nexus_crossings | SUPER FRIENDLY

SUPER FRIENDLY

Christmas done, New Years over, the chance of encountering anything uncomfortably holy has diminished by a lot, and thus, what might be an disquietingly familiar crimson figure has popped back up in the Nexus again.

Just the same as he was before, that smile permanent, he's gotten comfortable in the plaza. Pretty easy to see the direction he came in from too, the snow partially melted and delicate little cloven deer hoof prints burned right down through to the ground. Rather odd, considering the obvious fancy calf skin shoes he's wearing.

"Happy New Years, ladies and gentleman, Happy New Year, hope you had a fantastic holiday, I know I did!

Say, any of you fine folks out there make a resolution? Keep it light folks, lets just have a nice fat chew here! What do you have in mind for the New Year? Don't say lose weight, if you didn't do it last year, well shucks, I don't think this will be your year either, realistic goals, folks, lets keep it light and real."

The hiss and crackle of that old vacuum tube radio and the tinny, artificial quality of his voice doesn't do much to lend to the 'lightness' of this entire scene, but hey, it's nothing he can help, nor distinctly seems to care about.

Frankly, a seven foot tall antlered anthropomorphic amalgamation of man and deer was about as un-light as one could get, but that's never stopped Alastor before.

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"Not much of a machine man here, but I'll pass it along!" Palmer would never have a free second if Alastor actually had any vehicles here. The demon wasn't exactly... the best... with driving.

"Not a single rule against it! But to be honest, I haven't seen a lot of rules against anything, anti-violence field aside! You could probably sell PCP out of a candy machine."

"I can go back to my world." Peter is aware of how fortunate that makes him.

"And Erik is back there. In my world."

"There's a friend of mine in another world who has a Thing loose there, too, and he wants to stop it. I decided to give him a hand. I can't kill my Thing, but I can kill this one."

Kinner considers Alastor's suggestion. He gives a sincere smile. "I'm busy with my fish shop. That's not a bad idea, though. Maybe I'll expand into a restaurant proper once I have enough money and customers..."

"No rules, huh? Sounds like my kinda place." Palmer's a decent enough sort, but he's not above a little small-time lawbreaking. Mostly drugs these days, though he had shoplifted and been caught speeding in the past.

"PCP ain't my poison of choice. I prefer weed, though I'm happy to share." Palmer smiles. He doesn't usually offer weed for free, but Alastor is a demon from Hell. "If you ever want me to fix you up, sir, all you've gotta do is ask."

"I was," Dale replied, ambiguous, his manner taut and tense. His eyes narrowed for a moment as he looked Alastor, all over, seeming to be searching for some inner sign. When he didn't find it (and he would have found it if it were there to find) he exhaled, and his body language relaxed further.

"I mistook you for someone else," Dale replied then, with a small flourish of one hand. "Someone I don't really want to be dealing with right now. Apologies, it must seem incredibly rude of me."

"Exactly. The only thing stopping people from change is themselves. Although, it is interesting to see how other cultures celebrate the event. From parties to the actual cuisine, everyone takes New Years differently." She watches intently as he opens the gift box, not even caring at how her wrapping job is so easily demolished by his claw-like appendages. Hearing how he hasn't received a present in that long is actually rather sad.

"I'm glad you like it, Alastor. There's a sense of relief when I'm able to get the right gift for someone." Even if she's half tired when presenting it, there's still a noticeable smile on Marie's face, as she shoves both hands in her pocket. "Are you busy this morning? Maybe we can go out and get a mimosa and some breakfast? I wouldn't mind taking a trip out of the nexus and chatting for a bit."

Well, the fact that they're conversing rather than coming at one another with drawn blades or other weaponry is a pretty auspicious start, if you ask the angel. If he were a better angel, Balthazar would be worried about the mortals around here and possibly prepared to threaten Alastor with smitings, but...

He just doesn't see the point. He's not a Guardian Angel, after all. Only has been once or twice before, short-term. It's good work when you can get it, but some days it's hard to care about the human species as a whole, let alone individuals.

Meanwhile, depending how Alastor's senses work, he might note that Balthazar is well-hidden within his human vessel. His wings will occasionally cast vague shadows, but it's never a good idea to whip them out in public. Someone is bound to go blind. His natural form is a ring of fire and eyeballs, which would beg questions even in a place like this.

"Technically, I suppose it's not me drinking so much as my vessel," he says thoughtfully. "Given that I'm not really corporeal so much as a wave of celestial intent. But I get to taste it through the body I'm borrowing, so I get some enjoyment, at least."

"Ah, I thought you were asking about other peoples' resolutions because you needed suggestions for your own. Merely prurient interest, then?"

"Must mean you got a door around here somewhere, right? Say, where's yours, son?"

"Well hey, any port in a storm, right? Too late to kill yours! Maybe someone will get to it for you back there though! If not, hey, no skin off your nose, not like you'll know!"

Truly, the words of a caring helper.

"There you go! After all, you got all the time in the world! May as well make the best of it!"

There was a very good reason why Alastor hadn't gotten a present in that long. Mimzy wasn't much of a gift giver, and.... Well that was about it! That was the entirety of Alastor's Christmas card list right there.

Another praline vanished past those razor teeth with a crunch.

"I didn't have a thing planned today, sweetheart, not a single one! Even if I did, I'm not a man to turn down a good breakfast!" The glitter in those blood red eyes is there and gone at the idea of visiting a place outside of the nexus, but the look of glee never fades at all.

"Field trip huh? Where to?"

And if Alastor was a dumber demon, he'd be tossing around a few more threats, perhaps doing some nice grandstanding. Thankfully for everyone here though, Alastor was no Sir Pentious. This would be a peaceful chat.

Or as peaceful as one could imagine it to be. Looks good so far!

That blood and hellfire stare does dart to the side now and again, but otherwise, he isn't giving much of an indication of sensing anything. Trust him though, he appreciates the mindfulness Balthazar has of the others here. The demon likes being able to see.

"Oh is that how that works for you?" Not the same rules where he's from. He doesn't sound dismissive, rather, it's obviously fascinated. "Well isn't that handy? If they could feel it, the flyboys back where I'm from would just be green with envy. You got a favorite drink yet?

Just curious, friend, just curious! New Years doesn't matter at all in Hell, can't even tell what year it is!" Time stood still for so many of them down there. Alastor himself couldn't wrench himself from the Thirties, though it hardly seemed like he cared to try.

"Just looking to see how times have changed since the last New Years I had."

"Long as you don't start throwing punches or swinging knives, sure! No rules!" Alastor though... There's a good reason the former human ended up in Hell. There's a few bigger black marks on that record of his than speeding tickets.

"Not much of a smoker, son! I like my self medication in liquid form, but I'll send it along that you're looking to sell."

And Alastor would wait, apparently quite intrigued, as Dale appeared to only relax more as he inspected the demon a bit more closely. Very interesting, now he's curious.

"No offense, son, no offense at all! Say, who are you keeping your eyes peeled for, seemed awful tense! Wouldn't happen to be whatever punched your card and sent you here, would it?"

"I trust the members of my old team. McReady and Norris were on to that thing. Copper, too - if anyone could stop it, it would be them." Kinner believes in the surviving team, though he doesn't doubt there would be losses.

The skinny cook changes the subject to something a little lighter.

"Ever been to Lord of the Fries, Alastor? Great place - I went there myself recently. Best hamburgers I've ever had."

"Well, you don't have to worry about that. I'm not really the kind of guy to start throwing punches. Couldn't say the same for some of my old friends, though." You couldn't be in a biker gang without getting in a few scrapes.

"A boozer, huh? Like MacReady. To each their own." Palmer chuckles. "I'd 'ppreciate that. My place is called Gear Today, Gone Tomorrow. Terrible pun, I know."

"It changes location. Damn thing..." Peter laughs. "First time I arrived, I crawled up out of the floor. With a cast on my leg."

"You could say that." Never tell a demon the whole truth, but never lie entirely, either. Dale slipped his hands into the pockets of his black jeans. If the demon focused closely, he might notice an eldritch silver 'linework' running beneath Dale's visible skin, like circuit-board wiring and in places as delicate as the thinnest silver filigree wire. A cold sort of energy.

Dale's face eased back toward its more usual expression, a lazy and mellow smile. "You'll understand if I don't particularly want to say his name out loud. He tends to notice when he's called. Let's leave it at: another demon, and he's bad news, and the less we talk about him, the better."

And I just learned that demons have access to this place, too. I really need to get my head around this.

"Actually, maybe we could do a little business, depending. You know anything about jamming astral frequencies?"

"It doesn't have to be breakfast either. We could go for a nice walk or do some sightseeing. Honestly anything to keep me from going home is a plus right now." Maybe she's alone or there's a possibility that something bad happened there, but one can't say for sure. Marie is doing a relatively good job at hiding anything that might be bothering her in favor of spending more time with Alastor.

"I found a world the other day that you'd blend into seamlessly. Apparently, there's places out in the multiverse where problems are settled with fashion shows." As for the location..."Pick any major city in the continental USA and we're there. I'll let you decide where we go."

There was a bit to take in here, at this point Alastor was getting used to running into shit he's never seen before. It was far from annoying now though, eighty five years of sameiness got tiring, after all.

He's going to be cooking up some questions.

"Got good hearing, does he?" Well, there was something Alastor was personally familiar with.

"I might! Why do you ask? You got a job that needs doin', son?"

"Now that's a bit of a stretch, nothing wrong with having a drink every now and again, right? Don't sell me short, son, I know my limits."

It is a terrible pun, but he gets a laugh out of Alastor anyway, the sound harsh and crackling, warped by the radio as it was.

"Hahaha, that's awful!

Hey, at least people won't forget it, right?"

"Having a little trouble back home, are you? Well what's going on back there, other than the usual?" Because last he heard from her, it was already pretty goddamn terrible. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't interested in hearing how it could get worse.

"Flattery will get you everywhere, my dear! How can I turn down an offer like that? How long do you have today? I'd like to make a good trip of it, why don't we start with my old stomping ground?

January in Louisiana ain't half bad!"

"Chin up, right? And hey, if they lose, you'll have the team over here! Win win!"

The grin twitched upwards a little more at the mention of the fast food joint.

"Sure, I've been there! Cricket treated me to a great meal over there, absolutely fantastic, new favorite place here.

Cute kid, Cricket, you met him?"

Well, it was a terrible pun.

"That was the idea." Palmer can't help but laugh himself, though he quietly wonders what's with the radio noises.

Alastor's a strange guy, though Palmer's not one to judge.

"That's a good thing. I've got no idea why Mac drinks so much, though I figure he's got his reasons. He's not the warm and fuzzy kind of guy."

"Yours moves huh? Must make it hard to keep going back and forth all the time."

"Well, I was thinking of dropping by later today. For lunch - I've never been, so I wanted to check the place out. You're welcome to join me if you want. I'll pay."

If Alastor accepts, Kinner will probably regret this, but he's in a generous mood. 'Tis the season and all.

Besides, Kinner likes dining with company.

"You've met Cricket?" Kinner can't help but smile, too. "Yeah, I've met Cricket, he's a good friend of mine. Makes the best moonshine I've ever had, and I'm a cook, so I'm a good judge of these things."

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