10-11-2009, 02:58 PM
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It took Gabriel several hours to get to the city if he traveled straight through. Inferni was a good deal away from Halifax, mostly because there was little need for them to live near such a place. Only the wolves seemed entirely too interested in the city, and it drew them inexplicably towards its heart. Had they taken up residence near that would-be polestar, it would have been the death of them. Still, the city was useful in its own ways. Though Gabriel did not require the additional things in the constructed walls, they proved useful distractions. Even though he did not prefer the form he was currently in, it had its uses. With hands, he could manipulate doors and break windows when needed. Luckily, a previous expedition had taken care of that. A worn bag was looped over his shoulder, and in it he had compiled materials he needed—paper that had been spared, brushes, and paint. The hybrid had finished up at the art-supply store after an hour, and then taken a detour into a small maintenance store. With the spray-paint in hand, he had then gone about marking the city as he had before. The Lykoi’s chaos star was an image that did not take long to illustrate, but lack of recent practice had made his hands unused to the behavior of the paint. This one was sloppy, and it bothered him. For the next half hour he worked with black, and all too soon the mechanical behavior became inspired. Several broad sweeps took the simple marking and turned it into a blazing statement, one that had not been done since the last teenagers had died in their own foolishness. Both cans, not yet unspent, were put back into his satchel. Though he was pleased with the work, red and black now stained his fingers, and the stench was all around him. Gabriel left his still wet masterpiece behind him and headed down another street, absentmindedly scouting for future sights to return to. Most of what he painted he did not think worthy of display, and it was an uncharacteristic display from the image he tried to present. This, at least, was simple. It was uncommon, true, but something that would not destroy the ferocity that he presented to his enemies (and likened to the rumors he was glad to hear). Smoke wafted through the air, and with it came the scent of cooked meat. Like all carnivores, Gabriel was drawn to it instantly. He could not prevent the salivation in his mouth anymore then Pavlov’s dog could to the bell. What he found, though, was entirely unexpected. Instead of a stranger who he would attempt to con into sharing the meal (or a stranger he would take from without consequence), he found a graying man that looked nearly unchanged since they had last met. A broad and tooth grin broke across the Aquila’s face, and he didn’t hesitate to advance. “I thought we ran the last of you fucking pirates out of here,” he barked, voice twice as harsh as the laughter in his eyes. |