#devilishrogue

    Teddy... Where are you Teddy?~

Kanato wandered about the mansion in search of his friend. At first, it was a fun game of hide and seek. Not under this couch... not in the cupboard. Not under the bed. Not behind the dresser. Not on top of the chandelier. Not anywhere. Panic began to set in, and the singsong filling the air quickly changed to high-pitched, desperate screams.

  'TEDDYTEDDYTEDDYTEDDY!!!' Scream after scream, the young boy let out, but no matter how loud or how frantic, the plush was nowhere to be found. Kanato could have sworn he'd left Teddy in the main living room while he went to fetch the two a snack, but he wasn't there. Stop. Small feet came to a still as firey magenta eyes slowly began to fade to a deep lavender, much darker than normal. Ayato. No one else would do it. No one else was dumb enough to. Kanato took slow, calculating steps toward the kitchen, grabbed the first knife his pale hand could reach and marched up the stairs toward his favourite brother's room

  Knock Knock Knock. 'Ayato-kuuuuuun...~ Come out and play with me,' his voice was soft and airy, like a butterfly. 'I can't seem to find Teddy, and I'm sure you wouldn't know anything about that, but I'm bored.' The longer he spoke, the darker and more malicious Kanato's tone became. This was the last straw, he wouldn't allow Ayato to torture Teddy again. Carefully, he hid the knife behind his back, and a wide smile stretched his lips as the middle triplet began planning all the ways to make his brother return Teddy.

☂… to nursing your hangover

Lake Gevi. Summer. It was really summer; Her very first one in Prava for as long as she could remember. The climate was welcoming and warmer than the breezy pastures of her grandparent’s home in the northwestern countryside.

Kobato tossed her arms up, fingers stretching towards the blue sky that was dotted with puffs of cloud and colorful kites flown by attendees. The warm weather and summer festivities had invited a number of Pravians outdoors. For herself, having to venture anywhere beyond the inner border of Prava was a treat. It surely wouldn’t have happened if Ayato hadn’t been interested in the eclectic food stalls and declared to come. Even in Prava, the girl had opted to save fare expenses and ambulated to any and all destinations. Though she had been working on her nonexistent biking skills, after a delivery encounter made her discover that even decorative garden bikes had the capabilities to zoom in lightning speed from one district to another.

There was a myriad of things to do at the store, that upon arrival, she was instantly magnetized enough to skip ahead. Taking off her white sandals and holding them in one hand, she used to other to grasp the folds of her white sundress, which was loosely layered over her bathing suit underneath. Despite not wearing a well-needed sunhat, she still wore a matching swimming cap that snugly sat atop of her head.

“Ayato-sama! Where would you like to go first? The concert? The water?" At each choice, she animatedly directed her arms towards the entertainment. Kobato hastily readjusted the large beach pouch with her blue-pup doll sticking its head out the pocket, waving in a circular motion atop of her head so that Ayato would catch up. She had packed all her beach needs: sunblock, towels, water, sandcastle-making tools. Everything she could think of in her arsenals.

It had been several weeks between since her job at the bakery. The day after, the owners had pinged her for work elsewhere at a certain flower kiosk. They had deemed the task of handling freshly-baked bread was more than she could manage, but were still kind enough to guide her to another place instead of leaving her high and dry.

The currentmost job at hand, Belle Fleur, was going to be an employment that will last a while, or so it seemed. Thanks to the recommendation of the managers of the flower shop by the Fountain of Fate, the scenario shifted favorably enough to finally land her a job that, on the short front, promised to be stable. Now that spring was underway, there was definitely a need for staff numbers. After all, with the season and city events, the employees were constantly getting delegated to various subjobs from maintaining the main store to going out with baskets for flowers for outdoors vendors.

Kobato vaguely remembered a redheaded streetside napper who had growled in disgust upon departure, but had still taken the bakery store business card. It was surprising. She had gone back to the store to give the owners Belle Fleur’s business card, in the offchance that he did come in another day. Whether he did or did not, Kobato had little awareness. There had been no news of him afterwards.

It would have mattered little, but the memory of getting requested for a song had been embedded. One would have imagined the crushing wrist-clamping, which indeed had made unsightly marks the days after, would have left a scarring memory. She hadn’t been requested to sing since, and the chance of him finding her arbitrarily was slight. Prava was a beautiful city where all walks of life goes about, but also often missed one another. Absentmindedly, she began humming the tune of nights days and days ago. ‘A lonely night with the promise of a warm home to return to’ (her own title, she might add) while collecting the baskets of lavenders on display in the storefront. The business day had come to an end, and she mused about what to get for dinner. While tangling delicate fingers in lavender petals, she decided could afford to treat herself to a restaurant meal today.

❀ A guilty secret mine has been keeping from yours

She really should have been paying more attention, but her brain was near fried and keeping her mind on her training alone had been more difficult than it usually was for her. Today had been pretty bad for her- arguments with Yukiko were rare as it was, so when they happened, it always took its toll on her. It was actually kind of one-sided; she hasn't hung out with her in forever so when the other cancelled on her again because she was suddenly busy with something, she threw a childish tantrum. The Amagi girl just sort of stared at her with that sad face, apologized and left. She hated to admit she was afraid of the other girl leaving someone like her behind, but Chie had never been the most articulate of people when it came to her feelings.

She'd thought it would be a good idea to train and vent, but in the end it didn't pay off.  As she brought one foot down from a powerful kick, as luck would have it, it landed on a rock she failed to notice earlier. Most of her weight went into it, so when she shifted, it rolled under her foot and the motion sent her crashing to the ground with a yelp, effectively knocking the breath out of her.

"Crap..." she pulled her foot up only to be greeted with a sharp, searing pain in her ankle that made her wince. It wasn't like she was a stranger to pain, or anything. In fact, she welcomed it sometimes, but not in the creepy way; pain was a sure sign you were getting somewhere. The combination of a sprained ankle and a shitty day, however, turned that thought on its tail and now all she wanted was to go home and maybe bury her face in her pillow and never come out from her room again.

The sensible thing to do would be to call Yukiko and apologize, of course, but she was far too ashamed to do that just yet.

Kanato hurried into the kitchen, exhilaration practically radiating off his lithe body. He enjoyed two slices of cake the previous night at his room with Teddy and as much as he didn't want to, he spared a single slice to enjoy for the next day.

He squeezed his teddy bear closer to his chest, the corners of his lips tugged up into a small smile as he halted in front of the big, shiny fridge. He easily pulled the fridge open, his uncharacteristically enthusiastic actions evidently showing how excited he was.

"..."

Light purple eyes stared dejectedly at the open fridge whilst the grip his pale, slim fingers had on the velvety fur of his teddy bear slackened. The fridge contained different kinds of snacks and ingredients, but it unfortunately lacked what the purple haired male had been anticipating for-- his remaining slice of red velvet cake.

The crestfallen expression on Kanato's face stayed there briefly as he took a gander at his surroundings. Upon seeing the familiar empty plate sitting almost innocently on the counter, a scowl replaced the downturn of the boy's lips. He took quick steps towards the offending object; he could already see the red bits of the cake and cream cheese smeared on the pink china plate, along with the silver fork.

Lifting a hand, he knocked the plate off the counter in a harsh manner, letting a growl rip from his throat as he did so. The sharp, shattering noise of the porcelain hitting the floor evidently did not bother him as he stomped his foot on the ground.