Gabriel studied the stranger before him. Tall, dark, the promise of violence slicked just beneath leather; this man was nothing like Angel. Eyes the color of inky stillness pinned Gabriel; he could feel the moth-wings of his futile struggle fanning themselves away from his back. ::Run, and do not tarry about it! This man, he will leave nothing but your name on a corpse's lips, should you let him draw you near.::

"Indeed," Gabriel replied, eyes still fixed on this newcomer's face. Close-cropped black hair clasped at the man's skull like ivy, thick and twisting with the promise of rich curls. Gabriel was struck with the sudden urge to stroke that glowing, olive skin, to trace strong features. To feel fine ivory teeth sink into the soft palm of his hand, to hear himself cry out as blood poured between them.

The man smiled.

"Ah, you're a pretty one," He murmured, and now the man was very close indeed, less than a foot away from Gabriel's person. Too close, invading the seer's personal space, making Gabriel notice how pale he himself was. Pale, bony, unkempt. If one of them was going to smell like the streets looked, it would be Gabriel. This man, he would smell like the leather and blood and frankincense that he smelled like already.

Gabriel liked looking into this man's eyes. They were so calm, so very smooth and liquid. If this was his destined end, Gabriel was eager to be undone.

And then this man was even closer, leaning forward until lush lips brushed one pale ear. "Are you, Aidoni?"

::Ah, his breath is warm and sweet, please speak your mind and mine also. I am content to listen, if you will just speak once again to my skin.::

And a smile, gentle on the surface but promising darker water below. "Come. One such as yourself shouldn't spend your evenings alone," A carefully careless hand gestured to the heavens, "in this disreputable company."

That hand then fell to Gabriel's shoulder and he wondered for a passing moment why he wasn't fighting. ::Run, we told you to run, did we not? It's not too late; turn and flee.:: Gabriel ignored what his mind tried to offer up as apprehension. Strong hands had him now, firmly set and putting him where he ought to be. Held, contained, restrained next to this person.

Gabriel found himself in time to see an expression of amusement wash across the stranger's face. In a moment, it was gone, replaced with wry boredom. The intoxicating newcomer turned him to his companions--men Gabriel had either not noticed or had chosen to ignore up to this point. The men glanced briefly at Gabriel, nodded, and stepped back, heads bowed in understanding.

Gabriel and this stranger walked, together, through the forbidding streets; following close behind were the newcomer's associates, a silent pack of guard dogs exuding quiet menace. They must have walked for hours, although at no point could Gabriel have pinpointed where they were, or where they had been. Sometimes they passed others--desperate people who even in their drug-induced haze would scurry away from their little clique. Gabriel knew it wasn't him that garnered such a reaction; he was a gnat to the general populace. It was this man beside him who commanded respect.

And if at the end of their journey Gabriel found a firm hand on his shoulder, propelling him into a hotel he'd never entered before, why should he resist? ::Sweetness and light are not inexorably bound, young one; sometimes the our greatest delights spring forth from blackest night.::

"Wine, yes. Wine would be most refreshing," The stranger murmured, gesturing to one of his companions. "Or perhaps you prefer water, Gabriel?" They were on an elevator now, traveling ever upwards.

Gabriel was distracted by this man's lips; they curved and dipped so very gracefully as words waltzed off to float through the air. Did he need to say something? "Either," He murmured, not caring one whit what was offered to him.

A very small, oft-ignored part of Gabriel's mind wondered why he was acquiescing so willingly to this man. Surely he had more will than this; a more sharply honed sense of self-preservation.

Androktasia watched with great amusement as Gabriel tried to find a measure of comprehension. A slow, steady smile crept across his timeless face as he recalled his many previous meetings with the sweet soul standing before him. With each successive iteration, this being grew purer, lighter and more irresistible.

The smile faded as Androktasia's memories turned to the chilling resolution of each previous encounter. Every time, one of them walked away, leaving the other bereft. In all but a precious few of these moments, it was this soul that stood in confusion. It was he who turned his back on Androktasia, he who spurned an offering pure as could only come from gods and monsters.

Androktasia had been called both, often at the same time.

One of his attendant daemons brought over wine. Androktasia smirked as he saw that he and Gabriel would not be the only ones indulging this evening. The daemons as much brothers as children to him. Eris had many offspring and her skills as a mother were not renowned, thus it was no surprise that he'd taken in some of her later litters.

Gabriel graciously accepted the wine offered to him. He didn't drink very often, having never developed a taste for the stuff. Acidic and often bitter, it never set well, like an oil slick in his stomach. It would be rude to refuse the refreshment, though. He'd been so vague earlier that his response was all too easily interpreted as assent. Besides, this man was... something to him. The longer Gabriel stayed in his presence, the surer he felt that something existed beyond a few hours of walking the streets.

::Think not that he is a stranger; you know this man, better than you think. And what you do know of him, should make you flee.::

Crisp sweetness slid fluidly across Gabriel's tongue he took his first sip of wine. Androktasia took in the subtle widening of Gabriel's eyes; the reaction undoubtedly that of shock and pleasure intermingled. The magnitude of Gabriel's surprise caused Androktasia to briefly mourn this man's hardscrabble life, that he had never been given the opportunity to taste fine wines. Of course, Androktasia himself never served anything not produced by Dionysus himself--thus nothing of earthly creation could possibly compare--but still, for Gabriel to distrust the classic drink so much...

"Sit, please," Androktasia murmured, offering Gabriel an ottoman by the fireplace. Gabriel blinked at its welcoming, flickering warmth; when had it been lit? He glanced down at his wineglass, shocked to find it completely empty. A bottle appeared and it was full again, although Gabriel knew he should have begged off. Instead, he sank down by the fire, letting soft fingers of its heat relax him further. Gabriel watched as his companion took a seat across from him, settling back in a deep chair. Shadows cast dark pools across his face, leaving little but glittering eyes to watch Gabriel's every move.

It occurred to Gabriel that he had didn't know this man's name. That lack of knowledge twisted Gabriel's face into a grimace; how horribly remiss of him, to not know the name of such a gracious host!

Androktasia saw Gabriel frown. "Does something trouble you, Aidoni?"

Gabriel looked up from his study of the dark red wine he held in one hand. "I don't know your name," He replied gravely, as though the matter was of utmost importance.

Androktasia's laugh was low and gentle. "Do you not?" When he saw Gabriel's frown deepen, he added quickly, "If so, then the fault lies with me; I did not properly introduce myself. I am Androktasia."

"Androktasia," Gabriel repeated, tasting the name for the first time. It was Greek, as was the man; hearing the name placed for Gabriel the rich voice's accent and Androktasia's dark handsomeness. "How did you know my name?"

Once again the pleasantly still air between them was disturbed by Androktasia's laughter. "I know a great many things, Aidoni. A great many things indeed."