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 Posted: Wed May 25, 2011 7:28 am
Jove was uncomfortable on his own in the dark. He had spent most of the night in his room tending to his mushrooms, giving the potted ones fresh food and watching the ones under his bed, inspecting them for signs of ill health, but now he was out of work to do. And it was still only four in the morning.
He flopped on his bed, avoiding his tender, bruised side, and before he knew it his mind had strayed to unwelcome thoughts. Like the island. And his friends, not happy and having fun, but falling and dying, disappearing into nothingness and maybe not coming back the same... Jove sat up and paced for a few minutes, before pulling on his sweater and leaving his room.
The pup trotted down the halls, until he pinpointed the source of Seiji's scent. He wasn't sure where the boil's room was, or if this was it, but he would have to trust his nose. And just knock. Softly, almost as if the point was to escape notice rather than bring the room's occupant to the door.
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Posted: Wed May 25, 2011 7:53 am
The hungry ghost was awake. Half awake. Slouched low in the worn arm chair in his sitting room with his cheek cradled in his human hand, half cracked eyes staring blearily at the flickering images that glowed on his TV screen. He wasn't watching it though, not really, and with the sound turned down to the point of being inaudible it was on mostly for the light and so he wasn't simply sitting in the dark staring off into space.
He'd tried sleep that night, but images of deaths he hadn't even witnessed kept waking him up, and at about two a.m. he'd simply given up and moved out into the other room. Hikari was stretched along his side, snoring softly. Her whispy tail flicking gently against his arm as he ran dark claws along her back, careful of the dangerous tips.
A delicate knock made the jikininki startle, blinking in the dark as he sat up a little straighter and turned to look at the door. Now who could that be in the middle of the night? Junko perhaps, roused by a dream? That was his first thought.
Raising slowy so as not to disturb the dozing ofuda at his side, the ghost gave a wide yawn. Brushing his hands through his hair as he moved across the room to the door to open it. It wasn't Junko. "Jove." He was surprised, but a soft smile soon softened naturally harsh features. He hadn't seen the pup since he'd tucked him into his bed at the end of day of their return. The poor kid had been so exhausted.
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Posted: Wed May 25, 2011 8:05 am
Jove held a non-existent breath until the door finally opened, and he saw Seiji for the first time since he had fallen into that terrible chasm on the island. The older ghost didn't look hurt, just a little tired maybe, but certainly not battered to a pulp or broken by his fall. It was a relief, hopefully the pup could stop reliving that horrible memory now that he knew Seiji was okay. Hopefully.
His good ear tilted back slightly, and his tail gave a short, shy wag. He had probably woken Seiji up with his ill-thought-out attempt for reassurance. Had he not learned that lesson after visiting Yaya and Junko? Most students slept this hour, and surely the other ghost was no exception. Jove was unsure what to do now that he was actually there with Seiji, so he just stood at the door and looked up at his friend with a hopeful puppy expression he wasn't even aware he possessed.
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Posted: Wed May 25, 2011 8:18 am
Red on black eyes looked the younger ghost over, retracing the obvious injuries he'd seen upon finding the boil passed out near the portal. The ear was still limp, and that arm looked like he was favoring it a bit. Was he ok? That was sort of a silly question at this point. He was up, he was moving about and doing things. He was as ok as anyone else was after that jack damned field trip. Well, probably. Everyone seemed to be cooping this things in their own way.
He noted the subtle twitch of the pup's tail, head tilting to the right to watch it, his smile retuning. "Do you want to come in?" He held the door as he stepped back, letting Jove slip past him into the room.
"I couldn't sleep, so I was sort of watching tv." Staring mindlessly at it. "How come you're up so late?"
It didn't really cross the older boil's mind that Jove hadn't been aware he was alive and well, not after having carried the pup around for half a day upon their return. Sure the boil would have awoken once or twice in all that time to realize what was going on.
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Posted: Wed May 25, 2011 9:15 am
Jove did slip past Seiji and take a couple hesitant steps into his room, it was better than standing in the hallway, and he did have an invitation and all... Looking around he saw the TV, and the cozy looking chair facing it, but he could barely hear the sound coming from it, even with his good ear turned towards it. Seiji hadn't been joking, he certainly hadn't been listening to the TV.
At the question, Jove's ear flopped down quite dramatically in an expression that could have been sheepish, or ashamed. He wasn't going to say he was afraid to sleep and let his mind wander. Not when that meant he would see Seiji falling again, or Junko being hurt, or those figures in cloaks... Jove whined, not meaning to let the noise slip out in front of the older boil, but it did.
He tried to pretend the noise hadn't happened, and instead looked away from Seiji and cradled his sore arm.
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Posted: Wed May 25, 2011 11:43 am
He watched the pup move past him into the room and glance around, shutting the door softly behind him. The tv in the corner continued it's quiet flickering, and Seiji was tempted to wander over and turn the damn thing off. He resisted though, settling his attention firmly on the pup standing in the middle of his sitting room.
His questions had actually pulled a rather worrying reaction from the whisp, and Seiji immediately regretted having asked. Except that.. it was important. If something was wrong enough for Jove to have come to his room at four o'clock in the morning, then that deserved a question or two, didn't it? Had it been Junko or Momo this would have been a lot easier, they didn't seem to share the same boosted bravado Jove did as a younger boil. He understood it, but it made things a little trickier.
But that whine.. The way his ear had dropped. Something was definitely wrong. Even as the smaller ghost turned away, pretending it happened, Seiji could tell something was bothering him. "Jove?" If he hadn't had a fairly good idea as to what could have been wrong, he might have left it alone, but he couldn't he don't know specifics, but who among them hadn't been effected by that island?
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Posted: Wed May 25, 2011 12:11 pm
Jove glanced back over when he heard his name, and favoured Seiji with an almost defensive expression. The sort that said "What, there's nothing wrong with me," but was backed by a faint glow to his cheeks. He was trying to be tough for his tough friend, and didn't realize it would only draw more attention to the problems he was trying to brush off.
He half trotted, half limped to Seiji's chair and parked himself there without a word, awkwardly tucking his bare feet up next to him. He was determined to not present a vulnerable face to his friend, and avoided even looking at Seiji as though it would give him away. So he focused on something else. Jove didn't have his own TV, and the novelty of seeing them in the rooms of other students hadn't quite worn off. Maybe it would be a suitable distraction for the rest of the night.
His good ear swivelled forward to catch the faint sounds, but with his chin up he was more focused on the smells in the room. It smelled familiar, and lived in. Of course Seiji was okay, the stale, musty smell of unused space that had certainly accumulated in all their rooms after the long trip was not in evidence.
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Posted: Thu May 26, 2011 8:48 am
His worried prodding was met with a defensive sort of glower and a soft blush, and frowned at the pup as he turned away to climb into his chair. There was something wrong, but he didn't want to project it. Silly little runt was trying to play tough, as always. The jikininki could understand, he supposed, but was still rather exasperating. When was the kind going to learn that there was nothing wrong with taking comfort when you needed it? Surely he'd seen Seiji clinging to Junko a time or two on that island.
Hikari was still sprawled along the arm of the chair dozing, but she awoke when it started to move and body settled itself beside her. With a startled blink she rolled on her belly, staring up at the whisp with keen interest before getting to her feet and promptly invading his lap so she could bath his cheeks and fingers in Ofuda slobber. "Hikari." She didn't even pause, but merely continued to her excited licking, much to the hungry ghost's chagrin.
"You daffy little airhead." He crossed the room in two long strides and reached down for the pale little pup. Human fingers curling loosely over her muzzle to cease her undesirable behavior. "That's enough, Jove doesn't need a bath." When he released her she gave a soft little whine before settling down to lay on the whisp's lap calmly.
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Posted: Thu May 26, 2011 5:32 pm
Jove took all the scareon-kisses in stride, he seemed perfectly comfortable with the creature crawling into his lap. The pup rubbed the friendly pet's ears as though they were best friends, and even managed to find a break in which to plant his own kiss on the little Ofuda's nose. The little one wasn't as fluffy as the foxfires back in his own room, but it was soft, and pleasant to touch.
The pup pouted up at Seiji, but it wasn't clear if he was pouting because his new friend had settled down or if he was still irked about Seiji's insistence that something must be wrong. Little fingers ran through the minipet's fur as Jove glanced back down. It looked like the pet was more interesting than the near-silent TV for the young boil.
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Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2011 2:28 pm
With Hikari now calm, Seiji crouched down beside the chair so he could fold his arms on the arm of the thing, chin coming to rest on top of them. Regarding the pouting youth in front of him with a look that said clearly he was so not buying any of his tough guy glowering today. Human fingertips drummed along his opposite forearm, before he spoke at last. "So what's up?" His voice was casual. Understanding, inviting, but very clearly not laced with anything demeaning.
And before the pup could shake his head in protest, the ghost continued. "And don't try to tell me nothing, cause you wouldn't drop by in the middle of the night otherwise, not unannounced." They'd gotten the pup an ePhone, The ghouls and he, and Jove usually sent him a text if he wanted to visit. There had been no text.
"There's nothing childish about having fears or concerns, Jove. We all need a little help sometimes."
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Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2011 5:52 pm
Jove glanced at Seiji through his long eyelashes, and then back at the pet on his lap. Then he slid into a slouch and hugged the creature.
"Loud," he lied, refusing to meet Seiji's glance. Lying might have come more naturally to his wilder cousins, but the pup was impossibly honest, with his body language if not with his words. He logically couldn't hope to fool the other boil with that bad story even if his neighbours had been particularly rowdy. The ghost dorms were usually rather quiet and muted, being so far down, perhaps he had been spending too many nights in the monster dorms.
He flattened his ears, trying to act impassive, at least now that he could be sure Seiji was okay after that terrible trip.
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Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2011 5:06 pm
Dark eyes remained on the pup as he glanced over then pointedly looked away before offering one word in explanation. One word he wasn't going to believe, noting the other ghost's rather guilty posture and expression. Gray lips pressed into a thin line as a response, eyes rolling ceiling ward as he considered his next move. Clearly Jove didn't feel much like talking about what had gotten him here, but something was wrong.
"Loud?" There was a certain level of disbelief in his deep voice. "Well, if your neighbors are being rowdy you're welcome to stay here for the night." Broad shoulders rolled up in a small shrug before he took his arms off the chair and sat back on his heels. "You know, if you wanted to. It's probably quieter."
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Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2011 5:19 pm
Jove could tell that Seiji didn't believe him, even without looking in his friend's direction. Even without hearing his doubtful tone. But when the boil didn't call him on his lie, and offered to let him stay, Jove relaxed.
He hadn't realized there was so much tension in his body until that point. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to stay the night... It would be like staying over in Ren's room, except Seiji was a ghost too and wouldn't be making breathing noises or stay warm all night. Still, it would be much better than going back to his room.
Jove nodded, almost shyly in comparison to his earlier stubbornness, and hugged the scareon against him as he got up and began to wander around the dorm room. If he was going to stay here, he had better make sure there were no mimics.
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Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2011 5:32 pm
He watched that lingering tension ease out of the younger boil's shoulders and smiled. Patting his hands on his thighs as he got back to his feet. Long arms stretching above his head before he stuffed his hands into his pant pockets. The trousers themselves looking rather more wrinkled then normal. That's what he got for lounging about in the chair for hours on end though.
The ofuda gave a gentle whine as she was lifted in Jove's arms, but settled again in his arms after a moment. Large ears perking forward as he moved around the room. Clearly curious, and eager to see what exactly was going on now.
"Looking for something?" He sounded curious, and if the pup happened to glance back he'd notice a rather bemused smile on his older friend's face.
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Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2011 5:45 pm
Jove didn't look back, and didn't notice Seiji's amusement as he wandered around the room, he just shook his head in reply. Once he was satisfied his bare feet would be safe, he was just looking at things. Books, things on the desk, the other doors, anything really.
With the scareon in his arms he wandered all the way around the main room, his long hands hidden in his sweater sleeves, and his tail hanging limp and only slightly curled from under his long night shirt. When he got to the bathroom he only peered in, but he showed no such hesitation when he entered the bedroom.
Jove seemed more or less content to investigate there for a minute or two, petting the mattress, and then setting Hikari down so the poor thing wouldn't be scared when he looked under the bed.
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