Ink and Mist

They have long grown accustomed to the treatment they receive from the majority of the clan. They are, after all, little more than a useful tool in the eyes of the Ashiya sorcerers and exorcists. Accustomed, yes, but not immune. Each harsh word or strike is another tally on the moon rabbit's building grudge toward this accursed household. Another drop of water, growing and growing until one day the dam would break, unleashing the fury of a kami wronged.

Fortunately, that dam is spared added pressure today, as Atsuki unexpectedly intervenes. Shingetsu blinks, staring in awe at the hand that's been sharply halted before it could grasp their ear. Quickly, however, the rabbit lowers their gaze and returns their compliant smile to their face. The business of spellcasters is above them to watch or judge--or so they must make it appear.

Only after the other has been sent packing does Shingetsu lift their head. They stand, flashing Atsuki a curious look, smile still neatly in place.

"Oh, heavens no! I would never presume to object to your choices, master." Hands in sleeves, they present him a low bow, only to pause and tilt their head enough to peek over their arm at Atsuki. There's a gleam in the rabbit's eyes, a light that seems almost mischievous. "Although if I were to dare commit such a transgression, it would be to express concern that you were seen defending a lowly shikigami." For all their show of deference, they don't make so much as a twitch toward following Atsuki's orders to return to Itsuki yet.

The full moon is out and thus the rabbit shiki is at his most troublesome. Atsuki simply brushes off the concern with an indifference he has long since mastered. “Even if this clan views shikigami as tools, tools belonging to someone else should be respected. And tools of an heir, leant or otherwise, shouldn’t be handled carelessly by fools.”

Shingetsu needn’t worry. Atsuki had his defenses ready as he always did. Shingetsu had taught him plenty in learning to have a silver tongue as a child. And that child he is no longer, this it feels odd to be bc worried over by Shingetsu. Atsuki had long since cast off childhood.

"Worse case scenario is I have to silence the idiot." Shingetsu can let their imagination run wild on what that means.

“If that’s the case…” Dazai’s index was placed on Bon’s head, moving slowly as a consequence of the expressive gestures he tends to make with his hands. “Pleasure to meet you, Bon-kun.” The detective scratched behind the fox’s ears for a few moments before withdrawing his hand.

What a lovely friend.

“You have nothing to worry about, but I’m flattered by your concern!” There’s some resemblance between Atsushi and the unknown boy, it’s probably the kindness they both possess. For that reason alone, he accepted the ointment. “Mm, how could I refuse? Thank you~.”

Gon gives a yip, tail wagging for a moment before moving to settle on the boy’s other shoulder. Niimi smiles at it, happy that the bandaged man also liked giving pets to Gon. No one was nearly as soft as his fuzzy friend.

“What’s your name, Mister? My name is Niimi Nankichi~” Maybe Niimi could make a new friend today!? That would be the best! The thought alone enough to have the young boy smiling brightly.

ཐི ( ᶠᶸᶜᵏ ᵧₒᵤ! ) ཋྀ ︶꒷꒦︶ ๋ ⊱༒︎            ❝ I can definitely grant you SOME KIND OF WISH but ──ཀཀ you probably shouldn't wasted on something you can solve yourself. Just throw it away like I DID and say the fox ate it. You don't have to do it... All the grown-ups can do is YELL... ❞  Hearing the part about the cucumbers made the kappa thing kind of make sense in his head, but he couldn't get too focused on that, having to FAKE being a fary.

Aluin is relatively bad at commanding the shadows with his will, but he's able to shape himself a wand with a star on top made from DARKNESS. ❝ I can grant you one wish ──ཀཀ so you gotta THINK. What can I do for you for the strawberry dough ? ❞

“Is the reason you grant wishes for food because you didn’t do your homework in school?” Niimi stares for a moment but thinks hard. And here he thought no more homework was a good wish. His older brother might get suspicious if he didn’t do any for that long, so probably for the best.

A glance to the wand, curious, Niimi is sure that means this guy is a western fairy godmother. “I dunno.” A sheepish smile. “Nii-chan makes sure I have everything I need or want. Can I wish that he has a good day at work? If not- I wish for ten thousand yen.”

" You make me almost want to go burn outside. You're makin' it way too fuckin' cold in here. " The complaint is followed by a groan as he shudders, opting to set the controler in his lap while hugging his jacket tighter against himself. He knows the other isn't a fan of the heat. Neither was he, but, god if he didn't hate the freezing cold just as much.

Kawabata looks over, watching a long moment, then nodding his head. He can’t warm the room back up, but he can stop cooling things down. A shame that Karma wasn’t as fond of the cold as him. Riichi was much the same. Ah- That's it. Without giving a reply, Kawabata sets down his controller and leaves the room, walking down the small hallway till he return shortly with what could only be a heated blanket and a hoodie.

"Here. Riichi hates the cold too. He won't mind." Kawabata even goes about plugging the blanket in and handing over the hoodie. There. Karma could be warm, and Kawabata could keep the room at a nice 16 celsius.

As Tsukino bounds off into the bushes to keep an eye out, Setsuki examines the cage door. He spares Niimi a glance with a half-smile. Even when stuck in a trap, he's still so curious, it reminds him of Yoshino a little.

"Nah, I can't pick locks. Don't worry though, the ass who set this hunts mostly supernatural creatures, so he doesn't use regular locks. He uses spells." While he speaks, Setsuki runs a finger along the door's edge, leaving a trail of faint light behind. Once he reaches the bottom of the door, it pops open. Setsuki's quick then to reach inside and pull Niimi free, holding the little fox gently as he makes a quick check for injuries. "Let's get you out of here, pal."

Setsuki glances over his shoulder, searching the trees. "I'm not sure where that hunter is but he can't be far, so I'll go with you until you're somewhere safer than here. You okay with that?"

Eyes are wide as he watches Setsuki work. He’s just like Gengetsu, Mutsuki, and the scary old priest! More than anything he wants to ask Setsuki how he does it and if Setsuki could teach him how to do so as well. But before he can, Niimi finds himself lifted and held.

A glance up as he jumps out of Setsuki’s arm and takes human form- adjusting his hat as he does so. “I was on my way to meet with Yoshino-chan. I wanted to play with her if that’s okay, Setsuki-san?” A sniff of the air, but the hunter’s scent isn’t close or he’s smart enough to be careful of a fox’s keen nose. Regardless he looks to Setsuki.

“Do you know why Hunters keep showing up here??”

"Does that sorta thing work on Jono?" Haruki will admit Gon knows Jono better than him, but even so... it's difficult to picture anything placating Jono when he's in one of his moods. Mostly because Haruki can count on one hand the number of times he hasn't seen Jono angry or upset about something.

Still, Gon makes a point Haruki can't (or doesn't want) to argue against: family helps family. Gon and Jono are family a lot like the way Haruki, Kitamura, and Kyu are. Helping is the right thing to do then, isn't it?

"I guess we can go buy some steak. You're sure he won't get more mad, 'though?" He's pretty sure the only thing worse than spending money on Jono is Jono snapping at him for it.

"Maybe Nii-chan is nicer with Kichi and I?" Everyone always describes Jono in a way that doesn't fit with the person that adopted and cared for them. They say Jono is mean and a bully, but would a bully adopt and take care of two little foxes? Gon doesn't think so. People just don't understand Jono the way they do.

Though Haruki makes a point. Jono might get fussy if Haruki bought it. Like he'd get fussy over Gon and Kichi bringing home bugs. A small pause as the fox sits, paw up to hold his chin as he thinks. "We should get Nii-chan eels, instead then! I can catch them."

✧ « @phasmascript ➥ continued »

Mordred peers over the top of his book to watch Dagonet's dramatics. He sighs. The fool is only going to make himself more overheated with all that flailing about... Closing his book with a snap, the prince gets up, pacing to the kitchen and rummaging through the freezer a moment. When he returns, he's armed with a cold compress.

"Here, you nitwit." While Mordred usually avoids touching others, Dagonet has shown multiple times to hold no fear of his Ability, and this is a (somewhat) medical matter so he doesn't hesitate in taking the jester's hand. Once he turns Dagonet's hand over, Mordred presses the ice pack to his wrist. "Blood circulates close to the skin at certain points, just apply something cold to those spots and let your circulatory system do the rest of the work.

"Wrists are a good spot, or your feet--but the most efficient is your neck." As though to prove his point, Mordred moves the pack to the side of Dagonet's neck, frowning in concentration. "Better, yeah?"

Had Mordred decided to ignore Dagonet's outburst, the fool would have eventually shut up and fallen asleep. But Mordred doesn't and Dagonet watches with curiosity as the prince goes to the kitchen, then returns with a cold compress.

"So in the spots you can feel your pulse at~" Dagonet watches the ice pack for a moment before closing his eyes. It isn't a immediate relief, but it does feel far better than before. Guess he'll bee sleeping with the compress tonight.

A hum as he thinks for a moment, not minding Mordred touching more moving the compress around to prove his point. It is almost like a lesson. "Oh! Can I guess why? Is it because of all the arteries located in the neck? That's why in stories, vampires go for the neck~"

Play or eat? It's not a question Yoshino has to think hard on, eyes lighting up the instant Niimi suggests climbing on the playground equipment. "Let's play first! Wanna race to the top of that thing?" She points to the peak of the jungle gym. There's plenty of handholds to climb to the different levels, of course, but Yoshino's finger is directed at the very tip-top of the tower where a little flag waves in the wind.

"Last one there's a stink bug!" And an excited yip, Yoshino is off like a shot, her kimono doing little to slow her steps. She ignores the readily available ladder in favor of trying to scurry up the slide, an endeavor that takes her a few tries before she succeeds.

While her brother looks up at the noise, he doesn't seem concerned about fox kits having a little fun, going back to correcting Yoshino's homework after giving a small shake of his head. He's sure once Yoshino and her friend tire themselves out, they'll come back for food.

A stink bug!!! Niimi whines and is quick to follow after. Unlike Yoshino, he goes for the bars to climb up, ladder also ignored. He does giggle a little as he watches the slide do as slides tend to. Once he's perched on the guardrails of the second tier, he gives a wave, tail flicking.

"Yoshino's a stink bug~ Yoshino's a stink bug~" A bit preemptive, but it's spoken cheerfully. Another giggle as he grabs onto the walk area above. Time to keep going higher! This was fun in a different way then the cliffs and trees. Easier too.

You drool in your sleep.

Don't you dare sleep in those clothes!

Did I wake you?

You're going to end up with a sore neck if you sleep like that.

You're supposed to turn off the alarm clock, not break it.

Are you always this grumpy in the morning?

Keep your cold feet away from me!

The bed's big enough for both of us.

You can rest. I’m here.

Just how many pillows do you need?

Now that you're awake, can you let go of me?

Oh, so even you get bedhead.

You talk in your sleep, you know.

When was the last time you slept?

You kick in your sleep.

If you're not tired why do you keep yawning?

You were having a nightmare.

I'm going to smother you with a pillow if you keep snoring.

Would you stop stealing all the blankets?

I can leave the light on if it helps.

You can use my shoulder as a pillow if you like.

I hate morning people.

Please tell me your not just now going to bed.

Do you often have nightmares?

Five more minutes…

Ugh, somebody turn off the sun.

Can I sleep here tonight?

Can you even find your bed in this mess?

You’re exhausted. Go to bed.

You don't need more coffee, you need a nap.

You can have the bed, I'll take the couch.

You look way too comfortable for someone who has to be at work in twenty minutes.

You're warm. Don't move.

You always look so peaceful when you’re asleep.

Your desk is not a bed.

You sleep, I'll keep watch.