OPEN SEASON 2.

[crawly]

1. pick a character.

☛ optional.
☛ character list here.
☛ full list.
☛ specify in the subject line if you want one character in particular.

2. provide a prompt.

☛ image, words, music, whatever you want.
☛ i like to think at least one of my three tumblrs has something interesting. (be warned that all three blogs contain nsfw material, including porn.)

3. gotta go fast.

☛ not actually. this is a permanently open post! tag at your own speed.

previous post here.

Comments

[obscurant]

You know... [ hisoka sees the cracks. to him they're something interesting, better even than the mask.

slowly, he leans closer. ]

...I would like that.

[specialization]

[Hisoka in his personal space sets him further on edge. the proximity isn't the problem, but the sensation of not having as much control over this situation as he wanted (the whole point of inviting Hisoka over was to keep the control in his hands), it unsettles him. only making things crack further while he stays still, unwilling to back down or away.]

The planning or the killing?

[or both.]

[obscurant]

I'd prefer the latter. ♥

[ hisoka hangs there for a moment longer, then draws back. he steps away, not looking even though he turns his back on chrollo. quietly, he walks to the windows and looks out. ]

[specialization]

[he's there, and then he's not, and Chrollo can fantasize about somehow silently getting his knife and dashing up behind Hisoka and putting it to his throat-

ah, but he's not stupid. he's not done it in years, and Hisoka was saying he'd done it just that morning. his own death would be swift and it would be his fault for it.]

Didn't you say this morning that I wouldn't replace you?

[saying back to him is as good as agreeing with it. but Chrollo rises from his seat all the same, coming up next to him to look at the view of the city. from up here, everything's quiet, calm. the noise and chaos of the world hardly exists.]

That you were valuable to me, and I to you. Do you think that's changed because of some disclosure?

[obscurant]

[ hisoka smiles, his reflection visible in the mirror, but he doesn't turn even when chrollo comes up to him. ]

Perhaps it was a passing wish. ♦ Nothing more, nothing less.

[ someone turns their lights out, below them. ]

[specialization]

[he lets that sit for a moment, silence speaking where he might. denial, agreement, all of it is possible in the space between, but he'll let it be unconfirmed. let Hisoka draw his own conclusions.]

...Your turn for a question.

[if you still want them.]

[obscurant]

[ hisoka has questions, dozens of them, but many of them amount to why not do it again, or why haven't you learned more.

he doesn't care much how chrollo learned to do it in the first place, just that he'll do it again. ]

Did you like it?

[ it could be anything hisoka's asking about, but there's a curve to his smile that isn't the usual one. ]

[specialization]

[for a long moment, Chrollo says nothing, instead stepping up to the window and resting his forehead against it, palm pressed to the glass, looking out but not seeing what's there. instead he sees the past, the exact wounds his knife could inflict on someone. and then, so soft it could be missed, he gives his answer.]

I did.

[why lie, when lying gave him nothing in this situation? when he felt like all but his most closely kept secrets could be unlocked and pried from him? oh, he did this to himself, certainly.]

[obscurant]

[ hisoka wants to reach out, right then, when chrollo leans against the glass, transparent and soft. so he did like it.

how beautiful. ]

I wish I could see that. ♦

[specialization]

Careful what you wish for, isn't that what they say?

[it's automatic, the reply, while he's mired in his own memories of what happened. how it had been the only recourse he could think of. how he knew no one would look at him, for him. the exact sound a person makes right before you cut their throat.]

[obscurant]

Will you grant my wishes, then? Chrollo.

[ hisoka draws his name out, even if it's not his turn to ask.

and when it comes to seeing it, chrollo expects he'll be able to get what he wants soon enough. this conversation is going well, in his opinion. ]

[specialization]

There's no reason for me to do it again.

[that one sentence is both a quiet not if I can help it as well as a small admittance. he did it for a reason, not for pure pleasure. something was behind it for him to move. as it is, everything in his life right now can be resolved without killing.]

I doubt that will change.

[obscurant]

[ he says that, but hisoka has no doubt that he'll be able to change it.

but he doesn't push it any more, simply steps away and goes back to his wine. he swirls it in the glass, not drinking. ]

Now, any questions left for me?

[specialization]

None that you won't answer in time.

[he steps back from the glass, but where he goes is back to how he was before Hisoka even called him. back to sitting, picking up his book again. something peaceful, if not for the other man in the room. at least he's not kicking Hisoka out of his space before he decides he wants to leave. he brought wine, he's already taking his time, Chrollo doubts he'd be able to move him if he tried. the most he can do is quietly accept it.]

[obscurant]

[ hisoka does take his time, since he's not being directly kicked out. anyway, he wants to look around. casually, socked feet quiet on the ground, hisoka wanders about chrollo's apartment, sipping at the wine.

(from time to time the slight burn of alcohol is necessary to distract him from other urges.)

eventually he's gleaned what he can from the room and comes to one of the doorways that leads deeper into the apartment. hisoka pauses there, but even if chrollo does speak he steps through. ]

[specialization]

[for its homey interior, it reveals surprisingly little about a personal life. tastes in decor and literature, sure, but the sheer variety of books has no coherent theme, and if everything wasn't naturally disorganized, it'd almost look fake.

(that's intentional, he'd cleaned up when he was waiting for Hisoka, a quick pass through to remove much of himself from the place. no wayward notes jotted to himself, his coat actually put in the closet instead of tossed aside like it usually was, music turned off. things hidden even in plain sight. all deliberate.)

by the time Hisoka's moving to go further, he's gotten absorbed in a paragraph and doesn't see him go until a few seconds have passed, at which point he actually gets up to follow him so he can stand in front of the last door that will lead to his bedroom, blocking Hisoka from going in that way. the only other doors lead to a bathroom, a closet, and a washer and dryer. very boring.]

If you wanted a tour, you should have said.

[obscurant]

[ is the closet full of black clothes.. ]

Will you show me everything?

[ hisoka has stopped, but leans forward to chrollo, one hand behind his back and the other still holding the wineglass. ]

[specialization]

[it has black coats, yes, but there's also a red one. which Chrollo never wears and yet never gets rid of. leave him alone for his fashion taste.]

Do you need to see everything?

[that's his space, more so than anywhere else. he's not going to just open it for anyone to look at.]

[obscurant]

Is that such a sin? ♦

[ and they know all about sin. ]

[specialization]

I don't know about it being a sin, but I know there's nothing interesting in that room.

[which is a poor way to phrase it when he's over there keeping it blocked off but...]

Why do you want to see it, anyway?

[obscurant]

Nothing?

[ nothing at all? hisoka doubts that, he really does. ]

Simple curiosity. ♦ What's wrong with that?

[specialization]

It's my room.

[the way he says it, it's so mild it could be stating the obvious. but the look in his eyes says differently - really, Hisoka, first you delay the photo shoot and then you want to see his bedroom? it's a bit much for one day, in his humble opinion, and he sees no reason to step aside.]

[obscurant]

[ hisoka makes eye contact with him, soft smile going sharp at the edges. ]

Another night, then. ♣

[ he pulls back, finally returning to the door. he's mostly done with his glass of wine. ]

[specialization]

[and when Hisoka leaves, Chrollo can finally relax again.

he keeps the wine, though. the same way he would have kept the rose if he hadn't needed to seem so disbelieving.

at least work goes smoothly enough for the next several weeks. it's enough that he can bury himself in it, drown out thoughts that aren't dealing with getting things in order, making looks perfect, sewing things into place. work is fine, his personal life is fine - no one's manifesting out of the dark to whisper hello, and so he thinks the strange incident, as he thinks of it, can be set aside.

the event he has to go to is one of those where it's better to make an appearance than to not, where some were swanning about in bright colors and grabbed all the attention. one hour, maybe two, is all he plans for. not that he's unsociable, hardly, but with everyone notable already people he's accounted for and he's certain to see at other times, the best he can get out of this is reputation. it's the done thing.

Chrollo is one of those who shows up in black, a more formal version of what he usually wears, and it helps him pass through easily. chatting, laughing at the right moments, telling himself to ignore a certain presence he noted on the other side of the room while he holds court on this one. when Hisoka gets involved, it always tends to end up complicated, he stays out twice as long as he means to, and occasionally he has to make excuses on the man's behalf. it's easier when he stays away.

which is why his luck, naturally, has someone asking Hisoka to come over just as he's rising to make one more slow pass around the room and then depart. he can't not greet him, so it's with the distant smile he always wears that he does.]

I didn't know you decided to come.

[obscurant]

[ hisoka is decked out in pale pinks and soft creams, his hair a near-magenta to stand out against everything, but matching his nails. among the dark suits and bright dresses, hisoka still stands out.

he comes to chrollo's table at a decent clip, stopping right by his seat. ]

I was invited.

[ he rests his hand on the tabletop, drawing his hand along over to chrollo's glass even while he turns to greet and say hello to the other people at the table. ]