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Post by Meryck on Jan 31, 2010 21:48:57 GMT -5
Reg's smile widened seeing his, unaware of the irony of the situation. "I thought it might. You're welcome."
And then she promptly flop-hugged him again.
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Post by Elf on Jan 31, 2010 23:35:16 GMT -5
Chrono let out a light laugh. She was pretty good at this flop-hug thing.
He gave her a light squeeze back, his smile distant. Thank you, Reg. I feel better now.
Bzzzzt.
Chrono blinked. All traces of the smile vanished immediately. He perked up, scooting back a bit from Reg and her hug. "Did you hear that?"
And then, click. The room went dark. Only the soft, cloud-filtered daylight shining through the window lit the room now.
Chrono's shoulders sagged. He heaved himself off the bed with a sigh. "Looks like the power's out."
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Post by Meryck on Jan 31, 2010 23:47:01 GMT -5
"..." Reg sighed. "Dammit." She stood, grumbling. The house's heat wouldn't last for long, then. Time to find the nice, warm, power-outage blankets. And her trenchcoat.
Not to mention she was going to need a spoon and one of the jars of her Nutella on the counter once everything had been found. (How was it she was the only one aware of how good that stuff was, anyway? Ran she could forgive, Crysta was weird, but her own BROTHER didn't like it either...something was just messed up about that.)
Ms. Valentine was already hunting the candles for nighttime down while Corey was coming in with the aforementioned blankets (well, one thing out of the way) and throwing them over next to...
Her trenchcoat! Two things out of the way then. The girl trotted over and quickly slung on said trenchcoat, buttoning and tying it shut in a manner of seconds.
Goddamn the jackass who came up with blackouts.
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Post by Elf on Jan 31, 2010 23:56:26 GMT -5
Chrono grabbed his headband from the nightstand, pulling it on and pulling his hair out of it. Even with his hair properly braided, it was good for keeping his bangs out of his face, not to mention ensuring that no one had to get an unfortunate look at his empty eye socket. He pulled the headband down a bit on the left side, just to be safe. He pulled on his leather, strap-covered boots for that bit of extra warmth, and glanced at his blanket. Sighing, he picked it up, crossed the room, and draped it over Ran's huddled form. The poor, cold-blooded kid was going to need it more than he did.
The elder demon descended the stairs to find the family already bustling about with power outage preparations. A smile pulled at his lips; clearly they'd gone through one of these before.
"Ms. Valentine," Chrono stopped the lady of the house in the hall as she quested for more candles, "what side of the house is your fusebox on? I'll take a look at it if you like, see what can be done."
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Post by Meryck on Feb 1, 2010 0:05:59 GMT -5
Crysta blinked up at the demon. "Well...alright. One second." She vanished inside of her office, then, a few moments later, returned with a large trenchcoat- a Chrono-sized trenchcoat. "Here. It's not much, but it'll be a little warmer than just going out there in a sleeveless shirt. It's on the left side of the house."
Meanwhile, Reg was busy hunting down the flashlights and book-lights. While doing so, she grabbed her book of Shakespeare's plays from her room. She was going to need something to do, after all.
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Post by Elf on Feb 1, 2010 0:51:32 GMT -5
The demon's face lit up at the sight of the coat, like a subdued version of a kid at Christmas. He promptly slipped his sleeves into the trench and settled it about his shoulders. The khaki-colored coat fit like a glove. Chrono pulled on the lapels, looking endlessly pleased with himself.
"Thank you!" he said, giving Crysta a genial smile. "This'll help a lot. I'll be right back."
A few seconds later had Chrono's leather (and thus blessedly waterproof) boots clomping through the snow. He headed around to the side of the house Crysta had indicated, and lo and behold, there stood the fusebox. This side of the massive house was little more than a narrow alley, with a thick, towering brick wall running along Chrono's left that stopped in a dead end. The fusebox itself sat on the house's outer wall right between two cooling units.
The box was, predictably, locked, but a few seconds of clever maneuvering with sharp, demonic nails was all Chrono needed to pop it open. His eye roved over its contents, and he scowled. Yup, a couple of the fuses were iced over, and one of them totally fried. Getting them out was easy enough...but whether the Valentines had spares on hand was another matter entirely.
Another tricky thing was the fact that this was an OLD house, with an OLD fusebox, which meant a lot of confusing wiring that looked like it could catch aflame if something was poked wrong. Chrono's lips twisted in thought.
"There's nothing for it," he muttered. "I need both hands for this."
He darted a glance around him just to be sure; still, with the brick wall extending even over his head behind him and to his left, he was completely out of sight from the outside world. The only way anyone could see him at ALL was if someone came his way from the rest of the backyard proper--which would only be the Valentine family, of course.
Chrono shucked off the trenchcoat and set it on one of the cooling units, biting back the shiver as the cold January air bit into his skin. It wouldn't do to rip up such a lovely trenchcoat, not after Crysta had JUST given it to him.
The air around the demon flashed. Before the brightness faded into the ambient glow off of the snow, his form had already changed. That stomach-turning, crackling noise sounded in the air as once more, the skin on Chrono's stub of a right arm split into honeycomb patterns and sprouted a discolored hand. The greyish hue of the badly-regenerated limb looked less like a corpse and more like stone warmed over, yet judging from the peculiar sheen from the skin, it looked less like skin than it did the hard, unyielding shell of a beetle.
No matter how freaky it looked, fingers were fingers, and having ten of them was a definite must for a job like this. Chrono pursed his lips as he held down a couple of wires with one hand and began gently wiggling a fuse out of its holder with the other.
As a few more minutes passed the demon realized, much to his frustration, that the damage was much more extensive than he'd originally thought. The one fuse's blowing up had taken out a couple of others. Plus, the little explosion had apparently melted some of the ice that had accumulated within the box, and now the water looked in danger of frying a few more. He had to be slow and cautious when removing the fuses, moving with surgical precision so as to not disturb the rather scary-looking wiring that suffused the rest of the box.
Yet no matter how cautious he was, an 80-year-old wiring job was still an 80-year-old wiring job.
KERZAP!
"WAH--" Crunch!
A rather impressive electrical surge later, Chrono lay slumped against the brick wall behind him, having been blasted into it point-blank. Cracks in the brick wall feathered up from his body's point of impact.
It only took a moment to collect his wits, climb to his feet, and shake himself off. "Whew! That was a rush!" The demon rolled one arm in its socket, making sure it hadn't been dislocated, and winced as the movement strained his wings, both of which were looking rather crumpled and lopsided.
But his little rush of exhilaration turned into a slump of gloomy disbelief as he surveyed the damage to the fusebox. The thing was completely blackened.
"...Well, crap." Chrono sighed, scratched his head, grabbed the trench coat off the cooling unit, and trudged back inside.
Reg was the first person he ran into upon re-entering the house through the back door. He set his trench down on the back of the couch and grimaced as he looked up at her. "Well, I have good news and bad news," he said sheepishly. He held out one clawed hand, revealing three little fuses inside. "The good news is I got three of the damaged fuses out of the fusebox. The bad news..." He scratched at his head. "...is that now the whole box looks like it exploded." As evidenced from the demon's singed hair, blackened fingers, and crumpled wings.
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Post by Meryck on Feb 1, 2010 1:07:36 GMT -5
((OOC: Because SOMEBODY got the image of Oberon!FullDemon!Chrono in my head...my apologies to the Bard. Again.
....It's not fair, he's in FullDemon!mode too...damn you, Elf!))
"What thou seest when thou dost wake,
Do it for thy true-love take,
Love and languish for his sake:
Be it ounce, or cat, or bear,
Pard, or boar with bristled hair,
In thy eye that shall appear
When thou wakest, it is thy dear:
Wake when some vile thing is near."
Reg had been innocently reading lines from her favorite character in her favorite play on the couch when Chrono walked in. Two jars of Nutella were on the table before her- one open with a spoon in it, and one closed with an extra, just-in-case spoon lying on the cap.
She blinked in surprise upon seeing him in his Full Demon form- and moreover, him being charred in said form. Her face fell at the news.
"...Well, damn." She sighed, blinked, then furrowed her brow in concern as she noticed his crumpled extra appendages. "....yer wings look kinda-broken. You all right?"
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Post by Elf on Feb 1, 2010 1:35:43 GMT -5
"Oh, I'm fine," Chrono answered cheerily, waving a dismissive hand with sheepish grin still firmly in place. "Just a little rumpled. Never the worse for the wear." As if to demonstrate, he stretched his arms high over his head, and stretched his wings out laterally--and let out a wince as some bone in his wing audibly popped. "Ack." He lowered his arms with a sigh. "I...kinda hit the back wall when the box exploded. Don't worry; it's already mostly healed." He tried to get his smile to change from sheepish to reassuring, but it didn't work out as he had planned.
"Your mom has someone she calls on things like this, right?" Chrono inquired, a little worriedly, "since with a box like that, you'd think stuff like this happens all the time...Cause it looks like I was more of a hindrance than a help after all," he admitted with an embarrassed chuckle.
He realized all too abruptly that he should drop his Full form before moving further into the house. Broken or not, wings were cumbersome inside and took up too much space. A long sigh bled out of the demon's form as, with another barely-perceptible flash of light, his wings, visible horns, and Viscount's raiment dissolved, leaving him with his normal sleeveless shirt, baggy leather pants, and boots. Chrono promptly picked up the khaki trench from the couch and shrugged it on, hoping to ward off winter's chill.
He wouldn't mind sitting for a bit. His arms still stung quite a bit from the jolt they'd received. And, seeing nothing better to do until Crysta made a reappearance and he could report on the fusebox, Chrono lowered himself onto the couch next to Reg, sighing.
He blinked at the book in her hands. "Shakespeare?" he wondered aloud. The lanky demon leaned over a bit, eye scanning over the page. "Oh. A Midsummer Night's Dream, huh?" He gave the girl a warm smile. "That's a good one."
Chrono leaned back against the couch cushion, folded his arms across his chest, and let his gaze wander amidst the ceiling moulding. In a low, faraway voice, he began to quote:
"Every fairy take his gait;
And each several chamber bless,
Through this palace, with sweet peace;
And the owner of it blest
Ever shall in safety rest.
Trip away; make no stay;
Meet me all by break of day."
"Hmph." Chrono closed his eye. "I always thought Oberon had it pretty rough, even though he went about things completely the wrong way." He sat up and turned to Reg with a smile. "Let's face it: bewitching your wife isn't exactly the smartest way to get back together with her."
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Post by Meryck on Feb 1, 2010 1:52:23 GMT -5
((OOC:....that was even MORE unfair, Elf.))
Reg's face briefly fell into a "Holy Hell", stunned sort of expression upon hearing Chrono quote her favorite lines in the play. She quickly regathered herself, chuckling. "Yeaaaaaaah, marital issues or not, that's JUST not the way to go about it." She took a quick spoonful from the open Nutella jar before snuggling into the cushions.
...Wait a second....
Her face bloomed into a grin as she decided to lean on Chrono's shoulder. "Ah. Much better." She began reading again, this time without actually speaking the words.
Amen, amen, to that fair prayer, say I;
And then end life when I end loyalty!
Here is my bed: sleep give thee all his rest!
With half that wish the wisher's eyes be press'd!
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Post by Elf on Feb 1, 2010 2:06:30 GMT -5
Chrono had a pretty good idea of what that expression meant: "Since when did you know Shakespeare?" He chuckled lightly at the look. What do you know; I'm just full of surprises.
"Definitely not," Chrono said, quiet merriment lacing his voice.
But he blinked, eye widening, as the girl decided to use him for a pillow. His bemused expression gradually gave way to a resigned one. Headstrong young women would be headstrong young women; what was the point of protesting? Besides...loathe as he was to admit it to himself...human body heat made a much comfier warmer than a trench coat did.
Chrono let out a sigh as she settled in. With her slumped as she was, it was quite easy to read over her shoulder, so he did just that.
Through the forest have I gone.
But Athenian found I none,
On whose eyes I might approve
This flower's force in stirring love.
Night and silence.--Who is here?
Weeds of Athens he doth wear:
This is he, my master said,
Despised the Athenian maid;
And here the maiden, sleeping sound,
On the dank and dirty ground.
A low sound, halfway between a 'hmph' and a chuckle, echoed through Chrono's chest. Puck. Literature's greatest trickster. Chrono always had to shake his head whenever he read Puck's parts; Puck wasn't his favorite character, but it was hard to hate him, still.
Puck's lines seemed to be contagious, as a mischevious thought flashed through Chrono's head. He didn't have to be the ONLY one in this house subjected to hair-ruffling...especially not when Reg's head was right there. His hand plopped onto her scalp, ruffled her black bangs, and fell back to his side.
"Hm." The scent of that--stuff, brown stuff, indiscernible brown stuff--that Reg was eating had been poking him steadily since he sat, and now he could ignore it no longer. He finally spoke up, in a quiet tone that befit the tranquility of the snow-covered day. "What're you eating there?"
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Post by Meryck on Feb 1, 2010 2:15:17 GMT -5
Sadly for Chrono, Reg had been brought up with hair-ruffles and didn't even blink when it was done unto her.
She did blink at the question, however, looking up at the demon briefly. "Hm? Oh. Nutella. S'kinda like a chocolate spread only healthier. And tastier." She popped another spoonful into her mouth. "You probably wouldn't like it. No one other than me does."
There was a partial grouse in that statement, but it was silenced by another spoonful of the sweet brown stuff.
"You can try it, if you like, though. I don't mind." She lightly gestured to the other spoon resting on the top of the closed jar as she put hers back in the open jar.
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Post by Elf on Feb 1, 2010 2:28:43 GMT -5
Chrono let out a disappointed sigh. No reaction. Oh, lovely. That meant he was the only one on the receiving end of hair-ruffling who would actually react. Which made him a prime target, of course. Just lovely.
The demon blinked back at the girl after her explanation of the brown substance. "Chocolate spread?" he mused quietly. "It smells like hazelnut."
"Hm." No one liked it, did they? Well, he'd see about that. Chrono leaned forward--effectively taking Reg with him in the process--to grab the other spoon, then leaned back again, dipped it in the jar, and bit off the top of the glob.
He blinked. His eyes widened. He blinked, stared at the spoon, and blinked again.
"WOW." Chrono shot Reg an incredulous look. "And why does no one but you like this stuff?" He promptly popped the spoon in his mouth to worry it like a sucker, settled back into the cushions, and resumed his reading of Shakespeare over Reg's shoulder. "Mm."
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Post by Meryck on Feb 1, 2010 2:37:43 GMT -5
Reg rapid-fired blinked before grinning happily. "Apparently, we're the only ones with properly-working taste buds." She chuckled, snuggled a bit more into Chrono's shoulder-slash-side, then continued reading, suddenly feeling warm all over even though the temperature in the house was dropping by the second.
O, wilt thou darkling leave me? do not so.
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Post by Elf on Feb 1, 2010 2:45:52 GMT -5
He returned her chuckle. "Must be." That warm smile showered her again as she snuggled a bit closer to his side, and he didn't mind a bit, headstrong young woman though she was.
Chrono promptly decided that if a hair ruffle didn't work, he needed another tactic. His height seemed like a good weapon--so he slung his arm over the top of her head.
"Mind if I double-dip?" he asked lightly, reaching his spoon over her and towards the jar of Nutella. He'd already scooped up another glob of the stuff and planted the spoon into his mouth before she could answer, but returned his arm to being draped over her head as if nothing at all had been said.
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Post by Meryck on Feb 1, 2010 2:52:52 GMT -5
Reg blinked and shrugged- she didn't care in the slightest. But that arm was going to have to move if she wanted to read comfortably. She squirmed a little, making the demon's arm fall from her head to her shoulder.
Much better.
She snuggled back in and kept reading.
Made senseless things begin to do them wrong;
For briers and thorns at their apparel snatch;
Some sleeves, some hats, from yielders all
things catch.
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