Two Minds are Better Than One

Murderous now? Raphael chuckled. "They could probably try but I'm heal way to quick unless a whole hoard of murderous squirrels try to kill me all at once." The squirrel that was on his shoulder was pulling at his hair for reasons he didn't know. He didn't speak animal of course. He was careful about peeling it off from there, before gently stuffing it into the desk drawer and shutting it for the moment so it couldn't escape while he took out another one from the box.

"That ex sounds pretty kinky; betcha she had a biting kink or something if she's not really an actual vampire. Or a werewolf," Raphael said all too casually, prodding at the small opening from the box to see if any of the squirrels would pop its head out again. It looked like he was playing around if anything but eventually he got to grab another out.

At least after he burst into laughter as he saw the poor guy turn scarlet, utterly dumbfounded by his little joke. He couldn't help it but after earlier, he was expecting he would be ready for another round of playful banter. Apparently, Ivan' reached his limit.

"Sorry, sorry," he said, in between chuckles. "I mean I wasn't exactly kidding about that but I didn't think you'd get that flustered if I said it loud," he explained, wiping an invisible tear from his eye. "That's adorable but relax, buddy. I'm not making moves on you... unless you want me to."

At the mention of being an angel, Raphael couldn't help himself but laugh, getting distracted from his work for a moment and almost forgetting about the squirrel trying to nip at his hand. "Well you're not too far off from that," he said. "That and my pa did name me after the archangels so I wouldn't say otherwise. I've never met an angel yet though but I think one of the staff people here is one."

The squirrel on the blonde's hand evidently looked agitated, but the relaxed look on Raphael as it tried to bite and scratch at his palm made it look like it was nothing. (It hurt a little but Raphael wouldn't have said it.) A little after letting it play, he turned it back to where the first one had gone into the drawer. "Well, with chompers like these, I doubt any human could top these little guys," he added while ushering the third squirrel out of the box.

"Mhm, most people think I'm weird because of that back where I was from. Kids my age didn't like it then. Not here though, people have been pretty great; they know how to roll," he asked, thoughtful as he idly led the the squirrel into the drawer again. Four down. Ivan's words didn't seem to reach him; it did though, but he chose to keep quiet about it until later. For now, "Pranking priorities."

They would have worked quietly until all things were set up, squirrels tuck dein the desk and slime guns all ready to set up for the trap, and with a few more minutes to spare and not a few of their other classmates in sight. (It was a little strange for Raphael to see he was way too early with him being infamous for being late even to student council meetings. Havoc already probably singled him out for that.) "I'm all done here!"

Raphael simply shrugged as a response about the Angel staffer. He hadn't met them personally, but he hears stuff, and he isn't even sure if he's met them or not so he couldn't possibly give an opinion whether or not it would be a drag to run into them or not.

In other news.

"See, that's a cute reaction -- not weird," Raphael pointed out, moving away from the desk as he finished his task. "A little extreme, but not really weird if you asked me. My pa's been pretty open-minded since I was younger so that could explain why I'm... er... the way I am," he chucked quietly, like it was some inside joke just between him and his dad. (It was.)

"And--" he added after he finally claimed his seat, "You couldn't really know if that squirrel you run into might be a shapeshifter y'know. If they react, they're probably not a regular squirrel."

Raphael leaned back on his seat, pulling out a few books onto his desk, a cheeky little grin on his face as he turned his attention back to Ivan. "Anyway, we can pretend we got here early to study. They won't realize a thing!" The other students would have filed in, one by one as the minutes ticked by, most of them coming in groups, too busy with their chatter to notice the scheming duo.

Raphael had to smother a smile as he listened to Ivan try to counter his 'cute' comment which was failing really bad. For both of them. With Ivan not being able to actually voice out a perfect comback, Raphael on the other hand let a smirk sneak into his features. He'd say it again, but he'd probably give the poor boy a heart attack if he teased him any further.

"Mhm, my dad's just that great," he replied instead, trying to set some normalcy into their conversation. "I mean he has weird moments but that's where I probably get my weirdness. To no one's surprise, I guess."

The blonde's grin seemed to widen as he immediately picked up on Ivan's attempt to get back into his confident face. A part of Raphael wanted to just let him be, but the greater part of him wanted to bite on the bait. He chose to go with the latter, just giving a meaningful grin towards him as he walked towards him.

The offer for a handshake almost seemed to throw him off, but even so, it wouldn't have been too obvious for the non-observant. His smile calmed somewhat as he reached for the hand. "All in good fun. I like pulling a few pranks here and there; teaming up was a delight." With a little smirk on his face, he added, "And hey, we could work something out with that box idea if you're still interested."