group
"Arien?" A voice said softly. Arien seemed to relax at that, letting go of Rafael slowly before moving over to the door and opening it.
It was a god, but not the one from before. This one had hair that seemed to mimic the galaxy, a moon above his head.
"Marcos," Arien said, voice full of relief before hugging the god in front of him.
Rafael was able to relax slightly at seeing Arien’s reaction to the god at their door. He hovered anxiously behind Arien. This was still pretty overwhelming for him.
group
Arien pulled back after a moment, taking Rafael's hand in his and giving it a light squeeze.
"I came as soon as I could," Marcos said, stepping into the home and closing the door behind him.
"Rafael, this is Marcos, god of the Moon," Arien introduced. "Marcos, this is Rafael, my lover." Marcos offered a small smile.
"It's nice to finally meet you."
“Nice to meet you as well.” Rafael said, being able to calm down now. Marcos definitely just had a better vibe than Astral did.
group
Some gods just vibe better, and any of them could do so compared to Astral.
Marcos offered his hand for a handshake, Arien still by Rafael's side.
"I'm sorry I couldn't stop him from just bursting in," The god said, voice apologetic.
Rafael shook the god’s offered hand. “It’s alright. We’re both okay, so all things considered it definitely could’ve been a lot worse.”
group
"Yes, indeed," Marcos said, letting out a small sigh. He knew just how bad it could be. Arien rested his head on Rafael's shoulder for a moment before offering for them to go further to the living room with his hand.
Rafael moved back closer to Arien’s side again, taking his lover’s hand in his.
group
Arien gave Rafael's hand a light squeeze, moving to lead him and Marcos to sit down in the living room.
"I'm to take it you don't know much about the pantheon?" Marcos asked.
Rafael shook his head. “No sir, I don’t.” He said, being polite mostly out of respect. Marcos was a god, after all.
group
"A-Ah, there's no need for that, really," Marcos said quickly when Rafael addressed him as 'sir.' "And I can understand why, this place is far from any temples and the pantheon is not as well-received as it once was."
Rafael nodded in response, leaning into Arien’s side slightly. He could sort of put together the pieces on why Arien had reacted so differently to the two gods.
group
Arien moved his arm to have it around Rafael, rubbing small circles against his lover's arm with his thumb.
"Well, the most you'll really need to know is that it would be best to try to avoid Astral, especially when he gets made. Just… give him what he wants, and you'll be fine."
Rafael nodded. “We’ll make sure to do that.” Astral didn’t seem like someone you wanted to be on the bad side of. But if Elliot did show back up…would they really be able to just kill him?
group
"Good. I'll offer help when I can… What is it he was here for this time?" Marcos folded his hands in his lap, hair over one shoulder. Arien tensed at the question, looking down.
“He uh…” he looked over at Arien for a second before continuing. “He was looking for Elliot. And he told us to kill him if we ever saw him again.”
group
Marcos fell quiet with a nod.
"I… I see." He looked to Arien for a moment. The vampire hated, hated Elliot, but was it enough to kill him? He wasn't sure…
Rafael wasn’t sure either. He knew Arien was beyond upset with Elliot but…they’d still been friends for such a long time. And Rafael didn’t want Arien to have to make that choice of killing him or not.
group
Arien let out a small breath.
"If you ever find him, I… can help, if need be," Marcos offered.
“Thank you..we appreciate the offer.” He said, not wanting to say anything else in case Arien wasn’t on board with that idea.
group
"Please," Arien said softly. Marcos nodded, moving to gently pat the vampire's shoulder. Arien… wasn't doing too good with this.
Rafael would make sure to keep a close eye on Arien for the next few days, it really seemed like he wasn’t doing well, and Rafael wanted to make sure he wouldn’t do anything stupid.
group
That would be a good idea. Arien tucked his head against Rafael's neck as Marcos moved to stand, letting out a breath.
"I should be going."
Rafael nodded again. “Thank you Marcos.” He would stand to walk the god to the door but it seemed he was needed here with Arien.
group
"You're welcome. Please, stay safe." Marcos offered a small smile, not bothering to go to the door. He disappeared in a moment, Arien and Rafael left alone.
Rafael wrapped his arms around Arien, seeking immediately to comfort the other. “It’s okay..I’ve got you..” he whispered protectively.
group
Arien nodded some, tucking himself closer to Rafael's side.
"I… I just… I d-don't know what to think about this anymore," he said softly, eyes closing.
“I know dear, this must be really hard on you.” Rafael knew they wouldn’t be letting anyone else in the house in the near future, that’s for certain. They still needed to check for how much damage Astral had done, and Rafael was honestly dreading that.
group
Arien moved to have his arms more securely around Rafael. His eyes were still closed, the vampire doing his best to stay calm.
"I… I don't know why he even came here…"
“He probably just wanted some people to come bother.” He reassured. “Hopefully he won’t be coming back anymore.”
