coineater | Labyrinthum Inbox.

[ One morning, as your character steps out of their home, they are greeted by an owl messenger, bearing a letter. The letter tells them that they have been selected to participate in a gift exchange, and they are to deliver a gift to Arrakis Faylare by the end of the month. The letter says nothing more, and once the letter is read, the owl will fly away. ]

[ The fox would like to think he's a pretty observant guy. He keeps his eyes and ears open, just in case there's anything going on that he might want to be a part of.

So, when he hears people around town talking about giving each other gifts, he pays attention. Gifts, as he understands them based on what Ame has told him, are ways of showing the people around you that you appreciate them.

He appreciates Black Cat letting him sleep indoors on nights when it's too cold to be comfortable outside. So, the fox thinks maybe he should get Black Cat one of those "gifts."

And so it is that on one random December morning, Black Cat will open his door to find the fox sitting outside it, tail neatly curled around his feet, with a dead bird on the ground in front of him and a mouthful of flowers. As soon as he sees Black Cat, the fox spits out the flowers. ]

These are for you. For, uh... Helping me out.

[ If Black Cat looks a little further down the way, he'll see a suspiciously fresh looking bare patch in the neighbor's garden. ]

[Quiet as a mouse, a package is deposited on Black Cat's doorstep in the middle of the night. This is no secret santa gift, but the giver delights in stealth nonetheless. The package is cylindrical at the bottom, wrapped in paper and cinched with string at the top. Two stiff pieces of paper, card-like but without a fold, are attached at the knot with another loop of string. One bears a poem penned in small but elegant, vine-y handwriting:]

The cat went here and there
And the moon spun round like a top,
And the nearest kin of the moon,
The creeping cat, looked up.
Black Minnaloushe stared at the moon,
For, wander and wail as he would,
The pure cold light in the sky
Troubled his animal blood.
Minnaloushe runs in the grass
Lifting his delicate feet.
Do you dance, Minnaloushe, do you dance?
When two close kindred meet,
What better than call a dance?
Maybe the moon may learn,
Tired of that courtly fashion,
A new dance turn.
Minnaloushe creeps through the grass
From moonlit place to place,
The sacred moon overhead
Has taken a new phase.
Does Minnaloushe know that his pupils
Will pass from change to change,
And that from round to crescent,
From crescent to round they range?
Minnaloushe creeps through the grass
Alone, important and wise,
And lifts to the changing moon
His changing eyes.
~ W. B. Yeats, "The Cat and the Moon"

[The second note has only a few lines on it:]

Place in your sunniest window.
Add water only when the soil is completely dry.
If flowers appear in the spring, pinch them off.
Ask for help if you need it.
~ Iris

[Inside the package is a little blue pot bearing a small catnip plant with a handful of freshly grown stems and leaves.]

Edited 2023-12-26 03:38 (UTC)

( On the 25th, there's a note and a package left. The handwriting is a bit messy and the message is short: )

Hey. Happy holidays. Not sure if you're the celebrating type, but I hope it's been decent to ya. Can't go wrong with stuff everyone needs, right? It's kinda like the presents someone close to me would get for something like a gift giving holiday, so I wanted to pass that feeling along.

Stay warm, alright?

- Samatoki Aohitsugi

( Inside the package are a few fancy fruit tarts, looking picturesque even wrapped up. Beneath them, though, there's a black folded up quilt with a unique pattern to the white stitching. It feels a little thin, but it's surprisingly incredibly warm. )

[Roughly 24 hours after Li Lianhua's brief visit to Miss Iris' doorstep, he's finally finding the ~~consciousness~~ energy and time to send a quick message.]

Friend Cat, this weather is really not making it easy for me to live up to my promise to you. But for now, I'll tell you there's an empty bed and warm soup next door, should young miss Iris' company prove too overbearing.

[On a particular day in early February, the mail mice will deliver a red envelope to Cat. It's folded to resemble a little pouch, and inside are found eight flower seeds and two lines of calligraphy.]

May the waning year have planted the seeds for good fortune,
And the coming year see flowers bloom all around you.

Edited (should not have written this right after getting up lol) 2024-02-10 12:04 (UTC)

Friend Cat, that Huli Jing has asked me to tell you that he's foreseeing a great good fortune for you if you come out to the big maple tree by the path to the crystal. Apparently it's pretty time sensitive though? Don't ask me why.

Your alchemist friend seems to have flown the coop. I happened to pass by his house this morning, and it looked uninhabited.

It's funny, how so little and yet so much has changed since the last time Li Lianhua had walked this particular path a few weeks ago. To an outsider, nothing at all has changed; just Li Lianhua out for a stroll, basket with edible treats in hand and Huli Jing at his side. But there is a friendship lost and a little scrap of paper appeared in this world, and both weigh equally as heavily on his heart.

He has no expectation of mending anything, and that's probably for the best. But this scrap of paper is simply too valuable to entrust anyone else with its delivery. He can only hope he'll get the chance to explain as much. Then again, it's not really up to chance, is it? He won't be able to leave until Cat has seen this.

When he knocks on Cat's door, there is no carefree humming this time. But he wouldn't be Li Lianhua without a small smile on his lips, at least by the time the door opens. Huli Jing, seemingly recognizing the place, takes a seat in patient expectation of being let in, as if wanting to make a good impression.

Edited (finger slipped) 2024-08-02 23:24 (UTC)

[Strangely, Fang Duobing had never though to question where exactly Cat lived. Either the other boy was sneaking into his own bedroom, or they were meeting in some third location for whatever reason. So once he's returned from work, he has to actually text Cat for his address...]

[Which serves just as well for an announcement of his imminent arrival. There shouldn't be any surprise in store, when he gives a solid knock on the door--except for the fact that there's a small box of random leftover pastries tucked among the other things he's brought: Some of the coveted watermelon and a bottle of wine that looked moderately good.]

[As he waits for the door to open, he shifts his weight from one leg to the other, restless but not from awkwardness. There just isn't any good spot to lean (coolly, strategically) while he waits.]

[Upon hearing Cat's dictation of his credentials, Blue glances down from her own perusal of the network to look at the boy using her lap (one leg crossed over the other) as a headrest.]

Have you really? That sounds like a very heroic use of your time.

[Not that she doesn't think he's capable of it, but there has to be more to it than Search and Rescue. Or at least a reward, which he seems to be negotiating for now.]

[Two days after the return of everyone from their respective futures, the mail mice will deliver a somewhat amateurishly made white paper rabbit to Cat, as well as a little red envelope not unlike the one he received in spring. The writing is larger this time, though.]

People see joys and sorrows, partings and reunions,
The moon sees clear sky and clouds, fullness and emptiness,
These matters of old have been troubling.
Wishing for people to have enough time,
A thousand miles apart, united by the radiant moon.

If you're asking what a rabbit has to do with the moon, stop by Li Lianhua's house on the evening of the next full moon. All you'll be troubled to bring is a good appetite and enough time to share a cup of wine with friends.

(Following the initial sending of this message.)

[Blue, presently, has a headache. It's not helped at all by attempting to focus on the small bright screen of her phone, or the bizarre text that she just received. She still has a fever as well, and a gnawing hunger that never really abates but has felt particularly worse this past week.]

[She tries not to be irritable, especially not with Cat, who has been doing his level best to nurse her back to health. If she has any complaints (and she does), she'll at least not add this to them. He's not the one messaging her, after all.]

[It does concern him though... Or she thinks it does. She's seen the way that Cat acts in regard to Inigo. A little fly buzzing about him that he doesn't seem to mind. So it's only fair that she inquire without preamble, in a moment when he happens to be in proximity of the living room:]

What are your feelings on our dear firefly?

[ On Christmas morning, Black Cat will find a squashy package at his hill home doorstep. Inside is a scarf, crocheted by one of the local craftspeople long before they shuttered their businesses to the dreamers – a dark forest green with little grey cat heads dotted throughout, though he's unsure if Black Cat will be able to see it.

And as such, there's no note inside, but Maruki does send a quick voice message to un: gatto, without any expectation of response. ]

Merry Christmas, Black Cat! There's a package from me at your door – I wanted you to have something to keep you a little bit warmer during this endless snowy night.

Edited 2024-12-25 08:31 (UTC)

[ after listening to maruki's advice and not being sure what to give, this is the solution izutsumi hits upon. ]

happy holidays.

[On this day the mail mice deliver a parcel to Cat, which contains a box of cupcakes with distinct facial features and a little cloth purse sewn from soft yet robust fabric. It is printed with pink and white plum blossoms on their branches. Although it was made with a lack of advanced skill, the cuts and seams are even enough to do the job. The pouch closes with a red cord.

Of course, the gifts come with a red envelope, which contains a few flower seeds. The mail mice, having been so instructed and bribed handsomely with cheese, recite these lines to Cat in a chorus of squeaks:]

Blooming ahead of hundreds of flowers,
Amidst the cold of snow and ice she's seen.
The frosty moon surely knows her,
The first to feel the spring breeze on her face.

[Since he's already been invited to Fang Duobing's Spring Festival party later that evening, he will receive his well wishes and toasts for the new year in person.]

Hey.

Are you still alive over there?

[Following a meeting with Chise, Blue finds that instead of paying her dearest friend a surprise visit, she needs to escort (read: carry) her poor assistant home. She can spare only a moment to attach her gift to the handle of Cat's door, a soft package wrapped in paper and tied with string, containing two grey knit mittens with a thick cover to fold over the fingers.]

[Later, when she has a few minutes to spare, she sends a text to alert him to his waiting present.]

Gattino, I've left something hanging from your door. I would have liked to give it to you in person, but there are some things I need to take care of presently. I'll visit properly when I'm able. Enjoy the warmth in the meantime.

[It's been close to perfect, the last few days. There were still a few stumbling blocks to come, he's certain -- the wounds still hadn't fully healed from his argument with Blue at the winter gathering, not like their first fight's physical toll on him -- but for now, Cat is focusing on the good things. His sister is back! He's in recovery! He hasn't driven away his boyfriend despite all of his fuck-ups, and now their sixth month anniversary is coming up!

Fox has been accompanying him everywhere, just as unwilling to leave his side as he is to leave hers after what happened last time she'd been brought to Somnius, and today's trip into the city on the other continent is no different...though Cat's shopping list isn't targeted towards making their life together more welcoming for her, this time. He's not buying anything home-like at all!]

All the sleeping outside we've done, and I haven't a clue what I'm all looking for.

Hey, answer me something.

What color were you assigned with these strange competitions?

Edited 2025-05-04 04:31 (UTC)

Remind me again why I didn't put him in the stew.

no subject

action!

[Night between the 24th and 25th]

secret santa delivery. (backdated; sorry it's late!)

text, un: mouthfuloflies, backdated to the blizzard

no subject

text, un: mouthfuloflies, backdated to early April

text; un: epiphyte

no subject

[After the July Sleepr mayhem]

Action, during duck hunt drama

slightly backdated

COIN TREE DRAMA