knifemonopoly | IC inbox

[Back home, giving gifts around the holiday season is meant to be very, very romantic. So as much as Yugi loves his friends, gifts are generally small tokens or treats that are given as far away from the holiday as possible.

But this is Nattenfest, not Christmas, so he can probably break the rules to give his partner and very close friends something small to open. Atem will find a solvable die-shaped puzzle box that could also front as decor, if he so chooses. Once he inevitably solves said puzzle, Atem will find the box contains a small wooden lion figure, as well as a Cryptex puzzle large enough for Atem to hide away a message or small personal belongings should he ever feel the need to.

Yugi's already hidden two notes inside for when Atem, again, inevitably solves the puzzle. The first simply reads Thank you. The second contains a smiley-face doodle and a message that reads, in a poor attempt at being cryptic, I'll always show up when a friend calls for me!]

To be completely honest, I haven't been hunting actively much this month. It's a lot of work to try to find people whose souls I'm willing to eat, and then make up a game to test them, and make sure it all goes right...

But my job -- and the rumors I set off in October -- let me keep an eye out, so to speak.

Why? Do you need to be pointed in someone's direction?

[Christmas turned out to be a nicer holiday than Nattensfest proper. It had been a pretty simple, quiet affair during which Ryou and Atem had simply spent a nice time in with each other. Movies, games, good food. That's about the best Ryou could honestly ask for.

Though he isn't bound to complain much about the end of the day involving watching the snow fall from atop the roofs of the apartments. He'd even stuck his big old wolf tongue out to catch a few flakes.

(it was probably stupidly cute)

Watching the snow fall is pretty romantic. But now they're going inside, because even if he's got a double coat and Atem's a demon with built-in heat, it's no good to stay outside that long. Before entering through the fire escape door, he shakes his fur out so that he doesn't risk getting wet as the snow melts.

...Maybe he shakes a little bit of snow on Atem. Oops.]

[It's got to be nearly midnight by now, and Atem was in no hurry to go back inside, but there's hot chocolate inside, and still some cake, and even Atem can't resist its siren call forever. Ryou catching snowflakes with a big old night-form mlem is something he's going to seal away in his memories forever, because the holiday's been nothing but cozy and nice, and it feels like catching snowflakes encapsulates it...

...well, being hit with a little bit of snow is less cozy. Luckily, he's got a jacket on, but it does hit his cheek. Atem wipes it away, looking in surprise at just how fast the clump of flakes turned into water.]

It melted...

Ah, sorry. I didn't mean to get you with that...

[Ryou moves all the way inside, allowing Atem to follow more easily. He has the decency to look a little sheepish about it, but his body language isn't too terribly off-putting. No tail tucking, no ear flattening, though one does flick to the side a little.]

I'm not sure if it melted so fast because it's cozy in here, or because you're just warm, honestly.

[He says it with a bit of amusement in his tone. It really could have been worse!]

Not as warm as Mr. Joestar. That poor guy's hopeless...

[The words are mean but the tone is sympathetic; poor guy can't get close to snow without it turning into slush.]

I hope he temp-swaps to something good next year, so he can "enjoy the season properly."

[He's making idle, fond conversation as he navigates his coat around his shoulder-spikes. Taking it off is always a whole thing...how does anyone deal with spines like this all the time?

He hasn't noticed yet that someone's been in here.]

[HELL YEAH, HELL YEAH, drained as she may be, Ray is so ready for this. Fun time with Atem! Who likes her ideas!! Shame she doesn't really have one now.]

Yes! What sort of fun thing? I'm not used to doing things just for fun with others...and sewing isn't really a friend activity, is it, Atem?

[Ryou closes the door after Atem's in, locking it and giving his head another shake just because it feels nice to fluff his fur that way.]

It's not his fault, he couldn't choose his own monster type, but I do hope that he can afford a swap as well, for next winter. Being a demon has benefits, but...um...

[Ryou trails off suddenly, his nose twitching. Hmm. Something...is different in here, than when they left. It smells like...]

Atem? Did you...ask Mana for something?

[He remembers her scent, from when he'd extended this change.]

Hm? No, even if I'd wanted to, I'm all out of coins, you know that...

[Still, it doesn't preclude the possibility of someone else buying them something from her. He trusts Ryou's nose -- if he says Mana's been here, Atem trusts him.]

Someone else might have asked her for something for one of us, though. As long as it's an item, not a power, it's allowed...

That's true...and I wouldn't put it past any of our friends to do something so kind.

[Ryou seems distracted as he says that, but that's normal like this--once he's on a scent, he gets pretty focused. He sniffs a few good times, getting a half-decent read of the room. It's not far away at all, actually. It seems like she left something on--there. On the kitchen counter. He pads over to it, reaching a hand out to grab...]

...A snowglobe?

[There's two, actually. But Ryou grabs the one that's closest. As luck would have it...that one's his. Curiously, he gives it a shake and waits for the snow to settle inside while glancing back at Atem.]

I suppose as long as it's not dangerous, right? I think there's one for each of us...

I don't know -- I've never tried group sewing!

[He's open to giving it a shot, if that's what she likes! Put a (metaphorical and literal) pin in that?]

Let's see...I don't know how energetic you're feeling after coming back, but if you need to eat, we could split a kill. All the werewolves I know like to chase their prey down, and with my magic, I can make them run, even if they don't have a soul...

I hope it didn't cost them too much, whoever it is. It's kind, but...

[Atem picks the other one up, which has Mana and her batlike wings spread around the bottom of the globe serving as a base, and turns it around curiously.

....

Oh.

He goes quiet, looking at it.

Surrounded by friends...the first moment he realized he wasn't fighting alone...who gave him this?

Red-on-black eyes flick up, glance over to Ryou's, curious and more indiscreet than usual. What's in his boyfriend's?]

Group sewing...

[She hasn't exactly tried it either, but with how Atem had a certain loudness about him in his bearing, she can't really picture them quietly sewing together. Especially not as a demon.

...When she was a demon, she would steal all the strays and wayward pets she found... He might be down for that, but she didn't really need any more pets, with Molly -- not when she was sure none of them would feel like hers.]

It's pretty tiring, coming back... A little like that poisonous gas... [Weird. And a shame, because that's a really sweet offer he's making! Chasing something does sound fun, but it was a lot of effort just getting here.]

Mmm... [Hmmm!!!] I think maybe... [She looks down to her padded palms and fingers, flexing a little. Weird to have bones!!!] Digging. Or sandcastles, maybe... Something where I can use my hands for real. It's been a while.

[Ryou doesn't respond to Atem. He says absolutely nothing at all because his attention is fully focused on the snow globe. It'll be just as clear to Atem as it is to him what's inside.

A family. Every person in the family had snowy white hair--a mother, a father, and two children. It looks like they're getting ready to pose for a photo, actually. Ryou...remembers it. He doesn't remember the occasion, but he recalls, vaguely, that they were trying to look nice.

His mother...his mother...he hasn't seen her in so long that he'd nearly forgotten what she looked like. Her hair was much softer than his, feathered lower at the tips, and her eyes were a rich brown, her skin just as light as his used to be. Amane...her skin was a little closer to their father's tone, but she'd gotten their mother's hair.

They...they all looked so happy here. He looked happy, holding his sister's hand, with his father's gently rested on his shoulder.

Ryou sets the globe down, his ears slicked back. This...no one should know about this. No one cared enough. No one knew his mother's face.

He backs off for a moment, stepping away from it. He's...distrustful of it.]

That's...

[The words die on his lips.]

...that's your family.

[He knows Ryou's relationship with his dad was not good, not good at all. He knows Ryou's sister was gone. He doesn't know anything about Ryou's mother.

Seeing something like this...is it making Ryou happy? Or complicated?]

...do you mind if I take a closer look? If it's all right, I'd like to see them.

Sandcastles...!

[Wow that actually does sound like fun? Building something together? Atem doesn't bother to school his expression so much as a demon, so it'll be easy for Ray to pick up his enthusiasm for the idea.]

Yeah. Let's build something together! Do you want to go to the park, or the beach?

[The park has areas of loose dirt that they could use -- who's gonna stop them, even if they inconvenience someone? But the shore of Lake Dala's the closest place he can think of with sand.]

Sort of?
Not to eat. I've been fine at that on my own.

But I need to hunt.

[Ah. Instincts, whether monster-specific or from before...either way, they need a target, a focus.

...

Games are a lot of work, to the lazy, selfish side the demon temp's bringing out, and it's why he hasn't eaten much this month, but Riley's come to him for help, and for her, he can definitely work up the energy to find someone she can live with herself after killing.]

Want to meet up and talk targets? 806 or the basement on 4th Street would be fine.

[He'll have to think. Let's see, what had he heard about before he'd quit thinking about it on December 5th...what threads did he have from his job that he hadn't already followed up on as a nephilim...he starts going through his notes while he waits for a reply.]

Y...y-you can look.

[Ryou isn't entirely sure if this is making him happy or not. His body language is uncertain...a bit frightened. But he doesn't stop looking at the globe, because it...it's his family, like Atem said. Maybe his family is broken now, but it wasn't always...

He shifts from one foot to the other, hands clasping at opposite elbows and his ears still flattened. His family...his mother. They're in there. He can't quite process that they're in there.

Atem will be able to tell that the Amane who he saw back in February was not the Amane inside the snow globe now. Ryou's mind had simply filled in the gaps, brought her to an age that fit her better--to match her brother. But in the globe, they look near the same age, around eight or nine perhaps. After all, Ryou doesn't look much younger than he had as a child during September.

This picture...it wasn't taken long before the accident. He can't remember when, everything's fuzzy...but that much is obvious. So...Amane had never gotten to grow up.]

[Atem picks the globe up.

He looks at the family -- at how they look alike, how they look different. That's Ryou's mother. That's Amane -- as she was, at this moment. Going from Ryou's appearance, this was at least ten years ago...

His own curiosity satisfied, their images in his head, he sets it down and looks back at Ryou. A hand goes to Ryou's upper arm, warm and solid.]

D'you want to tell me about them?

[Because if Ryou does, Atem will listen. He wants to know about them, now that he knows what they look like.]

[Oh! He likes the idea, too! Can't not wag her tail about that. His eagerness doubles her own, and now it reaches her eyes. Almost like a regular girl!]

The beach, please! I guess it's too cold to swim, but still... I can't get near the water, as a slime. It'd be nice to have better memories of being on the shore.

[She recognizes it's too cold to swim, but she still seems ready to leave despite wearing shorts... Rachel pulls back only so she can hold her paw-like hand out for the demon to take.]

Let's go, Atem...!

[ He doesn't ask questions. It's why she goes to him. She's sure others could help her, truly. So very, very sure, that someone else could walk her through the process of finding something to hunt...but she's spoken to him about it, the...misdirected impulses.

The need to find the right people.

He's not asking her why. He's not asking her anything. ]

The basement. We can meet there. It's quieter.

[ No roommates. No floormates. No one else to overhear them. ]

[He takes her hand!]

Let's go.

Hey--

[Something occurs to him. He knows he can manage the weight of her body and stay in the air...]

Do you want to walk the whole way, or would you rather fly?

[No. The only questions on his mind are about what part of it it is that she needs, so that they can make sure to hit that...

...and so that he'll know if they can hunt together sometimes, or if it needs to be solo.]

Okay. I'll leave the street door unlocked, if I get there first.

[And with that, he shuts the laptop, grabs a notepad, gives Tybolt a quick goodbye scritch, then heads out the door to the fire escape and jumps off the railing, catching himself in midair with big bat-wings. It's funny, how similar flying in this form is to his fog-form -- a little easier, maybe, a little more magic, a little further removed from even a cursory nod to physics, but not as blatantly nautral-law-breaking as nephilim flight was.

Atem knows the more direct route to his basement, but she's a more experienced flier. It's a tossup whether he drops out of the air beside her, if she's beaten him there and is waiting, or if he gets in, unlocks the top door, then heads down the stairs through the lower one and starts compiling what he's brought under one arm with what's here, waiting for a knock.]

[ They're leaving from the same place for the same place, which is funny. It'd be so much simpler to just have this conversation where they live. But, at least for Riley, her apartment has seen so much death and pain that she'd rather not. She'd really rather not.

She leaves through the fire escape, not even taking to the roof. She's a little lost in thought, a little turned around, and the result is despite her superior flying skills, she still winds up getting there, just as he's walking down the stairs, with a nervous little knock that echoes through the stairwell. ]

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nattenfest

<Player1>

12/24, tho probably bleeding into 12/25 since Ryou's still nocturnal

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<CheeryCherry>

<Player1>

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WELCOME TO YOUR PRIVATE CHANNEL, PLAYER1. FOR SECURE COMMUNICATION, USE 10.11.0.0.01 * PLAYER1 has joined 10.11.0.0.01 <PLAYER1>** If you're looking for someone you knew as Yugi before June, you've found him! It's Atem, leave a message.