Forum Thread

Lin. The name sounded somewhat interesting to Leo, who'd finished the tour of the house [sorry for not posting before the timeskip hah] and was rather intruiged by the odd cloud lady. While her first, cold, hardened appearance made her seem unapproachable, after hearing her talk - which was an accomplishment in itself, what with her complete distaste of communication - the heartless outer layer was shed and replaced with a more warm, friendly coating. Or, at least, that's how Leo saw it, though she probably didn't share his viewpoint.
After staying awake all night, for differentiating timezones could be rather a nuisance to handle, he crept downstairs, careful not to wake the sleeping cloud demon. Glancing at himself in a mirror, he realised that perhaps he should have tried harder to rest. Large, gloomy circles hung under his eyes, and his navy hair was somehow more irregular than normal, hanging in strands over his face and pointing in every direction possible and impossible. He combed it quickly with his hand, then continued to the kitchen and peered into the fridge.
In all honesty, Leo hadn't a clue how to effectively use any of these human foods. Nutrition on his home planet was almost entirely sea-food based, and there didn't appear to be any fish amongst the endless towers of food. At least, not any raw fish.
What was it the harp-man had said? Something about bird people with food. His eyes still dim with fatigue but glowing with the rising sun, he left the house and stumbled onto the street. It was quiet at this hour; a welcomed reprieve from the crowds of people that would come with the daylight. Unfortunately, while there were no creatures he could also see no bird men. Wonderful. He supposed that he should attempt to find the dragon man instead, then, to ask for directions to the bird men if not to apologise for his outburst yesterday.

Izumi was pissed. Last night had been awful and he was not looking forward to spending time with his "spouse". What was supposed to be a night for easing himself into this new and unfamiliar environment turned into a war zone where poison was the garnishing on the food and hostility the blanket he slept with. Speaking of sleep though, he got barely any hours in, his unblemished skin still perfect and well taken care of though there were beginnings of bags that joined the smattering of silver scales under his eyes. Whatever, Izumi could be the bigger creature in this household and let bygones be bygones. Having only slept with shorts and a tank top on, Izumi threw on a looser top that fell comfortably around his frame, baggy and comfortable. Slithering down the old stairs, nary a sound escaping from his light footsteps and careful pacing, Izumi entered the kitchen as spotless as he had found it. Opening the windows he watched the sun crest over the horizon, bathing the world in light that made him yawn. The air was stale and dry, a pale comparison to the lush forests that he was used to at home. But it was a far cry from the stifling old air that surrounded this house. With a sigh, he began familiarizing himself with the kitchen. All alone and the only one awake for now, he took this time alone to let down his walls.

Opening the fridge, he tried to make sense of the multitudes of foods he was unfamiliar with. There were so many things that the fridge was missing that Izumi was craving, the familiar rotund bodies of mice and musky scent of frog. Oh well, he had to play human so he would settle for things that were familiar. Freja didn't seem to like the salad yesterday, be it for dietary reasons or the fact that she absolutely hated his guts he didn't know, but today he would try something else. Making up his mind that there was no harm in doing a little bit of experimentation, Izumi grabbed a packet of tube like things, eggs, butter, milk, long strips of meat, and a box of strawberries. From the nearby bowl he grabbed oranges and banana's, rooting in the cupboards for flour and setting down his goods on the clean countertop. Bringing out various bowls, he pulled back his sleeves and began to pour out ingredients into a bowl. It was odd, throwing ingredients he knew into a bowl without any markings or signs of use but it was quickly washed away when he opened his mouth, a familiar song swelling up within his chest as he fell into the age old ritual.

"The sunrise is heart-pounding, the magnificent view is scorched into my eyes. Eternity, even that comes with a price in this world void of freedom." He hummed, fingers sifting through the flour as another hand gradually poured in a cracked egg, milk, and butter. The mixture was wet, clinging to his fingers as they melded together into a thick batter. Bananas that had been reduced to a viscous pulp sprinkled with sugar was introduced to the mixture. "Surely everyone is a joker, to end the fighting - bring it to an end, time-crossing challenger. Sing the truth at the end of your journey" The hiss of the oil dancing across a hot bowl added it's voice into the choir as Izumi made sure to coat his tools thoroughly. The bowl had a base that seemed perfect as he poured in the batter, yet another voice added in. "Devastating dancing, never-ending conflict. Even if this fate is on its way to ruin, grasping freedom, unyielding desire - hold your real self tightly."

"No matter how often you fall or how much you grovel, It's the decisive battle already. Don't stop, stand up. Everyone is alone, an imperfect soldier. Push on with unparalleled strength" The pancakes were transferred over to a clean plate as the stack grew to have eight fluffy treats balancing precariously atop one another. With those done, Izumi thoroughly washed the fruits, cutting the oranges out to look like flowers as he garnished two separate plates, the strawberries turning into flowers and birds that surrounded the oranges. Returning to the two meat packs that he had taken out of the fridge, Izumi squinted attempting to read what was written. His fragile grasp on the written language failed him here as all he could gather was that they were supposed to be thrown into the bowl and cooked that way. Frowning at how simple it seemed, he first cut open the package labeled "Sausage" and took one out and examined it. It seemed like it had enough surface area to carve into and that's exactly what Izumi did, taking one sharp nail and scoring diagonal lines along the meat. "This hope, confined inside of the lies. Steal it to the far, far away future." Tossing them into the bowl, he puzzled over how to present the "bacon" or whatever these strips of meat were. With a purse of his lips, Izumi gently twisted each strip into a tightly would circle, crafting each one into a rose like shape. It looked pretty enough and he gently lowered the bacon roses into the oil, singing cutting off as he hissed in pain, oil splattering against his forearm. It hurt a lot more than it did normally, the heated oil raised red welts on his pale skin as he scowled at the bowl. The pain soon faded away and so did his annoyance as he waited for the meat to cook, song resuming it's melodious course as Izumi's feet instinctively carried him across the cramped area. "Even if tears flow or your smile drops it's time already, don't stop, one chance. There's no time to waver, not even one second"

Cooking was a celebration, an offering to strengthen those who you cared for and your relations to them, a festivity where both the giver and receiver rejoiced in such an act. In some villages, cooking was considered an intimate act reserved only for family, friends, and lovers. To refuse food was to reject someone's affections, to make an enemy of the one who prepared the dish and to potentially even anger those who the giver considered close to them. Partaking in food was almost sacred. While Izumi's home village didn't hold the act in such high regard, it undoubtedly still was a show of good will and a desire to at least get along with Freja and Izumi himself found joy and importance in the act. For the other to so easy and uncaring disregard his olive branch was quite possibly one of the rudest things he has ever seen someone do but he had to remind himself that not everyone's cultures were the same. Perhaps what was considered sacred to him was just another part of the other's daily life and he was willing to give his "spouse" the benefit of the doubt and try once more.

The popping of skin splitting open drew Izumi out of his thoughts as he refocused on the bowl sitting atop the stove with a blink. Ah, the food was done, he noted gingerly removing the sausages and bacon and plating them up. A soft smile graced his features as he continued to hum, letting his eyes track over what he had made. "That's right, our incomplete selves didn't think we could misunderstand each other as we looked up at the huge, endless sky. But I can only stand here now because you were with me. We catch our breaths, begin walking toward our dreams. As he shifted food around to make sure that everything was in place, an announcement accompanied by an annoying and grating off tune music made the song in his throat catch as he threw a glare at the open widow. Rude, but Izumi wasn't in the mood to chew whoever it was out and only sighed. Gathering up the three plates in his hands, he moved them over to the dining room table. Sitting down rather heavily on a seat, he waited, the remnants of a song pouring from his tongue as absentmindedly listened to the announcement.

---

Myrcine was blown away by the flavor of the bread. However,her joy and enthusiasm were short-lived due to Darian's silence. Saying nothing to reply to her question nor even using any sort of motion or expression,he just ate up and went to bed. Taking all that into consideration,she finished eating another slice and slowly slithered towards the most comfortable-looking chair she could find. As if it would change anything,she cast a final sad glance towards him,which he didn't notice since he had his back turned to her,and went to sleep.

Upon hearing the horrible,untuned strings of a harp,Myrcine woke up. It was Darian's footsteps and the couch push down that fully woke her up. "Hmmm? Good morning..." she yawned. After rubbing her eyes for a bit,she unfolded her tail and slithered towards Darian,gently nudging him. "Hey hey,wake up. We got to go to that job center the person on the megaphone mentioned."

Lin woke up after a long sleep. She rubbed her eyes and went downstairs to make food. After making a quick meal for her and Leo she exited the house, the figure said that the inmates had to work. To be honest after a day of boredom, she was looking forward to working. She quickly ran to the job center and looked inside, hoping to secure a good job. Stroking Fog on the head, Lin looked at the other humans and creatures here, some looked quite friendly so she walked near them.

---

She looked at a sheet that listed the jobs and saw that one was yo make mechanical wings. Lin smiled, back in her world she used to make the odd thing or two with scraps of metal. And it was in Griffon Alley so that would be close to home. Lin didn't know who to go to register what she wanted to do so she sat on a bench and waited spinning her shard of metal on her finger, and giving Fog the occasional scratch.

Just as he was about to fall back to sleep, a gentle nudge made him open an eye to see who or what disturbed his slumber. He looked up to see Myrcine, who reminded him of today's work that he neglected. "Hmm? Oh yeah..." He slowly sat up with a grunt, then stood and faced her. He could tell something was wrong, and he had a good feeling about what it was too. Even if they had time, he wasn't sure if he could apologize for his silence and actions correctly. Maybe he could after the jobs, but he doubted that his situation would change. "Alright, guess we can go then," he gave a small smile before walking to the door, looking back to see if she would follow.

---

"Coming!!" she yelled as she rushed to the bathroom,only to come out after quickly combing her hair. "Alright. Let's go." she beamed,walking out. She didn't know why seeing so many other prisoners out surprised her. It was just like any other city's rush hour. "How was your sleep?"

After gulping down her third piece of meat, Geira can't help but wag her tail. It's not as good as celebrating it together with everyone in her pack, but it's still good foo- Wait. Hold on a minute.
Geira takes a deep breath, sniffing for everything and everyone around the house. Xeraphina's scent still lingers around the door, but it is definitely also around one of the other places of the house.

She practically smacks herself on the head. She'd been so rude to a pack member for no reason. Whether the girl was a wolf or not, she is still part of the Elliða household! She doesn't have to be friendly to her, but politeness and decent wolf manners is what makes the world go round.
She takes a pack of meat out of the fridge, scanning the kitchen for any and all tools. Humanoid creatures use tools to cook normally. Cook food. She can cook food.

...

She does not know how to cook food. Does she have to ask Xeraphina now? Does she know how to cook? Can she teach Geira? Yes. Yes, Xeraphina is probably a good cooking person human. She just has to get a push. But... how?
Thinking back to all the stories she heard in her lifetime, one particular fact pops up in her mind. Humanoid creatures love... dogs, right? They feel at ease with dogs. So if she just... Casually strolls by where Xeraphina is in her feral wolf form with meat in her mouth... She would feel at ease enough to accept that they are part of a pack now. And cook. Technically.
Yes. Yes. This is what we're gonna do now.

Transforming swift and fast - although quickly missing the feel of thumbs - she softly places the meat in her mouth and strolls around in search of Xeraphina.

She twitched her nose. Why did she smell... raw meat? Xeraphina pushed herself up and looked left to right, scratching her head and yawning. Where was Geira? What was Geira doing? She arched her back with caution and uneasily stood to her feet, looking down to remember that she slept in her normal clothes. Oh. She pulled her blazer lazily over her shoulders and tucked her hands into her pocket, scratching the side of her face and avoiding the scars over her eyes as she did so.

---

June quirked an eyebrow as her partner circled her, taking in her appearance slowly. Hah! She'd almost be flustered at the behavior if not for the death grip control she had on her emotions. Did she just smell me? Well...it's not like I smell like much, anyways. I don't exactly have a body. Laughing lightly, June stretched out her hand as well, watching it almost wistfully as it phased right through Sukuna's outstretched palm. "I'm glad I pass muster, Sukuna," she said, retracting her arm with a slightly sad smile. "But, y'know, being incorporeal and all...well, there are some ways we could be bonded and be able to actually touch, but until I figure something like that out that won't somehow curse us, I'm afraid this will have to do." Poking her plate with her fork, June smiled down at the breakfast. "No problem for the meal. I look forward to-" Wait, 'my dear'?! Letting a sly grin spread across her face, the ghost leaned over the table and rested her chin on her palm. "I look forward to however you choose to...make it up to me, honey~" Ah, so we're already at the pet names stage? Sukuna, you charmer...hehe! I'm sure that's just how she speaks, but she's giving me way too much material to tease her with already.

Freja sat up on the roof, watching as the last stars faded and flickered in the early morning light. She had not been able to get as much sleep as she had hoped the night before, for reasons she wished to blame on others but knew truly that it was nothing but her own fault. She had trouble falling asleep nearly every night. Every night since the "accident". Freja forced herself not to dwell upon such thoughts, but repression was not a method that worked, and no matter how hard she tried to banish the memories, they continued to flood back to her, taunting her, a reminder of all she wished to forget. She let a small, tired breath escape her lips, the crisp dawn air biting playfully at her bare skin. She was wearing a plain T-shirt and shorts, and had no shoes on, her long hair falling messily yet freely around her shoulders and face. It was a fit she almost never wore, she simply couldn't be bothered to assemble an outfit fitting of her style as of this morning. As the final few stars twinkled and died out, fading from view, and the sun crept over the horizon, doing very little to help the coolness of the air, Freja heard a voice. It sounded like... singing? Sing-chanting? It was very pretty, and it came from below her. It was faint but recognizable, and Freja connected it to Izumi, her "spouse". He could sing? She considered herself relatively good at singing, and she used to do it with her little brother all the time, but she had not done it in a long while. No matter how much that Izumi fellow annoyed her, she had to admit he did have a good voice.

She tilted her head back and let out a sigh. All of this was exhausting, and the bags under her eyes grew harder and harder each day to disguise. Not that anybody would care if they did notice, but her lack of sleep had started to get to her. She had become more snappier and irritable than usual, less calculated, more impulsive. Everything felt timed, judged, and tedious. She knew it wasn't healthy, but haunting memories don't simply vanish because you told them to. With a very heavy huff, she sat up and let loose a whistle, loud and sharp, ringing across the city, reverberating through the still, sleepy air. In mere moments, a black figure appeared and only approached closer from the distance, flying in to meet Freja. She smiled and held out her arm. In a matter of seconds, and sleek black raven flew in and perched on top of the extended limb, twittering a song. Freja laughed. "Well someone's in a good mood today, aren't you, buddy?" she said, stroking the top of her friend's feathery head with her finger affectionately. Eren gave an early morning cry in response. Freja smiled. "What do you say we go and greet our spouse for breakfast, hm?" she asked. Eren tweeted and flapped his wings, rising off of her arm and fluttering around. Freja stood up and brushed herself off, climbing back down into her room's window to get dressed.

After slipping into much more fitting clothes- a purple long-sleeved shirt with a beautiful owl design printed on it and light grey pants -and braiding her hair back after brushing it out, she allowed Eren to rest on her shoulder as she closed her window and opened her door, shutting off the bedroom light and slipping quietly into the open house. Immediately being met with a delicious aroma, Freja could smell cooked pancakes drifting up from the kitchen to meet her nose. They smelled delectable, but Freja was still apprehensive. Making her way down the stairs, her socks slipping across the hardwood floors quite easily, Freja entered the dining room to see Izumi already sitting at the table with ready breakfast plates, seemingly waiting for her. Suddenly feeling awkward, Freja nodded in greeting and gestured to Eren to sit somewhere else.
"Good morning, Izumi," she said, her words slipping out with only a trace of bitterness. She felt less willing to start a rivalry today, possibly due to the simple lack of sleep, but she was willing to start over with Izumi. "I hope you don't mind my friend joins us for breakfast. I just felt you should meet him so he doesn't cause any surprises. His name is Eren."
At the mention of his name Eren gave a small tweet.
Freja pulled out a chair and sat down across from Izumi, awaiting his reply.

---

Sukuna raises an eyebrow, before circling her once more, now wielding leather gloves and snapping one of them. "Curses, pah! I start my day with them!" She cackled, then sitting down and digging into the prepared breakfast, her cheeks full as she gave a noise of delight... similar to a moan, but not quite. "It tastes wonderful! For someone who's incapable of interaction, you sure know how to press my taste buds!" Sukuna giggles, now playfully launching the food into her mouth in a high arc and then turning to June, raising an eyebrow. "So, what did you do to get transparent? Angered a witch? Tripped over paint?"

As soon as he stepped foot out of the door, his eyes were greeted by the unpleasant colors of Happy Fun, and he was sure it nearly blinded him. The town mixed with the inmates' clothing was just disgusting. A sigh left his mouth before replied to Myrcine. "I didn't really sleep much," he replied plainly. That could probably explain why his eyes hurt so much... "So, do you know where to go?" He found it silly to ask, but that was the only reason he stayed behind to wait. While he wasn't really excited to do a job, he couldn't help but wonder what jobs there were. Were they just generic jobs like office work or were they actually work that contributed to this place? The latter seemed much more likely and logical, but there was always a chance it could be the former.

---

June grinned at Sukuna's much more carefree attitude, different than what she originally expected. Well, sure, some of the curses REALLY should NOT be messed with, but she did have one idea... Shoveling eggs into her mouth as well, she relished the first touch of food she'd experienced in decades, and couldn't help but swing her legs eagerly as she ate like a kid. Covering her mouth with her hand as she giggled at Sukuna's antics as well, June was well prepared for her partner's next inquiry. I've never met a witch - well, not that I know of...and how would tripping over paint make- wait- probably some weird thing from her universe. But no, it's wayyy more fun than that, sweetheart. "Died," June answered nonchalantly, pouring herself another glass of juice.

Sukuna now tilts her head, scratching it while watching the carton of eggs just vanish inside June's mouth, then shrugs. "Short, sweet and vague. Not much different than the others, I presume!" She giggles a little, then putting down the little egg she had found earlier in the crashed nest, putting it in a glove of hers and wrapping it around. "Well, won't this be a fun thing then? Us three together! Or do you have a sort of pet...? Or, in your case... a yurei?" She shrugs, chuckling a little while pulling out a few surgical needles and a piece of cloth, starting to knit a little amateur ghost puppet, then putting it on her finger and making ghostly "boo" sounds with it.

His eyes flickered to the bird, tongue unconsciously running along his fangs at the prospect of a fresh meal. Birds weren't exactly his favorite food, that honor went to mice, but it was quite a bit better than whatever this city had stocked for them. Those instincts were reeled in however, when he realized that the crow was his Freja's companion and he nodded almost apologetically to the corvid. "Yeah yeah, nice to meet you and all. Does he eat anything special? Do you? You better not be allergic to anything it would be a pain to plan meals around that." He waved half-heartedly at the crow, eyes taking note of the other's sallow appearance. He didn't expect the other to have gotten a good nights rest, the foreign environment taking a toll on the body's natural circadian rhythm. Back home, the best food to give a restless hatchling was the fatty underbelly of a salmon or a whole sardine while snakelettes could always eat walnuts and fresh kiwis. Were humans the same, he wondered, picking apart the meat with his claws. Granted, he could always bean Freja over the head and knock her out so that she could get some rest but that went against his current goal of not having to throw around thinly veiled threats every few sentences.

Spearing a sausage with his nails, Izumi chewed on one thoughtfully before nearly spitting it out. The taste... was downright awful. It was nothing like real meat, the synthesized texture of unnatural smoothness gliding over his tongue like a rock. The juices seemed too tantalizing and fabricated, something never found in nature. It was simply... too perfect to be anything but fake. Objectively speaking, his cooking wasn't bad, far from it. It was a delectable feast both for the tongue and the eyes and for those used to inventions such as sausages and bacon it was some of the best that they have had. For Izumi, however, it was simply too much to stomach. With a bit more trepidation, he attempted the fruit and almost melted at how sweet it was. Fruit was a luxury back home and to have such high quality ones readily available! Almost all of his disgust at the artificial meat melted away as he happily ate the small portion of fruit that he had portioned for himself. It was a special kind of bliss that he didn't know he needed and the moment his claws tapped against a plate void of the fruits, it was gone. Well, of course it would be, he had just ate it all of course there wouldn't be anything left. And with the disappearance of his bliss came the churn of his stomach as the full realization of his actions weighed on him. Guilt spilled out from each crevice of his body and he felt like it would pour forth from his mouth but years of practice only had his hands shake slightly before it was wiped on his pants.

For now it didn't seem that Freja noticed the momentary lapse in his usual mask. Good, he didn't need someone else biting him in the soft spot of his underbelly. The city was already filled with untold dangers and he didn't need to make survival even harder than it needed to be. All he had to do was keep his head down and get through his sentence. That was it. And before he knew it he would be back home again.

---

Sighing, June shook her head. It would have been nice to have a pet; any company over the last few decades would have been nice, really. "Maybe I'll give you more details later," she said with a wink, although in her mind there were already plenty of clues towards her death. Resisting the urge to run her hands over the pink patches of skin that ran all over her body, the ghost nodded in response to Sukuna. "I don't have a pet but I agree, this will be fun! Look how well we're getting along already," June said, giggling at her partner's little puppet. "You've got quite a talent for that." Reaching out a hand to brush against the fabric of the puppet, she grinned up at Sukuna. "So...are you a surgeon of some sort? I pegged you for the doctor type, so you must have done something shifty to end up here...don't you guys have an oath or something? Do no harm?" Even though she phrased it as a question, she wasn't really looking for an answer. After all, Sukuna would probably share that sort of stuff when she was ready, not just because June said a couple of things about it. "Well, I've got an idea for a mildly cursed solution to my ghost problem, but it's probably best to wait until after we work, juuuuust in case."

Lin left the building and walked around, looking for people to talk to. No one. She walked some more and came to the colourful street of Happy Fun. Lin sighed. Boredom was getting to her enveloping her like a blanket, dampening her good moods. She shouldn't get too upset, or the incident might happen again and someone will get hurt. Lin spotted a small blue ball and picked it up, thinking for a moment.

An idea popped into her dreary mind. She threw the ball for a bit and played catch with Fog. After what seemed like a good amount of time, she sat on a bench, overcome with fatigue and looked at the house near her, Happy Fun 14. People were inside, looking as if they were having fun. Lin sighed sadly and lay on the bench, occasionally playing with her ball. A glassy tear ran down her pale cheek. She quickly rubbed it away. No one should see her cry. Lin tried to hide her sadness under a mask of anger and hatred, but it didn't work. Tears came running down, one after the other, splashing down her face. Lin rubbed them away again and roared in anger.

Lin had to get out of here. She hated boredom. In a fit of anger, she threw her knife-like piece of copper and it struck a lamppost with a loud CLANG. It stuck there for a while until she pulled it out angrily.
Lin went back to her bench, staring at the clouds, wondering where her "spouse" was. Even though he hadn't been here for long, she craved companionship and being able to socialise.

"Well...not really. But I'm sure I can tell where we are on the map and head to the jobs center using it for reference." The fact that he didn't sleep well sort of saddened her,but at least it wasn't her fault. As soon as she walked outside,sudden momevent caught on the corner of her eye caused her to quickly turn her head towards the source of the movement. It was a tall creature with white,almost silver hair. Myrcine couldn't tell apart any other characteristic other than that of the wings sticking out of the creature's hoodie. The noise that followed also troubled her. "Uhm...Goo-...Good morning!" She reluctantly waved her hand,unsure what to make of the creature yet. "Are you...one of our neighbors?"

Lin looked around to see who was talking to her. "Hello," she began, some anger still in her words," I'm not your neighbour, I live in Griffon Alley, my name's Lin. Lin Mizayaki. What's yours?" she looked at Mycerine. Fog peeked his head out of her arms and flew around. "This is Fog, my pet," Lin explained, laughing at the cute creature. " I'm sorry for the noise, I'm just bored to be honest." she said. Idly kicking the ball she found, she though for a bit. "So, how are you? How are you coping with the whole "spouse" thing?" she asked. "I hate it to be honest, not my "spouse" but the idea in general," Lin said with a snarl.

Myrcine froze up upon seeing Fog,not something she thought she would see first thing in the morning. "My name is Myrcine Sarrea." she smiled,recovering from the slight fright. She paused for a bit to think about a proper way to answer Lin's question regarding the 'spouse' concept. "Uhm...we're both relatively new here,actually. Yesterday was our first day,you see, so...we're trying to get to know each other more." There was quite a bit of hesitance in Myrcine's voice. She really liked living with another person and she was finally starting to feel safer,but Darian's behavior was completely different. She didn't exactly lie,per se,but she was mostly waiting for Darian to reply to that question so she just gave a somewhat general answer until then.The fact that Lin was alone,away from her spouse to be exact, pique'd her curiosity but seeing as Lin was somewhat angry,Myrcine opted not to ask anything relating to that.