𝒫𝓇𝒾𝓃𝒸𝑒𝓁𝓎.

“ both, huh? ” that sounded familiar. 

“ i see… s-so do humans, uh. i mean. are they born with the desire to eat meat? ”

     👑|   ❝  A desire?  ❞

❝  Not really, it’s more of a personal choice. Humans don’t have to eat meat, but a lot of them like the taste so it’s very popular.  ❞

“ so, um. are humans carnivores? or herbivores? a-a lot of humans to me seem to act more predatory– fighting back and taking what they want, but i cannot deny i’ve seen others fall prey as well. it’s… weird. like an in-between; a mix of species. which of course isn’t impossible, but. i-i don’t know. it’s like there’s no category for humans at all. ”

“ … ough. ”

     👑|   ❝  Most humans are omnivores, which means they eat both.  ❞

@mogetafanboy

      ✿ It is with a small pouch that the seeress stands looking down at the stranger now, expression remaining neutral as she stands there in silence. 

     Her plan had been to go and fetch the pouch she had placed under a tree while she looked for a suitable plant to collect. Once Yeul had found a rather charming looking white lily, she had quickly trotted off to go and bring her means of currently collecting flowers… However, when she got back to the area where she had found the flower, a young teen was crouching beside it now.

      ❝ … It’s pretty, isn’t it? ❞ she finally begins after some silence, eyes closing for a moment before looking upwards. After another short bout of quietude, the girl soon looks back down at the stranger, tilting her head slightly as she does so.

      ❝ Were you… Going to collect it? ❞

    👑|   His affinity for botany is something that had been sown into him from a young age, just like the seedlings he’d rejoice in watching sprout each year from the small garden plot owned by his parents. The sight of a flower bed had drawn Mutsuki to its location, admiring the colourful array of buds in full bloom. He reached for one flower in particualr, fingers delicately skimming pure white petals soaking up the last of the season’s sunlight. The colour reminded him of untouched snow, yet another memory that weighed his heart heavy.

He let his hand glide down the thin stem, contemplating snapping it to take back to his apartment when a voice pulled him to attention. Large, silver eyes looked up at the girl, retracting his hand from the Lily.

❝  Very pretty.  ❞

her plant suit, bernadetta had ensured, was more than a cute look. it served as her armor in a figurative sense―though physically, its padding was just as versatile―and as long as the hood shielded her head, jaws of the plant its sliver of a peephole, bernadetta almost felt safe. 

“calm down bern, they’re all just― just costumes. demons aren’t real. they’re all just costumes, just like yours, y-yeah. yeah! you got this! you can do this…!” on the other hand, with her head bowed so low, she had even littler say in coordination. when she collides, yelps, and falls face first over someone’s dining spot, she cannot say what could kill her first: the splatter of food and glass beneath her, or the guest seated there.  //  @mogetafanboy

     👑|   Attending the function alone, Mutsuki had made himself a comfortable spot near the food hall, where he’d already spent a good portion of the evening picking at the spread on offer. His costume was last minute and nothing elaborate; a ruffle collared shirt and waistcoat, left eye obscured by a black, oval patch and a fake, raggedy looking parrot stitched to the shoulder. 

He was content watching the slew of guests going about their activities. Paying no mind to the  potted plant person hobbling in his direction until they were face down in his plate of horror finger sandwiches, red jelly splattering across the pristine white cloth.

❝  Oh, oh, I wasn’t expecting such a scary flower to land on my lap!  ❞ 

Laughing lightly, Mutsuki leaned forward, offering out his hand to aid them up.

“Haha, very well.~ Just sit back and relax. Or perhaps it would be best to not relax after I tell this tale.” Monoma clears his throat as he tried to remember a few of the short stories Yanagi had said.

“A couple of months ago, my friend’s cousin bought a new cell phone. After a long day of work, she came home, placed her phone on the counter, and went watch to TV; her son came to her and asked if he could play with her new phone. She told him not to call anyone or mess with text messages, and he agreed.At around 11:20, she was drowsy, so she decided to tuck her son in and go to bed. She walked to his room and saw that he wasn’t there. She then ran over to her room to find him sleeping on her bed with the phone in his hand.Relieved, she picked her phone back up from his hand to inspect it.”

“Browsing through it, she noticed only minor changes such as a new background, banner, etc., but then she opened up her saved pictures. She began deleting the pictures he had taken, until only one new picture remained.When she first saw it, she was in disbelief. It was her son sleeping on her bed, but the picture was taken by someone else above him… and it showed the left half of an elderly woman’s face.”

Monoma was quiet, keeping the atmosphere of the spooky tale he told there for a while before speaking up. “Well? How was that?”

     👑|   Mutsuki listened attentively until the story reached its climax where he offered a pause in suspense. He didn’t hold it long, before bursting into a fit of laughter which he stifled behind a closed fist.

❝  Aa ha ha ha!  ❞

❝  Terrible actually!  ❞

Oh, it wasn’t truly that bad. Mutsuki simply couldn’t resist sliding a little tease in there. 

@mogetafanboy

“Oh? Ghost stories? I suppose you would like to hear a story or so? I have a few in mind that I can tell, thanks to one of my classmates that enjoys reading them to others.” Monoma glance at the other who was reading the sign, as if he was interested in knowing if the other was in to listening to such stories or too afraid.

     👑|   ❝  Oh really?  ❞

A sly smile playing on his lips, Mutsuki shifted his gaze from the sign and onto the person speaking. Until now he’d only perused the party activities at his leisure, but a room dedicated to ghost stories sounded a good place to start as any. 

The weather’s been changing lately, cooler days and longer nights. The transition of seasons is one that Hyakkimaru can tell easily. It must be fall, so he wonders. “ Are the leaves red yet? ”

@mogetafanboy ✧ s.c.

     👑|   ❝  Almost.  ❞

Mutsuki responded, rolling his eyes towards the tree tops where the leaves were just starting to golden, but hadn’t completely turned yet.

❝  There’s a little gold and red there, still mostly green.  ❞

There’s a commotion in one of Coat’s smaller grocery stores this fine morning, an Ox ( donning a choker and studded earrings no less ) appears to have gotten wedged in between the aisles of tinned foods and cereal products…Cartons and cans knocked off the shelves all around him.

Moo.

He’s trying to be convincing.

     👑|   ❝  Hatsuharu san I found the...Oh.  ❞

Not at all expecting to find himself face to face with a live bovine in the middle of the grocery store, Mutsuki stopped dead in his tracks after rounding the corner aisle to meet back up with his relative. He’d turned his back less than 5 minutes fetching a bag of oranges for freshly pressed juice and now a pile of Hatsuharu’s clothes were strewn on the floor and his Ox form ( at least he assumed this was the family curse in effect ) trampling all over them, slowly amassing a crowd of confused onlookers.

To make matters worse, the Ox appeared to be stuck, with no room for manoeuvre.

– You had taken the day to study, and get a head start on all of the subjects you could. Having tested into a higher level than your actual grade, you actually had to push yourself a bit with your studies now. If you’re going to balance this with a job, you need to get a head start. 

Just as you’re unwinding with some leisure reading, however, a boy approaches you. You’d been so focused you hadn’t noticed him before this point, quietly gathering up the courage to come talk to you. You look up from your book, expression pulling into the mask you bring out in these situations. But it gives way to a genuine expression of surprise as you see just who it is who is talking to you.

 It’s… like looking in a mirror that’s just slightly off, with eyes worlds sweeter than your own. 

“Oh. Um, sure,” you say, closing your book. You pause, slightly unsettled. He looks… so familiar. Where have you seen those eyes before? You try to shake the feeling, putting on a smile as to not let on that you’re troubled. Besides, people you’ve never met look familiar all the time. It’s nothing to worry about, right?

“Did you need help with anything? I’m new here, but I can certainly try. The librarians are also pretty eager to offer guidance, I’ve found.” 

You look out over the ocean view of the library, where the sun has started to sink below the edge of the world. It’s getting late… you should go home soon. 

“I’m Sohma, Yuki, by the way. Are you a student at Spirale University, too?”

     👑|   As many questions as he had pending, his throat closed around them all the moment his father spoke in that soft, youthful lilt. Mutsuki knew he’d be just another stranger in Yuki’s eyes, and as much as he’d tried to prepare for the blow, it hurt a thousand times harder than he could have imagined. Tears stung behind his eyes and he lift an arm to wipe across them before any could spill, feigning a yawn to pass the gesture off as fatigue. With permission granted he took a seat, inhaling a deep breath to compose himself. 

❝  It’s really nice to meet you, Sohma san, I’m Mutsuki.  ❞ 

He introduced himself back, omitting their shared family name for now. Words failed him again and he found himself grateful for Yuki’s question, even if he hadn’t devoted much thought to how he’d planned on occupying his time here yet. Everything was still way, way too confusing to focus on the quotidian.

❝  Not yet, but if you’re here, I’d like to try enrolling too.  ❞

Mutsuki opened his book, unaware of how his comment might’ve come off as odd or not.

     👑|   Mutsuki couldn’t take his eyes off him. Masked out of sight behind a long shelf of library books, greyish hues peered out from between the tomes, spying on who would eventually grow up to be his father. He looked so young, seated in a quiet corner of the room, engrossed by a book Mutsuki couldn’t quite glean the title of. All on his own, with a tinge of melancholy air about him that made his chest tighten. Nothing like the bright, smiling parent that had raised him and sassed his mother to a flustered boiling point on the daily.

Mutsuki wondered if this was roughly around the age of their curse. Would his father turn into a rat if embraced? Had he even met his mother yet? The maelstrom of questions sloshed about his mind in a overwhelming, confusing current.

He had to go and speak with him and find out for himself.

Snagging a random book as a believable pretense for his approach, Mutsuki traversed the tranquil library expanse until he’d reached Yuki’s table. A closer look at his father’s reading choice invited a smile to his lips. ‘Backyard Winter Gardening’, of course.

Mutsuki cleared his throat as an alert to his presence and pulled back a chair. Impatience bubbled inside him, but he didn’t want to dumbfound Yuki with his identity and bulldozer over the life he currently knew with a forced glimpse into the future, like he’d so far inadvertently done with the other Sohmas here.

❝  Excuse me.  ❞

It’s pretty empty in the store and Ayame didn’t have any custom orders to work on, so he busied himself with redressing the mannequin. He was in the midst of putting a monochromatic color palette outfit together when the door chimes. Before he could get his greeting out, he’s hit with a very confusing open to conversation.

“I’m sorry?” Wide eyes stare at the boy who couldn’t be much older than Yuki, and he has a resemblance to him as well. How peculiar. “You must have me confused with someone else. I don’t know a Chizuru or a Hibika, and I’m certainly no ones uncle.” Yuki was definitely still a virgin and on top of that, much too young to have a child, let alone one that looked his age.

     👑|   ❝  What do you mean? It’s me, Mutsuki!  ❞ 

❝  You are Ayame Sohma, aren’t you? Yuki Sohma’s brother?  ❞ 

There was something within his uncle’s blank, clueless stare that turned Mutsuki’s blood cold. Was this some sort of hoax? Playful pranks and teases had never been above him, but to go as far as to deny knowing his own children on top of his nephew, it didn’t add up. Nothing here added up.

Mutsuki wasn’t emotionally equipped to start confronting alternative explanations for Ayame’s behaviour though. Even as other small clues began to surface. Like how his uncle’s skin was bereft of age lines that creased at the tip of his eyelids or how he looked a lot more like the photographs lining the counters of his parent’s home, taken long before he was born.

No way, that was impossible. Mutsuki shook away the intrusive thoughts and insisted again, in case this really was a bad joke being played on him.

     👑|   ❝  Sora?  ❞   

Stomach lurching at a familiar face amid a sea of strangers, Mutsuki reached for the raven haired girl, only to get completely shunned as she continued to zip past. Confused by the cold shoulder but rationalizing that she simply mustn’t have spotted him, he whipped around and swiftly trailed after her steps. She was fast, faster than he was used to, but Mutsuki kept pace, weaving in and out of the busy throngs until he was close enough to attempt contact again. 

His hand lunged forward, fingers clamping around a slender wrist to steady her. He couldn’t lose her here, absolutely not.