damnpire | Kenos Inbox

[ Sad... if it weren't for her gob full of chicken noodles, Gray would be happily greeting Eustace, but then he's already gone. She shoots him a quick "welcome back" via Communion instead.

Unbeknownst to her, the body she's been blursed with has exceptional food compactor potential, so she packs her mouthful away quickly before shooting a small smile in response to D's thank you. Moving on,,, ]

Have you met Mr. Eustace?

[ It's a good thing Dokja doesn't really have a talent for cutting bread and cheese because he's too busy concentrating on making clean cuts rather than eavesdropping or paying attention to Gray and D at the table. That's how he misses Gray chugging a bowl of soup, and it's only when the front door opens that he looks up to greet Eustace with a quick smile before his attention returns to the food.

Whatever Eustace is up to can't be more important than the way this cheese is being cut in a lopsided manner.

Anyway, once that's done (or as done as Dokja can make it), he brings over the poor man's charcuterie board to the table, setting it down between D and Gray. ]

Oh, yeah, they know each other. They—

[ Dokja stops short when his gaze lands on the half-empty bowl in front of D, and his eyebrows instantly shoot up. ]

When was the last time you ate? Four months ago?

[ GENUINELY STARTLED ]

[HELP, HE IS STUCK BETWEEN THE AWKWARD OF GRAY GUZZLING SOUP AND EUSTACE ENTERING.

D's attention turns to Eustace as the man enters, his dark eyes looking up from beneath his lashes. He doesn't seem surprised by Eustace in general. Probably because this is the man who blundered through a love curse and kissed him.

D can't imagine what Eustace must be seeing: him at the table with a cat in his lap, barefoot, without cape or pauldrons or hat, and looking like a much younger man than when Eustace probably had mind to smooch him, sorry; Gray with squirrel cheeks diagonal to him, clearly in the middle of conspiring; and Dokja oblivious in the back cutting bread and cheese. This is such a disaster of a visit.

He obligingly lets Eustace leave, and he looks between Gray and Dokja.]

We've met.

[He does not say how. That part isn't important at all.

His eyes drop to the exchanged bowl in front of him. He isn't particularly fond of lying, but he will settle for going along with a little white one.]

...It's been some time. [...] It was good.

[He had tasted it!!]

[ There really is a lot going on here, but Gray can rest easy knowing that she's done her part. She just has to worry about her own noodle soup now, which she spoons up like a normal person. She will grab some laboriously sliced bread and cheese later.

So that Dokja doesn't get too suspicious about the state of D's bowl (though how could he possibly suspect the truth), she quickly redirects the conversation. ]

How did you and D meet, Mr. Dokja?

[ Hopefully that is a nice safe topic with no kissing involved. ]

[ Well, he supposes he should be relieved that D likes the soup, even if it's apparently being inhaled at record speed.

It's with some hesitation that Dokja finally takes his own seat, expression a little bit concerned as he swirls his spoon in his soup. What does D mean when he says it's been some time since he'd last eaten?? Is D also the kind of person who would let himself waste away if given the chance??

Lots to think about, though his thoughts are broken into by Gray's question, and Dokja pauses for a moment when he recalls their first meeting. It's sad to think about now, considering it had been Dextera who had brought them together, and Dokja is reminded of how much he misses his... his friend. ]

Dextera took us along to deal with an investigation he'd received. We worked closely together then.

[It'd be funny if Dokja somehow also had some kind of kissing incident involved in meeting D. But thankfully, it was less awkward than poor Eustace's initial meeting.

D feels sort of bad Gray has to eat two bowls of soup for his sake when he could have maybe sipped on it enough for Dokja to be satisfied. He could have given it to the dog under the table... Why didn't they do that?

The way he sort of Looks at Dokja at the explanation. He has not forgotten how awful Dokja had been during that time, nor has he forgotten how little Dokja told him later about it. It is sad Dextera is gone, however.]

You have not heard from him since I spoke to you last, have you?

[ Awful? Dokja? That doesn't sound like him. :3

Anyway, he eats a spoonful of soup because it's in front of him and this is a dinner. It's okay soup... Dokja also doesn't have much of an appetite to begin with, but he'll go through the motions with company around. Also the soup is not good enough to be scarfing it down so he's still kind of mystified about D's half-empty bowl. ]

I haven't, no. I think it's safe to assume he won't be back.

[ He tries to keep the Depression from slipping into his voice, but it's tough. Dextera had been one of his very first friends, and this is a terrible conversation to have at the table, so he switches it up. This is supposed to be about kindling a companionship between the teens, so Dokja looks back over at Gray. ]

What were you guys talking about while I was in the kitchen?

[ Gray wasn't close to Dextera, but she did know him. News of another of the old Shards disappearing is noteworthy, but no longer surprising. Eustace disappearing for the short time he did will probably be the biggest shock of that nature she'll ever feel.

She sips at The Soup Formerly Known as D's, which she definitely isn't hungry for anymore. Eustace is the last hope that someone in this house will enjoy this sad meal. Gray rewinds the conversation in her head for any answer to Dokja's question that isn't "vampires." She could be oblique and go with "pie," but she fears that will lead to a pie getting dumped on D somehow. In the end she lays down the gentle truth with a straight face. ]

It's a secret.

[ Please deal with it. ]

[ It hasn't been ten tags yet but this seems a good a time as any for Eustace to come back from the world's fastest shower, hair still damp and sticking up in a few places. It's fine, this is his house (not really but close enough) and if he wants to look slightly rumpled for dinner then that's fine.

A cursory glance back at the table shows that a smidge of the awkwardness seems to have dissipated, though considering that he still has no idea what's going on he opts to busy himself with ladling soup in the kitchen while he gathers context clues. Ah wait, he does have one question, which he silently directs to Dokja via Communion.

Are you trying to set them up?

Just checking. Dokja doesn't usually take on the role of generous host, so something must be going on. In the meantime, the rest of them can continue their out loud conversation. ]

[Eustace is asking the real questions.

D's hums quietly in acknowledgement to Dokja. He thinks Dokja should accept the Depression to move forward in finding out the whys, but it's fine. He understands. D isn't sure if he would say Dextera is gone for good necessarily.

Eustace and a few others are testaments to that in his mind.

His rusty eyes glance between Dokja and Gray. Normally, he would say nothing since Gray did the explaining for them, but it feels rude to do in the current Kim household. Everything is awkward enough already.]

Getting to know each other.

[NOT IN THE WAY THEY WANTED PROBABLY, BUT THAT ALSO IS FINE.

He will...... pet this cat as Gray is forced to eat his soup.]

[ Everyone using b/w icons forcing my hand to do the same.

Dokja doesn't look at all bothered by Gray wanting to keep the conversation between her and D private. In fact, he's even a little pleased by it, more so with D's response. Yes, make those secrets, forge those bonds, and prove Dokja successful in this endeavor to get two teenagers of similar temperaments to get along with each other.

And not in a romantic sense, which he mind beams at Eustace. ]

As friends. Come over here and help me.

[ He smiles at both D and Gray, clearly happy that this didn't erupt into some sort of tragedy. No broken tables, no trading insults, no rude demands... Who would have thought this possible after previous experiences. ]

Great! That's great. What else should we talk about while we eat? Gray? Any ideas?

[ tfw your colored icons are still mostly b/w

Gray glances up when Eustace returns from his breakneck shower, then tunes back in to the table conversation just in time to get put on the spot. Hello?? She takes on the look of a deer in the headlights. A master of conversation she is not — but then, none of them seem to be. This house is in a sad state of affairs. ]

Ah, um... How about the book cafe?

[ D doesn't look like he'd go within ten yards of such an establishment, but you never know... Gray looks at him hopefully. ]

Have you been by yet? Mr. Dokja owns it, and we help out sometimes...

[ uses one whole non-b/w icon just for yuul

This may be a silent Communion conversation but his brows are raising right now in disbelief. Help Dokja?? Hello, these are two perfectly capable people who could forge a friendship on their own if they really wanted to. Eustace doesn't see the point in forcing things, but he's also the person with the fewest friends in this house, so maybe his opinion isn't worth anything.

He finishes ladling his soup (soup?? whose great idea was it to serve soup at a group supper) before trundling to the dining table and taking a seat, whereupon he doesn't make a single effort to join in the conversation and instead silently drinks his soup. It's okay soup, he supposes. It would be better if it was stew.

There truly was no point in me coming back to tag this thread. ]

[No, we want you here, and now you are stuck with us in this most awkward thread imaginable even if Dokja refuses to believe it.

D's eyes lift in acknowledgement to Eustace's table arrival, but they don't linger. Dokja really is the only person at this table who doesn't mind making small talk???]

I haven't been inside.

[His gaze shifts from Gray to Dokja as if he thinks Dokja will spare the three of them by embellishing on this book cafe in which he so owns.

Hilariously, D is quite fond of books because he is actually a nerd, so he would shock everyone entering by standing in a book cafe with his gloomy Bloodborne aesthetic.

Usually his books are scientific, though. But Byleth did convince him to write a short romance story as a gift to Byleth...?]

[ The book cafe is an excellent topic change, and one that Dokja eagerly grabs on to. His eyes light up, brightening even further when Eustace finally takes his seat, and now he's surrounded by people he's quite fond of.

Maybe everyone else is being stiff and awkward, but Dokja is genuinely enjoying himself. ]

Come by when you have the time. It's not too far from our house, and...

[ Pause. Actually, ]

Where do you live, anyway?

[ Eustace's ears are always welcome in a thread. And the guy attached to the ears is always welcome at Gray's table, so she looks at him with a brief smile as he sits. His presence is as a space heater to her soul.

Anyway I'm sorry because Gray has nothing to add to Dokja's question, so she continues to chip away at her soup. She also has a bit of that crooked sliced bread, just because it looks so sad and Dokja worked so hard on it. ]

[ Can't believe I have to sit here and write another tag of Eustace eating soup. And yet that's exactly what he's doing, spooning himself chicken noodle soup while he sits silently and listens to Dokja lead the conversation. He never agreed to help out with the whole friend-making thing, technically, so it's not like he's breaching any contract here.

Still, it's a little awkward for them all to sit around like lame ducks waiting for their turn to pipe up so he (once again) sends out a little Communion message, this time to Gray.

Has dinner been okay so far?

If only he could be normal and say these things out loud. ]

[Suddenly, the feeling of being an outsider dawns on him as easily as it always had on the Frontier. It's as if... he is an anomaly situated between the found family of good people. Even Eustace's ears don't feel as Othering as being a ghastly, dark-coded half-vampire at a kitchen table.

He wonders if maybe he should politely take his leave, thankful at least for the opportunity for a bit of normalcy he doesn't think should be afforded to him.]

The housing provided to those Harmonizing with Meridian.

[He doesn't say this with any sort of tone to imply he finds it not enough; in fact, it sounds like he may think this is too much for him actually.

This is a man who usually sleeps in a barn, or the outskirts of a town because the humans within fearfully refuse to entertain his kind.]

[ YOU GUYS CAN ALSO HARASS D ABOUT HIS LIVING SITUATION

But it's okay, he'd seen this coming from a mile away because what else would this dinner entail with two stoics and a Gray. Dokja takes it all in stride, not bothered one bit as he sits up a little straighter in his seat at D's reply.

Normal people would call a house meeting for what he's about to do next, but normal people Dokja is not. ]

You should move in with us.

[ Gray responds to Eustace's Communion after a briefest of pauses, in which she decides not to state for the record that Dokja has been very weird about this. ]

D seems very nice. His horse, too.

[ She stops think-talking (thalking) in time to hear Dokja's offer to D. Gray blinks and straightens a little with surprise, her crooked bread slice still in her mouth, but the idea isn't offensive to her. And this is still Dokja's house in the end, so it's his right to invite whomever he likes. He's really generous, isn't he...

Gray glances around the table, trying to gauge the reactions of two most stoic people sitting here, before finally speaking. ]

Um... Slow Dancer's old stable is still in good shape, so Erebus could stay there.

[ Do it for the horse's comfort, D... ]

[ When you the player are gungho about an idea but your character is so reluctant.....sad.

Which is to say that Eustace's soup spoon freezes in midair once he hears that casually stated offer, any relief he might have gained from Gray's reassurance about dinner sailing right through the window. The awkwardness of dinner suddenly seems like such a non-issue in the wake of this news. ]

'Move in'?

[ Hello?? They aren't running some sort of orphanage here. And while D seems like a perfectly polite young man, Eustace is unfortunately crotchety and set in his ways, and the idea of a stranger just invading a place he finally feels comfortable in has him tensing in dismay.

No offense D, it's not you it's him. 😔 ]

[Somehow, these dingdongs have managed to make D looked surprise more times than he's ever looked surprised in years probably. Why in the world would they ever want someone like him around?

See, Eustace is right. (Also, he understands Eustace might not want the dude Eustace smooched just in the house. Awkward.) He errs on the side of Eustace's mild grumbling because while it may be Dokja's house, they are all together in it.]

Your offer is kind, but I wouldn't want to intrude. The housing has enough for me.

[Well... not... a stable... but... it's fine.]

Move in.

[ Dokja reaffirms as he sits back in his chair with his arms crossed. His soup is abandoned as he takes on this very stubborn stance, and only Gray is on his side here, he sees, but he assumes Eustace is just being his usual difficult self. ]

You wouldn't be intruding, and we have an extra room.

[ Soon to be extra rooms plural if what Dokja has planned comes to fruition. After losing close companions left and right throughout these recent months, he's come to realize the importance of keeping an eye on those he has left and, rather than address his separation anxiety, his solution is to hoard people at his house. ]

And Gray's right. We have a stable. I think Erebus would appreciate that.

[ Dangles horse bait in front of D... ]

[ Are her parents fighting... Dokja seems to value D as a friend so she'd assumed Eustace felt the same, but apparently they aren't quite as close. It's hard for Gray to tell how D feels other than surprised, so she isn't sure if she should support Dokja in being insistent, or respect the possibility that D might not even want to move in in the first place...

Tactfully, she decides to go the back route and nudges Eustace with a shy bit of Communion. ]

Mr. Dokja seems really invested in making sure D is taken care of... Maybe he doesn't want D to feel lonely?

[ In his heart, he knows that Dokja's offer isn't an unreasonable one, made even more clear as Gray does her best to diffuse his ramping tension. He doesn't answer her immediately, though there is an acknowledgment of her words as he stares back into his soup.

He doesn't sound very happy when he finally relents, after finishing his current spoonful of quickly cooling soup, but what else is new with him. ]

It's your house.

[ Which is maybe not the most enthusiastic of agreements but it is a concession of some kind. Unfortunately (I am using this word so much, I hate this guy) that seems to be his only concession to this conversation, as he immediately goes back to drinking his soup in silence. Truly he is the worst conversationalist out of all of them. ]

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