“Of course I know better,” He huffed, raising his nose. “I actually do have standards on a mate you know.” He said the previous frankly, like everyone had to go out and get a mate, obviously. Zack had actually been waiting to find a mate to go back home with, hence why he was here for so long with Humans, but he might be hoping for th wrong thing.
Ilya muffled a laugh into the arm of the couch and latched onto the new line of conversation eagerly. "Of course you do, everyone does. Even if most people haven't heart the word 'mate' outside of a nature documentary or the UK."
Zack didn’t seem to like being compared to a pair of animals. Mates were something sacred to Demons, almost like a marriage, but Demons were built to do whatever they could to support it. A pair of mates always stay together, and they usually brand each other with some sort of special mark for other Demons to know they are taken. Demons were much more respectable than the average Human.
Bryn winced and sat up a little on the couch. "Shit, sorry, that probably wasn't very nice. I didn't mean to call you an animal or degrade you or anything, I just… it seemed kind of funny. People don't really say mate anymore. I really didn't mean to tick you off, honest."
“Well, we actually call it Sare, as in ‘person who saves’ in my tongue, but it’s simpler just to call it mate around Humans,” He sniffed, as if disgusted. Of course he didn’t blame Bryn for his stupidity about the subject, but Zack was ready to suggest to perhaps not joke about something he doesn’t know a lot about.
"Sare," Bryn echoed softly, messing up the pronunciation slightly. He liked the way the word felt on his tongue, it made him feel a little less like a wilting flower when Zack did that little sniff that said 'you are nothing but a bug for me to crush'. "It's pretty. And probably serious too, right? Do you have one?"
(Oh it’s pronounced like a Latin word ‘sarh-ae’. Though in English one would probably pronounce it ser-ae, which is wrong lmao)
“It’s very serious. Demons take it like a life-time opportunity, and it is. No. I don’t have one. I was thinking about staying up here until I found one for myself but I decided it’d be best to live alone at home. I’d have my parents, though.” He shrugged.
(Cool!)
Bryn sunk even further into the couch at the reminder that Zack was going to leave. The apartment was going to be so empty without anyone in it to use the blankets and fill the spare room and complain about the cold. "Oh. Can I ask what made you give up? It's a pretty big world, you could definitely find a good person out there for you."
(Thanks m8)
Zack crossed his arms and looked back at the door, his heart yearning to be back home already. “I’ve been displaced for too long. It’s dangerous for me to be up here much longer. Now that I’m done my Opio, Angels will be after me.” Angels also had other names, they were actually the Demons to his people (they hunted them quite often).
"What's your opio?" he asked, tucking away all the information he'd been given for future reference and focusing on the thing he didn't know about. He also might've been stalling for just a tiny bit more time with Zack. "Is it like a contract, or am I missing some context?
“It’s my time I spend up here making Contracts,” He responded, going to open the door as he shifted the bag on his shoulders. “Anyway I’d better go soon. Angels are going to be here soon and demand why I’m not home yet. I daresay I’ve outstayed your welcome.” He laughed softly.
Bryn laughed too, bitter and soft. He pulled himself up off the couch and walked over to Zack, slowly wrapping him up in a loose hug. Zack could take a particularly heavy breath and break his grip. "I wasn't kidding when I said I'd miss you," he murmured. "You should call me or text or… something. This place is gonna be so fucking empty without you."
Zack rolled his eyes and hugged back. He hugged back with actual meaning, both arms around the other and hugging him tight.
“Yeah, even though you barely know me,” He just hummed back, though his tone wasn’t gruff at all.
Bryn tightened his grip when Zack hugged him back, hiding his watery eyes in one of Zack's shoulders. It sucked that the only time they would be this close was when they were saying goodbye. "Shush, I'm allowed to be sad. You were a constant presence in my life for a couple of days. We bonded."
“Mhm. If you wanted I could take you with me if you’re gonna be all sentimental about two days,” Zack said, half joking as he even snickered after, highly doubting Bryn would want to be removed from his place of home. Whenever he suggested such a thing to a Human they looked at him like he was nuts.
Brynn thought about it for a few seconds, peering up at Zack with suspicious eyes. It was hard to tell if he was being serious, but Bryn hoped he was. His life here was awful and empty, he'd be happy to leave. Especially for somewhere exotic and new with a person he was starting to like more and more. "Are you serious?"
Zack glanced down at him. “Well, sure, there’s no rules about me bringing you back with me. It’s just up to you whether you want to come back with me back home. And there are Human-things for you guys to do, too. No alcohol, though, Demons got rid of a lot of recreational drugs and adult drinks.”
Bryn laughed at 'human-things' and frowned at the no-alcohol rule. He hummed quietly as he thought, weighing his options. Alcohol was important, it had gotten him through just about every problem he could remember having, but… anywhere was better than here; a shitty empty apartment, no real friends, and a job he hated. "I'd like to go with you." He squeezed Zack a little tighter, mind made up. "I'd miss you too much if I had to stay here all alone."
“Though everything is free, there’s no worries about money or space… the place I used to live was this pretty forest area with a stream right behind my house with a big lake feeding off of it… so pretty and so many shiny things. There was also a place near there that rained all the time, and I’d go when I was feeling sad.” He smiled down at the Human, showing sharp, white teeth.
Bryn had to laugh. Zack was just too cute when he was all sparkly-eyed, Bryn got the absurd urge to kiss him, which… well, that couldn't stir up anything but trouble! He shoved that shit right back into the depths of his brain and instead tried to picture Zack's house. "You'll have to show it off to me, it sounds amazing! Oh! Can we go swimming in the lake when we get there?"
“Of course I will. We’ll have to fly there, though.” He seemed blind to the slight emotion change in the Human as he looked down at the other again.
“You should probably pack. Really fast. Don't bother with clothes unless you like certain articles a lot.”
Bryn nodded and reluctantly let go of Zack to pack a bag. There wasn't much he wanted to keep, just a few shirts, an old leatherbound journal, and some pieces of jewelry, so he was back in about 5 minutes with an old messenger bag slung across his shoulders. "I'm done, let's… did you say fly?"
Zack went to go stand at the windows, keeping an eye out for something to swoop down. He turned when the Human entered and rose his eyebrows a little at his question.
“Yes. Why do you think I have wings?” His large, black, angelic wings unfurled from his back and shook themselves out.
"I dunno, decoration" Bryn teased, trying to force down his surprise at the sight. It wasn't everyday you saw an angel's- well, demon's- wings fully extended, even if Zack's were… suspiciously patchy. What happened to him? "How am I going to get there? I haven't seen any direct flights to hell recently."
“You’re going to ride on my back, stupid. Humans are allowed to be transported with Demons,” He huffed. His wings shook and bent up at his back, and Zack turned around to suddenly glare at him.
“Don’t look at my wings like that. They don’t like it.” He spoke as if they had minds of their own.
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