Hebs thought about what Shadow had said and he got up to sit beside him. "Can I say all of the above?" he asked, blinking just at tad as he rested his elbows on his knees and watched Gian react to Shadow replying to his question. He seemed interested with the woman's beauty.

"That's amazing," he said, his eyes widening just a little in what looked like child-like mirth. Leaning against Alfie, the male continued to surf through the pages, reacting every now and then at the freaks that caught his attention - mostly were women.

Kratos saw Léan looking up at him like that and he couldn't help but turn his gaze away. He was embarrassed, unsure of either of how to respond to such a look. "Just... relax," he mumbled, pressing the other's head against his chest as he continued to hold him close, "I'll put you back in your tank once the thunder and the lightning stops."

"The strangest looks-wise was an Irish shapeshifter by the name of Finscoth...he was never in full control of his powers and would often change into the oddest things without being able to control himself. The strangest power I've ever seen, well...it was the power to bend reality to what this particular freak wanted. If he wanted more food on his plate, more food would appear on his plate, for example. He was very dangerous. I had a hard time controlling him. Personality-wise, I had once a young man who could fix anything and everything you handed to him without a problem. But he was strange...creepy, thought potted plants were plotting against him..."

He had met a lot of freaks in his lifetime.

Alfie was more interested in the male freaks, occasionally reaching out to stop Gian from turning the page so he could ogle some more. "You ever have anyone that could change their gender at will?" he asked Shadow, curiously.

Léan closed his eyes again, curling his tail up a little bit. He didn't say anything back to Kratos. He didn't know what to say. he still had a startled, uncertain expression on his face...

Hebs looked thoughtfuly. "That must've been a handful," he said as he smiled in amusement and looked over at Shadow, "At least, the handful set you have now are those two probably cuddling outside right now." Hebs knew, of course. He'd seen them outside his window. Talk about strange.

Gian laughed at Alfie ogling the male freaks and he pointed out a few good-looking ones, too. When he'd heard the question and turned the page, his eyebrows rose in surprise. "Wait, I can't tell this one. Is this a girl or a guy?"

Shadow peered curiously at the photo Gian had picked out. He paused for a moment and then he smiled. "...Both. That is Charmase. Charmase was an androgynous creature. He can change his gender at will from male to female. He resembles both genders in one package, physically..."



Alfie looked intrigued. "...Well. Certainly proves that gender's never a concrete thing," he stated, simply.

"And here I thought you were a simple-minded guy... naga," Gian suddenly cut in as he laughed and turned the last few pages. They were a lot interesting indeed and he wouldn't mind running through the next few books. Just as he was about to reach for the next one after putting the leather book back in its place, Hebs had decided to speak up.

"Shadow, could you help me in the kitchen again?" He couldn't really ask Gian considering he still had his arm to heal. He wasn't brutal enough to have him do what would be bad for the healing of the wound.

"Certainly..." Shadow cast an apologetic look at Gian and Alfie. "I'll have to ask that you wait until later to check the other books. You are welcome to keep that one to look through for now...but don't do anything idiotic with it or I will be upset." He rose from his seat on the bed and walked towards Hebs, gently draping an arm around his shoulders. He was comfortable with this physical contact.

Alfie pouted slightly. "I'm real curious...I want to see the other books," he huffed. "But we can wait, I guess..." He suddenly fell silent and cast a thoughtful look in Gian's direction. "I wonder if it'd be possible to revive any of these freaks..."

Gian looked greatly disappointed when they weren't allowed to check the other books. Seriously? Leaning against Alfie and slouching to show his said disappointment, he sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair. "We could," he told Alfie, "But wouldn't that be weird? I mean, what's supposed to be dead should stay dead right?"

Hebs raised a brow at the other draping an arm casually around his shoulders. "You're getting too used to this physical contact," he said, amused as he took the towel from around his shoulders to hang it on Shadow's shoulder. Grinning a little, the snake teen led the way to the kitchen. "What do you think would be delicious for dinner? Not that what you cook isn't delicious enough."

"Shadow's an exception to that idea, isn't he?" Alfie pointed out, dryly. "Besides...maybe then Shadow wouldn't feel so sad. I'd be, um...kind of worried about bringing back that Damon, though. I think Hebs wants Shadow for himself...don't you?"

"So what?" Shadow countered, keeping the arm draped around Hebs' shoulders. "Why don't you see what's here and we'll decide based on what we have here? Certainly something without too much meat in it...Alfie eats nearly all of our meat..." He fell silent, glancing outside. The storm was still raging on, but he figured that Kratos and Léan would come in soon. They would get sick if they were outside in this weather for too long.

"Well," Gian started as he'd made a face, "Isn't Shadow a fallen angel? Of course, he'd be an exception to that idea." When he'd heard about Hebs and Shadow, he found himself blinking a little at that thought. Maybe. "Maybe," he said with a nod, "But does Hebs really like the guy? He appears to be... impotent."

Hebs felt his cheeks color a little at Shadow countering his statement about physical contact and he'd only stepped away to check the ingredients in the fridge. "He does," he said, noting the lack of meat they were having, "I'm guessing he ate some just a while ago." Sighing, he rubbed the back of his neck and took a few ingredients out from the fridge.

"Hey, Shadow. It just made me wonder..." He was washing the vegetables as he prepared the knife and the cutting board. "If you missed your lover a lot, have you ever thought of trying... to bring him back?"

"...Yeah, I guess so. I personally think they're a good couple!" Alfie stated, firmly. "...I think Hebs likes him. I don't know about Shadow, though. He's lived for so long and he's only ever truly fallen for one other person...it might be kind of hard for him to open up and accept affection, know what I mean?"

Shadow leaned against the counter, watching Hebs comb through the fridge. At his question about Damon, though, he straightened up a little bit. "...Damon had terrible brain cancer," he said, simply. "If he were to be revived even through the use of Kratos' power, he would be in pain. He was always frail and sickly because of his cancer. So if I ever end up attempting to revive him, seriously...there would have to be a cure for cancer first," he reasoned, quietly.

Gian thought about it for a moment before it sunk in. "Yeah," he said as he smiled a little sadly, "Poor guy still hasn't given up on his old love even after decades." That, and he pitied Hebs if he did like Shadow.

Hebs nodded a little at that, understanding what Shadow had meant. He was quiet for a few seconds before he'd glanced over at Shadow. "But if there was a cure for brain cancer, would you revive him?" he asked, his tone turning a little quiet. When he'd realized he'd stared at Shadow too long, he quickly averted his gaze away and started cutting up the ingredients.

"...If Damon's been dead for a long time and there's really no hope of getting him back, I think he'd want Shadow to move on," Alfie mused, quietly. "...If only there was a way to talk to him. He said...they're all buried in that villa in Austria, right? What if we went there...brought Kratos along...and found out what Damon thinks?"

Shadow noted the drop in the volume of Hebs' voice. "...If I could...I would revive all of the members of my family who have passed," he informed Gian, simply. "Not just Damon. I don't want him to be in pain...if there was a cure for his cancer, I would have no problem bringing him back...unless he didn't want to be back. And that might very well be the case..."

Damon had never enjoyed life. Aside from his cancer he had suffered from manic depression and bulimia. Shadow was the only part of his life that he had enjoyed...Shadow and music.

Gian's brows raised in surprise at Alfie even suggesting such a thing. "Would Shadow let us?" he asked, shifting a little to face the naga as he put his hands on his knees. "I mean, where would we get our money?" Apparently, Gian had forgotten the cash he was supposed to get from Shadow. His... salary, was it?

Hebs let out a short, "Ah," before he'd resumed cooking. "Anyway, just hang my towel there on the back of the chair and come over here. I've brought out mostly vegetables and a few meat since we don't have much in stock. Should we try making stir fry vegetables?"

((I'd best be heading to bed. Super-tired. D: Night!))

"We can all pony our wages together. I get a weekly wage for doing my part and so does Hebs. Kratos does too, I think...Léan has no use for human money, so he doesn't. I mean, there's always extra money in our treasury...and Shadow doesn't have to know...does he?" Alfie asked, hopefully.

Shadow set the towel down as instructed and shuffled over to assist Hebs with cooking. "Sounds lovely to me...I haven't had good stir fry in a while. I'll grab some fitting spices for you..." He reached up to dig around in the cabinet where'd he stowed all the spices and pulled out a few for Hebs to use. "Here. A little pinch of each once everything is cooked."

Gian looked at Alfie seriously, his lips pursing just a bit. "This is serious matter," he started before he'd nodded, "Let's do it." Reaching out to pat Alfie's arm, he slowly got up to his feet. "And, you going to stay here? I'm going back to my room and take a nap."

Hebs grinned at the spices Shadow had pulled out and he'd nodded at the other's words. "Will do just that." Taking the pan and pouring oil into it, he heated up the pan first before he'd started stir-frying the vegetables.[/color]"

Kratos slowly got up to his feet. He could feel the cold settling onto his skin and the start of what looked like a cold. Making a face and grunting a little at the clog in his nose, he frowned as he carried the merman to his room. "Do you want to get in your tank or stay on the bed? I could do a nap."

"I'm gonna head back to my room and rest a while until we eat again..." Alfie decided, stretching his arms up slightly. "Aaah...do you...do you think we should bring Hebs along? Maybe he would want to talk to Damon himself. Shadow...he might already know what we're planning to do. If he has no problem with it and as long as we honor his wishes...maybe he'll be willing to pay for the trip..."

Shadow helped him add the spices at the correct times. He made sure to add the last one in just as the vegetables were finishing up in the pan. He was indeed listening in on what Alfie and Gian were saying. The only problem he had with that was...bringing Damon back would mean that he would be in pain again. It couldn't be for a very long time unless Damon wanted it that way.

"I...would rather not be in water during a storm," Léan murmured, still clinging to the human for dear life. His voice was oddly meek and quiet.

Gian looked thoughtful when Alfie had suggested that. He had even stopped in his tracks to look back at the other. "We'll see how Hebs would react to that," he said with a nod, "And, I don't think we have to tell Shadow about what we're planning. Should we just ask for the money?" The teen grinned at this and he stretched out his arms in front of him before he'd hummed.

"Hey, can I sleep with you again?" His grin turned to a smile. "It's nice. Sleeping with you."

Hebs turned off the fire once it was done but he didn't take the pan from the stove. Instead, he'd went off to get plates and gave each of them an equal share. Since stir fry isn't exactly the best meal by itself, he'd decided to add something else. Another dish. "What else do you think we should cook?" He asked this as he crossed his arms over his chest and stared at the stir fry like it was something alien.

Kratos didn't say anything else. He only seated himself on the bed, leaning by the wall with his arm still securely around Léan while his hand stroked the back of the other's neck with his thumb. In a matter of minutes, he was half-asleep, sitting up with Léan still in his arms and the merman on his lap.

"Sure thing...it's nice having a warm body to curl up to, considering I need warmth to balance out my body temperature...I didn't bring my heat lamps along..." Alfie yawned, budging up from where he was to follow Gian. "Shadow probably already knows. He can read minds, you know..."

Shadow studied the stir fry curiously as well. "...Hm...I'm sure we have a semi-ample supply of chicken left...why don't we make sweet and sour chicken to go along with it?" Chicken was one of the meats Alfie didn't eat unless there wasn't any beef or pork in the house. He didn't care for it, for some reason. It was the same with most fish meat, as well.

Léan didn't mind being held as such...but he was not used to being held. And his scales were slippery from the rain. So, eventually, as he relaxed more and more he started to slide out of Kratos' grip. He made a small whimpering sound and clung to him, hoping to wake him up. He wanted to lay down and rest.

Gian led the way to his room where there was a bigger bed. Settling down and laying on his back, he waited for Alfie to join him before he snuggled up against him and throwing a lazy arm around the naga's waist. He was quick to fall asleep again, his face hiding just a tad in the crook on the naga's neck.

Hebs looked over at Shadow and raised his eyebrows a bit. "Will Alfie be okay?" he asked before he'd went to get the chicken out from the fridge anyway. It was a nice pace of change. Chicken, that is. He wasn't sure if it was his human side talking or the snake part of him but chicken tasted tasty as long as it's cooked well and fine with the flavorings.

Kratos woke up to the merman's whimpering and in order to have him not sliding out of his hold, he laid Léan down and pulled him flush against himself as he laid himself down as well beside him. He left one side of the bed dry so he wouldn't have trouble having to change the sheets or dry the bed.

Alfie settled in with Gian at once, welcoming the embrace and offering a tight hug of his own with his tail. It quickly coiled around both of their bodies, making a surprisingly warm second blanket. He took longer to fall asleep, but with the encouraging soft breaths of the human sleeping beside him it was only a matter of time before he drifted off into a restful sleep.

"He'll deal with it...it is not his favorite, but he eats it when there's nothing else in the fridge," Shadow pointed out, grinning, as Hebs brought out the aforementioned poultry.

Léan was unnerved by the close contact...so much so that at first he attempted to pry Kratos' arms from around him. That only lasted a few seconds, though, as he realized the human laying beside him was not trying to harm him. When he realized this, he uncertainly settled down and relaxed, closing his eyes. He made no attempt to snuggle closer, for right now. He could take affection, in small doses, from the right people. Giving it...well, he would have to re-learn how to do that.

Years of torture had clouded his mind, and his courage.

Hebs saw Shadow's grin and he chuckled in amusement. "You enjoy it a lot seeing him eat this, don't you?" he asked as he nodded, "Are we going to put pineapple bits in the sweet and sour?"


[[ Aha. They're all asleep. >> We'll have them wake up when Hebs and Shadow are done with dinner. :rofl: ]]

((XD We shall. I think we should wake them up in very interesting ways...*plots*))

"I enjoy making him realize that he's not always going to get what he wants. He's a bit too spoiled..." Shadow murmured, thoughtfully. Alfie was lazy, whiny, and he could get very demanding when he wanted something or didn't want something. He definitely needed someone who could knock him down off his high horse when he got like that...

[[ Interesting ways? o: How~? X3 ]]

Hebs let out a thoughtful hum. Shadow really was parental sometimes and he couldn't help but find himself amused by it. "That's true," he said with a nod, "It'd be nice if Gian could help us with that. Maybe then, Alfie would have some self-control and not have his stomach think for him."

((Pounding on their door frantically and yelling that there's a fire is one idea. Or he could sneak in and tickle them...*plots more*))

"Mm...well, Gian has not seen Alfie when he's exceedingly childish or rude yet. He's generally well-behaved, but he does have his moments...especially when it comes to shirking his duties..." Shadow stood quite close to Hebs while he worked, so that their arms were almost touching. Having lived in Europe most of his life, personal space was something that he often forgot that other countries' people had ample need for...

Hebs laughed again. "I'm sure Gian will be able to knock some sense into Alfie," he said with a nod, "He seems pretty comfortable with him." He was well aware of Shadow being so close to him but he didn't pay it any mind. In fact, he found it rather amusing. "So, which place in the world did you get this close to people?"