destinystrings | A sad home just won't do, so let's fix that, shall we?

Entry tags:

A sad home just won't do, so let's fix that, shall we?

Who: Avitus and Aoi (

eyewillprotect), closed if you don't live/stay with them.
Where: Aoi's house, where they live now, in Libra.
Summary: After the Taurus event, neither are in the best of moods. So Avitus is going to try to make her feel better. ♥
Warnings: Cuteness? IDK, none yet

Those odd few days hadn't been good to either of them. He'd been a mess for no good reason he could put a finger on, jumping at shadows and even taking days off from his job at the town hall -- a desk job, at the moment! -- because he'd apparently forgotten how to face people, transit, and the possibility that he'd see the cat that'd been wandering around Libra now and then. Worse still, he was pretty certain Aoi'd noticed.

And she'd been so kind to him through it, humoring his nervous delusions as though they could've had a rational basis of some kind. She'd insisted on handling all their dishes herself, checked around the corner every time he looked, wondering if he'd heard something....

And now that he was feeling back to himself again, he'd caught a glimpse of her, of something... a little different in her expression.

She'd gone out of her way for him, and even before that, her calm had always been reassuring. She was a soothing presence, something in her smile never failing to make him feel better. It was high time to repay the favor, and return that smile to her pretty face where it belonged.

He went out shopping after he got off work, and by the time Aoi found him in the house, he was busy arranging flowers in a big vase, whistling softly to himself under his breath (or so it sounded, except sometimes there were two notes at once...) and looking pleased about something.

On the table with the vase were a fresh bowl of fruits and a pair of obvious presents for someone, smallish parcels of shiny silver paper wrapped around something soft and vaguely longer than it was wide, with curly ribbon holding it together.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Otonashi, I meant it when I said you are staying here as a friend. I am fine with sharing food and other supplies with you. Plus, I... don't believe Avitus can eat this." She looks to him for confirmation on this.

"If you leave it all to me, I'm not sure I'll be able to finish it..."

Avitus nodded a little, looking back to Otonashi. "She's right, I can't. I tried a little bit of the broth, but it's full of solid things, and... ah...."

He gestured to the container of dark liquid from the counter again, giving him a sheepish smile. "....Vampire." He pulled the lid off of it, revealing the deep red color, and then reached for a little bottle of something from the spice rack, a liquid... cinnamon extract? And then he proceeded to dump a fair bit of it into the blood, to mix it in.

"Besides, I brought back so much of it because I wanted to be certain that you had something nice for dinner too. If you were hungry, I mean. Please, help yourself."

"... Eh?" He might be ragged and weary, but not to the point of being unable to discern what that dark liquid might be. "A-ahh... I see, of course... h-haha, I guess this would make you sick if that's true..." What he doesn't say, at least not now, is that his knowledge of vampire lore is limited to shounen manga and video games.

"I guess I could have some, then. It looks good..! But, uh, I have a question..." As he walks over to the table, he holds up the gift. "Uh... what do I do at a--"

He trails off, hesitant. Hm. Is it possible to ask this and not show how uncultured he is compared to them?

"What do you do at... ah, you mean the massage parlor?" Aoi appears to give it a little thought.

"I never went to one myself before," although her father had sometimes called massage therapists to the house itself... "but I think if you were to just walk in, they would probably explain the process to you. It's a good way to relax."

Avitus nodded. "It's quite nice, actually. I went there a little while ago, to make certain it was what I had in mind. Essentially, you... well, you get a massage. They rub your muscles until you feel better. One of my brothers at home does it for me on a fairly regular basis... and I usually fall asleep by the time he's through. It never fails to help my mood."

He paused to lift the container of blood to his mouth, taking a small sip, considering it... and then put more of the flavoring in, mixing it again.

"I hope it does as well for you too. And if not, I can always find something else."

"Well no, but... yes. Ah," He shakes his head, flipping the gift card over to look over. "I know what a massage is, but... I've never done this before. I don't really know what to expect."

Otonashi holds his hands up almost defensively, shaking is head. "Ah, no, you don't need to get me anything else! I'll give this a try..." As he moves to retrieve a small bowl of the ramen, he can't help but notice Avitus re-applying seasoning to the telltale liquid. After contemplating for all of a few seconds, he speaks up, trying to sound as level as possible despite how strange this all is.

"Uh... d-do you want anything from the kitchen for that..?"

"I haven't had a massage ever since I came here. It will be nice to have one again." And then, there's a small flicker over her face as something seems to occur to her.

"Otonashi, since we both have them, maybe we should go together?"

And as for the question about the blood... Well, of course she will leave Avitus to answer that.

He smiled a little at the discussion of the massages; so long as they had fun, he'd be satisfied!

"It's fine, but thank you. This actually works quite well with it." He nodded a little to the small bottle of flavoring, then took a sip of the blood, considering its flavor before he shifted a little, getting more comfortable where he sat. "I think I ought to get more of it, the next time I go to the market."

"Sure, that could be fun..! Let me know when you're free," he answers, smiling sheepishly. "Is it true that they ask about fancy packages? And... baths in mud or something?"

His lower middle class upbringing is showing today. Before he disappears into the kitchen, he looks over the package again. Market? Well, that makes this vaguely easier to swallow.

"R-right, sorry... I don't know very much..." Del... icious cinnamon-spiced blood..? While he's thinking about it, too, he figures he should keep Avitus's condition in mind. "Oh, should I not add any garlic powder to mine?"

"Ah... mud baths? Well, it's possible they will have those available, yes." She isn't exactly familiar with the place, nor has she ever had one herself, but she's heard that some places do offer the service.

He was quiet again as they discussed spa things, taking another drink... only to look up at Otonashi again. Why would he ask him that?

"Er... perhaps you should taste it first? I thought it was fine as it was; I'm not certain more garlic would improve it much."

"It sounds so..." Weird, he never says, but the implication is heavy even with the hanging sentence. "Ah, do you want me to refill your bowl, Misato?"

Otonashi stops mid-pour in the kitchen, certain he must have misheard. Maybe all those hits he took were messing with his head?

"Uhh... more? You tasted..?" Tiniest bowl in hand, he steps out with the still vaguely warm ramen, looking down at it, then back to Avitus. "Aren't vampires... kind of allergic to it..? That's what I've read..." Don't say in manga. Do not say in manga. Do not say in video game dialogue. Do. Not. Even if those are the only outlets he knew vampirism from.

He blinked, still confused. "Allergic to garlic? ...Well, I suppose if it's too strong it could be noxious, but so could anything else. I know my kind tends to have a very good sense of smell...." Perhaps that was enough of an explanation? Though, now that he thought about it... most people he'd met so far had questions about what he was, or about vampires in general.

"I'm going to guess that vampires from Nosgoth and those of your worlds, if only in lore, have differences...?" He glanced between Otonashi and Aoi. He'd discussed a few things with her before, sure, but never quite covered some of the topics he'd found himself on with other people. Being diurnal was evident; they'd lived together for a while now, and she'd seen him outside in full sunlight... perhaps some things didn't need to be said? But Otonashi hadn't been staying there long yet.

He still had a copy of the notes Naoya had taken a while ago, but those were in his room, and so dry, besides. It was like reading a textbook. He'd offer them, if the others were curious, but....

"If there's anything you'd like to know about, you're welcome to ask." He tried giving them a small smile and lifted the blood to his mouth again to have another drink of that while he waited for a reply.

"Oh-- no, that will be alright. I should finish what I have, first."

She returns to her bowl, eating it rather delicately considering the dish as she listens to the conversation unfold. She knew, of course, of the more day-to-day details of vampirism when it came to Avitus just because it had been unavoidable. However, she's also run into quite the slew of... interesting creatures in her own world, and hadn't thought much of the difference between the vampiric traits Avitus had exhibited and the ones she had always heard of.

However, that doesn't mean she's opposed to learning more - but she'll leave the questioning to Otonashi for now while she thinks of her own.

"Oh, s-sure..." His attention seems to be elsewhere, far removed from eating or refilling Aoi's bowl even if she had answered differently.

"There aren't any vampires in my world-- neither of my worlds..." His eyes wander off to a nearby wall, focusing on it instead. Learning about something new is fine by him, but this isn't asking about a new subject of study or place; this brings an entire -- race? species? -- into question. It feels a bit more objectifying.

"I thought vampires had garlic allergies? And they were strong and, ah-- not that you're not, but strong as in some kind of vampire strength that came as they aged. To make them better... hunters?" Vampires were usually portrayed as the "bad guys," after all, but of course he couldn't make that assumption with a real one.

"I feel like I read one manga where the vampire was some kind of seduc--"

And he was doing so, so well. But what is there to be done? It's not like he ever read horror novels about vampires or the legitimate source of the lore. The afterlife had some manga -- clean manga, as Hinata so "tragically" noted -- and that speaks nothing for what he read when he was alive.

"T-that's not what I meant! A-ha, go on! Don't let me overwhelm you with questions!" Which of course means please be distracted by the other things I said.

It took Avitus a moment to finish the rest of that word, and when he did, he nearly choked on his drink. He set it down on the table and covered his mouth with a hand as he coughed a little, which turned into quiet laughter soon enough.

"That's... I... ah... believe that's rather... subjective... isn't it?" He was pretty certain that his cheeks had gone purple by now, but rather than continue to cover his face, he held his hands in his lap, absently polishing one of his nails by rubbing it. "I'm afraid I don't exactly know how to... ah... confirm or deny that... particular... thing. I'm not really... um... I mean, I've never... er.... I'm certain I'd be a bit disturbed if many people took such an interest in the other clans as they currently are; mine's the one that looks the most human still. And you can see how much we're... well... not." He lifted a wing, trying to draw a little attention to it, hoping his subject change wasn't too obvious.

"And... I have to agree that I'm not very strong; I've never been a fighter." He paused, but apparently decided on something, for he sighed and tucked his wings back in behind him, folding them up halfway down their length, somehow -- an extra joint? -- so that their tips poked up above his head, rather than letting them stick out behind him and rest along the floor. He sat back a bit, giving a somewhat embarrassed sort of smile as he looked to them again, and then back to his nails as he continued. "I was... actually one of the servants for the clan, when I was human, and... then I was Winnoc's apprentice. He was one of the architects... an artist." If Aoi had ever wondered why he'd taken so easily to the household chores... now she knew? "So honestly, I don't very well exemplify what my clan's become. Aside from myself and my brothers, they're... more or less all from the human guards' elite ranks. Their best vampire hunters. So they're... probably far more what you would have in mind than I. They're far stronger and... more capable.

"Back in the Empire's days, though... the clans still looked rather humanlike then. Perhaps they'd have been more comparable to your worlds' lore. I know that there were most certainly those among the humans who... rather fancied several of Raziel's clan back then...." Yep, still blushing. "And they were much stronger than humans, even so long ago... it was one of the reasons they were able to conquer Nosgoth, I suspect."

He took another little drink, still not looking up at them directly. Maybe someone could rescue him with another question? Preferably before it became even more painfully obvious that he was taking a drink to excuse himself from continued rambling?

"We have stories where I come from as well, but after seeing some of the things I have... I'm not sure how many of those stories are exactly right." Aoi gives a bit of a wry smile. "Although... many of the... opponents we encountered had begun human, so I am not sure if that affected it at all." The smile fades for a moment, but she quickly turns her focus back to Avitus.

"Vampires in your world seem to have developed much differently from the stories I know of, but you began as human as well. For your kind... it was a long process of change, wasn't it?"

The worst part of all this is that he can't even pretend he was word-vomiting to cover up for someone else. This time, it's all on him, and it's enough to make him slouch and focus too intently on the bowl of lukewarm ramen.

"Y-yeah, that's completely subjective... I don't know very much about vampires. The things I've read shouldn't be-- I mean, none of that stuff seemed real, so, ah..." Otonashi shakes his head. "I only know vampires from video games and manga, so I'm not the best person for this..." Though he stops to allow Aoi to speak, he looks up. Apparently that had given him time to consider something a little less -- well, fictional, and something more serious.

"What about... immortality? I, uh... I was dead before I was brought here. We couldn't die permanently." So, perhaps a common thread or perhaps not, but it's a safer question.

He nodded, looking between the two of them. "Yes, on both counts. It's... well... complicated."

He sat the container down again, thinking. "For me, it took a long time. When I was turned, I looked still nearly human, compared to how I do now. For those added to the clan now, they come out of their changestate with wings and everything; it's merely their feathers that need to grow in, yet. And for them to get used to all of the changes at once, and recover their strength... learn to fight with their new bodies, before they leave the safety of the Citadel to resume hunting the other clans.

"It's taken my clan thousands of years to reach this point in its evolution; none of us are certain what'll happen next. There've been jokes about beaks and tails, but I dare say none of us honestly find them funny." Why yes, he did just imply that he was a few thousand years old there. "Well... except for what my brother Heldrad did once. Our brother Vedast is a doctor, and Heldrad went into the hospital just after he'd come out of another changestate... handed him a couple of eggs, and left again without offering any explanation. Vedast nearly had his head once he figured out they were merely dyed chicken eggs."

He tried to quit smiling quite so much, to look serious again as he continued. "But... those states take a while, usually a few months. And mercifully, I won't be due for any for at least a century or more yet.

"So... I suppose that confirms what you asked, as well?" A look to Otonashi, almost sheepish. "And it isn't that we can't be killed; I've been dead a few times myself. It's that we don't always stay dead, due to how we heal." And a glance at Aoi too, simply making sure she's hearing this. He knows she must've seen him holding some small injury or other, only to let go of it a moment later, perfectly fine again. "As long as it would be possible to recover from an injury, it won't be permanently fatal. If one were to... ah... behead me? You'd only need replace my head, and the damage would mend. Dissolution in water and burns are more difficult; regrowing flesh is never as simple as rejoining what was parted, but it really depends on the injury then, as to how well it heals, if it heals at all. I won't die of a spilled glass of water at the table here, but you won't catch me bathing as you do.

"I'm certain that our healing is why we live so long, too; it keeps us from aging, and how does one die of what doesn't happen?" A pause, and he held his hands in his lap, to polish a nail by rubbing it again, not certain if he ought to look up at them. "...And why we always look the same, evolution aside. If I might ask.... Ah... how old... would you say I looked to be?"

((/popcorns))

Well, that certainly explains some things, including why her own healing abilities had often been unnecessary when Avitus found himself injured. But as for his question...

"I couldn't say exactly, but... You certainly do look very young." Younger than Aoi, even. He would have fit right in with the other high school students, aside from the. Well. Vampire thing.

There's scant information that he can personally connect with, though he hears Avitus out. Unfortunately, years spanning into the thousands only sounded like mere numbers to him, so far removed and unrelatable to someone who had never seen his eighteenth birthday that they became almost incomprehensible. Even age thirty seemed like a far cry from his known reality, much less hundreds or thousands. Though he has no reason to disbelieve Avitus by now, he finds that he cannot speak meaningfully on the subject either.

"I wonder why you kept your healing and, ah... state, but we didn't..?" Otonashi pulls back at the question however, glancing around to see if, by some stretch of the imagination, it isn't aimed at them. Once Aoi answers though, he straightens up.

"Eh? I-- I don't know. T... twenty-something..?" Maybe more? Maybe less? "Ah... I'm not good with this at all."

Enjoy that nonspecific answer, because that is indeed all he has.

He was quiet a second, looking between the two humans again. "Twenty-something? So... twenty-two is believable?" Ugh, but he'd been given such a hard time about that by one of his co-workers recently, when he'd tried to claim that. Sure, the co-worker had been right to disbelieve him, for multiple reasons, but that wasn't the point.

But something Otonashi'd said just now....

"Your state didn't come with you? You... weren't a normal human before, but you are now?"

Edited 2013-06-11 11:07 (UTC)

While Aoi could technically answer on behalf of Otonashi, she instead chooses to keep silent for now, continuing to eat her ramen before it goes entirely cold. After all, it's his story to tell, and she wouldn't feel right trying to explain something she only vaguely heard about second-hand.

"I'm not the best judge... Why?" He could take a guess that claiming age twenty-two was simply for the sake of ease.

"Ah, no, it's not that. I was always human." He settles his spoon in the ramen, disturbing the settled mix of seasoned broth. "I mean that I was dead before I got here. Misato told me that by coming to Hinoto-Ri, I was alive again. Me and the others... we all lost our ability to heal quickly from anything."

That gets a small sigh from him.

"Including deaths." So when Avitus says that it's rather hard to kill him, Otonashi can relate. Or could, anyway.

"Oh...."

He was quiet a second, trying to figure out what to say to that. "That... would have been nice to keep, wouldn't it." He bit the inside of his lip a little again, thinking on it. "I'd offer to give you mine, but..." A sheepish smile; he was joking. Probably, anyhow. "...I doubt you'd enjoy the rest of it.

"Um... on the note of ages... might I ask yours? Or... more to the point, perhaps.... I mean, not that I'm planning anything for them already... but it might be a nice reason to have some sort of celebration anyhow, wouldn't it? ...since... I know humans where I'm from celebrate their birthdays... when do you celebrate yours?" A little glance from Aoi to Otonashi, a bit quieter, "...if you still do?"

He pulled his wings around himself a little, back to biting his lip, half certain he'd managed to put his foot in his mouth with that. He could've phrased that a lot better, if he'd thought it through first, he was certain.

A sad home just won't do, so let's fix that, shall we?

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