Loyal Old Demon, Brave Little Human.

The Winchester Mystery House.

Shane was relaxed in the car, as he and Ryan were driven to their first stop on what Shane hoped was a one time thing for an episode. One of the camera crew that sat up in the front seat handed Shane a camera. Shane turned it on, filming the drive as Ryan talked. He seemed nervous, but Shane kept pretty quiet in the car, saving his teasing for when they arrived. They filmed a bit outside, and bantered a bit about the theme park nature of the Mansion, before entering and looking for a place to set up shop. After a while, the camera crew had set up in a large bedroom, and had Shane and Ryan sitting in a couple of chairs.
"Right now, we are sitting in the bedroom of Sarah Winchester, who built this mansion as a result of a terrible tragedy." Ryan looked at Shane, talking more to him now. "She actually passed away in this room. Right over there."
"Hell of a bed." Shane said, and after a moment, continued. "I assure you, in like, half the places you've been people have probably died there. People have probably died at the Chipotle we just ate at."
"Let's just get into it."
"Okay." Shane said, stifling a laugh. Ryan told his spooky story, all the way through, with Shane's interruptions, of course. Then they began to tour the house.

•••••••••

The house definitely had something. Shane noticed a couple of time faces peering at him from around corners. Just watching. The story of the Winchester was just that. A story. A woman who built a house until she died all because of grief and fear of death. The house really had no reason for hauntings other than the constant seances she did in her home. Shane wasn't too concerned about the house, the more they toured it. Yes, a couple spirits showed up here and there, but they never got close. Probably because whenever they showed themselves, Shane let his shadow distort, showing his true self under the human mask he was currently wearing. He even got bored at one point, and scared the shit out of Ryan by crouching in the corner and breathing heavily when he came into view. The look was priceless. Shane was thankful, however, that they didn't spend the night at the Winchester, as was Ryan. Shane's reason wasn't so much ghosts, however. He was not super great at hiding his other physical extremities in his sleep yet. Ryan looked at Shane as they ended their video at in the bedroom where they started. "Let me ask you outright. Do you think ghosts are real?"
Shane laughed, and the lie slid out of his mouth. "Uh, no."
Ryan and he left, and the group drove home, which was relatively close, and all of them went home for the night, not that there was much of it left. Shane walked into his apartment exhausted, and let his true form emerge after he pulled off his shirt. He didn't want wing holes in another one. At that point, the demon collapsed on the bed, which still sat in his living room, and relaxed. He really was tired, and his head hurt. After a moment, Shane rose and went to his bathroom, grabbing some benadryl and popping it in his mouth before going back to his bed and falling asleep, his wings splayed across the bed as he laid on his stomach, snoring loudly.
Fun facts about demons, the can get sick. And Shane was pretty convinced he was too. See, demons have their human and demon forms, but they have to balance it out. Their human form is like a distorted view of themselves, similar to when you splash water, then look at your reflection. However, if they stay in their human forms for long periods of time, they lose their energy. They become susceptible to things like alcohol and sleep deprivation. Shane normally didn't have to worry about this, seeing as his power was much stronger than your average demon's, and he normally let his other form switch back for the night, but Shane had been practicing to start sleeping in human form recently, trying to keep his magic powered on even as he slept just in case he needed to. He was thankful he had, however this made him feel awful the next morning, even with his wings and horns out in the open. He groaned and got up, walking to his kitchen to make some coffee, which he was becoming rather fond of. Shane sat and watched the coffee machine turn on, and waited as it steeped in silence. Shane's apartment was awfully quiet. He wondered if he should get a TV or something, but shrugged it off. He could work on settling into his new home when he came back from his trip. He checked his watch, which informed him that he still had two hours before he had to meet Ryan, so as the coffee finished, Shane poured it into a mug, and began to pack while he drank it. He grabbed his Benadryl, as well as a couple changes of clothes for a couple of weeks, and his toiletries. He finished packing about the time he finished his coffee, which had woken him up enough to function now. Shane stood up, and grabbed his stuff, readying himself to leave and calling a Lyft. He waited in his apartment, looking it over and vowing to himself that he would make the place nicer when he got back, before leaving to meet his driver, who drove him to the airport in comfortable silence. Shane gave her five stars. When he got out of his Lyft, he waved at Ryan, who was waiting at the entrance already. For a guy who was scared of ghosts, the guy sure was eager. Ryan smiled, and Shane smiled back. At least he was cute.