Information



Orion
Legacy Name: Mitsuo


The Galactic Feli
Owner: Prussia

Age: 15 years, 5 months, 1 week

Born: October 17th, 2008

Adopted: 13 years, 11 months, 3 weeks ago

Adopted: April 2nd, 2010

Statistics


  • Level: 162
     
  • Strength: 404
     
  • Defense: 407
     
  • Speed: 405
     
  • Health: 395
     
  • HP: 395/395
     
  • Intelligence: 489
     
  • Books Read: 479
  • Food Eaten: 0
  • Job: Lead Librarian


Mitsuo had liked the old Victorian house for its elegant exterior and wrap-around porch the moment he rode up the driveway but it was the library with wall-to-wall bookcases that made him fall in love. For six months he had been living out of cardboard boxes, agonizing over the decision to give up part of his massive collection or to continue using a folding chair as a dining table. The table in his kitchen was stacked nearly to the level of his chin with video games.

It was his first night as a tenant and he was determined to lay out each precious collection so that the titles of every book and game were clearly visible, just the way he liked. His books were shelved first, carefully sorted by genre with a special section in the middle for those titles he read most often. Two cabinets with frosted glass panels in the doors served as storage space for his video games. These were alphabatized by title and further sorted in order from games he had defeated on the first play to those with bosses that seemed to require an extra set of hands. There was room for his controllers on the shelves below. A standing cabinet beside the sofa that had once stored wine bottles was now stacked with card decks, one whole drawer dedicated to the hundreds of booster packs Mitsuo had acquired over two decades. The bookcase in the corner was just the right size for a stack of old-fashioned board games. Though they were not as frequently used, Mitsuo would never dream of throwing away the games that had been at the center of his childhood.

He had yet to meet his landlord face-to-face. Their correspondence had been online and he had taken a virtual tour of the rooms that would be his. He had even made his first payment through a website. Whitaker was a private fellow for certain, but Mitsuo was convinced that a man with such obvious sophistication and writing talent could not be a bad sort.

After he had assured himself that every item was in its propert place, Mitsuo settled into his usual nest of blankets, building a wool cocoon on the couch as he tried to decide whether to read or find a good game. He stared at his collection, pondering the titles and rejecting each one with a mental shrug. He simply could not decide which would best suit his mood and so the choice became impossible. He began to notice little details about the room that stand out only in moments of sheer boredom. The wainscoat that covered the lower half of the walls was a little too modern for the antique chairs in the room though the color was a good match. A subtle crack beside the door was shaped vaguely like a lightning bolt. Small horses paraded the rim of the fireplace, their right forelegs raised in graceful curves.

The natural light faded as evening gave way to night. The strongest light in the room was the face of Mitsuo's laptop as he browsed the list of users currently available to chat. Tairi's neon green skull icon was not among those listed. His boyfriend was likely still working on coding a professional-looking home page for the city council. Mitsuo grinned at the thought of Tairi stuffing pizza rolls in his mouth and wiping the grease on his jeans while he obsessed over perfectly aligning a picture of the fountain in front of City Hall. He found it adorable the way Tairi obssessed over every detail of his work.

Mitsuo laughed at his own folly when the creak of settling wood made him jump. He had lived in various apartments over the last three years, none of them coming near the quality of this place. His weakness for games did not leave an abundant sum for rent, yet he had never missed a payment.

He had nearly resolved to go to bed when the tapping began. It was hesitant at first, easily mistaken for birds settling in the eaves. The sound soon swelled, a frenzy of mettalic clicks broken by the occasional tread of a foot overhead. There was something wrong in those footsteps. Mitsuo stared uneasily in the direction of the staircase. Both floors of the house were his but Whitaker had made it clear that he would occupy the attic. Mitsuo had seen no sign of a car in the driveway. He had assumed he was alone and that he would hear Whitaker come in.

His attention was back on the screen at the chime of an incoming message. Tairi was eager to hear every detail of his new place. Mitsuo hated how often Tairi was forced to work nights, falling asleep to the gentle hum of computer servers. He had made it clear from the beginning of their relationship that when Tairi needed a real bed to sleep in, he would never find himself wanting.

He tried to keep the tone light, not wanting Tairi to pick up on his stress. It was normal to feel jittery on the first night in a new place, right? He sent the usual heart icon when he signed off though he wanted to ask Tairi to stay on a little longer. It was already well past midnight and Mitsuo had work in the morning.

The tapping was worse in his bedroom. He was just beginning to doze when a new sound made him jump. Was somebody moving furniture up there? He lay completely still, irresolute and frustrated. He did not want another battle with a landlord. His last landlady had been an ill-tempered widow who was constantly making snide comments about the number of frozen meal wrappers in his assigned garbage can.

He did not know what time he fell asleep but he was much too aware of his alarm in the morning. He rolled over with a groan, missing the snooze button and nearly knocking the clock to the floor. He could not be called fully awake but there was no going back to sleep now. His movements were robotic as he dressed and renewed the pattern of spectrum spikes that brightened the tips of his white hair. He grabbed an energy bar on his way out the door, barely tasting the chocolate chips that dotted the surface as he flung his messenger bag over his shoulder and mounted his bike.

The library was only three blocks down the road. Mitsuo nodded politely to the head librarian as he took up his station at the reference desk. His mood rose with the sun. He always loved to watch the motes of dust dancing in the light of the stained glass windows on the eastern wall. The sweet smell of old books helped him to relax. By the time he received his first question of the day he was grinning, eager to help the girl in the red dress with finding books for her report on the lives of grasshoppers.

Even better than browsing the shelves was story hour. The local children knew that nobody could produce story voices like Mitsuo. He could be the gruff old man or the sweet fairy child and he knew just the right tones to bring each character to life.

Mitsuo always made it a point to visit the Library Director at the end of the day. She was a good woman who knew the difficulties of youth. Duplicates and unpopular books were cancelled out of the catalog with her permission, allowing Mitsuo to take them home to sell. It was amazing how quickly a book on 17th century knitting patterns could be snatched up when its existence was made known to the right buyer and Mitsuo had quite an online network of book fanatics.

He was thrilled to see Tairi's bike parked beside his own. Tairi's black hair was artfully gelled into a falcon's peak. A pair of lime earbuds trailed from the pocket of his leather jacket. He pulled the buds and flashed Mitsuo a grin.

"Hey, Beau. Let's grab a bite. That new sushi bar has a special on drinks and I am hu-un-gry."

The sake and maguro were to die for. Tairi nibbled a small blob of wasabi for Mitsuo's amusement, pulling faces at the heat. The margaritas tasted like limes, not like some cheap powder mix. They split the bill after Tairi once again tried to argue that it was his turn to pay. They did not even have to think about holding hands on their way to pick up their bikes.

Mitsuo gave Tairi the choice of their game of the night. Soon they were fully absorbed in a world where the sun was dying and the people had mutated into dark, twisted beings with glowing eyes and telepathic powers. The chime of the grandfather clock announcing the midnight hour broke their gaming trance.

"Aw crap, I really need to get going. I've got an interface to rebuild and the deadline's Friday." Tairi claimed a kiss from Mitsuo. "Don't wait up for me. This could take all night."

Mitsuo sighed as the sound of tires on gravel faded. Tonight he was determined to do something productive. A plastic crate held those books awaiting shipment to their new owners. Before he started to prepare labels for mailing, he took the time to check for any new orders. His homepage had been designed by Tairi, laid out so that each link was in the shae of a book on a shelf. He was pleased to see that Flourescent Fungi, Butterfly Collecting for Beginners, and The Island of Eternity would soon be expanding the collections of fellow book lovers.

So far there was no sound from above. He could not help questioning whether he had imagined the eerie noises. He sealed the mailing boxes carefully with packaging tape. He cared about his reputation as an online seller and was proud of his 98% success rate in pleasing his customers.

Tacka-tacka-tacka.

He nearly dropped Monsters of the Deep on his foot which would have been most unfortunate as the book was over eight hundred pages in length. The sound ceased abruptly the moment the book landed. Mitsuo picked up the volume, setting it on his desk. He was determined to solve this mystery before it could lead to another restless night.

He got as far as the attic door, hesitating with his fist in the air. A new round of furious clicks hardened his determination. He knocked twice. Silence. Just when Mitsuo was beginning to feel uncomfortable, the subtle sound of footsteps prevented him from walking away. The door opened a crack, revealing a very pale young man with bright blue eyes.

Mitsuo bit his lip, trying not to let his reaction show. Whitaker hovered a few inches above the floor.

So that's why the rent for this place was so cheap. Who in their right mind would rent from a ghost?

Whitaker did not look like the blood-spattered, gellatinous monster out of a ghost story, though. His clothes were rather outdated and he could use a good hair stylist, but aside from that he looked quite respectable.

"Good evening." Whitaker's voice was quiet and carried the sophistication of an earlier century. "I assume that you are Mitsuo, my new tenant."

"That's right. The house is even better than I imagined. I think you said it's been in your family for quite a while?"

"For generations, in fact. Was there something that you needed?"

Mitsuo's eyes fell on the old-fashioned typewriter that sat in the center of Whitaker's antique writing desk. "I guess that explains the tapping. I don't mind a bit of noise, being from the city and all, but it's kind of hard to sleep when you're scooting couches over my head." He grinned to take the sting out of the accusation.

Whitaker looked back over his shoulder, his uneasiness made plain by the set of his lips. "I can assure you I made no such sound. That is not to say I disbelieve you..."

He fell silent, eyes widening at the sight of a trinket falling to the floor. It was a glass figurine of a woman in a red dress, the sort of worthless decoration one might find in an old lady's curio cabinet.

Mitsuo glanced to the figurine which did not seem the least bit extraordinary. When he looked back to the place where his landlord had been standing, he found himself looking at an empty room. He shuddered as the keys on the typewriter began to fall at the touch of an invisible hand.

Story by Pureflower with minor changes by me
Overlay by Renathory

Pet Treasure


Meat Shield Maze Trading Card

Green Ten-sided Dice

Pink Ten-sided Dice

Ivory Ten-sided Dice

Bloodred Mortiking Maze Trading Card

Reborn Illumis Maze Trading Card

Glacier Chelon Maze Trading Card

Oddly Pixelated Sword

Yellow Rad Wireless Controller

Blue Rad Game System

Flame Deck Box

White Rad Game System

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Pink Gaming Headset

D10 of Destiny

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Voynich Manuscript

Arid Gamepet

Voynich Manuscript

Game Master Compendium

Game Master Screen

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Purple Rad Wireless Controller

Green Game Controller

Blue Precision Gaming Mouse

Green Rad Game System

Players Pamphlet

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Squirreltle Doll

Dwarf Miniature

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Pink Rad Game System

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Game Master Screen

Pink Precision Gaming Mouse

Pink Rad Wireless Controller

Mummy Miniature

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Blue Topaz Twenty-sided Die

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Silver Flipper Coin

Zoogle

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Super Plumber Guys Gamepet Game

Legend of Hilda Gamepet Game

Betamon: Crimson Gamepet Game

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Black Laptop

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