The Customer is Always Right... right?

[reflectedstasis]

Who: OPEN.
When: The day of August 31
Where: Sector 5, at the Cat's Eye Bistro
Summary: Mysterious flowering cherry trees have sprung up overnight. They're beautiful, but their petals have some strange effects...
Warnings: Eventual violence thanks to an out of control 07 Ghost. Aside from that, just mark your warnings in the subject!

The up side of

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[reflectedstasis]

Once Sakura was safely gone, Fai turned his attention to Frau as his eye flickered to gold. He was thankful then, that Rain's shift had just ended and the place empty, because as he stepped towards the man, he let his talons extend. Whatever this was... whatever the man had become...

He'd become a threat to Sakura and such a threat had to be neutralized.

Neutralized, or eliminated.

"...Frau?"

[ibreakrules]

Frau turned dark, furious eyes on Fai when his meal suddenly disappeared. The enormous black wing curled slightly around Frau's left side. Normally the scythe would have never gotten that much control, but Frau wasn't himself anymore. At this point, he would welcome the scythe's aid.

"I wanted a delicious soul..."

A slow smile slid across Frau's face and his eyes glittered with malice and amusement.

"I guess you will have to do."

[reflectedstasis]

Fai's breath caught at that, his gaze narrowing in on the thing coming out of his friend's arm, grateful that he'd actually sent Sakura away rather than placing her behind a barrier because whatever that thing really was...

It was strong.

It was going to take all of his focus to deal with this, though at the man's words, he couldn't help but laugh a cold, mirthless sound.

"Sorry, I'm afraid my soul is really quite poisonous. Let's save you the trouble, shall we?"

[ibreakrules]

"I bet it's better than the others. Let's find out!"

Frau launched himself at Fai, still grinning madly in anticipation. He wouldn't let anything stand in his way of a meal now. No. This soul was his, and his alone. Hand stretching out determinedly toward Fai's chest, Frau broke into a cackling laughter.

[reflectedstasis]

Fai didn't even bother with a response to that - he just met that grasping claw with his talons, and drew his free hand back. Bright, iridescent runes swirled into a tight circle in his palm, glowed with a blue-white light as he threw his shoulder into Frau's chest.

The palm summoning the seal slammed into the winged arm as his eye widened a bit, all his concentration on the sealing spell.

"Sorry, my friend, but this isn't my soul for you to steal."

[ibreakrules]

So his hand had been stopped. Big deal. There were other methods. Frau was just about to bring his knee up and slam it into Fai's stomach when the seal made contact with his arm. His eyes widened and silence reigned for a brief moment after Fai spoke. Then all hell broke loose.

Frau screamed. It was a terrible scream, a human part screaming in pain and a non-human part screaming in agony and anger. The huge, black wing whipped toward Fai in an attempt to take the man from his feet. The scythe struggled wildly as the seal started to force it back down. It had come so far and yet gotten nothing! This time could have been it!

[reflectedstasis]

Heightened hearing was not something he considered much of a gift right then.

Some part of him wanted to flinch away from that inhuman sound because it was a wretched, miserable sound that echoed through him like a the familiar blast of frigid wind. And yet, rather than back away or dodge, he simply snapped the talons of his sealing hand out to, hopefully, puncture that odd wing and twisted to press his back against Frau's chest. The position left him more than a bit vulnerable, but he needed the leverage as he added a second, stronger, layer to the spell.

One way or the other, he was going to find a seal strong enough to suppress whatever this was that was coming out of the normally gentle man. "Snap out of it already, Frau!"

[ibreakrules]

Frau's shriek took on an edge of pain when Fai's talon's tore into his wing. It hurt, and he was going to make Fai pay for it. His right arm and wing may have been out of commission, but his left arm was free. He was going to make good use of it too.

Giddy, yet slightly malicious laughter rose up right near Fai's ears. It rose for awhile, almost uncontrolled. After a few very unsettling moments, it stilled. What replaced it was even worse.

"I will make you regret this before I eat you."

It wasn't Frau's voice. A human's voice didn't sound that much like a hiss, nor did it have the feeling of nails against a chalkboard. Once more the victorious smile came back on Frau's face. A split second later his left hand was twined in Fai's hair. He yanked the magician's head to the left in a sudden jerk and swiftly sunk his teeth into the skin, right where Fai's neck connected with his shoulder.

((Let me know if I need to change anything.))

*thumbs up bb!*

[reflectedstasis]

The sharp pain of Frau's teeth biting into him like that, forced a loud cry of his own to be ripped from him as his eye slammed shut against the pain. He barely managed to draw a breath, barely managed to hold the spell intact, before snarling a Celesian curse.

Pain, purely physical pain, was something the magician was familiar with. That he set aside, focused his magic, surged a third layer to the seal spiraling from the circle before his palm.

And then he added a dual layer sound barrier as well with an echoing whistle.

Five layers to create of of his most powerful seals.

If this didn't stop the man, the only thing left of killing him was the very same spell that had laid his beloved king low.

[ibreakrules]

When the final seal snapped into place Frau knew he had lost. The scythe was being forced back down and bound under the layers of Fai's magic. Outwardly, the change in Frau wasn't slow. The second the scythe was fully contained, Frau's nails and teeth returned to normal. The great black wing had pulled back into his arm again, once more becoming the scythe.

Frau's eyes snapped open, pure blue once again. At first, he didn't understand. He tasted blood, and his body hurt. Slowly Fai, wounded neck and all, registered to Frau. His eyes widened in stunned shock, and he bounded a good two feet away in the blink of an eye. When had he slipped up?

"F-fai?"

[reflectedstasis]

Fai watched his friend warily, glad to see the return of sanity there in the man's eyes. Even so, one hand still revealed three-foot talons and his eye glowed a burnished golden hue, the pupil slitted, fixed on the other blond as he lifted his other hand to pressed at the freely flowing gash in his neck.

His voice, however, was fairly calm as he asked mildly, "Frau? Care to tell me what the hell that was?"

[ibreakrules]

Oh God. Oh God, oh God, oh God. What had he just done? Frau pressed a hand to his head, trying to remember what had happened. He'd been talking to Sakura and drinking tea. Everything after that... Frau didn't remember any of it, but he could piece it together. He'd lost control. The scythe had taken over. He'd probably tried to eat Sakura before Fai stepped in.

He wasn't safe like this. Nobody was safe with him like this. He had to get away before something else happened. In another blinding rush of speed, Frau shot for the door. He had to get away. Far, far away.

[reflectedstasis]

This time there was no hesitation at all - the moment Frau moved to shift towards the door, Fai's hand lifted. Bright runes streamed out from his fingertips, curled around Frau half-way to the door, then snapped and flexed around him like steel bands that held him completely, utterly, immobile.

Slow, cautious steps brought him closer to the man as he reprimanded softly, "None of that, Frau. I can't leave you free to attack anyone else right now, so I'm afraid I'm not releasing you anytime soon. So please... tell me what that is. Was. Whichever."

[ibreakrules]

Had Frau been able to move at all, he would have been trembling. Since he couldn't move, only his eyes displayed his emotions. In a situation like this Frau couldn't keep them hidden completely away. If he couldn't escape to stay away, he would need to rely on Fai. Fai had been able to seal the scythe. Frau had to trust him. It was his only chance.

"Put me somewhere away from where people come in and put another binding on me. Something strong."

[reflectedstasis]

That did give Fai pause, because he wanted to press the issue right then - he wanted to know what had attacked Sakura. However, all it took was a single look in the man's eyes to realize now wasn't the time.

Because Frau's fear right then was of himself. Something Fai could understand all too well.

Which is why all he did was nod, once, as he stepped closer, then raise his other hand to twist the teleportation spell around them both. They didn't go far, at all - just up to the apartment above the bistro, where he landed them in the recently vacated spare room.

He hesitated then, only a moment, before he set a dual layer barrier around the room with a long, low, two-part harmony whistle. Black lines swirled along the walls like vines as he finally released Frau entirely.

"...You're not leaving this room, Frau. I won't allow you to hurt anyone else. Do you understand?"

[ibreakrules]

Fai understood. Frau could see that, and a slow relief flooded through him. At least for a little while nobody else would get involved in this. Frau sagged against the wall and slowly slid down to the ground.

"Thank you."

The words came out barely more than a whisper. There were very few things that could get Frau to say those words. He could probably count the number of times he'd said them on one hand. This time required it though. Fai deserved to hear it.

His chest burned and he could still taste Fai's blood in his mouth. He desperately wanted all of this to be over. But it wouldn't be. Frau knew Fai would demand answers. After this, how could he not give them?