Azreal stared outside his window, finally perking up and becoming his usual self. He went to take another drink but realised that there was none left. Now he felt the pressure on his bladder that usually meant he needed to take a piss. He screwed his nose up, as was his habit when he thought. He decided that it was best to hold on, as he disliked relieving himself behind trees. As he watched the trees whiz past, he couldn't stop feeling like something bad was going to happen.

As they went around a bend, climbing up a large hill, Azrael peered over the edge of the road, down into the valley below. He wasn't afraid of heights like most people were. He found being up high exhilarating and interesting. The grin slid from his face when he saw the small opening of a gate in the clearing below. He couldn't see any demons from up this high, but he could sense that there were a few in these woods. "Bloody kids," he growled, knowing that most gates were opened by so called "Satan worship", usually a bunch of gothic teens killing pigs and having drunken orgies.

"Do you need me to drive the rest of the way?" he asked Daniel, noting how relaxed his brother looked. Maybe it would be good for him to have a rest from driving.

Pulled from his thoughts, Daniel glanced around. "Hmm...? Oh. Right, that'd be a good idea." He shook his head, freeing himself from his deeper ideas and internal conversations. A curse of his was an overactive mind that constantly played out situations both real and imagined. It often brought a dreadful feeling. But he pulled to the side, away from the side of the hill and its valley, and killed the engine. "Best to stretch the legs too, Az. I'd rather neither of us keel over from sudden death." It'd happened more times than he'd ever told his brother. People coming to him after they died, saying that they'd died not long after an extensive car ride or plane trip. They'd not realized that such a long time sitting had created blood clots in the legs, which as they moved, broke away and traveled to the heart and lungs and killed them almost instantly. From then on he'd never stayed sitting for more than a couple hours, so long as he could help it. Stopping to stretch every few hours, work the pops and cracks out of his joints at the same time, was oddly rejuvenating.

But as he stepped out of the car, he shuddered. "God, we can't stick around here too long. I have such a sense of doom." Looking around, he brought up his leg, lifting it up, high, then to his head. He knew he unnerved his brother sometimes when he bent in odd shapes, but to put it lightly, he was very flexible, able to bend and twist into odd positions. It at least kept him quick and limber.

Azrael jumped out of the passenger seat, almost forgetting to undo his seatbelt. When he stood on the dirt on the side of the road, a great sense of dread hit him like a truck. He walked around the car and jumped slightly at the sight of his brother. "Don't do that, Dan!" he growled, turning his head. He hated seeing Daniel stretching in contorted ways. It disturbed him greatly. "Let's get going, this place is evil."

He hopped into the driver's seat, adjusting it slightly so it was comfortable for him. He liked the seat as straight as possible while Daniel usually made it lean back a bit. He found the keys and turned them, the engine purring back into life. He kept the brake on, waiting for Daniel to get into the car. He supposed he should have told his brother about the gate he had just seen. That would make him understand the power of this forest. As he turned his head he saw a dark figure in the seat behind him, watching him with dead eyes. He jumped and screamed, not expecting it. It left as soon as he saw it, but he could feel the sense of dread it had instilled in him. "Demons. Bloody demons... Hurry up, we got to go before they decide to do something."

These demons were associated with Elementals, powerful spirits that weren't human. Some called them sprites or fairies, but Azrael knew what they really were. These tainted spirits became demons, feasting on unease and fear. They couldn't physically harm like most other demons, but they could do mischievous pranks that could hurt humans. Imps, goblins, call them what you want, they were still demons.

Daniel jumped when his brother screamed. Evidently there was something around. He could feel it, just not see it, and that really put him on edge. He got into the passenger seat and didn't quite have the door closed before they took off again. This time he didn't bother with a seat belt. What officer in their right mind would try to stop them out here, after all? Grabbing his notebook, he bit back the sense of impending doom and wrote. A stop atop a hill. A demon presence nearby, a scream. The sense that something terrible would happen in a moment, frequent with demons near open gates. He'd learned over time not to feed the demons, to focus on something else that didn't induce fear or dread or anything terribly negative. Azrael had too, though it was difficult under pressure.

The vehicle shuddered a bit through loose gravel, which was kicked up then tossed back at the windows by the unseen (for Daniel) entities. At least for the time being. "God, are you kidding me?" Daniel looked behind them though he'd be unable to see much more than air waving from the energy of what they gave off. "This is where 'enchanted forest' stories come from." He growled.

"It's ok, they can't get us in here. Just gremlins," Azrael said calmly to his brother, feeling his unease. "That's why they put these stones here. I guess they are the reason there are so many crashes down this way." He had noticed more than a dozen white crosses on the side of the road travelling through here. "And they don't like how I know what they are."

He put more pressure on the gas, moving quickly past the area where the demons were most active. He slowed once he reached the road leading towards the old asylum. He wondered why on Earth they would want a water park up this way. He couldn't even understand the location of the asylum. Perhaps they sent the madness to this place in the middle of nowhere as it was easier to forget about it. He shuddered, imaging being abandoned in this place. The souls left behind would be very mad, easily tainted with so much gates around. Demons were not human, neither were angels. A demon could easily taint an anger or woeful spirit to possess it to harm humans. Those demons fed on wrath and loneliness. There were many others, but Azrael hadn't met many of the more powerful ones, thankfully. The last powerful demon he met had possessed his brother...

He sighed, praying to his guardians again. He could see them sometimes, but angels were unlike demons or spirits. They could move freely between plains and never showed themselves unless they really wanted to. Demons always wanted to scare and feed of emotions, so Azrael could always see them. He had never told Daniel about seeing angels. He thought that maybe he should one day, to make their lives less doom and gloom.

He had never even told Daniel about how he thinks he got his powers of fighting demons. One night when he was five, as he lay in his bed next to his brother, he was sucked into a bright light. He had died briefly in his sleep and was brought to be judged. Luckily he was sent back, but ever since then he could see demons. At least he wasn't afraid of death any more.

What were those little orbs of light up in the sky? Brighter than the sun, yet possible to look at without harming the eyes. No human could see them, so Daniel was aware, not even Azrael. But they were there, usually when he was worried, angry, or afraid for himself or others. Usually 'others' revolved mainly around his brother in the 'living' category. They would appear far in the sky, then come to him and revolve, as though stealing away the negative energy from him and leaving him calm, relaxed. As they left the negativity behind, they grew in strength and Daniel rolled his window down to feel the air. As he did, the orbs followed in and circulated him for a moment before fading.

He liked to call them muses, guardians and watchers, those somewhat unreal things that put him at ease and made it easier to think, to work. They oftentimes gave him ideas for his writing, and in fact some of his inspiration was mainly from these creatures, giving him motivation to write even the darkest of situations that really happened. Of course people tended to shy away from true doom and gloom, so he always had to end it on somewhat of a light note.

Daniel sighed, breathing in deeply as he watched the valley fade away and the land flatten out again. Now the orbs were dancing just out of sight, staying with them. Perhaps they were what kept them safe half the time. Though they didn't seem to be able to approach places like the asylum, where powerful gates were open to allow demons out. Sometimes he wondered if he should tell Azrael about these little anomalies, but felt they ought to at least have a secret or two between them. Knowing everything about one's sibling, while helpful, tended to be boring.

They were over halfway to their destination, at least---he could feel the presence of powerful, darker entities as the lighter, kinder ones faded away.

They came to a small town, a place that looked like it was built a long time ago and hadn't changed at all. It was like stepping into a time warp, appearing in the old settler days. Azrael adjusted his speed, keeping an eye out for a cafe along the main street. He kept half-expecting a horse and cart to go past. He shook his head, pulling over to a park outside a small cafe. The people here looked cheerful enough, though Azrael couldn't shake the feeling on great evil. He wondered how many people here had encountered spirits or even demons.

"It's like an old mining town or something," Azrael said as he turned off the ignition. "Let's take a break here." He got out of the car, making sure to close and lock the doors once Daniel hopped out. He made for the small cafe, smiling back at the people sitting outside.

He got out quickly and stretched again. It was always nice to get back out of the car even after an hour or so of driving---or riding. "Seems the place is nice enough." Daniel said as he joined his brother. "Friendly enough." He shivered as he passed a particular outdoor bench, but saw nothing. Odd... It did feel a bit negative, Daniel couldn't ignore that, but it wasn't of high level. After all, many places held evil, and the older the town, the more evil within or nearby. He just couldn't stop looking around, though. The streets didn't look paved at all, and where one would see sidewalk was wooden boardwalk instead. It was amazing...! One could never see such a beautifully kept piece of history, untainted by outside influence.

When they walked into the cafe, they found it just as rustic inside as out. Just a half dozen square tables and a counter at the back that faced a semi-open kitchen. It was warm, and smelled of old but well-kept wood and age. Daniel paused to sniff deeply, and caught the scent of food from the kitchen. Only a few people were dotted around, though they were lost in conversation.

Azreal's hope was lifted. This place looked like it would have reasonable coffee and food. He went over to stare hopelessly into the cabinets and at the black board. He finally ordered a chicken salad with an iced coffee, pulling out his wallet and giving his credit card to the young man behind the counter. He turned around to take in the nice cafe before the man told him that his card had declined. Azrael blushed and apologised, glancing in his wallet and trying to remember why his $500 weekly amount would have already been spent. His heart stopped beating when he remembered the two nights he had gone to see Rose.

"Dan... Um..." He hated asking to borrow money when his brother already gave him so much in the first place. He grinned sheepishly at the man serving. He felt silly that he had neglected to check his card's balance before they left.

Daniel rolled his eyes with a chuckle as he brought out his wallet and handed over the requested amount to the young man, with a little extra that would pay for a turkey sandwich for him. The young man nodded, placing it in the till and going back with the total order. "What do you do with your money, anyway?" Daniel asked as he leaned against the counter. It was a legit question, one Daniel didn't really expect a clear answer to. He knew his brother well enough to know it went somewhere that didn't, at least, harm him. "Never mind, it doesn't matter." He waved the question away as if it hung in the air like smoke.

After all, Azrael never asked where Daniel kept his own money. Not in a bank---he didn't trust banks. He wanted it easy to access without signing forms, being watched, or having more than one person know how much he had. So he kept it with a very trustworthy person, a friend who also distrusted banks as much as, if not more than, Daniel. When he needed a large amount or a specific amount for one of their trips or a boring day, he went there and took what he needed without anyone telling him anything more than 'Don't be an idiot with it'.

Azrael blushed, glad that his brother didn't press with his question. He wasn't sure how to even begin to tell Daniel about Rose. He was afraid that his brother wouldn't like what he did and disown him or something. He took the number and sat at the table, waiting for his salad to be ready. He sat near the window, glancing up at the sky. Dark clouds seemed to gather from nowhere and a distant rumble signalled a storm approaching. "Give us a break..." he muttered. There was no way he'd want to stay at an abandoned old building in any storm. Not only was it dangerous, but he found that demons were a lot stronger during a thunderstorm.

"What are we going to do about that?" he questioned Daniel, pointing out the window and rain started to fall heavily.

Daniel approached the window his brother was at and stared at the dark clouds. Normally he loved storms, rain and thunder, but not while they were out, in a place of haunting or demonic acquisition. He shook his head, looking down to the dirt road. It already appeared rather hazardous, and the townsfolk were beginning to run for the cover of nearby shelters. "I don't want to risk driving in this." Daniel said at last, crossing his arms. "The mud's unpredictable, and I don't want to slip and slide like last time we didn't pull over and at least wait out the storm. Not too keen on sleeping in the back of the car again..." It was cramped and rather uncomfortable, and while Daniel could twist into rather unnatural positions, he'd still woken after a bad nap with pain in his legs and neck.

A waiter approached with their respective food and drinks, maneuvering with the skill of one who had worked their whole life in the cafe. As he took their number cards with a note of thanks, Daniel halted him. "Is there a hotel or inn around here, by any chance?"

"Sure is---on down the road there's a tavern, has sleeping quarters above it. Forty bucks for a night, shared room."

Daniel thanked the man and he nodded once before going on. "Seems that settles it, eh?" He pulled the top slice of bread off his sandwich to inspect the contents. "We---meaning you---will have to call Levvy and tell him we'll be delayed because of this storm."

Azrael rolled his eyes, taking a sip of the iced drink. It tasted amazing, probably the best he had ever had. It made him give a rare smile, making him look very young and handsome. He swirled the drink with his straw, mixing the whipped cream into the coffee. "I'll call him after this..." He pulled out the cell phone and turned it on. He often turned it off while they were travelling. It conserved battery power while they were in spots with no service. As the phone did its "turning on" animation, Azrael tried the chicken salad. It was very nice, worth the amount they charged for it. He glanced over at the young man, now wiping down the counter. He was a very nice-looking man, someone Azrael wished he could have for a partner. He blushed when he realised he was ogling the man like a horny schoolgirl and focussed on his salad instead.

He picked the phone up, surprised to see a few bars of service available. A place as remote as this, Azrael expected no service at all. "Did you get the number?" he questioned his brother, bringing up the call screen.

Daniel threw a glance over his shoulder, disguising it as flicking his hair out of the way. Really---he knew his brother was odd. Both of them were odd, in varying degrees and different ways. But staring at someone without trying to say something to them was just a little weird. Surely the pressure of the stare itself weighed on the guy. Daniel knew it did when someone stared at him, anyway. But he shook away the suspicion and somewhat obvious question away, setting the pickle to the side of the plate and putting the bread back atop the sandwich. "Yeah, hang on..." From his pocket Daniel pulled a folded paper. He'd written the phone number down at the top of an idea-oriented paper that noted various muses, ideas, and thoughts for his next chapter, and sometimes, far into the series he was writing.

Often he found his issue with electronics a major crutch for him. And making Azrael handle all their equipment, though it was small and easily portable, was certainly a burden Daniel wished he could take half of. With a sigh, he bit the slice of pickle in half and stared across the floor. Someone was watching them... And they had that glow about them that indicated they weren't exactly alive. A young man, not quite fourteen by the look of it, dusty with dark smudges that resembled soot. Just one of many spirits this town obviously was home to.

Azrael took the paper and unfolded it, ignoring all the scribblings of ideas and finding the number. He swallowed his mouthful of chicken salad and dialled the number. He put the phone near his ear, but never right next to it. He was still convinced that these machines gave you brain tumours. He waited for the man to pick up on the other end, explaining that they were caught in a storm. The man seemed understanding and hung up with the hope that they would get there the next day. Azrael dropped the phone back into his pocket and glanced about the cafe. He hated talking on the phone in public.

He noticed the look on his brother's face, sighing as he knew what it meant. Ghosts, spirits... Azrael was not a fan of those things. At least with demons he could have some power against them. "I bet the 'tavern' will have lots of visitors for you brother..." he stated moodily, never disguising his jealousy very easy.

Wrinkling his nose, Daniel shook his head and looked away from the kid and back to Azrael. If the kid wanted something, he'd approach Daniel. But by the energy he could feel, the kid had been dead for a very long time and didn't seem to want to leave. "I don't care." He sighed at last, peeling the crust off the bread before taking a bite of the sandwich. It was definitely fresh, and that was interesting for such an old place. "Have you ever woken up to find eyes just staring at you beside the bed? Like they've been there all night waiting for you to open your eyes so they could say what was on their mind? It's creepy." Just the thought made him shudder. When he was a child, their parents had never put warding spells around the house, so spirits came and went as they wanted. While Azrael could simply feel the presence of spirits, Daniel saw them, and often woke to find a man or a woman, a child or teenager standing still and watchful, oftentimes bent right over him.

Though they could touch him to make him wake up, they never did. That just made it all the more unnerving. Considering this place, he'd most likely wake more than once in the night.

"We could always put up some warding spells in our room so we can sleep," Azrael noted, as if reading his twin's mind. He was pretty good at guessing his brother's thoughts, as Daniel was with his. They may not be identical, but they still had that eerie ability like most twins.

He sighed and finished his drink and salad, again looking at the young man. His mind wandered back home to Rose. He wondered what the man was doing. He had told him that he wouldn't be able to visit all week, but still missed him terribly. He shook his head, remembering that he shouldn't think of him. Demons would get to him or his brother would sense that he was thinking of another man. He shuddered.

Daniel sighed, finishing his sandwich before setting the plate aside. He'd been given the paper again, and absentmindedly, he pulled his pen and started sketching. "I know. I just don't like putting them on places people still live in, or work around." It just felt like a violation. Daniel was just fine with putting warding spells on his house, but that of others? Where others actively lived about, worked in, existed above or below? Those living humans that might take offense or not believe in such things? It didn't seem like his place. Looking down, he inspected what he was drawing. While he excelled at writing, he couldn't draw to save his life, though for some reason, he always managed to sketch the most beautiful flowers. This one was a rose...

Odd. Was his brother thinking of a rose? While twins often shared a type of telepathic link to be able to understand or predict what their sibling was thinking or feel what the other was feeling, signals often mixed one another and a certain word or phrase would change meaning. He studied the picture, a long-stem thing with open petals and thick thorns.

Azrael glanced at what his brother had doodled and blushed, seeing that it was clearly a rose. He would have preferred one without the thorns, but he didn't say anything about it. Instead, he stood, signalling that he wanted to go find the tavern before it got too dark. He picked up the empty dishes, taking it over to the counter. The young man smiled at him in thanks, and Azrael smiled nervously back. "It was fantastic, thank you." He turned away, his heart fluttering like mad. Why was it so awkward for him to talk to nice looking men?

"Come, we better get going," he said to Daniel, staring out at the storm outside. "It shouldn't be too far from here."

Giving up on trying to decide where, specifically, the drawing had come from, or how far off the mark he really was, Daniel stood and shook the thought away. If it were important, it'd reveal itself in time. Folding the paper, he put the pen in his pocket and stood. "Here, Az." He said as he joined his brother. "Take this with you, would you? I think I'll... walk to the place if you're driving." Without waiting for his brother's response, he stuffed the folded paper in his hand and left the cafe on his own.

Daniel didn't get a chance to walk in the rain like this too often. Usually it seemed to rain when he was trying to make deadline with his latest chapters, and because of that he had to instead use the rain as a static inspiration, which would keep him writing deep into the night or afternoon, depending on which hour he started at. His hair was quickly plastered to his head, his shirt clinging to his chest as he walked. Not far up the road he could see a sign that was distinct with an old-style tavern and inn.

Azrael left after his brother, rushing to the car and raising an eyebrow at him. He never understood why Daniel liked walking in the rain, during a storm even. He shook his head as he turned on the ignition. The man was mad. Azrael hated to get wet, he took a while to style his hair in a particular way and the rain just ruined it. His parents used to joke that he was like the Wicked Witch of the West, where he would melt in the rain. He screwed his nose up at the thought.

He carefully pulled out of the park and drove the car down a few blocks to where the old-looking inn was located. They had plenty of on-site parking, so Azrael pulled into the lot and found a park closest to the entrance. He waited for Daniel to catch up, not wanting to take both the bags out of the back. He glared at the shabby tavern, hoping they had hot water and nice rooms. The last motel they had stayed at was filthy and bug-ridden, with only one bed. Azrael didn't mind sleeping in the same bed as his twin, but Daniel often started awake or rolled about in his sleep.

Underfoot, the board sidewalks were slick, but not dangerously so. Staring at the ground, Daniel had to periodically shake his hair away from his eyes. It never seemed to want to stay back---his mother had spent many a morning sighing over it with a wet comb, yet right after she got it right, it would fly back into his face and over his forehead until she simply gave up entirely. He smiled at the memory, looking up as he saw Azrael pull into a parking spot very near the door. He picked up pace, knowing his brother would want to get inside before he got too wet. Azrael was like a cat---he hated water, mainly from the sky it seemed.

Crossing the street, he went around the car and to the back, pulling his bags out. "You ought to try new things every now and then!" He called into his brother, then shut the door so water wouldn't flood in. This time he picked up his pace until he reached the door, waiting for his brother. Inside it was quiet, he discovered. A regular Western-oriented type of floor plan, a bar along the back, behind the bottles and glasses he could see the reflective surface of a mirror. It was lit warmly, and at the back he could see a staircase that led up, obviously to the inn half of the tavern and inn.

Azrael grabbed his own bag, leaving the electronic equipment in the car. He made sure the doors were locked and the alarm was on before rushing to the tavern's door. He scowled as he shook the water from his hair, glancing about the place. It seemed to be empty, which made him feel a little uneasy. He left his bag with Daniel and approached the small reception desk, which was located beside the dusty bar. He hit the bell and waited for someone to come and serve them. His good mood had been dampened from the storm, so his usual grumpy expression was on his face as an old lady entered from the room behind the reception desk. She put on her glasses, which she had on a chain around her neck and peered up at Azrael.

"How may I help you?" she asked him in a voice that sounded raspy. Azrael gritted his teeth. He couldn't stand old people, and this one seemed about to keel over at any moment. "Yes, my brother and I would like to stay the night. How much for a room?" he questioned, speaking loudly as he noticed her hearing aid.

The lady's gaze went behind him, obviously looking for Daniel. "A room for two is it? That's $60 for the night," she said, going to her book on the desk. "$120 for the nicer rooms upstairs." Azrael screwed his nose up again.

"Separate beds? Also, do you have showers in this dump?" he asked, feeling cold as the rain dripped from his hair down his spine. The lady either ignored him or didn't hear him. She opened a drawer and pulled out a set of rusty keys. She gave one to Azrael. "Room 8 is the first door on your left... I'd show you, but I am getting too old to climb them stairs."

Daniel swung both bags over his shoulder as he followed his brother. At Azrael's snappish mood, he rolled his eyes and shook his head. Now that he was inside he could clearly see the water speckled and streaked over his glasses. He huffed, stepping around Az and bumping his shoulder, handing his entire wallet over. "Calm down, Azzy. I'd stick around here for a while if I were you--- Lighten up." Grabbing the key, he jumped up the stairs, his shoes making quashing noises on each step. The hall up above was quiet and cool, and the first door on the left was closed. Number eight. Inserting the key, he opened the door and looked around.

A wooden floor, wooden walls, rustic beams along the ceiling and two twin beds. Both were identical, brass with beige bedcovers that looked rather old, but well cared for. No patches could be seen from where he stood. A desk to the right, under the window that portrayed the storm outside, and a door to the left that was closed. A wardrobe stood against the wall near the desk. He was glad to smell how rustic it looked, and set his bag on the left bed. Always the left bed, or the left side. That was his side and Azrael knew it. Daniel had made the fact clear early on, even when they were young and Azrael would share his bed during those nights the spirits were especially active. He stared at the bed, lost in thought for a while.

Azrael paid the lady with cash, knowing how his brother disliked using his cards. He followed his twin up the stairs, hating how enclosed they felt. Just before he disappeared up them, the lady called after him, "One more thing. It is only you two here tonight. Don't mind the others." He frowned and turned to question her, but she had already gone back into her room behind the counter. Great, he thought darkly, It is haunted.

He found the room already open, and stepped inside, glancing about. It was small and smelt slightly dusty, which made Azrael sneeze. He went straight over to the closed door and found a bathroom, with a toilet, sink and shower. He smiled. At least he could have a hot shower before bed. He closed the door and made for his bag, opening it to find his toiletries and clothes. As he dug about, the old book fell out and landed heavily on the floor. Azrael went to pick it up before Daniel could see it.