shortly after the battle

[blue_ice]

[ Well, he's alive. Kaiba looks like a hot mess, though, with hair on both ends that stretches down to his waist. Looks like someone tried and failed to brush it. He looks like he hasn't slept much either, which adds to the whole wild man thing.

And after hours of staring at shop windows and agonizing he's here as an option of last resort, blinking at the audience tiredly. ]

Look, what do you all want for Christmas? Within reason.

Comments

[serpentinthegarden]

[ Crowley looked deep into the mirror, head inclined to one side... ] Are you going for a Father Christmas look? [ The demon looked as fresh as a daisy even after that battle but she did keep her wings carefully out of sight and paused to brush a length of much longer red hair off her cheek. Due to Hades magic he was still a very buxom she. ] You could use more red. I could use a shirt that wasn't tight around the chest. Maybe a sweater.

[blue_ice]

Thankfully I haven't gone white-haired yet.

[ He snorts. He could do young Kris Kringle, maybe...but who is this person? They're vaguely familiar. Wait...that was his hired teacher, wasn't it? Crowley? ]

Noted. But will our...ah...transformations last that long?

[serpentinthegarden]

No idea. Hades didn't exactly say how long this would last. Wouldn't put it past him for this to last until the end of the month... or longer. [ Thankfully it would turn out to only be a few days. ] One the nose with your transformation wasn't he? It's very 'wizard'.

[blue_ice]

...I still hate magic.

[ He sniffs. It's terrible. ]

But I suppose it could be worse. I'll see if there's anything I can do for you. You did help me considerably, even though you've already been compensated.

[serpentinthegarden]

Magic's fine if you know what to do with it. [ Said the one who had always had magic. Created with it from the very beginning. ] I wouldn't be surprised if this was some kind of punishment for trusting Hades in the first place.

[blue_ice]

I'm...figuring out what to do with it...

[ He huffs. ]

Well, that'll teach me. Anyone with that much power will abuse it.

[serpentinthegarden]

[ Crowley nodded, agreeing with that but off on another thought altogether. ] Why Christmas presents? You never struck me as the type for charity.

[blue_ice]

You're right, I'm not.

But going out of my way to avoid an unfortunately entrenched tradition isn't a way to make allies, and I don't have my vast personal wealth to keep me safe and comfortable here. Even when I did, I could still spare a bonus for my employees.

Just don't expect any singing.

[serpentinthegarden]

Right, no singing... there's a loss.

[Crowley had been around for a while and was perfectly familiar with the torture that was the sing along. He was just as happy to avoid it as Kaiba.]

So um, not saying you are getting anything but... if you were going to ask for something what would you ask for?

[blue_ice]

Ha. You I respect.

[ Gotta respect the man's hustle, after all. He considers the question for a minute. ]

Pens. There's apparently a lot I need to write.

[serpentinthegarden]

Pens. That's simple enough.

[And some what surprising that it was so easy. Kaiba might actually get those... in an unsigned package naturally. ]

Have a lot of greeting cards to fill out?

[blue_ice]

Ha. Maybe I should. But I need to keep detailed notes for my studies, and without my tablet, I'm back to the written page.

[serpentinthegarden]

You actually keep notes?

No one keeps notes! That Doctor guy... didn't even say boo when I helped him.

[Crowley might have been impressed even if he sounded incensed. ]

[blue_ice]

...seriously?

And of course I do. All of this is entirely new to me, so it's going to take more effort to learn than subjects I had a solid foundation in. I'd rather not waste time paying for lessons on things I've already been taught, after all.

[serpentinthegarden]

That's practical. More practical than I usually deal with.

[blue_ice]

What kind of idiots have you been teaching?

[serpentinthegarden]

Humans.

[Ask a demon a silly question. ]

Anyway it was always more watching over you lot, offering temptations... little chances to go evil. Guess there wasn't much need for anyone to take notes on that. Humans do well enough at evil without me.

[blue_ice]

Mm.

[ No offense taken, because... ]

When you're right, you're right. I've already been down that road. Don't care to go back.

You're sure you don't want a pithy saying on this sweater?

[serpentinthegarden]

Pithy saying? What like a coiled snake that has 'Hiss off' written over it? Maybe... people do go in for those ugly sweaters this time of year, don't they?

[blue_ice]

Something like that.

I promise it won't be jolly.

[serpentinthegarden]

Sounds interesting.

[And in return Crowley will make sure these pens are useful ballpoints and not more difficult to use quills.]

[mal_contented]

"Seems like you need a hairbrush. But sure, I'll play along, why not? Never been one to say no to free gifts. Art supplies." [Because that left a lot of range, and some small stubbornly good part was feeling guilty responding at all.]

[blue_ice]

Or a knife...

{ But that's not safe and friendly. Yeah, he's still mad about how ridiculous this is. ]

You have a wide artistic range, or do you specialize in something?

[mal_contented]

"A knife?" [She has, but... why?]

"Both. Mostly I paint, but I can do nearly anything."

[blue_ice]

I'll keep that in mind.

An enchanted knife that'll keep the hair off, preferably. I've tried. It just grows back. But if there's no removing this curse...then I at least need to manage it.

[mal_contented]

"Have you had a princess try to break the spell?"

[blue_ice]

...I didn't think of it. I don't know any of you too well. But I could try.

Are Princesses able to fix this?

[mal_contented]

"Most of us work cheap." [She was joking. Mostly.]

I don't think so but a failed attempt could be fun

[blue_ice]

"Fine. 10 munny if you want to take a crack at it."

Sure.

[mal_contented]

"Wow, you really took me at my word when I said cheap." [She smirked.]

[blue_ice]

I'm open to negotiation when we're finished.

{ Normally he wouldn't give such a hint, but tis the season. ]

Let me know when you're ready?

[mal_contented]

"Wow, you must be desperate. I am on my way."

[blue_ice]

[ And when she arrives he'll have cleaned up the room, grateful that the Doctor is off on one of his many adventures. He greets her with a curt nod.

His half of the apartment is a very sterile space. It's clear he doesn't keep many personal effects...all there is is his dragon-embroidered robe hanging on the wall, the one thing from the curse that he doesn't entirely hate. ]

Anything I can get to help you before we start? What do I need to do?

[ He'll pay her the base fee he agreed on now, to be fair. ]

And since action now, I am dropping the [Network] format.

[mal_contented]

"Sit down and let me focus. I work at the salon for a reason, after all." She didn't seem overly interest in the apartment one way or another, other than to note for herself which walls got what light and to start plotting what she would paint on them.

[blue_ice]

Well. She got right to the point. Kaiba appreciated that. He took a breath and sat, smoothing his hair over his shoulder. He'd done his best to straighten it beforehand, but Hades had left him with quite the mess.

He passed her the initial payment.

"Go for it."

leaving it open for you to decide what happens with the attempt...

[mal_contented]

She set the payment aside for the moment, and then chided herself for it at once. Not something she ever could have done on the Isle unless she was baiting a trap. But grabbing it back would show too much vulnerability, so she just circled him, studying the mess of hair. "We'll start simply," she finally said, pulling out a leather bound journal and a purple gel pen. She opened to a page and considered, then wrote something swiftly, before putting the pen behind one ear so she had a free hand with which to gesture.

"Beware, foreswear, replace this new, with old familiar hair." she said, one finger pointing at him. She gestured after the last word, eyes turning green to match the green trail her finger left in the air. If the spell worked, he would feel a slight pull on his head to follow the motion of her finger; side, other side, up, down.... after which his hair would shift and shimmer into what it should have been. But of course that wasn't going to work, now was it...?

[blue_ice]

...and what a marvelous shade of green it was. Kaiba closed his eyes, shuddered at the bizarre sensation...and there was most certainly a change, but not the one he wanted.

His long locks remained in place, beard taunting him, but instead of his natural chestnut brown, they were now green. He cracked an eye open, picked up the beard, and flinched.

"...seriously? I've about had it with him."

[mal_contented]

She scowled. "That was NOT what the spell was intended to do." Unless that was his normal hair color. She scowled, flipping through her book. "Who him?" She could adapt her purple hair spell once she found where she had copied it...

[blue_ice]

"Hades, who else?" Kaiba grumps, looking at his new hair with dismay. He'd have to choose his colors carefully if he was going to make this work.

[mal_contented]

Her hands curled tightly around the edges of the book. "I see," she said a bit tightly. "Alright, so we do magic till we get to a colour you can live with, then I'll do the rest a more old fashioned way. Or we can just keep hitting the randomizer, if you want."

[king_of_egypt]

..... Kaiba?

[Atem questioned feeling a disconnect between the voice he was hearing and the visage on the screen. I mean the brunette could have been going for a seasonal theme....? but that just didn't seem like his aesthetic. One did wonder why he didn't just opt of the voice feature if this was some sort of mishap or curse]

Answers would be a good place to start. [The important thing was that Kaiba seemed to be ok- physically though that excess hair could be masking any injuries...]

[blue_ice]

[Oh. OH. Kaiba is grateful that all that hair masks how embarrassed he must look. They'd been pulled separate ways after the battle, and while he'd been worried...he'd hoped he could have gotten rid of this mess before he was seen. ]

Hades. His 'enchantments' to help us survive the battle had side effects. Mine's one of the mildest he did, actually, but it's still a mess.

[ He sighs, smoothing his stache back down as he does so. Atem, thankfully, looks perfectly normal, which causes him to grump. ]

Can I be on your side next time?