【Preposterous. Just Fantastic.】
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【Table → Cyr’s Room → Viv’s Room】
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【#97A33C】
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At the sound of an actual door closing, Myut’s focus immediately snapped up from his plant to hone strikingly in on the unfamiliar figure now standing where their front door was supposed to be. Had been just milliseconds ago. Myut drank in the protector’s appearance slowly, taking his time in analyzing and sizing up this individual. Mousy blonde hair, tall and slender in build, and clad in the armor of the Prince’s guards. It seemed that the big man himself had finally deigned to send in someone to hopefully tell them what was going on. Meu leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms as a keenly interested look filled his features. His eyes did not leave this guard’s form.
That is, until Cyris took the seat next to him, settling in ‘twixt his view of the sentry. That had broken the white-haired demon’s harsh and scrutinizing gaze. He regarded the dark-skinned man affably, brow smoothing and eyes growing gentle once more. Now that he was looking around, it seemed that Val had joined them too. Myut’s eyes narrowed and he leaned a bit with that same uncertain but investigative aura. Now that he was reminded the sloth demon existed, his memory of the prior night had been jogged - he needed to have a word with the man. But that would have to wait; whatever this little gathering happened to be was of far more cruciality.
Plus, Viv was carrying Bez over to the table as well and the little demon’s state of dress was quite interesting. Meu couldn’t help but be reminded how delightfully adorable and attractive the gluttony was. Should he be able to catch the little one’s gaze, he’d share an affectionate smile with her. It looked like she had been able to manage some sleep last night, which was a relief to Myu. In any case, she had likely had a good time in the late hours, if Viv adoringly transporting her was of any inclination.
Once Ino and Eris had joined the fray, taking their respective seats with swift decision, the guard then began to speak. He had a smooth voice, and Meu could not help but lean forward a bit and tilt his head to get a better look at his eyes. They were a sharp viridescent color, somewhere between emerald and spring green. They seemed a hint nervous, though. The sentiment was only strengthened by the way this watchman was speaking – uncertain, awkward, somewhat uncomfortable. Once he railroaded himself into what sounded like a prepared speech, though, – hinted by the literal papers he pulled out and began to read from - that initial hesitation left. He sounded a little miffed now, in fact. Meu gave a small grin at that; he could sympathize.
Any relaxed feelings that the greed demon had been steeping in were discarded as soon as the guard mentioned the word ‘assassination’. It only got worse as in the next breath it was revealed that they had all been apprehended as suspects for it. That would explain the rough treatment yesterday. A harsh look tainted Mew’s facial features, form now of a more rigid bearing as he clenched a fist. Damn, it was suddenly a very unfortunate circumstancing that the item he had been innocently looking after had been anything but when considered in this finally revealed context against Abadeer.
It would be absolute hogwash should the fact that the sort of item that he had been so houndedly after, for the simple means of historical collecting, been discovered. He would arguably be the most incriminated among all of them, simply for the stark fact of the wording. Meu was fairly certain that he hadn’t revealed anything behind the purpose of the ancient weapon, but it was a bit hard to recall now. He had simply been looking for an old artifact. Yes, he wouldn’t have been foolish enough to reveal anything especially sketchy or informative in regard to a claim to kill the current king.
When Amos revealed that it would be a jury of peers, Meu could barely contain the roil of irritation from making itself visible. After all this treatment, did the guards honestly expect them to do their dirty work? Obviously they would have no choice, but how absolutely laughable. Well, at least if Myut would have to put in some work, it wouldn’t be for nothing, which was excellent since he would have refused to do it without something in return. They only had one week. What the hell had everyone gotten mixed up in? At least it seemed they had been correct in assuming they were all in trouble. But this kind of trouble…. Was this guard even speaking the truth? Were they just pinning it conveniently on a group of troublemakers, or was someone in their midst really an assassin? Guess they’d find out.
The voice of the guard clad in armor bearing Abadeer’s colors spoke out clearly and concisely then, beginning to list each demon, their race of sin, and their transgressions. Ino’s was the first to be tacked up. Poison? That shook Meu up a bit, but he was honestly still highly suspicious of this whole situation. There was still something about it. Ino had seemed so small and kind; many of them seemed that way. The greed demon didn’t get to dwell on it for very long though, as the guard continued on without much pause for them and Myut was next.
When the guard announced to the room Myut’s accusation as him having ‘bribed’ the guards, of all things, Mew could not help the look of sour indignation now that very clearly filled his face. The greed spoke up to immediately correct such a defamation of character, “Bribed?” He scoffed, setting his hand against the table with a loud thunk, “These were fair trades and your guards know it. If you don’t even know this much, then perhaps you should be looking a little more closely to home for traitors rather than a group of your esteemed party guests. Especially since your fellow men-at-arms have been rather deliberate with our things. Or did they not tell you about that either? I don’t give shit away for free.”
Perhaps the content of his outburst had been a bit on the nose, and it was certainly true that Myut was not free of any blame, but he’d move Heaven and Hell itself if it had to do with any negatively impacting misinformation regarding how he handled his business. After having finished defending his honor, Myut sat back in his chair, crossing his arms once more and looking a bit disgruntled. At least he had been correct in that his accusations had been largely vague. He listened to Amos ramble off the rest of the accusations in utter silence, but he could not help but feel surprised at the revelation of all.
Myut was quite a bit caught off guard with how inaccurately he had mapped out his fellow demons’ sins. He had known Bez and Val’s already, and there was no mistaking Eris for anything other than a wrath, but the remaining demons he had gotten mixed up. He had surmised that Ino had to be a pride demon with how carefully he took care of his looks and how he held himself. For Vivian, he had thought she was envy considering how protective she was of Bezabelle. And Cyris… that came as the biggest upset. Totally out of left field. Myut would have never pegged him as a lust demon after having read the things scribbled in his books.
Now, obviously, he didn’t know anything about any one of them sans Bez, but he had thought he was a better guesser. Granted, he had only had half a day with them, and besides that had avoided them all for the most part to boot. Nevertheless, that meant there was one of each sin present. Abadeer was certainly covering all his bases. But with the hundreds of demons who had attended the gala, Meu was surprised to see that no one else had gotten into some sort of mischief or other. Plebians. Or was it just nicely convenient?
Vivian’s crime, as she had previously revealed to them yesterday, had also been of being somewhere she should not have. Like Myut’s own wrongdoing, the greed demon could not help but feel offended for the both of them. She had said it had been a misunderstanding, which was exactly how it was for Meu too.
Bez was hardly even worth mentioning among the schemes listed. It was as if the guards were grasping at straws. She had been around suspicious individuals during the gala? She had been around everyone during the gala. They may as well have arrested everyone for attending.
Eris had committed arson. How positively dreadful. But she was a wrath demon; it was not that surprising, especially when you considered you were pulling demons from every corner in Hell, so there was no doubt there would be some conflicts. Arson as a means to kill Abadeer, though? It sounded clumsy, and while wraths could be particularly unintelligent at times, they were damn clever. Besides, if she had aimed more directly for Abadeer, the other six of them wouldn’t be sitting here. Meu could not imagine that the little mud eel would simply set something alight and hope it made it to Abadeer in time. But who was he to say? He didn’t know where, what, or whom she had set on fire. In fact, all of the misdemeanors were quite vague.
Valrien sabotaging guards, though. That also sounded pretty bad, but knowing what little he did of the sloth demon, he didn’t imagine the demon had it in him to put forth so much effort for some bigger grand plan. Who knew, though. Meu couldn’t say anything for any of them, really.
But having heard that Cyr had a cursed item, however, had a few mixed feelings battling about in his chest. One, while this situation was indeed dire, Myut could not help but instinctively feel extremely interested to see just what it was that Cyris had with him. But, contrasting to that, he two, was conflicting against feelings of uncertainty and wariness as was properly due the group’s circumstances. Yet still furthermore three, Meu was also feeling something almost akin to a different type of concern.
He didn’t know Cyr very well, and with the fact that the guard said he had something so dangerous with him, Myut wasn’t entirely sure how to place his feelings. He had seen how gentle the other had thus far been, and it had felt sincere. Was Cyr just playing them, though? Mew nibbled his lower lip in thought for a moment or two while his arms were crossed. It did not take long for one of these feelings to win out over the others, however, and Myut turned to look at Cyr with a levelled expression. It had been concern.
“Cy-Ut.” He had begun, only to be surprised to find the other demon already looking at him and doing the same in calling his name too. The end result was a weird amalgamation of their two names being spoken over each other, but Meu grew quiet so Cyris could speak first. He was clearly very bothered. That became even more clear once he explained.
So, Cyr had not known he had something cursed in with his things? The quasi-concern that Mew had been feeling only grew a little more complicated. The greed demon felt a little bit antsy and restless now too. He gave the dark-haired man a firm nod in answer, however, when he asked for help, “Of course." Cyris had already won Myut’s favor, so it was no surprise that his response had been automatic to come to his aid.
Cyr looked deeply relieved at his assent. As the darker demon rose from his seat, Myut registered that it had interrupted the guard still speaking at the head of the table. But Meu did not pay him any mind. Watching the other’s face relax because of what he had said made Myut inadvertently grin, feeling pleased that he could be of service for him. As such, Mew did not hesitate to join him, abandoning his chair and focusing sharply on the other’s broad back, ignoring the rest of the gathered masses.
After the few steps that they had thus managed, Myut found himself surprised again when Cyr warmly turned back to him, saying that he’d owe him. Another automatic response slipped out from Meu’s lips before he could stop it. “Think nothing of it.”
Mew’s voice had come out soft and pleasant, returning the cozy sentiment the other had shown him in tone. The greed’s voice was then interrupted by a small little cough, clearing his throat almost awkwardly. Had he, a sinful greed, actually just said that? Cyr did not owe him anything in return? Myut did not feel the need for trade? No, it… it was certainly in return for letting Meu borrow his books. Even though Cyr had assured him he had thought nothing of sharing. That must be why Myut did not feel his usual tendencies surfacing. …But he had wanted to help Cyr, and in that desire he had not spared a single thought towards asking for something in return, as he normally would have with anyone else.
The green-eyed male suddenly looked elsewhere while giving a nod to indicate that Cyr should continue leading the way, trying his best to sort those feelings. From the corner of his eye, he caught Cyr turning back to look at him once more, and Meu’s attention returned back to him, eyes lifting to meet his and showing the other demon that he was attentive and curious about what he had to say next.
Cyr spoke of his small gathering of possessions, and Meu responded by giving a relaxed shrug of his shoulders, “It shouldn’t be too hard, especially if there’s not a lot to go through.” He reassured the other, hoping to ease any discomfort the lust demon might be experiencing. He didn’t like the idea of Cyr being troubled.
Before they entered the room, however, Vivian, the tall and gorgeous pride demon, stopped the two with a single word.
”Cyris.”
Meu shifted a bit in order to position himself almost protectively in front of Cyr – to block Viv from getting too close. He didn’t like the idea of anyone else getting too near; he didn’t trust the others. But it seemed that Viv had simply wanted to apologize for something or other that had occurred yesterday, and furthermore it wasn’t Myut’s place to be trying to step in on Cyr’s behalf. And besides, the well-built man could probably take care of himself just fine. Another awkward half cough slipped from Myut’s throat as he repositioned himself so that Cyris would have a clear view of the demon addressing him. Meu tried to play off his physical response nonchalantly, turning to occupy himself with looking into Cyr’s room as the other two spoke.
When Viv offered her assistance in looking for the cursed item, though, Myut stiffened ever so slightly. His back was still turned to the other two demons as his eyes narrowed, gaze staring into the depths of Cyris’ room. Her joining them sounded less than ideal. Why was she offering? The greed could not help but be suspicious. But these were Cyr’s things, and Cyr’s call. Myut turned around with a neutral expression, eyes interestedly focused on the female’s form. He broke the gaze to tilt his head up towards the lust demon, indicating that he would be comfortable with whatever was chosen. “It wouldn’t hurt to have another set of experienced eyes. I’ll know what’s cursed, but I can’t promise I’ll know what kind of curse it could be.”
A bit to his slight disappointment, Cyris beckoned for the two of them to enter his room. Meu took a better look at things now that the whole of the room was revealed to him. He glanced around while Cyr grabbed his bags to dump his possessions onto the bed. When he had, Myut felt a little sad not to see the man’s books among them. Meu didn’t dwell on this, though, as he had not sensed anything off about them last night when Cyr had brought them to him.
Viv was the first to step up to the bed, but the greed raked his eyes over the other items strewn across the sheets. He leaned forward to run his fingers along a trinket or two, but he did so with swift decision, barely taking in too much about any one item. If it didn’t give off any sort of feeling, Myut wasn’t interested in it. Normally he’d be very interested to take his time to peruse through each one carefully, but he had a job to do and that took precedence. Viv seemed keen on the jewelry, which made sense considering that was her family background. He took a moment or two to pick up anything she passed over, but thus far nothing was jumping out at him.
He had gone through the few non-adornment items in no time flat, so Meu also turned his attention to the collection of jewelry that Viv was going through. He was polite to not intrude on her personal space as she stood beside him, but he also did not waste time in waiting for her to go through certain things first. So, when his hand brushed over the particular necklace sitting off by itself, he immediately froze. “This.” He spoke with absolute certainty, delicately grabbing the item by its back clasp and pulling it forward so that he and Viv could inspect it more closely.
The tall woman leaned over the necklace, seeming to follow suit in carefully handling the item. She had borrowed two hairpins, securing her hair out of the way with the first before using the second and another piece of jewelry to use as instruments to flip the choker over. Myut was curious when he saw her tilt very particularly. Myut angled his head similarly to how Vivian was doing with hers, and then he saw it. Kind of. She certainly had a keen eye - it was difficult for him to pick out the black-on-black markings, especially in this lighting. As she physically singled them out, however, Meu could also follow along to an extent.
She informed them of the various runes present, and when she pointed out a supposed mutation inscription, the white-haired demon gave a low, thoughtful hum. “Mutate would need quite the collection of instructions…”
“I bet that that’s this mess over here…” Viv jabbed towards a spattering of nigh-invisible thread with her hairpin. Myut gave a soft ‘oh’ as he then nodded his agreement. Myut elaborated a little bit further on what Vivian had picked out.
“Curses like these have been notoriously used in the past as a nasty means of control and modification. For suppression of an individual, especially if it’s an animal transformation. In fact, in the third generation of demons-“ Meu had begun eagerly, but then thought better of it and quickly cut himself off with a light cough. He didn’t imagine the two wanted any sort of history lesson right now. “Uh, nowadays I’ve heard of them being used as lesser afflictions against two demons who might be in a spat, but, with the runes that Viv has pointed out….” It definitely reminded him more of the sinister intentions closer to creation and Hell’s early conflicts. This was certainly no small thing to scoff at.
However, when the female pride had spoken up to ask if Cyr was okay, Myut’s gaze immediately shot up to regard the taller demon. That was right, Cyr had not known about this being in with his things. And he said it had been a familial bestowing? Myut didn’t necessarily get along with his parents either, but this…. “Don’t put this on. Ever.”
With a nod Vivian had displayed strong agreement. “Although it should be okay to handle, just don’t close the clasps - that’s what activates ‘unbreakable’ and maybe the rest of the runes too. This gem is too small to be a power source.” she said confidently, then looked between the other two demons.
“Avenge me!” she said with an attempted playful tone before pressing her finger on the necklace. As Myut knew would, nothing happened, but Viv seemed especially relieved with the loud sigh that followed. “Yeah, it’s fine like this. Inert.”
Myut had appreciated Viv’s attempt to lighten up the mood, though, and flashed her a stupid grin to show that he approved of the jest. Cyr, however, had not seemed to even notice it. The lust demon simply swiped everything excluding the cursed object back into his bag. He dumped that into a bottom drawer, and the noise of him shutting it sounded loud to Meu’s ears. The greed frowned softly now while Cyr was still turned away from them. Beholding Cyris’ back had only lasted a few moments though, for soon the tall demon turned back around with a smile that didn’t seem to quite reach his eyes, Myut noticed.
Cyr expressed his gratitude to the two of them, assuring them that he would do his damnedest not to let it encircle his throat. Meu was grateful for that, but he heard the way that Cyris trailed off at the end of his sentence. It bothered Myut greatly. As Viv moved to exit the room, the white-haired demon hesitated a bit, staying almost in line with Cyr while they neared closer to the doorway, but still in front. He shifted from one foot to the other for a moment, not quite sure what to do. It didn’t feel quite right to just leave like this, Cyr may have sounded cheery, but he was clearly bothered. Myut did not know if it was appropriate or polite for him to try to check on him, though.
Mew allowed his instinct to take hold in the end as he heard the footfalls of the other silence as he hesitated near the door. Meu redirected his intention from leaving to turning back around and stopping a very short distance from Cyr. Only half a step separated them. They were still a small ways away from the door, so they wouldn’t be in direct view of the outer room. Gently, Meu lilted his body to the right a bit so he could hide the lifting of his arm, just in case someone were to be sneaking a look into the bedroom.
Myut softly folded his fingers over his own tanned palm and used the flat of his pinky to mellowly bump against Cyr’s left pec. Mew had been going for a reassuring touch, tilting his chin up ever so slightly to gaze into the face of the other. “We’ll figure it out.” He gave a faint, closed-eye smile as he withdrew his hand, hoping to god he didn’t just make things more uncomfortable for Cyr by committing some sort of social faux pas. Myut was typically good at that sort of stuff, but this was sort of new territory for him.
Cyr had turned slightly in response to Myut moving closer, intending to watch him pass. Surprise seemed to ghost his face as he instead found Meu lingering at his side. With his gentle touch and reassuring words, Meu was terribly pleased to find Cyr’s lips parting slightly as the lust met the greed’s pale green eyes. A look of bemusement settled in the corners of Cyris’ mouth before they curved up into a small, almost timid smile.
“Thank you,” he murmured softly, gaze still trapped by Myut’s slim yet sturdy face. ”I...I appreciate your help,” he reached up and gently laid a hand on the Greed demon’s elbow for a moment.
This returned smile had Meu pursing his lips ever so slightly, not quite sure how to react to it. Furthermore, the thanks and the reciprocated touch had his cheeks flushing awkwardly. He gave a swift nodnod as he sheepishly used his free hand to run his fingers through his fluffy hair, hesitating to break the connection on the other occupied arm. With a soft cough and a pause to look into Cyr’s deep and rich golds, hand still mid-hair, Mew let his gaze buckle and seek out something else. “A-anyway.” He gave a clipped nod of his head and decided to retreat.
He paused momentarily at the threshold, though, and gave a soft, “Anytime,” before stepping out and trying very damn hard to ignore the weird and painful thumping in his chest. That had indeed been a little nerve-wracking, so it was no wonder his heart was hammering a bit. He could have messed that up real bad, and then where would his social image be? He’d have to trade in his business cufflinks.
As Meu turned and took a step past the demon's door, however, he found Viv waiting there for him. He stepped aside from the opening of the door in case Cy needed to get by. "Yes?"
"What did you think of that? A little crazy, isn't it?" Viv spoke quietly, also stepping away from the door. “Yeah, crazy is a good word for it.” Myut frowned, doing his best to resist the urge to turn back and check on Cyr again already, even though he had literally just done so. It worried him. Especially since the black-haired demon had had no clue about the cursed item to begin with, and who even knows how long he had had it with him.
”I'm glad we found it. Well, you. But I wanted to ask if you had any way to tell if something is missing from someone else's collection?" It was indeed lucky that the two of them had found it and been able to warn Cyris. As she spoke, Viv was slowly moving towards the entrance to her own room.
“Ah, I certainly couldn’t have figured out those runes, and knowing is half the battle.” The greed demon unabashedly praised her in soft tones, listening as she asked him about other missing items and commented on maybe getting more into runic studies. Myut knew he hadn’t been the only one those guards had been skimming off the top from! He was eager to follow after her in the direction of her room, as he assumed entering it with him was her desire, and spoke up to answer while they walked. The greed was back, and Myut wanted to go through more stuff. It was simply a bonus if it also helped Vivian out.
“If you can give me a general description of what you’ve originally brought with you, I would be able to cross check swiftly with what’s physically there. I’d need quantity or count, but if you want help dividing things up to check for yourself, I can also do that in a markedly fast and efficient manner.”
Viv explained that, along with her parents, she had brought loads of things to the gala to show off to potential buyers. She then requested he stand in the way of the door, to which he obliged. Myut stood obediently at the door while curiously watching Viv move about. He didn’t really know what she was doing at first, but as she flitted about the room, producing more and more boxes of jewelry, it was beginning to click. She had hid her things. That was a good idea. Valramir, he was reminded once more, had been snooping the prior evening. And now the greed demon was being informed that Eris had a similar tendency.
At this revelation, Myut bristled like an angry, bushy cat. No touchy his things. Especially wrath demons named Eris. He would be properly putting away his things as soon as he returned to his room. Whenever that may be. It could be a long day, honestly.
Vivian just kept bringing more and more boxes over, almost eliciting a jaw-drop from Myut. How had she brought this much to the gala? How had the guards brought this much to here? He was very, very impressed. The pride demon spoke up then, chatting while she hauled things from here to there, “I guess I don’t really think it was you, I was caught in a place I ‘wasn’t supposed to be’ and it was a complete misunderstanding. So I think they might be prone to overreacting. A little. Compared to some of the others. Anyway.”
Myut nodded, leaning just a bit on the doorframe. “Same,” He grinned lightly at her, genuinely at ease being in her presence. Plus goodies! He wasn’t about to say anything that might get him kicked out now.
Once she indicated it was safe for him to join her at the bed, Mew strode forward to eagerly drink up what was laid out before him. Yes, there was a lot. Viv unveiled the first box, and the greed leaned avariciously forward, knuckles resting near the edge of the mattress. What he saw there turned his orbs covetous, and he traced a delicate finger over the handsome craftsmanship. Viv enlightened him about the sorts of other ornaments she had brought, pulling out a box which held a matching coronet to the set. Very gorgeous. So captivating. Meu’s fingers twitched and he hummed thoughtfully, eyes set like a laser on the piece.
Vivian then reminded him what he was here for, and he dragged his eyes away to politely meet her gaze while she spoke to him. “Absolutely. Show me where to start.”
“Okay, so there’s a few pieces in this category. There’s this set here, also a cuff with a jeweled phoenix on it. There’s a mosaic locket with really tiny gems, there’s a music box…” Meu listened attentively while Viv listed off the last few they were looking for - ten in all. “Let’s look for those 9 first, since they’re the most important. Then I’ll tell you about the rest. Or would you rather know now?”
Myut carefully tallied the items she was listing for their first category, standing at his full height now and putting a finger up to his chin in thought. “We can work on them in chunks; it’ll be more manageable that way.” The white haired demon began to take the tops off of boxes and containers to begin the search. Occasionally he would peer back at the pretty showpiece Vivian had originally shown him.
The two of them searched around diligently, and Mew smiled brightly at Vivian’s pretty face when she so triumphantly produced one of the items they were searching for. He himself had pulled a folded-over piece of parchment from a box and had opened it to reveal the locket that was supposed to be part of the show category. He set it aside next to the box holding the full body set, making a nice little section for their current category.
“Ah, I know!”
Viv went over to her wardrobe and returned with a sheaf of papers, sorting through them.
“Here’s what they look like, this might help.” Myut accepted the offered stack. So it seemed that she had even brought the concept art with her. That proved very fortuitous for the two of them in this case. Meu began fingering through the pages. The first page was for a brilliant pair of earrings, while the next few detailed the music box, to which he stopped suddenly when he beheld it. He set the others aside, clutching at the remaining pieces of paper and bringing them closer to get a better look.
The way the metal had been worked seemed as though someone touched by divinity had molded it. This he liked. Very, very much. A few pages behind it seemed to be a piece of parchment with the sheet music for the melody it was supposed to play. While no expert on the subject, Myut enjoyed enough fine art and classic history to have picked up on how to read scores. His eyes hopped from note to note, initially silent but soon trying to hum one or two and then the rest of them to hear what the sound should be.
At the noise of papers being rustled voraciously, Viv turned to see what was going on, and smiled when she found Myut poring over the last page. “You know how to read that?” She asked. “It kinda goes like this-,” Meu looked up when he heard Viv join him in song, giving a pleasant grin and letting her take over. When she finished the little ditty, to which Meu was enrapturedly listening to, regardless of how well her performance was, he gave a very quiet whistle. “Beautiful,” He nodded, regarding the images once more before starting to hunt with a vigor.
Unfortunately, even after swiftly zooming through the rest of the boxes, he didn’t seem to be finding it. “Well, Viv, I think we’ve got some bad news.”
Viv frowned knowingly, telling him to break it to her anyway.
“The music box is most definitely gone.” His tone turned a little gravelly and grumpy; he had wanted to behold the beautiful thing with his own touch and see the real deal. More than that his sin itched like some annoying bug bite that would not go away. Mew thrummed his fingers against his thigh with a look of irritation. There was nothing that could be done though; if it wasn’t there, it wasn’t there. “Could I keep these?” The greed asked, referring to the papers he still held in one hand. That would be the only way to satiate the pestering void at this point.
“I also didn’t see the earrings you mentioned, either.”
Meu looked up as Viv took a deep, frustrated breath at having lost such precious things already. However, Myut was both pleased and heavily relieved to hear her then say that he could keep his precious little images. He would take these as payment for helping her out with sorting this stuff. In regards to her informing that she may temporarily take them back should her family need to recreate the piece, Myut answered with an, “Of course.”
“Better than that. If we ever find the music box, it’s yours.”
Her tone was definitely sore as she added ruefully that he could keep the box if they could find it. “Hell yeah,” he muttered under his breath, clenching his fist triumphantly for a moment before nodding with a regal regard. He could empathize with her change in attitude. He had been livid when he found his own things gone. In fact, just thinking about how precious and unique the few pieces that had been stolen had him clenching his fists for another reason. He ground his teeth lightly. “Let’s go through the other categories.” He spoke with a renewed vigor, organizing the last few items they had found before getting started on the next round.
“It is infuriating, isn’t it?” Vivian responded to Myut’s anger. “We better be compensated for the losses when we get out. Did some of your things get taken too?”
“Wickedly vexing,” Myut agreed. “Oh yes,” He answered in regard to her questioning whether he had lost things too, “I shudder to think of the tainted little paws that grazed my precious things.” He growled out while sorting through another box. “Irreplaceable. I don’t want compensation, I want an arm and maybe a leg from whomever did it.” He made sure to keep his breathing even and his fists gentle, lest he crush in his anger the lid he was propping open. “And then I would hit them with the filthy thing.”
“Anyway,” He mumbled, taking certain pieces of jewelry out to set aside, now creating two more lists depicted by Vivian’s next descriptions of the remaining categories. He would make swift work of clustering and organizing what he thought went where based on the information he had to go off.
“Go get’em,” She encouraged lightly with a somewhat amused tone. Myut simply smirked in response.
“You like to fight, Myu? I love a good spar. Might be nice to get some of that anger out too.”
Meu paused while poking at one side of a piece of jewelry and then the other, trying to get it positioned just right as it sat in its little group. “Ah, you’ll actually find me to be rather shit at fighting.” He laughed. “I get it up here,” He tapped on his temple, “But I don’t have the proper training here,” He gestured to the rest of his body. “I can handle myself, but I don’t think I’d hold up proper against someone like you who actually has skilled experience. If it’ll make you feel better to beat my ass though~,” He chimed cheerfully, giving her two thumbs up.
Myut preferred to avoid altercations wherever possible, normally finding that he could talk or haggle his way out of a bad situation. That wasn’t to say he hadn’t run into the occasional bear or disgruntled demon, though.
“Ah, I see; I’ll take a raincheck, then. You think Cyr knows how to fight?” She asked cheerfully as she joined him at his side once more, finishing up a little bit of final organizing here and there before looking over everything scrutinizingly. Meu shrugged honestly with a grin, “I don’t have the slightest clue if Cyr would be a good sparring partner.”
“I owe you one,” She said softly, beginning to replace the jewelry into its many cases.“Is there anything I can do for you?”
He was delightfully surprised when he heard her say that she owed him one. He was a little confused at first, since he had already taken the music box papers, but hey, if she was offering~.
Myut gazed pointedly at the original box she had opened - the one with the body set - eyes glimmering hopefully.
Viv followed his eyes over to the very first box, and her eyebrows arched in surprise. “That won’t fit,” She said bluntly. “I mean, ah...do you have a petite partner back home?”
“And?” He asked cheekily without missing a beat. She tried being polite in considering another reason why he might want it, but no, he had wanted it for himself. It was shiny and gorgeous, after all. He laughed benignly. “No; I suppose you’re right-” He paused suddenly, “I wonder if Ino would fit in it?” He mused offhandedly. Myut had originally almost been tempted to respond with a joking ‘well we won’t know unless we try, right?’ but he would never risk damaging something so precious. With such meticulous and skilled craftsmanship, he wouldn’t be able to have anything resized either. That would be too much of a headache, even if he could find a crafter as skilled as the Lacerta family.
“Ino?” Viv thought about the envy for a bit. “Almost definitely, if his arms are slim enough for the bracelets. This is designed for incubi though, though the more common kind. The petite ones.”
Myut nodded with a sort of breathed laugh at Viv’s comment on the size of normal lust demons. Cyr was seriously such an oddball. Myut nodded down at his music box papers, though. “This is more than enough.”
“When we’re out of here, I’ll see if I can convince the craftsman to make you a set like that, okay? No guarantees, but I’ll check. Would you also mind blocking the door again so I can hide these?”
He blinked at her offer to try to convince the original creator of the set to make a duplicate in his size. He gave a big, shimmering grin at that. “I’ll be sure to pay nicely for it. And certainly.” He resumed his duty as door sentry, watching Viv put her things back away, and secretly taking some notes on her exceptional hiding places.
Once her stuff was all hidden, she joined Myut at the door. “Let’s go,” She spoke with a smile. Meu ducked his head in agreement, giving a nonchalant grin as he turned out of the doorway and back into the fray side by side with Viv.
