Drink your soup before it clots

[Rip]

Pale stetched heavily before they got off the plane and persisted to remain very close to Taxi and Quinn, though as he was taller then both of them, hiding wasn't going all that well. He kept attempting to dart to whatever side of Quinn security wasn't and crouch down; he failed at this. Luckily, no one questioned, even if they did notice. If anyone had called about the stolen ticket, they made it out before that... despite the painfully slow pace. Paletown could only concol to the idea of traveling very fast (he had tuned out taxi) to some place cops weren't going to look.

... boy was he wrong.

When they reached outside, the boy looked past the horses, searching for some cab or maybe this uncle of Angel's, but neither showed up. The horses, in all their cinderella beauty however, stayed where they were. When realization dawned on him, Pale's face twisted into a hybrid of horror and astonishment. He had been in carrages before- they were a classy version of a walk in the park in Brooklyn- but this was rediculous. Old timed did not quite describe, and he was certain it did not go very fast. Never being that fond of horses, he moved wearily around, catching Quinn's look and giving him a sort of angry, pouting 'wtf' face, looking oddly paranoid about the huge animals at the front, and climbed into the car, crossing his legs and uncrossing them trice before he stopped fidgeting. This was starting to lok more and more like a romantic, mood setting thing then ever and that made him feel a little akward. Pale did not normally feel akward. He hung his head outside the door, more content with the wind in his face then sitting in there and waiting for the ride to be over.

"Angel, if there's any o' them vampires out there, yaknow we ain't goin very fast. N' I left my dynamite at home." He crossed his arms on the edge, putting his chin on them, not looking back at them. "Wheres this uncle anyway."

[KOCHI-KOCHI]

Taxi had gotten himself nice and comfortable. Laying on his back, head propped up on Quinns leg, hands folded overtop of his stomach. The ride itself wasn't that awful once they were out of the city and away from the cars, smooth and not terribly bumpy. Bells, thats what horses always reminded him of. Even if they weren't wearing any. That pleasant little sound of their hooves clapping down against the ground. Such big peaceful creatures. God damned cars, ruining horses, making them just, play things for the rich. No, back in the day, they had steeds, and imported amazing arabian horses and god damn was he the cats pajamas when he got onto that beautiful horse and went from one place to the other. No wonder he got married so often, the ladies loved him.

"Uraugh?" The german blinked rapidly, not realizing he had wandered off into old memories. Someone had spoken. DAYUM did Pale look awkward, sitting there, not even looking at him. Then again, the poor kid was in a foreign country. Trapped in a carriage with two gay men. In a horse-drawn wagon carriage thing. It wasn't as though they were going to strip right then and there and have crazy sex. Mainly because they had already tired one another out previously.

"Ich bin nicht gesorgt, er, I mean, I'm not worried." It would seem the closer Taxi got to his homeland the thicker his accent became and the more his native tongue worked itself into his speech. "I'm sure your death will give us time to flee." A wave of his hand dismissed the thought, continuing. "They gave him a Castle in Satu Mare. Won't take long to get there, though. I'm sure you two'll adore it."

[Obelisk]

Quinn's fingers, out of complete habit, went to smooth through Taxi's soft hair, rubbing gently at his scalp. The younger vampire wasn't even really aware that he was indulging in such a public display of affection, for his thoughts were elsewhere. The rhythmic sound of hooves against pavement lulled him deeper into contemplation. His lack of rest didn't help matters either. Quinn's mood swings were always unpredictable and they always turned for the worst when he allowed himself time to think.

And right now he couldn't help but think of the reason he was there in Romania sitting in a carriage. There were very few things Quinn feared -- death, loss, and celibacy were the big ones. Kefka had been added to the list and hell, that made a proud man like Quinn feel like such a coward it nearly stung. At least here he was safe.... and with Taxi. Speaking of, Quinn drew himself out of his thoughts and turned his gaze to the blonde.

He removed his hand from Taxi's hair and allowed it to rest on his thigh. A castle? Quinn lifted his brows at the thought. He'd only seen castles on the television. This actually might be pretty damned cool but there was the prospect of meeting Taxi's uncle to contend with. To be honest, Quinn had no idea how he should act and he did want to make a good impression, lest he be cast out or maimed or burned... or eaten. Damn, he really hated his imagination sometimes.

Clearing his throat, the man spoke. " So, what's the custom here? Should I shake his hand, bow.... or give a fucking curtsey?" His voice was gruff, which was normal, and he did a masterful job of masking and concern.

[Rip]

Pale was used to doing things on his own and being places where he exactly belong; him being in other countries wasn't much of a stretch, though it didn't happen that offen. Also, it wasn't often he actually had company with him that brought him, or, er, that he was following. He had trouble staying in the same place and lacked most if not all fear of new things. Actually some figured he was more scared of the old things. The ride was actually pretty nice, very calming, but calm time was over; he had taken a very long nap and wasn't tired in the least. Pale pushed himeself half way ou the window of the carrage, looking around to the horses and was filled with the impulse to get atop of one and ride it Silverado style. He probably would have if Taxi hadn't said something. Oh wait, Angel mentioned something about a... a...

"Castle?" Pale said, sliding back inside half way, bumping his head on and growling a few colorful phrases while Quinn and Taxi talked. "They's haunted, yaknow." The last bit was added with a matter-of-fact tone. "Ghosts playin' on pianas, tap-tappin' in the halls, dopplegangas in the mirrors. Hope they's friendly." Though, he didn't sound too concerned; however, Pale decided that he was diffinatly gonna discovered some ghosts, even if they didn't want to be found.

Angel's friend was saying something about culture and what he should do- not too bad a question, actually. What the fuck was his name? Q something. Quill, Q-Qwak... what the fuck name started with Q? Q-fucking-tip. Whatever, the skinny kid decided to help him out. "You don't do this." he practicly sang, holding up the middle finger. "Or um... the fuck else, OH don't do this either. Or this, or.. yeah better not do this either. Or this. Aw shit, this really limits body language don't it? Better not break anything eitha, or like uh, steal shit. That's bad. They dun like that." He was actually not being a smartass; his tone was completely mellow and he even paused thoughtfully to think of what other obsenities would be concidered inapproerate for a Romanian Castel and in the presence of a (presumaby) rich uncle of Angel's. Rich uncles tend to leave money behind when they croak so you don't piss 'em off.

[KOCHI-KOCHI]

Taxi had been on the verge of answering Quinn but his reply was cut off by Pales potentially helpful declaration. A little amused smile played on his face, "That's a good start. Mainly, though, promise not to run, scream, stare, or laugh and I'll be happy." The blonde shifted himself, crossing his feet over the edge of the window, stretching nicely across the seat. "If you manage that, you can shake his hand. Justplease," And now his voice took on a tone of actual seriousness.

"He's incredily self-conscious about his appearance. Just don't hurt his feelings by doing anything stupid." Blue-green eyes looked over at Pale and then up at Quinn, frowning slightly.

He was quite sure Quinn wouldn't do anything stupid. He might be nervous as hell, but, he'd be able to contain himself. Paletown, though? Gaze drifted back to the boy. Humans were always horribly unpredictable. And teen especially so. Taxi was curious to see exactly what the other blonde would do when encountering his relative. Or what said relative would do when encountering Taxi's new travelmates.

There was only one way to find out.

[Obelisk]

Quinn may have had the maturity of a pre-pubescent boy at times, but if there was one thing he was good at, it was keeping his emotions and thoughts internal and hidden from view. Quinn gave a nod, telling Taxi that he understood. The last thing he wanted to do was to get on the bad side of the one man who could keep Kefka at bay. That just wouldn't be a smart thing to do, to put it simply.

"I'll behave, I promise." He said but not without flashing that roughish smirk of his. Taxi's revelation that his uncle was sensitive in some manners served to calm Quinn's nerves marginally. A sensitive guy couldn't be all that scary, right? Unless he reacted violently in which case Quinn was glad he was quick and a damned good runner.

Quinn seemed to sense his lover's concerns and turned his eyes to Pale. " You hear that? You and I need to be good little boys. No making fun. No weaseling around. No destroying of property. No starting up a ruckus." This was said with a lopsided grin, but it was obvious by his tone that Quinn was serious. He didn't want anyone to ruin this family reunion for Taxi.

[Rip]

Raising a brow, Pale leaned against the wall, putting his feet up on the seat, folding his hands in his lap. The way Taxi was talking he wasn't sure if this uncle was a lepor or what. The idea of a large mummy living in a castle was spectacular, and a small grin came to his face. Maybe frankenstien- maybe... a dragqueen. Something to that extent. How rediculous to make such a big deal of it, but he wouldn't go out to embariss Angel's family.

At Quinn's words, the kid just gave a snort and crossed his arms behind his head. "Worry bout ye'self. I'mma be a good seed- honest. "

[KOCHI-KOCHI]

The carriage had come to a stop, the horses finished their clippy-clopping, and the doorman getting down so he could hold the door open for the trio. And as soon as they stepped out, they'd be greeted by a very odd sight.



They had parked right infront of the castle, not but ten yards from the doors. Of course, the castle was hanging overtop of a snowy ledge looking down over the city, and therefore they weren't but an equal distance from tumbling to their deaths. Made of red stone, two smaller towers with a huge one in the back and a smaller lookout one beside that. The doors themselves were mammoth, atleast two stories tall and seemed to be impossibly heavy. This was probably an incredibly impressive castle in its day, impenetrable to even the heaviest of battering rams.

"DER GESTIEFELTE KATER!"

The shout was impossible deep, a voice too strong and low to belong to any human being. For the door had been opened just enough for a certain someone to peek out and see who it was, and it also happened to be open just enough for a small feline to escape. She beelined for the carriage, a tiny little white thing with a large pink bow on its neck with loving embroidery on it. Well, white, except for little black socks on each of its feet.

And the owner of this kitten didn't seem to approve of it being outside. The doors were pushed open, yes, those same mammoth gates. They didn't even squeak or scrape against the ground. They couldn't. The push had been so forceful that both of them flung open as though they were just weak little plastic doors on some kids barbie house. And out of the doors stepped a man.

img.photobucket.com/albums/v23/Kochikens/BlackbloodSmall.jpg

Well. A man may have been stretching the meaning of the word just a bit, as the first thought which came to most peoples minds was Monster. For there stood Dimone, looking from side to side for his kitten. Dressed in old worn cotton clothes, simple dark pants and a shirt with something that could have been a housecoat thrown on overtop. The garments weren't the most interesting thing in the least. Perfectly white skin and hair, the snowy locks just sort of hanging off of his head haphazardly and unattended to. The nearly nine foot man looked distressed between looking for his cat and properly introducing himself, the long black tail swishing back and forth behind himself anxiously. The extra appendage was quite lengthly, jagged scales sticking out of the top like an alligators with a rather sharp and terrifying looking tip. To match it, he had feet which were certaintly not human in the least. Not even vampiric. Massive ebon reptilian claws, clacking nervously on the cobblestone while large hands with animalistic pointed nails fiddled infront of his chest.

Still, even if you didn't think that was wierd, his face was an entirely new experience in itself. It was like some horribly deformed version of a vampire, with massive saber-like fangs that were so huge they couldn't be contained by his mouth and had pierced his lower lips and ended a bit below his chin. High cheekbones and thin but strong facial features, thick eyebrows hanging overtop of some very odd eyes. It looked like someone had taken an icepick to them and cracked them, white shards simply hanging there by some cosmic force against a black backdrop.

Dimone Blackblood, brother to Kefka, uncle to Taxi, father to Kochi, and son to Dolly stood shifting his weight from foot to foot, unable to decide whether to trample everything looking for his cat Puss in Boots or be polite to his company.

Said nephew Taxi wanted to watch Pale and Quinns reactions, he really did. But no. The blonde was too utterly delighted by seeing his most-favourite-uncle-ever. Sure, he was his only uncle, but, he was still his most favouritest. So he practically lept out of the carriage and leapt up to attack the man who towered over him. It took all the momentum he had in order to be able to propel himself upwards enough to wrap his arms around Dimones stomach and hang off of it. This was of course accompanied by rambling greetings in German, "ONKEL, DER SIE DAS BESTE SIND, DAS ICH SIE DESHALB VIEL VERPASST HABE, DAS ICH NICHT GLAUBEN KANN, DASS IHM SO LANG GEWESEN IST, SIND SIE AM BESTEN" which were mostly mufled by the giants stomach.

Even with a vampire charging and leaping at him, Dimone wasn't moved in the slightest, just put a hand on the others back to hold him up.

[Obelisk]

To say Quinn was shocked when he laid eyes upon the castle would have been a complete understatement. What he felt could have been described more accurately as awe and an appropriate expression was written across his features. It was a mute sort of surprise, like a child seeing Santa Clause for the very first time. He'd only seen such magnificent castles in storybooks and movies, and right now he almost felt like he was a character in a fairytale. This was the remote castle in a far-off land, one that a dragon chose as its roost.

And it was the dragon's bellow that drove Quinn hurtling back to reality. His heart leapt into his throat and alarm raced through him. German always sounded angry as hell and when it was yelled that loudly by a voice that powerful, the man expected bloody murder to break loose. So when Dimone just stood there looking awkward and conflicted, sufficed to say, Quinn wasn't expecting it. He watched as Taxi literally bombarded his uncle and then, throwing a quick glance at Pale, exited the carriage.

He stood there looking a bit out of place with his arms crossed over his chest and waited for the two relatives to catch up a bit before he made any attempt at an introduction. While Taxi occupied Dimone with his enthusiastic hug and words, Quinn took the chance to look around. He had to admit that the area in which Dimone lived was beautiful. Quinn had always liked remote places which might be strange since he normally lived in cities, but there were more people in cities and therefore it was much easier to secure a meal.

His green gaze moved to the castle doors and up as far as his line of sight could go. The man whistled lowly in his appreciation of just how freaking huge this marvel of architecture was.

[Rip]

Pale frequented weird places often, like the world's largest yarn ball and similar oddities, and he wasn't exactly a stranger to natural wonders, but this just took the cake. As a city boy, he had a vast appication for peace and quiet, which is why he was often drawn to places of solitude. Sure, he loved to cause chaos, but no one ever seemed to notice that he only create mahem in heavily populated locations. Out here, things were just how they were suppose to be- that's how he felt, at any rate. He didn't have the same jaw-dropped expression Quinn did, and opted for a more quite expression that was shown by unique shines in his otherwise dull eyes. He, metaphoricly, brightened up with a childlike excitement sans the loud squeals.

Snow. There was snow. He was so much more delighted by this then the castle, and when they stepped out of the castle he grinned broadly, shuffling his sneakers to make funny looking prints. But everything went smashed with a very loud and very angry sounding voice, well it was only angry because of the language but...

Pale jumped clean around and stared up at the huge guy. He probably would have said or done something Taxi wouldn't have apperciated... if that little white kitten hadn't just ran between his legs. All attention was shifted on a dime. Paletown liked kittens.

He lowered his upper half, looking between his legs and tyring to see where it went. Suddenly, his brain was filled with horrible things. This was the middle of Transylvania, there were vampires and werewolves. There were regular wolves, big cats and wild dogs whom would love nothing more then to gobble down a baby so small. His heart hammered and he felt slightly paniced, wheeling around and darting after it. Such bad things could happen to kittens. It could be trampled by the horses, run over by the carts, get lost in the snow, tortured by wicked children, stomped on by boots, find a street...

He went on his hands and knees, frowning, looking under the carrage, making a light whispery noise that sounded something like psswpsswpsse and holding out a hand while rubbing his thumb and trigger finger togeather, hoping to call it. If it didn't come he'd go under there, and if it ran he would chase it. Pale was single minded and didn't intend to go anywhere until he caught it. "Whach you doin." He said, voice much softer then it usually was and half crawled under their ride, seeming to forget that getting run over would probably crush his spine. Who cares. KITTEN WOULD BE CRUSHED MORE. "Its too cold out here for ya."

[KOCHI-KOCHI]

Dimone glanced down at the blonde, speaking in a quiet gentle voice. They spoke back and forth for just a few moments in their native tongue, Taxi dropping down gracefully and landing on his feet.

"Ich habe meine Katze, Sie haben gesehen sie verloren?" A frown looked fairly odd but natural on Dimone, a sad little thing.

"Nein, sollten Sie sie fragen, oder ich werde." A nonchalant shrug.

"Welches ist ihn?" The question was asked while owner of the castle looked from Quinn to Paletown and then back down to his newphew.

"Das braune behaart Ein." Said newphew replied, glancing over his shoulder to the two first.

"Wer ist das andere?" A curious query, glancing quickly to his kittens savior.

"Ein Freund, den ich auf dem Weg abgeholt habe." Taxi laughed pleasantly, and then grabbed his uncle by the wrist to pull him, intent on introducing him as he seemed too shy to do so himself.

Meanwhile, the little kitten that was dubbed Puss in Boots was sitting under the carriage staring at Pale with big gorgeous blue eyes. When he spoke the tiniest most heart wrenchingly adorable little meow came out, a teensy wittle, "Miaow." just as she lifted up one black paw and then the other. Her big embroidered bow flopped up and down across her neck as she padded up to Pale and did something so cute the poor human would probably contract diabetes from sweetness right then and there. Her little tongue licked his nose and she started to purr vigorously, rubbing her nose up against his face kitten style.

Taxi had drug his uncle who was shuffling his feet, the hard scales making quite a wretched sound against the stone. Everything about the mans physical posture made it seem like he wasn't this 8'9 monster, but, instead he was a small nervous child. Head hung, back slouched, shoulders up and unable to meet anybodys eyes. That was, untill a leather shoe stepped down on his foot and a peristant elbow nudged into his leg.

"It's very nice to meet you, Quinn, i'm Dimone, Taxi's uncle, and I welcome you to my home." The pronounciation was incredibly clear and concise as though he had been practicing that single sentence for years. German accent was present, but, oddly enough, not as heavy as his brothers or as his newphews. An absolutely massive hand extended itself cautiously to Quinn.

"OH-" Taxi interjected, peering down at Pale and then looking quickly back to his lover. "He also wants to know if you've seen his cat."

[Rip]

ooc: KOCHI MADE ME POST.

Paletown could hear them talking just a bit away, but he ignored them. for one they were talking in German, a langauge which he, Pale, only knew how to count to ten in, and second was that he was slightly preoccupied. Reaching out as the kitten came up to him, a grin burst out on his face, putting his chin on it's back as it rubbed against his face. Inside, he was practicly screaming 'EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE'; Pale loved kittens. He would not deny this. Who could be sad with a kitten? Exactly. No one. Unless there was something wrong with your brain, and if that's the case he hopes they'll find a cure for your illness. He drew his arms in to hold it, making sure it wouldn't run off, and started wiggling out from under the carage. He looked rediculous, but they probably weren't paying attention to him.

Once out there, he stood up, shaking his head to get rid of the snow that had somehow gotten into his hair, and cradled the cat in his arms. The overly huge sleeves of his sweatshirt were especially helpful, even if the front of him was soaked at this point. Pale didn't seem to mind. Scratching Puss-in-Boots lightly behind the ear, he headed over towards them with slight reluctance.

Dimone was a huge guy. He was sorta scary looking. But if he liked kittens then he couldn't be all bad. At first, he looked quite posessive, not wanting to give the little fluff ball up, but then he sighed a little and held her out. "Ya lost something?"

[Obelisk]

Quinn wasn't too shocked by Dimone's appearance. He had, after all, seen the man in the picture of Taxi's family and had time to prepare himself for the meeting. Still, Quinn couldn't help but be impressed by the sight of the man. He did his best not to stare but did manage to steal a couple of glances to Dimone's massive tail. The guy undoubtedly had to have had his pants specialty made.

The thing about Quinn was that he was brought up in Middle-America by one of those families that could belong in campy show like Leave it To Beaver. Ma and Pa taught him just how to approach strangers and how to deal with them in a good, polite manner. It wasn't a mystery that Quinn was a downright jerk but he could also behave when he tried. And tried he did.

Flashing a smile so charming it could disarm even the coldest of hearts, Quinn took the large man's clawed hand into his own. It was a bit awkward because of the size difference but he gave it a good shake and met Dimone directly in the eye. There was something to be said about not judging a book by its cover and Quinn tried to keep that in mind.

" It's a pleasure, sir, and really, thank you for having us." Quinn's smile turned appreciative and his hand slipped from Dimone's as Taxi addressed him. " Cat? Nah, I haven't see a cat." Was that what all the yelling was about. Quinn scratched at the back of his head and shook it lightly. He smiled to himself and thought that , hell, a man who was fretting over a lost pet couldn't be bad at all. That'd defy all logic and besides, Taxi seemed to love Dimone dearly and that was enough proof for him.

He quirked a brow and stepped back as Pale came into the scene. He snorted in amusement and flashed a lopsided smirk. " Our hero." Maybe this wouldn't be as bad as he thought. The atmosphere around the castle and especially surrounding their little group felt calm, peaceful, safe and disarming.

[KOCHI-KOCHI]

"DER GESTIEFELTE KATER!" Dimone reached out to take the cat from Pale, although all he really had to do was extend a hand and the tiny feline jumped to land on it and then climb all the way up to sit herself down on his shoulder. The man seemed incredibly pleased, petting her with the black of a single claw, scritching the little kitty behind the ears.

It was only then that the carriage left, presumably off to the stables, wherever they were in this monster of a castle.

"Thankyou for returning Puss In Boots to me, if there's anything any of you need, don't be afraid to ask." Truely grateful and yet too preoccupied to do anything but turn himself around and head back inside. Afterall, Dimone was cold blooded and he didn't enjoy being outdoors for great lengths of time when it was snowy. A quick glance back to his newphew, "Oh, your room is untouched." and then closing the door once his guests had come in. It was equally as impressive as opening the massive wooden gates. Any of them, or even all of them wouldn't be able to even move it an inch but to this mammoth of a man it seemed as light as the kitten. There were prices for this, though.

A black tail curled around his own ankle as he turned to speak to Paletown, "Oh, and, I assume you'll be needing a bed and food? I can show you the kitchen and there's lots of open rooms to chose from." He had to have a kitchen and chef, afterall, somebody needed to feed the maids and etc. That, and, although he would never admit it, Dimone tended to go a bit haywire if nobody was around to keep him in check.

At this point, Taxi finally seemed to come to his senses. The blonde wasn't going to question why Pale wasn't wigging out. Eventually it would occur to him that human beings weren't supposed to be gargantuan, own castles, or have a face like that. That horrible saying of not punching a gift horse in the mouth did apply here, though.

Didn't matter to him, though, it would seem Dimone had Pale distracted enough so Taxi could entertain Quinn. A little deviant smile. "Whaddya think?" A hand stretched out to motion to the room they were in.

The interior of the castle was almost church like. Stained glass windows were everywhere, carvings, stone floor. The stone itself was some sort of white marble, and general assortments of beautiful type of rock.

perso.orange.fr/anthony.atkielski/CastleInteriorSmall.jpg

Luxurious furniture was actually quite sparse, as it was hard to spread any money around such a huge space. That, and Dimone didn't seem the type to be concerned with appearance. Everything was incredibly functional and comfortable.

[Rip]

Pale just grinned in his typical calm yet-some-how-cheeky way and slid his half frozen hands in his pockets. There wasn't much to say, and in a way getting praised was always pretty akward. He could understand how egotistical people choose to just stand there and absorb it rather then reply; what could you say, other then thank you? After those commonly used words of graditude, the conversation died and set both people into an uneasy silence. Paletown rarely thanked anyone verbally, and few people ever had a problem with it. Perhaps they knew about the weird feeling too.

Once Dimone's back was turned, the kid had proper time to observe this enormous man, guy, beast.. dude as he was previously occupied with a search and rescue mission. It took him a moment to realize, since he hadn't exactly expected this, that this man could simply not be human. Yes, he had heard of horrorble body altering diseases, like that poor elephant man, and even weird synthetic changes like the tiger man. But this? This was straight out of a science ficton novel. Taxi had called this guy 'uncle'. Was he just a family friend and thus adapted that title? Or was he actual blood? If so, that meant Angel was also quite unhuman. How confusing. He'd ask about it later.

Food?

"I don't eat much." Pale replied, looking around the castle in acute facination, though his eyes flicked back to the kitten every five seconds or so. If the situation had been different in the slightest of ways, Pale wouldn't have acceptd the offer to stay. If anything, he'd sleep outside. However, since he proformed an amazing act of heroism and returned a lost pet, he felt he earned a bed and could take up the offer without a second though. "But yeah man, sounds great." He paused a second, a sly glint passing along his eye, and said, "Angel says theres vampires who're gonna make a steak outta me."