Finally, he is out of that tavern. It should make everything easier now, or at least that is what he is praying for. Yet the sound of the door slamming caused his shoulders to tense up. With the thief at the door though, he ignored it and walked a few more steps.
The feeling of the stranger's hand behind his neck led to so many things running around in his mind. All it takes is one action to decide where this would all go to. If he makes the wrong move, then the thief will know and run away, but if he is cautious and ready to run, then maybe he will make a right move and won.
Loosening his crimson tie, he draped it around the man's neck. He chuckled while making a windsor knot with the tie. "Of course…I always find myself to be right in the end." Though he tried to be gentle using his hands, he used too much force when tightening the knot. "I like red….It's a powerful color….And it looks good on you."
Janus lightly wrapped the tie around his left hand, pulling the thief closer to him. His eyes stared straight into those honey-colored eyes that were right in front of him. For a brief moment, he stopped, taking in the thief's facial features. "What now, pretty boy?"
Well, this seemed to be going better than expected. He wasn't such a big fan of the tie, however, since that greatly reduced his mobility. Still, if June decided to listen to him for once, he would be able to get out of the predicament easily enough. "Hmm, does it?" August raised an eyebrow, sliding his hand up the stranger's neck and into his hair. They were close now, which was going along perfectly with his plan. Distract him with one hand and find the medallion with the other. "I would have thought that was obvious." August pulled the stranger's lips down to his own, free hand instantly starting to search for the medallion. Hopefully, the stranger was drunk enough to not notice it, and if he did notice it, think that August was really into the kiss instead of searching for his stolen property.
"Of course it does…." He cooed. There is nothing else that he could do except to go along with what is happening. Janus kept fighting the urge to stiffen his body while feeling the thief's hand in his hair. He forced himself to lean into the man's touch. Keeping the tower part of the tie wrapped around his hand, he pulled the thief against him.
A soft smirk appeared on his face before the man pressed his lips on Janus's. Deep down, it caught him by surprise. He forced his eyes to close. Not long after did he feel the man's hand searching for the medallion. Janus kept his focus on the kiss, pressing his lips against the man's.
Gah, where had he put it? August resisted the urge to growl in annoyance, instead focusing even harder on searching without seeming like he was. That meant hands going places the medallion would obviously not be, but he was really trying not to alert the thief. His night had been going so well, and he didn't want to ruin it. After what felt like ages, he felt something that had to be the medallion in the stranger's clothes. August's hand slipped into the stranger's pocket and closed around the medallion. It was still warm, though he supposed it made sense now. It had been in the guy's pocket. He slowly drew it out and deposited it into his pants pocket. Finally. Now all he had to do was get out of there.
Janus did his best to focus on the kiss rather than the thief's hand searching. His eyes were squeezed tightly shut. He kept assuring himself that this would not go on forever and that he will be able to catch this man before ever getting any chance of losing him. The thief must have found it. Feeling him gradually pull the medallion, the warmth from it was left behind. It still felt hot after all of it this time. He wondered how the thief managed to take it without flinching or dropping it. Thank heavens he did not, yet Janus kept recalling how the other just dropped it onto a table.
Sooner or later, he pulled away from the kiss. A sharp breath withdrew from his lips as he panted. Resting his head against the wall behind him, he forced a funny smile to appear on his face. "Your lips are soft…." He chuckled. "But they're almost hypnotizing too…Do you always use them when your looking to steal something from someone?"
Well, it seemed that he had failed. Still, the stranger didn't seem too angry just yet. Maybe he could still pull this off. "Why, thank you!" August gave the stranger a blinding smile. "I do when they're pretty." He sighed. "And besides, I was only stealing back what was rightfully mine." August tilted his head to the side, staring up at the man. "Do you always sing with the people you're planning to steal from?" Alright, he'd said all that he wanted to. Time to make an exit before the stranger made any move to steal from him again. "June! A little help?" An annoyed sigh whirled around his head and a glittering void appeared at his neck. The necktie was cut and August quickly stumbled back. "Thanks, June. You're the best." They shot a smile at the void. Another sigh echoed in his head and the void disappeared.
"Rightfully yours?" He repeated under his breath. Janus couldn't help but scoff at hearing the thief. Rightfully his? Oh how he could feel the blood in him boiling right now. There was really no point in acting drunk anymore; thank Caelestum and the heavens for that. He let his body naturally tense up. While he did grin, his eyes lit up with anger and frustration. Laughing a little, he ran his fingers through his silver hair then pushed the thief away.
Janus stood away from the wall. A crack sound was made after he rolled his right wrist. Taking a step forward, he only laughed at the thief's question. At first, he just responded with a simple shrug. "Well….Only if Caelestum and the people of Salvation want me to get back what's rightfully theirs," He sighed. "Do you really think you're going to get away from this? You will be punished one way or another." His eyes widened watching as the necktie fell. Under his breath, he mumbled a few curses before taking a few more steps. At least he got a good enough look for a description. If only the necktie plan did not end so soon. He wondered how many police were in the area.
Caelestum? Oh, shit. This wasn't some random drunkard. He wasn't even drunk. It was a police officer at least, or something worse– given his luck, it was probably someone worse. "I think I'll certainly try to get away with this." August started backing away from the stranger, wanting to put some distance between him before getting out of there. That should be far enough. August turned, melting into shadows and getting out of there as quickly as possible. At least, that was what he was going for. He only managed to get a few steps before he was roughly pulled back out of the shadows. The medallion in his pocket was blazing hot, but it didn't bother him as much this time around. That was weird, though he didn't focus on it for very long. He had more important things to worry about. "What are you doing?" August glanced back at the stranger accusingly. He'd never come across anyone who could disrupt his power.
"You will try?" He questioned. Janus's eyes squinted as he looked at the thief. Just at the other man was trying to back away, he took little steps in order to maintain a close distance. He has gotten this far with whatever his plan is, and he is not going to lose this thief and that medallion by any means. Quickly, he picked the tie up from the ground then stuffed it in the same pocket that medallion was moments ago. He watched at the thief strangely disappeared into darkness, but reappeared again a short while after. A faint snicker left him as the thief gave him a question. At first, Janus just gave a shrug before he walked up to him. "What do you think? I just remembered something I had to do later," He smiled faintly. "Either we can take care of it now or I will let you run then I'll tackle you and turn you over to the authorities. So now or later…..it's up to you, pretty boy."
August growled and tried to disappear into shadows again, but the same thing happened. And this time it was worse. Something spun him around to face the stranger, the medallion floating out of his pocket.
"What the hell is–no, stop!" August snatched at the medallion. Well, he tried to. Something was stopping him from moving of his own accord. "Let me go!" He strained against the force, but it wasn't letting him go. The medallion spun lazily in the air, the symbol of Caelestum starting to glow. Oh, if he'd known this was a magic medallion he would have never touched it.
"And finally, you meet. My two heroes." A deep voice echoed around the alley, tinged with satisfaction. August froze, eyes locked on the medallion. Their two heroes? That could only mean… no, it couldn't be. He could accept that the man across from him was Caelestum's chosen one–it was only his luck–but there was only one chosen one. And even if there were two–which there weren't–he wasn't one of them. Not even close. The symbol of Caelestum flashed in front of him, something burned on his throat… and then there was nothing. The last thing August felt was his head cracking against the ground. Well, he was definitely not getting away now.
With one foot back, he held up his fists. Preparing to take someone down is not a difficult task for him. He should be able to get this thief in a few moments or so. The energy in his body was building up ready to just throw a punch, and yet he did not expect for it to go to waste.
The medallion was floating out of the thief's pocket. How? Janus was more than aware of its capabilities, but he was not sure why it would be doing such a thing right now. Yes he is there getting it back, but he doesn't see a reason for it to be this way.
A shiver ran down his spine as the voice resonated. Dropping his fighting stance, he glanced around before back at the man across from him. Two heroes? Caelestum's two heroes? Janus could not believe what he heard. There was no way that a thief who stole the medallion is a hero.
So much had happened in a flash that it took Janus a few moments in to process everything, or at least, most of the things that occurred. There was a burning feeling in his throat along with something that was draining his energy.
Dropping to his knees, he froze. His eyes became unfocused as he went into thought about what happened. Still in a daze, he caught the medallion with his right hand. "Why?" He whispered, looking at it. When his eyes wandered over to the thief, he noticed that he was on the ground.
"Are you alright over there?" He heard an officer yell. Getting up on his feet, he motioned for the official to come over. After putting the medallion back in his pocket, he cautiously put his arms under the theif and picked him up.
August was stumbling through a misty alleyway. His hands were shaking violently, even when he clenched them into fists. He tripped over a loose paving stone and crashed onto the ground. By now, he could hardly feel his feet and he was starting to have difficultly breathing. He needed to find Salva, and fast, but his piercing headache was making it hard to think. August rocked back onto his heels and let out an angry scream. At this rate, he would die in a couple of weeks, just like his parents wanted. There was no way he was letting that happen. August dragged himself to his feet and kept going. He just had to find someone who sold Salva and he would be fine.
Wow, his head hurt. It wasn't a goldeneyes headache. Just a normal, cracked-his-head-against-a-hard-surface headache. That was good, at least. August let out a groan, his eyes fluttering open. Why had he gotten hit in the head? Had he gotten into another barfight? August pondered his situation for a few seconds before remembering exactly what had happened. Oh, right. Apparently, he was one of Caelestum's chosen ones. And he'd probably been captured by Caelestum's other chosen one by now. Perfect.
Two heroes. Janus could not stop thinking about it; he was not even sure how he felt. There was barely any time for him to think about it after he picked up the thief. Once the one official came running over, three more eventually followed. Next thing he knew, he was surrounded by people asking him what was going on.
He managed to get the Salvation officials to agree to take the thief to a hospital before doing any further investigations and interviews. Despite his memory still be a little shaky, he could still recall hearing a faint crack sound along with a thud. Though he figured that the guy probably won't talk around him, it'd be better to have him not with a cracked skull or anything bad.
Janus did not hand the medallion to anyone except for the head priest of the temple. After setting the thief down on a bed, he kept the medallion in his right hand. It still felt warm, but it was tolerable to him. The poor head priest had on gloves so he wouldn't drop it.
In about an hour or so, he was directed to the room that the thief was in. The first thing he did seeing the thief was sigh and shake his head. He took off his jacket then took the clipboard that on the front of the bed. Ambling over to side of the thief, he scanned over the information. "August….." He mumbled to himself. "What the hell were you thinking? Hm?"
Someone was saying something, but August elected to ignore it for the time being while he figured out where he was. He was lying on something soft and staring at a ceiling that didn't look particularly jail-like. He looked to the side and let out a startled yell. Caelestum's chosen one was standing right there, holding a clipboard.
"Gah! What are you doing?" August sat up and clutched his heart. The motions sent a wave of pain and slight nausea through him, but he managed to hold it together. This wasn't the worst he'd felt at any rate. "Where am I? Where did you take me? Whare are you going to do with me?" August glanced around, deciding that he was in a hospital. That made his first two questions pointless, but he didn't care. "Why am I in a hospital? I thought you were arresting me." Not that he really wanted to be arrested, but he was getting a lot of mixed signals here. Was it because that voice had said (wrongly) that he was one of Caelestum's chosen ones? Actually, now that he thought about it, he would rather get arrested than be one of Caelestum's chosen ones.
Janus really was not sure why he was doing this. He could have just told the officers and other officials to send the man off, but no, somehow his mind thought it would be better to make sure that the thief didn't split his skull into two. Maybe it is, maybe it isn't; looks like it is something that he will have to determine later on. His hands squeezed the sides of the clipboard. A very faint crack sound startled him a bit before the thief's shouting made him jump.
Lowering the clipboard, he took a slow and deep breath. Out of all the strange things he has done in the last four hours, nothing has prepared him for this or any of the moments that led up to now. He could not even consider why or how the man in front of his is a chosen one of Caelestum or the fact that he is not the only one. None of this makes any sense to him. It's surprising how well he is holding himself together and not breaking anything at all. All he was able to do was roll his eyes at the thief.
"You are under arrest, August de Soleil, but I can make it look more official for you," He offered. Before he gave anytime for the other man to speak, he tucked the clipboard under his arm then pulled out some handcuffs. One of the police gave it to him while they were waiting. Might as well use it now, he supposes. Putting the one over August's wrist, he tightened it before doing the other over the side of the hospital bed. He held the clipboard with two hands again, lowering his chin to read the documents. "Better, de Soleil? We'll go over the rest eventually. You did do that thing you said you'd do later, right?" He flipped over a page, keeping his eyes glued to the next one.
Okay, he took his last statement back. He wasn't a big fan of the handcuffs. "Really, you didn't have to do that." August rolled his eyes. He'd had enough of this guy already. "You know, I liked you a lot better when you were fake drunk. Can you go back to that?" August tried to rest his chin in his hands, but the handcuffs didn't let him move that much. "Seriously, are these necessary? I don't like them." He shook his wrists, trying to make as much noise as he could. After he got tired of that, August peered up at Caelestum's chosen one. Well, Caelestum's other chosen one. "Are you really going to arrest me after that super mysterious voice said I was one of Caelestum's chosen ones? Shouldn't you be… I don't know, treating me just a little nicer? I am chosen by a god, after all. You'd think I'd get something a little better than this hospital bed and two handcuffs." He tilted his head. "Besides, since I am Caelestum's chosen one, that medallion technically belongs to me too. So I didn't technically steal it, so you technically can't be arresting me." August grinned at his impeccable line of reasoning.
A little smirk appeared on his face. Janus was not able to resist the urge to at August's comment and eye rolling. Not saying a word, he just looked up at him then shrugged before going back to reading through the papers. He just let the thief talk the whole time; it was much easier for him to rather than interjecting after every statement or comment.
Fake drunk. He did not even wanted to get started on that, but he had gotten an idea after August brought it up. It lingered on then began to hurt up after seeing the other grin. That damned grin, how it just makes his jaw clench. Nevertheless, a goofy smile was painted over his annoyed look. Setting the clipboard down, he ruffled his hair then unbuttoned two buttons.
"So you do like me. I know it. Don't you, pretty boy?" He asked, using his drunk voice once again. Sitting down on the side of the bed, he looked back at August. His hand reached out, gently caressing the other's cheek. "You see….You didn't even realize that you stole Caelestum's medallion. I saw you throw it onto a table like it was nothing. Besides, honey, why would you steal it when the Chosen One, aka me, is supposed to protect and respect it. You know it's the people's, yes? Your inital intentions counteract what you have just told me and I still can arrest you."
"Well, I did like you. I mean, you're not too bad looking." August shrugged. "If you hadn't taken my medallion and if you weren't a stuck-up, selfish, rich bastard, I think we could have had a lot of fun." He quickly turned his head, kissing the chosen one's palm before jerking his head away. "But, you ended up being both of those things. Such a shame." August made a face at the man. "You did a terrible job of protecting it, seeing as we're in this situation. And forgive me for being an uneducated peasant and not knowing anything about that. You say it's for the people, and yet I'll bet you a weeks-worth of Salva I could take it to any pawn shop in Salvation and they would just think it's a pretty pendant. It's worth money, that's it." August let out a bitter laugh. "Caelestum might be important to you, but they mean absolutely nothing to so-called 'sinners' like me."
"Thank you, you're too kind," He crooned. Taking his hand away, his fingers curled into his palm. Janus crossed his arms while looking over at August. Watching the other make a face, he was not able to resist the urge to roll his eyes. He probably cannot even complain to the priests at the temple or say something while he prays about this thief. What a shame, he already has a whole book of things he could say about this person. "A weeks-worth of Salva doesn't even cover a quarter of it, but there is no use on putting a price on our cultures and history, even if you're going to die in the end. Now does it?" He asked. A long sigh drew out from his lips. "Remember, apparently you are now a chosen one and not necessarily a 'sinner', but Caelestum is important to everyone whether they know it or not."
"Your culture and history," August was quick to correct. "And you've got it backward. A weeks-worth of Salva is way more valuable than that old thing. It's the line between life and death to some people." Him included. Speaking of Salva, he hadn't taken any for a while. First, he'd been robbing a place, and then he'd gotten caught up in celebrations, and now he was here. He had no idea how long he'd been passed out, but he guessed it had been for a while. "Hey, I don't suppose you could unlock one of my hands? Two is overkill. I promise I won't go anywhere." August raised his eyebrows, lips curling into a pleading smile. His smile quickly soured at the man's next sentence. "Fine, Caelustum is important. They're the reason so many people are dying." He shrugged. "And being a so-called chosen one doesn't change the fact that you people will always think I'm a sinner. These don't exactly let me hide." August gestured to his golden eyes–a side effect from managing to survive Sinner's Punishment for so long.
Janus could feel himself stiffening up as he kept forcing himself to listen to the thief. Part of him wanted to tune out of the conversation, but he knew he shouldn't do that. Though some of the thief's words were strangely interesting, and not to mention a bit amusing as well. All those useless words caused troubling thoughts to stir in his mind.
Leaning forward, he stared straight into the thief's eyes. Sure, he did notice the golden color of the irises, but his attention wandered to other details in the eyes. The expression in them. The way the light reflected off of them. Even the way he looked in them. Humming, he shook his head then went back into his regular position.
"Ah….You are right for once," He nodded, before motioning himself and the thief. "Two is overkill." Getting up, he went over to the end table that was at his left. Taking the water pitcher, he poured some into a cup. "I could care less that you're a sinner; I will always see you as an idiot first."
Standing against the wall, he drank from the cup of water. "And stop saying 'you people', they aren't mine and they're as foolish as you." He looked over at the window to see one of the priests in the hallway, trying to communicate with him. The priest kept trying to tell him to undo the handcuffs, but Janus walked over and lowered the shades. Glancing over his shoulder, he kept talking, "Yah, August, stop trying to use your smile on me. It's not going to work with me. You probably can't run far now, but the cuffs are just for my assurance; let's keep 'em on."
"Oh, wow, an idiot! That's so much better. Thank you so much." August sighed heavily, dropping back down on the bed. "You're confusing me. You're telling me you aren't one of the insufferably rich people who think Caelestum is the best thing to ever happen?" He paused, then burst out into laughter. "Oh, I see. You think you're better than them. That's somehow worse." August flexed his hands and feet slowly, checking for any numbness–one of the first signs Sinner's Punishment was creeping up on him yet again. It wasn't too bad just yet, but he wasn't able to feel the tips of his fingers. "I see you're trying to kill me. How very fitting of Caelestum's chosen one," August commented, idly wondering if he could somehow convince June to give him one and only one dose of Salva. Probably not worth the risk. She might dump a knife on his face instead. "Come on, just one handcuff. You can keep the other one on, I don't care. I just need one arm for one second. You can even put it back on when I'm done." He propped himself up on his elbows, jingling the handcuffs on his left hand.
"I do not think th-" Janus stopped himself the moment that the thief started to roar with laughter. Was it really that funny? Beats him. He is better than the horrible excuse of a father he has or the rest of them, but there really isn't any use in saying that when he is wearing an expensive suit as they speak. Every minute or so, he wonders if he should just leave and let the police take care of this. If he does leave, then maybe he won't have to deal with this at all. The medallion has to be in a safe place by now anyways.
Watching as the other was moving his hands, Janus let out a sigh. Is the Sinner's Punishment progressing in this thief? How long has it been since he last took Salva? He knew these things from his mother, but it is different when you do not have it. August's words made him scoff. Gently, he shook his head as he checked his pockets. "If I were to kill you, I would do it right now and not let it drag out," He explained. Walking over to his coat, he started to look through it. "You see, August, I have enough strength to crack your skull open like a nut. Sadly I made a promise to not do that, it's too much trouble anyhow."
Finally. He had found it. Pulling the small vital out, he tucked it into his left palm. Looking over his left shoulder, he glanced back at August. The sound of the handcuffs led him to roll his eyes. While he could undo the one, he still was not sure if he could really take this thief's word on anything. "Really?" He asked, strolling back over to the bed. "I suppose that I could, but I know you're going to do something that will get you either knocked out again or land in the ICU." Sitting near the end of the bed, he kept his palms at his lap. Janus tilted his head while staring at August. "Now, I could do that and we can see what happens, or you can guess what hand has something in it. Your choice, August."
"Would you? I'd have thought you'd want to drag it out to punish me for taking the medallion?" August raised his eyebrows at the man. "There isn't a much worse fate than having Goldeneyes consume you." He only half-heard his next words, focusing more on his movements. It looked like he was searching for something, though August couldn't imagine what. Maybe something to wack him on the head with for being so annoying. Speaking of his head… what had he said about August's head? Something about… August pressed his lips together, suddenly remembering what he'd said. Apparently, this man was strong enough to crush his bones into dust. He didn't know if he believed him, but it was probably best not to test him.
"What if I promise not to do anything?" August asked, sitting all the way up. "You never know, I could suddenly become very obedient." He was mostly telling the truth. There wasn't any way he was bolting until after he'd taken the Salva and recovered a little more. His head was still hurting and there was no way he was running around like that. August had experienced enough headaches for a lifetime. He avoided them when at all possible. His eyes followed the man's hands, frowning slightly. What did he have in his hands, Salva? Or the key to the cuffs? Well, it seemed like it was the only way forward in this conversation.
"Why don't I pick one, and if it isn't the one with whatever surprise you have in store for me, then you unlock one of my handcuffs?" August proposed, grinning. "Left hand," he continued, nodding towards his chosen hand. "Did I win?"
He shook his head. "I've learned that dragging it out doesn't do much sometimes. Besides, I believe that being here to bother you would be a better punishment anyways. You get to see my handsome face," Janus said, giving the other a smile. "Consider yourself lucky."
"You promise to not do anything?" He questioned, tilting his head to the right. Janus just stared at August then shook his head. "Huh, no way. Do you think a dog becomes obedient overnight? You are gonna try to slip into the shadows or whatever then cause more chaos for me to deal with."
The left hand. He squeezed the vile before forcing himself to relax. Anymore pressure and he'd have to get some bandages for his hand; besides it would be a waste of Salva anyways. Usually he keeps one on him for his mom or someone who needs it. No one really goes through his pockets so he doesn't worry about telling others about it.
Humming in response, he took August's left hand then placed the vile in his palm. "Looks like you're a good guesser, surprisingly. Just take it and relax for a few mintues. You've been bouncing off the walls since you woke up. I'm surprised your head hasn't exploded yet."
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