[ video | un: keith ]

[tempredmental]

[The video started with an opening shot of what looked like a bag of coal. It zoomed in on the tag attached with its blocky lettering and signature...

MERRY CHRISTMAS
-DARTH MAUL

The camera shifted a little as Keith crouched down next to it, and then turned it so that both he and the bag of coal were in the picture.

He smirked.]

Thanks, man. It'll help keep the house warm during the cold weather. Best gift ever.

[And click - he was gone.]

Comments

[tempredmental]

Huh.

[At least Anakin had been allowed to be PG. Keith had been stuck in Y7 land.]

I'll have to remember that one.

Did uh... did he give you coal, too?

[tempredmental]

It's not when the consequences bite you in the ass.

[survivalthroughhate]

[Maul remained unruffled, taking another bite of his meal.]

Your assumption is that he asked to be left alone, which he hasn't. As far as I can tell, he tolerates me well enough.

[miyagimagic]

[ There's a slow hum on Daniel's end.

Perhaps it's at the way Keith words that first half, or maybe his tone during it. It makes Daniel pick up on something, though he isn't sure he's getting the right idea. Or maybe he's humming instead at the second part of what the other says, not wanting to be petty enough in front of someone still so young to say jury's still out on that one, but he sure thinks so.

Daniel has enough trust issues in his life to not have a single reason to think well of Maul, other than at least admitting the other doesn't murder absolutely everyone around him at the moment. ]

By giving people coal for Christmas?

[ Again, he does know it's harmless. But it's just a dumb and petty enough thing to do that Daniel can't help but point it out, an edge to his tone as if to say isn't that a little ridiculous? ]

What did you even do for him to give you that?

[opheliac]

Woof, that has to suck. I never had to deal with consequences with things I've done.

( because her dad cleaned them up for her whenever she did things. but since her dear old dad isn't here in trench, she will soon learn that she can't just do whatever she wants and not get heat for it. )

[onerthes]

[A chuckle, a soft one, followed by a sigh.] I do miss Arbol. Oddly, he probably wouldn't have hated Christmas as much. he could be quite tolerant.

So, why did Maul give you Coal, I wonder?

[tempredmental]

He could have given people death threats. Or actually killed them. The coal? It feels like more of a prank than anything else.

[Keith shrugged.]

I got on his radar? I mean, we don't hate each other or anything, and he kinda thinks the whole Voltron Paladin thing is dumb. So, I don't know. Part of me thinks he was just trying to be funny.

[tempredmental]

You're lucky, then.

[Orphans didn't have dads to clean up their messes for them...]

[tempredmental]

Is he a friend from back home?

[Keith shrugged.]

Probably as a prank. I mean, if he knows what it means to get coal on Christmas, then yeah. We're uh... we don't hate each other or anything. I don't know that I'd consider him a friend, per se, but I think... I don't know. I think there's a kind of understanding or something.

[in_loveless_memory]

[Don't mind Ritsuka, he's immediately looking up the answer.]

No, we can't use coal like we would charcoal. Coal is a naturally occurring rock in the wild while charcoal is manmade. Charcoal is actually made out of wood.

You were correct in that we need a specific kind of stove or create a combustion chamber to maintain the coal while it burns.

[tempredmental]

Right.

[Keith knew about charcoal. He'd used that before.]

Figures. Ah well. So maybe not as useful as I thought. [He shrugged.] Either way, it was fun to troll him back a bit.

[in_loveless_memory]

This place is part modern and part old-timey nonsense. A coal stove can't be that hard to find.

[tempredmental]

Or maybe we could find someone to make one if there isn't one around already made...

[opheliac]

( ... there's a bit of an eerie silence over her end of the feed. but she does answer momentarily. )

Lucky, huh? Heh. Boy.... that's somethin' I haven't heard.

[survivalthroughhate]

There's precious few reasons to celebrate around here.

[Though the amount of celebrations seemed to have doubled during December as opposed to any other month if Maul was any judge of social events.]

One must take every opportunity to take advantage of the ones that come along.

[facultative]

No, he sent some knives while pretending to be this 'Santa'.

[facultative]

But I don't.

[Aka stop seeking him out!!]

[survivalthroughhate]

One of the best ways to build up an immunity to poison is to be exposed to small amounts of it over a long period of time.

[If Usagi had been nearby, this would have been the point where she dragged away Maul by one ear.]

[survivalthroughhate]

For a great majority of my life, I was killing because someone told me to do so. Occasionally, it was for my own purposes, but for the most part I was ordered and knew to obey.

[He was the perfect weapon. No remorse, no guilt, no emotions about the killing. He'd been made as unfeeling as the saberstaff he wielded and with about as many thoughts in his head.]

These days, it is much more personal. When I kill, it is either to hurt that person directly or hurt someone else who is connected to them. Murder has a ripple effect that way.

[miyagimagic]

He's giving you coal because he thinks the stuff you do back home is.. dumb?

[ Like, okay, maybe Daniel can agree with the rest of this. It could be worse, even though he still thinks it's extremely dumb to go out of your way to give people coal.

It's just that the apparent way Keith got onto the other's radar in the first place feels a little strange. Maybe Daniel is just being fussy, wanting to make sure Maul doesn't actually harm kids beyond dumb pranks like these. ]

Do you think that's it?

[ You didn't do more to get on that guy's radar, did you, Keith... ]

[opheliac]

Dontcha just love it when that happens? You put one person in place and suddenly you just get a line of people waitin' for their turn. It's one way to keep your day busy.

[onerthes]

Yes. Arbol was what we call a Ryulent. They were tree people similar to Ents on other worlds. Very curious people.

[She laughed.]

You know, it's good that he's doing pranks now. It shows he's growing some.

[survivalthroughhate]

[Maul chuckled briefly.]

I suppose that does keep one from ever having a dull day.

Video; UN: Cuddlebunny

[lightthedarkness]

[SPEAKING OF THE BLONDE. Usagi hadn't intended on responding to this since Keith seemed to be handling it in stride. It's when she gets a notion of something across her bond with Maul that she bothers to see what's even going on.

When she sees that Maul not just crossed Anakin's boundary but was now MOCKING it she shoots deep, seething, disappointment and ire at Maul across the bond. She's not sure if Anakin wants her to step in, she knows Maul absolutely doesn't but Maul doesn't get to have a say right now.]

That's enough Maul.

Not another word to Anakin, not even an apology. [She takes deep breaths. She remains calm, almost, quiet.]

[survivalthroughhate]

[At least Maul had the good sense to feel a little guilty when Usagi caught him deliberately needling Anakin, realizing she'd known exactly what he'd been up to through their bond, and feeling those emotions she was sending back across to him through their link.]

........

[He immediately switched off the video to Anakin, leaving just the connection with Usagi's device still going. He didn't even bother trying to explain himself. Maul had already known he shouldn't have been doing what he did right from the start but didn't let that stop him one bit.]