Julian:
Julian walked up the stairs in the demon dorms, an open package under one arm as he held a book open in front of him. It was a new addition in the World of Light role-playing game... Well, it was new for him. He had just gotten into the game before going to school and Cyrus had only gotten him the core rulebook for his last birthday. This was one of the supplements, something Cyrus had sent him after the last letter home. There was a note tucked into the first couple of pages, Cyrus had said to stop worrying about the stupid boat trip, to find some people to play with and start having fun.

It was easy for him to say that, Cyrus was the tough one, he had tons of friends. Sure, he wasn't handsome like their eldest brother or pretty like their second, but Cyrus had that kind of personality that drew others to him. It was just how the middle brother was. He still went out with his school friends once a week or so, for drinking and fun.
"I wish I could be like that..." he muttered to himself as he walked the last few steps up to one of the landings, not quite paying attention until he ran into someone's back.

Dropping the package under his arm as he fumbled not to drop his book, he blinked wide eyes at Sin.
"Oh, S-Sin, I'm s-sorry, I didn't see you," he stumbled out, dropping down to pick up the package and two of the the old black-stone dice that had rolled out of the velvet bag that had been inside.

Sin:
Sin was tense with her exams upcoming but she took breaks from studying to visit Rosc. She was about to take such a break when someone crashed into her back. Sin looked over her shoulder and slowly smiled flicking her hair back and cocking a hip.

"Julian? It's alright...wish you could be like what?" She asked curiously and arched a brow. Then she saw the book and the dice and leaned in wondering what he was up to.

"What's that?" Rosc wasn't exactly expecting her and he'd understand if she spent some time with Julian. The poor boil needed it after all, Sin rarely saw him if he wasn't hunched over a book. She wondered if he had managed to make any new friends and then remembered guiltily she was supposed to help with that. Then again Sin was doing rather shakily in the friend department herself at the moment.

Julian:
"Oh... Um..." Julian didn't want to answer her first question. To say to her that he wished he was more like his outgoing older brothers would just bring more trouble for him. Or stress. Or probably both. And he needed to focus on his classes, not being stressed out with a social life. He straightened up, putting the book back into the package and one of the dice into the bag. He held up the other one so that she could see it was a black stone cut into a ten-sided polygon, with silver numbers etched into each face, 0 to 9.

"These?" he asked, jumping on the other question as if it were a lifeline. "My brother sent me some dice I left at home, and a new role-playing book. You know, the tabletop games? You, um... You make a character and you... It's like making a story, only with a number of people. This one's more about intrigue and politics than combat and adventuring."

When he talked about books or his games, he never stuttered. He wasn't nervous about them, he knew them like he knew his own room at home. It was the only time he was really confident in himself.

Sin:
"I've never seen dice like that?" She blinked and then moved aside curiously. "Role Playing? A game?" She listened to him explain and then tilted her head.

"Well that sounds sort of fun, care to show me a little more?" She looked up and down the hallway. "In the library, or your room, or my room?"

Julian:
"There are a lot of kinds of dice," Julian replied, but he could show her that. True, the set he used for Light had a lot more d10s than the other kinds, he still had a complete set in those colors. He would have gone crazy if he hadn't. And she wanted to know more, that was a really good sign. She might even like this one. Sin didn't strike him as the kind that would enjoy table-tops much, but maybe she would like World of Light. Intrigue seemed her kind of thing, after all.

Oh, but she wanted to go elsewhere to talk about it...
"N-not my room..." he replied, thinking about it. His room was still his sanctuary. And to be honest he didn't want to talk about this in the library. Libraries were for quiet study, not talking. But he wasn't sure he wanted to go to her room, either. Go to a ghoul's room? Yeah, that was more than a little nerve-wracking.
But Sin was his... friend. Sort of. And it wasn't like he was interested in her or vice-versa... He even thought she had a boilfriend. His shoulders slumped a bit.

"Y-your r-room seems b-best..."

Sin:
Sin kept from frowning at the way Julian's voice reverted to a stutter, he had sounded so confident just moments before. What had the poor boil so tongue tied all the time? She turned to lead them back to her room and smiled as she opened the door. Sin's room was as usual clean and well organized her bed dominating the area and everything tinted in a soft dark purple tone.

"Come on in, you want anything to drink?"

She headed into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of water leaning on the counter.

"Hey Julian...I noticed you didn't go to prom...I saw that monster ghoul...Tahki? With some boil....I thought you liked her?" Sin asked curiously wondering if she had misjudged Julian's interest.

Julian:
Julian followed her into her room and stood near the door looking rather at a loss for what to do. Should he sit down or just stand there, put his things on the floor or on her dresser... He had no idea how this worked.
"Oh, um, w-water, please," he replied, looking to her as she walked into her kitchen.
And then she asked about Tahki.

He looked down, his pale face flushing just a bit, though it hit his ears worse. His cheeks just darkened a couple shades, his ears turned pink. The claws on one foot curled inward slightly, curling his toes with his embarrassment.
"We... We went out after the Ch-Christmas trip, b-but it was only o-once. And it d-didn't go so w-well. The whole thing was j-just awkward. And I h-haven't seen m-much of her s-since then." Would he have seen her on the boat trip?The trip he had been too much of a coward to go on. But he would have surely drowned if he had gone, when all the boats crashed, though thankfully he hadn't heard about that part. And then his fear of water would be intensified a hundred times over and the whole thing would have been all for the worse.
It was a good thing he still didn't know what had happened on the trip he missed.

"G-guess I'm just n-not her t-type..."

Sin:
Sin poured Julian a glass of water and frowned a bit at his blush and dejected tone moving to hand it to him. She took the books and set them on her dresser pulling up her vanity chair for him and perching herself on her bed.

"Oh Julian, I'm sorry...it's probably for the best though you know, she wasn't really your type."

She drank her water slowly and then licked her lips and flicked her hair back. "You need a nice demon ghoul Julian. Now tell me about this game of yours? Role Playing? Characters?"

Julian:
He felt a little useless as she took his things and set them down, pulling out a chair for him to sit on. Shouldn't he be doing all these things? It's what his father and brothers did around ghouls. But he sighed and settled down in the chair, taking a small, opaque sphere out of his pocket. He used it sometimes to channel his natural ability to sense the future, but generally he just used it to calm down. Holding the water in one hand, he started rolling the sphere in a circle on his left palm.

"I d-don't know if I could h-handle a demon ghoul if they're as st-strong in personality as you, S-Sin," he replied with a small smile before taking a sip of the water. It was a bitter way of thinking, but true nonetheless. He was too timid, how could he measure up to all of the other demon boils that the ghouls might have their eyes on?

"World of Light is interesting. I don't know how to really describe it, but... You play as a character in the human realm. With World of Light, you generally play higher up humans, like Mafioso or a politician or a police officer or private investigator. Sometimes there's combat, especially with the mafia and the police and stuff, but a lot of it's about the stuff behind closed doors. Investigation, hunting, intrigue, under-hand deals, things like that. It's all about story-building. Dungeons and Humans is more about combat, dice-rolling and stats."

Sin:
"You're a demon Julian, you must be strong as well and you'll find the perfect demoness for you." She smirked and raised her glass to him before leaning back to listen as he explained.

Sin listened and then frowned mildly looking at Julian uncertainly.
"So you play...as a human? Why would you want to do that?"
Obviously she didn't quite grasp the concept of role playing just yet, a fake world, a made up character...it all seemed silly. Though the idea of intrigue and story-building did keep her mildly curious to hear more. Did Julian pay this game a lot? If so who exactly was he playing with?

Julian:
Julian didn't feel like he was strong in any sense of the word, but he didn't want to argue with her.
She didn't look happy at his explanation of the game and she even posed the question of why. He only shrugged.
"To be someone else, I suppose, something that's not what we're used to," he replied, looking down at his crystal for a moment before back to her.

"My brothers and I played together before I came here. My middle brother, Cyrus, sent these to me. He always plays a police officer or a bounty hunter. And Andor likes the politician," he explained, smiling as he remembered the last time they played. Even Mum had played with them, a debutant with her nose in everything. They'd been in the main sitting room, a fire in the fireplace and several of their ancestors staring down at them from their paintings. The table had been taken up by the board Bran had made, snacks and drinks.

Sin:
"Well I can understand that I guess, I mean trying new and different things for fun..."
She had a feeling Julian shouldn't be spending so much time pretending to be what he wasn't. After all Julian was a demon, he just needed some...encouragement to gain some confidence and poise. Maybe Rosc could help the boil out? No, no that probably wasn't a great idea Rosc wasn't exactly a social bat himself, odds are he'd just teach Julian to ignore what others thought and to be all independent.

She listened to him talk about his family and slowly smiled, deep down Sin felt a twinge of longing for home. She remembered shopping with her mother, sparring with her father, the elegant meals served in a dining room built for hundreds but seating only their intimate party of three most nights. The servants who came and cleaned her room, and the sound of her parents sharing a laugh or catching them snuggled together in the library.
"I miss home sometimes..."
She finally admitted with a soft sigh and then shrugged and looked back up at him.
"Hey...why don't you teach me how to play?"

Julian:
Sometimes Julian didn't think he was just trying new things for fun. Sometimes it seemed like he was doing this to be someone else, mostly because he didn't like the way he was. If he played with his brothers, he could be someone who had no connection to them, but still confidant enough to talk with them and all of the NPCs Bran decided to make. He could be clever and strong, the mobster who rose in the ranks towards boss, taking out bribes and opposition alike. He could be ruthless if he wanted to. Not like in real life.

His gaze was unfocused as he nodded slowly.
"I miss home, too," he replied before his head jerked up. Had she just... Asked him to teach her??

"Oh... I, I'm not sure I'm a... Well, i don't have anything but my supplement and... I don't have any character sheets with me..." He stammered on for a few moments before shaking his head and flopping from his rigid position in the chair to a more relaxed one, the clouded crystal still moving in his hand.

"It's really not that complicated to play I suppose. But it's hard to describe without the main book. Did you ever play pretend? It's mostly like that, only with more chance involved. Instead of staking the cards in your favor by just saying you could do something, you can make it likelier for your character to do that, but you still have to roll to see if she succeeds."

Sin:
Well he HAD seemed at ease until she asked him to teach her the game then he was back to stammering. She grinned and leaned back her arms splayed on the bed behind her.

"Relax Julian, it's not like you need to teach me every rule right this second, it just sounds like it might be fun to play and learn. When were you planning on playing again next?"
Of course what Sin really wanted to know, was who he had planned on playing with?

"How do you make things likelier for your character?" Sin asked confused as to what controlled anyone from just making an all powerful human. Obviously there were quite a few rules if all these books and supplements and dice were needed. It all seemed very complex, but equally interesting.

Julian:
Julian bounced the crystal on his palm before sliding it to the tips of his fingers and back to a circular pattern. It helped calm him down.
"I'm not sure, really. Bran was the one who usually GMed, er... Designed the framework of the story, I suppose. And I don't really have anyone to play with yet. I heard there might be a club when I came here, but after a few rumors I haven't heard anything since," he said, taking another drink of the water she had given him.

"Well, that's where stats come in. With World of Light, you only get so many and you put them in specific sections, like physical, mental, and social abilities. With other games, you roll your stats in things like strength, dexterity, intelligence, wisdom, things like those. As your character grows you get more points to add to their stats, making them better. But you still have to start off kind of small. Does that... answer your q-question?"

Sin:
"I'm sure you could find lots of other people willing to play, you should ask around and maybe design the framework for the first game yourself? I mean you seem to know a lot about it, you could show others."
Exactly who she wasn't too sure, but there had to be other students who played these sorts of game right? She'd have to keep an eye out for someone else who might enjoy role-playing.

"Stats? Oh...so everyone limited and they make combinations and stuff from that? Well I guess that keeps things fair if everyone starts on a level playing field. So your character grows as the story progresses? Do the characters keep going game after game? If someone had been playing for a while wouldn't their character be stronger coming into a game with a bunch of new people?"

Julian:
A slow grin spread on Julian's face as the crystal stopped moving and he bent his head, chuckling at first, but then evolving into a laugh.
"You're really more interested in this than I thought you might be. From what some of my brothers told me, these kinds of games are thought to be really nerdy," he finally said after his laughter tapered off. He slipped the crystal back into his pocket and nodded.

"But yeah, your character grows and you use it in the same campaign, but that's generally the same people meeting time after time. You start over or make a new character for a new campaign, er, story. A single meeting of playing is a session, a bunch of sessions in the same storyline is a campaign. And if someone joins late, they could always start at an equal level as everyone else. Or just be a lower-level character, if they want."

He paused for a second, thinking. But then he shook his head.
"I'm not experienced enough to GM. And I don't know if I like it much. I could try... but I don't even know anyone who'd want to play."

Sin:
His laughter caught her off guard and she arched a brow watching him and then huffing. Nerdy? Well she couldn't exactly risk her delicate reputation on something like this. Still it DID seem like fun, and maybe it would help get Julian out of his odd shy stage, at least she hoped it was a stage.

"That all sounds pretty complex, so you need some friends who would be willing to play quite a bit then?" If he wanted to play a campaign it seemed anyway.

"Well...maybe between the two of us we could round up some more people willing to try it or even actually find someone who plays and knows how to GM? Whats GM stand for anyway?" She asked mildly confused with all these new terms floating around.

Julian:
"Yeah, unless it was a bunch of one-shot sessions, but I think those are boring. You don't feel as accomplished," Julian replied, swirling the water in his glass. He thought maybe Tahki might like to play, but then he didn't really know if she liked RPGs. He knew she liked comics and video games, but tabletops? He wasn't sure. Amrita didn't seem the type any more than Sin did, and he didn't really know Cora or Morton well enough, or any of his classmates. He really kind of was a failure at socializing.

"Maybe, or I could find the people who thought about starting a club. I donno... Oh, it stands for Game Master... Or I suppose it could be Game Mistress, if a ghoul ran it. Up to her, really," he added the last part, looking up from his musings. He did want to play, it was one of the only ways he really knew how to bond with others. He had played with his brothers outside and such when they were younger, but it was when they were playing their RPGs that they really bonded. If Michel hadn't saved him from drowning, he probably wouldn't have had the bond with his red-haired, playboy brother that he had with his others.

Sin:
"Well I'm sure between the two of us we can find some people willing to join in and play." She thought of Rosc, no he didn't like to socialize...Calder? He didn't exactly seem the gaming type...Christof? No he was always busy anyway with...Barth and Riley. Sin had to keep from sighing, Christof would have been the perfect mark, but he was such a good igor that naturally Riley wasn't going to share. Not that she could blame her, it just seemed that lately Sin was falling short in the demonic socializing and scrutinizing department. She was supposed to be subtly gathering power, instead she felt like she was gathering minor headaches and concerns.

"Game Master huh? Well that makes sense to need somekind of referee right? Anyway why not look around for whoever was interested in that club? Maybe they just need to be reminded that people are willing to join in and play?"

Julian:
Julian looked off and ran his now free hand through his hair.
"Yeah, maybe..." He stood almost abruptly, then, taking his phone out of his other pocket. It was a text, one he'd look at one he got back to his room, but the reminder also had him looking at the clock.

"I, I think I've kept you too long," he said rather quickly, realizing he'd been in her room for a while. Sin thought so highly of appearances, it probably wasn't good for him to be in her room for too long. Especially not if she had a boilfriend. He picked his stuff up from the dresser and setting the glass in their place. Without another word, he hurried to her door, but stopped when his hand wrapped around the handle.

"Do... Do you r-really think I d-did the wrong thing, a-asking Tahki out?"

Sin:
Sin moved to stand as he did noticing how abruptly he was leaving, well she did have studying to get back to. She gathered his glass and then looked up at him as he stopped at her door. His question caught her a bit off guard her automatic response quickly bubbled up from that well ingrained place.

"Of course Julian, Demons belong with demons..."
Then she thought of Malodore and Riley, and her own friends like Junko, Calder, and Christof. She bit her lip and stepped forward with a mild frown.

"Wait...Julian...thats not exactly what I mean...I mean..."
She paused and tried to sort through her jumbled thoughts.
"What I mean is...I always thought that demons were better off with our own, but that's not always true I guess. I mean I'm sure that there's wonderful monsters, and ghosts, and even undead out there just as much as there's bad demons. It's just...maybe Tahki wasn't right for you, you know? I'm sure you'll find the perfect ghoul and she'll think your great, and you'll think she's great and things like what race you are or aren't won't matter so much, you know?"

Julian:
His head remained bowed slightly, his hair obscuring his face as he listened to her. Thoughts of trying it pulled back went through his head. But then, he didn't have any ties at the moment. He'd have to get one, or borrow one sometime, to see if it was a good look.

"Thanks, Sin." Julian's reply was soft, but then he finally turned to look at her, showing a small smile on his face. "Really. I think I feel a lot better now."

And with that, he opened the door and walked out, closing it behind him before he headed back towards the stairs, to head up to the highest floor of the dorms.

Sin:
Sin watched Julian with his hair in disarray and made a mental note to coax him into trying tying it back later. Then he looked up with that small smile and she slowly nodded watching him turn and leave. As he closed the door she slowly sighed and turned to wash out the water glasses and put them away.

"Yeah...me too."
Except Sin's good feeling only lasted until she realized that her inner honesty would lead to a strange tango between her original parental teachings and what she had come to discover for herself. With a low groan she moved to get back to studying, luckily minipet handling, and music class didn't leave her feeling like she had to rip herself in two.