Curse Ghoul

DO NOT EVER TOUCH MY FACE | nsfw content (sex, drugs, alcohol) here, tagged

[feral-little-multi]

?!

Name; Curse

Pronouns; it/they

Height; 5'1''

Likes; greenhouse naps, woods, cats

Dislikes; change

Position; backing vocals, occasional extra bass

Elements; fire, quint, water

Partners; none

I can do things.

Details on 🍃 Curse's looks 🍃 below the cut.

You can DM me for a private chat, but I bite. And kick.

---

Blog owner is 22. This is a blog containing nsfw stuff sometimes, so I'd appreciate it if minors and littles only interacted with sfw stuff. Any nsfw rp topics will get tagged with "beast's spicy tag". pfp credits to crowesn!

---

How Curse looks;

Penis, tentacle, wetter than a water slide

Piercings; A few hoops along its tail, especially where the spade meets the rest of it

Long horns, backwards facing and coiled, darker at the ends

Medium length tail, thin and scaley, chunk missing from the left side

Shoulder length hair, looks black but shimmers like magpie feathers under certain lights

---

//About the bitch behind the blog;

You can give me any nickname you want, but most people call me Mallacht, maybe even Cunt if they're feeling spicy.

I'm a he/they/it kinda creature, and I don't really have much of a preference for the ratio or anything. Just use whichever feels more fun to you in the moment.

[bahari-official]

me: i wanna talk about my ocs

someone: ok tell me about your ocs

me, suddenly convinced that every single thing about my ocs is stupid and cringy and probably offensive: i. have them

[dolly-macabre]

Can our ghost ocs be friends? Pls?

[sister-obedience]

Curse waited in eager anticipation for Obedience to return to her room. It'd caught her a nice gift, feeling like she needed a little pickup since Swiss was away on the Skeletour. Currently, they sat curled up on the rafter beams in Obedience's dorm, looking much like a sleep paralysis demon with the way their claws dug into the wood and their tail dangled down.

@feral-little-multi

Obedience was lonely, as crazy as that sounded. Sunshine was here, and Omega and Cumulus, but without Swiss and Dew and Phantom around, it wasn't the same. There were a few phone calls a day, but it wasn't enough. She sighed as she stepped into her room, toeing off her heels before she clicked the fairy lights on, bathing the room in a pretty violet glow. She gasped hard when something brushed her shoulder, and her wide eyes followed it up to the rafters, hissing, "Who's there?"

[feral-little-multi]

Curse shifted to pop its head down from the rafter beam, much too far to be a normal range of movement, and gave a happy little mewl at the sight of Obedience. They quickly moved back up to snatch the gift in their mighty jaws, hopping down from the beam to land behind her.

Watching her turn around, it stood with its hands behind its back, proudly displaying a large dead rat held between sharp, dangerous fangs. A gift.

[sister-obedience]

Obedience watched in puzzled silence as Curse climbed down, taking a step back when she caught site of the rat in its teeth. Was this a present? Like how Bazooka Joe sometimes brought her and Mac mice and leaves? It was sweet, in a weird, gross kind of way.

Doing her best not to let her discomfort show, she crossed her arms over her chest, teasing, "I sure hope that's not one of Frater Imperator's rats. You know how he got after Papa ate one."

[feral-little-multi]

Curse tilted their head, a little too far to be normal, and dropped the rat at Obedience's feet. Its tail swayed happily behind them, eager for her to accept its gift.

It chirped at the mention of Copia's rats, a wicked grin on their face. They'd never go after the sweet creatures, not really, but a beast of pure chaos never let the opportunity to annoy fade when they could so easily sieze it.

[sister-obedience]

Well, at least dropping the dead rat hadn't gotten blood on her, Obedience thought with a grimace.

Curse's grin reminded her just a little of Swiss, and she asked, "Y'know I'm not gonna eat that, right? Like, I appreciate the gesture, but you can have it." She stepped away, taking a seat on the edge of her bed and starting on removing her veil. "I don't even like live rats, let alone dead ones."

[feral-little-multi]

The second Obedience was sat down, Curse was curled up beside her with its head on her lap. It used to do the same with Sister Imperator, but after her passing, they started to do it with Obedience instead. It was bittersweet, in a way, but Curse found her a very comforting presence. She was lucky it hadn't decided to eat the rat on her lap, though. That would've been a disaster.

[sister-obedience]

Obedience gave a little huff of laughter when Curse collapsed into her lap. It was sweet, honestly, and she reached a hand down to card it through its hair, watching the strands catch the light. There was a strange, iridescent shimmer to it that she deeply, deeply envied. It was gorgeous. She asked, "You use special conditioner to make your hair all shimmery or what? It's like an oil slick."

[feral-little-multi]

Curse shook its head, twisting the upper half of their body to bury its face in her tummy. They started to make a noise, then realised Obedience probably wouldn't understand what it meant, so it huffed dramatically and reached one hand up to finger spell "ghoul perk" in sign. It was just something their glamour picked up from their more hellish form from the Pit. Though they kicked up one hell of a fuss at being glamoured in the first place, Primo had managed to get them into a partial glamour that they wore on Ministry grounds, despite hating it.

[sister-obedience]

Obedience flinched a bit when Curse hid its face against her stomach. "G-H-O-- Oh! Yeah, gotcha." She wasn't the best with signing, but she knew the alphabet, so that helped. It wasn't the best, but it was enough for little things like this. She carefully removed the rest of her veil and guimpe, tossing it off towards the foot of the bed. When she returned her attention to Curse, she asked, "What're you doing in here, anyway?" Her tone made it clear she didn't mind the company in the slightest. "You just lonely with everyone off on tour?" Obedience certainly was.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse huffed, their tail flicking a couple times. It didn't want to show how upset it was without the rest of the pack there, but they knew there was no point hiding anything from Obedience. They found it odd, not being on tour. They'd had to sit this one out because they just couldn't seem to get along with Perpetua - they kept biting him and hissing when he got too close - and the Ministry was concerned with how that would effect the shows. Well, that, and the fact they just couldn't leave Copia when he was so stressed with all his new responsibilities.

[sister-obedience]

"Yeah, you're usually out with 'em when they tour, huh?" Obedience asked, petting Curse's hair again. She'd only ever attended the Rite Here Right Now tour, and the way that one had ended, she was more than okay with staying back at the abbey. The problem was that her mate wasn't here. They really should've put off knotting until after the tour, but neither she nor Swiss were very good at looking ahead. It had just sort of happened on a whim.

She sighed, glancing down at Curse and asking, "Must be hard to be away from Mountain, huh?"

[feral-little-multi]

Oh, Mountain. How they missed their gentle giant. A quiet noise of discontent escaped them, hating how it had to end every night and begin every morning without him. It was awful, and they spent most nights in the woods now, curled up in secret spots they'd found when they were feral.

"How you? No Swiss. No Bug." It signed, using finger spelling and going slowly for her. It had to teach them more sign, one of these days. They left the "no Seestor" unsigned, but it was still floating around in their thoughts.

[sister-obedience]

Curse's sad little noise nearly broke Obedience's heart. She knew exactly how it must've felt. The fact that Mac had Aether around the abbey didn't help. Maybe that was petty, but Obedience couldn't help how she felt.

She nodded along as Curse spelled out its question. "I'm okay," she said with a halfhearted shrug. "Sunny and Lus are here, so it's not like I'm totally alone or anything. And it's been nice having Copia around." His takeover of mother's title didn't fill the hole Sister Imperator's loss had left in Obedience's heart, but he did his best to be there for her, and she greatly appreciated it.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse gave a small, dreamy sigh at the mention of Cumulus, melting a little into Obedience with a cute little grin on their face. They loved Mountain more than anything, but Cumulus held such a dear place in its heart.

Deciding it'd had enough of finger spelling, Curse moved on to use their quintessence to speak directly into Obedience's mind. It was odd, very fucking odd, and their voice sounded like two voices at once - one higher pitch, one lower, mostly synced up but a little disjointed at times. "Papa's nice to have around. Like his rats." It'd still not quite gotten the hang of calling Copia 'Frater', still giving him his old title.

[sister-obedience]

Obedience giggled, "Someone's got a crush, huh? Can't say I blame you." She had a soft spot for Cumulus, too. How could anyone not? She was warm and soft and an absolutely amazing kisser and her fingers were so very, very talented.

The quintessence had Obedience shuddering for a moment before she got used to the link. "He is," she agreed, her eyes squeezed shut. "Not a fan of the rats, though." Though it took some effort, she managed to open her eyes again, giving them a few seconds to adjust to the pretty purple sparks dancing behind them. "I'm not much of an animal person, save doves."

[feral-little-multi]

Curse nodded, goofy little grin on their face. It'd always loved Cumulus - not quite as much as Mountain, but still a fair amount. Though, in all fairness, pretty much everyone loved Cumulus. Anyone that didn't was watched constantly from the darkness by a terrifying little feral multi ghoul.

It cooed as it tilted its head at that, brows furrowed. "Don't like rats? Only doves?" They looked at the rat they'd caught as a present for her, cogs turning in their mind. Should they have gotten a dove instead? A noise of realisation escaped them as they started to get up, taking the time to stretch for peak hunting abilities first.

[sister-obedience]

"Nope, nope, not what I meant!" Keeping her grip gentle so as to not spook the little ghoul, Obedience tugged it gingerly back down into her lap, stroking its hair in an attempt to calm it down again. "Please don't bring me a dead dove," she said, disturbed by the very thought. "Or an injured one, either, I would literally cry for days."

[feral-little-multi]

Curse twisted a little to watch where Obedience put her hands, more out of curiosity now than fear or overwhelm. It gave a huff of reluctant agreement, snuggling back up to her happily.

"What about pet?" It asked through its quintessence, scarred tail flicking around in intrigue. They wanted to know more about Obedience's like for doves.

[sister-obedience]

Grateful she hadn't triggered anything, Obedience said, "Would you believe I actually had a pet dove once? His name was Rafael. I think he belonged to the church, technically, but I was in charge of keeping an eye on him."

They'd clipped his wings to keep him on the grounds, though, and she'd eventually stolen him and set him free. She'd found his little body on the side of the road the next morning.

Obedience cleared her throat. "Birds probably shouldn't be pets," she murmured. "It doesn't seem fair to keep them in cages."

[feral-little-multi]

"Loose," It suggested, though the thought of a bird loose in the ministry around the ghouls was definitely a bad idea. "Or bird room. Like Copia rat room." Curse said through its quintessence, having enjoyed their time spent curled up with Copia in the room he'd had made for his rats' enrichment.

[sister-obedience]

Obedience pursed her lips for a moment, considering. "That might work," she eventually said. She doubted it would ever happen, but it was nice to think about.

Fighting down an involuntary shudder at Curse's quintessence, she glanced down to ask, "Do ghouls keep pets? Or is that just a human thing?" With a playful wink, she added, "Or do you guys see us as pets?"

[feral-little-multi]

Curse tilted their head from side to side a couple times, the sides of its face touching its shoulders with every turn, as they listened to Obedience. "Mountain calls me pet." It stated with its quintessence, a sly smirk on their face. "You are equal."

[sister-obedience]

"Oh, does he? Cute," Obedience cooed.

"Kinda surprised you'd consider us equal, though. Ghouls are so much stronger." She said it as if she didn't have one of them laying perfectly relaxed in her lap.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse huffed a little breath of laughter - they rarely gave anything more than that, even to those they're close to - and shook their head. "You are equal. You." It repeated, more emphasis on the 'you'.

[sister-obedience]

"Oh, just me?" Though she attempted to laugh it off, Obedience was immensely flattered. "What's so special about me? That I'm a summoner, or that I'm mated to a ghoul?"

[feral-little-multi]

Curse tilted its head a few times either side, watching Obedience like they were trying to figure out the right words. Eventually, they settled on the very vague response of, "Potential. Firey potential." Before stretching and gently nipping her hand affectionately. "Hungry. Kitchen?"

[sister-obedience]

Fiery potential? Obedience wasn't quite sure what to make of that. She'd definitely been called fiery before, but she wasn't sure that was what Curse was getting at. "Careful of the hands," she said, gently easing them away. "There're scars under the gloves." Partially to avoid bring the mood down, she agreed, "A snack sounds great."

[feral-little-multi]

Curse raised a brow, looking at their tail for a couple seconds, then to their body, then back to Obedience. The little ghoul was covered in scars from fights with not only animals in the woods, but also other ghouls - they'd been feral for so long that they'd not been able to get their wounds healed when they happened. "We all have those."

[sister-obedience]

"True," Obedience agreed. She wasn't sure what else to say. She wasn't exactly in the habit of telling people how her sars had happened. As far as she knew, only Sister Imperator, Swiss, and Dew were fully aware of her history. Phantom, too, maybe, but she wasn't entirely sure. If he knew, he hadn't said anything. "How about that snack?" she asked in a very obvious attempt to change the subject.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse stared at her for a few moments, then decided to leave the conversation where it was. It was fond of Obedience, yes, but it wasn't the best at those kinds of conversations. Instead, it looped its tail around her forearm, tugging her along as it headed to the kitchen.

[sister-obedience]

Grateful the conversation had been dropped, Obedience allowed Curse to lead her out into the hallway. It was pitch black, and she kept as close as she could without getting caught under the ghoul's feet. Her voice soft, so as to not wake anyone, Obedience asked, "You can probably see just fine out here, can't you?"

[feral-little-multi]

Curse nodded, momentarily forgetting Obedience couldn't see, then tapped her arm with the spade of its tail to signify a 'yes'. At some point relatively soon in the journey, Curse stopped in its tracks, staring up at the ceiling. It wanted to use a shortcut to get to the kitchen quicker, like it would when travelling alone, but Obedience didn't have the claws, tail, or instincts of a ghoul, and it knew Swiss'd take the next plane back if his mate got hurt.

With a huff, it tugged Obedience back to the normal path toward the kitchen, weaving through hallways as if it had them memorised despite spending most of their time outdoors.

[sister-obedience]

Obedience followed close behind Curse until she heard the door that led into the dining hall open. Feeling along the stone wall, she flipped the overhead light switch, blinking in the sudden brightness.

They trekked through the dining hall, past the tables and through the door that led into into the kitchen itself. Turning that light on, too, Obedience asked, "What kinda snack you got in mind?"

[feral-little-multi]

Curse made a little noise, sort of like a clicking sound, and didn't give a worded answer. They didn't know exactly what they wanted, just what it felt like. Turning their head a little further than should be normal, it bit nothing like signalling they wanted something hard, something crunchy.

After a while of digging through cupboards, Curse eventually turned its attention to the expensive pizza oven Copia had bought to please his ghouls. It made a noise of intrigue, sniffing at the coals used to fuel it.

[sister-obedience]

Obedience hung back as Curse dug through the cabinets, crossing her arms over her chest and letting it do as it pleased. She wasn't especially hungry herself, but she was more than willing to humor the little ghoul.

When it showed interest in the pizza oven, she said, "You wanting pizza?"

[feral-little-multi]

Curse looked at her like she'd grown a second head, even though what Obedience suggested was a completely normal, rational thing. But Curse was a ghoul, and while some ghouls ate bugs, Curse preferred something a little.. Different.

Still looking at Obedience, it reached towards the coals, grabbing the first one their clawed fingertips touched and pulling it from where it rested. It didn't even inspect it before putting it straight in its mouth, crunching away like it was some kind of delicacy.

[sister-obedience]

Obedience flinched at the loud, echoing crunch before she dissolved into hushed giggles. "You lean towards fire, huh?" She was aware fire ghouls sometimes ate coals, and she'd seen Alpha handle them like they were nothing, but she'd never actually seen a ghoul in the act of eating something like that. "Does that even seem hot to you?" she asked, ever curious.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse nodded, enjoying its little snack. It clambered further into the pizza oven, body more than capable of manoeuvring each part exactly where it needed to fit inside the relatively small space. Honestly, it could spend a long time curled up in there, resting peacefully surrounded by its favourite food.

It stuck its head out the opening to look at Obedience, smears of coal now present on its features. "Cold." It signed, like this wasn't anywhere near the temperatures they were used to.

[sister-obedience]

Obedience sneezed when a puff of soot came floating out of the oven. Waving it away with one gloved hand, she read Curse's sign aloud. "That's cold to you? Damn."

She watched it for a long moment before she stepped away to grab a box of graham crackers from one of the cabinets. She slid one of the plastic sleeves out before she replaced the box and rejoined Curse, asking, "You hide in there often?"

[feral-little-multi]

Curse nodded, burying itself deeper into the coals like a snake burying itself in sand. "Sunny." It said through quintessence, hands already deep in the coal. "Tight, but cosy." Of course it'd spend most its time curled up with another part-fire ghoul, and of course it'd be Sunshine.

[sister-obedience]

Obedience fought a shiver as the quintessence came down the line, but she quickly recovered. "You and Sunny?" she asked, pulling a single graham cracker free of its plastic sleeve. "She's a sweetheart." Obedience keept to herself that she and Sunshine has nearly become a mated pair, but if Curse was that close to her, it probably already knew.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse nodded, happy little smile on its face at the memories of being curled up on hot coals with Sunny. "Mountain can't. Rain can't. Lus can't." It said with a moody little pout on its unmoving lips.

[feral-little-multi]

Sister Macabre had heard about the feral little multi ghoul that liked to scamper through the woods behind the ministry. She felt love for all these creatures.

One night after late kitchen duty, she had set aside a platter of all different kinds of fruits to bring to the ghoul. Pineapple, mango, grapes, watermelon, and apples.

She hoped to make a new friend as she ventured into the dark woods.

Curse watched Macabre closely as they scampered from tree to tree, quiet like a predator observing prey. It'd seen her around, mostly with Aether, but hadn't ever gotten close enough to see what she's like. The smell of the fruit had them curious, though, and they cautiously got a bit closer with each tree they jumped to.

[dolly-macabre]

"Hellooooo? Any lil ghouls looking for a snack?" She called out into the darkness, only moonlight shining through the trees and a little lantern to guide her way.

[feral-little-multi]

Those were nice words, Curse was able to recognise, and so it crawled down the side of the tree it'd been perched in, deciding to hide in the underbrush until it knew for sure she was a safe person to be around. Their eyes, one a deep blood red and the other a vibrant amethyst purple, shone from between the ferns they hid behind.

[dolly-macabre]

Macabre saw their eyes shining through the brush and smiled, sitting on a nearby stump. She set down her lantern carefully on the ground.

"You can come out. I won't hurt you." She attempted to coax them, her voice gravelly but sweet.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse got a little closer, steps slow and careful. Honestly, it looked a lot more beastly than the other ghouls, yet still kinda.. Cute? The plate of fruit seemed to get its attention, at least, since their gaze kept gravitating towards it before snapping back to Macabre's face as if needing to keep a close eye on her.

[dolly-macabre]

"I've heard about you, y'know? Had to come and introduce myself. Maybe make a good first impression." Macabre gently reached a hand out to it, giving it the chance to become acquainted with her.

"I love all you ghouls. Such sweet creatures you are." Her voice was warm and inviting.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse sat a few feet away, just observing Macabre for a while. It certainly wasn't much of a sweet creature, if the rumours surrounding it were anything to go by, but they appreciated her words nonetheless. Its gaze locked onto the plate of fruit, and as if on que, their tummy growled hungrily.

[dolly-macabre]

"It's okay. You can have some. I brought it just for you." She reassured them, pushing the plate a little closer.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse took a cautious, hesitant step closer, investigating the fruit thoroughly as if they expected it to be tampered with. It wasn't anything against Macabre in particular, they just didn't trust easy. Deeming the fruit okay, it took a small piece of mango, devouring it quicker than pretty much any other ghoul. It glanced at Macabre, then ate most of the fruit on the plate before nudging the plate back to her as if offering her whatever was left - a few pieces of each fruit.

[dolly-macabre]

Macabre let out a chuckle as she grabbed a few pieces of fruit herself.

"Is it good?" She asked the little ghoul.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse nodded, taking a few slow steps closer. It was now close enough to lay their head on Macabre's lap, if they wanted to, but they instead just stared at her for a while. See, they didn't talk often, since it hurt them to do so, and they weren't sure if Macabre knew any sign.

[dolly-macabre]

Macabre petted the top of their head gently, running her fingers through it's messy locks.

"You're a quiet one." She said, picking up on the fact that they didn't really talk.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse flinched a little when Macabre touched it, but allowed her to keep petting its head. It could smell Aether all over her, so they knew they had to at least try and be nice.

[dolly-macabre]

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have just touched you like that." Macabre pulled her hand away when she felt them flinch.

"You're just so darling!" She said, taking a few more grapes from the plate. Sure, it was feral as all hell but she found that very endearing.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse observed Macabre for a few moments, pleased that she'd apologised for spooking them - most just rolled their eyes and huffed, stating that the feral ghoul was too old to be lingering so heavily on their past.

It gave a small trill of happiness at the compliment, curling up in the leafs and dirt surrounding the stump Macabre was sat on.

[dolly-macabre]

Sister Macabre gave a little chuckle as she watched the ghoul. She picked up the plate so it wouldn't end up rolling around in the fruit.

"Do you want anymore?" She offered.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse shook their head. It'd been hunting earlier, and the fruit Macabre brought had been the perfect sweet treat, but their tummy was full.

Its scarred tail rested close enough to Macabre's leg that every twitch made it flick her lightly, a small gesture meant to show their growing comfort around her.

[dolly-macabre]

"What happened to your tail, sweet thing?" She reached down, fingers gently brushing against the scars.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse's tail twitched a little harder before settling against her hand. A huge chunk was taken out of the spade, like something had chomped down hard years ago, and there were so many jagged little lines all over the underside - likely from thorns in the underbrush or fights with another animal.

[dolly-macabre]

"You've sure been through the wringer. Haven't you?" Her hand came to rest on top of his head, fingers softly running through their messy hair.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse gave a small huff, almost like a scoff of laughter. It'd certainly been through a lot, alright. But the beast got the sense that Macabre had, too, and so they gently bonked their head against her thigh, getting nice and cosy next to her.

[dolly-macabre]

Macabre let out a happy sigh as she petted the multi ghoul. She began to sing softly, her voice echoing through the depths of the trees.

[feral-little-multi]

Though it hurt them to do so, their poor vocal chords throbbing from lack of use, Curse began to hum along. It was quiet, hardly audible, but it was there. Humming alongside Macabre as if the two had known each other forever.

[dolly-macabre]

Macabre's fingers tangled in the ghouls hair, gently tugging out any knots as she sang. It was so nice and peaceful there in the woods.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse jolted slightly after the first few knots were combed out of its hair by Macabre's talented fingers, only to relax against her upon realising she really wasn't a threat. It daren't close its eyes, but it enjoyed the peace of her voice.

[dolly-macabre]

"Sorry about that. You got some snarly hair, hun." Macabre apologized for tugging a little, "You really could use a good wash."

She came across some tiny twigs and leaves amongst its hair, picking them out and tossing them aside.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse watched as each item hit the forest floor, eventually beginning to tilt its head to give Macabre better access to the harder to find bits of random foliage, knowing its hair was thick and knotted.

Carefully, it traced "thank you" onto her thigh with a fingertip, making sure to keep its claws safely away so it didn't hurt her.

[clinical-space-podcast]

Reblog if your art project has not, does not, and never will make use of generative ai at any point in your creative process.

[scutesketch]

YOUR ART ON TUMBLR IS BEING USED TO TRAIN AI!

The setting that prevents your work being used to train AI models is turned off by default! I had no idea about this until now! Artists, go to your settings, click “visibility”, and turn on this setting! Protect your work!

[portlandalites]

《Made a visual guide of how to get there, because it's under a weird tab.

Go to your blog (you have to do this for each individual blog) and the visibility tab

It's this last option here

Hate this shit, but turn it off babey》

[sister-obedience]

Curse waited in eager anticipation for Obedience to return to her room. It'd caught her a nice gift, feeling like she needed a little pickup since Swiss was away on the Skeletour. Currently, they sat curled up on the rafter beams in Obedience's dorm, looking much like a sleep paralysis demon with the way their claws dug into the wood and their tail dangled down.

@feral-little-multi

Obedience was lonely, as crazy as that sounded. Sunshine was here, and Omega and Cumulus, but without Swiss and Dew and Phantom around, it wasn't the same. There were a few phone calls a day, but it wasn't enough. She sighed as she stepped into her room, toeing off her heels before she clicked the fairy lights on, bathing the room in a pretty violet glow. She gasped hard when something brushed her shoulder, and her wide eyes followed it up to the rafters, hissing, "Who's there?"

[feral-little-multi]

Curse shifted to pop its head down from the rafter beam, much too far to be a normal range of movement, and gave a happy little mewl at the sight of Obedience. They quickly moved back up to snatch the gift in their mighty jaws, hopping down from the beam to land behind her.

Watching her turn around, it stood with its hands behind its back, proudly displaying a large dead rat held between sharp, dangerous fangs. A gift.

[sister-obedience]

Obedience watched in puzzled silence as Curse climbed down, taking a step back when she caught site of the rat in its teeth. Was this a present? Like how Bazooka Joe sometimes brought her and Mac mice and leaves? It was sweet, in a weird, gross kind of way.

Doing her best not to let her discomfort show, she crossed her arms over her chest, teasing, "I sure hope that's not one of Frater Imperator's rats. You know how he got after Papa ate one."

[feral-little-multi]

Curse tilted their head, a little too far to be normal, and dropped the rat at Obedience's feet. Its tail swayed happily behind them, eager for her to accept its gift.

It chirped at the mention of Copia's rats, a wicked grin on their face. They'd never go after the sweet creatures, not really, but a beast of pure chaos never let the opportunity to annoy fade when they could so easily sieze it.

[sister-obedience]

Well, at least dropping the dead rat hadn't gotten blood on her, Obedience thought with a grimace.

Curse's grin reminded her just a little of Swiss, and she asked, "Y'know I'm not gonna eat that, right? Like, I appreciate the gesture, but you can have it." She stepped away, taking a seat on the edge of her bed and starting on removing her veil. "I don't even like live rats, let alone dead ones."

[feral-little-multi]

The second Obedience was sat down, Curse was curled up beside her with its head on her lap. It used to do the same with Sister Imperator, but after her passing, they started to do it with Obedience instead. It was bittersweet, in a way, but Curse found her a very comforting presence. She was lucky it hadn't decided to eat the rat on her lap, though. That would've been a disaster.

[sister-obedience]

Obedience gave a little huff of laughter when Curse collapsed into her lap. It was sweet, honestly, and she reached a hand down to card it through its hair, watching the strands catch the light. There was a strange, iridescent shimmer to it that she deeply, deeply envied. It was gorgeous. She asked, "You use special conditioner to make your hair all shimmery or what? It's like an oil slick."

[feral-little-multi]

Curse shook its head, twisting the upper half of their body to bury its face in her tummy. They started to make a noise, then realised Obedience probably wouldn't understand what it meant, so it huffed dramatically and reached one hand up to finger spell "ghoul perk" in sign. It was just something their glamour picked up from their more hellish form from the Pit. Though they kicked up one hell of a fuss at being glamoured in the first place, Primo had managed to get them into a partial glamour that they wore on Ministry grounds, despite hating it.

[sister-obedience]

Obedience flinched a bit when Curse hid its face against her stomach. "G-H-O-- Oh! Yeah, gotcha." She wasn't the best with signing, but she knew the alphabet, so that helped. It wasn't the best, but it was enough for little things like this. She carefully removed the rest of her veil and guimpe, tossing it off towards the foot of the bed. When she returned her attention to Curse, she asked, "What're you doing in here, anyway?" Her tone made it clear she didn't mind the company in the slightest. "You just lonely with everyone off on tour?" Obedience certainly was.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse huffed, their tail flicking a couple times. It didn't want to show how upset it was without the rest of the pack there, but they knew there was no point hiding anything from Obedience. They found it odd, not being on tour. They'd had to sit this one out because they just couldn't seem to get along with Perpetua - they kept biting him and hissing when he got too close - and the Ministry was concerned with how that would effect the shows. Well, that, and the fact they just couldn't leave Copia when he was so stressed with all his new responsibilities.

[sister-obedience]

"Yeah, you're usually out with 'em when they tour, huh?" Obedience asked, petting Curse's hair again. She'd only ever attended the Rite Here Right Now tour, and the way that one had ended, she was more than okay with staying back at the abbey. The problem was that her mate wasn't here. They really should've put off knotting until after the tour, but neither she nor Swiss were very good at looking ahead. It had just sort of happened on a whim.

She sighed, glancing down at Curse and asking, "Must be hard to be away from Mountain, huh?"

[feral-little-multi]

Oh, Mountain. How they missed their gentle giant. A quiet noise of discontent escaped them, hating how it had to end every night and begin every morning without him. It was awful, and they spent most nights in the woods now, curled up in secret spots they'd found when they were feral.

"How you? No Swiss. No Bug." It signed, using finger spelling and going slowly for her. It had to teach them more sign, one of these days. They left the "no Seestor" unsigned, but it was still floating around in their thoughts.

[sister-obedience]

Curse's sad little noise nearly broke Obedience's heart. She knew exactly how it must've felt. The fact that Mac had Aether around the abbey didn't help. Maybe that was petty, but Obedience couldn't help how she felt.

She nodded along as Curse spelled out its question. "I'm okay," she said with a halfhearted shrug. "Sunny and Lus are here, so it's not like I'm totally alone or anything. And it's been nice having Copia around." His takeover of mother's title didn't fill the hole Sister Imperator's loss had left in Obedience's heart, but he did his best to be there for her, and she greatly appreciated it.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse gave a small, dreamy sigh at the mention of Cumulus, melting a little into Obedience with a cute little grin on their face. They loved Mountain more than anything, but Cumulus held such a dear place in its heart.

Deciding it'd had enough of finger spelling, Curse moved on to use their quintessence to speak directly into Obedience's mind. It was odd, very fucking odd, and their voice sounded like two voices at once - one higher pitch, one lower, mostly synced up but a little disjointed at times. "Papa's nice to have around. Like his rats." It'd still not quite gotten the hang of calling Copia 'Frater', still giving him his old title.

[sister-obedience]

Obedience giggled, "Someone's got a crush, huh? Can't say I blame you." She had a soft spot for Cumulus, too. How could anyone not? She was warm and soft and an absolutely amazing kisser and her fingers were so very, very talented.

The quintessence had Obedience shuddering for a moment before she got used to the link. "He is," she agreed, her eyes squeezed shut. "Not a fan of the rats, though." Though it took some effort, she managed to open her eyes again, giving them a few seconds to adjust to the pretty purple sparks dancing behind them. "I'm not much of an animal person, save doves."

[feral-little-multi]

Curse nodded, goofy little grin on their face. It'd always loved Cumulus - not quite as much as Mountain, but still a fair amount. Though, in all fairness, pretty much everyone loved Cumulus. Anyone that didn't was watched constantly from the darkness by a terrifying little feral multi ghoul.

It cooed as it tilted its head at that, brows furrowed. "Don't like rats? Only doves?" They looked at the rat they'd caught as a present for her, cogs turning in their mind. Should they have gotten a dove instead? A noise of realisation escaped them as they started to get up, taking the time to stretch for peak hunting abilities first.

[sister-obedience]

"Nope, nope, not what I meant!" Keeping her grip gentle so as to not spook the little ghoul, Obedience tugged it gingerly back down into her lap, stroking its hair in an attempt to calm it down again. "Please don't bring me a dead dove," she said, disturbed by the very thought. "Or an injured one, either, I would literally cry for days."

[feral-little-multi]

Curse twisted a little to watch where Obedience put her hands, more out of curiosity now than fear or overwhelm. It gave a huff of reluctant agreement, snuggling back up to her happily.

"What about pet?" It asked through its quintessence, scarred tail flicking around in intrigue. They wanted to know more about Obedience's like for doves.

[sister-obedience]

Grateful she hadn't triggered anything, Obedience said, "Would you believe I actually had a pet dove once? His name was Rafael. I think he belonged to the church, technically, but I was in charge of keeping an eye on him."

They'd clipped his wings to keep him on the grounds, though, and she'd eventually stolen him and set him free. She'd found his little body on the side of the road the next morning.

Obedience cleared her throat. "Birds probably shouldn't be pets," she murmured. "It doesn't seem fair to keep them in cages."

[feral-little-multi]

"Loose," It suggested, though the thought of a bird loose in the ministry around the ghouls was definitely a bad idea. "Or bird room. Like Copia rat room." Curse said through its quintessence, having enjoyed their time spent curled up with Copia in the room he'd had made for his rats' enrichment.

[sister-obedience]

Obedience pursed her lips for a moment, considering. "That might work," she eventually said. She doubted it would ever happen, but it was nice to think about.

Fighting down an involuntary shudder at Curse's quintessence, she glanced down to ask, "Do ghouls keep pets? Or is that just a human thing?" With a playful wink, she added, "Or do you guys see us as pets?"

[feral-little-multi]

Curse tilted their head from side to side a couple times, the sides of its face touching its shoulders with every turn, as they listened to Obedience. "Mountain calls me pet." It stated with its quintessence, a sly smirk on their face. "You are equal."

[sister-obedience]

"Oh, does he? Cute," Obedience cooed.

"Kinda surprised you'd consider us equal, though. Ghouls are so much stronger." She said it as if she didn't have one of them laying perfectly relaxed in her lap.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse huffed a little breath of laughter - they rarely gave anything more than that, even to those they're close to - and shook their head. "You are equal. You." It repeated, more emphasis on the 'you'.

[sister-obedience]

"Oh, just me?" Though she attempted to laugh it off, Obedience was immensely flattered. "What's so special about me? That I'm a summoner, or that I'm mated to a ghoul?"

[feral-little-multi]

Curse tilted its head a few times either side, watching Obedience like they were trying to figure out the right words. Eventually, they settled on the very vague response of, "Potential. Firey potential." Before stretching and gently nipping her hand affectionately. "Hungry. Kitchen?"

[sister-obedience]

Fiery potential? Obedience wasn't quite sure what to make of that. She'd definitely been called fiery before, but she wasn't sure that was what Curse was getting at. "Careful of the hands," she said, gently easing them away. "There're scars under the gloves." Partially to avoid bring the mood down, she agreed, "A snack sounds great."

[feral-little-multi]

Curse raised a brow, looking at their tail for a couple seconds, then to their body, then back to Obedience. The little ghoul was covered in scars from fights with not only animals in the woods, but also other ghouls - they'd been feral for so long that they'd not been able to get their wounds healed when they happened. "We all have those."

[sister-obedience]

"True," Obedience agreed. She wasn't sure what else to say. She wasn't exactly in the habit of telling people how her sars had happened. As far as she knew, only Sister Imperator, Swiss, and Dew were fully aware of her history. Phantom, too, maybe, but she wasn't entirely sure. If he knew, he hadn't said anything. "How about that snack?" she asked in a very obvious attempt to change the subject.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse stared at her for a few moments, then decided to leave the conversation where it was. It was fond of Obedience, yes, but it wasn't the best at those kinds of conversations. Instead, it looped its tail around her forearm, tugging her along as it headed to the kitchen.

[sister-obedience]

Grateful the conversation had been dropped, Obedience allowed Curse to lead her out into the hallway. It was pitch black, and she kept as close as she could without getting caught under the ghoul's feet. Her voice soft, so as to not wake anyone, Obedience asked, "You can probably see just fine out here, can't you?"

[feral-little-multi]

Curse nodded, momentarily forgetting Obedience couldn't see, then tapped her arm with the spade of its tail to signify a 'yes'. At some point relatively soon in the journey, Curse stopped in its tracks, staring up at the ceiling. It wanted to use a shortcut to get to the kitchen quicker, like it would when travelling alone, but Obedience didn't have the claws, tail, or instincts of a ghoul, and it knew Swiss'd take the next plane back if his mate got hurt.

With a huff, it tugged Obedience back to the normal path toward the kitchen, weaving through hallways as if it had them memorised despite spending most of their time outdoors.

[sister-obedience]

Obedience followed close behind Curse until she heard the door that led into the dining hall open. Feeling along the stone wall, she flipped the overhead light switch, blinking in the sudden brightness.

They trekked through the dining hall, past the tables and through the door that led into into the kitchen itself. Turning that light on, too, Obedience asked, "What kinda snack you got in mind?"

[feral-little-multi]

Curse made a little noise, sort of like a clicking sound, and didn't give a worded answer. They didn't know exactly what they wanted, just what it felt like. Turning their head a little further than should be normal, it bit nothing like signalling they wanted something hard, something crunchy.

After a while of digging through cupboards, Curse eventually turned its attention to the expensive pizza oven Copia had bought to please his ghouls. It made a noise of intrigue, sniffing at the coals used to fuel it.

[sister-obedience]

Obedience hung back as Curse dug through the cabinets, crossing her arms over her chest and letting it do as it pleased. She wasn't especially hungry herself, but she was more than willing to humor the little ghoul.

When it showed interest in the pizza oven, she said, "You wanting pizza?"

[feral-little-multi]

Curse looked at her like she'd grown a second head, even though what Obedience suggested was a completely normal, rational thing. But Curse was a ghoul, and while some ghouls ate bugs, Curse preferred something a little.. Different.

Still looking at Obedience, it reached towards the coals, grabbing the first one their clawed fingertips touched and pulling it from where it rested. It didn't even inspect it before putting it straight in its mouth, crunching away like it was some kind of delicacy.

[sister-obedience]

Obedience flinched at the loud, echoing crunch before she dissolved into hushed giggles. "You lean towards fire, huh?" She was aware fire ghouls sometimes ate coals, and she'd seen Alpha handle them like they were nothing, but she'd never actually seen a ghoul in the act of eating something like that. "Does that even seem hot to you?" she asked, ever curious.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse nodded, enjoying its little snack. It clambered further into the pizza oven, body more than capable of manoeuvring each part exactly where it needed to fit inside the relatively small space. Honestly, it could spend a long time curled up in there, resting peacefully surrounded by its favourite food.

It stuck its head out the opening to look at Obedience, smears of coal now present on its features. "Cold." It signed, like this wasn't anywhere near the temperatures they were used to.

[sister-obedience]

Obedience sneezed when a puff of soot came floating out of the oven. Waving it away with one gloved hand, she read Curse's sign aloud. "That's cold to you? Damn."

She watched it for a long moment before she stepped away to grab a box of graham crackers from one of the cabinets. She slid one of the plastic sleeves out before she replaced the box and rejoined Curse, asking, "You hide in there often?"

[feral-little-multi]

Curse nodded, burying itself deeper into the coals like a snake burying itself in sand. "Sunny." It said through quintessence, hands already deep in the coal. "Tight, but cosy." Of course it'd spend most its time curled up with another part-fire ghoul, and of course it'd be Sunshine.

[feral-little-multi]

Sister Macabre had heard about the feral little multi ghoul that liked to scamper through the woods behind the ministry. She felt love for all these creatures.

One night after late kitchen duty, she had set aside a platter of all different kinds of fruits to bring to the ghoul. Pineapple, mango, grapes, watermelon, and apples.

She hoped to make a new friend as she ventured into the dark woods.

Curse watched Macabre closely as they scampered from tree to tree, quiet like a predator observing prey. It'd seen her around, mostly with Aether, but hadn't ever gotten close enough to see what she's like. The smell of the fruit had them curious, though, and they cautiously got a bit closer with each tree they jumped to.

[dolly-macabre]

"Hellooooo? Any lil ghouls looking for a snack?" She called out into the darkness, only moonlight shining through the trees and a little lantern to guide her way.

[feral-little-multi]

Those were nice words, Curse was able to recognise, and so it crawled down the side of the tree it'd been perched in, deciding to hide in the underbrush until it knew for sure she was a safe person to be around. Their eyes, one a deep blood red and the other a vibrant amethyst purple, shone from between the ferns they hid behind.

[dolly-macabre]

Macabre saw their eyes shining through the brush and smiled, sitting on a nearby stump. She set down her lantern carefully on the ground.

"You can come out. I won't hurt you." She attempted to coax them, her voice gravelly but sweet.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse got a little closer, steps slow and careful. Honestly, it looked a lot more beastly than the other ghouls, yet still kinda.. Cute? The plate of fruit seemed to get its attention, at least, since their gaze kept gravitating towards it before snapping back to Macabre's face as if needing to keep a close eye on her.

[dolly-macabre]

"I've heard about you, y'know? Had to come and introduce myself. Maybe make a good first impression." Macabre gently reached a hand out to it, giving it the chance to become acquainted with her.

"I love all you ghouls. Such sweet creatures you are." Her voice was warm and inviting.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse sat a few feet away, just observing Macabre for a while. It certainly wasn't much of a sweet creature, if the rumours surrounding it were anything to go by, but they appreciated her words nonetheless. Its gaze locked onto the plate of fruit, and as if on que, their tummy growled hungrily.

[dolly-macabre]

"It's okay. You can have some. I brought it just for you." She reassured them, pushing the plate a little closer.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse took a cautious, hesitant step closer, investigating the fruit thoroughly as if they expected it to be tampered with. It wasn't anything against Macabre in particular, they just didn't trust easy. Deeming the fruit okay, it took a small piece of mango, devouring it quicker than pretty much any other ghoul. It glanced at Macabre, then ate most of the fruit on the plate before nudging the plate back to her as if offering her whatever was left - a few pieces of each fruit.

[dolly-macabre]

Macabre let out a chuckle as she grabbed a few pieces of fruit herself.

"Is it good?" She asked the little ghoul.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse nodded, taking a few slow steps closer. It was now close enough to lay their head on Macabre's lap, if they wanted to, but they instead just stared at her for a while. See, they didn't talk often, since it hurt them to do so, and they weren't sure if Macabre knew any sign.

[dolly-macabre]

Macabre petted the top of their head gently, running her fingers through it's messy locks.

"You're a quiet one." She said, picking up on the fact that they didn't really talk.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse flinched a little when Macabre touched it, but allowed her to keep petting its head. It could smell Aether all over her, so they knew they had to at least try and be nice.

[dolly-macabre]

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have just touched you like that." Macabre pulled her hand away when she felt them flinch.

"You're just so darling!" She said, taking a few more grapes from the plate. Sure, it was feral as all hell but she found that very endearing.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse observed Macabre for a few moments, pleased that she'd apologised for spooking them - most just rolled their eyes and huffed, stating that the feral ghoul was too old to be lingering so heavily on their past.

It gave a small trill of happiness at the compliment, curling up in the leafs and dirt surrounding the stump Macabre was sat on.

[dolly-macabre]

Sister Macabre gave a little chuckle as she watched the ghoul. She picked up the plate so it wouldn't end up rolling around in the fruit.

"Do you want anymore?" She offered.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse shook their head. It'd been hunting earlier, and the fruit Macabre brought had been the perfect sweet treat, but their tummy was full.

Its scarred tail rested close enough to Macabre's leg that every twitch made it flick her lightly, a small gesture meant to show their growing comfort around her.

[dolly-macabre]

"What happened to your tail, sweet thing?" She reached down, fingers gently brushing against the scars.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse's tail twitched a little harder before settling against her hand. A huge chunk was taken out of the spade, like something had chomped down hard years ago, and there were so many jagged little lines all over the underside - likely from thorns in the underbrush or fights with another animal.

[dolly-macabre]

"You've sure been through the wringer. Haven't you?" Her hand came to rest on top of his head, fingers softly running through their messy hair.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse gave a small huff, almost like a scoff of laughter. It'd certainly been through a lot, alright. But the beast got the sense that Macabre had, too, and so they gently bonked their head against her thigh, getting nice and cosy next to her.

[dolly-macabre]

Macabre let out a happy sigh as she petted the multi ghoul. She began to sing softly, her voice echoing through the depths of the trees.

[feral-little-multi]

Though it hurt them to do so, their poor vocal chords throbbing from lack of use, Curse began to hum along. It was quiet, hardly audible, but it was there. Humming alongside Macabre as if the two had known each other forever.

[dolly-macabre]

Macabre's fingers tangled in the ghouls hair, gently tugging out any knots as she sang. It was so nice and peaceful there in the woods.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse jolted slightly after the first few knots were combed out of its hair by Macabre's talented fingers, only to relax against her upon realising she really wasn't a threat. It daren't close its eyes, but it enjoyed the peace of her voice.

[dolly-macabre]

Had a little fun with @feral-little-multi !! 🖤

[feral-little-multi]

!!!!! 🥰🫂💕

[sister-obedience]

Curse waited in eager anticipation for Obedience to return to her room. It'd caught her a nice gift, feeling like she needed a little pickup since Swiss was away on the Skeletour. Currently, they sat curled up on the rafter beams in Obedience's dorm, looking much like a sleep paralysis demon with the way their claws dug into the wood and their tail dangled down.

@feral-little-multi

Obedience was lonely, as crazy as that sounded. Sunshine was here, and Omega and Cumulus, but without Swiss and Dew and Phantom around, it wasn't the same. There were a few phone calls a day, but it wasn't enough. She sighed as she stepped into her room, toeing off her heels before she clicked the fairy lights on, bathing the room in a pretty violet glow. She gasped hard when something brushed her shoulder, and her wide eyes followed it up to the rafters, hissing, "Who's there?"

[feral-little-multi]

Curse shifted to pop its head down from the rafter beam, much too far to be a normal range of movement, and gave a happy little mewl at the sight of Obedience. They quickly moved back up to snatch the gift in their mighty jaws, hopping down from the beam to land behind her.

Watching her turn around, it stood with its hands behind its back, proudly displaying a large dead rat held between sharp, dangerous fangs. A gift.

[sister-obedience]

Obedience watched in puzzled silence as Curse climbed down, taking a step back when she caught site of the rat in its teeth. Was this a present? Like how Bazooka Joe sometimes brought her and Mac mice and leaves? It was sweet, in a weird, gross kind of way.

Doing her best not to let her discomfort show, she crossed her arms over her chest, teasing, "I sure hope that's not one of Frater Imperator's rats. You know how he got after Papa ate one."

[feral-little-multi]

Curse tilted their head, a little too far to be normal, and dropped the rat at Obedience's feet. Its tail swayed happily behind them, eager for her to accept its gift.

It chirped at the mention of Copia's rats, a wicked grin on their face. They'd never go after the sweet creatures, not really, but a beast of pure chaos never let the opportunity to annoy fade when they could so easily sieze it.

[sister-obedience]

Well, at least dropping the dead rat hadn't gotten blood on her, Obedience thought with a grimace.

Curse's grin reminded her just a little of Swiss, and she asked, "Y'know I'm not gonna eat that, right? Like, I appreciate the gesture, but you can have it." She stepped away, taking a seat on the edge of her bed and starting on removing her veil. "I don't even like live rats, let alone dead ones."

[feral-little-multi]

The second Obedience was sat down, Curse was curled up beside her with its head on her lap. It used to do the same with Sister Imperator, but after her passing, they started to do it with Obedience instead. It was bittersweet, in a way, but Curse found her a very comforting presence. She was lucky it hadn't decided to eat the rat on her lap, though. That would've been a disaster.

[sister-obedience]

Obedience gave a little huff of laughter when Curse collapsed into her lap. It was sweet, honestly, and she reached a hand down to card it through its hair, watching the strands catch the light. There was a strange, iridescent shimmer to it that she deeply, deeply envied. It was gorgeous. She asked, "You use special conditioner to make your hair all shimmery or what? It's like an oil slick."

[feral-little-multi]

Curse shook its head, twisting the upper half of their body to bury its face in her tummy. They started to make a noise, then realised Obedience probably wouldn't understand what it meant, so it huffed dramatically and reached one hand up to finger spell "ghoul perk" in sign. It was just something their glamour picked up from their more hellish form from the Pit. Though they kicked up one hell of a fuss at being glamoured in the first place, Primo had managed to get them into a partial glamour that they wore on Ministry grounds, despite hating it.

[sister-obedience]

Obedience flinched a bit when Curse hid its face against her stomach. "G-H-O-- Oh! Yeah, gotcha." She wasn't the best with signing, but she knew the alphabet, so that helped. It wasn't the best, but it was enough for little things like this. She carefully removed the rest of her veil and guimpe, tossing it off towards the foot of the bed. When she returned her attention to Curse, she asked, "What're you doing in here, anyway?" Her tone made it clear she didn't mind the company in the slightest. "You just lonely with everyone off on tour?" Obedience certainly was.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse huffed, their tail flicking a couple times. It didn't want to show how upset it was without the rest of the pack there, but they knew there was no point hiding anything from Obedience. They found it odd, not being on tour. They'd had to sit this one out because they just couldn't seem to get along with Perpetua - they kept biting him and hissing when he got too close - and the Ministry was concerned with how that would effect the shows. Well, that, and the fact they just couldn't leave Copia when he was so stressed with all his new responsibilities.

[sister-obedience]

"Yeah, you're usually out with 'em when they tour, huh?" Obedience asked, petting Curse's hair again. She'd only ever attended the Rite Here Right Now tour, and the way that one had ended, she was more than okay with staying back at the abbey. The problem was that her mate wasn't here. They really should've put off knotting until after the tour, but neither she nor Swiss were very good at looking ahead. It had just sort of happened on a whim.

She sighed, glancing down at Curse and asking, "Must be hard to be away from Mountain, huh?"

[feral-little-multi]

Oh, Mountain. How they missed their gentle giant. A quiet noise of discontent escaped them, hating how it had to end every night and begin every morning without him. It was awful, and they spent most nights in the woods now, curled up in secret spots they'd found when they were feral.

"How you? No Swiss. No Bug." It signed, using finger spelling and going slowly for her. It had to teach them more sign, one of these days. They left the "no Seestor" unsigned, but it was still floating around in their thoughts.

[sister-obedience]

Curse's sad little noise nearly broke Obedience's heart. She knew exactly how it must've felt. The fact that Mac had Aether around the abbey didn't help. Maybe that was petty, but Obedience couldn't help how she felt.

She nodded along as Curse spelled out its question. "I'm okay," she said with a halfhearted shrug. "Sunny and Lus are here, so it's not like I'm totally alone or anything. And it's been nice having Copia around." His takeover of mother's title didn't fill the hole Sister Imperator's loss had left in Obedience's heart, but he did his best to be there for her, and she greatly appreciated it.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse gave a small, dreamy sigh at the mention of Cumulus, melting a little into Obedience with a cute little grin on their face. They loved Mountain more than anything, but Cumulus held such a dear place in its heart.

Deciding it'd had enough of finger spelling, Curse moved on to use their quintessence to speak directly into Obedience's mind. It was odd, very fucking odd, and their voice sounded like two voices at once - one higher pitch, one lower, mostly synced up but a little disjointed at times. "Papa's nice to have around. Like his rats." It'd still not quite gotten the hang of calling Copia 'Frater', still giving him his old title.

[sister-obedience]

Obedience giggled, "Someone's got a crush, huh? Can't say I blame you." She had a soft spot for Cumulus, too. How could anyone not? She was warm and soft and an absolutely amazing kisser and her fingers were so very, very talented.

The quintessence had Obedience shuddering for a moment before she got used to the link. "He is," she agreed, her eyes squeezed shut. "Not a fan of the rats, though." Though it took some effort, she managed to open her eyes again, giving them a few seconds to adjust to the pretty purple sparks dancing behind them. "I'm not much of an animal person, save doves."

[feral-little-multi]

Curse nodded, goofy little grin on their face. It'd always loved Cumulus - not quite as much as Mountain, but still a fair amount. Though, in all fairness, pretty much everyone loved Cumulus. Anyone that didn't was watched constantly from the darkness by a terrifying little feral multi ghoul.

It cooed as it tilted its head at that, brows furrowed. "Don't like rats? Only doves?" They looked at the rat they'd caught as a present for her, cogs turning in their mind. Should they have gotten a dove instead? A noise of realisation escaped them as they started to get up, taking the time to stretch for peak hunting abilities first.

[sister-obedience]

"Nope, nope, not what I meant!" Keeping her grip gentle so as to not spook the little ghoul, Obedience tugged it gingerly back down into her lap, stroking its hair in an attempt to calm it down again. "Please don't bring me a dead dove," she said, disturbed by the very thought. "Or an injured one, either, I would literally cry for days."

[feral-little-multi]

Curse twisted a little to watch where Obedience put her hands, more out of curiosity now than fear or overwhelm. It gave a huff of reluctant agreement, snuggling back up to her happily.

"What about pet?" It asked through its quintessence, scarred tail flicking around in intrigue. They wanted to know more about Obedience's like for doves.

[sister-obedience]

Grateful she hadn't triggered anything, Obedience said, "Would you believe I actually had a pet dove once? His name was Rafael. I think he belonged to the church, technically, but I was in charge of keeping an eye on him."

They'd clipped his wings to keep him on the grounds, though, and she'd eventually stolen him and set him free. She'd found his little body on the side of the road the next morning.

Obedience cleared her throat. "Birds probably shouldn't be pets," she murmured. "It doesn't seem fair to keep them in cages."

[feral-little-multi]

"Loose," It suggested, though the thought of a bird loose in the ministry around the ghouls was definitely a bad idea. "Or bird room. Like Copia rat room." Curse said through its quintessence, having enjoyed their time spent curled up with Copia in the room he'd had made for his rats' enrichment.

[sister-obedience]

Obedience pursed her lips for a moment, considering. "That might work," she eventually said. She doubted it would ever happen, but it was nice to think about.

Fighting down an involuntary shudder at Curse's quintessence, she glanced down to ask, "Do ghouls keep pets? Or is that just a human thing?" With a playful wink, she added, "Or do you guys see us as pets?"

[feral-little-multi]

Curse tilted their head from side to side a couple times, the sides of its face touching its shoulders with every turn, as they listened to Obedience. "Mountain calls me pet." It stated with its quintessence, a sly smirk on their face. "You are equal."

[sister-obedience]

"Oh, does he? Cute," Obedience cooed.

"Kinda surprised you'd consider us equal, though. Ghouls are so much stronger." She said it as if she didn't have one of them laying perfectly relaxed in her lap.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse huffed a little breath of laughter - they rarely gave anything more than that, even to those they're close to - and shook their head. "You are equal. You." It repeated, more emphasis on the 'you'.

[sister-obedience]

"Oh, just me?" Though she attempted to laugh it off, Obedience was immensely flattered. "What's so special about me? That I'm a summoner, or that I'm mated to a ghoul?"

[feral-little-multi]

Curse tilted its head a few times either side, watching Obedience like they were trying to figure out the right words. Eventually, they settled on the very vague response of, "Potential. Firey potential." Before stretching and gently nipping her hand affectionately. "Hungry. Kitchen?"

[sister-obedience]

Fiery potential? Obedience wasn't quite sure what to make of that. She'd definitely been called fiery before, but she wasn't sure that was what Curse was getting at. "Careful of the hands," she said, gently easing them away. "There're scars under the gloves." Partially to avoid bring the mood down, she agreed, "A snack sounds great."

[feral-little-multi]

Curse raised a brow, looking at their tail for a couple seconds, then to their body, then back to Obedience. The little ghoul was covered in scars from fights with not only animals in the woods, but also other ghouls - they'd been feral for so long that they'd not been able to get their wounds healed when they happened. "We all have those."

[sister-obedience]

"True," Obedience agreed. She wasn't sure what else to say. She wasn't exactly in the habit of telling people how her sars had happened. As far as she knew, only Sister Imperator, Swiss, and Dew were fully aware of her history. Phantom, too, maybe, but she wasn't entirely sure. If he knew, he hadn't said anything. "How about that snack?" she asked in a very obvious attempt to change the subject.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse stared at her for a few moments, then decided to leave the conversation where it was. It was fond of Obedience, yes, but it wasn't the best at those kinds of conversations. Instead, it looped its tail around her forearm, tugging her along as it headed to the kitchen.

[sister-obedience]

Grateful the conversation had been dropped, Obedience allowed Curse to lead her out into the hallway. It was pitch black, and she kept as close as she could without getting caught under the ghoul's feet. Her voice soft, so as to not wake anyone, Obedience asked, "You can probably see just fine out here, can't you?"

[feral-little-multi]

Curse nodded, momentarily forgetting Obedience couldn't see, then tapped her arm with the spade of its tail to signify a 'yes'. At some point relatively soon in the journey, Curse stopped in its tracks, staring up at the ceiling. It wanted to use a shortcut to get to the kitchen quicker, like it would when travelling alone, but Obedience didn't have the claws, tail, or instincts of a ghoul, and it knew Swiss'd take the next plane back if his mate got hurt.

With a huff, it tugged Obedience back to the normal path toward the kitchen, weaving through hallways as if it had them memorised despite spending most of their time outdoors.

[sister-obedience]

Obedience followed close behind Curse until she heard the door that led into the dining hall open. Feeling along the stone wall, she flipped the overhead light switch, blinking in the sudden brightness.

They trekked through the dining hall, past the tables and through the door that led into into the kitchen itself. Turning that light on, too, Obedience asked, "What kinda snack you got in mind?"

[feral-little-multi]

Curse made a little noise, sort of like a clicking sound, and didn't give a worded answer. They didn't know exactly what they wanted, just what it felt like. Turning their head a little further than should be normal, it bit nothing like signalling they wanted something hard, something crunchy.

After a while of digging through cupboards, Curse eventually turned its attention to the expensive pizza oven Copia had bought to please his ghouls. It made a noise of intrigue, sniffing at the coals used to fuel it.

[sister-obedience]

Obedience hung back as Curse dug through the cabinets, crossing her arms over her chest and letting it do as it pleased. She wasn't especially hungry herself, but she was more than willing to humor the little ghoul.

When it showed interest in the pizza oven, she said, "You wanting pizza?"

[feral-little-multi]

Curse looked at her like she'd grown a second head, even though what Obedience suggested was a completely normal, rational thing. But Curse was a ghoul, and while some ghouls ate bugs, Curse preferred something a little.. Different.

Still looking at Obedience, it reached towards the coals, grabbing the first one their clawed fingertips touched and pulling it from where it rested. It didn't even inspect it before putting it straight in its mouth, crunching away like it was some kind of delicacy.

[sister-obedience]

Obedience flinched at the loud, echoing crunch before she dissolved into hushed giggles. "You lean towards fire, huh?" She was aware fire ghouls sometimes ate coals, and she'd seen Alpha handle them like they were nothing, but she'd never actually seen a ghoul in the act of eating something like that. "Does that even seem hot to you?" she asked, ever curious.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse nodded, enjoying its little snack. It clambered further into the pizza oven, body more than capable of manoeuvring each part exactly where it needed to fit inside the relatively small space. Honestly, it could spend a long time curled up in there, resting peacefully surrounded by its favourite food.

It stuck its head out the opening to look at Obedience, smears of coal now present on its features. "Cold." It signed, like this wasn't anywhere near the temperatures they were used to.

[sister-obedience]

Curse waited in eager anticipation for Obedience to return to her room. It'd caught her a nice gift, feeling like she needed a little pickup since Swiss was away on the Skeletour. Currently, they sat curled up on the rafter beams in Obedience's dorm, looking much like a sleep paralysis demon with the way their claws dug into the wood and their tail dangled down.

@feral-little-multi

Obedience was lonely, as crazy as that sounded. Sunshine was here, and Omega and Cumulus, but without Swiss and Dew and Phantom around, it wasn't the same. There were a few phone calls a day, but it wasn't enough. She sighed as she stepped into her room, toeing off her heels before she clicked the fairy lights on, bathing the room in a pretty violet glow. She gasped hard when something brushed her shoulder, and her wide eyes followed it up to the rafters, hissing, "Who's there?"

[feral-little-multi]

Curse shifted to pop its head down from the rafter beam, much too far to be a normal range of movement, and gave a happy little mewl at the sight of Obedience. They quickly moved back up to snatch the gift in their mighty jaws, hopping down from the beam to land behind her.

Watching her turn around, it stood with its hands behind its back, proudly displaying a large dead rat held between sharp, dangerous fangs. A gift.

[sister-obedience]

Obedience watched in puzzled silence as Curse climbed down, taking a step back when she caught site of the rat in its teeth. Was this a present? Like how Bazooka Joe sometimes brought her and Mac mice and leaves? It was sweet, in a weird, gross kind of way.

Doing her best not to let her discomfort show, she crossed her arms over her chest, teasing, "I sure hope that's not one of Frater Imperator's rats. You know how he got after Papa ate one."

[feral-little-multi]

Curse tilted their head, a little too far to be normal, and dropped the rat at Obedience's feet. Its tail swayed happily behind them, eager for her to accept its gift.

It chirped at the mention of Copia's rats, a wicked grin on their face. They'd never go after the sweet creatures, not really, but a beast of pure chaos never let the opportunity to annoy fade when they could so easily sieze it.

[sister-obedience]

Well, at least dropping the dead rat hadn't gotten blood on her, Obedience thought with a grimace.

Curse's grin reminded her just a little of Swiss, and she asked, "Y'know I'm not gonna eat that, right? Like, I appreciate the gesture, but you can have it." She stepped away, taking a seat on the edge of her bed and starting on removing her veil. "I don't even like live rats, let alone dead ones."

[feral-little-multi]

The second Obedience was sat down, Curse was curled up beside her with its head on her lap. It used to do the same with Sister Imperator, but after her passing, they started to do it with Obedience instead. It was bittersweet, in a way, but Curse found her a very comforting presence. She was lucky it hadn't decided to eat the rat on her lap, though. That would've been a disaster.

[sister-obedience]

Obedience gave a little huff of laughter when Curse collapsed into her lap. It was sweet, honestly, and she reached a hand down to card it through its hair, watching the strands catch the light. There was a strange, iridescent shimmer to it that she deeply, deeply envied. It was gorgeous. She asked, "You use special conditioner to make your hair all shimmery or what? It's like an oil slick."

[feral-little-multi]

Curse shook its head, twisting the upper half of their body to bury its face in her tummy. They started to make a noise, then realised Obedience probably wouldn't understand what it meant, so it huffed dramatically and reached one hand up to finger spell "ghoul perk" in sign. It was just something their glamour picked up from their more hellish form from the Pit. Though they kicked up one hell of a fuss at being glamoured in the first place, Primo had managed to get them into a partial glamour that they wore on Ministry grounds, despite hating it.

[sister-obedience]

Obedience flinched a bit when Curse hid its face against her stomach. "G-H-O-- Oh! Yeah, gotcha." She wasn't the best with signing, but she knew the alphabet, so that helped. It wasn't the best, but it was enough for little things like this. She carefully removed the rest of her veil and guimpe, tossing it off towards the foot of the bed. When she returned her attention to Curse, she asked, "What're you doing in here, anyway?" Her tone made it clear she didn't mind the company in the slightest. "You just lonely with everyone off on tour?" Obedience certainly was.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse huffed, their tail flicking a couple times. It didn't want to show how upset it was without the rest of the pack there, but they knew there was no point hiding anything from Obedience. They found it odd, not being on tour. They'd had to sit this one out because they just couldn't seem to get along with Perpetua - they kept biting him and hissing when he got too close - and the Ministry was concerned with how that would effect the shows. Well, that, and the fact they just couldn't leave Copia when he was so stressed with all his new responsibilities.

[sister-obedience]

"Yeah, you're usually out with 'em when they tour, huh?" Obedience asked, petting Curse's hair again. She'd only ever attended the Rite Here Right Now tour, and the way that one had ended, she was more than okay with staying back at the abbey. The problem was that her mate wasn't here. They really should've put off knotting until after the tour, but neither she nor Swiss were very good at looking ahead. It had just sort of happened on a whim.

She sighed, glancing down at Curse and asking, "Must be hard to be away from Mountain, huh?"

[feral-little-multi]

Oh, Mountain. How they missed their gentle giant. A quiet noise of discontent escaped them, hating how it had to end every night and begin every morning without him. It was awful, and they spent most nights in the woods now, curled up in secret spots they'd found when they were feral.

"How you? No Swiss. No Bug." It signed, using finger spelling and going slowly for her. It had to teach them more sign, one of these days. They left the "no Seestor" unsigned, but it was still floating around in their thoughts.

[sister-obedience]

Curse's sad little noise nearly broke Obedience's heart. She knew exactly how it must've felt. The fact that Mac had Aether around the abbey didn't help. Maybe that was petty, but Obedience couldn't help how she felt.

She nodded along as Curse spelled out its question. "I'm okay," she said with a halfhearted shrug. "Sunny and Lus are here, so it's not like I'm totally alone or anything. And it's been nice having Copia around." His takeover of mother's title didn't fill the hole Sister Imperator's loss had left in Obedience's heart, but he did his best to be there for her, and she greatly appreciated it.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse gave a small, dreamy sigh at the mention of Cumulus, melting a little into Obedience with a cute little grin on their face. They loved Mountain more than anything, but Cumulus held such a dear place in its heart.

Deciding it'd had enough of finger spelling, Curse moved on to use their quintessence to speak directly into Obedience's mind. It was odd, very fucking odd, and their voice sounded like two voices at once - one higher pitch, one lower, mostly synced up but a little disjointed at times. "Papa's nice to have around. Like his rats." It'd still not quite gotten the hang of calling Copia 'Frater', still giving him his old title.

[sister-obedience]

Obedience giggled, "Someone's got a crush, huh? Can't say I blame you." She had a soft spot for Cumulus, too. How could anyone not? She was warm and soft and an absolutely amazing kisser and her fingers were so very, very talented.

The quintessence had Obedience shuddering for a moment before she got used to the link. "He is," she agreed, her eyes squeezed shut. "Not a fan of the rats, though." Though it took some effort, she managed to open her eyes again, giving them a few seconds to adjust to the pretty purple sparks dancing behind them. "I'm not much of an animal person, save doves."

[feral-little-multi]

Curse nodded, goofy little grin on their face. It'd always loved Cumulus - not quite as much as Mountain, but still a fair amount. Though, in all fairness, pretty much everyone loved Cumulus. Anyone that didn't was watched constantly from the darkness by a terrifying little feral multi ghoul.

It cooed as it tilted its head at that, brows furrowed. "Don't like rats? Only doves?" They looked at the rat they'd caught as a present for her, cogs turning in their mind. Should they have gotten a dove instead? A noise of realisation escaped them as they started to get up, taking the time to stretch for peak hunting abilities first.

[sister-obedience]

"Nope, nope, not what I meant!" Keeping her grip gentle so as to not spook the little ghoul, Obedience tugged it gingerly back down into her lap, stroking its hair in an attempt to calm it down again. "Please don't bring me a dead dove," she said, disturbed by the very thought. "Or an injured one, either, I would literally cry for days."

[feral-little-multi]

Curse twisted a little to watch where Obedience put her hands, more out of curiosity now than fear or overwhelm. It gave a huff of reluctant agreement, snuggling back up to her happily.

"What about pet?" It asked through its quintessence, scarred tail flicking around in intrigue. They wanted to know more about Obedience's like for doves.

[sister-obedience]

Grateful she hadn't triggered anything, Obedience said, "Would you believe I actually had a pet dove once? His name was Rafael. I think he belonged to the church, technically, but I was in charge of keeping an eye on him."

They'd clipped his wings to keep him on the grounds, though, and she'd eventually stolen him and set him free. She'd found his little body on the side of the road the next morning.

Obedience cleared her throat. "Birds probably shouldn't be pets," she murmured. "It doesn't seem fair to keep them in cages."

[feral-little-multi]

"Loose," It suggested, though the thought of a bird loose in the ministry around the ghouls was definitely a bad idea. "Or bird room. Like Copia rat room." Curse said through its quintessence, having enjoyed their time spent curled up with Copia in the room he'd had made for his rats' enrichment.

[sister-obedience]

Obedience pursed her lips for a moment, considering. "That might work," she eventually said. She doubted it would ever happen, but it was nice to think about.

Fighting down an involuntary shudder at Curse's quintessence, she glanced down to ask, "Do ghouls keep pets? Or is that just a human thing?" With a playful wink, she added, "Or do you guys see us as pets?"

[feral-little-multi]

Curse tilted their head from side to side a couple times, the sides of its face touching its shoulders with every turn, as they listened to Obedience. "Mountain calls me pet." It stated with its quintessence, a sly smirk on their face. "You are equal."

[sister-obedience]

"Oh, does he? Cute," Obedience cooed.

"Kinda surprised you'd consider us equal, though. Ghouls are so much stronger." She said it as if she didn't have one of them laying perfectly relaxed in her lap.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse huffed a little breath of laughter - they rarely gave anything more than that, even to those they're close to - and shook their head. "You are equal. You." It repeated, more emphasis on the 'you'.

[sister-obedience]

"Oh, just me?" Though she attempted to laugh it off, Obedience was immensely flattered. "What's so special about me? That I'm a summoner, or that I'm mated to a ghoul?"

[feral-little-multi]

Curse tilted its head a few times either side, watching Obedience like they were trying to figure out the right words. Eventually, they settled on the very vague response of, "Potential. Firey potential." Before stretching and gently nipping her hand affectionately. "Hungry. Kitchen?"

[sister-obedience]

Fiery potential? Obedience wasn't quite sure what to make of that. She'd definitely been called fiery before, but she wasn't sure that was what Curse was getting at. "Careful of the hands," she said, gently easing them away. "There're scars under the gloves." Partially to avoid bring the mood down, she agreed, "A snack sounds great."

[feral-little-multi]

Curse raised a brow, looking at their tail for a couple seconds, then to their body, then back to Obedience. The little ghoul was covered in scars from fights with not only animals in the woods, but also other ghouls - they'd been feral for so long that they'd not been able to get their wounds healed when they happened. "We all have those."

[sister-obedience]

"True," Obedience agreed. She wasn't sure what else to say. She wasn't exactly in the habit of telling people how her sars had happened. As far as she knew, only Sister Imperator, Swiss, and Dew were fully aware of her history. Phantom, too, maybe, but she wasn't entirely sure. If he knew, he hadn't said anything. "How about that snack?" she asked in a very obvious attempt to change the subject.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse stared at her for a few moments, then decided to leave the conversation where it was. It was fond of Obedience, yes, but it wasn't the best at those kinds of conversations. Instead, it looped its tail around her forearm, tugging her along as it headed to the kitchen.

[sister-obedience]

Grateful the conversation had been dropped, Obedience allowed Curse to lead her out into the hallway. It was pitch black, and she kept as close as she could without getting caught under the ghoul's feet. Her voice soft, so as to not wake anyone, Obedience asked, "You can probably see just fine out here, can't you?"

[feral-little-multi]

Curse nodded, momentarily forgetting Obedience couldn't see, then tapped her arm with the spade of its tail to signify a 'yes'. At some point relatively soon in the journey, Curse stopped in its tracks, staring up at the ceiling. It wanted to use a shortcut to get to the kitchen quicker, like it would when travelling alone, but Obedience didn't have the claws, tail, or instincts of a ghoul, and it knew Swiss'd take the next plane back if his mate got hurt.

With a huff, it tugged Obedience back to the normal path toward the kitchen, weaving through hallways as if it had them memorised despite spending most of their time outdoors.

[sister-obedience]

Obedience followed close behind Curse until she heard the door that led into the dining hall open. Feeling along the stone wall, she flipped the overhead light switch, blinking in the sudden brightness.

They trekked through the dining hall, past the tables and through the door that led into into the kitchen itself. Turning that light on, too, Obedience asked, "What kinda snack you got in mind?"

[feral-little-multi]

Curse made a little noise, sort of like a clicking sound, and didn't give a worded answer. They didn't know exactly what they wanted, just what it felt like. Turning their head a little further than should be normal, it bit nothing like signalling they wanted something hard, something crunchy.

After a while of digging through cupboards, Curse eventually turned its attention to the expensive pizza oven Copia had bought to please his ghouls. It made a noise of intrigue, sniffing at the coals used to fuel it.

[sister-obedience]

Obedience hung back as Curse dug through the cabinets, crossing her arms over her chest and letting it do as it pleased. She wasn't especially hungry herself, but she was more than willing to humor the little ghoul.

When it showed interest in the pizza oven, she said, "You wanting pizza?"

[feral-little-multi]

Curse looked at her like she'd grown a second head, even though what Obedience suggested was a completely normal, rational thing. But Curse was a ghoul, and while some ghouls ate bugs, Curse preferred something a little.. Different.

Still looking at Obedience, it reached towards the coals, grabbing the first one their clawed fingertips touched and pulling it from where it rested. It didn't even inspect it before putting it straight in its mouth, crunching away like it was some kind of delicacy.

[sister-obedience]

Curse waited in eager anticipation for Obedience to return to her room. It'd caught her a nice gift, feeling like she needed a little pickup since Swiss was away on the Skeletour. Currently, they sat curled up on the rafter beams in Obedience's dorm, looking much like a sleep paralysis demon with the way their claws dug into the wood and their tail dangled down.

@feral-little-multi

Obedience was lonely, as crazy as that sounded. Sunshine was here, and Omega and Cumulus, but without Swiss and Dew and Phantom around, it wasn't the same. There were a few phone calls a day, but it wasn't enough. She sighed as she stepped into her room, toeing off her heels before she clicked the fairy lights on, bathing the room in a pretty violet glow. She gasped hard when something brushed her shoulder, and her wide eyes followed it up to the rafters, hissing, "Who's there?"

[feral-little-multi]

Curse shifted to pop its head down from the rafter beam, much too far to be a normal range of movement, and gave a happy little mewl at the sight of Obedience. They quickly moved back up to snatch the gift in their mighty jaws, hopping down from the beam to land behind her.

Watching her turn around, it stood with its hands behind its back, proudly displaying a large dead rat held between sharp, dangerous fangs. A gift.

[sister-obedience]

Obedience watched in puzzled silence as Curse climbed down, taking a step back when she caught site of the rat in its teeth. Was this a present? Like how Bazooka Joe sometimes brought her and Mac mice and leaves? It was sweet, in a weird, gross kind of way.

Doing her best not to let her discomfort show, she crossed her arms over her chest, teasing, "I sure hope that's not one of Frater Imperator's rats. You know how he got after Papa ate one."

[feral-little-multi]

Curse tilted their head, a little too far to be normal, and dropped the rat at Obedience's feet. Its tail swayed happily behind them, eager for her to accept its gift.

It chirped at the mention of Copia's rats, a wicked grin on their face. They'd never go after the sweet creatures, not really, but a beast of pure chaos never let the opportunity to annoy fade when they could so easily sieze it.

[sister-obedience]

Well, at least dropping the dead rat hadn't gotten blood on her, Obedience thought with a grimace.

Curse's grin reminded her just a little of Swiss, and she asked, "Y'know I'm not gonna eat that, right? Like, I appreciate the gesture, but you can have it." She stepped away, taking a seat on the edge of her bed and starting on removing her veil. "I don't even like live rats, let alone dead ones."

[feral-little-multi]

The second Obedience was sat down, Curse was curled up beside her with its head on her lap. It used to do the same with Sister Imperator, but after her passing, they started to do it with Obedience instead. It was bittersweet, in a way, but Curse found her a very comforting presence. She was lucky it hadn't decided to eat the rat on her lap, though. That would've been a disaster.

[sister-obedience]

Obedience gave a little huff of laughter when Curse collapsed into her lap. It was sweet, honestly, and she reached a hand down to card it through its hair, watching the strands catch the light. There was a strange, iridescent shimmer to it that she deeply, deeply envied. It was gorgeous. She asked, "You use special conditioner to make your hair all shimmery or what? It's like an oil slick."

[feral-little-multi]

Curse shook its head, twisting the upper half of their body to bury its face in her tummy. They started to make a noise, then realised Obedience probably wouldn't understand what it meant, so it huffed dramatically and reached one hand up to finger spell "ghoul perk" in sign. It was just something their glamour picked up from their more hellish form from the Pit. Though they kicked up one hell of a fuss at being glamoured in the first place, Primo had managed to get them into a partial glamour that they wore on Ministry grounds, despite hating it.

[sister-obedience]

Obedience flinched a bit when Curse hid its face against her stomach. "G-H-O-- Oh! Yeah, gotcha." She wasn't the best with signing, but she knew the alphabet, so that helped. It wasn't the best, but it was enough for little things like this. She carefully removed the rest of her veil and guimpe, tossing it off towards the foot of the bed. When she returned her attention to Curse, she asked, "What're you doing in here, anyway?" Her tone made it clear she didn't mind the company in the slightest. "You just lonely with everyone off on tour?" Obedience certainly was.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse huffed, their tail flicking a couple times. It didn't want to show how upset it was without the rest of the pack there, but they knew there was no point hiding anything from Obedience. They found it odd, not being on tour. They'd had to sit this one out because they just couldn't seem to get along with Perpetua - they kept biting him and hissing when he got too close - and the Ministry was concerned with how that would effect the shows. Well, that, and the fact they just couldn't leave Copia when he was so stressed with all his new responsibilities.

[sister-obedience]

"Yeah, you're usually out with 'em when they tour, huh?" Obedience asked, petting Curse's hair again. She'd only ever attended the Rite Here Right Now tour, and the way that one had ended, she was more than okay with staying back at the abbey. The problem was that her mate wasn't here. They really should've put off knotting until after the tour, but neither she nor Swiss were very good at looking ahead. It had just sort of happened on a whim.

She sighed, glancing down at Curse and asking, "Must be hard to be away from Mountain, huh?"

[feral-little-multi]

Oh, Mountain. How they missed their gentle giant. A quiet noise of discontent escaped them, hating how it had to end every night and begin every morning without him. It was awful, and they spent most nights in the woods now, curled up in secret spots they'd found when they were feral.

"How you? No Swiss. No Bug." It signed, using finger spelling and going slowly for her. It had to teach them more sign, one of these days. They left the "no Seestor" unsigned, but it was still floating around in their thoughts.

[sister-obedience]

Curse's sad little noise nearly broke Obedience's heart. She knew exactly how it must've felt. The fact that Mac had Aether around the abbey didn't help. Maybe that was petty, but Obedience couldn't help how she felt.

She nodded along as Curse spelled out its question. "I'm okay," she said with a halfhearted shrug. "Sunny and Lus are here, so it's not like I'm totally alone or anything. And it's been nice having Copia around." His takeover of mother's title didn't fill the hole Sister Imperator's loss had left in Obedience's heart, but he did his best to be there for her, and she greatly appreciated it.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse gave a small, dreamy sigh at the mention of Cumulus, melting a little into Obedience with a cute little grin on their face. They loved Mountain more than anything, but Cumulus held such a dear place in its heart.

Deciding it'd had enough of finger spelling, Curse moved on to use their quintessence to speak directly into Obedience's mind. It was odd, very fucking odd, and their voice sounded like two voices at once - one higher pitch, one lower, mostly synced up but a little disjointed at times. "Papa's nice to have around. Like his rats." It'd still not quite gotten the hang of calling Copia 'Frater', still giving him his old title.

[sister-obedience]

Obedience giggled, "Someone's got a crush, huh? Can't say I blame you." She had a soft spot for Cumulus, too. How could anyone not? She was warm and soft and an absolutely amazing kisser and her fingers were so very, very talented.

The quintessence had Obedience shuddering for a moment before she got used to the link. "He is," she agreed, her eyes squeezed shut. "Not a fan of the rats, though." Though it took some effort, she managed to open her eyes again, giving them a few seconds to adjust to the pretty purple sparks dancing behind them. "I'm not much of an animal person, save doves."

[feral-little-multi]

Curse nodded, goofy little grin on their face. It'd always loved Cumulus - not quite as much as Mountain, but still a fair amount. Though, in all fairness, pretty much everyone loved Cumulus. Anyone that didn't was watched constantly from the darkness by a terrifying little feral multi ghoul.

It cooed as it tilted its head at that, brows furrowed. "Don't like rats? Only doves?" They looked at the rat they'd caught as a present for her, cogs turning in their mind. Should they have gotten a dove instead? A noise of realisation escaped them as they started to get up, taking the time to stretch for peak hunting abilities first.

[sister-obedience]

"Nope, nope, not what I meant!" Keeping her grip gentle so as to not spook the little ghoul, Obedience tugged it gingerly back down into her lap, stroking its hair in an attempt to calm it down again. "Please don't bring me a dead dove," she said, disturbed by the very thought. "Or an injured one, either, I would literally cry for days."

[feral-little-multi]

Curse twisted a little to watch where Obedience put her hands, more out of curiosity now than fear or overwhelm. It gave a huff of reluctant agreement, snuggling back up to her happily.

"What about pet?" It asked through its quintessence, scarred tail flicking around in intrigue. They wanted to know more about Obedience's like for doves.

[sister-obedience]

Grateful she hadn't triggered anything, Obedience said, "Would you believe I actually had a pet dove once? His name was Rafael. I think he belonged to the church, technically, but I was in charge of keeping an eye on him."

They'd clipped his wings to keep him on the grounds, though, and she'd eventually stolen him and set him free. She'd found his little body on the side of the road the next morning.

Obedience cleared her throat. "Birds probably shouldn't be pets," she murmured. "It doesn't seem fair to keep them in cages."

[feral-little-multi]

"Loose," It suggested, though the thought of a bird loose in the ministry around the ghouls was definitely a bad idea. "Or bird room. Like Copia rat room." Curse said through its quintessence, having enjoyed their time spent curled up with Copia in the room he'd had made for his rats' enrichment.

[sister-obedience]

Obedience pursed her lips for a moment, considering. "That might work," she eventually said. She doubted it would ever happen, but it was nice to think about.

Fighting down an involuntary shudder at Curse's quintessence, she glanced down to ask, "Do ghouls keep pets? Or is that just a human thing?" With a playful wink, she added, "Or do you guys see us as pets?"

[feral-little-multi]

Curse tilted their head from side to side a couple times, the sides of its face touching its shoulders with every turn, as they listened to Obedience. "Mountain calls me pet." It stated with its quintessence, a sly smirk on their face. "You are equal."

[sister-obedience]

"Oh, does he? Cute," Obedience cooed.

"Kinda surprised you'd consider us equal, though. Ghouls are so much stronger." She said it as if she didn't have one of them laying perfectly relaxed in her lap.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse huffed a little breath of laughter - they rarely gave anything more than that, even to those they're close to - and shook their head. "You are equal. You." It repeated, more emphasis on the 'you'.

[sister-obedience]

"Oh, just me?" Though she attempted to laugh it off, Obedience was immensely flattered. "What's so special about me? That I'm a summoner, or that I'm mated to a ghoul?"

[feral-little-multi]

Curse tilted its head a few times either side, watching Obedience like they were trying to figure out the right words. Eventually, they settled on the very vague response of, "Potential. Firey potential." Before stretching and gently nipping her hand affectionately. "Hungry. Kitchen?"

[sister-obedience]

Fiery potential? Obedience wasn't quite sure what to make of that. She'd definitely been called fiery before, but she wasn't sure that was what Curse was getting at. "Careful of the hands," she said, gently easing them away. "There're scars under the gloves." Partially to avoid bring the mood down, she agreed, "A snack sounds great."

[feral-little-multi]

Curse raised a brow, looking at their tail for a couple seconds, then to their body, then back to Obedience. The little ghoul was covered in scars from fights with not only animals in the woods, but also other ghouls - they'd been feral for so long that they'd not been able to get their wounds healed when they happened. "We all have those."

[sister-obedience]

"True," Obedience agreed. She wasn't sure what else to say. She wasn't exactly in the habit of telling people how her sars had happened. As far as she knew, only Sister Imperator, Swiss, and Dew were fully aware of her history. Phantom, too, maybe, but she wasn't entirely sure. If he knew, he hadn't said anything. "How about that snack?" she asked in a very obvious attempt to change the subject.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse stared at her for a few moments, then decided to leave the conversation where it was. It was fond of Obedience, yes, but it wasn't the best at those kinds of conversations. Instead, it looped its tail around her forearm, tugging her along as it headed to the kitchen.

[sister-obedience]

Grateful the conversation had been dropped, Obedience allowed Curse to lead her out into the hallway. It was pitch black, and she kept as close as she could without getting caught under the ghoul's feet. Her voice soft, so as to not wake anyone, Obedience asked, "You can probably see just fine out here, can't you?"

[feral-little-multi]

Curse nodded, momentarily forgetting Obedience couldn't see, then tapped her arm with the spade of its tail to signify a 'yes'. At some point relatively soon in the journey, Curse stopped in its tracks, staring up at the ceiling. It wanted to use a shortcut to get to the kitchen quicker, like it would when travelling alone, but Obedience didn't have the claws, tail, or instincts of a ghoul, and it knew Swiss'd take the next plane back if his mate got hurt.

With a huff, it tugged Obedience back to the normal path toward the kitchen, weaving through hallways as if it had them memorised despite spending most of their time outdoors.

[sister-obedience]

Obedience followed close behind Curse until she heard the door that led into the dining hall open. Feeling along the stone wall, she flipped the overhead light switch, blinking in the sudden brightness.

They trekked through the dining hall, past the tables and through the door that led into into the kitchen itself. Turning that light on, too, Obedience asked, "What kinda snack you got in mind?"

[feral-little-multi]

Curse made a little noise, sort of like a clicking sound, and didn't give a worded answer. They didn't know exactly what they wanted, just what it felt like. Turning their head a little further than should be normal, it bit nothing like signalling they wanted something hard, something crunchy.

After a while of digging through cupboards, Curse eventually turned its attention to the expensive pizza oven Copia had bought to please his ghouls. It made a noise of intrigue, sniffing at the coals used to fuel it.

[feral-little-multi]

Winter is fun, but it is a big change. Things go from being bright, warm, sunny and bustling with greenery, to brown, cool and dry, all the way to icy, freezing, white and wet. All within a few months!

Of course, Curse wasn't having a very good time adapting. It had only been topside since June, and seemed to have enjoyed the warm summer, but now it was January and the entire great lake had frozen over with a thick layer of ice.

Scorch had taken it upon himself to help Curse enjoy this change, wrapping it up with layers of comfortable jackets and jumpers, two layers of joggers, well fitting ice skates, a big, woolly scarf and a cozy hat. He'd tried to get gloves on it, but it didn't like that idea.

Scorch was wearing similar attire, to help Curse not feel singled out or anything, as he helped it skate to the center of the lake. Unfortunately, the plan wasn't going too well. . .

- @scorch-was-here

Curse loved the idea of winter, when they were tucked up between the older ghouls next to the fireplace, watching the snow fall outside, but it absolutely fucking despised being forced to wear warm clothes to do anything fun. In all fairness, it just hated wearing clothes - it was a sensory nightmare, and they'd never had to wear them in the years it spent prowling the woods around the ministry.

It didn't stay upright on the ice for long, not even with Scorch's help. Much like Bambi, they fumbled around a bit on all fours before giving up and falling, resembling a cat on a lead with the way it just flopped over and refused to move.

[scorch-was-here]

"Damnit- Curse, are you okay?" Scorch asked, worried it had hurt themself. He skated over and dropped down to squat next to them, mindful of their fingers. He was trying desperately to keep a cool head so that his fire magic would cool down, so as not to risk melting or cracking the ice.

"If you want, I can get you a stick to hold onto so you don't fall, or you could hold onto me!" It seemed like a fair offer, with two options in case either were terrible.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse gave a small grumble, biting at the clothes they'd been forced into. It really didn't wanna wear them for longer than they absolutely had to, and the length of time they'd tolerate being swaddled up was rapidly coming to an end. The iceskates on their feet meant they only had their hands to claw with - unfortunately for them, the ghoulettes had dragged it into a spa day a couple night before and trimmed their claws down for less.. dangerous rough housing.

It looked up at Scorch, more than a little disgruntled, and made a noise as if saying "this is your fault."

[scorch-was-here]

The fire ghoul sighed, nodding in recognition. He looked out to the smallish, wooden dock at the edge of the lake, which seemed to be miles away from where they were. Looking down again, Scorch said, "yeah, I know. Wanna go back?"

He pointed with his thumb towards the dock, skating one push in that direction. Then, Scorch crouched down to try and meet Curse at their level.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse managed to manoeuvre themself enough to grab hold of Scorch's tail, giving him a nod as if asking for him to pull it along. It certainly wasn't about to get up again, not unless it was picked up and plonked back down on the ice. Being a multi of fire, quint, and water, they wondered how the ice wasn't melting with the heat from the two of them.

[scorch-was-here]

Well, that must have jinxed it, because only a few strides towards the edge, Scorch heard the dreadful crack of ice underfoot. He froze in his place, looking down to see the damage. It was a deep crack, any more would risk breaking through to the water underneath.

Scorch took a deep breath, trying to cool his internal flame as he looked back at Curse, trying not to move too much. "Curse, buddy, I need you to be very calm right now. I'm gonna try to get us to the edge safely, but you can't panic or else we'll get hurt, okay?"

[feral-little-multi]

The second Curse saw the cracks, their pupils dilated as wide as they possibly could. It let go of Scorch's tail, slapping its hands down on where the crack was to try and feel any water coming up from underneath. Their tail swished around happily behind them - for such a bathtime hating ghoul, they sure did love water. Unfortunately, their actions only made the crack worse, spreading deeper and longer across the lake.

[scorch-was-here]

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, shit! Curse, stop that!" He didn't mean to snap, but there were bigger problems right now. He was a big ghoul, he could handle bites and scratches and hitting.

Scooping Curse up clean of their feet, Scorch held his breath as if to beg the ice not to break. Technically, Curse probably wouldn't drown thanks to it's water, but that wasn't guaranteed, and the temperature was a bigger issue.

Fire ghouls and ice did not mix well.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse hissed when Scorch snapped, ears pinning back and fangs bared in defence. Even after so many long, hard years topside, they still hadn't quite learnt that one little snap doesn't quite mean permanent hatred. It squirmed a lot in his grasp, trying to get free without accidentally hurting him. Keeping the ice skates away from anything too easily wounded was also a little troublesome, since they weren't used to having anything on their feet.

If the ice broke too much and they both fell in, Curse would most likely help Scorch out - even if he'd yelled at it for hours, they'd never leave him to perish in the freezing cold of the lake - but it still wouldn't be ideal. He was a lot bigger than them, after all.

[scorch-was-here]

"Quit fucking- shit!" Scorch was definitely panicking now, trying to skate away from the breakage, but only causing more. In a burst of energy, Scorch began skating as fast as he could towards the dock.

The cracks chased him, and he winced from the shallow scratches, but the fire ghoul was determined to get the multi to dry land, before either of them got hypothermia.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse settled a little, watching the cracks grow with wide, admiring mismatched eyes. It wanted to crawl under the ice, just to see what it was like - though they were plenty aware that Scorch wouldn't let them. A small noise escaped them as they shifted to press their face against Scorch's cheek, then another noise as they tried to convey how much they missed the water. The urgency and danger of the situation didn't quite settle into their mind.

[scorch-was-here]

The dock was so close, but so was the cracks, and the great lake had never seemed so large before. It was like being in a nightmare, where you just couldn't run fast enough.

"it's okay, it's okay," he repeated, more to himself than to Curse. One bad stroke of his foot sent Scorch tumbling, and he threw Curse over to the dock, hoping it wouldn't run back out to the centre of the lake.

The cracking had stopped, but it was still dangerous and Scorch was panting. His panic caused the ice to melt faster, and he forced himself to stay still.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse yelped as they were thrown, shaking its whole body after to reorient itself. It saw the cracks surrounding Scorch, and the melting of the ice around him, and they tried to step towards the edge of the lake to help. The clothes they'd been forced to wear made it a little difficult for it to move as nimbly as it liked, so they growled to themself as it tore off the numerous jackets and joggers, then the skates, and then it dashed as quickly towards Scorch as they could on the ice, using its claws to grip lightly so they didn't stumble.

Getting him to safety would be another thing, though - they were much, much smaller than him (though, to be fair, they were smaller than pretty much every ghoul) and they usually relied on all four of their arms & legs to walk. Deciding to just do what felt best in the moment, it sank its fangs into the hood of Scorch's jacket and began dragging him with it as they scurried across the rapidly breaking ice.

[scorch-was-here]

He of course helped out by moving himself with Curse - he wasn't a deer in headlights, after all. Scorch liked to think of himself as being able to not lose his head and desperate situations, but clearly he hadn't felt this fear in years.

When they met the snowy shore, Scorch finally let himself collapse into a panting mess. He looked between the broken ice and Curse, wondering how many ways they'd gotten lucky, and feeling so stupid for not knowing what to do.

"thank you," he breathed, after panting for a good long while.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse nuzzled their face against his, hoping the action was soothing. It had very soft hair, after all, now that they'd learnt what conditioner was. While they hadn't been as panicked as Scorch, there was still some adrenaline coarsing through their veins, and their tail flicked about wildly. They wanted to play with the ice, but Scorch was more important than their entertainment.

Curling up next to him (moreso on top of him, really, since their head was buried in his neck and their arms were fully over his chest), they tried to heat themself up enough to relax and soothe him.

[scorch-was-here]

With a sigh, he wrapped his burly arms around the twig of a ghoul, using his fire to warm it up. He let himself lay there for a while, calming down enough to move properly.

"Wanna go back to the Ministry? I'll get you some hot chocolate or something, if you want," he asked softly, stroking its silky hair as a grounding method before sitting up.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse had nestled as close as possible when Scorch wrapped his arms around them. It didn't quite start purring, they hardly ever did that anymore, but it was certainly happy to be held.

At the mention of hot chocolate, they looked up at Scorch with happier eyes than he'd ever seen them have. It nodded, immediately scrambling off his lap to head back to the Ministry.

[scorch-was-here]

He dragged himself to his feet, taking off the ice skates as he worked. He didn't mind walking back barefoot - he'd keep himself warm and besides, he appreciated feeling solid ground beneath his paws.

When they finally got back, Scorch dumped all the excess clothing into the allocated tub before quickly heading to his bedroom to change into something more cozy.

"You want marshmallows?" He asked, pouring his and Curse's cups of hot chocolate into their mugs.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse clambered up onto the worktop, investigating the hot chocolate closely. It tilted and turned its head, watching with intrigue. They kept their head tilted as they looked up at the mention of marshmallows, the angle definitely not a normal one, and stuck out its weirdly long tongue as if asking for a taste of the marshmallow first.

[scorch-was-here]

Scorch plucked one out of the bag of minis, tossing it for Curse to catch. He added a handful to his own mug as he awaited an answer. His mug was a thermal design that revealed a gradient of red, orange and yellow. It was big and sturdy.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse tasted the marshmallow, making a few faces as they ate. It wasn't sure on the texture, but it seemed to like the taste. With a small trill, they reached towards the bag, giving Scorch the face of a sweet little angel so that he'd let them have the bag.

But that was a terrible, awful, horrible idea. The second Curse had the bag of mini marshmallows in their clutches, it tipped it up into their cup and let almost half the bag spill into their cup. And onto the worktop. And onto the floor.

[scorch-was-here]

"Ah, shit- Curse!" Scorch scolded, "don't do that!" He confiscated the bag and cleaned up what marshmallows he could. The ones on the tiled floor had to be binned, but the rest that hadn't gotten hot chocolate on them were salvageable.

"Don't waste them, okay?"

[feral-little-multi]

Curse managed to eat a fair few that'd spilt, a smug little grin on their face as they looked at Scorch. It was honestly worse than Swiss and Sunny when it came to causing chaos, and those two together were a force to be fucking reckoned with. Poor Curse lacked any and all impulse control, so they were just acting on instinct and impulsive thoughts. Sathanas below, let's hope they don't start acting on its intrusive thoughts.

[scorch-was-here]

"Okay, enjoy your hot chocolate. Don't spill it, okay?" He said, ruffling the top of their head affectionately. He was starting to feel better after the ice, but was still a bit shocked. That didn't matter now, though. Curse was safe, no one was hurt, and he could move on with his week.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse nodded, giving a small, affectionate nip to Scorch's hand. It could sense he was still a little shaken from the ice, and it wanted to help - Scorch had helped them, it was only fair to return the favour. "Sit?" It signed, hoping Scorch knew sign.

[scorch-was-here]

He took a good minute to remember, but he did manage to understand the movement. "Oh, sit, right." He sat down at the table and brought his hot chocolate to his lips, taking a deep sip. It was still too hot for most to drink properly, but his throat was heat resistant.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse sat on a chair next to Scorch, definitely not sitting properly with the way their knees were up by their face, watching him closely as if trying to figure out what would help him. It thought, briefly, about catching something small for him, but after the reaction Copia had given last time Curse caught him something, they didn't want to risk the screaming.

[scorch-was-here]

Scorch was most definitely shaken up from the incident at the lake, staring a thousand yards. He was trying to be good for Curse, but everything was far away. He was just as useless as he was back when he failed to protect them.

"You're okay, right?" Scorch asked after a long moment of silence, "Not too cold, or hurt? I can get someone to help if you're hurt, and I'll warm you up if you're cold."

[feral-little-multi]

Curse gave a small whine, wanting to help Scorch but not knowing how. It looked around, as if their rapid gaze would somehow magic up a solution to their problem.

Deciding they wouldn't get far without communication - honestly, it realising that was a huge feat in and of itself, given how stubborn and independent it tends to be - Curse used their quintessence to talk directly into Scorch's mind. "Help you." It said, the telepathic voice sounding like two voices combined into one; a lower pitch, and a higher pitch, speaking just slightly out of sync.

[scorch-was-here]

Scorch looked down at Curse in surprise at hearing them speak telepathically. "Help me? What do you mean?" he asked, completely stumped. Surely he wasn't the one that needed to be helped? He drank the rest of his hot chocolate in one gulped, needing to feel something burn in his mouth.

[feral-little-multi]

"Sad. Destructive." It said through their quintessence, leaning a little closer to Scorch. Curse took note of the way he gulped down his hot chocolate, mismatched eyes seeing through every excuse he could ever hope to make.

[scorch-was-here]

"I'm not destructive," Scorch lied. He was an overcompensating, self destructive mess of a fire ghoul who was too desperate to please and help everyone else to keep them safe and alive. "And I'm not sad."

[feral-little-multi]

"Defensive." Curse pointed out, stating the fact while not knowing it could be taken as making fun or teasing. "Very sad. Why?" It tried to show that it was fine, having not been injured at all from the ice, but the position they were sitting in made it a little difficult to show off their limbs.

[scorch-was-here]

"I'm not defen-" Scorch cut himself off with a sigh, realising he was simply proving Curse's point. He groaned into his hand, frustrated even further with himself for being so worked up.

"Curse, I know you're okay, and I'm glad, I'm just upset because you could very easily not have been. It was my fault we were out there in the first place and it was my fault the ice began to break. I'm just upset because I want to make sure you and everyone else are safe around me. Does that make sense?"

[feral-little-multi]

Curse gave a small noise, something like a huff of acknowledgement, and clambered down from its chair. It bit lightly at Scorch's hand, trying to tug him over to the sofa. Clearly, the fire ghoul needed comfort and reassurance, and Curse was right there to help out.

[scorch-was-here]

The bite hurt a bit, but not enough to complain. Just a small sting, really. Scorch allowed Curse to drag him to the sofa, which was incredibly large and wide given the amount of ghouls that regularly had to use the space.

The sofa was plush, a bit bouncy, had a cool design on the fabric, and had a few cushions that several ghouls had placed there - notably Aurora and her princess pillow, or Rain and his own.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse shoved Scorch down onto the sofa, then immediately curled up in his lap like a happy little cat. It was so teeny tiny in comparison to him, barely a portion of his size, so cuddling like that was relatively easy. For a multi, Curse was pretty warm - their fire was always stronger than their quint or water - but not unbearably hot. More like a cosy warmth that worked its way out from the heart.

[sister-obedience]

Curse waited in eager anticipation for Obedience to return to her room. It'd caught her a nice gift, feeling like she needed a little pickup since Swiss was away on the Skeletour. Currently, they sat curled up on the rafter beams in Obedience's dorm, looking much like a sleep paralysis demon with the way their claws dug into the wood and their tail dangled down.

@feral-little-multi

Obedience was lonely, as crazy as that sounded. Sunshine was here, and Omega and Cumulus, but without Swiss and Dew and Phantom around, it wasn't the same. There were a few phone calls a day, but it wasn't enough. She sighed as she stepped into her room, toeing off her heels before she clicked the fairy lights on, bathing the room in a pretty violet glow. She gasped hard when something brushed her shoulder, and her wide eyes followed it up to the rafters, hissing, "Who's there?"

[feral-little-multi]

Curse shifted to pop its head down from the rafter beam, much too far to be a normal range of movement, and gave a happy little mewl at the sight of Obedience. They quickly moved back up to snatch the gift in their mighty jaws, hopping down from the beam to land behind her.

Watching her turn around, it stood with its hands behind its back, proudly displaying a large dead rat held between sharp, dangerous fangs. A gift.

[sister-obedience]

Obedience watched in puzzled silence as Curse climbed down, taking a step back when she caught site of the rat in its teeth. Was this a present? Like how Bazooka Joe sometimes brought her and Mac mice and leaves? It was sweet, in a weird, gross kind of way.

Doing her best not to let her discomfort show, she crossed her arms over her chest, teasing, "I sure hope that's not one of Frater Imperator's rats. You know how he got after Papa ate one."

[feral-little-multi]

Curse tilted their head, a little too far to be normal, and dropped the rat at Obedience's feet. Its tail swayed happily behind them, eager for her to accept its gift.

It chirped at the mention of Copia's rats, a wicked grin on their face. They'd never go after the sweet creatures, not really, but a beast of pure chaos never let the opportunity to annoy fade when they could so easily sieze it.

[sister-obedience]

Well, at least dropping the dead rat hadn't gotten blood on her, Obedience thought with a grimace.

Curse's grin reminded her just a little of Swiss, and she asked, "Y'know I'm not gonna eat that, right? Like, I appreciate the gesture, but you can have it." She stepped away, taking a seat on the edge of her bed and starting on removing her veil. "I don't even like live rats, let alone dead ones."

[feral-little-multi]

The second Obedience was sat down, Curse was curled up beside her with its head on her lap. It used to do the same with Sister Imperator, but after her passing, they started to do it with Obedience instead. It was bittersweet, in a way, but Curse found her a very comforting presence. She was lucky it hadn't decided to eat the rat on her lap, though. That would've been a disaster.

[sister-obedience]

Obedience gave a little huff of laughter when Curse collapsed into her lap. It was sweet, honestly, and she reached a hand down to card it through its hair, watching the strands catch the light. There was a strange, iridescent shimmer to it that she deeply, deeply envied. It was gorgeous. She asked, "You use special conditioner to make your hair all shimmery or what? It's like an oil slick."

[feral-little-multi]

Curse shook its head, twisting the upper half of their body to bury its face in her tummy. They started to make a noise, then realised Obedience probably wouldn't understand what it meant, so it huffed dramatically and reached one hand up to finger spell "ghoul perk" in sign. It was just something their glamour picked up from their more hellish form from the Pit. Though they kicked up one hell of a fuss at being glamoured in the first place, Primo had managed to get them into a partial glamour that they wore on Ministry grounds, despite hating it.

[sister-obedience]

Obedience flinched a bit when Curse hid its face against her stomach. "G-H-O-- Oh! Yeah, gotcha." She wasn't the best with signing, but she knew the alphabet, so that helped. It wasn't the best, but it was enough for little things like this. She carefully removed the rest of her veil and guimpe, tossing it off towards the foot of the bed. When she returned her attention to Curse, she asked, "What're you doing in here, anyway?" Her tone made it clear she didn't mind the company in the slightest. "You just lonely with everyone off on tour?" Obedience certainly was.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse huffed, their tail flicking a couple times. It didn't want to show how upset it was without the rest of the pack there, but they knew there was no point hiding anything from Obedience. They found it odd, not being on tour. They'd had to sit this one out because they just couldn't seem to get along with Perpetua - they kept biting him and hissing when he got too close - and the Ministry was concerned with how that would effect the shows. Well, that, and the fact they just couldn't leave Copia when he was so stressed with all his new responsibilities.

[sister-obedience]

"Yeah, you're usually out with 'em when they tour, huh?" Obedience asked, petting Curse's hair again. She'd only ever attended the Rite Here Right Now tour, and the way that one had ended, she was more than okay with staying back at the abbey. The problem was that her mate wasn't here. They really should've put off knotting until after the tour, but neither she nor Swiss were very good at looking ahead. It had just sort of happened on a whim.

She sighed, glancing down at Curse and asking, "Must be hard to be away from Mountain, huh?"

[feral-little-multi]

Oh, Mountain. How they missed their gentle giant. A quiet noise of discontent escaped them, hating how it had to end every night and begin every morning without him. It was awful, and they spent most nights in the woods now, curled up in secret spots they'd found when they were feral.

"How you? No Swiss. No Bug." It signed, using finger spelling and going slowly for her. It had to teach them more sign, one of these days. They left the "no Seestor" unsigned, but it was still floating around in their thoughts.

[sister-obedience]

Curse's sad little noise nearly broke Obedience's heart. She knew exactly how it must've felt. The fact that Mac had Aether around the abbey didn't help. Maybe that was petty, but Obedience couldn't help how she felt.

She nodded along as Curse spelled out its question. "I'm okay," she said with a halfhearted shrug. "Sunny and Lus are here, so it's not like I'm totally alone or anything. And it's been nice having Copia around." His takeover of mother's title didn't fill the hole Sister Imperator's loss had left in Obedience's heart, but he did his best to be there for her, and she greatly appreciated it.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse gave a small, dreamy sigh at the mention of Cumulus, melting a little into Obedience with a cute little grin on their face. They loved Mountain more than anything, but Cumulus held such a dear place in its heart.

Deciding it'd had enough of finger spelling, Curse moved on to use their quintessence to speak directly into Obedience's mind. It was odd, very fucking odd, and their voice sounded like two voices at once - one higher pitch, one lower, mostly synced up but a little disjointed at times. "Papa's nice to have around. Like his rats." It'd still not quite gotten the hang of calling Copia 'Frater', still giving him his old title.

[sister-obedience]

Obedience giggled, "Someone's got a crush, huh? Can't say I blame you." She had a soft spot for Cumulus, too. How could anyone not? She was warm and soft and an absolutely amazing kisser and her fingers were so very, very talented.

The quintessence had Obedience shuddering for a moment before she got used to the link. "He is," she agreed, her eyes squeezed shut. "Not a fan of the rats, though." Though it took some effort, she managed to open her eyes again, giving them a few seconds to adjust to the pretty purple sparks dancing behind them. "I'm not much of an animal person, save doves."

[feral-little-multi]

Curse nodded, goofy little grin on their face. It'd always loved Cumulus - not quite as much as Mountain, but still a fair amount. Though, in all fairness, pretty much everyone loved Cumulus. Anyone that didn't was watched constantly from the darkness by a terrifying little feral multi ghoul.

It cooed as it tilted its head at that, brows furrowed. "Don't like rats? Only doves?" They looked at the rat they'd caught as a present for her, cogs turning in their mind. Should they have gotten a dove instead? A noise of realisation escaped them as they started to get up, taking the time to stretch for peak hunting abilities first.

[sister-obedience]

"Nope, nope, not what I meant!" Keeping her grip gentle so as to not spook the little ghoul, Obedience tugged it gingerly back down into her lap, stroking its hair in an attempt to calm it down again. "Please don't bring me a dead dove," she said, disturbed by the very thought. "Or an injured one, either, I would literally cry for days."

[feral-little-multi]

Curse twisted a little to watch where Obedience put her hands, more out of curiosity now than fear or overwhelm. It gave a huff of reluctant agreement, snuggling back up to her happily.

"What about pet?" It asked through its quintessence, scarred tail flicking around in intrigue. They wanted to know more about Obedience's like for doves.

[sister-obedience]

Grateful she hadn't triggered anything, Obedience said, "Would you believe I actually had a pet dove once? His name was Rafael. I think he belonged to the church, technically, but I was in charge of keeping an eye on him."

They'd clipped his wings to keep him on the grounds, though, and she'd eventually stolen him and set him free. She'd found his little body on the side of the road the next morning.

Obedience cleared her throat. "Birds probably shouldn't be pets," she murmured. "It doesn't seem fair to keep them in cages."

[feral-little-multi]

"Loose," It suggested, though the thought of a bird loose in the ministry around the ghouls was definitely a bad idea. "Or bird room. Like Copia rat room." Curse said through its quintessence, having enjoyed their time spent curled up with Copia in the room he'd had made for his rats' enrichment.

[sister-obedience]

Obedience pursed her lips for a moment, considering. "That might work," she eventually said. She doubted it would ever happen, but it was nice to think about.

Fighting down an involuntary shudder at Curse's quintessence, she glanced down to ask, "Do ghouls keep pets? Or is that just a human thing?" With a playful wink, she added, "Or do you guys see us as pets?"

[feral-little-multi]

Curse tilted their head from side to side a couple times, the sides of its face touching its shoulders with every turn, as they listened to Obedience. "Mountain calls me pet." It stated with its quintessence, a sly smirk on their face. "You are equal."

[sister-obedience]

"Oh, does he? Cute," Obedience cooed.

"Kinda surprised you'd consider us equal, though. Ghouls are so much stronger." She said it as if she didn't have one of them laying perfectly relaxed in her lap.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse huffed a little breath of laughter - they rarely gave anything more than that, even to those they're close to - and shook their head. "You are equal. You." It repeated, more emphasis on the 'you'.

[sister-obedience]

"Oh, just me?" Though she attempted to laugh it off, Obedience was immensely flattered. "What's so special about me? That I'm a summoner, or that I'm mated to a ghoul?"

[feral-little-multi]

Curse tilted its head a few times either side, watching Obedience like they were trying to figure out the right words. Eventually, they settled on the very vague response of, "Potential. Firey potential." Before stretching and gently nipping her hand affectionately. "Hungry. Kitchen?"

[sister-obedience]

Fiery potential? Obedience wasn't quite sure what to make of that. She'd definitely been called fiery before, but she wasn't sure that was what Curse was getting at. "Careful of the hands," she said, gently easing them away. "There're scars under the gloves." Partially to avoid bring the mood down, she agreed, "A snack sounds great."

[feral-little-multi]

Curse raised a brow, looking at their tail for a couple seconds, then to their body, then back to Obedience. The little ghoul was covered in scars from fights with not only animals in the woods, but also other ghouls - they'd been feral for so long that they'd not been able to get their wounds healed when they happened. "We all have those."

[sister-obedience]

"True," Obedience agreed. She wasn't sure what else to say. She wasn't exactly in the habit of telling people how her sars had happened. As far as she knew, only Sister Imperator, Swiss, and Dew were fully aware of her history. Phantom, too, maybe, but she wasn't entirely sure. If he knew, he hadn't said anything. "How about that snack?" she asked in a very obvious attempt to change the subject.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse stared at her for a few moments, then decided to leave the conversation where it was. It was fond of Obedience, yes, but it wasn't the best at those kinds of conversations. Instead, it looped its tail around her forearm, tugging her along as it headed to the kitchen.

[sister-obedience]

Grateful the conversation had been dropped, Obedience allowed Curse to lead her out into the hallway. It was pitch black, and she kept as close as she could without getting caught under the ghoul's feet. Her voice soft, so as to not wake anyone, Obedience asked, "You can probably see just fine out here, can't you?"

[feral-little-multi]

Curse nodded, momentarily forgetting Obedience couldn't see, then tapped her arm with the spade of its tail to signify a 'yes'. At some point relatively soon in the journey, Curse stopped in its tracks, staring up at the ceiling. It wanted to use a shortcut to get to the kitchen quicker, like it would when travelling alone, but Obedience didn't have the claws, tail, or instincts of a ghoul, and it knew Swiss'd take the next plane back if his mate got hurt.

With a huff, it tugged Obedience back to the normal path toward the kitchen, weaving through hallways as if it had them memorised despite spending most of their time outdoors.

[caracuuw]

Daily affirmations:

-I can make my OC a worse person

-I can make my OC more miserable

-I can make my OC more repressed

-I can give my OC more issues

-I can make my OC more self loathing

-I can give my OC new fears and insecurities

[feral-little-multi]

Winter is fun, but it is a big change. Things go from being bright, warm, sunny and bustling with greenery, to brown, cool and dry, all the way to icy, freezing, white and wet. All within a few months!

Of course, Curse wasn't having a very good time adapting. It had only been topside since June, and seemed to have enjoyed the warm summer, but now it was January and the entire great lake had frozen over with a thick layer of ice.

Scorch had taken it upon himself to help Curse enjoy this change, wrapping it up with layers of comfortable jackets and jumpers, two layers of joggers, well fitting ice skates, a big, woolly scarf and a cozy hat. He'd tried to get gloves on it, but it didn't like that idea.

Scorch was wearing similar attire, to help Curse not feel singled out or anything, as he helped it skate to the center of the lake. Unfortunately, the plan wasn't going too well. . .

- @scorch-was-here

Curse loved the idea of winter, when they were tucked up between the older ghouls next to the fireplace, watching the snow fall outside, but it absolutely fucking despised being forced to wear warm clothes to do anything fun. In all fairness, it just hated wearing clothes - it was a sensory nightmare, and they'd never had to wear them in the years it spent prowling the woods around the ministry.

It didn't stay upright on the ice for long, not even with Scorch's help. Much like Bambi, they fumbled around a bit on all fours before giving up and falling, resembling a cat on a lead with the way it just flopped over and refused to move.

[scorch-was-here]

"Damnit- Curse, are you okay?" Scorch asked, worried it had hurt themself. He skated over and dropped down to squat next to them, mindful of their fingers. He was trying desperately to keep a cool head so that his fire magic would cool down, so as not to risk melting or cracking the ice.

"If you want, I can get you a stick to hold onto so you don't fall, or you could hold onto me!" It seemed like a fair offer, with two options in case either were terrible.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse gave a small grumble, biting at the clothes they'd been forced into. It really didn't wanna wear them for longer than they absolutely had to, and the length of time they'd tolerate being swaddled up was rapidly coming to an end. The iceskates on their feet meant they only had their hands to claw with - unfortunately for them, the ghoulettes had dragged it into a spa day a couple night before and trimmed their claws down for less.. dangerous rough housing.

It looked up at Scorch, more than a little disgruntled, and made a noise as if saying "this is your fault."

[scorch-was-here]

The fire ghoul sighed, nodding in recognition. He looked out to the smallish, wooden dock at the edge of the lake, which seemed to be miles away from where they were. Looking down again, Scorch said, "yeah, I know. Wanna go back?"

He pointed with his thumb towards the dock, skating one push in that direction. Then, Scorch crouched down to try and meet Curse at their level.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse managed to manoeuvre themself enough to grab hold of Scorch's tail, giving him a nod as if asking for him to pull it along. It certainly wasn't about to get up again, not unless it was picked up and plonked back down on the ice. Being a multi of fire, quint, and water, they wondered how the ice wasn't melting with the heat from the two of them.

[scorch-was-here]

Well, that must have jinxed it, because only a few strides towards the edge, Scorch heard the dreadful crack of ice underfoot. He froze in his place, looking down to see the damage. It was a deep crack, any more would risk breaking through to the water underneath.

Scorch took a deep breath, trying to cool his internal flame as he looked back at Curse, trying not to move too much. "Curse, buddy, I need you to be very calm right now. I'm gonna try to get us to the edge safely, but you can't panic or else we'll get hurt, okay?"

[feral-little-multi]

The second Curse saw the cracks, their pupils dilated as wide as they possibly could. It let go of Scorch's tail, slapping its hands down on where the crack was to try and feel any water coming up from underneath. Their tail swished around happily behind them - for such a bathtime hating ghoul, they sure did love water. Unfortunately, their actions only made the crack worse, spreading deeper and longer across the lake.

[scorch-was-here]

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, shit! Curse, stop that!" He didn't mean to snap, but there were bigger problems right now. He was a big ghoul, he could handle bites and scratches and hitting.

Scooping Curse up clean of their feet, Scorch held his breath as if to beg the ice not to break. Technically, Curse probably wouldn't drown thanks to it's water, but that wasn't guaranteed, and the temperature was a bigger issue.

Fire ghouls and ice did not mix well.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse hissed when Scorch snapped, ears pinning back and fangs bared in defence. Even after so many long, hard years topside, they still hadn't quite learnt that one little snap doesn't quite mean permanent hatred. It squirmed a lot in his grasp, trying to get free without accidentally hurting him. Keeping the ice skates away from anything too easily wounded was also a little troublesome, since they weren't used to having anything on their feet.

If the ice broke too much and they both fell in, Curse would most likely help Scorch out - even if he'd yelled at it for hours, they'd never leave him to perish in the freezing cold of the lake - but it still wouldn't be ideal. He was a lot bigger than them, after all.

[scorch-was-here]

"Quit fucking- shit!" Scorch was definitely panicking now, trying to skate away from the breakage, but only causing more. In a burst of energy, Scorch began skating as fast as he could towards the dock.

The cracks chased him, and he winced from the shallow scratches, but the fire ghoul was determined to get the multi to dry land, before either of them got hypothermia.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse settled a little, watching the cracks grow with wide, admiring mismatched eyes. It wanted to crawl under the ice, just to see what it was like - though they were plenty aware that Scorch wouldn't let them. A small noise escaped them as they shifted to press their face against Scorch's cheek, then another noise as they tried to convey how much they missed the water. The urgency and danger of the situation didn't quite settle into their mind.

[scorch-was-here]

The dock was so close, but so was the cracks, and the great lake had never seemed so large before. It was like being in a nightmare, where you just couldn't run fast enough.

"it's okay, it's okay," he repeated, more to himself than to Curse. One bad stroke of his foot sent Scorch tumbling, and he threw Curse over to the dock, hoping it wouldn't run back out to the centre of the lake.

The cracking had stopped, but it was still dangerous and Scorch was panting. His panic caused the ice to melt faster, and he forced himself to stay still.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse yelped as they were thrown, shaking its whole body after to reorient itself. It saw the cracks surrounding Scorch, and the melting of the ice around him, and they tried to step towards the edge of the lake to help. The clothes they'd been forced to wear made it a little difficult for it to move as nimbly as it liked, so they growled to themself as it tore off the numerous jackets and joggers, then the skates, and then it dashed as quickly towards Scorch as they could on the ice, using its claws to grip lightly so they didn't stumble.

Getting him to safety would be another thing, though - they were much, much smaller than him (though, to be fair, they were smaller than pretty much every ghoul) and they usually relied on all four of their arms & legs to walk. Deciding to just do what felt best in the moment, it sank its fangs into the hood of Scorch's jacket and began dragging him with it as they scurried across the rapidly breaking ice.

[scorch-was-here]

He of course helped out by moving himself with Curse - he wasn't a deer in headlights, after all. Scorch liked to think of himself as being able to not lose his head and desperate situations, but clearly he hadn't felt this fear in years.

When they met the snowy shore, Scorch finally let himself collapse into a panting mess. He looked between the broken ice and Curse, wondering how many ways they'd gotten lucky, and feeling so stupid for not knowing what to do.

"thank you," he breathed, after panting for a good long while.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse nuzzled their face against his, hoping the action was soothing. It had very soft hair, after all, now that they'd learnt what conditioner was. While they hadn't been as panicked as Scorch, there was still some adrenaline coarsing through their veins, and their tail flicked about wildly. They wanted to play with the ice, but Scorch was more important than their entertainment.

Curling up next to him (moreso on top of him, really, since their head was buried in his neck and their arms were fully over his chest), they tried to heat themself up enough to relax and soothe him.

[scorch-was-here]

With a sigh, he wrapped his burly arms around the twig of a ghoul, using his fire to warm it up. He let himself lay there for a while, calming down enough to move properly.

"Wanna go back to the Ministry? I'll get you some hot chocolate or something, if you want," he asked softly, stroking its silky hair as a grounding method before sitting up.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse had nestled as close as possible when Scorch wrapped his arms around them. It didn't quite start purring, they hardly ever did that anymore, but it was certainly happy to be held.

At the mention of hot chocolate, they looked up at Scorch with happier eyes than he'd ever seen them have. It nodded, immediately scrambling off his lap to head back to the Ministry.

[scorch-was-here]

He dragged himself to his feet, taking off the ice skates as he worked. He didn't mind walking back barefoot - he'd keep himself warm and besides, he appreciated feeling solid ground beneath his paws.

When they finally got back, Scorch dumped all the excess clothing into the allocated tub before quickly heading to his bedroom to change into something more cozy.

"You want marshmallows?" He asked, pouring his and Curse's cups of hot chocolate into their mugs.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse clambered up onto the worktop, investigating the hot chocolate closely. It tilted and turned its head, watching with intrigue. They kept their head tilted as they looked up at the mention of marshmallows, the angle definitely not a normal one, and stuck out its weirdly long tongue as if asking for a taste of the marshmallow first.

[scorch-was-here]

Scorch plucked one out of the bag of minis, tossing it for Curse to catch. He added a handful to his own mug as he awaited an answer. His mug was a thermal design that revealed a gradient of red, orange and yellow. It was big and sturdy.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse tasted the marshmallow, making a few faces as they ate. It wasn't sure on the texture, but it seemed to like the taste. With a small trill, they reached towards the bag, giving Scorch the face of a sweet little angel so that he'd let them have the bag.

But that was a terrible, awful, horrible idea. The second Curse had the bag of mini marshmallows in their clutches, it tipped it up into their cup and let almost half the bag spill into their cup. And onto the worktop. And onto the floor.

[scorch-was-here]

"Ah, shit- Curse!" Scorch scolded, "don't do that!" He confiscated the bag and cleaned up what marshmallows he could. The ones on the tiled floor had to be binned, but the rest that hadn't gotten hot chocolate on them were salvageable.

"Don't waste them, okay?"

[feral-little-multi]

Curse managed to eat a fair few that'd spilt, a smug little grin on their face as they looked at Scorch. It was honestly worse than Swiss and Sunny when it came to causing chaos, and those two together were a force to be fucking reckoned with. Poor Curse lacked any and all impulse control, so they were just acting on instinct and impulsive thoughts. Sathanas below, let's hope they don't start acting on its intrusive thoughts.

[scorch-was-here]

"Okay, enjoy your hot chocolate. Don't spill it, okay?" He said, ruffling the top of their head affectionately. He was starting to feel better after the ice, but was still a bit shocked. That didn't matter now, though. Curse was safe, no one was hurt, and he could move on with his week.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse nodded, giving a small, affectionate nip to Scorch's hand. It could sense he was still a little shaken from the ice, and it wanted to help - Scorch had helped them, it was only fair to return the favour. "Sit?" It signed, hoping Scorch knew sign.

[scorch-was-here]

He took a good minute to remember, but he did manage to understand the movement. "Oh, sit, right." He sat down at the table and brought his hot chocolate to his lips, taking a deep sip. It was still too hot for most to drink properly, but his throat was heat resistant.

[feral-little-multi]

Curse sat on a chair next to Scorch, definitely not sitting properly with the way their knees were up by their face, watching him closely as if trying to figure out what would help him. It thought, briefly, about catching something small for him, but after the reaction Copia had given last time Curse caught him something, they didn't want to risk the screaming.

[scorch-was-here]

Scorch was most definitely shaken up from the incident at the lake, staring a thousand yards. He was trying to be good for Curse, but everything was far away. He was just as useless as he was back when he failed to protect them.

"You're okay, right?" Scorch asked after a long moment of silence, "Not too cold, or hurt? I can get someone to help if you're hurt, and I'll warm you up if you're cold."

[feral-little-multi]

Curse gave a small whine, wanting to help Scorch but not knowing how. It looked around, as if their rapid gaze would somehow magic up a solution to their problem.

Deciding they wouldn't get far without communication - honestly, it realising that was a huge feat in and of itself, given how stubborn and independent it tends to be - Curse used their quintessence to talk directly into Scorch's mind. "Help you." It said, the telepathic voice sounding like two voices combined into one; a lower pitch, and a higher pitch, speaking just slightly out of sync.

[scorch-was-here]

Scorch looked down at Curse in surprise at hearing them speak telepathically. "Help me? What do you mean?" he asked, completely stumped. Surely he wasn't the one that needed to be helped? He drank the rest of his hot chocolate in one gulped, needing to feel something burn in his mouth.

[feral-little-multi]

"Sad. Destructive." It said through their quintessence, leaning a little closer to Scorch. Curse took note of the way he gulped down his hot chocolate, mismatched eyes seeing through every excuse he could ever hope to make.

[scorch-was-here]

"I'm not destructive," Scorch lied. He was an overcompensating, self destructive mess of a fire ghoul who was too desperate to please and help everyone else to keep them safe and alive. "And I'm not sad."

[feral-little-multi]

"Defensive." Curse pointed out, stating the fact while not knowing it could be taken as making fun or teasing. "Very sad. Why?" It tried to show that it was fine, having not been injured at all from the ice, but the position they were sitting in made it a little difficult to show off their limbs.

[scorch-was-here]

"I'm not defen-" Scorch cut himself off with a sigh, realising he was simply proving Curse's point. He groaned into his hand, frustrated even further with himself for being so worked up.

"Curse, I know you're okay, and I'm glad, I'm just upset because you could very easily not have been. It was my fault we were out there in the first place and it was my fault the ice began to break. I'm just upset because I want to make sure you and everyone else are safe around me. Does that make sense?"

[feral-little-multi]

Curse gave a small noise, something like a huff of acknowledgement, and clambered down from its chair. It bit lightly at Scorch's hand, trying to tug him over to the sofa. Clearly, the fire ghoul needed comfort and reassurance, and Curse was right there to help out.