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Gabriel, Occasus Promontorium. ^^
He was a child of the earth, Mother Earth's meandering boy who could hardly call a place home for an extended amount of time. It was not as if his days of walking the earth had ended -- oh no, Razekiel was as active as ever, or at least the prince was when he was not smoking some foul-smelling disaster. Inferni had taken him back as its kin, ironic that the peace-loving boy was now claimed by both the glorious Mother Earth and the bloodthirsty coyote clan where he had been born. Little had changed since then, naturally; the leaders had shifted, his mother was only second-in-command, and the many faces he'd seen pass by and ignore him were unfamiliar. Inferni was no longer a clan composed of Lykois and Poers -- the clan had spread to welcome into its terrible arms dozens more that wished to follow the tyrannical morals that Inferni was infamous for. Sad, Razekiel mused, that so many bloodthirsty individuals called Mother Earth home.
Razekiel had the means to separate himself to some extent; Inferni was a broad territory and he wasted no time meandering its corners and innards. Winter was inevitably approaching at its slow, trudging pace; the hybrid had been lucky to spend his last winter with Juniper Peace. The group, as they wandered from place to place, had spent their nights huddled together or around campfires to keep warm (that was, of course, before the prince of deceit had slaughtered their wolven leaders). Had Razekiel suggested that to his Inferni clanmates, he might have been met with fangs and claws. Naturally, he didn't have anything in common with they! Razekiel enjoyed the company of others and was always willing to greet a stranger, but if his fellow Inferni brethren were unwilling, he thought it best to stay out of the way. Razekiel wandered the hills of Occasus Promontorium, admiring the endless sunlight the great stretch of land received. Actual shelter for the winter was sparse, but Razekiel would make do -- he'd done worse, after all. It'd been raining, of course, and thus the sun was lost behind the heavy clouds. A tree, somewhere, had provided some temporary shelter, though the two-legged Razekiel walked in the rain contentedly for some time before he hid beneath the tree, flicked open his lighter, and lit the rolled-up mashing of caustic herbs. Enjoying the sickly-sweet smell, he bent back against the tree, smiled, and then began to strum at his guitar idly as the rain downpoured around him.
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The rain was becoming maddening. It was continuous and never-ending. Each day it seemed that he woke to the sound of it or the scent of water, and each day his shoulder continued to ache. Still, it did not mean he slacked on his duties. Indeed, more often then not Gabriel was caught out in the open when the sky opened up. By this point, he had come to expect it. Certainly today was no different—he picked up his pace as the rain proceeded to soak his thickening coat, intent on finding any sort of shelter for the time being.
Of the two things that he noticed, the first was music. It was a distinct sound over the rain, which had done well to try and dampen it. The smell had been concealed rather well, noted only when he followed the guitar chords. Then he found the source, a coyote under a tree. Though his brother had not been long under his care, he recognized the scent (and peculiar facial mask) almost instantly. Without waiting for invitation he crossed under the protection of the tree. Only then did he focus his attention on the younger man, finding him a peculiar sight in general. “How long have you been here?”
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It was particularly surprising that he was found. No, Razekiel was not making the effort to isolate himself; in fact, he enjoyed company as much as he did isolation, though such a thing often depended on the weather. When the sun shone bright, the red-faced hybrid was perfectly content wandering the lands alone, breathing in the fresh air and basking in the sunlight -- it was his "alone time" with Mother Earth, as he called it. She deserved his attention as much as any of his Inferni clanmates, even his real mother. However, although the hippie did quite enjoy the rain and the rhythmic freshness it temporarily brought to the dark and perpetually dirty-feeling land claimed by Inferni, he was not quite as fond of being wet. Sitting and admiring the rain with a comrade from a warm, dry place was perfect in Razekiel's book.
He'd been absorbed by his humming and lollygagging to the tune of his guitar, pulled out the little groove rather abruptly when Gabriel's words reached his ears even before the clan leader's presence reached met the boy's straw-hued eyes. Tipping his head upward, Razekiel sent a dazed, stupid stare up at the Aquila in slow attempts to recognize him, as the Aquila clearly knew who he was. Slowly but surely, his open-mouthed stare widened into a fizzled smile: little Gabriel, of course! Anselm had mentioned the dog-looking thing leading Inferni now, rather than his mother way back when. A few years had been good to the now-Aquila, Razekiel mused to himself quietly before muting the guitar's hanging chord that had been buzzing since the boy looked up. "Gabe, my man," the hybrid grinned, twisting the cigarette to the opposite side of his mouth with a skillful flick of the tongue. He climbed to his feet slowly, laughed giddily as he stumbled a bit, and finally wiggled his way over to the Aquila that he nearly collapsed on as he embraced him. "I missed you, man! I forgot you were here and everything!" He tightened his already-choking squeeze on the Aquila, grinning stupidly ear to ear. "I've been here a week, man. Just like old times, little brother."
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It was as if they were functioning on two different planes of time. Razekiel’s face was lost in a fog, and his sun-yellow eyes did not seem to hold focus for very long. The source of this apparent confusion was obvious. A long time ago (at least, it felt like that now) Gabriel had been familiar with such things. He had abandoned the smoke and the drink after the last fit. No longer could he afford those blank spots in time, and no more did he trust his subconscious given the terrible things it had done.
Gabriel’s weight shifted and his forelegs came off the ground as his brother embraced him. Had this been another time, he might have been a long lost dog found by its master. Gabriel’s body tensed in the embrace, but he allowed it. As far as he could remember, Razekiel was not a danger to him. “Right,” his voice drew out. “You forget I was born before you, little brother?” Though there was mild mockery, it was not cruel.
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"You forget I was born before you." Oh, was that how it happened? Razekiel had been gone for far too long, it seemed. It was strange, though -- he could remember calling a few friendly folks back in Juniper Peace "little brother," but none of them had been even scarcely related to him. Had he even been speaking legitimately with Gabriel? He thought they were about the same age. What about Samael?--no, wait, he was the same litter. Razekiel was the middle child, right? Maybe he had called Gabriel little because he was a middle child as well. Was he? But either way, Gabriel was the pack leader, so that would make him think that he was older, or...
He looked around. Where am I? Oh, right. Gabriel.
"Is that right?" The prince burst out laughing, scratched his head, and gave the Aquila another overly hearty squeeze before releasing him."My fault, man. I guess I've been gone a couple days too long." Man, he was stiff. Were leaders supposed to be so uptight? Had Razekiel been less drugged, he might have been mildly intimidated. "I spent a thousand moons running Mother Earth with a bunch of breathers, man. The Fuzz got busy, so I split that schwag. Things were complicated, man."
He straightened a little, smiling genuinely at his older brother. "Heard you been runnin' the establishment in my mother's stead for a long time now."
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Gabriel had never encountered anyone quite like his brother. Or, at least, like the way his brother was now acting. It puzzled him that the Prince of Deceit should act so…mindless, and a small part of him wondered if this was part of his act. Those three children, demons all of them, had become very different people. Ahemait had been his favorite, and always would be. He missed her more then any other (except Corona). With Razekiel, he could remember very little—the most prominent memory made the ruined muscle in his left shoulder ache.
It was as if Razekiel spoke in riddles, though this was no doubt in part to the drug. “Since she left,” he answered, finding it so simple to overlook that puzzling speech. “It’s good to see you again. Your brother just came home too.” Not that Gabriel was happy about that.
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Razekiel didn't notice in the least that Gabriel judged his behavior as something strange; the look the leader was giving him probably would have made such a thing clear, but the mist before the prince's straw-hued eyes masked any cognition of facial expressions. He did absorb, however, the concept that his brother "had also returned," and such news widened the dark-furred coyote's toothy grin to its maximum reach. He and Samael had been likeminded and emphatic with one another in their early years, but that had been a long time ago. They had been a dark duo, a pair of cruel beasts born in sin and darkness -- Samael had always been the darker, more twisted of the two even from the beginning, while Razekiel had been more reserved and withdrawn, preferring to plot his contempt within his own mind rather than lash out.
Razekiel had been fortunate enough to shape up and turn around completely, however, and thus the coyote automatically believed his brother had done the same. "Ah, man, Sam is here? Groovy, brother! You bunch smoked some serious luck to get both of us back, yeah? We're gonna tear up this joint, just like old times, man!" He chuckled a little to himself, taking a moment to outspread his arms and twirl around in a very mild, mellowed celebration, before moving to collapse beside the treat and continue his toasted laughing.
"I thought I'd never patch up with my Sunshine and shoot the shit with my loves again," he mused, unthinking in that he might have clarified that his "sunshine" was ironically his mother. "What about Ahemait, man? All my other brothers and sisters of the Lykoi, man? I wanna gather 'em all up and smoke the hell out of some weed. That's what Lykois do, man." At least they did in Razekiel's head, anyway.
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The reaction to his perception of Samael made a wiry and almost forced smile break Gabriel’s face. His eyes, however, hardened almost instantly—turning vicious. What Razekiel meant, of course, was lost on Gabriel. He had only known Samael’s wickedness, and did not believe that he would see the same from his intoxicated half-brother. Still, he took that knowledge in and clung to it. If he saw any danger, he would make sure to crush it ultimately.
Two devils, though equally obedient, was still more then enough. Razekiel didn’t look like that to Gabriel, though. He was child-like, in love with the world. It was enough to amuse Gabriel, and the smile on his face slowly turned genuine. “Ahemait lives with Stygian and her children somewhere north. They started up their own clan. I haven’t seen much of anyone else.” They had come, but they were gone now. It was a pattern.
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Razekiel was too thrilled by the thoughts of his brother to pay much attention to Gabriel's reactions and interpretations of his words. This was unusual; Razekiel was self-aware, knowing well that his behavior was quirky and much unlike the other coyotes of Inferni. The prince of deceit had never cared much for how others interpreted him, but with the contrast between his behavior and beliefs against the rest of Inferni, he had little choice but to moderate himself, lest he somehow end up in trouble. Razekiel wouldn't have put it against Inferni for one of its members to randomly lash out at him; so many of the coyotes were short-tempered and just plain mean: Razekiel was a lover, not a fighter, thus he would have stood relatively little chance against one of Inferni's many myrmidons.
"Bummer," was his only reply, demeanor immediately sinking at Gabriel's quick words. Had Razekiel and Ahemait been somewhat close? He couldn't remember; the coyote could recall his childish hatred for wolves developing around his sister's actions or something that happened to her, but the whole event was rather fuzzy and unimportant to him now. This was, of course, because he now loved wolves. Loved. Loved! Razekiel loved all living things! He cleared his throat and smiled eerily. "We'll have to field trip and visit her, man. Maybe she's turned out like me, yeah?" He broke out into some strange laughter, unsure whether or not to believe that himself. If Samael could turn around -- which somehow, Razekiel believed to have happened -- then Ahemait could too, right? "How is my brother, man? I've been back a week and haven't seen hide nor tail of him."
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Even though Razekiel’s behavior and mannerisms puzzled him, the Aquila did not completely relax around the stranger who had once been his brother. There was something lingering below that drug-coated surface, something he saw a glimmer of in a peculiar smile that broke only with his speech. Desperately, Gabriel tried to recall what he had known about Razekiel. He had been quiet, bookish, and sunk further into himself following the trauma suffered by the Storm-wolf. Now, though, Gabriel wondered if the young man even remembered that happening.
Slowly, Gabriel considered how to address Samael. “He’s sick in the head,” he finally settled on, finding no way to pussy foot around the issue. “A disease ripped through these parts a few months ago. Destroyed a pack. Sam caught it, whatever it was, and it looked like it was going to kill him. He survived, somehow, but he’s been…well, he’s been fucked up ever since.” A shrug, dismissing the idea. Samael had been sick long before the disease had come and ripped his body apart. “You’ll find him soon enough, I’m sure.”
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Razekiel sank immediately, though that was hardly a surprise. Even at Gabriel's first few words, the coyote's dark ears lowered slowly. His smile waned and brows furrowed, a look of pure, desperate optimism in the face of bad news. Sick in the head. Not the sweetest way to describe someone, but Razekiel did not yet argue. Samael couldn't have been that bad, could he? They were brothers, after all; Razekiel and Samael had once in one in the same, but the hippie had turned around. Who was to say his brother hadn't? Perhaps Gabriel just didn't know him well enough. That could have been it.
As Gabriel continued, however, Razekiel slowly began to doubt that more and more. Disease? If it was naturally made, then it seemed Mother Earth had declared such a thing to be necessary. Razekiel wouldn't argue with that logic; Mother Earth knew what she was doing, after all, and he was only alive out of her graciousness. If Samael was still alive, then she still had a need for him. "Bummer, man," the coyote said, smile still desperate and his ears hanging. His grin widened again not longer after, of course, when his optimism was renewed. "I'm sure there's still hope for him, man. I mean, look at me. What if I hadn't changed, brother? Hahaha -- it'd be like old times!" The hippie hugged himself suddenly, grinning ear to ear with a childlike warmth and bliss. "Razzie and Sammie, together again! Gabe, my man, isn't it a beautiful thing?!"
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In Character
It was peculiar, the way that Razekiel responded. Gabriel had never been particularly close to any of his brothers—really, any of his family. He supposed this was due in part to the fact he had not lived with them long, spending the majority of the critical development time in his youth with strangers who had been cut down in that terrible drought. A woman whose name he no longer remembered (which seemed peculiar, given she had practically raised him) had been the reason he had first killed. Now, though, there was more reason. There was reason in every strained expression and in every ill intent. Murdering no longer felt unnatural to him. Killing those who had brought death upon themselves was a duty, and a welcomed one. Andrezej was proof enough of that.
He felt no qualms about killing strangers, let alone his own blood brothers. That outlook had allowed him to survive, and to prosper. Certainly, though, he sensed no ill intent from his masked brother (though this was perhaps a metaphorical sign through his breeding, given he was the Prince of Deceit). No part of his speech indicated there was reason to feel threatened, and Gabriel had to smile thinly at the idea of the two boys palling around again. Wouldn’t that be a sight, peculiarly happy Razekiel and terrible, wicked Samael hanging out and goofing around as if they were children. Yeah, that would happen. “It’s something,” he offered, amber eyes glimmering with a dark mirth. “You let me know how he takes to that idea, would you?” It would certainly entertain the Aquila to hear about that dark coyote squirming under whatever uncomfortable pressure Razekiel would put him under. He could imagine the red eyed man hating ever second of it—that would be beautiful.
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Razekiel grinned, gloriously delighted that Gabriel shared in his excitement, though at a much lesser degree. Though his memory was unsurprisingly fuzzy, Razekiel could not recall Gabriel as being anything other than what he was right then, a somewhat stolid demeanor and a subtle humor whose thoughts rarely left his own head. Strange, though, how time had barely touched both he and Kaena while it had done a number for the bright-eyed prince. Mother Earth could have boasted the wonderful changes she'd stirred up in the coyote, for they were plentiful and beautiful, just as she was.
"You know I will, brother," the coyote grinned, then scratched at his head and began to bob up and down in sheer excitement. "You know what? I'm gonna go find him right now. Find him right now and give him a biiiig freaking hug, man! We got a lot of catchin' up to do, you know!?" That said, the hippie nearly tackled the Aquila once more in an overwhelmingly tight and quick hug before releasing him and dashing off for the rain. "I'll let you know how it goes, man! Peace and love, brother!" A quick flash of a drenched peace sign over his shoulder, then he was gone -- those his mirthful giggles could be heard echoing in the rain.
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