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 Posted: Sun Mar 22, 2026 3:59 pm
Ryla was glad he'd taken the time to cool off on his planet. He actually felt something like centered and reasonable, which was a bit of a rarity for him, especially in recent days.
Especially when he knew he was going to have to talk with Imnolu and Heibing, and that was going to be at least a little messy, especially given he doubted Imnolu was going to be thrilled to hear he was still doing murder and didn't particularly regret it. Necessary context, unfortunately.
It was quiet, when he slipped in. Not entirely out of place; everyone who lived there was magical, and might well be out doing necessary magical things, and Taotao was probably asleep. (Too bad, Ryla liked being greeted by that dog. She was sweet.)
He was glad for the moment's peace, at least, since it let him get to the kitchen, turn on the minimal number of lights, and start boiling water for tea. He'd never put much stock in calming beverages, but maybe having one would make this whole mess feel less...messy. (Maybe. But it was all pretty messy.)
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Posted: Sun Mar 22, 2026 4:51 pm
Imnolu was a light sleeper. So despite the stealth with which his cousin moved, he knew that the air in the home had been disturbed by the front door, and he roused, rubbing his eyes and yawning. Tonight was a night he'd decided to stay home and sleep rather than go carousing with his partner, knocking Agent heads together. He padded into the kitchen in his adorable puppy slippers. Some doggy thing named Cinnamon Roll, or something. "Ryla! You're home," he said, pleased as he went to hug his cousin. "Hungry, or just want tea? I can make something."
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Posted: Sun Mar 22, 2026 5:19 pm
Ah. Of course the person he accidentally woke up had to be Imnolu. Ryla really had hoped for a little while to make some calming tea and settle in before he had to deal with anyone, but no such luck.
His smile was a little tired and a little wan, but he put it on anyway and hoped that maybe Imnolu was too sleepy to notice.
"Yeah, hi," he said. "I...just tea, I think? I'm not really hungry." Or maybe it was just that nothing sounded good.
"....I ran into Tyndareus again tonight." Might as well rip off one bandaid. It wasn't the most complicated one, no, but it was a start, and Ryla would take a start over staring at the kettle and wishing it would just boil faster.
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Posted: Sun Mar 22, 2026 6:15 pm
"A watched pot never boils," Imnolu said in a little sing-song to tease Rylafein, before his cousin's words processed in his brain. He sat down hard in one of the kitchen chairs, staring at Ryla. "Okay," he said trepidatiously, "And... how did that go?" He really, really hoped Ryla hadn't killed Tyndareus or something. The way Ryla was acting now was... almost like he was ashamed of something. Hiding something from Imnolu, at least for the moment. The sort of hiding something that meant he was about to actually tell, but was taking his sweet time doing so because he knew it would hurt, and the anticipation was killing him. Imnolu wanted to say it would be okay, but the words stuck in his throat, and all he could do was wait for Ryla's response.
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Posted: Sun Mar 22, 2026 6:31 pm
"It's not technically a pot," Ryla said, like that wasn't ignoring the point. He sighed, and turned his attention to Imnolu fully, though, because while the adage wasn't hard-written fact or anything, he certainly wasn't making the kettle boil by staring.
"Uh, it went insanely well, actually," he said. "Like, clearly I have made a positive impression because he caught me with a dead Captain and still wants to leave Chaos, so I think I did okay." There, he'd admitted to the thing, and cramemd it in the middle of good news so maybe Imnolu wouldn't notice and they could focus on the part where Tyndareus wanted to come home. "I showed him my world, over the winter, and I guess that cracked his brain open a little, and then I got to give him the fun news about what eating a starseed actually means, so...." He shrugged. "Victory for me, I guess?"
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Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2026 6:58 pm
Imnolu nodded, smiling a bit until his brain caught up with the full weight of Ryla's words. "Oh, I'm sure that was fun for—" His eyes widened. "Holy s**t. Two things: caught you with a dead Captain? And also, eating starseeds?! Is that what they ******** do with them?" Horror flooded his body, freezing him in place as he stared at Ryla and begged him with his eyes not to re-confirm what he'd just said.
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Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2026 7:11 pm
Ah. Well. Okay. They clearly weren't ignoring that. So much for whatever small hopes Ryla had of getting away without talking about the murder if he presented it the right way.
"Yes. They eat starseeds. Apparently it helps them heal or gives them a boost or something? I didn't exactly ask for details." He shrugged. "So I find this piece of s**t Captain who just starseeded some poor Senshi, and I go to fight him for it to get it back, but he eats it. Obviously I had to kill him." The only reasonable response, right? Surely Imnolu would understand?
"If I seem remarkably okay about this, I will have you know that I am not, I'm incredibly furious and upset and more than a little disgusted with myself for not being able to stop it, but throwing things and having a sobbing breakdown or what have you isn't going to fix what happened, so."
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Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2026 4:04 pm
Someone had really, actually eaten a starseed. And according to Ryla, which was also according to Tyndareus, this happened on a not-irregular basis. Stunned by the callous disregard for the life cycle, he leaned back in the chair, slumping against it and staring at Rylafein like he was insane.
"That's horrific," he finally said softly, standing. He hurried to Ryla's side and pulled him into a tight, desperate hug. ******** whatever else Ryla was saying about anything. This was more important.
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Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2026 4:41 pm
However he felt about it, Ryla knew he was not getting away from this hug. And, frankly, he was pretty sure he actually needed it, after the absolute emotional wringer he'd been through.
So, he collapsed forward into Imnolu's arms, squeezing around his shoulders and letting himself hold onto his cousin for a comfort that felt a long time coming.
"I told him I'd meet him to let him drain me for energy," he said, after a moment of silent embrace, "so that he can keep up his quotas and not draw too much attention. While we figure out getting him out of there."
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Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2026 4:48 pm
Imnolu squeezed Ryla, holding him close and rubbing his back lightly. At least Ryla wasn't denying he needed it. He'd half-expected Ryla to get all stiff and unyielding about it until Imnolu gave up on the hug. "Okay. Okay," he said softly, inhaling deeply. "So he's really planning to come home, huh? You better tell me all the details about this. Keep me, or the rest of the household, in the loop about when and where you're going and when you're home, okay? I don't want something going sideways when I could do something to help."
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Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2026 4:57 pm
"I hope so?" Ryla said, voice a little shaky. "Like, I think he means it. I think he really honestly wants this. But I'm--"
He sighed.
"I'm not stupid. There's a chance something could go wrong. So obviously I'll keep you all in the loop as much as I can. I'll write down where he and I are supposed to meet--that way, if something goes wrong, you can start there, looking for me." Maybe it was paranoid. Maybe Ryla was just used to having to plan for enemy action.
At least he had people he could rely on, whatever happened.
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Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2026 7:08 pm
Imnolu released his cousin from the hug, clasping Ryla on the shoulders. "Good. i might be the younger of us, but someone's gotta watch your a**," he said playfully. The kettle screamed its alarm that the water was boiling, and Imnolu forced Ryla to sit so he could make the tea. After all, it wasn't him who'd killed someone tonight. Who'd witnessed an unbelievable crime. Imnolu could do this much for him, in the moment.
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