#fox interactions

[tzdkh-archive]

 the problem with kurama’s legacy is that it, mostly, pertains just to the amount of thefts he’d made. he was feared in the makai for his profession, wanted and hunted for his profession, and nothing aside from that. but youko kurama had been a cruel creature, someone that had ruthlessly cut down as many opponents as he had subordinates. 

 he had been a vicious creature, a cold one. and he still was - he was still a fox that preferred to play with his food before devouring it, a practice that was evident during the early years of when he had run with the spirit world’s detective. 

 the kindness of shuichi had always hid his cold savagery, and for a while he thought he had it hidden. but hiei had known. he had always known, since the day they met when his human prison was only fourteen. hiei had seen through the act, the soft spoken but calculating boy that had faced off against him without fear, the boy that had dragged him home and healed his wounds without a second thought, it had all been a farce.

 hiei had had him pinned from the beginning and for that, he’s immensely grateful. because for all the imiko’s own savagery, he had a strict honor code and over the time of their friendship, that code had left impressions on kurama, leaving him a far better creature than he had been before.

 he couldn’t - wouldn’t give hiei all the credit, his pride was still much too big for that, but he was willing to give him enough for it. 

 so because of that, because of that sense of respect and responsibility, and small sense of feeling indebted to him, kurama knows he has to be honest, or at least somewhat honest to him. because for all the teasing, the baiting, the jokes, he genuinely respected and cared for the younger youkai, and as much as he enjoyed the reactions of the other, he knew he could do better, that hiei deserved better.

 so, he sets no plan for once, he waits a gentle patience for him to return to the human world and his apartment. the near chaotic workload he balances - human and youkai - keeps him busy enough, that kurama can almost pretend he’s not counting the days. ( but he is. )

 the slow slide of the balcony door opening is a welcomed sound in the quiet of the apartment, and kurama does not perk his head up at the sound. instead, he carries on with pouring tea with calculated patience, waiting for the other to appear in the doorway. 

   @lumitrs didn’t ask for this but here you go.

[tzdkh-archive]

@xresistance asked for a starter

 kurama considers himself to be a patient man. he knows he’s not a kind one, or a very forgiving one, but he figures he at least has his patience. it’s how he’s survived so long virtually unaffected by anyone that opposed him, how - once upon a time - he’d managed to become the greatest thief in the makai. time was infinite for a creature like him, once of spirit and now of flesh and bone and youki, and he knew that given enough time passing, most opponents would make a mistake.

 so he waits, waits two whole days for the guise to slip, for him to show his true colors in one of the preliminary matches. only, it never happens, because he’s not fighting.

 what does happen is kurama’s own infinite patience turning finite not minutes after his win in the preliminary round. his temper, normally as well-tamed as it can be, snaps, and the minute the match is called, he’s storming through the arena’s stands. his temper is bad enough, or maybe his expression, that not even hiei stands in his way, the imiko stepping aside and letting him pass with no argument or even a look of disappointment.

 finding him in the stands is easy, the scent is burned in his nose, and he could be blindfolded and yet still find it’s source, even among all the youkai and blood in the air. but standing there and waiting until he’s noticed, that’s the hard part.

 it’s hard to remain calm and not make a scene when there’s another person wearing the skin of his dead partner. it’s hard to remain calm when yet another person seeks to manipulate his weaknesses. 

 he’s growing tired of this, no, he’s beyond tired of this.

 arms crossed over his chest, kurama considers the other youkai as he approaches, mouth set in a line. he’s familiar, the smell, the walk, the neatly folded wings, the wide smile and sharp fangs. if kurama didn’t know better, he would think that this was him, his partner, back after so long.

 but he knows better. he’d seen the bamboo spears fall, had smelt the blood. 

 kuronue was dead.

 and this, this was another bastard imposter.

 “who,” his voice is strange even to his own ears. low and angry in a way he hasn’t sounded since sensui had forced his hand with amanuma. “are you?”

[tzdkh-archive]

 @betrayaltaught liked a post for a starter

 “you look... better.” kurama’s observation is quiet, although there’s a touch of humor in it. “is this the influence of your son, or years of not readying for a war, i wonder. peace of mind is far better for healing than revenge - or so i hear.”

[tzdkh-archive]

@peonyreaper

 “i was merely making a suggestion, since his lordship is, well,” he pause, but it’s not to find the right word. “i do believe we could use the word useless here.”

[tzdkh-archive]

 youko has been around for a long time, longer than most in his field. born as a kitsune, a simple fox spirit, he’s grown into something of a monster even among demons. his ruthlessness and determination is well known from the stretches of makai to the reikai, and legends still could sometimes be heard in the ningenkai about him, the thief that would not quit once he saw something he desired. 

 the funny thing, or at least funny to him, was that for a demon that had such a track record as he did - a long history of partners falling victim to traps, of members of his crews mysteriously falling ill or being crippled, of people around him mysteriously disappearing - wherever he went, he gathered the attentions of lesser demons, creatures that followed him like pups. his reputation of ill-fate falling to his partners and team members seemingly did not deter the single minded creatures he came across from trying to bribe their way into his good graces.

 those kinds of bribes, of promises of good loot and unique treasures, always fall on deaf ears, and anyone that promises them are usually dismissed to a quick death and meeting with their maker.

 he, after all, has been around a long time, longer than most, and he knew all the treasures in the makai. he didn’t need children to show him their lesser delights.

 but when he catches wind of one of the reikai in the land of demons, he takes a rare nip at the bait, allows a lesser creature to possess a few coins in exchange for information. ( the coins were back in his pocket the minute the creature had told him the required information. never trust a thief was a lesson he was still trying to teach those he came across. ) 

 the information is well worth the dealing with the demon - and re-thief of coin - he realizes that soon as his eyes land on her. small and bound in a kimono of pink. blue hair pulled back by a strand of red ribbon. eyes the same shade of the petals on the okunenju tree he’d only started to become fond of recently. 

 a reaper of the reikai. the smirk he wears now is too much teeth, canines frighteningly sharp.

 “you,” his voice is a deep rumble of a thing, more a growl than anything else. “seem to be very lost, little ferry-girl and on the borders of my territory, no less. is this a present or a lost child?”

   @peonyreaper  ⁄ ⁄  s.c.

[tzdkh-archive]

 he’s survived a lot in his time, hunters, other demons, the effects of wish-making with an artifact of darkness, and even the attempts of humanity, but this perhaps has been his greatest challenge. not so much the surviving, but the living. continuing to exist as the world around him crumbles and something from the dark end of the universe destroys everything he’s ever known is not an easy task. continuing to live as most of the people he’d known (&loved) get wiped out by something darker than he’s ever seen, well, that’s a task that he might be able to survive, but it wasn’t something that was going to be brushed so easily from his conscious.

 and when it had ended, the collapse of humanity’s golden age, then had come the strange part. walking dead with powers he’s never seen, creatures of either flesh and bone or science and metals wielding something he’s never seen before, never sensed before, in attacks that were both good and evil. war lords born of something close to spirit energy, using their power to hold territories and survivors of their collapse against their will. and then there had been the ones trying to end their reign on humanity, people who were trying to right the wrongs of the world.

 in those days, youko had thrived. thievery might had been his passion once, but after the time he’d spent with yusuke, fighting had become a bigger passion. and while fighting for fun had been the end result of all their trials, fighting for something like saving humanity had become a passion as well. 

 but that age had ended as quick as it had come, too quick for the spirit-fox-turned-demon’s tastes. warlords were all the same in the end, and their pride was their undoing, that and a few lightbearers -- as they called themselves -- showing him the ropes of how to kill the unkillable.

 not that they had known that they were showing him their weaknesses. kurama was still well adapt at hiding under the guise of being human, well enough that even thousands of years later, they still had not pinned down his true identity, even despite the sometimes frequent brushes with each other.

 and now, with the awakening of the mechanical creature in the sky, they were in the time of a second golden age. and even with a strange darkness settling on his senses, humanity was starting again to flourish despite the still constant threats from aliens from other worlds.

 sliding his fingers around a mutation of an ivy he’d known so many years previous, the redhead does not look up at the sudden scent of something long-dead-but-not flooding his nose, or the feeling of their light against his fine tuned senses. 

 this would not be the first guardian to find him -- but it would be the first that had that sort of scent beneath them. beyond the strange fresh scent that lightbearers had, and the smell of mechanics and gunpowder, there was something... not quite right about this one. too young to find him in his territory, an overgrown city just outside of the european deadzone, too new to have been able to get so far without tripping some of his traps.

 and yet, there they stood. in the depths of his territory, having found him so easily and without a mark on their armor to show for it.

 he breathes in deep, the mixed scent of fire and ozone and other stranger things assault his senses, but he does not look away from the plant he’s tending to.

 “you must need something, if you’ve come this far without succumbing to my traps.” his voice is calm, the green of his eyes sharp as he glances around the thick curtain of red that was his hair. “please, explain your invasion of my home.”

 quickly, before i lose my patience.

   @strikedcwn   ⁄ ⁄  starter call 

[foxsdenofmuses]

"Dr. Eggman, what is this strange program?" Sage asked look up at the odd AI program standing over her.

"This is Phage my dear. It was an old AI virus algorithm that I made some years back, though it grew a bit unstable so I shut it down. Now with my advancements I updated it and added the function to also act as your primary caretaker and protector. Phage, I expect you to live up to these new parameter's."

"Of course Dr. Eggman," Phage said looking down at Sage. "You are a very sophisticated young program. I'm sure we'll get to know each other quite well."

Sage would hover better establish eye contact with Phage. "So, you are to be my primary caretaker?" She asked watching Phage nod. "Then familial bonding is required."

"...What?" Phage certainly didn't expect Sage to say such a thing and was clearly processing it slowly.

"Familial bonding. Doing activates to increase our relationship and knowledge of each other in a fun and meaningful way to form a meaningful attachment to one another. As such, I wish to go to the digital amusement park that was made for me. Going by myself is rather dull."

"...Very well, lets us head to the program," Phage said moving along with Sage still processing the sudden turn of events. Though this would count as a caretaker role. They weren't sure how to feel about these new functions added to their programming.

"...I also want cotton candy. Dr. Eggman won't program it in and as blocked me from doing so. Perhaps you can assist?" Sage asked in a hushed tone.

"Oh, I most certainly can. A little 'edit' to the program will be simple to work around that." Perhaps being Sage's caretaker won't be too bad.

[foxsdenofmuses]

"Hi, hello there. So glad you could all come to this meeting I put together. There's a lot to talk about so lets start with-" Abel was cut off by loud laughter.

"Unholy shit, I thought Belphegor was joking when she said YOU put together. What? You gonna offer marshmallows and talk about feelings with pillows?" Satan asked while laughing uncontrollably.

"Well, no, I wanted to talk about-"

"Mate, shut up. I'm trying to focus here," Mammon said attempting to use his fingers to do a kickflip on the toy skateboard. "Bloody Hell, this is bullshit."

"This is kinda important so it'd be nice if I could ha-"

"Hey, let's decide what to eat after this meeting. I'm thinking some tacos would be cool. What about you Gloom?"

"For once I'm in agreement with you Pep. Though I'm getting fish on my. Maybe extra spicy."

"Hey, I'm still he-"

"I'll look up some Mexican restaurants close by. Unless you all want to take a trip into the human world. I'm sure we can swing that as long as we're quick about it. Though maybe we should wait until Beezlebub gets here. She's normally late to these things."

"Um, is anyone-"

"Lucifer's Hell, he's under the fucking table! What a little fucking bitch," Satan said, laughing even hard while hitting the table. "Best meeting ever!"

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"Stupid, fucking, bullshit surprise meeting. I was in the middle of a bitching party and it was getting to the best fucking part," Beelzebub said walking past and open door before stopping and looking inside. "Luci? You in here?"

"...No? This is a dream. You're dreaming right now. I'm dream Lucifer." Surly this would work this time, right?

"...Bitch, you're lucky we're such good friends or I'd gut check you right now. Where the fuck have you been Luci?"

"Oh you know, doing important Hell things and what not. Spending time with my daughter too, getting caught up with her life. W-w-w-what about you? Still partying it up and living the life?"

"Uh, no, no I haven't been. At least not like I used to. Shit's kinda been crappy since you left. Satan's went full control mode and put a bunch of bullshit rules in place. Not to mention running around saying he's ruled before you fell which the rest of us know is bullshit. Not to mention Adam being more of a pain in the ass since Lilith disappeared and you locked yourself away. His son Abel called a meeting. Adam must want to be even more of an asshole."

"I'm going to have to say no on that since Adam is dead after being stabbed. Like, he was stabbed a LOT by this tiny small sinner. Kinda funny to watch actually. So now Abel's in charge. Real great kid, try to work with him, kay?" Lucifer then reached to grab something.

Beelzebub just stared at Lucifer for a moment, as if waiting for him to say he was joking or something. "Unholy Hell you're serious? Adam is fucking dead? Bitch, what the fuck has been going on up there? Satan banned any of us Sins from going up to your ring, or from really traveling to each other's rings without his permission."

"He did WHAT?! That red dragon looking motherfucker! He KNOWS I always wanted all of us to freely travel to each other's rings!" Lucifer stormed over to a desk and pulled out a paper. Then he began writing rather aggressively on it.

"Luci, focus here. What the fuck has been going on? Adam was fucking killed? What does that mean? Is Heaven attacking? Do we need to defend Hell?"

"Hm? Oh, no, everything is all chill now. I mean, it was a bit touch and go for a bit, though what with a Sinner being redeemed, getting into Heaven, and Emily saving a large chunk of my ring all the Sinners and Overlords have calmed down," Lucifer said then began digging through the drawers.

"...What the fuck has been going on up there?" Beelzebub would have to ask Charlie or something. "And what the fuck are you looking for that has so much of your attention?"

"It's uh, something Lilith made to keep some of the more, intense Sinner Overlords in line. Causes them a lot of pain. My uh, secret of not being able to hurt Sinner's kinda sorta got discovered. Though I can't find it anywhere."

"Luci, you're a fucking mess," Beelzebub said walking over. "Come on, I know you're the Sin of Pride, though at least let us help. We may not all get along, especially you and Satan, though we all respect each other. Mammon said he even set you a bribe. You know how stingy that fucker is with his money."

Lucifer sigh's, then writes a bit more on the paper. "You're right, though I'm still trying to figure shit out. Just, give everyone this. Has my official sigil and everything."

"Alright, I got you," Beelzebub said taking the paper and rolling it up. "It's nice to see you outside your room at least, and that you've been talking to Little Apple Pie. We've missed you, ya know?"

"It's good to see you too Beelzebub. You've always been easy to talk to. I will try to start being around more when I feel ready, I mean it. Good luck," Lucifer said disappearing in flames.

===========================================================

"Hey guys, sorry I'm late. I was in the middle of a bitching party and-" Beelzebub came in to seeing Satan still laughing uncontrollably, Mammon being Mammon, Levithan and Asmodeus talking lunch, and Belphegor sleeping. "Yeah, yeah this seems about right," Beelzebub said before flying over to Satan and handing him the rolled up paper.

"Okay okay, I'm good," Satan said catching his breath and taking the paper. "Way too much fun making fun of Abel." The Sin then unrolls it and reads it. "What in Lucifer's Hell?! When did Lucifer come here?!" He asked finally earning everyone's attention.

"I found him sneaking around in Lilith's office. He was looking for something. Didn't find it, though I fill him in on a couple of things," Beelzebub said flying into her seat while Satan glares at her. "Yeah, be pissed off, but fuck you. Restricting us has always been bullshit. Now, where's Abel? Luci said to be cool, so let's be cool."

"Right here," Abel said raising his hand from underneath the table before slowly coming out. "Can I speak now?"

Belphegor finally woke up, sitting up as best she could. "Yes, I believe everyone is now focused on the meeting," the Sin said with a yawn. "Go ahead young Abel."

"Y-Yes, of course," Abel said clearing his throat. "Well, I wanted to hold this meeting to let everyone know that there will be no more Extermination's. We're going in a different direction for redeeming Sinner's and not killing them."

"I'm sorry, did this little fucker just say redeem?" Mammon asked scratching his chin. "That's a fucking joke, right?"

"Nope, Luci confirmed it himself when I talked to him. I guess Little Apple Pie has been busy these past years. Something we'd know about if SOMEONE didn't ban us from freely going to other's rings," Beelzebub said looking at Satan how puffed out some smoke. "By the way, Luci's secret about not being able to hurt Sinner's got blown, so he asked us to help out with that." All the Sin's would look at Satan for conformation.

Satan burns the paper in his hand in anger. "Yes, that is true, and he also ordered to lift the restrictions of travel between rings for us. And, I fucking hate Lucifer for this. I'm a Master Bitch of Bitchness," he said making all the other Sin's stifle a laugh except for Belphegor. "Whatever, let's focus on this fucking meeting."

"Alright, cool. Because I have a lot to talk about," Abel said summoning a large amount of paperwork making everyone groan.