[open] one's home is one's.... hopefully-not-burning-like-the-actual-palace castle

[gekkajuu]

Who: Atsushi (gekkajuu) & anyone/everyone
What: A fairly subdued housewarming party! Also a chance to get some activity in while waiting for the event. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
When: Now. Ish. Now is good.
Where: Olympia, Noble District because tiger boy is moving up in the world~
Warning(s): None..? This is an open mingle, so tag each other with some (probably) lighter stuff between all the WAR and RAWR! Should things get some kind of naughty, please put proper warnings in your subject lines, thank you.

It's almost certainly not the biggest mansion in the Noble District - but who cares? Atsushi is honored (and more than a little surprised) that he got offered this housing in the first place. Carefully inquiring about the rent (because of course this had to be some kind of scam?), he was told that there wasn't any, and he could simply live there for free.

There is always that voice in the back of his head telling him "if it seems too good to be true..." - but he's trying to get better about ignoring it. After all, even if he has to go back to a simpler place to live later, there's nothing lost. So he moves in (together with some friends), tries to find his way - and organizes a housewarming party almost immediately. He could use something to distract him... and so could other people, probably.

Join him? The mansion is still pretty empty - Atsushi's previous possessions aren't enough to fill so much as his bedroom - but the kitchen is full, and there's enough furniture in the living room to make yourself comfortable, a long table decked out with food and drinks that took some effort to procure.

Some options:
- Enjoy the food! Enjoy the drink! Atsushi isn't big on alcohol, but he invited Chuuya to live here, so you can bet your ass there will be something to get drunk off.
- You're welcome to raid the kitchen, too! ... but, seriously, don't open that ribbon-tied box with a note that says "for Reign-san". Yes, those are some tasty-looking mochi - but they have a secret ingredient.
- Do you want to look around upstairs? The master bathroom is huge. Please don't have sex in other people's beds, though... Or do, I'm not your boss.
- Just do your thing, man. It's a party. Forget about the city being on fire for a few hours, and try to have fun. Or plot how to achieve peace over some nice snacks, that's also appreciated.

Floor plan, to help you visualize the place, is this - with the minor change that the office and massage rooms are combined into a single room: the guest bedroom mentioned in Atsushi's network post.

Comments

[gekkajuu]

It was a hilarious comment - or it should have been. But Atsushi only freaked out at the mere chance of Dylas overhearing.

"D-Don't say things like that!" He looked around a lot more frantically than Reign. Thankfully there was no nag in sight. "He'll really get angry."

And upset, which was the real problem. Teasing was all right, but not when it hurt the feelings of someone who was very touchy to begin with. That Dylas could be a little hard to get along with was fine, and not something Atsushi would want or try to change - but it did mean that he'd rather not cause any additional bumps in Dylas' friendship with others or Atsushi himself.

[eaudevamp]

"My mistake. Won't happen again." Reign chuckled sheepishly, though he inwardly admitted that a flustered Atsushi was kind of funny to watch.

Then again, seeing as Dylas was Atsushi's friend, he didn't want to throw a wrench into that friendship. It would make things awkward if Reign couldn't get along with any of Atsushi's friends.

Once more making sure Dylas wasn't nearby, he whispered, "He's not some kind of were-creature like you, is he? Like a were-horse or something?"

[gekkajuu]

"... No..." And yes, perhaps: Dylas had mentioned full transformations happening recently. But Dylas seemed to really hate those, and Atsushi didn't think it was his place to share such information. Besides, Dylas really was different from him. "No, he always has his animal features."

The ears and tail, if nothing else. It should probably seem weirder than it did, but, if anything, it made Atsushi more comfortable with his own ability, not having to feel like the odd one out.

A fully human Dylas, lacking all horse's features... He breathed a soft laugh. "It would be strange to see him without them."

[eaudevamp]

Reign hummed softly as he took in that information. So Dylas always had those animal features. He'd never really seen anyone with them before, not unless they transformed. "I should think so."

It was how Reign suddenly came to realise something. "Speaking of which, I've never seen you in your were-tiger form either."

Perhaps the citizens had spread rumours about seeing Atsushi in that form, but if there were whispers about it, Reign hadn't caught wind of them.

[gekkajuu]

"You haven't?" For some reason, Atsushi managed to be surprised. When he'd first arrived, he'd been a little timid about showing his ability, afraid that he'd scare people. But somewhere along the line - and fairly soon, too - he'd stopped even thinking about it. With all the refugees so different from each other and from the natives, 'weird' seemed like the new 'normal' in some ways - and that included his ability.

"Well, it's no trouble at all to show you. Here we go..." Atsushi pushed up his sleeves first and foremost - no point in ruining his clothes by hulking out of them! - and then transformed both of his arms. "I can do my legs too, as well as some other minor things, but this is about what it amounts to."

[eaudevamp]

Reign shook his head in confirmation. He may have caught snippets during the rioting period, but he hadn't lay eyes on a transformed Atsushi. Even during their crystal hunting, Atsushi had merely undressed without changing his form, that was all.

But when Atsushi decided to show him, Reign waited with bated breath and giddy excitement. His eyes widened and his mouth dropped open in amazement. Please forgive Reign because the next moment, he had his hands on one of Atsushi's tiger arms, touching and feeling the tiger arm under his fingers.

"Oh my! This is quite something. Yes it is. Ooooh, sharp claws too." Reign moved Atsushi's arm up and down, felt the paw pads, doing the same with the other pair. "Does this mean you can turn into a full tiger as well?"

Excitement level: increasing.

[gekkajuu]

... Well, at least Reign wasn't afraid??? That was a good thing... probably. Atsushi allowed all the touching and squeezing without complaints, even though it was more than a little weird to him. There had been enough people who'd appreciated his tiger features for their usefulness, but this level of excitement was definitely new.

"Not willingly, and when I do, the tiger takes over..." Which was terrible, and terrifying, and all sorts of things that should ruin his mood, but it was hard to feel anything but mildly weirded out at Reign's antics. "Should you ever see a giant white tiger, I strongly suggest you run."

Ha. Haha. What a good joke at his own expense.

[eaudevamp]

It took Reign a while to rein in his crazy antics, and when Atsushi's words sang in, he blinked at the other. "You... have no control over the tiger?"

Atsushi must have faced a dire situation that warranted the forced change. Reign hoped he wouldn't come face to face with Atsushi when he was in that form, and if he did, hopefully his friend would recognise him in some ways.

"So..." He tilted his head, giving Atsushi a once over, then glancing towards where Daifuku and Scorch were frolicking together. "You're just like the big version of Daifuku. I think it would be quite interesting to meet the tiger inside you in person."

Though from the way Atsushi described the tiger side, the creature's personality was way different from Daifuku.

[gekkajuu]

Atsushi shook his head. No control whatsoever. Even if the tiger and him had come to an understanding once or twice, he wouldn't - couldn't - trust it to ever listen to him. And after everything it had done before -... Well, he wasn't taking any chances. He couldn't count on the tiger to give up and surrender control every time, either.

"'Interesting' really isn't the word for it." Atsushi frowned, unhappy that Reign didn't seem to be taking him seriously. Even if Reign was a vampire, the tiger was -... It was huge, and powerful. "I'm not joking when I say it will attack you. It may even try to kill you."

[eaudevamp]

Seeing how serious Atsushi was about the tiger within himself hammer in the fact that his friend wasn't kidding. Reign blinked slowly, finally nodding, the prior excitement slowly waning off.

"All right. I understand." It dawned on Reign that sometimes even having special abilities was more a curse than a blessing. "I give you my word that I'll run if I see a large, white tiger."

Even if Reign made use of his vampiric pheromones, chances of it affecting a being like Atsushi in his tiger form was slim, and Reign didn't want to take any chances.

[gekkajuu]

"Thank you."

Maybe Reign could handle the tiger and maybe he couldn't, but just the thought of hurting a good friend like Reign was enough to turn Atsushi's stomach. With a little imagination, he could understand a certain fascination with creatures like the tiger, of course! He'd never blame Reign for that. But caution had to go before anything else.

"... Sorry. I ruined this conversation, didn't I?"

[eaudevamp]

Reign shook his head, giving Atsushi a small smile, hoping to reassure his friend.

"No, it's not your fault. You were just trying to make certain that no one gets injured due to you losing control over the tiger. If you anything, you made me realise the severity of it."

It was at this time that Reign felt a bump on his lower leg. Looking down, he saw Scorch glancing up at him with a certain gaze. "Oh! I think someone's hungry. I best feed him before he gets lost in this huge mansion from foraging around."

[gekkajuu]

It was surprisingly painful, having to convince people of how dangerous he could be. Still, while the necessity of it weighed on him, Atsushi was glad that he'd at least gotten his message across.

Thank God for cute animals saving the day.

"Of course! There's probably something in the kitchen that will suit him."

[eaudevamp]

Reign understood Atsushi's worries clearly now, and he didn't relish having his friend getting worried because of Reign's own recklessness.

He bent down to pick Scorch up, giggling when the giraffe gave his cheek a tiny lick, before letting out a soft "moo" sound at Atsushi in greeting.

"Thank you. Go ahead and tend to your guests. I'll catch up with you later." He threw Atsushi a wave, a small smile on his lips, then headed for the kitchen.