◙ 01

[mortalcoiling.livejournal.com]

[today, there is someone raiding the music room, and the sounds of their exploits are caught over the forgotten grimoire nearby. There is the wooden clatter of instruments from the cabinets being taken out, set down, moved around, put back. And then, amongst the busy sounds, the occasional pause and peal of a few expertly plucked chords. Just experimentally playing with the instruments as he finds them--testing the sound, comparing them to one another, inspecting the exotically foreign forms of each one.

Whether he's looking for a specific instrument in particular, or just exploring the tower's library of stringed instruments, Coil's going to be at it for a while]

Comments

[mortalcoiling.livejournal.com]

[and now that smell is a little hard to miss. And it's apparently familiar enough to cause immediate alarm, by the way that the boy freezes once more in his work to whirl around]

[forourqueen.livejournal.com]

[Close like this, Gabriel's stealth is not perfect and he appears rather ghostly and transparent - no longer fully invisible. When Coil whirls around, the Forsaken knows that he's spotted...

...and he just grins widely.]

[mortalcoiling.livejournal.com]

[immediately leaping back, the boy falls into a practiced defensive stance, eye wide with the shock of adrenaline that surges through his system. He's wary, totally on edge and freaked out at the undead man's sudden appearance, but it's not terror. He's alarmed, but not horrified.

This is a knowing sort of fear]

[forourqueen.livejournal.com]

[Gabriel's glowing eyes are fixed on Coil's face and he doesn't move away, still standing somewhat uncomfortably close to the younger man.]

Boo.

[mortalcoiling.livejournal.com]

[the way his fists reflexively tighten say that it takes a demonstration of will to not just lash out and push or kick the creature away from him. Instead, he manages to get himself to move hastily backward, trying not to trip over the instruments laying on the ground in the process]

[forourqueen.livejournal.com]

[Oh, he notices... and it makes him grin wider. He doesn't follow as Coil moves backwards, just giving the instruments a brief glance. Three steps, and the kid could have a dagger embedded in his chest if things started to look grim.]

You're one interesting kid...

[mortalcoiling.livejournal.com]

[where the creature's state of... undeadness... didn't seem to pull much of a reaction from the kid, the fact that it speaks fluently does. His eye widens a noticeable fraction more, and the tension running through every limb increases. He glances away only for a moment, presumably looking for something to use as a weapon, or check for an easy escape route]

[forourqueen.livejournal.com]

[One moment is all Gabriel needs to take to the shadows again, disappearing from sight once more.]

[mortalcoiling.livejournal.com]

[--oh damnit!

When Coil glances back to find the dead man gone from sight again, an anxious and voiceless breath immediately presses out of his lungs.

He's moving now, retreating quickly to try and get his back up against a wall as quickly as possible, eye wide and desperately searching as he goes]

[forourqueen.livejournal.com]

[Smirking, Gabriel watches the building panic in the boy with a hint of sadistic pleasure. There wasn't a lot that he found amusing, but this?

This was hilarious.]

[mortalcoiling.livejournal.com]

[it's at least a mostly level-headed kind of panic. Once his back is up against a wall, he takes a moment to catch his breath, struggling to stay calm.

And then he reaches into his tunic and pulls out what looks like a little stick of charcoal, gripping it apprehensively in one hand while he scans the room again. Waiting to see if he's going to be attacked, or if he maybe has a moment to act]

[forourqueen.livejournal.com]

[A stick of charcoal? What in the name of the Dark Lady was the boy about to do with that?

Pulling his daggers, Gabriel crouches, ready to attack in case of danger.]

[mortalcoiling.livejournal.com]

[when nothing immediately jumps out of the shadows to attack him, he crouches down while keeping his back to the wall and quickly draws a wide circle around himself on the floor, as far as his arm will reach.

And then come the lines and runes, sketching them in as quickly as possible with that charcoal stick]

[forourqueen.livejournal.com]

[This... did not look good.

Gritting his teeth, Gabriel backs away more. Magic. Some kind of damned mage spell, if he had to guess. Narrowing his eyes, the Forsaken man weighs one of the daggers in his hand, wondering if he should rush over and slit Coil's throat before the young man was done.]

[mortalcoiling.livejournal.com]

[with the sigil apparently finished, the boy remains crouched, the fingers of one hand straddling the edge of the circle. Then, he just watches the shadows in the room and waits. The magic of the symbol isn't yet activated, but he's defensive, seemingly waiting for the creature to show itself or get close before initiating whatever it is that the circle is meant for]

[forourqueen.livejournal.com]

[Nope, he didn't like this at all.

Grasping a throwing dagger instead of his fighting ones, Gabriel aims it towards the circle and lets it fly. Hopefully some cold steel in the middle of that coal would interrupt any bad things.

However, the action also made him visible again.]

[mortalcoiling.livejournal.com]

[unfortunately, all the kid needs to do is catch a glimpse of something appearing out of the corner of his eye, and he's immediately mouthing a frantic word. In a flash of sickly gray light, the charcoal lines look as though they ignite and burn themselves onto the floor, completing the seal. In response, a snap of energy immediately pulses out from it, sending a heavy wave rippling through the air across the room.

It's meant to repel the undead, an explosive barrier that collides with their particular corrupt energy and throws it back and away. ...It does not, however, protect from anything else. So, that flying dagger sails on unaffected... and could end up anywhere. ffff]

[forourqueen.livejournal.com]

[Fuuuuuuu- Ouch.

Gabriel is thrown across the room, slamming into the opposite wall with a crunch. Snarling, the undead man tries to get up again, but the force of that magic blast left him a bit disoriented.]

Bastard!

[mortalcoiling.livejournal.com]

[it's a good thing that the little sonofabitch is fast, because he wastes absolutely no time in getting out of there.

He only hesitates for one moment--shaking off the glimmer of glowing magical residue that lingers on his fingers and eye--before he throws himself into motion, bounding for the door as quickly as humanly possible.

You better believe he has wards to go put up in his room now. :\]

[forourqueen.livejournal.com]

[Oh, you fucking asshole. Gabriel's kill list just went up to two.]