( ugh, way to tug on zoro's heartstrings in a way that practically makes his chest hurt!! )
i know but that's why i'm trying to get strong again for them, you know? i was stuck in that bed for almost a month and i'm tired of that shitty cook doing everything
besides, i owe you for all the fish even the one you're apparently gonna devour in front of me
For us. I know it's not the same, but I'm worried about you too, Zoro. [Koby was born without subtlety, apparently, just earnest, honest sweetness.]
You don't owe me anything. I'm happy to do it. Except wait, you owe me sitting down for five minutes. Or at least until I get there. I'll be quiet, so I don't wake anyone.
( but actually, someone please stop koby because zoro's not sure how to deal with so many people, like ... actively caring about him. even the tiny marine. maybe zoro's felt like their friendship is obvious, but having it written out before him is — nice.
but it also makes him groan. )
alright alright i'm sitting on my bed which admittedly i was already doing in anticipation for my imminent nap but we can pretend that i did it because you said so.
nami and the cook are out shopping so we're not sharing the fish with them. deal?
[Nope, too late, he's gonna care about you so hard, Zoro!! It's inescapable. Embarrassing and inescapable.]
Very good. [Koby almost makes some comment about not realizing cats knew how to sit and stay, but he refrains for the moment.] I brought enough for everyone, but you don't have to share the salmon. [His need to be completely fair will allow that much.
There's no more messages, because fairly soon there's the sound of Koby just letting himself in, like he owns the place, and bellowing:] Don't stand up! Give me two minutes! [And then a large amount of clattering and banging in the kitchen. Sorry, Sanji.]
( but it isn't very long before koby lets himself in — and zoro probably could've smelled him coming (or at least the aforementioned salmon) if he was really paying attention and not fighting a battle to keep his eyes open and almost failing. when did he end up completely horizontal? who's to say.
the noise from the kitchen is too fucking loud, hurts his far-more-sensitive ears with the way the metal clangs and reverberates through the room, which makes him groan dramatically, loudly, loud enough for koby to hear even from the bedroom, slowly pushing himself to sit up. but not before calling out: ) He's gonna fucking kill you if you don't put everything back where you found it.
Okay, yes, thank you. [Very dismissive, amidst the clanging -- which continues a bit softer, as if mindful of Zoro's ears. Because Koby is nothing if not considerate.
It takes a minute to hack up the salmon, drain some of the blood into jars and stick it in the snow out the back door for later, and Koby mumbles to himself the entire time, memorizing where everything goes. But eventually he appears, pink sealskin coat draped over his shoulders, carrying a plate with several huge, bloody, raw chunks of salmon.]
Scoot over. [Plate on the bed, beside Zoro, then Koby pauses to lick a trickle of blood off his arm, his palm, his fingers. He's hungry too, and there's an instinctive urge to dig in as well, but the need to caretake wins out, and he refrains.] You look pale.
( honestly, zoro should've just dragged himself out into the kitchen despite koby's command — but getting bit by an angry pink seal doesn't sound like a great idea, either. now that he's been getting little tastes of freedom here and there, cold wind nipping at his skin, senses full of the sounds and smells of the forest around him, this room — this bed — feels even more like a prison.
regardless, the smell of salmon washes over him, already has his stomach growling and mouth watering and — maybe even the faintest hint of a purr as he sits up and makes room for koby beside him.
the comment earns him A Look from zoro as he reaches to grab himself a chunk of meat, deciding that there's no use in being polite and playing coy, like he's not that hungry. (he is hungry. which is stupid, considering the amount of meat and blood sanji keeps plying him with while somehow apologizing about how it's not enough, while letting his gaze linger on each bowl and plate a little too long.) he wrinkles his nose, declaring: ) Shut up — you look pale.
( and hungry, too. he knows what it looks like for a person to get so desperate that they lick someone's fingers clean. zoro takes a bite, deciding, mid-chew: ) Eat with me. ( and maybe he even picks up the plate, holding it right in front of koby's face. )
[It unfolds something tight in Koby's chest to see Zoro eating -- it'd be silly to be worried, genuinely afraid, because that would mean admitting that he could've been genuinely hurt. Everything that keeps Koby sane lately is because of his firm belief that nothing can irrevocably happen to them, Zoro, Nami, Sanji, Shanks. They'll be all right. They have to be.
It helps him stay out of the water, stay human, even when the temptation to follow the river to the ocean and disappear forever yanks at his chest. Koby's only recently had real friends, and he's still wrapping his mind about how much scarier it is when you aren't just trying to keep yourself alive. He can't let himself imagine a world without any of them, can't let the possibility even cross his mind. Zoro's okay. He's fine. He's fine...
Sniffing, plopping down cross-legged on the bed, Koby ignores the ever-present tears welling up in his eyes, the tightness in his throat. He doesn't protest, though -- he doesn't have that in him, the ability to deny any genuine requests from someone he cares about.] I'm always pale. Don't be stupid, you know what I mean. [Another sniff, then he grabs one of the bonier bits, leaving the thicker, bloodier meat for Zoro.] Are all of you this bad at being taken care of? The bickering must be impossible.
[A pause, a couple nibbles at the fish bones. Then, thicker, softer:] You -- please don't push yourself for a little while, okay? Just a couple days. I'll bring food every day, if you promise to please take it easy.
is koby ... crying? zoro doesn't really know what to do when people cry around him. should he tell him that it's okay? probably not a good idea, since not much in this place is okay. does he — reach out to give him a pat on the shoulder or something? (the last time — no, two times — someone cried in front of him, he kissed them on the mouth, which is probably an even worse idea.)
instead, zoro wrinkles his nose and looks back down at the food on his plate, satisfied that koby's at least taken some for himself. (it's more than he can say for some shitty, starving, self-sacrificing cook.) maybe leaving him alone and not pointing it out is the nicest thing that zoro can do, even as he's hyperaware of each little sniffle he makes, pointed ears perking up every time. )
You have no idea, ( he mumbles, muffled by the food in his mouth, because they are all fucking horrible at being taken care of, and the bickering is impossible. the request makes his mouth quirk into a small frown, trying very hard not to immediately argue back.
finally, after some thoughtful chewing and a swallow of his fish, zoro answers: ) If you're gonna insist on bringing food every day, then bring it for Nami and Sanji — they need it a hell of a lot more than me. ( even if, selfishly, the ravenous, animalistic parts of him that lay mostly dormant thanks to his connection with nami still can't help but devour whatever food's placed in front of him, no matter how stubborn he wants to be in the wake of the shortage they've been facing. ) Besides, who's taking care of you now? Save some for yourself.
[In the end, that's the best possible option -- give Koby a moment to settle himself, pull off his shoes and tuck his (icy, even with the socks) feet under himself. The sealskin is draped around his shoulders, but as he calms, it slips down to puddle in his lap, like a living thing, all pink spots and plush fur. A corner of it slides to cover Zoro's leg beneath the blanket, seeming to radiate heat, much more than seems natural for a comparatively light fur.
But Koby is in control of himself again, picking bones out of his piece of fish -- which is almost exclusively bones, so it's a losing battle -- and huffing out a soft laugh.] I can bring enough for everyone. There's more in the river than I could catch in a hundred years, probably. [For all the faults of this nightmarish place, at least there's that, right? The fishing's good.] When you're better, you can help. Cats are good at fishing, aren't they?
[The question is probably rhetorical, but Koby still pauses over it, looks up at Zoro through blood-splattered lenses, expression serious.] I take care of myself. [Simple, firm. Zoro knows as well as Koby the way their Changeling minds work, the near-feral state it's easy to slip into without someone keeping you in check, the way lines blur between human and beast. Koby's a seal more often than he's a person, and seals aren't pack animals; they live alone, they swim and sun and fish and sleep by themselves. They're also prey for countless other aquatic creatures, but Koby isn't acknowledging that right now. Look at him, he's the picture of staunch independence. Please ignore how he almost burst into tears thirty seconds ago.]
( whether it's to the notion that cats are good at fishing (which he probably is — considering all of the other embarrassing things that cats do have ended up being true for him, too) or the notion that koby's taking care of himself is anyone's guess. while he hasn't known him long, even back in their world, he seems altruistic to a fault, always ready to do the right thing even to his own detriment, which is probably why luffy likes him. nami, getting berry to free coco village. sanji, starving himself here so zoro can live. koby would fit right in as a strawhat.
he lets the matter drop for now, shifting his interest back to his fish, pulling a bone out of his piece and chewing as he notices koby's pelt kind of ... moving of its own accord. or maybe it's just gravity. or a trick of the firelight from the hearth. it's soft where it touches his leg, and there's a small part of zoro that wants to reach out and pet it.
— nah, that would be rude, probably. he'd get pissed if someone started petting his ears or threading his tail through their fingers (even if he'd probably also start purring, but that's besides the point). instead, he just scrunches his nose, looking back up at koby. ) Are you, uh — still sleeping at the cottage?
( their cottage, rather. better to tiptoe around the matter a little, even if zoro is genuinely curious. )
[One remains to be seen, the other -- well. Koby would argue that his continued existence is proof enough that he's capable of caring for himself, neverminding the fact that there's a significant gap between "cared for" and "existing". He's still strong enough to provide, in some way, for those remaining that he has an attachment to. Some of it's Luffy's lingering influence, like a ghost in every encounter Koby has with his crew, echoing in the background with that bittersweet, persistent reminder that the three of them have nothing in common with Koby except for their attachment to the absent captain.
And some of it -- isn't. If something happened to the Strawhats (when it happens, Koby corrects himself, eyes flickering to the still-visible signs of Zoro's encounter with the dismembering carnival), the grief and concern wouldn't solely be because they matter to Luffy. They matter to Koby too. So he wants to contribute, in any way he can -- which right now is fishing. Lots and lots of fishing.
The sealskin puddles a little more firmly against Zoro's leg, and Koby absently reaches out to gather it back onto his lap. It's an extension of him, an echo of everything he is, but it's also a product of the strange, witchy magic around them, and therefore it does what it pleases. Like now, slipping like quicksilver through Koby's fingers and draping over the twitching tip of Zoro's tail. Frowning, blushing, Koby scoops the skin up and holds it firmly against his chest.] Sorry.
[And then -- that question, sending Koby's stomach twisting and his throat aching with old tears. He doesn't want to think about it, so he doesn't, even as it throbs in his chest like an open wound. Loss is something he's accustomed to, easier than affection in the long run, easier to adjust somewhere inside his ribs, a living, clawing thing. He looks down and away, draws a shuddering breath.] No. [Thick, tight.] I -- sleep in the river, usually. [He hasn't been back to the cottage. He doesn't think he ever will.] As -- a seal, obviously. I'm not stupid.
( it was probably a stupid question considering what zoro now feels like is an obvious answer. he frowns as he chews, trying to do the polite thing and not stare at koby while he seemingly struggles with each word. it's — hard, though. his own feelings about mihawk being gone are complicated enough, still rapidly shuffling through being pissed off that he left them without saying anything, sad or disappointed or whatever the fuck that he lost his mentor. for koby, though ...
it's way bigger than that. he thinks about how he would be if the shithead cook disappeared — thinks about how he would probably rip trees out of the ground with his bare hands trying to find him, to fill the kitchen with the sounds of food cooking in the kitchen and the smell of clove cigarettes again. and nami — he can't even think about losing her without his chest aching, pulse racing, souls tied intrinsically together by their connection. wherever she is, she might feel him tug on it a little, even, just to calm himself down.
yeah. it was a stupid fucking question. but also — ) It sounds pretty stupid to me. ( he says it in his blasé sort of way, nonchalant about it even if the thought of the little pink seal freezing in the river also sends a little pang of worry through him. huh. it's weird having friends. )
There are plenty of other warm places to stay. ( for example: the castle. also implied: here. ) At least until it gets warm out again.
( zoro's been mostly ignoring the sealskin that keeps sliding seemingly wherever it pleases — save for the flick of his tail beneath it before koby steals it back, gathering it up in his arms. it's a changeling thing, he thinks — a kind of mutual understanding. it'd be rude to point out zoro purring. it'd be rude to gawk at the soft fur beneath sanji's navel when he reaches up into a cabinet for something and his shirt comes untucked (hypothetically). it'd be rude to comment on koby's ... pelt. his nose wrinkles, though, and he sets his empty plate to the side, pointing at the silky smooth fur in koby's grasp. ) What's it trying to do?
( rude, maybe, but changing the subject seems more important. )
[He's good at loss. Koby thinks about rowing away from a burning ship, about standing on a dock, in a deserted street, in a tangerine grove. He thinks about the home he'd had, however briefly, and then he puts it out of his mind, a jagged-edged thing he refuses to let himself dwell on any further. There's a comforting numbness in the act of that, of pulling on the skin, the Changeling, the animal who thinks about nothing but here and now.
Unfortunately Koby isn't an animal, not at his heart. He's a person, a person who has somehow ended up caring very, very much about the people in this house. The potential of their loss -- all at once, which would somehow be more bearable than one at a time, two left here alone, delirious with loss, missing the third like a limb -- hangs over Koby constantly, keeping him tethered to humanity like an anchor. He feels it now, watching to make sure Zoro finishes the plate, leaves only a smear of blood on the smooth surface.
There's a huff of a laugh at the flat summary of his actions, a nudge of the glasses back up Koby's nose.] I don't feel the cold. I'm less...scrawny as a seal. [He's fairly cylindrical, actually. Aerodynamic.
The pelt pools in his lap, satiny between Koby's fingers as he finally loosens his grip. There aren't any wrinkles, the fur smoothing out immediately, pink-spotted and luxurious.] It wants to be taken, I think? Something like that, I've been doing some reading on legends and things, and the whole point of a skin is to be taken and held by someone else. It's like a curse? You get to transform, but you're always being hunted and always at risk of being controlled. [The pelt slips over his knee again, thick-furred and gleaming in the lamplight.]
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(no subject)
Date: 2024-02-14 12:36 pm (UTC)i know
but that's why i'm trying to get strong again
for them, you know?
i was stuck in that bed for almost a month and i'm tired of that shitty cook doing everything
besides, i owe you for all the fish
even the one you're apparently gonna devour in front of me
(no subject)
Date: 2024-02-14 08:58 pm (UTC)You don't owe me anything. I'm happy to do it.
Except wait, you owe me sitting down for five minutes. Or at least until I get there.
I'll be quiet, so I don't wake anyone.
(no subject)
Date: 2024-02-15 03:27 am (UTC)but it also makes him groan. )
alright alright
i'm sitting on my bed
which admittedly i was already doing in anticipation for my imminent nap but we can pretend that i did it because you said so.
nami and the cook are out shopping so we're not sharing the fish with them. deal?
(no subject)
Date: 2024-02-15 04:35 am (UTC)Very good. [Koby almost makes some comment about not realizing cats knew how to sit and stay, but he refrains for the moment.] I brought enough for everyone, but you don't have to share the salmon. [His need to be completely fair will allow that much.
There's no more messages, because fairly soon there's the sound of Koby just letting himself in, like he owns the place, and bellowing:] Don't stand up! Give me two minutes! [And then a large amount of clattering and banging in the kitchen. Sorry, Sanji.]
(no subject)
Date: 2024-02-16 06:00 am (UTC)i accept your haggling tiny marine
( but it isn't very long before koby lets himself in — and zoro probably could've smelled him coming (or at least the aforementioned salmon) if he was really paying attention and not fighting a battle to keep his eyes open and almost failing. when did he end up completely horizontal? who's to say.
the noise from the kitchen is too fucking loud, hurts his far-more-sensitive ears with the way the metal clangs and reverberates through the room, which makes him groan dramatically, loudly, loud enough for koby to hear even from the bedroom, slowly pushing himself to sit up. but not before calling out: ) He's gonna fucking kill you if you don't put everything back where you found it.
( see? zoro cares, too. )
(no subject)
Date: 2024-02-16 10:00 pm (UTC)It takes a minute to hack up the salmon, drain some of the blood into jars and stick it in the snow out the back door for later, and Koby mumbles to himself the entire time, memorizing where everything goes. But eventually he appears, pink sealskin coat draped over his shoulders, carrying a plate with several huge, bloody, raw chunks of salmon.]
Scoot over. [Plate on the bed, beside Zoro, then Koby pauses to lick a trickle of blood off his arm, his palm, his fingers. He's hungry too, and there's an instinctive urge to dig in as well, but the need to caretake wins out, and he refrains.] You look pale.
(no subject)
Date: 2024-02-27 02:32 am (UTC)regardless, the smell of salmon washes over him, already has his stomach growling and mouth watering and — maybe even the faintest hint of a purr as he sits up and makes room for koby beside him.
the comment earns him A Look from zoro as he reaches to grab himself a chunk of meat, deciding that there's no use in being polite and playing coy, like he's not that hungry. (he is hungry. which is stupid, considering the amount of meat and blood sanji keeps plying him with while somehow apologizing about how it's not enough, while letting his gaze linger on each bowl and plate a little too long.) he wrinkles his nose, declaring: ) Shut up — you look pale.
( and hungry, too. he knows what it looks like for a person to get so desperate that they lick someone's fingers clean. zoro takes a bite, deciding, mid-chew: ) Eat with me. ( and maybe he even picks up the plate, holding it right in front of koby's face. )
(no subject)
Date: 2024-02-28 03:15 am (UTC)It helps him stay out of the water, stay human, even when the temptation to follow the river to the ocean and disappear forever yanks at his chest. Koby's only recently had real friends, and he's still wrapping his mind about how much scarier it is when you aren't just trying to keep yourself alive. He can't let himself imagine a world without any of them, can't let the possibility even cross his mind. Zoro's okay. He's fine. He's fine...
Sniffing, plopping down cross-legged on the bed, Koby ignores the ever-present tears welling up in his eyes, the tightness in his throat. He doesn't protest, though -- he doesn't have that in him, the ability to deny any genuine requests from someone he cares about.] I'm always pale. Don't be stupid, you know what I mean. [Another sniff, then he grabs one of the bonier bits, leaving the thicker, bloodier meat for Zoro.] Are all of you this bad at being taken care of? The bickering must be impossible.
[A pause, a couple nibbles at the fish bones. Then, thicker, softer:] You -- please don't push yourself for a little while, okay? Just a couple days. I'll bring food every day, if you promise to please take it easy.
(no subject)
Date: 2024-03-10 02:00 am (UTC)is koby ... crying? zoro doesn't really know what to do when people cry around him. should he tell him that it's okay? probably not a good idea, since not much in this place is okay. does he — reach out to give him a pat on the shoulder or something? (the last time — no, two times — someone cried in front of him, he kissed them on the mouth, which is probably an even worse idea.)
instead, zoro wrinkles his nose and looks back down at the food on his plate, satisfied that koby's at least taken some for himself. (it's more than he can say for some shitty, starving, self-sacrificing cook.) maybe leaving him alone and not pointing it out is the nicest thing that zoro can do, even as he's hyperaware of each little sniffle he makes, pointed ears perking up every time. )
You have no idea, ( he mumbles, muffled by the food in his mouth, because they are all fucking horrible at being taken care of, and the bickering is impossible. the request makes his mouth quirk into a small frown, trying very hard not to immediately argue back.
finally, after some thoughtful chewing and a swallow of his fish, zoro answers: ) If you're gonna insist on bringing food every day, then bring it for Nami and Sanji — they need it a hell of a lot more than me. ( even if, selfishly, the ravenous, animalistic parts of him that lay mostly dormant thanks to his connection with nami still can't help but devour whatever food's placed in front of him, no matter how stubborn he wants to be in the wake of the shortage they've been facing. ) Besides, who's taking care of you now? Save some for yourself.
(no subject)
Date: 2024-03-14 12:58 am (UTC)But Koby is in control of himself again, picking bones out of his piece of fish -- which is almost exclusively bones, so it's a losing battle -- and huffing out a soft laugh.] I can bring enough for everyone. There's more in the river than I could catch in a hundred years, probably. [For all the faults of this nightmarish place, at least there's that, right? The fishing's good.] When you're better, you can help. Cats are good at fishing, aren't they?
[The question is probably rhetorical, but Koby still pauses over it, looks up at Zoro through blood-splattered lenses, expression serious.] I take care of myself. [Simple, firm. Zoro knows as well as Koby the way their Changeling minds work, the near-feral state it's easy to slip into without someone keeping you in check, the way lines blur between human and beast. Koby's a seal more often than he's a person, and seals aren't pack animals; they live alone, they swim and sun and fish and sleep by themselves. They're also prey for countless other aquatic creatures, but Koby isn't acknowledging that right now. Look at him, he's the picture of staunch independence. Please ignore how he almost burst into tears thirty seconds ago.]
(no subject)
Date: 2024-04-01 01:33 am (UTC)( whether it's to the notion that cats are good at fishing (which he probably is — considering all of the other embarrassing things that cats do have ended up being true for him, too) or the notion that koby's taking care of himself is anyone's guess. while he hasn't known him long, even back in their world, he seems altruistic to a fault, always ready to do the right thing even to his own detriment, which is probably why luffy likes him. nami, getting berry to free coco village. sanji, starving himself here so zoro can live. koby would fit right in as a strawhat.
he lets the matter drop for now, shifting his interest back to his fish, pulling a bone out of his piece and chewing as he notices koby's pelt kind of ... moving of its own accord. or maybe it's just gravity. or a trick of the firelight from the hearth. it's soft where it touches his leg, and there's a small part of zoro that wants to reach out and pet it.
— nah, that would be rude, probably. he'd get pissed if someone started petting his ears or threading his tail through their fingers (even if he'd probably also start purring, but that's besides the point). instead, he just scrunches his nose, looking back up at koby. ) Are you, uh — still sleeping at the cottage?
( their cottage, rather. better to tiptoe around the matter a little, even if zoro is genuinely curious. )
(no subject)
Date: 2024-04-02 01:39 am (UTC)And some of it -- isn't. If something happened to the Strawhats (when it happens, Koby corrects himself, eyes flickering to the still-visible signs of Zoro's encounter with the dismembering carnival), the grief and concern wouldn't solely be because they matter to Luffy. They matter to Koby too. So he wants to contribute, in any way he can -- which right now is fishing. Lots and lots of fishing.
The sealskin puddles a little more firmly against Zoro's leg, and Koby absently reaches out to gather it back onto his lap. It's an extension of him, an echo of everything he is, but it's also a product of the strange, witchy magic around them, and therefore it does what it pleases. Like now, slipping like quicksilver through Koby's fingers and draping over the twitching tip of Zoro's tail. Frowning, blushing, Koby scoops the skin up and holds it firmly against his chest.] Sorry.
[And then -- that question, sending Koby's stomach twisting and his throat aching with old tears. He doesn't want to think about it, so he doesn't, even as it throbs in his chest like an open wound. Loss is something he's accustomed to, easier than affection in the long run, easier to adjust somewhere inside his ribs, a living, clawing thing. He looks down and away, draws a shuddering breath.] No. [Thick, tight.] I -- sleep in the river, usually. [He hasn't been back to the cottage. He doesn't think he ever will.] As -- a seal, obviously. I'm not stupid.
(no subject)
Date: 2024-04-21 11:57 pm (UTC)it's way bigger than that. he thinks about how he would be if the shithead cook disappeared — thinks about how he would probably rip trees out of the ground with his bare hands trying to find him, to fill the kitchen with the sounds of food cooking in the kitchen and the smell of clove cigarettes again. and nami — he can't even think about losing her without his chest aching, pulse racing, souls tied intrinsically together by their connection. wherever she is, she might feel him tug on it a little, even, just to calm himself down.
yeah. it was a stupid fucking question. but also — ) It sounds pretty stupid to me. ( he says it in his blasé sort of way, nonchalant about it even if the thought of the little pink seal freezing in the river also sends a little pang of worry through him. huh. it's weird having friends. )
There are plenty of other warm places to stay. ( for example: the castle. also implied: here. ) At least until it gets warm out again.
( zoro's been mostly ignoring the sealskin that keeps sliding seemingly wherever it pleases — save for the flick of his tail beneath it before koby steals it back, gathering it up in his arms. it's a changeling thing, he thinks — a kind of mutual understanding. it'd be rude to point out zoro purring. it'd be rude to gawk at the soft fur beneath sanji's navel when he reaches up into a cabinet for something and his shirt comes untucked (hypothetically). it'd be rude to comment on koby's ... pelt. his nose wrinkles, though, and he sets his empty plate to the side, pointing at the silky smooth fur in koby's grasp. ) What's it trying to do?
( rude, maybe, but changing the subject seems more important. )
(no subject)
Date: 2024-04-24 01:35 am (UTC)Unfortunately Koby isn't an animal, not at his heart. He's a person, a person who has somehow ended up caring very, very much about the people in this house. The potential of their loss -- all at once, which would somehow be more bearable than one at a time, two left here alone, delirious with loss, missing the third like a limb -- hangs over Koby constantly, keeping him tethered to humanity like an anchor. He feels it now, watching to make sure Zoro finishes the plate, leaves only a smear of blood on the smooth surface.
There's a huff of a laugh at the flat summary of his actions, a nudge of the glasses back up Koby's nose.] I don't feel the cold. I'm less...scrawny as a seal. [He's fairly cylindrical, actually. Aerodynamic.
The pelt pools in his lap, satiny between Koby's fingers as he finally loosens his grip. There aren't any wrinkles, the fur smoothing out immediately, pink-spotted and luxurious.] It wants to be taken, I think? Something like that, I've been doing some reading on legends and things, and the whole point of a skin is to be taken and held by someone else. It's like a curse? You get to transform, but you're always being hunted and always at risk of being controlled. [The pelt slips over his knee again, thick-furred and gleaming in the lamplight.]