My In-Law, the Demoness
Hayden Maragos was more than a book guy. He was a real guy’s guy. It was written all over him, from the two-day old beard to the crumpled pack of Marlboros always bulging in his breast pocket, to the t-shirt that never got tucked into his waistband. He typically had the look of a manual laborer about him, even when he hadn‘t done any.

When he wanted a beer, he went to a bar in town and made small-talk with his neighbors. If he wanted wings with it, he’d hit a sports pub where he could catch a game while he ate. Then he’d go home and hit the books, or take a walk around town to see about a vampire or two.

But not once in his testosterone-laden life did Hayden want to hang around demons, just to prove he could. Particularly not in a bar called The Basement, where they served up blood alongside the beer. The thought of it turned his stomach. You couldn’t move in the place without bumping into a vampire. His hand itched toward his jacket pocket so many times, you would’ve thought he was a slayer.

Except he was a man. A man who apparently had responsibilities, and he was going to stand up to them.

The wedding band was chaffing a red ring around his finger. He had put it back on for Sonya’s sake, and now he couldn’t stop messing with it. Turning it relentlessly. Making sure it didn’t get stuck again.

"Sonya is not be wantings the marrieds, Mallory Quinn! Tell marrieds to go away!!!"

Sonya had calmed down a little since that telephone conversation. Time was often a great healer, although when having a literally demonic mother like Devora, it could also be fraught with agitation.

This was just about the only place she felt relatively at ease with taking her little jacket off and stretching out her wings from their cramped hiding position. It was a marvel how she even managed it, such were the dimensions, but manage she did and was always grateful for the opportunity to not have to do so.

Sonya appeared to have two basic modes of personality she showed to the world: Brazenly confident and watchfully suspicious. It was the latter on display here and, catching sight of her... Husband - husband! The girl wandered over, her body language conveying extreme caution and emphasized, like a pair of huge canine ears, with the posture of those very wings on her back.

Gingerly, she made a silent nod to the man, not quite feeling comfortable enough for body contact. Her own ring had yet to even be taken off. She did, however, recognize there was a need to talk and that was why the meeting had been arranged.

That and a third party's interest.

"You... OK?" The young hybrid asked, doing her best at small-talk, such as it was. A pause being given. "We should be findings table? For 'chit-chat', da?"

Hayden did a double-take when the Russian girl arrived. She looked the same as she had in the hotel -- granted she had more clothes on now -- but he didn’t expect the wings to be out in full force. Jesus. For one thing, the two of them were in public. For another, they were even bigger than he remembered.

How the hell did she fit them under her shirt?

As Sonya made her way across, he took a cautious look around and noticed the ease with which the crowd parted to allow the redhead and her wingspan through. A variety of facial expressions were directed towards her, ranging from curiosity to appreciation.

He settled back and remembered the obvious. It was a demon bar. He was probably the strangest thing going in there. So he swallowed some of his beer and leaned closer to hear what she said. With an idle scratch of his head, he surveyed the room. “Yeah... yeah, I’ll get one. You want a beer or something?” Now that the jig was up about her heritage, Hayden clung to the hope that she’d order vodka and not a pint of the red stuff.


[Thread: Open to Sonya, Hayden and Devora]