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lifeaftr2018-01-20 08:50 pm
lifeaftr_mods) wrote in lifeaftr2018-01-20 08:50 pm
Entry tags:
- dear evan hansen: connor murphy,
- final fantasy xv: ardyn izunia,
- final fantasy xv: ignis scientia,
- fragile dreams: ren,
- hollow knight: the knight,
- hyper light drifter: the drifter,
- marble hornets: tim wright,
- mass effect: commander shepard,
- mushi-shi: ginko,
- original: chip abaroa,
- original: erika fisher,
- original: mira delacroix,
- osomatsu-san: ichimatsu matsuno,
- pokemon sun & moon: guzma,
- pokemon sun & moon: luna,
- undertale: asgore dreemurr,
- undertale: chara dreemurr,
- voltron: keith kogane,
- ✖ captive prince: damianos,
- ✖ captive prince: laurent,
- ✖ castlevania: soma cruz,
- ✖ dangan ronpa: hinata hajime,
- ✖ disney: mickey mouse,
- ✖ ffxiv: tataru taru,
- ✖ ffxv: noctis lucis caelum,
- ✖ ffxv: prompto argentum,
- ✖ fragile dreams: crow,
- ✖ fullmetal alchemist: edward elric,
- ✖ kingdom hearts: xion,
- ✖ lady trent: isabella camherst,
- ✖ loveless: ritsuka aoyagi,
- ✖ marble hornets: brian thomas,
- ✖ marvel 616: wade wilson,
- ✖ next to normal: gabe goodman,
- ✖ odin sphere leifthrasir: ingway,
- ✖ off: the batter,
- ✖ okami: amaterasu,
- ✖ original: kyouko kougami,
- ✖ original: sonje forstner,
- ✖ original: yuka ichijou,
- ✖ owlboy: otus,
- ✖ pluto: epsilon,
- ✖ shadowrun: gobbet,
- ✖ tales of the abyss: asch the bloody,
- ✖ the adventure zone: lup,
- ✖ the adventure zone: magnus burnsides,
- ✖ the adventure zone: taako,
- ✖ undertale: frisk,
- ✖ undertale: muffet,
- ✖ world of warcraft: thereth,
- ✖ yuki yuna is a hero: karin myoshi
January Event: Setting Fire to the Sky
JANUARY EVENT: SETTING FIRE TO THE SKY
Who: Everyone!
What: The sun dies, and the creatures of the night emerge from the depths
When: January 21st - January 28th
Where: Everywhere! Ensō, Monsun, Chol, and the Islets
Warnings: Character death, possible body horror and violence. Please mark any additional warnings as needed!
What: The sun dies, and the creatures of the night emerge from the depths
When: January 21st - January 28th
Where: Everywhere! Ensō, Monsun, Chol, and the Islets
Warnings: Character death, possible body horror and violence. Please mark any additional warnings as needed!
So We Can Take the World Back From the Heart-Attacked
The night of the 21st, the sun begins to dim. It dips in the horizon, sinks to nestle itself in the center of Chol like a star falling in slow motion, where it begins to smolder quietly - massive, smoking, and hot, like a massive egg. The night grows colder, the sky reduced to an inky black. The surface of the surrounding water is still but for the occasional ripple, the odd, strangely subdued wave, with not even the hollow lights of distant stars to glint off its reflective waves.
The Jormun gather around the sunken, dying sun with their scaled hands on their weapons, their expressions grim. They fan out across the island of Chol with arms in hand. Their fortifications have settled around the island's center in a dense ball of bristling weapons. They have been preparing for this. They are ready to fight.
Are you?
No more preparation. No more running.
From here on out, it is fight or die.
The night of the 21st, the sun begins to dim. It dips in the horizon, sinks to nestle itself in the center of Chol like a star falling in slow motion, where it begins to smolder quietly - massive, smoking, and hot, like a massive egg. The night grows colder, the sky reduced to an inky black. The surface of the surrounding water is still but for the occasional ripple, the odd, strangely subdued wave, with not even the hollow lights of distant stars to glint off its reflective waves.
The Jormun gather around the sunken, dying sun with their scaled hands on their weapons, their expressions grim. They fan out across the island of Chol with arms in hand. Their fortifications have settled around the island's center in a dense ball of bristling weapons. They have been preparing for this. They are ready to fight.
Are you?
No more preparation. No more running.
From here on out, it is fight or die.
One Maniac At a Time, We Will Take It Back
As the Storyteller has promised, there is sanctuary in their temple on Ensō, which will keep out the worst of the creatures. It will not, however, protect characters from the cold and dark, and so they will have to keep themselves warm some other way.
The Jormun fight fiercely, but they do not fight alone. Aside from the help that the willing of your number have offered, you may glimpse the Storyteller battling alongside the rest in a flurry of strange, shifting animal shapes: a heavy-antlered reindeer, a shrieking owl with outstretched talons, a slavering grizzly bear with the Storyteller's signature tome strapped across a broad, furry back, to name but a few. Those creatures that the Storyteller defeats will burst into a flurry of paper and dark, spattering ink, rather than being felled in the conventional manner. How odd.
As this is an event with a high risk of death, the Storyteller will impose death penalties for one week only. However, deaths succumbed during the event will count towards the character's total.
As the Storyteller has promised, there is sanctuary in their temple on Ensō, which will keep out the worst of the creatures. It will not, however, protect characters from the cold and dark, and so they will have to keep themselves warm some other way.
The Jormun fight fiercely, but they do not fight alone. Aside from the help that the willing of your number have offered, you may glimpse the Storyteller battling alongside the rest in a flurry of strange, shifting animal shapes: a heavy-antlered reindeer, a shrieking owl with outstretched talons, a slavering grizzly bear with the Storyteller's signature tome strapped across a broad, furry back, to name but a few. Those creatures that the Storyteller defeats will burst into a flurry of paper and dark, spattering ink, rather than being felled in the conventional manner. How odd.
As this is an event with a high risk of death, the Storyteller will impose death penalties for one week only. However, deaths succumbed during the event will count towards the character's total.
Then I'll Raise You Like a Phoenix
Come the sunrise on the 28th, the sun will launch itself into the air with a victorious shriek, its wings trailing plumes of fire behind it. The phoenix takes flight, reborn from the ashes.
Munin will greet the survivors with a mixture of solemnity and relief, thanking them profusely for their help. There is not much more that her people can offer you, at this point - they must grieve their dead, and she must return to the sea to prove that she has cemented her worth as a leader in the eyes of the other Jormun - but that does not mean that your stories will part forever.
Come the sunrise on the 28th, the sun will launch itself into the air with a victorious shriek, its wings trailing plumes of fire behind it. The phoenix takes flight, reborn from the ashes.
Munin will greet the survivors with a mixture of solemnity and relief, thanking them profusely for their help. There is not much more that her people can offer you, at this point - they must grieve their dead, and she must return to the sea to prove that she has cemented her worth as a leader in the eyes of the other Jormun - but that does not mean that your stories will part forever.
Event Timeline
[ ♆ ] January 20th: Monthly Storytelling occurs as usual
[ ♆ ] January 21st: The dark arrives, the temperature drops further, and the first hostile creatures begin their assault
[ ♆ ] January 28th: The dark ends and the sun rises
[ ♆ ] January 30th: Those who perished are revived, suffering from a reduced death penalty
Event Specifics
[ ♆ ] If you have any questions, feel free to look over our OOC Info Post.
[ ♆ ] Feel free to make your own logs if necessary!
[ ♆ ] If your character perishes in this event, please let us know!
[ ♆ ] Item trades with the Jormun can be found on the OOC plotting post here! Even if you were only recently accepted, you are free to participate!
( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )
no subject
Ren-chan?
[If he sounds a little shocked, it's probably because he is; it somehow doesn't corroborate, having her nearby and yet feeling so completely like danger is right at the doorstep. He shoves the gun into his pocket and steps over, hands coming up to try and rest on her shoulders, looking around in distress. He has no reason to feel like she's in danger here, while they're still in the temple, but...]
O-oi, you shouldn't be up. Go back to bed.
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Even ESP kitty seems to jostle against her grasp at the sound of his voice. Not good, that's for sure. She can understand why though. One missing cat is reason enough to be afraid. If anything startled Pachinko inside these walls, it means they'll have to move soon. Find a better, safer place that the darkness can't reach.
She doesn't attempt to shake his hands off. They can stay there. It gives her some kind of instantaneous relief that he's not going to immediately run away from her. ]
It's okay. I'm good at finding cats-I'll help you. Then we can go to sleep together.
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[Yeah. He's gotta calm down. Not just for ESP, but for Pachinko... and for Ren, too.]
... Sorry, but I can't let you come. You know it's dangerous out there.
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[It's dangerous and she's terrified-knows she's not brave enough to run out there on her own for any extended period of time, but cats can track a safe path through these jungles. It's how they are. There's three cats vs the world and she likes the odds of that, even if she hates everything else about her offer.
And-
She hears the cat purr at Murasaki's touch and knows she has to protect him-for her, for his friend that's nestled in her arms and for Pachinko. For the brothers that may or may not arrive. For the mama cat that would be sad if her purple son was hurt.
It's because of her nerves that she starts mindlessly joining in on the cat petting, stroking ESP kitty's back with with her own hand. Murasaki still isn't adept at dealing with scary things. He needed a lesson what ghosts looked like and how to run from them-does he remember that? Does he know how to check walls for spectral hands or ignore sounds of crying because it's never a real person?]
I'll be okay because I'm with Murasaki-chan. We'll find her faster together.
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[Ichimatsu trails off. He's at a loss. No one in their right mind, not even the scummiest piece of trash, would let a little girl out there where monsters are roaming. It would be one thing if she had her strong friends to protect her, but if they're just talking about him... he can barely take care of himself, let alone another human being. Really, the best he'd be able to do is throw himself down and hope the monsters eat him instead of her.]
[He knows full well the stakes. They're talking about his beloved Pachinko. The kitten named in honor of his eldest brother, given to him by the second eldest. She's all he has left of them. He'll tear across the entire island all night if that's what it takes, but to put Ren's life on the line in the process...]
[He can't. He could never.]
[Ichimatsu exhales. He moves his hand away from ESP Kitty's head, attempting to gently brush back her bangs with his fingers.]
... I can't risk losing you, too. You're just as important, y-you know?
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Last time, she agreed to stay back with Sai. Last time, she waited and held onto the promise he made in his absence.
But this isn't like before.
Seto knew how to fight. He knew how to run and hide and did everything she couldn't do.
But she can do something for Murasaki, as little as it might be. She can shove him into a spot too dark for the shadows to find him in and guide him towards spots Pachinko might've ambled off too. She tries to turn these thoughts into words, but can't help to repeat his own in her mind-a part of thought he might know, being a cat, that she's going to be lost one day. She thought they all had that innate sense of knowing her life was limited to only a few days, a few weeks, a few months and-
She can't let him get hurt. Can't let Pachinko stay lost in the woods.]
It won't change anything.
[Are the first words out of her mouth. Even if something catches her, it doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things. For someone like Murasaki, who has a long life ahead of him, it does.]
I'm-I'll be okay. I'll run far away if it's too scary, but I want to be with you. I'm going to stay with you.
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[In the end, he --]
[He can't say no to her.]
[It's that simple. But it's also not simple at all. It's the unidentified loneliness clenching in his chest, standing where Ren is standing, thinking -- thinking -- don't leave me behind. Osomatsu, Karamatsu, someone... don't make him face the world on his own like this. It's too big and frightening. Too many things out there that he can't fight.]
[Now's not the time to project on her. It's probably the worst time he could possibly fucking think of. But he...]
[He can't push her away and promise her she'll be safer this way; not if she doesn't believe it. If those are the only two options he has -- to take her, or to abandon her when she doesn't want to be left behind -- then he knows what he has to do. He knows what he has to be, out there, even if it's something he's never been in his life.]
[He lowers his hand from her bangs, extending it out between them for her to take.]
You stay close. Don't let go of my hand for anything. A-and if I tell you to run... you go. No questions asked. No matter what happens. Got it?
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And now, she smiles because he trusts her with this. Because she has an opportunity to protect him from scary things he's only beginning to learn about. She can reciprocate his kindness and maybe watch a smile form on his face, when they find her.]
Okay.
[She shifts ESP to one arm, reaching out to thread her fingers with his. If he's worried about her letting go, her grip should ease that fear. That might be a problem later, if they have to wander for a long time, because she's not going to let him go.
She can't let him get hurt.
And in that same vein, while she wants to bring ESP along, Pachinko could benefit from having a friendly face to greet her should she wander back. There's some hesitation in her movements, but it's for the best-she slowly lowers ESP to the ground, giving him careful instructions like make sure she stays with you and say 'nya' very loud so she knows you're here.]
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[Not enough to hurt, but -- he won't let her go, either. That's what he's trying to tell her.]
[His eyes quietly track as she struggles with the decision to leave ESP. He doesn't say anything about it. He wouldn't have said anything if she'd elected to bring him along, either. Ren is ESP Kitty's guardian now, who looks after him just as much as the cat looks after her, and Ichimatsu trusts her judgment.]
[He crouches with her when she finally sets ESP down, just so it's easier for their hands to stay interlocked. He's totally silent until Ren has finished giving her instructions, and then he gives a small smile.]
We're counting on you. Take care of everyone until we get back.
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And even though she really, really wants to stay here, they better get it all over with. With both of them looking out, Pachinko would be safe and sound in no time. All she has to do is keep a tight grip on his hand and watch out for any looming dangers. Murasaki can use his Cat Senses to listen for her and-
It's fine. It's going to be fine. It's bad. Even though she's the one beginning to pull him towards the woods, her fingers start to shake and she overcompensates by holding on tighter. She can already hear something. A cry maybe? They should stay far away from that area.]
Which way?
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[He feels her hand shaking in his. An ear flinches sharply towards the cry -- it's some sort of animal, but not a cat. He knows. He pulls at her hand, trying to move her to his other side, away from that sound.]
... home. She might've tried going back home. Less people, so it feels safer.
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It doesn't this time. She can only think of the distance to home and tries to force the small bits of panic down when she realizes how many paths there are-a short one. A longer one that Pachinko might've taken because there are nooks and crannies for her to hide in on the way. For once, there are too many options and while cats are her calling, she doesn't know Pachinko well enough to understand her movements.
While her ears don't visibly perk like his, she's listening all the same and when she feels safe to hide in the silence, she starts to whispers so so quietly to the world around them, in case the little kitten is nearby-]
Good girls come out when their dad says 'nya'.
[Pachinko please.]
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[For a paralyzing moment, Ichimatsu is overcome again with the instinct to just get her out of here. He braces himself against it. If he panics now, he'll just... just make everything worse for her. Instead, he keeps angling his ears this way and that, listening for the sound of fur brushing against leaves, claws scoring over stone and roots. He doesn't hear it. Which means now's as good a time as ever to move.]
[Using his free hand, he tugs the glowing pendant off and holds it out in front of him like a tiny lantern. Squeezing Ren's hand, Ichimatsu starts moving forward.]
[Towards home.]
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It's just them and the occasional cry of something she knows is bad in the distance.
And she already knows the further they go, the harder it'll be to find her voice again. The whisper she managed to push out is lost under the weight of her fear-one that resurges even as she looks towards the brave cat guiding the way. But she's got to protect him, somehow. He's not used to this and she knows how to keep her eyes peeled for creatures that can appear in the blink of an eye.
It's easier to press forward with the light in front of them. Close to his side, she continues to scan the ground in the hopes of seeing a fluffy little calico tail poke through the bushes, tress-anything.]
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[Because he hears it.]
[A tiny, pitiful mewl that makes him stop in his tracks, ears pivoting, his knuckles turning white in the pendant's cobalt glow. He turns suddenly, bolts off the path while still clutching Ren's hand, his breath turning heavy and wild as he kicks his way violently through a thick tumble of ferns. As it flattens under his sneakers, he nearly trips stomping his way over it, and reflexively lets her hand go to avoid dragging her down with him.]
[He catches himself, luckily, and looks up; the pendant sways at his neck like a ghostly chandelier, blue light and heavy shadows swinging back and forth across the thick vines surrounding them.]
Chi...
[Tangled by her front paw in a swath of ferns, the little calico kitten hisses in alarm, blinded and confused. Ichimatsu bolts upward, nearly diving for her, but then the empty state of his hand catches up with him, and he glances quickly behind him to make sure he hadn't left Ren in his panic.]
no subject
She's so busy focusing on Murasaki, on her beating heart, on the ghostly echoes, that she doesn't hear what he does, but understands in an instant why they're running. There's no other reason for it-no monster nipping at their heels to warrant this kind of wild explosion into the jungle.
Following behind startled cats is a skill that never vanished, even though she hasn't put it to use in a good long while. Her eyes stay plastered on the on the second pair of ears on his head, knowing she can spot their tips if they get separated in the bushes somehow and the small light is bright in his hand and he's-
Falling and back up again before she can even blink. Before she can ask are you okay and see if he scraped his hands against the ground.
And finally, she spots the focus of all his panicked movements. There she is-Pachinko. However many steps behind him she was, she's not anymore, though her movements are slow to avoid startling the kitten even further. Murasaki is her owner, her dad, her friend and that's who she's going to look to. Her own voice is soft as she speaks up, hoping to put her at ease without catching the attention of something worse.]
It's okay. Murasaki-chan is here.
no subject
Stay back, Ren-chan.
[Swallowing, but reassured that he hadn't ditched Ren, Ichimatsu drops to one knee in the ferns around Pachinko. It's with teeth-grinding reluctance that he gently disengages his hand from Ren's grip -- the emptiness in his fingers feeling cold and wrong, but he needs both of them to reach down and start tugging at the snarl of vine wrapped around his kitten's legs. Still reeling in the pendant's light, Pachinko hisses and yowls, and as Ichimatsu works and her paws come loose, she strikes out blindly at him. Small, angry red lines zip across his fingers and wrists; he determinedly ignores it, both hands wrapping around her middle and pulling her free with one final tug.]
[Pachinko struggles for a few moments, but Ichimatsu's and Ren's scents must finally register as familiar to her, because her yowling quickly simmers into a pathetic, frightened mewling as she curls into a tight ball against his stomach. Ichimatsu backs away from the tangle of ferns, breathing a bit too hard for someone who hasn't done a whole lot of physical work, his hand running an automatic rhythm across Pachinko's back to calm her down.]
[He looks around again; his ears still madly swiveling about. Then he stops petting Pachinko and turns to Ren, extending his battered hand for her to take. His voice is urgent and a little bit uneasy.]
[She'd made a lot of noise just now.]
Let's go. Hurry.
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But she doesn't want to make it worse-a second pair of hands is only going to stress her out, so she watches the treeline as he quickly works to get her out. Every shuffle of leaves and noise forces her attention this way and that and she forces her feet to move so she's standing in front of him. It's easier to guard her cat this way and-
She's free, finally, and relief surges through her, though it doesn't show on her face. The situation is tense and she can't shake that feeling for even the 0.2 seconds needed to show how happy she is to see her cuddled against his stomach.
And she reaches for his hand out of instinct, pulling back abruptly when her eyes fall on Pachinko again. He needs to concentrate on getting her out of here. It's hard to run when you're holding something-let alone two somethings.
Her hand moves forward, pressing his free hand down against the cat, so he's holding her with both. Ren can run fast. She'll be fine on her own. This is just another Tuesday on her world. Trying to leave no room for argument, she quickly whispers-]
At 'Se No' we'll run back to the temple. You have to go very fast, okay?
no subject
[It's sharp, a bit too sharp, and he hadn't meant to snap at her with the same glint of steel he usually lashes at his brothers with, and he tries to make up for it by keeping his touch gentle as he pushes back against her hand. Pushes it back, then takes it, and then pulls it back in and pushes Pachinko from his hold to hers, in full and utter faith that Ren will take her.]
[Ren, whose scent must be nearly as familiar to Pachinko as his very own, who must smell and feel like the second half of home, for how much time she spends visiting terrible garbage like him. If he could think of anything good that could possibly come out of their friendship, it's this -- that there's someone so soft and gentle that he doesn't have to think twice about this. Good and innocent goes with innocent and good. Just trust her, and keep them both safe.]
[He glances from Pachinko to Ren and back again; the tightly-wound wire in his middle coils even tighter. He's never felt like he's had to do something this badly in his life.]
We made a deal. You stay with me. No questions asked. [Still a little breathless, he starts muttering to the kitten, too:] It's okay. Aunt Ren is here, too. We'll get you home.
no subject
Running from dangerous creatures in the darkness is second nature. Keeping an eye on someone's back is manageable. Even holding a cat close to her chest to protect it from the world around them, that's doable. She can press the kitten to her body, run her thumb against her chin to keep her content with the feel of someone's hand, but he calls her aunt and-
She can't do this.
There's no way she can muster up the strength needed to be an aunt. She can't stand as tall as Lup, protect people with a smile, hides worries under layers of a well practiced confidence she could never in her wildest dreams mimic. She can't hold someone close while she's grieving, doesn't know how to celebrate birthdays or make roasts or look into the dark woods and say I'm not afraid because she's scared. She's always scared.
Whatever strengths and skills she has in her entire being doesn't equate to a fourth, an eighth, a tenth of the entirety of Lup. It makes her fingers unknowingly shake against Pachinko's fur, which she becomes aware of the second the terrified kitten starts to squirm. It can sense she's starting to freak out and she has to stay calm, because if she runs off again, they might be not find her again.
So she has to stay calm. She has to pretend like she can be an aunt. Find that small bit of courage that used to hit her when she would peer over the sewer edges and by the dams to dig out cats, even when she was afraid of falling in. Pretend it's like before, when she would hurry past ghosts and hungry dog packs because a kitten didn't know not to go that way and she had to bring them home.
She can't do it-she's not Lup. She can't pretend to be a good aunt, doesn't have the time to tell Murasaki-chan his faith was misplaced, because she has to protect Pachinko. She can't be Lup, she can never be like her, but she can pretend to be strong and brave and-
Pretend to be an aunt, for right now, because she's scared. Terrified. And so are her two cats, one of which has given her a heavy responsibility that scares her more than any shadow monster.]
We're going-we'll get you home. That's right. We're going together so it's okay.
[Every word trembles with the desire to say you should hold her and you're stronger and I can't, but nothing comes out because Pachinko is more important than any worry she currently holds. She needs to hear nice words and feel soothing gestures against her fur, not hear someone say they can't do it while she's looking for protection.
So she relents, tries to see Lup's image in the shadows to push her through-to be an aunt, for the next ten minutes, whispers Se No and starts to walk forward.]
no subject
[She's terrified.]
[Part of Ichimatsu feels the weight of what he's making her do, how hard he's pushing her, and how wrong it is. She's terrified in the way that dark alleys strung with glass are terrifying; the way you're awake at night and the thought of turning on your side and finding yourself alone is terrifying. Ichimatsu knows that you don't have to be by yourself to be scared, and he wishes he were enough to make up ten people, instead of being a sixth of one.]
[He wishes he could be like that Seto of hers.]
Se No.
[But his voice is low and stolid and refuses to shake, because Ichimatsu doesn't have a whole lot of faith in anything, but he has faith in Ren. The smart girl who likes cats, who's like Jyushimatsu, who likes Ichimatsu because god knows why. A girl who is afraid of ghosts and knows the places to hide from them, but instead is out here with him. Terrified and trembling as she holds Pachinko to her chest, and every rusted, creaky instinct in Ichimatsu is screeching to do what he always does under pressure and explode in his loud and violent way.]
[But something smarter pins him down. Keeps his hand on her arm, guiding them forward, his voice filling in the dead spaces between Ren's chant so that the dark jungle never compresses them with its silence. A phrase he doesn't really get the significance of, but can sure as hell say it over and over, as many times as he needs to, if it can keep his girls calm and safe.]
Se No.
[He's not Seto. He's not even an amusing substitute for any of his older brothers, who might handle this with a finesse he just isn't capable of; cat in one arm, Ren's hand in the other, blundering through the dark and refusing to flinch at every bush-rustle and distant howl. Ichimatsu isn't like that. He forces things out of people that they don't want to give, but he'll be damned this time if he pegged her wrong. Ren is braver and stronger than him by a long shot. She can hide from ghosts and smile even though she's lonely and trust in others even though she's scared.]
[She can do anything. That's why Ichimatsu refuses to act like she isn't capable of this.]
Se No.
[But just in case, he chants with her, and squeezes her arm gently every time he feels her tremble, and though he listens for the sign that he has to tell her to run and not look back, nothing else will tear him from her. A sixth of a person or ten Setos; Ichimatsu is in for however much he counts for.]
Just a little further, Ren-chan.
no subject
All she knows is someone brave said them-a point proven by the way Murasaki-chan whispers them now. Loud enough to shake her spirit, to show he's not afraid of the shadows that might overhear, repeating it again and again and again.
So she repeats those two words after him, in a softer voice that sounds more like an echo to his own, but it's there all the same. The Se No that's guiding them through this maze of a jungle and back to safety. That this cat has picked up on, because he knows that's-
What she wants to hear. She wants to be safe and hear it's safe and even as the looming darkness continues to fill her with a deep sense of dread, there's a small fire burning in her gut that's fueled by every Se No that comes out of his mouth.
She can't be an aunt, but she can do this. Because she's not alone anymore, because she has someone by her side, because she has to do this or someone she loves will be hurt.
And she doesn't want to be the kind of the person that lets others get hurt anymore. Doesn't want to be the catalyst for that kind of nightmare again. She wants to be someone else and-
Her fingers tighten around his, around the kitten that's finding it easier to relax the more she scratches behind her ears, against her back. She listens for the quiet meows, gauging what to do by the sound she's making it an attempt to keep her comforted and quiet.
They aren't home yet. The temple's light still out of view, but she feels bathed in some kind of warmth with him by her side. With the way he's trying to protect her, his kitten and-]
We're already home because you're here. So it's okay.
[They aren't truly home, but the warmth of his hand makes her feel like she is and in a voice that no longer shakes, she whispers-]
Se No.
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Se No.
[There's so many things in him that push back against what she says, in that violent, frightened way of his -- he isn't ready to be home for anybody. His style has always been to hurt so that he doesn't get hurt. He doesn't open places inside himself for others to be safe. He doesn't plant his roots down and build a place for someone to belong.]
[But he has to.]
[He has to, and it brings them forward step by step, each of their soft voices whispering the phrase he doesn't know into the darkness. He doesn't know it, but it's safe. If he's honest with himself, and lies and denial are too heavy to drag around in the silent dark, his home is where his brothers are. Always. That's why without them, back in their world, he was homeless. That's why here, he's aimless. Or --]
Se No.
[That's what he'd thought.]
[He's her home? She found enough of something in him to make that? Ha ha. What a total joke.]
[She has it completely the wrong way around.]
[It isn't his brothers, but it's still everything that matters to him. The home he made, held in his hand. He wonders again if Osomatsu ever, ever felt like this. If Choromatsu did. If Karamatsu did.]
[If they ever felt danger prickling on the back of their neck, like he does now -- like he hears now, his ear slanting toward a soft wheeze of something slinking between ferns -- and wanted nothing more in life than to take his terror and beat the absolute shit out of it before it even breathed in the direction of his home.]
[He's smarter than any of those morons, though. At least he likes to think so. It's a forced calm that keeps him walking at a steady pace, and he thinks it might be the confusion of the pendant's blue glow that keeps the beast at bay, but he's not willing to rely on it forever. He can see the firelight-glow of the Storyteller's temple approaching in the distance. Should be close enough.]
[Calmly, his voice the depth and texture of ground asphalt, Ichimatsu's next 'Se No' is followed by flat instruction.]
Ren-chan... when I count to three, we can start running. Together.
It'll be like hunting practice. We have to run and pounce.
Alright?
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Sometimes it's intentional, other times it's instinctual-the desire to reach out with her heart to discern what's going on when she can't make sense of it, but even as her eyes level with his in confusion, clutching Pachinko as tight as she can to her chest-
He's so calm, she doesn't need to try. His voice doesn't spike with terror, his eyes are ahead because he sees safety, knows how to get there-that's why he wants to run. And she tries to steady her hand, ignore the memory of clutching Shiro to her chest and saying they're going to count to three and run and-
It's scary to be alone, but she's learning it's more terrifying to be out like this. To look at the person beside her and know she has to be an aunt to both of them. She can't let Pachinko get hurt. Can't let him get caught. That's why she's here-to make sure none of that happens.
She doesn't say anything and tries to intertwine their fingers together, gripping at him with every ounce of strength she has, so he can hear her unvoiced please don't let go. Because if she opens her mouth, her voice will shake. Pachinko will hear it. Murasaki-chan will look at her instead of the temple and he might lose sight of it.
And the thought of him alone in these woods-
But he won't be. Because they're going to hunt and pounce on the count of three. They're going to be next to the warm fire, by ESP kitty, who's going to be happy to see his young friend in her arms-one that's starting to squirm under her tight hold.
She has to be someone else. She can be someone else, if it means protecting him. Protecting his kitten and-]
Okay, we'll-
[Her quiet words shake and she tries to press Pachinko against her shirt, so she can't hear the nervous edge to her voice. Hopefully. And tries again.]
I won't let go.
[Of him or her.]
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[It's as warm and calm as he can make it, while sounding distracted at the same time. Because he is, with his eyes trained forward on that honey-glow goalpost in the distance; with his hand still folded over hers, adrenaline draining his sense of touch and making his palm clammy, and it's all he can do not to crush her fingers in his just to make sure they don't slip; with his ears, both sets, listening to those bushes, to her breathing, Chi's soft mewling. The Se No. He isn't whispering it anymore, but he can still hear it.]
One.
[Ichi. Him, or Osomatsu, depending on your perspective. Right now, it's just him.]
Two.
[Ni. It leaves on his breath, and he feels it quicken. In turn, he picks up his pace, just barely, making sure to telegraph that he's not taking off already.]
[Then he hesitates. The skin on his neck feels cold, and the Temple's light seems to blur in front of him. Screw it. He's terrified. He won't let her die. Screw it.]
Three!
[San. Ichi Nii San. He thinks of Jyushi again, and Todomatsu, too, and the hand in his, how it could be any of theirs -- Jyushi or Totty or Ren, it wouldn't matter, because for any of them he would do this. He grits his teeth and, gripping her hand tightly -- takes off into a dead sprint.]
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