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[Cordis has basically stayed the same for Soubi. He had seen and learned it could be different. If anything, he wished for any other animal traits.

It's a good thing he sleeps so little but especially when Cordis begins, Soubi goes out his away to make sure he's up as early as possible. By the time Seimei is meowing, Soubi is awake and dreading Cordis. After the last month, he's worked hard to avoid any potential ire from Seimei although he thinks they both want to forget anything happened.

The meow, though, is unexpected. He had been thinking about what to do about breakfast. Seimei liked his classics and Soubi knows he should stick to those. There's a pit in his stomach as he gets up to go to Seimei's door. As nervous as he is about this, it's weird to hear that meow. Knocking, he calls out.]

Seimei?

[He won't open the door. There's no permission in doing that.]

[ seimei needs soubi to open the door. he doesn’t know how to communicate that he needs soubi to open the door. after last month, suffering one humiliation after another, he had hoped to take this one on with dignity.

lacking the opportunity for that, he meows again, and paws audibly at the door. it’s unlocked, but he can’t get the handle. ]

…mrrrrrow.

[He isn't given permission but the meow is strange, right? Soubi thinks it over for a only a moment. Seimei would have said something by now. He's sure. But the fact he's hearing a cat isn't normal.

Maybe it isn't what he's supposed to do but when he tries to open Seimei's door, finding it unlocked, he pokes his head in.

And upon seeing a cat and no Seimei, he frowns. Seimei wouldn't have gotten a pet. He had heard about extreme animal transformations...]

Seimei...?

[ seimei doesn’t even have the power to nod like this. he’s just a cat, and although he hasn’t yet seen himself, his own warmth suggests that he’s a pretty fluffy one. ]

…

[ not knowing what else to do, he flexes his paws to show soubi his little claws. this is what he has going for him. ]

[Part of Soubi is relieved. After what had happened during those runes, this Cordis moon could have been disastrous.

And yet this isn't good. This is honestly pretty bad.

Kneeling down in front of Seimei, just so they're closer to eye level, he frowns. He holds his hand out.] Scratch me if it's you, Seimei.

[But he should definitely make sure.]

[ seimei has no problem with that. although he isn’t a cat and has frankly never been a cat before, perhaps being a moonblessed has adapted him automatically to all the forms he can take. he’s comfortable with what this body can do physically, even if he isn’t mentally in the right place to be a cat.

lifting one paw, he scratches the back of soubi’s hand without hesitation. ]

Mrao.

[So Seimei won't come back and see Soubi treating a cat like it's his Sacrifice. That's good to know.]

Are you okay? Meow for yes, stay silent for no.

[This is absolutely the most bizarre thing he has ever had to handle and before this world, he never would have have thought of this. He's sure he would be bothered more.

But now, he's just trying to stay logical about this.]

…

[ seimei doesn’t know if he’s okay. physically, sure, he’s fine. he’s completely unhurt, and besides being hungry, there’s nothing wrong with him that he can tell. the situation itself, however, is far from ideal.

his ears slant back, displeased by the question, but he does choose to meow. it’s a soft, annoyed sound. ]

[Reading through what that meow means, he nods. He imagines how much Seimei must hate this. Of course he would. Right now, he's weak. He has no power.

And this also leaves Soubi uncomfortable.]

I'm sorry. Nobody else will know about this. I'll take care of things for you. You must be hungry, right? [He assumes that this is something that will probably never change during Cordis.]

[ seimei thinks that might have been why he woke up—being hungry. while his human body can usually sleep through hunger, it seems his cat body is much more susceptible to wanting to eat at the earliest possible moment.

he slips past soubi to their kitchen area, and jumps up on one of the chairs. he meows. his usual meals are probably not going to be available this time, but he hasn’t totally connected that yet. ]

…

[ what he does realize is that he’ll have to text joonghyuk later about their gaming session. god, and the dailies on his mobile games… ]

[Soubi follows behind Seimei into the kitchen.] Ah, I don't think you should eat what you usually do. It could be bad. I have some fish in the fridge. It was going to be for breakfast for myself but you can have it. Does that sound good?

[Cats eat fish, right? He thinks Seimei would be deeply offended if Soubi went out and bought him literal cat food.] I'll have to do research about what you need for a diet.

[ seimei wants what he usually has. however, he isn’t stupid enough to risk poisoning himself with onions or whatever else might be toxic to cats. ]

Mrah.

[ he hops up on the counter rather than the chair he had been sitting in. that probably means he’ll take the fish, because he will, but there’s just something humiliating about needing to wait for soubi to get it for him. ]

I hope you're fine with salmon. I'll cook it. It shouldn't take too long. [He gets a small bowl and fills it with water.] Here, for you to drink while you wait.

[As he cooks the fish, he keeps a calm attitude but internally he does worry. Yes, he knows that Seimei will most likely turn back after Cordis is done but what if he doesn't? There's some relief, a traitorous thought says.

He doesn't want to think too much about that.

Instead, once the fish is cooked appropriately, he sets it out for Seimei as his own stomach growls. He pays it no mind. Not at the moment.] Here you are. I don't think I have very many foods here that would be good for you so I need to do some shopping. Will you be okay without me?

[ seimei pulls the bowl of water closer, but there’s no apparent way to drink from it that would save his dignity. either he actually lowers his head like a real cat, or he dips his paw in and licks from it. ]

…

[ he does decide to just try drinking normally, but only when soubi isn’t looking. as soubi places the salmon down, seimei stands again. ]

Mmmrr…

[ the sound is uncertain. he doesn’t want to be left alone. ]

[It's weird to be talking to Seimei like this and assume what the other might mean. He sounds like he doesn't want this at all?]

I had prepared for a regular Cordis and I was going to go out to buy you your usual meals. If you want, you could come with me and stay on my shoulders. My shoulders are wide enough that you should be comfortable, I think.

[ seimei is aware that it’s humiliating to not want to be left alone. he’s an independent sort of person and hates to rely on others, especially soubi, but the fact is that he needs to control something. ]

…

[ without warning, he leaps up onto soubi’s shoulder to test his balance, claws digging into both shirt and skin. ]

[He flinches, not really expecting it and it does hurt. But like most pain, he takes it in stride.]

Are you comfortable?

[He tries to make as much room as possible for Seimei. It feels weird to have a cat on your shoulders and he tries to walk with him.] Can you hold on?

[ as soubi walks, seimei’s claws dig in deeper. they don’t give him much more balance in reality, but they do serve to assure that if seimei were to slip and fall, he could probably take off soubi’s whole arm with him. ]

Mrr.

[ he’s not comfortable, but it’s better than being left. ]

[Cat claws in his shirt, into his skin, isn't comfortable. But it's bearable. Seimei is probably terrified of falling off anyway, Soubi thinks.

All of this is so bizarre, though.

Cordis always brings unwanted attention because of the pheromones. By now, Soubi has learned that he just needs to ignore everybody which he does. Even the people who seem to want to pet Seimei, Soubi acts like he didn't hear them. Seimei would probably kill him if he let somebody pet him if they didn't end up dead themselves. So far, so good but Soubi almost wonders if a grocery store will let him in with a cat on his shoulders but a lot of weird things are allowed here and so he gets in with a cat on his shoulders.

At the grocery store, he's still not entirely sure what to buy for Seimei. Fish but what else? Chicken, he guesses. He's avoided meat while being here, very unsure of where it's coming from, but it's Cordis. Seimei needs to eat.

So fish and chicken it is and so that's most of what he buys. Someone is offering him a free sample for some fish thing and he checks it out before giving it to Seimei before they leave the store.]

That wasn't so bad.

[ except seimei has managed to stress himself out with all the people around. he didn’t think that being in a smaller body would affect him that much, but there’s something extraordinarily frightening about being tiny in a crowd of people going about their day.

he refuses to let soubi see that part of him, but his tail is bristled as it drapes over soubi’s shoulder.

he licks his teeth clean of the treat he’s been given, and huffs. his claws flex in soubi’s shoulder, a displeased response to his commentary—although seimei is the one who chose to come, and soubi has nothing to do with seimei’s feelings, he’ll take it out on his fighter anyway. ]

…

[Isn't that how it always goes? Soubi's tail swishes when he realizes how annoyed Seimei is.]

We're done now, at least. We can go back home.

[And at least the trip back is uneventful and Soubi even gets him a can of tuna fish for all the trouble.

As his own stomach growls loudly. He hasn't eaten and he frowns. Seimei should be fine for now, right?]

[ seimei jumps down from soubi’s shoulders as soon as he’s able, and since he can’t wash his hands—he knows enough about cats to be aware that water will only make it worse—he’s forced to immediately start cleaning his face using his paws. ]

Mrrup.

[ he heard soubi’s stomach growl, but he’s still hungry. between being cordis and being a cat, he probably won’t ever not be hungry. ]

[Seimei is cute.

That thought enters Soubi's head and he immediately stops. This is horrible. He had prepared to make his own breakfast but when he looks, Seimei has already eaten everything.

So Soubi gives him three cans. That should buy him some time to make something.]

[ luckily, there’s a physical barrier to overcome in eating three cans of anything. it takes him enough time to actually consume it that soubi is allowed to prepare his own breakfast in the meantime. following his natural instinct to clean, though, seimei tries to pick up one of the cans in his mouth to carry it to the sink. ]

…

[ he gets as far as the edge of the countertop, from where he would need to jump to the sink, before he realizes this is a stupid endeavor, and he feels stupid for doing it. ]

[Soubi's glad for the break. He didn't know how much longer he could have gone without eating and becoming weak. At that point, he wouldn't have been useful to Seimei at all. When he finishes prepping his meal, he sees the trouble the other is going through. Reaching for the can, he holds his hand out.]

I know you prefer to clean but since you're unable to, please allow me. I'll work hard.

inbox;

gonna rename this post "seimei's place"

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