yogen | THE CHRISTMAS MINGLE YOUR PARENTS WARNED YOU ABOUT

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obey me: lucifer

THE CHRISTMAS MINGLE YOUR PARENTS WARNED YOU ABOUT

At some point in the night, taking advantage of the perma-silence, Lucifer and a few others sneak about to decorate the dormitory for the holidays. The morning of 12/25, you'll wake up to the smell of Christmas cookies wafting from the dorm kitchen, and upon actually leaving your room, there are string lights and decorations thrown up in the hallways and the common room proper.

The decorating is, of course, courtesy of Nene, who has been working hard to ensure that there's something more beautiful than those ghoulish paintings on the walls here. You can thank Helena, Sidney, and Lucifer for both the cookies and other, more substantial food which will periodically be presented throughout the day — Lucifer practically lives in the kitchen for the duration of the party and can sometimes be seen shooing the other two out to go have fun. That said, the table housing all of these dishes, ranging from traditional Christmas meals (as best they can do with limited resources, anyway) to more ostentatious treats will never be empty, so please eat to your heart's content!

Thanks to Amami, there's a large, undecorated Christmas tree in the middle of the common room that looks to be very well taken care of. Next to it is a table full of art supplies for making colourful paper ornaments, and a small card lying nearby that instructs those participating to write down a wish on the ornament proper before hanging it on the tree. It may not come true, but you know it'll be safe since no mysterious forces set this up — wish away!

Should you come to spend time at the party and fraternize, you'll find that you're being waited on by a number of small little imps except they're all wearing tiny Santa hats — they'll bring you food and drinks and candy should you request it, and they're on their Best Behaviour, so please be nice to them! They are simply underpaid service workers. They're absolutely thrilled to talk to you in chirps and weird demonic chittering, and they understand what you're saying at least.

In the back corner of the room, there's a minute-to-win-it type game set up: two chairs are tied by the backs together by two ribbons, about two feet apart from one another. Nearby, there's a table of candycanes for use in this game. The goal of the game is to toss a candycane while standing on one of the chairs and get said candycane to catch on the ribbons, or to see who can get the most candycanes on a ribbon in a minute. The instructions are explained on a little card sitting nearby, with further note to not eat all of the candycanes (there are more set out on the food table, you see) so people can play, and another smaller note banning the use of magic against an opponent who doesn't have it. Let's keep the game fair, people. And let's thank Hikaru for running out to get an obnoxious amount of candycanes for everyone.

Lucifer will intermittently come join the festivities from time to time when he's not cooking, wearing this, please feel free to bully the demon for celebrating the holiday from the religion he hates. He can take it, it's okay.

Last but certainly not least, Noah is roaming about the party using his magic to try and liven the place up. Little stars hang from the ceiling around him in a ten-foot radius, and should you frown at all, he will come up to you and put cat ears formed of magic shadows on you until you laugh. On occasion, he can be seen slipping out of the party with cookies and stacking them on a plate in front of Komaeda's door. The stars go with him, but the good news is that Natsume is also helping with their little lightshow, so the twinkling indoor galaxies will not be absent for long. It's a joint effort between Clamor's apprentices, and their hard work really shows through, magic training is difficult after all. Feel free to bother either of them to do magic tricks for you, if you'd like, or just lie down under a curtain of stars.

The night promises to be magical (semi-literally), even if we're all stuck in purgatory, so relax, put your feet up, and sing Christmas carols to your heart's content. And don't worry about the cleanup — just try not to pass out on the floors.

[OOC: Merr Crimmus try not to kill each other, that is my only request, otherwise go buck wild]

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[ Bat, bat... There goes a couple more cookies to the floor, but he hasn't decided to push the remaining stack yet. Pulling a cat tail is quite rude, though, and so he'll return with another drawing of the soot cat. He seems to be quite fond of this way of representing himself where simple emojis won't work.

The cat is laying down at a slight angle, its bushy tail sticking straight out and its stubby little u-shaped hind legs sticking up. There's a piece of paper held out in front of it, which appears to be about half the size of the cat, and due to its tiny arms and the large size of the paper its only able to hold it in one paw.

A second one is slipped under a few seconds later. The cat is now comfortably curled up on the piece of paper, which crumples beneath it. These two drawings presumably are intended to represent his confusion about the entire affair. Or maybe he's just saying that he'll do what he wants? Or maybe he just thinks this is cuter. Who knows. Either way, you need to be more clear, Komaeda. ]

( he'll take both, sticking them to the door of both cats as he tries to decipher their meaning. it's not too difficult he finds, so as he grabs his pen, he'll make a soot cat all the same but out of scribbles. it's a black ball of the same repetitive curls and strokes, and then little u-shaped legs to keep the aesthetic of the cat that's meant to represent rio.

in front of the cat will be a window that has little specs of snow, which indicates outside, and on the opposite side of the wall happens to be a small birdhouse on the ground covered in cold white.

what he makes after is a large circle, and inside there will be two beaks that point in, almost like they're kissing. that's not the point of the drawing, but it's to indicate that there's something around like it. in his final sticky note that he slips under, there's a scribbly cat with soot dust particles coming off its body, and the small house on its back.

there's nothing else to identify from these pages. )

[ As he looks at the drawings, Rio wonders if perhaps Komaeda isn't going out of his way to see how far he can push. He's more than capable of using his own legs, and it would in fact be far simpler for him to stop messing around and go retrieve the item for himself than handing out a fetch quest to his partner. Cats are known more for hunting birds than retrieving them, and so there was the ever present threat that any cat sent out would bring home a very dead bird to drop at its owner's feet while feeling quite proud of itself.

Komaeda, you are resigning these birds to their fate.

Scribble scribble... He slides one more sticky under the door. The soot cat has its front legs laying in front of it, the hind legs up, tail in the air. It's positioned perfectly to go pounce on something. Deciding that to be ominous enough, Rio pushes himself up and off the floor and tries to decide if he actually wants to entertain either idea, or to just be satisfied with the number of cats that he's given, or just start pushing more cats under the door. Decisions, decisions... ]

( that's dangerous, but he asked, and there's no way for him to say nevermind to the request even if the way the cat's drawn gives him a bit of pause. he holds up the sticky note, analyzing it properly, and he laughs behind the door which is audible for rio to hear, but it's soft, low, and a small cough follows after from the quick inhale of breath. komaeda's sick, he has difficulties breathing, and he shouldn't even be on the floor considering his wound which lasts up to a couple of months, how unlucky.

grabbing his scribbly, he makes a long furred, shaggy cat that has the cute little swiggle bang across its nose indicating that one komaeda has, but there's a small curling of the cat's paw with a thumb sticking up in good job. there's just another sticky shortly after the other one, there's a picture of two little birds drawn, that are sitting on top of the cat's head which tells they should be well behaved.

when he lays down on the floor, he can see a few cookies flicked on the floor which is courtesy of ranger, he supposes. it's here that he uses his long, bony fingers to try and grab one of the cookies, flicking it into his room. )

Mya...~

[ not komaeda telling him to behave!!! Rio sighs a little as he looks at them, but he's not displeased. It's been fun for both of them, and the casual reminder of his state means it's probably best not to leave him to inevitably do it himself, and so he supposes it's fine to indulge him just this once. After a moment, he bends over to slip another pair of stickies under the door.

The first sticky shows the shaggy cat laying down, with the soot ball cat behind it, its paws placed on it's back. It appears to be nipping the other cat, and there's a little heart that's been colored in pink. Considering he has no desire to nibble on Komaeda, one can assume this is just a weird way of agreeing to behave. Either way, the second one shows the soot cat with earmuffs and a cute little scarf zooming off. That one's a little more straightforward, and is followed by the sound of light footsteps headed away from the door. ]

( the zooming, of course, is exaggerated as he listens to the sound of rio leaving. that's probably a good thing knowing he won't draw attention to himself, or he'll move along in twos. that's for the best so no one scares the birds.

he doesn't kick up much of a fuss, instead, he lays down on the floor as he sticks the notes up on the door.

now it's just the center covered in soot ball drawings, but he leaves the one zipping off on the floor for frame of reference. how else will he be able to draw a response? )

[ It takes several minutes, but Rio eventually returns with the birdhouse as requested. It wasn't a difficult task to locate it and take it down, but it was a bit of a task to use the care that he needed to in order to avoid having birds bouncing around and freaking out while also going through a thick pile of snow that was only getting bigger by the second and then slipping back into the dorm room. It was really tempting to just throw them at the snow at one point, but he likes birds and has no real desire to harm animals.

He is, however, now a very wet cat. His pants and boots are soaked, and the rest of him is damp from the melted snowflakes that had fallen on him throughout the entire affair. Fortunately he also likes Komaeda well enough, or he might just go andd put them back out of pure spite.

He crouches down, the little birdhouse on his lap. It's wet, but who the Hell cares about that when the rest of him is too?

Scratch, scratch, scratch... ]

( he can hear the sound of birds shuffling around inside of the house, but they don't leave their home. instead, they stay cooped up in the far back, but are happy for the warmth where there's a few little sounds coming from within indicating they're still alive, and why wouldn't they be?

scratch, scratch, scratch... signals him, komaeda pushes himself up from his bed as he walks over to the door, staring at the sticky notes attached to the door. from soot cats to a little note saying that they'll relieve komaeda of all his cookies by the end of the night — that's a secret santa (though, he knows who that is). it doesn't take long for komaeda to unlock the door, slowly, light filters through for him to push it open completely, and his eyes glance down towards the floor to see where rio has placed himself.

he really is wet, along with the birdhouse that has snow dripping off the edge of the roof. without a second thought, he shuts the door once again in front of rio's face, and the sound of footsteps walking away is heard from where the ai sits. it's a couple of minutes after until the door opens again, and there's a towel in komaeda's hand that he's placing on top of rio's head, obscuring his vision, but komaeda's trying to dry him off. )

You found them, and so you've done well, Riokun.

( his eyes glance at the cookies that's been flicked onto the floor as he slowly dries the other off, and he hears the audible burbling, and there's a bit of shaking coming from the bird's house. rio can feel something hop out onto his leg, and then another, until they bounce off to both individually sit on the top of komaeda's shoes. it's for a moment until one bounces to grab a piece of rio's clothes, pulling a bit to get his attention, but he won't be able to see because komaeda is trying to help him.

animals have always liked him, even though he's an unlikeable person. )

[ Rio closes his eyes as Komaeda starts the process of drying him off. His head dips, his shoulders hunch, and there's the same kind of displeased little whine that a parent might get when trying to care for a small child. He hadn't worried when the door was shut on him, figuring that his partner would come to rescue his birds from the fickle kitty holding them, but he hadn't expected to be taken care of like this either. It would have been fine for Komaeda to just take what he wanted and call it a night.

The birds hop on and off of him, and he can feel one tugging at his clothes. If Rio had any sense of how to handle animals, he would reach out to give it attention anyway, but he doesn't quite know and so he resigns himself to being dried off. One glove has already been removed, and he takes the other one off as well, shoving it into the pocket of his jacket off before he shrugs it off to try and shed the heavy feeling of sagging fabric. ]

Well, it's better for me to do it. None of you are meant to be out in this weather.

[ They're from a warmer climate, after all, though they seemed to be hanging in there pretty well all things considered. There's another little whine as he's dried off, though he doesn't make any real effort to object to it. ]

Why not? Going out in this weather isn't that bad.

( it's worse, but komaeda doesn't too much care for the horrible parts because for him, there's always a silver lining after the storm. he welcomes every negative aspect that could change the world as he knows it, and it's the same as going outside to fetch a pair of birds if he needed to do so. it's cold, so that's no good for them, and because he likes animals, he would want them brought inside to keep them safe, and warm. rio regulates a certain temperature always, so seeing as the birds are happily leaving from the house, albeit shy, they nestle in the male's lap together. )

As for the doves, you're correct. They shouldn't be there, but someone was kind enough to get them.

( he pulls up the towel, touching it to see how much water is soaked into the fabric. it's enough, so he believes that the others hair should be dry. being an ai, being unable to get sick unless a true virus breaks down his code, it must be nice whereas komaeda suffers every day. a complete memory, an able body, a system made up of logic that makes decisions on whether this is right or wrong, well, if it makes sense. komaeda wouldn't know what to do if he had a body like that, he probably wouldn't be the person that he is. )

All finished.

( and he withdraws, walking back into the room before shutting the door behind him.

...

is he coming back? )

[ He has to come back, he left his birds in his warm lap and Rio is just going to take them with him if he gets bored before he comes back for them. Then they'll be his birds.

He stares down at them now that he's no longer being toweled with his usual curiosity, almost fascinated by then, and he experimentally takes his bare hand to try petting one with a cautious and feather light touch that one might not expect given his usual demeanor. He's never handled birds before (or most animals for that matter,) but he thinks that you're supposed to pet the head, and with most animals it's better to go with the grain.

He doesn't mind animals, and he's relieved when the gesture seems to be acccepted. He'll continue in this manner for a short time, but not too long, not wanting to overstimulate them and being overcome by his own nerves and instead opting to let the birds soak up his warmth as readily as he does Lily May and Komaeda. Careful control, a body that self-regulates, limited pain, and a mind that can be written and rewritten and changed and broken by anyone who's so lucky as to touch it. A mind that will never forget, no matter how happy or sad something is, and this too will be permanently committed to his memory.

...

It'll be a pleasant memory, he thinks. ]

( patience is a virtue, because komaeda does come back after putting everything away, and the door opens, and closes as he sits on the side of his door, back against the surface. he can't tell rio to come into his room, no, because the birds are settled in his lap, and too much movement will be bad for them considering they are doves, and they work almost like humans too. they're shy, afraid, so there's already too much going on for them, but as they brush their beak against rio's hands, it looks like everything is going well.

he's silent as first, not making ant effort to speak, rather he's allowing for them to become comfortable. adjust to the new set up in the warm dormitory, and also in the warm lap that rio has to offer. there's no way for komaeda to point out what's right, and what's wrong, but those beady little eyes from the luzon should say enough as they look up at rio than komaeda.

at one point, komaeda was lucky to find them, and now they've become creatures that both him and npckun look after. it's here he thinks he doesn't mind rio doing something of the same. he looks to the side, seeing the cookies piled up, and chuckles breathily, not too loud, but low enough so that it doesn't bother the birds. )

[ Rio looks up when Komaeda returns, not particularly surprised. He doesn't say anything in turn. He's not very familiar with handling animals, but any creature would be stressed out under these circumstances. They had been taken from freezing weather and, for all his efforts to be careful, bounced around has he slogged through the snow, before being pulled here.

He tilts his head this way and that as he examines the bird, curious and thoughtful, hesitant and uncertain, and it could almost be called childish if he were capable of that kind of innocent wonder. As it is, he treats them like the fragile creatures that they are. His gloves, which act as a barrier between himself and every person and object, are gone now. It's the first time since his arrival that he's allowed himself to truly touch anything save his face cards with bare hands like this.

They're soft, and he can feel their cool feathers beginning to warm. He's quiet for awhile, but eventually he'll murmur a question. ]

Do they have names?

Names? Ah, no...

( he's quiet as he answers, not wanting to startle the bird that rio has taken a liking to; it's no different from how he made lily may sit into his lap, and now he's trapped with birds. komaeda's going to start thinking this is the best way to introduce rio to animals, as long as he's sitting, and holding them... it might bring the best outcome yet.

there's no hesitation afterwards. )

P-kun didn't want to because they aren't pets, but... I did wonder over a few.

( he would just give them the names of the people they remind him of, those that bleed their heart out, those that weird their heart on their sleeves. there's only so many people that fit that type, but he doesn't dare speak their name aloud. it's the one that's hiding its face away, komaeda points them out with a flick of his wrist, and his index finger pointing. )

What would you name them?

Really? They seem pretty domestica.

[ Though he supposes that doesn't make them pets. It at least explains why they were irresponsible enough to leave tropical birds out in the snow though. That said, he doesn't mind being held hostage in this way. He looks down at them, considering. Bleeding heart birds? Hm... ]

Ah.. Are they male or female?

[ Or one of both? Are we going to have baby luzons next year? ]

I wonder why.... maybe we got a lucky set!

( they could have been preowned by someone, and then they were lucky to get them instead. now, when it comes to the genders, komaeda blinks before looking down at the set of luzons. )

They're shy, so I didn't want to handle them any sort of way.

( which means, he doesn't know, but that doesn't stop him from reaching out for one hand with his palm open, wondering if at least one will hop in, and let him inspect. )

It's best if they're the same gender, ahaha... does anyone know how to take care of baby birds?

( komaeda does, but he likes to seem useless. )

I'm guessing that you'd have an idea, or at least that you'd be able to figure it out pretty quick, since you like animals.

[ He thinks so, anyway. Rio is a little envious of how at ease he seems to be with them. It doesn't bother him, though, since he thinks that just means he can feel safe in having someone to correct him.

One of the two luzons has monopolized Rio's attention by now, and he leans into that a little more. His eyes flick to the side as the other, no longer distracted by him, seems to grow curious and abandons his lap in favor of Komaeda's hand. ]

It should be fine as long as you're paying attention, right? Don't animals show signs when they're stressed?

[ Spoken exactly like a person who has zero experience handling animal. He looks up, waiting for the answer. ]

You're right, they hold grudges too, they can treat you like humans treat each other. Isn't that interesting?

( they're part of the dove family, so they're pretty smart, and that's why the one is able to hop into komaeda's hand with ease. it trusts him, but he's always been trustworthy to animals, for some reason... they flock to him. he lifts his prosthetic hand, for once wishing he had literal touch as he brushes against the bird's beak in silent awe. )

They'll cry, pick, do whatever they need to let you know that they're frustrated.

( the luzon allows komaeda about two brushes against its beak, and then a soft "woooooo" to tell how they're feeling. he's not like his fellow ultimate peer back home, so he doesn't have that eccentric to translate, but komaeda can make up what he believes he's heard. )

It told me you have a cute nose.

Crows are the same way... Birds are pretty needy, aren't they? Well, I guess all animals are like that.

[ Speaking of, he spends enough time neglecting the bird that remained in his lap long enough by now that it's starting to peck at his fingers. He blinks, looking down, and responds by stroking it's head, gradually working his way to side where its ear is. Needy indeed.

That said... A cute nose? He looks a little puzzled by that, and his free had unconsciously comes up to touch it. ]

Birds care about things like that.

[ Not on humans anyway. ]

I was right, you are that type.

( a teensy, small lie, but he got what he was after to watch rio touch his nose. he laughs softly, index finger brushing along the beak as the luzon responds back in kind though hesitant so it's all on his terms. they're such terrified creatures who can actively shake in their grasp, he doesn't like moving too much or they'll wind up having a heart attack. )

Doves are pretty smart on their own, ( how the one responded slightly bothered when rio stopped giving it attention. ) and greedy. That could be because you're a reliable heat source.

( he lifts the bird, checking the little patch on their chest. )

Males have a brighter blood patch unlike the females.

[ That type...? What does that mean? He thinks about asking, but he probably doesn't want to know the answer. He can at least agree that he's being taken advantage of for his warmth, though. ]

Probably. They're not gonna want anything to do with me once summer hits, ahaha.

[ Since he's the same temperature regardless of season. Rio thinks to ask if that's the same reason that Komaeda clings to him, given how many nights they've spent together by now, but he doesn't want to hear the confirmation of that spoken aloud. ]

Do they?

[ He's looking down now. ]

You would cause a heat stroke, wouldn't you?

( komaeda looks over, sizing up rio's body, which causes him to laugh just a bit. when it becomes warm, that's normally when komaeda is wanted for his cool skin, he's practically the best person to huddle with around that time. how many times has he been praised for his cold body during the summer, but he has a feeling that rio's thoughts reach past the birds, and also effect how they'll sleep as well.

rio didn't ask about it, so komaeda sees no need to answer. )

If you have a tray of cool water next to you, I don't see why they wouldn't hop back and forth between.

( this one has a brighter patch, and as i finally take us out schrodinger's bird. ) I believe yours is darker.

( which answers a few questions. )

Yep. I'd kill somebody.

[ Well, he probably wouldn't kill them, but he's not the most comfortable person. He doesn't retain heat any more than he does cold, so at least he shouldn't run warm.

Finally we are free of schrodinger's bird!! ]

I'll get wet.

[ Said like he isn't already a wet cat. Even with his jacket slipped off behind him and the gloves taken off, his shirt is damp, and his pants too. He really didn't need to go out in the middle of a snowstorm. ]

Anyway, so it's one of each then?

I'm useless to you as well, even though my temperature runs low, I can't keep you cold.

( maybe if someone had a fan that was blowing while they held onto rio, it could be like snuggling up to a heating blanket, and having the cold air hit them at the same time. that's how i sleep, actually. )

You're already wet. ( that said, he should account for that too, which he'll lower his hand so that the bird can hop off, and komaeda's lips purse into a straight line as he looks back into his room. )

Do you want to wear something of mine? ( the luzon sits in front of rio now, showing off its blood mark, confirming rio's suspicions. )

[ That's honestly the ideal, somebody do that it'll be so cozy.

Rio frowns, tugging at the front of his shirt and looking down. Komaeda is right, though his face and hair are at least relatively dry thanks to him, but he can still get wetter if he has birds splashing him.

One of each sex, hmm... They would need to be careful with that. He does lean forward to offer it a couple strokes before looking to Komaeda, a little surprised by the offer. Is that really okay...? ]

Sure, if you don't mind. Pretty sure I'm gonna spend there rest of the night just drying off if I don't change into something else.

[ He wrinkles his nose at the idea. It's uncomfortable at best to sit in wet clothes, and he feels kind of disgusting. ]

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