Just Last Night

[Trillian]

His car was well known to the supernatural community now. He felt obvious in it as he made his way to the Academy, to talk to the Dean and make arrangements for his absence. Kerr had said to leave and that it wouldn't be worth it by the time he left, but he thought Kerr had underestimated Ben's ability to focus on the task.

He was preparing to go on a holiday. There was nothing to keep him here and he'd wanted to travel. He wasn't sure if he was going to go to one of Kerr's other houses in Europe and live there for a while or if they would flit from place to place, but he thought he might like to immerse himself into a culture. Maybe Italy. There was a villa Kerr kept there, he recalled.

He avoided the highways and took the back streets on the way so he could think. Kerr had suggested he come with but Ben knocked him back with insistence. Kerr could deal with Digital's issue, whatever that was. The Malkavian had started buzzing for them early that evening and insisted they talk about the frogs in the network. Who knew what that meant? Kerr was better at dealing with him so Ben fobbed it off. He also didn't want to be babysat and got the idea that Kerr had wanted to stay with him for that. Ben promised he would go to the Academy, stay there until he finished doing what he needed to do, and then come straight back.

He had no intention of doing anything else. Not until he saw the person waiting for him, standing in his reserved car parking spot. Ben had a feeling maybe he'd been spied driving his obvious turquoise car and considering he was heading East it wasn't hard to figure out where he'd been headed. As the crow flies - or the dark angel in this case - it would've been easy enough to beat him here.

Ben slowly pulled into the spot, giving Saraekiel time to move away. Ben switched off the engine and got out, leaning against the car after shutting the heavy door with a thunk and staring at the other. The familiar erotic response returned, which surprised him. Ben didn't think it would make an appearance considering how deflated he was feeling. He'd lost the election last night, after all.

"So I guess now there's no chance of fucking in the boardroom," Ben quipped. It was a sassy greeting but his heart wasn't in the delivery.

[Seragil]

He had heard the news last night of course and had immediately wanted to call Ben, no, he had wanted to see the vampire. Naturally he had fought the desire, the compulsion, the pure need. Was it love? Had he fallen in love? Maybe, what else could this obsession for another creature be but love? The thought had been enough to stop him giving into his desire last night, but the light of day had seen his resolve crumble and so had asked the Shae and her birds to keep an eye out for Ben's car once the sun had set. Once spotted it had been relatively easy to deduce where he might be heading. The flight had been quick, which was good; it gave him less time to think, less time to change his mind. He kept his wings out as he watched the car approach, the rest of him was dressed in his usual, black pants, belt and shoes. His long sleeved white shirt left was left with the top three buttons undone, allowing glimpses of copper kissed skin as he moved

He stepped out of the way as Ben drove into his parking space, a wave of relief washed over the dark angel when he realized that Ben was alone, he had half expected Ben to be accompanied by Kerr, the ex ruler of the city, the failed leader of the oppressive and thankfully dead Oligarchy.

His watched as Ben got out of his car, the sight of the vampire caused a tightening in his stomach, a visceral punch of desire that caused his body to tremble from the hunger and need of it. His step was slow and sensual, full of a predatory grace as he walked towards Ben, a slow smile curling his lips upwards in greeting, although his eyes held sorrow and regret for his political loss. Internally he didn't overly care who won or retained the council seat of Central.In fact it was probably in his best interest that Jake had won Jake had done nothing but gain the councils ire and the whole election thing had done nothing to lessen that, in fact it had caused it to grow. Ben would have been a power and influence within the Council that would have been hard to stand against, and the changes he had wanted to achieve were not in Saraekiels best interest. Jake? Jake had an uphill battle to gain any favour with anything he wanted to do.

His mind however was filled with nothing but the image of Ben standing before him as he stopped just in front of the vampire and his voice was soft and tinged with regret as he spoke.

"Oh I don't know, the boardroom is in need of some fun and excitement within its walls, now more so then ever before." he raised his hand towards Ben's face as if he were going to stroke it those amazing cheek bones. " I am so sorry Ben, I know how much you wanted to win. The seat should have been yours." he said with a touch of heat and anger in his tone.

[Trillian]

Ben breathed soft laughter at Saraekiel's words, an amusement he did not feel. He crossed his sneakered feet at the ankles, wearing a casual outfit of jeans and an olive drab tee.

"Don't say sorry," he said, his voice low. "You know I would've brought back the Oligarchy. I would've done my best to take over other districts towards that purpose. The first step was to arm the Ward to the teeth and make them a force in other districts, and to ally myself with them early. And you... I would've tried to influence you any way that I could, using any advantage I had available to me," he said, shrugging. There was no point hiding this plan from the dark angel. It wasn't much of a secret. Saraekiel would've guessed it, or even if he hadn't, it didn't matter. Those plans had turned into smoke and ash.

"It's all gone now, Rae, in the hands of an idiot. Better for you."

His words were bitter but his expression didn't change. He watched Saraekiel closely, to see if his words would change anything between them. He didn't think it would.

[Seragil]

His smiled slowly with dark humour and desire both when Ben finished speaking. he loved the honesty, plans made bare. "You told me about you're Oligarchy plans the night you and Kerr visited me" He said softly almost conspiratorially. He stroked his fingers along Ben's arm lightly,luxuriating in the contact, his body almost humming as he brushed his fingers against Ben's unusual cold skin. He plucked playfully at sleeve cuff of the drab coloured tee before he lifted his gaze from his trailing fingers to Ben's stunning mercurial blue ones. He hated the shirt, the colour was ugly and did nothing for Ben's stunning beauty, if they were alone he would have done to it what he had to Ben's pants that night so many months ago. Had it really been that long ago. How quickly time flies, even for the timeless. 

His eyes searched Ben's, for what he wasn't sure as he continued to speak. Honesty for honesty. "I figured you planned to dissolve the districts with your mention of surrounding yourself with specie specific advisors. You might even has succeeded to gain a few but they wouldn't have kept their new positions long." He admitted with a small shrug of his shoulders, their planned deaths clear in his storm coloured eyes. "As for the Ward, I planned to steal them from you with the promise of freedom, position and power." he smiled sharply with dark humour. "I still intend to steal them actually and I was very much looking forward to our bedroom maneuverings." He stepped back slightly a serious look in his eyes and tone. " I am sorry Ben I was seriously looking forward to having you as a District leader. It would have been fun and challenging to both work with and against you. Jake is a common thug and despot, Zeus and Zoheret are self absorbed and only interested in playing with themselves unless you shove their face in a problem or you poke them with a stick, like bear baiting. Charon only cares about his clan and vampire advancement as for Sabrina." he shrugged again. "The council is once again dull and boring.Better for me yes, but no were near as much fun as it could have been, should have been."

He studied Ben's face in return to see how he would now react. Would he walk away now?

"It doesn't have to be all gone Ben. This was your time and it has been stolen from you, by a thug and his few supporters." he raised an eyebrow. Was Ben so willing to walk away from it all? To let it all go?. He flicked looked in the direction of the academy then back to Ben. Why had he come here tonight so soon after the announcement of his failure at beating Jake McCloud. "What do you plan to do now?" He asked with genuine curiosity.

[Trillian]

His opinion was that Saraekiel couldn't corrupt the Ward. It had been designed by a righteous man - Conner - and then taken over by Ben early on and moulded in his plan of what a self-governed force should look like. They weren't in his pocket because he didn't want it that way, but the Ward certainly owed him many favours that he wouldn't dare call on. It was that lack of taking that made them loyal to him. He didn't want to test that loyalty until he needed it at a very particular crunch time because he knew that the favour would come only once. Like the Academy, he'd seeded the Ward with people who followed his vision. There were rumours his donations put them in his pocket but it was less straight-forward than that and a lot more difficult to weed away from him as a result. He'd built the Academy in much the same way. To work without him.

And now came Saraekiel's support - as hollow as the city's desire for change - along with that question, the one that made Ben want to cringe inside. He puffed more laughter instead; a scoffing, mirthless thing.

"Leave?" he asked, because deep down he didn't want to. Untrue. He both did and didn't. "I'm here to sign off on some things, to give the Dean his remaining administrative power while I'm away." He glanced at the building and then back at Saraekiel, his gaze fixed on the smoulder of the corrupt being before him. "What do you want... Rae?" It was challenging but it wasn't hostile. "A partner in crime? Because I'll help you rule the north, if that's what you want."

Knowing that it would never happen in a million years, Ben smiled.

[Seragil]

He tilted head as he gazed at Ben. weighting what he had said, what he had offered, what he had asked. How honest should he be, did Ben want him to be? "I want what I have always wanted, the only thing I have ever wanted. My freedom, my freedom and the power that is my natural birthright. Can you give me that Ben?" He asked the vampire in all seriousness. "Can you break my bonds? Set me free while ensuring the cost isn't that which makes me all that I am? " He asked with a quiet and sincere passion. His smile when it came was sharp and filled with dark resignation. "No, I doubt even you, with all your cunning, ambition and intelligence, and eventual power, could achieve that which all my kind, light or dark have striven for and failed to accomplish since the instance of our creation."

He closed his eyes and sucked in a lungful of air then expelled it in a loud and heavy sigh, opening his eyes as he did so. Ben wasn't interested in such a fundamentally personal truth and he felt embarrassed for admitting his deepest desire. "Freedom is a pipe dream anyway. nobody and nothing is every really free. " He smiled and shrugged his shoulders. " You I think understand that more than most. As for ruling with me." This time he smiled earnestly. "As much as I am tempted by the idea, and I am; we both know you would end up working behind my back to take the North from me. Your ambition, thirst for power and freedom for yourself is now too strong for you to place yourself beneath others now, not without you coming to resent them in the end anyway. And I don’t want you to resent me.” He said honestly and meant it.


“I can understand why you want to leave Ben and maybe it’s a good idea, a chance to clear your head, reassess and make new plans.” He stepped in closer again and looked down at the vampire. He couldn’t deny his desire for him any longer and didn’t want to. He breached the distance between them with his hand and stroked Ben's cheek. “Don’t stay away too long though.” He said softly before dropping his hand away. “Because what I want besides my freedom, is you.”

[Trillian]

When Saraekiel spoke of his bonds and that Ben wouldn't be able to break them, he frowned, unsure what the dark angel was even requiring from him. When it was clear that the request was so grand that all angels and dark angels for all of time hadn't solved the problem, he'd almost coughed a laugh and prepared to say something off the cuff like 'yeah, that's a big ask'.

But he held back. He held back because there was something beneath the words that he didn't think was the dark angel being coy and flippant. Saraekiel could throw out some whoppers at inappropriate moments and Ben suspected that this was one of them. Not an inappropriate moment at this point but certainly not anything said in vain.

Ben's smile returned and twitched at the accusation he'd work behind Saraekiel's back. In a way it was hurtful and frustrating because he probably wouldn't start off that way, legitimately wanting to be a good leader... but he knew that he would eventually think that Saraekiel was doing it wrong. Fuck, he thought Charon was doing it wrong. None were as wrong as Jake, but nobody was really doing anything with their districts except to ignore it or use it to advance themselves.

When Saraekiel also mentioned it was good for Ben to leave, clear his head, effectively agreeing with Kerr that running away was the best solution, it brought out Ben's anger. His expression cooled, his body language shifted and he uncrossed his feet and lifted his chin, assessing the dark angel as he admitted he wanted Ben.

A weakness, then.

"You want me but you offer me nothing," he said.

[Seragil]

He narrowed his eyes at Ben's sudden change in demeanor and the up-swelling of anger that burst through him. had it been there this entire time? merely buried, suppressed? Why? He would have been pissed in Ben's position too and he would have let that anger free not bury it, then again, he wouldn't have tried to achieve his goals through such a democratic way. Hell that system didn't even work for the humans.

"You ask that with such anger on your tongue Ben" he raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Does my desire for you anger you so?" He smiled darkly as he placed the tips of his first and second finger just above Ben's heart, right where he had marked him with his lips. "You didn't seen to require payment when last we were alone, in fact, I would say we both burned and melted with out mutual desire. Now you say if I want my desire for you returned, I must first purchase it?" Anger of his own raised within him, along with frustration caused by the...need he had for this vampire." How quaint and basic. Since you wish to place a price upon yourself Mr Samson, What do you require as payment? Let us see if you are worth the asking of it"

[Trillian]

Wordy. Saraekiel was a wordy guy. He'd been confused by the dark angel's long-winded speeches on multiple occasions, misunderstanding him almost every time. He'd thought he'd been propositioned the first time they'd met, at Lazarus' bullshit trial. He'd been blindsided by it at the District Leader meeting. He'd struggled to understand the dark angel's point when he and Kerr had visited him at his headquarters, but he had learnt that the attraction was mutual and it had planted a seed he'd later explored. After sex they'd chatted and Rae's way of over-talking the simplest of points had amused Ben. Now he found himself impatient with it.

Ben waited him out until all his points were made because it was just easier that way, and then addressed them in the order they were said. He'd made mental points while listening. He spoke fast and furiously, unleashing on Saraekiel because he was here at the right place and right time. He gripped Rae's wrist so he could hold it slightly away from his chest, not wanting to risk being burnt a second time, this time in retribution rather than lust.

"Your desire for me didn't piss me off. You want me to leave, just like Kerr does, but he gets to come with me and you don't, so you shouldn't want me to go. I wouldn't want you to if our positions were reversed. You're a dark angel, you're supposed to be fucking selfish. As for my price..." he said, spitting out the word because Rae had implied Ben was one of the two things he wanted. Ben's hand released Rae's wrist and both hands moved to press flat on the dark angel's chest to feel his heartbeat but also to act as a barrier between them, albeit an intimate one. He looked up into Rae's eyes, the intense heat of their attraction making him forget that he  really didn't have any influence over the dark angel other than being a plaything of curious appeal, "it depends what you want from me, and you never really answered."

[Seragil]

His words stopped him as understanding of what Ben was saying and asking finally sunk in. He was so use to people trying to play him, to manipulate him, to manoeuvre him. He had assumed that was what Ben was about as well, was all Ben had been about. To use what ever this was that was between them and just use him, to bind him and make him nothing more than his exotic plaything. He had never truly thought Ben might actually want him. The truth was he was often confused by Ben almost as much as he was by what he felt for him.

A thrill of pleasure zipped through him as Ben manhandled him, pushed against him both with his body and his righteous anger.

"Want you to leave?" He asked with a touch of exasperation in his voice as he pushed back against Ben hands upon his chest, moving into him till his legs were pressed against Ben's. He banged his his hands on either side of Ben with enough force to rock the car, trapping Ben between it and his body as he burned with anger, frustration and desire, all of it caused by the maddening creature before him. "I have never wanted you to leave. Not once. Of course I want you to stay, but I am a prideful creature and I don't like the idea that I am not enough to keep you here."

He leaned in closer, so that there bodies were a mere breath apart and looked down at their bodies, oh so close together. Ben's hands on his chest appearing more like a caress now rather then the restraint that they were. Saraekiel liked the feeling of it though, the feeling Ben's hands on him, of Ben pressing against him, pushing against him. When he lifted his gaze back to Ben's face his eyes smouldered with heat and memories. He wanted more than just Ben's body, just a fuck, he wanted to be more than just a fuck and that too was in his eyes, his voice.

"I want you to want me, to want me to be apart of your life, to be in your life, to be in and apart of mine. Is that answer enough, Ben?" He leaned away slightly, his voice rugged and uneven, giving them both some breathing room as he tried to gain a little composure. "Stay. Stay here with me."

He knew he wouldn't. Choose him, stay with him. He smiled and waited for the rejection.

[Trillian]

The emotion that went with Saraekiel's words implied too much but they'd also gone in the direction that Ben had wanted. He'd half expected Rae to laugh at him but instead he'd been pinned by a hard body that had no secrets about how keen he was for Ben. He slid his hands up from Saraekiel's chest and linked fingers at his nape, effectively pulling him down. Ben tilted his head for the kiss and soon he was refamiliarising himself with Saraekiel's mouth and tongue and taste. The kiss broke for Rae to breathe and for Ben to listen to his heart hammering in his chest.

"I really wish you hadn't pissed him off," Ben said softly, the words intended for himself but also for Saraekiel to overhear. No point wishing about it though, it was done. Kerr coming around on Saraekiel was much like Ben coming around on Jake. Especially after Ben had been marked. "To stay with you means leaving Kerr and I won't do that, not ever again. I died inside when I thought he was dead. That can't ever happen," Ben said, giving Rae a warning look. "I will make time for you because I want to explore whatever this is, but if Kerr is hurt or dies this is over."

[Seragil]

He leaned into Ben's kiss, a tension he hadn't even known he was holding eased out of him as he pulled Ben in closer still, their bodies tight against one another. When Ben pulled away so he could breath he couldn't help but smile. This was the answer he had been hoping for.

His elation fell at Ben's words however. Although the last statement caused his lips to twitch. he hadn't planned on harming Kerr, although the idea wasn't unappealing either. How had he pissed Kerr off anyway? By sleeping with Ben? By all reports it wasn't like they were having a monogamous relationship anyway.

Fuck Kerr, he didn't owe that vampire anything.

"Expecting you to leave Kerr would only kill what is between us. I know that, you have made it very clear how much he means to you." Like announcing it in front of everyone at the carnival. "Not that I would have been disappointed if you had left him for me." He added with a small smile. " I am happy to accept Kerr as your number one, as long as I am your number two. Full time, live in relationships don't really work for me anyway, to be honest" He leaned back against the car and gave Ben a discerning look. " Is Kerr going to allow you to have an open or polly relationship with me? Or is this going to cause problems?" Not that he cared overly much about Kerr's problems. "I can't guarantee Kerr's safety however. I'm not his bodyguard and have no intentions of becoming so." His lips twitched with amusement,giving away that he knew what Ben meant. "Very well. as long as Kerr makes no moves against me or threatens me or tries to harm me or mine. I will do the same." He narrowed his eyes slightly. "Is that enough?" He would keep his word but there was no way he would let himself become an open target for Kerr either.

[Trillian]

Ben's lips curled into a broad smile, a small clue at the relief that flooded through his body. If anything happened to Kerr because of one of his trysts outside their relationship, then he would suffer for eternity, if he lasted that long.

"It's enough," Ben agreed. He turned, leaning on his car on his side so he could look at Saraekiel directly. Again he felt that surge of attraction, of wanting to rub himself all over the dark angel's body like a cat in heat. Those wings excited him as well, and he remembered touching them, and he remembered what they'd been doing when he'd first touched them. It fed his lust enough to have him lick his lips, wetting them at the memory and wanting to wrap himself around Saraekiel once more. This man, this creature, he tapped into Ben's sexual magnetism in a way that tested Ben's self control. Kerr had uttered warnings of corruption and bad decisions. Ben had blown them off. But here Saraekiel was, and Ben wanted him.

"Did you ever get to look around inside the Academy?" Ben asked, knowing that Saraekiel would recognise his thirsty expression because he'd seen it before when they'd spent hours pleasuring one another. "You don't need to put your wings away, in there. Unless you have somewhere else you need to be," he added, his tone suggesting he hoped Saraekiel wouldn't leave.

[Seragil]

"No, I have nowhere else I need to be." He replied with a slow smile. He didn't even bother looking towards the Academy as he tugged Ben to him by the waistband of his jeans and kissed him. His hands sliding slowly over that truly ugly tee to curl around Ben's nape, his fingers along the back of his skull and through his hair as he savoured Ben's mouth, drowning in the feel of him pressed up against him, in the copper tinged scent of him as he moved from his mouth to his throat, the sensation of Ben's cool skin beneath his hot mouth driving him almost over the edge..

When he pulled away, gasping for breath, his eyes smouldered with a heat only Ben seemed to bring out in him, his body just as hot, hard and eager.

"Show me the Academy." He said with a slow smile as he phased his wings out."Walking with my wings out is a drag, literally." He said in way of explanation.

This was easier, lust was easy, uncomplicated. he could handle and deal with lust. The full complexity that he felt for Ben unnerved him, confused him. Had he really just entered into some kind of a relationship, and with a vampire no less? It was too much, he pushed it aside and focused on the easy stuff.

[Trillian]

(ooc: so sorry I missed this here!)


Ben shrugged his disappointment when Rae made his wings go away, pretending he didn't care as much as he did. Still, it would probably attract less attention. All he was doing was showing the District Leader of the North around the Academy without his wings out. Maybe he could talk Saraekiel into something Academy related. Flying lessons, perhaps?

He chuckled breathy laughter at his own idiot thoughts before shoving his hands into his pockets and gesturing with his head for Rae to walk with him. He thought about the areas of the Academy that were off-limits to students and also the rooms that had locks on the door. Not that he was planning on getting it on with Saraekiel but... fuck it, yes he was. The dark angel's presence always made him thirsty for sex.

Ben walked with Rae through the front doors. There were a couple of students in the library to his right, he could sense them and their heartbeats. A few were in the dorms. There was one class being held presently and the rest of the classes were empty.

"This is the library. It's got a small portion of the books that used to be at the Chambers. I was more selective about what went onto those shelves. You never saw the Oligarchy library, did you?" Ben asked. He remembered the way the staircase in the centre revolved around a pillar resembling a giant tree trunk in the middle of the room. Currently, all of its shelves were empty and the furniture was covered in white cloth with a fine sheen of dust over everything. It looked like a haunted house.

Ben moved towards the stairs that took them to the basement levels. Nobody was down there.

"I'll take you underground before we visit the gardens," he said, and started down the stairs.

[Seragil]

He followed Ben into the academy with some curiosity. As attracted as he was to Ben the vampire was still an enigma to him, he knew very little about him; like what made him want to open the academy to begin with? Had it been boredom, A foundation to gain power? It would be interesting to see the place for himself. The last time he had been here was for the opening and although his visit at the time had been brief, the crowd that day had proven there was definite interest in Benjamen Samson's community creation. Saraekiel wondered though as he looked around the library what the supernatural species ratio was for the students. When he had first heard of the academy and spied upon its construction he had dubbed the place Vampire High. It would be interesting to see if he had been right in his assumptions.

He loved books, the knowledge and therefore the power they contained fascinated him, especially the esoteric kind. If the library contained but a small and selective portion of the Oligarchy library then he was truly sorry to have never seen it, though in truth he doubted he would have been allowed to wander freely through its hallowed halls anyway. A truly hoarded treasure it would have been, it's secrets only divulged after a hefty price paid and with chains attached for the privilege.

"No, I never saw the Oligarchy library," he said with a small amused smile as he continued to follow Ben. As interesting as the academy was his true interest was in the vampire beside him. " I hear its collection was extensive, to say the least."

He shivered slightly with unease as Ben led him down underground. he hated it, there was no air, no sky and why the fuck did the walls seem to be closing in around him.. "What, what happened to the library, where are all the books now since the chambers are empty?" His voice hitched ever so slightly as he spoke and although he was curious about the answer, he mainly asked so as to keep up the conversation and to distract himself from the continuous descent into the tomb below.

[Trillian]

"We have rooms down here for two reasons, weres and vamps. The walls and doors are metal but look like normal plaster and wood. One lot of rooms lock from the outside, the other from the inside." Ben smirked at the dark angel beside him, aware of his discomfort and pleased that he'd come into the basement level with him anyway.

They walked through the part of the corridor that had werewolf safe rooms on each side - the kind that locked from the outside and heading away from the small server room (that Digital operated on his own but he had remote access to it from the Luminary, so he was only here when something physical needed doing). Down here was the Academy security office as well, where the closed-circuit security cameras kept tabs on all the common areas. Ben gestured for Saraekiel to enter one the uninhabited saferooms to look at the existing furniture. Typical dorm-supplied stuff just like in the actual dorm rooms on the west side of campus. A single bed, a desk and chair, a wardrobe. No windows and only the door they'd come through. Ben stayed near the door, his hand on the outer lock, a submarine style where the handle in the unlock position had to be turned up and over in a half-circle where it was locked on the other side.

[Seragil]

Saraekiel walked besid Ben, his discomfort growing with each step. The tiny rooms horrified him, they were pretty prison cells, no more then oversized coffins really, hell even the room he had Tess hidden away in had more space then this. A shudder of unease trilled coldly down his spine, his wings ruffling from the sensation as Ben held the door open, his cold hands clasped tightly to the door. Did the vamp expect him to enter the room? Not fucking lightly. he may not be a spell slinging powerhouse but even he had felt the warding spell around the building, if he became locked in down here there would be no escape.

He took a step away from the door and looked at Ben with a not quite friendly look in his eyes, his ardour quickly cooling buried as he was beneath the ground. " Underground rooms for vampire students makes sense but why build the were cells right next door?" If the intent was to study and experiment on them than it made perfect sense. He on the other hand, wouldn't be taking one step inside them. "Why not build them above ground and with spelled reinforced windows? Surely the academy grounds are isolated and expansive enough to accommodate such amenities."

[Trillian]

Ben eyed Saraekiel as he took a retreating step back. Disappointment coursed through his body that he wasn't trusted. Of course he wouldn't be, but this was a cold splash of water to his face. A realisation that woke him up from the fantasy he was trying to capture with the dark angel. The other man was Mood (tm). Ben had wanted to drink him in. Literally.

Now they were just squaring off. It put a damper on Ben's desire, enough to have him turn his head and look inside the room without really seeing it. His hand dropped from the door and he looked back at the dark angel. He tried to remember what they'd experienced at Saraekiel's headquarters that night when he felt the familiar attraction, but this time it lacked potency.

"The Academy isn't isolated, it's surrounded by government-protected forestry that a few bribes let me slice up a small portion of land to build this place on. And it's far from expansive. I can only house forty students in these dorms. We were at full capacity when Jake took the west and I had a lot of homeless and scared demons. Now he thinks he's worthy as a leader because people are too fucking stupid." Ben's gaze bored into Saraekiel, the intensity of his hatred for what had happened finally barrelling out of him. "And I was wrong. This proves how fucking wrong I was. The idiots Jake rules over don't deserve to choose who their leader is. I chose democracy because I thought it was fair, and I tried to make it simpler but the whole fucking human system is flawed. Look who the humans voted in for the current president. Look who the supernaturals put in charge of Central. They're both babies who can't see how fucking impotent they are as leaders because they're too busy grandstanding for the ignorant masses."

Ben swept his arm extravagantly even though there was only empty corridor to look at.

"And you don't trust me either. I ignored everything everyone ever told me about you so I could be with you for at least one night. It cost me a lot of grief and I was prepared to pay that price before I even knew what it was. And here you are, coming to me making grand statements about what we could be to one another but I have nothing from you to prove I'm worth anything to you."

He didn't care about the room, really. There was more he wanted.

[Seragil]

He didn't care about the academy, or the rooms, or the weres. He just wanted to feel the air on his face and through his wings, he wanted the walls to stop pushing in on him, pinning him, trapping him. Ben's words helped him to focus, his anger, warm and thick as it beat against him, helped even more. He took a step towards Ben, then another until their bodies were almost pressed up against each other.

"Trust?" He asked as he slammed the door behind Ben closed and backed him up until Ben's back was pressed up against it. He kept demanding more, to be given more, shown more, yet he offered little to nothing of himself in return.  "Do you think I would follow just anyone underground, trust anyone enough? I feel buried alive down here, like I’m encased in a crypt." He said as he pressed up against Ben, he was angry yes, but not just at Ben, he was also angry at himself for feeling so vulnerable, so weak, for feeling out of control because of the situation instead of being in control. Being this close to Ben helped to distract him from where he was but also confused and frustrated him in an entirely different way.

He ran his hands up over Ben's stomach and chest, his hands hard and firm as they glided over him. If he gave Ben all his focus, concentrated on only him and blocked everything else out he could ignore where he was, gain control over his unease, his need to escape, the need to get out at any and all costs. He traced his hands along Ben's shoulders then down his arm, memories of undressing him like this back in his office filled his mind and he almost smiled as he  slowly drew Ben’s arms up above his head, pinning them there, his eyes hot and almost predatory as he looked into Ben's eyes, focusing on them, on him, on his body instead of the walls behind him, behind them, above them, around them. He swallowed audibly, his back quivering as another shiver raised goose bumps along his spine as his attention wavered. His tongue flicked minutely over his lips as he licked them. "Each step down here was like a little death." He confessed quietly as he leaned his face in, his lips hovering a hairs breadth away from Ben's. "The walls press in upon me, they trap and squash me. I am a creature of air and fire, Ben; of open skies and endless horizons. I do not do well when enclosed or underground" He admitted with the barest moan of despair and fear before he captured those cool lips with his feverish like ones, capturing and sipping those irresistible and cool lips, his tongue slipping past them to delve and taste Ben. his hands continuing to hold his arms pinned above his head with enough force so Ben could feel his strength but not enough so that he couldn't pull away and push him off if he wanted or needed to. He was talking too much, confessing too much, giving too much away, but he felt undone on so many levels.

He moved on from Ben's mouth and made his way down to Ben's nape, his lips delicately kissing and tasting  Ben’s skin as he traced his way down his throat. He drew upon Ben's anger and wrapped it around himself like a cuddle blanket, his breath warm against Ben's neck as he breathed him in. His unique slightly coppery scent easing him even more as he whispered against his skin. "I like your anger, you should let it out more, use it instead of banking and burying it. Channel it to destroy Jake and his allies if that is something that interests you."

[Trillian]

Ben didn't expect to be pushed into the room, the door closed and with Saraekiel upon him. The familiar excitement and interest returned with the sexual attraction for the dark angel. When Ben had first laid eyes on him at Penbrook he remembered admiring his golden skin and his unusual looks, already finding him magnetic but the timing had been all wrong then. It was all wrong the second time they'd got together at the courthouse. The third time had created Kerr's strike against him so that had turned out terribly, and of course the fourth when they'd got naked and fucked for hours, testing out different positions until they were spent.

This was bad, too. He knew bringing Saraekiel down here to fuck was bad. He was also feeding the dark angel in a way that he hadn't last time - with his rage. Rae was aroused by it and it had the roll-on effect of having Ben aroused by him.

"I can't destroy him," he panted, suddenly breathless, which was quite a feat for a creature that didn't need to draw breath. He chalked it up to overwhelming desire. Using his shoulders for leverage against the door, he thrust his hips forward, grinding up against Rae as best he could. "I'm too young, he's surrounded by an army, and everyone would think it was me. I would need the ultimate alibi." He ground against Saraekiel some more, then said what he'd fantasised about on his drive over here. "Like if someone got to him in the daytime. You know about the ring, right?"

The ring that Ben knew about it because he'd had the pages on it. He'd sent only one of the two pages to Sabrina. Jake might have discovered the other abilities by now, but he doubted it.

[Seragil]

Saraekiel growled, the sound low and animalistic with lust and desire as Ben thrust against him, grinding against the hard and throbbing erection that was strapped within his pants, begging for release. The fact he could fade everything else out by drowning his awareness in Ben's presence should have worried him, would have worried him had he been thinking clearly, but it was either loose himself in Ben or the tiny room around them. He didn't care whether what they were doing was good or bad, or how it would effect him politically, Ben had captured his fascination since the moment he saw him at Penbrook and each meeting hence had only made that pull even stronger, culminating into the night at his office which turned the fascination into an addiction like a future junkie getting their first shot of heroine. He was bordering on obsession.

He pinned Ben against the wall with his lower body, Ben's hard and eager cock pressing into him, grinding against him as Saraekiel tugged and rolled Ben's tee shirt up and over his exotically beautiful pale body, releasing his pinned arms as he tossed the bunched up piece of cloth onto the floor.

He stopped what he was doing and took a moment to gaze down at Ben's half naked body and smiled slowly with appreciation, Ben's words swirling in his mind, giving him ideas, plans forming and dissipating as he looked down at that gorgeous pale bodyy. Ben was beautiful and he told him so as he slowly ran his hands over Ben's stomach and chest, his thumb nails flicking and teasing Ben's nipples till they were hard stiff little nubs.  He moved down Ben's body till his mouth was resting on that tiny strip of hair that slipped beneath Ben's belt and pants. He lifted his face and smiled slowly up at Ben with lust filled eyes before kissing and nibbling his way back up his body, his hands and fingers keeping time with his mouth as they slid and swirled their way up to Bens crotch.

"You mean the ring..." he placed his lips above Ben's navel and pulled the cool tight skin into his mouth, grabbing and biting slightly into the flesh before releasing it, his mouth and lips once again gentle as he kissed his way up a little higher. "That allows him to strut..." he bit Ben again, a little harder this time, his mouth and tongue sucking and licking the trapped bit of skin before releasing again. He loved the difference between their body temperature, his heat against Ben's coolness. he breathed against the agitated skin, his lips and tongue tracing and teasing the quickly healing mark before he slowly started moving upwards again "around in the daylight..." he flicked his tongue against Ben's nipple and puckered skin "Like a self satisfied preening sunflower?" He asked before turning his attention to the other nipple, the fingers of his right hand dancing over and teasing Ben's cock through his pants, his other hand sliding up and behind Ben's back till it came to rest at the back of his neck, pulling him even tighter against Saraekiel as the Dark Angel lifted his mouth to Bens neck.

"It makes his stronger some how too." he said softly against his skin, his mouth and lips playing with Bens earlobe and the sensitive skin behind it, remembering how it had made Ben squirm in pleasure last time. "We should take it from him." he said ever so softly into Bens ear

[Trillian]

Ben laughed and gasped, titillated by Saraekiel's attention on his denim-clad crotch and then upon his chest. He grunted and moaned, his own hands caressing or scratching where he knew Rae enjoyed. The conversation wasn't that difficult to follow but the information was super important and he didn't want to leave anything out.

"I know more about the ring than he does," Ben said, thrusting against Rae, his hands undoing the dark angel's pants as he spoke. "I know that when he wears it in the daytime he's vulnerable. He can't use his powers, can't take it off when he's in the sun, can't walk around in public with that ridiculous fucking sword..." he said. He had Rae's pants undone by this stage and snuck a cool hand in, bypassing his underwear by slipping fingers past that elastic as well and then he gripped Saraekiel's steel rod, massaging it in his palm and running fingers and thumb along it. "All he'll have left is his physical vampire powers and if he's flanked, he's screwed."

Ben licked his lips and then licked Saraekiel's, inserting his tongue into the dark angel's mouth with gradual aggression. "Fuck him," Ben said, his brows drawing into a frown as he stroked Saraekiel inside of his pants still. "But only after you fuck me," he added, gritting his teeth in a way that his fangs showed, almost sneering because he was hot with desire for this man. The attraction was as intense as ever, rocketing straight into his groin and making him primal for sex. "I want to feel every inch of you," he pleaded.

[Seragil]

He took their lust and wrapped it around them both like a cloud of warm honeyed toffee and drowned them both in it, feeding it back to them, stroking it high and higher till it consumed them. Saraekiel stopped talking, stopped thinking and did exactly what they both wanted, and fucked Ben, giving him all that he wanted, taking all that he needed. He took Ben against the wall, the bed, the floor; over and over again till the room was destroyed and they lay all akimbo one the floor, drained, wrecked, and totally satiated.

Saraekiel laid on his side atop the mattress amidst the ruin of the bed, Ben was beside him, his head resting on Saraekiel's arm as the dark angel languidly traced his fingers around the edges of the mark on his chest, his midnight black wings cocooning them like a blanket.

Now that his mind was unclouded Saraekiel returned to their conversation. “Does the ring still protect him in sunlight though? Prevent anyone from messing with his mind? his emotions?” He was thinking of the Gorgons and their ability to permanently wipe someone’s memory. The idea of Jake wondering around with no memory or conception of who he was, was very amusing to say the least. He placed his finger under Ben's chin and turned his face towards him, his dark nature gleaming from within his storm coloured eyes. "Do you want him dead or fucked and broken?"

[Trillian]

With the lust in him satiated, Ben found himself frowning against Saraekiel's chest. The questions about the ring distracted him from his spiralling thoughts. "The ring is the reason why he can be out in the sun," Ben explained. "And it blocks mental powers which means it also blocks both his and anyone else's. Outgoing and incoming. He can't take the ring off in sunlight when it's the only thing preventing him from being burnt to a crisp," he said. He felt like he was repeating himself but perhaps Saraekiel had been more interested in undressing him than hearing what he had to say. He would have to converse with him after sex from now on, instead of before.

The last question was so confronting that his muscles tensed and he was at a loss for words. Saraekiel would see the hesitation in his eyes. Dead? Fucked and broken? No, no. He was just sharing information. That was all. He shied away from his own mental scoff because he knew.

He knew.

"You've said you don't like anyone telling you what to do," Ben reminded. "What you do with the information I give you is your decision."

He knew the dark angel would see through his words but he didn't care. In the end it would be Saraekiel's actions, not Ben's, if anything happened to Jake.

[Seragil]

He laughed softly and gazed speculatively at Ben as he made slow lazy swirls with his fingertips over his chest. “You would attempt to use me as your proxy?” He asked with a touch of amusement and a slight raise of his eyebrow. “Why do you step back from the precipice?” He asked with soft curiosity. “Is not Jake your enemy?

The information about the ring was interesting and gave him some ideas for when Jake became more of a threat, right now though he was but a nuisance and a prat. Saraekiel was interested however in seeing how far Ben was willing to go to satiate his anger and frustration towards the Brat Prince. How far down the rabbit hole was he willing to go?

[Trillian]

Ben was quiet when Rae asked him about a position of proxy. He pressed his lips together, unwilling to agree that it would be perfect if Jake died at someone else's hand. Ben had no idea how Jake had survived for so long anyway; he'd heard the rumours of the many wars he'd been in. He'd even dragged Kerr and Digital into one.

Ben waited until Rae spoke all of his questions and after a short moment, he rolled them together into an answer that suited them all.

"Jake has lots of enemies," Ben said. "And he's responsible for the deaths of many. If someone like him died, it would be justice coming to balance the scales. It doesn't matter who does it but I thought you would like to. I haven't killed anyone yet and I don't want him to be my first. It's not an honour I wish to give him." Ben stared intensely at the dark angel. "And wouldn't it change me, if I took his life? Wouldn't it corrupt me in some way, if I was to become a murderer? You might not find me as shiny and sexy."

Unless that was what Saraekiel wanted in the first place; to corrupt him, just as Kerr had warned.

[Seragil]

He listened to what Ben said and sighed softly. " I am not a creature of justice, balancing scales is not what I am about, unless they are tipped against me." He nibbled his lip slightly and pulled away from Ben. He had wanted the little upstart dead after the West invasion, but only because it looked like Jake was trying to claim the city as his own, and everyone in it. Things had progressed and changed since then. He looked out at Ben through narrowed eyes. Did he want to kill Jake for Ben? To please Ben? It would certainly put the city and its vampires in a tail spin if he pulled it of...and the ring was a nice piece of loot too. "I'm not saying no, and it's definitely an idea I've played with before." He offered a small shrug of his shoulders and let the subject go. "And yes killing someone changes you." He looked around the room for his pants and shirt, the after glow was wearing off and the room was shrinking in around him again.

He moved his body, stretching over and across Ben to retrieve his shirt, as he puled it towards him he looked down at Ben and unable to resist, he leaned his face down and kissed him. " I don't know about corruption, but when you do decide to kill someone, make sure it's in self defense of yourself or those you love, or that it's someone you have decided are a true enemy. If they embody all those threats even better." He said as he once again pulled away and grabbed his pants. "Apparently that will help lessen the guilt or trauma or some such." Personalty he didn't get it. His kind; no matter the colour of their wings, were created for war and to kill. he may not do it willynilly but he didn't agonize over it either. Vampires were different in that regard apparently.

Seeing Ben's slightly wide eyed look he smiled and gave his naked leg a little slap. "Get dressed, the walls are starting to close in on me again, and I want to see this garden you promised me." he said as he wiggled into his pants.

[Trillian]

Irritation stole through him at Rae's initial words before he was settled by the dark angel's admittance that he wasn't refusing. It would be stupid to let that knowledge and opportunity go to waste. He thought of how Kerr viewed Saraekiel; that he was too stupid to be able to manage anything properly. Ben didn't think Saraekiel was stupid but he did think that the dark angel was apathetic to what was going on around him. It came off as stupid because his passions were shown to be against everything he and Kerr believed in. No, wait, everything Kerr believed in that Ben used to believe in.

He didn't believe in anything fair or just anymore. He understood now that there were simply actions and consequences.

When Saraekiel lectured him on the morality of taking a life and how to ensure he didn't corrupt himself when doing it, Ben chuckled to himself. "Naw, are you worried about me, Rae? Scared I'll turn into a quivering mess if I ever do drain someone dry or set them on fire?"

Set them on fire. That was what Digital did to Kerr's rotten little family.

And it came to him, then, how to genuinely end Jake and his rotten little nest. But he grudgingly pushed it aside and was distracted by Saraekiel pulling on his clothes.

"I'm going to shower first, I don't want to carry our sex in my clothes," he said. There was a wardrobe with towels and such for the werewolves to use after they shifted back in the morning. Ben wrapped it around himself and eyed Rae. "Join me if you want to," he invited before heading down the corridor past a few more rooms and reaching the open tiled doorway of the bathroom. A zig and zag later and Ben entered a shower stall to wash himself.

[Seragil]

Heat pounded against him, washing over him in rivulets as the water from the shower cascaded over both himself and Ben. His hands and fingers slid over soapsuded, slicked, vampiric skin, steam wafting around them both in clouds as he continued to help Ben wash. As his fingers trailed over Bens body he couldn't help but think what the vampire was really after. he doubted very much it was because Ben was irresistibly drawn to him. Was he a plaything? An exotic toy? A rebellion against Kerr; from what he could gather from what Ben had said, Kerr did not approve of the time they spent together. so an act of spite then maybe? Or was he merely something worth manipulating? a tool to aim and throw at his enemies? A mixture of all of the above most like. He sighed into Ben head as he slid his hands over his shoulders and down his chest

"So where are you going and how long do you tend to be away?" He asked with interest "And whose idea was it to flee? Escape." he corrected. It was fleeing, and although he could see why it might be a good idea to get away, clear the head, find a different perspective, it also allowed your enemies time to cement their power, it also made Jake look stronger, and Ben weaker. A puppy running away with it's tail between its legs after getting smacked on the nose. It wouldn't have been the choice he would have made anyway.

[Trillian]

The shower was a great deal more sensual that he'd anticipated. He'd thought Saraekiel would join him just to fuck again but the touching was intimate and gentle and Ben almost asked a few times if the dark angel would allow his wings to get wet so Ben could touch them again. After running his fingers through them in bed the first time, he didn't think Rae's wings could get wet. They weren't normal feathers even though they were soft. They pulsed in time with his heart and were strong beneath Ben's fingers. It made sense, that they would remain dry even in the rain. Birds flew in the rain if they had to, but didn't they have oils in their feathers? Mostly they bunkered down. What did angels and dark angels do?

Rae's touch and the warm spray was making his mind wander over inane things. Ben returned to focus when he was asked about fleeing.

"Flee, escape, they're the same," he said. "I don't want to run away again. I don't want Jake to lord it over me, to think that he drove me out of the city. Fuck that," he said, making a fist and pounding it against the shower tiles, not so hard that he broke them. "Kerr says not to care what he thinks or what everyone else thinks, because I don't owe them. But I don't share that perspective. I've spent my entire life running away from shit and he wants me to keep doing it. It hasn't worked for me yet so I don't know why he thinks it'll work now."

Ben sighed, not wanting to have said all this to Rae because it really belonged to Kerr.

"I'll go, eventually. Unless something big keeps me here," he said, running his hands down Saraekiel's chest and then all the way to his cock, which he gripped with a hand and then puffed laughter because of what he'd just said. "Something important. Something grand," he said, letting go after giving Rae a few milking turns of his hand and then wrapping his arms around his waist.

He was still hurting from Saraekiel's 'no way' response of leading the north with him, but he didn't let it show.

[Seragil]

He didn’t know how to respond to what Ben had said, on one hand he was happy Ben trusted him enough to talk openly about his problems and discontent with things, but the rest? Was the vampire looking to him to provide this important and grand gesture that was meant to keep him here? And what was it meant to consist of? A diamond necklace or a Bugatti Chiron? Saraekiel doubted it was anything so pedestrian. Was he meant to go grab a District all Jake style and offer it to Ben on a silver platter? Before irritation had a chance to grow within him and ruined his mood, the Dark Angel put the matter aside and got back to business, and used the shower opportunity for what it was meant for. Fucking.

After they were once again washed and dressed Ben took him to the garden where Saraekiel let loose his wings now that there was once again air and sky around him and enough space to move in. The garden much to Saraekiels pleasant surprise turned out to be more like a botanica. He loved nature and missed living at Shae’s woodland estate. He visited his old home when he could but for the most part he now found himself tied to the office and the small apartment room he had there.

“The garden is beautiful, but is it merely a pleasant spot to spend some time or does the Academy use it for more practical reasons?” he asked quietly as he gently trailed his fingers over the delicate petals of a vibrant red orchid. He turned his head slightly to Ben who was standing beside him, almost huddled withing his folded wingspan and smiled with open curiosity. “ I mean this is an Academy for the supernatural. Do you grow medicinal and magical plants, poisons and such for study and use?”

He didn’t know much about the subject or even plants in general, he was no horticulturist or botanist but if the Academy was offering such knowledge, well. Learning was nothing to be ashamed of.

[Trillian]

"Yes, there are a couple of different classes in witchcraft," Ben pointed towards the small shack-like building and lawn where those classes were held - but also where neither of them could see because there was a high hedge that separated that part of the lawn from the rest. "So most of these plants do something or other." He shrugged. The magic class wasn't running yet because the prerequisite class of ethics in magic had only started up this year. They had sixteen students in it and Ben was interested to see if all of them would follow through into the magic class next year. "We only have sixteen students signed up for it when it starts next year but it's expensive because of all the components. Some of them make items, the others do moon spells or whatever, I don't know exactly. I've read the prospectus but I... I don't mess with magic."

He was fascinated by it but magic had been used against him very early on - a demonic ritual magic - which had caused him to become possessed by an earth demon and then lost three years of his life to it. Things had turned out okay in the end but it could've also gone very, very badly.

[Seragil]

“Why not?” he asked curiously. “I am assuming vampires can learn the arcane arts. I mean, if it’s power you’re after, there is no better path to explore.” It was rumoured the Seraphim knew angelic magic, which was how they made their weapons but as of yet Saraekiel had made no inroads into acquiring that knowledge, that power for himself. He wasn’t sure he was able to learn witchcraft or the arts of a sorcerer either, but that didn’t stop him from trying. His lack of skill was what lead him to gather and surround himself with those who had it. Like his fae friend Shae and the Gorgons. The true alpha of the wares was the reason he offered the pack an alliance rather then just using and discarding them, as he had originally intended.

“I love magic and mysticism. It’s a true power, one that is wholly yours to claim, if you have the talent and knowledge.” He said as he gazed wistfully in the direction of the magical classrooms

[Trillian]

"Mmn," Ben murmured noncommittally, thumbing his jeans pockets. While Saraekiel thought of the seraphim path beside him, Ben struggled with the acknowledgement of his past. His beginning as a vampire had been rushed, he'd had to re-learn all of his skills with the mild bonus of being a little older than a fledgling and having it feel fresh and new to him. He'd missed out on a lot of emotional memories, though. Six days with Kerr and then an intense relationship. Six days with Kerr and then eternal night bonded to him.

And don't forget Arles - that faint bond that was somewhere in the East. The only memories he had of his other sire were moving images but the idea of him going somewhere to meditate seemed to suit him. Namaste.

Their short walk through the garden came to a natural end when they arrived at the birdbath which was at the end of the manicured gardens. An iron fence separated the boundary of the Academy with the Meadowcrest Woods, and Ben knew if he travelled in a straight line he would arrive at the Sacramentum estate.

"Have you spoken with the other District Leaders lately?"

He doubted it. They locked themselves up into their own gilded towers and preened within them, thinking themselves and their territory mightier or better than the rest. Nobody did anything for their constituents other than run at the mouth. He broke his bitter gaze from Saraekiel to look at the stone birdbath beside them.

"I have to meet with the Dean, you know?" he said after not enough pause for Rae to answer his question about the District Leaders. Who cared about them? It wasn't any of Ben's business, was it? "That's why I drove down here. Not for sexy times with you," he said, glancing up and smirking before plucking at one of Rae's shirt buttons, not hard enough to pull it off though.

[Seragil]

Talk to the other District Leaders? As much as he would like to they seemed rarer to get his hands on then angelic magic. Sabrina had disappeared after her run in with Tess, Zoheret and Zeus were enmeshed in their own schemes and rarely stuck their heads out of their hidey holes, Charon was a recluse and Jake. Gods no. Jake would be the smuggest bastard right now. Saraekiel had no intentions of meeting with him anytime soon.

Saraekiel raised an eyebrow as he looked down at Ben playing with his button, his eyes glinting with sudden amusement. "Are you trying to politely tell me to fuck off because you have stuff to do?"

He supposed he had stuff to do as well. There was a district to run and he needed to get onto Via and finalize the new werewolf compound and he had his usual day to day business to take care of as well, though he could easily ignore it all, would ignore it all if it meant spending the rest of the evening with Ben, but he could tell the vampire wished otherwise and he knew a dismissal when he heard one. "I suppose I should get on with my paper pushing duties too."

[Trillian]

Ben chuckled, grinning at Saraekiel because yes, he was telling the dark angel that he was busy. He hadn't come here to have his attention diverted with sex and a tour of the campus but it had been a worthy distraction. The small laugh had disappeared but returned when the dark angel spoke of 'paper pushing duties'.

"Go on, then," he said, stepping back to give Rae room to take off. He was intrigued how it would be done. Would Saraekiel zoom straight up into the sky like Superman, making the takeoff look supernatural before his wings took over? Or would he need to flap his wings a lot, like a bird, and gradually rise into the air. It would be amazing to see, either way, and Ben's interest was apparent on his face.