In The Dog House - KirinLying

Chapter 3 - Task, Friendship

Kirin was the first to notice something different with the room, mostly because he was the only one to wake up when the flutter of Ridge's coat flapped as the admin landed. Kirin pretended to still be asleep as he watched Ridge through half-closed eyelids, and saw him put a note on the edge of his bed. And then he teleported away again.

Kirin reached for the note, and went to open it when he realized how dark it was in the room. They had fallen asleep at three, so it would probably be wise for it to be dark, but he hadn't realized he needed this much sleep.

He clambered out of the bed, sparing a glance over at Lying who was still asleep, and let himself smile as he remembered back when they were friends and had slept in the same room together. There had been times when the younger blonde had been frightened by something, and had crept into Kirin's bed for comfort.

Those days were behind them though, and Kirin felt regretful for leaving Lying behind in the room alone, but he knew if Lying were to wake up and see Kirin remembering those days then Lying would be annoyed. And even if Lying's magic was no where to be seen, Kirin didn't fancy himself against the nails.

Kirin glanced at the clock, and was surprised to find that it was five am. He had slept surprisingly well, for the fact that he didn't even need sleep as much anymore. It was more of a reassuring thing, to himself and those around him, if he slept.

He turned on a lamp and opened the letter, and the first thing that surprised him was that it was directed only to him, and not to the two of them. He bit his lip as his eyes scanned the letter, before returning to the top of the page to read the relatively short letter.

Dear Kirin,

May I say you're attempts to make Lying not want to rip your heart out is dismal. There is so much more you can do, say for example the gift you have left him in the bottom kitchen cabinet. I bet it brings back memories for both of you.

Also, you're a horrible host. You are meant to OFFER Lying the bed, as he needs more sleep then demi-gods do. Though, you did sleep quite a bit I might say. Lying had even woken up multiple times in the night and then fell back to sleep.

And lastly, make breakfast. My servants are off on vacation, and I'm off to go talk to some dear friends of mine. I've left a whole arrange of food making things in the kitchen, and so you can make how grand a meal you like. However, I know of your cooking so maybe something simple will do. You probably have an hour before Lying wakes up.

Au revoir,

Ridgedog

Kirin rolled his eyes at Ridge's note, an etching of curiosity at what Ridge had left for Lying's gift drove him into the kitchen. He went to the bottom cabinet, and saw a box covered in wrapping paper. Kirin bit his lip and closed it away before starting to cook breakfast, settling for poached egg and bacon.

When he had finished, Lying stumbled down into the kitchen himself, and Kirin noted that he had redone his eyeliner and sharpened his nails, and even managed to re-brush his hair so it wasn't a mess. If Kirin didn't know any better, he might have assumed Lying was a demi-god himself, with how he made sure he was neat and tidy.

"I cooked breakfast." Kirin said, offering the plate that was Lying's. Lying gave him a questioning glance and Kirin gave him a small smile. "I didn't poison it. Besides, I actually do want to get out of here."

"It's not that." Lying said, but when Kirin gave him room to elaborate he didn't. He just grabbed the plate and sat at the table, pushing the food with his fork. Kirin grabbed his own plate and sat at the table, opposite of Lying and started to eat.

The demi-god watched the witch, who eventually took a bite of the egg. He didn't screw his face up into disgust, which made Kirin smile and continue to eat without watching Lying's facial emotions as much.

"You've actually learned how to cook eggs." Lying said and Kirin choked on the egg, making the other jump in surprise. When Kirin finished he burst out laughing, and the witch looked at him as if he were a mad man. "Are you alright?"

"How do you even remember what my eggs tasted like?" Kirin asked and Lying turned so he wasn't facing Kirin anymore. "Besides, I could cook eggs way back then."

"No, no you couldn't." Lying replied and he giggled, holding his hand to his mouth as if he were trying to hide his laughter. Kirin grinned at him as he managed to stifle his laughter. "Everyone knew you couldn't cook eggs. You used to put every extra herb you could into the eggs and it tasted horrible. It's hard to get a taste like that out of your memory."

"Even centuries later?" Kirin asked, his voice quite in case he reminded Lying of the well. He quickly went back to eating and missed the glance that Lying had shot over his way. "Well, Su helped teach me, kinda. She made it and I just watched her."

"Well, I'm grateful I don't have to swallow down horrible food."

Kirin rolled his eyes. "No you're not. You wouldn't swallow it down, you would tell me it's awful then make a new lot yourself."

Lying grinned, a grin that was filled with sharp teeth, and was strangely not as menacing as it had been used before during the battle. Kirin finished his own food and leaned back on the chair, feeling it crack a little. "Wow, these chairs as weak. Couldn't he get higher quality chairs?"

"We all know he was looking for appeal, not quality." Lying said and he pushed Kirin a little, making him topple back as the chair broke. "Besides, as far as I'm concerned, the more we bust this place up the angrier Ridge is, and that helps me get to sleep at night."

Kirin rubbed his back as he sat up straight and glared at Lying who was laughing at his expense, and sighed. Lying moved from his seat and offered a hand down to help Kirin up, who took it and was pulled up. He had almost forgotten how much strength Lying actually had.

"Ah... Lying... Can you get something for me? It's in the bottom cupboard." Kirin said and Lying gave him a questioning glance, of which Kirin returned with a glare. "You pushed me so I fell off a chair and hurt my back. I only think it's fair if you get something for me."

"Fine, but if it kills me I'm blaming you." Lying said as he disappeared into the kitchen, leaving Kirin in the dining room alone. He laughed softly as he looked at the chair, deeming it lower quality than he though Ridge would get, though it was very artistic. He traced a finger in the curves of the chair, feeling his way around the pattern.

Lying's voice yelled at him from the kitchen, "Why is there a present in here?"

"I'm not sure." Kirin yelled back and Lying returned to the dining room with the present, placing it on the table. Lying glanced at Kirin who shrugged, and then started to open it up.

Kirin saw a box that had an easel in it, paining supplies on the side, and even three canvases in it and wondered how the hell Ridge had made that all fit in a cabinet, before deciding he probably made the cabinet a pocket dimension, and glanced to Lying who was looking at it in both a manner of pain and longing.

Lying used to paint before he delved into magic, and Kirin still had multiples of his paintings around, hidden in storage, but still. They were usually grand landscapes, and the two of them used to sit there and tell grand stories about them.

"How does he know?" Lying asked quietly and Kirin realized he was talking about Ridge. This was way back even before they knew of demi-gods, and Lying hasn't painted in years. Unless, of course, he had started to paint in the well but Kirin was sure this hadn't been the case.

Lying ran a hand along one of the canvases and Kirin knew the look on his face. He had that look when he had the idea of a new thing to paint, and Kirin loved the fact that he had that look again. He hadn't seen that look for a long time, and seeing the witch with that look made him thankful for Ridge.

"I'm going to make a map of the place." Kirin said and left Lying to the easel, finding himself some paper and a pen in the common room and starting to draw a map of the place.