend. ✧ You are my mentor. ✧ I look up to you. ✧ I respect you. ✧ You are my hero. ✧ You inspire me. ✧ You are my enemy. ✧ You make me happy. ✧ I want to protect you. ✧ I would fight by your side. ✧ I consider you an equal. ✧ I think you are beneath me. ✧ I think you are above me. ✧ I would lie for you. ✧ I would lie to you. ✧ I would sleep with you. ✧ I would sleep by your side. ✧ I would hug you. ✧ I would kiss you. ✧ You are family to me. ✧ I would die for you. ✧ I would kill for you. ✧ I would trust you with my life. ✧ I would trust you with my most precious belonging. ✧ I would trust you with a secret. ✧ I would trust you with my biggest / darkest secret. ✧ I love you (platonically). ✧ I love you (romantically).

There he was again— Giovanni, the cubi remembered as a sigh fell from his lips before the man entered his establishment. It wasn’t that he didn’t fully like the guy, well, actually Silas could truly say that something about the human rubbed him a strange way. The presence and aura around him caused a bubbling within Silas’s gut, though he wasn’t exactly sure what that meant for the cubi in the grand scheme of things. After all, Giovanni didn’t hold as much power as someone such as himself but that had never stopped mortal’s from wreaking havoc when they felt the desire to. “Why, hello Giovanni. Long time no see,” a warm tone given the feeling that crept into his belly as their eyes met, “You’re a sight for sore eyes.” A relaxed pause as he leaned lightly on the front counter, listening to the graceful footsteps coming towards him, “What can I do for you this evening?”

@giovannixrusso​

gabrielxnikephoros​:

Gabriel could almost feel the regret coming from the other incubus. It was there, in Silas’ eyes. The other was so gentle, it was almost ridiculous to think about. Then again, Silas was young. Gabriel just wasn’t sure if he had the patience to help the Kyun out for the rest of their time in Corinth Bay. “You’re right about that. I guess I can forgive you.” He turned towards Silas, crossing his arms over his chest as he gave the other cubi a once over. “What was wrong, Silas? What had you so agitated that you thought it’d be cool to…” he waved his hand a little, “weird. Not calm? I don’t know. Ela, sit down. You’re making me stressed by just standing there looking like I stole your pet rock.”

“My pet rock—” the fellow cubi huffed at the idea of something so silly, but took a seat where Gabriel had motioned with ease. Maybe it was the way his exhaustion hung on his expression that caused the reaction he received from him, though Silas hardly thought it warranted any amount of stress. He simply came to explain, even if it wasn’t a conversation that the other really cared to have. “Well. Guess it was the same thing that Kasandra had, that emerald scale,” his tone was calm, though remembering the havoc the scale caused should have unsettled him greatly but it was all over now. Destroyed by the hands of a genasi, finding help in the most unlikely places, “Safiye from the book shop by mine assisted me in getting rid of it after Kas told me more about what it was. The thing had me convinced I needed to keep it by my side.”

calidavidalis‌:

“People have no taste.” The witch scoffed, cocking her hip and placing a lithe hand on it. “What’s that saying? Modern art is I could do that plus yeah, but you didn’t. Although in this case, I don’t think anyone should have attempted.” Calida approached the artist of the stand, purchased the art, and then threw it away right in front of her and the other convention goers. “Well, that takes care of that.”

Shock hung on the cubi’s face as he watched her hand over the cash and immediately chuck the artwork into the garbage. Sure— the art was complete trash and Silas couldn’t believe someone was even attempting to sell, but was it really worth the money just to throw it away? He stood in silence as she spoke, face still holding a look of surprise, and choked out, “Sure does.”