Chou

“I know, but what’s the fun in not trying?’ Mina was a bit of a daredevil, though she dosesn’t actually show it, though her family was known back then as daredevils. “I mean, if my brother can jump out of a plane, then I can face my fears of heights and just do it.” And she was hellbent on doing it, no matter what anyone would say to try and dissuade her.

“You can go and do something you know you’ll like instead.” Chou reasoned with a shrug, the logic of it made sense to him. “Jump out of a plane... Can we do that here?” he asked, it sounded like fun but he didn’t particularly want to leave the Hollow Grove to try it. “But if you really want to I can always show you the place to begin trying.”  

“As long as something does.” Harper said. “Small as it is.” The impulse to fill silence was something she had had to unlearn. Was still learning. And there’d been so much silence lately. A great void stretching out forever. 

So she sat. Staring across the grass. Watching children and parents. Couples and dogs. Families. He’ll tell you if he wants you to go. She told herself. But she’d thought Kit would have done that too. 

“There are different things for different children.” he said with a small shrug. “Some prefer warm lights, others like small fluffy things.” Often made different illusions for different kids as they asked him when he passed them outside of their school.

His point said Chou settled down, he rather enjoyed the silence, it was much easier for him this way. One of his large butterflies flew forward and settled on her knee, its wings moving back and forth gently.

Ryan grins next, nodding his head. “Yeah, a hellofva lot of people were absolutely smashed at the Blood Moon. But that’s what people do most of the time at parties like that.” He refused to play the what if game. What if they hadn’t been? Would the night had gone differently? Would the chaos and catastrophe never happened? A part of him knew that was a silly thought. The events would’ve happened regardless.

“I agree,” the young wolf nodded. Maybe, somewhere deep inside his own subconscious, he’d decided to fight in the pits of Purgatory not to punish himself, but to learn how to protect. Maybe he’d known that he’d find what he had now. It was just a matter of waiting. For a moment Ryan watches, head tilted steeply to the side. “Dude, I don’t even think I can do a regular handstand but… what the hell.”

The wolf strode forward, paused briefly at the fence before lying his hands on the top. It felt solid enough and after a moment Ryan hopped up, wobbling slightly before he gripped the top and attempted to straighten his feet into the air. Shoulders locking, arms flexed, Ryan’s shirt slipped down his stomach, catching just underneath his chin. He lasted for nearly a whole three seconds before losing his balance and letting his feet drop forward. “See? M’not very good at it,” he chuckled. “It’s fun as hell, though. Might look up parkour or somethin’. Always wanted to try shit like that.”

Chou narrowed his eyes in thought for a moment, “That means very drunk, right?” he asked after the pause, “Because I saw a lot of people like that. They were very noisy so I was planning on going home but then everything went wrong.” And he’d ended up killing a man to save several children. He didn’t regret his actions, but he still wasn’t sure how he was supposed to feel about it... He’d never done well with feelings.

“You should probably start with a regular one and work your way up.“ he suggested. He could recall his mother making a game of it back when he was a toddler, he’d learned very young and never really lost the knack; he supposed the body learnt and after so long could act on instinct. “If you try and perform the hardest one now you might end up hurting yourself.” And that would only set back further practice.

Chou paid close attention as the other attempted to copy him; still upside down his gaze flicked over the other’s posture, noting particularly his centre of balance and frowning slightly as he watched him fall back again swiftly afterwards. “You’re out of balance.” he said simply, bringing his legs together and pushing forward to land on Ryan’s side of the face. He stepped closer and pointed at the other’s hips, “There, you need to move your centre of gravity forward, control the movement with just enough momentum to reach the height needed, then push through to your hands to keep you balanced. Parkour depends a lot on very good balance control.”

There were ecosystem’s everywhere, even in abandoned buildings. The whole reason he was here was due to a large nesting of bats that he was being silent to avoid disturbing as he took stock of them. The building was hardly usable anymore, he’d heard the fire department regularly needed to keep an eye on it for structural safety purposes but he was much more interested in the nesting mammals above him.

Chou’s attention was diverted when he heard a crunch on the floor and whipped around, seeing a man in the doorway, his uniform denoting him as a member of the fire department. Without speaking, he gestured up at the bats before beginning to silently move to leave the building, motioning for the other to follow.

She nodded, knowing the perfect person to do it. “I think I’ll do that first, to get over my fear of heights,” Mina said with a nod just thinking about it. “And then, when I get over that feeling, then I’ll ask my friend to come and do it with me..without me peeing or pooping my pants.”

Chou blinked and didn’t respond for several seconds before tonelessly saying, “If you’re afraid of something, you don’t need to face it.” There was always something else that could be done. “Perhaps you should avoid it altogether if you think you’ll end up doing that simply from trying.” It didn’t strike him as a fun thing to do.

“Oh, I didn’t catch that,” Anya said dryly. She shook her head. “You are like Peter Pan and Mowgli put together,” she said. “Except somehow even stranger than that.”

“I know who Mowgli is,” he nodded, fixating onto the area of the conversation that came easily, “But I don’t have friends in panthers and bears. I have butterflies instead.” He paused a moment and added, “I don’t mind being strange; does it bother you?”

“I’m glad they seem to be okay,” he answered in earnest, watching the magical butterfly of Chou’s flutter around them. He would hate to learn that a baby bird had struggled. “I am. Or I was. I just got back. And the smells were amazing, as usual.” Even now, the floral aroma was still strong, yet not overwhelming. A natural perfume that only calmed him. “Do you have a favorite? I’ve always been drawn to bluebells, myself. They have a way of making the forest look pretty beautiful.”

“Yes. The forest can be a vicious battleground at times, they’ll need all the good start that they can get.“ he nodded, quiet for several seconds while he thought of an answer, still hanging upside down as though it were easy as breathing, “I can’t smell the plants like you can.” Several more moments of silence, “But I like Purple Coneflowers. They’re related to sunflowers and butterflies love them.” That was the most important part. “Bluebells are a very important part of the forest ecosystem; they provide insects with an early spring source of nectar.”  

“I think you’re doing just fine, kid,” Kara spoke affectionately to the young man, well aware of where he was coming from. He’d had a hard time, but he was getting better - at least, she liked to think he was. He was unique in his own special ways. “Okay, we’re going to have to see if the zoo has them or something - you have to see a flying squirrel in person, my man. I demand it.” 

She saw the insect appear on his shoulder, an illusion, but a rather convincing one, conjured up from Chou’s mind. She hoped it’s presence was a comfort more than anything else; she didn’t want to be responsible for dragging him down a bad path. “You don’t usually get ice cream? Are you kidding me? That seems like a sin. C’mon, let me teach you a little something about the wonders of dessert.” 

He nodded a small smile on his face which, given his usual standard of behaviour, might as well have been a whooping grin. “They’ve been catalogued as living in the forest but since they’re not the main focus of my research area I haven’t really seen them yet. I could try and track one down if you’d like to see what I think of them? I don’t like zoos.” True he needed to study animals at times but he much preferred they be released as soon as possible; animals born and raised in zoos couldn’t have that since they grew used to that style of living.

“I don’t usually kid.” he said, utterly toneless, watching the other without blinking, “But I don’t mind have pudding sometimes.” And the few times he’d indulged he remembered it being quite nice, “What flavour will you get?” he asked, walking with her, the butterfly trailing behind.

She nodded, though there was still a hint of fear once he mentioned that she should start with the biggest heights and work her way down. “Oh…I might have to try that,” Mina said slowly, though she was still a bit scared to even try it. “Might need to wrangle a friend to even try something like that.”

Chou agreed, “It’s always safer if you do something like this with a friend. I’m not close with many people so I was happier off doing it by myself.” he explained softly, “There are also several instructional videos and filmed competitions if you’d rather watch for a time first.” He’d looked into that a little, in the end he learned more by doing over watching.

Admittedly, part of the reason Elio had called on the attention of the other had been to better see the features of his the subject he was drawing. Outwardly admitting that never really had a tendency to go over well, at least from his past experience that is what he had come to find. “I don’t think I’ve seen that party trick before.” With the pencil in his grip now placed between the pages, the sketchbook was closed and set adjacent to him on the bench. “What else can you do that with?” He inquired, moving towards the edge of his seat as if to convey to the stranger who was once minding his own business that Elio was just getting started with the series of impromptu questions. 

“It’s not a trick, merely magic.” Chou said with a small shrug, “I can make them do whatever I want.” he said. Often Chou only has his butterfly act as though it were another insect; several people couldn’t tell the difference until it came and landed on his shoulder. He watched the other move and barely shifted himself, who was almost reptilian in his stillness, aside from an occasional blink with too long pauses in between.

“Why are you curious about it?” Magic was not uncommon here and few rarely bothered to inquire a great deal as to it.

amberhorne‌:

“Why do I think that you’re lying to me?” Amber asked as she stared at him. “You’re usually a much better liar, Ciaràn. Looks like you’re losing your edge.” She wasn’t exactly angry, just more than a bit annoyed that he thought it was okay to take advantage of a kid. With a sigh, she was thinking of what to say in protest but nothing was coming out. The woman rubbed at her eyes as she turned her head to look at Chou as he approached.

“You told him I was a grumpy old woman?” she asked, her frustration turning back to Ciaràn. “So now i’m a human pet, temperamental and sensitive, and a grumpy old woman? You’re unbelievable.” Still, Amber took a deep breath as she tried, once again, to face Chou. “And you’re correct, I am not usually grumpy but am now. Though I promise it has nothing to do with you.” She nibbled on her bottom lip as she shook her head. “You really don’t have to do that. Ciaràn is more than capable of cleaning the windows, isn’t that right? After all, you must have learned over your 400 years of life, right?” 

She offered Chou a smile. “Could I get you something to drink for all your hard work?”

@ciaranbrennan​

“There are some things you wanna keep to yourself or just not say out loud to people, kid…and that was one of them,” the vampire noted towards the witch after Chou had decided to ask for further clarification, earning a furrowed brow and slight roll of his blue eyes since the person who was the topic of the conversation was now also standing right there. So maybe he was a little oblivious to social cues, at this point that seemed to be made up for by the kill them with kindness act. Which was only further implied when the witch had interrupted the small dispute between the human and vampire to ask if they wanted him to finish. “I never said you were a human pet,” the vampire clarified before his attention turned from Amber to the young witch. 

“Don’t worry, we’re not fighting…we’re discussing, at least I am.” Ciaràn wanted to make that distinction before accepting the offer on behalf of both Amber and himself. “Don’t listen to her,” the vampire began as he maneuvered his form past Amber and over to Chou. With his hand placed on the male’s back, Ciaràn began to direct the witch back towards the door and away from the voice of reason known as Amber. “Do the windows, she’ll get you whatever you want and if you do a good job next time you’ll even get paid.” With a pat of his hand on Chou’s shoulder and a smile that could only rival a car salesman tugging at the corners of his lips before nodding towards the door.  “Have fun…and you.” Now his attention was directed at the woman before she could get a word out Ciaràn was once again discussing the matter at hand with her. “I’m only doing everyone a favor, he’s learning the value of hard work.” He wasn’t as the witch already knew the value of it but the vampire liked to think he wasn’t the only one benefitting from all of this. “It makes him happy to know he’s doing something good for people…for you,” and for himself. 

@lxttlebutterfly @amberhorne

“Why, I am only asking so I can know the truth.” he said tonelessly looking between the two. As far as he was concerned when met with a problem the easiest way to get an answer was to ask for it, so he had. Pet? The pair seemed at odds but as far as Chou was concerned it had nothing to do with him.

He looked at the woman when she asked and paused a moment before answering, “A glass of water would be nice.” he confirmed with a nod, the words barely out of his mouth before the other was steering him away and back towards the house, namely the windows. “It looks like you’re fighting, she’s angry with you.” he stated bluntly, not to be rude but merely because it was the truth as he saw it. “I don’t need to be paid.” he added with a shrug, the whole point of this event was to ensure the town was cleaned up he was only helping out with that. So with that he grabbed his cleaning items and hopped back up the wall, an arm and legs wrapped around the drain pipe while he used a free hand to start cleaning the window.

“Chou. I like that. Not that it matters if I like it, I mean. It means butterfly, doesn’t it? I have a colleague in Tokyo; His daughter has the most beautiful butterfly fairy lights, and when she insists they must be turned on, her father goes chou chou chou.” It was almost a song as she said it. She could feel that she was talking too much and sat back in the silence. 

The words barely left her lips, quieter than a whisper. “I wish I had a dad like him.” If you had asked her, she wouldn’t have realized she’d said anything at all. 

“Yes, it means butterfly.” It wasn’t his given name, more of a childhood nickname that ever since... Well, what happened, he’d chosen to only respond to. No one called him Touma anymore, not even his mother. He wondered occasionally if she minded the change in address. “Children like those little lights, they make them feel safe.”

Chou caught the words but didn’t respond to them, it wasn’t his business and he didn’t want to talk about fathers... Not at all.

“Never without your permission,” Ria clarified. “I don’t like to force my powers onto other people. It’s unfair.” She hoped that honestly would allow him to trust her. Chou seemed the kind of person who kept to himself, but that was likely a result of how much he’d gone through. It had to be almost unthinkable if he’d hidden his emotions from even Ria in such a powerful way. Was it the hiking story? “How long did it take for you to get back?” Ria asked, her eyebrows threading together. “How old were you?”

“That’s good. That’s polite.” he said with a nod, “My mother taught me never to use my magic on someone else unless to save lives or if they gave me permission.” Though, little things like his butterflies were harmless, she didn’t mind those. Chou thought for a few moments, “Only about four hours, I’d lost a fair bit of blood but after a short hospital stay I was fine.” he raised the leg in question and wiggled it a little. “Four years ago? I was seventeen.” Chou had been camping along for several years by then. 

“Yeah?” Tony’s eyebrows went up a little and he chuckled when Chou amended his statement. “Whatever works for you, man. And you’re obviously still here in spite of your dangerous hobbies so you must be capable.” Accidents could happen, obviously, but the kid seemed to be doing good so far. Tony shrugged. “No problem. Thought I might as well toss it out there since it’s obvious you’re a witch.” The illusory butterfly gave that away pretty quickly.   

Tony nodded at that. People did look at you differently sometimes once they knew you’d killed someone. “That’s how that goes. Though there’s probably a lot more people in this town that have killed someone than the other way around. Still, it makes ‘em uncomfortable sometimes, especially if they haven’t ever done it.” Tony almost visibly winced when Chou mentioned he didn’t talk about things. “That’s your business but I’d change that if I were you. Not talkin’ about stuff just leads to repressin’ it and that never ends well. Catches up with you eventually, or changes you in ways you don’t even realise ‘til it’s almost too late.” That was a lot of unsolicited advice but Tony was speaking from experience. 

Chou nodded, “I’m as careful as I can be while still doing what I enjoy.” He didn’t want to worry his mother that way, she’d already lost a great deal... Chou blinked and like that forced himself to a new train of thought, best not to dwell on such things. He nodded, “I can’t tell what other people are, I don’t usually care; but I appreciate you telling me out of politeness.” he said quietly. His butterfly landed on his shoulder again, its wings fluttering lightly while they both regarded the other.

“I’m sure. But I don’t ask people if they’ve killed someone, I don’t think it’s polite.” he said with shrug, “And I don’t regret doing it, people looked at me oddly before so now they’re simply looking at me oddly for something else.” It made little difference to him. So long as Chou had the forest and his hobbies he’d need little else. “I tend to make people uncomfortable.” And it was impossible for him to change his ways. He was quiet for several moments, again almost as though he wouldn’t answer, “I have-” he paused frowning, it was a struggle to even talk indirectly about these things, “I do not about things. Ever at all. It works that way.” The short, clipped sentences sounded even more robotic.

Nate smiled despite himself when he turned to see Chou pop out from the branches, hanging upside-down. Considering both Nate’s height and how far up the tree Chou was, the two were almost face-to-face. He looked in the direction Chou pointed, trying to catch a glimpse of the nest. As far as he knew, talking to animals wasn’t one of Chou’s abilities, and what a crying shame that was. “Do you bird watch a lot, or is it just this particular nest you’re interested in?”

Chou blinked at the other completely comfortable hanging about like a bat. He was quiet a few moments after the other’s question, blinked once and answered, “I like watching all animals, but I was worried about a chick in that nest, they looked a little malnourished, but they seem better now.” he explained, his own butterfly fluttering down to fly about their heads. “Are you here because you want to run?” he asked, “This time of year the plants are all calling, I imagine the smells will be lovely.” Chou couldn’t smell them himself unless he went up close to the blooms, but he guessed the other could right now.