FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT FIG

[12:24]Xiri: THERE WERE SHENANIGANS THE NIGHT BEFORE which will be backtracked to when Byrd is awake, but FOR NOW: Xiri has left his prince sleeping safely in bed, and taken himself upstairs, leaving his cloak and a pile of blankets and a film of his magic atop his prince to keep him warm. But now, it is food time, and Xiri is going to go to the strange lighting-run icebox and pull out a carton of milk and drink straight from it in between bites of an apple, like a savage (or someone from a place that doesn't have cartoned milk). Mmmm.
[12:24]*Xiri is not really in the best mood but he PROBABLY won't fight someone if they just walk into the room. If they bait him, though...
[12:25]*Casper LeBlanc Jr may or may not bait him, we'll see.
[12:27]*Casper LeBlanc Jr wanders into the kitchen, trying to remember the last time he ate an actual food. It was... a while ago. The raven on his shoulder doesn't seem super pleased, but then again Bob rarely is. He's at least managed to clean himself up before tracking blood and/or mud into the Jebri home (again), and he pauses when he spots Xiri in the kitchen. "Um. Hi?"
[12:29]Simon-Blackquill disconnected.
[12:30]Simon-Blackquill connected.
[12:30]*Xiri was mid-gulp of milk, and he sputters a little in surprise-- would Casper believe he's only the second person Xiri has seen in the house, besides his Snowe?-- and then... tries to glare intimidation at Casper over milk carton.

Xiri, no, that's not intimidating at all!

When he's done with his swallow, he looks Casper over as he lowers the milk carton, getting a measure of him, and then asks, "What do you want?" in the most unwelcoming tone possible. You tried to fight him, and he hasn't forgotten that.
[12:31]Simon-Blackquill disconnected.
[12:31]Casper LeBlanc Jr: ... I wanted to get something to eat. What are you doing in Tori and Jeb's house?
[12:31]*Casper LeBlanc Jr as if he doesn't know what most people are doing: being lost.
[12:32]Simon-Blackquill connected.
[12:32]Xiri: ... This is where I go when the games are over. Who's Jeb?
[12:32]Casper LeBlanc Jr: Tori's partner. He shows up in the games sometimes. He's... really friendly and gentle.
[12:34]*Xiri stares at Casper, eyes narrowed, then states flatly, "Haven't met him." Chomp! go his sharks's teeth into the apple, and he keeps a cautious eye on Casper as he gets another drink of milk, clearly ready for... some kind of unfriendliness.
[12:37]*Casper LeBlanc Jr steps forward, and then... moves past him to go grab the bread off of the counter. "You probably will if you hang around enough... he tends to try to make friends with everyone." Bob hops off his shoulder and onto the counter, still watching Xiri.
[12:40]*Xiri's gaze flickers to the bird-- pretty birdy! Xiri kind of wants to scare it, but he's got no scarecrows to do so-- then returns to Casper, watching him with clear distrust. "Good for him," he says, more than a bit sarcastically, even though that's literally Snowe's modus operandi (when he's not so self-loathing he doesn't think he deserves friends at all). Chomp chomp chomp. "And what are you doing in Tori and Jeb's house?"
[12:42]*Casper LeBlanc Jr grabs two pieces of bread, wraps the rest up, and puts them on a plate before grabbing the peanut butter and a knife. "Getting some food? It's easier than finding a place near where I'm stationed, and I do my best to pay them back. The mountains are starting to get really cold, and while I can survive on pretty much anything it's not really great for me."
[12:43]*Xiri says, because he is a friendly and sensitive person, "You should try starving to death and dying. I'm sure everyone would appreciate it." NO, XIRI, PRETTY MUCH ONLY YOU WOULD.
[12:45]Casper LeBlanc Jr: I think I'll pass.
[12:46]Xiri: A shame! You'd make a really good corpse. And I could use your clothes for a scarecrow. Do you know, there's not a scarecrow near this house? My poor Snowe won't have anyone to talk to if I don't put one up for him.
[12:47]Casper LeBlanc Jr: No, I've been there, done that. It's not fun. And why won't he have anyone to talk to?
[12:48]Xiri: Well, I'm not going to let him talk to you.
[12:48]*Xiri , rude!!
[12:48]Casper LeBlanc Jr: Why not?
[12:48]Xiri: Because I don't like you.
[12:48]*Xiri ... factual statement?
[12:49]Casper LeBlanc Jr: .. Look. You don't want me to hurt your friend. I don't want you to hurt mine. That's all there is to it.
[12:52]Xiri: You have friends? Amazing! Who would put up with you?
[12:52]*Xiri really doesn't know which friend you're talking about he kind of wants to hurt everyone
[12:52]*Casper LeBlanc Jr is doing his very best to be patient and not stab a demon okay.
[12:53]Casper LeBlanc Jr: A lot of people, actually. I could ask you the same thing.
[12:53]Xiri: I don't need friends. They just betray you.
[12:53]Casper LeBlanc Jr: What about Snowe?
[12:53]You either mistyped your command, or it doesn't work here.
[12:53]*Xiri starts eating the apple's... core. Xiri that's... not that gross but pretty weird?
[12:55]*Xiri also doesn't reply to the question, though anger and hate and misery and a flicker of magic spring up in his face, his body language, and veiling his expression in a tint of darkness.
[12:57]*Casper LeBlanc Jr takes a step back now that he's got his sammich. Nom nom.
[12:59]*Xiri says, eventually, voice dark and harsh and unhappy, "I love Snowe," in the kind of way that seems to say "so it's different" but also "but i still don't trust him".
[13:00]Casper LeBlanc Jr: ... I. ... You may not believe it, but I... know how that feels.
[13:01]*Xiri says, almost-joking, "What, you love him too?" and smiles a big ol' yandere smile at Casper.
[13:02]Casper LeBlanc Jr: ... I think he's nice, but no. I've loved other people, though.
[13:03]Xiri: Did they eat you?
[13:17]Casper LeBlanc Jr: Um. No?
[13:18]Xiri: So you don't know how it feels to trust someone, and have them come close to you, and tear out your core and shove it down their throat, just to steal the power you would willingly give them?
[13:18]Casper LeBlanc Jr: ... No. I can't say I know exactly how that feels. But then again, you can't know what it's like for my situation, eiether.
[13:19]Xiri: Well, I don't actually care about your situation, so that's fine.
[13:19]*Xiri casually chucks the last bit of apple he has at the bird. Xiri please.
[13:20]*Casper LeBlanc Jr watches Bob squawk in anger and sidestep it. R U D E.
[13:20]Casper LeBlanc Jr: .. You know, maybe it's hard for a demon, but you could at last try empathy.
[13:21]Xiri: Hard for a demon?
[13:21]Xiri: You think empathy is hard for demons?
[13:21]Casper LeBlanc Jr: I wouldn't know.
[13:21]*Xiri DATS RACIST
[13:21]Casper LeBlanc Jr: That's what I've heard, but my sources could be wrong.
[13:22]*Xiri snarls at Casper, and-- xIRI NO DON'T CHUCK THE MILK CARTON AT HIM

Xiri chucks the milk carton at him.
[13:22]*Casper LeBlanc Jr catches it easily and sets it down on the counter.
[13:23]*Casper LeBlanc Jr COME ON SON GOTTA TRY HARDER THAN THAT
[13:23]*Xiri will chuck a fireball at him, then. Because fuck you.
[13:23]*Casper LeBlanc Jr welp
[13:24]*Casper LeBlanc Jr would dodge but then it would hit some of the Jebri kitchen and that would be bad - "Hey! If we're gonna do that, let's take it outside so we don't wreck the place!"
[13:24]*Casper LeBlanc Jr will deal with how bad that hurts l... ater.
[13:25]*Xiri smiles, slowly, and says, "Oh, do you mean you won't fight back if we're in here?" Flames lick the edges of his clothes, and his shadow seems to be getting darker... "Why would I want to take it outside?"
[13:26]*Casper LeBlanc Jr takes a deep breath. "Because I imagine you'd like to keep staying in this place, but if you're gonna wreck it I'm not the only one who's gonna be pissed."
[13:27]Xiri: I don't care where I am, as long as I have Snowe with me.
[13:28]*Xiri WELL THAT'S NOT TRUE HE'D LIKE TO GO THE FUCK HOME but outside of that
[13:28]Casper LeBlanc Jr: ... I don't intend to take Snowe from you. But this is a good place. I don't want to see it wrecked.
[13:29]*Xiri gestures, and shadows snake along the floor, catching at Casper's ankles and squeezing anything they find tightly. "Lucky for me that I don't care!" he sing-songs, light coming to his eyes. VIOLENCE? YES PLZ
[13:31]*Casper LeBlanc Jr attempts to get out of the way, but he was not expecting a shadow attack. He freezes, looking down at them... he doesn't have enough familiarity with darkness to be able to do anything to them. His false leg doesn't really give at all, but his real ankle starts sending out warning signals with how tightly Xiri is squeezing.
[13:35]*Xiri has dual elemental typing, surprise! And he pulls his hand towards him, trying to yank Casper's legs out from under him, fire bursting from his other hand and taking the shape of a scepter. "Ahh, look at you!" he coos, eyes glowing bright in the blackness of his sclera, smile wide, "you've made a terrible mistake, haven't you?"
[13:39]*Casper LeBlanc Jr flips backwards, landing on his ass and catching himself with his hands to try to pull back and away. He doesn't respond verbally, just watches Xiri posture and pose with the scepter. There's no emotion left in his expression, just blankness. Every action looks more like it's automatic, rather than him really thinking of it.
[13:46]*Xiri drags him closer over the kitchen floor, and stands over him, and lowers the scepter to burn right by his cheek, close enough to singe his hair. "You won't even fight back? Where's that spirit you had before, little bird? Or do you just know you can't defeat me?"
[13:52]*Casper LeBlanc Jr is still for a long moment, not saying or moving at all. He can feel it... it's a challenge. And he can't back away from a challenge. He's not supposed to, anyway.... so he stares, listening to the flames, before repositioning his feet and shooting up, through the fire and grabbing towards Xiri's wrist, intending on letting his hands transfer enough of the cold to hurt and bruise a normal person, and then push it more. He bites his lip so he won't cry out, even if the flames hurt way too much and make him want to shrink back.
[13:56]*Xiri bursts out laughing, grinning wildly as he lets Casper get in close, grab his wrists-- ow, fuck, that hurts!-- and letting the scepter of fire burst into a bonfire behind him, definitely leaving soot on the ceiling and counters as Xiri wraps darkness around the two of them, and grabs Casper back, and leans in, and asks him, voice rough and poisonously sweet, "What's your nightmare, little bird? I can make it come true--" and his magic pushes into Casper, rooting around for anything that makes him paralyzed and terrified when he sleeps.
[14:01]*Casper LeBlanc Jr was not expecting this, and his eyes go wide. His mind tries to push back, but it has no real defenses against this kind of thing, and the answer seems to come from him, but not from him - from something also outside their little cocoon of darkness. Images of hideous men with crab pincers, and his parents yelling at him, calling him a failure... and then a lab table, with him strapped to it and his father over him, holding a scalpel and a clipboard. Images of people turning on him, of people who are clearly friends just picking up and leaving... and images of himself, ripping through enemies with a grin on his face, not seeming to care about the carnage around him. He feels Xiri pull these things from his mind, leaving him shaking a little. They're not real. They're not happening. But it's still horrible...
[14:06]*Xiri takes them, and turns them around, readying his magic to bring them to life for Casper--

But he hesitates, dwelling over the image of a father using his son, of friends turning away, of failure... and then drops them back where he found them, heart twisting inside of him because he's FELT that pain before-- while he was inside Snowe-- damn it, damn it, DAMN it--

With a low, distressed noise, Xiri shoves Casper away, letting go of his nightmares and his arms, magic pulling back into a shadowy shell around him as he bares his chompers at Casper.
[14:15]Tori Marie Nygma disconnected.
[14:15]Tori Marie Nygma connected.
[14:15]Jeb Parmalee disconnected.
[14:15]Jeb Parmalee connected.
[14:16]*Casper LeBlanc Jr feels the panic rising, prepared to face something - but then Xiri pulls away. He stumbles back, panting as if he'd just run ten miles. He tests his weight on his ankle to make sure it's not broken, but doesn't take his eyes off of the demon. Bob's feathers are all ruffled, prepared to launch an attack... but he doesn't. Casper clenches his fists, tries to calm himself... but doesn't say anything.
[14:21]*Xiri waits there, breathing hard, waiting for a counterattack-- but none seems to be coming, and then he says, "I don't like you," and turns away and stalks out of the kitchen.

He may be having an Entire Emotion. A few years ago, he wouldn't have hesitated to make Casper's worst dreams real, or trap him in a bloody, violent, terrible fantasy, but-- ugh. Ugh! The fears, they're so close to Snowe's, and it made him feel BAD.
[14:22]*Casper LeBlanc Jr watches him go and collapses into a chair, holding his shoulder and shaking. He knows this is going to take a lot to heal, but it's going to take him a minute to focus.
[14:36]*Jeb Parmalee walks in the front door, hands and arms full of grocery bags. He's struggling with them, because what is Jeb having physical strength, but he's not complaining in the slightest. Everything is good, everything is fine, and he has no idea what just occurred in his kitchen.
[14:37]*Xiri is a stranger and walks right by Jeb, trailing darkness and more sparks than is probably safe indoors, to the basement door, without even turning his head to look at the stranger. Hi Jeb! Bye Jeb!
[14:41]*Casper LeBlanc Jr looks up in the middle of healing his shoulder, and struggles to get up to help Jeb. "H... hey. Sorry... about the mess... I'll help clean up..."
[14:43]*Jeb Parmalee spots something smoldering and thinks about questioning it, but then Casper's struggling to come help him. "Casper! What happened...?"

There's a mess? ...oh. Upon further inspection, there is indeed a mess. Tori's not going to be happy.
[14:45]Casper LeBlanc Jr: "... Um. A fight. Kind of. I tried to get him to take it outside, but... ah..." Casper's shoulder has some pretty bad burns on it, even cutting through the cloth of his tshirt. But he's still reaching out to help take some of the bags and bring them into a... clear spot on the counter.
[14:47]Tori Marie Nygma disconnected.
[14:47]Tori Marie Nygma connected.
[14:47]Jeb Parmalee disconnected.
[14:47]Jeb Parmalee connected.
[14:47]Jeb Parmalee disconnected.
[14:47]Jeb Parmalee connected.
[14:47]Jeb Parmalee: ((INTERNET.))
[14:48]Jeb Parmalee: W-Wait! If you're hurt, I can't expect you to help me...
[14:49]Casper LeBlanc Jr: ... I want to help..

(if they continued after this u will have 2 get the logs from lexi or matt bc i got d/c'd)