The Demon's Mighty Grip [PRIVATE]

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    [font=times new roman]He shrugged, blowing off the topic and glancing around for a sign for the 'pound'. At her words, he stopped mid-step, and looked at her with sadness lacing his eyes. "Don't say that," He said softly, "Every day is an adventure for me. I'll never be tired of putting up with you." Even though she may have been joking, it was obvious he wasn't, because within these few days, he knew that he cared about her and that he would hate it if she put herself down.

    Joey blinked at his words, slightly taken aback by the sincerity of them.


    "Oh....thanks," she said, glancing down at the ground to hide her embarrassment. She had never been very good with sentiments. "I....yeah. You too. I mean--" she paused, thinking over her words for a few moments. Finally, she looked back up at him, smiling slightly. "Let's just say that I'm glad I decided to help you out that day rather than run off screaming in fear," she said. "You mean more to me than some of the people around here that I've known for years." Of course, she meant it all. She wasn't very good at expressing how she felt, and she didn't do it often, which made it all the more special when she did.

    [font=times new roman]Tynan smiled at her and continued to walk. "That means a lot," He said gently, and then quickly perked up so the moment wouldn't be as awkward. "So, how close are we to the pound?"

    "Actually, it's right around the corner," Joey said, happy to change the subject. Her drowsiness was long gone, thanks to the cup of coffee. She sped up her pace a little, obviously excited to reach the pound. Admittedly, though, it was only partly because of the animals.


    "I have a friend who works there," she explained to Tynan. "I'll ask him to show you the ropes. He'll do a much better job than I could."

    [font=times new roman]A weird feeling swept over Tynan, but since he wasn't sure what it was, he shrugged it off and continued to walk with her. He was happy to hear about her life, her friends, he just liked hearing about human things because it was so foreign to him.


    "What's his name?" He asked curiously, tipping his head and smiling.

    "Dr. Castillano," Joey said as they approached the front doors, making a point to say his last name in a flowy, Italian accent. Her tone sounded somewhat mocking, and there was amusement in her voice.


    "He's the resident veterinarian around here. He comes by the shelter on his off hours to check up on the animals. The man considers himself a saint." She let out a little snort of laughter, smiling slightly. "I don't think I've ever met anyone with an ego as big as his." She pushed through the door, holding it open for Tynan.


    "He's a good person, though. Besides, anyone who loves animals as much as him is always alright in my book. I'm sure you'll like him."

    [font=times new roman]Tynan stepped in, looking around and smiling down at the creatures in cages, barking and mewling and howling at his presence. Immediately the boy wandered toward a small sleeping doberman, sticking his finger in between the cracks on the cage and saying softly,


    "Hey, ya'inthere?" Tynan's eyes lit up when the little dog stood, and the demon boy felt a bit of sympathy when he noticed one of the puppie's eyes were gauged out. He looked up, his heart turning for the poor little thing. He looked back at the puppy and whispered, "what happened, champ?" before rubbing the puppie's head with his finger.

    Joey followed Tynan into the shelter, walking beside him and kneeling down next to him in front of the doberman's cage. She smiled slightly as Tynan interacted with the pup, slowly pushing one of her own fingers through the bars of the cage.


    "I've never seen him here before. They must have picked him up recently," she said quietly as the pup licked her finger.


    "Just yesterday, in fact."


    Joey whirled around at the sound of a slightly accented voice behind her. Recognition flashed across her face, and she slowly pulled herself to her feet.


    "Hi, Dr. Castillano," she greeted him with a polite smile.


    "Aw come on Joey, no need to be so formal. What have I told you before? Call me Gabriel," he responded, giving her a friendly nudge. "I see you've met Rocko," he went on, smiling warmly at her. He was tall, dressed considerably casually for someone on the job, and looked to be somewhere in his early twenties, probably twenty-one or twenty-two--fairly young for his profession. With deep hazel eyes, wavy brown hair, and a bit of a roguish look to him, he was, to put it frankly, something of a heartthrob. "One of our sadder cases. We found him sniffing around for his family in the wreckage of a fatal car crash." He glanced over at the dog, sympathy plain in his eyes. After a few moments, his gaze moved to Tynan.


    "Would you like to introduce me to your friend?" He asked, gesturing to the boy. "I don't think I've ever seen him around here."


    "Oh, yeah, of course! This is Tynan. He uh... he just moved in a few blocks away. Tynan, this is Dr. Castill--er, Gabriel--the guy I was telling you about."

    [font=times new roman]Tynan's eyes widened, and he felt fear prick all inside of his heart. Gabriel, the Gabriel? From the tales and stories of those in the high skies, making the sun shine and the earth tilt? Tynan stood, bowing politely and smiling nervously. Of course he was wrong, but he didn't know any better.


    "Gabriel," He said, "I should have known an archangel cares for helpless creatures. Good on you," Tynan tried to act as casual as possible, walking all around the tall man and staring at his shoulderblades, half expecting wings to sprout out. He pranced back in front of him, standing tall and with his hands behind his back. He beamed at the tall man, only looking up by a few inches difference, and smiled. Here he was, meeting an archangel when he used to be the abnormal little creature in a group of demons. He was obviously a demon, and he wondered why the angel wasn't reacting to him if they could see into his soul. Surely, the vet must have seen his jet black eyes in their true form? Angels aren't supposed to judge, much less an archangel. He leaned toward Joey and whispered,


    "Why didn't you tell me you're friends with an archangel?"

    Joey's smile slowly began to fade as she realized Tynan's mistake. She opened her mouth to respond to him, then paused. She shot a nervous glance over at Dr. Castillano, who only stared at Tynan with a raised brow and a bewildered expression. After a few moments of awkward silence, she cleared her throat, fumbling over an explanation for why Tynan was acting so weirdly.


    "Er, actually, Dr. Castillano--"


    "Can't say I haven't heard that one before," the man said, letting out a little chuckle. Joey blinked in surprise, frowning slightly and glancing at Tynan, as if he had something to do with this. "You wouldn't begin to understand how hard it is going through school with the nickname 'angel' just because of the religious implications surrounding your name." He shook his head, smiling slightly now. "And being someone who takes care of animals, on top of that. Needless to say, I've had enough teasing to last me a lifetime."

    [font=times new roman]Tynan's beaming expression faded and turned to panic. "N-no, sir, I'm not teasing you, I promise," He paused, trying to find a way to change the subject. Suddenly, he grabbed the mans hand and shook it vigorously, smiling awkwardly. "I'm Tynan, nice to meet you sir."


    Tynan couldn't believe he'd been so stupid. How could this not be Gabriel? How many Gabriels in this world would he have to sift through in his human lifetime?


    "It's just, I've heard so much about Gabriel, and always looked up to him. He's not just in human literature, he's in many other-" But he was cut off by the growl of the doberman, and he turned, watching it play happily with one of his toys in his cage. Tynan stuttered over his words, embarrassed and confused, just deciding to be silent for a while and let Joey show him around.

    Dr. Castillano simply stared at Tynan throughout his whole spiel, his expression one of pure bewilderment. Both of his brows shot up in confusion, and he shot Joey a questioning look when Tynan abruptly broke off, momentarily distracted by the doberman.


    "Not just in human literature?" He repeated in absolute puzzlement. Surely, this kid hadn't actually mistaken him for an angel? No one in their right mind would confuse a person for some mythical being.


    Joey simply gaped at Dr. Castillano, unable to think of any possible excuse to explain Tynan's behavior. After a few moments, the man cleared his throat, glancing back over at Tynan.


    "Yes...of course," he said, offering a half-hearted smile and taking a small step away from the boy. He looked back over at Joey, giving her a look that demanded explanation for what just happened at a later point in time. "So, I take it you two aren't here just to stand around and talk, right?" He asked, trying to bring some normalcy back into the conversation. "There are a few people here looking to adopt. Why don't you two try to help match them with some animals. Joey, I know that you usually do a good job with that. And Tynan...." He shot a wary look in the boy's direction, beginning to regret his choice of allowing him to interact with other people. "Just...follow our lead, alright?"

    [font=times new roman]Tynan sighed and nodded shamefully, staring at the toes of his shoes, trying to think straight for a moment. He perked up immediately at the thought of helping people, maybe reeeming himself.


    "You got it, boss," He said with a grin, hopping forward and ahead of them and into another room. He saw a young couple and their little girl, crouching down in front of them. "I have the perfect dog for you. His name's Rocko, and even though he's got one eye, he's still really nice and playful. He doesn't have a tail, and I'm not sure why, but it's small and stubby and nice. I think tails take up too much space anyway." Tynan realized how manic he must have sounded, speaking a mile a minute, so he let out a deep breathe and turned his attention to their daughter. "That dog in the other room taught me how to do these cool tricks, watch me." And so, as he had watched on the tv, Tynan reached into his sleeve and pulled out a small bird, having made it appear with a tiny bit of power that he wasn't even sure he had. He smiled and watched it try to fly away, it's wing movements so graceful and shimmering.


    He clapped, and the bird exploded into little particles of glitter. Tynan smiled at the girl's laughter, and looked expectantly at her parents. "So, what do ya think? You wanna go see him and see if he's your match?" Their daughter was hopping up and down happily, asking Tynan all sorts of questions as to how the dog taught him all that, but his mind was focused on her parents' decision.

    ooc;; hey! so sorry for the inactivity. my school has been drowning me in work e_e i should be a little more active by next week. sorry again! i'm on my phone right now, but i'll post once i get my pc

    [font=times new roman]OOC: It's all right! I hope you're doing okay :) I know what homework can do to people. Whenever you're reading ^^"