[The hoards have grown. Soft pillows, shiny fabrics, sparkling gems and pilfered precious metals, stark white animal bones, colorful feathers, and bags of money. Anything that caught the gargoyle twins’ eyes ended up in their respective piles.
The piles were quickly outgrowing their relatively small apartment. And one another.
Rin is curled around his pile, moonlight streaming through the windows, past the pushed-aside blackout curtains. He’s organizing the bits of labradorite he’d shed at sunset. Something in his pile shifts, settling, and a solid, polished orb of quartz rolls down it… and directly into Yukio’s pile]
… Eh? Hey. You come back here.
[Rin reaches out with his tail to roll the orb back to his pile. Something from Yukio’s pile gets caught in the fur at the end of it. Oops/]
Like right now in fact, buried under the objects he'd meticulously collected to the point where only the tips of his horns could be seen beneath a tumble of luxuriant velvet curtains he'd got from somewhere and a tapestry just this side of gaudy. Most of his items were of the genuinely expensive sort, none of it stolen of course, but he was not above using his hypnotic powers to get what he wanted.
Anything that caught his eye as valuable or precious..
And well it was comfortable to sleep under, knowing if anything adjusted his meticulous heap, he'd know about it instantly.
Like the plink of a small orb of quartz rolling into a hammered silver dinnerplate he'd 'found'. The heap of stuff shifts slightly, just enough to raise his head a little and see what's going on, pupils thin slits of black.
If Rin so much as touched anything that was his while his brother's clutter tried to ooze its way over, there would be hell to pay..]
[Well, it sure is hard not to touch the plate when the orb rolls over it. Stupid little ball... stay where you're put!
But there's also a ring. An ornate ring with intricate silver filigree. Filigree that tangles into Rin's tail fluff like a burr, and he pulls it out of Yukio's hoard... and into his.
Totally accidentally, but... hey! This is a nice ring!]
[It doesn't look like an accident from where Yukio lies tucked beneath his hoard, which draws a loud, rattling growl from somewhere in the heap as he rises, bits of shiny and valuable things tumbling in all directions.
This not at all helps keep things neatly separated, but that's not the point. The point is leveling an accusing finger at his brother, lips writhing back from long, sharp fangs. Every single thing about his stance, and his scent, radiate hostile intentions if not immediately appeased.]
[Rin doesn't know he's accidentally filched part of Yukio's hoard. He's assuming that Yukio wants the orb, which is clearly his, even if it decided to go on a short vacation. A normal Rin might have cowered a bit, deferring to his brother's anger.
But gargoyle Rin is protective of his stuff, and he's not going to take attempted thievery lying down. Rin also growls, bristles, bares his fangs. His glassy blue horns glow dimly in the darkness and a few blue flames spring to life on his body]
No way!! It's mine! You can't have it! If you want one so bad, go get your own!
[Everyone else had turned back to their original forms… Rin knew it was only a matter of time. He liked being a gargoyle. He really did! He liked the scales and the horns and the way his body looked… and, of course, his daily gemstones. They could probably build a small house out of all the labradorite he’d shed. But it was kind of irritating, not being able to do anything during the day without a big heavy cloak. It meant no flying during the day. Which meant walking. Which meant, well… not getting anywhere fast, that was for sure.
But the past few days, he’d been feeling… off in his skin. Itchy, maybe even a little painful. Like a sweater made of wool, biting into his skin… but from beneath. It didn’t matter how much he scratched or soaked, the itching wouldn’t abate. It was just getting worse.
So, this early evening, after shedding his stone form, Rin finds himself in his bathroom, looking in the mirror intently. His eyelids… there was something off about them. They were… sagging? And he could see something, something underneath.
Skin?]
Hey, Yukio…! [he calls out to his brother] Can you come here a sec? I need you to look at something…
[Yukio had no signs of changing yet himself. Maybe it was only those who'd been some other monster before that were losing their forms. He kept tabs on it but mostly just let it slide.
It didn't affect anything yet.
Rin however, lately seemed.. itchy. It had sent his brother shopping late at night to find various moisturizing creams that could actually soak through scales, and did find some, but whether or not it would actually do anything remained to be seen.
Timing is good though - no sooner does Yukio return from his shopping trip than he hears Rin call out. Shedding his coat and the self-crafted claw caps he wore in public, the other scaly monstrosity heads for the bathroom.]
What is it? If you're still itching, try this out. Maybe it'll help.
[the creams and ointments had helped a bit. But soon the itching would return, stronger than before. Not even a bath in oatmeal moisturizer had helped. This was advanced pruritus. ]
Nah, I'm... I mean I guess I'm still itchy, but look at this.
[he turns toward Yukio and pulls down his eyelid as if he's about to give Yukio an akanbe gesture... but the lid pulls down much further than it should. There's clearly a space between the lid and... what looks to be slightly reddened, peachy skin underneath]
[Immediately Yukio's still scaly brow furrows, and he reaches for Rin's face. He's learned to be very mindful of his claws over time, and he's not going to do any harm, but it might still be unnerving to have talons that close to an eye.]
Do gargoyles molt like snakes? It looks like you might be. That would explain some of the itchiness, even snakes rub on things when they're shedding..
[It's cautious. Everything that had scales or feathers molted, but surely they shed excess skin through that damnable stone sleep!]
I dunno, man! I guess gargoyles are like... they're reptiles, right? So... it would make sense.
[Then, Rin gets an idea. A BRILLIANT (gross) IDEA! He pounds a fist into his opposite palm]
Yukio!! I just had a great idea!! You know when snakes shed, the skin all comes off in one piece? What if we could get all MY skin off in one piece? It'd be so cool! We could probably sell it for a lot of shinies!
backdated to 12/27 because i continue to be a huge loser
[ today has been tiring. she's been practicing flying since late in the afternoon but with the sun down and stars lighting up the sky, she makes her way back inside the house. a part of her considers going back to spend the night in the greenhouse but she's come back in for one very important reason.
she already gave rin his present earlier but yukio had to wait until he was up and about. it was certainly difficult at times due to their differing waking hours but she's made sure that she won't miss the chance to give him his gift!
so, she steps through the shoes with a small and brightly wrapped gift. there's dirt smudged on her face and clothes but she has a big smile on her face. finally, she spots a familiar figure and calls out softly. ]
[At least finding him when he's asleep is really easy! It might be hideously morbid, but tucked into the corner of his room, the windows neatly permanently closed and painted over, is his coffin. It's exceedingly plush and comfy inside, and even has an ordinary pillow and a blanket, but it means once the coffin's open he's out and about somewhere!
And just after sunset is an early 'morning' for him, working on something like breakfast in the kitchen that is probably supposed to be some sort of milkshake but is several shades too pink for that.
Why stay in the greenhouse when inside the house is central heating and glorious warmth in the chill of winter?!
Yukio looks up from his somewhat mindless stirring at the sound of his name, and smiles. He's still..ever so careful to not bare fangs in the doing.]
Shiemi! Good morni-- ah, evening, what can I do for you?
[It's amazing how fast any trace of sleepiness just evaporates, even if he's still standing there in his pajamas.]
[ the house is warm which helps when your one weakness is the cold. but it's easy to get yourself to ignore something like that when you get focused on something like making sure everything was in place and all the new plants had the proper amounts of water, sunlight and shade. henry helped a lot but it was hard not to fall back into her old ways.
besides, she also literally shed blood for that greenhouse so she was going to get the most out of it. ]
Good morning to you too. [ she grins, moving her hands from behind her back and holding the brightly wrapped gift out. ] And happy birthday!
[plenty of shade to be found in the waning days of the year, where there's more dark than light. He rather liked it himself, he had a lot of time to get things done before he had to hide from the sun.
Still, plants in winter.. that's work enough.]
Ah?
[Birthday. Present. Right, that was a thing.
It's not that Yukio forgets his own birthday - or his brother's for that matter - it's just that he's very easily distracted by other, 'more important' matters. That doesn't prevent him from looking momentarily a touch both pleased and embarrassed.]
You didn't have to. But thank you very much, Shiemi.
[There's still that mostly-forgotten little boy part of his mind that always glees over gifts.]
I know I didn't have to but I wanted to. This are the first birthday gifts I ever bought for my friends...
[ although she's known yukio for a few years now, she's never given him much in the way of anything besides clovers and other plants for protection. nothing for his birthday, especially.
in a way, it's important to her too. a way of stepping forward away from that shy girl that was afraid of everyone. ]
Here, I hope you like it a-and don't worry! It's not anything silver.
[ which is probably a good thing considering just what the gift is. some thing never change... ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Backdated to sometime in november...
The piles were quickly outgrowing their relatively small apartment. And one another.
Rin is curled around his pile, moonlight streaming through the windows, past the pushed-aside blackout curtains. He’s organizing the bits of labradorite he’d shed at sunset. Something in his pile shifts, settling, and a solid, polished orb of quartz rolls down it… and directly into Yukio’s pile]
… Eh? Hey. You come back here.
[Rin reaches out with his tail to roll the orb back to his pile. Something from Yukio’s pile gets caught in the fur at the end of it. Oops/]
no subject
Like right now in fact, buried under the objects he'd meticulously collected to the point where only the tips of his horns could be seen beneath a tumble of luxuriant velvet curtains he'd got from somewhere and a tapestry just this side of gaudy. Most of his items were of the genuinely expensive sort, none of it stolen of course, but he was not above using his hypnotic powers to get what he wanted.
Anything that caught his eye as valuable or precious..
And well it was comfortable to sleep under, knowing if anything adjusted his meticulous heap, he'd know about it instantly.
Like the plink of a small orb of quartz rolling into a hammered silver dinnerplate he'd 'found'. The heap of stuff shifts slightly, just enough to raise his head a little and see what's going on, pupils thin slits of black.
If Rin so much as touched anything that was his while his brother's clutter tried to ooze its way over, there would be hell to pay..]
no subject
But there's also a ring. An ornate ring with intricate silver filigree. Filigree that tangles into Rin's tail fluff like a burr, and he pulls it out of Yukio's hoard... and into his.
Totally accidentally, but... hey! This is a nice ring!]
no subject
This not at all helps keep things neatly separated, but that's not the point. The point is leveling an accusing finger at his brother, lips writhing back from long, sharp fangs. Every single thing about his stance, and his scent, radiate hostile intentions if not immediately appeased.]
Give. That. Back.
no subject
But gargoyle Rin is protective of his stuff, and he's not going to take attempted thievery lying down. Rin also growls, bristles, bares his fangs. His glassy blue horns glow dimly in the darkness and a few blue flames spring to life on his body]
No way!! It's mine! You can't have it! If you want one so bad, go get your own!
Backdated: December 17 2015
But the past few days, he’d been feeling… off in his skin. Itchy, maybe even a little painful. Like a sweater made of wool, biting into his skin… but from beneath. It didn’t matter how much he scratched or soaked, the itching wouldn’t abate. It was just getting worse.
So, this early evening, after shedding his stone form, Rin finds himself in his bathroom, looking in the mirror intently. His eyelids… there was something off about them. They were… sagging? And he could see something, something underneath.
Skin?]
Hey, Yukio…! [he calls out to his brother] Can you come here a sec? I need you to look at something…
no subject
It didn't affect anything yet.
Rin however, lately seemed.. itchy. It had sent his brother shopping late at night to find various moisturizing creams that could actually soak through scales, and did find some, but whether or not it would actually do anything remained to be seen.
Timing is good though - no sooner does Yukio return from his shopping trip than he hears Rin call out. Shedding his coat and the self-crafted claw caps he wore in public, the other scaly monstrosity heads for the bathroom.]
What is it? If you're still itching, try this out. Maybe it'll help.
no subject
Nah, I'm... I mean I guess I'm still itchy, but look at this.
[he turns toward Yukio and pulls down his eyelid as if he's about to give Yukio an akanbe gesture... but the lid pulls down much further than it should. There's clearly a space between the lid and... what looks to be slightly reddened, peachy skin underneath]
no subject
Do gargoyles molt like snakes? It looks like you might be. That would explain some of the itchiness, even snakes rub on things when they're shedding..
[It's cautious. Everything that had scales or feathers molted, but surely they shed excess skin through that damnable stone sleep!]
no subject
[Then, Rin gets an idea. A BRILLIANT (gross) IDEA! He pounds a fist into his opposite palm]
Yukio!! I just had a great idea!! You know when snakes shed, the skin all comes off in one piece? What if we could get all MY skin off in one piece? It'd be so cool! We could probably sell it for a lot of shinies!
backdated to 12/27 because i continue to be a huge loser
she already gave rin his present earlier but yukio had to wait until he was up and about. it was certainly difficult at times due to their differing waking hours but she's made sure that she won't miss the chance to give him his gift!
so, she steps through the shoes with a small and brightly wrapped gift. there's dirt smudged on her face and clothes but she has a big smile on her face. finally, she spots a familiar figure and calls out softly. ]
Yuki!
belatedly because i am also a huge loser
And just after sunset is an early 'morning' for him, working on something like breakfast in the kitchen that is probably supposed to be some sort of milkshake but is several shades too pink for that.
Why stay in the greenhouse when inside the house is central heating and glorious warmth in the chill of winter?!
Yukio looks up from his somewhat mindless stirring at the sound of his name, and smiles. He's still..ever so careful to not bare fangs in the doing.]
Shiemi! Good morni-- ah, evening, what can I do for you?
[It's amazing how fast any trace of sleepiness just evaporates, even if he's still standing there in his pajamas.]
no subject
besides, she also literally shed blood for that greenhouse so she was going to get the most out of it. ]
Good morning to you too. [ she grins, moving her hands from behind her back and holding the brightly wrapped gift out. ] And happy birthday!
no subject
Still, plants in winter.. that's work enough.]
Ah?
[Birthday. Present. Right, that was a thing.
It's not that Yukio forgets his own birthday - or his brother's for that matter - it's just that he's very easily distracted by other, 'more important' matters. That doesn't prevent him from looking momentarily a touch both pleased and embarrassed.]
You didn't have to. But thank you very much, Shiemi.
[There's still that mostly-forgotten little boy part of his mind that always glees over gifts.]
no subject
[ although she's known yukio for a few years now, she's never given him much in the way of anything besides clovers and other plants for protection. nothing for his birthday, especially.
in a way, it's important to her too. a way of stepping forward away from that shy girl that was afraid of everyone. ]
Here, I hope you like it a-and don't worry! It's not anything silver.
[ which is probably a good thing considering just what the gift is. some thing never change... ]