come_sailaway | I come from downtown, born ready for you (Open)

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I come from downtown, born ready for you (Open)

WHO: Siffleur and you
WHAT: The return of Spirit Halloween
WHERE: Spirit Halloween, various
WHEN: all October
WARNINGS: probably cannibalism, body horror

Waking to skeletons and Halloween costumes where there were swimsuits and towels only hours ago has left Siffleur feeling odd to truly realize that a year has passed since he arrived. This isn't the first place he's lived for a year, but he so very rarely makes it to this point feeling so comfortable in his own skin.

The only downside to the change - besides his lairs rearranging and needing to find where a few of his gifts ended up - is that his usual method of getting dressed was just grabbing items off the racks and tossing them away at the end of the day. So for all of October, Siffleur can be found wearing various costume pieces.

Today, he's lounging in a pile of black robes in his cougar shape, a giant pumpkin-headed man looming over him as it keeps watch. Anytime someone gets too close, it loudly announces that its name is Lewis.

Siffleur can also occasionally be found around the ship - eating at the buffet in a stained and bloody Michael Myers jumpsuit, smoking in Ghostface robes at Bobby B's, and just staring out at the ocean in a slutty nurse outfit that really accentuats his total lack of curves.

Those who know him well will notice a slight change - his fur-like hair has become human hair, and he's clearly still getting used to it because he keep reaching up to touch it and occasionally making a face.

(Open to call - find Siffleur anywhere you'd like around the ship)

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Ashley is browsing the racks. Occasionally he stops to laugh at something he finds. Right now he can barely breathe over the selection of slutty male costumes. It is not a big selection. He's glancing between the sexy werewolf and the showdown cowboy. "Those shorts leave nothing to the imagination."

"Yes, I tried on a pair earlier, and my balls kept slipping out the sides." Siffleur says from where he's lounging on top of the overstock. "But I am glad there are many options for us to wear this month."

Ash freezes and just stares for a moment. Is a cougar talking to him about his balls? Yes. Apparently this is happening. Of all the encounters he has had on this ship this one is...interesting to say the least. He thinks to make a cheeky comment about how if people got their cats fixed like responsible owners that wouldn't be a problem. Cats and dogs, will they ever get along?

"Are there any costumes you haven't put your balls in?" This must be the cannibal he has only heard about. Fancy that.

"Most of them, but don't ask me to remember which I've put on and which I haven't." He crosses his paws, amused with the momentary pause from the man below. It's a small treat just for him. Though now that he's got a better look at him, he can guess who he is. "You must be Ash. I am Siffleur."

"Alright. I can work with that." At least he knows. He looks up and smirks. "How do you know me?"

"Through Max. You are his boyfriend. And I believe you are also dating Valdis." And likely was killed or tormented by Tiamat. Siffleur hasn't asked for an exact bodycount.

Ash glances at him and nods. "Both are true, yeah. I can guess you already know what I've been told about you." He doesn't want to be a dick about it but it's the only thing he's been told about the cougar that lives in the store. This is the first time he's actually learning his name. "That's all I've been told, actually. Well and that you live here, in the store."

He chuckles. Oh yes, Siffleur knows exactly what his first impression is, long before anyone meets him. He stretches as he stands up, then hops off where he's lounging and lands on the floor beside Ash.

"Both are true. I am a cannibal, and I live here. Sometimes, I run a game where I hunt people for fun, their life in exchange for a prize. But now that dying always comes with a cost, I only chase people these days - unless they have a prize worth the death tax." He sits, tail curling around himself. "I am a werecougar as well."

He almost reaches out to scratch his head but stops himself. This isn't home and he's not Lynn or Sealink. Petting cats you aren't friends with is probably bad manners.

"Must be a big cat thing. The Bastet, one of their breeds the Khan, weretigers...they are born cursed with a hunger for the flesh of human infants." His brow lifts. "What kind of prizes?"

His ears flick just slightly at the outreached hand, but it's withdrawn before he has to decide how he feels about it. Though he's gotten far more comfortable with people touching him on the ship, even outright encouraging it by rubbing against people's legs, he's still not at the point of letting a near-stranger touch his head - even if he's sure Max would vouch for Ash.

"Hmm, very interesting. It's good to know there are other cats out there with a taste for humans - though a diet of infants must make them very unpopular among others." He nods towards the obstacle course in the distance, which survived the change unscathed thanks to the tape marking it's location. He may need to try that in the future, if he's still here in a year's time. "I have many displayed on the wall of my obstacle course. I offer stuffed animals and other carnival prizes, Japanese candy kits to make tiny deserts, and restraints like handcuffs and gags. One man below the age of 21 won my game, and asked for his prize to be the ability to have me fetch him beers or other drinks from the bars."

"They eat other things but if they can get their teeth on a baby... I have a roommate at home another Bastet she's a small lion. Usually looks like a Maine Coon when she's wandering around the house. They don't have any interesting feeding habits. The Khan were cursed it was a punishment meant to make them unpopular."

And to keep them from over populating. If they are a danger to their own young there won't be as many. His eyes drift to the obstacle course.

"Has anyone beaten you?"

"Too bad for the Khan. I'm not cursed to do what I do. I just hunt any prey, and was taught not to exclude either of my halves." His eyes squint a little in a cat smile. "And humans are very delicious."

"Yes, both at my game, and at the obstacle course. There are many powerful people here. It was a very humbling experience to go against some of them, and very enlightening. Valdis was one of those who beat me." He chuffs slightly, laughing to himself. "I expected when she entered that I might lose, but I was unprepared for her to become a horse-sized hound."

Ash doesn't understand it. Then again he never stays in his other form long enough to need to hunt to eat. He lives in a big city with easy access to food.

He smirks at the story about Valdis. "Of course she did." Ash shakes his head with a laugh. "Don't think she likes to lose. Then again, who does. Even when not fighting is the right choice it still feels like shit to back off."

"Very true. It is the way of predators to hunt, but that does not mean that prey must be grateful or gracious about their losses. And even predators may be embarrassed when things do not go their way." As a cougar, he's well aware of what embarrassment feels like in the form of missing your pounce, or slipping and falling. "The ship has been good for me in many ways, but as someone who used to be at the top of the food chain back home, it has been a somewhat rude awakening at times. Compared to the many magic users, and those with advanced technology, I am little more than a particularly large house cat."

Ash sits on the floor with his back against the wall. Everything Siffleur says connects. After what happened with Tiamat and how pissed Valdis was with him over it, he's been struggling with exactly what Siffleur was talking about. "How about when you're the predator and you just sit down and die quietly?"

Perhaps not the reaction Ash was expecting, but that gets a wry chuckle out of him. "Sometimes, it is the only choice worth making. That is what I did when Tiamat sought me out to kill me. I befuddled her enough that she actually spoke to me, and earned myself a quiet and sudden death. I did not see the point in fighting her. I already knew she would kill me, and I knew it would not be a fun or enjoyable fight. In this place, death is worth the gamble."

He tips his head at Ash. "In your case, while I do not know the circumstances of your death, I would assume choosing to die quietly was an action taken to cause Valdis less pain."

That response doesn't bother him but catches his attention. He's been beating himself up over it pretty bad. Not to mention the very negative reaction his decision had gotten from Valdis. "She wanted the fight. Wanted me to hurt her to hurt Valdis. Pissed her off that I wouldn't. She made me pay for that...which just hurt Valdis. Should have just fought. Outcome would have been the same. Either way she got hurt."

He sighed. "I just...I didn't know what would happen if I killed her. What if something worse woke up? Or if I caused Valdis to be gone forever? I couldn't bring myself to take that risk."

Ash was very confident that in the confined quarters of his room, the big wolf could have torn her apart before she could take his soul.

"I think it was worth it to deny Tiamat what she wanted, and I think you were right to worry about what might have happened to Valdis. I would not worry about Valdis' hurt or anger. She feels very strongly, and changes her mind at the drop of a hat - usually without telling you." He tips his head at Ash. If he doesn't know this about Valdis already, then he will certainly find out soon enough.

"I am not entirely sure what all she did, but the first time I saw a glimpse of her, she was threatening to kill the entire ship. There were murders this time, but the whole of the ship is still intact, and she is gone, so it was not as bad as I feared. And in that case, not giving Tiamat the pleasure of making you fight Valdis was worth it in my mind."

"Thank you, Siffleur. Didn't realize until now how much I needed to hear what you just said." Ash can't help but to think he judged him too quickly for being a cannibal.

"Is she really gone though or just contained?"

He nods to Ash. "Of course." Though he might be practical to a fault, it's sometimes good to have someone this practical cut through the emotions of everything.

"I'm not sure, but I doubt she's gone. From what Valdis said, removing Tiamat would be no easy matter. If she could not do it where she came from, I am not sure she could do it here under such short notice, and while possessed. I hope she will share details with you, but you may need to press her on them. She does not like to seem vulnerable." And instead, she has put others in vulnerable positions. It annoys Siffleur, but he understands even if he doesn't approve. As Ash said before, she does not like to lose, and Siffleur knows well how that kind of vulnerability feels like the worst kind of loss.

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I come from downtown, born ready for you (Open)

Spirit Halloween

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