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[knifemonopoly]

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.

Main handle: < Player1 > Anon: < turtleluck >, < actuallydied >, < burner >

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[knifemonopoly]

[He tracks the movement of the wing. He sees Ryou's face. His brows knit, furrow, is this really right, any thing that hurts him this much can't be right. What if he stayed, and held Ryou, and told him it was all okay, the thing he did wasn't even that serious?

...but...

...he remembers how fast Ryou had gone from calm to ARE YOU SORRY. A switch had flipped, there are things nephs can't bear, and if Atem trips over another one, something worse might happen than words and regrets. He remembers Ryou's promise to change, and how carelessly he'd spent the night stuck away from home, even knowing how important he was to Atem. He remembers how responsible he feels, because didn't they promise that they'd be there for each other even if no one else was, and he knows Ryou would do anything for him, so when Ryou needs something, it has to be done--!

No. He's got to go.

One last rub to Tybolt's ears, and then the door opens, and closes, and Atem is no longer in the apartment.]

[softspokenlandlord]

[The door closing gives it a sense of finality.

Ryou stays put on the couch for a while, lost in his own feelings over the matter...but eventually...he uncurls, opens his wings, and forces himself up. He's hungry, and Tybolt is probably hungry too.

Atem is gone...and the only thing he can do is make sure that he starts taking steps in proving that he can change...instead of just saying it, and then leaning on Atem even harder for stability. He can't take back what he'd done as a nephilim though...and that makes him a little less hungry than usual...but he's still going to take care of himself.]

...I'm not going to disappoint you again, Atem. I can't do this to you again.

[He says it quietly, as if Atem might be right outside the door, listening for some kind of sign. But he's not.

Before he goes to the fridge...Ryou unwinds a bit of cord from his hand. He'd been holding the object so close to his chest that it would be a miracle if it was spotted, but he sets it on the kitchen counter now, with a light click. The light doesn't quite catch on the surface of the small gemstone affixed to the cord, not in any normal way. It's almost as if light sinks into it and doesn't seep back out.

This...is not for now. It's for another time. He'll show it to Atem later, once things have calmed down.]