Clearing the fog (p)

[Deleted]

epicjester)

In the deserted picnic area a lone figure sat propped up on his hands. The fog rolling around him and making nothing more then a dark shape. Zero didn't care if people saw him. He didn't have his sword out or his guns so he wouldn't be too suspicious.

He had been deep in thought the last several hours since his encounter with the dragon rising Liam. Despite getting off on the wrong foot Zero did have a shred of respect for the guy. He saw he wasn't all jovial and peachy. He had a serious side to him.

Much like Zero, except they were opposites. While Liam hid his serious side with the happy go lucky attitude, deceiving others in believing him nothing much a jabbering fool but really was a leader underneath. While Zero wore his serious side on his sleeve. And because of that he was misunderstood. He used that as a shield to push everyone anyway. But because of that deep down his true self was hidden to prevent further misery for himself.

Zero twisted the card with the Irishman's number on it and looked at it blankly. Though that natural blank look was just a cover for the wheels of his mind to be turning. Did Liam really believe that he could teach others? It had been awhile since he had any human/or not so human interactions. He would be rusty. And he might be hated because of his hard shell he hides in. But was that worth it to be accepted?

Sighing Zero tugged out his cellphone from his back poker and dialed the number on the card. Pressing call when he was finished. Hoping it would pick up before he lost his resolve.

[epicjester]

Now what was Liam doing when he received the call? Why he was cooking of course. It was one of the whimsical man's favorite hobbies, and it was one of the skills he prided himself on. Well, that and the ability to kick massive amounts of ass when needed. But that was secondary to his impressive kitchen skills.

He was currently humming a tune when his phone started ringing. His merry mood dropped. That was his 'work' phone. The only people who had that number were those who were related to his work with the Guardians. He looked at the phone that was situated on the counter a few feet away from him. Without making any gestures, a blue translucent hand appeared around the phone. Picking it up and carrying it over to Liam. He inspected the number and then slapped himself for being stupid. It was an unknown number. Probably the guy who he gave his number to at the lake.

Underneath his hand, Liam let a small smile appear. It seems Zero was interested in his offer. Excellent, not only were the Guardians currently looking for talent. But Sinclair academy was also short staffed. It was pretty hard to find people both willing and able to teach a bunch of superpowered teenagers.

Bringing the phone to his ear. Liam answered in a jovial tone. "Figured you'd call eventually. You seemed like the type that would."

[Deleted]

He forced back a sigh at the greetings he got to his phone call. "I'll get straight to the point. I accept your offer on one condition. Make sure that you and other keep their noises out of my business. I agree to help in self defense for your school but only if you respect my boundaries. We clear?" He said seriously.He wouldn't mind helping but he didn't like prying eyes.

[epicjester]

"You do realise that we will need some personal information about you? Not much, but we still need some." Liam responded, his tone still light and airy, in stark contrast to Zero's serious tone. But that was how Liam operated with others. The more serious someone is during the initial meeting, the more Liam plays up his goofy persona. For you see, the Irishman uses the 'shattered mask' effect on people. He routinely slips between his silly and serious sides. Never revealing his true self to strangers. Only a handful of people were ever graced with Liam's true personality.

Most of those people were killed soon after.

"Just basic stuff like name, address, phone number and a bit of history." Liam paused for a moment. Thinking of what else to say. "You will need to pop around to the school one of the days. Not right now, the new term hasn't started yet. But sometime when the school is up and running. Pop by and ask for me. Tell them you're there to help with the school's 'community service' programme."

[Deleted]

He stayed silent through his talking. His eyes narrowing as he stared coldly at the ground. He was ok with the terms except his history. He didn't like delving into it too much. What could he tell the guy that he would satisfy his 'enquirements'?

"I have no papers with me so if you have a application or whatever then tell me what I need to do." He replied calmly.

[epicjester]

"No papers huh?" Liam mused, a thoughtful look on his face. "Well for the work I have in mind for you, they wont be needed." He shrugged, event though Zero couldn't see the motion. "All the history we want is a simple background check. Nothing too intrusive. I just need to know that you aren't a supervillain in disguise." There was a faint 'hmm' through the phone line as Liam considered his next question. "You can fill out a small application when you pop up to the school. You don't have any more questions do you?" 

[Deleted]

He gave a soft hum of anknowledgment. "Understandable." He sighed. "Background check...Im a demon. Plain and simple. There is not much to my background that isn't stepping over he boundaries." He mused. "Call me when you need me to come in for the papers." He added

[epicjester]

"Demon huh?" Liam mused. "Well that's good. I was worried you were one of those sparkly vampires that hang around Forks." Zero would hear a small snort of disgust through his phone. "I took down a family of em when they kidnapped some police officer's daughter." The last part was both Liam telling Zero about his adventures and making a veiled threat. Liam would not tolerate any actions that brought harm to others in his town. Right now Zero was going to be watched carefully.

"And yeah. No problem about the papers. You just give me a call some time when the school term starts and we can make an appointment."

[Deleted]

He smirked at that vampire comment and he couldn't refrain from adding on to that. "Vampires that sparkle huh? Do they poop rainbows too?" He asked hiding his amusement from his voice despite the actual genuine but small smile on his lips.

"I'll keep that in mind." He added.