IC Inbox - Ryslig

[blap_blap]

WELCOME TO YOUR PRIVATE CHANNEL, TIMOTHY LAWRENCE. FOR SECURE COMMUNICATION, USE 011.11.201.45 *** mrhandsome69 has joined 011.11.201.45 <USERNAME> First sentence of message. <BANNED USER> SCREENED MESSAGE. UNSCREEN? Y/N -- sample for when you ban someone <USERNAME> First sentence of message. <USERNAME> First sentence of message.

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[blap_blap]

[So there was a bit of a delay between when Tim received this message and answered it, on account of the fact that he had to get up and bury his face in his pillow to, like, compose himself.]

yes absolutely i'm a hundred percent interested, this sounds like the most romantic thing anyone's ever said to me great

do you want me to handle the snacks and drinks? i could do that

[justbeingknife]

Sure. You wanna go together, right? Pick up somethin' on the way there?

[ It occurred to him that he didn't actually know what foods Tim liked, other than whiskey, gummi bears, and coffee. Something he should address, honestly -- on general principle, and because...

Well, he wanted to. ]

I can ask around for a good corner cafe.

[blap_blap]

[Well, whiskey and coffee were kind of staples of his diet, so he wasn't exactly far off.]

sure, that sounds like a plan

when do you want me to meet you?

[justbeingknife]

[ Tbf, whiskey and coffee were also staples of Majima's diet. ]

How about 2? At [address].

Checked the forecast, shouldn't be any wind or rain. Lemme know if ya need me to bring anythin' else?

[ When Saturday rolled around, Majima would be out there, waiting in casual clothes in the light of early afternoon: v-neck shirt that still kept his ink covered, slacks. He was brushing a bit of extra wolf hair off his collar -- how did it even get on when he wasn't currently furry? ]

[blap_blap]

just bring yourself and that'll be more than enough

[On Saturday, when Tim showed up at two o'clock, he was a little more dressed up than Majima-- a button-down shirt, the sleeves rolled up to his forearms, and a vest, with pressed slacks. He'd even lacquered his hooves, which was a weird thing to have to do now, but the closest he could get to wearing nice shoes these days. (No tie-- but he'd debated for about forty minutes earlier that day about whether or not he should wear one. Apparently he'd made the right call to leave it at home.)]

[He'd brought a blanket with him, too. Since they were getting snacks, he figured that they might want to sit, and they might as well have something to sit on.]

Hi! Hey. Um, I didn't keep you waiting, did I?

[justbeingknife]

Okay, then. It's a date.

[ Majima spotted that blanket, good call Tim. ]

Nah, not at all. Came prepared, huh?

[ He broke into a smile as he took a few steps down the street to meet Tim. Today? They seemed to come easier. It was spring, there were puffy pink balls of flowers to take in, the day was sunny... and he was in good company. ]

Our cafe's over there. I have it on good authority that their chocolate croissants are on point.

[ And he pointed to a cozy-looking little establishment. Name? 'You're Grounded'. The tantalizing aroma of coffee filled the air as the door swung open and a lady came out with a big bag of bagels. ]

[blap_blap]

It's just in case we need it.

[Couldn't hurt, and it wasn't like it was cumbersome. So, no reason not to.]

[And any day that Tim got to hang out with Majima was a good day. So today was already starting out good! And, really, it was sunny and he was going to go see cherry blossoms with a guy he liked... yeah, something would have to go catastrophically wrong to make this a bad day.]

[Fingers crossed.]

[The cafe that Majima had found seemed lovely, and Tim grinned when he saw the punny name. Apparently Majima had a thing for puns, which was kind of cute? The big bad gangster man with a thing for wordplay. Who would've thought?]

Well, I like carbs and I like chocolate, so that sounds great to me.

[No reason to stand around outside-- might as well go in and see what they had to offer. Which may have been a mistake, because along with the bagels and croissants, there was a glass case that had cute pastries, and Tim was drawn to it like a magnet. Donuts with kitty faces, creme puffs with the filling shaped like panda bears, macarons decorated to look like fruit slices. Three guesses as to which one Tim was drawn to first.]

Oh, these are so cute!

[justbeingknife]

They are, ain't they? Whoever runs this place must be real creative.

[ Tim was so weirdly adorable sometimes, but he was right -- they were cute. He moved over to the front of the case next to Tim, gravitating towards a display of tiny petal-themed petit fours. There was a selection of lemon bars, too, and bunny-shapped rolls, cupcakes with swirls of frosting... ]

So the kitty donuts, and the cherry blossom cakes. It says they got cherry filling, and I gotta try that.

[ Look he was into it, he loved seasonal junk. His side brushed against Tim's as he swept his gaze across the furthest corners of the glass case. ]

By the way, you're lookin' sharp today. Did ya polish your hooves?

[ Don't think he didn't notice, Tim. Although his favorite part of the ensemble was the exposed forearms, hands down. ]

[blap_blap]

[They say that sex sells, but apparently, so does cuteness. It certainly was a viable marketing strategy to Tim.]

Yeah, definitely, let's go with those. You've got a theme and you're sticking to it, huh?

[That's definitely cute. And now Tim knew that Majima liked cherries, both the fruit and the flower, or possibly just liked cherries in the springtime? Maybe it was like pumpkin spice in the fall, something that people liked to get at one particular time of the year and then forgot about for the other 300 days of it.]

[Tim rubbed the back of his neck and completely failed to not blush at the compliment. It was kind of nice to have the effort that he put in get noticed, though.]

Oh, thanks. I, um, well, I can't wear shoes anymore, so this was kind of the next best thing. And I just wanted to, uh, look nice.

[The person behind the counter was gathering up their order-- the kitty donuts and petit fours. Tim also asked her for a couple of the chocolate croissants, since they were recommended.]

Do you want something to drink, too?

[Tim was picking up this tab, so might as well get something nice.]

[justbeingknife]

Japan's big on seasonal food. Come spring, there're a lot of cherry-blossom themes. Strawberries, too... but I'm not sure what ya eat when out here.

[ He'd never given it much thought before, but now he sort of missed the air of limited-time-only novelty products. And speaking of things flushed red, that blush suited Tim surprisingly well. Maybe it was the contrast between the build and the behavior: jacked dude that loved kitties and, apparently, compliments. ]

I'd like green tea if that's an option. Otherwise, I'll take a black coffee.

[ So coffee it was! The clerk started gathering up all the pastries and putting them in a neat carrying box. ]

Takes me forever to keep my fur looking nice [ or at least it did compared to his hair, which was black and glossy and well-behaved without effort, everyone hate him ], especially now that it's spring. I wondered if it isn't the same for you.

[blap_blap]

[He loved kitties-- and one of those donuts looked a lot like the kitty that he'd adopted after the bug doppelganger fiasco, so really, how could he resist it-- and probably everyone liked compliments. The former was always a weakness of his, and the latter was in part from the fact that he didn't get them very often.]

[Two coffees were added onto that order, because Tim could really drink it at any time of the day, even if it was inadvisable to do so, and the clerk was busy for a few minutes with getting everything together.]

Oh, yeah, it is. Talk about problems I never thought I'd have to deal with. [Tim had enough issues dealing with his normal stupid hair, it was thick and never liked to do what he wanted it to do unless he used a lot of product. (He is kind of jealous of Majima's dark, pin straight, sleek hair.) Now he also had to deal with half of his body going through a shed.] I guess it's not as bad for me, since I only have half of me to worry about? And there are brushes for that kind of thing.

[Shedder brushes were a godsend.]

[justbeingknife]

They --

[ Oh. Oh. Fuck.

It wasn't like the idea hadn't occurred to Majima at all that he might benefit from some of the same products as...................

canines, it was just that he didn't want to deal with the clerk while he bought fucking dog shampoo for himself, okay? The stares and combined shame would probably make him burst into flames, and not the fun kind. Majima nabbed the carry box and one coffee, leaving the last cup for Tim as he tried to strategize

no fuck it ]

...Where do ya shop for those?

[ look don't say petsmart ]

[blap_blap]

[Well, Majima sure as fuck booked it out of there. Tim paid for the pastries and the coffees, snagged his own, then followed him outside. Maybe he was, uh, a little too indiscreet there about talking about dealing with the hair issue? He made a mental note to be a little more sensitive about it. Tim didn't want to embarrass him, though he also didn't want to leave Majima hanging if he was suffering through shedding season with no relief.]

[Majima's fur was lovely and fluffy, but dear god, it would be hell when the weather got really warm if he was stuck with it. Tim had a lot less to deal with and it was still kind of uncomfortable.]

Oh, uh, I go to a salon. [Because... that's where you go for hair stuff. And hoof stuff, in his case. Pedicures were infinitely more important now than they ever had been.] There are some that cater just to, you know, people like us, and they sell all sorts of things for... personal grooming?

[Was that term not going to upset him?]

How... how have you been dealing with it?

[justbeingknife]

[ He didn't seem offended, but lbr the subject was a little embarrassing. He waited outside the store for Tim, and then resumed walking. ]

Lust-han has a service for monsters that shed. Other than that, findin' a brush with as many bristles I could find and... brushing a lot. It's pretty hard to keep my clothes clear of extra hair, even when I ain't furry.

[ The other side of having hair that was so easy to handle, honestly. He'd never had to worry overly about using the right product. Well, one way or another, what fur Majima had was glossy and silky, so maybe his fur was similarly an easier time than most furry monsters had? It was probably going to be a problem when he started shedding for reals, though. ]

You, uh... Could I persuade ya to part with some tips?

[blap_blap]

I'm sure that helps. She's the lady that runs the bathhouse, right?

[Tim hadn't ever been, but he'd heard things about it. He'd consider going himself, but... it would be really awkward to try to get that kind of service, considering the region that he was furry in.]

Your fur is a lot denser than mine, so it probably needs more work. [Tim tended to get woolly rather than fluffy; a problem in and of itself, but a different kind.] I do know that there are certain special brushes that are better at getting undercoats out, and that's probably what you want? Regular ones don't do the trick as well. I have some shampoo and conditioner that are supposed to help, too.

I think putting the work in with the brush makes the most difference, though.

[Sorry, he didn't have any magic bullet cure for shedding season.]

[justbeingknife]

That's right. A naga.

[ He supposed it made sense; cows and bulls were a lot less furry than wolves. No matter how methodical he tried to be about it, though, there were some places one simply couldn't reach as easily. ]

An undercoat brush, huh...? Still wouldn't make brushin' the back much easier, though.

[ His gaze dropped briefly, skating over Tim's lower half before moving back up again. It was Tim's tail he'd mostly been looking at, though it was hard to separate someone looking at someone's tail versus their ass. Scout's honor, though! Really! ]

What about when ya turn into a bull? Minotaurs do that, right?

[blap_blap]

No, I guess you'd need to ask someone to help you with that?

[Nothing wrong with asking for a little help sometimes, right? And it's not as though Tim would be bothered at all to help out with Majima's majestic fluff. Let's be real, Tim was absolutely the kind of person who watched videos on the ECHOnet of people brushing mountains of fur out of their cloudlike doggos and thought it was adorable.]

[And hey, Majima, go ahead. Look at the ass, you're allowed. Tim put his entire self in this outfit in the hopes that senpai would notice him, so feel free to notice.]

[Additionally, what.]

...Wait, can I do that? Is that a thing that I'm supposed to be able to do? [Add this to the list of shit that Tim hates about monster puberty-- there's no guidebook for this.] I've never tried. I didn't know that was a thing?

[justbeingknife]

[ In answer, Majima put his things down on a convenient bench and shifted into his wolf form, which at this point in time could be best described as 'a fluff monster'. Over six feet from tip to tail (which was wagging), nudging against Tim's side as if looking for pets. Most of his winter coat was still in, but there were spots here and there where his fur was beginning to make way for his darker summer coat.

Owing to the grooming he'd gotten recently, he smelled a little like sandalwood, and was much softer than a wild specimen would have been. SO SOFT. Tim could put a ham hock hand out and watch his fingers disappear. ]

Most animal monsters can. That's what they told me.

[blap_blap]

[Oh.]

[This was the first time that Tim had ever seen Majima in his actual wolf form, and he was just so fluffy. Fluffy and big and leaning up against him like a dog that was asking for attention, and even if Tim didn't know that this massive doggo was Majima, and therefore the best doggo? He wouldn't have been able to resist the floof.]

[Tim sank the fingers of one hand into the dense fur at the scruff of his neck-- then he added in the other hand, too, and gave him some light scratches along his nape, because he really couldn't resist giving scritches when he had his hands on a dog. Wolf. Wolfman? Whatever.]

[Honestly, it was taking all the willpower that Tim possessed to not just kneel down and press his entire face against Majima's fluffy neck.]

Oh my god, you're so soft.

[Focus, Tim.]

[justbeingknife]

And it's hard work, y'know.

[ Majima arched his back in pure wolfy happiness, pushing back against the touch. With a wolf body came a deep love of scratches, and as Tim was the one administering them, there was no need to pretend to be standoffish.

His tail thumped against the back of Tim's calves (get it? calves?), and he shut his eyes and opened his mouth in a doggy grin. That was one contented sigh. He wouldn't care if Tim did bury his face in that ruff, not if he kept up those pets. ]

Just a little harder, if ya please...

[blap_blap]

It's paid off, you're just... you're the fluffiest.

[So, all of the higher functions of Tim's brain have switched off due to the sheer cute happiness radiating off of Majima's canine face when Tim scratched a little harder along his neck and back, as requested. If they had real cameras around here, that happy doggy grin was something that he would take a picture of and use as a phone background or something. So cute! So happy! He loved it.]

[Bonus, the ideal amount of petting could occur because Majima could direct him to exactly where he wanted his scratches. It was a win-win situation. Or, well, it wasn't a winning situation for his pants, because there was definitely some shed hair getting on them, but that was fine. A small price to pay for a happy wolf.]

How's this?

[Maybe a little bit behind the ears, too? And did he have one of those hot spots that made dogs thump their leg when you scratched at it?]

[justbeingknife]

Really hits the spot.

[ Maybe he did... although Tim would have to find it first. What did happen was that Majima's ears twitched involuntarily as Tim began to scratch... and then he flopped over onto his side, one forepaw sticking pawpads up as he hit the grass. ]

I dunno why it feels so good, but it does.

[ He shoved his nose under Tim's hand, even though it was sort of self-defeating if he wanted more scratches. But then, once someone got him going in this form, it was hard to completely control himself.

He curled his forepaws inward in the air, making faint swimming-type motions as he spoke. ]

We should probably... get goin', though.

[blap_blap]

[Majima was killing him right now, truly and honestly. Tim was dying, he couldn't handle the sheer cuteness of Majima's little flop onto the grass and his one big paw sticking pad upward into the air. Tim knelt down so that he could continue petting him; up over his head and behind his ears when he shoved his nose into his palm, then along his flank and back up under his chin.]

[The swimming paws... god. He was dead, that was it, here lies Timothy Lawrence, he died as he lived: fixated on something cute.]

We probably should. [He was still petting him, though.] You'll have to change back, though, or else you can't have anything with chocolate.

[Pause. Actually, now that he thought about it, how did that work?]

...Is chocolate only bad for you when you're all the way wolf? Or is it just not bad for you at all anymore, or, like, always bad for you?

[justbeingknife]

Think I'm okay. I still drink plenty of coffee.

[ Well, not as a wolf, but when he turned into a wolf, Majima didn't notice any ill effects despite the coffee probably still being in his stomach?

A little 'rrr' of contentment escaped him as he brought two paws to touch Tim's hand. The pads of his paws were smooth, if not quite as poofy-soft as a housecats would be. Then, reluctantly, he rolled himself up and shifted back, looking slightly disheveled as he stood. Majima swept his hair back into place, brushing some loose fur off his collar as he did so. ]

You're... really good at that.

[ Just going to go over here and pick up the baked goods and coffee. ]

[blap_blap]

[Petting time was over, apparently. Not that he didn't like having Majima around as a man-- and actually there was something very attractive about him being just a little bit disheveled, just a little bit out of his usual clean-cut look-- but Tim could have happily pet him in his wolf form for hours.]

Petting cute things is my true calling in life.

[If doling out affection and attention to fluffy animals (and weres) was an industry, Tim would be at the very top of it. He would be the CEO of I Want To Hug Every Cat, Inc and living his very best life.]

[He waited for Majima to grab the snacks and his coffee before starting to walk again.]

You're probably a lot cuter as a wolf than I'd be as a... I don't know, a cow? Is that what I'd turn into? I've never even met a cow. Not one that was, like, [He made a vague gesture.] all in one piece? And not a hamburger?

[He grew up in a city, okay, the most wildlife that he ever had to deal with were the Tantalus equivalent of rogue pigeons.]