please rp with me my inbox is so empty

[serperior]

open post

MUSELIST ✦ KINKLIST ✦ CONTACT

CODE

Comments

[effortaverse]

I'm comin' in.

[He asserts, pressing into the space left as best he can, intending to get Azul to step back. For now.

He can certainly tell Azul hasn't slept, and man, he's certain Azul will be stubborn... but Leona's got plans for that, too.]

[octoblot]

Hah?

[Azul says dumbly, but then Leona is already pushing his way in before he can ask why, forcing him to step back and allow the other man entry.

Judging by the lack of disturbance to the blankets on his bed, either Azul had been sitting or lying on it without actually getting under them to get comfortable, or he had been sitting in the chair in front of his vanity before Leona arrived.]

[effortaverse]

[But see, Leona doesn't come in normally. He crouches a little bit, wrapping his arms around Azul's waist and— hoists Azul up over his shoulder, kicking the door shut behind him.

Time to cart this boy over to his bed.]

[octoblot]

Wh--what are you doing!?

[Hello??? Who said you could just pick him up like this??

Azul doesn't flail, thankfully, since he has some sense to not do anything that might cause Leona to drop him on the floor. But like, what??]

[effortaverse]

Ain't it obvious?

I'm goin' to bed.

[And he does indeed walk straight up to Azul's bed before practically tossing the merman onto the mattress. He doesn't immediately follow... because he wants to savor the inevitable shock in Azul's face, woops.]

[octoblot]

[Yeah, enjoy that shock as Azul hits the bed, before making to quickly try to sit up, giving Leona a look of sheer disbelief.]

Here?

[Well yeah Azul, where else is Leona supposed to sleep, the floor? Don't be rude.]

[effortaverse]

No.

[Leona smirks, pressing his palm to Azul's chest as he climbs over him, and then once Azul is reclined—

Leona lays on top of him, crossing his arms over Azul's chest and resting his chin on them.]

Here.

[octoblot]

[Azul's face turns pink, eyes wide as Leona oh so casually makes himself comfortable here using Azul as a pillow.]

Seriously?

[effortaverse]

You think I walked all the way over here just to walk back out?

[He is comfortable. He's not getting up, at all.]

Damn right I'm serious.

[octoblot]

You didn't have to come over...

[And yet, Azul doesn't shove him off. Whatever energy he had regained from Leona's sudden arrival is already starting to wane... and Leona is actually nice and warm on him here...]

[effortaverse]

Yet here I am.

[He's closing his eyes now, thanks! It's bedtime, and Azul's the bed!]

You're welcome.

[octoblot]

[Azul has to resist the urge to roll his eyes at that (mostly because his eyes are too tired for that kind of activity) as he sighs and closes his eyes, reclining his head back a little more against his pillows.]

Fine. Don't blame me though, if you come to regret it later or find that I'm not comfortable enough for you here.

[effortaverse]

Hmph.

[It's more of a laugh than a pout, really.]

You're gonna have to work a lot harder to find a place I can't sleep, punk.

[octoblot]

...True, you do seem to have a talent for being able to sleep regardless of wherever you are...

[Azul however tends to be picky. He barely slept at all until he had passed out while in Styx... although, he did end up dozing off too while they were waiting for the bus at that one time...

... He might be starting to realize that he is able to sleep easier when he is feeling too unsettled to comfortably do so if someone else is also there. In fact, he's already feeling a little sleepier with Leona lying on him here, since he's still kept his eyes closed while talking for now.]

[effortaverse]

It's my most refined skill.

[He sounds too proud of himself.]

You waitin' for a bedtime story, or somethin'?

[octoblot]

[Despite his eyes being closed, Azul's mouth manages to twitch upward into a smirk.]

If I said yes, would you actually try to tell me one?

[effortaverse]

Mm.

Say yes, and maybe you'll find out.

[octoblot]

[.......... Alright, he'll bite.]

Yes.

[effortaverse]

[While it could easily have been a prank or a snide comment, Leona instead poses a question.]

Have you ever wondered why a cheetah's cheeks are stained from tears?

[octoblot]

Huh? What an odd question...

He does at least know what a cheetah is, having seen one in a book ages ago.]

No, but I must admit that I'm curious now. Why is that?

disnification of an actual zulu tale

[effortaverse]

Listen up and keep your damn eyes closed, cos I'm gonna tell ya.

[One can only imagine that the sole reason Cheka doesn't get the "Go the Fuck to Sleep" version of these storytelling sessions is because Falena's wife would murder him for influencing Cheka's vocabulary.]

Back before men and beasts lived as one, when the beasts ruled the kingdom of nature and men had only just entered the savanna, the face of a cheetah was unstained. There was a mother cheetah, Izinyembezi, who had three little cubs.

Now, if you know anything about cheetahs, it's hard enough for 'em to have one. And our ol' gal Izinyembezi, she'd been blessed with three of the little suckers, so she treasured 'em more than the rain at the end of the dry season.

Every day she would take her cubs down to the river, and instruct her cubs to hide in a den she'd dug under the roots of a great tree. While she did so, she would hide in the brush nearby and wait for weak prey to wander down to drink. With lightning speed, Izinyembezi would make her kill, and then she'd take it to her three little cubs, where they'd feast like princes in the safety of their den.

Sounds like the life, don't it?

[octoblot]

[Azul opens an eye briefly to give Leona a look just to be contradictory at that remark, but then he closes them back again and does in fact listen, allowing Leona to speak without interruption. He doesn't actually know that much about cheetahs, but he will take Leona's word for it with how he describes them, because it does actually sound like an interesting tale he's telling here.

He only speaks when Leona asks the question, and while he's not sure if Leona actually intends for him to answer seriously, he still agrees with a slight nod.]

Mm. It sounds like they have a good life.

[effortaverse]

One man, a hunter, felt just the same way. A real lazy jackass who liked to spend his time down at the river rather than join his pride in the hunt.

He watched those little guys every day, and eventually, his jealousy got the better of 'im. Figured, hey, if these cheetahs were so good at huntin', he could train one to hunt on his behalf.

So he waited until Izinyembezi had her cubs hidden and snagged all three of 'em right out from the den, figuring three heads would end up better'n one.

And when Izinyembezi came back with her kill, all three of her cubs were gone. And she wept. That mother cried for her children for days, wandering without hunting, wailing from sunup to sunset.

Now, one of the old heads in the village heard Izinyembezi belly-achin' out there on the plains, and struck out to find out what could make a beast cry like that. And when Izinyembezi told that old man what the hunter'd done, of course, he was mad, too.

Izinyembezi, he tells her, you have your claws and your fangs, and now, you have your tears. Go and claim your children again, and no one who hears your cry will stop you.

[Leona raises a brow, watching Azul for his reaction.]

[octoblot]

[... Oh. He had kind of suspected it would take a turn somewhere, given the question that Leona had posed at the start about how cheetahs have what look like tear stains on their face. He frowns a little when Leona describes her crying, until he reaches that last sentence.]

... Hmm. That's quite a strong statement to make.

[But he doesn't dislike it. Leona is actually quite good at phrasing and telling this story in a way that provokes interest.]

[effortaverse]

Damn right it is. And Izinyembezi took it to heart.

So she went into the village to look for her children, and when she entered the village, the people stood in fear of her fangs. But as they stood in defense, they saw the tears that stained her cheeks. They stopped to ask the reason, and when she told them she was searching for the man who'd stolen her children, they lowered their spears.

And so Izinyembezi went through the village, through every home, and wherever she went and told her story, the men that feared her lowered their spears. Until finally she heard a cry that led her to the home of that poor sucker who'd stolen her kids.

[He grins almost wickedly.]

Izinyembezi found him and took him down quick. And while the hunter lay pinned under her claws, he cried out to his fellow men for help.

But everyone who'd heard Izinyembezi's cry turned their backs on 'im, and let Izinyembezi make her kill.

When she reunited with her kids, they'd gone and cried themselves tear stains, too. And no matter how much they kissed the tears from each other's faces, the black marks remained.

In her kids, and her kids' kids, and every last cheetah born after that.