When it rains, it pours!

<div align=center>Dammit!

In what seemed like a blink of an eye, the once crystal clear afternoon turned into a dark and tumultuous mess. A flash thunderstorm had struck the island without so much of a warning and had tainted the otherwise perfect day. The civilians of downtown Mantos Carlos began to rush inside to avoid catching the butt end of such a sudden downpour, Jericho included.

His day's plans were too ruined by the rain, not particularly fond of the weather pattern itself. While he had been attempting to buy some things for his relatively new dorm with the little money he had he heard a thunder clap nearby, followed by a literal sheet of rain that began to pour down. The flashes of lightning that soon coursed the sky was enough to send the young man running for the hills, or rather the nearest establishment that he could potentially spend hours if needed. Naturally he opted to take a three block run to the nearest cafe. Smart practically, but for his own personal satisfaction? Well, he's had better days.

After running through the torrential rains Jericho slammed open the door of the cafe, his facial expression disgruntled to say the least. For once in his seventeen years he had allowed his wings to be free through a now specially tailored muscle shirt he had on, giving him both a boost to his already decent confidence and his sense of belonging. Well, Mother Nature of course had to shit all over that and soak his poor dove-like feathers to the bone, not only weighing them down to the point of dragging behind him but also leaving a slippery trail wherever he went. If only he had a hair dryer...

After making quite the scene appearing in the cafe Jericho was seated by a waitress despite not having much of a desire to spend money on food. Oh well, enough espresso had ought to cheer him up. He sat at a booth seat alone, occasionally receiving glances from other patrons. And snickers. Don't forget those. Jericho sighed while attempting to brush off these onlookers. The faster this storm let off the better. Being trapped in humiliation wasn't very fun, especially when you're alone.

And sticking out like a sore thumb for just being an unnatural species wasn't that great, either.</div>

<div align=center>Despite the recently lit fire and the promise of hot coffee and chocolate those once trapped in the storm most likely felt the chill of the outside. Though he was fine with temperature, wetness and feeling like forty extra pounds have been added to his back both were deplorable sensations to him. Then again, he could think of anyone that enjoyed that sort of thing.

Just as Jericho had settled himself he heard the door ring with the bell that sounded when opened. Though he probably would have ignored this at first, he felt a presence sweep over him that usually came whenever he had touched someone on purpose with the intent to pick up on emotion. It was more of a hunch than anything, but either way it was enough for him to turn around. And there, he saw, his premonitions were correct.

There, shaking like a leaf, was his roommate and first real friend he had made at the school. The poor boy was drenched and holding himself for warmth. Instantly, sympathy and shock coursed over Jericho from both the unexpected meet up and seeing him in such a state of misery. Of course, he had to help.

Rushing to stand up he kicked his practically useless wings out of the way and approached him slowly yet with purpose. They both appeared to be in bad shape, clothes drenched and features waterlogged. "Ettein...?" Jericho asked as he rounded the booth, biting his lip. "Damn, storm got you good.." Though he intended to keep this hushed below his breath, he knew Ettein probably heard it. But it was true. He was a reptile, wasn't he? So that meant he was cold blooded... How awful. "Well anyway, fancy meeting you here... Jesus, you look cold uh- You need any help?" Well, of course he did. But the guy probably didn't want to be rushed with questions. Perhaps it was just better to let him do the talking, that is if he could do so at all.</div>

<div align=center>Before a Jericho could utter another word, Ettein wrapped his arms tightly around him, further wetting his already drenched clothes. Following a surprised 'uf!' Jericho didn't know how to exactly react, his arms but awkwardly placed at his side. But now wasn't the time to be concerned with how close he'd gotten, or the fact that all eyes were on them once again as onlookers thought by the way that he was not responding that the boy was a complete stranger. Well, time to put that theory to rest.

"And you're freezing." Jericho responded, finally deciding to hold him back in an informal hug, trying to warm him up through his own heat. Once he felt as though his temperature raised just a little bit he practically pried Ettein off of him. Instead of leaving him to his own devices he placed his hand gently behind his back with a calm facial expression as to play this all off. "C'mon, sit by the fire and warm up." He instructed firmly yet quietly, trying to keep both him and the poor boy tranquil. Even through his wet shirt he could feel as if Ettein was feeling an odd combination of displeasure and hatred. But it was almost the fluffy kind of hatred, not needles-in-acid hatred. Thank god he was a docile person.

His wet sagging wings left a trail all the way to the fire place, where he let Ettein go to take care of himself. "Yeah, stay here..." He guided while grabbing a menu off of his table and filling through it. "Can I get you anything? Coffee? Hot tea? Hot chocolate? It's on me, just... Take it easy." Though his voice was that of a leader and helper earlier it had quickly evolved into something more gentlemanly and soothing, asking him the question below his breath. If he hadn't been taking care of him well, as much as he hated to think this way, he could possibly have one less roommate to live with. But that was just negative thinking. He'd be okay right? Of course. </div>

<div align=center>As soon as he approached the fireplace it seemed Ettein was ready to try to warm up no matter what. He couldn't blame him- although he hadn't asked about just how reptilian his genetics were he assumed that him and the cold were a no-go. The anger from before seemed to grow to the point that Jericho could start to feel the unpleasant aura suspending in the air. Despite this being somewhat of a weakness of his he still proceeded to help in anyway he could. After all, the poor naga probably needed it.

However it was soon made clear that he wasn't in the mood for disruptions or touch. Jericho looked up at the employee who was trying to yell at him for doing what he could to warm up, almost tempted to make an axing motion at his throat. But it was too late. Uncharacteristic to the normally calm boy he snapped back in animalistic rage, which was enough to cause Jericho himself to jump back a bit. "Jesus!" He squeaked below his breath, though immediately going to straighten himself up. Damn, he knew he was part snake, but his appearance could be deceiving at times.... Which reminded him to never make him angry. Yeah. The last thing he wanted in the future was to have a pissed off snake boy against him. Still, despite the reaction Jericho understood why he was upset. Being soaked to the bone wasn't the greatest thing for him, either.

One Ettein's anger died down, Jericho approached him once more, feeling the boy's normal self return again. Hopefully, trying to comfort him wouldn't be a bad idea. "Hey, I'll make sure they won't bother you..." He muttered to him in a serene tone, narrowing his eyes at the staff that had turned tail. Couldn't they see that the boy was under desperate circumstances? Morons... He shook his head mentally off of rude thoughts and focused on the care of the naga. He smirked out of reassurance. "You got it." He looked over to a passing waitress, gesturing her over with a jerk of his head. "You mind getting my friend here a hot chocolate? Oh, and a coffee for me as well... Please?" Almost forgot to be polite. The lady nodded, and Jericho flashed her a wink with a small "Thanks ma'am.". Well, he certainly made her blush.

Turning his attention back to Ettein he decided to sit down beside him, figuring they'd bring the order over to them when ready. Jericho sloppily threw his useless wings to the side as to not get in the way of Ettein. He looked at him with yet another testy yet playful smile. "Damn storm came out of nowhere. God I hate 'em." But then he grew more quiet and concerned. "Are you okay? Well, besides the obvious with being cold and all. What brings you to this side of town anyway?"</div>

<div align=center>After his outburst of sorts, he appeared to have calmed down considerably and was indeed apologetic. "I know you weren't. You seem pretty good handling your instincts, even when faced with jerks like them." Honestly, Jericho didn't really mind that he broke a rule of common courtesy. Not just out of desperation, but a fact in general. He wasn't a terrible trouble maker himself, but honestly he sometimes broke laws and rules just for the fun of it. Besides, Ettein wasn't harming anybody, was he? And who knew he looked so good with his shirt off...

Before he could even try to think of looking at the lithe kid that juxtaposed his own body build Jericho was brought to the attention of yet another feeling that swept through the air. It was faint, though luckily he was close enough to the source to have somewhat of a clue. Was that... Jealousy he felt? Nah... Couldn't be. What had made him so, anyway? Sometimes, and this frequently worked against him, Jericho used some sort of charm in order to get what he wanted. As helpful as this was he was oblivious to what he was doing as sometimes he just couldn't help it. But not this time, at least for the sake of the waitress.

Besides, he knew that giddy young ladies often worked better and faster if their clientele was an arguably attractive male.

But anyway, Jericho didn't know or was attached to this lady which was opposite to how he was with Ettein. Of course, loyalties and such would increase as attraction to another would as well. This of course was being applied to the way he had begun to feel about the young naga as well. Call it cliche, and he knew it was, but there was that instant sort of attraction he felt the moment he laid eyes on him. But he couldn't help it. He was a pretty young thing, and that was before he even got to know his personality. There was a sort of sweetness and cuteness to him that he hadn't seen quite before in others that have made or he has made advances on. Besides he was a lot more calm than most his age, which was always a plus he looked for in other people. But whether or not he could admit to himself that he liked this boy was to be seen. He was a confident boy, but that didn't mean that feelings of allure was something he naturally knew how to deal with.

"No prob. I couldn't just let you shiver to death now could I?" Jericho asked with a gentle smile, truly happy to help him. Besides, that wouldn't be very much of a friendly thing to do. "I could imagine the cold wouldn't be very good for a naga. But I guess a lot of mythical creatures have things in nature that can be hard to handle... Truth be told, I'm scared to death of thunderstorms and stuff, particularly lightning." His smile became nervous yet still humored. "You know how many flying creatures like me have been literally fried because of it?" He chuckled a bit with the actually dark truth. And of course, as fate would have it, Mother Nature once more decided to screw with him. The moment he mentioned something about his most dreaded weather pattern the lights within the facility flickered for a brief moment before a boisterous thunderclap followed by an intense flash of lighting made its mark outside. As soon as it occurred Jericho nearly jumped out of his seat, his wings being brought back to life just to fold around himself like a blanket, the now dryer feathers puffing up like a scared little bird of sort. Even a few scattered on the ground next to him in a medium-dark gray rain. He almost recoiled to cover his eyes but luckily regained his cool after realizing that he and Ettein were okay. As if to play off his reaction he rolled his shoulders and discreetly cleared his throat. "Like that."

To ease off attention of the situation the waitress had already come back with their order, giggling with a had over her mouth at the sight of seeing a built boy have a priceless reaction to such a simple occurrence. "Here you go, Mister and Miss. Enjoy!" She smiled as she handed out the drinks to them, walking away with a bit more of a flirty sashay. Well, now Ettein was both cold and misgendered. Lovely. "Don't mind her." He whispered to him, though he himself was upset by the mistake. He handed him the hot chocolate with a small smile, hoping to cheer him up. "It is pretty hot... Be careful..."</div>