#{moved thread}

Black Star watches him in childlike wonder. A small gasp as she spots the white flower pulled out of his pocket. Then, the Gem can't help but giggle as he places it carefully behind her ear. "Aw, thank you Clown Man, I love it!" She beams in delight, then on instinct, leans forward and gives Pierrot a hug while he was still crouched down.

The clown was glad she liked the flower. He liked to make people smile and happy. Though the hug was unexpected, but he was more than happy to return that hug! Long arms curled around her and gave her a squeeze.

"I am glad you like my gift! I think it looks perfect on you," Pierrot commented and let go of the hug.

he was scouting for possible targets, letting his eyes roam available men - some were clearly too handsome to be falling for his act, he tended to stay away from those - he didn’t have time to waste, did he? he spent months on one guy, it better pay off.

smiles, he got a lot. he knew he looked good, he worked hard for that body, ate healthy & took care of himself, but .. this wasn’t the audience he thought he’d end up doing it for, honestly. he had no choice. it was too lucrative to let go. he was doing a round, showing off his assets to the men present, when one put a hand against his arm & held him in place very gently. got you.

turned to him, he was a little surprised, but also not really. handsome man, probably, definitely too handsome for his plans - or was he? alone on gay night in a club? sounded pretty desperate.

“Har, har,” he said sarcastically at her joke, wincing when a spike of pain when through his skull from moving. For all her joking, that fruit had clearly not been ripe and been hard as a rock. He was lucky he didn’t have a concussion. With a sigh of pain he closed his eyes again, reaching up a hand to push his hair back out of his face.

“Where’d that pokemon go? I need to arrest him for assaulting an officer,” he said, half serious and half dry wit, “Are you alright, Sol?”

There was a small snicker from the bluette; a joke from Dulse? Oh how rare! “Long gone, even took the fruit it threw at you.”

[ Txt To Joker ] ; wait how do u even make those damn things [ Txt To Joker ] ; those cookie apple weird things [ Txt To Joker ] ; the ones that almost killed me [ Txt To Joker ] ; ….i have my reasons for wanting to know

      The bashful male shifted his gaze at the lady, “Ramen? Yeah, sure.” He can’t refuse such an opportunity to taste the victory of his hardships for the day. Giving her a nod and then he swung one of his arms forward to let her take the lead.

      Afterwards, he would catch up by her side. The style he usually displays while walking was a casual way. Albeit the shyness, he couldn’t change his carefree stride. Noct kept quiet along the journey to the local ramen stall. Somehow, her presence and the treatment was helping him win his confidence back.

"Over ten years..." Those three words held so much weight in them. Ten years of watching herself dim, but more than anything, ten years of washing blood away that wasn't hers. As terrifying as it might be... Calondra wished it had been hers.

"I'm sorry I'm so jumpy. He was... quick to anger." Most days. And then there would be days when he was almost... kind. Gentle. Days when Calondra could pretend they were a happy family.

Family.

Calondra's hands tightened around the table again, panic sending lightning through her nerve endings. Squeezing her eyes closed, Calondra gasped out for breath, trying to return her mind to the present, to drag her former self back kicking and screaming.

"... Sorry."

----

Nikolai's cheery and energetic expression slowly faltered to a solemn serious face.. He could not sit there and smile, hearing of someone that he wanted to befriend-- horrors of their past.

A firm line met his lips as she told him this man was quick to anger. It made sense why she was so paranoid of him being angry at her or any of the sorts.

"That explains a lot.. And ten years is a long time to deal with any of that.. I cannot imagine the pain you went through," Nikolai spoke in a softer tone, one that lacked his usual sing song voice.

"Ah, you mean like you got it when you were a baby? Heh, that's always cool when you have a toy that's been with you forever!"

At least he was guessing that was what they meant when they said they were born with the doll - after all, everyone got their first doll or first stuffed animal from somewhere, right...? He'd never heard of any dolls being born, before...!

"Wow, sends you like you've got some pretty chill parents, there...!" Of course, that wasn't meany as any judgement or condemnation - quite the opposite, he thought it was incredibly cool!

"Heh, glad you love walking! I do, too...!" While he was a little surprised at them clutching onto his hand, he gave a bemused chuckle as Yumeno seemed to be leading him somewhere and he was all too happy to oblige and follow along, letting himself be led.

"Yep, that's me...!" He beams, proud of the nickname. "Heh, let's do it then! You can our leader!"

----

"I guess you could say that! I have certainly had them when I was a baby!" For all they knew that could be true too. But they preferred just saying they were born with it-- made things more interesting about themselves after all!

"Yeah my fathers are very chill! They're the BEST parents ever! But they can be very protective too! But I can protect myself from any meanies and bullies! I protect my siblings from bullies!" they chirped proudly to the man. They were quite proud that they could protect their family!

But then again, anyone who wiped out hundreds of men in a Mafia group, is capable of protecting others... That's right, the child the man was with had murdered countless strong people of the Port Mafia all on their own... All thanks to their ability-- that doll...

"I love walking! I like feeling the air and getting to see animals and other people! It's really boring if I gotta ride a car or train!" they exclaimed with a small pout. They didn't fancy being confined in a small space and sitting there for a while twiddling their thumbs..

She kept pace with him, occasionally 'staring' at his hand as he led her along and gave her periodic squeezes. It was oddly comforting.

But when he mentioned puppies she made a bit of a sad face. "Maria loves puppies...but puppies are always scared of Maria..." Dogs were usually pretty in tuned with the supernatural, unfortunately, and tended to react negatively to it. Most dogs immediately tensed up and began to growl or whimper when she approached.

"Maria doesn't want to scare the puppy..." She seemed to deflate at the admission. All animals seemed to react that way to her. Even horses and birds.

----

"That is true, animals are pretty spooked over ghosts and the sorts. Anything supernatural. Though there is a difference between the random animals you have met and the ones I own. Dogs are always in tune with their masters as well. If I introduce you, it would come off to my puppy that you are 'friend' and not 'foe' due to how our own interactions go. Having an owner be on friendly terms with you will change a pet's behavior vastly," Fyodor explained to the little girl.

After a bit of a travel, he got to one of his local homes. It was pretty bare bones, but he used it as one of his bases to hide out in. It'd be perfect for the girl to stay. He opened the door and flicked on the light.