The villa compound of Selvan and Fontaine consisted of ten houses. Three for the Selvans and seven for the Fontaines, enclosed within thirty-two square kilometers of irregular-shaped, fortified brick walls, with towers stationed at each of its five corners. At the center of it all was the main house, the red-themed mansion which, ironically, is the quietest area within the entire fortress.
Well, no one could really fault the main house, considering that before Snow and Jinx arrived, its only residents were Aleister, his pretend nephew Camilius, and his brother-turned-nephew Anton — all of whom, as we've established, only meet on Sundays, after knife battles, or during emergencies.
And when he said "house", he meant, like, castle-typa house. The one he'd known all his life in his original world could more or less be smaller than one of the horse stables here.
Furan Shi only had the basic map Raum had provided and was yet to find a good time to explore. That is, if Aleister would allow him to. Perhaps he could bring it up later when he'd check up on the big boss' progress with the books.
When uniting the two families, Alodia Fontaine, the original head, had a problem, which she passed down to Aleister Selvan.
Hm.. Aleister had listed down several possible name combinations of Fontaine and Selvan, each one more embarrassing than the last. It never got out to the extended families and was burned at the fireplace once Camilius had read through it.
Sorry, that wasn't the problem. Alodia never cared about trivial matters.
Aside from the almost desolate main house, most of the residents of the villa compound had gathered at the open square in front of it. The facilities were empty, and those who were unable to come were prepared to receive some wounded relatives in their homes.
Why? Today is Sunday.
The original matriarch had proclaimed every Sunday their pillow fight day as a simple way for them to bond despite their busy schedules, but under Aleister's rule, someone brought a knife out of rebellion. But, again, as twisted as he was awkward, Aleister liked the idea. Hence, Sunday pillow fights turned into Sunday knife battles moving forward.
This also somewhat encouraged more participants from each house to join, compared to when their primary weapons were still required to be pillows — perhaps because the game isn't boring anymore, now that their lives are at stake. The event allowed them to get more creative in how they surprise their opponents. Fewer Selvans in the compound meant better odds for those Fontaine brutes. The Selvans could say the same about the opposing clan.
It had also become a way to resolve both inter- and intra-clan conflicts. You moved the shipment of drugs without telling me? BAM! Stabbed. What do you mean you like Ysaline from Class 3? She's still carrying my eggs! THWACK! Stabbed. Whether it was Fontaine vs. Selvan or Fontaine vs. Fontaine, the knife game settled it all.
Knives should be no longer than 21 centimeters, with a heel height of 4 to 5 centimeters, and must have a single, pointed tip. Aside from this, the only rule was that there should be no irreversible damage, a.k.a. death.
The two Selvan households brought forward seven representatives below in total, while each household from their counterpart either brought three or two.. It could seem unfair at first, but some of those white snakes were scrutinizing their own kin as they sharpen their blade instead of the seven wolves. Maybe some of them really did have a problem concerning a demihuman named Ysaline.
Naturally, Snow wasn't allowed to join the activity despite being a big cat. For one, he's still underweight, and two... well, Aleister just didn't like the idea. The big boss himself wouldn't be participating in it, too busy with some "reference material" that made Anton raise a brow. Anton wouldn't be participating, either, as he never did since the beginning.
But what about Jinx? He technically wasn't even affiliated to anything, maybe not even the main house, so maybe he could join the fight just for the fun of swinging a knife left and right without having to worry about a dumbbell teammate.
"Chance of system host Jinx(Furan Shi) getting killed in his first Sunday knife battle is 99.9%"
"Aww.."
Turns out he'd be that dumbbell teammate — dumb and heavy to carry.
"[Aleister] wouldn't like it if you get injured," the bird reminded him. "Remember, he thinks that [Jinx] getting injured = bye-bye Snow."
That man could've been a really good candidate on his Santa list. He's kind, hot, rich, powerful... basically a daddy. But Furan Shi made a point not to consider the man as a viable candidate. No matter how hot his v-line was, Furan Shi had already assigned him to Snow in his mind. On the same note, he can't touch Snow, either.
"I have a few theories about what 'Santa' could mean for you, but..."
Furan Shi skillfully ignored the system agent perched on his head and instead leaned more against the railing of the balcony.
His current higher terrain gives him an advantage. From the second highest balcony of the main house, he could scope out potential sugar daddies/mommies he can latch onto. He wanted the next best character after Aleister, and it's definitely not going to be Cornylius, that dumb corn snake.
That young, dumb snake would just treat him as a boy toy. That's what he thought about Jinx, no?
Anton is... automatically a no-no. Never ever. Nuh uh.
Snow stood behind him on the balcony, pressed close as he practically draped himself over the bunny. A soft purr rumbled from Snow's chest, low and steady, vibrating through Jinx's back. His long leopard tail curled gently around Jinx's waist, as if trying to shield him from the world, and his arms wrapped around the rabbit's shoulders, a little tighter than usual — and for good reason.
Last night, Aleister had taken off his shirt and handed it to Jinx for when he morphed back into his human form. Distracted by the plans forming in his mind at the time, Furan Shi had forgotten how the whole image might look to outsiders and followed the big boss down to the dining hall for dinner. Snow came in at the same time with their canine caretaker, and his stomach dropped when he saw his little brother emerging from the other side with no pants, no underwear, and wearing a shirt two sizes — maybe four — too big. With the big boss shirtless beside him. That white-haired nephew of the big boss was also with them.
He immediately assumed the worst, but could only swallow his tears and apologize profusely in his heart for failing the rabbit. Gods have mercy on his poor brother, preyed upon by two predators for his first time. What now? Would they sell his brother after tasting him? Would Jinx be sent to that brothel, after all?
He didn't eat his dinner. He couldn't. He was only assured when they got back to their bedroom that night, when he tried to coax an answer out of his little brother.
Furan Shi had been wondering why Snow kept saying he was a good and brave little boy before bed. Only when Snow burst into tears did he realize what his big brother had been thinking, so he did his best to reassure him that nothing had happened.
He wasn't sure how Aleister would earn back his brownie points after that, though.
Ah, what a pain. But the hug was nice, a compensation he shamelessly snuggled into after his own neglect.
"Big brother Aleister said he'd never make me uncomfortable," he mumbled softly into the quiet space between them, hoping to reassure the still-nervous leopard behind him.
Snow hummed, his head rested on one of Jinx's shoulders, before replying, "really?"
"Yeah. He doesn't bite."
"Mhm..?" Purr, purr...
"Yeah. And he said he'll send me to school."
Snow's tail gave a little twitch. "Really?"
"Yeah."
Snow pressed his cheek against Jinx's, letting his purr deepen as he remained quiet.
School had been an almost foreign concept to orphans like him, especially those nearing adulthood. Back in the orphanage, they were taught the basics — how to read, how to write, how to count. Only the ones with a little more brain had the privilege to learn beyond that.
And Jinx, being human from an anomalous race — a weak species that shouldn't exist, but somehow did — was already marked. Add to that his reputation as a symbol of bad luck, and it was no surprise he'd only gotten as far as simple addition and subtraction.
It would be really good if his brother could grow beyond what the orphanage had made him believe he was worth.
Maybe... maybe Aleister really is a nice man.
"You just recovered the brownie points Aleister lost by mentioning the school," Raum reported from the side. "Maybe even more."
Furan Shi didn't reply for a while after processing what the system said. Snow really...
「 "He's too pure for this world..!" 」
The big clock perched on the wall of the main house, high above their heads, struck eight. Even without the head of the clans supervising, the people below automatically began their knife war.
Ah, the 'slice of life' experience.
Sure enough, they were creative with their techniques, some using teamwork to try ganging up on one. One brought two small knives, another strapped one to her right heel. Some snakes really did target another snake instead of a wolf, making the field more chaotic from where they're watching. Furan Shi was just glad he really didn't join in the fray.
It didn't take long for the first blood to be spilled. He felt Snow flinch, the leopard's arms tightening around his shoulders. Another's forearm got cut open. When one got stabbed on the shoulder, Snow withdrew.
It's too violent for his baby brother.
Five minutes in and Jinx was already dragged back inside by an anxious Snow. Furan Shi couldn't even complain as he only felt guilty whenever he saw Snow distressed somehow. Maybe he also has a [Cuteness Overload!] skillset, just with skills of a higher tier. Either way, he suddenly understood why Aleister was interested in his big brother.
As they stepped back into the house, Jinx squeezed Snow's hand, pulling the other to stop still. "I'm fine, big brother."
Snow turned on his heel, his lips pressed together, trembling. He stepped closer to the rabbit and grabbed both of his hands, squeezing them back. "I know you are," he responded softly, but the twitch of his ear betrayed his feelings nonetheless. "I just..."
"He already said he's fine." They both turned to the source of the new voice.
Camilius had been leaning against the wall next to the balcony doors, arms crossed over his chest. As he got the attention of the two orphans, he smoothly kicked himself off the wall and closed the distance with a few, prowling strides.
"Besides," he continued, "it'll be good if the little rabbit starts learning a little stabbing now, right? He's, what, fifteen? He's old enough by rabbit standards."
Camilius was far taller than Snow despite being younger by a whole year, and physically stronger, intimidating the poor leopard. Even so, the leopard pulled the rabbit closer to himself with eyes that never left the new predator. Camilius only stretched his arms overhead, joints cracking enough to serve as a warning.
"W-well..!" As Snow fumbled with his words, the snake unceremoniously grabbed Jinx's wrist and tugged him away.
Snow acted fast — his hand shot out just in time to grab Jinx's other wrist before Camilius could drag him further away.
The young serpent stilled as he felt the counter-tug, his lazy demeanor sharpened slightly when he glanced back with narrowed eyes. Snow narrowed his eyes back in quiet defiance, his protectiveness towards Jinx overwhelming his fear of the taller man.
"Paws off," the serpent warned. "Aleister already gave him to me. I can drag him wherever I want."
Furan Shi's breath hitched. That wasn't what Aleister said. But the effects were immediate. He felt Snow's grip tightening. No.. no..!
The trust Aleister had barely earned was already crumbling with just one line! And the big boss was probably immersed in another omegaverse mafia x auctioned snow leopard story in his office, blissfully unaware that his brownie points were bleeding out in real time.
"T-that's not what big brother Aleister said..!" the rabbit cried as he whipped his head towards the overgrown garden snake, his tone indignant at the careless words of the serpent that was supposed to help him. "Stop lying!"
Camilius didn't even flinch. He never really agreed to anything else outside of "guarding the rabbit," and he wasn't about to start now. "Same difference," he deflected with a mere shrug, and Furan Shi could only watch his attempt at damage control crack with how Snow's ears flattened on his head.
He- he's barely getting started! Damn this corn snake!
"Your brother can seduce Aleister, but not me." -Camilius
"Jiji is not that kind of rabbit-!"
"You're already forgetting the contract!" Jinx' yell crowded over Snow's blurted words. The next second, Camilius was already hunching down, hands off the rabbit's wrist to nurse his crotch the rabbit had mercilessly kicked. Furan Shi had realized for a split-second that a knee to the crotch might be overkill, but like what heroes always say, "his body moved faster than his thoughts" or something.
Raum produced a sound similar to a clicking tongue. Furan Shi realized the implications of what he'd just done — a rabbit kneeing a serpent in the crotch over a provocation that, frankly, didn't warrant escalation that extreme.
He turned to apologize, only for half of it to die in his throat at the sight of Camilius' glare.
Uh oh.
Now that he's freed, Jinx hurriedly pulled Snow's hand and dragged him away in a sprint. He didn't forget to yell, "you're mine, not the other way around!" with his voice bouncing off the walls halfway down the hall.
Snow snapped back to reality and bolted, his longer legs finally pushed to good use.
"Morph! Morph!" he hissed in a fit of panic. Camilius would definitely give chase after he recovered his bruised dignity.
Jinx immediately shrunk. Snow caught the fluff ball in his arms and wrapped the then-loose clothes around the rabbit to not leave a trace behind. His ears flattened, heart pounding, legs moving faster than they had in months.
"T-that was great and all... but... hhh... please don't attack a- hhhh a strong predator next time, hhh okay?" Snow's cries barely made it between his gasps.
Behind them, the air shifted. A low hiss echoed through the corridor.
「 "Congratulations for triggering the snake, host." 」
Furan Shi rolled his eyes internally at Raum's sudden comment. 「 "I see. You've recalibrated your personality to annoy me again, haven't you?" 」
「 "You think I changed personalities just because I scared you once?" 」
「 "..." 」
Snow risked a glance over his shoulder — and immediately regretted it. His breath caught. His sudden poignant whimper said everything.
A massive white serpent was slithering behind them. Camilius' long, thick body was moving side to side, his eyes unblinking, locked onto the rabbit bundle like the proper predator he is tracking his prey. Camilius had morphed as well, and he was gaining distance with terrifying grace.
「 "Easily ten meters. Could be as thick as a tree." 」
「 "Now you're just messing with me." 」
Furan Shi couldn't see what's happening outside of the clothes he's bundled in, making it all the more terrifying. Snow was a head shorter than Camilius in their human forms, maybe even shorter, and he wasn't exactly that healthy to boot. Raum's description wasn't helping, either, especially not when his rabbit form has a smaller capacity for complicated feelings.
「 "B-but how come I only get to be pomeranian-sized while Cornylius can be a tree?!" 」
「 "Camilius. And- oh, nevermind." 」
From outside, Furan Shi heard Snow's startled cry, then felt the sudden shift in gravity and momentum. He was hoisted higher, the pace suddenly faster now that it wasn't Snow who's carrying him anymore.
The large serpent got a hold of him.
Camilius bit down on the bundled clothes, lifting Jinx clean off the leopard's arms. The rabbit swayed helplessly with each powerful slither, dangling like a stolen hunt. Snow cried out after them, his voice panicked, just as he was slammed against the wall by the force of the serpent's retreat.
「 "Oof. That's what we call 'collateral damage.'" 」
「 "Raum, you need to finetune your commentary more ヾ(๑╹◡╹)ﾉ🔪" 」
「 "Thank you for the feedback ( • ̀ω•́ )✧" 」
The snake barreled ahead, weaving through hallways and sliding down the stairs. The staff of the main house scrambled and stuck to walls to give him his needed berth. The rabbit, meanwhile, felt like he wanted to puke from the nauseating velocity.
He heard sounds of blades clashing outside, increasing in volume the farther the snake slithered.
Oh. Is he-?
Daylight flooded his eyes. He was launched out of his clothes and into the middle of the knife battle, which paused just long enough to register the arrival of a massive white snake.
Ah, right. That's another rule for them to have a fairer fight — they aren't allowed to use their beast form.
Camilius had already morphed back into his usual human form minus the clothes when Jinx came to. Nevermind that — he's already walking towards the rabbit with a murderous gaze.
"Face me here," he scoffed, nudging the rabbit with a foot. "Damn rodent."
Said rodent gave him yet another glare.
...⋆˙⟡˖°✧.
The villa compound was originally a castle in a faraway grassland under the Fontaine surname. The nearest demihuman settlement was two hours away, yet another heritage city, chock full of old, unappreciated buildings and tangled cable wirings in the sky. It's a perfect place for underground operations.
Decades ago, the growing White Snake clan took over the castle and renovated it.
Servants' lodgings were transformed into mansions, multiplied to house extended families. Facilities were modernized—recreational spaces replaced with practical ones, though the gardens, the greenhouse behind the main house, the pools, and the hedge maze were left untouched. Most importantly, laboratories and warehouses were added for their business ventures. Most importantly, they added laboratories and warehouses for their businesses.
That was actually when they checkmated the government, when they started taking in the intellectuals the latter exploited and ultimately tried to discard, one black wolf at a time.
The rest was a rough history of misunderstandings.
Now, one of the laboratories was owned and operated by Anton alone, hidden underground beneath an innocent-looking clinic. After the knife battle earlier, said clinic was filled with patients and the strong smell of antiseptics. Here, somehow, they didn't dare argue with each other. Not with Anton around.
Camilius sat on one of the beds with an arm held out to Anton, biting his bottom lip to keep his tears at bay as the other carelessly poured alcohol on his dirty wounds. Alesiter had specifically instructed his brother to do so. Hell, he was still in the same room, watching it unfold... complete with a snow leopard in his arms who, in turn, held a bunny tightly like he didn't want another snake to snatch Jinx away again.
As to how he'd managed to coax Snow to cry in his arms earlier...
Well.
Maybe he can say he had improved just after an all-nighter soaked in rotten schoolgirl mafia novels, at least enough to successfully have a bawling snow leopard let itself get comforted by him.
「 "Huhuh~ didn't you say my chances of surviving were only 0.1%?" 」Furan Shi boasted through his mind link with Raum.
"That didn't count," Raum carefully argued. It was perched on top of the metal rod where the bed curtain was hanging from, overlooking the harsh treatment of the unfortunate snake with a glint of interest in its usually dumb eyes. "[Camilius] intervened and upped your chances of survival."
Furan Shi didn't morph into his human form when Camilius had demanded him to in the field. He just reciprocated the serpent's glaring with his own until the people there decided to resume the battle. A bold move, but he figured it was the right one.
Camilius was still tasked to protect the rabbit, no matter how much of an asshole the latter is, so when he realized the bunny didn't want to morph and preferred to get trampled on than to face him, he carried Jinx in his arms while he himself fought off random knives targeting him.
He didn't have anything else to vent his frustration out to by then. Tucking the bunny in his arms, he'd yelled his war cry and dashed right into the blurry mess of clashing steel blades and bloody people. (Raum had to play "Ode to Joy" so Furan Shi didn't have to freak out too much.) He'd been rabid, hissing and swinging two knives with one hand, maneuvering flexibly around people with a rabbit to nanny. There had even been a time when he had to throw the rabbit in the air to parry four attackers, catching the critter with a rather calm and precise hand after.
At first the other white snakes were thrown off by how Camilius was blindly slashing at them, but soon cackled and reciprocated, and soon the field was more of a blur of allies and foes. A slash-and-stab all you want buffet, but safe to say the rabbit remained unharmed until the end.
「 "Way to ruin the mood. But really, I felt like I could do his maneuvers, too." 」
This time, Raum didn't deflate his ego too much. "You absolutely can, to a lesser degree. You have your [Empathy] skill, after all."
「 "Why is it even called Empathy if it's just mimicking?" 」
"I am but a humble system agent assigned to translate, quantify and design my host's traits, but I still have to defend it in front of the review panel. I barely won the naming rights for your current skills. Honestly, I'd have preferred [Empathy] translated as [Greed] or [Envy], so at least host Furan Shi could have five out of seven of the deadly sins in your world."
「 "Five..?" 」
"Your [Arrogance], so-called [Empathy] that's better termed as [Envy], and then your innate insatiable urges plus your unparalleled laziness. That makes four, but your wrath can get very volatile when you don't calm down. You're just lucky you're a bunny right now so you're still harmless."
「 "Wh…" 」 Furan Shi should've been proud of having a system he can properly talk to, but hearing that, he somehow only felt wronged. 「 "Fucking recalibrate! You're supposed to still feel guilty about duping me!! Are you even allowed to have a personality?!" 」
"Sorry, I'm just a system." Furan Shi vomited imaginary blood. He was hardly calmed down by Aleister's hand caressing his back. He likely didn't get the reference, which only got popular years after his death, but somehow he still felt very, very wronged.
「 "I can't believe I got chopped up for this." 」
Most of the patients there weren't really badly injured and only got away with a few bruises and abrasions from having been pushed around, the worst being some lacerations, but luckily no one got stabbed as badly as Camilius the knife magnet. Anton had bandaged up the serpent's side for the third time this year. With that said, the clinic was soon emptied out, leaving the four important characters.
Five. Raum was the fifth.
Aleister scolded the injured corn snake for again being more impulsive than the rest of them. He wasn't happy that Jinx had been exposed to danger when he was basically entrusted to Camilius, the supposedly next best guardian after Aleister. The host-system pair was having a blast.
In the end, Camilius received his third house arrest of the year. Although only the members of the main house can visit him, it didn't bother him in the slightest. He didn't have any real friends to begin with. Still, the curfew was a pain in the ass. The internet was cut off, too, and the most dreadful thing of all..
His diet was controlled again! No chips! No soda! No unnecessary sweets!
He retreated to his room with just a roll of his eyes and nothing more. Furan Shi felt a little guilty inside that Camilius didn't justify himself by bringing up the knee to the crotch incident, but his naughtier Jinx side eventually won out and thought the snake deserved to be grounded.
With only them remaining in the clinic, Anton can finally turn to Jinx with a tired sigh. "Morph."
Aleister was right there so Furan Shi wasn't as scared of the runt wolf as he'd been yesterday, but still he decided he'd been petty enough for the day and morphed back to his human form once Snow carefully sat him on the bed Camilius had vacated. Soon, his legs dangled by the edge, and he shivered from being exposed bare in the air-conditioned room. At the same time, his [Arrogance] slowly rose again at an unnoticeable rate.
"Can't you just check my rabbit.. body..?" he asked with a voice that quivered slightly, one leg crossing over the other to keep himself modest.
Anton gave him a deadpanned stare. "It's troublesome combing through fur when I can just check your skin in this form. Arms."
Jinx shyly stretched his arms out. Anton grabbed his wrists and yanked them to stretch him more properly.
Everyone else watched Anton check the rabbit for injuries, but after a while, Anton couldn't take the rabbit's anxiety anymore and had everyone leave. With that reason, they understandably left, much to Furan Shi's chagrin.
The clinic felt colder. Anton's eyes fell on him and him alone.
「 "Wh-.. what's Anton after now? Isn't he only supposed to check for injuries?" 」
Raum thought for a while. "He's thinking of proposing."
「 "P-propo- huh????" 」 Furan Shi was caught so off-guard he temporarily forgot about his anxiety. 「 "*gasp!* Falsehood!!" 」
Anton whipped him out of his thoughts by pushing his arms onto the bed on each of the rabbit's sides, caging him in.
「 Passive skill [Fight or— 」
"I stopped your bladder from bursting. Is that alright?"
Furan Shi was whiplashed for the second time. 「 "What the hell, Raum??" 」
His unknown skill still determined Anton's description was just 「 Apex. 」 like last time, although right now he's struggling to see it as how he'd seen him the first time. Raum had reminded him of his bladder, making him subconsciously press his legs together tighter as his mind somehow weighed that embarrassment from peeing in front of Anton was more important than the terror of having Anton threaten him with vore again.
And what did Raum mean with "proposal," anyway? He doesn't see any ring, and clearly Anton's pockets lacked the rectangular bulge a hidden ring box should make. He didn't realize he only became more confused the more his thoughts ventured the wrong way.
Anton snapped him out of his thoughts again, gently presenting a hand forward. "We got off on bad terms, so I'll introduce myself again more properly this time."
Huh??
"I'm Anton Selvan, Aleister's brother," he continued. "Although you're only supposed to know me as 'Leviathan,' my brother just had to tell you my name so early."
"He's proposing to play chess with you."
「 "Hah???" 」 Furan Shi whiplashed x3
Jinx's hand stopped on his thigh just as he was about to reach for that hand. 「 "I… I don't see a chessboard?" 」
Raum heaved a bird sigh. "I'm sorry, host. This is the only way I can help you."
Furan Shi's eyes squinted at the hand presented to him, and then at Raum's words. Chess? Play? This… a proposal? Not marriage? (aww)
It took him a solid five seconds before something clicked in his mind, Anton's hand miserably suspended in the awkward air between them.
「 "Ho-hoh~" 」 he whistled in his mind. He can't do that in real life, just saying. Anyways. 「 "Chess, huh?" 」
Wait, no. He sucks at chess. His lips puckered softly into a sad pout. Anton unconsciously mirrored it on his own. "What's… what's the matter?" he gently coaxed, letting his numbing hand sit on Jinx's thigh. "Do I still scare you?"
「 "Raum, what do I do? I suck at board games." 」
"Then R.I.P. to you," the crow crudely replied. "Let's just pick another story card."
Furan Shi whiplashed x4
Anton's prolonged, mimicked pout quietly urged the rabbit to at least speak. It's bad manners otherwise. "I'm.. ah.. a little…"
Oh, how honest. The runt wolf giggled at the absurdity of a rabbit being honest to him for once, but hearing that sweet, melodiously uncharacteristic laughter gave him a mental slap for the nth time.
"Come on, just tell me your name again, and we'll start fresh." Anton grabbed the rabbit's hand with a smile not of a looming predator, but a harmless runt wolf kept innocent by a dog-eat-dog world. The convincing acting was jarring.
Furan Shi quietly glanced down at their clasped hands and only noticed their size difference. Anton's fingers were obviously far too soft to be considered masculine, the thin girth of each one perhaps helpful for whatever he does in his laboratories. His nails were well-trimmed but a little dry and brittle for someone who should know a good way to preserve his body. But most of all, it's the way Anton's hand was fully pressed against his, from his palm down to the pads of his fingers, that caught his attention.
Like he's no longer disgusted or annoyed at him. And suddenly the room doesn't feel as cold anymore. He's still not safe, but he felt he was at least a little safer.
He found himself nodding, returning an imperfect, but trying, smile. "I'm.. I'm Jinx."
"Jinx," Anton repeated, letting the name sit on his tongue. "That sounds mysterious."
"You accepted the game," Raum inserted.
「 "I'll be burdening you with the board, then. Many thanks." 」
The bird audibly glitched. Ah, but fair. It still owed Furan Shi some help, and its host is just reminding it—
「 "Can he be on the Santa list now?" 」
It was Raum's turn to get whiplashed.
By the time his [Arrogance] wore off, he was already being escorted by the now-nice Anton back to Snow's side, donning new clothes. The only not-nice thing was probably Anton not having a rabbit skirt — everyone can wear a skirt, but it was the rabbit demihumans in this world who popularised it in the market for being sensitive to pants, hence the term — so Jinx had to wear pants :(
Midway, he asked to be escorted to Camilius' room instead, only answering that he wanted to apologize to the serpent when asked. And he did want to, after realizing his mistake of kneeing Camilius' twin snakes.
Back in his world, he never really apologized to any relatives, or any housemates, because it had felt more awkward if he did than if they just let time quell their grievances. Like how his mother never apologized when she'd busted his lip by slapping him a little too hard when he was twelve, or… nevermind. She'd cut some fruit for him afterward, served it on a cute plate, and let him play on the family computer for the whole night. Sorry was easier to say to strangers, and that might be the only reason his steps to Camilius' room never faltered along the way.
At least he knew how to apologize to strangers.
He was led to the west wing of the uppermost floor of the palace-like house, through narrow, winding halls with the dizzying arcs he could never quite get used to seeing. At the end of the corridor stood a varnished, oak-paneled door framed by pointed arches. It blended well with the rest of the hallway — sad and dark.
This house had too many doors, but too few residents. Didn't the extended family members have their own mansions within the compound, too? Seeing the scale of the main house, once home to only three residents, now felt more… lonely. He doubted that his and Snow's arrival had changed that.
Anton left him there after squeezing his arm in reassurance. Still, Raum had to ask him, 「 "are you sure? You haven't seen how big that snake's beast form was. He could probably devour you faster than Anton in his genetically-modified beast form." 」
"I'm sure," Furan Shi voiced out softly into the air, granted that Raum was somewhere there listening. "Depending on his answer, I might add him to that Santa list, too."
That was clearly an attempt to lighten the atmosphere. Ah, maybe the gothic style.. Baroque or whatever (he didn't like the architecture part of his art classes) was probably making him more trepidated than he already is. With nothing else to consider, he knocked once.
Twice.
Five times.
The door creaked open just enough to reveal the snake's half-naked body. Furan Shi felt guilty seeing the bandaged torso, even though he knew that wasn't his fault. He should only be apologizing about the crotch thing. Strangely, the serpent wasn't talkative, merely raising a brow to prompt him to speak.
Jinx lowered his head, did his best to look helpless and guiltier by biting on his bottom lip, face almost hidden behind his long rabbit ears he couldn't help but fidget.
Oh, how would the apology slide out now without sounding contrived? He suddenly applauded Anton in his mind. Whether the runt wolf's apology was real or not, he had, at least, been convincing enough to make Furan Shi subconsciously believe.
Ah, here goes.
"I'm sorry…" he whimpered, that despite saying it to a "stranger," still felt wrong on his tongue. "I… I hurt you, and…"
He peered up at Camilius' left side without lifting his head, making him look all the more remorseful without meaning to. After all, he'd watched the suturing of that stab wound earlier. He'd watched Camilius wince when alcohol hit his arm cuts before he was numbed for the suturing, and now he's standing before the rabbit just fine.
On the other hand, Camilius didn't know how to receive an apology. He'd never been apologized to in the past. He didn't even know what kind of face he's making, distracted by the discomfort the numbness brings, like there's an itch he can't physically scratch.
「 "He looks constipated. If I interrupted his shitting, I'm sorry ah." 」
「 "I could electrocute host a little to get you back on track?" 」
「 "( ＾◡＾)っ✂╰⋃╯"」
So the two remained locked in that staring contest. Furan Shi who's waiting if Camilius can make it to his list or not, and Camilius just wanting to continue expelling feces (maybe) than to see Jinx.
Camilius' lips parted. Jinx's eyes brightened, but dimmed again when the serpent closed his mouth.
「 "Why isn't he saying anything? Is the hard, lumpy shit sausage stuck in his rectum distracting him?" 」
"Apology… accepted," Camilius said stiffly after a moment of opening and closing his lips like a dying fish.
Ah, there we go.
"B-but," he added, pushing Furan Shi on edge again, "if I end up sterile, you'll have to carry my child."
…
He did try to look intimidating. Ten points out of ten. But…
"Ah…"
"Eh?"
"Hah..?"
"Wh..?"
They endured another minute of staring contest, but this time with confused noises.
"H-how would that work-?"
"B-bad threat," Camilius sputtered out. "I never said anything."
"Me, carry your child? After you're sterile?"
"I didn't mean to breed you-" wait, that sounded wrong, too. His language failed him.
Too late. Jinx was already laughing. At him.
At him.
Jinx wasn't letting him forget his stupid blunder, like the rabbit never made any mistake all his life.
The snake growled, his cheeks pink, and his hand suddenly grabbed the rabbit by his jaws. He squeezed Jinx's cheeks between his thumb and his fingers — fortunately not hard enough to hurt — and brought his face closer. His brows tightened, just as Jinx's laughter was dying down.
"Stop laughing." He ordered. Maybe pleaded. No one could tell. No one should tell.
The rabbit's eyes, glossy from the tears of his laughter, seemed to be glistening under the fairy lights from his room. They formed crescents, lips smiling even as they were snugly sandwiched between the serpent's fingers.
"Not laughing anymore," he truthfully said, followed by a snort — which, technically, isn't a laugh.
Camilius had embarrassed himself enough for the day. Not only did he fail to intimidate the rabbit since the morning, now he's getting laughed at, too. What in the world was he thinking when he said that line?! That honestly sounded cooler in his head.
For now, he released Jinx's cheeks with a huff, turned around, and muttered something about "getting him back." He slammed the door in Jinx's face. Definitely not because he's embarrassed.
At least he said he accepted Jinx's apology, right? All's well that ends well.