[IC] Primrose Terrace

[ViridianHue]

Kimiko was right when she figured Marie would know the stranger - Richardson. She knew everyone at the Terrace, her nature was to mother everyone. Kimiko normally found fussy people like her to be annoying, but no one could get irritated with Marie. A sense of respect had grown for the woman over the years. It's too bad she's not a bodyguard anymore.

Speaking of bodyguards, Caepllo was speaking to her and Kimiko turned to look at him again. The meaning behind his words finally registered and she turned beet red, blue eyes widening comically at him. "Th-That's not what I- You - Argh!" she groaned, turning away from him in a huff, hands flitting to her hair to hide her warm face. He never gives me a straight answer to anything! "Why do I even worry about you?" she muttered to herself as she left his side, stomping away to the kitchen to grab the food and aspirin for Gin, who had just come to her senses and was looking bleary-eyed at everyone.

Passing a group of people conversing in the hallway, she nodded in greeting to Thomas when she saw him, the only familiar face among them. She felt slightly bad seeing his drenched state. It seemed that the rain that she had started hadn't let up yet. I should really learn to control my emotions better. She sighed, shaking her head as she entered the kitchen, grabbing a bag of chips from the cabinets.

It was then that she noticed the young man she had seen writhing on the floor earlier, looking up in fright at one of the new tenants. This certainly didn't look like a game. "Uh..." Kimiko broke the silence, shifting her eyes between the two. "Everything alright here?"

[Blazion]

The Landlord was certainly busy lately, that much was obvious.

From her position leaning against the kitchen doorframe Claire silently listened to the conversation she could hear drifting down the hall, only to almost choke on her next bite of apple. An attack, really? The dullahan grimaced – as much as one who was constantly grinning could – and pushed off the wall as Kimiko brushed passed her to enter the kitchen only to follow on her heels. She knew of the other girl vaguely from living at Primrose with her old assignment, but that wasn’t important now. It was time for a new one, from what people were saying.

Claire tossed the core of her apple and went to exit once more to join in on the conversation only for Kimiko’s words to sink in and cause her to spin on her heel to look to the two she had seen earlier. The dark haired one was still soaking, but on closer inspection with a sweep of her green eyes, and a little squinting, he indeed appeared rather harassed. Distressed, even. She tilted her head slowly before commenting in her usual, cheerful voice.

“This reminds me of when my brothers would shove my head into the sink as a joke. I don’t think he enjoys this joke as much, though.” Claire inclined her head towards Yuen, even as her hand fell to rest on her hip; more specifically the belt around her waist. It was a durable leather that, in times of emergency, could replace a certain human spine. She of course didn’t mention how her head was usually set to the side of the sink before she figured out how to keep it on properly, and she ended up face planting the metal basin. Yeah, that little part could be kept to herself.

Really though she’d probably not need any force. Just a clash of personalities is likely what happened here, like cats and dogs. Really, people would find anything to argue about! Besides, if these two were both new tenants she might end up watching over one and having to take care of it, like Thanatos!

[Invader Len]

Yuen shakily got to his feet, grabbing onto the countertop to keep his balance. God, he still had water in his ears, at the very least the water had helped his eyes some, they didn't sting as much now. He was backing away from the borderline psychopathic elf, warily eyeing the exits, when two girls entered the kitchen, within steps of each other. One was clearly asian, Japanese, probably, while the other was a foreigner. He looked between the two of them as they spoke, in English, and from what he gathered, they thought this was a joke.

He could feel his cheeks flush red with embarrassment and anger, a joke, his ass! This person, they had shoved his head under the water like they intended to drown him! He crossed his arms in a large X sign, showing that it was not a joke, in case his sour expression made that unclear. He didn't have any paper near him, so, as he had dreaded, he would have to sign this out for them. He pointed at Feli, then the sink, and then grabbed at his own neck, making strangling motions and wheezing sounds. In an act of annoyance, he openly flicked the water off his hands at the elf, his tail tip twitching angrily and yellow eyes narrowed.

[Chenzor]

No... This was a terrible idea! Terrible! There are so many people in the lounge... I can hear more of them in the room next to it... How do I escape this?! Yuki thought, and wether Thomas gave her an answer or not, she was getting out of there. She hid her face in her high collar of the oversized sweater and raced for the stairs. Not running, mind you, just very fast walking. She knew her supposed apartment was 5B, and should have all the furniture in it already. Tap tap tap tap tap... She disappeared up the stairs, avoiding everyone and everything, before getting to the door. She fumbled up the key, put it in the lock, twist, turn, open, run in, bam... Safe at last!
She slumped against the wall, and sat down on the floor. People scared her. She wasn't usually this shy but from what she had heard, these people were... Well, not exactly human. Sure, she was shy to humans as well but humans she could handle. Attempts of her life and attempts of her kidnap had been thwarted most of her life, but these people... They were probably all crazy strong.

Shuddering, she hid her face in her arms, that were wrapped around her legs as she sat on the floor. She felt the straps of the backpack easing up a bit as it rested on the floor... Her whole life was in that bag. Some clothes, a book, a diary, a photograph, a pen, her wallet... She barely had anything. But that's changed now... Right?
She looked up, and eyed the part of the apartment that she could see from the door. It was... Really nice. Comfortable. She reached up with her hand to turn the lights on, and with the flip of a switch, the whole room lit up. She just gawked at her new apartment. It wasn't big, but it was damn nice anyway!
She stood up and made her way over to the couch, putting her backpack down. Her tail swagged back and forth comfortably as she began unpacking the little things she had.
Yep... That was it. Her entire life could fit onto one half of the couch. She used to have a lot of things back in Hokkaido, but when she left this was all she could bring with her. How ironic.

Her ears perked again... Was someone at the door?

[Athoriel]

Thomas inclined his head slightly in recognition of Capello appearing at his side. Funny, I don't recall.. His nose gave an irritated twitch. An illusion, of course! Am I truly getting this slow?

"Ah, yes, do we have our dearest guest to thank for it?" He asked in reply, giving a small shake of his head as the apparition addressed the other man in the hall before disappearing without a trace. He had thought the sudden appearance of rain to be odd when the news station had forecast it as bright and sunny all week, but what did humans know of meteorology when they didn't even know how easily it could be manipulated by a single entity.

The space that the illusion left was quickly filled with silence as Thomas observed the young gentleman in the hallway, he was German going by the accent that came through as clear as his discomfort, as he attempted to fill the void with conversation.

"Hallo, I'm Victor Steiner, one of the new residents."

"A pleasure Victor, I'm Thomas, but many refer to me simply as Tom" He said with as much of bow as his cane would allow him. He faintly noticed someone at his back, but they were speaking so quietly he had trouble discerning whether or not they were addressing him.

"Attacked you say? Well, no doubt Marie is in there with them, and if she were to catch me trailing water through her lobby like this... Well, it doesn't bode well to even think about it." He said with a warm smile. A blur of movement caught the corner of his eye, and his brow came down in a frown, feeling somewhat guilty at having not turned around earlier to confirm his doubts.

He gave a quick nod and raised eyebrow at Kimiko as she passed them in the hallway, chuckling to himself at the look that passed across her face at his drenched state, he once again turned back to Victor.
"I do fear everything is in disarray, forgive me, but I must take my leave. I believe some may be in need of a good solid drink before the day is through and what good is it to them if they find the bar closed?" He asked rhetorically, giving Victor a firm pat on the shoulder as he walked passed him down the hallway.

"Do come for a drink if you find this all as overwhelming as I." He added over his shoulder as an afterthought, quickly disappearing around a corner.

[Spawnling]

Capello's blue eyes watched Kimiko stomp out of the room, his face betraying no emotion outside of it's usual smirk.

"That's a good point Hime-chan."

In the entry way, Victor gave a nod and a smile to the bartender, stepping out of Kimiko's way. He had seen the girl around, she was mostly absorbed in her own thoughts or seeming to be fuming about something the fox said or did. He focused back on the soaked man.

"Thomas then."

The girl in the oversized sweater that had walked in suddenly blitzed past as Victor raised a hand to say hello. Thomas seemed somewhat perturbed by this, but moved on, giving the boy a clap on the shoulder and offering a drink. The Jabberwocky smiled politely, deciding against telling the man that alcohol caused...odd...behavior with him. He decided instead to head a bit more into the lobby, taking up a position behind the sofa as he watched the proceedings, hands loosely behind his back. His violet eyes fell on Capello, who merely grinned at the boy. Victor gave a sigh, pushing his glasses up with one hand.

"Mister Campana, I thi-"

The liar's hands straightened the boy's collar, this Capello sporting a shoddy wrapping of gauze on one arm, revealing it to be the real fox.

"Just Capello, Doc."

Victor gave a yelp at the sudden appearance, leaping forward and nearly tripping over the couch, his cheeks turning brilliant tomato red as he turned to scold at Capello...who was gone again, the original illusion chuckling. The fox focused on Joseph.

"Generally, the way it works is that our tenants choose a bodyguard they feel they can trust, and the bodyguard agrees to protect them. It isn't as easy as just making a choice. The tenant is trusting someone with their life, and the bodyguard is agreeing to give up their life if necessary. Neither is an easy thing to ask of someone you barely know."

Capello gave a shrug. Victor was rapidly trying to smooth his coat and hair, trying to hide the blush on his cheeks as he straightened his glasses and hurriedly walked out of the room, heading up the stairs to try and hide his embarrassment. The fox continued.

"However, at this point, I don't think it'd be wise for any of the tenants to leave without one of us accompanying them. And I highly encourage everyone to start seriously thinking about their partners. We don't need to make any rash decisions, but this situation has given us a curve ball to deal with."

The fox chewed on a cinnamon stick, folding his arms as he sat down on the couch next to Marie. So many new tenants. So many new bodyguards. Too many new faces, too many variables. He trusted the Landlord's judgement, probably the only thing he trusted in this world really, but still. It was hard to emphasize caution and still expect the tenants to have a chance at a normal life. Partnerships couldn't be forced onto others, it was something that had to feel right. He had several tenants under his protection, and it always felt...weird. They weren't comfortable around him, which was only natural, given his nature. But worse, he didn't feel comfortable around them. He would watch them, observe them. Protect them, he had never faltered in his duty. But when he looked at them, he didn't see a precious life to protect. It was just...something to do. That tended to make his contracts very...awkward.

Victor, finally regaining his cool, adjusted his cuffs, giving a sigh. The liar was the sultan of surprises, the Jabberwocky had learned that mere minutes from entering the Terrace. Victor's jumpy nature and habit of burning a brilliant red when shocked had made him a high priority target it seemed. He cleared his throat, took a few steps down the hall, and immediately jammed his hip on an end table, causing his hand to slam onto the door of 5B as he crumpled in pain.

"For crying out loud...."

[Dark Angel]

Marie sat up straight as she heard the front doors open. She could hear voices, and relaxed when she heard a familiar one drifting down the hall. She recognized it to be Thomas, Primroses bartender. She had known him for a while, and liked to think of him as a friend. He was one of the only people who she was sure knew about her drinking habits.

"Well, it seems Thomas has arrived. Although, if he is getting my floor all muddy and wet, I swear..." Marie paused, listening intently. There was someone else at the door. She could hear footsteps, running from the lobby and up stairs. Marie sighed, shifting back over to look down at Gin. "Good to see you are back to your senses dear. We were discussing the matter of bodyguards. Kimiko just went off to get some aspirin." Marie glanced around the room, smiling as Capello settled next to she and Gin on the couch.

Gin looked up warily, giving Capello a once over to check for injuries before facing the rest of the room. Her face reddened as she realized just how many people were in the room. How did they all get in here? Earlier, all she remembered was Kimiko Capello and Marie... She gave a nod to the people around her, fiddling with the end of her ruined shirt.

"Um, y-yes. I-I agree with Capello. We, uh, we sh-should probably stick together..." Her sentence died of at the end as she averted her eyes back down to the couch. So much had happened in the last couple of days, and she wasn't quite sure how to handle it. Looking up between Capello and Marie, she asked what had been bothering her since she had sobered. "Are you and Kimiko alright?" Her voice was barely a whisper, and her now visible ears flattened onto her head.

She was surprised when a hand landed on her head, softly patting her. Marie offered a warm smile before addressing the group once again. "Well, you are all safe here now, so you need not feel threatened. Primrose has quite a few skilled bodyguards, and you shouldn't underestimate the staff either." She winked at the last part, though it was true. No one messes with her family and gets away with it. She had to physically restrain herself from sending a man to the ER for harassing one of their female tenants, instead opting to break his jaw and nose. "However, we must take precautions. I will be setting a curfew for now. Everyone must be back before dark, and no going out until it is light enough. Please tell a member of staff if you leave, and never go out alone, especially when you think there is something amiss." Her face went serious while she said this, looking at each of the people in the room. There was no way she was letting them get hurt on her watch.

[Chenzor]

Having heard something outside her door, Yuki was frozen, her ears jerked in the direction of the door. Then suddenly... A loud slam against the door made her jump! "Eek! she exclaimed as she dived for the cough, hiding on the other end of it. Looking up, she scaredly gazed at the door. Was someone coming for her?! She heard someone groaning outside, and that certainly didn't make things easier, but something in her made her stand up. I have to "man" up! Come on Yuki you can do it! Whoever or whatever it is, you're not afraid of it! she thought as she took careful steps toward the door.
With a swift movement, she unlocked the door and opened the door. If anyone was -leaning- on the door with their hand after having, say, slammed their hip into an end table, the person would probably fall straight inside.

[Boop_Im_A_Dragon]

After silently watching the events occur both around and inside the room, a man stopped and decided to reply to Josephs comment. Though Joseph wasn't completely sure if it was the best course of action, he could understand the point he was trying to get across. It wasn't that strange of an idea either, his step-father being the man he was, would often choose his bodyguards to be those who where closest to him, those willing to die for him.

Quickly after the man quietly explained his opinion on the situation, he decided to sit next to Marie who seemed to be slightly panicked. Though he didn't know her for long it wasn't hard for him to tell that she was an extremely caring individual. Her words barely coherent at first, quickly changed to decisive and slightly commanding. The idea that a curfew would be in place was to him slightly unnecessary.

Joseph let out a slight sigh, and decided that they would probably know how to better handle this situation. "Well if you two believe this is the best course of action then I will leave it up to you" letting out a slight smile, to assure them that he felt the matter was resolved. He then sat quietly off to the side, waiting to see how the conversation would move forward, if even at all.

[Blazion]

To a Dullahan having your head not attached to your body was a simple fact of life, one that Claire has put up with since birth. So even though she knew that very few others, even her own family, couldn’t take their heads off their shoulders without serious consequences, the fact is it was just a daily thing for her that at times might be overlooked. In this case it was excitement at guessing games. Claire fancied herself rather good at it from having to mime to her own parents where her brothers hid her head during her childhood; she might have even guessed Yuen’s intentions correctly if not for the whole fact her head could be removed. Instead she merely brightened, almost bouncing on the balls of her feet.

“Oh! Oh! I got it – your head got stuck and he was trying to help remove it but the water was making it difficult to breathe!” If possible Claire’s grin widened, only to her brows to furrow over her green eyes. “But wait, how did your head get stuck? I mean, one time me and my brothers tried to glue mine to me but it just came off like-“ There was a rush of escaping mist as the Dullahan reached up only to pull her head off her shoulders to punctuate her story, the black smoke curling as it settled from the sudden movement. She still looked rather puzzled, though as always the grin never left even as she dropped her head back down. It teetered for a moment, Claire carefully steadying it before pulling her jacket back up over the seam.

“I suppose we could try just pulling it off if washing it isn’t working…” The young woman mused aloud with her head attached once more, taking one hand to rub against her chin thoughtfully. “Any ideas?” Claire added to the girl beside her, though with her focus so intent on Yuen’s neck she didn’t even look to Kimiko. The penny would drop for her eventually.

[Invader Len]

The Byakko's eyes widened in horror as the girl before him lifted her head right off her shoulders! What the actual fuck?! What the hell kind of monster was she?! He stepped back, his tail fluffed up and bristling like a feather duster of fear. What was wrong with her?! How was she still even alive?! What was that smoke rising up from the stump of her neck. However, the horror he felt then as she reattached her head was nothing compared to when she suddenly focused on his own neck, talking about pulling his own head! What?! Had his signs somehow been horribly misconstrued? Whatever, he had to show that he wasn't some headless freak!

He was embarrassed and humiliated, but without any other means to communicate, he had to show them. He pulled down his turtleneck all the way to his collar bone, exposing the horrific scars on his throat. Angry and red, it was clear to see the old puncture wounds of fangs along the edges of his windpipe, the violent slashes more violent further down, resulting in a blackened old wound where his voice box would be. His face was red as he quickly pulled his collar back up, hiding the terrible scars. For added measure, he made a zipping motion across his mouth, hoping that the obvious signs would get across the fact the he was mute.

[Spawnling]

Victor, Yuki

Victor gave a sharp yelp as he found his support removed out from under his hand. Fortunately, he was already crouching down, so the fall wasn't far as he rolled right into the room, head landing on Yuki's feet as he blinked, one hand still on his hip, up at the shapeshifter. The girl had pale skin and white hair. Large fluffy ears and a bushy tail peeked out from under an oversized jacket that looked like it was swallowing her whole. It took him a moment to register his predicament, and he quickly rolled up, spinning around to hop onto his feet, suit disheveled as he straightened his glasses as a raucous red blush surged across his face.

"Entschuldigen! I didn't mean, uh! That is, I hit the table!"

As if that answered everything. His hair stood up in long wisps as he tried to smooth his clothes. Calm. Down. Deep breathe, hold. Exhale. Using his favored method to calm himself down when things started to snowball, Victor straightened his collar, keeping his eyes shut as he regained his composure. Relax. You just fell. Nothing to be embarrassed about, just an awkward misunderstanding. He opened his violet eyes and gave a smile, though his cheeks were still flushed.

"Entschuldigen, excuse me, I'm just...a little flustered. The Fuschs-...I mean Capello sometimes has that effect."

He needed to stop calling Capello "The Fuschs". It was rude to not use his proper name. Though honestly, with how the demon behaved, it was hard to not simply give in sometimes. He gave a polite half bow of sorts, one hand placed to his chest as he introduced himself.

"I am Victor Steiner, a new resident. A pleasure to meet you Frau."

[Chenzor]

All the courage that Yuki had built up to open the door disappeared in the instant the figure landed on her feet. She froze... Which surprised her, normally she'd yelp and run behind cover, but instead she just froze. Her pale sheeks slowly turned red and she felt the burning sensation of blushing over her face. She took a step back, finally, as the young man regained his composure and stood up. "Entschuldigen!" he said, and Yuki blinked confusedly. What language was that? Ah, he's talking! Focus, Yuki!
"I didn't mean, uh! That is, I hit the table!" he said, and Yuki continued to look at him confused, scared and blushing. Once he recovered however, so did Yuki. Somewhat. "Entschuldigen, excuse me, I'm just...a little flustered. The Fuschs-...I mean Capello sometimes has that effect." he said, a thick accent too foreign for Yuki to understand. European probably? Was that really "too foreign"? Wait, what is he saying?
"I, uh..." Yuki stuttered. "It's alright! Sorry for... Opening the door on you!" She smiled shyly, mostly at herself because she was proud of the courage she had to talk to this person. The situation was awkward, but she was starting to forget about that. "What is... Capello?" she asked, still holding the door with one hand and covering her mouth with the other. Or well, with her sleeves rather, since they were so long.

[Spawnling]

Victor quirked a brow as he thought for a moment at her reaction. She must have been just as new as him. Ah, this was probably her first day here, hence the timidness.

"Capello is one of the bodyguards, he's a fox demon...uh...you'll...you'll meet him. He's not one to let you be unaware of his existence for very long."

The Jabberwocky looked around with a slightly worried expression. This situation was PERFECT for the fox to suddenly drop in, it was almost gift wrapped. Seemed he was still focused on the downstairs gathering. He focused on the girl instead. Manners, Victor. You managed to recover from that embarrassing first impression, don't let the awkwardness return. He smiled, pushing his glasses up with one hand.

"I guess you're new here as well, if you don't know about Capello yet. If you'd like, I can give you a tour of sorts, help you get situated. New places can be daunting, ja?"

It was only proper, since Victor had been there for three days. He had the layout of the building down, thanks quite heavily to Marie's seemingly endless font of energy and willingness to help the young boy. He could easily help this girl find her way around, introduce her to the others even...though...maybe it would help if he didn't call her girl.

"Uh, I didn't catch your name?"

[ViridianHue]

The rain had finally stopped, grey clouds dispersing to reveal an orange sunset in the horizon. The tall iron gates at Primrose Terrace mysteriously closed shut, the statues guarding its entrance standing ever so vigilant in their posts, seemingly harmless to the normal eye. Nothing could get in or out without encountering the stone guards, their red glowing eyes sweeping over the garden for intruders.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, the young man's frantic movements made Kimiko look from one to the other in confusion. Claire seemed to think it had been all in good fun, but he looked too panicked for that to be the case. She tilted her head, trying to understand the situation. Why wasn't he talking anyway? Was he rendered unable to speak because of the other man? Kimiko turned to glare at said person, who looked more baffled than suspicious. Before she could ask him any questions, Claire casually pulled off her head, making the young man even more frightened.

"Uh, Claire, I don't think his head can be unattached like yours can," Kimiko told the Dullahan, glancing at the girl only when she had attached herself back. She still wasn't used to her so casually ripping her head off. It wasn't particularly gruesome, but it was still rather unsettling. Though, she had to admit that the byakko's reaction to it was hilarious. It wasn't that bad.

"Don't worry, she means no harm," said the Ame-Onna, trying to reassure the panicked young man. "She's only..." Her words died in her throat as he pulled down his sweater to reveal scarring around his neck. Kimiko's mouth formed into an 'o' as the reason for his silence finally dawned on her. The wounds didn't look fresh so his attacker couldn't have possibly been the other male. Perhaps what had transpired between them had simply been a misunderstanding. She couldn't clarify it though, for he had disappeared sometime when they had been preoccupied with Claire's re-attachable body parts.

All Kimiko could think was that she wasn't very well-equipped to deal with this. What did one possibly say in these situations? She didn't even know his name. She looked around for a means to communicate properly with him but couldn't spot any.

So, she blurted out the first thing she could think of when she looked down at her hands.

"Um... would you like some chips?"

[Chenzor]

"I'm Yuki." was her response after a moment of silence. Just that. It was a kind of muffled and low response coming from behind one of her sleeves covering her mouth. "I'm new. I just got here." she continued. "I... I take it there are a lot of demons and shapeshifters and... All kinds of people here then? A-anyway, I'd love a tour around the place.". Her sentence got quieter as it neared the end. She was shy to accept the offer, but she found strength in the fact that Victor seemed easy to talk to. He was new as well, it seemed. Not as new as Yuki, but still.