summonthesuit | IC Inbox

Hi Joshua! I'm chuffed to meet you. Any chum of Nanami's a chum of mine.

I don't mind at all. Let's hear it!

Wonderful to hear! Thank you for taking the time to consider my request.

You are a Naphil, correct? Mana has requested of me a feather, freely given.

[Someone using the term Naphil instead of incorrect singular Nephilim? Steven likes this guy already.]

Huh, that's funny. She requested that of someone else last week, too. Wonder if there's really something special to Naphil feathers after all.

Did she specify if it needs to be freshly plucked or not? Cause I've got a couple that were shed a while ago.

[He may be buttering him up. He also may be a big fan of correct word usage. Both can be true!]

Oh? It does make me wonder. Perhaps they contain some sort of purifying property.

She didn't specify, no. Only that it be freely given. I assume a shed feather would be just fine, and infinitely less inconvenient for you.

Freely given's an easy one. You can have it with my blessing and everything.

Should I drop it off somewhere, or can you stop by to pick it up?

I don't mind stopping by to pick it up. It's the least I can do, considering I'm the one requesting it. Where would you like me to go?

I'm over at the 38-8 building. Flat 206.

Ah, yes. I'm very familiar. My fiance and I moved into 104 when we first arrived. I'll be there shortly.

[And by shortly, he does mean shortly! As in ten minutes. He must have been very close by! The knock on the door is from a child's height, though, but no less firm for it.]

[~~Shortly and short!~~

Thankfully, Steven didn't need all that much time to prepare. He has a small collection of shed feathers and while at first he felt a little silly about keeping them, Saint-Germain's request last week already confirmed there's use to these things after all. Joshua's vindicated it even further.

When he answers the door, his gaze is automatically at a higher height, then immediately swoops downward when he realizes he's facing a 3'5" Pooka.]

Hey! Joshua, yeah?

[There's something very funny about being expected to be much taller, but Joshua doesn't laugh or grin in response. His smile is a bit wide, though, as he extends a hand out and up.]

That's me. And you must be Steven.

[He was expecting at least 5 feet in height! It's fine, though. One of his best pals is a Pooka, so he's pretty accustomed to adjusting his view. There's no hesitation to shaking Joshua's hand.]

That's me. Steven Grant. [He sounds almost proud about that, somehow. His hand retracts and he takes a step back.] D'you wanna come in, or do you have to jog on once you have the feather?

[As Steven's hand pulls back, so does Joshua's, sliding right back into his coat pocket. Behind him, his tail briefly shakes, then flattens smoothly up against his back.]

I'm on break from work, but it isn't far from here, and I can be back in a flash. [Ha! Because, literally, he can.] I suppose I can step in for a few minutes. Better than standing in the cold, anyway.

[Since Steven has already stepped back and basically invited him in, he'll go ahead and slip on inside. His paws are a little cold.

[The door is snapped shut behind Joshua to keep the cold out, and with that the way is led inside. Welcome to Steven's apartment! It is... a little cluttered. He's got a bookcase full of books, with little knickknacks perched on the shelves in front of them. Doodads in a glass display case, whozits and papers spread out across a desk... A few feathers are already laid out on the table. Probably most eyecatching is the model of the Great Pyramid of Giza, which Steven crafted by hand out of limestone.

When you can't sleep, you have a lot of time for pastimes. A lot.]

Can I ask what you're buying from Mana? You don't have to say if you don't want to, I'm just curious.

[It certainly looks like the apartment of a Naphil. From his couple of months as one last spring, he can easily recall the inability to sleep, and just how much he had been able to get done while the rest of the house was busy resting. He'll have quite a bit of time on his hands now, that's for certain. Enough time to probably read through the entire new stock at the bookstore before he has to shelve it.]

I don't mind talking about it. It will be easy enough to notice in a few days, anyway. I'm asking Mana to change my form permanently.

Ooh, really? That takes a proper load of coins, don't it?

[Steven's never looked into it, because even with a Naphil's drawbacks he's perfectly content the way he is. He does know that others had to save up for a long time, though.]

It does. She took 120 of them from me, though I had more to offer. My fiance permanently changed earlier this month, too, and she took the same amount from him.

[He shrugs, letting his eyes skim over the accumulated hobby-clutter around the apartment. The pyramid is of particular interest, and he keeps his eyes on it for a longer moment, tipping his head a bit. Hand-made, or perhaps commissioned? He can make out faint tool marks.]

Normally, I'm a Naga. Winter lasts too long in this place, though, and I've spent the past year saving up to permanently become something closer to what I am at home.

[Ooh, a Naga! Steven hasn't really met any of those yet. He's seen them around sometimes, but never struck up any proper conversations.]

Yeah, I can see how Naga might be a hassle. The body seems real tricky to navigate, too. Or maybe that's just how I'm picturing it. [He shrugs his shoulders lightly.] So what's closer to what you are back home, then?

It isn't too difficult, once you get the hang of it. Much different muscle control. It's the first time in my life I've had any sort of abdominal definition.

[His fingers flex in one of his pockets, rubbing against a smooth stone. It's the only thing he's found that allows him to stay relatively still.]

A Naphil, actually, so I'm not too surprised Mana asked for a feather from one.

[The mixture of astonishment and confusion that washes over Steven's face might be a little rude, but he can't help himself.]

Hang on... You were something like an angel back home?

More or less.

[It's said with a very nonchalant shrug, but he's smiling at that expression. It seems like that's more or less the response most any time he tells someone. He does enjoy seeing it!]

We do have all types here, after all. Is it that strange to think that not everyone was human before they were brought here?

Well, I mean... [His shoulders hunch uncomfortably, but only out of embarrassment.]

There's cookies running around, so I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. I just didn't think actual deities could end up here. Like, I figured you'd be... immune, somehow?

[And that gets a sigh.]

You know, you'd think that. Unfortunately, the powers that be seem to have other plans. Maybe they think it's funny.

Or maybe it's part of some ineffable plan? [He wouldn't know. That's why it'd be 'ineffable'.]

Either way, it's a good thing Mana can change you back to something more up your alley. I was a normal human being back home, so Naphilhood is about as unfamiliar as most other types would be, I reckon. It's nice, though. Feeding aside, I kind of like it.

That would be my guess. I have theories. There's no telling how correct they are, though.

[Very meta, very fourth-wall-breaking theories. But, not everyone jives with those! So he refrains.]

I've been one before, but only temporarily, and the feeding is the only thing I didn't care much for. I've heard that she can change your feeding type, too, so that's on the list for later on, I think.

Oh... She can, can't she?

[He's heard of it, but never seriously considered it for himself. All of the feeding types are horrible, in his opinion. At most, he'd consider switching to energy, but right now he's sharing his 'meals' with an energy feeder. If he were to change to that just for his own comfort, there'd be more deaths. This isn't about him, though.]

What would you change it to?

WELCOME TO YOUR PRIVATE CHANNEL, HASNOFEAR. FOR SECURE COMMUNICATION, USE 13.15.15.14 * HASNOFEAR has joined 13.15.15.14 <HASNOFEAR>** Hello! This is Steven Grant! If you need something, just leave me a message and I'll get back to you asap!

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