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 Posted: Sun Dec 29, 2024 5:02 pm
Quote: Snowbunnies (2) : Winter seems to bring out the cutest of all rodents; this isn’t the first time that small, white rabbits have infested Destiny City. They’re small, rarely larger than a guinea pig, and have large eyes and wiggling noses. They are always pure white and seem to show up whenever there’s snow. They aren't menacing or evil, they're just everywhere. They seem strangely domesticated; they are sweet, curious, and friendly creatures that will eat anything you give them. They always seem cold to the touch, and when they shake, little snowflakes sprinkle off of them. While they seem to be social creatures who seem to appreciate anything warm and will cuddle up to steal body heat, they are too skittish and fast to be kept for pets. They can show up just about anywhere, either alone or--often--in pairs. They tend to wander off on their own without any trouble, but if you surprise them or try to catch or hurt them, they may bite. Their little teeth are enough to break skin, but after one bite they run away. The bite itself isn’t bad, but the effects are a bit unpleasant: for roughly two days after the bite, the injury is cold and the victim will feel random, cold, shooting pains. Their core body temperature will drop and they will often be sent into random fits of shivering. No medicine seems to help, and no amount of blankets or hot baths can soothe the chill. You're just going to have to deal with it and hope it gets better… Most experiences with the bunnies are perfectly pleasant, you just have to worry about them burrowing. There are holes peppering Destiny City, and with the fresh fallen snow it can be impossible to tell where they are hiding. The holes range from small holes to several feet deep, so can be a minor inconvenience to a potential hazard. On the bright side, sometimes you wind up covered in bunnies looking for warmth from their sudden guest. On the other hand, there are a rising number of trips to the hospital for twists and sprains. The bunnies always leave with the snow, so best to enjoy them--or avoid them--for as long as you can.
He was fairly certain he’d twisted his ankle, but he wasn’t going to sit down in the snow, so there was no point in trying to figure out the damage.
“You alright? We’ve really got to stop meeting like this,” he laughed and flashed a charming grin. In reality, he didn’t mind these once-a-year run-ins with Misha. Nothing ever came out of it, but he wasn’t going to push him into something Misha wasn’t interested in. It wasn’t as though they had much time to converse when they ran into each other in Negaspace. They were often taking care of their own tasks.
Not too far away, he could see a pair of the little bunnies watching them. He made a face, wondering if they would burn up in his magic… or maybe that was too excessive.
“What do you think? Cute or annoying?” he hummed, brushing the snow off his leg from where he fell.
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Posted: Sun Dec 29, 2024 5:03 pm
“Cute,” Misha said. “Most of the time.”
He remained relatively unharmed. Somehow Ren had both tumbled into him and cushioned Misha’s fall, probably because, being both taller and broader, there was much more of Ren to go around; he could manage both at once. Misha untangled himself easily, climbing back up without much effort. Snow crunched beneath his feet. His leggings were damp and cold now, but the worst of the damage had been done to his camera.
“I’m okay,” Misha continued. “Except Lev might kill me when he finds out I’ve broken another camera. I think this is my fifth one…”
He lamented this turn of events with a bright smile on his face, more amused than he was disappointed. A broken camera wasn’t exactly life altering or career ending for him. Lev would nag, but only because he didn’t want Misha getting hurt.
Or spending time around handsome older men.
“You’re not hurt, are you? That was an awkward fall. You could’ve let me wipe out and saved yourself the trouble.”
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Posted: Sun Dec 29, 2024 5:03 pm
“Lev is your… boyfriend?” Ren guessed, eyeing the camera with a wince and casually pulling out his wallet. He had a stack of cash tucked in with a handful of cards and easily pulled out a few hundred.
“Will this be enough? Compensation for my lack of attention to my surroundings,” he explained. A glance to his ankle and he lifted his foot to shake it out a bit.
“Just a sprain. I’m built better than you’d think. Well… maybe you can already guess,” Ren flashed a grin. Misha, or rather Cymophane, had seen him as Taenite. His senshi outfit didn’t exactly leave much room for the imagination.
“This is… for your job?” he wondered out loud, trying to sort through the information he knew about people. “An influencer, right?” He seemed to recall something like that.
“Does that mean you have the power to influence your boss as well?”
The grin indicated that Ren knew Misha was self employed. There were other bosses involved in their lives.
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Posted: Sun Dec 29, 2024 5:04 pm
“Oh, no, you don’t have to pay for it,” Misha said, but he paused after and eyed the money curiously—not because he needed it. More so because… well… he liked money, and when a handsome man offered him a stack of it for practically no reason at all, Misha couldn’t help but consider the offer.
But it was polite to decline. It’s not like he went around accepting money from just anyone, even if it was tempting.
Not that Ren was just anyone…
“It’s fine, really. I’m always replacing something. Last month I spilled a drink on my computer while I was helping my editor.”
In the end, he hadn’t been much help. Yuuri probably would’ve had a less stressful time of it if Misha had left him to his work. At least it had been his computer that got spilled on and not Yuuri’s.
“Lev’s my brother,” Misha explained. “He’s protective, and he likes to give me a hard time about stuff. Affectionately. I act like a flake, so he usually has a lot to give me a hard time about. My boss…” Misha laughed. He brought a finger to his mouth to insinuate he had a secret. “I might’ve helped him set up his social media, but you didn’t hear that from me. Assuming you meant my first boss. Technically influencing puts me in a different department than the one he runs now.”
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Posted: Sun Dec 29, 2024 5:04 pm
“I mean the boss you’re most loyal to,” Ren smiled in return, amused by the light conversation. He liked getting to know Misha especially after literal years of them just bumping into each other during the holidays.
Which meant that even as he put his money back in his wallet and into his pocket, he was making a mental note of the camera Misha had. Cymophane would find a new one… or two… along with a new computer in his office in the castle in the next few days. It was the least Ren could do after making him break it.
“Ah, protective brother,” he hummed thoughtfully. “He’s the one who looks good in brown and deep blue, isn’t he?”
It was just a guess. If he were to think about who was around Cymophane, it was easy to pick out a few. There was one who looked more like a protective brother than the others.
“Must be interesting having family involved. Are you in a hurry? I don’t want to keep you. It’s always… a pleasure to run into you, though.”
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Posted: Sun Dec 29, 2024 5:05 pm
“That would be him,” Misha agreed. “Tall, blond, with a face people pay good money for.”
He watched Ren put his money away. Not covetously; Misha had more self-control than that, and not a strong need for it to begin with. But it was interesting. The amount of it. How casual Ren was with it. From previous encounters, Misha knew that Ren was loaded, even if he didn’t know every last detail about his business.
What he did know was intriguing. Ren was handsome. He was impressive. He was fun.
He was also already involved with others, but that didn’t seem to concern him much.
It didn’t concern Misha much either.
“I don’t really have any plans,” he said, a bright smile still fixed to his face. “I’d just wanted to do some filming before the snow gets dirty and gray. I always get a lot of content this time of year. I bet I can get some of the footage off this thing,” he added, tucking the camera away in the satchel at his hip.
“If you really want to make it up to me, you could buy me a drink.” He looked up, eyes vibrant and a little playful. “A strong one. Or a warm one. It doesn’t have to be alcohol. It might be a little early for that anyway. But I wouldn’t say no.”
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Posted: Sun Dec 29, 2024 5:05 pm
Ren was visibly pleased with the suggestion from Misha. Misha wasn’t just cute, he was mysterious. He said so himself that he pretended to be a flake when he wasn’t. He was deceptive when he needed to be, if his work as an agent said anything.
It made Ren curious for more.
“I know just the place. I was on my way to get something to eat. I know this nice little Italian place tucked away from everything else. I go there often, so they know me very well,” he shared, obviously happy to let Misha know his connections.
“I’ll buy you lunch and a drink, how about that? Can’t be drinking on an empty stomach. And they have the best coffee too, if you don’t want alcohol.”
He could see a couple of the snow bunnies out of the corner of his eye, but as long as they didn’t have more tunnels dug out from under his feet, he would leave them be. For now.
Fin!
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