[ the sunlight creeps over the town, stretching out to its outermost edges: a usual sight. somehow, he always feels as if he's one step away from it all going to shit.

the market is teeming with life -- stores and stands welcome all with open airs.. vibrant bursts of color pockmark the town square, but that's hardly noteworthy. sha-ming's attention is affixed on something more important...

the faeries, flitting around him, chattering endlessly. his mouth cants into a long line, curling at its edges, feline-like and lackadaisical. one fairy sits on his shoulder; another is yanking at tufts of his black hair. ]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Tell me more about you, babe. What kinda environments do your peeps thrive in? Whaddya chow on? You guys pacifists? What are your mating rituals like...do you guys br--

[ another fairy swings a leg right into the back of his head, whoops. ]

Just tryin' to learn! [ and then there's you, and sha-ming's head pivots to greet you wordlessly, a hand raising. ] Hey, you. I'm taking notes on these little bastards, think you can tell me anything? They're cagey as hell...

[ the fae burst into a chorus of laughter. ]

Laugh it up, cause I ain't giving in -- even if you play hard to get.

[ tucked away in the joint minato + sha-ming household is a so called "office". books strewn everywhere, papers scattered across the floor, writing on the wall...

and animals. live animals. there are a handful of chickens, plump and merry as they waddle aimlessly. a sheep, standing atop a worn mattress, baaing eagerly at the sight of you, dogs vigorously ringing around one another, cats sprawling their legs across his desk... it's a wreckage, and yet somehow, everything here is--

healthy. happy. safe. pawing at his legs, nuzzling at his ankles, crawling up his arms. sha-ming sits on a stool, and then pulls up another, wood screeching against the floor. ]

Siddown. This shouldn't take long. [ he pens at some parchment. suddenly, his head jerks up-- ] Cedric, hey, don't shit on the bed. C'mon, get it together, you know you're s'pposed to go outside.

[ the sheep baas forlornly. ]

I'm not mad 'atcha. We got a guest, so like, maybe have some manners, m'kay? [ a beat. ] Anyways-- before we get started, I'm gonna ask you a question.

What do you think separates humanity from all of the other species out there? And don't say some bullshit like "oh, it's love!" cause that's not even true. You and me-- what makes us human?

[ it's unlike anything he's ever seen before. glittering golds, silver coruscating in the dark, treillage lining everything and everywhere. sha-ming hadn't even known that this much money could accumulate in one place; there's a wrongness about it, a peculiarity to it all that sits in his gut.

it doesn't stop him from having a good time. he's dressed in a stark white suit, shirt cut down to reveal the v of his chest, hair slicked back as he sits at the bar -- only to shoot you a cat-eyed grin. ]

Yeah, this whole thing's fishy as hell -- but we might as well live it up anyways, right? Don't get to see things like this often around these parts.

[ his eyes rove over your face. ]

Sometimes I wish I could leave it all behind. Just say fuck it and go. But-- I just... I just can't.

this is a mass text

any1 kno where my fuckass little brother is

minato if ur reading this ur literally dead meat btw

anyways if u help me out i'll pay u back

not with money i'm fcking broke but like

if ur a kid i'll give u a piggyback ride idk

if ur not we got options dw