Instantly, you intrigued me

Gods above and below, today was an absolutely horrible day. It had been difficult to wake up this morning, the commute to The Hidden Archives was migraine-inducing, and Azrael’s day at work had been so monotonous that it would make anybody want to pass out. By the time Azrael’s work day was over, he had dark bags under his eyes and his ashy gray hair was frazzled and messy. As he looked up at the sky, the imp-like Devoma couldn’t help but let out a soft groan. Great– it looked like it was going to rain. Just what he needed. Today really couldn’t get any worse, could it? Azrael pulled a small, black umbrella from his bag and opened it up just as the raindrops began to pitter-patter to the ground, and he wrapped his pointed tail around his waist to keep it from getting wet.

“Ugh… What an absolutely miserable day…” Azrael muttered to himself as he walked down the streets of the city. Even The Cluster had its icky days, and today was definitely one of them. As he walked, he took in the sights and sounds around him. People laughing, having fun, enjoying life despite the dreary weather. It brightened Azrael’s spirits just a bit, and it got him thinking. If today was such a horrible day, why not do something about it? Why not treat himself to something nice to perk his day up? He deserved it, after all. He had been taking on more shifts at The Hidden Archive lately, saving up some more money in order to help a friend of his move into a nice house. He could afford to splurge a little bit on something for himself. But what should he look for, exactly? New clothes, perhaps? Maybe a new perfume? He did see that pretty little store a while back that sold delicious-looking perfumes and colognes of all kinds. No… that was too far away, and the rain didn’t seem to be letting up any time soon.

However, as Azrael came to an intersection, something caught his eye. Across the street, with blinking neon signs, was a butcher shop. Azrael had seen this in passing many times on his route to and from work, but today something was different. Perhaps it was the ‘Under New Management’ sign in the window, perhaps it was the fact Azrael wanted to treat himself to something, perhaps it was something else entirely… But Azrael decided to check it out! The idea of getting something tasty to cook up for dinner was very appealing to Azrael. After crossing the street and opening the door, Azrael was instantly met with the smell of both raw and cured meats. Azrael expected the place to be, well, messy– but it didn’t have a scrap of dust or dirt anywhere! Upon closer inspection, he realized the reason for the cleanliness were the numerous Bunbas hoovering around in the corners. That was extremely unexpected, and Azrael couldn’t help but let out a little laugh at the sight. Such soft and fluffy creatures in a shop full of meat! What a strange dichotomy.

But it was the ‘New Management’ that the sign in the window had announced that had Azrael completely entranced as the stranger entered the front of the shop. A massive Selbir, covered in feathers of rust, clay brown, and black. He had scaled, medium gray hands and feet that bore huge, dark talons. He had multiple large scars on his arms, and Azrael noticed the very tips of more peeking out from under the apron he wore. But it was his eyes that Azrael couldn’t stop looking at. His eyes, with blood-red sclera and golden irises, were so captivating that Azrael forgot how to think for more than just a moment. Not only that, but the ruby-colored fangs that peeked out from underneath the Selbir’s lips were a trait that Azrael found… extremely attractive. He reminded Azrael of an ancient predator of some kind, staring down a piece of unsuspecting prey.  Azrael could feel his face heating up when he realized he was practically gawking at the Selbir, and being the completely vainglorious bastard he is, decided to do what he did best and flirt with this large, intimidating yet very handsome butcher.

“Well– I came in here looking for some premium meat, and you know what?” Azrael purred, flapping his little wings as he floated slightly off the ground and to the domed glass meat display cases, which the Selbir was leaning on. With a smirk and a lick of his lips, Azrael looked the Selbir up and down. “I think I found some~”