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[Ryou looks a little taken aback. Oh...oh that's...nice?

Now Atem has a perfectly good view of Ryou's way-too-big tail swishing from side to side at the compliment, and if he wasn't covered in fur, there'd probably be some blushing visible too.]

Ah...h-haha, well. Th-thank you, I...I like that you can see me too, and I'll keep drawing the eye as long as you like.

[Atem being so open about his feelings it is endearing. Very very cute!]

[He reaches out -- oh, the perspective is a little weird, very different from what he's used to, but good enough -- to touch the side of Ryou's face. Atem wants to get his clawed fingers into the fluff at Ryou's jaw, the sides of his face, draw him in closer...

...maybe even touch his ears.

It's all affectionate for now, even if there's something he wants to talk about very soon. Pets and scritches first.]

Edited 2022-05-09 10:51 (UTC)

[Ryou leans into the touch, exhaling softly. For the moment, he and Atem aren't looking exactly eye-to-eye, since he's on the floor and will remain seated there while Atem's on the couch. Recovering boyfriends get the whole couch, those are the rules.

The only reason that matters is because of how Ryou appears when he's looking up at Atem rather than down--much more like a pleased puppy than a contented, proud one. Furthermore, if his ears are touched, he hums happily and closes his eyes while relaxing them.

He's been fairly tired despite the ramped-up Fog, he's still pretty tired...but this contact feels like the best reward he's received for being awake at all.]

Your hands are so warm like this. It's nice.

That's right...I haven't been anything warm-blooded since December, have I...?

[December. Before the Fog. Before things changed, and he and Ryou found themselves on this path...

...he pulls at Ryou's face, gently, with one hand. The other goes back into Ryou's hair, to pull him forward, too.]

Come here.

[Ryou's being invited onto the couch -- or at least, the front half of him, if there isn't space for all of Ryou. Atem's going to pull him into a close hug, carefully and deftly removing the eye from his pocket with a tendril, so it doesn't get blocked by werewolf shoulder and can be held a little bit apart, between Atem's ears, above his head.

They are absolutely still going to talk.]

[Ryou shifts forward, following the tug of Atem's hands and almost immediately nuzzling up under his chin. It takes a little doing, but he does manage to slip both arms around the smaller werewolf.

Yeah...this is good. This is exactly where he wants to be right now.]

Mmm, you haven't been warm since December, but...it's okay. I'll always give you my warmth.

[December was pretty awful near the end, but he liked Atem as a demon. Atem was one of the very few demons Ryou wasn't scared of. And he was very, very warm then too.]

I love you.

[It slips out fondly, and Ryou noses into Atem's short fur a little more insistently. This is right. They belong together. Ryou won't let Atem be hurt by Elias again, not without a fight.]

I love you, too.

[Atem lets out a contented sigh, one unique to this form -- the sound of an animal settling into a comfortable spot.

...it's almost tempting to just stay like this.

Almost. But no -- Atem cares about Ryou too much to let this lie.]

...which is why I wanted to ask. Now that it's been a while...

[His mouth presses shut, and his ears flatten, then go forward. How does he put this?]

...are you happy with the decision we made, to go to tier 3?

[He's going to pet the back of Ryou's head, as he talks.]

It was hard for you...I could tell. It was my idea...I didn't make you follow me, but I wanted to...

[Again, how to put it?]

...if what you wanted was to be strong, I wanted to open the door to that, for you.

But, if this way of being strong isn't what you want...[pet, pet]...that's okay, too.

[And, he remembers what Hinata said. He's got to be completely honest, here:]

The only thing I regret, from all of that...was that it was so painful for you.

[Ryou would have been perfectly happy to stay just like this as well. But that's not what happens. Instead, Atem asks something of Ryou that makes him stiffen, just a little. His ears slick back, and his tail, which had been twitching about in happiness, completely stills.

He doesn't pull away, he just listens and stays where he's at, giving no indication at the moment of how he feels, other than taken aback. Again...Atem is trying to help him cope with his problems. Again, Atem is not prioritizing himself.

It is frustrating...but Ryou's mostly only frustrated with himself.]

Everyone had a part to play in what happened during that time.

[It's said in a voice that's not quite curt, but also isn't completely even either.]

I want to be strong, and that comes with great personal sacrifice. You deal with things much better than I do, but that doesn't mean that I'd walk it back. I made the choice to join the Fog. I made the choice to scare humans, and feed in a manner consistent with the Fog's wishes.

[He pulls back, so that Atem can see his face, if he adjusts his eye a bit.]

I made the choice to do research against the company and kill their CEO. I chose to come with you to see things through, and I chose to devour those men to scare humans. But even so...I still made you feel bad, didn't I? Because of the things I said and did afterwards.

...I'm sorry, Atem. But no. I wouldn't change it. What needs to change is...how I react to things.

[He needs to be harder, less reactive to the city. Colder. He can do it.

(i can't)

He has to do it. Atem can't keep on carrying dead weight, not after what they'd done. Ryou has seen the threats levied against them, and he would not become Atem's exploitable weakness.]

Edited (what missing sentence you're a missing sentence) 2022-05-09 23:46 (UTC)

You only need to change as much as you want to change. I want you to become...who you want to be. And who that is is up to you to decide.

[Ryou's pulled back, but Atem leans his head forward, and presses the side of his muzzle against Ryou's, snuffing just a little in his cheek fur. Ryou doesn't get to be distant, or short, or feel turbulent feelings without being reminded that he's not alone. The words come out a little close to Ryou's ear, then, as he goes on.]

I was scared for you, afterwards, when you were trying to draw attention away from me...

[He leans his face against Ryou's.]

...but I never would have stopped you.

We can't stop each other. This is the path we're on, and what I do is mean tto support you on your journey, just as much as you've chosen to support me. And I don't mean to scare you, Atem...

[There's a but waiting to spring forth, of course, and Ryou nuzzles Atem back before he continues, because he feels as if it might sound less bad if he nuzzles.]

...but if this is how you felt in the first place...then I should have been doing better. I want to scare the humans, not you.

No, no.

[He shakes his head, lightly.]

There's no "should." There's just what is, and what isn't. You should do exactly what you want to do. Even if it frightened me, it was your move to make, not mine.

Don't think about it as "doing better."

[Better. He's tried so hard to do better, and it's worn him thin, worn him out...]

Think about it as finding out who you are. What you're okay with, and what you aren't. Don't make yourself do something you're not okay with....that just leads to regret.

[Take it from him. He pushed himself so hard, in September and October...and for what? What was it all for?]

[Ryou's shoulders drop when Atem tells him he doesn't need to do things he's not okay with. That's so hard, so much harder than simply saying it. Doing it is another thing.]

Sometimes what I have to do doesn't align with what I think is okay. That's just how it is here. If what I wanted always aligned with what I needed, then I wouldn't be with the Fog right now.

But I am, because without Her strength behind these claws, I'd be too weak to protect myself, much less anyone else around me.

...And sometimes, what I really, really want doesn't align with who I think I should be. And when that happens...I want to be something else.

[Not someone else. Something else. He still wants to be "Ryou Bakura", but not as a shade. Not with that burning resentment that eats at him like acid reducing away layers of his skin, slowly but painfully.

Suddenly, Ryou draws in a long, almost painful-sounding breath.]

Listen...t-this isn't what we should be doing. You're supposed to be focused on your recovery. Is this really what you want to talk about right now?

Of course!

And I'll catch you, if you start to fall.

[Better hope those pants are more durable than the shirt, because Atem's going to have to grab onto something.]

You can try jumping off the ledge back onto the roof, first. See what it feels like to get lift under your wings.

....it is.

[His tongue comes out -- he licks at the side of Ryou's mouth. Why does he think it'll make Ryou feel better, that he does that? Atem has no idea. But he does it.]

There's no winning, here...no way to truly get everything you want. There's only choices.

And I'm with you, no matter what choice you make. You won't be alone. You'll fly yourself, but...I'll be there to catch you.

[Lick, lick.]

And I like you how you are. [Another lick.] All of the ways you are.

[It's not kissing, exactly. It's weird. But he's high. Feels correct.]

[If anything's going to get Ryou to relax, then hilariously, it would be mouth-licking. It satisfies an instinctual need to be comforted, and it's also massively adorable, especially coming from someone who didn't ever seem too fond of licking when he wasn't a werewolf. Ryou had always been conscientious about not giving too many dog kisses back when it was him being a werewolf, at least when Atem was not a demon.

Demon Atem didn't care. Evidently, werewolf Atem was embracing his nature.

...To be fair, Ryou's sure the meds have a little to do with that. And yet he smiles, and lets out a happy little dog noise, the same familiar one that he lets out when he's fully relaxing.]

Oh, stop...you're being too much. No wonder you have so many friends who would come help save you. H-heheh! And it's very clear that you have biases for dubiously overpowered gamers.

[Like Ryou.

...And now it's his turn to lick Atem, right on the nose. Fine, fine, if they're going to stay on this topic, the least he can do is make it a little less dour...right?]

[Swsh-swsh-swsh, goes Atem's thin little tail. It's clear that that reminder has made him happy.]

I don't know what you mean. I'm perfectly objective, and -- [It's nuzzling time.] -- impartial --

Clearly not partial to anyone present.

[...For probably the first time all day, Ryou gives in to his instinct and finds a way to crawl onto the couch. It takes a little maneuvering, a little soft guiding so that he doesn't wholly disturb Atem, but has enough space to curl up next to him.

He wants to be next to him. He wants to share warmth and be as close as possible, and only when he's slithered his way into a reasonable position that doesn't end with him sitting on Atem's tail does he lick at the corner of Atem's mouth himself.

Despite himself, he lets out a soft sound that might placate a more dominant wolf, if that was the kind of atmosphere they were fostering in this apartment

(maybe it is?)

as he curls his tail over Atem's lap. Warm. Together. Good.]

Indeed.

[Look he apologized before he even infused as much sass into that single words as possible, but here's another lick for good measure.]

H-haha, yeah, you're right. I'm taking this a little too quickly! I should just try to get a bit of lift.

[Ryou knows that makes sense, he's just trying to put up a brave front. It's not working very well, he imagines, but at least he's trying, right?

Nervously, he drops to all fours in one slow, smooth movement. As a manticore, he does have a high jump radius. Not quite as high as when he was a werewolf, but pretty high anyway. He flares his wings out to either side, takes a deep, calming breath...then jumps in place.

It's not artful. It is high enough that he can flap his wings downward in one powerful motion though, propelling himself upwards and giving him at least ten feet of height. Unfortunately, it's at a dangerous angle, and Ryou panic-flaps his wings out of sync in an attempt to straighten himself out.

...And there he goes over the roof edge. The panicked yowl he lets out sure is something, sorry to anyone who was trying to sleep.]

[....Atem doesn't usually let out big, heavy sighs, but something in this body makes him huff all his air out as he settles in.

It is extremely contented.

He doesn't have it in him to sass back. He's finding himself relaxing...even if he's not sure he got through to Ryou what he wanted to say, and he's not sure he's happy with Ryou's answers, they're what Ryou's choosing...so...

...so, he gets comfortable, and settles in to rest as hard as he can.]

Ryou!!

[Down 8 floors -- Ryou will probably land on his feet -- but it's eight floors and the fog is weak, Atem won't risk injury to him --

Atem jumps off the edge of the roof, like he's done plenty of times before, and swoops down toward Ryou. If Ryou's used his tail to right himself, Atem will grab him around the waist with two outsized, gold-clawed hands at the bottom of his arc, then shout to be heard over the wind--]

Spread your wings!

[Any glide Ryou can manage will help Atem, since he's able to fly with another monster, but Ryou's got a lot of bulk in his wings and tail and anything that's not dead weight will keep Atem's flight magic from giving out in his weakened state.]

Triffany! Did you make it out of the desert? Sorry I didn't see this...I didn't see much of anything, last week!

You bet I did! I never thought I'd be so happy to see the mansion again.

Did something happen? You're not in danger anymore, are ya?

No, I'm safe...my friends found me. What happened to you? Did it have something to do with the monster-type change?

Yeah, I was lucky to find a cave to wait out the sun. It's scary to think what would've happened if I were hanging on a cliff when this happened.

Wait, you're not a vampire now, are you? That's rotten luck...it's difficult to be a monster weak to the sun in the summer!

Oh, no, that would've been worse. I'm a troll, I think. I got fur again!

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sorry for this it just happened. i couldn't resist

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<Player1> FULLY AFTER THE FOG

<PunnyBone>

<Player1>

<PunnyBone>

<Player1>

<PunnyBone>

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.