Red Blood High

Despite her small movements, Amnesia remained within the circle of his arms; she wasn’t trying to get away from him after all, nor was she even shifting around on purpose.
When he spoke again, she met his eyes. Was he...? His lips lowering back to the curve of her neck almost felt like confirmation. Unlike when she’d had similar feelings in the first shower they’d taken together, it seemed like James was actually trying to initiate something, maybe even that he knew exactly what he was doing.
Then he spoke again, and she was positive that she knew what he meant, her face reddening a little in response even though it was technically what she’d secretly been hoping for.
“I...” she started as he continued to kiss her neck again, “I like that idea...” Before anything else could be said or done though, she quickly added, before she could convince herself to keep it to herself, “Is it normal to feel like this, James? To just feel like... everything is knotted up and to want... to want this?”

He’d noticed that her neck seemed to be an easy spot to target on her, and, when he looked up and caught her eyes, he knew what he was doing was having an effect.
He came to a pause, moving from her neck, having to stop himself from jumping for joy, instead raising up and tracing her jaw with his tongue, before he reached her ear, nibbling on her lobe lightly.
There was a moment there, where he felt his heart completely skip a beat, like he’d felt his whole-body shudder at once, in a good way that seemed to leave him feeling electric.
She’d admitted it…finally, she’d told him she wanted it. He could have popped a full Cheshire cat grin, though, he instead remained near her ear.
“It’s completely normal…totally, and completely normal to feel all knotted up and to want what I’m doing…. because what I’m doing Is making you feel good. You’re probably feeling unusually tense, feeling a bit flustered, all of that….and I love that you admitted it.”
He whispered this all in her ear again, leaving each word to shoot out breath.
“I want to make you feel really good, explore all over and make you think about this for weeks…..if we got our clothes, went and showered….would you let me make you feel really good?”
An idle lick behind her ear again, a spot he’d seen garnered some results from her, lowering back down to her neck before he’d even gotten a full answer.

It was a challenge to speak, to say what she needed to and make sure it was understandable, as James continued to work his way up her neck with hardly a pause. She managed though, and it seemed as if her words only encouraged him to continue. Even when he paused to respond to her, she felt his lips brush against her ear.
And somehow, he’d managed to almost perfectly sum up exactly how she was feeling. He didn’t completely answer her question, as she’d largely meant how she’d felt before he’d even started kissing her neck, but she didn’t try to explain it at this time, for once unwilling to let herself get distracted by her curiosity.
There was a skin-prickling sensation as he continued to speak soon followed by a little shudder as his mouth returned to her skin. The thought of parting, even just to retrieve their clothes, was unappealing to her at that moment, but she finally pulled herself out of his embrace and out from under his roaming mouth.
“I’ll get our clothes,” she said, and after standing, she made her way out of the shallow water back onto the sand where she had left her dress and James his clothes, including his shoes, and after gathering everything, she returned to him with the bundle pressed to her chest. That same feeling from earlier persisted, buf James’ reaction to her asking about it seemed to have soothed a good portion of her unease and uncertainty towards it, allowing the restlessness she still felt to come through more fully.

It was much easier to trace her neck and upper body after she’d admitted she wanted it, finding the subtle fear of stepping where he shouldn’t blurring together with his excitement.
He’d let her go though, finding the disappointment at releasing her quickly met with the excitement in the way she’d grabbed the clothes and came back to him.
His hands went to her shoulders, placing them both on her as he leaned forward and met her in another kiss, letting this one last for moments, slightly tempted to French but deciding against it for the moment. When he let go, the two vanished, appearing right in his room, and, though in normal circumstances, he might have been patient, he got her to drop the clothes and immediately beelined for the bathroom.
The water was turned on and warming, though, he became quickly impatient, sliding open the door, meeting the water while it still contained a chilled prick of cold, that of which neither of them would feel.
Before their hair had even become damp, he was back to her neck and chest, licking and kissing the skin all around the upper part of her body, the warmth creeping in as they stood under the stand in shower.
His hands played wanderer, touching and lighting up every part of her he could think to get his hands on, moving to meet her mouth again and hold another kiss, before he separated.
“I…don’t think we’re going to need our clothes.”
Despite how into this he was, he shared shampoo between them, scrubbing into his hair and letting it wash out, letting her do the same, as flustered as she seemed, before he grabbed for the body wash, rubbing it between his hands, forming bubbles, before his hands went to work.
He began to rub her down, running each part of her with quick but thorough scrubs, hands unable to keep themselves from touching and lightly grabbing at any part of her body in the way.
He’d gone on autopilot and scrubbed down her thighs and legs before he seemed to take a moment, staring back up at her. She hadn’t seemed too keen on him cleaning her there last time…and, though he was horribly excited, he knew not to tempt fate. He came to stand again, squeezing out some of the body wash in her hands, giving her a faint smile as he spread his arms out.
“Would you mind?”
He asked, being the one that hadn’t gotten any scrubbing done yet.
“You can be thorough, but you don’t have to be like I was with you. Wanted to be extra sure I got…all of the sand off of you, for when we’re done showering.”
There was that smirk again, though, he also seemed to be masking impatience.

It had taken some coaxing to convince Equinox it was okay inside, and that was even with the plants helping matters. Had he stepped in without that small bit of a connection, Amnesia wasn't sure that her brother would've come back in. As it was, even though his curiosity had taken over, he still seemed uncomfortable in the new environment.
Comparatively, Amnesia was absolutely relaxed. Having spent so much of her time there recently, she'd gotten used to the closed-in space, and it no longer seemed to press in on her the same way it used to. It was a space she'd started to feel more or less comfortable in, even if there were still unfamiliar things around her that she didn't understand. Whereas she was comfortable taking her time learning everything though, her brother wandered around as if he were already trying to make sense of it all, though he'd only been there a handful of minutes.
After spending the day with him, Amnesia had brought him back with her for the meeting that was supposed to take place soon. She was uneasy about involving him, but Equinox already knew everything, and she knew he wanted to help her with Lily somehow. While this wasn't exactly about their sister, however, it might help with Lily, so, here he was.
"Okay, I'm going to go see if James is awake... please don't touch anything." Amnesia wasn't sure what everything did or what might happen if Equinox touched something, and she had a feeling it would be better if he kept his hands to himself. So, after spending some time making sure her brother was comfortable enough that he wouldn't panic about the new, strange feeling of being inside without her there with him, she left him to continue looking around and headed back into James' room.
It was just barely dark, so she hadn't been positive that he would even be awake yet, and as she poked her head into the dark room, she found him still sleeping. Rather than call his name or prod him awake though, Amnesia crawled into the bed beside him, curling into him and pressing a soft kiss to his lips.

Cautious steps, green eyes wide like saucers, bare feet crude and loud against the new floor, as if it were something that was completely strange and almost dangerous to him, though, he would take steps, listen to the noise, and then stare down at his feet for a moment, taking the time to wiggle his toes and smile, chuckling to himself before catching the large thing they were apparently looking for.
He watched closely, watching her open it, the space in between empty and opening him to a different area.
She’d managed to get him inside, the completely lack of connection a shock to him as he tried to keep track of her, before he found his head casually poking inside of the space the thing had been pushed to the side to allow him to see.
Though he seemed utterly uncertain, the freckles bridge wrinkling with the rest of his nose in a look of complete uncertainty, bright eyes curious and staring, yet somewhat wide and frightened.
It was only the faint connection inside that helped him inside, along with the words from his sister, telling him it was fine.
When his feet touched the carpet, his head shot down, and, before anyone could predict, he was on his knees, feeling the somewhat rough flooring beneath him with less fear and more curiosity.
A look up at his sister, who’d spoken again, and he gave a nod, wobbling up slightly, waiting for her to turn before he immediately began looking for things to touch.
She was gone when he began, into another area he assumed, and his hands and eyes were stuck on everything, feeling the strange yet soft feeling of the couch, raising the small pot on the clear surface to look beneath it, and stare at a reflection of his face in this black screen levitating, or possibly held up, by something on the wall.
His reflection was distorted, any faces he made ugly and strange staring back, and, though it was entertaining, he had to move his own finger away.
“Don’t touch…don’t touch it.”
He seemed to almost consider it evil instantly, scrunching up and jumping at the reflection in the black mirror.
Trying quickly to change subjects, he found himself staring at the wall, then looking upwards towards the bright miniature sun up above. It was when he stared at the wall that he noticed what looked like a different shape on the wall, square, slightly bulged out, and, with wonder stuck in his eyes, he crept towards it.
Could he touch this???
Not much thought was given as he crept up, staring at the shape in the wall.
He was tempted to touch it, in fact, his finger was already pressing against it, though, his heart jumped when darkness consumed the area, and he found himself beginning to melt down.
Solstice had told him not to touch anything and he’d broken the miniature sun!! He turned, diving behind the large soft thing, sitting behind it and staring upward at the cold thing that had been the bright light above.
He couldn’t let her know he touched something…. he didn’t want to make her mad! Uhmmm…uhhhmmm…. how did he break it!? Maybe he could fix it! With this thought, he crept out, staring constantly at the thing up above, walking back toward the shape on the wall. He’d pushed it down…so…maybe he could do it again. He stubbornly poked it for a solid few minutes, beginning get aggravated, throwing the ginger bangs away from his eyes as he leaned forward, staring intently.
There had to be some way to fix it…. somehow.
He hadn’t realized how far he’d been leaning without support, until his body fell forward and his hands found balance on the wall, one of them pushing against the shape, body jumping back, nearly tripping himself right back onto the flower and clear surface, before he watched the miniature sun, that had come back to life, with wide eyes.
Realizing he might break something, and already terrified the sun might break again, he found his sister’s advice to be the best, coming to sit beside the soft thing, raising his knees and arms as he sat completely nude on the carpet, attempting to hold a face of complete innocence but failing.

James had been groggy. Admittedly, the sun had only gone down recently, and, with trying to fix his schedule, he was adjusting again to this time. Still though, there was tiredness, and, reaching down to itch at his leg, he also found himself nude.
A smile on his lips, going still again as sleep fought back at him, only to wake up somewhat when he heard noises near him.
He didn’t open his eyes, ears doing what they needed to, and, recognizing the soft steps, the smile remained, arm opening as he felt her curl into him, kissing her back in return.
Laying but for moments with her, simply enjoying the silence, he found himself eventually planting her with another kiss, body raising up with his shoulder pressing onto the bed.
“Is it time already?”
He asked, rubbing lightly at his eyes, opening them for the first time since she entered the room, eyes greeted by welcome darkness, of which he had to have a moment to adjust to.
Looking down, he released a yawn, curving back into a smile in her direction as he quietly slid himself free, bare feet landing on the wood, completely nude body needing a moment to stretch. If he knew whether she was interested, he might make a show out of it, though, instead, his toes idly searched for a pair of underwear, one he would assume he’d have taken off before they’d gotten in bed. It was only when he remembered they had made no time for underwear that he enjoyed the thought, before going for his dresser.
Underwear and a shirt, that was the most he’d give people.
A white tank top, revealing his pale arms and some of his chest, and boxers to cover a small bit of his long legs.
He realized she’d never too much attention to his ritual, so, reaching for the deodorant he’d left by his bed, he turned in her direction, lightly applying the stick before he placed it down again.
“And now I’m ready to see who you’ve let in my house.”
Though it might have been taken wrong, he said it as a joke, fully aware that at least someone would be there now.
What he came out to though…was surprising.
Equinox, completely nude, idly rocking back and forth and staring upwards at the light above him, almost like he expected it to break.
“Hobby of yours?”
Equinox turned his head, shaking his head in the usual way he did, one that was fierce and made him a blur for a moment.
“No…I was just watching it, I promise.”

When James moved to put his arm around her and return her kiss, Amnesia knew he'd already been awake, though she didn't yet attempt to tell him about Equinox just yet even as she listened for any indication that her brother's curiosity had gotten the better of him. All remained quiet though, and as she watched James, who'd yet to so much as open his eyes, she found herself enjoying the little moment of just laying there with him.
Then, all too soon, he was moving to sit up. "Mmhmm. Everyone should be coming soon." She still wasn't quite sure how many people 'everyone' included. Between her, James, Equinox, and the angels, there would be five of them at least.
As he got up to dress, Amnesia sat up as well, revealing a short, floral patterned dress that she'd actually taken the time to put on before she'd gone to see Equinox. Despite having been in the forest, she'd had to pass through the Strange Wood to get there and back, so she'd donned the clothing, which remained on her as she watched James pull on a shirt and boxers, the combination one she hadn't really seen on him before. Fully clothed, shirtless, only in boxers, naked--yes, but not this.
He seemed good with it though, and she chose not to question it as he once again turned to her, blinking at his comment. "How did you know?"
She got up and followed him out of the room, where they almost immediately stumbled upon Equinox, sitting in a ball in the floor and rocking up as he stared up at the little sun. If his actions weren't uncharacteristic enough to cause suspicion though, the way he answered James' question definitely was.
When she looked up at it, it didn't look any different to her from usual, but she knew Equinox had done something by the way he was acting, and when her aquiline eyes returned to him, they were searching.
"What did you do to it?" she asked as her hands settled on her hips. She didn't seem upset; if anything, it was almost as if she had expected something like this and only a mild case of exasperation showed.

He didn’t really question who ‘everyone’ was, though, instead of asking, he simply stuck his hand out in her direction, motioning for her to grab it.
“I’m good at guessing…. plus, I could hear someone flickering with the light switch.”
He smirked, not seeming to really mind that someone one, though, feeling a little bit like his space had been disturbed without his knowledge.
By the time Equinox had found himself seated and slightly rocking, like he’d committed a dangerous crime, he found his eyes widening at the suggestion that he’d messed with the miniature sun.
“I…. accidently broke it. B-but then I fixed it again!”
He pointed up at the light, or, the miniature sun, seeming certain that he’d fixed the issue.
“I did something, and it broke! But I was smart enough to get it working again!”
He smiled, ignoring the fact that it was completely accidental, turning it back on.
James, who shook his head, released Amnesia’s hand, quietly walking over to the light switch on the wall, and, turning directly toward Equinox, he pushed it down, watching it click off, before he turned it back on.
“You can turn them on and off. Nothing was broken.”
Not much time spent on explaining, Equinox seeming as confused as he ever had, emotions vivid on his face as he started to open his mouth, though, didn’t when James walked past, sitting on the couch with one leg under the other, patting the area beside him as staring toward Amnesia.

”You don’t have to come you know…”
”If I’m being honest, you don’t…you’d learn it all regardless.””
”No way in hades, boys!~ I wouldn’t miss this for the life of me! This is gonna be one hell of a banger! Anyone bring the lighters!?~”
A sudden disturbance in the wall closest the kitchen, a puddle seemingly spreading open on it, hanging above before it began to fall to the ground.
It became large, opening to a pool of blackness, the first hand to touch the outside one of pure bone.
A black button down, paralleling a head of snow white hair, bloody red eyes that seemed to stare straight almost unapologetically, only softening slightly when they reached the three sitting near.
Black military boots touched the carpet, then, as he stepped out of the blackness, he stepped forward, bending down and beginning to remove the boots. Setting them to the side, he gave a somewhat dry smile, that obviously didn’t express his emotion, though, seemed better than the ones he had before.
“Are we interrupting something?”
His voice was almost crisp, lacking a certain something, but trying somewhat hard to express it, slowly rolling up the sleeves on his arms.
“Nothing that important, I’m sure.”
Another male, brawny, good bit shorter than James though in no way meeting the heights of Amnesia and Equinox, all but the top of his head of white hair cut short, spiked up on the top of his head, short sleeved t-shirt fitting tight on his upper body, leaving his left arm with the slightly visible patterns of what looked like feathers tattooed on his skin.
Aside from this, a chain was wrapped around his neck, coming down to his chest and holding a pure white feather, almost fake looking under the light.
The next one was similar, nearly identical to the one with the tattoo, except, his black hair was long, hanging behind his back, blue eyes sweeping the room in the instant it took for him to step through.
“You’re not in your own home, Zach. Don’t be an idiot.”
He too carried a chain with a feather wrapped around it, wearing a long sleeve with a hood on it’s back, also somewhat holding his skin.
The last one was the portal itself, sliding off the wall, almost leaping off, landing near Equinox, forming a human shape, eyes and mouth wide open and never changing with a white that differed from the black of his skin, sitting in a mirrored position, arms and knees crossed over.
“See!!!! He’s naked! I told you this would be a banger!!
A whistle, from somewhere no one knew, as he formed an okay with his fingers, making a circle with two of them.
“Heeeeeyyyy Jaaaaammmmeeesssss-“
“No.”
Fucking condom thief.

Making sure his boots were completely out of the way, Death found himself leaning against the wall, surveying them all with an expressionless gaze, seeming to remember the girl that sat close to James, though, finding the male on the floor near Dusk unfamiliar.
“Who are we waiting on?”
He didn’t sound impatient as much as he was curious, turning his head of long, straight white hair towards Zach and Kamikazi.
“One to two more people.”

Despite having asked him not to touch anything, knowing that he would've been tempted, Amnesia should have known he wouldn't have listened to her. When he claimed to have broken the light, she gave it a hard look, wondering if he'd somehow gotten up there and done something, but even as her eyes asserted that there was nothing out of place from usual, he claimed to have fixed it. Her gaze lowered back to her brother with blonde eyebrows drawn together in confusion. "What did you--"
The question was cut short as James walked to the wall and turned off the light, then back on. That was what Equinox had done, then, and knowing something worse could have happened, she was relieved that was all.
Catching his eyes and seeing the questions there though, she quickly shook her head. "I don't know how it works," she said, getting ahead of the inquiries she knew she couldn't answer. Her eyes moved back to James as he started back, though rather than return to where she was, he sat down instead, though she smiled as he seemed to indicate he wanted her to join him, and without hesitation, she sat down beside him, tucking her feet in underneath herself as she leaned into his side.
She'd hardly done this when a black shape appeared on the wall though, and from it emerged three men Amnesia was surprised to recognize, two distinct and very different memories accompanying one versus the other two--though she didn't know any of their names. A quick frown was cast in the direction of the twins, who she distinctly remembered attempted tried to trick her into running into a door, though a warm smile formed when she turned to the red-eyed man.
"Nope. James actually just woke up." She paused before adding, "It's nice to see you again. I'm... sorry if I scared you when we talked, and I probably forgot to say it before, but thank you for staying and talking to me." She remembered being a broken, sobbing mess on the verge of hibernating until spring, and he'd somehow had the luck to happen upon her.
Then her protective streak emerged a bit, as Dusk appeared and she saw her brother's reaction to the strange creature as he mimicked Equinox, and she leaned forward, reaching out and touching her brother's shoulder and motioning him closer to her when he turned to look, though she had mixed feelings about how to react to Dusk based on their meeting, though, judging by James' reaction, he didn't have mixed feelings about the shadow creature in the least.
There came a knock ont he door before she could think of anything to say though, and only after James responded did it open, revealing a familiar face. The man was tall and broad, shoulder-length auburn hair pulled back behind him, leaving molten silver eyes unobstructed. Stubble the same color as his hair limned his angular face, just enough to give the appearance of a shadow, and a burnt orange v-neck clung to his shoulders. Faded blue jeans covered the bottom half of his body, and a flimsy pair of flip-flops adorned his feet.
His eyes seemed to zero in on Amnesia and James cuddled up beside each other, only after a moment finding the naked man in the floor, which his gaze quickly averted from as he took in the rest of the rest of the gathering, stepping inside and closing the door behind him.
"Am I, uhh, the last one then?" Though he attempted stoicism, any who knew the angel well would be able to see that he was uncomfortable.

James seemed to find the situation easily fixable, walking past the naked male, situated on the couch and instantly moving to wrap his arm around Amnesia as she came forth, sitting with his bare feet pressing against the carpet nearest the coffee table, as his eyes turned to stare at the three new guests.
Death seemed surprised, though hid it unintentionally, as the girl spoke to him, and a thin but hopefully meaningful smile spread across his lips as she spoke.
“You seemed like you needed it. I can say the same to you.”
He’d been going to practice alone that day, and she’d happened to be in the spot he’d wanted to be at, so a conversation had ensued.
Death turned his head, watching with a small grimace as Dusk poked at the other male, who seemed to take it as taunting and kept creeping away, only to have Dusk slide closer.
Equinox raised his head, staring toward his sister, sliding much closer, sitting near the coffee table right nearest James, knees still pressed against himself, eyes turning back to stare at the taunting creature, who waves at him and then turned his head towards the door, seeming to notice another presence before they’d even knocked.
James was the first to break the quiet when Khal walked in, a loud whistle coming free, as if to exemplify his awkwardness, before he felt Amnesia bump him lightly.
Death gave Khal a stare for a moment, remembering him, and then lightly nodding.
“Seems that way…but, let’s check.”
He stared, counting on his fingers for a moment, before he opened his mouth.
“Yerek.”
He called, and the two teenagers responded simultaneously with a mix of “Yep” and “Yes,” which came from both of them at similar times.
“One. James.”
Death turned his head, and James raised his hand with a wave and smirk.
“I think I’m somewhere around.”
Death returned this with a nod, the lightest and most melancholy smirk on his face.
“I’m sure we’ll find you.”
Before he turned his head, catching Khal.
“Khal…right?”
He’d met him before, and he seemed to give a nod of what could have been respect as he did so.
Turning again, his eyes moved towards Amnesia.
“And…. Amnesia?”
Looking to her, and taking the slight nod from James, he gazed toward Dusk, ignoring his roll call, before he turned towards the naked male nearby, who stared back at him with a wide-open mouth, eyes staring at the bone of his arm.
Death turned to look at everyone else, trying to figure out this unfamiliar presence, before James spoke.
“Equinox, her brother.”
James rubbed lightly at Amnesia’s shoulder, looking toward Death, as if to tell him he didn’t know why he was here.
Kamikazi and Zachary spoke again before Death had a chance.
“What about Nylid? He’s got some firepower we could use.”
Death shook his head, thinking but quickly denying.
“He wouldn’t answer the door, even after I knocked. I don’t think he’s fully convinced that what’s happening is right.”

"Why would you thank me?" Amnesia seemed genuinely confused. Talking to him, she'd managed to stop crying and get herself to focus on something other than the pain inside, both physical and emotional. He didn't press her to find out what she was so upset about, letting her change the topic and try to pull her mind away from it, and she really was grateful for that. The only thing she did was offer to try and help him with emotions, and he hadn't even accepted.
When Dusk continued to creep closer and poke Equinox despite her brother obviously moving away from him, Amnesia gave the shadow creature a stern look that bordered on a glare. "Stop that! Poking people isn't nice, especially when they don't want you too!"
She was still watching Dusk, making sure he didn't attempt to creep any closer to Equinox when Khal came in, and as her friend spoke, she finally looked up, giving her friend a smile as she motioned him closer, as he remained standing near the entrance. She couldn't help but notice that something seemed to be off about him, but all questions about what might be the matter with him were held as names were called out.
The first name was the one that surprised her. Or rather, the two who answered to it. She remembered meeting Yerek and being uncertain about how she felt about the angel. And when she thought about it, the two who answered looked like a mixture of what he'd looked like--as far as she could remember, anyway. But they were two people, not one... then again, considering the interaction she'd had with them, it would explain how she'd been on the fence with Yerek. So, just trusting that Death knew what he was talking about, she didn't speak, simply continuing to listen.
As Khal was addressed, he nodded, indicating that Death had gotten his name correct and finding that he was moderately surprised that it had been remembered. They'd had limited interactions, each seeming to be facing one demon or another, so it wasn't as if they really knew each other. He seemed to answer Amnesia's beckoning then, moving a little further into the room so that he wasn't just pressed up against the door, though as she attempted to indicate that he should sit down beside her, he put up a hand, attempting to let her know that he was fine standing.
"Mmhmm," Amnesia confirmed as her name was called.
At the mention of Equinox, Khal's gaze dropped back to the naked man sitting in the floor despite having previously averted his eyes, surprise evident. Amnesia had told him about her brother before, plenty in fact, but he'd never actually met him, the claim being that he didn't have any interest in leaving their home. Not only that, the most similar feature between the two was their shorter stature; he never would have guessed that they were siblings.
"Is Equinox going to be helping then?" Khal asked, eyes moving between the siblings.
"Only with Lily," Amnesia responded before her brother could. Equinox wasn't a fighter, nor did she want him to be. She would rather he wasn't even involved at all, but it was too late for that, hence his presence.
Khal frowned; that would make three people that needed to be protected: James because he would be incapacitated, and Amnesia and Equinox because they didn't have the experience needed for this. "Maybe before we start planning, we should all share our abilities as well as any weaknesses to make sure we plan accordingly. Then I can share Kadrin's strengths and weaknesses, Amnesia can share about Lilybaeum, and Yerek about Jonathan," Khal suggested to the group at large, though he paused as his eyes fell upon Dusk, still sitting in the floor.
"Is it really okay for him to be here?..." No one else seemed to mind, but he specifically remembered that the only other time he'd encountered the creature, he'd been helping Jonathan.

“Pleasant conversation.”
Death responded, turning back to listen to the other’s words, only to hear Amnesia begin scolding Dusk like someone would a child. For once, despite knowing her words wouldn’t make a difference to Dusk, he found that somewhat funny.
“But he wanted me too! Right nude guy! You liked it! Right!”
Dusk released a sigh when Equinox shook his head again, Equinox turning to stare at his sister at her fearless words towards this creature.
She was different…. but it wasn’t completely bad.
Equinox’s head turned in Khal’s direction after the call went out, staring upward at him, nodding his head quickly as Khal asked this question, though, finding his head tucking into his knees more when his sister spoke for him. Only with Lilybaeum….it sounded almost like she knew what he’d had in mind.
Equinox had already met with Lilybaeum, or, she’d found him….and he’d warned her to stop, to not hurt his sister…and she spit on his warning. He’d warned her that if he saw his sister sad again, and knew she was the cause, he would have no mercy for her…..and he wasn’t sure if she completely believed him….but he’d do it for his sister.
“Solstice, I tri-“
He went quiet, shutting out as Khal began to spoke again, listening to his words. He swallowed, starting to stand, to tell Khal how he could be useful, though, he was interrupted, sitting again as Dusk beginning to laugh.
“Silly you! I don’t pick sides….i’m not here to screw up everything….actually….i’m here to pull big bad daddy right out of your boy over there.”
A sly point towards James, seeming proud of this fact.
“He’s destroyed two of Kadrin’s bodies, one of them completely on his own. He’s the closest to invincible I’ve ever seen. Despite seeming to be picking sides…. he’s fully aware of the plan and could push our demon free, and his only weakness is he’s completely unstable, unable to have full rational thought. Aside from that, It’s not just okay…it might be the right idea.”
Death seemed to be looking at it from the angle of an advantage, before he seemed to think over what Khal had said moments before.
“I drain life from things, can do it to people too. I fuel myself and remain alive and able to use my abilities by it, the more I have, the more I move. I’d be considered undead at this point, able to change the shape of my bone structure, use it, bring them free from any point in my body. You’ve seen this.”
He nodded at Khal.
“As long as I have what I need, my body is able to regenerate my damage, heal the open wounds I supply myself with…. though, I’d die without life.”
He raised the glowing hand, made of skin and bone, and seemed to show it’s bright glow.
Equinox’s head perked upward, staring somewhat stunned at his answer, blinking his eyes. Did he…do what Equinox did? He said he took life….did he mean energy? He’d never seen the body react to energy in that way…glowing. But, he’d also never seen a human take it in. He watched his glowing hand instead, seeming entranced by it, before he shook his head. They weren’t the same. Equinox and Solstice both could gather energy from plants around them, and he didn’t seem to.
Next was the two standing nearby.
“Angels.”
Kamikazi started, and Zachary stepped up beside him.
“Our feathers harden and can be used to create weaponry or shoot as projectiles. We’re overall good at what we do, fight. We’ve taught others how to do it…but we’re strongest together.”
Kamikazi reached for the chain necklace around him.
“We’d kick ass if we could be together for long enough, maybe even save the time of wearing down Jonathan….but, we don’t have that luxury. Us together runs on a time limit, makes us get crazy if we stay together too long. We split like this, into three people-.”
Soon, Zachary was reaching for the necklace around him, seeming fond of it.
“-to keep it from happening as fast. Us at full power could brawl real good with Jonathan…but we haven’t fought him since before we lost our other piece.”
A stare between the two brothers’, as if passing a message to one another.
James waved his hand in the air, signaling his turn.
“Don’t think I’m going to be at full when this goes down, but I wouldn’t mind getting my two cents in.”
He said, and, he seemed to think for a moment.
“I make things levitate, move objects, use them, crush them, all of it. I can teleport my body in an instant if I know where I’m going, and other things if I remember their feeling and know where I want them to go when I throw them after touching them. I also know how to fight if that helps.”
He smirked, though, it soon dropped.
“But…I get pain in my head, like, I start bleeding pain…if I overuse it all or do more than I think I can. I also can’t be out in the sun, and my bleeding requires me to have blood on demand.”
After this, he released a breath of air.
Dusk stuck his hand up.
“Oooh! Ooooh!”
He began to wave.
“Ladies and gentlebones, my name is Dusk! I’ve already been explained, so, I’m just going to cut it short and say I can get inside big dum-dums gnoggin over there and force out our friend! I don’t think demons like other demons stepping on their territory.”
Zach and Kamikazi nodded.
“And Jonathan is too territorial. Death threats, expressive anger, all for someone threatening to touch what he thinks he has right to.”
Kamikazi started.
“He’s completely over confident, though, he does have reason to be…. he’s extremely strong, able to break jaws with his hands, and hardly afraid to rip the armor and arms off of anyone who steps in his way.”
He paused, and Zachary continued.
“He knows blades, spears, all sorts of weaponry. Trained in it, bathed in it, able to pick it up in an instant and use it, though he prefers his own two hands, or his horns, when he had them.”
Kamikazi again continued.
“He’s not just a demon, or a past brother-in-arms…he was also a leader, bred for war, bred to speak, bred to know an enemy. He led armies, ripped through others like shrapnel. He liked his hands and horns because it was personal…. even when he was an angel, he had a streak about him, a certain way he saw it. He’s only been beaten by two people before…us, and the top demon.”
It didn’t take much to guess what they meant.
“But, we’ve fought, we’ve trained, we’ve helped each other. He gets greedy in battle, sees things he wants and loses himself in the feeling of fighting….he can leave himself open when he does it, get so excited that he creates a blind spot. A weakness of his is overusing his powers at the moment, breaking apart the body he creates. When he’s returned to his own, that will no longer be a weakness for him.”
Kamikazi said this like he’d written the book on it.
“He’s our equal or perhaps even slightly above us. We cut his horns to stop him, removed his wings to halt him and make him less of a threat, though, he replaced it all with rage….left himself surrounded with the bodies of multiple angels.”
They were both silent for a moment, looking at each other again.
“He……the reason he fell is because he thought the blood of his brothers would make him stronger, told us that he was doing it to prove that he could not be held to dance like they wanted. Killed multiple angels and only got caught for it when we realized it went too far and revealed it…”
There was guilt there, in both of their eyes, seeming to pass between them as they both shared glances, exchanging messages.

“Pleasant conversation.”
Death responded, turning back to listen to the other’s words, only to hear Amnesia begin scolding Dusk like someone would a child. For once, despite knowing her words wouldn’t make a difference to Dusk, he found that somewhat funny.
“But he wanted me too! Right nude guy! You liked it! Right!”
Dusk released a sigh when Equinox shook his head again, Equinox turning to stare at his sister at her fearless words towards this creature.
She was different…. but it wasn’t completely bad.
Equinox’s head turned in Khal’s direction after the call went out, staring upward at him, nodding his head quickly as Khal asked this question, though, finding his head tucking into his knees more when his sister spoke for him. Only with Lilybaeum….it sounded almost like she knew what he’d had in mind.
Equinox had already met with Lilybaeum, or, she’d found him….and he’d warned her to stop, to not hurt his sister…and she spit on his warning. He’d warned her that if he saw his sister sad again, and knew she was the cause, he would have no mercy for her…..and he wasn’t sure if she completely believed him….but he’d do it for his sister.
“Solstice, I tri-“
He went quiet, shutting out as Khal began to spoke again, listening to his words. He swallowed, starting to stand, to tell Khal how he could be useful, though, he was interrupted, sitting again as Dusk beginning to laugh.
“Silly you! I don’t pick sides….i’m not here to screw up everything….actually….i’m here to pull big bad daddy right out of your boy over there.”
A sly point towards James, seeming proud of this fact.
“He’s destroyed two of Kadrin’s bodies, one of them completely on his own. He’s the closest to invincible I’ve ever seen. Despite seeming to be picking sides…. he’s fully aware of the plan and could push our demon free, and his only weakness is he’s completely unstable, unable to have full rational thought. Aside from that, It’s not just okay…it might be the right idea.”
Death seemed to be looking at it from the angle of an advantage, before he seemed to think over what Khal had said moments before.
“I drain life from things, can do it to people too. I fuel myself and remain alive and able to use my abilities by it, the more I have, the more I move. I’d be considered undead at this point, able to change the shape of my bone structure, use it, bring them free from any point in my body. You’ve seen this.”
He nodded at Khal.
“As long as I have what I need, my body is able to regenerate my damage, heal the open wounds I supply myself with…. though, I’d die without life.”
He raised the glowing hand, made of skin and bone, and seemed to show it’s bright glow.
Equinox’s head perked upward, staring somewhat stunned at his answer, blinking his eyes. Did he…do what Equinox did? He said he took life….did he mean energy? He’d never seen the body react to energy in that way…glowing. But, he’d also never seen a human take it in. He watched his glowing hand instead, seeming entranced by it, before he shook his head. They weren’t the same. Equinox and Solstice both could gather energy from plants around them, and he didn’t seem to.
Next was the two standing nearby.
“Angels.”
Kamikazi started, and Zachary stepped up beside him.
“Our feathers harden and can be used to create weaponry or shoot as projectiles. We’re overall good at what we do, fight. We’ve taught others how to do it…but we’re strongest together.”
Kamikazi reached for the chain necklace around him.
“We’d kick ass if we could be together for long enough, maybe even save the time of wearing down Jonathan….but, we don’t have that luxury. Us together runs on a time limit, makes us get crazy if we stay together too long. We split like this, into three people-.”
Soon, Zachary was reaching for the necklace around him, seeming fond of it.
“-to keep it from happening as fast. Us at full power could brawl real good with Jonathan…but we haven’t fought him since before we lost our other piece.”
A stare between the two brothers’, as if passing a message to one another.
James waved his hand in the air, signaling his turn.
“Don’t think I’m going to be at full when this goes down, but I wouldn’t mind getting my two cents in.”
He said, and, he seemed to think for a moment.
“I make things levitate, move objects, use them, crush them, all of it. I can teleport my body in an instant if I know where I’m going, and other things if I remember their feeling and know where I want them to go when I throw them after touching them. I also know how to fight if that helps.”
He smirked, though, it soon dropped.
“But…I get pain in my head, like, I start bleeding pain…if I overuse it all or do more than I think I can. I also can’t be out in the sun, and my bleeding requires me to have blood on demand.”
After this, he released a breath of air.
Dusk stuck his hand up.
“Oooh! Ooooh!”
He began to wave.
“Ladies and gentlebones, my name is Dusk! I’ve already been explained, so, I’m just going to cut it short and say I can get inside big dum-dums gnoggin over there and force out our friend! I don’t think demons like other demons stepping on their territory.”
Zach and Kamikazi nodded.
“And Jonathan is too territorial. Death threats, expressive anger, all for someone threatening to touch what he thinks he has right to.”
Kamikazi started.
“He’s completely over confident, though, he does have reason to be…. he’s extremely strong, able to break jaws with his hands, and hardly afraid to rip the armor and arms off of anyone who steps in his way.”
He paused, and Zachary continued.
“He knows blades, spears, all sorts of weaponry. Trained in it, bathed in it, able to pick it up in an instant and use it, though he prefers his own two hands, or his horns, when he had them.”
Kamikazi again continued.
“He’s not just a demon, or a past brother-in-arms…he was also a leader, bred for war, bred to speak, bred to know an enemy. He led armies, ripped through others like shrapnel. He liked his hands and horns because it was personal…. even when he was an angel, he had a streak about him, a certain way he saw it. He’s only been beaten by two people before…us, and the top demon.”
It didn’t take much to guess what they meant.
“But, we’ve fought, we’ve trained, we’ve helped each other. He gets greedy in battle, sees things he wants and loses himself in the feeling of fighting….he can leave himself open when he does it, get so excited that he creates a blind spot. A weakness of his is overusing his powers at the moment, breaking apart the body he creates. When he’s returned to his own, that will no longer be a weakness for him.”
Kamikazi said this like he’d written the book on it.
“He’s our equal or perhaps even slightly above us. We cut his horns to stop him, removed his wings to halt him and make him less of a threat, though, he replaced it all with rage….left himself surrounded with the bodies of multiple angels.”
They were both silent for a moment, looking at each other again.
“He……the reason he fell is because he thought the blood of his brothers would make him stronger, told us that he was doing it to prove that he could not be held to dance like they wanted. Killed multiple angels and only got caught for it when we realized it went too far and revealed it…”
There was guilt there, in both of their eyes, seeming to pass between them as they both shared glances, exchanging messages.

Despite Dusk's defense of his own presence, Khal didn't appear willing to simply take his word for it, and it wasn't until Death explained that he nodded. He actually hadn't known that, though the demoness' reaction to Dusk suddenly made sense. She usually wasn't one to let another get away with insulting her.
Much like Equinox, Amnesia's eyes went to Death as he explained his abilities, thinking of what her brother could do. And while it didn't sound like the same thing, it sounded awfully similar. In all her life, Amnesia had never met anyone else with the same sort of abilities as her brother, and knowing how it had affected Equinox and how others treated him, she couldn't help but feel a little spark of empathy for Death.
Then the angels spoke, then James, Amnesia turning to look at him as he did, realizing that she knew most all of it simply because he'd used his abilities in front of her. There were little details she hadn't been aware of, such as the fact that overusing his powers would make him bleed, but as he'd pointed out, he probably wouldn't be playing a big role, if any.
Then, before she knew it, Jonathan was being described, and there was a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach just hearing about the demon, even as he was as an angel. Hurting others because he enjoyed it, essentially hurting his family...
Though Khal's eyes darkened as he listened, he didn't have the same sick look as Amnesia, his expression instead grim as he nodded. It was horrible and somehow worse than he'd expected, but it wasn't surprising to him in the same way it was to her, and rather than focus on the awful deeds, he instead focused on the useful information translated in the small story.
"So the weakness we're going to have to exploit is his overconfidence as well as your knowledge of his fighting style," he summarized. "Otherwise, he is a demon who has gone largely undefeated and won't be easy to subdue, much less kill."
After a small pause in which he got his thoughts in order, Khal spoke up again. "I'm an angel as well, also with the ability to harden my wings. As far as I'm aware, I can't use my feathers as projectiles, but they're sharp enough to use as a weapon in their own right as well as shield if the need arises. I can summon weapons into my hands, manipulate light to blind others, use fire to a small degree, and summon storms, though the last takes a lot out of me to do.
"As far as Kadrin is concerned, we won't be able to attack her if she is still pregnant when this takes place, though my hope is that she will have had the baby by this time. She can manipulate ice and shadows at will. Her power over shadows is particularly strong. She can instantly teleport herself anywhere, create illusions and plunge an area into darkness. Essentially, you can't trust your eyes around her.
"Her crippling weakness as it stands is the fact that she is possessing a body. If she uses too much power, it'll kill her host, and her host will be easier to kill if you can get the attack in on her. Like Jonathan, she's territorial and quick to anger. Taunting her is a quick way to get her riled up, and if you can withstand the attack, she'll burn herself out.
"Something worth mentioning while we are on the subject... Kadrin's real body is buried in a prison underneath the school that is only accessible to angels. Sol--Amnesia... and I managed to subdue her in a fight together and put her there. The only reason she is able to possess others now is because she managed to possess someone before she was locked away without my knowledge. If the need arises, Jonathan could be put in the same prison."
With his piece said, Khal turned to Amnesia and motioned for her to speak.
No longer looking quite as pale, Amnesia gave a nod, a little spark of determination entering her eyes. "I'm a spirit. I'm most powerful during the summer and winter solstices and can't use my powers at all during the equinoxes. I'm immortal, I heal quickly, and my blood can heal others. I can manipulate the weather, the plants around me, and control fire and heat. I can also change form into a wolf. My abilities use energy though, and when I use too much, they'll become weaker and or stop working altogether."
From there, it took a moment before she continued. "Lily... baeum... is also a spirit and immortal with fast healing. She'd blind, can change into a small cat, and she's physically weak. She doesn't have any ability to fight and can only hurt a person if she has physical contact..." Her stomach constricted, revealing everything she'd discovered alongside her sister in this manner, but she continued nonetheless. "She can see the past as well as possible futures. She can focus on what she wants to see, meaning she doesn't just see random information. She can choose how far back in a timeline to go or how far forward, and she has a great memory. She'll memorize different ways a situation can go so she knows what all might happen and how it might happen. She plans... carefully. And if she touches you... she'll have access to your mind, your memories. She could take every memory away or select which ones to block, or she could shatter your mind and leave you broken. The pain of it is excruciating--enough to kill, and she'll do it to protect herself. She won't be fighting; she'll monitor the fight and attack if she's touched, and even if she's caught, you wouldn't be able to kill her. Don't attack her. She's my responsibility, and she'll probably walk away from this fight, but Equinox and I will find a way to get her back home."
Finished, she looked to Equinox, the last to speak.

Though the rest of them seemed even faced, aside from Amnesia, Equinox and James seemed to be trying the hardest to hide how they felt. James was stiff, unusually rigid, hand raising and placing itself over his mouth, as if to stop himself or hide the fact that he was biting his lip.
Equinox was trying to slow his breathing, slow down the strange feeling of spinning in circles as the two angels spoke, like the room was spinning.
Killing family…hurting everyone he was supposed to be close to. He…didn’t have any sympathy for this person either.
He’d already done his best to hide the thought he’d had about Death, the similarities he was tracing, though, it all came free when so much nailed into him, gripping both of his knees tightly, trying to hide the way he felt his heart pumping out of his chest.
“Aside from nearly killing him the last time…. the only way he’s been subdued is by not thinking enough about who he chose to possess. He was too weak, wasn’t ready and was rushed after our fight, afraid of being pursued. He’d just barely escaped with the skin of his teeth. He reached James, who, he’d already had connections with through your family.”
Kamikazi stared towards James.
“You were a candidate, but he came at you before he let himself heal…thought he could push you out of the way, but he ended up losing himself inside your mind. We’ve had about ten to eleven years since then, the botched possession stalling for us, though, Jonathan, I’m sure, has been leaking out in bits and pieces, maybe even unaware himself that he’s been trying to twist your mind. Frankly, ten years and still able to talk and think, that’s a miracle in itself.”
Both Kamikazi and Zachary relaxed their tense position seemingly done saying what needed to be said.
They let Khal take the stage, listening to him speak, though, James himself only caught bits and pieces, sitting inside his own mind, almost as if he didn’t even notice all the people around him.
He only seemed to snap free when Death pushed at his shoulder, snapping him free.
“You’re distant. Do you need a break?”
He hadn’t said it loud enough to interrupt the conversation, though, he had leaned down, sliding his way in the point where he was staring towards James.
James stiffly nodded.
“No…I’m fine.”
There was no way he could help wrapping himself slightly closer into Amnesia, willing to stay and finding himself beginning to freak out about the situation, in which he had tried to avoid thinking about.

Dusk released a chuckle.
“And she doesn’t like it when you say she has yellow teeth. She gets really mad about that one….”
He clapped his hands together, obviously unable to sense the air around him.
“If she’d not having the child just yet, then we have to wait until she does.”
Death had decided the answer for them, leaning up from his sitting position that he’d taken near James, turning and walking back to what he’d consider center stage.
He came to pause though, seeming confused, before he stole a glance towards James.
“So her real body has been here….and there’s also been quite an influx of demons attracted to this place…like they want to fight over it. It seems that has attracted another strong demon here, like two dogs over territory. Whether he knew it or not, Jonathan came here because of something like a demonic connection…hard to explain, as it is…”
Then his attention went toward Amnesia, as did everyone else, including James and Equinox.
After Dusk had heard more about Lily, he raised his hand.
“Heeey! I know her! I don’t fully believe her story about seeing the future though…. she always acts…weird around me, like I’m surprising! I think she’s just queasy though…I also think she has a major crush on me.”
Dusk said it like it was a normal conversation, head nodding enthusiastically, seeming as if he was simply enjoying talking.

Equinox, who had managed to keep focused for the duration, studied Dusk with new found interest, watching him with a completely different gaze. It was looking at Dusk, and hearing his sister speak, that made him think about his conversation with Lilybaeum.
”Equinox and I will find a way to get her back home,”
He felt his hands tense, lips white, head turning to look at his sister.
“Lilybaeum….if you hurt my sister again….I can’t let you do anything else. She might not like it, but I will find you if you hurt her, and I will make sure you pay for what you’ve done….even if I have to wait until you slip up to do it….I will do it, Lilybaeum.”
There would be no bringing Lilybaeum home, as much as he knew it would break Solstice’s heart.
Then he found his thoughts breaking, the silence around him going unnoticed for a moment, as he suddenly seemed to raise his head, as if the quiet eventually lured him out, turning and looking at each of them.
He couldn’t help but swallow in reflex, hands gripping each other tight.
“I’m a spirit….like Solstice. I can control plants and weather, like she can….but I’m weak during the solstice….i’m….really powerful right now.”
He paused.
“I can….kill things by touching them, age them, or revive them by….doing the same. It…gives me energy to kill them, but I give my own energy to revive them…..I can take in a lot of energy by taking little bits at a time…I’ve been doing it, plants and trees, actually…but I only have enough to give once right now….the best way to do it is taking a lot from something…if I don’t have enough, I could die giving to someone…”
He was prepared for the judgement, prepared for their eyes. No one had ever accepted him but Solstice, and he didn’t expect that to change. And…now, he couldn’t even tell Solstice that he aimed to turn his powers on someone she thought was her sister…..it hurt too much.

On top of everything else, the thought of James being completely controlled by that awful demon didn't sit well with Amnesia. She couldn't imagine him acting like Jonathan, how things would've turned out so differently, and she couldn't help but be grateful for whatever miracle the twins claimed kept him as himself.
Hearing a voice nearby, Amnesia looked up to find Death questioning James, and despite his claim of being fine, as she searched his expression and felt his arm around her tighten a little, she couldn't help but think that wasn't entirely true, and as Khal began to take over, she shifted, turning to him as she sat up, and taking his face in her hands, turning him to face him as well as she met his gaze with complete solemnity in her eyes. "Everything's going to be fine," she told him softly, pressing her lips to his forehead. "I promise. I'm not letting anything happen to you." Then her lips met his, and when she pulled back, her hands left his face in favor of wrapping around his middle in a comforting hug.

Though he'd been momentarily distracted by Amnesia first kissing James and then hugging him, Khal drew his attention away from the two, nodding in response to Death's conclusion, focusing himself. "The only problem with that is that I haven't been able to find her in months, meaning we won't know when she's had the baby. Usually, if nothing else, she leaves a trail she can be tracked by, but she's been unusually docile in the last several months, probably because of the pregnancy. So we'll not only need to somehow find out when she's had the baby, we'll need to know where the baby is being hidden during the fight. I have no doubt both demons are going to be protective."
Khal's eyes tracked back towards Amnesia, who was practically halfway in James' lap with how closely the two were sitting. "Amnesia, you said before that you'd be willing to take in and raise the baby... are you sure this is what you want?"
With everything else that had been going on, Amnesia had actually somehow forgotten about the baby, but with the mention of Kadrin's pregnancy, it came back to her, and with her friend's question, James' reassurances to her. "I'm sure."
Khal nodded, letting the conversation move on, simply standing back and listening as Amnesia listed her strengths and weaknesses, then began to reveal Lilybaeum's in more detail than he'd expected. He was proud of her for it though; she knew her sister and her abilities best, and even if she still held onto the belief that she could somehow lead Lily off the path she'd chosen, it seemed like Amnesia had at least accepted that Lily had made herself an enemy.
Then Dusk spoke, and Khal's eyes snapped to him. "Did you just say she's surprised around you?" he asked, not even sure how much credence to put into the statement. "Are you sure she isn't just pretending to be surprised?" Not that she was particularly good at it, the act coming off more as mocking any time she tried, but Khal had personally never caught Lilybaeum surprised. The only time he'd witnessed true shock from her was when Solstice had pinned her down, stolen her ability to travel between worlds, and sent her back to La'syrus. If what Dusk said was true...
Then it was Equinox's turn to share, and since the only things Amnesia had shared about her brother were memories with him rather than any abilities he had, Khal listened closely, the beginning coming as no surprise, though the continued listing was. He simply nodded though, almost as if thanking the spirit for sharing as well.
"It seems like we have a good mixture of abilities here and not an unmanageable amount of limitations. "We'll have to start at night, as close to sunset as we can get preferably. Amnesia and Equinox seem to be the only two without some sort of history in battle, and I would suggest that they stay away from this entirely for that alone except Amnesia has already insisted on being there and James has threatened to continue living with a demon inside him if she isn't." The last was said with a sardonic look towards the stubborn couple before Khal continued, "So I'd like to go ahead and ask if anyone would be willing to help me give them a self-defense crash course at the very least, maybe help with offensive if we have the time. Death, your abilities sound similar to Equinox's so you might be able to help him best if you're willing, and your expertise would definitely be welcomed to help both, Yerek."

James didn't speak, staring straight at her, seeing the peace she had in her eyes, and, despite his worries, feeling comfort within them.
He responded to her lips, making it a nice and quick kiss, before her hands went around his middle and he found himself leaning his head against her shoulder, buried in it for a moment before his head came to raise, catching Khal the moment before he moved his sight away.
Depsite this, he stayed quiet, tucking himself back into her, enjoying the comfort and familiarity the smell of his own shampoo gave him when he breathed it in.
Death had been checking James' expression, seeing through his words, though, Amnesia grabbing him and kissing, and him responding, was not something he expected. A small smile, less fake, lacking, though seemingly happy about the situation. He had no right to be snooping into James' love life.
"Let's see....Dusk...anything?"
He asked, directing his attention toward the creature who seemed mightmighty interested in James and Amnesia, propped up and watching before he turned his attention away and moved to Death.
"Well...I can't go very far from her, but I've seen 'em come and go from the human world, if that tickles your belly button."
Getting the info, Death went back to ignoring Dusk, who had gone back to watching the two.

James heard Khal, though, actually hearing him now. Shit....Amnesia still wanted the baby....and she'd tried to propose....she'd want him to help raise it, he knew it in his gut, and it was confirmed when Amnesia did so herself. How was he supposed to raise a baby? He was only just barely used to Amnesia...though, it also didn't sound completely terrible, like the thought of marriage to her had been a thought he wanted to consider.
He made no attempt to keep her in his hug, ready for her to move and let go at any moment, almost like he knew she might sense his anxiousness about the thought. Of course, he should've been more worried about the demon.
Dusk was only interested until he heard Khal, and, nodding once more, he almost slithered forward, shooting quickly in Khal's direction. He came to a stop, standing inches taller than Khal, stuck in a thinking pose.
"Nuhuh. No doubt surprised. See, we bet on something-"
A sly motion to Amnesia and James.
"She was like, really confident, right, but I knew in my gut that I was right. I was! She was totally surprised, I'd pay to see it again!"
He replied.
"I'm sure I surprise her as sure as the sun is a big ball! She is also paranoid....keeps her distance, even though I haven't made any moves against her! It's like she doesn't know what I'll do."
A pause.
"She got in the way of me telling my ant friends secrets though....that sticks, because I can't think of any way to remember all of this important stuff I have to know! Think a lot of them died though....."
He seemed saddened, slumping, almost heartbroken. It wasn't until Equinox has spoken and explained himself that his hands clapped together, moving forward and slamming into the coffee table with force enough to made Equinox scramble towards the couch eyes wide.
"WHY ARE YOU NAKED!?!?!?"
"I-I-I...don't like clothes...?"
"OH, OKAY."
His voice remained raised, though, he lost interest, walking away, slumping against the wall, sliding down it, going completely still as he stared toward them.
Depsite the several moments of silence, Death did respond, nodding his head.
"I suppose I could help....."
Zach and Kamikazi had remained quite until this moment, seemingly in agreement.
"If it's gets this over with soner"

Despite his lack of a reply, James looked like he believed her or was at least calmed down by her actions, if not her words. And ultimately, that was enough for Amnesia, who was glad she could help, even if it was just a little bit, and she stayed just where she was, with her arms wrapped around him as he seemed to wrap into her as well. With her attention no longer solely focused on him, she caught a few of the looks that were cast in their direction, as well as what she thought might have been a smile from Death, though it was gone so quickly that she wasn't entirely sure.
As Dusk revealed that he'd seen Kadrin coming and going from the human world, Khal blinked in surprise. He wouldn't have quite known whether to believe it, except Death seemed to simply accept the answer, and he seemed familiar with Dusk. "That helps narrow the search. I haven't searched the human world like I have here, and if she's there, she won't be too far from the portal. I'll check it out."
Then he'd moved right in front of Khal, rising to a surprising height at a distance too close for the angel's comfort, and much like how Equinox had, he took a healthy step away, though there was no fear in his expression as he did so.
And despite learning something very important about Lilybaeum, that apparently she could be surprised--at least by Dusk, to the point of being wary of him--his attention stuck to something else completely. "What did you bet on?" Something Lilybaeum had gotten wrong, apparently, which never happened, and it included Amnesia.
Still hugging James, Amnesia watched Equinox as his explained, eyes occasionally moving to the others to catch their reactions, but then Dusk suddenly lurched forward and hit the coffee table, yelling at Equinox, and she sat up in an instant, immediately prepared to protect her brother, though the moment seemed to be over as soon as it started, with Dusk walking away under her glare. Equinox right beside her with his back pressed against the couch, Amnesia motioned for him to sit beside her and helped him up off the ground so he could settle himself in the empty space beside her. Maybe that would actually do something this time.
Khal nodded as he got his responses to requesting help with Amnesia and Equinox, both of which were positive. "Then we just have to figure out times and a place to meet. I imagine day would be preferable, and Amnesia could lead us to an isolated part of the forest we could work in."

“If I could get through the portal, I’d tell you exactly where you could find old yellow teeth! Of course, I got in trouble for that. Said I didn’t need to be spending so much time there when I needed to be watching for anything useful! So stupppiiiiddddd. I’ve missed a lot of good tv!”
“There’s still tv to watch here, Dusk.”
“But where’s the adventure and risk? There is none!”
He then moved to slam into the table, yelling, watching Equinox slip up and almost run to his sister’s side, sitting cautiously nearest her, curled up slightly, as he had before. Not taking Death’s words as any solution, Dusk instead turned to talking to Khal, telling him about Lily being wrong, finding his train of thought crashing when Khal asked the most important part.
“Ooooh! Ooooh! We bet on sex! She didn’t think they’d do more than hug! But I was like ‘Nooo! They’re gonna do more!’ And they did it! I almost feel like a genius figuring it out. Jaaaaammmessss! We all wanna knoooowww!”
When Dusk turned his attention, so did everyone else, their eyes all at once landing specifically on James, many of them solely on James, though, Equinox seemed to be staring at Solstice with a mix of horror and confusion.
Death, seeing that this situation was awkward, especially for James, released a stiff cough after a few moments, knowing his words might not mean much.
“….Day would be…fine…and I’m sure there’s a secluded enough spot to….um…practice in the forest…”
Seeing that the conversation had steered, his eyes slowly moved over to Zachary and Kamikazi, Zachary shrugging and chuckling to himself, while Kamikazi seemed somewhat unamused.

Thoughts about planning, finding Kadrin, and even the new realization that Lilybaeum had a weakness in her powers all flew out of Khal's head as soon as Dusk answered his question.
Sex... He was saying that James and Amnesia had sex.
His molten silver eyes turned on the two almost at the same time as all other eyes did, to find Amnesia giving Dusk a wide-eyed look and James practically fidgeting. Before his friend's aquiline eyes even met his, he knew it was the truth.
Two weeks. That was how long it'd been since he and James had found her in the forest, crying and looking like she hadn't slept in a month. He'd left them alone, seeing that they seemed to be more or less happy together after James had managed to cheer her up, and two weeks later, he finds out they had sex. Dusk didn't even say when. It could've been a week ago. And from what Amnesia told him, they usually hardly ever saw each other! Maybe once every couple of months usually. How the hell had James found the time to talk her into it??
Though he didn't speak immediately, Amnesia could practically see what was building, and she quickly attempted to head it off. "Khal, listen, it was my choi--"
"Your choice? Did you go to him and say that you wanted to have sex?"
Amnesia winced. "No, b--"
"Were you even interested before he brought it up?"
"No, b--"
"And what were you even thinking? Were you thinking?" Khal's eyes had snapped over to James at this point. "Most couples are lucky to even by kissing by this point. You claim you care but you know damn well how limited her knowledge and experiences are, but somehow, you still decided it was a good idea to jump right into the deep end, and she's so completely trusting of you that she'd believe almost anything you say!"