Prompt 1 (Mysterious Carolers): Caroling has been a tradition for years, so it’s not really unusual when you hear a soft chorus from outside. What is unusual is that it’s three in the morning, and the moment they start singing you feel a chill in the air. Maybe it’s a holiday song, maybe it’s not, but whatever it is it’s a song you know before--from this life? From another?--and something about this version makes you go cold. If you move to the window, you will find no carolers, but the song is loud enough that you know you should be able to see them. They sing one song, and then there is silence. An eerie chill lingers, and your dreams are haunted by strange voices. You’ll probably never be able to hear that song again without feeling a chill.
A bag slung over his shoulder and a handful of rocks in his pocket, to toss at windows or passers by, whichever need sparked his interest first. Waru slipped off the guise of Albite the second he landed two blocks down from Haru n Hinas home — crunched his way to the door, heavyset boot-steps through crusting white - and proceed to knock; checked over his shoulder only three times.
It could’ve been that they were asleep, or that ungodly hours didn’t leave openings for visitors who were kinda sorta not quite their bosses?
Whatever —- couldn’t hurt to text them, one sibling or the other.
Quote:
'My house is being haunted by the ghosts of dead Karen’s, please let me in…’
And if he spammed music notes and ice cubes as an afterthought —
Caught his typo and sighed fog mist heavy into the night. Chewed his gloves off of one hand in order to add onto it and send again, only to end up autocorrecting Karen into Carol into --- <********> — He suddenly wondered if haymitch was home. If he was back in the office, if…
Listened for rustling, or cursing, or any sounds of life beyond the door. Listened especially for singing, cause '******** to the nope' was he not dealing with any more of that! Could shiver over the glow of his screen a little longer while he waited - - -
Posted: Fri Dec 31, 2021 6:18 pm
It was Hinata's phone that dinged from Waru's text, and she frowned briefly, but laughed softly when she actually read it. It wasn't as if the evening was particularly full, and she'd already gotten off stream, so she slung her headset around her neck and leaned over towards Haru, tapping him on the shoulder to draw his attention away from whatever family drama was undoubtedly going on in his Sims game.
"Waru's coming up. Something about haunted Karens at his place?" She shrugged her shoulders, and sent off a text.
[Come on up, we're apartment 322 and it's cold out]
She stood up, heading for the door to wait for his knock. It was a quiet, fairly peaceful night, and it might as well get a little more dramatic and entertaining. She was sure that he would at least liven things up, if nothing else.
Haru blinked, and set his headset aside. A visit from Waru due to phantom Karens? Well, he was sure he'd explain once he was inside, even if the whole thing sounded a little weird. On the other hand, from everything Haru had observed since he became more aware of the magic and monsters in Destiny City, there was a lot of weird s**t that just seemed to happen around the city. So, sure, whatever, phantom Karens.
"I'll be just a second," he said, ducking into the bathroom. His hair was loose and messy, and if there was gonna be someone else in, he wanted to look at least a little more presentable. Not his usual full braid, but he did give his hair a quick brush and pull it into a high ponytail to get it out of his way.
Waru squinted at the soft ding that lit up his screen, blinked up at the number of the door he’d been knocking on; then immediately hissed at his mistake and scrambled out of view. Ducked a corner and caught the stairs as he heard latches being thrown and a knob twisting —-
Furious shouting heard below as he ascended. It was his own bad for knocking up random doors at the a**-end of the evening. Kicked out a reply that followed the lines of -
Quote:
‘Coming - coming — here! Please, let me the heck in!’
Slapped on a gif of a man dying of frostbite and giggled over it as he check and triple checked the number on their apartment this time.
322 — not 222 — not 323 — was a little more careful with his knocking, just in case.
Noir Songbird
Posted: Fri Jan 07, 2022 2:06 am
The knock was answered with a flourish and a grin, and Hina beckoned Waru into the main room of the apartment.
"Come on, come on, it's cold outside," she said.
The apartment itself was quite spacious; an open floorplan kitchen/living area, two bathrooms, and three bedrooms, though one had been converted into an office/streaming space that Hina and Haru shared. The living space was dominated by a large modular couch, with a TV over a fireplace that was crackling and warm already. It was obviously lived in, with hoodies thrown over the back of the couch, magazines and books scattered on the table, and a cup and plate left there from the last time one or the other of the siblings had eaten a meal in front of the TV rather than at the little dining table.
"Get comfy. Sit down. Everything okay?"
Haru stepped back into the living room, and greeted Waru with a broad grin.
"You look frozen," he said, lightly, striding over and flopping down on the couch. "So what's this about phantoms over at your place?" The whole concept sounded weird as hell, Haru had to admit, but he was curious to hear what the explanation was.
Dropped his bag at the front door and shook what felt like frost outta his hair. The way the air clung, and how he inside of their place was so — lived in — cozy. Perfect place for all the things and the way he shivered as he warmed up. Met Hinas smile with one slightly less brilliant, more frozen, woulda been easier as he thawed the ******** out, he was sure.
“Nope”
The couch creaked a little as he sat, and took a second to shiver himself something like warm again. To smile soft for the two of them, for being welcomed despite — all the randomness.
“I’m calling an exterminator — n then an exorcist — n if it all fails? I’m burning the place down and moving the ******** out.”
Disgruntled groan and eyes that lit up as they slit between the two, tracked one siblings face, the other. As Haru made himself a centerpiece - lazy cat stretched on his couch, how he was half tempted to drag them both into a hug outta sheer gratitude.
“N you look good, the botha you. A’course.” offered up compliments as thanks, heaved in a sigh enough to settle — because “It’s a lot, okay. No, it’s absolutely insane is what it is — so. It started with Haymitch…”
Slid into a telling about the piss - malicious piss — ran into the nests — the rodents — the wrongness of how intelligent one mouse become one hundred rat kings was.
“The mice looked at me with their beady little b*****d eyes and smiled, Hina, I ******** swear!! They were mocking me? Me! Can you believe — I can’t be taken seriously in my own home — and then!”
If he remembered to breathe — he’d remember to breathe after -- later —— alphabet soup not spilled but thrown across the room by some errant toddler. A whole seething boiling pot of it —
“I draw the line at singing phantoms. It wasn’t even creepy? Or good? It was like — Christmas for Country spirits? Not the fun kind though — and that’s like — my line — the second the mice joined in on the chorus with the haunted ******** choir from hell. My Line. So — uhm…” dropped his head back against the couch, sighed the scents of the pair, perfumed and ‘themness’ trapped in hoodies and soft fire smoke from just beyond. Maybe if he closed his eyes just for a second “….Can I stay over…just like…for the night? Love our firebrand, n all, but I’m not going down to the barracks. I’ll sleep outside first.” meant that - sternly.
Noir Songbird
Posted: Wed Jan 12, 2022 2:12 am
Haru snorted at Waru's blunt answer. No, he didn't look okay, and the way that he'd shown up, nervous and alarmed, more than indicated that whatever was going on, it was some uncomfortably weird s**t.
"Hopefully ti doesn't come to burning the place down," he said, dryly. "Seems like a good way to lose your deposit." And a lot of other things. The compliment got Waru a flashed smile, and a little hair-flip, just to show off.
He looked good and he knew it, and there was no reason not to revel in the experience of being incredibly pretty and being acknowledged by an equally pretty boy. Sure, Waru wasn't exactly the brightest bulb, but that was more than fine; he made up for it in enthusiasm and in being generally, wonderfully entertaining, and that was more than enough to make Haru like him.
He listened to the story, oohing and wincing as appropriate, and by the end, he had to contain laughter, because it was just all so ridiculous--piled on and piled on and piled on bad luck and strange happenings, and to laugh in Waru's face would be cruel, but there was a distinct glorious absurdity to the whole thing.
"That sounds like a colossal ********," he said. "And we can get some blankets so you can sleep on the couch." It seemed like a significantly better option than turning him out or sending him to the barracks. Better he stay somewhere comfortable, and Haru knew from many casual catnaps that their couch was very comfortable.
He looked over at Hina, waited for her final approval, because it was her place too, but by Haru's reckoning there was no way his sister was going to kick Waru out. Never mind Negaverse heirarchy or teams, it'd be like throwing out one of those dogs in the sad ASPCA ads. The ones with the Sarah McLaughlin songs.
The story was long, and intricate, and it more than held Hina's attention. Even if Waru wasn't her direct superior, technically, she still would have let him in, if only to hear this; certainly it made the little bits of weirdness she and Haru had encountered look tiny in comparison. At least their encounters had been far more spread out, this was....all at once, all the time.
She exhaled. Well, there was certainly no way they were turning him out.
"Wait here," she said, nodding to Haru. He was right, there was no other option but to give Waru a place to stay. So she ducked bakc into her bedroom, pulling an extra blanket out of the closet, and brought it and a pillow out, offering them both to him.
"If you need more pillows, we don't have those per se, but we do have large fluffy stuffed animals? And one body pillow in a gratuitously oversexualized pillowcase featuring my Overwatch main, because one of my viewers thought it was hilarious to send it to me."
The fact that the nuaghty Widowmaker body pillow was a feature in the background of Hina's streams, with the suggestive but still safe for work side visible, was another matter entirely. At least people usually thought it was funny.
"<******** falsetto, off key, 'in the arms of an angle' caroled to the ******** bells! Is more than enough reason to leave it all as ash...N' also Haybaby's little 'oopsidents' - Just - I thought I was losing my mind, yanno? Clothes go missing, dryers eat things. It happens. The piss though? So - much - piss...just...how? He's only a kitten!!" grumbled sigh gone groan, thick fingers threaded through half beaded dreads as he swept them back into something like a tail, squeezed, and just - let it all out in another breath.
Let the absolute gratitude he had settle in a smile over his features, over the subtle little ways he relaxed once he realized the pair were going to let him stay. He'd get a roof tonight - soft couch and a sweet pair of siblings. That was way better than some nightmarish 'home alone' set piece that featured Mr. Squeakers Mc'bigballs making babies in his kitchenet.
"Whatever..I was gonna redo..a lot of it...anyhow. Though I'm wondering. The uh -- our upper management at our shared side-hustle. They get places together, housing, yanno? Our girl Dee. She-she explained it once to me, kinda. Complexes, and apartments, n--" wince of something other for bringing her up at all. Tripped over it and focused on how often his pride got in the way of his progress. His need to have separate independence from all that lay on the other side of being a Senshi. The Henshin parts all halved off from 'Human-s**t' that happened after hours.
N' he was fond of making it work, strife n struggle that made it a Challenge, but not yet a Chore. Not something worth tapping out over -- until all this?
Hina and Haru being oh-so easy about it all, casual dry tones and soft couch that beckoned him to sink. He didn't know how he'd repay them, for the night, for the time, but he would. Could smirk for the smiles and soft snickers he caught at the corners of Haru's expressive smile. Hina's sashay out - in - back with a bevy of soft s**t, just for him.
"Oh - your Widowmaker? That uh - I'm good girl. A pillow can never trump the real deal, no matter how plush. That thing's ********' hilarious tho." he nearly choked on the squak of laughter for the idea of sleeping with getting caught sleeping with it. He could only imagine..."I didn't mess with you guys stream, yeah? Like -- m'not cuttin into prime time work hours or nuthin?" he'd never understood the 'how' of making money online, really, but money was math. Between the pair, he was sure they could pull it in - hand over fist - he knew it was still work though.
Noir Songbird
Posted: Wed Jan 12, 2022 2:34 pm
Haru couldn't help it. He started to giggle, and then laugh--because Waru's description of the situation was hilarious. He knew, of course, that it was deeply unpleasant, but the whole thing was just....incredible.
"I'm sorry," he said, between giggles, "just....you gotta admit, there's some incredible absurdity in everything about that cat." He shook his head. "I know we're lucky to have Haymitch on the team, and all, but....wow, sounds like he needs some serious litterbox training."
A long sigh, a shake of the head.
"Anyway, if your current place sucks that bad..." He wasn't eager to invoke Delilah's name wither, since she was quite gone, and that made his chest hurt. "...Maybe we can see about figuring something better out. Sounds like something Lepidolite would run; maybe Hina and I can introduce you."
'Shared side hustle' was a hell of a way to refer tot he Negaverse, but Hina had to respect it. With the offer of extra pillows denied, though, she plopped down on the couch herself and sank backwards.
"It's fine, tonight's my night off," Hina waved a hand. "And even if you were, I'd probably just invite you to join. You don't game, right? I promise, if you're willing to make a spectacle of yourself on Twitch, people will love watching you fumble through figuring things out. So, y'know, backup plan if you have to stay here for a while. And if you don't want to, hey, we have a guest and our viewers just get to respect that."
"Hina - hun - I'm willing to make myself a spectacle just for the helluv' it. If it'd put some extra fire in your performance? I'd be happy to play along." slung his arms over the back of the couch, and cast a look that full out read 'game on'. Waru would play. Game's were, not quite his thing. Watching them be played? Yes! But the playing of them? Not so much. Something he'd work on, maybe, would plug n' play in with the siblings sometime. If ever they'd have him. If he spent more time over, which, seemed like a definite thing he could do. Maybe just to hang...maybe...
"Yanno what Haru...I should probably take you up on that. It'd be a re-introduction, I suppose, but it's been..what..three years since I joined up?..So...." an introduction sounded good. Felt good. Like a promise he'd take him up on, in-between snickering over Haymitch being a hot mess of a sweet-cake. "Don't be too hard on the hayby. I uh...I suspect it was kinda on purpose? Like..maybe I pissed him off." a shrug that said all sorts of 'we'll see', he wasn't too mad though. Especially since he doubted haymitch was un-trained...unless he was!?
He didn't even know anymore, sometimes. He was just glad that he was welcome, uninteresting, and had a place to settle up between the two. Could chat them up about all the things that got lost in-between 'work time' and 'them time'.
"Thank you guys, for letting me stay over. N' helping in general. I really just, I appreciate it, especially right now.." sidestepped all the ways he wanted to say 'need', even if he did. Needed his team. Close enough to touch, to let his hands slide down and feel the soft heat from. To hug. Tentative sideways sort of thing that he could smile for. Friends, safe, his - all those things he needed to be sure of -- just for a second...
