The Infernal Serpent

[Non-participant judge until the 'ask the judges' round, but happily open to random mingling!]

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"Galahad?" The angel approaching him is in all black, though rather modern clothing, and black wings. He's muscular like Beelzebub but not as tall, around six feet. His white eyes don't acknowledge anything but the black hawk on his shoulder cocks its head to get a look at Galahad. "It's a pleasure to finally see you among us."

The hawk settles on his shoulder after getting a look at the person before them. "I'm High Chancellor Belial.... Lucifer's advisor. I noticed they've given you a seat beside me to reign in this chaos. A vote that speaks highly to your mind."

Edited Date: 2020-02-16 04:08 pm (UTC)

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Beelzebub has pointed this angel out to Galahad before, but the knight has never had a chance to meet him personally. Belial seems polite and self-possessed to Galahad, and he gets the impression that he may be older than some of the other angels he's met before. Accordingly, the knight offers the angel a polite, but friendly smile when he turns to him and compliments him.

"'Tis a pleasure to meet you, Sir." His eyes trail admiringly up to the handsome-looking hawk on the angel's shoulder, and then back to Belial's face as he continues. He's never seen an angel besides Beelzebub carry around an animal companion like this. "Thank you for your kind words. It's been orderly so far from what I've seen, thankfully." His smile tugs a little wider. "Are you enjoying yourself this evening?"

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It is true that among the fallen Belial is next in age after Lucifer, though several billion years separate their creation.

"Belial." He corrects politely. He knows that this human is closer to family than friend and therefore formality is less important. Hawk meets the knight's gaze inquisitively. Despite looking like a slightly larger than normal falcon or hawk, there's a sense to its gaze that the intelligence behind it is far beyond that of an animal. The angel's gaze remains distant and not necessarily focused on the man before him, though it wouldn't take much experience in life to realize the white eyes may indicate he's blind when paired with other behaviors.

"Agreed. I wouldn't want to reign in this many." Belial smiles and shakes his head. "I'm not as prone to debauchery and wildness as my brothers, but it is pleasant enough to note who has come. And your night is enjoyable?"

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As much near-automatic good will as he has for members of Beelzebub's family, getting used to not using titles or honorifics for any of them is something that's taking Galahad time to get used to. He nods his head when Belial corrects him.

"Aye. When Beelzebub told me about the game I didn't think there would be this many people here. You've all made a great deal of friends and companions during your time in the Nexus." Galahad thinks it's good. From what Beelzebub has told him, they've all spent a lot of time isolated in Chaos and locked away from knowing or meeting people in a pleasant and friendly setting like this. "I am. It has been one of my wishes for some time to meet more of your people and to get to know all of you better, and I've done some of that tonight. I've been received with nothing but kindness and respect. 'Tis a joy, truly."

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Galahad gets a light, quiet laugh from the angel. "No one was invited. This is what happens when the devil's mood turns to social endeavors. There are some here I haven't seen before, attracted by his spirit perhaps."

He nods briefly to the knight's assessment. "Etiquette goes a long way with our kind. Respect holds value." Then he shakes his head hearing the rancorous and drunken laughter of his brother.

"You choice of... interest.." Belial doesn't want to apply a label that is inappropriate but he can sense his brother's bond to this human quite clearly. "... offers you more courtesy. No one wants to see his sociable drunkenness turn to wrath over percieved slights."

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That surprises Galahad a little. The gathering seems large for something that apparently formed spontaneously and without invitations being conveyed beforehand. "Aye? Whose idea was the game, then?"

The knight can't help but smile as he hears Beelzebub's laughter erupt over the surface of the sound of the many conversations happening in the room. Even the smallest signals of the angel's presence bring him great joy lately, but nothing makes Galahad so happy as seeing Beelzebub laugh or smile. He turns his head to watch his lover from across the room for a moment, one ear still trained on Belial's words as the angel speaks to him.

"He means well. I think he's been more excitable than usual lately." Which is a mild description for both Beelzebub's wrath and the carousing and excitement happening at the other end of the room. "I don't know if he has told your family, but we have plans to build a house together at the edge of the Wilds." The knight's face shines as he talks about the house-- the deed for the land is still only freshly settled in a drawer back at the inn, but part of him already feels as if their home is mere weeks from being in their grasp.

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Belial shrugs at the question about the origin of the game. "I suspect the drunkenness."

"I'm not surprised." Belial can't see but Nychta is watching the knight beside him light up, and he can easily pick up on the wave of emotion that rolls off Beelzebub when he notices Galahad staring across the room. Even with the emotions he can feel and the glow to the human perceived by the hawk the commentary surprises him.

"A house?" Belial's brows go up momentarily in surprise. Out of all the angels he could imagine settling down in a house with a human, Beelzebub might be among the last, nearly so. It makes him curious about the human and what lead to such sway of the angel of war.

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Is Belial about to start asking about the house? Because Galahad is beyond thrilled to tell him all about it.

"Aye, the spot for it's about a twenty minute walk from here. 'Tis a big plot right on the edge of the Wilds that also borders a pond. We haven't fully drawn out plans yet, but we have a lot of ideas for what we want the house to have in it. Big rooms and spaces so Beelzebub can fit comfortably with his wings, at the very least!"

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Belial can sense the surge of emotion long before the flood of words starts. He's not sure what to make of it, War in a domestic love affair. He wonders how the fieriness of an angel mixes with a virtuous knight, or he assumes that is the case. Nychta looks over at Galahad curiously as his partner angel. Belial didn't think he was corrupted. It was odd to say the least. He listens good natured and interested, trying to imagine his drunken brother involved in anything like the seeming woodland farmhouse that the knight seems to be suggesting.

"I'm surprised." He admits as the hawk finally stops staring at Galahad. "Out of all my brothers and sisters I wouldn't have expected Beelzebub to build a house."

Those weren't the best words but he was still working over the energy change in the man before him. "I assume this is the reason for all the animals."

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"One of the reasons, aye. We have rooms at one of the Nexus inns right now, but they have always been on the small side-- even more so now that we have as many animals as we do. Getting outdoor pens and hutches is going to take care of our space problem, we think." And allow them to get even more animals, but that's secondary in Galahad's mind to making sure the creatures they do have are healthy and living well.

The knight smiles softly as Belial mentions that Beelzebub is the last person he'd have thought to settle down. "I do think he is still settling into the idea." Even after jumping in headfirst. "I think it will take some getting used to for both of us." But Galahad has full faith that it'll work out for them.

Edited Date: 2020-03-05 03:50 pm (UTC)

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The more he listens, the more he can imagine why these two are together. He can hear the innate care in what the knight is saying that probably meshes well with Beelzebub's sense of Brotherhood.

As if the thought called him his brother showed up, more drunk than Belial had seen him in awhile. The angel expected he was about to be harassed into the game. The truth was very different. The mental connections between Beelzebub and Belial are very strong and the emotions he feels surging off his brother as he picks up the knight raises his brows. He doesn't need to see to know.

Belial simply watches through the hawk's eyes and his own experince of the feelings. He can't help smiling. He waits politely for the meeting and the knight to regain himself after the heated but brief meeting. "I wasn't aware you were erastís."

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By the time Beelzebub's gone and Galahad's on his feet again, the knight's flushing and fluttery from having been picked up and kissed in public. Despite himself, he smiles after Bee as the angel ambles off again. It's hard not to follow after the other man's progress with glowing looks, especially when the knight is in as good of a mood as he is tonight.

Belial's words catch his attention again though, and Galahad turns that same smile on the angel beside him instead.

"Erastís?"

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"Lovers." Belial is still observing the situation through hawk eyes and his other senses with curiosity and it shows in his expression. "To the Greeks which we lived among a long time ago, it is specifically a name given to a younger man taken as a lover by a battle skills mentor, military commander, or teacher of tactics."

It seemed the most fitting term for the situation as far as the angel was concerned, even if it was indirectly just War taking a human warrior, a knight, as a lover.

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If Belial had started with 'lovers' and stopped there, Galahad would have agreed. As it is, though, he finds he can't really disagree with the rest of the offered description.

"I suppose it can be a little like that sometimes. Beelzebub has been teaching me how to defend myself against angels." He rubs at one of his cheeks self-consciously, as if that might help massage away some of the blush from his skin. "But I think we're equals in a lot of ways, too-- or we each treat each other that way. He's given me the name 'Gerval'."

Edited Date: 2020-03-06 06:41 pm (UTC)

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silverseamariner

This wouldn't be Galahad's first Skeksis, but this one is larger and more brightly colored than skekGra, with flashier clothing. skekSa the Mariner tips her feathered cap in Galahad's direction as she approaches him.

"Must be hard keeping charge of this rabble." She shakes her feathered head, but her tone and smile suggest affection for the "rabble". "She offers him a clawed hand for a shake or arm clasp, whichever he felt like. "Captain skekSa, at your service."

Edited Date: 2020-02-17 01:41 am (UTC)

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chiaro_oscuro

Ben's a little wary around the angels - not for any personal reasons, he only knows Lucifer and even then just a little. He's just well aware that they outstrip him on the power scale and doesn't want to get on their bad sides. He's not usually the kind to attend parties, either, but he made a promise to socialize more in the Nexus. So here he is, catching a break from the game to approach one of the judges. Galahad seems like one of the more sensible people in the room right now.

"So, you're one of the people they put in charge of keeping things in order. Can't say I envy you. Lucifer's crew must be quite the crowd. People seem to like them, though I don't know any of them well myself." He offers a hand. "Ben Solo."

Things tend to get wild when the angels come together, Ben notices. At least the council chamber's pretty. He's one of the people who hasn't touched Beelzebub's alcohol, so he can't make any calls on its taste.

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One drunken angel this way.

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How could he resist this particular target for the dare? Galahad is another one that gets no warning as the stumbling, drunken angel scoops him up out of his chair laughing. He sways a bit trying to keep his footing and having the much smaller man in a bridal carry. The shock probably doesn't even pass before he's getting a kiss on the lips, just a little drunkenly messy.

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Galahad is in the middle of chatting merrily with Belial when he's suddenly being approached and unceremoniously swept up into the air. The knight's surprise is such that he flails a bit as he tries to steady himself, his arms flying out to wrap around Beelzebub's neck for support.

"B-Beelzebmmmf--??" It's a surprisingly passionate kiss for how drunk the angel is, and Galahad's left a bit breathless when the other man pulls away. Despite himself, his heart flutters excitedly in his chest and a flush rises high on his cheeks almost at once. This is definitely surprising and a bit embarrassing in public, but not unpleasant. "What are you-- i-is this the game?"

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He has to laugh at the muffled sound of this name.

"Yes... no?" He lets Galahad's feet back down, but that free hand just pulls him in for another kiss. He's not going to harass him too long but the angel couldn't resist a second kiss before heading to his next target.

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The knight is ready for the second incoming kiss this time, and leans into it for a fond moment before they both part again. He can see Bee rocking and on the precipice of heading back into the fray for more fun, so he gives the other man a small encouraging pat on the hip to usher him on his way.

"Go ahead, cariad. Enjoy yourself and I'll see you later tonight."

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Beelzebub playfully tries to return the pat to the hip, but drunkenness sets things awry. Missing the intended target and just a little harder than the intended action, turns the pat into a light smack on the ass. The angel is too drunk to completely comprehend the mistake, and just continues with his intention of finishing his dare.

"I'll come find you, Gerval."

Edited Date: 2020-03-04 10:32 am (UTC)

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Galahad jumps slightly at the unexpected little swat to his rear, his cheeks flaring more brightly.

"...A-aye." An innocently drunken slip isn't worth scolding the angel over, so Galahad simply gives Bee a fond pat on the arm as the other man pulls away from him to leave. "Be good, all right?"

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