OVERFLOW POST!!

[tradesecret]

[ Nobody likes captcha. ]

Comments

[tradesecret]

[ holding up her card. ]

If you could help me as well, I'd appreciate it.

[syckophant]

Fufufu, giving me the choice? Would you like to go for a swim, then? It's getting a little cold though, so if you'd rather, we can bathe together~

[tradesecret]

Have you been to the hot spring? I think it'll be much more comfortable to bathe there.

[syckophant]

I have not! It sounds like it'll be pleasant~ Let's be off, then! I've got a lot of biting to get done.

[tradesecret]

Of course, I have no intention of keeping you long. I admit, I've been a little curious how you manage with such large wings all the time.

[syckophant]

It's... really a hassle. And it's so hard to get to all of them, too. I wish I had some help sometimes, but then it feels sad somehow...

[tradesecret]

Well then, the solution is to make it feel like having help is an indulgence.

[ and time skip to the onsen where maybe no one is around so no one will care that the pre-onsen scrub-down area is now unisex ]

[syckophant]

[There are no rules here in Hell Tokyo! Unisex scrubs and tattoos in the onsen are permitted, because who is going to even kick them out???]

Mmm, you really don't have any limits, do you? Aside from not wanting a boss. Would you clean my wings for me when I shower if I asked?

[tradesecret]

I don't mind at all, if it's helpful.

As far as limits go... Not wanting a boss and staying in work-ready condition. It sounds contradictory, but even if I have no interest in working now, eventually I'll have to go back to my old job.

[syckophant]

Of course. Not that I really understand what "working condition" means, considering how we're reformed constantly, but otherwise that's reasonable.

If you're offering though... My wings could really use a helping hand.

[tradesecret]

Then it's settled.

[ and she's already stepping out of clothes, without feeling the least bit self-conscious about it. When a person considers their body a tool, it matters a lot less. It's certainly well-honed, though more she's more lean and toned, softly sculpted rather than outright ripped. There doesn't appear to be a single scar or tattoo on her, so that at least partially explains what she means by "work ready." ]

Shall I wash myself off first or start with you?

[syckophant]

[Eichi has been nude in front of her before, but that was an accident. He's not like Yvette though, and his eyes wander for a moment before he reminds himself to... not... do that.]

Ah... start with yourself. I can wash the rest of my body. I only need help with the wings.

[He turns away when he begins to undress, and he's careful with it, folding his clothing as her goes. His own body has such sickly pale skin, moreso than usual, and he's got some new scars! A foot, and the inside of both of his arms are cut- expert cuts meant to neutralize his arms, rather than injury to kill. But he's not showing anything off, despite his otherwise powerful frame.

[tradesecret]

[ she had seen the incident with Harpy and just decided not to interfere. Her eyes linger on those, but she decides to spare him the lecture. He knows what she'll say, so she'll just go to the washing area, humming that weird ghost song she heard Paloma hum in the House. ]

[syckophant]

[He does know, and he doesn't want to have to argue that this is his self-flagellation for what happened. He doesn't want to admit that he feels like he needs to.

He feels his skin crawl as Yvette hums, and he shivers and holds himself for a moment before he finishes undressing and begins to wash himself off.]

You never died then, did you? In that house?

[tradesecret]

[ iridescent pink and yellow scales surface as she rinses off her legs, bright, glistening, unavoidable. She frowns a little at that, keeps going. ]

No. Everyone protected me. And despite getting separated, I was fortunate enough to avoid running into others. I ended up getting snacks, reading a lot of books and we hit a little snag with a zrael, but Paloma and I managed.

[ they killed her. ]

[syckophant]

I see.

[That explains it. Eichi didn't mind the possession at the time, but it's hard to think back on how his thoughts were so warped.]

I was choked to death twice. I wonder why that was how they killed me.

[tradesecret]

Is that question rhetorical or would you like to hear the criminology perspective?

[syckophant]

Sure, give me the criminology perspective.

[It HAD been rhetorical but he hadn't expected her to have an answer. But he's curious enough, he'll bite.]

[tradesecret]

[ Washing her hair as she answers, nonchalant, as if this was about a grocery list ]

According one study, death by manual strangulation tends to be a crime committed where the offender knows the victim, often to exert physical and psychological control over them. As such, a history of it shows up in domestic violence cases and many instances of sexual violence. Assuming the attack happened facing the victim, the attacker wants to see their victim's face, their reaction, the life slipping from their eyes. Not to romanticize it.

[syckophant]

I see~

[He understands wanting to control him. He's a wild beast, a monster unchained, just as Leo had said. And he can't deny... his own allure to being choked... as much as he probably should.]

... Like putting on a leash that one can't escape from.

[He's finished scrubbing down by then, and he doesn't really bother hiding his body when he finally looks to Yvette.]

I could use a little help with my wings now.

[tradesecret]

Alright. Let me know if it what I'm doing hurts.

[ Extending a wing gently and scrubbing it with a light hand, humming a different tune, since the other one was unsettling. ]

[syckophant]

You're fine. They're not made of paper.

[And he's without feathers, too.] Don't be too gentle, or they won't even get cleaned.

[His wings curl a little, testing new joints that hadn't been there on his feathered wings.]

[tradesecret]

These seem a little lighter than your usual wings. How do they feel?

[ scrubbing with a little more vigor, massaging at the juncture of wing and shoulder blade ]

[syckophant]

They feel wonderful.

[He won't lie. And he melts into the touch, too. He never knew how tense he was until someone had hands on him.]

Never knew I'd be so happy to lose those feathers.

[tradesecret]

[ moving to the other shoulder blade ]

They must be especially heavy when they get wet. And not having horns must make it easier to wash your hair.