Gavin felt it when Rimmon planted his hand on the Angel's mark. He knew it should have hurt him as much as it did them. But because that damn Coyote was around, it felt it only as a deep ache in his core. A sense of something horribly wrong and being powerless to stop it. Everyone at the table looked at him though, so he knew he hadn't been entirely successful at hiding his reaction.
"Ah, sorry about that. What did you just say?" Gavin tried to move past whatever it was he did to give himself away.
"What is it?" Gabriel asked at the same time Coyote said, "Do you feel that?" Only poor Belle had no clue something very bad was happening right now.
Gavin knew, as if he had been there, overhearing their conversation. "It attacked them. The Twisted went after Lone and Rimmon. They learned that there is a Descended creature acting as it's holder, that's why you couldn't follow it Gabriel. Master summoned it home, it didn't jump it's own trail. And now he's taking her there." the words were wooden, his mouth full of the taste of ash as he realized it. Rimmon, that bastard, was taking her away.
"What's Rimmon doing here and why haven't you mentioned his involvement before?" Gabriel's voice was low and suspicious.
"Because greater forces haven't allowed him to." Coyote replied in his stead.
Belle looked hurt and horribly confused, she knew they were all talking about something she had no clue of, and it involved her friend. But they were refusing to fill her in. "What is going on here?" Belle demanded, sounding upset.
Gavin opened his mouth to reply when Gabriel took the options away from him. "Human, this is none of your concern. But so we don't have to sit through your inane catching up process, I'll make an allowance and give you a brief instruction. I am Arc Angel Gabriel. This is Guardian Angel Gavin, and he is a Neutral, Dumb Coyote. Your friend Lone is a marked soul, and it's our fault. Gavin here was supposed to find her and ensure that she was set back onto the path of righteousness, protect her from darker forces. Apparently that's not what has happened."
Gavin wanted to smack his head against the table repeatedly. The very thing Lone hadn't wanted, Gabriel had just gone and done. Dragged Belle into this world. Just great. "It's complicated Gabriel. That thing came along. After that, it was more important to figure out and contain that thing than repelling the Demon Rimmon."
Belle raised her hand, face pale. Coyote smiled at her, laying and comforting hand over hers on the table. "Rimmon's a demon? D-d-demons and angels are real?" she sounded close to tears. Gavin felt bad, and almost obligated to comfort her. But for some reason the Arc Angel beat him to it.
Gabriel scooped Belle right out of her chair and set the blonde on his lap, hugging her to him. Gavin looked at Coyote, knowing his own eyebrows were raised in shock. The Arc was acting strangely, he never ever acted compassionately normally. Earlier his condescending tone had been just about the kindest Gavin had ever seen him be to a human, now this. It was almost as if the Arc were smitten with the mortal. Gavin was surprised that a bell didn't ring out as he finally caught on to himself. If Gavin could have fallen in love with Lone, it's not impossible to believe the Arc was just struck with cupid's bow as well. It wasn't supposed to happen. But that didn't mean it couldn't. It seemed poor Belle was just fated to be as neck deep in this as Lone is.
Thinking of her, Gavin could feel a faint echo from the woman whom held a piece of his soul. She was scared and excited at the same time and it made him sick to realize she was enjoying herself around Rimmon. The Demon had touched an Angel's mark, the thought made Gavin smirk as he realized how much pain the Demon must be in now. They were always warned about it, to never touch a mark you didn't make yourself. They defend themselves with vengeance. It must have been dire indeed to force the Demon to willingly endure that kind of agony, the thought was enough to make the smirk fall away.
"I need to go. If they're going to the Descended, I need to go with them. If nothing else to protect Lone. She's desperately vulnerable right now." Gavin stated, standing up.
Gabriel looked up from Belle, a frown on his face. He seemed as confused by his actions as everyone else was, but now Belle was clinging to him, crying softly into his shoulder. "I don't like it." he stated, voice not as intimidating as it could have been as he didn't want to scare Belle any more.
Gavin raised at eyebrow at the Arc. "It's not like you're in any position to stop me right now anyways, I'm going." with that he walked away, hearing the Arc curse after him softly.
The moment Gavin felt his otherness creep back, he hid himself from view of the mortals, spread his wings out and lept up, muscles surging so he could quickly gain altitude and following the piece of Lone's soul he held back to her.
####
Lone was checking out the scratch on her face in the mirror, wondering when she'd gotten it and how she hadn't noticed it until Rimmon licked the damn thing. Now that he knew he didn't have to pretend to be human, he was acting like she was any other Demon. It was disconcerting and yet still a little flattering, though Lone would never tell him that.
Speak of the devil... Lone mused to herself as she caught sight of Rimmon standing behind her. Since she had been leaning over the sink to get a closer look at the scratch in the dinky sized mirror, this left her pretty much in a very awkward, vulnerable position. Which Rimmon made shameless use of. He stepped up close behind Lone, hands on her hips and pressing his groin against her backside. His finger slid under the line of her pants and brushed against his invisible brand. He heard her breath stutter out, and he could see her grip the sink, knuckles white. He placed his entire palm against the mark, letting his finger sneak closer to an entire different area of her body and she grabbed his hand. Stopping it from sneaking over to the front of her body, but not pulling his hand away entirely.
"His mark of you should be like mine. Evocative but weak. But we both saw the soulfire it let loose. So you two have been doing something to strengthen it. And I know it had to have been something intimate." Rimmon's voice was low, almost purring. He didn't sound upset, merely amused that she thought she could hide it. Lone flushed a little but met his eyes through the mirror's reflection. "If you're going to be seeing the both of us, it's only fair that we keep things even, don't you think?" he suggested archly, a smirk on his face.
"I'm not seeing both of you... I'm not seeing either of you. I can't trust anyone so why would I be dumb enough to go and do that?" Lone asked, her voice huskier than she wanted it to be. The base of his palm was resting on the hidden brand of her hip. Which meant the tips of his long fingers were awfully close to a part of her anatomy that wasn't used to company. It was distracting and frustrating as hell, which was probably Rimmon's whole point.
Rimmon leaned against her back, bringing his lips close to her ear. It effectively pinned her under his body, and she couldn't help but feel how much he enjoyed the situation. "You have a piece of my soul Lone. It binds us together even if you don't want to admit it. But you also have a piece of his. Which makes you mine as much as it does his. I don't envy you this position to be in. But I can make it easier for you. I'll play along for now, willing to let you dance between the two of us. But only as long as we're both getting the same chances." he breathed against her ear. "I think I know what I need to do to even the score Lone." his voice was low, whispering down her neck.
Despite herself, Lone closed her eyes, perversely enjoying the Demon's attentions even though she knew it was a bad idea. All part and parcel of having your soul scooped out like ice cream and split amongst Heaven and Hell. His hand glided out from under hers and his fingers brushed across the front of her body, making her shudder.
Rimmon could see his own reflection in the mirror, hovering over Lone's shoulder. Her eyes were closed and her breathing came in pants as he grinned at her reflection. The man in the mirror had red glowing eyes and he was mildly amused to find that his tail was swishing out behind him. Before Lone could even fuss over it, he had undone her pants and slipped them down to her ankles, still teasing her. He could feel the tie he had into her coil and strengthen, like braided another rope into a line. When Lone couldn't stop the noises Rimmon's touch drew out of her, the Demon grinned, letting his other hand stroke his brand on her while he felt her shudder under his touch.
Lone gripped the sink, panting and a little humiliated that she had let him do that. She was supposed to be kicking their asses anytime they tried that, not letting him diddle her in her own washroom. When Rimmon caught her gaze in the mirror, he sucked on his fingers and Lone flamed bright red. "Now we're about even again." Rimmon gloated, making Lone frown. She tried to spin and push him away, but her pants were still tangled around her legs, so she ended up tripping into him. Rimmon gripped her arms carefully while Lone yanked her pants back up, resecuring them while her cheeks glowed with embarassment.
"Just image what I'll get you to let me do once I have home field advantage." Rimmon said softly, making Lone look up at him sharply.
"Absolutely nothing because I'm not going!" Lone countered, stepping out of his grip. Rimmon let her go, knowing that he could have over powered her easily. But he also knew that if she were to struggle right now, his baser nature might come to the forfront and take what he wanted without care for the consequences. Good for when the soul was disposable, but Lone was supposed to be recruited, not eliminated.
So Rimmon stood still, hunting her with his eyes alone and refusing to move so she could escape into the slightly larger apartment. "You will be coming with me to the Descended plane. And you will be mine eventually. But by all means, keeping fighting it Lone. That way it'll just be all the sweeter when you beg me to take you." his words rooted Lone to the spot, looking at him like she was about to rip through him. But it also made her overlook the fact that he had come closer while talking to her.
"You don't own me Rimmon. And I will never, ever beg you to take me. Not in that sense of the meaning." Lone rejected outright, stubborn chin raised.
Rimmon smirked down at her, wondering just when exaclty he had started to think that this mortal was enjoyable to be around? It didn't matter, he dismissed, placing his palms against the wall on either side of her. It pinned her in without actually restraining her, and Rimmon liked seeing her reaction to the knowledge that he had her trapped. Without understanding it, Rimmon found himself capturing her lips with his, tasting at her lips instead of fighting back with words. He suddenly pressed against Lone, wanting more than just the taste of her, body still frustrated from working her to finish but getting no release.
There was the sound of someone knocking at the window to Lone's apartment. It jerked Rimmon out of his strange reverie and Lone looked just as bemused as he did. Though she seemed to recover quicker, slipping around him to walk out into the apartment. Rimmon followed a moment after, and the Demon glared at the Angel on the fire escape, wondering what the hell he was doing here. This was the Demon's time alone with Lone.
"If you're taking her to the Descended, then I'm going with you." Gavin stated, not bothering to pull his wings in.
"Not happening." Rimmon growled, feeling his tail swish out behind him like an angry feline.
Lone stood between the two men, figuratively and physically, keeping silent. Finally she shrugged and walked to the kitchen, casually pulling out a bag of popcorn. "Just don't trash the place when you two start to bitch slap each other again. I want my security deposit back eventually." the mortal called out to them.
Gavin raised his eyebrows, clearly amused but Rimmon frowned. "Bitch slap?" he questioned, a little insulted.
"I've seen you both fight. You're both weak tea noob fu fighters. If I go to hell with either of you, I'll be carrying your weak asses along for the ride." Lone shook her head, rolling her eyes dramatically. It wasn't her normal nature to be this jolly roger about it, but she was trying a technique Belle said worked when two clients ran into each other. Humour to diffuse the tension. And it worked.
Rimmon snorted and Gavin gave her a smile and a wink. Lone stood in the kitchen and smiled at both of them for a moment before it suddenly wiped off her face. She put the popcorn down and walked to her cupboard for the emergency stash. Pulling down a bottle of dark rum, she pours herself a glass while they watch and downs it. Lone wasn't a drinking person but it finally hit her that Rimmon was right. She was basically dating two men at once. And neither one was human. This called for another drink.