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 Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2011 10:45 am
It had been days since the island return. Days of staying in his room doing nothing. Days of curled up, laying either in his bathtub or on the floor, reading as best as he could but loosing focus too many times, and taking far too many naps. He ran out of sugar cubes, and spent most of his silver on carrots just to find something to perk him up. It hadn’t worked. Not smutty romance novels or great amounts of junk food had done anything for him. At night, he went for walks, but found that he was on edge being alone at certain times.
In need of a distraction, he remembered that he had a contract with Barth, and headed to the demon dorms late at night after unsuccessfully trying to sleep. It didn’t help that he probably ruined his sleeping patterns at this point. Taking the steps, he adjusted the wicker basket he used to carry clothes that was on his back and knocked on the door before opening it. Barth wasn’t they to get up to get the door. He wasn’t’ the type to just get up. “Barth?” He asked, wondering if this was a bad time. Considering they probably were all in need of a bit of R and R, he had to wonder how much Barth, who made R and R his life, would need.
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Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2011 10:58 am
The door was unlocked, but the lights were off. A conspicuous lump under Barth's bed covers betrayed where, predictably, he was.
The answer to how much R and R Barth needed was very simply: a lot.
Too much activity always left him in danger of week-long knock outs. He lived his life with a constantly flashing low battery sign. Any regretting, flashbacking, or despairing he had been doing was in his dreams. But he had been recharging.
Barth's dorm was still mostly clean. His white jacket (filthy) and tie from the trip were on the floor.
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Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2011 11:12 am
It was quiet, which was disappointing. As much as he was just dropping by, he tended to like the easy, relaxed conversations he had with Barth. Unlike Christof, the boil didn’t lash out at him and could express his feelings better without the use of physically assaulting him. If they ever touched a bad subject, they often drifted away from it with ease, and Calder also had the freedom to row the boat of conversation where he wanted to go. With seeing no one, and not sure about Chirstof, he had hoped to go to his one other friend. Unfortunately, said friend was a lump on his overly plush bed.
Sighing, Calder picked up the dirty clothes from before, scraps from the island, and wondered if burning them would be a better idea than cleaning them. Still, he was here, and maybe upon his return, Barth would be up. Then again, Calder wasn’t in the mood to do laundry. He wondered how much trouble he would get in if he woke the demon up, and slowly tip-hooved his way over, turning his head to look at the slumbering boil’s face as he snoozed deeply on his bed. He could always braid his hair again. Maybe put it up in a bun.
Smiling at that idea, Calder set the clothes aside and moved to the other side of the bed. Considering how deeply the boil slept, he felt he could execute a nice hair style in no time. Slipping off, Calder found a comb and some cloth to make ribbons, and returned, slowly crawling up on the bed and sitting beside the boil, combing out his hair. At least this was calming.
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Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2011 11:35 am
"If you've got colored ribbons," Barth muttered, "I wish you'd leave them out this time."
The only thing moving was Barth's mouth, and barely that.
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Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2011 11:48 am
Calder nearly fell back off the bed, but considering HOW BIG Barth's bed was, the kelpie only moved back. After the surprise and shock of knowing the boil was awake, or at least awake enough, Calder moved over and leaned to look over the demon's shoulder and down at his face, long hair spilling down on the bed and the other boil's shoulders. "I thought you were asleep." He admitted, watching him for a moment to see that the boil was indeed awake enough.
"I was going to get your laundry, but you don't really had any. Thought I'd ...have some fun instead." He smiled, easing back to sit normally beside the boil and wondering if he could still play with Barth's hair. "...and I only got this blue and this red bit of cloth for a ribbon. You should really get some more." As if Barth wanted to support surprise hair styling.
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Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2011 11:59 am
"I was. Asleep. ...You don't have to worry about the laundry," Barth said, "Contract's been filled."
He did shift then, opening one eye.
"You did very well. While it lasted. A little bumpy at the start. But thank you. I'd meant to do a bit more of a sincere formal dissolution bit, but when it actually happened, the floor fell in. And the ceiling shortly after. It didn't seem like the right time."
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Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2011 12:04 pm
Confused for a moment, he sat there looking at Barth for a moment, before looking around and slowly slipping off the bed. Right where he found the comb, he turned about and lifted up his hair to see that he was unmarked - at least by this demon.
Dropping his hair, he slowly stepped back over, sitting down at the edge of the bed. "I didn't even know it was done. I thought there would have been dazzling lights and some sort of mystical sensation that said it was finished." He rubbed the back of his neck for a moment, thinking about how ridiculous that probably sounded to the demon.
"So it happened during the ....island stuff?" So that meant everything was said and done. Calder had managed to raise the funds for Christof's outfit for the Scarentine's dance and had succeeded in doing his laundry to pay for it. "Hmm. Doesn't seem all that bad. Guess...I wasn't too bad. I'm sure Christof would have had a harsher review." Then again, he hadn't seen Chrsitof since they all left the portal.
"Thanks...ya know. For letting me do that to help him out." Even if the clothes wound up being bloody and ruined by some strange event he ahd yet to really know about.
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Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2011 12:24 pm
"Yes, on the island. Nothing dramatic. Puff of smoke, easy to miss."
Barth rolled over gradually, resting his chin on one of his bed's numerous pillow piles.
"You were helping him out on both counts. With the outfit and the laundry. Even if I'm not so sure he was thrilled by the last bit. He did complain about the laundry. I did try. But that's not all that bothered him, I suppose."
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Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2011 12:27 pm
Turning, he looked over to Barth who, Calder was glad to see, had adjusted himself to at least address him in a manner that said he was up for talking. At least for a little bit.
Taking the opportunity for when he was still awake, he adjusted himself to sit more towards the demon and get a bit comfortable - not hard in Barth's room. Comfort was everything here.
"What do you mean?"
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Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2011 12:56 pm
"Christof's Contract is up too. ...I don't suspect I was ever his first choice, just the first demon he came across. But I'd hoped he might..." Barth paused miserably, then went ahead and finished, "...might renew it. He did extend it. That one time."
Barth contemplated his pillow with gloomy resignation.
"Not enough sins against the laws of nature, maybe. Or not the right sins. I don't think he cares for mine, particularly. Most igors don't."
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Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2011 8:45 pm
He covered his mouth a bit as he tried not to laugh. Barth looked sad enough without Calder snickering at him. "Are you kidding me? Christof adores you. You say the word and he'd take off his right arm, a leg, AND his hump for you! You and Riley make up his world! He doesn't know what to do with himself without you two." Calder grew quiet for a moment. "You guys are the only thing that make him happy."
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Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2011 8:47 pm
"Made," Barth corrected. He supposed he could try to employ his demonic wiles to wrangle up a renewal, but...he had thought he wouldn't have to. That Christof liked being in a Contract with him. But how could he tell? They'd never not been in a Contract. Not since they'd met. And once Christof had seen the empty spot on his arm, he'd bowed out, sobbed in Riley's arms and Barth hadn't seen him since.
"You're the first person to come by, since Mandy left."
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Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2011 8:57 pm
"I thought you were more popular?" Calder asked, having been under the impression that rich demons would have many friends. While the island event had been damaging, he thought everyone would be getting together to comfort one another and heal.
Of course no one saw him, but that was because he had no friends. Right? That aside, he felt he knew who Barth was talking about. "Christof hasn't spoken to me either. Are you worried he won't come by again?"
Calder always wondered about contracts and had to ask. "Contracts aren't the only way demons make friends, is it?"
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Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2011 9:10 pm
"Err, admittedly they might have been letting me sleep. Or sleeping themselves. But yes, I would have thought he- I mean if he wanted- he would have stopped by."
Barth looked at Calder strangely at the last question.
"Well, no. It can be a good way to make enemies, in fact. If employed less than...err, diplomatically."
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Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2011 9:19 pm
With Barth already laying about, Calder stretched out on the bed, flicking his hair over his shoulder, and propped himself on his elbow, head in hand. "When I first came here, with Christof all in a rush after eating cupcakes, and met you for the first time, Christof didn't hate you. Even when he was riled up to yell at you, he only said good things. You two were talking to each other in that little awkward way you do, and complimenting each other .." Calder has to smile at the memory. "I thought you were were going to declare your undying love right then and there." He snickered at the thought considering how he saw the two at times, but they seemed to have some sort of understanding. A contract, servitude, yet strange friendship deal. It certainly suited the Igor, but Calder had failed to see how important it had been for Barth. Sure, it was labor, but now he could see it was more than that too.
"But in all seriousness, he wouldn't say all those wonderful things about you if he didn't want to come here all the time and see you. Maybe he's just occupied with Riley or something. I certainly don't know what he gets up to when I don't stop by and ask. It's not like he ever shares." He huffed, but realized he was handling Barth's concern and not his own. "I don't know. Maybe he's still frazzled. I'd say it's good to leave him alone and see if he comes around, but seeing as how he handles himself when he's alone, that might not be a good idea." Christof wasn't really good on his own.
Laying on his back, he sighed again. "Maybe some alone time good be good for him.....and if he doesn't come back, well, that proves he never wants to be with anyone unless they have a contract or some job to do." It was a very sad thought.
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