"Never. I exist to bother you," Daus teased, climbing into Erikos' room before making his way back down towards the floor. He chuckled a bit at the small dragon that jumped into Erikos' lap, tilting his head to the side curiously as he met the other's gaze.
"This is Baal, Vien's familiar. He's a spirit that Vien can bring into our world," Erikos explained. Baal turned their gaze to Daus, their head tilting almost adorably. It was a sort of odd creature, with small front arms and large, gangly wingarms that it used to walk. It had four eyes, and its dark blue scales glinted as though they held stars. There also appeared to be what looked like an axe impaled through its chest, but instead of wounding the creature, it appeared to have just absorbed it. Baal crawled out of Erikos' lap before padding over to Daus
"Is the axe supposed to be there?" Daus asked, smiling faintly as he studied Baal for a few moments, the dragon-like creature beginning to walk over towards him. He kneeled down a bit hesitantly, part of him hoping that it wouldn't attack him or something along those lines.
"Yep. According to Vien, pretty much all demons and spirits have what's called a killmark. It basically shows how they died in their previous life. We're not quite sure how Baal died, he doesn't want to talk about it. I think he died defending a big city or something, because he's too nice to be the type to attack things," Erikos said. Baal had stopped to sniff Daus' hand, which was odd considering he didn't appear to have a nose or anything of the sort. After a moment Baal clambered happily into Daus' lap
"He definitely seems too nice," Daus chuckled, falling backward from his kneeling position as Baal climbed into his lap. He raised one hand faintly, unsure if he was supposed to pet the creature or not.
"You can pet them, they love it," Erikos chuckled as Baal nuzzled into Daus' hand. It made a noise halfway between a purr and a growl, seemingly snuggling into Daus' chest
Daus began to pet Baal, laughing softly at the small purring noise that they seemed to make as the creature snuggled into his chest. A broad, childish smile spread across his face as he looked down and continued to stroke Baal, the small dragon reminding him of another shadowy one that would roam around a spirit in the underworld. "I wish I had something like Baal," Daus said as he looked back up towards Erikos.
"Well, he's not mine, he's Vien's. And even then he doesn't really belong to anyone. I guess he just likes us enough to stick around," Erikos said, grinning at Daus' reaction to Baal's movements. The spirit was now curled in Daus' lap, purring happily as it seemed to be attempting to take a nap in Daus' lap
"Sounds like my family. They like me enough to stick around too," Daus joked as he let his hand fall back down to his side, looking down towards Baal as the spirit seemed to drift off. He looked back towards Erikos, a bright smile on his face from the faint excitement of Baal sleeping in his lap. "You know, this is the first time I haven't scared an animal or a spirit away…most of the time, they hate me."
"Well, I guess Baal can just tell the difference between a good person and a great one," Erikos chuckled, keeping his voice down a tad once he realized Baal had fallen asleep in Daus' lap. The spirit seemed to make a sort of purr in its sleep as a way of agreeing with Erikos
"Did Erikos just compliment me?" Daus teased, lowering his voice as he looked down at Baal, his smile brightening at the sight of the spirit sleeping on his lap. He chuckled lightly at the purr before glancing back up towards Erikos.
"You better count yourself lucky, because it won't happen again," Erikos replied, a dorky smile spreading across his face despite his attempts at frowning. Baal shifted a bit in Daus' lap before raising their head groggily. There was a knock on the trapdoor before Vien's head peeked out from behind it.
"I-Is Baal down there? I had him wander around while I was making sure the willowheart was put away," he asked softly
Daus returned Erikos' smile before he glanced up towards the new voice, recognizing it as the other boy, Vien. "Oh, he's right here," he answered, motioning towards the now awake creature laying down on his lap.
"Come on, Baal," Vien called softly. The creature made a noise of disapproval before climbing out of Daus' lap and flying up through the trapdoor. Vien waved goodbye before closing the trapdoor, and Erikos laughed a little.
"Attached at the hip," he chuckled
"Definitely," Daus laughed as he watched Baal fly up towards the trapdoor, waving faintly towards Vien before he turned back to look at Erikos. "Let me guess…your familiar is probably the fishing pole you had earlier?" He guessed, a joking tone evident in his voice as a small grin crossed his lips.
"Oh, shut it!" Erikos laughed, elbowing Daus' arm. "No, I don't have a familiar. Half demons can't have familiars, they're a sort of witch-exclusive thing," he said with a shrug
Daus nodded, laughing as Erikos elbowed his arm. "Still, I think the fishing rod suits you," he teased, nudging the other playfully with his shoulder.
"Next we'll be waiting for my fishing pole to come alive," Erikos said, barely managing that before the mental image of his fishing pole doing so sent him into a fit of giggles
Daus laughed as he watched Erikos giggling next to him, a faint grin spreading across his face as he watched the other man. "If it does come alive, what voice would it have when it talks? I'm thinking a Morgan Freeman voice," he joked, laughing at the thought.
At that Erikos was sent into a loud laughing fit, falling over while he laughed so hard he started snorting. He cackled loudly, until he was practically struggling for breath
"I think we might have woken Vien up at this point," Daus answered, laughing loudly at how Erikos was laughing and when they fell over. A broad smile spread across his face as he began to imagine Erikos' fishing rod speaking in Morgan Freeman's voice, but it was so absurd that he began to laugh again.
“It’s-ehe-it’s a good thing Vien barely sleeps,” Erikos giggled, Daus’ laughter sending him into another fit of loud giggles and choked noises
"I actually think the fishing rod's voice should resemble an eighty-year-old, German man. I would listen to that all day," Daus joked, laughing even more at the sound of Erikos' giggling as he glanced up towards the trapdoor, almost sure that they had woken Vien up at this point.
Erikos was laughing so hard he wasn’t making noise anymore, curled up in a ball on the bed. A few choked noises escaped him every now and then, tears provoking at the corners of his eyes
"My first night in Portugal and I think I just killed a man," Daus teased and nudged Erikos softly when the boy didn't respond, chuckling lightly when he noticed that they were still laughing. A bright smile crossed his face as he laughed as well, leaning against the bed a bit.