The Moon Rises... ((End))

<div align=center>As amusing as the encounter was turning out to be, Jericho couldn't help but to feel a certain amount of a genuine desire to get to know even more about the boy in front of him. Not only was his species a subject for curiosity, but as was who he was as a person of sorts. He wanted to make good friends with him, though it was getting subtly clear that the boundary for that was growing past that mark. He didn't want to rush anything but... He couldn't help whatever that feeling in his chest was, either.

Honestly, he was expecting some sort of flustered answer, either that or an angry one. They had just met, but already there was some sort of something between them. Though, he told himself to take the answer with a grain of salt. Maybe he was still kidding. After all, he had to retort somehow to Jericho's flirtatious nature. But at least he liked him enough to not outright walk away at this point.

"Well then." Jericho shifted his position once more, opting to sit normally on the top of the bench. His eyes traced him as he moved closer in a snake-like fashion, sizing him up like he was a small animal and he was the top of the food chain. He couldn't help but to chuckle out of amusement. "What am I going to do about it?" He repeated, mumbling a small 'hmmm...' as to genuinely think.

At this point in time due to the swiftness of the sunset the twilight hours had come and gone as the dawn of night had taken its place on this part of the world. He looked up to see stars twinkling and the full moon upon the horizon. That got him to thinking. The rest of the courtyard empty, and he didn't want to exactly have to loiter around here as to not get into trouble. Besides... People could probably see them if something happened, so he hatched an idea.

He approached his clothes and guitar, which sat next to a practically empty backpack. It wasn't his school one, he wasn't that much of a slacker. He put his clothes away in it, zipping it up before moving to his guitar. He placed it back inside of its case and clicked the locks closed. It almost looked like he was about to leave Ettein by himself, but that was quite the opposite."It's getting pretty late, and soon security is gonna come out I think." He thought aloud before shifting his luggage. "I don't want to get busted for being out too late, but..." He smiled mischievously again to the naga, his playfulness returning. "I can't just leave now, can I?"

With that he looked to the border of the campus grounds, towards the forest that already had sky-scraping trees on the outside. He had considered the roof too, but... He liked being unconventional. A tree had caught his attention, high up from the ground by a couple of stories. Perfect.

With that, that devilish grin only spread out further as his strong hand unfurled to hold its palm out open, signifying that he was offering it to him. Lowering his voice and demeanor, he asked in an oddly calm fashion "You're not afraid of heights, are you?". </div>

<div align=center>As Jericho adjusted his own luggage in order to carry out his plan, he watched Ettein carefully in small glances to make sure he wasn't too freaked out. Sure, they had just met, but whenever he felt he got the okay from other people in terms of comfort he'd get right to messing with them. Nothing major or rude, however he would try to keep and maintain friendships with the most peculiar methods. It was his nature by default and due to his secretly concerned persona he hoped the other understood his intentions.

Little doubts such as that one became obsolete when Ettein finally took his hand. With the contact something occurred that was a trait only found in the young Nephilim. When he had taken his hand to shake before, nothing occurred. However now that he understood the naga even further and mustered up some sort of emotion that fact altered itself. With the simple touch, he felt a flush of his excitement take over his own body, the feeling akin to a sort of electric warmth. His power had allowed him to take simple feelings into full blown sensations, making himself feel as though he had them on a more acute level. In turn he was also able to transfer that emotion to sensation feeling back to whomever he touched, as to share what was going on inside. Sometimes however this was involuntary. The surprisingly pleasant shock-like warm sensation of excitement probably allowed itself to briefly go through Ettein's own hand once more, but Jericho played it off as if nothing happened. His grin got even more devilishly excited, as he tightened his grip and readied for action. "Hold on tight." The command was surprisingly smooth for what he was about to do.

In a swift motion as to avoid awkward handling Jericho took all of three seconds or so to throw his book bag and guitar on his back, strapping them down effortlessly. What remained to do was to hold tightly onto his hand as he quickly swept Ettein off of his feet and into a 'bridal' carry, which was what Jericho found as most suitable for the task at hand. He smiled down at him briefly before looking at the empty courtyard field. With a running start and another grand unfurl of his gray wings he soon took off in an effortlessly smooth motion and headed straight towards the tree he had spotted earlier, gaining altitude at a swift pace. If someone hadn't known better, it would seem as if he wasn't carrying anyone at all, for he flew with just the same amount of speeded finesse he would have if he was alone. Holding his passenger tight to his exposed chest, he zoomed straight for the tree branch close to the top, as he didn't think the very peak was the safest option. It seemed like as soon as the ride started it was over. In just a few seconds he arrived at the destination, first priority being to set Ettein back down on a large steady branch. He then curled his wings back up and hung upside down on the bough a few feet above him, facing Ettein with a broad smile.

"For the record I just did that to see if I actually could carry a person." He chuckled a bit before flexing his right arm in a joking way, as if to fake an inflated pride. "Damn I'm good." Jericho commented amusingly. His now gray eyes caused from the darkening of the sky turned towards the fully transformed nighttime, his upside down face casting a smile. The full moon had rose, the stars truly beginning to shine. From the distance was the sound of crashing waves as well as nature calls. Really, this place did seem like a paradise. "Nice view, huh?"

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<div align=center>With the brief yet exhilarating ride completed, Jericho was left more energetic than he was before. He was laughing softly at the adrenaline rush that was associated with taking his wings to the sky, which was only amplified by the fact that his empathy connection with Ettein had been in effect. Their excitement had been shared, which ultimately boiled down to a general giddiness afterwards. He eased the grin he had into a softer smile, as the upside down fallen angel raised a brow.

"Oh? Maybe next time I'll do a barrel roll then." Jericho retorted, sticking his tongue out at him for a brief second before laughing it off. The feeling that Jericho received however shattered for just a few quick seconds when he noticed that Ettein had worked himself in such a tizzy that he was about to fall over. An audible gasp was heard, as he attempted to reach out to catch him with no avail. Fortunately for him Ettein didn't quite fall to his death under Jericho's watch, once more opting for a tail rather than legs. God, he almost had a heart attack. His brief spell of anxiety ultimately calmed itself as he watched the naga handle the situation by himself. It was interesting really how the transformation worked and just how easily he went from legs to a tail in terms of comfort. Then again, this just may be a case where his naga form was the norm and his human not. Maybe he'd ask him later, along with the other questions revolving around... Well, those were for a later date.

"Mhm. Sixty somethin feet from where we're standing." Jericho stated in a relaxed matter-of-factly tone. He would have switched from his position to prevent blood rushing to his head, but he'd be alright. Besides, it made the already interesting conversation more interesting. "Well good. I've come up here a lot since moving here, and at least it's easier to get some peace." Even though he was naturally outgoing, he wanted to find sanctum somewhere. Though today's quest for it had been terminated, he could honestly say he didn't mind.

Figuring that since they were up here, it seemed only natural that they needed to make the most out of the scenario. So Jericho got to talking. "I'm not keeping you from anything am I? Cuz by all means I don't want to make it seem like I kidnapped you or something. Though you could probably make it back down there on your own..." He commented, looking at his tail right before his delicate face. "...Which is kinda cool... By the way. How does your tail work anyway? And can you do anything else?" Realizing he was probably poking too much into him, he smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, just curious... You can ask anything you want about me too. Even something embarrassing or dumb." The offer was serious, as he knew he would keep his deal in answering every question given to him. Hopefully it would be a way for him to learn more about the young naga, and him vice versa. After all, perhaps he did have some interesting stories... </div>

<div align=center>Once it was confirmed that he hadn't bothered him tremendously a sense of relief flushed over his worry. Good, at least he had the chance to get to know him, and could do so without anyone hearing. Perhaps he was self conscious about that. Who knows. On any case he still felt a bit guilty for preventing him from eating, or... Hunting? As in literally? The thought of that sort of amused him, how the gentle appearance and behavior of him hid the abilities of a predator. Then again, he could kill a grown man in a small frame of time with a bite. So really, it wasn't all that hard to believe. He just didn't want him to go hungry for the sake of a conversation though, even if he was a bit flattered that he'd take time out of his schedule to approach a stranger like him.

When he shifted his position to better face him, Jericho could see that Ettein was blushing once more. At this the Nephilim cracked a wider smile as if to show his increasing amusement to his reactions to him. What made the situation more entertaining was how apologetic he was for it and how much he tried to cover it up. It was admittedly kind of cute, actually. He chuckled a bit under his breath after his apology and reasoning, though figured not to tease him for it and instead try to be understanding. There were only a few situations when something like that was appropriate. "S'all good." He assured primarily, though moved on to hopefully calm him. "Eh, I sometimes get like that too when meeting someone new. Especially when I want to make friends with said person." Though he tried to mask it with confidence, his anxiety for not driving this young man to walk away from him was still present. He was just so... Fascinating, or just as he thought in his mind. But with his almost natural instinct to flirt or appear welcoming to other people he felt as if he was intimidating and sort of untrustworthy. He hoped he didn't think the same way about him, as he merely was just trying to be friendly... Perhaps he had come on a little strong earlier, however. He brushed his hand in the air without worry. "Well, that's good. I'd thought you'd end up hating me by the end of the night." He laughed a bit before getting himself serious once more. "Seriously though, don't sweat it, cuz I guess I can say the same thing about how I feel right now too."

Though, he didn't want to dwell on the subject because he felt that Ettein was feeling even worse than before. But he wouldn't say anything about that yet. Unless he perhaps asked him. But that worked in his favor as he gave him some interesting answers. "You can turn into a full-on snake?" He clarified, the thought amusing him instantly. "That's adorable." It was, or at least imagining him as one and being much smaller than him. The fact didn't surprise him as much as it did open him up to pondering. He figured he ought to get used to all the incredible abilities here anyway as to not over or under estimate somebody. Besides, as cute as seeing the blushing boy as a reptile was, he knew that he was still venomous as hell. And god forbid he accidentally step on him if he met up with him like that. He wouldn't ever forgive himself. His second question however was met with less of an answer and more of a question. Well... Now that he thought of it, it wasn't much of a good one. Then again what he really wanted to know was kind of inappropriate, or a little personal at the very least. He too became a bit nervous after knowing he had to clarify himself, but knew that he'd rather dismiss it all than demean the poor boy. After all, how do you go to the bathroom wasn't something he particularly wanted to say aloud. He chuckled a bit nervously, before casting away his curiosity with a "Ahh... Never mind...".

Though he was granted permission to ask anything, he figured to leave personal stuff for a later date. He didn't want to offend him, or scare him off. He liked this guy and he figured that there was a time and place to be inappropriate but not now. "That's all I was wondering really. Pretty cool stuff, thanks for answering." He smiled sincerely, before ultimately shifting his position to something more comfortable. He swung from being upside down to on the branch next to Ettein below him, leaning against the trunk of the tree and folding his arms, wings dropped lazily over the sides. "I gotta say, with all those neat abilities you have you make me sound boring."

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<div align=center>Though he'd like to think of himself as a person with high self esteem in social situations, Jericho couldn't help the doubt he felt in attempting to make friends with the naga. Usually, he was good with at least keeping up good behavior with those he intended to make just acquaintances with. But those sorts of people are usually just those he considered not all that pleasant anyway. But the first impression he got from Ettein was a lot more pleasant than he usually received. He was more hesitant in making sure that he would manage to make him stay and not dislike him. After all, he was new and needed friends, and Ettein was a nice guy and seemed pretty open minded. That, and he was rather attractive. Maybe he was intimidated by pretty people. That was a possibility.

So it was natural of course that he was less anxious when it was revealed that he wasn't pissed off at him quite yet and that he indeed wouldn't leave him. Jericho smiled in return, laughing a bit. "Touché." He remarked with a higher spirit. With that out of the way he focused more on being himself around him, rather than tiptoeing around his words and actions. He visibly loosened himself and pulled off another one of his half smirks, an expression of his ease. It was also for the fact that his compliment seemed to be well received. He did admittedly want to see him as a snake, and truly did think it was cute. Just as long as he didn't sneak up behind him one day in that form. Yeah.... That sort of situation wouldn't be so adorable. But possibly hilarious. "I wouldn't mind seeing it." He understated. "I mean, I've never been around other supernatural people or creatures before in my life. It's kinda cool for once being around others like me..." He thought aloud, though intended to share his current mindset. Hopefully this curiosity wouldn't be his downfall.

Upon being asked questions upon his own ability, Jericho grew rather excited. He wasn't used to being asked about what he could do unless by doctors or social workers hired by the government to keep creatures like him in check. Never really had he explained himself to another his age and was allowed to tell them. He nodded, folding his wings behind him to get comfortable. "Whenever a Nephilim is created or born, if I was told correctly, has some sort of ESP. It's cuz we're sorta a creature that's tied to that weird realm between here and heaven where all that sixth sense stuff is thought to happen. Not quite on a purgatory level, but..." He wasn't sure of his backstory to be honest, as he never had his inhuman dad to explain how it worked to him. "Yeah, I'm not exactly sure how that works out. But anyway, my ESP isn't as cool as others... I have the power of empathy, which allows me to know how someone is feeling and share emotions." He smiled a little, pulling his knees to his chest. "Basically I read them through the air or touch. If I touch someone, I get a sensation of sorts associated with the feeling. Sadness sorta feels cold like the rain, happiness is a cozy sort of warmth, and anger... Jesus, I don't want to touch anyone that's angry." He shuddered at the thought, remembering the feeling being akin to needles dipped in acid. "But that depends on the severity. In saying this, and I'm not very good at it, I can attempt to relieve those emotions or share my own through touch. Like when I was holding you earlier, you were excited weren't you?" Though he pulled a brief smile after asking this, he soon grew a bit embarrassed. Great, now he probably sounded creepy. He cleared his throat out of what he felt was awkwardness. "Well uh... Yeah. I could tell. I mean it works better in touch, but like I said I feel it in the air too... " He shrugged before looking at him with a raised brow. "That's pretty much it. Other Nephilims have things like pyrokinesis, teleportation and clairvoyance... I'm just like a super powered version of a guidance counselor." He chuckled, though immediately realized right after that he had explained a lot. "Sorry if I talked too much... Any other questions?"</div>