selfishwish: (7)
Momiji Sohma ([personal profile] selfishwish) wrote in [community profile] middaeg2020-04-08 12:36 pm

Smiling faces, flawlessly rehearsed

Who: Momiji Sohma & You!
When: First half of Aereuer
Where: Aefenglom, Dorchacht, and the high seas!
What: Small rabbit engages in frenetic self-distraction after Bondmate's disappearance
Warnings: N/A for now!

1. Temporary Lodgings (The Haven)

[Momiji wakes on the first morning of Aereuer to a dull void lodged somewhere in his chest. It's a horribly concrete, unshakable absence, and somehow he knows even before he calls up to the nest Asahi built in the rafters of their shared apartment what it means.

At the Finders' office, come working hours, he doesn't know how to explain why he's not his usual, bright-eyed self for the day. "My favorite person here poofed out of existence" is too hard a conversation to think through. So--he makes sure that he is his usual, bright-eyed self. He keeps a cheerful smile for each new client that comes in, and then at quitting time he hugs one of his bosses goodbye and scampers for home.

He is mid-scamper when it sinks in past the cheer that he would rather sleep literally anywhere besides the empty apartment that is "home" presently.

This is why, as Aefenglom's newest batch of Mirrorbound are settling in for their first night in the Haven, there may come a knock at your front door just after dark, and you may find a small, tired-looking puca clasping a suitcase and glancing hopefully past you.]


Hi...! [He'll chirp as soon as the door's open, as if this were totally normal. He's been freeloading since he got here, so he's not entirely sure how Mirrorbound usually sort out housing.] Sorry it's late, but! I was hoping maybe you had a room free here, still...?

Just for the night, if that's okay.

2. Dolly Mine (Dorchacht)

[The thing about actively malevolent children's toys is that most households have a low tolerance for how much mischief they'll put up with from a supposed-to-be-inanimate object before they just bin it. This is good common sense. It is not good for business, however, if you are a toy dealer who'd like to make absolutely sure your last batch of sales won't Chucky someone before you work out the spell that makes them tick.

Thankfully, an expert sleuth in on the case! If there's one thing Momiji knows, it's toys. And so it's easy to convince his bosses at Particularly Good Finders to give him a week away from Aefenglom to join the doll-hunt.

For the first few days, he can be found flitting between addresses in the city, checking in on known-purchasers. By midweek, though, he has a growing list of irate parents who will confirm having purchased one of the awful things, only to have thrown it out or had it go unaccountably missing. Momiji re-routes his efforts to combing pawn- and junk-shops after that and casing some of Dorchacht's poorer neighborhoods. Wandering through the streets, he might readily be mistaken for one of the city's orphan Monsters, off on his own--even if the lace collar on his "work clothes" spoils the effect somewhat.

And then, at last: A breakthrough.]


Hold on, stop...! [Near sunset in the Black City, a breathless puca may pop out of an alley looking incredibly peeved and a little dingy, to grab at the sleeve of the nearest person's shirt.] Did you see a gang of creepy-looking dolls come this way?

[Yes, he said "gang." It turns out that the abandoned ones are smart enough to team up.]

3. A Pirate's Life

[So, you've decided to sail the seven however-many-Geargadas-has seas aboard the good ship Sappheral.

Maybe you've been enjoying the salt-air and the open breeze up on deck. Or maybe you're just in it for the paid vacation outside the city, letting the first days aboard slip past in the routine of labor. Regardless, eventually the ship is far enough out that each night comes with paired crew-members assigned to keep watch, should the local Merrow try to sneak aboard in the pitch-black. You may have been pulled for the night's first shift, or you may still be above-deck for your own reasons. That part's not really important.

What's important is the one crew-member already stationed on-deck for the starboard watch. Momiji, outfitted in a fleece-lined coat thrown over pink pajamas, looks very ready for deadly combat with the creatures of the deep. Honest! Someone's given him a short-spear and a lantern to keep him company, so really the level of preparation here is flawless.

Mostly, truth be told, he talked his way on-board with the other Mirrorbound as more of a good luck charm than anything. But there's no denying that he has the ears for catching anything scrambling up the hull of the ship.

At the first sign of anyone in ear-shot, he'll pivot his lantern around to catch sight of them and whistle.]


Hey, over here! [And then, in a plaintive whine:] I'm bored...!

4. A Hole to Call Home (The Haven)

[Eventually, though, he does have to actually spend another night in Aefenglom. But if he's already being forced to move house...there are certain temptations for a puca that have been easy to ignore up to this point, that suddenly become pressing.

Everywhere he scopes out open rooms around the Haven just seems too big, too empty, too full-of-strangers, or too--well, above ground. And it's not like Aefenglom gave him the sturdy claws he's sporting for fun and games, right?

This is a long way of saying that anyone whose home has no basement level and a comfortably-sized backyard might find an uninvited guest with his sleeves rolled up, already well into starting a nice-sized tunnel near the edge of their home. He may already have gotten far enough in to have snuck down it a ways, so that only the open earth gives him away.

In that case, his head will pop up into the light at the sound of approaching footsteps.]


Oh...! [Maybe, it occurs to him, he should have asked permission first?] Hi there!
weiward: (pic#13605481)

4

[personal profile] weiward 2020-04-11 07:17 pm (UTC)(link)
[he might catch a glimpse of something himself. a pair of white winged bunnies are curiously inspecting the entrance of the tunnel, all twitching ears and wiggling noses. they're gone in a flash though, startled by the least thing and flying into the nearby cottage.

wei wuxian comes out a few minutes later, wondering what it was outside that made suibian and bichen so nervous. it could be something dangerous, but he forces himself to throw caution to the wind - wei ying must always be wei ying.

is that...a hole?]


Hey, hey! [it starts as disapproval, but then his golden eyes get wider the closer he gets to it.] Did you dig this all by yourself?

[from one puca to another, it's good work!]
weiward: (pic#13605482)

[personal profile] weiward 2020-04-12 01:12 am (UTC)(link)
Can I take a look?

[he hops down into the hole, peeking into the little bit of tunnel that's been dug out. he can't explain why it's so fascinating. he grew up at lotus pier, on the water. shouldn't that be his element of choice?

maybe necromancy gave him a thing for graves.]


It's cozy! [wei wuxian hops back up to sit beside him, the action effortless, even for him. yes, that is a fine hole in the ground. suddenly the obvious question occurs to him.] Err...what are you digging it for?
weiward: (Default)

[personal profile] weiward 2020-04-14 10:40 pm (UTC)(link)
A burrow? [wei wuxian blinks before smacking his fist against the opposite palm.] Why didn't I think of that before moving into a cottage.

[there -is- his bonded to consider, who isn't a puca and might not find the idea of this strangely charming. but he is pretty indulgent with him these days, so who knows.]

I like it. I think Suibian and Bichen do too.

[he nods behind Momiji, where the winged bunnies are daring to come closer again.]

Don't worry about filling this one up if you do decide to do it somewhere else.
weiward: (pic#13635806)

[personal profile] weiward 2020-04-15 12:47 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah, your claws are definitely more claws than mine.

[he looks down at his own hands before smiling up at him again.]

They live with me and Lan Zhan. And they can, but I've never seen them fly very high or very far. Mostly just enough to join me on the roof. [it's the opposite of a burrow, but he's still as much wei wuxian as he is a puca.] What's your name?
weiward: (Default)

[personal profile] weiward 2020-04-16 10:17 pm (UTC)(link)
We found them outside of a cave. But it wasn't exactly the safest place, so we decided to bring them back.

[bichen flutters to him, and he laughs before scooping him up to rub their noses together affectionately. meanwhile suibian, the fittingly bolder one, hops over to greet momiji with a wiggling nose.]

He loves bunnies, so I guess it's a thing I'm turning into one! I'm Wei Wuxian. But since we're both the same, you can call me Wei Ying!