middaeg | [closed / open for close CR] Ain't no party like a bonding party

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[closed / open for close CR] Ain't no party like a bonding party

Who: Enkidu & Caren (and later, others)
When: backdated to the evening before Valentine's Day
Where: The Coven / An inn
What: Bonding Ceremony / Drinking
Warnings: B for Bonding & D for Drinking

Closed to Caren
When Enkidu arrives they have their hair pulled back in a long ponytail kept together by a hairpin given to them during that gift giving holiday and they are wearing a thick, grey woollen sweater and a pair of white pants. Despite their clothes being new and their hair looking flawless they feel tired.

They offer Caren their hand as they walk up to the circle drawn on the ground.

"I still do not find this easy." They whisper the words softly. "It is not your fault. I just...I still do not trust them."

But this is something they need to do. For their own sake and for hers. She is too kind to be left without a bond. Once they have taken hold of her hand they squeeze it softly.

Open to close CR
When it comes to drinking Enkidu looks like a lightweight but really, they can handle a lot of beer. And this is their fourth mug and for the first time they're not thinking about Rathmores cutting off fingers, their friends suffering, their feelings towards the Coven or anything else. No, they're obviously enjoying themselves. At times they chuckle at every joke others make and it could be that they're stealing the food from your plate.

"Perhaps, when this inn closes we could go to the forest. It is quite great when you kick your shoes off and bury your feet deep into the earth. And when you are done with that you just run."

They smile broadly and take another big sip from their beer.

[OOC: feel free to mingle and make posts here. If people want separate starters, feel free to poke me!]

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It's a lovely hairpin, honestly. And...really, she thinks Enkidu looks lovely like this. But then, like the unvarished earth, they always looked beautiful, something that she could envy if she gave it a chance.

Gently, she squeezed Enkidu's hand in return.

"I understand." Her voice was soft, pitched only for them. "But know that I will defend you and keep you safe. That is my duty as your Master- and moreover, as a friend."

Really, she could understand. But as far as she knew, none of their fellow lost travelers knew the spell that would keep the pair of them safe.

"Do you remember your vows?" The sooner they said them, the sooner they could be on their way, and maybe she could give them some peace by showing her garden, winterized as it was.

Enkidu straightens their back a little when she speaks. At times they wish that things were more simple. Just them running through the forest, just them standing at their Master's side while saving humanity from a certain fate, just them being able to feel the earth underneath their feet.

Nothing like this.

"Thank you..." The words sound distant to their own ears. "It will take time to get used to this. After all...a permanent bond is...more than a temporarily one. I am sorry if I might fail at some things. Once I have been quite strong but I am not a very good witch."

Vows. Enkidu blinks. Vows.

"Ah...I do not have any vows. But I will think of something. If you speak yours first I have an idea how they must sound."

Before stepping into the circle they glance at the other witch. No, still no trust.

It'd be nice if things were simple. If she was back in her Church, where everyone came to, but not to see her...but she can't go back to that anymore. She can only go forward, maybe with this clay by her side.

She'd like it if they didn't vanish. But she knows it's a selfish desire too.

"I know I'm going to fail at things too. It's all right. It's simply part of the living experience." Thankfully she didn't say the human experience since, well, they had never been human.

She offered a nod to the witch, and while there was some looking confused at Enkidu's expression, they brought up their wand, and waited.

"We need to have our hands...like so." Caren brought hers up, palms up. "Pressing against each others. Once that's done, I'll start."

It'd give her time to brace herself when it came to the emotional flood.

"The living experience... Yes. Living."

Enkidu still doubts if they can truly live like a human. They're still out of touch with many things and nothing seems to be as complicated as human beings.

There is great hesitation in the way they move, as if they have to give their mind an extra push to go on with this. Slowly they press their hands against hers, frowning a little.

"There."

She offered an encouraging nod. It wasn't going to be easy-for either of them, since she wasn't very good at being human sometimes-but she was going to try her best for Enkidu.

"There. Now it's time for the difficult part."

She offered a small smile, before taking in a deep breath.

"I've only done this once before. It was intimate, and this may be intimate too, in a different way. But I came into this because when we were in the cells...it was safe for me to break down. I had to be strong for so many people."

Caren took in a slow, deep breath.

"So I vow this. I vow to listen to what you have to say. I will not smother you with my humanity; I will let you be yourself, first and foremost. If you are my weapon, you are a weapon that I will use with utmost care. If I am to be your master, then I will use you well."

She smiled suddenly, fierce and showing fangs. "If you feel the need for another, you may tell me at anytime, and we can have the bond dissolved, no hard feelings. But I will hope that whoever chooses you as your new Master will use you well."

"I know that it is intimate. Yet I fear...I am not human enough for such a thing and I do not trust the Coven, therefore the hesitation."

Because it is still there. It shows in how they stand, in how their hands move slowly. They have to and it would help her. It would help them both. So, no, they do not remove their hands and they gaze at her face when she speaks her vow. The words are reassuring. It would mean she'd give them a purpose. The last part of her vow is met with a confused look. Bonds weren't easy to disregard. They have seen what it did to Ozymandias. How unhappy it made him.

They spend a long time blinking and trying to find words. A vow of some sort.

"I vow..." Their eyes flash from her face to the witch leading their ceremony and the witnesses who are present. "...I will will keep you safe from harm. And that there will be no reason for you to cry anymore. You may wield me how you please, I will follow your commands..." In a way it is the same as forging a contract with a Master. "...I hope I will witness the growth of your human soul. I would like that."

They pause.

"Must I step back?"

Caren managed to smile, and shake her head. Enkidu...had the right not to trust them. It was smart not to trust them. She wasn't going to say not to, especially when they were here, binding them together.

And too, with Enkidu having their missing fingers.

But their words...they were simple, deep, and powerful-even if there was some puzzlement from the witches watching, not understanding what they meant. Even as there was a movement of a wand and murmured words, Caren watched them-and there was a change in her eyes. She wouldn't say it but- she was touched. And worried too, that they could be disappointed. She knew what she was.

She was so much like her father, it was sickening.

"No, I don't think you have to. Not yet." Gently, her fingers spread, and she made to interlace their fingers together. "We can spend as much time here as you need."

She could feel the difference now that the witches had done the ceremony. Just the subtle click, and the difference she felt in her body. There was the flow of emotions between them but...she hadn't realized how much she needed the magic. It felt wonderful.

It feels like a relief. Much more than the temporarily bond with Cu had felt. They can feel their magic flowing out of their body until everything is pleasantly even. As if their muscles finally are allowed to relax, as if their heart is finally ready to accept a situation like this. And yes, there are emotions but they aren't overwhelming or loud. It is merely a soft sort of...longing that they feel.

Yet Enkidu does not bring it up. That is her story to tell.

"I feel why it is different from the temporarily bond I had. There is more...it is more...calming... Is it the same for you as well?" They bend their fingers a little, holding on to her hands. They look at the witch who has been leading their ceremony.

"I do not want to spend more time inside this building. We have done what we had to do."

Still, they move to wrap her arms around her in a careful manner, pulling her close to their chest.

"I hope it was what you wanted it to be."

Everything felt so much better. She had felt so sluggish, a weight on her shoulders but...she hadn't realized why. Things had been getting bad then. Enkidu's emotions weren't clamboring at her as she thought they might but...

She'll still have to adjust. But it'll be all right. They both will be.

"It feels as if a weight has been lifted." There might be a witch watching, but she didn't care. She just wanted to lean against the good clay. Maybe even nap with her head on their lap.

Which was how she ended up face first and buried against their chest, and taking in their scent, slow and deep.

Ah, clay hugs.

"It's better then what I thought it would be." She meant it too. Still, she moved her face away, so she could speak without her voice being muffled. "But we can leave. We can cuddle back at your place. Or mine."

"Is it similar to your previous bond?"

Enkidu holds her close, carefully reaching out to pet her hair. They can agree to her words. It feels as if a weight has been lifted. As if they have finally been able to take some sort of stance in this. And yes, it helps that Gil is here. That he returned and gave them some sort of purpose.

"Let us go to your house. I have not seen it yet."

Slowly they let go and yes, there is a lot of holding and cuddling that needs to be done. And getting used to this.

"No. That was more romantic, and sexual in nature."

And this was a different kind of relief, a different reason to bond. It wasn't bad though. Not at all. It felt good to be held.

But she parted from their embrace slowly, linking their fingers together.

"You might like it. It's a mansion, and I've converted the back lot into a garden. So if you don't like the inside...the outside will be better."

"So your previous bond was more like Diarmuid and Cu? Is that the thing you are longing for? A boy friend?"

It seems to be the norm for bonds.

"Or the one you have lost?"

Because yes, they know what losing someone close can do. In their case, four thousand years of longing and mourning in silence.

"Hmmm, outside is always better. It is where flowers can bloom and where you can see the sky." Enkidu offers their hand. "Have you ever considered sleeping outside?"

If Caren had been anyone else, she would have sputtered. And if it had been anyone else but Enkidu, she would have killed with a frosty look. Instead, she shook her head, hard enough for her hair to swing, even as she felt her cheeks warm under the implication.

"I'm not looking for a boyfriend." Boyfriends just happened to find her. Sometimes. Besides, she's been hurt by having those longings lately. Her voice softened though as she explained, and her hand linked with theirs.

"We were never officially dating. Neither of us...could bring ourselves to say the words. I suppose you could say we were shyer, or we had less time then Diarmuid and the hound. It's difficult to say. As for sleeping outside...my instincts have me try to sleep outside, nestled against things, as much as possible.

"But I'd catch a chill if I tried that now. I don't have enough coverage, with how bare I am these days."

Enkidu listens closely, trying to paint a picture while trying to relate her words to their own experience. Once again they notice their shortcomings. It isn't difficult to imagine the bond she had with the person she longs for but it is difficult to categorize it. How it should feel, how they should behave, what the meaning of everything would be.

"Do you have to date before you start to long for another? It seems there is no system."

They murmur the words softly, squeezing her hand briefly. The connection feels good. A bit strange but good.

"Maybe that person will return one day, like Gil has returned to me." And well, regarding the sleeping outside thing... "If we have enough blankets and a nice fire it will be fine."

"There is...And isn't a system. You can long for people you've never met, things you've never seen. It's foolish, but it happens."

It's a good connection. But the fact that they're trying to understand for her sake and their own, had her lean up, and press a kiss to their cheek.

"It's unlikely they would remember me, even if they did return. Let's plan for a night outside, with a proper fire and other things instead."

"Hmm that. I think I understand what you mean. How it is to long for things you cannot name yet you do know they are there."

Enkidu lets out a surprised sound at the kiss but doesn't pull away at all and eventually the only logic thing to do is to return the favor.

"When Edelgard freed me from that cage and when I woke up in that bed I became aware of that. It is rather lonesome without a permanent bond. It took me a while to understand that. I realized I could not ask Cu to be at my side. It has been odd...I wonder if my soul has grown or that I merely came to understand human relationships."

They speak softly with a questioning undertone in their voice.

"As long as you have your memories of them...perhaps you two can create new ones over time." A nod. "Yes that sounds like a good plan."

"There they are." Her voice was soft, and she sighed-and made a soft noise when Enkidu returned the favor. Oh right, they did that sometimes. Mimicked what she did if they thought it was right. But...

"I'm not sure what it is. Maybe you'll find out. Or you may not. There's nothing wrong with not knowing sometimes. Or with creating new memories."

She offered a soft hand squeeze. "Shall we go?"

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[closed / open for close CR] Ain't no party like a bonding party

Strides in with a Starbucks

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