5/4/2003

11:30 PM

Logfile from Toshie.

 

 

Yuurin

Delicate of presence is she; this svelte young woman of just a little over five feet is but a wraith in form with her sinewy build and vaguely asian features. A wealth of sloe-black hair generally descends to about mid-back, the shine of healthy evident along her silken tresses. Feline-lilted eyes with irises of seemingly sundered amber and flecked with pyrite's false glimmer, are rimmed with thick, dark lashes. Pixie nose is perched over a pair of dark lips, her face accented with cheekbones' dramatic angle only to be softened with a pair of youthful dimples. This young woman is a sinewy sylph by all accounts with muscles borne of an athletic life and a silent grace very well tamed.

Straight, silky hair begins black as night at the roots but this time it fades through the spectrum of sloe-dark blues until ending with a depthless marine at the tips. Halter top of natural leather suede dresses her form, tied in the back with a spaghetti-straps in a bow and brazenly showing off the starburst tribalesque tattoo upon her left shoulder. The hemline of the shirt ends in a V to the front, fringed. Capris are khaki, fitting fairly close to her form and dressed with a variety of pockets and buckles 'til they end just past her knees. Short, over-the-ankle boots upon her feet are soft-soled, laced to the ankle and in a darker brown than her top.

An ash grey raptor's feather dangles from a singular plait in her hair, attached with a bead of jade.

Yuurin appears to be 17 years, 1 months, and 25 days old.

She is awake and looks alert.

=-=> Yuurin looked at you!

 

Royal Elizabeth - Suite 502

Soft lighting warms the gold and burgundy tones of this one-bedroom into something welcoming and faintly sybaritic. The walls of the main living area are painted in a rich russet shade, a border in golden hues near the top showing faintly Japanese hints. A multi-segmented couch curves around a soft Oriental carpet, a cherry-wood coffee table set on each end and a matching longer one in front. There is a television, a simple TV-VCR combination with a shelf beneath its stand for two different gaming systems, along one wall, the other covered with a number of framed photos and paintings of Japanese autumn and the change of the leaves around various temples and shrines.

The kitchen, while small, is scrupulously neat, the cupboards and fridge kept well-stocked with all sorts of food, the drawers quite tidy. There is a small breakfast nook off of the kitchen, a small table with four chairs set about it.

The bedroom is to the left as one enters, the same motif as the living room in effect; warm golds and reds cover plush pillows, a queen-sized bed piled high with down comforters and fleecy blankets, while more paintings and photos cover the walls. There is a desk tucked underneath the window, a sewing machine set upon the typist's side of it while sketchbooks oft litter the main surface.

Karen is here.

Obvious exits:

Exit

 

Karen

Velvet darkness frames her delicate features, her hair most often coiled in a bun at the nape of her neck, the pure black touched with subtle undertones of purple. Something of that changeability, too, lingers in her wide eyes -- a rich, dark brown in most moods can so easily change to something nearing violet, a distinct betrayal of her moods couched behind thick lashes. At five and a half feet, she moves as though utterly familiar with herself, from curve to curve and look to look.

Faintly translucent black material gives hints of so much more beneath it, a touch of asian-tawny skin overlaid by shadow. Three downward-pointing triangles overlap one another in the front, the laces going over her shoulder tied in loose bows that tempt with the promise of being untied, leaving her shoulders mostly bare, though long sleeves cover her arms in the same half-revealing material. Touches of cosmetic offer a silver shimmer to lips and eyes, underlaid by a dusky reddish shade, only serving to enhance her beauty. Black pants are low upon her hips, flashes of skin visible with each movement, while high-heeled boots fit beneath them.

Karen appears to be 21 years, 1 months, and 24 days old.

She is awake and looks alert.

 

Karen is dressed for bed, feet drawn up beneath her on the couch as she focuses upon an old-school puzzle game on the television, not really all that interested. The door's unlocked at this point -- either she forgot to lock it earlier, or she's not in a mood to care -- and she seems eminently comfortable.

 

Toshie knocks first, and then tries the doorknob. As it moves easily in her hand, first her head is peeing through the crack and then the rest of her body is showing, "Kaaaaaaren. Are you trying to get robbed? Do you not have any idea what types manage to get past the doorman to roam these halls? Types like me?" She has to add in that little security bit there for appearances or something. "Canni come in?" Okay, so she is mostly inside anyway.

 

One final coloured ball goes scooting up the screen to end the level just as the knock sounds, and Karen blinks at Toshie. "Types like you?" she echoes, laughing. "Come on in, thief though you claim to be." She sits up, stifling a yawn. "I was going to lock it before I went to bed, but I didn't really feel like closing the world out completely, and look what it's brought me, hmm? A Toshie-darling."

 

"Say now, I might not be an out-and-out thief, but have shoplifted a time or to before. You know full well how much makeup costs, especially if you need twenty different shades of eyeshadow, and thirty different of lip gloss and..." And she trails off, continuing within and shutting the door firmly behind her with a few locks as well. Kicking off her shoes, the girl slips over to join Karen upon the couch, and immediately leaning into the woman as her gaze slips to the television. "You look comfortable. Heading to bed soon?"

 

Karen slips an arm around Toshie's shoulders, giving her an absentminded kiss on the top of her head. "I was thinking about it, but mostly because it's been so quiet tonight," she replies. "Twenty different shades of eyeshadow and thirty of lip gloss? I do not think that even the makeup artists that I work with have quite that many lip glosses, though they do have the eyeshadow." In various forms. "How are you, though?" On the table in front of the couch, there's an open box of strawberry Pocky. Someone has something of an odd sweet tooth.

 

Toshie leans her head against the other woman's shoulder, still watching the television, "It was quiet next door too. Called mom on the phone and talked to her a little bit. She wants me to come by tomorrow so we can go shopping and such. And then I sat around, and sat around some more, so I decided to come over." Obviously. "Well, I used to have quite some eccentric tastes. Blue lipstick really does not go with everything you wear."

 

"If you wanted to come over, you didn't have to just sit around before you did," Karen says softly. "So your mother is actually in the city? I didn't know that; why is it that Kieran is taking care of you now, then?" She's more than happy to stay where she is, just curled up next to Toshie. "Do you want me to go with you?"

 

Toshie nods her head, "My parents do. Ahhh, it just would not work out, and definitely not with everything being the way they are. I think they would notice Shen right away, and mom would not like to have her tearing apart the furniture on a whim. No, I like being away, and when Kieran and I got together, I had been away from home for a few weeks before that." Aka, ran away from home. Pocky is eyed generously. Coach won't mind if he doesn't know about it. Maybe just one. And so, she helps herself. "No, It will be fine, but if you want to come, I can introduce you. My parents weren't very happy when Kieran became my guardian, but they might be a little more assured if you came?"

 

Karen isn't going to mind pocky-theft, nope. She's got more stashed away. "That would be a bit of a problem, given that I think that falcons are also protected species and if they saw her they would report her," she says, making a bit of a face. "I would like to meet your parents, if they would like to meet me. Perhaps it will give more stock to the story that you are becoming a model, no?" She kisses the top of Toshie's head again, then chuckles. "Ne, Toshie, we need to think of how to keep the boys from being all over one another somehow."

 

Toshie nibbles, smiling faintly, "I think so too. Actually, they would probably call the exterminator and claim she was a bat or some kind of pest." And that will provoke a giggle all on its own. "They are alright, if a little strict -but apparently that is what everyone normally says about their parents, and I do not suppose I made it any easier." Her smile softens slightly, "Oh? That would be impossible. While I think it is cute that they are like that, and it makes me happy that Kieran is so happy, it can be awfully... well, silly."

 

A gusty sigh follows Toshie's final statement. "I'm glad that Kieran is happy, too, but I do so agree. It /is/ silly." They're awfully pretty, these oni men, but so very involved with one another. "Oh well, it means that you don't have to try to karate-chop him for kissing you." Karen's oh-so-resigned to the state of affairs, but it's not exactly a /bad/ state. "Parents have to be strict sometimes, while other relatives can be indulgent. You do not have siblings, do you?"

 

Toshie flashes Karen a bright grin, "Last time he kissed me I didn't chop him. He was actually nice about it... then again, he was also laying on me. He is /awfully/ heavy, you know? But I had a knee ready if he tried anything else." But, she knew he wouldn't, and she flashes Karen a wink as well. "I have an older sister. She is the smart one in the family. But, I agree with you. They do need to get out more." And so the girl is apparently finally getting up enough guts, and reaches over for Karen's phone, fingers already dialing. On her own, she probably would never have done this, but with Karen here... well... there is bravery in numbers.

T

oshie begins to dial her phone.

Malachai answers his phone.

 

<Phone> Malachai answers his private line, the one he doesn't have random people accessing or answered by his secretary at the gallery. "Hello? This is Malachai." He does sound slightly curious as he doesn't usually get called up unless soemthing has happened.

 

Karen peers at Toshie. "He was /laying/..." Pause. "Toshie-chan, you're very good to have a knee ready, then." Cough. The phone, though, gets a blink. "Who're you calling?" She's trying not to giggle at this point, eyes dancing. Please let it not be a prank call -- though that in itself might be funny.

 

<Phone> Tosh licks her lips as she waits for the phone to pick up, flickering a glance to Karen now and again with a barely restrained grin. "He... Hello? Malachai?" comes the slightly tentative voice. "It is Toshie. Remember me? I am not interrupting you or anything, am I? One of the... others are not there, I hope?" Hand places over the receiver as she looks to Karen, "But I did not have to use it though. I trust him... and he learned his lesson the first time."

 

Karen has caught the name, and isn't even trying to stop laughing at this point, though she /is/ muffling it. Toshie gets a V-sign for encouragement, though, through her mirth. "Ganbatte, Toshie!" she says, then goes back to listening in on her half of the conversation and trying to control her laughter.

 

<Phone> Malachai laughs into the phone. It's actually a new phone, he just had the line forwarded to the new one because he sort of flung his old one into the kitchen wall during a fit of temper the other night. "Ah, yes. Toshie. How could I forget you? It was a very... memorable moment the last time I saw you. Not to mention, Kieran does mention you often." A rueful smile appears on his face, not that it's viewable over the phone. "But no, you're not interrupting anything more interesting than some paperwork. I believe Kieran's on another shoot and Seb is probably still terrorizing people at /his/ office. What can I do for you, Toshie?"

 

<Phone> Tosh is slapping a hand to the receiver of the phone once more as she giggles along with Karen's laughter, unable to help herself. Girls are just like that. One starts up and you simply have to join in. Although it is a safe bet that Malachai can more than likely hear the laugher. Hand peels away and she continues. "Oh? He does? Hopefully it is all good, because I would not like at all to have a reputation, especially among the onisenshi." Her smile broadens briefly and then she adds, "So you are all alone? That is too bad. And here Karen and I were having a bit of a sleep over here, and we were just discussing that you guys really do need to get out and away from each other more often." Sly digs.

 

<Phone> Malachai responds to the giggling over the phone with a roll of his eyes. Girls, what a nuisance. ;) "Oh, Kieran adores you, isn't that clear enough?" the artist says without any hints of jealousy or annoyance. "What do you mean that's too bad, especially when you follow up with 'getting away from each other'? We are not glued at the hip or anything." He's not going to make any glue comments, oh no.

 

Karen begins to laugh helplessly, nearly falling off the couch. Thankfully, she's still got an arm around Toshie, or she'd probably have giggled herself off the couch by this point. "Toshie!!" she squeaks in protest, then clears her throat. "Ask him if he wants to come over? I think I may have one of his cards somewhere here..."

 

<Phone> "Ohhhh, Malachai. You almost sound as if you are going to PMS on me. You do not have to be defensive," Toshie chuckles, finally warming to the conversation and not being near as nervous as before. "Want to come over to Karen's? We could do each other's hair and gossip. Wouldn't that be fun?" She asks that just as Karen speaks as well. The girl is leaning over to try to cover Karen's mouth with her hand to shut out the laughter. "Hush. I am asking him that now... Malachai? Karen says that one of your cards are here somewhere. So... please?"

 

Karen gets to her feet, still giggling. "All right, all right, I shan't... do each other's hair? Toshie!! You have a very devious mind," she says, hunting around in a purse for the card. "Ahh. Here it is." She sets it upon the coffee table thoughtfully. "I don't remember exactly how these work, but I remember /that/ much, at least."

 

<Phone> Malachai stares at the phone for a second before putting it back up to his ear. "That was not being defensive at all, Toshie. It was merely an observation. There is a difference you know." he says quite calmly. "I will come over because it would be good to meet your miko more 'officially' as it has been quite a while since I last saw her as well. I will say this for the record though, No Touching The Hair."

 

<Phone> Tosh is going to pout now. "Awwwwwwww. Malachai? Why not? You have such long hair. It would be fun. I am sure that Karen has some bows around here, and I promise to keep Shen away so she will not try to pluck them from you?" She sighs softly, her spirits faltering for a moment at the tone of voice on the other end. "Okay. Karen and I will be waiting. Thank you for coming over." Her gaze flickers to the card that is placed on the coffee table now, and then nods her head. "I've seen it once."

 

You hang up your phone.

 

"/Bows/, Toshie? I have ribbons, but... we are /not/ putting bows in Malachai's hair," Karen says, boggling and torn between looking shocked and beginning the laughter again. Nevertheless, she settles back upon the couch next to Toshie, not particularly caring that she's dressed in her pyjamas -- or she's just forgotten for the moment. "You convinced him to come over?" Her eyes skid towards the card again. "I've seen it, too. Before the recent events."

 

A portal has opened to DeCourtenayB - Penthouse

Mitama comes out of the portal.

 

Toshie nods her head to Karen as she slumps back onto the couch again, happily leaning into Karen once more. "He says that he is. He want to meet you formally now or something. I think I might have teased him a little too much, he did not sound all that happy with me." And so, now she'll begin to worry once more, eyes seeking out the card as she waits for the artist to show. Always fun to watch the powers of another before your very eyes. Hand reaches over to seek out Karen's and interlace her fingers with the woman's.

 

Karen is dressed as though getting ready for bed in loose linen pants and a button-up shirt, her hair loose for the moment. Fingers tightening in Toshie's, she rests her cheek upon Toshie's hair for a moment. "I think it'll be all right, Toshie. The bows were a bit much, though." Unfortunately, she can't quite stop a chuckle at that image. She's never going to be able to see Malachai in the same light.

 

Mitama has closed the portal.

 

Malachai finishes the call with, "I reiterate, no bows, no snatching from birds. Either happens and I will leave, is that clear?" Actually the artist really does sound very pissy about that. "Give me a moment and I'll be there." Hanging up, it only takes a momentary effort for him to seek out the location of the card in the right vicinity of Karen's apartment. As he's been there before, it is a lot easier to do too. Yes, the card comes to life with a flare of Amatsumika's black and red, sprouting legs and scurrying for a clear span of wall. The doorway forms out of living ink and it opens up to let the sorcerer through. Malachai is dressed as eclectically as usual, skintight white sleeveless turtleneck, a drape of red and white around his waist over black leather pants. (In his desc, but without the armor bits.) And most pointedly different of all, instead of inky black long hair bound at the nape of his neck, his hair is loose and flowing off his shoulders in a rich dark auburn. Looking through suspiciously before closing the portal, Malachai eyes the informally dressed girls. "I would have changed to make it a real pajama party, but...I don't wear pjs." n.-

 

Frilly pink bows? Maybe some powder blue ones as well. Possibly some lace accents. There are just so many possibilities with hair like that. Tosh's free hand darts out to take more strawberry pocky from Karen's stash. What Coach doesn't know, won't hurt him -or get her yelled at. While the car runs across the floor, she mutters to Karen, "He sounded grumpy. Maybe calling him was a bad idea." But she'll simply nibble on pocky now, waiting as Malachai steps through. "Hello, Malachai." And then, a little petulantly, "I think that if you did that, I would more than likely swoon. Just like they do in the movies."

 

Karen is gradually becoming accustomed to things like this, really. It's not /that/ much of a stretch anymore. Patiently waiting for first sight of Malachai, she chuckles at Toshie. "Swoon? Come now, Toshie, if you did that, I would have to as well, and I do not think that I am the fainting type." First sight of Malachai -- there's a bit of a difference between then and now -- provokes a surprised start and a bit of a tighter grip upon Toshie's hand before she recovers. "I wouldn't imagine that you would wear pyjamas, no," she says with a touch of the sense that this is an inane comment. "Welcome for the second time. Pocky?" She nods towards the strawberry pocky upon the table in front of them where a mostly-full box of the sweet treats are set out. "Or swooning girls?" Cough.

 

"Swooning? What good would that do?" Malachai asks with a raised brow but moving over towards the seats and table, sitting down before reaching out to swipe a stick to munch on. "And more importantly, for the gods sake, /why/?" He has gotten used to his new looks though, not even connecting the reason for Karen's surpise to the way he appears now. Then again, he's probably used to that reaction all the time just from his clothes. "I think though, I will stick to pocky than having unconscious girls raining down around me. No offense. Not that you girls aren't pretty and all, but it's more fun when the other party is awake to..enjoy things."

 

Toshie will take this moment now to manage something of a dramatic swoon, complete with the back of her hand pressed to her forehead, eyes rolling back, and then she will simply slump against Karen to the point of nearly draping over the other woman. Complete with the gasping sound effect. A breath later and eyes are peeping out to squint over with amber irises at Malachai. And in the very next one, they pop open wide, "Why? Karen... he is asking why." Yes, there is a touch of disbelief there, teasing at that. "Why? Because you /are/ very good looking, even if you have already changed your hair color. Are you sure though? We could try to add in some brighter red highlights, maybe? Just temporary. And the idea of you arriving with/out/ pajamas is... too much for a girl to imagine without getting all fluttery."

 

Karen has a swooning Toshie in her lap now, which makes her blink. "I think that is overdoing it a touch, Toshie," she whispers to the teen, winking. "Instead of it being raining men, raining swooning women would likely make most men quite happy, I think. Ne, Toshie? Dyeing your own hair red is not something you should try to do; it winds up pink as often as red with home kits." Random bit of trivial knowledge. Nevertheless, she just nods to Toshie's explanation of /why/ they'd swoon. "Far worse-" Or better. "-than Kieran arriving only in trousers." A glance to the artist. "It suits you, that colour."

 

Malachai blinks at Toshie for a moment, then just shakes his head at the girl, "I didn't change the haircolor, this isn't a dye job." He settles back on the seat, one leg propping up over the other as he takes on a rather casual pose. "This is the result of a rather disturbing confrontation between Dylan and myself, then some meddling with apparently Suzaku. He decided to remind me of my origins and past by making me look more like what I used to in a previous lifetime." The tale is very short summarized and muttered here and there. "And I would not just show up without clothes on!" Kieran's the exhibitionist, not him. 

 

Oh. Malachai with /pink/ hair? Tosh briefly considers this, and then is shaking her head from side to side in the negative. "No, he looks perfectly fine, but I am sure Kieran or Sebastian tell him that all the time, and I promise that I will not bring it up any more." She straightens up once more, offering Karen a soft smile before dropping her hands into her lap. Looking for all the world demure, until Malachai's words cause her to blink a couple of times, "Dylan? Is it just me, or do things that involve him always tend to cause some kind of noticeable change?" And she has yet to meet the guy she hears so much about. "I would like to meet him some time." But at the artist's last words, she is immediately biting her lip to hold back a giggle.

 

 

Karen is just going to stay very quiet at mention of Suzaku, playing idly with Toshie's hair before the girl straightens up once more, whereupon she just quirks an eyebrow at mention of Dylan. "I truly doubt that that particular person would have been exactly pleased to have reminded you," she says coolly, then looks at Toshie again. "You will be careful if you do, please, Toshie? I do not want you getting hurt..." Pause. "You wouldn't?" In the very mild question directed at Malachai, there's a wealth of quiet teasing. "Pity."

 

"Coincidence I think. Dylan being a Byakko, has the curiosity of a cat and just couldn't leave things well enough alone and had to find out just what was in my past." Malachai says with the faintest air of petulance. Okay granted he was decked out in Konanese armor and he kinda wanted to know why too. "Meet Dylan? Oh Toshie, I don't think that would be a very wise idea. If anything should happen to you, it would only upset Kieran and knowing him, he'd go head into a fight with that blasted man again and probably have his brains scrambled again." The artist shakes his head again. "And we both spent a goodly deal of time and energy fixing it once. I'd rather not repeat it a second time." Then he turns his gaze over at Karen, raising a bow. "Well, if you asked really nicely, I would, but I think someone would have to reciprocate the favor, hmm?"

 

Toshie is simply going to lean into Karen again, resting her head once more against the other woman's shoulder. "Oh, please do not worry about that. It is not like I am going to try to seek him out or anything. And why is it that everyone seems to think that I will get hurt? I am /not/ made of glass. And I /am/ the one who has been healing everyone else up, no?" Byakko included. But at the mention of Kieran, that petulant frown of her's eases and she simply nods. Well, that is until she blushes most brightly at Malachai's final words before finally finding her voice again, "Oh, stop your looking at Karen like that, Malachai -as if you are about to eat her up. She will not do nothing of the sort." Protective oni showing.

 

"I think we need to know those who we stand opposite, for a number of reasons, and Toshie, I know you're able to take care of yourself," Karen says, glancing between the two onisenshi. "I don't think you'll get hurt. I just do /not/ want you taking unnecessary risks, because /if/ something did happen, Malachai is right, Kieran would try to harm Dylan, and it would be very painful and unnecessary in the end." She ruffles Toshie's hair lightly, then stifles a laugh at the girl's protectiveness. "I'm sure Kieran would reciprocate the favor in my stead," she says with an utterly unruffled expression.

 

Malachai throws an arm casually over the back of the couch, still calm and cool really. "I don't think you're as fragile as all that. Simply I am stating that it would be dangerous to go near that man with any expectations that he wouldn't hurt us. And as there are not many oni healers, loosing you would be a very great loss and something I'd like to avoid, hmm?" He smirks a bit though, eyes roving between the two females. "What, already sending your seishi out in your stead, my dear miko? I would have to say that Lexie hadn't the same reservations against that, not by the night I spent with her is any judge. Then again she went after Kieran as well on her own."

 

 

5/5/2003

10:18 PM

Logfile from Toshie.

 

While Karen plays with Tosh's hair, the girl is instead going to fiddle with her miko's pajama top by rubbing the fabric between index finger and thumb. "I will not seek him out. You do not have to worry about that, Karen. But I would still like to meet him some time." Heard so much about the guy that it is only natural to be curious about him. She peers over at Malachai, frowning just the faintest. "Karen is not Lexie. And I think that Kieran would like your attentions very much."

 

Karen gives Malachai a rather amused look. "As Toshie said, I am not Lexie. I do not share the same views entirely as she does, for various reasons," she says in a firm tone, though her smile is rather mischievous as she continues, "Though I would not ask those I serve -- as much as they serve me, if it can be called servitude -- to do anything that I would not." Toshie's reassurances of not seeking Dylan out are given a dubious look -- she's beginning to understand what Ryuuen went through sometimes -- but she says nothing further. She's got to trust the girl, after all.

 

Malachai chuckles at Karen, shaking his head. "I think I've enough of these convoluted speeches and insinuations when I am talking to my clients and various seishi. I am hoping that amongst us we can drop to more casual talk." Winking at Toshie, he flicks his hair over his shoulder. "In other words, if we're gonna chew the fat, can we drop the high falutin' yammering and just say what we really wanna say? What do you think, girls? It's gonna be a really dull party here if we're gonna make like we're at some high society dinner and frankly I don't think pocky ever made it onto one of those menus."

 

Toshie is oblivious to any miko glances cast her way, instead looking on to Malachai with a soft smile. "Oh, Karen. You know I would do anything for you. Even kick out obnoxious artists who keep hitting on you." But at Malachai's wink, her dimpled smile breaks out even wider, delight evident. Her eyes light up and she gives Karen something of a nudge, "See... told you it might be fun to actually have one of the boys around for a sleep over." Just as long as they are over one at a time.

 

"Good, then," Karen says with a direct smile for Malachai. "Though is that manner of speech necessary? It... doesn't suit you." It works about as well as an Oxford professor attempting a Southern accent. "Hitting on me? Were you hitting on me, Malachai?" Again with the teasing look through her lashes. "Toshie is much more lovely than I am, don't you think? And she's usually right about things, too -- sleep overs can definitely be fun. There is more Pocky in the kitchen, and I think I have some other snack foods there, too."

 

Malachai actually straightens up for a moment, an enigmatic look crossing his face. "Was I hitting on you, Karen? I didn't think it of it beyond a little teasing." For some reason, the artist does seem rather bothered. The casual slouch goes away entirely as he drops the raised leg back to the floor and crosses his tattooed arms over his chest. He eyes Toshie with a raised brow. "If you want me to go, you would not need to kick me out. I can find the door quite easily if I am not welcome here. As for Toshie's looks, she is indeed quite lovely, though I think I am more than a little biased on the matter of your looks, Karen."

 

"I was teasing, Malachai," Toshie adds, peering curiously over to the other man for a moment before glancing back to Karen. "Oh, will you stop. You are biased as well to say things like that." But she is climbing off of the couch, reluctantly leaving Karen's side to pad her way towards the kitchen, asking after the woman, "Can I get a drink, Karen?"

 

"I was teasing as well, Malachai," Karen says, smiling at the artist. "Apologies if it bothered you. And help yourself, Toshie. Would you like something, Malachai?" Toshie's departure provokes just a little bit of a pout, though there's a teasing light in her eyes. "Not biased at all, Toshie-chan, you /are/ beautiful. You could get modeling work if you wished to. So, Malachai, why would you be biased in the matter of my looks? Surely not because of my sister?"

 

Malachai turns his head to the side, only glancing at the two woman out of the corner of his eyes, arms still crossed in front of him, fingers of one hand drumming along his bicep. "What do you have?" he asks about the drink, his tone now less flippant and less amused. "As for biased looks, well no. It's not about your sister, but rather the other girl you resemble. Shinobu. She's the reason why the first few times I saw you, I had such a strong reaction. Quite a shocker to me, when I figured out or rather remembered why."

 

Toshie returns a moment later with a glass in her hand, filled with nothing more exotic than water. She has to make up for the pocky she ate before, Miss. My_Body_Is_A_Temple. She waits by the way to the kitchen for a moment, ready to go and fetch something for Malachai and Karen as well. She playfully sticks her tongue out at Karen before adding, "Maybe if I could do it with Kieran. Then maybe..." But her attention slips back over to the artist with a touch of unease, but she remains quiet.

 

"Ice water, tea, orange juice, apple juice, and a bottle of plum wine that I haven't opened because it was a gift." The list is reeled off by memory as Karen flicks a grin to Toshie. "Or coffee, but that would take a little while. If you would get me a glass of water as well, Toshie, I would appreciate it? And modeling with Kieran would be interesting, I think; intersting similarities and contrasts." Talking being thirsty work and all, that glass of water'd be good. "Shinobu, though?" Her attention switches to the artist once again, though she shares a brief look of concern with Toshie. "Someone from your past?"

 

Malachai sighs at the list of offerings, but manages a wry grin. "Sounds like ice water all around then. Thanks, Toshie." Going back to his explanation, he nods over at Karen with that faintly dark tone in his voice though his words turn flippant again. "Aye, someone from my past. You could say that. Past life. Like Kieran. Shinobu too..she was from my past. A girl I grew up with..fell in love, thought she loved me. Instead she ditched me for my brother. Lost my birthright, got killed in a messy duel. That sort of thing."

 

Toshie turns back about, slipping into the kitchen once more to retrieve more drinks. Sleep over and they drink water. Sad. Delicate balancing act achieved, she hands off Malachai a drink and temporarily uses her free hand to give his shoulder a squeeze and then moves back over to Karen. Both glasses are placed upon the coffee table as she slides in to snuggle up with her miko again, "Another person who has been reincarnated too? And she is here now as well? And she looks just like Karen?"

 

Karen has a very boring fridge most of the time. "Thank you, Toshie," she says, slipping an arm around the girl once again, though her gaze remains upon Malachai. "Houki, no? And... that would mean that you were Hotohori's brother." Turning to look at Toshie, she smiles wryly. "My sister, too, looks very much like me, though her hair is short. She has always looked like me, or I like her; there are three of us who look very alike, Toshie-chan." Poor men of NYC. "'That sort of thing', Malachai, should not happen."

 

Malachai thanks Toshie quietly, leaning forward to reach for one of the glasses. Drinking from it with as much aplomb as he would a glass of the finest champagne, he gives a slight shrug. "Yes, Houki. Hotohori was my brother. My younger brother." The implications of that might be clear to anyone familiar with the history of Konan. "I've yet to meet your sister, Karen. Though I think it's just as well. 'That sort of thing' did happen though. He got my birthright, the woman I loved, and my death. I laugh now though, because I think the karmic balance caught up to them both, my brother didn't exactly survive me long."

 

Toshie tugs her legs up onto the couch as well, curling them underneath her as she leans into Karen, "Three of you? That all look the same?" She blinks in disbelief for a moment, and then curls an almost possessive arm through Karen's. She continues to peer at Malachai for a moment, frowning just the slightest at his words, "That sounds... horrible." And even she knows that her words ring rather hollow and something of an understatement. "Well, Karen is not this Shinobu or Houki or whoever that woman is. It is odd that they should look the same though."

 

Surprise flickers in Karen's eyes; Kourin may have been young, but she wasn't clueless by any stretch of the imagination, not while living in Eiyou. Involuntarily tightening her hold on Toshie, she watches Malachai for a long moment, then shakes her head. "It is horrible," she murmurs, then says no more on that subject. "Three of us, Toshie. Isn't it a scary thought to unleash upon the world?"

 

All in all, Malachai's taking it well in stride. "I've known that there were three of you that looked alike, just didn't know just why it had bothered me before, now that I do, I've had a little time to get over it." He grins wryly again. "That and I think having Kieran around has made it a little easier to bear. I have to admit otherwise, I don't think my encounter with Shinobu would have gone very well and I'd probably be a raving mad jerk right about now, rampaging across the city looking after my brother, looking for things to destroy, that sort of thing."

 

Toshie offers Karen an almost shy smile, "Well, I would imagine that you are all very different, even if you supposedly look the same." But she has her Karen, and she isn't about to let go of this one. Nope. Briefly, she gives Karen's arm a bit of a squeeze before she is peering on to Malachai, "Kieran is obviously good for you then. I do not think it would be good at all for you to do those things."

 

Malachai snorts quietly. "Or perhaps it is simply that the Yin gods have more creativity in our looks or in the selection of them, rather than repeating it over and over. No offense meant, there Karen." He gazes back at Toshie and smirks impishly. "Yes, Kieran is very good for me. Though I don't think he'd necessarily stop me from going about in a spree, he'd probably help if anything."

 

Toshie will try not to pout here. So, Kieran would help Mally on a spree, but she can't go and meet Dylan because Kieran might get hurt again? Anyone else see this as unfair? Sometimes it really stinks being the quiet and altruistic one. "Well, if you decide to do that, can I go with too? You know, in case one of you guys get a blister or something."

 

"I would be offended if it weren't true. Though Rokou-niisan looked like me and niichan, so... never mind." She waves a hand, dismissing the memory. "Oh, dear. Never a blister," Karen says, making a shocked face at the very thought. "Worse than a broken nail or a... split end." She nods towards Malachai's auburn tresses with a wink.

 

Malachai looks skeptically at Toshie. "If Kieran thinks it's a good idea. I'm not sure though. I think it's more likely that if I do run into my former brother, it's likely that I'll be alone when that happens." In which case, he'd only hope that Toshie's near one of his cards or a phone because it's unlikely to end very well. ;) "But a general spree around the town, well maybe sometime." He flashes Karen a flat look, pouting at her. "I was never that vain about my looks, even if I choose to dress... differently. Kieran's the one with the obsession with my hair." He must have lost several dozen hair ties before the model got him to stop wearing his hair tied back.

 

Toshie is biting her bottom lip to keep from giggling too much at Karen's additions. Smile flashes only to change into a yawn, which is immediately covered up by a hand over her mouth. "I like the way that you dress, Malachai. I think that it looks very, very good on you. Not differently, just more unique -and very nice." The way she says 'nice' though she nearly purrs the word.

 

Karen can agree with Kieran's obsession with Malachai's hair, and even Toshie's desire to put bows in it in some sense. Giving the girl's shoulder a subtle squeeze to try to promote that silence for the moment, she blinks innocently at Malachai. "Should I continue the list of things that are only a little-" She measures a small space between thumb and forefinger. "-worse than a blister? Hangnails come to mind."

"Toshie-chan? If you and Malachai want to talk a bit more, I can always go work on something in my room? It /is/ getting late, and while staying up all night has its... benefits, I think that I should sleep soon." Karen's wimping out, that is.

 

Malachai looks askance at Toshie. "And wasn't it you, who was accusing me of hitting on Karen?" he asks pointedly at her, "Besides, I dress this way almost out of defense. I mean Kieran's a model. I think if I were more conservative, it would be very easy to loose me in a crowd with him around." Unlikely, but that's what he thinks at least. He blinks over at the miko and tilts his head at her. "Hmmm..you do sound like you need the rest. Maybe I should go as well, let you girls get your beauty sleep."

 

Toshie snuggles in closer to Karen, the presence of the miko and the warmth lulling her enough to allow her eyes to drift shut. Her eyes flicker back open though at the other woman's words, "Do you mind if I just stay here, Karen?" She looks on to Malachai, her smile soft, "I like the way you dress and I like your hair, that does not mean that I am hitting on you. And you say that you are not vain..."

 

Karen drops another kiss upon Toshie's hair, a gentle smile replacing any sort of teasing. "Of course you can stay, Toshie." There's just no question of that in the miko's opinion. Lifting her gaze to Malachai, she says with all seriousness, "Kieran has presence, but so do you, Malachai; it is that which makes Kieran so very successful above and beyond his looks, that extra... life, I suppose. Thank you for coming over, though."

 

Malachai rises up off the couch, putting the glass back on the table. "No, I'm not vain. There's a difference between trying to stay afloat in a sea of mediocrity and trying to flaunt it. Anyway, it was nice chitchatting with you, maybe we'll do it again sometime. You're both welcome to come by my place sometime of course." His hand dips into the panels of cloth at his sides and pulls out a few more cards, laying them down beside the glass. "For next time, the old one is no good now." There are a few permanent wards that he's created in his building, but these cards are very temporary. "See you girls around."

 

Mitama has opened a portal to DeCourtenayB - Penthouse

Mitama has entered the portal.

Mitama has closed the portal.

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Toshie slips up to her feet, reaching down to tug Karen up as well. "It was nice of you to come over, Malachai, even if I did not get a chance to play with your hair." Which she was really hoping to be able to do. She waves after the man, sighing softly as he does go. She flickers a glance over to Karen though, a touch of unease along her brows, but she remains quiet for the moment.

 

Tugged to her feet, Karen tilts her head at Toshie. "Something wrong, Toshie?" she asks gently. In the time spent with the girl, she's gotten to the point where she's decent at reading her expression. "I am sorry that I seem to have scared him away."

 

Toshie shakes her head from side to side. "I think that it was both of us... but I do not want to talk about it now." And yet another yawn strikes, forcing her to cover her mouth again, "Come on. I am tired, you are tired. We are both up long past our bedtimes." She flashes Karen a wink and a smile afterwards. Hopefully Karen won't mind a little senshi trying to cuddle up with her in bed, stealing all of the covers and such too.

 

It's a big enough bed, and Karen certainly won't mind. "We'll talk about it later, then," the miko says, stifling her own yawn. The darned things are contagious, after all. After finishing her preparations for bed and turning off lights, etcetera, she slips into bed. Any cuddles she gets are going to be returned, though there just might be a war for the covers and a resulting pillowfight in the morning.