[In contrast, Shell isn't going to bother being quiet about it, leaning back a little when she starts getting too close.]
Where else was I supposed to go? This is the second floor! I couldn't just jump out the window, I'd die!
[In more ways than one, probably, since he's still tied up.]
[But indeed, it's not a very wise choice. The Butler looks around the room for a few seconds, before sniffing at the air (?? like a dog??) and then slowly making his way towards the closet...]
["I thought I asked you to tell my son of my return. What's taking you so long?"]
[And in that moment, Shell is saved! By the appearance of an older man who looks strikingly similar to Shell himself, save for a much colder look in his eyes. Even his voice carries a chill with it, as if flooding the room with ice.]
[But it's more than just his voice -- there's a presence to him as he stands there, something that they'll be able to feel even though this is only a memory. Even without actively using his pheromones, the power they carry follows the man around strongly enough to make the very air in the room feel heavy. The butler seems even more effected by it, visibly trembling in his master's overwhelming presence.]
["L-Lord Pain, sir! I was just looking for him, but-- he's not here." "Then why are you still here?" "F-Forgive me, sir! I'll go check the study right away."]
[The butler bows profusely before quickly slipping out of the room. But as the older man turns to leave, he hangs in the doorway and looks pointedly at the closet. The words he offers his son are no warmer-- "When you're finished behaving like a child, come meet me in the drawing room."]
[ She has so many questions about Shell's statement about the second floor and certain death given that he's a vampire, but she swallows them when the Butler begins to sniff and that voice cuts through the air. Her hands find the sides of her arms for the cold, golden eyes narrowing for the abrupt change in the room. That man has the same eyes as Shell. Is this what he was talking about when he said...?
It's only when the older man moves, that he turns to address the younger Shell that Ryoko manages to tear her eyes from him. Rubbing her hands up and down her arms in a bid to generate heat, she glances to the closet, then to Shell, frowning slightly. ]
That's your old man?
[ Her voice is tinged with a measure of disbelief and perhaps something else. They look similar, like father and son to be sure, but the feel of them is so different. ]
[Shell, at the very least, doesn't seem as affected by the change in atmosphere... though it was a strange thing, seeing his father from this time. It hits home how much older he looks nowadays. And did he grow a mustache because he and Shell looked too much alike as he got older?? He knew they looked alike but jesus, no wonder his mother doesn't like to look at him oh no my narration made me sad.]
[He glances over at Ryoko before looking back at the figure of his father standing in the doorway, watching as he finally leaves and shuts the door.]
...yeah. That's my father. I'd almost forgotten this all happened. I was pretty close to getting caught, huh.
[ Don't mind Ryoko rubbing her arms faster and faster in a bid to shake off that damnable cold. The king of Jurai could take a lesson in presence from that man, that's for sure. With a shake of her head, she manages to place a hand on her hip, eyes sliding after the shut door before finding Shell again. ]
You're a lucky one, alright. Just what would have happened to you had you been caught?
When I said I wasn't like other vampires-- that's because most of them are like my father. Strong and proud... and always trying to be the one in control. Lording themselves over humans and even other vampires. And vampires who don't like doing that... they're considered to be abnormal.
[It's a rough life in yaoi bdsm vampire society.]
For the son of Blood Lord to have an abnormal personality like me, I would have been cast out and expelled from the Overlord family-- or even exiled to the slums.
[ Ryoko blinks, glancing from Shell to the door through which his old man passed to Shell again and -- ah, no. No, nope. No. Does he have to make a face like that? She looks right, then left, then right again. Ah, she's not sure how to fix this. He just looks so sad and the words tumble out of her mouth before she really thinks them through. ]
That was then, though! You're not bound by all that aristocratic red tape here, right? [ Riiight? ] You should think of this as an opportunity to live how you want! Find your own happiness, that sort of thing.
[ Pot, kettle. ]
I'm sure people on this planet will think you're swell! [ Laughing nervously? Look. ]
[ She's looking and she's wishing she wasn't because he's just so earnest with those sad puppydog eyes. Shell, please... ]
I wouldn't have said it if I didn't think so! So no more of that face you were just making, alright? Surely that's not the face you want someone to see when you meet them for the first time. [ Right? ]
Mm... you're right. I shouldn't be spending all my time moping over the past. Even if it's a little hard not to, having it thrown back at me like this...
[He turns away from a moment, sighing as he shakes his head. But when he looks back up--]
...and for all you know, I'm a monster that kills humans for their blood.
[And to think, she just got him to stop making sad faces.]
I can't exactly judge you for things I don't know anything about. I can only judge based on what I've seen. And even if that were all true, you're still being nice to me right now.
[ Um, she was... just kidding?? Mostly. That that statement of hers was very, very true up until a year ago due to the statute of limitations is... uh, well, details! Details that aren't really relevant at this exact moment. That expression of his, though, sees her dropping her own and moving to reach and... maybe give his shoulder a little squeeze in passing. Really, a monster that kills humans for their blood? ]
Nah. [ She's calling it and her voice absolutely doesn't soften a fraction when she says: ] You are a very earnest person, though, aren't you?
[ Ryoko pauses in floating past him, turning her eyes up and around them now. There's something about this place... ]
[It's mumbled, mostly. Not really something he wants to extrapolate on. But thankfully it doesn't look like he'll have to, with her floating on to look around.]
Doesn't it seem strange to you? I could have sworn I saw something odd, like a crack...
[ A tiny crack through which she could've sworn she spied light. She's focusing mostly on the shelves and walls, running a hand along the various books whose titles she may or may not be reading. She pauses, glancing back to him. ]
[Well, if it's something out of place in his own room, he might be more likely to find it. Even if it's been a long time since he's lived in here...]
[She won't find anything too interesting on the bookshelf -- he wouldn't keep his kinky fetish books in his bedroom okay, that's what the play room is for and let's just not think about at what age he started collecting weird shit for that ok #yikes. There are a few titles that reference an apocalypse though -- but nothing in particular to imply they're non-fiction.]
[Shell won't answer her question at first, searching along the walls himself. But when he does, he does so in an almost distracted way, trying to sound as if the topic just isn't interesting.]
...I meant what I said, is all. I wouldn't consider myself to be a very earnest person.
[ She is about to open her mouth and inquire about the "lie" part when he shifts the picture frame and makes that exclamation. Blinking, she floats over, peering curiously at -- well, that certainly looks like the crack she saw. ]
Do you think we might be able to get out of here through this?
[He reaches up and experimentally sets his hand against it, leaning forward to press down. The wall doesn't appear to give away at all, but the crack travels a little higher -- extending over the picture frame as if it and the wall were a single entity.]
[ She takes a moment to give the crack a light rap with the back of her knuckles and watches as it runs that much more quickly, splintering with light. Her lips quirk as she draws her fist back and properly introduces it to that quaint little discrepancy. The wall, cleanly punctured and crumbling like so much glass, shudders beneath the force of the punch as light floods the very same room presently peeling and falling away into the forest around them.
Most people would probably just be glad to be out and done with the ordeal, but Ryoko? ]
Well, that was rather anti-climactic. [ She stands, bemoaning the lack of resistance. Shell'll probably be in a big hurry to leave, too. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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Where else was I supposed to go? This is the second floor! I couldn't just jump out the window, I'd die!
[In more ways than one, probably, since he's still tied up.]
[But indeed, it's not a very wise choice. The Butler looks around the room for a few seconds, before sniffing at the air (?? like a dog??) and then slowly making his way towards the closet...]
["I thought I asked you to tell my son of my return. What's taking you so long?"]
[And in that moment, Shell is saved! By the appearance of an older man who looks strikingly similar to Shell himself, save for a much colder look in his eyes. Even his voice carries a chill with it, as if flooding the room with ice.]
[But it's more than just his voice -- there's a presence to him as he stands there, something that they'll be able to feel even though this is only a memory. Even without actively using his pheromones, the power they carry follows the man around strongly enough to make the very air in the room feel heavy. The butler seems even more effected by it, visibly trembling in his master's overwhelming presence.]
["L-Lord Pain, sir! I was just looking for him, but-- he's not here." "Then why are you still here?" "F-Forgive me, sir! I'll go check the study right away."]
[The butler bows profusely before quickly slipping out of the room. But as the older man turns to leave, he hangs in the doorway and looks pointedly at the closet. The words he offers his son are no warmer-- "When you're finished behaving like a child, come meet me in the drawing room."]
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It's only when the older man moves, that he turns to address the younger Shell that Ryoko manages to tear her eyes from him. Rubbing her hands up and down her arms in a bid to generate heat, she glances to the closet, then to Shell, frowning slightly. ]
That's your old man?
[ Her voice is tinged with a measure of disbelief and perhaps something else. They look similar, like father and son to be sure, but the feel of them is so different. ]
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oh no my narration made me sad.][He glances over at Ryoko before looking back at the figure of his father standing in the doorway, watching as he finally leaves and shuts the door.]
...yeah. That's my father. I'd almost forgotten this all happened. I was pretty close to getting caught, huh.
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[ Don't mind Ryoko rubbing her arms faster and faster in a bid to shake off that damnable cold. The king of Jurai could take a lesson in presence from that man, that's for sure. With a shake of her head, she manages to place a hand on her hip, eyes sliding after the shut door before finding Shell again. ]
You're a lucky one, alright. Just what would have happened to you had you been caught?
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[It's a rough life in yaoi bdsm vampire society.]
For the son of Blood Lord to have an abnormal personality like me, I would have been cast out and expelled from the Overlord family-- or even exiled to the slums.
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That was then, though! You're not bound by all that aristocratic red tape here, right? [ Riiight? ] You should think of this as an opportunity to live how you want! Find your own happiness, that sort of thing.
[ Pot, kettle. ]
I'm sure people on this planet will think you're swell! [ Laughing nervously? Look. ]
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[Look at these sad puppydog eyes, Ryoko.]
[Look at them.]
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I wouldn't have said it if I didn't think so! So no more of that face you were just making, alright? Surely that's not the face you want someone to see when you meet them for the first time. [ Right? ]
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[He turns away from a moment, sighing as he shakes his head. But when he looks back up--]
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[But which is worse??]
Thank you. I feel like I misjudged you by your teasing earlier, but... you're very kind.
1/2
Please excuse Ryoko while she blinks rapidly at that terribly soft, earnest smile of his. He's... thanking her and calling her out, too??
Wh -- ]
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Don't decide something like that by yourself. For all you know, I'm a dangerous criminal wanted throughout the galaxy for unspeakable crimes.
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[And to think, she just got him to stop making sad faces.]
I can't exactly judge you for things I don't know anything about. I can only judge based on what I've seen. And even if that were all true, you're still being nice to me right now.
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Nah. [ She's calling it and her voice absolutely doesn't soften a fraction when she says: ] You are a very earnest person, though, aren't you?
[ Ryoko pauses in floating past him, turning her eyes up and around them now. There's something about this place... ]
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[It's mumbled, mostly. Not really something he wants to extrapolate on. But thankfully it doesn't look like he'll have to, with her floating on to look around.]
...what is it?
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[ A tiny crack through which she could've sworn she spied light. She's focusing mostly on the shelves and walls, running a hand along the various books whose titles she may or may not be reading. She pauses, glancing back to him. ]
What do you mean?
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[Well, if it's something out of place in his own room, he might be more likely to find it. Even if it's been a long time since he's lived in here...]
[She won't find anything too interesting on the bookshelf -- he wouldn't keep his kinky fetish books in his bedroom okay, that's what the play room is for
and let's just not think about at what age he started collecting weird shit for that ok #yikes. There are a few titles that reference an apocalypse though -- but nothing in particular to imply they're non-fiction.][Shell won't answer her question at first, searching along the walls himself. But when he does, he does so in an almost distracted way, trying to sound as if the topic just isn't interesting.]
...I meant what I said, is all. I wouldn't consider myself to be a very earnest person.
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[ She doesn't see it now, anyway. Rubbing at the back of her head, she cants her head a moment, pausing at Shell's words. ]
Well, if we're going by what we've seen so far, you've shown me some nice faces, but none that would make me think otherwise.
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[That might be an admission about his previous statement--]
[But it's going to be interrupted by him shifting a picture frame on the wall -- and finding the crack she saw before, mostly obscured by the frame.]
--hey, I think I found it!
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Nice work, Shell!
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Now, what do we have here? [ Given how well maintained the room is, something like this seems completely out of place. ]
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[He reaches up and experimentally sets his hand against it, leaning forward to press down. The wall doesn't appear to give away at all, but the crack travels a little higher -- extending over the picture frame as if it and the wall were a single entity.]
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I think so. There's only one way to find out, though.
[ That cr-crack is the sound of her knuckles popping as she rolls a shoulder, stepping forward. ] Stand back, Shell.
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[Honestly with the teleporting and the floating, he feels like he wouldn't be surprised if she just tore right through the wall.]
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Most people would probably just be glad to be out and done with the ordeal, but Ryoko? ]
Well, that was rather anti-climactic. [ She stands, bemoaning the lack of resistance. Shell'll probably be in a big hurry to leave, too. ]
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/prolly a good place to wrap this thread?
perfect!