deercountry | yes I knew it was no moonshine, it is real

[ .. huh.

Something does seem a little off, doesn't it. But Chizuru is such a die hard believer in the best in other people that she just brushes it off - for now, anyway, in this moment. Something does feel a little off, sure, but that's probably just Chizuru's perception being off, right? Everything is clearly fine. Vi would never be nervous. She's too cool for that.

So she just smiles at the other, as if Vi isn't nervously chattering all over the place. ]

No, I can sit. [ She even moves to take a seat already! Score.

Chizuru figures this will be more comfortable than trying to stand, anyway. ]

Thank you so much for wanting to do this for me.. I honestly wouldn't even have had an idea on where to start if I had to do it all by myself.

Cool, cool.

Not a big deal at all. I do this all the time on paper. And lately: faces.

[seeing chizuru sit down is helpful, that's one less thing she has to worry about just now. now it's looking at the paint. no, wait ...she can't just start painting, there are questions.]

First things first. What am I painting you as?

Um.. I'm not sure, actually.

[ Sorry, Vi. That answer might not be helping you much. But while Chizuru did hear about the entire painting faces tradition here, she didn't hear about much else, so it looks like she's thinking for a moment.. ]

Do you think there's something I should be painted as..? Um, I mean, I wouldn't stand out too much! [ Perhaps not too surprising to hear that from Chizuru, at least. ] And I would like for you to be able to paint something you're confident in too!

Oh. Umm. Hmm. Okay.

Well, I'm good with painting animals. Nature stuff, creatures. Or I can just do a bunch of fun shapes, or a robot, or...

[she tries to rein it in, because that's a lot of options.] Do you have a favorite animal or creature? From here or home? [if she doesn't know what it is, she can use her omni.] I think they're supposed to be a little scary, but I don't think that part matters as much.

[does it? maybe? shit, she hadn't thought about that. what if it's the scariness of the costume that has the protection baked into it? no, no. sansa's costumes have been less on the scary side and she's been fine.]

[ .. a favourite animal, huh. Chizuru seems to have to think about that one for a moment. Sure, there are a lot of animals she thinks are cute or pretty, but it's not like she has a distinct favourite..

Though it's more Vi's last remark that her mind ends up lingering on. ]

Do you think so?

[ Her tone suggests that Chizuru is entirely willing to believe what Vi claims here - no matter which side of the 'scary or not' side she ends up falling on. ]

Maybe then.. just to make sure, we should do something that's a little scary? But also cute? [ Look. It's hard for Chizuru to ever fully look scary. Look at that girl. ]

Do you think there's any animal out there that's both, miss Vi..?

The whole celebration seems to kind of mash them together. Apples and fake blood. Cider and pumpkins and ...bones? [that's what the holiday's about, isn't it? yeah. she's sure she got that part right, at least. a thoughtful hum.]

Cute and scary, let's see. [ah, on cue there is visenya, flying in to perch and observe (as batcats do), and eventually raise a paw to wipe at her face.] Cats can be scary. Visenya's scary sometimes, when she's defending her turf. Dogs, too. Wolves. Squids, but that would just be...

...you don't want to be a squid, do you? [does she?] The nightmares are terrifying, but so cool looking, and screw it, I say pretty. Spiders can be both. Birds, too. People sometimes think ravens and crows are scary, but...eh. [shrug] What about a fox, or a hawk or...

...a butterfly? A cute skeleton?

[she will twist herself into a pretzel trying to come up with ideas. she can make chizuru scary if she really tries! she can! maybe.]

.. a wolf.

[ It's strange, but it's like she's having some realisation here in the middle of what Vi is summing up for her. Even though it's such a long, long list of animals and other potentially creepy kinds of face paint, it's that single suggestion that sticks out to the girl for some reason.

Though maybe it's for the better that she truly seems to settle on something here, or poor Vi might have fretted herself out of existence worrying about what animal to paint on Chizuru. ]

I-If that isn't too hard for you, I mean! [ Chizuru would very much like to add that caveat. She doesn't want to make this too hard on her friend. ] But a wolf might be.. nice, I think.

[ It's because she's thinking about her group back home. The Shinsengumi-- the wolves of Mibu.

Maybe she can still be connected to them a little through this. ]

[a wolf? relief floods, untwisting vi's smile into something easy.]

Hard? [her grin widens.] More like hardly. I can knock this out of the park. We've got two wolves in house. Three, if you count Sansa. A wolf is perfect. What color wolf were you thinking?

[she'd have gone for grey, but the spectrum of colors for wolves seems ...not too overwhelming. chizuru could ask for a purple wolf and she'd probably be fine. this is super familiar territory, and her whole manner relaxes. for now.]

I was thinking grey, but any color's fine.

[ There's a relief in the fact that Vi seems to agree so easily with her idea. The last thing Chizuru would have wanted to do here is suggest something that might just throw the other straight into a frenzy - and so she instead smiles when Vi seems a bit more confident. ]

Grey is fine.

[ It's not like.. Chizuru has seen many wolves with her own eyes, after all. A few here, but before that, back home? Absolutely none at all.

And she's pretty sure the colour won't matter anyway for the Shinsengumi metaphor, so she just goes along with the other's first suggestion, and makes some casual conversation so Vi won't have to work in total and awkward silence. ]

What is it like, miss Vi? Living with wolves?

[she reaches for her paints, deciding the grey she has is too dark for what she wants to do, and that mixing her own is the best shot at making this happen. if she's using lady for inspiration, so be it.]

The wolves here are super chill, and very sweet. Lady's Sansa's wolf, and well, S'mores was adopted when a friend of hers ...went back to the ocean. They're both really smart and like getting ear scritches, but they're good protectors, too. Lady saved my ass a while back.

[okay, this color seems good. she'll dip her brush in and ...no, maybe a thinner brush. she holds her finger up in a 'wait a sec' gesture, deliberates on which thinner brush, and after finally selecting one, she starts to create the grey areas.]

You thinking of getting a wolf?

[ Chizuru just makes sure to sit as still as she can, not wanting to be the cause of Vi screwing anything up here. Thankfully she's pretty good at that - even resisting the instinctive urge to shake her head when Vi asks her that question. ]

No, I.. don't think I'd be really good with them.. [ Even if they can be as friendly as Vi is describing, wolves still seem like pretty headstrong animals, right? A little too tough for a girl like Chizuru, whose Omen is just the tiniest little thing. ]

Maybe they seem so.. um, 'chill' [ Chizuru's eternal quest to try and use the hip new slang without sounding like a grandma.. ] to you since they respect you, miss Vi. I could imagine that. You're really someone worth respecting.

[vi has made the grey parts grey. after a long look, she decides it's fine. she can do the white now, although she stops to mix the tiniest amount of grey in it. there. now it's better. she talks as she paints, sometimes pausing overlong, or selecting a different brush, or a sponge to fade the edge.]

Nah. It's not me. It's cause they're special wolves. Lady's a direwolf, so she's bigger, but she's um ...bonded to Sansa in a way that's kind of like---

---no, it is family. [she thinks she got that right.] And S'mores is a [headtilt] ...clinic dog. For mental wellness and stuff. So they're better behaved than some Sleepers I know.

[she smiles at that until she realizes it might be taken wrongly. she would hate to imply chizuru of all people is badly behaved.]

Not you, though! O-other Sleepers. Me included!

[ Hopefully Vi isn't touching Chizuru's face with the paint at the exact moment she says that last part, because it sure makes the girl - involuntarily, even, she can't help it! - burst out into laughter.

It's not laughter that seems to make fun of Vi though. No, the laughter is very bright and genuine. It's innocent. ]

I don't think you're included in that!

[ She manages to say that as she slowly gets her laughter back under control, now just a fond smile on her face. ]

I mean, I suppose I can't speak for other people.. but you have been very kind to me every single time we've spoken so far. You're helping me out this time as well!

[ So there's no way she could think of Vi as being someone who doesn't behave. ]

[pulling the brush back just in time but now she's checking to make sure she didn't make a mistake - which is hard to do when chizuru's laughing.]

No, I'm definitely included. Ask ...a lot of people. Ask my Omen, even. She's a wolf, too, kinda.

[there's a smile now, and she's relieved that there's no mistake, and that chizuru's smiling. a spill of smoke slips out of vi's chest and settles into a regular sized wolfdog with golden eyes. they sparkle with mischief as she speaks.]

ᴠɪᴏʟᴇᴛ ɪꜱ ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴇꜱᴛ ʙᴇʜᴀᴠᴇᴅ ꜱʟᴇᴇᴘᴇʀ ɪ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴇᴠᴇʀ ᴋɴᴏᴡɴ.

[vi doesn't quite know what face to make. she knows she's being trolled, but it's not like she can argue. she can, but it won't be in her interests.]

Thanks, Fang. Thanks. Fang, this is Chizuru. Chizuru, this is Fang.

[the omen will give a polite little bending bow, and return to her seated, smiling position while vi switches to the black paint.]

Nice to meet you. [ Chizuru says to the Omen - even bowing her head a little in return, wanting to be respectful. It helps that Vi is busy grabbing the black paint, so Chizuru can move her head this much without messing everything up..

Though she does look back at the other right after, just so Vi can continue without Chizuru still staring at the other's Omen. It's kind of excited though-- it's the first time she's seeing Fang, after all! ]

See, though? She agrees with me!

[ Thanks for proving Chizuru's point, Fang, it helps. It also makes it very hard for Chizuru to not smile as she's sitting there and allowing her face to get painted further. ]

You're such a nice person, and you're helping other people out.. What isn't well-behaved about that?

[fang watches the next bit with interest - she likes the look of the glitter that's selected (she likes the look of any glitter, really) and it's an iridescent one with bits of silver in it that tops the cheeks, nose bridge and forehead. the omen doesn't have any commentary for this part.]

Nothing, I guess. You just keep catching me on good days. But I guess you got me there.

[is this a good day? well, no ...not for her brain, which she will now attempt to soothe with a deep breath, and another. oh, shit. she's forgotten to tell chizuru she's finished. she hopes she wasn't doing breathing exercises for too long.]

Sorry about that, Chizuru. You're all done.

[fang has fetched a mirror to hold up. see? she how helpful and well behaved she is, vi?]

[ Chizuru moves over so she can look into the mirror.. and then lets out a content sound. ]

Miss Vi.. It's so pretty!

[ Judging by her tone, the girl genuinely seems to think that. It doesn't seem fake in the slightest - and neither does her smile, by the time Chizuru turns to face the other. She's definitely smiling from ear to ear. ]

Thank you so much for your help! If anyone asks me who did my face paint, I'll make sure to give you proper credit! [ Free advertising that Vi didn't even want in the first place.. Look at that..

She pauses for a moment though, the fingers of both of her hands interlacing as Chizuru seems to think. ]

You know though.. I'm not sure if the 'good days' thing is an excuse or not. [ A LITTLE BLUNT THERE.. But she means well, and there's an embarrassed edge at her tone, like Chizuru also feels a little guilty for calling it out like that, even though it's necessary for the next point she wants to make. ] But if it's not, then.. I hope to catch you on many more good days. I really enjoy being around you or talking to you, you know?

[ She shakes her head. ]

Besides, I need to make up for you helping me like this..!

You like it?

[her usual confidence is a little absent - normally she wouldn't ask this - and if she did, it wouldn't be phrased this way, or have such obvious hesitance in her voice.]

Wow, okay. Yeah, just send 'em my way. I'll make sure I ...do a great job just like this? [god. why did that come out like a question? whoops. get it together, vi.]

Maybe it's just a terrible excuse, and I'm the best behaved person in Trench. [a sly look at fang, who is still smiling.] I hope I have a whole bunch of good days. Who knows, maybe you've just willed it into being. Wouldn't that be something?

I like talking with you, too. You have a good face for painting.

[...]

...it's also perfectly fine without paint.

[now she is just going to laugh through her nerves. what is conversation.]

[ See, usually Chizuru wouldn't question the uncertainty on the other's part too much. Maybe it's since she doesn't know Vi well enough yet to know just how uncharacteristic it is on the other's part, or maybe she just figures that everyone has something they can get a little insecure about.

But the current display on the other's part.. It's a little bit much, and it leaves Chizuru staring at the other for a moment. Blinking, starting to look more curious, and then just outright asking-- ]

Is.. something wrong, miss Vi? You seem a little worried..

[ You could leave out that 'a little' part, Chizuru. Honestly. But she wants to be nice here! ]

Does the paint look strange to you..?

[does it? well, now she has to inspect it again. fang, who is sick of seeing this dance for what must be the tenth time, offers:]

ᴠɪʟᴇʙʟᴏᴏᴅꜱ ᴀʀᴇ ɴᴇʀᴠᴏᴜꜱ ᴛʜɪꜱ ᴍᴏɴᴛʜ. ᴀʟʟ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴍᴜᴍʙʟɪɴɢ ᴜɴᴅᴇʀ ʜᴇʀ ʙʀᴇᴀᴛʜ? ɪᴛ ʜᴇʟᴘꜱ ᴀ ʟɪᴛᴛʟᴇ, ʙᴜᴛ ɪᴛ'ꜱ ʜᴀʀᴅ ᴛᴏ ᴍᴇᴅɪᴛᴀᴛᴇ ᴡʜᴇɴ ʏᴏᴜ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ꜱᴏ ᴍᴀɴʏ ᴊᴏʙꜱ ᴛᴏ ᴅᴏ.

[is fang giving vi shit for doing to much or is she trying to help? likely it's both, but she could have said nothing and she ...didn't. you can thank her later, vi.]

It looks really good. I-I like it. You pull it off, you know? Not too scary but it's got a little edge.

[ Regardless of Fang's intentions, what the Omen says is helping here. Because there's no way on Earth Chizuru would have been able to put together the signs herself and then conclude as much.

With what Fang says, though, it's unmistakable. Even as Vi continues to talk, it's hard to not see the nerves underlying those words.

So Chizuru smiles, and then moves to grab both of the other's hands, gently holding them in her own. She may even be giving them a reassuring smile as she looks up at Vi's face. ]

It's fine, miss Vi. I know you can't help it right now, but.. um, I still want to reassure you that you have nothing to be worried about here. I'm really glad with how it turned out, and I'm very happy that you were kind enough to help me! I only see good outcomes here.

yes I knew it was no moonshine, it is real

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