World Refugees Final Mix

"Duh, because having an incubus in the kitchen is a reason not to worry." Amy smacked herself in the forehead before digging out the milk and cereal. Okay, she'd seen weirder stuff. ...Maybe not by much, though.

Bowl in hand, she studied the two before choosing to eat leaning against the counter. She was just fine where she was, thanks.

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He pushed the plate of toast towards Song, obviously not at all interested in actually eating anything. He raised an eyebrow at Amy and smirked again when she refused to come closer, but, like before, was silent as he went back to reading his book.

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Grinning, Song proceeded to smother the toast in honey and cinnamon. Before she could actually taste it, a low, inhuman growl issued from the doorway and she tore off a piece of the crust to offer as a distraction for the nervous dog who had followed her.

"Be good, Yasha. No biting your namesake unless I tell you to."

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Amy rolled her eyes at the smirk and continued munching on the Lucky Charms knock-off, but set her bowl aside as Yasha made his appearance. Yay, puppy. She waited until he'd eaten the treat Song had offered, then knelt, holding out a hand.

"Hey Yasha, c'mere. Good puppy, want a scratch?" What she wanted was an explanation as to why James was in the house, but she doubted she'd get one. Couldn't hurt to ask anyway, right?

Ha.

"So is there a reason you're in our kitchen?"

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He set down his tea and glanced over at Amy, watching her with that same unnerving smile.

"Yes. Of course."

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Song kept an eye on Yasha long enough to make sure he wouldn't cause trouble. She knew his behavior, and once he'd been reassured, he probably wouldn't make a move unless he thought she and Amy were threatened.

"May we have the privilege of knowing this reason, since it is our kitchen and all?" She looked at James innocently while she nibbled on his toast.

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"Yeah, I probably should've phrased that better." She scratched Yasha behind the ears before hugging him. No, she wasn't uncomfortable at all, but like hell she was leaving Song alone with him.

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"Perhaps I'm insatiably curious," he replied brightly, turning his attention back to his book after winking at the both of them. He then raised his tea in a half-salute. "Or just looking for a good cup of tea."

He shrugged half-heartedly. "But I think you wouldn't believe either of those explanations."

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"Well, I often use those same excuses myself, so I won't blame you for trying." Pause for another bite of toast, which she seemed to be enjoying immensely. "But if those were the only reasons, you could have just asked. It's not exactly reassuring, finding an incubus in the house after a bad night."

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"And since we don't believe those reasons," Amy added brightly from behind the safety of a German Shepherd, "You should just spill why you're really here."

Realizing she was being childish (as well as a big chicken), she got back to her feet and began cleaning up her breakfast mess. Kind of silly hiding behind Yasha when she could take care of herself.

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He sighed melodramatically, putting down the tea and throwing up his hands in defeat. "I admit, I lied. But is that really so surprising considering what I am?" He grinned again, obviously enjoying as Amy walked back and forth in the kitchen.

He sat up just slightly then, eyes narrowing. "I need to know more about my sister."

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Song took the time to savor one more bite of toast before ending the innocent act and mirroring their guest's serious expression.

"I'm a bit cautious to tell you everything. Lilith likes to keep things to herself."

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Ignoring him was a little harder than it should have been, but at least she refrained from telling him where to shove that smile of his. When he brought up Lilith, she sighed, finally taking a seat on Song's other side before resting her elbows on the island and propping her chin on her hands, watching James. She could let Song handle this one.

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He waved Song's comment away. "She does. And I need to know." He smiled again, though there was an edge to it this time. "I'm asking nicely."

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Song did not smile. She met his eyes measuringly.

"What do you want to hear, and why?"

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Amy frowned as she studied him, absently kicking the railing on the stool. This was beginning to bug her (okay, more than it had already) and she was starting to wish she could let herself get up and go. She definitely didn't like that smile.

"The fate of the worlds doesn't rest on this, does it?" She asked jokingly. Anything to take the edge off.

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"Whatever you know," he said evenly. He glanced at Amy and the electric energy that had been present when he had first encountered any of them in the marketplace suddenly filled the room. "You are going to tell me, regardless of whatever dances in conversation we have."

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hyperpsyche.livejournal.com

"Morning," Ren mumbled as she padded into the kitchen. She hadn't slept too well the previous night, and she wasn't too happy with her body's apparent scheme to keep her locked into what she had dubbed "miserably depressed emo kid mode." She knew what it was that had her down, and she knew that she was being way too gloomy about it all. It still didn't seem to help her get over it, though.

"So what's for--stranger." The sleepy fog instantly lifted from Ren's mind as she stared at the way-too-pretty man sitting in the kitchen with Song and Amy. A fight obviously hadn't broken out yet, so he probably wasn't an immediate threat, but the others were way too on edge for him to be a fellow Refugee. So that meant... "You must be the incubus I've heard about," Ren said with forced calm, suddenly wishing she had worn a bathrobe over her pajamas that morning.

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So much for fun encounters with demons. Song really wasn't liking his attitude. Denying him right now seemed a little too dangerous, however.

She turned in her seat to face him fully, already taking a breath to speak... when there was a very convenient interruption.

"You have the best timing, Ren. Want some toast?"

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"Totally the best." And to show her appreciation, Amy practically flew off her stool to hug the other girl. Yay, a Rennie! She jumped back after a few seconds though, half-embarrassed.

"Have cereal, have tea, have a whack at our 'friend' here." She grinned a little, then shook her head. Time to calm down, yes. She could bail now...or stay and look after both her friends. Cripes, this mothering thing was going to drive her batshit someday.

"This is James, Lilith's brother."

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He didn't glance up as Ren walked into the room, didn't even seem surprised by her arrival. Instead, he leaned forward against the counter, the growing energy becoming more apparent and his eyes starting to glow faintly.

"The more, the merrier," he mused, throwing Ren a winning smile. "You arrived just as these wonderful ladies were going to tell me more about my darling sister. I can't help but be worried by the way they keep darting around giving me information."

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hyperpsyche.livejournal.com

Ren gave a small, surprised laugh and hugged Amy back. "You sure know how to make a girl feel appreciated," she said before her breath caught in her throat at James' smile. She knew full well that "sex demon" plus "good Christian girl" was a recipe for disaster on her end, but man, he was making it easy to forget that. "Um, yeah, toast and tea would be great..." she managed to get out as she crossed her arms over her chest, once again really missing her bathrobe.

"Oh, Lilith? I'm sure she's doing fine," Ren nearly babbled with nervousness. "She's a survivor if nothing else."

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Song pushed her plate - which had originally been James' plate - across to Ren. There was still one whole slice of toast on it, untouched except for the coating of honey and cinnamon which Song had applied.

Then she turned her attention back to James.

"Alright. I'll tell you, but your sister's had a rough time lately. If you do anything to make it worse...."

She didn't finish the sentence, and she began the story in a brisk voice before anything else could be said.

"About a year and a half ago our friend Josiah acquired a magic book which came with a complimentary succubus. That part probably doesn't surprise you.
And, being as fascinated as I am by demons and such, I had to go make friends. I'd like to say it was my winning personality, but I think it was just my persistence that overcame her usual dislike for other women. Either way, she got used to me and I got attached to her. Insert a few crazy shenanigans here, including a body switch between her and Josiah. While reversing that, the two of them soulbonded so that Lilith could have a bit more freedom without endangering the entire male populace. The side effect is that Josi's now half demon. You'll recall I said there were two others..."
She paused for a sip of tea.
"...Things go on, we win the War of Hearts, everyone's happy, and then Lilith's dead pirate decides to be undead and possess Josiah."

She stopped there, giving the others a chance to add anything if they felt like it, and trying to judge what James thought of the story so far.

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She was already taking care of Ren's tea while Song talked, scowling to herself. The energy James was giving off was nothing but irritating to her, and she was this close to going over and smacking him.

Bad idea, be nice just a little longer. Maybe once he learned what he wanted he'd go away. Or she could torch his hair...Turning around with a smile, Amy held out a cup towards Ren.

Flaming incubus, whee.

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