Promise not to mind if you go your way and I go mine

[onlyanapple]

Who: Anthony Crowley and you?
What: Mourning lost friends
When: 9th June
Where: The Nines
Rating: PG13 maybe?

Crowley hated seeing the Nines so quiet. It wasn't right. He'd put thinking about the man who used to own this little piece of the castle aside to deal with that...mirror business. But now that was taken care of, he had nothing left but to mourn the Barney Stinson-shaped hole that had suddenly appeared in his life.

He let out a small, uneeded breath as he wandered behind the bar, as he had always done, helping himself to a few bottles of choice whiskey. It was stupid. This whole place was stupid. Barney was just a human, there were billions upon billions like him in the world. It wasn't Crowley's place to actually care about them. It was his place to tempt them, to make their short, insignificant lives miserable and reap the benefits from it.

Even he knew he was kidding himself with that spiel. It hadn't even been that way before he was dragged into Paradisa, and it had only become less true the longer he lived here. But Paradisa was the place where he was forced to interact with humanity on a much more personal level. He'd even made, pardon his language, friends here. And Barney Stinson had been one of his best. No. That wasn't right. Barney was more than that. He'd been family.

The demon flopped down in the chair Barney had chosen and designated as 'for Crowley use only' and sat back, his hand shifting his sunglasses slightly as he pinched the bridge of his nose. This wasn't getting any easier. The longer he stayed here, the more chance there was of someone he actually cared about leaving this stupid place. And it was making him feel tired. And old. Someone, did he feel old.

Normally, he'd take these issues to the angel, who would assure him that this was All In The Plan, or to Barney who could solve anything with a quip and a bottle of booze and one of his dreaded High Fives. But they were both gone. Vanished home to live their own lives.

And so, Crowley decided to rely on the solace of alcohol. His good friend who never, ever left. Or died. He'd seen Yuan's corpse in the lobby, just as everyone else did. It had been a while since the castle had decided to off someone. He vaguely wondered if it was a bad omen. He raised his bottle in a silent toast to those gone before taking a long swig. It was going to be a long night.

Comments

[persequor]

Every spare moment (of which she has a lot considering the lack of lessons or duties) has been spent exploring this place. And yet, Arya muses in front of the door, there are always new things to find. That's not even counting the strange other place. No. Not thinking of that. She dispels the cold feeling that radiates from her spine with a prayer. Fear cuts deeper than swords. Arya turns the doorknob and steps inside.

She hasn't seen trappings quite like this. Not even at King's Landing. Arya cannot recognize much she sees, but she can tell everything has a very expensive look to it. She almost misses the man sitting by himself, but she glimpses him out of the corner of her eye. Looking contrite to be caught snooping, Arya faces him.

"I'm sorry." Even a blind person can tell he probably wants to be alone. Then curiosity takes over. "What is this place?"

[onlyanapple]

Crowley arched a brow as the kid entered, watching her quietly, waiting for her to notice him. He vaguely placed her as one of the people gathered in the lobby earlier that day.

"It's called To the Nines," he replied, before giving a wry chuckle. "The name made a lot more sense back when we had a ninth floor."

[persequor]

Her brow furrows in confusion. "What happened to it then?"

[onlyanapple]

One day we had about twelve floors, the next poof, they vanished. There was a time we didn't have any towers here, either. Sometimes, the castle likes to redesign itself.

[persequor]

For no reason? It just....does it?

wow gosh TF remember you're in a log

[onlyanapple]

The demon shrugged.

"I doubt the castle has reasons for doing anything it does," he said. "And if it did, they would be convoluted, stupid ones."

[persequor]

She can't refute that. She makes a vague assenting motion and looks around again.

"Is this a meeting place of sorts?"

[onlyanapple]

"It was the headquarters for the Awesome Committee," the demon's smile dropped. "Though I'm not sure how well that will live on with the head gone. It's kind of an empty idea without him."

[persequor]

She cants her head. "What was the idea?"

[onlyanapple]

"He wanted it to be a place where 'awesome' people could hang out," Crowley paused. "I think that's the jist anyway, to be honest most of the time I tuned him out when he started talking like an annoying American."

[persequor]

"What's an American?"

[onlyanapple]

Crowley laughed, sitting back.

"They're inhabitants of a country on Earth," he explained. "Loud, annoying lot, really. Have a tendency to try to be better than everyone else."

[persequor]

"I think I've met some of them." She wrinkled her nose a bit. "They are annoying."

[ironlady]

Crowley had been right about there being no choice. She would find him even after the ordeal she recently got out of. Caterina owed him that much. In all honesty it was nice to set her mind to finding an old friend than dealing with what had happened. She had seen many people die violently in the past ten plus years. That was part of the price she paid for fighting an impossible battle against the enemies of the world. It never made it any easier to witness. The loss here had no purpose she could find aside from shaking things up. A true waste considering how brave that boy and Yuan had been in the face of danger.

Caterina sets those thoughts aside once she finally finds her quarry. She smiles politely at him as she walks inside. "Do you have room for one more?"

[onlyanapple]

Crowley glances up at her arrival, a smile ghosting over his lips as he gestures to one of the empty chairs around him.

"Looks like you have your pick of seats," he replies.

Well, he was used to never finding true solitude in this place. The people he'd surrounded himself with had a horrible habit of knowing when he was upset and just...finding him. Wherever he chose to hide. And deep, deep down, he was grateful for that.

[ironlady]

"So it seems." Caterina takes the one closest to him and sizes up the place. She is not the type of woman to end up in places like this so it was worth taking a moment to appreciate it before moving back to the matter at hand. "Would you like to tell me now how you've been?" She is not wasting any time tonight.

[onlyanapple]

"What I'd like is to be allowed to drink myself into a coma tonight, which as a demonic entity, believe me, takes some time and hard work," he pauses, sideyeing her. "But something tells me I'm not going to be allowed to do that."

[ironlady]

Caterina feigns an innocent look. "I would never get in the way of your drinking." She may be a woman of God, but the Cardinal hardly swore an oath to monitor the alcohol levels of demonic entities. Though there is the business of being a concerned friend. That may be an issue. "If you are serious about putting yourself in a coma with it, I may have to politely object." Or get her robot to stop him. Likely that one.

[onlyanapple]

Damn that robot. He was a pain in the ass, sometimes.

"Why? I can heal myself you know, I'll wake up without a smidgen of liver damage."

[ironlady]

Caterina frowns. She's not bothering to hide her concern now. "Comas are not something you enter lightly, Crowley. What if the castle sends us away and you're made human before you can heal?"

[onlyanapple]

"Then that would just be another thing for me to be pissed off with it about this year," the demon replied, taking another deep swig. "I have a list and everything."

[ironlady]

Caterina sighs. "And I thought before this incident the castle had been unusually gentle lately." Compared to her time before Paris it was at least. "May I ask what this list contains?"

[onlyanapple]

"I don't know," Crowley glowered at the ceiling. "Have you got about a week fee?"

[ironlady]

"Actually yes. My skill set isn't in high demand here," Caterina jokes before pressing on. "I imagine yours is so for the sake of time why don't you begin with your most recent troubles?"

[onlyanapple]

Crowley shrugged at that.

"There's always use for a soul corrupting demon, apparently," he said dryly. "And I'd really rather not talk about it."

That would mean opening up, admitting things were hurtful. That he MISSED people.