“You don’t have to try and walk in front of me for no reason!” Zack snapped back as he started to stalk to the tree in question, wondering if he should just disappear without him and leave the Human for dead. That sounded much more appealing to the Demon at the moment.
Bryn pushed himself up onto his knees with an angry frown, slowly getting to his feet. It would kind of suck if he was abandoned out here, but it also might've been for the best. Living with Zack in literal hell would either be fun or awful. "It was a joke, you didn't have to knock me onto my ass. You could've just said 'hey Bryn, let me lead the way' like any other person would!"
Zack huffed and paused near the tree, crossing his arms in a huff as he waited for the Human to catch up. He looked very ready to just proceed without him. Only because he liked this Human he stayed to glare at him.
“Yeah, right, you know I’m not no ordinary person. What do you want me to do next? Kiss your ass like some ‘ordinary person’?”
Bryn rolled his eyes, trotting forward to catch up with Zack. He didn't know if he should be exasperated or grateful, but he did know that exasperated fit the mood better. "No, I want you to learn some fucking manners." He walked in front of Zack again, careful to look for any new attempts to trip him.
“Whatever.” Bryn had actually passed the tree because he was leading, and didn’t see Zack stop a few minutes later, who didn’t bother calling him back as he found a sharp stone. He inscribed weird letters (that looked quite like the Greek alphabet) into the reddish tree, muttering to himself in the same language he used with his wings.
Bryn turned sharply, wandering over to where Zack was murmuring… something weird. It sounded kind of latin-y, but he hadn't been in a language class for a long time. He leaned up against a nearby tree, taking in the ritual with interest. "Whacha doing?"
Zack ignored him and just continued what he was doing for a few moments, looping in small circles around the tree as he drew with the stone. A few minutes later, the symbols seemed to disappear and the tree’s branches melted down slowly to open up to a small archway.
“Go,” He demanded the Human, pointing at it.
"Oh now I can go first," Bryn muttered, adjusting the strap of his bag for a second or two before he decided this probably wasn't going to kill him and walked through. He turned back the way he'd come once he was inside, waiting for Zack to follow.
Zack rolled his eyes and resisted the urge to push him. Instead of a fresh wave of heat hitting Bryn when he went down, a pleasant breeze made his hair and clothes drift up. Zack slid down after him and the portal immediately closed. Unfortunately for Bryn, the Human was standing too close and got squished by Zack, who stood up off of him before they could make it awkward again.
Bryn thanked god that Zack was determined to keep things from being weird, using the closest thing he could find to pull himself up to his feet. Unfortunately, this thing was Zack, but that was… fine. Probably. He asked a dumb question to distract him, just in case. "Hey, if demons are real, is God real? And Jesus and Satan and all that stuff?"
“Your Satan is our Savori. He’s much less intense than you think. Angels and this ‘God’ that you speak of his nothing but a pin in our rears.” He turned around to face his home, which was basically set up like a giant city with spots of forests of dark red trees sparking over it.
“Here, Savori has made everything better. See? You can see his castle.” He pointed off into the distance at a great, big, shining castle dressed in bright red and a soft grey. Zack beamed at it with his pointy teeth.
Bryn's eyes slid across the city evenly, not showing much more than a vague interest. This wasn't how he expected hell to be, but it seemed nice. Less fire and brimstone, more suburban housing and woodsy charm. It was way nicer than he expected too, these houses were classy as fuck. "Damn, this place is beautiful. How'd you manage to stay away for so long?"
As the pair walked closer, everything seemed to be built around these big trees. The air was fresh and clean and the breeze had cooled them off from their walk and fly. Zack walked in silence for a few moments, contemplating his answer.
“I don’t know. I missed it so much. I’ve been away from here and my parents for so long it just left a hole in my heart.”
Bryn listed his hands up over his head as they walked, sighing happily at the breeze. He blinked at Zack in surprise for a few seconds after he answered, having already resigned himself to not getting any kind of response. "You really love your home, don't you?" he asked, slightly jealous. "And I bet your parents are wonderful too."
“Yes.” This answer was immediate. He loved his home and everything about it. He never wanted to leave, but of course he had to. Contracting was something one Demon in every family had to do.
“They are. I think they’ll like you a lot. They might think you’re my mate at first, so don’t make it weird.”
Bryn smiled at his enthusiasm but it dropped off when he mentioned his parents. "You know you don't have to flatter me, right? They'll find me just as shitty as you do, don't sugarcoat it."
“Look, my parents aren’t as shitty as I am. They're actually nice people, Humans just ruined me. I’m being serious, I know my parents. They like everyone.” He stuck his hands into his pockets and continued walking.
"I, like you, am an extraordinarily shitty member of my species," Bryn argued. "Everyone knows it. They'll hate me, there's no getting around it."
“No, trust me, you aren’t,” Zack huffed, and he decided to end it there. He wasn’t going to continue with that subject even if Bryn made him.
Bryn crossed his arms. "What's with the sudden change of heart? A couple minutes ago you were ready to leave me in the dirt to be someone else's problem."
“I still want to,” He growled sharply, in a tone that suggested Bryn not talk anymore. He stalked forward, his eyes determinedly facing forward as they veered away from the city.
Bryn rolled his eyes but he also shut up for a little while. He'd had the foresight to pack a few books, maybe he could just hole up in his room and pretend like he'd been lying when he told Zack he wanted to stay with him.
(U wanna skip?)
(Sure)
(Tuuuu when?)
(Maybe Zack getting home for the first time? So he can see his parents again and introduce Bryn and stuff.)
(Yeyeye sounds good. And after that do you wanna do a bigger skip?)
(Sure, when should that one be to?)
(A few months later to when they’re bonded a bit better?)
(sure! maybe Bryn starts getting really homesick but he doesn't want to mess up the new kind of friendship between them? So Zack definitely knows something is wrong but he doesn't know what)
