softspokenlandlord | IC Inbox

[Ryou shuts his eyes to rub at them, and there's a sweet-smelling breeze that floats through the room. When he opens them, there's three towels stacked neatly on top of one another on the bed, and Atem is seated next to them, wings curled high up over his shoulders so he doesn't sit on his own feathers.]

Is that enough?

[Oh.

Ryou needs a moment to recalibrate after that. Did Atem--wasn't he just--

Oh. Oh, this is a nephilim thing isn't it? Ryou still looks a little taken aback, but he at least understands what just happened a little.]

Um. Yes, that's enough.

He reaches to pick one up, then scoots closer to Atem. He looks thoughtfully at the headwings, then at the massive flight-capable ones on Atem's back.]

I'll do the smaller ones first, if you don't mind...

[Atem's not very tall, but Ryou still turns towards him, folding his legs beneath him so that he can get a little extra height. His entire demeanor becomes attentive, with ears turned forward, tired gaze sharpening, nose twitching slightly.]

Okay.

[Atem stretches one of his ear-wings out, spreading the feathers. Present: wing.

He's really not sure why Ryou wants to do this so much, but he's perfectly willing to let it happen, especially since Ryou doesn't really want to sleep, and Atem can't, so the more time they can spend together awake the better...]

[Ryou opens up the towel, then leans in. Gently, he begins to pass it across the feathers while his other hand holds the small wing from the back. He's very gentle about it, starting with the upper row first...then hooking his claw beneath those feathers to push them slightly upward so he can work on the next row. And so it goes.

He's very much concentrating on it, trying to do a good job.

Groom boyfriend. Groom right.

Ryou's so focused that he doesn't offer any conversation. Sometimes your wolf says take care of your pack, and you listen.]

[...something about being taken care of like this stirs up old memories. It's...it's really nice, to have someone put you in order this way...and it's not just anyone, it's someone Atem cares about, a lot.

There's trust to it, in letting Ryou take a wing full of delicate, hollow, easily-breakable bones into his clawed monster-hands, and not pull it back. The kind of trust you need, to let someone in this close to you, to let down your guard around them, to feel safe in their hands....

Atem lets out a sigh, his eyes falling half closed. It's almost odd, now, not to feel the rumble in his chest, the buzz of air meeting resistance on its way out, that signals he's content, that he wants this to continue. The timbre of the sigh, the expression on his face, will have to do, to communicate the same thing. It's so gentle, so unlike what he gave up his last free life in order to avoid...]

[The sigh makes Ryou's right ear twitch forward. He almost expected Atem to purr, except this isn't the right monster for it. But the sigh sounds satisfied, and so Ryou himself is pleased by it. His tail brushes lazily from one side to the other to convey his own contentment as he carries on, going layer by layer, making sure not to hurt a single feather.

It's hard work, but Atem's in good hands. Ryou's fingers are gentle, skilled, and steady, thanks to his hobbies. There's no need for concern.]

...You like this?

[He's not sure why he asked. He already feels like he knows.]

[In a deeper register, one that gives away how relaxed he is:]

Yes.

[Why lie? But, he picks his voice up out of that tone, back to something a little more normal, the feathers of both wings twitching a little.]

It's nice.

[He feels like, by the time Ryou's done with this, he'll have had all the rest he needs.]

I'm glad. I know it was probably weird to ask something like this...when I should probably be sleeping.

[Ryou scoots a little further back, so he can make sure the feathers are properly dried from the back now. It's a little bit of a faster job on that side, he finds.]

I...I wanted to spend some time with you, and fix you up. It must be boring, to stay awake so long.

[Ryou finds the times that he sleep to be a wasted moments now. He's a little jealous that Atem gets to stay awake all the time, because that's time they could spend together!

...Which is a little cringy, he imagines. He doesn't own all of Atem's time. He doesn't want to! But now, especially after finding out that Atem had gone looking for trouble and found it, to the point that he'd died...well. Ryou just needs to settle his nerves. He needs to feel like he's doing enough, wolf instincts or no.]

This side's done. I can do the other one now!

[He's happy about it, enough that his ears are raised.]

All right.

[Atem leans back on his hands, propping himself up a little bit lazily, and turns his head and extends the other wing. He's looking at Ryou with clear, unabashed affection.]

It feels much better, now that it's dry.

[A quick flutter of the dry wing, then it's tucked back into place beside his face, just behind his bangs. All the feathers fall neatly into proper alignment, smooth and even.]

I'm glad I get to spend more time with you, too. It's not the same when you're asleep, no matter how cute your sleeping face is!

Edited 2021-11-16 03:58 (UTC)

Oh, stop that.

[Ryou chides, but his ears and tail are dead giveaways, perked and wagging. He doesn't read it as a compliment exactly, but when Atem calls him cute, especially when he's dozy, it doesn't really bother him.

To the point that, since he's finally devoid of a whole wolf snout, he leans in for a quick smooch. That's the one thing about his night form, the snout's no good for kissing, it's just good for nuzzling.

When he pulls back, he's wearing a smile.]

I'll get you set straight soon, don't worry. Wet feathers can't be any fun.

[If there's no interruption...he'll start working on the other wing.]

[Atem smooches him right back, wings curling forward. He's been wanting to smooch, an itch under his skin, since Ryou pulled him in by his waist and told him the thing that would drag him under in Ryslig most was losing Atem, and right now he's feeling cared-for and lazy, like a cat having its fur brushed out. The energy Ryou gets from the kiss is indolent and unrepentant.]

I'm sure you will.

[He re-extends the damp wing, and settles in for another couple of minutes of pleasant attention. Atem really would be purring, if he could...]

[If Ryou wasn't so thoroughly satisfied with drying and preening Atem's feathers already, he'd probably have abandoned it for the opportunity to make out with him. But...he's busy getting involved with the second headwing right now, already beginning to wipe the feathers off one layer at a time.

Besides which, he shouldn't he be aggravated with Atem over the AM thing? Or the dying thing?

...Hm, even as he thinks it, he finds himself too tired and too relieved to have Atem here to still be outwardly annoyed with him. Even inwardly...it was difficult. He cares about Atem far too much to linger on things that they might disagree on.]

If you ever need me to do this more often, I will. It's far simpler than grooming myself.

[Said by someone who is only drying the small feathers right now.]

I might.

[He's enjoying this so much. It's so nice, being in the hands of someone he trusts....it's helping the horror, the fear he did feel at the prospect of being caught by AM, the brief but agonizing pain of going up in flames, fade out of sight.]

The feathers...they don't feel, like skin does. It's like having a jacket on, all of the time...unless you really get in there.

And it's hard to reach the ones on my back...

I can only imagine. Curling them forward might make it easier to reach the flight feathers, maybe some secondaries...but where your wings connect...it's like me trying to run a brush through my mid-back.

[He speaks distractedly as he works through the layers of feathers, drying them. It's a little faster this time since he's had practice on the other headwing, but still careful.]

When you say "get in there", what do you mean. Like if...someone ruffles them? Pulls them? No one's been pulling your feathers, have they?

[There's an errant thought from the wolf inside that if they did, he'd like to bite them, very very hard.]

No, no! Not at all. I mean, touching them near the base of the feather, where they connect. Like you're doing.

[A pause. And then:]

If you'd like me to brush your back, all you have to do is ask.

Yes, well...it's still weird, isn't it?

[He finishes up the last layer, then smooths the towel down the back side of the wing to finish up before pulling away, satisfied.]

I mean, having someone brush out my fur shouldn't be weird, but I'm covered in it. Even like this...it's kind of like a fur shirt.

[It's weird. Asking Atem to brush out his day form fur is even weirder, because his face is more human like this!]

Mukuro taught me to shake it out, and that helps a little.

But...if you wanted to, I wouldn't mind. Even if it is weird.

[Fur shirt gets Ryou a heh heh!]

Not any weirder than brushing your hair. Or drying my feathers.

[He extends one large wing -- it really is big like this, as big as his fog form's bat-wings were.]

Should I lie down?

That depends wholly on if you want me to straddle you.

[Ryou is very much kidding, and it's pretty obvious that he is as he slides out of bed. Sometimes...just sometimes, he flirts and it almost sounds natural.

Being sleepy is it's own natural inhibition removal, evidently.]

...It's a good idea, though. Laying down I mean. But you'll need the whole bed, so there you are.

[Oh?? He knows Ryou tends to run his mouth when he's sleepy. But he's gotten bold!

Atem obliges, stretching out on his stomach, wings hovering over his back, still fluffed up. When Ryou chooses one to start on, it will stretch out for him, feathers spread as best he can manage. He props his chin on his hands, and shoots that flirtation back.]

Hm, you can do as you like, of course!

[His feet are crossed at the ankles, knees bent. It is terribly playful -- not meant to start anything, he knows there's a task to be done, but Ryou started to play, and Atem isn't going to shy away from it.]

[Ryou can't help himself as he watches Atem stretch out comfortably on his bed, feet crossed, head propped. He taps the wing he intends to work on, waits until Atem stretches it out...then moves behind it, on the backside of the massive feathers. Under the guise of observing she line of plumage and where it connects, he slides his hand along Atem's back, below the area where the wing joins.

Feathers are pushed gently aside as his fingers splay out, and he smiles softly to himself. If he wasn't busy...he'd be doing something else. If he wasn't tired, then they might be doing something more...athletic. But alas, Ryou's just window-shopping.]

I would if I could, you can trust me there. But your feathers need drying.

[Maybe later, is the unsaid promise there. He's interested to figure that out.

He moves away reluctantly, walks back around the outstretched wing, and sits on the ground just as he had on the bed. Atem now has a half-decent view of how he's sitting, legs folded beneath him and his wolf feet poking out from behind him, pads upward. ~~Very cute. Who decided Ryou should have pink paw pads?~~

Once he's comfy, he starts to dry from the innermost part of the wing, casually. These feathers are the shortest, but he can't get as close as he likes in this position. So he just takes his time.]

[Atem's feeling atrociously lazy, incredibly unbecoming of someone whose job it is to maintain right and good order. This isn't a side of him that comes out much! There's so much that has to be done, most of the time! But, as a nephilim, he has so much time to do things in...and, he's trusting Ryou that Ryou wants to be awake more than he wants to be fussed at in the name of sleep, even with the fog on its way in. So, he lets his back arch under the touch to the base of the wing with another quiet laugh -- laughing from how nice it feels, for the joy of it, and settles in as Ryou sits.

Atem leans his chin on one hand, drapes the other off the end of the bed, and lets his heart flutter pleasantly in his chest as he watches Ryou work. Heartbeats? Great. He loves being alive. This really is one of the most restful things Atem can imagine doing...he's going to be completely refreshed once this is over.]

This really is kind of you to do...

[He might be lazy and pleased by the attention, but he's not unappreciative.]

[Ryou like it when Atem laughs like that. Though to be fair, he enjoys anything that has to do with Atem relaxing, because Atem is not the type. It's a real victory anytime that Ryou can get him to chill out.

He moves carefully, taking a little extra time to do the backsides of the feathers as he goes, because he can't really dry them the same way as he did the headwings once he gets to the feathers that are a couple feet long. Better to alter the process early!]

If it helps and it makes you happy, then that's all that matters to me, Atem. You know I'd do whatever you need, but I'd also do whatever you like!

[He pokes his head out from under the wing and offers the nephilim a smile and a wink. The implication that he loves him is so strong that Ryou doesn't even need to say it, but--]

Because I love you.

[Even when you stress him the fuck out, sir. Even then, he loves you.]

I love you, too.

[The wing Ryou's working on curls around him a moment, like a big, imprecise hug. It might muss his hair a little. Atem's motor control is next-level, miraculous even, but this wing's not built for hugs. What is miraculous is that it doesn't knock Ryou over.]

[It doesn't knock Ryou over, but it does in fact muss his hair in front of his eyes, which he proceeds to shake out like a dog. His ears even audibly slap at the sides of his head while he does it. But, it does sort out his hair problem a little.

What doesn't fall back into place is gently brushed through with his fingers before he continues working.]

Your wings are very comfortable you know. Perhaps not in this position, but...I like the way they feel when they wrap around me.

Mind the hair a bit though.

[The last sentence is said with no small amount of bemusement, before Ryou gets back to work. There's a slight tug as he dries out some of Atem's longer feathers, near the inner part of the wing. He hopes it doesn't hurt...]

[He's not sorry about the hair; that was adorable. But, if there's a better way to do this...]

...is there a position that'd be more comfortable for -- unh. ...for you?

[No, it didn't pull hard enough to hurt. The big ones are pretty durable, attached very firmly -- it'd take a lot more force to do much damage. It's just a very unusual feeling. Surprising. New. The kind of thing you don't allow anyone to do, unless you trust them. It feels a little bit like a tug at hair, where if it's harder, it would be awful, but if it's just a little...you make a little sound like that, open-mouthed because you're relaxed and you're in the middle of a sentence, and then finish your thought, because that comes before processing how you feel about it.]

IC Inbox | ryslig

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

begins to resurrect the olde threads

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

WELCOME TO YOUR PRIVATE CHANNEL, WhiteWizard. FOR SECURE COMMUNICATION, USE 007.80.751.19 * WhiteWizard has joined 007.80.751.19 <WhiteWizard> Hello, this is Ryou Bakura! <WhiteWizard> Feel free to reach out to me if you need anything. :) <WhiteWizard>** I will get back to you as soon as possible.