middaeg | [closed]

[ Between the frost elementals, the shades and the threat of running into Cywld infected monsters while outside, it's no surprise that the folks building the memorial had insisted on a buddy system for anyone they hired to go looking for Forget Me Nots. Even so, it still feels a little ridiculous to be traipsing around the Wilde with some other dude he's only just met while clutching a piece of paper with a diagram of the flower in question printed on it.

Keith's never beem the best at making a situation less awkward, but in this case he does have some things to say. Dressed in paladin armor with his helmet on to keep the sun from burning his skin, he pauses just before the pair of them enter the forest proper. ]

Okay, Yata, was it? Let's make this quick to avoid any problems. Don't know how much you know about being in the Wilde, but don't touch anything that looks diseased and try not to draw too much attention to yourself. [ He says, while wearing armor that is, y'know, fire truck red. ] We don't want to be dealing with Shades. Stay sharp.

[ OH boy can't you just tell this is going to be so much fun... ]

[ Despite the many reasons that going into the Wilde is a hazard, it's hard to deny that it's also relaxing to get away from the city proper. Though this isn't exactly the desert, nor a climate Keith is particularly used to, there's still something a little thrilling about walking through a snowy forest with Allura. Not for work or to go looking for trouble like he did in the past, but just to hang out.

He won't think too hard about what that means exactly because that'll catapult him right into uncertainty and it's easier to just exist in the moment. Right now, that moment involves ducking to dodge an incoming snowball

So maybe he shouldn't have lobbed one at her while she was cooing over a squirrel, but he's laughing as he scoops up some more snow. ]

Okay, okay, I'm sorry. If I let you hit me, would you call it even?

[ While Tieria is out in the Wilde at night, he'll come across something curious that has washed up on the river banks. It's motionless and stiff -- unnaturally so, and should he come closer to inspect it, he might even find it a little familiar?

> Investigate? ]

[ A lot has happened in the last couple of days between dying, reanimating and dealing with what feels like the endless number of consequences that have come about as a result. It's bad enough that he's dealing with being undead and everything that goes with it now, but being able to feel what his bonded partners feel on top of it can get a little much sometimes.

While Keith hasn't really set foot inside Desmodus Mori before, the bar is meant to cater towards vampires and if only for a little bit, he would like to be distracted. He approaches the bar, trying not to make eye contact with anyone, but as luck would have it there's a familiar face present anyway. He sighs internally.]

That drink any good?

[ Tieria likes nighttime, recently. When the stars are up in the sky and he'd far outside the city, away from its lights, then it's a little easier to feel as if he were back in space, where he belongs. Though gravity is still inescapable, it's just... nice, to see the nightsky. It makes it easier to think.

He's really not looking for anything in particular as he walks, except... well, it's a little hard to ignore a humanoid body washing up? Finding a corpse isn't what he wanted out of this day, but he can't well leave it be when someone might be missing--

--- the annoying pilot boy?

Shit. Tieria walks a little faster, and soon is kneeling by Keith, trying to check for a pulse. ]

[ The first thing Tieria will note on his check is that Keith's skin is cold to the touch -- far too cold to be a temperature a human body can sustain without gradually going into hypothermic shock. Perhaps that's just from being in the river a little too long? Though the pale ashen color of his skin isn't exactly reassuring either.

As for the carotid pulse he's checking for, there doesn't seem to be one present in the place it'd usually be for a typical human. Monster changes certainly make first aid a bit complicated from time to time. ]

[ ... well. That's bad. Tieria may have threatened this boy, but he does not precisely want him dead. If he's alive and keeping his scret, that is really just fine.

Tieria wonders what he might have been doing up here, leading to him drowning like this - if it is drowning, anyway.

Not that it matters, the steps he needs to take remain the same. Theoretically. Though he is instructed on how to perform CPR, he has never actually had to do it.

But the upside is, Keith can't wind up deader than dead, so. Worth a try anyhow, even if his wet cold body is definitely gross.

He draws Keith a little further out of the water, places his head properly so if he feels like breathing again he can start anytime, really, and begins delivering compressions to his chest. ]

I'm not certain. You should stand still and find out.

[Said with a laugh, and lobs a second once she sees him going to retaliate before finishing packing it into a ball. It breaks apart mid air, harmlessly turning into a shower of white powder before it can hit Keith.

By now, Allura has been out to the Wildes a handful of time, mostly on missions or errands, but she was never so struck by the beauty of the planet as during the winter. The snow seemed to make everything shimmer, bright and white and new. It felt like new beginnings. Or maybe that's just her being silly.

She holds another snowball, in mock-threat,] Do you surrender?

[ Keith grins, quickly smooshing the snow in his hands into a ball. ]

Surrender? Dunno about that. Doesn't sound like it's in the paladin code, Princess.

[ Teasing of course, but watch him not put that snowball down all the same. ]

I'm offering a ceasefire.

[ Keith has had a long time to contemplate his own death. At times that extended period of uncertainty, of walking around with a guillotine suspended above his neck never knowing when it was set to drop had seemed worse than the actual dying. If he'd been given some time to mull this over in peace, maybe he'd actually have some pithy quip about the end of the line, but as it is waking is a sudden and violent whole body experience as a weight repeatedly slams down on his ribs like something or someone wants him to spit out his soul.

What comes out of his mouth isn't that, of course, but water from the river that trickles from the corners of his lips and onto the ground. It's all purely mechanical, the way pressing on a water balloon would make water slosh out, and the realization that the sole effect of clearing water from his airway changes nothing about how well he is or isn't able to breathe is as jarring as the next time his ribcage is compressed.

Keith's eyes snap open, his vision swimming and unfocused before he spots the familiar sight of the sisters in the night sky. Questions like where the hell he is, how long he's been out, whether Allura was able to escape from those horrific monsters -- all of those are distant, hazy, seemingly inconsequential when his throat feels raw, and there's a warm body just within reach to soothe it. A living, breathing creature with a vivid pulse and warm blood in its arteries.

Keith's hand snaps out before he's even bothered identifying what or who it is. his grip is icy and vice-tight to keep his prey immobilized while he sits up and locks with... ]

...You?

[ What the hell is this guy doing here? He halfway wants to know, but it's not really conversation he's after right now. His grip tightens, making the joints in his hand crack and pop from the residual stiffness. God, he's starving. Perhaps that much will get clearer to Tieria as well when Keith yanks on his arm to pull the other boy closer. ]

That's fine by me.

I should have expected no different.

[Her grin pulls longer. She seems to make a show of considering his offer, looking down at her own snow ball, then at him.]

Very well, I accept on the condition that you help me build a person out of snow.

[There were a handful of them that popped up from time to time at the Northern outpost when she visited and they were all charming. She's been wanting to try her hand at them for awhile.]

[ For a very short moment, Tieria gets to experience satisfaction. It's not relief, because he doesn't care that much of Keith lives or dies, but Tieria is still pleased that Keith is waking up as he should – even with his lack of CPR experience.

This contentness is extremely short-lived however, as Keith graps a hold of him with a speed that catches Tieria entirely off-guard. Before he knows it, he's held in place by Keith and a feeling of dread spreads all through his body as he struggles to break free, shoving against Keith's damp chest, in vain. ]

Let go of me! Is this a way to treat someone who just saved your life?!

[ Oh is that what Tieria did? Saved his life? The corners of Keith's lips tug up into a sardonic grin. It's so funny, but he isn't laughing. Keith grabs Tieria's other wrist just as the pilot tries to shove him away. ]

My hero.

[ THe mockery is sof, spun like soft silk as Keith makes eye contact. The moment could almost be perversely tender under a different set of circumstances. But as Keith speaks his next few words, they're heavily laced with vampiric magic. ]

Be still. Let's be friends.

[ ... huh? Tieria feels his movements still and fear subside, and for a moment he has the good sense to be utterly confused by it. This is a non-sequitor, he's not meant to be comfortable with this person who is manhandling him so roughly.

Friends... To begin with, Tieria barely knows what that is. Are the members of Celestial Being his friends? Yes and no. More like comrades, maybe even family, an extension of his own goals and dreams.

Keith is not that, Keith is not a comrade, he's...

A friend, yes.

He's a friend and there is no reason to fight back against a friend. ]

... yes, of course.

[ That's much better. Keith releases one of Tieria's wrists and brushes a sweep of hair away to expose the boy's neck to the night. ]

Glad we finally understand each other.

[ Murmured like they're having an actual conversation, Tieria might spot a glint of fangs in Keith's mouth just before he closes the gap between them and buries his nose into Tieria's neck. ]

You're so warm....

[ And so pliant. So long as he can magically enforce his will on the other. Somehow a battle of wills only seems fitting for them. Wasting no further time, Keith opens his mouth and sinks his fangs into a pulse point. Vampire venom might be able to dull some of the pain, but that's never a sure guarantee and one way or another, the comfort of his prey is the last thing on his mind. As warm, fresh blood flows from the wounds, Keith can't help shivering at the taste. ]

You mean a snowman?

[ The correction is offered with a laugh, but admittedly he also has no idea why it's snowman and not snowperson." Or "snow creature" for that matter. Hm. ]

I've never made one of those before either. Didn't really get a lot of snow where I grew up. [ Glancing down at the snowball in his hands, then holds it out towards Allura. ]

We could start by combining these.

[ Combining snow, combining lions .... practically the same thing. ]

[ Tieria flinches, though he doesn't resist. Keith is his friend and he can trust him, even as he bites into his neck, even as he sucks and there is a strange sensation of blood flowing out his neck at a speed that shouldn't quite be real.

It's okay. They understand each other.

Isn't that important? It's surely very important. Tieria lingers on that thought, this idea of understanding, as a more logical part of his brain screams that even if he isn't human, he still needs blood and it is vacating him far too quickly right now. ]

It could be a snow woman.

[Said wryly, and she takes the snowball from Keith, molding the two together before stooping to work on gathering some more, scooping up handfuls to start forming a base.]

Really? [Then again, she doesn't know a lot about Earth.] It's the same for me - Altea's weather was much more moderate.

[None of these intense heat waves or cold snaps that seemed common on Geardagas. Even if they did, most of the population lived within the rings that surrounded the planet.]

Or some snow mice.

[ Since we're throwing out alternatives. He kneels on the ground opposite her to help pile up more snow to pack together. ]

And yeah, me and my dad used to live out in the desert. It was always too hot in the summer, so the freezer would always be stuffed with homemade popsicles.

[ A fond memory for sure, but he trails off for a bit. ]

[ He'd been about to open his mouth to ask her more about Altea, but the pair of them are rudely interrupted by a faint but chilling scream coming from a distance.

Keith looks up sharply in the direction the sound came from, then glances back to Allura all levity wiped clean from his expression. ]

Think someone's in trouble?

[ Or is that trouble making itself known. ]

[Allura had so many questions, the most important of those involving popsicles. But those are immediately forgotten when the sound of a scream reaches them, carried on the wind. Her head snaps up and she slowly rises to full height, snowperson left forgotten and half formed at their feet.]

I'm not certain. [She looks at Keith, mouth pulled into a grim line.] We should investigate.

[It wouldn't sit well on her conscience to ignore a cry for help. She didn't think to bring her staff out here, but she's been growing furiously in magic, and there's only a beat of hesitation before she takes a step. Then another scream rings out, louder than before, making her flinch.]

Whatever it is, it's coming towards us.

[It isn't his favourite place to be, but he told Steak that he wouldn't keep feeding off him and he means to keep that promise, even if it means walking in here whenever he feels the urge to and just... dealing with it.

He doesn't acknowledge tha someone has joined him until he's spoken to, at which point he slides his attention sideways and then returns it to the glass, before he finishes the small measure he has left and sets it down.]

Utterly vile. [Red Wine replies dryly.] But it does its job. I don't come here to enjoy myself.

[ A bondless naga's blood isn't as magically charged as a witch's would be, but it's blood all the same and gulping it down brings immediate relief. All the dull aches and pains in his body, the injuries from the day before, and of course the all-consuming drive to feed all seem to come down in intensity when there's such an abundance of blood that the scent of it fills his nose and he can't swallow as fast as it's being pumped out by Tieria's beating heart. If Keith still had a beating heart of his own, surely they'd match each other's rhythm. Truly, the kind of bonding experience that they both wanted.

Even so, he can't help being greedy. Perhaps a little carelessly, he lets Tieria's other wrist go in favor of gripping his shoulders. ]

Edited 2020-08-10 22:30 (UTC)

[ Ah... he's getting dizzy. That's what comes with excessive blood loss, he knows this. It's not the first time he's experienced it, the feeling of passing out because your injuries are just too severe and you've just lost too much--

-- and last time that had happened, he'd been fine with it. Fighting to the very end, giving it his all, and finally getting to go to rest and maybe, just maybe, see Lockon Stratos once more....

This isn't that time.

They are no longer so hopeless. Celestial Being is standing up once more. Tieria has something that he desperately needs to return to. His fight isn't over. A-LAWS is still out there and they're down to only two Gundam Meisters. He can't afford it, dying in a place like this.

Not even for a friend.

And especially not for one who isn't a friend of all.

It's freeing to be in control of his own mind once more, and even though his body is starting to feel very sluggish, Tieria moves immediately. He never moves anywhere without his gun, and drawing it comes as natural as being. He is a Gundam Meister. He is made to fight.

So before he gives Keith any chance to react, the barrel is pressed to his chest.

Tieria pulls the trigger. ]

[ Keith follows suit and gets to his feet, hand already reaching for his Marmora knife. Good thing he never goes anywhere without it. Though he'd have preferred to have a weapon with a longer range just in case whatever's out there has been infected by the Cywld, he doesn't exactly have the luxury of being picky about that. Especially not when their new buddy seems to be getting closer.

He shoots Allura a terse look before moving to stand in front of her. ]

Right.

[ It shouldn't be too bad. They both know how to fight, after all. But it does bother him that even when wracking his brains for what this thing could be, that he just isn't coming up with an answer. Predators don't typically scream like this to alert their targets of their existence.

Another scream rings out, this one even closer than the last. ]

Let's move back into the trees for cover and stay out of sight until we get eyes on whatever's coming.

[closed]

Yata

Allura

Tieria

Red Wine

no subject

no subject

no subject

;3;

/o\

no subject

He's so cute in that icon

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

She makes him pull cute faces

no subject

countdown to mood whiplash

1/2

2/2 dun dun dun

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject