THERE BE A POST HERE

[alethiological]

[Wherein I will be murdered with circles, but I will accept my fate.]

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[digitalemperor]

[So it's like, one in the morning but the knocking on the door is very soft. Mikado doesn't want to wake anyone who isn't already awake. But he remembers Will should be up.]

[alethiological]

[And Mikado is stuck out there for another four minutes, which he'll recognize as the exact amount of time it takes to dislodge from a clingy girlfriend. The only odd part is that the only one who comes around at unholy hours is Erika, and she just takes the window. So seeing Mikado there earns a confused stare for a second.

A second. Since it drops to a special annoyace that comes from spending two weeks drowned in paperwork just to come back to sorting out teenage drama. Mikado can take it as from visiting at unholy hours. Either or.]

What is it?

[digitalemperor]

[God Mikado you are being rude. Mikado smiles, shaking his head.]

I'm sorry, it's so late. I'm being inconsiderate. [The smile goes from half-pained to cheerful, refreshing and awkward all at once.]

I really wasn't thinking. I'll come back another time.

[He doesn't have time these days, it's why he's here so late in the first place. But he is already stepping back to leave.]

I'm really sorry for bothering you so late.

[intellectualrapist]

[Unlike some people, yowling cats give no shits. Will gets a single, hard bang on the window. Because someone is upset, yep. And Lion is stirring so if there's another knock--]

[alethiological]

[And unlike Mikado, Erika's response is instantaneous. Slamming the window open hard enough to knock her off. For all looking like he just knocked off a noisy pigeon. Or christmas muppets.]

What have I told you about being quiet?

[intellectualrapist]

[Luckily, Erika is some sort of spidermonkeyhuman and somehow catches herself on the apparently flat wall. God knows how. She just does. It's disturbing. And scampering back up enough to hiss at him.]

What if I had just fallen? [A concession is that she's whispering.] How cruel, Willard. I only came to see you and you react so poorly?

[equipoises]

[With Ange, the subtle approach is best. Meaning once they are quite drunk at the bar. Because that is how you do subtle. Or at least how you talk in this family.] So...those kids are being stupid.

[alethiological]

[Confession booth, banging on windows, drunk at a bar, same result for all three is listening and helping if possible. Ange just makes it easier since she's kind enough to wait for inebriation to start settling in.]

When aren't they stupid?

[equipoises]

[At least Ange doesn't want to bug him, not exactly. And she pauses because she is drunk enough to consider that statement for a moment. Answer? ...Not drunk enough to say that.] ...Masaomi's not bad sometimes.

[...In bed.]

[llywelin]

[So it might look a bit like a shoujo manga with how Lion is rather flush and it's snowing and her hair is down and there's a scarf tucked around her in a ridiculously cute way.

Except she is quite happy because she is getting much faster at her siesta targeting and just sniped a snowman from a fair distance in four seconds.

So she turns to Will, bright and smiling, tugging the scarf down a little to speak better.] How was that?

[alethiological]

[People from the outside looking in might think him more of a drill instructor, standing next to her in the usual uniform sans scarf, arms folded and watching flatly.

Of course, the reality of it is smiling a bit when she turns around all shining and joyous, because how could anyone ever shoot down someone that brainlessly happy. And in all honesty, she is getting better at it.]

Not bad. You went down another two seconds. [Your boyfriend the alarm clock, now with stopwatch function.]

[llywelin]

[Maybe he is a harsh teacher sometimes but Lion doesn't mind. Between Kinzo and Natsuhi, she's used to strict people. Krauss, well.

Anyway.

Lion lights up a little brighter in pride. Especially from Will, hearing she's doing better...it couldn't be more obvious that she's happy. She tugs the scarf back up around her mouth but her smile is still clear. It's just that scarf is a hint warmer than any other scarf would be and it feels nice.]

Do you think I'll be able to get the time down further? [She's already a little tired from today but her enthusiasm and determination is boundless.]

[reigningstars]

[A light switches on abruptly in the room Will is in, whatever he was doing downstairs, and a blond woman stands in the doorway, an arrow knocked to her bow and the string pulled back to her ear. Her quiver is at her back so if she misses (and she so rarely does) she certainly has back up. She looks both fierce and commanding.]

Hold right there. [The words are spoken with such imperious directness she is obviously used to giving orders and getting her way.]

Who are you?

[alethiological]

[Congratulations Natalia, you obviously caught a thief. Sitting in a chair and reading like the darkness is nothing. The bright light earns a wince, faintly glowing eyes snapping shut, then opening again to give her the flattest stare ever.

Her words are spoken like she's used to getting her way, obviously. Now she can encounter someone who, while looking so completely apathetic, is 100% never going to listen to her orders.]

Can't say I'm inclined to answer people who use threats.

[llywelin]

[Will knows this atmosphere well. It's the same one that haunts him most nights and the reason it's dangerous for Lion to wake him up and why they don't always sleep together. That ominous haze is building and he can feel it prickling like usual except...

Except there is something a little odd because it isn't witch Lion and nothing would say it is. It's just Lion, looking a little terrified and unsure, and it's their room except the walls are gone and that brilliant shining sea of possibilities is spread out infinitely.

It might feel like Bernkastel's board did, that unstable strangeness of kakera mashed together. In this case, it's nightmares overlapping, with the cast of both being the same and even the premises rather similar but...

Lion seems to understand this isn't exactly the nightmare she was having. Some of the fear fades to confusion and she takes a tentative step forward. Her fingers twitch as though to reach for him.]

...Will...? Is it you...? [Unsure if it would be a relief if it was or if it was just a skip in the nightmare.]

[alethiological]

[It really is a familiar atmosphere, enough that even becoming aware of it is almost enough for that mental switch to set off like usual. It's a presence that only brings about horrible things, instinct says to prepare for the worst, already bracing against the usual scene that the feeling brings. A constant repeat of Lion and the actions that kill her and how he's the one who does it in pure businesslike ease and-

Her voice. The same words with none of that twisted quality and it's enough to get him to jerk around to stare at her. Register it's Her. And the switch stops halfway. Perfectly internalized, and he's right back to the presence she's used to, a bit stronger on his almost-insane protectiveness. The kind that's tinged a bit with memories of cats.

The only thing that might throw off how perfectly calm he is - seems - in that suffocating aura is that his eyes are still a clouded-over gold, bright like Dlanor's and her memories of equalizing and saving her and the two particular incidents where she got too close at too wrong the times. Otherwise? Calm. Totally calm. Can't even begin to fathom how calm he is right now.

The internal panic is a falsehood, yes.] Yeah. It's me. Dreams again?

[minmax]

[Accosting Will out of nowhere, popping up in his face with a stack of papers in her arms, is one small loli in a school uniform and glasses.]

Ne, ne! Will-san, you're an editor right?

[alethiological]

[And her reward is him jumping slightly, from three main reasons. One, the fact someone just invaded his office. Two, it's Mairu. Three, how does she even know that? She can catch his eyes darting behind her head, where the blond secretary stands in the doorway. Shaking her head and shrugging, then leaving a second later. Nonverbal equivalent of "wasn't me and I'm not helping on this one".

Sigh. Then staring directly at her. There's no question of how does she know that, because it's only done on the side and scarce few names know about it for now. But questioning it won't change the fact that she knows, and she could always know worse, so who cares. Papers and that question means a job, but no need to wrench money from a stupid bouncy girl.]

I am. Have something?

[ex_opportunist170]

[The Chosen of Mana comes to the Curtiss-Ushiromiya-whoever-the-hell-else-lives-there Household and knocks at the door. You can tell it's him. He has mastered a strange bastard child knock that combines the entitled knock of a noble that is confident you'll answer the door and then, well, if there is a special way of knocking for a slacker playboy of a man, then that's the knock's other parent.]

Liooonnnnn!!! Come out and play with meeeeeee!!!! [Though he hasn't crossed the critical exclamation mark threshold (5) the number does still indicate mental problems in the speaker.]

[By the way, he is carrying a bunch of red roses.]

[alethiological]

[His mastering of knocks is almost beautiful, and would be worth compliments were the owner of said knocking any less infuriating. It also means the owner waits at the door with his roses for another minute or so. Maybe he can think he's being ignored. Maybe that no one's home. Maybe she's playing hard to get. Maybe he's being stared at from a windowsill by the incarnation of apathy.

Mostly that last one. And he only makes his presence known by speaking in an almost perfect monotone. Just enough intonation left behind to leave a sarcasm so flawless it could match his knocking in execution.]

What light through yonder window breaks. It is the east, and there's a moron on the doorstep. Arise, fair moron, and kill the remains of intelligence, whom have yet to surrender to fools.

[leviathanclaw]

[There is a man outside waving fliers and coupons in the air. His heavy accent is also ringing through the crowd trying to get people's attention.

Sushi. Delicious, Russian sushi for anyone who wants to stop by the shop.

Maybe one day this job will be filled by a large Russian man with a habit of preaching to Shizuo about fighting.]

[digitalemperor]

[Walking past Will's secretaries in those outfits is a little weird but more concerning is... The magic. Something. The feel he gets here. The girls don't stop him though, staring at him hard before letting him past.]

[He doesn't have to open the door to know something's wrong. It's just a sense, kind of an intuition or a premonition but it's definitely an uneasy, bad feeling as he opens the door and steps in and... Stops, in the threshold, until one of the girls pushes him in and shuts the door so in case there is anyone passing by they won't happen to see through the barrier into...]

Will... What are you doing?

[Mikado's voice is steadier than it would have been months ago but there's still a waver and strain to it, uncertain and surprised in the bad way.]

[alethiological]

[At least he didn't walk in on anything too horrible. Depending on definition. Mikado's seen his coat, but never the uniform. Nor that black blade that's embedded in the poor higher-up's shoulder-blade. Or through. The point's made. Simple preliminary questioning, the mandatory verbal threats, though it's really just a walk through the routine. Ask for information and penance, say that if they refuse it'll get worse, and they always refuse. Never makes the job easy.

Then there's a voice and Will looks up, and the most unnerving part is probably that he still looks perfectly the same as Mikado's memories. Save for his eyes. There's an instant where the other recognizes him, halfway through screaming out Mikado's name, probably for help. Repeats of the usual.

It gets him grabbed by the hair and slammed into the desk hard enough to make a few things fall off the desk and nearby shelves. Probably cracked some teeth in the process. And just like that, the familiar expression is gone. Eyes back to a hardened gold and an unfeeling annoyance taking the rest of the space.]

I didn't ask for visitors.

[Translated as what the hell do you want Mikado. This is SO not a time for babysitting.]

[imperious]

[you know what, Peony and Will need to meet. So Peony isn't able to sleep and decides to raid the kitchen to see what food stuff there is, because three a.m. snacks are the best kind. He has an armful of food and is just going to spread it out over the kitchen table to decide on what he wants]

[alethiological]

[Fortunately, Peony goes unaware of the fact that the late hours belong to otherworldly creatures. Ones with glowing eyes and bad attitudes and generally not pleased with anyone else wandering around that that time. He can laugh off the feeling of being in a large house, alone, at ungodly hours with such demons about. He can laugh off that sensation of being watched from afar and the usual horror movie cliches.

Unfortunately, reality is different, what with his midnight raid being interrupted by the one blocking the only escape route and looking two seconds from tossing him out of a new exit. You know, like windows. Peony, you are being assumed as an invader, how goes that.]

Insomnia?