Star Candy (3) : In your mailbox, locker, or desk drawer appears a bag of star candy! There is no indication of where or who it came from other than a small tag that reads: “Happy Star Festival!” The small, colorful pieces of sugar seemed to almost glow faintly, and after eating them, the world looks a bit different. Cartoonish and much less…real. Is it a hallucination? Is it some new reality? The strange vision lasts only half an hour, and after it wears off, the rest of the candy seems to disappear. How strange!
Rakovanite had only been a part of this world for less than two years, but he was growing ever less surprised by any random happenings that occurred in the city. Sometimes it was full-blown monsters. Sometimes it was sporadic teleportation to an alternate dimension. Sometimes it just happened that small trinkets appeared without rhyme or reason.
That was overall the least damaging thing that could occur, so perhaps it was just best to be grateful that it wasn’t something worse.
When an errant sack of candies tied with pretty twine and clipped with an Amber Charm appeared on the desk in his bedroom (something Nataniel wouldn’t pick up and had no use for. His parents certainly wouldn’t get it for him; they knew just as well it would be a waste. And even his idiot brother knew better than to leave evidence that he’d trespassed into a space that wasn’t his), Nataniel decided he could find a way to make use of the sweet treat.
It happened that he had a subordinate who was easier to manage when bribed. He liked treats, and Rakovanite was always looking for the easiest way to coerce Calaverite into doing chores. When a free treat appeared before him, it seemed wiser to shove it off on Cala than to simply dispose of it.
He would keep the charm, embarrassing as it was. They somehow always ended up clipped to his keyring...
Rakovanite stood in an empty alley behind a desecrated building. It seemed unlikely anyone would interrupt him, and certainly not before he felt them approach. Given that he hadn’t practiced this before, he wanted the clearance to take his time and feel how much he needed to put into this to be successful.
He released a steady breath, thought of the boy he wanted standing before him, and reached for the threads of chaos energy that fueled his abilities. Similar threads to Calaverite’s own.
With a beckoning tug, he dragged the corrupt from Negaspace and to his side.
Posted: Mon Jun 28, 2021 4:05 pm
Calaverite stretched languidly out on one of the sofas in a Negaspace common area. The technology here was kinda trash. No Wi-Fi for Cala to play games or watch YouTube on his pilfered phones if he was in his room.
Which he didn’t get because apparently the cats could set it up to work in the bigger common areas. Why could there do it there and not where he wanted? It didn’t make sense. Just give him Wi-Fi, already!
No one was around for him to complain about it, though. He just had to suffer.
So long as he was in the common areas where their network worked or whatever, he could watch stuff. Cala really liked those videos where people got pranked. And the ones where southerners rode their four wheelers off the roofs of houses before crumpling to the ground. Sometimes he’d watch kitty videos or bird videos and wish that he could snuggle with a cute animal.
He was in the middle of one where a kitten was particularly unhappy about getting a bath, and it yowled underwater, when he felt a sensation unlike one he’d felt before. It tugged on him. A little like when his captain teleported with him. Except no one was there.
Cala didn’t even have time to sit fully up before he was being picked from the common room and deposited on the muddy ground, near the boots of someone with a General’s aura.
Calaverite whipped to his feet faster than he could draw another breath, tangled and muddied hair flying into his eyes as his hands scrabbled out to grab and claw at whoever had picked him up and dropped him here without asking him- And leaving him in the mud! How dare they? How dare they?! His hands found purchase, nails biting into the high-collar of a purple coat as his lips drew back, showing off teeth that may have suspiciously looked like they were about to bite-
But he gave pause as the face of his aggressor came more into focus.
“Rakovanite!” He crowed in delight. General Rakovanite! Where his fingers had gripped the other man’s coat, they smoothed out and back to loop around his neck, drawing the other man near in a hug. “I missed you! You’re here! How’d you do that? How’d you get me to be here?”
No matter how he tried to be mentally ready for Calaverite, Rakovanite always felt a little blindsided by his subordinate. Fingers and claws were grappling at him one second, and then the next he was being drawn forward into an embrace- Neither response seemed reasonable. Calaverite should be used to being taken from Negaspace to the city. There was no reason to be upset over it. Just as there was no reason to feel so fondly towards his commanding officer.
They worked together, but they weren't friends. They shouldn’t greet each other with hugs.
Cala was one of the few people that made Rakovanite alarmingly uncomfortable to have their hands on him. He just didn’t understand how the senshi thought, and he had to remind himself that Calaverite was just… a little different. He couldn’t be expected to behave as a rational person would.
Rakovanite steeled himself, schooled his muscles to relax and not rip away from the other boy as Calaverite leaned against him. “Because of this,” he touched one of the ropes on his chest, three since his upgrade. “I can pull my subordinates to me.” He paused, mind working through the next thought and what it would mean, but the only downside was actually saying it. And having it between them would only endear Cala to him more. He cleared his throat. “But only if we are close enough friends…”
But he hadn’t come to show off his rank or new abilities. “I have brought you something.” His space pocket unzipped before him and Rakovanite drew out the small sack of candies to present to Calaverite.
Posted: Mon Jun 28, 2021 4:06 pm
Calaverite eyed the ropes as Rakovanite’s fingers drew his gaze there. Shining and golden and laying in three distinct loops over his chest. When he got to be a General- an Eternal, or whatever- he could pull people to him too. Maybe he could have some friend underlings, like Rakovanite did. And he could make them come to him whenever he wanted.
The thought was enough to bring a broad smile to his face, exposing all his teeth as he leaned in to rest his muddy-haired head against Rakovanite’s shoulder. One day it would be like that.
For now, it was enough that he was close enough with Rakovanite that the other man could see him whenever he wanted! They must be very good friends, to be able to do that. And it made completely perfect sense that they should be. The now-General brought him treats all the time, like only a friend would. Cala didn’t mind doing things for his friends that wanted him and were close to him.
“You did?” He prompted gleefully, craning back to rock on the balls of his feet as Rakovanite procured a small sack from his space pocket.
The sack didn’t look like cookies or fudge or a fun frothy soda. It didn’t look like any candy he’d seen before, either. And if there was a treat involved, he bet Rakovaitewould want him to do something. Cala’s eyes narrowed as he squinted at the sack and then back to Rakovanite. Seemed sus, but who was he to ignore a treat? He plucked the bag of candy up in his fingers and wasted no time in ripping it open to see its contents. “So what’s it for?”
Good. Those were the results he wanted. He should be pleased. Calaverite could be coerced relatively easily into performing whatever tasks Rakovanite asked of him… At this expense of this bizarre and uncomfortable proximity. Rakovanite made no effort to return the young senshi’s hug and instead went to great lengths to try and keep himself relaxed with his arms folded behind his back.
He wished it were someone else. He was typically very pleased to receive this kind of informal attention. Rakovanite enjoyed it when people wanted to be near him… But Calaverite was another matter. It made him want to itch his skin off.
The treat was taken from him, and with it, Calaverite’s weight was finally off of him. The boy was harmless to him. Rakovanite shouldn’t care about that touch at all… But he felt inexplicably better by the few inches that separated them.
And now to further cement this “friendship.”
Even if Rakovanite didn’t like Calaverite, he couldn’t come up with a reason it wouldn’t be beneficial to have the boy adoringly loyal to him. His subordinates should be willing to fight for him. It was just a matter of convincing Cala he was worth that.
“For?” Rakovanite prompted quietly, innocently. “It is ‘for’ nothing. I just wanted you to know that you have been doing well. I appreciate everything you continue to do for me.”
Posted: Mon Jun 28, 2021 4:10 pm
He had been doing really especially well! Cala didn’t need to be told that to believe it. He’d been getting all his draining done and had harvested more starseeds than a bunch of others at his rank. A lot of people complained about how they didn’t like taking starseeds, so he was definitely doing better than those guys. Yeah. He did deserve a treat. He was doing so good!
But it was nice to hear Rakovanite say it.
He beamed as he reached into the sack and pulled out a candy. It wasn’t a brand he was familiar with, and the little pieces almost looked like they glowed. “Oh…” Cala’s sigh was soft and almost reverent as he took in the sight. Pretty little glowing stars, like those up in the sky! Except these would be in his mouth. All his, all his!
He unwrapped the candy and popped it into his mouth. It was a sweet flavor, but beyond that, nothing he could identify. It was weird! So maybe he should offer one to Rakovanite for him to try too-
But the thought had barely crossed his mind before Cala was instinctively cinching the bag shut with his fingers and pulling it protectively to his chest. These were his. Rakovanite had said so. He didn’t need to share. And he wasn’t gonna. But the flavor was indescribable, and he wished Rakovanite had some way of experiencing it with him. Instead, Cala just claimed, “They’re good! And sweet!”
This was what he had hoped for, Rakovanite reminded himself. To get any use out of something random (like a free sack of candy) was the most efficient thing he could want. Calaverite trusted him… Calaverite wanted to please him… It was a good trade, a good investment. But that was essentially all the time he wanted to dedicate to this outing. The sooner he could go about his own business, the better.
So Rakovanite angled dark eyes on the young man before him and murmured out a quiet, “I have no assignment for you today. I only wanted to see you and bring you your present. I will take you home, now.”
That would do just as well. Calaverite seemed ever more pleased when Rakovanite appeared to reciprocate his friendship and loyalty. Good. Good. With a tiny nod to signal he was about to teleport them, Rakovanite encircled his fingers around the top of the senshi’s arm and whisked them back to Negaspace. He felt the effects of it as they landed.
He was still a new general. It was little effort to teleport himself, but he hadn’t yet built up the stamina to do many teleportations of other people, and he’d teleported calaverite twice in the span of a few minutes.
The flood of Negaspace’s energy immediately washed over him… But he still felt a little out of breath.
At least they’d made it to the door to Calaverite’s barrack quarters. Rakovanite had only been in the area once before. He didn’t typically make house calls to visit his subordinates, so it had only been happenstance that he knew which room Calaverite resided in. Another small mercy. Leaving the senshi in his room seemed better than leaving him wandering.
“I will be on my way,” Rakovanite told him. “You can message me if you need anything.”
Posted: Mon Jun 28, 2021 4:20 pm
The feeling of strangeness persisted. Calaverite scrubbed his knuckles against his eyes. The wrongness pinpointed itself there. He thought he’d like to argue with Rakovanite. Since they were already out here, they might as well do something together! It didn’t have to be an assignment!
But that uncomfortable feeling made him unsure if he wanted to be out doing anything. Even if it might be nice to go to the reservoir or the park or something, even Cala wasn’t sure he wanted to right now.
So he let his general take hold of him, and when he teleported this time, it was at least a sensation Calaverite was familiar with.
They were at the door to his bunk room. Cala pinched his eyes shut with a squeak of discomfort. He’d always liked having his own room in the Negaverse, and he should be pleased to be left in his own space, but something wasn’t right. Something just wasn’t right! He scrubbed his hands against his shut lids again, and when he blinked them open, everything looked… different.
The ever-present shadows in Negaspace almost seemed to move they wove animatedly, filled with chaos energy. His door and the hallway, the crystals he could see through the windows, everything sparkled with color and malevolence. Things looked like they moved when they shouldn’t and stretched and- Faces! Rakovanite’s face was dark and mean and shadowed. And Cala flinched as the agent pulled away.
“Wait, wait! My eyes! Something is wrong with my seeing!” He squawked worriedly.
Ah, there it was. The thing that was ‘off’ about random treats that appeared from nowhere during the holidays. They always had something strange about them that could only be placed after ingested. But it was hardly dangerous. Rakovanite was sure it would wear off in an hour or so, whatever it was.
Cala’s plaid face looked somehow even more gaunt and ghastly when he was alarmed, and there was something in his crimson eyes that spoke of being concerned of Rakovanite’s presence as well.
He should watch out for that.
“It will pass,” he assured quietly. “You must know being in the city during this time of year can cause certain complications.” Calaverite had been with the negaverse long enough that he must be aware of it. The strangeness was practically seasonal. The only downside would be if Calaverite actually sensed some correlation between the candies and whatever was “wrong with his seeing.” Rakovanite couldn’t have that.
Then Cala might blame him and feel less inclined to trust him. He should try and be… compassionate in this case, so that Cala would associate him only with the treat and not with the repercussions.
He extended a gloved hand, carefully running his fingers along Calaverite’s jaw. “Nothing appears out of the ordinary,” he said as he looked into the senshi’s eyes. “It must have just been some of the city’s magic, activated when you appeared there.”
Posted: Mon Jun 28, 2021 4:22 pm
Cala whined, tucking his head away from the bizarre sights of this cartoonish Negaverse, where everything looked as chaotically evil as Order so often described it...
He didn’t actually like it. It was uncomfortable and abnormal. It made his head hurt to see things in such a way. He wished it would stop. And his treat bag… He couldn’t help but notice it was conveniently out of his hands now. This felt almost like some creepy dream rather than an actually happening-
But those had started to meld together more, since he’d become powered… It had always been a little difficult for Ivory to parse together what was reality and what wasn’t, but Cala had even more difficulties with it now. And when things like this happened- Yes, they did happen sometimes, didn’t they? He could remember times before when he’d thought he’d seen flying reindeer and giant monsters…
“O-oh… okay,” he agreed hesitantly.
Rakovanite wouldn’t lie to him. His general was always looking out for him. He’d saved him from drowning once. They were friends. He wouldn’t lie. He turned to tuck his head more fully into the agent’s palm, seeking comfort in his friend and companion and how solid and unshakeable he was, even when things were weird like this. “Will you stay with me until it goes away? We can wait in my room…”
Rakovanite was more than prepared to be on his way. He could be in his own home in little more than a blink, where his typical Monday night activities awaited him. He’d been at work before he’d come to find Calaverite, so winding down on his computer or with a shower sounded perfectly ideal at this point.
Imagine his dismay when the younger senshi stopped him.
It would be the simplest task to refuse. He could tell Calaverite any number of excuses, any variety of activities that were pressing enough to require his immediate attention. There was nothing forcing him to bend to the senshi’s pleas, and Rakovanite certainly didn’t want to. The ailment (whatever it was) would resolve itself in minutes, probably.
But how would Calaverite look at him if Rakovanite abandoned him now? If Rakovanite left him alone, he’d simply be sitting by himself, concocting reasons to be offended at Rakovanite. Sitting in the dark and twisting the occurrence around and around until he was lonely and frustrated and blaming Rakovanite and his candy. He couldn’t have that.
Staying was necessary to ensure Calaverite’s continued cooperation and loyalty. The niceties would appease him. So he had to. It was necessary.
“Very well,” Rakovanite relented quietly, twisting the handle to Calaverite’s room and inviting himself inside. “I will wait with you for a bit. But I am sure if you rest, it will be gone very soon.” If his eyes were bothering him, Calaverite would likely close them and perhaps fall asleep. Rakovanite would be out soon. This didn’t need to take long.
