Keeper Joi [m] xxx The Demon Vanjana [m]
His movements spoke of the eternal chase between prey and predator, the explosion of gore at the climax, that gentle prayer the survivor offered. He paced his great cage with the madness of a murderer, and when his keeper approached, it was all the young man could do not to cringe when those vivid eyes befell him.
"Why do you wear that... garb?" His tone was disdainful, disrespectful, but even he could not hide the curiosity that stirred within that majestic graze. His heavy bare feet halted and the silence was dreadfully suffocating.
Joi swallowed reflexively, bunching the red and white patterned gloves he wore on his hands within his fingers. He sought for a moment to try and explain the idea of a holiday while he continued on his familiar path around the curve of the demon's cage and to the locker where they kept his meat.
After a moment, the man smiled and turned his cheerful blue eyes to the other.
"It's a symbol of my celebration. In December there is this great... party where everyone gives gifts and is... happy." His sentence was choppy and hesitant in places, where he was unsure whether his charge recognized the English terms.
But Vanjana merely hefted a mighty snort and began walking back and forth again, his muscles tensing and trembling. Even in the late year cold, the man refused to wore clothes; Joi had long ago adjusted to his indecent sense of nudity.
"It sounds like a waste of time and money."Chuckling, Joi hefted a slab of raw meat into his bowl, slipping it through the opening the cage provided for the monster inside. Crouching down, Vanjana accepted the meal and put one end in his mouth, letting the blood dribble freely down his chin; but by that time Joi was lost in the memories he so carefully encased within his mind and rifled for an explanation.
"It's to prove friendship." He replied unhelpfully, grinning like the foolish child Vanjana saw him as.
"Sort of like... I give all my friends gifts, and if they're true friends, they give me gifts back."Quirking one thick eyebrow, Vanjana freed a hefty piece of the meat and swallowed it in a sinuous gulp.
"And what eve does this take place on?" He questioned, softening another section of the flank as he watched the other. But this time, Joi was unperturbed by the hostility.
"December 25th; tomorrow actually." His laughter created a hazy fog in the winter air.
"I won't be here; some poor sap is going to replace me. Be nice to him, alright?" Their relationship was vague, tense, and sometimes downright ironic; but Vanjana knew that there was little complaints he could offer.
He threw his meat down into the dirt and went to the side of the wide cage to the corner, where a small selection of tattered blankets lay. The scarred man knelt down within them and Joi watched in a mild sense of interest, knowing that if he showed too much the demon would become possessive and sharp.
But instead, he cocked his head when Vanjana reemerged from the hollow shaped of fabric and pushed a small square through the small hole he received his food in, casually picking up the steak and wandering back to his corner.
Joi delicately took the scrap of blanket and flattened it in one hand, having never encountered this bizarre behavior before. The two had been together, a keeper and a lame animal, for decades; and never once had Vanjana ventured as far as to offer more then a few idle sentences in a pointless conversation.
It took Joi a few moments to recognize what it was, for it was a corner from Vanjana's favored blanket, a thin and worn thing he had kept since he was brought here, and abruptly he sniffed, a tear forming at the edge of his eye. He knew Vanjana hated weakness and reminded himself sadistically that if he cried his charge would never forgive him; so he straightened and turned to walk away, well-aware that the demon wanted no thanks in return.
Once the keeper left, the unholy creature rose to his feet and stretched his padded muscles, the intricate tattoos that dyed his body shimmering with a faint glow. His smile was easy, and rather voracious, as he stuck the steak back in his mouth and watched the facility being locked down for the night.
"Merry Christmas." He tried the words in his frustrating mouth, found them easy, and grinned to himself, folding one arm over his bare chest and enjoying the extra salt Joi had snuck onto the meat for him.
"Merry Christmas, keeper."[okay, explaination (this is written as anthros, yah);
Vanjana is literally a demon that was captured in a center that studies him; and Joi was the unfortunate young man hired to feed/take care of him, about sixth for the job. When the others quit from the spirit's downright rude demeanor, Joi found him oddly entertaining and stayed on.
They've been together for more then twenty years now and this was the first time Vanjana ever mentioned Christmas, and the first time Joi ever dressed up at work.
I love these two, I think they're cute~]
[@Selcouth
I see them as hollow-boned too, but rarely genderless; more then often I have the notion to give them some sort of gender. x3 And I find it deftly challenging to write genderless characters.]
and i loved that little part at the end wheres hes all like i like christmas but i dont want to admit it even to myself XD
