[ Things are far more different around Flagg than he'd anticipated. With the dramatic entrance he'd given, there had been so many possibilities that he hadn't been able to fathom. A creature dark enough to set his own demonic heart racing with dread. Someone untouchable.
His teaching style isn't with books or lessons, rather letting Michael call the shots and helping him along the way. He's learned more than he thought he might at the beginning. He's learned to see things differently, certainly, and his confidence has been bolstered from the support. Not without its barbs, Flagg does love to tease him mercilessly, but now that he's used to it, it doesn't ruffle his feathers quite so much. It's never been malicious.
Michael has his nose in a book when Flagg's voice breaks the silence. His attention immediately turns to his mentor, tipping his chin skyward to see what he sees. Unfortunately, he doesn't have the ability to see what will become, only visions of grandeur. As he pays closer attention to the heavens, he thinks he can feel it, too. Not a loud and booming presence of knowing what it is, but like an itch at the back of his head. How animals might feel just before a storm. ]
[ He laughs, high pitched and giddy. He's had moments like this before but they're few and far between, a rare treat to indulge in. The world he plucked Michael from had a similar feel to it right before the end, but he was always a guest there. Other sorts of darkness had already established themselves and taken hold of it.
This world? Was ripe for the taking, and he was beginning to understand why he'd settled down here. ]
We're going back to California. [ It wouldn't be too long of a walk. They were in Idaho, last he checked, and they may have slipped into Oregon by now. ] Ninety-nine point four percent fatal. Ninety-nine point four.
[ He hums those words like a nursery rhyme as he starts to walk, not entirely sure of what they refer to but he sure likes the sound of it. What were these mortal morons toying with that could be that dangerous? Time would tell, he supposed. Time would tell. ]
[ Michael's curiosity is sparked, and he stands and joins Flagg properly. As loathe as he is to do all of the constant walking, he understands it. The lesson is that nature by its very essence needs to fear his power. He's still a baby compared to Flagg, but he feels like his ambition makes up for his lack of experience. ]
Well, I can't argue with that, can I? [ He could, but he won't. ]
It's an ambitious number, mortals are stubbornly resilient when they put their minds to it. [ It could be anything. Hell, it may not even be about the mortal population, though Flagg wouldn't be nearly as giddy if it weren't. ]
[ Flagg can't help but chuckle at 'mortals'. It's how he used to talk, too, when he was a young sorcerer, not even old enough to be functionally different from an average person. It was time lived that really set mortals and immortals apart, not merely existing as a being that didn't age. Michael would learn that someday.
But for now, it's nice to be around someone so...youthful, and eager to learn.
He stares up at the night sky, trying to divine whatever else there might be. Nada. Nothing but what he already knows, and that itch deep inside to walk towards his new destination. ]
Dunno. Hope you like surprises.
[ Flagg, for the record, loves surprises. His chaotic existence would be quite miserable if the didn't. He starts to walk - and then pauses. ]
It may be a false alarm, but if it isn't, everything you've learned with me is going to be tested.
[ Putting himself apart from everyone else makes him feel above it all instead of pushed to the outskirts. Aloof as opposed to shunned. Flagg certainly helps with that, too. His tutelage, while unorthodox, is actually helping him. Unlike his own father who refused to communicate properly, setting him up to fail before he'd even begun to fulfill his purpose.
Well, his old purpose. His priorities may have changed. ]
My life has been nothing but surprises. I've yet to decide if they're welcome or not.
[ He falls into step next to his mentor, fingers laced behind his back as they walk. ]
Unfortunately, yes. It often comes down to something as simple as one person’s choice. If people knew how many times their world would have ended if not for a single person with their hand on the right button...
[ But that’s alright with him. He’ll be there, as he is, to tempt them towards ruin. If they pass the test, then he’ll wander the Earth until the next opportunity knocks.
If they don’t...then he gets to have his fun. ]
It’s more satisfying when it does happen, though. The Earth could be hit by a meteor or vaporized by some stray beam of starlight, but it’s so much more fun when they end themselves.
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His teaching style isn't with books or lessons, rather letting Michael call the shots and helping him along the way. He's learned more than he thought he might at the beginning. He's learned to see things differently, certainly, and his confidence has been bolstered from the support. Not without its barbs, Flagg does love to tease him mercilessly, but now that he's used to it, it doesn't ruffle his feathers quite so much. It's never been malicious.
Michael has his nose in a book when Flagg's voice breaks the silence. His attention immediately turns to his mentor, tipping his chin skyward to see what he sees. Unfortunately, he doesn't have the ability to see what will become, only visions of grandeur. As he pays closer attention to the heavens, he thinks he can feel it, too. Not a loud and booming presence of knowing what it is, but like an itch at the back of his head. How animals might feel just before a storm. ]
Big for us, or big for them?
no subject
[ He laughs, high pitched and giddy. He's had moments like this before but they're few and far between, a rare treat to indulge in. The world he plucked Michael from had a similar feel to it right before the end, but he was always a guest there. Other sorts of darkness had already established themselves and taken hold of it.
This world? Was ripe for the taking, and he was beginning to understand why he'd settled down here. ]
We're going back to California. [ It wouldn't be too long of a walk. They were in Idaho, last he checked, and they may have slipped into Oregon by now. ] Ninety-nine point four percent fatal. Ninety-nine point four.
[ He hums those words like a nursery rhyme as he starts to walk, not entirely sure of what they refer to but he sure likes the sound of it. What were these mortal morons toying with that could be that dangerous? Time would tell, he supposed. Time would tell. ]
no subject
Well, I can't argue with that, can I? [ He could, but he won't. ]
It's an ambitious number, mortals are stubbornly resilient when they put their minds to it. [ It could be anything. Hell, it may not even be about the mortal population, though Flagg wouldn't be nearly as giddy if it weren't. ]
What do you think it is?
no subject
But for now, it's nice to be around someone so...youthful, and eager to learn.
He stares up at the night sky, trying to divine whatever else there might be. Nada. Nothing but what he already knows, and that itch deep inside to walk towards his new destination. ]
Dunno. Hope you like surprises.
[ Flagg, for the record, loves surprises. His chaotic existence would be quite miserable if the didn't. He starts to walk - and then pauses. ]
It may be a false alarm, but if it isn't, everything you've learned with me is going to be tested.
no subject
Well, his old purpose. His priorities may have changed. ]
My life has been nothing but surprises. I've yet to decide if they're welcome or not.
[ He falls into step next to his mentor, fingers laced behind his back as they walk. ]
Do false alarms happen often?
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[ But that’s alright with him. He’ll be there, as he is, to tempt them towards ruin. If they pass the test, then he’ll wander the Earth until the next opportunity knocks.
If they don’t...then he gets to have his fun. ]
It’s more satisfying when it does happen, though. The Earth could be hit by a meteor or vaporized by some stray beam of starlight, but it’s so much more fun when they end themselves.
no subject
[ Granted, he'd only been witness to one apocalypse, so he would take Flagg's word for it. There was still so much he had to learn. ]
Do you think that's what this is?