It was no easy task being a demon, either. Especially when raised in an environment where holiness was held above everything else. Everything he had done as a child was to get in favour of the angels- the hours of prayer, consuming only what he needed, enduring all the harsh punishments that had scarred him (quite literally) for life. It was only natural, then, that he felt betrayed when he had to give all of that up in return for his freedom. He spent years wondering if it was worth it, if he should have endured the abuse in order to become holy instead of throwing away all his progress by making some stupid deal with a dark god. Elias always said that he made the wrong choice, and not a day went by without his words echoing in Luca's ears. It made him ashamed. He had spend his whole childhood being told that demons were filthy, disgusting sinners with no life outside corrupting people an causing pain.

He tried to cover up the fact that he was a demon, although perhaps his way of doing so was a little unethical. He had learned that consuming enough angel souls could mask his demonic presence. His black, leathery wings sprouted pristine white feathers, and his spaded tail faded into a more pale colour as well. He had forgotten how many angels he had killed and consumed, but it was worth it. Anything was worth getting rid of that self loathing. The angelic shield that surrounded his corrupt soul was starting to fade, though. At this point the fact that he was a demon (and a rather embarrassing type at that) was pretty much common knowledge. The stigma that surrounded demons didn't seem to be as bad here, since a few of his crewmates wielded the title proudly, but that didn't stop Luca's shame. After all, after idolising them so much in his childhood, he was still very much attracted to all things holy.

Perhaps that's why Junji caught his gaze so easily. Luca stopped in his tracks, eyes bright with curiosity as they stared the pretty feline down. He hesitated for a bit, but then he turned on his paws and headed towards the shoreline. He was in a pretty sorry state, but hopefully his gruesome appearance wouldn't scare the angel off. The incubus stopped on the shore, standing behind Junji and resting his gaze on the faint scars on his back. He was unwilling to go any further, the distant memory of being drowned keeping him from joining the feline among the waves. While Junji seemed to be able to control them at will, fire was Luca's domain, so he would much prefer to stay dry. "Hey there," he greeted, feminine voice quiet against the ambience of the ocean. "I don't think we've met before." There was something predatory about the intensity of Luca's gaze, although he didn't have any plans to hurt the angel. Not yet, at least.

Understandably, Luca was a little annoyed by the fact that people assumed demons were always evil. Sure, he half believed it himself, but he disliked it when people judged him without getting to know him as a person. It didn't help that he actually reinforced all the negative stereotypes. He was lustful and violent, taking amusement in chaos and treating people's lives as disposable, but that had nothing to do with him being a demon. In fact, it was probably Luca's incredibly strict upbringing that led him to becoming what he was. The fact that he just so happened to be an incubus was just... coincidence. Sort of. There was no denying that the contact with the goddess that had turned him had corrupted him a little.

Luca blinked as he watched Junji jump, and for a second he was sure that the feline was about to be drenched. The waves stopped before soaking the tom, though, and Luca was almost a little disappointed. He always liked a good laugh, although he supposed that turning this stranger into the butt of a joke wouldn't be too good of a first impression. Luca was bad enough at those as it was. There were a few beats of tenseness as the pair stared each other down. Luca hoped that the angel wouldn't run away, for that would really kick his hunter instincts into overdrive, so he seemed relieved when Junji smiled and responded to his statement. He sat down and watched as the tom moved towards him, settling in to the warm sand. As his crewmate asked who he was, Luca fell still. He studied Junji for a beat, and then he blinked and the darkness was gone from his eyes as if it had never been there. A light giggle slipped from his lips and his posture relaxed.

"My name's Luca," he said, dipping his head ever so slightly. "Luca Rosario." His last name meant nothing to him. His hyper religious family had disowned him centuries ago, and his only living relatives wanted him dead. He said it anyway though, because apparently it was polite to announce a surname if you had one. He rubbed at a cut on his forearm with a sandy paw, only succeeding in irritating the wound further. Still, he seemed to pay no mind to it, and continued examining Junji curiously. "You're an angel, right?" He asked after a beat, although he was already sure that he knew the answer. He had a bit of a sense for things like that, although he had slipped up in the past. "You're sure cute enough to be one," he said slyly, casting the sage a quick wink. Subtlety had never been his strong suit.

Luca probably wouldn't be the best person for changing Junji's beliefs. Sure, he had been trying his best to improve himself lately, but 'improved' didn't always mean 'good'. He was definitely better than he used to be, but he was only a fraction less vile than he had been when he had joined. He was starting to feel like it was all for nothing, though. Practising earning what he got instead of just taking it was just tiresome and hard. There were so many years he had to undo, it almost didn't seem to be worth it. After all, it was unlikely that anyone would pay attention to him even if he managed to right himself. Bad behaviour always drew more eyes.

Now wasn't the time for his internal debate, though. He tired his best to focus on the angel in front of him as he responded in a language that Luca couldn't quite place. One of the old ones, he guessed. He tilted his head and blinked curiously, running the words through his head again before being brought back to reality. It sounded a little like the language that the demons spoke, the one they used when they didn't want Luca to listen in. Junji's disposition was friendly though, so Luca assumed that his words were the same. The hellhound flashed a fanged smile, one that only sharpened at the reaction to his complement. He had always been a sucker for the innocent bashful types.

The answer to his question drew a hum from Luca's throat. He was an angel on his father's side as well, or at least he was before his deal. The angelic blood that ran in his veins was as faint as his morals though, only making up an eighth of his genes overall. He was sure that it had been overwritten by now, but the fact that it had been there in the first place was probably what made angel souls compatible with his. There was a brief moment of silence, and Luca was about to break it when the pretty tom did it for him, inquiring about the wound on his arm. The canine glanced at it as if he were seeing it for the first time, blinking twice before glancing up at the sage. "Oh, sure. I have a ton of them though, so if you're keen on treating all of them we'll be here for a while." He shuffled closer anyway despite his warning. Any excuse to get close to someone was good enough for him. "It's awful kind of you to offer," he added softly, lifting his arm and extending the bloody limb towards the sage.

Any sort of attention was good for Luca, who had been deprived of it for basically his whole life. When he remembered being locked alone in that cold, dark room, even the memories of his beatings were pleasant ones. Perhaps further on in his recovery he'd be able to understand that good attention was better than bad, but he wasn't quite there yet. He hadn't quite connected the dots yet, but he was close to understanding that good actions were more likely to get people to stick around. His acting out drew more attention in the short term, sure, but it only pushed people away in the long run. If he wanted a more reliable source of comfort, he would have to start improving at a much quicker rate. It was hard without a teacher, though. He missed having Shininglight guide him on what was and wasn't socially acceptable. With his upbringing it was hard to tell black from white sometimes. But now Shine was acting all weird, like he barely even remembered Luca. It hurt too much to look at him, let alone ask for help again.

Luca stared into Junji's eyes as their gazes met, pink clashing with that calming ocean blue. People always said that eyes were the window to the soul, and Luca found the statement quite accurate. Over the years he had grown pretty accurate in picking out other people's emotions. The eye contact was gone as quickly as it came though, giving the canine little to no opportunity to glean anything interesting. With a quick word Junji was gone, heading towards the foliage of the jungle. Luca's ear flicked as he watched, his eyes lingering on the feline's rump for a second before he tore his gaze away, heat creeping onto his cheeks. He took the time alone to let the breeze calm him down, trying not to focus too much on how pretty and how kind Junji was. Innocence and kindness were always sure to lure Luca in, and the angelic sage seemed to have both in excess. He had to remind himself to hold back a little, though. It was the intensity of his affection that had scared away most of his partners in the past. Apparently, randomly declaring that you love someone five minutes after meeting them wasn't the right way to go about it.

Luca perked up a little as Junji reappeared though, wriggling slightly in the sand. His eyes fell on Junji's newly equipped supplies, the smell of flora washing over him and slightly calming the ever-stuttering beat of his heart. "S'all good," he said in response to the angel's warning. Everyone had to start somewhere, and there was no doubt that Junji would take better care of Luca than the hellhound took of himself. He watched curiously as the water encased his wound, watching particles of sand swirl out of his flesh. The sound of his name drew his attention back upwards, breaking his trance-like state and bringing his focus back to Junji's face. he had never been too good at talking about himself, but if that's what the sage wanted to hear, he'd be happy to provide.

He hummed a quick note, glancing off towards the ocean while he thought. "Well, you already know my name..." That was usually where you started with things like that, right? "I'm the youngest of five children, but I haven't really talked to my family in forever. I grew up in a church, but it wasn't really a very good one, so I ran away and I've been wandering since. Um... I like baking an' soft things an' cool weather, but I hate storms an' being wet. Out of all the places I've stayed, the Typhoon is one of the best, I think." he seemed lost in thought for a moment, as if trying to think of anything else that he could say about himself without sounding like too much of a freak. He seemed to come up blank though, because then he turned to look back at the feline. "What about you? I'm not very interesting to talk about, y'see."

Luca wouldn't consider himself raised well. His father had surely tried, but he didn't have much time to ingrain his policies into Luca before the child was taken away to live with the church. Perhaps if his mother had been able to gather enough resources, he would have been able to stay with his family and grow into those "honorable men" that his father was always talking about, but unfortunately that wasn't the case. All his father managed to do was plant the seeds of his son's insecurity. He had criticised Luca's soft body, his bad work ethic, his femininity, all things that the canine still felt insecure about now. His mother had never done anything to help; he had received his cowardice from somewhere, after all. At least his father hadn't been outwardly cruel to him though. He had never raised a paw against Luca nor any other member of his family, and for that the hellhound could be thankful. For that and that only.

The church was worse, far worse. Even the brief mention of it before made him feel a little sick. He swallowed thickly and tried to focus on Junji, allowing the pale feline to distract him from some of his more disturbing thoughts. The concerned glance would be met with a smile, one that melted from his face as soon as the attention was back on his wounds. He honed in on the sting of herbs against raw flesh, his eyes narrowing slightly with concentration. Soon the rush of fear would pass, it always did, it wasn't a rare event for Luca to misjudge how well he was dealing with things and send himself into a panic.

The half-angel's presence definitely helped him with calming down. As he listening to Junji speak, his heart rate slowed until it reached its usual rhythm. Growing up alone sounded sad. Luca hated being alone, the one thing he missed from his early years was the constant bustle of a full household, knowing that he could always count on his brothers (and single sister) for entertainment or advice. The feline before him didn't seem all that upset though, and Luca continued to watch him curiously as he spoke. Junji's reason for liking storms was valid, he supposed, although he couldn't quite agree. Perhaps he might have been able to like them if it weren't for the thunder and lighting, but the sudden loud noises and the bright lights didn't mix well with Luca's already fragile mental state. It made him jumpy and on edge, and he hated people seeing him like that.

Luca noticed Junji step back, and glanced down at his herb-coated wounds. He blinked and looked back up at the sweet feline, already missing the contact between them. He managed to smile back though, allowing his body to relax now that he wasn't in such close proximity. He followed Junji's gaze out towards the ocean, staring out into the rolling waves. He had only been there for about a month or so, but he had to agree. "Ah... yeah," he said quietly. He glanced at the feline beside him, a smile dancing across his lips. "Not as lovely as you though," he added, the faintest hints of a teasing laugh lacing his words.