Old Friends Reconnecting

Who: Dorian and Aiden
Where: A Bar
When: Evening

Dorian's return hadn't been quite as smooth as he hoped, possibly due to the fact that he'd completely dropped everything in leaving. There was a house to be dealt with, as well as Nevermore, and both instances made Dorian wonder what the hell he was doing with either. A house was more than he needed or wanted, but at this point it only made sense to keep it. And Nevermore... well, at least Harper had taken good care of it while he was gone. He had some ideas of what he wanted to do with it, due to the fact that the books he stocked were pricey and rare, but he really wasn't ready to get into that quite yet. The difference between his life last week and now was slightly surreal; it felt like a different world entirely. He'd been busy getting settled back down and was glad to have a night out with a friend, even if he wasn't sure where he and Aiden stood. He was meeting him, so that seemed like a good sign. Now he just had to wait and see if he'd show.

Aiden had sat outside the bar for a few minutes, finishing his cigarette and staring at the entrance. It wasn't that he didn't want to see Dorian - he did. He just wasn't sure what was going to come of it. If Dorian had forgiven him, or was going to tell him to fuck off. Who knew. Things had shifted in Aiden's life, and he felt like maybe the same had happened to Dorian. Still, he couldn't avoid him forever, so Aiden got out of his car and flicked his cigarette away. Walking inside, he sought out his friend among the few patrons and when he spotted him, gave him a brief nod and walked over to where he was sitting. "'s nice to see you again, man," he greeted, holding out his hand to Dorian.

"Good to see you too," Dorian said, standing to shake Aiden's hand. For a while there, Dorian had thought he was going to enjoy his beer alone, which wouldn't be a complete waste, but he could have had a beer at home. It was good to see Aiden, and Dorian's eyes flicked over him, noting any changes he should catch. "Have a seat," he said, lifting a hand to flag down a waitress as he resumed his own. This had been easy once, meeting up with an old friend, but now Dorian wondered how to start again. "Tell me what you've been up to," he added with a half smile.

He sat, lifting his hat from his head to run his hand through his hair before tugging the ballcap back down. And then Aiden smiled at Dorian, thinking this only had to be hard if they made it hard. "Nothin' man. I've been lazyin' around on my arse tryin' to figure out what the hell to do with myself with you and Eury both gone. Where've you been?"

"Just found out she was gone a few days ago," Dorian said with a twist of his lips. For a while, he'd imagined them back here in Marquette together, fucking like happy little love birds. Then he'd gotten over it and moved on, not bothering to call till he was heading back home. It had never crossed his mind that one of them might have left town. "Been a lot of places," he said with a little chuckle. "Most recently, Brazil."

"Yeah." They'd both left, seemingly at the same time. At least in his mind. He figured he'd deserved it. "And how was Brazil?" Aiden asked after ordering a beer from the approaching waitress. "Was there a purpose behind it or did you just want to travel?"

"Um," Dorian started, then laughed a little, took a sip of his drink, and gave it a shot. "Kinda fucked up, actually. Got myself a gang of demons chasing my ass and had to call my brothers to help bail me out." It was the highlight of the trip, actually, even when it sucked. "I just needed to get away for a while. After getting my ass in deeper than I could handle myself, I figured it was time to come home."

Aiden cocked an eyebrow at the story before he smirked. "Damn, Dorian. That's some vacation." He leaned back in his chair, one hand still resting on the table. He already itched for a cigarette. "You think those gang of demons are going to try to track you down? Or did you take care of them?"

"They've been taken care of," Dorian said, remembering the final fight with a touch of fondness. It would have been a lot more fun if they hadn't been worried about losing. It was his fault for not knowing what they were up against. If the numbers had been much larger, they would have had a serious problem. "I'm not sure there's any left to track us down. If there is, we covered our tracks pretty damn well. I suppose I'll have to see," he said, taking a sip of his beer. "Don't tell me you've been up to nothing though. Surely there's something."

"My life has been strangely domesticated since you left," Aiden admitted, pausing again when the waitress placed his beer on the table. He picked it up and took a quick sip to wet his throat. "I had a job in Vegas, so there was that. Had a drink with your brother awhile ago," he added with a small grin. "Fought off some violent shadows attacking the town somewhere in between all of that. Met a few people." Aiden lifted a shoulder. "I think I would have preferred to be in Brazil fighting off a gang of demons."

"You had a drink with Math?" Dorian asked, wondering what that was all about. "I heard about the shadows. And the vampires. Not in detail, but enough to know there's been weird shit going on." He paused as he took another swig of beer, contemplating what he preferred, then shook his head. "I don't know," Dorian said, keeping his voice low due to the subject matter. "Maybe if there'd been a few less. Fiends have tough skin. It's harder to take 'em down. It was all good till I realized how deep in I'd gotten myself."

Aiden nodded, setting his bottle back down. "Yeah. We happened to be at the same bar." He shrugged, as it was really no big deal, and he hadn't seen the guy since. "Things have been quiet around here since the shadows disappeared. Kinda makes a guy uneasy, wondering when the next wave is goin' to strike." He smirked a bit at Dorian. "And lest you forget, friend, we took down a fiend together before. Glad you had your brothers there to help you out, though. What'd you do to piss 'em off?"

"There were two of us against one of him," Dorian reminded Aiden with a little grin. "It's easier when you outnumber the bastards." While he wasn't in the habit of thinking of demons as creatures rather than people, his last encounter with fiends had put him off to the species enough that he tended to speak down on them. "I took one of 'em out. Then they caught up with me, knocked me out, woke up stranded and pissed, and hunted down the those three. Which sent at least seven more after me, at which point it became a good idea to run. Somewhere in there, I think I knocked off someone important." Dorian shrugged. "My own fault. Lesson learned, I suppose." At it had taken was a bullet to the shoulder and almost getting killed.

"You're lucky they didn't kill you after they'd knocked you out," Aiden pointed out. Fiends, especially, with their taste for human flesh. It was growing increasingly harder to deal with caring about people. Especially people like Eury and Dorian. "And now you're home," Aiden added almost as an afterthought. He picked up his beer again. "By choice? Or was it simply out of necessity to avoid being hunted down."

Dorian didn't know why they didn't kill him, but he could think of a variety of reasons. None of them mattered now. "A little bit of both," Dorian said. "I think it was about time for me to come back and actually deal with my life. If all I was doing was running, there are lots of places to run, and many of them probably safer than Marquette," he said with a little laugh. "But I've got family here. And a house with my name on it. And a bookstore. So if I'm looking to completely fall off the face of the earth, I figure I should at least tie up loose ends first." Dorian looked at his bottle, rolling the neck between his palms before finishing it off. "But I'm not."

"Your brothers don't seem like the type who'd be opposed to pulling up stakes and movin' on if you were ready to leave Marquette," Aiden said. "Houses can be sold and businesses can be closed." He knew those things were a pain in the ass, but sometimes you had to deal with painful things to be happy. "'m glad you're back, though. I was startin' to feel like I needed to leave. And then I spoke to Eury, and then you said you were back..." Aiden trailed off. He still felt like he ought to pick up and go and get back to his life again. He never meant to stay there as long as he had. But shit happened.

"It's not the house and the business," Dorian said with a sideways smile, "it's the maintenance and the nine to five. I don't mind a house. Gotta live somewhere, and I'd prefer a house to a motel, or to the back seat of a car. So I'll keep the house. It's kinda nice to have a home base, of sorts, and I don't consider my parent's house that." No way in hell he was swinging by NOLA anytime soon. "And the business? It's done fine while I'm gone. I'm sure it'll continue to do fine. I've got someone else managing it, so I'll just go in when I want. Make my real money elsewhere." He kept Nevermore because he liked it. He liked the books. He enjoyed reading the information they held, researching all the little possibilities... Despite his love of a good fight, Dorian could be a bookworm as well, a collector of information on all things supernatural. "Why'd you feel like you need to leave? Cause we were gone?" He still wasn't sure what had happened with Aiden and Eury, but from the sound of things, it wasn't all good.

Aiden was generally the opposite. He preferred the motels to a house. He liked having the knowledge that he could pick up and leave without any obligations holding him back. Unfortunately that all ended when his sister left Ireland. "I think Nevermore's goin' to make plenty of money for you if weird shit keeps on happenin' around here. People'll start talkin', then they'll get curious. And I felt like I ought to leave because this isn't my home," Aiden admitted. "There's very little keepin' me here. I fucked things up with you, and Eury's... I don't know. Maybe I felt like I should stay until you came back. Don't think I could leave until things were right between us."

"This wasn't my home till I made it my home," Dorian shrugged. He'd had absolutely no ties in Marquette until he arrived. If he wanted to desert it, he could. Everything was replaceable but people. "So should I hit you just to keep you here?" he asked with a little smirk. "What happened with you and Eury? Seemed like things should have worked out between you two." At least, that had been his perspective when he'd taken off, and that might have been kind of skewed. He'd been bitter, and angry at the both of them, regardless of the fact that they'd done nothing wrong. Well... Eury hadn't. Aiden'd been a first class bastard.

"You already hit me," Aiden reminded him with a soft chuckle. "And busted my windows. But if it'll help for you to hit me again, I'll be okay with it." At the question about Eury, he shrugged and took another drink. He wasn't sure if he wanted to discuss Eury with Dorian, considering, but hell if he knew what was going on anymore. "I don't know what's goin' on. Before the vampires hit, I think I pretty much told her I wanted to try a relationship... er, be with her, I guess. Didn't really get a response from her. Next thing I know she's leavin' town for one reason or another. She's back now and I still don't really know what to think or do anymore." Aiden took a breath and reached into his jacket for his cigarettes. "Keep wonderin' if it's even worth the trouble anymore."

"This time I'd be hitting you to keep you here," Dorian said. While he wasn't a great people person like Mathias, he liked having friends, and not having them around was what sucked most about being out on his own. If Aiden needed to be fighting with him to stay in town, then Dorian would fight, even if that wasn't what he wanted. "Did you tell her how you felt about her?" he asked. Since Aiden was trying for a relationship, he figured there were feelings there, except... "Assuming, by relationship, you do feel something for her... right?" Dorian flagged the waitress for another beer, then held out his hand for Aiden's cigarettes, looking to snag one for himself.

Aiden pulled a cigarette out and handed it to Dorian before slipping one between his own lips. "I feel somethin' for her," he said about the cigarette before lighting it and handing over the lighter as well. "I don't know what it is, but it's somethin'. I just don't know what to do about it now. Things feel kind of... off. And I don't do well with things that confuse me. I guess I don't know if she feels somethin' for me, or if I'm just convenient to have around." He snorted once and pulled the cigarette from his lips to exhale. "I sound like a fuckin' woman, don't I?"

"You sound like you're making this much more difficult than it should be," Dorian said with a wry smile as he lit up his own cigarette. Taking a drag, he closed his eyes, relaxing as he exhaled. He'd gotten himself addicted again and didn't have a good reason to quit. He was pretty sure something other than cigarettes was going to kill him. "I can't say I know Eury inside and out, but I've never gotten the vibe that she's with people for convenience. I could be wrong. But people don't put up with the shit she put up with just because you're 'convenient'." He'd never questioned whether Eury liked Aiden. It was Aiden's feelings he wasn't sure were there, and even if they were, it didn't sound like Aiden knew what to do with them. Dorian doubted he'd be much help in that department, seeing as how his luck with women was just as poor.

"I don't know." All he knew was she wanted him to hunt down her uncle and kill him. A job was a job. And she seemed messed up enough now that he wasn't sure what to do about it. "I guess I'll have to just wait and see. I don't think I'm gonna put myself out there again when nothin' came of it the first time. Doesn't seem like there's much point. I've always faired better when I've just taken things as they came. What about you?" Aiden asked after another quick drag off his cigarette. "Did you meet any women while you were gone?"

"Not really," Dorian answered, leaning back in his chair as he ashed his cigarette. He'd found that sex with random girls had lost it's novelty back in college, and the chance of him going in for a relationship these days was slim. Trust was such a huge factor and Dorian wasn't sure he was up to the challenge. He also hadn't met another girl worth the trouble. "Much as it sucks, I think that's something that I'm just gonna have to let go. I realized the kind of life I want to lead 's gonna put people in danger. My brothers can handle it. So can you. Girls?" Dorian shrugged. "I don't wanna put 'em in danger, and I certainly don't wanna get 'em killed."

He chuckled and nodded. "I've lived on that way of thinking for years. It's always worked for me. The first time I think I might do somethin' different, it's... hard." Of course he'd never give up sex. He hadn't even been able to abstain while Eury was gone. "So what's that mean for you? Are you going to turn into a monk, or what?"

"Are you a fuckin' idiot?" Dorian laughed, wishing he had something to throw at Aiden. "All it means is that the girl's gotta be worth it. She's gotta be able to hold her own. And she's gotta want me for who I am, flaws and all. I'm tired of playing at something I'm not." And so he wasn't playing at anything anymore. Dorian had decided to do what he wanted, when he wanted, regardless of the law or rules orchestrated by anyone else. He'd spent too long doing things the wrong way, preaching a life that he couldn't live himself. "If I'm gonna change, it's gonna be cause I want to change, not because someone else needs me to be something else."

"Good luck findin' that," Aiden said with another laugh. He lifted his cigarette to his lips, contemplating Dorian from across the small table. "No woman's ever gonna accept a man for who he really is. They focus on the flaws and do everythin' in their power to change them." Even Eury, who seemed to understand him most of the time found things she didn't like about Aiden. He knew a woman who could love unconditionally simply didn't exist. "But you gotta be who you are. You shouldn't have to change yourself for anyone."

"I don't know that it's not possible, but it's what I want, and why should I settle for less?" Dorian asked with a shrug. "I'm not saying I'm hoping to find true love and all that shit, but... you know what I am, and I'm not gonna pretend to be a saint to keep a girl with me. It's not worth it." He couldn't even keep it up for himself, let alone another person. While he understood the necessity for secrecy when it came to his heritage, he wasn't going to force himself into a mold that didn't fit him... which was what he'd been doing the last few years of his life. It was time for a change, and he was going to make it soon, little by little reconstructing his life to make it what he really wanted it to be. "So, here's a question for you... how would one get into your line of work?"

"A lot of women don't want a saint," Aiden said, pausing to drink more of his beer. When he set the bottle back down, his eyes were on Dorian curiously. Did Dorian want to become a hunter? He had the abilities and strength to do it. Aiden had seen him in action himself. But a part of him wanted to tell Dorian the line of work was hard. It changed you as a person... unless Aiden had simply been weak enough to allow it to change him. "My line of work? There's really no application or interview," he replied with a tiny grin. "When I first started, I didn't know what the hell I was doin'. I was satisified just goin' out at night with my gun and killin' any motherfucker I found that I knew to be supernatural. After awhile you build a reputation, you gain contacts... you get smarter. Are you lookin' to get into hunting?"

"Maybe," Dorian shrugged. "But I think you and I have a different idea of who needs to be hunted and whatnot." If they hadn't been friends, Dorian knew that he could have easily made Aiden's hit list. He was potentially dangerous and a half demon; that would have been enough. Maybe more than enough. Fortunately, Aiden had known him long enough to see the half human side more often than not. "It's kind of what I was doing down in Brazil." 'Kind of' meaning that only half had been jobs, while the other half had been Dorian's own decision to rid the world of scum. He didn't need to get paid to take out some things. It just worked out better if he was.

"I don't decide who needs hunted," Aiden said simply. "The person paying me decides." He was determined to stick to that particular brand of hunting and mindset. There'd been a time when doubt had begun to push it's way in, but he wasn't sure it was wise on his part to allow that to happen. "Are you someone who wants to hunt for the good of the people? Or are you lookin' to collect a paycheck at the end of it?"

"That's a shitty way to make a decision," Dorian said with a roll of his eyes. He could never kill just because someone else said he should. He wasn't a supernatural hitman and he didn't want to be. For some reason, Dorian saw a difference between the two. "The good of the people is a convenient reason and a paycheck only sweetens the deal. I see the first as a requirement, I guess. I couldn't hunt someone down and kill them if I didn't think it was a good enough reason." None of that really touched on why he wanted to hunt, but that was a bit harder for Dorian to explain and he wasn't sure how Aiden would take it.

"Yeah, well, I live a shitty existence," Aiden said, no ounce of sarcasm found in his voice. It was simple truth and he'd long ago accepted it. He took a long drag from his cigarette, eying Dorian. "You've got the means and skills to do it, so why not? And it sounds like somethin' you've put enough thought into. I'm sure there ought to be more hunters like you out there, and less like me."

"If you think that, then why don't you make the effort to change?" Dorian asked. "Do you have no sense of guilt for what you do? Hunting those that might not deserve it?" Dorian had put thought into the subject, learning what bothered him and what didn't, what he needed to still feel human, but what made him feel alive at the same time. It was complicated, and probably unique to himself, but the pieces were falling into place with each day that passed.

Aiden didn't reply for several seconds. He was never comfortable with these conversations about his job. He didn't like having to justify what he did when no one could understand it. "I never said I didn't feel guilt. I don't get attached, I don't think about what deserves it and what doesn't, because that's not what I'm getting paid for." Aiden sighed and lifted a hand to rub his thumb against one eye. "I don't know if I can change, man. I really don't. I've been doin' this for so long. I've had reasons behind it. I can't switch it off like a light."

Dorian was aware they didn't have deep conversations often. Neither of them were especially fond of poking a stick at sensitive subjects. But Dorian had gone and made a bloody mess of his own life, and found that ignoring standing issues didn't make them go away. "Did you know that psychopaths usually lack any sense of guilt for the harm they might cause to others?" he asked. "Often they rationalize their behavior. Your rationalization is that it's a job and all supernatural creatures deserve what's coming for them... And yet, you're here, having a drink with me." Dorian took a drag off his cigarette and raised a brow. "So you make exceptions for those close to you? Because you saw it the other way around? Ever wonder if some of your past jobs might have been exceptions if you'd met them first, before learning what they were?"

Aiden smirked a touch, flicking some ash into the tiny plastic tray in front of him. "I see. So... are you calling me a psychopath then? Because you don't see the guilt in my eyes, or in my voice? That doesn't mean it's not there, Dorian. And yeah, I sometimes think about my past jobs, if I had known them first... but I didn't and I can't change that now. You known me since college." Aiden leaned forward, arms resting on the table as he stared at Dorian. "Do I have the eyes of a psychopath?"

"No," Dorian said, returning the little smirk. "I'm just pointing out how your logic is flawed. You say it's just a job. They pay you, you don't get attached, and you do what you're told. But you feel guilt. Just not enough to change your strategy. It started as revenge, then morphed into something else. So why do you do it? What do you get out of it? Is it just for the money?" He took a sip of his beer, thinking that through. "What stops you from taking a job?"

"My logic might be flawed, but it's worked for me for four years, so I see no reason to change it now." And sometimes he felt no guilt, when it was a vampire, or a demon. Sometimes the ones who appeared more human... the psychics, or the angels. That's when he felt the stab inside of him. But he'd long since learned to ignore it for his own sanity. "It's not just for the money. And I never said it's morphed from revenge into something else. It's always been revenge. A demon killed my mother," Aiden said, lowering his voice. "And the angels she so desperately wanted to believe in? Where were they when she was being slaughtered? Both were responsible in my eyes and I find it hard to change my view on that." He took a long pull from his beer bottle, wishing he could change the subject. "I don't know what stops me from taking a job. It depends on the person inquiring and the money."

"So you continue to use revenge as your basis, but make no attempts to see out the truth behind the beings you kill?" Dorian asked. "Sounds to me like blind obsession. It's easier for you to do your job if you claim ignorance, but that only lasts so long. You've been hunting long enough that you should know angels don't report to god any more than demons report to a devil. The beings here on earth aren't the ones in the bible and probably couldn't do shit to help her. Which sucks, I know. Do they deserve to die for it?" He shrugged, his eyes scanning the bar to make sure their conversation was still private. "What is it that makes you human? I'm just curious."

Aiden averted his eyes from Dorian, staring at nothing in particular before his gaze ticked back to Dorian's face, his jaw clenching briefly. "Why the third degree on what I do or my reasons behind it?" he asked, his tone harder than he meant it to be. He'd wanted to sit down and have a drink with a friend, not face a multitude of questions behind his occupation. Maybe someday he'd want to face the kind of questions being thrown at him, but not now. He stabbed his cigarette out in the ashtray, his movements jerky. "Maybe I'm not human. Maybe I'm no better than those vampires who came into town to slaughter people. But I have my reasons for doin' what I'm doin', and whether or not you agree with them, or find them logical, they're my reasons, and I don't think you need to concern yourself with them."

"Hey, calm down," Dorian said, straightening in his seat. "I'm just asking. I just spent the last, what, two months? figuring out some of this stuff for myself. And I still don't have it straight. And I ask what makes you human because I think it's important. You are human. One hundred percent. Some of us aren't and spend a hell of a lot of time pretending to be. So if I don't understand something, I ask. Not to piss you off, but because I wanna know." While Dorian had accepted what he was, there was still a part of him that was seeking to understand it. Aiden had seen very few of his demonic tendencies, so he didn't expect Aiden to get it, but having taken time off to indulge himself, Dorian wanted to find that middle ground. It was just harder than he thought it would be.

He took a quick breath to calm his temper, wishing he hadn't snapped like that. At least not in front of Dorian. "Sorry. I just don't think where I'm comin' from is goin' to help you. We're different people, with different motivations. It's easy for some people. They see somethin' bad, so they take it out. Sometimes hunters work for the other side... they see somethin' good? They take it out." He picked up his beer again, but didn't drink from the bottle. "People like me, I guess work both sides and try not to care. I guess you just can't let the hunt consume you. I let it consume me a long time ago. It became my life and I don't know if I can get out of it."

"I never thought we were the same," Dorian said, his lips quirking up. "You're right. The motivation's different. I'm not out for revenge. If I decide this is what I wanna do, it's because I enjoy it. And if that's not normal, then oh well. I'm not normal either, so that's okay. I'm picking on you because the way you say things make it sound like you want to change, but don't think you can. If that's the case, then what's stopping you? And if you don't want to change, don't pretend like it's because you're stuck where you are." Dorian stubbed out his cigarette. "Just saying," he grinned, "Don't get pissed."

"Not gonna get pissed," Aiden said with a soft chuckle. "I do what I have to do. Again, I've been doing it for so long, it's hard for me to change overnight." The last couple of jobs have been vampires and demons. Nothing he had thought twice about. "Wish you wouldn't pick on me though, because eventually I'm gonna have to turn it around on you. It's not so much fun when you're the one in the hot seat."

"You could never rip into me half as bad as I already do to myself," Dorian said, rolling his eyes. "If you think I haven't thought of this and more, you're wrong. I don't have good answers. You wouldn't like them." It had been hard for Dorian to accept these things about himself, and he didn't think it would be any easier for Aiden, especially considering Aiden's past. What Dorian was capable of wasn't exactly along the lines of normal, but since Aiden wasn't living in that realm either, it was easier to ignore.

"I might not like the answers, but that doesn't mean I'd judge you on them," Aiden said. He reached to pull out another cigarette from his pack. "I might understand more than you think I would, despite my infamous assholerly. What is it to you? Would you hunt something that had murdered first? Had caused grievances? What are your limits? Where do you draw the line?" He lit the cigarette, watching Dorian's face.

One thing Dorian liked about talking to Aiden was that he rarely felt judged. Aiden might not like what he heard, but he still seemed to accept Dorian for who he was. As much as Dorian wanted not to care, with some people he did, like it or not. The opinions of close friends and family still mattered too much. "Each situation's different," Dorian shrugged, taking a swig of beer. "What's considered a grievance? People cause grievances all the time. I wouldn't hunt humans, period. And that includes humans that possess supernatural powers. And I don't think I could hunt angels because, from what I know of them, they are truly good beings. Maybe that limits me, but I'm not in it for the money."

"It might limit you, but that's okay. I'm guessing you'll take it on a case by case basis? No humans... not even humans that possess other powers that are causing death and destruction?" Aiden asked, picking a bit at the label on his beer bottle. "You wouldn't hunt them?"

"They're human," Dorian said, part of him feeling like that was enough. "There are laws in place to take care of them. They die when you shoot 'em. I guess I feel like the line there gets blurred between hunting and murder, so I'd rather not touch it. Besides, there are a lot of humans out there with no supernatural power to speak of and they still manage to cause death and destruction. Someone else can deal with 'em, unless they attack me and mine personally." Because once it was personal, Dorian didn't give a shit what they were.

"The laws in place don't always take care of people like that," Aiden pointed out. "And I guess you have your own rules just like I have mine. A human with deep supernatural abilities who uses them for destruction is no better, in my eyes, than a demon who does the same. Want another beer?" It was strange that Dorian was really the only person he could have this conversation with and not feel like he was being judged. Sure, he got defensive, but he knew Dorian wasn't going to turn his back on Aiden because their views might differ. It was why he valued Dorian's friendship - and why he wanted to atone for the shit he'd done to him.

"It's all where you draw the line," Dorian shrugged. "I know what I'm comfortable with and what I'm not. Plus, there's always the concern that I'll turn myself into the hunted in the process." If Dorian added humans to his 'okay' list, the situation could be very easily misinterpreted. Suddenly he might be the one using his abilities against humanity, and that wasn't a position he wanted to find himself in. It was better to stick to what he saw as black and white, even if the was pretty sure he was solidly in a state of gray. "Sure," he answered, lips turning up. It was nice to have a drink with a friend. It was something he'd missed.

"You're going to be hunted eventually," Aiden remarked, lifting his hand for the waitress and indicating another round. "I've constantly got people on my arse. Why do you think I'm always on the move? It's never safe for me to stay in one spot very long. It catches up to you eventually." Aiden had always accepted that. And he'd always wanted to go out in a cliched blaze of glory. He wouldn't have it any other way.

"But who are you hunted by?" Dorian asked. "Because, you, as a person, do not fall into your own definition of someone to be hunted. So it sounds more like those that might come after you would be of the supernatural persuasion. In addition, it sounds like you gave them an idea of who to chase, or left someone behind that might want to put up a chase." This was a lesson Dorian had just learned himself, plus what Mathias had told him. While connections to other humans put them at risk, it was also required that he cover his tracks and take out anyone that might decide to follow him. Dorian would be revisiting Brazil any time soon and knew for a fact that he'd left no evidence of his person down there. It would be considerably difficult for someone to track him down, though he was sure it could be done-- the trick then being that there was no one left that would want to find him.

"A lot of things," Aiden answered with a smirk that indicated he wasn't too worried about it. "People who would love to see me dead. Other hunters, people who've known my targets... supernatural creatures themselves. It's all part of the job... you're not gonna be loved by everyone. Or anyone, for that matter. I've never given up on a hunt," Aiden said. "I follow it through until it's finished, no matter how long it takes. When I started, I was younger, and angrier and more impatient. I made mistakes. Unfortunately they've followed me. You can assume you'll be perfect enough in what you do that no one will ever be able to track you down... but that's a dangerous thing way to live, I think."

Just by listening to Aiden, Dorian could catalog the differences between them. The only reason he didn't point them out was due to the fact that it all went back to Aiden hunting a few things that Dorian wouldn't touch. "I never claimed I'd be perfect," Dorian said with a half laugh. That was so very far from the truth. "But why would other hunters hunt you? I recognize that anyone close to me would be in danger with that line of work. But I also know what it costs me to stay out of trouble, so I find that channeling that energy into something productive might lend the best result. No, it's not perfect, and if I get somebody killed, I'll have to accept that. I think that's true for everyone in your line of business."

He shrugged one shoulder, unbothered by this line of conversation. He took a thoughtful drag from his cigarette and exhaled before answering. "Other hunters don't agree with what I do. And I might have take a few jobs from them here and there." Among other things. "Not every hunter is virtuous and good, Dorian. I've made my share of enemies for one reason or another. A lot of them are right bastards. Worse than me. No moral compass whatsoever. And you're right, it's true for everyone in my line of business." He grinned at Dorian through the smoke. "Sounds like you're pretty much on target with the whole thing, if ya ask me."

"Do you think I'm virtuous and good?" Dorian asked, his lips curling up into a little smirk as he finished off his second beer, prepared for the third. He had enough human in him to know what wasn't considered 'good' by human standards; he just knew better than to discuss them. There were morals he'd embraced, and others he just couldn't keep a strict hold on. He'd tried, and finally decided on something in between. "I think I'll jump into the business when I want, when it suits me. If you've ever got something you don't mind me tagging along on, let me know."

"I know you're not virtuous," Aiden remarked with a chuckle. "Good is up in the air, as I've seen all sides of you, friend. The good, the bad and the ugly. Next time somethin' comes up, I'll invite you along again." The waitress set their beers in front of him and Aiden used his bottle to nudge Dorian's toward him. "I'm glad you're back."

"Who you callin' ugly?" Dorian laughed, picking up his bottle. "Thanks. It's good to be home." Even if he wasn't all that sure he was wanted. After all, he'd been rescued, not asked to return. The familiar still felt good though, and he wouldn't deny he was glad to see his friends and family. He'd gone out to try and find himself, to find his place in the world, though maybe it was right back where he started, that he just needed a different perspective on what he had in front of him.