Fantasy Unholy and Not-Quite Holy? (doesn't matter, they're still idiots)

[Cosmic_Chaos]

"Did I say I didn't like it?" He asked, eyebrow raised in subtle amusement. "I just wasn't expecting it. I dont' get to eat human food, and I've never really had... eggs did you call this? So I wasn't expecting the flavour or texture of it. Its not bad, its edible. Although I don't think that says much since I'm pretty sure I could eat poison and I wouldn't notice." He says bluntly before chuckling to himself. "Well, Poison for humans at least. Not sure about Poison made for Demons, but I'm not sure if that even exists." He hummed in though, taking another bite. "So don't worry your pretty little head about it okay? Really, I will eat whever you give me." he said, hoping that it sounded as genuine as he felt. He would eat whatever Karma gave him, if only because the Human made it for him, and out of pure cuiosity.

"Karamatt? How the hell do you get 'Karma' from Karamatt? I can see Kara, Mattie, Matt, but Karma? Wait, did someone just spell your name incorrectly and people just went with it? Thats kind of cute." He couldn't help but chuckle. Your nickname that everyone calls you by was because of mistype or someone saying your name wrong. thats kind of cute. "But, Its just your first name though. I don't know, I just like the Idea of petnames for people I like. I call Moraz 'Mors' like, you know, Death, but the irony being that he's more harmless than you." He chuckled. "Don't worry about it, sweetheart. I'll run around with pet names and see what sticks. If any of them make you uncomfortable though, let me know. Actually if you know any that make you feel uncomfortable already, let me know." He asked, more serious looking. He'd rather avoid making Karma upset if he could help it.

He couldn't help but feel slightly panicked when Karma started crying, he didn't mean to make the other so scared that he felt like crying! He was reminded to how Moraz would get upset, have his breakdowns, and the only one who could calm him down was his big brother. Xander cupped Karma's cheek, having the human look up him while he wiped the tears away. "You're scared, and thats a perfectly normal feeling. I can't tell you what to feel, and you certainly can't control how you feel." He said comfortingly, picking the smaller male so that Karma was now sat in his lap. He pulled Karma closer so that Karma's head was resting on his shoulder as he ran a hand through the pale hair, his other hand and arm wrapping around him to hold him in a gentle hug. "Cry it out, I don't mind if you get my top wet. I need a new one anyway." He joked, hoping to slightly lighten the atmosphere, even if by a little. "I wont judge you for crying, and we're all alone in the house right now." He cooed, hoping that the hug would help. it seemed to help before so he could only hope that it'd help now.

Out of pure whim, he started to hum a tune. A small, simple tune, more akin to a lulluby rather than a song, and it always helped calm all of his younger brothers down. Including him, since his mother was the one to sing to him. After all, even Demons wern't immune to nightmares and being scared of the big bad world outside, especially their young. And so he hummed, not really remembering the whole song, but it never really mattered. There was always something so calming about the song that even he was relaxing to himself singing it. He didn't stop humming until Karma felt sure of himself to pull away. "How are you feeling now, Deliciae?" He asked, slipping into his demonic language for the pet name. It transtlated to 'Darling' or 'Luxury' and sometimes in the right or wrong context, can be referred to as a pet of some kind. It slipped out without him noticing, he was more focused on making sure that the human felt better.

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[care_less]

Karamatt's reaction to both his nickname and the compliments on the food were exactly the same. The male would freeze up, then after a few moments, turn away and fiddle with his utensils to make himself look busy. It's been a while since someone has spoken highly of him. Or at least, in a non-creepy way that was. Even thinking about what some of the occult leaders said made him feel sick. Xander on the other hand, made his words seem genuine and innocent. He couldn't find a source of malicious intent, even when he was serious. He could feel himself ease from his tensions the more Xander spoke. Karma even cracked a smile. One that was not forced or out of a nervous habit. Though, he would have to work on eye contact and remaining still. Karma was much to anxious to break all of his habits.

However, Karma's line of comfortability is drawn the moment someone grabs him without communicating. The cupping of his face he could handle. It was a stretch, but he did not feel panicked once the demon caressed his face and wiped his tears. But pulling him into another hug was a big no-no for Karma. His mind snapped into his fight-or-flight reflexes, and shoved Xander roughly. As if some remarkable strength was hidden in his bones. This reminded him of something VERY very wrong, and it had rubbed Karma the wrong way. If he was calmer about the situation, he would have simply told Xander that he did not want to be held. He wasn't upset with him. It was an innocent action that he was sure most people would have taken. But Karma's mind was scattered. He needed to separate himself from the situation. Fast.

His heart was beating across hus chest. So hard that he found it difficult to breathe. Was the air thinning around them? He was hyperventilating as he looked over Xander. Horror being struck on his face. "I'm sorry," he panted as he slowly backed away. "Please...Please don't touch me. I just-" Karma glanced behind him to spot the front door. A perfect escape. "I need some air." He grabbed the doorknob with haste and fumbled onto the front porch. He made sure to close the door behind him. His chest was aching, his vision tunneling. Karma crouched onto the wooden deck as he grabbed at his chest. He couldn't breathe. Why couldn't he breathe? Karma was never taught what a panic attack was, so he was not aware he was having one. He was terrified. He thought he was dying. He thought that this was the end. But in reality, all he needed was some time alone. His brain was coming to terms with his new surroundings, which was something he well deserved.

The process was painful. Although Karma was quiet and only let out small whimpers, he was shaking and clawing at his arm. He remained curled up in a ball in front of the door, shivering and sobbing his heart out. He hated this. Every moment of it. But when he had finally calmed down, he had felt much better. His body felt weak and his head ached terribly, but his anxiety had flushed away for the time being. Karma NEVER wanted to go through that again, but he was glad to have gotten over it. He didn't have the energy to stand himself up, so he remained lying on the floor. A sort of melancholy rolled over. He felt nothing. As if he cried his emotions out. It was a strange sensation, though it was not his first incident. Usually after he would feel a surge of emotions, he would fall into this sort of sleepy state. One where he could put up with anything and using nothing but his logic to carry him out. Karma continued to lay as his eye watched the ceiling above him. Now taking long, deep breaths as he tried to recovery from his anxiety frenzy.

Cosmic_Chaos

 

[Cosmic_Chaos]

The second Karma reacted, and so strongly, to the hug, Xander let go and let the human gain distance, raising his hands in the universal sign of peace. He was a complete idiot, he really was. Of course, why would the obviously-still-terrified human who probably went through a human-hell for years, and obviously wasn't comfortable with any kind of touching, react well to a hug?! He really was an idiot who reacted before thinking. Although, he had to admit, this is the first this has happened in a long time. Xander had to be cruel and calculating back home, otherwise he'd never gain respect or power. But here... he was working with a mentally and emotionally scarred human who probably only accociated physical touch with something bad... he couldn't act like his normal self here, he's scare the shit out of the kid. He sighed as he watched the kid practically escape from the house. Right... damage control while keeping to boundaries... they really should talk about this.

Xander followed after a moment of watching Karma leave, but didn't open the door. He did, however, sit by the door and knocked upon it three times. To signal that he was there. He didn't talk or say anything for a while, he wasn't sure what to say. Especially while the kid was sobbing his heart out. But he could at least show the kid that he wasn't alone. Inhaling to steel his nerves, he did something that would shock his parents and siblings to their cores. He appologised. "I'm sorry... I didn't know that you didn't like touch to that extent. I wont touch you again if thats what you want. Just know that I'm not upset, and if anything, I'm actually kind of proud you pushed me away." He chuckled. "Just know that... if you want to talk, I'll listen. And if you don't, well, I can just sit with you in silence. No touching." He offered and then continued. "If you need anything... let me know. Please. Wether its... time alone, something to eat, to hold your hand, to protect you, a hug, some silence, Just tell me. I'll make sure you get what you need. Or want, if the case may be."

He listened as the sobbing slowly eased and he wondered if his words got through to the human at all. He hoped they did, it'd be embarrassing to have to repeat. but it wasn't like he was lying about what he said, he'd do what it takes for Karma to be comfortable. Okay, 'safe' didn't mean 'comfortable' but if Karma was comfortable, he'd be less scared of Xander and they could properly work together. The silence washed over them as he listened to Karma's heartbeat. It was still fast but it wasn't as frantic as before. He wondered for a moment, before looking towards the kitchen, and having a towel fly towards him. He then made it go through the window, which he had to unlock and open, and go to karma. Now Xander couldn't see what was going on, but he made it dance in the air harmlessly, before gently settling on him. He aimed for the hand, but Xander thought that if physical touch wasn't good, well, touch through objects might help.

Finally, he opened his mouth, after.... who knows how long. He wanted to ask if Karma was alright, and if he wanted to come inside, or if he wanted to stay where he was, or if he was cold. But what came out instead was... "I'm going to be real with you, Karma. I have... no idea, how to deal with a human who's so... jumpy and scared about almost everything. So I'm going to fuck up, and I'll probably have to appologise a lot more. Which is going to be embarrassing, but live and learn. But... I'm not going to leave you because of that, my pride wont let me leave someone over a small thing like embarrassment." He chuckled. "Ah, I'm so bad with words... Are... are you okay? I can get you a blanket if you're cold. Or do you want to come in side? Nap on the sofa?" He suggested, blanket already waiting at the window, ready to make its way to Karma if he wanted to stay outside.

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Karma acknowledged Xander's presence, but he did not respond to him immediately. It was a bit difficult to speak when he couldn't breathe. However, he did only get portions of what the demon had been saying. Something along the lines of "protection" and "listening", but it all seemed to merge into background noise. That was until Karma had calmed down enough to comphrend the other's words. He appreciated that the demon was trying to make an effort to comfort him. It was just difficult completely trusting him, even if there was no evidence of ill-intentions from Xander. He rubbed his eyes dry as he sat himself up. Hugging his knees to his chest, he craddled himself as his eye locked onto the ground. "It's fine," he mumbled at last. "You didn't know. I didn't tell you."

He wished he could make this better. Karma couldn't control his reactions, and it made him feel terrible. It wasn't fair to Xander if all of his reactions was to run away or coward. "Everything's moving so fast," he says as he hugged his knees tighter. "I'm trying to be calm, I really am. I just need time to adjust." He felt a shiver run over his body. It was the beginning of winter, so it did not take him long to get cold. But Karma did not say anything until Xander had offered to come back inside. He opened the front door slowly. After making sure that the demon wasn't leaning against it, he slid himself inside and locked the door behind him. He glanced over the window sill and noticed the blanket. 'He was already prepared for when I said yes,' he thought to himself. It was kind of cute how willing the other was to make him comfortable. Maybe he should make more of an effort to accept Xander's presence. It was clear that he wasn't going anywhere.

"I'm sorry if I'm making this difficult for you," Karma apologized, still shivering from being out in the cold. "I don't mind physical contact, I-I just need you to tell me first." That wasn't the complete truth, either. He was not a fan of any sorting of touching unless he asked for it. But he could tolerate it a lot better if someone had communicated with him beforehand. He made his way back towards the living room and slowly sat onto the couch. He still couldn't maintain eye contact with Xander for too long, or anyone for that fact. So he could only spare the demon a quick glance before looking away. "A-Actually, would you mind helping me with my bandages," he says nervously. "I don't want my eye to get infected." Karma began removing the now wet-stained bandages and crumbled it into a ball. He held it tightly in his hands as he kept his injured eye closed.

"When you said that my eye is healable," Karma began. He brought his head up to look at Xander, a glimmer of hope glistened in his eye. "Did you really mean it?" His grip on the bandages tightened. It would mean everything if he could get healed, demon magic or not. It would give him the chance to get a job and start a living for himself. It would be easier if he had allowed Xander to take care of him, but he needed something to do in order to maintain his sanity. Or at least, what sanity he had left. "I know it's not part of our deal but...if you're willing...I can make another deal with you if that means finding a way to heal my eye. I'll do anything!" Realizing how foolish saying he would do *anything* really was, he cleared his throat nervously as he gave an awkward smile. "Well, nearly anything."

Cosmic_Chaos

 

[Cosmic_Chaos]

The moment Karma responded, Xander couldn't help but feel relief. Karma was... okay just overwhelmed. Thats normal, right? things have been moving fast for the human, it'd be understandable why Karma would freak out. And then Karma made his move to come in, Xander was instantly on his feet checking Karma over subconciously. He had to remember that Karma wasn't like his little brothers, he actually had to be a lot more gentler with him. Demons wern't as easily stressed or overwhelmed, so it was jarring slightly for Karma to be so stressed over something Xander saw as so small, but he could understand. a Human can only process so much, and some humans probably can't process as well than others. Not to mention, Karma isn't exactly a well-adjusted human. He frowned when Karma started appologising.

"Hey, none of that. You're trying to adjust, its normal to need to be a bit selfish to feel comfortable. And really, I pushed boundaries without talking to you, I'm the one at fault." He explained, summoning the blanket closer to drape over Karma. He followed Karma as the male made his way to the living room, but not too close. But at the ask for assisstance, Xander nodded, sitting down with Karma ready to help. He easily summoned his healing kit, bringing out the bandages and and gauze, as well as some hot water and salt with a small towel. He looked to Karma, almost unsure what he should do, but smiled. "I'm going to clean and bandage your eye now, okay?" He asked, holding the now wet and slightly steaming towel and gently cleaning the area. he gently held Karmas face by his chin, and made sure that the area was clean. He put on the gauze and started to methodically bandage the wound. As he cleaned and bandaged the eye, he talked in reply to Karma's question.

Smiling, he started to talk, almost ramble, as he worked. "Its healable, yeah. but its going to be complicated. I'd have to drag out a demon who can actually repair the eye, doable, but tedious. I can heal most superficial wounds, so I could heal and close the wound now, but it would have to be re-opened later if you do want to get it repaired properly. That could be painful." He explained. "As for the Demon, I'd have to pop back down to Hell for a bit, and who knows how long I might be on my end, let alone here. A day for me down there might be a week or even a month up here. Or its the opposite. I could never figure it out. I don't hop between realms too often, and I can't grow old or anything. So I'd have to swap with someone who I know could actually look after you in my steed, thus another Demon. I'd chose Moraz, he truely is harmless. More likely to overfeed you with his confectionary, and could probably talk to you about the more current things." He added, smiling amused.

"Finding the Demon wouldn't be hard, I could drag one of the healers I know. Theres one who seems scary and can be intimidating, but she's not bad. She's banadged me up a good few times, especially before I learnt how to heal myself. I thought I lost my tail at one point after a nasty fight with someone after the crown, but thanks to her, my tail was fine." He rambled almost as though he was talking to himself. "Ah, my apologies, I rambled completely to myself there. But Zirril is probably the only demon I trust to heal someone, and I actually respect her." He chuckled slightly. finally, however, he was finished and pulled away. "There, all done I believe." He smiled. At least he knew basic first aid, if nothing else. "Again, Zirril is... kind of scary, but only when she's mad. And I will admit, I do test her patience sometimes, but the most she's done is whack my tail or gently hit my head. She's almost like... An Honorary aunt... or Big sister... But don't tell her I told you that, she will cuss me out." He chuckled

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