|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Mon Dec 04, 2023 10:55 am
Headache had expected Faustite's recovery time to be faster than this. It expected that its bonded would have to face his social shortcomings in a gift exchange that Headache instigated. Instead, it was Headache left sitting in the office, posing as Faustite, with the express instructions to turn over the gift that was collected for one General Lopezite. It was told to show more respect, whatever that meant, since the General had accompanied Faustite on a mission to the Rift that occurred before Headache bonded with him.
This made little sense to Headache. It would show however much respect that it thought General Lopezite deserved, which was undoubtedly going to be more respect than Albite or Hestia had earned for themselves.
General Lopezite had reached out first, and thus Headache supplied Faustite's office as a rendezvous point. It wasn't like Headache could move the gift itself, after all; however coordinated it may be with its buzzing bodies, there was no way a collection of firefly youma could lift and transport whole sheets of discarded metal. Especially the one that was superheated over Faustite's semi-conscious form and patiently molded into the rough shape of a hound.
It waited for a knock from the coming General, at which point it would bid General Lopezite entry with a crisp "Enter". It imitated Faustite's restless posture as best it could, and wondered if the overlap of chaotic auras would be sufficient enough to obfuscate its own.
Maybe, maybe not. General Lopezite may be more shrewd than the others.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2023 11:48 pm
Lopezite could not recall a single instance of ever having been in Faustite’s office, when he was a General King or otherwise. He might have thought he was in the wrong place when he heard Faustite’s voice but felt no energy signature. There were plenty of explanations–maybe he’d decided to abandon Negaverse rank and relax? Lopezite had powered down more than a few times while he’d been in his own office.
The sight of Faustite himself dismissed that explanation, and though Lopezite looked on with a patient, friendly expression, there was undoubtedly a glance of passing confusion.
There were plenty of nearby energy signatures, they were far from alone in the castle. Who knew what projects a Mauvian might have been working on, anyway? General Sovereigns had such an array of skills, he certainly didn’t even know all of them. It might have been strange but it wasn’t anything to be worked up about. He hardly doubted someone had enough gall to try and impose as a General King, and he had even greater doubts that Faustite would have assembled some sort of test.
The welcome into the office had come shortly after he knocked, and Lopezite assumed a General King must be very busy. He wasted as little time wondering as he had waiting behind the door. “General King,” he greeted. It would have been rude not to. “I hope I didn’t keep you waiting long.” He hadn’t, he said it out of courtesy alone. Lopezite was perfectly on time. “To be honest, I’ve been a bit excited to drop off this present. I was a bit surprised when I read your form.”
It was so much more unserious than he’d just assumed of Faustite. “It’s a lot of pressure not to disappoint you.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Dec 17, 2023 6:51 am
It occurred to it, belatedly, that Faustite might be better undermined for frustrating Headache if Headache exposed his lack of courtesy to attend such a meeting, however brief.
"Faustite is indisposed," the youma returned, though it was still terribly jaded that Faustite had the gall to drag his feet so much on recovering. It was like he deliberately avoided the Rift or bedrest or whatever people were supposed to do to heal. He hadn't even accepted any starseeds, as if that was going to do anything but slow down how he healed from his injuries. Likely, Faustite was doing this on purpose to foist his duties onto his personal youma, who was proving more capable than him by the day.
It wasn't fair. Faustite wasn't supposed to get the last laugh here, he was supposed to be sitting on his ostentatious throne of wrought iron and heat-resistant plastic and awkwardly dawdle his way through a conversation with the General, not offload that conversation onto Headache. This wasn't at all in the plans.
b*****d.
"I am his personal youma. He calls me Headache. I manage his affairs when he —" can't be bothered — "can't see to them himself." Headache paused, then added with a flourish of its hand, "You should try disappointing him sometime. His reactions get very interesting.
"He had some trash collected for you." Headache gestured to the pile of scrap metal, of all shapes and sizes, plus some abandoned metallurgy projects where Faustite had once tried to shape a flower or an animal using his own heat. Only one piece was rather untouched by time and abuse, though that long sheet of metal showed many striations from being exposed to high temperatures.
"Not that he picked up a scrap of it himself." Lazy.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Dec 18, 2023 12:19 pm
“Is that so!” Lopezite asked. His brows raised and he seemed a mixture of amused and relieved. He wasn’t losing his mind, something was off about the General King. Well–youma. He had his answer, he could stop overthinking.
His shoulders relaxed just slightly, but he reached up to scratch at his chin contemplatively. “Well, you put on a very convincing front. If you and him were side by side in a crowd, energy signatures aside, I don’t know that I’d have seen the difference. It’s too bad that he’s busy, but I suppose a General King has so much to do.”
Lopezite didn’t seem offended or hurt by his absence, he understood. Maybe they’d cross paths another time.
“Will you express my gratitude to him, then? I can send him a card, I suppose, I don’t want to trouble you.”
Of course, what ‘Headache’ called trash, Lopezite thought to be very interesting. He was unoffended by the label. And yet.
“Faustite doesn’t strike me as the sort to be particularly festive. But you’d know him better than me. Why did he sign up for this?”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jan 14, 2024 7:01 pm
It's too bad that he's a disappointment, Headache wanted to say, but the collection of finely orchestrated fireflies showed admirable restraint. Instead, it accepted the compliment given, if it could be considered a compliment. Headache knew well how its bonded looked, and it rather liked to think of itself as precise. Certainly precise enough to fool a General that, to Headache's knowledge, hadn't spent much time with Faustite up close.
But that boy got around like senshi across the universe, so he may well have had a tryst or two with this General. Better that than his senshi harem.
Somewhere inside the illusion that was Faustite, some of Headache's many bodies vibrated with a distinctly youma delight. This one was respectful, deferring to what best pleased Headache. He was curious about the reason for Faustite's participation, however, and Headache lacked the creative, notably human thinking that it would have to perform on the fly to come up with a clever answer. Instead, it simply looked on at General Lopezite as if entirely unfazed by the inquiry.
"You would have to ask him yourself. I will pass on your gratitude when I see him again." That much was already a function that Headache had become accustomed to fulfilling.
If only Faustite kept better company — like this one. Instead, the boy collected garbage, much like how this General, despite his good manners and agreeable demeanor, seemed elated to also receive trash. It seemed to Headache that the good ones, like this General, and the could-be-good ones, like Faustite, had a natural affinity for worthless things.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jan 20, 2024 10:22 am
Lopezite’s smile was unwavering; he didn’t look disappointed, but rather resigned to the lack of a fulfilling answer.
“And his gift, I hope. Unless you can direct me to where he’d like it. Truthfully, I got him two gifts. I doubted myself and wanted a backup.” Should he be confessing as much to Faustite’s youma? He supposed it didn’t matter, in the end. He was driven to do his best, and if he’d failed to understand the direction then he hoped to learn from it.
“As I do not have any boys to gift, I thought tea might be the safer option. It’s my favorite blend, and a few others to try. I get it from a local place, it’s all handmade.”
From subspace, he withdrew a pretty red box, wrapped with only a ribbon. It wasn’t that care hadn’t been put into the presentation, only that he favored function over excessive wrapping. And, good luck taping anything together without dog fur.
“I left their business card, in case he likes any of them.”
But then, the second gift.
“I thought for a while about the other. A cane feels like something you choose, not something you’re gifted. I’d meant to ask him about it before I gave it to him. But, if he isn’t here, perhaps you can help me instead.”
In his other hand, he summoned a sleek, black cane. When it caught the light, it had a distinct gold undertone. The handle was rounded and had been carefully designed to fit comfortably in the palm. It was an aged gold, classy without being gaudy. A matching vine with several leaves wrapped around the shaft from the handle to the tip.
“It was my first time making one, so I know it isn’t perfect. I tried to give it a good weight. Is it too much? Was it a joke I missed? I don’t want to offend him. I wanted to make it a sword, too, but I think that was too ambitious to start with. I’d like to try again sometime, though.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jan 23, 2024 5:17 am
It seemed redundant, to Headache, to have gotten a second gift. It hadn't the firmest grasp on human behavior, but it had a fairly good one on Faustite's behavior. The boy hardly drank anything other than tea, and Headache did not get the impression that he much cared which tea he drank. He chose any of them that sat in the cupboard at the team house, after all. To Headache, that spoke of a lack of pickiness.
Were it more well-acquainted with human behavior and understanding its nuance, Headache might have rolled its eyes at the news. Instead it stared on at Lopezite, at the two gifts, and was faced with the perplexing idea that it either needed to tell Lopezite where to go with them or leave the gifts with Headache. Headache did not want the responsibility of delivering anything to Faustite, but it was also forbidden to state that Faustite was stuck in the infirmary again. And this one — this General — was very, very thorough.
"You can leave it with me or take it to Albite. That one is stupid, but he will know where to leave gifts." The others would, too, but that one annoyed Headache most, and was most deserving of menial tasks.
This prank was proving truly troublesome, Headache found, when Lopezite kept asking questions about the cane. Headache didn't know anything about canes beyond having overheard the medical staff speak about the possibility of one when Headache was in the room with Faustite. If there were intricacies to a cane, the staff did not mention any. And Headache wouldn't be lifting anything heavy, since it sounded like it was weighted.
Headache imitated Faustite's usual musing pose. The cane looked well enough like a throwback to a better General than Faustite ever was, and that suited its intentions. "It will do." Maybe that was what the General meant by 'is it too much'.
"You have done well."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jan 27, 2024 9:42 am
There was something different about being praised by a youma, not because he thought them lesser but because it didn’t seem to be something that might have been at the forefront of their thoughts. Although, insulting another agent was different, too. His own youma had something of a pleasant disposition, but like a cat–or bird–it seemed to find its pleasure in pawing at rocks and knocking things over. Sometimes him.
But, Headache was a General King’s youma. Truthfully, he didn’t know how his rank compared to that. Thankfully, Lopezite also didn’t care. Their interaction had been amiable enough.
“Thank you. If it’s easier for you, I suppose I can go find Albite.” He didn’t think they were acquainted, but he was sociable and didn’t mind having an excuse to introduce himself to another.
“I won’t keep you longer, then. I’ll get this put up and send him a message.” He nodded to the scrap heap, still impressed with the assortment, and maybe eager to see what he could get into with it. “It was nice to meet you. Wherever Faustite is, I hope you’ll pass along my regards.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Feb 08, 2024 7:18 am
Headache thought it quite preferred the idea of Albite being given more work to do, however mundane. More work meant more opportunities to fail, and there had to be a point at which Faustite would tire of that senshi's shortcomings and feed his starseed to the youma that had been supporting him all the while.
"He'll deliver it," Headache assured. Not that he particularly trusted Albite to follow through.
It liked the obedient ones. General Lopezite colored within the lines, as it sometimes heard Faustite phrase it, which meant interactions were efficient and predictable. Nothing like the oaf around which Faustite wasted so much of his time. It would watch Lopezite in the future, perhaps run into him in the Rift if ever he needed to take the trip.
"I will do what I can," it replied, though its voice now had a bit of quaver in it. It happened at the point of dissolution for the image of Faustite, where it parted from the cohesive idea of Faustite into a cloud of orange fireflies that coalesced over Faustite's empty chair. Its time outside the Rift had reached an end for the moment, and in the scant few seconds afterward, a portal flashed to redeliver the youma to its natural domain.
That left the office empty, and left Lopezite the uninterrupted time to extract the collected materials.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
