[open]

[suddenlybees]

Who: Kano & OTA
What: magic practice, pettiness, finals
Where: Lumière, greenhouse, library
When: mid-month, before finals
Warnings: self-harm for prompt i., none expected for the rest
Notes: details of Kano's new Fey Contract can be found on his app

i. Lumière dormitory rooftop
[ Fey magic is a really... terrible, horrible, no good, very bad idea. But Kano is determined to make it work, this new Contract that he'd forged a couple of days ago, but it's just so different from his usual illusion magic that he'd worked ten whole years to get to the point where he is now, illusions seamless and effortless compared to him staring at his arm right now wondering what he's doing wrong?

Because his arm is bleeding, a bloody knife on his lap while he pokes at the wound with his other hand and it just comes back bloody, him wincing because it hurts and why isn't the magic working? There's nothing intuitive about this at all, and he has no idea how he's supposed to make it work, with the magic supposed to be healing and dulling pain but it's just doing the opposite for him, the pain making it hard to keep a smile on his face, and making him feel like crying a little.

With a sigh, he waves hand over the bleeding cut instead of touching it, and it disappears— simply masked underneath an illusion, but it's still there while he tries to figure out how to do this, preferably before he bleeds out.

It won't come to it, though. He has three years worth of band-aids stocked up, and he knew they would be useful someday. ]

ii. campus, on the way to the greenhouse or inside
[ But you know what always makes up for terrible days? Even more terrible ideas to get your mind off previous ones. This one isn't that bad, though, because it's something that'll have positive long-term consequences. Probably.

Anyways, it's Kano with long sleeves and pants and winter gloves and the hood of his jacket pulled over his head and eyes and also a bandanna over the rest of his face so he can have as little skin showing as possible. It isn't all because of botched healing practice, though, it's because he's lugging around a three gallon plastic jug in his arms— you know, one of those large plastic containers twice the size of your head that you can buy cheese balls in, but instead of cheese balls, it's bees.

It's a jar full of bees.

He had to ship them to a PO in town and then lug them all the way back to campus; this insect purchasing restriction is really an awful pain. ]

iii. library
[ But also, anyways, it's almost finals and while Kano did surprisingly okay on his midterms, he's got to do slightly more okay on his finals too, because exam scored are literally all that's carrying his grades without the homework to pad it.

So the library it is... Books, his arch nemesis... Him, sitting at one of the open study areas with a stack of brand new text books in front of him that barely look touched, a mug of something on the table that's a dark dark red to the point that it's almost black and also has four tea bags sitting inside it that's steeped so long the tea is no longer steaming, and also hands clamped over his ears like he's trying to block out ambient noise, or massage away a headache, or give himself a headache so he can go hang out in the infirmary for the next two weeks and not do finals.

Why does Daybreak have to be a school??? Schools suck. ]

Comments

[deuteranope]

[The very idea of it makes him grimace again. Studying under a daemon... Yeah fucking right.]

It's just basic shit. Amazing how effective it can be when you're giving a fuck about the fix instead of pretending the problem away.

[suddenlybees]

[ Kano heaves a shrug, because hey, ever since he was little, all he had to do was slap a bandaid on things and he never got septic and died, so he likes to believe he's doing well for himself. ]

The human body's an amazing thing- it can heal all sorts of stuff by itself...

[ He glances down at the bandaging job, and makes it disappear in a blink to leave smooth unbroken skin before rolling down his sleeves again, hiding the blood soaked through the cloth too. Unfortunately, there's nothing he can do about Maverick's bed, but he can use whatever's left of the 130 euros to buy new sheets for the second time in two months. ]

But I'm going to stop you there: I'm going to say "thank you" and I'll leave you with an IOU as payment, and then I'm going to go release these bees.

[deuteranope]

[If someone asks about the bed blood, he'll flatly tell them he got his period, followed by the suggestion for them to fuck off. It's fine. Blood is a lot better than cricket-banana spit, in this instance... Much as he hates these circumstances, too.]

...What, am I cut out of getting to release the bees because I fucking patched you up? Fuck that. You still got my shit, anyway.

[suddenlybees]

That's right, you're not allowed to come to the bee releasing ceremony! This is your punishment for patching me up~ But you can use your IOU on either bees or your shit, your choice~

[ As if he can stop Maverick from coming anyways, hopping off the chair and grabbing his jar to tuck under his good arm.

...But if Maverick insists on coming... ]

Hey, do you have anymore alcohol? The cleaning kind, not the drinking kind?

[deuteranope]

[Urgh... Unfortunately, if it's between the bees and his things...]

Book, notes, and knife, cricket. Cough 'em up.

[And gosh, he almost looks disappointed... Maybe disappointed combined with apprehensive? Until that question, which has him narrowing his eyes in suspicion.]

...I do. Why?

[suddenlybees]

[ It's too bad, he didn't even get the chance to look through the book and the notes to see if there's anything useful he can copy down, but he's eager to get rid of the knife, at least, taking his time in rooting around his pockets for Maverick's things. ]

Weren't we all about wound care two seconds ago?

[ If that sounds fake, it's because it's fake, but Kano holds out the book expectantly, like he can make a trade for alcohol with this. ]

[deuteranope]

[YOU CAN JUST ASK YOU STUPID BASTARD

He glares a moment longer, but...fine. Here you go, cricket.]

I'm not above snitching on you to Imelda, if some horrible-and-not-funny shit happens. Including making more wounds to care for for the fuck of it.

[suddenlybees]

[ No! He refuses to ask if he can make things needlessly complicated instead. But good, this is good, and he makes the trade with the book and casually keeps the notebook and knife to himself still, just in case he needs them as further leverage. ]

You really have no faith in me, do you, Mav?! That's why you shouldn't come to the Bee Ceremony... Something like... "ignorance is bliss," right?

[ Just let him do his stuff, and Maverick doesn't have to worry about him, and Imelda doesn't have to worry about him, and everything is golden. ]

[deuteranope]

The other most likely thing I can come up with is fire. Third place is bee death by asphyxiation.

[So. Nothing great. Absolutely zero faith. And yet...he picks up a wad of gauze and wiggles it enticingly.]

Kniiiife.

[suddenlybees]

[ He laughs, because...

Yeah, no, he's not giving Maverick any more hints on what he plans to do with the alcohol, and instead pulls out the knife and exchanges it for the gauze. This is flammable, right? He could probably use this. ]

[deuteranope]

[Ugh, what a pain. Still...it's more comfortable to be around a laughing, troublemaking Kano than a meek one that keeps his distance...isn't it?

Hn.]

Thanks. Know it ain't saying much, but I couldn't fucking sleep if I didn't have this, you know?

[suddenlybees]

[ Hn. ]

Like a safety blanket, huh? I'm kinda surprised that roommate of yours hasn't gotten stabbed yet, actually. You're kinda scary with a knife! Did you know that??

[deuteranope]

Ohh, trust me, I've thought about it... [Mostly because it turns out they both have bad dreams, and getting jolted awake from a nightmare by someone else's nightmare isn't a fun experience at all.

Scary, though? ...Well, that's the idea, sort of.]

It's for getting out of shitty situations, not starting them.

[suddenlybees]

[ Hn!! How about Maverick doesn't think about stabbing Akechi with his knife, even though it'd solve a lot of Kano's problems too. ]

Your bedroom shouldn't be a place where you'd expect shitty situations though. How 'bout you take mine? I don't use it.

[deuteranope]

Your --

[That gets him to frown a second, though he seems more confused than opposed to the idea. It's a lot easier to focus on that than trying to explain how his space no longer felt like his space, meaning it was even less safe than it normally was. Because hey, anything could happen, the universe didn't give a fuck.]

Then I'd expect to wake up with licorice shoved up my nose and an apple in my mouth, which I'm pretty fucking sure qualifies as a shitty situation. If I'm lucky, the apple doesn't have worms. [Worms were buggy... He could see it.

Anyway...he can't admit that he dislikes the idea of moving further away from Imelda, or sharing a bathroom with the creepy ghost girl. So...]

What about a sleepover? A proper one, where I don't fucking start out sleep deprived, but by morning, I'm there. Isn't that what you'd want?

[suddenlybees]

Hey, I wouldn't waste licorice like that!! It's the licorice that gets shoved in your mouth, and worms up your nose~

[ It'd have to be a one-time prank, though, because then he'd get stabbed by Maverick's knife and with how out of it Maverick is in the mornings, it would definitely be by reflex and without the awareness to hold back. ]

But is a sleepover any better, though? In terms of shitty situations you gotta be stabby for?

[deuteranope]

Oh, very fucking generous, dickhead.

[Sort of????]

Sure. You'll be keeping me up, so no stabbing necessary, right?

[suddenlybees]

[ There's a difference between no stabbing necessary, and no stabbing warranted, Kano thinks, rocking back on his heels and biting at his lower lip for a moment and then he extends his hand, pinky out. ]

We'll have a sleepover, but no matter what, you're not allowed to stab me. Deal?

[deuteranope]

[He laughs and grins on instinct, but then it occurs to him that it might be a legitimate concern, from Kano's point of view and the smile melts away. Without everything else happening today, he might have been suspicious out that "no matter what", but alas... It's not a good feeling, knowing someone you like and believe is your friend thinks that you'll up and stab them. Stabbing friends was only fun in a mutually agreed upon knife fight.]

Cross my heart. [As he reaches out and links his pinkie with Kano's.] I will not stab you on this, or any, sleepover.

[suddenlybees]

[ Growing up sharing a room with Ellie, who's explosive when startled and is also prone to nightmares and whose favorite keepsake is a knife, there's always been legitimate concern. He doesn't believe she or Maverick would do it out of ill intentions, but that man who murdered his mother and then went and stabbed Kano? That wasn't done out of malice either. Kano was just in the way. It'd be like that here, too, hooking pinkies with Maverick and giving it a squeeze and a twist. ]

You'll leave it in your room when you come over?

[deuteranope]

[...Mm. That's harder. His lips thin into a line and his eyes immediately flick down towards his pocket where the knife safely rests, now.]

I, uh...

[He would prefer Not To.]

[suddenlybees]

[ Maverick is not getting his pinky back until they come to some sort of consensus about this. ]

Do you really need it? If it's just me in the room, you could easily beat me up with your bare hands, you don't need a knife.

[deuteranope]

[ughhhh]

Oh, come the fuck on, like I'm really worried about you. Fuck.

[suddenlybees]

Then you have nothing else to worry about!! We'll bar the door with a chair and place tacks on the windowsill and you don't need that knife!

[deuteranope]

Cricket --

[He huffs, but...

He doesn't...have an argument he can make. He wants to fight, but he doesn't want to ruin this, either.]

Fucking... Fuck, fucking hell. Fine!