Wednesday,

May 16, 2012,

3: 45 PM

Kane is bored out of his mind. Valli and Addy had been held up in the basement all day, per usual recently. The Witch is studying more spells for protection and shielding, as well as any signs of what, exactly, the Void is. Valli had taken a break from that research, in exchange for burying his nose in other books for information about some monster Kane hadn't paid attention to. A hunter had called, requesting help to figure out what was killing both children and adult virgins in a state up north; hearts and various other organs were missing with no bites or incisions visible on the remains. Addy suspects another witch or warlock, for the darker counterparts adore using helpless children and sexually innocent persons for spells and potions, curses.

Valli had taken to his stacks of books to double-check his Aunt's theory, directly after he had served Kane a large breakfast plate and a timid kiss to his scruffy cheek. The retired hunter hesitated, uncertain if he'd startle Kane or miss the target of his cheek, but the broader man had gripped the nape of his neck and guided Valli. It was sweet, Kane thought, and he needed to get used to the affection Valli craved to give. The man hadn't had anyone to shower in his love bsides Addy for years, and Kane wanted to let himself enjoy it. Considering he didn't necessarily have the most affectionate father, or environment, he finds he likes the small, loving actions Valli shyly gives.

They had been attempting to get closer to each other and show real interest in this new step of a romantic relationship. At night, Valli scoots closer to Kane on the couch to gather his warmth and craves to be wrapped in the beefy arms; Kane has no rejections of cuddling. It's odd at first, but pleasant to feel Valli breathing and shifting with life. It allows Kane comfort that they're both alive and well. In the mornings, Kane gets up earlier with Valli. Being a deep sleeper never restricted his hunting instincts to wake at the smallest of sounds, Valli's footsteps are soft when he tiptoes downstairs, yet Kane wakes with him most mornings. A few weeks ago, he'd have gone back to sleep. Now, he tries to force himself up to help with breakfast - as much as he can without making messes.

Addy and Sunny are overjoyed at the new status of their nephew's budding relationship. Both women smirk and nudge each other when they see the men sitting together, when one randomly kisses the other on the cheek or forehead to get used to doing it. They may be overjoyed, but they don't speak of the development. Simply silently basking in the knowledge their boys have found someone to share the lifestyle with and to love, for however long it may last. After all, the Hunter Lifestyle taketh more than giveth - as Addy said in her best elden voice, to which they both laughed.

Unfortunately, Sunny was called away for a case only three days ago. A Hunter friend of hers needed assistance and she was the only one he trusted with his life. Valli demanded she call if they needed help, research, or otherwise. Kane would've gone with her, had she not sternly commanded him to stay with the Witch and his new boyfriend – Sunny giggled at the term she used. However, everyone is aware, that if the call comes Kane will drop everything to go to his Aunt's aid. Valli encourages it.

The bored hunter is sitting on the wooden window seat Valli claimed as his study nook. His back is against the short wall, one leg stretched onto the floor and the other bent at the knee slightly. Valli curled between his thighs and leaned into the barrel of his chest as a tome rested on his bent legs. He had gradually scooted closer and closer from his end of the bench. Kane was amused, yet rather than watch the too-slow inching to him, he had simply grabbed the man's bicep and dragged Valli over. Man-handled him until he was certain the sightless man was comfortable, smirking at Valli's delighted laugh. That was, Kane guessed, three hours ago. He's been sitting here since doing nothing, except handing Valli new books or his tea from the table.

He had taken to rubbing his rough palm over the lean stomach under the other man's loose black hoodie. Valli hummed his pleasure at the skin-to-skin contact and so Kane kept his hand where it rested on the bare flesh. The hunter tries hard not to sigh too loud or heavily, he likes the contact with the slender man, but sitting and doing absolutely nothing is the exact opposite of what Kane enjoys. He has no patience for researching, he understands it's extremely necessary, but he is a man of action and using his hands.

He'd much rather go train or clean his guns, behead a monster preferably. The weaponry under the truck bed needs to be cleaned, he recalls, grasping for any type of excuse to leave the basement. No matter how much he likes being Vallis' backrest, he needs to do something. Luckily, Valli speaks up, a smile in his voice, as well as pure humor. "Can you get more tea for me, Kane? Please? Then you go do something, I know you don't like researching much."

Eager to get out of the spacious, yet slowly growing too small and stuffy, basement, Kane grunts softly as he peeks a kiss to the chestnut hair on the back of Valli's head. The man leans up, allowing more space for the taller to slip out from behind him. Receiving a quick laugh, "Thank you for sitting with me for so long!", as he books it upstairs.

From her laid position on the floor in the far corner, on her stomach surrounded by books and old tomes, on a soft blanket and pillow; Addy laughs joyfully. "You'd think a hunter would squirm less."

"Facing a monster is one thing, sitting still for three hours is another thing entirely." Valli giggles, tracking the heavy footsteps through the kitchen to grab the prepared kettle Addy set out earlier and magicked to keep warm. He shakes his head as Kane marches back down, the kettle settles on the coffee table and a warm, calloused hand squeezes his thin wrist. He grins, raising his head towards the large presence at his side. "Thank you!"

"I'mma go out and clean the shit in the truck," Kane informs, thumb following a vein on the underside of Valli's wrist. Once he gains a nod, he adds. "Got some more honey too, I'll take the empty containers upstairs."

Valli lights up at the addition of honey, having forgotten the honey jar was empty. "Oh! Thanks! I'll bring out something for you if you want a little later."

"Sure. I'd like that."

###

An hour later, Valli carries out two glasses of fresh apple juice to the carport. The low music Kane puts on the truck radio guides his path, the closer he gets he can hear a bottle of what he assumes is beer popping open the moment before Kane sees him. The bottle clink as it is sat down on a metal surface alerts him that he was seen, and then Kane's boots on the gravel grow close to his position. Halfway they meet, a thick hand steals one of the glasses from him, and a strong arm curls around his shoulder. Kane's husky voice near his ear comes next, "Thanks, what is it? Looks like some sort of moonshine."

Valli laughs, "You'll be disappointed to know it's just apple juice. That's a good idea though, apple-flavored moonshine. I wonder where we could get some, or how hard it is to make. I've never tried before."

"Ah, well, juice is good too." Kane chuckles, guiding Valli toward the truck and helping him into the passenger seat. The low rumble of rock and classic metal vibrates through lean legs as the man situates himself, careful of the sloshing glass. The Hunter leans against the truck, facing the other man. "I know a guy who makes it, back up North. If I ever get Ma back home, I'll stop by and grab whatever he's got to sell."

"That'd be nice! I've only just started getting into it, Addy adores it and she's the one that gives me any she happens upon." All the response can get is a lingering pat on his knee, for a sudden rumbling echoes through the ground and the chickens in the backyard start to panic, squawking loudly. Instantly, Kane is straightening his body from lazy to alert and Valli sits up from the sloshed position he'd taken. Quietly, he inquires, "That's not thunder, right?" He answers his own question, "Doesn't sound like it."

Grunting, Kane gives a firm squeeze to the knee his palm settled over. "Nah. That's something else. I'll grab a gun."

Nodding, Valli listens to the growls and groans of a creature through the horrified chickens, water splashes from the river reach his ear and he wonders what had trespassed onto his protected land once again. From the house, he can hear Addy scream and is out of the truck, feet carrying him toward the porch. However, he barely makes it five feet before he's pulled by a firm hand on his bicep. Shocked, he spun around to face Kane, only to receive a small, unrelenting order that pierces his core in a strange, yet pleasant way. The stern and authoritative bass of Kane's voice shakes his mind slightly, "Stay with me."

Then he's being dragged along by his wrist, catching the click of a shotgun being cocked over the scrabbling of their feet on the gravel. At the porch stairs, Valli barely manages to climb the first steps when Addy rushes outside, he can hear the panting as she gasps out, panicking and awed. "The hybrid is here!"

Kane's pace stops abruptly, and Valli accidentally stumbles into the brick wall of a back as his momentum carries him. He's balanced by the beefy build of the man, latching onto his waist with his shirt in a clenched fist. Shocked, both men blink at the woman, Kane's azure eyes just as wide as her hazel. It lasts a mere moment, the Hunter regaining the unsurprised mindset quickly. Of course, a giant hybrid creature would land in the backyard randomly, what else could we expect? Instead of voicing these thoughts, he states, almost resigned while his shoulders slump. "I'll need a bigger gun then."

"This is not the time for movie references, let alone a Jaws one." Valli snorts, giggling despite himself and the situation.

Addy raises her eyebrow as Kane rolls his eyes, a humored twitch to his lips, even as he barely spares his boyfriend a look. "Ah, fuck off."

Continuing, steered on by the earthquake-like quiver to the porch. Kane drags Valli with him into the house, Addy following at their heels. Cutting through the kitchen and dining room to get to the back doors, the long black curtains pulled back to reveal the river — what's in the river. A gigantic four-legged creature splashes in the water like an overgrown puppy, tossing fish in the air to catch with an open maw of a beak. The squirming body is that of a female Lion; with tan-golden fur with a long elegant tail swaying at its backend. Yet there are leathery-gold wings of a dragon at its shoulder blades; clawed at the nobs of bone along the ridge of them. The head is a Lion; the mouth is the beak of a bird. Estimating it's about 20-25 feet tall, it's massive, and waves of water overflow on the bank of the river with each movement. The creature is content to play in the water, eat fish, and scare the chickens, uninterested in the slow emergence of the humans and witch from the house.

The playful roar echoes in Valli's sensitive ears, leaving behind a high-pitched ringing until the roar is copied or accompanied by a chuff-like purr. The ground shakes with each rumble of the great vocal cords, every step of each massive clawed paw vibrates the wood of the house. Addy snatched ahold of his free hand from behind him and stood close in case the large being turned its attention to them. Kane had gone as tense as a bow-string, a brick wall of coiled muscles in front of Valli. The shotgun in his hand shifts, the clenched limb holding it, flexing.

"So... What should we do?" Valli questions, poking his head out from behind Kane's mass, eyes blinking habitly at the ear-splitting growl.

He feels Kane shrug, the man grunts as he winces at a particularly piercing chirp from the large, sharp beak. "How the hell did it get here?"

"I'm not certain. I felt a strange, if powerful energy, then suddenly the bookcases were shaking and my ears were ringing." Addy answers, unable to look away from the giant hybrid in awe. She had never seen such a creature before, let alone one that ignored possible danger to play with fish. Cautiously, she releases Valli's hand to step around the men. "Perhaps I should go first, my power should be able to protect me should she attack."

"Be careful! Don't get too close!" Valli worriedly rushes out, knowing better than to argue with his Aunt on this. Rather than try, he presses closer to Kane's spine for comfort and man leans back into his embrace for a short moment before returning to alert and ready.

Kane prepares the shotgun, firmly holding it to be able to aim quickly and efficiently. It may take more powerful weapons to kill or injure the hybrid, but shotguns pack a powerful punch no matter what they're loaded with. It'll give time to reload or run to find a new gun to fire with. As long as the creature doesn't have any surprises up its sleeve; Kane is tired of Monsters having some trick to get away from him. He has no choice, but to watch Addy pace ever-so-slowly down the garden path leading to the river, bare feet patient and firm in each precise placement as if she was a predator stalking or – more likely – a prey stalking through the predator territory trying not to get caught.

While his ears and eyes are on Addy and the Creature, he is focused on Valli as well. His other senses keep a firm track of the other man behind him, prepared to grab and hold if Valli makes any sudden movement towards the beast and his Aunt. The hunter will not allow his boyfriend to get close until the danger is cleared, be that that by a dead hybrid or Addy giving the okay. The witch and he may not get along all too well, but she'd never risk her nephew's safety and that is one thing they can agree on. She'd attack him for real if he allowed Valli to go running in after her, not that he'd get a step away from Kane with how jumpy the Hunter was at the moment.

The second Addy steps onto the grass separating the garden from the river, the hybrid ceases all movement and turns that great head of hers toward the Witch. Addy's dark skin begins to gradually glow a faint violet, similar to the Northern Lights effect around her body. Sparkling and flowy, light waves of pastel purples. Kane assumes it's a safety spell, to protect her from the bulk of an attack. The silence and stillness compared to a moment ago is eerie, the creature stares, unmoving as Addy ventures to the edge of the river bank, now boldly directly under its massive beak. The head tilts to keep her within sight, but those black pits of blank pupils do not blink as they stare. Witch and Hybrid alike freeze, and stare into each other's eyes for a long moment. The air is thick, untrust ripples off each of them in plentiful, clouded waves.

Addy is just as still and unyielding from her spot under the nose of the Hybrid, body loose and at ease while she stares the creature down. Kane nor Valli can hear if she speaks, the distance too far and the overwhelming breathing of the she-hybrid too great to be able to hear such a small voice in the middle of it. The longer the impasse lingers, the brighter the shield of magic glows around Addy's silhouette. It does not dome around her, rather it clings to the curves and indents of her form. A purple moving outline of her body, shielding it close and strengthening each second that ticks by. The men don't dare speak; the pair at the river are weighing each other. To interrupt would possibly spook the creature into a defense, that would endanger them.

Then, just as Kane started to get impatient, Addy's shield disappeared and the Creature's purrs reverberated, the ground vibrating as its tail swayed in a slow content manner. The Witch turns, waves her hand, and calls, "She's here peacefully!"

###

Valli giggles as a beak nuzzles his stomach, the giant hybrid chuffing as her sodden, darkened fur drips onto the grass. Addy had managed to get the Hybrid to lie down on the ground, far away from the house to avoid accidentally destroying it. She had translated what the creature felt and knowledge, her magic allows her to communicate more easily than the humans. The hybrid is a magical creature, after all, and responds to such means.

All the Witch managed to understand was the Void was ready, hence why the Gods teleported the creature here. Inside the she-hybrids mind, was the image of Valli climbing her back to ride atop, then them disappearing. Addy tells the men to avoid riding the creature, for to try would be a signal for the beast to magically walk through space and time to where the Gods stored a door. The Witch had seen the image in the creature's mind, a dark and cold double door in the middle of a shapeless void, frozen solid with unseen ice; menacing and wicked – immoral. It is the Hybrid's purpose; it's mission to deliver Valli and fight alongside him to death or victory.

The tail still splashes and flicks water from where it rests in the river, blocking the stream with how thick it is. The massive torso stretched out, and a few trees were knocked loose from the earth around her. The dragon wings folded comfortably or stretched along the ground. Now, the Hybrid nuzzles close to Valli, that rumbling purr shaking his very core as Kane stands close, unwilling to allow the man so near that dangerous beak alone. He had reluctantly set the shotgun down, on the porch close by. However, he refused to leave the blind man alone with the giant monster, not that Addy disagreed – she'd much rather Kane be monitoring both Valli and the hybrid.

"She's so affectionate!" Valli laughs, hearing Kane faintly scoff behind him under the loud breathing.

"Until she's hungry." Is the serious reply, to which he rolls his eyes, yet silently agrees to find something for the creature to eat.

"What now? We can't keep her here, she'd get too much attention."

Kane grunts, pressing flush behind Valli and curling a strong arm around his waist to pull him back when the Hybrid gets too close with the sharp point of her beak. The words spoken in Valli's ear gruffy, "Guess we go fight. Ready or not."