"I might as well earn my keep, right?" he asked barely above a whisper. "Besides, I'm useless for conversation..." He slowly looked up at her, then looked back down to resume his scrubbing. Though there were no visible tears, the flesh under his eyes was damp, hinting that there were tears not long ago.

"Screw that," Mona snapped. She bent over and grabbed Zaitsu by the crook of his arm with her black-taloned hand. "You don't have to earn squat. This place is a gift to everyone. Come on, come sit with us. You don't have to talk if you don't feel like it but at least get off the floor. You make me want to break my whip out." She laughed and tugged on his arm. "Come on. I'll get you some beer. Unless you'd rather have something else."

He made a quiet, discontent sound, but allowed her to pull him away from his work. "I don't really want anything..."

"Mona, you're so pushy," Chrys laughed as she drug Zaitsu over to their table. "The poor guy is going to hate you before it's all over, and then what?"

"I'll live with it," Mona shrugged. She ushered Zaitsu into a chair and then sat so he was in the middle of them.

"Tell me about yourself, Zaitsu," Chrys began. "Just a bit, humor me. I'm rather curious to be honest."

"Well, there's not really much to say..." he said quietly, avoiding eye contact by looking down at his hands clasped in his lap. A shadow bobbed invisibly around him, rambling on at him.

"Nothing to say? You're a prince for Goddess' sake! Grow some testicles and start strutting around! Go kill that goody-two-shoes brother of yours and claim his throne! C'mooooooonnnnn! Quit being so modest and boring!"

Chrys snorted out of amusement and the smile spread over his face.
"Wow, that's a riot."

Mona shot him a glare. "Don't be rude," she scolded him.

"Ah, I'm sorry. I'm not laughing at you, I promise," Chrys said, smiling with good humor at Zaitsu. "Wanna see something not very impressive?" He winked.

"I guess," was his quiet reply. He completely ignored the rantings and ravings of the frustrated shadow.

Chrys nodded and held his hand out. And in it, a shadow formed in a little puddle of darkness. Out of the black a blob of molten sand appeared. He lifted his hand up to his lips and curled his fingers over before pressing his mouth against the curve of his hand. Chrys exhaled and a bubble of glass formed at the other side of his palm.

He kept exhaling until the glass was paper thin and the globe was almost a foot in diameter. Chrys took the finished globe and scratched his talons over the cooling substance in swift, intricate patterns.
"Voila, chips and cherries," he said, moderately amused at his own creation. He levitated the structure in the air and floated it towards Zaitsu "Pretty silly, huh?"

Mona chuckled softly.

"Nothing sillier than what I do," he replied, lifting his hands up so they were level with his collarbone. Flames ignited in his palms and he skillfully manipulated them with his fingertips for a moment, then tossed the mass of flames onto the table.

They held their shape; a rose, and didn't scorch the table at all. In fact, it was warm, but not hot enough to be uncomfortable. "Just a stupid little trick I learned I could do one day when I was bored."

Chrys smiled and flitted his hand off to the side and the glass globe followed, drifting away aimlessly.
"That's a pretty feat you have there," he commented, reaching out and picking up the flower.

"I have some errands to run, guys, so play nice until I get back." Mona got up to her feet and headed toward the door, kissing her bother before she left.

"Innit she cute?" Chrys said affectionately.

"I guess," he sighed, his eyes beginning to scan around the bar again. "I try not to notice these days..."

"Oh, but that's boring," Chrys said, twirling the flaming rose around in his fingers. "There are so many beautiful people in this world who are more than happy to share some of their beauty with you. Whether in sharing conversation or sharing a bed. Might just be the man whore in me but I love just to occupy my time with gorgeous people. Beauty is just beautiful, frankly." He smiled. "I love things that are pretty."

"A beautiful body is useless without a beautiful soul to go inside of it. I'd rather have one bland looking lover for the rest of my life than fleeting moments of happiness with multiple 'beautiful' partners."

"Well, of course. There's no point in beauty on face value singularly. Where's the fun in that?" Chrys shrugged and then set the rose down again. "Of course, love is the one thing that surpasses beauty."

"Love is the both the most beautiful thing and the ugliest. It can lift you to heaven and then throw you straight down into the fires of hell." His expression was rather dark, as though speaking from experience. The shadow stopped its ranting and winced, retreating to give Zaitsu his space.

"Sounds about right," Chrys said aloofly. "So, how long ago was it that yours died?" He turned his head and looked at Zaitsu, a solemn understanding behind his gaze.

His eyes slowly lifted to meet Chrys', then ventured away again. "Does it really matter how long ago it was? It still feels like yesterday..."

"Maybe not to you but out of curiosity, I asked. Pay me no heed if you'd rather not say. For I understand all too well how death can linger on for so long and continue to lacerate the heart. That's how things often work, after all." Chrys lifted a hand up and chanced a slight smile. "You must be so devoted in order to not want anyone else but them. How admirable."

"It's been over five hundred years..." he said under his breath. "I want to move on... But at the same time... I don't ever want to let him go... I would've stayed with him for forever, even if he wanted to be with her... But he wouldn't even let me stay near him... I could've learned to love her too... For him... I could've done anything for him..."

Tears trickled down his cheeks and he buried his face in his folded arms on the table.

"Ah, well," Chrys trailed off, pulling out another cigarette and lighting it up. "Must be a rough place to be at. Come on now, don't cry in front of me it'll make me fall for you." He reached another hand out and patted Zaitsu's shoulder lightly. "And I have enough respect for you to try any not let that sully your grieving heart, that would just be cruel."

"Falling for a demon is dangerous for your health, even if you're a demon yourself..." he cried weakly.

"Tell that to my sister," Chrys scoffed. "She'd probably offer up her own testimony on the subject. No, what you really don't want to fall in love with is an incubus. They just don't ease up. Sneaky little bastards...."

"I meant the kind of demon I am," he said barely above a whisper, lifting his head and wiping his arm over his eyes to dry his tears. "A human's concept of what a demon is isn't a problem at all, it's demons like me..."

Chrys raised an eyebrow. "Well to hell with humans, they bore me," he commented. "And what about demons like you? Are you particularly nasty?" A smirk twitched at the corner of his mouth.

He sighed again and began rubbing at his forehead with his left hand. "Did anyone ever tell you the fairy tale about the war over the world? That dragons, cats, angels, and demons were fighting over the fate of every living being...?"