castaside | Seasons Inbox

[ Macaque is duly impressed by the presentation. The gift is... nice. Wistful and nostalgic in the right ways. Aspirational, almost. ]

[ It dawns on Macaque after a few moments where this gift got delivered to. And he chuckles somewhat awkwardly to himself. Cat's out of the bag. ]

[ Later that day, Macaque will find MK in his customary manner: popping up out of nowhere. ] Cole has a big mouth.

[MK jumps, as usual, when Macaque arrives. He'll find out how not to. Someday. MK does grin though.]

He didn't tell me anything. I just guessed. And I guessed right.

I thought he'd be less likely to have those transformations if someone was there. That's all. [ Like it's just another Tuesday for Macaque to practically live with someone. ] I won't be hovering when you're staying over, don't worry. [ MK probably was not worried about it, but just you be perfectly clear that he's Not Living There. ]

Thanks. For the gift. I like it. [ Awkward is only at about 65%, it could be worse. ]

...I got you something too. Or made, I guess.

[ Macaque reaches through a portal and pulls out... a shadow? It's clearly something solid, but the way it moves, too flowing and fluid to be mere fabric. Macaque smooths it over with his hand and it takes on a more stable appearance. Parts of it have a deep darkness that one might expect of a shadow, parts seem more purple, parts shine as though they're reflecting light. It's like looking into a spinning galaxy. ]

[ Macaque drapes it over MK's shoulders, sort of like a cloak. Then he does something to it, passing his hands over the material, and it shortens -- not folds, shortens -- into a scarf. It's surprisingly warm. ]

It's called a shaed. [ Pronounced "shade". ] Woven from shadows. They provide good cover in dark places, and a measure of protection from harm. Sometimes things will catch in it just right and a harmful object will fail to strike, or miss its mark just enough. Sometimes not. Shadows behave in ways even I can't always understand, like a living thing.

Changing the shape takes practice. But given time, you can learn it. [ Macaque clears his throat a little. ] If you still want me to be your teacher, we can start with this.

[MK nods. He's sure Macaque wouldn't spy on him and Cole too much. Never would be a stretch for Macaque and Mk's not about to believe something like that. Still, he'll give the space. Macaque isn't a liar. Mk's attention is on the fabric as it comes out. The way it moves and shimmers catches his full attention. He gently touches it after the shaed forms into a scarf. He rubs his cheek on it, feeling how soft and warm it is.

Part of him wondered if it would feel wet but it doesn't. He grins wide and nods.]

This is so cool. Yeah! I still do. This is awesome. Thank you. Happy Holidays, Macaque. [And he's going to give his other mentor a hug.]

[ Spying loses something when Cole can tell he's there. Although Macaque could probably mask his presence, he did promise Cole that he wouldn't do that. So he won't. He likes the kid too much to risk it over anything other than a huge deal. ]

[ Watching MK touch the shaed and brush it against his face mostly makes the discomfort of doing the gift thing worth it. These things always loom larger in his mind. And MK's easy acceptance of the teacher thing, while not surprising, is a relief. ]

[ And the hug, well. It's MK, it's expected. So Macaque pauses a requisite amount before gently putting one arm around MK. ] Same to you, kiddo. I'm glad you like it.

[Mk smiles up at Macaque and lets the hug loosen but doesn't pull away. Not yet.]

I'm glad you liked yours too. The necklace part should be super strong. It's made of werewolf fur. It doesn't burn so I figure it'll be good enough to last through a lot. Those things don't go down easy.

[ Macaque doesn't try to pull away either, for once. After the Hot or Not thing it seems silly to. ]

Wukong told me I should go collect some pelts sometime. I was waiting for my Winter magic to work properly. [ It's irritating that this place restricts your progress. ]

I'm not sure what use I'd have for pelts, but maybe you want them? Or maybe he would.

I know when we went to get them it was for our nests. They add to it. But you don't have to if you don't want to. You could come see my nest if you wanna see how I used them.

I'm sure some other furs could be found. The giant rabbits shed enough you could scritch them and get enough for a nest from that by itself.

Yeah, that's what he was on me about. I don't think it clicked that I haven't kept a nest in ages. [ Literal ages, for a mortal. ]

Other than when I'm on nightmare watch, I don't really stay anywhere specific. It does sound like good practice for the seasonal magic though.

So you sleep in a bed or like in your shadows before?

It is good practice. You had your dojo, right? Or did you not like stay there a lot?

Mostly I stay out of cities. Too loud to sleep. Trees are usually a good bet. [ He is a monkey, after all. ]

The dojo was more of a safehouse than a home.

Not sure why I didn't think of that. [Probably because he doesn't have super hearing and was raised human.]

Okay. Makes sense. I bet Nightwake is super loud for you since it's like never asleep there.

It's easy not to think of things when you're not bothered by them. At the very least, it's not a real problem, I just portal myself elsewhere. Unless I'm staying with Cole that night.

Red Son made me some noise cancelling headphones, so maybe things will change.

That's cool. I'm sure they help. [Still this is giving MK some ideas. He can run them by Red Son at some point so Macaque can stay over at the house sometimes.]

[ Not even going to ask if Macaque wants to stay over there before you do this? Honestly when are people going to learn that he doesn't like surprises? ]

Hopefully so. Watching fireworks in the city will be a dicey prospect otherwise. [ One guess who he's doing that with. ]

Ooooooo~ I bet you're gonna have a lot of fun. [He grins. Oh he is sure he knows who invited Macaque. Such a good sign things are looking up for those two.]

Don't make that noise, it's not like that. [ This isn't so much a protest as a resigned statement of fact. ]

He was very clear about what he wanted. Or rather, what he didn't want.

What do you mean? [Mk is puzzled now.] What do you mean what he doesn't want? Because he wants to spend time with you. That's a good thing, right?

[ Seriously? ] C'mon kid, you know what I mean.

It's not a bad thing that he wants to spend time with me of course, but it's not a big deal.

[Sorry Macaque. He's not smart, remember?]

I don't though...

[ He picks the worst times to be dense. ]

I told him I still have feelings for him, he said he's not sure he could ever feel that way about anyone again, and he wanted to just be friends.

So any good-natured teasing about me and him isn't going to land like teasing, it lands like a kick to the head.

[MK blinks and stares. Something about hearing that made his stomach squirm. That didn't sound right. He'll have to ask Monkey King.]

Sorry. I didn't know that. I won't tease you anymore about that. But I still hope you both have a lot of fun seeing the fireworks.

[ He was sort of expecting a very MK reaction there, something along the lines of "are you okay?" but Macaque supposes he wouldn't have an answer anyway. ]

I'm sure we will. You know how he is.

[He knows the answer would be either a non-answer, a don't know, or might be a no and then where would they be?]

Excitable, cheeky, and adorable. Yeah.

[ Having something like an honest conversation? (Non-answers can be honest.) ]

Contagious.

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