endless sky

kasumi. 28. nix i crossed my fingers swore i could fly above white clouds.

[thinkmekoi]

Biography Stats Headcanons Plots Threads Timeline

[thinkmekoi]

Don't you think you should tone it down a bit if you really want anyone to like you?

If people do not like me, I will not 'tone it down' to make them do so! That is very unkind to myself. Plus, what is the point, if I cannot be myself? It seems like you may live a very boring life for suggesting such a thing!

[enthrallinglyeden]

[user has been too scared to inquire but he is sick of this nonsense and cannot take it anymore]

What the hell does Gobf mean? Why do individuals keep asking me about a Gobf?

[thinkmekoi]

There was a planet! Which blew up. Hello, not my husband. How are you today?

[necrosemancy]

@thinkmekoi replied to your post “Hello! You are Rosemary of the soup, yes?”:

Oh, I see. This is a little disappointing. I was interested in buying some cans of soup with the lids that are easy to open without a can opener.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I don't have anything to do with the soup. They don't take my calls. I've been trying to be removed as their representative for months.

[thinkmekoi]

Then why [...] are you The Rosemary? This seems like very false advertising. Would you like me to investigate this?

[kadavernagh]

@thinkmekoi replied to your post “[pm] Hello! There is a woman named Daria looking...”:

[pm] Another nix, which is what I am. She sprayed me with a water bottle and had a knife. She said that others may come by looking, so I am just warning you!!!! If you are not a nix, you do not need to worry, I do not think!!! She seemed to be confused after putting water on me. Oh, yes. It may have been me. I was picking up something from the free depot that I was told there were free things. Hello! I will go to your window and look for you next time. Is this okay? Or should I use the door? I do not know if you want company.

​[pm] I am also confused and I didn't even put water on you. (Should I? Or was the water problematic?) But-- did she stab you? Are you hurt, or just wet? If this was assault, we should report-- I don't know. I don't know. We should report it.

Good. I may be there. If you do not see me through the window, then I am probably not there. [...] I would not categorize fae as company, but if you were to arrive, you should enter through the door. Alternatively, I can open it, and we can wave at each other from a comfortable distance, and then I will close it.

[thinkmekoi]

[pm] Please do not put water on me! It will make my glamor fall. Though, I am having a little trouble keeping it up right now, anyway. Stab me? [....] No. She seemed very confused after she got me wet. I do not know why. I was just wet. I simply wanted to warn you in case she came looking for you.

I see. Oh, yes. If you'd prefer to keep distance, I am okay with it! I do not want to put you out. (I've just learned this saying, as well as 'hold your horses.') But, I would be grateful to be able to wave to you from your doorway!

[thinkmekoi]

Do you think there's hope for people to change or are we who we are forever?

We are always able to change! It would be silly to think that we are not capable of it.

[vengeancedemon]

@thinkmekoi replied to your post “Hello, Mr. Emilio. I have completed today's tasks....”:

[deleted: Hello Mr. Emilio. Would it be okay if I stayed Would it be okay if I live] I am going to water the hedges!

​Okay. That's good. [...] Thanks. [user does not own the hedges.]

[thinkmekoi]

You do not need to thank me! It is my duty as your employee. I will water the hedges, and I will feed the dog!

[....]

[pm] Mr. Emilio. I have a question. What am I to do if the house I am living at has a visitor who is

Mr. Emilio. Do you know any places that I can stay wi

[ a while later ]

I could not find the hedges.

[thinkmekoi]

@banisheed replied to your post “[pm] Hello Kasumi, tis I. [User waits for applause...”:

[pm] Very kind? Now, why would you think that, darling? Know her. Yes. I know her very well.

​[pm] Because I have met her! She observed me. She is very good at this, if you ever need to be observed. Oh, do you? That is very exciting! I am glad to share friends. Did your clothes make it out okay? I know there was some dirt on them.

[thinkmekoi]

[pm] Hello Kasumi, tis I. [User waits for applause before she remembers that this is online.] Do you know a Regan Kavanagh?

[pm] Oh! Hello Siobhan! Um, yes, I do! She is very kind! Do you?

[bladesbounties]

TIMING: Current. LOCATION: Kasumi's yard. PARTIES: Kasumi @thinkmekoi and Daiyu @bladesbounties SUMMARY: Daiyu is hunting a nix, and Kasumi is where her tracking leads. CONTENT WARNINGS: None.

Kasumi sighed, leaning against the wall of the small makeshift pond. It had been here before she arrived; built by somebody who once cared for the dilapidated home. It seemed as though some kind of storm had shook down its base, caving in the main back door and several windows. Though, she had managed to squeeze in through one of the windows that was higher up. The upstairs had been relatively untouched (surprisingly, given the cave-in), and there was even a bed. The only issue was, there was no heat. When she felt herself growing too cold, she opted for going to the library or community center. For whatever reason, both seemed eager for visitors. 

She had even gotten a library card! Luckily, the woman– Nancy, had allowed her to get one without an identification card (whatever that was), and so she was able to read any and all books she pleased. It was gratifying to know that she’d been able to take them home, too. Kasumi couldn’t stay in the water for long periods of time, as it was too cold, and often frozen. Lucky enough for her, she didn’t need to cleanse, nor heal. 

She’d been absorbed in her book: Tuck Everlasting. Its faded off-green cover made her slightly homesick, but she had been enjoying the novel, even if she wasn’t too far. Kasumi barely registered the sound of footsteps, or the way they stopped. Her off-brown sweater was pulled up to her chin, and the pants that were too big were held upright with too big of a belt. Somewhere, somebody would swear it was fashion, but all Kasumi cared about was keeping warm. “Oh, hello.” She looked up to see a woman with dark hair and eyes that caught the light in a way that should have warned her. 

— 

Fae were not her usual targets, especially not the more humanoid versions of them. Their ways with words, their natures that escaped her, the way they acted so differently than animals with their somewhat predictable instincts. But sometimes there was a bounty so enticing that she could not simply sit by and let a warden take care of it. Sometimes there was a monetary gain that would smooth the coming months over and Daiyu saw no reason but to go after it. 

She had tracked the nix to Deersprings, found the place where she had taken up residence (a strange house, where no one legally lived) and was circling around the house to enter through the backyard. She’d make it swift and simple, leave no room for binds or other fae magic to fuck with her. Fae were not to be underestimated — they might not have claws and poisonous fangs like some shifters and beasts, but they had other means of doing harm. The burn scars littering her body were proof enough of that.

She was hoping to catch the other off-guard, but she was in the backyard, reading and looking up at the sound of her footsteps. Daiyu wanted to curse. She took one long look at the fae, trying to gauge the threat she formed. She was not jumping up, in stead looked up at her. She looked young. That wasn’t something that gave Daiyu pause when it came to murder, but the bounty was for someone older. Then again, faes aged weirdly, so maybe she was older than she looked. She moved closer. “Hello,” she said in response. “I didn’t know someone … lived here.” She did, though. She moved her hand to her backpack, sliding out the water bottle in a side pocket. Opening the cap, she went to take a sip. The true purpose of the water remained nebulous for now. “Don’t mean to intrude.” She did, though. 

— 

One of the biggest reasons Ayame had such an issue with her was because she didn’t recognize potential threats. Kasumi should have noticed there was something off about the woman in front of her, but the first thing she noticed was the rouge blotches that colored the apples of her cheeks. The sun hung at an awkward angle, making one of Kasumi’s legs warmer than the other. It snagged parts of the woman, too, illuminating the shine of her gaze. There was a glint of something that was lost on the nix as she pushed away from the waist-high rock wall. 

Kasumi looked around as the woman spoke. It would be odd to declare that she lived there, wouldn’t it? Was it typical for humans to assume somebody lived in the backyard they were spending time in? But she did live there, behind that house. In the house, when the windows weren’t frozen shut. It was rare for her to have visitors, and the front entrance probably contributed to that; tape and rotting vines blocking most from entry. 

“I do! Well, sort of, I guess.” She had no reason to be suspicious of this woman. In fact, wasn’t it grand that a human had decided to seek her out for conversation? “Are you from Deersprings? I didn’t see you at the potluck.” It was so long ago now that it was possible Kasumi hadn’t noticed her. The nix watched as the woman grabbed her water, taking a sip. Suddenly, her own throat felt dry. She should really be taking better care of herself. “You’re not intruding. Don’t worry.” She smiled at the woman, pulling her sleeves down over her hands. In response, the fabric around her neck tightened, to which she quickly reached up to pull that part of her sweater away, which in turn pulled her sleeves back up. 

— 

She took in the fae longer, trying to figure out why someone would sit like that to read. Rocks were fine to sit on for short periods of time, but not for long stretches. And reading? That had never been an activity Daiyu had had the focus for. She got impatient with how long the story took to unfold, longed for more stimuli. And yet here this nix was, sitting at her frozen pond, reading in the freezing cold and not even jumping up at her appearance. This wasn’t how hunts were supposed to start, with such calmness, and yet often they did. It made her feel wrong.

The other mentioned a potluck. Her mind went to a conversation she’d had with Regan about deer at a potluck. Had she and Jade been at that event with this fae? That was a thought best not considered properly, so she pushed it aside. This nix had drowned numerous humans, that was something to focus on. Or rather the price attached to proof of her death. Those were much better thoughts to be thinking. It was kind of detrimental anyway, that she was thinking — she should just be leaping into action.

“I’m from around, yeah,” she said, shrugging. The Pines did border this bit of the neighborhood, and the town was small enough for it not to be a lie. “Don’t like potlucks. People are shit at making food.” A potluck actually sounded like a fun thing to be at, but Daiyu did not want her neighbors to know her. She did not want anyone to know where she lived, but that was something she had grandly fucked up. She mirrored the other’s smile, though hers looked less genuine. She moved closer, over the bridge, and leaned over the railing, looking down at the fae on the rocks. Her hands hung over it, the bottle aimed at the other. Daiyu squeezed, a spray of water aimed at the fae. The bounty asked for proof in unglamoured form, after all.

— 

The backyard was sprawling with dead plants and torn vines from where critters had decided to take from nature to make their nests. Where Kasumi stood now was to the left of the pond, which with some weight might have broken open to unveil very frigid water, but she hadn’t bothered yet, not when the air was still too cold. If one were to take one path towards the house, it’d bend in two directions; one towards a door that remained unopened, and towards a small wooden bridge big enough for one person at a time. The bridge hung just above where Kasumi stood now, and she looked up at the woman as she hung her arms over the sides. 

If this weren’t their first time meeting, Kasumi might have asked for a sip of the water. Was that rude in human circles? To ask for something like that? She would have to ask if the woman in front of her thought of it as rude or not. Not now, but maybe later, after some conversation. “The food wasn’t terrible. Then again, I’ve never been very picky. There were plenty of sweets, so I gravitated towards those, mostly.” She smiled up at the woman– something real and genuine that reached her eyes, echoing enough joy or something akin to it for the both of them. “You should try to go next time. It might surprise you.”

What she hadn’t expected was being sprayed in the face by the water bottle the other woman was holding. Kasumi sputtered, raising her hands to wipe the water off of her face. It was too late to turn away now, especially with the way that her company was poised. The water had practically soaked the crown of her head all the way to her neck. Her glamor fell away, revealing pointed fish-fin like ears. Her skin was no longer smooth and of one color; instead, the white and orange splotches covered her face, and if the woman were close enough, revealed something that could be reminiscent of fishscales. “Oh– fates, I’m–” She turned away from the woman, quickly pulling the sweater up to pat her face dry. Her hands were wet now, too, absorbing the liquid from her sweater. Claws replaced nails, and webbed fingers made an appearance as she hurriedly tried to regain her glamor.

—

The other spoke of this potluck with something that seemed genuinely joyful. It reminded Daiyu vaguely of Jade, who probably would have enjoyed such an occasion in earnest too. Maybe if she didn’t have Jade as living proof that people could like such get togethers, she would think the other was the biggest performer of their generation. In stead, she figured that the other might be sickenly sweet and easily amused by other people, even if they were neighbors. The mere suggestion of having to hang out with her neighbors was enough to give Daiyu cold shivers. And it wasn’t just because Wyatt was among them. 

She frowned at the notion that next time she ought to come and be surprised, not quite trusting the words. The other did not know she was here to kill her, otherwise she surely would have gotten up, but she was still a murderous fae. Daiyu approached every spoken word with hesitation, and let the conversation about a potential next Deersprings neighborhood potluck fizzle out.

She watched in stead how the water transformed the human-looking woman into something not-quite. It reminded her vaguely of H2O: Just Add Water, which she had seen a few episodes of as a child, the way she was revealed to be something else at the mere touch of water. Skin turned into scales, orange spots on her face, and Daiyu’s first association with the appearance was a koi fish. The fae moved to hide her true form and she did not bother to do anything with the muttered words, in stead observing quietly. She dropped her bottle, moved her free hand to the holster that held her throwing knives and rested it there. The bounty had called for a catfish, and this was not anything like the mud-grey fish with whiskers. Hesitation laced her features and she stood there, watching the fae dry herself off, just like in H2O. She pulled out one of her knives, fingering the handle more out of habit than action. She did not know what to do.

— 

Kasumi wasn’t certain if the woman had meant to spray her with the water bottle or not. From the expression she’d caught on the woman’s face before she turned around, there was some kind of intent there, but that could have meant anything. Maybe this had been her house, before Kasumi had taken over. Or, maybe she had wanted to claim it for herself. Not once did it cross the nix’s mind that the dark haired woman might be there to kill her. 

She missed the warning signs– the silence, as it swallowed the two of them whole as she hurriedly tried to dry herself off. Her sweater was soaked now, and each breath felt like needles against her skin. Kasumi had managed to at least regain glamor over her face, and perhaps that was a good thing. To meet her own kind of blade with that of the strange woman’s, even if she didn’t know she might need it. “I’m sorry,” she muttered, clearly distressed, though still ignorant to the intent. 

With a deep breath, she pulled up the bottom half of her sweater, wiping her hands, but her sleeves were soaked, so it wasn’t making it easy. Kasumi finally turned to look at the woman now that her face was secure with the glamor. “You dropped your–” Her eyes caught the glint of the knife. “Is that for me? She asked, far more curious than she was angry. She’d been a child of wonder, and it showed clearly, even now. Kasumi looked from the knife up to the woman. “I’m not certain what I’ve done to deserve it.” She let out a breathy laugh. “Or, is this… is this what humans say a break in is like? But you found me out here, with nothing. What do you want?” 

— 

There was no point in murdering this fae. There was plenty to say about the general utility of murder to begin with, which Daiyu preferred not to think about. Hunters undid themselves by getting sucked into such thought processes and she had found a way to cease that destructive process by taking bounties. The point in murder was the money. This was not the right fae. There was nothing to gain from taking her life.  

But she was standing there. She had come here prepared and now she had made herself a suspect in front of someone who should never have seen her. Too many people in town knew she was a hunter. Too many knew her true name. Too many were caught up in some kind of scheme against her. She did not need this. The fae was apologizing to her and Daiyu wanted to laugh at it, at the way it was said with such ease but with so little meaning to it. What was she supposed to do with a sorry, when she was the one bringing potential risk to herself and the other. 

Her knife fell. The other saw it and addressed it and made this an interaction she could no longer walk away from with the hope of coming off as just a weird stranger. Now she was a weird, threatening stranger with a knife. “No,” she said curtly, “It is not. I thought … I was looking for someone else. You are not them.” Daiyu rubbed her nose for a moment. If she had tracked the fae the bounty called for here, then others might follow. Some might not be as exclusively motivated by money as her. “You're not … don't worry. I'm not here to break in or do anything to you.” She bent down to grab her knife. “Just at the wrong place.” A beat. “I've got a shit sense of direction, you know?” 

 — 

Kasumi watched the woman closely. She didn’t want to hurt anyone. She didn’t like to, even if it was in a nix’s nature to enjoy the occasional drowning. Where most of her aos si excelled with ruthlessness, she had always lacked the ability. Her empathy and understanding was one of the things that her grandmother hated most about her, but she wore it as a badge of honor; proud to be the one others might turn to. They never did, of course. There was no leader back home, but Ayame was certainly the most influential. 

“Oh.” The woman said it so matter-of-factly that Kasumi felt compelled to trust her, but the issue still remained; there was a knife, and what use was a knife but to draw blood? To cut into things, to divide it from flesh and bone? But Kasumi wanted to believe this stranger, if not for herself, than to appease some divine power that she wasn’t yet through with her task at hand. (Never mind that she just wanted to live.) 

“I see. I’m still learning the town as well.” That made sense, didn’t it? That the woman had taken a wrong turn? The knife was being swept into her hands, and Kasumi had half a mind to ask her to leave it on the ground, but she had already said it wasn’t meant for her, hadn’t she? Her mouth was suddenly very dry, and she inhaled sharply, which didn’t do anything to help the matter. “Where did you mean to go?” If the knife wasn’t meant for her, then it was certainly meant for somebody else, wasn’t it? “You shouldn’t.” They were two strangers, and one of them was clearly lying, but Kasumi pushed to see the truth that could potentially be threaded through her words. “Get lost, I mean. It’s not safe.” Her hands were still weapons in their own right, and she tucked them closer to her, pulling the heavy water logged sleeves with them. “And you should clean that up.” She motioned towards the water bottle, then looked back up at the woman. 

— 

Daiyu lacked the sentiment that her opponent held. There was nothing within her that was decidedly against hurting others. She wasn’t particularly in favor of it either, with an exception here and there. Sometimes she got so lost in the moment or an emotion that hurting others (usually a specific other) became what she desired. But right now? She was not particularly keen to draw her knife across the other’s body or bring it down in a vital organ or two. Her mind flashed to Talia on her living room floor and how good it had felt when her knife had sunk through her flesh, but she pulled herself back to the awkward encounter she was in now. 

Either the fae across from her was naive and thick in a way that was beyond human understanding, or she was playing a game with her. Daiyu figured it was the latter — though she knew fae could not lie, she knew there was plenty of performing to be done. She slid the knife back where she had gotten it from, staring at the other as she tried to figure her out. Maybe the best thing to do was just leave, but she would grow restless if she went without figuring out the threat the other posed first. 

“A different house,” she said curtly, “Somewhere on … decompe lane.” That was the only street name she new in this neighborhood, on account of Jade living there. At the advice the other offered, she gave a look of bemusement. “You’re so right. Super unsafe, might walk into someone with a bigger knife.” She had never been warned against getting lost due to safety issues after just tucking away a knife. Daiyu gaze went to the bottle and then back to the fae. “It’s just water. It will dry. I… didn’t mean to make you wet. I mean.” She clearly had. “Not you. The other person, that’s who I — Jesus, fuck. You’re gonna get sick if you don’t put something dry on.” 

— 

This entire situation was a warning for what could happen when a stranger was trusted so easily, and somewhere deep down, Kasumi knew that. But the knife had been put away, and the woman was doing… some form of apologizing. It didn’t feel the same as when others did it. It was like there was still something on the edge of the woman’s mind, something else she wanted to say, but wouldn’t. Kasumi understood that, to say the least, even if not in the usual way.

“A different house,” Kasumi echoed, nodding. “Okay.” She was familiar with the street. She was familiar with a lot of the streets in Deersprings, now. She followed them, getting to know each individual neighbor. After the potluck, it’d been easier, inserting herself into conversations. Many people watched from their windows, she realized. For a moment, Kasumi feared for the pale haired fae, and if the knife this woman carried had been meant for her, instead, but the bush dweller was probably safe. At least, she hoped. After this interaction, Kasumi would go from door to door in an attempt to find her, and at least warn her. 

“There are bigger knives. Yours was… so-so.” She wanted to make light of the situation, to see this for what it wasn’t, but it was glaringly obvious that this woman was dangerous– Kasumi just refused to let that be the only thing she took away from this interaction. What kind of person would she be if she only saw the bad in others? “I don’t have anything else.” She looked down at herself. If it weren’t for the cold, the clothes would’ve probably been on their way to drying already, but the temperature was keeping them damp. “I’ll figure it out. I’m not worried.” Her tongue felt heavy in her mouth, and her throat burned at the lie. “Maybe you shouldn’t look for them. Maybe this was a sign.” She said it simply, moving towards the bottle. She picked it up, turning it over in her hands. There was still some liquid inside, so she raised it, “mind if I take a sip?” Without an answer, she drained the remnants, glad for the relief. She held it up, then, towards the woman. “Here.” 

— 

It seemed the other was accepting her half-truths for truths, at least. Daiyu had no idea where the fae she was hunting was, if this was where she had ended up. She wondered how she had ended up on the wrong track, why she had been so certain that the fae had lived in this house. When hunting them, she expected trickery and other bullshit, but this was not exactly trickery. This was just a fae, reading a book near a pond, not even properly reacting to the knife or trying to pull her into some kind of bind.

At least, not yet. The way she was speaking, the way she carried herself, it all reeked of both awkwardness and wariness. She did not trust what she was faced with, even if she was objectively the untrustworthy person here. When the other insulted her knife, she stared at her for a moment, as if hit out of left field. This was the kind of banter she was familiar with among her own ilk, not with her opponents. She let out a laugh, that was really more than a guffaw. “You know, it’s really more about what you do with the knife than how big it — ew.” She was realizing the innuendo was she was saying it, even though she hadn’t meant it. She covered her face.

She raised her brows at the rest of what the other said. She had no other dry clothes? Daiyu knew that some fae lived far from humans at times, but even that seemed strange to her. “You should have more clothes than that. A coat, too. For … rain. And when people throw water on you.” She looked up at the sky before back at the fae. She was drinking from the bottle. That mess. She was frozen for a moment, before kneeling down slowly. She was anticipating anything, ready for the olive branch to become a weapon to cut her down for her walking into this backyard. It felt like a trap, even if the other’s performance was convincing. She reached forward and took the bottle. Nothing happened. She pressed her lips together in a tight line. Now closer to the fae, she was forced to take better stock of her features and the situation Daiyu had helped put her in. What the other was saying was stupid and wishy-washy. “Maybe. Maybe I’m just bad at following directions.” A beat. “Maybe something led me astray. To you.” It was as much of a warning as she could give, because she still did not understand how her tracking had led her here. 

— 

“Ew?” Kasumi wasn’t sure why the woman had cut herself off. She wasn’t entirely sure where she was going with the comment to begin with, and maybe it wasn’t important, but a small part of her had wanted to know what the other was going to say, especially because it’d been her that had gotten the knife pulled on her. “Are you embarrassed?” It was said after a brief moment of silence as Kasumi observed the other; her hands covering her face in a way that showed the pink of her cheeks. It could’ve been from the cold, or maybe by the sentence she hadn’t finished. “About that, or about being in the wrong place?” Kasumi had shed her ability to feel embarrassment, only because she’d never get anywhere in life with it hanging over her head. 

“Does that happen often here? People throwing water at others?” Kasumi was learning so much about Wicked’s Rest that it felt… dizzying, almost. That it felt like every time she did learn something new, something else contradicted it. But maybe that was because the information was coming from different sources. “But no, I know. I know that, it’s just– not that simple.” She had no money, was what she was trying to say. There were some clothes in the house she’d been residing in, but most of them were for summer, and the winter chill was very much still hanging onto her. 

Kasumi blinked, looking from the woman’s face, to her hands. The two of them put together showed just how inhuman she was, she realized. Her iridescent scales scattered light beneath the low setting of the sun. Her claws were sharp compared to the dull (and lack of) length to the woman’s. “They say that in books, you know. This one.” She motioned towards the book sitting on the rock behind her. “Not exactly like that, but kind of like that.” With a breath, Kasumi took a step back, folding her arms against herself again to try and warm her hands. “I’m Kasumi.” The vague interest she had in the woman had developed into something different, especially now that the knife had been put away. “What..” A brief pause, “did you expect? Here. If not me, I mean.” 

— 

Daiyu was, in fact, embarrassed. There was nothing about this scenario that wasn’t at least a little discomforting after all, from the water she’d squirted on the other to the fact that she was in the wrong place. Never mind the way her cheeks almost burned childishly at the almost-innuendo, her tolerance for this kind of conversation low. And now the other seemed confused, leaving Daiyu to have to explain herself. She opted out. “I’m not fucking embarrassed,” she snapped, finding the line of questioning very grating. It was a kind of confrontational she could not appreciate. “So about nothing. Get that out of your head.” 

Squaring her shoulders, she tried to gain some more control over the situation. The way the fae spoke to her was so strange and unbecoming that she did not know how to act. “Yes, all the time. It’s like a time honored tradition in this place. And you know, rain.” That was a great sentence. Daiyu felt the embarrassment snake up in her nervous system and she could only respond with anger. At herself, but also at this fae who was not even jumping to the proper offense at her appearance. “How is it not that simple?” The question was asked with some vitriol 

and she did not notice the curiosity beneath it. “It’s clothes.”

She did not often see unglamoured fae up close. Daiyu had seen shifters partially shifted, but there was something else about this. She eyed the claws with care, ready to block any swipe that would attempt to slice at her skin. With the bottle back in her hands she felt a little calmer, but she remained crouched. If only to show she was not scared. “I don’t read,” she muttered, eyeing the book with little interest. She was sure books said all kinds of things that resonated with people, but Daiyu was not looking to be resonated with. She did not want insight. She struggled enough with the mirror some shitty action movies held up. “I’m … Daria. And someone else.” She grit her teeth. “Someone —” She eyed Kasumi for a bit longer. If she had found her in her attempt to find the other nixie, others might come. Others who did see a point in murdering Kasumi. And it wasn’t like she cared if the other were to meet some unfortunate end – right? – but she still felt twisted up inside. “There are other people looking for her. Might be that they end up here too.” She understood it suddenly. Kasumi seemed lost. And Daiyu felt strange thinking about people finding her only to pose a threat. “What do the books say?”

— 

Kasumi nodded slowly, gaze unmoving from the woman’s frame. All of the signs pointed in that direction, but she insisted she wasn’t embarrassed. Kasumi wasn’t the type to die on any kind of hill, unless she truly believed in something. Plus, she figured arguing with the person who had a knife (though, meant for somebody else) might not be the smartest thing either. “It’s gone. I won’t think you’re embarrassed.” Her throat burned, only minimally. She could look past the embarrassment, because clearly that in itself had made the brunette even more so. 

“Oh. I guess I’ll have to keep that in mind.” Kasumi didn’t like the idea of so many water bottles being wasted for the sake of soaking others, especially if knives were involved, but if that was the way Wicked’s Rest did things, then maybe she would need to fall into line with the town’s practices as well. “The rain makes sense. It rains a lot here.” That had been something she looked up. It was for her own sake, really – the last thing that she wanted to have happened was getting caught in the rain and having her glamor fall down. She’d been perfecting it, but there was nothing she could do against water. “it’s not simple because I don’t have a lot of money. You need money to buy more clothes, right?” Her tone shifted, though completely shy of anything snippy– more inquisitive, if anything. “I have the clothes I have, and I’ll… be fine with them, for the meantime. When it gets warmer, I’ll repurpose them.” Surely, she’d need to invest in an umbrella.

“You don’t read?” She sounded unsure, like the words sounded wrong as she said them. Kasumi’s brows knit together as she tried to understand the concept of somebody not reading. That had been something she’d found out by trying to get people to sign up for library cards after a day of being told that hardly anyone came in anymore. “That’s a little strange. But I guess there are other things you can do.” She paused, looking at who she now knew as Daria. “What do you do? If you don’t read. Besides… getting lost and confronting people with knives, and continuing the time honored tradition of spraying water at others.” She was curious to know. It was all a part of learning, wasn’t it? Of understanding humans? What she should’ve done was threaten Daria, or run in the opposite direction, but those actions hadn’t even crossed her mind, only because it felt moot. Was it not ultimately better to understand? At the mention of others possibly showing up, Kasumi frowned. “I hope not. I don’t have anywhere else to go.” She looked around, then briefly at the brunette. She should’ve worried for her fellow fae, for the nix that might catch Daria’s blade. Perhaps she’d find her on her own terms, tell her others were looking for her. “Maybe you can tell them that there’s nothing here. The people you’re worried about.” After a brief pause, she looked back towards the book, then padded over to the rock. 

She picked it up, flipping to the dog-ear’d page. “They’re fishing. For trout.” 

— 

The other was better than her, that much was clear. Daiyu would have taken any signs of embarrassment in an opponent and ran with it, using it against them. But this Kasumi was agreeing to not think that she was embarrassed. She wasn't even teasing her about it. Strange, considering the way Daiyu had arrived here with a knife and a water bottle with an intent to kill. Anything the other could use against her, she should take, by all rules of logic. Especially a fae, she figured. But in stead she just went along.

“Rains too damn much here,” she said in agreement, even if part of her liked rainy days. It just depended on what was on the docket and whether she'd have to be outside in wet, sticky clothes for long. There was nothing like a hot shower after getting soaked, after all. Or running around with Nugget in the rain. Daiyu listened as the other went on, explaining that she was low on cash. That was something she could understand, at least. But through her bounties, she'd always managed some level of income. Even in the most dire of times. “Sure. I guess you do, unless you wanna steal. There's probably some places that offer free clothes. To those … less fortunate.” She understood not wanting to take that kind of help either, though. If Daiyu understood anything, it was a self-sabotaging level of pride. “What about when it gets colder again? Just repurpose that thing over and over again?” She sounded incredulous, if not almost bemused.

“No. I don't like it.” Reading was agitating and frustrating. She wasn't good at it and it took too long. Sometimes even long Instagram captions were too much for her. “Prefer movies. Walking around. Listening to music. Surfing and bouldering. That kinda thing. Burger eating.” She wasn't sure why she was offering this kind of intimate insight into her life. There were only so few boulder spots in town, and she was giving Kasumi plenty of ways to track her down now. Talia had tracked her to a burger spot, after all. She needed to be more nebulous about her hobbies. Daiyu thought for a second about what Kasumi was saying, that she could just tell other hunters to not bother with this spot. “Maybe,” she said with a shrug, not wanting to commit to anything. She might encounter some hunters that were after the same bounty and let them know that this corner in Deersprings was useless, but she wasn't going to go out of her way. That would get a little too close to caring, and once she'd admit to doing that, she was bound to end up in a more confused state.

Her eyebrows raised up, then creased into a frown. “Geez, and you're reading about that? Sounds fucking boring. Fishing is boring as is, but to read about it?” She exhaled with great force to express how dull that sounded, shaking her head. “Man.”

— 

Humans had such an interesting outlook on nature. One would think it rained too much, while others would complain that it didn’t rain enough. It wasn’t confusing, when looked at from an objective standpoint, but Kasumi didn’t have the means to be objective, not when she was meant to take in all human-ness. At least, that’s how she had understood the assignment. Either way, Kasumi knew it was a non-issue where Daria was concerned. She didn’t seem that invested in explaining further; whether she liked it or hated it, whether it was a good thing or bad thing. It didn’t matter. 

“I am not going to steal.” Her chest burned. “Right now.” She already had. There’d been years where she and her aos si stole from human communities. What would a human do against a fae with razor sharp claws, or teeth that could easily sink into flesh? But when Kasumi, herself, stole, it was never with intention. It was typically by accident, or without the thought of theft behind it. “I have plenty. Of what I need, and some of what I don’t.” Like the batteries that were still buried beneath the ground. She’d need to figure out how to remove them. They were too large for her to get out by herself, but aside from Daria, nobody had stepped foot here. “I will visit the ones giving out things for free and see if I can use anything.” She wasn’t naive enough to believe that free actually meant free, but when she was left with so little choice, what did it matter? Kasumi shrugged. “It will be awhile before it gets colder again. If it does, I will find something from the free people you mentioned.” She gestured vaguely in no real direction, but to show the effort of listening to the advice she was being given. 

One of the first things Kasumi had been affronted with when it came to humans had been books. They liked to record their history, just as any living, sentient being did. It wasn’t uncommon for human books to end up in the aos si’s hands, though those were typically phased out for fae authors down the line, when muses got their hands on publishing houses. But not every human was attuned to wanting to sit with a book, and that’d been hard to digest for Kasumi at first, only because she could think of nothing better. “I do like music also. I’m not familiar with bouldering. I know surfing. I’ve–” She bit her lip, “have sort of participated in that.” She would watch as the other nix created waves where they’d ride the water with their bare feet. As the aos si moved, however, the bodies of water became increasingly smaller, making it harder to do so. That, and most of them had aged out of it. Kasumi missed watching others have the kind of fun she’d dreamt about. “We have something in common, too. I also love movies, and burgers. Music, too.” She offered a smile, not aware that maybe being alike wasn’t something Daria wasn’t looking for. 

Daria didn’t seem very concerned with keeping others at bay, and Kasumi wasn’t going to beg her to do so. If anything, she would find elsewhere to stay for a couple of days, and enlist the pixies to hide high in the trees to keep a watch on things. She would bribe them with jellybeans and corn dogs. They seemed to like those. “Well, I’m not going to make you. So… I’ll just keep an eye out.” She had learned that phrase, and she liked to use it now, especially with her head on a swivel. 

Kasumi laughed, and it almost sounded like a song. “Oh, no. That’s not what this book is all about. They are just doing this on the page I am at.” She looked at the paragraph again. “There’s a movie about this book. Maybe you should watch it. I haven’t seen it.” She doubted Daria would do as such, but Kasumi was curious about its integrity in comparison to the book. “It’s about a boy and his family who drank from a well, gaining immortality. There is more to it than the trout.” She shrugged, setting it back down. “Since you do not like to read, maybe the movie will treat you better.” 

—- 

From all she knew about fae – which was admittedly limited and certainly biased – she was certainly surprised that Kasumi said she wouldn’t steal. Fae were tricksters, weren’t they? What was to stop them, or anyone really, from a bit of justified thievery? Daiyu didn’t think too long on it, though, figuring that everyone had some lines they drew. Nixies were known to drown humans and others, but maybe stealing from a corporation was somehow not-done. She didn’t analyze why she did or didn’t do certain things, figuring that kind of overthinking to be dangerous for her state of mind, so she did not bother to do the same for this strange fae.

Because strange she was. Completely befuddling and admittedly disarming. With frustration, Daiyu reflected on all the information she had given her without threat or reason, as well as the slight warning of hunters to come. Hadn’t her friendship with Wyatt taught her that it was no good, getting friendly with those that were once her target? Not that she intended to interact with this Kasumi again, but intention and reality were often far apart in this small, stupid town. “Well, it’s your funeral,” she muttered, “Just remember that freezing to death is like the stupidest way to die. Totally avoidable.” It was phrased like an insult, but she caught the heart underneath it. Cursing herself mentally, she was getting ready to find a way out of this situation, wanting nothing more than to leave and cease talking forever. If this fae was as trickery as stereotypes would have her believe, she was only minutes away from walking in some verbal trap.

As she talked about all the things they had in common, Daiyu wondered what her agenda was. There had to be some. “Not very special. Ton of people like movies, burgers and music. There’s a reason those are lucrative industries.” She did not want to bond with a woman she had intended to kill no less than fifteen minutes ago. Actually, Daiyu didn’t want to bond with anyone any more, already fatigued enough of all the names and personalities she knew in town. Knowing her luck, Kasumi was already friends with a ton of people in her network, complicating the spidery web of her connections. she needed no more of that. 

Glad that the other didn’t try to argue her that she should tell people to stay away from a known fae home, Daiyu shrugged. From what she could gleam, Kasumi wasn’t a large threat to humanity, but plenty of dangers looked harmless at first. That didn’t mean she was going to sic some wardens on her, though. She was just going to walk away and forget all about this awkward business.

“Maybe,” she said non-commitally. She did try to glance at the book’s title, noting that she had not seen it before. Tuck Everlasting sounded somewhat superhero-y, but also potentially like something fanciful. She creased her brows at Kasumi’s description. “Well, that sounds stupid. Immortality is for idiots. Only a stupid family would try that.” Daiyu straightened her shoulders, squeezing her empty water bottle. “I hope they come to regret it, when the time comes. Might check out the movie.” She’d look at its Rotten Tomatoes page and decide against watching it. “Right then. You get back to the immortal trout and whatnot. I’ve got … business to attend to. Finding my way back, for one.”

—- 

Kasumi watched Daria, curious as to why it mattered to the other woman if she froze to death or not. Was it human instinct? To warn something of somebody, even after causing harm? Possibly. She’d read it in plenty of books; the woeful heroine at the end of the story and her opponent, of a warning caught to the wind where it’d ultimately end up in the villain’s demise. But, even though Daria had a knife, and had sprayed her with water, and had warned her of others’ intentions, and how they might find her, Kasumi didn’t think of her as much of a villain. Maybe it was reversed, in this case. “I will have no funeral, and I’ll be warm when winter comes again. Don’t worry.” Because, obviously Daria was worried about it if she had brought it up in the first place. 

“I never said anything about it being special. I just said we have something in common.” Was that not the essence of human experience? To have things in common with thy fellow man? Though, Daria knew she was not human, so perhaps the illusion was shattered for her. Kasumi had to wonder that if they’d met under different circumstances– if there was not a part of Daria that knew what she was already, would she have felt differently? Would she have talked further about movies, music, and burgers? Kasumi was left to feel only a little disappointed by the prospective conversation they could’ve had. It was silly, especially considering she had far more things to be upset about.

Kasumi was cold, her sleeves still soaked through. Her claws caught in the fabric of her sweater, and she frowned. She held on tightly to her forearms, an act of self-importance, she had deemed it. To seem taller, she mirrored the way Daria straightened up. “Immortality is only stupid if you can’t achieve it. But, I guess nobody really can.” Those who existed outside of mortality were bigger than she or Daria could envision. Even Kasumi knew that, and as a fae, she felt she had the high ground on that argument. But, at the end of the day, it was an argument that didn’t hold much weight, nor did it actually matter. “If you watch it, you might find out.” She pressed her lips together, looking Daria over. At the mention of figuring out how to leave, Kasumi let out a soft laugh. “That way.” She pointed with her index, the only finger not caught on the fabric. “Take a left. Don’t go out front.” 

—- 

She wasn’t worried. At least, she was telling herself she wasn’t. If some corpse would be found frozen to death in this backyard in seven months time, she would not care. It would just be another body among the many in Wicked’s Rest, another sod that died to exposure. She should not worry about it, so she didn’t. Daiyu glowered at the other’s reassurance, finding it almost offensive. Never mind the way she had told her not to freeze to death before. Never mind that she was never as hard as she tried to make herself. 

“You, me and the rest of the world. We all like those things,” she said, wanting to have nothing in common with the nixie she was sparing. Daiyu’s eyes went to her claws, that childlike envy for inhuman traits bubbling up and then cast it aside. Those claws were a weapon. Like a knife held in her hand. There was no point in finding the similarities between herself and the other. It was risky even, what with the other’s attempt at innocent that was certainly a trap. If she started seeing anything of herself in the other, she would cross a line she couldn’t come back from. She was letting her live, that was enough.

“Anyone who wants to achieve it is a fool,” she said. Wasn’t one of the hunters’ comforts that life would end? Weren’t they raised with the promise of a violent, and if lucky glorious, death? Daiyu did not wish to die yet, but she wanted to die inevitably. A life that did not end, a body that did not age — not only was it unnatural, it was unnerving. “But … enjoy your book.” She looked at Kasumi offering her aid to leave, which was completely ludicrous considering the knife of it all. “Yep, cool.” She swallowed any other words like thanks and started moving, not really needing the help to get out (as she had never been lost) and looking over her shoulder once to Kasumi with confusion riddling her mind.

[thinkmekoi]

TIMING: Mid April. LOCATION: Siobhan's Spot. PARTIES: Kasumi (@thinkmekoi) & Siobhan (@banisheed) SUMMARY: Kasumi finds some of Siobhan's designer clothing along a pathway, then collects it, following it towards Siobhan's tent commune. CONTENT WARNING: N/A

At first, it was a brightly colored pair of pants. Kasumi continued along the trail, picking up each fabric, throwing it over her arm. She was weighed down by the time she got to the bones. There were at least ten different articles of clothing, all from brands that she wasn’t sure she’d be able to pronounce. 

(What the hell was a Prada or a Gucci, anyway?) 

And there were at least triple the amount of bones. She stood on the outskirts of them, observing the way they surrounded the mass of tents. From where Kasumi stood, she could see pairs of shoes in one, and what looked like warm, fur coats in another. Surely, the clothes she had thrown over her arm belonged to one of the tents, but even as she looked around, the tent that they might have gone into was missing. 

There was, however, a sleeping woman in one of the tents. Kasumi could see a head of hair, and the way an arm was thrown over her face. She looked… comfortable, to say the least. Though, she couldn’t see too well through the mesh screens. 

“Hello!” She called out, “I have your Pra-yda and your Gucki,” She looked at the tags on the topmost items, and noticed a third, “as well as your Canada Goose!” (What the hell a goose was doing inside of a coat, she didn’t know) 

Kasumi stood on her tippy toes, trying to see if she had gained any kind of acknowledgement from inside of the tent. 

— 

Gaunt, lifeless bodies were knotted together in mountains of sinew and bone. A river of gore flowed underfoot, and Siobhan watched all of it atop her skull throne. She sipped from her goblet, which had wine in it last she remembered, though it had no taste. A vulture swooped down and pecked at one of the men she had hanging by his wrists—he had been strung up behind her, but now he was somehow in front of her. Which was no bother, of course, because she could see the vulture pierce his abdomen better this way. 

“Lady Siobhan,” her one-eyed, hobbling servant said. “I have your Gucki.” 

Siobhan blinked. “My what? What is—”

“—ell as your Canada Goose!”

Siobhan's arm fell away from her eyes and she stared at the blue domed roof of her plastic tent. There were no rivers of blood, no men screaming in agony and no cushioned bone throne. Her back ached and her skin prickled with the telltale sign of another fae nearby. Pixies again; the thought made her sigh. She grabbed her pixie stick (a stick for beating pixies back, not to be mistaken for the candy, a mistake which often excited the pixies until it hit them on the head). Turning, she crawled out of her tent—hair stuck up in several directions—and sleepily waved her stick. “For the last time, you cannot have a knife, or an axe—you cannot even carry an axe, let alone find a use for it in your grain-sized brains.” 

Siobhan froze mid-swing. That was not a pixie: the obvious part was her size, far too tall for a pixie, but in addition, she was carrying things. Siobhan’s things. Pixies never returned anything to her, unless they broke it and wanted her to fix it so they could play with it again. “What do you want?” she called. “Put those things down! They don’t belong to you! What manner of fae are you? These parts are watched by a daughter of Death!” She held her stick out, keeping the woman at a distance; her mind was still catching up to the world of the waking. 

—

There was movement from inside of the tent, and Kasumi felt a swell of relief. The buzzing that she felt since entering the premises had gone without notice, only because it was a feeling she was used to. It was the absence that felt nuclear. 

The woman was speaking to somebody else, she figured. For Kasumi hadn’t requested any type of weaponry. Had she been expecting somebody else to return her things? The nix watched as confusion flit across the woman’s features as she took in the scene. 

“There were clothes, and they all led to here!” She looked over her shoulder, then back towards the woman and the numerous tents. It was both impressive and an eyesore. Kasumi wrinkled her nose, dropping the clothes. They fell to the ground in a giant lump, colors cascading over each other, clearly not meant for the forest floor. “They’re going to get dirty,” the nix mumbled, taking a step from the heap. 

She’d been so focused on the clothes that she nearly missed the woman’s question. “Daughter of Death…?” She didn’t know all too much about banshees; just the stories that her mother had told her, back when she still told stories. Kasumi was far more acquainted with nix and nymphs alike, but did that matter? Her grandmother would be impressed, but it wasn’t like Ayame had asked her to come and find banshees, had she? “Oh, I’m a nix! It’s nice to meet you.” She was excited about running into another fae, to say the least, especially a kind she’d never met before. 

— 

Siobhan shifted her stance, sneering as she gazed down at the… nix, was it? “They’d get dirtier in your filthy fish hands,” she said. Siobhan stepped closer, her stick still thrust between them. She took one step, and then another, side-stepping like a trepidacious crab. Approaching the pile of her clothes, and the nix, Siobhan put her stick down. She knelt and ran her fingers over the silk hem of one of her shirts. “Undamaged,” she said slowly. Her clothes being unmarred was rare when they left the relative safety of the tents (the tents were awfully exposed to many fashion threats, such as that one bear that seemed very invested in her Louis Vuitton, but at least it was better than everything out there). 

She lifted her stick and poked the other woman. “Yes, it is nice to meet me. I cannot say the same for you.” Siobhan scowled. “What is your name?” She poked her again. “What plans did you have with these clothes?” And again. “What evil designs did you wish upon these unsuspecting garments?” And once more, a little harder. “I do not enjoy your chipper attitude; quell yourself.”

—

Kasumi stood, waiting patiently for the other fae’s next move. She wasn’t entirely sure what was expected of her now, especially considering she didn’t seem all that excited for Kasumi to have found her in the first place. “I keep my hands clean.” Unlike some of the other members of her aos si, she didn’t smell like fish in the way they did. Instead, she just smelled like… well, herself. She’d been lucky, apparently, because a few of the nix who’d moved into their aos si from the outside had said they needed to spray copious amounts of perfume onto themselves in order to not be made fun of. She had thought it rude at the time, but now that she understood the human world a little better, Kasumi could see how it’d be offputting. Humans weren’t used to a lot of things that a nix, or even fae might be used to. 

It was odd, Kasumi thought, how a fae could be so obsessed with human materials. But she’d seen it before, hadn’t she? 

“Oh. Well, that’s fine!” She looked from the clothes and to the woman, curious as to why she was stroking them. She’d ask, but the stick might hit her in the face. “My name is Kasumi.” She paused. “What’s you–” Her eyes grew big and she shook her head. “Nothing! I was just returning them to you! They were everywhere. I followed them all the way here, and I wanted to give you the rest of them.” Her comment reminded her of her grandmother, which made Kasumi’s skin prickle, but she pushed the feeling away immediately. “I will stay chipper.” It sounded a little forceful, like she didn’t quite believe in herself. 

—

Like most other fae, this one was annoying. As these things went, everyone except herself was intolerable, and everyone—except herself—was an imbecile. Siobhan stabbed her stick into the ground, leaning on it. She supposed that some gratitude was in order… from the nix, of course. A “thank you” for not being stabbed on the spot or an “ever so grateful” for being allowed to touch Siobhan’s clothing in the first place. When it didn’t come, she scoffed; children these days had no manners. Barging into a poor woman’s temporary tent region, giving her back her clothes, and not even thanking her for the whole thing. Really, she should just stab the girl. 

“Kasumi,” Siobhan repeated. “Siobhan,” she said. “My name, that is. Siobhan. It means… Well, never you mind what it means.” She didn’t know. She’d like to think it meant something that evoked both her beauty and her capacity (and willingness) for violence but she knew her mother wasn’t known for creativity, or for loving her daughter. She’d picked a common name, perhaps not at the time to describe any commonness in her daughter (she might change her mind about it now) but for the utilitarian concept of blending in with human society. The Dolans didn’t believe in earthly delights—they wore gray, unshapely dresses and enjoyed neutrally their unseasoned bone gruel. Siobhan’s insistence on delighting whilst on earth was a delayed rebellion; one that her mother could not see, and likely didn’t care for. The Dolans were the most humble snobs anyone could meet, Siobhan always thought. 

“A fae? Acting with no self-interest? I might sooner believe that a squonk can fly and a horse can become a banker—of course, there is that one teller…” Siobhan sighed. “Stay chipper then. See if it makes you any allies; your manner is grating.” She cleared her throat. “Now, out with it.” She held out her palm, curling her fingers inward to signal that Kasumi should just give It to her now—the It being the thing she wanted. The reward. The prize. “Go on then. Name your price.”

—

Kasumi was capable of seeing herself in most people she met. It was one of the very reasons she didn’t fall prey to the ill will of those who desperately pushed it upon her. She refused to allow their habits to interfere with her determination to stay… Well, she wasn’t sure what she was, but it was close enough to happy; close enough to seeing the grass and sky for what it was instead of complaining about whether or not the sun was too hot, or the grass was not green enough. This woman seemed like she’d complain about both, but Kasumi wasn’t about to pester her about it. 

“Siobhan.” She echoed the name back with a nod, smile attached. “That’s a wonderful name!” She wasn’t sure whether the compliment was necessary or not, especially given that Siobhan seemed like the kind of woman who would respond with I know instead of anything else. Kasumi felt the need, though– to keep an airy atmosphere, to appease the angry fae ahead of her. 

“Self-interest doesn’t… interest me.” Kasumi looked down to the pile of clothes, then back up to Siobhan. She forced her gaze ahead, not wanting to invade her privacy more than she already had. “A bank teller squonk?” She nodded, as if in knowing. “That makes sense. They are very smart, actually. Everyone thinks that–” She cut herself off, deciding that Siobhan probably didn’t care to hear her spiel. It wasn’t uncommon for Kasumi to be called grating, insufferable, annoying– She’d heard it all. If not from her own grandmother, then the other fae in the aos si. She let the comment roll off her back, as if caught in the wind. “My price?” She shook her head. “No. I think you misunderstand my intentions! I didn’t bring them back to get payment. I just wanted to bring them back to you.” She gestured towards the other tents. “Do you lose things a lot?” 

— 

“I know,” Siobhan said. “Yes, yes. It’s a wonderful name. I know.” Siobhan waved her hand in the air. “And whatever is the problem with the sun today? It’s so hot. Ugh, and this grass…” She kicked at it. “So brown.” Her temporary tent area had seen better days; when she’d first arrived with that pair of humans she’s bound into setting up her tents for her, was it not a beautiful, green oasis? Her memory on the matter was fuzzy. What she remembered was sitting in her lawn chair, fan pointed at her face, sipping cold wine as one of the men suffered heatstroke and died very painfully—he was going to die of a vampire attack anyway, so at least his final moments were useful to someone. Surely the day had been very good if she got to watch a man die a nice, slow death; and surely she wouldn’t pick an ugly spot for her temporary abode. 

Everyone thinks that squonks are smart? Siobhan raised a brow. It was likely not what the other fae meant, but Kasumi decided against finishing the sentence and Siobhan wasn’t going to chase it down. Did she appear to be a woman who cared? If one dropped their sentences, it was on them to pick it back up—information was not to be begged for like a dog. At any rate, Siobhan found herself uninterested in Kasumi: happy people were boring. Unless one explored dismantling that happiness. Hm. Siobhan was interested in Kasumi again. 

“Voice down, Kasumi,” Siobhan said. “It is dangerous to compliment squonks in this region. You’re liable to summon one.” Thing had to be waddling around somewhere, and he had an unnatural attachment to even the thinnest of kindnesses. As Kasumi went on, Siobhan squinted at her. She looked around at her tents as Kasumi gestures. “Yes,” she said slowly. “Yes. I do.” She blinked. What a useless question to be asked. Did Kasumi truly care about the state of Siobhan’s belongings? No. Who would? “Well, darling, if you don’t want payment what is it you desire? What motivates you? Goodness? Are you some manner of fairytale princess? Will I follow you home to find your kind heart has not been stifled by your evil stepmother? Or will you just admit to me now that you are plagued as all souls are: with wanting.” Siobahn waved her hand again, her annoyance flaring by degrees. She could do without Kasumi’s acting—and it had to be acting, no one was this annoyingly selfless; she wanted to cut down into the meat of it. “Out with it. I’d rather not stand around all day chatting aimlessly only for you to turn around at the end and ask me for a favour.” 

—

“Well, I am very glad that you know!” Siobhan’s comment lingered, and Kasumi found herself looking around the small spot that had been to be made inhabitable. The grass had died, probably due to the tents sitting on it for far too long. The cold probably had a hand in it, too. “It will grow back. With the right amount of time.” Once the seasons changed and the tents were moved, it would grow back, wouldn’t it? Not all hope was lost. “You just need to give it time.” She didn’t know this woman, but she was used to walking on eggshells, always at the risk of saying the wrong thing. “Winter’s over, so surely…” She trailed off, looking around the space again. It wasn’t that small, actually. It stretched on and on, tents covering a solid amount of grass. It would be awhile before the grass would be the same, wouldn’t it? 

“I see.” She didn’t remember how it worked, but could it be? Could the pull of the single word– their name, until they were actually given one, entrance a squonk to seek out the one who had said it originally? Kasumi looked around, suddenly worried that she’d make this place a haven for them. Her gaze swept past the clothes again as she listened to Siobhan speak. None of the clothes that she’d found were really her style, and Siobhan seemed too tall for anything to even fit her to begin with. So really, she wasn’t entirely sure what the woman was getting at. 

A nix’s life was far more simple than that of fae who threw themselves into human societies, wasn’t it? There were relationships within the aos si, but typically they all came down to one thing; nature. Out in the open, where humans were a part of the day-to-day, things seemed far more stringent. Kasumi shook her head. “Well, I have read a few books, and I’ve seen a couple of the movies so far, and I do think of myself as a Rapunzel, if anything.” She paused. That wasn’t the question Siobhan had asked. “But no, I don’t… expect anything by returning these to you. I don’t want anything. I wanted to get them to their rightful owner.” She folded her arms over her chest. “Why would I ask you for a favor? That seems pointless. I don’t need anything from you.” She hardly needed anything from anyone, but she needed a lot– it was just that favors typically got messy, and that wasn’t what she needed when she was trying to seek out the meaning of humans and their short-lived lives. “Do people usually always want something from you? That doesn’t seem very fair to you.” She frowned. 

—- 

Siobhan sighed. “Your optimism is noted, crumpled, and tossed in the trash,” she said. She wasn’t going to stay here; she didn’t care how it would look in a month or six. Any time now, she would… Siobhan glanced down at her pile of lumpy designer clothes. She could imagine the wrinkles and sleeves as herself; her head popping out between the Gucci and Prada, and her legs that would grow under the Louis Vuitton and this lump of discarded, pretty fabrics would walk off. She surveyed the tents; dozens of multi-colored polyester pyramids like a city. Her kingdom was pathetic and what was a queen of an ugly patch of forest worth? She wanted people to look at her and know her status, her grandeur, before she ever had to open her mouth to prove it. 

Kasumi was seeing her as she was, which was to say at a wee low-point. Yes, of course, she’d had lower-lows, but even those forty years chasing home had luxury apartments and mansions. Siobhan shifted her weight. “Your hair isn’t long enough for that, darling. You’re far more The Little Mermaid, aren’t you?” 

Kasumi’s words sawed to the bone and she stiffened. She should want something from her, because Siobhan had so much to offer: she was useful, effective, useful…synonym for useful. She was talented in murder and screaming. Her personality was charming (to herself). Who wouldn’t want something from her? People were begging to have things from her—look, there, the long line of worms trying to break into her knife tent. See? Siobhan waved her hand in the air. “Yes, of course, everyone wants something from me.” No one had, in many, many years. And when they had wanted something, it was her own humiliation. Fate called her, on occasion, but Fate rarely needed her help. No one had wanted Siobhan for decades. Here she was, a powerful banshee sequestered in a withering kingdom, and she was as useful as a sparkly label on an overpriced garment. Even Kasumi, who by all accounts needed a tremendous amount of help, didn’t need anything from her. “Well, I suppose you should be off, Kasumi; I’ve a busy day of fielding requests from others. Humouring the peasants, as it were. If you have nothing to ask of me, then I have no use for your conversation either.” 

Not very fair. No, what wasn’t fair was that her talents were being squandered. Why didn’t anyone need her? Siobhan turned around a shooed Kasumi. 

—

She didn’t bother vocalizing it, but knew that whatever had been ‘thrown into the trash,’ would be picked up by her, and her alone. Siobhan did not seem the type to care about whether or not Kasumi would defy her, and largely seemed like the kind of person to abhor it. There were a few things about the woman in front of her that reminded her of her grandmother. Except, the fondness for human extravagance; that much had been left behind by her grandmother, much to Kasumi’s own dismay. She had hoped they were getting somewhere when she’d seen Ayame flipping through a magazine, only to realize it’d been pulled from one of the many hiding spots Kasumi had left it in, and it was being used as a tool to reprimand, rather than to embrace the limits of their world. 

“I have been growing it out, but you’re right. I do not think it will ever get to that length.” It had been down her back as a child, and her mother had cut it one night in a stupor– eager to keep it out of her eyes. It was the last time Izumi had done something like that for her. How many more memories would Siobhan bring up, only by using her words? Or was it Kasumi’s fault, for falling into them? “The Little Mermaid would work, if I could go into–” But if Siobhan already knew the comparison, then there was no real use in explaining the logistics of being a nix. She shrugged. “I am The Little Mermaid.” She did not like mermaid as a term– thought it outdated (especially when actual mermaids did exist.) Maybe there was a bit of fae superiority in her after all. 

Kasumi looked from her fellow fae to the mound of fabric on the ground, then to the tents that stretched further past where she could see. The blots of brightly colored fabric were hidden by a mess of trees and what would be full shrubbery. “You seem like you have a lot. I think I understand.” She was being waved away, and all Kasumi could do was oblige. She was not going to impose her company on the other fae any longer, especially not if it was not wanted. “If you do need anything, I live in Deersprings. I am seen usually from windows. You can find me!” 

—- 

“Yes, The Little Mermaid. Little in… brain,” Siobhan said. “Hm. Not my finest work.” When Siobhan turned, she waited for Kasumi to call her back with the confession that she did need something. Siobhan stood in the same spot, making tiny steps towards nothing, waiting. Kasumi’s voice travelled over her, shrinking, shrinking… Siobhan turned and watched the woman walk away. 

She grabbed the pixie stick and stood beside the pile of clothes. One minute, and then two; a bird fluttered from a tree, the worms attacking her knife tent gave up, Kasumi didn’t return. Her kingdom of plastic was empty. “I don’t need anything,” she said, though she knew that Kasumi was long since out of earshot. “Deersprings?” she repeated. Siobhan turned the name over in her mind. “Deersprings?” Something inside her stomach burned. “Deersprings?” She felt a thousand flies crawl over her skin; heard them buzzing in her ears. “Regan…” she grumbled.

She squeezed the stick. Maybe there was something she could get Kasumi to do for her. How did the little mermaid feel about murder? Hm, probably not positively. Perhaps Kasumi might have better feelings towards arson?

Siobhan turned away and occupied herself as she often did: fantasizing about ruining Regan’s life. She could pass a whole day staring at nothing, thinking about cutting Regan’s wings again. It was the only thing she could do, since there wasn’t anyone who needed her for anything else. She was waiting, still, for someone to command her. She’d never learned what to do with herself otherwise. 

[vengeancedemon]

[pm] No. I just [...] don't like things like this. Sitting around. Relaxing. I'm not very good at it. Or waiting.

Not just us. Happened to a [...] friend of mine, too. Maybe more people. It's strange.

[thinkmekoi]

[pm] I think that you must take a deep breath, or else you might be too serious all the time. Maybe you could start small! I do not think you are the type of person to like your feet touched. [user can tell, just by looking at him] But maybe you would like your hair washed! My mother used to wash my hair until she decided that I

Oh. I see. So are we going to investigate this?

[vengeancedemon]

[pm] No, you don't need to be married to love someone. [...] Maybe you just haven't met the person who understands you yet. Could be someone out there. [user believes this can be true for kasumi; he no longer thinks it's possible for himself.]

[thinkmekoi]

[pm] I am not so concerned with this! I am your employee, and I take this very seriously. I think that the same could be for you! It is our choice, at the end of the night. To decide if we would like to love somebody. Even if the books like to say it happens when we least expect it. What about Di

At least you have your dog. :)

[vengeancedemon]

[pm] A spa day? I don't know if something like that is such a good idea for me.

No, I'm not getting married. Kettle is telling people I am, but I am not.

[thinkmekoi]

[pm] Is it similar to your knee? You could sit outside. I have seen many men wait for women.

Oh. I see. This is very strange. The two of us getting married to people we do not want to be married to [...] should we investigate this?

[diana-triformis]

[pm] You don't have to do that, Kasumi-- as much as I do appreciate your offering. I don't think he would want Maybe. [user actually does giggle at spaw] I can do the spaw day. I'm used to giving my dog a bath, and she's bigger than Perro.

[thinkmekoi]

[pm] I have told him you would like a spa day. He will help me. His job is to investigate, so we will find out together. Oh. You also have a dog? What is it.

[incatsclothing]

Then I guess you've got pretty good observational skills, or whatever.

Yeah, and sometimes if you put them off long enough they just go away. You don't know which one until you procrastinate it, so I'll stick to procrastinating.

[thinkmekoi]

Yes, or whatever!

I do not think they ever truly go away. I think that they will always be there. Just easier to ignore. I have a job now. I would know about boring things. Not that my job is boring, there is just time where there is nothing to do, and that is boring.

[bazzledazzle]

I don't think it's saddening. I think it's the way of the world. It is what it is, yeah? [user's stomach hurts; they don't know if they're lying, or if they just wish they were.] Sure, but it's not worth much until it becomes the something else, is it? No one's hanging a blank canvas in a museum; no one's traveling from across the world to see it.

Oh, right, that is a phrase. Do you want help finding a farm? Can't be hard to do, can it?

[thinkmekoi]

Why does it have to be? There are better things to worry about than being useful [...] like the kinds of food you can eat. Well, Baz! I do think that you are quite useful. Not just because you got me a coffee and bread, but because you are quite the person I am happy to be friends with. :) And that is not true! Many people have gone to a blank canvas. There are blank canvases everywhere we look. They may just not look like what you think a blank canvas would look like. [user had to look up blank canvases]

Yes, I've been told. Finding a farm [...] I think that I am okay for now. Somebody has a stuffed horse, or told me I could find one. Perhaps it will be enough.