Re: (Blue, Luca, and Twin) New House, New Friends

[BluePawProductions]

Aderyn loaded the tranquilizer and began to line up the shot, but the movement back and forth made it difficult to like up a clear one. He had to make sure he hit it dead on to get this right the first time. Otherwise, Con would be onto them....

Meanwhile, the red-haired shiniko braced for a strong attack. He could hear the movement all around him, like a giant snake, feel the warmth emanating from a large body, hear the pound of a furious heart.... Then the sound of a huge blade-like form slicing through the air towards him broke out. It was moving fast and he didn't know which way to dodge out. He turned sharply to his side and shifted to slide under, but it was too fast and clipped him right in the ribs, throwing him off his feet and sending him digging into the rough floor of splintered wood. He gritted his teeth and restrained a scream of pain as his ribs likely were fractured or broken, grinding together now as he rolled onto his now shredded back. He wasn't about to stay in one place long, though, and bore through the pain. Using his position, he easily shifted his weight to his shoulders, rolling back to get on his feet and just narrowly escaping the huge claws that came crashing down for him.

That was when Tex was in range. Thrusting his hands forward, a blast of fire roared through the space between them and cut the shiniko off from the phantom. The sudden flame thrower seemed to entirely take the ginger shiniko by surprise and he staggered back, red glow bathing his face as his hands gripped tightly to blades.

"Hey, I got your back!" Tex called out, "I'm here to-"

Before he could finish, the ginger had already turned and bolted around the fire, feeling out its range and headed right for the wall of the labyrinth. He slapped his hand against the side. In an instant, spreading out from where he'd touched, the wall began to fall apart into sand grains, rising into the air like tendrils. They shot out quickly, slamming into the phantom, snaking up his body like veins, and coiling around the wings, where they tightened and hardened into solid stone as if it'd never been sand in the first place.

That's when Aderyn took the shot.

[TwinTigerPaw]

Con's claws closed around air and he hissed angrily. Before he knew it fire had erupted in front of his face, causing him to back off. On top of that, the maze's walls were turning to sand and restraining his sharp, black wings. His tail was still lost, so he took advantage of it and swung his tail at the ginger shiniko in a last ditch effort to catch him. The phantom has grabbed ahold of its target, but this victory would be a short lived one.

Something struck the back of his neck, a small sharp prick, nothing painful, but annoying. Con reached his hand back and pulled the now empty dart from his neck so he could see what it was. A low hiss escaped his throat. He knew what it was. He also knew the shiniko that had started the fire. "Damn... Market...." He snarled. That tranquilizer was fast acting...

Yoko jumped in quickly and started trying to get Con's tight coils off his friend. "Hey, it's me, Yoko! I hope you remember me. I came to return the favor for helping me a while back!" He said, just hoping this was enough to make the ginger feel less surrounded.

[BluePawProductions]

The shiniko felt a little relief when his power worked to seal off that one danger. Before he was able to dodge though, he felt a shift in the earth, quickly followed by tight coils of muscles closing in around him and pressing his shoulders tight, entire body on the verge of being snapped. This time, he did let out a gasp of pain as his damaged ribs on one side gave way and a couple snapped under the pressure. Any air that was lost did't return though, lungs compressing due to the coils around his chest.

Aderyn could see the shiniko being constricted, but the dart had landed a good hit. He set the tranquilizer gun down off to the side with his pack and immediately started to slide down into the gully with them. He had to get that kid out!

Luckily, Yoko was already on it. As soon as the coils loosened just a little, the shiniko shoved and struggled against the weight. With his own musculature, he managed to pull himself up and away from the tail, stumbling out and grabbing a few breaths while the kid beside him spoke. Yoko...? What was Yoko doing there? What?... "Yea..." His voice came out slow and quiet, hardly audible, "I remem-"

"Hey, you okay?" Tex's voice called out and cut him off as he approached at a quick pace.

The well intentioned shiniko was not assumed to be such, though.The young man's eyes widened, head going up like a dog on alert listening in that direction, getting a feel for how close he was in an instant. This was a threat. These ones must have come from he market if the had Yoko. He needed to get them both out of there!

He grabbed Yoko by the hand and took off with him immediately, reaching the nearest wall and causing it to crumble to let him through, then seal up behind him. He cut right through the maze like this, ducking out of the way and down side areas without pausing for a breath or a word until he had dragged the other shiniko far into the labyrinth. Panting now, he finally let go of the boy's hand when they were tucked away in a dark, hidden area. "It's...okay," he finally said beween breaths, sounding almost reassuring, "You're safe here...for now...."

[TwinTigerPaw]

Yoko was happy to get his friend loose but gave a surprised gasp as he was pulled away to run off through the maze. "Hey wait-" He tried to say.

Con had fallen after a second and his eye started to dilate. Chrota and Gau had appeared and did the damage report. The tranquilizer on Con was working its magic. The massive naga creature looked to be changing shape to that of a small human male. This was the 'human disguise' that Con could use but never did. He was a cute human... "Con is tranquilized, so I'll take him back to the market. I'll come back later to pay you for your help." Chrota said as he started picking up Con.

Yoko blinked once they were sitting, his face was blushed a little now. "I.... I think I'll be alright, those shiniko are my new housemates. I was taken in by a very kind dema. Chrota brought us out here to catch that phantom and get him back to the market." He said, trailing off and looking at the ginger. He was hurt... "You're hurt! Here, let me try and help you out." Yoko added in.

Meanwhile, Gau regrouped with his shiniko. "We should look for Yoko.... I, I only saw his blurred shape for a moment but couldn't see where he went. We also need first aid for that ginger shiniko." He said.

[BluePawProductions]

Tex saw the wall opening up and Yoko being dragged away, face twisting from warm greeting into panic as he picked up his pace. His hands burned as he started to prepare to unleash fire, but he balled them into fists before he could. He knew that if he tried, he risked hitting Yoko. Fear pounded in his head as he saw them disappear through the wall. It sealed up just in time for him to tag into it with both hands, frantically scrambling his palms over the surface and pushing with all his might to try and get through. "Yoko!" he shouted, backing up several steps and blasting the wall with a powerful spray of fire. As the flames dissipated and faded, the stone surface was left undamaged. Yoko had slipped through his fingers and was likely getting further every moment. Who knew where they were going!? Or what that person was thinking, taking him!?

Aderyn caught up shortly and pulled Tex's arm back as the boy thrust forward to punch the wall, stopping the blow so that the knuckles hovered just inches away. "Tex, calm down," He warned in a low tone, small eyes seeking out the worried gaze of his housemate. "We have Gau with us. We'll find him and it'll be fine."

"I was supposed to watch him!" Tex shot back at Aderyn with a force that wasn't like him. The smaller shiniko was a bit taken aback, but let go of his arm.

After the initial surprise had passed, Aderyn's face settled with frustration and he half growled, "Calm down, boy." He turned to Gau as he approached and gave a nod towards what looked like an entrance into the space. "We ought to get to it. I have a feeling it's going to be bothersome if we wait."

~~~

The ginger shiniko was panting from the exertion of fighting the phantom before, but intentionally was quieter to listen to the smaller boy speak. Yoko telling him that those were his new housemates evoked a certain mixed expression from him. He didn't seem to know whether to be happy for him or concerned, but quickly morphed it into a soft smile, despite his reservations, laying a gentle hand on Yoko's head as if to pat him. He parted his lips slightly as if to speak quietly, but his wounds were noticed before he could say what it was he was thinking.

His warm eyes glimmered as he lifted one hand as if to silently say that it was fine. Resting his other hand on his side, remembering his throbbing ribs, his smile quirked to one side at the pain. Adrenaline wore off too quickly... "I'm alright, thank you," he finally spoke, his tone soft and quiet. He did sit down though, setting his feet to the side so that the ragged soles didn't have pressure on them. As if it were just a simple dissertation to the real conversation, his voice asked with simplistic honesty, "Do they treat you well?"

[TwinTigerPaw]

Gau observed the wall the two had passed through and looked at his own shiniko. He motioned for them to take a step back so he could punch the wall down. "Calm down Tex, it's not your fault. I should have been closer to stop this from happening." He said to try and reassure Text that he shouldn't blame himself.

~~~

Yoko listened to his friend and watched him. He was clearly hurt. He sat down with him and nodded. "Yea... Gau is really sweet. He cooks some really yummy food and the other shiniko there are nice too." He said. Yoko grit his teeth as he returned to his human form. Turning back was usually the worst but he was able to get over it easily in front of his friend.

"Chrota had told my house he needed help getting that phantom back, he didn't want either of you to get too badly hurt. I came along cause I wanted to return the favor from way back when. I uh... Never got your name back then either." Yoko said, poking his fingers together

[BluePawProductions]

Tex reluctantly stepped back, wringing his hands and rubbing his thumb against his knuckles. He tried to listen to his dema, but he did feel at fault. He was supposed to be with Yoko on this one. He was new...He didn't yet know how to play of his housemates well and it was Tex's responsibility to make up for that, to keep a closer eye on him than normal.

Worry was etched into his brow when Aderyn set his eyes back to him. Taking the boy by the arm, he drew him back far enough for Gau to take a shot at the wall. "He'll be fine," he muttered, though he wasn't ruling out the what Tex was thinking in his own mind, "You market children just always assume the worst, don't ya?" The blonde cast his eyes off to the side, away from Aderyn. He could feel the anger and shame emanate from him and could only sigh with frustration. "Go for it Gau," he muttered, giving up on trying to get through to the young shiniko beside him.

~~~

His golden eyes seemed to brighten softly as Yoko explained how his new house treated him. He couldn't have hoped for better. It was one of the few good outcomes possible from that boy's situation. Rarely did market shiniko ever escape the market, even less so to good homes. It was nice to hear that the boy was happy, especially considering how they'd briefly met before. "That's good." His reply was very simplistic, small, despite much larger, more intricate replies in his head. He was clearly a man of few words, softly spoken, but not vacant. He had the look of one always thinking.

He was surprised to hear that any dema from the market cared about him and he honestly had his doubts, but he smiled politely anyway and nodded as if grateful. Likely, the dema only was concerned about his phantom, his property, as no one had taken an interest or cared what happened to him before. This boy seemed to, though, probably due to some perceived debt he was owed for what happened before. The scars carved deep into him skin ached with the memory of what had come of that encounter on his end.

"Ah," he chose to ignore that train of thought as he instead answered the boy with a quiet honesty, "Don't have one."

[TwinTigerPaw]

Now that he had a clear path, Gau pulled his arm back and unleashed a punch that broke the wall and the one behind it. "Chances are he thought Yoko was in danger and wanted to get him away from here. That's all based on if he remembers Yoko, and worries about him." He said as he walked through the hole. "Let's hurry." He added.

~~~

Man of few words in dead. Yoko blinked and tilted his head a little at what the man said. "They never gave you a name!? You never gave yourself a name? You named me but you don't have one?" He said. The blind male could probably tell that Yoko was making cute and silly hand gestures as he flailed. "Well, I gotta call you something, would be rude to just call you the isolated shiniko, or something like that right?"

The blind shiniko could probably also tell that Yoko's back was bleeding from the transformation back into human form, but he didn't seem to react to it as he was use to it.

[BluePawProductions]

Aderyn and Tex shielded their faces with their arms as the shockwave and resulting pelting of debris that followed. Aderyn was used to it, of course, and was the first to proceed ahead, joining Gau. Tex only lingered a moment longer before he picked up the pace and joined them. "It looked like they were taking a straight path," he offered to Gau, but I- I don't know, they might not have. How are we going to find him in all this?"

Aderyn's eyes traced the uneven, weathered stone that rose up on either side of them and wound through the terrain. Like the forest, there were chimes woven in among the tall spires and trees that remained. With the slightest breeze, the forest was as though it were singing. "It seems like a maze," he observed, "It may take a while." Clever, he had to admit, though. It probably made it a lot easier to escape the phantoms that came for him.

~~~

The quiet man pulled a broken band from his bun that was already pulling apart from the fight. As he did, his messy ginger hair shifted to frame his dappled face in a tufted mess that somehow still seemed almost styled like windswept hair from a salon. The small tie he'd been using for it was just a braided grass knot, so it was no wonder it had come undone. He seemed to just be resigned to accept this and wasn't bothered, pushing his hair back out of his face with one hand as he listened to Yoko speak.

He could hear the shifting of clothes and feel the air being pushed around by what he could only assume was frantic flailing. He gave an amused, innocent sort of smile and replied softly, "It's fine. Don't need one." Ah, so the few words thing was continuing. But it got his point across enough. He didn't need a name all the way out here. Besides, he hardly thought about it anymore. It just didn't seem like something that was necessary.

As if his oh so daunting and massive conversation of five words had somehow resolved the issue at hand, he turned to listen out the entryway of their small space. A rumble had shifted under his sideways feet and he knew that the dema would soon be coming. Reminding himself that the dema treated the boy well, he eased his worry and spoke up, "We should get you back."

With a slight inhale to brace himself, he put his hands down on his knees and got up on his shredded feet. Moving as if it were no real bother, his gentle hand wrapped around Yoko's and he motioned with his head towards the exit. With a gentle tug, he moved the boy out in front of him so he could exit in front, as he explained, "He's not far. Left, left, right, then left." As the boy was maneuvered out in front, his hand brushed off and trailed behind. Without a sound, he stopped moving forward, shifted back, then slipped through a nearby wall. Only the shifting of sand hardening back in place gave away his vanishing act. He was glad the boy was happy with his dema, but the isolated shiniko had no need for meeting him.

[TwinTigerPaw]

Gau looked around as he was listening. He could hear the shifting in the distance as he too had slightly better hearing. "He probably uses the maze to confuse anyone that tries to get too close. Seems like a good tactic.

~~~

Yoko watched his friend get up and offer his hand. He tilted his head and got up, listening. "Okay. Hey, you could meet Gau! He's very nice I know you'll like him!" He mentioned as he walked back into part of the maze. Upon hearing the instructions, Yoko got the feeling that the blind shiniko was not going to stick around and he was right. "Wait you're not-!" He said as he turned around only to be met by a blank space when the strange man once was. "......." He looked back around in front of him. "Left, left, right, then left...." He said with a sigh and started off with those directions.

A few minutes passed, and Yoko could hear Gau and the others talking. He was almost to them! Turning the last left, he could see his housemates. "Guys!" He called.

[BluePawProductions]

Aderyn gave a nod and grunt of agreement. "I was thinking the same. It'd be effective, I think." He wondered silently how far in the shiniko lived. Certainly had to be deep, considering the scale. It had to keep ascended arc minds and entire phantom hoards out. Sooner or later, living out in isolation like this, it'd happen. If the boy attracted phantoms like Chrota said, it was a given.

"Do you hear him?" Tex piped up with worry, "Is he okay?"

Aderyn waved him off and insisted, "He wouldn't be able to tell that from here. No telling how far he's gone. We'll have to look for a while I'm sure." As they walked along, he kept one hand to the wall to make sure they traced along new paths rather than walking in circles. "We just will have to look as fast as we-"

"Yoko!" Tex's voice immediately cut Aderyn off in the midst of his plan as the blonde raced past him. He was about to tackle hug the shiniko in his excitement, but held back when he noticed a small dribble of blood on the ground. "Ah! You're hurt!" He immediately fluttered his hands nervously, looked to Gau, then back to Yoko, and asked "What happened?" Clearly, in his mind, the kidnapper must have done this.

[TwinTigerPaw]

Gau nodded to Aderyn in agreement and looked around. He shook his head slightly at Tex. "It was ways off but something sounded like it collapsed-" He was saying before Yoko came into view of them, and Tex ran to his side.

Yoko gave a weak smile. "I'm okay. It's just a side effect of my transformation powers.... I'll be fine-" He said as he lost balance and almost fell over. Gau stepped forward to catch the child so he didn't hit the ground. "Well, we're going to get you home and tend to those wounds so they heal up faster." He said and smiled. "Just rest Yoko, we'll get you back home."

The small shiniko blinked slowly and nodded a little. "Alright..." He said, finally passing out from it all. He hadn't given himself the proper recovering time he needed for both transformations. "He's not bleeding too badly it looks like, so let's book it home so we can tend to his wounds," Gau said as he turned to look around and go back the way they came. Hopefully, they could maybe get a bus ride back home.

[BluePawProductions]

Tex gave a worried fidget of his hands together and muttered, "Oh- okay..." He was uncertain sounding, but he acted that at least he wasn't hurt by the kidnapper. He wanted to ask what happened but kept respectfully quiet about it... It was sort of his fault for letting it happen, after all. Instead, he tentatively said, "You did great today. You're really good at this."

Aderyn took a quick look at the shiniko after his initial irritation of being proven entirely wrong in an instant. "We'll catch the bus. Don't worry," he assured, "We will have to hurry though. He's not bleeding badly, but it's enough that i want to handle it sooner rather than later."

[TwinTigerPaw]

Yoko was partly conscious and heard Tex. He was smiling softly before his focus slipped away. Gau leaned down to pat Tex's head and ruffle hi hair. "Let's get going then." He said, and so lead the way out.

They were lucky enough to catch a bus just in time that was going to a stop near their home. It would be much faster than walking.

Before long they would arrive back home to the large estate. Gau carried the small Yoko to the infirmary and rested him on a bed that had fresh sheets. "There... I'm going to go see what leftovers are in the kitchen and bring some dinner back here." Gau stated, and headed out of the room.

[BluePawProductions]

As soon as they were home, Aderyn dismissed Tex to go chill out in his room. He made sure to throw in a slightly prodding, "Go find Juliet, why don't ya?" Tex did as he was told and slipped off to go take a breather, but only after he made sure their new housemate was settled down to be cared for in the infirmary. He was sure to be a bit of a hovering presence for the next while... Aderyn just rolled his eyes. Tex was overreacting, in his mind, but what could he do about that anyway?

"Alright Gau, I'll handle the kid," the small shiniko informed his dema as he started to grab his things. He put on sterile gloves first and then began to pull away the kimono to work on the boy's back. He thought nothing of it, easily just pushing it off his shoulders and rolling it down away from the injuries. It wasn't until he was about half-way through that he picked up on something unexpected. He'd been distracted by the task enough and certainly wasn't expecting it enough, so he'd been blind to it until then...but it was becoming quite clear.

A thin, soft figure with delicate curves was before him and, upon a shocked tilt of his head, not fully believing what he was seeing, he could tell that the biceps weren't altogether...masculine. Suddenly feeling guilty, despite not knowing until now, he turned his face away and went around behind the shiniko, shaking his head slightly to work out the buzz surprise in his brain. This was like Roe all over again!...except that Yoko certainly presented himself as a male...

'Forget it, Aderyn,' he reminded himself internally, 'That doesn't change anything, certainly not your job.' And thus, he went to work, as if he hadn't seen a thing.

[TwinTigerPaw]

While Gau was walking down the hall, the thought of Yoko crossed his mind and he drew a blank. Whoops, he forgot to tell Aderyn about that tidbit. Oh well, he'd just have to take the man child's scorne later.

He had gotten a lot of rest on the way back so Yoko had found himself back at Gau's house. He could tell from the spruce wood floors and traditional Japanese walls. There was a short pause before he realized his kimono was removed and a housemate was tending to him. Yoko looked over his shoulder at Aderyn and blushed before covering his chest. "I- er. I'm so sorry!" He blurted in embarrassment.

[BluePawProductions]

Aderyn was completely chill. He wasn't at all hampered by this... until the other got embarrassed and then he felt his housemate's embarrassment....which then lead to him getting more embarrassed and he was suddenly flush red right face to face with Yoko. His brow twitched once and he opened his mouth with, for once, nothing to say. A slight sound like he was going to speak escaped, but it wasn't until he bunched his brows down as if extremely frustrated or angry that he managed to fumble out, "Wha- no- no, it's not- You don't have to be sorry. It's nothing I haven't seen before, I assure you." He pushed his glasses up and put his face back down to work on the injuries, trying desperately to get rid of that blush in bright red face. Screw it! Screw it! Screw everything! Screw life! He hated this!

Gently dabbing the wounds with disinfectant, he realized he must have sounded like an absolute- "N-not that i'm a perv! I'm just- I'm old, you see- And a medic. So, yeah, I uh- I've dealt with plenty of uh...different.... Body types......" Aderyn's voice slowly petered out until he muttered quietly, "I'm just going to shut up and work now..."

[TwinTigerPaw]

Yoko listened to Aderyn, somewhat chuckling at what he said. "Ehehe, it's alright I just, I haven't had the chance to tell anyone here, except for Gau really." He said and gave a wince from the disinfectant.

"You must be really good at medical knowlage from the sound of it. How many years have you been doing medic work?" He asked curiously. Yoko was trying to take a breather just to calm himself. He at least wasn't feeling as nervous now, or worried. Aderyn's reaction had somewhat relieved him.

Yoko calmly gathered the blankets in front of him and pulled them up to his chest and his stomach growled. Good thing Gau would be back with dinner shortly. He'd need all the food he could get.

[BluePawProductions]

Aderyn rubbed his face with the back of his arm slightly to try and work out the warmth. It helped that the other calmed down some so he didn't have to feel that with his empath power. He finished disinfecting quickly and started to lay gauze over the wounds, carefully padding them down and beginning to wrap them. They seemed like they'd heal quickly, but it was good to keep them covered and clean anyway.

Setting some things aside, he answered, "A few hundred years, give or take. I haven't been medically trained my whole shiniko lifetime, but it was just me and Gau for a long while there, so I learned pretty quick, specially after he went blind." As he took off his gloves, he made sure to tell the kid, "Oh, and speaking of Gau, he'll be here shortly with food. Guess he knows you're hungry."

[TwinTigerPaw]

Yoko gave a small smile. Thank goodness for food. He was starving from using his abilities, and on top of that, the side effects of Gau's house power. Just as Aderyn finished up, Gau entered the room with three large trays loaded up wth plates of food for them both. He looked around, noting Tex wasn't there.

"Alright, kiddos I got you both some din din!" He said as he sat down the trays. "There was only leftover rice, so I went on ahead and cooked up some chicken, beef, and pork. Boiled some huge snow crabs and made up a little egg drop soup." He said. Yoko's eyes sparkled at the massive steaming crab on his plate. The whole thing was for him?! Gau rocks!

Gau handed over the other tray to Aderyn. "Sit with us a moment." He said. He hoped Tex would join them soon too upon smelling the noms.

[BluePawProductions]

Aderyn gratefully took the tray, but refused to sit on the stools or floor. He was going to be taller than that, dang it! So he sat up on the counter and thus was about at the same head height as the others when they sat down, taller than Yoko....Small and spitey, yes, but it felt good.

Noticing Gau glance around for Tex, he mentioned, "I sent him off to chill. He's too tense for me to work around him right now."

Folding his legs, he set the tray down on top of them so they rested on the knees, freeing up his hands to eat. He went for the soup first, but listened. The way Gau told him to sit made him think they needed to talk. He prepared for a briefing. "What's up, Gau? What're you thinking?"

[TwinTigerPaw]

The first thing Yoko did was go for the crab. He tore off a leg and cracked it in half. It smelled so good. Gau gave a smile and looked over at Aderyn. "Oh, I just didn't want you to run off and lock yourself away in your room. I at least want to sit down and have dinner with some of my children." He said since most everyone else had already had dinner and gone to bed.

Yoko didn't really say much. He was too busy stuffing his face with large quantities of food. "Soooo, I see Aderyn found out some things I probably should have mentioned like a responsible parent?" He asked with a slight grin.

"Yes." Yoko blurted simply but with a grin.

[BluePawProductions]

Aderyn gave a bemused snort, but seemed to smile anyway. He was always the serious one between them, he supposed. He should have expected as much from his gentle dema. So family oriented. He just accepted it and continued to eat, but did point out, "Okay, cool. I thought this was a meeting or something, like you had something we absolutely needed to get straight now." Of course Aderyn would have thought that. Why not? That was always his way with things. Business, business, business. Responsibilities all the time.

He almost sucked down an entire pork lump when Gau reminded him of just moments ago. It wasn't surprise or flustered feelings, but the reminder that he was completely indignant about this negligence! Coughing quickly to get the pork to not choke him to death, his reply followed promptly and firmly behind Yoko's. "/Yes/. Yes you did," He asserted strongly, "What kind of parent are you? Shame on you old man, shame!"

[TwinTigerPaw]

Gau smiled as he was scolded by his man-child. "I'm sorry, I know I probably should have said something but I had seen his entire life when I took him in. I just wanted to be sure he had a chance to get to know the family and make sure you all were cool with him."

The little shiniko nodded a little. "I don't mind it honestly. And I appreciated it, cause it's not really easy talking about it. Chrota had to explain to me what that was all about. I mean like, why I was a boy but had a girl body." Yoko said with a smile. "Not a lot of the other market shiniko or dema were too kind to me about it either." He added in.

"Definitely made it easier to settle in without having to give the talk."

[BluePawProductions]

Aderyn chewed on a crab leg and had his usual scowl on, half glaring at them. He wasn't particularly mad, but he just...usually looked like that when he was listening or thinking. His eyes shifted between them thoughtfully before he just sort of passive aggressively sighed and leaned back on the counter. "Well, if it works for you." He did give a glance to Gau though and made sure to point out, "If i'm not bothered by phantoms, then certainly this isn't going to dig up some new prejudice out of me. I /have/ met and been around others like him during my travels, you know."

With a pause, he sort of looked off to the side, pressed a long look across his face as if he just remembered and didn't want to admit something. He didn't hide things from Gau though, so he did confess, "Or, i guess you wouldn't know. I did a lot over my travels." He obviously hadn't been able to tell his dema literally everything and he wasn't generally chatty about his own things anyway. When he'd returned home from his five year absence to the house, he'd only explained the most recent, most relevant information....Whoops.

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