foundationmods | Dreamland (round 3)

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round 3

Dreamland (round 3)

[A strange house of some sort sits in the pitch black nothingness that exists around it. For those just now wandering in, they will be drawn to the building, finding it lit up in a way that it should not be. It's as if the whole area- house, yard, fence, and giant sakura tree- all give off their own light, and the newly-arrived are drawn to it like a moth to the flame.

Inside the boundary of the yard, the familiar faces of those who have passed on already will greet them. Depending on who is asked, they might give an accurate explanation. But even if they don't, one thing is clear: you don't want to leave this place. The area outside feels Dangerous, and it is probably best to stay put.

Fortunately, the house is built in an old style, and there are many rooms to explore. One room on the second floor seems locked, but the rest are open to explore as desired. The standard rooms are easy to find: kitchen, a W.C. and a bathroom, a sitting room of some sort, and a couple bedrooms (with plenty of futons for the dead to use). There are also several tatami mat rooms with nothing in them currently, but it seems like there might be some use for those rooms.

Around the house, perches for birds can be found. No birds are on them currently, though.

Sometimes Watanuki can be found in the house, but most of the time the dead will be left to their own devices. The question is, what will they do here?]

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[He looks just as pleased with himself as every other time he gets Natsuno to laugh. Given he usually looks pretty smug on a regular day it's pretty normal, but all the same...! It fades a little into thoughtfulness after a moment.]

Right, you were totally quieter back then, too. Come to think of it, are you getting blood now that you're back?

[It's an offhand-not-quite-offhand question. He's just going to start gathering some sake and cups, glancing back at Natsuno for direction since honestly he is only guessing at which ones he's supposed to grab. There's a small snicker when Shimizu comes up.]

I was wondering if she just ended up back in her grave or not. They buried her the first time, right?

[ Natsuno is pleased himself to see all the different types of grins Anon wears. The one he contributes towards are the best, though. ]

Not yet. I think I'm going to have to tomorrow...there's no point in not being at full strength for the weekend. Not from Erhard though, even if he probably would still enjoy it.

[ There's some thought as he works it through out loud, because he has a few ideas. It takes him a moment to catch the glance, and he'll help with the cups at least because it's less about proper sake drinking aesthetic and more about not wanting to get hammered. ]

They did and I dug her up. Or her grave, at least. There was nothing in there because she turned into a Shiki, which was a pain because I had a stake ready and everything.

Erhard really does have weird hobbies. But I think it's a good idea to be as prepared as you can be now that the game is winding down. Did you have somebody in mind already?

[Once they have things all together, Anon's going to pour for them, because that's apparently his first instinct. He's not as good with this as he inexplicably is with tea, but he seems perfectly happy to bustle around getting the spread all done and nice. Now they can just contemplate Watanuki's tree for as long as they and their fellow party guests feel like.]

Ahaha, I bet Shiki totally expect people to try and stake them in there. I wondered if they were sleeping there, like some of the stories, but that would be pretty stupid. Why would she roll around in her grave, anyway?

Riku. He's strong enough and it wouldn't be the first time—though it would be here. [ Oh, this is nice. He's never had the chance to drink sake properly before because hedgehogs don't know Japanese culture, but somehow he still knows the proper motions of lifting the cup with two hands. He'll hold on sipping it for the moment, taking time to breathe in the aroma. ]

I had to try anyway, just in case. But no they were sleeping in a bunch of abandoned houses and in the irrigation pipes under the village. [ ! They should toast too, cheers? Holding out the cup. ]

Because this is exactly the kind of thing she wanted to do with me.

Hmm. Stable, too, so he's definitely a good choice. How come you didn't go with him from the beginning?

[He's definitely curious. He does like Riku, even if Sora is the one he knows a little better out of that pair. Anon doesn't exactly know the ins and outs of Japanese culture either, but it's easy to go through the motions when he's watching Natsuno closely and moving naturally into mimicking the way he always does. There's a brief blink at the strong odor, but for someone who was teethed on scotch whiskey (thanks Emi) it's an interesting change.]

Ah, the irrigation pipes! Maybe one day we'll get to do a hunt like that.

[He definitely is fond of the concept. There's an amused quirk to his grin as he responds to the toast after a split second of assessing what the gesture is.]

Cheers? To dead Shiki who are definitely dead.

I only wanted to feed off of people who deserved it, back then. [ This is a bit quieter, but only just. ] People who didn't mean anything. I was just afraid to accept what I truly was.

[ It's a topic he could get lost in, but everything around him right now—the company, the atmosphere, the sweet smell of sake—helps root him to the present. His smile is subtle, but genuine. ]

Cheers. To definitely dead Shiki and a future hunt.

You're you.

[Anon tells him that warmly, with the same lack of hesitation or reserve that he's always said those words, any variation of them. That's what Natsuno's existence means to him, after all; in any of its numerous iterations.]

I guess you've found the people who deserve to be part of it. And who know what they're getting into.

[Are they ever going to stop dragging certain people?? Probably not. For the time being, it flows smoothly into the exchange of smiles, the lifting of sake cups, the soft swaying of the tree above them. It probably shouldn't be as lovely as it is, just like the sake shouldn't be as sweet over the recollections of past massacres.

But sometimes, that's just how these things go.]

Yeah. And the most important one too.

[ Natsuno might never know how to properly reciprocate that assurance, and it'll likely never fail to evoke a warm feeling in his chest. For now he chooses to lean into the infernal—it's almost a nuzzle of a sort—before straightening back up so he can drink the sake. There's still light contact between them because he doesn't want to pull away, but it would be hard to drink sake like that.

It might have been kind of a moot effort though, because instead of taking a sip he just takes a big gulp and effectively does a shot instead. At least he doesn't sputter or anything cause he's somewhat used to drinking like this. ]

Mmn you're supposed to sip at it. But it's hard with these cups and too easy to be greedy.

[Anon leans into the touch with a pleased hum, the thrill of affection like this from Natsuno still new and strange. He keeps his gaze down at his sake, happy to stay there for the moment -- but with his hair up for the day it does very little to disguise the ridiculous way he's smiling into his cup or the sudden flush across his cheeks, a shade or two lighter than his hair and entirely impossible to blame on the sake.

It's only once Natsuno actually goes for his sake again that he looks up, curious because he's still copying the technique, but then he laughs at the way he's tossing it back.]

It does look kind of hard to sip from. But we have plenty of sake, so... it's fine to be greedy!

[Even if it's just like, soul sake or dream sake or whatever. He promptly goes for the same motion, thanks Natsuno, and does sputter a little because wow yeah. Probably wasnt meant to go that way.

He's still kind of laughing, though.]

[ They're only one drink in and already this flustered, surely this bodes well for them. Natsuno's thrown off enough that he might not have caught the extent of the blush or smiling, if not for the laughter that follows. Ahh this is really... really.... there's surely a word here that perfectly describes what he's feeling, but he's still all too new to this. Whatever it is he's certain he likes it, just as much as he likes the look on Anon's face, the laughter, smiling and everything and anything in between.

There's laughter and a stupid grin back too of course, even as he shakes his head a bit. ]

The last time we talked about that I had almost killed someone. But sure. [ Here, he will pour this time. ]

Maybe this counts as training for eating a dragon. [ These two aren't really related at all but in his defense his mind is pretty much drunk on something else even before the sake. ]

Edited (its about time i made this icon) 2019-05-04 02:30 (UTC)

[To be perfectly fair, they absolutely do not need the sake nor any kind of drink or help to fluster themselves in endless loop -- their still rather brief tenure here so far has more than proven that. The warmth of the sake blends almost seamlessly with the warmth of the wind under the tree and everything Natsuno's laughter and expressions are making him feel.

Quite apart from the occasion being new, and the sake being new, and everything else between them being just as new and clumsy -- Anon is pretty sure he's never even been near an atmosphere like this before, at least before Natsuno came along. He was never meant to be.

It's exciting, the feeling of breaking through something, and it widens his smile.]

Mm, but you totally escaped Nirrti.

[As far as he's concerned, the subsequent case still doesn't count, since it's all on Tsubasa's shoulders anyway. And that's not important here, right now. He'll delicately mimic the motions from before again, sniffing at the sake briefly before tossing it back again. Between that and their closeness it's a miracle he manages to pick up the thread of the conversation again.]

--Ah, this is training. I'm pretty sure dragonfire burns way more than this, but it still counts.

Yeah, I guess I did. [ The words are quiet, cause he's still not happy with how everything went down. But there are plenty of distractions here, the most pressing being the way Anon just downs the sake again. Natsuno just blinks at the whole display then laughs some more. His cheeks are probably going to just stay flushed for the night at this rate. ]

I hope so. I'll be disappointed if it isn't. [ Bringing the cup to his lips, he pauses to take in the aroma this time. And then bottom's up, even if this is all entirely improper. They tended not to follow the rules anyway. ]

In that case...we should see if there's sake with honey. That's training for bears, right? [ He's absolutely being silly here, but glancing over at the sake Anon picked out. ]

It's training if we say it is, and if we totally work hard at it.

[Anon just tosses that out all carelessly, laughing back with a happy lingering flush of his own -- it's silly and definitively not how these things would work if they weren't relating their bizarre personal bestiary (or is that buffet?) to literally everything for no reason, but nobody's counting right now. In this little pocket of time and space they can do whatever they want.

He rouses himself a little from their pile of limbs and laughter to shuffle through the various types of sake they've managed to hog to themselves like the greedy novice drinkers that they are. It takes him a little while, and he goes farther into the non-sake piles present, because a dream is a good place for a full bar under a tree.

(The air and the very light itself is oddly soft and luminous here just by virtue of whatever strange magic created this place; and if Anon closes his eyes and reaches for one of the presences in him that he can finally feel again he can chase that magic, lighting everything up in shades of soft blue.)

He returns with a bottle of plum wine, which may or may not contain honey but is certainly just as sweet and cloying. He's swinging the bottle a little bit before he settles by Natsuno again, curling closer than before because although Nirrti's shadow might have been swept away in the space of merriment and ridiculous sake swigging -- it's also a good excuse to tuck himself further into all that warmth.]

Maybe this will work?

[While he waits for the verdict he leans his head over on Natsuno's shoulder, a tickle and a tumble of pink, and stares up distractedly at the tree and its flowers all limned in soul light. There's an idle thought stirring in the back of his mind that he'll chase in a moment.]

[ For him the rays of blue at night are as natural as the blue sky during the day. He's gotten used to the way the various shades hug the different shapes both man made and not. And some things always look the same no matter whether the moon or the sun is sleeping—there's no dulling that bubblegum pink, it's vibrancy becoming something like a North Star.

Being farther apart for just that small period is reason enough to draw closer when Anon returns then, it's only natural. So what if it's getting progressively harder to drink this way, everything is secondary in comparison, even other acts of greed. ]

Umeshu...let's split the plum at the bottom. Drinking the whole bottle is working hard in this case.

Ah, so this is different from sake... It's definitely going to be hard work, but I'll help work for the plum!

[It's debatable whether he even knew what the thing rolling around at the bottom of the bottle was before Natsuno pointed it out -- after all, he wasn't really paying very close attention to what the wine itself was, either. Everything here is meant for the same purpose, anyway, and for once he can let his nose lead him.

It really is like unwrapping a whole layer of gauze or film or an outright wall between himself and the world, all his senses gathering back around him like bits and pieces he forgot for a little while were missing. Or rather, he put them aside and focused; it was a little like training to be in this different world, and it helped to think of it that way.

But now he can indulge; and if being almost in Natsuno's lap at this point forces them both to slow down and draw things out, then he's going to take the time to enjoy the way their closeness fills up his senses. Anon stirs a little to help pour, something he manages more-or-less without losing contact somehow thanks to long limbs and ridiculous Infernal (or is that Protectorate?) flexibility, a soft hum accompanying the crisp splash in their cups.]

Ah, did you know... Watanuki's magic is blue? It's all blue here and pink with the flowers if I use Ichigo's powers.

[There's a beautiful blue radiance to the wine, too, ripples of expanding light. He gets distracted for a moment.]

I wonder if it's anything like yours?

Edited 2019-06-08 12:12 (UTC)

Good thing we're not human. [ There's some pride in the way he says that, and in the way he pulls Anon closer so that he's actually sitting in his lap now. This seems like the kind of atmosphere to give into temptations, and he's never been one to do things in half measures. ]

Mn? Maybe, it could just be something else we have in common. [ Kisses from this angle would be somewhat less satisfying and he's supposed to be using his mouth to drink, so he goes for a soft nuzzle instead. A beat or two passes where he just lets himself get lost in everything, including the blue luminescence around them. ]

Is your hair still pink to you?

Aha, that's true, isn't it? Since we were almost human on the island, it's probably different drinking now than I did with Emi.

[His voice quiets just a little, because the last time he went drinking (the first and the last time before this, under the rain of bloody wings and the moon over the hollow echoes of the dock and the water) feels both a long time ago and somehow very close by, still. He lets himself tumble against Natsuno with a soft sound when he's pulled, curling one arm around him for stability and more contact, leaning his head against him for a moment just to soak it in.

This is a much better way to drink, even if it's getting more and more physically challenging; it's hard to keep track of his sake when Natsuno keeps touching him and he's distracted by a million and one things, but it's also everything he wants right now.]

... Mmm... [with one free hand he has to put his drink down, clear of their messy tangle of limbs before he reaches up to examine his own bangs] ... It's pink! Of course. Watanuki's magic doesn't have anything to do with my hair.

[Soft amusement, even though he checked anyway out of irresistible impulse, and he lets it move his hand up and into Natsuno's hair, too -- might as well check that, also.]

And your hair is still the same color. No magic there... Just you.

[Clearly, running his fingers through it the way he did once upon a braid is necessary, too.]

[ They're intricately wrapped around one each other already, but that doesn't mean he can't give Anon a little squeeze at the reminder of the past. He's more fortunate here because he had drank with Shadow several times before, so the association isn't as strong. He gets it, though. It'd be impossible for him not to given how often he used to spend living in the past. ]

Hey. [ His voice is so soft it's nearly a whisper lost among the sakura petals. Sliding his eyes closed and letting his arm with the umeshu drop to the ground as carefully as he can manage, he leans into the touch. ]

Yeah, and it'll always be just me. [ An unspoken promise as he lets himself be lulled into that all too familiar feeling. Braiding and flowers bombs were just the start, he can see that now. All the crazy things they talked about, planned to eat, and-ah there was that one idea. ]

But maybe I'll put highlights in it one day or something, cause I'm kind of curious too.

[He doesn't like it: having the past at his heels like this, where he can't just sweep it away or rise above it or remove the problem entirely (even though he kind of did, in his own way, as best he could). But it's something Anon is learning, too, slowly -- the strange intimacy of having memories wrapped up in other people, as closely as they're settled now; the ability to rework them, good and bad.

The urge -- the need -- to steal more and more and more time together, piling the present and the future over the past without erasing it. All of it feels a little better and more natural somehow when it's gathered up in promises and Natsuno's arms. Touch is inevitable, simple, and he understands it. Mostly.

So he uses the hand still in Natsuno's hair to tug him down, shifts in spite of the angle to catch whispers and promises with his lips -- the kiss is softer than the sakura and warmer than their shared visions steeped in blue, deepening with the mixed sweetness of drinks and layers of new memories.]

I like it when it's just you.

[He murmurs it without pulling away. Natsuno gets to feel the pleased curve of his mouth before Anon leans back and against him again, still playing with the hair now tangled in his fingers.]

I'd like to see that, though. I bet you could find all kinds of colors in a universe like this.

[ He melts into the kisses; returns them like raindrops during a spring shower each one bigger than the last. Ah, it's not the time yet to forget all of his words, as tempting as it is. It's always tempting nowadays to ignore everything and everyone else entirely. But it's worth the wait to feel that smile, his mouth curving on it's own to meet it just like the kisses.

Opening one eye (let him stay half in this dreamlike state, his mind as much in the clouds as his belly is full of sake), he tries to take in the blues nearly crowded out by the pink and red. ]

I'd want you to braid it again too. Hmn, I wonder what color though...

[Everything is dreamlike, paradoxically and literally, given where they are -- but it's also the soft glow of magical blue woven into everything like a sentinel at once distracting and holding everything together; and the all-encompassing combination of Natsuno and the sake both easy to sink into. Anon lets himself drift on the feeling, drinking it in like the wine he still hasn't taken back up.

It's debatable whether he even needs the help at this point.]

Maybe you'd let me braid the whole thing this time?

[As if he can resist a chance to tease, even as his fingers continue to drift through strands of purple, lightly, lightly like the petals along the wind. There's some small flutters of pink resting in Natsuno's hair now that he's slowly combing out, just by coincidence, but the juxtaposition of colors makes his smile soften anyway.]

Maybe you can start with your favorite color.

Heh, who said I wouldn't have before. [ A brash statement, but he can't say it's untrue. He would have even if he didn't understand the reason back then, so of course he would now. As always though... ]

Two kisses per braid. [ Stealing one here that's more smirk than kiss. That's a fair trade he thinks, even if it's entirely unneeded. ]

My favorite color...I wonder what it is... [ Teasing of his own, even if the attempt is all silly and obvious. Soft too as he leans into the touch. ]

Ah, the braids and flowers are even more scandalous than before. But that's still a bargain. At some point I'd just run out of hair and have to start over.

[A helpless laugh at the bubbling memory (the ridiculous memory, made even more ridiculous by time and hindsight and everything about the way they are now) even as he chases Natsuno's mouth for more kisses. He'll collect on the braids later, because somehow they have all the ingredients here for that particular nostalgia trip, but it really does tickle: how many old ladies they'd probably send to their graves, and how different Natsuno's hair feels in his hands when he knows exactly what he wants.

Anon's still flushed from the kissing and the sake and the proximity but he can still feel himself warming up even more, and on impulse he plucks one of the flower petals out of Natsuno's hair and taps him on the nose with it.]

Okay, but your second favorite color then. 'Cause we can't match, or else I have to go purple, too.

[This image is ridiculous, actually, but apparently they're just like this now.]

You're good at finding loopholes. [ Not that he minds right now, or ever. Keeps him on his toes or in this case it means they can both keep indulging like they are now. It's nearly an endless feedback cycle, a bit more so tonight with the sake weighing down on them both. ]

Yellow. [ His eyes track to the petal, his tongue brushing over his lips. He evidently wants to bite something here and it's probably not the sakura. ]

But I wouldn't mind swapping either. Ah if we did, it's too bad Shimizu is dead. Seeing me with pink hair would probably kill her all over again.

[It's probably the alcohol driving him to chase after touch more and more and even more than usual, but Anon isn't really keeping track -- everything is still so strange and different now, in all the good ways, that he hasn't bothered. He's just going with it and letting himself get swept away; it might seem like he's merely a creature of impulse and instinct the entire rest of the time, but there's enough calculation instilled in him, normally.

It was something necessary, after all, for all the things he needed to do, once.

He hasn't thrown all of it away, but here and now he's wrapped up enough in everything that very little of it matters.]

A bright color, right? I want to see it.

[He'd want to see Natsuno either way, through all of the changes and fashion ventures no matter how good or inadvisable they might be, but for the moment Anon is distracted too -- by his mouth this time, he reaches out and runs a thumb over it just lightly before tugging him down for another kiss. Piling up the down payment for later braiding, obviously. That's totally what it is.

He probably could have gone through an entire round of braids at once right here, but alas, breathing means they have to do this in installments. There's a brief laugh once Anon pulls back.]

Mmm, I wouldn't be a very good Infernal if I weren't good at loopholes. [have another kiss, he's just going to keep going like this, and of course--] I like it, though. Swapping. Maybe we really will kill somebody with our hair someday?

[Maybe it'll make up for the lack of dead Shimizus. It's really too bad the Foundation couldn't pop them out like Akirens just ripe for the picking.]

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sotoshini - 2019-06-21 19:37 (UTC) - Expand

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