Development (Pigeon x Kurobear)

[Kotorichan]

Li-ya obediantly raised his hands for the man. "what do you mean 'shop'?" he questioned. "is there somewhere that all humans go to get their clothes?" he tilted his head to the side and tried to imagine such a place, but he couldn't really think of what it could even look like. "this place is so strange..." he sighed, giving up on figuring these things out.

[KuroBear]

"Strange at first, yes, but it is a more convenient lifestyle that being out in the forest," Haruto put the army green colored shirt over Li-ya and fir his arms through the sleeve holes. The clothing hung down like a big drape over his shoulders, the neck being so wide around that it had slipped down his shoulder. It didn't fit the spirit at all, but it covered everything it needed to, "There we are. You can wear these shirts until when we look for clothes at the shop as you predicted. They have other things too like food and toys and such."

[Kotorichan]

Li-ya carefully stood up, making sure that his feet didn't slip. "what... Um... What should I do now? Do you want me to stay here while you get some dirt? Then I can make a bunch of flowers for you" he smiled at the idea of having some flowers in the apartment. It would make this strange place a little more like home.

[KuroBear]

"For us," he corrected, shaking his head, Haruto stepped back and gestured the door, "But not yet, Li-ya, have you forgotten that i had told Akuma to prepare us lunch for you and me?" The red-head took the wet towel from the bed and put it over the spirit's shoulders with a smile, "He'll get what we need some other time... Hm. I wonder what he brought for us. Hopefully it'll be new to your tastes and you'll enjoy it."

[Kotorichan]

"food? you mean we don't have to search for food?" Li-ya carefully followed after Haruto, trying to get used to the feeling of walking on the smooth floor. He had to grab the wall to keep his balance at one point, but mostly he managed to keep his balance pretty well. The spirit tried to just imagine that he was walking on ice.

[KuroBear]

Haruto kept one foot ahead of Li-ya, but had mad sure he would catch the spirit just in case if he fell- it's the least a man could do, "Searching for food is very primitive, little spirit, so we definitely don't do that. There's food everywhere you go, but you can only have it if you have money," the redhead explained, "We trade money for food and basically anything we want. Money can be in the form of individual dollars, coins or a card. I use a card." The man's eyes kept finding and sticking to Li-ya, who looked very cute with an over-sized shirt. It made him smile, but before he realized it, they made it to the dining table. It was sushi placed neatly on two square, white plates, and the sauces beside them were held in tiny glass bowls for dipping. Akuma sure did know Haruto; sushi was something he could eat all day and never get tired of it.

[Kotorichan]

Li-ya stared down at the food with wide, curious eyes. It looked strange and beautiful, but not in the way that the fruits and animals in the forest were beautiful... "What is it?" He asked softly, leaning closer to get a better look. He had temporarily forgotten about all the questions he had about the human's 'money' for now he was only interested in the new food before him.

[KuroBear]

"Sushi, Li-ya, and please take a seat~" he pushed out one of the chairs for the spirit and motioned him to sit, "Before I tell you what it is, I'd like for you to try it first. It's one of my favorite things to eat, I'm sure you'll love it as well. It's fresh, healthy, tasty... all the things I love in dish. You may of had some form of this in your forest, but... Still not telling!" Haruto chuckled, and hoped to the gods that this wouldn't somehow kill the spirit or something along those lines just because it was fish.

[Kotorichan]

"Su... Shi..." Li-ya repeated slowly, making sure he could remember the name. "it's a secret?" He felt a little bit nervous because of the man's refusal to explain it. He sat down and stared at the food for a moment.

 

He didn't recognize the white rice or the seaweed... But he could tell what the fish was and some of the vegetables seemed familiar. The spirit usually just ate meat and fish when there was an imbalance in the ecosystem. He slowly picked up a piece and put it in his mouth, carefully chewing. It only took a few seconds for a big smile to cross his face. "it's good" he mumbled through the food.

[KuroBear]

"Wonderful!" After pushing the other's seat to the table, Haruto took a seat himself across from Li-ya and settled in. He never found so much satisfaction from another's happiness. The spirit sitting down like this looked normal, besides the horns on his head. The deer legs he had always seen were hidden under the table, so all he saw was this boy that had beautiful long hair, a soft face and a precious scent.

 

Out from the kitchen came Akuma with two glasses of water, the younger man's voice breaking his slight trance"California rolls, sir and guest! It's fresh, so I hope this fancies your liking." His attempts to speak formally like Haruto didn't necessarily fail, though the words just sounded strange coming out of his mouth.

[Kotorichan]

Li-ya jumped at the sound of Akuma's voice, dropping the piece of sushi that he was holding. He looked up at the human with wide eyes like a deer in the headlights. "Do you live here?" He asked softly, a bit confused as to why the other man was still around. The spirit's face scrunched up as he tried to understand what was happening... Akuma had said he worked for Haruto... But it was hard to understand what that meant... It seemed like they lived together alone... So... "Are you two mates?" He asked suddenly. It seemed like the only logical conclusion, since there obviously wasn't a pack that Haruto was the leader of

[KuroBear]

Haruto had taken one of the cups from Akuma and had brought his lips to the rim to drink, but the sudden question made him gulp down on it harshly, making him choke up a bit. The pink haired man put down the other glass and pat his boss's back as he tried to get things straightened out, becoming slightly flustered, "No, not at all! I don't live here either and- and I just work for him, that's all!"

 

While Akuma started to laugh nervously, the red-head cleared his airways and shooed the assistant's hand away, "Little spirit, he works for me remember? To make it more clear, think of working for someone like a trade. He gives me his services and I give him money... no... mates."

[Kotorichan]

"Oh... That makes more sense..." Li-ya looked down at his plate with a frown. He felt so stupid, he didn't know anything about this world and kept making mistakes that probably seemed incredibly childish to the humans. He took another bite of food but the flavor failed the cheer him up. The spirit only came to protect the forest... It wasn't like this was a fun vacation and it definitely wasn't because Haruto wanted to show him the wonders of this new world. As Li-ya remembered this his eyes started to tear up. He was really just a prisoner now...

[KuroBear]

Akuma pursed his lips slightly, sad to have to agree with Haruto. The younger man did think his boss was very attractive, but he never let that fact influence in his work. His pink eyes looked down at his boss, who was drinking fine this time, and noticed the way he looked at Li-ya. Haruto would never admit to having emotions suggesting he was wrong, but all Akuma could see in his eyes was regret. What was going on in his head to feel such a thing? In the time he had spent with him, Haruto always displayed a dominance that always told people he was strong. He didn't look so strong now... "Sir, it is about time I leave isn't it?"

 

Haruto blinked slowly and set his glass down with a nod, "Indeed, but if you can do something for me that would be great. I want you to find the biggest flower pots you can and get as many as you can too. Use my card information to purchase them. Soil and some paints will be great as well. Understand?" The red in Haruto's eyes look different again, a more determined look in them.

 

"Y-Yes, sir!" The other says, smiling, "This is where I go, so..." Akuma looks to Li-ya, "It was nice to meet you. I'll be seeing you again soon!"

[Kotorichan]

"bye..." Li-ya said quietly, trying to fight back tears. It felt like he had done nothing but cry all day, and Haruto probably already thought he was weak. The spirit kept his gaze on the table and forced himself to eat another piece of sushi, despite the fact that he wanted to stop already.

 

He slowly looked up at Haruto, his chest tightening as he fully made the connection between the death of everyone he cared about at this person in front of him. It really was this human's fault... If he hadn't cut down the trees for all this 'technology' then things wouldn't have turned out like this.

 

Li-ya suddenly shoved his plate away, his shoulders trembling in a mixture of anger and sadness. The spirit struggled to stand up, overwhelmed with the urge to get away from Haruto.

[KuroBear]

It was when Akuma had closed the door on his way out that Haruto noticed something wrong with the spirit, and it was even more clear when Li-ya pushed his plate away rather harshly, "Li-ya?" He didn't hesitate to get up from his own chair to help the spirit stand straight, "Li-ya! What's the matter?" He had seen the other look sad, but he didn't expect to see such actions taken by such a shy, flinchy spirit.

[Kotorichan]

Li-ya tried to push the human away. "D-don't touch me!" he snapped, his face twisting into an expression of pure anger. "I-I don't want to be touched by someone like you!" the spirit shut his eyes tightly trying to force himself to stay angry, to keep himself from breaking down in tears. He wanted to hate this man so much, he wanted to keep thinking of him as the person who murdered his friends and family. But Haruto kept being nice and kept being gentle. He took a shaky breath and tried to step away.

[KuroBear]

His expression filling with confused worry, he took every step that Li-ya tried to put in between them, "What? Someone like me... What am I to you then? I haven't done anything to harm you, Li-ya. I'm keeping your forest safe. I'm doing no wrong. I think it's best if you take a breath and just calm down." He tried to make his voice as soothing as possible, but his 'lack of experience' with another's emotions was not so keen and he sounded slightly annoyed. In his actions, he takes Li-ya's hand and holds it firmly, but not with force, "Please."

[Kotorichan]

"It's all your fault!" Li-ya started to raise his voice as he jerked away. "It's all your fault that all my friends and family are dead! I don't want to like you, and you keep getting nice, and it's not fair!" he covered his face with his hands "you give me nice food, and comfy clothes, and soap, but you killed them! I saw them die one by one because you wouldn't stop!" It was becoming hard for him to stay angry. "I just want to hate you..." he sniffled.

[KuroBear]

"Li-ya just..." Haruto stops and bites down harshly on his lip. All of his friends and family... dead... The thought of that made the man start to feel choked up himself. He really just wanted to say it wasn't his fault, but it was and wasn't at the same time. He had arranged many tear-downs, but if he knew that living spirits were living off of them, he'd at least try and work something out. He was no murderer... However, Haruto had a feeling the little, last spirit in front of him needed to match the losses of his people to a face. He needed a fuel. With a quick breath through his nose, he comes back to his self and now grabs Li-ya, embracing the poor soul, "Just... Stop."

[Kotorichan]

Li-ya leaned into the man's embrace, trying to hold back tears. "I just wanna hate you... I'm all alone because of you..." he finally gave up and burst into tears, clinging to the man's shirt. "I w-want them back... It's scary" he sobbed, barely audible through his tears. "things used to be so nice..."

[KuroBear]

Holding Li-ya close, Haruto close his eyes and nodded understandably, speaking with his voice thick with emotion, "I know... I'm sorry for your losses. Every single one of them, Li-ya. I really am." His arms that wrapped around the spirit tightened, all his feelings of regret coming at him all at once. He takes a breath and talks, "I want to lessen your pain. I don't want this little spirit to be scared..."

[Kotorichan]

"how are you going to do that? I'm all alone now... you're gonna exchange me for money so you don't need money from the forest..." Li-ya took a deep breath, managing to slow his tears. "I-I don't even know how you're gonna make money off of me... it's so scary..." he bit his lip and pulled away. "I don't wanna be scared though"

[KuroBear]

Was... he really going to sell Li-ya anymore? His eyes lowered, do knowing that it was his original plan, but after a mere few hours with the spirit, Haruto felt like he was just more than a product or something with a price tag. He found out he really liked Li-ya's smile and the way he adored little things like soap. There'd be no other fragrance that would make him stop whatever he was doing just to admire it. Who else could make giant, beautiful flowers? No. With new products in the market, the popular things are always mass produced- there was always another one somewhere in the world... There was only one little spirit left. After a very long pause, Haruto said as he pat Li-ya's back, "There won't be a reason to be scared. I changed my mind."

[Kotorichan]

"you changed your mind? about what?" Li-ya pulled away a bit so he could look up at the man with tear filled eyes. He could only hope that the human meant changing his mind about making money off him, but he was scared that he meant something else... What if he changed his mind about keeping the forest around? Or about being nice to the spirit? Li-ya's lower lip started to tremble as all the possibilities ran through his mind.