redrighthanded | IC; Duplicity Inbox

[ The expression makes him look younger and isn't unattractive in the least. Hellboy finds himself feeling glad to see it and lifts a shoulder in a shrug as he offers the little bottle back across the table. ]

Call it a professional interest. Though most of the stuff I keep around is because of what it keeps away, not what it heals. Holy relics and things like that. Fought off some guys with just a silver button once, that was pretty interesting.

Really? I knew there were certain creatures that could be kept at bay with silver, but a single button? That's remarkable. Do you suppose it had additional properties that would have enhanced--

[ He trails off after a moment, clearing his throat and straightening slightly where he sits. ]

Ah. I apologize, if I'm asking too many questions.

[ The smile that crooks up the side of Hellboy's mouth is genuine, albeit tired. For a second there Anduin had reminded him of some of the guys he'd worked with, all excited at the chance to work something out.

He waves his stone hand dismissively. ]

Hey, don't apologise. It's weird stuff. The buttons used to belong to a guy who fought off the devil, they had been blessed with some holy power. Pretty sad I lost them, to be honest.

[ He pauses and frowns, starting to rise to his feet. ] Crap, I should have offered you a drink. You want one?

Aha. I thought as much.

[ And he smiles brightly for a moment, satisfied that he'd been correct after all.

When Hellboy moves he wonders if something had perhaps gone amiss, though his reason is quickly made apparent. Another drink? When he's already had so many?

Well. It's not his place to judge. Perhaps he had a higher tolerance than most. ]

Yes, thank you. That's very kind of you.

Sure.

[ Preoccupied, Hellboy doesn't ask him what he wants and heads over to the bar, his hooves heavy on the wooden floor, tail swaying behind him. Getting the drinks requires a little persuasion on his part that he's good for it after already sinking so many, and the fact that Anduin is a Dominant likely swings things in their favour when the bartender rolls his eyes and accepts Hellboy's money as if it's soiled with something.

Hellboy accepts the treatment with no more than a faint tightening of his expression and he doesn't stick around once he's got a bottle of beer in each hand.

He sets one down in front of Anduin, then makes himself comfortable again. He raises his own drink in a brief toast before draining half of it in a single pull. ]

[ Watching Hellboy move towards the bar reminds him again how startling similar he is to those beings from his own home. Half-demon, he'd said, and that should raise so many alarms all on its own. The demons he knew were evil, corrupt beings that did nothing but cause pain and anguish as they went.

Despite his imposing stature, that sense that normally rang out in him at the presence of danger remains silent. Whatever else he might be, he's clearly struggling just the same as any other person here. Perhaps more so, given his status.

When he returns, Anduin tilts the bottle in kind before taking a small swig himself. ]

You said professional courtesy. What profession would that be, if I may ask?

Paranormal investigator. [ Hellboy says it like someone might describe themselves as a lawyer or a farmer, then realises he might have to explain it a bit further. ]

When people get into spooky stuff they can't explain -- ghosts, monsters, vampires, things like that -- I help them out. I used to be part of an agency that took care of it. [ His expression goes a little dark and distant. ] Now I'm mostly.. freelance.

[ The way he says it, the way his eyes sudden lose focus as if seeing something long past, Anduin doesn't need to ask for clarification. Something happened, something terrible, and it does little good to bring it back to the fore simply to satisfy his curiosity. ]

That would certainly explain having a collection of holy relics lying about. But it sounds a very noble cause.

[ Another shallow shrug. ]

Sometimes. Sometimes it's just survival. [ He eyes Anduin thoughtfully, able to give it a bit more care now they're past the most uncomfortable stuff. ] You're -- what? A healer? Medic?

A priest.

[ Among other things, less important in the moment. ]

I understand the word has different connotations elsewhere. In Azeroth, it is someone who channels the Light through faith. A healer, a shield, and a source of guidance to the people.

[ Hellboy's eyebrows go up, an interested expression on his face. He's met plenty of priests, but very few who have acted like Anduin. ]

A shield. [ That he remembers, rather literally. ] That something you choose? Or does it just happen?

There can be a natural affinity for the Light, but to become a priest in full takes training and study. It is one of the fundamental forces that shapes our world. Calling upon it is no easy thing.

[ But it lingers around him, ambiently. Even now. ]

My father would have much preferred I trained as a warrior, as he did. But the world has more than enough people willing to fight with force. I thought I could offer more than that. Even here, that remains my hope.

[ That glow isn't difficult to miss, little motes of light floating around him like he's been gilded by the sun. ]

Tough place for that. [ Hellboy covers the darkening of his expression by taking a swig from his beer. Here's a guy trying his best to stay away from having to use violence, and he'd run himself onto the end of his sword like a boar being spitted. ]

[ Anduin's smile is small, but resolute. ]

All the more reason to try.

[ All the more reason to be here now. To prove that because it's difficult doesn't mean it isn't worth it to reach that hand out anyway, to someone who needs it just as much if not more. ]

[ The little smile is heartbreaking. Hellboy takes a breath. ]

You're a good kid. [ He turns his beer bottle around between his fingertips, fidgeting with it. ] I can see why Jacob likes you so much.

[ Silently considering that few things make one sound more childlike than insisting how much they are not, in fact, a child, Anduin instead takes another sip of his beer.

Though at the mention of Jacob, he brightens considerably. ]

He's a good soul. One of the first I met here upon my arrival, and I'll forever be grateful for that.

Yeah, he is. [ A flicker of a smile crosses Hellboy's roughly hewn expression, then he pauses, thinking over what Anduin's just said. ]

So you haven't been here all that long? [ He sounds a little surprised; Anduin seems so confident, so sure of himself already. ]

A matter of months, in truth.

[ He hears the note of surprise, prompting a curious look of his own. ]

Apparently my new arrival was fairly obvious to some. Is that still not so?

[ Hellboy shrugs, running his thumbnail idly around the neck of his beer bottle. ]

You seem to have it together.

[ At that, Anduin pauses. He takes another, longer drink of his beer, quietly considering the bottle for a moment afterwords before lifting his eyes once more. ]

I learn quickly.

[ There's no alternative, at home. He has to adapt, find a way through, or everything falls apart. As king, he has to take that burden of responsibility.

Here, at least, there are fewer lives on the line. ]

[ Those few words hold a weight that echoes down through the chambers of Hellboy's heart. He doesn't sound like a kid in that moment at all. Regret and sympathy knits lines between Hellboy's brows. ]

Well, like I said. [ He clears his throat. ] I'm sorry if I made that harder.

Please.

[ Brow knitting himself, Anduin reaches across. A rather bold move, perhaps, but there's no hesitation in reaching for Hellboy's hand, laying his fingers gently across the stony knuckles. ]

Do not apologize. As far as I am concerned, there is no cause for it.

[ That hand hasn't got any feeling to it, so Hellboy just watches Anduin's fingers flatten across the warm stone. It's a gesture that means more than the younger man probably intends, when the true purpose of those rocky fingers is taken into account. ]

If I was in your position, I'd've smacked the guy who did that to me across a room. [ He admits it slowly, not proud of his words. ]

Are you saying that because you would, or because you feel I ought to?

[ Lips crooking wryly, Anduin withdraws the touch, fingertips settling against the cool glass of his bottle once more. ]

If making it up to me somehow will ease your conscience, I can think of far better ways.

[ Hellboy doesn't have a good answer to that question, so he grumbles wordlessly instead around a pull from his beer. When Anduin makes his offer, he looks back up at him across the table, eyes narrowing slightly. ]

Like what?

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