Directly continued from the Consilium


Ahriman sighs as he steps out of the circle, bringing his hand up to ruffle his hair, letting the cool air outside reach his scalp. He relaxed slightly, letting his back, held stiff during the entire meeting, now slumps ever so imperceptibly. He yawns, stretching slightly before looking over at Mike.

'well' he thinks 'This is a situation.'


'Well, it sounds as a solid idea, a cabal of newly arrived mages. And Brent is also within the Adamantine Arrow I believe, so that's perfect.' And he looks good, not nearly as much important, yet a fine side note.

'We... or you, should talk to the others as well...' Mike says as Ahriman walks to the door, and his voice trails off.



He looked Mike over quickly, considering what he knew of him. He was from Texas, had a couple of dogs, and seemed a little nervous about something. That was it. Not a lot to go on to be sure but he could get to know more about him as the night wore on. For now he had to consider how he was going to introduce his proposition.

"Tho... Know any good platheth around here?"

'I'm afraid I don't...' Mike makes a short chuckle as he looks around, 'I know a Starbucks nearby, that's all.' And the Moros was always ready for Cappuccino, Frappuchino, and God, make sure they'll have Mochachino's in the Underworld. Although I'd like to add some chocolate brownies as well.

'But if you're in the mood for a beer... wine? I'd love it just as much.' He wasn't really a romantic guy, he loves candles and all, but he would never set it all up himself.

"Ah wath thinking a beer, but if you want to go to... Tharbuckth ah don't mind really. " He smiles self effacingly at his lisp. "ah do have a nice bottle of wine at my houthe if yew'd like. " He begins to walk towards his car. "Really itth up to you. A private place would probably be betht though."

'Talking about Cabals is not the best idea in a public place.' He thinks as he moves toward his old half ton ford. 'Its a good way to get Guardians up the ass."

Mike looks at Ahriman for moment, with narrowed eyes and thinking. Then a smile appears, 'Then the wine it is!.' Go home on the first night out? Sure, 'we' are so easy when it comes to such things.

Ahriman nods and gets into the car, waiting for mike before pulling out.

--------------

They pull up to an older apartment complex in not so great neighbourhood. Ahriman pulls up to a parking space marked by an old faded and water marked sign reading Tom wakefield ." Ahriman gets out and stretches before tossing his keys in the air, catching them and heading towards the other side to open the door for mike. The car had some glitches and one of them was that the passenger door didn't open from the inside unless you did a few tricks to it.

Although meanwhile looking around, every now and then Mike glances at Ahriman. He was most certainly a nice guy. The Moros was very curious about the other guy's home. He wonders if any mage-y things would be in there. Not that his house was typically tomb-like, at least not yet. Although it's haunted.

He makes the cutest smile as Ahriman opens the door, 'Thank you,' and he inclines his head thankfully. He has some questions, but waits until they are inside.

Ahriman leads him up some rickety old metal steps, rusted in some spots and nearly broken in two in others, and up to the second floor balcony. He crossed the porch and went through a complex jig of trying each key in turn and then going back through, trying to remember which one opened the door. After a minute he pull back and tried just opening the door normally.

It swings open easily .

With a sheepish smile at the Moros he gestures him into the narrow door way.

The house was nice, neat in a slightly cluttered sort of way, and despite that it seemed bigger on the inside than it did the outside. The two mages would enter through the kitchen, which was decorated in muted greens and yellows, with older looking appliances and some stains on the wall that looked a bit like smoke stains from burnt cooking. The tile was linoleum, but well kept and not sticky or peeling. The counters were in similar shape, cheap but taken care of, and even had a small spice rack on them. In the corner, near the area that crossed over into the living space there was an old faux wood table with a news paper spread across and a coffee cup left on the side that reads "Sometimes punching the morning sounds like a good idea. " There was a smell, something that was like home cooking mixed with cleaner hanging in the Air.

Through the door way you can glimpse and older T.V. and behind that a small wine rack.

"Make yer thelf at home." he said "Did yew have dinner?"

Taken by the environment, Mike is silent for a minute. He just nods, and drops down on a couch with his legs pulled up. Just like he did at home, but making sure his shoes didn't touch anything. His eyes are narrowed to the coffee cup as he was trying to read what was written on it while he says, 'Uhm, actually not, but I don't want you to work yourself to the bone just to get me some food now.' Another smile to Ahriman before his eyes catch a glimpse of the wine rack.

'Just come sit here... and take your chance to get to know me better.' Wink.

Ahriman blinks , missing the wink as his hand had already been over the phone, and his mind considering which take out place he should call. Still the other seemed to just want to get to down to the tough stuff. "Ah guethth... thtill if yew want pizza I need food anyway." he reaches into the cupboard and grabs two wine glasses and moves into the living room. He places them down and smiles at the other. "tho um.. " He lets the other lead.

'Oh in that case... make it a quattro stagioni for me.' A happy grin, Italian food is so his thing. Of course in America they were totally different than in Europe, yet he loved it. 'Let me do the wine... you want red or white?' Dear Ahriman say red please, otherwise you're not worthy of my romantic efforts.

Ahriman smiles and picks up a phone set near the couch. "Redth the only way to go, ah keep white in cathe ah let thomeone in that doethn't know or care to know the joyth of a good red wine." Indeed when Mike looks the red wines are plentiful, good and have been open. He dials the number from memory and begins to talk to the other person. During the conversation he needs to correct the person several times but the order gets taken and he leans back. "It will be here in twenty minuteth. " As he leans back he seems to kind of slump, and his body language much more open. "itth a nice place, they do the food well, but the kidth there like to mock mah acthent in the privacy of their own mindth."

A big smile appears as soon as the word red comes out of Ahriman's mouth, and it becomes bigger together with the explanation he gives it. Mike soon gets up and walks over the wine rack, picks up a not all too expensive, nor the cheapest looking wine and searches for a way to open it. 'That's awfull...in our point of view 99 percent of the world has an accent, why mock at our fellow Americans' ones?' He shrugs a little confused. But after a look at the wine the smile reappears and Mike seats himself next to Ahriman, relaxed. He opens the wine and fills the glasses, he takes one for himself and holds it up to make a toast,

'To our new goal to get to know each other better!' he takes one sip, puts the glass back on the table and turns to Ahriman with a broad smile, 'Sooo, I've come to the knowledge that you read minds?'

Ahrimans silent as he listens to thee first part, watching the moros move about his house with ease. Now that he was in better light Ahriman could admire the man. He was rather good looking, and seemed
Ahriman clinks the glass together and ships before setting it aside. "Mathtigoth" he says. "It cometh with the territory, though I will admit I don't actually read thoughtth, more aurath. I uthed to do it by accident when I was newly awakened. I tend to just thcan now. Its eathier to deal with people if you know what they are feelin'" He smiles. "and yew? are yew more a zombie raiser or an alchemietht?"

Mike shortly laughs a soft laugh, he leans backwards as some sort of preparation of what he was going to say, 'Due to the way my boyfriend died, I didn't feel a lot for raising his body you know... rotting and all.' He shakes his head in disgust, and talks in away as if everybody should know what he was talking about, 'So I'm more specialized in ghosts. However for the matter of answering your question, death certainly is my thing.'

Accidentally reading auras, what a lucky guy. People thought I was going crazy when I started talking against their recently passed away grandma. Next to the short interruption in his thoughts, Mike wonders if Ahriman was reading his aura, right here, right now. And the next question, was it a bad thing? He has nothing to be ashamed off after all, has he?

'I have even made my job out of it. I go through life as an assistant undertaker working for the Dignity Memorial,' he holds one finger up to make clear he was quoting something: 'The largest network of funeral, cremation and cemetery service providers.... Yeah I know, that is a really bad advertisement.'

'Boy friend?' Ahriman's eyes raise and now he looked over the man a little more closely. Oooooh that makes so much more sense. He's ga-

His brain stuttered to a stop and his eyes widened realized he had a man, in his house, who was also gay and possibly under the impression that they were here for completly diffrent reasons than he had intended.

'DO IT MAN! DO IT.' he heard the Daimon in his mind cheer. He quickly squashed the thoughts.

He quickly pulled himself together and smiled slightly letting his magic flair slightly, but frowning as it fizzled. Oh well..
"Hm It workth ah guethth but It might need thome tweaking. Also thorry about the thurge, ah catht thpells every now and again, its not going to ever be on you unlethth I check with yew first" He sips some more wine looking at the other man over.

Mike loved to see the man's expression change. He nods then, 'Indeed, but it's from quite a big company, so there is no chance I can change the advertisement. And about the spells... I don't mind, but it's good to know you don't just check everybody.' he grins and scratches his head to search for the right words to say what he wants to say.

Right to the point was the outcome, 'So, you're into guys or girls?' If Ahriman needed to be pulled out of the closet Mike might as well do that too. I do so many good things today... unbelievable.

Ahriman nearly giggled at that statement, it sounded like the time in second grade when Betty Morgan had tugged on his arm and asked if he like her or Susan Carmichael better. Man this guy was forward , he thought as he let a slightly goofy grin flow on to his face. "Men, I like men." He shift towards the man slightly to show his interest.

"Though I will clear this up now, that while I do like where this conversation is heading, I invited you over to talk Cabals. Fair warning ."

Oh I knew it!! Mike's expression is obviously happy, and more subtly hidden but also noticeable is desire. 'Ah I see, I'm always rushing ahead of things. We'll talk about men later.' Again he winks but is then silent for a moment, thinking about the Cabals he had known. One taught him a couple of things, welcomed him when he awakened, and others he had only vaguely known. Mike himself has never been in a cabal before.

'Isn't that supposed to be a big thing? With mages you actually know quite well...' his voice trails off as he asks for more explanation.

"Itth is a big thing yeth but it doethn't neceththarily need to be with people you know. Normally it ith though, you're right. On the other hand Cabalth are thometimeth formed for convinence. For inthtance my Mentor was put in hith Cabal mothtly because it would provide him with a thort of family or group of people to watch out for him, and eventually he turned into their guard. He once told me to think of it thith way: alone a mage can do many thingth but he thtill needth to do thingth like go out thhopping, making thure to tend a hallow, keep up hith protectionth, and generally caring for hith health and well being. That taketh time, and time like that can be better thpent doing other thingth. A cabal allowth mageth a chance to thpread their rethponthiblitieth out over a larger group of people. " He pauses. "It also allowth a thupport thythtem for the mageth if thomething happenth."

"Right now I am jutht looking for interetht. I grew up in a large family, was trained in a Cabal thetting and being on my own with out anyone to talk to is begaining to wear on me to be honetht, and thpeaking plainly I feel like its a good idea to get a group thet up. It theemth like theres a lot going on in thith neck of the woodth and their is thafty in numberth."

Mike first raises his eyebrows sceptically. In his opinion, you should know each other. But being mage decreases the amount of people you can be really close to, to a minimum. Being gay makes that a minimum number divided by 10, which leaves with you nothing at all. So he didn't plan to push Ahriman away. He nods agreeing, 'I understand how being in a cabal has many advantages, I just... well,' Mike shrugs, 'I never really thought about it.'

'I'm most certainly interested,' he says with a grin, 'and I guess trust or friendship will grow over time. But did you have others in mind?'

"Like I thaid, I am jutht looking around right now. We can jutht try to get to know the people before we make it official. " He shifts slightly, reaching over to get his wine before leaning back. " I was thinking Aguthtin at leatht, maybe Brent... one other if we can thwing it. " He sighs and runs his hand through his hair. "Right now thith is jutht a half-formed idea I guethh. "

There is a knock on the door and Ahriman gets up, grabbing his wallet.


'Well, it sounds as a solid idea, a cabal of newly arrived mages. And Brent is also within the Adamantine Arrow I believe, so that's perfect.' And he looks good, not nearly as much important, yet a fine side note.

'We... or you, should talk to the others as well...' Mike says as Ahriman walks to the door, and his voice trails off.

There was a quick exchange before Ahriman was back.

"I wath planning on it." he said setting down the boxes of food on a small table he pulled out from the side of the room. "Yew theemed the motht intrething, so I decided to go with yew firtht." He opened the boxes.

"Bon Appitete "

'I see that as a compliment,' Mike grins, of course he was the most interesting. When the nice pizza is presented to him he nods to Ahriman, 'Merci beaucoup, and eh, you too!'

He takes a bite of one piece, puts is back and looks to Ahriman, 'So, you're specialized in Mind completely? Or are there any other magical skills I should know of.' Mike sounds a little playfully as he gives his sentences extra connotations.

Ahriman blushes at the connotations. "Well space... and Forces. " he mutters beginning to munch on his food. "I also specilize in guns. Lots of guns." he grins. "I used to be called Three guns Wakefield back home. " He could feel the wine loosening him up and he once more caught the magic, bringing pandimonium into his mind and focusing on the auras around him. He now could see a glowing around Mike and smiles at him.

'I wonder what hes feeling'

This is a roll


Mike grins as Ahriman tells about his nickname, 'That is interesting... forces have always fascinated me.' He smiles back, a calm smile as his light blue aura becomes visible to the magistos. His eyes though, tell a different story, a story about a red aura. Not deep deep red, yet there was desire.

'Well,' he starts after finishing another bite, 'my own skills lay mostly with Death. however, I've began to understand something of Life too! And of course Matter. As for my mundane skills, I fight my enemies with bare hands.' And he holds two clenched fists up in front of him, shortly indicating himself boxing.

Ahriman chuckles slightly. "tho I thee. " 'Good he's relaxed, I didn't say anything wrong.' he begins to eat. "Training mutht be intenthe though. I mean I jutht go thtanding around thhooting thingth. Your probably thapring all the time. "[

'That's not entirely how everything goes. My fighting skills came almost accidentally on my path, I was... a little on the wild side of life.' Mike's face shows a slight pain of the memories. 'I came to Sacramento because I later started to use magic in that wild life, and my reputation was quite bad back in Dallas. Now I hope to become more disciplined and... let's say good.' It was obviously not his favorite topic.

'However, the pizza tastes good!' the Moros grins, quick as he can change the matter of the conversation.

Ahriman nods, munching, noting the back story. "I found them my firtht night here. I wath lotht and they wouldn't give me directionth with out ordering." he finished the pizza and licked off the sauce slowly in thought. The other was calm and content in his house, as well, it seemed, as intrested. This was good, but how was he going to impress him. "I personally think the scauce it amazing but I can never tell whats in it. "

Mike just smiles as Ahriman talks about the pizza. Sure it tastes fine, but it wasn't on the menu in paradise, would it exist. After a while he asks a question, obviously searching for something to talk about, 'Have you spoken to West already? I thought he was a... remarkable man.'

Ahriman blinked. "No, I haven't been introduced to many people. just tech and Animus. Whose West? " He didn't want to sound stupid but he really hadn't met many people.

'Blah blah blah, all you do is talk.' came the thought. Ahriman quicking took a large draught of wine to stop the exasprated moan from coming out of his mouth. 'Man you have a man in your house who desires you. Put your moves on him.'

'Trying to figure out how to do that.' he thought back.

'That,' Mike replies, 'is the Magister. You're in the Adamantine Arrow as well, aren't you?' After a questioning look he finishes his own pizza, and takes the last sip of his wine. He rubs his hands and leans closer to Ahriman.

'Sooo, what's for dessert?' Now his aura would be deep red. Yes it was such a classic sentence that it had almost become a cliche. But hey! If it works it works right?

Ahriman smirks slightly and moves closer to Mike, putting an arm over the back of the couch. "Ah think yew know what ah want now ..." he purrs. "And ah know yew want it too."

He leans forward and kisses Mike, tenderly at first, almost as if he wasn't sure what he was doing, but then more confident if mike doesn't push him away. His arms wrap around the other man, pulling him towards him.

'Damn you're right...' A short grin before their lips touch each other. And Mike wasn't a soft kisser. The good thing about being gay, there is no girl to tell you you're going... too fast.

His left hand was on Ahriman's cheek as his right rubbed the other man's back. Of course not every man was the same, so he should see how far he could go. And so he does, when his right hand tries to get under a shirt instead of rubbing over it passionately.

Ahriman groans, closing his eyes, slipping his own hands under the others shirt. He deepens the kiss, adding tongue. He pulls his hand through the others hair, pushing himself Into mike, all gentleness forgotten.

Mike slowly turns on his back, laying on the couch as Ahriman seems to approve what they're doing. In his opinion, it shouldn't take all too long before clothes were being pulled off. Between some kisses he leans back a little with a playful grin.

'You know, I'm really starting to like the idea of a Cabal with you.'

Fade to Black