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IT IS ALWAYS INTERESTING to venture into the land of the living. the purpose is often the same, even after all these years — fame, power, money, love. for a soul, caim can make almost anything come true, or at the very least create the perfect illusion of it. humans are easy to manipulate, endlessly entertaining to toy with, but he is far too old to be foolish enough to push his luck with a witch. « i do not mind whatever you wish to call me, » he offers, amused at how the world is opening up to him now. if she cannot banish him, she may be able to free him. for that she will need his name though. besides, he enjoys a challenge. « you may call me caim if you must call me at all. but banishment should be simple without it. » he opts for a spot on her bed, sits down on the soft mattress, hands folded on his lap. docile like a lamb, deceiving like a predator. « but you are a witch ? » he wishes to confirm, reaching out a hand before waiting for an answer, his hand landing on her arm. magic hums underneath her skin, but it's either faint or it's fighting back against his ungodly touch. whatever power she has, or pretends to have, won't be enough to send him back to the hell he comes from. but it may not be enough to set him loose in this world either. he has lived for a long time though. he can be patient. « well, why would i want to ? » he lets go of her, leaning back on his elbows to gaze up at her. « and why would you want to ? if you are a witch i can be of use to you. do you not wonder what it would be like to be limitless in your magic ? i can give you that. »

he's made himself at home, it seems, judging by the way he's sitting on her bed. the relaxed expression on his face, the thrill she can somewhat read behind it. she isn't naive enough to think caim might actually be his real name. but since she did give him harry as her name . . . well, they're even now, in a way. " okay, caim, can you not sit on my bed with outside clothes on? " it should be the least of her worries, especially with his hand on her arm, the tingling feeling they leave behind. the offer that leaves his mouth just now, she chooses to ignore in favour of rummaging through the unfolded laundry on the carpet. tossing him one of her oversized t-shirts and pyjama pants with an elastic waistband. " the bed has to stay clean, " she feels inane, positively silly for scolding a spirit like this. " sorry. " " i'm actually not that ambitious. " with limitless power comes limitless possibilities. and sunny's content with where she is in life, with her studio apartment and etsy shop, and the same routine carried out like a ritual. " are you stuck here now? " she asks, a weary tone to her voice. if he's stuck here, does that mean she would be responsible for him, or is there somewhere she can drop him off at? some sort of agency for lost spirits, maybe? " i don't need anything magic-wise . . . " would it be unceremonious of her to kick him out? is it okay to leave a demon slash spirit homeless? is it morally right? her studio apartment isn't exactly spacious, but he could technically sleep on the sofa. " can you do human things? like drive a car? " she does need a chauffeur.

VIVI WASN'T ALWAYS THIS CAUTIOUS when it came to re-entering the dating world, but there was also the matter of their friendship. she knew what a lot of people thought about her ⏤ that she was impulsive and vapid, that she placed little value in anything outside of her own satisfaction and entertainment. and while she was impulsive and that part of her nature often led to some trouble here and there, or forming relationships of all kinds that fizzled out with the sunrise, vivi wasn't as shallow as many would make her out to be. she values her friendship with nyibol and doesn't want to risk it just to chase her own crush. all of this despite those who know vivi well telling her that all she is doing by shoving her feelings aside and not being honest will only end badly for her. and she knows what they mean as nyibol's fingers brush aside her hair and a shiver runs up her spine. the hand at her waist and barely-there brushes against skin do nothing to help slow her racing heart. "you like it?" the smile is barely constrained, because it's been so carefully selected. just for her. she turns to look at her friend, smile in full bloom, "i could never hold a candle to you, though. you always look stunning."

her hand brushes against vivi's cheek almost automatically, the touch tender and light. fondness clear in the irises of her eyes, nyibol leans ever so slightly closer. she's not one for waiting games, for prolonged yearning. they should end it here, start it here. " i love it, " so she replies. strategic as her eyes stare first into vivi's before flicking down to her lips. her eyebrow raised in askance, willing a response. " i love it when you flatter me back. but when i flatter you, i want you to just take it. " she touches vivi's chin. " let me adore you. "

★— ATTN: @swansatcoole

a groundswell against the upcoming flu season . . . what an odd choice of words. ch'iu yueh ponders over them as they make their way out of the room and through the hallway, circling back to the lift. ada's words keep repeating inside her head, bouncing off the sounding board of her mind. groundswell. flu season. " by groundswell, do you mean the officials there were preparing for the flu season? " it's not odd to prepare for future outbreaks. there are always patterns to them after all, and from the patterns, ways to reverse them. " is it, like, a chicken and egg situation there? " which came first? the groundswell or the outbreak? what are the insinuations behind each scenario? ch'iu yueh shudders to think it over, doesn't know if it's better for ada to answer or not answer. still, she draws her coat a little closer. the lift dings and opens; she steps inside. " i think i've been here for five, six years? " ch'iu yueh shrugs. " time moves really fast when you work in a hospital. " a wry smile on her lips. " what about you? were you a doctor before? " it seems a natural progression, to go from a hospital to the role ada now occupies. linear and clean. " i think we're about the same age too. "

somewhere  in  the  back  of  his  logically  sound  mind,  leeteuk  is  yelling  at  himself.  because  it's  not  like  him  to  act  on  emotion,  to  throw  out  words  that  mean  to  much  in  the  midst  of  his  hurt.  but  at  the  core  of  it  all,  that's  all  he  is.  *hurt.*  sunny  is  pulling  away,  effectively  eliminating  any  chance  they'd  ever  have.  there's  a  coldness  to  it,  one  that  would  have  stung  even  if  he  hadn't  liked  her  —  a  coldness  that  wasn't  meant  for  someone  she'd  called  a  friend.  "if  i  did,  i  wouldn't  be  here,"  he  clarifies,  voice  nothing  above  a  whisper.  the  affection  ran  deep  and  the  care  he  had  for  her  was  second  nature,  even  leeteuk  had  a  happen  of  painting  things  black  and  white.  "don't  say  that."  he  runs  a  hand  through  his  hair,  sigh  escaping  his  lips  and  breaking  away  his  gaze  from  her.  "reject  me.  fine.  but  you  don't  get  to  run  from  me."  he's  seen  it  before,  but  he'd  never  thought  he'd  become  the  victim  of  it.  maybe  it's  frustration,  or  hurt,  or  anger.  maybe  it's  all  of  it.  "you  don't  get  to  run  away  every  time  because  you're  scared."

he reads her like a book, like he knows all her tricks, the entire catalogue of them. can call her bluff on every one of them. and he's doing it now, spelling out her thought process, keeping a tether on her. " i'm not running away. " so sunny bites back, quick to defend herself. though they both know the words ring empty, and there's little more she can say because he's right. she only ever runs when she's scared, positively terrified of whatever is to come. when her emotions and the possibility become too real. " i'm going home! " so she turns away, roughly and almost petulantly, moving her legs one step at a time away from him. running from the conversation before it's finished. " good talk! " her left hand waves back, while her eyes are peeled on the ground, tracing the steps she's taking, acutely scanning the ground for a shadow behind hers. the thought of him following after her flickers through her mind. she doesn't know what scares her most: if he does or if he doesn't.

it's as if she can feel her heart sinking deeper into her chest all while her airways close tight — watching a train wreck only farah could create happen in real time. for everything else, she was the epitome of laid back, fun, a source of light some would say. yet it came to this? the one thing she couldn't seem to wrap her mind around? she fell into pieces every time. farah can't meet his eyes for too long, glancing at her lap as his words hit one after another. “i...” for once she isn't so quick to speak, trailing off before she can say anything more. a large part of her is ready to have him walk away and save herself from future heartbreak — and the other half is stumbling over to fix this. it's the latter that grabs his arm, not letting him walk away even as the final blow feels delivered. “what if i don't want to?” she asks, quieter than before. “i'm being selfish. i know. i'm not really ... good at this part. isn't there some kind of compromise?”

it's hard to imagine a compromise, a version of events where none of them feels any hurt or bears any blame. but she's holding onto his arm, onto him. and jude can't help but to stay still, not move away. finds himself drawn to her still, to the quiet of her voice, leaning ever so slightly closer. " what will a compromise lead to here? " he resorts to ask, hand carding through his air in an aimless gesture. " if i ask you to pick up your phone and communicate with me more, is that compromise for you too? if we compromise, what does that mean? " are they going to traipse somewhere in between casual and committed? see other people or not? see each other or not? " how do you do that? be casual but also not? it doesn't work that way. "

with a tilted head, canyue considers tian ying's answer, the truth that rings around it. he isn't foolish to think that they are above fate; everyone is, but mere servants to the wheel of life after all. the tides come for them no matter their status, wash away every little thing if it so much as wishes to, with little to no care for human interference. still, canyue likes to think that there are ways to withstand high tides, to brave them. " what do you believe your fate to be then? " he asks instead, an even tone to his voice. " there was a time when i would have wished for more, " he admits, looks away for a moment. gaze shifting to the open window. there are barely any clouds in the sky; clearness envelopes them, and honesty loosens his tongue. " i have no more use for wishes, " he shakes his head. " she is not there to wish for anymore. " the court of his kingdom is fairly small; the children grew up together. he had once thought he'd marry her, the friend he spent his youthful days chasing after her shadows. but that is no longer a possibility. she'd been married off to another noble, whisked away to a faraway land. they'd promised to write but the letters that come are few and far in between. and canyue isn't one to covet another man's wife. " i believe you can grow to care for another person with time, " quiet resolution shines through. " though if that does not happen, you are free to seek your own happiness if you so wish to. " a bird in a cage . . . canyue finds himself chuckling at that, head nodding slightly. " we are all born into cages of our own, " he replies. " you're in a cage of your own. how much more have you seen of the world? of lands beyond your own? "

seina sighs, reluctant. hates how bright jude's smile shines when she's upset. clinging to the stubbornness that's left, she does her best not to give a hint of a smile back, but it's difficult. "two minutes," seina nods and grabs hold of his outstretched hand. "and if it doesn't work, we go back to my place and watch whatever movie i choose." trailing along at jude's side, seina doesn't rush to return. but once they're back inside, she doesn't bother greeting them, the timer counting down in her head already.

" whatever movie you choose, " jude parrots as they walk inside, head nodding slightly. her hand is warm in his, and he gives it a light squeeze, hopes his friends don't fuck this up any more than they have. they're still where they left me, all sitting around a table, picking at the food they'd ordered earlier. some of them share looks, glancing at jude. a beat later, and a chorus of apologies emanates throughout the table. not the most heartfelt, but sincere enough to his ears. still, he glances at seina. " we can still watch the movie, " he offers again.

★— ATTN: @swansatcoole

she wouldn't mind that, the incessant texting. it's something to look forward to, something to read on the commute home. " i'm a big texter too, " rhoda replies, a wide smile on her face. she's never one to leave people on read, the type who overcommunicates and overexplains. so she hands over her phone, unlocked, so rue could punch in her number. " we'll see who ends up texting who more. " a light teasing lilt. at rue's offer to meet up, rhoda gives a small nod. " so long as we actually follow through on the meeting up! you wouldn't believe how many old friends tell me i'll see them again soon, and then i just never see them again. "

" and aren't you . . . " a raised brow, and he moves a little closer, lessens the gap between them just so, " grateful that i'm back? " he peers down at her, glances at her lips. defaulting to arrogance has always been his modus operandi. that, and nonchalance. " you're cute when you're mad, but why prolong the anger? " alphonse tilts his head, eyes fixed on araya's face, trying to gauge her reaction.