— PAWNS IN THE GAME.

      OH. UH OH. HE’S BEEN FOUND OUT. Kubo THOUGHT he was alone ; in moments of solitude, he could practice the magic which flowed through his veins, and bent the elements around him to his will. In the days that had followed his arrival in New Mexico, the boy’s palms had begun to itch with the deep-seated powers that longed to be expressed, so much so that the leaves around him might shift if he so much as plucked a chord on his shamisen.

        But the stray boy knew better than to draw attention to himself. He knows he’d stick out like a sore thumb if he dared display that raw telekinesis of his in the company of others. He had to remind himself, in spite of his childish tendencies; he was a boy in hiding.

         STILL … that didn’t stop Kubo from finally getting to use his abilities when he thought it was safest. And that’s exactly where he was wrong ; because lo and behold, a pair of prying eyes behind sunset-tinted glasses happened to be watching without his notice. The moment KID revealed himself, the music stalled, and the pair of deer that bounded through the sky unfolded into lifeless sheets of kami paper.

          Kubo swallows. He braced himself for the younger boy’s reaction. // @shortstock - kid cosmic

          the kid can’t help but be naturally curious when it comes to new faces around these parts... they’re practically in the middle of nowhere, so anything new and notable is usually something to be excited about! and especially so when it takes the form of someone around his age that’ll be staying with him, at least for a little bit. a very secretive child is just begging for a little bit of pestering from the younger one, despite anything he might say in protest.

          with kubo’s shamisen playing, however, that just makes things all the more interesting to investigate for kid. he’s always been asking the older boy to demonstrate the instrument’s sound when they were together more casually, but he’d always been quick to deny. so when kid hears the plucking of strings through the otherwise quiet desert ambiance? oh, you know he’s gonna snoop and watch, even if it means he’s gotta be sneaky about it.

          and with one peek around the corner after sleuthing closer to the source, kid sees... flying paper! origami animals moving about on their own through the air, accompanied by the mysterious kubo and his mysterious shamisen from below. it gets a yelp of surprise out of the blonde, with him blatantly coming out of his hiding spot to get a better view... at the cost of completely destroying any semblance of stealth he had before. kubo stops playing, and the papers become lifeless again... but that’s not stopping kid from pestering with questions. his gaze finally tears from the paper, over to the culprit.

“ well, ok. when you put it like that, you’re probably right. i mean, i guess i shouldn’t be that surprised. i’ve seen weirder shit than shrimp frying rice around here. it’s just… how do they do it so efficiently? their hands are so …. small ….. ”

          ❝ that is a good point... ❞

“are you tellin’ me a shrimp fried this rice??”