𝐍𝐨𝐰 𝐥𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠. . .

"You poor thing," He purrs, "I could only imagine how harsh the Masterchef classes have been on you." He rolls the balls of his palms, guiding Idia's hands to knead into the dough. He knows Idia is trying very hard to not form eye contact right now, but Jade shoots him a wry smile and grins, not bothered by it in the slightest.

"I see where your mistakes are. We don't typically knead with our fingers. It's easy to get the dough caught in your nails that way. Try using the balls of your palms." He takes Idia's hands by the wrist and scraps off any remnants of dough stuck between his fingers, then pulls those hands back before pressing them down onto the dough again.

While doing so, he couldn't help but admire Idia's soft and delicate hands. Ostensibly, these hands belong to someone who rarely did any housework, nor do they belong to someone who ever set foot into the kitchen. It suddenly became apparent why Idia was terrible at the Masterchef's beginner classes. Part of Jade wants Idia to put his mitts all over him, to feel the sharpness and tenderness of his nails.

In a matter of minutes, all specks of flour had disappeared from the edges of the bowl. The walls of the bowl are also clean, save for the bundle of yellow dough in its center.

Absolute torture.

If Jade was actually trying to teach Idia anything about baking, it fell on completely deaf ears. In fact, Idia thinks he may have blacked out in the time it took them to finish kneading the dough. It feels like his soul has vacated his husk of a body entirely and is watching from above, how Jade seems to have no qualms about putting his hands entirely over Idia's to guide them in the right motions.

He has to admit that the ball of dough now sitting in front of them is now looking awfully smooth and round. Idia fails to hold himself back from poking at it and marveling at how it bounces back. He'd hated how the flour stuck to his palms and fingers. It almost distracts him from the fact that a certain someone is still standing behind him, practically pressing into his back and close enough that his breath tickles his cheek. He's basically trapped between the countertop and Jade himself. If Idia turns around, the other student is going to see how flushed his face is all up close and personal. Rock, meet hard place.

the silence wasn't really unwelcome, honestly. it gave miri a moment to slouch over his knees and just breath for a minute - neck bare and the collar out of sight. he pressed his forehead to the tops of his hands, which gripped his knees, and let out a small amused huff -barely audible. idia was so quick to dismiss the very games he was so eagerly raving about just a second ago..!

"lemme play them first before i decide if i like em or not." came his somewhat muffled reply. he may not be a game champ like idia, but that didn't mean he would give up before he even got into it! he let himself stay like that a moment longer, only lifting his head back up when another question crept into the quiet of ramshackle.

miri raised one brow and gave a questioning expression. what was he gonna do..?

"go. . . back to class, on monday..?" he replied as if that was the most blatant answer, not worthy of even being questioned. a slow incredulous smile tugged at one side of his lips. "business as usual, yeah? grim still wants to become "the best mage ever" and he can't do that without me." they were a package deal by this point, and as strange as their tenure at NRC had been thus far he doubted crowley would change his mind about letting a beast attend all on his own. "it's not like i'm leavin' twisted wonderland any time soon, just cause you removed my collar.

that," he pointed towards idia's bag, where that horrid device lay dormant; "bein' offa me just means i don't gotta worry about losin' my head anymore." while it may have also functioned as a kind of homing device too, he didn't really think that mattered with him being in a whole different world. there was no way entech could track him here, no matter how advanced they were back home. he brought a hand up to rub at his neck. "y'know how anxiety inducing it was t'always make sure nobody fucked around with that an' set it off? it's not like i coulda just came out and told em either: "hey, don't mess around so much or you'll blow my fuckin' head off!". tt.." he scoffed first, then gave a small humorless laugh.

"man... early on, leona fuckin' grabbed at me and i swear i saw my life flash before my eyes. not cause of him, but yknow." his close fist raised and opened up to emphasize an exploding motion. it wasn't really funny, but he still managed to laugh about it. "little things like that... i guess it's part'a bein' in school? everyone's so damn touchy." he shrugged his shoulders and slowly stood up. he stretched his arms over his head, loosening his limbs after having stayed still for so long. "must be nice to be in ignihyde - and you got that tablet. nobody t'touch you randomly." where once miri may have thought he didn't mind the touches, he'd come to realize that just because he didn't mind them didn't mean he liked them.

"... but... if y'mean what i'll do now." as in the immediate now. "i think. . . i'd like ta go watch the sunset." he looked at the window of his bedroom, noting that it was close to that time but not quite yet. he had enough time to wander over to the cliffs just behind ramshackle, a place he visited often on his own when he needed time to himself, and sit for a while. he'd probably do that until the sky grew dark and his phone inevitably buzzed with texts from friends inquiring where he was. miri's expression in that moment softened and his gaze seemed far away - like he was looking past the window and the sky outside. he very slowly pried his eyes away to look at idia. "... you're free ta go back to your dorm whenever." he was probably itching to get back to his solitude, right?

He even grimaces when Miri mentions how touch people are in this school. Now that Idia can testify. Extroverts and people like Leona who have no shame truly are the bane of his existence. Perhaps Miri and him have a little more in common than he initially thought.

Idia's gaze follows Miri's to the window, where he notices the sky is just starting to turn the lightest shade of orange and pink. Sunsets weren't the worst thing in the world. As Miri turns away to leave, Idia lets him take a few steps out of the room before picking up his things and following from behind.

An open assault between two rival gangs had been rather common in Twisted Wonderland ever since blot destroyed the world. Jade Leech had not been holding himself back ever since. He perished any thought of humans and the 'rules' they established while they were still within power, quickly proving that humans were the most submissive species, helpless when they weren't protected by societal order.

And as a result, he puts his life on the line nearly every single day protecting what's his. To fight for dominance, for territory, for land, for power. If he had to be frank with himself life now wasn't any different compared to the Coral Sea, but he gets to enjoy the thrill of almost dying every time a crossfire breaks out.

It's a pity he couldn't die today.

"Could you be... gentler..." His voice comes out rather coy as he sits up, pressing a hand to the side of his head. Tendrils of darkness tickled the edge of his vision, and it had been for a while now. Jade wasn't quite certain what they were, but he had always been a rather terrible patient. "...Idia-san? I'm still your junior by a single year." The chuckle that comes out afterward is masked with pain. Jade coughs up blood, further smearing his fluids all over what appears to be Idia's mancave which he spends most of his time in, but he somewhat miraculously does as he's told, moving to the chair like a limped puppet as his mismatched eyes followed the mechanism moving around the house with rapt attention.

Playing coy with the mechanic was a futile attempt - Idia always seemed immune to his charms whereas others have succumbed to it effortlessly, but rather than being angry at the obstruction, Jade welcomes the challenge.

"How badly am I hurt, may I ask...?"

"You can pull the 'one year my junior' card when you act like it," he all but grumbles under his breath, heaving Jade into place on the chair where Idia can lean him back and get a proper look at the damage.

Disclaimer: Idia's not usually this crass with clients, or even with his friends (the few that he has), but since the day they met, Jade had been determined to crawl under his skin until their dynamic had devolved into... whatever this is.

He pulls his hair back into a quick ponytail, and starts examining the rest of Jade's (still fully biological) body for any more injuries. A few cuts, and some bruised ribs, maybe broken, but nothing he couldn't handle for now, but he makes sure to set up a scan on the side to check for any internal injuries.

Idia has already pulled up a chair of his own and started working on Jade's mangled arm. manually flicking off the touch sensors so he wouldn't feel any pain. Cybernetic limbs are near indestructible, moreso the one that Idia personally outfitted him with, so for Jade to be in such a condition... Idia shakes his head with a sigh, and gets back to piecing the synthetic muscle fibers back together. He's, unfortunately, grown used to finding Jade half-unconscious on his door, but he doesn't remember it ever being this bad. Instead of picking his fights wisely like a normal, sane, person, he must have taken the brunt of the damage with that arm.

When those words left the King's lips, Jade felt a strange unease blanket him. No, I'm afraid I don't. He mutters silently to himself. He might as well disliked what he's heard, but they'd just formed a pact, and backing out of anything would appear unprofessional.

"Three-headed Hound of Hades? Guardian of the Gates to the Underworld?"

"A H-hound...?!" He blurts out. He feels sweat breaks out of his temples and his palms. The documents never said anything about a hound. What hound, Jade means to ask, but a part of him knew the undeniable, there were only so many animals that befit the term, most of all... "My documents never spoke of anything about a dog—" Or perhaps, they did, but rather than 'dog' Cerberus had been called by its fancy titles such as Guardian of Gates of the Underworld like he'd been human or another demigod.

Not that it changes anything about the reality that Cerberus is not only a dog, but one with three heads. It'd be the equivalent of sharing a roof with three dogs. The one weakness of Jade's that he'd kept to himself and Floyd his entire life, in case his self-proclaimed 'relatives' used it against him.

He'd forgotten that dogs were the beloved pets of people on land. The equivalent of dogs - sharks - were feared and most certainly not regarded as beloved pets in the Undersea.

Something strange comes over Jade all of a sudden. His face and lips turned pale, far more paler than the skin of a merman who has lived away from the sunlight for more than three-quarters of his living years should've been.

Despite the initial concern, a realisation slowly dawns on Idia and an amused smile tugs on the corners of his lips. "Could it be you're..."

Idia brings a hand up to his mouth and clears his throat, hiding a chuckle behind it. It is hardly befitting for a King to laugh at a very serious concern of one of his newest guests. He's sure that land animals like dogs must seem quite terrifying to those who hail from the ocean. It's just more surprising that the Regent has overlooked this important detail about the Isle of Woe, given how prepared and sure of himself he had been earlier. Cerberus hardly has to physically patrol the gates anymore, what with new technology and security systems, so he's more or less half-retired already, and his grandmother would say it's made him grown soft, but it seems the Regent doesn't know that yet. Interesting. Idia wonders how far he can push this.

"I can assure you Cerberus is a very sweet dog," Idia says, and continues their walk, now with a sure goal in his mind. He turns slightly and gestures for the other man to keep up. "Better to see him now than later. Father used to like keeping him by his side during his weekly Audiences, either as a show of power or as a way to keep from getting bored... Either way, you have nothing to worry about. Just a quick little visit, that's all."

They eventually stop in front of a large set of heavy double doors, one that stretches far, far up above them. With but a wave of Idia's hand, they seem to swing open of their own accord, and the cool outside breeze greets them as they open up to a large outdoor area attached to the side of the palace. There, in the distance, Cerberus lays belly up in the grass, basking in the sun, two of its heads half-asleep with their tongues lolling out, and the remaining one perking up at the sound of the door.

rather than any real desire to prove himself, miri found himself more interested in idia's confidence. for somebody that usually shrunk away from everything and everyone, to see him preening and boasting was. . . nice. he found himself wanting to see more of that side of idia, if even just for the novelty of it.

"pfft." he blew an amused puff of air, crooked smirk not faltering. "i have great hand eye coordination. it's just for more practical things." like aiming a gun and pulling the trigger -- he kept that to himself. "but i get it, if you don't wana get wiped by me..." miri mused with a purse of his lips and show of examining his nails.

he stared at his painted nails a beat longer before raising his eyes back up to idia. a slow smile worked its way back onto his face.

Idia almost never has any plans on the weekends besides just staying in and catching up on his games. It's either that, or he's working on new parts for Ortho. The idea of having to actually go out on a Saturday is daunting, to say the very least.

If it's not for the sake of himself, it's for the sake of Atlantica. He recalls going through Atlantica's proposed allies back in the Coral Sea, the frown on his face deepening the more he reads through it — he mightn't be Atlantica's most beloved prince, but the Regent is nothing but loyal to his homeland. The idea of forming bridges between themselves and so-called 'allies', as the sharks of the land liked to address themselves, would be equivalent to setting up their own kingdom for their downfall. The frays of politics, though there were no weapons or armies, are just as perilous as the frays of a battlefield.

It's clear that they needed the Isle of Woe as much as they needed them. Jade can't ever bring himself to imagine what it would look like to elect the humans as their ally.

"Allow me to escort you," He steps back and bows. His royal tributes are in the other room. Jade had told them to stand down in case the King was going to deny him an audience, but things seemed to be going well so far.

"My people are awaiting our presence at the—" When his eyes lift again he finds himself staring into a small, polite smile that seemed to cost a much-needed effort from its owner. Jade blinked, slowly, in that spur of the moment, he'd forgotten what he was going to say. "Nevermind," He cuts himself off, "Simply follow me, if you may."

He leaves the King's room just in time to bump into Prince Ortho, who has finally guessed where Jade has gone after shaking him off.

"Your Highness," Jade smiles apologetically, "It seems we will be seeing each other quite often after today." Gracefully, robes flutter behind him as he passes by, leaving the Prince with an astonished look of disbelief, yet pleasantly surprised.

Midway through their saunter, he attempts to break the silence. "You never told me exactly," he begins, and when the King stares at him blankly, he adds, "About your pet. You mentioned something about feeding time just now."

With an only somewhat disgruntled sigh, Idia pushes himself out of his chair to fall into step beside his newly-appointed advisor. Only when the large double doors open does light flood into his study, the afternoon sun shining high and bright through the palace's grand windows. It's only at this point that Idia is able to give the Atlantean Prince a good look. Fair skin, sharp features, upturned eyes each of a different colour that are almost hypnotic if Idia looks into them for too long, and a pleasant, polite smile that so far hasn't come close to leaving his lips.

It's almost embarrassing how much more kingly he looks compared to Idia, who looks uncomfortable even wearing the robes of his station. Granted, the Isle of Woe is not known for its grandeur and extravagance. Idia's daily robes are a simple shade of black, hemmed with gold and cinched together by a sash of dark blue around the waist; noble in its own right, but the way it hangs a little too loosely off Idia's thin frame suggests an entirely different aura. It's certainly a far cry from the handsome robes and elegant demeanour of this Prince Regent.

They spy Ortho coming down the hall towards them, and Idia immediately wants nothing more than for Ortho to whisk him away and save him from this ordeal, but as they pass by, he can only offer a sheepish shrug and a silent promise to explain everything later, before his attention is once again demanded by the man beside him.

"Pet? I guess you could call him that... He's more like a friend of the family." Idia rubs his arm as he speaks, a nervous habit he had developed ever since he ascended to the throne. "You... do know about him, don't you? Three-headed Hound of Hades? Guardian of the Gates to the Underworld?"

"You can pet him if you want, when we go and see him. Despite the legends, he's quite friendly once he gets to know you. It's probably best that he gets used to your scent sooner rather than later anyway, if you're to be staying with us." Idia seems to light up ever so slightly as he talks about the dog, his eyes brightening and the ghost of a genuine smile on his lips. "Ah, but he only likes being pet on one of his heads. Father used to tell me how Cerberus swore his companionship and eternal loyalty to me when I was born, but one time I was playing fetch with him and it became quite destruc-"