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[A bat-monster is curled up tight in a blanket burrito on the bed. He seems to have pulled it around himself in his sleep.

He is not breathing! This is, however, not cause for alarm. He begins to breathe abruptly when there's a knock on the door.

(The door is cracked open anyway, a courtesy for Tybolt.)]

Hrmgh? What? What is it?

[Ryou's so used to Atem not breathing at this point that it wouldn't have registered for him even if he had caught sight of it. Sometimes your boyfriend simply doesn't need to breathe.

And Ryou, admittedly, probably didn't breathe when he slept as a vampire (He didn't). So in that way, he also gets it.]

Sorry, were you sleeping? Please, don't let me interrupt...

[The vestiges of sleepiness were still working their way out of his voice, so clearly he feels very bad that he was disturbing his equally sleepy boyfriend.]

No, it's all right, I'm up, I'm up--

[A big toothy yawn! His tongue really does go on forever! Give him a second to extract himself from the blankets...]

It's a Fog day, even if it's weak, so I can sleep anytime...

[Ahh, no he feels really bad about this! But, since Atem insists, Ryou does push the door open, peeking his head in just in time to catch the most luxuriant bat-yawn. Honestly...]

That is true...but there's no rush, you know.

[He moves in closer, his tail tip flipping from side to side lazily behind him. Once he's close enough, padded fingers reach out to stroke the side of Atem's face. He has to. It's not often that he's like this, and Ryou wants to touch his fuzzy face. It's cute.

(Ryou your standards)]

Yes...I figured since it's foggy, we could head up to the roof and...well, if the sun's not so bad, then...

[He trails off. It's stupid, he doesn't want to ask, really.]

[Liquid red eyes fall closed at the touch, giving in gently and easily, practically tame.]

Then...?

[He rumbles it, tilting his face slightly into Ryou's fingers. Go on, he's listening.]

[His thumb keeps stroking along Atem's cheek. Sometimes it's the simple moments like this...the affection, which keeps him going. Ryou's, perhaps, a bit too sentimental.

But then again, Atem already knows by now that he's dating a romantic.]

Then...maybe we could try gliding. Flying, I'm not so sure on. I can't get my wings to move right when I want them to. But only if you're not too tired.

I don't know. Part of me wants to stay here like this!

[He bumps his face a little more actively into Ryou's hand. Atem likes being here, likes Ryou's manticore form, likes afternoon naps with his boyfriend and his pet, likes the touch. But they don't have an infinite number of fog days, and Atem's only able to fly at something close to Ryou's size right now...he wouldn't be able to catch Ryou if something went wrong if Atem could only fly in travel form. If they're going to do flying/gliding lessons, now's the time to do it.]

But, as long as we can pick this up where we left off...I can help you learn your way around your wings.

[Ryou is more than a little touched at the thought that Atem would prefer to laze around the house and also likely in bed with him. He knows that with the wings it's not that easy...

...and he offers no thought at all to the fact that he had also accommodated Atem's wings in whatever form had them. That's just polite. But what Atem is doing is THOUGHTFUL! There's a difference!

Either way, though, it's just as thoughtful that Atem is sacrificing part of his time to this. So Ryou continues to offer scritches. He leans and bumps noses with his bat-faced boyfriend, then affectionately licks his cheek for good measure.]

We don't have to do it long. I just want to get better at having them since...I'll be like this for a while. Then we can catch another nap. I don't think I've ever appreciated a good nap so much as I have lately.

[Atem's bat-purr is louder in his fog form. It's clearly audible, rather than being mostly vibration. The cheek lick brings it back out.]

Okay. We'll get some wing practice in...and then we'll nap!

[He bumps their faces again. Then, a long, narrow tongue slips out to lick Ryou's cheek back. Share scents, show everyone they're attached, they protect each other.

It's with reluctance but resigned determination that Atem hauls himself to his bare, gold-clawed feet. Practice is a good idea. Flying is an important skill...it'll help Ryou to get more comfortable with his wings....]

[Ryou seems pleased with the lick back, and lets out a soft little trill that almost, almost passes as a closed-mouth meow. If they weren't going to wear themselves out further with trying to fly, he would have curled up against Atem's chest right then and there and put his wings to quite a different use--enveloping the other and keeping him close.

But flying. Ryou wants to learn how to do it. There had been something freeing about it, back when he was a vampire in his fog form. He'd been terrible at it then too, but...well, trying to sort it out with Yugi had been nice.

...at least, before Yugi disappeared. It still makes him sad to think of that...but he tries not to linger on it. Instead, he bumps his head under Atem's chin once he's standing, then moves to the door.]

It's kind of strange when I'm shorter than you, isn't it?

[It's said pretty matter of fact, not to jab. The change in perspective is always interesting to him.]

[Out of Atem's room they go! With easy-going casualness:]

I don't find it strange! As long as you don't mind the shape, any height is fine...

[He doesn't feel any different about Ryou whether he's taller or shorter. He only notices the practicalities, and how when he's bigger, the world around him feels smaller...]

What I like about this one is that it lets me fly...and hold you in a different way, with the wings.

[He opens the front door and heads out into the hall, making for the steps that lead up to the roof. He really does like being on the 8th floor...roof access is so easy.]

Oh, I don't mind. I'm just used to things being a certain way after so long. It's nice not having to duck doorways though.

[Being as tall as he usually is can be a menace, Ryou likes that sometimes, his monster switching takes him back to his once-human height. It helps him remember that he was a human, and that he missed it sometimes.

He follows after Atem, laughing awkwardly as he raises a hand to scratch his own cheek at Atem's words. It's not that he thinks it's weird, quite the opposite actually. He's just embarrassed.]

And...I suppose you're right. It's nice having wings and being able to hold someone you care about with extra limbs. I really never put much thought to it, and I've always had four extra limbs as a shade. That's pretty silly, isn't it? I should have been using them to keep you close.

[It's almost as silly as he feels using stairs to go up to the roof anymore. Walking? Why walk when you can phase up? For that reason, he also enjoys living on the highest floor of the complex, but...well, walking is currently necessary]

[At the last possible second, before they go out into the open air, where anyone might be present and anyone might hear--]

I wouldn't have minded that!

[A red-eyed wink -- and then, he's out in the foggy twilight, up on the roof. Better follow him, and be careful how you flirt!!

Although, the roof looks quiet...lucky for them, they have it to themselves...]

I don't imagine you would...

[Thank goodness no one's around, or Ryou might have sputtered incoherently. But...it's just the two of them. Ryou can tell, his ears hear so very much. So he lets it pass, even though his face heats up a bit at the implication.

He heads outside, then lets out a soft, satisfied sigh. Really...he does like it up here. Oftentimes for the darkness he can hide in...but right now, he enjoys the open air.

Once they're out completely in the open, he takes a long, deep breath. Bavan might be a city with a reasonable population...but it still smells decent around here, and besides that, Ryou smells more than just the city air. He smells many things, though not as clearly as he could when he was a werewolf. Still, he can isolate the scents of people they know, vaguely. They must like it up here from time to time as well.]

It's nice out, see? Worth the trip, at the very least.

[A small breeze ruffles through his feathers, and Ryou reflexively spreads his wings, allowing it to move along his primaries and also cool the membrane of his opposite, more fleshy wing.]

It is.

[He likes it up here. That feeling is carried in his tone...the roof's a good place. He has a lot of good memories up here. Atem takes a moment to breathe, too...

...before he turns to teasing.]

Ready to jump off the edge?

Jump? Oh, come now, we can't just jump eight floors down! That's silly!

[Right? Atem couldn't possibly mean it.]

...T-there's got to be a better way, right?

[RIGHT?!?!

Ryou's tail flicks nervously, then he moves closer to the edge, hands clasped to his chest. He doesn't do it on purpose, but all the same, his wing flare wide open, as if to somehow catch him if he slips. If only he could control them better while in actual flight...]

Did anyone teach you, Atem? I think...w-well, the first time that you took this form...wasn't it during the tree event?

[Yes, Ryou calls them events. He may as well just own up to the game rhetoric more openly, he does quantify it as such pretty often.]

[A little more somberly:]

Yes, it was. There was no one around to show me how to use my wings. But everyone I knew was missing...I knew that if I was going to search for my missing friends, the best way to do it was from the air. With my monster type, I was able to pick up speed fast, so I found the nearest hill, and...taught myself.

[It had been frightening. Lonely. Trapped in a new, unfamiliar body, having to learn it by himself...knowing his friends needed help, and knowing that if he messed up, he'd get caught like they did...]

But, of course, I mean a practice round! Jump off of that, back onto the roof, with your wings out. See if you can get some lift.

[He nods at the railing that runs around the roof. It's a few feet high...if Ryou jumps, he might be able to get enough height to glide.]

Don't worry. If anything goes wrong, I'll catch you by the back of your shirt, and make sure you get safely to the ground.

Edited (better format) 2022-05-01 22:37 (UTC)

[Ah...

Ryou probably shouldn't have brought that up. He feels more than a pang of guilt, because he remembers all of the bad things that came of that situation. Things like trying to eat Horatio, lashing out at Atem for freeing him and saying, frankly, painful things.

He scowls at he ground, because he's an idiot and shouldn't have brought the trees up for Atem's sake, and because he shouldn't have brought them up for his sake, and because he is trying very hard to concentrate on drawing his wings in so he can turn and look at Atem without whapping him.

It takes a moment...but he manages. Extra set of arms...it's just like that. Yes. He can do this.

He moves away from the edge, then firmly tugs Atem into a hug, nuzzling his cheek.]

Just so that you know...it won't happen again. I'll be here for whenever you need help. Okay?

[Gliding can come in a second. Ryou wants to make sure...he needs to make sure Atem knows.]

[He's pulled into that hug, and the memories of last June fade back out, turn distant. The cool night air and hot blood, the stumbles and falls, the burning exhaustion and adrenaline in his undead limbs...all of that feels far away again, with Ryou here and warm in his arms.

From this close, Ryou will feel Atem relax, the tension of old, painful memories draining away. Atem nuzzles back with his big bat-head, breathing a sigh that might be a touch melancholy, but is not unhappy.]

Be careful making promises this place won't let you keep...I understand that getting help to me is difficult!

[It's why he picked the powers he did. Something he'll never be separated from...as long as the Fog exists, anyway.

Even though Ryou and Beat are both promising him they won't let it happen again...]

But I know you're here for me. I trust you...I know you'll do all that can be done.

[And that's the best Atem can ask for, the best he can hope for, in a horror setting that never lets up, not on him.]

The Fog has been empowering me to make my promises hold weight.

[That's all he says, because it's true. Like Atem, he had carefully curated his powerset so that he was stronger, more effective, and altogether better at helping others.

He doesn't want to argue the point, not when honestly, Atem isn't trying to--he's just trying to be pragmatic, which is something that Ryou often leans on. Being positive is rarely a good move, after all. Especially in this place.

That said, he can't help but curl his wings tightly around Atem while his arms give an extra tight squeeze.]

But none of that now. We ought to stay on task, right?

[...So why doesn't he unfurl his wings?]

Um...w-well, give me a minute, actually. They're not behaving.

[Surprise. Extra long wing cuddle.]

Heh heh.

[Oh, no, Ryou's wings don't want to let go. Atem takes the opportunity to make another face-nuzzle scent-mark pass, and lets the debate over whether Atem can be helped rest there: it's not that he doesn't believe in Ryou, it's that he believes Ryslig will harm him and that there's nothing anyone can do to help that.]

You'll have to make them listen to you, if you want to be a flier.

[Is he purring? There's a little bit of a purr.]

[Ryou trills softly in the back of his throat when he's nuzzled. Hey hey hey, he wants to nuzzle back. So he does, instinctively mingling scents. This is his bat. His favorite bat.

...Then his feathers ruffle a bit when Atem insists he has to make the wings listen. He does but also...he's pouting because Atem is teasing him.]

See if I hug you with them again, then...

[It sounds indignant, but Ryou is kidding.]

Oh, I don't think I have anything to worry about.

[A wink of one bat-eye. If Ryou's this reluctant to let go of him, with the wings....he's certain more wing hugs are in his future.]

Hmm...

[Atem's a brat. News at 11. It might almost come off that Ryou's mad, the way he squints and scowls...but actually, he's putting effort into remembering how the wings connect to his body, what muscles control them, and then...finally pulling them back.

His facial expression relaxes once they're spread wide open. It's actually quite an expressive wingspan, he imagines. They have to be big, to carry his weight.]

There. Alright. I think...maybe I ought to get a better feel for them...

[So saying, he tries to stretch them upward, reflexively stretching his body as well. It, again, takes some doing, but by the end of it, the tips of his primaries are pointed straight up, and the bat wing is stretched upward as well. Hands are clasped over his head as well, arms stretched up so luxuriantly as to pull his shirt up and reveal just a bit of his furred belly. Oops.

(The shirt probably isn't long for this world, not once he starts flying. But he's not worried about that.)

...He purrs lowly as he relaxes and lowers his wings. Stretching feels nice!

As he starts to flap them partially, to get a rhythm down, he glances at Atem.]

Um, sorry. Do you stretch before you fly, or do you just...do it? I know this seems unnecessary, but I'm a little...um. I don't want to jump without knowing that I can flap them.

[VALID CONCERN?]

[Whoops, he's checking out that stretch.

If he were less drained by the weak fog, or had more blood in him, Atem might wonder why they're practicing flying at all, instead of letting him get his hands under the front of that shirt...but, as it is, he's content to look.]

--hm?

[Until he's pulled out of it by a direct question.]

No, but...I'm an undead-type. The way my muscles work might be different from yours...

You should probably get a feel for flapping them first.

[Half of Atem's brain is giving good advice. The other half is thinking about how Ryou's belly fur is white.......]

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timeskip fine!!

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that icon will never not be precious

BATS CUTE

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

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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.