Avery | Mood: Realizing

When he showed Avery the phone screen with their name on it, Avery balked. Who was this guy? Little did they know they would get their answer soon. The date of December 14, 2010 was in bold letters. They paled as they remembered that day. A man named Toby had approached them and offered a solution to their family troubles. It hadn't helped at all, but what had come out of it was skate-boarding skills and the ability to communicate with animals one way or another.

Baal sipped his coffee and praised it eagerly. They began explaining quickly and Avery cut in quickly. "Oh. Well you could have just sad that instead of acting ike some creey stalker. Um, what beasts though? I'm still having trouble proccessing that. So what are beasts? My sins? My mistakes?" They peered inquisitively at them man, quite calm compared to their earlier reaction.

"And, uh, could we speed up the proccess before you freeze?" They gestured at him, his red ears and his shivering breath. The way he clutched at the coffee as if it were life itself. Life's gone to shit anyway." They smirked lopsidedly, cocking their head.

Baalatum | mood: you broke it didn't you

Baalatum lifted a brow at the insinuation and scoffed. Creepy - him? Please. They wouldn't know creepy if it came up and bit them. Comparatively, Bal didn't consider himself to be even remotely creepy. Especially not in his current state. Maybe if he had one eye and three heads. That was always fun - but no, probably not a good idea to switch that on right now. A public stunt like that could land him in probation. Somewhat reluctantly, he suppressed the urge to stir up some real chaos in this frozen wasteland, his eyes flashing like a housecat watching birds flit about on the other side of the glass.

"Oh heavens no. I don't keep records on your sins or mistakes - nor do I care. That's above my pay grade. I promise you we have better things to do. Usually." He replied. Now that they seemed to have a better grip on the situation, he pressed a button and stashed his phone away. He spun a hand in a bored manner, adding, "Oh you know, the beasts. The small one and the others. Sharp teeth, claws, tail. I don't know what you call them. Cats? Dogs? Hippopotophants? Something like that."

He couldn't be bothered to keep track of all the animal species that existed in this plane. They were all quite similar to him. There were only a handful of animals he knew off the top of his head, like cats and dogs and birds, and as such, most things in his mind fell under one category or the other. As he mentally thumbed through his list of animals, trying to remember the word for the tree climbers that looked like tiny, hairier versions of people, he was surprised by the next few words out of Avery's mouth. A request to hurry things along? Unusual.

Well, that was oddly considerate of them. It was almost the complete opposite of the reaction he'd expected, especially given their earlier confusion. He had sort of assumed they might try to run or beg or talk their way out of it. That was a natural reaction, and he'd be lying if he said he didn't enjoy some amount of sport thrown into the mix, he also wasn't at all eager to stick around here any longer than he had to. So in a way, everything had all worked out - right? Bal threw a curious glance their way as he took another long swallow of coffee. It was still steaming hot, but he didn't seem to mind the temperature as he downed it and sighed appreciatively. Somewhat dramatically, he crushed it in his hand and let it fall to the ground.

"Right, let's get this over with." He declared as he rubbed his hands and reached out to clap his right hand lightly on Avery's shoulder. The palm itself was warm, the nails oddly defined, like cat claws just barely resisting their sharpened instincts while tossing around a toy. The height different irked him, though he made no note of it beyond a small huff.

Then he snapped his fingers.

And nothing happened.

He tried again, his eyes narrowing before flicking suspiciously up to Avery. Had they done something? Tricked him somehow? Because this was definitely not working.

Avery | What the heck bro.

The man was so nonchalant about the entire conversation. "Cats?" That one caught their attention. Avery loved dogs, all animals really, but cats were one of their favorites. That was interesting. They'd seen many cats recently. It hadn't bothered them, though, as most of the cats Avery saw had always been roaming the zoo when they had to close. And especially at night. Avery blinked at the shorter man. What was going on? Like seriously? Today was weirder than "Bring-Your-Pet-To-Work" Day. They started asking yet another question when the man gulped down his coffee and... dropped it on the floor, crushed and bent after he had squeezed it in his fist.

Avery narrowed their eyes at the man, bending down to pick up the cardboard cup, still warm from the drink that had previously been sitting in it. They tossed it to a trashcan hidden beside the edge of the sidewalk. They barely spared the metal can a moment's glance before returning their gaze to the man, still pink from cold. This man was either careless or just ignorant. "Right, let's get this over with," he said with a flourish in his voice. Maybe Avery was imagining it, but this man really laid it on thick. But Avery always thought negatively, so who knew. They breathed deeply, their head tilting gently to one side almost inquisitive. They wondered where this was going to go.

The man placed his hand on Avery's shoulder after rubbing them together. The shorter man looked slightly uncomfortable, having to place his hand on a person that was... rather tall. Or it could have been the cold too. It just depended on how you looked at it. Avery looked at the man's hand oddly. They looked sharp, sharper than Avery's, anyway. Baal puffed a tiny breath of hot air into the cold, a billow of steam exiting and disappearing into the breeze. Avery couldn't help but do the same, watching their own cloud of steam flicker softly like a dragon's breath. Even after years of being used to that, Avery still enjoyed blowing warmer air to create pillows of the steam.

Avery blinked and watched in almost a mesmerized state as Baal snapped, the sound echoing in their ears. Curiosity filled Avery as Baal did it again before looking at Avery almost in irritation, it seemed. Avery shrugged at his gaze. "Whatcha doing there? If you want, I could snap too." They smirked, yet couldn't help but wonder exactly why the man was snapping. Well, maybe they had a small sliver of knowledge, but they didn't know exactly what was going on.

Baalatum | mood: feeling a bit sick and annoyed

"Do not do that." He replied, his voice a low hiss of frustration. His orange eyes rolled, the pupils shrinking into a distinctly feline shape. This person was just playing with him now, and Bal didn't appreciate being made to feel incompetent. He hadn't acquired this job through nepotism alone, and his higher up's didn't quickly forgive mistakes. This was a mistake, clearly, and he fretted about the possibility of being responsible for such a mess. Fortunately, the darker hue of his skin helped to mask his flush of irritation and embarrassment, although the same couldn't be said for his ears, which remained a steadfast red with cold.

He pulled away from Avery's shoulder with a bit more force than necessary, now feeling less inclined to be gentle, and less inclined to fit in with the casual crowd going about their business. His hand retracted stiffly, nails more pronounced as sharpened claws. Something was up, and he was feeling less and less certain by the second.

Of course it couldn't be that easy. Of course there had to be some catch to all this breezy compliance. He whirled on his heel and stalked a few paces away, then came pacing back, hands jammed deeply into his pockets as he puffed frozen air. He did this for a minute or more, pacing and grumbling and keeping a close eye on Avery lest they take advantage of the confusion and try to flee. Although he wasn't quite circling Avery, he might as well have been, given that his mannerisms almost perfectly matched those of a caged zoo tiger.

A couple of people uttered complaints of surprise at his erratic pacing behavior creating a commotion of foot traffic, which he promptly ignored to come wheeling back in on Avery. A sharp exhale punctuated his speech, his lips curling with the sheer impossibility of the situation. He pressed a knuckle against his temple, sighing in defeat at what he was about to do. Him, about to ask a human for assistance. Ridiculous. But he didn't have much choice here.

"You. You reside here in this forsaken patch of ice, yes? Your nest. Where is it? I must communicate with someone." He told them, eyes scanning the streets as people hurried by following their usual routines. He wondered briefly if they would even notice a strange man conducting a ritual on the sidewalk before shoving that thought aside. Yeah, no. It was way too risky, and he was already in a tight spot. Even a narrow side alley or an abandoned storefront would likely be serviceable, but truth be told, he was tired of being out here in the cold, and running low on options. He turned back to Avery, concluding, "It would not be acceptable to do so here."

Perhaps surprisingly for someone so unfamiliar with basic human terminology, he did possess a mobile phone, and it did function normally - well, as normally as one could consider such technology, Bal didn't quite trust it - on this plane. It was when trying to break through to another plane, such as Hell, when things became tricky. He was fairly certain that any sort of ritual light show would not be welcome on the city streets, nor did he need that sort of attention.

Regardless of whether Avery allowed him entry to their home or not, Bal wasn't planning on letting the brightly colored person out of his sight. He had a job to do, even if that job was becoming more complicated by the moment. And maybe, if he was lucky, he'd at least be able to score another cup of coffee in the meantime.

Baalatum | mood: hurry up - no wait, actually gimme just a minute here

"Yes, your nest, your lair, your home. Call it whatever you wish. I must go there immediately." Bal replied, following Avery's gaze as they indicated a direction. He only hoped it wasn't too far. How was he supposed to keep up with human lingo? It seemed to change practically on a daily basis. Just last week he could have swore he heard someone refer to shoes as kicks. And anyway, English was his second language, things always got muddled in translation.

Wait a minute. No? Did they just say no? He uttered a noise of useless protest as Avery declared that no, they had other business to attend to first, and then they could go to their home. Bal floundered in place for a moment, his mind racing and his expression fixed in a puzzled grimace. This whole strange situation was quickly slipping out of his grasp, and he didn't like it. But there wasn't much he could do. The one thing he had going for him right now - the only thing - was Avery, his target. He couldn't lose them too.

"Is that really necessary?" He hissed, but Avery had already retreated, returning to the coffee shop from whence they came. Wonderful. More delays. Just what he needed on top of everything else going sideways today.

He grumbled as he trudged forward to close the distance between them, jogging slightly to keep up. How did they function so well in such a climate? Here Bal was, freezing his tail off, and Avery hardly seemed bothered. He'd been reduced to an impotent tagalong with a couple of words. Although Avery didn't seem like a flight risk so far, Bal could never be too sure, and he didn't want to take any risks. He caught up as they entered the coffee shop, but Bal stopped just inside the doorway. The door swung shut with a brisk jingle, sealing them off from that horrible chill outside and shutting off the outside sounds of the street. Inside, it was toasty with an intimate warmth that immediately put him at ease.

Huh. This was almost nice. Cozy, even. He slunk away from the door, sticking close to Avery like a disgruntled shadow. They'd take care of whatever errand they had, then they could get moving again, and maybe Bal could get this mess sorted out. He seethed in silence, his orange gaze narrowed, fixated on Avery in deep thought. Maybe it had just been a fluke? One more try couldn't hurt. He reached out as if to tap Avery on the shoulder with one extended finger, hoping against hope as his nail prodded their shoulder gently.

But nope. Nothing. There was no indication of energy at the other side, and he blinked as he was met with the continued atmosphere of the coffee shop. He bit back a hiss as he withdrew, scowling, "Worth a shot. I'll just...wait over here."

He hovered by the pick up counter, eyeing the baristas with an intense curiosity. The workers behind the counter moved with such purpose and practice as they stirred, whipped, blended, and poured in a surprisingly comforting harmony of whirs and snaps. Heady scents of rich coffee grounds and sweet syrup filled the air. A puff of steam shot up like a firecracker. As he watched, one of the workers plopped a cup down at the counter and called out a name, only for someone to waltz up and claim the cup. Well, that seemed easy.

"Maria." One of the workers barked as they slid a cup across the counter. Bal stepped forward and scooped it up, feeling instantly soothed by the warm cup pressing against his palm.

"Amir." He stepped forward again, grabbing a second cup that definitely didn't belong to him.

"Clarissa." He snatched a third from the pick up counter, now struggling to balance three piping hot cups of coffee between two hands. He clutched one in the crook of his arm, hands clasped around the other two as he eyed the counter like a hungry predator. By now, with three cups, he'd started to draw a couple of questioning looks, and he glanced over to gauge Avery's progress on whatever it was they were doing.

If only he could sprout an extra couple of limbs to hold all these cups. Sometimes this plane felt so restricting.

Baalatum | mood: cold here but coffee warm

Bal was a little caught off guard when Avery came storming up and demanding to know what he was doing. He had been rather calmly waiting for another drink to appear, when they were suddenly at his shoulder, chastising him for - for what, exactly? As if by instinct, his jaws parted slightly in a half grimace, pupils swiftly shrinking down into slits and then returning to normal as he stared back at Avery in perplexity. His expression was mostly just nonplussed, though it certainly bordered on an indignant sort of hostility.

"I am obtaining these beverages." He stated coolly, lips pursing in mirrored annoyance at what should have been very obvious. His gaze shot briefly over to the pick up counter, hopefully eyeing another drink as it appeared, before returning to Avery. They were clearly agitated for whatever reason, though Bal couldn't easily determine why. He watched in silence as Avery exchanged a few words with the workers and ushered him out of the coffee shop.

Back into the frozen wasteland.

"Please. You have conducted your deals?" He asked, his poor attempt at small talk annoyingly glib. He stuck close at Avery's heels like a persistent and grumpy stray cat, clutching his stolen coffees closely. Wrapped in his red sweater as he stalked along, breath puffing and icy air biting, he felt his mood again begin to sink. There had been a temporary lapse amid the warm comfort of the coffee shop, but that had been quickly dashed as soon as he stepped back outside. He could really grow to loathe this place. Its one saving feature was the abundance of hot coffee which was, as an aside, somewhat difficult to carry while keeping pace with Avery and trying to absorb his surroundings. His sense of direction was usually fairly on point - it had to be - but right now he just felt sort of fuzzy about everything.

He could have offered one of his many drinks to Avery (they had paid for them after all), but he didn't want to let the drinks out of his grasp. He had claimed them. He wanted them. He needed them. And so, to remedy his balancing predicament, he quietly materialized a grasping tail. Hairless but skin colored, slender, and prehensile like that of a monkey, it wound through his sleeve to help grip the cluster of drinks. At a glance, it was difficult to interpret the extra limb. It was subtle enough to be overlooked, but the placement of the cups in his hands hinted at something kinda off, mostly because it was almost impossible for anyone to hold three cups perfectly level.

Avery | mood: This is fine. :)

Bal was truly acting as if he were settling into the world he had stumbled upon, though he wasn't acting in what most would have considered a "normal" way. He was more of a person who had accidentally entered the wrong alternate reality, yet had acted the way one would expect from a completey upside down world. Avery sighed and rubbed their eyes, the cool air feeling like a comforting hug. The shorter man, on the other hand, looked as if he were freezing. Avery was right at home in the frozen place, perfectly content. They had half a mind to take a longer route towards their home, and to especially take slow strides, just out of spite of the other man.

But, sadly, the amusement of watching Bal struggle to keep up with Avery's longer, and quicker strides was far too enjoyable.

"I belive I have," they replied easily, at utter ease. "Unless you would like me to complete more useless endeavors? I can go grab some fruits at the grocery store, maybe take a peek at the automobile shop? We can get some frozen smoothies as well! That'd be great in this weather, eh?" Avery looked out of the corner of their eye to peer at Bal with a smug smirk. They were, quite literally, torturing this poor man for their entertainment.

Avery was comfortable, knowing exactly where he was, and how far he was from his home, mainly because he consistently went to this local coffee shop. It was a good place, smaller and not too horribly crowded with nice drinks, nice prices. Bal seemed to enjoy the coffee shop as well, clutching all three coffees as if they were the very life lines tethering him onto the world. His hands were wrapped around them rather protectively. Avery would have normally slipped one out of the other's grasp to take, especially since he wasted genuine currency on it, but Bal was miserable enough as it was. It'd be a cruel act to take away his little cups of pure, warm bliss. He seemed to somehow handle the three cups perfectly fine without spilling a drop, each one perfectly even. Avery just marked it as utter skill, and desperation to keep ahold of the warming drinks.

Avery clenched and uncleched their fists in their pockets, their digits in their jacket probably red and freezing. It was a good kind of feeling though, even though it hurt their hands in a rather unpleasant way. Cold air blowing strongly felt rather interesting, especially against a human's warm body.

It felt as if every single step Bal would just perk up and say an extremely unhelpful, "Here?" It remind Avery of themself as a child. It was irritating for that fact.

"What?" Avery looked amused. "I've always wanted to live in Alaska. It's a great place, real green especially in the summer. I think it's great. What, do you not like the cold weather?" Their voice was teasing, probing a reaction. "Anyways, we're here. Unless you would like to go get more, uh, coffees?" Avery gestured lightly towards the three in Bal's hands. They shook their head and forged on, taking a turn for a neighborhood of cookie-cutter houses, each covered in snow and bright lights for the winter holidays. "Mine is at the end of the block. In case you just pass it."

As the pair turned the corner onto Hallmark channel lane, Bal felt himself grow nauseated. It was all so...cheerful. What a hideous, idyllic display. He almost wanted to run the opposite direction, just seeing all those twinkling lights crisped by fluffy white snow. But the alternative was just as difficult to stomach. He'd rather be sequestered away inside the sugarplum gingerbread village than left out here in the cold. And, he supposed he shouldn't have been surprised that Avery lived in a holiday postcard, considering their startlingly bright attire. Oh well. He wasn't thrilled but, given his options, it would have to do.

"No I do not. It's disgusting." He grumbled under his breath, spitting icy snowflakes from his lips, but trudging ahead with a renewed sense of hope. As soon as he was away from the mortal riff raff on the streets, he could call into work and get this whole thing sorted out and then, boom, he'd be in Miami by morning. With a look of resigned disdain, he said, “No, this will suffice.”

The instant that Avery allowed him access to their home, Bal would rush inside and begin to make himself comfortable. He scarcely waited for a proper invitation to come in, pushing inside before Avery themselves could. Once inside, he promptly began to investigate the place, stalking through rooms, brushing aside curtains, and flickering any light switch he found with the intensity of a theater attendant at intermission. More impressive was his ability to maintain a tight hold on his precious cups of coffee while scouting out the perimeters. Like the average stray animal one makes the mistake of bringing into one's home, Bal was a decidedly terrible houseguest.

It was only after he had thoroughly snooped through likely every room available that he paused to guzzle down another cup of coffee. Sadly it was no longer boiling hot, but it was still the best thing he'd had on this plane. A real saving grace. Paying Avery little mind as he got to work, his recently materialized tail loosed itself from his sleeve and instead took hold of one of the remaining cups, freeing one hand while the full cup swayed precariously from the skinny limb.

“This...we will move, yes.” He muttered to himself as he began to rearrange pieces of Avery’s furniture. This was partly why he didn’t feel comfortable conducting contact rituals out in the open. Besides the fact that glowing sigils and disembodied voices might wig out the common man, he needed some space. He pushed a lamp aside none-too-delicately, then suddenly turned to Avery with a snap of recollection, asking them - well, more demanding, really, “A mirror, do you have one?”