A Perfect Circle

by **Samael Christensen** August 18th 2013, 11:36 pm

The clouds hung black over the city of Chicago, the district in which the Hale's live more so than the rest. Aaron had thought it an omen of some kind, but Brandon just thought it was bad weather placement, though by whom he didn't care to go further with. It was likely to rain soon, but then again the blonde had no intentions of leaving the mansion for a good few hours, if he planned to do so at all. Not like he had much planned that involved him leaving the rather large white building, and he was supposed to have company later at any rate.

Admittedly the manse was slightly a little boring without Sean around, he had gone off the deep end and ran off somewhere. Aaron wasn't really speaking to anyone, just holed up in his room with barely a light to be seen. It had been a while since he last saw his twin in such a state, and the day it started was something that Brandon would never want to remember. So here he was in the large weight room, constructed for the possibly most physically fit member of the magical family. What hung ahead of him was a punching bag with what looked like thick leather for its coating, possibly enhanced with magic to allow it to withstand his blows.

A bead of sweat tricked down his forehead, feeling slightly cool against his burning skin. He had been working out for about an hour constantly, trying to push himself until he reached some sort of limit, lifting weights that weighed more than they appeared and throwing every punch he knew at this damned punching bag. Each powerful blow he set against the punching bag seemed to echo off of the walls, though before the sound seemed to finish its reverberation, he would strike it again. His knuckles would ache, but then again that never stopped him before. Brandon took a deep breath, reared back his fist and threw another powerful blow against the bag.

It lurched forward about a good foot upon a strong chain, before coming back to be dealt another blow. So the slug fest went, with the petite blonde woman watching curiously. Her eyes were green and manner of dress opposite to the young man that so brutally beat upon the bag. Instead of wearing simple gym shorts, and a tank top, she was decked out in golden jewelry, that seemed to wonderfully go with her black leather pants and strangely fashionable shirt. They both had the same shade of blonde hair, but Brandon's eyes were a dark brown, while hers were a piercing emerald green. She would simply watch, not saying a word, until he noticed her.

Brandon paused for a moment, his heart seeming to skip a beat at her sudden appearance. He wiped away a small amount of sweat from his brow, letting the bag go back to a resting position. ”Don't get yourself too tired dear. You do have a....certain guest coming over.” She noted with a voice that help a lilting tone with it, almost inviting. She leaned against the wall, crossing lithe arms over her chest. 'I do hope you can drag your brother from his study, I would not want our guest think him rude.”

”You know Aaron won't leave it for probably a month or so.” He gave the bag a spin kick, which seemed to hold more force than his punches. 'He's still torn up about.....Sean.” Brandon had seen what Aaron did, and the wreck he had become because of it. He wasn't sure if something like that would ever truly heal itself, having to kill someone you knew since you were a child. He grew silent for a moment before striking the punching bag again.

”It was inevitable. Like his father, Sean was unstable and when Elena died he only fell further.” She said with an edge to her voice, something that hinted at sadness. ”Its the fate of the Thiel's, there was nothing that we could do about it. No matter what, even Elena couldn't avoid it.” She stopped, the melancholy feeling permeating within the air. "Now get ready, i'm sure he will be here soon.” with that she was gone, and left Brandon to continue his routine. The young Hale's expression grew grim, and he whipped his fist back, letting it lash forwards as the chain supporting the bag snapped, sending it rolling with excessive force. The hard wood flooring splintered under the force as the bag drug into it hit what seemed like an invisible wall, losing all momentum.

Brandon let out a deep sigh, his sore knuckles a dark red from the soreness brought on from hitting the tough material, but a little healing magic and he would have them as good a new. Now though, he smelt like sweat and needed to take a damn shower. So fetching a simple button up flannel shirt, and faded blue jeans from his room, Brandon made his way to the large Hale bathroom designated for him, and closed the door, which locked itself. There was a large white shower/bath tub that dominated one side of the room along with a mirror and various personal hygiene products. Quickly stripped down, Brandon set the water on at a pleasing medium and let its warmth wash over him. A stray thought washed over him, but it was pleasant, lips curling into a wry smirk. He knew what would make this so much better.

In half an hour, Brandon walked out of the shower, his blonde hair mattered wetly, and sticking out at odd angles. He was clean but now he looked a little messy, which was no good when you want someone to meet your family. Few Hale's were available to actually meet Niall, so that meant that he would only get to see Aaron and Arianna, though something within him wished that Ailill had also attended. While his cousin was somewhat insane, he was always fun to have around parties. Drying himself off with the luxurious feeling towel, and making sure to dress up, Brandon styled his hair and left the bathroom. He smelt nice and felt fresh, so the shower did its job.

Hell, he even seemed to be glowing a little, which was good for someone that had so recently seen something as fucked up as what he did. Next stop was his brothers study, which was still as dark as he remembered, with Aaron sitting by a solitary lamp, which was his only light source when the sun did not shine. He poured over musty tomes, and it made Brandon feel sorry for him. He quietly opened the door, looking in and with a quiet, yet audible voice spoke. ”Aaron you need to come down, mother requests you attend tonight.” Aaron did not stir for a moment, and the flipped a page in a thick leather bound book. He turned towards Brandon, his face beginning to show what looked like light colored stubble, almost blonde in appearance. He seemed to search for the words to speak before actually saying them.

”Fine, i'll be there in a few moments.” His voice was slightly hoarse, but Brandon got the answer he needed. So next was the waiting until Niall came, which meant sitting outside. While he would have preferred to stay inside, there was no harm in it. So Brandon waited on the immaculate white steps of the mansion, waiting for Niall to show up.

by **Zodiac** August 19th 2013, 12:49 am

      What a miserable day out. Niall was slothing around the dorm room while Zell continued to work on something or other. Zell was becoming less and less fun as time progressed. Niall could kind of understand where he was coming from, the more time passed the more serious his condition, but there was something else about Zell. It was dark, mysterious…primal. His mind flashed back to the night when Shara died. Vermillion’s masque and the radiation it gave off triggered some form of monstrous personality, and ever since then he hasn’t been the same. True enough, no one would ever be the same if the love of their life died. Niall finally decided it was time to move about some, and he progressed form the bed to the couch.

      ”Wow…ten feet. A new record.” Zell said. It was pretty clear he was TRYING to be funny. Zell’s humor really became lax after Shara died…and before she died he had the humor of a dead fish.

      ”bored.” Niall said, picking up a foam basketball like thing, tossing it in between his hands as he lazily rested on the couch. His blue-green eyes focused on the red ball being lightly tossed. He looked at Zell in the corner of his eyes, stopped the ball with both hands, looked to Zell again and a mischievous little smile curled up on the blonde boys face. With a little white smile he tossed the ball at the back of the desk chair Zell was sitting in. ”Bored...bored…bored…bored….bored.” He said, each time he spoke the ball bounced off the back of the chair and made its way back to Niall. Finally Zell sat straight up, Niall immediately knew he had crossed the line and so he stopped for a second. Zell took in a deep breath and looked back down to the papers. THWAP PSHSH. The ball came from nowhere and smashed Zell in the side of the face. Zell spun around on the office chair and glared at Niall.

      ”Seriously, can you NOT demand every damn second of my attention please!?” It’s like living with children all the damn time. Not bad enough I got Braden as a dorm mate, now I need to put up with you because you just HAVE to live in Chicago.” Zell began ranting to himself in mumbles and vicious but hushed tones. Niall felt a little jolt of disappointment, and looked around the room. The poor kid was just bored as hell, not something he was used to. He spent the majority of his life ‘playing’ Zell and doing what Zell did…until he realized Zell was boring as all get out. It wasn’t always that way…back before Zell was worrying about dying he was a fun kid, and if he didn’t have all this stuff to deal with he might’ve literally been a clone of Niall. But things weren’t different. Niall looked out the window again, and his eyes widened. He shot up and dashed across the room for his cell-phone. It told him the time, and he sighed with relief. ”Oh GREAAAT! Look, Niall. Instead of acting like as puppy with master-withdrawal you could get ready like most people would.” Zell offered. Niall threw his palm up over his face and drug it down. He hadn’t thought of that and it made him feel stupid.

      Niall put on a grey tee, and a flannel over shirt that was checkered red green and white. He rolled the sleeves up and put on black jeans from Zell’s collection of clothing and he ended up spiking his hair for the occasion. Of course the occasion was that he got to see Brandon. The thought alone put a spring in Niall’s step. Niall took the spring and went through the room whistling various tunes and kicking back and relaxing on the couch, waiting for the time to leave. Zell smiled as he heard Niall whistling. Zell had picked up a long time ago that Niall only whistled when he was happy or excited. Niall had become rather attached to Brandon, as a friend and who knows what else. Niall had a difficult time coping with Shara’s death…he especially felt as if it was his fault, as he was the one that startled Zell and ‘provoked’ his reflexes. Brandon helped him with that, and that was enough for Brandon to be Niall’s favorite person ever. Then you also had the situation surrounding how they met and when you add all that together and some fireworks…well you can get the idea.

     ”So what are you working on?” Niall inquired, using his accent in a way to try and manipulate Zell into sharing the secrets he was keeping. Niall didn’t even need to do it as it would turn out. Zell was very open about saying what he was working on. SO open that it scared Niall a little.

      ”My will…” And that was all he said. No reassurance that it was precautionary, no attempts to ease the tension in the room. The bastard just left Niall with that thought and continued working. However, what Niall didn’t know was that Zell was truly in the last stages of perfecting his Telepathic consciousness transference experiment. Zell promised Niall he would make him human, and he was going to do it. Niall started towards the door when Zell cleared his throat and leaned back in the seat, arms over his head. ”Niall…” The voice was soft, quiet. It was almost…alive…it was the Zell from years ago…the one who had all the time in the world. Niall immediately looked to the source. He began tapping the door quietly

      ”Zell?” He asked his friend.

      ”…Aaron…Brandon…none of them need to know about Sean…him still being alive. Am I clear?” Zell asked, it was more of a command than a question, but Niall nodded. He knew it was important for Zell, and important for Brandon and everyone else to not know that Sean had cheated death, only to be quelled at a later point in time. Niall nodded and walked out the door.

      He traveled across campus to the parking lot, where he managed to ‘borrow’ Zell’s motorcycle, the dragon one that was armed to the teeth, literally. He drove on hi way to the Hale manor, or mansion. He didn’t really know the difference, but he knew exactly what he needed to. How to get there. The rain began to come down. Niall was wearing Zell’s Ouroboros biker jacket to keep him from getting wet, and he wore a pair of goggles. He was honestly hoping his hair would hold out, but of course that was never an option for poor Niall. He ended up drenched and starting to shiver a little. He pulled into the driveway and hopped off the bike, pulling it into a dry area and disabling the weapons system. He would have been freezing…if he were human. He could feel it, but he couldn’t have the natural body reactions. He made his way up to the front door to find Brandon on the white stairs. Niall hid by the door away from the rain, his hydrophobia taking effect.

     Niall knocked on the door three times subtly on the upper right quadrant from his perception. Niall had two little secrets. He LOVED skittles…and he HAD to touch any door at least three times before he’s cross the threshold. It was a rare obsessive compulsive disorder, and he didn’t really like explaining it, it made him feel like even more of a freak.

      He quickly ran his hand through his hair, it was doused and flat again, he was still a surfer boy, something he’d have to get used to. He turned his head a little and saw the rain bouncing off the pavement. The same place where they had killed that creature that attacked them. He looked at Brandon and an unnatural smile crossed his face. The last time there was water and Brandon things ended up alright. Aside from the dying girlfriend of Zell’s and Sean going insane. Niall wasn’t sure exactly what he needed to do, so he did the only thing he wanted to do. He pecked Brandon on the cheek and put his hands in his pockets blushing. ”Hey.”

by **Samael Christensen** August 19th 2013, 1:32 am

Brandon sat on the steps, waiting patiently as he heard what sounded like thunder rumbling in the distance. The sounds was ominous within itself, and seemed to roll along the span of the sky, almost like a snake along the ground would slither. The sound evoked something within him, a sort of primal feeling, whether that be fear or something else entirely. His moderately slender white fingers interwove themselves tightly, the knuckles growing white as his dark brown eyes scanned over the marble steps that lead up to the front entrance of the Hale mansion. It was cold against his butt, yet at the same time kinda felt comfortable even through his rough looking jeans.

His mind swam over so many possibilities of how this evening would go, and some of them ended up being the worst thing that his mind could ever deign to imagine, yet that was how he seemed to operate these days. So far nothing was going right for him , except for this one thing. Niall seemed like the only possibly stable thing within his life, and he would be damned if he somehow screwed everything. Brandon could not trust himself to have something nice without ruining it, and if his luck were still anything like it was, he was sure he would mess this up somehow. His foot tapped nervously against the white steps, as something caught his attention, which was what looked like....Niall.

He was drenched to the bone, but that only brought up pleasant thoughts. Brandon stood to his feet in a fluid motion waiting for Niall to park, and approach the blonde. He looked wet, poor guy, and likely he was cold as well. Brandon felt for him when it came to that, so it was likely he would need either a change of clothing or something to get rid of that dampness. Brandon knew that he himself did not like getting wet, especially when it meant that he would be feeling so cold, but then again he never was bothered by colder weather, neither was he bothered by heat that much. There came three knocks, and Brandon was moving to answer that.

Strange how they needed a damn door for a porch thing, but then again he did not question his families taste in housing design. There stood Niall like a drenched puppy, those eyes of his glittering as they did when they first met. Without even thinking, he found himself grinning like a stupid kid. Niall pressed his lips against Brandon’s cheek, bringing a warmth to the surface, likely a small amount of blush along the slightly sun kissed skin. Hell, it seemed like he was not the only one who was blushing right now, which was good. He was never the one that was used to being embarrassed, and Niall seemed more likely to go that route.

”Hey” He said in return, raising a hand and running his thumb along Niall's jawline tenderly, before lightly planting a kiss on the slightly shorter blondes lips. A warmth spread through his stomach and his mind for a moment was abuzz with all sorts of happy thoughts. Take puppies, kitties and rainbows, and multiply that by twenty. You now have how Brandon felt from that brief moment of contact between the two, which he found to be more magical than....magic. With all of that wonderful, mushy feely stuff completed, he pulled away from the seemingly too quick motion.

”Lets get you inside, you look.....” He looked Niall up and down, with a sly grin. "Drenched is the word i'm looking for.” He intertwined his fingers with Niall's and would lead him inside, where it was warmer, and not rainy.Yeah, this was likely only to get better as far as he was concerned. Maybe by the time this was all done, his mother would even like Niall, then again she had low expectations of him to begin with; so perhaps he would supersede those expectations.

by **Zodiac** August 19th 2013, 2:35 am

Niall wasn’t expecting it. He should have been, but he wasn’t. No matter how short, no matter how brief…and no matter how many times. Each time he feels Brandon this close he just gives out. Every problem in the world vanishes, time slows down and trying to break contact is a living hell. Niall wasn’t exactly clingy, but h definitely like having contact with Brandon. He traced Niall’s jaw line, practically hypnotizing Niall already. Niall actually found himself confused. There was a tickling in his stomach, almost like he wanted to throw up, he was so anxious, so paranoid. Brandon, of course seemed to have the remedy for it. The kiss was too short for Niall, but humanoids need to breathe too.

       ”Let’s get you inside, you look…….Drenched is the word I’m looking for.” Brandon said. He had that smile he tended to wear. Niall knew that smile. He had one too. Anyone else would probably melt, but not Niall. He knew that trick far too well...oh who the hell is he kidding? He knows the trick and it still gets him when Brandon does it. Niall looked down as he felt Brandon’s hand against his. Niall’s cold hand was wrapped by warmth. There was a faint pulsation coming from Brandon’s hands. He could feel Brandon’s pulse? Brandon led him inside where it was much warmer, and it was actually dry. Niall looked around, it amazed him how little he actually remembered from the last time he was here. Then again it’s not that this place wasn’t beautiful or absolutely perfect…there were just other perfect things that took priority in his mind.

      ”So..uh…any suggestions?” Niall asked with a little bit of a laugh. ”Uh…like…should I try to mimic a more American accent? Anything I should change? Oh, and If you’re family has a chamber of secrets I’d like to know now. I don’t like large snakes attacking me while I’m ea-ting….Ah right, so that answers that.” Niall said with a little chuckle. That was not at all what he meant to say, but he and Zell did share that trait. No matter what they said, someone would always be able to twist it “Like THAT” and at times it was pretty funny. In times like this, embarrassing. He was thankful that he remembered to block the communications of his pseudo-telepathic link. His recollection of that made him scared, like ghostly pale. His jaw started to quiver. He looked at Brandon and smiled. ”Hate to do this to ya, but do you have a towel or…maybe a shirt I could borrow?” Niall asked, playing it off as he was cold. The truth was that he just realized that he had never told Brandon one important thing. Niall isn’t human. He’s not even organic. He’s a piece of technology…a tool. In that regard Brandon was just as good off having a blo- Niall shook his head and sighed trying to compose himself. He needed to tell Brandon some time. But would it matter was the real question. He began to fret and worry over this, to the point that he was almost sick. Talk about the bearer of bad news. And he couldn’t lie to Brandon like this. He refused to. He needed to tell him. He just kept following Brandon, let by the linked hands.

       ”That’s a terrible Idea. Congratulations, that is OFICIALLY…the worst idea you’ve ever had. I thought you had already done it all.” Zell snickered through the link.

      ”Zelly? I thought I closed thw link.” Niall thought.

      ”Look, Niall. No matter what. Don’t tell Brandon you’re not human alight? Give me twenty-four hours…then you can tell him what you are then, okay?” Zell asked. Niall went to protest but Zell spoke again. ”Niall…I promise you, after tonight it won’t matter…alright?” Zell asked, closing the link. Niall groaned, looked like he’d need to endure this ‘secret’ for one more day. Hopefully Zell was right and it didn’t matter.

      Niall looked at Brandon again. He was too perfect. He remembered Kurt Summers preaching and doing the whole “super-villain” speech after stabbing Zell in the neck. Zell was turning into perfection. Niall was scared, because at this rate he’d be mixing up Brandon and Zell. He just smiled, a peace that he couldn’t understand or describe settled on him. Maybe…maybe Zell had a plan? Maybe he knew what was going to happen tonight? Not likely… Niall found himself face to face with Brandon again. He just smiled. ”Thanks.”

[/color]

by **Samael Christensen** August 19th 2013, 4:15 pm

Was it his mind playing tricks on him or was Niall's hand really cold? Brandon couldn't really tell, but maybe it was that damn rain. Cold water could make a person cold, but then all he would need to do was get him dried off. Regardless of hand temperature, the contact was nice, so he could ignore small details like that. In fact, he wasn't even too worried about how things would go now, when Niall was finally here. If he had any doubts, they faded away with that one moment of blessed contact. Everything felt slightly better now, his heart was now thrumming at its regular, yet still faster than normal pace.

He stopped not too far into the well decorated house, Niall's voice breaking a brief second of silence. There was something about suggestions which made Brandon grin without meaning to, his fingers keeping their firm, yet lose grip upon the others. ”So..uh…any suggestions?” The question made him wonder what he meant exactly, his mind racing over so many things within a second. That lead Niall to asking if he should try to speak more American, and changing something about him, which Brandon was not too fond of the idea at all.

If Brandon wanted some American speaking pretty boy, he would have gotten one, not Niall. That lead to a reference pertaining to Harry Potter, which only made Brandon chuckle despite himself. ”Nah, I like your accent much better than some bland American accent.” He dismissed flashing white teeth. ”So don't change anything at all, and no I don't think we have any giant deadly chickens. Basilisks are deadly things, taste good when fried though.” he added the last bit trying to add a bit of his own humor to the situation, but it felt like a dud. Here he was now trapped in his own thoughts that he forgot Niall was still soaking, which was no good.

That concern was brought up when the blonde Irish male shivered and asked for a towel or something like that. Brandon mentally punched himself for forgetting something like that, and now he knew why he wanted to have nothing to do with leading this family, he was so damn forgetful. ”yeah, I could get you a.......shirt. Wait right here.” He planted a kiss on his cheek, dreading having to let go of him, before making sure to walk as quick as possible to his room, hopefully to find a shirt that Niall could wear. Hopefully none of them were too big or whatever. His footsteps echoed through the hall and the first one to hear it was Aaron.

”He got wet, didn't he?”His telepathic reach was unmistakable, but the tone was hard to read.

”How the hell did you get in my head? I thought you needed permission to do that kidna shit.”

”We're twins, I don't need permission to access the mind of someone so closely attached to me.“

”Well stay out of my mind” Brandon was busy walking up the stairs to his room, through the large hallway, though he was making sure to go as fast as possible.

”Will do.” Sure Aaron was acting strangely, but he had no time to deal with his twins antics. He walked through his door with a brisk pace, picking out a shirt from his drawer, one that looked good enough. Hell, it kinda looked like the soaking short that Niall was wearing, so all was well. Brandon ran back down the stairs where he hoped Niall was still waiting with the shirt held in his hands. The fabric was slightly wrinkled from his manhandling it, but otherwise looked like a nice enough article of clothing.

"Now that I think about it....getting a towel would have been easier...but here ya go.” He said handing the shirt to Niall gingerly. Yeah, he could have thought about what he was doing ahead of time, but not like it mattered now. Here he was with the shirt, so he would have to go with it.

by **Zodiac** August 19th 2013, 9:26 pm

     Brandon handed Niall he shirt, be careful and observant, almost like he was suspecting Niall of pulling out a gun. Niall took the shirt gratefully and she the leather jacket, placing it on the nearest exposed chair top or railing. He pulled an arm through the soaking grey shirt, and brought it down straight by his side. Then he held the dry shirt with that hand, and slipped the other arm down as well. With a fluid motion he slipped both the arms into the dry shirt and slipped them through the sleeves. He tore his soaking shirt off over his head and shook his head like a dog. He put on Brandon’s shirt over him. It was just a little big for him, but since his skin was already damp it clung to him pretty well. He tucked the shirt in his jeans and took the flannel shirt out from the leather coat, pocket, revealing it had been completely dry. With a pleasant humming Niall slipped the loose flannel over shirt on and smiled at Brandon.

      ”I know you said not to change anything at all…but that shirt was awful. Thanks.” Niall said with a childlike smile as he began to wander around the entrance room, looking all around. This place was really, REALLY nice. He didn’t touch anything, afraid of accidently causing damage or disrupting the ‘vibe’ of the room. He ended up stopping at a picture of Brandon and some of his family, and he was pretty sure Sean was in the picture. Zell’s warning haunted him. No one could know of Sean’s survival.

      ”So…how is things since…then?” Niall finally asked. His heart was heavy with guilt and sympathy. He stayed by Brandon, looking into his eyes, trying his hardest to do the ‘Zell thing’ where he seemed to just KNOW what the person was feeling. He failed to know exactly what Brandon was feeling, but he was pretty sure he got the point across that he cared. He latched onto Brandon playfully and smiled as he somehow managed to keep a playful contact. ”Well…I-I just…basically…I’m here for you…always.” Niall said, trying to think of how to phrase it. His mouth was spewing out information faster than he could think, so he thought it might be best to simply leave it at that, unless Brandon had anything else to add. Niall was way too energized to be standing still.

      Niall heard the tapping of footsteps and the clattering of a noise not far by. Niall practically jumped on Brandon, except off to the side. He was extra jumpy; it came with the territory of being Zell’s sidekick, you got used to EVERYONE trying to kill you. He noticed a small little thing shifting across the floor. Was it? Noooo….YES! Niall took off, slid across the ground and snatched the little golem off the ground and started rubbing what he assumed to be its head and started laughing like a little kid with a puppy. He looked up as Brandon and cleared hid throat, letting the little golem down and rubbing the back of it’s neck.

      ”What? It’s adorable, how could you NOT miss it?” he pleaded in his defense he giggled and stood up from the ground, brushing himself off. Not like he needed to though, the floor was as clean as a surgeon’s scalpel…before surgery, not after. He went back to Brandon and leaned into him a little bit, bouncing off of him and spinning off to the side, to face the person who had entered the room. Niall felt awkward, hoping that they didn’t just witness him slide across the floor to play with a little magic rock man. He cleared his throat and stood up, trying to make a good impression. Odds are it was a little too late, unless it was Aaron. Then he already figured Aaron wouldn’t like him. Aaron seemed more of a Zell kind of guy. Then again, Niall didn’t know about anything of the interactions between the two. The person finally entered the room and Niall smiled and lowered his head a little, like a cute meek and shy boy, waiting to be introduced.

by **Samael Christensen** August 19th 2013, 10:02 pm

Niall's changing his shirt was rather fluid enough, and soon he was in the one that Brandon brought him, though a few specks of moisture would still darken the fabric. That however was a minor setback, something that would dry away within the span of an hour, and his mother was never one to nag on the smallest of details; or so he thought. Granted Brandon tried to avoid bringing his dates around his mom after the gold digger incident, so he wasn't sure how she would react to his prospective mates now, but he was having high hopes. Still, there was a restlessness about Niall, that was both endearing and perhaps a little unnerving at the same time.

”Yeah, having you soaked would not be a good first impression.” He admitted shoving his hands into his pockets lightly, feeling what was likely a small amount of lint hiding out in there. He lets his fingers play around with it, causing the strange material to crumble away, eyes watching each move Niall made with a sort of pleasant amusement. His constant movement was something that perhaps would mesh better with him, probably far better than his frailer twin, who was too busy mourning to do anything else.

Still, perhaps the beard was something that worked, seeing as it added a sort of masculine edge to his brother that was lacking before. That was when he saw Niall looking over a photograph, and old one at that. There he was as a small kid, smiling like a jackass, with his brother next to him. At that age they were hard to tell apart, except Brandon was already taking up the idea of formal wear, though not to the extremes that he was so prone to these days. Then there was that short black haired kid next to Aaron, his grin wide and toothy, one thin arm over Aaron's shoulder, and they both were smiling. They were more like brothers than he and Aaron ever were, and perhaps he envied them for it.

Holding arms around all of them was a red haired female with the largest grin of all, her fire hair mystifying. It was hard to tell at first glance that she was Sean's mother, but that was the once great Crimson Witch, though those were different days. Sean's destiny had not been tainted then, hell, he was scared to even harm a fly let alone kill someones girlfriend. Brandon's mind drifted away, simply staring at that image, an image of a happier time within his life. Niall spoke, breaking that train of thought and looking deep into his eyes with those sparkling orbs of his. For a moment the thoughts faded, perhaps thanks to the power of love or whatever one would call it; hormones maybe?

The Irish male latched onto him, and the contact felt good for a moment. ”Thanks....” He managed with a weak smile, that was when footsteps alerted them to someone, but who? No, it wasn't someone but something. A small golem skittered along the floor, its clay colored body rather obvious against the hyper sanitary floors. Niall took a quick interest in it, as if he had some sort of deep fascination in it. He was like a kid in a candy shop, and it was just so damn cute, if not comical. Brandon had to try and keep himself from laughing, or at least snickering from the whole display.

”What? It’s adorable, how could you NOT miss it?” He said in defense of his mooning over the little automaton, but then again even Brandon at times found himself marveling over his creations, so there was no harm done. Granted he did not act like that, it wasn't as if Brandon cared about quirks like that. Niall would return to his side, lean against him before sliding to the side to....face the person that was now in the room. Unluckily it was Aaron, his somewhat unkempt blonde hair having a shaggy appearance that matched the blonde facial hair that clung along his chin, jawline and in the form of a slight mustache. His arms were cross over his chest, and lips forming a mockery of a smirk.

”If you're done........playing around, someones waiting for you brother.” His feet were bare, so he didn't bother wearing shoes, just dressing as he was now. With that he would motion for the others to follow him with a finger, walking back to where Arianna would be waiting, which would be in the rather spacious living room; where guests were to be received.

”Well isn't he a ray of sunshine.” Brandon murmured under his breath, following his brother, making sure to hold Niall's hand while doing so. He had to make his intentions obvious when they first walked in the room, and there would be no better way.

by **Zodiac** August 20th 2013, 12:24 am

      ”Hi Aaron!” Niall squeeked. He looked…just awful. He wasn’t keeping himself up well, which made Niall worry for Brandon even more. Not only was Niall probably ‘too childish’ in Aaron’s eyes, but now he knew that Aaron was taking this hard, and carrying a brother’s depression was a heavy weight, even for someone as strong as Brandon. Niall knew it all to well, after all his own ‘Brother’ was dying and his depression drove him to lengths ALMOST as catastrophic as Sean. The difference was that Zell was disciplined enough to channel the release of this destructive nature into stopping others with the same drive. Niall’s mind wandered a little bit as Brandon took him and led him hand in hand.

     Zell had no pictures like that. He had no family. Every picture of Zell was just…Zell. Niall knew he was there…but he was just a machine. He couldn’t be seen in the picture to be remembered, no one would know that he was there with Zell. Zell only ever had one picture like that…with Shara, he wore it as a locket over his heart at all times. Niall wanted to cry at this thought. Despite how tragic Zell’s lack of companionship, Niall found Sean’s betrayal ever so slightly more disheartening and sorrowful. Sean had friends, he had things trying to keep him anchored. Zell was anchored by only his free will and a desire to be a good person. Because Sean had so many people supporting him and believing in him, Sean’s betrayal was the more tragic by default.

     The next thought that crept into Niall’s mind was the most disturbing he had yet. Sean and Zell were almost similar. Something inside Sean was eating away at him, turning him into an evil maniac. According to what he had seen of Zell’s notes…it was something called ‘The Nether’ and it was almost a form of Anti-Ethereal energy…and in the end he became a monster, completely changed. Zell’s fate was not so different…but he could only hope for Zell to be strong where Sean was weak. He found himself clutching Brandon’s hand excessively and eh licked his lips nervously as they trailed behind the rugged Aaron.

    ”Sorry L-“ Niall began he quickly caught himself “Lost myself in thought.” He stumbled over his own tongue but still smiled reassuringly. Well he saved that one.

    ”Well isn’t he a ray of sunshine…” Brandon said. Niall snickered quietly, placing his head on Brandons shoulder trying to keep from busting out laughing. The humor was more towards the fact that that was totally a Zell Niall moment right there. He could just see it now, Zell in Aaron’s sho-feet, and Himself where Brandon was. Niall took his head off Brandon befor they got into the room, composing himself.

    They entered the spacious living room, and there was a rather ‘attractive’ woman. Niall assumed she was at least, Brandon had to get his looks somewhere…and there wasn’t exactly a father figure around. Then again, the night was young, and there wasn’t exactly a set schedule for what they were all going to do. He didn’t exactly know what to do or say, he was just sort of stuck there. He didn’t want to be rude or overstep his boundaries, and according to Zell

      ”Those people are practically their own fucking continental superpower!” So yes, Niall was being a bit particular about what he was doing.

by **Samael Christensen** August 20th 2013, 1:00 am

”You look like shit.”Brandon said within his mind, well aware that Aaron would be able to hear it, and he could feel his twin bristle at the insult. Even though he liked to play it professional, Brandon was aware that Aaron was a human being and he hated being insulted. It was likely he would reply with something witty, anything that was like his old self but what he said was far from expected; far from it indeed.

”Says my whore of a brother. Lets see how long this one lasts before you're sticking it in another guy, or girl.” Aaron retorted coldly, which shut Brandon up...mentally anyway. His brother had less patience than before, and that could not just be seen by the fact that his face was getting rather bristly, even if it was an improvement. His grip on Niall's hand tightened lightly at the comment though, his lip forming an uneasy expression at one edge, as if what Aaron said had gotten to him somehow. Dark spirits seemed to loom over everyone within the house, but that was to be expected.

Step by step they came closer to the living room, though Brandon's remark about Aaron's dark disposition seemed somewhat comical to his partner, who found it nearly impossible to keep himself from laughing, though he somehow managed. Soon enough they were there, with his mother on one of the couches, cross legged waiting with what looked like an infinite patience. She smiled upon noticing both Aaron, and Brandon, as well as the young male with fingers gripped so tightly around Brandon's. She seemed fairly amused, or was it pleased, his could never read his mothers many expressions.

Aaron chose to lounge on a love seat, his legs slightly hanging over the edge, as he supported his head with his limber arms, which rustled the blonde hair slightly. ”So you're whom i've heard so much about.” Arianna started with a smile, one that was supposed to inspire warmth, but Brandon was not sure what he was feeling at the moment. Damn, it was likely nervousness, but then again he had no idea what the hell it was. Nervousness seemed appropriate, since his mother was not always the fairest of people when it came to who her children dated, but then again he never felt nervous about bringing home anyone before. Granted it had been a while since he last did.

'Come now, sit, I can't have my guest standing around when they could sit.” She motioned for him to take a seat at one of he most comfortable of the couches, one lined with dark brown leather, which was far softer than it appeared. It was also where she would be questioning this unfortunate young man, likely things that he may or may not want to talk about would be asked. So Brandon tugged ever so lightly on Niall's hand, leading him to the seat which was so graciously offered to them, though it felt strange since he lived here already. The couch really was pretty damn comfortable and he felt like he had sunk down into it, his muscles relaxing; possibly a work of his mothers enchanting.

Hell, she could make a bed sprout wings with a feather and ten minutes. ”So Niall, tell me a little about yourself. Your name is Gaelic, so are you perhaps Irish yourself?” She raised a curious eyebrow, resting her chin on her left palm.

by **Zodiac** August 20th 2013, 2:03 am

      Aaron went over to the loveseat and basically sprawled out all over that like it was a bed. He kept his head propped up, almost like it took him extra effort to be bothered with this. Niall was used to that feeling though, so it’s not like he really cared much. He was here for Brandon, and if he was able to help Aaron he would, but he wasn’t about to go beyond his boundaries to do it. This was his mom. Crossed legs, all prim and proper, she was pretty much the lady of the castle, and there was no real denying it. ”So you're whom i've heard so much about.” She said, her smile was warm and inviting. Niall was like a little kid being led by Brandon, still not sure what to say. He went to say something when she spoke up again and offered him a seat.

      ”Yes ma’am. I’m Niall. Pleasure to meet you.” He said, he was trying to be proper, like Zell trained him so well to do, and even though there was no way to humanly detect it, Niall was in fact nervous. What if he didn’t live up to her expectations? Who was he kidding…he was going to fail at this. Brandon needs a human…or something made of flesh, not a machine.

      ”Niall…you like Brandon right?” A voice popped through the pseudo-telepathic link. Niall felt a weight being lifted off his shoulders.

      ”Hell yeah!”

      ”Niall…you’ve been watching me do business for a while now…and you’ve even made some of the ground-breaking deals of the worlds greatest Genetic engineering company….those deals required you to talk your way into the deal right? You had to court the deal along…right?” Zell asked.

      ”Yeah…so?”

      ”Brandon is the objective. You like this guy…but in order to make this happen you need to ‘court’ the deal. So for the next however many minutes you’re with his mother and brother, you need to ‘court’ them so to speak. You’re dating them, getting them to see your best qualities…” Zell said. ”You’re a business man…do business.” Niall felt a little better. Zell was right. He may not have never done this before, but he knew how to work people. The Hales weren’t normal people, but they were still people.

      ”Thanks Zell.” Niall thought back to his friend and brother.

      ”mmhm. Oh, and do me a favor…stop stressing out. If I have any visions of you and Brandon again I will castrate you and force-feed it to you.” Zell reminded his Irish friend. Niall mentally chuckled.

      ”If you really want to touch it you just need to ask. I AM KIDDING!” Niall thought. Zell groaned and the link was severed, probably binary switched for safety. and I’m dead hehe

       This couch was AWESOME. He sunk right in, but he suddenly let out a relieved sigh. He suddenly had that ‘little voice’ pop in and warn him to not get comfy. Not to be defensive, but to not allow himself to get complacent. No one wants to see a lazy oaf. Instead Niall leaned forward and looked at Brandon’s mother with bright blue-green eyes and a smile of pearly whites. Currently he was leaned forward just slightly, making sure not to cross his own legs or arms. This way it would naturally come off as if he were interested and attentive to the matriarch. She countered taking a very similar approach, however instead of simply staying forwards, she rested her chin on her palm. She asked for a little sample as to who he was. He looked at Brandon and smiled a little. Hopefully this lady wasn’t going to try and put Brandon on the spot to try and get a reaction out of him.

       ”I am ma’am. I’m actually from literally THE smallest little town there is. I never knew my parents, I’ve been an orphan my entire life, same old sob story there, but uh… It all changed when I pretended to be someone I’m obviously not. I was able to confuse everyone for the longest time, but eventually I was caught. Lady Luck was kind enough to make the kid I was impersonating a good guy, and so he fooled his parents for basically ever. Then I grew into the family and that’s basically my story…the only other interesting thing about me is the fact I run around in a tin suit and get to play superhero.” Niall replied to her, right as rain. He wasn’t fooling her, he wasn’t trying to. Still he was his joking self, but he was attempting to do so in a way that was more presentable. ”I’m really not that interesting, honest. But I’m an open book about pretty much everything.” Niall said. He figured there was no better way to get things done than to get her to question him and judge him for herself. He suddenly felt a dull ache in the back of his head, h was so worried and so focused that he actually managed to get a headache. This could get good. But before he let anyone continue he looked at her and smiled just a cute as could be. ”But, I have just one question of my own….What is the most acceptable way to address you?”

by **Samael Christensen** August 20th 2013, 5:28 pm

So far Niall was doing pretty good, making sure to keep the image of a perfectly well mannered young man, which was sure to please his mother. She always liked those nice guys, since it seemed that was all her children seemed to bring home, but then again she never seemed to mind the possibility that there would be no Hale heir, which was unnerving. It always made him wonder why his mother was so forthcoming about such things, but she was who she was, and nothing could change that. His mind was racing over so many unimportant details, his dark brown eyes traced the minute lines on the floor.

What if she didn't like Niall? It certainly had happened before and it was not unlikely that such a thing would happen again, but that didn't mean he was looking forward to anything like that. His free hand traced over the leather, tapping ever so lightly on it. "Why so nervous?” He felt his twins mental influence again. 'You already have a child, even if you don't have much to do with him. You have your heir, now focus on the guy next to you.”

'What if she doesn't like him?”

'What if? You've dated plenty of people she did not approve of, what is one more?”

'You just won't let go of that time I dated Sean won't you?” Aaron didn't respond to that, and physically he adjusted his sitting position, leaning back against the small love seat, and letting his now dull green eyes look over the others.

”You can call me Arianna.” She said with her curiosity slightly piqued, so that meant that more questions would follow. Shifting her position, pale fingers intertwined, deep green eyes seeming to search Niall's for a moment, curiously and a bit cautious. The Hale had many enemies, and she was quickly made aware of that strange creature that had appeared the night Sean's lsot it, and if this man had anything to do with it, she was unsure of she could trust him. 'So how did you meet my son? I would love it if you regale me with the tale, as Brandon seems to neglect to mention that detail.” The tone was pleasant, but she had the sinking feeling that something was underneath it all.

Brandon raised an eyebrow, wondering what his mother was trying to get at, if she were trying to get at something.

by **Zodiac** August 20th 2013, 8:58 pm

       Niall could feel Brandon’s discomfort in simply picking up on the little things, like the tapping of the leather and the looks all around. His mom was sweet enough though, Niall already liked her and wanted to do his best to not make her mad or give the wrong impression. He kept the innocent smile and the bright eyes, for all anyone could tell he was the sweetest kid in the world, but inside he was rather a nervous wreck. He didn’t let it show though, he just kept on playing on.
      ”You can call me Arianna.” She said as she shifted around in her seat. This was the
Defense’ card in business, and this was one of the most crucial times to make a good strong impression. He remembered Zell trying to explain it to him once. Basically when someone shifts positions form a relaxed position like hers into a new position and they start scanning you, that means they are three things. Interested, cautious, and not going to trust you worth crap. Niall wanted to groan get up and go home already. He didn’t have that silver tongue that Zell had, he didn’t have the charisma to persuade anyone into anything. True he could do other things that Zell couldn’t, but most of those wouldn’t be successful or acceptable towards the woman. Blowing up a date’s house is not a way to impress her, or in this case, his mother. 'So how did you meet my son? I would love it if you regale me with the tale, as Brandon seems to neglect to mention that detail.”

      Ding ding ding ding, we have a winner! Arianna, come on up and claim your prize! Let’s see what you’ve won! You have just won a front row seat to watching my hopes and thoughts break down. He thought to himself he pressed his lips together, forming a partial smile and nodding with both his eyebrows up, as if he agreed with her. He needed to keep this cool, he needed to be calm. He needed to not freak out as badly as he was. He took only a second to calm himself down. It was just another question. He just needed to answer the question.
      ”Well…I was visiting the same friend who basically gave me a family, he goes to college around here and He ended up wanting to hit a few clubs. I went with him, and ended up needing to run to a store real quick like…when I came back he introduced me to Brandon and Aaron…” Niall began his eyes drifted towards Aaron and he smiled nodding as he looked back to Arianna. ”Well…it’s not exactly the fairy tale I’m sure you’d rather hear but…yes I met your son in a parking lot” Niall said with a warm little chuckle. He told no lie, nor did he even need to skimp by on that bullcrap excuse of ‘I just omitted parts’. She asked HOW did he MEET Brandon. That’s how he met him, nothing more, nothing less.

by **Samael Christensen** August 20th 2013, 9:39 pm

She listened intently, though his story was rather amusing to the young looking woman. When Niall finished, stating what his story had already told her, which was that they had met in a parking lot. In fact it amused her so, that she couldn't help but laugh when he was done speaking, red lips curling into a large smile. ”A parking lot eh? Well, its not the worst place to meet Brandon i'll give you that, sounds about right actually. I would have called you a liar if you said anything else.” She said trying to reign in her laughter, Brandon a little uncomfortable by his mothers response.

'I might like you yet.” She said with a cheeky grin, breaking whatever tension was hanging within the air. Something small with sharp feet latched into Brandon's shoulder, the small golem having found its way into the room and using his shoulder as its perch. Its green gemlike eyes scan need the room, but mostly made sure to keep itself on its creator. Its sudden appearance caused Brandon to jolt in his seat slightly but nothing that was overly apparent, unless you were close enough to him to feel it.

”So what do you think of our humble abode? We don't have many visitors lately, well many that aren’t on some sort of important business. I've had it refurbished only a month ago, and haven't gotten any opinions on its appearance.” Now she was making small talk, which was to be expected. Couldn't have so many possibly invasive questions coming at one back to back.

”So...how's Zell?” Aaron mentally transmitted to Niall, aiming to sidewind him.

by **Zodiac** August 21st 2013, 12:03 am

      Niall gave a little laugh with her. She seemed to enjoy that fact. Although Niall didn’t exactly interpret it as an insult towards Brandon, he did notice a bit of uneasiness in him. He just brushed it off at first, but he knew that if it happened again he’d speak up. He’d let one slide, but going at Brandon was a huge no go for Niall. Regardless he let her go on to say that she just might like him. Niall was elated, but he didn’t start into a premature celebration. He readjusted himself as she controlled her laughter and broke the tensions in the air.

      Brandon jumped a little, barely enough to even notice, but soon Niall had his eyes on the cute little golem. He smiled at it and looked at it for a little bit as it sat on Brandon’s shoulder. He would have taken a picture if he could have, seeing his two favorite things in one picture perfect moment. Of course he never had a camera when he needed it, and he looked back to Arianna before he could get accused of staring. Though he was sure he would have stared if he were given the opportunity. Nothing was a bigger red flag than being creepy, so Niall just sunk back a little. And assumed his position, then he was asked a rather ‘trivial’ question about the decorum of the room. Niall was taken a bit by surprise, and that was apparent, even in his face. He had to shake off the urge to say ‘uhm…yeah it’s nice’.

     ”Well it’s actually rather nice, It reminds me of a place back home in all honesty, but I really can’t remember where… It has that natural feeling almost like you were at home. IT could be aesthetically pleasing to just about anyone I’d wager, but it’s really something else…Only ever seen anything SIMILAR once…but I can’t recall for the life of me…” Niall said.

     ”So...how's Zell?” A voice entered his mind. Niall had pseudo telepathy with Lourishna, Hexmark, Zell, The Robo nurses and the S.T.A.R.K Dragon unit, not to mention all of the S.T.A.R.K operatives. So needless enough to say the voice in his mind got a second-nature response; he was completely and utterly unphased, not even batting an eye that it had been Aaron.

     ”He’s doing terrible, thanks. He’s spending night after night with magical grimiors, and other stuff he’d never touch otherwise. He gets almost no sleep; his mental stability is fallin faster than the twin towers….He’s on borrowed time… he…won’t be with us much longer…” Niall replied. HE partially trusted Aaron, because he was Brandon’s brother, and he knew Aaron was hurting probably the most of all of them. Meanwhile he was carrying on a verbal conversation with Arianna, he had pointed out every beautiful and posh piece and was able to explain why one might find it beautiful, this fluff was basically just to show Arianna that he wasn’t exactly uneducated. Now he was mentally handicapped in comparison to the others in the room, but he knew how to be classy.

      ”That’s what makes the-“ Niall’s eyes widened and it finally clicked in. He shot a quick glance at Aaron, but nothing TOO disruptive to his sentence.”So you have telepathy…that’s pretty handy huh?” The thought. ” whole room tie together….sorry I ramble a little bit. I’ve got a soft spot for things like this…and puppies…and thee little guys.” Niall said with a smile, his eyes lighting up as he stroked the golems head, he decided he had bothered the poor thing enough, so he left it at that.

by **Samael Christensen** August 21st 2013, 8:17 pm

”I see.”The mental tone was unreadable, devoid of any sort of emotion, just flat. He had what he wanted, so he wouldn't waste time mentally conversing with his brothers latest boytoy, simply let them go along. There would be another soon enough, maybe one he wouldn't feel so much unease around. He returned to his sitting position, tuning out any question Niall had afterward, just letting his own thoughts wander again, while the others within the room were blissfully unaware of what had so quietly transpired. He could feel his brothers fears slowlt fading away and a part of him was happy.

”If you hurt him, I might break you.” Aaron thought privately to himsel, with a slight scowl forming on his yellow whiskers obscured lips. He wouldn't let Brandon make the same mistake that he made, holding onto a mentally unstable or harmful person for so long. Not again. So far he was doing well with his mother, but then again Arianna was mostly happy what her son brought home was not an outright whore, and he seemed to have some form of manners, but Aaron would make sure that he got what he wanted soon. Maybe find out more than he was likely willing to tell his beloved.

The small golem didn't really react to the blonde gushing over it, inquisitive eyes still seeming to dart along the room, as its spindly legs were for the most part stationary along Brandon's durable shoulders. However soon enough the affection stopped, and for a moment it noticed, looking to Niall before averting its attention elsewhere.”I see that you enjoy the little golem there. Brandon is the foremost expert when it comes to golems, as far as the Hale's are concerned anyway. That one on his shoulder is one of his earliest creations, it was the first one he made actually.” It m0orphed into a small ball and rolled down Brandon's arm onto the floor with a light sound.

”I've made a lot more since that one but I never wanna get rid of him.”It crawled back up the couch and made Niall's shoulder its new perch, seeming to sit down. 'Looks like he likes you.” It seemed to agree with a motion of its head.

”Well i'm sure all of you are hungry and I made sure to have enough for all of us prepared.” Arianna added standing to her feet, looking to her guests for a moment. 'So shall we go?”[/color]

by Sponsored content

A Perfect Circle

A Perfect Circle

Re: A Perfect Circle

Re: A Perfect Circle

Re: A Perfect Circle

Re: A Perfect Circle

Re: A Perfect Circle

Re: A Perfect Circle

Re: A Perfect Circle

Re: A Perfect Circle

Re: A Perfect Circle

Re: A Perfect Circle

Re: A Perfect Circle

Re: A Perfect Circle

Re: A Perfect Circle

Re: A Perfect Circle

Re: A Perfect Circle