Private Finished Under the Moonlight

The last thing Mukuchi had expected was for Briar to say "Wow". Or, well, not the last. Mukuchi had calculated many possible outcomes for this and wonder and curiosity were somewhere in the middle of the list. And right now Mukuchi couldn't have been more relieved that Briar had ended up at that reaction. Even if the look the man was giving Mukuchi made him blush again. Mukuchi instinctively covered his face, not in shame but in embarrassment. Mukuchi was many things, but he wasn't ashamed of how he looked or what he was. Whatever it may be, since Mukuchi himself didn't know.

Mukuchi didn't put the mask back on immediately, it felt nice to let his skin breathe after all the blushing and dancing. And now his whole blushing face was clearly in view as Briar thanked him, and Mukuchi merely shook his head meekly and scratched his cheek. This was nothing for Briar to be grateful for, he had asked and Mukuchi had answered. But it wasn't like Briar would know that usually Mukuchi didn't mind his face at all, didn't care about others' opinions. And Mukuchi would never, ever tell Briar that he only cared about his opinion. This strange man's who was among the gentlest and nicest people Mukuchi had ever met, and that warm persona and his kind words had wormed their way very close to Mukuchi's heart in relatively short time. It was terrifying, in a way, for Mukuchi who had never experienced anything like this.

The sign for "Thank you" made Mukuchi's chest feel tight, and he slowly lifted his arms and signed "You're welcome" back, a sign Briar should know. Mukuchi slowly lifted his eyes, letting them trail up Briar's shirt, momentarily stopping at the pin he had given the man, and finally arriving to his eyes that mirrored the shade on that very pin. Mukuchi, feeling his face heat up even more, put his mask back on with slightly shaking fingers, pulled out his phone and typed
"Do you want to go back inside? As you have now learned I am incapable of eating, but I assume you would like to sample some of the food."
Mukuchi was almost desperate to change the topic, to lift this atmosphere that had fallen upon them. It was making Mukuchi confused, his chest tight and his head was spinning. He was...afraid.

Mukuchi managed to change the topic and shift the situation and as they entered the ballroom again Mukuchi let out a quiet sigh of relief through his nose. Mukuchi's heart and mind could not have been able to bear much more of the atmosphere from just now. Mukuchi allowed his pulse to slowly wind down, as the pair approached the refreshments table.

Briar asked a question that Mukuchi felt much more comfortable answering. He enjoyed keeping some sides of himself a mystery, but Mukuchi gladly shared his powers with others. Since the people he shared them with might be familiar with what species said ability belonged to, and that could give Mukuchi leads to his heritage.
Yet again Mukuchi typed the words on the screen and showed them to Briar.
"I don't consume physical food or liquids, but I do take several shots every day that contain essential vitamins and nutrients. And my main source of nourishment is darkness. I know it sounds strange, but to put it simply, I consume darkness and shadows."
Mukuchi didn't feel nervous about Briar's response, since many people on this island had even stranger diets, and Briar's reaction from just know probably meant that he would be just as fascinated by this as well.

Although Mukuchi couldn't eat he could smell, and he did a bunch of that as they stood by the refreshments. The food smelled quite nice and Mukuchi took a deep breath. His face was relaxed, and although the crowd was making him nervous having Briar near helped a lot. Mukuchi did stick close to Briar, mostly unconsciously, and their arms knocked against each other a bit every time Mukuchi dodged another party guest.

Mukuchi's prediction hit the mark and he huffed a chuckle along with Briar's, as the man asked several questions at the same time. Mukuchi shook his head slightly at his apology as a sign that he didn't mind. Rather, Mukuchi found himself feeling happy that Briar was so curious about him. Briar had shared a lot about himself and Mukuchi wanted to reciprocate.
Mukuchi didn't take long to write an answer to Briar's queries. Before showing the screen of his phone Mukuchi listened to the added comment from Briar, finding the workings of the man's species interesting.

After Briar was done talking Mukuchi handed his phone to the man, it would most probably be most convenient for Briar to hold it himself. The screen now had multiple lines of text.
"I'll gladly answer all your questions. It's hard to explain, but I inhale the darkness in through my nose and it doesn't have a taste per se. I'm not certain what tastes are supposed to be like in the first place. I'd rather call it a sensation. It's heavy and warm, like a velvet blanket, and it envelops my body from inside out as it settles into my system."
Hopefully Mukuchi's answer would be satisfactory, though he was starting to realize that Briar was the kind of person who would be happy with simple one-word answers. He was nice like that, and that made Mukuchi want to quell his curiosity to the best of his abilities.

Mukuchi waited patiently as Briar got himself food, looking around the ballroom as he did, and thus Mukuchi was surprised when suddenly Briar's arm came to rest around his shoulders. Mukuchi gave Briar a surprised look as he blushed from the sudden contact, but he didn't push Briar away or flinch. That would've been rude, and the contact was innocent. Friends had this kind of contact a lot, at least that was the image Mukuchi had gotten during his long life. He had never had friends that would do it, but that didn't mean he was entirely uncomfortable with it. Especially since it was Briar doing it. To receive this kind of contact from Briar was...pleasant.
Mukuchi also did a side note about how Briar was casually shielding Mukuchi from the dancers and other party guests. He admired and was touched by Briar's nonchalant, perhaps even unconscious, gentlemanly gesture.

Briar and Mukuchi settled down on a table, to the side from all the biggest commotion, so now Mukuchi could use his text to speech app to answer Briar. That was good, now Briar could also focus on eating instead of having to read text constantly.
"I have collected a lot of antiques during my travels, and I had it stored in several locations around the world. It was inconvenient, and I was sad to let these wonderful pieces of history just lay around without anyone to use them. So, I imagined that an antique dealership would be the perfect way to allow my antiques to have new homes and uses again."
Mukuchi's answer was long, since he was passionate about the subject, and he looked visibly happier as his face relaxed a bit and there was a soft look to his eyes.

Mukuchi decided to ask a question of his own and he typed
"I don't think you never told me what you do for a job. I remember you mentioning you do work besides studying, however."

Dreamer's Haven. Mukuchi remembered seeing that establishment when he'd been doing some research on the existing businesses on the island. The name gave some clues as to what it was about, but Mukuchi didn't know any details. Briar mentioned applying as a dream walker, so Mukuchi's guess about the place offering services relating to sleeping and dreams was correct, then.
"I wish you will be able to get the job."
Mukuchi typed, and his expression was sincere. Briar seemed like a person that would do very well in any job that requires customer service and interaction.

It didn't take Mukuchi long to come up with an answer to Briar's question, he knew the answer by heart and in few short seconds his fingers had typed
"China. It holds a special meaning to me."
China was where the biggest mystery of Mukuchi's life, his own origin, had begun, and it was where his still-living vampire friends and, on a certain level, family lived.

The way Briar looked at Mukuchi, no matter what he did, was making Mukuchi feel strange. No one had never looked at Mukuchi quite like that. People had looked at Mukuchi with fear, disgust, contempt, interest, indifference and almost everything in between. But never with such...genuine enjoyment, like everything Mukuchi said was interesting and they couldn't get enough.
In a way Briar looking at him like that was suffocating, but...Mukuchi also felt warm. Briar made him feel in all sorts of contradicting ways.

"I may be biased, as I think nearly everything in China is an amazing sight"
Mukuchi typed and his shoulders shook slightly in a quiet laugh, but he was almost completely genuine. Certainly, the country had changed a lot in these last almost 500 years, to the worse as well, but Mukuchi could still see it as the nation if his early years; full of pride for its heritage, beautiful nature and, as Briar said, most amazing sights.
"But if we find the opportunity taking a trip there might not be a bad idea. I myself have not been in few years"

Mukuchi didn't even have to ask before Briar answered the question for himself as well. And Mukuchi listened intently to all of it. Mukuchi had known about other dimensions and worlds for few centuries now, but he had never been able to go. All portal magic became useless once Mukuchi got close enough. The portal on the island was scientific so it worked, but in order to get to other dimensions you mostly had to use magic. It was yet another downside to Mukuchi's magic immunity.

But Briar painted a nice picture with his words; an old castle, filled with the sound of laughter and small feet hitting the stone floor, Briar watching fondly how the small princes and princesses grew up safe and sound under his protection. Before Mukuchi knew it he had set one of his elbows on the table and was listening to Briar's story with his head leaning against his hand, in his head an image of a smiling Briar playing with children. The image was nice and made Mukuchi's chest feel strangely light.
He almost didn't realize when Briar finished telling his story, and then typed with his other hand, the other one still holding up his head.
"It sounds like it was work worth doing. You at least seem to remember it fondly"