Event Open Finished In a time Before the Light

'Oh, wow," Ven said.

He thought about that, trying to accomplish more than the person who came before you. He wondered what creator meant, then wondered if it'd be rude to ask this of his new friend. Ven always admired his father, but he often anticipated that his real challenge would be to do better than his mother.

Ven did laugh at Jophiel's silly expression.

"Thanks," he said. "I needed that."

Suddenly, Ven realized something. he jutted out his hand, which was holding his coffee, then switched the coffee to the other hand so his first hand was now free.

"I realized I don't know your name," Ven said. "My name is Thievenne, but my friends call me Moon Moon. Or Ven. But I like Moon Moon better.'

"Thanks," Ven said when Jophiel said he liked the name moon moon. He thought about explaining it but then said instead, "It's a long story."

If Ven were a wolf, his tail would have been wagging. As it was, his head tilted forward and his eyes lit up with interest.

"No!" he said. The enthusiasm was hard to hide from his voice. "Can you tell me the story?"

Ven listened intently through the entire story. He didn't bother to hide the emotions that came to his face: shock, fear, sadness, hope.

He had the impression, as he did with all stories, that the ending wasn't quite the end. But what Jophiel had given that boy in the story was a respite from terror and a memory of his puppy in the morning. And that, Ven thought, was a very kind thing to do. It made him like Jophiel even more.

"Thank you for sharing that with me," Ven said, though his voice sounded a little wistful now. Not quite sad, but thoughtful.

"Is...is that your power?" Ven asked. "Painting with shadows?"

Jophiel booped his nose with the paint brush and Ven grinned up at him.

"That sounds amazing," he said. Ven didn't exactly dislike his powers, but he had a hard time thinking of them as his powers instead of his condition.

He asked another question, curiosity getting the better of him.

"Would it...work on any kind of spirit?" he asked, and then, tilting his head, he said, "Would it work on me?"

"Well, I'm definitely not an angle or a demon," Ven laughed.

He thought about referencing a meme--I can be your angle or your devil bby--but the last few times he'd attempted to references internet culture on an island of supernatural creatures had not gone well.

Jophiel had been so open about talking about his own powers that Ven was a little bit guilty that he hesitated before explaining his own.

"Well, I'm not always a spirit, but sometimes my uh.." He tried to think of a word. "My soul or my spirit or whatever. it uh. It gets out of my body. And then poof!"

Ven snapped his fingers.

"My spirit shows up wherever it wants while my body is stuck right where I left it. I cannot tell you how many times it's gotten me into trouble," Ven laughed, taking a sip of his drink. "So i guess that's why I'm curious."