The Fireflies (6) : In the warm summer nights, little glowing lights begin to bob and dart through the city. Fireflies are mating, so this isn't uncommon in itself; in the past few days you've probably seen hundreds of fireflies. What makes these lights so unique is that they seem to change color; you might see a blue one, a green one, a red one. They flicker randomly, and something just seems off with them. If you come into contact with one, you will find yourself with a strange electric jolt. They cannot be caught, and will flicker away if you pursue too aggressively. This isn’t the first time they’ve appeared in Destiny City, but no one’s been able to tell where they came from or where they’re going. No matter how quickly you chase them, they always seem to disappear before you can find any answers.
Faustite seldom let Headache off its tight leash. Time and again, the troublesome youma proved itself incapable of behaving, or heeding any common courtesies toward Negaverse officers and senshi alike. It settled quite nicely into the role of a General's personal youma, inasmuch as that awarded it near limitless freedom, though it detested the parts where it had to listen to Faustite.
So Faustite had not taken it to Destiny City without a very specific mission in mind. Since its loathsome demeanor improved recently, Faustite allowed it a margin of freedom on that night — the creature would be free to roam the small park in which Kerberos's bench was located. While the youma sated itself on whatever energy it gleaned from the park-going night owls, Faustite would wait and see if that transcendent fool would show his slutbag face again.
Waiting meant sitting still, however, and sitting still in Destiny City could only be accomplished by Eion. Worse yet, Eion was terrible at sitting still, no matter where he was.
So after about a half hour of loitering at the park, watching Headache drift to and fro, he got restless. Lying back on the grass, he took out the cell phone he borrowed from Waru, and wrote to Haru:
COME SEE ME. NORTH END PARK.
noir songbird
Posted: Sun Jun 19, 2022 9:43 pm
An all caps text from Waru's phone meant only one thing--namely, that the person actually requesting his presence was Eion. Not that he would have turned down Waru, either, necessarily, but....well, he'd only inked one of them on his skin, so.
His teleportation ability needed practice, and it would get him there quicker to leave the apartment, power up, and teleport to the park. Less valuable time wasted, anyway. He was only powered up for a moment after arriving, though; no need to draw too much unwanted attention; so it was Haruhiko who sauntered through the park, following a trail of multicolored fireflies.
"Headache," he said, not entirely without fondness. The youma was a brat who would never obey him in either form, but...eh, it made itself useful on occasion. Here, it told him that he was probably headed in the right direction--confirmed when he spotted Eion lounging on a bench.
"Mm? No, I texted…" He pulled the phone to double check, and after some fumbling, found no call history with Haru that was anything recent. Satisfied with the search, he looked up at his boy.
Haru had always been maddeningly pretty, especially in the trappings of his fuku, but there was something more sentimentally satisfying seeing him show up in clothes he chose. He could only guess that it was something strange, to be missing parts of his memory like that — scars whose origin he would never know, because he lost memories of being Alkmene, but Haru had always weathered that well. Adjusted far better than any of the awakened ones that came over to their side, Eion thought.
"Don't like sitting still," he explained, as if it weren't obvious by a perpetually bobbing foot or a propensity to pace. "Wanted to give Headache time to roam the park, make mischief. Thought it better to spend that time with company." He patted the grass next to him.
It was a chill night, to him, like this. But summer nights treated many well, so there were dozens of people still left in the park, closer to the areas furnished with playground and sport equipment. Headache had followed that brimming energy, though Eion found it harder and harder to spot its familiar orange flashes through the sea of multicolored fireflies.
"How's the promotion been?"
noir songbird
Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2022 1:22 am
"Figure of speech," Haru said, lightly. "You requested my presence, and here I am." It was charming, really, how literal Faustite could be.
Given the invitation to sit, he plopped down, black-and-blue plaid skirt settling around him. He'd paired it with a comfortable cap-sleeve crop top and artfully ripped tights--light for the summer, but enough to stave off the dip in temperature that came after dark.
Around his neck, untucked from under his shirt, rested the bone cameo pendant that Eion had left behind before. It was, he thought, answer enough. A promise offered, a promise accepted.
"Glad to keep you company," Haru said. He was, really. It mattered to him, the ways that Eion went out of his way to choose to have Haru in his life as more than just a good time. "Seems like Headache's got some camouflage."
He wasn't sure if the rainbow fireflies were magical or natural, but it almost didn't seem to matter. They were gorgeous, and he got to sit here, on the grass, with a boy he adored, and watch them.
"I like it. Haven't had an opportunity to test out my new magic, but teleportation is great. Also, strongly prefer chonky boots to spindly heels, but that's petty."
"Right," Eion accepted, feeling flushed for his embarrassment. "Didn't have need of those in the Rift." He used to be so good with them, too; how so many of his old skills had eroded, and they were replaced with… What, exactly?
After Haru settled, Eion shifted and rested his head on the boy's lap. He'd since gotten used to the temperature difference between Haru-with-Faustite and Haru-with-Eion, but he was ever thankful for the feeling of warmth under his cheek. He wondered if Haru found the pendant, but he assumed that, between him and Hina, they'd have found it by now. Perhaps she found it first and thought it ridiculous, or gauche. He hadn't wanted to ask.
Eion watched the multicolored fireflies dance lazily in the cooling air. "Seems so." He remembered fireflies from when he was younger, but he remembered them as some kind of yellow, or something nearly colorless. These ones reminded him of a Christmas light display, which was its own set of wounds.
"Seen people run from these ones, though. Unsure why."
Headache drained its energy by dancing around people, by forming a mystical veil of fireflies that children, in particular, liked to watch. With individuals within its funnel of fireflies, Headache would land on them briefly, and draw away energy with every takeoff. It worked marvelously in the summer, but with so many leaving these fireflies be, it interfered with Headache's hunt.
His thoughts returned to Haru, to his new rank. "Can test it out ourselves, or within the team. Know Fafnir's been looking for multitarget spars, too.
"Prefer your new boots, too; they'll hit harder. Ever been taught savate, or chausson?" He finished, glancing up at Haru beneath his halo of hair.
noir songbird
Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2022 5:21 pm
"I imagine you wouldn't," Haru acknowledged. What use would youma have for metaphors, anyway?
...Maybe he ought to get Eion a book of poetry, or something, since that definitely seemed like something that would have been pointless, isolate dint he Rift with the monsters. But Eion wasn't there, anymore, and maybe a few more reminders of that wouldn't go amiss. Or maybe that was the stupid romantic in him that he hadn't quite managed to strangle to death just yet.
Whatever. Eion made him want to be more romantic, especially when he did cute things like putting his head in Haru's lap, on the grass in a park, surrounded by fireflies.
Haru reached down, half without thought, and started gently combing his fingers through Eion's hair.
"Hm, not excited to find out what's got people running, in that case."
His eyes drifted over the scene, and he sighed. Not much to do about it, anyway, and maybe they'd disappear as the night wore on, as fireflies were wont to do.
A brief, thoughtful, agreeing hum, when Eion mentioned testing his magic with the team. Seemed the best way to be sure of how well it worked, in ant case.
"I never got any real formal fighting training," Haru admitted, guessing at what the words Eion used meant, "but I should, if I really want to get serious."
He used to while away his high school days daydreaming about exactly this — reclined on a pretty boy's lap, getting his hair brushed away from his face, while they enjoy a lazy evening together. His younger self would have never imagined it in this context, never would've guessed that he would become part fiery demon and spend his time in an otherworld that looked like the risen corpse of the medieval era. He could enjoy it for what it was, however — a soft transience, a break between battles and schemes.
After all, he got to spend it with a marvelous boy that forsook the White Moon willingly. He was one of the few to stay. Whenever they spent time together, Eion often felt that he understood himself a little better, too.
Eion decided that, whatever the cause for all this firefly hate, he would blame Headache. Likely, the thing got out more than it should, and haunted the same area, building up a reputation for the lightning bugs that called this area home. b*****d little thing, always out to terrorize whatever it could. Couldn't bear to spend a few hours minding its own damned business without making something else look bad.
Not that Eion was salty about it.
"Should know enough to defend yourself. Helpful if you run out of magic on your own." Which should, in theory, never happen. However, Destiny City was home to strange occurrences; what was to say that one wouldn't disable their abilities to teleport and leave Alkmene in dire straits? "Can teach you what I know." But not now, of course.
"Wouldn't mind seeing if your magic works on Albite's mouth," he added.
noir songbird
Posted: Sat Aug 27, 2022 1:24 am
These sorts of moments, Haru realized, were the ones that never really got chronicled. The quiet bits of peace snatched between high action. The times when you could just be....happy, and happiness was terribly uneventful, and no one was writing poetry or ballads about it.
They should, he thought. This deserved to be immortalized, just as much as the big moments.
Maybe he would go home and try and compose something. That was, indeed, the skill he had to bring to bear.
And he was definitely getting Eion that book of poetry.
"Or if I'm up against someone my magic doesn't do much to," Alkmene acknowledged. There were plenty of people on the other side who'd be more likely to rely on fists than spells, just like there were on their own; always a good thing to have backup options.
The comment about Albite, though, made him laugh.
"I dunno, might be worth a try." It would probably be funny whether it worked or not, anyway.
Eion tensed. His eyes narrowed, and a few seconds passed before he finally turned enough to look up at Haru. "Wait. You're serious?" And he studied his boy quizzically, as if it was too good to be possible that he'd want to use his magic on Albite. No one ever wanted to hurt Albite, except when he ran his motor mouth into dangerous territory, and even then, it was all angry glares and huffed exits.
Finally — finally — he might have an opportunity to teach Albite a lesson. It wouldn't last five minutes, but that was under five minutes of peace that Albite couldn't rob from him.
Eion chewed his lower lip, savored it for all the ideas that should've been chewed clean off of it. His attention wandered back to the dancing fireflies, to the indiscernible youma mixed into their lazy clouds, and he let his mind wander. Then he nodded to himself, as if he scraped together the beginnings of an appropriate scheme against the offending himbo.
Sitting up, Eion paid no heed to the accumulation of forest trash in his hair. "Discuss it at your place, then. Can teach you some self-defense after." Then he stood, brushed off his tights, and offered his hand to Haru.
They had work to do, after all; they had no time to laze about if they wanted to fell the himbo for his mouthfuls of folly.
