(Untitled)

[lacerta_ortus]

WHO: Caiman and Hokuto Sumeragi
WHAT: Meeting in person, and getting a pillow.
WHERE: Hokuto's Salon.
WHEN: May 10th in the morning.

Comments

[lacerta_ortus]

"Yeah. I'm Caiman."

Inside the Hungry Bug was where Caiman was at his most comfortable. It was Nikaido and his restaurant. They could run it however they liked. If someone didn't like the fact that a lizard man was running shop, they could kick them the fuck out.

Outside, though, Caiman would either be aggressive or self-conscious. A man with a yellow lizard head, scales running up and down all the way to his neck, at which point, the rest of his body was human. Big thick spikes on the back of his head. Like having a goddamn crocodile or a dinosaur for a skull. You either gave shit before people could give you shit, or you thought way too much about it. Neither were that fun.

Walking in, he looked down at Hokuto, which was something to see indeed - Caiman had a huge amount of height over her, and his eyes were on the side of his head. He could be looking behind him, at two different sides of himself at once, or straight on. He rolled his pupils forward, meeting Hokuto eye to eye, and trying his best not to be intimidating.

"Nice to meet ya." He said, quiet.

[thebearstars]

Hokuto didn't flinch. By looking at her face, one would think that having civil conversation with a lizard-headed man was the most natural thing in the world. There was no hint of fear in her expression, although, she tilted her head slightly and leaned forward, as if to get a better look at him.

She was curious.

"And you too," she replied at length with a small, cheerful smile. "Exotic thing, aren't you?"

Her words could have been mocking, coming from another person, but her smile and light tone suggested that she was sincere in her compliment. In fact, in a way, she privately identified-- she was something of an anomaly herself, though her abnormalities were not as physically visible.

[lacerta_ortus]

Exotic. That was about the nicest way to describe it. Maybe it could've been exotic if he'd been some retarded celebrity making the next big move for attention, and going with severe body modification.

As it was, he had just ended up this way. No idea how, of course.

"If you say so." He said, one eye remaining on her, while his left did a scan around the shop, getting a feel for what it was like. Despite being connected to the mafia, Hokuto was still very, very...feminine. Bright colors everywhere. Flamingo pinks, baby blues, fire reds.

The second eye rolled back up to match the first again, tilting his head around.

"So, uh," He said, somewhat nervous, "been making clothes for awhile?"

[thebearstars]

Unexpectedly, Hokuto gave an entertained little laugh, like a young girl's, delighted by seeing this unusual talent Caiman had of being able to move one eye independent of the other. Then, seeing that perhaps this was rude, she covered her mouth and restrained herself to a smile.

"I'm sorry, it's just I've never seen anyone like you before," she explained, good-natured in her tone, "But I'm sure you get that all the time."

She paused, looking down at the dress she was sewing before smiling again and adding, "Well, a girl has to have some hobbies, doesn't she? I have to admit though, I'm very at home with fabric."

Another pause as she seemed to realize something. She disappeared for a moment as she leaned down under her desk from her seat to retrieve something. At length, she emerged with the fabled survive-all pillow.

"Ta-da!" With a flourish, she presented it to her guest.

[lacerta_ortus]

"Pretty much." He said, and kept it to that. Most people didn't say it, but he saw people's reactions all the time. Genetic modification might've been an in thing nowadays, but that was mostly to make yourself stronger, or faster, or your dick bigger, or whatever. No bonus here.

But enough self-pity or shit. Now was for...now, he guessed.

"Guess you didn't like what clothes there were out there to buy...not enough variety for you or something?"

But only briefly after saying that, he was presented with the pillow. Holding it in his hands, he fluffed it a few times. Felt comfortable enough. But the question was, would it hold up to his head?

Putting it at the back of his head, he pulled the pillow forward and pushed his head back, making his spikes grind into it.

Nothing. No rips, no holes.

Grinning, he put the pillow in front of him, looking at it with a sort of exasperated relief. A YEAR of sleeping with unreliable pillows, and this one would last him.

"Fucking finally! Goddamn!" He said, as cheery as those words could come.

[thebearstars]

"I just like to keep my hands busy," she answered nonchalantly with an absent smile, "Not to mention, I have the most adorable twin brother. It would be a waste for us to not wear matching costumes, don't you think?"

Hokuto waited expected as her handywork was inspected by her client. Admittedly, she had never really made a pillow before, but had taken care in selecting a durable, yet comfortable fabric. Seeing that it survived its test run and was met with cheerful approval, Hokuto smiled brightly, clasping her hands together in delight.

"Here's to a better night's sleep."

[lacerta_ortus]

"...Matching costumes?" Oh jeez. She was the kind of girl who, around 10 years old or so, made their brother wear eye-liner and glitter and stuff like that, wasn't she? Not just matching clothes, but costumes. He didn't envy the boy.

Moving on.

"Here's to not wasting money on a new pillow every week!"

[thebearstars]

Oh yes, Hokuto was notorious for the outrageousness of her costumes-- avant guarde, perhaps, or just plain crazy. Probably most people, especially poor Subaru, thought the second. She had regularly dressed them up since they were teenagers, though with the seriousness of her brother's work, their time together had become almost non-existent.

She chuckled lightly, pleased with her success and happy to have helped her client. "I'm always glad to be of service. But if it ever weras out, you'll know who to see." She smiled, tilting her head habitually. "And I'll be sure to stop by your restaurant and check in."