[OPEN] the first fall of snow is not only an event, it is a magical event

[the_usual_stuff]

Who: Pharos, and destinystrings 
Where: The Scorpio Ward, the middle of the afternoon, walking around in the snow.
Summary: This is the first time the child personification of death has ever personally experienced snow and needless to say, Pharos is just as endlessly fascinated with it as any kid would be on his first snowday. Therefore, exploration is in order! 
Warnings: Small children being cute, and Pharos being weird as usual. Also probably mentions of death because this is Pharos we're talking about here, and that's what he does, think about death?


There's a little black-haired child wandering about the Scorpio district today, scrambling up the ridiculously high staircases, walking through crooked alleys that crisscross the ward, and popping his head out one of the doorways that open onto the thin air of the mild snowstorm and staring down at the snowy street below, watching the flurries of snow buffet the people wrapped up in their warm coats as they moved up and down the district. Demons as well, both those ill-suited to the cold and those who basked in it, in their element, flickered from place to place, busy even in the first snow of the year. 

It's not the elaborate constructions of art that interest him, nor the countless crafts shops lining the streets; it's the snow.

It's... incredible.


He has never seen anything quite like it. Yeah, sure, he had witnessed it in his container(s)' memories, but he was detached from those recollections, and had observed them as if from behind a thick sheet of glass. His entire existence had been lived through others, never through his own eyes, and it was a change to touch and feel things firsthand for himself. A nice one, even if the cold air chilled his skin and numbed his fingertips unpleasantly.


One of the Arisatos, being the responsible quasi-guardians of Death they are, soon after the first icy snowflakes drifted down in clumps from the overcast gray sky, had realized what little protection Pharos' thin black-and-white striped uniform provided him against the cold weather and outfitted him with a slightly over-sized, puffy gray winter coat, gloves, a lilac blue scarf wrapped around his neck, and decent fur-lined snow boots instead of allowing him to walk around in his sandals and lose all of his toes to frostbite like he had originally planned to. Clouds of white vapor hung in front of his face as he breathed out.

Wide blue eyes gazed up at the sky, attempting to track every swirling dot of white that fell out of the heavens. Every now and then as he wanders silently from place to place, he stops and tries to catch the snowflakes before they touch the ground. Feel free to run into him anywhere in the Scorpio ward; of course, sometimes it's easy to lose track of small ghost children in the swirls of the white snowfall, and Pharos certainly appears wraith-like with his pale skin and luminous blue eyes.... So be careful about that. Maybe your eyes will play tricks on you.

But don't worry. He just wants to play in the snow for awhile.

Comments

[the_usual_stuff]

The sky is a dull molted grey, and when Pharos felt the presence of the older teenager stepping lightly over towards him, he tipped his chin back from staring up in childish fascination at the countless dots of powdery white falling from it, and looked at the demon who had a air of wickedness to his grin with no distrust or fear. So many people have asked him that question today.

"Yes," His vivid blue eyes held interest for a moment. Maybe it's the headphones or the blue hair that attract his detached attention. Pharos smiled politely, "And you? Are you enjoying yourself this cold day, Kazuya-san?"

He breaths small puffs of white clouds into as he spoke, the air condensing and evaporating as little slips of mist before fading into nothing, moisture dampening his pale blue scarf.

[belfire]

Kazuya's grin faded and he became much more guarded, straightening up with a hum.

"Have we met?" he asked lightly, turning his head away to regard the child from the corner of his eye. Now that he thought about it, he was sensing something extremely off with him...

[the_usual_stuff]

That would be the constant aura of death, inhumane, vast and empty, that practically saturated the chilled air around Pharos if you stopped and looked at it. Whoops?

"Not personally, I believe," he replied cheerfully, but considering whose soul this was, Kazuya could have been one of the very first humans to meet him in a way if you believed the stories. So, yes they had met before. The small child tugged at his scarf, loosening it slightly.

[belfire]

"..." Well, considering the whole Cain and Abel story came out last week with Naoya, Kazuya makes the connection quickly. He grimaced, kicking at some pieces of snow with a decidedly disgruntled look. "Let me guess, you met Abel, or you met someone with a piece of Abel in them."

Kazuya firmly believed he wasn't Abel. As he said to Naoya, he was a cheap knock off. Abel was long dead, and so were the people who had Abel's soul. Kazuya was just saddled with ancient biblical baggage that he couldn't get rid of, like an unwanted present from your grandmother.

[the_usual_stuff]

"View it like that if you wish to, Kazuya-san," Pharos said easily, tiny unwavering smile still on his lips and not visibly reacting to the demon lord's disgruntlement. A soul is a soul is a soul to him, there was no opinion on separation between them. The ego developed from that soul is a different matter. The young boy tightened back up his lilac blue scarf and does not move from where he stood, thin layers of snow slowly beginning to pile up around his boots.

He swept out an arm to the side, as if to gesture to their entire surroundings before letting his arm drop back down lazily. "Abel knew me, yes. As did all people with a piece of him within them, I guess." As does everyone in time.

[belfire]

"Hmm..." That was a strange comment. Kazuya narrowed his eyes slightly, kicking up some snow as his hands pushed deeper into his coat's pockets. "You met all of them? You're either a stalker, or some creature that deals with the souls of the dead. And considering you stink like a graveyard..."

Kazuya wasn't too concerned - he met several versions of the Grim Reaper in his demonic armies. Although none of them ever claimed to have met him in his previous incarnations before.

[the_usual_stuff]

He'll take the remark of him stinking like a graveyard as a compliment! Pharos is a strange kid. He nodded, confirming that the demon lord's thoughts were making the correct conclusions.

Pharos is not going for the fear factor; he's simply telling it as he sees it. There are dozens of different aspects of Death spread throughtout the worlds—Kazuya could have met any one of them in his past incarnations. But they all embodied the same thing, whether literally or not. Death. So it was all the same.

[belfire]

"So a Grim Reaper in the shape of a kid. Creepy," Kazuya deadpanned. "So what're you doing around here then? Looking for victims of hypothermia and frostbite?"

Although the Demon King's posture was dismissive and careless, his eyes were carefully watching Pharos. Best way to figure out if something was secretly psycho or not was to carry conversation with it - although demons showed their own brand of psychosis early on. Like Moh Shuvuu and brain sucking. Or Pisaca and their fascination in entering people's mouths.

[the_usual_stuff]

"Hm? Not quite like that," Pharos shook his head at the older teenager's deadpan question, amused. That wasn't really the objective he had in mind when he decided to vender outside in the mild snowstorm, though of course if he came across the souls of said 'victims', it would be a gross violation of his duties to not move them along at once.

He chuckled, one gloved hand coming up to half-cover his mouth and unnaturally blue eyes looking back at Kazuya's carefully sharp gaze that belied the demon king's casual air. "I wanted to play in the snow..." He paused then cheerfully offered, "Would you like to play with me?"

[belfire]

"...I feel like I'm in a winter themed horror film," Kazuya grumbled under his breath before crossing his arms over his chest. He straightened up out of his slouch, staring down at Pharos imperially as a convenient breeze picked up to make his cape flutter dramatically. He loved it when nature worked to make him look cooler.

"I'm not really a fan of the snow. Belial hates it, you see," he said, his arm crossing slowly turning into a self-hug instead, trying to keep himself warm - well, he was already warm because of Belial's fires, but, still. Can't let any heat escape! "...so if you want to play, it better be something to keep the blood pumping, if you get my meaning."

[the_usual_stuff]

Y'know, if the small boy watched more horror movies, he would have actually understood that reference beyond the obvious. ( The cape fluttering in the snow-laden breeze does cut a rather regal impression, particularly when you're taller than him.)

"Of course," He smiled, childishly delighted by Kazuya's agreement. Pharos didn't actually know many games, and the ones he did were ones gleamed from his vessels. But one strikes him as a perfect fit for when the demon lord explains Belial's distaste for the cold, and his following request for 'a game to keep the blood pumping.' He promptly walked straight up to him and tapped Kazuya lightly on the arm.

"'Tag', I believe, is an fitting test of endurance and wits!" Pharos told him solemnly, with a sense of gleeful anticipation hovering behind his smile. "So, you're 'It'!"

And before he's even finished speaking, he's vanished utterly into the chilly air. After a few moments of silence as the breeze whistled and tugged at Kazuya's cape, the older teenager will be able to make out Pharos' small, gray form waving at him from near the end of the street. Will you chase after him, Kazuya?

[belfire]

Oh, if he must.

Besides, Kazuya could feel a primal sort of excitement stir his blood at the thought of chasing after a small child. The Bel demons were purring hungrily, and Kazuya indulged in it, first adjusting his cape to make sure it was secure before exploding forwards.

He was inhumanly fast, of course, but he curbed his speed a little. Even if the little Grim Reaper child was abnormally fast himself, it wouldn't be fun to catch him too early - and Kazuya didn't exactly relish being the prey- er, being chased himself. So best draw this out for as long as possible.

[the_usual_stuff]

Demons would be demons, and he'd best remember what he's pursing something that only wears the guise of a small child.

Pharos giggled as the black-and-blue blur streaked towards him, and slipped to the side, vanishing behind the corner of the street like a pale specter. The chase was on!

The Scorpio district was designed for those of creative minds and its shows through in the ridiculously high staircases, the nonsensical dead-ends and crooked alleys that crisscrossed the entire ward and which the two of them now ran through. It is a lovely, entertaining place to play tag—if you had a rather... abstract idea of what it is like to play tag. Pharos was untiringly quick on his feet, and took advantage of every unexpected turn and twist in the snowy streets, not totally unpredictable but certainly not easy to keep track of. (He's smiling. Because he's having fun.) His small feet crunched into the snow.

[belfire]

Kazuya was actually enjoying himself.

Since taking upon the mantle of Demon King, Kazuya had found himself unable to feel any kind of emotion strongly. It was always flickers of this, mild that, faint something here... nothing solid, and it was frustrating, as it felt like his humanity was trapped behind a glass cage that he could only look at and never reach again. Hah, but the frustration wasn't all that intense either. It made Kazuya want to pull out his hair and scream.

But this time, he actually felt something, and it made him grin wildly as he chased after the strange child through the winding streets and alleys of the Scorpio district, slipping and sliding through ice and snow and churned up slush with a trail of visible air leaving his mouth in great puffs from his strong, steady breathing.

After what felt like an age of all this though, Kazuya decided to put a stop to the game. He abruptly broke into a sprint, practically galloping through the snow as he ate up the space between himself and Pharos. He drew nearer...nearer...nearer...

And - he pounced! Very reminiscent of a cat lunging at a fleeing mouse.

wow where was my notif for this tag ヽ(ｏ`皿′ｏ)ﾉ

[the_usual_stuff]

Pharos ran and ran, never lengthening the distance between himself and his purser but never allowing it to shorten either. Sometimes his disjointed laughter floats back to the demon king. The icy waves of snowflakes swirled and danced in their wake and after what seemed to be an tireless age of flickering through winding alleyways, wet footprints dashed into the slush, and skidding around the corners of the streets, Pharos sensed the end of Kazuya's patience as the sound of his footsteps increased in pace, in speed, in closeness.

The distance between them rapidly vanished. Kazuya pouncedーmore of a graceful lunge forward than anything as Pharos didn't stop running when he did pounce, and it sent both of them crashing into a thankfully deep snow draft together. After a couple long moments of disorientation, the small child sat up on the ground, curly black hair dusted with snow and turned to the demon.

"You're very fast," Pharos smiled, giving out half a honest compliment and half a statement as his chest went up and down with his breath. His smile widened a little. "Good job! That was fun... I suppose this means it's my turn to be 'It' now, right?"

dgsha sorry it seems the notif for this vanished too! Guess DW didn't like this thread

[belfire]

"I suppose," Kazuya said dismissively, still sprawled out in the snow. There was a great chunk of it in his hair, even if the snow was melting quite rapidly around him. That chase had winded him slightly, but he was in no mood to be chased about by a child - even if it wasn't a child exactly. The Bel demons grumbled about it. How would it look to the other demons?

"Let's play something else," he said, suddenly sitting up. "Ever make a snowman?"

ahhh it doesn't whatevers notifs

[the_usual_stuff]

"If you want," Pharos agreed wistfully, shaking the snow out of his thatch of curly, black hair while more snowflakes twirl downward to land on them, collapsed in the snow drift. Perhaps it's the blue hair, perhaps it's the silly headphones but he felt inclined to let the king of demons have his way right now. He didn't particularly feel the need to protest anyway.

The boy stumbled back to his feet after he regained his breath, and almost tripped over his own feet before catching himself and staying upright. "Just once, yes."

[belfire]

"Me too. Never really had enough room in my non-existent garden to make a snowman," Kazuya said, springing to his feet gracefully - and nearly slipping on the snow. He caught himself, but not before nearly doing the splits in the process.

"Fuc- fudging snow," Kazuya muttered, straightening up. "Anyway, how about a little competition? See who makes the best snowman?"

[the_usual_stuff]

He giggles a little at the other boy's awkward splits and the demon lord's resulting annoyance at the icy traitorous snow, easily amused, and stayed where he was, a thin specter wrapped in an ill-fitting winter coat and light blue scarf.

"Competition?" Intensely bright, intensely blue eyes blinked. If it's a competition, wouldn't they require a judge? "Sure."

[belfire]

Hey, Kazuya's honourable enough to concede defeat without a judge! Well, sometimes.

"Great!" Kazuya grinned wolfishly, clapping his hands together. "Alright. Ready...?"

[the_usual_stuff]

"Of course."

Pharos walked over to a suitable patch of snow, the frosty crust crunching under his light feet, and glanced over his shoulder at Kazuya with his usual small smile. Ready when you are~!

[belfire]

"Okay- go!"

Kazuya immediately launched himself into motion, jumping into a large patch of thick snow and crouching down, scraping his fingers through the cold whiteness. Urgh. Cold cold cold he hated it, but he stoically endured the bite, scraping together a snowball until it was big enough for him to start rolling.

[the_usual_stuff]

Pharos promptly turned back around, and set about working with his own patch of thick, cold snow, disinterested in the numb chilling his fingers. He patted together a lumpy-looking sphere of snow and soon was rolling it to collect more snow and bulk, pushing it along with thin arms.

[belfire]

Kazuya was zipping about quickly, wanting to finish first in this little game. He quickly had a large snowball for the base, and left it alone as he hurriedly scraped numbing fingers through the snow to build another one. Argh, the heat from Belial's internal fires were making the snow melt quickly against his palms.

"Stupid demon," he grumbled to himself, hurriedly pushing the snowball before he made it melt too much, the fabric of his trousers and sleeves thoroughly wet from all the kicked up snow.

[the_usual_stuff]

Pharos glanced upward momentarily at that comment before noticing the condition of his sleeves and hands, soaked through, reddened and wet with melted snow. The little boy doesn't laugh but the facial expression he adopted is bemused. It seemed to him that the formerly human demon lord hadn't finished processing the demons he'd devoured properly. That would hamper his process a little.

Then he blinked and returned to constructing his snowman. Having completed the base of it and shoved the large sphere into a good enough place, he mimicked without any real creativity what he had done with Nanako's snowman before and began rolling a second sphere, not as large. He wasn't moving as rapidly as Kazuya but his process was steady.