the creature alliance - semi advanced discussion

A long white form moved through the plant covered shelves, and hanging vines, for someone so organized this place was more like a jungle. Yet it was organized chaos, everything was labelled, with everything in place. Terran wore a lather apron over his black shirt, and along with gloves to keep thorns from cutting his hands. Lifting one of the rose pots from it's shelf he slither to the front of the store, and over to a stool, were he sat down his tail hanging down and over the floors. Trimming anything dead on the plant, he put down the cutters, and lifted a box from under the table. He opened it and took out a quill, ink and note paper, writing the requested message on the paper, then tying it to one of the stems with some white thread.

The winged heathen hung upside down from high up in the canopy of the trees located in the spacious garden, having found his way in from one of the back doors a little less than 45 minutes prior. He had decided to explore the kingdom of snakes after being stationed there by the royal family, soon getting terribly bored. He decided to fly aimlessly before finding the rounded glass structure and finding a way in, spending time hanging from the trees and just spending time away from the city he was chosen to gain information on. His wings were most brown, white and black, his covert wings dyed a dark metallic blue and fluttering absentmindedly as he relaxed. He stiffened at the sounds of moving and saw a white snake-tailed man move towards the front of a store -presumably his- and tend to a rosebush. Ajax was careful to stay silent and still, just watching his movements for now. As arrogant and hotheaded as he was, he was good at his job, and one of the first rules, was that if you could avoid it, never get caught and don't confront anyone first.

Terran took a deep sigh, it was a long day full of orders, meaning long hours presumably till midnight or early morning. Which most certainly wasn't horrible, since he quite enjoyed spending time with the plants, but spending nine plus hours working wasn't. He slithered off from his stool, lifting the plant up, he carried it to the shelf where buyers could come and pick up there plant that was labelled with their name.
"Next is," he began to mumble, as read off a piece of paper.
Setting it down after memorizing what the plant was and what he needed to write, Terran moved over the floor, he lifted leaves of certain plants as he passed them using all four arms checking was quick and painless,
"Fiddle-leaf figs aren't doing the best," he stated.
He moved past the taller trees his tongue flicking out, it was black and pierced in a few places, but in that second it caused him to smell something that he normal nose couldn't pick up. Stopping where he was, he flicked out his tongue a few more times, well it certainly wasn't a snake that was a given.

(xavier are you present?)

(totally fine, so was I in fact lol)

Ajax watched the naga-like being stop suddenly and immediately swung to crouch up-right on the sturdy branch he had chosen to lounge upon, his long raven black hair moving just as abruptly in the air. He hadn't been able to catch a good view of his face yet and sat very still as if he was a rock, his wings pressed back against his back as he waited for the other man to make the first move.
His lazy and watchful grin had fallen quickly enough, giving way to a more serious expression, his dark yet thin eyeliner making his gaze even more birdlike than it would be without. His eyes caught the metal gleam of piercings as the man's black and forked tongue smelled the air, undoubtedly sensing Ajax's presence in the tree canopy.
He waited with bated breath for his next move, ready to play it any which way. Who knows, maybe he'd find himself an interesting companion... or a just as enticing foe.

The snake crossed his arms, he turned his head, the white hair on his hair falling over his forehead slightly as it wasn't long enough to reach his eyes. This smell wasn't a snake, he repeated under his breath, and it certainly wasn't the feline's that lurked around the kingdom currently. Couldn't be a member of the fish kingdom, since it didn't smell enough like the ocean, and it wasn't a dog since they smelled bitter to him. Moving around he flicked his tongue out once more.
"Bird kingdom perhaps?" he mumbled, they didn't come to the serpent kingdom often, so that would explain the unfamiliar smell.
The trees was where this person was hiding he could tell, and it bugged him that someone had got in without him realizing. Standing for a few more seconds, he looked around the area around him, trying not to show that he had found exactly where the person was. But as he looked he caught sight of deep blue feathers, and he threw himself at the tree, lunging after the man in the tree. At least he looked male.

Ajax relaxed slightly when the man seemed to relax, presumably not knowing where he was, shooting like a dart out of the tree out of pure instinct once he lunged. Breathing hard and hiding his surprise in exchange for his usual teasingly sarcastic grin, he swooped down towards the ground. Since his cover was already blown, there was no need to continue hiding, and well, he was at least a little bit curious about the snake people.
He hovered 7 feet above the ground to stay just above the creature's (who was quite attractive as he got a better look at him) reach (from what he could observe in that moment), his wings flapping at full wingspan to keep him afloat as he moved his hand in a flirtatious-like wave.
"Well hello there, nice plant-house you have here." He greeted, and if you weren't already friends with him, the look on his face coupled with his tone would be enough to slap him, especially if you were already not happy with the 24-year old bird-man

Terran gripped the tree to stop his momentum, but the man had already reached the ground a flown up, so he twisted around the tree until he was at the top. Again the bird-hybrid was out of reach, his tongue flicked in irritation, he didn't like the expression on this man face either. He looked up at him with both sets of arms crossed, he didn't react when he waved simply staring at him. Not the flirtatious type unlike this person, but he was attractive and that fact annoyed him even more so.
"Can I help you?" Terran asked, his voice probably deeper then expected.
He slithered down the tree till he was on the ground, he removed the leather apron over his shirt, and hung it up. Keeping an eye on this strange person in his greenhouse.

Ajax ran his hand through his hair like Danny Zuko but with wings - and personally, Ajax would protest that he was much more attractive and just overall better than him - like he tended to do when he was on edge, but it would be difficult to discern as a relaxed smirk was still on his face. His body was carefully not tense as to maintain his unbothered demeanor, and he focused on the gap between him and the other male, keeping the 7-foot distance between them.
"Perhaps, are you free later Handsome?" Ajax asked, and well, under different circumstances, he would be completely okay with the prospect of that, as the other creature was definitely his type. A shame that he looked like he wouldn't mind slapping the bird-man out of the air into the glass wall at the moment.
"Not attacking me right now would also be great if you really want to help me out here. I swear that I was just admiring your uh, botanical garden." He spoke, reading the name of the place off of one of the labels on was he guessed to be the snake-man's shop.

Terran blew a small amount of hair that had fallen just so that he could see it, and sighed, this person was clearly a little more self centered at least he assumed as much. While this person was seemingly relaxed, the snake was quite tense, with his shoulders up and arms crossed tightly. He hadn't met anyone in the bird kingdom, so their behavior was unknown to him and he didn't know how this person would react either.
"If I was, I wouldn't tell you," he sassed.
Any feelings he had with that small comment were suppressed, he didn't want to be flustered by this person, so he would just let his irritated emotions remain.
"Who said I wanted to help you," Terran snorted.
He had a habit of being disobliging towards people like this person he happened to be speaking with.

Ajax couldn't help but let out a low peal of laughter, flying back slightly to sit on one of the lower branches of a tree sightly smaller than the first one. He swung his right leg onto his left and leaned on the trunk of the tree, making himself comfortable again. "Aww, don't break my heart just yet Ice Prince." Ajax started, attributing the nickname to the snow white scales of the snake-man's long and winding tail. "And you did; you said 'Can I help you?', didn't you?" He asked, his voice a horrible imitation of the other man's when he mimicked him.
To say the least, he was having more than a little fun playing games with the snake, and though he wouldn't admit it just yet without an overly dramatic air of "jokingness" around it, speaking with him was much more fun than just aimlessly getting lost in the snake kingdom.

After watching the bird-hybrid find his new position, Terren moved around the green house, keeping an ear out for him just to keep his guard up. He wasn't enitrely a fan of this person quite yet, so it wasn't his favoirte thing when he gave him a nickname,
"Terran," "You see on the sign, use that, not whatever that just was," he said, waving off the name.
He had been just about to pick up a plant, when he realized that he had said that, and cursed to himself. Keeping from punching the plant, he placed his fists on a table nearby,
"Alright, I did," "So what is it?" he asked.
Terran was internally groaning, he wasn't a big fan of people in general, but this person was to say the least interesting. He was most certainly on his high horse.

Ajax pretended to pout before laughing again, very happy with his new favorite hobby; annoying the crap out of this new and considerably grumpy companion.

"Nice to meet you Terran, My name's Ajax, but I also go by "The Most Handsome Feathered Being To Ever Live," and "Prince Charming, Emphasis on Charming" if you prefer either of those two options?" He responded with a wink.

"Aww, don't be too mad Grumpy. but I was was looking for somewhere to get a drink, if you wouldn't mind escorting me? I'm brand new to the snake kingdom so a having a guide would be wonderful if you're interested?"

"Are you a four year old," he asked, his tone genuinely serious.
It was like he would believe it if the man replied yes, and if he didn't would be doubtful that he wasn't. He picked up and aloe-vera plant, and set it down before he started to cut and remove the insides for healing purposes later on.
"So Ajax?" he said, having not listening to the rest of that ramble.
Terran was grumpy and most people would have agreed with Ajax's statement about him. Trying to get this guy to leave him alone, he regrettably decided to agree,
"Not interested, but to get to leave me be, then yes," he said, stabbing a knife into the aloe.

(do were want to go to the poison apple bar next?)

(alright, I thought I would ask, just to confirm for later on)

(should I post in our next topic?)

"I haven't met any four-year-olds as dashing as I am so most likely not." Ajax replied, his attention being interrupted as his eyes followed Terran's hands making swift work of the aloe-vera plant.
"That is my given name, yes, Terran." He responded, repeating the new name to himself and memorizing the way it sounded and felt.
"Aww, don't sound so quick to make me leave Ice Prince, I know you like me." He flirted shamelessly, just to be annoying this point since he enjoyed Terran's reactions.
He hopped off the branch, finally letting his feet touch the ground as he landed in a crouch, getting up quickly. "So! Where to?"

(Alright, I'll post at the next topic, that should be the poison apple bar)

Terran pushed open the door to the greenhouse, locking it behind him with a set of keys he had on him, he made sure the close sign was up before the led Ajax to a door at the back. Pulling it open Terran slithered up the steps, into a living room, a kitchen in one corner and three doors.
He removed the extra layer he had been wearing, only leaving him with his t-shirt, it was a little funny the way it was made. An older woman that lived near his father had used to make his clothing for him, and still did, since he would bring her fresh lavender weekly in exchange.
"Not much, but this is it," he stated.
Not to anyone surprise the entire room was organized and very clean, as he cleaned in his spare time.
"Your room is the door on the far right," "Mine is on the left, and the middle door is the washroom," he explained.

Ajax followed curiously behind him, moving out of the way quickly when he realized he was blocking Terran from locking the door. He turned his head to look around, finally getting a chance to actually look around when Terran wasn't trying to murder him for trespassing. It was almost easy to forget Ajax was half bird when he wasn't preening over himself of perching on the nearest stool-like object, but he looked starkly avian as his eyes flashed slightly in the darkness, using his night vision to gaze upon the gorgeous plants, some with magical properties that caused them to give off magical particles that Ajax was able to see with his falcon eyes.
He managed to shake himself out of it by the time
Terran led him to the very back of the greenhouse where his house was placed, and couldn't help but be very interested in the place that Terran lived in before he really saw it. Would it have many plants? Would it be colorful? Would it be mess- no, Terran was much too orderly to have a messy home. Ajax would have to be on his best behavior and remember to not leave his things everywhere if he hoped to learn more about him, which he very much intended on doing wholeheartedly.
He lugged his bag behind him with one hand and halfheartedly pushed a few strands of his long hair out his face, tired from the long day he had and remembering enough of his manners to take off his shoes at the door.
"No, I like it, and thank you... for letting me stay here with you." He was quick to respond, fully meaning it.
"Got it, I'll try not to wake you up with a rager in the middle of the night!" He chirped after Terran told him where everything was, speeding up towards the room Terran labelled as temporarily his, not wanting to get hit by Terran's tail but not being able to stop his urge to be- well, Ajax.
"Goodnight Sweetheart~~" He practically sang before closing the door, practically falling unconscious as soon as his body fell back on the bed, sleepily deciding to unpack the next day.

The small apartment space, was warm and cozy. With wood flooring and beams, the cabinets wooden as well, while the walls were either painted beige or white. Odd ornaments were specifically placed around the room, for example on the fire place, on the walls (hung properly so they wouldn't shift), and a few in the corners of the living area. Then on the window sills as Ajax had assumed there were more plants.
While he made look and act prickly on the outside, Terran could actually be quite a gentle and sincere person, it just takes him time to warm up to people.
"What does that-" he couldn't even finish his sentence when Ajax made another flirtatious remark.
He groaned internally, perhaps this was a mistake, who knew at this point.
Making himself a cup of tea before bed to easily any possibly hangover that he could get from drinking, Terran decided to turn in for the night.
Moving into his room he washed his face from any dirt that had collected during that day's work, then removed his under shirt, and slithered up onto the bed. He curled up into a coil of sorts and set the pillow on his body leading against it. Stomach and face to the ceiling with his arms crossed, as he fell asleep.

Ajax woke in the most Ajax way possible... tangled up in the blanket in the weirdest way possible face down on the floor. He groaned and stubbornly stayed in that position for a few more minutes until the ache in his wings was just too much. He slowly got up and gently stretched them, grumbling about how sore they were going to be for the rest of the day and the next if his luck was as it was normally.
Opening the door to the closet in the bedroom, Ajax looked through it, realizing with a chuckle that of course Terran didn't have pants, and set his bags inside after taking a new pair of clothes (and his leather jacket of course), grabbing a towel from the closet and getting ready in the bathroom... which he had found after wandering around aimlessly for a while, tiptoeing as to not wake Terran up.
He hated the dreadful process of waking up, but he was in fact... an early bird and rarely woke up after 6 AM most days, unless he had a good reason to sleep in. He took a breath and looked at himself in the mirror for a second, trying to smooth his ruffled wings down before applying gel to them to make sure they stayed perfect the whole day. He actually spent quite a long time in the bathroom getting ready in usual, surprising no one, and while he was every synonym of reckless and impulsive you could possibly think of, he was extremely meticulous about his appearance. Not a feather could be out of place.
On his way back to the room, he stopped by Terran's room, contemplating peering in to see if he was awake (Ajax had never done well staying alone when he knew there were others around him), but contrary to popular opinion, he did not have a death wish... Okay he did, but even he knew that it probably wasn't a good idea to mess with Terran or wake him up this early in the morning if he wasn't already awake or wasn't a morning person.
Ajax had no clue if he was, but he didn't want to screw around and find out in case he wasn't. He liked his limbs firmly attached to his torso thank you very much.

Terran who had gotten up while Ajax was finishing up in the washroom, didn't stretch and simply slithered out of bed, last of bit of his tail flopping on the group with a soft thud. He yawned, fangs and jaw unhinged, similar to how a snake would yawn; natural for a snake hybrid. Moving towards his bedroom mirror he ran his fingers back and forth through his hair, till it looked better than his bed hair. All his piercings were in place since never took them out, but he moved over to his closest and grabbed a black T-shirt. Pulling it over his head.
Now in the kitchen he had three pieces of bread toasting over a fire, two for Ajax and one for himself, jellies and jams along with butter and canned fruit were on the counter. Terran stood over the fire, cup of coffee in his hands, shoulders tight, and tail curled. He was a reptial and it took a lot to keep his body warm, it suddenly made more sense why he would be the type to have a greenhouse. Humid, warm and tropical, fitting for a snake.
While he'd been setting the bread on the fire, it had come to a bigger realization that a bird was in his house, he pinched the bridge of his nose. He hadn't been drunk last night, but clearly something other then his brain was doing the thinking for him. It wasn't appreciated, but like Ajax he was a little curious, and that was what had probably gotten Ajax to stay in his house overnight.

(Sorry I didn't see the notification until just now)

(it's a good :)

After he had changed, Ajax made his way to the source of the smell of fruit and hot bread, walking a little faster towards the delightful smell. He stopped at the doorway and smiled, waving as he greeted Terran. "Morning Gorgeous, how did you sleep?" He asked, walking inside and plopping happily down on one of the chairs.
His long hair was left down, the front pieces tucked behind his ears, but some of them always managed to slip out and lay on his face before he realized and pulled it back again, and he rested his chin on the palms of his hands, elbows on the table as he looked up at Terran.
He watched him slither around the kitchen and stole a piece of bread, taking a bite as he relaxed. Calm mornings with the smell of breakfast always had a way of keeping Ajax calm, so he just took a minute to look at Terran and see what he was doing.
Terran being interesting was an understatement to Ajax. He usually liked to talk to people, see how they functioned, what they liked and didn't like. Terran wasn't like the only introverted and snarky person he had ever been interested in learning about, but that didn't matter. He may have only known him for a day or so, but he knew that he liked being around him, especially bantering with him.
When he had to go back to the Bird Kingdom, he'd be glad he met him... even if his annoying personality got him kicked out of the house.

Looking over his shoulder, Terran nearly spat out his coffee at Ajax's comment and question. He swallowed what was in his mouth before speaking,
"Fine, yourself?" he asked, brushing off the first two words.
He didn't have a hangover which was good, not that he got them often, but when he did they were pretty nasty. Watching Ajax out of the corner of his eye as he moved around the room, he eyed the bird-hybrid's appearance, even without doing much to get ready he was still attractive. Terran ran a hand down his face, trying to clear his mind.
"Here's your toast," Terran stated, picking the two pieces for Ajax from the fire with his finger tips and setting them on a plate which he pushed over to him.
He blew on his fingers, the sudden heat being quite painful for a snake. Taking his own piece from the fire, he set down his coffee to put on jelly before taking a bite.
"Remind me again why you are here?" he asked.
Terran couldn't quite remember if they had talked about the reason Ajax was in the serpent kingdom, a place that certainly wasn't a tourist attraction for most. Or anyone really.

Ajax couldn't help but laugh at Terran's reaction, letting his arms fall back down on the table and sitting up straight to take the plate, abruptly swallowing the piece of bread he had taken before to start eating the toast with jam.
"Amazing, I somehow found myself in a handsome stranger's house and he just made me food so I'm on top of the world right now." He chirped, leaned back in his seat to eat his food.
His movements stuttered slightly when he heard the snake man's question before continuing to eat, not letting it show.
"Just traveling! You know me, I don't like to stay cooped up in one place." He responded easily, before subtly changing the subject.
"So what's the plan for today? Are we wrangling sentient plants? Ooo! Are we maybe extracting poisons or something? Is that even a thing? It should totally be a thing."

"Sure you are," "But really on top of the world?" he asked rhetorically.
He shook his head, and watched as Ajax leaned back in his seat, he could pull the chair out from under him. A flick of the tail, and it would be done, but did he have the energy to do this at this time in the morning? No, not really.
Catching the awkward and quick but short change in how Ajax moved he realized this could be a topic Ajax didn't want to talk about. Mind you it wasn't his business in the first place to be asking questions about this, so he brushed it off.
"Interest choice for a travel destination," he commented, finishing his toast and wiping the jelly off his face with the back of his hand.
While licking the jelly off the back of his hand with a thin black forked tongue, Terran listened to Ajax ramble about what he could be either joking or serious about what he would be doing that day. Part of him thought that what Ajax was talking about seemed more interesting than what he would be actually doing, but his shop wasn't that exciting.
"Sure," he shrugged, "I almost forgot those were on my list of things to do," his tone was sarcastic.

Ajax grinned goofily up at him, holding his plate on his lap while the chair legs leaned back precariously as well. "Why, do you underestimate your hosting skills Terran? Because really, I am very happy right now." He spoke, dimples showing as he caught the tempted glint in Terran's eyes.
He fully knew how easy it would be for Terran to knock him out with a single half movement of his tail. It just amused him because he knew that he wouldn't do that. Or rather, his ego was big enough to where he thought that Terran wouldn't. Not while he was holding one of his plates at the very least. He doubted that Terran would break his own things on purpose.
"Yup! I'm a Birdman of the world! You know me, I can't stay in one place unless I have a really good reason to." He responded easily, genuinely relaxing more.
Ajax rolled his eyes, brushing a stray strand hair out of his face.
"Fine, then what are we doing today?" He asked, including himself as if he hadn't even thought of the idea that he wouldn't stick to Terran like glue the whole day. Of course, he would leave if Terran preferred him to, but he much preferred hanging out with Terran than doing his actual job. Blood never managed to get out of his clothes anyways.

His brows furrowed at the comment of his hosting skills, sure they weren't the best and he could be far more welcoming, but this was the first time in at least a year that he'd hosted anyone at his place.
"Maybe I do," "Maybe I don't, but at least you're happy," he rolled his eyes.
Lifting a hand he fiddled with the piercings in his ears, till they were sitting correctly. He yawned, tilting his head down shaking his head a few times and running both hands through his white hair, looking back up at Ajax. Compared to him, Ajax looked like he was very awake and ready for the day ahead of him, Terran on the other hand looked very tired and could use a few more hours of sleep.
"Of course," he wasn't expecting what he assumed was the truth anyway, so he didn't push. "Well, I have some shopping, I need to water all the plants, trim and treat some of the ones that were given to me sick, and I have a few arrangements to make."
He slithered to his room, and came back a paper in hand, he quickly flashed it to Ajax. With a quick glance it was a list, noted on it were things needed for the shop and a few groceries.