World Tree MUSH

    The Tokyo Metropolitan Area of Hyouka's world is exactly as bustling as would be expected of a near-future world. The tech level is /just/ getting into the realm of a proper cyberpunk world, which means that cybernetics are still exceptionally uncommon and there's not much in the way of holographics or the like; on the flipside, however, someone bearing the hallmarks of vampire heritage seems to actually fit right in. A few curious glances, and little more than that... probably because, every now and then, something like an elf or an oni goes by on the street. The supernatural is out in the open here.

    As to Hyouka's home in specific, she lives in a high-rise condo in one of the most expensive regions of Tokyo - and that's saying something, given how expensive it is to live anywhere in Tokyo proper. It's the sort of place one has to buzz ahead to get let in. Of course, Hyouka is glad to do so for Serrah, and when she steps off the elevator, there is only a small hallway leading exclusively to Hyouka's door. Which she has already opened in preparation.

    The apartment itself is spacious and well-appointed, and relatively tidy; the only oddity is one corner of the otherwise-expansive living room being taken up by an extremely large and advanced machine of... some sort. The cyborg in elf's clothing has currently flopped herself onto her big primary sofa, watching a stream from some sort of virtual entertainer or other.

    "Come on, you don't need to hide the charging cradle."
    "I- I know but."
    "No buts about it, Alty, we're moving this right now."
    "A-ah, Leene, wait!"
    "You're just plain silly hiding from your Master."
    "It's- it's complicated okay!?"
    The sound of this little exchange can be heard from within the apartment walls, before a pair of black and white emerge from beneath one of the AC fixtures; revealing where Alty had hidden her charging cradle after all this time, as they come dragging said cradle out with them.
    Leene has, for the most part, displayed a compltely drastic shift in personality with herm memories restored. She's actually quite the vocal and outgoing little thing, compared to her timid and meek sister unit- who is looking pretty glum at being told off about hiding her charger for so long.
    "I just didn't want to be in the way." Alty says with a tiny huff.

    Serrah steps into the apartment, dressed in a black marshmallow puffer coat and carrying a plastic bag; unbeknownst to her, the bottom is starting to tear. "Uh, hey guys," she says, glancing around. "I, uh. Hyouka, I was in Alola in ... my friend Luke Gray's blossom, and I accidentally got more malasadas than I meant to, so, uh ..." The bag starts to rip. "Whoa, sh--"

    One timestop later, she's clutching the bag to her chest.

    And two peach-flavored jellycans, which she'd completely failed to catch or indeed even notice falling out of the hole in the bag, clatter to the floor and roll directly towards Alty and Leene.

    "... it." Serrah's face goes blank. "... y'know what, I don't have any performatively aloof-and-independent excuses for that one."

    "Oh, it's fine, it's fine," Hyouka calls out to Alty and Leene, waving a hand breezily. "If she feels more comfortable with it down there, I don't mind." In truth, she'd wondered where the little shinki had screted the charging cradle, so that's a mystery solved, but she's also content to leave it there.

    More importantly, they have a guest! "Ah, hello, come in, come in," Hyouka greets. She's just about sitting up when the bag gives way - and suddenly things change quite a bit. "...that's so hard to get used to," she says after a second or two of confused blinking. Ah well. It looks like Leene and Alty's presents just delivered themselves, so that's fine.

    "Anyway, can I get you some tea? Coffee?" Hyouka asks, as she pushes herself up to her feet. "I don't think I've ever had malasadas before."

    Huff huff.
    Alty is pretty huffy about the reveal of where her charger had been this whole time, but the Altines rallies pretty quickly when it turns out they have a guest.
    "Oh, Serrah, hello." Alty pipes up
    It's actually Leene's turn to be the timid one now, rubbing at the back of her neck and scuffing her foot.
    "O-oh. Um. Hi! You were ah... ... You kind of saw me when I wasn't at my best... I'm sorry."
    And then.
    Peach jelly.
    Alty makes a diving leap for, what is her favorite flavor, while Leene's rolls towards the Altlene.
    "... Is this... For us?" She seems genuinely confused by the gesture, while Alty is already unscrewing the cap and starting to drink right from the can.

    Serrah laughs weakly. "Stopping time is just a reflex for me now," she says. "... Actually I'm pretty sure it was also a reflex the first time I used it after I died. Uh, anyway, coffee is definitely good, thanks."

    She smiles faintly at Leene. "I should be the one telling you that," she says awkwardly. "I mean ... when we got you out from under Tanaka's thumb, I was definitely not myself. So ... I apologize for ... slapping you onto the ground like that."

    She pauses at Leene's question, and realizes that even if Leene's the one to get Alty's charging cradle out of hiding, she is still in many ways ... a bit behind. "Oh! Um, yep," she says. "I ... very obviously got one for Alty and one for you, ahahaha." She shakes her head. "Go ahead, it's yours."

    Alty's eagerness earns a soft, amused giggle from Hyouka. "Well, I'm just glad both of you are feeling more yourselves," she says, both to Leene and Serrah. She's already walking across the condo to her kitchen area, where a coffee machine is fired up and waiting. "You take creamer with your coffee? Sugar? I don't have anything non-dairy on hand, if that's a problem." Despite her usual, laid-back attitude, Hyouka's attentiveness as a hostess is surprisingly on-the-ball; 'practiced ease' is the phrase that most readily comes to mind. Not quite 'more energetic', but more awake, and moving with the confidence of someone in her element. "How are you doing recently, anyway?"

    Up come Leene's hands. "N-no it's fine. It's okay. Really. If niether of us were ourselves it couldn't be helped." She says, slowly holding up the jelly can in her hand to examine it, "Ah, peach. That's--"
    Alty's favorite, considering how quickly the Altines is chugging through hers. In fact, in the next moment she's done.
    Leene slowly opens up her can and lifts it for a sip--
    "Ahhhh..." Only for Alty to sidle closer with puppy eyes.
    Leene lowers the can-- then raises it to her lips.
    "Ahhhhhhhh..."
    She lowers it again. Brings it back up--
    "A-ahhhhhhhhhhhh..."

    "..."
    "..."

TIt can't be helped, and a beat later, the Altlene is giggling. "We'll share it."
    With that decision made and a pair of tiny glasses produced to split the second can the pair return their focus to Hyouka and Serrah.
    "The Hartford Empire isn't giving you any trouble right now, right?" Alty does ask.

    Serrah waves a hand. "I can take any coffee, but with creamer, please," she says. "I used to be a barista in my world's New York City. I'm pretty sure the only thing that might be a problem is garlic, and even that one's something I could handle now." Beat. "Just not in coffee, to be clear."

    She nods at Leene. "Right," she says softly. And that seems to be that. Though she does chuckle at Alty's enthusiasm for even Leene's jellycan.

    And then there's that line of questioning from Hyouka and Alty. "Ah, one of the hard questions," she says dryly. She shrugs, and in a burst of shadow, her coat dematerializes, revealing a long-sleeved black shirt with the text 'I FLEXED AND THE SLEEVES FELL OFF'; she sets the damaged bag down on a countertop before she moves to sit down on the couch where Hyouka was a moment ago.

    "I'm ... doing fine," she says finally. She pauses. "Or, well, not fine-fine. It's ... I've lost more than an entire freaking year of my life to, to being dead. And now it's kind of weird, knowing I don't have to keep ... paying attention to that feeling I always had, of a sort of vague sense of how far away Vincent was, in case he came after me."

    She glances between Hyouka and Leene. "... I was turned into a vampire by this jerk, Duke Vincent D'Ambrosio of the Hartford Empire. He saw me on TV after I helped foil a bank robbery, and he just decided he had to have me as a minion. We permanently killed him ... at the end of October, with Alty's help. And with Emperor Jeremy Hartford's stupid thinly-veiled blessing. Least we got paid," she mutters. "And ... like ... I'm kiiiind of trying to take it easy? It's not like I like adventuring or being a hero or all that stuff. But ..." She shakes her head. "... yeah. Kinda trying to take at least a little bit of rest by comparison."

    Hyouka falls still for a moment, just watching Alty's reaction to Leene repeatedly moving as if to drink the jelly can. She finally has to reach up and cover her mouth, muffling another giggle.

    She wasn't part of the whole business with D'Ambrosio, so hearing Serrah explain it clarifies a lot. "Ah, I see, I see. That's one aspect of adventuring I hope I never have to deal with, having some centuries-old person or other decide to use me as a pawn. Here you are," she adds, coming back around into the living room area with a fresh, steaming cup of coffee. "I can't really boast barista-level skill, but I did used to work in an office, so it should be passable, at least~."

    After she's handed off the coffee, the woman turns and plops down on the sofa as well. "As far as taking it easy goes... mm. It depends on why, I'd say. If it's for your physical health, then absolutely take it easy. If it's for your mental health..." She shrugs. "Take it easy if you feel like taking it easy? If you feel like going out on an adventure, just holding yourself back would be worse for your mental health, I think. I walked away from a stable job to take this life up. My working situation's never been shakier, but I've never been happier."

    DARGN finally decides to chime in. "You have neither rent nor utilities to pay, nor do you need to eat to live. You're not exactly a good case study, Hyouka." The faux elf coughs nervously. "W-well, that's hardly the point."

    Peach. Alty just loves it that much.
    "Mmmmmm..." The Altines, however is much more somber as Serrah explains things for Hyouka and Leene's sake, rubbing the back of her neck.
    Too many bad memories of a certain vampire saying 'What's up my dudes'.
    "Taking it easy is good." She says after a beat. "Considering everything you've been through, you deserve it."
    Leene purses her lips, one hand reaching up to idly brush fingers over the scar that crosses her nose in an absent motion.
    "... Vampire politics sound scary."
    "They are." Alty says almost instantly.

    Serrah shrugs. "I wasn't an adventurer at the time, but yeah," she says, accepting the drink from Hyouka and taking a sip. "Hey, it's fine, coffee is coffee." She pauses. "I mostly worked in the backroom, by the way, I didn't actually make orders or work with customers, I just have, like, a practical subset that works for me." She shrugs. "But yeah, Leene, you don't know the half of it."

    She sits back, just considering for a moment. "I ... do wanna check up on Mina at some point," she says. "That's Wilhelmina Nocturne, she was Vincent's head maid who he sort of inherited. She'd been turned by his grandsire, who ... really messed her up." She shakes her head. "She's living, I mean, uh, staying with my parents right now." She glances back at the two shinki. "I guess rescuing you kinda hit me where I live, Leene."

    Hyouka listens, her attention long since diverted away from the TV. She's got her own drink already sitting on the coffee table, a small bottle of sake; this she picks up, simply drinking directly from it, rather than fussing with a serving bottle or cup. "Very scary," she agrees with Leene, before adding, "And Vincent's family sounds like a real collective piece of work." Settling back again, the woman takes on a thoughtful look, staring at nothing in particular. "I can't really claim anything similar in regards to those two," she finally remarks, gesturing to indicate Alty and Leene. "I don't really have that kind of trauma in my life. I just can't help myself when I see a kid in trouble."

    It's settled. Vampire politics are something Leene never wants to be involved in vampire politics. Too bad Alty's already been hip deep in it already after Serrah out, but that's niether here nor there.
    "I remember Wilhemina." Alty does pipe up. But the explanation is largely for Leene anyway. Nevertheless the Altines rubs at the back of her neck. "How is she doing, anyway?"
    There is a beat of silence as the sisters glance toward one another, Leene beginning to fuss and fidget with her fingertips. "I'm really sorry I put you all through that." Leene mumbles, only to get a light pat on the back from Alty.

    Serrah nods to Hyouka. "Yeah, 'piece of work' sounds about right for the entirety of Hartford's vampire nobility," she says dryly. "Vincent's only noteworthy for being a bigger and louder idiot than most of them. But, uh ... yeah, I think the World Tree is better for people like you, Hyouka." Beat. "And I don't wanna hear anything outta you, DARGN."

    She shrugs in response to Alty's question. "I don't know, that's the problem," she says. "The Empire isn't actively looking for me, but I'm not exactly trying to poke 'em with a stick, either, so I haven't been in touch."

    She looks sidelong at Leene. "It's fine," she says. "I figured, I owed Alty for helping me out. Both before and after the Vincent thing." Never mind that Serrah had originally helped Alty get out of the same situation Leene was in ...

    She regards her coffee for a moment, then smiles faintly back at Hyouka. "I'll be honest, just getting the time to relax here is nice," she says. "Even if it's only for a few hours or whatever. It's just ... yeah. -- Oh right, we should get the malasadas, shouldn't we." She glances over to where she left them on the counter.

    "I don't have the faintest clue what you could possibly mean," DARGN replies to Serrah in deadpan.

    The praise has Hyouka squirming a little, though, and she covers it by taking another swig of her sake. Glug. "Here, I'll go grab them," she says, before smoothly moving up to her feet; a few quick steps across the room, and then she's coming back with the bag. "As for you," she adds, with a nod towards Leene, "You didn't put anyone through anything. The bastard responsible for all that is safely behind bars and facing the consequences of his actions. And you're not to blame for what you do when you've essentially been turned into someone else entirely."

    Plop. Right back down on the couch, with the bag on the cushion between herself and Serrah. "So what are these, anyway?"

    Ah the malasadas, yes. Shinki can't eat- not physical food anyway, so while Serrah and Hyouka get the snackfoods, Alty and Leene plop down to sip at their jelly.
    "In fairness, you helped me first." Alty does point out between slow sips, before she scrunches her nose. "It's probably a good idea to not poke a vampire bear." She does add in regards to the empire.
    Leene is a little quieter for a moment, scuffing one foot before she does speak up.
    "He's... Not getting out any time soon, is he?"
    It's a question that Alty mirrors in silence, the two shinki turning scarlet and sapphire eyes on Hyouka questioningly.

    Serrah nods. "They're basically sugary fried donuts, sort of," she says. "Except they're round. -- I mean, they're, like ... the ... sort-of-disk-shaped kind of donut?" She shrugs, getting one out. "Nice as, I mean, the same kind of snack as donuts, really. Definitely an interesting change of pace. These ones are a Hawaiian version of ... a Portuguese ... actually y'know what, I don't actually know if the version from the 'pokemon' world actually corresponds to the ones from the different Earths." She shrugs again, and simply takes a bite.

    She awkwardly waves Alty off as she swallows. "Yeah, yeah, I just ... happened to be there while I was trying to hide from Vincent, I wasn't ... trying to ... eh." She focuses back on her malasada.

    But then she glances between the two shinki and Hyouka with a frown. "Right, I never did get the chance to look up Tanaka's ultimate fate, now that I think about it," she murmurs between bites.

    Hyouka reaches over to take a malasada, looking it over curiously. "Ah, okay, like a donut. In that case, itadakimasu~." Nomf. "...mm! Not bad, I like it." Nomfnomnom. "Thank you for bringing these." The cyborg takes a second one out and works on it a little more slowly, glancing between both Serrah and the shinki duo before nodding a little. "Well, I don't know what the particulars are about the laws he broke, but I know most of them were very serious, and the evidence Murphy had on him was extremely solid. He's going away for a good long while."

    She brushes her fingers off on her pants, then reaches over to grab her bottle of sake again - before pausing, and glancing over at Serrah with an embarrassed look. "Ah, you drink? I've got another bottle..." She's guessing not, given the coffee, but it's polite to offer!

    Tanaka wound up with a lot of crimes under his belt. Most of which revolved around illegal shinki fights for dirty money. That's not getting him out of jail any time soon, and when he does get out he'll likely never be allowed to own a Shinki again, let alone buy one from any respectable retailer. The evidence was more than solid, it was ironclad.
    It's something the shinki sisters can take solace in as they nod to one another approvingly at the results they hear.
    "Good." Alty says after a beat. "We never want to see him again."

    Serrah chuckles. "Itadakimasu," she echoes, with just enough of an accent to be noticeable. She nods at the news about Tanaka. "Good to hear the laws are working somewhere," she says softly. She looks at Hyouka. "Oh! Uh, I can drink in principle, it's just, I mean, I'm fine with my coffee." She gestures with the cup Hyouka already gave her.

    She smiles to Alty and Leene. "I guess you two can rest easy too, eh?" she says. She sits back. "All's well that ends well all around."

    Hyouka says dryly, "I think if I ever saw him again, I'd be the one getting arrested, for assault." She gives Serrah a lazy sort of thumbs-up, then downs the rest of her sake, setting the empty bottle back on the table. "That was the ending I was aiming for, though. Making sure these two can live without worrying about anything unless they choose to worry about it." She settles back on the sofa, enough so that she's almost lying back as much as she is sitting, and laces her fingers over her stomach. "The world isn't always so pretty, but it's an adult's job to aim for the best outcome they can manage, and for once we got the really good one."

    Rest easy. That's. Yeah they finally can. No more fighting for their lives in some back alley arena, and that's the end of it. It's more than a good outcome, considering Alty begins nodding enthusiastically- only to squeak when Leene hugs her arm to her chest. But then the Altines and Altlene are both flashing tiny little grins.
    "I don't think that'll be necessary anymore." Leene says in regards to assaulting their former owner.
    "We're pretty happy here, now, I think, Master." Alty says matter of factly.

    Serrah chortles. "You 'n' Uni both," she says. She takes a moment to finish the malasada, and shrugs. "And me, maybe." She shrugs, and nods to Alty and Leene. "But ... yeah, all right. Yamada's not worth the trouble."

    She pauses, as a thought seems to strike her. "Hey, uh ..." She hesitates for a moment. "... jeez, I feel weird asking about this ..." (She's really not good at asking others for help.) "... Uh ... Would it be all right if ... I ... actually, y'know what, never mind." She looks away frowning awkwardly.

    "I'm glad to hear it," Hyouka replies to Alty, beaming.

    Serrah seems to have something on her mind, though, and Hyouka turns in her seat a little to listen. As awkward as it sounds, she keeps quiet, giving the dhampir space... but then it falters. The pseudo-elf arches one eyebrow, amused. "Now come on, you know I can't just let it go after all that. Go on, tell big sis Hyouka what's on your mind."

    There's a pause.

    "'Big sis Hyouka'?" DARGN asks. Hyouka hisses a soft, "Shush."

    Oh it looks like Serrah has something she wants to ask. The shinki quiet down for a beat, staring pretty intently, quite curious themselves.
    "Go on." Leene says first.
    "Would what be alright?" Alty adds in, waiting expectantly.
    No there is no questioning 'big sis Hyouka' from either of them.

    Serrah snorts. "Not helping, DARGN!" she says, a bit more forcefully than intended. "Uh." The two shinkis' interjection cause her to deflate slightly. "Ugh, fine. Would it be okay if I crashed here for a little while?" She quickly tries to backpedal. "-- I-I-I mean, it's fine if not. But. I mean. Well I'm not saying ... that Dante is a bad housemate if you aren't in the middle of a crisis, or that Devil May Cry is a total pit. But. Uh." She grimaces. "But I'm ... not not saying that either."

>> SUMMARY[Serrah Delany] >> (Tsun, tsun)

    There's another pause.

    And then Hyouka breaks out into soft laughter. "Goodness, I suppose that does sound about right for him." She sits herself up a little better, then turns to properly face Serrah. "Alright, sure. I keep late hours most nights, but I'm fairly sure I'm not as bad as he'd be. I don't have a spare bedroom, but I do have the futon from my old apartment, we can make you a space out here."

    Oh that's it? Even Alty can't help but cover her mouth to stifle a giggle. An honest to god, actual giggle. Though Leene looks a bit baffled, in the end it looks like it's settled when the futon is going to be coming out.
    "Well. We sure don't mind." Alty says once she recovers from her little giggle fit.

    Serrah winces at the laughter, but she looks slightly relieved when Hyouka actually answers the question. "Late hours are fine, my sleep schedule's kind of fucked anyway," she says, slightly red-faced. "Sunlight is ... still a little uncomfortable. So ... uh ... yeah."

    With that having gotten off her chest, she carefully starts to relax. "I'll ... I guess ... I mean ..." She shrugs, and shakes her head. "Thanks, guys," she says finally.