Welcome to Gaia! ::

Guard duty sounded like an interesting change from the other human tasks Ever had explored -- especially since it meant meeting up with some other horsemen and learning about how they took on the monumental difficulty of navigating the world. Add to that the fact that it was in Santa Fe, hot and dry and dusty, the wind brushing at his multi-layered human clothes, the sun beating down on his skin...

It sounded like a nice venture, and one in which he could explore the nuances of human ambassadors, wander the bounds of one of their embassies and make himself useful to them.

Plus, it hadn't exactly sounded like he had a choice.

He stepped out of the portal into the desert with every layer of his clothing draped over his slim form, making him both look more human and completely insane, and when he realized who he was serving this duty with, he flashed a wide smile from out behind his sunglasses and offered Thias both of his hands to shake. Had they even met? At least once; he had a vague memory of the man that he couldn't quite place.

"Where have you been! What have you done!" Ever pushed for details and shared the story of his own time greeting and murdering a small furry rat with enthusiasm as they patrolled the borders of the embassy, keeping their attention turned outward in search of trouble. The first came with a quiet ticking as it landed at his feet, and for a long moment Ever just stood there and listened to it go. Then it clicked: a bomb, counting down a slow warning.

Thoughtfully, he stooped down to pick it up and lobbed it gently back out into the fray.

There was little doubt that in his mind that guard duty was not going to be Thias’s strong suit by far. Anything that involved strength or intimidation were far from his capabilities especially considering he was rather elegant and sporting skeleton arms which even in the human world met he almost looked like a human woman with skinny arms. Still he for whatever reason decided to sign up to go, maybe a little not by choice as he stepped through taking in the warm sun on skin. It was a wonderful feeling, mostly, he could do without the human clothing that clung awkwardly to his thin frame. They were of a garish color with the exception of the purple scarf that he pulled up over his lips like a veil. He wished he could ditch the shirt entirely though and let the sun stretch across his bare chest and let his gold jewelry glitter in the light.

Instead he would have to be dressed rather awkwardly, with human form.

Thias hadn't noticed the other stallion serving with him until he took his hand and shook it, his own grip being rather delicate. At least he looked a little familiar, maybe he had passed him in the tower occasionally or something. It was only a moment before Thias found himself swept up by the stallion’s eagerness and chatting to him about how he had earlier walked a rather adorable bunch of tapeworm and was almost defeated by a pack of oversized leeches that all together easily weighed more than him. It wasn't until something landed distracting his partner that Thias noticed another similar item ticking in the same fashion. Picking it up he turned it over in his hand before glancing up to Ever curious to what it was before realizing much like him it was a bomb and rather dangerous.

"That was very exciting, wasn't it!" Ever's reply held the same kind of enthusiasm that everything else he'd talked about had -- bright and cheerful and fascinated, like this was new and shiny. Maybe there was some debris stuck in his clothing, as well, though his fear shield had done its job of protecting tender skin. He didn't act like much of an advanced horseman, but the powers stuck around all the same.

"What was it! I wish I still had the thing so I could take it home and pull it apart --" But it was in the middle of this thought that something came bursting through the holes that their twin bombs had left behind. Hunters in white coats tore their way up toward the embassy, silent, wielding weapons that shimmered with dangerous runes. He didn't see them, but he heard them, half turning in place, head cocked and trying to figure out just how many there were.

He was almost too enthusiastic for Thias’s to deal with, in some ways it reminded him a bit too much like Rook and that made his stomach turn into a slight knot.

“Maybe too much excitement, and I am not sure exactly what it was.” He had reached to at least attempt to remove some of the debris from Ever’s hair and clothes but easily decided to forfeit that decision as noise could be heard spilling in from the direction of the wall. Humans, and from what he could guess a few hunters too but he left those for the elder horseman to handle. Instead he summoned his own weapon, and despite the prissy look Thias at least had learned how to fight. For someone with no strength he was at least quick on his feet and after dealing with a few mishaps in terms of insect experiments his reflexes had vastly improved over most.

"Lighten up, my man!" His human impression still needed work, but the cheer behind his words -- that was genuine, and could maybe draw people in enough that they wouldn't worry about his strange smile or the odd way he turned a phrase. Ever reached out to catch Thias around the shoulders and give him a half-hug, half-shake, heedless of the debris at their feet. He was light on his feet, tempted to bounce, grateful to be out and about and not standing in the same place for however many hours while he worked on some extremely tedious tasks.

It meant he was more than ready for the second wave of Hunters that came up toward the embassy. They moved slowly this time, stealthily, creeping in behind Ever to get the drop on him. And one of them succeeded, grabbing him from behind and wrenching him away from Thias. It just didn't do them much good -- he turned in place to kick out and dove back into motion with a whoop.

There was an almost startled look as Ever put his arm around Thias’s shoulder, not that he wrenched away or gave any impression that it bothered him. It was more he hadn’t expected it and much to his disdain it brought a faint look of pink to his cheeks as glanced at the stallion as if trying decipher his intentions and his own. “Lighten up?” Thias had been quite sure that his footwork previously had been just so, maybe he hadn’t quite grasp the human language as others had.

Before the pale stallion could answer Thias could feel the pale’s stallion grasp being ripped from his shoulders as a hunter pulled him into the fray. They seemed to have little interest in him, maybe it was due to the fact that unlike Ever, Thias looked as if he didn’t pose any threat. Instead he watched them for a moment, bright blue eyes following every move before something landed at his feet.

When all was said and done, in the end, they had at least done their duty -- even if they hadn't done it terribly well. The embassy was still standing, the building still holding together, even if the walls around its outside had largely been smashed and much of the art inside had been knocked off the walls, destroyed. Blood splattered the floors and chunks were taken out of the marble, here and there, where Hunter weapons had fallen as their bearers did.

After that last bomb, it seemed, the crowd died down. Things turned quieter, Ever and Thias left to patrol the building in peace, chatting more about their experiences in the human world. Ever showed off several layers of the shirts he'd purchased, and flicked the sunglasses meaningfully on his nose, with a flash of a wide smile to Thias. They still didn't feel right, the way his long blindfold had, but they did the trick.

"We should 'get a drink' when we leave!" His enthusiasm was still there, though it was worn a bit thin now. Ever was tired. He'd done about as much as he could, and needed some time to go lie down and catch his breath. Maybe the drink wasn't the best idea tonight, so much as tomorrow. He shook his head at Thias. "As the humans do."