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 Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2012 10:11 am
Lou may have been a dirty boil in many aspects, but at the very least he tried to be cleanly.
His floor was swept weekly, bed was made, trash was taken out, and most importantly, his clothes were washed.
Something he was currently in the process of doing, actually. There was a laundromat a walking distance from Amityville, though it was anything but high class. The SkreeV was old and not all the colors worked right, there were cobwebs in the corner (which not everybody minded), and some of the clients were a bit unsavory.
None of this particularly bothered Lou, until all the others were gone and there was nobody to pester/pick pocket.
Grumbling, the vampire had a seat on the washer with his clothes. Laundry day meant all he wore was a black wife beater and some torn up pants he'd picked out of someone's garbage one day. One man's trash, after all.
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Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2012 5:46 pm
Unfortunately, Xiu didn't get a chance to do her laundry before returning to Amityville from her trip home. It wasn't as if she didn't have any clean clothes to wear at all--her uncle always made sure that she had a huge stockpile of clothing that fit her--but the idea of having a dirty pile of clothes laying around her room bothered her. Needless to say, that the first chance she got, the baku gathered everything that needed washing up in a bag and head down to the laundromat.
Unfortunately, the baku never considered the fact that she would run into anyone that she knew at said laundromat, nevermind the one person she had been explicitly warned to avoid multiple times before. The ghoul took only two steps into the building when her gaze immediately fell on the other sole customer who was present.
Oh jack.
What was she supposed to do?! The idea of leaving after coming all this way just because of the vampire seemed a little silly to her, but considering all those warnings Shun had given her, staying didn't seem like a good idea either. After some consideration--and hoping that he had yet to notice her presence--Xiu quietly tried to creep back out of the door.
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Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2012 6:36 pm
Lou had been quietly watching the off-color SkreeV replay one of his favorite eps of General Asylum when the ever-so-loud creak of the old glass door caught his pointy little ear.
It was almost creepy how fast his head snapped to the direction of what he could only assume was another living (so to speak) being...
And the result couldn't have been better.
It was like the universe smiled upon the wicked. 'Oh, Lou. I see you're bored. Here, let me toss this innocent ghoul your way. Now amuse me slave.' Rest assured, universe, your day would soon be made.
Sliding off the washer like he was covered in grease, the boil (quickly) sauntered up and out, following Xiu just outside the laundromat. "Those clothes look heavy. Do you need help?" The boil asked with a raised eyebrow, his hand resting against the window of the building. Was he posing sexily? He might've been. And if you were wondering where the garbage that usually came out of his mouth was, just wait.
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Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2012 9:21 pm
Oh, blast.
Xiu froze at the familiar noise, emitting a noise that sounded like a cross between a sigh and a groan as she shut her eyes. Too slow. Realizing there was no way to get away now, the baku slowly turned to face the vampire, her ears drooping as she stared up at him. "...No thank you, I can carry them myself."
Well, since she had already been spotted, and since she was already here, she might as well get her clothes washed anyways. Puffing out her cheeks, the ghoul ducked under Lou's arm and moved away from the doorway, trying to find a washing machine furthest away from the boil's. She was just supposed to ignore him, right? She could do that. Yup.
It was easy.
...
This was awkward.
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Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2012 6:59 am
Lou blinked as he watched her retreat back within the walls of the building. Yess, he had her now. For at least a hour or two.
Swaying back around, the boil pushed through the door with hands in his pockets. What to do, what to do... Slow steps took him back to his machine, though his eyes never left her. Plenty of plans in his repertoire, but picking the right one was the trick.
It looked like she was trying to stay as far away as she could. Fair enough. He could work with this. The boil's usual smile left his face temporarily as he reclaimed his seat on the washer.
"So, this is it then?" Lou asked in a soft voice, fingers twiddling in his lap. "You're just going to spend an hour over there by yourself with nothing to do? I thought you were more sociable than that." Layin' on the guilt like it was butter on toast.
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Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2012 10:16 am
A small part of Xiu hoped that Lou wouldn't talk to her if he noticed that she was (clearly) actively avoiding him...but that was obviously an extremely naive thought. After all, this was Lou she was talking about--seeing someone's discomfort probably just made him excited to find was to make them even more uncomfortable.
Case in point: right now.
Xiu flinched at his words, and though she did not respond right away, her ears did droop a little at the accusation. She wasn't unsociable! She was...just...w-well, he was a jerk! He stole her shoes, harassed her friends, called them names, and just...!
Still, it was very uncomfortable to be stuck here with him for at least an hour.
After a moment of silence, the baku turned to look at him. Though she didn't say anything aloud, her expression seemed to ask him to please stop guilt-tripping her and leave her be.
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Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2012 10:36 am
When Xiu's gaze met the vampire's, his expression stayed the same: virtually emotionless. There was an urge to reach his arms out as far as he could and pinch her cheeks, but it was an impulse best avoided right now. Especially if he wanted his ploy to work.
"Fine then." The boil sighed, glancing away as if this were some cheesy drama like the one on the SkreeV. "I won't bother you. I'll just... Sit here... Alone... As always." He felt the last part was a special little cherry on top that a person of Xiu's caliber would find hard to resist. So tempting, like saying 'pity me, pity me!' Lou wasn't above playing the pity card, after all. Especially if it got him what he wanted.
But wait. This was an introductory special. Pick one cherry, get the second one free. "... With my small fuzzy creature." A white kushi was produced from his pocket, all without even looking at her. It was like a middle-aged man trying to tempt kids to his van with candy and puppies.
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Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2012 7:54 pm
At first, Xiu relaxed at his words. Fine? As in he'd stop? Her tense shoulders began to loosen up, only to stiffen again as the vampire went on to spread on a thick layer of guilt-trip. Although she had turned her back to him, the ghoul visibly flinched at the "alone" part, the fluffy end of her tail poofing out. Nooo, no no no, he was faking it! There was no way she would--
Small fuzzy creature?
Xiu's ears perked up at that, and despite the voice in her head that told her to ignore him, she couldn't help but cast a quick peek over her shoulder at the vampire. The moment she laid her eyes on the kushi, the baku's face brightened, her tail suddenly swishing behind her in eagerness. I-it's so precious! If only I could go up and pet it--no! It's a trap!
Puffing out her cheeks, Xiu crossed her arms over her chest and turned away. "Well, I guess you're not so alone if you have your pet for company."
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Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2012 4:20 am
Yes. YES. Out of the corner of his eye, the boil could see a certain someone's tail wagging. The small fuzzy creature always w-
... Wait.
Curses.
But all was not lost. He looked down at his little kushi when Xiu's back turned and gave him a wink, then pointed in that general direction. It was a wordless description of what needed to be done. The target was set.
Lou made no effort to stop the fuzzball from hopping out of his hands and running under one of the machines. "Wait! s**t." The boil jumped off his machine and made a fake lunge for him which obviously turned up empty handed. A large, pitiful sigh escaped his lips. As pitiful as he could possibly muster. Surely this would work out in his favor. Surely!
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Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2012 10:00 am
That caught Xiu's attention.
It was probably less of the pitiful sigh that Lou gave (though considering that this was Xiu, that might have helped a little), and more of her concern that the little kushi would get lost or hurt around all these crevices and machines that won her over. She cast a quick, uncertain glance towards Lou before suddenly dropping to her knees, tilting her head as she tried to catch a glimpse of the mini beneath the washing machines.
"Where did you go?" Pressed her palm against the ground, she wriggled her fingers a little in hopes that the movement would entice the mini to come out and investigate.
There was a moment of pause as the baku straightened up, moving to her bag and digging around it in to produce a small, neatly wrapped package of spookies. Taking one out, she returned to her initial spot on the ground. "I'll give you a treat if you come out, okay?"
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Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2012 3:49 pm
Ah, yes. The bait had been taken.
The little kushi scuttled around under the machines, coughing and sneezing at the numerous cobwebs hidden underneath from the lack of a broom and elbow grease. If he didn't get something good out of this, he would make sure Lou got what was coming to him.
Wait. Was that? GASP. A spookie? He was starting to like this ghoul already. A light pitter patter of teeny feet was quickly approaching the baku. It was like baiting a fish, because once the kushi was in close proximity, he lunged for the treat.
A mock worry covered up Lou's true intentions as he stretched his neck to try and see what Xiu was doing. "Did you find him?"
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Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2012 8:59 pm
Xiu's shell-shaped ears twitched slightly as she heard the sound of something skittering towards her from beneath one of the washing machines. She waited until the creature got closer before jerking her hand--and the spookie--backwards, just as the kushi lunged out.
Ah ha!
Forgetting the fact that she had been trying to ignore him, Xiu looked up at Lou with a bright smile. "I got him!" Using the hand that wasn't currently occupied with holding the spookie, she scooped the mini up into her palm. "There you are! ...You're kind of dusty, aren't you?" Lifting it closer to her face, she tried to blow off some of the dust before offering it the spookie.
"Here you go. But be more careful next time, okay?"
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Posted: Fri Aug 24, 2012 6:23 am
Well that certainly seemed to help things. Look at how she was smiling. Lou would almost say it was endearing, how excited she was to have the furry rodent in her grasp. Hands raising, he clapped and smiled. "His name is Stiletto." The boil figured she'd ask sooner or later.
The kushi looked up at Xiu wide-eyed as he was got, though it didn't seem like he had any desire to flee. Stiletto tried to straighten up his face in the presence of a lady, but it looked like she was going to do the work for him. Well, whate- Ah... Ah! "CHU!' He sneezed and sniffled before taking the spookie, downing it with cute little noms.
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Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2012 6:08 pm
Indeed, Xiu had just been about to ask for the Kushi's name when Lou generously provided it. Looking down at the mini in her hand, she gave it an affectionate smile and a light pat on the head. "Stiletto, hmmm? It's nice to meet you!"
She flinched a little when the kushi suddenly sneezed, but this was immediately followed by a laugh. How precious he was! As he ate, she couldn't help but lift her hands and very gently press her cheek against the top of the mini's head.
Up until this point, she had been trying to studiously ignore the vampire, but considering that she had his pet in her hands...well. Looking over at Lou, the baku suddenly got up and walked towards him, reaching up so that she could carefully deposit Stiletto on the boil's shoulder. "There we are!"
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Posted: Tue Aug 28, 2012 7:03 pm
If Kushi's could purr, Stiletto might've done just that. Certainly she was one of the better looking ghouls Lou had sent him after. Probably one of the more tolerable ones too.
Just as he finished the small treat, Stiletto rubbed his nose against Xiu's face, being as cute as he could possibly be. It was a ruse, of course. He was just waiting for a signal to snag some pocket change and run.
That signal never came, though. Apparently his vampire owner had other plans. When the ghoul walked back over, Lou just smiled and sat still as the kushi was returned to him.
Until she started pulling her hands back, that is. In one swift motion, he attempted to claim one of the baku's hands and place a kiss on it. "Oh, how can I ever thank you?" The boil cooed, eyebrows waggling as he shot her a curious glance. "He does tricks too, by the way." Since she seemed taken by the little rodent, might as well mention how well trained the critter was. Very. Well trained.
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