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[ascatic]

Leon

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[ascatic]

[ squint. ]

Died?

[ one hand immediately goes up to his chin, the other to his side. by no means does he think Nanashi is lying, even with the puffed up cheeks. ]

Are you... you look like Nanashi to me.

[reaquila]

You heard that right. I had some kind of heart failure and I was stuck in the hospital for a while. It was terrible.

[Nanashi gets up and holds out his palm so Leon can see what's up.]

Yeah....I just look like a human. I shouldn't even be standing here.

[Leon can tell that Nanashi's unnaturally cold and pale. He trusts Leon to not run away after learning the truth. So Nanashi won't run away from this either. ]

[ascatic]

[ he takes Nanashi's hand into his own and Leon's eyes widen upon the touch. cold, but a different kind of a cold that makes his frown deepen. ]

Well, you are standing here. [ and he gestures toward a table. ] Take a seat... are you hungry or thirsty? Can you still taste things?

[reaquila]

I can't feel hunger anymore. Thankfully, I can still taste things.

[He doesn't have to miss out on food. Nanashi sits down and pulls his leg up so it's straight. ]

Do you have some coffee?

[Hey, he misses your coffee.]

[ascatic]

I do. It's a little on the weak side, so I apologize in advance...

[ though he's quick to get a cup and pour the drink, his eyes don't stay off of Nanashi's leg or his face, carefully gauging the situation. but also, because seeing him like this makes Leon's ears and tail droop.

just a little. ]

... here. Cream and sugar on the table. [ a beat, then: ] Unless I forgot to paint them, in which case, I can grab some from the back.

[reaquila]

Don't worry about it.

[Nanashi squints at the lack of color around them.]

....

Damn, you forgot to paint them. These ones don't look right. Do you mind grabbing the ones in the back? Those ones should be fine?

[Lord. ]

[ascatic]

Yeah. I know they're there, so be careful. Don't knock anything off that you can't see! [ and then slightly lowering his voice as he turns around: ] That's my job.

[ his tail gently bumps Nanashi's forehead as Leon pads into the back. ]

How'd you hurt your leg?

[ rummage, rummage. ]

[reaquila]

I was so tired that I fell down a staircase and injured myself badly.

[It's embarrassing.]

It was fucking painful. The city looks like a disaster outside. You didn't trip on anything with that tail of yours, did you?

[Leon trips as much as Nanashi sometimes. ]

[ascatic]

No, not as of late. It's mostly stayed out of the way.

[ though he's still had to tuck it into his belt sometimes, just to make sure. but tail cramps kind of suck.

he brings to the table the sugar cubes and milk. ]

Disaster, yes. It almost feels like the world has been unstable... I wonder how long until something even worse happens. Or better happens. Something.

[reaquila]

Good. Don't trip on your tail and ears then end up like me. This is the worst.

[Nanashi shakes his head furiously.]

I want to see something better soon. We've experienced lots of misfortunes, haven't we? Come on man...it's summer.

We're supposed to be partying and enjoying the sun.

[ascatic]

Don't worry. I think I have some pretty good balance.

[ said as he trips slightly into the chair, though thankfully nothing is broken as he just lands a little harder than he needed to. ]

Ah... hm. Well, are you sure the sun won't burn you to death, now that you are dead?

[ is he a vampire. ]

[reaquila]

It's not going to burn me because I'm not a vampire. I'm undead.

[At least, that's the proper term for it when he asked around. He's not a zombie in a sense. Zombies still need to feed off of others. Nanashi doesn't do that.

He's just a walking dead person. ]

Do you wanna try throwing onions and garlic at me to find out if I'm a vampire?

[ascatic]

... aren't vampires part of the undead?

[ he's not going to try to logic this part out, shrugging at Nanashi with a half-smile. ]

I don't have any of that in the cafe, but I am glad that you are able to move about. But you can't be using crutches all the time, perhaps we can find a wheelchair? Or perhaps, your bird demon could carry you?

[reaquila]

Vampires are part of the undead and so are ghouls, and zombies. I thought I was a zombie at first.

[Honest. ]

My bird friend can't do shit. I'd be better off asking Jeanne for a lift. She's strong enough to carry me.

[He never considered a wheelchair, but it is true that he can't be on crutches all the time. Hm. Leon's got a point. ]

[ascatic]

Then I would suggest you ask your... ah, devil? Demon? As long as they are happy to do it. You cannot rely on your legs all the time, and you need the proper rest.

[ and he raises an eyebrow. ]

Does that make sense? Unless you are able to cure or heal yourself, in which case you should do that.

[ he's no magician... yet, anyway ]

[reaquila]

I can heal myself, yeah. No more going to the doctors for pains and illness.

[He hates going to the doctor for check ups almost as much as he hates guns. ]

My healing ability is limited. I can't fix a broken leg or anything.

[ascatic]

[ his ears perk up in interest, but immediately lower upon the mini-disappointment. darn. but it means a lot knowing that Nanashi could deal with small things, though a broken leg upon reflection is pretty significant on second thought. ]

It's still a great ability to have. I can't help but be a little jealous. Though to use it would mean something has probably gone wrong, regardless of the severity...

[ a look down, and then he huffs. ]

... but I am glad that you are all right. Please know that, regardless of what you are, you are still you.

[reaquila]

Thanks, I appreciate it old man.

[He really does.]

You didn't get mad at me when I told you the truth. I thought that I'd be upsetting everyone by telling them how Retrospec changed me.

[Leon's cool for that.]

It's hard not being completely human, isn't it?

[ascatic]

I'm not really in a position to judge, especially as your elder.

[ just teasing, Nanashi. ]

But I don't look at you as being any different than you were before. You're certainly not acting any different.

[ it's the 'old man' that does it. ]

[reaquila]

I'm trying not to act any differently. If that's how you see it then that's good.

[He doesn't want to be a different person just because of Retrospec.]

We can still keep being friends??

[OLD MAN.............You don't mind, right?]

[ascatic]

Of course. Why couldn't we be?

[ what a confusing question? he reaches out to give Nanashi a pat on the head. a very careful one so that he doesn't like, accidentally hurt him??? ]

I'm not worried about what you are. Just about what you do. That's all.

[reaquila]

Just hearing you say it out loud makes me feel better.

We've changed a lot because of Retrosepc. Kind of makes you think about everything.

[They're still the same inside, yeah? Leon's still acting like the same old man even though he's got those cat ears and tail.]

[ascatic]

We may have changed physically, but how we think and feel have not changed. Having memories of our former lives may make us question our current situations, but that doesn't make what we've done up to that point invalid.

[ he's had a lot of time to think about it, especially because of how much of a polar opposite his former cat-self was like. ]

So... drink. Enjoy the coffee, okay? Let that be a reminder of who you are.

[reaquila]

I could say the same thing to you old man.

[ So he happily sips from it and savors the taste. This is some good stuff. ]

It feels like I haven't had your coffee in a long time.

[ascatic]

Jamie keeps me in line when it comes to coffee. I don't know what I'd do without him.

[ even when he's not working, Leon can't help but think about doing things the right way to make his friend proud of him. ]

We have some cookies too, if you're interested. [ a beat: ] Are you tired at all? Walking on crutches doesn't seem like an easy thing to do.