Here Be Monsters

Never doesn’t bother me.

He rolled his own eye with a huff of breath.  “You know what I meant.”  He jerked his head away from the pinch, his own ear twitching like an irritated cat’s.  But he didn’t protest it-- he’d deserved it after all.  He gave a laugh.  “Well, none of the others knew how to use those portals at first, no more than you knew how to use Corridors until you were taught.  You’d need to trade your coat for one of ours if you decided to use them, though.”

“Yeeeeah, that might explain why you haven’t been by.”  A grimace, and he rubbed his jaw.  “Towerfall is meant to be impossible to reach by normal means.  As for Silent Hill...  Corridors aren’t the best to use for it.  Think maybe I oughta teach ya to use the kind of portals the Thirteen uses.  The sidestepping.  Because Silent Hill’s the shortcut, and all.”  His free arm dropped.  “Or, yeah, you could just try to call out for me.  Chances are I’ll sense it or something.”  A flick of one ear, and he grinned again.

He draped an arm over the other’s shoulders in a friendly, casual manner.  “Yeah, I’d hope things only keep getting better for you, man.  You deserve it.  You can’t really catch up on sleep debt, it’s just not really possible.  But getting real rest is never a bad thing.”  He flexed the fingers of his free hand a little, studying the faint outline of his claws through his gloves.  “You can stop thanking me, y’know.  You’ve already shown how grateful you are just by living.”  He flashed the other a grin, sharp, demon teeth, and flashing yellow eye.  “You should visit me more often though.  I miss seeing you.”

“Well.  You got a lot on your shoulders and on your mind.  Oversleeping, or erratic, aberrant sleep patterns in general can mean a lot of things.  Could be time catching up with you.  Could be stress.  Depression.”  Shigu was of a scientific dint, he just didn’t tend to show it much.  “Or it could be like you said: you finally feel safe enough to get some real shut eye.  And if you are lonely or depressed, you know Axel’s always waiting for you with open arms.  For that matter, so’m I.”  He flopped onto the couch with his twin.  “But overall, you’re good?”

“I don’t know how old I am anymore, but it’s definitely a few times older than you, my handsome friend.”  And probably more unhinged.  Definitely more unhinged.  “You know.  Making sure there’s no lingering effects after the extraction.  I meant to check up on you more frequently, but.  I’d hope if something happened, you’d come to me first.”

Just sayin’.

“Pfft, you?  Old?  As if.  I’m the old one.  Jokes aside, though... how you been?  Things okay?  No... you know.  Bullshit.  Echoes.  Whatever.”

“Just cause you don’t see me doesn’t mean I ain’t around.  But yeah, I've been kind of busy lately.  Stretched a bit thin.  In too many places at once.  You know how it goes.”

If it isn’t my favorite double.  I ain’t gonna ask where you’ve been, that’s your business.  I will say welcome back though.

My ears are burning.  Somebody’s yapping about me.

“Oh yeah?”  His tone was drawling, almost bored, but the look in that single remaining eye was anything but.  The ripper might have been angry, but disappointed was more likely.  “How much of you is even left in there anymore, do y’think?  What exactly did he do to warrant your wrath?  Or was it like someone else picked him for your little game, too?”

@invertxgo

The ripper demon only looked back at him, his scarred face as emotionless as any Nobody’s was supposed to be.  “Yeah?  What you did just now sure coulda fooled me, my dude.  From where I was standin’ seemed like you were really getting off on tormenting someone that’s already suffered plenty.  If that ain’t him, I dunno what is.”