Waking the Dead 2.0 || August 19, 2063 || Friday

[icarusalsoflew]

[This one disappears for about thirty minutes, and returns as quietly as he left with two briefcases. He doesn't explain where he went, but from how he ducks into Hikaru's room for about fifteen minutes after that, it can probably be inferred that he fetched a few things from Falner.

Looks like he'll be staying at the Tower while he has taken control of his Brother's body. You're usually going to spot him hovering around, smoking, working through a glass of rum, eyes crimson-ringed and glowing oddly in all lights (or lack thereof) watching... who knows what he's watching? And that suit he's wearing - three-piece, black, pin-striped, with ghostly faces and smoke occasionally moving over the "fabric" - is pretty nice, creepiness aside.

Please excuse him if you find him suddenly popping in on you. It's just what he does.]


OOC Notes:
+ Drop starters as you please! I'll have Death haunt you accordingly. ♥
+ Feel free to do other stuff among yourselves here as well.
+ Do note that Makoto's out and solid for this evening too, so you can bug him or ping me if you want him to come around and bother you.

Comments

[icarusalsoflew]

That point is debatable. He fell in love with you, did he not?

[In Death's eyes, that automatically makes you incredibly intriguing. The Blade King does not love easily. Compassion is something he feels often, but love? From what Death knows so far based on his conversations with his brother and the lurking he does at the back of his brain, there is a subtle but significant difference between the two.]

Besides, the first step to understanding usually requires doing it for one's self. Hence, my offer.

[larue]

[ It's subtle, the way Josh is starting to relax, even if the tells of him shying away from the subject of that suggestion ( because he doesn't feel like he's out of the woods just yet ) are still around.

Listening to Death talk however, has made him curious in turn. It's evident that Brother Death is asking these things because he's got questions to ask and wants to know things... but the thing then that comes up is: ]

Why do you want to know all about this? [ Willing himself to relax now. ] Have you spoken to any of the others before?

[ And by others, he means the ones who came before him. There must have been opportunities or occassions. He's not the first that Hikaru will fall for, and he certainly won't be the last. ]

[icarusalsoflew]

No. Circumstances with those ones were not conducive to discussing this topic without great difficulty, or the possibility of it being damaging for either party.

[Liandrin, from what Death could tell, was a chapter in Hikaru's life that was effectively over, and neither of them had the need to add more lines to it. His vessel had only started to get back on the same page with Alistair Mordechai. As for Aria...

"Complicated". That seemed like the most effective word to use.]

And I want to know because I want to understand.

[His own expression becomes a little more human at those words: softer, pensive, hopeful? This one's not even aware of it.]

[larue]

[ It's a little unsettling how the slightest change in that face makes him think of Hikaru, but the rings around those eyes are still there. Even the way Brother Death speaks is different, even if the voice is more or less the same. ]

So, you want to understand what... desire and love are like?

[ Josh shifts back into the bed at that, legs folding beneath him. He's allowing himself to quietly study that expression on his companion's face in the hopes of figuring out how to handle this... "conversation". ]

What... exactly do you want to know? And why not ask Hikaru directly? I mean... he's your vessel, after all.

[icarusalsoflew]

Asking him only constitutes one half of the experience. I hoped to approach the other party in a relationship that he has engaged in to get a better sense of it.

[Squaring his gaze up now to your face.]

And I wanted to experience the physicality of it. To see how the emotions blend with the sensations, and process it for myself.

[larue]

[ ... ]

...Oh.

[ There's a part of him that thinks that this conversation merits booze but he's... going to forego that to ensure that his head is clear. ]

I don't... it's not a good idea. [ He looks incredibly apologetic even if he's not sure if that's the right way to go about it. ]

I can't speak for him. But if the situation were reversed... [ he trails off unexpectedly and yeah, those ears are definitely pink. ]

It's just not a good idea.

[icarusalsoflew]

[There's a bit of a delay before this one responds, and it's mostly because he's studying your reaction.]

I see. I apologize, then, for making you uncomfortable.

[Apparently, Death wears disappointment, guilt and concern in exactly the same way that Hikaru Shinta does: in the purse of his lips, and the downward turn of his gaze.]

[larue]

[ Wow, please, don't. It's eerie and all sorts of creepy in ways he doesn't want to think about how so much like his boy you appear right now. ]

I... I'm sorry. It's just that, [ fumbling for words now ] it's different for everyone. Sometimes, people get into sex just becayse it feels good. Other times you have to care about someone so much, love them -- before you take the step towards... that kind of intimacy.

[ He's taking a moment to figure out how to say this next part. ]

I think I can safely say that Hikaru and I are the second category. And... you might share the same body, but sleeping with you would be like sleeping with someone else.

[ It really would. ]

I don't know... how he'd take to that.

And even if I did know... the answer would still be no. But that's because of my principles.

[icarusalsoflew]

Understood. I will not press.

[He is definitely picking up his vessel's tells. Shorter sentences, not quite meeting the other's gaze, longer pauses... the works.

Few know of this simple fact: the "drift" that exists between Hikaru Shinta and Death works both ways. While one comes to understand things in a less "human" fashion, the other gains human experience. They talk often because neither of them have the words to explain their respective sides, at least not until they hash it out. They often don't realize it when they're becoming each other's mirrors.

Much like now.]

[larue]

[ He'll chalk it up to moving a certain way around Hikaru and getting tripped up because where earlier it was easy to tell the difference... it's harder now.

He knows this is still Brother Death, but it's hard, watching the tells that he's starting to be so incredibly familiar with where it concerns Hikaru. And especially since the last four? five weeks? that he and the Blade King have been together-together haven't exactly been smooth sailing.

This is a hand falling over yours, Death. ]

You look pretty lost.

[icarusalsoflew]

[And that gesture visibly surprises him. It only shows for a moment, though, before his expression smooths over - but not completely.]

Perhaps it is because I feel lost. It does not matter, though. I will content myself with theoretical knowledge in this direction.

[He'll try to, anyway.

This is... difficult. These feelings did not used to matter.]

[larue]

[ Hikaru, Josh is going to need to have A Talk with you when you get back.

Thank God it's only going to be a week? Not that... long... right?

This one's at a loss as to what he can say or offer. So he's going to rub a hand over his face again because... wow, what is this. ]

[icarusalsoflew]

[Watching that without comment, and then quietly standing up.]

You have my gratitude for agreeing to speak with me, Joshua.

[That's about as close to a "see you later, maybe" as you will get with this one. He is, after all, kind of turning towards the door now.]

[larue]

[ He's watching Brother Death go, and feeling kind of guilty and useless for not being more helpful.

He does manage to get out a parting shot, though, even if his tone is fairly subdued. ] No thanks needed. I'm sorry... that I wasn't much help.

[icarusalsoflew]

[There's a smile just over this one's shoulder as he's opening the door.]

You do not need to apologize for anything.

[Click.]