Swearing in this chapter. Sal has a filthy mouth and a filthy mind. He is a substantially more crude character.
A shock of blue hair and a familiar pair of shades caught Salus' eye as he stumbled out of the warehouse that stowed his faction's secret entrance.
Well, the boring secret entrance, at least.
Three hours. He had spent three freaking hours listening to Snooty McFuckface talking down to him about how he needs to go to Transylvania. Werewolves and vampires, whoop de freaking do.
Sal unceremoniously dumped himself down next to his.. well, whatever the hell Tamarak was. Or should he call him Ash now?
Probably not. It was a secret, after all.
"Fuckin' gotta go find some snow clothes and shit. Damn dude, after all the time we've spent in Egypt you could've fuckin' warned us about what was comin' next"
Tamarak simply smirked and cast a glance sideways. Fucking brat knew they would be going to bumfuck nowhere Romania to freeze their butts off. All that, after sweating their faces off in bumfuck nowhere Egypt.
At this rate, there'd barely be a pair of legs and tits between him and Krishna with all the freezing and sweating off that they'd be doing.
"And ruin the surprise? Why would I do a thing like that, Sal? Besides, don't you thrive on adventure and so on?"
The gentle teasing in Tamarak's voice was so relieving after that stint at the Tabula Rosa. Smirking and slouching, talking with that fucking twinkle in his eye that said he had all the answers. All the answers, and refusing to give Sal an inch to hang himself with.
"Adventure and so on? Fuck off!" Sal laughed before mussing at the back of Tam's hair. He finally stood and stretched, pulling at the other man's collar.
"C'mon mr. pomp and circumstance, Krish is probably done getting preached at. Should go to London to get something I can wear in Transylvania without freezing my balls off"
Tamarak rose obligingly, easily slipping an arm around Salus' shoulders.
"Figure we'll have to deal with that Templar attitude she keeps picking up every time she goes to headquarter's?"
"What? The 'I am a soldier with a Templar cross shoved so high up me arse I should have internal damage' thing? Probably", most of the sentence had been spoken in a high and, frankly, terrible British accent. Still, it was making Tamarak laugh, which meant that he wasn't being a downer.
Sal was okay with that.
Turned out that Krishna hadn't gotten out of whatever Templar preaching was going on. Rather than worry, the pair got Salus' winter clothes picked out and paid for. A novel experience for them, to just go in and be able to afford anything in the store.
Another hour passed and they had settled into their seats at the Horned God to wait for the final member of their trio. At this point neither of them were speaking much, quietly wondering where it was Krishna had gone to.
When their phones went off, almost in tandem, they scrambled for them.
Sal cursed and growled as his slipped out of his hands and landed behind the bar. He did his best to give his most charming smile and puppy dog eyes to the girl behind the bar, but her unimpressed look told him it hadn't worked.
He still didn't know if she was a real Fae, or if she just dressed that way. Every time he asked Tam he just got brushed off, as if the other man thought he was joking.
"She's gone to Egypt, says it's Templar business", Tamarak's voice was grim. Grim like Tokyo grim and it made Salus' hair stand on end.
"Templar business eh? Like when I was dealing with the Phoenicians on 'Nati business.", the shadow hadn't left Tamarak's face. The set of his jaw, the tenseness of his shoulders, Sal couldn't help but feel like Tam had more answers than he ever told them.
"C'mon man, if you think we can help her we should go!"
"No Salus, not with this. We can't help her with this. Besides, it's not what's in Egypt that you have to worry about", the older man trailed off before running his hands roughly over his scalp.
"Why is it you always seem to know where we're gonna be sent before we get sent there? Is that just Dragon stuff, or somethin' else? Cause I am well and fucking tired of having you treat us like we're kids Tam"
In a smooth move, Tamarak had taken his sunglasses off and placed them on the bar before turning and jutting his face toward Salus'. Those grey, dying eyes pulsed with filth up close. You could see it, curling and pulling at skin and sclera alike.
"I have a theory, you know. That somehow, we're not just a bunch of different people being Gaia's chosen. That we're the same person, all of us. Just like we've all been that poor woman in the Tokyo subway. We're all existing, co-existing Sal. So if you wonder why I don't tell you what I think will happen, it's because it sounds crazy in my own brain. Because there is literally no way that I should know what's going to happen, or how it will happen."
Sal had to admit, when he put it like that, it sounded fucking nuts.
"But if we're all the same person, how can-"
Tamarak hissed in annoyance and turned away, putting his shades back on.
"Yes, how can the three of us be together if we're the same person? How can we interact and individually change the physical world if we're all the same person? That's not what I'm suggesting"
Sal looked down at Tam's hands, which were gripping the bar so hard it had started to creak under the force. Nervous, pale hands wove under and around Tamarak's, causing him to slowly let go.
"What are you suggestin' then, because it might be the public school education or the total lack of culture", at this there was another hint of that smile, "Might be either of those, but as far as I know you're still speaking gibberish"
Tamarak sighed, and it was fascinating to watch the fight go out of him. Watch him turn from defensive dragon to just Plain Ol' Tamarak.
"What I mean, Sal, is that we get the same missions from our factions. The people we talk to, in Kingsmouth, in … they used the same words when they spoke to you and Krishna. The same things happened, were still happening! It was like everything I had done there had been for nothing. That they didn't even see me in those moments."
Sal sat back on his stool, let his brain chew on the words, "So… what happened to you in Kaidan. That will happen to us? Is that what you think?"
Tamarak's silence was answer enough and Salus shuddered. That flight or fight response was kicking in, making him feel like a shard of ice was growing in his chest. That terrible feeling of blood rushing to your core, urging you to go and not stop.
"I might be wrong, Salus. Hell, I might just be crazy after John dug around in my head. Who knows?"
Salus rose and tugged Tam away from the bar, heading back to the Agartha portal. "Well, we can at least wait for her, right? To come out of whatever it is? Then maybe the Temps will send her to Romania too"
He knew his voice was small, but suddenly he felt small. Maybe he could let his brain chew a little more and give Krishna a nice surprise at the same time.
Three birds, one stone, he thought smugly.
The third bird? Well, it would royally piss off his handler that he didn't immediately run to Romania on her orders. Given that he was 'an asset' now, it would be a lot harder for her to punish him as she had once threatened.